#i have one thing i forgot to plant and a few things in the mail tho | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cupoftaae · 2 years ago

Text

Forever And A Day (KTH x READER) series ♡ Francis Forever (chapter 17)

Summary: your lifelong friend is forced to face his true feelings for you once he breaks the number one rule of becoming friends with benefits: dont fall in love. He knows he loves you, but you on the other hand need more convincing of the most important thing: the right decision.

Genre: fwb. Roommates, friends to idiots to lovers, fluff, angst, smut, the whole 9 yards tbh.

Pairing: taehyung x female!reader

rating: 18+ (minors dni!!!)

word count- 5k

warnings- swearing, angst, mentions of miscarriage, confused feelings, some kissing (some smut not really its like 2 seconds), REALLY EMO

a/n- guys....we have reached the final chapter of Forever And A Day, oh my god. Ive worked on this story since January, its very dear to me, Thank you for everyone who tagged along. I love you so much! there will still be an Epilogue posted as well. Enjoy the chapter angels

-nini

Your feet led you down to the kitchen, where your mom was currently cleaning.

"hi honey" she mumbled, not turning around to see you as she scrubbed the top of the stove.

"hey.." you walk over, opening the fridge and looking for something to snack on. Granted- there was something made for breakfast but you hadn't woken up until 12pm. Technically, it was now lunch.

"do you want me to make you something?"

You peer over to your mom whos putting things away in the storages

"no thats okay" you grab a sleeve of crackers from the cabinet and some cream cheese, opting to sit at the kitchen island with your sad "meal"

"thats not lunch, missy" your mother scolded as she turned to you finally

"meh" you shoved the cracker in your mouth as you watched her grab her coat from the hanger. "where are you going?" you spoke with a full mouth.

"I have to run to the store"

"didnt you just go the other day?"

Your mom peered over her shoulder, waiting a moment "yes...but, I forgot to grab...uh....planter feed, for my little window plants" she nodded over in the direction of them.

"okay....can I come?" you mumble, throwing another dry cracker into your mouth.

"no" she laughed, making you look up

"what, why?"

"because" she began to ramble "well...I love you but Ive spent every minute with you this week, its good to be alone for a few hours"

You raised an eyebrow as if you didnt believe her.....because you didnt. "okayyy..." your voice dragged out

"ill be back in no time, no worried dear." she grabbed her bag and walked to the door, "ill bring you back a coffee" she winked as she left.

Once you heard the door lock, you stood up, licking the cream cheese off your fingers.

why was she in such a hurry to be gone?

Your feet wandered over to the little plant cabinet she had, opening it to see a freshly stocked basket of soil feed packets. Of course she was lying.

She was probably looking for an excuse to see that guy shes been talking to for months now. Why would she lie though? does she think you couldn't handle it?

Chosing to ignore it, you picked up her cat and made your way upstairs to your room, sitting down at your desk.

These days you werent out much, last time you saw other people was 2 days ago when you went to go grab the mail from the mailbox in the pouring rain. Nonetheless, you still loved to get yourself dolled up as if you were going out.

You applied some makeup, carefully drawing out your eyeliner to a sharp point. The way you applied your face could be compared to how you applied yourself to everything else in life- strict and neat, and you hated when you had a smudge

You pushed through your makeup bag, searching for a certain lipstick that you are now realizing you left back in Paris.

"that was $20" you sigh, standing up to wander to your moms room. Surely she has something to use, shes always been one to paint her face, she used to let you play "makeover" when you were young, which might be why you love it so much now. It was always enjoyable, even if you made her look like a clown a bit.

You wondered where she would keep her makeup, as it wasnt in her bathroom. A quick scan around the room brought you over to her vanity drawers.

"ahh, there we go" you happily looked at all of the collective lipsticks and palettes sprawled out in front of you. You grasped a few of them to look for one you would use, when your eyes fell onto a folder underneath all it.

Pulling it out and carefully looking inside, because you were snoopy even with your mothers belongings, you saw what appeared to be a booklet of Polaroid photos.

You giggled softly at the cute older photos of your mom when she was younger, the silly gestures in the photos reminded you that she too is human and has her own emotions.

You came across a specific one in the pile where your mom was looking out the window in her old apartment, obviously pregnant.

that was you.

Smiling softly, you slid through the last bits before picking up one that made your breath hitch.

Your dad.

She still kept every photo. Hidden.

Photos of your dad sitting on the deck of the house with newborn you resting on his chest, photos of him not knowing your mom was even there while he did tiny activities, like fixing or repainting something.

It was so real and so raw, and you wanted to criticize your mother for keeping all of these, because as you looked at his face, you felt nothing but anger.

But you had to remember she spent a majority of her life with him...she had a kid with him....and you almost felt a sense of sympathy for her and the life she thought she would have with him.

He ruined so many things and even after all of that, she cant toss the photos.

Its never really over, huh?

You knew deep down that you should've respected your moms privacy and left the room, considering you were only on the look for a lipstick.

But you found yourself still digging an hour later, looking at photos and notes and everything in between. In a way, you felt like the snooping mom looking into her daughters room.

Perhaps you shouldnt have, but you took one of the photos and kept it for yourself. It was of your mom, she had to have been your age in it, and she was standing in front of the old ice cream place she always took you to before it got demolished.

She looked so happy and pure, she had that gleam in her eyes that you struggle to find in her nowadays.

You put the photo into your bag, making sure it was flat and not bent.

With any lesson learnt from your parents, its that your biggest fear is to spend your life in the wrong situation, trying to make it work only for it to end up as the opposite, and leave you with a broken heart.

But on the other hand, you also realize that you dont want to be like your mom, although you admire and adore her, you want to find your place so desperately, and not let any opportunity go to waste.

The doorbell downstairs rang, startling you a little as you rose to your feet, trying to head down quickly.

"coming!" you shout, your bare feet leading you to the locked door. You open it and see a young man with a pizza in his hand. "oh!"

He bows his head polietly, "Hi, pizza for Y/N?"

You almost laugh, "ah...I didnt order anything?"

you thought for a moment and considered that your mother probably ordered it for you, knowing that your choice of meal this morning was crackers and cream cheese.

"its already paid for" he spoke again

"im sorry but-" you sigh "okay....thanks?" you reach out, almost burning your hands at how warm the box was. You dropped it off on the kitchen counter and looked at it.

It was cheese and bacon, your favorite, how did your mom know that?

"should I trust this?" you looked down at the cat crawling over your feet, she smelled the yummy food just above and was trying to access it.

Before you could grab your phone to call her, you heard the doorbell ring again. "seriously...?"

once more, your feet dashed you over as you opened the door, assuming it would be another delivery. You dropped your phone onto the floor as the person standing in front of you turned around.

"I hope you are open to sharing that pizza" Taehyung spoke quietly, a small smile on his face.

"what are you doing here....?" you looked at him like a deer in headlights; scared, relieved, shocked, happy all in one.

He calmed his expression and stepped a bit closer, "can I come in?"

You stepped back and thought for a moment

"please....?" he persisted

"y-yeah..yeah come in" you stepped away and watched him slowly enter the house, taking his shoes off before turning back to you. He didnt have a moment to speak before you threw yourself into his chest, wrapping him up into a tight hug.

His arms snaked around you, pulling you closer as both of your breathing became uneven.

"i-im so sorry...i missed you a lot and I havent texted and, fuck, youre here and im so-"

"shhh...shhh" his hand held your nape as you looked at you, forehead against yours, "dont apologize its okay"

"but-"

"no...lets just go sit down and talk" he whispered, rubbing your back.

You exhaled shakily "okay"

You led him over to the kitchen, still in absolute shock at the fact he is here with you right now. All of the guilt began to seep back in the moment you saw his face.

You took a seat at the counter and looked at him, the sun peaking in through the blinds, leaving stray lines of orange through the room.

He smiled and looked around, pulling the seat out next to you as he sat down.

"So.." you looked at him, swallowing harshly. "wh-"

"your mom called me" he spoke honestly, sitting down and shielding the sun with his hand. "I was worried sick about you, I cant lie"

Yep. Guilt.

"and I didnt wanna bother you, but she called me and said that you wanted to see me so..." he smirked a little, looking down.

You sigh loudly, "oh tae.....i never told her to tell you to come...."

He laughed, throwing his head back "ah I figured sort of...I knew you would have probably texted me yourself"

You nod, stomach fluttering at the sound of his amusement. "yeah..'m sorry for not texting, that was really shitty of me Tae"

"dont apologize, youve gone through a lot, I understand its not easy to jump back in yet...and thats okay." he whispered "but...how are you? what are you feeling?"

"right now? im....im honestly really happy you showed up...."

"yeah?"

You nod, "mhm, i, er, missed you" you fumbled with your words, not wanting to sound needy or desperate.

"I missed you too" his response was quick.

you both looked at eachother for a few moments silently, before you spoke up, "you ordered that pizza, didnt you?"

He began to laugh, "yeah I did"

"I knew my mom wouldnt know I liked bacon...." you giggled, he moved a little closer and smiled.

"and listen, im not here to course you to coming back to Busan, I just wanted to come check on you...because you know I love you always"

You felt your face heat up, "I know...I know tae, I love you too."

"how are you physically?" he spoke quietly

Shrugging, you answered truthfully, "I think Im okay....my body is beginning to go back to normal, so....."

"good, thats good" he nods

"mhm...im glad I have my mom, but I really did miss having you nearby, and I know you dont want to hear it but I have to say it" you mumbled

"you can talk, y/n"

"im so sorry...for everything....its not fair-"

"but-"

"just listen please, its not fair...what I did to you, and I shouldnt have left, that was so shitty to leave you back in Paris knowing you were hurting too"

His face softened

"and what I did has been haunting me so much that I was afraid to contact you in fears you resented me....in fears that perhaps you hated me now-" your voice choked

"y/n, no, no," he grabbed your hands, "I could never hate you....never ever" he whispered moving to see your eyes, "listen to me, It was a bad situation, and perhaps we could have done better, yes, but stop apologizing for dealing with grief."

He wiped the tear stain on your cheek, holding your face close to his, whispering, "does your mom still have popsicles in the freezer?"

The random question made you laugh, "what?"

"this is serious, y/n, does she?"

"I- I think?" you stood and watched him search, successfully finding them. "why?"

He smirked, "you know why" he grabbed 2 and held your hand, bringing you upstairs to your room, opening the window and climbing out to the ledge of the roof

A place you two always sat during your high school days...with popsicles.

"ohh...." you giggled, now understanding his method to the madness.

"been a longgg time since we sat here, why didnt we do it when we visited a few months ago?" he smiled, opening the wrapper and licking the watermelon pop

"Im not sure..." you opened your own, happy that the sun wasn't directly on you two anymore.

Taehyung laid back against the roof, eyes on you from behind. Its been so long since hes seen you, and with every passing day he grew more impatient.

When he got the phone call from your mom, he knew it was mostly her doing, but he was not about to pass up a free opportunity to see you, even knowing the risk of you despising him was still high.

He wanted to call you beautiful, the way the orange sky illumintaed on your skin, it blended perfectly, it was straight out of a disney Princess movie.

He had no clue as to what label you two stood as, was it okay to call you baby? there was never an official breakup. Was it too much to want to kiss you as soon as he saw your face? his body yearned for you in every way, he missed the feeling of your hand in his and your body on his chest at night.

He missed all of you, and it hasnt even been that long.

"you know..." he began, closing his eyes, "Im starting to think im a bit too dependent on you" his voice was teasing,

"why do you say that?" you looked back at him, licking the popsicle.

He shrugged, smirking, "just cant seem to stay away...."

"i dont understand you" you laugh, looking forward again. "ive been such an ass, Taehyung"

"youre not an ass you just feel things deeply and I love that about you"

"is this some kind of kink?" you joke, watching him laugh

"maybe?"

You shake your head as you continue to eat the pop, "I dont shame"

He looked up at the sky, glaring at a plane flying across. He wondered if you two could be seen from the window.

He wondered how tiny and insignificant you would appear to the passengers aboard, who had no idea what situation you both were dealing with, like how he didnt know what they were dealing with.

Life is weird like that.

What problems you have and seem huge may seem meaningless to others, or how from space, you are the size of a grain of salt. It puts things into perspective, and over the past few weeks, hes been thinking about everything deeply and truly....deciding that although it may change nothing, seeing you was the best option.

"Tae?" you spoke, noticing how quiet he got

"remember when we were 16 and it was Easter? My family was over with yours, and you and I climbed up here after dinner and tried to smoke my dads cigarettes for the first time?" he laughed at the memory

You smile, "I smoked it wrong and began to choke"

You both were giggling again now

"you almost swallowed it, how does one fuck up smoking so badly?"

You nudge him, "hey!"

He shrugged, still smiling

"you are quite the smoker yourself now, huh?"

"I grew up with him smoking so yeah, I sort of picked up on it"

You nod, listening

"you hate it though, right?" he smirked

"well you are a grown man, you can chose to do as you please"

"oh cmon dont play coy, you know you would never give up a chance to scold me for it"

"yeah youre right" you sigh at his knowingness "I worry about your lungs!" you tease

"my lungs are okay" he smiled as you laid down on the roof next to him, the sun casting both of your shadows behind you.

"you dont know that!"

"trust baby, if anything was wrong youd be the first to know"

You froze after he called you baby, it wasn't like you two had been gone for years, but neither of you had been lovey in over a month, it felt almost foreign, almost wrong.

He wasnt going to apologize, it did slip, but did he regret it?

nope.

His eyes scanned over yours, softly and lovingly as he moved his hand over your hair, pushing it out of your eyes.

You stared at him, an expression reading shock. He pulled away slightly

"am I making you uncomfortable?" he seemed worried that he stepped too far, scaring you.

"n-no!" you spoke, reaching for his hand. "it just feels odd you know? its not you, its just...."

"been a while" he finished for you

"yeah..."

You still felt safe with him, how could you not?

You didnt want him to make the assumption that you were not okay with his touch anymore, because that definitely was not the case.

You slowly cuddled closer to him, both of you laid on your backs as your head rested on his shoulder, his head leaning against yours.

Both of your lips were painted pink and red from the popsicles, it made you smile.

The sky above you two seemed so big, so endless.

Staring at it was almost frightening.

You reached for his hand and intertwined his fingers with yours, he quickly squeezed yours out of affection.

"ahh..." he spoke up suddenly, voice quiet. "I shouldnt.....I shouldnt have taken you to Paris"

You looked up at him

"maybe the plane ride was too much? maybe your body couldnt handle the stress?" he exhaled shakily, eyes still up at the sky. "Im sorry...I really am"

"you dont have to apologize for anything" you turned your body on your side so you faced him, though he still wouldn't look at you.

"hey.." you tried again, "you know, my mom told me she also miscarried when I was 3 years old...and thats why she never had kids after me"

He closed his eyes, squeezing your hand

"So I guess its runs in the family.....not our fault" you shrugged, "Its breaks my heart but...we dont have to blame ourselves"

He turned his head to your finally at the sound of your voice cracking, He brought you closer to his chest, hand rubbing your back. Taehyung swallowed harshly, clearing his throat to talk quietly "I've been...having a hard time dealing with it.

You rested your hand on his chest, looking at him sympathetically. His eyes were now watery, it took a lot to not cry yourself.

Youve already cried.

Youve cried so much

Perhaps you were now accepting the miscarriage for what it was, you were even able to say it aloud now, and thats growth.

You wished the same for Taehyung.

"that's okay, too" you whisper, hand snaking around to brush his hair between your fingers behind his head.

His eyes went back up to the now purple sky, tears reflecting the image in front of you. "do you think they are up there?" he smiled softly, rubbing your back still.

You look up at the sky, the clouds creating a beautiful set up as the sun set behind them. The world felt blanketed and secured in this moment, almost safe.

"yeah" you whisper, squeezing his hand, "but they are also here...with us, you know?"

He looks at you, tear marks on his face as you move to wipe them with your sleeve. "I think we will always be parents, that cant change. I feel that connection so deeply, and I know you do too. They arent gone, they just arent in this world" you add.

Taehyung smiled softly at your words, nodding slowly, "yeah....yeah youre right"

His thumb runs over your knuckles, calming you both down.

"I cant get myself to get rid of anything...like the stuff we bought." you mumble, looking down at your hands.

He chuckled, "mmh, you dont have too."

You sighed and looked at him again, a warm blush coating your cheeks.

"you know...I dont give you enough credit" he spoke "youve been through so much"

"Tae..." you brush his hair back, "youve given me everything....we need to look ahead...the past cant be changed."

He slides his hand under the hem of your shirt, touching the soft skin on your hip bone. It wasn't promiscuous or anything, simply an act of love and affection, silently showing you he's here and is listening.

"Im really sad" he choked out

You hugged him close as he began to cry into your shoulder

"its okay baby, its okay....its okay to be sad, you dont have to be strong for me" your hand caressed his back. "I love you so much, please know that"

He took a moment to calm down before pulling back to look at you, "y-youre right....we do need to look forward now"

You nod softly, holding his face.

You were a little worried to see him in this state, you didnt know he was feeling this and keeping it down for so long.

All you could do was comfort him and be there.

"I just.....are we still...." he trailed off, making you smile as you cupped his face again, brushing your thumbs over his cheeks lovingly.

"mm" you slowly leaned forward to kiss him

It was a nice kiss, not too slow but not too fast, just what was needed after a month of distance and no contact.

He blushed brightly, holding you as he whispered, "do you think we could start over? I really want to treat you right, and I want this to work. We can work it out right? the correct way this time?" his voice wavered

You nodded, still looking at him "yes....we can try again, the right way" you giggled as he leaned forward to kiss you again, this time a little quicker.

