#i never thought there's any nate's fault in what happened to sam

[acecroft]

I never said that it was.

[its-time-to-write]

Hello! Maybe one where Nate kisses the reader like he did Keeley but they’re dating Jamie and he gets very upset but then they call him down and it’s sweet at the end ❤️

This one got real intense, real fast. Deals with some trauma after an unwanted kiss, so be discerning when deciding if you want to read this. Jamie’s really sweet, but this mostly ends up as a look at how it feels when someone does something you have a hard time laughing off.

i can’t breathe without you

It all happens so fast, really. One minute you’re alone in the boot room, talking to Nate about his day, and the next his lips are pressed against yours. Your entire mind freezes and all you can think is Jamie, and you must say something to that effect because Nate is bumbling through an apology, something about misreading signals and being an idiot, but what you’re really hearing is that he thinks any girl who is nice to him, is attracted to him. 

You’re not. 

He should have known, your mind reasons. He should have known you were with Jamie. 

All rational thought is overshadowed by tears threatening to fall. You say, “I have to go,” and then flee the boot room, leaving Nate standing there all alone. 

You’re not really sure where you’re going, but you’re running, pushing past people in an effort to just get out and get away from the feeling of his lips on yours. 

I didn’t want it, you tell yourself. Didn’t want, didn’t want, didn’t want. 

You knock into Ted in your rush. “Hey there, darling, you alright?” he asks, all fatherly concern. You nod your head once and then are gone, pushing through the door and out into the parking lot. You’re running, running fast. Anything to have control over the way your body feels, to hit the reset button, to forget. 

Jamie will understand, he loves you, he’ll understand, your mind tells you. 

You push it away, because now is not a time for hope. Jamie is a man, and they are all the same. Your ex, Connor, broke up with you when a boy kissed you at a frat party. Never mind that you were shoving him off you before his lips even made contact. Never mind that you had been trying to turn your head away. Never mind that he had seen the whole fucking thing and still decided that you were, in his words, “too easy.”

You’re so distracted by your thoughts and your desperate escape that you barely register Sam’s voice and sprint to catch you until his hand has reached for your arm and you violently shake it away, saying, “don’t touch me,” voice hoarse. 

He instantly lets go and backs up, hands in the air. 

You must look feral, eyes wide, hair flying. Face white. 

Sam’s face has concern written all over it as he asks, softer, “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” you say, just a bit too forcefully. ���I’m fine, I just, his lips and I didn’t want it, I swear I didn’t, I didn’t even do anything, but I feel them, and I didn’t do anything I promise, please, please don’t tell Jamie.”

You don’t realize you’re crying until tears fall onto your shoe. Sam’s previous concern has nothing on how he is now. He is downright worried. 

“Do you need me to call someone?” he asks. 

“No!” you reply. “No. I’m fine. It’s just- Nate kissed me, and I promise I didn’t want him to, he just did, and it’s probably my fault but I love Jamie, not Nate, and I need him to know that, ok? I can’t, how am I supposed to keep going, I can’t-” You’re beginning to hyperventilate now. Sam’s hands are up, like he’s calming a wild animal. 

“Hey. Hey now. Why don’t you sit down. It’s alright, it’s just you and me. Take a deep breath for me, alright? Follow my lead.”

You follow Sam’s directives and sit with your head between your legs. Sam takes a moment to type out a message to Coach Beard, while you’re distracted. It says, Find Nate before Jamie does, because who else would it be, and Sam knows Beard will be able to assess and handle the situation properly. Meanwhile, he’s got to calm you down. 

—

Inside the locker room, Beard’s phone dings. He looks away from where Ted is talking to Jamie and then frowns. What are the odds this text is related to you bumping into Ted? Beard, betting man that he is, is sure they’re good. He goes to find Nate. 

Nate is still in the boot room, acting as if nothing’s wrong. 

He looks up in surprise when Beard walks in. 

“Oh, um, hello,” he says. “Is everything alright?”

So he’s clocked Beard’s angry face. At least he’s not a complete imbecile. 

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Beard replies, arms crossed and face stony as ever. “What happened to Jamie’s girlfriend?”

One stammer from Nate is all Beard needs to hear. 

—

Ted tells Jamie, and Jamie is livid. Ted’s phone dings with a help please text from Sam because he has no idea how to help you, and Jamie’s anger reaches a whole new level. 

Beard thinks they should let Jamie have a go at Nate. Roy agrees, and thinks maybe Jamie could use some help. Nate isn’t present, Beard says something about being stuck in the boot room with the handle broken off. Ted knows Beard well enough to know exactly what happened, but now isn’t the time to comment. Beard has both punished and protected Nate, and there are more pressing things at hand. You, for starters. And Jamie, with murder on his mind. 

“Jamie,” Ted says, “I’m gonna need you to listen real good. I don’t know your girl very well, but I do know she has a sweet spirit. You go out there guns blazing, and it’s just going to validate every crushing thought she has about herself.” 

Jamie opens his mouth to speak but Ted puts up a hand. “Doesn’t matter that you’re not mad at her, she’ll take it that way. Things like this are tricky. You want her to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are 100% on her team.” Ted stops. “You are on her team, ain’t you?”

Jamie stares at him. “You think I fucking blame her for that prick mistaking her bein’ nice for flirting?” 

Ted shrugs. “She ever told you ‘bout her last boyfriend? Matter of fact, she ever tell you about any of her other relationships? You might be surprised what kinda boys are out there pretending to be men. Now, I gotta go make sure she’s gonna be ok. You,” he points to Roy, “don’t let Jamie out till he’s calmed down. You,” he points to Beard, “go figure out a way to get Nate unstuck from the boot room.”

Beard says, “consider it done, Coach,” and Roy just grunts. 

Ted is gone, and it’s just the three of them and their separate manifestations of their anger. 

—

Your head is still on your knees when you hear footsteps approaching. Sam has been sitting on his haunches, two feet away from you. Close enough so you’re not alone, far enough to give you some space. 

The footsteps make your head jerk up. The fear in your eyes is enough to break Ted’s heart. He’s never had a daughter, but he’ll be damned if this isn’t how a father must feel. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” he says, crouching down, voice soft. “What can I do you for?”

His voice is just reminiscent enough of your own father’s that you launch yourself into his arms, crying. 

“Sh, sh, it’s alright, I’ve got you,” Ted says. You have a death grip on him. “Just let it out.”

You’ve almost completely cried yourself out when Ted says, “What do you want to say?”

You pull away and sit back on the curb, hand covering half your face. You shake your head. 

“It’s alright, darlin’. I’m not gonna hurt you. Just want to know what’s wrong so I can help.”

You choke out “Jamie,” and both Ted and Sam are surprised enough that neither of them know what to say. They wait for you to continue. 

A few more tears fall before you say, “I just love him so much. I don’t want to lose him. I need him to know that I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want it. I wasn’t flirting, I swear. He just kissed me out of nowhere and I can’t get rid of the feeling, I just can’t-” You start wiping your lips violently with the back of your hand. 

“Hey, hey listen- listen to me,” Ted says. You lower your trembling hand. You’re vaguely aware of the fact that your whole body is shaking. 

“None of this, and believe me when I do say ‘none,’ is your fault. Jamie ain’t like those other boys you were with. He knows who you are. You did nothing wrong. He’s hopping mad, sure, but not at you. His hearts in the right place. He loves you, and I’m pretty sure if you gave him half a chance, he’d love you forever. There’s nothing that’s going to change that.”

You’re beginning to register Ted’s words. You’re glad he and Sam are out here, and that you’re not alone. Vaguely, you hear the building door open from across the parking lot. There’s a different set of footsteps now, running ones, that come to a crashing halt in front of you. 

You flinch. 

You hear Jamie inhale jerkily and dare to look upward. 

He looks a mess, eyes red and hair mussed. He kneels down slowly to where you’re curled up. 

He doesn’t even know where to begin with you flinching, but by god every breath Nathan Shelley draws is just one closer to his reckoning. 

Jamie breathes out your name, and finally, finally, you make solid eye contact. He reaches for you, and you take his hand, letting him draw you into his lap.

He holds you and rocks back and forth, whispering into your hair while the others quietly get up and back away. 

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you. It’s just you and me. I love you and I’ve got you.”

He’s got you, you tell your mind. 

Yes, your brain agrees, he’s got you and he loves you.

[disasterbijamietartt]

I did get up at 2:45 to watch the episode when it dropped at 3, clearly am still sleep deprived, so this aren't my most coherent thoughts, but I need to get this out of my system so that I have a chance to function at work today lol

Some general thoughts before I look at my boy aka Jamie lol

In general I liked how they handled Colin's and Isaac's story arc. But I had hoped for some acknowledgment of the casual homophobia in 3x3, like … why include it if Isaac doesn’t show any accountability for maybe making the locker room a place that doesn’t feel 100% safe? (but, well, apparently Jamie is the only one who has to show accountability for anything, even if it is not his fault) Aside of this I loved how Isaac fought for him, how he struggled with his anger and how they reconciled at the end. The last scene was definitely the best for me.

Regarding Roy I’m like … that kinda resolved too easily? Like, Rebecca yells at him once and he finally gets his head out of his not-hairy-ass? It just feels kinda undeserved since he had so little development before and none of it seemed to stick for more than one episode. But I liked his conversation with Isaac and the press conference at the end (But unless Roy thinks next episode about what he wants out of life and the answer is “a boyfriend” I do not want it anyway.🤡)

Very sad Rupert didn’t choke on the stolen baklava. Jade seeing right through him? Good for her! Nate making the right call in the end? Bless him!

So, onto Jamie …

There was way too little of him in this episode, but his little back and forth with Sam about who should be Captain was so cute! And how he was supportive of Colin.

But I’m not sure what to think about the “I’m flattered” line—I’m happy for everyone who it landed for and who loved it, but for me the jury’s still out.

On the one hand it shows growth for Jamie—since regardless of his sexuality, I’m convinced his “dad” called him gay or the f-slur or other insults in that vein a copious amount (which I think is the reason he was “it’s just poopeh”, since he is so used to being insulted like that, that he learned to ignore it), so that season 1 Jamie probably would have exploded if someone had insinuated the could be gay. But now he is comfortable enough in his sexuality and self, that it doesn’t bother him and he can joke about it.

On the other hand, it is neither a yes or no, and if it is not addressed in the next episodes, and left ambiguious, I’ll be so pissed at this cheep queerbaiting.

I still have some tiny sliver of hope something might happen in the next episodes to confirm he is bisexual, but I’m somehow less confident now than I was before this episode and hope is wearing thin, since I’ve just been burnt too often by actors joking about ships, and queer readings of characters being acknowledged on a show with something ambiguous, that in the end turns out to be never been more than queerbaiting jokes (and that part just read so much like it could have been no more than a nod at the fandom and a joke …).

I hope that Ted Lasso is better than that, it’s 2023 ffs, but with only three episodes to go and so much to resolve … (I’ll have to go back to writing fanfics, since I won’t get the epic stuff I wanted since there just isn’t enough time left…)

[fuckthefireflys]

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓

SUMMARY: there’s a knock at the door, you think it’s your boyfriend back from panama, but to your suprise you see your father, and he doesn’t have good news

SONG RECOMMENDATION: all i want by kodaline

CHARACTERS: mainly reader x father!sully, mentions of sam, nate and rafe.

WORD COUNT: 1370 words

WARNINGS: swearing, death, emotional, spoilers for uncharted 4.

A/N: please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes, i am dyslexic as fuck lol. also the italic paragraphs are the letter

﹋ ﹋ ﹋ ﹋

You stared down at your phone, debating on whether or not to call your boyfriend for a seventh time in the past fifty minutes. He was in Panama, with his brother and Rafe, trying to find get into an old jail tower that once held Henry Avery, hoping to find something that would help navigate Averys treasure. You were in on the plan too, but seeing as it was a highly dangerous all male prison, the boys decided it was best you stay home.

Thoughts started spilling into your brain, the bad outweighing the good. You ran your hands through your hair, your leg bouncing up and down as you sat on the couch. The apartment grew darker as the sun went down, the main source of light being from your phone, which was now calling once more, only to hear Sam’s voicemail.

17 missed calls and 21 unread text messages.

You stood up, pacing around the coffee table, hugging Sam’s shirt close to your body and glancing out the window, seeing darkness filling the sky. All you wanted was to have him home.

A knock at the door startled you and dragged you out of your thoughts. You let out a sigh of relief, heading towards the door ready to either hug Sam or shout at him for worrying you so much. You took a deep breathe before opening the door, a small smile creeping on your face, ready to see your boyfriend.

However, your smile dropped when you saw your father there instead. It’s not that you weren’t happy to see him, you were always happy to see him, but right now you just wanted Sam.

“Hey, kid.”

He stood there, a sad smile on his face, which he tried to hide, but failed miserably to do. He tried to avoid eye contact with you, either looking at your face or down at the letter he held tightly in his hands. Something was wrong.

“Hi, Dad, come in. Hey, have you heard from Sam? Or even Nate? He should’ve been out ages ago but I can’t seem to get a hold of him.”

Sully sighed in defeat, dread filling him up. He knew he had to tell you and he knew he had to be the one to do it, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t want to tell his little girl that her boyfriend was dead.

“That’s, uh, that’s why I’m here. Listen Y/N...”

You watched your dad hesitate and stumble over his words, trying to find the right thing to say. As you watched him, you became more and more scared, waiting for him to say what he needed to. Deep down, you knew exactly what he was going to say, but you tried to bury that negativity down.

“Dad. Where is Sam?”

Your eyes grew watery, as sadness took over your fathers face, his emotions pretty much confirming your thoughts. You tried to suppress the tears that threatened to spill out of your eyes, but they won, slowly falling down. Your words began to stutter and stumble.

“Dad...where..where is he? Please.”

“He, uh... Sam he’s..”

“Dad, you need to tell me. You need to say it. Please. I need to hear you say it.”

He looked at the letter once again, gripping it tightly, before looking up at you. His heart broke as he watched you slowly begin to crumble.

“Sam died, Y/N. He got shot as they tried to escape the prison. I’m sorry.”

You stood there, sorrow filling your body. Your Sam was dead.

“Fuck.... How? The plan was simple, they just.. he.. Vargos was suppose to let them go.. I dont understand..”

Sully took a step closer to you, tears now falling from his eyes.

“I know, kid. Nate didn’t tell me many details, but from what I could gather, Rafe got pissed, messed the whole plan up.”

“Oh, of course. Of course it was Rafe. I swear to God when I see him I’m gonna fucking kill him!”

Your father now stood in front of you, placing his hands around your arms.

“No you won’t you-“

“He got Sam killed! He got my Sam....is he really gone?”

“I’m sorry, sweetie.”

You let out a sob, falling into your dad, feeling his arms wrap around you, another stroking your hair in an effort to comfort you, though he knew no amount of comfort would calm you down. He mumbled “sorrys” and “it’s gonna be okay”, though you didn’t pay any attention.

All you could think about was Sam.

It was now around 3 AM, you sat curled up on the sofa, holding Sam’s shirt tightly to you, Sully hadn’t left your side since. Your eyes hurt from all the crying, your nose was red and your cheeks were puffy. You had calmed down slightly, mostly from exhaustion.

A yawn was heard from your dad, making you look at the time, suddenly feeling bad that you had kept your father here for so long.

“You, uh. You should go home. Get some sleep.”

“No. No way, I’m not leaving you.”

“Dad, it’s fine. You need to sleep. Besides, I kind of want to be alone right now.”

“Are you sure?”

You nodded, shooting him a hint of a smile, he shot one back, hesitantly getting up and walking over to you, planting a small kiss to your head.

“It’s going to be okay. Not yet, but eventually.”

He placed the letter he had been holding on the couch next to you, before grabbing his coat.

“What’s this?”

“Oh, uh, Sam gave it to me when you two first got together, said to give it to you if anything ever happened to him.”

“Oh.”, was all you could say, picking up the letter, taking a deep breathe before opening it. You heard the front door close, leaving you alone in the dimly lit apartment. Your eyes closed for a brief second as you unfolded the paper, immediately teary as you saw your boyfriends writing.

Dear Y/N,

If you’re reading this, then I’m sorry. I’m most likely dead, or maybe kidnapped by pirates, hopefully it’s the second one. It was bound to happen some day, you know what I’m like, always getting myself into shit. And I know what you’re like, always saving me from said shit. And I know you’re probably sitting at home, right now, reading this, blaming yourself. Whatever happened, it’s wasn’t your fault. Okay? None of it.

There was just a few things I wanted you to know, that I’ve never really told you. You know I’m not good at talking, but hopefully I can write it. You are the love of my life. Simple as that. From the moment we first met, I knew I was going to fall in love with you, and honestly it terrified me. But you made every single second worth it. You are literally the most amazing thing to happen to me and at times, you were the only one that kept me going. I wish I would’ve told you that more, shown you more, cause I really do love you. More than anything.

I want you to be happy. I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life mourning over me and being sad. You deserve to be happy. So I want you to know it’s okay to move on, though be warned I will come and haunt the shit out of both of you. I’m gonna miss you.

I’ll be waiting for you on the other side. I love you so fucking much.

Your Sam

P,S. look after nate, make sure he doesn’t get himself killed too

Despite the tears streaming down your cheeks, you chuckled. Sam always knew how to make you laugh, even in the worst of times, that was one of the reasons you loved him so much.

You read the letter over and over again, crying more and more each time until you couldn’t any more. You loved Sam more than anything, and now he was gone. And even with his ‘permission’ you knew you would never be able to move on.

You would never be able to love anyone more than you loved Samuel Drake.

A/N: i’m thinking of writing another imagine like this one, where the reader is in love with sam and instead of sully giving her the letter nate does, and it’s actually Sams love confession to the reader and i could do a part 2 where they reunite and talk about the letter. let me know what you think!

[anonthenullifier]

Tommy’s First Girlfriend

Thanks for the ask, I hope you enjoy it!  -

It is not in Tommy’s nature to be nervous. Fifteen years of data so far has confirmed this. The last time there was any speck of a wavering self confidence was right before his first review with Sam after a mission, even then it was only a speck amongst the sea of almost endless assuredness that Vision admires (and may even envy) so much in his son. But here Tommy stands, refusing to make eye contact or keep his fingers still while asking a simple question, “Is it okay if I have a, uh,” Vision catalogs the way Tommy runs a hand through his hair, failing to find any similar instances of it being a nervous tic, “friend over to watch a movie, or something.” The last two words are muttered quickly and quietly.

The request is a common one, the Maximoff house slowly becoming a haven of sleepovers and study sessions, primarily for the Young Avengers crew, much to Vision’s delight. “Of course. When-”

“Tonight.”

Wanda glances at Vision, wordlessly seeking if he’s picking up on the general weirdness of Tommy’s on edge and too abrupt, even for a speedster, responses. A small nod provides confirmation and Wanda does what he cannot, easing seamlessly into a natural candor that masks her interrogation. “That’s fine. Is it the whole group or just Nate?”

The grout between the tiles of the backsplash becomes fascinating to their son, his feet developing a gentle forwards and backwards rock. Vision turns to inspect the area above the stove, just to be sure there is not a spectral demon coming through (an event that, sadly, happened a few months prior). There is nothing but the powder blue and white checkered pattern. Eventually, with an uneasy sigh, Tommy answers, “Her name’s Lisa.”

Vision sorts through all the files of people their boys have talked about and doesn’t find a match, even amongst the files from their old schools. This is not an issue, however, because they trust their sons in choosing friends. Before Vision can state this, Wanda mines for just a touch more background, a cheery smile on her face as she asks, “Who’s Lisa?”

Tommy’s rocking increases to a rate above a normal human’s, a sure sign he is contemplating whether he remains in the kitchen with them or abandons the entire endeavor by turning into a streak of green. “I met her during Avengers Give Back,” an annual community service event Pepper started five years prior, “we cleaned up the juvie cafeteria together.”

The attendee list for that site streams through Vision’s mind, stopping at the name Lisa Molinari, female, age fifteen, Springfield, New Jersey. Vision shrugs off the slight annoyance at the knowledge of Tommy hiding a friend from them, something that is within their son’s right but Vision thought they had a more open communication relationship with their children than that, and begins planning. “Does she have any food allergies?”

“Fine, geez,” Tommy’s confession bursts out, “she’s kinda my girlfriend, I think, I don’t know, we’re feeling it out, but I just need you all to be cool and just stay out of it.” A half second of silence is enough for him to actually process the question that was asked, as opposed to the one he thought was, his eyes wide, darting everywhere but Vision and Wanda. “I uh..” If not for Vision’s optimized visual processing, he never would have seen Tommy yank his phone out nor registered the furious tapping of his fingers before being informed, “I’ll let you know when she texts back.” With that Tommy extricates himself by disappearing in a blur.

—

If Tommy was nervous before, now he is veering into full blown anxiety, circling the room at a pace that threatens the integrity of their couch and has led to Wanda securing the bowl of popcorn in a cloud of red so they don’t have to clean up the room again.  “Thomas…” for the majority of parenthood, Vision has found himself at a loss for how to fully advise their children, having never experienced a true childhood himself, but in this instance, he finally feels useful, remembering the way he would hover endlessly in thought at how to approach Wanda or analyze whether her laughter and gentle touches to his arm meant something more than just a close friendship. A second, “Thomas,” slows their son down. It doesn’t stop him completely, but he is now moving at a conversational pace. “Entering into a relationship can be exhilarating and terrifying. It is-”

“I’m not afraid of her, dad.”

“I should hope not.”

Tommy’s annoyance manifests in a moody sigh and an eye roll, an attitude not conducive to romance and one Vision hopes to quell. “You simply need to be yourself and enjoy your evening.” A flippant shrug is all he gets and Vision does his best to temper his own annoyance at how hard Tommy can make it to have a meaningful conversation, something Wanda assures him is fairly common for teenage humans. “You should also be sure to be respectful and remember that consent goes two ways. Neither pressure her or be pressured yourself into an action you are not ready for. There is ample time for physical developments in a relationship and thus there is no need to rush anything.”

“Oh my God.”

Wanda smirks, her hand finding Vision’s and providing him a commiserate squeeze, “Your father’s right. Relationships have to be built on trust and respect.” If he and Wanda were of the same mind, this is where the conversation would stop, however, his wife far prefers to throw a little chaos into any situation. “Plus, we’re going to be in the kitchen all night and don’t want to overhear anything, got it?”

Tommy’s flustered, “Mom,” ends abruptly at the descending two note chime of the door bell. They allow their son to answer the door, his “Hey,” deeper than usual and attempts to be suave, or so Vision assumes based on the clearly fake air of nonchalance Tommy tries to exude by shoving his hands into the pockets of his tracksuit. “Come on in.”

His date’s voice is the only thing that comes through the door,  “My foster dad wanted to make sure your parents are here.”

The exasperated tone of the statement melds perfectly with the jerky wave of Tommy’s hand, directing Vision and Wanda towards the door. Once Tommy and his date move out of the way, Wanda sends a friendly wave to the man in the silver minivan. He acknowledges them with a single honk and then drives off.

