#nat embraces herself fully and knows who and what she is

[imyourbratzdoll]

Hey I was reading your X-men posts and I just had an idea and if it is possible for you can you write about reader was with Bucky or Steve or both (your choice) but they break her heart and she finds love again with Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) or Eric Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) or both (again your choice) and protect her from Steve/Bucky 😅❤️

hi honey! thank you for requesting this, I hope you like what I've written!

summary - love can be deceiving especially with the wrong person, but it's so much more when it's with the right person.

warning - cheating? angst, word whore is used, insecurities, small violence.

the gif I use isn't mine, divider by @newlips (deactivated)

Bucky Barnes had been your light since the day The Avengers found you. He had been the one to comfort you when the nightmares would become too much, the one to love you like you’ve never been loved before. So why did it feel like your heart was being ripped out of your chest as you heard him talking to his friends. Why did it feel like the opposite of love?

“I’m so sick of Y/n being attached to me all of the time! And does she really think I love her?! Has she seen herself lately? She’s no Nat or Sharon. She’s just her, plain.” Bucky groans, rolling his eyes and taking a sip of his beer. “Oh, did I tell you that I hooked up with a smoking hot babe last night?” He smirks. “Man could she bend.”

You suck in a breath quietly, not wanting to be heard and also struggling to hold back your pain. You walk back to your room, quickly packing your things and disappearing into the night. You knew it was too good to be true, not once in your life had anything ever turned out good. You always seemed to end up with the short end of the stick. You had nowhere to go, a bag in your hand and the moon shining down on you. You felt stupid, you should’ve stayed, found a place before you left. 

You decided to walk a few blocks, taking a random train, wanting to distance yourself. You had turned your phone off and threw it away at the first sight of Bucky calling you. You couldn’t turn back now, too busy with your head down, looking at the ground you manage to bump into someone. Your bag falling from your hands, hitting the floor with a thump. “I–I’m so sorry!” You go to kneel but stop when you notice your bag floating in the air. 

“It’s not safe for a pretty girl to be out this late. You don’t know who you might end up bumping into.” You blink, your eyes connecting with blue. The random man hums, “Ah, Y/n L/n. What are you doing so far from home? Don’t you know you have many people looking for you? Some good, some bad.” 

You shrug, “I don’t care…” You wipe your cheeks, ensuring there are no tear marks on them. “Who are you?” 

The unknown man stares, face like stone. Reminding you so much of the man you just left. “And here I thought I made a reputation for myself.” He studies you, “Erik Lehnsherr, but I also go by Magneto.” 

You nod. “It’s nice to meet you. If you excuse me, I have somewhere to be…” You lie, you recognise the name, you knew of the people he used to hang around before he fully embraced his dark side. You couldn’t have him handing you back out of spite, you didn’t want to go back. Not after what you heard. 

Erik’s hand flies out, gripping your arm softly. “No, you don’t. But I’m not a total monster, I won’t let a pretty girl like you stay out on the streets all night. God knows what will happen.” He begins to pull you along, ignoring your protests. “Be quiet, don’t make me regret being kind.” 

Your mouth falls open as you stand in front of the X-Mansion, beginning to feel uncomfortable as you realise these people may judge you. You weren’t a mutant, you were a freak, an unloved freak. “I–I can’t stay here!”

“Why not?” Erik looks down at you, “Oh, are you one of those vampires that need inviting in?”

You look up at him with your head tilted, “Huh? What… No. I just, these people are… and I’m me… Plain…” You begin to play with your fingers.

“Hmm, whoever said that should get their eyes checked. Now come. I’m sure Charles is awaiting our arrival.” Instead of dragging you by the arm, he moves his hand and opens it, waiting for you to slip yours into his. 

Months had passed since you had bumped into Erik, Charles had accepted you into their family, proving to you that you were one of them. Erik had come and gone many of times since he had taken you here, and each time you began to dread when he had to leave again. Your relationship with him was okay, it had begun quite stiff and slowly blossomed into a friendship, the only issue is you fell for him. But you knew you weren’t good enough for a man like Erik, Bucky had proved that. 

Today you were excited though, Erik was coming back, and you had decided to wear your favourite dress, remembering the first time you had worn it, and he couldn’t stop staring at it. Deep down your insecurities were saying it’s because he hated the dress and was wondering how someone like you could ruin a pretty piece of clothing by wearing it, but another part of you had hoped it was the opposite, that he liked your dress.

You walk out of your room, smoothing out your dress as you begin to head to the door where you hear voices. A smile forms on your face, ready to see Erik again. You enter the room and your smile falls, he had finally found you. You didn’t want to face him, he was the reason you didn’t think you were good enough anymore. 

‘Y/n, I don’t want you to think I invited him, I tried to stop him, but I cannot do much unless I control someone’s mind and you understand why I didn’t, right?’ Charles speaks into your mind, your eyes connect with his and you nod.

��This is where you’ve been this whole time?! Do you know how worried we were?! How could you be so stupid!!” Bucky growls, moving closer. It’s as though you up and leaving him had struck a nerve, but you don’t know why, he didn’t love you like you did him. 

You hated yourself in this moment, you wanted to stand up for yourself and show him that his words didn’t hurt, but everything was coming back, and you couldn’t move or speak. “I–I…” 

“Take one step closer to her and I’ll shove that arm of yours down your throat.” A voice speaks from behind you, Erik steps out from the shadows, moving closer to you. His hand rests on your lower back, calming you down when you didn’t even know you needed to be calm. 

Bucky spins his arm, glaring. “Who are you?” His eyes fall to where Erik’s hand rests before he looks at you. “Is this why you ran off? Because you’re a whore?” Bucky steps forward, ignoring Erik’s warning causing Bucky to let out a cry of pain as his arm begins to get crushed.

“I warned you to not step closer to her. Yet you ignored that and insulted her.” He moves in front of you, pulling you to stay behind him. “Charles may have not wanted to control your mind because he’s a good guy, but I’m not.” With a flick of his hand, Bucky rises and gets thrown through the door. Erik stalks forward and glares at him. “If you ever come near Y/n again, I will kill you.” He makes sure to watch Bucky leave before he turns and walks toward you before you can even open your mouth to thank him, he grips the sides of your face and pulls you in, bringing you into a passionate kiss. 

Was this what love felt like?

thank you for reading!

feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

[littlejackets]

✩˚｡⋆ What's Up, Tiny?

pairing ¦ cg!travis little!nat

summary ¦ Nat manages to get sick during winter from the hunting, and Travis is there to take care of her when she regresses from it.

tags ¦ sfw, fluff, age regression, swearing, sickfic

Ao3 User (if you wanna support there 🫶) ¦ fictionalstorms

Hunting during the winter was a pain in the ass. It was cold, it was wet, there were almost never any animals outside, and no matter how many layers of clothing you put on your body, it almost never felt like enough in a Canadian winter.

But alas, it was Travis and Natalie's job and they had to do it. However, hunting day after day in the snow definitely tired them out. Travis usually wouldn't make out too bad by the time he was done, usually just coming back a bit cold. Nat on the other hand, would pretty much always come back freezing and barely able to walk due to how sore her legs were after trekking through the snow with heavier clothing on.

One thing that neither of them had ever considered, on the other hand, was the concept of illness. I mean, what were the chances they would actually ever get sick? They were only ever around the rest of the group and far away from civilization, surely that was enough to keep any possible sickness at bay.

Until this morning.

Nat woke up feeling like her throat was getting skinned from the inside, and she could barely breathe through her nose. She tried to sit up, but she felt too weak to even do that. She let out a groan and rolled over to see Travis, who was already awake and looking down at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" Nat asked him, already knowing that was a very stupid question.

"Yeah, but do you feel okay? You're really warm and you look kind of rough." Travis replied, brushing Nat's bangs out of her eyes.

Fuck. She got sick somehow. The blonde frowned and pushed herself away from him a little bit. "If I'm sick, you shouldn't be around me."

Travis shook his head, offering her a soft smile. "Well I mean, someone should be here to take care of you. And I don't think you want to deal with Misty." He said while he wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer, trying to show her that he wanted to help. She groaned again in response.

Nat wanted to push him away again and spare him from catching whatever she had, but his embrace immediately calmed her in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time.

She felt fuzzy, her mind and body light. Like she was floating on a cloud. It had been a while since she regressed and she did the best she could to avoid it happening. She didn't want to be a burden.

But when Travid softly kissed her shoulder, she couldn't fight it any longer. Nat rolled over and snuggled up against him with a loud whine, burying her face in his neck and bunching up some of the blanket in her hand.

Thankfully Travis caught on immediately. He remembered all of the signs of her regression from the last few times it happened, which made it way easier to tell. He placed a hand under her chin and tilted it up so she could look at him, and he smiled. "What's going on, Tiny?"

Nat huffed. "Cold." She said quietly with a little pout.

Travis pulled up the blanket a little over her shoulders and wrapped her in it, then pulled her closer in hopes that she would get a little warmer. He was concerned about how warm she actually felt, despite her saying she was cold, but whatever made her comfortable is what he cared about. "Better?"

The blonde shrugged and sniffled, the movement having cleared her nose for a split second before it got stuffed up again. When she couldn't breathe again, she started crying. She didn't like being sick, she wanted to feel okay, but she just felt so weak.

Travis shushed her quietly and put a hand behind Nat's head to fully hold her against his chest, gently scratching her scalp to comfort her. It usually helped, after all. He didn't really speak for a while, allowing her to let her feelings out before he started asking her questions. Instead he just whispered little reassuring words.

Once Nat started to stop crying, he kissed the top of her head. "How old are you right now, Nat?"

Nat hummed quietly in response. Words were hard, but she didn't feel like using her hands right now. Travis took the hint and nodded. "Younger than three?" He asked further. Nat nodded.

"Two?" Nat shook her head.

"One?"

Nat didn't respond for a second, trying to navigate her own mind before nodding.

Travis smiled. "Alright, little guy. Why don't you go back to bed for a bit, and then we can see how you're doing after?" He suggested.

The little nodded again and put the corner of the blanket in her mouth, since having things in her mouth always made her fall asleep faster. She let out a sigh before closing her eyes, while travis took his hand off her head to start rubbing her back. "I'll be with you the whole time, don't worry."

He assured her, knowing sometimes she would get anxious about people leaving her, especially in vulnerable states. Nat hummed once more as a sign of acknowledgement before falling asleep almost immediately.

Hopefully she'd feel a little better when she woke up.

[knuts-and-bolts]

yellowjackets as tma fear entities!!

Van- The Hunt: (obviously) girl’s rapidly going more and more feral and i love that for her. In an interview, Liv Henson talked about Van in season two dying on the inside and losing her humanity because she realizes that they have to survive one way or another. While many of the girls try to rely on humanity to save them, Van let’s her instinct take over and becomes more of a beast than a person. adult Van tries to hide it but there is a part of her (Lottie pointed it out in episode eight) that has died.

Tai- The Dark: my biggest influence on this one is Sammy. Tai’s biggest problem is that she sleepwalks and loses control of herself, especially at night. as an adult, she does so much to stay awake but still ends up becoming her own son’s nightmare. it reminds me of The Dark and how it’s specifically a fear that a lot of children have, and Tai has this childlike fear within her. The thing that Tai needs the most is reassurance and somebody to look after her even though she wants to be independent, which also just reminds me of innocence in a way.

Lottie- The Eye: My other top pick for her would be The Web, but I really the Eye fits better. Lottie has very big Tim energy in a very specific way. She doesn’t want to be a prophet, she doesn’t want the girls to follow or worship her, but she can’t stop it. Lottie can certainly see and understand things beyond what others can see and instead of being some kind of gift it scares the shit out of her. much like Tim, she wants to be martyr. Unfortunately, Lottie does not go kayaking. Something about her struggle with her visions and strange ability to just know things reminds me of the perverted nature of how Elias forces this power onto others.

Nat- The Hunt: While Van is closer to an avatar of The Hunt, Nat is a victim of it. Even before episode eight (when she literally is getting hunted) she’s the one they rely on for food, and reason she can do this goes back to horrific death of her father. The Hunt follows (hunts) her and she can do nothing to escape its inevitability. Adult Nat can still fell something following her, and goes to great lengths to prevent herself from thinking about it.

Shauna- The Slaughter: She says it herself a few times, Shauna wants to kill people. She’s the butcher of the group not because she’s good at it, but because she wants it. Shauna, sweet, browned-eyed Shauna, who tries so hard to push it down and pretend it isn’t there, wants to kill and tear flesh from bones.

Misty- The Spiral: At the very beginning, young Misty’s greatest fear is Loneliness. This might lead some to believe that she embodies the Lonely, but she doesn’t. Misty obsesses with the attention she gets and learns that she can manipulate people to love her in a sick and twisted way. While she fears loneliness, she embraces the insanity and deception of the Spiral, even as an adult.

Jackie- The End: Jackie is a girl who dies horribly. She is a vision of teenage girlhood and it’s innocence that hides behind surface level corruption. Jackie is afraid of so many things, but she’s terrified of dying. She’s so scared of her friends dying that she manages to survive for months longer than she should have. Like Nat, Jackie is a victim rather an avatar.

Laura Lee- The Web: Laura Lee fully believes that everything in her life is controlled by god. she thinks it’s her fault the plane crashed because she called somebody a cunt. When Laura Lee finally decides to do something about it, for possibly the first time in her life, she dies. Laura Lee’s every action is predestined, and when she steps out of line and does something unexpected, she burns to death.

Akilah- The Corruption: I wish we knew more about her, but Akilah is another victim here. She has a sense of wonder and joy even in the darkest times with Nugget. This is, of course, destroyed when she realized it’s been dead the whole time, and she follows the path many victims of the Corruption take. Like Matin with the Jane Prentiss stuff, Akilah physically curls up and tries to isolate and protect herself.

Ben- The Vast: Of course we need so Vast out here lost in the woods! Ben seems to feel the most isolated, which makes sense given that he’s an adult man stuck out there with all of these teenagers, none of which seem to know him well or care about him all that much. Even at home, Ben has nothing. There’s one scene that really sticks out to me about Ben being the Vast, and it’s when Misty stops him from jumping off the cliff. The best threat that Misty can come up with is to put him, thus further isolating him. even though he says “tell them” i noticed some fear there. Ben wants to be loved so badly that he hallucinates his boyfriend, but is so haunted by his loneliness that his hallucinations tell him to kill himself.

that’s all for now!! i’ll probably think of more later. if you read this far, i love you.

[scatcrccio]

IT MADE SENSE IN THE LONG RUN, DIDN'T IT—? For one known Yellowjacket to support another, a tit for tat but more meaningful in the sense that it showed a closeness; a bond. What they went through out there in the wilderness could've torn them all apart, but here they are instead. The world could see them as success stories as opposed to how they truly felt about themselves deep down. Natalie couldn't speak on Taissa's behalf on how she specifically felt, only able to assume that this campaign was the other woman's outlet just like the band was for Nat. A way to find their own individual purposes again.

Pride still rang true and every roar from the crowd outside only encouraged the idea that people could still thrive outside of trauma. It was a good story for the media, with the history of Taissa Turner who once foot the bill for Natalie's repeated rehabs once upon a time. Maybe this was just a selfish indulgence to boost morale within outside perspectives that made the wanna-be Senator look more admirable, but Nat isn't seeing it that way. Nor would she ever dream to. Incorporating her past into the campaign was a gamble, so too for herself by association. But if she's learned anything in the last several years, their past and all the shit they went through is what inevitably made them stronger which was fucked up, sure.

However, denying it would only pull them all down further into a rabbit hole they didn't want to be in anymore and life was far too short ( they should know ). Amazing, how someone like Natalie could come to that conclusion after all of this time when she'd been so used to wallowing in her own grief for so long. ❝ Oh, c'mon… they're all mostly here for you, overall. I might've brought in a few stragglers but, this is all yours. I'm just… ❞ glad to be a part of it, though she doesn't fully finish that thoughtful statement as words simply trail off into nothing. Nor does she rush to embrace the other like part of her wants to do.

The action in itself just seemed too vulnerable and open; not like them at all. Still, she manages a small smile in return. ❝ I mean, we had to drop out of a show at Madison Square but hey, this seemed more important. ❞ Can't even get through one conversation apparently without a little dig, though of course, it's made in jest. She'd much rather be here, supporting her friend. ❝ As long as we've got a lot of water and fuel, we should be good to go. The guys appreciate the free food. ❞ She adds with a bit of a chuckle. ❝ You gonna watch from the side lines? Can't guarantee that I won't be surfing at some point with a crowd this big. ❞

she could act like it was for selfish reasons all she wanted, but there was a certain level of proudness when it came to natalie and her band. it wasn’t always her type of music, but that didn’t seem to matter when it came to helping out an old friend. someone on her team had suggested having live music to help with the campaign and who else would taissa have asked? with natalie on tour all the time, it wasn't like they got to see a lot of each other anyways. she wasn't going to just come out and say that she missed her friend, but she did. this seemed like the perfect way to give each other support while spending some time together.

there were no plans to go backstage before the show. she had mostly just planned to hide in the crowd and experience the show strictly as a fan (as if her name and face wasn't plastered everywhere) but the excitement and energy of the crowd was infectious. even for taissa. she just felt such a need to shoot a quick thanks before everything started happening. just so natalie knew she appreciated her even being here. to see nat's evolution and the way that she now felt like she had a purpose, it was a big moment for taissa.

"they really love you out there. i knew that but damn. " she says with a grin, the slight buzz of the crowd speaking still vaguely being heard, even backstage. "thanks for saying yes, by the way. there's no way any other band would have this dedicated of a fanbase. it will be great for the campaign." not to mention, great for promotion for the band, which to natalie's face she may lie and say that she doesn't know as many songs as she does, but she's pretty well versed in all of her music. it was the least she could do. " - you're gonna do great. please holler if you or the band need anything. i want this to be as seamless as possible." even when she's trying to have fun, it still has to be so controlled on her end.

[emerald-chaos]

Daydream

**gif not mine! credit to the owner**

So, I couldn't help myself. This is a continuation of my previous Bucky fic Insomnia because I just really enjoyed the dynamic between Bucky and the reader. I had a lot of fun writing this part and I love building things up between the two of them. If you guys like this or are interested in seeing more - please let me know! I love talking with people and hearing their ideas and such.

Much love xo.

Pairing: Reader x Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 2079

Warnings: cursing, struggles with mental illness, mentions of sex (nothing entirely explicit but better safe than sorry), alcohol use, and really poorly written jokes lmao

Fingers threaded into hair.

Hot, opened-mouth kisses marking every surface of your neck.

Nails trailing down his back leaving raised, red lines in their wake.

“Oh my god,” you groaned as you let your head fall back and continued to rock your hips into the man in front of you.

Strong hands tighten their hold on your hips, sure to leave purplish-blue bruises for the morning.

“C’mon, baby,” he grunted, face buried in your neck as he helped your body to grind against his, “I got you. Let go, fuck, let go for me.”

A pair of slender fingers snapped in front of your line of sight, tearing you from your daydream and bringing you harshly back to reality.

“Hmm, what was that?” You blinked a few times before you turned your attention to the redhead who you, apparently, had been having a conversation with.

“Are you serious?” She laughed, “I’ve been talking for the past 10 minutes! I looked over and you had that far off, glossy look in your eyes. Not to mention you’re bleeding.”

A hand found its way to your lower lip and you realized she was right. You had been so lost in wet dreamland that you chewed a layer of skin off of your lip. You hoped she didn’t notice the heat rising in your face as you cleared your throat, grabbing a tissue from the coffee table.

“Sorry,” you muttered, pressing the tissue against your injured lip, “guess I got lost in thought.”

“Is it one of those flashbacks again?” She asked kindly, facial expression softening.

You nodded quickly, knowing fully well that the statement was a lie. Your gaze drifted over the woman’s shoulder to the subject of your previous thoughts. It would be easier to explain the common occurrence of your PTSD than it would be to explain that you were reminiscing on the hot, steamy, passionate sex you had the night before.

Bucky was situated across the room, leaning against the counter as he talked to Rogers and Wilson. The unfortunately tight, black, short-sleeve t-shirt he was wearing left nothing to the imagination. It accentuated every muscle of the body you had gotten to know so intimately not more than 10 hours ago. His muscular arms were crossed at his chest and he was sporting his signature scowl. Everything about the sight sent a shiver down your spine. You finally had a taste and you wanted more.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Your friend’s voice gained your attention once more.

A small smile found its way to your lips as you met her gaze again. Apart from Bucky, Nat had always been a good trauma buddy of yours. From the beginning she had been someone you felt like you could confide in and someone who would understand your troubles. Sometimes you wondered if a requirement of joining the avengers was to have a fucked up, tragic backstory.

“I’m okay, Nat.” You reassured, “Just got lost in my head again.”

“Whatever you say. Maybe the party tonight will help you get your mind off of things,” She mused as she pushed herself from the couch to stand up. She paused briefly before she turned to you again, “you are coming, right?”

“Yeah,” you snorted, “Tony actually threatened me if I didn’t go this time, so, I guess I have to.”

After the last party you skipped out on, Tony cornered you in the hallway and gave you quite the interrogation. Then he went on a spiel about how staying in your room all day and all night was bad for you and that if he didn’t know better he would think you weren’t appreciative of what he’d done for you and blah, blah, blah. Tony really was a good person underneath all that hair gel. All he wanted was to help you break out of your shell and give you the family he knew you were lacking. That didn’t mean he couldn’t be a pushy asshole.

“Good, I’ll see you there. I’m sure Barnes will too.” A devilish grin painted her lips as she watched your jaw drop. Before you had a chance to say anything she was off down the hallway.

Fuckin’ Natasha.

*******

A pile of clothes littered your bed as you slipped another dress over your form. Not once in your life had you ever been concerned about what you were wearing or what you looked like, but there was something about tonight that made you want to turn heads. Your eyes raked down your figure as you twisted from side to side, admiring the way the black dress hugged your body in all the right places. Not to mention the thigh high slit in the dress showed off probably the only body part you weren’t self-conscious about. Tony, being the theatrical and over the top man he was, once said that you shouldn’t show up to his parties if you weren’t dressed to court a royal or to bring a man to his knees. Guess you were shooting for the latter.

