#it's also good just as Corto Maltese though

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

I think I want to draw this but like with a lady face

[practically-an-x-man]

help me I'm thinking about Nikoletta and Abner's dynamic with the Squad again

I keep thinking about how Nikoletta and Abne resort of become the outcasts among the outcasts when they're in Corto Maltese. Him because of the dots and the outbursts about his mom and all that, as the movie goes, but her because she's cold and reclusive and never comes within a few feet of anybody (plus, all of the lingering impressions of her from back in Belle Reve, the prisoners generally tolerate but do not like her). The only person she lets get close at all is Abner, and even that starts out slow and awkward.

So they're the outcasts of the group. And while Nikoletta (who's survived the past few decades only because she's learned how to read people and manipulate social situations) is aware of this from the very beginning, Abner (who doesn't have much socialization outside his siblings and a few bullies in Belle Reve) is very much not.

Now Nikoletta's on edge, both for her own safety and for Abner's - even at that point, she had a bit of a soft spot for him, and the whole reason she was in Corto Maltese to begin with was because she worried someone would try to off him at some point during the mission - and it only keeps growing as the mission goes on. And of course, she's also constantly on guard to avoid spreading her shadow-touch to the others. Abner's having a good time, making friends with Cleo and getting his hair ruffled by Flag in la Gatita Amable and all that, but Nik is more stressed than ever. And she's so emotionally repressed that she probably doesn't even realize why she's more on guard than usual, she just assumes it's from the upcoming danger of the mission.

And then there's the matter of the two of them. They start getting closer from the plane ride (technically even a little before, with their interactions in Belle Reve itself, but the plane is really the catalyst), and while there's nothing particularly romantic about it until la Gatita Amable, it's still enough to attract a bit of attention from the others.

It starts with DuBois. Just a few comments here or there, dry and ironic teasing that maybe comes out a bit too sharp but is really harmless in intent, get a room and leave space for Jesus and other sarcastic little digs like that. Abner doesn't quite catch onto what he's getting at, not yet, but Nik does.

Then they meet up with Rick, and he sees DuBois' teasing and starts to play along. He's... well, not quite heavy-handed, but his Southern sarcasm is a little different from DuBois' dry British wit, and Abner catches onto the joke. Again, though, it's all harmless, and not nearly as bad as the flak he normally gets - and he and Nikoletta both seem to realize that if they let this fracture now, when she still can barely convince herself to hold his hand, it might not ever come back.

And then we get Peacemaker. Now he's the Saint Bernard of the bunch - always a little late to the joke, but rambunctious to the point of being destructive to try and make up for it. He takes it from harmless teasing to something a little more antagonistic, and as we see in The Facts Are These, this results in a few close calls for Nik and Abner.

So that just places them both in this really strange spot, at least at the beginning - they don't quite fit it with the others but can connect one-on-one, though that connection itself opens them up to more scrutiny, and at this point Nikoletta is still so tightly-wound that she hardly even processes it as anything more than an assessment of social power dynamics. It's not until she saves him from Starro, or maybe even until she wakes up in the hospital after that, that she realizes she's made an emotional connection with him at all (and even then, she's not entirely sure whether it's platonic or romantic or some mix of the two).

[a-reader-and-a-writer]

Eternally Yours: The Sweet Taste of Revenge

Whumptober 2022: Alt Prompt for Day 28. Protective Fandom: DC, The Suicide Squad, Vampire!Rick Flag, f!reader Word Count: 3299 TW: Angst, Whump, Vampire Related Violence, Blood, Character Death, Language Notes: Thank you so incredibly much to @loverhymeswith for not only looking this over for me but also for being so supportive from the beginning! 💖

Eternally Yours Masterlist

Despite the screaming and gunfire outside, you strolled casually through the remains of the building completely unfazed. From the moment you reentered Jotunheim alone, you had dropped all pretenses. There were only two other people left in the building and there was no need to put on a show for either of them anymore.

DuBois had hauled you from the building screaming and crying as you feigned fighting against him so you could stay with Rick’s body. The mercenary was surprisingly strong, though he would have been no match for you if you had actually wanted out of his grasp. However, you had played the part of the grieving partner and lover just as was expected of you and allowed him to drag you away. Then when Starro burst from the building, it was just the distraction you needed to break free and charge back in while everyone else watched as you ran to your apparent death.

If only they knew the truth.

You made a quick trip to pick something up on the ground floor before heading down to what was left of the basement. It took you a few moments to find a way to navigate the collapsed stairwell and blocked passages, but you soon made it back to the bathroom. Rick was still lying where you had last seen him amongst the debris and rubble created from his fight. 

Crouching down next to his body, your eyes trailed over the blood that had stained his once bright yellow shirt. And as your gaze settled on the cause of the damage, you sighed. “When I witnessed him stab you, it did give me pause for a moment. A piece of porcelain is not the same as a wooden stake, yet an object through the heart is still an object through the heart. Imagine my delight to discover you still alive and well… so to speak.”

For a moment, nothing happened. But then, Rick’s blank, staring eyes shifted towards you, flashing red in the dim light. “I thought I sold it pretty well.”

You smiled softly as you brushed some dirt from his cheek. “Oh, you did, my actor extraordinaire. Everyone believed it and as far as the world will be concerned, Colonel Richard Flag, Jr. died on Corto Maltese, his body forever lost in the rubble of Jotunheim. And with him, his lieutenant who ran back inside because she was too broken-hearted to leave him behind.” 

“Good thing they were both already dead to start with,” Rick chuckled softly.

“Yes. Otherwise, that wound would have been fatal, instead of just a minor inconvenience.” 

Slowly reaching up, Rick wrapped his fingers around the shard still jutting from his chest before yanking it out. His face contorted in agony as he snarled, “Still hurts like a bitch.”

“So it would seem.” His usually tanned skin looked pallid in the dim light and his eyes still shone a deep red. He had already lost a lot of blood and now that the shard had been removed, his wound was bleeding once again. While it was not something that would end his existence, you could see it had made him incredibly weak and it pained you to see him in such a state.

Silently, you allowed your fingernails to grow into razor-sharp points and you sliced one across your wrist. In seconds, dark red blood began to bubble up and stream down your arm. You held out your wrist to Rick and he hesitated for just a second before he lunged forward, his lips locking onto your arm as he greedily began to suck at the wound. 

As he drank, you ran your free hand slowly through his sweat-matted hair, cleaning out small pieces of rock and debris as you did. Rick hummed with pleasure at the feeling and the vibrations on your wrist sent a pleasant buzz up your arm. You could already see him regaining some of his strength and color as the wound in his chest began to heal. He would have eventually healed completely without your blood, but you hated seeing him in pain when he didn’t have to be. 

As much as you brushed it off when you first returned to him, you would never reveal how terrified you had actually been to see that shard be driven into his heart. For just a moment, your world had ended. In all of the millennia you had been alive, nothing had ever torn your heart to pieces as that moment had. Even the pain of your transformation– the memory still as painful and fresh as the day it happened– could not compare to thinking Rick was about to be taken from you. Meeting him had given your monotonous, never-ending existence meaning again and there was no doubt in your mind that you would no longer have the will to carry on in this life without him by your side. 

When you felt yourself growing weak, you tapped on his jaw and Rick reluctantly released you. He slowly slid his tongue over the cut in your wrist, his saliva closing the wound in seconds. Then he pressed his lips against the faint scar, leaving a perfect bloody imprint when he pulled away. Smiling, you ran your finger across his lips, collecting the remaining blood there before slipping your finger between his lips. He coyly sucked on it as he stared deeply into your eyes, the red in his already starting to fade as he grew stronger. Soon you were left staring into the same deep hazel pools that had enchanted you all those years ago.

“Better?” you asked as you slid your finger from his mouth, resting it on his chin.

He smiled back at you, flashing his fangs. “Much. Thank you, darlin’.”

“Of course, my love.” You trailed your fingernail down his throat and across his broad chest until it settled on the center of the red stain on his shirt. “It is such a shame so much of this had to go to waste. You know how I adore the taste of your blood. Although, it would not have been good if you hadn’t bled. We wouldn’t want questions we have no answers for. That would have turned out very badly for the Squad.” 

If Rick hadn’t been able to convince Cleo with his performance that the shard had ended his life, you would have had to silence the girl and that would have led to…. complications. The likes of which may have required the elimination of the entire Squad. No one could learn your secret and live. It was an unfortunate necessity for your survival and one that had allowed you to outlast nearly every other one of your kind.

“Did… did they all make it out?” Rick asked hesitantly. He was still young enough to genuinely care for these mortals. You on the other hand – for whom time no longer held any meaning – had lost interest in the outcome of their insignificant lives. Certainly, you still enjoyed the company of others and truly viewed some as close companions. However, even if they survived today, they would still be dust in the time it took you to blink your eye so their deaths would have meant little to you.

But you smiled. “Yes, the Squad made it out of Jotunheim. All except one. And that is where I have brought you a gift.”

Rising to your feet, you walked to the edge of the room where you had dumped what you had retrieved from upstairs. Easily dragging it over to where Rick was sitting, you dropped it next to him. Rick’s eyes grew wide as he saw what it was. Or rather who it was.

“Is he…?”

You nodded. “Yes, he is still alive, though only just. DuBois nearly severed his artery with a bullet but I closed the wound before he completely bled out. I figured we would give this vermin a chance to be useful for once in his miserable life before he dies. After all, I knew you would be thirsty.”

The blood of his sire may have been useful in healing him, but only the blood of the living would truly help Rick to regain his strength. And considering there was only one living human left in the building, this was the logical option. Besides, you wanted to personally watch as the light left his eyes, a wide smile on your face as it did. 

Walking over to one of the broken pipes, you grabbed a small container you found on the floor and filled it with water. Then returning to the two men, you dumped it on over the unconscious man’s face.  

He jerked up, suddenly awake as he sputtered and looked around frantically. You bend down until you were eye-to-eye with him, flashing your fangs and red eyes as you purred, “Hello, Peacemaker. Glad you could join us.”

“Fuck!” he yelled as he tried to scramble backward away from you. As his head snapped around looking for a way to escape, his eyes landed on Rick sitting up a few feet away from him, and all the blood drained from his face. “Fuck! But, I-I killed you.”

Rick tilted his head slightly with a lopsided grin that only revealed one of his fangs, still tinged red from your blood. “Sorry to disappoint, but you can’t kill what’s already dead.”

Peacemaker’s head whipped frantically back and forth between the two of you, unsure of who to focus on. Finally, his eyes settled on you and he asked, “What the fuck are you people?” 

“Haven’t you guessed? We are creatures of the night, the immortal ones, nightwalkers, Strigoi,  the living dead!” you exclaimed, holding out your arms for dramatic effect.

But Peacemaker just continued to stare at you blankly. Then he glanced over at Rick who gave him a half-hearted shrug. “We’re vampires.”

You dropped your arms and rolled your eyes. “You try to have just a touch of elegance or grandeur…”

“Darlin’, remember who you’re talkin’ to.” 

“True.” you said flatly before sighing, “But yes, we are vampires.”

Peacemaker’s eye darted back and forth between you and Rick once more. “Wh-what do you want from me? Are you going to turn me into one of you? Induct me into your weird sex cult or whatever it is? I mean, I’m not saying no, but I just need to know what sort of stuff we’re talking about. Even I have my limits.”

You scoffed in disgust. “You? As if we would ever have any desire to allow you to join us. Especially after what you attempted to do.”

Peacemaker held up his hands. “Look, lady. I was just doing my job. My orders were to destroy the evidence no matter what the cost and that’s what I did. Sorry if that meant stabbing your friend.”

“I do not care whose orders you follow. They mean nothing to me,” you hissed. “I have been alive since before recorded history. I have seen civilizations rise and fall. I have known Egyptian Pharaohs and Greek Gods. I have feasted on peasants and royalty alike. But never have I met another like him.” 

You gazed lovingly into Rick’s eyes, everything else momentarily fading away as you basked in the intense passion and devotion that you saw there. And you knew he saw the same thing reflected in your eyes. “He is the only one I have ever deemed worthy to join me in this life, the only one I could never bear to lose.” You reached out your hand which Rick accepted, dipping his head to place a long kiss on the back of it.

Suddenly, you whirled around to face Peacemaker, your hand darting out and tightening around his throat like a vice. As easy as picking up a toy, you lifted him off the ground until his eyes were level with yours. He clawed at your hand, gasping for air but you ignored him as you growled, “And yet, you tried to take him from me. For that, you will pay with your life.”

Peacemaker’s eyes grew wide as he doubled his efforts to escape, but it made no difference to you even in your slightly compromised state. Instead, you continued to stare at him stone-faced until he began to go limp in your grasp from lack of oxygen. Only then did you loosen your grip just enough to allow him to take a large, gulping breath and you continued.

“Yet, you will be shown mercy, not because you deserve it, but out of necessity. If I had my way, I would make it take hours as I tore the very flesh from your bones, and only once you had been driven mad from the pain would I end your miserable life.” You cocked your head to the side. “However, seeing as my beloved needs his strength, he will have the honors instead.”

You turned to face Rick who was still staring up at you from the floor.

“Are you sure?” His brow was furrowed as he gazed at you. He must have noticed that you were feeling the effects from the amount of blood he had taken from you earlier and, despite needing the blood himself, he was still willing to share his already depleted meal.

Touched that he would offer, you cooed gently, “Yes, my love. Drink. He is all yours.” Turning to Peacemaker, your eyes flashed red and you growled, “Just make it hurt.”

Rick nodded as he rose unsteadily to his feet. As soon as he was ready, you released your hold on Peacemaker’s neck. He dropped to the floor, gasping for air, yet quickly scrambled to his feet and attempted to take off running. However, Rick was on him in an instant. He slammed his palm into the center of Peacemaker’s chest and you heard the simultaneous snap of multiple bones. Peacemaker howled as Rick drove him backward, quickly pinning him against the wall. 

Gurgling and moaning in pain, Peacemaker feebly tried to push Rick’s hand off of his chest, yet even at his full strength, he would have been no match for the vampire. Rick grinned as he slowly extended his fangs. Then, he lunged forward, plunging his teeth into Peacemaker’s neck. 

The man tried to scream but Rick’s teeth dug deeper, ripping into his throat and severing his vocal cords. Peacemaker continued to silently howl as he attempted to fight back. The only sound coming from his ruined throat was a low guttural grunting that was barely audible over the sounds of Rick drinking

At this point, Peacemaker stopped struggling. Though you could still hear his heart fighting to continue beating, his body was slumped limply with Rick’s hand on his chest the only thing keeping him vertical. Without pausing his drinking, Rick glanced up at you, his eyes radiant and full of life. You smiled coyly at him and he winked at you in return. Then, as he took one last long sip, he quickly grabbed Peacemaker’s head and twisted it almost a full 180°. Instantly, his faint, struggling heartbeat fell silent.

Rick released the body and it clattered to the floor in a heap. Then he turned to face you. Even when he was still human, back before you turned him, Rick Flag was one of the most alluring men you had ever encountered in your thousands of years of walking this Earth. And since the change, in moments like these where he was fresh from a feed, it almost hurt to look at him. 

Though still coated in blood, sweat, and dirt, Rick’s bronzed skin seemed to glow as he walked toward you. The muscles in his arms and chest strained against his tight, soiled t-shirt, his biceps bulging from the rush of fresh blood in his system. A few strands of hair had fallen across his face and you longed to reach out and brush them aside. 

He stopped just inches in front of you.

His lips still shone with blood yet instead of licking it off, he pressed them against yours. The second a drop of blood hit your tongue, your body came alive. Moaning softly, you pulled him deeper into you as just that little taste of blood had given you a jolt of energy. You slipped your tongue past his lips, savoring the fresh blood that still coated the inside of his mouth. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make all of your senses go into overdrive. 

Rick trailed his fingers down your side until he reached your hips and with one hand, he lifted you up so you could wrap your legs around his waist. You knew that with his strength, all he needed was a single finger to hold a person aloft, and yet, his arm was wrapped tightly around you as if he might lose hold at any moment. Suddenly you realized that you may not have been the only one frightened that Rick was almost taken from you.

Forcing yourself to break contact with his lips, you leaned your forehead against his for a moment and then nudged his nose with yours. “I am very pleased that you are alright.”

“I am too.” He leaned into you, his forehead pressing even harder against yours. “Thank you for comin’ back and takin’ care of me.”

You chuckled softly as you cupped his face, your eyes shining brightly as you gazed at him. “You, silly, silly man. As if I could ever bear to leave you behind.” Then you pressed your lips against his once more.

It was a kiss that could have lasted an eternity (especially considering neither one of you needed to pause to take a breath), but soon the sounds of people entering what was left of the building above shattered the moment. Exchanging a quick look, you both nodded, and Rick set you down. It was doubtful anyone else could make it down to the basement anytime soon without clearing out a pathway first, but it was not a chance either of you was willing to make. 

Rick took your hand and began leading you from the room. However, you paused when you got to the doorway and glanced back. Peacemaker’s broken mangled body lay at the base of the far wall near where Rick had once laid. If anyone discovered him, it would be obvious that he had not been killed by DuBois’s bullet.

Slipping your hand from Rick’s, you placed your palms against the concrete wall and pushed. It didn’t take much effort for the already weakened material to come crashing down, leading to a domino effect that collapsed most of the remaining infrastructure around you.

As rubble and dust fell from the ceiling, Rick pulled you into his chest to protect you though most of the damage was being done in the room you had just left. When everything finally settled once more, you peeked out from Rick’s arms to assess the damage. 

Just as you had hoped, the bathroom had been obliterated and reduced to a massive pile of concrete. Buried under it was Peacemaker’s body along with the fact that Rick’s body was no longer there. Your secret was safe for now.

It was true that Richard Flag Jr. perished in the basement of Jotunheim along with his lieutenant. The two figures who quietly slipped from the ruins of the building, disappearing into a nearby crowd as they walked hand-in-hand, were no longer those people. Just as you had countless times before, you would need to become someone else. And while it would be a challenge, as long as you had the love of your life by your side, everything was going to be alright. 

Thank you for reading! I have completely fallen in love with these two and I am planning to write more one-shot fics set in the same universe. The series will be called Eternally Yours. Please let me know if you would like to be tagged!

Taglist:@loverhymeswith, @babblydrabbly, @lorecraft, @nerdysuperchick, @heart-0n-fire, @green-socks, @yespolkadotkitty, @marvelousmermaid, @heresathreebee, @11thstreetvigilante, @lacontroller1991, @merlehs, @sunshineflowerchild789, @mayhem24-7forever, @lovearne, @sociiallydiisoriiented, @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy, @that-sarcastic-writer, @bewitchedignition, @katjnordstrom96, @wildbornsiren, @foli-vora

[7-wonders]

The Betrayal (Adrian Chase)

Summary: You find out the truth about what happened to your brother, Rick Flag, at the worst possible time.

Word Count: 2.0k

Notes: This is my first actual Adrian fic! Very angsty, of course, because writing about death is always going to come with angst. Um, warnings for Peacemaker's racist father, talks of death, Adrian being his sociopathic self. Let me know if you guys liked this, wanna see more, or whatever. Would love to chat more about Vigilante; my inbox is always open!

Also should I do an Adrian taglist? IDK let me know that too ig

You've tried to keep your emotions in check in this truck that's stolen from a veterinarian's office, knowing that there's a time for settling personal differences, and that time's not while you're technically on the clock. But as Adebayo tries to apologize about the betrayal of planting a fake diary among Peacemaker's trailer, the words from butterfly-Locke's press conference continue to play over and over in your head.

"In the diary, Smith also confesses to the murder of decorated US Army Colonel Rick Flag, whose death on a covert mission in Corto Maltese was originally believed to be accidentally caused by the collapse of a building known as Jötunheim."

You need to know. A part of you already knows that this is true, what with the way that Chris has been avoiding directly talking to you since the press conference aired. But still, you need it said out loud. Did Chris kill Rick? Was his death not what you were led to believe?

"Actually Chris, I give a fuck," you say, speaking up for the first time all afternoon. "Let's keep talking about this."

Adebayo rolls her eyes. "Not you, too."

"Shut up. Is it true?" You turn your attention on Peacemaker, who looks like he doesn't know what you're referencing. For a second, you think that maybe this was also one of many lies that the diary contained. "Is it true that you killed Rick?"

His face falls, and the breath escapes you all at once. Suddenly, it feels like the day that you found out Rick died all over again.

"It is. Oh fuck, it's true," you say.

"He was going to expose Project Starfish to the world," Peacemaker explains quietly, "and my mission was to make sure that information didn't get out."

"You murdered my brother!" He stares straight ahead, and the only sign of any emotion is the slight trembling in his jaw. "He trusted you. You were his teammate, his fellow soldier, and you murdered him."

Adrian says your name gently, putting a hand on your shoulder to try and defuse the situation from where he's sitting next to you, but there's no going back now. Not when you're seeing red and staring at the man who ripped Rick from your life.

"How did you do it?" you ask, standing up and shoving him in the chest. He doesn't move, but it feels good while you do it. "Did you look at him while he died? Actually, no. I wanna know his last words. What did he say while you watched him die?"

"If it makes you feel better, Rick called Chris a joke," Economos mutters from the front of the truck in what he must think is a reassurance.

Harcourt groans. "Dude, seriously?" You can hardly hear it, though, over the ringing in your ears.

“Oh my god. You knew?” Your voice doesn’t come out nearly as strong as you want it to be, so you walk up to the front to make sure you can confront them directly. “You knew that Peacemaker killed Rick, and you didn’t say anything to me?”

Economos is the first of the two to speak up. “We were given direct orders to—”

“As if you haven’t disobeyed Amanda Waller’s direct orders before. In fact, you disobeyed her orders on that very mission! That's how you ended up here in the first place.” You scoff before turning on Harcourt. “You’re my roommate, Emilia. My friend. You’ve comforted me when I’ve cried about how much I miss Rick, and this whole time…”

"I wanted to tell you," Harcourt says, finally looking at you, "but it just...was never the right time. When was I supposed to bring up that Chris did what he did?"

"I don't know, maybe when I started to trust him? I've been on the same team with the fuckhead who killed Rick without any sort of remorse, and you guys just—just let me go along without knowing the truth!"

They want to try and apologize, you're sure, or at least try to redeem themselves, but you're done. You're completely and utterly done. Turning on your heel, you ignore the way that Adebayo tries to get your attention, and how Chris still refuses to look away from the point on the wall that he's been staring at, and even Adrian when he grabs at your hand. You don't know who knows or doesn't know, and at this point you have no choice but to assume that they were all in on this. Instead, you sit at the very back of the truck, as far away from everybody else as you can be, turn your back on them, and cry as silently as you can.

The team awkwardly tries to resume their regular banter once you arrive at the farm where the cow's being kept, but it's a little hard for humor and sarcasm to land when you can't even look them in the eye. The only one that you're not mad at is Eagly, and even he pisses you off when he naturally doesn't follow commands and drops Peacemaker's sonic boom helmet in the middle of the woods.

"So, how did you find out?" you finally ask Adrian as the two of you work at searching your designated area to find the helmet, the team paired together in twos to fan out through the forest. "Was it as accidental as you joining the team? Or was it something funny for you and Chris to laugh at when he recounted all the people he's killed in the name of 'peace'?"

"I didn't know, actually."

"Oh." You sigh. "Sorry for assuming you knew."

"It's okay. Kinda seemed like I would know, considering Peacemaker's my best friend and all."

You laugh sharply. "Don't tell me you're bitter about not knowing my brother was murdered."

"Yikes, sorry, that was—" he grimaces, "that didn't come out the way that I meant it."

"I get it. My attempt at a joke, I guess."

It's quiet for a few minutes, both of you focused on finding a glint of chrome among the leaves. Finally, you feel like you need to speak. Be it the silence or the fact that Adrian's the only one you can still trust: once the words start, they don't stop.

"It's been a hard few months since Rick died. And then I go on this mission because it's the type of thing that Rick would do, and I start making connections and bonding with the absolute weirdest fucking people I've ever met. Soon enough, I can make it through the day without crying, and it feels like I can finally breathe again. And smile again. And laugh again.

"And now this shit, with the butterflies attacking and Peacemaker's Nazi dad trying to kill us and finding out that my friend killed Rick and my other friends knew about it. I should be mad, but I just keep thinking that I can't be mad, because Rick wouldn't be mad. He was always infuriatingly calm, even when he had every right to get angry."

"Hey, don't cry again," Adrian says awkwardly, removing his mask in what he probably thinks is a comforting way. "C'mon, stand up."

You're about to question what he's seeing when you realize that you're crying again, on your knees in the middle of the forest. Of course, the one person who knows nothing about emotions is the one that you're having a breakdown in front of. Naturally, this makes you cry harder.

In a repeat of earlier, Adrian makes stiff movements and pats your shoulder. "Gentle, nice touching."

"It didn't work with Chris, and it's not gonna work with me," you say, smiling up at him. "Thanks for the effort though."

"Your brother wouldn't want you to be sad." You know he probably saw this on Fargo, but it surprisingly does help.

"I know. But he's also the one who's dead, and he doesn't have to deal with this," you wave your hands in front of you, "this mess that he left behind. He left me here, and now I have to watch my mom be a shell of a person, and how my dad can't say Rick's name without crying. I don't even have Rick to confide in."

"I know what it's like to lose someone," Adrian says, finally sitting down next to you. "My dad left my mom for a dude. We haven't really heard from him in years."

"Damn," you let out a low whistle. "That's rough."

"It's okay, they're very much in love. The whole divorce was really rough for my mom, though. I know it's not the same as someone dying, but I lost my dad, and then I had to watch my mom deal with that. It sucks. I wish I could say something better than 'it gets better', but I can't, because it does. It just...gets better, for everyone involved."

"I'm not forgiving Chris," you say adamantly.

"Nobody said you had to forgive him, or the others." Somehow, that makes you feel better than anything else Adrian's said. You've already been feeling the pressure to forgive him for this heinous thing, and forgive the others for lying about their knowledge of what Chris had done. Even though the outside party giving you permission to feel your feelings is a sociopath, he's still someone whose opinion you care about.