He bit your bottom lip, hands gently squeezing your hips

"baby-" you exhaled into his mouth, gently pulling back to look at him. "maybe we shouldnt"

"why?" he frowned, almost looking like a little kid

"well for starters we are on my roof" you giggled, sitting up

Taehyung smiled and looked around

"and....I dont know...sex is what brought us this mess" you teasingly nudged him, making him laugh. "lets just be with eachother for a little bit and let our feelings lead us to what happens"

He sighed, knowing you were right. "okay....can I still cuddle you though?" he whispered, making you coo at his cuteness.

"of course, lets go"

You slowly led him back into your room off the roof, closing the window before settling down on the bed with him. "when are you going back to Busan?"

He held you, face hidden in your neck "maybe in a few days...I dont want to leave you yet if thats okay"

"okay...thats fine, but, I think I'll head back with you...."

He smiled, rubbing your back "yeah?"

"mm" you kissed his head, closing your eyes.

You were still healing. To say you fully recovered was not true, but as you sat in his arms things felt normal again, even if it would be temporary.

Perhaps you needed to be with him to fully heal, to fully be yourself. Taehyung was your other half, and he knew you better than anyone. To give this another chance is like a breath of fresh air.

Putting your pasts behind you in hopes of feeling happiness again, in hopes of both of you becoming better people for each other.

Taehyung doesnt want to leave you, ever, and you cant say you want him to.

You dont spend half of your life with someone then let them run away just because things go downhill.

If your father was in your presence, you would teach him this lesson.

When you love someone, you hold their hand and walk through hard times together, you dont let them leave over something that both of you know you would need eachother's support for. To think- you almost let him out of your grasp, you almost lost him.

And Taehyung loved you so much...that if you asked him to leave....he would have.

You dont know what the future entails, and yes, its fucking terrifying. Life is scary, theres ups and downs, and suprises and failure, but theres also a lot of love, and happiness, and success if you look hard enough.

You do hope one thing for sure, and thats that he will be at your side as you grow up, to be there when you are right and wrong, healthy or sick, happy or sad.

As you both began to pick up the pieces of what was broken, you appreciated the past, knowing you had to let it go, but it also brought you here, back into where you feel most safe.

You renovated the apartment and turned the Nursery into a craft room for Taehyungs painting. He kept all of the baby belongings in the closet, hoping for the day in the future when he would open it again and feel that sense of excitement but nervousness.

You continued work and college classes, pursuing your acting career that youve always wanted, and when you graduated, Taehyung would never let you forget how much he admired you.

He kissed your neck softly, his hand pressed into yours as he hovered above you, "so beautiful, my love...."

you bit your lip before exhaling a shaky moan "ohh..f-fuck"

"so smart....youre so perfect baby, I love you"

He kissed you gently, still moving his hips against yours as you held him close to you, fluttering your eyes shut.

things had settled into place once again.

Taehyung got offered a job as an art teacher at the college you graduated from, taking the full time position while you worked at the local theatre, producing and preforming sold out plays every weekend.

The saving money part was hard for him, he wanted to buy you anything you laid your eyes on.

"did you seriously buy the couch?!" you tossed your bag, running from the doorway to the living room to see the grey couch you had pointed out shopping with him literally the day prior.

He shrugged, "yeah...whats the big deal?"

"taehyung!" you giggled and hugged him.

He was too spontaneous for his own good.

A few years passed, and looking at your current life now, you would not believe how much had changed. You can say for the first time in a while you felt happy...and oh what an exciting and freeing feeling that was.

"I love youuuu! my baby!!!!!" taehyung danced around on the icy sidewalk outside of your apartment door, it was new years eve and he was drunk.

very...very drunk.

He pointed at you as he sang, "my babyyyy! woo!"

You giggled, sitting on the steps and recording your man child boyfriend whom you loved so much. "baby be careful dont sl-"

too late.

He fell on his ass, laughing so hard he almost puked, which of course made you laugh too.

"cmon ya big baby" you ran over and helped him inside. Midnight had already passed earlier, pre-drunk taehyung had danced with you around the living room, gifting you a small kiss once the clock read midnight.

"hm, I dont get it, whats so different about a new years kiss? its like every other one?" you laughed after his lips left yours.

"well its special because I get to be the first to kiss you in the new year" he smiled cheekily

"tae...your the only one who gets to kiss me any year" you point at him

"damn right" he snaps his fingers at you as he walks past into the other room.

Every holiday you spent with him felt special, every event, every grocery run, it all felt so much more authentic now.

You two were in your mid twenties now, and a lot of mental growth had come along with that. With pride, you can say you were better people than before, and thats why things worked so well.

You could easily live like this forever.....

it was basically an endless sleepover with your best friend. You were okay if you could come home and see his face waiting for you on the couch.

Your sweet boy.

You had no idea what was gonna happen next, whether that was marriage, or another attempt at having kids- you felt ready.

Ready to give him anything he wanted in return for him saving you.

You could do anything, be anywhere or anyone, in good or bad conditions, and you will still only crave him.

Your lover.

You want him for months

for years

for eternity...

For Forever And A Day.

And God knows he felt the same.

A/N- wow guys....this is it....I cannot thank you enough for reading my first story on here, im not perfect at writing but you guys keep me motivated and confident in my work, and I love you for that. This will not be the end of this couple, we still have the Epilogue as well as eventual drabbles.

You guys are amazing. ily.

-Nini

taglist-

@turnthepageandbeburnt @taebangtanbabe @borahaexoxo @lelefoodlover @tan-veee

#bts #bts fanfic #bts fluff #bts smut #kim taehyung fanfic #kim taehyung #taehyung #taehyung fanfic #taehyung fluff #taehyung smut #taehyung bts #bts taehyung #kim taehyung series #taehyung series

28 notes · View notes

tenaciouschronicler · 2 months ago

Text

December 13 2024 2009

Three Jades? Well I guess that explains the sleeping but not sleeping thing with Jade. Jades dream self is in the same yellow clothing as what is above the fireplice which is wild. Does she own these clothes in real life and why would you pick those for your dream? The robot is very weird. First off why? How does the bed sense her dreams to power this robot and more importantly who made it? Jade tries sleeping in her dream but cant get comfortable because "some sort of invisible force is pressing down on you, a strange feeling of cold heavy metal." So I dont think shes aware that theres a robot that copies her moves.

Taking a look around the place Ive got a couple of observations. The whole room is washed pink from the bed, to the new wallpaper, to the plants and the items on the floor. There are no posters at all and the lights of the selected shirt options are all off. Its very bright outside and the sky is pale yellow, with the sun turning the sheets orange. Lastly, Im just realizing the bed posts kinda look like lathed totems? I dont know if Im just late to the party on that but there ya go.

We get to see the past related to Johns birthday present, which here is signed GT which we come to find out related to Johns previous Chumhandle 'ghostyTrickster'. A few things we learn. Rose and Jade probably had their past conversation in December as well because they talked about birthday presents.

John is the baby of the group (cant relate), Jade is the oldest and Dave and Rose are one day apart. John was one busy guy getting and wrapping their gifts in time but in all his excitement he forgot how long mail takes to get to Jade.

Jade has been harassed for years by these troll accounts, of which she counts 12, and they are the reason John changed his Chumhandle and ruined the friend theme.

We jump back to Present John for a second which is great cause now I can talk about the rest of those drawings in the past.

Every time you reenter your room, you shudder at the recent handiwork of some mischievous imps.

(emphasis mine)

Um, John, buddy how are you only seeing this now? Its been on your wall for months. Im surprised Rose hasnt said anything on this matter...

TT: Are you suggesting that imps are responsible for defacing your movie posters?

EB: uh, YEAH?

TT: Your posters have looked like that ever since I first saw your room.

TT: The moment we started playing this game.

TT: I thought you had defaced them ironically to mock your father's interests.

Not two pages later Rose debunks me letting it be known that these pictures are visible to others. We cannot directly connect these as a Sburb creation because we saw them prior to the game. John is the most likely to be their creator but he 1) would never do that to his posters and 2) somehow blocked their existance until this moment.

Fun little crack theory with this information: What if this is why Dad likes Harlequins? He saw these drawings (theres no evidence he couldnt) and assumed that John was embarrassed about this interest and being the dad that he is decided to show support by decorating the house to show there is no reason for shame? And then sad part about this theory, theres also writing that says 'lame kid' so what if Dad is also trying to boost Johns self-esteem with all his talks? AH wait! Im gonna keep adding to this OMG, what if Dad is corresponding with Dr. Brinner, who he met through the Serious Bussiness chat, because hes a psychologist to get help for John?! Oh man, I am spiraling in these theories.

Ok, ok back to the plot. Rose is not very concerned with her imminent firey demise and has named her new kitten Vodka Mutini. In the back, we can see she barely escaped the explosion as evidenced by the scorch mark on the pink scarf.

After witnessing John have another breakdown, we jump to WV who is attempting to climb down from the station roof. Alas, they are out of rope (cable) and refuses to relinquish their sash. Serenity does some scouting of the conveniently visible cable in the distance.

Its attatched to a harpoon, "This strikes you as convenient! It is almost as if someone knew you would need a bunch of cable". Indeed. Apperifying it is! Unfortunately, the apperifier was still set to the past and instead we get this.

A lovely hand drawn letter from Jade along with the present she just recieved and WVs pronouns. While confused by the envelope contents, WV decides as any mayor worth their salt would "it is obviously critical MAYORAL BUSINESS which you take very seriously and you will defend this package with your life." An absolutely fine mayor he chooses to be.

#me theorizing is essentially like having one of those corkboards with strings pinned between pages #is any of it remotely true? who knows #but im connecting the dots whether anyone belives me or not #homestuck #homestuck replay #hsrp liveblog #hsrp theories #hsrp lore #chrono

3 notes · View notes

driftward · 1 year ago

Note

Ask meme for Quinnelle, please!

What does their bedroom look like?

Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?

How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?

What is their biggest regret?

What makes them feel guilty?

Superstitions or views on the occult?

If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?

So, here's the deal.

Some stories end. Even in a perpetual MMO.

And I made contingency plans for the possibility that one day, Zoissette's story might end, for whatever reason. So while Quinnelle may not ever meaningfully exist, she's still there, in my head, causing trouble and making fun stories.

With that in mind, Quinnelle Vidalle, the fastest of the fast couriers in Eorzea, ready and standing by, one Fantasia away when Zoissette finally bows out of the spotlight. (Importantly, this lets me keep all the stuff on a new character, and Quinnelle is designed to be able to nick in as a replacement WoL easy as you please)

What does their bedroom look like?

Piles and piles in different places on the floor. Single small bed. A potted plant that died probably before the last calamity. Cobwebs everywhere, what do you have a problem with spiders she likes spiders spiders are friends. That one's named Jeorgeaux.

Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?

Sexual orientation is yeah, sure, if she's bored. Finds discussions on such faintly boring and nonsensical though. Swive who you wanna if you wanna she don't give a shit. Also gender is bullshit.

How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?

About the only thing they keep neat and clean is the uniforms in their closet, and they are -picky- about anything doing with mail, they take that shit stone cold seriously. Everything else is whatever. Knows she'll be perpetually late if she lets herself be so, so instead shows up early and just bitches.

What is their biggest regret?

Regrets are for people who aren't charging forward half enough. Any given day generates a few dozen small regrets that she usually forgets within the half hour. Can't have regret if you're always rushing to live in the now.

What makes them feel guilty?

Okay, fine, they'll feel guilty over not meeting obligations, like getting packages to the right person or mail to the right place on time or missing muster or that one time she plumb forgot she was supposed to meet a guy for a date but look it was a really good triple triad game okay she won a plushie she'd wanted for a long time out of it his name is G'george. The plushie, not the date. No, she doesn't know how Sun Seeker names work, the Moon Keepers are far more personable in her opinion.

Superstitions or views on the occult?

She believes in every single god and goddess and holds any of a number of tiny little rituals for each one every day. It doesn't matter that some of those belief systems contradict other ones; she's not telling the gods, and nobody else should be either, and what they don't know won't hurt them. Definitely believes in hedging her bets in this regard, so there's always a deity to call on in a moment of trouble.

Primals are just assholes trying to get in on the god action though so swive 'em. But not literally. Well maybe Ifrit. He's hot. That's a fire joke. Get it? Hahah but no seriously.

If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?

Someone who would put up with her shit. I mean, swive, that's the only way it'd possibly happen, right?

But if we're handing out prize Chocobos and making wishes on stars, a big strong man with muscles under just the right amount of flab, with big beautiful lips and a strong wedge of a chin and a nose chiseled out of rock and oh shit she's just describing her boss. That's literally just her boss Raubahn. Swive don't tell him don't tell him don't tell him she meant to say uh you know someone hot like uhm Merlwyb wait crap that someone else's boss uhm you know maybe someone adorable but in a lady way like Momodi wait that's kind of her other boss crap QUESTIONS OVER GOT MAIL TO DELIVER.

#final fantasy xiv #quinelle vidalle #biot writes #ask meme #answer hours

2 notes · View notes

the-chosen-fanfiction · 2 years ago

Text

Gentile. | Chapter 13

You bond with Joanna. A letter arrives in the mail.

Chapter list

Joanna turns out to be delightful. You meet with her right after you’ve washed up and she wastes no time in showing you the ropes. The main area of recreation, you come to learn, are the gardens west of the storerooms. Several trees have been planted along the sides, creating enough shade to remain comfortable. It seems to be a small oasis of sorts, and you can already see yourself writing on your letters and poetry on one of the benches.

“You can sit here whenever you want,” Joanna explains. “You can also make use of the bathhouse, pool and the hammam. It’s all heated.”

You give a small nod and let your eyes go to the bathhouse that looks out over the other side of the garden. A few people are strutting around wearing absolutely nothing, a few of the women at least having the modesty to clothe themselves with sheer drapes. Servants walk about with hot stones and all kinds of soaps, listening to every beck and call of the patrons. Three female slaves slip into the water with a remarkably corpulent man who is wearing the most filthy grin on his face. You shudder at the sight and feel your gut twist unpleasantly.

“Not used to that, I see.” Joanna says, but there is no judgement nor humour in her voice, “I get it, you know. Things around here are sometimes… Well… Indecent.”

You hum in agreement. “Indeed, I am not too familiar with things like that happening in such close proximity to me. I’m aware that they do, but… Not in Capernaum, not as… Shameless as that.” Your cheeks flush, for your actions regarding Atticus hadn’t exactly been proper, either.

“Us women should stick up for ourselves more,” she states. The intensity of her gaze makes you gulp, fearing that she is seeing right through you, prompting you to adjust your Palla to cover the marks in your neck, but when you nod slowly at last, she smiles a little. “I wish that one day I’ll have more of a voice. Not that chaperoning visitors around the first days they’re here isn’t fun, but… I want more than that, you know. I might be saying way too much already.”

“No,” you immediately breathe, “Not at all, I agree with what you’re saying. If it were up to me, I’d be publishing my own books, but my husband…”

Your voice trails off and she looks at you, smiling slightly. “Your own books? An educated woman, then?”

Abashed, you shrug. “Well, I can read and write.”

“And express your thoughts into written text. There are plenty of people who cannot even verbally say what they want.”

The pair of you laugh. The ice has definitely been broken and you’re curious to see if you could become friends with her.

Joanna heads over to another door and guides you through it. “Here is the regular dining room,” she says, “Whenever we’ve got banquets, they’re behind the double doors on your left. We cannot head in there now, but trust me, it’s always a pleasant time.” She winks and smiles.

You head back up the stairs again to the wing where your quarters are located, and she leads you to a balcony that looks out over the garden. In the distance, you can see hills in the desert, the air above it searing hot sand trembling visibly.

“Thank you for showing me around,” you tell Joanna, “I’ll spend my time wisely here.”

“It’s nothing,” she reassures you, “Don’t be a stranger. I’ve been dying for a friend around here.”

You smile. “I won’t be. I’ve got a feeling that we’re going to get along just great.”

It causes her to laugh a little before she lets out a small gasp. “Oh, I almost forgot. Follow me.” You go back inside the building and Joanna brings you to her chambers, where she lives with her husband. The man in question is at work.

Several statuettes of Roman gods and goddesses stand as an altar near the window and a bouquet of wilted flowers falls apart on the large table located in the centre. Despite the circumstances, Joanna seems to have tried to give it a female touch, but the stifling environment isn’t playing its part. The statues make you feel uneasy, as if they’re taunting you, judging you for your lack of prayers with their hollow eyes.

“Just a little something to welcome you here.” Joanna pulls you from your thoughts. She turns to you with a small bag in her hands and holds it out in your direction, “They’re from the south, very squishy.”

You take it, loosen the small ribbon holding it closed curiously and reach inside to find your absolute favourite: figs. A grin spreads over your face and you softly gasp.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” You bring one of the fruits up to your nose to take in its rich, honeyed scent, “I love these so much!”

“We knew,” Joanna chuckles, “There was a small note added post scriptum to the letter we received that you were coming over to seek refuge here. We tried to get our hands on the dried, sugared ones, but this was the best we could find.”

You frown at the revelation. “That’s nice, very thoughtful.” you murmur, a little puzzled. Quintus does not possess such attentiveness when it comes to giving you something extra, so perhaps that it had been Atticus to perform such a nice gesture. Your gut swirls at the thought of him, knees feeling weak at the sheer notion. Even though you saw him last mere hours ago, you already miss him.

When you hold out the bag to offer Joanna a fig, she takes it gladly.

“I can understand why you like them,” she says, smiling after swallowing it. “Anyhow, I’ll leave you some space to rest in your room. Let’s talk more soon, okay? You should just get settled for a bit. Take all the time you need.”

You thank her softly and head back to your room, enjoying another fig or two. The man who had been in the bath with the three slaves passes you in the hallway, causing you to take a step back out of instinct. He doesn’t seem to notice you, much to your delight.

Your jaw tenses as you watch him stalk off, an awkward feeling settling within your gut. Despite Joanna being lovely, you aren’t certain what to make of this place yet. Perhaps that you’re simply just not used to a setting like this, so you decide to give it some more time.