“Thanks,” with the van gone Lisa relaxes just enough to smile politely at them while still making it known how ridiculous she thinks the request was, “He’s a bit protective.”

“Understandably so.” Vision cannot fault the man. Much to Billy’s chagrin, Vision always makes sure the Altman’s are around whenever their son goes to socialize, and the Altman’s, in return, always text to be sure Teddy can come over. Realizing they are all standing in an awkward circle, Vision allows his manners to soothe the air. “Welcome, I am-“

Tommy verbally elbows his way in, eager to move them along, “My dad and this is my mom and this” he waves a hand at his date, who grins nervously during the rushed intros, “is Lisa.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Mom, dad, you had something to do, right?”

Wanda nods, hands coming to wrap around Vision’s bicep to tug him towards the kitchen, “Let us know if you need anything.”

—

They remain, mostly, hidden for the duration of the night, tucked behind the wall separating the kitchen from the living room, conversing almost exclusively through Wanda’s telepathic link. At semi-random intervals either Vision or Wanda will cross the hardwood floors to get a cup of water or a snack, each time tracking the movements of the teens on the couch. Slowly Tommy inches closer to his date, their voices hushed but giddy, and on Vision’s trip back with another glass of water, his lips journey up into an easy arc at the way Lisa has slouched over, her ponytail laying across Tommy’s arm. When he sets the glass down for Wanda, taking her hand into his own so he can toy with the band of her wedding ring, Vision whispers his assessment. “They have reached the cuddling phase.”

This causes his wife’s nose to scrunch up, an adorably joyful sight, her eyes flashing red just to confirm his own conclusion, “They’re happy.”

“That’s all that matters.” Vision leans in, placing a kiss to his wife’s forehead, fond memories surfacing of their own movie night where they transitioned from friends to something more. “Would you care to join me on the deck for some stargazing?”

Instead of agreeing, she studies his face, an air of suspicion hovering between them, “You want to abandon our post?”

“I want to give them some time.”

The curl of her lips suggests she remembers their own pleas to their teammates, of just wanting time and space to exist as a couple instead of being subjected to prying eyes and whispers, “All right, Maximoff.”

Wanda accepts his arm and follows him out the back door and onto the swinging bench.

Time loses meaning under the stars with Wanda snugly wedged under his right arm. Which is why he’s surprised to hear the door open, gentle, unhurried footfalls bringing Tommy to the swing. Wanda brings her knees up, hugging them to her chest to give Tommy space to plop down, the action sending the swing into a wobble.

“How was your date?”

Unlike his usual sardonic avoidance, Tommy smiles, eyes upturned towards the sky, “It was fun.”

Vision cannot control how the world treats his children, no matter how valiantly he tries, and so he relishes moments like now, content in knowing Tommy is happy. “Wonderful.”

[reidingandwriting]

Game Night with the Avengers

Word Count: ~1500 words

Ship: No romantic relationships in any of these; various friendships listed in subheaders for each blurb.

Warnings: Totally chaotic to write but super fun! A few swear words sprinkled in during the first two.

This is a series of blurbs of Y/N having a game night with various characters from the MCU ♥️

✨ Masterlist ✨

*Uno with Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes*

“Change the color to...” Sam paused as his eyes scanned the cards in his hands. “Green.”

“Oh, eat shit.” You groaned and grabbed another card. “You knew I didn’t have green.”

“How was I supposed to know?” Sam asked. “If I knew, that’s your own fault for having your cards where I could see them.”

“You confessed!” You shrieked and Bucky rolled his eyes, setting down his card.

“Draw four, birdbrain. And make the color red.” Bucky said and you grinned.

“I knew you were my favorite for a reason, Bucket.” Bucky rolled his eyes at your nickname, and you set down your card. “Uno!”

“You punk, you teamed up with her!” Sam grumbled.

“Sorry, Sam. She knows too much, I had to partner with her.” Bucky set another card down, and Sam gasped. “Uno.”

“How could you skip me? Bro code!” You slammed your last card down and jumped up.

“Suck it!” You danced around the living room and sat back down beside Bucky as you passed him. “We make the best team.”

“Oh, no. It’s not over. Best two out of three.” You laughed at Sam but nodded.

“Let’s make this interesting. Loser does debrief paperwork for the next three missions?” You looked between the two men, who nodded in confirmation.

“No teams this round, kid.” Bucky cracked his knuckles. “May the Uno master win.”

*Twister with Peter Parker*

“Okay, Y/N.” Tony spoke, looking at the spinner board. “Left hand on yellow.”

“Easy enough.” You said and placed your hand on a yellow circle.

“Peter, right foot on blue.” Peter placed his foot on a blue circle.

“I hope you’re ready to lose, Y/L/N.” Peter said and you stuck your tongue out at him.

“In your dreams, Parker. I’m winning this bet.” Tony called out your next move and you placed your foot on the correct circle.

“What bet?” May asked, seated beside Pepper on the couch.

“Peter’s never seen Lord of the Rings and I’ve never seen Star Wars. Whoever loses has to watch the movies the winner picked.” You explained.

“We have total nerds for kids, I’m telling you.” Tony spoke before he told Peter his next move. Peter moved into the next position as Tony looked down at his sleeping daughter laid on his chest. “Mo, please don’t turn out like these two dorks.”

“Says the man who built robots and has a workshop for his flying metal suits.” You teased as the game continued.

“Alright, Y/N. Right hand on red.” Tony said and your eyes widened.

“How the f... How am I supposed to do that?” The only way to get your hand on red would be to bend over Peter’s body.

“Aww, don’t worry, Y/N. I don’t bite.” Peter teased as he noticed your gaze.

“I might.” You replied with a wink. “Now be still so I can win.” You leaned over Peter and stood on your tiptoes to bring your hand to a red circle. Your legs shook as you balanced, your stomach hovering over Peter’s back.

“Shit, you actually did it.” Tony said and you groaned.

“Barely! Call the next move.” Your voice was strained, your legs starting to cramp.

“Okay, okay. Peter-“ Tony was cut off by the sound of you yelping, Peter groaning, and a loud thud. Peter now laid on the floor, with you draped over him. May and Pepper laughed at the sight while Tony grinned. “Looks like it’s Star Wars time, kiddos.”

“And ice.” Peter added.

“And pretending this never happened.” Peter scoffed as you spoke.

“Tell that to my broken spine.”

“Oh, you’ll heal. Wait. Are you calling me heavy?!” You two continued to bicker as the adults walked off, getting ice and getting the room ready for the Star Wars marathon.

*Hide and Seek with Stephen Strange and Scott Lang*

“Scott, I swear to god, if you’re using your suit to hide small, I will actually step on you.” You called out as you roamed the boundary you had set for your game of hide and seek.

‘Oh, sure. Assume I’m the cheater.’ Scott thought before he looked around for you, hiding behind a blade of grass. ‘Righttt.’ Scott waited until you were out of his sight and ducked behind a nearby tree, switching back to his regular height.

