#in this timeline i like to think they’re hooking up but steve has something far more sinister going on (Love)

[ickypuppi3]

# love is such a wonderful thing

[smol-bean-buchanan]

okay so, the basis of Loki is that he messed up the timeline and has to help fix it. what i’m wondering is, what did they (or do they) plan to do to steve? he messed up the timeline big time when he stayed with peggy; and he doesn’t (didn’t) have to face any consequences, but loki does? idk it doesn’t make much sense to me ;-;

note: i apologize for like the gazillionth time. i know i promised to make these short, but i can never help it, lmao. thankfully ya girl finally found out how to use the “keep reading” feature on mobile, so here’s to saving both of us the headache of seeing my long-ass incoherent thoughts on the dash. 👍🏼

i’d honestly be surprised if they mentioned steve’s case at all. i feel like marvel is so focused on setting up a new story arc that we’ll probably get a cheap excuse or simply nothing at all. my hunch is that if they do decide to address it, it’ll be something along the lines of “steve rogers was a righteous hero, and loki is, well, loki, they’re each getting what they deserve” kind of thing. not the best-worded scenario, i know, but you get the picture. i get deeper into it below.

let’s start with loki. it actually makes sense that the tva is harsher on him since the series centers on 2012 loki. 2012 loki is still a pretty vindictive person following the events of the first thor and avengers films, so of course he’s gonna pose as a bigger threat than the loki we knew who went through a slow but sure character growth. aside from mobius making it a point to call out loki’s backstabbing habit, it’s also literally his title as the “god of mischief” to fuck things up, so him being a problem for the tva doesn’t really come out of nowhere. based on the trailer/teasers, it actually opens up the nice possibility of his character growth coming sooner in that particular timeline, so working with the tva could maybe be beneficial for him? heavy emphasis on “maybe.”

anywho, moving onto steve. something that kinda irks me is how it’s never been canonically answered if steve’s decision to stay with peggy in the past had any lasting effects on that particular timeline. i know theories have been thrown around and the russos have put in their two cents during interviews, but my clown-ass has still hoped for a solid answer as to what the fuck happened. for now, here’s my own hot take:

in endgame, we learned how timelines/realities could be drastically altered by a single interference. in the context of endgame, taking an infinity stone would cause serious damage to the timeline from which it came. that’s the whole reason why the ancient one refused to give banner the time stone from her timeline to use in his. she believed his intention was simply to take and didn’t give in until banner reasoned that returning the stone actually erases the possibility of creating the harmful timelines she dreaded. the key takeaway here is that returning saves the timeline.

after the final battle, steve goes back in time and returns all of the infinity stones to their respective timelines, saving them from any danger. i’m gonna assume that the tva was fully aware of what was going on at this point but decided not to interfere because they knew 1.) the stones would be returned and 2.) it was for the good of each of those timelines, including (and most importantly) the main one. this goes into why i don’t think the tva would’ve done anything about steve’s decision to switch timelines — in the end, steve returned to his own timeline. sure he probably only did so to give sam the shield, but in the process, similar to the infinity stones, it’s likely he actually saved the main timeline from a drastic change with his return, so the tva let him off the hook.

i wasn’t too familiar with the tva in general before it was announced that they’d play a big role in the series, but from my brief research, they don’t seem to interfere with good will-driven situations, so maybe i’m not too far off? (narrator: she was, in fact, too far off. and a dumbass for thinking she wasn’t.)

idk. that’s my take. it makes no sense, i know. i’m sorry. it’s 1 am. do take all of these thoughts with a grain of salt.

side note, i think it would’ve been cool to introduce the tva in endgame, if they summoned tony the second he figured out that time travel was possible. like, wouldn’t it be funny if they just came to him and said “listen, we know it’s to save the universe and all, but if you fuck it up, we fuck you up, capisce?” and left lmao. god i need to sleep. g’night.

[lesbianrobin]

have u done an analysis on endgame st ships? a penny for ur thoughts

i have not!! i would like two pennies please. my thoughts are not actually worth that much but i think i deserve them anyway. i’m gonna talk about some stuff that may seem unrelated or only loosely related to the question but i prommy it’s relevant <3 warning this ended up being like a thousand words somehow idk how that happened but i’m putting it under a cut bc i’m nice like that.

so! something that’s kinda unique/interesting to me about stranger things is how all of their ships are so clearly telegraphed and quickly developed. there’s a sense of... impatience, for lack of a better word. on the surface, it appears to be largely an effect of the cinematic style of the show; there’s very little room for questioning who someone’s gonna end up with or for slowly developing a relationship over time when you only get eight episodes every like. twoish years. AND you have about a dozen main characters AND evil government forces AND monsters from another dimension. it’s a lot to juggle!

stranger things has a lot to accomplish in a pretty short amount of time. the timeline of a single season usually spans no more than a week (excluding flashbacks/end-of-season timeskips), and well... nobody wants the important stuff to happen offscreen! i’ll use the stoncy love triangle as an example: jancy was originally intended to get together at the end of s1 after steve’s death, but since they decided to let steve redeem himself and survive, there was just no time to separate stancy and get jancy together without it seeming wayyy too abrupt. since jancy was always their plan, they didn’t want to leave nancy with steve, but they knew they couldn’t just have that boyfriend swap occur offscreen... which is why s2 Had to have a stancy breakup plot in order for the writers to accomplish their goal of getting jancy together.

the main characters in stranger things tend to maintain homeostasis between seasons, their circumstances and relationships rarely changing any more than the audience might have just assumed they would anyway (like lucas and max dancing together + sharing a kiss at the end of s2 and officially dating by the start of s3). steve and nancy are dating at the end of s1, so they must still be dating at the start of s2, and thus we must break them up DURING s2. joyce and hopper are friends with some deeply buried feelings in s2, so they’re friends with Less Buried feelings that must become apparent during s3. excluding the stancy situation (for reasons which i think are obvious but i will talk more about later), momentum is always forwards. mileven, lumax, and jancy argue, but they come back together, presumably more mature and stronger than before. 

all of this is to say that stranger things has thus far been rather dedicated to their starting ships. there isn’t much misdirection; mike’s crush on el is obvious from the start, nancy and jonathan share charged moments even while she is with steve in the beginning, lucas shows interest in max immediately and shares more significant interactions with her than the other boys from early on in s2, and the deep loyalty and care between joyce and hop is always apparent. steve and robin (initially intended to be together romantically) hold hands quite early in s3 and dustin asks steve about whether he likes her. 

the point? stranger things doesn’t dick around when it comes to love! they handle their ships with remarkable efficiency. in each season, it tends to be pretty obvious from the start who’s going to end up with who, and heading into the show’s fourth season, almost everybody is paired off: mike and el, max and lucas, joyce and hop, nancy and jonathan. which leaves us asking... are all of them going to last until the end?

we’ve only had one true breakup on the show so far, and as i’ve said before, the stancy breakup is an anomaly as it was essentially “righting a wrong,” allowing jonathan and nancy to get together as they were intended to do from the start. the only other romantic relationship to end on the show was between joyce and bob, and well... we all know why that ended, and it started/ended within the confines of a single season. 

stranger things tends to treat each season as an extended film, right? they draw inspiration from classic 80′s films, and each subsequent season after s1 is treated as a sequel (they are Literally referred to as stranger things 2 and stranger things 3). when they introduce tension in a season, they’re inclined to resolve that tension by the season’s end so that people leave satisfied, while also providing a plot hook for the next “sequel” for audiences to theorize about. this hook is always part of the grander plot, not a will-they-won’t-they tease or something else of the sort. remember, they could have broken up steve and nancy in s2 and waited to get jancy together in s3, but they didn’t! they wanted to go ahead and resolve the tension! 

while there are narrative and practical incentives that i’ve covered for this impatience/efficiency/[insert better word i can’t think of here], i also think it kinda reveals something about the writers of the show. to some degree, they genuinely care about and want their ships to be together! we’ve watched them introduce new characters just to kill them off a couple of times now, and i think it’s fair to say that the writers might be a bit too attached to the mains to consider killing any of them off (at least prior to the series finale). maybe... this reluctance to kill their darlings extends to ships.

romance isn’t the primary draw of the show, but an indulgence, something that there may not always be time for but that the writers continue to prioritize as much as they can because they enjoy it, or feel that it is important to the overall product. if we accept this idea, that the inclusion of and focus on so many romantic relationships in stranger things is (to some degree) indicative of the writers’ own desires, then it might inform our speculation regarding endgame ships.

i’m not here to like... really actually assert that i know what’ll be endgame, because i don’t really know jack shit. however, i do think that the writers are pretty invested in all of the current canon st ships (and yes, i am including jopper in that, as their romantic development was explicit in s3). i also think that the writers like catering to fans, leaning into popular jokes (steve “the hair” harrington) and devoting more and more time to the ships fans obsess over (particularly mileven). 

with this all in mind... i really think that most if not all of the current canon ships will be endgame. 

i think that barring any extreme circumstances (i.e. a character Actually dying instead of just fake dying) jopper will be endgame. they’re the only ones that the writers have had the restraint to actually do a slow burn with, and i really can’t see them devoting so much to developing their dynamic just to say it was all for nothing in the end. 

i’m less confident on the others. there are some signs in canon that the remaining couples have some serious problems and may not last, but these issues are often dismissed, played for comedy or brushed over within the text itself, and many of the details within the text contradicting this dismissal are often so small that it’s unclear whether they’re intentional or not. while breaking up mileven might make perfect sense for a fan who reads into subtext and pays attention to unusual acting choices and subtle parallels, it would be a pretty risky move on the surface level. allowing these ships to remain canon for awhile and garner large fanbases only to break them up later would require both a willingness to actively contradict the desires of their audience as well as a certain degree of restraint in their romantic storytelling, which runs counter to the impression i personally have of the st writers (this is, of course, my own personal opinion).

there’s a good chance that at least one of the current canon ships will break up by the end, if only because i think that it would be a little boring if every relationship stayed the same for almost the entirety of the show’s run, and the stranger writers like to keep things new and exciting. perhaps long distance will kill jancy or mileven, or lucas and max will go off again and never come back on, but either way i wouldn’t be surprised if we got a breakup in s4. even with that, though, i think it’s somewhat likely that a current couple may break up in s4 and get back together for the series finale, just for the sake of a little suspense. overall, though, i feel like our current canon ships are going to be more or less the same at the end of the show.

that’s about it. i suppose i didn’t really... answer the question you asked skdndsdkjc i feel like you probably just wanted to know like if i’m a byler endgame truther (which i am not but i could happily be proven wrong). thank you for asking, though! i hope this made at least a little bit of sense.

[hopelikethemoon]

The Aftermath (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}

Title: The Aftermath  Rating: PG-13 Length: 4000 Warnings: Pregnancy Complications (Ecelempsia, Seizures, lots and lots of medical discussions in this one)  Notes: You can find the Maybe Today, Maybe Forever Timeline here. Set June 1997. This is a really heavy chapter, ya’ll. As always I will assure you that things will be okay. But if you are at all triggered by pregnancy complications, discussion of seizures, medical discussions, or the effects of not being able to breast feed you might want to just skim.  Summary: Javier grapples with the complications around Sofia’s birth.

Taglist:  @grapemama  @seawhisperer @huliabitch @pedropascalito @rogrsnbarnes @thewallpapergoesorido @twomoonstwosuns @gooddaykate @livasaurasrex @ham4arrow @hiscyarika @plexflexico @readsalot73 @hdlynn @lokiaddicted @randomness501 @fioccodineveautunnale  @roxypeanut @just-add-butter @snivellusim @amarvelousmandalorian @lukesrighthand @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @exrebelshocktrooper @awesomefandomsunited​ @ah-callie​ @swhiskeys​ @lady-tano​ @beskar-droids​ @space-floozy @cable-kenobi​ @longitud-de-onda​ @cool-ultra-nerd​ @himbopoes​ @findhimfives @pedrosdoll​ @seeking-a-great--perhaps​ @frietiemeloen​ @arrowswithwifi​ @random066​

“You’ve got to hold it together, Javi.” Chucho told Javier, his fingers curling around his shoulder tightly. “You’ve got Josie and Sofía. They need their father.”

“She needs me too.” Javier hissed out, jerking his shoulder out from his father’s grasp. He knew what his father was trying to remind him. He didn’t want to lash out at him, but fuck. How was he supposed to think about the girls in a context where they wouldn’t have their mother? He couldn’t let those thoughts get to him.

He raked his fingers through his hair, before he rose to his feet. “Where the fuck is the doctor?”

“She’s gonna be okay, Javi.” Steve assured him, looking up at him from where he was sitting. “When has she ever let something like this bullshit get the best of her?”

Javier swallowed thickly, stopping mid-pace. “After all the shit she’s been through…” He really wanted to punch something. But he couldn’t really risk breaking his fucking hand. That wasn’t going to help with his guilt. Fuck. There was so much guilt. So much of the shit that she went through in Colombia had been his fault. 

And the stress. The goddamn stress was all his fault. She wouldn’t be laid up in the hospital if he hadn’t pushed a stressful situation onto her. He should’ve left the DEA shit alone. Somehow he’d managed to fuck up the birth of their second child. God, if he lost her....

The waiting room door opened slowly, a doctor appearing in the doorway. “Mr. Peña?” Javier couldn’t tell if the doctor had grim news or if the son of a bastard was born with that dourer expression.  

Steve stood up, clapping Javier on the shoulder. “We’re here for you.” He said something else, but Javier wasn’t entirely certain what it was. Everything seemed to focus in on the doctor who was waiting for him. Steve and Chucho felt like they were at the far end of a tunnel, the distance obscuring their voices. 

Javier waited for the waiting room door to close behind him before he spoke, “How is she? Can I see her?”

“She’s stable.” The doctor told him calmly, guiding him across the hall to a private room. He’d seen families come out of that same room with bad news. He truly felt like he was going to be sick. 

The doctor waited for Javier to sit, before he continued. “We have her sedated currently. Once we get her settled into her new room, I can take you down to sit with her.” 

He swallowed thickly. “Are we out of the woods?”

