#in which case we need his partner in crime Natasha back too

[ivysos2001]

Hearing that Chris Evans is coming back to the mcu is really making me anticipate a similar announcement coming for Scarlett Johansson sooner or later purely bc I’m sure 6/6 ogs returning would be better than 5/6 and she’s the last one left to not either be still active in the mcu or have a return announced

* Also I’d be kinda pissed if they brought all the other ogs back for this movie and left her out bc they kinda have a tendency to leave out ‘the girl’ sometimes (still not over the fact that they used the soul stone plotline to chuck their two most important female characters/*the* female members of their two main teams off a cliff) (tho at least we got to see the guardians mourning gamora for more than two seconds)

[maythewidowtakeusall]

The Ghost

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x reader

Word count: 1469

Summary: Nat tells Tony about her own Winter Soldier she’s trying to find

Warnings: alcohol, murder

Nat watches intently, lips pursed, brows furrowed, shoulders tense. The screen reflects in her green eyes, two blinking lights in the otherwise dark living area. Her knuckles are white from holding onto the edge of the counter too tight.

Too many bad memories. Too many sharp feelings, like shrapnels buried beneath her skin, cutting into her every time she moves.

Steve isn’t the only one with ghosts. Ghosts that used to walk and breathe and talk and kill.

James Buchanan Barnes is MIA. Sam keeps looking for him while she and the rest of the Avengers clean out the last Hydra holdouts in search of Loki’s sceptre. The Winter Soldier is once more a spectre, but she can still feel the pain in all of the scars he left behind. Whenever she looks into the mirror, she knows she’s met him. She knows he was real.

She can’t say the same about you.

Natasha will never forget the first time she saw you during her KGB years. Like a block of marble, you seemed to her. Perfectly cold. Perfectly indestructible, even by time. She didn’t know then what she knows now, that the super soldier serum they pumped into you actually made you resist the very decay of the passing of time. She sometimes wishes that, on sleepless nights such as this. It would be easier to think you were dead. Easier to think that the person who trained with her, the person who made sure she survived all her missions, who started filling her head with doubt slowly but surely, and who, in the very end, helped her escape the shackles of her old life, was no more. Because whenever she is reminded of the fact that you’re out there somewhere, she wishes she could drop everything and dash out into the world to find you.

And yet she hasn’t seen you since. Her last hazy memory of you is your fraying conditioning, the way you look at her, straight at her, as a person, not as the weapon Hydra made you to be. Your face is tortured, as if you were fighting something on the inside. And you’re telling her to run.

She never stopped running.

She flew straight into the arms of SHIELD. And when that fell apart, the Avengers. Even now, she feels like running, though she doesn’t know where to. Where are you? Who are you? And why did you let her slip through your fingers when you were sent to kill her before she could switch sides?

The old security footage is grainy, but it’s clear enough to see you, precise like a surgeon, as you eliminate your target. In a way, it is almost beautiful how you kill. Like a ballerina dancing The Dying Swan impeccably. Never missing a step. Never faltering. Gliding through the hardest moves with graceful ease. Natasha was an assassin for a long time, and despite having changed, she still values skill. But in your case, she values the person underneath all that training and brainwashing more. Not that she knows you really. She doesn’t know where you come from. What your real name is. All she knows is that you saved her. And she would save you too, if she knew how to begin.

“Do you always look at videos of assassinations before bed or is tonight a special occasion?”

“I thought you and Banner were busy playing with your sceptre,” Natasha fires back defensively, dropping her phone on the counter as she locks the screen.

“We are,” Tony acquiesces with a small frown as he joins her by the bar. “However, it is currently 3.36am, and Banner is being a little – am I allowed to say bitch? I don’t even know anymore.”

“Steve’s already gone to bed,” Nat smirks, pouring Stark a drink too.

“Thank god for that. Anyways, you’re dodging my question. Who was that in the video?”

“I’m not dodging your question because you didn’t ask before.” Her lips wrap around the edge of her glass, and the whiskey slides down her throat like poison as she tilts her head back a little. It burns, just like speaking about you always does. “I used to work with her before.”

“Before?”

“Before SHIELD.”

Tony’s lips form a silent “o” before he drinks too. He looks tired, Nat thinks silently. Then again, don't they all? Banner is tearing himself apart constantly, and when he isn’t, it’s because he’s tearing the world apart. Thor is worried about cleaning up the mess Loki has left behind. Steve and Sam, like partners in crime, keep searching for the Winter Soldier in vain, stretching themselves too thin. Clint is, well, he is still Clint, thank god for that. He is still blabbering about which room he will renovate in his house next, and that’s a constant reassurance Nat’s grown to rely on.

“So… What’s the deal with Evelyn Salt? Is there a chance we’re going to bump into her?”

Natasha shakes her head as she squares her shoulders, the muscles in her back flexing as she sits up properly. No sleep tonight then. “She was sent to kill me when I defected. But… for some reason, she decided to let me go. As for running into her, I highly doubt that. Hydra’s files mark her as MIA. She hasn’t been seen since 1997. It wouldn’t surprise me if she was dead and swept under the rug. If I had a brainwashed super soldier agent go AWOL, I would want to tie up the loose ends too.”

“Did you just say super soldier? As if I didn’t have my hands full with old man Rogers already…” Tony grimaces.

“To be fair, she’s more on the Winter Soldier side. In fact, she didn’t have another name either. She was the Winter Soldier too when they needed her to be.”

“Sounds reassuring. No wonder you can’t sleep at night, knowing she could be out there.”

Natasha can’t help but smirk at the irony of that. “True, but the real reason behind that couldn’t be further from what you’re thinking. I’m not afraid of her. I want to find her. Help her, if I can.”

“I always knew there was a reason why you didn’t date, but this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.”

Natasha’s elbow between his ribs isn’t something he’s foreseen either, but the hiss that slips past his lips is a thin satisfaction. “It’s not like that… Well, it could never be like that in the first place anyways.”

“Yeah. Brainwashed and personality don’t exactly go hand in hand. Got you,” Tony sighs, slumping on his forearms as he glances out at the city lights. For a while, they simply sit together, both deep in thought. Missing person, missing breakthrough, and yet they feel the same frustration that can only stem from an unhealthy amount of helplessness. Tony is struggling to save the whole world; Natasha wishes she could save only a single person in it. And yet their silence couldn’t feel more similar. Their quiet moment in the small hours of the morning couldn’t be more comforting.

“Well,” Tony clears his throat eventually as he glances at his watch. He knocks back his drink before stretching. “That sceptre won’t decipher its secrets on its own, alas.”

“Have you tried asking it nicely?”

“Maybe I will,” the man sighs as he reaches behind the bar to pull the entire bottle of whiskey out as he stands. “But I’m not that desperate. Well, not yet anyways.”

“The night is still young.”

“Plenty of time for more of your bedtime stories,” Tony points to Natasha’s abandoned phone before walking away. He does pause after a few steps though. He is really an asshole sometimes, Pepper is unfortunately right, as she always is. How often has Nat opened up to him so easily? Is he really going to discourage her by being an ass?

“Why don’t you send me those videos later, huh?” he comes to halt, pretending to play it cool as if he didn’t know how much his offer truly means to the both of them. “I’ll have Jarvis run a facial recognition scan. If she’s alive and out there somewhere, we’ll find her.”

“Why? So you can bring her in?”

“So you could help her,” he corrects her. His face is dominated by the meaningful look emanating from his tired brown eyes. There’s a strange sort of understanding there, even if it lacks the depth she feels in Steve when they talk about you and Bucky.

“It’s nice to have friends,” Natasha smiles up at Tony. Tired, defences worn down. Worried. The promise of an impending explanation set for a later conversation sitting in the green of her eyes. “And I would like her to know what it feels like too.”

[peterbparkerth]

My Experience Shifting to MCU Part 1 it’s really long sorry

Okay the first time I shifted was in January so I will summarise what happened till now.

Steve gives the best piggy backs rides, he’s also gay and loves Bucky but when Bucky and I got together he moved on. Steve is also the one who introduced me to everyone. He makes great pancakes and has the infinity war beard. He’s also very good in training and god his body 😏

Tony on the other hand loves Peter like his own son 🥺🥺. I annoy him a lot by either stealing his suits or by pranking him with Loki. He is exactly like what you think he would be but he is also hella caring

Natasha is so scary at first but I made her get used to me and my pranks and stuff, she has so much love for Bruce and vice versa. She also becomes my training partner when Steve isn’t around. And she gives best life advice. Also her combat skills 😍

Bruce Banner is always at the lab and if not then he is fonduing with Nat 👀. And if that’s not the case he’s helping Tony and Peter. I haven’t interacted with him that much.

Peter Parker! This boy is so not what y’all think (well maybe in only in my DR he is like this). He is so kinky and naughty, boi I don’t know how can he be so innocent around others. Yes he and I dated at one point, but we broke up cause of some drama(he hugged MJ the way he hugs me and wouldn’t apologise to me), he is so caring and possessive like boi he won’t leave you alone at all and boy cuddles and kisses with him🥺🥺 i fondued with him first 😏. He also did some dances with Scott Lang and Peter quill 😭(if you want the whole relationship story of Parker and I let me know, it’s kinda adorable and kinda naughty) he still loves me and I do too but

I’m dating Bucky Barnes now 😏 okay so this dude was in love with me way before Peter and I dated and he had kissed me when the rest of the avengers and I played truth and dare, he made Peter so angry that Peter fondued with me😏. Oh god and his hands 🥺. (Now I will type down how Bucky and I got together and what are relationship is like now).

Okay so we got together when Bucky was sitting with Sam and I came up to Bucky with sad face since Peter broke up with me and I hugged Bucky and told him everything that happened And buck was like “be with me if I make you feel happy” so I kissed him And then we got together .so when I shifted again I walked out of my room and Bucky was like “doll I have been searching for you everywhere I thought something happened to you” and he looked at me like 🥺.I gave him a kiss and he was like “oof! Doll I have missed that”🙈.Bucky and I also 👉🏻👌🏻we went on a mission and I was partnered with Nat and when we came back I went to injured Bucky and tried to give him aid and I took him to my room and while I was aiding him he looked at me and leaned in and gave me such a passionate kiss 🥺🥺🥺.So I sat on his lap and said “I’m ready to give you my heart” .And he looked at me like “Are you sure sweet cheeks?” And I nodded so he then placed me on the bed and locked the door.And then he took of his shirt, left the metal arm on since I told him to.And then he got next to me and then slowly took of my clothes.He then laid me under him and kissed me first then my neck.And then went down on me first.He was so careful not to hurt me. Omg when I told him I love him 😭.He looked like a lost kitten that just found his home.Anyway the day after I and Bucky had fondued I woke up and made him breakfast only to have him hug me from behind and hum a song in my ear I was like “Bucky what are you doing” and he said “serenading my girl” and Wanda coughed and we turned around to see everyone look at us and Peter looked so heartbroken that he pulled me in to a room .And tbh he said “so you’re with Bucky now? The same one I told you to say away..” he said some other rude stuff (Peter was heart broken) making me cry so Bucky came and stood in front of Peter and said “if you make my girl cry ever again, I swear I’ll take her to another apartment building and marry her right in front of you making you hate yourself for eternity” and I looked at him like 🥵👀.Bucky and I kiss all the time making Tony say “stop snogging each other and listen to the mission updates”.Once John called me to meet him alone in a place so I went and I didn’t know Bucky was following me secretly so when I got there John Walker kissed me after a while of talking and Bucky was like “so you came here for kissing another guy” and I looked at him and kept repeating the truth and Bucky said “he knows the truth” and he starts beating up Walker .While he was beating up John I got kidnapped by hydra and when Bucky heard me screaming he ran towards the vehicle I was in but he was too late.I was taken to hydra’s secret place and tortured there and when the avengers came to find me Peter found me first and was like “what the hell darling, you’re okay I’m here, everyone’s here for you” and took me out of constrains only to get kissed by me just then Bucky saw me and looked so heart broken but I ran to him to tell him that I choose him but he said that till he doesn’t sort out this hydra situation he has to go away. And I looked at him like “ I want to come with you”.I said “don’t break my heart like Peter did, I don’t know why I kissed him, I just want to be with you, you make me so happy and so loved, please don’t break up with me, with you i feel alive” and I cried as I said this,He pushed me against the wall and said that he will never break up with me but He need to make sure I’m giving this relationship my everything and I looked at him and kissed him with so much love and passion that showing him how vulnerable I am with him .The way he looked at me when I got really vulnerable with him and the way his held my cheek with his real hand as I did him 🥺 The way he said “I would do anything for you doll” 😭 (these things happened just recently so I will keep you guys updated if you want me to)

Wanda Maximoff and Vision along with Tommy and Billy. Yes they all are alive and together in my DR!. Wanda is so sweet and just a momma bear🥺 she is the first one to know about the drama and tea that happens to me and I’m like her younger sister 😭. She is such a great wife and mother and I’m so proud of her she treats everyone with yummy food every lunch time. Vision on the other hand is annoying af because he keeps asking me if I fondued with Peter or Bucky so I warn Wanda to tell him to shut up about it. Their kids play with me and Pietro so much

Pietro Maximoff is such a flirt but he doesn’t go that far because I tell Wanda to keep him in check as well, he’s also really fast obviously and boi training with him is fun and how he and I along with Loki prank Bucky 😂😂😂😂. Boi I need to spend more time with him too

Loki is my homie, my best friend and my partner in crime!. He took to me Asgard and the way I greeted Odin made Loki laugh so bad 😂. He gives me the best prank ideas and also always tried to keep me away from Peter and Bucky at first. He also always get thrown away by Tony I have no idea why but Thor brings him back to the compound. He’s so caring towards me and tbh I tried kissing him once he said “no thanks, I’d rather kiss a corpse” 👁👄👁.

Thor is exactly like that in the gif, goofy and so hilarious like oh god if humor was a person Thor would be it. He is soft and makes great pop tarts which I steal because why not 🤷🏻‍♀️. Thor trains with Loki and Wanda since Clint is not around cuz clints on fam duty vision is partnered with Tony and Peter. I can lift his hammer which pissed him off so much that he broke the lounge table 👀

Sam Wilson the only time I interacted with Sam a lot was when Bucky and I had to go to hydra facility and he was fun to be around. When I’m cuddling with Bucky or sitting on his lap Sam teases us so much that I tell him stfu 😂

T’Challa ,Shuri, Scott Lang and Peter quill have visited only once so I haven’t spend time with them I only remember t’challa and shuri bringing biscuits and Scott Lang being all so adorable and giving me a piggyback ride, quill accidentally shot me with his gun so yeah he isn’t allowed anymore. Strange hasn’t made any entrance yet but I’m thinking about bringing him to my DR

I have erased some explicit details if you want them DM me cuz i don’t want to scar anyone young here

[simsadventures]

Better Like This: Chapter 2: I Need Answers

Chapter Summary: You can’t wrap your head around the actions of what you think is your mate, so you try to distract yourself by diving into your first case with the SVU. You are, however, not willing to let go and you need your answers. Will Bucky talk to you, or is he going to try to stay clear from you as long as possible? And why is he acting like such a jerk?

Warnings: mentions of rape, a/b/o dynamics,, Alpha!Bucky, Omega!reader swearing, rejected mate, angst (I guess), fluffy Scott, sad reader

Word Count: 2474

A/N: I just wanted to thank you guys for the kind words after publishing the first part. You are the best. I can always take suggestions, so if you want something to happen, let me know and I’ll see what I can do with that :) xx

Series Masterlist __ Masterlist 

< Previous Chapter

You stood there, staring at the closed doors, your brain void of any thoughts. You wanted to think something, really, but your brain just stopped working the second the Alpha ran out of the door. 

You also didn’t hear the way the team shut up, trying to figure out what the hell just happened, and why did one of their own just bolt seeing you, as if the electricity went through his body. 