“I heard your suit, Tic-Tac! You’re dead when I find you.” Scott looked around and tried to find somewhere else to hide. He started to climb the tree he was hiding behind, and sighed in relief once he settled on one of the branches, shielded by leaves.

~~~

“Alright, Wizard of Oz. I’ve looked through the entire boundary, where are you?” You finally found Scott when a twig from his tree hit your head, now you just had to find Stephen. Scott had shrunk again, and he hopped from tree to tree, searching for the magic doctor in the tree limbs. Not like he’d be up there anyways, you told Scott. The branches would mess up his hair. You rolled your eyes as you remembered the conversation, and you froze when you heard a familiar crackling sound.

“I believe I won.” Stephen’s amused voice followed and you spun around with narrowed eyes.

“You cheater!” You threw your hands in the air with a strangled growl. “Both of you, dirty cheaters. Scott shrunk and you used a portal to hide.”

“Technically,” Scott spoke as he landed beside you as his proper height, “I wasn’t small when you found me, so I didn’t cheat.” You mimicked him as you continued glaring at Stephen.

“If we’re using technicalities, I opened the portal in the boundaries. I never left your limits.”

“And where did you go while I tried to find you?” You crossed your arms. Stephen opened another portal, and you stalked towards him. “Strange, don’t you dare-“ You were cut off by the portal closing, Stephen gone with it. You sat down in the grass, laid down, and closed your eyes without uttering a word.

“Y/N?” Scott asked hesitantly.

“This is what I get for playing hide and seek with a man who can shrink and a wizard.”

*Red Light, Green Light with the Avengers Kids*

It was one of the rare times the team had a day off, and you and Peter thought it would be nice to give the parents a break. So with that, you had Morgan, Cassie, and all the Barton kids under your supervision; and what better way to spend time with the kids than a proper game day? You were all at Clint’s farmhouse, the team inside while you, Peter, and the kids were in the backyard.

“Now, we all remember the rules right?” You looked at the kids gathered around you and continued to speak when they all nodded. “Good. If any of you try to cheat, I’ll have my associate here take care of business.” You spoke with a funny accent, making the kids giggle, then nodded towards Peter who was wearing his Spider-Man suit. He was perched on a low tree branch, watching the kids while you stayed on the ground for this game. “Now let’s get started!” You cheered in your normal voice and got all the kids lined up. “Spidey-Spy! Ready?”

“Ready!” Peter called from his spot and you dramatically turned around.

“Green light!” And the kids were off. Lila and Cooper took big steps, in their own competition with each other. Nate was trailing behind them, walking in his big sister’s shadow and giggling. Morgan decided she would hop her way to you, causing Cassie to laugh as she walked. “Red light!” You spun back around, and the kids froze. When you got the all clear from Peter, you turned back around and the game continued. “Green light!” You paused for a few seconds before spinning around. “Red light!”

“Awww, Cooper! Back to the starting line, buddy.” Peter called out, and Lila grinned at her older brother.

“Ha-ha.” Lila taunted and Cooper huffed before going back to the starting line.

“Green light!” As the game went on, little did you and Peter know that the parents were watching you from the porch.

“I don’t know who’s going to be more tired after today. The kids or the teens.” Clint said and Tony scoffed.

“The kids will definitely tire them out first. Maybe not Peter. The kid practically vibrates with how much energy he was.”

“It’s a sweet thing they’re doing for us.” Clint’s wife, Laura, smiled as she watched the kids. Cassie seemed to have won, as Y/N was spinning her around and Laura could imagine the scowl on Cooper’s face and Lila demanding a rematch.

“And I plan on taking advantage of it as long as I can.” Pepper replied, Tony’s arm draped around her.

“While they’re occupied,” Scott spoke up, “drinks?” The parents all agreed before heading inside, leaving the kids outside. What’s the worst that could happen?

“Peter! Don’t you dare web her up!”

Taglist: @daughter-of-stark @agent-barnes40 @spideygirl2003 @ditttiii @5aftermidnight @missmulti ♥️ Taglist is open and requests are open but will be delayed until I post all content I plan on this week.

[jbbarnesnnoble]

Through the Flames (Part Six)

Summary:  You’re a firefighter with the FDNY. After a fire that ends in tragedy, you find yourself running into some of the Avengers and maybe finding some new friends and romance along the way.

Features: Gun violence; Stabbing

Pairing: Sam Wilson/Reader

Notes: There’s one chance to take out Rumlow, once and for all.

Final part! We just have the epilogue left! 

Word Count: 2475

You flinched as Dr. Cho tended to your wound. Sam sat in a chair beside you the entire time, neither of you talking. Your thoughts were racing. Why did they need to talk to you about your father? You knew his work was secretive, but you never thought it could involve the Avengers in any capacity. How much was there that you didn’t know about your own father? 

“Hey, hey, look at me,” Sam said. You glanced toward him. 

“You’re alright. No one’s in trouble, okay? I should’ve waited to bring it up,” he said, his tone soft. You nodded. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Well, I got shot at one of my best friend’s funeral’s so, you know, just peachy,” you snarked. He smiled a little at that. You grimaced as you felt the last of the stitches go in.

“I’m done. I want to see you back in a week to check on them, they should be ready to come out then,” Dr. Cho said. You nodded.

“Thanks,” you said. Sam helped you up off the hospital bed. Taking your hand in his, he led you out of the medical wing and off to the Avengers wing. He had you sit on a couch while he grabbed waters for the two of you. You took in your surroundings, admiring the simplicity of the room and how homey it felt despite it being in what amounted to a military institution. Sam returned, handing you one of the bottles.

“We have a good idea of who it was. What do you know about HYDRA?” he asked, getting right to the point. You frowned. 

“Weren’t they that group that was exposed a few years ago? The one Captain Rogers thought had been wiped out?” you asked. He nodded. 

“We have reason to believe some of the survivors are connected to the fires. And to the fire that killed the rest of your family,” he said, trying to break the news as delicately as he could. There was no way around ripping off that bandaid. It was going to hurt no matter how he told you.

“What are you saying Sam?” you asked, you voice raising in pitch. You were sure you were connecting the dots. There was no way he was about to suggest what you thought he was.

“Your father worked for HYDRA back in the day. But that’s not the full story. He was a plant. Fury suspected that SHIELD had been compromised but could never get solid evidence. The governor at the time had been involved in HYDRA. Your father got close enough to him to be trusted. He was working with HYDRA until the collapse in 2014, to get information for Fury. He hadn’t been able to tip him off about Pierce because it would have blown his cover,” Sam explained. 

“Where is he? Is he safe? Sam, please. Is my dad safe?” you asked. You felt your anxiety rising. Sam placed a hand on your cheek, as he looked you in the eyes. It was a strangely intimate moment.

“I promise you. We’re doing everything we can to keep him safe. To keep you safe. And keep your friends safe. We’re going to stop them,” he said.

“Were the fires a threat or an attempt to kill me?” you asked. He sighed.

“We think the first ones were a message for you and your father. The last one was no doubt an attempt to kill you,” he confirmed. You sucked in a breath. 

“Instead one of my best friend’s got killed,” you said. Your voice cracked and tears threatened to fall. Sam pulled you close and you wrapped your arms around him as you let yourself break.

“HYDRA is gone, but some of their more zealous members lived. Brock Rumlow is the one who shot you. We had a clear image of him on camera. We’re working on tracking him down, but it’s going to take time,” he said. You frowned.

“But I can go home right?” you asked. He shook his head.

“It’s too much of a risk right now,” he replied. You glared at him. You didn’t like where the conversation was going. It sounded more like you were going to be held as a prisoner by the Avengers, or some damsel in distress in a castle. Either way, it wasn’t you. You refused to sit back and do nothing.

“I’m going home,” you said, standing up, careful not to jostle any of your injuries too much. Sam stood with you.

“You can’t. FRIDAY won’t let you out of this building. Not until we catch Rumlow,” he explained. You glared at him. You didn’t care how much you liked Sam. In this moment, he may as well have been your worst enemy with how you were looking at him. He shrunk back under your gaze. He admired the fire in your eyes. 

“You listen here Sam, and you listen good. I am not staying here. You’re driving me back to the city to my apartment and if it makes you feel better you can stay the night. But I’m not staying here,” you snapped. Sam held his hands up in mock surrender.

“No can do. As much as I’d love to, you’re safest here. You going back to your place would put your neighbors in danger,” he said. You paused for a moment. You hadn’t thought about that. You thought about Gloria nextdoor with her two kids, an adorable 3 year old and his six month old sister. Angela downstairs who’s grandkids visited constantly to check on her and spend time with her. Martin down the hall with his husband Nate, and their three kids. You knew Sam was right. You couldn’t put them at risk. Your shoulders slumped forward as you nodded in agreement.

“You’re right,” you said softly. 

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s not your fault some HYDRA maniac is after me. Hell, I don’t even blame my father. Sometimes that’s just how it is,” you said. You were already calculating a plan in your head. If Rumlow had gotten this far without the Avengers realizing, you had a feeling it wasn’t going to be easy for them to find him. Not without you. 

This wasn’t your area of expertise. The best way to get into a car to get to an accident victim without causing further injury, how to vent a roof, signs of structural collapse, those were the things you knew. Taking on a man who was hellbent on getting to you was way outside of your depths. But if it was you he was looking to get to, there was no way you’d sit at the sidelines.

The other Avengers trickled into the room. Sam shot Captain Rogers a look. It seemed like an unspoken conversation was happening between them. A girl you recognized as the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff, sat beside you.

“We won’t let them get their hands on you,” she said quietly. 

“I know,” you replied. Introductions were made all around before Steve jumped into the details of the situation and the plan they had.

“Our best shot is using you to draw him out. I’m not keen on it, but we’ve hit dead ends in trying to find him and his base of operations,” Steve said. 

“Absolutely not. We’re not putting her in more danger. He was trying to kill her,” Sam argued. You placed a hand on his arm, gently drawing his attention to you.

“This is my fight, Sam. I might not understand why. But he’s the reason one of my best friend’s is dead. If he wants me, he can come get me. But he’ll have to go through you guys first, won’t he?” you asked. Natasha gave you a slight smile. You counted that as a win in your book when she seemed to not like you very much. 

“And if he gets through us?” Sam challenged.

“I have faith in you, Sam. You won’t let him,” you said.

“Fahrenheit’s in. So, what’s the plan, Cap?” Tony Stark asked. 

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Central Park was oddly quiet in the hours before dawn. But the team had ensured it was empty of civilians. You had set a routine of jogging in the park before the sun rose in the sky once you were medically cleared from your injuries from both the explosion and the gunshot. Surveillance of the park indicated Rumlow knew. And as far as he knew, you had had a falling out with Sam and had left his side, staying in a place graciously rented by Tony Stark for a staycation that had no neighbors inside the building. As far as Rumlow knew, the Avengers weren’t keeping tabs on your moves, not after the public blowup you and Sam had. 

You and Sam had taken a walk through the park before going to grab lunch. He made a show of ordering for you, something he knew you hated. You kept reminding yourself. This was Sam. You liked Sam. Sam was your friend. Your very attractive friend who you wished would make a move on you because you were not about to make the first move. It didn’t take the sting away from what you knew was coming, what had to be done.

“I can order for myself,” you snapped. He held his hands up in surrender.

“Fine,” he said. Pretending to fight with him was difficult. But you knew you were being watched. It was a feeling that stuck with you every time you went out these days, ever since you left the safety of living among the Avengers. It had to be believable that you two had a falling out, that you were tired of being followed around by the Avengers.

“I’d like to go out alone for once,” you said bitterly.

“You know why you can’t,” he replied.

“Sam, I am sick and tired of being followed around like I’m a child. I’m a grown woman. I have a job, even if I’m on desk duty filling out reports,” you snapped. This was the start of it, what would hopefully draw Rumlow out.

After lunch, you and Sam stormed off in opposite directions. You had moved into the residence Tony had secured a few days prior. You made a show of tossing Sam’s stuff out as he arrived back, demanding to be left alone. 

“Fine. See what happens when we’re not here to protect you,” Sam snapped as he grabbed his duffle bag. It hurt. You knew it wasn’t real, but it still hurt. You never wanted to fight with him, even if it was acting. 

You snapped out of your thoughts as you heard movement. You knew Rumlow would still be suspicious. But the hope was he’d at least take the chance to get at you, even with the risk of it being a trap. You were certain you were about to find out if he took the bait. 

You heard a bullet fly by your ear as a gunshot rang out. You stumbled over your feet, turning and seeing Rumlow not far behind you.

“Gotta say, I was expecting you to be better protected. I heard you and bird boy had a fight. Shame that the Avengers would just leave you like that,” Rumlow taunted. There was something about his tone that made you believe he knew it was a ruse. You all knew it had been a hail mary play. 

“What of it?” you asked. 

“You know it’s not your father I’m after. No. No I want him to suffer for the rest of his days, fearful about when we’ll come for him after seeing what we do to you,” Rumlow said.

“So you’re going the villainous monologue route. You do know how that turns out in the end, don’t you?” you fired back. You moved as you saw him pull the trigger again, making the choice to run toward him. You had no time to think. The team should have been there by now, but they were nowhere to be seen. You wrestled him for the gun and it clattered to the ground.

Hand to hand combat was not something they taught you in the fire academy. You tried to meet Rumlow blow for blow but you knew you were outmatched. You fell to the ground but the gun was within reach. You wasted no time in grabbing it. You fired off a shot, hitting Rumlow in the shoulder, but it wasn’t enough to incapacitate him. He was on you in seconds, the gun tossed to the side as you felt a searing pain. He had a knife on him. You heard footsteps as he was yanked away from you. 

You looked up and saw Sam, worry etched on his face. You heard him yell for medical assistance.

“Keep your eyes on me,” Sam said as he kept pressure on the wound. You placed your hand over his, for your comfort or his you weren’t sure. But you weren’t planning on letting him go anytime soon. 

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The white walls of the medical wing of the Avengers compound were a sight you were becoming too accustomed to. This time, Helen had you put in the cradle because of how deep the wound was. It was one of the more bizarre experiences of your life.

“I’m really starting to hope I never see this place again,” you said to Sam. Helen was insistent that you still stay overnight, to ensure everything healed properly. 

“I’m getting tired of seeing you in here. You scared me today, you know that?” he asked. You ducked your head a little.

“Sometimes,  you have to be the hero in your own story,” you replied.

“Sometimes you don’t have to be,” he shot back.

“In my defense, I was doing okay before he pulled the knife on me,” you defended. Sam laughed a little.

“If you consider a broken nose, four broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a stab wound ‘doing okay’. I thought we were going to lose you,” Sam admitted. He looked away from you. You two were skirting around the obvious and you knew it.

“But you didn’t. I’m still here. Thanks to you. To the team. I never doubted for a minute you’d save me,” you told him. 

“I was scared. Rumlow managed to take out all the surveillance we had in that area. All I can think about is how I almost didn’t have this chance,” he said. You looked at him, confused.

“What chance?” you asked. He moved closer to you, and your eyes fluttered shut as his lips met yours. Your heart rate sped up and the two of you pulled apart, resting your foreheads together. 

“This one,” he said. You didn’t say a word, instead, pulling him in for another kiss. 

[inkedsoldier]

AMOR VINCIT OMNIA - Chapter Ten

A/N: Here it is – chapter ten of the AMOR VINCIT OMNIA series! Writer’s block struck me while writing this chapter, but I think it turned out pretty well. I really appreciate all the feedback I already got on the series so far. Upcoming weekend I will spend some time on the requests I got this week (inbox is open!). Chapter eleven is planned for next week. Enjoy & please let me know what you think. Thanks for all the support!

Y/N = Your name.

Y/F/N = Your first name.

Y/L/N = Your last name.

Y/N/N = Your nickname.

Characters: Sam Drake, Nathan Drake, Victor Sullivan, Y/N.

Warnings: angst, fluff.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

Masterlist

Chapter Ten Recruited

The sound of thunder startled Sam out of a nightmare. His cheeks were wet and his body bathed in cold sweat. The sheets were twisted around his limbs, probably because he was trashing in his sleep. With his heart pounding in his chest he sits up straight. Almost losing you yesterday didn’t do him any good. And not to forget the way Victor Sullivan judged him for bringing you and Nathan back into this life.

 Flashback You were still unconscious when Sully takes care of your pretty nasty headwound. “It took a long time for them to get out of this game,” Victor spoke softly. “Huh?” Sam replied not knowing where he was going with it. “I realize it couldn’t be easy… all those years away. And I’m sorry for what happened to you. But it’s not their fault,” he continued while cleaning the dried blood from your face. Sam was confused, “You see a gun to their head? They chose this, okay. We are meant for this life.” Sullivan scoffed, “You really believe that?. “Why are you here, Victor?” Sam asked. “Because somebody’s gotta keep an eye out for them.”

 Everything is blurry when you open your eyes. You questioned how you got in bed, or how you got in these clothes. Your muscles felt weak, just like your energy. Aside from your own breath, there is nothing to be heard and the room is too dark to see much at all. Where is everyone? The last thing you remember is sliding down the slope towards the plane, and the freezing water. Everything after that is gone. Your head throbbed, feeling like you had taken a knife to the skull. Slowly you lift your hands to your forehead and graze the stitches. “That is definitely Sullivan’s handy work,” you mumble. Carefully you sit up, swinging your legs off the bed. Still a bit unsteady you shuffle to the door. You walked down the hall, looking through a couple rooms until you spot Sam’s denim jacket. “That’s his jacket, but where is he?” you whisper walking on to the next door. “Oh, bathroom. Just what I need.”

Without making too much noise you open the door, but the view in front of you made you gasp; Sam was taking a shower, washing the last signs from the nightmare off his body. You could have turned around, but quietly you undress and step in the shower behind Sam. He didn’t hear you over the running water. Gently you wrap your arms around him, leaving a kiss on his back. He opened his eyes and turns around to face you. “Hey, you scared me,” he chuckles, wrapping his arms around you and pressing a kiss on your head. “What happened?” you ask looking into his hazel eyes. “You almost drowned, Y/N/N. One moment you were behind me, and the next you were gone. Nathan had to use CPR on you.” You were shocked - your brain stuttered for a moment, while every part of you goes on pause and the thoughts catch up. Sam noticed and pulled you closer again, so your head could rest on his chest. The water pours down and drips down your side as you relax into his arms. After half an hour you step out of the shower and walk back to your bedroom. A few extra hours of sleep were welcome, because at noon you would take off to your next destination. Sam was exhausted, but with your body next to him it was easier to relax and eventually fall asleep.

 The next day The map in Scotland led you to King’s Bay in Madagascar. All the recruits that were looking for Avery’s Paradise centuries ago left with a coin after completing the trial, and Nathan figured out that the coin was holding the next clue.  “So… with our luck, what are the odds this volcano is going to erupt on us?” Nate asked. “Zero. It’s extinct. Trust me, that’s the first thing I looked up when you said we were heading for a volcano. Well, that and where to rent the cheapest 4x4,” Sully answered. “Wait, Sully… you’re telling me that you actually did some research?” you asked with a huge smile on your face. “Can’t let you be the know-it-all every time, kid” he replied with a wink.

 Nadine’s men were already searching the area inch by inch when you arrived. They had found an old colony outpost, but it was the wrong one. The four of you took out the military types at the old fort and were heading further up the mountain. The view was spectacular, like you were at one of those locations on a postcard, but the way up was muddy and wobbly. Luckily, Nathan convinced Sully to rent a jeep with a winch. Carefully you drove on and arrived at an old ruin with a drawbridge. “Well, it would appear we got here first,” Nate said. “Let’s check the place out and keep moving,” Sam replied. “What do you make of the drawbridge, Nathan?” he asked. “A little out of place. But you don’t put up a drawbridge unless you are trying to hide something.” The stairs to the crank of the drawbridge was busted, so you had to find another way to lower the medieval mechanism. Nate climbed up the tower, and you, Sam and Sully checked out the ruins. “I just keep waiting to wake up and find myself in solitary or something,” Sam spoke softly. “It’s all some kind of dream.” “Sam, I… I’m still struggling too. It’s normal, you know. I wake up in the middle of the night, just to check if you are really here. That it’s not some kind of twisted dream. Fifteen years ago I lost you. I lost everything. And now… there is so much to talk about, but I just don’t know where to start… how to start,” you told him. “My heart is still yours. And that will never change. I love you, Sam. And I hope… I really hope you still feel the same.” Sam stepped closer and cupped your face, “Babe, I’ve been wishing to hold you in my arms all these damned years. Fuck. I wanted to see you, hug you, kiss you, make you smile and make you laugh. Lie on the sofa next to you and fall asleep with you beside me. I love you too. Don’t you ever forget that.” Suddenly you heard Nathan, “Hey guys, there’s a massive tower just past the drawbridge. Biggest one yet.” He was on top of the tower and standing behind a crate. “Sam! Special delivery!” he yelled as he pushed the crate down and got pulled down with it. “Whooaa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he screamed before crashing down on the building. “Hey kid, you all right?” Sully asked as you run over to the younger Drake. “I’m fine,” he replied. “Thank god,” you said grabbing his arm. “But uh… maybe you can use this crate to get to the crank,” you continued. He climbed on top of it and jumped towards the higher level. “You three just relax, I got this,” he joked reaching for the wheel. The drawbridge was half way when Sully told Nate to stop immediately, “Stop, stop! Shoreline coming! Guys, hide!” Sam pulled you with him behind the abandoned structure, and Sully ran towards the tower. Quickly you pull out your gun and move closer to the side of the ruin so you had a clear view. “Ah, these clowns are really getting on my nerves,” you whispered. “No shit,” Sam answered almost inaudible. With caution you and Sam creep up to the car and take out a few mercenaries, as Nathan and Sully take down the ones near the tower. “Hey! Let’s go before more Shoreliners show up!” Sullivan shouted running for the car. “All right… now… let’s get that bridge down,” Nathan responded making his way to the crank.

 When you arrive at the tower you notice that the entranced is blocked. You had to find another way to get in and claim Avery’s treasure. With the help of some explosives and grenades you get inside a small building in front of the tower. “Time to see what’s inside,” Nate exclaimed. You ran down a spiral staircase and come upon a large hall, just like the one in the Scottish cathedral. Again there is a Saint Dismas statue, but this time its surrounded by multiple sigils. “There’s our boy Avery. Thomas Tew. And that’s, um…” Sam continued, “That’s Adam Baldridge. That’s Joseph Farrell, and that’s Richard Want.” “Hm. Pirate captains,” Nathan replied. “I don’t think your pirate pool theory wasn’t so ridiculous after all,” you observed. “All right, so uh… Let’s see, what do you think the trick is here? You gotta push a button, pull something?” Nate asked. You walk back over to Sullivan to get a better view of the wall and start to chuckle. “You see what I see, Sully?” “Darling, I think we got ourselves a map,” he replied with a smile. “Boys. Whenever you’re done fondling poor Saint Dismas, I think you might want to come take a look at this... The trapezoid is obviously the volcano. The crown, that’s King’s Bay,” he explained. “Victor, you’re a goddamn genius,” Sam responded as you walk back to statue again. “Look, this tower lines up with Avery’s sigil. So, the other sigils must be the towers from Avery’s time. Our treasure must be in one of them, right?” you remark. “Yeah, but which one? I count twelve towers,” Sullivan asked. You didn’t get the time to figure that out as an explosion crumbles down the roof of the hall. “Ah, shit!” Sam calls out. “It’s an ambush!”

 After taking down the last of the Shoreline mercenaries you walk back to the statue. Sam was crouching over one of the bodies. “Shit! Look at this,” he uttered holding up a map with markings on it. “They figured out the towers too. Locations, sigils, the works.” “So now what?” Sully asked. “Now we’re screwed. Okay, because there’s four of us. And there’s God knows how many of them? And they have a  head start.” Sam said with anger in his voice. “Yeah, but they don’t know which tower to go to yet,” Nate stated walking over to you. “That’s great, Nathan, cause neither do we,” Sam replied. “Yes we do,” you state as you hold up the coin and point towards the sigil with the scale. “Are you sure? Because I mean it could be this one, too” Sam said pointing to the sigil with the trident. “Crap!” Nathan scoffed. “But still… two beats the hell out of twelve,” Sullivan added.

Tag list: @kiara-arts​ @wintermuteway​

[cottontail20]

The Domestic Life Of The Vision And His Witch, Chapter 31: Happy Day

Summary: The day of the twins Birthday party arrives.

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18461504/chapters/54915700

When the day of the twins' Birthday party arrived, Wanda and Vision were ready, with just a few last minute preparations to make before their loved ones arrived.

While Vision fed Tommy and Billy their breakfast, Wanda set about baking a cake. Classic chocolate of course, none of those fancy 'healthy' cakes you sometimes saw at kid's parties these days. It wasn't like she fed her kids chocolate cake everyday. In fact, Wanda mused as she mixed the cake batter, she'd never fed the twins cake at all. One very special treat today, on their Birthday, would not be a problem.

"Are you sure you don't need a hand with the cake?" Vision asked her, wiping a little bit of porridge from Billy's face.

"Multumiri, but I think I've got this for now Vizh" Wanda smiled at him. She loved her fiance', and after a lot of practice, he could now make a mean Paprikash, but she still didn't completely trust him in the Kitchen. "You can help me decorate it later though, you're foarte bun at anything like that."

"Alright" Vision smiled at her praise as he moved the boys to their playpen. Wanda had told him before that he had an artist's eye, and he supposed that skill could translate to cake decorating. "But is there anything else you need me to do now?"

"Hmm.." Wanda thought for a moment. "You could start setting up the snack table outside, if you like?"

"Of course" Vision moved into the kitchen and kissed Wanda's cheek, stepping around her to gather a few bowls, and the packs of chips and candies they had bought in preparation for the day. "I will be back soon."

