#nick fury is the best grandpa

[reigningqueenofwords]

The Avenger's Neice

Word count: 914

Read on AO3

Part 1 of The Unknown Stark

Popping your gum, you had your backpack over your shoulder, and your hands in your hoodie pockets. It was a rainy day in New York City, but that was nothing new. Your hood was up, shielding your dark hair from the cold water. You loved when it rained, you did not love walking in it. You saw taxis all over, but it would be quicker, and cheaper to take the subway and walk. Just because you technically had the money, didn’t mean you weren’t going to be smart about it.

At last, you found yourself at your destination- Stark Tower. While you had complete access to it, you hardly ever visited. Tony always came to see you, or would facetime. Man was so busy you were amazed he found time to breath. Letting out a sigh, you walked in the front doors. “Heya, JARVIS!” You greeted him happily.

“Ah, Miss Stark, how are you?” You rolled your eyes at the greeting. “I should inform you that your father is out at the moment.”

That was no surprise. “First, stop calling me Miss Stark. Been telling you that since day one. Secondly, that really doesn’t come as news anymore. I’ll just hang out. Are the others here?” You paused, waiting to hear if you should just head to Tony’s level, or what.

“It would seem as if they are currently in the dining room, Miss Y/N.”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks.” That was a step up from ‘Miss Stark’ at least. What 15 year old wanted to be referred to like that? Not you.

As you’d been told, you walked into the kitchen and saw the Avengers. Or, to you, Uncle Bruce, Uncle Thor, Uncle Clint, Aunt Nat, and Uncle Steve. Outside of this room, the only people that knew you were Tony’s daughter were Tony, your mother, and Nick Fury. Who apparently didn’t take kindly to you calling him ‘grandpa’, and were then forced to refer to him as Mr. Fury. 

Thor was the first one to spot you, a grin spreading over his face. “Little one!” He chuckled, getting up and moving towards you. The others turned just as he picked you up in a hug. “It’s been too long!”

“Can’t. Breath.” You slapped his arm, making him chuckle and put you down. “It’s good to see you, too, Uncle Thor.” Letting out a small sigh, you smiled at the others. “Hey, guys.”

Dropping your bag off to the side, you moved to join them at the table while taking your hoodie off, taking half of Clint’s roast beef sandwich. You put your hoodie over the back of your chair while taking a bite. “Hey, you little shit.” He laughed when you smiled at him with a mouth full of food, making you look like a chipmunk.

Once you’d swallowed, you chuckled. “I had to walk the very long streets of New York City, and travel such a long way on the subway to get here. I’m famished.” You teased him, taking another bite.

“Why didn’t you just call? We could have sent a car.” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because I’m a normal 15 year old girl and not some spoiled brat?” You shrugged, reaching over and stealing the last half of Bruce’s soda. “Thanks, Uncle Bruce.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “You’re welcome.” Most of the time, they saw you for holidays and birthdays- unless they were on a mission. In which case, it was when they got back. “Anyways, what gives us the honor of the tiny Stark’s presence?” He teased you right back.

You’d downed the soda and gave Clint back part of his sandwich, making him roll his eyes. “You haven’t heard?” You looked around at their faces, each of them shaking their heads. “Mom was sent to prison…”

“Wait, what?” Steve wasn’t sure he heard that right. “What for? I mean, we’ve met your mom…” They all thought she was nice.

“Uh, murder?” You muttered. Everyone was stunned into silence. “I don’t know the details. I wasn’t allowed into court. All I know is that by the time she gets out, I’ll be old. Like…Steve old.” You tried to make a joke of it, but it didn’t go over too well.

Nat furrowed her brows. “Why didn’t she call Tony? He could have gotten her the best lawyers in the city.”

Sighing, you shrugged. “Since I was a kid, mom’s always talked about not relying on Dad.” You explained. “She did her best not to have to go running to him. For one, she always thought that him visiting and paying for stuff was enough, and secondly…you know that he doesn’t want people to know about me. The second he hires a lawyer for her, someway, somehow, that would be front page news. Whether or not it’s intentional.” You’d been raised to do your hardest to do things on your own.