"Thanks, Adrian." Adrian stiffens next to you when you lay your head on his shoulder in thanks, and you stifle a laugh. He's been helpful today. You'll laugh about it tomorrow. "Y'know, you're actually pretty good at giving advice."

"I learned it all from Fargo."

Now you do laugh. "Knew it."

Your comms suddenly crackle to life, and Harcourt gives the news that she and Peacemaker found the helmet. Adrian hops to his feet and, after a moment, offers his hand to help you up. "You ready to go?" he asks.

Dusting yourself off, you look up at him while he slips his mask on and nods. There's a time and a place for you to continue to work through this mess, but that's after getting out of the other, more deadly mess. "Let's go kill us a fucking cow."

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

Eternally Yours: The Sweet Taste of Revenge

Whumptober 2022: Alt Prompt for Day 28. Protective Fandom: DC, The Suicide Squad, Vampire!Rick Flag, f!reader Word Count: 3299 TW: Angst, Whump, Vampire Related Violence, Blood, Character Death, Language Notes: Thank you so incredibly much to @loverhymeswith for not only looking this over for me but also for being so supportive from the beginning! 💖

Eternally Yours Masterlist (coming soon)

Despite the screaming and gunfire outside, you strolled casually through the remains of the building completely unfazed. From the moment you reentered Jotunheim alone, you had dropped all pretenses. There were only two other people left in the building and there was no need to put on a show for either of them anymore.

DuBois had hauled you from the building screaming and crying as you feigned fighting against him so you could stay with Rick’s body. The mercenary was surprisingly strong, though he would have been no match for you if you had actually wanted out of his grasp. However, you had played the part of the grieving partner and lover just as was expected of you and allowed him to drag you away. Then when Starro burst from the building, it was just the distraction you needed to break free and charge back in while everyone else watched as you ran to your apparent death.

If only they knew the truth.

You made a quick trip to pick something up on the ground floor before heading down to what was left of the basement. It took you a few moments to find a way to navigate the collapsed stairwell and blocked passages, but you soon made it back to the bathroom. Rick was still lying where you had last seen him amongst the debris and rubble created from his fight. 

Crouching down next to his body, your eyes trailed over the blood that had stained his once bright yellow shirt. And as your gaze settled on the cause of the damage, you sighed. “When I witnessed him stab you, it did give me pause for a moment. A piece of porcelain is not the same as a wooden stake, yet an object through the heart is still an object through the heart. Imagine my delight to discover you still alive and well… so to speak.”

For a moment, nothing happened. But then, Rick’s blank, staring eyes shifted towards you, flashing red in the dim light. “I thought I sold it pretty well.”

You smiled softly as you brushed some dirt from his cheek. “Oh, you did, my actor extraordinaire. Everyone believed it and as far as the world will be concerned, Colonel Richard Flag, Jr. died on Corto Maltese, his body forever lost in the rubble of Jotunheim. And with him, his lieutenant who ran back inside because she was too broken-hearted to leave him behind.” 

“Good thing they were both already dead to start with,” Rick chuckled softly.

“Yes. Otherwise, that wound would have been fatal, instead of just a minor inconvenience.” 

Slowly reaching up, Rick wrapped his fingers around the shard still jutting from his chest before yanking it out. His face contorted in agony as he snarled, “Still hurts like a bitch.”

“So it would seem.” His usually tanned skin looked pallid in the dim light and his eyes still shone a deep red. He had already lost a lot of blood and now that the shard had been removed, his wound was bleeding once again. While it was not something that would end his existence, you could see it had made him incredibly weak and it pained you to see him in such a state.

Silently, you allowed your fingernails to grow into razor-sharp points and you sliced one across your wrist. In seconds, dark red blood began to bubble up and stream down your arm. You held out your wrist to Rick and he hesitated for just a second before he lunged forward, his lips locking onto your arm as he greedily began to suck at the wound. 

As he drank, you ran your free hand slowly through his sweat-matted hair, cleaning out small pieces of rock and debris as you did. Rick hummed with pleasure at the feeling and the vibrations on your wrist sent a pleasant buzz up your arm. You could already see him regaining some of his strength and color as the wound in his chest began to heal. He would have eventually healed completely without your blood, but you hated seeing him in pain when he didn’t have to be. 

As much as you brushed it off when you first returned to him, you would never reveal how terrified you had actually been to see that shard be driven into his heart. For just a moment, your world had ended. In all of the millennia you had been alive, nothing had ever torn your heart to pieces as that moment had. Even the pain of your transformation– the memory still as painful and fresh as the day it happened– could not compare to thinking Rick was about to be taken from you. Meeting him had given your monotonous, never-ending existence meaning again and there was no doubt in your mind that you would no longer have the will to carry on in this life without him by your side. 

When you felt yourself growing weak, you tapped on his jaw and Rick reluctantly released you. He slowly slid his tongue over the cut in your wrist, his saliva closing the wound in seconds. Then he pressed his lips against the faint scar, leaving a perfect bloody imprint when he pulled away. Smiling, you ran your finger across his lips, collecting the remaining blood there before slipping your finger between his lips. He coyly sucked on it as he stared deeply into your eyes, the red in his already starting to fade as he grew stronger. Soon you were left staring into the same deep hazel pools that had enchanted you all those years ago.

“Better?” you asked as you slid your finger from his mouth, resting it on his chin.

He smiled back at you, flashing his fangs. “Much. Thank you, darlin’.”

“Of course, my love.” You trailed your fingernail down his throat and across his broad chest until it settled on the center of the red stain on his shirt. “It is such a shame so much of this had to go to waste. You know how I adore the taste of your blood. Although, it would not have been good if you hadn’t bled. We wouldn’t want questions we have no answers for. That would have turned out very badly for the Squad.” 

If Rick hadn’t been able to convince Cleo with his performance that the shard had ended his life, you would have had to silence the girl and that would have led to…. complications. The likes of which may have required the elimination of the entire Squad. No one could learn your secret and live. It was an unfortunate necessity for your survival and one that had allowed you to outlast nearly every other one of your kind.

“Did… did they all make it out?” Rick asked hesitantly. He was still young enough to genuinely care for these mortals. You on the other hand – for whom time no longer held any meaning – had lost interest in the outcome of their insignificant lives. Certainly, you still enjoyed the company of others and truly viewed some as close companions. However, even if they survived today, they would still be dust in the time it took you to blink your eye so their deaths would have meant little to you.

But you smiled. “Yes, the Squad made it out of Jotunheim. All except one. And that is where I have brought you a gift.”

Rising to your feet, you walked to the edge of the room where you had dumped what you had retrieved from upstairs. Easily dragging it over to where Rick was sitting, you dropped it next to him. Rick’s eyes grew wide as he saw what it was. Or rather who it was.

“Is he…?”

You nodded. “Yes, he is still alive, though only just. DuBois nearly severed his artery with a bullet but I closed the wound before he completely bled out. I figured we would give this vermin a chance to be useful for once in his miserable life before he dies. After all, I knew you would be thirsty.”

The blood of his sire may have been useful in healing him, but only the blood of the living would truly help Rick to regain his strength. And considering there was only one living human left in the building, this was the logical option. Besides, you wanted to personally watch as the light left his eyes, a wide smile on your face as it did. 

Walking over to one of the broken pipes, you grabbed a small container you found on the floor and filled it with water. Then returning to the two men, you dumped it on over the unconscious man’s face.  

He jerked up, suddenly awake as he sputtered and looked around frantically. You bend down until you were eye-to-eye with him, flashing your fangs and red eyes as you purred, “Hello, Peacemaker. Glad you could join us.”

“Fuck!” he yelled as he tried to scramble backward away from you. As his head snapped around looking for a way to escape, his eyes landed on Rick sitting up a few feet away from him, and all the blood drained from his face. “Fuck! But, I-I killed you.”

Rick tilted his head slightly with a lopsided grin that only revealed one of his fangs, still tinged red from your blood. “Sorry to disappoint, but you can’t kill what’s already dead.”

Peacemaker’s head whipped frantically back and forth between the two of you, unsure of who to focus on. Finally, his eyes settled on you and he asked, “What the fuck are you people?” 

“Haven’t you guessed? We are creatures of the night, the immortal ones, nightwalkers, Strigoi,  the living dead!” you exclaimed, holding out your arms for dramatic effect.

But Peacemaker just continued to stare at you blankly. Then he glanced over at Rick who gave him a half-hearted shrug. “We’re vampires.”

You dropped your arms and rolled your eyes. “You try to have just a touch of elegance or grandeur…”

“Darlin’, remember who you’re talkin’ to.” 

“True.” you said flatly before sighing, “But yes, we are vampires.”

Peacemaker’s eye darted back and forth between you and Rick once more. “Wh-what do you want from me? Are you going to turn me into one of you? Induct me into your weird sex cult or whatever it is? I mean, I’m not saying no, but I just need to know what sort of stuff we’re talking about. Even I have my limits.”

You scoffed in disgust. “You? As if we would ever have any desire to allow you to join us. Especially after what you attempted to do.”

Peacemaker held up his hands. “Look, lady. I was just doing my job. My orders were to destroy the evidence no matter what the cost and that’s what I did. Sorry if that meant stabbing your friend.”

“I do not care whose orders you follow. They mean nothing to me,” you hissed. “I have been alive since before recorded history. I have seen civilizations rise and fall. I have known Egyptian Pharaohs and Greek Gods. I have feasted on peasants and royalty alike. But never have I met another like him.” 

You gazed lovingly into Rick’s eyes, everything else momentarily fading away as you basked in the intense passion and devotion that you saw there. And you knew he saw the same thing reflected in your eyes. “He is the only one I have ever deemed worthy to join me in this life, the only one I could never bear to lose.” You reached out your hand which Rick accepted, dipping his head to place a long kiss on the back of it.

Suddenly, you whirled around to face Peacemaker, your hand darting out and tightening around his throat like a vice. As easy as picking up a toy, you lifted him off the ground until his eyes were level with yours. He clawed at your hand, gasping for air but you ignored him as you growled, “And yet, you tried to take him from me. For that, you will pay with your life.”

Peacemaker’s eyes grew wide as he doubled his efforts to escape, but it made no difference to you even in your slightly compromised state. Instead, you continued to stare at him stone-faced until he began to go limp in your grasp from lack of oxygen. Only then did you loosen your grip just enough to allow him to take a large, gulping breath and you continued.

“Yet, you will be shown mercy, not because you deserve it, but out of necessity. If I had my way, I would make it take hours as I tore the very flesh from your bones, and only once you had been driven mad from the pain would I end your miserable life.” You cocked your head to the side. “However, seeing as my beloved needs his strength, he will have the honors instead.”

You turned to face Rick who was still staring up at you from the floor.

“Are you sure?” His brow was furrowed as he gazed at you. He must have noticed that you were feeling the effects from the amount of blood he had taken from you earlier and, despite needing the blood himself, he was still willing to share his already depleted meal.

Touched that he would offer, you cooed gently, “Yes, my love. Drink. He is all yours.” Turning to Peacemaker, your eyes flashed red and you growled, “Just make it hurt.”

Rick nodded as he rose unsteadily to his feet. As soon as he was ready, you released your hold on Peacemaker’s neck. He dropped to the floor, gasping for air, yet quickly scrambled to his feet and attempted to take off running. However, Rick was on him in an instant. He slammed his palm into the center of Peacemaker’s chest and you heard the simultaneous snap of multiple bones. Peacemaker howled as Rick drove him backward, quickly pinning him against the wall. 

Gurgling and moaning in pain, Peacemaker feebly tried to push Rick’s hand off of his chest, yet even at his full strength, he would have been no match for the vampire. Rick grinned as he slowly extended his fangs. Then, he lunged forward, plunging his teeth into Peacemaker’s neck. 

The man tried to scream but Rick’s teeth dug deeper, ripping into his throat and severing his vocal cords. Peacemaker continued to silently howl as he attempted to fight back. The only sound coming from his ruined throat was a low guttural grunting that was barely audible over the sounds of Rick drinking

At this point, Peacemaker stopped struggling. Though you could still hear his heart fighting to continue beating, his body was slumped limply with Rick’s hand on his chest the only thing keeping him vertical. Without pausing his drinking, Rick glanced up at you, his eyes radiant and full of life. You smiled coyly at him and he winked at you in return. Then, as he took one last long sip, he quickly grabbed Peacemaker’s head and twisted it almost a full 180°. Instantly, his faint, struggling heartbeat fell silent.

Rick released the body and it clattered to the floor in a heap. Then he turned to face you. Even when he was still human, back before you turned him, Rick Flag was one of the most alluring men you had ever encountered in your thousands of years of walking this Earth. And since the change, in moments like these where he was fresh from a feed, it almost hurt to look at him. 

Though still coated in blood, sweat, and dirt, Rick’s bronzed skin seemed to glow as he walked toward you. The muscles in his arms and chest strained against his tight, soiled t-shirt, his biceps bulging from the rush of fresh blood in his system. A few strands of hair had fallen across his face and you longed to reach out and brush them aside. 

He stopped just inches in front of you.

His lips still shone with blood yet instead of licking it off, he pressed them against yours. The second a drop of blood hit your tongue, your body came alive. Moaning softly, you pulled him deeper into you as just that little taste of blood had given you a jolt of energy. You slipped your tongue past his lips, savoring the fresh blood that still coated the inside of his mouth. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make all of your senses go into overdrive. 

Rick trailed his fingers down your side until he reached your hips and with one hand, he lifted you up so you could wrap your legs around his waist. You knew that with his strength, all he needed was a single finger to hold a person aloft, and yet, his arm was wrapped tightly around you as if he might lose hold at any moment. Suddenly you realized that you may not have been the only one frightened that Rick was almost taken from you.

Forcing yourself to break contact with his lips, you leaned your forehead against his for a moment and then nudged his nose with yours. “I am very pleased that you are alright.”

“I am too.” He leaned into you, his forehead pressing even harder against yours. “Thank you for comin’ back and takin’ care of me.”

You chuckled softly as you cupped his face, your eyes shining brightly as you gazed at him. “You, silly, silly man. As if I could ever bear to leave you behind.” Then you pressed your lips against his once more.

It was a kiss that could have lasted an eternity (especially considering neither one of you needed to pause to take a breath), but soon the sounds of people entering what was left of the building above shattered the moment. Exchanging a quick look, you both nodded, and Rick set you down. It was doubtful anyone else could make it down to the basement anytime soon without clearing out a pathway first, but it was not a chance either of you was willing to make. 

Rick took your hand and began leading you from the room. However, you paused when you got to the doorway and glanced back. Peacemaker’s broken mangled body lay at the base of the far wall near where Rick had once laid. If anyone discovered him, it would be obvious that he had not been killed by DuBois’s bullet.

Slipping your hand from Rick’s, you placed your palms against the concrete wall and pushed. It didn’t take much effort for the already weakened material to come crashing down, leading to a domino effect that collapsed most of the remaining infrastructure around you.

As rubble and dust fell from the ceiling, Rick pulled you into his chest to protect you though most of the damage was being done in the room you had just left. When everything finally settled once more, you peeked out from Rick’s arms to assess the damage. 

Just as you had hoped, the bathroom had been obliterated and reduced to a massive pile of concrete. Buried under it was Peacemaker’s body along with the fact that Rick’s body was no longer there. Your secret was safe for now.

It was true that Richard Flag Jr. perished in the basement of Jotunheim along with his lieutenant. The two figures who quietly slipped from the ruins of the building, disappearing into a nearby crowd as they walked hand-in-hand, were no longer those people. Just as you had countless times before, you would need to become someone else. And while it would be a challenge, as long as you had the love of your life by your side, everything was going to be alright. 

Thank you for reading! I have completely fallen in love with these two and I am planning to write more one-shot fics set in the same universe. The series will be called Eternally Yours. Please let me know if you would like to be tagged!

Taglist: @nik2blog, @dumb-fawkin-bitch, @shirley2996

[moviemunchies]

I remember that when watching the 2016 Suicide Squad that I thought that there was, buried somewhere in this mess, a good (but not great) movie that had gotten bogged down in its terrible editing. It’s a popular movie to dunk on but, you know, I ran into a few people who actually genuinely liked that movie, suggesting to me that, while I didn’t think it was very good, it’s not the universally-hated film that grumpy YouTube critics would have you think.

Still, the 2021 version is much better.

You know the premise of Suicide Squad, right? The government sometimes wants black ops missions done off-books, so Amanda Waller grabs some supervillains for Task Force X that no one will miss and makes them do the jobs in exchange for favors or less jail time. If they get killed, the government can disavow them and dodge responsibility. To make sure said criminals obey, they have a bomb planted in their necks that can be remotely triggered and blow their heads off.

Waller recruits a team to go to the small island nation of Corto Maltese in order to destroy an evil science experiment, as the island recently went through a military coup and there’s some concern they may try to use that mad science against the United States. But of course, things get messy during the mission, and as they find out more about Corto Maltese and each other, the group has to make some hard choices and work out what kind of people they really want to be.

A massive problem with a lot of Suicide Squad stories, I’ve noticed, is that it’s really easy to make it so that Amanda Waller comes across as an idiot. That’s how it seemed to me in the 2016 film and the animated Assault on Arkham film. Both of those have a story which relies on Waller making tactically ridiculous decisions, like having a loose leash on Enchantress, or inventing a fake mission to get someone to assassinate Riddler in his cell (JUST BRIBE AN ARKHAM GUARD YOU FOOL).

I didn’t have that problem here. There are a couple of things that Waller overlooks, like whether or not all the Squad members can swim, and she’s certainly the type to make fairly evil decisions, she’s not an idiot. All of her major choices make sense.

This movie also has a smaller main cast, and one that works better overall in their interactions. By the end, their bond feels believable–it’s not as if they’ve spent the entire movie arguing, and our main group is a handful of individuals.

Now you may ask yourself, “Wait, I’ve seen the first couple of trailers, and there are butt ton of squad members. What do you mean the main cast is smaller?” Well first of all, most of those characters don’t really get that much focus in the movie. Also! There is a lot of blood in this movie. This is a Suicide Squad story after all, and so people are going to get killed. Not everyone who isn’t a main character gets killed, but you’d best not get too attached to every squad member. If you’ve seen enough trailers, you can probably work out who the main characters are–which also don’t protect them! Main characters will die. Bodies will hit the floor.

You don’t need to know the previous movie at all to get into this one. Any of the previous movies, really– the events of Birds of Prey don’t come up in the story other than Harley’s breakup with Joker (though TV Tropes argues that Harley’s character development does). There are some characters who return in this film from the first one, and it seems that it takes place afterward, but there are no direct references to it–nor are there any contradictions. Apparently James Gunn was allowed to kill off any of the characters if he wanted to, and I was kind of surprised by a couple of the kills, as I assumed those were too iconic to the squad to be eliminated.

I don’t know if you even have to like superhero films to like this movie. This isn’t really a superhero movie. I mean, it’s a comic book movie, but none of the characters are superheroes, and very few of them have superpowers.

Fight scenes tend to be fantastic though. Not as amazing as what we see in Birds of Prey I think, but definitely very good. Harley in particular has a great fight scene. I’m happy to see this trend in movies nowadays with actually good fight scenes instead of relying heavily on shaky cam to avoid displaying the action.

And I think this film is also pretty critical of the United States government, and its colonialist tendencies. I think EVERY Suicide Squad story is at least a little bit critical of the US government–after all, the premise is that the government is coercing criminals to do shady stuff with the threat of force. This movie takes it a bit further, in a way that I think fits quite well with the established storyline.

I think this is a pretty great movie. It’s not for everyone–if you’re hoping for an ordinary comic book film, this isn’t that. It’s not some kind of satire or deconstruction of superhero films either, so if that’s what you’re going for, you’ll be disappointed. But this an excellent, entertaining action film with humor and violence and supervillains trying to do the best they can with what they’ve got.

[agentnico]

The Suicide Squad (2021) Review

This may be the better of the two, but the first Suicide Squad film will always hold the crown for managing to win an Oscar... somehow.

Plot: The government sends the most dangerous supervillains in the world -- Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark, Harley Quinn and others -- to the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Armed with high-tech weapons, they trek through the dangerous jungle on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Col. Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave.

“So that’s it, huh? We’re some kind of suicide squad?” says Will Smith in the original first film, with the line in itself being a poor attempt at a fourth wall break, yet, that movie never reached that promise of being a true Suicide Squad film. Because hardly anyone died, and as a whole David Ayer’s film was a generic mess, regardless of studio interference or not. In comes James Gunn from Marvel, who seems to have cracked the code for how to bring this comic book series to live action in proper gratuitous form, with even the ‘The’ in the title symbolizing that this is the one!

I remember going to see the first Guardians of the Galaxy film at the cinema, and back then I was still only just getting acquainted with watching western media, and that included superhero films. Heck my first ever Marvel movie was Thor: The Dark World! I know, what a banger to start with.......NAAAWT!! Anyway, I went to see Guardians and it was one of the first superhero films I came out of feeling like I truly witnessed something special. It had action, comedy and a good heart to it, and wouldn’t you know, my good old pal James Gunn was behind that flick. I don’t know why I called him my good old pal, I don’t even know the fella. Except in my dreams, but we don’t talk about that. So, flashforward to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which I absolutely hated, and for that movie I’m pretty sure Marvel gave Mr Gunn mostly full reigns of creative freedom, as long as he kept it family friendly, and the result was a mess. Hence naturally now I was really sceptical when James Gunn ended up at Warner Bros. following the controversial moment when cancel culture decided to aim it’s slimy fingers at him, as he was given directing and writing duties for this new The Suicide Squad film, and also it was heavily insinuated that Warner Bros. basically told him he could do with the movie whatever the f*** he wanted, excuse my French. And we remember how it panned out last time when James Gunn was given a lot of creative freedom. 

Flashforward to present day; here I am wondering and scratching my head thinking what in the heavens has happened, as by golly I am happy to report that The Suicide Squad is a total winner and a blast with a capital B - Blast! Gosh goodness golly goblin, this movie is so much fun from beginning to end. Right from the opening sequence you know that this film isn’t holding back any punches. It’s going at a 447.19 km/h speed of a Koenigsegg Agera RS crashing through any barriers like it’s nothing. Speaking of the opening sequence, it establishes why the movie is called what it’s called from the get-go. You straight away are proven how not a single character is safe, minus the obvious one that we know who it is, as there ain’t no way Warner Bros. would have allowed James Gunn to kill off that one character. But besides that person, everyone else feels like they could die at any given moment. That’s really a big charm of it, as it is frustrating how in many superhero films, let alone any blockbuster action flicks, so many characters always feel so safe and unstoppable, no matter how many times they get shot or how many buildings crash down upon them. And yes, this movie features a certain CGI character that constantly gets that treatment and survives, although it’s very self aware in that regard and is purposefully humoristic. But overall the entire set of characters feel easily disposable, and so so many of them die in such gruesome fashion, so indeed don’t get attached, as they don’t. 

Speaking of which, this movie is hardcore gory! You see limbs and intestines flying round left and right, a guy gets ripped in half by a humanoid shark, another’s face gets teared off by a shotgun bullet and so on forth in all kinds of gruesome fashion. Visually this is one for the big screen, as here’s the thing: you’re either a mummy’s boy or you grow some cojones and go see a man’s heart get stabbed with a piece of debris glass in 4K high rate definition! Your choice! Oh, and it’s not just the violence, also the cinematography and the practical set pieces all look incredible. This is easily James Gunn’s best looking movie. The entire think LOOKS incredible!

We also have to talk about the cast, as they are all great! There literally isn’t a single weakling among them. Each one, no matter how big or small their role is, brings something to the table. I can’t talk about all of them, as we’d be here all day, so I’m simply going to mention a few of the stand-outs. Idris Elba comes in to replace Will Smith as a character called Bloodsport, who is in some ways a different character but evidently is a replacement of Smith’s. But that’s no bad thing, as with any ensemble movie you still need a main character to latch onto and have an emotional hook towards, and he is that character. In fact, I’d say he’s arguably better than Will Smith in the last movie, or at least he seems to be having more fun here. He works as a solid leading man, however what works even more is his banterous competitive genital-size-measuring back and forth with John Cena’s Peacemaker, who by the way is awesome as that character. He is not a good character, in fact he is as bad as a bad guy can get, especially cause he’s someone who believes that what he is doing is right, making him much more of a dangerous wild card. This is easily John Cena’s best role, with him adding to the comedy one-liners, but also delivering such an interesting character who I’m looking forward to seeing more of in his standalone spin-off show confirmed for next year. Oh, and he wears a toilet helmet on his head which he defines as “a beacon of freedom” which says it all. We also have returning characters from the last film Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis as Rick Flag and Amanda Waller respectively, and both are given much more room to stretch their talents and spread their beautiful acting wings like the Hollywood angels that they are. Kinnaman’s Rick Flag is the moral compass of the group, as even though Elba is our main guy, he’s nonetheless a villain still, whilst Flag is a genuinely good guy and what is defined as a true American hero, to which Kinnaman fits the part well. And Viola Davis as Amanda Waller is on an absolutely different level. You can tell she’s an Academy Award winner through and through, as she plays such a serious character in an otherwise goofy movie, and so her presence is felt and it is felt BAD! She’s such a despicable yet intimidating personality and she gravitates all of the screen presence to herself. Margot Robbie returns as Harley Quinn, and she gets even more chance to develop this character that she’s played in multiple DCEU films now, and as per usual the Harley Quinn shtick works well for her, though I do kind of wish she didn’t always get all the attention. Look, I think she’s a fun character and Robbie plays her well, however she’s constantly used to overshadow others in these films which I don’t think is too fair, and its evident as ever in this film too. Anyway, the remainder of the cast including Jay Courtney as Captain Boomerang, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Michael Rooker as Savant, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2 (who gave me strong A Plague Tale: Innocence vibes) and many more all play villains, but villains that don’t have particularly great superpowers. This is where the tragedy of Task Force X as a team plays a part, as many of these villains aren’t even good at being villains. They are useless, and the movie is really self aware of this and so treats all characters as they should be. Dare I also not forget to mention the CGI characters in this film, with both Weasel and King Shark being absolute scene stealers! 