As you put the finishing touches on your look for the evening, you felt that familiar heavy feeling settling into your chest. Your body always had a tendency to go into fight or flight mode when you became too familiar with anything or anyone. It felt like every fiber in your body was screaming for you to retreat into sweats and stay in your room, to not allow yourself this opportunity to enjoy the people you’d grown so close to. You know what happens when you let people in.

Grief, trauma, coping - it made it really difficult to live a “normal” life. Everyday tasks are daunting, it can be next to impossible to have intimate friendships or relationships, and not to mention the intrusive thoughts that infect your mind on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Here you were, the happiest you’d been in years. You were finally in a place where you felt loved, comfortable, safe - and yet your mind was trying to self-sabotage again.

You took a moment to close your eyes and take several deep breaths. When you opened your eyes you locked eyes with your reflection in the mirror and made a pact with the girl staring back at you. The intrusive thoughts and self-doubt couldn’t continue to have a hold over you anymore. You gave yourself a small smirk and nod as you made the decision to throw caution to the wind and give the party a try. What’s the worst that could happen?

*******

Come to find out, the worst that could happen would be your competitive nature overcoming the rational, thinking part of your brain; which in turn would lead you to enter in a drinking contest. Thankfully a small portion of your pink, smooth brain was still functional enough to tell you when you’d reached your limit. Now you sat comfortably on the couch, legs tucked underneath you as you joyfully watched your friends argue.

“Dr. Banner, my friend, you are one of the most intelligent people I know. However, you are wrong.” Thor stated simply as he finished the rest of his drink.

“Thor, for the last time, water is not wet!” Bruce retorted, throwing his hands up in frustration.

You let out a loud snort before thinking, “Oh yeah, water. I should drink some water.”

Your feet planted themselves on the floor and slipped back into your pair of shoes. As you made your way to the kitchen you were pleasantly surprised by your balance and coordination, considering how much alcohol you’d consumed. Seems that drinking with Thor has done wonders for your tolerance.

While you were busy searching the refrigerator for a bottle of water, you were also oblivious to the soft sound of footsteps coming into the kitchen. After retrieving the beverage, you closed the door and turned to leave. Instead, you turned right into the chest of a figure that was definitely not there a moment ago. You yelped as you clutched a hand over your chest dramatically, your face filled with horror as though you’d just come face to face with the grim reaper.

“Jesus Christ, Barnes!” you scolded.

Bucky was holding his abdomen as he leaned back, consumed with laughter at your reaction. You huffed and wanted to be offended, but he looked so damn cute laughing that you couldn’t help but join him. You pushed his chest playfully and grumped as you hopped up to sit on the counter, opening the water to gulp about half of it down. Bucky couldn’t help but grin at your pouty state as he finished up his laughing fit.

“My apologies, sweets. Didn’t realize I’d be makin’ ya scream twice in one day.” He teased, grinning even wider as he did so.

Your jaw dropped at the comment, quickly looking around to make sure no one else was in the kitchen to hear what he had said. After seeing that the coast was clear you kicked your foot at him out of annoyance, only for his metal hand to catch it smoothly. The two of you locked eyes, motionless for a moment before he moved closer, sliding his hand from your ankle to your thigh. In the moment, you damned yourself for choosing this particular dress. The closer he got, the faster your breathing became. The contrast between his cold embrace and your flushed, warm skin sent a shiver down your spine. Abandoning the water bottle, you ran your hands up his abdomen and chest until they rested on his shoulders. Following a small nudge from his knee, you parted your legs to allow him space to stand between them. The heat in your face at an all time high as he pressed his flesh hand to your cheek.

“Haven’t been able to stop thinkin’ about you.” Bucky whispered as he stroked the apple of your cheek with his thumb. Each word that left his lips had you feeling way more intoxicated than any liquor you’d had all night.

As quickly as it started, his touch was gone and his back was turned as he opened the fridge. Before you had a chance to open your mouth to ask what the hell just happened, Tony was entering into the kitchen.

“Well, well, well. Surprised to see you here, Annie.” Tony beamed as he laid eyes on you.

Yes, Tony had nicknamed you after little orphan Annie. Yes, he also referred to himself lovingly as Daddy Warbucks. Yes, any person in their right mind would probably be offended, but you were just fucked up enough that you found it kind of hilarious.

“Wish I could say that it’s a pleasure, Tony.” You grumped back, upset that you’d been cockblocked and by Tony no less.

“Never lose that spunk, kid.” Tony winked as he turned to see Bucky retreating from the fridge with a beer in hand. “Inspector Gadget! Good to see you too.”

As much as you didn’t want to encourage him, you couldn’t help but laugh. Much to your dismay, Bucky simply raised his bottle to Tony as if to say “cheers” and padded out of the kitchen.

“He has such a way with words.” Tony teased as you rolled your eyes.

A sigh left your lips as you slipped off the counter and back onto the floor, muttering a “goodnight” before leaving the kitchen and heading back to your room. Although you wanted nothing more than to find Bucky and finish what he had started in the kitchen, you came to the conclusion that you were probably too drunk and definitely too tired.

Back in the comfort of your bedroom, you went about your normal nighttime routine. As you exited the bathroom, you couldn’t help but notice a piece of paper that had been slipped beneath your door. Grabbing the paper from the floor and plopping back onto your soft mattress, you opened it to read the note that was scribbled in black ink.

Never got the chance to tell you how gorgeous you looked tonight. Gotta say, I’m a big fan of that dress.

Sweet dreams.

- B.

When you finished the note, it felt as though you were floating on cloud 9. Even when you laid your head down and tried to welcome sleep, Bucky’s words were still replaying in your head over and over again - like they were lyrics to your new favorite song.

Turns out you were down for Bucky Barnes, and you were down bad.

[the-bau-quinjet]

Can you please do like a sequel of Shut Up where Bucky and the reader team up against Sam????

Oops...

Warnings: fluff!!

Word Count: 1438

a/n: Sorry this took so long! It took me a while to think of a prank that wasn't too terribly mean...

Shut Up!

Masterlist

"Y/N." Bucky whined, his hands holding tightly to one of your own. "We have to do something to Sam!"

You laughed at his childlike behavior. Ever since your first date with Bucky, which went surprisingly well considering how nervous the both of you were, Bucky has been pestering you about teaming up against Sam.

Rather than responding, you pulled out your phone, quickly playing the video of Steve in his Captain America suit rattling on about patience.

"We need a plan first." You laid back on your bed, pulling Bucky along since he still held your hand.

"One: why do you have that video so readily available? Two: I have a plan." He smiled maniacally. "Turn him into a bird."

You scrunched up your face. "One: for moments like this, duh." You answered his first question.

I am definitely 100% in love with her. Bucky's thoughts ran wild.

"Two: I already made you a cat. You need to be more creative." You laughed at his pouty face.

How is he so perfect?

"Like what?" He bounced on the bed, fully embracing the childlike temper tantrum.

"I don't know. We could make Friday only call him Bird Brain for a day. Or make it so Redwing only responds to being called 'toy plane'." You thought about random prank ideas, trying to think of something that would bother him, but still be funny. Bucky looked at you fondly as you listed ideas.

How is she so perfect.

"I've got it." Bucky grinned smugly earning a raised eyebrow from you. "Can you make it so he can only say song lyrics?"

You thought to yourself for a minute before finally nodding.

"Embarrassing song lyrics?" He added, the mischief clear in his eyes.

"Now you're talking. What are you thinking? Early Jonas Brothers? High School Musical? Hannah Montana?" Your smile grew with each new artist you listed.

"Perfect. Now we just have to think of a way for him to eat something we give him."

Bucky was pacing, clearly deep in thought.

"Actually, I didn't need to make you eat that cookie. I could've just turned you into a cat with the flick of a wrist." You grinned at his wide eyes.

"What? Why then?"

"Because. It was more fun to see how paranoid you were about eating anything I gave you."

Bucky pouted, although he had to admit it made sense.

I am definitely in love with this man. You shook your head, trying to clear the thoughts.

"C'mon. We've got to make a plan."

-

You worked your magic on Sam on a day when you knew everyone would be around the compound. He was minding his own business, trying to watch a movie when you and Bucky suddenly appeared.

"Hey, Sam. How you doing?" You asked with a fake air of innocence.

"I'm hot. You're cold. You go around, like you know-" He instantly burst into song, eyes widening. He threw his hands over his mouth, trying to prevent anything else from coming out.

You played it cool, but the twinkle in Bucky's eye easily gave away your prank.

"What's going on? This can't be happening. Don't tell me it's a song!" Sam switched songs, eyes narrowing. He continued singing, despite his clear protests.

"Oh, it's a song." You grinned, leaning into Bucky who wrapped an arm around you.

I love her so much.

Sam shook his head in response, leaving the common area. He figured it would only last a few hours, so all he had to do was avoid people talking to him.

What he didn't account for was Tony's "impromptu" team building night. In reality, you suggested to Tony that maybe the team needed more time together not fighting anyone, and he ran with the idea.

"Alright party people! What should we play first?" Tony gestured to the massive table filled with various board games.

"I've always loved clue!" You grinned, knowing what would come next.

"Clue it is! Who does everyone want to be?" Tony questioned, laying out the various pieces.

"Who will I be? It's up to me. All the never ending possibilities, that I can see." Sam immediately burst into song, surprising most everyone around the table.

"Oh, I wouldn't say never ending, Sam. I think there's only six!" You patted him on the shoulder, a wide smile on your face.

"What did you do?" Steve asked, eyes narrowing in on you and Bucky.

"Oh, don't worry Cap. It'll only last another..." You glanced at the clock, "four hours." Bucky hid his face in your neck to prevent himself from laughing too obnoxiously.

I love him so much.

"Games and a show. I like it." Nat winked at you, always a fan of your pranks since none were ever directed at her.

"What was he even singing?" Clint stared at you, again unprepared for Sam to answer in song.

"Cause we rock. Camp Rock. We rock, we rock on." Sam glared at you, the expression really not matching the joyous music filling the room.

"He can only sing songs from Disney Channel Original Movies or people who were once on Disney Channel." You smiled to yourself, happy with the limits on the spell. "I do believe the last two were from Camp Rock."

"This should be an interesting night." Bruce shook his head, never one to understand the draw of practical jokes.

"That's an understatement." Steve shook his head. He finally had you and Bucky getting along, so of course you'd do something like this.

-

"Moving on." You pointedly glared at Clint, knowing he was about to bring up Budapest again. "Let's play a team game next."

"Charades?" Bucky suggested, trying to keep it simple enough.

You all split into two teams, Sam being sure to put himself against you and Bucky.

"Sam, you're definitely going down." You goaded, trying to draw out another song.

"Hey now, We no longer wait around. My team's stronger like weights now." He started rapping, or as close to rapping as it gets on Disney.

"Oh my God. That's even better than I expected." You laughed so hard, tears sprung up in your eyes.

"Disney raps now?" Tony questioned, also laughing at Sam's embarrassed face.

"Yes. Lemonade Mouth. An underrated film, honestly." You nodded, completely serious only earning more laughs from the team.

I. Love. You. Bucky's thoughts were written across his face, but somehow went unnoticed by you.

-

"That's okay, Sam." Bucky grinned. "Nobody's perfect."

"Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has those days. Everybody knows what, what I'm talking 'bout. Everybody gets that way."

You couldn't stop the smile from forming you your face, although rather than laughing at Sam's embarrassment you were now just enjoying Bucky being happy.

I. Love. You.

-

"I hate you both." Sam cleared his throat, no longer used to the sensation of speaking.

"It was Bucky's brilliant idea." You smiled at him. I love you.

"Well, it was Y/N's brilliant execution." He pressed a kiss to your nose. I love you.

"Dear Lord. I can't take this anymore." Wanda erupted, in a similar fashion to the night you turned Bucky into a cat. "I get it. You two love each other. Now, please! Learn how to control your thoughts!"

You and Bucky were wide eyed, stares flitting between Wanda and each other.

"You love me?" Your voice was soft showing how unsure of yourself you were.

Bucky nodded before voicing a similar question. "You love me?"

"Oops..." Wanda hid behind Vision, trying not to draw anymore attention to herself. Thankfully, all eyes were on you and Bucky.

"I really, really do." You whispered, eyes solely focused on Bucky.

Bucky pulled you in for a kiss, heart bursting with joy. He never thought he'd find someone to love him, let alone someone as incredible as you.

"I love you." Bucky whispered against your lips, kissing you between the words.

"I love you too." You kissed him right back, heart fluttering.

"I liked it better when they were constantly fighting." Sam muttered under his breath, earning a punch in the arm from Steve.

"Let them be. They're in love." He sighed with a happy smile. He couldn't help but think about how much Bucky deserved to be happy.

"I don't know if this is the cutest or grossest thing I've ever seen." Nat commented, eyes still focused on you and Bucky's whispered words and soft kisses.

"Grossest. Definitely the grossest." Clint added on, needing to jump out of the way as you and Bucky took off for your room, paying no mind to the many teammates laughing at you as you passed by.

Permanent taglist:

@averyhotchner @jesuswasnotawhiteman @madewithsebstan

[mcufox123]

The Worst of You

Wanda Maximoff x fem reader

Synopsis: You have defeated Thanos but what does that mean for your relationship with Wanda.

A/N: In this story all of the characters survive Endgame because they just do. This is just part one, another part will be coming out soon. Also I wrote this based off the Noah Cyrus and P.J. Harding song “The worst of you.”

Warning: Alcoholism, Self spiraling, grief

I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS!

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

Tony threw another infamous party on Saturday to celebrate one year since you all defeated Thanos and life returning to somewhat normal from the blip. The world was in chaos with half of the population returning that everyone was everywhere helping out wherever they could. It had been about a year now and things were finally getting back to normal. The Avengers had not been together at the compound since Thanos was defeated, so in a way the party was celebratory. You and Wanda however were not in the celebratory mood.

You and Wanda had been dating for almost 3 years now, theoretically. Your relationship had started before the blip, sneaking off to see each other was very romantic. Two years into the relationships the blip happened. She was gone, dusted. It devastated you. You two were conjoined at the hip, so her being gone left you lost. For the first 3 years after the blip, you worked so hard to get everyone back, to get Wanda back. By the end of year 3 however you crashed. You flipped out at Natasha, the one person who had been there for you. You stopped eating, only when you absolutely had to. And you almost never left your room. You had spiraled now realizing that your love might be gone forever.

By year 4 you had hardened yourself from all emotions. The only people who could see you, were Nat and Steve. You went on missions for them but when you returned you gave your report then went right to your room. You got drunk nearly every night. Drinking until you were numb from the pain and eventually passed out. That’s how the rest of the blip went, until Scott Lang showed up at the compound. You did not even indulge any bit of hope. You weren’t going to get excited about something that may not even come true. When everyone started to put in the work however, you helped. You played along with their plan.

After getting all of the infinity stones, when Bruce snapped, you did feel a bit of hope and it continue to grow when Clint’s phone range and it was Laura. That’s when you blacked out for a second when Thanos destroyed the compound. The fight that ensued was hard. Not everyone was back. They few that were fighting were injured. That’s when all of these portals started opening with all of your friends who you hadn’t seen in 5 years. It brought tears to your eyes. Not for long as the fighting continued. You did not even see Wanda during the fight. You only met her when all of Thanos’ army began to disappear. You sprinted as fast as your feet would take you to hug her in a huge embrace. You squeezed her so hard and cried into her shoulder. Your 5 years only seemed to be 5 minutes for her. You kissed her hard. Putting in all the pain and need into that kiss as your mouths moved in sync.

After the fight was over a majority of you moved into Stark Towers until the compound was cleaned up and rebuilt, but most of you were never there, always on missions. You and Wanda, after the first few blissful weeks of being back fell into a pattern. You always got drunk out of habit now and she was asleep by the time you went to bed, and she was always gone before you woke up in the morning running somewhere to save people. You weren’t into helping as much as she was. You felt that you had given 5 long years to helping people, it was time for someone else to step up, and of course Wanda thought that meant her.

Neither of you communicated as much with each other. She saw you spiral, she asked “Y/N, are you ok? I’m here babe I'm back you can talk to me.” She begged with glossy eyes. You however just shrugged her off “I’m fine Wanda, just leave it alone.” And you walked out to where the bar was and grabbed the whiskey, not even bothering to take a glass. Wanda didn’t ask again after that. She was trying so hard herself not to spiral so instead she kept her distance. This is how the past year went. You went to parties together and pretended everything was fine, putting on a great act in front of the team when you saw them. The nights that you pretended never involved going to bed, you would stay up in each other’s embrace, trying so hard to return to normal. After both of you were finished, you always put on clothes and walked out of the room to grab a drink, most the time crying. Wanda stayed in bed watching you leave as silent tears rolled down her face.

Both of you were so broken and couldn’t fix each other. But neither of you could bear the thought of leaving each other. You had already lost her for 5 years and you were not going to lose her again, you loved her so much still and wanted to get back to the place you both were. Wanda on the other hand still loved you. She could see your pain, the hurt you went through. She wanted so bad just to hold you in her arms and take all of the pain and suffering away. But every time you both tried the other person would just shut down.

Tony’s one year anniversary party, although supposed to be fun, was torture. You were already pretty drunk, and the party hadn’t even started a half an hour ago. Wanda was pissed. You were constantly leaning on her trying to keep your self up right and failing miserably. She decided to move you both to the couches where Steve, Nat, and Tony were talking. You’re eyes drooped shut, and you weren’t quite asleep but there was no way you could have a decent conversation.

“You holding up ok kid?” Tony asked Wanda, who had her head in her hands.

“As best I can. I’m worried about her. She gave so much, and I feel like the cost is me losing her.” Wanda said now wiping a tear away from her face. Nat quickly got up to hold Wanda in an embrace.

“What do you need to do? What do you need us to do?” Steve asked. He wanted to have a plan that all of them could work on to help you.

“I can’t hurt her,” Wanda said in a whisper, “But I can’t keep hurting myself either.”

You heard this and wanted to scream, you wanted to run far away. Away from all the pain, and sorrow that you have caused. But you just laid there like a drunk idiot. After that you didn’t hear anymore. The thoughts continued running and eventually you did fully pass out.

“Why don’t you go away for a little? Be at peace with yourself and come to terms with everything. We’ll take care of Y/N.” Steve suggested.

“You can come stay at the cabin near my house. You can help Pepper with Morgan and have the space you need. I could use a little help cleaning the grounds and your help would make it 10 times easier.” Tony continued.

“At least think about it Wanda. We all just want to help, and I’ll keep my eye on Y/N, let you know how she’s doing.” Natasha finally finished. Wanda wanted so bad to take them up on their offer right then and there. But she couldn’t help loving the worst part of you and this relationship you both were in.

She told them she would think about it, before waking you up and taking you to bed. She cleaned off your makeup, changed you into pajamas, and put you in bed. Before climbing in herself she just sat on the edge of the bed. Staring at you and how at peace you looked. Wishing that you could stay like this all the time. She wanted so badly to help you through this time, but she was slowly losing herself. She finally crawled into bed and cuddled closer to you which she hadn’t done since you pushed her away once. This was one night when you both slept completely, no nightmares waking either of you up.

The next morning you woke up with an awful headache. You weren’t going to reach next to you because you didn’t think Wanda would be there, but she was. To you this meant that you had did something right last night, but you can’t remember what. You walked into the kitchen to get coffee for you and Wanda, deciding to continue your good streak with her today. When you enter your surprised to see Steve, Natasha, and Tony all talking. They quiet down when you enter the room.

“Love when people act like they aren’t talking about me.” You say in a snarky tone.

“Maybe we wouldn’t be talking about you if you got your shit together Y/N.” Tony replied just as aggressively.

“That’s rich coming from the man who disappeared into the woods for 5 years while the world fell apart.” You yell back. You were slamming things now, getting angrier and angrier. You saw Steve eye Tony, as Natasha got up and walked towards you.

“Breath Y/N” she soothed as she came closer to you and gave you a hug. You took deep breathes as you calmed down. A tense silent took over the room.

“Y/N, look I'm sorry. I’m just worried about you. Morgan misses you, ya know? She always asks when Elsa is coming back to visit. And well you’re not ok Y/N. I want you to be ok. I want the badass who fought beside me in every battle. Who also was having fun with me and going to fun places being the life of the party. Who always remembered what happened the day after the party and would most the time scold me. I want to help you can I help you?” Tony says while making his way over to you eventually placing his hands on your shoulders making you look at him.

“Shut up Tony. I would still be that person if you didn’t abandon us. I would still be that person if we didn’t fail. If I didn’t spend 5 years wondering if there was something I could’ve done to prevent all of this. If I could’ve saved everyone. If there was something I could’ve done to save her.” You push him away and abandon the cups of coffee you were making. Instead, you walked to the bar only to find it empty. This pissed you off. You kick the cabinets underneath. He was getting to you, bringing up all of the feelings that you try to keep buried. You couldn’t tell them; you couldn’t burden them any longer.

You eventually broke down with your hands on the bar. No one moved this time to comfort you seeing the ice that was forming on your hands. After a few minutes you composed yourself.

“I need to take a walk. I need to get out of here for a bit.” You say while grabbing your keys and walking out the door, not bothering to look back. You headed right for the local bar.

Back at the compound everyone wasn’t as ok with you leaving.

“What do we do?” Tony asked while looking at his friends. Bruce had now joined the breakfast crew.

“I suggest therapy, we don’t know if medication will have an effect on her. I think she also needs to go away, get some sense knocked back into her, maybe Wakanda?” Bruce suggested.

“They are both going to be devastated if we send her away. I think she needs to stay here and get help here.” Natasha challenged. She had both you and Wanda’s interest at heart.

“She can’t stay here with Wanda; they will both continue to destroy each other. One of them needs to get out. One of them needs to be ok.” Steve said sadly.

“I’ll talk to Wanda.” Natasha said getting up and heading towards your room. She knocked and waited for a response. All she heard was sniffling on the other side of the door. She walked in to see Wanda curled up on the bed, not even moving when Natasha sat next to her. She pushed some hair out of Wanda’s eyes.

“You’re not ok sweetie, and that’s ok.” Natasha said. “We just want both of you to get better, we miss our friends. She needs help Wanda. You have done everything you possibly could, but this is out of any of our control. We need to get Y/N help. She’ll come back to you I promise.” Natasha said trying to comfort Wanda. Wanda didn’t say anything though, just cried harder holding onto Natasha like a child who lost their favorite stuffed animal. Natasha sat there and comforted Wanda until she quieted down again.