The doctor shook his head. “Not yet. Despite our best efforts, there were complications. She suffered a mild seizure, which was to be expected given her condition. Fortunately, the CT scan didn’t show any damage from the episode. We’ll get her scheduled for a MRI and prepped for a PET scan in the coming days.” He offered Javier a sympathetic smile. “As much as I’d love to send the three of you home tomorrow, we’re going to need to keep her for observation for a few more days.” 

Javier nodded slowly, trying to process everything the doctor had just told him. So many scans and the potential for something being wrong. Really wrong. “I just want her to come home.”

“She’s a fighter, Mr. Peña.”

“I know she is.” A brief smile spread over his lips. “She’s fucking incredible.”

“And we’re going to make sure she goes home.” The doctor promised him. “We’ve already started her on some hydralazine intravenously. It’s already started getting her blood pressure under control.” 

“Good.” 

“After she’s released she’s going to have to monitor the hypertension. She’ll be prescribed medicine to help stabilize it, but she won’t be able to breastfeed.”

Javier nodded slowly. At least the doctor was talking about the after. Going home. That sounded positive. 

“Have you been down to the nursery to see your daughter?”

“No.” He rubbed at his forehead. “My pops went to see her.” Everything had been perfect. 

Sofía was gorgeous. 

They let him cut the umbilical cord. They let him be such an active participant in their daughter’s birth. Everything had been going in the right direction. 

But she didn’t look right. 

She was exhausted, which was understandable, but her coloring was all wrong. She looked weak. 

And then the seizure. 

Javier wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to get that memory out of his head. It was worse than watching her bleed out on the ground. 

It had been maybe three hours. Maybe five. 

He hadn’t seen either of them since. 

“When do you think I’ll be able to sit with her?”

The doctor’s brows furrowed as he stared at him. “Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to call down to the nursery and have them bring your daughter up to her room. That might be good for the three of you.”

Javier swallowed thickly and nodded. “Alright.”

“I’ll have a nurse come and get you from the waiting room.”

“Thank you.”

 ——

 It was another two hours before the nurse came to get him. 

Steve had gone home to help Connie with the girls and Chucho looked worn out, he wasn’t easily convinced to leave. Eventually, Javier won out because Stevie needed to be let out and he knew Monica had work. 

It felt wrong to care about anything outside of the hospital, but he knew she’d kill him if anything happened to that damned dog. 

But then the nurse came and he was ushered to her room. The floor was eerily quiet — it was after visiting hours, but the doctor had made special arrangements just for him. Even in the worst situation of his life, at least the hospital was treating him like he belonged. 

She looked awful. Hooked up to machines and monitors. Wires running from her hands, little censors stuck to her temples. 

“We’ve started decreasing her sedatives,” The nurse explained to him. “We’re still waiting for the doctor to look at her MRI—“ That must’ve been why it took so long. “But everything is looking really good, Mr. Peña.” 

The nurse gestured to the burgundy vinyl-covered reclining chair in the corner of the room. “We brought this in for you. In case you wanted to stay.”

“I do.” 

Javier looked away from her then, his eyes drawn to the bassinet Sofía was in. He knew he had to focus on her as well. She needed him just as much as her mother did. 

“When was the last time she ate?” He asked the nurse, moving towards the bassinet to pick up the swaddled infant. She cooed softly as she woke up and his heart melted. “It’s alright, daddy’s got you.” He whispered as he cradled her against his chest. 

“Half hour ago.” The nurse smiled. “Do you have other children, Mr. Peña?”

He nodded. “We have another daughter. She just turned four.”

“What a fun age.” She gestured towards Sofía. “If you need any help or if anything happens, there’s a call button on the bed. You’ll get one of us on the floor in here.”

“Thank you.”

Javier kept Sofía cradled against his chest as he moved towards the hospital bed. It broke his fucking heart to see her like this. There was nothing peaceful about being sedated. He had seen peaceful sleep on her and this wasn’t it. 

“You’ve got to wake up for us, baby.” He said gently as he gingerly curled his fingers around her unresponsive hand. “I don’t think you really got to see how beautiful Sofía is. She’s perfect just like her mother.” Javier looked between the two of them. “She reminds me so much of Josie at this age. She’s so little.” 

Javier sniffed quietly, trying not to cry. But he’d been holding it in for hours now. And there was a lump of emotion wedged in the back of his throat. Raw and painful. How was he expected not to cry when the love of his life was fighting for her life? 

He settled Sofía back down in the bassinet, before pulling the rolling stool over to her bedside. “This better be the last time I have to see you laid up like this, baby. I fucking hate it.” He took her hand again, rubbing his thumb over the back of her knuckles. “We’re not doing this again. We’ve got two daughters. We don’t need any more kids.” He lifted her hand up as he leaned over to kiss the back of her hand. “I’ll get the snip tomorrow, if it means never putting you in this position again.” 

Some machine beeped, making Javier jump a little. He glanced up, brows furrowed as he studied the monitors beside her. “They told me they’re decreasing the sedatives they have you on. I think that means you’re going to wake up soon.” Javier told her, squeezing her hand. “I wish I knew if you could hear me.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. 

Javier stood up, leaning over the bed so he could press a kiss to her forehead, his fingers tenderly brushing over her cheek. “You did such an amazing job delivering her, baby. I’m in awe of you. Your strength.” He let his nose brush over her forehead as he sighed. 

He studied her face, hoping to see some flicker of alertness. He knew she was going to wake up — she had to. But he wanted to talk to her now. It had been hours. He’d lost track of the time. 

“I’m so sorry, baby. This is all my fault.” He raked his fingers through his hair as he sank back on the stool. “I set all of this into motion. I should’ve known better, starting this shit while you were pregnant…” He shook his head. 

Javier pressed his face into his hands, letting the tears finally fall. It had been such an emotional day. The elation of seeing his daughter born, giving way to the fear of losing the woman he loved. 

The reality of the social worker meeting with him. Going over what his role as her POA meant, ensuring he understood what wishes she had made known in the document. His father had listened, because he hadn’t. He had been in shock. 

He couldn’t lose her. He’d lose his fucking mind if he went home to a house that didn’t have her in it. 

And it would be his fault. 

Sofía started fussing in her bassinet and Javier went to pick her up. “Are you hungry, sweetheart?” He questioned as he looked down at her. She had the longest lashes he’d ever seen on a baby. A nose just like her mother. 

Javier hit the help button on her bed, waiting for a nurse to turn up so he could tell them Sofía needed formula. 

He sat on the rolling stool beside her bed, feeding Sofía and talking to them both. He told his daughter all about how brave her mother was, how good she was. How much he hoped both of his children ended up like their mother. She was far too good for him.

Javier went through the bag of clothes she’d brought with her to go home. Not tomorrow. Not like they had planned. 

“There it is.” He smiled as he saw the stuffed dog that Josie had made certain she had with her. “Baby, if you wake up I’ll get you another dog. I know how much you love having Stevie.” 

He moved back over to the bed. Javier lifted her hand up and tucked the toy into her palm. “Josie wanted to make sure you had this, baby. It’s Bruno.” 

Her fingers twitched faintly and he swore his heart skipped a beat. 

“I’m right here.” He curled his hand around hers, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. “I love you, baby. Just rest, okay?” 

Her fingers twitched again, coupled with her lashes fluttering. 

“Hey.” Javier whispered, staring at her face. Looking for a sign that she was waking up. Three short squeezes, weak but there. 

“I love you too, baby.” He smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. “I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere.” 

Her lips parted, inhaling shakily. “W-where is she?” Her voice was hoarse, barely recognisable as her own. 

“She’s sleeping.” Javier brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Do you want to see her?”

“Yeah.” She mumbled, her eyes still closed. “Feel weird.”

“You’ve been through hell the last few hours.” Javier said as he reluctantly left her bedside to pick up Sofía. “She’s beautiful.” He told her as he walked back over to the bedside, brows furrowed as he looked down at her. “You gotta open your eyes, baby.”

“Just wanna... hold her.” She said wearily. 

Javier frowned when she just laid there motionlessly. She was still clearly under the effects of the sedative. 

“I’m just gonna lay her on your chest, okay baby?” 

“Yeah.” 

He carefully maneuvered Sofía, keeping a hand on her back as he laid her against her chest. Sofía opened her eyes, cooing quietly as her little fingers grabbed at the hospital gown beneath her. “That’s your mommy, baby girl.” He whispered. 

“I’m so tired.” She whispered, her lashes fluttered a faint glimpse of her eyes before they fell closed again. 

Javier reached out and took her hand, lifting it up gently to hold it against Sofía’s back. “Do you think you can hold her?” 

Her fingers twitched as she flexed them, spreading them out across her little back. “She’s tiny.” 

“Two ounces smaller than Josie.” He smiled at her as her eyes opened, though they were still heavy and groggy. “You did so good, baby.” 

“Did I?” She blinked slowly, her eyes very unfocused as she looked at him. Her fingers moved again, weakly brushing over the blanket Sofía was wrapped in. “Javi…”

“I’m right here, baby.” 

“Take her. I don’t want to drop her.”

“Whatever you want, baby.” Javier leaned over the bed to scoop their daughter up, moving to put Sofía back in her bassinet. He stared down at her, fingers brushing over her cheek as she blinked slowly before falling back to sleep. He remembered how much Josie slept the night after she went home that first night. 

“I feel weird.”

He turned back to look at the bed, “Do you want me to call for the nurse.” Javier was already at her bedside, primed to press the call button. 

“They’ll give me more…” She gestured vaguely to her IV. “Wanna stay awake.” 

“You need to rest, baby.” He insisted, reaching out to cup her cheek. “But I don’t want them to sedate you again either. I missed your eyes.” 

She laughed quietly, sinking back into her pillow. “My eyes?” 

Javier nodded slowly. “Yeah. I was afraid you’d never open them again.” 

“And leave you to raise two daughters?” A weak smirk quirked at the corners of her lips. 

“I wouldn’t be able to cope without you.” 

She raised a brow, even as her eyes flickered closed. “Calm down, Romeo.” 

“Really?”

“Really.” She turned her head towards him and grinned as she opened her eyes slowly. She looked down then, picking up the stuffed dog that was still laying in her bed. “Was Josie here?”

“No.” Javier frowned. “She gave it to you to pack, remember?” 

“Right.” She said distantly as she sat the toy back down. 

“Do you not remember that?”

“Everything is a little hazy,” She admitted, reaching up to touch the nasal cannula in her nose. “I fucking hate this shit.”

“Oxygen is good for you.” 

She rolled her eyes. 

“There’s the woman I know and love.” 

“I’d flip you off but....” She taunted, staring at him a little harder then. “You look like shit.”  

“It’s been a fucking awful day, baby.” Javier pushed his fingers through his hair. “But they gave me this hideous chair over there to sleep in.” 

“You should sleep.”

“Don’t worry about me.” He shook his head. “This is about you. You’re the one who scared the shit out of me.” 

“Sorry.” She reached out and curled her fingers around his where they were curled around the side of her bed. 

“Why the hell are you apologizing?”

She shrugged, “I dunno.”

“Well, don’t.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m gonna get the nurse, alright? I think they were waiting for results. MRI? CT scan. One of them.” 

“Did someone let Stevie out?” 

Javier shook his head incredulously, “Yeah, pops went to stay with her.” 

“Good.” She smiled up at him. “I feel worse than I did when I got shot.” 

“You had a seizure.” 

“I did?” Her brows drew together, confusion marring her features. 

Javier nodded. “Is everything hazy?”

She lowered her gaze, picking at a piece of fuzz on her blanket. “Yeah. Tell them not to give me whatever they’re giving me. I feel really weird.” 

“You just have to stay calm. Okay?” Javier reminded her, reaching you press the button to call for the nurse. “That’s the key thing. Okay? If you keep your blood pressure down you’ll get to go home.”

“Home sounds nice.” She smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. 

Javier glanced at the door as it opened, “She woke up.”

The nurse beamed, “That’s great news, Mr. Peña.” She looked towards the hospital bed then, “How are you feeling?”

“As bad as he looks.” She quipped, looking at him as she reached for his hand. 

He squeezed her hand. “Nurse, she’s having… not memory loss, exactly but… confusion? Is that the medicine?”

The nurse checked her vitals before putting them up on the whiteboard across from the bed. “That may just be the sedation, but there is always the chance that she may also be experiencing side effects from the seizure. The doctor will discuss the postictal phase when he comes down.” 

She looked towards the hospital bed then, “Let’s do a little memory test, shall we?” She tapped the dry erase marker against the board. “Do you know what your daughter’s name is?” 

“Joséfina Peña.” She answered and the nurse frowned. 

“Our older daughter,” Javier explained.

The nurse nodded and wrote the name out on the board. 

“She has an accent above the ‘e’.” She corrected the nurse. “And it’s ‘f’ not ‘ph’.” 

“Do you know your newborn’s name?”

“Sofía.” She rubbed her lips together slowly. “With an ‘f’ and an accent over the ‘i’.” She looked towards Javier there. “We named her after Javi’s mother.” 

“Do you know what day it is?”

She shook her head. “I think… I came in on the thirtieth.”

“Thirty-first.” Javier squeezed her hand, before glancing back at the nurse. 

“It’s June second.” She supplied. 

“Shit.” 

“It’s okay, baby.” 

“When was she born?”

“The first.” 

She laughed quietly. “May first and June first.” 

“Easy to remember.” Javier leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You’re doing so good.” 

“Do you have any pets?” The nurse questioned. 

“A dog. Stevie Nicks.” 

“Very good.” The nurse wrote the names up on the whiteboard before making a big square around ‘PLANS FOR TODAY’. “It looks like the doctor still wants you to get that PET scan today. Once we get that over with you are one step closer to going home. We’ve just got to keep that blood pressure down.”

“How is it?” Javier questioned. 

“Good. Still a little high, but nowhere near as high as it was when she came in.” 

Sofía started crying and she sat up quickly, looking towards the bassinet. “She needs food. She sounds just like Josie when she was hungry.” 

“I know.” Javier cradled her to his chest, but he wasn’t giving her what she wanted. 

The nurse looked a little anxious. “Now, due to the medicine you’re currently on you’re not going to be able to breastfeed for a little while, okay?” 

“Oh.” She sank back against the pillows, “Can I… is there formula?” She questioned, looking around the room. 