The Suicide Squad is the type of wham-bam-thank-you-mam batshit crazy entertainment which exists for the pure reasons of fun. It doesn’t set out to be the best superhero film ever, nor does it need to be. It’s an exhilarating, shocking, funny and amusing ride from beginning to end, with the energy never stopping, and is easily the best time I’ve had with a comic-book film in a long while, and I’m even talking about before COVID! Do yourself a favour and watch this one as soon as you can, as I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - The Suicide Squad is a BLAST!!

Overall score: 9/10

[aion-rsa]

The Suicide Squad: Who Lives and Who Dies

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains major The Suicide Squad spoilers. We have a spoiler free review here.

Five years ago, Will Smith uttered the instantly meme-able line, “So that’s it, huh, we’re the patsies, we’re some kind of Suicide Squad.” Yet by the end of that 2016 film, barely anyone in that squad was put six feet under. How times have changed.

For the entire rollout of his pseudo-sequel/reboot, writer-director James Gunn has insisted he had carte blanche to kill off any character in his The Suicide Squad roster. While we may remain skeptical if Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and a few others were really that expendable to Warner Bros., Gunn’s finished film speaks to just how much freedom he was allotted in slaughtering potentially valuable DC IP. Major characters from the first film, and a slew of new ones Gunn personally introduced, were pushing up daisies before the movie’s opening title card. And the bodycount only grew from there.

So if you had trouble keeping up with who died, and in what gnarly and grotesque fashion, we’re here to offer a handy dandy list of which members of the Suicide Squad walked away from Corto Maltese, and which were carried away in bags.

Blackguard

Dies

You can’t help but wonder if Gunn intentionally cast Pete Davidson as the first Squad member to get put down. With the exception of a fakeout (more on that in a bit), the mildly divisive SNL alumni goes out in gruesome fashion when he reveals on a Corto Maltese beachhead that he somehow communicated with the local military that a U.S. operation would be landing there. He thinks this will get him in good with the new government. Instead it gets him obliterated by a hail of bullets. All that time in prison and Blackguard never learned what happens to snitches…

Javelin

Dies

Flula Borg’s Javelin cut an amusing figure, as if he wandered in from some low-rent 1970s superhero television series. Even his accent was absurdly disarming, as Harley quickly noticed. Alas, it was not meant to be since Javelin was blasted fast on the beach, barely having a moment to entrust Dr. Quinzel with his trusty weapon.

Mongal

Dies

Let it not go unsaid that Mayling Ng’s Mongal made an epic introduction and exit when she took down several choppers all by herself. Unfortunately, she didn’t really think about a personal strategy as she rode one helicopter all the way down into its fiery ‘splosion.

Captain Boomerang

Dies

The first really major death of the film came when Captain Boomerang, Jai Courtney’s holdover from the 2016 movie, also bit the big one from the same fiery blast that took Mongal. At least he and Harley got to share a few laughs beforehand. We guess this puts an end to any chance of him  showing up in The Flash movie!

T.D.K.

Dies

Okay, as soon as you realized the secret superpower of Nathan Fillion’s character was something as lame as “detachable” limbs, you also knew he was dead meat, right? This character is so lame that Gunn doesn’t even show the Corto Maltese military putting him out of his misery. They just snicker as he writhes in pain, feeling how his detached arms have been shot to ribbons. Bad day to be a Browncoat.

Savant

Dies

Michael Rooker is the actor James Gunn casts when he wants to give a character an epic death scene. It took two movies for that to prove true in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but Rooker’s Savant doesn’t even make it to the end of the opening credits here… well not all of him. The blood and brain splatter created by the bomb Amanda Waller detonated in this coward’s skull spells a lovely “The Suicide Squad” lettering across the waves. And hey, at least Rooker got to rock those epic blonde locks!

The Thinker

Dies

Once you heard that Peter Capaldi was playing an evil supervillain who was also in league with the Suicide Squad’s enemies, you knew there was no way Thinker was walking away from this movie, right? Nonetheless, Gunn goes hard with the doc’s death scene when a liberated Starro the Conqueror gets revenge for 30 years of captivity by ripping his captor’s arms off and then turning him into a red smear across glass. Ouch.

Col. Rick Flag

Dies

This one hurt. Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag was one of the better and even underrated elements from 2016’s Suicide Squad, and he got a chance to shine a lot brighter here. From small things like his total war buddies vibe with Harley to showing a backbone when he realizes Waller’s nefarious cover-up game, Flag came out as a real leader this time up to bat. Sadly, he then got Cena’d to death.

Polka-Dot Man

Dies

You did it, Polka-Dot Man, you proved your simultaneously dippy and creepy superpowers could make you a real superhero! Even your Norma Bates-like mama would be proud. Too bad Starro then stepped on you immediately afterward. Yay?

Starro

Dies

The big guy had his giant eye poked out by Harley and then an army of rats swarm into the hole that made and chew up his insides. Honestly, you feel bad for the kaiju in the end. Like King Kong, he didn’t ask to be brought here. Who knew we could get the sniffles for a rampaging monster with mind-control powers?

Harley Quinn

Lives

Come on, did you think they’d kill off Harley? Pfft, Robbie’s performance is way too good for that.

Bloodsport

Lives

Given his world-weary stoicism, I thought going in that Idris Elba’s Bloodsport was too noble for Gunn’s twisted vision. How nice it is to be proven wrong. Elba’s supervillain marksman reveals there’s a heart of gold beneath that gruff exterior, and it’s still beating when the credits come around.

Ratcatcher II

Lives

James Gunn once told us that Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher was the heart of the movie with a presence “like somebody from the French New Wave.” And he wasn’t blowing smoke about the actor or the character. Despite being introduced as an easygoing millennial, Ratcatcher turns out to be the most sympathetic Squad member and proves her generation gets the job done by unleashing an armada of rats on Starro.

King Shark

Lives

Thank God. Nobody better hurt our precious man-eating Nanaue. Go ahead, King, have another nom-nom. You earned it!

Sol Soria

Lives

Sol Soria gets to be el presidente in Corto Maltese now. I guess that’s a fair enough trade with the knowledge that the people who put her there also fed her buddies head first to a land shark.

Amanda Waller

Lives

Some characters are too evil to die. Amanda Waller is still stewing back in D.C. by the end of The Suicide Squad, and she’s likely scheming of a way to murder all of her current underlings too.

Weasel

Lives

The first fakeout of the movie is the fate of Weasel. Despite seemingly being the first character to seemingly die off—in a really hilarious fashion when Waller and company realize they didn’t check to see if Weasel could swim—it turns out he didn’t drown. There’s another reason right there for why Savant deserved to have his head go boom. Pity the children of Corto Maltese.

Peacemaker

Lives

Even though Peacemaker got an epic death scene where Bloodsport won a quickdraw showdown, some actors are just too big of a deal to kill. Thus the end credits scene reveals that Peacemaker survived his bullet wound to the neck and is still breathing on a hospital ventilator. Nonetheless, Bloodsport taught him a valuable lesson: It’s not the size of your bullets but how you use them.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post The Suicide Squad: Who Lives and Who Dies appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/37odQFK

[pinktwingirl]

Rats, Squirrels, and Unlikely Friends

A quick oneshot in which Squirrel Girl travels to the DC universe and meets Ratcatcher II. Enjoy! :) @oh-its-jennyyy

Doreen knew she wasn’t supposed to be doing this. Stark Industries’ prototype wormhole generator was strictly off-limits to anyone but authorized staff, and that certainly did not include Doreen. She was a new hire, fresh out of college. She didn’t belong in top-secret labs, tampering with cutting-edge technology that could alter the fabric of space and time as we knew it. And yet, there she was, hacking into the “supposedly” un-hackable security system to check it out when no one was working on it. (She was slightly more skilled in the firewall breaching and data encryption area than her supervisors were aware.)

Every cell in her body screamed at her to stop. God, what was she thinking?! If anyone caught a glimpse of her doing this, she’d be fired on the spot. But whether it was her unending curiosity or her stubbornness to blame, she kept going. She just couldn’t help it; the whole concept of wormholes and interdimensional travel was so cool! She only wanted to see what the thing could do and how far they’d come... and hey, maybe if there were any areas for improvements that she could offer ideas on-

The device, a tall, silver arch, suddenly illuminated in a bright white haze, with its center forming some sort of black void. She must have somehow turned it on by accident.

“Ohhhh shit...” she grumbled.  

Frantically scrambling around to find an off-switch, Doreen quickly realized that there wasn’t one. In fact, there were no buttons or cord connectors on the device at all. Was it motion activated? Voice activated? Maybe thermally activated from body heat?

There was no time to find out. Before she could move or do anything, she felt her body pulled into the void, and everything went dark.

                                                       …

It took Doreen a while to fully process her surroundings when she regained consciousness. A bright light, that she assumed was the sun – or, at least, a sun, given that she was in a new universe – was shining in her eyes, and she had to blink a few times for her vision to adjust. She could feel hard gravel pressing on her protesting back, which begged her to sit up. When she did, she came face-to-face with a young woman posed in a defensive stance, ready to strike.  

Doreen took a moment to size up her potential assailant. The woman had a small stature, much like her, with short, dark hair, a dirty black coat, and, most bafflingly of all, a rat sitting on her shoulder, which didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest.  

“Who are you?” the woman demanded. She certainly had a bit of an accent, although Doreen couldn’t quite place what it was. Not that it would really matter, though; countries could be entirely different in this world, assuming that this even was another Earth in the first place.

Well, at least people in this universe could still speak English. That would make communication easy.

“Umm...” Doreen got out. “Would you believe me if I said I was from another universe?”

Before the woman could respond, they both jumped when they heard loud squeaking behind them. Doreen was shocked to see her three faithful companions, Monkey Joe, Tippy-Toe, and Mr. Liebermann, bounding to her side.

“Wh-? What are you three doing here?! Did you follow me?” Tippy-Toe nodded and gave an enthusiastic chirp as Doreen stroked her back. “Oh, you silly squirrels... You know you’re not supposed to come to work with me...”

The dark-haired woman, much to Doreen’s surprise, was looking at her not with disgust or judgment, but instead wide-eyed wonder and fascination.

“Are these your... friends?”

“Huh? Oh! I guess it would be rude to skip introductions. These are my pet squirrels, Monkey Joe, Tippy-Toe, and Mr. Liebermann.” Doreen stuck out her hand. “I’m Doreen Green.”

Reaching her hand out as well, the dark-haired woman tentatively shook it, apparently having decided that Doreen wasn’t a threat. “Cleo Cazo. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too! So, um... yeah... I guess you’re... wondering where I came from?”  

Cleo nodded.

“Well, so... the company I work for kind of built a wormhole generator that could transport people to alternate universes. And... I guess this place is one of them. Although, I actually wasn’t supposed to be messing with it. This was all a huge accident.” After a moment, she gave Cleo a sheepish grin. “I guess that must all be hard for you to believe, though...”

The rat on Cleo’s shoulder squeaked something into her ear, and she smiled. “No, it’s okay. Sebastian says you are telling the truth. He can sense that you are an honest and kind person!” The rat suddenly scurried to a patch of grass nearby to chew a dandelion off its stem and present it to Doreen. “Aww, look! He is offering you a flower as a token of his goodwill!”

Doreen giggled as she took the flower and put it in her hair. “Thank you, Sebastian! Would you like an almond?” Sebastian squeaked happily as she reached into her pocket and handed him his gift.

As Doreen stood up, Cleo was surprised to see a long, bushy tail extending from her backside. “Forgive me if this is a rude question, but... do all people in your universe have tails?”

“Oh, no. I’m actually the only one. I was born with altered DNA that made me part squirrel. They call me a mutant because of that. Do you have mutants here?”

Cleo shook her head. “I do not think so. I have heard of people born with altered DNA, but I have never heard the word ‘mutant’ used to describe them. Your powers are so cool, though! I wish I were part rat. But I don’t have any rat blood in me. I just communicate with them and tell them what to do.”

“That’s still pretty impressive! How do you do it?”

Cleo showed Doreen her rat-guiding light. “With this. My papa taught me how. He was the original Ratcatcher. When he passed away, I became his successor: Ratcatcher II.”

“That’s amazing!” Doreen smiled at Sebastian. “Do you mind if I pet him?”

“Not at all! Can I pet your squirrels?”

“Sure!”

The girls swapped rodents, with Cleo stroking Monkey Joe, Tippy-Toe, and Mr. Liebermann and Doreen scratching the head of a very happy Sebastian. After a moment of silent contemplation, Doreen spoke up again.  

“I’ve never... met anybody like me. I mean... someone who talks to small rodents. It’s a really underrated ability!”

“I know, right? Everyone always thinks I am weird or gross.”

“You know, I never got why people hate rats so much. They’re so cute and fluffy! I mean, sure, they eat garbage, but it’s not their fault! They don’t have anything else to eat! What else are they supposed to do?”

“That’s what I keep saying!”

“So... are countries still the same in this universe? Is this the U.S.?”

“Yes, we have a United States. And a Portugal. That’s where I am from. Does your universe have a Portugal?”

“Yep! It sounds like we have all the same countries! That’s a relief.”

“But this is not American soil. We are in the Hispanic nation of Corto Maltese.”

“Oh... I guess it’s a good thing I ran into you, then, instead of the natives. I don’t speak a lick of Spanish.”

“Neither do I. I don’t live here.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

Cleo pointed to what looked like the ruins of a tall building off in the distance. “Cleaning up that. The ruins of Jotunheim.”

“Jotunheim? You mean, like, the place where frost giants live?”

“What are ‘frost giants?’”

“Oh... you... don’t have those here? I have a friend who’s a frost giant, so I thought that’s what you were talking about.”

“Jotunheim was once a research laboratory. They used a giant alien starfish to conduct experiments with the creature’s mind control abilities. Many people died in the process, and the American government was behind all of it.”

“That’s horrible!”

“The government sent me with a team to cover it up. But when the monster got loose, we destroyed it instead. Now, we have to clean up the damage in the city. It is not as glamorous as saving the world, but no job is too menial for the Suicide Squad.”

“The ‘Suicide Squad?’ That’s what you guys call yourselves? That’s a pretty bleak name. See, I’m part of a team called The Avengers. Now, that’s a much better name."

“Well, it’s only a nickname. Our official codename is Task Force X.”

“You know, why does the letter X always make everything sound, like, ten times cooler? Like, ‘Task Force Y’ or ‘Task Force W’ just wouldn’t sound right, would it?”

Cleo giggled. “I guess not.” She handed the squirrels back to Doreen as Sebastian happily bounded back to her side.

“Well, this has been a real treat, but I should probably get back now,” Doreen laughed. “I don’t want to get-” She froze as she looked behind her, realizing that there was no wormhole device. “Oh... I... I don’t know how to get back... Oh no, this is bad...”

Cleo put a hand on her shoulder before she could start to panic. “Don’t worry! I’m sure my friends can help you figure something out! Let’s get you back to my teammates.”

The two walked down several blocks, where a tall man with heavy-duty armor and a walking shark were waiting for them. Cleo grinned at Doreen.

“Is seeing a giant shark with legs strange in your world?”

“Well, I’m friends with a talking tree and racoon, so, not really, to be honest.”

The tall man gave Doreen a weird look. She wasn’t sure if it was because of her tail or her last rather bizarre-sounding remark. Maybe both.  

“Who is this?” he asked.

Doreen cheerfully stuck out her hand. “My name’s Doreen Green, also known as Squirrel Girl! I’m from another universe!” She paused. “It’s kind of a long story. I also need help getting back home now.”

The tall man tentatively shook her hand. “Robert DuBois. Or Bloodsport. I guess we can get you down to the science people if you really want to come with us.”

Doreen took a moment to peer at him. “You know, it’s weird... You look just like this guy one of my friends used to know. Would you happen to be related to a guy called Heimdall at all? Guardian of Asgard? Watchman of the Gods? Is that ringing any bells?”

After staring blankly at her for a moment, Bloodsport turned to Cleo. “Is this girl on drugs?”

“Excuse me! I most certainly am not!” Doreen protested. “It’s strictly against company protocol to be under the influence of any substances during work hours! And I’m technically still working!”

The shark suddenly pointed at the squirrels. “Nom nom!”

Cleo sighed. “No, Nanaue, that’s not nom nom. Squirrels are friends. Just like rats.” She patted the shark’s back as he gave a dejected slump. “We’ll get you food when you get back.”

Out of nowhere, Doreen suddenly felt a tingling sensation in her body. Moving of their own will, her legs suddenly starting stumbling backwards. Her squirrels instantly jumped on her shoulder, ready to protect their human from any harm.

“Hey, where are you going?” Bloodsport called.

“I...” Doreen got out. “I think the device is pulling me back!”

“You’re leaving now?!” Cleo shouted.

“I can’t stop it!” Doreen grabbed onto Cleo’s hand in a last-ditch moment of desperation. “Cleo! Take good care of Sebastian! And don’t ever let anyone underestimate you! Trust me, I learned the hard way! People think we’re weak because they don’t understand us... But you’re stronger than you th-”

Before she could finish, she was gone.

                                                           …

Doreen collapsed on the ground, her heart racing at the familiar tile patterns. She knew this laboratory! She knew this building! She was back!

Her excitement quickly faded when she realized that return would mean consequences. Yep, she was definitely fired...

Except... there was still no one in the lab. No one had come back. Doreen checked the time. 2:15. She’d only been gone for 5 minutes! She looked around in awe at the silent room. All she would have to do now was sneak out. Had she really gotten away with it?

Slipping out the door and quietly returning to her workstation, she did her best to ignore her coworker’s questions about why she took a fairly lengthy bathroom break and whether she knew what they were supposed to be doing, instead giving them quick, uninvolved answers. Her mind was on Cleo and that strange, strange universe. It was so different, and yet... so similar to hers. The multiverse was certainly big and daunting, but no matter what people found in it in the future, no matter what research lied ahead, she knew it would always give her one source of comfort:

She’d found a friend that was just like her.

[msbeccieboo]

Arrow 8x03 Brain Dump

ASDADGHSADFSAF!! Back on form this week, with more returning guests, massive sibling feels and concentration on characters that we love, AND THE COLLISION OF FUTURE AND PRESENT TIMELINES IN THAT EPIC ENDINGGGG!!!!!!!!! YAAAASSSS!!! I’m still spiralling now!!!

Oliver and Thea

Welcome back Thea Queen!! Oliver had missed his Speedy 😍

So following on from last week, Oliver travelled to Nanda Parbat (which looked suspiciously like Lian Yu...the S8 Budget was clearly too used up on guest stars to recreate the outdoor Nanda Parbat scenery we saw in S3 😂), where he hoped to find some answers about The Monitor. I’m not actually sure if he intended on visiting Thea, or if her appearance was just a happy coincidence! But either way he was able to tell her about Mia and show her the picture of his new little family GAJKFSDGHFHDSGFS!!!

Source: oliverxfelicity

More below the cut...

In a shock move for Oliver Queen, he is open and honest with Thea straight away about his prophesied and imminent death. Thea wasn’t buying it, and Oliver even made a little sarcastic comment to “take as much time as you like to be upset” 😂😂 I’ve seen a few people say that they wanted to see more emotion from Thea here, and in later scenes. My take is that Thea/Willa’s nonchalant air is just classic Thea Queen Swagger™, but did feel like Willa maybe wasn’t really all that present in all of the scenes (mainly the LoA stuff though really). I however loved her total chill at the prospect of Oliver dying...not dissimilar to us...we know what's what! Our boy will be okay in the end!

Oliver seeks out Talia Al Ghul to use the Leagues archives (?) to find out more about The Monitor, because she owes him one. I love the idea of Oliver collecting his debts for once...this could fill the rest of the season to be honest; he’s racked up rather a few favours over the years. Talia’s help comes in the form of an Indiana Jones-esque scavenger hunt to uncover an ancient League book, and some special Demon’s head sword (?), with interruptions by the pesky Thanatos Guild from last season, who Thea is at war with. Honestly, plot-wise, I struggled a bit this week; even on rewatch I found it hard to concentrate😂 . I just zoned in on the character moments to get me through. But luckily, there were lots of those! 

One such beautiful character moment with the Queen siblings was on the side of a mountain, and reminded me a little bit of the Will/Mia scene up the Glades wall back in 7x16, I think? Oliver getting all emotional about missing his family and doubting his decisions every single day just punched me right in the feels 😭😭

Source: feilcityqueen

Then his explanation for trying to find answers before the Crisis: “My sacrifice, my death will protect the people I love. I need my family to be safe.” MURDERER!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Thea reassures him with some sage Queen family words, that their parents also made some questionable choices regarding them (that’s putting it lightly), but it ultimately made them heroes because of them. I think this scene was one of my favourites this episode, if not the season so far. Love me some Queen siblings 💗

The upshot of this random adventure with Talia was that Oliver read that the upcoming Crisis will actually be caused by The Monitor (dun dun DUUUNNN!!), complete with a lovely drawing of him 😂😂 But what Oliver doesn’t know, cos The Monitor doesn’t tell him anything is that there is also an Anti-Monitor, who will be the big bad of Crisis...so this may be a bit of a red herring for now!

Oliver ends his time in Nanda Parbat by saying one final (in his mind) goodbye to Thea, which actually made me sob like a baby out of nowhere, and has done every time I’ve rewatched the clip haha! Thea didn’t see it as a goodbye (cos Oliver dying? Pass!), but Oliver just cracks and won’t let go of her, and now I’m tearing up again 😭😭😭

Source: smoakmonster

I think by the way the goodbye scene played out that that will be the last we see of Thea, and ugh it’s such a shame because she has always brought out something special in Oliver, but we know she’ll be with him the whole time...😭😭😭

Stray thoughts:

They had Thea acknowledge Moira as her namesake (still think it’s a stretch, Moira-Mia? No.) but also had a callback to Thea’s Corto Maltese alias, which made me lol, and frankly, I find a better reference 😂

“All beings burn but a Phoenix rises from the ashes”. The Phoenix references this week were as subtle as a sledgehammer...Oliver is the Phoenix, and he will rise from the ashes following his death!

The Guild calling Oliver and Speedy ‘outsiders’ 🙄🙄 Oliver was Ras al Ghul and Thea is heir to the demon; get your facts right, biatch!!

Thea was a total badass this week, taking down Talia was sooo cool, and shows how far she has come as a fighter/hero.

Nice drop-in that Felicity gave the hozen to William!

Thea and Talia joining forces to raise a female ‘League of Heroes’; better than any faux-feminist Canary bullshit!!

The guest stars are fantastic, but their novelty and distraction is wearing off...I MISS FELICITY SMOAK 😫😫 Next week should hopefully tide us over, though!!

Dyla

Dyla had their own little adventure this week, that  echoed their suicide squad mission in Season 2. Bronze Tiger killed a bad guy whilst working for Lyla, and in revenge, that bad guy’s son kidnaps Sandra and little Connor Hawke, then also tries to kill Lyla, but obviously she’s a total badass so that doesn’t happen! Anyway, all’s well that ends well and Dig rescues Connor and his Mum, and that’s about all I can remember plot-wise 😂😂

What we got character-wise, though was really cool! We got the first hint of JJ’s story of being 'neglected' by Dyla...with Dig and Lyla being increasingly away on missions and unable to call him, and in turn finding Connor and obviously starting to fall in love with him because he is the softest little bean 😍 When ickle Connor said “thank you Mr Diggles” I was a goner 😂😂

We saw Dig having a crisis of faith (pun intended) after seeing Earth 2 disintegrate before him, but ultimately he realises (after some Lyla wisdom) that they just have to hold on to each other and do their best. Lyla made a few comments and pulled some ‘I’m keeping secrets’ faces, asking Dig to remember the good times no matter what happens, and I need to know what Lyla knows dammit!! I still believe that she is on the good side, and her appearing to double-cross Dig and Oliver with The Monitor last week is a little bit of a red herring. I need to believe, ok!!!

Flash-forwards

Plot-wise, I actually think the flash-forwards were the strongest storyline this week. Following on from last week we had the team rushing back to the bunker to check on William, after JJ threatened him. This scene brought us another “frack” from Mia 😍, and a mention of Felicity as “Mom” from William 😭, as he managed to electrocute the bad guys all by himself! Will being a techy little badass is a forever mood and is yet another reminder of our Felicity. She is never really gone.

With the Deathstrokes now targeting William and other members of the Star City Unification Movement (SCUM, really?? LOL), William offers himself up as bait. As Oliver’s daughter, you can imagine how that went down with Mia. Badly. Big nope from Mia, who decides on a more direct approach of going to their HQ and kicking all of the ass 😂. Zoe is very much against this, but Mia is all “I know best, we’ll just storm in and take them all out myself” (S1 Oliver anyone?). Said storming in leads to this absolute beauty of a moment:

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!

Prior to kicking all of the asses, Mia and William have a heart-to-heart, with Will still angry at Mia for not trusting him to go into dangerous situations. Will thinks it’s because he’s not a fighter, but Mia comes back with “it’s because you’re my brother” 😭 😭 😭

Source: olicitygifs

In another Felicity-worthy pep-talk, William tells Mia that operating out of fear is not the way to go, and that they need to trust each other to survive. I’m really gonna need a Mia/Will hug soon, please and thank you. Honestly, Will is the perfect balance/offset to Mia with his easy humour and quick wit, but he ALWAYS brings the feels as well. He reminds me so much of Emily’s portrayal of Felicity, and not just in the way that his character has been written, but just by what he brings to the role. Ben is a wonderful actor; I adore him and he and William must be protected at all costs!