The first one to speak up was Tony. “Well, that was weird and awkward. That was Sargent Barnes, and the guy not running away from here is detective Sam Wilson.” Sam nodded your way and shrugged his shoulders apologetically, not really knowing how to explain his partner’s behaviour. 

You shook your head, trying to get rid of all the negative thoughts creeping into your mind once again and looked at the Captain, silently begging him to talk about something, anything really. 

He obviously took the hint as he spoke as soon as he looked your way. “Ok, that is almost our whole team, you’ll meet Clint, our tech guy later. So, to get to the work, before detective Y/L/N came in, I got a call from 76th precinct. They believe they have one of our cases. An Omega was raped and almost strangled to death in her home by what they believe was some young Alpha, but that is as far as they got. They would like us to take it from there, so, Y/L/N, Lang, you go to the hospital and talk to our victim, make sure they are treating her right. Wilson, go find Barnes, and you guys go the crime scene. And make sure Bucky calls me, he’s got things to explain. Stark, to the 76th precinct, get all the files they made for this case and debrief the detectives working on the case, the more information, the better. You know the drill guys, let’s get to work. Dismissed.” 

With that, he turned around and strode to his office. Scott jabbed you lightly to your ribs and pretty much dragged you out fo the place, for you were still very much frozen by Bucky’s (or whatever) actions. 

“C’mon dude, let’s go help some people. And you can tell me what that was all about in the car.” He smirked at you. 

“I wish I fucking knew, Scott. I-I-“you stuttered. You didn’t really feel the need to tell him how you thought Bucky was your true mate. You did know him for about 15 minutes. “I’ve never met this guy before, you know? No idea what’s his problem.” You shrugged, deciding that not telling the whole truth was just safer. For now. At least you thought so.

“I do believe you, dude, it was the little whine that’s making me question shit.” Fuck! “No idea what you’re talking about,” you shrugged, trying to sound as convincing as you possibly could. “I’m that kind of person who just wants to get along with everyone, so you just probably heard my disappointment when I saw someone obviously not liking me from the very first second,” you concluded. 

It wasn’t a lie entirely, you did want to get along with everyone, but you would never whine just like that, had you not had your reasons. Scott just hummed in response and the rest of the drive to the hospital was in comfortable silence. 

Meanwhile, in front of Sam’s car, the situation looked a bit different. He yelled at Bucky for bolting like this, wanting to know the reason. “What’s gotten into you, man? Do you like know her or something? Have you knotted her during your rut and never called her again, or what? Talk to me, man.” 

“I don’t know her, and I don’t want to know her, there’s that. Not that it would be any of your business, or anything.” Bucky almost growled. Sam just raised his eyebrow and sarcastically rolled his eyes. Bucky’s been his partner for the last 5 years, and one of his best friends for about the same amount of time. He knew when his friend was full of shit, but also knew when he should actually shut up if he didn’t want to experience the wrath of the Metal Arm. Bucky didn’t get this one of his nicknames coincidentally, and Sam was unfortunate enough to have been on the receiving end of the wrath far too many times. Bucky was a good guy, it was just that his temper got the best of him sometimes. 

“Yeah, before I forget, Steve wanted you to call him and explain yourself to him.” 

“I don’t need to explain anything, I went out, end of the story, now get in the car so we can actually start working, you ass.” 

“I’m the ass here, huh? Have you looked in the mirror today, Barnes? ‘Cause you’re the only one looking like a pile of shit.” Sam almost didn’t get to finish his sentence as Bucky punched his shoulder, but Sam was too used to it now. He just laughed and made a mental note to keep a good eye on his friend.

The talk with the victim was very short because her throat was so damaged, the only thing she was able to do (and even that she did barely) was nodding or shaking her answering your and Scott’s questions. All you got from her, was that she woke up in the middle of the night, feeling a certain uneasiness in her bones. This sixth sense of hers was true for right in front of her bed stood a tall man, an Alpha, with a mask on his face. You didn’t want to go in too much detail, and you really couldn’t because of her injury. 

You were actually lucky to have any kind of conversation with her because about 10 minutes into your “dialogue” she started to lose consciousness and they had to rush into the OR. 

But what you did get from the visit to the hospital, was the conversation you had with one of the victim’s doctors. She told you that the victim had what looked like bruises made by fingers, even showing you and Scott some photos they took so you could have a closer look. 

“Can we have those?” you asked, full-on detective by now. “Of course, we have one copy here for later examination and to contrast the healing, but these were made specifically for you.” You smiled thankfully at her and bid your goodbyes before heading towards Scott’s car (you guess as he was your partner that it would be ok to call the car yours too). 

“So what do you think we’re dealing with here?” Scott asked you once you were seated and on your way towards the headquarters. “I have no idea yet, but probably some sick bastard who can’t even show his face while attacking an innocent and helpless Omega.” Scott just hummed in agreement, and the rest of the ride was spent by talking about his Omega, Hope, who was a scientist and a hell of a one, from what Scott was saying. He was so in love, you couldn’t help but let your mind drift back to your mate, the one abandoning you in front of the whole team without as much as an acknowledgement. 

Once you came to the headquarters, you immediately smelt the most delicious thing, once again, your Alpha. Or rather, the Alpha you felt like should be yours but was far from it. 

He looked up too, only to shake his head as if in disapproval and continued his talk with Sam and Natasha. You wanted to do something, your mind was picking between breaking into a sobbing mess and smacking the Alpha across his face with the closest object you could find.

Before you could do any of the two (and you were suddenly more inclined to hurt the asshole), your Captain came in the view. “So, what’s the status? What did we find, team?” The room fell silent and everyone grouped into a half-circle so that everyone could see everyone. Yay, just what you needed!

“The detectives from the 76th didn’t really know anything, they spoke to some people who thought they heard some noises, but most of them were seniors who couldn’t really remember what day it was so there’s that. One guy, though, said that he saw a tall Alpha running by him, around 2.30 AM, which seems like the time the guy left our victim. But it was dark, and the guy couldn’t see much, so I’m not sure if we can get anything out of it. He’s in one of the conference rooms, and I’ll go talk to him and try and get more information, but I don’t think there will be much, Cap.” Tony concluded his findings. 

“The crime scene was a mess, Steve,” your Alpha (you had to remind yourself that he wasn’t your freaking Alpha) Bucky said. “We were able to get a picture of what happened and how it happened, but the techs were already there, so if he left something there, they would’ve found it. What we could tell, was that he got there from the window, motherfucker must have climbed the fire-stairs, unhooked the window and was it and the poor Omega didn’t stand a chance.” He shrugged and you could have sworn it was the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen. God, you were pathetic!

It was now your turn to speak up, and you could feel all the eyes on you. All of them except the ones you actually wanted to feel. You shook off the disappointment and told the team about your findings. Captain nodded after you concluded your little speech and dismissed all of you, letting you work on your own. 

You saw Bucky turning around and starting to leave the circle, and you decided to follow him. You needed your answers, and you needed them now!

“Hey, Barnes, can I have a word?” you whisper-yelled at him. He looked taken aback by your approach but shook off any emotion from his face before speaking up. 

“I don’t really wanna talk to you, so if I can choose, then no, you can’t have a word with me.” And with that he turned around and started to walk away once again. He had the nerve to walk away from you just like that! Naah, you weren’t having it, not this time!

“I would appreciate it if we could have a conversation, and somewhere private, preferably.” 

You didn’t even realise it, but he was not standing right in front of you, towering over you and silently growling. “We aren’t going anywhere together. Look, I don’t know what you think you feel but don’t. I’m not looking for an Omega, never wanted one, never will want one, so deal with it. You are all the same, and I want no part in that,” he growled the whole time and finally turned around and walked towards Sam, who was watching the interaction and silently waiting for Bucky to join him. 

Didn’t want an Omega? All the same? What? WHAT? You had no clue what was happening, and if it were up to you, you would’ve crawled under some table and just cry and pity yourself, because your true mate just basically rejected you. 

But, and for the first time today, you had Scott behind your ass the whole time, and you were really thankful for it, who now grabbed your elbow and dragged you out of the place. You looked towards the table which was shared by Sam and Bucky. Scott didn’t miss your tilted head, nor did he miss the very silent, but very present whine that escaped your throat. He looked towards that table too and put a protective arm around your shoulders to lead you out of there. 

“You don’t need to speak about it, but let me tell you one thing. Bucky- he is a strange guy. He is one hell of a detective, hell, he’s solved more cases than me, Natasha and Tony combined. But he is also very closed off, I mean, the first three months with the unit, he wouldn’t even acknowledge my presence, he would always look through me, or something. Only after I “proved” to him that I was worth his time would he start talking to me.

Look, I don’t know what his problem is, the Cap just told me he had it rough. All I know is that he was in a war and that it probably scarred him for life. I don’t know if he’s your true mate or what, but just… Give it time, let him see what I see the first second after meeting you and what I hope I’ll get to know more from now on. You are a fantastic detective, we all know that, and believe me, when I say it, you are an amazing person too. I can just smell that, call it a sixth sense, or something. So, just give him time, and if he doesn’t pull his head out of his ass, I’ll be the first one to beat the shit out of him.” 

You were now sitting in a local pub, each of you nursing a bear. You couldn’t help but wonder what did you do to deserve a partner like Scott, who after spending just one day with you, an Omega, for God’s sake, was willing to beat someone up because they were hurting you.

You smiled at him. “Thank you, Scott, you can’t even imagine how much this means to me. But trust me, if he doesn’t give up that attitude of his, I’ll be the first one breaking a chair on his back. You can beat him up after that.” 

Scott laughed at your little outburst and shook his head. “You’re something else, Y/N. But deal!” 

But while you were leaving with Scott, too busy with your own thoughts, Bucky was having some thoughts on his own. He had to stifle a growl threatening to escape his chest when he saw Scott protectively putting an arm around you, his Omega. NO! He had to stop himself from thinking about you like that. 

Of course, he knew you were supposed to be his from the very second he stepped into the office. He buzzed all morning, knew something was up, but never expected to meet his true mate. But he couldn’t let you in. Just couldn’t. His heart wouldn’t take another heartbreak, and that’s why he tried so hard to stay away from you, even though his Alpha side was screaming for you. Luckily, he had enough self-control to never let this side win.

At least he hoped so. 

 / Next Chapter >

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[eyesfixedonthesun22]

Y.M.C.A

Summary: Hoping to bust a sex trafficking case at The Bop House: Roller Club, you and your best friends need to go undercover. In the process, you and Bucky decide to push Steve’s buttons.  Pairing: None romantically, Platonic Stucky x Reader Warning(s): Cursing. Mentions of sex trafficking but nothing descriptive. Pretty G rated. Friend fluff.  Word Count: 1,850 Beta Reader: Thanks to my darling honeybuns, @supersoldiersruined-me and @bumbercrotch for beta rendering.  Notes: This is my entry to @thatfanficstuff​‘s 1.5K writing challenge. My prompt was “Why is everyone singing?”. Congrats Kat on hosting! So happy for your milestone!

“Alright gang, new lead on that sex trafficking case.” Tony’s standing at the head of a conference room, plowing through a mountain of various briefing slides.

“Why are you talking like we’re in an episode of Scooby Doo? Alright gang,” you mock. “Next you’ll be saying jinkies.”

You and the rest of the team have been stuck in the conference room long past your lunch time. Needless to say, patience for Tony’s lecturing is wearing thin. He squints at you before returning back to the slides.

“As I was saying… intel has informed us Markus Livingston is planning to attend some big event at one of their satellite hideouts. We’ve been after this guy for months, but he never seems to show his face.”

“Probably afraid you’ll lecture him for hours.” You high five Bucky for the quip.

“Does anyone wanna take this seriously?” Tony asks.

Nat continues analyzing her split ends. Sam is playing a game on his phone. You swear Steve is asleep with his eyes open. Your suspicions are confirmed with Bucky knocks his knee into Steve startling him awake.

“Seriously, Cap!?” Tony pinches the bridge of his nose.

“I was listening Tony. I swear!”

“Tony, next time please schedule the mission briefing before all the boring housekeeping tasks. An email would have sufficed for the first three hours of this meeting,” Nat chimes in.

“None of you read your damn emails!”

“Exactly!” Bucky whispers to you. Tony either doesn’t hear him or chooses to continue regardless.

“Markus Livingston, who kidnaps and traffics children into sex slavery, which apparently is not important to you all…” Everyone shuffles and sits at attention, reminded of the seriousness of the crime. “Thank you. He’s planning to attend some big event at one of their satellite hideouts; a place by the name of The Bop House: Roller Club.”

“A roller rink? How retro,” Sam tuts; no longer engrossed in his phone game.

“Who’s assigned?” Nat asks.

“Yourself, Agent Y/N, Sam, and the Centurions. Wanda, Clint, Bruce and Vision are still wrapping up that job in Cambodia and it’s my day off with Pepper.” He finishes with the most fake smile you’ve seen on him.

Steve’s posture shifts, deciding it's time to play Captain. “Covers?”

“Provided.” Tony slides packets across the table. You skim the mission briefing but are interrupted by a snort from Sam. Flipping a couple pages to the assigned covers you see why. The theme of the event is “Skating Through the Ages.”

“What the ever-living hell is Skating Through the Ages?”

“Roller Skating. Dressed as various historical clichés.” You all stare up at Tony in disbelief. “Ya know, hippies, poodle skirts, 80’s glam, 90’s grunge?”

You no longer have any curiosity why Tony chose to sit out this particular mission. Anything that didn’t allow him to be himself or Iron Man was a hard pass in his book.

“It’s another couples cover,” Sam groans. You continue to read. Looks like Sam and Natasha are posing as a couple along with you and… the space is left blank. You raise your eyebrows a bit in surprise.

“Tony, who’s my partner?”

“Me.” Steve and Bucky answer in unison. You raise a single eyebrow and swivel your chair back to Tony hoping for some help.

“Don’t look at me, Y/N. Let those two figure it out.” You swivel back to your two best friends who are now engaged in a heated whisper argument.

“Buck, come on. You vowed never to do couple covers. In fact, you threw a massive hissy fit the last time Stark tried to assign you one”

“That’s not true, Steven. I have no qualms with the couples cover.”

“I’m the Captain.”

“Now he pulls the Captain Card!”

You look back and forth at the boys. “If you both wanna be a couple so bad, you can always go together?”

They both look at you reclining back in your chair coolly; faces both a vibrant shade of pink. You had no idea what had gotten into the both of them.

“I flipped a coin in my head-” both men stare at Tony waiting for the verdict. “-and realized I don't care.” With that, Tony closes the presentation and exits the conference room.

“Looks like we got a throuple!” Sam cracks.

**************************************************************************************************

Arriving at the rink you’re an excited ball of energy next to a glum accompanying crowd.

“Am I the only one excited about this?”

Sam huffs before responding, “I look like a knock-off Hendrix with my ginger Janis Joplin. So, forgive me I’m not jumping for joy.”

“Excuse me! I did not spend three hours doing my hair for that comparison.” You had to give Nat credit. Despite Sam’s comparison she looked nothing like Joplin; more like a sultry redhead Farrah Fawcett.

Bucky and Steve flank each of your sides pouting. They’re dressed like fifties greasers complete with slicked back hair, white t-shirts, and black leather jackets. You had to admit, it was a good look for the both of them.

“I get Sam and Nat being huffy, but I can’t deal with you guys moping too.”

“Sorry Y/N/N, I feel naked without my suit.”

“Poor golden boy doesn’t like being on the other side?” Bucky taunts. He was reveling Steve’s discomfort.

“Hush you two. If we’re gonna be a successful throuple we need to be madly in love and not bickering assholes.” You feel the eyerolls before you see them but promptly smack both of them in the temple. “I’m serious.”

**************************************************************************************************

A handful of hours have passed at the roller rink. Nat and Sam have cozied up to some of the henchman near Livingston trying to figure out if he was gonna show tonight. You and the boys were on recon around the rink hoping to find out more about where they were hiding the children.