“I can get that.” The nurse excused herself from the room then. 

“I know this fucking sucks.” Javier offered as he passed Sofía to her mother. She seemed stronger now, able to hold her without his assistance. “It’s not at all how we planned it…”

“It never is.” She said quietly as she looked down at Sofía, brushing her fingertips against her forehead. “She’s so little. Is she smaller than Josie was?”

“She is.” Javier rested his hand against hers. “She looks so much like her big sister.” 

“I’m sorry.” She glanced up at him. “I know this isn’t… this isn’t what you wanted.” 

“Hey, hey. No.” He reached out and brushed away the stray tear that slid down her cheek. “None of that, baby. No. All I care about is the two of you being healthy. You could’ve given birth in the back of our car and I’d still be the happiest man alive.” 

She inhaled raggedly, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “Can you take her?” 

“Of course.” Javier cradled the back of her head as he picked Sofía back up, rocking her gently in his arms. “Baby, please don’t cry. I really don’t fucking care about anything except you, okay?” 

“I’m leaking.” She admitted, covering her face ashamedly. “My baby is crying, my breasts are leaking, and I can’t fucking feed her!” 

“It’s not your fault.”

“It is.” She crossed her arms across her chest, trying to hide the damp spots forming. 

The monitor beside the bed started beeping and the nurse appeared seconds later with the formula and a look of concern. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t feed my baby.”

Javier’s heart felt like it was being torn out of his chest. 

“I’m going to need you to calm down.” The nurse said lightly as she passed the formula off to Javier. “You can still feed your baby with the bottle, okay? But I’m going to need you to calm down, otherwise I’m going to have to sedate you again.” 

“Please don’t.” She whispered, hastily wiping away her tears. “Please. I don’t want to feel like that again. Please don’t sedate me.” 

“Are you going to calm down?” 

Javier kinda wanted to yell at the nurse for the vague condescending tone she was speaking to her with. But that wasn’t going to do anyone any good. “Her breasts… are leaking.” He told the nurse, trying to intercede for her. “Can you get her a fucking pump or something? Please.” 

The nurse just glared at him, before she backed down. “That’s probably a good idea.” 

Sofía started crying louder, which only seemed to make the dark stain on her mother’s hospital gown grow darker. “Shh. Sweetheart, your mommy’s going to help you. Okay?” 

How would he have done this without her? How could he handle Josie and Sofía on his own? The mere thought made him want to join in with his girls and sob his fucking heart out. 

Once again he helped her take her daughter into her arms, nestled safely against her chest. He passed her the formula, watching as she brought the bottle to her lips and waited for her to latch on to it.

Javier sank down onto the rolling stool, head in his hands while she fed Sofía. He was so fucking tired and so fucking tired of feeling helpless. 

If his father and Steve hadn’t been there with him… he would’ve lost his fucking mind. He couldn’t imagine dealing with this in Colombia. There was no way in hell he would’ve been able to go back to the DEA and work, knowing she was incapacitated. She was a fucking fighter and it made him want pull the world apart knowing that she was hurting. There was nothing he could do. The decision he had made had gotten them into this situation. 

It was all his fucking fault. 

[samthemarvelfan]

Goodbyes: Chapter Eight

Summary: Ella Monroe is the Avengers newest recruit, handpicked by Steve Rogers himself. Indebted to him for reasons unknown, Cap pairs her up with Bucky Barnes. He is tasked with training her to relearn and hone the skills that have long since rusted. Bucky is cold and distant, and Ella can’t seem to break through the wall he’s built up for decades. He sees something in her though, and it scares him to death. Has the fate of these two strangers been sealed? …or will they always be longing…

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC, feat Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark

Warnings: ANGST, Bucky is a dick, mutual pining, self sabotage, slow burn, alcohol, flirting, swearing. I think that’s it!  Def not following a specific MCU canon or timeline.

A/N: I legit can’t believe the love from you all! Gosh my lil heart might burst! Please stick with me after this chapter and please don’t hate me! Patience is a virtue after all. Thank you for every comment, like, message and reblog. Love you endlessly. <3

Taglist: @iheartsebastianstan @jjlizz @stuckysbabe @sk493494 @lefoutoir @nickangel13 @marvelismysafezone @lilulo-12 @warmvanillafeels @heartofagamotto @ravenesque @pinknerdpanda (strikethrough means the tag didn’t work! I’m sorry!)  (strikethrough means the tag didn’t work! I’m sorry! Tags are OPEN!)

Three fucking weeks.

At this point, you were almost positive you were losing your mind.

Everyone was still in Romania, and you hadn’t had any actual contact with the team. Sam occasionally gave you the smallest of updates, usual in the form of a message that said “we’re alive.”

Gotta love that detail.

Wanda had checked on you too, making sure you were eating, as you had a tendency to forget to when you were stressed.

What drove you mad more than anything was that you hadn’t heard from Bucky. Was it really all in your head? The two of you connecting finally, and then he just vanished without a word?

Sure, maybe you were being irrational and needy. He was working; risking his life for the greater good after all. That doesn’t make it hurt any less, though.

“Miss Monroe, you’re receiving a call.” FRIDAY’s voice announced.

You jumped off the couch and ran to comm beacon in the middle of the table.

“Hello?” You ask, hopeful.

“Hey, Punchline! Miss me?” Sam’s humorous tone asked.

You couldn’t even speak, the only sound escaping your lips was an almost sob of relief.

You hear Steve chuckle in the background. “I’ll take that as a yes, meet us on the roof in 5?”

“You bet.” You reply quickly.

You pull your gray, half-zip hoodie over your head as you jog to the elevator. “Flight deck.” You announce as you enter.

The doors close and you hear and feel the rumble of the Quinjet docking. “Finally.” You whisper to yourself.

You get to the roof and see the bay doors opening as the ramp drops. Steve is the first one out, followed swiftly by Sam.

“You guys look the shit.” You jest, running at Steve with open arms.

He wraps you in the tightest hug, “Missed you too, Ella.” He laughs.

“How ‘bout me?” Sam asks. You turn to him with a smile, and he embraced you too.

“Is everyone alright? Did you...did you guys...is it done?” You couldn’t really formulate a thought, your mind still wondering how the hell they survived.

Steve nodded. “Every ounce of data we could extract, we did. That base wasn’t even close to inactive. In fact, it was the hub for HYDRA’s new order.”

Your mouth dropped, “What?”

Sam spoke, “Don’t worry, there’s a debriefing tomorrow, we’ll let you know everything we know.”

Your eyes glance behind Steve and Sam. You see Wanda and Vision exit the plane, relieved that they’re okay. You were chewing on your bottom lip, feeling the impatience take hold of you.

Where the hell is he? You thought.

“Hey Ella, listen—“ Sam said, but you tuned him out, hearing more footsteps on the ramp.

There he was, Bucky, safe and—what?

He was holding someone. A woman. Carrying her like a parent does their child after they’ve fallen asleep in the car.

She was stunning. Milky skin with gorgeous red locks. You knew who this was without a doubt, recalling her photo from the file you’d read months ago. Natasha, the Black Widow.

She was smiling. He was smiling. A real, genuine, happy look graced his face as he walked towards you all.

“Barnes, you can put me down now.” She laughed.

He shook his head, “Not a chance, Kitten. Can’t have you runnin’ off on me again can we?”

She pushed some hair out of his face, “I’m not going anywhere this time. I found what I was looking for, and I don’t intend on letting it go.” She smirked her perfect lips at him, causing him to blush.

Bucky places her gently on her feet before looking at you. His eyes looked panicked as he took in the expression on your face.

“You must be Ella! Nice to meet you, I’m Nat. Steve’s told me so much about you.” She smiled, pulling you in for a hug.

Why didn’t Bucky tell you about me? You think begrudgingly.

A smile graced your face nonetheless as you return the hug. “Its an honor, you’re a legend.” You say in an attempt to control your tone. It was true, too. Natasha Romanoff was infamous in your line of work.

“Don’t boost her ego, Kid.” Tony says walking by you.

You smiled politely, eager to escape to your room. “Well you guys must be exhausted, I’ll let you—“

“Hell no. I need a drink and I need one now.” Sam said as he walked towards the door leading back inside.

“You think you get to drink alone, Wilson? I don’t believe that’s how this relationship works.” Tony said as he completed his retinal scan by the keypad.

“We’re gonna have a ‘hey look at that, none of us died’ dinner tonight. Pizza, beer, booze, music. 8 o’clock in the lounge.” Tony said disappearing inside.

You turned around to see Bucky whispering in Natasha’s ear, both laughing like giddy fucking schoolgirls.

Are they...does he...is she... you’re brain tried to think, but it couldn’t seem to complete a thought.

You wanted to punch him in that smug face of his. He didn’t even have the balls to say goodbye to you when he left, and now that he’s back he has the audacity to not say two words to you?

“I’m always down for pizza, how ‘bout you Ella?” Steve asked, swinging an arm around your shoulder and leading you back inside.

Bucky eyed Steve with a curious look, but you couldn’t help smiling at your friend, “Is that even a question, Steve? Pizza is a main food group in my opinion, you know that.”

He and Nat were swiftly on you heels. “You sure about that Els? You look exhausted, have you been sleeping?” Bucky asks from behind you.

You stop suddenly and turn on your heel. Is he serious? The first thing he says to you is basically ‘you look like shit’ and ‘please don’t come to this party’.

“Now that you mention it, Sergeant, I haven’t been sleeping. I was worried about my friends. Wondering when and if I’d see them again, I’d hate to leave thing left unsaid,”

You grab Steve’s and Sam’s hand in each of yours and lift them, “But it looks like everyone I care about made it back on one piece.”

You turn back around and head into the elevator with everyone.

You stood in your room, fuming.

Is this really who you’ve become? This pathetic teenager pining after someone who will never be hers?

It sure seems that way.

Your stomach churns at the image of he and Nat...together.

An excessive groan leaves your lips as you flop on the bed, ready to let yourself wallow.

Your plans, however, are interrupted by a knock on your door. “What?!” You scream.

The door opens slowly, “I thought you’d have missed me?” Wanda says.

You shoot up, and smile like an idiot. “Of course I missed you, Wan. I’m so glad you’re back!” You embrace her.

The two of you had become quite close recently, and it was so nice to have a girl friend around again.

“Then why do I get the feeling I interrupted a wallowing session, hm?” She said slyly.

You raise an eyebrow at her, “Wan...” You scold.

“I know, I know—stay outta your head. But Ella, your thoughts are so loud I can barely hear my own!” She laughed.

You sigh and sit on the edge of your bed, Wanda joining you.

“I’m just mad. I’m mad at myself for acting like a love struck teenager, I’m mad at him for yoyo-ing me all the damn time. I’m just...”

“In love.” She finished your sentence.

You laugh aloud, “Wan, you have to know someone to love them. That big oaf of a man is too damn stubborn to let anyone in! Besides, I don’t think it’s me he wants.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” She asked.

You stand heading to your closet, looking through clothes to wear for tonight.

“Nothing. Forget I mentioned it.”

Wanda’s footsteps followed you, “I know you say Bucky’s stubborn, but so are you, Ella.” She smiled softly, her nimble fingers landing on a black velvet dress.

“This one.” She says. The long sleeved, deep v dress was your absolute favorite, and also very fancy.

“Isn’t that a bit much?” You ask.

She raised her eyebrows at you. “Uh, have you met Tony? He says ‘pizza and beer’ but he means a gala... with less people.”

“Fine, but I swear to God if you don’t dress up too then I’m coming back here and putting on pajamas.” You hold your pinky out to her.

She hooks it with a smile, “Deal.”

8 o’clock comes far too fast in your opinion.

You’d spent the last two hours in your bathroom doing your makeup and hair, and you look damn good.

The dress rested a bit below mid-thigh, and fit you perfectly. You make a mental not to thank Wanda later for forcing you into it.

“Breathe, Ella.” You say to yourself as the elevator carries you to the lounge floor.

Your black heels click through the corridor, the sound softening as your ears fill with classic rock from the end of the hall.

You slowly push the wooden door open, and spot everyone mingling. Maria Hill was there, as was Rhodey, and another man you’d never met before.

“Oh shoot! I didn’t know we had a supermodel living with us!” Sam shouts.

You laugh, “Oh shut up, you’ve clearly already been drinking.”

He shook his head, “So what? I still got eyes, don’t I?”

“You look beautiful.” Steve says cutting Sam off, placing a kiss on your cheek.

You blush, “Thank you, Steve. You boys clean up pretty nice too. I don’t think we’ve ever seen each other like this.”

Steve shakes his head, “Not exactly the suit I’m most comfortable in.” He took a sip of what you assume is scotch. “What are you drinkin’, sweetheart?” He asks.

“Honestly? Anything with vodka. Then I’ll have a shot or two.” You say, taking a seat at the high top table next to him.

“Coming right up, Sam why don’t you come with me fore you dig a deeper hole for yourself?”

You hear Sam grumbling as Steve drags him away, and you suddenly feel yourself being watched.

You scan the room, and spot him almost instantly. He’s standing with Nat, her back to you, leaning on the bar.

Bucky’s eyes, though glassy from the booze no doubt, had never been more focused.

His gaze roamed your body from your feet to your face. He licked his lips slowly, before capturing his bottom one in his teeth.

Shaking your head, you look away from him. “Don’t even think about it, buddy.” You mutter to yourself. You glance at him quickly one final time and see Nat waving her hand in front of his face.

Bucky’s trance seems to get broken and he falls back into conversation with her with ease.

“Moscow Mule? I think that’s what the bartender called it.” Steve says approaching you.

A light bulb suddenly goes off in your head.

“Steve? Can I ask for a favor?” You say, squeezing the lime into your drink

He nods, “Anything, what’s on your mind?”

You let out a large breath. “Okay, please don’t think I’m immature but I’ve been thoroughly pissed at your best pal over there,” you gesture with a nod of your head.

“and I’d really like to get him back for all the shit he’s put me through.”

Steve sips his drink again, as Sam places 3 shot of Jameson on the table. “What did you have in mind?”

Bucky’s breathing stopped the moment he saw her. He didn’t think she could get anymore beautiful.

Turns out he was incredibly, outstandingly wrong.

