#i used to make mug cookie a lot. with frosting & then i would stir it into like a cake pop consistency

[fruitsclipper]

we dont have any ice cream sandwich in the house But i remember i can make 1minute cookie in mug and then like make icecream cookie mush. or i can just eat ice cream with no cookie

[shemarmooresfedora]

Sugary Sweet Apologies

Summary: You and Reid never really got along but when he saves your life, you decide to be the bigger person and thank him and hopefully start over. Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Content/Warnings: light to mild angst with fluffy ending, swearing, spencer reid being an annoying bitch, brief mentions of case stuff (if you watch cm, you should be fine)

A/N: this is for @willowrose99 ‘s 1 year anniversary on tumblr writing challenge!! congrats! i literally wrote and edited this whole thing in less than one day because i got so excited, anyways i hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 1.8k

“Reid and Y/L/N, go to David Whitney’s house. He was the therapist of two of the three victims. He could have some insight into the victimology and know of any overlap between them. He has no criminal record of past aggressive behavior but we can’t rule him out as a suspect entirely,” Hotch stated.

“Hotch, you stuck me with her yesterday for the geographical profiling. Send Prentiss with her instead,” Spencer whined.

“I don’t mind going with Y/L/N. She is a great partner in the field,” Emily glared at Spencer.

“No. Reid, go with Y/L/N or be taken off this case. I’m a unit chief, not an elementary school teacher. I don’t have time for temper tantrums,” Hotch chided.

“Fine,” Spencer grumbled as you grabbed the keys to an SUV.

You don’t know what it was but ever since you started at the BAU four months ago, Spencer had never liked you which resulted in you disliking him as well. Everyone else on the team was super friendly and welcoming but Reid always was jabbing snarky remarks your way like “I don’t have time to explain it to you” or “This was in the FBI handbook. God, you need more training.”

Luckily, the others were quick to defend you. Once Garcia even heard him snip at you over the phone and as soon as you all got off the elevator after the case, Reid was being dragged by his ear into Garcia’s lair with him going “ow ow ow” behind her. So, you didn’t really pay much mind to him because you could deal with one annoying know-it-all to have such an amazing job with great coworkers minus the one.

“Look, I’m not happy about this either,” you said as you climbed into the driver’s side of the SUV, “But at least I’m not being a whiny bitch about it and being rude to the other person’s face.”

“Oh wow, I’m so sorry that I hurt your feelings,” Spencer mocked.

“Fuck you, Reid,” you shook your head.

-

David Whitney was on edge the second you arrived and showed him your badges. He was bouncing his leg up and down, he couldn’t sit still, and he kept avoiding eye contact.

He knew way too much about the other victim that wasn’t even one of his clients but you didn’t have anything solid on him. His house seemed very neat so you doubted he kept anything incriminating here. Organized offenders usually have a secondary location. So, you decided to push his buttons a little.

“I mean blitz attacks, leaving the bodies on the side of dirt roads,” you combed through the crime scene photos, “This guy was a real coward.”

Spencer picked up on what you were trying to do and his eyes widened, he was subtly shaking his head and mouthing “no”.

“Excuse me?” David asked.

“Well, I’m just saying a real man wouldn’t cower in the bushes and blindside a woman. He must not be very strong,” you stated, “He probably can’t even get it up.”

Before you even had time to react, David pulled out a switchblade knife from inside the couch cushions and put you in a chokehold, pressing the cool metal up to your throat. You closed your eyes tightly.

“David, you don’t have to do this,” Spencer stood with his gun pointed at you both.

“This bitch insulted me,” he snarled.

“She insults me too. That doesn’t make you any less of a man,” Spencer spoke carefully, “Just put the knife down and I’ll escort you out.”

David sighed, dropping the knife to the floor and releasing you.

Spencer put David in handcuffs and walked him outside as reinforcements came running in.

“Are you okay, Y/L/N?” Hotch asked.

“Yep, a little shaken up but fine. Thank you,” you stood.

“Let’s get you to the medics,” Morgan grabbed your arm to support you as you walked over to the ambulance.

Spencer never checked on you.

-

You knew your decision in the field was a little rash and you wanted to thank Spencer for essentially saving your life.

However, there was no way in hell you could verbally get out an apology while staring at his smug face, but you could bake. You settled on a note tucked inside a tupperware container of your Grandma’s special recipe of chocolate chip cookies. It was a good peace offering, maybe even a chance to start fresh.

During your lunch break, you took the tupperware from your desk drawer and approached the break room where Reid had entered about 5 minutes ago.

“I’m just saying I could not have been more clear in my message to her that it was too dangerous but of course, Y/L/N didn’t listen cause Y/L/N is going to do whatever she feels like,” Spencer stirred his coffee.

No one had noticed you standing in the doorway yet.

“Reid, you’ve got to be nicer to her. She earned her spot here just like the rest of us,” Emily defended you.

“Did she though? How much do we really know about her? She couldn’t even tell me how many pages the FBI protocol manual was,” Spencer said.

“That’s not a normal thing people know,” Morgan retorted.

“Well, I’m just saying the team was perfectly fine before her and it would probably be better off if she left,” Reid finished.

Garcia looked up from her yogurt to see you standing there, “Oh, Y/N”.

Spencer turned around in his chair as you angrily stormed up to him.

“Here’s your cookies, asshole,” you seethed, grabbing the note from inside and crumpling it up into a little ball and tossing it into the trash.

“Y/N!” Emily called after you but you were already gone.

The whole team glared at Spencer and picked up their lunches, leaving him alone at the table.

Spencer retrieved the balled up paper from the trash, having to fish through Rossi’s week old pasta and Anderson’s half eaten tuna fish sandwich.

Dear Reid,

Thank you for saving my life, I guess. These are my Grandma’s secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies so I hope you enjoy. I think we got off on the wrong foot and I would like to start over. I think cases would be a lot less miserable for everyone if we got along.

Thanks again,

Y/L/N

Spencer, you’re such an idiot, he thought to himself.

You never came back after your lunch break ended and Derek made Spencer go tell Hotch why it’s his fault you were missing the rest of the day.

He tried to call you multiple times but they always rang out before going to voicemail.

Spencer hesitantly knocked on Penelope’s door at the end of the day.

“Is she okay?” he asked softly.

“You don’t get to ask that as the person who hurt her in the first place. Also, she told me to tell you that don’t you dare go to her apartment to ‘check on her’. I’m headed over there myself actually,” Penelope collected her things and shut off her monitors.

“Will you at least tell her I’m really sorry?” Spencer followed her to the elevator.

“Absolutely not. I’m not doing any apologizing on your behalf,” Penelope huffed as the elevators shut.

-

You came in the next morning, keeping your head down. You grabbed a pen from your cup holder and the first folder on your stack before getting to work.

You were on the second page of the file when your clean, empty tupperware was placed in front of you plus another baking dish with aluminum foil over the top.

You glanced up to see Spencer guiltily looking down at you and you returned your eyes back to the file.

“I-I made you cinnamon rolls,” Spencer broke the silence.

“Are they poisoned?” you asked, not sparing him another glance.

“No, they’re not poisoned,” he assured you.