Heading into your large and empty-feeling chamber, you sit down on your bed, sighing deeply.

A fortnight passes. The days are long and hot, but you find comfort in your books and with your new friend, whom you visit on a daily basis.

Joanna is, much like Atticus, thoroughly invested in your poetry, and often sneaks a glance over your shoulder to see what you’re working on. The question you have feared comes up one afternoon when sitting together in the shade of an olive tree, Joanna enjoying some grapes whilst you flip a page in your journal. It’s starting to get full already.

“What inspires you to write such interesting pieces?”

You look up. “My books,” you lie, smoothing a finger down the middle of the two pages in order to have them remain open, “The romantic and sometimes heartbreaking scenes are extremely inspirational.”

Joanna lets out an unconvinced hum. “I don’t believe you,” she says, taking a sip of wine from her goblet, “There is no way that you can write like that without actually experiencing such emotions, otherwise you cannot capture it as gorgeously as you can. Come on, tell me, no need to be shy.”

You open your mouth to tell her that it’s nothing special when someone interrupts your peaceful chat. “Something arrived for you in the mail, lady (Y/n),” a servant says. He bows his head down and offers you a rolled up and sealed bit of parchment. You recognise the seal at once and take it.

“Thank you,” you say, “You are dismissed.”

He rushes away and Joanna scoots closer to you. “Who is it from?”

“My husband,” you say, fingering the insignia for a second, feeling the wax under your thumb before breaking it. You unfurl it and roll it out. “Quintus.”

Your eyes flit over the page to see what it is about. Something annoyed stirs within you from the very start as you begin reading it.

Dear (Y/n), let me open this letter to you to tell you that I miss you. The bed is cold without you and in a time of conflict gods know I need some winding down. I’m looking forward to our reunion, even though it might be some time off.

Swallowing hard, you force down the bile threatening to claw at your throat. His sentiment is not reciprocated.

Let me fill you roughly in on what has been going on lately. Zealots, Jews and other vermin have dared to organise riots in Capernaum’s streets. They don’t seem to be accepting our authority, so we must continue with an iron fist. No need to worry about my wellbeing, I am safe as can be. I cannot say when you will be picked up, but it will be a while. You have my greetings and I am keeping you in my thoughts.

Hail Caesar,

Quintus.

It takes a lot to not crumple it up into a ball and toss into a fireplace somewhere, but you stand your ground, sighing deeply. Even in his attempts to sound somewhat like he misses you, the words on the parchment remain emotionless.

“And?” Joanna quizzes, curious, “Any news from Capernaum?”

“It seems like I’ll be staying here for a while.” you deadpan - the only redeeming piece of information in Quintus’ letter.

“That’s it?”

“And that Quintus misses me.”

A small smile tugs at her lip. “Well, that’s nice. My husband wouldn’t even bother writing to me, I think.”

You huff and roll the parchment back up, putting it on the bench next to you.

Joanna frowns. “You don’t seem excited to hear from him.”

Pushing your tongue into the inside of your cheek, you force down your scowl. “I am,” you lie, standing up and taking a deep breath, “Matter of fact, I’m going to write back to him right now.”

You leg away, but Joanna calls after you. “Oh, (Y/n)?”

You halt in your step and pivot to look at her. “Yes?”

She smiles. “Would you like to join me for some wine tonight? My husband will be on guard duty so I’ll be alone all evening. We could chat for a bit about our lives, if you’d like… Or just about other things, anything.”

Thinking it over for a second, you begin to nod. “Yes, yes of course! Thank you for the invitation.”

She smiles. “After dinner,” she suggests.

“That sounds good,” you reply. “I’ll see you then, Joanna.”

She gives you a sweet smile and you head back to your chamber, your gut twisting in confusion at the letter Quintus had sent - did he want you to write back to him? He had only stated what had been going on, but he had asked no questions about how you had been. And then, the letter was from him , not from Atticus, whom you had rather received correspondence from.

The room you’ve called your own for a few weeks now lacks the intimacy and heart that the one in Capernaum has. There is too much empty space for you to fill with endless hours of apprehensive tossing and turning. And every so often, at night, sounds from the dungeons far below manage to creep up, tormenting you with their wails of sorrow. You feel pity for the prisoners below, knowing that their fate cannot be anything good.

With slightly trembling fingers, you pen down the most generic, uninspired letter you’ve ever written. Dear Praetor Quintus - there is distance in your words - It is good to hear from you and to know that you are safe. Here in Machaerus things are fine. I have a friend named Joanna and she spends time with me. Don’t rush things, I don’t mind staying here a while longer.

You consider writing down the lie that you miss him too, but decide against it. Hail Caesar, (Y/n), you end with instead, rolling up the parchment and holding a flame against the candle on your desk, rummaging around the drawers to find some wax. You expertly seal the letter with a few drops of crimson liquid that quickly dries against the off-white surface.

Hoping to get it sent out today, you stand and rush outside to find the courtyard, where a small trading post is located. You head over, the man behind the iron bars looking at you expectantly. Even in a fortified palace, he needs protection. You wonder what dangers he might be facing in this environment.

“I’m here to send a letter,” you say.

“Of course, my lady,” the courier says, “Where to?”

“Praetor Quintus of Capernaum.” The man’s eyes shoot up in slight shock, worry visible on his features. “I’m his wife.” you add, puzzled.

He quickly blinks and clears his throat. “Ah, of-of course, ma’am, I apologise for the delay. Forgive me.”

Your brow furrows and you smile. “There is… Nothing to worry about.”

He sighs in relief. “Good,” he mutters, “Heard that he made the life of our courier quite miserable when he tried to get a letter sent your way from Caper—” His words die on his tongue and he stares at you slack-jawed. “I-I am so sorry, my lady, I didn’t mean to speak ill of your husband, I–”

“No harm done.” you say with a small smile. “I know how he is, and that does sound like him.”

A nervous laugh leaves the man’s lips and he quickly arranges it.

“And that takes care of— Wait a minute, something else for you arrived about thirty minutes ago. Here you go, ma’am,”

He hands you another letter, different in shape this time.

The seal doesn’t belong to your husband. No, it’s the same pattern you’ve seen on the hand that has been so wonderfully caressing you a few weeks ago right before you were dropped off here. Your cheeks flame and you quickly take it.

“Thank you,” you say, “Good work, keep it up.”

You rush away before he can respond. As fast as your legs can carry you, you head back to your room and slam the door behind you. With a hand over your mouth, you try to catch your breath and keep down the excited squeal that threatens to escape.

He has written to you – Atticus has actually written to you.

You make your way over to your bed and waste no time in tearing open the letter, laying down to begin reading it. Other than Quintus’ words, his seemed to jump off the paper straight into your heart, your stomach swirling with all kinds of emotions for it was so good to hear from him at last.

My dearest, I cannot start explaining how often you have been on my mind the past weeks and how much I long for you to be in my arms again.

How is Machaerus? Have you found new friends? I bet the food is fantastic, my love. Enjoy it, alright, you deserve your rest there.You’ve been through a lot and should look after yourself. I wish I could have been the one to spoil you instead, but the court will have to do that job of mine for now.

The fact that I had to leave you where you are is still bothering me greatly, so I hope you can forgive me for that. It’s not much better here and I will spare you the details, for it will only make you uneasy and all that matters is that I will be fine. This upheaval is just routine at this point, so don’t you worry about me.

I have been dying to hear from you. Send your letter to Joppa, for that is where I’ll be able to pick it up soon. My love, I will not keep you waiting longer than I need to. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully.

He had not signed it with his name due to safety reasons lest anyone open it, but you whisper his name as if it had been on the paper regardless. You let out a small noise of joy and clutch it to your chest, feeling like a lovestruck teenager. Immediately, you float over to your desk to write something back.

The words flow from your pen freely. Needless to say, his letter takes shape more naturally and lengthier than the one you had sent to Quintus.

You tell him that you miss him, that you long for him and that he has plagued you in your dreams for the last two weeks with his utterly maddening presence in the most positive sense of the word. You introduce Joanna as your daresay friend, who takes great pleasure in literature as you do. The food is delightful but what is a hearty dinner when he is not there to share it with you? You mention that you know Atticus likes his nibbles, so you promise to sneak something for the road into your luggage around the time he’ll come to pick you up. You enclose a snippet of your most recent poem that you rip out of your journal. Lastly, you wish him the best of luck.

Out of habit, you nearly write a hail to Caesar at the end but manage to stop yourself right before the pen hits the paper. You put away the quill in the inkwell, feeling confident enough to spritz a small amount of perfume onto the parchment once everything is dry. Not much unlike what you had done with your letter to Quintus, you secure this one as well but appear more lively as you deliver it to the man behind the counter, who seems surprised to notice your positive shift in mood.

“The same address, I assume?”

Your throat runs dry - you haven’t considered that you look way too content to play it off as a regular letter to a friend - and you come up with a coverup on the spot.

“It’s to my friend in Joppa,” you explain, “I have just caught wind that she is expecting a baby and I just had to congratulate her!”

The man gives a small smile, “Of course, my lady. I didn’t mean to pry, but I am happy for her on your behalf.”

“Thank you.” you beam, clasping your hands in front of you. “Just put the initials A.A.P. on there, she’ll know it is for her!”

“Everything is in order. It will be taken care of.”

You once again express your gratitude and head back to your bedroom to spend some time on your own before your little get-together with Joanna will ensue right after dinner. With the letter from Atticus resting on your chest, you spiral into a delightful little daydream. _

At night, Joanna’s room is more cosy, for the statues are not as visible. Candles are lit on gilded candelabras and the wilted flowers have made place for fresh ones. The hearth is lit and there are two chaise longues positioned facing each other and the fire in just the right position to be able to have a proper chat whilst still lying comfortably.

During dinner, you’ve enjoyed a cup of alcohol or two, so your head is already a little fuzzy when you enter her room and take a seat where she directs you to. Joanna grabs two goblets and checks for dust before sitting down next to you, uncorking a bottle of wine of a brand you certainly don’t have in Galilee.

“It’s good to have a friend here,” Joanna muses, pouring two royal cups of the crimson liquid. “Actually, it has been a long time since I got along with one of our visitors in the way you and I seem to understand each other. I like you, (Y/n), I truly do.”

You smile a little and take the outreached goblet. “If I may be so bold,” you breathe, “You are like a breath of fresh air in this searing hot desert.”

She flushes and looks at her lap, “Oh, you give me too much credit. We just get along well, and to that, we should drink.”

The pair of you sit in pleasant silence for a few moments as you take in the rich flavour of the wine. It immediately kicks in, a heavy, earthy fluid that makes your shoulders weigh down at its strength.

“That’s a good one, isn’t it?” Joanna smirks as she notices your suddenly pink cheeks. “It’s expensive, but so worth it.”

“Worth it for what?” you wonder whilst smiling, lying down on the small sofa to throw up your feet, “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

She laughs and mirrors your position on her own chaise longue. “Well, it does make people loosen up a bit.”

“Trying to get to know my deepest secrets?”

“Hm, you’ve got many?”

You hide behind your goblet and take another strong swig. When you don’t reply to her question, Joanna observes you with a thoughtful look on her face.

“What is life like in Galilee?”

You take a second to respond. “Hm, the fruit is lovely. And the Sea of Galilee, those fish are magnificent. The people try to make ends meet, but Roman influence has been hard on them.” Your brow furrows with sudden concern that you might have said too much, but Joanna smiles reassuringly.

“Right, I suppose that does make sense. I have been here for a while, so I am unsure as to what impact our work has been having on society lately. How about your husband?”

The question takes you by surprise and you blink in slight puzzlement with widened eyes. “Beg your pardon?”

“Your husband. He is a magistrate with quite the reputation for being ruthless. What is he like?”

You give a wry smile and take another sip of alcohol, your head really starting to buzz, now. “He lives up to it,” you tell her matter-of-factly, “Hence why I’m here, to protect me from whatever purge he’s up to.”

Joanna hums and traces the edge of the goblet with her finger. “I see. How many children do you have?”

You are somewhat ashamed to say the answer. “None.” you whisper, sighing, “I mean… We’re trying, but…” Your hand goes to your stomach and you shrug. “Nothing.”

The woman bites her bottom lip. “Does it bother you?”

“What? That I have no children?”

“That I’m asking you such questions.”

You swallow thickly. “Not really. Planning on subjecting you to the same treatment.”

A grin spreads on her face. “Alright, that would only be fair. What would you like to know?”

“What is it like to live here? Does it ever get boring?”

She clears her throat and takes a sip of wine before shaking her head. “No, it doesn’t get boring. Every day is different. I’ve got quite an important position when it comes to meeting with female patrons. My husband works as an advisor and I do some other smaller jobs on the side.”

“Do you like your life here?”

Joanna taps her chin. “I think I do. I wouldn’t necessarily have chosen it for myself, but… Now that I’m here, I don’t know any better.”

“What if you weren’t married?” you are bold enough to ask. You’re curious to hear what her decision would be if things were any different.

It takes a moment for her to form a proper reply. “I think I wouldn’t be working here. Perhaps that I’d be a seamstress. I love embroidering pretty things on people’s clothes from time to time.” She smiles, crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes. “But in reality, I have quite a comfortable life here. I’m lucky to have married a man who can provide for me financially.”

You throw back the final bit of wine in your goblet and gulp. “Does he also provide for you in other areas?”

She blinks in confusion. “Like?”

“Romance.” you tell her, “Emotionally, does he give you what you need?”

Something flashes behind her eyes. “I… I… I’m not sure if that is a good subject to talk about. I don’t want to sour the mood by complaining about a man who has done so much for me.” Her words are an attempt to avert the question and her entire body language tells you that you’ve hit a nerve somewhere.

“I’m sorry,” you promptly apologise, at which her gaze softens, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” You want to tell her that you can see a sliver of yourself in her but swallow the words.

She smiles and shakes her head. “Not to worry, (Y/n), no harm done. Perhaps it’s something we could talk about later, when we’re more familiar with one another. For now, let’s have another wine and head to our beds, shall we?”

Despite the heaviness of the alcohol, you agree to sharing another goblet of wine.

Next chapter Chapter list

#gentile #the chosen x reader #the chosen #reader insert #x reader #atticus x you #atticus x reader #atticus aemilius pulcher #the chosen atticus #quintus #quintus x you #quintus x reader

10 notes · View notes

gooboogy · 1 year ago

Text

You almost forgot to do it again but a pesky alarm before bed reminds you of it. You debate whether or not you could leave it for tomorrow, but the last time you put it off for a day it ended up being 3 days with 1,000 injured, millions dead, and so on etc. etc. So you drag yourself to the bathroom and get it done with it. At least you've picked up your prescription recently so you don't have to reuse the older vials again.

Two needles, an alcohol swab, a debatably necessary bandaid, and a fresh vial all lay out on the bathroom counter. It's all muscle memory at this point, opening the packets, pulling the cap off the vial, and switching the needles so you can poke the membrane of the little jarthing and pull its contents into the syringe.

You grab the fat of your thigh and inject the needle into your skin, just a pinprick, an easy injection today. When you pull it out you only see the remnants of a few drops of clear, no blood, even better. So instead of a bandaid you take the gauze and rub at the small little wound to clean it up.

And that's when it happens.

Your belly groans and aches, intestines speaking the language of indigestion. And then you cough. You cough and you cough because there's a hairball(?) In your throat but all that comes out is shimmering blue smoke. It glistens with your saliva (you didn't even know smoke could glisten) as it falls heavy to the floor and builds in shape like a child's rudimentary snowman. A smokeman. Because it is a man that appears, or a masculine looking thing, from the smoke in your throat.

"Ah shit we did it again," it says and pats you heartily on the back, getting the last of your coughs out. "You're supposed to swab the vial before you poke it dummy."

"It was a new one," you wheeze, "it had the cap."

"It's a good habit to get into. So that you don't end up with a genie in your body. Obviously."

You look at it, bewildered, because what the fuck are you supposed to say to that.

"But no matter,

It is I the Great and Powerful--"

You cough again.

"Uh, shit okay here," it rifles through your cabinets and finds the toothbrush holder, tosses the toothbrushes to the side and fills it with water into one of the little holes. Then offers it to you.

You're not taking that.

"Just take it so you can stop coughing and I can give you my very Big and Cool speech!"

You cough louder and more vigorously at it.

"C'mon it's a really good speech I've been using for a few hundred years, everyone loves it."

Reluctantly you take the toothbrush cup and gingerly sip from it. The coughing stops. Miraculously actually because your throat even feels better than before. You look at it, puzzled.

And it meets you with a shit eating grin.

"It is I!"

It continues.

"The great genie of... what did you just inject yourself with?"

"... Testosterone?"

"Testosterone!" ✨

You roll your eyes, "how can you be a genie of testosterone if you didn't even know what it was?"

"The union contracts me to be injectable but not what kind of injection, I'm a hoot in operating rooms I'll have you know. But I always have to wait for the person to wake up which is a major drag, not like this, your eyes are open and everything. Are we in a bathroom? Is this what bathrooms are like now? Why do you have a dancing Jesus bobblehead?"

It takes a moment to recover from the genie saying 'hoot' and it takes your silence as approval to continue.

"Anyway,

I am the great and Powerful genie of testosterone and I--"

"Oh it's because I got this prayer book in the mail for the old tenant that said 'prayers for difficult times' so I thought hey that'd be kinda funny to put by the toilet which led to the little Jesus getting added and the rosary that the little plant over there is wearing. She's very studious in her spirituality."

"..."

"So are you like, in my body now?"

"If you just let me finish my speech it will answer all the questions you have."

"But-"

"Do you want wishes or not."

"If I asked you if you wanted to play monster trucks with me would that count as a wish?"

"... No."

"Hell yeah."

While most genies are found in rings, bottles, lamps, and the like, others prefer different items as long as they find them comfortable. Today, you’ve found a genie living within a rather…unexpected receptacle.