After Vision had departed, Wanda finished mixing the cake batter, then poured it into a well-greased cake pan and placed it in the oven. Then, she went and knelt by the playpen, simply watching her babies play. Tommy was racing around, quite confident on his feet now, while Billy was making a pair of stuffed animals float. Once Billy had spotted Wanda, however, he abandoned his little game, crawling over to greet her.

"Mama!" He happily exclaimed.

Tommy, not one to give up a chance for attention, rushed over as well. His speech was not quite as far along as his brother's, but he managed.

"M..M.. Mama!"

"Buna, Cei mici" Wanda smiled, reaching over to ruffle their hair. "Happy Birthday."

"Happy Day" Billy giggled, clapping his hands, and Wanda laughed, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes, it is a very happy day. You know, at about this time last year, Mama and Daddy had just given Auntie Shuri's very naughty pretend baby back to her, and then the next thing we knew, you two were on the way. It was probably the happiest day of Mama's life.."

"And Daddy's" said a voice from behind Wanda, as Vision returned from setting up the snack table and came to kneel beside her. For Vision, the birth of his sons had been confirmation of his place among humanity.

"I know" Wanda smiled, resting her head on Vision's shoulder. "I remember the look on your face, Vizh. So completely in love with them.."

"And their Mother, of course" Vision kissed the top of her head.

"Love Mama!" Billy cooed, remaining behind to intently listen to his parents, while Tommy, too full of energy to remain still for long, had taken off running around the playpen again. "Love Dada!"

"We love you too, Una pretioasa" Wanda smiled.

She couldn't believe her babies were One already, but it was a milestone she was very happy to celebrate. --

The Bartons, with Natasha in tow, arrived early to help finish setting everything up. Laura helped Wanda cook up some party pies and other party foods while Vision decorated the cake, Clint and the kids dealt with the balloons and other decorations, and Natasha watched over the twins.

By the time the other guests arrived, balloons were tied to many of the trees around the cottage, and the beautifully decorated cake formed a perfect centrepiece on the snack table.

Everyone seemed to be having a good time. Peter, proudly but shyly, was slowly introducing MJ as his girlfriend to everyone. MJ looked adorably awkward about the situation, and Wanda found herself flashing encouraging smiles in the girl's direction every so often.

Bucky was left a little puzzled as Cooper and Nate Barton gushed over the awesomeness of his metal arm, while Steve and Sam watched with amused expressions. --

Wanda and Vision lost track of Tommy and Billy a few times as the party went on, but while losing track of your babies was usually a cause for concern, there was no need to worry today. Everyone wanted their turn with the Birthday Boys, and Wanda knew they'd be safe whoever they were with. Tommy was last seen in a rare moment of relative calm, sitting in Bruce's lap, while Billy was somewhere being fussed over by Carol, Hope, and little Cassie Lang.

Both Vision and Wanda had kept an eye on Tony throughout the day. He'd mostly stuck close by Pepper, occasionally laying a protective hand over her growing baby bump. He had kept his promise on no over the top presents, gifting Tommy a few pairs of running shoes designed especially for him, and Billy a special set of Teddy Bears.

At least, they thought that was all he'd gotten them.. At least until he approached them later clutching a pair of official looking envelopes.

"Uh.. What's in those?" Wanda whispered to Vision, suspicious.

"I don't know.. Hello Sir.. Tony" Vision corrected himself, pasting on a smile. He still wasn't quite used to using Tony's name. "We're so glad you could make it Today.."

"Yeah, great little party you've got going" Tony smiled a not so innocent smile.

"What's in the envelopes, Tony?" Wanda frowned.

"Nothing gets past you, Little Witch" Tony chuckled, opening one of the envelopes. "I just need your signatures on a few papers, to make you the Trustees of.."

"Trustees?" Vision was confused. "Of what?"

"Let me finish. The Trust funds I've set up for your twins.." He handed Wanda some of the papers. "Should be enough for any college they want, maybe a car or a House deposit.."

Taking a moment to look through the papers, Wanda's eyes bugged out. So did Vision's, his strange irises spinning.

"Si.. Tony, this is far too much.."

"I don't think so" Tony cut him off, turning his attention more to Wanda. "See, once there was this girl and her twin brother whose lives got destroyed by a bomb with my name on it, and I know it's not my fault, and she doesn't blame me for it anymore, but it still happened.. I can't change that, but I can make sure her kids get a better start."

"Thank you, Tony.." It had taken a few moments for Wanda to find her voice. "This is very generous. You really didn't have to.."

"I know" Tony turned away before they could object any further. "Just sign those, okay?"

"We will." --

Shortly after that, someone decided that it was time for the cake. Wanda and Vision retrieved the twins, lighting a candle on the cake as all their loved ones gathered around to sing 'Happy Birthday!'.

"Make a wish, Baieti pretiosi" Wanda told the twins after the song was over, holding Tommy while Vision held Billy.

"But don't tell anyone about it, or it might not come true" Vision chuckled.

Wanda glanced at him, smiling softly, then kissed the top of Tommy's head. All her wishes had come true already.

Notes:

Translation:

Multumiri: Thank you

foarte bun: really good

Buna, Cei mici: Hello, little ones.

Baieti pretiosi: Precious boys.

[ericxanders]

Blame || CARIC

In which Eric convinces Caleb that this is all his fault, and makes him apologise for it.

@calebswitching

Eric

He didn't think he'd ever had a panic attack before, but he thought what he had just experienced might have been one. He'd been presented with his choice and his chest had immediately tightened. His breathing became more laboured and his throat was so dry he couldn't swallow. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sat like that; feeling stuck for air but when the guard cracked the whip against his back, his cheeks were already wet. Could he really do this? Was this the right choice? Caleb could handle physical pain and he knew he could nurse him back from that, but this was something else entirely. This was -- he wasn't sure he could manipulate him like this, and he knew this could break the boy he loved. But the unknown was equally scary. What did it mean for him to be punished severely? Would that be worse? His mind was spinning and he could feel his breath coming out in pants again before the whip cracked again. He closed his eyes, and slipped his hand into his pocket. A tiny, knitted whale. The first gift Maverick had made for him and something that brought him some comfort now that he was gone. He thought of how he could possibly behave in ways that were out of character, ways that might subtly tell Caleb this wasn't him -- he wasn't sure if the guards would be able to tell. He picked up the phone. 'Submissive, we need to talk.'

Caleb

Caleb hadn't heard any other voices yet.  He knew he had a communicator, but he didn't know why, it had just been put on him at the same time as the blindfold.  But he still wasn't too concerned.  He was sitting in the grass, hands cuffed behind him, just... waiting.  He was bored, honestly.  The sudden crackle from the communicator startled him, but then he heard Eric's voice, and he relaxed.  Eric sounded upset, but that was to be expected.  "Sir," he breathed, knowing he needed to stay quiet.  "I didn't think they'd let us talk.  I'm okay, nothing has happened yet, really."

Eric

'Don't call me Sir. It's Master, submissive.' To an outsider, it sounded like a perfectly reasonable thing a Dominant might say to his submissive, but Eric had always promised he'd never force that title from Caleb, and knew full well it only really came out when he was deep in sub-space. 'They're only letting us talk because you need to know the truth about why this is all happening.' he explained, swallowing thickly. He hated himself, and he already regretted this decision. If Maverick's departure didn't prove he wasn't a Dominant worth anything, if Sam's accusation didn't make it true, this was the thing that did. He was a Dominant, willingly hurting his submissive. 'This is your fault submissive.'

Caleb

That was enough to make Caleb freeze.  Both the tone and the order.  Eric never spoke to him like that.  Eric was gentle, he was always so kind, even when Caleb didn't deserve it.  And... don't call him Sir?  Eric had given him permission, months back, to call him Master, but it had never been an order.  He'd specifically said that it was okay for Caleb to use whichever title he preferred.  He'd specifically given him permission.  And it wasn't like Eric didn't have the right to change his mind and alter the rules, but he never snapped at Caleb like that.  Eric would tell him the rules were changing, he wouldn't yell.  He wasn't... he wasn't Mark.  Caleb swallowed thickly, totally unsure what was going on.  "...I... I'm sorry, Si- Master, I don't understand..."  His fault?  ...What was Eric talking about?  "W- what's my fault?"

Eric

'Sorry doesn't fix things, nor does it get everyone out of this current predicament.' he retorted. He could feel the guard looming behind him. His hands were shaking, but he tried to keep his voice steady. He almost dropped the phone. 'I - I know I said it was okay for you to be mad at Blaine, but it's not really Blaine's fault. It's yours. The reason we've all be thrown out of our rooms, and into these uncomfortable situations. It's your fault submissive. You're the submissive they didn't name when they spoke about the ones who were being sassy and snarky.'

Caleb

Something was wrong.  Something was very wrong.  Eric never talked to him like this.  "I...  I'm confused," he whispered, his voice tense.  Wait, what?  Eric was...  blaming him?  How was this his fault?  He shifted uncomfortably, wishing he could see Eric.  "N-no, Sir, I swear- I mean, Master, I- I don't understand.  I haven't been disrespectful, I swear, I've- I've been good, I never forget titles or argue with higher marks..."  Something was completely wrong about this.  What Eric was saying wasn't just out of character, it didn't make sense.  Sassy and snarky?  Caleb could barely tease Eric even when they were alone and Eric had teased him first, and Eric was his claim.  Caleb couldn't think of a single time he'd been sassy to a Dominant in the entire year he'd been at the Institute.  He had plenty of faults, but that wasn't one of them.  What was Eric talking about?

Eric

'Are you really arguing with me right now? Of course you are; what else could I expect from a submissive with as much attitude as you?' He forced out a sigh, trying to sound more exasperated and disappointed, than shaking and nervous. He was good. Caleb was so good. He squeezed the whale in his pocket tighter. Maverick would have been able to fix this. Maybe if he'd claimed him first, everything might have been better. Mav wouldn't have been pulled away and Caleb wouldn't have been part of this punishment at all. This wasn't Caleb's fault. They were in this situation because of him, and his lack of ability as a Dominant. 'This punishment is your fault, and deep down, I think you know that.'

Caleb

Caleb flinched back, causing himself to thump his head against the goal post.  He hoped no one heard the thunk.  "I'm sorry," he whispered reflexively.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to argue, I'm sorry."  Eric was right, he shouldn't argue.  He was just so confused.  He wasn't sassy, he wasn't rude, not to Dominants, and especially not in public.  He'd been rude to Blaine, but that was after the punishment was announced.  That couldn't be the reason, could it?  Caleb tried to think through his classes, his interactions with the teachers, looking for any fault, any reason that Eric would be angry with him.  "I- I didn't mean to have a- an attitude," he said uncertainly.  He didn't know what to say.  "Please, Sir, I'm confused, please tell me what I did wrong?  I don't know what I did."

Eric

'Must I repeat myself submissive?' he asked, his tone verging on robotic. 'I don't know how many ways I can tell you your behaviour leaves a lot to be desired. You're loud, you're mouthy, you're sassy -- you're always forgetting titles. Did you just call me Sir again?' he pointed out. His free hand was clenched in a fist and his nails were cutting into his palm. 'This punishment is your fault submissive. I'm here because of you.' His heart was pounding in his chest, but he couldn't let himself panic. That would definitely disqualify him from this lunacy and Caleb would face whatever unknown punishment the psychotic bitch Sue had come up with.  He only had one phone call. He had to make this convincing.

Caleb

Eric sounded so wrong.  Caleb was honestly starting to wonder if this wasn't even Eric on the phone.  Could the Heads have found someone who sounded enough like him to fool him?  Was that even possible?  He didn't think it was, but Eric sounded just so... not Eric.  And the things he was saying, they didn't make any sense.  Loud?  Mouthy?  Caleb knew for a fact he wasn't loud, not when he had trained himself so well over the years to be quiet and demure when he was with a Dominant.  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I meant to call you Master."  And there was that, too.  There was no way Eric would get mad at him for that.  It didn't make sense.  Caleb felt like he'd fallen into Wonderland, and all of his reality was wrong now.  Everything he knew was wrong, and it was somehow his fault.  Had he really been disrespectful?  Had he done something wrong and not even known it?  "I- I'm sorry," he said shakily.  "Please, Master..."

Eric

'You can't apologise for something you haven't even admitted yet submissive. You need to tell me what you've caused before I can accept your apology.' he insisted. His voice felt completely detached. It was almost like an out of body experience in which he could hear himself saying the things he was saying, could hear the nerves and panic in Caleb's voice, but was completely powerless to help him, to stop speaking.22 April 2020

Caleb

"I- I don't know what I'm admitting to," he said, and it was far whinier than it should have been.  He needed to stay calm.  Whatever was going on... Eric was being weird, and it wouldn't help if Caleb lost his composure.  ...This was weird, right?  Eric wasn't like this.  Right?  He must be going through something awful.  Maybe they were torturing the Doms.  Maybe they were hurting him, and that was why he sounded so angry.  So empty.  Caleb wanted to help, but how could he?  "I'll do anything, Master," he promised desperately.  "If I was bad, I need to know what I did, please, Master, I beg you, please tell me when I was bad.  I promise I won't argue."

Eric

'You're admitting that this is all your fault submissive. You're admitting that you caused this punishment.' He hoped against all hope that this could be a moment where Caleb would just obey, would just do what he was told without questioning him because he didn't know how much more he could lie, or make anything up. He hadn't done so very successfully, and he was already feeling sick to his stomach.

Caleb

"I...  but...."  That didn't makes sense.  That didn't make sense at all.  They knew what caused the punishment.  It was Blaine and Nate.  And apparently someone else being rude, but it wasn't Caleb's fault.  Certainly not all his fault.  Why would Eric want him to admit to that?  And why was Eric talking to him like this, so cold and angry?  Caleb could feel tears starting to fall and get caught in the blindfold.  This didn't make sense at all, and he was so frustrated.  He wanted to scream.  But he couldn't.  He couldn't yell at Eric.  This had to be a part of the punishment, right?  Caleb was far from perfect, and he knew he made mistakes, but Eric always at least explained what he'd done.  But even when Caleb had begged, Eric just said it was all his fault.  He hadn't said why, he hadn't said what Caleb had done.  Caleb sat there for a long moment, trying not to cry.  He was so goddamn confused and he just wanted Eric to... to be Eric.  To explain, and help him fix it.  Caleb sniffled quietly.  He knew he should just do as he was told, even if it didn't make sense.  That was his place, after all.  It wasn't his job to understand, it was his job to obey.  Even if Eric wouldn't explain.  "I- I'm sorry for- for causing this, Master," he whispered finally after a long silence.  "I'm sorry I c-caused the punishment.  I- I don't understand what I did, but please, please, if you e-explain, I- I won't do it again.  I'm sorry I'm too- too stupid to un-understand..."  A quiet sob escaped him, though he tried to choke it down.

Eric

'Sweet boy, no --' Eric immediately tried to reassure him. To take back what he'd said. Listening to Caleb stumble over his words, hearing him sob was too much. He could feel tears fill his eyes and they stung. The whip cracked again over his back and the phone was snatched from his hand. Gone. The guard tossed a key on the table in front of him and laughed. They retreated and Eric was left alone with his thoughts, and a key that he needed to get to wherever his sweet boy was.

Caleb

Caleb blinked - for a second there, Eric had sounded like Eric again.  "Master?  Master, please, are you there?"  But there was no response.  Just the crickets still chirping in the grass.  Was it over?  Had he done the right thing?  Had he screwed up worse?  Was Eric being hurt?  He started crying in earnest, unable to muffle his sounds.

[shreyamistry]

Hi Nate!! 😁 I love your fics sooo much 🤩😍 Can I request my OTP Dave Reyes x Atlas (The Elementalists) with prompt 94 from the Fluff/Angst list? 😍😍😍 I'd love that! 😆💘😜😘😋

Pairing: M!AtlasxDave Reyes

Title: I Need You..

Prompt: “I won’t lose you too.”

Summary: Atlas finally returns home, and he and Dave share a heart to heart conversation about their future and present. Where their relationship will go now that they know his brother is at Hartfield.

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N: I don’t know what to say about this, it’s a little outside of canon sowwy, so here we go. 

Tagging: My laid ease from the server who have helped inspire this piece: @naomisilverhawk @asterdyew @dukemaxwellbeaumont @virgofairy

Thanks for reading! I hope you like it?

Dave lies still in his bed, the duvet encasing his shoulders with heavy pressure as he waits for his lover to return to him. His fingers glide over the mattress, a recess settling in his heart yearning for Atlas’ touch, the feeling of his body against his own, the smell of his fruit and honey scented conditioner. He craved the affection, longed to hear Atlas tell him he loved him before drifting off to sleep, longing for a contentedness in his heart he’s never felt in his entire life.

He thinks of Sam, and Cassandra, their relationship. He remembered the glow on his partner’s face when she told him they had been seeing one another, the spring in Cassandra’s step when he had dinner with her a few nights later before he slinked off to meet with Atlas. He remembered when he met him, how closed off and distant he was, but Atlas needed his help.

Atlas had fallen through a mirror desperately searching for his brother, and Dave could feel the pain and for some reason, despite the impossibility of Magick existing, he knew he believed him and he had to help Atlas. He let him stay in his apartment and scour the internet and the phonebook looking for a name, a lead, somewhere he could reach his brother. He knew he’d help Atlas find his brother no matter the cost, as a detective he told himself at first- and one-night led to more than that, and could never forget the sensation of his first kiss with Atlas, the panicked look on both their faces after it happened.  

Where was Atlas?

That’s all he could think, he couldn’t lose Atlas. The journey into the spirit world to kill the shadow monster should have only taken a night or two, and they broached the fourth night tonight and Dave knew something was wrong. Atlas wouldn’t abandon him without telling him, he feared the worse. Raife.

His thoughts pounded in his head no matter how hard he tried to make them nonexistent. He forced his eyes closed sucking in a breath freeing himself from the thoughts, he had a long case tomorrow with Sam and she’d be hell-bent on making his life worse if he fucked it up for Atlas. She never was fond of relationships coming before work, especially when she could manage Cassandra and her job well. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t exactly tell her Atlas was more than an odd jobs kind of guy and not from a different realm of Magick none of them knew existed. Before Dave could think any harder on the subject, he had drifted off to sleep, hours of pointlessly waiting for Atlas to show up put behind him.

The door creaked and a flash of white hair appeared in the doorway, his breath ragged and full of melancholy as he held his body, his arms wrapped around his chest settling himself into the feelings in his chest. Atlas was never one to open up, find someone, no his entire energy blocked and he had but one path, find his twin brother. He drugged a heavy breath as the wound on his forehead bleed freshly, mud and dried blood caked on top of it as well.

He carefully approached the bed, letting himself fall onto it holding his head in his hands willing himself not to make a noise, not to wake up his lover on the other side of the bed. He carefully pulled his arm out of one side of his bomber jacket, moving to pull his other arm free dropping the coat onto the floor, his eyes watching it with disgust at the stains now littering his once nice item. He moves his hands to the button of his jeans, quickly sliding himself out of them and letting them fall to the floor onto the heap beside the bed.

“Atlas?” A deep with sleep voice calls out.

Atlas sighs, pulling off his t-shirt and letting it fall to the floor with his other clothes. He pulls back the covers sliding into Dave’s arms reaching out expectantly for him. Atlas’ face buries into Dave’s neck, inhaling the scent of his body and lingering aftershave rich with heavy musk. His hands rest on Dave’s chest letting himself be fully pulled into his lovers’ arms. He places a kiss to Dave’s collarbone after a few seconds getting a sleepy laugh from Dave who tightens his grasp around Atlas’ waist.

“I wasn’t sure if you would be coming back,” Dave whispers, his eyes finally finding the strength to flutter open, taking in the state of his magical boyfriend’s condition, his eyebrows creasing with worry. “What the fuck happened to you?” Dave whispers, leaning slightly backwards from Atlas resting his hand on his face, brushing his thumb over the open wound.

“Don’t worry about,” Atlas replies, closing his eyes summoning the last of his Magickto fully heal his wounds. He opens his eyes again feeling drained, as Dave’s beard tickled against his face as he peppered him with kisses. “I’m okay, Dave.”

“I know you are, you’re a fighter,” Dave smirked his rough hands on Atlas’ face. “I… I can’t lose you, Atlas. You’re my everything. You’re all I ever wanted.” His lips brush against Atlas’ cheek, down to his jaw, his teeth nipping at Atlas’ skin gaining a sigh of relief from the man beside him.

“Dave…” Atlas groaned, his head falling back as Dave’s kisses travel his neck, exploring the sensitive skin with enthusiasm, Dave’s hands running over Atlas’ back from the top to the bottom, barely touching the skin sending a shiver down the white-haired man’s back, leaning into the sensation of Dave’s touch against him.

“You’re beautiful, Atlas,” Dave whispers, a smirk on his lips as he moves to hover over Atlas pinning him on his back, Atlas smirks back falling into Dave’s touch, the comfort of the bed, the sensation of the moment. “And I truly meant what I said, I can’t lose you, ever.”

“I won’t lose you too, Dave.” Atlas gingerly brushes his hand against Dave’s cheek. “I’m tired of losing the people I love.” He blushes for a minute, his gaze casting away from Dave as he checks the time. “We should go to bed, I’m not in a ‘sharing is caring’ mood.”

“Sure thing, babe.” Dave smiles, kissing him one last time before rolling off of him. Atlas’ head finds his placing on Dave’s chest, letting the detective cuddle him, as he thinks off to the night he had. The encounter with the shadow monster, the vision of his brother dying. His heart races in his chest before forcing his eyes closed willing himself to fall asleep in the warm embrace of Dave’s arms. “I love you, Atlas.”

“I love you too.” Atlas tried to keep himself from smiling, Dave’s strong arm around his shoulder brushing his fingers over the smooth skin both of them sinking into the moment, the first time either of them has felt true bliss in the first time for days.

I won’t lose you too, Dave, Atlas thinks to himself before drifting off to the melody of Dave’s beating heart in his chest.

[yourescapetofiction]

The Tides Have Turned-Part 7

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Seven

“Sammy you can’t eat that!!!”

My eyes slowly peeled open to the sound of Johnson’s muffled voice shouting downstairs. I had no coherent thoughts in my brain at the moment, as I let myself wake up. My eyes darted around the sun-filled room. Two beds…Adidas sneakers…boxers? This wasn’t my room. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I looked to my right and found a sleeping Nate. His chest moved slowly up and down and I matched my breathing to his rhythm. He was distracting, I shook my head to refocus my thoughts.

I was still in his bed, I never returned to my room. The events of the bonfire were still foggy in my mind, I’m never drinking that much Malibu again. I rubbed my temples at the thought of hooking up with Gilinsky, and now possibly Nate. I felt the bed begin to shift to my right as Nate rolled over where he was facing me. His eyes opened slowly at first, and then shot open when he saw me face to face. I sat up in a rush, hoping we didn’t make a mistake.

“N-Nate, did we…” my voice trails off. He was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Uh, yeah. We did” he said, his voice groggy but unbelievably sexy. My thoughts clouded with worry, I hope he didn’t regret the events of last night. I suppose it was technically my fault, after all. I crept in here assuming I could spend the night with him, and what from what I remember I was the one to come onto him. I cringe at my forwardness.

“Nate, I’m sorry I-”

“For what?” he asks sitting up now.

“For barging in here last night, coming on to you, oh god you must think-”

“Y/n. Stop. You didn’t do anything wrong, I wanted it too” he says nonchalantly. I breathe a sigh of relief that he wasn’t totally disgusted with me.

“That was the most fun I’ve had in a while” he says pulling me closer to him, and he bites my lip into a kiss. I relaxed into him, there was no doubt he had skill. As much as I knew this would complicate things, I never felt as sexually charged as I did with Nate. He wiped out the memory of G, if that attests to anything.

“We should do it more often” I say in between his kisses. The words escaped my mouth before I even knew what I was saying, but I was putting it all out there. He pulls back and looks at me with lust clouding his eyes. He smirked, creating two perfect dimples.

“Yeah, considering that was just a quickie” he says kissing my neck. By now we were in a mess of blankets in the center of the bed.

“Was it?” I moan a little as he would bite and suck the flesh.

“Mmm, yeah. We had a little interruption” he says as I furrow my eyebrows. I mean it vaguely rang a bell. I remember light streaming in and words exchanged in a hushed tone.

“Next time I want to savor you; taste you” he murmured against the skin just under my ear. I could feel his tongue dart against my neck as it moved when he spoke. I shuddered at his words, already feeling the warmth spread across my body.

“Nate! Wake up man! Breakfast is ready. And while you’re at it, find y/n and tell her to come down too!” Sammy shouted from the landing of the stairs. Nobody knew that we were in here together. Nate groaned, but got up to find something to wear.

“I guess that’s our cue” I giggle pulling my shirt from last night over my head.

“The timing around this place sucks” Nate says all bent out of shape, which causes me to giggle harder.

“Keep it in your pants Nathan, shit will happen when it happens” I say giving him a quick peck on the lips. I head towards the door and grasp the handle.

“But Nate-” I say stopping to look at him. He lifts his head to look at me. “This forbidden friends-with-benefits thing has to stay between us” I warn. “The guys can’t know. They won’t understand, and it would make things too weird” I add. Nate nods his head knowingly.

“Agreed, babe. Besides makes it hotter” he says winking at me. I smile and turn to leave when he pulls my arm, twirling me right into his chest. He smacks a warm kiss right on my lips, and my hands go to the ends of his hair.

“See you downstairs” I say before heading back to my room before anyone noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Nate’s POV

I took an extra few minutes to cleaned up and pull myself together before heading downstairs. We couldn’t have it looking like we both came down at the same time, so I thought it best to stagger our entrances. I ran my hands through my hair and kept my outfit casual with sweats and a tank. I think I have given it enough time, so I make my way down the hallway and head downstairs.

The minute I approached the landing I could hear the guys shouting over the scores from the basketball games last night. Normally I would have been right there with them, but I had my own fun last night. The memory caused me to smirk. I plod down each step slowly and head into the kitchen to see a full breakfast has already been prepared.

“Damn this looks good. Who cooked?” I question aloud, my eyes lighting up at the feast in front of me.

“I did the pancakes and got all the other shit out, like fruit and stuff” Johnson said between bites of food.

“And Sammy did the eggs” Gilinsky chuckles at the notion of Sam in the kitchen.