“I’m just saying how can I trust you as you have made it very apparent you would like me off this team.”

“I didn’t mean that,” Spencer was quick to reply.

“Then why the hell did you say it, Reid?” you slammed your pen down.

You grabbed your empty coffee mug and briskly walked to the break room but unfortunately, Spencer was right behind you.

“I didn’t eat any of your cookies by the way. Not that I didn’t want to but I felt like I didn’t deserve them so I handed them out to everyone else.”

“Oh how kind, taking credit for my work,” you tried to close the door in his face.

“I told them that they were from you,” Spencer insisted.

You rolled your eyes as Spencer grabbed the coffee pot before you could get to it, pouring your mug of coffee for you.

“What do you want from me, Reid?” you asked defeatedly.

“I want you to try a cinnamon roll and let me explain.”

“Fine but only because I didn’t have breakfast yet and I want to critique your baking skills,” you huffed, walking back to your desk.

Spencer gingerly placed one of the sticky frosting-coated rolls on a napkin and pushed it towards you. You tentatively bit into it. Damn it, it was actually delicious.

“It’s okay,” you understated.

You knew Spencer hardly ever used his kitchen let alone be up baking all night. He even chose a recipe that required more time and effort because the yeast dough would have to rise for a few hours.

“That’s good. The first batch didn’t come out as great...or the second,” he smiled softly.

“Well, the floor is all yours, Reid. Please explain to me why you talk shit about me to my co-workers when I’m in the other room,” you leaned back in your chair and crossed your arms.

Spencer muttered something incoherent.

“I have to hear the apology, you know,” you said, enjoying watching him uncomfortable.

“You’re intimidating to me because you’re intelligent, beautiful, and courageous. I think I was a little jealous that my spotlight as the ‘kid’ of the BAU was coming to an end so I said some harsh, completely untrue things and I’m sincerely sorry.”

“Oh my god,” you smirked, “Hotch was right, you are an elementary school kid.”

“In what way?” he curiously asked.

“You like me like like like me. You don’t know how to talk to the girl so you pull her pigtails on the playground,” you giggled.

“I take it back. You’re a horrible profiler,” Spencer was getting up from his seat, completely flustered.

“Awww,” you were laughing at Spencer’s bright red face as he went to go to the break room to fill his coffee mug.

When he got back to his desk, a sticky note was placed front and center.

In typical elementary school fashion…

Will you go get coffee with me?

Check:

Yes

or

No

Spencer smiled before picking up his pen and checking one of the boxes, crumpling the sticky note up into a ball and throwing it over to your desk.

“Good choice. See you Saturday at 9 at the cafe down the street,” you grinned.

“It’s a date,” he smiled.

[sw124]

BonelyHearts Reader Insert4

{Female!ReaderXSkeleton household}

Camping! Pt.3

[Warning: I’m gonna be descriptive with the food so please eat something before you read this. No theirs nothing graphic, its just I’m describing the process of cooking some food, sorry if it makes you hungry]

You could’ve sworn that the trip wouldn’t be that long, guess you were wrong. Well never the less it was time to start dinner, before the trip even started you had volunteered to do ‘dinner’ on the camping trip while the others did ‘breakfast’. It was only four in the afternoon but dinner prep was gonna take a little bit plus you had to set up dessert too. If you started now you’d have it done in less then forty minutes, well no time to waist...especially with these boys.

You got out a few pots, two larger ones an one smaller one, one for boiling water, another to make the sauce and lastly the third was to collect the water. It was expensive but you bought two small propane burners, after the camping trip you can gift one out to a friend and keep the other for when you’d make Hotpot dishes for winter.

You filled the first pot with water, bottled water to be exact. Then put that on the first burner, you turned it on and set it to high, you added a touch some olive oil into the water and let it sit. Now on to the sauce, you reached into the cooler and pulled out a two large cartons of heavy whipping cream, a container of grated Parmesan cheese, a stick of butter, garlic paste in a squeeze tube, chopped parsley in a small ziplock and lastly the bag of mixed veggies. Zucchini, asparagus, onions, mushrooms, yellow squash and lastly carrots.

In the pot you threw in the stick of butter and a dollop of garlic paste, you put the pot on the other burner and melted the butter with the garlic, you threw in the veggies when the butter had just melted. You waited till the veggies were cooked throughly, mostly caramelizing the onions and mushrooms. Once that was done you added in the heavy whipping cream an Parmesan an started stirring. After you let that set you checked on the water, it was at a full boil now-

.....

“Boss I thought I told you I was handling dinner, either you go sit by the fire and wait or go for a walk.” You growled.

The one thing you hated was Boss leaning over you while you cooked, he knew you were preparing a pasta dish an by the law that is Boss he has to supervise you...not this time.

“I need to make sure your not going to add anything...unessesary to the dish.” He countered.

You groaned under your breath, you wanted this to be a bit of a surprise but of course that was wishful thinking....you shook your head and continued. Grabbing two boxes of spaghetti you poured them into the pot.

......

You looked up to find that Boss wasn’t alone, all of the skeletons were now crowding around the kitchen tent, intently watching you cook. You wondered if they were hungry and was planning to offer something to tide them over, that thought passed when you saw the remnants of chip crumbs on some of their clothing.

“Can I help you boys?” Your voice going mono.

“We’re just watching, gotta do something to ‘pasta’ time way, ya know?” Said Sans, earning a glare from half of the group.

Ash and Poplar strategical placed themselves near you, Poplar blocking Boss and his...needling gaze. Everyone else was just watching quietly, well Nox made a comment or two about the sauce bubbling but that was ok, he even reminded you about the parsley. It was also nice to have Russ help you strain out the water when the noodles were done.

“Ok, everything is just about ready. You boys get your bowls an I’ll start plating ok?”

The boys did as told, it was kinda cute seeing them all shuffle to get their bowls together. You had your bowl there along with your fork, Red got back first and you first filled his bowl partly with the noodles before ladling on the sauce...well it’s as more of a soup but you called it sauce. You make sure the noodles were half submerged. You repeated this until all ten skeletons had their portion, you filled your bowl next before joining them at the picnic table.

“Ok boys, lets dig in!” You announced.

You didn’t hesitate, you instantly twisted a bundle of spaghetti on to your fork along with some asparagus. It tasted heavenly, the creamy, buttery sauce mixed with the Parmesan was just delightful. You were happy that it turned out so well, you looked up. To your surprise and delight everyone seemed to be enjoying the food, Boss even gave you an approving nod.

“Wowie! I’ve got to tell Undyne about this, she an Alphys would love to try this dish!” Papyrus was beaming as he examined his food, his smile was just so cute.

Nox seemed better off eating in silence, but you couldn’t fake a smile of content like his. Blue was engulfing his noodles, you had to suppress a chuckle when he stared fanning his mouth, of course the food would still be hot. You poked at the carrots you had in your bowl, you were hoping they were cooked right and not too hard. After one bite you were delighted to find it had a little crunch but it was cooked properly.

“Whatcha call this anyway?” Asked Stretch, twirling his fork.