The three of you had already scoped out the arcade area and bar. You now skate leisurely around the rink, hand-in-hand with Bucky and Steve. You’d been friends with them long enough the couple act was comfortable. To any onlooker, you would look like a blissful throuple; but you knew better. The boy’s eyes were in mission mode; constantly on a swivel observing the comings and goings, checking patterns, looking for abnormalities.

They had both surprised you with their natural ability skating. Perhaps you shouldn’t have been shocked; it seemed the serum added an unnatural grace and a quickness to learn new tasks you’ve grown fond of. You approach the curve of the rink, preparing to make the turn with your chain of three. Right skate crosses gracefully over left. It’s a sudden mix of limbs and skates. Somehow the three of you manage not to topple into a heap as Steve skids to a halt dragging both you and Bucky along.

“Livingston in the building. Our two. Nat. Sam. Nine o’clock,” he whispers into the communication device.

“Move you, star spangled ass!” Steve’s eyebrows raise at your blatant insubordination once you detangle your skates. Best friends or not, Steve demands a certain level of respect on missions.

“If we’re the only people on the rink not skating, glaring at a mob boss, it may draw some unnecessary attention.” Your voice is firm and annoyed, but your body language says nothing but caring partner. Bucky catches on.

“Yeah, darling Steven. Tripped over your skate there and almost took us down.” Steve is not amused, but knows your both right.

“Okay, sweethearts.” His voice still clearly displaying his desire to tackle Livingston. “Let’s finish this lap and go sit down. I think I twisted my ankle.”

The three of you remake your hand holding chain, Steve now in the middle feigning a hurt ankle, and skate towards the exit on the far side of the rink. Under his breath, Steve is whispering orders to Nat and Sam hopefully directing the capture of Livingston.

Your progress off the rink is slowed by Steve’s fake injury. The three of you make it halfway when the song changes.

Young man, there’s no need to feel down

I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground

I said, young man, ‘cause you’re in a new town

There’s no need to be unhappy

Nearly everyone on the rink has stopped to dance in place, further slowing your passage. You drag your right skate behind you to slow your pace. Bucky does the same.

“Why are we slowing down!” Steve grumbles.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Captain, everyone else has stopped. I don’t feel like crushing small civilians under my super soldier body while we’re under cover.”

Young man, there’s a place you can go

I said, young man, where you’re short and your dough

You can stay there, and I’m sure you will find

Many ways to have a good time

“Sam! Nat!” Steve’s whisper yelling into the com as best he can over the music. “Move on Livingston. We’re stuck on the rink… Sam!? Nat?!”

It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

Steve looks around the rink in frustrated horror. Bucky is insanely calm, basking in the destruction of Steve’s type A, leadership. Out of the corner of your eye, you catch a flash of red. It’s Nat bringing down Markus Livingston while Sam stealthy covers his mouth with duct tape as to not make a scene. With the mission at completion you decide to enjoy the roller rink while you can.

They have everything for young men to enjoy

You can hang out with all the boys

You shimmy your shoulders, rolling your hips to the beat intentionally knocking into both Bucky and Steve. Bucky seems to have also noticed Nat’s takedown despite the radio silence. He joins you in dancing around Steve. Clearly, he’s never heard the song before as all his moves are off beat.

It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

“Why is everyone singing!?” Steve yells. He’s livid with the two of you. You throw your arms up to form the letters; singing in his face.

It’s fun to stay at the Y.M.C.A.

“Would you two focus!” he bellows. His face is tomato red; eyebrows firmly knitted together. You can tell he’s either preparing a massive lecture or he’s gonna blow cover and storm over to handle Livingston himself.

“Captain, sir. Permission to speak?” Bucky’s still dancing to the song in front of Steve. You wonder if perhaps the two of you have gone too far in taunting him. Steve looks ready to land a punch right to the brunette’s face; cover or not. Steve ignores him.

“Permission to continue dancing as Natasha and Sam detained Livingston about sixty seconds ago?” Steve’s features settle into befuddlement.

“Yeah… good catch, Cap.” You bump your hip against his playfully, hoping he’ll let loose and drop his stoic Captain mask. His brows unknit and a smirk curls onto his lips.  

“Sometimes I hate you two.” His words are harsh but his tone indicates otherwise. “Now teach me this god forsaken dance.”

[amethyst2900]

So like, my brain is horrible and shit and loves to keep switching ideas on me soo here’s the first chapter of a Strangefrost sort of Detective AU let’s go

Read on Ao3

Stephen wasn’t a simple guy. Though from most people's perspective he was. To most people, he was just a detective who was amazingly good at his job and managed to work his way up quickly. But only a select few—well only two people—knew both sides of him. They knew the cunning detective and the Sorcerer Supreme.

Yeah, he was both of them, which was a tall order for even him. He had to run out of the office if Wong ever needed him or he had to stop in the middle of training because fucking Tony needed him on a case. It’s hard to handle sometimes, running in between so many things but having to make sure nobody knows what he’s doing. But he managed, even if he got little to no sleep.

Or like today where he’s gotten no sleep in the past forty-eight hours.

“I still don’t know why you do this to yourself,” Wong said, leaning against the door frame, watching as Stephen finished dressing himself up for work. His work clothes were simple, a white dress shirt with a dark blue vest, a black tie, and black slacks. And he was wearing the Eye of Agamotto of course, he didn’t go anywhere without it at this point.

Wong was the first one to know about this whole thing he had going on, he was his best friend after all. And he still fondly holds the memory of Wong spitting out his tea when he told him that he was going to be a detective. He remembers it every time he needs some cheering up, it always does the job.

“Because I want to help as many people as I can,” He explained like he had a thousand times before. He honestly wanted to help everyone he could, it felt like he had too. It felt like a punch in the gut if he just stood there and did nothing while innocent people got killed. So, what else was he meant to do?

“You could still help people if you were the Sorcerer Supreme full time,” He pointed out. “And you would be able to get a full night’s rest,”

“Yeah, I could, but,” He reached up and adjusted his tie a bit. “I wouldn’t be able to help like the way I am right now as a detective. I couldn’t help out in any cases, solve murders, you know the normal stuff.”

Wong shot Stephen a pointed look but he just smirked back at him. It felt like they had something like this conversation every week. It always ended the same. Wong sighed and shook his head.

“Fine, I won’t hold you back from doing it,” He smiled sadly. “Just get some sleep tonight, all right?”

Stephen smiled back at him and nodded. “I’ll try to, promise,” He said. They both knew that it meant that Stephen would try to go to sleep only if he didn’t get a good case today.

Wong gave him a nod before walking out of the room, probably on his way to Kamar-Taj.

Stephen sighed and shook his head. It was nice to know that Wong cared about him. But he didn’t want Wong to worry over him too much, even if Stephen gave him a lot to worry about.

He grabbed his leather jacket from the dresser it was lying on. Throwing it on and heading out the door, mentally preparing himself for (hopefully) a long day of paperwork with a bit of Stark being an asshole mixed in there. But what else was new?

When this first started out Wong had expected him to make a portal to work each day. Which was absurd-especially since he was trying to keep it a secret that he was a goddamned Sorcerer. Plus, he needed to get to and from crime scenes, and he occasionally had to bring people with him. He couldn’t use a portal then.

So, he bought a motorcycle to use.

Yes, he could have just bought a car, but he’s not sure he can drive one anymore without panicking and remembering….that.

Motorcycle it was.

He slid onto his motorcycle, not bothering with a helmet. He enchanted it when he first got it. It would create a force field around him if he did get in a crash and with a little bit of illusion magic anyone who wanted to see him with a helmet on would.

Stephen sighed as he put in the key and started to drive off to work.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he walked into the office; the air felt tense somehow. Nobody was talking. Not even Clint, which was amazing really. He’d have to learn what was going on so he could shut Clint up when he was getting annoying. Which was like every moment he talked.

It felt as if the whole entire office was looking at him, waiting for him to do something. Stephen glanced over at Natasha, whose desk was nearest to him.

“What the hell’s going on? I didn’t grow a third eye or something, right?” He said disguising it as a light joke. But really he was concerned since it was an actual real possibility at this point.

Natasha smiled sweetly, which was a smile that always meant trouble.

“Stark wants to see you in his office, he has a little surprise for you,” She explained with a shrug of a shoulder in the office’s general direction.

Stephen’s eyebrows furrowed even further. Why the hell would Tony want to see him? Tony left him to do his own thing, only calling him to his office when he needed him on a special case. But those were usually private meetings though, the whole precinct never really knew about them.

“Okay…?” He trailed off. He shook his head and started walking over too Tony’s office.

“Good luck Strange!” Clint called out as Stephen entered the office, closing the door behind him.

Tony was sitting at his desk, typing away at his computer. The office looked exactly how you would think Tony’s office would work once you got to know him. The walls were painted a nice hot red, making the black desk pop in the room. There were a few case files resting on the side of a desk and Stephen felt an itch in his chest to just grab one and look through it. But he could control that itch, for now at least.

Tony glanced up from his computer. “Stephen, what are you doing in here?” Tony joked with one of his classic Stark grins™.

Stephen rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m here because you wanted me here, and apparently the whole goddamned precinct knew about it before me,”

Tony leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, okay fair I have a good reason for that. Just come on sit down,” He said gesturing to the chairs that were in front of his desk.

Stephen gave Tony a quick pointed glare but moved over to sit down in one of the chairs.

“So, what is this about?” Stephen asked.

“Well, someone likes to skip the foreplay,” Tony murmured, grabbing one of the case files off the desk. He flipped through it for a moment, and Stephen couldn’t help but wonder if it actually was a special case that Tony wanted him on.

“Ah, here we go.” He gently tossed the file on the desk making it slide over to Stephen.

Stephen took the file in his ever shaking hands, but at least the shaking wasn’t too noticeable. His eyes were immediately drawn to the picture of a man with long black hair who seemed to be wearing a black suit.

“Some sort of missing person case?” He asked as he skimmed the information on the page.

Tony snorted. “No, Stephen, not everything’s a case you know,” He sighed.

“I don’t think everything is a case,” Stephen retorted as he glanced up, already annoyed with Tony even though he’d only been here for only a minute.

“Yeah sure you don’t,” Tony rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, just tell me what this is all about,”

Tony smiled, a smile that could not be any good. He put his hands behind his head.

“This is your new partner, Loki Laufeyson,”

Those words hit Stephen like a fucking fireball. No, no, Tony couldn’t have put him with a partner. He’s almost always worked alone, (with the exception of coroners and forensics of course,) only bringing other detectives to help him when he was at the end of his rope. Which was almost never. It was how he worked best; it was how he solved every case. It was how he kept his secret.

“No,” Stephen said firmly, dropping the file on the desk.

“Yes,”

“No,” He said gritting his teeth. “Stark, I can’t work with a partner, you know this already,”

“Strange I know that, but you can’t keep running around without a partner to back you up!” Tony grabbed the folder and held it back out to him.

Stephen crossed his arms. “I don’t need anyone to back me up, and if I do I’ll just ask Natasha or something,”

“She won’t be there all the time, and neither will anyone else,”

“So? Like I said I don’t need backup,”

Tony clenched his jaw.

“Don’t need backup? Strange we all need back up sometimes, and just because you haven’t been shot yet doesn’t mean that you don’t need a partner! In fact your damn lucky that you haven’t gotten shot,” It wasn’t really luck, more just he was really good at dodging bullets and really good with putting up a fight. Which were both things he never expected to be good at.

Tony had a semi-good point though. He ran into everything head first, usually without back up. But that was how he worked.

“It’s still a no from me,”

“Too bad, you’re still getting him as a partner,”

“But-”

“But nothing, you’re getting him as a partner and that’s final,” Tony said, glaring at Stephen. He glared back at Tony, he knew he couldn’t just walk out of here, or just continue to deny Tony. Neither of which would turn out that well for him.

Stephen groaned. “I’ll work one case with him and we’ll see how that goes. Deal?”

Tony smirked like he had won, which he kind of had honestly.

“Sounds good,” He said, offering the file back to him. “Now take this file, go back to your desk and learn a little about your new partner before he gets here,”

Stephen hesitantly grabbed the file from Tony. “When is he going to be here?” He asked getting up from his seat.

Tony shrugged. “Don’t know, Thor said he would be here soon, but he’s just a little uh….” Tony trailed off, glancing around the room. Stephen rose an eyebrow.

“Nervous to do this,”

Stephen slowly nodded, not quite believing what Tony was telling him. He turned on his heel and walked out the door. Today was not going to be a fun day for him.

“I am Loki, God of mischief, I should not be working for the police!” Loki said to Thor for the twentieth time during this car ride that Thor had forced him into. He could leave, just disappear from the car and go back. But he kind of wanted to stay here. To see where Thor was going with all this of course. “Brother, this will be good for you,” Thor said plain and simple. Not taking his eyes off the road for even a split second. He must be used to this by now, which was horrible. Loki would have to up his game. “Oh, yeah? Working with all your little Avenger friends will do me good?”  Loki scoffed crossing his arms against his chest, feeling the seat belt push against his neck slightly. Norns he hated this thing, he understood that Midgardians needed protection against the most simple of things. But why did they always have to make it so uncomfortable?

Thor sighed, shaking his head. “You have been sulking in your room for almost year,” He pointed out. Loki cringed slightly at that. It was true, he barely left his room, only leaving when Thor’s little team needed him.

“So? Just let me sulk for another year, then I’ll be fine,” Loki said with a twinge of pain behind his words. And he knew that Thor noticed it.

“Loki….I know that what happened to Asgard was hard on all of us.”

“You mean all four of us?” Loki said bitterly. He turned to look out the window, watching the cars pass by them.

“Yes, but everyone has tried to move on. Except you, that is,” Thor sounded sad as he said that. Like he was sad that Loki couldn’t get over something that was basically his fault. Something that he could have prevented. It was his fault that almost everybody died that day. Loki shook his head, trying to clear it.

“And working as the FBI will help me ‘move on’?”

“Hm-mm,” Thor hummed. “It’ll be like a fresh start for you,”

“Yes, because working with somebody I already know to solve a murder will be such a fresh start,” Loki said letting the sarcasm seep through his voice. He already knew everybody that worked in Thors division.

“You don’t know the person you’ll be working with,” Loki whipped his head around to look at Thor like he had grown a second head.

“Sorry?” Loki asked.

Thor had a self-satisfying smirk on his face, that Loki just wanted to punch off of him. Maybe he’ll do that later after they were out of the car.

“I haven’t mentioned him, and he’s not an Avenger, so you don’t know him,”

Loki rose an eyebrow. “I thought Stark and Rogers only wanted Avengers in their division,” He said, remembering a stupid meeting that he barely paid any attention to where Stark mentioned it offhandedly.

“They do, but Stephen is the special exception,”

Stephen, okay, this man’s name was Stephen. He’d have to keep that in mind for later.

“Why?”

Thor glanced at him and Loki was suddenly very glad that Thor had gotten a prosthetic eye because it would have been extremely creepy to see him glance over with one eye.

“He is good at his job, so Tony wanted him with us,” Thor sighed as he turned on his turn signal. “He does not know that we’re the Avengers though, so keep that in mind when you work with him,”

That was odd...Stark wouldn’t just want anyone on his team. So Stephen must have something special about him. Something that Tony saw. And Loki almost wanted to find out what that something was.

Almost.

“Who says I’m going to work with him?” Loki asked as Thor turned into the parking lot.

“You do, because if you did not want to at least try to work as an agent then you would have just disappeared ten minutes ago,” Thor pointed out and Loki wants to punch Thor for knowing him so well. Because nobody has that right, at all.

Loki huffed and leaned back into his seat. Thor pulled into a free parking place and turned off the car with a small click. Thor turned to look at him, putting his hand on Loki’s shoulder. Loki sneered at his hand but allowed to stay anyways.

“You’ll be good at this Loki,”

“And how do you know that?” Loki asked, even though they both knew exactly why he would be.

“You know,” Thor said with a small smile.

Loki sighed. “Fine, I’ll try to do it,” He shook his head.”But please let me be able to disappear anytime I want,”

Thor’s smile turned into a full-on grin. “Of course you can do that, just don’t use magic on anything or anyone and we will all be good,”

He frowned. “No magic? Really?”