“Tony called Happy, and he can be here in an hour and a half to get you. Pepper is setting up the cabin as we speak. This could help you both, this could help you get her back.” She finished as she felt the younger girl hold her tighter. Wanda was afraid that if she let go and went with her then that meant she was giving up on you.

Eventually Natasha pulled away and looked at Wanda in the eyes, “It’s going to be ok; she is going to be ok, you are going to be ok. Do the work, put in the time to get better and it will all be worth it.” Wanda nodded before getting up and walking to her closet to get her suitcase.

Natasha walked out of the room and to the kitchen where Tony, Steve, Bruce and now Sam and Bucky were.

“Well, she’s packing.” Natasha informed them.

“Ok so here is the plan.” Steve continued to tell the rest of them the process they would take to help both of their teammates.

Hours had passed and the time finally came for you to drive home from the bar. You couldn’t even walk in a straight line to the car but it was only a short 5-minute drive. You could pull it together enough for 5 minutes. The drive seemed to be harder this time, with things blurring together. All of a sudden you hear sirens behind you. Of course, of course this would happen to you. The police officer gets out of the car and walks up to your window.

“name?” he says not even bothering to look at you.

“Y/N Y/L/N.” you say just staring at the wheel that can’t seem to stay still.

“Are you aware that you were driving 20 over the speed limit?” he asks finally looking at you. It takes him a moment before he realizes who you are. His eyes widen.

“You’re an avenger. I am so sorry. You do not seem like you are in any condition to drive though, can I call someone?” he asks very apologetically. Being an avenger did have some advantages.

“Yeah, you can call Wanda,” and you gave the man her number. After trying 4 times she still didn’t pick up though.

“Anyone else ma’am?” this irked you to no end. One because Wanda wasn’t answering and two, he just called you ma’am. You didn’t show any signs of aggression however because you didn’t want to scare the poor man. Instead, you gave the one number you knew you could call if you ever got in trouble.

“Yeah, Bucky.” You told him. He called, Bucky picked up and assured the officer he would be there right away. Sam dropped Bucky off not even 5 minutes later and thanked the police officer. He also assured him that the avengers would be taking care of my punishment. You rolled your eyes and looked out the window as he started to drive off. Before giving him time to speak you immediately started.

“Where is Wanda?”

“Y/N I can’t answer that.” He continued driving straight faced.

“Why the hell not? Where is my girlfriend? Is she safe?” you said starting to feel the icicles forming on your hands.

“She’s fine Y/N.”

“Bucky these short answers are really starting to piss me off. Also, what do you mean the avengers are going to be taking care of my punishment? I don’t need a punishment I was fine. I am fine.”

“STOP LYING TO YOURSELF Y/N.” he yelled startling you, “god can’t you see you’re not fine. You need help. You were not ok to drive. You are really lucky that policeman pulled you over before you could do any real damage. I’m sick of this person you have become. You’re hurting me, you’re hurting the team, you’re hurting yourself, and something I don’t think you realized is your hurting Wanda. That girl would die for you. She would do anything to be with you and make this pain go away and your just being so selfish to even try. Get over yourself.” He says frustrated.

His words hit you like bullets though. The final one being that your hurting Wanda. You’re not sure what happens but you look down to see your hand on fire. This has never happened before. You knew that you had ice powers, but fire powers were a new thing. Just before you can do anything you feel a sharp pain in your neck and then the lights go out.

Bucky was stunned the whole way home. Where the hell did the fire come from. As he pulled in the driveway, he asked Tony to come out in the Iron Man suit.

“What the heck happened? Our directions were to go get her bring her back, don’t say anything so we could stage our intervention! Only use the needle if it was an emergency!” Tony asked a very shocked Bucky.

“I’m no expert Tony, but I think her shooting flames out of her fingers is a bit of an emergency.” Bucky says as Tony stared at him wide eyed.

Tony carries you cautiously into the compound and sits you on the couch. Bruce puts the antidote needle into your neck, so you wake up. As soon as the light reaches your eyes your furious.

“What the actual hell?” you sneer at Bucky. You feel the flames in your fingers and look down to see the bottom half of your body engulfed in flames. Oddly enough nothing hurts, and you just feel power. The all cower besides Steve who was ready with a fire extinguisher. You just glared at him, however. You got up from the couch and made your way to your bedroom that you shared with Wanda. Her things were all gone. You felt as though the wind got knocked out of you. She couldn’t be gone, not again. You searched the bathroom the walk-in closet everything, there was no trace of her anywhere. It was like the blip but worse.

Your throat felt as if it was closing up. You could have prevented this; you saw this coming and did nothing to fix it. Unlike the blip you were to blame this time. You chased her away. The one person you cared about the most gave up on you. You were nothing to no one. No family, no friends, no Wanda. You broke, not being able to keep any emotions in any longer. You sobbed. You didn’t know who put their hand on your shoulder, but you turned into them sobbing into their chest.

“It’s alright kid, just let it all out.” Tony murmured into your hair. You had always been closest to Tony before the blip. He was like the older brother you always wanted. After he went to the woods it felt like he had given up on you, but here in his arms you knew he hadn’t. He held you for a long time while you sobbed. When no more tears came, and the hiccups started getting annoying he guided you to the kitchen. Everyone sat around the table not saying much with a water in front of each. The only seats that were empty was yours, Tony’s, and Wanda’s. Your heart sank a bit.

“Come have a seat Y/N” Natasha summoned you to the seat next to her.

Bruce was the first to break the silence. “how are you feeling Y/N?”

“Like a complete failure. Like I lost the one good thing in my life. I need help guys. I'm messed up.” You said keeping your eyes focused on the fingers in your lap.

“Hey, I have something for you.” Steve says reaching across the table. Tony interjects “You think now is a good time?”

“She admitted she needs help; she deserves to see this.” Steve walked around the table to hand you the piece of paper. You see your name written in an all too familiar handwriting, Wanda’s. You unfold the paper quickly to read its contents:

My love, Y/N, I love you with all of my heart. I always have and I always will. I am not ok though. I need some time to process all of the events that have happened. I need to be ok again to even start being able to help you. I have had so much grief and you made it all go away at one point. You are the light of my life Y/N, and I'm not strong enough to be yours yet. This isn’t a goodbye; this is a see you later until we both get the help we need. I will be back and I love you so much. Don’t be afraid to let go and open up, you will feel so much better my love. Yours forever, Wanda xx

You felt even more awful now that you know it isn’t over. She’s giving you the time to get better and you will. You will get the help you need; you will do the work.

“How do I get better?” you say with a determined look on your face. They all stare at you shocked but a glimmer of hope passes by all of their eyes.

[bex-la-get]

A Second Chance (Ethan x f!MC)

Book: Open Heart, Book 2

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Natalie Cusack

Word count: 2175

Summary: While the hospital reels from the assassination attempt, Ethan gets his miracle. Sequel to What If...

Author’s Note: So @adiehardfan​​ asked if there would be a part 2 to What If and at the time, I wasn’t sure but this came to me the other day and I thought this would be the perfect sequel piece after I ripped your hearts out (sorry about that, by the way). Enjoy! 😘

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Nor do I remember the specifics from Chapters 10/11 in OPH Book 2. Any and all mistakes are my own. Thank you.

Please, he pleaded silently. Let her live. We have so much lost time to catch up on. Please. Let. Her. Live.

Ethan watched Natalie breath, her chest moving slowly as it rose up and down. He could tell she was struggling, growing weaker by the moment; but he could also see that she was fighting it. Fighting to get oxygen to her lungs, fighting to make it until morning, fighting to stay alive. He brushed some loose hair behind her ear and closed his eyes, listening to the sound of her breathing and silently praying that the combined efforts of Edenbrook and Mass Ken would be enough to save her.

He didn’t sleep that night. Too concerned of what might happen if he closed his eyes, Ethan stayed awake through the whole night, watching Natalie’s breathing and monitoring her vitals. He briefly stepped out of the room to splash some water on his face and wipe away the stray tears that were still sliding down his cheeks but that was the farthest he would be away from her. He refused to leave the room otherwise.

At around 3am, Harper and Naveen arrived with a couple and a young man; Ethan could only assume these were Natalie’s parents and brother.

“Ethan,” Naveen said on the other side of the door, “Dr. Cusack’s family is here.

Ethan nodded, stepped out of the room, and quickly changed out of the hazmat suit to speak with them; he stayed close to the entrance, however, and kept an ear out for the systems monitoring Nat’s vitals. He didn’t want to miss anything crucial while out of the room.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cusack, I’m Doctor Ramsey. It’s good to meet you, though I wish it were under different circumstances.”

The Cusacks shook his extended hand and he turned to Natalie’s brother, greeting him as her mother, Julie, spoke. “Likewise, Doctor. Is there any update?” Her green eyes were filled with concern and worry and Ethan’s heart tightened.

“Not at the moment, I’m afraid. But we have a team working around the clock on a cure; some of the best doctors in the country are working to help your daughter,” Ethan answered.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Vic, as he had introduced himself, asked.

Naveen shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid not; but thank you for offering.”

Vic’s shoulders deflated somewhat and his father wrapped an arm around him. “Thank you for watching over her, Doctor Ramsey,” Elias said, his voice quiet. 

Ethan nodded. “She would do the same for me; for any of us.”

Elias smiled sadly. “That’s just like my Nattie.”

Julie sniffled and gazed at her daughter through the window, her eyes wet with unshed tears; Harper laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t we wait in my office? You’ll be comfortable there and it’s close by so we’ll know when there’s updates.” Julie nodded in agreement and the Cusack family quietly said their goodbyes, following Harper down the hall.

Naveen rested a reassuring hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “How are you doing, my boy?”

Ethan shook his head and swallowed back a sob. “Not good.”

His mentor gazed at him sadly. “I wish I could reassure that she would be okay, but I cannot in good conscience say such things. But I do want to believe them.”

Ethan nodded and sniffled. “Me too.” He looked back through the window where Natalie was fast asleep, her chest rising and falling with every breath. “I can’t lose her, Naveen,” he said, quietly. “I-- she’s everything to me. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she doesn’t make it.”

Naveen squeezed his shoulder. “We have to believe she will make it, Ethan. Thinking otherwise will only drive us crazy.”

“I know; I just feel so useless. I can’t help with the cure and I can’t do anything for her in the meantime.” Ethan could feel the tears welling up again but he fought against them. Crying wouldn’t help anything right now.

“Being there for her in her hour of need is doing more than you can possibly imagine, Ethan. Trust me.” Naveen paused for a moment before speaking again. “Does she know how you feel?”

Ethan nodded solemnly. “I told her before she fell asleep. I just wish I hadn’t waited so long. I should’ve told her a long time ago, from the moment I knew.”

“We all have things we wish we could have done differently or sooner. The important thing now is that she knows.” Naveen squeezed his shoulder again then stepped away. “Go. Be with her. We’ll let you know when there’s news.”

“Thank you, Naveen,” Ethan said, making his way back into the quarantine area. 

“Ethan,” Naveen said. Ethan turned to his mentor, finding a sad smile on his lips. “Assuming she makes it and they can make a cure, I hope you won’t let her go.”

Ethan shook his head. “I’m never letting her go again,” he said, resolutely.

Naveen nodded and watched as Ethan once again dressed in the hazmat suit before returning to his place at Natalie’s side.

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

It was nearing six am when several members from both the Edenbrook and Mass Ken teams appeared at the window of the hospital room. Ethan’s heart pounded at their appearance, trying not to let his fears get the better of him. Please be good news, please be good news.

“Well?” Ethan asked, his throat going dry.

Tobias looked to Elijah who grinned and held up a small vial in his hand before handing it to Baz. “We did it. We were able to synthesize a cure!”

Ethan barely held back a sob as he watched Baz and June suit up and join him in the room. “What about the EMT? Rafael?”

“He made it through the night,” Tobias confirmed. “He’s being administered his own dose as we speak.”

Ethan nodded, fighting tears. “Thank you,” he said, quietly. “All of you, thank you.”

“She would’ve done the same for any of us,” Elijah said, looking at his sleeping friend sadly. “I just hope we did it in time.”

Baz and June administered the dosage to Nat and Ethan swallowed hard. “Only time will tell.”

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

“Nat? Natalie. Can you hear me?”

Natalie’s brows furrowed as the familiar voice pulled her out of her deep sleep. 

“Natalie,” the voice said again. “Please Nat, wake up.”

She groaned and slowly blinked her eyes open, squinting through the bright lights of the room. She looked for the source of the voice to find him sitting next to her, a look of worry on his face. “Ethan?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

Ethan released a sound that was a mix of a sob and a laugh. “Oh thank god,” he said. 

Her eyes adjusted to the room around her and she realized he wasn’t wearing a hazmat suit. Her eyes widened. “Ethan, you’re-- you look… normal. What--”

“Elijah and the joint teams synthesized a cure,” Ethan said, helping her move to a seated position in the bed. “You’re okay; the toxin is gone, completely.”

Nat took a shaky breath. “And Raf?”

“Also alive and okay, though he was in rough shape by the time his dosage was administered. It’ll take longer for him to recover but he will recover. You both will.”

Natalie felt tears welling up in her eyes. “Does that-- does that mean I can kiss you now?”

He gave her a watery smile and nodded. Without waiting another moment, Natalie pulled Ethan towards her and kissed him soundly. He cupped her face with his hands and returned her kiss with equal fervor, ignoring the tears slipping down both of their cheeks. “I love you,” he whispered against her lips.

She broke away to cough out a sob and buried her face into his shoulder. He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head, letting his own tears fall freely. “I love you too,” she said through sobs. “I was so worried I wasn’t ever going to be able to tell you again.”

“So was I,” he sniffled. “I love you, Nat. I love you so much. I’m never going to let another day go by without telling you that.”

She looked up at him and wiped some tears away from his cheeks. “Us until the end of time, right?”

He smiled and nodded. “Until the end of time.” He sniffled again and placed another soft kiss on her lips. “Your parents and brother are here; they’ll want to see you. Are you up for visitors?”

She thought for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I am.”

“Okay, let me go get them.” He placed one more kiss on her lips, this one lingering for a long moment before he broke away, kissed her forehead, then left the room. Nat adjusted herself in bed so she was sitting up fully then waited for her family to arrive.

Less than five minutes later, her mother practically burst into the room, making a beeline for her daughter. “Oh Nattie,” Julie said, when they locked eyes.

Unable to hold back the tears, Natalie began crying, falling into her mother’s tight embrace. Her brother and father quickly joined the hug, holding onto each other tightly, crying tears of relief and happiness that Natalie was okay. She was safe. She was alive.

Ethan stood outside of the hospital room, taking steadying breaths and trying to control the tears that kept slipping out. He was exhausted and was holding it together just enough so he wouldn’t collapse from relief. He sniffled and ran his hands through his hair, sending a silent thank you to the gods that listened to his previous pleadings.

“Ethan?” a voice said.

He turned to the source to find Tobias looking at him, an inscrutable look on his face. “Tobias, hi.”

“Are you okay?”

Ethan glanced into the hospital room where Nat was giving her family a watery smile and looked back at Tobias. “I am now. I--” he hesitated for a moment, then stepped closer to his old friend. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did. I-- you gave her-- me-- us a second chance. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put into words how much that means to me. How grateful I am.”

Tobias smiled. “It was my honor to help, Ethan. Natalie’s a good doctor, and an even better person. This world is better with her in it. You’re better with her in it.”

Ethan’s lips quirked into a small smile. “Yeah, I know.”

Tobias rested his hand on Ethan’s shoulder and squeezed. “I know our past has been rocky and this year has had its own struggles and difficulties; but I’ll always be around to help if you need it, Ethan. No rivalry or competition will ever outweigh our duty as doctors… or my loyalty to an old friend.”

Ethan nodded thoughtfully, feeling a twinge of fondness for his old friend and [former?] adversary. “Thank you. And the same stands for me.”

Tobias smiled again and he stepped away. “I have to get back to my own hospital and patients. But I’m glad to see she’s doing better.” He nodded respectfully to Ethan. “See you around, Ramsey.”

“See you around, Carrick.”

As Tobias disappeared around the corner, Ethan looked back through the window to find Natalie gazing at him, a fond smile on her lips. He returned her smile. “I love you,” he mouthed.

Her smile grew and she mouthed “I love you too” back to him. 

His heart thumped in his chest as he locked eyes with her for a long moment before her attention was called back to her parents. He stood outside the room for another moment debating on whether or not he should stay when a new voice caught his attention. “Are you doing okay?”

He looked to the source and smiled at Harper. He nodded. “Yeah; better than okay.”

She smiled. “Good, I’m glad to hear it.” She looked him over and raised an eyebrow. “Did you sleep at all last night?” Ethan shook his head and Harper nodded knowingly, her lips pursed. “I can tell.”

He rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

“Just calling it like I see it,” she said, smirking. She stepped towards Nat’s room and gestured forward with her chin. “Go clean up; and maybe take a nap while you’re at it. Or at least get some coffee in you; I know you too well to think you’re going to sleep right now. I’ll keep an eye on Nat for you in the meantime.”

He looked down at his rumpled clothing and chuckled. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Thank you, Harper.”

She smiled. “I’m happy to help. And I’m happy to see you happy. It’s a good look for you.”

He chuckled. “I’m just glad I have a reason to be happy.”

“We all are.” She glanced at Nat and smiled. “She’s one of a kind, that one. You hold onto her.”

Ethan gazed back at Natalie and smiled. “I plan to.” Forever.

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added/removed):  @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @paulfwesley @ethansdique @openheartfanfics @perriewinklenerdie @little-flowers-on-heaven @stateofgracious @coffeeheartaddict @liaromancewriter @potionsprefect @mm2305 @gryffindordaughterofathena @actuallybored @writer-ish @queencarb @takeharryandgo @lsvdw-blog @itsjustwinter​ @imaneditorthankyouverymuch-deac @chaoticchopshopheart​ @ohchoices​ @maurine07​ @oldminniemcg​ @parisa-kh​ @shanzay44​ @uberamsey @izzyourresidentlawyer​ @adiehardfan​ @custaroonie​ @mia143​ @a-crepusculo​ @takemyopenheart​ @toadfrog26 @quixoticdreamer16 @barbean​ @headoverheelsforramsey

[the-goddess-of-mischief-writing]

Cold hearted

Description; A summers day brings everyone out to the pool. Yet, not only is it a good excuse to cool down in the unbearable heat, but also to tease that dear husband of yours.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader

Rating: Teen/Mature

CHAPTER NO/ONESHOT: Oneshot

Word count; 2.100

Warnings; minor swearing, unbearable heat, teasing

Author; @the-goddess-of-mischief-writing

A/N: This was originally written as an entry to one of @itsbuckysworld​ challenges in 2k19 and based on the prompt Who drank my last lemonade?! Hey so, like, you remember you love me? And we are married?. Sadly it got lost in all my other works, but now I’ve found it years later and thought I could publish it, because why not. 

If it hadn't been for the swimming pool Tony owned, together with the air-con blasting, the warmth across the state would've been unbearable. It was July, one of the months the weather  should  be the best, but you believed that mother earth forgot to turn the heat off. It was many years since it had been this warm.

You glanced towards the sun, the glasses you wore protecting from blinding you. "I wasn't meant for the heat", you grumbled as you collected the hair which stuck to your back, holding it in the nape of your neck instead.

"Stop complaining, you'll moan about the snow when it comes too", you opened your eyes to shoot a glare at the redhead resting beside you on the lounger, basking in the sun which made her red hair seem to glow.

"I can complain about both if I want", you watched as she opens her eyes, but not before shielding them. She propped herself up with the other arm while she looked up at you.

"I know you hate the heat, but at least you're happy you can tease the dear husband of yours in broad daylight", you chuckled to her words, a similar sound escaping her at the same time as well. 

She was right about that, it wasn't many times you could pull out the bikini you now wore while being around the team. A minimal black piece, which you argued with Steve that you needed to wear, as the rest already been used on other warm days and you needed to work on the tan. In reality, you just wanted to rile him up.

"Can't deny that one", you giggled mischievously, while glancing around the pool area. Every Avenger stood or sat around it, most lightly clothed in swimwear. Tony had, perhaps unbeknownst to most, a pool decorating one of the balconies in his tower. The area was mostly used on days like this, sunny and warm.

Your gaze stopped regarding the place once spotting Steve, the hair of his shining like a beacon. It was remarkably lighter this time around the year, almost bordering to white.

He stood with Bucky and Sam, the trio sipping a beer each as they talked and laughed together. Steve was the only one of them wearing a linen shirt, although fully unbuttoned. You thought of his modesty as cute, but you didn't understand how he couldn't sweat to death. The whole morning you'd switched between the shadow and sun, no matter where you were sweat dripped down your temple.

"Although he seems to do a quite good job himself", you hastily glanced from Steve to Nat who now also looked at him.

"Hey, keep your eyes off my man", you swatted down her shielding hand so she wouldn't be able to continue to look.

"Well I need to see what you ogle at all the time", she laughed and pushed away your hand as she laid down again. You shook your head at her, not believing what she said.

Yes, you eyed him up, had done even before you were married. At that thought, you looked down on the ring on your finger. It was sleek, very much like the one adorning his ring finger. Smiling at the memory, you twiddled with the piece of jewellery, thinking back to when he had offered it to you. You'd never seen him as nervous as when he pulled out the box in his apartment in Brooklyn. Sighing happily, you closed your eyes behind your glasses and leant back in the lounger.

The rolling warmth from the sun and the occasional passing clouds coldness was what you felt for some time. You relished in the feeling, trying not to care about the sweat building in the nape your neck and on the places where your skin met the towel under you. 

Then suddenly you felt a shadow pass you and you opened your eyes to see it was Steve, who scanned over your appearance. You could almost feel as clearly as the sun licked your skin when his eyes dragged over you.

By not showing you noticed his lingering eyes, it would be impossible for him to know, so you didn't, at least not until he looked away. You saw the tick in his jaw and how he set his hair in place by an unnecessary harsh tug, while he continued to walk behind Sam over to the table with drinks.