“Woah, homie cooks now does he?” I shoot Sam a look of shock.

“You know I’m good at everything” Sam says his shoulders shrugging in an exaggerated manner.

“Shut the hell up Sammy” I say busting out laughing. I move to pour myself a cup of coffee and begin to pile food on my plate when I hear y/n’s voice ring through the kitchen.

“Mornin’ boys!” she says cheerily sitting on Sam’s knee as he wraps an arm around her waist.

“Hey babe, sleep well?” G asked her. I could see a smile playing on her lips.

“Mhm, really good” she says stifling a giggle.

“That’s good. I know how you get in those storms and thought for sure I’d have company last night” he laughs. A smug smile formed on my face, little did he know that she chose me and I did a lot more than comfort her in the storm.

I made my way over to the large dining table and sat next to Johnson and Cam.

“Hey dude, pass the syrup please” I say nodding at Kenny who sat across from me. He slid it across the table, and I caught it in my hand.

“Okay, speaking of company. I know Nate had some last night” Swazz spoke up a stupid grin on his face as he spilled my secret to the entire breakfast table. I nearly poured the entire bottle of syrup on my pancakes. I looked up to see y/n’s eyes wide, she looked like she was on pins and needles, afraid of what I was going to say.

“The better question is why you walked in bro” I say causing the whole table to laugh. I hoped this would divert the conversation away from the original direction, but of course they weren’t letting it go.

“Come on Skate, who was she?” Nash said, spooning cereal into his mouth.

“Yeah man, was she fine at least?” Johnson asked next.

“Guys I ain’t gonna kiss and tell like that. But yes she’s a dime” I say smirking and I saw y/n visibly relax before getting up to get herself some food. The guys went back to discussing last night’s game, and I saw this as an opportunity to clear my plate. I walked over to where y/n was standing.

“Close one huh?” I chuckle. She playfully hit my arm.

“Shit, yes. Don’t scare me like that again, or I will cut you off” she says with a wink before taking a spot at the table. I return to my seat and lay back casually draping my arm across the back.

“So what do we want to do today you fine people?” J asked outwardly to the group.

“Well I don’t think the beach is an option until they get a crew out to clear up the damage” Cam said. A few of us sighed, we wanted to live on the beach as much as possible this trip.

“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I need to get out of this house so I’m going shopping” Y/n says matter of factly.

“Ughhhhh noooo” Gilinsky dragged out, scrunching up his nose. The others had looks of disdain also, and even I had to admit shopping was the last thing I wanted to do.

“I don’t know why you guys are groaning, that wasn’t an invite” she giggles. “The only one that gets a free pass to join me would be Sammy boy, but his taste in clothes don’t exactly vibe with mine” she laughs harder now punching him on the arm. This is why she was always more than welcome in the squad, girl had mad jokes.

“Laugh all you want but I never hear any complaints from the ladies” Sam retorts leaning back in his chair triumphantly.

“That’s because you and the ‘ladies’ don’t exactly do much talking” y/n says exaggerating the word ladies with air quotes.

“That is strike two for you y/n. First the pranks, now this. You got a storm comin’ babe” Sam laughs, mischief filling his eyes.

“Well if y/n is going shopping, why don’t we check out the gym in town? Shoot some hoops?” G asks. Now this was something I can get behind.

“Oh hell yeah, I’m in” I say. The guys all eagerly agree at something much more their speed.

“Hey I got an idea” J says, we all look at him signaling him to continue. “Why don’t we all meet back at the house later tonight, say like 8, and then head into New York City for a night out?” he says.

“Yes, you don’t have to ask me twice” Sammy says. We all eagerly agree to the plan and y/n claps her hands together in excitement at the plan.

“Now I have something to shop for” she says before running upstairs to get dressed.

Y/n’s POV

I quickly pulled on a casual summer outfit. Jean shorts, a white tee, and my white converse. I loosely braid my hair and throw on my sunglasses before heading downstairs. The boys were all standing around in the living room wearing variations of basketball shorts, tank tops, no shirts, etc.

“Sweatbands, Gilinsky? What is this, the 70’s?” I tease.

“Why don’t you get some of those short-shorts while you’re at it Michael Jordan?” Nash joins in.

“Yeah, you guys won’t be saying that when I whoop your ass on the court!” he defends. We all file out of the front door and towards the parked cars on the driveway.

“You guys should take the bus considering there’s a brood of you” I suggest. They all nod as Sammy made his way to the driver’s side door.

“Not you Sammy!!!” Nate yells running towards him to stop him his tracks.

“Why not?!” Sam whines.

“Because you’re a shit driver. Last time we let you drive you got so distracted you rear ended a guy” Nate chastises.

“That was equally his fault you know!” Sam says grumbling while climbing into the back. Nate just looks at me out of exasperation and I giggle at them. The boys could argue like old married couples sometimes.

“See you back here at 8, babe!” J shouts from the passenger side window as Nate was reversing out of the driveway.

“You got it!” I wave at them. I walk over to my parent’s car that they left for me to use if I needed to get around this trip. They were mostly with Johnson and Gilinsky’s parents the entire time, so they didn’t need three cars.

I climb in and crank the A/C on full blast and tune the radio until I heard Bruno Mars crooning through the speakers. This was going to be a fun day, I could feel it already.

I drove for 15 minutes before rows of shops came into my line of sight. I parked on the street and entered a vintage boutique expertly displayed on the corner of the street. I walk in and begin to peruse the endless racks of clothing. I needed something HOT, hotter than anything I’ve worn before. I wanted to look good for Nate, nobody wants a frumpy friends with benefits.

I walk over to a rack of dresses and begin searching until my eyes widened at the sight of a gorgeous red one. My mouth gaped slightly at the price, but it was breathtaking.

“Can I help you?” a salesgirl wandered over to ask me.

“Yes, I’d like to try this on please” I answer sweetly.

“Wow, that’s a beautiful dress! Right this way” she motions for me to follow her to the changing rooms. I walk in and quickly strip shimmying my way into the dress. I turned to look at myself in the mirror and was shocked. I loved it immediately, and knew it was just the thing to wear for Nate when we go out on the town tonight. It had a decently deep V down the front, and a cutout back down a couple inches of my spine. It was sexy, but not slutty. I decided to give Nate a little teaser of what he was in for later tonight, so I took out my phone and snapped a pic and pulled up his contact information.

Me: Look what I found for tonight! 😜

I clicked send and started to put my clothes back on when my phone pinged with a new text message.

Sammy😈: holy shitttt 👅👅 that’s for me babe? You shouldn’t have 😏

I furrowed my brows in confusion, that’s not the response I expected to see. What is Sam talking about. I scrolled up to see that I accidentally sent my sexy pic to the fuckboy himself rather than Nate.

Me: SAMUEL OMG THAT WASN’T FOR YOU 😧😧 forget you saw anything or I will have you by the balls!!!!!!!

Sammy😈: damn babe no need to get violent. But we will be talking about this later 😘

Oh my god, this could have been way worse. What if one of the guys found out it was meant for Nate? I’m thanking myself that I didn’t include Nate’s name in the text. I put my phone away, dropping my little act of flirting. I wasn’t risking it again, sorry Nate.

I proceed to the register and pay for the dress before I set off on the hunt for shoes and accessories.

“Looking good for your man tonight?” the saleslady asked with a knowing smile.

“Something like that” I answer with a slight smile.

Nate’s POV

“What are you smiling about?” I ask Sam who had a shit eating grin on his face.

“Oh, nothing. Just saw something interesting that’s all” he answers slyly. He was up to something, or knew something we didn’t.

“Okay?” I say dragging out the syllables.

“Let’s just say tonight just got a lot more interesting” he says with one last smirk.

[psyched2b]

can you do a bucky fic where he discovers you have to go and seduce an ex boyfriend for a mission so he is super vigilant and protective and does anything for it not to happen (maybe comedic and fluffy fic hehe)

YAY! MY FIRST REQUEST! THANK YOU!!!!

A/N: This is unedited. Too excited! Also, I think I took this is a different direction than what you expected, but I hope you still enjoy!

“I’m in town this Friday if you want to get together for dinner,” your brother, Nate, was telling you. Currently, you were sitting at the counter in the team’s kitchen, Facetiming Nate. “It’s been…what, six months since we’ve last gotten together?”  

You rolled your eyes, resting your elbow on the counter and placed your head on your open palm, not looking at the screen. In an airy tone, you replied, “Well, yes…and who’s fault is that?” you asked in a bored tone, chewing on your pen cap as you reviewed your last mission report. You were trying to sound nonchalant, but you couldn’t keep up the facade as you broke out into a large smile. “Do you want to go to that one place-”“With the one (1) pound mozzarella sticks?” Nate’s excited voice broke through. Glancing at the screen, you saw that he held both of his hands by his face and was shaking them in an excited manner.

His childish antics had you widening your smile. “Let’s plan on meeting at one then.”

Once you finished your conversation with Nate, you were collecting your papers and tablet to return to your room. Standing up, you turned to leave and ran smack into Sam.

Making eye contact, you were mildly concerned with the shit-eating grin that was his expression.

“What are you doing?” you questioned, adjusting your grip on your belongings, shifting your weight to one leg and eyed the Falcon with a wary gaze. “Wait…were you just listening in on my conversation?” Your tone took on an accusatory tone and you gave him an unimpressed look, pursing your lips at him.

He nodded his head, wiggling his eyebrows at you. “Yes, ma’am. But you’re not going to be upset when I tell you my plan.”

“Eh-Yo!”

Bucky scowled,  looking up from the book he was reading to glare at the annoying pigeon who just walking into his room uninvited. “What do you want, Sam?” he asked in an exasperated tone, running a hand through his hair.

The excitable man backs up a step, throwing his hands up in surrender. “Hey, no need to be so salty, Tin Man. Doesn’t that make you rust quicker?”

The scowl deepened on Bucky’s face as he let out a growl, turning his attention back to the book, not wanting to give any more attention to the aggravating man, grumbling under his breath that he did not rust.

Sam let out a dramatic sigh, shoulders physically deflating. “Alright man. I just came to tell you that Y/N has been assigned to a mission to get intel from her ex. Thought you would be interested, but since you are so busy…” his voice trailed off and he turned to leave, deliberately slowing down to give the old man time to react.

Just as he reached the door, Bucky exploded. “She’s WHAT?”

Sam had to force himself to keep the smug smile off his face as he turned back to face Bucky. “Yeah, I guess she used to date this guy before he became an important figure with Hydra. Nate something….I guess he reached out to her to get back together and Steve agreed that it was a good idea to see what information should could…conjure from him.”

Bucky didn’t like the way Sam said that. He actually felt sick to his stomach. “Is she…is she going to seduce him?”

“Best way to get information is from a distracted man,” Sam barked, withholding the laughter that was threatening to spill over. This is too easy. “Plus, Y/N said he wasn’t too hard on the eyes. Maybe after he serves time in prison, they’ll get back together. Make pretty babies and such. Not like she has anyone interested in her otherwise.”

He could practically see Bucky’s feathers getting ruffled, but decided not to comment and left Bucky to stew.  He hoped that this would force the old man to finally act on his feelings for Y/N.

Bucky was watching Y/N from the doorway of her bathroom as she finished touching up her makeup. He was leaned up against the doorway, arms crossed, fighting to keep a glare off his face. “Sooo,” he drawled, eyes trained on her lips as she applied a deep red color that was unfairly enticing. “Where are you heading off to?”

You paused what you were doing, turning to raise a skeptical eyebrow at the man of your affections. “I thought Steve and Sam had already told you. I am having lunch with Nathen Korian to see what information I can get from him.”  You turned so your back was facing Bucky and lifted your hair off your back. “Can you zip me?”

He stepped forward, taking the opportunity to trail his finger over the smooth skin as he carefully brought the zipper up to its spot. He was close enough that he could smell the vanilla body lotion that you must have put on after your shower and his mind went hazy for a second. Once the zipper was in place, he let out a sad sigh and stepped away. “You look amazing, doll.”

This caused your heart to skip a beat and you blushed, letting go out your hair to fall back into to place. “Thank you.” Then your phone beeped at you, letting you know that it was time to leave. You turned to face Bucky once again, disappointment evident on her face. “Well, I guess this is it. Duty calls!” She was disappointed that Bucky never tried to stop her.

Bucky managed a smile on his face. He didn’t mention that he snuck a tracker on the inside of her zipper.

Nate was already seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant when you arrived. That, and he already had an order of the mozzarella sticks he always craved, causing you to let out a laugh. “You couldn’t wait for your sister to get here?”

He stood up to greet you, pulling you in for a hug and placed a kiss on your cheek. “Actually, I called ahead to make sure they had it waiting for when we arrived so we wouldn’t starve,” he teased, helping you into your chair before settling back into his own.

From there, the conversation between you flowed as you two caught up. You really missed spending time with him, but due to the nature of your job, you tried to distance yourself from your family for their own protection, but Nate you saw even less because he was stationed across sea for long periods of time.

“Oh Lordy. Don’t look now, but I think your man just walked in the door.”

Your head shot up to look frantically around the room before your eyes fell on the familiar figure of your Winter Soldier. Well, not yours…not yet.

Nate pulled the attention back to him, scooting closer to you and casually stroked his finger up and down your forearm in an act of faux affection. You had to hold back a shiver of disgust (because this was your brother). “He looks like he’s in pain. Maybe even a little angry.”

“Probably because he’s not man enough to admit his feelings,” you muttered darkly under your breath. “Should I make it obvious I know he’s here? Probably a good thing this wasn’t an actual mission, otherwise, my cover would have been blown.”

Without further prompt from your brother, you turned completely in your seat and made eye contact with the not-so-stealthy super soldier and you curled your finger in his direction, beckoning him over to you.

Once he approached the table, you were surprised to see that he looked smug.

It was a game to see who would speak first. The silence was deafening as you and Nate remained seated and Bucky stood over you, his arms crossed over his chest as he quirked an eyebrow.

Nate was the first to break. Clearing his throat, he stood up and held out a hand for Bucky. “You must be James. My name is-“

“Nathen Korian,” Bucky interrupted, smirking at Nathen before cutting his sky blue eyes to you. “Y/N Y/L/N’s half-brother. Curious. I was under the impression you were a mastermind for an evil organization.”

You turned your eyes away, flushing as you realized he caught onto your game.

“And I was under the impression that you weren’t afraid of anything,” Nate sassed back, much to your surprise.

Bucky’s gaze didn’t waiver from you as he crouched down so that you were face to face. “Well, I didn’t think that someone as amazing as your sister would ever be interested in someone as crazy as me.”

Before you could open your mouth to protest, Bucky’s lips crashed to your own, effectively silencing you.

Somewhere in the background, you could hear Nate on the phone. “Yah man. Mission accomplished. He just kissed her.”

[pitubea1910]

The world needs Iron Man

Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader (Siblings)

Featuring: Steve Rogers, Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton

Words: 2636

Warnings: angst, car crash, injuries

Tags: -

Request: requested by Anonymous:

“Hi lovely! Could you write something about reader being Tony's sister and she's pretty much like him, and all of the avengers think that they don't share emotions to each other *they always tease each other and throw sarcastic comments on each other* but when Tony almost die in a mission they didn't expect reader to breakdown like this?”

Notes: I made a little change in the request, “erasing” the mission part. Tony won’t get hurt in a mission this time. I hope you’re okay with the change! As always, I apologise for taking so long, but I hope this is worth the wait!

MASTERLIST

It had taken such a long time to Tony to accept you in the team. He had always thought you were safer at backstage, away from all the action. But when Hydra kidnapped you and took you away from a whole week, Tony realised the best way was to keep her sister in sight the whole time, even during missions.

That way you had ended up being part of the Avengers after a long, almost eternal, process of training. You used to wake up with the first lights every day, do some jogging with Sam, then an exhausting gym session with Steve and fighting with Bucky or Natasha, whoever had the time. It had been a long process but finally everyone had agreed on you being ready to go out on the field and ever since you had become a key part of the team.

Plus, you being as smart as Tony was helpful, at least until they discovered you were exactly like your brother: full of sarcastic comments and full of yourself. Still, they thought you were adorable, unless towards them. Towards Tony was a complete different story. You two were bickering at each other the whole time about anything, there were no filter. Most of the times you would end up fighting for the most insignificant stuff and would stop talking to each other during the rest of the day.

“What happened now?” Steve asked when you walked into the living room from the balcony where you had been with Tony.

“He’s an idiot”, you said going straight to the stairs.

“I’m talking to you, kid!” Tony almost yelled walking in just after you.

“You said enough and stop calling me kid, you idiot”, you snapped back at him.

“Okay guys”, Steve said getting up from the couch where he had been reading for a while. “What’s the problem?”

“He thinks he’s my father” you quickly said.

“I’m protecting you” Tony replied.

“From what? Having fun?” you said sarcastic.

“Don’t give me that tone, okay?” He said louder, walking over you. “I know who’s going to that party and the answer is still no”

Then you started laughing out loud and shaking your head, earning some confused looks from Tony and Steve.

“I’m sorry”, you laughed. “Did I make it sound like I was asking for permission? Then I’m sorry, I was telling you I’m going to a party tonight” you said.

“You know I can make F.R.I.D.A.Y lock you up in your room, right?” Tony asked cocky with his arms crossed.

“You know I can hack the system and turn it against you, right?” You replied, mirroring his movements.

“You guys are impossible”, Steve mumbled and took his book, leaving you two alone.

“I’m going to that party, Tony” you shrugged before going upstairs to get ready.

Tony knew there was nothing he could do if you wanted to go to that party so with a deep sigh he just went back out to keep on working on Sam’s wings. Damn the moment you grew up.

A couple of hours later, when everyone was already having dinner, you showed up to grab something to eat before leaving for the party.

“You look stunning” Wanda said.

“You look hot”, Sam shrugged making you laugh. “Will Nate be there?” He winked.

“Maybe” you winked back.

“I don’t need to see this”, Tony sighed as he shook his head.

“You need to see a woman, Tony, how long has it been?” You teased your brother.

“Shut up” he snapped looking at you. “Don’t you dare going there”, he added.

You gulped feeling guilty all of sudden. Pepper was still a soft spot for Tony ever since she left. He had yet to be over it and you knew it wasn’t going to be easy, that’s why all of you avoided to talk about her or say her name or any reference.

“Sorry” you mumbled.

“You always are” he said getting up and leaving the kitchen.

“Damn it” you sighed looking at him. “Tony, wait!” You exclaimed following him.

“No, (Y/N)”, he said stopping and turning around to look at you. “Go. Go to your stupid party to that stupid guy who will not hesitate to break your heart once he gets into your pants”, he told you.

“What the fuck are you talking about? Do you think that just because your relationship failed, all are doomed? Grow some balls and look for her instead of crying all around the place”, you snapped before turning around to leave.

You knew you had crossed the line, you knew you had been too cold and too hard on him, but it made you angry every time he acted like that, like you didn’t know how to take care of yourself. You were an Avengers and you didn’t need your older brother on your back the whole fucking time.

 Hours later, when it was almost 4 a.m., you got out of the taxi in front of the Avengers complex after paying. You sighed and looked at the door, not really wanting to go in there but what else could you do? You walked towards the door, taking out the key of your purse but stopped when you felt that something was wrong. It took you a time to figure out what it was: the lights were on.

Immediately, your heart started beating faster as you rushed towards the door, sensing something had happened. You took your phone out just to see dozens of calls from Natasha and Steve. You gulped and opened the door as fast as you could, seeing Steve and Bucky in the living room. The moment they heard the door, their heads turned to you, but for some reason you only asked one question:

“Where’s Tony?” You asked walking towards them, throwing your purse on the couch and looking around. “Where’s everyone?”

“At the hospital”, Bucky said with a serious face.

You felt your heart dropping to your feet as he said that, having such a bad a feeling about it that it made you want to throw up.

“No…” you mumbled shaking your head. “What happened?”

“He went to look for you” Steve explained, trying to walk over you to take you in his arms, but you didn’t want that. You wanted to see your brother. “He had a crush. With a truck”

“Oh my God”, you mumbled feeling yourself getting dizzy. This wasn’t happening, you had to get to the hospital. “I gotta go” you simply said.

“(Y/N), wait” Bucky said, trying to take your hands.

“No, Bucky! I do not wait!” You almost yelled at him. “This is my brother we are talking about so I’m going straight to the hospital whether you like it or not”

There was nothing they could do to stop you. You took the keys of the car Tony had bought for your birthday and headed outside, with Steve and Bucky following your steps. You headed towards the Audi and unlocked it, but Steve stopped you before you opened the door.

“Steve, don’t make me do something I don’t want to do” you mumbled, fighting back the tears.

“We’re going with you, but you can’t drive like that” he said. You looked up at him, to see nothing but concern in his eyes. “I’ll drive”, he said.

“Okay” you whispered and handed him the keys before running around the car to sit on the passenger seat. When you were all set up, Steve turned on the engine but turned to you first.

“Hey…” he said softly. You looked at him and he whipped away a tear. “He’s going to be fine. He’s Iron Man after all” he half smiled, trying to encourage you.

“Just drive, please” you begged him.

He nodded and started driving out of the compound. I could feel he was going faster than he would usually go and he had no idea how much I appreciated that. I couldn’t believe this was happening, and all because of me. I should’ve listened to him and stay home, I shouldn’t have said such things to him, I should’ve been there with him and not going to the hospital to see if he was going to be okay or not. This was all my fault and there was no way anyone could convinced me that it wasn’t.

When we got to the city, I almost lost my nerves due to the traffic. I wanted to start hitting the claxon so they could move away and let us through. I needed to get to the hospital but, of course, fucking New York City was fucking crowded, as always.

“Damn”, you mumbled taking out your phone to check the time. You had left almost fifty minutes ago. Anything could’ve happened in that time. “Can’t you do something?” I asked Steve. He looked at me frowning, thinking, and then looked back at Bucky, hoping he had any idea but the soldier just shrugged.

“I’m sorry” he sighed and held your hand.

“Damn it, Steve” you sobbed frustrated and suddenly everything came out through tears and sobs.

Steve and Bucky shared another look of concern. They had never seen you like that, let alone because of Tony. You two were always fighting, never shared a hug or a nice word, but there you were, crying your heart out in worry.

“We have to get there, Steve”, Bucky said leaning over to place a hand on my back. “We will be there for him, you listen to me?” He said.

You nodded but you were still crying, like you weren’t going to be able to stop ever again. Eventually, you felt the car moving again, like whatever was going on had finally been solved and the traffic was flowing finally. It still took you another thirty minutes but you finally got to the hospital.

The second Steve parked the car, you exited the car and started running towards the entrance of the building, but before you could get there, Bucky stopped you, telling you that you had to go through the emergency door. You nodded and followed them since you didn’t know where that was. When you finally walked in, you saw the rest of the team there. The moment they saw you, they all walked over you to pull you into a group hug.

“How is he?” You finally asked, pulling away from everyone but looking at Natasha, knowing she would be honest with you no matter what.

“He’s…in surgery”, she gulped. “It’s serious, (Y/N)” she added.

“How serious?” You asked terrified.

“Apparently, the crash crashed one of his lungs and some glass from the window stabbed him through the stomach”, Clint explained. “He lost a lot of blood”

“Oh my…” you covered your mouth as a sob shook your whole body. “No, no…” you shook your head, turning around to try and hide your tears, but Bucky was right behind you and immediately pulled you in to hug you tight. “I can’t lose him” you sobbed against his jacket while he stroked your hair, not knowing what to say. “He’s all I’ve got” you added.

Eventually, Bucky managed to move you towards one of the chairs where you sat down, still hugging him, afraid you would literally break if he let you go. Everyone sat around you, not really saying anything since they knew nothing would make you feel better.

“Stark?” You looked up when you heard your name being called a couple of hours later. Your crying had stopped but you hadn’t moved, neither had Bucky.

“How’s he?” You asked getting up quickly.

“You’re his family?” The doctor asked.

“I’m his sister for fuck’s sake, how’s he?” You asked anxious.

“We’ve performed several surgeries on him and apparently he will be fine, we have to wait to be certain, but it’s serious” he informed you. You gulped and nodded.

“Can we see him?” Steve asked behind you.

“He’s going to be in post-op for a couple of hours where we can keep an eye on him, then we will move him to a room where you can see him” he replied. You bite your lip and nodded slowly, even though you knew you needed to see him. “He’s out of danger now, I recommend you go home and rest” he added.

Without saying anything else, he turned around and left through the door he had come in the first place. You felt a hand on your shoulder and turned around to look at the team.

“I’m going to talk to the doctor”, Bucky said out of nowhere.

“Wait, Buck, you heard him” Steve said.

“She’s his sister and she’s going insane, she has to see Tony” he said before disappearing through those same doors.

“You should go home and rest, guys” you sighed.

“We’re not moving” Clint smiled at you. “Not until we see Stark and you bickering at each other again” he added. You chuckled a little and nodded.

“(Y/N)!” Bucky said coming out again. You turned to look at him, hopeful. “You can go in, you have five minutes but…” he shrugged smiling.

“Really?” You asked in disbelief, walking over him. He nodded so you hugged him tight, thanking him before walking through the doors where the doctor was waiting for you.

“An intense guy you friend” he sighed. You chuckled a little and nodded.

“I know” you mumbled, following him through the corridor until you walked into a room where Tony was laying on a bed.

“You have ten minutes, okay? He’s awake but, please, be careful” the doctor explained before leaving you alone with your brother.

Slowly, you walked over the bed, Tony watching all your moved without saying a word. His face was all covered in cuts wounds, his eye swollen like he had received a punch, but he was alive. You bite your lip to fight back the tears but when you took his hand and he squeezed you just broke down again.