“It’s kinda like Alfredo but with a few stuff added in, it doesn’t really have a name. I just made this dish up one night when I was super hungry and didn’t want to go out in the pouring rain to get food, the only difference is the veggies.” You were slightly embarrassed in telling the story, despite it being true.

“Its still good though, you should invent dishes more often!” Said Blue, shoveling another bite into his mouth.

You smiled, thankful the food was cooked well. Ash and Poplar really seemed to like this dish, you wondered if it was because of the vegetables or the sauce. Either way it was cute seeing him try to get at least one of each veggie on his fork along with the noodles.

Soon everyone had finished eating and cleanup was underway, you noticed how quickly the sun had begun to set. Yep winter was fast approaching, cleanup didn’t take long at all with everyone helping out. Once everything was washed and put away for the evening it was time to bust out dessert. You hurry back to the van where you kept it, pulling out three large bags of marshmallows and a bag of frosted gram-cracker cookies. The top halves were frosted in chocolate, it’d make things a lot simpler.

“Ok boys time for dessert, we’re making s’mores!”

You handed each skeleton a long stick too use, they all were sharing a bewildered expression...had these boys not heard of s’mores?

“Do you guys know what s’mores are?”

“I’m afraid we don’t.” Said Papyrus.

“Oh well its a fun, interactive snack and common camping treat. I’ll show you how its done.”

You began by skewering your marshmallow, you got the large flat ones so it’d be easier for the skeletons to handle. You held your marshmallow over the fire, you loved this part so much, watching your marshmallow turn golden brown or even catch on fire and burn just a tiny bit. Once the marshmallow was done you showed them how to sandwich it between the gram cracker cookie, you told them that normally they’d have a plain gram cracker and a bit of chocolate to do it but you wanted to make it easier and quicker. You even mentioned that to them while you were making your s’more.

“An there you have it, your very own s’more!”

You held it up and showed them, you then took a big bite and just like you expected the marshmallow stretched out...and it tasted amazing. Gooey, sweet and crunchy, the chocolate was melting and it wasn’t dripping on to your fingers.

You watched everyone follow your lead, you also said they can just eat the roasted marshmallow if they wanted or the gram cracker cookie instead. Which was what some of them did, Russ was having fun making the s’mores. Awe he looked like a little kid when he took that first bite, Nox though didn’t seem that impressed and settled for just the cookie. Stretch was pouring some honey on his s’more, Blue was scolding him about it, Poplar and Ash were throughly enjoying making s’mores together.

Papyrus was yelling at Sans again, Sans marshmallow now turned into a comet, Red and Boss settled for the gram cracker and roasted marshmallows. It was cute watching them all experience a traditional treat of camping, you made another s’more and switched to just making roasted marshmallows. Nox was kind enough to get some drinks but just for you and Russ, when questioned by Blue he countered saying he wasn’t everyone’s servant and they all had legs that weren’t broken. An besides he got one for you cause you were a lady and you had prepared dinner, it was only proper.

After having your fill of marshmallows you were about to get up and start the process of cleaning up the dishes. Well that was the plan until you felt Poplar’s hand rest on your shoulder.

“No, no don’t get up. We’ll take care of clean the dishes and everything, you just relax.”

You blinked, surprised. “Are you sure, there’s a lot to clean up-“

Sans stood up. “Rule is if you make dinner then you don’t have to clean up the kitchen.”

“A rule that you don’t seem to follow brother.” Growled Papyrus but smiled. “But he is right human, you shouldn’t shoulder the burden of clean up. The ten of us will have it done in no time!”

“If your sure then alright, the communal wash station is just up the way there; Sans I’m sure you can show them.”

Sans nodded, everyone else got up and started cleaning up the kitchen tent area. Nox was sure that Russ didn’t slack off, Red wasn’t happy about being forced to get up and work but he couldn’t say much with Boss standing over him. You watched all ten skeletons shuffle off over the hill, it was nice of them to do the clean up but at the same time you felt kinda bad since you made a little mess while doing it. Well you knew how to remedy that!

You stood up, walked to the kitchen tent and started preparing mugs of your special coco for them. Coffee was going to be rationed so you felt slightly bad for Nox but it was too late for coffee anyway, you filled each mug carefully and smiled. You took some of the left over marshmallows and put them in the mugs, you had just put the last marshmallow in when the boys came back.

“Hey guys, the coco is ready if you want some.”

You didn’t have to say it twice, the boys were all over that coco. Though Nox wasn’t happy about not getting his coffee but he digressed, he put his marshmallow into Russ’s cup. You smiled an enjoyed your own cup, the rest of the night was spent chatting and playing word games with them. Word games like ‘Going to the picnic’ which was your favorite game cause you could be as sarcastic as you wanted to be.

After finishing the fourth game of ‘going to the picnic’ you checked your watch. It was fifteen minutes to ten, that meant bed time. You wanted to get up early to start the second day of camping.

“Ok boys its getting close to ten lets start getting ready for bed.”

Unlike with most people no one groaned, they all simply agreed that it was getting late and it was time to sleep. First thing you were going to do is take a shower in the communal showers nearby.

“H-Human are you going to take a shower?” Asked Russ.

“Yes, why you gonna get one too?”

You noted a lot of the skeletons looked...concerned, was something wrong with the showers?

“Actually we’re in need of showers as well, let us accompany you if you don’t mind.” Said Boss.

“Oh, well grab your things and follow me ok?”

That wasn’t a problem, you grabbed a bag with your toiletries inside along with your sleeping attire you picked for camping. You were about to leave when you noticed...only Russ and Boss had got their things. Everyone else was busy trying to find their things.

“Shall we go human?” Asked Boss.

“Don’t you want to wait for everyone?”

“They said to go on ahead, they’ll catch up with us.” Said Russ.

You shrugged and headed for the showers with Boss and Russ, you noticed they were walking very close to you...despite you were leading the way with one of the flashlights you brought with. You tried not to think about it, what you wanted was a shower. The hikes today had been sweat inducing and you wanted to freshen up, you walked into the women’s side and found you weren’t alone. Other women were in there from the other campsites.

It was fun chatting with them as you all showered together, one of them was a elderly woman in her mid-sixties enjoying her forty-fifth anniversary with her husband. You gawked at the number, wow forty five years. The other woman with you was a younger lady camping with her fiancée, you had a laugh with the two women comparing them together. The young lady getting married turning into the older married lady with many years of happiness.

You enjoyed chatting with them, once you dried off you walked outside. Boss and Russ were there having showered and changed, you hoped they didn’t wait long. You were escorted back, was it you or were the two of them very vigilant on the way back. You felt like one of the s’mores when they were walking so close to you, your arms were even touching them. Once back another group went to shower, it was weird but...you chalked it up to them being concerned with you walking in the dark. Though you were sure there were no wild animals.

You gave a small yawn and crawled into your tent, you took off your shoes and slipped on some thick socks. Your feet got cold quickly, your pajamas for this camping trip were sweatpants and a light sweater. It was gonna get kinda cold since it was autumn, you turned on your camping lamp before going back outside. You made sure everything was put away and the fire was properly put out with, once that was done you crawled back into your tent. You zipped up the flap in your tent but unzipped the other two sides, most of the skeletons had come back already.