"Why are you looking so smug?" Looking up you saw Tony lean on the top of your lounger. He'd pushed the sunglasses he wore to the top of his head when now standing in the shadow of the parasol above you. Mimicking him, you placed yours on top of your head as well.

"Nothing special" You mused, restraining yourself from looking at your man, knowing if you did he would be fully able to see it without your coverage.

"Huh, so that's how it is", he hummed. You saw how he switched to look from you to somewhere else. "It's that why Mr Spangles over there seems to be so bothered", you bit back a smirk, but you still heard a laugh from beside you.

"They've been eyeing each other as if they weren't already married", Tony chuckled at Nat's statement while rounding the back of your lounger, only to go in between them instead. As he stood at the end of your seat, he made a shooing motion for you to move your legs. Crossing them at your ankle, you made room for the billionaire to sit down. However all the while you felt someones nagging gaze on you and once glancing over Tony's shoulder, you found the culprit.

Steve's blue eyes immediately met yours, from the new position on the short side of the pool, one they'd wandered to after getting their drinks. This made him stand closer than initially, thus his raised brow didn't go unnoticed. You sent a smile his way, swatching to look back at Tony, still able to see him look at you in your peripheral.

"Well if that's how they been looking at each other, I understand what you mean", he nodded towards you. The stare that you saw bore into the back of the man sitting with you almost made you laugh at Steve. "And don't fret over your husband, he has nothing to fear", the last part of the sentence, which was directed to Steve, he said much louder. You knew the one it was directed towards heard it, as the blonde man swiftly looked away. At his clear display of eavesdropping, you couldn't contain your laughter.

"The protectiveness he has over you almost makes you compete with Bucky", Tony continued and even tough you laughed so much small tears formed, you felt the need to say something.

"Oh don't say that, Bucky dearest will always be his number one", this made both Nat and Tony burst out in laughter, now both Steve and Bucky looked over towards you. To which the three of you silenced yourself and eased into a  normal  conversation.

What in the end pulled you from the conversation with Tony, was your thirst. It felt like walking through Sahara as you wandered over to the portable freezer said billionaire put on the terrace to facilitate the need for cold drinks. One you didn't pass up on as you at the beginning of the day did put a few lemonades in it.

Arriving upon the case, you opened the lid, the cold air coming from the container welcoming. You searched through it, knowing you would have one drink left somewhere.

To a beginning you believed that it just slipped further down in the sea of bottles and ice, but when you'd rummage tough the box long enough for the tips of your fingers to feel like icicles you pulled out your hand. Slightly irritated you put on the lid again and turned around.

"Who drank my last lemonade?!" Your raised voice pulled most of the Avenger's eyes towards you, but you hadn't meant to exclaim it like that.

Even though the evident irritation in your voice, no one answered, neither having a sheepish look on them which told you they were the culprit. That was until you met the blue eyes you fell in love with. In his hand, Steve held the bottle of your drink, near-empty at that. You'd left your sunglasses at the side table beside your seat, now you were happy for it. Raising a brow, you began walking towards him with. A stressed expression came over his face the closer you got, but he didn't look away from your gaze.

"Hey so, like, you remember you love me? And we're married?" You needed to contain a smile when he asked the questions, as well your voice when you finally answered him mere feet away from him.

"I do, don't worry otherwise I wouldn't do this", you chuckled and his brows furrowed for a second before they shot up in surprise. When you were close enough, you jumped, up and towards him. Instinctively he caught you, hands beneath your bottom as you encircled his neck. The momentum you got from the leap was enough to make him stumble back. The last things you saw before crashing into the pool was the shocked expression on his face.

As you broke the surface tension water splashed everywhere and you fruitlessly tried watching him through the water that engulfed the two of you. When the water got too uncomfortable to continue looking through, you closed your eyes. In the same instance, you felt Steves's hands slowly lose their grip until they fully let go of you.

Now free from his embrace, you kicked in the water to get to the surface. You hadn't fallen too deep, so after just a few second, you reached the surface, where laughter met your ears.

Blinking to get away the excess water from your eyes, you felt another body popping up above the surface beside you. When your vision was clear enough, you turned, still needing to keep yourself afloat by treading in the water. There you saw Steve, his blonde hair wet and plastered to his head, the shirt he wore in the same state. Laughing at his appearance made him look at you, the shocked expression still visible.

"That's what you get when you take my drink", you pointed out, another bell of laughter sounding from around you and the man opposite you shook his head.

"Good then I know in the future", he stated and dragged a hand through his hair, making it stand up in all kinds of direction. When his eyes met yours once again, yours widened and hurridly you tried swimming to the edge. You couldn't possibly even take one stroke before he pulled you against him. Instinctively you wrapped your legs around his waist, not needing to keep yourself afloat as he was tall enough to stand on the bottom.

"But this is what I do when someone, by the likes of you, unexpectedly pushes me into a pool", as your arms already were around his neck, it wasn't fair for him to lean in and kiss you. You hummed happily against his mouth as you still could taste the sweetly sour lemonade on his lips.

"Get a room you two!" You heard a deep voice behind your call and broke away from Steve to look over your shoulder. Bucky stood with a smirk, on the same spot he did before your attack. A laugh escaped you when you noted the bottle he held in his hand.

"Give us some room jerk", you heard Steve call but didn't turn around to see the matching smirk he sported.

"Well others also want to enjoy the pool and you have an awfully nice room inside the tower just so you know", you continued to laugh as you felt a blush, more than the sun already created, warm your cheeks.

"Then I'll take my wife and we'll retreat there", you felt Steve beginning to move through the water and you twirled around to watch him. A smile adorned his lips, yet from your close proximity, you noticed something resembling desire in his eye.

"Don't I have a say in it?" You questioned him. A devilish smirk quickly covered his lips as he leaned in closer to you and whispered in your ear.

"I don't think you will, not in a few minutes".

"Is that a promise, Captain?" You bit your lip at the way his eyes visibly darkened at the title and the way pulled closer to his chest. The feeling of his warm skin contrasting against yours sent a shiver down your spine, one who continued even further when he answered by kissing the spot beneath your ear and whispering.

"You bet".

Forever taglist: @flowerchild1216 @haven-in-writing @krystallynx @lancsnerd  @thejamesoldier 

[frostedfaves]

Haunt (4)

Masterlist

Pairing: civilian!Wanda Maximoff x fem!reader

Summary: Opening up with Wanda comes with more of a consequence than you’re prepared for.

Warnings: angst, discussion of grief and death, car crash mention, hospital, blood, graphic visions, ghosts/demons

A/N: I’m trying not to rush to the most intense part of the plot but please tell me if the story’s moving too slowly! feedback like that is veryyy helpful. also please check out my pinned post! I’m not writing any until I finish this series but I’m accepting them at all times!

Previous part

-

“What are you thinking about?”

Truthfully, Wanda was thinking about last night. About the way you seemed to open up and invite her into your heart, share your fears and desires in a way that showed a level of trust she was honored to have. Until something happened and you were suddenly building walls around yourself that Fort Knox would be jealous of, and this time, that ‘something’ was a nightmare.

A loud gasp startled Wanda awake, even more when she turned over to see you sitting up in bed and breathing heavily. She pulled herself up and placed a hand on your back, scolding herself for acting so quickly when you jumped under her touch.

“Hey, it’s just me,” she informed you, hoping the two of you were at a place where saying this would mean something.

“Sorry, I just...sorry,” you apologized breathlessly.

“It’s okay, babe. It was just a dream,” she assured you, a small smile growing on her lips as she felt you relaxing against her palm’s circular motion.

“I’ll be back, okay?”

You climbed out of the bed and left the room, closing the door behind you. She hated the silence that followed your exit, because it seemed to make her worry more than the moments you spent panicking in front of her for a reason she was afraid to ask for. She checked her phone four times while you were gone, and only three minutes passed until you returned with two glasses of water and one fake smile.

“Nothing,” Wanda tried to convince you, and you put your fork down with a sigh.

“I’m sorry if I scared you last night. I probably should’ve warned you that I have at least one nightmare a week.”

“Everyone has nightmares.” She reached across the table for your hand. “I just wish you wouldn’t hide yourself from me.”

“What do you mean?”

“You came back in the room last night like I’m supposed to believe you’re suddenly okay after waking up in the way you did. I want you to be able to talk to me and trust me, which you do sometimes, but then something just seems to reverse all the progress we made.”

She watched as your eyes watered slightly and your shoulders seemed to sag. On one hand, she worried that she’d gone too far, pushed too hard and now you were about to crack under the pressure, and on the other she hoped (and feared) you just might be ready to give her answers. Then your phone rang. You ignored it the first time, but the caller was persistent.

“I should probably take this,” you sighed as you pulled the device from your pocket and Wanda watched you leave the room as quickly as last night.

-

You stopped abruptly on your way back to the dining table, growing a bit worried at the sight of Wanda’s abandoned plate. Seeing her tying her shoes by the apartment door with an unreadable expression was much more terrifying.

“Why are you leaving?”

“I thought maybe you could use some space,” she explained calmly as she stood up again. “I want to know more about you, but I don’t want you to feel cornered every time I ask you a question.”

“Wait!” you called as she went to grab the doorknob, rushing over to grab her other hand. “My best friend died in a car crash.”

There seemed to be a bubble surrounding the chair you were in, keeping the chaos of the emergency department far away from the corner of the waiting room you’d chosen to hide away. The ringing of phones sounded distant and voices muffled, until one seemed clearer than ever.

“Y/N?” 

The voice belonged to the older sister of your best friend, the girl you actually wanted to be with. Of course, there was no way she’d even consider dating you now. She’ll probably hate you until the day she dies when she realizes that you killed--

“Y/N, are you okay?”

“Is she dead?” 

You attempted to clear the dryness from your throat as you looked into her watery eyes, sitting right above her glistening cheeks that answered your question before her nodding did. You felt sick, empty-headed and overwhelmed with thoughts at the same time, and it didn’t help that you were now holding hands with your crush as she sat beside you.

“The driver was high. I forgot the name of the drug, but it sounded like something that should not have been in his system while he was driving.” She paused to clean the tear tracks and took a deep breath. “I just want you to know that it’s not your fault, okay? There’s nothing you could’ve done to fix this.”

“I could’ve said ‘I love you’ more.” You dropped your gaze to watch your feet kick against the chair legs. “She thought I didn’t care about her and we were arguing about it just before the crash. If I’d shown her more appreciation, we wouldn’t be arguing and maybe I would’ve seen that driver before he hit us.”

“Y/N, you can’t--”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“Okay.” Her thumb rubbed against your knuckles and your stomach flipped violently. “Did you call your family?”

“They wouldn’t have even come if I did.” You pulled your hand away and got up to leave the hospital, feeling grateful for the fresh air you were greeted with that calmed your nausea enough to drive home.

“She was my favorite person in the world, and her family was there for me when no one else was. I feel like I let them all down by not keeping her safe that night, and the guilt has been heavy in my heart ever since.”

“So that’s why you have nightmares once a week and make people who care about you promise not to get too close to you?” Wanda asked quietly as she squeezed your hand, coming closer to wrap her arms around you when you nodded. “Thank you for telling me this, and I hope you know I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

“Not even to your house for clothes?” you quipped, laughing as she made a jokingly frustrated noise. “I have a question for you.”

“Yeah?”

“Did I pass Pietro’s test last night?” You pulled back a bit to look into her eyes. “I have to assume he’s as protective over you as you are with him.”

“Considering he sent me links to wedding dresses this morning, I think it’s safe to say you did,” she answered you with a chuckle. “Although I think anyone would be a step up after what I dealt with last year.”

“Okay, you have to tell me about this crazy ex of yours!”

“I will, I promise!” she laughed as she fully pulled away from the embrace, keeping hold of your hands as she did so. “But first, I’d like to finish that wonderful meal you made, right after I apologize for almost ditching it.”

So you returned to the dining room table and she waited with an authentic grin as you disappeared into the kitchen to reheat the food on your plates. Your late breakfast passed without incident, and you went with Wanda to check on Alexei again, deciding to join the mother-son duo for a walk in the afternoon sun. Everything felt warm and light again as you went around the block hand in hand, but a quiet voice in the back of your mind told you something was wrong before the one just behind your ear.

Stuck. Dead. High. Speak.

Hearing the words for the first time since your dream startled you, but you managed not to react more than slightly squeezing Wanda’s hand, which she was luckily too preoccupied with fawning over Alexei to notice in the moment. The voice seemed deeper than usual, more aggressive and less patient, and you wondered if you fucked up by telling Wanda the little amount that you did.

“Do you mind if I head home? I just remembered I have one last thing to finish for work tomorrow, and I’d rather get it done early.” Your voice shook slightly in the middle of your sentence, and you could tell she picked up on it by the way she frowned.

“Is everything okay? You’re not shutting down on me again, are you?”

“No, not at all. I’m just kinda nervous because I’m up for a promotion and this project could decide whether or not I get it.” Technically not a lie, but the ‘one thing’ you needed to finish would take five minutes at most.

“Okay, I won’t stop you then.” She tugged on your hand to pull you closer and smiled against your lips as she kissed you, causing you to do the same as she pulled away. “Text me before you go to sleep?”

“Of course.” You went to walk away and frowned slightly when she gripped your hand tighter. “What’s up?”

“Promise you’ll call if you need me tonight. Or any night.”

“I promise,” you told her after a few beats and leaned in to kiss her once more. “Don’t have too much fun without me, kids.”

You finally make your way home after giving Alexei a few goodbye scratches and close the apartment door behind you with a sigh as the familiar phrase floods your ears again. As promised, you finish your work task, but you don’t text or call Wanda when the voice in the corner of the room gets louder.

Instead, you close your eyes and get hit with a dizzying vision instantly. It comes in flashes, but you very clearly see yourself and a shadowy form on a bridge, and another flash brings you to the image of yourself on the street under that same bridge, bones broken and blood pouring. Your eyes fly open as you gasp loudly, and you don’t bother to hold back your scream when you catch sight of the dark figure that’s always been lurking in the corner of your eye. In the light of your bedroom, you could clearly see the battered and bruised body of your best friend slowly raising her damaged arm to point a finger at you.

And for the first time in her life (and death), she looked like she wanted to kill you.

-

Tags: @littlegasps @peggycarter-steverogers @imnotasuperhero @natasha-danvers @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @trikruismybitch @cristin-rjd @slut-for-nat @honeyvenable @creepingwolfberry @stickystudentlightmug @choni-trimberly @thedragonzland @dylxn-lee @cordeliaswhore @ravvakin96 @leximills2004

[darkenedreaper]

You Gave Up

Requested by @ecruzsalaz hope you enjoy

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader, ft Bruce Banner

Warnings: angst, lil fluff

You and Natasha had been together for a long time now. And instead of getting married, which would come after, you both wanted to try for a baby. The two of you had a conversation about having a child and Natasha was excited. You both knew it wasn’t right to get your hopes up however when the morning came you both shot off to Tony’s lab.

Due to Natashas background and her being sterilised it was clear who would be carrying and you didn’t have a problem with that. Tony had suggested IVF first and with the embarrassing help of his robots, within a few days you were ready for the implantation. Tony was standing by your head and Natasha was by your side holding your hand. You felt your cheeks burning bright red from the robot controlling its movements and doing its job. A slight fraction of the embarrassment went away when Natasha stroked your cheek softly and kissed your forehead. Tony made sure his robot double checked everything was in place and he sent you two of wishing you the best of luck for the next couple of days.

After those couple of days you and Natasha were close together nearly 24/7 and the day came. Natasha didn’t want to pressure you so she went to the compounds living room to hand out with the rest. And you were in the bathroom now waiting for the pregnant test results to come through. For the first 30 seconds you saw nothing and then 1 line appeared. You sighed and you couldn’t nearly feel the tear threatening to slip out. You had to work up the courage to go out and speak to Natasha and Tony. She saw you come in and she took in your slumped figure and saddened eyes. She didn’t need you to tell her what the test said as she already knew what the answer was. She frowned sadly and gave you a small hug. One that seemed a little short for a couple who had just failed to get pregnant. She left. Just left. Even Bucky gave you a longer hug.

Some days on and you hadn’t heard from Natasha. You hadn’t seen her around the compound or around the gym. Fury had called you in and he told you that he knew what had happened with you and Natasha. He told you to take 2 weeks off as he tried to understand how much stress your body must be going through. He really did have a sweet side. It really hurt knowing that Natasha was avoiding you and it hurt even more when every time you’d ask someone where she was they’d respond back, ‘with Bruce’. You had tried to reach her but your calls and messages to her phone weren’t working anymore.

It was finally time to check your pregnancy test. Tony had tried to help you and this was his 7th attempt at helping. He was grateful you allowed him to concur to help as he would do anything for you. He understood the joy and want of having a child and the beautiful bond it creates. Tony had suggested that tonight you don’t get your hopes up again as after you had found out Natasha and Bruce had a relationship together you had gone down, really down. And Tony thought that it would affect the eggs. Yes he still had some of her and her DNA and he confused to use it for scientific reasons apparently. And now the test read positive. You were pregnant with Natashas baby. And now she was with Bruce and hadn’t seen or spoke to you in 4 months. It was late at night and so you didn’t wait any longer to leave. You started packing your bags. You decided to send an email on your way to another country saying to fury you’ve just gone. You had the decency to also leave Tony a message. Not saying you were pregnant. But that you left and not to tell anyone.

The next morning, Tony being Tony, he opened his mouth and actually shouted it “Y/N IS GONE! SHE’S GONE!” And it was like Natasha had snapped out of a trance and she panicked. She looked at Bruce who had his hand on her waist and shoved him away. Had you left her because she distanced herself? Had you left because she abandoned? Because she didn’t consider your feelings? Because she had gotten together with Bruce?

She was storming out of the room. To go find you. Until she felt a strong hand pulling her back and increasingly getting stronger. She looked around to see big brown eyes looking angry and sad.

“Leave her alone Natasha. It’s all your fault. Your why she left!” He kept blurting out things to her before Steve pulled him away as even he couldn’t look at Natasha and he was a gentleman.

You had moved at least 3 quarters away from where you were and had found a little flat that needed to be rented out. So you unpacked your things and you were ok within a few days. Not great, not good. But ok.

It was 9 months later and you had gone through what was close to hell on your own. The struggle to tie your own laces, the struggle to sleep at night. Odd cravings that you didn’t have stored in any kitchen cupboards. 12 hours of pain but something beautiful was rewarded to you. Once you were handed your baby girl, you too in her features. Her face nearly mirrored yours, your hair roots and brows. Except for those green eyes and the same nose as Natasha.

You had raised D/N Romanoff Y/N all on your own. She had grown up to be like you and opposite from her other non existent mother as she wasn’t involved and made no effort to find you. You had told her stories about her other mother and showed her photos. But would never reveal her location or why she wasn’t here.

Her 5th birthday had just gone and it was a few days after that you had Nick Fury and Maria sitting in your living room. Maria hadn’t changed. She was obviously happy to see you with her warm embrace as a greeting. Then she went and sat with your daughter. Fury just offered you a smirk which was the closest to a smile. You offered the same back and sat opposite him.

“What’re you doing here Nick?”

You knew there was no point in asking how on earth he found you. Instead he lowered his voice to match yours so you both wouldn’t alert your daughter.

“They, I. Need your help. She needs your help L/N, the mission is too big, we need more skill. Like you.”

You sighed and looked down to the floor. Then Nick just had to go and pull at your heartstrings.

“In a few years, the kid is gonna start asking questions about Daddy or Mommy. What’re you gonna say?”

You knew he was right. But you were fully aware of yourself who was not in the wrong. She abandoned you when you were lowest. But you still had the team. If it was necessary you’d do it for them.

“How long?”

You soon found yourself stepping off of the jet Maria and Fury had brought you back in. Y/D/N had woken up with her head on your shoulder so her arms were around your neck and legs around your side. You were led to the compound sitting room and the Avengers finally could see you after 6 years, you were coming back. Coming back with a 6 year old, they didn’t know. They all stood up when they heard footsteps coming in and once they saw you they all smiled. Tony was the first to walk over to you and before he hugged you he looked at your daughter then back at you, then at Natasha and said,

“I knew it!” And he wrapped his arms around the both of you. Natasha didn’t know what he was on about as she was standing at the back, hiding the guilt, shame and sadness which was all she felt for these years. She only moved to the front to see who the voice came from that squealed,

“Uncle Tony and Uncle Stevie and Uncle Bucky. And, and Uncle Clint! Auntie Wanda!” They were all ecstatic but that soon went away when Natasha called your name. She looked at you and the child in confusion, thinking you were married and had a child with somebody else. Thinking that she had lost you. Then she saw her eyes, her nose, her lips. And she saw her face, her hair. And it was a mixture of Natashas and your looks.

Y/D/N was quiet now and she stared at the figure before wanting to be put down.

“Momma Nat?” The little girl started to walk over but you quickly grabbed her hand and held her to your hip. Natasha visibly winced and before she could speak her eyes were teary.

The team started to empty now until it was you three. You whispered in your little girls ear telling her to go sit on the couch and watch the quiet television. Natasha watched the little one with every movement.

“Y/N.. I..-“

“Yeah Natasha she’s yours. That’s your 6 year old daughter.”

She was speechless and she wanted to go over and hold the girl, ask for her name. Apologise.

“Y/N please. Please. I’m sorry. I.. I know that means nothing to you after all this time. Having to go through that on your own, I.. I hate myself! I’m so so sorry Y/N.”

She had started to cry and you weren’t one to dismiss someone who was once so close to you. Even after all the hurt. You tucked her face in your shoulder so Y/D/N couldn’t see her tears.

“You abandoned me Natasha. You gave up. Left me to deal with so many failed pregnancies. You were happy with Bruce and every night I was praying that one procedure would work. And it did. And she’s yours. But you gave up.”

More sniffles as she just listened.

“I can’t deny you access to seeing your daughter, but I can deny you ever trying to break my heart again.”

“I won’t Y/N. I can’t say anything to make you feel better but I will try. I promise.”

You weren’t sure that you wanted to back to where you where. It would take a lot of healing and time. But you were sure of the happiness on Natashas face as she cradled her daughter in her arms softly calling her by her name.