#idk feeling silly #warming up the writing muscles #needles #in all honesty you could do a lot with this #much idea to be had

5K notes · View notes

starseedfxofficial · 2 months ago

Text

Position Trading Without Fearing Maximum Drawdown The Underground Guide to Position Trading Without Fearing Maximum Drawdown Position trading. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Like the kind of strategy that says, "I know where I'm going, and I’m not in a rush to get there." It’s about playing the long game—kind of like planting an avocado tree in your backyard and patiently waiting for it to bear fruit, rather than hitting the grocery store for a quick fix. But just like nurturing that avocado tree, position trading requires careful planning, resilience, and a whole lot of patience. Now, let’s talk about the big, scary monster in the room: maximum drawdown. It’s the one thing that makes even the calmest, most Zen trader start sweating like they’re auditioning for a bad reality show. Drawdowns are what separate the experienced traders from those who might have just pushed the wrong button and saw their account balance plummet like a sitcom's laugh track cue gone horribly wrong. But here’s where the real magic happens: You can learn to position trade effectively while taming that drawdown dragon, and I’m here to tell you how. Grab your favorite cup of coffee (preferably robusta, if you're a coffee connoisseur like my friend Mohammed), because we're about to embark on a journey through the secret tunnels of position trading, where only the brave dare tread. The Secret Sauce Behind Legendary Gains Position trading is essentially the long-haul trucking of the Forex world. You aren’t concerned with every twist and turn—you’re looking at the end destination. Unlike day trading or scalping, this strategy requires you to keep trades open for weeks, months, or even years. This isn't your high-speed Wi-Fi kind of trading; it’s the deliberate snail mail letter that, despite taking its time, makes it across continents. Maximum Drawdown (or max drawdown, as the cool traders call it) is a fancy term for the biggest loss you've taken from a peak in your trading account to a bottom point. If that sounds like something akin to a financial roller coaster, you're spot on. But with some next-level tactics, we can turn this roller coaster into a smooth ride—like a lazy river at a theme park, but with better financial rewards. So, let’s dive into some little-known secrets of position trading while making sure you sidestep that nightmare of massive drawdowns. The Hidden Formula Only Experts Use: Position Sizing Magic First up, position sizing. Now, I know what you’re thinking: "Position sizing? Isn't that, like, Trading 101?" Yes, but there's a hidden gem even seasoned traders miss. Most traders just use a set percentage of their account balance for each trade, but the real masters of the game know the secret is adaptive position sizing—adjusting your lot size based not only on your balance but also on market volatility and the specific nuances of the currency pair. Think of it like picking the right shoes. If you’re hiking up a mountain, you’re not going to choose stiletto heels—unless, of course, you’re competing on some bizarre reality TV show. When the market is unstable, position down; when it’s smooth, scale up. Sounds easy, right? Yet, only a few elite traders apply this technique consistently. Quick Tip: Use tools like ATR (Average True Range) to gauge volatility and adjust your lot size accordingly. If the ATR is high, it's a sign that the market is moody—like me before my first cup of coffee in the morning—so go smaller. If it’s chill, you can scale a little bigger. Why Most Traders Get It Wrong (And How You Can Avoid It) Here’s a fun fact: the number one mistake that position traders make is ignoring interest rates. If you’re holding a position for a long time, interest rates (also known as swaps) can make or break your profits. Think of it like a sneaky gym membership fee that you forgot about until you check your bank statement—it’s slowly draining your balance if you’re not paying attention. The Secret: Always consider whether the currency pair you're holding pays you interest or costs you. Go for positive swaps when possible, and your position becomes a passive income generator—like renting out that extra bedroom, except this room's in the Forex market and your tenant is named "Japanese Yen." Maximum Drawdown Is a Mind Game: Winning with Psychology Maximum drawdown isn't just a financial metric; it’s also a mental hurdle. The fear of a big drawdown can make traders act irrationally—pulling out of a trade too early or, worse, revenge trading. And trust me, revenge trading is like trying to win back your ex by sending them a hundred text messages at midnight—it’s desperate, it’s sad, and it never ends well. To conquer the psychological side of drawdown, focus on setting realistic risk limits and stick to them. When you do experience a drawdown, treat it as data, not a personal failure. Drawdowns are inevitable; it's your reaction to them that determines if you'll ultimately be successful. How to Predict Market Moves with Precision: Trend Analysis Rebooted Position trading relies heavily on trend analysis, but here’s the twist: most traders look at trends the wrong way. The key is multi-timeframe analysis. You can’t just rely on the daily chart like it's your trusty old car GPS that hasn't been updated since 2005. You need to check the weekly and even monthly charts to confirm the trend—that’s like checking weather forecasts for the entire week instead of only today before planning a camping trip. When you align trends across timeframes, you gain insight that’s like seeing the whole chessboard rather than just a few pieces. Pro Tip: Look for alignment in price action and key moving averages across multiple timeframes. If the monthly and weekly are trending up, the daily dip might just be a juicy buying opportunity. The Forgotten Strategy That Outsmarted the Pros: Mean Reversion Here's a strategy most traders forget—and it’s an absolute game-changer: mean reversion. When a price strays far from its mean, it tends to return, almost like a stubborn teenager who eventually comes back home for mom’s cooking. The trick is knowing when the market has overreacted and when it’s time to jump in for a mean reversion play. Key Indicators like Bollinger Bands or RSI (Relative Strength Index) can help you spot these opportunities. If price pierces through the bands or RSI signals extreme levels, it's often a sign that the market will revert to the mean—so you can hop on and ride it back to sanity. The One Simple Trick That Can Change Your Trading Mindset: Setting Drawdown Alerts Instead of stressing out and checking your trades every five minutes, use drawdown alerts to automate your stress management. Trust me, it's like setting up parental controls for your own overprotective trading brain. This allows you to stay informed without the emotional burden. Set alerts for specific drawdown thresholds—when you get that alert, assess whether it’s time to exit or hold on. And remember, having a plan before emotions get involved makes all the difference. As the wise and sarcastic friend we all have might say, "Why panic now when you can plan to panic later, strategically?" How to Avoid Becoming Your Own Worst Enemy There’s a reason they say traders are often their own worst enemies. Position trading requires patience, but in an age of TikTok and fast food, patience is in short supply. The most critical skill you can develop is emotional detachment. Don’t tie your self-worth to the success of a single trade. Position trading is a marathon, not a sprint—so get your mental running shoes ready. When in doubt, look at historical data. Notice how trends evolve over time and how drawdowns eventually recover. It’s like looking at awkward teenage photos—sure, there were bad haircuts and questionable outfit choices, but look at you now: thriving, trading, and laughing at the ghosts of drawdowns past. Want More Ninja Tactics and Insider Tips? Here’s the thing: the best traders aren’t just sitting around watching the market. They’re using all the tools at their disposal. At StarseedFX, we’ve got some serious game-changing tools to help you out. - Get the latest economic indicators and Forex news (no more surprises) here. - Need a deep dive into advanced methodologies? Our Forex education resources are right here. - Want to hang with the pros? Join our community for daily alerts and live analysis here. - Free trading plan and free trading journal? We’ve got you covered for both trading plan and journal. - And don’t forget our smart trading tool to automate your lot size calculations here. The Art of Position Trading and Avoiding Maximum Drawdown Position trading is not about being glued to your charts all day. It’s about making smart, educated decisions and letting time do the rest. Remember: success isn’t about avoiding drawdowns entirely—it’s about managing them and keeping your eye on the bigger picture. Now that you've got some secret tools in your trading arsenal, it’s time to put them to good use. Get out there, be patient, and remember: even when trades dip, it’s just like avocado trees—they may take their time, but the reward is well worth the wait. —————– Image Credits: Cover image at the top is AI-generated Read the full article

0 notes

handelplayssims · 4 months ago

Text

Reaper's Rewards - Week 2

Hi ho and hello again! It’s time for Week 2 of the Reaper’s Reward event. Time to see what new tricks Grim has in store!

Also I completely forgot to post this until I saw week 3 was out. Whoops!

Going to load into the Goth family. I want to ensure the Lilies are blooming.

...and I might be in trouble. Big massive trouble. I ended the day with a seasonal event active. The events for this week don’t seem to be active at the moment, prehaps overwritten by TV Season Premire. ...NOT GOOD... ohp, nevermind. Took a moment for it to start up.

New goals! First one we have is befriending death of which, Alexander has already done! Thank you good reputation and other social benefits. The other is to order a seed packet and catch 3 fish. Unfortunately for Alexander, he has a few moments until school. But, this means that I can once again test and see if going to school takes away the event.

...doesn’t seem like it! Woohoo! So it’s time for the whole new kid in school rigamamole. Huh. Evidently Olivia and Alex are back to being romantic. Time to change that again. Or maybe I forgot, who knows.

Oh this is going to be a rough day for Alex. Ended school sleepy and has chess team. And he’s gotta do the TV Season Premiere thing, as he’s the only one in his family who cares about it.

Well, let’s check in on everyone else while Alex is at chess team. Bella wants to be social with the butler...so let’s go say hello to someone else on her contacts before we talk to them! Bjorn Bgersen, let’s say hi! Her aspiration is throwing parties and hmm. Could think about another at some point. But let’s get her promoted in her career and see how things go, that usually changes dates-of-work. Oh hey, the butler, Kendall Goodman, is loyal! What a nice trait to have. And befitting his name!

Geoffrey wants to invite someone over but considering that’s close to his social aspiration, might as well go ahead and talk to people on the street to introduce himself.

Alexander needs a nap. But first, let’s check the mail! The Ambrosia Society newsletter tells us to get a cutting of Lily and Snapdragon ready and to work on sastisfaction points. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of ya.

New goals added! Fulfill an Aspiration Goal and cook a recipe while level 4 or higher. Nice but first, nap time. Also Venus needs her sleep. Alexander is finally awake and can watch the Odder Things premiere. After that...hmm. Most of the folk around town have well, vanished, seeing as it's evening time, so I can’t have Geoffrey introduce himself to other folk easily ...might have been a good thing he wasn’t home because Guidry has decided to be flirty with Bella. Eh, Bella is very close to finishing off the parenting skill. Let’s cap that and then Geoffrey can go and be social at the Lounge.

Oh, Geoffrey Landgraab doesn’t have a job. I believe I had him retire but he seems to just not get retirement pay? -shrug- It’s been an age since I played in this file, I wouldn’t be surprised if things got lost in the mix. So we got another introduction to a local nerd, Eddie Landry, from the Family Fortune scenario. He’s a local in Willow Creek so might as well say hi. And then Geoffrey gets sleepy at 3:30 so lets head home. And put everyone to bed while at it. I don’t trust the Care for Yourself interaction and we got school + work.

Neighborhood Watch!

Cayla Ferris in the Ferris household retired from her job as a Freelance Programmer in the Freelance Programmer career.

Holy snap! It’s All Haunts Day! GLORIOUS! ...oh wait it’s title is supposed to be Spooky Day. Too late! Anyway, since Alex is doing his morning gardening, it’s time to do some planting of apples and cherry trees.

Aha! Bella got promoted to be a Leader of the Cause, and is now rank 9. Days at work are still the same it seems. Anyway, going into work with her this time.

Let’s see. Geoffrey’s whim is to make another sim happy. Best way to do that is to befriend someone. Mm. Let’s go to the local park. There we go. Cheered up and befriended Bernice Robles!

Hmm. Had the idea to practice speech for Research and Debate since he was a politican and there is a podium there. But evidently, speech gains aren’t working? Let’s research research methodlogies at the library and see if that starts the skill leveling. ...that at least still works. Anyway, let’s head home. It’s ALL HAUNTS DAY BABY!

...man, the costume trunk from Lovestruck would be so nice here. I don’t want to have to go to CAS to get some fun costumes going!

We have Geoffrey as Father Winter!

Alexander as a zombie. RIP to all you guys hoping it'd be in Life & Death.

You would think they would have a fairy costume for children but nope. Only Princesses!

And I couldn't find the maid costume in CAS so we just used the costume interaction to get it for Bella.

Huzzah! Grim Reaper friendliness marked off when Alex said hello again! Ghost spotted on the street! Might as well have Alex say hi and get the Spooky tradition knocked off. Ghost enthusiast Alexander Goth. Mm. Everyone’s exhausted so let’s get them to bed. And a bump in the night started everyone but only Geoffrey was scared. I had Bella calm him down ...and provide affection and -cough cough- Nothing like a good scare to get you in the mood! ...though a spectre that spawned in the bedroom provided trouble for pathing.

And a good All Haunt’s Wake for all! Everyone did mischief when I wasn’t looking and ba-dabing ba-da boom. Excellent holiday! Might do a Spooky Party today though.

Neighborhood Watch!

San Myshuno: The Zeigler household recently moved in.

Windenburg: The Galindo household has moved in.

Another morn! Let’s see… we need to add the Scare Seeker challenge to this lot, easily done! (To be removed when done with this challenge) Gardening time for Alexander and Venus...needs to re-befriend children since my progress on that the first day went ka-put. To the park! Because Alex needs to fish!

Family outing at the park!

We had Tommi last time, this time we’re going for the other Wedding Stories kid, Jace Laurent! Cheerful kid, nice! Exactly like Venus. Wait, no. She’s a good one. But you know, similar wavelenghts.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey immediately befriended Luca Harjo just from a cheerful introduction and I think this aspiration is going to be a walk in the park for him once I get introductions out of the way.

Caught three fish. Now to aim for five things caught in this fishing run. And done. Now Alex shall research the plants that are in the planter here, curtsey of the Garden Gnomes club, who just popped up.

Let’s see, any other kids for Venus...looks like it’s Javed Bheeda. Well she knows his sister already, might as well say hi and befriend. Oh wait, there’s a girl on the monkey bars to say hello to. Might as well say hello and befriend!

New aspiration for Venus time! I’m gonna go fooooor, the Social + Creativity one, because it’s based off of parties and that’s just like her mom!

Right, said hi to Moria so it’s time to finally go home. And have...a Spooky party!

...and the quest event cleared off. Shit. RELOAD!

At least it’s only this specific day but man, now I gotta do the gardening and the befriending all over again!

Right, this time thanks to not having relevant wants, I’m not taking Bella Goth with me to the park! Yep! She was there as well! Didn't do much with her outside of vibe.

YEESH! Cheerful introduction on Mei Prescott got her all the way filled with the green friendship for Geoffrey. ...it isn’t even compatibility, it’s just reputation!

And for kids, we now have Megan Knoles. Oh hey, it’s that girl of my personal sims I’m really attached to! And also Joy Grey, daughter of a vampire huntress and Father Winter. ...the Vampire Huntress is more domestic than you think.

Alright. Do I risk a save? I guess I shall. Save and then we head home not using the going home button. I like that button but I guess that was the sticking point this time.

SUCCESS! Let’s fertilize some plants! And plant goal for the week done! Woo.

Let’s have a spooky party! Geoffrey will be on pumpkin carving duty while everyone else gets to go and socialize. Alex actually talked a bit to his girlfriend, man is poor Maria Caliente falling by the wayside here. Oh hey, our hired chef is actually putting the excess food they are making in the fridge. Thanks Minerva. Why aren’t others doing that!?

Hmm. Geoffrey was scared awake again. I could be mean and have Bella and Geoffrey argue about leaving this home...hmm. ...nah. Overwhelming positive sentiments say otherwise.

Also, oh man. The beguile reward trait bumps people into a plus 50 flirty moodlet. Wow oh wow. ...you can take a wild guess where I went with that.

Also Geoffrey has had a fear of death for awhile and I didn’t realize talking to ghosts counted for clearing that off. Though yeah, I suppose that counts. Oh Guidry!

I did not realize it was 5AM. TIME FOR-

Neighborhood Watch!

Britechester: The McNeill household recently moved in.

Henford-on-Bagley: The Shelly household recently moved out.

Cason Allen in the Allen household has died. Cason might have loved too much for his age.

I recognize that name! RIP! (Also I did think of how if I wanted to, I could have had Geoffrey die of old age from...reckless exertion with that flirty moodlet.)

Love that in consideration of the weekly event, I’m actually having Alexander cook his meals despite having a butler. Ooooh! Our lilies have fully grown! Those actually sell for quite a bit! Let’s see...let’s do the usual gardening once Alex is done making some omelettes for the family. See where that takes us in getting cuttings. Oooh, on the cusp of the next level! Huzzah! Level 5 gardening achieved with research!

Also important familial dynamics established! Bella is now Venus’s favorite parent. She gets to be happy about that and Geoffrey gets to be sad about not being the favorite parent. Aww. Also, Venus gained an adoring sentiment towards Bella which is sweet.

And with a cutting nab, we are done with this week! Let’s go and finish out this day.

...okay first thing’s first, evidently the party didn’t count for the Party Animal aspiration, which RUDE! We’re going to cheat to fulfil that one. That finishes the party aspiration for Bella! Time for a new one. Do we lean familial or do we lean romantic? Hmmmmmmmm. I think we’ll go romantic with Soulmate aspiration. I still want to keep in mind that Bella should probably throw a party once a week or so. Charity Event or dinner or whatever!

Right, next, I want to actually progress in Alexander’s aspiration of college! Even if it’s mostly an excuse to remember to level the Research and Debate skill for college prep. It’s good college prep! Want that homework speed reduction. To the library!

So we’re gonna research research, cooking, and gardening. I know what we need to level for this event! And then do our homework. He’s dilligent like that.

Woohoo! Gotten that specific skill up to three. Since the next goal is university, it’s time to switch off to another aspiration! Hmm. Between fishing, cooking, and gardening for ambrosia...the most handiest reward trait is cooking but alas, that requires going into a career he can’t get into until he’s an adult. And I have plans for when he becomes an adult anyway. Gardening is kinda more empathized with the quest and he strikes me more as a gardening enthusiast than a fisherman ...this event is certainly taking nerd Alexander into a different direction than just out and out nerd who does chess.