He felt his heat racing and his blood pumping, drowning out whatever Nat was telling him about her plans for the evening.

Ella’s eyes were everything to him. They bared her soul and showed him her heart at the same time. He’d never been able to see a future for himself, until she fell into his life.

He worried about her constantly. Not being able to see her or talk to her or hear her voice for nearly 3 weeks drove him crazy. Then seeing her in the state she was in, so obviously sleep deprived and stressed. He hated himself for making her worry so much, and it was clear she wasn’t too happy with him when he got back this morning.

“Hello, Earth to Barnes? Did you hear me?” Nat said, waving her hand.

Bucky shook his head, “No sorry, what was that?”

Nat smiled slyly. “Mhm, your girls got you in a tizzy, that’s for sure.” She said, sipping her martini.

Bucky smiled shyly. “She’s not my girl, no matter how much I wish she was.”

Nat slapped his lapel, “So what the fuck are you doing fuck standing here with me?!”

“Ow! Okay, okay! Christ, shouldn’t you be fucking Banner in a utility closet or something?” He laughed stepping away from her.

“All in good time, Barnes. Now go get your girl.” She said spinning away from him.

Bucky’s eyes traveled to where she was standing, but she wasn’t there. Sam was in her spot, downing a shot Bucky was sure he’d regret in the morning.

He maneuvered around the groups of people, searching for her. The soft rock music playing poignantly through the speakers, he sees a few couples dancing.

He scoots around them and spots Steve.

Good for him. He thought happily to himself.

When Steve sways around with his partner, he sees its not a random guest he’s dancing with. Steve is dancing with a beautiful girl, a woman, Bucky’s girl.

Bucky wants to throw up and kick his ass all at once.

But then he sees Ella.

She’s smiling, and comfortable. She’s happy as she rests her head on Steve’s chest, and sways to the rhythm of the song.

The alcohol in his system doesn’t make these feelings any easier to handle. His vibranium fist clenching and unclenching.

A whirring sound get both Steve and your attention. That’s when you see Bucky standing about 10 feet away from the two of you as he watches dance.

“Hey Buck, wh—“

“Shut the fuck up, Steve.” Bucky slurs.

Your eyes widen at the words he says to his friend. Bucky is visibly shaking, and obviously drunk—probably more so than you, and that’s saying something since Sam kept the shots coming.

“Bucky, stop.” You say before your mind can stop you.

He lets out a sarcastic laugh, “Not fucking him, huh?” He spat in anger as he pushed by you, leaving the lounge all together.

Steve looked to the door, then to you. Your eyes brimming with tears as you swallowed a sob.

He looks at you with a sad smile, and nods his head toward the door. “Go get him.”

Chapter Nine: Seen

[natashaashleymarvelromanoff]

I’m so glad you’re back - chapter 13

chapter 1  chapter 2  chapter 3  chapter 4  chapter 5  chapter 6  chapter 7 chapter 8  chapter 9  chapter 10  chapter 11 chapter 12  chapter 14  chapter 15  Epilogue

We’re finally here!! It's been weird writing a romanogers fanfic when they're only just reuniting in chapter 13 but I've enjoyed it so far and this chapter just made me love writing them again. I hope you enjoy guys and please let me know what you think!!

Taking in a deep breath, she holds it for a few seconds and just stares at him. Her eyes were flickering without blinking, not daring to blink in case he disappeared right in front of her eyes. Soon they start to well up, threatening to fall down her cheeks. He was here. For the first time in 5 years, he's right here. Just a few feet away from her, the man she had been partners with for years, the man she spent two years on the run with, the man she betrayed 117 countries for. The man she still loved after all this time. the father of her child.

“your roots are terrible. No one tell you?”

All Natasha can do is huff out a laugh, its the first time she's seeing him in 5 years and he's making cheesy jokes about her hair. He never changed. Taking a breath after her laugh, she smiles. A smile she only ever saves for James.

Hooking the gauntlet to her belt, she secures it before pushing on her feet to run towards him, to which he does the exact same. Running with the hammer and shield, dropping them just moments before they hug.

Grabbing onto him with all her strength, her arms wrap around him and she buries her face into his neck, her tears spilling from her eyes and running onto his exposed skin. He can feel the tickle of the water as it runs down and squeezes his eyes shut in sadness. He’d been gone for 5 years to her, for him it had only been a few minutes, and now she was crying because she finally had him back. Steve had only ever seen her cry a handful of times and with only a good reason. 

They cling onto each other, just revelling in the feeling of the touch of one another. Natasha with her face still buried in his neck, breathes in deep through her nose, trying to remember the way he smells. Like Wakandan dirt and a cheap body spray that if she remembers right, he and sam must have picked up from a convenience store back when they were on the run. Right before the battle of Wakanda. 

As he holds onto the woman he loved he runs his hand upwards towards her hair, fingering the braid in his hands. The blonde she had just minutes ago for him was now at the ends of her hair, her natural colour just as long as the blonde making it come down to just a little bit higher than her waist. It really had been 5 years.

“I can't believe you're here.” she says to him as she pulls back slightly, feeling his hand still playing with her braid. She looks him in the eyes and stares at him with a look of pure admiration and happiness. 

“It really has been 5 years huh?” her smile slightly falters as she sees steves eyes look down in regret, his fingers falling from her hair to her waist. She just slowly nods at him.

“I'm sorry.” pulling away further to look at him properly she frowns, Natasha moves her hands up to his face to grab the sides of his face to make him look at her and she strokes her thumb against the curly hair covering the bottom half of his face.

“you've got nothing to be sorry for you idiot.” leaning a little closer to him, they both seem to forget their standing in the middle of a battleground and lean forwards to kiss but are interrupted by a large explosion close by making them pull back slightly from the sudden noise.

Watching the fire burn out in the air, steve turns back to Natasha and gives her a guilty smile.

“stones first, kiss later?” giving him a quick smile she agrees with him. As much as they just wanted to embrace themselves in the other, they couldn't. Not right now anyway. They were in the midst of war and their friends had done their best to keep them protected as they reunited. They had to finish this battle.

Shifting her eyes down, she unhooks the iron glove attaches to her belt and holds it out to steve, not knowing what to do with it.

“what do you want me to do with this damn thing?”

“Get those stones as far away as possible” 

“No! We need to get them back where they came from.” suddenly opping back onto the comm system, bruce spoke up with his suggestion as he continued to fight enemies wherever he was.

“No way to get them back. Thanos destroyed the Quantum Tunnel.” then Tony spoke up, thanks to Thanos their time machine had been destroyed, there was no way of getting them back now.

“Hold on. That wasn't our only time machine.” then right beside them in the sky, the giant Scott lang quickly shrinks back to his normal size. Pulling out a key from his pocket, he presses the button on the top. Then the blaring noise of a car alarm singing the "La Cucaracha" song started to sound out from deep across the battlefield.

“Anyone see an ugly, brown van out there?” shouted Natasha down her comm, hoping that if she could hear the car horn, them maybe it was still intact out there.

Then from up high, riding a pegasus Valkyrie spotted the van far into the other side of the battle. Deep inside the chaos of where Thanos' army is.

“Yes, but you're not gonna like where it's parked.” 

“Scott, how long you need to get that thing working?” tony popped up again. They needed to get those stones gone and get them back to where they came from quick, so Thanos wouldn't get his hands on them again.

As he contemplated how long he would need a body enlarging its self popped up next to him. hope!

“Uh, maybe ten minutes.” agreeing with Scott's words, he urges them to go.

“Get it started. We'll get the stones to you!”

“We're on it, Cap.” Scott smirks at hope once she says ‘cap’ remembering the time she had made fun of him for saying it. Suddenly they both shrink and make their way to the van, to be honest, they were probably the only ones who could do it, him and hope could fix it up no problem and they were probably the only ones who could actually make it across the battlefield in one piece since no one could actually see them.

Steve turned back to Natasha once the plan for the stones was set, he grabs her by the arms and pulls her closer.

“You need to run, fast. Be careful.”

Nodding quickly at steve, Natasha silently promises him she will.

“You stay safe too okay? Don't go dying on me again.” she quirks up the corner of her mouth to let him know she was joking, and he just returns the same smile.

“Never.”

Moving backwards slowly, Natasha turns to run off to get the stones to the van but she only makes it a few steps before she feels steves hand grab her arm and pull her back, spinning her back around and pulling her back close until they're are chest to chest and he tilts his head down to capture her lips in a kiss. 

Pulling away from the first kiss they have shared in 5 years, Natasha can only smile. She wishes it could just be her and him in that moment, with none of this fight going on around them, but that wasn't the case. They had to get the stones back to their timelines now.

Pulling away, she looked him in the eyes before she turned back round to run off in the direction of the van, ready to take the gauntlet and get the stones back where they came from. 

During the battle, tony ends up a few feet away from Doctor Strange at one point, both fighting side by side as they did on titan. But tony is quickly getting overwhelmed with the fight. Turning to his ally, tony retracts his faceplate and shouts over to the wizard.

“ Hey, you said one out of fourteen million, we'd win, yeah? Tell me this is it.”

“If I tell you what happens, it won't happen.”

Then deep into their enemies side of the battlefield, Scott and hope grow back to normal size inside the van after flying in through the window. Scott tries to start the van but its bust. If they're going to get the quantum tunnel working he's going to have to hotwire the van. Bending down as far as he can considering there's a steering wheel in the way, he reaches underneath the dash and pulls on some wires, quickly degloving them and touching the bare wires together to get it working.

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

Watching as his army fights the other side, Thanos stands tall, his eyes scanning over the fight. But then he notices that someone is missing, and a certain something that he had sent her to get.

Shouting over to his closest black order members, Corvus glaive responds quickly.

“Where’s Nebula?”

“She's not responding.”

Then speaking up from behind, whilst using spells to protect his master, ebony maw points across the battlefield.

“sire!”

Turning to look in the direction his adoptive son had pointed too, he narrows his eyes and sees a glint of gold. Shifting his eyes up he sees a woman red and blonde hair clutching the gauntlet and stones to her chest as she runs through the battlefield. Her teammates clearing a path for her to get into there side.

Immediately ordering the outriders to take her down, the creatures start to close in on Natasha as she makes a run for it. She instantly notices the sudden group starting to run at her and tries her best to run and fight them off. Thankfully just as one got a little too close, T’Challa came running in and kept her close as he activated his kinetic energy pulse. Blowing back all outriders trying to kill her. Turning quick to Natasha, he tells her to give him the gauntlet. They only have a few seconds to pass the gauntlet over before the knocked down creatures are getting back up and chasing them again, but know their focus is on the black panther. 

Running as fast as he can, T'Challa fights his way through the outriders trying to get the gauntlet to the van that Scott and hope were trying to fix.

Thanos stood in the distance watching the exchange between the woman and panther happen. Since his outriders couldn't get the gauntlet or even take down the people that had it. Then he'll do it himself.

Marching through the crowds of minions towards the black-suited man, he's suddenly stopped by a red light purging around him and wrapping itself around his arms making him unable to move.

Thanos tried to pull against the force keeping him still but he's not strong enough to break it. Then, walking up a slope to reach the titan is a woman with orange hair and a red jacket. Her eyes shining with the same light she had taken control of him with and also with anger.

“You took everything from me.” this made Thanos sneer at her with confusion.

“I don't even know who you are.” 

Clenching her jaw, her eyes glow brighter with rage.

“You will.”

Then using her powers, she pulls on her energy cords wrapped around Thanos's arms and wraps two more round his legs and neck. Lifting him up high into the air she pulls using her hands and moves them away from each other, her powers mimicking the same pull movement.

Thanos lets out a roar as he feels the strength of her powers pull on his limbs, but wanda doesn't hold off one bit. determined to avenge her lover's death and everything she lost because of him. Not only did he take Vision from her but the moment she returned she could feel the loss of someone she cared out. The man who was like an older brother or father to her. The man her brother sacrificed his life for. 

…..

Still fighting his way through different Chitauri and Outrider soldiers, T'Challa jumps and dodges their blows whilst also soaking up the kinetic energy, using to fuel his suit so he can distribute the energy back out to knock them out of his way. But suddenly he's knocked from running by one of the outriders making him lose his grip on the nanotech gauntlet carrying the stones. Getting back up onto his feet, T’Challa runs back towards the metal glove lying on the ground. But as he runs it starts to rise up with the ground. A pillar of dirt and rock-forming to keep it away from the panther.

But it doesn't stop the king from leaping high up to grab it. But as he does the pillar keep moving towards a figure standing on a ledge that looked like… Voldemort?

 But before the figure can pull him closer with his powers, a shiny armour makes it way over to him with legs sticking out the back of his suit. It's spiderman. 

Peter swings past the creatures that are fighting down below on the ground and glides over the top of black panther, who throws the gauntlet up in the air for him to catch.

Once he has a hold on the nano gauntlet, peter lands back on the ground, his iron spider legs stopping him from hitting the ground hard and actually helping him roll to land safely.  But as soon as he lands the outsiders gang up on him too quickly that there's no way for him to fight them all of in time to escape. Then he thinks. Karen!

“Karen, activate instant kill mode!”

“Yes peter”

Switching on the controls for instant kill, Karen quickly closes in on all targets that are running towards peter and attacks them all using the suit to fire weapons at them and also stabbing and throwing the attackers to keep them from hurting peter.

…..

Thanos is still roaring out at the force of the woman in front of him trying to rip him apart, she's too powerful for him to break free. If he can't break free then there is no chance anyone could help him or take her down. Making a quick decision, he decides its the only thing that would get her to let go of her power. 

“Ready fire!”

“But sire, our troops will suffer the bombardment.” Corvus Glaive warns him. If they fire onto the battlefield they will kill not only their enemies but their own warriors.

“Just do it”

Complying with his master, Corvus calls a rain of missiles to fall on the battlefield. Hsi ship stats to power up the cannons, charging to fire at the ground once more. 

Then as the cannons begin to fire, the missiles rain down in different spots, blowing up warriours and fighters from both sides, but to protect them and as many of their team as possible, the masters of the mystic arts start to summon Tao mandalas to protect their army from the attack.