@natasha-danvers @imnotasuperhero @aaron-despair @confusinggemini612 @thewidowsghost @ecruzsalaz @fcbarcelona-and-marvel-4-life @gaytrashgoblin @capmarvelq @nat-romanoffdanvers @lesbian-x-blackwidow @emilyprentisswife @captain-josslett @fayhar @oblivious-horny-lesbian @trikruismybitch @summergeezburr @username23345 @xxxtwilightaxelxxx

[peculiarpatches]

𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 - 𝑛𝑎𝑡 𝑥 𝑏𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑦 𝑥 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑥 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

I originally wrote this for another pair within a fandom I’m in but decided to use it for these three instead!! 

So, a few notes: Bucky and Natasha are lovers in this because not going to lie, I actually really like the thought of them together..... so, if that isn’t your cup of tea, don’t like it = don’t read it :)  

That’s honestly about it, though. 

If you want to help support me and my writing, here’s a link to do so. 

(I will, once I get my own place and am settled down, will also begin to do commissions!) 

WARNINGS: this story includes  PWP. Not really a plot whatsoever. There’s fingering, anal, oral, dirty talk, uhhh... I’m not sure what else. Male on Male, Female on Female. That’s about all I can think of..... enjoy!!

Silence fills the air, other than the obvious breathing pattern of each person's  chest falling up and down. If you listened closely, however, you could hear the faucet dripping into the sink, each drop reverberating around the room like a cymbal, yet nobody hardly blinks or moves to turn it off. More than likely, nobody acknowledges it.

 Nobody other than (Y/N), of course. The sound was obnoxious and if she wasn't so scared to move a muscle, she would have gotten up by now and turned it off before attempting to bolt out the door, not wanting to deal with the fight that was, most likely, bound to explode.   It was driving her crazy  — the silence within the room, the quietness all around her. She felt as if she were choking, the hands belonging to nothing other than her anxious thoughts.  It was her and her boyfriend, Steve Rogers and his best friend, Bucky Barnes then finally, her best friend, Natasha Romanoff.   And nobody was saying a word.  And finally, when somebody did, Steve was the first one to speak.    "So... can one of you, please, just tell me what the fuck happened?"  As the question is asked, he turns to (Y/N) and Natasha,  his eyebrows knitted together, while his lips are pressed in a thin white line as he waits for an answer.  "Nat, what happened?" Bucky questioned, clearly as confused as Steve was, if not more.  "I don't know, okay? Steve, why don't you ask your girlfriend, huh? She isn't as faithful as she seems to be. She's the one who started everything." "Huh?" Steve's face paled over as he turned to look at (Y/N). "What's she on about?"  "Gee, Nat, thanks a lot. You're so great at keeping a secret... well, Nat wasn't supposed to mention it but.... well, you see-" "(Y/N) and I slept together." Natasha blurted out, a look of relief replacing the once look of fear on her face as she sighed and threw her face into her hands, murmuring apology after apology. 

Who it was directed for, nobody was sure. Most likely the statement was meant for Bucky but if (Y/N) had to take a guess, it was to everyone, herself included.  "We got slightly drunk... okay, we got trashed.....  and, uh... one thing lead to another. And Nat is right, I kissed her first but I actually didn't mean to," (Y/N) confessed. 

 "Okay, I take that back.... I did mean to do it but listen, we were drunk and she spilled half the bottle of wine on her shirt and we went to go clean her up and she took off her shirt and I  never really realized how pretty another girl was until Nat and-" "Okay, okay, spare the details, please." Bucky shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He exhaled a breath before dropping his hand down at his sides, looking over at Steve, Natasha and (Y/N). 

 "Look.... it's obvious. (Y/N), you love Steve and I know he loves you back... Nat, I know for a fact you love me, and I love you. It's alright, okay? I'm not mad. I'm not upset, either. I'm glad you actually told me the truth rather than kept it as a secret." Bucky admitted.   All three turned to Steve who looked deep in thought and once he realized everyone was staring at him, he was quick to snap out of it and come back down into reality.  "I'm not too upset about it, either. I mean... it's someone we both know, right, Buck? It wasn't a stranger. I guess that has to count for something.  I know neither of you meant to hurt us and let me just say, you didn't hurt my feelings either, baby... Neither did you, Nat.   "However.... you two acted like dirty whores therefore I think  Bucky and I need to show you who you belong to and although you might've made each other feel good, we're here now to make you feel even better. We're here to teach you a lesson." Steve's eyes sparkled with seduction while Bucky's eyes were blown and wide, as if he never expected that to happen. Which, nobody expected that to come out of Steve's mouth.  "Bucky, did you hear what I said?" Steve turns and glances at Bucky. "You do want to show Nat who she belongs to, don't you?" "I... I mean-" He stammers, face flushing a crimson before he's being talked over by Natasha. "Please? I'm all yours, only ever want to be yours.... and I-I'd like for you to show me who I belong to," Natasha  begged, giving Bucky  a pout, her eyes nearly glistening with tears as she speaks.   "Punish me, I deserve it for disobeying you."  "Shit... Okay, yeah." Bucky says, nodding his head rather rapidly.  "I.... uh.... is it okay if Steve takes the lead, though? I-I'm not quite sure what to do."  "No worries. Just do as I do but with your girl," Steve said with a smile. He then turns his attention back onto (Y/N) before gesturing her over with his index finger. 

 Like a trained puppy, (Y/N) is quick to oblige and get up from where she was sitting at and walks in front of her boyfriend. "Baby, listen, I really am sorry about all of this, I couldn't help-"  (Y/N)'s cut off due to Steve pushing her down onto the floor, her knees hitting the ground (which luckily was carpeted). 

 "I will only ever say this once, alright? Shut up." He growled, the look of seduction now growing darker in his pupils. (Y/N) had never seen him full of such hunger and fire before... she was ready to be burnt, however, if Steve was the one that sparked the first flame.   "If you'd like to regain my trust back, put that mouth to good use, hm?" 

 Undoing his belt, pulling it through the loops and unbuttoning his jeans right after he's gotten his belt off,  Steve takes his cock out which was already leaking with precum. He holds it up to his girlfriend as if his cock was a prized possession he was rewarding to her. And in a situation like this, it very well might be considered as such. "Come here, pretty girl. Take my cock, suck it like a lollipop, yeah? Give Bucky and Nat here a show." (Y/N) was quick to hollow in her cheeks and give Steve a blowjob, licking away as if his dick truly was nothing more than a lollipop from the store. 

While she gave her boyfriend a blowjob (and was trying not to gag around his wide and thick length) Natasha and Bucky were quick to strip out of their own clothes, dropping it onto the ground once they were fully embracing their birthday suits.  "You like that?" Bucky asked, grabbing ahold of Natasha's hair, making her turn to look at (Y/N) and Steve. He felt awful, at first, not wanting to be too rough with his girlfriend but the moment he had done it, a moan slipped right past her lips which.... okay, wow, he'll have to do that more often, considering she had liked it so much.   "Like to see your best friend's mouth wrapped around her boyfriend's cock? Was that mouth of hers on your pussy?" Natasha whined in response and nodded rapidly. "Uh huh, ye-yes. it was."  "Fucking filthy girl you are, Nat." Bucky pushes Natasha's face back into the couch cushions as his hand comes down in contact with her ass. "Nasty, dirty little whore couldn't wait for me, could she? You had to go and have your best friend do the dirty work you, oh so, badly were seeking." Bucky slaps Natasha's ass, once, twice, thrice. "Aw..." He cooed, his fingers dipping into Natasha's slit as he glides his digit across Natasha's  throbbing wet pussy. "My gorgeous girl.... are you getting turned on by this, huh?" Bucky chuckled huskily as he looked over at Steve and (Y/N). "What about you, Rogers? Your girl all soaked from being a bad, misbehaving bitch?" Steve, who was fucking his girlfriend's face, nods and grunts in reply. "Yeah, fuck - she is... What should our punishment be for them?" Steve questioned as he pushed (Y/N) off of his cock as he fisted his throbbing, aching dick which was just begging for a release and before either one realizes it, thick ropes of cum are being thrown all over (Y/N)'s face and being the cumslut she was, she's more than happy to lick it all up and swallow every last drop of cum that was splattered onto her face.  "I'm not sure," Bucky admitted.  "We could always fuck each other..... So, how about you and I do the same?" Steve suggested. Bucky's eyes widened, even more than they had done earlier.  There was no way he was being serious.... was he? "Steve-" "You'd look so good,"  surprisingly, it was Natasha that said this.  "You'd look so good," She repeated, sitting up a bit therefore her voice wouldn't be too muffled against the couch.

 "Taking Steve's semen in your ass.... his cum dripping down your cheeks and your thighs, please, baby? Wanna see you being fucked by Steve. If you do this, I promise I'll be a good girl from now on. I won't touch any guy or girl ever again, for that matter. Only will touch you. How about you be a good boy for Steve, hm?" "Please, Bucky..... if I had known (Y/N) and I were going to do what we did..... I would've stolen your camera and recorded us. I know you would've loved that...  would have loved seeing your girlfriend getting her pussy ate by her best friend. (Y/N) and I grinding against each other's cunts.... cumming all over each other like two, bad girls..... maybe, fuck.... if you want, we can show you two exactly it was we all did? My memory is still kind of in a haze, blurry from that night but.... I'm sure (Y/N) will help bring back those memories, won't you?" (Y/N) hardly was listening to a word Natasha had said. Truth be told, the sight of Steve being behind Bucky shouldn't be such a turn on, yet for some reason, it was. She just hoped that little fantasy of hers would become a reality.  And listen, the same thought was running in Bucky's mind.

 It shouldn't turn him on but it does and before he knows it, Bucky is making his way over to the opposite side of the couch,  pulling his pants down to his ankles and bending forward, his ass up for Steve to do whatever he wishes to do with it.     Steve actually didn't expect this scenario to happen,  - AT ALL - he can't lie and say he too wasn't a bit turned on at the way Bucky was so willingly allowing him to fuck him from behind. As Steve preps Bucky up with saliva and his fingers, Natasha and (Y/N) are sat next to each other, toying with their pussies. (The same way they had done when they slept together.) Natasha's fingers were on (Y/N)'s clit while Natasha was currently being fingered by (Y/N) who was thrusting her fingers in and out at a painfully slow pace.

     Once Steve believes Bucky is slick enough with spit and stretched open enough to put his cock in his asshole, Steve pushes the tip of his head inside, a low groan bubbling up out of his throat.

 "Oh, God."  "Fuck!" Bucky whimpered, biting down on the pillow that had been lying in front of him.  "It'll be okay, I promise." (Y/N) said like she knew the pain that he was going through. Which she did. What? Her and Steve's sex life could get pretty kinky. 

 "Listen to her, Buck.. It gets better." Natasha promises because she too knew how it felt. (Of course, she never admitted that until this very moment.)  "Listen to our girls, Buck... It's going to get better." Steve said in between groans, grabbing Bucky's hair, he thrusts in and out, all slow and at a gentle, steady pace until the pain that Bucky is feeling is replaced with pleasure rather than pain. 

 "There we go," Steve smiled, feeling Bucky practically grinding back against his cock. "You're  a good boy, aren't you, Buck?" The two fuck like horny rabbits then, Steve fucking into Bucky's tight ass while Bucky grinded down against the couch. 

 The girls, meanwhile, were whining and fingering themselves now at the view. Everyone, truly, forgot that this was supposed to be a punishment. 

 "I'm going to come, I'm going to come." Steve announced, his eyes drooping closed as he latched his bottom lip inbetween his teeth.  "Cum for me, cum for me," Bucky chanted, his words slurred together as if he were drunk. Steve, with a loud piercing wail, comes undone and releases a flood of white,  filling Bucky's ass up with his orgasm.   Bucky cums not too long after, eyelids shut and breathing heavy as he makes a mess all over himself and the floor. While the boys tried to get their breathing back under control, (Y/N) crawls over and positions herself on Steve's cock, sinking herself down on his length. (Of course, not without grabbing a nearby shirt and cleaning his cock off, as it just had been inside Bucky.) "Come here, Nat, Show me how you rode (Y/N)'s fingers last night. Ride my cock, babygirl." Natasha does the same thing as her best friend had done and with a trembling moan, she sinks down on her boyfriend's cock, throwing her head back at the sudden overwhelming sensation that makes her body wither and shake. "That's it, fuck.... Fuck yourself down onto my cock, angel. Ride my dick so good, take me in so good." Bucky praises, hands reaching up as he strokes her nipples with his thumb, making them as hard as ever as he brushes them over and over. Steve, meanwhile, was growling in (Y/N)'s eat as he thrusted up inside of her, getting her closer and closer to the reach of her orgasm.

 "Though, the visual of you eating out Natasha is hot, you are still Daddy and Daddy's only cumslut, you are mine, do you understand?"  (Y/N) nods weakly, nails digging into Steve's chest as she murmurs, 'yes, yes, yes'.  "Yes, what?" "Yes, Daddy." (Y/N) whispers, tucking her face into the crook between Steve's neck and shoulder and while biting down at his skin, she thrusts down against his swollen, eager to cum cock as she builds up her orgasm.  Everyone does their own thing until they reach their peak and cum. The girls then ease themselves off of their boyfriend's cocks, their eyes wide and their hearts thumping wildly against their chests.

 "You know.... maybe, one day, we should all do this again. The four of us, I mean." Steve turned to look at his girlfriend, a worn out smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he grinned over at her, chuckling at how exhausted she appeared to be.  "I think I like that idea too, Steve." Bucky admitted sheepishly.   "You know what they say.... one is good but four is better."   "Very well said, Barnes." "We'll have to do this again," Bucky said, echoing what Steve had said as he tried to get his breathing back under control. Steve nodded in agreement. "Yeah, without a doubt.... I know this won't be the last time we do this." He said with a seductive smile.

[ravenforce]

Stark Legacy 6

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Carol Danvers x Wanda Maximoff x Maria Hill x Reader but Natasha Romanoff x Reader centric for this chapter.

Summary: I have no words to summarize this one. I feel like this is a whole story on it’s own. Nat x Reader, with a few flashbacks.

Word Count: 4207

A/N: Please, let me know what you guys think. I poured my heart into this, Idk why I tend to do that whenever I write for Natasha. HAHA. Also, I deviated a little bit on the coma/death arc for the reader, sorry.

Previously: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

***

Natasha walks inside the gym a little later than she normally would and fully expecting her blonde girlfriend to be there since she didn’t wake up with her on the bed either. To her surprise, Carol’s not there too. She shrugged and went on her gym routine with a furrowed brow. The next day, without even meaning to, Nat woke up to Carol trying (unsuccessfully) to silently slip off Wanda’s embrace and off their massive bed. Nat gave her girlfriend a good fifteen minutes head start before tailing her. 

Nat tried not to think ahead but Nat being Nat, she was still prepared for all possible outcomes but out of all the scenarios she thought Carol would drive to, she never - not even once - thought that she’s driving to SHIELD Headquarters. Nat’s eyebrows furrowed while waiting a few blocks away for Carol to be cleared to enter the premises. She knows for a fact that Carol’s not due for her weekly meeting with Fury because they all maintain a synchronized calendar to keep track of everyone’s schedule. 

“What are you up to, Danvers?” she whispered to herself. 

Nat sat on the parking lot for another ten minutes before following Carol inside. Nobody in their right mind would ever question why she was there even without an appointment. Natasha went through the command center to see if Deputy Director Hill is on her station but, she too wasn’t anywhere to be found. 

What is going on? Where is everyone? She thought to herself while walking along a deserted hallway. When she rounded the corner, she roughly bumped into someone. The deep frown on her face was immediately erased when she saw who she bumped into. 

“There you are!”

“You’re here too?”

They spoke at the same time. Nat chuckled for a second before registering what Maria had said. Before she can ask, Maria spoke first. 

“Does the Earth mightiest heroes have nothing better to do on their free days than loiter around here?” Maria teased before pulling Nat for a quick hug. 

“I don’t loiter -” Nat grumbled on her girlfriend’s shoulder. When they pulled apart, Maria’s sporting a teasing smile. Nat rolled her eyes playfully. “I am not loitering. I’m looking for Carol.”

“Yeah, she’s here,” Maria confirmed while tucking a stray red hair out of Nat’s face. Nat bit her lip in an attempt to keep herself from blushing at the softness her girlfriend’s showing. 

”Didn’t she just met with Nick yesterday? What’s her business here today?”

At the mention of Fury’s name, Maria stiffened as she remembered that she’s already running late to her meeting with the man himself. She cursed under her breath, hurriedly plants a soft kiss on Nat’s cheeks before sidestepping the redhead and practically running out of there. 

“Carol’s in the gym with Agent Stark,” Maria said loud enough for Nat to hear from the other end of the empty hallway before she disappeared. 

Nat stood there frozen for a minute before she turned on her heels to see what you and Carol are up to. “Y/N Stark -” she whispered to herself as she walks towards the gym. Nat can’t deny the fact that her heart started beating wildly on her chest at the mere mention of your name.

It felt like an eternity has passed since Nat ever heard your name at all. So much has happened between then and now including your supposed death and the world literally ended, Nat didn’t really have time to dwell on all of her unanswered what-ifs. What if you didn’t die? Would she have had enough courage to feel she deserve you if you both were given more time?

***

Nat was enamored the moment she met you while she was undercover as Tony’s assistant. You were unlike no other she’s ever met before. A genius in your own merit was yet content to live peacefully behind your brother’s dark and long shadow. Funny without being obnoxious. She was sure she’s in love with you when you fought side by side while infiltrating Hammer Tech. 

“I didn’t know you could fight, princess,” she teased while trying to catch her breath after taking down most of Hammer’s security. 

You rolled your eyes at her, pretending to hate that stupid pet name. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Natasha Romanoff -” you fired back. Enunciating her name indicating that her cover was blown with you for a while now. 

“Let’s change that after we’re through with this -”

A new batch of security emerges that forced you to go back to kicking ass. “Are you asking me out right now?” You punched one man on the throat, knocking him out effectively. 

Nat’s chocking another on her side of the hallway. “No better time than the present, Stark. So what do you say?” She squeezes the guy a little harder, making him go slack on her arms. Nat was just catching her breath when another man appeared behind her. She almost doubled down when you threw a knife that you procured from your knee-high boots behind her. 

“Nice -” she said a little breathless, partially from being tired and also a little turned on. 

You walked up to her to give her a hand from the floor. She took the help gratefully. “Yes.” 

Nat understood immediately. “Let’s wrap this up quickly then,” she said with a smirk. 

***

A few days after sparring with Captain Danvers at SHIELD, you visited the compound one morning to make a quick delivery. The compound was eerily quiet for eight in the morning, making you wonder if you came in too early. Your wandering stopped when you heard the hopeless clanking of pans in the kitchen. You smiled, hoping that it is who you want to see that’s making all the noise. You leaned against the doorway, watching wild red hair rummaging through the cupboards. 

“After all this time, you’re still hopeless in the kitchen,” you said to announce your presence. 

Natasha stood abruptly, bumping her head on one of the open cabinets. She turned around with a frown while clutching the top of her head. “What the hell! You scared me!” 

Her frown only deepened when you won’t stop laughing. It’s not that you didn’t want to stop, you just couldn’t. She looks so adorable with her scowl and wild bed hair bathed in the early morning sunlight streaming through the massive windows in the room. You walked towards her. 

“I’m sorry but, this isn’t my fault -” you stopped two feet away from her. “ - no one’s supposed to sneak up on the Black Widow, right?” You teased while rubbing the top of her head. 

“No Black Widow business until I have my second cup of coffee, you know the rules.”

Of course, you do. You can’t forget anything about Natasha even if you want to. 

“I’m sorry,” you said sincerely. You didn’t really mean to startle her - that badly. 

Nat looked at you from under her lashes, and had your knees been human they would surely buckle under that look. “Kiss it better,” she demanded.

“What are you, five?” you teased to diffuse your nervousness but, Nat can see right through you. 

“Coward.” 

You huffed before pulling her towards you and kissed the spot where she hurt herself. “There! Happy now?” 

Nat smiled. “I am now.” 

***

Before you can say anything else, the rest of the inhabitants of the compound trudges in the kitchen including Maria, Carol, and Wanda. 

“Hey.” Everyone greeted monotonously indicating that none of them are fully awake yet. You just smiled politely to everyone to give them time to fully shake the sleep off their systems. 

Sam strode in last. He was sweaty and looking alert, probably from doing his morning jog. “Y/N!” he exclaimed when he noticed you. Everyone bristled at his volume, which probably won’t be acceptable regardless of the time of the day. “What brings you around? Not that we don’t want you here. Did you finally realize that you’d like to join our team now?”

“What?” Maria asked after registering Sam’s line of questioning. 

“No offense -” 

You decided to cut Sam off there. Any sentence that starts with no offense is often kind of offensive. “No, Sam, I’m not joining the Avengers.” Maria visibly relaxes at that while Sam deflated. “I just came here today to deliver you guys this -” You fished out an envelope from the inside pocket of your brown trench coat. 

Nat who was still standing next to you reached out and took the envelope. “It’s an invitation,” she mused. Everyone’s looking at you expectantly. 

“Yes. Pepper’s throwing me a homecoming party, and I don’t have the heart to tell her no,” you smiled. “Pun not intended.” 

The kitchen erupted in excitement while freshly brewed coffee was being passed around. “This is so cool, it’s been so long since we had a Stark party,” Bruce commented, earning a soft elbow from Bucky and poorly concealed side-eyes from the girls. Bruce opened and closed his mouth, unable to form an apology. 

“It’s okay Bruce but don’t expect it to be as grand as Tony’s parties,” you said smiling. “So?”

“Count as in!” Sam jumped at the opportunity to change the topic fast. Bucky sighed, resigning to his fate. “For you, I will be there, doll.” 

“Thanks, Buck.” 

While everyone was distracted about talks of the party and what to wear, you turned towards Natasha. “You’re coming too, right, Tasha?” 

Nat smiled at the use of her nickname. You’re the only one who likes to call her that. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, princess.” 

***

The party was in full swing when the Avengers arrived at the Tower. Aside from the team, Pepper invited a select few Stark Industries people, from investors as well as your old lab team. Nat didn’t expect anyone else aside from Maria to be invited. So she was surprised to see you standing amongst Agent Colson’s team. Nat’s sure that you saw them arrive but, you made no move to excuse yourself from listening to Agent Simmon’s surely interesting story. 

