#i did it I successfully waited until the final book release is just around the corner

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

I think I need to increase my posting about the locked tomb to compensate for all this wot talk and danmei discourse.

I’m Absolutely gonna work some more on my Gideon reread this week and then finish Harrow so I can finally read Nona before Alecto comes out next month.

[victorluvsalice]

-->By this point, it was getting pretty late, but there was one thing left for the gang to do before I could have them head home. Specifically, get Surprise spayed as well so I don’t get any more unanticipated kittens! Victor signed Surprise in for the procedure while Smiler – who was feeling pretty damn thirsty after all that pitching of sales – flew over to Alice by the fountain and got a drink from her. She then settled in for a nap while Smiler flew back to join Victor in the waiting room as Surprise had her operation. I noticed that they’d managed to pick up eight power points in the process (those had been stacking up for a while) – and, with nothing better to spend them on, I had them pick up the “Command” and “Vampire Creation” powers. *shrug* I mean, I sure as hell can’t have them get “Dampened Emotions,” that’s WAAAY off base for their character, and I don’t like most of the “max out a need forever” ones, sooo...be nice if Vampires also had a way to convert unused power points into satisfaction points, like werewolves do! Maybe one day we will get an update... Anyway, they amused themselves playing SimScuffle on the office computer while Victor got to know Butter better until Surprise was released from the operating room sporting her cone of shame –

-->And then it was finally back home at 10:30 PM! As you might imagine, Victor and Alice went immediately to bed. XD Smiler headed back out to the barn to finish updating their streaming drone with a lithium battery (extending its recording life) while Surprise and Kelly wandered off into the night on cat adventures (which did NOT involve getting pregnant, yay) –

And Shock headed back into the living room to scratch up the furniture. Cue me getting Alice back up to scold the cat, who ran away onto the front porch to try and avoid it. *sigh* I figured while Alice was up she could resume her book and sent her to do that –

-->And, hilariously, just like Smiler always uses Victor and Alice’s computer for gaming now, Alice went and continued writing on Smiler’s computer. XD At this point, I noticed Smiler was no longer upgrading their drone (though I’m not sure if they were truly done or if they’d been distracted out of it), so I had them fix a broken water collector by the side of the house, then sent them upstairs to upgrade their video production station to make it unbreakable – a process slowed down a bit by the fact that they and Alice got to talking, but it still got Smiler max Handiness! :D They really won New Skill Day today! And, as everyone else was up and Shadow was whining about being bored again, I woke Victor up and sent him downstairs to play with the dog –

Only for Temperance to spawn in AGAIN while Victor was waiting for Shadow to finish bounding around the obstacle course. Once again, she was easily dealt with by dragging Victor’s bizarre idol downstairs and into her general vicinity, but – come on, do we REALLY need a visit from this woman every night?! Haunted houses, man – sometimes I wonder if they’re worth it.

And so the day ended with Victor playing with a (very dirty, holy shit) Shadow; Alice writing her book; and Smiler finishing up their video station upgrades, along with everyone successfully completing New Skill Day. A good note to leave the family on, I feel. :) Next time, we’re back to more traditional retail times with a trip to the store – see you then!

[denimbex1986]

'This extract is based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J Robert Oppenheimer, published again as the movie Oppenheimer has generated a lot of interest. This book was first published in 2005, by Knopf, Penguin US. In 2008 Atlantic Books UK acquired the book and released it again in June 2023 and it’s being distributed by Penguin Random House India.

On August 6, 1945, at exactly 8:14 a.m. a B-29 aircraft, the Enola Gay, named after pilot Paul Tibbets’ mother, dropped the untested, gun-type uranium bomb over Hiroshima. John Manley was in Washington that day, waiting anxiously to hear the news. Oppenheimer had sent him there with one assignment — to report to him on the bombing. After a five-hour delay in communications from the aircraft, Manley finally received a teletype from Captain Parsons who was the “arming” officer on the Enola Gay — that “the visible effects were greater than the New Mexico test.” But just as Manley was about to call Oppenheimer in Los Alamos, Groves stopped him. No one was to disseminate any information about the atomic bombing until the president himself announced it.

Frustrated, Manley went for a midnight walk in Lafayette Park, across from the White House. Early the next morning, he was told that Truman would make an announcement at 11:00 a.m. Manley finally got Oppie on the phone just as the president’s statement was released on nationwide radio. Although they had agreed to use a prearranged code for conveying the news over the phone, Oppenheimer’s first words to Manley were: “Why the hell did you think I sent you to Washington in the first place?”

That same day, at 2:00 p.m ., General Groves picked up the phone in Washington and called Oppenheimer in Los Alamos. Groves was in a congratulatory mood. “I’m proud of you and all of your people,” Groves said.

“It went all right?” Oppie asked.

“Apparently it went with a tremendous bang….”

“Everybody is feeling reasonably good about it,” Oppie said, “and I extend my heartiest congratulations. It’s been a long road.”

“Yes,” Groves replied, “it has been a long road and I think one of the wisest things I ever did was when I selected the director of Los Alamos.”

“Well,” replied Oppenheimer diffidently, “I have my doubts, General Groves.”

Groves replied, “Well, you know I’ve never concurred with those doubts at any time.”

Attention please Later in the day, the news was announced over the Los Alamos public address system: “Attention please, attention please. One of our units has just been successfully dropped on Japan.” Frank Oppenheimer was standing in the hallway right outside his brother’s office when he heard the news. His first reaction was “Thank God, it wasn’t a dud.” But within seconds, he recalled, “One suddenly got this horror of all the people that had been killed.”

A soldier, Ed Doty, described the scene for his parents in a letter he wrote the next day: “This last 24 hours has been quite exciting. Everyone has been keyed up to a pitch higher than anything I have ever seen on such a mass scale before. . . . People came out into the hallways of the building and milled around like a Times Square New Year’s crowd. Everyone was looking for a radio.” That evening a crowd gathered in an auditorium.

One of the younger physicists, Sam Cohen, remembers a cheering, foot stamping audience waiting for Oppenheimer to appear. Everyone expected him to come onstage from the auditorium wings, as was his custom. But Oppenheimer chose to make a more dramatic entrance from the rear, making his way up the center aisle. Once onstage, according to Cohen, he clasped his hands together and pumped them over his head like a prize-fighter. Cohen remembers Oppie telling the cheering crowd that it was “too early to determine what the results of the bombing might have been, but he was sure that the Japanese didn’t like it.” The crowd cheered and then roared its approval when Oppie said he was “proud” of what they had accomplished.

By Cohen’s account, “his [Oppenheimer’s] only regret was that we hadn’t developed the bomb in time to have used it against the Germans. This practically raised the roof.”

It was as if he had been called upon to act out a stage role, one to which he was truly not suited. Scientists are not meant to be conquering generals. And yet, he was only human and so must have felt the thrill of pure success; he had grabbed a metaphorical gold ring and he was happily waving it aloft. Besides. the audience expected him to appear flushed and triumphant. But the moment was short-lived.

For some who had just seen and felt the blinding light and blasting wind of the explosion at Alamogordo, the expected news from the Pacific was something of an anticlimax. It was almost as if Alamogordo had drained their capacity for astonishment. Others were merely sobered by the news. Phil Morrison heard the news on Tinian, where he had helped to prepare the bomb and load it aboard the Enola Gay. “That night we from Los Alamos had a party,” Morrison recalled. “It was war and victory in war, and we had a right to our celebration. But I remember sitting... on the edge of a cot ... wondering what it was like on the other side, what was going on in Hiroshima that night.”

Alice Kimball Smith later insisted that “certainly no one [at Los Alamos] celebrated Hiroshima. But then she admitted that “a few people” tried to assemble a party in the men’s dormitories. It turned into a “memorable fiasco. People either stayed away or beat a hasty retreat.” Smith, to be sure, was referring only to the scientists, who appear to have had a decidedly muted — and different — reaction than the military enlisted men.

Doty wrote home: “There were parties galore. Invited to three of them, I managed to get to only one. . . . It lasted until three.” He reported that people were “happy, very happy. We listened to the radio and danced and listened to the radio again ... and laughed and laughed at all that was said.” Oppenheimer attended one party, but upon leaving he saw a clearly distraught physicist retching his guts out in the bushes. The sight made him realize that an accounting had begun.'

[trashcanfanfics]

Hmm, Angel Dust with an S/o noble overlord who managed to break Angel's contract with Val and take him away from him. fluff mixed with a little nsfw :)

I'm gonna be honest, whenever I think about Angel, all I wanna do is get him tf out of Val's reach

Also, only slight nsfw because I'm not confident in my abilities to write a full on scene for that, I'm sorry :(

Angel had come home, covered in bite marks and his own blood again. You watched from the couch with your book in hand as he walked in through the front door. It worried you, that he would come home like this, broken and defeated.

"Welcome home, my love," you spoke softly as you rose up to go greet him, setting the book aside. He mumbled out a half assed greeting in response. As soon as you were close enough, you hugged him tightly. Angel wrapped both sets of arms around you and let out a shaky sigh. It sounded like he was ready to cry.

"Would you like a bath? I'll draw you one." You gently let go before you grabbed his lower left hand to lead him to the huge bathroom centered around a giant clawfooted tub. Refusing to let go of his hand, you turned the knob to start the water and waited for the right temperature before plugging the drain.

Once the tub was full, you stood, facing him and gently helped him take off his clothes. You barely grazed your hand across one of the marks, making him hiss in pain. This made your blood boil. You were sick of this. Angel coming home beaten, marked, and in despair. You won't stand for this anymore. He had begged you not to get involved, said that it'd be worse if you intervened. You helped him into the tub once he was fully undressed.

"Ya not gonna join me?" He asked in a small voice, he was tryng to sound playful but it came out sad, defeated. You smiled weakly and shook your head.

"No, I thought I'd just wash you tonight, if that's alright with you." You liked doing this after he came home like this, offering him a choice. Giving him the freedom to ask for what he wanted. There was a sneaking suspicion you had that said he just wanted to wash off and sleep. The bags under his eyes helped this theory.

"That sounds nice." He sank deeper into the tub as you turned the knob off and helped him clean the blood out of his fur. The gentle motions of running your hands in his soft hair was enough to let his shoulders droop in relaxation. Your mind drifted off while you cleaned him. You kissed his head, healing his wounds, a habit now.

Valentino will no longer hurt your beloved. You would not allow him to do this anymore. These past few weeks you've been researching and studying dealmaking. The processes, terms, and ways to look into loopholes. All you have to do is get your hands on the physical contract to see what you can find. If you couldn't find anything, you'd just set the contract on fire and hit Valentino before running away.

After Angel was fully clean, you grabbed his favorite embroidered towel and helped him out of the bath. Once again grabbing his hand, you lead him to your shared bedroom and helped him into the softest pajamas he owns. He laid down under the silky sheets on the plush mattress and snuggled into it. You changed into your own pajamas before snuggling in with him. Your fingers gently brushed through his hair as softly sang him to sleep. You ran your thumb across the slight purple under his eye, noting how exhausted he looked even in sleep.

~*~

You woke up to the early birdsong of the morning glory in your garden and gently disentangled yourself from Angel's many armsnd made your way over to the edge. There, you stood straight and rounded the bed quietly to place a soft kiss to his forehead. With one last glance, and a whispered "I love you", you turned off the light and left the room, down the hall, out the front door. You're going to pay that bastard a visit.

~*~

Angel woke up feeling better and less sore than he expected. He sat up and looked over to his loving partner's side of the bed only to frown. They weren't there. Getting up, he stretched and decided to look in the kitchen. Maybe they had gotten up already and were making breakfast, though they usually would have the staff take care of it. He didn't know why, they were an amazing cook and it was always a treat when you did make meals.

"S/o? Ya in here, babes?" He opened the door to see the cooks already making breakfast, one handed him a coffee when they passed by to get to some more ingredients, but you weren't there. They looked pretty busy, so he decided to take his cup and search elsewhere.

He checked the dining room, library, living room, their study, parlor, hell, even the garden (saying hi to Nuggets in his own little mansion on the way), but they weren't in any of those places! Where are they? He was getting worried now.

"Uh, excuse me, sire?" Angel looked to the speaker of the voice to see a small demon that reminded him slightly of Niffty. "My liege has left a note for you, sire." The demon handed him a small piece of paper, bowed, and then skittered off. Angel will never get used to the treatment here. He shook his head and focused on the paper.

"My dearest love, I will be out for a short while, but don't fret, I'll be home soon with a surprise and a gift. I love you very much, S/o." He read aloud. "Aren't gifts and surprises the same thing?" He decided to not worry about that and smiled as he imagined when you'd be back.

~*~

You entered your home tired and frazzled, but with a smile beaming with happiness. You had successfully gotten rid of the contract between Valentino and Angel. Now it was time to tell your lover and give him the gifts you bought him.

"My heart? I'm home!" You called into the foyer as you went deeper into the house. You checked the living room and parlor before you were wrapped up in an embrace of four arms.

"Babes! Where were ya? I woke up an' you were gone," he mumbled in your ear. You smiled and pat one of his arms to release you. He let go and you turned to face him, holding out all the gift bags you were carrying.

"S/o, what the fuck happened to you? You're bleeding!" At his exclaimation you look down to actually take yourself in and realize he's right. You were so caught up in finally setting him free and getting him gifts that you didn't notice the small cuts. Laughing, you wave your hand and fix yourself up with your abilities.

"So I was, thank you, lovely. Now, here!" You, once again, offer him the gift bags. He takes them in his lower set of hands and uses the upper set to hold your shoulders.

"We ain't gonna roll past that you were hurt, even if ya can heal them. Who did it?" There was murder in his eyes. Your gaze softened and you laughed softly.

"I was going to wait until you opened the gifts and ask 'what's the occasion?' But you seem so eager," you paused to reach up and hold his face in your hands, "Anthony Messina, you are no longer under contract with the overlord Valentino. You are a free man, my love." The expression on his face was nothing short of shock.

"What? Are you serious?" His eyes fill with tears as he breathes and realizes you're right. Angel wouldn't be able to feel Valentino's chains anymore. He was free. "I can't believe it." He lets out a laugh and the tears fall, ruining his make up. Angel lifts you up and kisses you hard.

"My star," you whispered when you parted. He kissed you again with more passion. Your hands travelled through his soft locks, relishing in the feeling.

"Caro mia." He kissed you again, longer this time. The bags fell from his lower arms which then made their way to your thighs, wrapping them around his waist.

"Shall we take this to the room, sweetling?" You asked when you separated again. Angel nodded vigorously and carried you, all the while kissing you.

In the room, you hear him kick the door closed and then lock the door with one of his arms. You continue to kiss and run your tongue along his bottom lip, asking for entrance, which he happily gives. Hands found their way to the other's clothes, ripping them off in urgency to feel each the naked bodies beneath.

You wiggled your half naked form from his arms and separated the kiss. Before he could complain, you grabbed his lower left hand and yanked him over to the bed, effortlessly throwing him onto it. You crawled on top of him and kissed him lovingly, caressing his face and then down his chest and finally resting on his hips, giving a small squeeze. Parting from his lips, you said a sentence that set his body on fire.

"I'm going to show you what a true claiming feels like."

[kirascottage]

can i request a blurb within Remus x female reader where she is just overwhelmed and really stressed out and she breaks down, crying in remus’ shoulder?

in sync

remus lupin x gender neutral. reader

summary: remus holds you while u cry :,)

word count: 0.8k

warnings: academic stress (mentions of failure), pet names, swearing, anxiety implications and mentions, crying/breakdown (not rly descriptive), hurt/comfort

a/n: the reader has painted nails but there’s no gender terms or anything necessarily fem coded

Nearing exam season was quite a difficult time amongst the students of Hogwarts. Piles upon books at your beck and call as small paper cuts littered your dominant hand whilst your fingers endeavoured to memorize every specific page in your textbook with the pad of your forefinger tracing every sentence.

The overwhelming amount of knowledge weighing on your mind and the frequent gaps in time were invariably spent away from friends and rather cooped up in the library with your senses deteriorating by the minute.

Remus, James, Peter and Sirius had frequently speculated where you had realistically been as grades were tremendously valuable to you and your further career choice. Even though Sirius had typically attempted dragging you away from your chair for at least an hour and James had successfully spelled all your quills to be proved futile; there had still been no progress. Your spine simply aching in agony and your mind weighing increasingly heavier as the dates advanced.

Remus has particularly taken notice as moral behaviours went conspicuous to him, the trembles in your right leg, the way your fingernails had increasingly gotten shorter and the inner cavern of your lips began to scab from the nibbling due to your anxious behaviours.

He had glimpsed at you one mundane morning, a complete familiarity with your eyes thickly coated in tears, and your nails completely chipped of the similar manicure your nails adorned every day since Third Year.

Something wasn’t right.

It seemed as if you were compelled when grasping at your textbooks and retreating to your classes for the day. At lunch hour he had caught you anxiously pacing near the great hall, overlooking his presence entirely until his hand grasped at your forearm.

“Remus, what’re you—“

“Angel.” You knew that tone. It was soft but firm; His presence, as well as his tone indicator, caught you off guard completely. You began inferring what he was getting at. “Darling, C’mon.” He released his grasp, instead offering his palm that you hesitantly took as he steadily brought you to his empty dormitory, as his mates were fooling around the Great Hall and most likely pestering Lily and Marlene.

He noticed the way you excessively gulped as he placed you onto his bed, the thick coat of perspiration rising in your irises unwillingly returning. The second you had sniffed it was almost immediately that he grasped at your midriff, your nose burying itself in between his shoulder and neck.

He paused for a few moments before your arms loosely hung off his torso, tears escaping the sockets of your eyes as the considerable trepidation finally began to release from your veins. He painfully listened to your muffled sobs whilst caressing at your hair gently, waiting for you to calm down.

“There’s so much to learn, I can’t fail Remus! Everything is so stressful and difficult. I just feel so bloody daft I want everything to just—“ You spoke contemptuously into the crevice of his neck while shaking your head, the recurrent sobs inevitably leaving your lips breaking apart and disordering your speech into stutters.

“Right here, Baby. I’m right here.” His croons striking directly against your heart as you had been unknowingly avoiding the boy in efforts to naturally focus on your academic studies but rather pushing him away. “I know what you’re thinking, this isn’t your fault.”

Your head shook slightly to the point where he could glimpse at the tears flowing out of your irises; carefully placing a delicate kiss to the main output of your tears, he sighed against your skin as you spoke.

“I feel like I'm doing everything wrong! I just need a fucking break.” Those were your final words finished with a sniffle as he tenderly caressed his fingers down the arch of your spine and back up to the slope of your nape.

“I’ll help you. I’ll help you organize and study. Just gotta calm down, yeah? It’s the least I could do after everything you’ve done for me.” His head now resting against your temple, further soothing you into a calm state as your breathing had sufficiently slowed down and sobs had calmed due to your deep breaths.

“Darling, you’ve gotta breathe. Breathe with me.” He slowly inhaled as your frantic pace reluctantly began to sync with each other.

“I just—“ You cleared your throat while recollecting your thoughts, “Don’t wanna burden you. You have to do stuff too.” He pardoned your words with the emphatic shake of his head.

“I can compartmentalize.” He offered with a head tilt, “Stop being so perfect Mr. Prefect Remus Lupin.” You sniffed again, pulling your arms tighter against his torso, your mind completely ignoring the asperous material of his Uniform.

He was aware of your teasing, most likely about to unduly burden his insecurities in his mind but your honesty spoke more volumes to him more than his psyche ever could. Placing a final kiss on your cheek he cautiously lifted his head to look at you, a small grin tugging at his lips, mirroring his demeanour he nudged at your nose with his own; “Everything’s gonna be alright, Bunny. Trust me.” And you did, Remus always made sure everything was going to be okay.

taglist: @thesettingsun @angstology @shadesofvelma @acosmis-t @emmaev @lesbiansammyy @kaqua @velvetchica @anything-forourmoony @deathbyramennoodles @zzzfour

[oreosmilkshakes]

Mine; the sequel

Summary: The end of everything Pairing: The Winter Soldier!Bucky Barnes x Reader Word Count: 11.4K Warnings: Violence, Endgame’s ending, character death,  A/N: This is the longest piece I have ever written and holy crap, it was tiring but worth it. Seriously. I’ll wait a little until I wanna write again. The sequel spans over CW, IW and Endgame so yall are in for a ride.   ED/N: Editor has gone to the Ether Realm (Written by author) Taglist: @igothroughphasesalot​ @paniniirae​ @winteroqers @felicityofbakerstreet​

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Two years. Two years was how long it took to hunt Bucky down after the events of HYDRA’s infiltration within S.H.I.E.L.D. . Y/N did not give up. She spent sleepless nights, using her contacts, satellite technology to find her soulmate but each time he appears, he disappears the next minute after. Even with Steve and Sam’s help, the job didn’t get easier.

After S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fall, a new power came in and that very same power thought it would be a good idea to control the Avengers through a series of words. Specifically, the Sokovia Accords after what happened in Lagos. Y/N knew it wasn’t Wanda’s fault. She was constantly with her best friend day and night, being her shoulder to cry on. Y/N pitied Wanda. She lost her brother to Ultron and now, people were dead due to an accident. Y/N was also there for Steve when he received the news that Peggy had passed on in her sleep. She attended her funeral, standing by the blonde super soldier throughout the entire event. Y/N knew how much Peggy meant to him. He was a man out of time after all. Y/N immediately pulled Steve in a tight hug after the coffin was sent for burial.

It was indeed dark days and darker ones were coming

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N was requested by Everett Ross to accompany him and Sharon to greet Steve. She’s heard what had happened in Vienna and the whole explosion. Something big was going on. Y/N could feel it. So, as she walked towards the vans, one could imagine the surprise Y/N felt when she saw Bucky. Her eyes widened and so did his. Her jaw slacked a little, looking at Steve who gave her a subtle shake of his head. Everett Ross and Sharon Carter, along with the other German soldiers here don’t need to know Bucky and Y/N were soulmates.

(Gif credited to the owner)

Y/N’s heart was racing, Bucky’s too. Two years. Two long years of sleep deprivation and tears has finally brought Bucky back to her. She wanted to hug him, to feel him against her body, to touch every inch of his skin. However, seeing him caged like an animal broke her heart. Was it really Bucky that blew up the building and killed the king of Wakanda? It couldn’t be him. Y/N gulped, her eyes meeting with Bucky’s again as he was slowly transported away. She could see him flex his metal arm, as if trying to escape his prison so he could run to Y/N and be reunited. He has changed. Y/N could not see the same killer she saw back in 2014. However, he looked beefier and that made Y/N’s heart flutter. He was also tamer, calmer. Something like The Winter Soldier’s programming won’t go away easily, of course.

And Y/N was right.

Blackout. Steve looked around, all monitors had gone dark.

“Come on, guys, get me eyes on Barnes,” Everett spoke through his walkie-talkie. Bucky was left with a faceless man. Anything could go wrong.

Tony tapped on his ear.

“Friday, get me a source on that outage,” Something was wrong.

Sharon looked at both Steve, Sam, and Y/N. “Sub-level five, East Wing,” Without further delay, the trio hastily made their way to Bucky’s location.

Bucky turned to his supposed interrogator. “What the hell is this?”

“Why don’t we discuss your home? Not Romania. Certainly not Brooklyn, no,” Zemo dug into his bag, hand gripping the item most important to Bucky.

He pulled out The Red Book, holding it up for Bucky to see. “I mean your real home,”

Bucky’s eyes darken at the sight of the book. The very same book that was used by the Russian to control him like he was some dog.

Zemo removed his glasses, standing up with the book and a torch.

“Желание (Longing),” Something ticked in Bucky’s mind. The locks he had on The Winter Soldier was rattling, like a monster slamming itself against the heavy doors of its prison.

“No,” He whispered.

“Ржавый (Rusted),”

Bucky threw his head back. “Stop,” The door shook hard but not enough for The Winter Soldier to be released. Yet.

“Семнадцать (Seventeen),” Bucky clenched his metal fist. “Stop,” He growled. If, no, when, Zemo finishes those words, The Winter Soldier would be broken free and that scared Bucky. His soulmate was in the same facility as him and the chances of Bucky hurting his lover and everyone around her was high. Bucky’s breathing got heavy, growling under his breath as he tried to fight hard against his trigger words. Zemo looked up, eyes focused on Bucky in torment. “Рассвет (Daybreak),” Bucky screamed, four out of ten locks were broken now. He yanked his metal arm out, successfully breaking his cuff before moving to rip the cuff off his right arm.