“No magic, unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Thor pulled his arm away from Loki’s shoulder. He opened the car door.

That stupid rule really, Loki basically breathed magic. But it did make sense, he was going to be working with a Midgardian who had no idea that magic existed after all.

“Your new badge and gun are in the glove box, so come in when you are ready to,”  

Loki tilted his head a bit, a small smirk playing on his lips.

“Do you actually trust me with a gun?”

“No, I really do not,” Thor said with a little twinkle of mischief playing in his eyes. “But I’d rather you have a gun than a blade,” He said knowingly.

Thor got out of the car slowly. “Welcome to your first day on the job Detective Laufeyson,” Thor said before closing the door, leaving Loki alone so that he could prepare himself for whatever hell he just got himself into.

“Human lie detector huh?” Stephen muttered into his second cup of coffee. It was good of Tony to actually give him Loki’s file. He must have learned that Stephen wanted to learn as much as he could about the people he was working with.

So far Loki’s file had been...interesting to say the least. He was a twenty-six-year-old man who had worked his way up quickly, just like he had. He was supposedly good at fighting, knew when to do something and when not to do it and was basically a human lie detector.

Looking at everything Loki was good at made it obvious why Tony wanted him. Tony only took in the best that he could after all.

The precinct was back up to its usual chattering, clearly, the only problem they had was that Stephen was getting a partner and they didn’t know how he would take it. And from what he’s overheard so far everyone thinks that he took it better than they expected.

Hell even he was surprised that he didn’t just walk out of there after hearing it.

“Stephen!”

He looked up from the file. Thor was walking towards his desk, he had his jacket folded over one arm.

Stephen smiled at Thor. Thor was always the nicest to him, even when he first got here and nobody really trusted him.

“Hey buddy, heard that you were the one bringing the new recruit here,” Stephen said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Thor nodded happily. “Yes, I am, he’s in the car right now,”

“Hm, so he really is nervous?”

Thor’s face twisted in confusion and maybe a little disgust in there. Stephen wasn’t completely sure.

“Nervous?” Thor laughed quietly. “ My brother nervous? You must kid,” Thor came to a stop in front of his desk.

Stephen choked on air.  He coughed for a moment before he could say anything

“He’s your brother?” He said, setting down his coffee on his desk slowly. He should have seen it coming honestly, Loki and Thor were brothers in mythology after all.

Thor cocked his head. “Yes, did Tony not tell you?”

“All he gave me is this,” He waved the file around. “And it mentions nothing about you two being brothers, also he has a different last name than yours,” Stephen said, still trying to recover from the shock that Thor had a brother that he never mentioned.

Thor glanced up for a second then nodded. “I’ll have to talk to Tony about not telling you that, but yes he has a different last name because he’s-”

“Adopted,” A posh voice said. Stephen and Thor looked away from each other to look at whoever said that.

“I’m adopted, I decided to use my real father’s last name so I wouldn’t be compared to my brother,” Loki explained as he stopped next to Thor. Putting his hands on his hips. He looked exactly like the picture, he was even wearing the same black on black suit. The only difference was that he had his hair pulled up in a low bun. Honestly, he was getting full marks appearance wise, now he had to find out what he was like personality wise.

“I’m Loki Laufeyson and I take it your Stephen?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Stephen gave a small smile to him.

“Yes, Stephen Strange, nice to meet you,”

“It is a pleasure to meet you too, partner,”

“Don’t call me that.”

[daresplaining]

Daredevil Countdown: 3 Days

D.A. Foggy Nelson

    As depressing as Matt and Foggy’s break-up was in Season 2, it has set up some really neat stories for Foggy. In the comics, as in the MCU, it is important for him to step out of Matt’s shadow, because this allows him the freedom to build his career and self-confidence. One plot point I’ve been dying for since last season-- which, it seems, is actually happening-- is Foggy running for District Attorney! This is a really interesting plotline as far as Foggy’s character arc is concerned, and as a bonus, it’s a reference to a period of Daredevil comics that doesn’t generally get much attention. 

    Matt and Foggy have been friends for a long time, and as with most long-term relationships, their dynamic has evolved over the years. When discussing their law partnership, 616 Foggy once referred to Matt as the inspiration and himself as the perspiration. And this seems like a pretty accurate assessment. While Matt is a naturally brilliant lawyer, a charismatic speaker, and is also neglectful of his day job thanks to his superheroing, Foggy works hard to build up his reputation. He’s not a great public speaker. He lacks Matt’s flair. But he is devoted to his career and is, in a quieter way, a brilliant lawyer in his own right. 

    But when he is first introduced in the comics, he exists very much in Matt’s shadow. When discussing the newly-formed Nelson & Murdock in the very first issue, he attributes the firm’s future success to Matt brains and his (Foggy’s) father’s money. And in the early issues, this fits with his narrative role. He is there to hold down the fort, to run the firm and be the boring, less talented partner against whom Matt’s awesomeness can be compared. The possibility of his becoming the D.A. is teased very early-on, in issue #10-11... but it turns out to be a supervillain’s ruse and nothing more. 

Foggy: “Well, that makes me the prize chump of the year! He sure had me fooled!”

Matt: “Chump nothing! You were the first to suspect that the picture of the Organizer on TV was a phony... taken in advance to throw suspicion on Monroe! You’ve proven you do have what it takes to make a fighting D.A., mister!”    

Daredevil vol. 1 #11 by Stan Lee, Bobby Powell, Wally Wood, and Sam Rosen

    As gullible as this makes Foggy look, it introduces an important character element for him at this early point: his aspirations. Poor Foggy may be treated as a loser by the narrative, he may not have Matt’s talents and main character advantages, but he still has big dreams. It’s thus satisfying that forty issues later, he runs again for real... and wins!

Foggy: “Me and Daniel Webster! --What a laugh! It’s Matt who should have this job-- not me! He was the real brains of ‘Nelson and Murdock’! I was just-- the work horse! But, they say a man can sometimes grow into a job-- maybe this will be my chance to prove myself! My chance to finally get out-- from under the shadow of Matt Murdock!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #50 by Stan Lee, Gene Colan, and George Klein

    At this point he is conflicted-- both excited by this boost to his career and nervous about stepping out of his comfort zone. He and Matt had a huge fight during the campaign and so they are no longer speaking at this point... but they get over it, and Foggy decides to fix his nerves by bringing Matt on board has his special assistant. 

Reporter: “Howzabout a shot of you two together, Mr. Nelson? It’ll go great with our story of your declared war on Crime-Wave!”

Foggy: “Even better than you think, friend! ‘Cause I’ve got a surprise announcement to make...! Namely, I’ve just invited Matthew Murdock to become my special assistant... for the duration of the current investigation!”

Matt: “It’s true all right, newshound! I’ve joined the team!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #58 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

    (How great is this page? Love that Gene Colan art.)

    But even this, with Matt working as Foggy’s subordinate rather than partner, is a huge shift in the balance of their dynamic. For once, Foggy gets to take the lead, with Matt dropping by the office when he has time to consult on cases. As District Attorney, Foggy is directly interacting with politicians and the press, and he is the first person people come to for help. And then Matt runs off to San Francisco with Natasha Romanov and leaves Foggy all on his own. 

    Since this is Matt’s comic, this separation means that we don’t see much of Foggy during this period. But when he does appear, he is notably changed. He is extra serious, extra busy. His wardrobe gets snazzier. 

Daredevil vol. 1 #114 by Steve Gerber, Bob Brown, and Stan Goldberg

    And he becomes more deeply embedded in The Establishment. He is forced to handle tough ethics cases: corruption, student protests, and the ever-present NYC topic of superheroes, about whom he has always had mixed feelings. (This is 200+ issues before he finds out about his best friend’s double life.)

Matt: “Great! Competence lives in Fun City! Sorry about the mess, friend, but I’m sure our crackerjack sanitation department can make it all tidy again-- or at least as tidy as the rest of New York. Which isn’t saying much.”

Foggy: “Not so quick with the flippancy, Hornhead. I think it’s time the police questioned you about a few matters. I’m getting a bit sick and tired of you long underwear types swinging up and down Fifth Avenue like you owned it.”

Matt: “I never thought I’d say this, ‘Mr.’ Nelson, but methinks you’re more interested in your re-election than you are in justice. But I think it’s a little bit too late to begin a crusading D.A. image now.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #127 by Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown, and Petra Goldberg

    And Foggy matures, becoming a more jaded and world-weary version of himself. After getting shot while on the job, he starts rethinking his career. This is a neat mental shift when placed next to Matt’s own superhero philosophy. Foggy has now had a taste of doing what Matt does as Daredevil-- protecting the city-- and it is wearing him down. If only he and Matt could actually speak candidly about this shared experience...

Matt: “You sound a little bitter, Foggy. Are you still upset about the shooting?”

Foggy: “Frankly, Matt... I am. You spend a chunk of your life trying to help this city-- trying to make it safer, a decent place for people to live-- you put up with the crackpots, the bad cops, the crooks-- and then WHAM you get the city’s thanks-- a crummy bullet from a third-hand Saturday Night Special. So sure-- I’m bitter, Matt, this has been building up in me since it happened. I’m bitter as hell.”

Matt: “You’re forgetting good things, Foggy, the good cops... the good people... Don’t do yourself and them an injustice. Have a little faith.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #118 by Gerry Conway, Don Heck, and Petra Goldberg

    When his re-election campaign rolls around, Foggy fights hard. His opponent is the charming, charismatic Blake Tower, who Foggy ends up liking and respecting in spite of himself. In the end, and thanks to some supervillain intervention by expert media manipulator the Jester...

TV Foggy: “Fellow citizens, as much as this pains me to say, I am forced to admit that I consider myself unworthy of being re-elected. Please bear with me as I give my explanations.”

Foggy: “What? It’s a lie! I never said that!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #130 by Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown, and Michele Wolfman

    ...Foggy loses. Tower, a genuinely good guy and superhero supporter, goes on to have a long and successful career as the new D.A. And Foggy, as hard as he fought for re-election, discovers that he is glad to have escaped from such a stressful job. Matt invites him to join his new private practice, and he gratefully accepts. 

Foggy: Once the vote became apparent, I just couldn’t stick around any longer. I had to get away--to be by myself to think. But I’ve come to some conclusions, Matt. The first is that I’m happy I lost, and the second-- Matt, I’ve never begged before, but Matt-- I need a job now... do you need a rather tubby loser hanging around here?”

Matt: “Do you still have that business card I gave you, Foggy?”

Foggy: “Sure, I was too busy to look at it. Why?”

Matt: Just read it. Whether you won the election or not, Foggy, you always were, and you’ll always be-- my partner. Welcome back, buddy. It’s been awhile.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #130 by Marv Wolfman, Bob Brown, and Michele Wolfman

    Many writers since have written Foggy back into Matt’s shadow-- and that’s tough to avoid, since Matt is the main character. But this story arc first introduced the idea of Foggy as a force in his own right, someone who can succeed without Matt around, which is an attitude that has largely stuck around to this day. It presented a welcome and permanent shift in the way writers, and thus Daredevil readers, viewed his character and role in the comic. 

    While MCU Matt doubled down on his DD activities in Season 2, prioritizing that side of his life over his legal work, Foggy plunged headfirst into his career-- mostly because he had no other choice. With Matt neglecting the firm, Foggy picked up the slack. He spent the entirely of Season 1 putting himself down, emphasizing Matt’s skills over his own, and showing an intense lack of self-confidence regarding his abilities as a lawyer. But Season 2 showed him, in ways that he could not ignore, that he was actually damn good at him job. He realized that he could still achieve his law school (or possibly undergrad...) dream of having a high-powered legal career... even without Matt by his side. And so when the chance to make that dream happen was presented, he leapt at it. 

    It has been an absolute treat to see Foggy hop around to the other shows, further developing his career, getting used to hanging out with superheroes, and generally demonstrating a level of confidence in himself that is new and wonderful. His life isn’t perfect-- there’s no question that he would rather be doing this with Matt-- but it’s still a big deal for his character development. From here, there are several ways his D.A. aspirations could go. It could be a great thing-- further boosting his career, giving him a new set of challenges, and showing us a side of Foggy we’ve never seen before: a Foggy in a position of power, trying to cope. Or it could end terribly. He could lose. He could win, but end up butting heads with Wilson Fisk. Since Fisk named Foggy in Season 2 as someone he was aiming to take down, that confrontation is going to happen no matter what-- but if Foggy were the D.A., this takedown might involve bribery and blackmail as part of Fisk’s bid for power. I’m really excited to see how this plotline is handled, and feel confident that-- just like in the comics-- this separation will be a good thing for him, and will end with the recreation of a new, better, stronger Nelson and Murdock. 

[trialnerror]

Monster Among Men [Supernatural!Michael AU] CH 1

A/N: Hope everyone loves it! @mistletoemichael

Previous Chapters

Chapter 1

**present day**

It was a cool day in Greybull, Wyoming as Raven walked through the small town on her way back to her motel, stepping out to grab some food for the road. Looking around she noticed that the town was unusually quiet for this time of year, knowing that school was out and the kids would be out with their families getting ready for the holidays. The cool breeze shook those eerie thoughts from her head, as she zipped her jacket up to protect from the wind. Continuing her walk, Raven passed by one of the local newspaper boxes when something caught her eye, a new case. She just happened to be passing through Greybull but decided to spend the night to catch up on some sleep, but to her luck, she may just have a reason to stay. After stopping to grab a paper for herself, Raven quickly made her way back to the motel, ready to dive into this new case.

Finally making it back to the motel, Raven took out her father’s old notebook, skipping the pages of scribbled notes and incantations that she had learned along the way and got down to business. The paper didn’t cover much about the alleged attack, only stating that it was on a young man in broad daylight and his mother had found his body. The police had reported that a wild animal must have killed him, seeing as he was mauled to death, but Raven didn’t buy it. She knew that she would have to dig deeper into the story and the only way to do that was by talking to the victims mother.

Grabbing her pantsuit, Raven quickly changed and put her hair into a high ponytail, smoothing out her button up shirt and pulling her blazer on, ready to go visit the scene of the crime. After a 20 minute drive, Raven grabbed her fake badge, checking which name she grabbed for her persona–which happened to be Natasha Romanoff, and got out of her car. Making her way to the door, she brought her knuckles up as she was getting ready to knock, when two taller men stepped out, both wearing professional attire like herself. She gave them a questioning look, one that was quickly returned by the two men in front of her, but shrugged it off, knowing that she had a job to do, and turned to the woman at the door.

“We’ll let you know if we uncover anything ma’am” said one of the men, adjusting his tie as he spoke. Taking a final glance over at Raven, he turned to his partner and they both walked back to their car, getting in and driving off down the road.

Raven then turned her attention back to the now closed door and knocked, waiting for someone to answer. An older woman then answered, eyes slightly puffy and red, most likely due to crying from her possible conversation with the two men Raven had just encountered. That must be the victims mother, she wondered as she met the woman’s gaze.

“Good afternoon ma’am, I’m Detective Romanoff and I was wondering if you could answer some questions about-” she started, taking out her badge and flashing it before she was interrupted.

“I’m sorry but no more questions please” she said sadly, as she walked away from the door as a younger man approached.

“I’m sorry, we’ve been answering questions all day but we told your colleagues everything we know, so you could probably ask them” he said, giving a small apologetic smile to Raven.

“Oh. I’m sorry to have bugged you then. I’ll be sure to follow up with my colleagues…”

“Mulder and Scully?” he stated, a look of confusing on his face due to Raven questioning who her colleagues were.

“Right. Thank you again sir. Have a good day” she said, turning on her heel heading toward her car, frustrated that she didn’t get the answers she needed for her case.

“You too!” he called out after her, closing the door behind her.