You dimmed your light and took out a book, you weren’t quite sleepy yet so decided a book was nice for a while. You said goodnight to your boys before zipping up the flaps on both sides.

It was only ten minutes later you felt your eyelids getting heavy, you put a bookmark in the book, turned the lamp off and tucked yourself into your sleeping bag.

Lulled to sleep by the sound of nature....and some skeletons snoring.

To be continued..

[For context, I’ve gotten questions on why I had the reader start dinner at four. Where I’m from in the upper Midwest it gets dark very quickly in both Fall and Winter so for that reason why dinner started early, that and in my family we start cooking around 4-4:30 so that everyone can get something done before supper. Examples are making a call, doing a chore, going to deliver something etc. This is dedicated to the @bonelyheartsclub I hope you enjoy this I’m having a lot of fun writing these.]

[denkineptune]

mha boys + baking (hc)

♡ some baking headcanons i whipped up real quick, just because this idea popped into my head and i could not rest until i finished this lol

♡ fic details: 1.1k words, headcanons, not x-reader, edited (probably not very well, some small print but not anything important

characters: kaminari, kirishima, bakugou

kaminari, 1/10:

↠ cannot bake for the life of him. he’s the kind of person to swear up and down that he could go on a baking show, but in reality? has definitely committed some kind of food-related war crime

↠ he’s slightly dumb, it’s endearing but also not a good trait in the kitchen. since baking has a lot to do with fractions, he says that exact measurements are “stupid” and can be eyeballed. the worst mistake he’s made because of this was definitely when he used a tablespoon to measure out a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. he ended up putting about half a tablespoon of the stuff in the batter, and bakugou’s birthday cupcakes tasted like soap

↠ he also thinks every ingredient is interchangeable if it looks similar; he’ll replace sugar with salt if he doesn’t have enough, so maybe steer clear of his brownies, you’ll likely get sodium poisoning. he replaces vanilla with molasses, which just- no,,,

↠ denki also tends to over- or under- cook things which results in either very burnt, inedible baked goods or hot goop in your mouth. both ways, quite gross

↠ he won’t wait for the oven to preheat, he’s not patient like that. he’s definitely used his quirk to try to heat a pie tin and bake it in a split second. it doesn’t go well, obviously. it explodes in his face and makes everyone quite upset, because they’re forced to clean the ceiling. the ceiling. 

↠ don’t let him around ovens, period. he’s left things in for too long multiple times. his logic is “i’ll know when it’s done, i can smell it,” so he doesn’t set a timer. then he gets distracted by his phone, and forgets to take the pan out, resulting in an oven fire. todoroki has to put it out because denki’s unable to use a fire extinguisher

↠ kaminari doesn’t even grease pans, his monstrous baked “goods” are left burnt in their pans, since nobody can manage to get it out. just throw the whole thing away, at that point

↠ “ah, fuck!” is a regular thing to hear if he’s left in the kitchen alone, so for the love of god, do not leave him unattended. he’s like a baby, you need to have someone watching him at all times or he’ll burn something or himself

↠ that being said, he’s been taught to soothe his sugar cravings by microwaving pre-made mug cakes that the others stick in the fridge. this prevents heights alliance from being destroyed every time pikachu wants dessert

kirishima, 7.5/10:

↠ he does his absolute best and he’s quite decent! i’d say he’s around the average, he’s not a pro, but he doesn’t suck

↠ his favorite things to make are definitely cupcakes, they’re easiest to distribute and share with people. they’re quite simple to mass produce, and you can personalize each depending on who they’re going to. it all really comes down to how easy they are to make and give out

↠ he uses cute-ass cupcake liners, he and mina go to daiso and get really pretty ones 

↠ using borrowed icing bags (courtesy of sato, ty angel), he ices the cupcakes with different color frosting depending on the favorite color of whoever will eat it. on april fool’s day, he made a cupcake (no pranks, that’s unmanly) that was half vanilla and half red velvet with the same color scheme of icing, which he then gave to todoroki. it was very cute, and shouto liked it a lot :)

↠ eijirou can sometimes make common blunders; a bit too much flour, forgetting the salt, spilling some vanilla, things like that

↠ he does this cute thing where, if he’s baking cookies for someone else, he’ll fake spilling chocolate chips into the batter as an excuse to put more in than the recipe calls for

“oh nooooooooo the chocolate chip bag fell in, there’s too many in the batter... welp too bad, what’s next-”

↠ it’s very sweet hehe literally

↠ kiri doesn’t bake all that often, there’s a lot more immediate things that he needs to tend to (ie. homework, friends, training), but sometimes, in his spare time, he’ll get in the mood where he decides that he might as well bake

↠ he doesn’t keep his treats to himself, pretty much ever. making brownies? better share them with everyone else, they could use it after this hard week. one person can’t possibly eat this many cookies, who else is around that i can give them to? basically, if it’s able to be shared, he’ll share it

↠ HE LETS PEOPLE LICK THE BATTER SPOON !!!! usually, the person who eats it is mina, uraraka, hagakure, or kaminari, but that’s only because they’re the ones who stay around the kitchen until kiri is done with the spoon

↠ he attracts a crowd of students near the kitchen that want either the spoon or final product. overall, he’s just a ray of sunshine

bakugou, 9/10:

↠ let’s get this straight, he rarely bakes. as in, pretty much never. he can count the amount of times he’s baked on one hand, and they were all only for some kind of celebration. he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, so he feels no need to make desserts

↠ but on the off chance he does make something, it is so. fucking. good.

↠ he’s already MasterChef Junior while cooking, and though baking isn’t that similar, he knows how to maneuver around the kitchen, and isn’t an idiot

↠ katsuki is familiar with the ingredients he’s using, therefore he knows what pairs well. he’s smart, so he figures out, logically, how to put everything together. he’s also not, as he so eloquently puts it, “a fucking moron”, and he follows the recipe to a t (unless he thinks something is stupid, at which point he’ll yell at the cookbook and come up with a substitute for said dumb thing) 

↠ everything is done just right, and by the end, everyone is practically in heaven when eating the food

↠ he doesn’t share. ever. 

↠ you would have to steal to get any food, and you would have to do it well. if he catches you stealing, he’ll have your head. he also doesn’t let people lick the spoon, as it is “gross and unsanitary”, but he secretly does it. c’mon, he’s the baker. 

↠ as i said before, he only bakes for special occasions, like his dad’s birthday. his dad is very soft and peaceful, unlike his son. he loves handmade gifts because they’re thoughtful, and mitsuki suggests that katsuki bake for him. he protests, but ultimately can’t refuse his mom

↠ bakugou does something i like to call “angry baking”, where he does everything very aggressively

↠ the stirring is done very violently and batter splashes everywhere; when he grates lemons and limes for a key lime pie, he looks like a murderer. his eyes are g l o w i n g. but it’s good he doesn’t have a knife, like when he’s cooking. that would make it all the more intimidating.

↠ at least the food is good, even if the process is slightly... alarming....