“Печь (Furnace)”

Bucky grunted, moving to the door. His fists slammed against the reinforced door, grunting as he was losing to the locks on the prison.

“Девять (Nine),  Доброкачественный (Benign),” Zemo continued. Bucky’s metal fist slammed hard against the door, seven out of ten locks were broken now.

“Возвращение на родину (Homecoming), Один (One),” The cracks formed by Bucky’s hard punches grew bigger. He was feral once more, eyes wild and seeking freedom from his prison.

“Товарный вагон (Freight car),” And that was it. The door broke, locks broken and Bucky--No, The Winter Soldier was free once more. The Soldier burst out of his prison, hair falling over his face as he breathed softly. Zemo stood in front of him, The Soldier stood, eyes dark and showed no signs of Bucky at all.

“Cолдат? (Soldier?)”

“я готов отвечать (Ready to comply),” The Soldier replied, ready to receive his newest assignment.

“Mission report. December 16, 1991,”

And The Soldier knew exactly what to do.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

When Steve, Sam, and Y/N arrived, soldiers laid slumped against the wall, unconscious from being attacked by the dark Super Soldier.

“What the hell...Who did this?” Y/N gasped, checking on one of the soldiers, and sighed in relief when she found that he was still alive.

Steve led further into the cell, kneeling to check on a soldier when a soft voice called out.

“Help me. Help,”

Steve saw red. He stormed over to Zemo. “Get up,” He grabbed the man and slammed him against the wall. “Who are you? What do you want?” Steve’s fists clenched tightly on Zemo’s collar.

“To see an empire fall,”

Sam stepped in, narrowly missing a punch by The Soldier. “Bucky!” Y/N screamed to get his attention. Nothing. No hesitation or a glance at the woman. Sam landed a few punches on The Soldier before the assassin grabbed him and threw him against the cage. “Sam!” Y/N moved to help. “Y/N, stay back. This isn’t Bucky!” Steve ordered and Y/N froze. The Soldier looked at Steve and then to Y/N with dark eyes. He turned his attention to the woman, storming over to her. Before he could swing his fist at his soulmate, Steve grabbed Bucky and threw him back. “Y/N, get out of here!” “I am not leaving you here!” “Just go!” Steve narrowly missed a punch from Bucky, landing his fist onto his best friend’s face. Y/N took one last look at Bucky before taking off. Not to find safety, no. But to try and find ways to subdue The Soldier.

The Soldier and Steve fought hard against one another until they both ended in the water with a broken chopper. Sam and Y/N had left the facility to chase after Zemo but the man had disappeared.

Time to hide again

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N didn’t hesitate to follow Sam to the meeting point where Steve had brought Bucky. She bit her nail, the man’s metal arm was clamped under heavy machinery so he wouldn’t be able to escape if he wanted to again.

Y/N moved to Bucky, brushing his hair out of his face. He was still unconscious, clothes and hair damp from his and Steve’s little swim. “Be careful, Y/N,” Sam warned. Y/N shook her head. “After two years, Sam. Two years of finding Bucky. I am not going to ‘be careful,” She cupped Bucky’s rough cheek, her thumb gently brushing the red bruise on his left cheekbone. Y/N held back tears, her heart was aching for the man before her. “I missed you, Bucky,” Y/N whispered, words filled with emotion and unspoken love.

The Winter Soldier slowly slipped back into its cage, the effects from the words were losing their power and once again, Bucky Barnes was back. The Super Soldier stirred awake a few minutes later from the distant sound of a helicopter. “Cap,” Sam called out. Steve stopped his conversation with Y/N, Sam gesturing to Bucky. Y/N’s breath hitched a little. Bucky was awake. She licked her dry lips, following Steve from behind.

Bucky groaned softly, using his hand to lift himself so he could look at Steve. His eyes drifted to Sam next and finally, Y/N. He parted his lips, wanting to say something to his soulmate but Steve cut off to him first.

“Answer me first. Which Bucky am I talking to?”

Bucky blinked a few times. “Your mom’s name was Sarah. You used to wear newspaper in your shoes,” Bucky chuckled. Steve was satisfied with Bucky’s answer. “Can’t read that in a museum,” Sam was in disbelief.

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“Just like that, we’re supposed to be cool?”

Bucky’s eyes flickered to Y/N again then back to Steve.

“What did I do?” “Enough,” Steve replied. Bucky let out a soft sigh. “Oh, god. I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words,” Bucky whispered.

“Who was he?” Steve questioned.

“I don’t know,”

“People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the doctor did all that just to get 10 minutes with you. I need you to do better than “I don’t know,” Steve pressed on further. Y/N wanted to step forward and defend Bucky but Sam shook his head. Bucky squinted his eyes a little, brows furrowed as he recalled the moment before he became The Winter Soldier.

“He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where,” “Why would he need to know that?” Bucky knew it was finally time to spill the truth. And so he did. “Because I’m not the only Winter Soldier,” Bucky gave a brief recollection of The Winter Soldier program. Y/N moved a little closer to Sam, fear growing in her heart knowing there were more than Bucky.

Steve was now leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “Who were they?” “Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in HYDRA history. And that was before the serum,” Bucky explained. Y/N was now standing behind him, hands gently playing with the tips of his long hair as a form of comfort. Bucky found it comforting as well, leaning into the woman’s soft touch.

“They all turned out like you?” Sam questioned.

Bucky shook his head once. “Worse,” Now, it was Steve’s turn to speak.

“The doctor, could he control them?”

“Enough,” Bucky looked down at Y/N’s hands that were now on his strong shoulders. He leaned further into his soulmate’s touch, his head resting on her abdomen.

“Said he wanted to see an empire fall,” Steve glanced at Sam. Bucky leaned forward. “With these guys, he could do it. They speak 30 languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night, you’d never see them coming,”

Sam approached Steve, speaking to him lowly. Bucky turned to Y/N, his metal hand taking one of the woman’s hands softly. He brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I really am,” Bucky stood, turning to face the woman. He tilted his head down to face his soulmate, the corner of his mouth twitched into a small smile. “You know, I didn’t realize how short you are,” Y/N gasped, punching Bucky in the shoulder, only to realize she punched metal and winced softly. Bucky took both her hands, lacing their fingers together. “I want to apologize to you, doll. I made a promise and I didn’t fulfi-,” “No...Don’t say it. It’s not your fault. I know how hard it is to push him aside and be the man who you are today,” Y/N moved a hand up Bucky’s arm, resting on his bicep. She couldn’t get over how beefy he looked now compared to two years ago. Y/N cleared her throat, quickly averting her gaze so Bucky won’t catch her staring at him. Too late though. Y/N looked up at Bucky, cerulean eyes met hazelnut ones. Her hand moved up to his rough jaw, thumb feeling the sharp bristles of hair that covered his jaw. The Super Soldier leaned in slowly, his metal hand gripped Y/N’s waist gently. Their lips met in a soft kiss, one filled with unspoken love and kept emotions. Bucky pulled Y/N closer, deepening the soft kiss. A stray tear trickled down the agent’s cheek, Bucky pulled away slowly. He cupped Y/N’s cheek, his metal thumb wiped away the tear. He knew exactly why she was crying. Happy tears. Reunited finally after two years. “Two years, I spent wondering what my soulmate tasted like. I’m not disappointed,” Y/N laughed softly, both realizing that this was their first kiss. “Neither am I, Bucky. Neither am I,”

Bucky turned to face Steve and Sam, both men had smirks on their faces and nodding, seemingly impressed with the other Super Soldier. Y/N simply hid her red, embarrassed face in Bucky’s warm chest.

“Come on. We’re meeting someone,” Sam walked ahead, Steve followed shortly after along with Bucky and Y/N.

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Y/N certainly didn’t expect the days to get worse. The first being Tony and his side of the team ambushing Steve in Germany’s airport. Now, that was a bigger mess. Explosions here and there, heroes thrown around by one another and Y/N constantly at Bucky’s side. She couldn’t leave him and she was not letting him go anytime soon. Bucky felt the same way which is why he was doing his best in protecting the woman he loves. What’s worse was that those who could not get to Siberia were thrown in the Raft.

Steve manned the quinjet, Y/N and Bucky were seated at the back. Her hand took his metal ones, lacing their fingers together as Y/N leaned her head on his strong shoulder. Bucky let out a soft but audible sigh as he looked down at their laced fingers. All this fight was because of Zemo framing Bucky for the Vienna bombing.

Y/N looked up at Bucky. “Do you think this will ever stop? This fighting, people or organizations with plans to take over the world, the world in chaos?” The super soldier thought hard. Would it? Of course not. A storm was coming.

“I’ve been in this shit for over 70 years, Y/N. It won’t stop,” He looked down at his soulmate, cold thumb caressing Y/N’s skin. The woman nodded, leaning up to steal a kiss off his lips before snuggling into Bucky’s side for warmth. Bucky simply smirked at his soulmate’s action, heart fluttered a little from her affectionate gesture. Bucky stayed in the same position for hours while Y/N slept, making quiet conversation with Steve as the trio made their way to Siberia.

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“Doll, wake up,” Y/N heard a distant voice called out to her in her sleep. “Wake up, sweetheart. We’re here,” The woman’s eyes fluttered open, jolting up in an upright position as she looked out the cockpit window to see white. “Where are we?” Y/N let out a soft yawn shortly after her question.

“Siberia,” Steve answered before Bucky could. The quinjet landed beside a snow plower. Bucky moved over to the weapons locker, grabbing an assault rifle. The ram to the exit lowered, Y/N left first to examine the snow plower.

Steve glanced over to Bucky. “You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?”

Bucky looked over to Steve. “Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?” “You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead,” Bucky smiled brightly, remembering those memories that happened oh-so-long ago.

“What was her name, again?” “Dolores. You called her Dot,” “She’s gotta be a hundred years old right now,” Steve patted Bucky’s shoulder. “So are we, pal,” He nodded and left the quinjet.

Y/N stood by the opened doors.

“He can’t have been here more than a few hours,” The agent looked at both Super Soldiers. Tracks were still fresh too.

“Long enough to wake them up,” Bucky gripped the handle of his assault rifle, following Y/N into the facility with Steve behind them. The trio took the elevator down, stepping out, and swept corners. It was quiet. Eerily quiet. Y/N took the lead, handgun in her hand as she climbed the short flight of stairs. BANG

The trio simultaneously whipped around to the elevator, ready to attack the intruder.

“You ready?” Steve whispered. “Yeah,” Bucky looked through the sights of his rifle, hand steady. The metal door creaked, the middle was pushed open and it revealed Tony. Steve eased up a little, both men approaching one another. Tony’s headpiece pulled away to reveal the man’s face. “You seem a little defensive,” Tony commented. Steve nodded, still holding his shield up. “It’s been a long day,” Tony looked up at Bucky and Y/N. “At ease, Soldier. I’m not currently after you. Y/N, not gonna give this old man a hug?”

Y/N was no doubt Tony’s favorite person. They worked together with Y/N being mentored by him in tinkering with tech. After all, Y/N was still young. But don’t let that mistake you. She was smart, a formidable fighter and had friends in high places.

Y/N was just about to take a step down when Bucky stopped her. “No,” “Bucky, please. It’s Tony. I know him,” She whispered, gently pushing his arm away gently. The Super Soldier grumbled and moved his arm away, Y/N moved to hug the older man tightly. “I’m sorry you had to be tangled in this, kid,” Tony looked down at the young woman with soft eyes. “It was my choice, Tony. Don’t worry about me,” Tony sighed softly. He could never see Y/N as an enemy even if she was on Steve’s side. He loves her too much like a daughter. “Can’t help but worry, kid. You’re like a-,” “A daughter to me, I know. I’ll be fine,” Y/N smiled, giving Tony one more hug before pulling away.

“Why are you here?” Steve questioned, breaking the moment.

“Could be your story’s not so crazy. Maybe. Ross has no idea I’m here. I’d like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself,”

Steve stared at Tony with careful eyes. “Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork,” Tony scoffed and Steve eased up, lowering his shield.

“It’s good to see you, Tony,” “You too, Cap,” Tony turned to Bucky, his rifle still pointed to the billionaire. “Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you’re killing me. There’s a truce here. You can drop..” Tony trailed off. Y/N approached Bucky, a hand on the muzzle of the rifle. “It’s okay..,” Bucky’s eyes flicked to his soulmate and lowered his gun.

“Let’s go,” Y/N moved past Bucky and led the way deeper into the facility.

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It was a surprise at how the facility still had power working after all these years. However, dust and cobwebs covered a lot of surface areas. The four ventured deeper into the bunker, entering a larger part of the facility. “I got heat signatures,” Tony informed.

“How many?” Steve asked.

“Uh, one,”

Six lights, six freezing tubes. “What the hell is all this..?” Y/N questioned, squinting her eyes at the tubes. Each one had a small hole in the glass.

“If it’s any comfort, they died in their sleep,” Zemo’s voice came on through the speaker. The four slowly walked over to the other side, Y/N closely examining the tubes. These must be the Super Soldiers Bucky was talking about. Each had a bullet in their head.

“Did you really think I wanted more of you?” Zemo’s voice came back on.

Bucky held his gun close, swallowing as he recognized each cold face. “What the hell?” He whispered, keeping close to his soulmate. “I’m grateful to them, though. They brought you here,” Zemo finally showed himself. Tony held his arm out, aiming a wrist missile at Zemo. Steve threw his shield at the glass, the Vibranium frisbee simply bounced off the wall and returned back to Steve. “Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets,”

“I’m betting I can beat that,” Tony claimed, cocky.

“Oh, I’m sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you’d never know why you came,”

Steve approached the small window. “You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?”

Zemo moved closer to the window. “I’ve thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you. But now that you’re standing here...I just realized..there’s a bit of green in the blue of your eyes,” Zemo chuckled. “How nice to find a flaw,” Steve understood the situation. “You’re Sokovian. Is that what this is about?”

Zemo shook his head. “Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No. I’m here because I made a promise,”

Steve nodded slightly. “You lost someone?”

Zemo’s jaw clenched, clicking his tongue. “I lost everyone. And so will you,” Zemo turned, pushing a button.

By Steve, a monitor turned on. The blonde glanced at Zemo then approached the monitor. “An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That’s dead. Forever,” Tony, Bucky, and Y/N approached the monitor. It was a camera, panned in a very specific spot. The date in the corner read ‘December 16, 1991,’

Tony looked down at the monitor. “I know that road,” His eyes looked down at the tape. “What is this?” He questioned Zemo, the Sokovian simply chose not to say anything and allowed the heroes to watch as the video played.

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Y/N was horrified at the contents of the footage. Bucky--no, The Winter Soldier killed Tony’s parents. Tony’s eyes were hard, jaw ticking as he struggled to fight back his growing, erratic emotions. He was about to move to Bucky when Steve stopped him. “No, Tony,” Tony’s head snapped to Steve but his eyes didn’t meet the blonde’s until he found the courage to do so. “Did you know?” “I didn’t know it was him,” Steve avoided. “Don’t bullshit me, Rogers. Did you know?” Tony’s voice was strained, in a whisper of growing rage and sadness.

“Yes,” Tony pushed Steve away, betrayed by the fact Steve knew. Steve knew how his parents died and did not do anything to tell him.

“Tony, please, ju-,” Tony held a hand up to shush Y/N up. With a flick of his hand, he sent Steve flying before proceeding to attack Bucky.

It was an entire mess of chaos. Punches being thrown, kicks and just simply the pain of seeing a once-powerful team breaking apart all because of one single piece of footage.

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Y/N did her best to try and break off the fight but received punches herself. Steve and Bucky were overwhelming Tony. He shot a repulsor blast to Steve, sending him against the wall. “Tony, stop!” Y/N grabbed his right arm, struggling to pull Tony back. The billionaire shoved Y/N away hard, sending her to the wall as well. She bumped her head against the concrete, groaning softly as blood trickled from the open wound.

Bucky roared in anger, landing a hard fist onto the chest plate. Tony landed a few punches on Bucky but the Super Soldier barely flinched from it. Years as The Winter Soldier made him this way. Bucky was pissed off. Tony released a blast, Bucky forced the blast upwards before landing a hard punch straight to the core. Tony stumbled backwards. “You hurt Y/N!” Bucky roared, using his right arm to pin the billionaire against the wall. Metal fingers dig into the titanium plate. Steve struggled to stand, looking over to the side to see Y/N in pain.

“Y/N,” Steve groaned out, moving over to check on the woman.

Bucky pushed hard against Tony, screaming as fingers grabbed the glowing core. An unexpected blast from the core sent Bucky stumbling back, landing on his right arm.

Tony shot a blast at Bucky, the Super Soldier landed beside Y/N. “Bucky..,” Y/N moved over to Bucky, heaving his head on her lap. Her eyes landed on the metal stumped, the edges orange from the heat. Bucky took some time to recover, eyes blurry and mind hazy from the hit.

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When the fighting ended, Tony was beaten to a pulp. Y/N was supporting Bucky, with sad eyes on Tony’s downed form. Steve limped over to the two, assisting Y/N with her soulmate.

“That shield doesn’t belong to you. You don’t deserve it. My father made that shield,” Steve has heard enough. He simply dropped the shield, leaving the facility with Y/N and Bucky.

Steve carried Bucky back to the quinjet, setting him down. Y/N sat beside her lover, pulling him close.

“I expected to see you here, Captain Rogers,” T’Challa approached the jet. Steve was on guard, the King raised his hand up. “I almost killed the wrong man, Captain Rogers,” Steve relaxed as the King approached the ram of the jet. “I apologize, Mr. Barnes. I truly am,” T’Challa eyed the couple, understanding what was going on. Bucky simply gave T’Challa a nod, weak from all the fighting. “May I place an offer, Captain Rogers?” “What’s the offer?” “Sanctuary for Mr. Barnes and his soulmate in Wakanda. We will take care of them,” Steve looked at Y/N and Bucky, the woman was whispering soft words to her soulmate.

“Thank you, Your Highness. I think it’s best if they do so,” T’Challa nodded. “Very well then. Wakanda’s doors are open for you,” With that, the King left and before Y/N knew it, she was in Wakanda.

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Y/N looked at Bucky with sad eyes. He had to do this. She knew he had to do this. Cryosleep. Her hand rested on the back of Bucky’s neck, both soulmates looking at one another deep in the eyes before Bucky made the move to plant a kiss on the agent’s lips.

Steve approached the two. “You sure about this?” The blonde questioned.

(Gif credited to the owner)

“I can’t trust my own mind,” Bucky gave a short smile, looking up to his lover. He knew this would be hard for Steve, especially more so on Y/N. God knows how long it will take to remove HYDRA’s programming etched in his mind like a parasite. He took Y/N’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

“So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing. For everybody,” Steve nodded. He was not really fond of Bucky leaving Y/N alone and freezing up but if he wanted to prevent another Zemo occurrence, this was the price to pay. “I’ll give you and Y/N some time together,” Steve left shortly after.

Bucky turned his attention to Y/N, tears pooling in the corner of her eyes. “Baby doll..” He cupped Y/N’s cheeks, thumb swiping away a stray tear. “It’s..It’ll be selfish of me to stop you...So I won’t,” She laughed lightly, hands cupping both of Bucky’s rough cheeks and rested her forehead against his. “It’ll be over before you know it. I know you’ll wait for me, Y/N,” Bucky whispered, leaning in slowly until both their lips met in a soft kiss. Y/N returned the kiss, pouring all her emotion and love into it. She didn’t want to let go even though she knew she had to. So she did. Y/N pulled away after a few seconds, pressing one more peck to Bucky’s lips. “I love you..” Y/N confessed. She did. She loved Bucky with all her heart and soul and Bucky felt the same. “I love you too, sweetheart,”

Y/N stepped away, slowly releasing her touch. Bucky stood, stepping into the tube. Steve stood beside Y/N, watching as the Wakandan doctors began the process of freezing. He gave Steve and Y/N one last smile before leaning back, freezing up almost instantly.

Y/N missed him every day.

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Two years. Another two years of waiting for Bucky to awoke from his cryostasis. With Shuri’s help, Y/N worked hard day and night to perfect Bucky’s cure and when a solution was formed, Y/N could not wait to see Bucky.

“You’re sure this will work, right?” Y/N turned to her good friend.

Shuri smiled. “Come on, Y/N. You’ve seen my work, you tell me. I have faith in it and in us,” Y/N laughed nodding, her excitement was visible to the princess. “Two long years without your soulmate was hard, wasn’t it?” Shuri’s eyes were filled with pity but also admiration. She has yet to find her soulmate but every day, without fail, she sees Y/N. The woman went from a sad mess to a strong woman. Shuri assisted the agent with keeping her mind filled and for two years straight, Y/N’s mind was kept off Bucky.

Y/N laughed softly. “Yeah, too long, Shuri. Come on. I want to see him,” She left Shuri’s lab and made her way to the medical wing. Doctors and nurses surrounded the tube, the machine hissing as the defrosting process began. The agent bit her lower lip, standing behind the small crowd of doctors and nurses all on standby to assist with the frozen Super Soldier.

The door hissed opened, heavy mist escaped the tube. Two doctors stepped forward, helping the figure out of the tube. As the mist cleared and the doctors stepped aside, there he stood, looking exactly the same as he was in 2016. James Buchanan Barnes was reawoken, cerulean blue eyes scanning the room.

Y/N felt tears pricked her eyes once more. “Bucky..” She called out, tears falling down her cheeks. Bucky turned to the source of the soft voice, immediately recognizing it. “Y/N…” Bucky hoarsely called out. Y/N ran to Bucky, wrapping her arms around his abdomen, and sobbed into his chest. The woman cried hard, finally reunited with her lover. Bucky was in shock. A good shock. He wrapped his arm around Y/N’s body and leaned down, burying his face deep in his soulmate’s neck.

Shuri approached the couple. “Welcome back, Sergeant Barnes,” She smiled at the reunion. The first broken white boy she was going to fix. Y/N pulled away from the hug, wiping her tears away. “Bucky, this is Shuri. Wakanda’s princess and definitely the smartest person on Earth,” Shuri playfully nudged Y/N’s shoulder.

Y/N cupped Bucky’s cheek. “Babe, listen to me. The doctors are going to run a few checkups on you and when you’re done, I’ll take us home and fill you in on what’s been going on, okay?” Bucky simply nodded, throat too dry to even speak. Y/N stepped away, allowing the doctors to work on her soulmate.

The woman returned after half an hour, Bucky was redressed into more traditional wear. “Doll...God, I missed you,” Bucky pulled Y/N in for a short kiss, their first kiss since 2016. Y/N took Bucky’s hand, fingers intertwined. “I missed you too, Bucky...Too much,” She showed him a sad smile. “Come on. I’ll take you home,” And so she did.

Y/N had been living in a small, peaceful hut just a few minutes away from the main city. She fed him, showered him with affection, and of course, ran him through what has been going on. She mentioned that Steve visits them whenever he could, what’s happening to the world right now and in Wakanda.

Y/N moved to sit beside Bucky on their shared bed, the Super Soldier gave her a handsome smile. “Out of all the things I missed about this world, I missed your smile the most,” Bucky flirted. Y/N gasped softly, gently nudging Bucky’s shoulder. “Ever the gentleman, Mr. Barnes?” “I’m always a gentleman, doll. You just get to see more of that side than anyone else,” Now that made Y/N laugh, a sound Bucky came to love immediately.

Life was peaceful with Bucky. The couple has finally found peace.

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For months, Ayo, Shuri and Y/N have been helping Bucky with his release from HYDRA’s hold.

“Y/N, it’s going to work this time. Trust me,” Shuri watched as Y/N paced up and down her lab, biting her thumb. Ayo had brought Bucky deep into the Wakandan forest, insisting that it was best for this final process of the removal into the woods just in case Bucky reacted to the words and went on massive havoc.

