#its ok its new york no one batted an eye

[ironicallyelijah]

due to unforeseen circumstances i ended up pulling up to the voting registration office while cosplaying cecil palmer

[kudosmyhero]

Crisis on Infinite Earths (vol. 1) #3: Oblivion Upon Us

Read Date: August 22, 2023 Cover Date: June 1985 ● Writer: Marv Wolfman ● Penciler: George Pérez ● Inker: Dick Giordano ◦ Mike DeCarlo ● Colorist: Anthony Tollin ● Letterer: John Costanza ● Editor: Marv Wolfman ◦ Len Wein ◦ Robert Greenberger ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers (👏=didn't like it, 👏👏=it was ok, 👏👏👏=I liked it, 👏👏👏👏=I really liked it!, 👏👏👏👏👏=I loved it!)

● 👏

Synopsis: Harbinger walks into the Monitor's sanctum as he continues testing young Alexander Luthor. Luthor is aging at an accelerated rate, and is now the physical age of an adolescent boy. The Monitor discovers he is composed of both positive matter and antimatter, and believes that this composite life form may hold the key towards stopping the Crisis. Harbinger, still under the influence of a dark, mysterious entity, leaves the Monitor's satellite and reports to her new master.

On Earth-One in the 30th century, the Flash races through the streets desperately attempting to halt a series of natural disasters. He sees a wave of pure antimatter spreading outwards in the distance. He vibrates his molecules at super-speed sending himself backwards through time.

In the 20th century, the antimatter wave has reached Earth-One and it slowly begins to dissolve everything in its path. The Teen Titans team up with the Outsiders to save as many citizens of New York as possible. Batman and Superman arrive as well to lend a hand. Suddenly Batman sees the Flash appear before his eyes. The Flash screams in terror and quickly disappears.

In outer space, Brainiac's brain-ship surveys the progress of the antimatter wave. He logically deduces that in order to preserve his own life, he must help to save the Multiverse. Brainiac flies off to find his old partner, Lex Luthor.

Meanwhile, Blue Beetle, Doctor Polaris and Geo-Force arrive in Markovia in the spring of 1944. Markovia is currently under Nazi occupation and the Nazis attempt to secure the Monitor's energy tower. The American military forces known as Easy Company, the Losers and the Haunted Tank are present as well. While the heroes engage the Nazis, they must also contend with a horde of Demon-Shadows. The Demon Shadows succeed in killing several war time soldiers including Johnny Cloud, Captain Storm, Gunner and Sarge.

On Earth-AD, Superman, Dawnstar, Solovar and Kamandi stand by helplessly as they watch the sky turn the color of blood and lightning storms erupt all around them. Solovar, finally succumbs to his recent injuries and dies in Kamandi's arms.

Meanwhile, Cyborg, Green Lantern, Psimon and Firebrand materialize in the town of Coyote, Texas in the year 1879. They meet up with several Southwestern heroes including, Nighthawk, Scalphunter, Bat Lash, Johnny Thunder and Jonah Hex. The two disparate groups join forces and locate another one of the Monitor's towers.

However, the destructive wave of antimatter that the Monitor warned off strikes the Earth at all time periods simultaneously. While the other heroes fight against more Demon-Shadows, Nighthawk is consumed by the antimatter wave.

Across time in the 30th century, the Legion of Super-Heroes shares a similar tragedy. While saving innocent civilians in England, Kid Psycho falls prey to the white energy wall.

Back on the Monitor's satellite, Harbinger returns. Consumed by the influence of her new master, she releases a blast of energy at the Monitor.

(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Crisis_on_Infinite_Earths_Vol_1_3)

Fan Art: Flash Family by phil-cho

Accompanying Podcast: ● Superman in Crisis - episode 08

[xxxcertifiednerdxxx]

Ok literally one person expressed an inkling of interest in Fantasia 2000, so that’s my sign to let y’all know how amazing the music and animation is.

First, the movie opens with Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5, telling a story of good and evil with butterflies and bats in an abstract style of animation.

[image description: colorful, abstract butterflies all flying in a circle with a blue background]

Steve Martin comes and introduces the concept of Fantasia, then Itzhak Perlman introduces the next song: Pines of Rome, which tells the story of a pod of humpback whales, specifically two whales and their baby.

[image description: a pod of humpback whales soaring through clouds] Quincy Jones introduces Rhapsody in Blue, which tells the story of four different people who all live in New York City and all have dreams they hope to achieve.

[image description: a bunch of people are crowded in a subway car. Anyone tall enough is holding onto those handlebars that hang from the ceiling. Everyone looks grumpy, and each person is one color with various shades and tints]

Bette Midler introduces Piano Concerto No. 2, which tells the story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier.

[image description: the tin soldier, dressed in a red and white uniform, stands with a ballerina figurine. The ballerina has brown curly hair and a white ballet dress with blue trim. They gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes]

James Earl Jones then introduces Carnival of Animals, which is a story about a flamingo that is shamed by his flock for his love of yo-yos. I’m not making this up.

[image description: a flamingo jumps out of the water, using its feet to play with a yo-yo]

Penn and Teller perform magic tricks as they introduce The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the only animated sequence also used in the original Fantasia. Mickey Mouse is the apprentice of a powerful magician, but when he tries to use magic to take care of his chores, he realizes he’s created more trouble than he can fix.

[image description: Mickey Mouse, dressed in a red robe and a blue wizard hat, holds on to a giant book as he’s trapped in a whirlpool]

James Levine introduces Pomp and Circumstance, although he is interrupted as Mickey Mouse tries to find the star of this story: Donald Duck. Donald Duck helps Noah load animals onto the ark before the big flood, and he and Daisy think they’ve lost each other forever]

[image description: Donald Duck stands in the foreground, satisfied, as many animals walk towards Noah’s ark]

Last but not least, Angela Lansbury introduces the final song, The Firebird Suite, which tells of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

[image description: a green spirit/goddess/creature uses her magic and starts to bring a tree to life after winter]

Hopefully the beauty of these images convince y’all to give this movie a try. And maybe you recognize some of the musical pieces!

[bootyyyyshaker900]

❤️💙💛💚💜

❤️- A happy memory that makes them smile

Three stood, mourning, among the shredded remains of its beautiful silken purple jacket, sacrificed for the greater good.

"Alas - the classic tale of a well meaning loner who just couldn't fit in with a band of well-dressed crooks."

It clenches its fist for dramatic effect, and a hand reaches to grab its shoulder.

 "That's OK, Donnie - you'll always be in the April O'neil Dorky Pals for Life club" 

It smiled, turning its - his - head to look at her.

 "Thanks, April."

 "No matter how stupid you dress."

OK. That kind of ruined the moment, and Three’s face drops to a deadpan to reflect that.

They can hear sirens approaching, and quickly gather up their previously-stolen goods, April grabbing onto a handhold on Three’s battleshell as four metal arms extend to heave them up a fire escape and onto the roof away from prying eyes. To be safe, he ferries them a few blocks away before letting April down and beginning to sort out his things.

April gathers S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. in her arms, scratching his head to which he lets out a pleased beep, and levels Donatello with a look.

“You know, there’s another club out there that would be happy to have you.”

Three looks up at her from his seat on the ground, tilting his head curiously. She continues,

“The guys really want you to come home.”

Oh. No, she couldn’t be right about that, and Three scratches at the wrapped coverings over his forearms through his sweater. He had tried to- he had succeeded in releasing The Shredder onto New York City, preferably the world, to wipe out all humans, including April herself. He had directly contributed to Two and Four- to Leo and Michael’s captivity, and Lou Jitsu-.

No, certainly not, he had work to do, anyway. It had to locate Barron Draxum, and Huginn and Muninn. It had a place where it belonged, and though that place didn’t really exist anymore, it could find it. It could. It had to.

April’s hands gripped its forearms and looked at it, S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. pressed against its side.

“They want you to come home, Dee. I want you to come home. Raph, Pops, Mikey, and Leo. We’re all worried about you out here. You’re our brother.”

Blankly, it peered up at her, then at the electronics surrounding them. It was most of what he owned, only a few non-mobile devices that couldn’t be remotely stolen remaining at his hideout. It would be a pinch to grab them and bring them home. Home.

“Okay.”

💙- A sad memory that makes them cry

His brothers were so, so, so, STUPID! A pigeon with a slice of pizza - that’s what had distracted the three of them from their mission! A trashy surface bird with trashy human garbage, distracted not just Raph, but then ‘Nardo, and then Michael! They hadn’t even gotten a good picture of it for all their useless time-wasting!

The Purple Dragons would have their ultraprocessor, and who knows what damage they would do with it, all because of a stupid bird!

“-like DUMB DUMBS!”

He threw whatever was on the table - a box of crayons whose contents now sprinkled the floor, and stomped away with hot tears in his eyes. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb!!

💛- A memory that makes them feel angry

“Oh papa~! If you surrender now, there shan’t be any consequences~!”

Hung out the side of their newly finished Turtle Tank, Three clasped his hands and batted his eyes earnestly. He’d been practicing his manipulation tactics with Michael, though with the bloody rage pounding in his ears he wasn’t sure how effective his sweet voice was.

Who steals a car? Who steals HIS car? Who steals his new son’s newly built car that he was ABOUT to show off to his brothers, to show them how excellent of a team member he was, after he had spent MONTHS planning, designing, tearing apart, improving, upgrading, and equipping that blasted moon buggy?

There was no response from the truck Splinter was hunkered down in, and Three scowled.

Fine, Leo would agree with him that one missile still constituted as only semi-lethal.

💚- A memory that makes them feel guilty

It didn’t expect the integration to go perfectly smoothly, of course it didn’t. How could it? It wasn’t used to cohabitation, if it was needed it was usually summoned. Its workshop was too messy for the Barron to bother picking through it, and Huginn and Muninn would deliver its meals when it was too busy to pick it up itself. Isolation was its closest friend, it had plenty of experience in keeping itself company.

It did not have experience in three brothers and one rat father (who left it behind why did you leave it behind dad why didn’t you come find it why do you want it now and not before?) who would let themselves into its workshop several times a day to bother it for any number of reasons. They touched its things and broke it out of his focus, they complained about the loud music, about the mess, about its eating and drinking habits, about rest and something they broke and wanted it to fix, and to top it off they wouldn’t stop touching it, it didn’t understand why they all had to be so touchy.

A hand on its head, its shoulder, its wrist, nudging its foot, an arm around it, it was like they were nailing metal spikes into its brain and everywhere they grabbed, until it hissed and snapped and bit one of them hard enough to break their tougher mutant skin.

💜- A memory about one of their loved ones, happy or sad

Sound thrummed in Three’s ears, pounding loud enough to hurt and bleed and thrash and put pressure all around its mind, compressing and distilling it into the pure thought and focus its task required of him. It couldn’t hear the Barron, the pounding on its metal door, couldn’t hear itself think, or the shouts from shadows behind it. It was exactly as it liked it, though admittedly its focus was currently split.

Not split enough to impede the quality of its craft, it’d never spare enough focus for that, but it was enough as its eyes flitted back to one of the monitors in its  workshop.

The screen displayed a battle arena, crowds of hundreds of yokai screaming from their seats, blood draining into the sand of the field. A turtle, somewhat shorter but less wirey than itself, was perched on a column with a chained weapon in his grip.

Three squealed and cheered as the orange masked turtle send out the ball of mystic flame at the end of the chain, wrapping up his opponent and hauling them into the air before slamming them back down with a mighty crunch.

There it was -- There Four was, wielding the gift Three had sent him along with a piece of fanmail. Four was Three’s favourite fighter, the undefeated Battle Nexus champion, best fighter to ever be seen coming out of Big Mama’s ring alive.

It can’t help the scream it gives in excitement, spinning in its chair with a loud laugh drowned out by his soundtrack. This meant he liked it- Four liked its gift, found it useful and deadly enough to use, and now they matched! Four, and Three, and Two, separated but all wielding mystic weapons forged in a set. Only one remained in the armoury, and Three was certain that it would be able to hunt down its rightful wielder in good time.

[toasttheinkling]

Remember when i said i was gonna write

Anyways stupid af fic here

you dont get context Wait ok civil war spoilers ig its marvel + Oc

2016 - Liz

“Five years ago, I had a heart attack- Dropped right in the middle of my bat swing,” The secretary began, nobody was quite sure why he was there but it couldn't be good.

“Turns out it was the best round of my life because, after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something forty years in the army never taught me. Perspective.” Liz wished she could tap her claws on the wall without revealing herself- the sound would be calming- but she settled for tapping on her thumb. 

“The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt- you have, fought for us, protected us, risked your lives, But while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the word vigilantes.” “And what word would you use Mr. Secretary?” Natasha asked blandly.

“How about ‘Dangerous’. What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose, and who frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind.” It wasn't a question, But the fact that he followed it up with a clip of the invasion of New York was what led Liz to scoff from her perch- drawing accidental attention to herself.  

There was really no point trying to hide now that everyone was looking at her- or more accurately the shadows she hid herself in. So she let the shadows dissipate. “You know Mr. Secretary, you have quite the audacity to talk about civilian casualties.” All eyes were on her, an odd experience after not being perceived for years- But a surprisingly welcome one, even if she had never meant to reveal herself. 

 The Avengers clearly recognized her, how could they not? Coral hair pulled up into a long braid, Wings held closely behind her back to not take up space, the piercings on her wolf-like ears reflecting the light- she was hard to miss if she wasn't using magic to hide herself, and even harder to mistake for someone else. But she didn't stop her impromptu speech. “And to follow it up with a clip of New York like the government wasn't actively sending a nuke to wipe out more than everyone there. A nuke that someone-” She gestured to the table where the Avengers sat. “-Had to take through a wormhole to stop a shit ton of civilian casualties? Was a nuke the better option Mr. Secretary?” 

She took another step forward, only to be greeted by a shield flying at her face that she quickly stopped, they noticed her magic looked different, not a marbled teal and red as it had been but now a solid purple, with a few hologram-like eyes around to match. “Good to see you too Steve.” She said as she dropped the magic on his shield, letting it fall into her hand. “Or more accurately, good to have you actually see me but-” She shrugged, her wings exaggerating the movement.

The Secretary just stared at her, frozen- likely scared, he was only human after all, and a genetic anomaly of a murderer had just showed up out of the shadows. “Oh, don't let me stop your little self-righteous speech, this must mean a lot to you- to talk down to those infinitely more powerful than you and feel like you have some control- so go on, I want to hear what you have to say. Or else I wouldn't be here would I?”

She saw an unoccupied chair and dragged it to herself with telekinesis, the purple glow like a hand as it was dragged over, taking a seat in an objectively incorrect way but she wasn't going to cramp her wings up any more. He continued showing footage of events the Avengers had been involved in, and while there was destruction it would have been much worse had they not been there.

“Ok, that's enough,” Steve said, and the secretary… secretary Ross? She wasn't sure she remembered that much- but he nodded.

 “For the last four years, you’ve operated with unlimited power- and no supervision-” Liz almost said that they did have supervision by the watchers because they supervise everyone but she wasn't sure she was supposed to talk about that yet, so she kept quiet. Whatever he was on about was sure to be stupid and she didn't want to interrupt him again to talk about the all-seeing gods that she just happened to be one of apparently. 

 “-That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate.” Liz had to roll her eyes at that, it was dumb- not like anyone was looking at her, this idiot had so kindly taken the spotlight from her that she hadn't even meant to have, even if that meant giving up her whole dramatic ‘Yup I'm back from my mom's house which is also the void and she’s also a god.’ entrance- whatever.

“-But I think we have a solution,” He said as he was handed a huge fucking booklet by who she assumed to be a bodyguard. “The Sokovia accords.” That was indeed what it said on the front. “Approved by one hundred and seventeen countries, It states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization.” He said as he walked around, notably avoiding looking at Liz while she gave him a manic-looking smile when he grew close. “Instead,” He continued “You will operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel- Only when and if that panel deems it necessary.” Liz shook her head, it wasn't her place to say anything- Not that that had ever stopped her- but man was that stupid.

“The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place,” Steve said. “I feel we’ve done that.” 

“Tell me captain do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?” Liz raised her hand excitedly “I do!” They ignored her, dumb honestly but whatever. “If I misplaced a couple of megaton nukes you can bet there'd be consequences. 

“Hey why don't you talk when your ‘megaton nukes’ are also people, people who mind you can just-” She flicked her hand up and made a ‘Woosh’ noise “-Off earth. And no, maybe they don’t know where they are- Probably because they are both on different planets right now! So those gigaton nukes are off having their own life in the damn cosmos!” She didn't know why she was defending the Avengers, but her mom told her to play nice and this was about as nice as they were gonna get.

 They all stared at her sudden outburst, checking for signs that she might become unstable, but her eye was still blue (The one that was supposed to be that is) and there wasn't a single black feather on her wings. Her wings would be the first to change when she lost control- any time they had fought her in the past her wings would be almost black, and though they hadn't seen it- when her other eye went red all hell broke lose, but she seemed to be fine.  

She just shook her head, “Go on whatever- I’m sure anything I have to say won't sway your weirdly righteous mortal governments, but I sure can beat the hell out of you later.”

“What do you mean ‘Mortal governments’? You seem as mortal as the rest of them.” Not-JARVIS said, turning to look at her. She tilted her hands to imitate scales balancing- “Eh? Kinda… It's a long story I would rather share without government officials present- shorter story: I am not sure about my mortality exactly but I’m certainly not human… or at least fully- But I am in fact of divine origin- Not that any of this matters right now and honestly I would prefer we ignore it considering I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to talk about it.” 

“No, no please elaborate what the fuck are you talking about.” Nat turned to look at Liz, who now had a lot of eyes around her- looking at her and not the others for once.

“Yeah no, they are not happy with what I’ve already said.” She turned to the mass of eyes on her right to address them- “Hey- you can’t tell me I’m a god and send me back and expect me not to develop a god complex… is it still a god complex if you are a god?” She turned to the table to ask, sadly nobody was willing to answer her question. “What are you gonna do put me in void-time-out for another four years? I’m sure they’ve seen much weirder shit guys- interdimensional gods are nothing for the avengers.” The eyes- somehow- seemed subdued by this answer and closed and disappeared.

The secretary was clearly disturbed and shook his head- “We meet in Vienna in three days, I expect you all to be there. I don’t want to spend any more time around…” he trailed off but Liz knew he was talking about her and took it in stride, giving him that same manic smile, never looking away from his eyes. He all but scurried out, she couldn’t blame him, when a known murder comes back from being presumed dead even more powerful than before claiming to be a god you leave. She took great pride in his fear.

“And if we come to a decision you don’t like?” Natasha asked before he could leave.

“Then you retire.”

[theultimatefan]

Cicadas, Expansion Talk and Holidays in June: Ten Things to Know in the American Assoc. This Week

The American Association of Professional Baseball (@AA_Baseball) season continues with a full slate of series this weekend, all available for free live viewing at aabaseball.tv.

Here are 10 Things to Know about the AAPB this week:

The colorful cicadas may be an annoyance to some, but the Kane County Cougars aren't one to brood. Instead, with the 13-year and 17-year cycles converging (we're not entomologists, but we play them on AABaseball.tv), tonight is Kane County Cicadas Night at Northwestern Medicine Field vs. the Kansas City Monarchs. The team will wear special Cicada-themed jerseys which will be auctioned off for charity, and the first thousand fans receive a custom insect swatter.

Juneteenth, Father's Day, Flag Day, Pride Month and National Cucumber Day (ok, that one might be a stretch) are all celebrated across the country in June. But two AAPB teams have a couple of other ideas... Halloween (Chicago Dogs, Saturday) and Halfway to Christmas (Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, Tuesday) will bring those popular holidays back a few months early.

On Tuesday, the AAPB announced another in a series of key corporate partnerships, this one with MOBILEMONEY, now the official cashless payment solutions provider to the league and its member clubs.

Sometimes a change of position can make all the difference. The Kansas City Star and Yahoo! Sports have the story of Monarchs outfielder-turned-pitcher Nate Tellier, a .342 hitter in college whose coach suspected – rightfully so – that the mound might be a better route for the righthander in the pros. So far, so good, as he’s posted a 2.11 ERA over 17 innings at press time.