Pepper did excuse herself and greeted the Avengers. “Hey!” She gave everyone a quick hug. “Traffic? Come on, let’s get you guys some refreshments.” 

“Yes! Let’s get hammered!” Sam cheered too enthusiastically. 

A couple of steps though, Pepper turned back to see the girls still rooted in their place at the doorway. “Coming, ladies?” 

“Ah, I think we would say hello to Y/N first,” Maria and Carol answered at the same time without taking their eyes off of you.

Pepper followed their love-struck gaze and chuckled. She assumed it’s a pack thing, so she didn’t bother asking Nat and Wanda anymore and just followed the boys to the catering table. Nat watched Maria and Carol strode confidently towards you, and efficiently inserting themselves into the conversation. Nat watched her girlfriends, subtly inserting their bodies on both your sides, creating a barrier between you and Agent Johnson and Agent Simmons.

***

Natasha can deal with the fact that all her girlfriends have a crush on you. She doesn’t see herself having trouble sharing you with her pack if it came to that. It’s the others she’s worried about. You’re too bright that everyone’s gravitating towards you like moths to a fire, like Icarus to the sun. All night, Nat tried to get you alone but, every time she thinks she finally does, someone else would come over and make conversations with you. 

Nat thinks you’re too polite to tell them off. So she excused herself when Agent Simmons came over to talk to you again (for the nth time that night). You smiled at her before turning back to Jenna. The bartender put four tequila shots in front of her the moment she sat on the bar. Bucky then turned to her. 

“Thought you might need a stiff drink,” Bucky grumbled over the rim of his beer bottle. Nat downed one shot before glancing in your direction. Bucky didn’t miss how the redhead’s frown dipped a little deeper. “Didn’t think you’re one to walk away when vultures are trying to snatch your girl.” 

Nat downed her second shot and slammed the glass down the counter. She’s not my girl, she thought bitterly. She knows full well that you’re not hers to hate Agent Johnson for simply wanting to be near you or for laughing at something you said and her hand landing casually on your biceps. You’re not hers for her to be jealous, she knows that painfully. 

She couldn’t watch any longer. She downed the last two shots before turning towards Bucky. “I think I’ll get some fresh air,” she whispered, eyes downcast. “Thanks, Buck.” 

Bucky only nodded before Nat hopped off her stool and walked out of the party venue. Nat didn’t turn back to see you watching her leave. 

***

Nat snugged a bottle of expensive wine from a passing staff on her way to God knows where. All she knew was that she needed to step away to clear her head or drown her feelings and her regret.

You and Nat have been casually dating for a couple of months, even with your brother’s utter disapproval of the relationship. For the first time in a long time, you were standing against your brother on a matter but that was Nat you were talking about. You weren’t going to give her up without a fight. Eventually, Tony relented but without threatening Nat that if she ever breaks your heart, she’ll be the first person on his non-existent hit list. 

Everything was fine. You both were happy until Nat suddenly decided she’s not ready. You didn’t know what happened. All you know was one day, she came back from a mission and decided she’s not ready to be tied down to one person.

“I’m sorry, Y/N, but I’m not built for this -” she waved her hand. Indicating not only the domesticity of sharing the same living space but also everything that comes with it like building a home with another and shedding walls to letting people in. “I’m sorry.”

You didn’t cry, and Nat knew you were letting her go gracefully. Even when she was breaking your heart, you were still thinking of her. “It’s okay, Tasha. I understand,” you said simply. You gave her a small smile before kissing her one last time.

Nat took a long swig of the wine before acknowledging your presence behind her. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at your party?” she spoke without taking her eyes off of the city skyline. The view from the rooftop of the tower was spectacular.

You chuckled nervously. Nat only goes to the rooftop when she needed to think and breathe. You wonder if you’ve done something through the night that might set her off. “I saw you leave the party, I was looking for you.”

“Why?” She took another long swig, making her head spin a little bit.

“Why not? I’ll always look for you when you’re gone.”

Nat suppressed the urged to groan, opting to chug the wine, but you were lightning fast. You caught her wrist before her lips could touch the bottle. You fished the wine out of her grasp. “What’s wrong, Tasha?”

“Nothing,” she answered automatically. Her eyes are darting back and forth from your eyes and your lips. There’s a sad, hungry look on her face you couldn’t understand. You decided to ignore it for the time being and just confront her about it when she’s not one shot away from being drunk.

“Okay, if you say so. Let’s go back inside, it’s cold out here.”

You started to walk back towards the only door to the rooftop when Nat tugged you back roughly to her. “Tasha!” you exclaimed in your surprise when she pinned you between her and the deck railing.

Nat held your eyes for a second before she laid her forehead on your shoulder. “Do you enjoy it? Having everyone wrapped around your fingers?”

You can hear the hurt in her voice. You wanted to question her about it. You want to understand what she’s talking about, but the words wouldn’t come. Especially, when you felt her turn her head slightly, and her left hand caressed your cheeks.

“I can’t get you alone all night,” she whispered as she noses her way from your jaw through your neck.

“Tasha -” God knows you tried not to make it sound like a moan, but it came out exactly like that.

The rest of the words died in your throat as you felt Nat plant the softest of kisses on your neck and her right hand found your leg through the long slit of your dress. Suddenly, it wasn’t so cold anymore. The fire that is Natasha Romanoff warmed you immensely, and you were ready to burn for her again, still.

“You were mine first,” you heard her whisper before she pulled her head away from your neck and smashed her lips against yours for a minute. Then she’s running away, again.

***

MH: Meet me at SHIELD.

WM: What’s wrong, Mar?

Nat frowned at the demanding chat from Maria. She waited patiently for an explanation; she tried not to jump to a conclusion. But at the back of her head, she prayed it’s not another alien threat. She can deal with Hydra, but she doesn’t think she has enough to give to fight and lose people to another Thanos level problem. 

MH: Y/N’s down. Otw to the lab with Happy to get started with repairs. 

Nat paled, and for a minute, she couldn’t move. Fear gripped her, the past flooding back to her.

She rushed into the hospital when she heard about the accident. Relief flooded her senses when she saw Tony and Pepper alert and awake on their hospital bed. Steve and Rhodey were already there. When the group noticed her, Tony immediately averted his eyes while Pepper started bawling. 

“Is the baby okay?” Nat asked, worried that something happened to the baby.

Silence. Nat turned to Steve and Rhodey. Rhodey just frowned, lost for words too. Steve looked like he was trying to string a sentence in his head. “I’m sorry, Nat -” 

Nat became even more confused. “For what?” she asked. “Guys, you’re scaring me.”

Tony took an audible, deep breath, catching Nat’s attention back to him. This time, he held her gaze. “Y/N’s home, Nat,” he said. “When we found out that Pepper’s pregnant, we told her, and she came home.” 

Nat didn’t know that. No one told her that you’re home, which was understandable after she broke your heart. “Okay,” she nodded. Still, a tad confused as to where this conversation was going. “Do you need me to call her for you?” 

“She’s gone, Nat -” 

“Wha -”

“She’s dead.” Tony decided it’s better to rip off the bandage clean. Pepper started sobbing again. “She was with us tonight.”

Her phone vibrated on her hand again. She looked at the message from Wanda. 

WM: Breath, Nat. She’s inhuman now. 

And at that moment, Nat was so thankful that Wanda’s an empath. She released a breath she didn’t know she was holding and closed her eyes for a second to center herself. When she opened her forest-green eyes, she fired a quick text to the group chat before nearly running out of the compound. 

NR: I’m on my way.

***

Nat was cursing in Russian under her breath as she power walk through the hallway of SHIELD towards the labs. She made a mistake of jumping on the first available vehicle in the compound’s parking lot, instead of using her MV Augusta F4 RR 312 motorcycle. It would have taken her to the HQ in no time. 

She was rounding the last corner before she arrived at the lab when she bumped into Happy. 

“Hey.” The man looked exhausted even though the machines in the lab did all the work, but Nat understood it completely. The idea that you got injured affects those who knew you before you were inhuman than those who knew you post-human. “I’m beat. I’m going to crash upstairs.” 

Nat nodded with a smile before adding, “thank you, Happy.” She hopes the simple words convey how much she appreciates the man for taking care of you after all this time. 

“Anything for Y/N,” Happy answered, smiling. He was almost on the other end of the hallway when he called for Nat again. Nat stopped in her tracks and look at him quizzically. “Be quiet when you get there.” 

Then he disappeared. Nat just shrugged and continued to the lab. When she got inside, she floated to the room where she knows you would be and found you sandwiched between Carol and Maria. 

“Shouldn’t you be the one sleeping?” she teased softly. You looked up when you heard her voice from the door and smiled. 

“I would if I needed one, but I don’t. You, on other hand, look like you can use a nap too.” You tried to speak as softly as you could as not to disturb your sleeping friends(?), but they still manage to stir and look at Natasha. Together they patted the only space available in the bed for her. 

Your lap. Nat quirked an eyebrow at the two before looking back at you. You smiled before raising your hand to beckon her to you. Nat decided to throw all her inhibitions to the window and gracefully climbed on the bed with you. It took a bit of squirming around to accommodate her on top of you, but you managed. Nat laid her head on where your heart should be. 

Suddenly, Nat felt exhausted. Like all the stress and emotions - the confusion, the disbelief, the longing - she desperately tried to run away from ever since she found out that you’re alive caught up to her then. Her eyes started to close as you run your fingers through her soft red hair. 

“I’m still yours,” you whispered, confident that Natasha has joined her softly snoring girlfriends in dreamland. It was quiet for a minute. The only sound in the room is the whirring of machines from the lab outside.

“I’m ready now,” Nat mumbled loud enough for you to hear before she completely went under.

[natrogersfics]

After All - Chapter 1/5

Cover art by @faith2nyc​ Read on AO3

​In the history of work-life balances, The Daily’s has to be the most bizarre of any company, and Natasha knows that it has nothing to do with the reasonable work hours Pepper is a stickler for implementing. One would truly be hard-pressed to find another work environment where the people get along so seamlessly. Sure, they have their disagreements, and their instincts are always to engage in debate rather than shy away from it, but for the most part, the second the clock strikes five p.m., all spats are forgotten in lieu of brainstorming which watering hole to head to (Dalton’s, always Dalton’s).   

To say that her coworkers are like family seems like a banality on the surface, the type of line an HR Department would print in the welcome packet for a new employee before their first day on the job. But as she stands by the doorway of Tony and Pepper’s living room, watching the very people she works with on a daily basis joyously mingle with members of her actual family, she does not know how else she could possibly define them. These people are the best of the best in the respective subjects, their combined accomplishments the envy of anyone with even a scintilla of ambition to succeed in the media. And yet here they are, holding plates filled with rainbow cake and sporting unicorn party hats, all because these happen to be her daughter’s latest obsession and they’re all powerless to deny her – especially on her first birthday.

In some ways, she knew they would be fond of Isabel, but she never expected them to adore her quite like this – for Thor to bring her a strawberry cupcake every eleventh to celebrate each new month of her life, or for Stephen and Christine to insist that they come over so the latter can personally perform routine checkups, or for Tony to customize a double stroller for when he takes both Isabel and Maria to his workshop. What’s more, they’ve all rallied around her as well, none of them ever more than a text message away when she’s in need of anything, which proved invaluable as she navigated motherhood for the first time. 

This outpour of love from a group of people who are not by any stretch obligated to go so above and beyond is an anomaly, she knows. It’s going to take some kind of miracle for her to find another group of genuinely kind people who would go up to bat for her and Isabel. And it’s that very thought that wrests the sadness she’s been trying to keep at bay all day as she ponders how this may be the last time in a long while that they will gather like this. 

“Are you sure you have to go?”   

The question breaks her out of her reverie, and she turns to see Darcy next to her, holding up two forks in one hand and a plate of cake in the other. She chuckles, reaching for the other fork as they both take a bite and moan at the perfection that is Sarah Roger’s baking. “I already paid the security deposit on the flat we’re staying in,” she says. “So that’s going to be a yes.”

“Flat, huh? Look at you, getting in on the lingo,” Darcy teases before groaning. “But until your butt is officially across the pond, it is an apartment. And it is take-out, not take-away. Which, coincidentally, we happen to have the best of here. Where are you going to get your Nom Wah fix in London, Nat, huh? Where?”

“They have a Chinatown there too, last I checked,” she counters, laughing when Darcy rolls her eyes. “Besides, I have to go anyway on the account of me being out of a job. I do have a child to support, you know.”

“First of all, the only reason you’re out of a job is because you got a big promotion,” Darcy says matter-of-factly. “Stupid corporate ladder.”

“Big words coming from the newly minted editor of The Daily’s International section,” she says, suddenly brimming with pride.

“Only because I learned everything from you,” Darcy says quietly before sighing in concession. “Ugh! You better not forget us when you’re out there being a hotshot editor-in-chief. And you better make sure Boss Baby doesn’t forget who her favorite is!”

“Darcy, Darcy, Darcy,” she says, wrapping an arm around the shoulders of the first person to truly become her constant at work. “You are many things, but forgettable is not one of them.”

“Yeah, true,” Darcy concedes easily, causing them both to laugh.

“Speaking of the Boss Baby though,” she says, checking her watch. “It’s almost her bedtime, so I better go make sure none of her grandparents have let her eat all the icing.” 

“I think what you really have to be concerned about is an aunt and uncle helpless over her charms,” Darcy says, smiling knowingly. “Last I saw her she was in the kitchen with Bucky and Wanda.”

She’s about to thank her, but before she can, Darcy’s already running towards the center of the living room at Thor’s roaring announcement that a game of Pictionary is about to commence. For a second, she allows herself a moment to watch the pandemonium unfold as her friends – her fully grown adult friends, no less – vie for the positions of team captains. “Hooligans,” she says, shaking her head fondly before making a beeline for the kitchen. She pokes her head in, finding Bucky and Wanda poring over the cheese and cold cuts selection laid out on the island before knocking on the wall to get their attention. “Any of you know where Izzie is?”

“Nat!” Bucky exclaims, “you have to try this cheese. It smells like something died in it, but it’s so damn delicious!”

She tilts her head to the side, the corner of her mouth tugging up in amusement. “Maybe later, Buck.” 

“Ignore him. He’s inhaled too much cheese,” Wanda says over the rim of her wine glass before pointing upwards. “Steve took her upstairs for a diaper change.”

“Thank you,” she says, turning to leave. She makes it to the stairs, climbing it two steps at a time until she reaches the top and stops in front of the framed collage of Maria on the wall. As her eyes scan the plethora of pictures, she can’t help but smile. She’s seen this frame countless times before, can practically name where each photo was taken and how old her goddaughter is in every one of them, but for some reason, she finds herself lingering before it, as if she needs to recommit everything to her memory lest she forget. She gives herself another minute, and with a sigh, forces herself to look away and walk down the familiar path to the nursery.  

“Do you know how much Daddy loves you?”

Steve’s words stop her dead in her tracks, and through the door left cracked open, she catches a glimpse of him sitting on the rocking chair with Isabel across his lap, their daughter staring up at him as he feeds her a bottle. The sight of them gazing affectionately at each other punches the breath out of her lungs, and it’s only by instinct that she moves out of view, pressing her back against the nearest wall.

“I don’t even know if I have the right words to describe how much,” she hears Steve confess with a little chuckle, to which Isabel coos, and in her heart of hearts, she knows that she should not be eavesdropping on this moment – it isn’t hers, and yet, she finds herself unable to move. “I guess it’s a good thing that you don’t understand me all that well yet, so I have some time to figure them out...” He sighs, long and winded. “Though, if I’m being honest, I don’t know if I ever will. There couldn’t possibly be words in existence that will encapsulate how much I love every little inch of you.” Steve’s voice cracks by the end, followed closely by a sniffle. “I’m going to miss you like crazy, fig. And I’ll call you all the time, so please don’t forget Daddy while you’re over there, okay? You’re my whole world, baby girl…”   

The hallway and the stairs and the foyer are all a blur as she bolts, the air around her suddenly too thick. She makes it out the front door, but by the time she gets to the bottom step of the brownstone, her legs feel too heavy to keep herself upright and she slumps down, placing her head in her hands as the Summer night’s air blows by and the sound of the traffic on the Upper East Side rings ambiently around her. She sighs. Steve’s words weren’t even meant for her to hear. It shouldn’t affect her this way – shouldn’t hurt her this way – especially when they’re full of adulation for their daughter. And yet, it’s as if she’s taken another dagger to her already crippled heart.

“Natasha.”

She looks up in time to see her mother take a seat next to her, and in the warmth of Melinda’s embrace, she finally lets the tears fall. “Would you believe me if I said I was just tired?”

“Oh, Nat,” Melinda says, reaching over to thumb her tears away. “You don’t have to do this. You know that, right?”

“Only I do,” she says, the words tumbling out of her mouth almost immediately. “He’s had a year. Heck, he’s had more than that to say something, give me a sign.” Melinda’s expression softens at her words, and she knows that it’s because despite offering her a way out only moments ago, Melinda’s one of the few people who knows she’s right. It’s been too long since that fateful night she asked Steve if she had a reason to stay, only to be met by silence. It was damning then, and it’s even more so in the time that’s passed since they’d agreed to postpone both her move to London and the implementation of their custody agreement until Isabel turned one. If he wanted her, if he felt even a fraction for her of what she felt for him, he had countless opportunities and ample time to say so. But now here they are, their daughter past her first year of life, and a day away from each of them getting her six months out of the year. She shakes her head. “He loves her so much. That’s more than I could have ever asked for, and in some ways, that’s always been the deal.” She turns to Melinda, smiling sadly. “I can’t keep hoping anymore. I have to move on.”  

With a sad smile, Melinda drops a kiss to her temple. “Okay.” 

In the months leading up to this day, there were countless times Natasha had caught herself imaging how it would play out. She expected a tear or two to be shed – Sarah and Melinda being the most obvious culprits – but at the very least, she thought the massive crowds at JFK would prove a compelling enough reason for them to not only keep it together, but also to keep their goodbyes short and sweet. But here, on the tarmac in Teterboro, with the Stark Industries jet before her and her entire family close by, she realizes that this is quickly morphing into her worst-case scenario – drawn out goodbyes, too many sad eyes, and her heart feeling all too heavy in her chest.

“You tell T’Challa that I will never forgive him for this.”

Pepper’s words elicit a laugh from her. “Oh please,” she says, scoffing even as she wraps her arms tighter around Pepper and pretends not to feel the warmth of the tear that drips down to her shoulder. “If you were at all capable of holding a grudge, the three of us would’ve stopped being friends long ago.”

“That was before he plotted to steal my best friend from me,” Pepper mumbles, making them both laugh. “Do you realize that this is the first time since college that we’re not going to live within a subway’s ride from each other?”

“We’ll drop by for Christmas,” she offers quietly, unable to trust that her voice won’t falter if she dares answer the question directly. Over Pepper’s shoulder, her eyes quickly glance at the group by the stairs of the jet – Sarah, Nick and Melinda, and Bucky and Wanda all gathered around Steve and Isabel – and she finds herself relieved that she had already said her lengthy goodbyes to most of them last night. She takes a step back from Pepper as she says, “These next six months will fly by.”

“Alright, alright,” Tony interjects as he comes up next to them with Maria on his hip. “Let’s not act like there’s not going to be a Stark Industries emergency in the London office in two weeks that only the CEO can solve.” He eyes Pepper and then her knowingly before nodding towards the jet. “Best not to misuse company property more than we already are.”

She rolls her eyes, breaking away from Pepper’s embrace completely. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t you the one who insisted on this whole spectacle?”

“You were gonna fly commercial,” Tony says, his expression twisting in disgust. “We’re not savages, Red.”  

Her lips quirk up at that. To anyone else, Tony’s quip drips with arrogance and reeks of privilege from a life defined by exuberant wealth. But she’s known the man for over a decade now, and though most of the time his tact leaves much to be desired, she understands him enough to know how to read between the lines. Their friendship has never been defined by heartfelt tête-à-têtes, and part of her is glad that he doesn’t seem keen on starting that now. Nevertheless, she knows that making sure she and Isabel are nothing short of exceedingly comfortable on an already difficult trip, is Tony’s ultimate way of showing just how much he cares. 

“Come here,” she says, stepping forward to engulf both him and Maria in a hug.  

“Oh, we’re doing this?” Tony says. “Okay, we’re really doing this.” She ignores him, but it only takes a beat before she feels his free arm wrap around her as well, squeezing back. When they pull away, he has his signature smirk on his face. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

She chuckles just as she drops a kiss to Maria’s forehead. “Bye sweetheart,” she tells her goddaughter before turning back to Tony, raising an eyebrow at him. “Does that list even exist?”

Tony winks at her, prompting Pepper to shake her head at the both of them. 

“Indeed, it does not,” Pepper says, linking arms with her. “Come on.”

The pit in her stomach that she’s been trying to ignore since she got up this morning rears its ugly head once more. It’s for the best, she reminds herself. These four words have become her mantra ever since she uttered them that night in Steve’s office when she had first given him the custody agreement, and though her heart had never felt as eviscerated as it had in that moment, the fact that she’s only minutes away from jetting off to a different continent is testament to the fact that there’s truth in it. That, despite all that she’d hoped would change, this is how their lives must play out if they are to make their arrangement work. She sucks in a breath at the thought, at the finality of it all, and as she huffs out, the reassuring squeeze from Pepper grounds her enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Sarah is the first to notice them as they near, and she’s quick to offer her a warm smile before turning to Steve, whispering in his ear and giving Isabel one last kiss. 

“Be safe, darling,” Sarah says when she makes her way over to her, cupping her face in her hands. “And please, don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t,” she says, smiling earnestly. “Thank you, Sarah.” Sarah’s barely stepped away from her when she feels two pairs of arms wrap around her simultaneously, and she can’t help but laugh when she finds herself sandwiched between Nick and Melinda. “Sucking up all my oxygen here, guys.”

“Call us the second you land,” Melinda orders. “And not a second later, you hear? We have your flight plan.”

“Or by God, I will order an F-35 to come find you,” Nick adds.  

She scoffs. “You’ve been saying that since I was sixteen.”

“It was true then and it’s even truer now that you’re taking my grandbaby with you,” Nick says, eyeing her pointedly. “Don’t try me.”

“Fine,” she says, chuckling softly. “We’ll FaceTime you the second we land. How’s that?”