“It’s been almost two hours, Shuri. What if..,” Y/N stopped, shaking her head to shake away the negative thoughts. Footsteps caught Y/N’s attention, her eyes looking towards the lab entrance. Her eyes widened when Ayo and Bucky stepped in. “He is free,” Ayo informed, bowing a little to Shuri. Y/N covered her mouth, gasping at Ayo’s words. Bucky was free. He was free. This means the words had zero effect on the Super Soldier. She approached her lover, noticing the puff under his eyes and the red veins on the whites. “Oh, honey...Come here,” Y/N reached up to her taller lover, hugging him tightly. This was not tears of sadness, no. They were tears of happiness. Finally, The Winter Soldier was no more. Bucky was now James Buchanan Barnes.

“Come on, let’s go home,” The agent turned to Ayo, mouthing a ‘thank you’ before taking the Super Soldier home.

That’s when their life truly took off. Y/N taught Bucky a lot about the world, including the usage of the smartphone. At first, Bucky was hesitant, claiming that he didn’t need to use a smartphone. Now? The Super Soldier was hooked on it. It made Y/N shake her head in amusement.

Apart from the teaching of the modern world, Y/N also spent more time with her soulmate. She took care of him, cooked for him, bathed with him, had some fun with him and Bucky truly knew, from that moment on, that he was devoting his life to his soulmate. Shuri witnessed their moments together, even taking note each time their White Wolf would fall in love with Y/N. She shook her head, smiling before resuming her work on a certain prosthetic arm.

Their happiness lasted for months, of course. Until Y/N spotted four figures walking towards their little home. “Bucky,” She called out softly.

“Hm?” Bucky hummed in response, looking up at his soulmate. Y/N pointed to the four figures. The closer they got, Y/N recognized who it was. “T’Challa,” Y/N greeted with a smile. The King returned the smile as a Wakandan soldier placed down a case. The agent knew what it was. Bucky came over, looking down in the content of the case. He looked at Y/N, who nodded at him. If T’Challa and Okoye were here bringing this asset Shuri was working on, that means something was coming. Something big that needed every hand on deck.

Bucky looked at the King. 

“Where’s the fight?” “On its way,” Bucky nodded, moving closer to the arm. “Steve Rogers is on his way,”

“We’ll be there,” The King nodded and left with his guards.

Y/N approached the arm, running her fingers on the golden of the cold arm. A big smile spread on her lips as she closed the case and picked it up. “Come on. I have a surprise for you too,” She took Bucky’s hand, tugging him back to their hut.

“Doll-,” “No, no. I’ve been working on this one. It isn’t much but I know you’ll like it,” Y/N cut her soulmate off before he could say anything. She set the case on the bed, moving to grab another case from under their bed. “Wait, how long has that been there?” Bucky raised an eyebrow. How did he not realize that fairly large box under the bed? Y/N laughed lightly, leaning over to steal a kiss off Bucky’s lips before setting the case beside the arm. “I placed it there when you weren’t looking, of course. You ready?” The Super Soldier nodded. Y/N unlocked the case, pushing the lid up to reveal Bucky’s newest suit. Bucky approached the leather suit, picking it up with his hand. “Doll, this is... This is gorgeous. Thank you,” He set the suit, moving to pick Y/N up by the waist and twirled her around in happiness. The Super Soldier leaned up, kissing his lover softly. “Thank you, doll...What would I be without you?” Bucky set his lover down, keeping his arm secured around her waist and forehead against hers.

Y/N pecked his lips sweetly. “Lost,” She exhaled softly, staying in their intimate position for a few more seconds before pulling away. “Come on. Let’s get dressed,” She pulled away from Bucky, leaving for the bathroom to change into her battle suit.

Y/N stepped out of the bathroom, tying her hair up. She found Bucky flexing his metal fingers, already in a full suit. “My, my, the arm looks good on you, honey,” The agent smiled, running a hand down the prosthetic arm. Bucky was smiling. “I didn’t think I would get another. This one is better than the old one,” She laced their fingers together. Bucky cupped Y/N’s cheek, leaning down for a kiss. “I love you,” She blushed lightly. “I love you too, James. Now, come on. Let’s wait for Steve,” Y/N led Bucky out, walking hand in hand with her lover to the entrance of the palace.

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A quinjet landed in front of T’Challa. The ramp lowered, revealing Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Rhodey, Vision, and Wanda. Steve approached the King.

“Seems like I’m always thanking you for something,” Steve held his hand out, T’Challa took it and shook the blonde’s hand.

“So, how big of an assault should we expect?” T’Challa asked.

“Uh, sir, I think you should expect quite a big assault,” Bruce assisted.

“How we looking?” Natasha looked at the King. T’Challa looked over his shoulder. “You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and,” The King gestured to Bucky and Y/N, the couple making their way over to Steve.

“Nat! Wanda!” “Y/N!” The two women ran over to Y/N, hugging her tightly.

“And a semi-stable 100-year old man,” Bucky finished T’Challa’s line with a big smile. Steve moved in to hug his old friend.

“How you been, Buck?” “Uh, not bad, for the end of the world. Been spending a lot more time with Y/N,” Bucky gestured to his soulmate. Y/N pulled away from Natasha and Wanda. “Steve!” Y/N ran over to Steve, pulling the tall blonde in for a hug. “Y/N,” Steve laughed lightly, picking the younger woman up and hugged her tightly. “Been too long, Y/N. We missed you,” The blonde set the agent down on her feet. “Bucky and I missed you guys too. It’s a shame that the only way for us to be reunited is when the end of the world is happening,” Y/N moved to Bucky, holding his hand. Steve nodded at her words. “Sadly, it is,” T’Challa approached the group. “Come. Let’s get to the lab. My sister has been itching to see Vision,” With that, The King and his guards let them to Shuri’s lab.

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Y/N was having a short conversation with Sam, laughing lightly as she watched Sam and Bucky have their usual playful banter when the Falcon noticed something amiss in the sky. Sam tapped into comms. “Hey, Cap, we got a situation here,” Something extraterrestrial had breached the atmosphere and was coming in fast to Wakanda. The object broke into pieces upon impact with the massive protective bubble that protected Wakanda. Y/N flinched a little from the sight of the explosion while Bucky looked in amazement. “God, I love this place,” Bucky mumbled, eyes fixated on the bubble.

Rhodey’s voice came over comms this time. “Yeah, don’t start celebrating yet, guys. We got more incoming outside the dome,” And true enough, more projectiles were approaching. This time, they were aiming to land outside of the protective bubble. Y/N moved close to Bucky as five projectiles managed to land successfully outside of the dome. She squinted her eyes, studying the five. “They look like..transport ships. Or ships in general. These can’t be bombs,” “Whatever the hell they are, Y/N, they mean trouble,” Sam pushed his goggles down, wings spread and ready to fly. Bucky looked over to the side, seeing the team on transport. “Come on. Let’s hitch a ride,” He ran ahead, his soulmate following from behind. -------------------------------------------------------------------

The large Wakandan armies were in formation. Rhodey stood by the front line, Sam was making flybys, Steve, Natasha and T’Challa had gone ahead to negotiate with the enemies. Y/N’s hand slipped into Bucky’s metal hand, both instinctively laced their fingers together. Bucky turned to look at his soulmate and Y/N did the same. “I love you. No matter what happens next,” The Super Soldier leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Y/N’s lips. The agent inhaled deeply, returning the soft kiss before pulling away when Steve returned. “They surrender?” Bucky released Y/N’s hand, eyes forward to the ships. Steve let out a heavy sigh. “Not exactly,”

(Gif credited to the owner)

The five ships began to move, hovering in the air. Loud snarls and heavy footsteps were fast approaching the edge of the dome. Y/N stood her ground, hand gripping her pulse rifle. It was a specially made and specifically designed rifle capable of long-ranged attack and hand-to-hand combat when turned into a spear. Y/N tilted her head, her body fully enclosed in a black vibranium-made suit complete with a headpiece to protect her face. This suit would protect her and best of all, it enhances her movements. The suit itself was black. It had blue streaks and fur around the neck. Kinda like a fur coat but make it extra badass. The helmet had ears, similar to T’Challa’s suit.

Y/N felt eyes on her and found Bucky looking at her with a smirk on his lips. Perks of being best friends with the Princess of Wakanda. All Shuri wanted was for Y/N to be safe during any battles she fought. “Don’t look at me like that,” Y/N pouted under her nanotech helmet. “Can’t help it, Doll. You look good,” Bucky complimented. Y/N playfully nudged Bucky’s side, placing her rifle on her back for now.

The massive hoards of Outriders ran past the trees and towards the dome.

“What the hell?” Bucky cursed under his breath. “Looks like we pissed her off,” Natasha added.

The Outriders piled up against the shield, snarling and growling as they tried to force their way in. Some were sliced in half and those that made it through immediately began charging towards the humans. The Border Tribe held their capes out, invisible shields lined up as the first row of defense.

Y/N stood her ground, getting ready for the attack and knowing that this would be a whole mess of dead aliens and explosions.

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All went well. Y/N felt she was winning until Thanos came and ripped the Mind Stone off Vision’s head. That’s when everything fell. “You should have gone for the head,” Thanos rasped out, snapping his fingers. A bright light and complete silence. When the flash cleared, Thanos was gone. Stormbreaker was on the ground by Thor’s feet. “Where’d he go?” Steve asked no one in particular, a hand on his abdomen. “Thor, where’d he go?” The blonde repeated but The God of Thunder simply kept silent.

“Steve? Y/N?” Bucky called out. Y/N whipped her head to face her lover, his hand was turning into dust. 

(Gif credited to the owner)

“NO! BUCKY!” Y/N screamed, running to her lover. Before she could feel his touch one last time, her soulmate disappeared into a pile of dust. The woman froze, some dust settled on her hand. Her heart was racing, her head feeling tight, and her chest hurting. Her body shook, dropping to her knees as her hands brushed against the dust. Tears pricked her eyes, color draining from her vision. Emptiness filled her heart. Y/N had lost Bucky, again. For the third time. Tears fell, trickling down her reddened cheek as she sobbed. She failed to realize others around here were turning to dust as well. T’Challa, Groot, Sam, and half of the population.

“Y/N, hey..Y/N,” Steve called out, moving over to the grieving woman. “Y/N,” She kneeled beside her, arms wrapping around her shaking form. Y/N tried to push Steve away but she knew the next best comfort was from Steve.

Y/N cried hard in Steve’s shoulder, hands gripping the brown shoulder straps. “He...He’s gone, Steve. I..I can’t see colors anymore... He’s gone... Bucky’s gone..,” Y/N wailed, Steve simply kept the crying woman close. He had just lost his best friend and Y/N lost her soulmate. Steve looked up from Y/N’s form, watching as the others, just like Bucky, disappearing into thin ash. That’s when Steve knew that Thanos had won.

Thanos won and there was nothing the Avengers could do.

For now

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Five long years. Five long, hellish years since Y/N lost her soulmate. She had no will to live. After all, her soulmate was dead and so was half of the universe. The first two years, Y/N struggled to cope with Bucky’s death. The smell of his clothes were long gone and the pictures they took together over the course of their relationship buried deep in the agent’s phone. She couldn’t look at them, fearing it would break her further. Natasha and Steve did their best to help Y/N but alas, they were not able to fill the void.

The third year was when Y/N has had enough. She was sick of grieving and had finally accepted the fact that Bucky was never going to come back. So, she contacted Clint and became vigilante partners, taking down those who took advantage of their situation for their own, selfish gains. For the remaining two years, Y/N fought side by side with Clint, now known as Ronin by many. It was just Ronin and Shadow. Until Natasha found them.

(Gif credited to the owner)

It was a painful reunion with the Avengers, especially with Tony. Seeing the man in such a malnourished state broke Y/N’s heart but Tony wasn’t angry at her. Hell, he missed the woman. Despite what’s going on with the world, time has been kind to her. Y/N assumed she was done after the reunion until Steve told her about their big plan. Something about Scott coming back from this Quantum Realm and Tony using Scott’s theory on Quantum Realm to create time travel. Y/N, of course, agreed to this plan. It was a chance to finally get the world, to get Bucky back altogether. She was not to let this opportunity pass. And so, the team went their separate ways. Scott, Bruce, Tony and Steve. Rocket and Thor. Nebula and Rhodey. Natasha, Clint, and Y/N.

Of course, with every major decision, a sacrifice has to be made.

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When everyone returned, there was excitement on everyone’s face except Clint and Y/N’s. Clint dropped to his knees and Y/N did the same, hands on her lap with head hung low. This pulled everyone’s attention to the two. “Clint, where’s Nat?” Bruce asked. Clint simply kept silent, lip quivering and a growing lump in his throat. That reaction itself was enough to inform the others of Natasha’s sacrifice. Y/N looked up at Steve, eyes red and teary but somehow, tears refused to fall. She knew Natasha wouldn’t want to see Y/N crying so she forced herself to be strong. It felt like Bucky all over. Natasha had been with her through thick and thin. Y/N inhaled sharply, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands before calming down. There was still much work to be done.

The Avengers stood in a circle around Bruce. The Gauntlet was ready, stones in place. Everyone was suited up, Y/N’s helm enclosed her face. Enforced doors began closing on Tony’s command. “Everybody comes home..” Bruce mumbled. He slipped his hand into the Gauntlet, the nano techs formed perfectly around his fist. As soon as the Gauntlet was on Bruce, power surged through his arm. Bruce groaned in pain, immediately taking a knee and held his right arm. Even with the power of the Hulk, it was not enough to contain the raw power of all six Infinity Stones. The power was burning through Bruce’s arm.

“Take it off, take it off!” Thor urged.

“No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?” Steve stepped in. Bruce groaned.

“Talk to me, Banner, “ It was Tony’s turn to talk. “I’m okay,” Bruce forced out, the burn was up to his shoulder. He yelled in pain, raising his fist up and finally snapped. A bright flash and Bruce was on the floor, the Gauntlet slipped from his destroyed arm.

“Bruce!” Steve rushed over to Bruce. Clint kicked the Gauntlet away.

“Don’t move him,” Steve instructed. Tony administered some medicine on Bruce’s arm, to cool off the burn.

“Did it work?” Bruce panted out. “We’re not sure. It’s okay,” Thor replied. The enforced doors opened. Scott noticed the green was back and so did Y/N but that was not why she followed him. She trailed Scott quietly, something wasn’t right. The birds were chirping and the greenery were lively. “Scott?” Y/N moved a hand to his arm. “Guys,” Scott whispered, lips shakily forming into a smile. “I think it worked,”

The next thing Y/N knew, she was blasted backwards with Scott, something had hit them upon impact. More and more projectiles aimed for The Compound, destroying the buildings into pieces. Y/N screamed as she tried to grab onto a broken ledge. She finally caught one and let out a sigh of relief. Y/N groaned, pulling herself up. Thank god for her Vibranium suit. She noticed she was alone. “Scott?! Scott?!” She screamed out. “I’m okay!” Scott replied. Y/N let out a sigh of relief. “Mayday, mayday, does anybody copy?” Rhodey’s voice came on comms.

“We’re on the lower level. It’s flooding!” Y/N gasped. Was Rhodey alone? Y/N hoped not. “Rhodey, I’m on my way. Scott! Get down there ASAP,” Y/N made her way down to the lower levels, moving fast to rescue her teammates.

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The flooding was intense. Y/N’s suit struggled a little to keep up but it was still holding strong. “Rhodey, hang on! Scott and I are on our way!” She spoke through comms, dodging debris and crawling through tunnels, climbing down to reach the lowest level. Y/N heard panting. “Rhodey!” She screamed out, jumping into the water. Scott had just arrived as well, back to his original size.

Rhodey was underwater and was losing water fast. That’s when he spotted something behind Scott. His Iron Patriot suit amongst the debris. Rhodey made some noise, gesturing to the suit. Y/N turned to where Rhodey was pointing and quickly made his way to the suit. She grabbed the heavy hunk of armor, bringing it over to Rhodey. The suit recognized its user and opened up, Y/N assisted the older man into the suit. Once enclosed, the water was drained and Rhodey could breathe.

“Rocket!” Rhodey held his arms up, thrusters lit up underwater to push the debris up for breathable space. Y/N grabbed Rocket, the alien Raccoon coughed hard, spitting out water. “Hey! Guys!” Bruce strained out. “Little help here?”

Scott tapped on his arm. “On it. Y/N, hold onto Rocket and Bruce. Rhodey, stick close to me,” The three moved on Scott’s instruction. Y/N held tight onto Bruce and Rocket.

On perfect cue, the rubble began moving hard. Scott grew in size, punching through the heavy debris easily. He set Bruce, Rhodey, Rocket and Y/N down. Y/N’s eyes grew wide in size at the massive army Thanos had and... Steve had? That’s when she noticed color pouring into her vision again and she gasped. There was...Bucky...Bucky was back!

Y/N struggled to find her lover amongst the army of Wakandans and Sorcerers and allies alike. She stood her ground by Bruce.

(Gif credited to the owner)

“Avengers...Assemble,” Steve spoke through gritted teeth. T’Challa yelled and it was go time.

Armies clashed together. Explosions, bodies flying, and bloodshed. It was utter chaos. Y/N clawed her way through the Outriders, fighting alongside Hope and M’Baku. She yelled in anger, slicing down each feral alien with her claws until her back touched with another. She turned, ready to attack but froze when a familiar metal arm shone under the light. Bucky turned as well, aiming his rifle at the figure behind him but froze. Y/N’s helm revealed her face.

“B-Bucky,” She whimpered. “Doll,” Y/N jumped on Bucky, hugging her soulmate tightly with her face buried in his neck. Bucky dropped his gun, strong arms wrapped around his lover’s waist and held onto her tightly. Y/N didn’t want to let go, so very terrified that this was all a dream. An explosion nearby snapped the woman back to reality and that assured her that all of this was definitely not a dream.

Y/N slowly let go of Bucky, pulling away slightly. Their eyes meet, hands held onto one another tightly. “Bucky, I-,” “No, No. Don’t say it’s your fault. It isn’t,” Bucky cuts his lover off, a hand on his cheek. Y/N couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled Bucky down for a kiss, a kiss filled with emotion, love, and pain. A kiss between two lost souls. It was like a twisted magical moment. Death and explosion surrounded the scene as they kissed. Y/N pulled away slightly. “I love you...I love you..” Y/N chanted. Bucky broke into a handsome smile. “I love you too,” The Super Soldier leaned down, stealing a  kiss off his soulmate’s lips.

“Hey! A little help here?” Rocket grumbled, blasting a jumping Outrider out of the sky with his dual blaster. Y/N pulled away completely from Bucky, grabbing her lover’s gun off the ground, and eased up the Outriders closing in on their position. She let out a sigh of relief, handing the rifle back to Bucky. “Let’s back into the fight, honey,” Y/N’s helm formed around her face again, running off to ease up the alien traffic.

It was a big fight indeed. Shots from Thanos’s ship rained down on the battlefield, sending his own troops and the heroes flying from the impact. Y/N groaned, landing beside Wanda. When the shooting stopped, Y/N looked up to the sky with everyone else. “What the hell..” Bright light forced its way through Thanos’s ship, cannons whirring down as the ship was rendered useless, breaking apart from the effective attack. Y/N turned to Wanda and nodded, running over to the bright light that landed by Peter. He handed the Gauntlet to Carol, noticing the large army of troops running towards the two.

“I don’t know how you’re gonna get it through all of that,” Peter looked up at Carol.

Wanda and Valkyrie landed by the blonde woman. Okoye approached Peter, gripping her spear. “Don’t worry,” Wanda assured.

“She’s got help,” Okoye continued. Pepper landed in front of Peter, Mantis, Shuri, and Y/N joined in with the stand. Hope grew back up to size, Gamora and Nebula by her side as the women approached the army. Both parties clash with Carol making her way towards the van. The others stayed back to reduce the large army down to size. Y/N effortlessly clawed down the Outriders, jumping on their backs to get to the Chitauri Gorilla towering over the heroes. The Gorilla roared in pain, falling dead with Y/N standing on its back. She caught Bucky looking at her from far, a proud look on his face. Y/N smiled under her helm, jumping off the dead alien, and ran to assist the other heroes.

Outriders after Outriders, it seemed endless. Y/N was thrown back by a Gorilla, her back hitting against some debri. “Y/N!” Shuri screamed for her, the Gorilla charging for the woman. She waited for the impact. Bright light and the impact never came. Y/N opened her eyes, the Gorilla had turned to ash. Immediately, she scrambled up to her feet and looked around to find the Outriders and Leviathans turning to ash. Who snapped the Gauntlet? Y/N rushed over to higher ground, looking around. Her eyes spotted Thanos’s form, disappearing and...Tony. “Tony!” Y/N screamed, horror-filled her eyes as she jumped off the debris and made a run towards the man.

Tony stumbled to the side, his left arm shriveled and burned from the snap. ‘It’s the only way,’ Tony repeated mentally. His legs gave way, the man leaned against the rock. His heart slowed, vision blurred. The heroes heard Y/N’s scream, following the frantic woman. Rhodey landed in front of Tony, faceplate retract. He approached the dying man, kneeling by him.

A comforting hand cupped the side of Tony’s head, both men shared a smile as Peter landed and Y/N skidded to a halt by the teenage boy. Her own helm retracted tears in her eyes.

“Mr. Stark. Hey!” Peter was breathing shakily, moving to Tony. “Mr. Stark, can you hear me? It’s Peter,”

Y/N dropped to her knees beside the teenage boy, taking Tony’s hand. He was like a father to her. She loved him and Y/N knew Tony loved her like a daughter. Tony turned to both of them, his grip was light on Y/N’s hand. He had so much to say to both of them and to Pepper too but life was slipping from him. “We won, Mr. Stark,”

Y/N nodded, tears spilling. “We won, dad... We won,” Y/N sobbed out.

“Y/N…” Tony whispered, giving her hand a light squeeze to try and comfort her.

“We won, Mr Stark,” Peter repeated, Y/N was hunched over and crying. Pepper held Peter’s arm, helping the boy stand up. Y/N knew Pepper was a strong woman. The older woman moved a hand to Y/N’s shoulder, rubbing it gently before facing her dying husband. “Hey,” Pepper whispered. Tony moved a little to look at his wife.

“Hey, Pep,” Tony mumbled. His hand moved over to Pepper’s hand over his chest.

“Friday?” Pepper called out. “Life functions critical,” The AI responded.

Tony looked at Pepper and Y/N, giving them a short smile. Y/N was shaking hard, trying her very hardest to not let the dam break. “Tony? Look at me,” Pepper urged and the man did so. He groaned weakly. The pain was all he felt. “We’re going to be okay,” Pepper assured. Tony felt his breathing becoming shallow, wheezing lightly. “You can rest now,” The blonde woman stroked Tony’s head lightly. The wheezing stopped and the grip on Y/N’s hand was now non-existent. Pepper hung her head, the light of the arc reactor disappeared. Y/N leaned forward, wailing hard on Tony’s arm. Peter wiped his tears, a shaky gasp escaped him to find the other heroes kneeling for Tony.

(Gif credited to the owner)

Bucky was the first to move, approaching his broken lover. His hands held her shoulder, helping her to stand and turned her to face him. The Super Soldier pulled Y/N into a tight hug, her arms moved around his waist as she cried into Bucky’s shoulder.

Tony’s sacrifice was not to be forgotten by anyone, especially to the rest of the world. What he did that day marks him as the greatest hero the world got. Tony possessed something many don’t have: the courage to sacrifice for the greater good.

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The funeral was held privately in the comforts of Tony’s property. Happy, Pepper, Rhodey, Morgan, Y/N, Thor, and Steve had gathered in the living room of the home. One of the Iron Man helmets was set on the table, projecting a hologram of Tony. “Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn’t always roll that way. Maybe this time,” The hologram began. Y/N looked down at a photo she held. It was an old photo of her and Tony in his old Malibu home, Tony had an arm around Y/N’s shoulder as she held her first piece of tech made under the older man’s supervision.

“I’m hoping if you play this back, it’s in celebration. I hope families are reunited. I hope we get it back. And something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe, now,” The hologram continued. That statement made the group smile. Ever the joker.

“If you told me 10 years ago we weren’t alone, let alone to this extent, I mean, I-I wouldn’t be surprised but come on, who knew? The epic forces of darkness and light have come into play. And for better or worse, that’s the reality Morgan’s gonna have to find a way to grow up in,” The hologram paused for a short second. Morgan perked up at the mention of her name, looking at Pepper.

“So, I thought I’d probably better record a little greeting in the case of an untimely death. On my part. Not that death at any time isn’t untimely. This time travel thing that we’re gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it’s got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. That’s the thing,” The hologram held his hand out as he spoke. “Then again, that’s the hero gig, right? Part of the journey is the end,” Y/N took notice of Morgan moving closer to Pepper.