Big things are happening around the AAPB, and the time might just be right to grow the footprint, which now currently extends to 12 team across 10 states. Commissioner Joshua Schaub recently discussed the prospects for expansion at Fargo’s Valley News Live, potentially doubling the number of franchises by 2028-29..

Another 10Things, Another Homecoming as Winnipeg native Ben Onyshko signed with the hometown Goldeyes last week. The 27-year-old lefty was originally selected by the Seattle Mariners out of Steston (Fla.) Univ, reaching AAA Tacoma. He started his Goldeyes career with two innings of hitless relief on Friday to help preserve a win over Sioux City.

The Gary SouthShore RailCats along with other businesses sponsored a luncheon for local businesses and leaders for clean air initiatives for Northern Indiana last week. The luncheon awarded three college scholarships to local students in the areas and recognized four businesses making voluntary efforts to improve clean air quality in 2023.

In a few alumni moves:

Kane County outfielder Je'Von Ward had his contract purchased by Toronto and homered in his first game with Single-A Vancouver on Saturday.

Now former Kansas City Monarch Blake Rutherford is heading to Mexico to play for Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican Baseball League. Rutherford, a former MLB player, originally drafted in the first round to the New York Yankees in 2016, but finally made his big league debut in 2023 with the Washington Nationals. This season with the Monarchs, he posted a .328 batting average, .911 OPS, and launched three home runs.

After hitting .331 in the Low-A Florida State League, infielder Payton Eeles (Chicago '23) was promoted to Cedar Rapids, the Twins' High-A affiliate.

The Record Watch department has its eyes on Fargo's Izzy Alcantara, who has 30 stolen bases through his team's first 33 games. The AAPB record is 71, set by the Milwaukee Milkmen’s Bryan Torres last season. Torres continues to rake with the Cardinals’ AA affiliate in Springfield, hitting in eight straight games last week to boost his average to .329 with 16 stolen bases at press time.

[recklxssabandon]

Image of Tomorrow//Minami & Aja

@ajathings

“A night venture, then.” Aja proudly wore curiosity on her face. “Be sure to make an impression. I’d hate to give up a good night’s sleep for nothing. I do have a flight tomorrow, you know.”

Aja turned the knob and stepped into the doorway before spinning on her heel  and greeting Minami with a smile. “See you in awhile. And congratulations again. It’s well deserved.” With that, she was gone. She wore her smile all the way to her rideshare, and to her hotel room.

There were many reasons to smile. Minami was good. Very good. Beginning with her and her work cast the curation in a good light. And also...there was just...her. Mischief clung to the very edge of her aura, waiting for just the right bad influence.

Aja volunteered.

A glass of wine followed a hot shower, waiting on the table nearby as Aja brought the last of her work to a close. There was only one last thing for her to do. Her watch read 8 PM.

As Aja took a breath, she dialed a number and reached for New York. It rang this time, rather than simply defaulting to the voice mail box...although she ended up there all the same.

Beep.

“Hey girlie!” Aja put on bright and sunny tone. “Just wanted to call and wish you good morning. I hope you’re doing well, and that the writing is going smoothly. I hope to hear what you have by the time I get back!”

For a moment, there was a pause that Aja couldn’t fill. Her smile dropped slightly. “And again...I’m sorry for...me. If you ever wanna talk about it just let me know, ok? Just don’t give up, ok? Not everyone’s a hot mess. Just do me a favor; keep your mind on what you love to do. Leave the bottle alone.”

The hypocrisy from Aja’s lips struck her ears like a bat, and her smile faded entirely. “And don’t forget: I’m only a phone call away, ok? Love you...”

The line went dead, and for a moment, Aja did nothing. She stared through the hotel window, counting her sins, measuring the worthlessness that was her friendship.

Perhaps if we just stayed friends, none of this would have happened.

Aja found solace at the bottom of the glass, and the buzz propelled her to get dressed. Gone was the pantsuit of the professional, traded for the maroon dress with silky sheen. She freed her curls from the hair tie and let them fall around her shoulders.

Aja was gone from the room by nine, looking for a distraction in the form of a neon sign.

“You have gone off the rails!” 

Ru laughed at Minami as she paced back and forth in her living room, recounting the entire interview with manic, frantic detail. The excitement of the whole thing sparking off of her. She bundled her hands into fists and she gave a yelp of joy.

“The Met Ru! The Met!” She slumped down on the sofa next to her friend making the whole thing jolt slightly.

Ru laughed and pulled a dorayaki out of its plastic packaging, shoving it playfully in Minami’s mouth before getting one for herself.

“Honestly? I never doubted your work, but...” Ru narrowed her eyes, and Minami could feel the familar sensation of her friend’s x-ray vision. She gave a sigh of exasperation.

“Oh, don’t!

Ru shrugged, “you get like this...I’ve seen it before.”

“Like what?” If someone could eat a pancake recalcitrantly, Minami was doing it.

“You get way too involved, way too quickly! This woman is going to be in a cab to the airport come tomorrow and I can already see it on your face’- She raised an admonishing finger “-dont you lie to me, what do you feel about that?”

A far away look which coiled into a smile of aboslute mischief went across Minami’s face.

“I think she could reverse that cab over me and I’d like it...”

Ru rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless. Totally hopeless. Where are you taking her then?”

“Violet.”

Ru looked surprised. “Oh, fancy...Is Wave performing tonight?”

Minami nodded, springing to her feet. The excitement was like a field that sprung outward from her body.

“She is.” Minami glanced down at the red gown, twirling a little. “I think I’m going to need something a little more...fitting.”

-

Night rolled in over Shinjuku, and Minami strolled down a particlar side street next to some industrial looking buildings. She was early, so as not to leave her guest alone in this quiet, strange part of town. Violet was a deliberately obcure place; you’d only know it’s existence by the neon of the door - and even that only appeared after dark.

Her faux black fur coat was bundled over a dress which was considerably more sleek than her afternoon attire. When the Curator appeared she beamed at the other woman; a streak of maroon silk shimmering in the night light.

“Aja.” She uttered. “I know it doesnt look like much, but that’s the idea...”

She reached up and gave a particular coded knock on the illuminated door. It opened, and a young man dressed in black gave them both a nod and stepped aside to allow them entry to a long corridor bathed in purple light.

The entryway extended at least thirty metres before opening into a renovated warehouse space. The edges of the room were shrouded in gloom, the tiny pale lamps which illuminated the half dozen tables dotted the space like stars.

In the centre of them was a circular stage that at first glance might have appeared to be made of black marble, but was in fact a shallow pool of dark water. The four other guests glanced up momentarily as the two other women entered.

“I thought it best to show you something unique.” Minami’s voice dropped low, her dark eyes glittering in the low light. “Could I get you something to drink?” 

[loki-hargreeves]

Loki x Reader - Thanos controls You

Warnings: angst, mentions of torture, mind-control, fighting, choking, blood and gore, more angst (it's a lot ok)

Word Count: 5,8K

Summary: After failing to deliver the Tesseract, Loki has been living in fear that Thanos will one day find him again and seek revenge. You have been missing ever since Loki was imprisoned after what he did in New York. Little did Loki know that you were with Thanos all along. During the events of Infinity War, Thanos makes you battle Loki in order to obtain the Tesseract

Author’s Note: I know Thanos doesn’t have the mind stone at the beginning of Infinity War but it’s fiction and I’m gonna do what Marvel does best, ignore canon. Let’s blame the Other’s powers, okay? Please enjoy this angsty little thing! :)

YOUR POV

“There’s room for more!” Loki yelled over the cries of scared children and their crying families. There was no way he would send a half-empty escape pod on its way to Midgard. That’s when he saw a child all by herself a little further away. She was clinging onto the wall for dear life and the ship trembled due to the impact of getting shot at. Her parents were nowhere to be seen. Dead. Loki felt sick to his stomach when he knew they were most likely dead. Thanos’ children were slaying kids and their parents heartlessly and they had the audacity to say they were being rescued. That their deaths were part of something bigger than life itself.

They viewed Thanos as a god who was being merciful even when he ripped a beating heart out of someone's chest.

Loki’s heart clenched in his chest painfully. Before it would be too late, he made his way to the tiny child and picked her up carefully. She seemed to recognize the prince but she wasn’t afraid of him. Instead, she hugged Loki so she wouldn’t fall out of his grasp.

“Where’s mommy?” The girl sounded absolutely petrified.

Loki didn’t know what to say as he made his way to the pod. Once he reached it, he saw a woman by the entrance.

“You’ll be safe here,” Loki promised the child as he handed her over to the lady. That’s all he had time for as he returned to the corridor. A particularly loud blast made him stumble over his feet and he had to catch his balance by taking support from the metal wall. The lights flickered, which meant the electronics of the ship were injured. There was a strange smokey smell in the air, which lingered with the irony stench of blood.

Loki couldn’t believe this was happening. Had Thanos finally come for him? Or did Thanos somehow know of the tesseract? Either way, if Thanos succeeded, he would kill two birds with one stone. The thought of this being all his fault made Loki nauseous. Guilt was nibbling at his skin and he knew it would eat him alive in the end. He never wished for this to happen!

As he ran down the corridors frantically searching for Asgardians that needed help, he heard different kinds of cries. People were letting out guttural screams. Others were pleading for their lives. Listening to the massacre that was taking place was worse than any nightmare Loki ever recalled having. They were all drained after Ragnarok and now Thanos had found them. It was haunting how ruthless fate could be.

Footsteps began to approach Loki and they were awfully close. Too close for his liking. He was quick to grab his daggers and turn to face whoever dared try to sneak up on him. When he saw a familiar figure, he nearly dropped the blades from his hands. Seeing you there was like shock itself punched him in the face.

You were there, real and clear as day.

How long had it been since the last time he saw you?

Ever since Loki had found out about his true nature, his life had gone downhill. After he ended up with Thanos and went through pure hell with him, he had changed. During his time away from Asgard, he had only missed one person truly - you. You, who had been by his side through everything. You, who hadn’t loved him any less when you saw his deep blue skin and those crimson red eyes that in Loki’s mind resembled blood. You, who had seen him as the rightful king of Asgard when everyone else betrayed him. The light of his life, the angel that had cared for him even when he felt like a monster.

You, who hadn’t been on Asgard when Thor brought him back to face Odin in trial. Loki had spent a lot of time in his cell, alone. He waited for you to appear but you never did and no one ever told him why. They rather left him to drown in his own vicious thoughts. It wasn’t until Loki pretended to be Odin that he began to learn what had happened on Asgard during his exile.

The people at the palace loved to gossip. Some claimed you had stolen a ship and left Asgard behind for good, that living as Loki’s widow had been too hard for you. In Loki’s darkest hours, he wondered if you truly felt ashamed for being associated with him. So ashamed in fact, that you had left it all behind and started anew. Sometimes, he believed that, but it never stopped him from trying to find you. He had searched night and day but it seemed like you had vanished into thin air. It had killed him more every day living in the unknown. His only wish had been that you were okay.

Now there you were, looking like you had never left. In a moment of pure shock, Loki couldn’t even begin to comprehend how you appeared on the ship - seemingly out of nowhere. He was happy to see you, despite how appalling everything else was at that moment.

“Y/N,” Loki spoke your name softly and dared to blink. When you were still there as he opened his eyes, he felt goosebumps all over his skin.

You looked at him so innocently, but then he noticed that something was off. The look in your eyes was cold. You weren’t in your typical Asgardian gear. Instead, you were dressed in dark armour that Loki could’ve sworn he had seen before, but he didn’t know where. Nevertheless, it made him feel uneasy.

“It’s been a while, Loki,” You attempted a smile as you walked closer to him, your husband. It still counted since he had never truly died, right?

Loki didn’t stop you as you walked right up to him. His eyes never left yours. Part of him wanted to kiss you, to hold you and feel you were real, but the shrieks in the background reminded him of how dangerous everything was. The daggers disappeared from his hands and Loki held you by your shoulders. He needed to see that his hands wouldn't go right through you, that he hadn't lost it.

“You need to get off this ship, Y/N!” He told you seriously. There was profound fear in his voice.

Instead of being worried at all, you just smiled back at him.

That was so unlike you.

“Y/N, do you hear me?”

“Oh, I do,” You confirmed nonchalantly, “I’m not going anywhere. Not yet.”

A bloodcurdling cry startled Loki. They were coming closer and closer. The two of you wouldn’t be safe in that passageway for long. By now, his heart was racing with his thoughts. He felt panic settling into his bones.

Before Loki could say another word, you cupped his face rather gently. The fact that you didn’t seem disturbed by what was happening was eerie to Loki. He knew that you had a heart much bigger than anyone else he knew of. The version of you he remembered wouldn’t have been so calm. Something was terribly wrong.

“I need something,” You admitted and batted your eyelashes. Before, Loki would’ve found that quite adorable, but at that moment it was so wrong. He had been so ecstatic to see you and know you were alive, but now he almost wanted to run the other way.

“What?” Loki barely found his voice at that point. He felt sick and heartbroken. This had to be a nightmare, the worst kind.

“The Tesseract, Loki. I really need it,” You blurted it out.

Shivers ran down his spine. How did you know about it? Why did you even care? He was unsure if he could even trust you with the knowledge that he had it in his possession. Usually, he would’ve trusted you with his life without any hesitation, but you had been gone for years and returned like this, with bizarre motives.

You returned at the same time as Thanos and you were looking for the tesseract. Loki wasn’t a fool. He finally put two and two together and the realization was too arduous to believe. The idea of you and Thanos even meeting was something Loki could only see happening in his worst nightmares, but he was afraid it had already occurred. If so, he needed to hear it from you,

“Is Thanos making you do this?”

The tone of his voice seemed to offend you as you sent him a nasty glare. Your softness turned harsh and you pushed Loki against the metal wall with a loud thud. Before he could get out of the way, you grabbed your own dagger and pressed it against his neck so it was ever so slightly pressing against his exposed skin.

“He is not making me do anything. I am glad to serve the all-mighty Thanos. I won’t fail him, unlike you,” You snarled at Loki spitefully.

Never in a million years had Loki imagined this moment to happen. One where you would be fighting against each other. It was supposed to the two of you against the nine realms. Being held like that by the one person he loved more than anything was tearing his heart to shreds, but he tried not to show it.

Deep down, he knew it wasn’t truly you. He knew exactly what Thanos had done to you so you would act like this, and it only made it hurt so much more. It felt like someone was pouring salt into an open wound, and his entire body, heart and soul were wounded.

“Now give me the tesseract and we will be on our merry way,” You tried to obtain it again. This time you seemed more serious. Was it the tone of your voice or your weapon pressed against his pulse? Loki didn’t know.

“I don’t have it,” Loki lied as smoothly as he could because even thinking straight at that moment felt impossible. The world was caving in around him at supersonic speed.

You pressed the sharp edge of the blade closer to him, feeling how just a little bit more pressure would've broken his skin “You’re a great liar, my dear, but I know that’s not the truth.”

Loki didn’t want to fight you, but he didn’t see another way out. And it was good for him that you had learned most of the tricks from him. Your every move would be more easily predictable for Loki. He had to find a way to distract you.

“Why do you need it?” That was a foolish question. He knew damn well what Thanos would do if he got his dirty hands on the infinity stones.

“Why do you care?” You didn’t answer his silly question.

Suddenly, Loki grabbed your wrist tightly and yanked your arm to the side. He tried to be as gentle as he could, but Loki knew you wouldn’t go down without a fight.

At least your weapon fell out of your hand, but you knew how to defend yourself without it. So did Loki.

Loki tried to turn things around so he would have you pinned down against the wall, but you didn’t let him get that far. As he turned you around so your back was pressed firmly against his chest, you kicked your legs against the wall hard, pushing both of you back. Loki took the biggest impact as he fell on the floor, with you on top of him. Quickly, you rolled out of his grasp, turning around in one swift movement so that you were now sat on top of him, with your legs tightly against both his sides.

A powerful orb of magic grew above your fingertips and you brought it closer to Loki’s face - so close that he could feel the heat of your burning powers. The magic created an electric sensation on your skin. It felt like you pushed your fingers deep into warm sand. Toying with it was exhilarating, and seeing the astonished look on Loki’s face made it so much better. The green light of your powers cast light in his eyes, only deepening the look of disbelief that was painted all over him.

“It’s sweet that you’re trying not to hurt me,” You taunted him at that point, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t hurt you.”

“This isn’t you, Y/N,” Loki groaned. He was so sure of himself.

You tilted your head and smirked, looking at him like a cat would at a mouse. “I don’t know, Loki. It’s been a while,” You explained casually and leaned closer and closer to his face, stopping when your noses brushed against one another. By now, Loki was frozen on the spot. He was trying to come up with a plan and he felt hopeless.

“I’ve changed,” You whispered to him and felt tempted to kiss him, to taste him. Would you taste his fear? His heartbreak? You were sure it would taste sweet.

“The torture must’ve been painful,” Loki pushed his feelings aside. Yes, he felt like his heart had been ripped to shreds, but he had to do something. He had to surprise you, even if it would hurt. Words could hurt more than actions, and if Loki wanted to survive and to help you, he needed to reach the real you even if the only way to do so was cruel.

How did he know? You narrowed your eyes and surprisingly, found yourself waiting for him to continue.

"I was trained well."

"Trained?" Loki spat out harshly, "I know you're afraid. He has promised you something worse than the pain he has inflicted on you already. It won't happen. If you let Thanos continue his reign, he will not care about your loyalty!"

"Shut up!" That was too much for you. With tears brimming your eyes from anger, you put your hand over his mouth to silence him. He didn't budge and you didn't know why.

You pushed the memories aside. The painful memories of the time Thanos first found you. It was wrong to think of it as torture. No, he had shown you what you're truly capable of. It was training. Training to become a stronger person after the hell you endured on Asgard.

But now that you found yourself thinking about it, it seemed like the memories were all blurred as if you were looking into the past through a broken lens. Someone had spilt oil all over it and the pictures were warped.

"I know you have it," You needed the tesseract. "Give it to me and then this will all be over," you removed your hand from his mouth because it looked like he wanted to speak.

Loki knew that if he’d push you, your magic could burn him, but at the moment he couldn’t come up with another plan. He couldn’t just stay on the ground as people were being killed on the other side of the wall!

"Okay," Loki blurted out. Okay?

For a moment, he had you surprised which was the perfect distraction.

Loki grabbed your wrists tightly and pushed you to the side, but not quickly enough. You released your magic and it graced the side of his face, making him growl out either in pain or frustration - or both. The two of you rolled over and this time Loki was on top, holding your arms pinned above your head. You were trapped because of one mistake. You couldn't believe Loki had used the element of surprise to turn the situation upside down.

Furiously, you tried to kick your legs free, but he had you pinned down beneath him and Loki was strong. There was no point in squirming, you had to come up with another idea.

The two of you faced each other and Loki revealed his face and the damage you had done. Your magic had burned his skin and left a bloody cut on his eyebrow. It had just barely missed his eye. If he lived, it would surely leave a scar.

You flinched when a drop of his blood hit your cheek and it rolled down the side of your face.

"What are you going to do, kill me?"

Loki could never bring himself to kill you. He wouldn't be able to live with himself with your blood on his hands. No. He had other ideas. Loki remembered what it was like to be under Thanos' control. He remembered how much it hurt to even think about the torture. He had to remind you, he had to make you see that this wasn't the real you.

"This version of you, or I certainly hope so," Loki replied mysteriously. Before you could ask him to elaborate, Loki released your wrist and slammed the palm of his hand against your forehead. In a split second, you were in a different place - in your head. You could've sworn you heard him mutter "I'm sorry," before everything turned black.

It was hot, burning hot. Metal chains were attached to you and they were glowing red. Torching. You could only scream in pain as the metal sunk into your skin, your bones, your nerves. It felt like he had chained your mind and with the tiniest movement of his finger, he could make you do his dirty work.