...man, we got to level 4 of research skill and I was hoping for a fishing research topic but nope! Ah well. And we got up to research level 5. Man! I guess that’s what I get for researching three topics back to back to back. But also, Alexander has all the base childhood aspirations completed, which really helps with skilling. Or so it seems with his rapid ascents with everything!

Yeesh! We stayed all the way out until 8PM and I’m still not done with all I want to do here. Gotta finish homework! Gotta read a book! As per two whims! Oooh, even randomly picked up the archaeology book. Nice nice! Good choice Alex. We’re at skill level 2 for achaeology thanks to reading. It’s nearly Alexander’s curfew. I kinda forgot I had one of those. Let’s go home!

Ah! I’ve been out so long the parents are sleepy again! And Venus but she’d have to go to bed anyway thanks to school in the morning. To bed!

Though Bella takes until 4AM to go to bed because I, and she, are enjoying the tunes. As ya do. Good thing she’s working from home today. And by working from home, I mean getting dontations. I know how it goes.

Neighborhood Watch!

Oasis Springs: The Faamoana household recently moved out.

Paris Webb in the Webb household has died. Paris was so angry she burst into flames and died.

Oasis Springs: The Copur household recently moved out.

Welp, that’s all for this week. Tune in next week for more Reaper’s Rewards that will be slightly stymied by glitches!

#sims 4 #reaper's rewards #alexander goth #bella goth #venus goth #geoffrey landgraab #geoffrey goth

1 note · View note

shurisneakers · 4 years ago

Text

harmless (x)

Summary: Bucky volunteers to go stop a small time villain, but nothing can prepare him for what exactly he has to deal with. (Bucky x villain!reader, drabble series)

Warnings: cursing, frustrated bucky, dramatic reader, anxiety, smidge of angst, mentions of violence

Word count: 7.8k (i went overboard. clearly.)

A/N: as well all know, i am a humanities student writing science geeks. if any of this sounds unrealistic or nonsensical, it’s because it is and i am honestly too exhausted to research data privacy and AI so here’s my take on how STEM should work i.e. the power of friendship <3 major shoutout to @iamlittlesparkler for the idea for this chapter!

here’s my ko-fi if you’d like to support my writing <333

Previous Part || Series Masterlist

“As you know, we have a busy week ahead of us.”

Coffees line the conference room table, pens click against the stacks of paper that settle in front of various agents and the smell of deodorant mixed with post-training sweat lingers at the back of the room like a disgusting witch concoction.

“The annual parade is coming up and since there are a few security threats, SHIELD has been asked to step in. Therefore, all of you will be working security this week, possibly even at the parade.” Murmurs broke out in the room the minute this was said; mostly from first year field agents who were way too excited to have earpieces and fingerless gloves.

Bucky, on the other hand, doesn’t think much of it. They’ve dealt with threats before, most were declared empty the minute it got out that SHIELD or the Avengers were involved. It’s the 12th one that year.

“That’s only if we don’t catch it first,” Steve continued. “Our first priority is precaution. The tech and analytics teams are working on it. However, if you see anything suspicious, bring it up with Director Fury. He’s going to be around to make sure we’re not overlooking anything. Do you have any questions?”

More whispers erupted at the mention of Fury’s name. Wait till they realise he lives up to his name when they accidentally manage to set him off just by existing incorrectly.

Bucky smirks at the thought.

“You can leave then.” Steve straightens up as chairs shuffle against the carpeted floor, over twenty people leaving the room.

“And remember, if you see an eagle today, be sure to stand there and thank it on behalf of Steve for its service. Freedom! Liberty! And whatever else,” Tony calls out from the corner of the room, earning a sigh from the captain. Others only snicker as they close the door behind them.

“Thanks.” Steve stares at him stone faced, bemused at the symbolism that had been bestowed upon him.

“Gotta keep the patriotism high.” The only ones that remain are the official team. Bucky thinks that he should have left with the other agents but apparently, it was rude and not a good show of team spirit.

“How serious is this threat anyway?” Clint has his head face down on the table, hand holding his to-go coffee cup so it doesn’t fall over.

“We’re not sure.” Steve finally takes a seat on the chair in front of him. “It’s the biggest event we’ve had this year, wouldn’t put it past them.”

“If it’s those Welsh kids again, I’m gonna punch a hole through their house this time,” Clint warns, voice muffled through the furniture.

“It’s not them, we checked.” Nat had her leg up on the armrest of Clint’s chair. “Tech team’s been working overtime to figure it out.”

“You have anything that could help?” Sam sends a nod towards Tony.

“I got a few things but it’d take a while to put it together.”

“Didn’t you learn quantum physics in a night?” Wanda’s picking apart a cookie into pieces, chewing slowly.

“Thermodynamic astrophysics,” he corrects her. “Quantum science took lesser.”

Bucky scoffs slightly at the brag, eyes still trained on the table in front of him. Maybe if he made no noise, they would forget he’s here.

“Yeah, so this should be a piece’a cake.”

“If your cake was somehow made out of a highly specified tracker that somehow doesn’t violate the data privacy of the entire world while analysing millions of terabytes worth of information, then yeah. A piece of it.”

“What he means to say-” Bruce interjects, “-is that we’re trying. It’s just taking longer than usual.”

“Well, the parade’s this Sunday. Think it’ll be done by then?”

“Hey FRIDAY,” Tony crosses his arm over his chest. “How many hours have I slept this week?”

“Three and a half, boss.”

“How much more will I be getting?”

“From previous experience, about six.”

“Yeah, we can get it done.” Tony looks back at Steve.

“Ask someone on the tech team to help you out.” Everyone was well aware of Tony’s bad coping mechanisms and how futile it was to get him to change his mind about it, but they still tried.

“They’re too busy.” Bruce pressed his lips into a straight line.

Bucky tunes out at this point. If he could help, he would have reluctantly chimed in by now, but he couldn’t.

“So what now?” Sam rips Clint’s doughnut into two, keeping one half for himself while leaving the other to the latter who still hadn’t lifted his head up from the table.

“I actually asked Fury if I could call in an external to come help,” Tony pipes up.

“And he agreed?” Nat raised an eyebrow.

“After he realised I wasn’t going to leave his office until he said yes.” He pulled out his phone, rapidly typing out a message before hitting send. “It didn’t take too long.”

“Do we know this person?” Steve asks a little suspiciously.

“Well-” Bruce sneaks a glance at the broody man on the chair, “-kinda.”

Everyone can tell Bucky isn’t paying attention by the way he’s glaring holes into the plant. He doesn’t mean to, it just so happens that it looks like he wants to kill it. Nobody tends to bother him during meetings, knowing well and fully that he did not care.

“You’re about to.” Tony jumps up, making his way to the door to pull it open.

Bucky perks up. An open door means they can leave, right? He can go watch The Bachelor? He’s not sure what everyone was talking about, but if the meeting was over he could go ask Wanda who was always kind enough to help.

“Our newest recruit,” the billionaire announces, quickly adding the next part, “on a trial basis.”

Bucky looks at the door.

His jaw drops open.

“No,” he says loudly, posture immediately stiff as a plank.

“Hello to you too, Barnes.” You roll your eyes before sending a small wave to everyone else. “Hey everyone.”

“What are you doing here?” He looks like he’s seething.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about our date.” You cross your arms over your chest in defiance. “You told me 3 o’clock, you player.”

“What is she doing here?” He whips to Steve for an answer.

“Hey Y/N,” Sam greets with a smile on his face before Steve can reply.

“Sam Wilson, good to see you again.” You grin.

“Right back at ya, sugar.”

Wanda looks amused, Clint finally lifts his head off the table at the mention of your name while Nat takes her feet off his armrest, and Steve’s body relaxes when he realises what’s going on.

“Okay.” Tony claps his hand. Bucky shoots daggers at him. “As you all know, this is Y/N. She’s going to working with us this week.”

“This is ridi- how did you even find out about her?”

“Aside from the fact that she’s all you talk about?” Clint snorts. Bucky shifts his glare to him. It was bullshit and an exaggeration and Clint was going to get a shoe up his ass very soon.

Your grin only grows bigger.

“We saw one of the repulsors she made some time ago,” Bruce answers his question like the sane person that he is. “Tony’s had her in mind for a while.”

“Repulsors? How on ear-” Bucky connects two and two together before turning to Sam. “You. You got her this job.”

“Sam’s my best wingman.” You send him a small heart made from your hands. Whether the pun was intentional or not, no one would know.

“Don’t look at me, I had nothing to do with this idea.” Sam raised his hands to brush off the blame.

“You’re a villain,” he points out loudly.

“I’m a saint.” You raise your hand to your heart in mock offence. “I have done nothing wrong in my life, ever.”

“Listen, Robocop,” Tony interrupts your conversation, bringing the attention back to him, “I cleared it with Fury. He’s the boss here.”

“Fury doesn’t know-”

“What don’t I know?” The atmosphere of the room changes the minute he saunters in.

With an eyepatch on his face, gaze sharp and a long black coat, Nick Fury puts Bucky’s dark outfits to shame. Not like he was competing.

Bucky doesn’t continue his sentence. Nick’s imposing presence loomed at the doorway, putting a stop to the ridiculous arguments that were beginning to boil. Instead, he looks at you, only to find your attention trained on the man of the hour.

“Nicholas,” you half cheer from where you had shifted to in the middle of all the commotion.

Nicholas?

No one had ever called him Nicholas.

“Y/L/N,” Nick addresses in return. “Been a while.”

“You haven’t come to the lair in months, Nick.” You pout at him. “I even sent you an invite.”

Bucky furrows his eyebrows. Since when are you on such good terms with Fury? Since when was anyone on good terms with Fury?

“It must have gotten lost in the mail,�� he fires back, “Or maybe it’s because I just happen to be the busiest man in the damn country. Take your pick.”

You roll your eyes, muttering something under your breath, but the good natured smile on your face shows that you didn’t take any of his passive- or straight up- aggressiveness to heart.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise I was interrupting your little tea time.” He looks around the rest of the room with an edge in his voice. “Don’t you all have work to do?”

“We do,” Tony interrupts, holding up his hand before pointing to Bruce and you. “Everyone else just sorta sits around and looks pretty.”

“I’m gonna go talk to the organisers, see what spots are most vulnerable.” Steve stands up. “You coming?”

“Yep,” Sam responds, flicking Clint’s shoulder to drag him along. “Come on, man. When was the last time you took a shower?”

“I’ll go see what the kids are up to in training. They’re probably flying off the handle right now.” Natasha brushes off crumbs from her lap. “Barnes, you in?”

Bucky silently shakes his head, eyes focused on you as you introduce yourself to every Avenger who walks out of the room, sharing a small fist bump with Sam.

“I’ll do it,” Wanda volunteers instead, finally leaving behind only the Science Bros, you and Bucky in the room with Fury.

“I’ll give you a tour of the lab.” Tony beckons and you nod, following him. “New eyepatch, Fury? Prada, I assume?”

“Stark,” Nick says curtly.

Bucky stares after you, arms still folded across his chest.

“Any problem, Sergeant?”

Other than the fact that his arch nemesis was now working with his friends, no, not really. But that did seem like a pretty big one.

“No,” Bucky mumbles instead, getting up from his place finally.

Apparently, no one else was worried about the possibly lethal combination of you and Stark, even with Banner there to dilute it.

Fine.

Guess he just has to observe you the whole week.

Well, half a week. It was Wednesday.

He observes inconspicuously over the rim of his coffee cup. He has a newspaper spread in front of him at Bruce’s table.

It’s not suspicious. He’s been there multiple times to sit in silence with the scientist who occasionally tinkers with something while engaging Bucky in tidbits of conversation. He finds it calming, refreshing even

Today he has an agenda. Everyone knows about it too.

“You know he’s staring at you, right?” Bruce looks up briefly from the giant blueprint laid in front of the group.

Tony had been dragged away to get a proper meal into him after he stayed up for 36 hours straight with caffeine keeping his system running.

“He has a tendency to do that.” You’re looking over the plan the three of you had come up with the day before. There were certain changes to be made in terms of efficiency. “Turns out if you annoy him, he stares harder.”

“We’ve heard about the inventions. Inators, he calls them?”

“Yeah,” you point out something on the sheet, drawing a circle around it to come back to later, “only good things I hope?”

“He doesn’t really talk much.” Bruce writes down a small comment against your arrow mark. “But if he hated them, he’d have a lot to say. So I’d take it as a compliment.”

“Would it annoy him if I did?”

“Probably.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment, then. Pass me the ruler?” You draw a line connecting two pieces.

Bucky’s ability to lip read is excellent but he refuses to do it, for privacy purposes. He knew that SHIELD had pulled some strings and had another teacher substituting for your classes the whole week since your other option was to come only after school hours. Anything else about this plan was murky.

“You gonna sit there all day?” Tony looks over his shoulder, following his line of sight.

“I’ve done it before.” He continues to look over the newspaper at you with your finger extended at something on the blueprint as you explained something to Bruce.

“You look like- how do I say this nicely.” He wasn’t going to. “A fuckin’ stalker.”

“I’m supposed to stop her from doing anything evil.”

“Sure.” Tony snorts. “That’s what this is. Should I get you a fedora and sunglasses while we’re at it?”

Of course Stark wouldn’t care; he brought you into this project. It was pretty much impossible to get him to agree with Bucky.

Bucky just narrows his eyes and continues his observation.

The menu of the cafeteria keeps changing. They like to keep things interesting.

Every time they do, Bucky spends too long staring at the menu, trying to figure out what exactly is familiar enough to order. Vietnamese week had him eating pho the entire duration it stayed.

“You plannin’ on eating anytime this century, sarge?” He recognises your voice immediately.

He knows what time your break is and he knows that you generally eat lunch in the cafeteria with the science team. Generally, the three of you pour over solutions and debate points all through the meal, and he spends the time getting acquainted with his new, lowkey Instagram account.

He blocks the Bucky Barnes hashtag the minute he gets an account again. God save his eyes from people asking him to break their back like a glow-stick. However, one afternoon of accidentally watching three cat videos has led to his entire explore page being taken over by them and he’s been trying for three days to get it to stop.

“Just trying to-” he tilts his head. “-understand what I’m reading.”

“Not a big fan of Greek food?” You join him in looking at the menu.

“Never really had the chance to try.” Tony and Bruce don’t seem to be in the room, probably pushing aside their meal to work on it as they’ve often done.

“Ah.” You already had your order in mind but you wait there.

Two minutes later he’s still staring at the menu. He can feel your presence next to him, unmoving. It unnerves him.

“Why are you still standing here?” He cranes his neck to look at you.

“I’m just seeing how long it takes for you to order.” You shrug. “So far it’s been five minutes and forty six seconds. Forty eight now.”

“Go away.” The concept of someone standing beside him, waiting for him to do something reminded him far too much of him trying to bag his stuff at the grocery counter rapidly while other customers waited to pay.

“Six minutes and thirty seconds. This is just sad now.”

“Your face is sad.” It was pathetic that he had now resorted to this.

It earned a laugh from you.

As entertaining as it was to be able to get on his nerves by just standing silently next to him, you finally ask, “Do you want a recommendation?”

He eyes you wearily. “You gonna give me food poisoning?”

“Not today, no.” You shake your head slightly. “Maybe tomorrow.”

He stares a little longer. You remain unshaken in your offer.

“Fine.” He sighs, stepping aside.

You tell him that since it’s his first time, you’d get him something basic. He thought it made sense.

He argued with you when you ended up paying for the both of you, only shutting up when you told him he’s holding up the line and that he could pay you back later. It doesn’t stop his incessant mumble complaining.

He ends up with gyros at his table and you sitting opposite him with your meal. He asks where the Science Bros are. You tell him it’s Science Hoes now, as christened by Tony, and that they’re in the lab.

“So?” You look at him eagerly.

“What?”

“How is it?” you urge, nodding at him.

He takes a cautious bite, really taking his time with it to annoy your impatient ass.

“Well?” You raise your eyebrow at him.

“It’s-” he pauses, looking down at his food. “-good.”

“Aha.” You lean back victoriously. “Knew it.”

He likes it. He also knows that this is probably going to be the only thing he orders for the next week unless you had planned otherwise.

“You’re not eating?” He gestures to your untouched tray.

“Taking it up to the lab. Got a few things to work on and we’re already behind.” You gather up your stuff and get up.

“Uh-” he pauses from practically inhaling the entire thing. He was already halfway done with it. “-thanks.”

“No problem. You wink at him. “Try figuring out what’s wrong with it.”

You turn on your heel to leave, taking your order with you. He can see your shoulders bobbing with silent laughter.

He stares down at his plate, swallowing slowly.

He pokes at it with a fork, lifting up the leftovers to check if there’s anything underneath. Nothing.

He checks to see if his limbs are still intact or his face was a different colour. Nope.

His stomach twists in worry about what’s going to happen. He still has a bit left but he pushes the tray aside.

The rest of the day he spends supervising you has you occasionally catching his eye, only to laugh. It only freaks him out more.

It takes eight hours of waiting and self induced tests later to realise there was nothing wrong with it. You were just playing with him.

He’s surprised to find you in the rec room when he strolls in with Sam, given that you haven’t taken a break all day.

You don’t share the same surprise... almost like you expected him.

“How long have you been waiting for me?” he immediately asks.

"I wasn’t here for you.” You raise an eyebrow at him. “Heard that Wilson was makin’ an appearance here soon so I stopped by to get a good look at him."

"Take a picture, it'll last longer.” Sam laughs, inserting a dollar into the machine and punching in the code for what he wanted.

"Gladly. Strike a pose, would you?" You grin, raising your phone.

“Maybe when I’m not covered in sweat.” Sam counter offers and you accept with a thumbs up.

“You going to the parade, Sam?” You toy with the can in your hands.

“I’ll be working security, so probably.”

“Sarge?” You take a swig of your drink.