“What am I even tripping for? Everything is gonna work out exactly the way it’s supposed to. And Y/N, if you see this, for God’s sake, kid, follow your heart. Remember what old Tony taught you, yeah?” The hologram moved, getting off the chair and moved to the helmet. The hologram--No, Tony leaned down, eyes in Morgan’s direction.

“I love you, 3,000,” One last smile and the recording shuts off.

(Gif credited to owner)

Y/N didn’t realize this was the closer she needed. The heroes had gathered outside of the cabin, all dressed in black in accordance with the funeral. Y/N stood beside Bucky, lacing their fingers together. As the bouquet of flowers, along with Tony’s old arc reactor floated away, Y/N had moved and stood by Steve, watching in sadness.

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Eventually, it was time for everyone to part ways. However, there’s one last thing left to do...

“Remember, you have to return the stones to the exact moment you got ‘em or you’re gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities,” Bruce explained. Steve nodded, closing up the case. “Don’t worry, Bruce. Clip all the branches,” “You know, I tried. When I had the Gauntlet, the stones, I tried to bring her back,” Bruce looked at Steve. “I miss her, man,” “Me too,” Steve nodded. Bucky and Y/N stood by the machine as Sam walked the blonde to it. “You know, if you want, I could come with you,” Sam offered.

Steve turned to him with a smile. “You’re a good man, Sam. This one’s on me, though,” Steve turned to Bucky and Y/N, approaching the couple. “Don’t do anything stupid till I get back,”

Bucky broke into a smile. “How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you,” Bucky replied, moving to pull Steve in for a hug. He knew this was it.

(Gif credited to the owner)

“Gonna miss you, buddy,” “It’s gonna be okay, Buck,”

Steve pulled away from the hug, turning to Y/N.

“You take care of him, okay? Take care of one another,” Steve moved in and pulled Y/N into a hug. The woman didn’t think too deeply into Steve’s words. It was just a piece of advice, right? Y/N pulled away from the hug. “You know I will, Steve,” The blonde gave her a smile and moved up to the platform. The machine whirred up to live, the white suit covered Steve’s body.

Sam turned to Bruce. “How long is this gonna take?”

“For him, as long as he needs. For us, five seconds,”

Steve picked up Mjolnir. “You ready, Cap?” Steve nodded.

“Alright, we’ll meet you back here, okay?” Bruce looked down at the switches.

“You bet,” Steve replied, the helm covered his head.

He gave Bucky, Sam, and Y/N one more look.

“Going quantum. Three..two..one,” And Steve was gone.

“And returning in five..four..three..two..one,” Nothing. Bruce furrowed his brows, flicking a few switches.

“Where is he?” Sam asked. “I don’t know. He blew right by his timestamp. He should be here,” Bruce replied.

Bucky turned to walk off but stopped when he noticed a familiar figure in the distance.

“Bucky, what-” Y/N turned to the figure.

“Sam,” Bucky called out. Sam turned to the Super Soldier, stopping his urging with Bruce. He stood beside Bucky, eyes on the figure. The three approached the man and the closer they got to him, the more familiar he got.

“Go ahead,” Sam turned to Bucky. The Falcon walked over to Steve, Y/N watched as their interaction unfolded. She took Bucky’s hand, the couple looked at one another.

“You knew he wasn’t coming back, didn’t you?” That’s when it hit her. Steve hinted to her and she didn’t know. Bucky held onto his soulmate’s hand lightly, nodding. “Yeah... He deserves to be happy. Just like how I’m happy with you,” The Super Soldier leaned down, kissing Y/N’s lips softly.

“Five years, Bucky,” “I know, baby. I know. Nothing like that’s going to happen again. I promise you this,”

Y/N moved her arms around Bucky’s neck, embracing her soulmate tightly with the Super Soldier’s nose buried in her neck.

What happened for the past nine years was done. There was no changing it. Y/N has suffered just as much as Bucky did. How many times has Y/N lost her lover? How long did it take for destiny to bring two lost souls together again? Never again will the event of the blip happen again. Right now, Y/N Y/L/N treasured every moment she had with James Buchanan Barnes. 

After all, they were soulmates.

2nd A/N: I am also accepting request. I know I put a lot of gifs in but I love gifs >:))

[mourntheantagonist]

#HarringroveApril Day 7: Daisychain

***

“Mr. Harrington? Who’s your favorite student?”

The question came about at least once every year without fail, and he’d always answer in the same, textbook way.

“I don’t have favorites. I love all my kids equally.”

And, deservedly so, the whole class would grunt and moan because they knew just as well as he did that it was a load of bullshit. Steve loved every one of his kids, that part wasn’t a lie, but… he also definitely had his favorites.

For the graduating class of ‘90 when he was only a teaching assistant his name was Daniel. He was the youngest in his class because he started early, and he was incredibly bright. He could count higher, he could read quicker, and his mind just worked in ways that no adult could possibly understand. But it wasn’t the textbook intelligence that made Steve fall for this kid. It was his emotional intelligence. He was funny and he was kind and five year olds were cruel, but he never let that get to him. He had an outlook on life that Steve was jealous of, so when the other kids would turn him down for a game of checkers, Steve would happily join him, because Steve saw it as his job to keep that kid kind.

For the class of ‘91 it was Christopher. He was nothing like Daniel. He was held back and was repeating kindergarten, and that was evident in the way he walked through life. He was quiet and would voluntarily remove himself from the rest of the class. He’d sit by himself and read a book and get frustrated when he didn’t understand one of the words, he would swing by himself and he always tried to sneak off with the first graders when it was time to line up. And Steve perfectly resonated with that feeling of watching all of your friends move on without you. He was left in the dust too. When all his classmates moved on to college or hightailed it out of Hawkins, Steve was left there by himself, working at Family Video with his only friend in the grade below him, and it took her leaving him as well for Steve to finally get his shit together, haul his ass west of the Mississippi, and enroll in a community college and work towards his teaching degree.

And he did it, against all odds and obstacles in his way, he did it. It took extra work and the support of his best friend who he followed, and he did it. He saw himself in Christopher, and he wasn’t going to make that kid wait as long as he did to realize that setbacks don’t define his future.

Steve usually took a liking to the quiet kids, and that only changed in ‘93 with the girl named Amy and the familiar last name. She was loud, vibrant, and everyone loved her. Her smile was contagious and she could be the sweetest little girl at times, but she also wore her heart on her sleeve. She cried quite a bit, just the littlest thing could set her off. A boy accidentally knocking over her blocks, not knowing how to spell a certain word, accidentally coloring outside the lines. She didn’t throw tantrums like he saw in the other kids. She would just bow her head and cry and it would break Steve’s heart every time.

But other than those few moments, she was bright and charismatic and with the last name, the blonde curly hair, and the big personality, Steve really should have put it all together much sooner than he did.

He didn’t put it all together until he saw Billy Hargrove in the soup aisle at the local grocery store wearing a chain of little daisies on his head like a crown, and he knew exactly where it was from.

It was from the little girl named Amy Hargrove who frolicked in the field instead of playing on the playground, collecting flowers that she meticulously made into bracelets and crowns and anything else she put her mind to. She gave them to friends, she even gave one to Steve, and of course she would give one to her dad too.

He looked so different, and yet exactly the same. He still had the damn mullet, just dragging the eighties with him as far as he could, he was a little more cleaned up but still had a similar style to what it was in highschool. Still with the same denim jacket, denim jeans, Canadian tuxedo type deal. In a side by side picture situation you wouldn’t really be able to tell the difference. It wasn’t his dress or his hair or anything physical about him that made him look so different, it was the way that he carried himself. It was the relaxation and the eyes that didn’t droop and the smile lines that didn’t used to be there that made him almost entirely unrecognizable from the Billy Hargrove who pushed freshman against lockers and drove his car too loud and too fast and had cigarettes for three meals a day. Not the kid who ran off to California as soon as the hospital released him with only his Camaro and a small suitcase and a large sum of money the government used to keep his mouth shut, leaving just a note for Max on the fridge that didn’t get any more specific than that about where he was going, not even leaving a phone number for her to contact him with. He also didn’t look like the kid they all pictured in their heads after basically the whole town found out about exactly what Neil Hargrove did to his son behind closed doors.

Steve wanted to go up to him in the store, but he stopped himself. Because Billy left. Without a trace or a word, and who was Steve to think that Billy having to be reminded of something he voluntarily abandoned without a second thought would have any sort of positive outcome?

So he turned down the aisle and kept his distance from the man in the flower crown because he was scared. He wasn’t scared that Billy would see him and turn back to his old ways and hurt him again, he was scared that he’d turn back to his old ways and hurt himself again.

Because he’d been hurt enough already.

Steve successfully avoided Billy until parent teacher conferences had rolled around, and instead of seeing Amy’s mom on the list of names he’d be seeing that day, it was Billy’s.

Steve would be lying if he didn’t think about calling in sick and sending his TA in his place. But he still had to be her teacher for another six months, he just had to get the interaction over with.

Many of the parents that came before Billy had to have known he was on edge about something considering he excessively tapped the table with the eraser of his pencil and stuttered his way through conversations. His organized folders and notes of talking points had been entirely thrown out the window and he was an absolute nervous wreck. And he could only anticipate it being ten times worse when the cause of said anxiety walked through his door with the long hair and the leather jacket. It was only with the help of the little girl in the sunflower dress and daisies in her hair skipping from the entrance to the chair in front of him that calmed his nerves just a bit.

But Billy had just stayed at the door, no movement, and any hope that Steve had that perhaps his new haircut and the glasses on his face would be enough to keep Billy from noticing the obvious vanished when Billy snapped his fingers like the lightbulb in his head finally flickered on.

“I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence.”

Steve just held out his hand to shake like he did with any other parent, unsure how to gage the situation because Billy’s words could go either way and his facial expressions didn’t give him anything to go off of. It would be weird to introduce himself, he didn’t know what to say.

“Hi, I’m Amy’s teacher. Should we start?”

Billy looked a little confused, but he sat down in the little kindergartener chairs anyway. This meeting was almost more organized than the ones prior, likely because he was trying to go as quickly as possible and get it over with. Steve showed Billy some of her artwork and commented on how her reading comprehension was great but she could work on her spelling a little more. He didn’t want to bring it up, but he brought up the crying and it hurt to see how him bringing it up set her off again. The same bowing of the head and quiet sniffles into her sleeve.

But Steve thinks he just fell in love a little watching Billy comfort her. With one hand rubbing circles into her back and the other holding her small hand. Steve feels like shit watching her cry because of him and is also semi-fearful for his life because he already knows he can’t take Billy in a fight.

“Baby, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with crying. It’s okay.”

“You’re dad’s right Amy. I think it’s very healthy. Crying is good for you.”

She looks up at Steve with those big blue eyes and tear stained cheeks when he says that.

“Really?” she asks.

“Yeah! I’d say it even makes you more mature. Even some adults I know don’t let themselves cry and it’s not good.”

“My daddy cries a lot too.”

Steve looks at Billy who’s eyes widen when she says it, then tries to laugh it off like she didn’t just say that.

“Hey Amy, you wanna go and play while your daddy and I talk for a minute?”

She just nods her head and wipes away her remaining tears and quickly hauls the bucket of Lincoln Logs off the shelf.

“So. It’s been a while. Hasn’t it?” Steve starts.

“Yeah it has. So, you’re a teacher now.”

“And you’re a father. That’s crazy.” Steve was fiddling with his hands, trying to make the conversation less awkward. “She’s wonderful by the way.”

“Yeah. She doesn’t get it from me.”

Steve just shakes his head. “No. I don’t think that’s true. She has your charisma, and it appears you found a better way of channeling your emotions since last we saw each other. She’s a lot like you.”

“Thanks.” Billy blushed. He actually blushed. “I don’t know if this is allowed considering you’re her teacher, but would you want to catch up sometime? Maybe dinner or something?”

There it was. That was the olive branch. And Steve would be an absolute fool not to take it.

“I’d love to.”

Before they could come up with a time or a place, Amy was running over to the table with loudly stomping feet.

“I almost forgot! Daddy! show Mr. Harrington what I brought him!”

Billy reached into his pocket upon her demand and pulled out a little bracelet made out of little daisies and honeysuckle and handed it over to Steve.

“Thank you Amy! It’s lovely.”

“Daddy show him yours!”

Steve looked to Billy’s wrist where he slowly lifted his sleeve to reveal an almost exact replica to the bracelet in his hand.

“Looks like we’re matching.”

[jisungsplatforms]

[Chapter VI: Girl Talk! And...Uh oh.]

Pairing: Producer/Music Major! Han Jisung x Photographer! fem! reader

Genre: NSFW! Smut; non idol au, college au, strangers to lovers

Warnings: Mature Content! strong language, angst (no smut this chapter!)

Chapter Word Count: 4.5k

Taglist: @hyunjeongins @seungstarss @es-kay-zee @hyunjinsplaything @formidxble @freckledquokka @lbxgsunshine @cartierbin @solistired @rainbowmagicpixecorn @http-hyxnjxn @dwaebinnie @gothmingguk @minniehohos @seoulicitae @delicatemugtreehairdo

Unable to tag: @kayannainsworth15

(want to be added? send an ask or a dm! <3)

It’s been a few days since your date with Jisung and you haven’t seen him since. Was this something you brought upon yourself? Yes.

Dumbass...

You stared blankly at the ceiling, thinking about the last text you sent him. ‘Sorry, I think I caught a cold’? Why would you say that to him?! You were so focused on wallowing in shame that the sound of the doorknob twisting did not register in your mind at first.

“Y/N~! I’M BACK!” a feminine voice yelled out as you watched the door flung open all of a sudden. Forgot she’s coming back, you thought as the face of your beloved roommate entered your field of sight. “HELLO~! Oh…”

“Welcome back, Lia,” you greeted her unenthusiastically, staring at her without any expression.

“Girl,” she stopped, taking in the way your body was splayed limply on the créme-colored couch. “I didn’t realize I took your happiness with me.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “Ha ha.”

Lia closed the door behind her, dragging in her large grey luggage. “Looks like I brought your sense of humor too. Do you want me to go back to Canada to find it?”

Groaning, you sat up, staring at her dead in the eye, while she laughed at her own joke. She struggled with bringing in her suitcase while mumbling about ‘how hilarious she is’ and that she should do standup comedy. Once she had successfully hauled her luggage through the cramped hallway, she pushed it to the corner of the living room before walking to where you were at. She plopped down beside you with a bounce, moving the throw pillow onto her lap.

“So why do you look like...that?”

“Boy troubles.”

“Boy troubles?!” Lia said in shock. “Wow, I never thought I’d hear that from you.”

Taking her words to slight offense, you glared at her, pouting. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing! It’s just that—nevermind, continue!”

“Well, okay then... First off, Minho is a menace to society. Never go to a party with him,” you announced, adjusting your position without making any eye contact.

Your roommate chuckled. “What? Why start off like that?”

“It’s an important piece of information,” you waved her off, as if you were telling her to just listen and don’t ask questions. “So, I went to a party with him and Hyunjin a few weeks ago, right?”

“Yeah, how was it by the way?”

“Big. Seo Changbin is a rich motherfucker,” you deadpanned, snapping your neck to finally look at her. Meanwhile Lia laughed boisterously at your unexpected dryness.

“Anyways, Jinnie got DRUNK about thirty minutes later and Minho, being the dear friend he thinks he is, went off flirting with this dude with a red beanie, leaving me to babysit him.”

Lia interrupted. “Hold on, when do these “boy troubles” come in?”

You hushed her, covering her mouth with your foot. She swat your foot away from her face as you spoke. “Wait. I was getting there!” you complained. “So the red beanie dude Min was talking to, the one I mentioned earlier? I thought he was hot as hell, like if I wasn’t so busy dealing with a drunken Hyunie, I would’ve shoot my shot with him but nooo. Minho is a BITCH but it's okay, I still love him, especially since he’s the reason I have a thing now with that red beanie cutie.”

“Girl, really?! How did he do that?”

You sighed, jokingly scolding her, “Maybe if you didn’t interrupt me every damn minute, Julia, I would’ve finished my story faster.”

“It’s not my fault your storytelling skills are horrendous!” she huffed. “But sorry, I won’t interrupt now! Keep going!”

“Okay, so, after a while, I finally got Min to help me, which took like, another thirty minutes, I think? Then fast forward a little, that lazy bitch is driving us home, the drunk bitch is suffocating me with affection, and I’m just wondering why the hell those two are my best friends, but whatever. After Minho dropped me home, I wanted to text him to thank him for helping me wrangle Hyunjin, even though I forced him to, and I thought did, right?” you paused for a moment to see if Lia was still following along. After a subtle nod from her, you continued. “So I thanked ‘him’ then asked ‘him’ if he could give me that red beanie cutie’s number, which, to the total surprise of my dumbass, ended up being him.”

“Ooh...plot twist!” she randomly cheered, making you snort. “Sorry...I just had to add that!”

“It’s okay, that was the perfect commentary for that situation,” you giggled, adjusting yourself on the couch. “But yeah, fast forward again, and we’ve been hanging out, texting, and just recently, went on a date.”

“That’s great, Y/n!” Lia hugged you. She leisurely rocked you until she realized something was wrong with your story. She asked, abruptly letting go of you, “Hold on, why did you leave it at a good ending? Where’s the ‘trouble’?” Before you could answer, the sound of your notifications going off from your phone stopped you. You leaned over to see who texted you, picking it up.

(3) new message(s) from: Hannie Bear 🍯🧸

“Hannie Bear?” Lia giggled. “That’s such a cute nickname. Who’s that? Is that the boy you were talking about?” She proceeded to coo, shaking you around and making kissy noises.

You hushed her, cutely pouting, “Shut up, he gave himself that name.” You playfully pushed her face away, turning to the other side. You tapped on the notification banner to read it from your lockscreen.

Hannie Bear 🍯🧸: hey babe!

i noticed you didn’t come to class today either

are you still feeling sick baby? :( do you want me to come over?

“Huh? I didn’t know you were sick, Y/n,” Lia said slowly. You turned your head to see her looking over your shoulder, eyeing you suspiciously.

“Oh! Uh—That’s funny ‘cause—”

“Y/n, when was the last time you texted that boy?” You stayed quiet, avoiding eye contact with her. “Y/n?” she said sternly.

You sighed guiltily. “3 days ago…4 since I last saw him.” you mumbled, with the fuzz on your socks.

“3!?” she gasped, “Text that poor boy!” You hesitantly unlocked your phone, bringing your phone up to your face.

Me: Yeah, sorry Sung, I’m still kinda sick :( bleh

Please don’t come over! I don’t want you to get sick cause of me

Hannie Bear 🍯🧸: aww but i miss you :((

it’s okay. i won’t bother you now

just take care, okay? Get well soon!

i love you! ❤️

‘I love you’...There’s that stupid sentence again. Why does he keep saying that?

All of a sudden, your roommate pulled your arm towards her, forcing you to show your phone to her. She glared at the screen. “You are a terrible person, you know?” she commented after reading all your messages. You sighed, silently agreeing with her. “Why would you tell him you’re sick!?”

“I don’t know! I’m sorry!”

“Don’t apologize to me! Apologize to ‘Hannie Bear’! Tell him that you’re not sick!”

You spluttered, panicking. “NO! He doesn’t have to know that I’m not sick!” You lunged away from her to move your phone from her as far as you could. Lia payed no attention to your action, a bit confused with your reaction.

“Then why are you lying to him!? Are you avoiding him?”

“NO! I—Y-YES?! I DON’T KNOW ANYMORE!” you yelled, chucking your phone to her lap. You let out a heavy exhale, rubbing your face while you laid half your body down. Lia got up, locking your phone, and walked in front of you.

“Talk to me, Y/n,” she gently said. “What’s wrong? He seems like a nice guy.”

“He is,” you whispered. “God, he’s so fucking sweet and funny and considerate and—fuck. I don’t know…” She squeezed your arm, silently comforting you. You removed your hands from your face and sat up, looking at your sweetheart of a roommate with uncertain eyes. “Lia, I don’t know how to feel. I’m so confused! I think..everything happened so fast that... I-I’m scared...I don’t wanna fall in love with him. I don’t want to fall in love, in general. I-I’m not ready! I’m so scared that—”

“Listen,” she stopped you, moving to sit beside you again to wrap her arms around you. “I know that every single one of your past relationships weren’t the greatest. But that doesn't mean you should NOT fall in love with anyone anymore. I know it’s scary, but at least...try? And if you really don’t think it will work out, then please don’t lead him on like that. That’s just going to make the whole situation worse. It will only hurt more.”

You took a deep breath, calming yourself down. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Lia let go, leaving her hands on your shoulders. “You don’t have to talk to him today but please go to school tomorrow to talk to him, face to face. Deal?”

“Deal.” She brought you back to her arms, hugging you tighter and rubbing your back. You wrapped your arms around her figure with the same amount of urgency. The two of you stayed like that for a few sentences until she let go first.

“Thank you for being here for me, Lia,” you muttered into her neck.

She hummed, burying her head into your neck. “Of course. Whenever you need some ‘girl talk’, you know I’ll always be there for you.”

You released yourself from her grip, sniffling. “Welcome back home, again, Jules,” you grinned. “Wanna tell me about your trip back home?”

You walked through the semi-crowded halls, anxious. I’m getting a serious case of deja vu right now, you thought, quietly snickering to yourself. You gripped your bags closer to you, walking in a quicker pace until you reached your locker. Setting the combination of the lock, you swung the door open, digging through the small storage to switch out your books for the day.

“Hey, Y/n!”

You flinched, hearing someone randomly call out your name. Slowly turning around, filled with dread, you saw Seungmin and Jeongin walking up to you. Your shoulders slumped in relief. “Good morning, Y/n,” Seungmin greeted with a warm smile.

“Morning. Wow, it’s amazing to see you early,” you laughed, referring to Jeongin.

He scrunched his face then laughed. “I’ve been coming early for the past few days already. You would’ve known if you’ve been here.”

“Oh yeah, what happened to you? Are you okay?” the other boy asked.

Your heart stopped, panic surging through you. Why are you so scared? They’re not the ones you’re avoiding! You stared at the two boys like a deer caught in headlights. “Uhm...Sorry about the sudden disappearance but I—uh—caught a cold a few days ago.”

“Oh really?” Jeongin said. “I mean, you do look tired though so I guess that explains it, but good to know you’re good now!”

“Are you sure you’re even fully recovered?” Seungmin gave you a subtle stank look. “You should be wearing a mask, or something! Did you remember to bring some medication with you today? Don’t push yourself too much! We don’t wanna be responsible for dragging you to the clinic.”

You rolled your eyes, scoffing. “Thanks, Seungmo. I knew I could always count on you.”

“I don’t like getting sick, Y/n. Please respect that.”

Jeongin laughed. “I don’t mind!” he chimed. “Come here and spit into my mouth!”

“Jeongin! What the heck? That’s freaking gross!” Seungmin exclaimed in pure disgust.

You and Jeongin roared with laughter; Jeongin hunched over, laughing even harder when he noticed Seungmin taking small baby steps away from the both of you. “It was a joke, Seungmin!” he wheezed. “Don’t run away!”

“Stop, get away from me.” He swatted the younger’s wandering hands away. Seungmin clicked his tongue, “I mean it. Don’t you dare!”

“Aw, no need to be so mean! We’re friends, aren’t we? And friends share everything together!” you quipped.

“Not ‘everything’— Jeongin, stop!” Seungmin groaned, jokingly pushing Jeongin away as the latter started to rub his chest, laughing. “God, why are both of you so irritating? Gross.”

Your laughs started to die down when you remember a key detail. You weren’t actually sick at all; you didn’t like lying to them even if it was just a small one. Eyes scanning through the halls, you checked to see if there were any unwanted eavesdroppers. “Now I feel bad,” you said, “truth is, I—”

“What’s wrong?” Jeongin asked, stopping his annoying advances. Staring at their worried expressions made you remember that these are Jisung’s friends as well-- so that means they might tell Jisung about your troubles, especially Seungmin.

“I..uh—” your voice cracked, “actually, I wasn’t that sick—I mean, I was, i guess. But it was more of a… ‘mental health’ day! Yeah…” I mean, it kinda was though?