“Nothing’s been on the news, either.” Bruce spoke up. “Not even a little mention at the bottom.”

“There wasn’t some big trial. She did the whole without a jury thing.” Why, you didn’t understand. “Look, you’d have to go see her for answers. I don’t have them. I’d been staying with a friend so I could keep going to school, but with it now being a long term thing…”

Clint nodded. “You’re moving here. Does Tony know? He hasn’t said anything.”

Hearing the elevator, you all turned to see Tony and Pepper. “Y/N/N?” He smiled. 

[pruesgaultier]

blackhill headcanons: little red edition

fanart by @sup3r-s0ldi3r

— It doesn’t take long for Ana to start calling them Mommy, but the problem is she started calling both of them Mommy, they had to sit her down and tell her to call Maria Mama, so there will be no more confusion

— Ana and Natasha really love peanut butter sandwiches, whenever Ana has nightmares, they eat peanut butter sandwiches together (they also have to stock up on peanut butter a lot)

— Ana likes being read to but only likes when Maria does it, so whenever Maria is reading, she’ll sit in her lap and Maria will read to her. Even if it’s not bedtime. Ana doesn’t really understand what’s being read but she enjoys it

— Maria and Nat love taking Ana to carnivals, amusement parks and aquariums/museums.

— Tony runs a DNA test on Ana to check if she’s Maria and Nat’s biological child because he thinks the resemblance is too uncanny and it’s rare for a redhead to have blue eyes (he’s disappointed to find out they’re not biologically related, it’s just a coincidence)

— When Nat and Maria take Ana to Clint’s farm, he turns on the movie Anastasia and says that it’s like her origin, Ana is confused but the movie becomes one of her favorites

— They don’t know Ana’s birthday, they only know she’s 3 because Melina (and Tony) were able to determine her age with tests. So, they let her choose a month and a day, she picks January 19th.

— Ana still has a bad relationship with baths so, Maria or Natasha have to get in with her (this lasts until she’s 6)

— Yelena and Clint teach Ana all their mischievous ways. Yelena teaches her stealth and how to hide in small places. Clint teaches Ana how to use bow and arrows, he even gets her a mini set as a present

— The Widows often get pictures of Ana and her progress. They’re also allowed to visit her whenever they want as long as they call first so Maria and Natasha can make sure they don’t have any plans

— Ana’s full name is Anastasia Irina Romanoff-Hill, when they put her in school they shorten it to Hill so no one figures out her connection to Nat

— When Ana is older, they do tell her about her biological mother Irina, and they find a picture in the files Nat took and let keep it. Some of the widows that knew Irina tell Ana stories about her.

— Introducing Ana to the pool was hard because of her fear of being held underwater, but once they reassured her that she could use floats and not go under, she loved it.

— Ana calls Nick Grandpa and he absolutely adores her. They play together a lot and he’ll never admit it, but he smiles more with her around. If they can’t find Ana, they check Nick’s home office and find her asleep on the couch (just like Natasha used to do at SHIELD)

— Carol, Maria R, Wanda, Pepper and Yelena all think they’re the favorite aunt and joke about it alot. (It’s really Maria because Ana is really interested in planes and Maria will teach her about them when Ana visits. Wanda is a close second because she uses her powers to make light shows to entertain Anastasia)

— Liho is very protective of Anastasia, she sleeps at the end of bed and will curl up on her when Ana is distressed. Maria even gets Anastasia a stuffed black cat to take with her when they travel because they can’t take Liho.

— Peter shows Anastasia his lego collection and she immediately wants some of her own. Since Maria and Natasha worry about her swallowing them, stepping on them, or not being able to put them up by herself, they get her building blocks. (The Christmas before she turns 7, they get her a huge lego set of Avengers tower. She’s very excited.)

[ynscrazylife]

Heyo! I hope you had a fab bday!!! I was wondering if I could request a ‘being ___ would include’ but for the reader being BlackHill (Nat and Maria’s) teen daughter? Ty for all the work you give us btw bestie its always so good

Being BlackHill’s Daughter Would Include . . .

Authors Note: Thank you! I did have a great day.