“Excellent,” Melinda says, hugging her tightly once more. “Our girl, we love you so.”  

“Love you too,” she says to each of them. Wanda and Bucky are last in line, and as she accepts a hug from the former and a kiss on the cheek from the latter, she begins to make her way towards the landing of the stairs where Steve stands cradling a sleeping Isabel. She stops a foot short of them, tucking her hands into her pockets and mustering the best smile she can. “We should get going.”  

Steve nods, turning to nuzzle the top of Isabel’s head. “Be a good girl for momma, okay?” he says, and she has to avert her gaze elsewhere at the way his voice breaks at the end. “Daddy loves you so much, fig.”

Just as she had the night before, she finds herself once again an intruder in a moment she has no business being a part of as she listens to Steve whisper sweet nothings to their daughter. But despite the feeling of being so unwelcome, so unwanted, she swallows it all down along with the lump that’s formed in her throat in an attempt to keep it together. It’s only when she hears Steve mutter a soft okay that she dares look back, watching as he steps forward to place Isabel into her arms. 

“Shh,” she says gently when Isabel stirs at the movement, carefully shifting her so she can rest her head on her shoulder before turning to Steve. “I’ll text you when we land and again when we get to our flat, so you know she’s safe.”

“Yeah, thanks,” he says, letting a beat pass before shaking his head. “Natasha…”  

For a moment, she can only stand there, letting his utterance of her name hang in the air between them. Where she finds the courage to look in his eyes, she isn’t certain, but she does. The pain in them is clear as the sky above them, but for whom it’s for, she can only surmise. Surely, for being separated for the next six months from their daughter, who’s oblivious to the loaded silence between them as she slumbers peacefully against her. And though she knows she shouldn’t, she lets herself wonder – wish, really – if only for a fraction of a second, and perhaps for the last time, that maybe that pain is for her, too. And that maybe, just maybe, now he would say the words she’s been longing to hear.

Steve sighs, and she holds her breath as he leans down to kiss her cheek. “Knock ‘em dead, Natasha Romanoff.”

Her eyes fall shut at that, and though he’s close enough that she can smell the familiar scent of his cologne and feel the warmth of his skin, they might as well be continents apart already. “Thanks,” she whispers, giving him a final nod before she turns to ascend the stairs.

There’s only the whirr of the jet taxiing towards the runway as she settles further back against the softness of the leather seat. Across her chest, Isabel sleeps peacefully, her curls glowing russet in the sunlight streaming through the window and her weight a welcome distraction from the hollowness burrowing deep inside of her, settling in. By now, she realizes, the sensation is just an old friend. She sighs, running her hand up and down Isabel’s back, holding her closer. “It’s just you and me, fig.”

I’m not freaking out, you are!

Steve’s brow arches as he reads the words in the blue bubble, and he does not waste time pressing down on the file attachment, eagerly waiting for the video to take up the entirety of the screen. Once it does, Isabel comes into view, sporting a gray Dodgers jersey with her hair pulled up in two symmetric pigtails as she clings onto the edge of a coffee table. The sight pulls his lips up into a beaming smile, all but threatening to split his face. 

“Come to momma, fig,” he hears Natasha encourage in the background. “You can do it!”

Despite Natasha’s message alluding to the fact that this had been a fruitful exercise, he finds himself holding his breath as he watches Isabel blink, her eyebrows furrowing in suspicion as if she’s contemplating her mother’s words. On the lower part of the screen, her foot inches forward ever so slightly, though whether it is to test the waters or tease her mother, he can only guess. But then her dubious expression fades as quickly as it had come, making way for a toothy grin, and then his eyes widen as he witnesses her take one wobbly step and then trot the rest of the way.

“Yay!” Natasha cheers, eliciting an elated giggle from Isabel, and he can’t help but laugh along as the camera flips to show Natasha with Isabel now on her lap. “We’re walking!”  

He types back a quick Yes! followed by But also, uh oh! 😬 before pressing play on the video once more, this time watching Isabel walk on her own without the nervousness that had plagued him only moments ago. It seems ridiculous – though he’s willing to bet that most parents feel the same way – but he feels pride surge right through him. Isabel was just beginning to get the hang of walking while her hands were being held up during her first birthday, and now, less than six months later, she’s already cruising along by herself. Time, he muses, truly does zip on by.

Placing his phone down on the counter, he stops to ponder his last thought. If there’s one thing he’s come to realize about time, it is that it can be a real conundrum – moving faster than you wish it would when you least want it to and slowing down to an agonizing crawl when you’re all but begging for it to fly. Only, these two facets seemed to be happening simultaneously in the last six months since his custody agreement with Natasha had taken effect. On one hand, Isabel is growing and changing faster than he can keep up with, becoming her own person with every day that passes. But at the same time, it feels as if his turn to have her, to witness these milestones unfold in real time, is an eternity away.

“I don’t like that face. Not one bit.”

He turns towards the sound of the voice, chuckling when he sees his mother walking into his kitchen, a box from her bakery in hand. “So much for a face only a mother can love.”

“Of course I love that face,” Sarah says, setting the box and her purse down on the island before hopping on the stool next to his. “I made it.” Sarah snickers as he rolls his eyes. “What I don’t love is when it’s all broody and scrunched up” – she points to his head – “means something’s going on up there.”   

With a sigh, he unlocks his phone, opening the video back up before pushing it towards Sarah. His mother squeals upon seeing her granddaughter, picking up the device to get a closer look. 

“She’s gotten so big!” she says, her eyes on the screen. “Goodness, she’s walking. Really walking!”

“She finally fit into the jersey Thor gave her before she was born, too,” he adds, shaking his head in disbelief. “Now it’s just right.” It’s probably the tone of his voice – crestfallen, though he hadn’t meant for it to come out that way – that causes Sarah to look at him, her eyes rueful. He waves off her concern. “I’m fine, ma. Some days are just harder than most. Technology’s great and all, but I still feel like I’m missing so much. And now...”

Sarah reaches over to place her hand over his. “I’m sorry they’re not going to make it for Christmas, darling.” 

“It’s fine,” he repeats. While he isn’t due to have Isabel until after New Years’, with some cajolery from Melinda, Nick, and Pepper, Natasha had agreed that she and Isabel would come visit for Christmas. That’d been the plan even before they left for London almost six months ago, and if he’s being completely honest, it’s been the day he’s been counting down to since. But then an emergency at Natasha’s work came up, preventing her and Isabel from traveling until after the holiday and successfully upending everything he had been looking forward to. He sighs. “It’s still technically Natasha’s time with her and she was being really magnanimous about sharing Izzie for Christmas anyway.” He swipes his hand out, as if to dismiss his melancholy, but even that is half-hearted. “I was just really looking forward to it, you know? Bucky already bought her a beanie with Reindeer antlers that light up and I thought maybe she could still see the Rockefeller tree.”

“Still might,” Sarah says, to which he gives a non-committal nod. “They don’t take it down right away anyway. But have you maybe considered asking Natasha if you can fly there for Christmas?”

“What?” he nearly spits out the word in surprise, tilting his head to the side as he looks at his mother like she’s grown three heads. “What’re- I mean, what in the world makes you think she’d agree to that?”

This time, it’s Sarah’s turn to look at him incredulously. “You two have been getting along great these past few months, haven’t you?”

“We text about Izzie,” he says, “and yes, Natasha’s there when we FaceTime too, but that’s because she has to hold up the phone on the account of Izzie wanting to put everything in her mouth. That is not the same as getting along great.” He sits up straighter, shaking his head. “Besides, spending Christmas together? In London? That’s not even remotely in our-”

“Oh please,” Sarah interrupts. “I don’t care what you two have written down in your contract-”

“Custody agreement,” he corrects.

“Semantics,” Sarah counters. “Like it or not, you and Natasha are forever bonded by the beautiful baby girl you two brought into this world. That makes you family, and families spend Christmas together.” Sarah shrugs, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip and seemingly deliberating her next words. “Unless…”

He looks at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. “Unless?”

“Steven, hon, you know I don’t like to pry,” Sarah says carefully. “But ever since… well, okay. I suppose I thought that maybe things between you and Natasha… especially after Izzie was born… I thought maybe you two would give it a chance. But then nothing happened, and I said I’d leave you two to it. It’s your lives. But now she’s over there, making a life for herself and you know what? Good on her. But then I see you, and I… It just seems to me like you’re stuck. And I feel like I’ve seen this before, so I have to ask… Do you maybe still have feelings for Natasha?”

His eyebrows shoot into his hairline. “That is not what-”

“And that is not an answer.”

“I…” he begins, only to pause to collect his thoughts. “I have had the tremendous opportunity of curating for a successful gallery and overseeing its expansions. And that is on top of my day job at the paper and making sure I am pulling my weight as a co-parent. I’m barely in the same place for five minutes, so quite frankly, ma, by definition I think that’s the opposite of being stuck.” When Sarah’s pointed glance does not let up, he sighs. “Look… if the lack of two more seats at our Christmas table this year is any indication, I’d say my feelings weren’t any good on a one-way street. If I were stuck, I’d still be standing on it, but like I just said...”

Sarah puts her hands up. “Well, if all the hatchets are buried…” she says as she moves off the stool and slings her purse over her shoulder. “No harm in asking then, is there?” She reaches over to the counter, pushing his phone back to him and nodding towards the screen. “You don’t get any of these moments back, Steve. So if there’s any chance you can be a part of them instead of watching from afar, try.” With a smile, she leans in to kiss his cheek. “I’ll see you Sunday at brunch.”  

Sleep eludes him later that night as he watches the shadows dance across the ceiling, his mind replaying the conversation he had with Sarah. As he ruminates on its substance, he’s suddenly transported back to that night almost two years ago when Natasha had received her award from the Journalists’ Guild. At that point, their relationship had plunged into this strange and confusing pitfall. They had gone from living together as Natasha recovered from her awful fall, falling into domestic bliss as they did, to her serving him a custody agreement in his office seemingly in a blink of an eye. When he approached her that night for a dance, all he truly wanted was to erase the distance and the silence that had grown between them. But sometime in the middle of them swaying along to a soft string tune, she had informed him that she was going to take the job in London, and as he remembers how her words had made him feel then, hurt washes over him anew. She had pulled the rug from underneath him, sending him into free fall that, by the time she was accusing him of having never wanted their child in the first place, and asking him if she had a reason to stay, he was frozen. Speechless. Powerless to stop her from walking away and disappearing into the crowd.

Navigating their relationship after that night was incredibly difficult. They were both hurt, and understandably so, but giving each other space became nearly impossible when Natasha’s pregnancy spurned more health complications. They weren’t grave, thankfully, but it was enough to bring them to the sober realization that regardless of what had transpired between them, they couldn’t let their feelings get in the way of prioritizing the one thing that meant the world to the both of them. And by the time Isabel was born, the effort they’d both put in to make their circumstances work was so much that he told himself that it did not matter that his feelings for Natasha were not only lingering, but also brewing deep – rocking the boat was the last thing the three of them needed.

Further, what he had told his mother hadn’t been a lie. Feelings are no good on a one-way street. Perhaps there was a point where Natasha had felt the same way about him as he felt about her, but that was all moot now. In the end, she had gotten on the plane to London, and though he wanted nothing more than to tell her how he truly felt as they said their goodbyes at the airport, he still did not know with a certainty if that would have been enough. That, his love was a compelling enough reason for her to forego an opportunity that she’d been working towards her whole life. So instead, he told her the one thing he knew she’d do anyway – go and succeed. And if the reviews of the paper she’s helming and their cordial co-parenting relationship are anything to go by, it’s clear that staying mum was the right call. 

It’s then that the merit of Sarah’s earlier argument becomes clear. While spending Christmas together isn’t something they’ve ever discussed, with the both of them moving forward, perhaps there really was no harm in asking. Perhaps what’s in the past can stay in the past. Perhaps Christmas didn’t have to be so somber this year.Before he can change his mind, he reaches for his phone. 

Natasha holds her breath as she creeps out into the hallway, relief crashing down on her like a ton of bricks when she successfully clicks the door shut without hearing a cry. With a sigh, she brings a hand up to the bridge of her nose, pinching down and letting her eyes fall shut in exhaustion. Isabel’s been restless the last couple of days, waking up intermittently and distraught for reasons that she cannot seem to figure out. To top it all off, despite the holidays fast approaching, her workload only seems to grow exponentially, and with the recent lack of sleep, the fatigue is getting harder to stave off.With a heavy exhale, she straightens up, willing herself back to her living room and to where she left her laptop on the couch. 

The words on the open document on her screen are ones she’s read enough times that she can recite them verbatim from memory, and yet, as she tries to come up with the next sentence, her mind draws a blank. With a groan, she pushes her screen down shut. Writing has always been her outlet of choice, allowing her to clear her head by losing herself in the topic of her current piece, and for it to fail her now when she’s most in need of a catharsis, she can’t help but feel even more untethered.The ding of her phone cuts through the silence, and she looks towards where it’s resting on the cushion to see an email notification pop up. 

Picking it up, she glides a finger over the bubble on the screen and sighs when she sees the subject line read: 

URGENT – Meeting w/ PR tomorrow

Without reading the contents, she closes her email app, deciding that at two in the morning, she just does not have the mental bandwidth to deal with any more work woes. But as she does, her photo stream appears, and a video begins to play. The camera zooms in, showing Steve carefully lifting a six-month-old Isabel up to blow bubbles on her belly, and she stops to watch Isabel giggle. In her desperation to soothe Isabel tonight, she had decided to play the video as she rocked her to sleep, and much to her relief, it had worked. Within minutes, and with Steve’s voice on loop in the background, Isabel had finally gone to bed.It’s when the frame switches to Steve and Isabel playing peek-a-boo that she finds her throat tightening. When she had moved six months ago, she had believed that not only was it the right decision, but also that the challenge of a new job and readjusting to a different country would aid her in moving on. But as Isabel’s soft coos and Steve’s laughter from the video fills the room, the sounds only seem to further underscore how big and empty her flat feels.

Her thoughts are interrupted by the audio cutting off, and she glares at the screen in anticipation of another work-related email, but her eyes only widen in surprise when she sees a text from Steve.

Hey, do you have time to talk tomorrow morning (late afternoon your time)? Just had a question…

As she reads the text, her eyebrows furrow. While they communicate several times a week, it’s only so he can video chat with Isabel or so she can send him Isabel’s latest photo. It’s not like him to shoot her a text out of the blue, and it’s even more so unusual for him to be vague about the subject. She bites her lip as she contemplates a reply, typing something out only to delete it. By her fourth attempt, her mind begins to race with a deluge of questions. With a huff, she puts her phone down, and finds herself almost grateful when she catches the porch light next door flicker on through her window. Hurriedly, she gets up, running through her foyer and hastily throwing her door open just as her neighbor is about to place their key into the lock. “Any chance you’re up for a nightcap?” she asks, biting her lip. 

Her neighbor turns, looking every bit as tired as any reasonable person returning home at this hour should. Nevertheless, he smirks. “When you’re offering?” he asks. “Always.”

“Long week, huh?” she asks later on as they sit on her couch, each clutching a glass of wine.

“Endless,” he says as he angles to face her. “Two back-to-back shifts with a twelve-hour surgery somewhere in between that nearly went critical, to be exact.”

“Nothing the great Dr. Laufeyson couldn’t handle, I’m sure,” she says, eyeing him knowingly.

“The patient survived, if that’s what you’re alluding to,” Loki says, prompting them both to laugh.

Her gaze falls to her wine, watching the dark liquid swirl as she rotates the glass in her hand. “Must be nice, though,” she says, “knowing what you do saves lives.” She looks over at him as she adds, “That of children, especially.”

“It is,” he agrees. “They’re wonderful and pure, as I’m sure you know. Not yet privy to the trickery and harshness of the world at large like we adults are... But that’s a conversation for a different time.” He takes a sip of his wine before arching a brow at her. “So, tell me, Miss Romanoff. What is it that has you keeping me from my bed?”

She scoffs. “Didn’t realize I had the power to make you do things you didn’t want to do.”

“I’d do anything for you and that little angel of yours,” he says before shrugging. “You know that.”

Loki’s words bring a smile to her face. For all her struggles in the last six months, meeting and getting to know him has been one of the bright spots that’s kept her going. That, and the fact that he lives next door and is up at ungodly hours like she is, is convenient – especially on nights like this when she could really use someone to talk to. It’s with that reminder that she sighs and goes about catching him up on everything that’s been plaguing her mind since the last time she saw him. When she finally gets to Steve’s text, she hands him her phone. “I’m probably just over analyzing it,” she says. “For all I know, he probably just wants to FaceTime with Izzie more.”

“Then why not just get to it then?” Loki challenges. “Natasha, let’s be honest about what this is really about.”   

She shakes her head. “I just said that he-”

“I don’t mean about him,” Loki says, sighing when she stares confusedly at him. “You’ve basically just admitted to missing the man-”

“I said no such thing!” 

Loki shoots her a withering look. “Do you’ve any idea how many parents deny how much sugar they’ve fed their kids as I hold the results of their child’s blood work in my hands?” He scoffs. “It’s easy to say things, Natasha, but you cannot deny what is so. I assume you sulking in the dark and watching videos of him and Izzie aren’t just because you’re feeling nostalgic.”

“What do you want me to say, Loki?” she asks. “That I’m freaking out about this because I’m... lonely? Tired? Tipsy?” She chuckles, but it’s humorless, hollow. Her voice is barely above a whisper as she adds, “or that moving thousands of miles away was for nothing seeing as I’m still so pathetically in love with someone who clearly doesn’t love me back and who can seemingly pull me apart with a single text?”

“Only if that’s the truth,” Loki says, making her shoulders sag in defeat. “Natasha, I didn’t mean to upset you.” He takes her hand in his, causing her to look at him. “I simply wanted you to be honest about what’s at play here.” He sighs. “I don’t claim to know what or how he feels. And for that matter, what you truly do, and I will not pry. But what I do know is that you are smart, strong, gorgeous, and any man would be lucky to have you. The ones that don’t see that? They’re idiots and they don’t deserve you.” Her lips quirk at that, and he smiles. “Remember that the next time you think one text from someone can pull you apart, hm?”

Loki punctuates his words with a gentle squeeze to her hand, and as she lets the gravity of his sentiment sink in, she nods. “Thanks,” she says, laughing when he only winks and brings her hand up to kiss her knuckles.  

By the time Loki bids her goodnight and she makes it to bed, her mind feels a little clearer. Maybe she’s right and that whatever it is Steve wants to ask her is something as small as wanting more time to talk to Isabel, but the reality is that she’ll never know if she doesn’t find out. And if it turns out to be something that takes a wrecking ball to her heart all over again, if what Loki said is anything to go by, then maybe she isn’t giving herself enough credit. She has made it this far – scars and all.

With that in mind, she reaches for her phone and searches for Steve’s message to type out her reply.

Sure! Talk to you then.

Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

[lovelykhaleesiii]

Tension

Pairing: Nomad!Steve Rogers x Reader

Words: 2,658

Summary: It seems that as the world turned against their beloved Captain America, Steve would turn against you. 

Warnings: angst, swearing, mentions of cheating, mentions of physical abuse, short time jump. 

A/N: this came out of nowhere that NO ONE asked for, but APPARENTLY I now have a thing for Steve, wow... Specifically Nomad!Steve if you couldn’t tell :o Hope ya’ll enjoy x (PLEASE DROP SOME FEEDBACK, would be much appreciated!!!) Don’t mind the shit writing! 

In the eyes of the public, Steve Rogers was a national treasure, a hero, and above all, righteous. Many refused to believe he was even capable of any wrong doing. “He’s Captain America, for god’s sake!” many would reason with. 

You’d met Steve during your time working for S.H.I.E.L.D as one of the leading Doctors working alongside Bruce Banner. Eventually, you’d befriended one another, only to fall for each other. There was something about him, that just lured you to him. Perhaps his subtle charisma or charm, was what probably made everyone admire Steve. 

And just like the public, you held the belief that he was incapable of evil... That was until he fell out of touch with the Avengers, from the whole ordeal of the Accords, for Bucky, Zemo and so forth. That whole saga had triggered something in his persona that slowly began to change day by day, as he plunged deeper and deeper into this rabbit hole he’d dug up for himself. His priorities, emotions and most importantly his beliefs shifted from what you’d felt used to. It was definitely clear to see that the man you'd once grown to know had become buried behind this somewhat of a stranger. Of course, there were times you alone, would have seen another side of Steve come about. Hints of jealousy, rage and even fear. 

Nonetheless, it made you think, if this sudden shift was just the final opportunity Steve grasped to embrace himself as he truly was. No longer upholding the facade that the public, the army or that S.H.I.E.L.D had created in the first place, that he for countless of years would compare himself to some sort of a circus monkey. Yet, despite the indifferences Steve was facing, he still chose to be with you.

One by one, he’d begun singling out the Avengers, with the exception of the small few who firmly decided to fight by his side from time to time when necessary or called upon. It seemed he’d begun to suppress the entire philosophy of the Avengers: the belief that they were indeed Earth’s mightiest heroes... 

He started to deepen his focus on taking up more missions, including some that the government had tried to neglect, mostly missions important to him. Succinctly, this meant less and lesser time spent with you, and vice versa, lesser time with Steve. You’re overthinking had caused you to feel as though it was his way of distancing himself.

He became unkempt, untidy: as though he no longer felt the need to care for himself. His hair grew out into some sort of a mane, his beard had fully grown, and from all the missions he was completing, the non-stop training, action and movement, he became somewhat bulkier. As his life intensified, it seemed his body grew to adapt to his: looking sturdier, stronger, as if mirroring his level of resilience. However, it also seemed that his new look made him seem less approachable, as from comments of the public regarding their affection towards their their beloved Captain America, had also began to deter. However that was untrue on your half. You loved Steve no matter the odds faced, and the undeniable fact that the both of you encountered yet pushed through so much adversity, his looks were certainly the least of your problems. 