“I’m so sorry, Tony” you sobbed. “This is my fault, I’m the worst sister ever, I’m so sorry” you said stroking his hand.

“Hey…” he whispered with dry voice. “It’s not your fault, none of this is, okay?”

“I shouldn’t have said those things about Pepper, I’m so sorry” you sobbed. Weakly, he pulled your hand so you hugged him carefully.

“You were right though”, he chuckled stroking your hair. “I should talk to her but I’m too scared of what she might say to me” he sighed.

“You love her” you said pulling away. He smiled a little and nodded.

“And I love you, you know that right?” He asked making you cry even more. “It doesn’t matter how much we fight, I love you more than anything”

“And I love you, Tony” you whispered. “You’re all I’ve got” you added. “Will you be okay?”

“Of course, the world needs Iron Man” he winked making you laugh through the tears.

“And I need my brother” you sighed looking down at your hands.

“You’ll have me for too long, little girl” he smiled. You smiled as well, feeling a bit better now that you saw he was going to be fine.

“I take your word on that one, Stark” you smiled.

Before any of you could say anything else, the doctor came in saying you had to leave so you nodded and kissed Tony’s temple before promising you would be there when he was moved into a room. When you left the room, you thanked the doctor for letting you talk to him and went back to the waiting room where everyone was waiting for news from you. The moment you stepped out of the door, they were all around you.

“So?” Natasha asked.

“He will be fine” you smiled truthfully now.

[paigerambles]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLEIGH!! (PT. 7) --- THE FINALE ft. TMY @lists-andrandomshit

“God, you’re no fun when you’re tense!” ( Marlene & Rita )

“If that’s your way of offering to give me a hot-stone massage, you don’t have to be so coy about it. I’m all yours, Marlypants.”

“You’re crude and unprofessional.” 

“I don’t care, it was riveting.”

“Oy with the poodles already.” ( Bernie & Robin )

“Oy with YOUR poodles already.”

“Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.”

“Aye, maybe if we were actually in a car but the chances of me falling off the back of this broomstick are high so hear me complain. I am your music, ye bass!”

“I think I’m adorable” ( Bernie & Rita )

"Mhm, you and the rest of the year it would seem.”

“I wish I couldn’t feel a damn thing.”

“Yeah... Me too.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t hung up the “Hang in there” kitty poster yet, Amos.” ( Bernie & Amos )

"I suppose there really is no way I can convince you to genuinely participate in my pity party, is there? Fine, fine, save the sarcasm. I’m hanging in. But starting next week, we’re doubling practice and no amount of pouting or cute little smiles will change my friend. Probably.”

“Please accept this sandwich as a gesture of solidarity.”

“Thank you. I love you.” 

“I found a liquor store, and I drank it.” ( Nate & Rita )

"Yeah, I can see that. You do remember that you have things to do, right? Lectures to give? I'm all for rolling into class late, hungover and in recycled eyeliner but I look hot doing that. You just... Okay, you still look totally, unbelievably hot but that is so not the point. Obviously something is going on with you Nate so quit being so me about it and just spit it out. Or, at the very least, don't throw up on the couch."

“I’m not going to die in a hospital where the nurses aren’t even hot.”

"Oh my god, you're not going to die, you big idiot! Stupid."

“And you’re… well, I’m sure you have a wonderful personality, dear.” ( Leone & Danny )

"Wow. You really are an arsehole... Excuse me, I need to go wallop my best friend over the head for being fucking batshit enough to put himself anywhere near...all of this."

“Daniel, we’ve talked about this. Personal space?”

"Personal space? You do remember what we were doing, together, not ten minutes ago? I'm down for giving you a refresher but like, it just happened. You remember."

“Hey, assbutt!” ( Luke & Dirk )

“Mate.”

“Well boohoo, I’m sorry your feelings are hurt, Princess.”

“You ate my fucking guitar, you absolute wanker. Joelene. JOELENE. Right, you know what? Me and you. Right now. Square the fuck up, Cresswell.”

“We’re all going to hell. Might as well enjoy the ride.” ( Robin & Dirk )

“Mm... Yeah, no. Nope. We still have to tell Krys what’s been going on.”

“I’m the oldest which means I’m always right.”

"Wit? That's the literal worst excuse I've ever heard in all my puff! I demand a recount! There's no way you managed to beat me six and a half times at this game, man. This is injustice in action! I'm calling my union rep and there's nothing you can do about it. Know your rights."

“Hey, switch seats.”

"Could you just like, go over there and talk to her? Please? You're going to break your neck staring even I do switch seats with you."

“You don’t have to be ruled by fate. You can choose freedom. And I still believe that’s something worth fighting for.” ( Molly & Mary )

"You know how effective it is to tell a patriotic Scot that they can choose freedom... But, Moll, you have your kids to think about. They need their mum more than this war needs more canon fodder, more death to report on the front page in a long list of death. I- You know I'd want to help. You know that but they're not winning. Can't you see that? The world is falling apart and soon all we're going to have left are our lives. You saw what- what Mulciber did to me in school, surrounded by staff, by- by the most powerful witches and wizards and he just got away with it and that was all for just being born. Being muggelborn. A mudblood. So no, just no. Don't fight, live. Choose to live, Moll, please."

“I swear the next person who ask’s me if i’m okay, I’m going to start throwing punches.”

"Not if I start throwing them for you first even if there is a certain beauty to the thought of a pregnant women throwing fists. Trust me, I get my hands on Lockhart and there won't be anything left for you."

“You are so fucked!” ( Molly & Gilderoy )

"Why did you have to have so many brothers!?"

“Seriously? Fuck you.”

"Ah, well, if you'll recall it does turn out that we, technically, did...not do that so. It would be a fresh experience, at least."

“I don’t trust people.” ( Emmeline & Robin  )

"Yeah, me too. I mean, well, I trust Dirk. And Bernie. Oh, and Krys! My dad like, obviously and mu--- I mean, yeah me too. You just... All your points are special."

“And in the middle of it, as grateful as you are, the reality starts creeping toward you like the tide, and it’s the first time you have the thought… ‘what do I do now?’”

"That is so deep. You're so pretty."

“The day started with bagels, but that abruptly changed.” ( Emmeline & Ciara )

"You don't have to talk about every single run-in with me like it literally ruined your whole life, Vance. You already stole my fiancé, you won--- you don't have to pile on any more of your crap, okay? Okay. I hope you and your kid are doing just super with Death Eater daddy in tow."

“Did you commit a felony and write a book about it?”

"You really don't think a lot of me, do you?"

“If you look down, that’s where you go.” ( Gideon & Gilderoy )

"Is- Are you... Please, refrain from hitting my face, I beg of you."

“I’m hiding in the bathroom.” ( Kahlan & Logan ) 

"Right, aye. I can see that... Well, I can see your feet at least and you've another thing coming if you think I'm squeezing into that cubicle with you so could you just come out. Please. If you need me to scowl in someone's direction until they cry, it's fine. I'll do it but it smells weird in here and the last time I crashed a bathroom I walked in on a mermaid having a bath."

“Did anything good come of this? Not really. But I’ve learned something encouraging: I’m very hard to kill.”

"Kahlan..."

“I just…. I – I need you to believe me, okay?”

"Of course I believe you. You could be talking the awfyest shite and I'd still believe you. Okay? I'm here."

“Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t play defense.” ( Everleigh & Logan ) 

"Listen woman, it doesn't matter how many times you tell me not to be afraid of it, you keep your tail over there while you're in a mood. There's no telling how it'll act out at me."

“That’s a question that’ll haunt me for all my days…”

"You just can't ever make it easy, can you?"

“Catch me. Come on, catch me!”

"I'm not an Olympic athlete, Everleigh. Some of us actually have to put a bit of effort into swimming, we can't just go flapping our fins and away we go. Just- Give me a minute."

“You don’t have bargaining power here.” ( Jamie & Patrick ) 

"Jamie, please. Sit yourself down before you trip on your big boy trousers."

“I like destroying lives.” ( Kyra & Avery )

"Okay."

“Ah. You lied just then.” ( Travers & Ciara ) 

"You would know, wouldn't you, Travers?"

“Where are they? Why are you in this alone? Where are your friends?“ ( Veronica & Dolohov ) 

"I don't have any friends, Veronica. Not anymore and you very well know that. Things... Things are progressing too fast, falling apart at every turn and it's only a matter of time before half of us end up dead and the other locked up in Azkaban. You knew this was coming, Veronica. My fate was sealed from the moment I was born and we were doomed from the day we locked eyes. This is goodbye."

“There’s no law that says you can’t just hit him in the head.”

"Veronica, please. I would hardly waste the energy."

“I realize what I did was wrong.”

"Oh my, I may need to sit myself down. Did Veronica Alona Wilder just admit that she was wrong? Say it ain't so."

“And that’s your fault? That’s not your fault!” ( Veronica & Lucinda ) 

"I don't know, Roni! I- He's my father! Mine. And he's out there doing- doing god knows what... Killing people. Our classmates, kids... He sleeps in my home, he- he's my daddy and now it's like I don't even know him. Or anything! How can I not feel like this is my fault? How could I not have noticed? I- I just---"

“Is this self-imposed punishment? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

"Ron, don't! You know exactly what I did and with that a-hole... I will literally never live down making out with a 6.5 on a miracle day! I don't even want to look at myself right now."

“Any time you want to run away from home, you can come live with me.” 

"I love you, Veronica."

“How’s this for hubris?” ( Delilah & Heather ) 

"Delilah! Will you just--- Stop it. Stop! Enough of all this- this crap! We need to sit down and have a real damn conversation about what's going on before we can't anymore. You need to start taking this seriously. I am trying to help you. I am trying to save your life, don't you get that? Don't you have any regard for your life? For me? I am your sister."

“Even by teenage girl standards, I would appear to be irrationally angry at nothing in particular.”

"I'm not going to comment."

“Did it take a lot of soul searching to get you there?” ( Sam & Dean )

"Can you quit busting my balls, please? I already said I was sorry for being an ass. You want me to beg? Grovel? Do a little dance? 'Cause... Yeah, I'm not gonna dance but I am sorry."

“If what happened last time were to happen this time…”

"Sam, relax. Nothing's gonna go wrong. I've got your back and you've got mine- that's all we need."

“Dean, sit the fuck down.”

"You... Sit the fuck down."

“You’re playing without the weapons you need to win.” ( McGonagall & Danny ) 

"Is... What does that mean? I mean, I'm into it but... What does it mean?"

“Listen, it’s not a big deal, but from what I saw out there, I think you’re having a small breakdown.” ( Paige & Dolohov )

"I believe you may have just earned yourself 'wife points' for such an observation."

“Do you know how many witches were burned in Salem? None. They didn’t burn witches, it’s a myth.”

"... Yes, well. Thank you for that riveting fact but we really do not have to fill every second of silence together."

“You think what I need right now is a therapist?”

"You are married to me, are you not?"

“Old man, do you really not recognize sarcasm?” ( Yvonne & Danny )

"Hey! I am only like... One... Two--- Not that older than you, young lady!"

“You’ve gotta do it. Not doing it is insanity, you must be able to see that.”

"Alright, alright! You're overwhelming me with your love and support here, Yvonne. Back up about a hundred feet before you do something wild like leap into my arms and kiss the crap out of me. Wink."

“I’m saying it can’t fucking happen again.”

"It won't! It- Look, it was a one time thing. Leone isn't even--- Please don't tell Nate."

“You’re gonna have to pretend I didn’t tell you.” ( Darlene & Danny )

“Whoa, hold up. You- I thought you only spoke French!?”

“New information has come to light, now I see that that was stupid.” ( Brutus & Avery )

"You're always stupid."

“You were wrong, but it doesn’t matter.”

"Dude. I'm not wrong, you just don't want to recognise just how right I am. Cut the mudblood loose, you're embarrassing the team. I only tell you this because I love you and it'd suck if I had to kill you."

“You know what makes me feel okay about losing? Winning.”

"Do you ever stop for like, a minute? Have a nap or something. Damn. You're so fucking dramatic."

“When was the last time you slept?” ( Brutus & Mary )

"None of your goddamn business."

“I’d always figured sophistication would be easy to learn if I ever needed it.”

"You're a monster. You disgust me."

“Ask around about me.”

"I know everything I need to know about you and if you know what's good for you, you'll get lost."

“I promise you, it couldn’t matter less.” ( Alecto & Amycus )

"You think that about everything, sis."

“You look like the cat that ate the canary and then told the canary’s parents about it.”

"What? I'm not allowed to look pleased? You're always so suspicious. Relax Alecto, I'm only having my fun. Perhaps you should do the same."

“Well, I’m gonna blow them up, I am literally gonna use explosives, and scatter the remains in the sea.”

"You're so fucking creepy."

(x) (x)

[multiverseofmiracleshq]

For the third year in a row, the Stark Memorial Gala was held in New York to honor those lost to the Cleanse. Like always, proceeds went to the Mutant Outreach Trust, Stark Memorial Fund and the Natasha Romanoff Foundation for Girls. Those invited to this exclusive event are guaranteed to have something to talk about the next day.

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL INCOMPLETE CHAT LOG COVERAGE OF THE IC

TONY: Here’s something no one ever really expected— Tony Stark being present at the Stark Memorial Gala. It was easy for him to have a short laugh at the irony of the whole situation, especially since he’s had time to adjust to being back. Stepping back into the spotlight was like walking through a memory, though. He was still himself. He was still Tony Stark, Iron Man, blah blah blah. But he was different, and there wasn’t really a way around that. There was a lot on his mind as he waited for the perfect moment to officially kick everything off, holding a mic and tapping a repetitive rhythm on its handle with a few fingers. Eventually he turned it on, straightened his bowtie, and walked out with a smile. “Hello everyone! Welcome, welcome! I gotta say, it’s nice to see all of you again. I’m sure it’s just as nice to see me back up here. All of you really missed me throwing words in your face for a few minutes before every party. But shh, shh I’m not pausing for laughter. To get back on track, it’s amazing to see so many people here tonight. We have a few charities that are close to our hearts receiving support tonight: the Stark Memorial Fund, The Natasha Romanoff Foundations for Girls, and the Mutant Outreach Trust. It’s gonna be an even split between the three, so keep the donations comin’ throughout the night. It’s all about helping those who need it. That’s what heroes do, right?” Tony took a small pause, then continued. “Alright, you know the drill. Like always, my advice is to have fun, give generously, and try not to be too stupid. Let’s all have a great time and do some good while we’re at it! Happy Holidays and let’s make this New Year start off on the right foot!” Then he switched his mic off, gave the crowd a peace sign, and walked away to join the festivities.

ALEX: Champagne flute already in hand, Alex adjusted his bow tie with his free hand, listening patiently as Stark made his speech. Despite the occasion, nothing good ever came out of these events for Alex - and going into the evening with a preemptively negative attitude didn’t bode well for the younger Summers. But he’d make the best of it - whatever that meant - and if he needed a little alcohol in his system to make things easier, well then, so be it.

QUILL: Peter kept tugging at his collar, two fingers pulling at the starchy material and loosening the too tight black tie around his neck. Man, but he was already sweating through his shirt, he could feel it sticking to his back. "We promised no dancing right?" he said under his breath to Gamora, who was standing just a little off to his side. He'd had to let go of her to start rolling up his sleeves when the ballroom didn't offer any air circulation. "The only moves I know are the electric slide." he tried for a smile and hoped he wasn't doing too much. Since getting her memories back, they hadn't been to something like this-- and even for him, it was suffocating.

PETER: Tonight Peter was wearing what was possibly the nicest outfit he’s ever worn. Tony had offered to get him something new like he did every year, and for once Peter agreed. It was mostly because he wanted an excuse to spend time with him now that he was back, since there was still a weird feeling in his gut when he accepted things from him without any rhyme or reason. But Tony enjoyed it. So Peter let him. It was a maroon suit, something Peter would never have thought about wearing, but he had to admit it was nice. And he looked good. As Tony was making his speech, Peter was already chowing down on some of the fancy bread that was sitting out on the ends of the tables. He smiled through a mouthful of it and clapped as best he could with some still clutched in his hands. “Oh crap—” His words were muffled through the food in his mouth as he glanced down to his suit, realizing he was getting crumbs all over it. “You can’t wash suits, right? I gotta be careful.”

JULIAN: "Look its not my fault we're late -- you're the one who decided to babysit the dog and I wasn't going to walk in here covered in dog hair." Julian grumbled as he plucked two flutes from a passing waiter and offered Kate one. "Besides, if you hadn't gone for round three we'd have been here an hour ago." He took a sip from his glass and chanced a glance around the already crowded room. "I have a feeling body shots are out this year. Damn."

CABLE: "I can think of a hundred things more terrible than a Stark party. One, being stuck in my dad's moon house having to listen to my baby brother wail all night. Two, stuck listening to my dad give me another round of strategy lessons. Three..." his voice was quickly drowned out by the din of the ballroom and Nate cast a glance around, recognizing some but not enough. "Oh I miss Krakoa parties." he said a little to himself, a little to Lana.

BUCKY: The most embarrassing thing on Bucky’s mind tonight was the amount of time he spent trying to make his hair look okay. Back when it still had length to it he had eventually mastered pulling it back and being done with it. Now it was short again and he was learning a whole new style. But there was one thing he was learning— and it was that people seemed to like it when he thought it was too messy. So that’s what he tried to go with tonight, even if he felt that it was a bit too casual to be paired with a suit. “Am I the only one who never knows what to do at these things?” He glanced to Wanda with a soft smile, lightly tapping a metal finger against his glass of champagne.

NATASHA: It was strange to hear her own name, especially in conjunction with a charity gala of all things. Natasha had been a lot of things over the course of her life and good person didn’t always rank. There it was though, one of her aliases next to a real, tangible thing that helped people. And not only people. Girls who were lost or had been taken advantage of. There had been no one there to save her. Natasha had to save herself even if it took decades. Even though ‘Natasha Romanoff’ wasn’t her birth name there was still a brief appearance of tears that she quickly blinked away. Due to the tight security at the gala there was an ease that had settled over her. Most there knew she and Steve had gotten married even if they had put a raincheck on the big ceremony thing. After everything that happened she had just wanted to get it done and enjoy their second chance. Bells and whistles would one day follow. Her hand was connected to Steve’s but Natasha was making her way towards Tony, knowing her husband could detach if he wanted to. “Feels strange to have people giving money in my name, but I’ll always support a good cause.” She tilted her head towards him before a smile flickered over her lips at the sight of Tony. “How long did you practice that in the mirror this morning?”

CRYSTALIA: As much as she didn’t want to be the pregnant person who couldn’t stop complaining about being a pregnant person, Crystal was teetering on the brink of being just that. She was two months pregnant, and yet, about to burst. That was due to her boyfriend’s mutant genealogy, a quirk the Inhuman doctors had yet to crack. The baby - their daughter -was by all accounts full term and ready to come any day. They had attempted to give her a due date but the entire pregnancy had turned into a game of we’ll see how it goes and Crystalia had no choice but to wait to see when a human exploded out of her. Hair pinned into a crown and adorned with flowers, one hand was on her tulle covered stomach and the other clutching a flute of water. “Is your sister coming?” She turned to Pietro, the light yellow layers of her dress swishing slightly.

SAM ALEXANDER: Sam had only ever owned one suit. A dark blue tuxedo he’d reluctantly worn to junior prom and then never again. But this seemed like a good enough time to break it out, right? His mom seemed alright with it, and Kamala hadn’t immediately laughed at his appearance upon their meeting earlier in the evening, but now, after stepping into the gala and seeing everyone else looking - ridiculously expensive - Sam was not so sure. “Alright, well— uh- we can’t drink. Do we mingle? How does one mingle...”

TONY: Tony gave Nat a smirk and shoved his hands into his pockets as he replied to her. Then he gave Steve a nod hello and offered up a nonchalant shrug. “Just once. I’m nothing if not a professional. Normally I would just wing it but with us having the added flare of being back from the dead, I figured I should put in a little effort this time. I will admit uh.. it’s nice to be back. Feels almost normal, you know?”

STEVE: Steve was use to events, though it felt like it’d been  a while since he’d bothered to attend. he followed natasha through the crowd of familiar faces, dressed in a traditional suit and tie—which somehow seemed underdressed compared to the attire that seemed to be going on tonight. as she spoke, steve chuckled “Get used to it.” She was bound to attract the appeal of the sympathy donation for all that she’d done, it was a good tactic and she deserved the recognition. plus it went toward a good cause. “Normal?” steve sighed, though it was more content than anything else. “I’ll drink to that.” he smiled. “Maybe we can get it to last longer than a week?”

NATASHA: Steve and Tony, talking with ease and getting along. Natasha and Tony, not dead but breathing in the same public space. “Thank god you boys clean up so nicely.” She knew that she did as well, dress plunging and also revealing a sliver of leg. “And what, exactly, is normal to the three of us? Robots or mad titans?” Maybe the government collapsing. It was day dependent.

SAM WILSON: It wasn’t every day that he got to roll up to nice events a beautiful woman on his arm. Most of his time at the Avenger’s party had consisted of Sam, a beer and either Steve, Rhodes or Barnes. Now, Rogers was with his wife and Sam hadn’t seen Rhodey in a minute. Even though they were likely around, he only had eyes on the blonde on his arm. “--Y’know, you gotta be careful, Cap,” he was saying as they made their way across the room. “People are gonna think you like me and I don’t want to ruin your street cred.” That was both a joke a little bit true. “Now, for the important question of the night: bourbon, whiskey or rum?”

BETSY: They never got any time to breathe anymore. The chance to take off the armor and put down the ( telepathic ) sword came as a welcome relief to the constantly tired defender of Britain and Otherworld. A pretentious title, and one that she was desperate to slide away from for just a moment. The old Betsy - the model with the blonde hair who was blissfully unaware - reemerged momentarily when she put the dress on her credit card, deep purple adorned with an amethyst and gold arch at the top of the slit. It was pricey but she liked how she looked and her chest was secure in the sharp scoop of the neckline so she wasn’t complaining. Brian couldn’t be convinced to come even though Meggan had also suggested it, meaning that Betsy was making her way around the perimeter of the room alone with her drink. “Alex,” her tone was light as she came to a stop, accent lilting. “Did you come alone?”

GAMORA: Despite the fact that she had been back for the better part of a year, Gamora had made a grand total of zero public appearances. She wasn’t hiding, per se. She’d stay on the Milano or go into the New Avengers Facilities. There just wasn’t any parties or outings. They weren’t her scene and she had slowly been knitting together what it meant to be herself now. There was virtually no back to the tight black dress, the tiny flimsy straps crisscrossing over  green skin. “I thought you liked dancing.” Dark eyes flickered towards him before Gamora finished her visual sweep of the room. Once she was satisfied she was able to turn and face fully with a small smile. “Or do you only prefer when it’s horrible and in your room?”

TONY: “I am so glad you said something. Now I don’t have to awkwardly hit on your husband in front of you.” Tony was in a surprisingly good mood tonight, and he was doing his best to not sabotage himself by thinking about how strange it was to be even slightly happy during the holidays. “Robots are so last year. But I’m not going to tempt you into using your imagination because I happen to be very superstitious and like Steve said— we’ll be lucky if this calm lasts the week.”

YELENA: Like gum that you couldn’t get off your shoe, Yelena continued to appear at events where she was assumed she wasn’t wanted. It wasn’t true, but she hadn’t quite been able to wrap her around that yet. Still, there was a part of her that desired acceptance and approval. Maybe it was the years of being conditioned to achieve and attain. All Yelena knew was that she had taken time on her hair and makeup. The dress - while white - managed not to look like a wedding dress due to the missing fabric under her non-existent chest. She had been ready before James had picked her up and now she stood by her side. Natasha was there, but like all the other times Yelena just turned in the opposite direction. “It’s too pretty here.” The corners of her lips tugged downwards. “Someone’s got to get in a fight.”

JESSICA: Despite the fact that she once had a live in manny, it had been hard to secure a babysitter. Maybe that was on Jess. No, scratch that. It was definitely on Jess. She could have asked Roger but she felt bad when she was planning on attending a party with someone else. He had moved out anyway and back with Kallie for the foreseeable future. It was for the best. That was what she kept telling herself, at least, as she flicked a dark wave away from her shoulder and the strap of her red dress. “Aw, look. Carol’s with Sam. Maybe that means I can talk about it now.” She could keep a secret but Jessica hated them. She was too impulsive to remember to hold things in. “We need drinks, Barton. First and foremost.”

LORNA: Who didn’t want to attend the biggest party of the year with their dad? Lorna had become a diligent daughter. She divided her time between the Boneyard and the Monarchy of M where Dawn was living. Erik made a fuss about bringing honor to the Monarchy of M but Lorna admittedly liked having a purpose. She existed best when she had a reason to. Without one she began to lose direction and that had never led to anywhere good. “I’m surprised you didn’t give a speech. You love to hear yourself talk.” Lorna’s voice was wry. Her neck was hurting from the massive pile of green curls that was piled on her head and her dress was tight. Ever since she had Dawn she noticed things like that more, but Remy was coming later and she had to look good in case he ever decided to get on one knee.

KAMALA: The whole thing had been nothing short of a CIA sting. Her parents -- for very good reason -- knew nothing about Kamala’s second life. She couldn’t exactly say Nova was taking her to Iron Man’s holiday party, so instead she dealt with the pang of guilt and lied that she was going to Bruno’s to study. Nadia had been thrilled to help her get ready ( maybe too thrilled, but it was cute ) and her dress was conservative enough to make her comfortable. With the goal of staying out of any pictures, Kamala arrived on Sam’s arm with an eager smile. “--This is awesome. Like, maybe the coolest thing ever. We mingle. We definitely mingle. But where to start?”

WANDA: She had half been lost in thought, gaze focused on nothing in particular on the dance floor. Wanda didn’t mind parties. She attended even when she felt alone. Then, she had Vision. Now, she had Pietro. She existed in the middle spaces. Crystalia was incredibly close to delivering and Wanda hadn’t even suggested attending with Pietro as she knew the unborn child and its vessel deserved his attention. She was a big girl who could handle hanging out at the desert table to see if Steve or Clint showed up. “--Oh,” she shook her head. “I usually eat the cookies. I don’t drink, so, it’s seltzer water for me.”