The two boys ‘aww’ed in pity. Seungmin was the first to comfort you. “Do not worry about it, Y/n,” he spoke softly, rubbing your back in comfort, “I know this month’s been busy for you, especially with that project Mr. Kim gave you. I think a mental health day was called for.”

Jeongin stepped forward, patting your shoulder. “Yup! Next time you have a ‘sick day’ call me so we can have one together!” he grinned.

“You know, you’re too eager to skip school, Yeni.” You narrowed your eyes, chuckling. Jeongin shrugged.

“No! It’s more so to comfort you at your lowest! I also don’t wanna go to school either....”

Seungmin scoffed, “There it is…”

“But it’s true! I do also want to be there for Y/n! At least I admitted that I’m also just lazy to go to school.”

The two of you snickered at your younger friend as he frowned. Seungmin tugged on Jeongin bag in an attempt to drag him away. “Let’s go now. The bell’s going to ring soon. I’ll see you later, Y/n. Bye,” he said, waving goodbye. You giggled, the sight of him dragging Jeongin the way he was vaguely reminded you of a dog going on a walk. You waved back to the two of them, internally giggling.

“Oh! Whatever you do, please don’t tell Jisung I’m here today!” you called out. They looked at each other in confusion, wanting to inquire about your odd request. Ignoring their puzzled expressions, you turned around to finish switching out your books. Finally grabbing your Environmental Science textbook, you closed your locker, fumbling with your lock to hook it back onto the handle. Getting a strange feeling of someone watching you, you looked over to your right, catching a glimpse of dark blue hair walking away from you.

You laid in the darkness of your room, the dim brightness of your phone bouncing off of your face being the only source of light. You were scrolling through your social media when a notification banner with a message from Jisung popped up.

Hannie Bear 🍯🧸: hey y/n let’s talk

You sat up in agitation, mentally debating if you should answer him or just pretend you didn’t see his message until you were ready. In a state of panic, instead of swiping the banner away, you accidentally clicked on it. Shit! you thought in horror. You already felt guilty enough for avoiding him, leaving him on read would just make you an asshole.

Me: Hi Sung!

What’s wrong?

You drummed your fingers against your blanket, anxiously waiting for his response.

Hannie Bear 🍯🧸: hmm...nothing :))

i just wanted to check up on you

You let out a heavy sigh of relief, clutching your chest; your heartbeat now calming down. You brought your phone closer to your face, thumbs typing away.

Me: Awww you’re so sweet Sungie

How was your day?

Right as you finally calmed down, his next plethora of messages sent you back into a panic.

Hannie Bear 🍯🧸: it was good. but...uhm

hey y/n?

just know, even though we’ve only known each other for a month, i still care a lot about you

if there’s anything that’s bothering you PLEASE talk to me, okay?

that’s all i wanted to tell you. take care, okay?

goodnight.

i love you

Your anxiety levels increased tenfold. Did he know? Feeling more guilty than ever, you read his messages over and over again with a heavy heart. I don’t deserve him…He really doesn’t deserve this!

Me: Of course Sung. Thank you

I’ll see you tomorrow

Looks like it’s time to face him again.

...You had no sleep, whatsoever.

The guilt and anxiety you felt from avoiding Jisung for the past few days was eating you alive. Why am I such a terrible person? You (not so gently) smacked your head into the wooden table, concerning the other onlookers in the library. You wanted to spend your impromptu free period loathing yourself before you had to see Jisung next period; alone. However, that plan was immediately shattered the second you felt a presence behind you.

“Boo!” someone whispered into your ear, slightly shaking you. You jumped, turning around to glare at whoever bothered you, only to see the smiling face of your best friend.

“Hyunie? What are you doing here?” your eyes followed him, watching him take the seat beside you. “l thought you and Lixie were gonna go to the studio?”

Hyunjin threw his back onto the table, resting his head on the table to match you. “We were but Lix left me to help some of his old theatre buddies and I don’t like being alone so now, I’m here! Besides, why would I leave my favorite person alone?”

You gave him a cheery smile. “Thanks, Hyunjin.”

“Mhm! I noticed you looked kind of sad though. Are you okay?”

You scrunch your face with a hiss. “You noticed?”

“Uh? Of course I did!” he drawled. “I’ve known you for over ten years already, Y/n. It’s kinda hard to not notice something like that.” You sat up, grumbling, not wanting to tell Hyunjin exactly why you’ve been so weird lately. He sat up with you, now serious. “Y/n? Is this because of Jisung? Did something happen between the two of you?”

“No!” You boomed. Your face heated up in embarrassment when you noticed the nasty look some people gave you. Muttering a quiet ‘sorry’, you hunched over, leaning closer to Hyunjin. “Jisung did nothing wrong. Actually Jisung is a total sweetheart so there’s nothing to complain about him. It’s just…”

“What? Did you find out about the hentai he watches in his free time?”

“What? No? Hold up, he watches hentai?”

Hyunjin shrugged with his hands up, faking a clueless look. “I don’t really know if he does watch it, perse, but I did catch him watching a softcore hentai before.”

Your eyes narrowed. “Huh? Nevermind. It’s not important whether he watches hentai or not anyways.”

“Good. Don’t let that get in between your relationship! Don’t wanna ruin a perfectly healthy one!” he said with a slight chuckle. Your mood instantly turned sour at the mention of your relationship. Of course, Hyunjin noticed it right away. “Y/n?”

You sighed, biting your lip. “If i tell you, you promise not to tell anyone?”

“Honestly, unless you’re cheating on him or something, then of course I gotta tell someone, he’s my friend too. Other than that, I promise!”

“Okay, great. And don’t worry! I would never cheat! Only on tests though,” you jested. The both of you chuckled before the mood went serious again. “So, you know how Jisung and I went on a date about a week ago, right?”

“Yeah…?”

“That day...Jisung said the ‘L’ word.”

Hyunjin gasped. “The big ‘L’?! He said ‘I love you’ to you?” he queried, mouthing out the ‘I love you’ part. You nodded with wide eyes.

“Yup…A full on Kdrama-inspired declaration of love when we were alone at the park!”

“Y/n, that’s honestly amazing! Did you say it back?” Your face was sullen, slowly shaking your head. “Oh, really? Hm. That’s a little...huh.”

“He says it a lot too.”

“Oh yikes,” he lamented. “No pressure or anything but, if you feel uncomfortable with it, maybe you should tell him?”

“No, it’s not that I’m uncomfortable it’s just that— geez I actually don’t know!” you cried out as quietly as you could, slouching in your chair. Hyunjin pouted in pity, leaning over to pat your thigh.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain yourself if you can’t or don’t want to. But I still think you should talk to Jisung about your stance in your relationship. You know he’s a sensitive boy.”

“I heard,” you sighed. “But I don’t think I have the heart to tell him exactly what I think about him.”

“You kinda have to eventually? Tell him if you want to make it official or if you wanna break it off. The sooner, the better; otherwise you’re basically just leading him on.”

“God, I know, Hyunjin! You think I don’t know that!?”

He patted your head in an attempt to calm you down. “Hey, hey. I know you know. I’m just telling you,” he whispered calmly. “Jisung is an amazing person. He’s very sweet, caring, fun, and honestly just the go-to person when you need a shoulder to cry on. Anyone is lucky to be with him!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know he’s all that. He’s nice and everything but he wasn’t someone I wanted to have feelings for! Jisung was just supposed to be a fuck buddy! No love, no affection, no feelings whatsoever, why did he fall in love with me?!” you wailed. “I was not supposed to fall in love with Han Jisung. To be honest, I kind of wish we never met.”

Hyunjin stared with a sorrowful look, knowing exactly why you’re freaking out the way you are. He was about to comfort you and give you advice when something—or someone—caught his eye. His eyes widened, weakly muttering an ‘oh shit’. You turned around, following his gaze to see…

Oh shit…

You abruptly stood up, mouth opening and closing, trying to find the right words to say to Jisung, who was staring at you with an indescribable look in his eyes. “J-Jisung! I...What are you—”

“I came here to look for some books for a research paper,” Jisung said. You tried to ignore how his cold tone sent a pang of sadness through your chest.

“Oh. Okay,” you awkwardly smiled. “I-I really like the new hair. Dark blue suits you!”

“Thank you...I remembered how you said you wanted me to try dying my hair blue so...I did it...to your request.”

“O-Oh, really?”

“I wanted to surprise you,” he muttered, pressing his lips together. “But apparently you had a surprise for me too…”

“I— How much did you hear…?”

“Everything, I’ve been here since after Hyunjin came in. Listen. Y/n...I told you, if you had a problem, especially if it’s about me, tell me about it, face to face, instead of talking about me behind my back. That shit is embarrassing, you know? Being talked about like that from someone you thought you could trust.”

“Jisung…”

“I want to hear you out, I really do. But I don’t think I want to talk to you right now, ‘specially after what you said? I don’t think it’s fair to me.” Jisung’s voice was starting to grow loud and desperate, tears forming in his eyes. “I poured my feelings out to you; I told you I loved you. I knew it was too soon to tell you that but I still took that leap, cause I thought we had a connection. I knew deep down you felt the same— at least, I thought I did…I thought you’d say it eventually but not once have you ever said ‘I love you’ back, Y/n! Do you know how much that killed me? I thought I’d be okay with it but everytime I expressed my feelings for you but never got a response back, it hurt! It made me feel like I’m just wasting my time! I-I FELT LIKE AN IDIOT!”

Hyunjin stepped in, hushing the both of you. “Guys, I know this is something between the two of you, but people are watching now. You should take this outside.”

“No. It’s okay, man. I said what I wanted to say,” Jisung said, already making his way out of the library. “Goodbye, Y/n. Take care, alright?”

“No...Jisung, wait!” You forced your shaky legs to chase after him. However, Hyunjin wrapped his arms around you, stopping you.

“No, Y/n. Give yourselves time,” he whispered into your hair, kissing the top of it to calm you down. You turned around and cried into chest, clutching onto him tightly. He tried his best to maneuver you both around to a more secluded area of the library, mouthing out a bunch of ‘sorry’s for the scene that was created. Finding a dark corner between the aisles, he carefully pushed you to it, lifting your head to see your face. You looked up, red faced with tears and snot running down your face.

Hyunjin reached into his pocket to take his handkerchief to wipe your messy face. He held the cloth against your nose, wordlessly telling you to blow your nose. Despite how disgusting he found the sound was, he resisted the urge to cringe, seeing how this was no time to act dramatic. “It’s okay, Y/n. Breathe,” he gently comforted you. He left the dirtied handkerchief on his lap and securely wrapped his arms around you again. He caressed your back, softly humming a sweet song. “Shh shh. You’ll be okay. Just let it out.”

You weakly stuttered, “I didn’t want to tell him like that. I didn’t want him to think I didn’t love him back, Hyunjin.”

“Everything will be okay, Y/n. Just cry it out first, then we’ll deal with this together.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings! This is my fault! It’s because I was a fucking idiot and let my fears get in between us!”

Hyunjin just stayed silent and hugged you tighter, moving his hand to the back of your head to tuck you into his neck. He played with your hair, knowing how relaxing it was to you. He went back to humming another song and held you until you were calm again. You let go of him, still sniffling.

“Feel better now?” Hyunjin asked. You shook your head no.

“Not really. I still feel like shit but not as much as before.”

“I mean, that’s still progress?” he tried joking around to lift your spirits. The joke only went over your head though.

“Yeah. Better than crying,” you agreed listlessly, wiping your nose. He stood up and held his hands out. You took them, hoisting yourself up. “Thank you, Hyunie. I love you.”

“Of course, I love you too, Y/n. Talk to Ji when you’re ready again, okay?” He led you out of the dark aisle to go back to your table. You latched yourself onto his arm, hiding your face.

“Okay. But for now, can you please just take me home? I don’t think I’m in the right mindset now to continue the rest of the day.”

“No problem. Anything for you.”

[PREVIOUS CHAPTER] 📱 [NEXT CHAPTER]

A/n: i apologize for posting this chapter so late! as i’ve mentioned before, i did get a little busy so i haven’t been able to work on any fics. hope you all understand! <3 AND idk if anybody noticed but i combine chapters 6&7 together instead to somewhat make up for the late update, that’s why it’s a little longer that what i usually write! hope you enjoyed!

[limitlessgojo]

Blood Bound: Red Strings of Fate (Ch 8)

Warnings: Action, Coarse Language, Fighting, Descriptions of Blood

Previous Chapter: Bird of Flame

Next Chapter: Wait For Me

Tags: Soulmates AU, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Fem!Reader

Taglist: @lessie-oxj @rizzo-nero @whoreuc @fkngkumiko @isl3t @gojoussunglasses @onepotatostand-blog @s-t-f-u-b-i-t-c-h @sunaswife

Notes: If you want to be tagged for every update, please mention it in the comments below ty <3

Ayiieee, this is a very big and significant chapter in the story. At 2.6k words it probably is the longest chapter in the book lol. Happy reading uwu. Feel free to yell in the comments^^

Chapter 8: Red Strings of Fate

You brought over the book you had on alternate worlds. It wasn't much help. Talking about how a mirror dimension existed.

Another you is possibly alive in the next universe, but with different circumstances due to a difference in choices made or the environment and all that.

You quickly made your way to the library. Once you arrived, you looked around for Noritoshi. You couldn't find him for the first 5 minutes and thought that he wasn't there yet.

But suddenly two hands placed themselves on either side of your shoulder. You could feel the heat emanating from the body behind you. This feeling… "Noritoshi senpai?"

"Mmmm." You turned around and looked up to see him with a small quirk in his lips. His eyes sparkled with excitement (which was a rare sight to see).

"Come." He led you by your elbow to the desk where books were all spread out. "I did some research and looked into the vision we had on the first day we met." He said as you both took your seats.

"It is possible we had visions of an alternate world. But it's now highly unlikely because of the marks that appeared on our wrists earlier. May I?" He gestured to your hand.

You nodded and handed it to him. He held it so gently, his touch making you shiver slightly. You tried to play it cool, but his eyes shot up to yours and you flushed.

He turned your wrist around to reveal the Phoenix branded on it. It glowed bright red as he stroked it with his thumb. You felt all tingly inside.

He brought out his wrist and put it beside yours. The Phoenix markings were identical in size and shape. But his wasn't glowing yet.

You reached out your hands this time to take his. "May I?" He nodded and you examined his wrist, then ran your thumb over his marking.

As you both expected, it glowed bright red. "So.. what does this mean? For the both of us?" You asked him meekly.

He sighed and took your hands in his. Both of your markings stayed bright red as you held hands. "I've been reading up on soulmates-"

"I know, you took all the books. I couldn't find any when I tried to look it up." You pouted. He chuckled at that. His fingers were now playing and slightly fiddling with yours.

"I think we might still be needing more proof, but this is pretty strong. I asked around the Kamo household as well, and they were able to find out that soulmate bonds are established when red strings actually literally come into existence and bind two people together." Noritoshi continued. He then proceeded to show you all his findings and the books he had so far.

"Hmmmm?? So we are or we aren't?" You pulled back from him, looking confused. "I think we are. My clan has confirmed for me that having past life visions, shared markings, and visible red strings tying two people together makes up a soulmate pair. It seems like we need a bit more time for the strings to manifest." He hummed, reaching over to take your hands into his again.

“Sorry I took time to confirm before I could talk to you about this. It’s been weeks since our first shared vision and I’ve been swamped with clan affairs.” Noritoshi admitted.

You shook your head, “No senpai, I was also doing my research on this. It seems unusual, even for jujutsu sorcerers to have such a shared experience so I could only talk to my family about it. We considered the possibility of seeing an alternate timeline as well, so I couldn’t make any immediate assumptions.”

“You were able to find more than I did though senpai. My parents said soulmates are able to share emotions and possibly thoughts. But that’s rare even for soulmates. I only heard about sharing past life visions, we couldn’t find anything on the marks and red strings. Real soulmates are so rare and interesting; they are said to give birth to children with powerful cursed techniques." You mused while linking and unlinking your fingers through his.

You both stared down at your hands, fingers entwined with each other, marks glowing a low red. It felt warm to hold his hand in yours. Noritoshi was so careful, cradling and caressing your fingers like they were made of glass. His hands were much bigger than yours.

"Thinking that far ahead already? I would like a baby boy." Noritoshi looked at you with a mischievous look in his eyes. You pushed at his chest. "Who said anything about wanting children?"

He looked at you with the most gentle eyes only reserved for you. "Only time will tell what happens, dear y/n."

◇◇◇

The next day, your fellow first years gathered around you (ambushed you??) before the start of class. “Y/n, is something going on between you and Noritoshi?” Mai asked.

“Ahhh uhmm no nothing really.” You were lying through the skin of your teeth here, with the secret of the century literally branded on your skin. “Awwwww, and I thought you looked cute together.” Miwa gushed with a smile.

Mechamaru felt oddly out of place with the girl’s gossip, but he still spoke up “Kamo san seems to favor you from what I see. But hey that’s just me.”

You blushed and sputtered out. Curse you and your honest demeanour. “No, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Hmmmmmmm” Mai stared at you from upclose, seemingly trying to psychoanalyse you. “We’ll see who’s right with time.”

You just laughed nervously, shaking her off. “Mai chan, you’ve been watching too many dramas. I’ll watch one with you later.” And with that you’ve successfully managed to distract your fellow first years into talking about having a movie night. Whew.

◇◇◇

Days passed and still no red strings appeared. You and Noritoshi agreed to take things slow as this is both incredibly new to you. But you had something else to look forward to.

You were finally assigned to your first mission. Luckily (or not? Thanks to Utahime’s suspicions over your relationship) Noritoshi was chosen to accompany you to exorcise a group of 2nd grade curses together.

The night was dark. Now that you’re both out in the forest, the distant lights from the city started to dim. “Watch your step.” Noritoshi warned you. You giggled at him and flew above the branches as he stared slightly affronted. “You should watch your step, Noritoshi senpaiii~,” you sing-songed.

‘How could she have such a cheerful disposition at a time like this?’ he wondered. “Stay close to me.” He ordered. Now knowing that you were a Special Class Jujutsu sorcerer definitely didn’t help his ego in wanting to show off a bit. But he can show it through years of experience.

You smiled at his protectiveness and hovered near him, holding onto his sleeve as usual. Suddenly a black mass came hurtling towards the two of you. Noritoshi prepped his bow and arrows, while you stopped its movement.

You brought it close to you and examined it. "Looks toxic." You said. A screech caught your attention and Noritoshi launched an arrow towards the source of the sound.

The Grade 2 curse jumped out of the shadows, shrieking out loudly causing both of your ears to hurt. It had fast movements, tossing out globs of toxic sludge while rapidly moving through the woods.

You placed one arm around Noritoshi's chest, while the other stretched out towards the grade 2 curse, blocking off all the attacks. “While I’m with you, the attacks won’t reach us senpai. I’ll cover the entirety of our defense.”

Noritoshi smiled and easily manipulated his arrows to hit the curse. It disappeared in a flash. You both turned and smiled at each other. “Well done my dear.” He said.

“You were amazing as well, senpai! But I sense more cursed spirits up ahead. We need to have a look.” You sighed, to which he agreed. You both moved forward until you came to a clearing, which led to a cliff with a sheer drop.

The stench of cursed spirits was almost unbearable, and two more came out rushing at the both of you. They seemingly appeared from the ground, but you noticed how they moved with the shadows.

You quickly pulled out your twin blades and cut one with ease. Noritoshi stayed right behind you, guarding your back as he forced back the other curse with his blood manipulation.

In all the confusion, a massive curse loomed over Noritoshi. It was definitely a grade 1 curse at least, which both of you were not expecting. It had the shape and body of a scorpion, but the face of a white tiger with long blood-red fangs.

It reared up, running towards Noritoshi. So your body acted on pure instinct. “Extension cursed technique: Niflheim”, you froze the curse then rushed towards it.

You tackled the cursed spirit without thinking and plunged your twin swords through its gut while slipping off the edge of the cliff. It faded out of existence as you plunged down.

All your life, you’ve been this carefully crafted, logical, and steady person that is built from hard work and experience.

And yet all of that just flew out of the window when you saw Noritoshi in possible danger. As you fell down, you could hear Noritoshi screaming for your name.

You tried to lift your body with your cursed technique. You slowly gained traction upwards, until red strands of blood wrapped around you.

"Blood Manipulation: Crimson Binding!" Noritoshi chanted and reached down to quickly pull you up. You landed on the hard ground and he released his technique as soon as you were in the clear.

"Are you insane?! Pushing it and jumping off the cliff to exorcise it?! There are so many other ways to take it down with your technique. And I could have dealt with binding it before exorcising it! Why on earth?" Noritoshi gasped out.

He was absolutely livid, red faced and eyes wide open. And that was a major understatement. You just sat on the ground, shell shocked at your own actions and at the way he was yelling your head off.

You messed up big time, and you know this because Noritoshi never raises his voice towards you.

"Why did you risk your life for me?! I could have handled that. And you don't even know me." Noritoshi’s voice was growing hoarse. You felt your throat close up and body tense. It felt like he punched you in the gut. He wasn't entirely wrong. You just met him, and you already put your life at risk to save the man.

But his words stung. They echoed in your mind and heightened your insecurities. It was like he was putting an invisible wall between the both of you. 'You don't know me.' 'I thought I did, or at least it felt like we did with each other'.

Realising that you stayed silent, you looked up at him to see his angry expression growing into something else, like worry.

You quickly smoothed yourself over. "No, apparently I don't. I’m sorry for not knowing you." But you didn't apologise for saving him. That's one thing you would never apologise for. Because that's one of your duties.

A flash of regret appeared across his face. Noritoshi came close to you and took your hands in his and looked into your eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the red strings that burst forth from your joined hands.

You stared in wonder as they wrapped around both your shoulders and bodies to bind you close to each other. You flushed as you stared up at him agape. His eyes were focused on the moving and glowing threads around the two of you before he turned to look at you.

Your eyes met once more and you were thrown into another vision.

"My love, how are you feeling?" A man was sitting beside your bed. You had bandages on your arms and everything felt so heavy. “I’m much better, as a matter of fact I think I could go out right now and get some sunshine.” You smiled.

The man gave the most exasperated sigh, "You're far too reckless. Testing your luck every time. Please, let me protect you and stay by your side."

“Yes yes. Of course, I will always stay by your side. And protect you."

"Protecting me shouldn't entail giving your life up for me. We stay alive together." He said angrily.

"Okay. It's okay." You soothed the man. "We will survive." You whispered as he leaned down to catch your lips tenderly in his.

For all his stoic behaviour, he kissed you so lovingly. Rubbing your back and patting your head softly. You turned to bury your face in the crook of his neck and pressed a deep kiss there.

"Read me a story." You asked him after a period of silence.

He brought out your favorite novel about a Princess who was sent down as a blessing from the Moon. Her father found her inside a bamboo shoot.

She was to live the life of a human, but eventually had to go back up to the heavens.

Unfortunately, she loved her human parents who spoiled her and raised her like a princess. And parting with them was terribly painful.

"I don't know why you enjoy such a depressing story." He sighed after he had finished. His lashes were so long that they were almost resting on his cheekbones.

"It's because their love is beautiful. The love that the daughter had for her parents. The love she had on earth, before she forgot everything and had to return to the moon." You dreamily explained.

He smiled. "Ever such a romantic, my love. I should do better in our relationship to please you."

You snorted, "No you've done well. It is fine as we are." You elbowed him jokingly.

But he turned to you so seriously, "I love you so much, my dear. You don't-"

The vision ends abruptly before the man could end his sentence. Your arms were now wrapped around Noritoshi's waist and his were around yours. You simply stared at each other for a while.

"Noritoshi senpai… so it's true, you're my other half." You murmured. Your pinkies were linked by the red flowing thread.

He hugged you tightly. "Yeah. And you're mine."

Everything was very quiet. You felt his nervousness, but it felt right. To hold him in your arms like this. It was like you found a piece to yourself that was missing all your life.

Noritoshi carefully brushed away the hair from your face, before leaning down to press his slightly shaky lips against your cheek. It was such a sweet gesture that you leaned to it.

You both were clearly out of your element. The idea of being in a relationship was very new to you. You've never dated before, but all the sudden the heavens dropped your soulmate right into your lap.

"Don't ever do that again." He said, lips brushing against your cheek.