Meanwhile near the lake that had been somehow avoided this entire time, a missile hits and breaks the damn that had been keeping it from flooding their battleground. Reacting quickly, Doctor Strange uses his powers to protect them all from drowning of seawater.

….

Once again, Peter finds himself being outnumbered by the outsiders, but luckily Captain America was close by to see the boy being ganged upon. Throwing Mjolnir towards him, he shouts for the kid's attention, who immediately sees the hammer and grabs onto it which instantly pulls peter from his spot and flies him across the battlefield. Then he feels someone grab his arm and flying him upwards until he's put on the back of a flying horse. It was pepper! Shes pulled him from the hammer. And now he was riding on the back of a pegasus with a woman who didn't recognise.

“Hey nice to meet Oh MY GOD”  he kind of knew it wasn't the right time to introduce himself but he couldn't help it. But before he could actually say his name, one of the missiles struck down right in front of them and the pegasus was forced to dodge it, following valkyries order to help get peter closer to the van.

It seems like the missiles will never stop as each avenger is knocked down by the ground shaking from the impacts.

Rocket instantly threw himself over Groot, trying to protect the tree with his own body.

Peter was knocked off the pegasus sending him straight to the ground along with the gauntlet. The dust from the ground swallowing him.

Even bruce was thrown off making him fall to the ground.

But then the ground stops shaking.

As each member of their team starts to stand up, everyone notices that the fire hadn't stopped but was being aimed into the sky instead. Tony could just about see the blue light of the energy beams fly their way through the dust and clouds before it disappeared up high.

“It seems something had entered our upper atmosphere.” Friday told tony as he looked up into the darkness with confusion.

Blowing up and flying through the main system of the sanctuary II, the most powerful of them all was Captain Marvel. Carol Danvers. Nothing could stop her as she smashed her way through the unbreakable metal of Thanos's ship. Stopping the airstrike onto the ground and herself.

Thanos can do nothing but look on with bewilderment on his face. The woman with red powers had been distracted by the airstrike along with getting knocked backwards that she no longers had a grip on him.

Once the ship started to fall out of the sky, the captain landed on the ground superhero style, right in front of a young boy huddled near a rock clutching the gauntlet in his arms. 

Peter just stared in wonder at the lady as she walked up to him, the light of the explosion she had caused shining behind her. 

“H-hi um, I'm peter parker.” smiling at the boy carol was amused by his innocent words. She had seen his face before, in some of the pictures she had seen of their missing team members, and by his suit, she guesses he was spiderman but she couldn't recall his name until now. Wow, He really was young. 

“Hey, peter parker. You got something for me?”

Shifting his eyes down to his chest he realised he had been clutching onto the gauntlet this entire time. Nodding at the glowing woman, she held a hand out for him to take, pulling him up, peter passed her the gauntlet and she held it to her side.

Once both peter and carol are stood side by side, there's a sudden onslaught of outriders and chitauri approaching them but they won't have to face them alone.

Joining their team of two are Pepper, wanda, Mantis, Okoye, Shuri, Valkyrie, Wasp, Gamora, Natasha and Nebula who all assault Thanos' army of chitauri and outriders to help create a path for Captain Marvel so she can get the gauntlet to the van that Hope and Scott had finally fixed.

Making a beeline towards the van and tunnel, Thanos instantly tried to stop her but as he tried to make a run for her, he's stopped by beams of light aiming at him. As he looks to see what's stopping him he sees 3 women, two flying in the air and one on the ground. Every time he tries to turn they get him at another angle. If he cant stop them, he'll just have to do things differently. 

Swinging the sword in his hands he throws it like a spear. Straight towards the van.

The quantum vortex is just about to power up when its hit right in the centre. Slicing through the earth metal they had built it with. Instantly destroying it and exploding outwards a surge of power sending carol reeling back and leaving the gauntlet knocked out of her hands and onto the ground. Leaving it unsecured.

Quickly noticing the gauntlet lying on the ground close by, tony tries to run over to get it straight away but moving in front of it and blocking his path was Thanos. 

Forcing him into a fight, Thanos quickly overpowers tony throwing him to the side, and when steve and thor see they both try to take down the titan himself but are also taken down by him.

Then reacting as quick as he could, Thanos lept for the gauntlet that had been left lying on the ground. Picking it up he attempts to put it on and just about gets it on before he is suddenly knocked down by a flying captain marvel that was heading straight into his direction. 

As they start with hand to hand combat, Thanos and carol try to fight each other off with carol holding onto his gauntlet covered hand trying to stop him from snapping his fingers, attempting to get her off him he brings his head back and slams it forward, headbutting her. 

But once he pulled his head back he noticed that it didn't even affect her and her anger just became more enhanced as she fueled her power even more, overpowering him. But as she pulls on his arm that had the gauntlet attached, he had a new idea. Reaching with his left arm, he grabbed the purple power stone from its slot on the gauntlet and used it to blast her backwards.

As tony watches the fight between his friend and enemy, he glances to the doctor he had lost 5 years ago. Doctor strange. 

He doesn't say anything but just gives Stephen a look of desperation. 

And all the wizard replies with is one hand in the air, with his fist clenched except for one finger. Trying to signal that this is the one outcome he knew they would win.

Tony can only sigh with acceptance, knowing what he needs to do. What he needs to do for his friends, for his family, for pepper, for peter, for his nephew, for his daughter morgan. 

…..

Returning the power stone to its rightful place in the gauntlet, the stone power up once more, the energy coursing through his body ready for him to snap his fingers.

But before he can snap his fingers a weakened iron man once again tries to grapple with him for the glove actually managing to get it off the giant purple hand. but he doesn't have enough power to fight and keep the gauntlet to himself, so Thanos easily brushed the Iron man to the side.

Smugly Thanos puts on the gauntlet one more time. Finally, he stands up proudly, ready to snap his fingers. Taking a deep breath he revels in his success and turns to look at tony who was kneeling on the dirt.

“I am… inevitable.”

Lifting his arm, Thanos takes his finger and thumb together and snaps.

But when he feels no surge of power flow through him his brow furrows. Turning his hand to look st the gauntlet he sees there are no stones where they should be. Each one is gone. Thanos gasped in shock and turned back to look at the small man that he had just fought off. And when he does he's met with the kneeling man holding up his arm, all six stones attached to his nano armour. 

But the power that surges through tony is unimaginable. It's eating him up too fast. 

Getting back up from Thanos's blow with the stone, carol sees the energy and force of the gauntlet taking over tony. One stone is too much for a human, never mind six. Blasting her way to him, carol flies to tony and grabs his left hand in hers, half of the power that was flowing through tony now flowing through her. She knew she could handle the power but it was still a lot to take for two people.

Close by, peter quill sees the two avengers and instantly recognises what they are trying to. He de-activates him a helmet and shouts down his comm which is connected to other members of their army. 

“Everybody get to tony now!” 

Hearing the star lord call out to them, the avengers assemble once more alongside tony and carol. Linking hands to make a chain of power is Tony, carol, peter quill, steve, thor, Natasha bruce, Drax, Nebula, Scott, Wanda and every other avenger they knew. The rest of their army defending them from attackers as they all took a bit of the power each.

Between the dozen of them sharing the power, tony looks upon his team with gratefulness and then look at a stunned Thanos.

Taking a deep breath, Tony opens his mouth. Uttering the same words he said almost 15 years ago.

"I am Iron Man"

 Snap.

[buckthegrump]

Just Forget the World

Summary: A list of firsts.

Word Count: 1941

Warnings: Fluff, angst, character death,

A/n: I wrote this a million years ago but here it is again. 

The first time you met him was at a bar when he was trying to hook up with you. 

He had tried every trick and pick up line he had but you were not having any of it.

“Ya know I don’t know what your issue is,” you had a sly smile plastered to your face knowing it would make him try harder. “These might be some of the lamest pickup lines ever.”

“I don’t think they’re that bad.” He defended.

“Oh, but they are.” You laughed. “What was the last one?”

“Can I even get a fake number,” he admitted embarrassed.

“Oh my god,” you laughed more than place a hand on his arm seriously. “Thank you for making me laugh so hard I almost pee.”

“Yeah have a good night.” He said defeated.

“I’m Y/n,” you stuck out your right hand and he looked shocked. “Take it before I change my mind.”

“Sam,” he shook your hand and a devilish smile appeared on his face. It’s this that told you that this was no one night stand.

The first time he called you was right after your first proper date.

“Ya know, when someone says ‘this was fun call me’ they don’t typically me right after the date has ended.” You said into the phone looking out your window. You could still see him. He was leaning on his car looking up at your building. He wasn’t sure which apartment was yours so he was just letting his eyes wander, hoping that not only will your window be on this side of the building but you’ll also turn on your light and reveal yourself. But that would be too easy.

“Well, I was just double checking that this wasn’t a fake number.”

“How could it be? We’ve been texting.” You were still looking at him.

“Well, you could have some serious skills that I don’t know about. I have learned to never underestimate someone. I am a superhero ya know.” You didn’t have to be looking at him to know that there was a smirk forming on his face when he said that.

“Why are you still outside my building?” You quickly changed the subject.

“So you are in your apartment.” He stood up straight. You took a few steps back so he couldn’t see you. “And you can see me, so turn on your light.”

“And ruin all the fun?”

“Ok, I’ll go. But I do wanna see you again.” He scanned your building one last time.

“I don’t know man, standing outside my building is very creepy. And you’ve got a weird taste in pets.” You joked.

“Ok, first of all, it started out as making sure you got into your building safely-”

“You kissed me at the front door.” You reminded him but he ignored you.

“Second of all, red wing is not a pet.” He said still not in his car.

“Get in your car and go home, Sam.”

“Will you talk to me until I get there?” He looked right at your window and you froze for a second. There’s no way he could know.

“You’re already at your car.”

“No, talk with me until I get home?” He clarified and you agreed.

You talked for hours. He kept talking to you even when you could tell that he had made it home. You didn’t mind though, talking with Sam made everything easy. You totally forgot about the world until the sun started peaking over the horizon and you instantly felt tired.

The first time he said that he loved you was at a dinner table.

“So Y/n, you’re going to stick with that name?” Bucky asked shoving a fork full of food into his mouth. Before Sam could kick him under the table you placed a hand on his knee and gave him a look.

“Well, I’ll change my name when you do, buck teeth.” You smile.

“It’s Bucky.” He muffles his mouth still full of food.

You scrunched your face together. “Hm, I don’t think so.”

“This is gonna be a thing isn’t it?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah, it is.” Tony laughed.

Sam and dragged you to dinner with his friends, as he called it. But the longer you sat there the more you realized that this was his family. They were all very nice but they all wanted to see how far they could push you. They kept doing it over and over, this didn’t bother you, you had made it through public high school. The two of you had been dating for a few months and you were surprised that this was the first time you were meeting any of them. He hadn’t even introduced you to Captain America, which was a shame. But according to Sam you would leave him in a heartbeat for Mr. High and mighty because Sam would leave himself for Cap if he could.

“Guys, can you lay off the interrogation?” Sam pleaded. “Please don’t scare off the woman I love.”

“The what?” You asked quickly eyes wide.

He looked at you with a similar shocked expression. “I didn’t say shit.”

“The fuck you didn’t.” Steve scoffed.

“Shut it, Rogers.” Sam clipped.

You lean to Sam to kiss his cheek. “I love you too.” You whispered in his ear and he smiled back at you.

The first time he didn’t call was 2 years after you started dating.

You knew they were home. You could see the jet to the side of the building.  You stormed into the compound ready to yell at Sam for not calling you when you are stopped by the dimness in the room. The entire entry was decorated with fairy lights and pictures of your life set up like a timeline, once you got to the part of your life that you had met Sam, there he stood to walk with you the rest of the way.

“Alright ya big softy, what is this?” You asked once he met up with you.

“Y/n I have missed the first part of your life,” he said as you get closer to the end. “And I’m glad that I got to walk with you through the last 2 years of your life.”

You both stopped and you smiled. “I’m glad you were here too. But is this just some sweet thing so that I’m not mad at you anymore because it won’t work. I’m still mad at you for not calling and being late. What are you doing?”

He smiled and got down on one knee. You instantly start to well up. “Sam I swear to god.”

“I would love to spend the rest of my life walking with you if you will do the same for me.” He smiled. “Y/n please marry me?”

“Of course!” You lean down to kiss him. He slid the ring onto your finger and he stood to kiss you again.

“Are you still mad at me?” He smiled against your lips.

“Yes, you always call dumbass.” You gave him a quick peck and started walking away.

“Where are you going?” He looked disappointed.

“I’m going up to your room.” You looked over your shoulder. “I’m ready to go to bed.”

“It’s the middle of the day how tired are you?”

“Never said I was tired.” You sauntered away knowing full well he’ll follow you.

The first time you didn’t call him back.

You and Sam had a week before your wedding. You were so excited, you were having a winter wedding. It was mid-January and the snow was just starting to fall. Pretty lightly for now but it would pick up soon. The snow was only ever good for that first day so you had to get out of the house before it turned bad. You went out for a walk because you needed just a minute to yourself. You had been walking for about an hour when Sam called. But your fingers were too cold to take off your gloves so you tried to answer with your nose but that didn’t work. After his call went to voicemail you decide that if he calls again it must be important and then you’ll take off your glove. But he didn’t, he just sent you a text.

Just called to say I love you and can’t wait to marry you. Come back soon I have something for you.

You smiled and kept on walking. You slipped on some ice but caught yourself. You look around to see if anyone saw and lucky for you there wasn’t anyone that you saw on the street. You stopped for a second to laugh at yourself and you saw a car come barreling down the road. You could see they were going to fast to see the patch of ice they were going to hit but they didn’t slow down and you were frozen with fear.

The first time was almost late.

Sam didn’t know who to talk to, but he needed to find you. When he arrived at the scene it wasn’t hard to find you. There you were, pinned between the SUV and the tree.

“Mr. Wilson we are trying everything we can,” the firefighters were still talking but Sam was looking at you and forgot about the world. “So go keep her calm.”

He walked up to you and grabbed your hand.

“Hey,” you gently squeezed his hand because you didn’t have enough strength for anything else. “You made it.”

“Of course I made it. You’re gonna get out of here and then we’re gonna go down the aisle and have our wedding dance.” He half smiled trying to force the lump in his throat back down.