In the final confrontation, Mia, Zoe and JJ storm JJ and the Deathstrokes, but JJ gets Mia by the throat in an awesome 3x23 Felicity/Slade parallel. Mia couldn’t save herself like Felicity did in this instance, but we must remember that this is just the beginning of Mia’s journey. She has time. Unlike Zoe, who saves Mia, but is then fatally stabbed by JJ 😬 Poor Zoe dies in Mia’s arms. Kat’s acting here was perfection. I may have shed a tear. They had kept Zoe pretty much in the background in the FFs, so I wasn’t particularly attached; if one of FTA needed to die, then I’m good with her. Sorry Zo. But in all honesty, this fridging trope really needs to end. Another female character didn’t need to die in order to elevate JJ’s evil-factor, or to spur on Mia’s hero journey, or Connor’s struggle with his conscience. Enough now. Hopefully, being a bird, Zoe will be back from the dead soon enough anyway 😂

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer 💗

Connor sees Zoe die and goes after JJ. Hard. Tries to kill him. Between 2 generations of Queens and Diggles, the sibling parallels were so strong this week, and I’m loving it! I wrote a little meta here about it. But does Connor have the guts to actually kill JJ? JJ taunts that he doesn’t, Connor disagrees, but then the bright light comes for all of FTA and so we come to…

THAT ENDING

OH MY GOD ALL OF FTA IN THE BUNKER IN 2019!!!!!!!!!!!!

So most people following any kind of interviews or spoilers had a pretty firm idea that Mia would come back in time at the end of the episode. We were expecting it. What the show did was really quite clever...they allowed these pretty big spoilery-type interviews and tweets to be released, heavily implying that Mia would rock up in the last 30 seconds. They let us think we were all clever and had figured it out then BOOM! EVERYONE CAME BACK (minus Zoe 😬)! 

I am so pleased with this!! All the paparazzi pics etc that we’d seen of Mia in the crossover etc had made me so happy, but equal parts sad that William couldn’t go back and see Oliver too, but now he can!!!

Uggghhhh it was so fucking goooood!! Oliver’s initial confusion of being beamed back to the bunker, stunned Dig, Dinah and Rene (I can live with their 5-second appearances this season 😂😂), then the camera and Oliver pan around to Mia, William and Connor just stood there!! Mia still had tears running down her face from seeing Zoe die, and she has her Arrow suit on and is covered in blood and she sees her Daddy for the first time in her memory!!!!!!! Just one word is delivered in those last few seconds and it was still one of the best moments of the season so far!!

Mia’s “Dad”, followed by Oliver’s confusion, realisation, then shock was just gaaahhhh!! But my absolute favourite reaction (I decided after multiple rewatches, for science, haha) was William’s 😍😭😍 His eyes full of tears, and utter gobsmacked-ness was fucking sublime!!  

Source for all 3 reaction gifs: tylerposey

Next week is going to be so epic!! We have Mia, who has never met Oliver and who has built him up so much in her head and heart from Felicity and William’s stories, and also the tainted Star City archives, getting to finally come face-to-face with him. Then conversely, there is William, who got a few years to know his father, but then left him and eventually believed to have been abandoned by him and Felicity, and has had to live for 20 years until very recently still believing that, and now he gets to see him again, only a few months after little William left! Then there’s Connor, who Dig barely even knows in 2019 and he’s gonna call him Dad and then have to tell him that he nearly just killed JJ, who just killed Zoe, and Rene is right there and I AM HERE FOR ALL OF ITTTTTT!!!! 

There’s so much content coming in next weeks episode it’s going to be so beautiful!!  I wrote a post of things I really hope to see here, and I’m pretty confident we’ll get most of them and so much more!

Then there’s the implications of what FTA being in the present means for the future!! I had a bit of a spec meltdown here about how this could end up saving Oliver, and I think that’s pretty much just wishful thinking, but either way, them coming back to the present to help with the Crisis and to try and stop future Star City turning so bleak is going to make my head hurt and my heart sing in equal measure, I’m sure! After all, what is the point in having the multiverse, time travel, super powers etc in Arrow if we can’t reap some benefits from it somehow? The ending to this episode, and hopefully next week will be our reward for the fuckery we’ve had to endure with the more sci-fi-esque elements since Larry rocked up and the Arrowverse was extended. And I. cannot. wait.

Thank you to the beautiful, talented, and super speedy gifmakers for blessing us with all the amazing gifsets from this episode!! Mwah! 😘😘 (Uncredited gifs are mine)

💗💗💗

[practically-an-x-man]

1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, and 16 for Jasper, Eris, and Nikoletta? :)

Oooh thank you!!

Answers under the cut for space :D

Edgy/Misc OC Asks

What memory would your OC rather just forget?

Jasper: The sensation of Kyle's death through their empathic sense. Sometimes they wonder if it would be easier to have just seen it, but they'll always be plagued by how it felt to have all his emotions just completely cut off like that.

Eris: Honestly... they have very few regrets. Either things turn out alright or they don't. The closest would be seeing Rick get stabbed by Peacemaker, since that's the closest he ever came to dying and it scared Eris like nothing else, but even that they were able to mostly brush off once they were assured he'd be okay.

Nikoletta: STAR Labs. Anything from STAR Labs.

2. What's something about your OC that people wouldn't expect just from looking at them?

Jasper: That they're a nurse - they're a punk with dyed hair and tattoos, who's usually covered in bruises from roller derby. Who would guess that they spend their life administering patient care?

Eris: That they're as old as they are. His features do look a little off, in a sort of "undistilled" way since she was born so long ago, but he still mainly just looks like someone from Türkiye or Egypt, vaguely in their thirties, and people wouldn't guess that they're actually centuries old.

Nikoletta: Probably her relationship with Abner - neither the fact that it exists, or how it takes shape. Especially after Belle Reve, she comes off as extremely stern and powerful and aloof, and I feel like people would never expect to see her being soft with a sorta-awkward guy like him (even though she's very happy and in love)

3. What is your OC's fatal flaw? Are they aware of this flaw?

Jasper: They can't let go of connections they make - meaning they'll stick with a friend even if the friendship is toxic, they struggle to cut off their homophobic parents, and they take peoples' criticisms of them harshly. This can be a good thing at times, since they'll be an incredibly loyal and caring friend and would never consider betraying/cheating/etc., but it also means they can be stepped on.

Eris: They're too careless about life. Others, yes, we all know they're not afraid to be ruthless, but even with themself - he'll push his healing factor to the absolute brink of its limit, and someday it might get her killed for good.

Nikoletta: She struggles to trust people. She's let Abner in, of course, and most of the other members of the Squad (Corto Maltese was quite the bonding experience), but outside that half-dozen people? There's nobody she can rely on. Even with the people she does trust, she still wouldn't leave her drink unattended with them or leave the apartment unlocked for them to stop by - not because she doesn't like them, but because Belle Reve has broken her trust so completely that she can't bring herself to willingly put any amount of her safety in their hands (except maybe Abner, and we both know it took a lot to get there)

4. When scared, does your OC fight, flee, freeze or fawn?

Jasper: Depends on the situation. If someone else is in danger, they're trained to jump into action (from being a trauma nurse). If it's themself in danger, their instinct is to freeze.

Eris: Fight! That's Eris' response to a lot of things, actually...

Nikoletta: By instinct, fawn, but she's trained herself to be combative instead.

9. Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC?

Jasper: Hold the Line by Toto

It's not in the words that you told me It's not in the way you say you're mine It's not in the way that you came back to me It's not in the way that your love set me free

Eris: Weapon by Against the Current

I seem fine But I can't take the highs and the lows All I am is a weapon (weapon) I shoot 'em down 'til I end up alone

Nikoletta: Whispers by Halsey

"This is the voice in your head that says "You do not want this" This is the ache that says "You do not want him"

10. What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

Jasper: Hm... I could see a role-reversal AU being interesting, good premise for angst, but for something lighter it could be fun to try out a florist/tattoo parlor AU (since Jasper likes tattoos and heavier stuff, and I could see Kyle taking the florist role)

Eris: Not really an AU since it would fit in the main fic, but I wouldn't mind writing more of Eris' escapades throughout history. I guess if I wanted to make it an AU it would be a reincarnation AU - like they keep running into various humans that they end up getting close to, every hundred years or so, with the idea that it's always Rick's soul finding its way back to them?

Nikoletta: Hm... maybe a fantasy AU, or like a witch-and-wizard thing? Like Nikoletta is a shadow witch, and the other members of the squad are different types of magic-users (Nanaue is a demigod, Cleo is a druid, etc.)

16. What is your OC's pain tolerance like?

Jasper: Reasonably high - they're a roller derbyist, they deal with a lot of bumps and bruises, but I think they're better at dealing with blunt pain (like bruises and sprains) than sharp pain (like cuts)

Eris: Pain? What's pain? They've literally been eviscerated before, pain is nothing.

Nikoletta: Not as high as you might think - she can sustain a lot of discomfort (being cold, hungry, etc.), but she tends to avoid outright pain if she can

[a-reader-and-a-writer]

The Colonel and the Sergeant (Part 2)

Fandom: DC, Marvel, The Suicide Squad, Avengers, Rick Flag, Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 11,959

TW: Whump, Language, Semi-Graphic Medical Procedure, Near Death Experience, Mentions of Pregnancy, Vomiting, Angst, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Blood

Thank you so much to @romanticgumchewer-reactivated and @loverhymeswith for beta reading for me!

Tag List: @viinchester, @tesla-pigeon,@justmad, @littlestatesman, @lacontroller1991, @n1ght5h4d3-24, @reysorigins, @princessxkenobi, @romanticgumchewer-reactivated, @loverhymeswith, @edgycatx, @river9noble, @emmaflag17, @tanyaherondale, @taternuts, @weallhaveadestiny, @lanatheawesome

Series Masterlist

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Alternate Ending

Bucky sighed in annoyance as his phone began to ring. He had just gotten out of the shower and was looking forward to a quiet afternoon for once. But no one ever called him unless they needed something. Glancing at the caller ID, he hesitated at the UNKNOWN CALLER displayed on the screen, debating whether or not to just let it go to voicemail. Oh, what the hell.

He answered the phone with a half-hearted, “Hello?”

“Bucky?…. I’m so sorry, bu-but I didn’t know who else to call…”

Bucky snapped to attention immediately at the sound of your quivering, tear-filled voice. “Y/N? What happened? What’s wrong?”

“The mission… everything… And Rick-” A massive sob cut you off. Bucky waited with bated breath for you to continue. Finally, you choked out, “Rick’s hurt real bad. I-I don’t know if….Oh God! Bucky, I need help.”

“Whatever you need. Just tell me where you are, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“We’re on Corto Maltese.”

That was all Bucky needed to hear. He had been watching the news coverage just before getting into the shower. He knew what had happened down there, and he could only imagine the kind of trouble you were currently in.

“Okay, doll. I’ll get a Quinjet together as quickly as I can. How many of you are there?”

“Seven- no wait, six. I forgot Abner…. there are six of us left. But uh, one of us is not exactly human sized.”

“How big are we talking?”

“Smaller than Hulk, but bigger than any normal person we know.”

“Got it. And besides Flag, is anyone else hurt?” Bucky quickly threw his jacket on as he began looking around for his boots.

“Cuts and bruises but nothing too serious. But Rick…he needs a lot of help.”

“I’ll bring what I can, but the SHIELD base down here isn’t really equipped for medical operations. And even once I take off, it’s going to take me a while to get there. Are you going to be okay until then?”

Bucky could only hear some soft sniffling on the other side of the phone. Just as he was about to ask again, you said, “We’ll have to be.”

“I’m on my way, doll. It’s going to be okay.”

“Bucky….please hurry.” And the line went dead.

As Bucky descended the ramp of the Quinjet an hour and a half later, he could see you sitting on the ground with a man’s head (presumably Flag’s) resting in your lap, a blanket wrapped around your shoulders despite the sweltering South American climate. When your eyes landed on Bucky, you bent down and kissed the man’s forehead, then slid over as a pale woman in a disheveled red dress took your place. Blanket falling to the ground, you took off running as quickly as you could even though Bucky noticed your obvious limp. He rushed to meet you, stumbling back as you threw yourself into his arms.

You buried your face in his chest as you whispered, “Thank you, Sarge.”

Bucky gave you a tight squeeze then pulled back to examine you. He gently brushed his fingers over a large gash on your forehead. “Are you okay? This doesn’t look good.”

But you just shook your head. “I’ll be fine, but we need to get Rick help. Now.”

You grabbed his hand and led him to where everyone else was gathered around the body on the ground. Besides the woman in the red dress, there was also a man holding a massive gun, a younger girl with a rat sitting on her shoulder, and what Bucky could only describe as a half-man, half-shark hybrid. But after meeting creatures like Rocket and Groot, nothing really phased him anymore.

Bucky got his first good look at the colonel as he approached. Gone was the strong, confident, handsome man he had met less than a week ago. Instead, the soldier was now a shade of his former self.

His face was pale and ashy while his eyes danced wildly behind half-closed lids. You had tried to wrap your jacket around the piece of porcelain that was jutting from the center of his chest in an attempt to slow the bleeding, but it didn’t seem to be doing much good. His bright yellow shirt was stained red and brown from the massive amounts of blood that had seeped into it over the past few hours. But his breathing troubled Bucky more than anything. It was shallow and labored, with long pauses between each breath, leaving Bucky worried that each one might be his last.

But you scrambled carefully to his side, ignoring all of that. Bending over so your forehead rested on his, you whispered, “Rick, baby, Bucky’s here with help. We’re going to get you out of here. Please, just hold on a little longer. You’re doing so great this far, but I need you to keep hanging on. Okay?”

Bucky saw Flag’s eyes flutter open just slightly more than they had been as they struggled to focus on you. He couldn’t tell if any words actually left the man’s mouth, but Bucky could clearly read his lips as they formed, I love you. Then his eyes rolled back into his head as he slipped back into his half-conscious state. A single tear rolled down your cheek as you whispered, “I love you too, Rick.”

You lightly placed a small kiss on his cheek before the younger girl gently took your shoulders and moved you out of the way so Bucky could approach. He wasn’t sure if the man could hear him or not, but Bucky said, “Hey, Colonel. We’re gonna get you fixed up, but this next part’s really gonna suck. And I’m sorry for that.”

He motioned over the medical team he had brought with him, and they wheeled over a stretcher. Getting a firm grasp on the injured man’s broad shoulders, Bucky lifted him onto the stretcher as two members of the medical team handled his legs. A low, pained moan escaped Flag’s lips at the harsh movement, and Bucky could hear you sob as you watched. As soon as he was secured to the stretcher, the team rushed Flag up the ramp and into the Quinjet. You quickly rushed after him, giving Bucky a small nod of appreciation as you passed.

Bucky turned to follow you when the pale woman popped up directly in front of him. She was giving him a slightly crazed smile that put Bucky on edge but when she spoke, it was with an upbeat, singsongy tone, “So, you’re the sergeant, huh? God, she sure knows how to pick ‘em.”

Bucky didn’t really know how to respond. “Thanks, I guess….” He started to walk away but the woman shot out a hand and stopped him with a vice-like grip on his arm, her expression now more of a death stare. He gawked at her, confused about the sudden shift in attitude.

“Listen, Sarge. She might seem okay at the moment, but she’s far from it. She’s been slipping in and out of shock since we found them. Also, she blew chunks earlier and I’ve never seen her get sick…ever. I may no longer be a practicing MD but I can see that she’s right on the edge of a complete breakdown. She didn’t tell us everything that happened and all we know for sure is the guy who did this got some pretty good licks at her before Flag took that blow that was meant for her. I’ve never seen her like this and I’m kinda worried. So, keep an eye on her. We need her to come out of this in one piece. Flag needs her to come out of this in one piece.” Bucky nodded and the woman let go of his arm, her crazed smile once more plastered on her face. She playfully twitched her nose as she sauntered off. “Just thought ya should know, hot stuff.”

He stared after her, dumbfounded as she walked up the ramp into the Quinjet, but a voice from behind him snapped him back to attention.

“Don’t mind Quinn. She’s a bit of an acquired taste.” Bucky turned to see the man from your team walking towards him. He stuck out his hand. “Robert DuBois. We appreciate the pick-up. Flag’s an old friend and I may have only known his girl for a few days, but she’s one of the first people I’ve met in a while who actually gives a fuck about what happens to us, so ….thank you for the help.”

“Bucky Barnes. And no thanks necessary. I’d do anything for her. And I actually got to meet Flag last week, he seems like a good guy.”

“One of the best. Though… I’m hoping he pulls through more for her sake than for his.”

“Quinn said she’s not handling things well?”

DuBois sighed as he shook his head. “She’s blaming herself. Best we can piece together is she and Flag found some proof of some messed up shit the government was doing. Our government. They decided to expose it and one of the team members, Peacemaker, tried to stop them. Then the building started to collapse, and they were separated. She ended up on the side with Peacemaker. They fought and just as he was about to kill her, Flag found ‘em and pushed her out of the way. She somehow managed to drag him far enough out of the building that they survived when it collapsed.”

“And Peacemaker?”

“No longer a problem.” DuBois stared at Bucky as if challenging him to ask more details, but the soldier knew better. So, the man continued, “We traded the information for our freedom, but she doesn’t trust our boss to keep her side of the bargain. We told her we would find our own way back home, but she insisted on helping us get back to the States. And since you were coming down to get Flag, we figured we could kill two birds with one stone.”

“Wait, what do you mean you traded the information for your freedom? Freedom from who?”

DuBois chuckled. “She didn’t tell ya? We’re all criminals. You’re transporting what’s left of the fuckin’ Suicide Squad.”

Bucky looked around at your team members, realization suddenly dawning on him as to why everyone looked so familiar. He turned back to the man, the criminal in front of him. “So, Robert DuBois…. You’re Bloodsport.”

The man grinned. “I’m surprised you’ve heard of me.”

Bucky faced the ramp where the rest of the team had gone. “And Quinn…. That was Harley Quinn?! No, actually, that makes a lot of sense.”

DuBois chuckled again. “Yeah, I told ya, she’s something else. The little one’s Ratcatcher 2, or Cleo, and the big shark bloke’s Nanaue.” He hesitated for a moment. “I hope this is still okay with you. We assumed she told you who she worked with.”

“Except for when I ran into her and Flag the other night, I haven’t talked to her in almost three years. And all she said was they worked with a task force based at Belle Reve. I guess I should have put two and two together, but I didn’t give it much thought.” Bucky shrugged. “But if she trusts you, that’s good enough for me.”

DuBois raised an eyebrow. “You’re taking this pretty well for one of the good guys.”

Bucky chuckled humorlessly. “Well, I wasn’t always one of the good guys. Besides, I’ve worked with my share of fugitives and criminals in the past. Hell, I’ve been both.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of you too. The Winter Soldier. They say you used to be one badass motherfucker once upon a time.”

Bucky clenched his jaw. “I was. I was a heartless, robotic killing machine. But not anymore.”

“And she helped you do that?”

Bucky gazed longingly at the Quinjet you now resided in. “That and so much more. I owe her everything.”

DuBois slapped him on the back. “Well, I guess this gets you one step closer to being square.”

“I guess so…..” He noticed one of the medics waving at them. “Looks like they are ready to take off. We better go.”

As they walked over to the ship, Bucky couldn’t help but think that DuBois was wrong. This pick up was nothing compared to everything you had done for him in the past. If he did want to try and even out their score, he still had a lot of work ahead of him.

Forty minutes later, the Quinjet landed in Miami. You hadn’t wanted to chance going back to Louisiana just yet and Miami was the closest SHIELD based medical facility anyway, so it was a win-win situation. Flag had been given an IV, a blood infusion, and an oxygen mask but nothing could be done about the fragment of porcelain protruding from his chest until he was in an actual OR. And now, as the medical crew hurried to ready him for transfer, Bucky glanced over to where you were still sitting.

Ever since boarding the Quinjet, you hadn’t moved from the seat next to Flag’s stretcher, Harley on one side of you and Cleo on the other. Every so often, you would break out in uncontrollable shakes, your whole body shivering as if you were in the Arctic without a coat. Whenever this happened, your teammates would wrap their arms tightly around you to try to warm you up as well as to still the tremors. It would usually help after a few minutes, but soon the whole process would start again. Harley shot Bucky a worried look after a particularly bad episode, but he was helpless to assist in any way. All he could do was stand and watch.

And it was there, leaning against the far wall, that Bucky got his first good look at you. Dust and blood coated every inch of you, from your hair all the way down to your boots. Besides the gash on your head (which the medics had hastily slapped some gauze over), there was a large tear in one of your pant legs and the dark blood stain around it explained your limp (this had also been wrapped in gauze). And once, as you exposed your neck to rest your head on Harley’s shoulder, Bucky could make out distinct fingerprint shaped bruises encircling your throat. He was glad DuBois had taken care of Peacemaker because if he hadn’t, Bucky would have gone back and done it himself.

Harley helped you to your feet as everyone prepared to leave the ship. You had already been told that Flag would be rushed to be prepped for surgery immediately and you would have to wait in the lobby or in his hospital room for him to return. As they wheeled him into the hospital, Bucky could see the pain and fear carved into your face as you watched him get farther and farther from you. But, ever the professional, as soon as he was out of sight, you snapped back to commander mode. After providing the squad strict instructions to avoid detection, you gave each member a tight squeeze of gratitude as you wished them luck.

As they turned to leave, you grabbed Bloodsport’s arm, holding him back. Once everyone else was out of earshot, you said. “DuBois. I need you to watch after them. Waller might have said she was letting everyone go, but she doesn’t lose that easily. Get them somewhere safe and stay there. If anything happens, drop everything and run. I’ll find a way to get in contact when I can, but you need to lay low for now. I need….I can’t deal with this-” you motioned to the door they had just wheeled Flag through- “if I’m terrified what’s happening with the team. So please, promise me you’ll keep them safe. At least until I can come back. I know you never wanted to be a part of this, but I’m asking you as a friend, as Rick’s friend, can you do this for us?” Your lip quivered slightly as you finished your plea.

“Of course. We’ll be fine. You just focus on what’s going on here.” Then the older man pulled you into a tight hug. “Listen, he’s gonna pull through. He’s too stubborn, too determined, and he’s got too much to live for. He’s not gonna let something like a shitty piece of toilet take him down. After all, he’s Rick Fuckin’ Flag.” A hysterical chuckle burst from your lips as you nodded furiously into his chest. DuBois pulled back and stared directly into your eyes. “He’s Rick Fuckin’ Flag. Don’t forget it.”

You nodded again. “Rick Fuckin’ Flag…. Thank you, DuBois.”

He nodded back, then catching Bucky’s eye, he performed a two-finger salute before turning and following the rest of the team out of sight.

As you waited to hear if Flag was in surgery yet, Bucky managed to convince you to try and clean up a little in the bathroom. Between the dirt and the blood, you were leaving a trail everywhere you walked. Reluctantly, you had relented.

It was then, as he was sitting in a chair outside the bathroom waiting for you, that the nurse found him. “He wants to talk to you.”

“Okay, let me go grab her.” Bucky started to stand up.

“No, not her. You.”

Bucky froze in his half-risen position. “Me? Are you sure?”

“Yes, he was very clear about it. He said the man who brought him in with the metal arm. I assume that description only applies to you.”

Bucky sighed as he stood up the rest of the way. “I guess so.” He glanced towards the bathroom. “Can you stay here and let her know where I went if she comes out?”

“For a few minutes, but then I need to get back to work.”

“Thank you. I don’t think this will take very long.”

As he entered the OR prep room, he noticed Flag looked just as bad as he had on the plane, the only difference was now his eyes were open. When he noticed Bucky in the doorway, he weakly, clumsily managed to tug down the oxygen mask obscuring his mouth, careful to avoid the shard still stuck in his chest. After a few labored breaths, he rasped out, “Sergeant.”

Bucky nodded at the man. “Colonel.”

“Thank you. I know why you did… did it. And it wasn’t… for me. But still, thank you.” Flag’s low, gravely voice was slightly slurred as he struggled to complete his sentences, his southern accent sounding more pronounced than before. “I already owe you…my life. But I need… somethin' else…”

He paused to take a few deep breaths from the oxygen mask before continuing. “I need you to… look after her… She’s gonna need…. you….”

Bucky shifted uncomfortably. “Come on, man. The doctors said they have a high probability of success with the surgery. You should be back on your feet in no time, then she’ll have you to look after her.”

Flag shook his head slightly. “We both know….it’s not that easy. And I….know her. She’s blamin' hers-self right now….I can’t be-be there to set her straight….. You..you have to help her…through this………Please, Barnes.” It was the first time since they had met that he had addressed Bucky as anything but Sergeant. Bucky could see past the pain in Flag’s eyes to the desperation and pleading which lay underneath.

So, he nodded. “Yes, sir. I will protect her with my life.”

Flag sank back into the bed, satisfied with the answer. But just as Bucky thought he should probably leave, he spoke up again, weaker than before. “And one more thing…….There’s a ring….in a suitcase in my closet at home….Can you…. make sure she….If I don’t….get the chance….still want her to know…. Might be too late…. but she should…know…” His eyes rolled back in his head as he struggled to catch his breath. Bucky quickly bent down to readjust the oxygen mask over his mouth and Flag seemed to relax slightly, though his eyes remained closed.

Unsure if the man could still hear him or not, Bucky firmly grasped his shoulder. “I swear, Colonel. Whatever happens, I will always be there for her, I will always keep her safe. And if it comes down to it…I’ll make sure she gets that ring.” For just a brief second, Bucky swore he saw a smile tug at the corner of Flag’s lips under the mask.

A nurse came in and told Bucky they were ready to start the surgery. Casting one last look at the fallen soldier in the bed, Bucky left the room. As he headed back to find you, he pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial. “Sam? Have you left yet or are you still in Louisiana?..... Good. I need you to pick up something for me…..”

Bucky was once again sitting in one of the chairs when you exited the bathroom. He decided not to mention he saw Flag because he was afraid it would upset you to know you missed the chance to speak to him. Besides, he wasn’t quite sure what he would tell you about what they had discussed.

You looked a lot better now that you had been able to clean up a little. The dirt and blood was gone from your face and arms and you just looked overall more refreshed. You were chewing on a piece of gum, probably because they hadn’t found you a toothbrush yet. You were still wearing just your filthy tank top and bloody cargo pants, seeing as your jacket was currently somewhere drenched in Flag’s blood, and Bucky made a mental note to try and find you something a little warmer.

You plopped down in the chair directly next to Bucky, your arms bumping into each other. He glanced over and noticed something that had previously been covered in grim.

“That tattoo’s new.” He nodded to the messily scrawled “SKWAD” on your right bicep.