He, Thanos, was sitting on his throne. He was the puppet master and you the puppet. He didn't look at you fondly. No. He was smiling as he watched you cry your lungs out, letting out animalistic growls as the pain got worse. It was so overwhelming that every once in a while, you would scream until you passed out. But every time, one of his children would be there to wake you up.

It was time for another round. And another. And yet another. Would it ever end?

Each time you tried to resist the chains, the strings that were sewn onto you and connected to his fingertips, it hurt more. Eventually, you learned that allowing the strings to tighten around you made it hurt less. It almost felt good, like a long embrace after a long day.

"I don't want to hurt you, my child."

Lies. You knew that all he said were nasty lies, but sometimes it was easier to believe lies than the truth.

"Make it stop!" You would beg him. How long had you been there?

You could remember Thanos touching your face gently, which was so comforting after everything you had endured. At the same time, it made you sick. You couldn't believe that the one who had caused you distress could have such a gentle touch.

"You're ready," Thanos had realized. The Other had appeared right before you and his fingertips were pressed against one another, making him look like he was deep in thought. You had no idea what they were doing, but the next thing you knew was that you no longer felt pain.

The chains, the strings, they were all invisible. It looked like you were free, but the weight of the metal was still pressed against your skin. Had you imagined it?

No,

Deep down you knew that the strings were still attached to you, but they had only made it seem like you had a choice.

"Excellent," The Other's voice surprised you. You merely blinked and you had returned to the vessel. Loki was above you and the Other was standing right there, "You found him."

The Other used his powers to push Loki off you. Shock had made your entire body numb and you couldn't scramble up to your feet. It felt like your limbs had been turned to stone and you were anchored to the floor.

Loki got up slowly with his arms raised in surrender. He was well aware of the powers the Other had and Loki wasn't going to fight him now. If he followed you for long enough, then maybe just maybe he could come up with a plan. Loki looked at you as you finally got up. As you stood next to the Other, you couldn't believe your legs carried you. Something was so wrong. You felt sick and you couldn't shake it off. It felt like something had snapped within you, but you didn't know what.

"He is waiting for you," The Other explained as he turned to walk away, most likely to wherever Thanos was waiting.

Loki had no choice but to follow, and you walked behind, making sure he didn't try to escape.

Why did Loki make you remember that? What did he think he would obtain with making you relive something so awful? It hadn't worked, right?

There he was. Thanos was standing by a hole that had been ripped into the side of the ship. Magic was keeping it sealed so the vacuum of space wouldn't suck everyone into it. But still, the emptiness of space wasn't frightening at all compared to the titan who was standing right there.

Loki swallowed thickly as he saw him again. It had been years but he remembered everything like it had happened yesterday. Seeing Thanos standing in the middle of the piles of bodies, in the room that smelled like smoke and blood, was sickening. Thanos hadn't just killed a part of Loki. He had just slaughtered these innocent Asgardians with the help of his so-called children. He had taken you.

He will make you long for something as sweet as pain

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. They had stayed true to their threats.

"I know what it’s like to lose," Thanos turned around now that he knew Loki was there. At long last. Thanos had not forgotten what Loki had failed to do, and Thanos was a man of his words.

"To feel so desperately that you’re right yet to fail, nonetheless," Thanos continued dramatically and slowly made his way closer to Loki. He saw Thor on the ground, bloodied and weak. The brother of Loki. As tempting as the idea was to torture Thor right in front of the god of mischief, Thanos had different plans. If there was only one way Loki would ever give him the tesseract, it was going to be in order to save you. You were Loki's true weakness.

"It’s frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end?" Thanos looked Loki right in the eye. He could see that Loki was afraid, yet Loki never looked away from him. He was either too proud or fearless. Thanos had liked that about Loki initially. But he had failed Thanos greatly. It had cost him infinity stones.

"Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it’s here. Or should I say I am," Thanos finished his dramatics because it was time for action, to turn the wheels and see the bigger picture. This was the end of an era and a new beginning for a different universe. In Thanos' mind, only he could bring balance and order. He gestured for you to walk up to his side.

Too afraid of the idea of what would happen if you disobeyed, you walked right up to Thanos, feeling like a fly that was willingly flying into cobwebs. When you were close enough, you kneeled and dipped your head so he wouldn't see the worry in your eyes. It wasn't there before.

"I didn't obtain the tesseract from him, but I am sure that he has it, father," You muttered quietly. Why did you say that? There was a pounding headache growing within your skull. You didn't know what was right or wrong anymore and you couldn't fight it either.

Father

Loki clenched his jaw as he followed the situation closely. Hearing that made his blood boil. He wanted to rip Thanos apart after this. Never in a million years had he imagined this, to see you pledge your alliance to Thanos, kneeling before him and respecting him. Thanos didn't deserve that. Hell, Thanos didn't even deserve to look at you. It was wrong.

At that moment, Loki worried that his trick hadn't worked. That the memories hadn't awakened anything within you. That it was all too late now. This was the end, the one thing in life that was inevitable.

"I know, my child," Thanos let out a sigh. Then he grabbed you by your jaw like he had done before, forcing you to face him. "I know he has it," He repeated and suddenly his touch turned violent. He closed his hand around your neck tightly and you gasped for air helplessly. Your hands - tiny compared to his - grabbed his fingers and you tried to pry them apart, but he was tougher than you. Panic shot through your entire body when you realized you couldn't breathe. It turned your blood to ice and your poor heart was beating so hard you were afraid it would explode.

What was he doing?

The moment he pulled you to your feet, so high that you had to stand on the tips of your toes, he spoke, "The tesseract or her life," Thanos smiled devilishly, showing no remorse. He didn't care about you. You were a pawn in his game and if you would die at his feet, he would just walk over you and carry on.

"You choose," Thanos put the weight of the world on Loki's shoulders.

Loki wanted to rescue you from that monster, but he wasn't stupid. With all of Thanos' children surrounding him, he knew that he would be dead before he could reach you. Nonetheless, it didn't mean he wouldn't try. Seeing you clawing at Thanos' hand, fighting for something as simple as air and not getting it was heartbreaking. Loki's body was trembling with hatred and hurt. Tears blurred his vision and he struggled to keep his composure.

How had it all come to this?

The thought of Thanos with the tesseract was haunting. Soon he would have all the stones and he would destroy reality as they knew it. But Loki could live with that. He couldn't live knowing you had died when he had a chance to save you. Perhaps he was selfish for choosing you over the entire galaxy, but Loki didn't care. Nothing mattered if he would lose you again.

"Alright, stop!" Loki made up his mind. "I choose her," Finally, Thanos released his grip on you and let you fall on the cold ground. Your hands wrapped around your throat gently and you coughed painfully. It took you a while to finally breathe again, which was a huge relief for both Loki and you.

And now Loki was holding the tesseract. It was so bright that it painted the space blue. It was almost too bright to look at. The power within the stone was so strong, you could sense it like heat from the sun in spring after a long and cold winter. Loki was tempted to use the tesseract to grab you and escape, but he quickly shut those thoughts away. Thanos would follow him for the end of all days.

"You...you really are the worst, brother," Thor was following the situation to the best of his abilities. He spat out blood as he watched Loki holding the cube. It made him sad. Everything they ever knew was destroyed in the name of power, pure and raw power that the tesseract could offer. Was it worth it?

Loki glanced at Thor who was too weak to even get up. He didn't care too much about what he had to say. Then he looked at you. There you were, on the ground struggling to breathe after Thanos had crushed your windpipe. There was bruising on your skin that would only deepen with time. Time that you possibly wouldn't have after this.

He saw the tears running down your face, but you didn't sob and whimper. It seemed like you were as still as stone. You couldn't bring yourself to face Loki.

"I assure you," Loki found his voice and he addressed both you and Thor with his words, "the sun will shine on us again."

What did he mean by that?

You were ashamed to tilt your gaze to see him, to see the tesseract. The damn infinity stone had ruined it all! It was why Thanos had wrecked Loki, why he had destroyed you too. Why so many people were now dead. If you had one wish that could come true, you would wish for the tesseract to be destroyed forever.

Thanos had his back turned to you. Loki was slowly but surely making his way closer to the titan, almost like he was afraid to move but he forced his body to comply. Why? Why would he trade the tesseract for your life? It seemed like whatever spell you had been under had worn off. You were free, but it was more terrifying than being under Thanos' control under these circumstances. He didn't need you, and soon enough the vessel would be blown to bits. All of you, even Loki.

Would you be able to tell him how sorry you were?

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian," Thanos wasn't fond of Loki's strange choice of words.

"Well for one thing I'm not Asgardian," Loki replied quickly. It sounded a little bit witty, which was confusing. Where did the boost of confidence come from? Was he up to something?

"And for another," He continued dramatically. This time it was Thanos' turn to be confused.

"We have a Hulk."

Everything that happened after that happened so fast that you could hardly keep up with it. Loki dropped the tesseract and he leapt toward you. Thanos barely had time to turn around when a huge, green beast appeared out of nowhere and it seemed angry. It was eager to fight the titan.

Loki had you up on your feet in no time and the two of you ran away from the immediate danger. He led you to one of the many corridors on the vessel until no one could possibly see you. They were too distracted by the Hulk to even think about Loki and you. It wasn't until he was right in front of you that you could comprehend what was going on. He was kneeling on the floor and you were sat against the wall for support. Your hands were trembling so hard, it seemed like you were freezing up and you couldn't make it stop.

Loki had tricked Thanos.

He was relieved when you didn't fight him, yet he was unsure if it meant you were no longer under Thanos' control, or if you were simply too tired to fight.

He cupped your face gently and searched for answers in your expression. Back in the day, he had been able to read you like an open book.

You put your hands around his wrists and pulled him closer. You were desperate for the comfort he could bring in the midst of the living hell you were stuck in. How did he not hate you?

"I'm s- I'm sorry," You whimpered, finally cracking like a plate that had fallen on the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Shh, it's okay," Loki couldn't possibly let you apologize for what had happened. He was possibly the one person who understood exactly what you had gone through and what it was like to follow orders from that monster. There was not an ounce of judgement to be found in his heart.

What mattered now was that you were together again. You could come up with a plan, but you had to work fast. As much as Loki wanted to hold you and comfort you, to feel that you were real, he knew there wasn't enough time for that.

"We need to get off this thing," Loki's mind was running a marathon as he tried to come up with an escape plan.

"They're gonna blow it up," You explained, feeling how bad your lips were quivering as you spoke. The moment Thanos had what he came for, they would leave and destroy everything they'd leave behind.

Shivers ran down Loki's spine as he heard that. It only confirmed that you had to act quickly. Loki wasn't sure how long the Hulk could fight Thanos. Would they be able to rescue Thor? How much time did they have?

The blood in the wound you had caused on his face was beginning to dry. It looked gnarly and all you wanted was to make it all better. Knowing that you had hurt him made you sick with guilt.

"I'm sorry, Loki. I didn't w-want to fight you," You sniffled, breaking Loki's train of thought. For the first time, he felt lost. He didn't really know what to do. Were there any escape pods left?

"I know," Loki assured you. "I know that. I was in your shoes when I was on Midgard," He explained briefly, unaware whether or not you knew of it. Had Thanos talked about him to you?

A sense of impending doom weighed you two down. If this was the end, then at least you were together, right? You and Loki against the nine realms, you would face the end together if there wasn't another way out. Whenever you had pictured your final day, you had imagined something entirely different than this. You would be old together, with hundreds of stories of your shared life. You would be surrounded by people you cared about. It would be calm, the exact opposite of this.

"I love you," You needed to tell him that. Any moment could be your last. The world would cave in and you would be gone forever.

Loki hated how much that sounded like a farewell, but at the same time, it had been so long since he had last heard those three words, let alone from you. Perhaps it was sick and twisted, but it made him smile.

"I love you too," Loki was sure of it. He had never stopped loving you and he didn't think he was even capable of that.

It seemed like you acted on instinct. You found enough strength to push yourself right against Loki. There was no hesitation in your actions as you kissed him. Loki closed his eyes when he felt your trembling lips pressed against his. Your scent, still sweet and familiar despite it all, punched its way into his lungs. He held your face gently but the kiss was passionate, almost despairing.

You wanted to scream out in agony because at last, you were reunited with Loki but not in the way you imagined. You felt like the shell of the person you were before, and now you knew for a fact that Thanos had done the exact same things to Loki. That titan had killed your souls beyond repair. But all you could do was kiss Loki and hold him and hope that he could feel how sorry you were. You didn't want to let go, afraid that if you did, it would all end. Just like that.

Loki broke the kiss, and for a moment you rested your foreheads against one another like you had done so many times before. It was comforting. You both wanted to stay close like that, but you recognised that you couldn't. Letting go of each other and getting up on your weary feet was so incredibly difficult, but it had to be done.

The world around you began to glow brighter. You quickly held onto Loki, startled as the mysterious light surrounded the two of you.

Loki held his breath as he studied the warm glimmering magic that had swallowed you. In between the bright rays of light, he saw all the colours of the rainbow. Shimmering. He saw reds and blues, yellows and greens, shining brighter than the other and it changed smoothly.

The Bifrost

He didn't know how or why, but he knew for a fact that you were in the magical portal. He couldn't see beyond it anymore. He couldn't feel the floor beneath his feet. It was like he was levitating mid-air, with you tightly in his arms.

Heimdall must've conjured the forefathers, letting their powers flow through him one last time. Where to? Loki assumed that anywhere would be better than where they had been mere seconds ago.

And it was a miracle.

A/N: I think it would've made more sense for Heimdall to send Thor or Loki to earth rather than the Hulk. So that's why I ended it like that

I'd absolutely love to hear your feedback! <3

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[blazewatergem]

Did this in an hour, and I heavily thank my darling friend Pidge for helping kick this off :D

Everyone, meet…Aloisa Mailon!

Aloisa Mailon

Aloisa Mailon is a night time radio host in the Marvel universe and the main OC in my fanfic Good Night New York. The name itself is a reference to how her radio show works. It lasts from the time the sun goes down, to the time it goes up. Every single night. It’s mostly her just playing music, taking requests off of a private website she only advertises on the radio station - which can only be reached via a certain signal. The whole thing is hush hush, meant to be a sort of happy secret that way, since the only way to find it is by stumbling across it or a friend recommending it.

Some nights, she’ll discuss news or events, which she jokingly introduces as “what the dayfolk are up to”. During the “darkest hour” of the show - middle of its run time - she’ll answer questions anyone asks. (I kind of want to, in the fic, ask people to send questions in. I think it’d be a cool little fourth wall break, but I’m not sure since that’d require people…actually commenting 😅). The show itself heavily plays up the night theme aesthetic, Aloisa calling people her ‘little bats’ and even the name is called The Night March. She’s very into joking and has her own little lore on the station, portraying a sort of gothic but caring personality, but she’s never shared her name - asking people to call her Livewire instead. This might be due to how sometimes, she gets very passionate on her station, even outright calling others out on their shit - other news and heroes alike.

What’s funny is she isn’t really like this in real life. She’s rather antisocial, doing her best to avoid conflict and just not deal with others, but she does stay polite and kind when she has to. Due to her show, she’s constantly tired - often sleeping through the morning into the afternoon. She isn’t big on interaction with people live, and prefers the safety of her apartment, so she mostly just goes out to get food, go shopping for necessities, or head to a media store - new music is a must in her business.

Aloisa didn’t grow up in New York, rather she was raised by her mom and dad off the coast in a more rural town. Her best memories involve sneaking out at night, only to go to the beach and listen to music while watching the waves. Her parents were fine with this, but did ask - on the days where her night clothes seemed more wet and sandy than normal - if everything was ok. They’re a close knit trio, and both of them support her dreams of running a comforting nighttime show very strongly.

She currently doesn’t have any human friends, but she has pets - three cats to be exact. Bip, a Russian Blue, and Bo, a Burmese. Mimsy, the only girl cat, is an American Shorthair. She is also missing a hind leg, which has resulted in ramps being placed everywhere in the apartment for her to navigate and climb up stuff, including the bed. It’s often Mimsy who wakes Aloisa up.

Aloisa does want to get more pets, probably because she is replacing human bonding with animals - but she also really, really does love animals. If she had a bigger apartment, she’d get more cats or even some guinea pigs. It’s been the one thing she’s had to really get used to in the big city, lack of animals everywhere.

Her general appearance is brown curly hair, often a hot mess, and a apple body shape(I’ve been trying to make more of my characters…like me. It’s comforting, honestly). I like to think she wears eye contacts that make her eyes different color, plus help with eye strain from looking at her monitors all night. She prefers comfortable clothing, and honestly in her apartment she just chills in a t-shirt and sweatpants. Fuzzy socks, always, no question.

Their radio show is well-liked amongst vigilantes, due to the late hours, and funny enough - she likes vigilantes more than regular heroes. She still likes heroes, but she isn’t scared to call them out too. Vigilantes get, honestly, special treatment from her - particularly ones that hide their real identities.

She understands that very well.

…And that’s all I’ve got for her so far! Like I said, she’ll be my MC for the Marvel Fanfic Good Night New York :D I colored the text about her to make it stand out a bit more lol, plus purple suits this nocturnal hostess.

I hope y’all like her, and I’m down for any questions about her - any ;D

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

The Perfect Bad Boy (Pt. 18 of 18)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 3 K

Summary: Working as a lifeguard in the Hawkins Community Pool, you try to fit in after moving from New York. Things were going pretty well when you notice you've been under someone's stare. Billy Hargrove, Hawkins' bad boy, has been staring at you since day one. You never intended to have anything to do with him, judging by the reputation he has. But Billy won't leave you alone, determined to show you his feelings are different this time...

As if your heart flooding you with confusing feelings wasn't enough, there are weird, strange animals lurking in the woods... But those have to be just part of the wild live of the woods surrounding Hawkins... Right?

<- Previous part (17)

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

×

Set Them On Fire

Today, you need the sun. You need it hot and bright, to offer you protection, to burn anything that comes out of the flames. But there are clouds in the sky, threatening to hide that damn ball of fire. Bouncing your leg, the only thing keeping you down to Earth is Billy's hand on your thigh, trying to calm you down. You had to call in sick today, telling Anthony both of you got a cold and passed on to the other. And now the manager of the pool knows you're living together. But it doesn't matter. This matters, setting those monsters on fire and being done with it.

“Relax, babe.” He says, squeezing your thigh a little, making you look over him. “It'll work.”

“It will.” You tell this more to yourself than to him.

Half an hour later you reach the only hole left, joining the party who gathers a few feet away, in the protection of the threes. When you step out of the car, you feel a rather cold breeze, the one that announces a storm. Max hands you the bat, which you gladly take, holding it tight. The kids are getting things ready. Well, they're helping Eleven, you're not sure how since she's the only one with superpowers, as she searches through the woods, making sure all the Demodogs are in the tunnels.

The idea is to use one of the robots to take a stick of small dynamite into the tunnels, so when it explodes, the fire will spread through the whole thing quickly, since it's basically soaking in gasoline. When Eleven finally stands up, taking off the fabric that was covering up her eyes, everyone starts moving.

“They're all in there. They already started digging again. We gotta do it now.” She says, and immediately, Mike gets the small robot ready.

“This takes thirty seconds to blow up, more than enough time to get in the there, drive it inside, and run back here.” He announces, standing up to his feet. “Who will go there?”

You were expecting then to be nervous, to push it around, not wanting to get too close to the hole, not when the clouds are threatening to give the Demothings a chance to hunt in the daylight. But no. They start arguing about who gets to go.

“Seriously.” You mumble, running a hand through your hair and pacing around. You just need this day to end. You just need the fire to catch.

“Hey, hey.” Billy reaches you as you walk away from the others, not wanting to listen to their arguments. The guys are fun to be around, and they manage to get a laugh out of you despite being sad about Jason, despite being anxious about the Demodogs, but now you just can't, not today. There's too much at stake. “Come here.” Billy hugs you, your arms embracing his midsection, head on his chest. He has this thing, you don't know how, you don't even know if he actually tries. But when Billy hugs you, the rest of the world vanishes. It doesn't matter how dangerous it is, Billy makes it all disappear.