Thus, he knew you well from the start, like a book he’d read multiple times. Much like himself, he knew you were not one to shy away from confrontation. Steve knew you’d want to confront him about his unusual behaviour as soon as he'd step through the door, and to be frank it seemed he didn’t care what you had to say. Most nights he'd either arrive late enough for you failing to stay awake, already fast asleep, or other nights, you’d wake up without him laying beside you. For the days that you’d managed to keep awake long enough to hear him hustling through the door, just in time to have the showdown with him, he’d brush you off. Most of the time he’d only spare a second to just look at you, too busy raiding the fridge for some food, or excusing himself to take a shower. It felt that he was on repeat, in an attempt to excuse himself, the words “I’m tired Y/N-”, “Not tonight Y/N-” would be enough for him to then just to slump his body right onto the bed without another word, often his back turned towards you, his face turned away from yours. 

And it was because of this, and as your attempt of teaching Capt a “lesson”, you’d sleep on the couch, away from him. Trying to make him guilty, as selfish as it may be... As these slow weeks went by, your agitation grew by the minute. The tension was brewing and you knew you’d erupt soon, whether Steve listened or not... He was going to get a mouthful.

That was until Natasha showed upto your rundown, shared apartment. Now that you guys were constantly on the move, there was no point in locating a permanent residence. Whatever space could provide sufficient shelter that was enough for Steve, then it was enough for you, no questions asked.

However, it was unusual to have guests, that including which ever remaining Avengers Steve continued to work with to show up, especially unannounced. It would mean something serious, however whether it concerned Steve or not was to be determined.

“Nat what’s up? Is Steve okay?”

“H-He’s fine Y/N. It’s just-”

She stopped midway, and couldn't help though longingly stare at you. To be frank, deep down it felt like a goodbye look you'd give to someone you know you won’t be seeing in a while. Trying to take in every final detail of that person. She seemed so anxious, which considering it now, was very unusual for Natasha. It was rare for someone or something to rattle the Black Widow herself.

“God, come in Nat-” Hastily you moved aside for her to freely walk through. She’d taken one last worried glance over her shoulder, as if concerned that she’d been caught or even followed, before you’d shut the dark wooden door closed completely.

“Nat this really isn’t like you, and you’re starting to worry me. Sit down, please. Is there anything I can get for you? Some tea, coffee-”

“Steve’s cheating on you!” 

The words immediately escaped her mouth, and she couldn't tear her gaze away from you. She felt the need to comfort you, although it seemed she didn't know how and for that remained in her seat. 

As for you, you could feel the sudden, sunken drop of your heart. Undoubtedly, you disagreed, gently shaking your head against her claims, trying to think logically, you felt this couldn't be true at all.

“But Steve’s always so busy on missions and-”

“Y/N please... You’re smart enough to know-”

“Know what Natasha? That Steve, the guy I’ve known for all these years, for all the shit that WE faced, would leave me for who?” 

And immediately from her pocket in her jacket, she threw down what seemed to be a photograph right onto the coffee table. You felt your body freeze, not wanting to reach and decipher the image yourself. You kept your focus on Nat, as she slowly rose from the worn-down couch.

“I tried to convince him, tried to persuade him that he should be the one to break it to you first. He wouldn’t listen Y/N... And as your friend-” 

Taking her quick steps towards you, raising her hands up firmly to hold you as she began to rub against the sides of your arms. It was the closest to support that she would show. 

“I couldn't let you be kept in the dark.”

***

That evening felt forever long: as the minutes and hours went by of you bitterly awaiting for Steve... Not even certain if it was one of those nights that he’d show up or not. 

You sat huddled up tightly to yourself on the couch, the image held in your hands as you’d examined it over and over again, thoroughly scanning over the faces. Seemed he found some time for a bar, probably out of town, sitting in the distance at the back away from the crowd, the table full of empty bottles of alcohol, along with some brunette making herself comfortable on his lap. You’d never felt so repulsed in your life, just the sheer thought of Steve seeking out an affair physically made you nauseous. Whatever happened to that righteous man you’d loved, was sadly now long gone. 

What made you most upset was that smile... As clear as day, Steve had a smile struck upon his face, his hands lingering all over her body. It was that sort of affection and attention you’d been craving for so long, and yet some stranger had beaten you to it... You felt gutted, absolutely humiliated to have been so blind to Steve’s intentions. You’d trusted him that deeply, enough for him to have taken it for advantage.

The sudden rattling of the keys unlocking the door, had snapped for your attention, shifting your focus on the hallway, waiting for Steve to show. 

“Up again I see. Y/N I’m really not in the mood for-”

“You cheated on me-” 

Now that caught his immediate attention, and rather than dragging his focus away from you, those icy blue eyes were all over you.

“What did you say?”

“You cheated on me... You cheated on me with some other random fucking girl. And you didn't even have the decency to come clean!” Voice raised high enough for the tenants on the other side of the wall to hear, you rose from your seat, threw the image down without breaking your focus on him. 

Looking down at the photograph, he knew exactly who the source was, and didn't question it. He remained as quiet as ever, burning the image into his memory, reliving that exact moment before he’d looked back unto you. 

“How long? Is she the only one you’ve been seeing or have you made this a habit?” 

“C’mon Y/N...” 

“How long Steve?” 

Uneasily he sighed, uncertain to answer although he felt now that you knew, there was no point in denying the truth to it. 

“5 months-” 

Taken aback, the hot streams of tears began to fall not out of sheer sadness nor the fact that your time with Steve, you knew had come to an unfortunate end, however you were somewhat relieved. This burden, this constant neglect was finally no longer something tomorrow would bring. 

“That was all I needed to know...” Not wanting to share another second in his presence, you turned bounding towards your room, desperate to just pack enough of your essentials to leave without any arguing. You had nothing more to say, nothing more to do except leave. 

“Y/N come on! Will you just let me explain-” 

Mimicking you, Steve followed you into the room, in an attempt to snatch your focus, whatever you’d shoved into your bag he took out, buying him some time to talk. 

“Explain what Steve?! That you’ve been lying every fucking day about where you’ve been, what you've been doing or more like who you’ve been doing? You kept me stuck in here, all alone, leading me on this entire fucking time, for 5 fucking months Steve? And for what?!”

With whatever mundane strength you had against the super-human, you tried to shove Steve away from you. Although little was achieved of that. Purely out of anger, you just felt your words did not amount enough to the anger coursing through your veins. 

“Y/N it’s been months since you’ve done anything to reach out to me, what was I suppose to do? Everyone kept expecting so much of me, so much good. Even if I screwed up just this one time, it’s the end of the fucking world. And where were you? I lost you when I lost everyone else. All it’s been is just you following me around, acting like nothing’s changed but it has and you can’t keep denying it Y/N!” 

His broad stature towered over you, a part of you intimidated that he’d lose himself to his volatile emotions, just as he did these past months. You felt you could no longer predict Steve, and that frightened you greatly. 

“Listen to yourself Steve! You’re blaming me for not caring when I’m the one staying up all day and night, waiting for you. And when I do try to make conversation all I'm met with are your pathetic fucking excuses... No actually your fucking lies, Steve!” 

And that was it, whatever you had left remaining in your bags that Steve hadn’t managed to throw out, you snatched and manoeuvred yourself around him heading for the door. The fierce grip on your forearm however wouldn't allow you to take another step. Rapidly turning to face him, as you tried shrugging him off, shaking your arm held tightly, you’d feel yourself bruising underneath his grip. His strength overpowered you, even if he simply held you with his one hand, however that didn't stop you.

“Steve just let me fucking go! You’ve-”

“Enough!” 

And strike! The sudden backhanded slap, forced you out of his grip, as your body collapsed to the floor. Your cheek began to burn, you could sense the dense palpation and heat of the strike brewing beneath your palm as you tried to conceal your face from anything else you feared might come from Steve. Although in the seconds after, nothing more. Peering through your fingers, despite the tears swelling in your eyes from the sudden pain, you could make out Steve standing where he stood, just staring down at you, his breathing heavy. 

“Y/N- B-Baby, please-”

Hastily kneeling down beside you, his hands reach towards your body wanting to help you, to cradle you, he knew that wasn't the best option. He did something terrible and it only took him a split second to know that. He had to approach you carefully, not wanting to frighten you any more in any possible way. 

“Y/N, baby, I’m s-so sorry-” 

His voice now tender, yearning for your forgiveness yet sounding broken. You felt frozen in your tracks, trying to support your half lying body, your palms leaning against the floor as you intently gazed towards Steve. No emotion was struck on your face, although with Steve... His concerned eyes now looked familiar more than ever before, like how they used to look at you whenever you’d enter the room. He’d noticed the injury to your cheek, and was able to figure the amount of brutal force he'd just unleashed unto you. 

“Y/N, b-baby please! I-I could never forgive myself, I could never-” 

“S-Steve I have to go...” 

In turn, now his eyes had swelled with tears. You rose immediately from where you fell, and reached for your bag off the grown, pacing straight for the door. 

You didn't dare to look back, not even feeling the temptation of wanting to. All you could hear was the broken, muffled cries of Steve, as he buried his face in his strong arms, rocking himself unable to stand his ground. 

He could nor would he ever forgive himself. From the start he vouched that hurting you, losing you, not protecting you would be his greatest downfall. And this day he’s actions had spoken for just that... 

Walking out of the building, stopping yourself by the door, you had no clue what step was next. Whether you’d ever see Steve face to face again would be a mystery. However it seemed that the tension of the world had just melted away for now. 

[dontcare77ghj]

Flustered

Steve x reader x Bucky x Natasha

The three had seen the horrors of the world. It was a place of fear and mistrust. They had been forced to live through their own horrors and to try and fix the world. 

They had suffered through hell and come yet still came back. For a long time, they each believed they deserved no better than the life they lived. Thankfully the universe gifted them better.

The universe gifted them with each other as well as Y/N Parker. 

Y/N was not a superhero. Y/N was not a mutant. Y/N Parker was a civilian and they couldn't be more grateful to have her.

She was a light at the end of the tunnel. A light they'd never thought available to them.

Y/N was not oblivious to the work her brother and partners shared. She knew what they faced daily and she knew none of them were unscathed to the atrocities of the world. 

Y/N knew she was not a hero. She didn't save the world but she didn't need to. She just wanted to protect her brother and her three partners.

"Med, there's no more counter space. I think it's time to stop." Natasha smiled, watching you move about the small kitchen.

"There's plenty of space." You waved her off, placing a tray of cookies on the table. "Besides I need to make a lot, Peter has an enhanced metabolism and food just disappears with Steve and Bucky."

"I still think you have enough," Natasha said, getting off her stool and moving behind you. "You have enough to feed a small army." She added, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"One more batch." You bargained, humming contently as you leaned back into her hold. "I haven't made the peanut butter ones you like."

"You're too nice for your own good." Natasha sighed, pressing her lips to your neck. You could feel your cheeks turn red and travel down your neck as she kissed your neck.

"Nat, stop." You laughed as she lingered on the sensitive spot on your neck. "The ovens on." You chided her lightly.

"You've done worse with the oven on." She reminded you, causing your face and neck to burn brighter.

"Nat!" You whined as she laughed.

"You're so easy to tease." She smirked, kissing your cheek and letting you go. "One more batch and that's it." She allowed you.

"Thank you, sweetheart." You grinned, kissing her quickly before getting back to work.

"We're back!" Bucky announced as you were pulling Natasha's batch out.

"And we brought Peter," Steve added. 

"So please have your clothes on," Peter begged, causing Natasha to laugh loudly and you to flush once more.

"Peter Benjamin Parker." You scolded him. "Don't be an ass." You stuttered through your embarrassment as he and your boys entered the kitchen.

"Don't swear in front of the child." Bucky teased you, leaning down to kiss you. 

"Are you okay?" You asked him, leaning back and looking his body over. "No broken bones? No blood pouring out of your body?" You checked with him.

"I'm fine, doll." He promised you, squeezing your shoulders gently.

"It was a good mission. Very little injuries." Steve said, pulling you into a hug.

"Little injuries mean someone got hurt." You pointed out. "So who was it?" You questioned, looking up at him.

Steve did not say anything but you caught Bucky looking between the blonde and your brother.

"Couch now, Steven." You said, pulling away from him. "You too, Pete." You added to your younger sibling who was happily munching away at the platefuls of cookies. 

"Somebody's in trouble." Natasha sang as Peter whined and Steve slouched over to the couch.

"Eat your cookies, Nat." You shook your head. "Buck, sit down and have something to eat." You directed him.

"Yes, doll." He agreed, kissing your cheek.

"Who's the most injured?" You asked, grabbing the first aid kit and sitting on the table in front of them.

"Steve." Peter blurted out quickly.

"So you." You nodded, shifting to face your brother. "Show me." You demanded him. 

Knowing better than to argue, Peter wordlessly raised his shirt showcasing a nasty looking gash.

"Are you going home to May tonight?" You asked the younger boy to distract him.

"Yeah." He breathed, gasping when you pressed an alcohol wipe to the wound. "I just wanted you to see I'm alive." He teased you.

"I am your older sibling I'm allowed to worry." You told the boy. "I'll get you to take May some cookies."

"We have plenty to spare, Pete," Natasha mentioned. "We could give you three containers and still have plenty." She added around a mouthful of cookie.

"Are you mocking me, Nat?" You asked, placing a large bandage on Peter's wound.

"Yes, she is, Y/N." Bucky dobbed. "You should punish her by giving me all the peanut butter cookies." He said before the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the apartment.

"No hitting." You and Steve scolded the two.

"Alright, Pete, you're all good. Go take a shower. There are clothes in the spare room." You said, patting his knee. 

"Thanks, Y/N," Peter said, embracing you before moving towards the bathroom.

"Alright Steve, show me what you did." You commanded, nodding at him.

"Technically HYDRA did it," Steve said, pulling his shirt off to reveal a   long cut on his arm.

"You run headfirst into trouble Steve. It's kinda your fault." Natasha told him as you began to wrap his arm.

"This looks like it's healing quickly. I don't need to stitch you up tonight." You said to him.

"What would we do without you, sweetheart?" Steve questioned, brushing hair off your face.

At the simple action, you could feel your cheeks burn red.

"I missed seeing that color." Steve chuckled, running his thumb down your cheeks. "It suits you so well, sweetheart."

"Shut up." You scoffed, ducking your head. 

"We can make that color appear in other ways, can't we doll?" Bucky teased, sitting on the couch behind you and Natasha sat in front of you.

"Guys I just want you to know I can hear you," Peter yelled, causing you to sink back on the couch as your partners howled. "I don't need to hear any of this!"

"I hate all of you." You said as your partners continued to laugh. "No more cookies for Peter and no sex for the three of you." You announced.

"You love us," Bucky said, throwing an arm over your shoulders. 

"Yeah, yeah I do." You admitted with a smile.

"Bucky you're not allowed to pick the movies anymore," Natasha said, pushing him onto the couch next to you. 

"Why?" Bucky whined, pulling you into his lap.

"Because you pick crappy movies," Steve answered, sitting next to the two of you. 

"What Rogers said." Natasha nodded, turning on her own movie. "And I'm not sitting through one of your choices again."

"Mean." Bucky pouted, resting his head in the crook of your neck. "You like my movie choices, don't you Y/N?"

"I liked it when you chose the Wizard of Oz." You smiled, running your fingers through his hair. "Just not some of your other choices."

"No-one appreciates me," Bucky whined as the movie began.

"Black Swan, Nat?" You questioned. "Didn't we already watch this one?"

"I love this movie." Natasha defended herself. "Besides it's better than Steve making us watch E.T. every other movie night."

"Bucky was right, no-one appreciates how hard it is to pick a movie," Steve said. The four of you settled back into the couch and relaxed as your movie night began.

"Alright, who wants hot chocolate?" You asked after the third movie. You stood from the couch and stretched to work out the kinks in your neck. The shirt you stole from Steve lifted with your arms, showing off your upper thighs.

"In a minute," Natasha said, gripping your waist and dragging you down onto her lap.

"Nat!" You gasped in surprise. "Give a girl a little warning."

"I like to surprise you," Natasha said, pulling you closer and pressing her face into your chest. "You're so warm."

"Tash!" You whined, body flushing as she snuggled into your chest. "Let me up, please, honey."

"I don't think so. I think I'll keep you." Natasha said, nibbling your neck. “I do love seeing this color on you.” She smirked as you turned bright red.

 "Steve help me." You begged, half turning towards him.

"Just try it, Rogers," Natasha dared the blonde, standing with you still in her arms. "She's mine."

"That sounds like a challenge to me," Bucky commented, standing next to Steve. "Does that sound like a challenge to you, Stevie?"

"Yes, it does." Steve nodded. "One chance to give this up Nat. Surrender Y/N and we can end this peacefully."

"Never." Natasha denied his request. Before you could fully comprehend exactly what was happening, Natasha tightened her grip on you and began to run you through your apartment.

You were laughing as Natasha skillfully dodged both Steve and Bucky. The two men were chasing the two of you through the relatively small apartment without letting up.

"You're surrounded now, Tash," Steve said as he and Bucky backed the two of you into the corner of the kitchen. 

"Give us Y/N," Bucky demanded as he and Steve advanced.

"Once again, never." She denied him. In a flurry of movements, you soon found yourself out of Natasha's arms and in Steve's.

"Victory is mine!" Steve declared, holding you close as you laughed.

"Victory is ours." Bucky corrected him, clutching Natasha close to his own chest.

"Thank you for the rescue, Stevie." You smiled, pressing your lips to his.

"Anytime sweetheart," Steve responded. 

"I say we take this to the bedroom, Steve," Bucky suggested. "We can celebrate our victory and consolidate Tasha's crushing defeat."

"Fuck you, Barnes." Natasha rolled her eyes. "Though I have to say, I do like the way you celebrate."

"So do I." Steve chuckled, carrying you bridal style towards the bedroom.  "What do you say, sweetheart? You want to celebrate?"

"Always." You smiled, jumping out of his arms. "Race you to the bedroom." You said before taking off, leaving your partners laughing behind you.

"You look like a kicked puppy." Peter laughed. "A kicked puppy in clothing that's too big for you."

"Don't make me send you back to May." You threatened him half-heartedly. "You love me." Peter teased as you poured yourself another glass of coffee.

Natasha, Steve, and Bucky had been out on a mission for almost two months now. You weren't allowed any contact with the three during this time, you weren't even allowed to know if they were alive or dead.

Peter had talked to May and he was staying with you for a little while they were on their mission. He'd made it his own personal mission to ensure you were taking care of yourself and not just worrying about your partners.

"Yes, I do." You said, pouring him a glass of orange juice. "You know you can go to sleep, Pete. It's three in the morning." You pointed out, handing him the glass.

"I've got school work anyway." He shrugged, gesturing to his computer.

"Whatcha working on?" You asked, sitting next to him.

"Spanish. I got a quiz tomorrow." He told you.

"I'd offer to help you, but I took French." You said, sipping your coffee.

"I should've taken French, I could've cheated off you then." Peter groaned.

"Tricher c'est mal." You smirked. "I'm gonna head to bed. Don't stay up too late." You said, pressing a kiss to his forehead."

"I won't." He promised. "Love you, Y/N."

"Love you too, Petey." You responded before walking back to your bedroom.

Contrary to what you told Peter, you weren't planning on going to sleep. You just couldn't let Peter see you right now.

You were so worried about Steve, Nat, and Bucky. They could be dead right now. You just needed a minute, needed a minute to breathe, and to control your thoughts.

It was Bucky, Steve, and Natasha. They were the best at their jobs, no-one could take them out.

Shaking your head, you turned on the T.V. and crawled into bed. It was a show Bucky was making the three of you watch, though none of you really cared for the show. You just enjoyed Bucky's reactions to the show.

You could hear Peter moving through the apartment as you began to drift off. You just needed to sleep. That's all you needed.

You were half asleep when you heard the bedroom door open.

"What's wrong, Pete?" You asked without opening your eyes. The bed dipped as someone sat next to you. It was only when the bed dipped in two other places, your eyes snapped open.

"Not Peter, doll," Steve smiled before you lunged forward. Your arms wound themselves around his neck as he pulled you taut to his body.

"You're back." You cried. "You're okay." 

"We're back, med," Natasha confirmed from behind you. Pulling yourself off Steve's chest, you turned and saw both your other partners sitting there. Perfectly okay.

Quickly you threw yourself into Natasha's arms and then Bucky's. After being in Bucky's arms for a minute you pulled back and began to run your hands over his body.

"Are you okay? Are you bleeding? Is anything broken?" You checked with him as your hands roamed his body.

Bucky chuckled before grabbing your hands in his.

"If you wanted to feel me up, you just had to ask, doll." He said, kissing your knuckles as you turned red. "We're fine. No injuries, no nothing. We're all fine." He promised.

Nodding you pressed your lips to his gently. 

"All three of you, shower and get changed. I'll get you something to eat." You said, standing from the bed.

"Yes ma'am." Natasha teased, quickly pulling you down for a kiss.

"Shower." You said after you both pulled apart. Before they moved into the bathroom you kissed Steve as well and moved into the kitchen. 

You made the three a large plate of food and went to take it back to the bedroom. You stopped in your tracks when you saw Peter asleep on the couch. You laid the younger boy down properly and placed a blanket over him.

When you entered the bedroom, you could still hear the shower running. Despite the relatively small apartment, you were very lucky to have a large shower. You placed the plate of food on the bedside before stripping yourself of Steve’s shirt and Bucky’s boxers.

“Room for one more?” You asked, entering the bathroom.

“Always, doll.” Bucky said, pulling you into the shower. Without a word, you lathered up the sponge and gently washed the three of them down. Despite the fact they weren’t injured, they allowed you to help them.

It was your way of helping them. It was your way of knowing they were okay.

After the shower was finished the four of you moved back into the bedroom. You pulled back on your clothes from before as the others put their own on as they ate.

It was not long before the four of you were a mess of tangled limbs and fast asleep. And it was the first sleep in weeks where any of you felt safe.

While Steve, Bucky and Natasha may save the world from danger on a near weekly basis, they all agreed you saved them daily. You were there for them. You were their flustered, civilian, girl. 

Taglist

@rvgrsbrns @smilexcaptainx @hopingforbarnes @starlingelliot @piper-koko-barnes-rogers @jelly-fishy-babie @skeletoresinthebasement @agent-barnes40 @reann-loves-sebstan @skadikh

Natasha Romanoff Taglist

@5aftermidnight @ohfuckno

Coming soon

Dean x reader x Cas

Bucky x reader x Natasha

Meg x reader x Cas

Wanda x reader x Vision

Steve x reader x Bucky x Peggy