“Sam-” you cough.

“No,” he interrupts. “You are going to get out of this alive. We still need to pick the song for your first dance.”

“How about chasing cars?” You play along and he laughs wiping a tear from his eye. “Too soon?”

“Maybe just a little bit.”

“Ok,” your breath hitches in your throat and it’s getting harder to keep breathing.

“How do you feel?” He strokes your hair.

“Umm I don’t feel cold anymore and my legs no longer hurt. Which is good that I’m not in pain but that means I can’t feel the lower half of my body.” You were on the verge of tears but you wanted to stay strong for Sam.

“Someone needs to help her!” Sam yelled not even trying to hide the tears streaming down his face. “Get her out of here.”

“Sam,” you breathed, you were only getting a word or two out at a time. “I need- to talk to you.”

“What?” He asked softly turning his attention back to you.

“You can’t- blame her.” Your eyes were pleading with him.

“Who?” He gripped your hand tighter.

“The driver,” you coughed again only this time it hurt. “She’s 17, you can’t- blame her. She already-”

“Ok, I won’t blame her.”

“She won’t- recover,” you were tired so you no longer had the energy to stop yourself from crying.

“I promise.” He kissed your hand. “Please hold on the team will be here soon. They’ll know what to do. Tony and Banner will know what to do.”

“Sam, I love you.” You knew it wasn’t what he wanted to hear right now but it’s what he needed. It’s what you needed, to know that he knew.

“They are on their way.” He repeated. “Please hold on.”

“Sam.” You said and he kissed you with all he’s got left.

“I love you too.” He cried and you smiled one last time.

[dontcallmecarrie]

I am being (fandom/shipping) nosy, & you're in full rights to shut me down.... Question(s): Do you have any OTP's/ preferred pairings, for any and/all fandoms you're in? On the other hand, are you more the type to be focused on a topic and stuff romance in a basement? (I'd be a hypocrite to judge.) Or are you a mix of both depending on whatever? Not intending to start anything. Best wishes to you! Hope you are well!

For your first question: yes and no.

I don’t have OTPs in the sense of ‘I only ship these two characters together, and don’t ship them with anyone else’. The way I ship is ‘I think these two have good chemistry in this AU and have a lot of fun exploring that dynamic’, which is how I have several AUs with Steve/Tony [The Inception-y Fic I Refuse To Write Right Now, Whisper of Every Waking Hour, plus a few shatterpoints], Stephen/Tony [By Myself But Not Alone’s sure leaning that way, at least], and the list goes on. 

but really at the end of the day, it can be summed up as Tony/Happiness because the MCU really put him through the wringer and I am forever bitter about it

…well, with one exception: I only ship Howard Stark with Maria Carbonell, but that’s mostly because I have

way

too much fun messing around with a blank slate of a character. 

Outside of the MCU, I’ve got a few ships I have a preference for— but you’ll see a few trends.

Apart from Blurred Lines, I haven’t really delved into writing for Doctor Who. Partly because I am nowhere near caught up, and partly because my favorite character is Martha Jones and that…kinda speaks for itself, really. I’m not a fan of Martha Jones/Mickey Smith, though, because seeing Martha once again get left with Rose’s ex kinda left a bad taste in my mouth. [An entire universe’s array of characters to choose from, engaged with someone who legit died trying to protect her in another timeline, and she gets paired off with Rose’s ex-boyfriend? Really? Where the hell did that even come from?!] 

Suffice it is to say, I ship Martha Jones/Happiness as well. 

It’s why I’ve been struggling to keep spinoff AUs from forming for Blurred Lines, because Martha/Sherlock and Martha/Tom Milligan are both very appealing options [Tom’d accidentally fill in part of Mary Morstan’s role even as I ignore the rest of season three onwards. It’d be great]. Not to mention the idea of a queerplatonic OT3 where Sherlock and Moriarty [a saner one than in canon, at least] give Martha grey hair and everyone else migraines. Or, in an even crackier AU, Martha Jones/Sebastian Moran, feat. a lot of exasperated looks and explosions with surprisingly little collateral damage [no one wants to piss off or disappoint Martha. No one] and Sherlock and Moriarty’s horror at the unholy alliance that is Martha’s and Anthea’s friendship. 

…anyway. Onto the next fandom!

I’ve only written for the sequel trilogy of Star Wars, so I’ll lead with that. Finn/Poe Dameron is not a hard OTP for me, but getting there because their dynamic was something I loved from the first time I saw it in the cinema. I will say that I have a hard NOTP for this fandom, though: while I am a huge fan of ship and let ship [fandom old, here. If I don’t like it, time to hit the back button and find something I enjoy reading rather than leave hate in some poor author’s inbox], I think the apocalypse will roll around before I write Rey and Kylo Ren romantically.

In the Darth Calamity AU, Ben’s going to be a big brother/mentor figure for her as well as Finn. They’re going to be close, don’t get me wrong— but…um. I highly doubt it’ll ever come up, but in my AU at least, Ben’s going to kinda take after his family, as far as romance goes. His type is, much like Han Solo’s and Anakin’s “she takes no shit, hates fascism, and is damn good with a blaster”. Specifically, Ben’s first meeting with Rose Tico involves a broken nose during a bar fight swarming with First Order supporters, and it’s going to be love at first right hook. 

Beyond that…I cannot count how many fandoms I’ve lurked in. Or lurked and left an anonymous comment for [I was rather shy when I was younger]. To sum up: if it’s well-written, odds are I’ll enjoy it. If I were to list ships, I’d have a pool noodle armada. 

.

As for the latter part of your ask…it depends. Mostly on how well-written it is, how natural said relationship feels, but there’s other stuff at play too. Some writers can pull off romance and a chaotic plot, and more power to them for being able to manage it. 

Me being a bit of a perfectionist [aka why the next chapter of TWiFFON is still in the air, despite my graduation date now being a month away], I have very high standards for myself when it comes to writing. Add to that my being ace with a 99% likelihood of being aro, and I’m hyper paranoid about writing non-platonic relationships come across. [I use romcoms to get an idea, and play by ear. Hopefully it doesn’t feel forced or clunky. *fingers crossed*]

For me, I hate how repetitive this sounds, but it really, really depends. TWiFFON has no pairings beyond some ‘squint and huh, was I low-key shipping Happy and Pepper when I wrote this section or not?’ moments. Then again, TWiFFON is a passive-aggressive spitefic and the frame of mind I’m in when I write for it isn’t exactly conductive to shipping.

Sometimes, I’ll be writing and the ship just kinda…appears. 

Exhibit A: when I started hammering out By Myself But Not Alone, I was actually leaning towards Steve/Tony before I continued writing for it and just went ‘huh I guess this AU’s Stephen/Tony now’. 

[chacusha]

Avengers: Endgame thoughts with spoilers! I wrote this last week, but queued it for today because it seemed like people hadn’t watched it yet.

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!

I appreciated the nostalgia trip of revisiting previous MCU movies. I’m also glad that they successfully kept a lot of this movie under wraps, as I think that made the experience better. For example, the movie was legitimately funny from start to end. They didn’t give that away in any of the grim, gloomy trailers, but it was an enjoyable surprise. THAT SAID, I thought the first 10-20 minutes of the movie (which is what heavily featured in trailers) felt really awkward and oddly-paced as a result.

I wish Marvel would realize that lampshading an annoying thing (showing you’re self-aware about it) doesn’t actually make the annoying thing less annoying. In this case, lampshading the fact that time travel plots in movies are bullshit, incoherent, and irritating doesn’t make the time travel plot in this movie any less bullshit, incoherent, and irritating. The major glaring thing is: how is it okay that past!Thanos and past!Nebula died in the present and past!Gamora stayed in the present? How does that not mess up the timeline massively? What is going on? Are there two timelines now or...

Relatedly, major props to Tony Stark for managing to wipe out all of Thanos forces with his snap EXCEPT Gamora. He and Bruce Banner are MVP just for the fact that they pulled off such complicated wishes with their snaps.

Also, Bruce Banner was just hilarious and adorable in general in this movie. I loved him so much.

Best thing of the movie by far is Nebula’s characterization. I know so many Nebula fans and I feel like this movie nailed exactly the reason why people like her. How many levels of self-loathing are you on? Nebula is on the level of (in the past) not being able to envision any future for herself other than being Thanos’s pawn and (in the present) literally shooting her past self in order to save her sister. That’s the level of self-loathing she’s on. (Also: The point about time travel bullshit applies here. What are the consequences of shooting your past self? Nothing, apparently.)

I liked the “Natasha and Clint trying to sabotage each other to sacrifice themselves to the Soul Stone” scene (even though it was heartbreaking) just for the contrast with the awful Thanos-sacrifices-Gamora scene from Infinity War. This is how two heroes behave -- fighting with all their might to be the one to be sacrificed and comforting the loser because they know sacrificing themselves is going to bring sadness to the people they love. Not heartlessly throwing the other in and then having the audacity to be self-pitying about it. I didn’t want Natasha to be the one to go, but it was such a good characterization moment for her -- highlighting her bravery, her self-sacrificing nature, her unwavering consideration of other people’s feelings (which is not something she does in a self-abnegating way but as a way to fully humanize herself and legitimize her own feelings)... not to mention her tenacity and the fact that she won’t accept it’s over until it’s over.

Worst thing of the movie by far was Steve Rogers’s characterization. It’s so bad that I’m just going to say it’s not canon. I know they wanted to bench Captain America and have him pass the mantle onto Sam. But it ruins Steve’s characterization and all the character growth they’ve been doing with him. The most interesting part of his character has always been the “man out of time” element to him, and yes, you can buy that if he had a time machine he would 100% have gone back. But that was before he made new friends (Sam and Natasha both), before he found an old friend (Bucky, also a man out of time), and found a new flame (Sharon). In fact, they basically had to retcon Sharon Carter out of the movies to make this work which is super awkward and makes Steve pursuing Sharon retroactively even creepier -- now it’s replacement goldfish PLUS treating the replacement goldfish as itself being entirely replacable. That’s... not a good look for Steve. It just makes him look really callous about other people’s feelings. And so does the fact that he would just walk out of the lives of all the above-mentioned people (like yes, I know because of time travel shenanigans, he was only missing from their lives for like one minute, but he did to them what the ice did to him with respect to Peggy Carter, so like... still a dick move), and all on a whim. Anyway, what I’m saying is that the “man out of time” shtick was interesting because it involved Steve learning to move on and say goodbye, and then this movie just undid all that. Uh okay.

Rhodey basically did nothing in this film but he had some great lines. I was expecting Captain Marvel to have more of a role in this film given the hook at the end of Infinity War, but it looks like the hook was just to promote the Captain Marvel film. Carol basically also did nothing in this film. She didn’t even have great lines. Her haircut at the end was pretty awesome though.

Things I’m kind of on the fence about:

I enjoyed the “all the newly resurrected heroes come to save the day” moment and the “everyone is here” final battle, but the final battle was otherwise very boring.

I kind of think it’s interesting that half of Spider-man’s class is in college by now and very traumatized but also think that raises a weird issue where half of the population of Earth has been living in a post-apocalyptic hellhole with PTSD and the other half is like, “Hi! Time hasn’t passed for me at all!” Like, is that going to have weird implications for the future, where people split the world into survivors and disappeared, and survivors feel like they got the raw end of the deal because they had to struggle for the last five years? Is there resentment? So much weird but potentially interesting world-building possibilities here, but I get the feeling they’re just going to gloss over this.

[otterskin8]

Thoughts on Endgame

Hey everyone else had an opinion, I thought I’d try having one too! 

Spoilers Follow

Honestly, sometimes it feels a little like everything is on fire whenever I stroll into the fandom and I’ve just got a dopey grin on my face as everyone runs around screaming. 

 I came out of the theatre having had a good time and pleased that certain things were tied off nicely for certain characters. I like the Russos fine but have wanted them to show more personal flair in their work. In this film, in particular, the second act, I thought they really did - there was a lovely, meandering quality to the film that allowed for a lot of humour and fun character beats. It was unexpected and felt like - well, Community (also nice to see those cameos, I loved that show). I really hope to see more of that quirky sense of pathos and fun in their future work. 

This ended up being more a celebration of what the MCU’s accomplished so far than necessarily a finale for all of that. It was, as I expected, mostly a goodbye to Cap and Tony. I like both characters (though I still have my frustrations with them as well), and I pretty much predicted this ending when I placed my bets in 2017 (Cap finally decides he doesn’t have to be a soldier forever and retires, as he deserves, and gets to be a man again, while Tony finally does get the family he wanted but loses it so he can be the new Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben in that franchise. We’ll see if my prediction of a JARVIS-Tony computer program comes true. Maybe Riri Williams breaks into his lab and he appears over her shoulder like Clippy. ‘I see you are trying to steal all my old schematics. Would you like some help with that?’ You heard it here first, folks.) Best of all, Nebz was even more front and centred than I hope possible. She carried the heart of the film and delivered. I loved her confusion, half-regret and grief at Thanos’ first death (such a great shot, her with his head in her arms) to her final victory over herself. I particularly appreciated the opening on her and Tony, where she gets a taste of what it’s like to actually have a caring dad. It makes Tony’s final killing of Thanos feel more right in the story - the flawed father figure who rose up and put children first above his own ambitions kills the one who always put his ambitions first. That cute triangle game Nebula and Tony played explained so much about both of them. So, so good.

I loved Professor Hulk. I wish we’d seen him come to be - he was robbed of that culmination - but I’ve never wanted to hug the guy more. I think he was a fascinating sign of the guilt Banner had. I really loved how the time jump allowed these massive changes in the characters, that they took some big risks to their recognizability. I found that very rewarding. 