KATE: “I’m not babysitting the dog, Julian, He lives with me.” Kate reminded him once again. It had been difficult to get out of her sweatshirt and leggings even though it was just as nice as the dresses she had worn back when she wasn’t a broke ass bitch. The lilac of her dress meant that she had been spared the trouble of golden retriever fur all over her. Instead, she had needed Julian to zip her in even though the zipper was buried by layers of light fabric and tulle. “Listen, I thought you had four in you and that’s my bad. I also underestimated my getting ready time. You like how I look though, don’t you?” She arched a dark brow. “Damn. Maybe at Clint’s tacky knockoff party.”

LANA: “Don’t act tough. You love the baby.” Lana was hiking up the skirt of her dress to avoid getting stepped on. “And your moon house is really @#$@# cool. You should try living on the Champions Mobile Bunker. Tres chic.” Violet eyes rolled. “I’m pretty sure every Krakoan party is an orgy. Which is impressive and concerning.

MICHELLE: She was putting effort in. Effort towards what? That depended. College had been good for Michelle. She had found a few freaks like herself and was coming out of her shell some. Her previous participation in the Stark Scholarship Program meant invites to other events that made Stark look good, like his charity. For the entire week leading up she said she wasn’t going to attend. Then, three days before, she went out and bought a dress she wouldn’t have before and showed up. Just like that. A part of MJ longed to be home with her books but instead she went to the snack table to check out  their bread selection. “You can dry clean them,” she answered automatically without looking to see who was speaking. Peter. They hadn’t really seen each other since graduation. His identity was public and some classmates made the connection and asked what it was like to be Spider-man’s girlfriend, to which she had almost redirected them to Gwen. Now here they both were with him looking admittedly adorable in his suit and her being very tall but well dressed in the black and maroon of the tightest dress she had ever worn. “Hey, tiger. Nice suit.” She wasn’t sure what to do with her hand so she grabbed a random cracker.

ALEX: Alex was mid-sip when Betsy approached, tilting the glass back instead as he quickly downed the rest of the champagne, “Betsy— hi. Uh, yeah. I guess. I’m surprised my name was even on the list,” a curt laugh followed his words as he glanced ( as respectfully as he could ) at Betsy’s ensemble, “You look lovely. You uh—“ Alex glanced around, “—come here alone as well?”

PETER: “Ohhh right, right—” Peter nodded and then swallowed, using his one free hand to carefully scrape the crumbs down towards the floor. When he looked up and saw who it was that happened to answer him, he froze. “MJ.” He blinked a few times and gave her a quick glance from head to toe, trying not to be too obvious. Then he cleared his throat. “Hi. Thanks, uh— Tony he, well he picked it out. You look great.” She really did. “I should have remembered you would get invited to come tonight. It’s really nice to see you. How’s everything been? How have you been?” Per usual, Peter was unsure of what to do with his hands. In a spark of mild panic he set his piece of bread down on the table next to him and then shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, only to take them out again a few seconds later. He almost offered MJ a handshake, he almost went in for a hug, but ultimately he did neither of those things. Damn, he was not good at this.

SAM ALEXANDER: Sam knew Kamala’s parents were unaware of her alter ego, which was a feeling wholly unfamiliar to him. His father had been a Nova, and his mother had been well aware of his father’s profession. There weren’t a lot of secrets in their family. But he understood Kamala’s situation, and would do everything he could to help keep her secret. Sometimes, however, that secret life lead to things like this. Attending the Stark Gala— and mingling. “Uhh— that is a good question,” Sam’s gaze drifted around the room, “Trying to pick out someone unintimidating, “I have no idea.”

ERIK: Erik gave his daughter a sideways glance in response to her comment, one eyebrow perked up in a dramatic fashion. “And here I thought I might have earned some praise for relenting my time to Stark instead of hogging the stage for myself.” He took a moment to fiddle with his cufflinks, even though they were already perfect. “I’m doing my best to learn when to talk and when to not. Progress is progress, wouldn’t you agree? And perhaps someday it will be you making the speeches, instead of me.” A short pause. “—in case I haven’t said it yet tonight, you look beautiful Lorna.”

BUCKY: Bucky took another sip from his glass and chuckled. “Cookies and seltzer water. I’ll have to try that sometime. Usually I’m not a big fan of bubbly stuff that doesn’t taste like anything, though. If you ask me, plain water is the way to go.” Alright, so apparently he could at least handle talking about food. That was progress in the small talk department. “How’s it been having your brother around for the holidays again?”

BETSY: At his apparently flustered response, Betsy tilted her head to the side with an amused chuckle. He went for champagne but she had skipped ahead to the ever elegant whiskey. It hit harder and that was more her style. Her new tastebuds had softened compared to Kwannon’s sharp ones but she was soldiering through the burn. “I think being a Summers will always put your name on the list.” It was nothing more than a casual observation, neither good or bad. She had known the Summers for a long time to varying degrees. Betsy had no quarrel with them currently. She couldn’t help but laugh at his compliment - and the corresponding thoughts - before smoothing a hand down the front of her dress. “Thank you. Considering how much this cost, I’m very glad to hear that. It’s been forever since I’ve been allowed to be pretty.” She tossed back the rest of her drink and glanced to the bar. “Woefully. I thought I’d try my hand at meeting someone here.”

MICHELLE: At the sound of her name coming from his mouth again the best thing MJ could do was flatten her lips into a pursed smile. She was over him. Of that she was roughy 70% sure. Michelle had made a living not being the sentimental type. He was her first love and therefore her first heartbreak. Why then did she still want him to see her? “Tony, right. I was going to text you or something to see how you were doing with all that, but then there were classes and meetings and....” Distance. There was distance between them and she forgot how to cross it. “You like?” She couldn’t help but turn to the side slightly to show the dress. “It’s, like, a lot. But my friend Danika liked it so I thought I would wear it even though I’m here alone and it’s 90% rich white people.” Her favorite crowd, really. Michelle was still holding the cracker so she tapped it against the heel of her other hand while she collected her thoughts. “--S’good. I’m good. I’m dorming which is nice because my Aunt Anna was ready for an empty nest. School’s good. Idk about you but Empire is chill. I’m thinking journalism. How are you, Spider-man?” She swallowed around the inevitable. “And, uh, Gwen.”

KAMALA: Wow, there was a lot of people. Were there always? She had never been to a Krakoan Outpost. Even though Kamala herself tried to be personable and agreeable she was still an Inhuman and the mutants weren’t super hip on them yet. Kamala bounced slightly on her feet, eyes wide as she took everyone. “I mean, I know Carol pretty well. It’s that whole marvelous thing. But is she... is Carol on a date with Captain America??” She made a mental note for an update on her Avenger’s fanfic that was eighty chapters deep. “Maybe we should start with punch. Punch is simple.”

LORNA: “Mhm, well, I’m surprised that in all your years of life you haven’t learned that you just can’t win.” She was being facetious. The mutants were, by most accounts, on a winning streak. She’d hate to see what it would look like when they lost again. “Of course, father. But I’ve made plenty of speeches. Underground, Hellfire Club. They’re never well received. Now I only give drunk speeches. Better for everyone.” Lorna couldn’t help but blush at her fathers compliment, head ducking. Here she was, almost twenty-five years old and still craving praise even though she had gone years denying that she wanted it. “Erik. Dad. Gambit’s coming tonight. We’ve been seeing other and you’re going to be kind.”

CAROL: For a woman who spent most of her time in flat soled boots or tennis shoes, Carol was doing surprisingly well in her heels – a strappy pair that lofted her just enough that the hem of her white dress brushed the floor gently. She still had to ball up the right side of it to keep other people from stepping all over her, but she was happy for the break from hoodies and spandex. Tossing Sam a warm smile, she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, even if it was lovingly. “I’m pretty sure I was starting to hear spinster behind my back.” She commented as they approached the bar. Even as she let go of his arm, Carol kept a hand pressed lightly to the small of his back. “Bourbon. Double, neat.” She supplied to the bartender. “Jeez, when was the last time we got to do this? A year ago?”

QUILL: The laugh he let out was almost unexpected, but Quill quickly recovered. “We agreed to never speak of that again. Besides,” after locating the dance floor and then the bar, he refocused his gaze onto Gamora. “I’m more of a Footloose guy. I can get down to a little bit of Bowie, some Marvin Gay. This,” he pointed to the ceiling. “Is not dancing music.” He pushed his sleeves up a little more. “Now I did hear there was a buffet. Hungry?”

JAMES BUCHANAN: James had slung his suit jacket over his shoulder as they entered the Gala, his free hand trailing touches across Yelena’s lower back. The crowded room was causes pinpricks to roll under his skin and he had to fight the urge to bolt. Instead, he focused on where his feet were planted and tried to keep a marginal amount of distance between them and the other guests. “You want someone to get in a fight?” he asked, his tone dipping humorously. “Big parties bore you that much?”

JULIAN: “So when did we decide to get a dog?” he said with a smile as they hit a couple of empty tables. He loved the Stark Galas; they reminded him of the parties he’d attended before donning the black sheep label – and Stark sure knew how to splurge on them. Nothing felt cheap or worn, and Julian reveled in the few hours they’d have to be the people they once were, even if Kate was happy to shed that part of her. Without faltering, Julian spun her gently, the edges of her dress twirling out as he did so. “Do you need me to compliment you a tenth time tonight? You look damn gorgeous, Kate Bishop.” Her name came out a little breathlessly and Julian gave her hand a quick squeeze before letting go. “You think I’d get invited to one of those?”

CABLE: Nate made a sound at the back of his throat. “He drools you know. On everything.” But she was right, because buried under his chiding tone was a bit of adoration he couldn’t suppress. “Maybe I want to live a little rugged. I am mostly cyborg – living life in luxury is hardly my scene.” He fanned his arms out a bit to make his point, the whirring of his metal pieces speaking up as if to agree. “The orgies are only half the fun,” he joked.

CLINT: Clint pulled at the edge of his deep purple vest, more a nervous habit than a serious concern that it was riding up. He wasn’t sure where the feeling was coming from – the energy that was settling in around him. Maybe he’d been trapped inside his one bedroom too many nights, watching reruns and eating stale pizza – or maybe he knew these Gala’s always promised something more dire in the future. A bit of light before the darkness, if you may. Tugging again, he searched the din for the sound of Jess’s voice, but it was hard to pin it down through his aids. So instead, he turned towards her, just in time to catch her suggestion for drinks, but he knew she’d said something before that. “Sure --- wait who’s together?” he tried to follow what was her eyeline and the pieces fit together without her having to repeat it. “So Carol finally settled.” He remarked good-naturedly. “We should buy Sam a round for that win alone.”

ALEX: Alex eyed the glass of whiskey in Betsy’s hand as she finished off the drink, realizing a bit too late that that was sort of an option here. Getting shit-faced wasn’t necessarily the classiest thing to do, and this was a classy event, so Alex would have to be smart about this. Just enough to drink to dull his senses a bit, but not enough to ruin the party. He let out another laugh at Betsy’s remark, shaking his head, “Well, only the most eligible bachelors are in attendance tonight. Take your pick—“ he gestured to the crowd full of mutants and humans and heroes alike, before signaling to the bartender that he’d like a whiskey as well. Top shelf. Scott could afford it.

WANDA: “Tommy told me a joke,” Wanda smiled as she tried to remember. “It’s spicy water. That’s funny.” In a dumb kind of way, of course. There was a lot of things that Wanda had missed in her childhood that she was now experiencing. She wasn’t any good at dumb humor but it still made her chuckle. “Pietro and I are Jewish. We never celebrated Christmas and the holidays became difficult after we were ten. This is the first season in a long time where I’ve felt warm. Does that make sense?”  Even with holes, it felt secure. “Do you have someone to spend time with?”

SAM ALEXANDER: Sam leaned around Kamala to gawk at the duo before realizing how ridiculous he probably looked and stopped, attempting (horribly) to be a bit more inconspicuous instead. “Holy shit you’re right. When did that happen? Wait do we go talk to th—” He glanced over at the punch bowl the moment Kamala mentioned it, “- no, yeah. You’re right. Punch. Punch is good.”

BETSY: He didn’t order her a drink and Betsy didn’t need him to, so she leaned back against the bar and gave the bartender a nice telepathic push to replace her glass. She thanked him with a smile and took a long sip. “Any of the bachelors? I’d consider a bachelorette as well, but everyone seems nice and coupled up.  That’s how these things always go.” Before, she had been on Warren’s arm. He was tall, blonde and too perfect while Betsy remained a slender shadow by his side. They were on fine terms now, but there were moments when Betsy missed the wholeness of human connection. “And what about you, Alex?”

SAM WILSON: Moving carefully to ensure that no one stepped on his dates dress or knocked her over, white flashed as Sam smiled. “It’s the cat. I tried warning you but I’m scared of him. That Flerken’s going to eat my face.” Goose had taken Fury’s eye. If he had messed with him then Sam was definitely not safe. When Carol released his arm he gave the bartender a good natured smile before ordering the same with a casual “Thanks, man.” It was easy to get distracted looking at Carol. He had spent a lot of time observing her in different lights, from the tired planes of her face after combat to the way the light softened the edges in the morning. She was a marvel and he was honored that he got to work with her, let alone call her a friend. “It’s an annual gala, so that sounds about right. Last time we were all together we were fighting Osborn.” A shadow crossed his face at the thought of Osborn’s escape. But he didn’t want to darken the night. Sam tried to shake off the thought as he raised his glass. “To you, Carol Danvers.”

ALEX: Alex raised an eyebrow curiously at the mention of a bachelorette - he hadn’t even considered the option. Huh. You learn something new every day. “Fair enough,” Alex shrugged, realizing just how right she was. Shit— it was out of the norm to come to these events alone, but at least he wasn’t the only one. But what about him. He had been casually flirting with Tabitha for some time, but ( and perhaps it was the alcohol’s influence ) it still left a sour pit in his stomach to see Lorna in attendance with someone that wasn’t. Their relationship was long over, though. No use dwelling in the past. Just the lonely, shitty present. “Uh, nope. Single and loving it,” he groaned, his tone painfully sarcastic as he raised his glass to Betsy’s - clinking it against the other before taking a large swig of whiskey. His nose wrinkled slightly at the burn as it crept down his throat.

GAMORA: “You agreed. I didn’t.” Gamora shook her head, the pink ombre of her hair moving around her bare shoulders. “Be proud of yourself. You try.” Before she had both admired and disliked that about him. Gamora was impressed by how he threw himself wholeheartedly into things but when it was his initial pursuit of her she hadn’t been impressed. They had come a long way. “Kevin Bacon.” Her tone was serious even though they had gotten into a fight after she learned the truth about that movie. Something had been thrown ( by her -- quill had never been violent ) but they had somehow ended up in his bed lost in an ocean of warm, scratchy sheets. She swayed slightly to the beat, shoulders shaking ever so slightly. It was for him. Gamora’s body felt in this moments where her mind wasn’t her own but that of the Gamora had died. If the last few months had taught her anything it was how to push past it. “Terran food is too salty.” Her nose scrunched before she pointed a finger towards the buffet. “That way.”

CAROL: She turned so she was leaning back against the bar, her drink cradled in her hand. Her nails were painted a simple nude, but her hands were bare of any jewelry save for a thin silver bracelet. It glinted against the dim lights as she crossed one arm over her chest and cast Sam a small smile. "It's also Stark. Annual is a relative term for him." The routine they'd settled into felt more like coming home than Carol had imagined it could --- her brief affairs over the years had burned out faster than they'd begun, mostly due to her attitude, her job, her duties. There were only a few people in the world who knew Carol better than she knew herself, and she couldn't believe she was falling for one of them. The woman in the mirror warned her that she was a bullet ripping through people's lives, leaving dead bodies in her wake, but Carol ignored the voice. Ignored how it told her she'd just leave Sam ruined and broken. He was stronger than her and so much more than she deserved, but she couldn't pull her gaze away from his face. Couldn't get enough of the sound of his voice. They fit too well together, their minds and bodies moving in sync --- it was just too, too good to give up. Smiling behind her glass, she tinked the edge of his softly with her own. "We've been through this before, Sam. Just because I'm the first to hit something doesn't mean I should get praise for it."

BETSY: One shoulder shrugged at his reaction. Her bodycount was high. Betsy had never shied away from the lovers she had taken over the years as their minds and bodies imprinted on her. For someone who felt cold she had craved the fleeting warmth of another. But that was then. Betsy lived in moderation now even if she had nearly finished her second glass. There was a pleasant buzz in her head intensified by the whisper of minds around them. Alex wasn’t terrible company either and fine to look at. “I’m terribly sorry, but I have to remind you that I’m a telepath. And Lorna’s lovely, but you worked as well as Warren and I did. But we don’t need to talk about that. To new, better decisions.” With that her second glass was gone.

REMY: The shop would be shut down for three weeks, they'd said, and tonight was the last night before the New Years holiday that Remy could get in. It'd meant that he'd be late to the Gala and wouldn't be able to escort Lorna in, but for him, there were far more pressing matters. It had given him enough time to pick up the velvet box and drop it off at home, shower and change, and now he was pushing through the thick crowd at the entrance over an hour late. Spotting bright green hair wasn't the toughest quest in the world and he was almost to her just before he saw who she'd attended with. Pulling up short, Remy instinctively resisted the need to turn on his heel and call Lorna later with apologies that he'd gotten stuck in traffic -- but it was a lame excuse and even worse, both of them would know it was a lie. Swallowing his pride and probably a good amount of his dignity, Remy approached with a wry smile towards Erik and a softer one towards Lorna. "Sorry I'm late," he was suddenly too sober for this. "Erik, I didn't think I'd ever get to see you out of your helmet." there was a bit of sarcasm beneath his tone that he couldn't help and so he faced Lorna instead. "Tu es belle chérie" It was quieter and softer. And then, "You too Erik. Nice, I mean." Suddenly he realized that the amount of parents he had to meet and talk to could fit on one hand if he chopped off two fingers -- let alone having to try and charm the least charmable person in the room. "Drinks?" he suggested.

YELENA: Her skin was electric. She always was hyperaware of her body and where it existed spatially but James’ hand on her back had filled her with lightening. “Honestly?” Boredom laced her words. “I’ve been to too many. You smile, you flirt. Maybe show some leg and then you finish the hit. If there’s a fight there’s always at least one thing different about each of these.” Yelena tilted her head to the side. Her long blonde hair had been pushed into a series of cascading finger waves but she kept her fangs hidden behind red lipstick tonight. “I’ll settle with you getting me a drink. пожалуйста, James.”

ALEX: Alex blinked slowly, embarrassed, “Riiight. You know, I should probably be more aware of that or it’s definitely gonna bite me in the ass some day.” He took another sip, finishing his own drink, before mumbling under his breath, “Not that it hasn’t already.” Nodding to the bartender again, Alex set his glass down onto the bartop as the man returned with the same bottle as before, and refilled it. Making note of Betsy’s empty glass as well, the bartender offered to refill hers, unsure of what sort of night the woman wanted to have. Alex, on the other hand, was already nearly finished with his second glass, but rather than accept another refill, he chose to abstain — giving the alcohol a little bit of time to settle in his bloodstream before forcing more into his body. “To new, better decisions,” he held up the now empty glass, nodding at Betsy, the tired grin on his face just beginning to reach his eyes.

QUILL: "Right. One of our six no no topics. Sorry."  he tossed that out with a smile, realizing belatedly that two of those topics were older -- as in an experience he'd had with the Gamora who'd died, and not the one who'd just recently acquired her memories. He forged on, pushing that thought out. "This isn't Terran food," he said pointedly. "This is fancy food. Big, big difference. It was a mistake taking you to Sonic, I see that now." he followed where she was pointing and reached down to weave their fingers together, leading her through the crowd. "Food, bar, maybe the dancefloor after a lot of time spent at the bar. Sound like a plan?"

KATE: Cute. “I got a dog. As in, I stole Clint’s dog.” The situation was more nuanced. They had a non contractual custody agreement that worked well for both. Lucky was the epitome of an emotional support dog and she wished she had him during the nights After when she had sat up all night in a ball on her bed. An elderly man passed her, eyes a little too friendly as they trailed down her form. In Derek Bishop’s court no one had dared do so. Even before her dad was a certified super villain he had just been a mean bastard. Now there was no father she would accept help from and Kate shot the man a glare, knowing it would take .2 seconds to topple him. Even though she hadn’t admitted it aloud, Kate had picked the dress with Julian in mind. She had worn tight and revealing before but wanted something new. The deep plunge in the neckline was softened by the sheer fabric that composed a high neckline and sleeves that formed around her bicep. The slit in the leg was nearly buried by the voluminous skirt but she made sure to flash some calf. Good on her feet, Kate followed through on the turn before steadying herself with one hand on his arm. “Thirteen is my lucky number, so I’m getting close to being satisfied.” Her smile was genuine. “You’re my plus one. Maybe next year. Hey,” she paused, a funny half smile fleeting on her face. “I kind of like you, Julian Keller.”

KAMALA: When Sam started acting like a total loser ( let’s be real, they both were ) Kamala swatted at him discretely. “No idea. We talk but she doesn’t, like, give me life updates.” Maybe Kamala needed to ask her to get coffee soon. The only problem was that Carol was Carol and her face was always recognized. Why would New Jersey high school student Kamala Khan - the face behind Kamala’s Law - be hanging out with an Avenger? Nope. Too weird. Kamala pivoted towards the punchbowl and began to ladle out two cups. “I hope it’s not cherry. I hate cherry.”

JAMES BUCHANAN: James perched against the edge of a barstool, the heel of his shoe hooking around the bottom rung. He couldn't comment much on her opinion of parities seeing as the clearest memory he had of one was from 90 years ago. Anything else was messily strung together pieces of a story in a language he didn't understand and he was tried of trying to translate. Instead, he used what he knew, and that was that he knew the proximity between him and the person behind him, he knew the four exit points beyond the main entrance, and he could clearly see a path mapped out to each of them. Drawing his eyes away from the crowded floor, he eased a smile to soften his features. "You ever long for a quiet night? The booze is free," with that, he indicated two drinks, whatever Yelena wanted, and passed her the glass. "Mostly everyone is too enveloped in their own world to try and talk to you and-" he took a sip and noted the bitter tones that would do nothing to ease his sobriety. "-There's dancing. I used to be really good at that, too."

SAM ALEXANDER: Sam shrugged, understanding, but a bit disappointed - for Kamala’s sake. The Avengers often felt like the untouchables. But did Sam resent them for that? Only a little. He did however, sort of know Tony, and maybe that counted for something? “Hey— I take offense to that. I kinda like cherry,” Sam joked, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth before he graciously accepted a cup from Kamala, “Thanks.” Taking a sip, he furrowed his brow as he pondered the flavor, “Tastes just like, I dunno— punch.”

BETSY: “Sometimes things bite you in the ass. It’s not always unpleasant.” Betsy made no motion to explain. Instead, she just brushed purple waves away from her eyes. Deciding she would allow herself to step out of line, the telepath once again urged the bartender mentally to refill her glass and leave the bottle this time around. Dropping one hand onto Alex’s arm, Betsy used him as leverage to ease herself onto a barstool. The dress was tight and she had to angle her body so that her leg came out of the slip instead of losing circulation. “I’ve been thinking a lot, you know, about life and second chances. What’s something you want to do?” The liquid was swirling in her glass with its dark amber tones. The minds were louder now but the edges of the world were a little ore blurry and gentle. It was a nice reprieve and Betsy rested her chin in her hand.

JESSICA: It felt like she had been attending these things for a hundred years, and while Jess wasn’t sure of her age she knew she wasn’t that old. A part of her mind was at home in sweatpants watching a two year old break out laughing over something that was admittedly not funny. Gerry had been entranced by his mothers skirt, fists balled in the red until she had untangled herself and made it to her Uber. There was no way in hell she was riding her bike in a ballgown. “Carol,” she repeated as she jutted her chin towards the couple. “I think she’s in the process of settling. They’re comfortable, but Sam definitely deserves a round. Carol is rough.” So was Jess and everyone knew it. “You want a beer or are we living a little tonight? It’s not every night I go to a dead mans party with my ex.”

JULIAN: "So no chance on giving him back then?" He asked, though his tone belied his genuine like of Lucky. He'd had one dog growing up, a Great Pyrenees that'd been already twelve by the time he was old enough to learn her name and then she was gone. His parents never got another dog after that. His affinity for Lucky had a lot to do with the pieces of Julian that weren't selfish and narcissistic, but even after a year of being together, Julian still didn't admit to that easily. With a soft smile, he trailed his fingers lightly over Kate's waist, leaning down to whisper softly, "As good as you may look in that dress, Kate, the whole reason we're late is because I like you much better out of it." he straightened and shook his head. "You know, I was going for absolute loathing but I guess I'll take kind of like. I kind of like you too. Now, drinks?"

YELENA: Accepting the drink, Yelena sipped it in silence for a moment. She’d never fit in at parties because she’d never be able to relax and enjoy herself. Instead her back remained ramrod straight despite the fact that her dress did give her some room to be flexible. “I’ve had a lot of quiet nights.” She usually only made it through a handful before an ugly spree of nights out with a high body count. “You danced?” She softened, gaze drifting over the cloud. “I dance too. Ballet. It’s the one thing I’m actually better than Natalia at. I don’t do it enough anymore.” Sorrow settled over her words before she shook it off and cleared her throat. “I’m not built right to be a ballerina. Too short, too curvy.”