Request to be on a taglist (or multiple) here! (Taglists are at the end of the fic)

MCU Masterlist #1 | MCU Masterlist #2 |  Main Masterlist

PSA: Do NOT copy, steal, translate, plagiarize, republish, etc any of my works on Tumblr or any other platform. Also, do NOT claim any of my works as your own. All of these works are either requests I’ve gotten that people have wanted me to write or original ideas I’ve had for works. If you happen to take inspiration from anything I’ve written and want to write something inspired by that, please a) ask me first and b) IF I say yes, credit me as inspo in your post by tagging me and link whatever work of mine that inspired you. Thanks.

header c @/widowlayouts

Being the daughter of a top S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s second-in-command meant that you practically lived at the organization’s headquarters

Babysitter cancelled? You were sitting in the break room, usually being watched by Clint or Phil

Nick played an uncle role to you and you loved to tease him and call him “Grandpa”

Phil and Clint were like uncles, too

The three have a secret competition between themselves on who’s the best uncle to you

Clint claims he won when you called him the “fun uncle” once

Bobbi, Jemma, Daisy, and May are like aunts to you

Natasha, especially when you were little, usually promised you a cookie in exchange for you going up to Maria with your cute puppy dog eyes and asking if Natasha could skip mission paperwork

It worked 9/10 times

Maria would do the same if she wanted Natasha to not go on a mission

Which usually didn’t work because Fury butted in

And then your moms would use your cuteness against Fury, which always worked

He had a soft spot for you

From a young age, you were being trained in combat

Bobbi also insisted teaching your everything science-related

You loved doing experiments with her

Whenever one of your moms had to go away on a particularly long and dangerous mission, you’d be devastated

Fury did his best to plan it so one of your moms would always be with you

It was difficult, though, because you missed them a lot

When the Avengers were formed, each of them loved you

You were especially close to Steve and Sam

Tony loved to spoil you, too

He tried to convince your moms that Jarvis was a good enough babysitter (you and Jarvis were great friends) but that didn’t work

You took every opportunity you had to try and lift Thor’s hammer

But when Loki came along, things got difficult

When Clint was brainwashed by him and was forced fo tell Loki about you, he got a wicked idea. He quickly saw that you had all the Avengers wrapped around your finger and devised a plan to use you against them.

Naturally, he had Clint kidnap you

When the Avengers got a video that showed Clint holding you hostage and they saw how terrified you were, they were both devastated and angry

Natasha was especially heartbroken because Clint was her best friend

Thankfully, they were able to get you back, and Maria and Natasha were very protective over you

When Clint was returned to normal, it took some time for your uncle-niece relationship to be repaired

He apologized countless times to you and your moms

When Phil died, you were devastated

Maria had a big fight with Fury because she refused to keep the fact that Phil was alive from you and Natasha

Of course, she told you and Natasha that Phil was fine, and you both were elated

You weren’t supposed to tell the rest of the team, but you were too excited and let it slip

Fury couldn’t even be mad

You were also very close to Clint’s children and, when you got older, babysat them

The toughest time in your life was when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell

For starters, having to deal with many of the agents that were like family to you now being outed as villains was very difficult

You were disgusted to think that you had ever trusted them and angry about what they had done

You also had to watch your parents deal with this, which was very hard

Especially with Maria essentially losing her job

It was a lot on you emotionally, but you were hiding it because you didn’t want your moms to have to deal with this, too

You almost broke when Fury died, but just about managed to hold it together until you learned that he was alive

And the second you could you ran to him and hugged him

However it all came crashing down when you were taken hostage by an agent who wanted revenge and blamed Fury and Natasha for Pierce’s death

You were beyond terrified

Even when Clint had taken you hostage, a part of you didn’t believe that he’d actually hurt you

But this guy did

You were so scared of what was going to happen and if your parents would find you

Thankfully, they did

When you were pulled from unconsciousness and saw your moms crouched in front of you, worried, you almost thought you were dreaming

When Maria untied you from the chair you had been restrained to and Natasha picked you up, you started crying from relief

You were barely conscious but so glad to be out of there

On the way to the Quinjet, you caught glimpses of the Avengers fighting your captors