The same goes for Thor. My gosh, I loved what they did. I’d bet money that Hemsworth pitched it too, this seems like an idea he’d have. Thor is, of course, my favourite Avenger. It is often painful to watch him sidelined in the Avengers films since the series’ original, more grounded flavour made him an odd player out, preferring to showcase Steve and Tony. He was the unloved member of the trilogy. The same could be said about this film, but honestly Thor is given everything I ever wanted him to deal with in this film. His trauma finally caught up with him and he can’t hide it anymore, and it’s wonderfully heartfelt and funny and sweet and subverts all those ‘paragon of manliness’ tenants Thor has represented throughout history. His strength in this film comes not from being told to ‘buck up’ by Rocket (I loved that his attempt to pep talk and slap Thor into readiness was a total failure), nor from his body, nor, even, from his own mind. Thor gets to run crying to his mum and that’s treated as the healthy and correct thing to do. A necessary thing, even. Frigga delivers the best line in the film (sorry Love You 3000, you get a solid second). 

“Everyone fails at who they’re supposed to be.” I think that hits everyone. It certainly did me. The expectations put on us all, by ourselves, our parents, the needs of our age - they are as crushing as a hammer on your chest. 

Thor is the MVP of this film aside from Nebula. He gets to show the most range, the lowest of the lows and funniest of highs, in the very same scene and often at the very same time. It’s tragicomedy at its finest, which is what I come to the MCU Thor for. The incredible vulnerability combined with excellent comedic timing made this a performance that stands out in the arc. I was also surprised to see this huge, large, film of the century took time to go back to a sadly maligned chapter in its saga - Thor: The Dark World (my problems with it are manifold but I am tired of hearing it called the ‘worst’. That is not true. I know you all forgot about it, but the Incredible Hulk is still technically in the MCU, and there are plenty of other weak chapters that don’t manage to push their characters’ stories forward at all.) Not only that, but it patched one of my main criticisms of that film - that Thor had no time with his mother and their relationship didn’t feel explored enough. And that Thor needed to cry more. I come for man tears, that was what Branagh promised me and frankly I was getting dehydrated of late. So thank you End Game, I am quenched for now. 

I’m sure this will come up in the big long thing I’m doing about the overall themes of the MCU (Dads and Legacy mostly), but this film managed to address some questions the MCU has posed in entry after entry. Thor’s journey has been shaped by his father, and his search for his father’s approval. Sometimes he was found lacking, and other times he realized he needed to abandon that approval to do the right thing, but always he was trapped in the legacy of that father - the mistakes that father had made, and what his father wanted him to become. This film suggests a wonderful alternative to Thor - that he is also his mother’s son, and her desire is for him to be himself first. Once he hears that, he’s able to call Mjölnir - a sign that he also has his father’s approval, after all. No, I do not mind that the hammer came back from the dead for a little fun - it had meaning and significance in its scenes. (Although I still don’t get what’s the big deal of Steve lifting it - it’s a bit a jerk of a hammer, have you seen the list of who else could pick that thing up? Hela, Odin, Thor. All morally gray people. ‘Worthy’ seems to be a matter of conviction, confidence, and desire to act. Not inherent goodness. Eh.) I love that Frigga, long shuffled to the back of the Thor franchise, is given such a key and beautiful moment in this monster film. I love that she gets to be mischevious, fun, hint a little more at her backstory (witches, eh?) and play psychiatrist to a son who really needs her. I always wanted more of these two, and was CONVINCED I’d never get it. I think I’ve died and gone to Valhalla. 

Are there a few lines I wish were cut? Yes, there are some unkind words I wish had been altered - they are unnecessarily cruel and reflect badly on the characters who say them (in particular WM - dude. C’mon.) Rocket’s fine, though - that’s who he is (and that behaviour is changing) and he is not rewarded for his crass treatment. It fails.  Further lessons for character development - trauma isn’t fixed with violence. Pay attention, Rabbit. There are also plenty of plot holes and weird questions. Why can the tesseract suddenly be used without a device? Doesn’t that mean Loki could’ve teleported everyone to safety in IW? Speaking of, why did Thor not try harder to communicate with Loki or steal him from another timeline? I feel like an explanation was called for. It also kinda sucks that IW ended with Thor avenging Heimdall (awesome dude, I love him a lot, but...really? That’s the death they directly reference in Thor’s big moment? I thought they’d use Heimdall there and have Loki be more at the forefront of Thor’s mind in this one, but he seems more banished from his thoughts than Thanos’ name). But eh, at the end of the day, this isn’t meant to be the ending for either Thor or his brother. That’s the best part. I get to ride this train for years to come, and hopefully many more good things are coming. (Although I’m getting bad juju from every announcement I hear about the Loki series so far, so here’s hoping I don’t look back at laugh bitterly at my past self’s optimism.) 

I do hope that when Thor’s story does eventually come to an end that it’s in his own franchise. I feel like ending Cap and Tony’s story here is big and fun and all, but the Thor films began very intimately (somehow THOR might be the smallest film Branagh ever directed) and I hope to see them end that way. And I hope that even with the Loki series doing its own thing and Thor off with the Guardians that the two will be allowed to come back together again for something meaty before the end.

This film did right by my faves, and while it’s unwieldy, lopsided and imperfect it manages to set up the fictional people I care about for interesting things. Here’s to another decade of watching these actors barely age.

P.S. I am genuinely concerned that Eternals is going to hook me. Hmm. I can only hope they don’t do the Arthurian Legends or Egyptian Mythology as well. I’ll be sunk. 

[demonologue]

WiP Meme

WIP Meme

Tagged by @drowningbydegrees and I recently saw @beir do it as well.

Do This: List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or as little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on. This can be writing, arts, gifsets, whatever.

Mostly I wanted to do this just to gather the clusterfuck of stuff in my head all in one place. This is all fanfic, natch. 

Winteriron: (because that’s most of them)

Lightning in a Bottle series - wherein Tony steals Bucky from Wakanda to piss off Steve, and ends up falling for him. Featuring crack!Thor (inspired by Hemsworth’s instagram video of him playing with Marvel action figures)

Death Comes Calling series - Vampire Steve and Bucky fight over Tony. Evil smol Steve wants to eat him, Bucky wants to save the kitten. Featuring former black panther activist vampire!Sam, werewolf!Clint, ‘I’m sick and tired of these motherfucking vampires on this motherfucking plane’ hunter Nick Fury, and Burrito Supreme Dr. Strange (trust me, it makes sense if you read it).

A Different Start series - aka what would have happened if the VCR of December 16, 1991 had broken before Zemo revealed the horrible secret. Answer: an attempt at stuckony that turns into winteriron and frustrated Steve. Right now I have two different points on the timeline going. One where Steve has to apologize to Bucky for ignoring him since his therapy started to work, and another where Bucky breaks up with stony because he thinks Tony loves Steve more.

The Salariman series - Wherein Tony is Bucky’s boss, and hot office sex happens. Also featuring gray ace Steve and FUBAR the wonderdog.

The Back of the Closet Leads to Narnia series - Bucky marries Sue Storm, but whoops! He’s gay. He keeps his secret by driving to Boston to pick up sex addict prostitute Tony, who turns tricks for shits and grins between MIT classes.

Winteriron Happy Ending series - Tony and Bucky start dating in high school and wind up married with 12 children. Pure fluff in a bucket. The next story involves sewing Magic School Bus pjs for the twins and Tony.

Then there’s the piece I’m working on for pod_together. @rosecreighton requested Clint and Tony, so I’m doing my best to slant winteriron in the direction of a Clint-Tony brofic so that my two podficcers can team up and do something amazing. But I can’t say much more at this time.

Then let’s tackle the million and one pieces I’m working on with @sadbrokentrashpanda, shall we?

Dead in Places series - where Bucky writes Tony a letter asking him to take care of Steve before he goes into cryo, and they end up meeting in dreams to hash things out. Oh, and also love. Tony promises to wake Bucky from cryo, and we’re currently writing in Wakanda, figuring out the fallout of that.

Also in the Winteriron Happy Ending universe, we’re writing how Tony and Bucky first met in auto shop class (which we will probably submit for the @winterironbang), their first time, their first prom, celebrating Bucky’s birthday together, and the two of them running away together when Howard catches them and the shit hits the fan. As grown-ups, we’re also working on a fluff/smutty Christmas piece - for their first Christmas with babies.

We also tried the boss/employee universe, but I think that might be abandoned. We didn’t get very far.

We have a post-Winter Soldier universe where Bucky is a stripper and Tony is still in college (and works at the library).

There’s a universe where Bucky is a one-armed vet working maintenance for Stark Industries when Tony gets back from Afghanistan in IM1. Naturally they hook up (because why wouldn’t they?)

We have a Beauty and the Beast a/u where Bucky’s love turns Tony back into a man in...less than three days? These boys work fast.

Then there’s another B&B a/u where Bucky is the fairy who cursed the beast and was cursed in turn when he changed back. He needs a Tony to rid him of the iron armor that’s slowly killing him.

And, last but not least, there’s a really confusing universe where there are two Steves (blame Reed Richards) and Tony helps Bucky come out and Bucky helps Tony dump Pepper so that he can be with big Steve. Don’t ask me how this became winteriron. I think it might be abandoned now for that reason.

Stucky:

For @thestuckylibrary-bigbang I’ve been working on a a/u for almost a year that might finally see the light of day...I can’t really say too much besides Bucky is married to Falsworth and Steve is the twunk next door.

The Space Between series - follows the boys from Steve’s rescue of Bucky in CAtFA to freight car. It’s Thanksgiving in London for our brave commandos currently, but that’s all on hold while I write thousands of words for the SBB.

Der Freischütz series - Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children a/u where Bucky discovers his peculiarity after shipping out in CAtFA. He’ll end up hunting hollowgasts in London with Jake for a while before heading to Wales in the next bit I have planned.

And the last WiP I can think of is -

Only in Manhattan series - where Steve meets Kevin on the 4 train and is convinced he’s Thor under a spell. Steve teams up with the Ghostbusters for awesome good times. And to have a really interesting fight with Tony in a scene coming up…

And that...is basically why I have no life, and should really stop starting new series. Unfortunately...  

I’ll tag @zforhire, @whatthefoucault, @rosecreighton, @badbrooklynbitch, @shannyfishwriter, @nyxgoldstone, @terryfphanatics and anyone else who wants to!

[hopelikethemoon]

first time (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}

Title: first time Rating: PG-13 Length: 2200 Warnings: Light descriptions of medical procedures related to pregnancy.  Notes: You can find the Maybe Today, Maybe Forever Timeline here. Set in January 1997.  Summary: Reader and Javier visit the obstetrician.

Taglist:  @grapemama  @seawhisperer @huliabitch @pedropascalito@rogrsnbarnes@thewallpapergoesorido @twomoonstwosuns @gooddaykate @livasaurasrex@ham4arrow@hiscyarika @plexflexico​ @readsalot73 @hdlynn @lokiaddicted@randomness501​@fioccodineveautunnale​ @roxypeanut @just-add-butter @snivellusim​@amarvelousmandalorian​ @lukesrighthand​ @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts​@synystersilenceinblacknwhite​

Javier was more anxious than the heavily pregnant women sitting around the waiting room. He hated waiting rooms and you couldn’t blame him. It had taken him awhile to talk to you about the day Josie was born — you hadn’t known that the hospital had separate waiting rooms, that they’d added insult to injury. Waiting rooms took him back to Colombia and with that came a lot of baggage he hadn’t fully unpacked yet. 

“Peña?” You hadn’t taken his name and you had no plans to at the moment — but the baby was. 

“That’s us.” You nudged Javier, taking his hand into yours. 

Everything in your life was under your own surname — your diploma, your certificates, and everything else. But you knew how much it ate him up inside that Josie hadn’t carried his name until you moved back to the states. You didn’t want this pregnancy to carry the same trauma. 

Javier’s brows drew together as the nurse guided you down the hallway to the room. “Why—“

“Because I asked.” You told him, squeezing his hand tightly before you released it to sit down on the edge of the examination table. 

The nurse went through your medical records; checked your blood pressure and temperature, took blood for testing, all before leaving you to change into a gown. 

“You did all of this alone with Josie?” Javier questioned as he draped your clothes over the back of the chair he was sitting in, moving to help you with the closure of your gown.

You nodded slowly, “I’m glad you’re here this time.” You whispered, brushing your fingers over his cheek before stealing a quick kiss. “Maybe we’ll find out what we’re having today.”

“Are you far enough along for that?”

“I think so.” You smiled at him, stroking your hand over your belly before you resumed your position on the examination table. “When the doctor gets here, there’s a few other tests they’ll do.” You explained to him. “But then they’ll do the sonogram.”

Javier dragged his fingers through his hair and sank back into his seat. “Thank you.” He offered softly.

“Hmm?”

“For the little things.” His lips twitched upwards at the corners. You knew exactly what he was talking about. Peña. You wanted to make this easier for him this time around. To let him enjoy every little part of your pregnancy. 

You smiled at him, “You’re welcome.”

The doctor arrived shortly after, going over your chart with you and everything the nurse had written down. Your blood pressure was a little high, but the doctor wasn’t too concerned considering that you were at the doctor’s office. Despite having had no issues with Josie, the doctor recommended a transvaginal ultrasound, just to ensure that everything was in working order. Mostly because you had struggled to conceive this time around. Just to rule out potential complications.

Javier stood beside you, gripping at your hand as he watched the monitor. “Is that—“

“A very healthy little baby.” The doctor answered, readjusting the device within you until the monitor displayed the baby clearly. 

You watched Javier’s face, the way his bottom lip trembled as the doctor adjusted the settings and the soft and steady lub-dub of the baby’s heartbeat filled the room. He sniffed, trying his best not to cry.

“First time father?” The doctor questioned, as she took a few notes. 

“No.” Javier shook his head. “I missed a lot with our first.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he stared at the monitor. “Is it too soon to find out what we’re having?” He looked at you, “You want to know?”

You nodded, looking towards the monitor then. 

“It’s a little early, we typically check at around twenty weeks.” She adjusted the ultrasound wand, trying to get a better picture on the monitor. “You’re right at around fifteen weeks. Let’s see what we can find out from a sonogram.” She withdrew the device. “Relax while I get it set up.”

Javier reached out and brushed a lock of hair off your forehead, fingers playing over your cheek. “That was… I feel like a fucking idiot calling it magical.”

You laughed, wiping at your eyes as you felt tears burning there. “Your face was everything.” You beckoned him closer for a kiss. “I think I fell a little more in love with you, Javi.” 

“How long have you two been together?” The doctor questioned as she flipped through your notes, before pulling the sonogram towards the bed, hooking up all the wires into the monitor. 