“Everything I want to do right now is–”

“This is not the place or time to make out. Let's do this!” Hopper's thunder voice cuts you short, and you take a couple of seconds to swallow the anger before letting go of Billy.

“Let's go. It'll be over soon.” He bends over to place a soft kiss on your lips before taking your hand and walking over the party again.

Lucas won, he gets to put the robot near the hole. You watch as he does it, lighting up the dynamite and running back here as Mike moves the thing forward, making it disappear inside the tunnel. Dustin is counting down, and you close your eyes, your body frozen.

“Seven, six, five, four–” It happens, a small explosion followed by wild, high flames taking over the exit. It makes a weird noise as the fire spreads, but it soon vanishes, fading away as it takes over the tunnels underground. “I must have miscalculated.”

“It's working,” Eleven says, focused, blood coming out of her nose. “I can feel them dying.”

“Great,” Hopper says, a gun in hand, ready to act if things go south.

You're allowing yourself to relax now, despite the clouds covering up the sunlight, and the thunder that can be heard somewhere from above. The rain won't put down the fire, it'll keep burning for several hours, until all the gas is consumed. All the Demodogs will be nothing but ashes by then.

Several minutes pass by, and a light rain starts falling. Summer storms are unpredictable, they come suddenly, and can either last ten minutes before the sun comes out again or two days. But it doesn't matter. Nobody seems to be bothered by the water so there's no reason for you to overthink.

“Can't we go now? It's done, isn't it?” Robin asks, removing some of her hair that's glued to her face. “It's pouring.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Steve answers, his eyes, like everybody else's, on the flames, coming out of the hole. “I think this is it.”

Eleven breaks out of her state, taking a deep breath and turning around. “I think we can go.”

You're relieved, if the words can even express how you feel right now. You're grip on the bat loosens, and you lay it on your shoulder.

“Home, then. A little party to celebrate?” Steve suggests, and they murmur in response, obviously excited.

But a groan, a snarl, building up from a low whisper to a loud, disgusting noise shut them up. Slowly, all eyes turn back to the hole, and your heart stops when you see it. When you actually see the thing making that noise.

As it crawls out of the tunnel, yelling, groaning in pain, it's skin falling apart, you immediately recognize it, despite never seen the thing. This Demodog just evolved into the full thing, eight feet tall massive Demogorgon. Now, the rain is a problem. Out here, with the water hitting its skin, the fire is being put out.

“Hopper, start shooting!” Joyce yells, and Hopper moves, blasting that thing, and despite some painful growls, it also gets its attention, and now, it's looking over here. At you. And when it starts moving, the commotion starts. Everyone who knows how to use a gun has one, Billy included, and the shooting begins.

You wish you could be brave. You really wish you had the courage you had when Neil attacked Billy. To just go there and beat the shit of this... This... Thing. But instead, you freeze, unable to move, just looking at the monster, and it comes towards you.

“(Y/N)!” Billy's voice reaches you at the same moment you feel his arm around your waist, pulling you back. “C'mon.”

You don't know what comes to you. The kids are so brave, they have been dealing with these things for a while now, and you just... You can't move. You can't think. Your eyes can't believe what they're seeing, your legs won't obey your commands. You're just... Paralyzed.

“Take her away. Now.” Someone says, and you feel yourself moving when the Demogorgon jumps, moving way too fast for something so big, landing right among you, splitting the group in half.

It's close now, close to you. It lowers his head, not seeming to the bothered by the many bullets hitting its skin. You see it, looking right at you with no eyes, and its head opens, slowly, and you feel like you're inside a nightmare, the worst nightmare you could ever imagine.

It happens fast, and it snaps you out of your numbness. Billy pushes you away, raising his gun, shooting the creature until there are no more bullets left. Then you see it, you feel it, the thing ready to jump over Billy. That makes you move. From your state, you hold the bat with all the strength left in your body, stepping forward and swinging it right into the Demogorgon's head. The nails pierce through its already sore skin, burned, peeling off, and when it moves back, flinching away, you pulled with it, only letting go of the bat when you stumble down, a sharp pain on your knee and right forearm.

“Everybody get back now!” Eleven shouts and you're quickly pulled up, right into Billy's arms as he moves both of you away from the thing.

Holding on to Billy, you see as Eleven steps forward, furious, raising both her hands. Then, the impossible, which insists on reminding you it's not impossible anymore, happens again. The flames start flowing out of the tunnel, like a fireball, creeping through the woods, leaving a trail of fire on its way here. On its way to the Demogorgon. In a violent push, Eleven lowers her arms, and the fire swallows the creature, which makes the most horrifying sounds you ever heard. It tries to fight it, to run, to attack, but by the looks of it, Eleven is holding it back too.

The groans are deafening, and you can't look anymore, hiding your face on Billy's neck. It only gets worse, louder, and the rain falling on you feels hot. Then, it stops, and before you can process what happened, you're pushed back in a wave of power, both you and Billy hitting the ground hard. Your first instinct is to look at the monster, sitting up abruptly, checking if its anywhere near you. But you see nothing. Nothing but ashes falling down with the rain. It's gone, disappeared.

“Damn it.” Billy groans and your attention falls on him.

“Billy.” With a hand caressing his cheek, you quickly check for any injuries. “Are you alright, baby?”

“I will be after I wash the Demogorgon's ashes off.” By the comment, he's ok, so you lower yourself to kiss him, over and over again, until you hear someone clearing their throat behind you.

“We're all fine too, thanks for asking.” Robin comments.

“Oh, shit.” You mumble, stumbling back to your feet and almost falling back down on the process. “Maxine? Dustin, Steve... All the rest. Mike? Lucas, Joyce...” As you look around, you mentally count, making sure everyone is alive and well.

“Everyone is here.” Eleven says, a tired smile on her lips as Mike hugs her. “They're gone. All of them. I double-checked.”

Breathing out, you run a hand through your hair, a laugh escaping your lips when Billy hugs you, lifting you up. “I told you, princess. We'll be just fine.”

The drive home is chaotic. Everyone is dirty with rain, mud, dirt, and Demogorgon ash. And also blood, since you save a graze on your forearm and a wound on your knee.

Back home, as Lucas and Maxine fight over who will get to shower first, Billy lets you go first, as usual, and when you're done, you have to go and pacify the young couple. Lucas decided to let Maxine go first, and the fighting ends. As you wait for Billy, you clean the wounds, noticing they're not as bad as you feared. Lying down on the bed, you close your eyes, thinking about Jason. You only wish it all happened before, so he'd still be around, but it feels good to know nobody else will get hurt. That you had a part in it, even though it was so tiny.

“So...” Billy says, and you open your eyes when you feel the mattress moving under his weight. “We got our summer back. Whatever is left of it.”

“We still have three weeks until college.” When you notice he's coming to stand above you, you push him back, climbing over him instead. “Then it'll be crazy. Will you really go on with that routine? Drive to Indianapolis Monday morning, drive back here Friday after class?”

“Yeah.”

“It'll be tiring.” You explain, lowering yourself until your face is only an inch away from his.

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure that–”

“Stop trying to make me change my mind about it. I want this crazy, exhausting routine because I want this. Me and you, together. I want this.”

Biting your lip, you hold back a smile. “I love you, Hargrove.”

“Love you too, future Mrs. Hargrove.”

• • •

Life has fallen back into the old pace. Now, only two weeks left of summer, you use your free time to hang with your friends and Billy. You finally feel safe to stay out at night again, but the pain for missing Jason is still very real. You visit his grave once a week at least, mostly with Monica, holding her as she cries. But other than that, the rest is getting better. Steve still teases you, Mike doesn't let go of the incident in his house, Lucas and Maxine keep fighting like a married couple, Joyce and Hopper decided to replace your parents, worrying way too much about your relationship with Billy. Diane comes to visit every once in a while... Life is good, and you're enjoying it.

Today, you just returned home from having lunch with Monica, closing the door shut and throwing the car keys on the table. Billy is on the chest bench, and as you stop to watch, he gives you a look and a wink.

“Almost done here, princess.” He says as you walk closer, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing.” You simply say before sitting on his lap, straddling his hips. “Do twenty more.”

“Why do you always find a way to bug me when I'm working out?” He rolls his eyes, not bothering to stop lifting the weight.

“One...” You start, giggling. “Two... Three.”

“I've been here for half an hour. I'm tired.”

“Four. I can see, you're all sweaty. That's disgusting. Five.” Billy fakes an angry face, raising his leg and kicking your back, forcing you to fall against his chest. “Billy!”

You move to stand up, but he presses the bar in your back, trapping you down. “Where do you think you're going?”

“Alright. Let me up.”

“Only if you kiss me.”

“If you don't let me up I won't kiss you for a week.”

“I heard that before. It lasted an hour.”

“Uhm...” You're looking at his lips as he speaks, immediately regretting what you just said. “You're so lucky you're a good kisser.” Giving up that stupid idea, you kiss him, feeling when he puts the weight away, arms coming to hug you.

“What the hell.”

“Ignore them,” Maxine says, and when you raise your head to look, you see as she drags Eleven to her room.

“Now that we were interrupted, let's get ready.” He stands up as he speaks, carrying you with him.

“Ready for what?”

“I told you I'd take you somewhere special. And today is the day so wear something nice.”

It doesn't matter how many questions you make, Billy won't say a thing.

You choose to put on a light blue dress, since he told you to dress up nice, despite not knowing where he's taking you. You were thinking about a restaurant, the mall, one of the cute snack bars, but when we start driving out of town, you don't really know what to expect.

“I'm gonna need you to close your eyes from now on.”

“Why?”

“Just do it. C'mon.”

Giving him an exaggerated eye roll, you do as he says, knowing he'll be checking you. After a couple of minutes, he stops the car, telling you to wait. He then opens the door for you, taking your hand and helping you out. “Can I?”

“No. Wait.” He covers your eyes with both his hands, and you walk carefully. You feel a fresh breeze messing with your hair, the wild smell of the woods filling your nose. “Look now.”

You open your eyes when he removes his hand, and what you see is nothing less than Hawkins, the tiny houses down there, as you stand some feet away from the cliff. A smile immediately spreads through your lips, as you admire your home from afar. “Billy, this is... Amazing.”

“I knew you'd like it.” He hugs you from behind, resting his head on the top of yours. “Since you love this city so much, I thought this would be the right place.”

Furrowing your eyebrows, you turn around to look at him. “The right place for what?”

Smirking, Billy searches for something in the pocket on the inside of his jacket. Raising an eyebrow, you step away, crossing your arms. “I will make the right question this time.” He takes a small, dark blue box. Your eyes go wide and your heart starts drumming in your ears, as your mind tries to process what's happening, telling yourself not to think what you're thinking.

“W-what question?” Stuttering, you keep looking into his eyes as he opens the box, pushing the hair away from your face since the wind is making it fly wildly.

Slowly, very slowly, you lower your stare to the box, now open, and you see two rings. “Right here, with the whole town as my witness, I want to know if you would, someday, be my wife.”

“Yes.” This time, you don't fight it. You can just let the word roll out your tongue. “Yes, baby.”

The smile that comes to his lips it's the most beautiful thing in the whole world. Billy takes your hand, putting the ring on your finger and you do the same soon after. “Was it the right question this time?”

“Shut up and kiss me, Hargrove.” Rolling your eyes, you pull him closer, standing on your toes.

“As you wish, princess.”

The kiss tastes like a promise. Like pure and complete bliss. This is where you're supposed to be, Hawkings, a small town, so different from everything you ever experienced. And, despite the moments of terror you've been through, you'd go through every single one of them a hundred times over if it only meant you'd end up here, with Billy's lips on yours, his arms holding you so close. In your own particular heaven.

×

@chloe-skywalker @dpaccione @dreamin-of-dacre @funeral-7 @uncookspaget @youhavemyfantasticbeasts @halloweenbitch2764 @redlovett @multific @shinydixon @nikkixostan @clockworkballerina @nope-thanks

[sergaku]

You Were My Nightmare

This is my @mlsecretsanta gift to you @galahadwilder. This is a sort of idea I have had for a while that I haven't seen before be done with other fics. It's a concept that I wish was in the show, but know its not gonna happen. Thanks to @gryffindorcls for the feedback. Was very nervous about this story til she read it.

The only thing Marinette could see was darkness. It was a cold darkness that sent a terrible shiver through her body. She took a step forward, letting out a surprised yelp as the darkness was replaced with a blinding light.

When everything returned to normal she noticed where she stood. She was still in Paris, but not a Paris she was familiar with. She stood atop a skyscraper, it being surrounded by a hazey blue. When moving toward the edge she noticed the blue was water. Everything was flooded, and when she looked to the sky the moon was destroyed, and silence was the only noise she could hear. 

"Marinette…." A voice with venom in its tone came from behind her. 

She turned around quickly to find Chat Noir standing there, eyes closed as if in a daze. She rushed towards him, only to stop when he opened his eyes. They were an icy blue and showed none of the kindness that normally accompanied them.

"C-chat? What happened to you? To this place?" Marinette asked with a shakey tone.

"Our love did this to the world Marinette." 

He began walking towards her, the black of his costume slowly being turned white along with his hair. Marinette just watched in horror as she began backing away. She tried to speak, but no words were coming out her mouth. It was only when she fell on her rear and tried to crawl backwards did she find her voice.

"Plu...ple...please Chat! We….we can fix th-" The cold leather of Chat's left hand connecting to her throat interrupted her. 

He stared deep into her eyes, his smile twisting into something wicked. His right hand glowing with the power of destruction.

"You made me into a heartless creature Marinette. It's time I return the favor!" 

Chat Blanc yelled out a blood curdling scream as he thrusted his hand into Marinette's heart. The only thing Marinette could do was scream from the intense pain, and finally woke up.

_____________________

Marinette shot out of her bed, screaming loudly as she clutched her chest. When she got a moment to get her bearings she noticed her room, and the dark Paris night sky. She gazed down at her hand tightly grasping at her shirt and let go, letting out a sigh before hearing her door open. 

"Marinette, are you ok," her father shouted as his large figure burst into the room. 

He held a baseball bat in his hand, reaching up to touch her hand as a way to console/protect her. 

"I'm…...I'm fine dad. Just had another nightmare is all" She pat his hand gently and gave her the best smile she could muster. "You can go back to bed." 

Without another word from Tom, he left the room. Though he was hesitant to do so. 

Marinette got out of her bed, ascending the trap door to her balcony wearing a jacket to fight the chill of the night. She felt the cold sweat on her face trickle down from her forehead as she leaned against the railing.

"Why...why is this happening now?" Marinette asked herself as she clenched her fists. "I thought I was over this….over feeling this way…."

"You can't exactly erase an event like that from your mind Marinette." Tikki chimed in as the Kwami sat on the girl's hand. "Chat Blanc was the most dangerous enemy you had ever fought. More than Hawk Moth."

"Yes, but this was months ago Tikki. I was able to talk with Master Fu about it. He helped me get closure...more or less. But why now?" Marinette felt her legs start to give out, forcing her to retire to the floor and sit against the cool metal bars.

"Maybe...maybe because of New York?"

"What? Why would that cause Chat Blanc to attack my dreams again?"

"Well….he could have 'returned'. Chat Noir was so distraught from failing you that his emotional state was incredibly low. Low enough to a point where if he was Akumatized as his civilian self, he would have most likely been able to turn into him." 

"I….yeah. I had that same thought. But, I didn't want that in my head. But this time I have no one to talk to. Master Fu is gone and if I tell Chat about Blanc he might be upset with me." Marinette trailed off at the thought of Chat being mad at her. She kept stuff from him sure, it was part of the whole identity thing. But Blanc? He is a bigger secret than her identity. One wrong move could turn that altered future to reality.

"Then you have to tell him. You can't keep this to yourself anymore. Chat deserves to know now. And it's your job as Guardian that you do everything in your power to make sure nothing bad happens involving the Miraculous." 

Tikki looked at her partner, a sense of agitation growing inside her from this situation. Tikki had to endure this for a few days the last time this happened. Now, it's been over a week. And it needed to end before Marinette could do any hero work.

"But what will he think of me? Of himself? It's not just me I am worried about. What if Chat thinks he himself as too dangerous to be around anymore. I am not replacing him with anyone else. No matter what!" The sense of determination in her tone to not replace Chat was the prime example for the love she showed him.

"The only thing that you can do Marinette is trust him. Because you know you can." Tikki gave Marinette a small hug on her cheek before retreating back into the room.

Marinette looked up into the night sky, watching the full moon hover above the world.

_____________________

Adrien had noticed how tired Marinette had been lately. He attributed that to late night studying, but now he wasn't sure. The way she stumbled through classes, her slurred speaking, her odd flirtatious tone, all off it was off. It was cute at first to see another side of her. Now, it was very concerning.

As Adrien walked into the school he noticed Marinette leaning against her locker. She looked like someone smashed a pillow against her face. 

"Marinette? Is everything ok?" Adrien asked as he made his way over to her.

"Huh? Oh Adrien. Yeah I'm doing just fine you know. Just fine indeed." Marinette responded with a yawn tackled at the end. "Just...just haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately."

Adrien looked into her eyes, spotting a hint of deceit in them. He placed his hand on her shoulder, which caused the young fashion designer to look up at him with a hint of red on her cheeks. 

"Marinette, if something is going on I want you to know that you have people to talk to. Alya and Nino are always there to listen if you have a problem. And…" Adrien spoke softly as he spoke. He felt his face heat up when he thought of the next words to say. "Especially me. I am always an open ear for you." 

Marinette gave a small smile as she nodded at the boy. She pressed her head against his shoulder, causing Adrien's entire body to tense at the sudden contact. He felt his heart throb, not knowing what this sensation that was coursing through him. 

When he looked down at the girl he couldn't help the smile that plastered his face. 'Had this girl always been this cute.' He relaxed his body some and pat her shoulder gently. 

"Thanks for talking to me Adrien. I feel a little better. But….I still got some stuff to think about." She lifted her head up, her cheeks showing a small shade of pink.

"No problem Marinette. I am always glad to help you if I can." Adrien gave her a smile and a nod.

'Now I just need to confront another girl who looks exhausted.' Adrien thought as he made his way to class. Not noticing the Kwami in his breast pocket flying away.

_____________________

Tikki was sitting in Marinette's locker, bundled up with a small pillow and tiny cloth blanket. She was soon joined by her partner Plagg, taking note of the sleeping creature. 

"Alright Sugar Cube, I need to know what's going on with her. Why is your bug so….groggy." Plagg asked as he shook her awake.

Tikki stirred a bit as she opened her eyes. She sat up, stretching her tiny arms and letting out a yawn.

"I don't think I should tell you Plagg. Marinette doesn't even want to talk about it fully with me." She answered melancholy.

"Yeah, when have I ever cared about that. Her demeanor is going to affect the dynamic of their teamwork. If she isn't up to snuff then we need someone else." 

"...fine. I will tell you everything…."

As Tikki explained the situation Plagg slowly began to break his stoic look. His ear dropped as he sat down in the locker. 

"So you know as much as I do. I can only assume that Hawk Moth found out who Adrien is and manipulated him. Used Marinette to...to turn him." Tikki looked up at Plagg, waiting for his reaction to this information.

"Huh. I don't know why she is so worked up over this. It's no big deal." Plagg just shrugged and shook his head. 

"Plagg! How could you-"

"Because it's them."

Tikki tilted her head as she gave a confused look. "What? What do you mean?"

"She is planning on telling him tonight right?"

"Yeah?"

"If Adrien is half as smart as me, then he will come to the same conclusion I have." Plagg spoke with a smug look as he gave a toothy smile.

"What do you mean?"

"You will just have to trust me."

_____________________

Ladybug stood on a random rooftop, waiting patiently for her partner to arrive. Another quiet patrol, no Akuma to distract her from her thoughts. The entire time she kept wondering how she was going to tell Chat. Can she bring it up casually? Make it the focal point of a serious discussion? 

Ladybug let out a sigh as she rubbed the space between her eyes. She felt the twinge of a headache approach from thinking about this too long. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand grasp her left shoulder followed by a voice. 

"Ladybug?"