Heading back to her car, Raven took a quick glance at the house, but noticed something off. The paper said that he was killed in the front yard, but there’s no evidence to prove that, she thought creeping closer to the house and heading to the open backyard. The house was located in front of a wooded area meaning that wild animals could wander up to the house at any point, but Raven had a hunch that this was no wild animal. Sneaking her way into the wooded area she took out her flashlight and began searching for anything that could help with the case, and to her luck, she found something. Footprints were left in the mud along with large blood stains, presumably left by the victim, but something else caught her eye. Leaning down, Raven picked up a leaf, covered in what she could only assume was saliva, but not saliva from a human. Before she could investigate any more, Raven heard the back door open knowing that the members of the victims family would catch her if she didn't leave as soon as she possibly could. Making a quick run back to her car, Raven decided that she would return later that night, hoping to investigate more of the unknown substance that she found in the woods.

Several hours later, Raven arrived to the home of the victim, but noticed something odd about the house. Making her way up the narrow porch, she noticed the door was ajar with large scratch marks across it and decided to investigate inside. Clutching her mother's knife she slowly walked into the house, ready to fight if needed, when she came face to face with the two men from before, as well as two others that she hadn’t seen before. Drawing her weapon, Raven kept her distance, switching her aim between the four men in front of her ready to make a move, but before she–or they, could do anything, they heard a blood curdling scream coming from upstairs and gave each other the same look. This. Means. Trouble.

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[hermancharley]

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[shirtlesssammy]

13x06: Tombstone

Then:

Uncontrollable Sobbing

Now:

Where the fuck is our TFW reunion? Dean and a local lawman from Dodge City, Kansas are hunting something at night in a graveyard, when the sarge gets sucked underground by some particularly strong grabby hands. 

48 Hours Earlier

Dean and Cas are reunited and all is right in the world. (Sam. Sam is here too.) Dean asks Cas if it’s really him. Cas admits to annoying an ancient cosmic being into sending him back to Earth. Sam mumbles something about not knowing what to say, but Dean’s got this one.

“Welcome home, pal.” And Dean gives Cas a big hug ---and oh my, his face journey when he hugs Cas. What the fuck, Dean!? I know you’re in shock, but don’t pal-zone the dude. Your face is a menace.

(Sam. Sam is here too --and he gets a hug in as well.)

Cas asks how long he was gone (all calculations seem to indicate ~a month), and Dean responds, “Too damn long.” Like, when Cas finds out how long it really was, he better call Dean out on how dramatic that is. He tells the brothers that he was in the Empty. Sam surmises that Jack did something to wake him.

<Insert Fanfiction Gap where TFW discuss Cas’s new outfit, what serious pain Dean’s been in lately, the absence of Mary, and Jack not needing all those diapers after all.>

At the bunker, there’s a heartfelt meeting/reunion of Jack and Cas. This third Cas hug was really emotional for me, guys.

Jack is eager to prove to his new family that he’s studying hard, moving pencils with his mind, and finding cases to work. If he wasn’t so fucking cute, I’d have my supernatural sensors pinging right now. He wants so desperately to be good, but the more he learns about his powers, the more he’ll use them. We’re only at episode 6 --there’s a whole lot of time for him to go dark side. Jack lets the team know that “the dead are rising in Dodge City, Kansas.” Nerd Dean makes an appearance. And much to Sam and Cas’s reluctance, they decide to check it out. Off to the Stampede Motel and RV Park!

Dean books the best room in the joint (but only two beds for four grown men, smh). 

And Dean Bean really nerds out about all the western gunmen on the wall. (Sam. Sam is here too --wondering why he can’t enjoy serial killer trivia.) Also, I just about died watching Tactile!Dean touch the bison’s nose. 

While Dean and Sam prepare to crash for the night, Cas and Jack bond over not sleeping.

Dean opens the closet door to discuss how getting Cas back is a “pretty, damn big win.” Sam’s happy he’s happy, but his Dimples of Knowledge™ indicate he knows it’s more than that. And he closes the closet, conversation over.

Meanwhile, Deputy Kyle pulls over a stolen truck, only to be dragged under the vehicle for his efforts.

Later that night, Dean gets his first real good night of sleep in a month, while Cas and Jack talk about all that’s happened to Jack. Jack is just such a nougat-face wondering about heaven (angels are dicks, Jack.) They talk about Kelly, and Cas apologizes for not being there for Jack from the beginning. “Kelly would be so proud of you,” Cas assures his mini-me. It’s then that Jack sees the latest law enforcement development and runs to tell Sam and Dean. Cas, who’s watched Dean wake up angry so many times he’s lost count, runs to stop Jack from making the most egregious error, but is too late. Dean pulls his gun on him (thankfully Jack doesn’t blast him with nephilim power, right?), and then asks for someone *cough*Cas*cough* to make him coffee. 

After finding out that the deputy was found with bite marks all over, Sam and Jack decide to hit up the local graveyard while Cas and Dean check out the crime scene. After Dean’s coffee break, of course.

Classic Scene Alert

Dean and Cas pull up to the crime scene. Holy Hell, guys. I could watch this on repeat forever.

Dean bought Cas a cowboy hat --only it’s a straw hat!

Dean fixes said hat to look better, but Cas is dubious of that correction.

Cas touched Baby’s rearview mirror and lives to to see another day.

Dean is hella excited to act like he’s in the movie Tombstone.

Cas is Dean’s ‘Huckleberry”, i.e. man he’s been looking for.

Dean makes Cas watch movies with him.

Dean closes his eyes and swallows very dramatically when Cas lowers his voice and quotes Tombstone. (I don’t make the rules, that’s just canon.)

Dean is glad to have his angel back and his voice breaks when he says “Cas”.

<Insert dramatic exit from car set to the Steve Miller Band’s Space Cowboy.>

I have to admit, I’m not the biggest Steve Miller Band fan, so I was a bit meh when I first heard this, but after watching this scene a couple hundred dozen times, I’m cool with it. It’s certainly not their most played song and it’s jangly fun for the scene. I loved the record scratch at the end. And Cas’s “Howdy partner” and “Much obliged”? JFC.

Dean Agent Russell, and his associate, Cas Val Kilmer, meet with Sergeant Phillips about the victim. Turns out to be his nephew, and he’s wondering why the Texas Rangers are this far north. Dean rolls with his new role.

At the undertakers, rockabilly Athena is preparing a body for embalming while wearing noise cancelling headphones. She doesn’t hear Sam and Jack Agent’s Elliott and Paxton approach. Athena doubts Jack’s age (aww, remember when Sam was so young people doubted that he was an FBI agent? They grow up so fast.) Sam and Athena make a brief connection over Amanda Palmer and Jack fucks up and asks about cold spots. (He’s trying so hard. PROTECT.) 

At the grave, Sam finds a gnawed on hip bone. They’re dealing with a ghoul!

TFW 2.0 wonders if Athena is the ghoul, but quickly dismiss that idea. Athena, meanwhile, is busy at work, and busy being followed by a shadowy figure. Dean figures it out that they’re looking for Dave Mather, cowboy and outlaw and someone who’s been dead since 1886, “which makes this a little weird.”       

Athena’s mysterious stalker is Dave! It seems that Athena was accepted to a prestigious make-up school in LA. Dave is less than impressed. Athena spills the beans on the FBI visit, alerting Dave.

After Jack pieces it together that Dave is Athena’s boyfriend, they head out to the mortuary, looking for Dave.

Dave is busy robbing a bank.

Team Free Will 2.0 heads to the bank to stop him. They confirm that Dave is, in fact, a ghoul who's been chomping on ole Dave for a long time now. A regular Western-style shootout begins. Cas tells Jack to stay hidden but Jack's full of confidence now. He rushes out and gets shot full of lead for his trouble. But Jack's unperturbed by this. He holds up his hand and does a power blast, throwing both Dave and the bank guard violently backwards.

Dave falls to the ground but the bank guard gets knocked against a concrete pillar. When he falls to ground, he falls down dead, presumably killed instantly as soon as his head hit the pillar. Dave escapes on foot with Dean in pursuit while everyone else checks on the guard. Dean loses Dave (curse you, stray automobile!) and heads back to the crime scene where Jack is looking with horror on the dead guard who Castiel tries and fails to resurrect. This seems like a low power moment for Cas, but here's my headcanon. Cas could revive the body but the guard's soul already moved on. Since he isn't welcome in Heaven these days, Cas couldn't head up and retrieve his soul. You may say to me. Natasha. How do you explain Gadreel then HUH? To that I simply say that Cas and Charlie's souls hadn't moved on yet. (I also accept the more popular headcanon that Cas will never be max power again now that some of his grace was destroyed by Metatron’s spell.)

Anyway, the guard is irrevocably dead. They all head back to the hotel to figure out their next step.

We cut to the hotel where the camera closes in on Jack with an actual thunderclap sound effect. Yesss yes give me your heavy handed audio cues. Cas asks if it's happened before (and I'm getting some serious parent/teacher conference vibes here.) But it doesn’t really matter, does it? Because there’s a dead man in town and the police are gonna be sniffing around. Dean sends Cas and Sam home with Jack while he stays to take care of the ghoul.

Back at the mortuary, Dave stumbles in on Athena. He's bleeding, aggressive, and he's got a bag full of stolen money. He confesses to robbing graves for quick cash and a bank for mega cash. Athena hears all this, puts two and two together, and realizes that he killed the officer. Dave protests that the murder was okay because he “had it coming.” He grips her tightly and tells her that she should stick with him because he'll protect her. It's all very...UGH. Athena tells him that she'll never stay with him and I'm honestly fearing for her life right now. Because telling him she's leaving him will only lead to him rage-killing her, right? A car pulls up outside, interrupting Dave in what just might have been the knick of time.

We jump to outside the mortuary. It's the Sergeant, quickly followed by Dean! They greet each other laconically. “You here to shoot down a gosh durn monster?” “Yep.” They stalk through the cemetery and separate to flush out Dave when a hole opens up in the ground (yes, we're looping back to the opening scene) and swallows up the Sergeant. Dean rushes to the hole. It's deep and dark and Dean, bless him, hesitates at the lip of the sinkhole.

“Mmm mmm. Nope, I don't wanna,” he says and I one hundred percent back him up on this opinion. Going face first into a tiny crawl hole is the stuff of nightmares. To his credit, however, in he goes. He crawls through on his belly, shotgun in hand.

Back in the Impala, Sam and Cas try to make Jack feel better. “I've killed people who didn't deserve it,” Cas tells him. “My friends. I killed people I loved. I wish I could tell you that it gets easier...with time it hurts less but that would be a lie.” Jack ain't buying it and honestly...neither am I. I'm not convinced that telling newborn Jack that his role model isn't such a role model is the best strategy in this case. But ANYway. Cas tries to convince him that what happened was a mistake and he can still improve. “I have to believe it,” Cas says. And...AAAW CAS <3 Always swimming towards faith in something better. (High fives the Empty for drop-kicking him back to us.)

Jack is JUST DONE.

Dean finally crawls to the end of the tunnel and ends up in the undertaker's basement. He finds Athena tied up down there and the Sergeant injured but alive. A gun snicks behind Dean and he turns around to find the last player in the drama: Ghoul Dave.

Dave's wearing his cowboy hat (because why not) and orders Dean to hold his hands up high. Dave hits peak about-to-get-his-comeuppance smug, describing how he's going to kill Dean, when Dean steps aside revealing the Sergeant holding a shotgun. The Sergeant fires a carefully aimed round and takes off Dave's entire head. The blood cannon splatters across Athena's crisp, white shirt in what Boris described as cleverly staged costuming. “Happy trails, cowboy,” Dean says to the headless body.

Dean heads back to the bunker, gives the victory report, and tells Sam that he took care of covering up Jack's accident. This makes Jack angry. He's not ready to accept forgiveness and he's frustrated that everyone tells him to move on. He shouts and Sam backs away with his hands in the air. Jack recognizes their fear. “Maybe I'm just another monster,” Jack theorizes. To everyone's surprise, Dean disagrees. He's no more monster than Sam, Dean, or Cas. Jack, to his credit, doesn't think this is exactly a winning argument. Jack decides to leave so he doesn't hurt anyone else. He power blasts them all to the floor and then flaps out of the bunker.

QuoteBack Mountain:

I do.

Two salty hunters, one half-angel kid, and a dude that just came back from the dead again. Team Free Will 2.0.

He really likes cowboys

I told you, he’s an angry sleeper, like a bear.

My name is Val Kilmer.

I’m gonna get my boots on.

Tell her that the guy she's banging eats dad people and we gotta kill him.

Sure, come to Dodge City. We'll have some laughs.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

[pendragonfics]

Badass Like That

Paring: Natasha Romanov/Reader

Tags: female reader, f/f relationship, spies and secret agents, girls with guns, girls in love, reader loves food, fluff. 

Summary: The one thing worse than being alone with your own thoughts, is not being alone with your own thoughts. Reader is roped into a mission beside Nat Romanov, and despite disliking art galleries and loving food more than perhaps life itself, there's someone who likes her that much too.

Word Count: 1,506

Current Date: 2017-09-19

The one thing worse than being alone with your own thoughts, is not being alone with your own thoughts. It had been a long, stressful month, and while you were supposed to be reclining on your favourite chair, lazily watching reruns of Dancing with The Stars, and exfoliating your cares and the last thirty days of undercover work in the Shushan district, you were not. On the last thirty minutes of your extraction plane back to base you had been roped into working alongside the Widow herself, her usual partner in crime having come down with a nasty case of morning sickness.

So, instead of being asleep in front of the television in your day clothes like a heathen, you were silently standing in an art gallery beside the kickass Natasha Romanov. Maybe it was awkward, because since you two got into your undercover outfits and entered the gallery, you’d barely spoken. Or because all you were thinking about were the Pop-Tarts you hoped would greet you once returning to base, and not the mission at hand.

“Darling,” Natasha rolled her eyes at something she could only see, and tucking the tickets into her jacket pocket, went on, "I can't see why you're upset about coming here."

You’re silent as she looked around, eyes touching softly over the room, as if she owned it. With her history, you would not be surprised if she did own the lot. You follow her gaze to where a statue of a naked woman without arms stands on a rock, isolated, eyes wide, hollow. Mouth agape, aghast.

Your partner looks back to you, and adds, "You like art."

Itching under the wig you’re wearing, (“It’s a precaution, Agent R.” Nick Fury had told you over a grainy video chat as you put the long black head of hair on) you scoff. “I resent that. I like motel art. Cheap posters in tube rolls…weird graffiti in dive bars." You retort, and stifling a yawn into a fist, you gesture to the frame before you. "Not...DiCaprio."

Nat laughs. “Da Vinci, darling.”

A guard by the exit milled idly, tiredly. Nat’s eyes trained on his sneakers, yours following the camera in the corner of the room as it scanned the near-empty cavern full of priceless pieces of naked people or religious overtones. You itched your elbow. Nat smacked her lips, and with a compact mirror, added a coat of blood-red to her paper-cut straight hair.

Into her mirror, she muttered, “You want to stop being so infantile?”

You shrugged a shrug that showed more than you thought at the time, but did anyway. Maybe it was just because you were going on coffee and adrenaline now, or that you wished that her old partner was here instead of you.

“I want chilli cheese fries.” You retort, whining loud enough for the nearest people to hear. “…and a shake.”

A kid nearby tugged on his parents’ shirts and requested the same thing from them. Seeing this, Nat gave you a glare, but relented. “We’re here to see the new instalment, honey, not eat stuff you can get on the street.”

You begin to moan, dragging your feet past a Picasso-mimicry. Nat’s glare hardens, and with her hand around yours, she takes you to the restaurant on the side. Before she can take her wallet out to pay for the order you’re placing, you tap your phone onto the EFTPOS machine and collect a table number with the number twelve inscribed on it.

“What is your problem?” Nat huffs, and this time, you can tell she’s not being her undercover self, but the irritable lady who just a month ago kicked your ass on the wrestling mat. You take a seat at a window table. “You’re screwing up our – day.” She says day instead of mission because unlike you, she can think straight.