You blinked. "What?"

"I won't blame you for trying to protect me. But think properly and don't be reckless when you act. I'm capable and strong as well. I don't want you to get hurt." He said.

His earlier words came rushing back to you. ‘You don’t know me.’ Your heart dropped. But you replied, "Okay Senpai."

He pulled you up as the red strings faded from view, "Let's patrol the area to make sure everything is clear then head back."

Blood Bound: Table of Contents

[harrywritingsbyme]

Sore

Based Off Of This Ask

I love love love this concept and I had to write a lil something on it! So here's a lil dose of some black!Y/n for ya✨❤️...Enjoy🙃

You just got your hair done. You’d spent your entire day yesterday sitting in a chair getting your hair braided. Row after row your hair was individually and tightly wound and until your entire head was finally done. And to say it took an extremely long time would be a complete understatement. Since Harry had to start his day a bit early, he offered to drop you off to your stylist on the way to his first task of the day. Now even though you were able to make it on time for your appointment at 10 am, you didn’t leave until 7 pm. In that 9 hour timeframe, Harry was able to go to the meeting he had scheduled for the day, he was able to finalize some songs that weren’t completely done in the studio, and he was able to get home and start on some chores that needed to get done before you called. Meanwhile you were glued to your chair all day long; with a couple breaks here and there of course. And once you did finally call though, it was pretty late and you were completely exhausted and very hungry. You’d gotten enough rest the night before and you picked up some snacks before going into your appointment, but 9 hours was a really long time. And by the time you were 100% done, those snacks had already been demolished and you were in desperate need of some sleep. So when you plopped into the passenger seat next to Harry once he arrived to pick you up, you were very much conflicted on whether or not you wanted to eat right then and there, or pass out and worry about food in the morning. The struggle was and is very real. 

Now even though you were glued to that damn chair all day, and you grew extremely tired and hungry, it was definitely worth it. Your  stylist killed it (per usual) and you hair was absolutely flawless. You were absolutely in love with it. Your braids turned out exactly how you wanted and you were beyond happy with them. The only problem with the perfection, and precision, is that your scalp was pretty sore and sensitive. Whenever you got your braids done, your scalp was always left feeling a bit sore and beyond sensitive. Even the slightest tug or touch could set you off into a slew of winces. You wouldn’t exactly classify yourself as tender headed, but you can say that your stylist really made sure to grip your hair. And this wasn’t event the tightest she could go. Now you thought that the food Harry got you on the way home would take care of your mounting headache. But once you finished eating and you were finally getting yourself ready for bed, you realized that the headache wasn’t going anywhere without a little help. So once you change into some comfier clothes, aka Harry’s t-shirt and a pair of panties, you grab the bottle of aspirin in the bathroom and you pop two of the pills out and into your hand before heading back into the bedroom. Now before you steal some of Harry’s water to swallow the pills, you sit them down and slowly put your bonnet on your head. Again, even the slightest movement to your braids could make your scalp sting. After slowly sliding the bonnet onto your head, you quickly take the pain relievers and crawl over Harry onto your side of the bed. And to take even more precautions to reduce any type of stinging or pain, you carefully rest your head against your pillow before getting nice and comfortable. Harry then reaches over to turn the light out, and he comes in to cuddle you.

“Want a forehead massage.” He asks, bringing his hand up to wiggle them in your face.

“Please?” You pout towards him through the darkness.

“Of course baby.” Harry replies softly, bringing his head up to your forehead. As soon as his fingers touch your skin, you can just feel the ache melting away. The way he’s putting a little pressure on you while using circular motions to diffuse the ache was so good.

“Feels nice.” You hum, completely melting into Harry and the sheets. It felt so good that not too long after Harry began, you were fast asleep. And in Harry’s book, that was a win. Before either of you knew it, you were passed right out. You were finally getting the rest you were in dire need of. Harry’s little massage was the perfect way to ease you right into your much awaited sleep. 

Now let’s fast forward to today, the very next day after getting your hair done. Your head wasn’t as sore as the night before but it wasn’t completely insensitive. Your headache was gone, and simply having your braids move around as you walked wasn’t as bad as it was last night. But if anything else were to be inflicted on your head, you’d be wincing and groaning at how your head was hurting.

For example, you were sucking Harry off. You couldn’t readily explain why and exactly how you ended up kneeling between Harry’s legs on the bed in the middle of the day, but you were. Everything you two did ended up in some type of sex. And you weren’t mad at it at all. 

As you took his cock back and forth, in and out of your mouth, Harry was just lying there and taking it all in. The way you drenched his cock with your mouth and languidly, yet swiftly sucked on him was something that Harry’d never experienced. You were sucking the life out of him and it felt absolutely amazing. 

“Fuck Y/n!” Harry groans out to you loudly, feeling the tip of your tongue swirling around the lower edge of his head. While you do this, you continue to squeeze and tug at his girthy and glistening shaft. Through the wet sounds of you slobbering all over his cock, you loved listening to Harry’s moans and whines out to you. Hearing how good you felt around him, whether it be your mouth or pussy always made you (and your pussy) very happy. You liked knowing that you were the one, and only one, who could fully pleasure Harry. You then shift your focus away from the swollen head of his cock and to the rest of him. Keeping your mouth wrapped around him, you begin to slowly take his cock in it’s entirety into your mouth. As your mouth sinks down his shaft and he can feel your throat closing in on him, Harry just about loses it. He felt like he could cum any second from the way you were taking care of him. When you successfully take all of him, you manage to hold him right there for a few seconds before pulling your mouth back up. But as you’re coming back up, you quickly push your mouth back down to he base of his cock. You made sure that your mouth/throat was completely filled with his cock. Your head was so far down that your nose was brushing against the hairs surrounding his cock. 

That did it for Harry. The way you quickly shoved your mouth back down onto him, buried your nose into the area surrounding his cock, gagged at how big he was as he was lodged between the walls of your throat, and squeezed at his balls was enough to drive him insane. And it did do that for sure. What you did sent Harry right over the edge. In a split second Harry was releasing all of his cum down your throat while he had ha hand wound into your hair. Yes, Harry has his hand tightly wrapped around your hair that was still a bit sore from the day before. Immediately after you feel the stinging sensation from his tugs and tight grip, you move up to pull your mouth up from his cock completely. 

“Ow babe.” You wince while trying to catch your breath. You then pull your head away from his grip so that he could get the message to let go.

“Did I pull too hard?!” Harry asks concernedly, quickly snapping up from his release to focus on what was going on with you. 

“No, you pulling is completely fine. I love when you normally do it. It’s just that my head is still a bit sore from getting my hair done yesterday.” You explain to him with a little huff before bringing your head back down to lick up any leftover cum that was on his cock.

“M’sorry baby, can I eat you out t’make it up to you?” Harry offers pitifully. There was a lot to take in at this point. Like he felt bad for not taking your braids into consideration, but those feelings were quickly being overshadowed by the feelings of your tongue daintily licking up any of his remaining cum that didn’t flow down your throat. 

“M’kay.” You agree to him once you’ve licked up and swallowed every last drop of his cum. 

“Switch with me baby.” Harry instructs, lifting himself up from the bed to move where you are. You quickly lift yourself up from between his legs and crawl up tp where he once was. After you both have switched positions, Harry wastes zero time pulling your shorts along with your panties down and off of you body. “Well don’t you have the prettiest pussy.” Harry admires, taking in the darker, and very sticky area between your legs. Sucking his cock was just one of the things that could always flood your panties. You just loved it. “Can’t wait t’dig in.” He continues, bringing his hand up to push your outer lips apart to get a better look at you. By doing this he could see just how wet you were for him and seeing that didn’t stop a shock from going straight down to his cock. “Oh and another thing. You can pull as hard as you want.” Harry announces up to you, sending you a little wink and a smirk before bringing his mouth in. And once he does, you become a complete mess. He completely buries his head between your legs and goes to town on you. You could feel his tongue lapping all of your juices up and circling around your entrance. It felt so good to have his mouth on you like this that your legs were constantly trying to snap shut around his head. You were doing this so much that Harry had to wrap his arms around your thighs and pin your legs to the bed so that you wouldn’t try to close them around his head. 

“Oh my god Harry!” You shout to him through a series of moans. Since his arms were wrapped underneath your thighs, Harry had enough wiggle room to bring his hand down you your pussy and spread you wide for him. By doing this, Harry was able to get every last part of you with his tongue. To say that it felt so good to have his tongue licking into he most sensitive parts of you, and even attempting to fuck you and his his tongue into your hole would be a complete understatement. All you could do was moan loudly, thrash your hips up and down with his mouth, and pull on his hair. Your fingers were tightly wound in Harry’s curls and he absolutely loved it. He always got a little kick out of you pulling on his hair. To him it was verification that he was doing everything right and pleasuring you beyond belief. 

As he continues to lick and suck and make an utter mess out of you, you can feel a warm knot forming in the pit of your stomach. The longer he continued to harshly suck and lick into you, the quicker your release sped towards you. Now even though you were the one obviously being pleasured, Harry also managed to take care of himself a little. Everything from the way you tasted and smelled to the way you cried out to him in pleasure, even to the little bit of hair that was beginning to grow and curl down there was effecting him. He couldn’t get enough of you and neither could his cock. As he devoured your cunt, Harry was messily rutting his cock into the bed. Since he himself came not too long ago, his cock was still pretty sensitive. Add onto that the fact that your pussy was to die for and you were clinging onto his hair for dear life while he ate you, and Harry was a goner. 

When he feels your little entrance begin to contract around his tongue, Harry begins to move his tongue around you even faster and he also begins to suck harder. He then gives you a couple more deep licks before focusing his attention onto your clit and the sensitive outer edges of your pussy. He uses the tip of his tongue to lick the outer part of you from top to bottom before focusing on your clit. When he sucks on your clit, he makes sure to moan louder so that the vibrations could really hit you and push you even closer to the edge of your release. He also uses one of his thumbs to pull back the hood of your clit to get even more access to the oh so sensitive bundle of nerves. When he does this, you lose it. 

“Oh my- fuck! M’gonna cum!” You rush out, feeling the once budding fire in the pit of your stomach overcome you. To make it even better, Harry uses his free hand to put a bit of pressure on your burning lower stomach to intensify your release.

As you came in his mouth, Harry’s head was spinning. He loved making you cum hard and feel amazing. And being up close with your pussy like this as you came only make his head spin even more. All he wanted to do now was keep on pleasuring you.

Once you’re completely done riding the wave of your release, Harry unhooks his arms from around you thighs and he rests his head on one of them to stay in between your legs.

“Am I forgiven baby?” Harry mumbles up to you.

“More than forgiven after that.” You hum delightedly through your labored breaths, still feeling the tingles and aftershocks from the release you just had.

“Wanna play some more.” Harry begins, bringing a hand to your pussy and squeezing the outer flesh. “Wanna be inside, can I?” Harry questions further, keeping his eyes on the supple flesh that was between his forefinger and thumb. Simply looking at it made Harry just want to take a bite out of you. He was addicted.

“Mm yes please!” You readily comply, looking forward to what he was planning on doing to you.

Forget the stuff you two had to get done around the house, this was going to be way more fun. And by the looks of it, you had a feeling that you wouldn’t be needing an aspirin just for your head. 

Masterlist

[wakaoujisenhime]

Hi, I just happened to stumble across you and now I’m addicted!😅❤️ anyway, I was hoping you could write some headcanons for a crack head rakuzan manager.

A/N: Hi there you two! Since your requests were for the same trope and the more or less same scenario, I decided to mash these two together, hope that’s ok with you guys! ( ´ ▽ ` )

Luckily, I grew up around some people that fit in that description, nevertheless this was a pretty new experience for me, so I hope I managed to deal with this successfully (I’m sorry in case that I didn’t ;-;)! Anyways, please enjoy and heed the warnings! ヽ(´ー｀)❤️

Tags/Warnings: Rakuzan x reader ✅ tw.drug mention/use ✅ tw.mention of bullying ✅ fluff ✅ friendship ✅

━━━━☆ ━━━━☆ ━━━━☆

Rakuzan is known as an elite school, harboring only the crème-de-la-crème of students and yet you still couldn’t comprehend why you were a part of it

everyone was driven by either perfectionism or greed, the teachers only cared for themselves and their salary, and the expectations society put on every student that wore this school’s logo were downright inhuman

so could someone really blame or shun you for being into drugs? —No, they couldn’t...and yet some still tried

every time you skipped a class to go on either the rooftop or that one dark alley in the very back of the luxurious building to roll a joint, someone random would always come looking for you

they’d try to push their ideals onto you and pretend that they are some kind of Samaritan who only wants the best for you and your future

Yeah sure...you don’t even know my name, do you?

the first few times really annoyed the hell out of you and their hypocrisy almost made you lose yourself once, but as these scenarios started repeating themselves you grew used to it and learned how to completely ignore them

depending on your mood and the amount of dopamine you’re releasing there were even times when you’d get sassy with them or downright challenge them to a fight, knowing fully well that as the goody-two-shoes they were they’d never accept it

the teachers were also aware of your addiction, but were too scared for their own reputation and decided that it’d be easier if they just left you to your own devices and wait until you either failed their classes or graduated

and just like that, you lead a rather peaceful school life, until a certain someone decided to disturb it...

when you skipped classes for the umpteeth time you waited patiently for today’s candidate who’d drag you over the coals for your ‘unsightly behavior’

after you’d taken the third pull on your joint you finally heard light steps which were just around the corner

without moving your head too much, you simply glanced towards the figure that had appeared and chuckled to yourself

“Woow, the teachers must be quite desperate to send their star pupil in order to get me” you sneered after blowing some of the smoke right into his direction

the red-haired young man who’d arrived was none other than Akashi Seijirou, a student whose school record was full of nothing but perfect grades and perfect remarks from everyone who had entered this school

you didn’t know much about him except the typical gossips and the fact that he was the complete opposite of yourself

for a while none of you said anything so you continued to smoke shamelessly in front of him, hoping that you could provoke some kind of reaction from him...though in vain

if words weren’t provocative enough you decided to see how far he’d allow you to go until he had to open his mouth

“You want a pull?”

much to your surprise he actually extended his hand towards you, so with wide eyes you carefully handed him your joint

So even flawless students like him need to let go sometimes, huh?

he eyed it for a while and the next thing you saw was how he let it drop and stomped on it

“Was that really necessary? You could’ve just refused it, you know?”

“I want you to join the basketball team as a manager” he then said in a calm and pretty serious tone

....

....

...What?

you began laughing as if he had said some kind of hilarious joke, but much to your disappointment he simply raised his eyebrow

“W-Wait...are you being serious right now? You want me to take care of the basketball team?”

seeing him simply nod with the same stoic expression he’d arrived with made you realize that he wasn’t one to joke around

Akashi took out a handkerchief and wiped his hand, without bothering to hide his disgust and then simply turned his back to you

“I’ll be waiting for you at the gym after school and I hope you’ll be there...for your sake.”

and with that threat, he left you by yourself, confused and utterly speechless

you soon began giggling to yourself and you wanted to blame it on the drugs but deep down you knew the truth ...

.

as the school bell rang for the last time today you lazily packed your stuff and without paying any attention to neither your teacher nor your classmates you trotted out of the classroom

you hated admitting it but the red-haired young man’s words had haunted you for the entire day, but you weren’t one to simply obey whatever others told you

just as you were about to walk down the stairs someone muscular bumped into you, almost knocking you off your feet

as you looked up to see who it was you saw a dark-skinned and bulky man towering above you with a grim look on his face

“(Y/N)?”

you hesitated to answer for a moment, but his challenging expression downright forced you to respond, though it was merely with a small nod

“Excellent, follow me” he ordered after turning around and you did

while he was walking in front, you noticed that most of the students were intimidated or scared by his towering frame and now that you were behind him you realized how truly lonely he must be

“We’re here,” he began, “Akashi! I brought her!”

at the mention of that name you immediately wanted to just turn around and leave, but with that broad man next to you any type of escape was shut down

a pair of heterochromatic eyes looked in your direction and a proud smile adorned the rather emotionless expression of the red-haired young man who signalized the other club’s members to take a short break while he strolled towards the two of you

“(Y/N), I’m glad to see that you picked the right choice to come here. Now...follow me.”

you simply glanced up at the broader man next to you with a pleading expression, but he simply grinned and gave you a thumbs up

Akashi led you to a bench where an older man had already taken a seat, reading through some papers

he was so into it that he didn’t even bother to look up at you two

“Alright your task is simple, I want you to learn the basic rules of basketball and everything else that surrounds it. You have a week and then I’d like to test your knowledge during a practice match. There are also several other things I want you to fulfill, but this will be enough for now” he took a short breath and looked at his team players with a slightly annoyed gaze before he continued “I also provided you with one of those ‘how to’ books so I hope you won’t need long. Any further questions?”

Where do I even start?

“Listen up, I never said that I was going to be your team’s manager or anything like that, you literally forced me to come here by sending that giant after me! And you can’t be serious with all of this right? You guys are a pro team and you want me - a mere amateur - to manage you? Starting next week? I don’t even th-“

“I don’t remember giving you a choice in this matter and yes, you’ll learn it all until next week. You being a student at this elite school speaks for itself, so learning the basic rules of a mere sports game isn’t going to cost you much. Now sit down and start reading.”

his condescending and overall rude tone made you more than just mad, but before you could utter any kind of comment, he had already turned his back to you and was heading for the court

“If I were you, I’d just agree with whatever he says” commented the older man whose gaze was still on the papers before him

you clicked your tongue and put both of your hands on your hips as you stared at him and asked whether that was how he usually dealt with him

“That’s how I learned to deal with him. A genius like him is only getting held back by simple-minded people...or those,” he paused and finally looked up, eyeing you judgingly before he finished his sentence, “that can’t read the mood.”

you were absolutely speechless and enraged, so before you completely lost your wits you grabbed that stupid book Akashi had gotten for you and purposely stomped towards the gym’s entrance doors to roll yourself another joint

.

you spent the entire duration of their training outside and even though you didn’t intend to really read the booklet, you eventually started and got into it, until you heard a loud whistle and Akashi’s voice announcing the end of today’s practice

“I’m expecting you at tomorrow’s practice as well, (Y/N)” said the red-haired captain as soon as you re-entered the gym to take your bag and go home

you answered with a simple nod and left, figuring that you’d just go along with him for a while but secretly do whatever you wanted

or at least that was supposed to be your plan, but something quite unexpected happened

while you had set your mind to obey whatever the captain wanted from you, you caught yourself actually having fun during the guys’ practice

you did know a little about basketball even without the book’s help, but as you gradually read chapter after chapter and actually witnessed the real thing before you every single day, you came to truly enjoy it

there were always some rumors that Rakuzan’s basketball team was on an entirely different level and you finally saw why

the four players that always accompanied Akashi on the court were some kind of prodigies the others referred to as the “Uncrowned Kings” or the new and improved version of “The phantom sixth man”

during your first days of hearing those rather over the top nicknames, you couldn’t help but laugh out loud

These four having such titles? Don’t mess with me, that’s just hilarious!

and even if you were the only one laughing at it while the others simply looked away, your laughs were shut down pretty quickly as soon as you saw how they played

seeing just how powerful and overall perfect they seemed to be made you even more pissed off than you already were

luckily you were standing right next to the gym’s door so you cracked it open, leaned yourself on its frame, and began smoking one of your self-rolled joints

“Wow (Y/N), I didn’t know you smoked! You look really cool!”

the sudden compliment from the cheerful blond with the sharp canine caught you off guard, not to mention that he was the first one besides Akashi to even attempt some sort of conversation...and it made you unexpectedly happy

“Thanks, I guess?...would you like to have a pull?”

you couldn’t help but smirk at how his eyes lit up after nodding multiple times and just as he was about to take the softly smoking joint from your hand, someone snatched it and threw it out, closing the door in the process

that someone was Reo, whose eyes looked down on you with a rather hurt and sad expression

out of nowhere, he took a gentle hold of your cheeks and softly tilted your head up so that you could look him directly into his mesmerizing eyes

“I’ve been meaning to tell you this, but smoking is bad for you (Y/N)-chan. You’re such a beautiful young lady and being a crackhead just doesn’t suit you, you know?”

thanks to the soft tone with which he’d complimented and lectured you, you just couldn’t be mad at him

but before you could even say anything you felt a big and strong hand slap your back with so much force that you almost fell right into Kotaro’s arms

“Geez, Nebuya you brute, how many times do I have to tell you to be more careful!”

completely ignoring the tall man’s protest the more muscular man simply laughed and took a tight hold of your upper arm saying: “All she needs are more muscles and meat on her and she’ll make a great opponent!”

the way the three of them had surrounded you while laughing at each other’s comments and even making you part of their discussion warmed your heart, and you caught yourself thinking that being the manager of this team might not be such a bad idea after all...

.

the day of the practice match came along and you were a bundle of nerves

who would’ve thought that you’d actually prefer going to the gym to check up on the players instead of straight-up heading back home

much to your surprise, it didn’t even take you three days to get almost every club member to respect you, sure there were obstacles along the way, but you managed to deal with them rather quickly

not too long ago, you had actually helped out Mayuzumi, who usually avoided you and barely ever talked to you

you had been on your way to your usual spot to light up a joint and just before you cut the corner you heard some loud voices

“Just ‘cause you’re in the basketball club, doesn’t make you special!”

“What’s with those dead-looking fish eyes of yours anyway?”

“C’mon guys, don’t you see that we’re wasting his precious reading time here? Let’s hurry up and scram so that he can continue reading his novel!”

you had no idea just what the hell was going on, but it sounded a lot like someone was getting bullied and you weren’t in the mood to let it slide

“Ok guys, I need you to wrap whatever this is up. I’m in a rather bad mood right now and I really need a smoke, so get going” you said in a rather dark tone

the students who had encircled someone you couldn’t quite identify yet jumped a little at your sudden intervention and turned their attention to you

all remarks they had prepared for you were gone the moment they realized just who was standing in front of them

nevertheless, the group remained stubborn and tried to chase you away by asking you to wait for a little

while you were dealing with the group, the person they had ganged up on stood up from the ground and that’s when you finally recognized who they were bullying

Isn’t that...Mayuzumi?

and at that moment something inside of you clicked

with confident steps, you made your way to the tall young man and placed a hand on his shoulder

“There you are and here I was thinking you’d bailed on me” you began as you gently squeezed his shoulder, giving him a signal to make him play along before you continued, “I got your stuff, you got the money?”

thanks to his constant poker face and slight nod the group of bullies was instantly on their guard

in order to give them their last push you pulled out a small and transparent bag with white powder out of your pocket

“You guys are still here? Sorry, but if you wanted a package you should’ve told me beforehand. Just so you know, it isn’t going to be cheap.”

seconds later the group finally gave up and stormed off, murmuring something about it not being worth the trouble

as soon as they were gone you let out a loud sigh of relief and crouched down, exclaiming how relieved you were that it was finally over

your sudden reaction caught the young man off guard and at first, he was stomped at what to do but he eventually crouched down next to you

“If you were that scared you shouldn’t have helped me in such an...unorthodox way. They might snitch on you, you know?”

you couldn’t help but giggle at the rather clumsy way he tried to thank and reassure you

“It’s fine even if they do, the teachers wouldn’t be surprised anyway and besides...that bag contains nothing more but some makeup powder I got from Reo to...to hide the bags under my eyes.”

even though you whispered the last part Mayuzumi still heard it and then chuckled

since then he actually began listening to you and even talked to you whenever no one was around

the other three were fond of you since day one so you had no trouble dealing with them whatsoever, or protecting them for that matter

someone was making rude remarks about Nebuya while he ate his daily portion of meat (which equaled five of yours)?

you’d tap them on the shoulder, lean on them and say that they were lucky enough he didn’t hear them, or else he might actually devour them instead

hearing how people made fun of Reo’s way of talking and even shun him for his behavior behind his back?

you’d directly go up to them and intentionally talk in a loud voice for everyone to hear how cowardly they were and how their behavior would drag their beloved school’s reputation down if you decided on making it public

witnessing how naive and warm-hearted Kotaro got roped into some even shadier business than what you were up to with sugarcoated words?

you’d do something similar to how you saved Mayuzumi back then: threats and bluffs and luckily all of them worked out in your favor

the only one who needed more time to warm up to you was Akashi

it was obvious that he hadn’t approved of you despite your (in your eyes) good performance during the first practice match

he’d simply nodded in the end and coldly stated that he’d accept this rather poor performance, warning you that there would be consequences if you don’t improve yourself

back then the others had joined you on the bench and were trying to cheer you up by saying that the red-haired young man was usually that demanding, but only towards people he knew had the potential...in a way he was trying to bring forth your hidden talent

with these sweet words and your own ambition to prove yourself to the seemingly perfect emperor, you finally started taking the club more serious than you’d originally intended

.