On instinct she grabbed the hand with her right, side-stepping in the same direction whilst bringing her left hand in a chopping motion. She had no time to process who the person was before her hand connected to the person's throat, making them let out a gacking noise as they grabbed their throat and fell to their knees. It was then when she realised she just chopped her partner in the throat.

"OHMYGOSHCHATIMSOSORRY!"

She quickly dove to his side, patting his back gently as he let out a few coughs.

"It's….it's fine….*ack* should have ..announced myself." Chat's voice was raspy, doing his best to massage his neck to alleviate the pain. 

A few minutes passed and Chat was back to normal. Ladybug just looked at him as he explained his portion of patrol, not being able to focus on his words. When she looked at him she saw flashes of Blanc. His face twisting from his warm smile to that cold scowl. 

"Ladybug, something has been bothering you lately. I can see it on your face." 

These words broke her from her trance, and she shook her head and waved her hands in dismissal.

"Oh no no. I am fine Chat. Just got distracted." Ladybug clammed up, feeling her whole body stiffen as she stood in front of her partner.

She felt like a coward. She wanted to discuss this with him, but when she looked at him she couldn't. She couldn't bare to see the potential disappointment on his face. Her hands tangled together, rubbing her palms and jittering her fingers in a nervous fidget. 

"Ladybug, you can talk to me, you know that right? I am always here to listen to you." Chat gave her a big smile as he placed both hands on her shoulders. 

She only felt more tense at this. Her anxiety about the situation rising at a rapid pace. Her breathing became shallow as her world began to crumble.

"Nononono….I…..I'm…..I…."

Ladybug.

"No...I said no…..stop……" 

LADYBUG!

She looked up to see Blanc staring at her, his face getting close as his eyes narrowed. 

"I said NO!" 

She pushed his hands off her shoulders roughly, taking a step back as her fist connected with his jaw. She panted some as she saw her world return to normal, looking up to see Chat Noir standing a few feet back with his head turned. Her eyes went wide as she looked at her fist, feeling her fingers throb from the impact.

"Chat.." She took a step towards him, her voice shaky as she felt tears start to form in her eyes. 

Chat took a step back, his head moving to look down at the ground. "I'm sorry Ladybug. I didn't mean to overstep my bounds." 

"Chat no it's…" She took another step towards him.

"I can see that you don't want to talk. I will leave you be for the night." He took another step backwards. 

He turned around, grabbing his staff and extending it. Ladybug watched his movements and dashed toward him. Just as he jumped she grabbed his tail, bringing him back down as she fell on her stomach. He looked down at her as her face stared down at the floor.

"Don't leave...please….don't go." She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. 

Chat dropped his staff, rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her. She felt a sense of warmth in his arms, a safe and secure place. She returned the hug, closing her eyes to enjoy this small, peaceful moment.

During their embrace Ladybug explained everything that plagued her mind. The events that transpired from her experience from Blanc, the nightmares it gave her, and how they returned on their return trip to Paris.

Chat looked at her, taking every word in and not interrupting. When she finished she looked up at him, waiting and scared of his reaction.

"I don't see the big deal."

"What! Chat did you not hear anything I said?!"

"I did. And it sounds like that Ladybug and Chat Noir were together after he found out your identity. And I assume the other you knew his. So I don't see how any of what you said could be your fault."

"But….he said that it was our love. He knew who I was. How could it not be my fault? Him knowing my identity that means that he-"

"Was manipulated. Ladybug I love you. The girl under the mask is who I yearn for. I would never do anything to ever harm you. I would rather destroy myself than have to do you any harm. Even if I was controlled by Hawk Moth, he couldn't stop the feelings I have for you. You are much stronger in my heart.

"The only way he could try is if he knew who we were and used that against us. And we know he would. Hawk Moth is very devious like that." 

Chat Noir took a deep breath and grabbed both of her hands, kissing them gently and looking into her eyes. 

"Ladybug, never keep something like this from me. I may not be able to do much, but I can listen. I can be there for you." 

Ladybug looked down, a new set of tears falling down her face at these words. She hugged him tight, feeling a warmth spread through her body as she sobbed. This man, this man right here was someone she could trust entirely. She would be lost without him. And he deserved to know.

"Marinette. You can call me Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Chat Noir froze as she hugged him and looked at her when she said her name. His arms snaked around her tight, letting out a hearty laugh as tears went down his face. 

"I am so glad that it's you Marinette. And I am glad to say my name is Adrien Agreste."

They broke their hug as they dropped their transformations. Both of them looked into each other's eyes with an overwhelming sense of joy. 

"Adrien….."

"I love you, Marinette."

"I...love you too, Adrien."

They moved towards each other, both of their eyes closed as their lips connected. It was better than any other kiss they had before. It was better because it was the first of many in this new relationship.

_____________________

Marinette stood back on that building, back to the scene. She turned around, spotting Chat Blanc standing there with a Cataclysm charged. He charged at her, yelling out to her. She just stood there and spread her arms, preparing for the worst. It never came.

Chat Blanc stood there, his hand inches from her and about to destroy her. He looked up at her, anger pouring out his eyes.

"Why aren't you scared!?"

"Because I have no reason to be Adrien."

She placed a hand on his cheek, giving him a warm smile and kissing his lips. Blanc's eyes went wide at this, but slowly closed them. His Cataclysm disappeared and stood tall infront of her. His costume slowly changed from white to black, and then his costume disappeared. Adrien was left there with her and the world returning to normal

_____________________

Tikki looked at Marinette, smiling in her sleep as she grasped the Chat Noir plushie tight against her chest. No screaming, no cold sweat. She was at peace. 

"Well, I guess you were right Plagg. I'm excited for the future."

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 13: On Your Left

Summary: Steve and Katie meet a new friend whilst out jogging, and Steve is sent on a mission to rescue a ship- the Lemurian Star…but it fast becomes apparent that not everyone on his team is pulling in the same direction.

Paring: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Language! Smut (NSFW, 18+)

A/N: We jump forward a couple of months here and slip straight into the Winter Soldier storyline. Credit to @angrybirdcr​ for another lovely edit, and this re-post contains additional materiel- I’ve written the mission out instead of merely skipping over it.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 12 Part 2

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 End of March/Beginning of April 2014

“Turn it off,” Katie’s voice was muffled from the pillow she had buried her face into as the alarm rang around the dark bedroom. Steve moved slightly to turn it off, but he wasn’t fast enough for his Girlfriend’s liking. “Steve!”

With a huff he leaned over and slapped the offending item with his palm, hitting the snooze button.

“Why is it even set?” She grumbled “It’s not like you don’t normally wake up at the crack of dawn anyway…and who uses an alarm clock when they have a phone?”

“You know, no one makes you stay here.” Steve teased, with a chuckle moving so that his front was pressed to her back.

“You’ve been away for five days, I never sleep as well when you’re not here.” She mimicked his line from the night before in a baby voice.

“And that’s why the alarm is set, because I do sleep better with you.” His arms circled her waist and he grinned to himself as despite the fact she was grumpy and tired she melted into his arms as he nuzzled at her neck, revelling in her smell, her warmth.

“Jerk.” She grumbled. “I mean what time is it anyway?” There was a pause as he continued to simply breathe her in and she glanced at her phone giving a scoff as she saw the ridiculous time on the screen “5:30? In the morning. Five. Thirty…”

“You said you wanted to go running.” He murmured, his eyes still closed.

“No, you said you were going running and I said I might tag along because I’ve eaten nothing but shit whilst I’ve been in New York, which, by the way is your fault…”

“My fault?” Steve laughed, cracking an eye open “I wasn’t even there.”

“Exactly” she muttered “No one to stop me.” “I wouldn’t stop you anyway. You’re a big girl, you make your own decisions…” “Big girl? You calling me fat?” she teased as she rolled onto her back and turned her head to face his, just about making out his features in the dark room. He rolled his eyes, God she was a pain in the ass at times.

“Yeah, you’re huge.” he deadpanned, his hand travelling over her flat stomach and coming to rest on her hip. “Enormous.”

“Ok, well now that we’ve established I need to run, you know on account of me being a hippo, that still doesn’t answer the question why we have to go so damned early anyway. It’s not like we have to be anywhere…” “It’s less crowded.” he shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s because it’s a ridiculous time.”

“Stop being a fucking brat!” Steve laughed and she huffed out breath again.

“I’m not being a brat, it’s just a stupid time to be getting up.”

“I love how full of sunshine and happiness you are in the morning.” Steve muttered as he dropped his head so his lips could gently trail a few lazy kisses down her neck before landing at her collarbone and giving a quick nip, his hand tightening on her hip.

She sighed, her body already starting to respond to his touch, the way it always did, betraying her. 

Damned him and his fucking bastard sex appeal.

“Okay, if you want to actually get up now…” She muttered, as his mouth travelled back up and she rolled her head back to give him access to the spot on her neck that drove her wild every time he found it.  “I suggest you stop.” “I hit the snooze button.” he muttered, lips brushing her ear as he spoke. “We got about eight minutes left.”

“Eight minutes? You have a very high opinion of yourself.” Katie replied, tilting her head so she was looking at him, smirking.

Steve said nothing, just cocked a single, mischievous brow at her before his lips met hers, his hand running down from hip to thigh then across, parting her legs slightly. They were still naked from the night before, clothes strewn all over the apartment after he’d been so desperate to get his hands on her.

She moaned gently into his mouth as he slowly sank two fingers into her and her hips instantly bucked upwards, drawing a grin from his mouth. 

“Easy, Baby.” He whispered, his mouth returning to her neck.

Four minutes later she lay beneath him, a quivering wreck and he was right behind her, two shallow thrusts later as he tumbled over that edge with a low groan, eyes fluttering shut as he fell forward onto her. He smirked into her neck when she had finally regained her senses enough to quip that he’d beaten his best time by a full sixty seconds. And sixty seemed to be the flavour of the day as it was almost another sixty minutes before they got to his favoured running spot, the National Mal thanks to the fact it had taken Katie half an hour minutes to locate her running shoes which she’d eventually found in her car.  Steve had seized the opportunity, as always to lament her for the fact she was messy. 

“I’m not messy.” She scoffed indignantly as they walked the seven blocks. “I’m just not as OCD about everything being in its right place, all the time, like a neat-freak Soldier”

The good natured jibing had continued until they reached their destination and walked through the park to the reflecting pool

“How many laps did you do last time?” Katie asked, as Steve stretched his arms upwards, cracking his back.

“Six.” he said.

She looked at him, frowning. “That’s like what? Twenty miles?”

“Nearer twenty-two.” He grinned.  “You want me to keep your pace?”

She laughed “No way, you’ll just bitch at me for being slow.”

“I do not bitch…” “You bitch like a 14 year old girl.” Katie lamented, gently shoving him in his back. “Now go, go on!”

He smiled again, jogging backwards for a second before he set off at a rate of knots. Exercise always made him feel good. Running, boxing, sparring…fucking. Pushing away the dirty thoughts that had arisen to the forefront of his mind, he was quick to find a comfortable pace, his trainer clad feet slapping the concrete.

It didn’t take Katie long to find her rhythm either. Despite not being with SHIELD anymore she had kept her fitness training up, sparring three times a week with either Natasha or Steve in the local gym. She was technically still an Avenger after all, Tony having now fashioned her another Supernova suit which was basically a version of his latest Iron Man suit but in Silver and Blue, the Nova shaped star sported in the chest where the mini arc reactor powered it. She’d given it a trial run whilst she had been back in New York and was just as impressed with it now as she had been with the prototype he had blown up.

Her feet gently slapped the ground as she ran, the sun was rising on the last day of March and it was promising to be a sunny, bright spring morning.

"Hi.” A voice greeted her as another jogger she hadn’t seen before caught up with her and fell into step with her.

“Nice day for it!”  Katie smiled.

“You normally run this early?” He asked “Haven’t seen you around before.”

“That’s because I don’t normally run here!” She smiled “But I just spent 5 days in New York eating crap so…!”

He laughed and held out his hand. “Sam Wilson.”

She took it and gave it a shake. “Katie Stark.”

“Well I’ll be damned!” Sam grinned “I didn’t recognise you. Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

As Steve was about to lap Katie for the first time he noticed she was running with another jogger, a black man wearing a grey sweater with short, cropped hair. At one time this would have sparked the green eyed monster in his chest, but not now. Not only did he know she wouldn’t stand for it, but he knew she was just sociable in general. She would talk to anyone given the chance and moreover, she was his girl, he knew that. As he approached them he breathed out an “On your left.” as a warning as he sped past into his second lap.

Sam frowned, looking round and Katie smirked, trying not to laugh at the look on his face as Steve’s frame whizzed off into the distance.

“I never tire of looking at these.” She commented a short while later as they rounded the monument.

Again the sound of heavy footsteps came. “On your left.”

“On your left.”

“Uh-huh. On my left. I got it.” Sam called after him as he entered his fifth lap.

Katie didn’t even try to stop herself this time and she laughed at the slight look of frustration on Sam’s face.

Not long after they were making a lap around the pool at the base of the memorial. Sam gritted his teeth at the wholly unwelcomed sound of footsteps behind him once again, he looked over his shoulder “Don’t say it. Don’t you say it!”

“On your left.”

“Come on!” Sam shouted and Steve allowed an amused smile to spread across his face.

Sam tried his hardest to pick up his speed to match that of Steve’s but failed miserably after only a few moments, now completely gassed out.

“Are you alright?” Katie asked laughing as she approached his hunched over figure, catching her own breath.

“Oh, here he comes…Superman himself…” Sam said gesturing to where Steve was now walking towards them, hands on his hips. He paused at his girl’s side and looked down at Sam.

“Need a medic?” he teased.

“I need a new set of lungs.” Sam chuckled breathlessly. “Dude, you just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes.”

“Guess I got a late start.” He shrugged, shooting Katie a pointed look. She responded with her best innocent stare, batting her eyelids at him. Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to the stranger who began to talk again.

“You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap.” He scolded jokingly. “Did you just take it? I assume you just took it.”

Steve smiled, he couldn’t help but like this man. As he looked at him, he noticed the military symbol on his grey sweater.

“What unit were you with?” Steve asked changing the subject and motioning to the man’s shirt.

“Fifty-eighth, Para-rescue. But now I’m working down at the VA. Sam Wilson.” He said motioning for help up.

“Steve Rogers.” Steve held out his hand and pulled Sam to his feet.

“I kind of put that together.” Sam said as he tried to catch his balance. “Must have freaked you out, coming round after the whole defrosting thing.”

“It takes some getting used to. But I’ve had help.” He smiled, looking at Katie who grinned back. “Good to meet you Sam.”

“Yeah, bye Sam!” Katie smiled as Steve gently placed his hand on her lower back to steer her away.

"It’s your bed right?” Sam called out from behind him.

Steve paused and they both turned back around. “What’s that?”

“Your bed, it’s too soft.” Sam went on to explain. “When I was over there, I’d sleep on the ground and use rocks as pillows. Like cavemen. Now I’m back home, in my own bed, feels like-”

Steve cut him off. “Like lying on a marshmallow, feels like I’m gonna sink right to the floor.”

"How long?” He asked Sam

“Two tours.” Sam responded. “You must miss the good old days huh?”

“Well, things aren’t so bad.” He folded his arms, taking a quick glance at Katie who raised her eyebrow at him, teasingly. “Foods a lot better. We used to boil everything. No polio that’s good.” He paused before making a gesture with his hand. “Internet so helpful, I’ve been reading that a lot tryna’ catch up.”

Sam nodded and then moved his right hand from where it had been folder across his chest and held it, fingers extended. “Marvin Gaye, 1972, ‘Troubleman’ soundtrack.” He said, returning his arm to its resting position “Everything you’ve missed jammed into one album.”

“Ohhh man!” Katie groaned “I love that film.”

Steve nodded, smiling and pulled out the notebook she had bought him the previous year, “I’ll put it on the list.”

“We can download it later.” Katie offered. Steve smiled as he closed his book before he reached into his other pocket for his phone which was going off. It was Natasha.

'Mission Alert. Extraction imminent. Meet you at the curb :)’

He showed the message to Katie who read it whilst he looked over at Sam.

“Well Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run. If that’s what you wanna call running.” He joked extending his hand.

“Oh that’s how it is?” Sam says amused shaking the offered hand.

“That’s how it is.” Steve responded, laughing slightly.

“Okay, anytime you two wanna stop by the VA. Make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Steve said as Natasha pulled up in her black chevvy sports car.

“Hey guys, anyone know where the Smithsonian is? I’m here to pick up a fossil.” She quipped.

“Hey Nat!” Katie waved at her and she nodded whilst Steve simply shook his head.

“That’s hilarious.” He commented dryly as he turned to Katie. “I’ll call you as soon as I can, okay?” She took a deep breath. “Be careful.” She instructed as she leaned up to give him a kiss. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Steve made his way to the car, opened the passenger side of the car and dropped into the seat.

“How you doing?” Sam called with a smile as he squat down to get a better view of both Natasha and the car.

“Hey.” She responded with a small smile.

“Can’t run everywhere.” Steve joked smugly, looking back at the man.

“No you can’t.” Sam chuckled and Steve shot one last look at Katie who waved as Natasha surged the car forward.

Katie watched them go before she turned to Sam.

“Military girlfriend huh?” He teased and she laughed.

“Something like that.” “Fancy a coffee?” Sam nodded to one of the stands parked over on the square and she smiled.

“Sure, why not?”

Sam insisted on paying, despite Katie’s protests and they took their coffees over to a bench, sitting down in the early morning sun. As they talked, Katie fast realised she really liked this man, and he was pretty damned interesting too. He told Katie about his time serving in Afghanistan and how he had chosen, post the loss of his partner, Riley, to leave active service and focus his attention on helping others through work at the VA.

Katie had never really dug into the VA much, but it seemed like it did some pretty good work, helping those Soldiers who needed help adjusting to life post discharges for medical or mental health reasons. Sam confided in her that the DC branch was under threat due to lack of funding, and she made a mental note to speak to Tony about it being something that maybe the Stark Relief fund could look into partnering.

When they both realised they had been sat on the bench chatting for almost an hour and a half the pair of them both, knowing they had other places to be, exchanged numbers and she promised to pass his onto Steve.

The rest of her day went pretty quick, in a flourish of telephone conferences and various other ad-hoc emails to deal with, talking to the editors and Business Development team about potential authors to target. By the time she logged off for the evening it was gone eight. She leaned back in her chair, glancing up at the photos that decorated her office, her eyes being drawn to the one on the shelf of herself and Steve which had been taken at the New Years Eve gala last year. 

Picking up her phone she debated texting him, but she knew better than to bother him. From personal experience, STRIKE missions were heavy going. Instead she decided she was going to break with their usual routine whereby he would come to hers if it wasn’t too late post mission, and she was going to wait for him at his.

******

 “The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star.” Rumlow spoke, moving images along a screen as they all stood watching as the jet flew over the Indian ocean. “They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, ninety-three minutes ago.”

“Any demands?” Steve asked.

“A billion and a half.”

“Why so steep?” Steve asked, frowning. That wasn’t so much steep as fucking vertical.

“Because it SHIELD’s.” Rumlow replied and Steve took a deep breath.

“So it’s not off-course, its trespassing.” He said exasperatedly, turning to his left and looking at Natasha.

“I’m sure they have a good reason.” She met his eyes, her face not faltering for a second.

“You know, I’m getting a little tired of being Fury’s janitor.” Steve raised his eyebrows as she looked back at the screen.

“Relax.” She drawled. “It’s not that complicated”

“How many pirates?” Steve looked back at Rumlow.

“Twenty-five.” he replied, once more swiping at the screen. “Top mercs, led by this guy. Georges Batroc” he pulled up a photo of Batroc on the monitor. “Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He’s at the top of Interpol’s Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. This guy’s got a rep for maximum casualties.”

“Hostages?” Steve pressed.

“Uh…mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell.” Rumlow flashed up Sitwell’s photo and Steve shifted slightly “They’re in the galley.”

“What’s Sitwell doing on a launch ship?” He queried, an air of frustration in his tone as he pulled on his gloves before he took a breath and issued his instructions without waiting for an answer. “Alright, I’m gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you’ll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep up after, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, get ‘em out. Let’s move.”