You huff. “It’s still going to be a good day, I’m just hungry.” A waiter walks by, the smell of chicken parmigiana tantalising your inner animal. Another one comes, and delivers you your dish of fries, and the drink. “Want a chip?”

Nat ignores you.

You all but stuff your food in your mouth, but with cheeks full à la chipmunk, you notice someone sitting alone in the centre of the room, someone whose appearance looks so very mundane, but not to you. This is the face you saw on the brief that was shoved into your line of vision on the return from China. This is the face of the suspect who has committed treason, release of top-secret documentation, evasion of arrest, and assault. This is what you’re here for, and despite the hunger screaming inside you, you’re magnetised to the criminal before you.

“My twelve o’clock. Behind you.” You mutter, swallowing. Nat frowns. “Darling. I think I can see a mutual friend of ours here, do you want to say hello?” You say a little louder, pushing your chair back to stand. Catching on, Nat follows your lead, adjusting her sunglasses from her blouse to above her nose, snagging a fry from your plate before flanking your side. Her fingers gravitate toward her hidden pistol, yours to the strap of your bag, full of enough gear to immobilise the fugitive until backup enters later. She went first, and even with the suspect starting to discretely get away, you both had him secured and packed away within the next hour with help from S.H.I.E.L.D. “I didn’t get to eat my fries…” you moan, head in hands.

Nat huffed, boarding the quinjet. “After all that trouble…”

You smacked her arm with a manila folder Coulson had handed you at some point that probably needed a million signatures and filing in the next twenty-four hours. “Hey! If it weren’t for my fries, we would have spent more time looking at loads of pompous dead guy’s art.”

---

By the time you’d submitted all the paperwork, had a full eight hours of sleep, caught up on your stuffed-full DVR, you realised that you hadn’t seen much of Natasha since the arrest was made. Really, you hadn’t seen any of the other Avengers, which was odd, since you all lived together in the facility in Upstate New York like domestic cats with no parents. It was great. But since on a regular day you’d see at least two sweating super soldiers in different stages of undress, Wanda and Vision making out in different broom closets and Tony wearing his own Iron Man merchandise, it was odd.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., where I can I find Nat?” You ask the empty kitchen, mouth half-full of cornflakes.

The Irish-lilted interface replied, “Miss Romanov can be found sparring in the weapons room.”

“Thank you, F.R.I.D.A.Y.,” you tell the open air, rolling your eyes at her location, because where else would Nat be?

Placing your empty bowl in the washer, you go to seek the red-head you’re having troubles thinking that is pointedly avoiding you. By the time you make your way there, your thoughts are thick, arguments wavy. When you actually see Natasha, all words disappear. Unlike when she’s all slicked back, make-up done, killer smile and smooth as a lace-trimmed gown on granite floors, when she trains with James Barnes, she’s undone, openly human. Hair falling out of the half-up bun. Sweat patches under her arms, flush of red over her cheeks.

Bucky sees you in the doorway before she does, and steps away from the sparring session, pointing you out to the Widow, and excusing himself to wash off in the showers. He says no words to you, but that is normal. The Sargent is a private man, and after all he’s been through, you don’t blame him for selecting those he can trust.

“You here for me to sign off on some of your paperwork?” She asks, working to undo the strapping over her wrists. “Earth to ________, don’t tell me you’re spacing out again.”

You shake your head. “Not here for signatures,” you mutter, eyeing the mat that’s coated in a layer of sweat. It’s been a month since you were last here, when just before your mission in Asia she beat you like an egg for omelettes. “I – damn.”

Nat smirks, rolling the strapping up quickly, the smell of sweat overwhelming your senses. “I – it was good being partners together, you – we do good together.” She manages to tell you, her eyes searching yours.

Over the P.A., Steve Roger’s voice booms, “Please stop making us all uncomfortable and tell each other you like each other already!” he demands.

But while your face blushes, because, yes, indeed you do have a thing for Nat, and have been stewing on the way she looked above you when pinning you down to the wrestling mat a month ago, she chortles at the century-old super-soldier playing matchmaker, and goes in for a kiss. Because she’s Natasha freakin’ Romanov, and she’s badass like that.

[dailyironfamily]

day 21 - noir au

Day twenty-one of the November Fic Challenge is a noir AU! In a creative interpretation of the prompt, this is an Iron Man Noir Pepper/Tony/Rhodey fic, set post series and featuring the outside POV trope and detective Natasha Romanoff. (I have no idea if she appears in any of the other Noir comics, but if she does, pretend she didn’t.)

Natasha Romanoff is the best in the business. She knows it, everyone else knows it. (At least everyone else in the know, which is very few people indeed.) But when you want information, you come to her. Which is why she isn’t surprised to see General Fury in her office one evening, following the news of adventurer Tony Stark’s latest exploits.

Stark was home in New York, hospitalized after his latest venture that ended destroying a whole Nazi air fleet, though the details were still hush hush. The details that weren’t published in the latest issue of Marvels, at least, and Natasha knows how these things get embellished. Obviously Fury’s interest in the man has something to do with that, and the news that Stark is going to quit the magazine.

Fury wants a profile on Stark before he brings him in on any classified military intelligence, and Natasha promises to get one done within the week. The first day is research, pulling old newspaper clippings and magazine articles. Stark’s got quite the list of achievements, an industrial legacy left by his father on top of his own adventures. His partner in crime is a man by the name of James Rhodes, who features heavily in the latest Marvels article, which in turn is written by a Pepper Potts, a journalist who normally writes under the name Frank Finlay. These two, and perhaps ex-pilot Edwin Jarvis, are her best way in.

Stark’s still in the hospital, so Natasha makes that her first priority. Getting her hands on a nurse’s uniform is easy, and she blends in seamlessly, stopping at a nurse’s station outside Stark’s room so she can keep an eye on him. The floor is quiet today, and Stark only has one visitor―the Potts woman. She and Stark talk quietly, nothing of interest, at least to Natasha. At one point Potts sees her pass by the door, but only stops her to ask for more water.

When Natasha returns with a fresh pitcher, Pepper is sitting on the edge of Stark’s bed, holding one of his hands in her lap. Natasha stops short, surveying the scene. From what she understands, Potts is a new acquisition to the team, writing only one story after the unfortunate death of Stark’s previous chronicler. Apparently not even a formidable writer like Potts can resist the supposed Stark charm.

“You don’t have to come,” Stark say quietly, fingers brushing over Potts’s wrist. “The front’s no place for a lady.”

“Do I look like a lady, Mr. Stark?” Potts says with a laugh. “Even if you don’t need me as a writer, you could use someone to keep you in line.”

“Then what on Earth would Jarvis have left to do?”

“Patch you up,” Potts suggests, reaching up to gently brush a finger over the bandage on Stark’s nose. “You seem to need it a lot.”

“Which brings me back to my original point. It’ll be dangerous, this job Fury’s got.”

“I’m no stranger to danger, Mr. Stark. I can take care of myself.”

Stark lets go of her hand and reaches for the glass on his bedside table, which is Natasha’s cue to walk into the room with the pitcher. She doesn’t meet either of their eyes, though she does take the opportunity to check Stark’s medical chart before ducking out so she can get a sense of when he’ll be released from the hospital.

Stark spends his first few days out of the hospital presumably preparing to go back out to Europe. Natasha switches wigs, picks up a pair of glasses, and meets with a secretary friend of hers who works at Stark Industries. Security in this place is atrocious, and she’d tell Fury to inform Stark of that fact if it wasn’t working out so well in her favor.

James Rhodes comes in every day to meet with Stark, and while most of the time they’re hidden away in Stark’s office, Natasha catches them in the hall late one evening when most of the employees have already gone home.

“Look,” Stark says, voice low. He and Rhodes are around the corner, and Natasha presses close to the wall and listens. “Before all this, you were talking about quitting. And I get it, we’ve had some good times and some absolutely terrible times. I can’t in good conscience keep putting you in danger if you truly wish to leave.”

It’s interesting, Natasha notes, that Stark seems determined to push his friends away when he could use their help. All of them seem the sort inclined to run towards danger instead of away from it.

“Tony...” Rhodes replies, and there’s a pause. “Honestly, I probably should. But if you’re intent on doing some good for the world, like you said, I can’t leave your side.”

“Pepper wants to come too,” Stark says.

“To report?”

“To keep me in line.”

Rhodes chuckles. “I thought that was Jarvis’s job.”

There’s another silence, longer this time, and Natasha risks peeking her head around the corner. Only to quickly whip back around, though she’s confident neither of them saw her, considering they were awfully busy kissing each other. Well, so much for her theory that Stark was sweet on Potts. She hopes Potts knows that too, or things could get messy if Stark can convince Fury to let him bring his whole team along on whatever secret mission he’s proposed.

Determining nothing else of value is left to gain here, Natasha silently slips away, leaving the two men to their own private business.

Stark has a party the following week celebrating his latest Marvels adventure, because of course he does. Natasha goes blonde and picks out a low cut dress to draw attention away from her face. Potts and Rhodes are both there, though it seems Jarvis declined to attend. Natasha will have to look into this mysterious Jarvis herself soon, at this rate.

As parties go, it’s certainly nice, lots of good food and rich socialites. The editor of Marvels is there too, and he spends most of his time keeping Stark distracted begging him to stay with the magazine. The party gives her the perfect opportunity to go around and casually gossip about Stark while keeping an eye on him. Stark is a gracious host, and he’s perfectly polite to everyone, even the Marvels man, who Natasha would have gotten annoyed with in under three minutes herself.

Late in the evening, as the party winds down, she sees Rhodes and Potts slip away together, going out into the gardens. Intrigued, Natasha follows them, the foliage giving her plenty of cover to eavesdrop.

“Don’t tell me,” Rhodes is saying to something Pepper had asked as Natasha gets closer, “he’s trying to get you to stay behind too.”

“Of course.” Potts sounds slightly frustrated, not the confident, cocky woman Natasha is used to hearing. “He’s really enough of an idiot to do this alone, and after that talk we had.”

“What’d you tell him?”

“That I was going with him, of course. I assume you did the same.”

Rhodes doesn’t reply, but Potts doesn’t say anything else either, so Natasha assumes he nodded or gave some other indication of assent. The pair move deeper into the garden, and Natasha waits a moment to follow.

“You’ve already had one bad run-in with the Nazis,” Rhodey says, and Natasha moves so she can see them, the two sitting on a stone bench by an elaborate fountain that slightly drowns out their words. “You sure you want to risk another?”

“Oh, not you too,” Potts mutters, “I’m not―”

Natasha can’t hear the rest, and she frowns and moves around a bunch of bushes, trying to find a better position. When she looks back through the leaves at the fountain, Potts is kissing Rhodes, one of his hands clasped between hers like she’d held Stark’s hand in the hospital.

Honestly, this is not the kind of drama Natasha expected to find when she started trailing Stark.

And it’s certainly not the kind of information Fury would be interested in. She sighs and draws back around the bushes, debating what to do. If Stark brings Potts and Rhodes with him on the Latveria mission, all that matters is that they can function as a team and get the job done. That could still very well be the case, but...Stark’s paramour making time with his pretty journalist (Natasha still hasn’t determined Stark’s feelings in that regard) behind his back does not create a conducive work environment.

She should’ve just closed the door in Fury’s face and told him to go somewhere else.

In the end, the file she deposits on Fury’s desk doesn’t contain anything about any illicit affairs on anyone’s part. She keeps the focus on Stark, writes up an evaluation that paints him as a loyal patriot, and recommends him for the Latveria job. Along with his team. Fury squints at her like he doesn’t believe any of it, but Natasha just shrugs and tells him if he doesn’t like her work, he can hire someone else.

Apparently, Fury was banking on a favorable report, because Stark, Rhodes, and Potts are outside his office as she exits. There’s an older man with them, who Natasha assumes is the mysterious Jarvis. Stark just nods at her as she walks past, but Potts stops talking to Jarvis and says,

“Wait a minute, wasn’t that the nurse from the hospital?”

Natasha grins and doesn’t stop walking.

Natasha sees them again, three years later. She’s in London between missions, as Fury, goddamn him, had somehow swayed her away from her private practice and into his employ. To her surprise, Stark and his crew are seated at a table in the very same bar, looking somewhat worse for the wear but in astonishingly good spirits.

Jarvis gets up to get them more drinks, and Natasha watches carefully from her corner seat, curious despite herself how things had played out. They’re all clearly still friendly, so if Stark had discovered their deception, he didn’t take it too poorly.

Potts laughs at something he says, reaching over and setting her hand atop of Stark’s on the table. He flips his hand over, entwining their fingers, and Natasha frowns around the rim of her glass. Perhaps Stark had found out and was willing to overlook their indiscretion, fond as he seemingly still is for Potts.

Stark leans back in his chair, stretching his other arm over his head, and when he sets it down it’s across the back of Rhodes’s chair, fingers brushing against Rhodes’s shoulder. Rhodes, instead of getting annoyed, leans into the touch, and Natasha’s eyes go wide as the revelation hits her.

Nobody was stepping out on anyone. Lord, is she an idiot. It’s a good thing she didn’t put anything about this in Stark’s file, Fury would have to fire her on the spot.

Well, she muses as she downs the remains of her beer in one long draught, at least everything worked out all right for everyone.

[avengerofyourheart]

In the Arms of Justice Pt 22 (Cop!Bucky x reader)

Characters: reader x Detective Barnes, Steve, Tony, Pepper, Sharon, Clint, Natasha, OC Sarah and Maggie Rogers. (Most only mentioned)

Summary: Reader is a witness to a crime, tying her to the investigation as well as the police involved. She never would have guessed how that one night would continue to change her life years later.

Warnings: Fluff, some angst. Some anxiety, also blood, murder, weapon and death mentions (none of it graphic), violence against women, gritty police drama tv show kind of feel.

Word Count: 1263

Tags at the bottom. TAG LIST IS CLOSED, I’M SO SORRY.

A/N: Welp. We’re nearing the end! I’ve got one more part planned and then we’ll have to say goodbye to Detective Barnes. At least for a while. I’m so grateful to all of you for your passion and support for this series. As always, your comments and feedback mean the world to me. Thank you!!! 

<<<Part 21   Part 22   Epilogue>>> 

In the Arms of Justice Series Masterlist

Full Masterlist

_________________________________________________________

Previously: 

You laughed as he wrapped an arm around you and pulled you to his side. Getting lost in his gaze for a moment, you pecked a kiss to his lips and then flicked your eyes to the side to see someone approaching.

“You ready for this?” you asked Bucky, seeing the tight line of his lips.

Taking a deep breath, he grasped your hand and nodded. “Time to face the music.”

_______________

Stepping forward a few feet with you beside him, Bucky stopped in front of the goateed, dark-haired Captain. He looked vastly different than how you had seen him previously in his office and in court, which was always in a finely tailored suit. Instead, he was currently dressed in jeans and a black band t-shirt with an unzipped hooded sweatshirt over it. It was a jarring sight, like seeing your teacher outside of school or something. Bizarre.

“Captain Stark,” Bucky greeted him, extending his hand.

“Barnes,” the Captain replied, shaking the man’s hand roughly before releasing it and turning toward you. “Ms. (Y/L/N), it’s good to see you in one piece. Mostly,” he taunted, nodding slightly to the wound on your side.

“Nice to see you again, Captain. It could have been a lot worse, but Detective Barnes does have a knack for saving my life,” you smiled tightly, sparing a glance to Bucky who had his gaze trained on the grass at his feet.

“Uh huh,” Stark made a noise indicating doubt. “So, uh…is this fairly recent?” he asked, point a finger between Bucky and yourself with his eyes flickering down to your joined hands.

“Very,” you spoke up quickly. “We’re still getting to know each other.”

“Really? You seemed to know each other pretty well up on the deck,” he smiled knowingly, sticking a hand in his pocket.

You just smiled. “Yes, well. Life is short. We need to cherish happiness whenever it’s offered.”

Stark seemed to pause at that. “You make a good point. On another subject, I meant to tell you, Brock Rumlow’s mother passed away yesterday.”