..

What did he just say..?

“Sei-chan, y-you....you can’t be serious”

“Akashi...”

said man turned towards you guys with a warm but twisted smile as he stretched his hand out towards you

“I swear to you, that if we lose this match, I will leave the club and...gouge both of my eyes out, and give them to you.”

after that proclamation each of the players gave it more than just their all, even you who could do nothing but cheer them on from the bench began analyzing everything you could from your team’s opponents

during that very emotional match, you found yourself praying multiple times that your team wins and not only because of Akashi’s oath but because you knew just how much they had trained for this

additionally, Kotaro and the others told you that this match was of utmost importance to the captain and his former teammates, all the more reason for you to worry

.

sadly in the end you guys lost and you were too overwhelmed with everything that had transpired in the last quarters

Zone? What the hell is that?

Another Akashi? How is something like that even possible?

the entire Rakuzan team walked back to the locker room in complete silence and that silence remained until all of them had changed their clothes

“(Y/N)-chan, let’s go,” said Reo in a gentle and silent tone as he gently squeezed your shoulder

“Y-You guys can go on ahead, I still have to check something” you answered with an apologetic smile

you were thankful that the young man could read the mood and agreed, so you re-entered the locker room, looking around searching for something

the moment you wanted to take a step forward, your legs gave out and you fell to your knees

H-Huh..? What’s w-wrong with me, I-I need to get up...

no matter how hard you tried you just couldn’t muster the strength to stand up, and before you knew it, tears had started rolling down your cheeks without stopping

frustration, despair, anger, and sadness overcame you and at some point you caught your thoughts drifting off in a direction you had never taken before

with trembling hands, you took a small package full of some kind of powder out of your jacket and looked at it

you weren’t the type to resort to real hardcore drugs and as of late you had been so busy with the team that even your usual smoke breaks became less and less, but now...

just as you were about to open the small bag in your hands the door to the changing room slowly opened

“A-Akashi...?”

the young man looked at you with a worried expression and as soon as he saw what you held in your hands he grew even sadder

without saying anything he simply walked towards you, kneeled down, and embraced you

you were quite shocked at first, but too emotionally tired to resist at this point so you simply let him comfort you

he told you that these overwhelming emotions you were going through right now were normal and absolutely understandable in this situation, and even without you saying how guilty you felt for the boys’ loss he calmed you down by stating that one person alone could not be at fault for an entire team’s failure

.

that day engraved itself in your brain and you promised yourself that you’d give it your all and even go further beyond it, just so you wouldn’t have to see the sad faces of the people who had given you a chance and loved you for who you are, including all of your “flaws”

unbeknownst to you, they had also found the same resolution as you

the day on which they had lost their match against Seirin made them realize that there was indeed something lacking in their way of playing basketball, and in order to improve that they had to start with a rather peculiar mission, namely to make you, their manager, proud and make sure that you never cried ever again...

[janetbrown711]

“I’ve got you. You’re safe” yakko to Wakko after there parents.... um yeah idk like nightmare in orphanage I hate myself

Yakko was eight years old, but somehow he already knew he had seen more than others should in a lifetime. 

Yakko had never liked the idea of war, but his father never failed to reassure him that it wouldn’t come to that. He said wars were better fought with words than death and destruction, and that their kingdom and castle were strong and nothing bad was ever going to happen to them. Yakko had believed him, but asked too many questions. His father had sent him off to play with his siblings. 

His mother had just set Dot down for bed. Wakko was playing in the playroom while Queen Angelina II sat and smiled at Wakko fondly. Yakko had complained when Wakko said he wanted to play with him. His mother scolded him softly, whispering that she’d give him a treat later if he and his brother got along. He had agreed to play, though he had been disagreeable most of the time, though the four-year-old didn’t seem to notice. 

There had been a loud crash, windows breaking. The Queen had jolted to life, having been practically asleep by then.

“What was that mummy?” Wakko tugged on his mother’s sleeve. 

“Yakko, watch over your brother. I’ll be back in a moment, I promise,” She smiled, but Yakko could see the panic and worry in her eyes. His mother hugged her boys tightly and kissed their foreheads. 

“I’ll be back in a moment, I’m just going to check on your father,” She had said, trying her best to hide the negative emotions behind her kind eyes. she turned to Yakko and grabbed his shoulders. 

“If anything should happen, I need you to grab Dot and exit the castle using the servant tunnels underground. Don’t stop until you reach Acme Falls, understood?” She asked. Yakko couldn’t say he really did; She was going to come back, right? Still, he nodded. A tension seemed to release from Angelina and she smiled again. 

She went to leave but stopped hugged the boys once more. 

“I love you boys so very, very much,” She said. She kissed their foreheads again and ran out into the unknown.

Yakko hadn’t liked that. There was another crash, and Yakko heard shouting and fighting. He felt Wakko cling to his arm and look up at him worriedly. 

“Is it okay?” Wakko asked. Yakko cringed. 

“I don’t know,” Yakko admitted. They waited and sat in there for what felt like an eternity. The noises didn’t go away and only got louder and closer. Yakko felt a sense of dread crawl up his spine. 

"I’m gonna check on mom,” Yakko decided impulsively. He hadn’t liked it. He hadn’t liked it one bit. 

“Mummy said not to split,” He pouted, then added- “I wanna see dadoo.” Yakko had wanted to refuse but knew his mother knew what was best and took him along. 

Yakko had only been with Wakko for an hour, and the castle changed into an entirely different place. Broken glass was on the floor, tapestries taken down, muddy footprints were upon the once spotless marble and carpets. Wakko gripped tighter on his arm, and even kept his tongue in his mouth. 

Yakko had heard voices down the hall: angry men. They had someone. The voice was female. They were coming closer, so Yakko panicked and grabbed Wakko and went into where the maids kept the cleaning supplies. Wakko had complained, but Yakko quickly shushed him as the voices got louder. 

“What are they saying?” Wakko asked. Yakko leaned against the door and shook his head. He hadn’t been able to hear from within the closet and the voices were getting farther away. He bit his lip. 

“I’ll be right back- I’m gonna get Dot,” Yakko said.

“Why? Mummy is gonna get Dot,” He frowned. Yakko didn’t have it in him to tell his little brother why he doubted. 

“Just... stay right here. Don’t move. I’ll be back, got it?” Yakko pointed to emphasize the seriousness. Wakko nodded. 

Yakko had crept out of the closet and saw a swarm of men with torches. They were shouting at someone. Yakko took a deep breath and tried to see who it was, but was struck frozen when he saw that they had his mother, just like he had dreaded. 

“I’m not telling you where they are.” Her face was bruised and her fur was disheveled and she was bleeding. Yakko wanted nothing more than to run and to protect her, but he couldn’t move. 

“We’ll find them either way, Angelina, so how about you tell us anyway? We already killed your husband, we can kill you just as easily,” One man pointed a gun right at her head. Yakko had felt the floor drop out from under him. 

Dad. 

Dad was... was...

No. He couldn’t think about that. He had to save his mom. He had to save her. Somehow. 

He looked around for something he could use as a weapon, a sword, a large piece of wood, something. Yakko knew he wasn’t strong, especially not strong enough to take on four adult men in armor. His mind scrambled to think. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t have to. He caught eye contact with his mother accidentally, and the man threatening her noticed and saw him immediately. 

“Seize the boy,” He ordered.

“Yakko, run.” Angelina ordered. Yakko came back to life and booked it down the opposite way. His heart pounded in his chest and wind roared in his ears as he heard shouts and the clanking of armor behind him. He turned a corner and heard his mother cry out in pain, shouting things at the man, and then-

A loud gunshot rang through the hall, and his mother’s voice was silenced.

Yakko felt a sharp pain followed by a wave of numbness overtake his body and he quickly began to cry, but his pace didn’t let up. His mind throbbed, as did his chest as he lifted his heavy legs as he ran. 

He did know one thing: He had to get Dot. But he couldn’t let the men find her or Wakko. 

After running for what felt like miles, he jumped under a table and the men continued running on, even after it was apparent they weren’t chasing anyone anymore. Yakko kept a hand over his mouth and didn’t move a muscle for what felt like an eternity and his mind did it’s best to avoid thinking about what had just happened. 

Gunshot. His mother’s cries. Her pleading-

No. 

He couldn’t think like that. He had to get his sibs. 

Eventually, the hall he was in fell utterly and painfully silent and Yakko ran with all his might back to the closet where Wakko was still waiting, thank god. 

“Yakko! You’re back!” Wakko threw his arms around his older brother and Yakko couldn’t help but hug him back. 

“We have to get Dot and then get out of here,” Yakko said. Wakko didn’t argue, but it was clear he didn’t get it and was scared. Yakko bit his lip, but couldn’t think of anything comforting. He grabbed his brother’s hand and together they walked back, gingerly stepping over torn curtains, broken glass, and other destroyed furniture. Yakko couldn’t get himself to look at the half-burned painting of their family. 

He could hear Dot crying by the time he reached the nursery. 

“Yakko, I want mummy,” Wakko pulled on Yakko’s pant leg as he approached his sister’s crib. 

“Mom can’t help anymore,” Yakko said as he picked up the crying infant and tried to soothe her. 

“Why? Where’s dadoo?” Wakko pressed. 

“I don’t know Wakko. We have to go,” Yakko half lied. It was true he didn’t know his father’s location, but...

“Why?” Wakko frowned. 

“Because we aren’t safe here. We have to go to Acme Falls,” Yakko said. 

“But that’s so far!” Wakko groaned. 

“Then we better get going.” Yakko snapped at him. Wakko froze before looking at the ground and muttering to himself. Yakko had sighed as Dot’s cries ceased. 

“We just... we have to go. It isn’t safe here and mom said we have to go Acme Falls,” Yakko explained. 

“I don’t wanna go. I want to see mummy and daddy...” Wakko sniffled. 

“We can’t Wak... We have to go,” Yakko felt tears threaten to spill, but he knew he didn’t have the time, and swallowed down the pain. 

“Come on... We have a long way to go,” He offered his free hand to Wakko and the four-year-old prince took it. 

The three of them successfully got to the bottom floor of the castle, and got to the servant's quarters without a hitch. They made their way through the dark and poorly lit tunnels leading to Acme Falls, and by the time they reached their so-called “safe place”, it was morning. Wakko had all but passed out the moment they sat down in an ally outside the bakery. Dot had been asleep almost the whole night. 

He still couldn’t get himself to cry. He couldn’t admit what had happened. Even when the townspeople recognized them as the royal children and wondered what happened. Even when the town crier had come the next day to announce that the kingdom and the castle had been overtaken. Even when a nice blonde lady had taken them to the orphanage and they explained to Wakko what had happened. He hadn’t cried. He still couldn’t believe it. 

That’s where he was now. It had been three days since the attack. Yakko was sitting up in his bed, still unable to sleep, his mind stuck replaying what had happened. Wakko was making attempts to sleep and Dot was in a crib next to Yakko’s bed. 

However, just like the previous nights, Wakko had shot away and began to cry. Yakko had been waiting for that, and immediately opened up his arms to his little brother, who hugged him and sobbed into his shoulder. 

“I’ve got you Wak, you’re safe,” He soothed.

“I-i want mu-mum-mummy and d-daddy,” Wakko cried. 

“I-i know Wak... I want them too,” Yakko bit back tears of his own. 

“A-are... are they really gone Yakko?” He asked, looking him in the eyes with his own, which were red and puffy and leaking with tears. Yakko couldn’t look away, no matter how hard he tried. He knew the answer, he had heard her cries and the gunshot. He knew. 

“Yes, Wak. They’re... they’re gone,” He answered truthfully, feeling tears finally begin to stream down his face. Once they began, they didn’t stop. Wakko’s hug tightened around him and the two brothers held each other until both of their tears had run out and reality had truly set in. 

Their parents were dead, their home destroyed, and they only had each other.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

[giggles-and-freckles]

febuwhump day 6: insomnia

It wasn’t the first night this had happened, but it was the first time he decided to do something about it.

A short walk around the Temple. That was it. Just enough to tire himself out and make the fall to unconsciousness a little easier than it had been in the past few weeks.

Anakin hopped out of bed and shoved his feet into the nearest pair of shoes. They were mismatched and he was pretty sure they were both for a left foot, but it didn’t matter. Obi-Wan wouldn’t be there to roll his eyes anyway.

As Anakin walked through their shared common room, he shot a glance toward his Master’s room. The door was slightly open, but the lights were off. Obi-Wan must have gotten hot in his sleep and cracked the door. Anakin didn’t know how; this place was kriffing cold.

In his three months at the Temple, he’d managed to successfully learn the layout of most of the facilities. And even found a few favourite locations to hide away when he wanted to work on his droids or skip a class (like Music and Culture...it was always Music and Culture).

He headed straight for the gardens. They’d be colder than the Temple at this time of the night, but he’d be able to put up with it for the sake of some fresh air.

Except–as he stepped around the large columns that led toward the large courtyard, he heard a voice. Anakin stopped behind one of the towering ceramic poles and listened.

“–and he wouldn’t want that for you, anyway.”

A woman’s voice, accompanied by a light static overlay. A hologram.

Anakin’s eyes widened at the voice of the reply. “You didn’t know him like I did.”

Obi-Wan.

The woman chuckled on the other side of the hologram. It was a sharp sound, cutting and quick. But genuine and warm, all the same. “I knew him better than I would have liked to. I still hear his snoring when I close my eyes at night.”

Anakin snuck a glance around the column to see his Master, across the garden. He was kneeling on the ground, away from Anakin with a large book at his side and a small holo-projector in his hand. The Padawan could just make out the shape of the woman being projected. Young, elegant, beautiful.

But not like Padmé, with her long dark hair and warm, brown eyes. While Padmé seemed to take on the royalty because it came with the politics, this woman looked regal through and through. Like she was born to rule.

“I can’t hear him,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “I’ve tried and tried, but the Force, it–I don’t know, Satine. It’s not right. It’s disappointed in me. He’s disappointed in me.”

“That’s nonsense,” she said with a confidence that made Anakin want to move closer. He stayed pressed against the column. “I don’t claim to understand the Force, but I know you, Ben, and that...that’s ridiculous. He would be so immensely proud of you.”

Obi-Wan’s head hung, giving Anakin a clearer view of the woman. “I wish that were true.”

“Obi-Wan,” she sighed, uncrossing her arms and stepping closer to the recorder. Her feet went out of the shot and she moved her hand up in some sort of reach motion before shaking her head and dropping it back to her side. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself, my dear.”

He ran a ragged hand through his hair. “I don’t know how to stop,” he said in a voice so quiet Anakin almost stumbled over himself in his strained efforts to hear.

“The Healers at the Temple–”

“They don’t know,” he said quickly.

Anakin could see the woman’s features sharpen. “Why not?”

“Because I haven’t told them, Satine! Obviously.” Obi-Wan snapped. A deep, shaky breath. Anakin noticed his shoulders hunch a bit more. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Your health is no more or less important than the boy’s. I know that’s not what you’re conditioned to believe, but you are important, Obi-Wan. You must take care of yourself.”

The boy’s. They were talking about him.

“I can’t do both.”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the woman said firmly, but not unkindly. “You are the strongest man–the strongest person I know. You absolutely can.”

He released a pitiful chuckle. “You always had more faith in me than I had in myself, Satine.”

“And that’s why I l–” She stopped and the hologram blurred briefly, as she shifted. A split second later and she was back, poised and even-faced. “That’s what makes you so very good, Obi-Wan.”

“Thank you,” he whispered. “For your kindness and for...” He chuckled lightly. “For always answering my calls.”

She smiled. “I wish I was there.”

“Me, too.”

“Get some sleep, my dear Obi-Wan.”

A deep breath. “Until next time, Duchess.”

She disappeared from Obi-Wan’s hand and Anakin froze. He should go, he should leave, he should run, because now that Obi-Wan was done with his call, he would be walking Anakin’s way soon. Rounding the corner and spotting his Padawan mid-espionage. 

But something tugged in Anakin and rooted him to his perch behind the column. He kept his eyes on the back of his Master’s robes and waited. Instead of getting up and leaving the gardens, the Jedi only hunched further into himself, dropping his head into his hands. 

He looked broken. Anakin tilted his head and frowned, considering the situation. Finally, he nodded to himself with finality. 

Yes. He could do the mending.

febuwhump 2021 prompt list

[honeypirate]

Why You Should Never Eavesdrop

AHHH it’s my first ever Naruto fic!! Don’t hate me if it sucks

Kakashi x female reader.

I will soon branch out to write for like Genma and Izumo but I had to make my first fic for Kakashi since he was my first ever crush ever XD. I’m going to write a part two because this is a terrible place to end it. I just got excited and wanted to post this now lol

Naruto Masterlist

Of course you went after him. You wanted to see if everything was okay, he was your friend after all and you cared about him. But when you got lost in the trees looking for him, this was the last thing you expected.

You were a Jonin, masking your chakra was second nature and something you always did, which is why you were able to quietly and accidentally sneak up underneath them. Kakashi with his student, Sauske, in the tree, “you’re a little late to the game” you froze, should you run? Should you speak up? You held your breath so they wouldn’t hear you as you debated what you should do. You didn’t mean to eavesdrop but part of you was glad you were when you heard the words that came out his mouth next “everyone I care about is already dead”

You disappear quick after that, realizing it wasn’t a conversation you should be listening to. Also realizing that he didn’t think you were as close of friends as you did. You know about his past, his history, you know about it all, but you thought, stupidly, as you now realize, that you could be someone to him. “Ridiculous” you nutter to yourself as you take to the trees, running through them as far as you could go, far away from Kakashi.

Far as possible without leaving this village, was to the trees by the gate, it was always nice here, the clouds easier to see because it’s where there was the tallest tree and you loved to sit at the very top. You were disappointed in yourself, you were a shinobi for crying out loud! you never got so invested in your feelings before. You will not let your feelings interfere with your life. You needed to think and this was where you came when you needed space.

Kakashi didn’t even come in to your life until recently, you got back from a mission that lasted a few years, protection of a political family, now you were home after so long and just when you thought you’d be given a little time off, the Hokage told you he wanted you to be a sensei to some new young Genin. That’s what brought Kakashi into your life.

You knew him growing up, had mutual friends in the academy, but you’ve never talked to him directly. Until after one especially long day with your rowdy eleven year olds you decided to go get some ramen and de-stress. The only chair open was next to Kakashi at the bar, who wasn’t even eating anymore, he was reading his icha icha book while Naruto rambled on next to him about Sakura.

He knows when you arrived, felt you sit next to him, but he didn’t show any signs. He had a crush on you in school and when you were in ANBU at the same time, you never looked his way so he didn’t think you even knew about him. That was, until tonight.

You’re so fried right now, bags under your eyes from the missions you’ve been sent on and from teaching, plus, you don’t remember the last time you slept more than three hours a night. Given that, your filter when speaking to people is basically nonexistent.

You wait for your ramen to cool a little before eating it and your eyes wander over to the words on the page you can read over his shoulder. “This part was my favorite” you say “then the part at the end as well. Have you seen the poster for the new movie?” You ask and then turn your tired attention to your ramen, taking slow bites so you could enjoy it.

He’s glad his blush is hidden by his mask, “I’ve seen it” he says and you nod “I thought you would have. You’ve always loved those books” you say and then smile content with your ramen. “It looks like it’s going to be good” you say and he nods.

When you finish your meal you turn in your stool towards him, Naruto has been distracted by someone else he knows and so you’re not interrupting anything, “i liked that book the best” you say and push your empty bowl forward, leaning your elbow on the table and leaning your head on your hand to smile at him. You talked together about icha icha books and the movies, sharing your favorite parts and ways you thought it could be better. You talk so long that by the time you leave Naruto had already left.

He wouldn’t lie about the fact that your smile always made his heart race, no, he wouldn’t lie, but he wouldn’t tell the truth, either, if he was ever asked about it. “Goodnight y/n” he says and does his cute closed eye thing where you can tell he’s smiling. You feel your cheeks warm up in a blush but you don’t look away you place your money on the counter before hopping off from your stool “I’ll see you around Kakashi” you say and shove your hands in the pockets of your pants and walk out of the shop.

He watched you leave, a curious smile on his lips under his mask, you surprised him today and now he’s curious to know more about you. After that you somehow ran in to him every time you had ramen, and you talked every time for sometimes hours, before you knew it you grew close with him. You trusted him and believed he felt similarly to you.

It’s been a year since then, you felt like he was a good friend now and didn’t even consider it wouldn’t be the same for him. You were both called into the Hokage’s office for a mission together, you were hyped, it was going to be easy peasy, you’ll be back in three months and you’ll have more time with Kakashi. You were walking back home when you saw the fight on the roof of the hospital which led you to wanting to find Kakashi since you knew how he felt about his students, which led to you here, now in the tree tops, trying to get over your feelings and hide them like a true shinobi.

“There you are” a voice said behind you, a voice you knew well, “here I am” you said and made your face neutral before you turned around to look at him. “What’s going on?” You ask and meet his eye, tilting your head a little. You wanted to pretend nothing was wrong and act normal but you felt cold. Inside and out.

“We’re supposed to be leaving tonight?” He says and furrows his eyebrows. “Shit. I’m sorry Kakashi I lost track of time. Give me five minutes I just need to grab my pack” you say before disappearing, running back to your house to grab your bag that’s already been prepared, cursing under your breath for being so stupid for a second time today.

You’re glad that he’s never made you feel like you have to talk, you can run though the trees with him in silence and not be awkward. “Did you hear me? Y/n?” You finally realized he was talking to you and you looked over at him “what was that?” You said and he came to a stop, you following suit and stopping next to him. “I said we should stop for the night. We’ve been going for hours now. it’s probably after two am” he says and you nod “sounds good” he knows something is off but doesn’t press it “there should be a cave up ahead we can stay in” he says and takes off, you right behind him.

“I’ll take the first guard shift. Get some rest” you say as you finish setting up your bed, standing up and walking over to the entrance of the cave, the whole time not really even paying attention to Kakashi or anything he’s saying, if he’s even said anything you don’t really know. You sit at the entrance, your back to him as you keep your mind aware of everything out in the woods and unaware of the man behind you who’s staring at your back, the book in his hand forgotten about, as he keeps wondering why you’re acting weird.

After your guard shift is over you quietly make your way over next to where he’s sleeping, you place your hand on his shoulder and he wakes up instantly, his eye looking into yours. His hand reaches up to grab yours that’s still on his shoulder “oh sorry” you say and try to take it away but he doesn’t move his hand. You look back into his eye and raise your eyebrows, wondering what he was thinking, wondering if he’ll ask the question you can see in his eye. He seems to make up his mind when he releases your hand and looks away, he goes to sit up and you clear your throat “like fifteen minutes ago I felt something off over to the east, but I couldn’t see anything with my Kekkei Genkai. It could be nothing but just in case” you say as you lay down on your back in your bed, using your arm to cover your eyes.

You’ve been on the road traveling for about a month now, you almost made it to your destination and once you were there you would deliver your message and then take a package back to the Hokage. You successfully shoved every feeling back into a tiny jar in your heart, now easier to pretend you never had them to begin with, although you acted a lot like you did when you were an ANBU. He’s noticed, of course he’s noticed, he notices everything about you, he has since you punched him once in the Chunin exams when you stole his scroll. He watched you now out of the corner of his eye as you run through the treetops, he missed how you used to laugh so easily with him.

You’re walking now, him a bit ahead of you, the sun has been down for a while “We can rest here since it’s a bit late or keep pushing until we get there, we could stay at an inn and have our meeting in the morning.” He matches your pace before he responds “second one is my choice” he says and you nod “we’re only about an hour out I’d guess” you say “yeah I’d bet you’re right” that was the last thing said for the rest of the walk. The lights of the city coming into view, your stomach growls for the first time in all these weeks when you pass by a ramen shop “come on” Kakashi says and walks through the door, you thanked every deity you could think of in that moment and then followed him in.