“STRIKE, you heard the Cap. Gear up.” Rumlow nodded to his team and they all began to bustle around the jet.

Steve moved towards the back, checking his ear piece, raising his wrist communicator to his mouth. “Secure channel seven.”

“Seven secure.” Nat picked up a few more bits of equipment from the shelves, passing a coms device to Evans as Steve walked behind her to the ramp. “Did you do anything fun Saturday night?”

“Well, seeing as all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, I had to settle for a movie and pizza with my girl.” He shrugged as he fit his ear piece, a smile tugging at his face. “Yeah, it was fun.”

Natasha grinned and Evans gave a chuckle as the pilot spoke into his ear. “Coming up by the drop zone, Cap.”

Steve punched the button to lower the ramp before he grabbed his helmet.

“You know, I think it’s cute. You’re like a regular, normal couple.”  Evans said, and Steve turned to him as he fastened the straps on his helmet.

“That’s because we are normal.” He replied, a little louder as the noise of the air blowing through the ramp surrounded them. Steve grabbed his shield and swung it onto his back, the irony of his statement making him smile even more as he walked towards the end of the ramp.

“Yeah, because most people do this type of stuff for a living.” Natasha shot after him and he turned to face her, smirking.

“Well, at least it doesn’t get boring.” He grinned, before he threw himself off the jet.

“Was he wearing a parachute?” Rollins turned to Rumlow who gave a huff of a smile.

“No. No, he wasn’t.”

Steve held his arms and hands out to the side of himself as he was free falling through the air, before he shifted, straightening his legs out below him and crossing his arms over his chest. He speared straight into the ice cold water below and, after a moment to adjust, he started swimming toward the ship, using the anchor chain to climb up onto the deck. He dropped silently over the railings and grabbed the guard who had walked past seconds before in a choke hold, rendering him unconscious as noiselessly as he could. Then he set off at a sprint and it wasn’t long before he encountered two more of the pirates. Using his shield he hit the first one and took him down then sent the vibranium weapon flying once more where it ricocheted off the hull of the boat and took down the second. He caught it and continued running around the side of the deck where he encountered another three. The first one he dispatched with a harsh kick, taking the others down with a quick leg swipe and a harsh punch to the face. The next one he saw wasn’t looking so Steve sped up and used his momentum to shoulder barge him over the side of the ship, before he launched at the next one, taking him down with a swinging choke hold. The one after had a knife, which was slightly more inconvenient, but Steve managed to disarm him and used the dagger he now had possession of to pin one of the other guards hands to the wall as he was reaching up to hit the alarm button, before knocking him out with a kick to the head.

That was how it went for the most of it. Steve ran the entire deck, taking everyone down using his shield, arms, legs, body, any means he had before anyone could raise the alarm. And he was almost home and dry, until he dispatched of what he thought was the final merc, until as he caught his shield, he heard the click of a gun right behind his head.

“Bouge pas!” The man spoke and Steve tilted his head slightly to glance at the man in his peripheral, understanding the words to mean don’t move. So he didn’t, especially not as he had just spotted Rumlow drifting down towards the deck. The STRIKE leader shot at the pirate, taking him down and landed a few feet away.

“Thanks.” Steve nodded to him.

“Yeah. You seemed pretty helpless without me.” Rumlow joked and Steve turned to see Natasha and Evans parachute down onto the deck to join them.

“So you know you said before about things not getting boring?” Natasha asked as they strode across the deck, Steve slinging his shield onto his back. “If you ever need any tips on how to keep it from getting boring in the bedroom, just ask.”

Steve shook his head and let out a groan.

“When you gonna ask her to move in with you?” Nat continued.

“Secure the engine room, then we can talk about my sex life and living arrangements.” Steve deadpanned back

“I’m multitasking” Nat sing-songed as she effortlessly hopped over a set of railings, disappearing onto the lower part of the deck.

Steve set off at a run, vaulting up a few steps, using railings to swing himself onto the higher level of the ship before he stopped just below the bridge, shooting one of Lawson’s listening devices at the windows. He listened in as Batroc instructed his men to fire the engines and then Steve retreated to a spot where he could see Batroc clearly through the window of the control bridge. Crouching down he continued to listen into their conversation, easily able to understand the French they were speaking, one of his many skills picked up in the war. It had come easy post the serum, as with everything it had enhanced his ability to memorise and grasp things like that.

Batroc was being informed by one of his officers about the radio silence from SHIELD and Steve watched carefully before Evans’ voice cut across the jabbers of French.

“Targets acquired”

“STRIKE in position” Rumlow replied.

“Natasha, what’s your status?” Steve whispered into his wrist coms, but there was no reply. “Status, Natasha?”

“Hang on!” She said loudly, and Steve waited as he heard a bit of a struggle before she spoke again twenty or so seconds later. “Engine room secure.”

That was it, they were clear to engage.

“On my mark” Steve whispered “Three. Two. One.”

With that he set off running towards the bridge, leaping up a small set off steps before he flung his shield through the window. He jumped in after it and Batroc caught him with a kick to the chest before sprinting off and kicking his way out of the door. Steve jumped up, wrenched his shield from where it had been wedged in the metal panels at the back of the control room and ran after him.

“Hostages on route to extraction.” Rumlow informed as Steve emerged onto the end of a set of steps. “Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap.” The STRIKE leader continued as Steve jumped down onto the main area of the deck. “Hostiles are still in play.”

Steve looked around before he turned on his heels and started walking “Natasha, Batroc’s on the move.” He instructed quietly into his coms. “Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages.”

There was no reply, and Steve was starting to get pissed off at her radio silence.

“Natasha!”

But then, out of nowhere Batroc flew at him with another harsh kick which sent Steve flying, and no sooner had he righted himself, there came another. The two engaged, toe to toe, fists flying, legs kicking, arms blocking and Steve had to hand it to Batroc, even after he knocked him down with his shield, the man was quickly back on his feet. Steve aimed a knee to his gut and flipped him backwards only to see Batroc effortlessly fling himself into several back flips before landing on his feet a short distance away, smirking as he eyed Steve up.

“Je croyais que tu étais plus qu'un bouclier.” He chuckled slightly and Steve cocked his head to one side, chewing over the man’s words… I thought that you were more than just a shield.

The arrogance in Steve won out and he straightened up out of his attack stance. You wanna go, fucker? Fine. Let’s dance.

He took a breath, stashing his shield on the harness round his back, and undid his chin strap, pulling his helmet off. “On va voir.” He said simply, tossing it to the floor, his eyes not once leaving Batroc’s who gave a huge grin.

They dodged for a second or two before they began to fight once more, trading punches, kicks and a few more knees to the gut before Steve threw himself up into the air, twirling his body round into a huge over-head kick, connecting his boot straight with Batroc’s head. Batroc fell to the floor and soon staggered back to his feet, but Steve didn’t give him chance to recover properly. He ran at him, spearing them both through a door, and sitting up slighting, Steve knocked Batroc out with a huge punch to the head.

He took a moment to draw his breath when a voice rang out across the room.

“Well, this is awkward.”

He looked up to see Natasha smirking at him from where she was bent over a computer.

“What are you doing?” Steve demanded as he rose to his feet.

“Backing up the hard drive. It’s a good habit to get into.”  She retorted.

Steve glanced over his shoulder, happy Batroc was still out cold, before he strode purposefully towards her.

“Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?” He drew up behind her and glanced at the screens. As it registered what she was doing he shook his head in exasperation. “You’re saving SHIELD Intel.”

“Whatever I can get my hands on.” She drawled, still tapping at the computer as she looked at him, before turning back to the screen.

“Our mission is to rescue hostages.” Steve glared at her.

“No. That’s your mission.” Natasha corrected as she finished what she was doing and pulled the pen drive out of the slot. She turned towards him and smiled causing Steve’s anger to bubble even more. “And you’ve done it beautifully.” Her tone was almost patronising as she smirked, moving to pass him.

At that, Steve felt his temper snap and he grabbed her arm stopping her in her tracks. “You just jeopardized this whole operation.”

“I think that’s overstating things.” Natasha stated calmly but before Steve had time to reply a movement caught his attention. Batroc stood up and threw a grenade at the two of them as he ran off. Steve deflected the bomb with his shield before he grabbed Natasha round the waist and hopped up onto the desks. Jumping to another one, Natasha shot out one of the glass windows into an internal office and they dived in just as the bomb exploded.

Smoke, ash and debris rained down on them and Steve gave it a second before he looked over his shoulder and out before sitting back down to take a moment. He was beyond pissed off. Pissed at Natasha and pissed at Fury for not bothering to tell him the full story.

“Okay. That one’s on me.” Natasha breathed out.

“You’re damn right.” Steve grit his teeth and pushed himself up, storming out in anger. Of course, Batroc was nowhere to be found.

**** Steve was that angry about the cluster-fuck of a mission that he didn’t speak a word to Natasha all the way home and yes, he knew it was childish, but he was getting seriously pissed off at the secrets and lies that seemed to be part and parcel of any goddamned mission Fury sent him on. Once back at base he stormed off the jet, ignoring pretty much everyone and simply barking out that they would debrief in the morning.

It was just before midnight when he got home, and as he pulled his bike up into the designated space allotted for his apartment, he noticed Katie’s car was in one of the guest spaces that lined the street. He frowned slightly, she never normally waited at his for him. Not for any particular reason other than he normally spent the hours or so after a mission debriefing before heading home to decompress for a few hours and then if it wasn’t too late he would head to hers. But the more he thought about it now he realised that he had no idea why he did it that way. It wasn’t like she didn’t understand what it was like being a SHIELD operative, or that he didn’t want her at his. 

Knowing that she was there made him smile for the first time since he’d left the Lemurian Star and, despite his various aches and bruises, he found himself taking the steps to his apartment three at a time, his eagerness to see her wiping all other thoughts from his mind.

She was on the couch, bare denim-short clad legs tucked underneath her, and she looked up from the TV as he walked into the living area and leaned in the doorway, smiling softly at the sight of her, hair tousled slightly from where she had been leaning her head against the arm of the couch.

“What are you doing here?” He asked gently as she sat up.

“Decided I’d wait for you.” She shrugged “You complaining?” “Not at all.” He smiled, turning away as he unzipped his jacket and hung it over the back of one of the stools by the breakfast bar before he crossed the room.

“You had a good day?” He asked.

“Yeah.” She replied as he walked back into the lounge. “Vanity Fair have written the article already, if I’m happy with it tomorrow then it’s going to be published this month.”

Steve couldn’t help but smile at her tone. She was proud, and she had every right to be. So was he. Stark Independent Publishing LTD had taken off like a rocket and the glossy magazines were queuing up to interview the youngest Stark prodigee. She had declined all of them until the board had suggested she do one interview for Vanity Fair, along with a photoshoot in her office. She’d reluctantly agreed, but had confided in Steve she’d actually kind of enjoyed it.

“That’s fast.” he said, heading back into the room.

“Yeah they’re really pushing for it.” She smiled as he dropped besides her with a groan, lifting her legs up so they crossed his lap. As he did so he jostled the bruised ribs and muscles he’d obtained on the Lemurian Star and let out a hiss, rubbing slightly at his torso. Katie spotted this, as always, and frowned, moving her legs so she was sat up, scooting over to where he was and gently tugged at his t-shirt. He didn’t stop her as she examined the large bruise over the side of his ribs and gently ran her fingers over it.

“Ouch.” She mumbled softly, looking up at him and then tilting his face round. He knew there was a small cut on his temple but other than that and the bruise to his side he was uninjured. “Is this it?”

He nodded.

“So how did you do it this time?”

“I got blown through a window.” Because that was a perfectly normal thing for Captain America to do, Katie merely rolled her eyes and dropped a kiss to his cheek as she stood up “I’ll get the arnica and fix you something to eat”

He loved this, the way she just wanted to take care of him, but he was aware of what time it was too, and he didn’t want her to feel like she had to play the dutiful housewife.

“Kitten, you should go to bed, its late.” He grabbed her hand. “Once I’ve patched you up and fed you I will.” She shrugged stubbornly, tugging gently on his hand and he allowed himself to be pulled up “Go take a shower, I’ll sort your dinner.”

This time he didn’t protest, simply smiled, dropped a kiss to her head and headed to the bathroom.

He stepped under the hot water cascading from the shower and let out a groan as it hit his body, allowing it temporarily to soothe his mind and his aches. He still couldn’t shake his annoyance at how the mission was gone. Suddenly, he was distracted by his stomach grumbling and he realised he was actually really hungry. He quickly washed off before cutting the water and stepping out, grabbing a towel. He could hear Katie in the kitchen as he walked down the hall towards his bedroom where he dried himself off and dressed in a pair of loose sweats and a grey T-shirt.

The smell of food hit his nostrils as he walked into the kitchen, making his mouth water. Her food was always good, he had no idea what he was in for tonight but he didn’t care. As he approached where she was stood, both his hands dropped to her hips and he placed a soft kiss on her neck, an easy sign of affection before he let out a heavy sigh and reached into the refrigerator.

“So, you wanna tell me what happened?” She asked, turning to look at him as he downed pretty much an entire bottle of water before he slumped down at the breakfast bar and explained everything to her. She listened, asked questions, shook her head, and when he reached the bit about the ransom she whistled slightly through her teeth, coming to the same conclusion he had when he heard the demand.

“That’s steep.” she frowned and Steve snorted.

“That’s what I said. Turns out its SHIELDS.“

The microwave finished and Katie moved to open the door, stirring whatever was in there before removing it and placing it down in front of him, along with a plate of his favourite bread. He was silent for a moment as he stirred the hot stew, Ghoulash, before taking a small mouthful to test the heat. Damned she could cook. He nodded appreciatively.

“It’s good.” “You sound surprised.”

“Behave.” He admonished, giving her a look. “You know what I think about your cooking.”

He continued to eat as she stood up and fished about in the cupboard he stored the bottle of Arnica gel she insisted he keep to hand. As he ate, she settled next to him and hitched his shirt up, gently and carefully applying the ointment to his side. The bruise extended from the middle of his rib cage to an inch or so beneath the band of his sweats.

It was relaxing, and he relished her touch and her gentle tone as she continued to talk.

“So did you get the hostages?”

“Yeah.” He nodded in between mouthfuls. “That bit was pretty easy all things considered.”

“So what’s wrong, love?”

She could tell there was more to his mood than what he had told her, and her instincts were proven right when he let out a soft sigh as she continued to rub at his side softly.

“I’m just annoyed Sweetheart.” He sighed eventually “At Fury, at Romanoff.”

“At Nat? Why?”

“She was running a separate mission, which meant the task I gave her to back Rumlow up with the hostages wasn’t done.”

“Fury?”

He nodded.

“More secrets” Katie sighed, feeling a flash of anger. “You know this is exactly why I got out…legacy or no legacy.”

“Tell me about it.” He dropped the spoon into the empty bowl. “We were lucky no one was hurt, or worse. I mean, Rumlow was great, got everyone out but, Doll, how can I lead a team when half of them are lying to me?”

“Nat was just doing as she was told.” Katie spoke softly, trying to deal with each issue one at a time.

“Since when is retrieving Intel more important than people’s lives?”

“I’m not saying it is. I’m just saying don’t be so hard on her.” She reasoned, her fingers still tracing shapes on his skin. “She has a job to do, same as you. Its Fury you should be talking to about it.”

“Oh I intend to.” Steve snorted. “I’m going to go see him tomorrow morning after de-brief…”

“Well, at least you’ll get an explanation. I mean it might not be what you wanna hear but…”

She was right, of course. Pushing it from his mind, Steve concentrated on her touch as she was still gently rubbing his side. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of contentment, and was disappointed when she finally finished and let his t-shirt fall down before she stood up to put the ointment away.

“You want any more to eat?” She asked, once she’d washed the arnica off her hands.

“Is there any?” He looked at her hopefully.

She smiled, nodding, and then gave a small yawn which she tried to stifle, but Steve noticed it.

“Okay, I’ll warm some more up and you’re gonna go to bed.” He said, standing up “And that’s an order.”

“Bossy bastard” She retorted. He replied simply with a raised an eyebrow and stern glare as he crossed towards her. She held her hands up, “Okay, I’m going…” She leaned up to kiss to his cheek.

“Won’t be long.” He smiled.

Steve had another bowl of food before he slipped the dishes into the dishwasher and headed to the bathroom to clean his teeth. He turned off the lights, crossed into the dark bedroom and pulled off his T-shirt, sliding into bed behind Katie. His arm curled over her waist, surprise surprise she was in one of his shirts, which did nothing to ebb his growing desire and the twitching in his groin. Hoping she wasn’t asleep, his nose gently nuzzled at her neck, and he was pleased when she responded.

He needed this. Wanted this. Wanted her.

“When you told me to go to bed…” Katie sighed, as his lips gently started their assault on that spot, “I thought you meant to sleep.” “Want me to stop?” Steve practically purred into her neck.

“Didn’t say that.” She replied, rolling her head to catch his lips as his hand crept down her inner thigh. She let out a contented sigh and he smiled against the side of her neck as he traced his fingers over her hip, hand flattening as it crept down and round to the top of her panties, his fingers slipping inside, where he found her hot, wet, ready for him. It was enough to harden him completely as he started to gently tease her, causing her to groan at the pleasure, her back arching whilst his lips continued to kiss and caress her neck.

“Steve.” She moaned softly, her tone pleading. “I want you…”

Fuck, he would never get tired of hearing that. Ever. 

“Yeah?” he whispered.

“Yeah. Please Stevie.” He didn’t think he’d ever be able to say no to her. His hand moved up and he gripped at her hip, gently rolling her so she was lay on her back, using his leg to part hers. He guided his shirt over her head, pulled down her panties, before he stripped off his boxers, fingers lacing in between hers, as he crawled over her, pinning both hands above her head as he worked his way into her. They both groaned as he stretched her, and she looked up at him, those eyes locking onto his as he leant down to kiss her, starting up a slow, gentle pace. He moved slowly, again and again, lips caressing hers, then her jaw, then her neck, all the time his hands wrapped around hers, causing her to surrender to him completely.

He kept up that soft, gentle pace, loving her completely. He could tell she was close, he knew the signs well enough now and as she groaned in delight, tightening around him he coaxed her, “That’s it baby girl…” lips soft on her ear.

And then she came, shuddering underneath him, her head tipping back, as she let out a gentle, low, broken moan of his name. It sent shivers down his spine and he continued to thrust through her orgasm, the tale heat spreading across his belly and then he tipped too, jerking and groaning slightly before he fell forward, burying his face in to her neck.

“Love you.” She whispered softly into his ear as her hand ran up his neck, into his hair and he gave a hum of contentment as he regained control of his senses.

“Love you too, so damned much, Sweetheart.” He rubbed his nose up against hers and she chuckled slightly as he rolled off of her. She scooted closer so she could lay her head on his chest and his arm curled round her, large hand tracing shapes on her skin at the bottom of her back as she tossed her leg over his.

“What time are you in tomorrow?” She asked gently, hand rubbing absentmindedly over his chest.

“Half nine.” He gave a sated yawn.

“We can have breakfast together, I made cinnamon rolls.” She muttered through a yawn of her own.

“That so?” “mmmhmmm”

“You know, you’d make a good little housewife.” He grinned, thinking back to his thought before. He knew her response before she had uttered it. “Fuck you.” He chuckled, dropping a kiss to her head and they both fell silent. And his last thought as he drifted off to sleep was just how her being here had made him almost forget his worries.

Katie lay still, listening to the sound of his breathing which grew even as he fell asleep, clearly exhausted. He always needed food and rest after missions, his metabolism drained him. She stole a glance up at him, long eyelashes lay against his cheek as his head lolled to the side slightly, facing her.

“Night soldier.” She whispered softly, placing a peck on his lips before settling down and succumbing to her own tiredness. ********* Katie woke the next morning, tangled in Steve’s arms, his face pressed into her neck as he’d done his usual koala impression. As gently as she could, she moved to check her phone for the time, and found it to be twenty-five past seven, five minutes before her alarm was due to go off. Cancelling it, she glanced back over at Steve who shifted onto his back, the arm that had been thrown around her gently resting on his chest. Smiling, she climbed out of bed deciding to leave him to sleep as long as she could.