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓅𝓉𝓊𝓃𝑒​​​​​☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

[envydeanwrites]

If Castiel Was A Cake

Pairing: Destiel Rating: Teen & Up Tags: Baking, med student!dean, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Friends to Lovers, Stress, Stress Baking, friend gatherings and cake eating, Fluff, supportive friends Word Count: 2,017 Summary: Castiel comes home to a stressed Dean baking a lot of cakes. So, he decides that a gathering of friends is the best way to keep Dean's mind off everything and it comes with a bonus extra Castiel has been waiting on for years.

Read on AO3 |  Written for the @writersofdestiel​ weekly words: baking

***

Castiel hangs up his trenchcoat to the smell of something delicious baking in the kitchen. He breathes in deeply and smiles. His roommate, Dean, bakes a lot, which is great for his taste buds but not so great for his eating habits - Cas is definitely smelling an extra run this week.

“Dean, I’m home!” he calls into the house and makes his way into the kitchen in socked feet. He expects baked goods on the counter and Dean in the living room reading when he doesn’t hear an answer, or maybe Dean will be oven watching. What he doesn’t expect is the kitchen counters to be lined with baked goods from cookies to layer cakes and cupcakes, more bowls of frosting than Cas thought they had bowls and a very harried and flush-faced Dean mixing frantically with his back turned to the door. 

This is so much worse than he expected. 

"Dean?" Castiel calls, and Dean whips round. He's wearing the apron Castiel bought him for Christmas, the one that says 'May I suggest the sausage', and it's covered in cake batter, chocolate and frosting. 

"Oh, hey, Cas," he says with a smile that betrays everything that is before them. 

"What are you stressed about?" Castiel asks cautiously and Dean stops mid-stir, looking a little bewildered.

"I'm fine," he says and Castiel sighs.

"The," Castiel scans the surfaces trying to calculate just how much Dean has baked, "near hundred bakes in this kitchen suggest otherwise. Please stop, Dean, come and sit down." He beckons Dean towards him but Dean hesitates. 

“I’m fine, Cas,” Dean insists. Castiel doesn’t believe him but he drops the matter. 

“We should at least invite some people over to eat all this,” Castiel says with a smile. “I love your baking, but no amount of running is going to burn all this off.”

Dean chuckles but nods. He puts down the spatula and bowl and then removes his apron - Cas would never have been able to tell Dean had been up to his elbows in baking if it weren’t for the flour mark on his cheek and the batter splashed up his arm. 

Castiel pulls up their group chat as he makes his way into their living room, kicking his shoes off at the door. Castiel has had his own week of stress, but all of it is work related that he can leave at the office door. Dean, however, has his stress clinging to him. Distracting him with a gathering for eating cake will help, he’s sure, but he would still like to see if he can find out what’s been bothering Dean. 

He flops onto the couch sideways, feet on the the other cushion until Dean sits on top of them and he shuffles his feet so they’re under Dean’s thighs. Dean doesn’t look at him when quiet reigns over them and Castiel pings a message out to their friends. 

At least five of them answer and Castiel shows Dean his phone to say who’s coming. 

“The smell of cake on you is endearing, but you should probably shower before they get here,” Castiel tells him gently, poking his toe into Dean’s thigh to keep his attention. Dean nods along, and Castiel doesn’t mention that Dean showering might also liven him up a bit. Whatever is eating at him is sure chewing hard. 

Dean disappears from the living room soon after and Castiel picks himself up to get the house suitable for guests. He gathers Dean’s small business magazines and stacks them to one side of the coffee table and then stashes away their odds and ends in the cabinet drawer with their other knick-knacks. 

He tackles the kitchen next, plating up the cupcakes and cookies in some semblance of order when a very chocolatey-looking cookie takes his fancy and he shoves the melt-in-the-mouth, chocolate-chunk cookie in his mouth. 

“Caught ya,” Dean says behind him, startling Castiel. He whirls around to find Dean in the doorway looking fresh and very bare-chested on his way back to his bedroom. 

Castiel’s mouth gapes for a few seconds, heart shuddering in his chest, before he manages to work his mouth into chewing and swallowing the cookie. “It was delicious.”

“Uh, quadruple chocolate cookie that one, it’s got white, milk and dark chips in it along with the cocoa powder,” Dean explains, fiddling with the knot in his towel. Castiel wishes he wouldn’t, if the towel comes undone he knows he won’t be able to look away, he’s been scared of making any kind of move on Dean for years. They’re roommates, nothing more. 

“Best thing I’ve ever tasted,” Castiel says, licking his lips.

“Maybe hold that judgement until you’ve tried the lemon and honey cakes I made.”

Castiel’s heart absolutely and resolutely belongs to Dean in that moment. If Castiel was a cake, lemon and honey would be it. 

“I thought you’d like it.”

“Please don’t ever stop baking for as long as I live, I will be your roommate forever.”

Dean chuckles awkwardly and then disappears, leaving Cas facing the lemon and honey cupcakes. They’re topped with a swirl of white frosting, curls of candied lemon and drizzled with extra honey. He bends down to smell them and Dean’s used Cas’ favourite honey, he can tell by the distinct smell, which means they’re going to taste extra good. 

Castiel tears himself away from the cake before he eats them all and presses on, making everything neat and tidy. He told their friends to be here an hour from now, so he has plenty of time. 

Once their apartment is respectable, Castiel showers quickly and gets dressed and finds Dean in the living room reading one of the magazines, they smile at one another, briefly before spending the last few minutes before their friends are due to arrive in peace. 

***

The apartment quickly becomes a sugar-powered ruckus but Castiel has spotted Dean looking far more relaxed and enjoying himself. Dean’s basking in the praise about his baking and that alone is enough to make Castiel happy. He snags himself his third honey and lemon cake, unable to get enough and not even feeling guilty when he steals another three and hides them in his bedroom in a box in his nightstand. 

Castiel is definitely confident for the bakery Dean’s planning, if he can bake this much in a day, he’ll never run out. 

When Castiel comes back into the lounge, Charlie is sat close to Dean with one of the chocolate orange cakes, made obvious by the bright orange icing on top. “So you asked Cas out yet?” she asks and Castiel frowns. This conversation is not for him to hear, but he is intrigued. 

“I’m pretty sure he’s seeing someone, Charlie, and I don’t want to jeopardise what they have,” Dean replies somewhat forlornly.

He doesn’t know why Dean would think he’s dating anyone, he hasn’t dated in over a year because he’s been wholly hung up on Dean. Of course, he has plenty of male friends and co-workers, but that definitely doesn’t mean he’s dated any of them. 

Castiel lets it slide, wondering if there’s a way he can bring it up in conversation somehow. 

“Anyone for coffee?” Castiel announces, his initial intention for being in the living room in the first place. 

Dean’s cheeks flush bright red, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but he seems to shake it off quickly.

Castiel gets back chimes of affirmatives and then goes back into the kitchen to put the coffee maker on. He’s glad Dean made him buy the extra large coffee maker. They drink enough between them as it is, but it also works wonders when they have guests. 

“Need a hand?” Dean asks, coming into the kitchen and opening the fridge and passing the creamer to Cas. 

“Can you get six mugs?”