You smiled softly as you gazed at it. “Yeah, Harley started the tradition. Anyone who makes it through their first Task Force mission alive gets one. And everyone takes turns tattooing the others.”

“Who did yours?”

“Rick. It was just luck that it happened to be his turn, though his tattooing skills leave much to be desired. It hurt like a mother.” You bit your lip, lost in thought. “His tattoo was on his left arm, so I chose to have mine on my right. That way, when we stood next to each other, they’re side by side. Even after only one mission, I knew that’s where I always wanted to be.”

You were quiet for a moment before letting out a long, forlorn sigh as you whispered, “He’s gonna hate me.”

“What?”

“Rick. When he wakes up and finds out what I did, he’s gonna hate me.”

Bucky stared at you in confusion. “Doll, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m pretty sure no matter what you did, Flag could never hate you.”

“We risked our lives to get that drive. He’s only in here because we wanted to expose it to the world. And the fact I traded it to save him…. He’s gonna hate me for that.”

Bucky took your hand. “I know I only really met Flag that one time, but it was obvious he is deeply in love with you. He’ll understand why you did what you did. And it wasn’t just for him. It was for your whole team. That’s got to count for something, right?”

You shook your head. “You don’t get it. Rick is…. complicated. He’s a good man, but he doesn’t live in the black and white world people like Steve Rogers lives in. He lives in the grays and shadows. He’ll get his hands dirty if he has to. He doesn’t like it, but he understands that sometimes that is what’s needed.

“But, all those things he’s done, he’s done them because he was told it was for his country. And that is something he takes so seriously. His dad, his grandfather, hell, his great-grandfather, were all soldiers. It’s all he’s ever wanted to be. Because he believed in what he was doing. But what we found out…” You hesitated. “It’s bad, Buck. I mean, it is horrifyingly bad. And I watched something break in Rick as he saw what his country, the thing he put all his faith and loyalty into for all these years, saw what it did. What it hid from everyone. All the morally gray things he has done, all the people he has hurt or killed for that idealized greater good, the weight of that hit him all at once. I could see it on his face. Hear it in his voice. I’ve never heard him like that…..”

Bucky shifted uncomfortably in his chair. You both knew the reality of what the government was capable of. You had both seen the corruption and greed firsthand. So, if whatever you had seen bothered you this much, it must be truly horrendous. But he also knew you had been sworn to secrecy in exchange for your freedom, so he didn’t bother asking about it. Instead, he simply said, “Flag may have to come to terms with a lot of things. But he will understand what you did and why you did it. Even if he is a little mad at first, he’ll get over it.”

“I ‘ope so”, you mumbled, and Bucky noticed you were barely hanging on to consciousness.

“Hey, when was the last time you got any sleep?”

“I don’t know….Got a few hours in the jungle a few ‘ights ‘go.” Your head began to droop into your chest before you snapped it back up. “Sorry. I-I guess I am a little tired.”

“Well, get some sleep. We’ve got time.”

“What if some’ing ‘appens?” Your head began to droop again.

Bucky eased you over until you were leaning up against him. “I promise, if anything happens, I’ll wake you up immediately.”

“Swear?” Your eyes were already closed, and your breathing was slowing down. Even after all of the horrors from the last few days, you actually looked peaceful. Just like when you used to fall asleep with him on the couch in your shared apartment.

Bucky smiled down at the beautiful sight he thought he would never see again. “Swear.”

While you were asleep, Steve and Sam arrived to check on how you were holding up. Bucky had called them as soon as the Quinjet had originally taken off from Louisiana and filled them in on the situation. Both of them were concerned about how well Bucky could handle being this close to you again and finding you asleep on his shoulder did little to lessen their fears. He swore to them he was okay, but he could tell they didn’t really believe him. Not wanting to wake you, they had promised to come back later and insisted Bucky call if he needed anything. Just before they left, Sam slipped Bucky the ring box he had picked up from your apartment. Bucky jammed it in his jacket pocket without looking at it, but he could feel the weight of it dragging at him even as he just sat there. Just before you had left him, Bucky had gone to a few places to look at rings. In fact, he had narrowed it down to two, but he had never gotten the chance to make a final decision. It felt like a lifetime ago, and yet….

Bucky glanced down at you asleep on his shoulder. He wrapped his Vibranium arm around your waist, pulling you closer, onto his chest. A small smile spread across your lips as you nuzzled against his neck. For the first time since he had picked you up in Corto Maltese, he saw your muscles slowly untense as you relaxed into him. Bucky softly kissed the top of your head, thinking how nice it felt to be holding you in his arms again. It was just like old ti-

“Rick.”

Bucky’s heart clenched as the name slips from your sleeping lips. Your smile had shifted into a full-on ray of sunshine as you dreamed you were in the other man’s arms. Instinctively, Bucky tightened his hold on you, causing you to finch awake. Glancing around, your face fell as you remembered where you were. As your eyes met and you registered whose arms you had really been sleeping in, Bucky saw fresh heartbreak flash across your face. Standing quickly, you mumbled a weary apology. “I’m sorry, Buck. I didn’t mean to…. I just forgot…”

“Hey, it’s okay. You were asleep. You didn’t know any better.”

“No, it’s not okay. I shouldn’t be putting all of this on you. I mean, I haven’t even talked to you in almost three years and then I show up and expect you to still….”

“Still what?” He stood and took a step closer to you.

You looked at the floor, unable to meet his eye. “Still be there for me. To still care.”

“Doll, no matter what happens, I will always care about you. Just because we’re not together anymore doesn’t mean I stopped….”

You both awkwardly stood there in silence, neither sure what to say. Finally, you mumbled, “I should go-go check in on Rick.” You turned and started walking down the hall.

Bucky took another step after you as he blurted out, “Why do you cry when you watch Titanic?”

You stopped and turned to face him, confusion etched on your face. “What?”

“When you took that phone call the other night, Rick and I got to talking and he mentioned you always cry at the end of Titanic. You never once even got misty eyed when we watched it. So, what changed?”

“Really? We’re talking about this now? Why does it matter?”

“Because I need to know.”

“Bucky, it doesn’t matter! It’s just a movie. Who cares?”

“I need to know!”

“You already know!” Pain was etched on your face as you yelled the words. You bit your lip as you looked away.

Bucky nodded sadly. “I have an idea but even if I’m right, what I can’t figure out is if it bothered you that much, why did you keep watching it?”

Softly, you whispered, “I thought it would get easier. Every time, I thought ‘this time will be better. It will hurt less and I’ll know I’ve started moving on’. But every time, it hurt just as bad. Every time Rose promised to always hold on and then immediately let go…. Turns her back on her love…allows him to sink back into the frozen abyss alone…. Just like I did to you.” You finally worked up the courage to look Bucky in the eye. “I promised you I would be there for you, always, but then…. I just left. I don’t know why I thought you would understand why I left when I didn’t understand myself. But…

“After the other night, I really started thinking about us. And about me and Rick. And about why I felt like something was missing with us, but it was there with him, and I think I finally figured it out. It was you. You were what was missing.”

Bucky was taken aback. “What the hell are you talking about? We were together all the time! And if I did go off by myself, I always asked you first.”

“Exactly. And that’s the problem. You never made any decisions for yourself. Everything was always about what I wanted or what I thought about something. Do you remember what you asked me the last time we watched Titanic together?”

Bucky thought for a moment. “Yeah, I asked why we always watched the same movie. Why you never chose a different one.”

“Yes, why I never chose another one. Up until that moment, I hadn’t even realized it was the only thing we ever watched, but it was true. And I also realized why. It was because you always made me pick the movie. Even when I asked you to, you insisted we watch whatever I wanted. And then, I began to realize the same thing happened with everything we did. I always picked where we would go to eat. I always picked which bar we hung out at on Friday night. I always picked where we went on vacation. And every time I asked you for the smallest amount of input, you always just said you were happy with whatever I wanted to do.”

You hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I don’t know if it was left over from whatever HYDRA did to you, made it so you didn’t know how to make your own choices or if it was because you held me up as this beacon of perfection, your savior that could do no wrong and deserved whatever I wanted in this world – don’t you dare deny that, you know that’s exactly how you saw me – But whatever it was, it all just became too much. And even though I couldn’t understand what was happening at the time, I knew that I needed something more.

“And I found that with Rick. When I’m with him, things are different. Sure, he listens to what I want, but he also lets me know what he wants. When I say we should watch Titanic for the hundredth time, he reminds me of a new movie I wanted to see that we both would enjoy. When he doesn’t feel like going out to the Italian restaurant I recommend, he asks if we can just order a pizza instead. He never demands his own way, but he’s not afraid to say what he wants either. I never felt like I was the one making all the decisions, we were just…. partners.

“And that’s what a relationship is supposed to be. It’s taking parts of each person and making something new. With us…. We just became me. And that’s what was missing. There was no you in us. And when I left, I felt like the exact same person I was when we met. A few more scars, a few more wrinkles, but ultimately, I had remained unchanged for four years. But from the moment I met Rick, I transformed, evolved. He challenges me every day, and with him, I feel like I’ve become the best version of myself.”

Bucky didn’t know what to say. He just kind of felt numb. He had always thought the two of you had the perfect relationship until the end, and now you were telling him it was fundamentally screwed up from the beginning. That it was all because of him.

You stared at him expectantly, like you wanted him to say something, but he didn’t have the words to express how he was feeling.

Just then, a doctor rounded the corner and sped up as his gaze landed on you. “Ah, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you two. Colonel Flag just got out of surgery.”

You turned all your attention to the doctor, your conversation with Bucky all but forgotten. “How is he?”

“Not bad, all things considered. The object penetrated his chest severely, but it only slightly grazed his heart. However, any deeper and he would have been dead in seconds. He was lucky his attacker didn’t get a chance for a second hit. We patched up as much damage as we could, but anytime you have to mess with the heart, complications can arise. At the moment, he is stable and resting but we need to monitor him for the next day or two. He is still unconscious, and we will know more once he wakes up. They will be bringing him back to his room shortly and you can wait with him.”

You threw your arms around the man’s neck. “Thank you so much, doctor! This is…this is so much better than I hoped!”

The doctor blushed slightly and cleared his throat. “Yes, well… as I said, he’s not out of the woods yet. And he will probably have a long recovery, but for now, we are hopeful. Now, I have other patients to see but please let me or one of the nurses know if you need anything.” He patted you on the shoulder and walked away.

Before Bucky could say anything, you whirled around and headed off towards Flag’s room, leaving him to watch you walk away.

Bucky stared at you through the glass window of Flag’s room. Eyes closed as you slumped in the chair next to the bed, anyone could have easily mistaken you for sleeping except for the fact your mouth never stopped moving. Ever since the doctors had brought him back to the room and told you that just talking to Flag was the best thing for him, you had refused to shut up. After the first hour, you had started running out of things to talk about. So, for the next two hours, you had been summarizing the plots to any movie, tv show, or book that popped into your head, adding your own personal opinions and commentaries as you thought of them. Bucky’s favorite had been the twenty-minute tangent you had gone on right in the middle of summarizing Die Hard to explain in emphatic detail why it was, in fact, not a Christmas movie. Now as you approached the three-hour mark, your head was beginning to sag, and your voice was growing scratchy with overuse, but you still refused to quit.

After your last conversation, Bucky had remained out in the hall but he could hear every word you said. He hadn’t been quite ready to face you after the truth about why you had left had finally been revealed. He was hurt and confused at first, but the more he thought about everything, the more he realized you were right. When he started getting his memories back after escaping HYDRA, he had a hard time reconciling the man he had become with the man he used to be. It became so unbearable that he had almost given up the thought of ever finding peace. But then he met you. Well, formally met. You had been working with Steve when they discovered he was the Winter Soldier but a roundhouse kick to the face wasn’t quite what he called an introduction.

From before your first conversation together, you knew who he was and what he had done. And you did not care. You found a way to get through to him, to help him come to terms with everything that had happened and, just like you said, he worshiped you for that. You were the light of his life, his perfect angel who could do no wrong. And it was only now that he realized what kind of pressure that must have put on you. And how in his attempts to give you the world, he really hadn’t given you his true self. Just as you hadn’t realized the truth until it was too late, neither had he. And he was paying the price for it.

But he would have to come to terms with these revelations later. Right now, you needed him. So, Bucky entered Flag’s room with an extra-large coffee he had bought for each of you. Your head lolled lazily towards the door when you heard him approach, but your eyes lit up when you saw the drink in his hand.

“Oh my god, please tell me that one’s for me.”

“Oh, did you want one? I was just really thirsty and thought I would get two for myself.” Bucky smirked.

Rolling your eyes, you held out your hand. “Just hand it over.”

“Magic word?”

“What are you, five? PLEASE, hand it over.”

“I was actually looking for ‘You are the best’ but that works too.” He handed you your cup.

“Well, that goes without saying. Plus, that is more than one word.” You took a long sip of the coffee, a blissful sigh escaping your lips. You smiled up at Bucky. “You remembered just how I like it.”

Bucky chuckled. “Of course I did. You had me pick you up one almost every day. And the one time I got it wrong, you never let me live it down.”

You set the drink down on the table next to you. “Well, who mixes up caramel and hazelnut? They’re not even in the same flavor category.” The smile dropped from your face as you paused and stared down at your hands. “Bucky, about what I said earlier… I just wanted to make sur- Wait..” You stood up and took a step closer to the monitors displaying Rick’s vitals. “That’s not right…. His heart-”

Your words were cut off as the irregular spikes plummeted to a straight line and a continuous *BEEP* filled the air. Your eyes grew wide as panic swept over your face. You placed one hand on his chest as you ran the other through Flag’s filthy hair. “No, no, no, no…. Oh, come on, Rick, don’t do this to me. Come on, baby. I need you, please, don’t do this. You are stronger than this. Please. No, no…”

When nothing changed, you dove for the wall, pounding every call button or emergency alarm you could find. “Help!” The desperation in your voice shook Bucky to his core. “Please! Someone, we need help in here!”

Bucky dashed out into the hall, trying to find a nurse or a doctor. Rushing down to the nurse’s station, he yelled, “We need help in room 806. The patient’s heart stopped.”

Without waiting for a response, he hurried back to the room. You were bent over holding Flag’s hand, tears streaming down your face as you rocked back and forth, muttering, “Please, please, please, please, not like this, please Rick, please baby, please, please, please, please….”

As Bucky heard the flurry of activity in the hall getting closer, he gently tried to pull you out of the way but you lashed out at him wildly. Wrapping his arms around you, he whispered in your ear, “It’s going to be okay, but they need to get to him so they can help him. Come on, doll. Please let go.”

“I can’t leave him.” Through the tears, your eyes looked wild and manic as you stared down at your lifeless boyfriend.

“I promise, I won’t make you leave. We just have to get out of the way. We can just move to the corner, and you’ll still be here while the doctors fix him up.” He took your face in his hands and gently turned your head to look at him. “I swear, I won’t let anyone make you leave until you want to. But we have to move.”

You nod frantically. “Okay, okay.” You kissed Flag’s forehead as you whispered, “I’m still here, baby. I’m not going anywhere, so please, come back to me.”

It looked like it physically pained you to let go of Flag’s hand, but the second you did, Bucky whipped you away from the bed just as a team of doctors and machinery came crashing through the door. Bucky kept his arms tightly wrapped around you as you both watched the team quickly examine the still body. One doctor began performing CPR, but it did nothing to improve the situation. After a moment, another doctor pulled out a defibrillator and slammed the paddles to Flag’s chest. Once everyone was clear, a jolt of electricity was sent coursing through his system. His body jerked harshly on the bed, causing a gut-wrenching sob to erupt from your mouth. Another few shocks, each accompanied by another sob, still did nothing to change Flag’s condition.

By this point, Bucky’s tight grip around your waist and chest was the only thing keeping you vertical. You had collapsed weakly against him, but your eyes never left the bed. A nurse tried to escort the two of you from the room, but Bucky motioned her off. No matter how badly this experience was affecting you, he had promised he would let you stay, even though he was really regretting it. Your entire body was shaking uncontrollably, and a low, continuous wail was tumbling from your mouth. Bucky thought things couldn’t get much worse, but then the doctor pulled out a scalpel.

Bucky turned his head and hid it in your hair as the surgical scar on Flag’s chest was reopened. He had seen enough of this kind of thing back in the makeshift camps when he was a soldier in the 40’s. He had heard the screams, smelt the blood, and watched in horror as good men were hacked up in front of his eyes all in the name of saving their lives. He wanted nothing more than to run from the room, but he wasn’t about to leave you behind.

He suddenly realized that you had stopped shaking in his arms. Instead, you had gone completely rigid. Peaking at your face, he could see it frozen in what could only be described as terror. Eyes wide, jaw clenched, and skin paler than he had ever seen it, not a single muscle in your body so much as twitched as you stared unblinkingly at the bed. A quick glance at what you were looking at left Bucky wishing he hadn’t.

Flag’s chest was currently pried open as a doctor firmly squeezed his exposed heart in an attempt to manually restart it. But still the monitors continued their monotonous steady *BEEP*. Your face looked like it could have been carved out of stone, you were so still and unmoving. The extent of which, suddenly caused Bucky concern.

Muttering in your ear, he said, “Breathe, doll, you have to breathe.” Still, you didn’t flinch, so Bucky tightened his hold on your chest in one quick, jerky movement. “Breathe.”

You involuntarily inhaled, forced by the sudden pressure on your lungs. At the same instance, Flag’s heart monitor jumped to life. You tried to fling yourself at the bed, but Bucky held you back. As the sound stabilized, you crumbled into a mass of tears and sobs in Bucky’s arms. He slowly lowered both of you to the floor where you curled up in his chest, fingers gripping frantically at his jacket.

The doctors ignore the pair of you as they begin wheeling Flag’s bed out of the room. A nurse came over and gently bent down next to Bucky. In a soft, kind voice, she said, “They are taking him into surgery to stitch him back up. It shouldn’t take too long. A doctor will come talk to you once they are done.”

Bucky nodded his thanks, and the nurse gave you a sad smile before exiting. The two of you remained huddled on the floor in a heap, one sobbing uncontrollably while the other was helpless to ease your pain.

Bucky waited outside while the doctor talked to you. He couldn’t make out what was being said, and your stony expression gave nothing away. Finally, the doctor rested a hand on your arm then exited the room. He gave Bucky a sad, tight smile as he passed but didn’t say a word. It didn’t seem like a good sign.

Bucky slowly entered the room. He noticed your forgotten coffee sitting on the table, ice melted and condensation dripping slowly onto the floor. You had collapsed back into the chair, the hood of the oversized jacket Bucky had found for you pulled low over your face, hands shoved deep in the pockets. You were staring numbly at the tiles on the ceiling. Not sure what to expect, Bucky called softly from the doorway, “Hey, doll. What did the doctor say? How is he?”

You were silent for a long moment, not ever acknowledging you had heard Bucky speak. Just as he was turning to leave, to give you some space, he heard you mutter in a flat, monotone voice, “Six minutes….. He was gone for six minutes. They have him stabilized now but they’re not sure what kinds of complications might have happened due to the prolonged lack of oxygen. The doctor said there is a good possibility of some permanent brain dam-dama…” You swallowed hard as your face contorted in pain. You finally looked at Bucky, and he could see the tears threatening to fall. “How is he supposed to be okay after all of this? Even if he pulls through, what kind of life is he gonna have?”

Bucky hurried to your side, resting his hand on your arm. “You don’t know yet what condition he’ll be in. You said the doctor told you it’s just a possibility. He might be fine.”

You shook your head violently. “No, Buck… I mean, how is he supposed to be okay after everything, not just the brain stuff. I…I saw his heart. I saw his literal heart.” Your eyes took on a haunted quality as you stared shellshocked at the memory. “I have seen so many horrific, unspeakable things in my life. Things that haunt my dreams every night. But I have never seen something as terrible a- as terrible as watching them cut him open like a Thanksgiving turkey, and seeing his still, lifeless heart sitting unmoving in his chest. I can’t unsee it. Everywhere I look, every time I close my eyes, all I see is his unbeating heart and I can’t…” You pulled your legs up into your chest, wrapping your arms tightly around them.

Bucky thought about the ring that was still sitting in his pocket. Was now the time to give it to you? Would you be comforted knowing that Flag loved you so much he wanted to marry you, or would the idea that he might never get the chance be too much for you to bear? But he had promised to give it to you….

Bucky reached into his pocket but just as he opened his mouth to speak, he saw a sudden shiver pass through your body. Your face took on a sickly green hue as you bolted from the room, Bucky worriedly followed close on your heels. You made it halfway down the hall before realizing you weren’t going to make it to the bathroom. Instead, you plunged your head into the nearest trash can as you vomited violently. Bucky softly began rubbing your back as convulsed for a second time. Finally, you weakly collapsed back against the wall, chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath. Glancing over at Bucky’s concerned face, you just muttered, “You don’t happen to have any gum, do you?”

Bucky blinked in astonishment. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That! You just got sick. And don’t tell me it was because of what we were talking about. I’ve seen you handle some of the grossest, goriest things imaginable without even blinking. Has this happened before? I’m pretty sure Quinn mentioned you got sick before I came to get you. That’s it, I’m finding someone to check you out.”

“Buck, stop. I’m fine.”

“No, I told you. You should have gotten checked the minute we got here. You had a damn building fall on you. For all we know, you have massive organ failure or are bleeding out internally.” He started to look around for a nurse.

“No, Bucky. I said I am fine. I don’t need to be checked out.”

Bucky ignored your pleas as he continued down the hall looking for help. “It’ll just take a few minutes. We should have done this hours ago. We need to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m pregnant.”

Bucky instantly froze as his blood ran cold. Slowly, he turned to face you. “You’re what?”

“I’m pregnant. Almost three months.” You wrapped your arms around your middle, avoiding his eyes as you bit back tears.

Bucky didn’t know what to say. He opened and shut his mouth a few times before the words just tumbled out, “Is it Flag’s?”

“No, it’s yours….What do you think, you ass? Of course, it’s Rick’s!” You furiously push past him as you head back towards Flag’s room. “Is that seriously the kind of girl you think I am? Fuck you.”

Bucky hurried after you. “I’m sorry. I-I just hadn’t realized you were trying for a kid.”

“We weren’t.” You sighed as you reached Flag’s door. While you were gone, they had wheeled him back in and you gazed longingly through the glass, your finger tracing his sleeping form. “But you know how it is. The adrenaline after a mission, the rush of still being alive. Mistakes happen. Precautions aren’t always taken.”

Bucky did know. Your legs wrapping tightly around his bare waist as your fingers curl into his hair. Lips smashing together, bodies melding into one, his metal hand slipping lower- Bucky quickly pushed down the memory. It wasn’t his place to think about you like that anymore. Especially now….

“Does he know?”

You shook your head softly. “No, I just found out the other day. After everything that happened at the bar the other night, I only ended up taking a few sips of that beer. Yet, the next morning, I was as sick as that time Thor and Steve challenged us to a drinking contest. So, I had someone at the prison check me out. I just never thought…. I was planning on telling him as soon as we got back.”

“Why did you still go? Once you knew.”

“I didn’t have a choice.” When you turned to look at him, Bucky saw a spark of actual fear in your eyes. “You don’t know Amanda Waller. She’s the most ruthless, cruel, stone-cold bitch I’ve ever met. And she had just enough leverage on me and Rick to make us do what we were told. Though I don’t think even she would have the balls to actually ever come after me, she knows who I used to team up with, who my friends are. But Rick… His ex-girlfriend was the team’s first mission. She was possessed by the spirit of… you know what, it doesn’t matter. Waller used her to get Rick to do whatever she wanted, then kept records of everything that made it seem like he was dirty. So, if either of us tried to go against her, she would destroy Rick.

“When I told her I was pregnant and I had to bow out of the mission, she refused to let me. Said everything was already a go with me on the team and she didn’t have time to change the plan. Well, I told her I had had enough of her bullshit, and I didn’t give a fuck about what she tried to do to me, but I wasn’t going.” Your shoulders sagged as you bowed your head. “But then she told me the whole plan. How there were two teams going to Corto Maltese, one as a distraction and one as the real deal. And the distraction team had left minutes ago, led by one Colonel Rick Flag. She said the only chance he had of making it out of there alive was for me to lead the second team. What else was I supposed to do? Plus, she said the second team’s part of the mission was supposed to be pretty safe. I thought everything would be okay.”

Bucky could understand your reasons for going, but it still didn’t explain your behavior afterward. “Okay, I get why you went, and it does seem like it was really your only option. But why haven’t you let anyone here check you out? You need to make sure everything’s okay, and not just with you.”

“….Because I’m scared.” The answer came out barely a whisper. Tears filled your eyes as your lip quivered and you wrapped your arms around your stomach. “What if something happened? What if…what if I….lost it? If something happens to Rick, this baby is all I’ll have left of him. I can’t lose it. And after what happened in Corto Maltese…”

“But that’s exactly why you need to be examined. And you need to be resting. And getting fluids and food. “

“I know, okay!” Your dam finally broke as your emotions burst forward, tears streaming down your face as you roared at Bucky. “I know what I should have been doing! But I couldn’t leave Rick. And when I realized he wasn’t going to be improving anytime soon, I told myself to get help then. But I had waited so long, I was afraid of what might have happened because I put it off. Which made me put it off longer, which made me more guilty and worried, and on and on and then Rick DIED for SIX whole minutes, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to make it an-and I… I just….I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!” You dropped to a crouched position on the floor, face buried in your hands as you sobbed.

Bucky wasn’t sure what to do either. Part of him wanted to scoop you up in his arms and tell you everything was going to be alright. But another part of him knew that there was a chance that everything wasn’t going to be alright, and he didn’t want to give you false hope. And a third part of him was gutted, still trying to process the news that you were carrying another man’s child. Part of him had always hoped you would find your way back to him. But after seeing your devotion to Flag, your earlier revelation about why you had left, and now the kid, that hope had all but disappeared. And it hurt more than he wanted to admit. But right now, you needed him. So, Bucky forced all the worries and all the pain aside and approached your crumpled form.