“She did?” Bucky finally spoke up, which was good since you had frozen at the mention of Rumlow.

“Yes, and there are instances where inmates are allowed out under special circumstances for funerals and such…”

There was a rushing noise in your ears, the thought of him somehow escaping during transport flashing through your mind. You were brought back to the present by a squeeze of Bucky’s hand in time to hear Stark finish his statement.

“….but apparently his extended family didn’t want him there. Can’t imagine why,” he spoke sarcastically and you finally released the breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. He wasn’t getting out for the funeral, thank heavens. “That woman really did a number on him, though. It’s no wonder why he turned out the way he did.”

At Stark’s last comment, your frozen limbs were suddenly filled with fire, a fury blazing in your chest. You had to speak up then.

“He was free to make his own choices, though,” you addressed Stark, straightening your spine. “A child isn’t solely a product of their parents. It can be a factor, of course, but many people with less than honorable parents grow up to be great contributors to society. Rumlow could have made something of himself, but instead chose to take that upbringing and become a killer. His mother can’t be blamed for that. On the other hand, the child can’t be held responsible for the ‘sins of the father’. Or mother in this case. It is our actions that define who we become, don’t you agree, Captain?”

Stark seemed stunned by your sudden righteous indignation, then finally responding. “Um…yes. I do agree. Well, it was good to see you again. I’m going to go get some food,” he said, offering a nod to you and Bucky before leaving.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Bucky said to you quietly, although Stark was now safely out of earshot.

“I know,” you admitted, stepping around to face him. “But I wanted to at least subtly make him think about how wrong his treatment of you is. He doesn’t have to know why I said it, especially since I’m assuming some of what you told me is classified.”

Bucky gave a half-smile, embarrassed. “Maybe.”

You chuckled lightly. “Your secret’s safe with me. I just know you deserve to be treated as the kind, hard-working, law-abiding, honorable man you are. I love you,” you pressing your lips to his as your fingers wound into his chestnut strands.

“I love you, too,” Bucky echoed after breaking apart, touching his forehead to yours. “God, it feels so good to say that.”

“Well, it’s good to hear it,” you said with a smile, then taking his hand. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat while we can. I’ve heard police officers have quite the appetite.”

He laughed at that. “Well, you’re not wrong.”

You walked up the steps, hand in hand, to join the crowd of hungry people. Bucky introduce you to everyone and they were all welcoming and happy for the both of you. Officer Barton had arrived by then and he came to give you a hug. After your hospital stay, he felt so terrible about leaving you with Rumlow but once again, you held no ill feelings. Rumlow would have done whatever it took to get you alone and you never regretted letting Barton take that armed robbery call. It had been the right thing to do. He was one of your closest friends now.

You had heard that Barton and your boss, Natasha, had remained in contact and were possibly dating but you preferred not to know the details. Witnessing the weird chemistry they had upon first meeting was more than enough information for you. If they were happy together, though, you wished them all the best. Besides, a happy Natasha was better for everyone at the office.

After everyone had eaten, the sun began to set and the majority of the crowd had departed leaving behind only a handful of people, including you and Bucky. Captain Stark had left just after dinner with a beautiful woman with long, strawberry-blonde hair and an air of sophistication. You heard from Sharon that she was Stark’s fiancee, Pepper, a highly successful CEO in the city and the more sensible partner in the relationship. Part of you wondered if she knew anything about Stark’s grudge against Bucky and if not, how she would react if told. You decided to leave it alone, though. Meddling would only open up your relationship to scrutiny.

As the remaining friends and co-workers all settled into chairs on the lawn around the fire, stories flowed and laughter rang throughout the yard. Little Sarah and Maggie were given marshmallows and sticks to roast them on under careful supervision from Steve. You watched as the girls ate the messy, gooey S’mores their dad had assembled for them, then thanking him with sticky kisses that made you chuckle to witness.

Bucky pulled his chair closer to yours to put an arm around you and placed his other hand on your thigh. You watched him for a minute as he listened to one of Barton’s stories, the flickering flames casting shadows upon his handsome face. For a short moment, you were transported to another place and time where you sat on the side of the road beside a young police officer, flashing blue and red lights coloring his features.

Bucky caught you staring, squeezing your shoulder with a smile. “Everything alright?”

You nodded. “Everything’s perfect.”

He pressed a lingering kiss to your lips, leaving a smile upon both your faces. You felt the glow of happiness fill you, grateful to have these new friends and the handsome man you love beside you. Difficult as the past few months, or even years, had been, they lead you right to this moment where you felt safe, happy, and loved in the arms of Detective Barnes.  

________

Epilogue>>> 

____________________________________________________

Awwwww! The fluff!! I probably could have left it there, but I have way too many thoughts of what their life is like a little ways down the road so I thought I’d do an epilogue. One more part, you guys! Ah! I can’t believe it. Any thoughts or feedback is appreciated! I love you all!!

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[sprinkleofdiaz]

Bets Are A Dish Best Served Cold - Part 1 (Bucky x Reader)

Synopsis - (Sort of) Enemies to Lovers AU Based on Amy and Jake from Brooklyn 99. You and Bucky are two of Brooklyn’s best detectives, however its known throughout the precinct that you two are as good as nemesises as far as petty jabs and insults are concerned. After being partnered up on a case the two of you make a bet to see who can make the most arrests before the end of summer. Both tensions and feelings are riled. Are the two of you destined to be enemies or something else? 

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader 

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of robberies, vandalism and graffiti, petty arguing, Bucky being a smug ass 

Word Count: 2,880

A/N: First and foremost, I dedicate this Fic to @poe-also-bucky because Michelle is awesome and always so kind 💙

So I love Brooklyn 99 and Jake and Amy are one of my OTPs and yesterday whilst washing up the dishes I came up with this idea based on their bet is Season one! This idea was literally nagging me so I just had to write it despite needing to finish and write other fics, This won't be a majorly long series, maybe only 6 parts? But if you'd like to be tagged, let me know! 

"So how's work life with your temporary partner?" Natasha said, smirking a little as she walked over to your desk holding two cups of coffees.

"Ugh, don't remind me." You groaned rubbing your forehead. "Bucky is insufferable."

"Well, I've got to say, you've surprised me, I really thought one of you would have killed the other by now." She chuckled, taking a sip from one of the cups.

It was pretty much known throughout the precinct that you and Bucky couldn't go more than ten minutes without some snarky remark, petty jab or insults that may or not lead to an argument and you threatening to throw your stapler at his head.

It wasn't that you hated Bucky, in fact you actually felt a small admiration for the man. He was intelligent and extremely athletic making him a more than capable detective, despite one of his arms being a prosthetic. When you first met him you were actually impressed by his determination and talents. Any fondness you felt for the man then soon dissolved as the two of you were met with a personality clash. 

You would be the last person to admit that both you and Bucky were extremely similar despite the contrast of your personalities. Where he possessed the emotional maturity of a ten year old, discovering playboy magazines for the first time you were prudent and serious - minded. Clint had joked that you were the "mother" of the police force.

When he wasn't on the field and making arrests, Bucky's focus plummeted from 10 to zero. It seemed his focus was replaced with the ability to be the most obnoxiously unbearable man in Brooklyn. His locker stunk as though something had died, the same as his desk drawers which just had to be situated next to yours. He was constantly playing around with things on his desk, flicking pen lids and paper clips at you, singing out of key or making references to Tom Cruise movies. 

Yes, James Buchanan Barnes was utterly infuriating and unfortunately your captain - Nick Fury - had partnered the two of you up on a recent case involving a robbery from a small family, The Wicks. Both you and Bucky had come to some sort of conclusion that it was most probably an inside job. A large amount of jewellery and a thousand dollars that was tucked away in a safe were stolen and from the statements you received from the family, they seems somewhat private, reserved, nobody knew too much about them. You were convinced it was the father, Frank Wicks, his alibi didn't match up to the witness reports at a diner which he said he was the time of the robbery and overall was a fishy guy, like many other criminals you have dealt with.

“Morning, what's up.” Clint greeted you and Natasha. He took the unoccupied cup of coffee from Natasha before leaning against your desk and taking a sip.

“Y/N’s telling me how delightful Bucky is to work with.” Natasha chuckled.

“I didn't know it was possible to be that...infuriating. I'm this close to wrangling the man myself.” You groaned earning an amused smirk from Clint.

“Yeah, Bucky’ll do that to you.” Clint replied.

“Anyway,” you began, now sounding a little more upbeat. “I think I've cracked the case. I think--” before you could finish your sentence the doors to the interrogation room opened up. You didn't know anyone was occupying it and when you saw who walked out with a triumphant grin on his face you couldn't help but roll your eyes.

“Guess who just solved their latest case!” He exclaimed. You and Natasha exchanged a look. Why had Bucky interrogated a suspect without you? You were supposed to be partners, not that you wanted to be.

“What? You arrested Frank Wicks?” You asked.

“Nope. Try Dalia, the nanny.”

“What? But Frank--”

“The only crime Frank Wicks is guilty of is having affair with his wife. While it's sleazy and immoral it's not exactly illegal.”

“But how did you find out it was Dalia? You didn't bring her in just to spite me did you?” You frowned, crossing your arms..

“Not everything's about you, doll.” He said condescendingly. “No. I realised something didn't quite add up. You see, when Dalia went to steal the jewellery and money she stole a nanny-cam teddy bear with her. Of course, Frank and Harriet Wicks were so caught up in having their money and jewellery stolen they didn't even realise the bear until a phone call from Harriet. I took it upon myself to chase up Dalia and sure enough caught her trying to destroy the bear. Checked out the footage and boom! Found our culprit. That and she confessed.”

He never wiped the smug grin off his face on his face. This and the small crowd that had gathered around Bucky to hear his fascinating story and were now clapping made you roll your eyes.

“Sorry you weren't there to witness my victory, doll.” Bucky winked.

“I could've sworn it Frank Wicks and why couldn't you have run this by me first?”

“There was no time! If I had waited for you to iron your pantsuits and carefully cut up your breakfast I would never have caught Dalia in time. And have you ever considered that maybe I'm just a better detective?” He teased. You glared at him.

Within moments, Peter Parker, one of the police officers, was guiding a guilty looking Dalia out of the interrogation room.

“Book her Peter!” Bucky shouted, doing his best movie-police-detective voice.

“Um, detective Barnes, I've kinda already arrested her.” Peter mumbled back, looking a little uncertain.

“Peter buddy, just go along with it okay? Don't ruin the moment.” He said before putting his sunglasses on his face. “That's how we do it in Brooklyn.”

“Wow.” You said, rolling you eyes, which you were sure was the hundredth time.

“Doll, Don't pretend you don't love this,” he said making an exaggerated gesture to himself.

Your morning was going great. You couldn't help but feel irritated. If there was one thing you hated, it was being wrong. Especially at the expense of Bucky Barnes. That man just knew how to ruin your day.

Eventually the hype died down and Nick Fury walked out of his office.

“Captain!” Bucky called, raising his hand. “I just solved the Wicks case, all by myself.” He looked at you, smirking. Nick Fury however, didn't look as impressed much to your amusement.

“Barnes, why are you wearing sunglasses inside?” Nick Fury asked, swooning at him.

“Because he's trying to achieve The title of ‘World’s Biggest Douchebag’ and trust me he's well on his way.” You said. Nick Fury didn't say anything. He just glared both of you before motioning for the two of you to come into his office.

“What's up Cap? Is Y/N in trouble? Do I finally get to see what she's like when faced with the disapproval of her boss?” Bucky teased.

“Ugh, I cannot wait for Wilson to get back.” You said.

“Ouch. Hurtful.” Bucky deadpanned.

“Can you too shut up be quiet and act like professionals?” Nick Fury said, glowering at the both of you. You pursed your lips and nodded quickly, hating the fact that your boss could be even a little mad with you. “I have a new case for you, there have been multiple reports of vandalism at the community centre. Not only that but just last night a few windows were smashed. We have reason to believe it was committed by just one person. I want you two to go out interview a couple of people, see what you can find. Do you think you can do that?”

“Yes sir.” Both you and Bucky said in unison. 

“Good and try not to kill each other.” He said. The two of you nodded and headed out the door. “Oh, and Barnes, good job on the Wicks case today.” Yep, Bucky was the most infuriating man in Brooklyn.

You had interviewed a couple of people and didn't seem to have any luck identifying the culprit. As the two of you walked down the street to interview another person a boy - most likely the age of nineteen and wearing a green hoodie with red backpack and black water bottle in the side - bumped into you.

“Ouch!” You exclaimed, unable to bite down your annoyance.

“Watch where you're going, jackass!” The boy shouted at you. Anger boiled inside you and you whipped around to face the boy.

“Hey, you better--”

“Hey, hey hey. We’re on a job remember?” Bucky said grabbing your arm. The boy waved you off before stalking off. You took a deep breath trying to calm yourself before shrugging Bucky’s arm of you. “Not very professional, detective.” He said, humour in his voice. You rolled your eyes before walking towards the next house.

“I know that look, don't go jumping to conclusions Y/N.’ Bucky said as the two of you made your way down the steps after interviewing the person at the last house.

She was an elderly woman, very kind and friendly, who had informed you that her suspicions were on Craig Harris, a nineteen year old “troubled boy”. According to her he was often extremely rude and had been known for graffiting. She noted that he often graffitied his initials CH, in a very specific way. You had noticed this on the sidewalk floor a little way away. She also said that he almost always wore a green hoodie and red backpack.

“What he carries around, I can't tell you - help yourself to some more lemonade dear!” She had said to the two of you. The description seemed to fit the boy who bumped into you earlier that day and you were more than happy to catch him.

“Well the boy who hurt me earlier seems to fit the description.” You said, sternly.

“Oh please, it was barely a scrape.” Bucky replied. You chose not to argue back with him knowing he was only saying it to wind you up.

“Let's check out the community centre, see if we can spot anything.” You said “sniff out some clues.” He said, half joking.

“Okay Velma.” You snorted.

“Seriously? I'm definitely more of a Daphne.” He grinned.

The two of you made your way to the community centre. Your intuition was telling you to check out the back, so that's where you made your way first, Bucky scurrying behind. Sure enough crouched down, spray can in hand was Craig Harris. You quietly walked closer and could see a CH Painted on. You looked at Bucky.

“Y/N wait. This still doesn't mean he's behind it all.” Bucky said. You ignored him and continued walking over to him. “If you're wrong, you owe me a drink!”

“Are you Craig Harris?” You said once you reached him.

“What's it to you?” He said before looking up at you. “You're the chick who got in my way earlier!”

“You bumped into me,” you said, stopping yourself before you ranted on further, “I see you've been...decorating. Tell me Craig Harris, you hear about the smashed window?”

“Who are you the police?”

“Actually I am.” You said, flashing your badge, smiling once you saw the unmistakable look of guilt on his face. “Tell me where were you yesterday evening?”

“I ain't telling you nothing.” He barked, putting the spray can in his bag before quickly putting it on.

“Really? You see, we have reason to believe you may be connected. Pretty fishy, you graffiting the same place that got damaged. And you will be punished for this by the way so you got anything to hide, it might be best you confess.” You said. This kid had pissed you off so you were paying bad cop. Well your version anyway.

Craig hesitated and glanced between the two of you before sighing.

“Alright I did it. But it's only because those guys are dicks!” He exclaimed. You gave pLucky your best “told you so” look and got out your handcuffs and reached out for his arm.

“Not a good enough reason Craig.” You said. Bucky stepped forward.

“Craig Harris you're under arrest--” he began.

“Bucky, it's okay.” You said. Bucky stopped and cocked his head in confusion. You smiled before turning back to Craig.

“Craig Harris you're under arrest…” you began listing out his offence and Miranda rights. Bucky rolled his eyes once he realised you only stopped him from talking so you could carry out the arrest, getting back at him for Wicks case.

“Y/N!” Natasha called to you at the end of the day. “Clint’s invited me and few other for drinks, you up for it?”