“Sure,” Dean says and grabs all of their nerdy mugs from the top shelf. 

Castiel wonders if this is a good time to talk about them, but it feels stilted and awkward, almost as if the both of them are aware of what is between them. 

“Hey, Cas?”

“Dean,” they both say at the same time and Castiel gestures for Dean to continue.

“I think… things have been...” Dean stops, and sighs. “You were right, I’m stressed. My exams are coming up at med school and I don’t feel anywhere near ready for them. I’ve had my uncle on my ass about going down to see my dad, he ain't pushing but I know he wants me to go see him. But the guy's a drunk and I've given enough of my time to him." 

Castiel has heard bits and pieces about Dean's father and he doesn't sound like the most decent guy, so he can understand the stress of not wanting to see him. He also knows that Dean's father has been ill for years, courtesy of all the drinking he'd been doing since Dean was young, so he expects some part of Dean wants to see him again. 

"And… I've been trying so damn hard⁠—"

"I know," Castiel slides in, taking a step towards Dean so they're side by side against the counter, the coffee pot bubbling away behind them. He can hear their friends laughing in the other room and that sound alone makes him feel happy. 

"Trying so damn hard to work up the courage to ask you out," Dean finishes. Castiel's eyes move to Dean's and he can feel the weight of Dean's gaze on him. “But I’m too late, ‘cos you’re already seeing someone.”

Castiel's heart flourishes and he smiles, moving an inch closer to Dean so that their arms are touching. "That makes what I was going to say to you a lot easier."

"It does?" Dean pushes himself off the counter and then he turns on Castiel with a light bit quizzical look on his face.

"Firstly, I haven’t been on a date in over a year, if you think it’s one of the guys from work, he’s just one of those too friendly for his own good co-workers. Besides, I was going to ask if you'd like to go for coffee sometime, as… more than friends," Castiel says and takes a big breath. "So, it seems we are on the same page, which I'm glad for, I don't know how much longer I can hold onto my feelings. So, my answer would be yes, if you ever got the courage to ask me out."

Dean grins, all the features it stress washing away even if just for a moment and then he comes close to Castiel. It's close enough that Castiel can smell the aroma of Dean's deodorant, still strong after his shower. 

"Cas, you wanna go out with me? I promise to, uh," Dean looks behind him at the remaining cakes. "Bake you cakes whenever you want, and also I'll come out on a run or two with you."

"You don't have to bribe me with cakes, but I'll take that offer anyway.  I've been desperate for a running buddy." 

Dean leans down a little, Castiel's cheeks heat quickly, and then he presses a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Finally!" Charlie's exclamation comes from the doorway and Castiel looks over Dean's shoulder towards the sound. Dean's forehead hits Castiel's shoulder in embarrassment. 

"We have the worst friends," Dean grumbles half-heartedly. 

"They just have bad timing."

"Who has bad timing?" Gabriel says as he pokes his head in beside Charlie. "Oh! Finally!"

"Right!"

Dean groans and Castiel reaches an arm around Dean in comfort. The others join them, offering their comments and congratulations. Benny and Garth and Jo all happy for them. Dean seems happy too, smiling and over his initial embarrassment of being caught having his moment with Castiel. 

They eat cake together for the rest of the evening and watch movies before they send their friends home with boxes of cakes each. Dean makes sure all the honey and lemon ones stay behind just for Cas and Cas smiles at him with all his heart.

[moleasia4-blog]

Paleo Chocolate Avocado Cake with Coconut Flour

Just wanted to let you know that this rich, deep paleo chocolate avocado cake with coconut flour is sponsored by my friends over at Enjoy Life Foods!

This Chocolate Avocado Cake Recipe is SO fluffy and moist you’ll never believe it’s butter and oil free! The BEST healthy chocolate cake!

PIN Paleo Chocolate Avocado Cake with Coconut Flour

Is there really anything better than that moment where Mom let you lick the beaters after she made frosting as a child?

And, liiike, since we’re adults and can make our own life choices, we get to lick the beaters WHENEVER we want. We could even make a bowl of just frosting and call it dinner if we so pleased.

Which – spoiler alert – you’re going to want to do when the CREAMY swirls of the RICH, deep and INTENSE chocolate ganache, crowning the top of this FLUFFY chocolate cake, dance across your taste buds.

Internet friends, I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves though. While I love a good bowl of frosting situation, it’s probably the wisest life-choice to actually have something to put aforementioned bowl of frosting on, don’t you think?

Of course, a spoon OR your finger could be considered “something to put it on” but we’re pretending that we’re more civilized than that for just a second.

Have you ever heard the saying “you can’t please everyone, you’re not an avocado?” I wholeheartedly believe that truer words have NEVER been spoken so this AVOCADO chocolate cake? PLEASING ME! Pleasing YOU!

Baking with avocado is pleasing everyone in the world who likes cake which is, well, EVERYONE of the universe.

Make your day better with a slice of oiless #paleo chocolate avocado cake! @enjoylifefoods #EatFreely #Glutenfree #DairyFreeClick To Tweet

Confession time though:  I told you on Instagram last month that I don’t really like chocolate cake.  Just like paleo banana bread, it just has this weird texture to me and I haven’t been able to get past it for all almost-28 years of my life.  I was that sad girl at birthday parties, sitting in the corner wishing she could partake in the chocolate birthday cake situation with all the other kiddos but, alas, I was forced to be a chocolate-cake-hating-outcast.

Painful memories my friends.  Also, memories that are not true.

I just wanted to see if you would believe me.

However, when I tell you that THIS avocado cake recipe was the ONE to make me fall HEAD OVER TASTE BUDS in love with the tender, FLUFFY and PERFECTLY indulgent chocolate + cake combo, you had BEST believe me.

I’m thinking it has something to do with the DOUBLE dose of Enjoy Life Foods Baking Chocolate, which I fell in love with when we made that chocolate vegan crepe cake, swirling between all T-H-R-E-E (!!) layers of cake and deeply-intense WHIPPED CHOCOLATE GANACHE. <– Which is exactly like what you would imagine eating little chocolate-y clouds would be like.

All their products are allergy friendly Non-GMO, gluten free and made with natural ingredients!  I LOVE their chocolate because it’s deliciously dairy-free and comes in a few different sizes <– OBSESSED with the mega chunks. Liiike, one as a snack to end the day? PURE. BLISS

The semi-sweet chocolate in the paleo chocolate avocado cake with coconut flour adds a little dose of much-needed sweetness to all the dark cocoa going on, while the dark morsels just melllllt into the CREAMIEST, dreamiest ganache that you could ever even think about in your chocolate-loving brain.

Before you even ask, NO you cannot taste the avocado in this paleo chocolate avocado cake with coconut flour. Like the paleo German chocolate cake, this avocado blends into each nook and cranny, adding a HIGH LEVEL of moistness and a little bit of denseness.

Almost like a cross between a brownie and a paleo gluten free chocolate cake.

Do yourself a favor and try a slice of paleo chocolate avocado cake with coconut flour right from the fridge. The chilly fridge action does this crazy addicting thing, making the cake just a touch denser and it’s just TOO GOOD FOR WORDS.