“Yummmm” You hummed over your steaming bowl, you felt like this was exactly what you needed. To warm your soul and let the unknown go. So what he doesn’t care about you. He’s just being a good Jonin and shinobi. It was fitting that it was ramen that helped you release your pent up emotions.

Kakashi was sitting across from you in the booth of the nearly empty restaurant, it was probably around 10 pm now and the only people in here other than you both were a few drunk men at a different table. “After we eat let’s get a room and a bath and we’ll meet the Kage in the morning” he says and you nod, your mouth full of noodles and your heart happier than it’s been these past few weeks. You were going to be yourself and be his friend no matter what, because you cared about him and that was all that mattered. ‘Everything will be fine.’ You think to yourself as you finish your bowl and meet his eye, smiling warmly at him. That just confused him even more. He was sitting here the entire time wondering how to talk to you about what’s going wrong and you just turn around and act normal again. What the hell. He’ll talk to you more about it later tonight.

“I’m gonna get a room at the inn down the road and then head to the bathhouse, you eat and we’ll meet up after” you say as you place enough money on the table for both of your meals before slipping out of the booth and out into the chilly night air. ‘Yea’ Kakashi thinks to himself ‘I’ll definitely have to talk to her about this later’

“Lucky you!” The person at the front desk says “it’s the last room” they hand you over your key and a string of curses go through your mind, you let go of your pent of feelings but that didn’t mean you wanted to be thrown right into intimate moments with him. You couldn’t do much about it now “do you have an extra mattress? I have a friend who needs a room as well and we might have to share” you say and frown, to which they chuckle amusedly at your unhappiness “yes we do! We’ll have one sent to your room” you nod “thank you. Where is the bathhouse?”

The cold night air is calming, you look up at the moon as you walk slowly down the road to the bathhouse, grateful to the inn keeper for the directions. Your hands in your pocket and your footsteps practically silent, just like your thoughts, surprisingly quiet for the first time in weeks. You felt a weight off your shoulders, like physical evidence of your letting go of your hard feelings. Finally coming to terms with your heart. You felt so relieved and you can’t wait to sink into the hot water so your muscles could feel the same kind of relief.

Strings of even more harsher curses run through your head as you read the sign on the bathhouse. It was co-ed. Open to all. Which means you’ll probably have to share a bath with your ninja partner. Just great. You took a deep breath and steeled your nerves before walking into the establishment. Maybe Kakashi would take his time or maybe he’d find another inn and go to bed right away. You sigh, knowing he’ll be here soon.

Luckily the bath was empty as you entered, you lowered your body into the hot water and sighed in happiness. You considered hurrying but now that your body is in the water you know you’ll stay as long as your body wants, no matter who showed up. You laid your head back and took a deep breath, feeling the hot water release the tension you’ve been holding, which was almost immediately replaced with new tension when you heard the door open.

Even though you knew who it was, you raised your left eyebrow, causing your eye to open lazily as you looked through the steam at the silver haired man. He gave you a slight nod before you closed your eye and focused on steadying your breathing. You’ve seen him shirtless before, but you knew if you saw him in this setting you’d have a heart attack and stop breathing. He’d never let you forget that either so you couldn’t let him know the affect he had on you, sure, you’ve accepted you’d never be anything more than work friends but that didn’t mean you were blind.

His body couldn’t relax in the hot water, he had no room and now he had to share a bath with you. How cruel could the universe be? The wet glint off your shoulders that peaked out of the water, your wet hair stuck to your neck, the way you looked so relaxed in the hot water, it all drove him wild. What done him in though, was the way you looked at him when he walked in, ‘sooo cute.’ He thought. This was exactly like a scene from his favorite book, it was everything he could just to keep his boner at bay. So

The sigh that left your lips as ran the warm wet washcloth over your neck, made his heart race, he couldn’t help but watch you. You don’t know what has happened, something in you snapped the longer he watched you wash your chest and shoulders, something compelled you and you didn’t fight it, you embraced it. “You want to help me wash my back or are you just enjoying the show?” You ask, your eyes still on the washcloth as it passes across your skin. His heart beat is hammering in his chest, that was the last thing he expected you to say but he couldn’t resist from moving slowly through the water and over to you, sitting behind you he reaches down and takes the cloth from you, slowly running it up your arm and over your shoulder.

Your heart is pounding in your ears, you sigh softly and your eyes flutter closed, tilting your head to the side as the cloth passes over your shoulder and neck. You pull your hair all to the front of your shoulder so your back was completely open and you hum contentedly as he begins to wash your back slowly, you lean forward when he gets midway so he could go lower if he wanted, your knees up on the side of the seats and your arms wrapped around your knees.

When you’re satisfied with his work you look over your shoulder at him with a smile before turning around to face him, looking into his eye as you take the cloth from him, you run the warm cloth up his arm starting from his wrist, when you get to his shoulder he breaks eye contact to turn around to allow you to wash his back as well. You wash his strong shoulders, leaving the cloth on one of them as you begin to massage his neck, kneading your fingers into his skin, working down his strong shoulders, kneading out knots and smiling every time he lets out of a relaxed, soft, moan. You massage down his back, working the muscles near his spine massaging in small circles with your thumbs to his lower back before running your finger tips up his back and across his ribs before grabbing the cloth and finishing washing him now that you were satisfied with how relaxed he looked. You set the cloth down to the side, softly running your finger tips across his shoulders before placing a feather kiss to the back of his neck. “Thank you for your help ‘Kashi” you whisper, finally breaking the silence, “if you don’t have a room, I’ll get another mattress and you can stay with me. Room 23.”

He was so relaxed he didn’t know you were gone until your words registered, who knows how long it’s really been, he thought he felt you kiss his neck but part of him believes he dreamed it. The longer this mission went the more confused he got.

[calif0rnia-lovers]

Handyman.

Pairing: Zac x Reader

Warning: A grain of smut (but seriously, that’s how non-existent it is)

A/N: Y’all have opened the floodgates on requests for this cutie pie. Here’s the first.

Request: “Are you sure it’s not supposed to go here?”

“I’m positive it’s not supposed to go there!”

Summary: With a recent move, Zac takes it upon himself to set up your bed. He quickly learns he hasn’t quite earned the title of “handyman.” 

Words: 1.6k

“Are you sure it’s not supposed to go here?”

“I’m positive it’s not supposed to go there!”

You lower the manual, in your hands, just enough to put your boyfriend back in focus.

Zac is across the room. Still wearing his sweatpants and white t-shirt from the night before, he is more wide awake than you are. It's nearly seven in the morning, and you're in no rush to shake away the sleep still bogging down your mind.

It's Saturday morning, and your excitement of purchasing your first place together was enough to convince Zac to set up your bed bright and early. You’re still not sure why he didn’t just have it delivered and assembled.

You impatiently check the time on your watch. The movers aren't set to come for another three hours. Zac has been working on the bed for nearly forty-five minutes. You offered to help, but he swore he didn't need it.

Or the manual. 

You scan the discarded plastic and boxes, a tiny smile spreading across your lips as Zac studied the pieces laid out across the room. 

"It looks like it should fit." 

Your gaze returns to the manual, your brow furrowing. 

"I'm pretty sure you’re gonna need these screws." You lean forward picking up the untouched bag of screws. Zac steals a glance in your direction before glancing back at the board in his hand. "Babe, just look at the instructions."

Zac glances over at you, his eyes rolling.

"I don't need the instructions," he grins. "It's just a bed. How hard can it be?"

Apparently, extremely difficult. 

Stepping over a discarded box, Zac tries for a second time to push the board into the slot. And for a second time, it doesn't fit.

"The boards should just slide into place-besides, I'm pretty sure it goes here," he grunts, a soft smile finding your lips at his stubbornness. He waves his hand towards the tiny portion of the bed he has managed to successfully assemble over the last forty-five minutes. "I've made it this far without that book, Y/N. I got this."

"It's called a manual for a reason. What is it with boys and directions? If it was supposed to fit it'd slide it much easier. We also wouldn’t need these-"

Pushing yourself off the ground, you sigh as Zac applies more pressure than the two previous times. Just as you're about to swat him out the way, Zac releases a grunt before shifting the board deeper into the notch. A triumphant “got it” follows as the board is forced into place.

You catch sight of his playful blue eyes, and boyish grin, as he admires his handiwork.

He places a quick kiss against your lips before shifting you aside. 

"Told you it would fit."

Zac gathers the second board, shifting it into place to form the second half of the bed frame. Each board that slides into place lets off a satisfying click, each a pat on Zac's back.

Once's he's assembled the bed frame, Zac turns to face you a triumphant grin on his face. 

"Piece of cake." He grins as his hands find your waist.

Guiding you back, he moves you towards the center of the room. Once he feels you're in a position adequate for admiring his handiwork, he wraps his arms around you.

With the mattress placed on top of the frames, the bed does seem pretty stable. But you could have sworn it looked crooked a few seconds earlier.

Your eyes narrow as Zac's chin rests against your shoulder.

"Babe, just because it's standing doesn't mean it was set upright." You use your foot to point towards the abandoned screws on the floor. "I'm pretty sure those were supposed to be used."

"They were spares."

"Spares? Did you even use any screws? There have to be fifteen screws on the floor-"

"You're just mad because I did it without your manual," he chuckles as he slips the book out of your hand. Tossing it the floor, he playfully squeezes your hips. "Just look at it, for a minute, and tell me that's not the best damn bed you've ever seen."

Your head tilts to the side. 

"I swear it's crooked."

Mirroring your actions, Zac studies the king-sized bed before shrugging his shoulders. 

"Looks good to me."

"Then by all means, maybe you should quit your day job," you giggle as he steps around you, the grin on his face growing as he studies the bed. "Become a handyman." 

"The first piece of furniture up in our new place, courtesy of me," Zac lifts his hand in the air, his brow furrowing as you make no move to meet the action. 

"Is it?" The skepticism in your voice causing Zac's eyes to roll. You do the same before lifting your hand to meet his, which is still waiting in the air. "How do we know it’s stable?"

Zac's hand runs over his beard, his brows furrowing in deep mock thought. He glances over at you, a sigh leaving his lips.

"Good question...Only one way to find out."

Your hands go up defensively but before you can take a step back, the air is pulled from your lungs. The blood instantly begins rushing to your head as your feet are swept from under you. He effortlessly brunts your weight against his shoulder, as he lifts you off the ground, your giggles making it impossible for you to catch your breath.

"Stop before you drop me-” Zac's grip tightens securely along the back of your thighs, his chuckle filling the air as you attempt to push yourself up. Your heart flutters in your chest as he turns towards the bed. "Do not throw me on to that safety hazard." 

Zac's weight teeters forward the shifting of balance causing you to squeal. Just before you hit the mattress, he returns to normal. 

Gently lowering you onto the bed, he smiles as your arms wrap around his neck. Although you are back on a solid foundation, you find yourself glancing around to check that it hasn't shifted.

Lowering himself down on top of you, Zac places a kiss against your lips.  

"See. It’s all about having a little faith."

"I have faith in you," you counter. Noting his raised brow you giggle. “I don’t have faith in this bed."

“Scale 1 to 100?” His brow piques as he pulls back to get a good look at your face.

“Since it didn’t instantly collapse? I’d say it went up-”

"To at least 90." Zac finishes your sentence with ease, the confidence in his voice pulling a giggle from your lips.

Your nose scrunches as you shake your head.

"A solid fifty."

“Unacceptable,” he smiles. “We’re not leaving this bed till it’s at least 100.” 

“It’s only right.”

"Besides," Zac mumbles as his lips find yours. Stealing a kiss, he smiles before shifting for better access to your neck. A smile pressed against your collar bone. “We gotta break it in. That’ll be the true test.”

"Naturally." You giggle, the warm fingers massaging your rib cage pulling a soft moan from your lips.

Shifting his weight, Zac presses a kiss against your hip. His mouth is warm soft against your stomach, passing over your ribs as he guides your t-shirt towards your chest. 

“Let the neighbors know we finally moved in.”

The kiss you place against his lips is all the confirmation Zac needs. 

Soon you’re both undressed, your fingers lost in his hair, his hips pressing into yours. It’s not until you swear you feel the bed shift, the boards releasing a groan, that your hands press against Zac’s chest causing his movements to halt. 

He lifts his head from your neck, his eyes finding your face.

“What?”

Placing your hand over his mouth, you ignore the rolling of his eyes. You listen, but the only thing you can hear is you and Zac’s breathing. 

“You didn’t hear that?” 

“No,” he chuckles, his lips pressing a series of very distracting kisses along your wrist. “I was kinda busy.”

"Babe, I think-”

“It’s fine,” Zac grunts you as he ducks down to kiss you. “Relax.”

Although his words may not have been the most reassuring, you find that your mind quickly abandons the thought as he starts to move again. Neither of you registers the groan from the bed once it initially bounces off the walls. The shallow breaths and giggles flooding your senses.

But the jerking of the mattress registers perfectly. 

Zac’s grip tightens around your as your scream fills the air. The right post shifts beneath your weight, knocking the entire frame balance off. The mattress shifts right, sliding towards the ground. The unstable balance kicks the other post out of its post causing the entire frame to collapse pulling you both, and the mattress, down to the floor with a loud thud. 

The slamming of it echoes throughout the empty house.

Zac's grip around your waist relaxes as your eyes meet his. The smile spreading slowly across his lips grows as your hands cover your face. His face drops into your shoulder, his body relaxing against yours as you attempt to steady the hammering of your heart.

Zac’s laughs make it impossible for you not to do the same. 

“I’m not even going to say it,” you giggle as you reach up to brush your fingers against his hair. 

“Good,” he chuckles as his lips press against your palm. “Because we both know what really broke the bed.”

“Shut up,” you giggle as he shoots you a sheepish grin. “It wasn’t even fixed to begin with!”

"You wanna finish?" He teases, the kiss he presses against the corner of your mouth pulling a giggle from you. Placing a second kiss against the same spot, Zac chuckles as you shake your head. "I can just shift the mattress a bit."   

[btxtreads]

Let Me Move You

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: BEST OF ME

↳ Pairing: Choi Yeonjun x Reader

↳ word count: 2k words

↳ rating: G

↳ genre: fluff

The fast-paced beats of music, the hard slam of feet on the floor, the heavy breathing after finishing a routine—all the things she held onto so fondly were gone.

Instead of Beomgyu snoring in one corner during break time, all she could see was some old man doze off in the reading nook. Instead of Kai and Taehyun bickering amongst themselves while giggling, she instead saw two students fight over the last copy of a history textbook. Instead of Soobin munching on bread in the middle of the dance floor, she could only see a middle school student not-so-subtly try to snack quietly as he studied.

Instead of Yeonjun standing behind her, hands on her waist and lips pressed to her ear as he told her about his day, she sat at the reception table waiting for the newly arrived booksto finish their upload into the system. As she watched the progress bar fill up, her thoughts ran wild.

She missed it—she’s not going to lie. Most of all, she missed him. She missed the way his eyes lit up, an ear-splitting smile on his face as they successfully perfected a complicated routine. She missed how he had the habit of pouting when he was concentrating on something. He missed the way he giggled everything he figured something out.

Her phone lit up, interrupting her train of thought. Y/N’s eyes fell down to her phone—a text from her father flashing on the screen, but her eyes locked onto the photo set as the background. It was her, sitting on the dance floor. Soobin stood behind her, doing some weird hand gesture and eyes trained on the ceiling—as if in the middle of explaining. A few feet in front of them was Yeonjun, dancing. In the beanbags by the corner sat Taehyun and Kai, with bottles of banana milk in their hands as Beomgyu slept beside them.

She missed them. She missed them so much.

“Hey, Y/N,” a voice cut her train of thought. “Have you finished filing the books?”

The girl flinched, eyes wide as she faced the woman smiling over at her.

“Ms. Park,” Y/N blinked, looking over at the computer flashin Upload Complete. “I guess I have.”

The woman smiled understandably, gently pushing a cart of books over to the girl.

“Alright, can you take this to the storage room, then?” The woman hummed. “I’ll shelve those for you.”

Y/N smiled gently, standing up and taking the cart. As she walked to the storage room, she can’t help but look at a young couple sitting by the side and laughing silently amongst themselves. Ignoring the slight pang in her heart, she bit her lip and turned to a corner—not stopping until she ended up in front of the storage room.

It wasn’t special. The storage was full of boxes and unlabelled books that were donated. It was old, dusty, abandoned—but what took Y/N’s breath away was the huge mirror on one side of the room. She forgot the storage room was an old dance studio.

The girl smiled softly, leaving the cart to the side and walking slowly over to stand in front of the mirror. She took a soft breath.

“5, 6, 7, 8,” She mumbled to herself as her feet and hands followed the routine perfectly like she practiced.

She danced as if she had a partner—as if Soobin was next to her, ready to lift her over to Yeonjun after three beats like he used to. She danced as if Hueningkai stood in the middle of the room to pull off his designated dance moves with extreme enthusiasm, as if Beomgyu was next to him biting his lip in concentration to perfect his moves, as if Taehyun was there singing under his breath to guide him as he danced.

“4, 3, 2…” She stopped, short of breath as she fell to her feet.

She can’t give this up.

She looked up at the mirror and she could almost remember how Yeonjun would approach her when she got too tired after practicing, always ready with a cold drink and a kiss to the lips as he smile proudly. Her ears rang, straining to hear his “You did so well today, baby,” that never came.

That’s why she picked herself up and ran. 

All this time she didn’t know where she would go, but now she knew she’d always run back to him.

Yeonjun laid on his couch, a frown on his face as he crossed his arms and glared at his face plastered on the television. He knew he would have to face some intrigue when he used his old Daniel account in attempt to reach Y/N—but he never expected this. All week, his phone and social media accounts blew up with reporters and dance fans trying to contact him.

Because that girl from the Emeralds, Sooah, broadcasted his name on one of the twitter replies, he was found by the media on his personal accounts as well.

God, he hated that bitch.

The boy hissed as his phone rang one more.

“What?” Yeonjun hissed. “I’m not interested in an interview.”

“I’m not going to interview you, Yeonjun.” A high-pitched voice giggled. “I’m Sooah, from the Emeralds—“

“Ah, you.”

“You know me?”

“Who wouldn’t?” Yeonjun deadpanned as he closed his television and rubbed his forehead. “Look, I—“

“I’m interested in you.”

“I’m sorry?” Yeonjun raised his eyebrows. “As a choreographer, right?”

“Sure, and the other way around too—but this is a business call. The rest can come later.” Sooah replied back, tone lilting.

Yeonjun sighed.

“Look, I don’t know what to tell you but I’m sure you know my answer.” Yeonjun sighed, groaning as he heard the doorbell ring incessantly. “You kinda ruined my life, Ms. Sooah.”

“Yeonjun—“

“Please call me Daniel, you said this call was business.” Yeonjun replied curtly as he opened the door with a harsh glare. “If this is another interviewer, I’m suing—“

Yeonjun’s eyes widened as his eyes fell on Y/N, hair falling down her face as she panted.

“Hello? Yeonjun?”

“The answer is no. This call is over, Ms. Sooah.” Yeonjun replied curtly, hanging up the phone and narrowing his eyes at the girl leaning on his doorway. “What are you doing here, Y/N?”

The girl held up a finger, catching her breath. Yeonjun’s eyes softened as he grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby table. Y/N smiled gratefully as she took a few sips, caliming down. The boy pursed his lips, crossing his arms as he stared at the girl.

“Why was Sooah calling you?”

“That doesn’t matter” Yeonjun replied, raising an eyebrow. “Why are you here?”

Because, I can’t give this up.” Y/N replied.

“Me?”

“Everything.”

Yeonjun raised an eyebrow.

“I was at work and I was just—I was bringing books tot he storage room—abandoned dance room—“ The girl stumbled over her words as she ran a hand through her hair. “And i just—I don’t know, I danced—all I could think—feel—was to dance with the boys. With you.”

“You were so hell-bent on giving up.” Yeonjun replied. “How sure can I be that you won’t change your mind this time?”

“Yeonjun,” Y/N shook her head softly. “I’m sure.”

“Are you?” Yeonjun asked. “Because you were last time too—but look what happened. You got hurt—I got hurt—The boys got hurt. You said you can’t waste your time—what about the time they spent for this?”

“I’m sorry, I really am.” Y/N pleaded. “But it’s not going to happen this time around, I promise.”

“Why?”

“I thought at first dancing could get me what I wanted, happiness didn’t matter—It was something I could forget when I’m done, but now?” Y/N chuckled. “Jun, dancing got me to you. It made me happy. I like being happy. You make me happy.”

Yeonjun closed his eyes, contemplating as he released a deep breath. In one movement, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside the room. He slammed the door shut and crossed his arms, observing her. The girl stood in her spot, fidgeting and biting her lip nervously under his gaze.

“Dancing…” Yeonjun started. “makes you happy?”

“It does.”

“Show me.”

Y/N smiled, turning over to the speakers on the table. She pressed play, excitedly anticipating whatever song would play.

When you say that you love me

Nan haneul wireul geotne

Yeongwoneul malhaejwo

Just one more time

Yeonjun stood to the side, just watching as Y/N danced—following the beat. He watched as a soft smile graced her lips.

When you say that you love me

Nan geu han madimyeon dwae

Byeonhaji anhneundago

Just one more time

Y/N faced him smiling and taking his hand.

Neon naege i segyeui jeonbu gata

Deo sege apeuge nal kkwak kkyeoana

“Oh, I’m joining now?”

“You said to follow my heart, right?” The girl smiled. “It’s with you, remember?”

Uriga nanun something

And you can’t make it nothing

Ijji anhajwosseumyeon hae

Neon nae

Yeonjun tried to stop his smile—he really did—but he couldn’t. Not when the girl spun in his arms and pressed her back against his chest. Not when he finally felt the warmth he’s been missing for weeks. Not when she’s back in his arms.

Haruharu

Yeoreum gaeoul

His hands fell to her hips as they swayed to the soft beat. He leaned down to press his lips on her ear.

“What are you doing?”

Neon mollado

Y/N smiled, taking his wrists and swaying faster—in sync with the music as the pace of the beats went quicker and quicker.

“Following my heart.”

You got the best of me

She turned suddenly, feet following the complicated choreography of the song. She laughed she saw Yeonjun dancing alongside her.

You got the best of me

Yeonjun laughed with her, moves getting faster and faster as they went.

So please just don’t leave me

He reached out to grab her waist, pulling her flush to him with a smile.

You got the best of me

The girl reached up to run her hands through his hair before she leaned up to kiss his lips. Yeonjun stood frozen, hands limply clutching her waist as his eyes widened in surprise. Then he smiled, closing his eyes and deepening the kiss. Y/N pulled away, smiling as Yeonjun slowly opened his eyes.

“Why are you blushing?” She said, giggling while Yeonjun covered his reddening face.

“Shut up.” Yeonjun mumbled, whining as Y/N pried his hands off of his face and replaced it with hers—cupping his cheeks with a soft grin.

“What are the odds of getting the boys back together?” Y/N asked.

“This is seriously happening?” Yeonjun asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “We’re getting the team back together?”

““Well, dancing brings out the best in me, You bring out the best in me. That’s all I know.” Y/N shrugged. “and if it’s something important to me and you, and the boys, then that’s something worth continuing, isn’t it?”

“What about your plan?” Yeonjun asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “This isn’t in your plan.”

“Not if it takes me away from you,” Y/N only smiled, leaning her forehead on his. “What about you—America—“

“It’ll be hard for them to take me away, I’m back in the spotlight.” Yeonjun mumbled. “I’m not letting them take me away from you again.”

Y/N laughed, looking into his eyes with a soft smile.

“I love you.” Y/N said suddenly, taking his hands. “So, don’t leave.”

Yeonjun smiled as Y/N took his hand, playing with his fingers as she looked down.

“Don’t go to Sooah, even if she’s prettier and a better dancer. Please trust me when I say that I’ll get everything back together.” She looked back up. “I love you.”

Yeonjun only smiled, cupping her face and leaning back down to crash his lips on hers once more. Y/N kissed back, wrapping her arms around his neck once more as she smiled against his lips. Yeonjun pulled away, smiling at her.

“I love you, too.”

Y/N smiled, closing her eyes as he kissed her once more.

So please just don’t leave me

You got the best of me