Considering what a light sleeper he normally was, Steve didn’t stir when Katie returned following her shower and was still out of it when she finished dressing so she unset the alarm on his bedside clock and headed to the kitchen. She put on a fresh pot of coffee, threw the fresh rolls she had made the previous day into the oven and settled down on his couch, flipping on the TV whilst she quickly scanned through her phone, looking at her schedule for the day. She only had one meeting in the afternoon, and it wasn’t important so she fired an email through to her PA asking her to reschedule.

At about eight-fifteen, there was still no sign of Steve so Katie headed through to the bedroom to wake him up. Any longer and he would be late for his debrief. He was lay side on, facing her side of the bed so she dropped next to him…

Something was tickling his nose, right on the bridge. He gently sniffed, and then soft lips met his. Again, again…Steve made a completely involuntary noise that was halfway between a groan and a sigh as he realised his girl was kissing him awake, before her lips met his and this time he gently responded.

“Hey.” That soft voice greeted him and he smiled, gently cracking an eye open and meeting that emerald green.

“Morning” He said groggily and she smiled.

“It’s almost eight-fifteen.”

He frowned, that was late. “My alarm didn’t wake me?” “I turned it off, sorry-not-sorry” She said with a tone so blasé it made him chuckle “You needed the rest.” She gave him a soft kiss again “There’s coffee in the kitchen and breakfast is ready.” “You know I could get used to this” He rolled over so he was on his back as she rose from the bed. “Coming home to a ready-made dinner, waking up to ready-made breakfast before I go to work. And you.” “Nice to see which one of those is your priority.” She teased over her shoulder as she left him to it.

“Always you, Doll.” he murmured with a smile. But as he lay still for another few minutes, he thought about it more and more. Over the past four months, other than when they were away either on missions or business trips they had spent every night together, either at his or hers but last night, something had felt different to him, more intimate. She’d taken care of his mission injuries, cooked for him, made love to him, and now here she was making him breakfast before she would wave him off to work later on. It was almost normal, what people with mundane nine to five jobs did. And he realised he wanted that all the time, he wanted to come home, find her there, wake up with her, every single day.

“When you gonna ask her to move in?” Natasha’s voice popped back into his head.

If he was honest, he hadn’t given it a lot of thought, it wasn’t something people did back in his time before marriage. But times were different, hell he was different, and as he lay there contemplating it, he realised, it wasn’t such a bad idea.

When he headed through, Katie was sat at the kitchen table, laptop fired up, mobile glued to her ear.

“I know!” Her tone was one of utter excitement. “I mean I didn’t think they would turn out so good…or they’d be done so fast but they’re pushing for this month’s edition…”

He dropped a kiss to her neck and glanced at the screen, pausing when he saw the image. It must have been one of the photos done whilst she was in New York and as he looked at it, he felt his mouth drop open. His girl was stood against a wall in her office in the tower, one leg bent, high heeled foot raised back against the flat surface behind her, palms splayed either side of her thighs as she looked to the right. Her hair was pulled back in a slick, high pony tail, her make-up was heavier than normal and utterly flawless, and she was dressed in a grey charcoal pinstripe suit which cinched in at her waist, with a low cut white blouse underneath.

“Yeah, I know Tony.” She continued speaking into the phone as she glanced up and saw the expression on his face. She pressed a button on the keyboard and it flipped to another picture, this one of her sat in her chair, legs apart, elbows resting on her knees, as she looked beyond the camera, laughing at something. She looked absolutely fucking stunning. His eyes roved the image on the digital copy of the article and he began to read the writing that was next to it.

There are a lot of things you might absolutely hate about Katie Stark. Aged just twenty-nine she has more money than anyone could possibly wish to spend in a life-time, looks and a figure that you would kill for, and a Super Soldier Boyfriend with a jawline that seems to be carved from marble. However, after thirty seconds in her company despite wanting to hate her for all of the above, it was simply impossible not to like her.

Unassuming, accommodating, and with a smile that you simply can’t help but return, she welcomed us into her office and was remarkably humble about the entire thing, admitting that she still wasn’t quite so sure why we were so interested in her. We took the time to grill her on how the first three months of Stark Independent Publishing LTD has gone and what we can look forward to in the future.

Katie stood up and gestured for him to sit down and carry on reading the article. She headed off into the living room, continuing her call, so he read as he ate a hot cinnamon bun. The article ploughed through a load of questions about the book that had launched the business when they published, the fact the company had already registered over fifty-percent first quarter turnover, where she thought the business was going, future pipeline projects, her favourite authors, genre, books, previous role in Stark Industries before she had spent a few years working for a Government Agency following the Battle of New York (no mention of Supernova or SHIELD) and then the final paragraph took a personal turn.

When asked if she would indulge us with a personal question she sighed slightly before grinning and telling us to ask and see if she answered. So we did…

“We know that you’re a notoriously private person, in comparison to your brother anyway, but most of our readers are dying to know…what’s it like dating Captain America?”

“No idea, I’m dating Steve Rogers.” She replied immediately, a faint flush hitting her cheeks as she spoke, all the time fiddling with a delicate yet gorgeous antique looking emerald ring which sits on her right hand, a gift we suspect from the man in question. When asked to elaborate slightly, she bit her lip and simply smiled before explaining; “Steve isn’t just Captain America. There’s more to him than a shield. He’s the kindest, gentlest, most caring man I’ve ever met and he makes me unbelievably happy.” The blush spread from her cheeks to her ears “And that’s not down to the Serum or outfit, it’s just who he is. The fact he’s 6ft2, drop dead gorgeous with a smile I’d happily die for is a bonus.”

Steve felt himself grin as he read the words and glanced at the small photo they had framed the paragraph round. It was the shot of them together that had been taken at the Stark Industry’s New Year’s Gala as they danced. His eyes continued to the final part of the article, this one complete with a picture of Katie and Tony. Katie sat at her desk as Tony leaned over, looking at something on the computer screen. 

When asked about the other man in her life, her brother Tony, she smiled again, another genuine smile, the love she has for her elder sibling evident on her face and in her voice.

“I owe everything I have to Tony. He brought me up from the age of seven, gave me absolute, unconditional love and opportunities I know I was extremely fortunate to have. People have a pre-conceived image of what he is like, and sometimes he can play into that, but to me he’s been nothing but loving and supportive, my father and brother rolled into one and I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done and given me. He backed my decision to open SIP from the off and believed in me and has always pushed me to be the best I can be.”

We couldn’t resist another personal question, so we asked her a little cheekily how Tony had reacted to news that she was dating one of his fellow Avengers, who had served alongside their Father Howard in WW2. Hesitating slightly, she flushed before smirking and answering, a grin on her face.

“How he found out wasn’t ideal, but once he realised we were serious, he was fine about it. I think deep down after my last car crash of a relationship, he’s just happy I’m with someone who puts me first.”

“Do they get on?” At that she laughed. “They have a love-hate relationship. In that they hate the fact they love one another. Tony has these ridiculous nicknames for Steve and he can be an absolute nightmare at times, but to be fair Steve’s quite sarcastic himself too but I know full well that they have each other’s six and, even though they would probably deny it, they are quite close and would miss one another if they weren’t around.”

Steve, grudgingly, had to admit she was right. Tony could be a pain in the ass at times, but he would miss the billionaire if he wasn’t there. Underneath all his bravado he knew that he thought the world of his sister and, despite their initial meeting whereby Steve frankly thought the guy was a dick, he’d fast learnt during the Chitauri Battle that underneath that persona he had a heart of gold and was more like his father than he would care to admit. A fact that Steve was even more convinced of having gotten to know him much better on a personal level over the last two years or so.

Whilst the siblings certainly share a lot of attributes, both good looking, tough, hard-working, Katie has a certain softness to her edges and we challenge anyone who spends time in her company not to warm to the youngest Stark. Stark Independent Publishing has, in our opinion, a very bright future ahead of it whilst it is spearheaded by such an astute and shrewd business woman and we wish her all the best.

“What do you think?” Katie watched as Steve read the article, leaning against the wall, nibbling at her thumb, nervous to see his reaction.

Steve jerked his head round and smiled at her. “I think it’s fantastic. The photos are stunning, the article is well written. Are you happy with it?” “Yeah.” she nodded as she walked over to his chair, standing behind it and slipping her arms round his shoulders from behind “They wouldn’t drop the whole So you’re dating Captain America angle though, so our PR department told me to answer a few personal questions to shut them up. Are you ok with it?” Steve smiled and turned side on in his seat, pulling her into his lap. “Seeing as I’m the kindest, gentlest, most caring man you’ve ever met how could I not be?” “I meant every word of that.” She smiled, rubbing her nose against his.

“I know baby.” He gave her a peck on the lips. “Now I need to go or I’m gonna be late.”

Sighing she stood up as he did the same, grabbing a final cinnamon bun from the plate.

“I’ll be back at mine” She informed him as she walked to the door with him, “I have a few calls to do this morning.” “I’ll come over when I’m done.” He smiled. “And maybe we can do something this afternoon?”

“Sounds perfect”

***** Chapter 14

**Original Posting**

[kerwritesthings]

Subway Surfing

Summary: When a literal run in changes the course of a day, let alone of a life…

Word Count: little bit over 2.2k

Warning: adorable, fluff and funny

Author Notes: A bit of a birthday surprise for @fallinallincurls​ - Happy, happy birthday Bre! Big birthday deserves nothing more than the start of a new verse for the hockey boy I forced at you last year. Umm sorry not sorry.

Things have been a lot of not ok around here for a good clip, I’ve been really not ok. It’s been hard. Writing hasn’t come, life has just kept throwing me down and down. Trying to fight the way back up, not easy but I’m trying. This was a nice way to try to get back some of that light. I had been poking at this for a beat, the idea gnawing at me with some pieces written, notes scribbled around, but birthday sparkle helped get it over the finish line. Part two already has some bones, as does part three - but please to bear with me if you will.

You hate that it’s a Saturday and you’re trekking your way into the office. It’s finally truly fall in the city and it’s a gorgeous day. The last thing you want is to be stuck at your desk behind a computer screen. You want a hot spiked apple cider, a book, a good playlist and your plaid blanket on the grass in Central Park.

It looks like the rest of the city is awake early on this day for the same reason. The subway, which normally is slightly more bearable at this time on a weekend, is the furthest thing from that. It’s packed with people including the grimy, sweat-ladened guy in the chopped-up joggers and crocs who keeps trying to “accidentally” bump and grab you every chance he gets.

The next stop, you try to move but too many people are coming on and off as the doors only quickly open and shut. You just end up jostling as the car jolts in its start. You can’t fall forward. It would land you right into the situation you’re trying to flee. Instead, you try to lean back but you slip. Fully prepared to wipe out, a hand comes gently to steady your elbow while another holds you at your shoulder.

You hear a mish mosh of “careful there” and “are you ok” crossing together as you get back steady on your feet.

“Thanks for saving me for either face planting or landing in that sweaty creep’s grasp,” you say, sliding your bag back securely on your shoulder before turning.

You know those faces. You’ve seen them on billboards and most definitely on TV. Shit, shit and shit. Of course, the two star, absolutely adorable bestie forwards from the New York Islanders have come to your rescue. This would be your luck. At least you pulled yourself somewhat together for this Saturday jaunt to the office. You keep a straight face, smiling normally and not letting anything on.

“Couldn’t let you risk that. He’s been a bit of an ass since he got into the car. We said if he were still acting a fool at next stop, we would jump in. Plotted a rescue mission and everything,” the one explains, hand running through his hair.

“His mission was to cross his arms and give him the eye,” the other mocks, shoving at his friend’s shoulder. “I mean I guess he can look threatening, like a puppy maybe.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. These two are exactly as they’ve seemed in interviews. Mathew and Anthony really are as thick as thieves.

“That sarcastic asshole is Anthony and I’m Mat. We’ll stay close until he leaves, or you need to,” he remarks.

“You don’t have to do that. It’s the subway. That happening unfortunately is just another day that ends in y, you know?” you explain. “I also don’t want to take up more of your time or ruin any of your plans.”

“You deal with that? Often?” Anthony asks, eyes a little wide.

“Welcome to New York,” you shrug. “Not every day thankfully. But it’s often enough.”

“I hope you know, that wasn’t, and we weren’t...” Mat tries to stumble through.

“No, no, no. Totally. I didn’t get that whatsoever,” you respond. “Not that from either of you guys. Promise. It’s sweet to know there are still gentlemen out in this world.”

They both get a little bashful smile across their pretty faces.

“Glad to help,” they practically say in unison which causes you to bark out a laugh.

Time to shoot your shot, you think to yourself. Worse case, it’s a moment you get to have for a fun bar story.

“I think we need to become friends, boys,” you start. “Or at the very least, I owe you a drink for saving me.”

“Yes,” Anthony jumps in, nodding his head with a wide grin. “You should come to brunch with us.”

“If I didn’t have to get to the office I would,” you reply. “Unfortunately, it’s stuff I need done before a Monday morning meeting.”

“Office work on a Saturday? That’s no fun. Play hooky! We can promise a bottomless brunch,” he teases.

“Maybe after though?” Mat chimes in with a soft smile. “Get what you need to done, give you something to look forward to after?”

“I don’t want to ruin whatever plans you’ve had for the day,” you begin before the boys both shake their heads.

“It’s just brunch and shopping to try to get this one to up his style game,” Mat chides while Anthony rolls his eyes.

You bite your lip fighting back yet another giggle. These two, at the very least, would truly make some good friends. You dig around in your tote, finally snatching your card holder.

“Not sure how long I’ll be stuck. I’m hoping only a couple hours. But. If you’re serious. Text or call me,” you say, handing one off to each of them.

They both nod, each pocketing your card as the subway comes to a halt.

“Oh shit, this stop is mine. Thanks again for the soft hands and clutch assist guys,” you wink, dashing away quickly before the doors close.

“What is my life,” you mutter, the boys waiving as the train pulls away. “I need to get to the office.”

“Ok, I think that’s the first time we’ve ever had someone realize who we are in public, without a whole big scene or making a blatant ass grab type pass. We’re keeping her. Plus, you like her,” Anthony teases, shoving at Mat’s shoulder as they hit the sidewalk coming up from the subway.

“I could say the same thing to you Tito,” he snarks back, shoving in return. “You were batting the eyes. I’m not blind.”

“She seems cool and yeah she’s pretty, but I’m not jaw drop like you were when you saw her,” he chirps back. “I was trying to get a rise out of you dude. And it worked, you actually stepped up the game. And now you have her info. Don’t make me text her too. Cause I will.”

You’re just about to settle into your email with a cup of what your office likes to consider coffee when your phone starts buzzing about in quick succession.

“Looks like this is a thing,” you mumble to yourself, lips quirking up into a half smile as you formulate a reply.

“You knew?” Anthony grins over his beer. “From the start?”

You nod, sipping at your cider. You pushed through your work to be able to meet the two downtown at this tiny spot in NoLiTa that was tucked away from the crazy of the neighborhoods it was snug between. It wasn’t as sleek as you thought they’d choose; it was something much more comfortable and lower key.

“Really?” Mat questions.

“Yep. One of you not with the other? I would have had to do double take. I would have noticed, but probably would have questioned. However, the two peas in a pod together? That was a no brainer,” you explain, fighting back a bit of a giggle.

“You didn’t say anything,” Mat replies.

“How many times does that happen and it turn into a thing or a bit of a scene?” you circle the bottom of the cider bottle around on the tabletop. “There was also no point to, either. You were just trying to enjoy the day and you were being super kind keeping me from wiping out. I get it’s New York, so it’s a less likely thing but it still happens.  So, if I could keep it from another one of those moments...”

“Told you Barzy, we’re keeping her,” Anthony taps his beer against yours. “Welcome to the crazy, Evangeline.”

You can’t help but tinge a little pink.

“Well then. If that’s the case, my friends call me Evie,” you smile.

“Evie,” Mat lets the name roll around his tongue.

A couple rounds later, of both beers and darts, you realize how tight the two are and more so, how easily you could become entangled in friendship with them. And you do. Texts and memes and random photos fly back and forth, you all hang when all your schedules align. You’re also fostering relationships with each of them separately too; sharing recipes of things you want to try to bake and longing about the places you miss in Quebec with Anthony while Mat was trying to teach you more about basketball (with little luck) and in turn you trying to expand what he calls music and what actually is music. You also share some of your favorite places in the city that the two really didn’t know about. It was easy with them, together and individually but you were getting a bit more of a tug, a bit of a warmer burn with Mat.

A Saturday morning a few weeks after the afternoon drinking funtivities, you wake up to a few texts, photos really, from the group chat with the boys. First is a pair of tickets and passes to their game that night. Second is two jerseys: a blue Barzal and a white Beauvillier. The third, a text from Mat.

Choose carefully…

We’re also not taking no for an answer. You’re coming. Game and drinks after.

“Oh shit,” you exhale, quickly jumping to your closet.

“Beth?” you call out from your room, tossing through your clothes looking for two specific items. “Please tell me you don’t have plans tonight.”

“Hot date with a bottle of pinot noir and trash tv, why?” she pokes her head into your room.

“Good. You do now. You’re coming with me to the Islanders game tonight,” you mutter, flipping through more hangars.

“Wait excuse me?” she flops down, cross-legged on the end of your bed.

“So, I may have left a tiny detail out from when I told you about the two cute guys who saved me on the subway,” you explain.

“Ok and?” Beth prompts you to continue.

“They’re Islanders…” you trail off.

“What?” she screams tossing one of your throw pillows at you.

“I’m trying to not make a big deal, cause you know. But, at the same time, well you know,” you reply, finally finding the long sleeve you wanted to wear as well as one of your hockey jerseys.

“You need to give me more than this, Evie,” Beth pries.

You lean back against your closet door.

“It was Anthony Beauvillier and Mat Barzal,” you say.

Beth screams and throws another pillow at you.

“You just casually didn’t tell me that you met the damn Calder winner and his like bromance bestie,” she laments. “Evie, what the fuck?”

“This is exactly why,” you sigh. “Like it started out as ok I could have a moment, a cool story to tell. But honestly, they’re two really great guys.”

“You’re not telling me something, I can see it in that wistful look,” she pokes. “Oh god you’re sweet on one of them, aren’t you?”

You shake your head at Beth, not acknowledging the question. Shoving her over a little, you fold the jersey on the bed next to her, so the logo was perfectly visible, but no giveaway of the name on the back or numbers on the sleeves.  

Fine if you two summon I guess I must go. I’m bringing Beth, my roommate, so you need to behave. She’s already a pretty big hockey fan so I apologize now in advance for any of her crazy. She’s great but gets excited. Also, easy answer: where’s the Ebs jersey? ;) Or I can always wear this one.

You snap a quick shot of your Dallas Stars jersey.

Mat of course chimes in first.

That’s cold Evie, really cold. And that thing? That’s even worse. Who is on there? Do I wanna know?

Then Anthony.

Non. Non. Non. Why do you even have that jersey!?

“You’ve got that look,” Beth pokes at your thigh. “I’ll leave you be for now. Need to be at the arena what 6? We should leave here at 4:30. Worse case we get there early, we can snag a drink nearby. I don’t trust the train or the subway on a Saturday to be on time. Thanks for bringing me, Roomie. I’m excited and I get to meet these boys of yours.”

I have favorites across the league, you both know I liked the sport well before you two came along. I have the appropriate jerseys for my boys. Well, almost. You guys making me choose is mean af. Rock paper scissors it between you both, whoever wins that’s what I’ll wear.

“Just leave her yours, you know you want to no matter who would win at that little challenge of Evie’s,” Anthony smiles as the text comes through, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “And I know you’d pull shit to do it no matter what. She’s really your girl anyway.”

“What…” Mat starts before Anthony jumps in.

“You know it’s never been like that with her for me, dude. She’s awesome and I’m so glad to have her as a friend,” he replies. “You though? Since moment one, she’s been something else for you. You need to make a move. You’ve got game, I’ve seen it.”