“We’ve known each other for ten years.” You offered, resting your hand on your stomach. “Our daughter will be five in May.” 

“How exciting.” She smiled at both of you. “Based on fetal size, it looks like you’ll be having another baby in May.” 

Javier chuckled, “It’s a good month.” He interlaced his fingers with yours, eyes drawn back to the monitor as the doctor smeared the jelly on your stomach and pressed the wand against your skin. The sound of the baby’s heartbeat filled the room again and his grip tightened on you. 

“Everything looks very good for your baby. Healthy development.” She pointed at the monitor. “They’re a little shy.” 

“Look at their hand!” Javier’s eyes lit up and it was hard for you to look at the sonogram when he was beside you. You wondered if he would’ve been like this with Josie. There were so many wounded feelings back then, would it have tempered his enthusiasm? But despite the things that held you back, he had been all in from the start. 

“Well Mr. and Mrs. Peña, it looks like you’re having another little girl.” The doctor informed you, pointing to something on the monitor that indicated what you were having. You didn’t even mind that she had mistakenly considered the two of you married — it probably had to do with the ring he wore from Christmas. “Congratulations.” 

“Another little girl, baby.” Javier lifted your hand to his lips, kissing the back of your hand. 

“Your future is full of princess dresses, Javi.” You laughed, blinking back tears of joy. “Poor Steve!”

“You know he’ll just tell us to call her Stephanie.”

“No!” You snorted, shaking your head. 

The doctor cleaned your stomach off and left to give you privacy to change back into your clothes. “The nurse will give you the images on the way out.” 

“I’m so proud of you.” Javier told you as he helped you change.

You felt a faint blush spread over your cheeks under his praise. “What? For giving you another little girl to spoil?” 

Javier combed his fingers through his hair. “You’re stronger than anyone has ever given you credit for.” He sat back down in the chair, rubbing at the back of his neck. “You did all of this alone. And you never… you never complained.” 

“You did everything alone too.” You reminded him. 

“But I wasn’t the one carrying life in me.” He shrugged and laughed a little. “Baby, I’m just in awe of you.” 

“You’re going to make me cry.” You scolded him lightly, shaking your head as you sniffled. “Come on, let’s go. I promised Josie ice cream.”

“You promised yourself ice cream.” Javier laughed, dragging his hand over his mouth. “I think it’s finally set in that we’re having another kid.”

You gestured to your stomach, “You couldn’t tell?”

“You’re pregnant?” Javier feigned surprise and you groaned and rolled your eyes. 

“You’re such an asshole.” You smacked his arm as you walked down the hallway. “Why do I love you again?”

“I’m still trying to figure that one out.” Javier shrugged. “Why do you?”

You thanked the nurse as you checked out and passed the sonogram pictures to Javier to hold onto. “I think it might have something to do with the fact that you’re an asshole, actually.” You took his hand into yours as you headed for the parking lot. “I think I might be a bit of a masochist.”

Javier clicked his tongue against his teeth, “Really?” He moved to open the passenger door for you, “I’m a little disappointed to find this out while you’re—”

“Still perfectly capable of kicking your ass?”

“That is sadism.” 

“Damn.” You grinned at him, “I knew it was an -ism.” 

“You think Josie’s going to be excited that she’s getting a baby sister?” 

You rested your hand on your stomach, smiling at Javi. “She did ask Santa for a baby sister.” 

“She got everything she asked for.” He clicked his tongue against his teeth. 

You reached across and stole his aviator’s off his shirt. “Lucky kid, a Buzz Lightyear action figure, a baby sister, and a PlayStation that has suspiciously not been played by the kid yet.” You gave him a look over the aviators before you pushed them up the bridge of your nose. 

“Crash is a fun game.” Javier shrugged, reaching over to give your leg a squeeze. “Pretty sure someone else has been playing Tomb Raider… Who could that be?”

“Shut up.” You rolled your eyes, rubbing your hand over your stomach. “It’s relaxing.” You sank back against your seat and glanced out the window, your fingers idly playing with the necklace around your neck. “I want to name her after your mother.”

“Baby,” He reached and gave your leg another squeeze. “What about your side? Josie’s already named for my abuela.” 

You rested your hand over his and turned to look at him with a warm smile, “You talk about her all the time with Josie.” You reminded him, swallowing around the lump in your throat. “I was already thinking about this months ago, when the likelihood felt bleak. But I was really hoping we would have a girl.” You took his hand off your leg and rested it against your stomach, “Aside from not wanting a son named Steve, it just felt like the right thing. Sofía is a beautiful name.” 

Javier pulled the car up to a stoplight and turned to meet your eyes. “You never cease to amaze me.” 

You screwed your face up and brushed his hand away, laughing as you feigned disgust. “You’re being a sap. Is this what I missed out on for three months?”

“You have no idea.” Javier shook his head, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. 

You watched him with a smirk quirking at the corners of your lips. “So when were you going to tell me about the glasses?”

“What?” Javier swallowed nervously.

“The glasses, old man.” You raised your brows. “You have dents in your nose that don’t fit your aviators.”

“You’re not allowed to be that observant.”

“It’s literally my job to be observant.” You snorted, clicking your tongue against your teeth twice. “So.”

Javier huffed and shook his head. “They're for reading.” He glanced at you out of the corner of his eyes. “And I wasn’t keeping it a secret.”

“We’ve already established that you’re a terrible secret keeper.” You teased, rubbing your hand over your stomach as you chuckled. “Are you going to let me see them?”

“They make me look old.”

“Javi, neither of us are getting any younger.” You reminded him, reaching out to give his shoulder three little squeezes. “Show me later?”

He worked his jaw slowly before sighing, “Sure.”

“Have your students seen you in them?”

“Maybe.” His brows drew together as he gave you a pointed look. “They’re just glasses, baby.”

“I know they are, but I’m a little offended that you weren’t going to let me see them. And don’t argue, I’m pregnant. I’m allowed to be offended.” 

“I’m still impressed you figured out that I had glasses.” Javier shook his head with a short laugh. 

“You’ve been squinting for the past six months.” You shrugged a shoulder. “And then there’s the dents on your nose.” You reached across the center console and brushed your thumb over one of the faint marks. Javi caught your hand and brought it to his lips, kissing your palm. 

“Are you watching me, Mrs. Peña?” Javier quipped as he put the car into park on the street outside of Steve and Connie’s townhome. 

“Don’t even.” You grinned at him. “I figured since Josie was almost one when she finally became your daughter, that you’d appreciate it from the beginning this time.” 

“I did.” And given the look on his face, you had a feeling that acknowledgment ran even deeper for him. Joséfina and Sofía were both lucky little girls to have him as their father. After everything that went down in Colombia — this was the life you both deserved. 

Javier got out of the car first, walking around to open your door and help you out (even though you didn’t really need help). “You know,” You started as you looked towards Javi with a slightly teasing grin, “Since it seems like this thing between us is going to last…”

“Just now realizing that?” Javi gave your ass a playful swat, before he caught your hand. “What is it?”

“I really like the idea of having our own yard.” You gestured to the front of the Murphy’s townhome. The sidewalk leading to the front door was covered his chalkart from Olivia, Emily and Josie. 

His brows rose upwards as he turned to look at you, “Before or after the baby comes?”

“We could start looking.” You shrugged a shoulder. “See if anything feels like home.”

Javier curled his arm around your waist and pulled you into his side. “You know where home is for me.” 

“Such a sap.” You swatted his chest playfully. “I love you.” 

He pressed a kiss to your temple, his hand moving to your stomach. “I love you both.”

[todokori-kun]

SERIOUSLY?! Omg XD

(I mean most of the fandom seems to have their eyes fixed on Captain America’s backside so)

Speaking of Ragnarok, I’m really, really excited for it :D Especially because of Hela. I’ve been a fan of her actress (Cate Blanchett) ever since I saw her in the LOTR movies.

Ah, well, if you put it like that there were some ever-so-slightly shippy interactions between Nat and Bruce in the first Avengers movie (like their first meeting and the scene where he hulks out), but it was mostly a bit of a ‘WTH’ pairing…I agree with you though, it’s cute.

Yeah, you’re right! He meets an older Peggy in The Winter Soldier and it’s just so heartbreaking (she keeps her cool throughout the conversation and then at the end, she breaks down because she’s just so glad to see him again. Steve says there’s no way he could have left his best girl behind. My feels are starting to ache again…). She dies in Civil War. And according to movie timeline, Steve x Sharon happens not that long after her funeral… 0.0 it messed up the relationship between Peggy and Steve, was OOC for Steve and just really disrespectful to Peggy (also it feels weird because if Steve hadn’t turned into a capsicle for 70 years, Sharon could have been HIS niece as well).

And one more thing:

You know how a ton of people ship Steve/Bucky? Well, when asked about it, the directors said that while they weren’t actually going to make it canon they were happy to see all the different theories the fandom had come up with about the relationship and were planning to leave it up for interpretation.

Well, guys, I don’t think having Steve kiss Sharon while Bucky looks on approvingly is leaving it up for interpretation.

I mean, I don’t really ship Steve/Bucky in the same way I can’t ship Thor/Loki (Steve/Bucky just feel like best bros to me while Thor/Loki, though technically not incest because they’re not biologically related, still isn’t really the kind of thing I’d ship) but they could have at least let the fandom dream of Stucky if they weren’t going to give us a non-heterosexual superhero.

Well, like Thor said, it wasn’t actually Jane’s fault- she was researching stuff with Darcy and happened to get pulled into a wormhole of sorts that brought her into contact with the aether.

(btw, thought you might like to know…Loki/Jane became quite popular after Thor 2. It first started because of Loki’s line about paying Jane a 'visit’ in the first movie, and then in the second we get

Jane: *slaps Loki* That was for New York!

Loki: I like her.

And then Loki saves her life by almost sacrificing himself before Thor saves him (though honestly this is more proof that Loki still cares for Thor than ship material for Jane and Loki))

After he learns about Frigga’s death, Loki just quietly tells the guard who told him the news to go away, stands up, calmly and coolly, and uses his magic to smash all the furniture in his cell. And though it was cut, there was also a scenewhere he was sitting on the floor among the shards of broken furniture and started screaming…

Theodosia the kid could be any one of Loki’s children from mythology :3 let’s see, there’s Sleipnir the eight-legged horse, Hel the goddess of the dead, Jormungand the serpent and Fenrir the wolf.

(try searching up some of the fanart for these kids, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Like the pictures where they’re arguing about whether Loki is 'mommy’ or 'daddy’, since Loki had shape-shifted into a female horse when he had Sleipnir…don’t ask)

Theodosia the mother…probably Sigyn? Since in the actual myths she was his wife and I think she and Loki were also a thing in the comics.

I’m trash for Steve/Loki. It’s like Jean/Marco if Jean was evil and murdery, or Ciel/Lizzy if Ciel was more evil and murdery than he already is. And Remember This Cold is beautifully written. Seriously, it’s so heartbreaking to see Loki’s earlier interactions with Steve, how he falls in love with this man who he feels he doesn’t deserve and he’s always afraid he’ll lose Steve if he makes the wrong move, how Steve desperately wants to get to know Loki and help him but isn’t sure how to approach him because every time he asks 'are you alright?’ Loki just shuts him out again…

Aww, Loki + glasses would actualy look really cute!

Do you know how red my face would get? XD When everyone else walked into the room they’d see me lying on the bed with my face buried into the pillow like 'I didn’t know I was THAT bad at dancing just let me die’.

His ego would never recover from that.

*hugs* I stand by what I said, every bit of it! <3

I cringed a bit reading that becuase I remembered all the pictures I’ve seen of people who forgot to protect their arm while doing archery and OUCH. That’s got to be really painful…

Aww, thanks! I’ll be sending in the songs a little later once I’m done making them lists :D

Pain!

You made me a, you made me a believer, believer

Pain!

You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer

Pain!

I let the bullets fly, oh let them rain

My life, my love, my god, it came from

Pain!

You made me a, you made me a believer, believer

Hi, hello, I am a huge piece of trash. In my defence, the internet died and left me stranded. Still, that’s no excuse for making you worry ;-;

Why yes. Cap does have a glorious backside. The suit leaves nothing to the imagination, so it’s only natural. 

It’s embarrassing, but I’ve rewatched the trailer way too many times. It’s too epic not to watch over and over XD

Well, since she’s able to calm him down (no one knows why, tho), I accept it. Besides, I quite like that trope (not the monster guy one, but the ‘He’s angry and she can calm him down’ one)

My heart! I feel so sorry for Peggy ;-: She had to lose Steve twice, more or less. But still, the fact that he hooks up with her niece is just too creepy. 

Bucky is a good wingman at least...? IDK I AM SO CONFUSED AT THIS POINT. I watched The Dark World and damn, it’s good, sure, but I lost so much hope in Loki. I mean, when he ‘cut of Thor’s arm’, my reaction was ‘I mean, what was I expecting, honestly’. I was a lot (a lot) more surprised when it turned out he was actually helping thor. But when it turned out he actually did something (idk what) to odin, it was back to ‘welp, not surprising’.

Meh, even after the 2nd movie, I still don’t like Jane. The only impression I have of her is ‘she’s smart and likes to spew scientific sounding stuff’.

All of Loki’s children genuinely scare me. Especially the horse and snake. Those are just too far. I’m scared of the fanart, so I think I’ll stay away from it.

Maybe? Sure.

After Civil War, I’ll try to read it ^^ Also, Winter Soldier has been watched, and I must say I don’t like it that much... Kinda anticlimactic. 

Don’t worry, I am absolutely hopeless at dancing as well. I mean, I tried to cover a dance from LL and I barely managed the sidestepping thing without falling on my face. It was embarrassing, really. 

It is painful, but it goes away quickly. Especially when you go through it a few times.

I really like the playlist! Especially since I know most of the songs already :P And I must say that after seeing Urie’s ‘You’re gonna go far kid’ i almost started shouting ‘NOW DANCE FUCKER DANCE’, because I like that line ^^;;

I think that the porn blogs are attracted to anything that has any ‘risky’ words mentioned, so me saying ‘behind’ in a different way was what attracted them.

Again, so sorry for worrying you (シ_ _)シ