Dense. DEEP. DELICIOUS.

Chocolate cake for the SOUL.

Other Recipes You Might Like:

Healthy Chocolate Chip Avocado Cookies

Strawberry Gluten Free Chocolate Cake for Two

Coconut Flour Chocolate Paleo Mug Cake

Paleo Chocolate Avocado Cake with Coconut Flour

This Paleo Chocolate Avocado Cake with Coconut Flour is SO fluffy and moist you'll never believe it's butter and oil free! The BEST healthy chocolate cake!

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake:

1 1/2 Cups VERY ripe avocado, mashed (360g)

3/4 Cup Full fat coconut milk

1 1/2 Cups Coconut sugar

9 Eggs, separated (at room temperature)

1 1/2 Tbsp Vanilla

1 Cup + 2 Tbsp Coconut flour, sifted (99g) *

1 Cup + 2 Tbsp Tapioca starch (135g)

3/4 Cup Cocoa powder (make sure its not lumpy)

1 1/2 tsp Baking soda

1 1/2 tsp Salt

6 Oz Enjoy Life Foods Semi-Sweet Mega Chunks, Finely chopped

For the ganache: **

1 1/2 Cups Full-fat coconut milk

3 Tbsp Honey

12 Oz Enjoy Life Foods Dark Chocolate Morsels

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 3 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper on the bottom, rubbing the sides generously with coconut oil.

Place the avocado and coconut milk into a food processor (I used a small, 3-cup one) and blend until VERY smooth.  Place into a large bowl.

Add in the coconut sugar, egg yolks (make sure the whites are in a separate bowl) and vanilla and beat, using an electric hand mixer, until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, tapioca starch, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Add it into the wet ingredients and blend on low speed until combined. Fold in the chopped chocolate.

Clean the beaters off VERY well and beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, about 5-6 minutes. Fold them into the batter a little bit at a time, very gently.  You want no white streaks to remain.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool COMPLETELY before frosting.

To make the frosting:

While the cake bakes, pour the coconut milk and honey in a large pot and set it on medium heat. When the milk looks like it is JUST about to boil (do not let it boil) remove from the heat and add in chocolate morsels. Let stand for 30 seconds, without stirring the chocolate.

After 30 seconds are up, gently whisk the chocolate into the milk until it's smooth and well combined.  Pour into a bowl, cover the top with saran (allowing the saran to stick right to the chocolate so it doesn't develop a skin in the refrigerator) refrigerate until it's cool to the touch, but still a little bit liquid - about 1-2 hours.

Once the frosting is cooled, use an electric hand mixer to whip it until it just begins to lighten in color and just holds its shape - only 30 seconds or so. It thickens up quickly! If it thickens too much, you can always pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.

To assemble:

Place your cake bottom-side up on a pedestal. Spread a lightly heaping 1/2 cup of the ganache on top and repeat with a second layer (using an offset spatula will help A LOT!)

Place the final layer on top and spread a thin coat of ganache all over the cake - this is the crumb coat. Refrigerate until the crumb coat feels set, about 30 minutes.

Spread the remainder of the ganache all over the cake.

Recipe Notes

* as with all GF baking, please weigh your flour to ensure results

** This ganache is enough to cover the cake without the dripping effect like the photos, you will need about another 1/2 of the amount if you want to achieve that look.

THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY MY FRIENDS AT ENJOY LIFE FOODS. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO CONTINUE CREATING GREAT CONTENT FOR YOU BY SUPPORTING PARTNERSHIPS WITH SUPER-FAB BRANDS THAT FOOD FAITH FITNESS LOVES TO WORK WITH! AS ALWAYS, OPINIONS REMAIN 100% MY OWN!

Stay in touch with Enjoy Life Foods on social media for more delicious ideas! Facebook/Twitter/Instagram

Nutrition Facts

Paleo Chocolate Avocado Cake with Coconut Flour

Amount Per Serving

Calories 586 Calories from Fat 289

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 32.1g 49%

Saturated Fat 18.7g 94%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.3g

Monounsaturated Fat 4.5g

Cholesterol 139mg 46%

Sodium 376mg 16%

Potassium 288mg 8%

Total Carbohydrates 75.9g 25%

Dietary Fiber 9.6g 38%

Sugars 49.4g

Protein 10.9g 22%

Vitamin A 5.4%

Vitamin C 4.4%

Calcium 82.2%

Iron 32.1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

(per 1 slice, based off the cake making 12 slices)

STAY IN DA KNOW WITH THINGS GOING ON AT FFF (AND GET SPECIAL BEHIND-THE-SCENES INFO) BY FOLLOWING ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND TWITTER!

Source: https://www.foodfaithfitness.com/paleo-chocolate-avocado-cake-with-coconut-flour/

[andinewton]

Born To Be King - Avengers Redemption Series - Part Three - Chapter 22

Characters: Loki, Sigyn;  pretty much everyone from the MCU appears at some point!

Pairings: Loki x Sigyn; Bucky x Amelia

Warnings: Smut, canon typical violence, swearing

Word Count: 60k + (complete with ongoing epilogues)

Summary:

He never wanted the throne…

Loki’s life seems to be charmed of late. His dead wife has been reborn and has married him once more, they have beautiful twin boys, and they are working and living with The Avengers. The only blot on his otherwise perfect landscape is the constant friction Odin seems to be able to cause with one simple request delivered by Thor. Odin wishes to meet the twins but will not cancel Loki’s banishment, allowing him to travel to Asgard with his wife and children. Loki finally caves but has a sense of foreboding about the trip which proves to be all too true…Join Loki, Sigyn and the team as they fight to find one another against all odds and protect their sons from those who would have them as their kings.

Master List

Chapter 22

Summary:  Bucky is taking his Sigyn watching duty seriously, and the two of them get the chance to talk and make a deal.

Bucky greeted Amelia with an enormous hug, lifting her feet off the ground before kissing her soundly.  Sigyn went straight to where the boys were asleep in their stroller, it being the easiest thing to transport for them to sleep in, and sighed in relief.  It was good to see them both safe and well, and completely unaware of all the drama that had been happening.  Darcy came up and put her arm around Sigyn’s shoulders.

‘Guess who’s fever broke?’

‘Finally.’  She smiled at her friend.  ‘Thank you, all of you, for watching over them for us.’

‘No problem.  Is everything good outside?  Frost Giants didn’t do anything to you?’

‘Everything is under control, but it’s a long story, and I need to get word to Asgard, to warn them there’s a rogue sorceress on the loose.’

‘A rogue sorceress?  That doesn’t sound good.’  Jane said.

‘Really isn’t.’

‘No, she nearly killed you.’  Bucky reminded her.

‘Whoa, you nearly died?’  Darcy said as Sigyn backed away from the stroller, not wanting to wake them.

‘Just a bit.  Bucky and Strange saved me.’  She smiled gratefully.

‘You hero.’  Amelia went up on her toes and kissed his cheek.

‘Learnt from you, doll.’  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her to him.

‘So, will you watch the boys again while I make a quick trip to Asgard?’  Sigyn looked to the girls but Bucky frowned.