“Huh?” He snaps back into the conversation, putting a stop to the mental list of reasons he was making of why you could be here at the same time as him. He knew your schedule, it wouldn’t be very hard for you to figure out his.

“You coming to the parade on Sunday?” you ask again.

“I guess.”

You wince.

“What?” he asks instantly, curiosity making him a lot sloppier than usual.

“It’s just- you wear so much black.” You gesture to his current getup to prove your point. ”I feel like all the bright colours would vaporise you if you looked at them.”

He doesn’t look amused.

“You know, like Prince Philip.”

“I think I’ll be fine.” He gives you a sarcastic smile.

“You comin’ Buck?” Sam laughs, unwrapping the bar he bought from the machine.

“You go ahead, I’ll catch up,” Bucky says offhandedly, still glaring at you innocently drinking your soda.

Sam chews absentmindedly on his protein bar as he walks out, amused at the situation Bucky pulled himself into.

“What’d you do?” Bucky asks, studying your body language.

“I bought a soda.” You lift the can to prove your point. “And now I’m drinking it.”

“Why are you waiting for me?”

“I thought I’d return the favour,” you point out. “I’m supervising you.”

“Don’t.” He walks to the vending machine, pulling out his wallet for some loose change. There was a Snickers bar he had been craving since morning that he bought every alternate day. Small joys.

“Why? I have the time.” You take a sip, setting it down with a clang.

“You’re only here for this week.” Bucky counted the coins he had. He’d use a dollar but he was trying to get rid of the jingling in his pocket that made him sound like a fucking clown when he walked.

“Actually,” you begin innocuously, “Tony offered me a full-time position.”

Bucky’s movements stop, hunched over the money in his palm.

“What?”

“Yeah.” You nod seriously. “A full nine-to-five as a researcher here.”

“And you’re taking it.” He shakes himself out of the minor shock to assess the damage.

“I don’t know. I got a lot of things to consider.” The chair scrapes against the tiled floor as you stand up. “But maybe you should get used to seeing me a lot more around here.”

He punches in the code for his Snickers. The row whirs forward slowly.

“See you at the lab.” He hears you discard the empty can in the trash before exiting.

He waits patiently for his bar to drop while his mind internally screams about the consequences of having you work here. You wouldn’t be evil anymore. Unless you were here to steal secrets from the Tower. On the pro side, his weekend would be free again. On the con side, his weekend would be free again.

His bar stops right at the edge of the row. He waits for it to fall over. It doesn’t.

He shakes the machine, suppressing the primal urge to beat the shit out of it when the damn bar refuses to fall.

He punches in a few random buttons hoping that at least it would give his money back.

The little monitor instead flashes a new message across the screen.

‘Have a good day, sarge <3’

Motherfucker.

Captain America looks less daunting up close, you realise. But he is still a very large man with very large shoulders. You know at least four people who would like to scale him like a tree, not that you’d ever tell him.

“Hey, Y/N.” He sends you a small smile when you walk into the room for a mid-week update. A clipboard in your hand, report attached and a few stationery items in case some points needed to be noted done, you look professional and ready.

“Afternoon, Captain.” Tony saves a seat for you and Bruce beside him since you’re on the same project. You almost miss the fact that Bucky isn’t in the room.

He walks in a few minutes late; tall, dark and brooding, immediately bringing the excitement in the room down by 40% by just existing.

Bucky surveys the room before catching your eye. He picks up his chair with ease and drags it over to where you are, sitting right beside you, ignoring the small cry of protest from an agent whose view he now obstructed. Everyone else just silently shifted over.

“Clingy much?” you whisper at him, eyes still trained on Steve who had waited till everyone was seated to continue.

“I’m supposed t’be keeping an eye on you,” he rebuffs in a hush.

“Well, you’re late. What if I went rogue, huh?”

“Therapy ran overtime,” he mumbles.

“Oh.” You blink. “How was it?”

“Same old.”

“You good?”

He refrains from answering when Steve starts addressing the room but yes, he was fine. He sends you a nod to confirm.

“This is just a usual checking in. We’ve received all your reports, but just to keep everyone on the same page-”

Bucky logs out mentally. He knows what his job is, he’ll probably lead a division of the security team or join the mission to neutralise the threat in case they find it first. Either way, he’ll figure it out without having to listen to an intern nervously stammer their way through their team’s report.

On the other hand, you’re not listening either. You were until you saw Bucky’s eyes glaze over while glowering at the window, assuming that he had stopped paying attention when his gaze doesn’t shift.

You should be listening. You’re new here and you should know what’s going on because any bits of detail are crucial to the working of your system.

Instead, you rip out a sticky note and discreetly place it on the back of Bucky’s metal arm. He doesn’t notice.

You bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling. More post-its from your pile of stationery make their way onto the vibranium, shades of pink, purple, green and yellow decorating his arm like a bulletin board.

You’re about to contemplate sticking one on his shoulder blade when he whips around to look at you. You freeze, hand in the air with a sticky note. He looks down at his arm, a scoff escaping him in disbelief.

“Are you serious?” He twists his arm to check the extent of how far you’ve gone. “What are you, six?”

“How’d it take you so long to notice?” You watch as he tugs them off one by one, counting to see how many you had managed to get on there.

“It’s impossible not to zone out in these shitty meetings,” he mumbles, pulling off the last one, crumpling all of them into a ball to throw at you. You skilfully avoid them.

“Don’t you feel pressure or heat or anything here?” You poke at his metal arm.

“No.” He clenches and releases the fist. “It can block bullets though.”

You snort. “Bet that’s a popular line in bed.”

He rolls his eyes. “I mean, it helps that I can’t feel anything. Sometimes,” he adds the last part as an afterthought.

“Like when you’re blocking bullets.”

“Especially then.” He nods.

“Would you ever want to?” you ask casually. “Like if you got the choice, would you prefer having feeling in that arm?”

“I don’t know.” He’s thought about it, but it doesn’t seem feasible in his line of work. He’d like it, though, to feel sand slipping through his fingers and the comforter under his palm. “Maybe when I’m retired.”

“Aren’t you well past that age?”

“Shut up.” He rolls his eyes. “And pay attention. You’re next.”

“So you are listening.” True to his word, Steve asks about what’s going on with your team. “Traitor.”

Tony shoots off about how you only had to test it out on a small batch first to see if you could acquire the targeted data without compromising anything else. You chime in about a few specifics, and Bruce more or less just confirms what you both are saying, only stopping to let them know that you’d be finished in a day or two.

Steve nods, moving on to the next committee.

“Did I get a good grade?” you whisper when you lean back again.

“B minus at best.”

“Fuck you, dude. I was great,” you protested. “It’s definitely worth a gold sticker.”

Someone shushes you sharply. You apologise quietly, whacking Bucky’s metal arm when you see a dumb smirk on his face.

He narrows his eyes at you.

You try sticking another post-it on him.

You’re only here for a week. That’s what he’s been told. Over six times, actually, after which he’s been told to go away the next time he asked.

No one’s brought up the job offer so he asks Tony if it was true and all he gets is a dismissive ‘yeah, whatever’. Besides, you haven’t told him if you accepted or denied it yet so isn’t sure if this entire thing is set in stone, per se.

So then why do you have a giant box of your belongings that you’re lugging around the lab, looking to set down?

And why does Tony allow you a table right in the centre of the lab for everyone to see as soon as they walk in?

There are a gazillion trinkets, picture frames and obnoxiously bright stationery that stands out against the dull minimalism of the lab.

“Every single one of these is a fire hazard,” he reports, standing over your desk.

You give him a side glance before reaching over to the side of your desk, pulling up a fire extinguisher and setting it on the table in front of him. “I came prepared, bitch boy.”

He doesn’t dignify that with a response. He chooses to look at what exactly you’ve brought with you because it’s a lot.

There are small cards with ‘thank you!’ sprawled on them in uneven lettering, bits and pieces of paper with small cartoons on them, little clay models and other miniature trophies with ‘you’re the best!’ under it.

“Your students gave you these?” He can’t remember the last time he gave his teacher anything other than a headache.

“Sometimes they learn or communicate better when they have something to keep their hands busy.” There’s a certain fondness in your voice that he isn’t used to hearing. “I end up with a lot of doodles and craft.”

“’s nice of them.” He can tell that this means a lot to you. He hasn’t seen it before.

He thinks the little decorations are adorable and maybe he’d keep another fire extinguisher on hand, just in case.

Until you start pulling out a set of framed photos and his smile drops.

Several collages of Bucky in flower crowns, him with terribly edited backgrounds of beaches and mountains, a photo of him laughing with ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ next to it in an italicised font.

“What the fuck,” he states, grabbing one of them.

You stifle a laugh, pulling out several more to place along your table.

“Where did you fucking get these?” He starts pulling them off the table one by one.

“I don’t think you know how much the internet is obsessed with you.” You set an especially large one of him in a Hello Kitty bowtie right in the centre. He doesn’t miss the star shaped frame you chose for this.

“What is wrong with you?” He swipes that up immediately, looking for a place to discard, possibly burn these pictures. “Why do you even have these?”

“It’s imperative that people know we’re friends.” You bite your lip, bringing out the last thing to annoy him.

“What is that?” A teddy bear with a blue jacket and a grey felt arm stared into his soul.

“A Bucky bear.” Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh. “Limited edition.”

He snatches it along with the fifteen other picture frames, thinly veiled distress and mostly disgust on his face.

“I hate you.”

“But I love you.” You lift the small heart shaped locket you hung on one of the pictures of your class.

You use both your hands to click it open for him, watching his face morph into one of disbelief.

Bucky my beloved, it read on the right with a small picture of him on the left looking intensely disgruntled. He doesn’t bother asking where you found that specific picture of him outside a Burger King at 3am.

He doesn’t even make an effort to take it away this time. He knows that you’ll simply bring up more and more until you drove him crazy.

“You still have to see the Avengers calendar.” You reach for the inside. “I changed all the pictures to you, it looks great-”

He turns around and leaves before you get a chance to flip open the pages.

He wanders around, looking for the best disposal area he can find. He knows there’s a giant fireplace in the common room in the Tower, and for that, he’d have to go up a couple of floors.

He steps into the elevator, chin pressing down on the several picture frames in his hands to prevent them from falling over.

No one sees him carrying a couple of fan edited pictures and merchandise of him. Which was good.

Unfortunately, the doors ding open on the next floor and his best friend steps on with possibly the worst timing ever.

“Buck?” Steve sounds confused. He should be, considering the sight.

Bucky shimmies slightly to get a better grip on his belongings. “Steven.”

Steve glances at what he’s holding.

“Is this,” Steve pauses, trying to frame his words correctly to sound as supportive as possible, “a therapy thing?”

“No.”

Steve waits for a further explanation.

“It’s Y/N’s,” he elucidates. Steve’s eyebrows furrow.

“Why are there so many pictures of you?” He looks at the content in his hands a little closer. “And a bear.”

“She’s evil. And I hate her.”

“Alright.” It doesn’t answer his question but his friend looks irked enough.

The elevator dings to the common room floor.

Bucky turns on his heel to head toward the place to set all the pictures on fire. He saves the picture frames to give back to you though, he’s sure those cost money. But he makes sure every last square inch of the picture with several hearts around his portrait burns to ash.

Bucky knows that by the time Saturday afternoon rolls around, the three of you would have been working for thirty hours straight, scrambling to get the last minute details done.

You’re still at it but he can tell through the adrenaline of the upcoming deadline that you’re exhausted.

Now he’s grouchy but he’s not an asshole. He’s already done two coffee runs for the team and brought you food when you didn’t show up for lunch. He mumbles something and dismisses it when you call out a ‘thank you’ his way. He considers it a debt repaid for the gyros.

He’s still keeping an eye on you but along with an emergency box of doughnuts for any sugar rushes that may be needed and bottles of water that he occasionally leaves at the corner of the table for you three to subconsciously keep yourself hydrated.

“Are you sure we checked it?”

“Yes.” Bruce nods.

“Double checked it?”

“Yes.”

“Triple checked it.”

“Yes.”

You look satisfied enough to move on to the next item. “Pass me the welding torch for a second.”

Bucky has a book in front of him that he hasn’t moved beyond the second page of. He’s more interested in seeing who collapses from burnout first. He has the infirmary on speed dial.

After another hour or so Tony holds up a silver tablet, roughly the same size as a smartphone, examining it from all sides.

“That’s it,” he states. “The final product.”

You exhale lightly.

“We should name it.” You have your hands on your hips, looking down at it in wonder. Maybe the zero hours of sleep was finally kicking in because you couldn’t believe you were finally done.

“You got any suggestions?” Tony asks.

To be frank, no, you didn’t.

“No.”

“Okay, we’ll do that later.” Tony sets it down, not sounding too disappointed. “F.R.I.D.A.Y, tell the team to get down here, please.”

“Yes, boss.”

Bucky jumps off his chair to join you in the lab, leaving the book behind.

It only takes a few moments for the others to join. Fury and Steve walk in together, already engaged in conversation.

“Greetings.” You clap your hands together. “We did it. We think.”

“We think?” Nick raises an eyebrow.

“We know,” Bruce clarifies quickly, stepping in. “We’re positive it works. We tested it out.”

Tony pulls up the holograph of F.R.I.D.AY’s system, sliding the tablet to the middle of the table.

“Is it secured under FRIDAY’s core?”

“Locked and loaded.” Tony hits the table lightly to signify that it was safe.

“I think we’re ready,” Bruce confirms.

“We better be, or else half the country is suddenly going to lose their internet connection,” you say under your breath.

“What?” Bucky’s eyebrows knit together.

“Nothing,” you beamed, “Okay F.R.I.D.A.Y., run sequence, global parameter.”

“Running sequence,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. parrots.

There was no going back now.

From what Bucky can see, Tony looks fairly confident but you have your bottom lip caged between your teeth, chewing on it nervously.

There are several hundreds of photographs popping up and disappearing within a minute. Everything looks like it’s going according to plan.

The giant holograph of the AI dims. Your face drops when F.R.I.D.A.Y. seems to sputter to a halt.

No one breathes.

In the midst of the tension, Clint mutters if they should play some background music. It’s followed by a swift ‘ow’ when Natasha flicks him in the shoulder.

You could hear a pin drop.

It suddenly picks back up again, running faster than the last time and the sigh everyone collectively heaves is almost comical.

It runs for a few seconds more before a list of names suddenly pop up accompanied by a series of photographs and geo locations.

“Sequence complete. Six names detected, zero encroachment on public or private databases,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. broadcasted. “Location determined to be Holland. Exact coordinates are computed into the quinjet.”

You let out a small cheer, looping your arm around Bruce, squeezing him in a half hug. He has a smile on his face, dropping his head as he laughs slightly.

“How dangerous are they?” Tony, however, continues to ask.

“A few prior convictions and a series of similar threats. Danger level determined to be at approximately five out of ten.”

“That’s not bad,” Steve commented. “Looks like we don’t need the full team there.”

“Romanoff, Barton, Wilson, Rogers can go ahead and take care of that,” Nick finally spoke up. “Everyone else is working security tomorrow, just in case anyone else decides that terrorism is on their fuckin’ to-do list for the day.”

“Buck, assemble a team and go over strategy for tomorrow,” Steve adds on. “Everyone else go suit up, wheels up in thirty minutes.”

“Fuckin’ Holland,” Sam scoffs, shaking his head. “Of all the places.”

“What do you have against Holland?” Nat asks as they leave together.

“Just don’t like ‘em.” Their voices grow faint the further they get.

“Hey.” A small greeting from behind you has you turning around.

Wanda stands in front of you and you have to ignore the fact that the most powerful being on Earth is talking to you.

“Hey,” you say back.

“I just wanted to say congratulations. You did a great job.” Bits and pieces of her accent poked out. She didn’t seem like she was putting in the effort to cover it up as opposed to the press interviews you had heard a few years ago.

“Thank you.” You smile. “T’was a team effort.”

“Well, we owe you one anyway,” Steve joins the conversation, leaving aside Tony who was still talking to Bruce.

“I wish I was humble enough to turn it down but I’m not.” You laugh. “It’s nice to have an arsenal of superheroes at my disposal.”

Steve looks like he’s going to respond but his attention is drawn towards F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s announcement that the quinjet was ready to go. He shoots you an apologetic look but you sign for him to go on, you’d meet with him later.

You watch as he claps Tony on the back, telling him to go get some sleep and something with more nutritional value than a pizza pocket in him, nodding at Bruce before taking leave.

“Y/L/N,” Nick stands beside you, looking ahead at the conversations being had as Steve tugs Clint along with him.

“Nicky,” you tease.

“I know at least seven underground prisons I can put you in if anyone hears you calling me that,” he says stoically.

“We all know you won’t get rid of me.” You shake your head. “Who’s gonna send you a Christmas card then, huh?”

He simply shakes his head, jutting his hand out and offering a handshake. “Not sure anyone here could handle another day of a highly caffeinated, sleep-deprived Stark.”

“Just say ‘thanks’, Nick, geez.” You roll your eyes.

Bucky watches the entire interaction unfurl; only the body language, not employing the lip-reading ability.

“You’re welcome.” You let go of his hand, a devilish look on your face. “You know what I want in return.”

Nick gives you a long, hard stare that could probably melt through Steve’s shield before turning around to leave.

But Bucky doesn’t miss the subtle high-five he gives you while walking out, unbeknownst to anyone else, bringing the biggest grin to your face.

He makes it a point to ask you what the fuck kind of leverage you have over the man for him to play favourites with you.

You finally collapse at your desk, letting out a loud exhale. You clench your eyes shut, your body finally melting into your chair. You look exhausted.

He’s not sure how to help. You don’t seem like you have the energy to tell him.

Bucky leaves a doughnut and water bottle on the table in front of you before shuffling out of the room quietly.

He’s certain that he’s spent far too long in Bruce’s lab this week. He liked the man as much as the next guy, but he probably wouldn’t come down there for the foreseeable future.