As he tried to take you into his arms, you pushed him away. He remembered this side of you. The one that needed to show you were strong enough to deal with whatever was thrown at you. The one that would rather crash and burn than accept help. In the past when you got like this, he had just left you alone until you wanted to talk. However, at the moment, he knew that being alone was the last thing you needed. So instead, he wrapped his arms around you tightly, pinning your limbs to your side so you couldn’t escape his embrace. You struggled against him for a few moments before your body and spirit gave out. As you limply collapsed against him, Bucky once again found you sobbing in his arms.

After a while, you calmed down enough that Bucky felt comfortable letting you up. He got to his feet then gently helped you off the ground. You looked embarrassedly at the floor as you mumbled, “Thanks, Buck…. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just didn’t know…”

“How I would take it?” You nodded. “Yeah…. I definitely wasn’t expecting that news. Especially not after as much as you said you didn’t want kids when we were together. But now it seems like you’re all in.”

You gave a halfhearted shrug. “I told you, it’s not like I planned this. And besides, Rick…” You trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

Bucky turned his back to you as he whispered, “Oh, so, it was just me you didn’t want to have kids with.”

“Bucky, no! It’s not like that at all!” You walked around until you were once again in front of him, taking his hands in yours. “Rick told me he would like to have kids one day, but I told him the same thing I told you. I wasn’t sure if that was the life I wanted. I loved the lives I had with each of you. Nothing holding us back, free to come and go as we pleased, nothing to worry about but the two of us. And I loved being an Avenger, just like I loved being part of Task Force X, minus Waller. And kids just didn’t fit in either of those lives.”

“So, what changed?”

“At first, nothing. When I found out I was pregnant, I was really close to just having the doctor take care of things right then and there. But then… I had a flash of Rick holding our baby in his arms for the first time, and I have never wanted something so much in my life. And now, I’ve only known about it for less than a week, and if anything happened to it…” Your voice began to shake once again, and you rubbed furiously at your damp eyes. “Damn these stupid hormones! Like I don’t have enough to deal with right now!”

Bucky pulled out a napkin he had crammed in his pocket when he had gone to get coffee and handed it to you. You took the crumpled ball gratefully and blew your nose with a loud, snotty blast. Tucking the nasty, wet lump into your pocket, you smiled softly at Bucky. “Even after all the terrible things I have said to you over the past few days, all the harsh truths I’ve shared, you’re still looking out for me.”

“Always.”

You cupped his face between your hands, forcing him to look you straight in the eye. “Buck, I need you to know, it wasn’t you. I guess I just never seriously thought about kids. With anyone. But I did think about us when I was flying to Corto Maltese. About what we could have had if I had let us. And I think we could have been happy…. I’m sorry I took that from you.”

Bucky shook his head sadly. “No, doll. You didn’t take anything from me. I threw it away. I wasn’t the man you needed me to be. I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier and you’re right. I was so grateful for everything you had done for me, I would do anything to make sure you got anything you wanted. And in the end, I did tie my identity to yours. I think part of me was scared to try to figure out who I was after everything that happened, and it was just easier to latch onto you instead of facing that. But all that ended when you left. I know who I am again. And I am done letting you make all the decisions.” He grabbed your hands from where they still rested on his face, and he began pulling you down the hall.

You stumbled to keep up as you stared, brow furrowed and mouth slightly agape. “Uh, Sarge? What are you doing?”

“I’m taking you to be examined.”

“What? No! We just went over this!” You tried to pull away but between his Vibranium arm and his super soldier strength, you were no match for him.

Bucky just smirked at your futile attempts to escape as he continued dragging you towards the nurse’s station. “We did just go over this. And I said how important it was to get checked out. Plus, I told you, I’m not blindly following what you want anymore. I make my own decisions now.”

You glared at him, but under the halfhearted anger, Bucky could see the hints of a proud smile pulling at the corners of your mouth.

The nurse refused to let Bucky in the room for your examination. He begged, pleaded, demanded, even tried pulling rank, but the answer was still no. On one hand, he understood. The nurse had said it was because they needed to ask you some very sensitive questions and they didn’t want the answers to be influenced by someone else being in the room. However, he still couldn’t get the image of your terrified face as the door closed between you out of his mind. He had sworn to Flag that he would keep you safe, would protect you. But how was he supposed to protect you from this? If something had gone wrong, what was he supposed to do?

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you emerged from the room. Immediately, you were in Bucky’s arms, tears dampening his shirt. Bucky’s heart plummeted until you whispered, “It’s alright, they said everything was alright with both me and the baby.”

Bucky pulled back to look at you. “Yeah?”

“Yeah!” Tears still streamed down your cheeks, but he could now see the radiant smile that split your face in two.

He pulled you back into his embrace as he stroked your back. “I’m so glad, doll. I really am.”

“They want to put me on an IV for fluids but they’re going to set it up in Rick’s room so I can still stay with him. And I need to get a lot of rest, but we both kind of already knew that.” Your voice dropped to a reverent whisper, “Buck…. I got to hear the heartbeat. It was so strong and-and amazing even this early.”

Bucky felt a twinge in his own heart but ignored it. “Of course this kid’s going to have a strong heart. Look at who its parents are.”

You clutched him even tighter. “Thank you, Sarge. Thank you for everything.”

Bucky was so grateful you couldn’t see his face at that moment. He squeezed his eyes shut as he swallowed hard, trying to keep his breathing even. Just running into you the other day had thrown him for a loop. But these last two days…. Every word, every touch, every embrace. Every time, it made him feel like he was in heaven… just to drag him back to hell as he remembered these moments weren’t really about the two of you. That there was someone else you wanted in his place. And it was all too much. But it didn’t matter. He had made a promise, both to you and to Flag, and Bucky wasn’t going to let either of you down.

So, he stood in the middle of the hall, arms wrapped around the woman he loved, as you basked in the love of another.

An hour later, the two of you were back in Flag’s room. A nurse had set up your IV and you were seemingly nodding off in your chair next to his bed. Bucky was sitting next to you, texting Steve and Sam an update on everything going on here. He didn’t mention your pregnancy, but just said that you had finally been checked out and everything was fine. Once again, they asked how Bucky was handling things, but he ignored the question.

Suddenly, your sleepy voice broke the silence, “What if he doesn’t remember me?”

Bucky tucked his phone away as he leaned over closer to you in his chair. “Why do you say that?”

“They said there may be some brain damage. That it could include stuff like loss of motor function, cognitive issues, and memory loss. We’ve only known each other for less than two years. What if he forgot about me?”

“Doll, you’re not the type of person who can be forgotten.” Especially how it feels to love and be loved by you. Believe me, I’ve tried.

“I’m serious! What if-what if he can’t remember? What would that mean for our future? Our future.” You put a hand softly on your stomach. “How would I be able to tell him we’re having a baby if he doesn’t even remember who I am?”

Bucky sighed. “I wish I had the answer, but I don’t think there is one. But hey, speaking from experience, just because a memory is lost, doesn’t mean it can’t sometimes be found again. HYDRA wiped out who I was, who I knew, everything, but I was able to get it all back. It took time and a lot of work, but it is possible.”

“Sarge, it’s a little different when someone hides your memories versus your brain just deciding to delete them…. But I get what you’re saying.”

“And you don’t know that will happen. The doctors also said there was a chance there won’t be any lasting effects from the lack of oxygen. He may be perfectly fine. You really need to try and not worry about it until we know for sure.”

“I know, but it’s so hard not to think about all the worst cases scenarios.”

“Yeah, well, you’re worrying for two now, and that’s not good. So, for the kid’s sake, try to not dwell on it, okay?”

You sighed heavily. “God damn it. I hate it when you’re right.”

Bucky smiled as he poked your shoulder, leaning even closer so your faces were only a few inches apart. “Ah, come on. It’s bound to happen every once and a while.”

You opened your mouth to return the witty remark, but you both froze as Flag’s vitals picked up speed, both his heart and brain monitors increasing. You ripped the IV out of your arm as you ran to look at the machines. The confusion on your face made it clear you had no idea what the read outs meant, and you rushed to the door. Bucky stood and hurried to your side as you called down the hall for a nurse. But a small groan from the bed caused you both to turn around tentatively.

Ever so slowly, Flag’s eyes flickered open. Cloudy with sleep and pain, they roamed the room, trying to get their bearings. Finally, they settled on you. Flag blinked sluggishly a few times but didn’t show any signs of recognition.

Hesitantly, you took a tiny step towards the bed, and in a small, trembling voice whispered, “Rick?”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Flag responded in a croaky grunt, “Darlin’? I-I didn’t recognize you for a second.” It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room before…“Were you always this beautiful?”

Sobbing, you threw yourself onto your boyfriend. Flag groaned as you landed on his chest, but he held you there as you tried to pull away. “I’m so sorry,” you wailed, “I’m just-I just-Oh Rick, I thought I lost you!” Burying your face in his neck, you continued to sob uncontrollably. Bucky was actually quite amazed you were still able to produce any more tears after the sheer volume you had cried the past few days, but then again, you were always an overachiever.

Flag muttered soft reassurances to you as he stroked your hair softly, his hands shaking a little as he tried to regain control of his functions. He squeezed his eyes shut as he pressed a firm kiss to the top of your head. This moment felt so intimate and private that Bucky felt that he shouldn’t be watching it. Slowly, he began to leave the room. But just as he started shutting the door, Flag looked over and the two men made eye contact. Neither one said a word, but they both understood what the other was feeling. Flag gave a small nod, his eyes shining with joy and gratitude. And Bucky nodded back, thrilled that it seemed you were getting everything you were hoping for, and hating himself for that small feeling of disappointment deep in his chest.

He closed the door to give the loving couple some privacy and he walked down the hall. Alone once again.

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

Thank you all for the support and reception to this story! I am so grateful for every like, reblog, and comment!

I have one final part in the works that should be out soon! If anyone wants to be added to the tag list for this or any of my fics, please let me know!

[watchingarrowsfly]

So I haven’t updated in a while...

The last couple episodes I skipped writing reactions too, but I hope to get back at it soon.

Here are just a few quick thoughts from the last few episodes

Arrow s3e2-3

So I know Sara’s doesn’t stay dead, I got spoiled😩, but it really feels like she’s dead, and I don’t see how they’re going to fix that.

Laurel needs to tell lance, this is going to be so hard on him when he finds out!

Also... SHE WHEN AFTER SOME GIRLS BOYFRIEND WITH A FUCKING BAT!!! WTF LAUREL!!!

Also I’m so glad she’s learning to fight!!

Although I wish Oliver would have said yes to teaching her.

Felicity is working for the creepy stalker dude, but I’m finding it hard to hate him. He’s really seems nice, except for the stalker part....

he better be a good guy, and not get in the way of felicity and Oliver.😠

so he found the plans from ARGUS... but the missile launcher from the island is there, so we’re the people on the island ARGUS?

So Thea’s awesome now!!!(she always was)

Totally can see why she would stay, but glad she’s coming back with Oliver.

Also Oliver’s like “imma tell her everything”

Then only tells her one thing, and it’s not that he’s the arrow🤦🏻‍♂️

Malcom is surprisingly calm about this.

So I thought it was him that killed Sara, they were both in the league, but he was in corto Maltese, sooo maybe not? Idk

So the coffee getting spilled on Thea at the airport scene, was amazing.

Oliver’s like. WTF? She didn’t even flinch, somethings up.

So I mentioned earlier that I read something(by accident) that Thea becomes the “red arrow”? Or something... so I thought she was the one in the red suit. But that turned out to be Roy...

DOES ROY DIE AND THEA TAKE UP THE MANTLE!!!??

my theories are to dark, this better not happen😡

Also loved the corto Maltese episode!!!

Flash s1e3-4

Not much to say about this.

Loved that felicity was there for an episode.

Iris tries to get them togeather😂

Love that she’s running a blog in “barry”😍

Harrison wells get scary angry at Cisco but that is understandable.

Getting a bit on the overprotective side though.

So Barry and felicity on the train alone....

They both realize that they are perfect for one another, and yet they both want someone else... then they kiss.

If someone would have told me they kissed I would have though I would be mad at the scene, but this almost felt like a friendly well-never-be-together kiss.... if there is such a thing.

Constantine s1e1

So this Constantine is the inspiration for Castiel in spn, so I was expecting a supernatural like show... BOY WAS I WRONG.

I mean yes, but THESE DEMONS ARE FREEKING SCARY

(I’m not really good with scary stuff so... yeah)

So what is con(imma call him John). What is johns friend? He just dies and comes back. Is he an angel?

John dresses like Cas and acts like dean... I luv it!😍

So I’m getting mortal instrument vibes from Liv. (Even though I’ve only seen half of the movie, and never read or seen the tv show)

Isn’t that what it’s about though? Seeing things that no one else can?

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

The Colonel and the Sergeant (Part 2)

Fandom: DC, Marvel, The Suicide Squad, Avengers, Rick Flag, Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 11,959

TW: Whump, Language, Semi-Graphic Medical Procedure, Near Death Experience, Mentions of Pregnancy, Vomiting, Angst, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Blood

Series Masterlist

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Alternate Ending

Bucky sighed in annoyance as his phone began to ring. He had just gotten out of the shower and was looking forward to a quiet afternoon for once. But no one ever called him unless they needed something. Glancing at the caller ID, he hesitated at the UNKNOWN CALLER displayed on the screen, debating whether or not to just let it go to voicemail. Oh, what the hell.

He answered the phone with a half-hearted, “Hello?”

“Bucky?…. I’m so sorry, bu-but I didn’t know who else to call…”

Bucky snapped to attention immediately at the sound of your quivering, tear-filled voice. “Y/N? What happened? What’s wrong?”

“The mission… everything… And Rick-” A massive sob cut you off. Bucky waited with bated breath for you to continue. Finally, you choked out, “Rick’s hurt real bad. I-I don’t know if….Oh God! Bucky, I need help.”

“Whatever you need. Just tell me where you are, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“We’re on Corto Maltese.”

That was all Bucky needed to hear. He had been watching the news coverage just before getting into the shower. He knew what had happened down there, and he could only imagine the kind of trouble you were currently in.

“Okay, doll. I’ll get a Quinjet together as quickly as I can. How many of you are there?”

“Seven- no wait, six. I forgot Abner…. there are six of us left. But uh, one of us is not exactly human sized.”

“How big are we talking?”

“Smaller than Hulk, but bigger than any normal person we know.”

“Got it. And besides Flag, is anyone else hurt?” Bucky quickly threw his jacket on as he began looking around for his boots.

“Cuts and bruises but nothing too serious. But Rick…he needs a lot of help.”

“I’ll bring what I can, but the SHIELD base down here isn’t really equipped for medical operations. And even once I take off, it’s going to take me a while to get there. Are you going to be okay until then?”

Bucky could only hear some soft sniffling on the other side of the phone. Just as he was about to ask again, you said, “We’ll have to be.”

“I’m on my way, doll. It’s going to be okay.”

“Bucky….please hurry.” And the line went dead.

As Bucky descended the ramp of the Quinjet an hour and a half later, he could see you sitting on the ground with a man’s head (presumably Flag’s) resting in your lap, a blanket wrapped around your shoulders despite the sweltering South American climate. When your eyes landed on Bucky, you bent down and kissed the man’s forehead, then slid over as a pale woman in a disheveled red dress took your place. Blanket falling to the ground, you took off running as quickly as you could even though Bucky noticed your obvious limp. He rushed to meet you, stumbling back as you threw yourself into his arms.

You buried your face in his chest as you whispered, “Thank you, Sarge.”

Bucky gave you a tight squeeze then pulled back to examine you. He gently brushed his fingers over a large gash on your forehead. “Are you okay? This doesn’t look good.”

But you just shook your head. “I’ll be fine, but we need to get Rick help. Now.”

You grabbed his hand and led him to where everyone else was gathered around the body on the ground. Besides the woman in the red dress, there was also a man holding a massive gun, a younger girl with a rat sitting on her shoulder, and what Bucky could only describe as a half-man, half-shark hybrid. But after meeting creatures like Rocket and Groot, nothing really phased him anymore.

Bucky got his first good look at the colonel as he approached. Gone was the strong, confident, handsome man he had met less than a week ago. Instead, the soldier was now a shade of his former self.

His face was pale and ashy while his eyes danced wildly behind half-closed lids. You had tried to wrap your jacket around the piece of porcelain that was jutting from the center of his chest in an attempt to slow the bleeding, but it didn’t seem to be doing much good. His bright yellow shirt was stained red and brown from the massive amounts of blood that had seeped into it over the past few hours. But his breathing troubled Bucky more than anything. It was shallow and labored, with long pauses between each breath, leaving Bucky worried that each one might be his last.

But you scrambled carefully to his side, ignoring all of that. Bending over so your forehead rested on his, you whispered, “Rick, baby, Bucky’s here with help. We’re going to get you out of here. Please, just hold on a little longer. You’re doing so great this far, but I need you to keep hanging on. Okay?”

Bucky saw Flag’s eyes flutter open just slightly more than they had been as they struggled to focus on you. He couldn’t tell if any words actually left the man’s mouth, but Bucky could clearly read his lips as they formed, I love you. Then his eyes rolled back into his head as he slipped back into his half-conscious state. A single tear rolled down your cheek as you whispered, “I love you too, Rick.”

You lightly placed a small kiss on his cheek before the younger girl gently took your shoulders and moved you out of the way so Bucky could approach. He wasn’t sure if the man could hear him or not, but Bucky said, “Hey, Colonel. We’re gonna get you fixed up, but this next part’s really gonna suck. And I’m sorry for that.”

He motioned over the medical team he had brought with him, and they wheeled over a stretcher. Getting a firm grasp on the injured man’s broad shoulders, Bucky lifted him onto the stretcher as two members of the medical team handled his legs. A low, pained moan escaped Flag’s lips at the harsh movement, and Bucky could hear you sob as you watched. As soon as he was secured to the stretcher, the team rushed Flag up the ramp and into the Quinjet. You quickly rushed after him, giving Bucky a small nod of appreciation as you passed.

Bucky turned to follow you when the pale woman popped up directly in front of him. She was giving him a slightly crazed smile that put Bucky on edge but when she spoke, it was with an upbeat, singsongy tone, “So, you’re the sergeant, huh? God, she sure knows how to pick ‘em.”

Bucky didn’t really know how to respond. “Thanks, I guess….” He started to walk away but the woman shot out a hand and stopped him with a vice-like grip on his arm, her expression now more of a death stare. He gawked at her, confused about the sudden shift in attitude.

“Listen, Sarge. She might seem okay at the moment, but she’s far from it. She’s been slipping in and out of shock since we found them. Also, she blew chunks earlier and I’ve never seen her get sick…ever. I may no longer be a practicing MD but I can see that she’s right on the edge of a complete breakdown. She didn’t tell us everything that happened and all we know for sure is the guy who did this got some pretty good licks at her before Flag took that blow that was meant for her. I’ve never seen her like this and I’m kinda worried. So, keep an eye on her. We need her to come out of this in one piece. Flag needs her to come out of this in one piece.” Bucky nodded and the woman let go of his arm, her crazed smile once more plastered on her face. She playfully twitched her nose as she sauntered off. “Just thought ya should know, hot stuff.”

He stared after her, dumbfounded as she walked up the ramp into the Quinjet, but a voice from behind him snapped him back to attention.

“Don’t mind Quinn. She’s a bit of an acquired taste.” Bucky turned to see the man from your team walking towards him. He stuck out his hand. “Robert DuBois. We appreciate the pick-up. Flag’s an old friend and I may have only known his girl for a few days, but she’s one of the first people I’ve met in a while who actually gives a fuck about what happens to us, so ….thank you for the help.”

“Bucky Barnes. And no thanks necessary. I’d do anything for her. And I actually got to meet Flag last week, he seems like a good guy.”

“One of the best. Though… I’m hoping he pulls through more for her sake than for his.”

“Quinn said she’s not handling things well?”

DuBois sighed as he shook his head. “She’s blaming herself. Best we can piece together is she and Flag found some proof of some messed up shit the government was doing. Our government. They decided to expose it and one of the team members, Peacemaker, tried to stop them. Then the building started to collapse, and they were separated. She ended up on the side with Peacemaker. They fought and just as he was about to kill her, Flag found ‘em and pushed her out of the way. She somehow managed to drag him far enough out of the building that they survived when it collapsed.”

“And Peacemaker?”

“No longer a problem.” DuBois stared at Bucky as if challenging him to ask more details, but the soldier knew better. So, the man continued, “We traded the information for our freedom, but she doesn’t trust our boss to keep her side of the bargain. We told her we would find our own way back home, but she insisted on helping us get back to the States. And since you were coming down to get Flag, we figured we could kill two birds with one stone.”

“Wait, what do you mean you traded the information for your freedom? Freedom from who?”

DuBois chuckled. “She didn’t tell ya? We’re all criminals. You’re transporting what’s left of the fuckin’ Suicide Squad.”

Bucky looked around at your team members, realization suddenly dawning on him as to why everyone looked so familiar. He turned back to the man, the criminal in front of him. “So, Robert DuBois…. You’re Bloodsport.”

The man grinned. “I’m surprised you’ve heard of me.”

Bucky faced the ramp where the rest of the team had gone. “And Quinn…. That was Harley Quinn?! No, actually, that makes a lot of sense.”

DuBois chuckled again. “Yeah, I told ya, she’s something else. The little one’s Ratcatcher 2, or Cleo, and the big shark bloke’s Nanaue.” He hesitated for a moment. “I hope this is still okay with you. We assumed she told you who she worked with.”

“Except for when I ran into her and Flag the other night, I haven’t talked to her in almost three years. And all she said was they worked with a task force based at Belle Reve. I guess I should have put two and two together, but I didn’t give it much thought.” Bucky shrugged. “But if she trusts you, that’s good enough for me.”

DuBois raised an eyebrow. “You’re taking this pretty well for one of the good guys.”

Bucky chuckled humorlessly. “Well, I wasn’t always one of the good guys. Besides, I’ve worked with my share of fugitives and criminals in the past. Hell, I’ve been both.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of you too. The Winter Soldier. They say you used to be one badass motherfucker once upon a time.”

Bucky clenched his jaw. “I was. I was a heartless, robotic killing machine. But not anymore.”

“And she helped you do that?”

Bucky gazed longingly at the Quinjet you now resided in. “That and so much more. I owe her everything.”

DuBois slapped him on the back. “Well, I guess this gets you one step closer to being square.”

“I guess so…..” He noticed one of the medics waving at them. “Looks like they are ready to take off. We better go.”

As they walked over to the ship, Bucky couldn’t help but think that DuBois was wrong. This pick up was nothing compared to everything you had done for him in the past. If he did want to try and even out their score, he still had a lot of work ahead of him.

Forty minutes later, the Quinjet landed in Miami. You hadn’t wanted to chance going back to Louisiana just yet and Miami was the closest SHIELD based medical facility anyway, so it was a win-win situation. Flag had been given an IV, a blood infusion, and an oxygen mask but nothing could be done about the fragment of porcelain protruding from his chest until he was in an actual OR. And now, as the medical crew hurried to ready him for transfer, Bucky glanced over to where you were still sitting.

Ever since boarding the Quinjet, you hadn’t moved from the seat next to Flag’s stretcher, Harley on one side of you and Cleo on the other. Every so often, you would break out in uncontrollable shakes, your whole body shivering as if you were in the Arctic without a coat. Whenever this happened, your teammates would wrap their arms tightly around you to try to warm you up as well as to still the tremors. It would usually help after a few minutes, but soon the whole process would start again. Harley shot Bucky a worried look after a particularly bad episode, but he was helpless to assist in any way. All he could do was stand and watch.

And it was there, leaning against the far wall, that Bucky got his first good look at you. Dust and blood coated every inch of you, from your hair all the way down to your boots. Besides the gash on your head (which the medics had hastily slapped some gauze over), there was a large tear in one of your pant legs and the dark blood stain around it explained your limp (this had also been wrapped in gauze). And once, as you exposed your neck to rest your head on Harley’s shoulder, Bucky could make out distinct fingerprint shaped bruises encircling your throat. He was glad DuBois had taken care of Peacemaker because if he hadn’t, Bucky would have gone back and done it himself.

Harley helped you to your feet as everyone prepared to leave the ship. You had already been told that Flag would be rushed to be prepped for surgery immediately and you would have to wait in the lobby or in his hospital room for him to return. As they wheeled him into the hospital, Bucky could see the pain and fear carved into your face as you watched him get farther and farther from you. But, ever the professional, as soon as he was out of sight, you snapped back to commander mode. After providing the squad strict instructions to avoid detection, you gave each member a tight squeeze of gratitude as you wished them luck.

As they turned to leave, you grabbed Bloodsport’s arm, holding him back. Once everyone else was out of earshot, you said. “DuBois. I need you to watch after them. Waller might have said she was letting everyone go, but she doesn’t lose that easily. Get them somewhere safe and stay there. If anything happens, drop everything and run. I’ll find a way to get in contact when I can, but you need to lay low for now. I need….I can’t deal with this-” you motioned to the door they had just wheeled Flag through- “if I’m terrified what’s happening with the team. So please, promise me you’ll keep them safe. At least until I can come back. I know you never wanted to be a part of this, but I’m asking you as a friend, as Rick’s friend, can you do this for us?” Your lip quivered slightly as you finished your plea.

“Of course. We’ll be fine. You just focus on what’s going on here.” Then the older man pulled you into a tight hug. “Listen, he’s gonna pull through. He’s too stubborn, too determined, and he’s got too much to live for. He’s not gonna let something like a shitty piece of toilet take him down. After all, he’s Rick Fuckin’ Flag.” A hysterical chuckle burst from your lips as you nodded furiously into his chest. DuBois pulled back and stared directly into your eyes. “He’s Rick Fuckin’ Flag. Don’t forget it.”

You nodded again. “Rick Fuckin’ Flag…. Thank you, DuBois.”

He nodded back, then catching Bucky’s eye, he performed a two-finger salute before turning and following the rest of the team out of sight.

As you waited to hear if Flag was in surgery yet, Bucky managed to convince you to try and clean up a little in the bathroom. Between the dirt and the blood, you were leaving a trail everywhere you walked. Reluctantly, you had relented.