‘You said you had to get word to Asgard, not go there.  Last time that happened it didn’t end well, remember?’

‘I know, but I have to warn Odin of Amora’s crimes.  There might be something he can do.’

‘Get Sif or one of the warrior bros to pop down here.’  Darcy suggested.

‘Not a bad idea.’  She nodded.  ‘In which case can you watch the boys while I run upstairs and do that instead?’

‘You owe me a t-shirt saying; Super Aunt.’  Darcy smirked.

‘Deal.’

Bucky accompanied Sigyn, taking his job of escorting her seriously as she had been swiped once in the last twenty-four hours and he didn’t plan on letting it happen again.  One quick exchange with Heimdall later and they were sitting in the common room waiting for whoever Odin would send for an update.

‘You don’t have to wait with me, Bucky, it’s okay.’  Sigyn was sitting in one of the overly large circular armchairs that could easily seat three, her legs drawn up, boots on the floor beside her as she rubbed her socked feet together, grateful it was so warm in the evening as she still couldn’t shift the feeling of being cold.  Which was why she was also hugging a coffee.  She was hungry too, it had been hours since breakfast and she hadn’t had anything at all, but first, coffee.  Then maybe some cookies.

‘I don’t mind.  I promised the team I’d watch you, that’s what I’m doing.’  He stirred his own mug before picking it up and taking a sip.

‘You could be off with your wife doing family things.’  She reminded him and he laughed.

‘She’s liable to ignore me.  And she’s burying herself with Jane and Bruce in this data, I should think Stark will join them soon too.  I’ll be lucky to see her before dawn.’

Sigyn chuckled into her mug.  ‘I know what you mean.  Sometimes I lose Mischief to Tony until all hours.  Between the pair of them they strip engines, argue, put the world to rights.’

‘Yeah, but as much as Stark would hate to admit it, he likes Loki.’

‘Sass levels are pretty even between them.’  She agreed.  ‘And Loki is a whore for knowledge, always has been.  Where Loki would study something, research and learn, Thor would be happy just to hit it.’

Bucky thought for a moment, considering the stories he had heard about her reincarnation, marrying Loki twice, and he realised they both had two sets of memories, for him it was actually three, but perhaps she understood at least in part, what he was living with.  ‘Do you ever confuse the two?’  He asked tentatively.  ‘Lives, I mean.’

She swallowed the coffee she had just sipped.  ‘Sometimes, not in a big way, because the settings are so different.  Every now and then though, like at family gatherings for the holidays, with Maia’s family that is, I’ll start reminiscing a story from my childhood and realise my cousins have no idea what I’m talking about while Loki is killing himself laughing as he remembers it from when we were kids, or vice versa.  Or I’ll wake up from a dream and it’s like Loki is too old, my hair’s the wrong colour, I’m shorter than I remember.  I’ve fallen out of bed a few times because I’ve misjudged my own gait or how far it is to the floor.  Then there was the whole issue when my strength and constitution went back to that of an Asgardian.  I was ripping doors off and breaking things for days.’

‘Sounds confusing.’  He pulled a face.

‘It can be, but not as much as when I first found out.  Charles Xavier, he has helped me through a lot of things over the years, and being able to have him check my head and clarify the two really helped.’  She shuffled forward in the chair and put the mug on a coaster on the table before leaning her arms on her knees and giving him a sincere look.  ‘Do you have similar problems?  You don’t have to answer, but I kind of feel like you led me into this conversation for a reason.’

‘Maybe a little.’  He admitted.  ‘I feel like I’m partitioned into three; before The Winter Soldier, during, and after, now.  Some days it feels like yesterday I was in Brooklyn with this skinny punk who couldn’t stay out of trouble, then I remember how long ago it was.’

‘That’s weird, right?’  She smiled.  ‘Some of my memories happened over a thousand years ago but they’re as clear as what I had for dinner last night.  It’s like it’s not real, like time doesn’t work right for me.’

‘Exactly.’  Bucky managed a smile of his own.  ‘My brain just can’t fathom how long ago it really is.’

‘What about the other part?  Does that feel like as long ago?’  She asked softly, not wanting to push but as he had brought the subject up she thought maybe he did actually want to talk about it.

He shook his head and looked down at his left hand.  ‘No, that almost feels like a dream, or a nightmare, really.  I knew I was the one doing…what I did, but it was like being in a cage in my own mind, watching myself do the things I did, knowing what it meant, but not being able to stop it.  It’s like he was someone else planted in me, pushing me out of the drivers seat so I was just a passenger.  I could scream all I liked but it made no difference.’

‘Must be hard.’  She all but whispered and he looked up at her.

‘It is, less than it was, but he’s still in there, like a memory himself now, thanks to Wanda and Tony’s augmentative thing, I just worry that something might trigger him, like they did when they tried to get me to extract Amelia?’  She nodded, she remembered finding them collapsed on the stairwell, Bucky unconscious, Amelia in agony on the next landing down.  ‘I don’t want to do that.  I feel like I’m finally doing some good, that I might be able to start to redeem myself for everything I did under HYDRA, but it’s like a dark cloud.  He’s like a dark cloud.’

‘Bucky,’ she started carefully, ‘I know you’re a good man, I wouldn’t let you near my boys if you weren’t, and they adore you.  You’re trying so hard, and the team know that, you’re probably one of the more moral members, if I’m honest.  Loki’s virtually a reprobate when it comes to his morals, or lack of them, not mention Stark.’  She laughed.  ‘We all have skeletons, just some of us are better at keeping them under lock and key.’

‘I guess so.’  He gave her a sideways smile, grateful for her words.  To know she thought of him as good helped, maybe more than she realised.

‘And, if you want, I can ask Charles if he’ll come work with you, see if he can offer any additional advice?  He’s an incredibly gifted psychic and he might be able to find something Wanda missed, or find some way of making it less real.’

Bucky nodded.  ‘That’d be good, if you don’t think he’d mind?’

‘He won’t mind, and if he’s busy then we can ask Jean.  She’s as good as, if not better, than Charles, in a lot of ways, but he has a lot more experience.’

‘And is he helping you with your nightmares?  The ones where you’re dying?’

She bit her lip for a second, realising he had worked it out from what happened earlier, and from what Strange had said.  ‘No.’  She sighed.  ‘I should ask him, but I haven’t.  There’s always something else I have to do, with the boys or the team, and I think I’m okay, until it happens again, and then it’s so fresh I don’t want to go over it.’

‘I’ll do you a deal.’  He leant forward and held his hand out to her.  ‘You see this Charles for your nightmares and I’ll ask him to see what he can do about The Asset?’

She leant forward, taking his hand in hers.  ‘Okay, deal.  I’ll call Charles once this is all over, but it’s up to you not to let me forget, because I will.’

‘I won’t let you.’  He smiled.  ‘We both need to take the help where it’s available, and this way we get a therapy buddy each.’

‘Is a therapy buddy a thing?’  She laughed as they let go of one another’s hands and she picked up her mug again.

‘It is now.’  He replied.

She laughed into her mug, drinking the small amount of coffee that was left, just as the balcony lit up.  Looked like they were about to get their messenger.

Chapter 23