You’re at your assigned desk, reading light illuminating the space. Thankfully you’ve cleared up most of your stuff from the table, leaving no more liabilities to fall over in case he walked into the desk.

“So you’re done for the week.” His voice surprises you. You were scrolling through your phone, slightly hunched over.

“It appears so.” You put your phone down, swivelling the chair to look at him.

“How’d it go?” He leans against your table, making sure he isn’t using his full weight.

“Well, I slept for fifteen hours straight, so...” you leave him to connect the dots. He’s done the same several times.

“You’re probably gonna need more,” he says, mostly from his own experience, “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Actually-” you reach beside your table and lug your gigantic box of belongings onto the table with a loud thud, “-you won’t.”

He looks at the box that was nearly overflowing with its contents, the majority of the space being taken up by empty picture frames. “I thought you said Tony offered you a job.”

“He did,” you confirm. “I didn’t accept.”

“Why?” He watches you shift through a few things, adjusting it so that it wouldn’t fall over.

“This whole thing- it’s cool and all, but it’s not what I want to do.” You shrug. “I like teaching. I miss my class.”

He gaze lands on one of the thank you notes sticking out from the corner of the box. “Ah.”

“Back to school from tomorrow.”

“And evil on the weekends?” he prods, dropping a pen into the heap of stationery.

“Obviously.” You give him a lopsided smile. “Where else am I gonna use all this brilliance?”

You point to your head. He lets out a small exhale in the form of a laugh.

“Speaking of-” You look like you just remembered something.

You rummage through your backpack and pull out a small container, handing it to him.

“What’s this?” He turns it over, looking for any hidden clues. “Are you proposing again, because I’ve said no-”

“I’m not proposing,” you interrupt, “yet.”

He gives you a deadpan look.

“Open it,” you urge, and he complies.

Two small squares sit side-by-side. They’re slick black, barely bigger than the face of a dice.

“You put one of them here-” You tap on his bicep “-and the other here.” You tap his shoulder, a few inches below his clavicle.

“What does it do?” He thinks it’s like Nat’s little taser things, a nifty little tool that he could use on missions.

“It, uh-” you hesitate “-it allows you to feel sensation in your metal arm. Heat, pressure, texture.”

His breath hitches in his throat. He doesn’t mean for it to happen, it just does.

“You said that sometimes you’re glad you couldn’t because of the bullets and stuff. They’re detachable, so just take them off when you go on missions and wherever it is you Spandex ambassadors go.” You scoff slightly.

He can’t remember the last time he felt something soft with that arm or used it for something that wasn’t directly related to his job.

“I’m not messing with what the Wakandans gave you. It’s the most advanced piece of tech out there.” You shrug. “But if you ever want to feel it when someone attaches sticky notes to your arm, this could work. Just thought it’d be nice to have an option.”

He can’t decipher what he’s feeling right now. He looks up at you, only to catch you eyeing him cautiously, assessing his reaction. When you notice he’s looking at you, a nervous smile makes its way onto your face.

His stomach does a flip.

“Thank you,” he says quietly.

“Don’t mention it.” You sound a little relieved, picking up the box that he’s pretty sure weighed a ton what with all his memorabilia in it. “See you next week.”

He doesn’t know how to explain what it means to him.

Instead, he shoves his hands into his pockets. “What are you doing later?”

“Nothing.” You pause. “Why?”

“Are you gonna watch the parade?”

“Yeah, probably.” You shift your weight to your other leg to compensate for the box.

“Want some company?”

“Aren’t you heading a security division?” You have to consciously hide the bewilderment from your voice.

“Yeah. The place I’m stationed just so happens to have a good look into the street,” he explains, toying with the bracelet on his wrist. “Can’t really promise that I’ll be paying attention to it or that I’d even be there the whole time but for the most part...” he trails off.

“Uh-” You force yourself to shove aside your surprise at his determination, “yeah, sure. That’d be cool.”

He nods. “Okay. See you there.”

“See you,” you murmur as you walk to the elevator.

He opens the tiny container to look at the small chips. They’re still there, silently like they don’t change his world just by existing.

Gosh.

Next part

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #mcu fic #bucky fic #bucky barnes fic #bucky fluff #bucky barnes fluff #bucky angst #bucky barnes angst #winter soldier x reader #Winter Soldier #bucky barnes #bucky

1K notes · View notes

anonymousfiction211 · 4 years ago

Text

Happy birthday

Summary: Everyone has forgotten your birthday, expect your loving boyfriend Loki who has a special evening planned for you.

Word count: 2.588 words

Happy birthday When you woke up this morning you were so excited. But now, you couldn’t wait for this day to be over. The whole day went by and everyone had forgotten it was your birthday. There were no text messages from friends, no cards in the mail, not even your parents had bothered to call you. At work no colleague had congratulated you, there wasn’t even a cake – apparently the office tradition broke with you. And adding to your misery, Loki was still in Asgard and you had no idea when he would be back. For a moment you though about leaving a message for Heimdall, Loki had taught you how. But you didn’t feel like yelling to the sky, to a men you never met, only for him to tell your boyfriend that you were sad. And then what? You would only wonder the rest of the night if Loki had gotten your message or if he also didn’t care like everyone else.

Deciding against leaving a message you drove the rest of the way home in silence. By the time you arrived at your house you were actively holding back your tears. Somehow you had hoped that maybe it was all a trick and there would be a surprise party at your house. But there were no cars and you didn’t see the lights on in your house. You sat in your cars for a few minutes, taking a few deep breaths. You would just order a pizza, watch a movie, and go to bed. At least it was weekend now, and you could spend the weekend doing all the things you love like reading, baking, playing the piano and maybe buy a few more plants. You rumbled through your purse, looking for your keys. You got out of the car and opened your front door. You entered your hallway and the first thing you noticed was that there were lights on, and you could clearly hear someone walking around in the kitchen.

You briefly wondered how you didn’t see the lights from the outside of the house, you should have. But panic rises as you realized that someone was in your house. The problem was that your phone had died, so you needed the phone in your living room. But once you would call the person inside your house would hear, and that could lead to a very bad situation. You put your purse and keys down as quietly as you could. You grabbed an umbrella and slowly made your way to the kitchen. If you played this right you could knock the person out, tie them up and then call the police. With the umbrella in your hand, you slowly opened the kitchen door. There was a man in front of the furnace, standing with his back to you, but you recognized him immediately.

‘Loki?’ you asked.

He turned around and smiled brightly at you. ‘Happy birthday, love’ he said.

You immediately ran towards him and he opened his arms to catch you. It took a moment for the two of you to let go of each other. When you did he kissed you.

‘I missed you’ he said.

‘I missed you too. How are you even here? I thought you had to remain there until the end of the month?’ you asked him.

‘Darling, like I ever was going to miss your birthday’ he smirked.

Normally, you would laugh. But the remark hurt and you started to cry. Loki’s happy expression changed into a worried one. He pulled you closer and let you cry against his chest.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked when you stopped crying.

‘Nothing’ you mumbled, nuzzling closer to his chest. You didn’t want to admit it that everyone forgot your birthday.

Loki grabbed your shoulders, moved a bit away from you so he could look at your face. ‘Tell me’

You stared at the ground until a finger under your chin made you face Loki again. You sighed. ‘You’re the first person to remember today’ you said, your voice barely higher than a whisper.

You saw the hurt in Loki’s eyes before he pulled you into another tight hug. ‘That’s awful’ he whispered.

‘I’m really glad you’re here’ you said back.

‘Me too, and I will do everything in my power to make you happy tonight’ he said.

‘But why are you holding an umbrella? It isn’t raining?’ he asked.

You broke the hug and put the umbrella on the ground next to the door. ‘Ah, well. The lights were off, but when I entered I saw them on and heard you in here. I thought you were an intruder’ you explained a bit sheepishly.

‘And you were going to attack me with an umbrella?’ he cocked one of his eyebrows in amusement.

You shoved him ‘Shut up, that was the best plan I could think off’

He just laughed a little. ‘Sorry to startle you. The lights would be my doing. I really wanted tonight to be a surprise’ he explained.

How he did the trick with the lights you didn’t ask. You knew that once Loki started to talk about magic, he would be talking for hours on end. The kitchen timer went off and you noticed that Loki had something in the over. You were curious and tried to look passed him, but he blocked your view.

‘Go sit at the dining table. I have a few surprises for you tonight and you are far to curious, kitten’ he mused.

You wanted to protest, but the look of excitement on his face was way too adorable to ruin. So, you did as you were told. You walked to the dining room that was just across the hall. When you entered you froze. Not only had Loki already set the table, there also was a large bouquet of roses, candles were burning and your favourite wine was in a wine cooler. This was by far the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for you. You sat down in your chair when Loki walked in with two plates, covered by a lid.

‘You like it?’ he asked

‘I love it’ you smiled at him.

He sat the plates down and instead of removing the lid, grabbed the bottle of wine. He poured you a glass, which was thoughtful, but you suspected that he liked to drag out his surprise meal a little longer. He poured another glass for himself and sat down. He sat very close next to you, adding to the intimate dinner. Finally, Loki removed the lid from the plate and you saw your meal. It was your favourite, steak with red wine sauce, oven baked potatoes covered in herbs and green beans. It tasted amazing and suddenly you realized that Loki didn’t cook.

‘How did you manage this? I thought you couldn’t cook?’ you asked.

‘I wanted to do something special so, I learned this dish’ he explained a bit flush.

‘Hmm, don’t you remember early in our relationship that you explicitly stated that Gods don’t cook?’ you teased him.

Loki grabbed your hand kissed the back of it. ‘He does for the one he loves’ he said, making you fluster and blush. He smirked at the effect his words had on you. The rest of dinner the two of you talked about what had happened in the three weeks he was away. Loki, of course, had many stories that involved tricking and annoying Thor. Once you finished your meal Loki grabbed the plates and told you he was right back. He came back with a large slice of cheesecake the two of you shared. He told you proudly that he also made the dessert himself. When the two of you were finished you started to clean up, but Loki stopped you. He conjured up a blindfold and you looked questioningly at him.

‘I don’t want you to see just yet’ he mused.

You rolled your eyes but let him put on the blindfold. He steered you through the house. When he told you to stand still you felt him move in front of you. He undid the blindfold and once it was off he moved to the side.

‘Surprise’ he mused.

You gasped when you saw. Loki had set up an enormous blanket fort in your living room. There were blankets, large pillows and he had al kind of snack set up on the table. There was a string of light that gave the whole room a romantic vibe. The fort was placed so you could still see the tv, there were multiple DVDs laying in front of it. Next to de DVDs there were several board games.

‘Remember our first movie marathon and we spontaneously build a blanket fort?’

‘Of course I do. That was the night you asked me on our first official date.’ you whispered a bit overwhelmed by his surprise.

‘A date that went so terrible you actually told me that the blanket fort was a much better date’ he mused.

‘Well yeah, you got us kicked out of the restaurant before our starters even came. It was pouring outside and you lost the car key’ you laughed. ‘But walking in the pouring rain with you turned out to be fun’ you added.

Loki grabbed your hand and guided you to the fort. He sat down and put you between his legs. The rest of the night the both of you cuddled, talked a lot, and played the games. A few hours later you decided to put on a movie.

‘Thanks for the amazing evening. This night was really the best gift you could have given me’ you said hallway through the movie.

‘Did you really think that this was your gift?’ he said.

You squirmed out of his grasp. Loki overdramatically sighed but laughed at your giddy attitude. He reluctantly let you go, so you could bounce up and down, excited to see what he was about the give you. He conjured up a small dark green box. When you reached for it he pulled it away.

‘I think I deserve a kiss first’ he smirked.

You rolled your eyes but started to kiss him. Knowing Loki, he would demand another kissed so, you made out with him for a while. The moment he lowered his hands around your waist you grabbed the box.

‘And they say I don’t play fair’ he teased.

You ignored his comment and opened the box. Inside the box was a beautiful golden necklace with a snake on it. The snake was in a s-form and there was a tiny green stone for the eyes.

‘It’s beautiful’ you said.

Before Loki could reply you grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for another kiss. He just laughed at your action and took the box from you, once you were done. He took out the necklace and you turned your back towards him. You removed your hair and he fastened the necklace around your neck. When it was in place you turned around and Loki pulled you flush against him.

‘Thank you, for everything’ you said.

‘I’m glad that you liked it all’ he said to you.

You kissed him again, more slowly this time. Loki moved his lips with yours and you felt his tongue asking for permission. You opened your mouth and he slid his tongue inside, exploring every inch. You moaned slightly in the kiss. Your hands were under his shirt and his were caressing your upper body. You stopped kissing him and pulled his shirt over his head. For a moment you stared at him, and you noticed Loki slightly blushing under your gaze.

‘Let’s make this more fair’ he whispered.

He removed your shirt and unclasped your bra in one smooth motion. He laid you down on your back and started to kiss your neck. He moved lower and swirled his tongue over every inch of your breasts. You were extremely aroused and your nipples were hard by the time he was done. You were breathing fast underneath him. He brought his head up to yours and kissed you deeply. He laid on his side next to you. His hand slowly trailed from your cheek down to your breasts. He pinched your nipple, earning him a gasp from you. He moved lower and undid the button of your pants. You eagerly kissed him back and stroked his naked chest. His fingers slipped between your folds. Once his fingers were wet with your arousal he circled your clit. He swallowed every moan and whimper that left your lips with his own mouth.

You felt the pleasure wash over you. Loki slowly circled your clit until your orgasm had subsided. He retracted his fingers and licked them clean.

‘You look very pretty when you come undone for me’ he whispered in your ear.

He pulled of your pants and underwear. Once you laid naked before him he removed his own. When his erect cock sprung free you licked your lips. You wanted to get up, to suck his cock, but Loki laid you back down.

‘Tonight, is about you’ he said.

He was on top of you and stroked his erect cock against your wet folds and your clit. In one smooth motion he pushed himself inside of you. Your legs automatically hooked around his waist and Loki started a slow pace. His eyes didn’t leave yours, unless he was kissing your mouth, neck or whispering in your ear. He whispered how beautiful you looked, how much he loved you and how incredible you felt around his cock. Because of the slow movements and your wetness, you could really feel every movement he made. Every movement was deliberate, it really felt like you were the only thing that existed for him right now.

To your surprise he stopped. Before you could ask, he rolled the two of you around. You were on top of him and due to gravity felt his cock slid deeper inside of you. Hitting just the right spot. You started to ride him in the same slow pace as him. It truly was a sight to have Loki lay underneath you, moaning and praising you. Once you felt your orgasm build up, you started to ride him faster. His hands went to your bouncing boobs and he started to play with them. This was definitely the most intense sex the two of you ever had, normally there were a lot of games and Loki was an enormous tease. Loki started to moan shamelessly underneath you, but you were doing the same at this point. When he started to circle your clit with his fingers you came undone immediately. You felt Loki’s cock twitch inside of you and his seed spill. After a few more thrusts you collapsed half on top of him. Once your and his breathing had gone back to normal you pulled him out of you. He immediately grabbed you back and laid you close to his chest.

He was stroking your arms. Goosebumps were forming and you started to shiver a little. Loki grabbed a blanket form nearby and pulled it over the two of you. He nuzzled his head in the crook of your neck and pulled you as close as he could.

‘This really is the best birthday I ever had’ you said.

‘It’s far from over yet, love’ Loki said while starting the kiss your neck and trailed his fingers to your clit.

Tags: @delightfulheartdream @the-best-phineas @theaudacitytowrite

#loki #Loki Laufeyson #loki odinson #loki of asgard #loki god of mischief #loki god of lies #loki smut #loki sweet #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x ofc #loki x original female character #loki x y/n #loki story #loki oneshot #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki fic

360 notes · View notes

parkerslatte · 4 years ago

Text

Surprise

Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1.8k

Request: Hi, can I request a Spencer x reader request where the reader is pregnant and trying to surprise Spencer with the news? Obviously with his eidetic memory and him being a profiler it’s hard but it works out in the end? Thanks so much😘

A/N: Thank you for your request! I hope you like it :)

MASTERLIST

Requests Open

***

Trying to keep a secret from someone with an eidetic memory was hard - it was even harder when that person happened to be a profiler. Every time Y/N was having a bad day, Spencer would know, no matter how hard she tried to mask it. Due to Spencer picking up on the littlest things Y/N does, it was hard to keep a secret from him.

A few weeks ago Y/N had found out she was pregnant and she wanted to find the perfect way to tell Spencer. She had thought of a way except it needed to arrive in the mail first. That would take time - time she didn't have. Any day now Spencer would catch on.

There had been multiple occasions where Y/N would slip up and Spencer would get suspicious. However, knowing Spencer for as long ad she did, Y/N was able to play it off without him batting an eyelid.

However one incident, she slipped up more than usual.

Spencer had forgotten his lunch at home and Y/N decided to take it to him at work. She knew that it was a paperwork day so he would be there. Before she made the drive to Spencer's work however, she had to pick up one part of the surprise Y/N had planned to announce her pregnancy - a pair of converse for a baby.

The reason it took so long for her to get them was because she couldn't find a pair anywhere. Everywhere she looked, they were sold out. Once she picked them up, she shoved them in her bag without thinking.

When Y/N got to Spencer's work, she grabbed her bag that contained his lunch and headed up to the sixth floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Y/N saw a woman with blonde hair and a colourful dress walk past.

"Penelope!" Y/N said, stepping out of the elevator.

Penelope turned her head to the source of the voice and her eyes widened and a smile stretched across her face, "Y/N!" The blonde hastily wrapped the other woman in a hug, "I haven't see you in ages."

"I know!" Y/N responded, "Work has been keeping me busy." Along with other things.

"Well you need to come out on the next ladies night," Penelope said as the two began walking into the bullpen, "We've missed you hanging out with us."

"I miss hanging out with you too." Y/N replied.