It was then, as he was sitting in a chair outside the bathroom waiting for you, that the nurse found him. “He wants to talk to you.”

“Okay, let me go grab her.” Bucky started to stand up.

“No, not her. You.”

Bucky froze in his half-risen position. “Me? Are you sure?”

“Yes, he was very clear about it. He said the man who brought him in with the metal arm. I assume that description only applies to you.”

Bucky sighed as he stood up the rest of the way. “I guess so.” He glanced towards the bathroom. “Can you stay here and let her know where I went if she comes out?”

“For a few minutes, but then I need to get back to work.”

“Thank you. I don’t think this will take very long.”

As he entered the OR prep room, he noticed Flag looked just as bad as he had on the plane, the only difference was now his eyes were open. When he noticed Bucky in the doorway, he weakly, clumsily managed to tug down the oxygen mask obscuring his mouth, careful to avoid the shard still stuck in his chest. After a few labored breaths, he rasped out, “Sergeant.”

Bucky nodded at the man. “Colonel.”

“Thank you. I know why you did… did it. And it wasn’t… for me. But still, thank you.” Flag’s low, gravely voice was slightly slurred as he struggled to complete his sentences, his southern accent sounding more pronounced than before. “I already owe you…my life. But I need… somethin' else…”

He paused to take a few deep breaths from the oxygen mask before continuing. “I need you to… look after her… She’s gonna need…. you….”

Bucky shifted uncomfortably. “Come on, man. The doctors said they have a high probability of success with the surgery. You should be back on your feet in no time, then she’ll have you to look after her.”

Flag shook his head slightly. “We both know….it’s not that easy. And I….know her. She’s blamin' hers-self right now….I can’t be-be there to set her straight….. You..you have to help her…through this………Please, Barnes.” It was the first time since they had met that he had addressed Bucky as anything but Sergeant. Bucky could see past the pain in Flag’s eyes to the desperation and pleading which lay underneath.

So, he nodded. “Yes, sir. I will protect her with my life.”

Flag sank back into the bed, satisfied with the answer. But just as Bucky thought he should probably leave, he spoke up again, weaker than before. “And one more thing…….There’s a ring….in a suitcase in my closet at home….Can you…. make sure she….If I don’t….get the chance….still want her to know…. Might be too late…. but she should…know…” His eyes rolled back in his head as he struggled to catch his breath. Bucky quickly bent down to readjust the oxygen mask over his mouth and Flag seemed to relax slightly, though his eyes remained closed.

Unsure if the man could still hear him or not, Bucky firmly grasped his shoulder. “I swear, Colonel. Whatever happens, I will always be there for her, I will always keep her safe. And if it comes down to it…I’ll make sure she gets that ring.” For just a brief second, Bucky swore he saw a smile tug at the corner of Flag’s lips under the mask.

A nurse came in and told Bucky they were ready to start the surgery. Casting one last look at the fallen soldier in the bed, Bucky left the room. As he headed back to find you, he pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial. “Sam? Have you left yet or are you still in Louisiana?..... Good. I need you to pick up something for me…..”

Bucky was once again sitting in one of the chairs when you exited the bathroom. He decided not to mention he saw Flag because he was afraid it would upset you to know you missed the chance to speak to him. Besides, he wasn’t quite sure what he would tell you about what they had discussed.

You looked a lot better now that you had been able to clean up a little. The dirt and blood was gone from your face and arms and you just looked overall more refreshed. You were chewing on a piece of gum, probably because they hadn’t found you a toothbrush yet. You were still wearing just your filthy tank top and bloody cargo pants, seeing as your jacket was currently somewhere drenched in Flag’s blood, and Bucky made a mental note to try and find you something a little warmer.

You plopped down in the chair directly next to Bucky, your arms bumping into each other. He glanced over and noticed something that had previously been covered in grim.

“That tattoo’s new.” He nodded to the messily scrawled “SKWAD” on your right bicep.

You smiled softly as you gazed at it. “Yeah, Harley started the tradition. Anyone who makes it through their first Task Force mission alive gets one. And everyone takes turns tattooing the others.”

“Who did yours?”

“Rick. It was just luck that it happened to be his turn, though his tattooing skills leave much to be desired. It hurt like a mother.” You bit your lip, lost in thought. “His tattoo was on his left arm, so I chose to have mine on my right. That way, when we stood next to each other, they’re side by side. Even after only one mission, I knew that’s where I always wanted to be.”

You were quiet for a moment before letting out a long, forlorn sigh as you whispered, “He’s gonna hate me.”

“What?”

“Rick. When he wakes up and finds out what I did, he’s gonna hate me.”

Bucky stared at you in confusion. “Doll, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m pretty sure no matter what you did, Flag could never hate you.”

“We risked our lives to get that drive. He’s only in here because we wanted to expose it to the world. And the fact I traded it to save him…. He’s gonna hate me for that.”

Bucky took your hand. “I know I only really met Flag that one time, but it was obvious he is deeply in love with you. He’ll understand why you did what you did. And it wasn’t just for him. It was for your whole team. That’s got to count for something, right?”

You shook your head. “You don’t get it. Rick is…. complicated. He’s a good man, but he doesn’t live in the black and white world people like Steve Rogers lives in. He lives in the grays and shadows. He’ll get his hands dirty if he has to. He doesn’t like it, but he understands that sometimes that is what’s needed.

“But, all those things he’s done, he’s done them because he was told it was for his country. And that is something he takes so seriously. His dad, his grandfather, hell, his great-grandfather, were all soldiers. It’s all he’s ever wanted to be. Because he believed in what he was doing. But what we found out…” You hesitated. “It’s bad, Buck. I mean, it is horrifyingly bad. And I watched something break in Rick as he saw what his country, the thing he put all his faith and loyalty into for all these years, saw what it did. What it hid from everyone. All the morally gray things he has done, all the people he has hurt or killed for that idealized greater good, the weight of that hit him all at once. I could see it on his face. Hear it in his voice. I’ve never heard him like that…..”

Bucky shifted uncomfortably in his chair. You both knew the reality of what the government was capable of. You had both seen the corruption and greed firsthand. So, if whatever you had seen bothered you this much, it must be truly horrendous. But he also knew you had been sworn to secrecy in exchange for your freedom, so he didn’t bother asking about it. Instead, he simply said, “Flag may have to come to terms with a lot of things. But he will understand what you did and why you did it. Even if he is a little mad at first, he’ll get over it.”

“I ‘ope so”, you mumbled, and Bucky noticed you were barely hanging on to consciousness.

“Hey, when was the last time you got any sleep?���

“I don’t know….Got a few hours in the jungle a few ‘ights ‘go.” Your head began to droop into your chest before you snapped it back up. “Sorry. I-I guess I am a little tired.”

“Well, get some sleep. We’ve got time.”

“What if some’ing ‘appens?” Your head began to droop again.

Bucky eased you over until you were leaning up against him. “I promise, if anything happens, I’ll wake you up immediately.”

“Swear?” Your eyes were already closed, and your breathing was slowing down. Even after all of the horrors from the last few days, you actually looked peaceful. Just like when you used to fall asleep with him on the couch in your shared apartment.

Bucky smiled down at the beautiful sight he thought he would never see again. “Swear.”

While you were asleep, Steve and Sam arrived to check on how you were holding up. Bucky had called them as soon as the Quinjet had originally taken off from Louisiana and filled them in on the situation. Both of them were concerned about how well Bucky could handle being this close to you again and finding you asleep on his shoulder did little to lessen their fears. He swore to them he was okay, but he could tell they didn’t really believe him. Not wanting to wake you, they had promised to come back later and insisted Bucky call if he needed anything. Just before they left, Sam slipped Bucky the ring box he had picked up from your apartment. Bucky jammed it in his jacket pocket without looking at it, but he could feel the weight of it dragging at him even as he just sat there. Just before you had left him, Bucky had gone to a few places to look at rings. In fact, he had narrowed it down to two, but he had never gotten the chance to make a final decision. It felt like a lifetime ago, and yet….

Bucky glanced down at you asleep on his shoulder. He wrapped his Vibranium arm around your waist, pulling you closer, onto his chest. A small smile spread across your lips as you nuzzled against his neck. For the first time since he had picked you up in Corto Maltese, he saw your muscles slowly untense as you relaxed into him. Bucky softly kissed the top of your head, thinking how nice it felt to be holding you in his arms again. It was just like old ti-

“Rick.”

Bucky’s heart clenched as the name slips from your sleeping lips. Your smile had shifted into a full-on ray of sunshine as you dreamed you were in the other man’s arms. Instinctively, Bucky tightened his hold on you, causing you to finch awake. Glancing around, your face fell as you remembered where you were. As your eyes met and you registered whose arms you had really been sleeping in, Bucky saw fresh heartbreak flash across your face. Standing quickly, you mumbled a weary apology. “I’m sorry, Buck. I didn’t mean to…. I just forgot…”

“Hey, it’s okay. You were asleep. You didn’t know any better.”

“No, it’s not okay. I shouldn’t be putting all of this on you. I mean, I haven’t even talked to you in almost three years and then I show up and expect you to still….”

“Still what?” He stood and took a step closer to you.

You looked at the floor, unable to meet his eye. “Still be there for me. To still care.”

“Doll, no matter what happens, I will always care about you. Just because we’re not together anymore doesn’t mean I stopped….”

You both awkwardly stood there in silence, neither sure what to say. Finally, you mumbled, “I should go-go check in on Rick.” You turned and started walking down the hall.

Bucky took another step after you as he blurted out, “Why do you cry when you watch Titanic?”

You stopped and turned to face him, confusion etched on your face. “What?”

“When you took that phone call the other night, Rick and I got to talking and he mentioned you always cry at the end of Titanic. You never once even got misty eyed when we watched it. So, what changed?”

“Really? We’re talking about this now? Why does it matter?”

“Because I need to know.”

“Bucky, it doesn’t matter! It’s just a movie. Who cares?”

“I need to know!”

“You already know!” Pain was etched on your face as you yelled the words. You bit your lip as you looked away.

Bucky nodded sadly. “I have an idea but even if I’m right, what I can’t figure out is if it bothered you that much, why did you keep watching it?”

Softly, you whispered, “I thought it would get easier. Every time, I thought ‘this time will be better. It will hurt less and I’ll know I’ve started moving on’. But every time, it hurt just as bad. Every time Rose promised to always hold on and then immediately let go…. Turns her back on her love…allows him to sink back into the frozen abyss alone…. Just like I did to you.” You finally worked up the courage to look Bucky in the eye. “I promised you I would be there for you, always, but then…. I just left. I don’t know why I thought you would understand why I left when I didn’t understand myself. But…

“After the other night, I really started thinking about us. And about me and Rick. And about why I felt like something was missing with us, but it was there with him, and I think I finally figured it out. It was you. You were what was missing.”

Bucky was taken aback. “What the hell are you talking about? We were together all the time! And if I did go off by myself, I always asked you first.”

“Exactly. And that’s the problem. You never made any decisions for yourself. Everything was always about what I wanted or what I thought about something. Do you remember what you asked me the last time we watched Titanic together?”

Bucky thought for a moment. “Yeah, I asked why we always watched the same movie. Why you never chose a different one.”

“Yes, why I never chose another one. Up until that moment, I hadn’t even realized it was the only thing we ever watched, but it was true. And I also realized why. It was because you always made me pick the movie. Even when I asked you to, you insisted we watch whatever I wanted. And then, I began to realize the same thing happened with everything we did. I always picked where we would go to eat. I always picked which bar we hung out at on Friday night. I always picked where we went on vacation. And every time I asked you for the smallest amount of input, you always just said you were happy with whatever I wanted to do.”

You hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I don’t know if it was left over from whatever HYDRA did to you, made it so you didn’t know how to make your own choices or if it was because you held me up as this beacon of perfection, your savior that could do no wrong and deserved whatever I wanted in this world – don’t you dare deny that, you know that’s exactly how you saw me – But whatever it was, it all just became too much. And even though I couldn’t understand what was happening at the time, I knew that I needed something more.

“And I found that with Rick. When I’m with him, things are different. Sure, he listens to what I want, but he also lets me know what he wants. When I say we should watch Titanic for the hundredth time, he reminds me of a new movie I wanted to see that we both would enjoy. When he doesn’t feel like going out to the Italian restaurant I recommend, he asks if we can just order a pizza instead. He never demands his own way, but he’s not afraid to say what he wants either. I never felt like I was the one making all the decisions, we were just…. partners.

“And that’s what a relationship is supposed to be. It’s taking parts of each person and making something new. With us…. We just became me. And that’s what was missing. There was no you in us. And when I left, I felt like the exact same person I was when we met. A few more scars, a few more wrinkles, but ultimately, I had remained unchanged for four years. But from the moment I met Rick, I transformed, evolved. He challenges me every day, and with him, I feel like I’ve become the best version of myself.”

Bucky didn’t know what to say. He just kind of felt numb. He had always thought the two of you had the perfect relationship until the end, and now you were telling him it was fundamentally screwed up from the beginning. That it was all because of him.

You stared at him expectantly, like you wanted him to say something, but he didn’t have the words to express how he was feeling.

Just then, a doctor rounded the corner and sped up as his gaze landed on you. “Ah, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you two. Colonel Flag just got out of surgery.”

You turned all your attention to the doctor, your conversation with Bucky all but forgotten. “How is he?”

“Not bad, all things considered. The object penetrated his chest severely, but it only slightly grazed his heart. However, any deeper and he would have been dead in seconds. He was lucky his attacker didn’t get a chance for a second hit. We patched up as much damage as we could, but anytime you have to mess with the heart, complications can arise. At the moment, he is stable and resting but we need to monitor him for the next day or two. He is still unconscious, and we will know more once he wakes up. They will be bringing him back to his room shortly and you can wait with him.”

You threw your arms around the man’s neck. “Thank you so much, doctor! This is…this is so much better than I hoped!”

The doctor blushed slightly and cleared his throat. “Yes, well… as I said, he’s not out of the woods yet. And he will probably have a long recovery, but for now, we are hopeful. Now, I have other patients to see but please let me or one of the nurses know if you need anything.” He patted you on the shoulder and walked away.

Before Bucky could say anything, you whirled around and headed off towards Flag’s room, leaving him to watch you walk away.

Bucky stared at you through the glass window of Flag’s room. Eyes closed as you slumped in the chair next to the bed, anyone could have easily mistaken you for sleeping except for the fact your mouth never stopped moving. Ever since the doctors had brought him back to the room and told you that just talking to Flag was the best thing for him, you had refused to shut up. After the first hour, you had started running out of things to talk about. So, for the next two hours, you had been summarizing the plots to any movie, tv show, or book that popped into your head, adding your own personal opinions and commentaries as you thought of them. Bucky’s favorite had been the twenty-minute tangent you had gone on right in the middle of summarizing Die Hard to explain in emphatic detail why it was, in fact, not a Christmas movie. Now as you approached the three-hour mark, your head was beginning to sag, and your voice was growing scratchy with overuse, but you still refused to quit.

After your last conversation, Bucky had remained out in the hall but he could hear every word you said. He hadn’t been quite ready to face you after the truth about why you had left had finally been revealed. He was hurt and confused at first, but the more he thought about everything, the more he realized you were right. When he started getting his memories back after escaping HYDRA, he had a hard time reconciling the man he had become with the man he used to be. It became so unbearable that he had almost given up the thought of ever finding peace. But then he met you. Well, formally met. You had been working with Steve when they discovered he was the Winter Soldier but a roundhouse kick to the face wasn’t quite what he called an introduction.

From before your first conversation together, you knew who he was and what he had done. And you did not care. You found a way to get through to him, to help him come to terms with everything that had happened and, just like you said, he worshiped you for that. You were the light of his life, his perfect angel who could do no wrong. And it was only now that he realized what kind of pressure that must have put on you. And how in his attempts to give you the world, he really hadn’t given you his true self. Just as you hadn’t realized the truth until it was too late, neither had he. And he was paying the price for it.

But he would have to come to terms with these revelations later. Right now, you needed him. So, Bucky entered Flag’s room with an extra-large coffee he had bought for each of you. Your head lolled lazily towards the door when you heard him approach, but your eyes lit up when you saw the drink in his hand.

“Oh my god, please tell me that one’s for me.”

“Oh, did you want one? I was just really thirsty and thought I would get two for myself.” Bucky smirked.

Rolling your eyes, you held out your hand. “Just hand it over.”

“Magic word?”

“What are you, five? PLEASE, hand it over.”

“I was actually looking for ‘You are the best’ but that works too.” He handed you your cup.

“Well, that goes without saying. Plus, that is more than one word.” You took a long sip of the coffee, a blissful sigh escaping your lips. You smiled up at Bucky. “You remembered just how I like it.”

Bucky chuckled. “Of course I did. You had me pick you up one almost every day. And the one time I got it wrong, you never let me live it down.”

You set the drink down on the table next to you. “Well, who mixes up caramel and hazelnut? They’re not even in the same flavor category.” The smile dropped from your face as you paused and stared down at your hands. “Bucky, about what I said earlier… I just wanted to make sur- Wait..” You stood up and took a step closer to the monitors displaying Rick’s vitals. “That’s not right…. His heart-”

Your words were cut off as the irregular spikes plummeted to a straight line and a continuous *BEEP* filled the air. Your eyes grew wide as panic swept over your face. You placed one hand on his chest as you ran the other through Flag’s filthy hair. “No, no, no, no…. Oh, come on, Rick, don’t do this to me. Come on, baby. I need you, please, don’t do this. You are stronger than this. Please. No, no…”

When nothing changed, you dove for the wall, pounding every call button or emergency alarm you could find. “Help!” The desperation in your voice shook Bucky to his core. “Please! Someone, we need help in here!”

Bucky dashed out into the hall, trying to find a nurse or a doctor. Rushing down to the nurse’s station, he yelled, “We need help in room 806. The patient’s heart stopped.”

Without waiting for a response, he hurried back to the room. You were bent over holding Flag’s hand, tears streaming down your face as you rocked back and forth, muttering, “Please, please, please, please, not like this, please Rick, please baby, please, please, please, please….”

As Bucky heard the flurry of activity in the hall getting closer, he gently tried to pull you out of the way but you lashed out at him wildly. Wrapping his arms around you, he whispered in your ear, “It’s going to be okay, but they need to get to him so they can help him. Come on, doll. Please let go.”

“I can’t leave him.” Through the tears, your eyes looked wild and manic as you stared down at your lifeless boyfriend.

“I promise, I won’t make you leave. We just have to get out of the way. We can just move to the corner, and you’ll still be here while the doctors fix him up.” He took your face in his hands and gently turned your head to look at him. “I swear, I won’t let anyone make you leave until you want to. But we have to move.”

You nod frantically. “Okay, okay.” You kissed Flag’s forehead as you whispered, “I’m still here, baby. I’m not going anywhere, so please, come back to me.”

It looked like it physically pained you to let go of Flag’s hand, but the second you did, Bucky whipped you away from the bed just as a team of doctors and machinery came crashing through the door. Bucky kept his arms tightly wrapped around you as you both watched the team quickly examine the still body. One doctor began performing CPR, but it did nothing to improve the situation. After a moment, another doctor pulled out a defibrillator and slammed the paddles to Flag’s chest. Once everyone was clear, a jolt of electricity was sent coursing through his system. His body jerked harshly on the bed, causing a gut-wrenching sob to erupt from your mouth. Another few shocks, each accompanied by another sob, still did nothing to change Flag’s condition.

By this point, Bucky’s tight grip around your waist and chest was the only thing keeping you vertical. You had collapsed weakly against him, but your eyes never left the bed. A nurse tried to escort the two of you from the room, but Bucky motioned her off. No matter how badly this experience was affecting you, he had promised he would let you stay, even though he was really regretting it. Your entire body was shaking uncontrollably, and a low, continuous wail was tumbling from your mouth. Bucky thought things couldn’t get much worse, but then the doctor pulled out a scalpel.

Bucky turned his head and hid it in your hair as the surgical scar on Flag’s chest was reopened. He had seen enough of this kind of thing back in the makeshift camps when he was a soldier in the 40’s. He had heard the screams, smelt the blood, and watched in horror as good men were hacked up in front of his eyes all in the name of saving their lives. He wanted nothing more than to run from the room, but he wasn’t about to leave you behind.

He suddenly realized that you had stopped shaking in his arms. Instead, you had gone completely rigid. Peaking at your face, he could see it frozen in what could only be described as terror. Eyes wide, jaw clenched, and skin paler than he had ever seen it, not a single muscle in your body so much as twitched as you stared unblinkingly at the bed. A quick glance at what you were looking at left Bucky wishing he hadn’t.

Flag’s chest was currently pried open as a doctor firmly squeezed his exposed heart in an attempt to manually restart it. But still the monitors continued their monotonous steady *BEEP*. Your face looked like it could have been carved out of stone, you were so still and unmoving. The extent of which, suddenly caused Bucky concern.

Muttering in your ear, he said, “Breathe, doll, you have to breathe.” Still, you didn’t flinch, so Bucky tightened his hold on your chest in one quick, jerky movement. “Breathe.”

You involuntarily inhaled, forced by the sudden pressure on your lungs. At the same instance, Flag’s heart monitor jumped to life. You tried to fling yourself at the bed, but Bucky held you back. As the sound stabilized, you crumbled into a mass of tears and sobs in Bucky’s arms. He slowly lowered both of you to the floor where you curled up in his chest, fingers gripping frantically at his jacket.

The doctors ignore the pair of you as they begin wheeling Flag’s bed out of the room. A nurse came over and gently bent down next to Bucky. In a soft, kind voice, she said, “They are taking him into surgery to stitch him back up. It shouldn’t take too long. A doctor will come talk to you once they are done.”

Bucky nodded his thanks, and the nurse gave you a sad smile before exiting. The two of you remained huddled on the floor in a heap, one sobbing uncontrollably while the other was helpless to ease your pain.

Bucky waited outside while the doctor talked to you. He couldn’t make out what was being said, and your stony expression gave nothing away. Finally, the doctor rested a hand on your arm then exited the room. He gave Bucky a sad, tight smile as he passed but didn’t say a word. It didn’t seem like a good sign.

Bucky slowly entered the room. He noticed your forgotten coffee sitting on the table, ice melted and condensation dripping slowly onto the floor. You had collapsed back into the chair, the hood of the oversized jacket Bucky had found for you pulled low over your face, hands shoved deep in the pockets. You were staring numbly at the tiles on the ceiling. Not sure what to expect, Bucky called softly from the doorway, “Hey, doll. What did the doctor say? How is he?”

You were silent for a long moment, not ever acknowledging you had heard Bucky speak. Just as he was turning to leave, to give you some space, he heard you mutter in a flat, monotone voice, “Six minutes….. He was gone for six minutes. They have him stabilized now but they’re not sure what kinds of complications might have happened due to the prolonged lack of oxygen. The doctor said there is a good possibility of some permanent brain dam-dama…” You swallowed hard as your face contorted in pain. You finally looked at Bucky, and he could see the tears threatening to fall. “How is he supposed to be okay after all of this? Even if he pulls through, what kind of life is he gonna have?”

Bucky hurried to your side, resting his hand on your arm. “You don’t know yet what condition he’ll be in. You said the doctor told you it’s just a possibility. He might be fine.”

You shook your head violently. “No, Buck… I mean, how is he supposed to be okay after everything, not just the brain stuff. I…I saw his heart. I saw his literal heart.” Your eyes took on a haunted quality as you stared shellshocked at the memory. “I have seen so many horrific, unspeakable things in my life. Things that haunt my dreams every night. But I have never seen something as terrible a- as terrible as watching them cut him open like a Thanksgiving turkey, and seeing his still, lifeless heart sitting unmoving in his chest. I can’t unsee it. Everywhere I look, every time I close my eyes, all I see is his unbeating heart and I can’t…” You pulled your legs up into your chest, wrapping your arms tightly around them.

Bucky thought about the ring that was still sitting in his pocket. Was now the time to give it to you? Would you be comforted knowing that Flag loved you so much he wanted to marry you, or would the idea that he might never get the chance be too much for you to bear? But he had promised to give it to you….

Bucky reached into his pocket but just as he opened his mouth to speak, he saw a sudden shiver pass through your body. Your face took on a sickly green hue as you bolted from the room, Bucky worriedly followed close on your heels. You made it halfway down the hall before realizing you weren’t going to make it to the bathroom. Instead, you plunged your head into the nearest trash can as you vomited violently. Bucky softly began rubbing your back as convulsed for a second time. Finally, you weakly collapsed back against the wall, chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath. Glancing over at Bucky’s concerned face, you just muttered, “You don’t happen to have any gum, do you?”

Bucky blinked in astonishment. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That! You just got sick. And don’t tell me it was because of what we were talking about. I’ve seen you handle some of the grossest, goriest things imaginable without even blinking. Has this happened before? I’m pretty sure Quinn mentioned you got sick before I came to get you. That’s it, I’m finding someone to check you out.”

“Buck, stop. I’m fine.”

“No, I told you. You should have gotten checked the minute we got here. You had a damn building fall on you. For all we know, you have massive organ failure or are bleeding out internally.” He started to look around for a nurse.

“No, Bucky. I said I am fine. I don’t need to be checked out.”

Bucky ignored your pleas as he continued down the hall looking for help. “It’ll just take a few minutes. We should have done this hours ago. We need to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m pregnant.”

Bucky instantly froze as his blood ran cold. Slowly, he turned to face you. “You’re what?”

“I’m pregnant. Almost three months.” You wrapped your arms around your middle, avoiding his eyes as you bit back tears.

Bucky didn’t know what to say. He opened and shut his mouth a few times before the words just tumbled out, “Is it Flag’s?”

“No, it’s yours….What do you think, you ass? Of course, it’s Rick’s!” You furiously push past him as you head back towards Flag’s room. “Is that seriously the kind of girl you think I am? Fuck you.”

Bucky hurried after you. “I’m sorry. I-I just hadn’t realized you were trying for a kid.”

“We weren’t.” You sighed as you reached Flag’s door. While you were gone, they had wheeled him back in and you gazed longingly through the glass, your finger tracing his sleeping form. “But you know how it is. The adrenaline after a mission, the rush of still being alive. Mistakes happen. Precautions aren’t always taken.”