“I've been dealing with Bucky Barnes all day. I'm more than up for it.” You said, shutting down your computer and getting your bag and jacket.

As you sat down with Clint and Natasha in the bar down the road from the precinct, you sighed in relief that you no longer had to work with Bucky for one day. You were exhausted and a drink is just what you needed. 

“Get this down you.” Clint said sliding you over a glass. You smiled gratefully as you began to take sip. You almost choked when you saw Bucky walk over, sunglasses pushed to the top of his head with a cocky smile. There was no escaping him...

The good news was Sam and Steve followed behind him and you were glad to see your best friend and work partner again. 

“I didnt miss the party did I.” Bucky said sitting down next to Natasha. Ignoring him you got up and hugged Sam. 

"Sam! I've missed you! Save me from this...douchenozzle.” You said. Sam laughed. 

“Yeah I missed you too, partner, thankfully me and Steve finished our case but I think Fury wants us to work another one together.” He said. You groaned. 

“Why you're supposed to be my partner. If I work with Bucky anymore I might end up murdering him.” You grumbled. 

“Well, you lasted longer than I would have.” He joked.

“You know I'm right here, right?” Bucky said, though he didn't look offended. “You're just pissy, Y/N, because I solved the Wicks case this morning.” 

“"Well, I arrested Craig Harris, wich by the way you owe me a drink seeing as I was right.” 

“Nope I only said you owe me a drink if you were wrong.” He said shrugging. “And it doesn't matter anyway, I'm still the better detective.” 

“In your dreams. We all know I make more arrests and solve more cases than you do.” You argued. Bucky snorted before standing up. He paused and a sly smile crept on his face. You knew whatever he was thinking wouldn't be good, 

“You sure about that sweetheart?” 

“Uh-huh.” You stubbornly replied, despite being wary of him. He walked over to the bar and got himself a drink. He walked over to you and made you hold your drink before lifting his up. 

“Why don't we make a bet?” He said. You raised an eyebrow. “"you heard me. A bet. Whoever makes the most arrests by...let's say...the end of August, so two months for now, wins. They get to take the loser on a date.” You paused, considering it for a moment. You knew it was petty and borderline ridiculous but you couldn't help but give in to your competitive side. Besides you really wanted to win and okay the worst date imaginable just to get back at Bucky. 

You raised your glass and smiled.

“Okay, let's do this.” You said. 

"Good. Let's drink on it.” He said before taking a swig from his glass. You obliged and all your friend around you erupted into a chorus of cheers “ooohs”.

“Better prepare for the date now Y/N because I will win and you will fall in love with me.” He said smugly.

“You wish “ 

Tags: @poe-also-bucky @lilasiannerd @thegenderqueerbatman

[daresplaining]

I loved the recent ask you guys answered about Matt as a lawyer and ethics. I'm a recent law school graduate and big DD fan, so my question is: What are some of your guys' favorite moments from Matt in the courtroom in the comics? They could be ones you think are his best work, silly, dramatic, insightful, made an impact, etc. I'd just love to hear some more about his legal work and find some future issues to read. Thanks! :)

    Thank you, and congratulations on your graduation! Neither of us have law degrees, so we can’t actually vouch for the accuracy of the legal antics portrayed in DD, but here are a few of our favorite law-centered stories.   

Matt on the Legal Rights of Aliens (Daredevil vol. 1 #28)

Matt: “Only the law stands between justice and total anarchy–! And that law must offer equitable protection to all– regardless of race, creed, or color… Now, in this age of space exploration, we may need a fourth qualification… with regard to planet of origin, as well!”

    Not a whole trial, but this is a funny early issue detailing Matt’s thoughts concerning the legal rights of extraterrestrials. In his defense… that’s actually a legitimate topic of conversation in the Marvel Universe. This scene was gently mocked fifty years later, in Daredevil vol. 3 #30:

Matt: “It… wasn’t completely serious.”

Ru’Ach: “It seemed heartfelt.”

Matt: “I can’t swear I was entirely sober, even.”

Matt Defends the Black Widow (Daredevil vol. 1 #83)

Natasha: “Once I was a spy– they’ll use that against me, too. All my life I’ve been afraid, Mr. Murdock– first of my Soviet masters– then of a strange curse– and now, when it seemed I’d found a country at last– where I could feel safe– everything’s come crumbling down!”

Matt: “Believe me, Natasha. I understand your fear– and I won’t let it happen– I promise you.”

    This is one of a series of issues from around the same time, which all strike at similar themes: Matt defending those neglected by the system. This could describe most of his career, but the similarity of these early cases is what has led us to group them together. The above example comes from Matt’s earliest interactions with Natasha Romanov, who later becomes his partner/girlfriend, and remains one of his closest superhero friends. The Scorpion is seemingly killed while fighting Natasha, and bystanders claim that she was responsible. As a Soviet emigre and reformed spy, Natasha is so sure she will be convicted based on her background and cultural biases that she tries to run. But Matt convinces her to go to court and trust in the system, and manages to prove her innocence.

    The other, similar stories from this era that we’ll point you toward are Matt’s defense of blind war veteran Willie Lincoln in Daredevil vol. 1 #47, and his defense of Bruce Banner/Hulk in Incredible Hulk vol. 1 #152-153. They explore many of the same themes, and are equally good.

Matt v. His Childhood (Daredevil vol. 1 #203. Not digitized)

Foggy: “Tell me what’s going on here! Stymie Schmidt is guilty as sin and you know it!”

Matt: “He still deserves a decent defense. A lot of what I am today is due to that man. I own him more than you’ll ever know. This may be my one chance to pay him back.”

    This isn’t a full-on legal story, but it’s a fascinating character study and another look how Matt’s emotions can interfere with his ethics. When one of his childhood bullies comes to Nelson and Murdock for legal help, Matt agrees to take the case himself… but Foggy soon realizes that his friend is planning to lose on purpose, for revenge. This is not the only time Matt’s past trauma comes back to haunt him in this way, but it is by far his worst reaction to it.  

Karen Page v. Mr. Fear (Daredevil vol. 1 #375)

Matt: “Let’s get some reasonable doubt in this joint.”

Karen: “Matt? Matt? What happened to your face?”

Matt: “Cut myself shaving, of course… That’s what the invincible, cocksure hero is supposed to say, isn’t it?” 

    DD vol. 1 #375 is the final issue of Joe Kelly’s phenomenal run, and is one of our absolute favorite issues of Daredevil. The story arc leading up to it details Karen’s attempts to deal with an increasingly violent stalker. When he ends up dead thanks to some supervillain meddling, she becomes the prime suspect and is put on trial for murder. Way too emotionally close to the situation for obvious reasons, the issue follows Matt’s frantic attempts to win a case that seems more and more unwinnable the harder he fights, all while attempting to take down the supervillain responsible. It’s a powerful story, and a great look at the point of contact between Matt’s legal and extralegal careers.      

Playing to the Camera (Daredevil vol. 2 #20-25)

Matt: “Foggy, meet Samuel Griggs. Mr. Griggs wants to sue Daredevil.”

    We mentioned this magical arc in the other post, but it always merits more attention. Matt and Foggy are hired to sue Daredevil for some property damage that Matt knows he didn’t cause. He accepts the case (against Foggy’s wishes) in order to keep the situation under control. Chaos, ethics violations, and a massive superhero law-based comedy of errors ensue. This arc isn’t afraid to take itself less than seriously, which makes it a hilarious read and by far the most lighthearted part of volume 2.

The Trial of the White Tiger (Daredevil vol. 2 #38-40)

Matt: “Sitting in judgment over a total stranger. There is no larger burden that we as a society will put on ourselves. But I can ease that burden for you… because Hector is innocent of the crime he is accused of.” 

    Luke and Danny talk Matt into helping one of their close friends– Hector Ayala, the original White Tiger– who has been charged with murder. Knowing Hector is innocent, Matt agrees to represent him, despite the danger this association will present to his already vulnerable secret identity. This is a courtroom drama, pure and simple, in which all of Matt’s skill as a lawyer can’t prevent his case from imploding.      

   (Flash Fact!: Barry Allen (the Flash) has a cameo in this story. Don’t tell DC.)  

The Spartacus Gambit (Amazing Spider-Man: Extra!)

Matt: “I’m trying to keep your mask on and get you out of the civil suit. It’s going to take a little more than what I’ve got planned to get the criminal charges against you dropped.”

Peter: “What do you have planned?”

Matt: “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

    This is a great little story, in which Matt defends his buddy Peter Parker in court. He is his typical smug self, which we always enjoy, and he comes up with a creative argument to reduce Peter’s charges. It hits a lot of the same superhero legal issues covered in “Playing to the Camera”, but it’s still a fun read. This issue runs parallel to Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #587, so we recommend reading that as well, for context.

Leopold York v. Foggy Nelson (Daredevil vol. 3 #12)

Matt: “Welcome to the mock trial in the case of Leopold York v. Foggy Nelson. […] Professor, will you be defending yourself?”

    It isn’t an actual trial, but this flashback to the origins of Matt and Foggy’s partnership is too fantastic not to mention. Foggy is accused of plagiarism by a spiteful professor attempting to get him kicked out of law school. Knowing it’s a frame-up, Matt insists on fighting back, and forces the professor into a trial-like situation in order to argue the truth out of him. It’s a nice glimpse at Matt and Foggy’s early friendship, and a testament to why they make such a good legal team.

Supreme (Daredevil vol. 5 #21-25)    

    The arc that just ended was a great law-based story, enhanced by the fact that the current writer, Charles Soule, is also a lawyer. Matt attempts to craft a new law that would allow masked superheroes to testify in court without revealing their identities. Wilson Fisk and the supervillain community at large take issue with this. Soule mixes legalese with physical action in clever ways (e.g. Matt’s metaphorical brawl with the Supreme Court, shown above), brings in Jen Walters and Fisk’s badass lawyer Mr. Legal, and generally celebrates the heck out of the intersection between superheroics and legal work. This may be our favorite law-based DD story yet.  

[shenala]

Food From Home

AO3 link

Prompt: Get her out of the kitchen before she makes us eat something!

It's a little sappy. Okay, more than a little.

Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff

"Hey guys," Clint called as he stepped out of the elevator into the Barnes-Rogers living room. The men in question didn't break concentration as they both raised a hand in greeting before continuing their "very important" Mario Kart battle (their description, not Clints).

Slumping himself into an armchair to watch as the pair battled it out as physically off-screen as their digital counterparts; with elbows being wedged into ribs, toes stamped on, and at one point Steve being put into a headlock by Bucky, Clint looked around for any sign of his own partner-in-crime.

"Where's Nat?" he asked, with just a hint of trepidation, when their game had ended and they prepared to start the next.

In return, he got a shrug from Barnes, and a thumb jerked towards the kitchen from Rogers.

Surely they weren't suggesting that that's where she was? They wouldn't be so casual about that.. right? Clint silently worried to himself for a moment before his need to know won over.

"As in, she's in the kitchen?" he clarified.

The brunette answered this time, "Yeah, she's cooking. Came in muttering in Russian then holed herself up in the kitchen with clear instructions not to bother her."

"And you listened? You two? She said to leave her alone and you have?" Clint asked in clear disbelief. After all, this was Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. They needed no further explanation, just their names were usually enough to get a knowing nod in response from people who had encountered them as a pair.

Now frowning, Bucky finally gave Clint his full attention, "Yes. When Natalia says to stay out of the kitchen, you stay out of the kitchen. Even Steve understands that." A sincere nod came from the man at his side.

With a groan, Clint put his head in his hands before muttering through them, "The one time you don't listen to Nat is when food's involved. She can't cook. At all. I can cook better than her, and yes I'm aware that that's probably hard to believe. But you need to get her out of the kitchen before she makes us eat something!"

"I'm sure it can't be that bad Clint", Steve reasoned calmly, "it's Natasha, she wouldn't give us something awful to eat."

With a nod and a pointed finger in agreement Bucky added, "exactly, it would be like admitting a weakness."

"Just you wait" was Clint's ominous final statement.

It was only a few minutes later when the Black Widow left the kitchen, a plate of inconspicuous cookies in her hands. Which she promptly placed on the coffee table with a curt "eat" before settling herself onto the arm of the sofa to observe.

The three men each reached forward to take one, Clint with obvious reluctance, Bucky without hesitation and Steve with a quick smile of thanks.

The cookies looked normal, they felt normal in their hands and they even smelt decent, but it only took the one bite to realize that Clint had been right and that this was a big mistake.

Steve's eyes immediately filled with tears and he desperately choked back the cough that was burning in his throat, while Bucky clenched his left fist as he forced himself to keep a neutral mask over his face and "just keep chewing dammit" became his mental chant.

Clint, however, made no such effort. Spitting out the small amount of cookie he'd bitten off and throwing the rest of the biscuit back onto the plate with a clang.

Natasha's only response to this was to turn to him with a single eyebrow raised, but Hawkeye didn't falter under her scrutiny, he'd been in this situation before.

"Tasha, there's something wrong with the recipe, we'll try to fix it together and make them again later, yeah?" he reasoned gently but with a firm voice.

As Steve and Bucky watched apprehensively, they were amazed to see the tension seep out of Natasha as she stood and walked over to the elevator, only stopping to pat Clint on the shoulder with a soft "Okay, thanks Clint" as she went.

Once she'd left, the two super soldiers whipped their attention back to the archer, who merely shrugged at them before also standing to leave, "she cooks when she's homesick for a home she doesn't remember, it's never edible. She'll be fine when I make them with her. Thanks guys, catch ya later."

Now alone with just the other for company, Bucky was quick to curl into Steve's embrace before softly asking, "what food makes you think of home?"

Only a brief moment of silence passed between them before a murmured "lemons" came in response.

Twisting in Steve's arms to face him, Bucky was frowning in confusion as he asked "lemons? Why?"

With a small smile and a faraway look in his eyes, Steve nuzzled into his partner's neck as he answered, "because lemons remind me of the way you used to smell, well one of the things, you used to suck on lemon candies when you'd been smoking because I would moan otherwise."

After a quick scan of his memories, Bucky nodded, "yeah, lemon drops. Used to get 'em from Mr Hershkowitz on the corner, he'd give me a whole bag if I moved some boxes for him." Another short pause followed before he added, "Mine's peaches."

This time it was Steve's turn to furrow his brow as he tried to find the connection. Before he could ask though, Bucky gave him the answer with a bright smile and even brighter eyes, "The first time I kissed you, you'd just eaten a peach slice. I'd managed to get a bent can from the docks, you acted like all your Christmases had come at once." With a laugh, he continued, "The first time I tasted one back in Bucharest I got hit by all these memories of this little ball of fury and how sweet he tasted. Took me a day or two to make the link to you, but for me, it's peaches because peaches mean you, and you're my home." Bucky was quite proud of the fact that his voice didn't waver even as tears started to build in his eyes.

Pressing a kiss to the brunette's temple, Steve pulled Bucky back into his arms and arranged them so that they were lying down on the sofa before pulling a blanket over them. "You're my home too," he whispered into soft, dark hair, "love you, Buck."

The reply was muffled as Bucky had his face pressed deeply into the crook of Steve's neck but nothing could blur the words as he replied, "love you back, Stevie."

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Meanwhile, a couple of floors above the now napping pair, also on a sofa and wrapped up both in each other's embrace and a blanket, Clint was soothing with his own words of love as he stroked Natasha's fiery red hair.

He knew nothing could remove the pain she felt from what she remembered, or in this particular case, what she didn't, but even if it meant eating a thousand awful attempts at cooking he'd do it without hesitation as long as he got to hold her close and tell her all the different recipes they were going to attempt together.

"Can we try ginger biscuits?" came a quiet, almost meek, request. So unlike the woman who had spoken it that it would've been near-impossible to attribute had he not watched her lips form the words.

Squeezing her even closer, Clint peppered her forehead with kisses and declared, "we're going to make the best ginger biscuits New York has ever seen, and then we're going to eat them all by ourselves and make all our friends jealous."