“Evie’s. She’s Evie. There’s more there...” he leans back into his locker.

“More reason to then Barzy,” he volleys back. “Come on, get your shit together. We can drop everything to leave for her on the way out.”

[femalechibiblogger]

My Top 10 Underrated Anime Series

1. Welcome to the NHK

Plot: The main protagonist is Tatsuhiro Satō, a university dropout entering his fourth year of unemployment. He leads a reclusive life as a hikikomori, ultimately coming to the conclusion that this happened due to some sort of conspiracy. One day just when his life seems entirely unchanging, he meets Misaki Nakahara, a mysterious girl who claims to be able to cure Tatsuhiro of his hikikomori ways. She presents him with a contract basically outlining that once a day they would meet in the evening in a local park where Misaki would lecture to Tatsuhiro in an effort to rid him of his lifestyle. During these outings, many subjects are discussed, though they almost always pertain in some way to psychology or psychoanalysis. One of their first meetings in fact deals with interpreting Tatsuhiro's recent dreams. Both Tatsuhiro and Misaki, however, have a tendency of over-doing things, such as hiding the truth, especially from each other and themselves. Despite Misaki's offer and pressing attempts at salvation, it is Tatsuhiro's neighbor and high school friend, Kaoru Yamazaki, whom Tatsuhiro often turns to in moments of need and support. Despite his own idiosyncrasies, Yamazaki is one of the more stable characters in the story.

While many may not know about this series, those who do know of its existence can see it’s appeal. This anime shows that some people, like the main character, are shut-in’s due to social anxiety holding them back from living a regular life. The anime deals with subjects such as social anxiety, hiding depression from loved ones, paranoia, and a crippling fear of never being accepted by the outside world. 

Throughout the series, Sato tries to go outside more often and is pushed to do this by a high school girl, Misaki, and his old classmate now neighbor, Kaoru. All the while, Sato meets some people from his past who cause him to go down a different path, such as becoming part of a ponzi scheme or joining a suicide group, because they themselves have problems that he unknowingly becomes a part of. This goes to show that if you have struggles with batting depression or have family problems...seek proper help before bringing others down with you.

2. Tiger & Bunny

Plot: The series takes place in "NC 1978" in a fictional, re-imagined version of New York City called Stern Bild City, where 45 years before, superpowered individuals known as "NEXT" (an acronym standing for Noted Entities with eXtraordinary Talents) started appearing and some of them became superheroes. Each of the city's most famous superheroes work for a sponsor company and their uniforms also contain advertising for real-life companies. Their heroic activity is broadcast on the popular television show "Hero TV", where they accumulate points for each heroic feat accomplished (arresting criminals or saving civilians, for example) and the best ranked hero of the season is crowned "King of Heroes". The story mainly focuses on veteran hero Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, a.k.a. Wild Tiger, who is assigned a new partner: a young man named Barnaby Brooks, Jr. However, Barnaby and Kotetsu have trouble working together, as they have conflicting opinions on how a superhero should act, while at the same time they are trying to crack the mystery of the murder of Barnaby's parents. In addition, the appearance of a homicidal vigilante NEXT named "Lunatic" stirs up the public and makes them question the place of heroes in the city. 

The main heroes, Kotetsu and Barnaby, do not like each other at first...but a strong bond grows between them as they protect the city and help each other from the tragic moments of their pasts. They even help each other with the problems that they face within the series’ current timeline: Kotetsu slowly losing his powers, and Barnaby being manipulated by someone who he thought of like family. 

While not as big as My Hero Academia, this series still has lots of good moments, terrific super heroes, and powerful storylines. Tiger & Bunny is definitely worth watching for anyone who loves superheroes and anime.

3. My Roommate Is A Cat

Plot: Novelist Subaru Mikazuki, who is shy and not good with other people, and Haru, the cat that has been living a severe stray life. This is a story of them suddenly living together and describes the happiness of living together from both point of views.

This series is definitely underrated. My Roommate is a Cat is filled shows how much of an impact a person...or in this case a cat...can have on a person who has lived a life of solitude and books. The main character, Subaru Mikazuki, begins to slowly open up to those around him thanks to the help of a stray cat: Haru. From Haru’s point of view, Subaru is someone whom she desires to protect and take care of, as she fears that he cannot survive without her. Subaru also comes to term with his parents’ deaths and learns to move past his guilt, and realizes that there are many people who love and care for him.

This series shows that it’s ok to open up to the people around you, and that no one is truly alone.

4. And Yet The Town Moves

Plot: Hotori Arashiyama loves mysteries, but there’s one she just can’t solve: why does the solution to one problem inevitably seem to lead to another? Like how when Hotori has to start working at the Seaside Maid Cafe after school to pay off a debt and her friend Toshiko fortunately knows exactly how a Maid Cafe should be run. Which is fortunate since Hotori has no clue. Except that, unfortunately, Toshiko has no interest in working at the cafe—until she discovers that Hotori’s childhood friend Hiroyuki is a regular. Which SEEMS fortunate. Except that Hotori doesn’t know that, while Toshiko likes Hiroyuki, Hiroyuki secretly likes Hotori, while Hotori secretly has a crush on… No, no more spoilers!But if that’s not enough drama, there’s work, angst with a certain math teacher, table tennis between her classmates, her younger brother versus the school’s bad girl… And yet, even though everything seems like it’s going to crash at any moment, somehow Hotori’s life keeps going hilariously forward.

Sure...it doesn’t have sexy and cute maids that most maid-theme anime has... But And Yet The Town Moves is still a series worth watching. The series features cute, slice-of-life storylines filled with antics by the mystery-loving Hotori Arashiyama. Because of her crazy antics and goofy nature, Hotori brings laughter and new experiences to those around her. 

If you want an anime featuring klutzy maids and funny slice of life, then And Yet The Town Moves is definitely the right choice. 

5. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Plot: Midori Asakusa wants to create an anime, but she's too disheartened to make that first step by herself. By pure chance, she meets Tsubame Mizusaki, an up-and-coming socialite secretly dreaming of becoming an animator. Together with Midori's money-loving best friend Sayaka Kanamori, the energetic trio start the "Eizouken" club and slowly work towards making their "greatest world" a reality.

This anime is truly a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! has animation that is truly breathtaking and filled with the imaginations of aspiring animators. Throughout the series, our three protagonists: Midori, Sayaki, Tsubame experience the hardships of running their own studio, all the while dealing with the Student Council and School Board who wish to shut down Eizouken. But no matter how hard they try, there is no stopping these three girls from making anime and running their studio. 

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! has such brilliant animation, creative storylines, and normal looking characters who viewers can relate to. If your dream is to become an animator, than you certainly learn a lot from this series.

6. Angels of Death

Plot: 13-year old Rachel awakens to find herself trapped in the basement of an abandoned building. Without any memories, or even a clue as to where she could be, she wanders the building, lost and dizzy. In her search, she comes across a man covered in bandages. He introduces himself as Zack and he wields a grim-reaper like sickle.A strange bond is struck between them, strengthened by strange, crazy promises…These two, trapped in this strange building, don’t know why fate has placed them there. But they will work together desperately to find a way out…

Rachel and Zack are quite an unlikely duo...yet their skills and personalities are what complete each other: Rachel is calm and calculating, while Zack is aggressive and strong. But they have something in common: They both suffered their whole lives, became killers, and being killers is what got them trapped in the mysterious building in the first place. Together, they face various serial killers who want to keep them from escaping: A doctor with an eye fetish, a pumpkin-headed child who wants to bury Rachel in his graveyard, a female-prison warden who’s obsessed with punishing ‘sinners’, and a faithless priest whose goal is to test the faith of those who fall victim to the killers within the building. 

Angels of Death is filled with such mystery and psychological thrills. While it is not for the faint of heart...it is definitely for those who wish to find a good psychological thriller to watch.

7. Zombieland Saga

Plot: In the year 2008, high school student Sakura Minamoto is abruptly killed by a truck on the morning she plans to submit an idol application. Ten years later, Sakura, along with six "legendary" girls from various eras of Japan's history, are brought back as zombies by a man named Kotaro Tatsumi, who seeks to revitalize Saga Prefecture by putting together an all-zombie idol group known as Franchouchou.

Unlike most ‘pop idol’ anime series, that feature cute girls whose music can save the world...this one features cute girls who are zombies who were brought back to life to save a city as a pop idol group. While it seems unusual, Zombieland Saga shows the viewers all the things that Saga has to offer...because it basically advertises the entire prefecture. The members of Franchouchou: Sakura, Saki, Ai, Junko, Lily, Yugiri, and Tae...are determined to become a great idol group while keeping their true identities a secret. Thanks to their mysterious manager, Kotaro Tatsumi, they are given a second chance at life and learn more about each other...but they also help each other move on from their deaths and give closure to the loved ones that they had to leave behind. 

If you are looking for a ‘pop idol girl’ anime that is different from others...then Zombieland Saga is definitely a good choice, as it does differ from the usual plots that anime featuring pop idol groups has.

8. Mitsuboshi Colors

Plot: Set in Ueno. The series follows three elementary school girls, Yui, Sat-chan, and Kotoha, who together form an organization known as "Colors". Together, they perform various deeds and errands to protect the peace in their town.

This series is very adorable and is filled with a lot of hilarity. What makes it hilarious, are the crazy antics of the crybaby Yui, the rambunctious Sat-chan, and the dark-humored Kotoha as they try to help others and maintain the peace in the town that they love so much. They recieve help from local shop owner, Pops, who gives them clues to solve, and are often coming into conflict with police officer Saito, who sees them as nothing but trouble while dealing with their childish antics. 

Mitsuboshi Colors really does make you want to go to the real Ueno in Japan, and see all the shops featured within this series.

9. Lovely Muco

Plot: The series depicts the life of the pet dog Muco and his owner Komatsu, who lives in his glass-making workshop in the mountains.

Lovely Muco shows life through the eyes of Muco, a shiba inu who lives in a mountain town with her owner, Komatsu, who works as a glass blower. Muco is an energetic dog who finds everything around her fascinating. Muco loves Komatsu more than anything in the world, who gives her lots of love in return. Muco also interacts with other people such as Komatsu’s long-time friend, Ushikou-san, bar owner Bouda and his energetic daughter Rena. 

Lovely Muco shows the viewer how the world looks through the eyes of a dog, and what goes through their curious minds.

10. Chi’s Sweet Home

Plot: A grey and white kitten with black stripes wanders away from her mother and siblings one day while enjoying a walk outside with her family. Lost in her surroundings, the kitten struggles to find her family and instead is found by a young boy, Youhei, and his mother. They take the kitten home, but, as pets are not allowed in their housing complex, they try to find her a new home. This proves to be difficult, and the family decides to keep the kitten. While being housebroken, the kitten mistakenly answers to "Chi" (as in shi- from shikko, the Japanese word for "urine") and this becomes her name. Chi then lives with her new family, learning about different things and meeting new people and animals.

This series is filled with so much love and cuteness that it could give you diabetes. Chi’s New Home shows viewers how the world looks through the eyes young kitten ‘Chi’, as she grows to love her human family and makes new friends along the way. Chi and her family love each other greatly, and cannot imagine living without each other.

Chi’s Sweet Home shows us just how important family is, and how a new member of one’s family can bring so much love and joy into one’s life.

[weregonnaneedmorewhiskey]

Covet

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4

Chapter 5: “San Francisco Nights”

Let me know if you want to be tagged for future chapters :)

Warning: Strong Language

Songs for this chapter:

Westside- Ariana Grande

Loooooove Song- Rihanna ft Future

April 9th- 8:30pm

Karla

“I can’t believe I’m doing this again. I’m on a date with this guy again. Why did I let Adrienne convince me to go?! Maybe I should just get a cab and go home and he’ll never know I showed up to the hotel. What am I saying?! Of course he’ll find out, this guy found out which building I live in and paid my rent. Let me just go to the front desk and find out if he’s in his room”

Walking into the lobby of the hotel, I take a close look at the marble floors and bask in the beauty of my surroundings. If the Miami pool party felt like something out of a music video, then walking into the St Regis felt like I had just walked into a scene from Ocean’s 11.

“Welcome to the St Regis, how can help you?” The upbeat receptionist greets me. His name tag says his name is Edward. Looks middle aged and has a few greys hairs in his dark hair.

“Hi, I’m meeting someone at this hotel and could you let them know I have arrived and waiting for them in the lobby?” I ask him

“Sure. What’s the name of the guest?” He asks.

“James Brookes”

“And your name Miss? So I can let him know who’s waiting?” Edward informs me.

“Karla” Maybe I should have said my last name too. Oh who I am kidding, he’s gonna know it’s me, he’s the one that wanted to see me in the first place.

I take a quick look in the mirror whilst Edward the receptionist makes a call to his room. There I was. Slick back ponytail, black satin shirt slightly opened, leather pants and some strappy heels. Not exactly an outfit I’d typically wear but Adrienne decided to chose my outfit for tonight.

“Yes good evening Mr Brookes, I am just calling your room to inform you that Miss Karla is waiting for you in the lobby. Ok then. You’re welcome” Edward ends his brief phone call.

Suddenly, a bunch of butterflies enter my stomach and I feel...nervous. It’s not like I really liked James that much. Sure, he was attractive and intelligent but I don’t know if I’m interested in that way. Also that rent thing I still think is super weird.

“Karla” There it was once again, that baritone voice. The first thing I notice was the bed of curls on his head. In comparison to his slick back look in Miami, the curls made him look slightly younger, more boyish. The blazer, crisp white button down shirt dress pants and Louboutin loafers made him look like a GQ model.

“Hi James, so where are we going” I ask him

“Well there’s a pretty nice bar here so I was thinking we could stay in the hotel?” He suggests.

As soon as I heard the words “stay in the hotel” I immediately raise an eyebrow. Does he think he can fly out here just to fuck me?!

“I’m not trying to get your in bed, I just want to get a drink and enjoy your company” He breaks my train of thoughts. It’s almost like he knew what I was thinking. He goes to link his arms in mine and we walk towards the hotel bar.

“Well then, I’m assuming you’re paying for drinks since you have no problem paying several months of a woman you slept with once’s rent” I joke

“You’d be correct to assume correctly. How are you?”

“I’m good. How are finding San Francisco?” I ask him

“Good, I think it’s gonna get better though” He says. We find a couple seats at the bar and I couldn’t help but notice that his dress pants was well tailored especially around his ass but I’m looking respectfully.

“Well...aren’t you optimistic? I’ll have a glass of some very expensive merlot since you’re paying” Normally I wouldn't be so bold but fuck it, let me have some fun.

“Great. I'll order a bottle so I can have the same. How you been?” He asks and he actually sounds like he’s interested.

“I’ve been good actually. I didn't have a seminar today so I just sent out a few applications to some galleries. Thought I'd get a head-start on the job front you know?” 

A woman walks towards our table and I'm assuming she’s the waitress due to her all black uniform and apron or she just likes to dress like that.

“What can I get you two tonight?” She asks. She eyes Wyatt up and down like a predator eyes its prey and bats her lashes. How cliche. Might as well ask him if he’d like his dick sucked too. 

“Yes, I'd like a bottle of your most expensive merlot please” He barely looks at her and I can tell she’s bothered by that but instead she maintains her perky attitude and says...

“Fabolous, I'll be right back with that, Sir”. As she walks away, she sends a wink in his direction but still, he doesn’t look to catch this. Maybe he does like me...or just doesn’t care for that waitress.

“Which galleries are you looking to work at?” Once again, James baritone voice interrupts my inner monologue.

“Different studios. Some in the Bay Area, some in LA, some in New York, some in Atlanta. I don't like limiting my options. I want as many as I can get” I explain. 

“I have a couple art buyer friends that are looking for assistants if you're wanting to further expand your options” Once again, he just says that oh so casually like it’s normal.

“Is there anyone you don't know James or is that just the life of working in marketing?” 

“What can I say, Karla? I'm a sociable person. That’s all. I like making friends” He explains. I guess with a job like his, you would have to be a social person...or at least persuasive.

“Here is your bottle Sir. That will be $180. Would like to pay cash or card?” The perky waitress returns, still trying to flirt.

“Just charge it to my room. I'm staying in room 520″

“Will do, Sir” The perky facade melts away and you can see her disappointment that he still didn't notice her. 

He opens the bottle and pour two glasses with a concentrated expression on his face, tilting the glass at a 90 degree angle.

“For you. Here’s to...” He passes the glass to me. 

“Making new friends” I finish the sentence. 

Clinking our glasses, I take a sip of the merlot. I let the fruity taste dance on my tongue and reunite with that familiar burn in my veins that clouds my judgement. 

“So how long are you in town again?” I ask him

“Four days” He reminds me.

“There’s an opening at this gallery I did an internship at. I’m going to it tomorrow night” 

A smirk comes across his face upon hearing this information. “Are you asking me on a date?”

I shouldn't find that smirk sexy but I can't help. He's not even trying. Not that he has to try.

“Yes” On our first date, he very much had the power and tonight, the power was mine.

“What time?” 

Author’s Note: Ok, I’m the worst when it comes to update but writing this chapter got me so excited for where this story goes. Please let me know in the comments, DM or an Ask if you want to be tagged in future chapters

Taglist: @laketaj24 @emjayewrites

[chaotically-cas]

I know im in here way too damn much (and i know its getting annoying so sorry about that) BUT trans dally hc's? Dont have to if you don't want to ofc /pos /srs

DONT BE SORRY!!!! Ok so credit to you & Ollie cause y’all helped me out so much here

Ok so in my mind Dallas came to Tulsa from New York at age 13-14, I think that’s when he transitioned (in New York) because it would have been way more advanced medically than Tulsa

Also it would be easier to find someone who deals estrogen blockers/testosterone

Going on what you said, I think he chose his name because he always got so much gender envy from cowboys/wanted to be a cowboy, so he chose a cowboy name

He made sure he passed very well before he even dared starting to go by a new name, because the most embarrassing thing in his mind is being called out

So when he goes to Tulsa, no one bats an eye whatsoever

He had anyways been kind of tall & very lean (which helped hide certain appendages) so that helped to his passing a lot

When him & Johnny started getting closer & closer & started to share a lot, that’s what he came out. I think Johnny first told Dal that he was gay & was really nervous & at first Dal was like ‘it’s ok, everyone has their secrets’

& then one day he kinda nonchalantly mentioned it & asked Johnny to swear to never tell anyone, & I don’t think he did. Johnny probably just hugged him & assured him he is the most masc man he had ever met (Johnny knows how to stroke an ego)

The next person to find out was Darry (credit again) & probably after Dal got in a fight & got jumped & Darry was trying to see if his ribs were ok & Dal refused to take off his shirt

Eventually it got pretty confrontational & the truth came out & Darry was just like ‘oh’ & that was the end of it, as simple as that

Sylvia also probably found out (credit Joe) when her & Dal were getting pretty serious & she was. Umm. Wondering. About things.

So I think that she confronted him first & was like ‘you gay’ & Dallas told her, again probably very aggressively, & Sylvia ofc didn’t give af at all

When he is having a bad day or feeling like he isn’t passing enough or whatever, he goes to Tim

I think that violence & anger has always been something Dallas associates with masculinity because of his dad & life in New York (as well as the movies he watched)

So something about beating the crap out of Tim (or just jumping people in general) fueled his masculine ego

I think that Darry maybe in an effort to show support would look into surgeries & the cost. Or things that can naturally help him pass

Darry giving Dallas his old clothes & cologne & stuff like that & Dallas being like ‘.... thank you’

He hates his hair getting too long & takes a lot of pride in his bond structure & natural resting face

Because of his association between anger & masculinity & what it means to be a man; I think that’s what leads to his attitude towards a lot of things. Especially how they treat girls

Tim trying to refuse to fight Dally after he finds out, but the messes with Dally more than anything else so he probably completely rocked Tim’s shit

So yeah things continued on as normal

Him getting arrested for stealing testosterone & I don’t think I have the mental ability to go into how they would treat him at jail if they found out so I won’t