ALEX: Alex watched on with dazed fascination as the bartender deposited the bottle in front of Betsy, and the temptation to refill his own glass again was much too strong. But before he could do anything a hand latched onto his arm. Helping Betsy to a seated position now, Alex couldn’t help but stare - at the way the fabric draped over her body, the way the dress hugged her waist just snugly enough to be agonizing, the way her dark purple locks fell past her shoulders - ah, fuck this wasn’t good. ( C’mon Alex, you’re better than this. ) Her question caught him off guard. “I uh—“ ( But are you really? ) “—I dunno, just thinking about being somewhere else right now.”

BETSY: I hate my dress it’s just too tight. Man, maybe I’lll get laid tonight. My tie is choking me. Foreign thoughts invaded her mind but Betsy casually left them slip through like sand falling through an hourglass. It took her a moment to remember that she was in engaged in conversation with someone and his gaze was trailing over what she had to offer. Which was, admittedly, a lot. As Kwannon Betsy had existed with miles of legs and bare skin. In that moment, she missed it. She didn’t want to put her armor back on. “If that place isn’t your brothers moon home, I wouldn’t mind an invitation.”

CLINT: Clint had already redirected his attention away from the pair, settling his gaze on the array of liquor bottles that lined the shelves behind the bartender. He'd done what any sane man would do and had started at home, lining up the empty beer cans on his windowsill and slingshotting them with a rubber band and paperclip until his cab had come. It had actually been Jess's cab and thank god for that, considering he was pretty sure his phone was dead and stuffed between his couch cushions. "You think I'd come to a Stark party and not abuse the open bar?" he actually had no plans to over drink tonight, already regretting the hangover he'd have in the morning. "Should we send four shots down to them?"

JAMES BUCHANAN: James wanted to comment that his version of a quiet night was probably different than what she'd been thinking, but he instead took another sip of his drink and slipped into the second half of the conversation easily. "At least an approximation of a dance." he said with a small smile. "Nothing too crazy, but I hated being holed up inside. You could feel the tension in the air with the looming war and no one wanted to waste any quiet moments they had. So I learned to dance, at least well enough that I didn't step on any toes." A few weeks ago, it had been tiresome and difficult to talk about a life that felt more like a shadow than a memory. The person he'd been almost a century ago had died -- and yet, if James focused a little, he could still feel the buzz of budding adulthood - the last summer he spent in New York before enlisting. It was the last time he remembered being James Buchanan Barnes and not the Winter Soldier, and the more he talked about it, the more the grief grew. And yet he still spoke of his past to the only person who wouldn't pity him - and he was so ever grateful for that. "But you enjoy it, don't you?" he asked, because attempting to disagree with her was usually fruitless. "There is a studio in the city."

PIETRO: In all honesty the last thing he wanted to be doing was attending this damn event — not with a baby due any day now and precious sleep to be salvaging. Still, he’d put the suit on and agreed to escorting his beautiful girlfriend and mother of his child to be to the floor.  Pietro carefully tucked one of her strawberry curls that had gone astray back into place and dropped his hand to the small of Crystalia’s back. At the mention of wanda his blue eyes cast a look around the room “she will be — i don’t see her yet. any one from your side expected?”

STEVE: Steve cracked a smile a sipped his champagne. “I guess in this case, normal’s subjective.” he said. “But I think the general population might agree with me that it’d be nice if this party ended without aliens falling out of the sky.” as he spoke, he slowly walked toward a little table with food. he wasn’t overly familiar with the display of hor’dourves but when he saw a little cone of french fries he put them on the plate and passed it to her. “what do you think of this Krakoa thing?” he asked.

GAMORA: There was a range of we’re cautious around these topics that eventually escalated to the six he referred to. Thanos - the Titan who had dominated her life - didn’t fall on either. How funny it was that the giant things in Gamora’s life, the ones that made her feel the most stripped down and vulnerable, were the ones she could share. Kevin Bacon, Twinkies and the other four topics remained off-limits. She began to drift towards the buffet, neck inclining slightly in acknowledgement. “The food that’s not related to the fast blue Rocket creature.” Hedgehog? It was close. There were some foods that Gamora liked. She liked the insides of the Oreo cookies, a trail of black cookies sucked dry left in her wake. “Bar dependent, yes. I may pass over the food.” Again, salt. On the warship the Children of Thanos had drank together, but Gamora had never been welcome in the Black Order. She took her bottle in the back of the room with boots propped up on the table.

JESSICA: “I knew you’d come to a Stark party and abuse the bar. I have Uber pulled up on my phone for the moment I have to load your ass into a car.” At least, that’s how it had been before. Before: when they were actually dating. They were on a team and it was simple. No baby, way less time learned trauma. A lot of passionate sex, though. That had been a plus. Jess couldn’t help but laugh as she gestured for the bartender to do just that. She sent them down the bar along with an air kiss in case her friend chose to look over. Bare arms braced against the bar, Jess’ eyes trailed down the fancy laminated lists of drinks. “I’ll have the I am Iron Man,” her nose scrunched. “Terrible name.”

KATE: “I’d give you back before Lucky. That’s my main man.” Even though he was Clint’s dog, her mentor understood. Kate needed Lucky and they all made it work. Her father had been strict about no pets. No cats, no dogs, no turtles. Not even a goldfish. Still, Clint would come for the dog eventually. He always did, and then her apartment was silent once more without clicking nails and an obnoxiously loud pant. Kate had never liked sleeping alone. Her mother had been too willing to sit on her daughter’s bed in the middle of the night, Kate never considering that maybe Eleanor didn’t want to be in her own next to her husband. She had grown out of it only to become afraid of the dark once more years later. The warmth of Lucky’s body as he dominated her bed made it a little easier to close her eyes, sleep settling over her for twice as long as it would otherwise. Her hair - originally an updo - was a victim of their little tryst and had been shoved into ( not so ) purposefully messy waves. She turned to face him, hand skating over his suit sleeve as she smiled. “Play your cards the right way and you may get to again. While I debate if you’re absolute loathing worth, I would love a drink that’s not Clint’s cheap lukewarm beer.”

LORNA: It wasn’t often that her boyfriend and father occupied the same space. Which was funny, really, as Remy was all but living with her in the Monarchy of M when she wasn’t in the Boneyard. Magneto, as a leader, was hard to pin down. Erik, as a father, had been distant on a good day. They made concerted effort now and their tea times were spent just the two of them or with Dawn playing on the floor. Lorna had never had a father and now she was reluctant to share him. He had been cordial with Marcos when they had met, even though she already had a screaming bundle of blankets at that point. He had never been sold but he hadn’t been rude. Lorna didn’t want to get into what it would be like if Erik and Remy clashed, so she kept them apart as casually as possible. After Remy addressed her father and Erik responded, Lorna rose on her toes to press a kiss to Magneto’s stubble lined cheek. “I’ll see you for tea tomorrow, father.” Even though their evening had been pleasant, Lorna was still quick as she and Remy made their retreat. “I always want drinks. My fatal flaw. Also, hey. You like nice.”

CRYSTALIA: She liked being doted on. Could you blame her? Pietro was tall and handsome. An asshole, sure, but she wasn’t without her own moments. She liked when people looked them and did a decent job ignoring the fact that at least some percentage was because of her distended stomach and their strange situation. “You’ve met my family.” She turned her head so her her cheek brushed his hand before it fell to her back. “They veer from antisocial to arrogant and stuck-up.” Crystal adored them but would be remiss to ignore their faults. The Inhumans had made a lot of mistakes over the years but Crystalia was determined to not let the child in her stomach count as one. There was a slight pain in her stomach off to the side, not unlike the one earlier when she had been sewn into her dress. One hand moved to rest on the side, almost like she could somehow figure out the source from the simple gesture. “At least these parties have beverages. Not that I can imbibe, but still.”

QUILL: "No, but it comes out fast and that's where the similarities end." It'd been a last minute stop, mainly for him, after he'd convinced Gamora to go on a long drive up the coast. It'd been too long since he'd seen it either, and he missed the salty, briny air. Fast food was a blow to the evening, but man did they have great tater tots. "Do you know what happens to people if they drink on an empty stomach?" he grumbled around a bite of food he didn't have a name for. He offered her some of it with his free hand. "Sure you don't wanna be a little adventurous?"

CLINT: "Awh Jess," he started, his tone cloying. "You do care." he bumped shoulders with her gently as they both peered over the bar card and he suppressed a laugh at the name and her opinion of it. "I'll take a Capscicle and a shot of Jack on the side." He twisted slightly to face Jess as they both waited, pulling out a few bills and dropping them in the tip jar as he did so. "So. It's been a long time since we've attend one of these together, yeah?"

NATASHA: It only took a smile and a few words for Natasha to excuse them both from Tony’s company before she followed her husband to the table that was steaming with food. “Aliens were 2012. 2017 and 2018 as well, if we’re keeping track. This year was political espionage.” A return to Natasha’s roots, really. She took the fries gratefully, the pit of her stomach warming at the fact that they knew each other so effortlessly. It had taken years to get there but their friendship and mutual respect had strengthened into the strongest bond she had known. Popping one in her mouth, red lips blew a tiny circle at the heat. “I think any kind of new government just popping up and demanding sovereignty is dangerous.” Her voice remained upbeat and neutral in case someone was listening. “I was dead a year. In the time it took me to come back they already had the world by its balls. I don’t love that.”

JULIAN: He clicked his tongue at that, the corner of his mouth quirking into a half smile. "Careful Bishop, with words like that Sofia may just get her chance." One girl he'd had an on again, off again flirtation with in the months prior to sleeping with Lana that had never really died down -- even if it went into a more platonic territory now. Still, he joked about it with no real seriousness. "You truly put up with a lot, Katie," he said as he indicated the bar with a tilt of his head. "A few drinks and a few bad decisions later and this might actually turn out to be a true Stark party."

LANA: “Duh. He’s a baby.” She rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like Lana had any real experience with babies. Her mom hated them and had been very vocal about the fact that she had been thrilled when Lana no longer required her diaper changed. Taking both of his hands, Lana squeezed the metal one. “Part cyborg, part hunk, part asshole. It’s fine that you live with your parents. I very obviously don’t want to live with mine, but I don’t know.. You got this family that adores you and parents that call you *son*. I can’t help but be a little jealous.” Lana released him, watching as he extended his arms. “Well, I haven’t been to any. Definitely not my scene.”

REMY: "You do know one day I'll probably have to have a full conversation with him, non?" Remy asked as they weaved through the crowd towards an unoccupied space at the bar. It was filling up quick with some parties milling around, as the rest of the room began to get claustrophobic from the amount of people occupying it. "How does he know this many people?" he wondered aloud as they hit the wooden bar top and he ordered simply; just a double shot of rum, neat. Turning, he leaned forward just enough to kiss the corner of Lorna's mouth, the shadow of a smile on his lips. "Merci," he responded just as the drinks hit the bar. "You can't keep your father hidden away forever." And back to the topic at hand.

CABLE: "Yeah well, I might not remember being one, but I can say for sure I didn't cry half as much." he could hear the petulance in his voice, but there was no real honesty behind it. He loved that weird little hellspawn that was both his full brother and his half brother simultaneously. Nate looked down to where she was holding his hands in hers and he flicked his gaze up just as she started speaking. "Not full hunk? It's the eye, isn't it? Always throws 'em." It was tough to be serious in a room full of patrons getting rapidly more intoxicated and the music had begun to change to accommodate --- but Nate tried to sober up the humor and he squeezed her hand back. "It's weird Lana -- I had to accept this guy who dipped out on me as a baby and a mom who looked like the woman who raised me down to the last detail. I'm not ungrateful, and I love them both, but sometimes you have to find family, you know?"

SAM WILSON: There were parts of him that didn’t know how to do this. This: a healthy, functioning relationship pressed in between the layers of hate and grime that being a hero came with. Sure, Sam had girlfriends before. There was the one from high school, the one when he first enlisted. After Riley, however, he hadn’t found it in himself to invest in another person. Riley had been his brother in every sense of the word and in his absence Sam had decided the only thing he could do was carve out spaces for himself to heal. It had been a long time since then. His morality and humanity had weighed heavily on his mind since he picked up the shield. Where was the balance? Being around Carol had helped him realize that it feasible to be both hero and human. He still lived his life, the morning runs and the evenings spent reading to try and make sure both his mind and body were being worked out. It was just a little more full now. There was someone to bounce ideas off of when he was sipping his coffee at the table. Sometimes he’d hear water running from a tap he hadn’t turned on and smile a gap toothed smile to himself. It was nice to not be alone. “Relative is all Stark is, but everyone likes the circus.” Tony had slowed down some ever since he had been resurrected. It made sense with the kid and the wife and the expensive place Upstate. Body against hers, Sam stood with arm propped up on the bar so his chest was aligned with Carol’s profile. He was close enough to touch her, and he did. It was little gestures, like his fingers brushing hers as he passed off a cup or a chaste kiss to the side of her temple. “We’ll compromise. It’s all me next time.” The bartender then slid them four shots and he caught the end of Jessica Drew’s air kiss. “A gift from your friend and Barton. Think they put something in it?”

YELENA: She hated that what he was saying made sense. That it was relatable, almost. There had been no looming war for Yelena. There was always a war, or at least a quiet approximation of one that they were enlisted to fight in again and again, soldiers for the highest bidders. Her dancing was a commodity too, even if she tried to lose herself in the tempo and pretend that it was hers alone. “You speak well.” Yelena’s voice was quiet. Not reverent, exactly, or entranced but something that danced on the edges. Of course, all spells are meant to be broken and Yelena had never had interest in witchcraft. Her jaw feathered before she took a measured sip from her glass. “Do you know why I love ballet? It’s ugly. Everyone sees it as so beautiful, so graceful. Ballerinas are tasked with slamming their bodies on the stage and creating the illusion that it’s soundless.” It wasn’t. The ballerina heard the dull thuds the music hid. They felt the shockwaves go up their ankles and they ignored it. “It makes your feet bleed when you go on pointe, but girls love the pretty pink slippers. It’s so ugly and so beautiful. That’s what they wanted from us. Look at Natalia,” she jutted her chin towards her sister. “So beautiful and she did ugly, ugly things.” Her little monologue was over. Yelena returned to her drink. “Нет. Like I said, I’m not built right. Have you seen a ballerina? Tall and thin. They want long legs. I wasn’t built to dance.”

GAMORA: “--I don’t think I like what you are saying.” Gamora shook her head. There was one thing she would always have over the Gamora who died. Any memory on Earth was hers and hers alone. Gamora and Quill had never made it there together, her former self only ever hearing about the place her love had grown up on before being kidnapped. It was Gamora who got to experience this for the first time and she carried the win like a small flame in her chest. “If they’re strong, nothing.” A green shoulder shrugged. It was a testament to the gladiator like environment she grew up in. You knew your limits. You didn’t mess up. Still, she turned a critical gaze towards the table before pointing at one item. “What is that?”

JESSICA: She scoffed. “Yeah, well, having a kid absolutely ruined me.” Maternal instincts and shit. As his shoulder connected with hers Jessica willingly let the momentum sway her to the side. “Capsicle, really? I thought the Hulk Smash was tempting.” That was a joke. Not one bone in her body was interested in Jagermeister and she had quit Red Bull around the time she had gotten pregnant. His question took a moment to mull over, one hand running through her hair as she thought. “Four? Five? It was pre Gerry, definitely. I don’t know, Barton, you never seemed short of company.”

KATE: She was tapping one had against the bar casually, shoulders relaxed and body loose. “So we threaten each other with exes now? You’ll have to give me a minute to find my list.” Another joke. She had no problem returning barbs if the mood was right. Kate had grown up with parents in a loveless relationship. They had never laughed, never joked. It was suffocating. “I’ve had a lifetime to practice. And never, I mean ever, call me Katie. Only person who does is Clint and I’m liable to kill him any day for it.” It had been Katherine at home. Kate everywhere else. Katie had never really fit, but Clint was like an older brother and it had slid on like a glove she pretended to hate. “I skip these sometimes. I’m technically an Avenger and my partner actually is one but they all blur together. So,  I’ll take whatever you’re having.”

LORNA: “One day that’s not today.” Lorna tapped Remy’s arm with one black painted finger. She thrived in busy, full places. The amount of metal in the room made her feel charged. It was tempting to hold a hand out towards the people she passed and let their jewelry rattle a little bit on their arms. “Money means you know everyone. Or, everyone wants to know you.’ She shrugged. Lorna had never really cared about wealth. There were other ways to be powerful and for a long time all she had to rely on was her own magnetism. Lorna turned her head to meet Remy’s mouth but was left with only the ghost of his kiss. A small smirk crossed her lips instead. “You can’t hide Magneto. He’s pride is too big. It doesn’t fit anywhere. And I’m not keeping him under lock and key, Remy. You could march into the Monarchy if you wanted and demand a session. I just don’t want him to come in the way of us. He’s... messy.”

CAROL: She couldn't agree more. Carol hated confined spaces and large gatherings -- the discombobulation of panicked civilians fleeing one enemy or another always made her heart race, even after years of training. Yet she attended every single Stark party, hell bent on drinking his bar under the table and not worrying about where the exits were. Even though she knew parties like this could end in disaster, she couldn't step away from the role she wanted to play: a normal girl attending a normal party with her normal boyfriend. But who was she kidding -- neither of them were, even if they were playing dress up for the night. "I'll hold you to that, Wilson." Carol said with a hint of a smile, turning her head just in time to intercept the kiss for something a little more public and a little more out of their present comfort zone. Turning again, she grabbed for one of the shot glasses. "Knowing Jess, she just made sure it was a liquor I couldn't stand cause she loves to see me pucker." She held the shot up. "She really wants to see me tango too, apparently."

JAMES BUCHANAN: That made him laugh, though it was short lived and not at her expense. He appreciated the way Yelena spoke - bluntly and without hesitation. Too many people tip toed around him, worried he might lose it or break down, when in reality, he just wanted people to either say what they meant or not speak at all. "I've never been to a show," he began "Sounds a lot like sacrifice for the sake of entertainment, but what would I know." he truly didn't because he didn't understand why anyone would willingly sacrifice their bodies for the sake of dance. But then again, he willingly charged headfirst into a war he only thought they'd win. And they'd had - but at whose expense? "Also sounds exactly like what I'd expect from the Red Room." Hidden ugliness beneath layers and layers of beauty. It made them deadly and efficient. "Does that mean you can't then, or just don't want to?" he wasn't sure why he was pressing the issue, but it came anyway.

LANA: He was arrogant but it was charming. Lana couldn’t help but lean into him. She had screamed. She knew that much. She had screamed her head off until her mother had debated blowing her up. If she had tried it hadn’t worked. “That’s one more difference between us. I have great lungs now.” Not that Lana was the yelling type anymore. She had been more combative if anything. “No, no. I’m not going to tell you what it is. You’ll have to keep guessing. I’ll give a hint: I like the eye.” The sentence was punctuated with a wink. Lana was underage and Nate didn’t drink. Maybe before she would have copped a shot from someone ( Julian Keller ) but  she was feeling inspired on starting the new year off on a good start, so she nursed a Sprite instead. “Scott, Jean and Rachel now. Is that your found family?” She didn’t want to sound ungrateful. She knew his situation was hard. The curl of jealousy and longing remained in her gut though. Lori was quick to yell and her hand came closely after. She had exploited and degraded and ruined the notion that Lana could have a mother. So she had found a family. She found friends. Why wasn’t that enough to keep her content?

QUILL: He just chuckled around another bite of food, quickly filling up a plate as he went down the table. "You base a lot on strength but you haven't tried to go down Tony's bar card like it’s a frat game." he turned just as she pointed towards something that he didn't recognize. "You know, probably has a name I can't pronounce. What's the worst that can happen if you give it a go?" Peter was only egging her on out of adoration and love; their relationship having moved into a more comfortable place in the past few months. He kept trying to introduce her to things they missed out on the first time and he was determined not to waste time this go around.

CLINT: "The Hulk Smash sounds like a hangover from hell and I have work in the morning." That was half a lie. He promised Kate he'd take Lucky around the block and get his ass curtain trimmed in the morning, which meant he'd have to hop skippity skip on over to her side of the tracks and take him for half the day. Which meant watered down mixed drinks that looked like more food coloring than alcohol were his forte tonight. "Well Pop always told me never to show up alone or you'd get bullied at the door." Which was neither true nor relevant, considering what memories he did have of his dad were shit at best. "Cheers," he said, holding up his glass.

SAM WILSON: One of the most memorable Avengers parties that Sam could think of had been all the way back in 2015, the group gathering together only for Ultron to smash through the window. They had eventually dealt with the problem like they always did. It didn’t change the fact that Sam had increasing concerns about if they could ever just unwind for a night. Dating the woman who was powered by an Infinity Stone and could smash through ships helped ease some of his nerves while the others remained. It wasn’t up to Carol to save the day even when she thought it was. It wasn’t worth losing her over. She was an incredibly strong woman who could make her own choices and he respected her, but hero colleagues needed to check one another. The intercepted kiss meant that she just got another quick one before Sam grabbed one of the shots. His other arm snaked around Carol’s waist to pull her close. “You may not know it, Cap, but the community center in Harlem offered dance classes. Now, my mama was really big into being involved. Pop got killed when I was nine and she went shortly after. Kept taking my siblings to the center for as long as I could and I got a mean tango as compensation for the tragedy.” He had been taught by that same community to be glib. Black men didn’t cry. Not even when they were boys.

TOMMY: Tommy wasn’t very into the special events that involved a suit and a tie—in fact most times he avoided the tie all together. Tonight was a little different in the fact that he had a date, one that he hadn’t exactly been sporting around. Not for any reason outside of just...not really leaving either of their respective rooms. Still, it was kind of nice to get out, see his friends, stretch his legs. As he surveyed the room he noticed Crystalia looked like she was about to pop any second—how someone so little could carry that baby... “ten bucks says she delivers that kid before the night’s done.” he said turning to James, a pile of snacks on the platter he’d just snagged.

YELENA: She didn’t laugh with him, but it didn’t make her frown either. Instead, dark lips remained flat over the rim of her glass. She exhaled slightly before taking a sip, the cup finding a home on the bar without much thought. “Maybe we could go.” Yelena tossed out, a rare instance where her words made it out before her mind approved them. Yelena had learned to take her time in conversations. Some liked to shoot retorts back quickly but she moved slower. The last thing she needed was to have to shoot someone for taking something the wrong way and getting upset. Maybe we could go sounded simple but was anything but. Yelena wasn’t often in public with people she closely associated with ( why put a target on their back? ) and she had been on random dates for the hell of it but didn’t put much effort into it. She never called back after, just grabbed her shoes and slipped out. “They have good ballet in New York, supposedly. The Lincoln Center. Probably not as good as the Bolshi Ballet.” Maybe one day Yelena would explain to him why the sacrifice was worth it. The layer of deception satisfied the sadist in her but the beauty sated her unspoken desires. It felt good to have one singular thing in her life that brought other people joy, even if it had been tainted like everything else. “The Red Room can иди нахуй сама.” She scoffed as Yelena reclaimed her drink. “I can, but there’s no career in it. If I dance it’s by myself and I can only do so much. I can’t lift myself, can I?”

GAMORA: “You know I don’t know what a frat is,” Gamora muttered under her breath. She didn’t point it out every time a reference went over her head ( it, at a certain point, had become embarrassing to reflect on how little she knew about the jokes that had lingered in the mind of quill for three decades ) and instead rolled her eyes. The evening had her feeling loose though, a little lighter. The world could have been ending outside but they were in a bubble of champagne ( she knew what that was -- it fizzed on your tongue and made it dance ) and a privilege she had never acquainted herself with. Gamora had just picked up the small green item of food and observed the way they shade differed from the fingers that held it. There was a moment she lost herself and her mind went back. Not to Thanos. To before. Her family had never been rich. They had never known opulence or expensive dresses that somehow managed to cling to your skin without becoming sticky. They would never know what it was like and Gamora had never felt more like an alien who had been shoved off the spaceship and into a whole different world. She took a careful bite that severed the food in half before wordlessly offering him the other part. “I hated it here, Peter.” Gamora’s voice was quiet. “But I loved you, so I stayed. Even when I couldn’t remember I never talked myself into leaving. I’m glad. I’m glad for this. I’m glad for you.”

JESSICA: The Hulk Smash sounded like something you’d drink at a frat party before someone took a video of you getting your head shaved while shit faced. Not that Jess had ever actually attended a frat party, or went to college. Minor details. “Oh, so you have a job now?” The reply was glib. He had a more solid gig than her at this point, motherhood excluded. In reality she was happy for his spot with the West Coast Avengers. Some stability never hurt. Carol had told her multiple times she could rejoin the Avengers but every time she brushed it off with the reassurance that she was happier on the reserves, happier getting her faced smashed into the NYC pavement on her own time. “Nice. My pop just taught me that the best way to deal with your problems was to vanish into thin air.” Jess held up her glass as well, the clinking of glass nearly lost in the din of the party before she took a sip. “---Jesus, that tastes like ass. Are they using rocket fuel?”