Bucky did know. Your legs wrapping tightly around his bare waist as your fingers curl into his hair. Lips smashing together, bodies melding into one, his metal hand slipping lower- Bucky quickly pushed down the memory. It wasn’t his place to think about you like that anymore. Especially now….

“Does he know?”

You shook your head softly. “No, I just found out the other day. After everything that happened at the bar the other night, I only ended up taking a few sips of that beer. Yet, the next morning, I was as sick as that time Thor and Steve challenged us to a drinking contest. So, I had someone at the prison check me out. I just never thought…. I was planning on telling him as soon as we got back.”

“Why did you still go? Once you knew.”

“I didn’t have a choice.” When you turned to look at him, Bucky saw a spark of actual fear in your eyes. “You don’t know Amanda Waller. She’s the most ruthless, cruel, stone-cold bitch I’ve ever met. And she had just enough leverage on me and Rick to make us do what we were told. Though I don’t think even she would have the balls to actually ever come after me, she knows who I used to team up with, who my friends are. But Rick… His ex-girlfriend was the team’s first mission. She was possessed by the spirit of… you know what, it doesn’t matter. Waller used her to get Rick to do whatever she wanted, then kept records of everything that made it seem like he was dirty. So, if either of us tried to go against her, she would destroy Rick.

“When I told her I was pregnant and I had to bow out of the mission, she refused to let me. Said everything was already a go with me on the team and she didn’t have time to change the plan. Well, I told her I had had enough of her bullshit, and I didn’t give a fuck about what she tried to do to me, but I wasn’t going.” Your shoulders sagged as you bowed your head. “But then she told me the whole plan. How there were two teams going to Corto Maltese, one as a distraction and one as the real deal. And the distraction team had left minutes ago, led by one Colonel Rick Flag. She said the only chance he had of making it out of there alive was for me to lead the second team. What else was I supposed to do? Plus, she said the second team’s part of the mission was supposed to be pretty safe. I thought everything would be okay.”

Bucky could understand your reasons for going, but it still didn’t explain your behavior afterward. “Okay, I get why you went, and it does seem like it was really your only option. But why haven’t you let anyone here check you out? You need to make sure everything’s okay, and not just with you.”

“….Because I’m scared.” The answer came out barely a whisper. Tears filled your eyes as your lip quivered and you wrapped your arms around your stomach. “What if something happened? What if…what if I….lost it? If something happens to Rick, this baby is all I’ll have left of him. I can’t lose it. And after what happened in Corto Maltese…”

“But that’s exactly why you need to be examined. And you need to be resting. And getting fluids and food. “

“I know, okay!” Your dam finally broke as your emotions burst forward, tears streaming down your face as you roared at Bucky. “I know what I should have been doing! But I couldn’t leave Rick. And when I realized he wasn’t going to be improving anytime soon, I told myself to get help then. But I had waited so long, I was afraid of what might have happened because I put it off. Which made me put it off longer, which made me more guilty and worried, and on and on and then Rick DIED for SIX whole minutes, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to make it an-and I… I just….I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!” You dropped to a crouched position on the floor, face buried in your hands as you sobbed.

Bucky wasn’t sure what to do either. Part of him wanted to scoop you up in his arms and tell you everything was going to be alright. But another part of him knew that there was a chance that everything wasn’t going to be alright, and he didn’t want to give you false hope. And a third part of him was gutted, still trying to process the news that you were carrying another man’s child. Part of him had always hoped you would find your way back to him. But after seeing your devotion to Flag, your earlier revelation about why you had left, and now the kid, that hope had all but disappeared. And it hurt more than he wanted to admit. But right now, you needed him. So, Bucky forced all the worries and all the pain aside and approached your crumpled form.

As he tried to take you into his arms, you pushed him away. He remembered this side of you. The one that needed to show you were strong enough to deal with whatever was thrown at you. The one that would rather crash and burn than accept help. In the past when you got like this, he had just left you alone until you wanted to talk. However, at the moment, he knew that being alone was the last thing you needed. So instead, he wrapped his arms around you tightly, pinning your limbs to your side so you couldn’t escape his embrace. You struggled against him for a few moments before your body and spirit gave out. As you limply collapsed against him, Bucky once again found you sobbing in his arms.

After a while, you calmed down enough that Bucky felt comfortable letting you up. He got to his feet then gently helped you off the ground. You looked embarrassedly at the floor as you mumbled, “Thanks, Buck…. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just didn’t know…”

“How I would take it?” You nodded. “Yeah…. I definitely wasn’t expecting that news. Especially not after as much as you said you didn’t want kids when we were together. But now it seems like you’re all in.”

You gave a halfhearted shrug. “I told you, it’s not like I planned this. And besides, Rick…” You trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

Bucky turned his back to you as he whispered, “Oh, so, it was just me you didn’t want to have kids with.”

“Bucky, no! It’s not like that at all!” You walked around until you were once again in front of him, taking his hands in yours. “Rick told me he would like to have kids one day, but I told him the same thing I told you. I wasn’t sure if that was the life I wanted. I loved the lives I had with each of you. Nothing holding us back, free to come and go as we pleased, nothing to worry about but the two of us. And I loved being an Avenger, just like I loved being part of Task Force X, minus Waller. And kids just didn’t fit in either of those lives.”

“So, what changed?”

“At first, nothing. When I found out I was pregnant, I was really close to just having the doctor take care of things right then and there. But then… I had a flash of Rick holding our baby in his arms for the first time, and I have never wanted something so much in my life. And now, I’ve only known about it for less than a week, and if anything happened to it…” Your voice began to shake once again, and you rubbed furiously at your damp eyes. “Damn these stupid hormones! Like I don’t have enough to deal with right now!”

Bucky pulled out a napkin he had crammed in his pocket when he had gone to get coffee and handed it to you. You took the crumpled ball gratefully and blew your nose with a loud, snotty blast. Tucking the nasty, wet lump into your pocket, you smiled softly at Bucky. “Even after all the terrible things I have said to you over the past few days, all the harsh truths I’ve shared, you’re still looking out for me.”

“Always.”

You cupped his face between your hands, forcing him to look you straight in the eye. “Buck, I need you to know, it wasn’t you. I guess I just never seriously thought about kids. With anyone. But I did think about us when I was flying to Corto Maltese. About what we could have had if I had let us. And I think we could have been happy…. I’m sorry I took that from you.”

Bucky shook his head sadly. “No, doll. You didn’t take anything from me. I threw it away. I wasn’t the man you needed me to be. I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier and you’re right. I was so grateful for everything you had done for me, I would do anything to make sure you got anything you wanted. And in the end, I did tie my identity to yours. I think part of me was scared to try to figure out who I was after everything that happened, and it was just easier to latch onto you instead of facing that. But all that ended when you left. I know who I am again. And I am done letting you make all the decisions.” He grabbed your hands from where they still rested on his face, and he began pulling you down the hall.

You stumbled to keep up as you stared, brow furrowed and mouth slightly agape. “Uh, Sarge? What are you doing?”

“I’m taking you to be examined.”

“What? No! We just went over this!” You tried to pull away but between his Vibranium arm and his super soldier strength, you were no match for him.

Bucky just smirked at your futile attempts to escape as he continued dragging you towards the nurse’s station. “We did just go over this. And I said how important it was to get checked out. Plus, I told you, I’m not blindly following what you want anymore. I make my own decisions now.”

You glared at him, but under the halfhearted anger, Bucky could see the hints of a proud smile pulling at the corners of your mouth.

The nurse refused to let Bucky in the room for your examination. He begged, pleaded, demanded, even tried pulling rank, but the answer was still no. On one hand, he understood. The nurse had said it was because they needed to ask you some very sensitive questions and they didn’t want the answers to be influenced by someone else being in the room. However, he still couldn’t get the image of your terrified face as the door closed between you out of his mind. He had sworn to Flag that he would keep you safe, would protect you. But how was he supposed to protect you from this? If something had gone wrong, what was he supposed to do?

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you emerged from the room. Immediately, you were in Bucky’s arms, tears dampening his shirt. Bucky’s heart plummeted until you whispered, “It’s alright, they said everything was alright with both me and the baby.”

Bucky pulled back to look at you. “Yeah?”

“Yeah!” Tears still streamed down your cheeks, but he could now see the radiant smile that split your face in two.

He pulled you back into his embrace as he stroked your back. “I’m so glad, doll. I really am.”

“They want to put me on an IV for fluids but they’re going to set it up in Rick’s room so I can still stay with him. And I need to get a lot of rest, but we both kind of already knew that.” Your voice dropped to a reverent whisper, “Buck…. I got to hear the heartbeat. It was so strong and-and amazing even this early.”

Bucky felt a twinge in his own heart but ignored it. “Of course this kid’s going to have a strong heart. Look at who its parents are.”

You clutched him even tighter. “Thank you, Sarge. Thank you for everything.”

Bucky was so grateful you couldn’t see his face at that moment. He squeezed his eyes shut as he swallowed hard, trying to keep his breathing even. Just running into you the other day had thrown him for a loop. But these last two days…. Every word, every touch, every embrace. Every time, it made him feel like he was in heaven… just to drag him back to hell as he remembered these moments weren’t really about the two of you. That there was someone else you wanted in his place. And it was all too much. But it didn’t matter. He had made a promise, both to you and to Flag, and Bucky wasn’t going to let either of you down.

So, he stood in the middle of the hall, arms wrapped around the woman he loved, as you basked in the love of another.

An hour later, the two of you were back in Flag’s room. A nurse had set up your IV and you were seemingly nodding off in your chair next to his bed. Bucky was sitting next to you, texting Steve and Sam an update on everything going on here. He didn’t mention your pregnancy, but just said that you had finally been checked out and everything was fine. Once again, they asked how Bucky was handling things, but he ignored the question.

Suddenly, your sleepy voice broke the silence, “What if he doesn’t remember me?”

Bucky tucked his phone away as he leaned over closer to you in his chair. “Why do you say that?”

“They said there may be some brain damage. That it could include stuff like loss of motor function, cognitive issues, and memory loss. We’ve only known each other for less than two years. What if he forgot about me?”

“Doll, you’re not the type of person who can be forgotten.” Especially how it feels to love and be loved by you. Believe me, I’ve tried.

“I’m serious! What if-what if he can’t remember? What would that mean for our future? Our future.” You put a hand softly on your stomach. “How would I be able to tell him we’re having a baby if he doesn’t even remember who I am?”

Bucky sighed. “I wish I had the answer, but I don’t think there is one. But hey, speaking from experience, just because a memory is lost, doesn’t mean it can’t sometimes be found again. HYDRA wiped out who I was, who I knew, everything, but I was able to get it all back. It took time and a lot of work, but it is possible.”

“Sarge, it’s a little different when someone hides your memories versus your brain just deciding to delete them…. But I get what you’re saying.”

“And you don’t know that will happen. The doctors also said there was a chance there won’t be any lasting effects from the lack of oxygen. He may be perfectly fine. You really need to try and not worry about it until we know for sure.”

“I know, but it’s so hard not to think about all the worst cases scenarios.”

“Yeah, well, you’re worrying for two now, and that’s not good. So, for the kid’s sake, try to not dwell on it, okay?”

You sighed heavily. “God damn it. I hate it when you’re right.”

Bucky smiled as he poked your shoulder, leaning even closer so your faces were only a few inches apart. “Ah, come on. It’s bound to happen every once and a while.”

You opened your mouth to return the witty remark, but you both froze as Flag’s vitals picked up speed, both his heart and brain monitors increasing. You ripped the IV out of your arm as you ran to look at the machines. The confusion on your face made it clear you had no idea what the read outs meant, and you rushed to the door. Bucky stood and hurried to your side as you called down the hall for a nurse. But a small groan from the bed caused you both to turn around tentatively.

Ever so slowly, Flag’s eyes flickered open. Cloudy with sleep and pain, they roamed the room, trying to get their bearings. Finally, they settled on you. Flag blinked sluggishly a few times but didn’t show any signs of recognition.

Hesitantly, you took a tiny step towards the bed, and in a small, trembling voice whispered, “Rick?”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Flag responded in a croaky grunt, “Darlin’? I-I didn’t recognize you for a second.” It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room before…“Were you always this beautiful?”

Sobbing, you threw yourself onto your boyfriend. Flag groaned as you landed on his chest, but he held you there as you tried to pull away. “I’m so sorry,” you wailed, “I’m just-I just-Oh Rick, I thought I lost you!” Burying your face in his neck, you continued to sob uncontrollably. Bucky was actually quite amazed you were still able to produce any more tears after the sheer volume you had cried the past few days, but then again, you were always an overachiever.

Flag muttered soft reassurances to you as he stroked your hair softly, his hands shaking a little as he tried to regain control of his functions. He squeezed his eyes shut as he pressed a firm kiss to the top of your head. This moment felt so intimate and private that Bucky felt that he shouldn’t be watching it. Slowly, he began to leave the room. But just as he started shutting the door, Flag looked over and the two men made eye contact. Neither one said a word, but they both understood what the other was feeling. Flag gave a small nod, his eyes shining with joy and gratitude. And Bucky nodded back, thrilled that it seemed you were getting everything you were hoping for, and hating himself for that small feeling of disappointment deep in his chest.

He closed the door to give the loving couple some privacy and he walked down the hall. Alone once again.

[gorogues]

Spoilers for Flash #60!

So James, Axel, and Copperhead are still hard at work together, and are no less ambitious than they were before.  In fact, they may have an even bigger scheme than we previously knew.  Commander Cold and Detective Burns find one of their former labs -- filled with gun designs -- and Barry separately learns that a corrupt cop in Corto Maltese has been getting illegal weapons shipments.  Some are apparently conventional weapons, but the cop orders special ones after his conventional shipment is destroyed.  And at the end of the issue, the cop shoots a Sage Force-powered bubble gun which sure looks like a Trickster type of weapon.  So, is it one of James' guns?  One of the weapons blueprints in the hideout kinda-sorta looks like the bubble gun, but I don't see anything that's an obvious match.  That doesn't mean it isn't one of James' guns, though.

If the Corto Maltese weapons are James' work, how did he manage to harness the Sage Force into a bubble gun?  And what exactly is he planning?  The implications in this issue suggest he's trying to become a fairly typical crimelord rather than someone involved in a "long con" or simply seeking revenge on Warden Wolfe.  It's possible that weapons dealing is just a means to an end, but it's pretty scummy to send weapons to a corrupt cop in an oppressive nation.  Of course, it's also possible that James is a red herring and the bubble gun has nothing to do with him...though I doubt it.  So what is he up to?  And what's his endgame?  I hope he isn't just after power for the sake of it.  It's also possible that he's conning everyone and the weapons don't work like Cauldron (the bad cop) expects, and that'd be a pretty good gag.

Anyway, it's a good issue and Fuerza is a cool new character I'd like to see more of.  I hope she can keep the Strength Force and keep protecting Corto Maltese, and she and Barry make good allies for each other.

Also nice to see Commander Cold making friends -- or more -- and settling into the Central City of this era.  He's going to have an interesting dilemma if he ever gets the chance to return home, because he'll have to figure out where/when is home for him.  I don't think he'll be around forever, if only so Len can return without two similar guys running around, but he's had more development and page time than I'd ever expected.  One wonders if or when we'll be learning more about his identity, and whether it will be significant (an Allen, a Thawne, or something else) or not.  He may of course just be a random dude, but the book's made a point about his name for a while now and all he's offered is his first name.

So a lot of interesting stuff which furthers both the Tricksters story and the Force Quest...and possibly ties them together.  Lots of food for thought here.

[ah-maa-zing]

The Longbow Hunters (Arrow 7.02)

I’d like to start off this review by stating the freaking obvious: I love Felicity Smoak. 

I mean, I’ve always loved her, even when the writing has failed her, and even when I haven’t loved her choices or her actions. But when she’s written with the kind of agency she deserves, the determination, the drive and the steely-eyed focus as she has been in ‘The Longbow Hunters’, well, nothing could be better. 

Two episodes in, and I’m really enjoying Beth and her team’s style. The show is as dark as ever, but there’s an intensity - particularly in the prison scenes - that feels like the characters’ actions have real stakes that won’t randomly disappear into the ether because “reasons”. Many (most?) of the complaints about 6B were that characters were contorted, pretzel-like, into unrecognisable caricatures of themselves - previously decent characters turning into assholes overnight. And yes, while in some cases it may feel like a bit of a stretch to develop a speedy redemption, I can certainly appreciate the new writing team’s attempts to course correct as quickly as humanly possible. 

One of the things that appears to be gone for good is “Team Arrow”, in whatever iteration it has taken over the years. Which makes sense, given that the Arrow part of the equation is off the grid for now. Still, it’s somewhat unsettling as a viewer (especially seeing it from Felicity’s perspective) to come into a new status quo where there are new rules and restrictions, and where Felicity no longer has free rein over information and intelligence gathering, which has typically been her domain. Even if she weren’t already desperate for personal reasons, I’d expect her to be feeling pretty unempowered by the whole set-up. 

Curtis doesn’t seem to be having that same problem, and if I can just get on my soap box for a second (I really hope I don’t spend the entire season complaining about him) - what exactly is his role on the show anymore? There are already, in my view, far too many ‘regular’ characters at the moment and it does at times feel a little crowded. But of all of these characters, for me Curtis is the one that seems to have no unique utility at all. There are better vigilantes than him, and there are better hackers than him. So far all I see as his purpose is continuously whinging about how hard his life is (when he’s the one who’s suffered the least), and for other characters to crack “grab your balls” jokes (which, while funny, aren’t exactly essential). Like I say, I hope I don’t keep repeating myself on this point as the season goes on, so if Curtis could just take a job in a neighbouring city or disappear into a hole or whatever, that’d be grand (sadly I think the opposite is probably going to be the case). 

Anyway...I really enjoyed the conflict between Felicity and Diggle, which feels both warranted but also really sad. I said last week that all the characters barring Oliver, Felicity and William have found a way to move forward with their lives over the last five months, and none more so than John, who has a new sense of order and purpose within ARGUS. Setting aside that brief insanity of last season, this has always been his MO -- finding a place for himself within an established structure, be that the Army or Team Arrow or ARGUS, and do his job really, really well. 

All that to say that I do understand where he’s coming from on the Diaz front. He’s got the ARGUS Deputy Director on his back, which again is a realistic situation (a black ops organisation as regimented as ARGUS would never allow the Director’s husband to run amok with its resources), and he feels the need to maintain order and colour within the lines, if you will, so that he and his family don’t face the blowback. I get it. 

That said, I’m still incredibly disappointed in him, which I think is partly the point and is definitely a great source of angst. His explanation to Felicity about not wanting to sacrifice his family makes sense, but at the same time, Felicity and Oliver are (or were) also his family, and her point about the last six years actually meaning something to her is such a gut-wrenching moment. I think this is the point that Felicity realises she’s all alone in this. It’s not that John doesn’t love Oliver or that the others won’t help (though “whatever you need” seems to have its limitations), but the way she sees it - Oliver just doesn’t matter as much to them as to her. So he went to prison to sacrifice himself for them - so what? None of them are willing to go the extra mile to save him like he would them. As for John, when he was in prison, and Lyla went to Oliver for help in breaking him out, he didn’t even hesitate. Against all odds he went in and broke his brother out, and while that might not be possible in this case, Felicity must still feel the sting at the lack of reciprocity from John. 

Which is why I enjoyed her being at odds with John on this, even if they came to an understanding by the end of it, and which is also why I loved her move at the end of the episode. Going to Samanda Watson, not to break Oliver out but to fulfil the terms of his imprisonment, is such a baller move, and I am really looking forward to them working together. 

I’m excited about Felicity’s arc in the upcoming episodes, especially while Oliver’s in prison and she’s essentially on her own. If the trajectory continues the way it has been, I think we’re in for a ride. 

Speaking of prison, Oliver is finding his footing a little bit now, though how long that lasts remains to be seen. This storyline continues to excite me because it is so unlike anything we’ve seen before and the possibilities are endless. Oliver ‘found another way’ this time (I’m glad he didn’t kill Yorke. I know he’s an asshole but I kind of liked him), but will he be able to do so again? At a certain point, the net will tighten and there won’t be any more loopholes to find. And that’ll be an interesting place for Oliver to be. 

I still think Stan the Fan is a Diaz plant; he’s too shifty by half. But I am temporarily enjoying the dynamic between him and Oliver, esp. because it gives Oliver a chance to roll his eyes and be the straight man to someone else’s banter - a role that Oliver has always excelled at. I loved that he fashioned a makeshift slingshot from a broken pencil (of course he did), and it reminded me of him making a bow and arrows out of curtain rods in ‘Corto Maltese’. Oh Oliver, you are such a McGyver. 

Like Felicity, Oliver’s entire focus now is getting Diaz off the board in order to protect his family. The fact that they are on parallel paths towards the same goal frames their individual storylines incredibly well, and makes anything else in between almost superfluous. 

I don’t know quite what to make of the Dinah Double Act™, and I’m not sure I entirely buy both of their seemingly easy acceptance of each other. Why Dinah feels the need to protect Laurel from Diaz is beyond me - surely they would be using her as bait if anything? - especially since, from what I can tell, Diaz doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to hunt her down. Still, I can buy that Laurel feels something towards Quentin and his death at Diaz’s hands, and I can live with that fuelling her motivation to live the way Quentin would want her to. I also think that this episode allows all of the women who appear in it to maintain their own agency and motivations, however complex (or unearned), and that can only be a good thing. It’s no surprise, given this episode was written and directed by women, but it does feel a long time coming. 

I do think that the fight against Silencer was pretty effective - man, that is an interesting power. In fact, all of the Longbow Hunters seem to be pretty formidable in their own right. Kodiak, the guy with the shield, broke John’s assault rifle IN. HALF. Goddamn, it’s about time we had some menacing villains. The Longbow Hunters present a significant threat to no-longer-Team-Arrow, and it doesn’t pass me by that the only way Silencer was defeated was by Laurel and Dinah sonic-crying her together. Methinks no-longer-Team-Arrow may need to re-form again in some way soon enough. 

I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface here on many of these plot points, but there is so much going on (in a way that it all seems to hold together) that it’s fascinating to see how it will all come together. Especially given the apparently bleak future our characters have in store for them. 

To which -- Future William. I find it hard to believe that Oliver and Felicity would just abandon William, unless “leave” is a euphemism for something more sinister, which it appears might be the case. Otherwise, why would Felicity install a tracker in the hozen (called it!) and set the coordinates to Lian Yu? Furthermore, did she set those coordinates in 2018 when she gave him the hozen the first time? Did she want him to go to Lian Yu in some interim time before the 20 years? What on earth did she expect him to find there? And why was Oliver’s bow buried in a box? Who buried it? What did that note say? Why did Roy burn it up? Why are they heading back to Star City? Why did Roy and Thea break up (or what happened that he ran to Lian Yu to forget about it?)? SO. MANY. QUESTIONS. Isn’t that exciting? So many things we have yet to learn, so many mysteries, big and small. I’ve missed this. 

I continue to enjoy Future William and Old Man Roy’s dynamic; William is such a passive-aggressive asshole and it’s hilarious. I find it interesting also that he states he doesn’t even know how to use a bow and arrow, but he is a tech genius. Guess we know which parent he takes after. One question I have is whether the future we are seeing is ‘fixed’ or immutable, or whether whatever has happened in the interim 20 years can be undone or redone in a way. I still wonder whether William is the “new Green Arrow”, back to correct whatever went wrong in the intervening years that caused Oliver and Felicity to disappear from his life. The framing shot of him holding the bow hints towards that, but given that he claims he doesn’t know how to use it suggests that either he’s trained by Roy in upcoming episodes, or the wielder of the bow is someone else. Intrigue. Also intriguing is the question of when in time William is abandoned by his parents; if we expect to see young William in the present-day timeline (as I hope we will), then when exactly is it that their paths diverge? Time will tell. 

“My wife taught me a thing or two” - HIS. WIFE. TAUGHT. HIM. A. THING. OR. TWO. Ask me when the day will come when I stop reacting like a crazy person to every mention of Felicity as his wife and Oliver as her husband. Answer: NEVER. THAT DAY WILL NEVER COME. Bless.

“What’s an Overwatch?” made me laugh. Especially since Oliver doesn’t bother answering. 

“My wife and son were attacked. I’d do anything to protect them.” - a) I love the intensity of the way he says that, and b) isn’t it great that he then uses Yorke’s love for his wife and son against him? 

Speaking of, Oliver stabbing himself and pinning it on Yorke is THE most Oliver thing he’s ever done. LMAO. I definitely laughed at him overplaying the “you stabbed me! HE STABBED ME!!!” dramatic writhing. Even Brick looked amused. 

“There’s only one Green Arrow, and he’s in prison” - you tell ‘em, Felicity. 

The dialogue feels a lot tighter this season, and as I’ve mentioned before, characters’ motivations make much more sense. Long may it all continue. 

Okay, but I really do enjoy snarky Laurel. I’d rather that than a fully redeemed member of Team Arrow. I think she plays better as a (semi-)villain.

I miss Felicity’s pink hair. Sob. 

Diaz’s flamethrower gun was cool, but John giving him a well-deserved beatdown was cooler. 

All this ARGUS focus makes me miss Lyla. Bring her back, show. 

Felicity needs some actual friends like, right now. GIVE HER SOME FRIENDS WHO ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT HER MORE THAN THEY CARE ABOUT THEIR STUPID JOBS. 

Nice thrown in mention about William being gay. 

Also, does Old Man Roy just wear his Arsenal suit all day and night? Doesn’t that get...itchy? And smelly? And uncomfortable? And unnecessary? Oh Roy! 

Felicity is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more forgiving than I would have been. I’d have told everyone to fuck off and firebombed the place as I walked out (not so much on that last part, but ya know). 

I’m glad the show knows that Quentin wasn’t really Laurel’s father, even if they can’t seem to make that distinction in interviews. 

Honestly, Beth is just about the best thing that could have happened to this show right now. Imagine this team two years ago?!

Felicity and Oliver are each other’s ride or die, and I cannot wait for their reunion.