"Y/N!" A voice announced. She looked up to come face to face with Derek Morgan.

"Derek!" Y/N replied before he wrapped her in a hug.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned.

Y/N gestured to her bag, "Spence forgot his lunch so I'm just dropping it off."

"Speak of the devil." Derek said, gaze drifting over Y/N's shoulder.

Y/N turned around and Spencer was walking up to the trio standing in the bullpen. A smile spread across his face once he saw Y/N. If she were the only one in the room, he would've strode up to her and planted his lips on hers. However, since there were plenty of other people around, Spencer settled for a quick hug instead - no matter how much he wanted for it to go on longer.

"What are you doing here?" Spencer questioned, hands being placed in his pockets to refrain from holding onto Y/N.

"I'm just dropping off your lunch, you were in a rush this morning and forgot it." Y/N explained and opened up her bag and rummaged through it to grab his lunch.

Her eyes widened when they landed on the small pair on black converse in her bag. Spencer, who had immediately noticed Y/N stop looking through her bag, furrowed his eyebrow in confusion and concern.

"You okay?"

Y/N looked up at him, "No, no, I'm fine, I just think I forgot my phone at home." She lied, though being around two profiles she was sure they could see right through it.

Spencer and Derek shared a look before Y/N rummaged through her bag once again, making sure to avoid the black converse, and pulled out Spencer's lunch.

"It hasn't been in the fridge since this morning so I would go and put it there, unless you're going to eat it now." Y/N explained, snapping her bag shut, suddenly becoming possessive over it.

"I'll go and put it in the fridge," Soencer said, concern lacing his tone, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, perfectly fine," Y/N replied, "I'm just feeling a little tired."

"Go home and get some rest, okay?" Spencer said, he knew that there was something else bothering Y/N but decided not to mention it, "I'll be home as soon as I can."

Y/N gave him a tight lipped smile before nodding, "I'll see you later." She turned to Penelope and Derek and bid goodbye to them. She leaned up and placed a quick kiss on Spencer's cheek before leaving.

Spencer turned and watched her leave. He wanted to follow her to make sure everything was okay but he couldn't, he needed to stay at work.

"Did she seem okay to you?" Spencer questioned, turning back to face Derek and Penelope.

"She seemed okay to me," Penelope said, "A little jumpy but okay."

"I'm sure she's fine, Reid, you don't need to worry." Derek reassured him.

Spencer nodded before heading to place his lunch in the fridge. For the rest if the day, his mind was filled with worry about Y/N.

***

Y/N was panicking. She could tell that Spencer knew that something was wrong with her. Y/N was sure that he hadn't seen the baby shoes in her bag but she couldn't help but think he had. Another reason as to why she was panicking was the second half of the surprise had gotten lost in the mail and was nowhere to be found.

Y/N was stressed, she couldn't keep her pregnancy a secret for much longer because if she did she would either blurt it out or she would leave it long enough until she started to show a small baby bump.

She was laying down on her bed tracing small patterns on her stomach, a soft smile on her face. No matter how stressed she was, it all diminished when she thought about hers and Spencer's child. They were going to be parents.

The door to the apartment opened and Y/N jumped up from the bed.

"Y/N!" Spencer announced, "I'm home."

She stepped out the bedroom and leaned against the doorframe, "I thought you weren't meant to be home for another hour."

"I finished my work early." Spencer replied, stepping over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Y/N snaked hers around his neck pulling him in close. The two of them stood there for a moment in each others arms. No matter how long the two had been together, they never got bored of just holding one another.

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked after a long silence, "I was worried about you today."

"I'm fine, Spence," Y/N replied, "Let's just go to bed."

Y/N pulled away from Spencer and headed back into their bedroom. She was already wearing her pyjamas so she sat down on the bed and waited for Spencer to get changed. Once he did, he crawled into bed next to Y/N and she rested her head against his chest while he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him even more so there was not a single gap between the two.

Y/N pressed a kiss to Spencer's jaw as the two layed there in silence. One of Spencer's hands ran up and down her spine, tracing light patterns on it.

"I'm worried about you." Spencer mumbled.

"Why?" Y/N questioned.

"You were acting strange today," Spencer answered, "Actually, you've been acting strange for the past couple of weeks. You have an excuse for everything and you've been staying away from work for the past week. I just want to know you're okay."

Y/N was silent, she watched ad Spencer's chest raised up and down at a steady pace. Her finger trached his collarbone trying to find something to say.

"Y/N, please tell me what's wrong." Spencer asked, wrapping her hand on his chest in his.

Y/N sighed, "I didn't want to tell you now. I wanted to wait until I had another thing for it but I don't think I can keep this a secret much longer."

Y/N got up from the bed and rummaged through her bag in the other side if the room. She pulled out the converse and hid them behind her back.

Spencer sat up in the bed, curious as to why Y/N was being so secretive.

"I wanted to make this perfect but the other half to the surprise for lost in the mail," Y/N began to explain, "And the reason I was acting strange earlier was because I accidentally left these in my bag and was afraid you would see."

Y/N revealed the pair of converse from behind her back and held them up to Spencer's view. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion before Y/N began to speak again.

"The baby bib that I ordered with a scientific pun you would understand didn't arrive."

Spencer's eyes widened once he realised what the small converse meant. Hee looked up at Y/N who had a soft smile on her face.

"Wait, you're..." Spencer couldn't finish his sentence before tears began to fill his eyes. Y/N nodded, tears springing to her own eyes.

Spencer scurried out if bed and wrapped Y/N in his arms, holding onto her like she would disappear, "You're pregnant."

Y/N nodded into Spencer's shoulder, "We're having a baby, Spence. You're gonna be a dad."

Spencer pulled away and rested his forehead against Y/N's, his hands brushing over her stomach. He was at a loss for words, overwhelmed with emotion.

"I knew something was wrong, but I didn't expect..." A tear fell down Spencer's cheek and Y/N wiped it away.

"I'm gonna be a dad." Spencer said, finally.

"Yes you are, Spence. You're going to be the best dad in the world."

"And you're going to be the best mother I'm the world." Spencer mumbled before pressing his lips against Y/N's, both smiling into the kiss.

Y/N was the first to pull away from the kiss, "I'm sorry that this wasn't the perfect way to tell you but-"

"It was perfect," Spencer cut her off, "I wouldn't care how you told me, it would be perfect anyway."

Y/N smiled and pecked his lips, "We're gonna be parents."

"I'm never going to get tired if hearing that." Spencer replied, wrapping his arms around Y/N.

SPENCER REID TAGLIST

@spenxerslut @averyhotchner @drayshadow @reidemandweep @moviequeen51 @spencer-reid-am-i-right @ssavanessa22 @amurderofcrowsinatrenchcoat

- add yourself to my taglist HERE or message me to be added or removed :) -

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid imagine #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #matthew gray gubler #submission

362 notes · View notes

paigelts05 · 2 years ago

Text

FNAF, Renegade AU - Toxic Botany

https://www.deviantart.com/paigelts05/art/FNAF-Renegade-AU-Toxic-Botany-882527940

Published: Jun 13, 2021

Renegade File Server Location: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23858029

I actually wrote the story for this first because I just had an idea and wanted to get it down before I forgot. Also, this takes place after the Adelaide incident, so Anna and the rest of CK maintenance were not expecting any animatronics to be sent for modification, as they were just supposed to be finishing up certain jobs that they were told had to be completed, even though work was supposed to have stopped. The contractors open the large crate, and find what looks less like the 'Springtrap' they were sent images of and more like a normal human corpse, albeit with a few flowers growing out of it. Needless to say, this causes some panic, but thing calm down a bit when the corpse wakes up and instantly starts slaging off the contractee who kidnapped him and shipped him off to these poor contractors. =°•.🌹 Story 🌹.•°= °*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•🌹•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*° He was delivered to the contractors in a wooden box. This wooden box felt more like a crude coffin, but instead of flower petals or feathers or felt, the space around his corpse was filled with packing peanuts. When he arrived and his box was opened, they thought that thier contractee had made a mistake. This wasn't a robot. This wasn't the replica mechanical rabbit they were expecting. This was a man. Did they really just get mailed a corpse? Fear and confusion spread through the contractors as they tried to figure out what this was. A man whose only odd traits were robotic rabbit ears stuck in his skull, seemingly robotic limbs, and a faint purple hue on his otherwise porcelain hued skin was lying in a shipping crate coffin, arms crossed over his chest like it was his funeral. He looked dead, peaceful, then suddenly awake. His eyes shot open and he sat up, packing peanuts clinging to his long, violet hair. "Where am I?" His question seemed more like a statement, if not an order, yet his tone seemed almost kind and calm. Anna was the only one with the courage to answer. "CK animatronic maintenance. We're contractors. You were sent here by our contractee." As the man stepped out of his shipping crate coffin, Anna flinched. "Do not be afraid, if I'm going to be mad at anyone, it'll be your contractee." He stated, seeing Anna's fear and not wanting to scare her any further, "As you may tell, I wasn't exactly sent here off my own accord. I assume you expected a replica of a 'springtrap' suit, am I correct?" Anna nodded. The man continued to speak after seeing this sign of confirmation. "Well, I fall under that category. I may look human, but that is due to the suit melding itself to my body. I can also assure you all the rumours around the Springtrap suits are true. Each location had a killer, and each died in a spring Bonnie suit, only to be forced back to life as some kind of sentient zombie. I shall declare now, I am no exception to this. My name is Vincent Taylor, yet as of late people have referred to me as Taylortrap." The contractors all breathed an unexpected sigh of relief. Even as he pulled his katana out of his crate of a coffin, the fear and tension seemed to disperse more and more by the second. "So, um, how on earth are we supposed to manage this situation?" Anna asked, "the contractee is making us modify animatronics - which is not our job - and they want us to make you look like this." She then showed him a print out of some concept art their contractee sent them. "Well.... I don't want to look like... That." He looked disgusted. He did not want to be covered or look like he was covered in toxic sludge. What would that do to his plants? Luckily, Anna felt the same way, despite clearly beginning to panic. Vincent recognised this panic anywhere. The fear of not fulfilling a contract. "No-one would, but we have to do something." Her words were sharp, but not aimed at him. "I think I know something we could do instead." He moved his jacket and lifted his shirt to reveal vines growing in and around the metal of the carapace that covered his corpse. "I already have a few plants growing, and they seem to be doing fine. We could add some bioluminescent ones of the hues needed." "Wouldn't that eat away at you?" "Oddly enough, no." He covered the plants back up, and he looked almost human, "I just need to keep them watered. I don't understand it either, but I can guarantee that using my, lets just call them 'abilities', to keep flowers on myself is my ultimate 'up yours' to my former boss, who just also happens to be your contractee." "So, do you know where we could get some bioluminescent plants?" Anna replied, already on board with this idea. "My daughter should have some. Do you have a phone here?" °*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•🌹•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°

6 notes · View notes

char-lotta · 4 years ago

Text

Forget me not (Part 1/3)

Pairing: Jake x MC

Words: 1,6k

Summary: Forgetting is hard but forgiving is harder.

Warnings: -

Chapters: 1, 2, 3

Forget me not - part one

You looked on the screen without thought in your head. The download bar was moving so slowly, that you couldn’t even pin it to actually move. The quiet humming coming from the countless computers filled the dark room with only you in there. Although, you were used to be alone, since that was the way of living you had performed for years already. You were alone and empty. You wouldn’t describe yourself alive, just plainly existing.

Something interrupted your catatonic state of just being alive and it took you a while to realize what it was. You looked your phone which had dim light with simple text on the screen.

MC: Please, could we just talk? I miss you.

Those blue eyes of yours read the message again and again and something warm sparked inside of you. You quickly diminished it when you found yourself thinking of her, the subject what you had forbidden yourself for weeks now. You swiped the message away from your screen and turned the phone screen down on the table. She would eventually stop.

-_-_-_-_-

Few days later, you received another message. You unlocked your screen and looked those words written by someone, who you didn’t deserve, but still wanted to be with you. God knows why.

MC: Jake, I really need to talk to you.

Something ached in your heart when you closed the message again and you sighed heavily. Why couldn’t she just let go? You had explained to her that this was for her own protection, and the image of her hurt face was burned in your mind. You could almost hear the sobs if you closed your eyes now. She didn’t know that you saw her though, because you were too coward to tell her that straight and instead took care of that by sending a text to her, but you had watched her from afar. How lame of you, but what else could you expect from twisted image of a man as you were.

You couldn’t resist yourself and you opened a CCTV in one of your screens. It showed her at work, in her tiny cubicle, as you knew her working schedule. You promised yourself that just this one time, you would allow yourself to look at her: her long brown curls, the worried face of hers and your favorite part; her neck. Oh, how you missed to be close to her, bury your face in her neck and smell that enchanting scent of lilies in her skin and shampoo on her hair. You couldn’t see it on the blurry CCTV, but she had a small mole just below her ear, where you had drawn circles in your finger when she slept. She was beautiful, as always; those soft lips of hers and you could remember them to whisper you all kinds of sweet words at the morning dusk, when she thought you were asleep. I love you; she had said and all you wanted to do, was embrace her and never let go of her.

But you did.

She was biting her lip again, what she always did when she was nervous. And it was because of you, and you knew it. She looked so fucking sad when she held her phone in her lap, looking at the screen, hoping that you would answer to her. But you couldn’t, and it was completely your own fault. You closed the CCTV and let your mind drift again to that emptiness, what had been your loyal companion always.

-_-_-_-_-_-

You received the next message in the same night, but you weren’t asleep since you never slept. You had only these nightmares what would follow you from dream to dream and sometimes you saw them during the days too.

MC: Don’t you think that I can decide myself what is good for me?

MC: You promised me that you would always be there for me, but there you are; not answering any of my text or calls.

You clenched your fists and saw that she was writing again. No, she was not capable of deciding where she should put herself in danger or not. She let her emotions cloud her judgment, and you had warned her since the beginning of the mission to find Hannah, that there should not be emotions involved because they would just make things harder. She couldn’t see it, but you could. Your pursuers had been on your tails and they were getting closer and closer.

When they had sent you that image, something broke inside of you and you just knew, that this happiness of yours was short-term. You had promised to her that you would always be there, but she forgot the most important promise that you had made to her; you would always protect her. And that was the promise which you were keeping, and you could never forgive yourself if something happened to her. She was dragged in to this involuntary, she hadn’t asked for it. Why should you put your feelings towards her to be more important that her life was?

The message coming from that image that your pursuers had sent you couldn’t be any clearer; it showed her coming out of her apartment door. They knew who she was and where she lived and what she meant to you. In that moment you had realized that she already was in mortal danger and you had put her in this position just simply loving her. It had to be stopped and no one else couldn’t do that for you, so it had to be you. You were going to break her.

MC: I fucking hate you

MC: I loathe you

MC: How can you do this to me?

The texts were coming quickly now, and you could see that she was frustrated and angry. Her words I fucking hate you and I loathe you felt like daggers in your abdomen, but at the same time, you were satisfied. The anger of hers would help her cope losing you and moving on. She deserved someone who could be there for her without putting her at risk, although even the thought of her being with someone else killed you slowly. But this had to be done.

MC: I loved you and I would have given my life for you

MC: And you threw me away like I am garbage

MC: I don’t want to hear from you ever again

Good, you thought, you never will. And with that thought you muted your phone and returned to your computer.

-_-_-_-_--

It had been two months now from the last message of hers and four since you had last met. You could see the sun getting up between the curtains and you switched your screen to her workplace’s system, just for the check up on her, as you did every morning. You searched her name in the list of employees logged on, but you couldn’t find her. You frowned and checked again, but she wasn’t there. With a few buttons you had opened the CCTV and looked at her cubicle, but it was empty.

Where was she?

The cubicle looked plain, and you realized that her plants and pictures were missing too. Personally, you didn’t understand of the concept of having all kind of distracting things on your desk, but considering that she always bought a new plant for substitute of what she had involuntary killed, she seemed to love them. Confused, you rewind the security tape to last day and stopped when she was shown on the tape and looked closely. She had a box with her, and she was picking up all her personal things from her desk and when she was done, she left. You followed her via the cameras of the elevator.

Maybe she got promotion and had gotten herself a new room?

But no, she went with her stuff to the elevator and took the trip down and left the building.

“What the fuck” you muttered and switched to her apartment’s hallway camera. You zoomed in her apartments door and saw that there was apparently a small family moving in. There was no sight of her in the video and her apartment seemed empty. You felt your heartbeat rising and your palms turned sweaty. You tried to log on her phone and use the GPS to track her, but she had turned her phone off.

“FUCK!” you yelled and threw the coffee mug you had, into the wall. Where had she gone?

You logged on her social medias, but she had updated those months ago, so they weren’t helpful. You had promised to her that you wouldn’t read her messages, but she didn’t leave you a choice, you had to know where she was. You saw that she had discussed with her friends, but the topics were daily stuff and chit chat.

You opened up her emails, but they weren’t important, containing only work-related mails and some recommendations from HBO, which suggested that she needed to re-watch Game of Thrones sixtieth time this year. She knew that you would investigate those while looking for you and she was doing her best on covering her tracks.

Few flying coffee cups later and you were shouting from frustration. You breathed heavily and stared the monitors. You had taught her well, but that was the point, you had taught her. You had told her that when she was booking any tickets or making any travel plans, she wasn’t supposed to use her own email as a verification, but spam email you had created to her, which servers were located some tiny island on the Caribbean Sea. You typed the address on your browser, and there it was, ticket confirmation mail.

Thank you for booking your trip to Duskwood from us!

Here are some tips for your journey –

You tried to read the message, but your brains didn’t oblige with you and you just kept looking those letters what didn’t make any sense. No fucking way…

Why was she going to Duskwood?

#duskwood jake x mc #duskwood jake #duskwood #everbyte duskwood #jake x mc #jake x player #jake x reader #duskwood fanfiction

144 notes · View notes