The whole time, Natasha was doing her best to make you comfortable and Maria was checking you for any injuries

You were floating in and out of consciousness but when you were awake, almost always Bruce was giving you a smile and updating you about whatever medical thing he was doing to help you

Natasha and Maria were great moms and you were very grateful for them

They were the best protectors and the best caregivers and always boasted about you to anyone and everyone they could

They also LOVED to tickle you

As did Fury, Phil, and the rest of the Avengers

They all thought you were adorable

Oh, and you and Carol instantly bonded

And ganged up on Fury

You learned a lot about the world through your moms and, when you were old enough, followed in their footsteps and became a secret agent

This time — for S.W.O.R.D.

You bonded with Darcy and Monica

And your moms freaked out when they learned about your experience with Westview

Butttt that’s a story for another time

Permanent Taglist: @natasharomanoffismywife @hehehehannahthings@paulawand @blackbat2020 @cerberus-spectre @marrymemcgrath@celestialbarnes @kathryndimitrescu @snipyloulou @big-galaxy-chaos@cc13723things @ycfwmalise14 @unexpected-character  (could not tag)  @passionswift @drayshadow

MCU Taglist: @stephanieromanoff @summerlovingbaby @ineffablebean@okkulta @procrastinatingsapphictrash @prettysbliss @caseyfish @sarahp-stan@thewidowsghost @basiclesbianbitch @mycosmicparadise@kidswhofightmonsters @xtraordinaryfangrl @peggycarter-steverogers@username23345 @ima-gi--na-tion @yori-nakajima @hi-i-1 @mmmmokdok@xxxtwilightaxelxxx @mads-weasley @tenaciousperfectionunknown @afraid-to-be-me @lilclownx @acertainredhead @natromanoffxox @lilymurphy03@thanossexual @avengersz-biotch @kozumekoi  @mjaudrey @un-name-d@leyannrae @buckyandstevesbitch @kuzomekou-blog​​ @nylevea

[lowkeyerror]

Love at First Sight

Harley Quinn x Reader

Word Count: 1441

No Warnings

Requested by: @confusinggemini612

Request: Hey, could you please do a Harley Quinn x Reader where the reader is a supersoldier that is a part of the Avengers? Reader is walking through NY & comes upon Harley & is immediately enamored with her. Thanks

An: I might've took the word enamored and ran with it. Hope you like it

Masterlist

You had always shown inhumane physical prowess even from a young age. You were faster, stronger, and more agile than anyone in your age range. You were a child back then so you didn't think anything of it.

As you grew older you uncovered the truth. Your great great grandpa had worked for Hydra during World War 2. He had stolen cases of the supersoldier serum in order to strengthen your bloodline. He started feeding it to your great grandpa as a child. Your great grandpa did the same to his son. So on and so forth.

Your father told you he had been hesitant to give it to you. He didn't know how it would affect you as you would be the first girl in the family to receive it. He said that he felt obligated to give it to you, it was a family tradition and he expected you to give it to your children if you ever had any.

You took the serum and destroyed all but one vile. That was the vile that got you into SHIELD. It took you to the top of the agency, directly to Nick Fury. Now Nick wasn't much of an emotional man but you could tell he was excited to see the serum. Moreover he was impressed by you. No one had ever seen a supersoldier that wasn't a man. In Fury's case he hadn't seen a supersoldier that wasn't Steve Rogers. He offered you a spot on the Avengers immediately. He hadn’t even seen your fighting ability but he didn't need to. You were a supersoldier which meant that you could be trained.

Steve worked with you the most for obvious reasons. He taught you how to control it all, to exceed your limits and to hold back when needed. You couldn't relate to Steve as much as everyone thought you would. You had explained to them that for you Steve would be like seeing yourself in the future. You hadn’t been through a war, you weren't experimented on, you didn't have hero prerequisites. That didn't stop you from kicking ass though.

However you were more than just a supersoldier or an Avenger. You were a seasoned New Yorker. The streets loved you and you loved them right back. You could always walk through your city without too much hassle. It was probably the only city you could walk through without being stopped. So you took advantage of that as much as you could. You walked everywhere you went. There was no crime in getting your steps in. Even if you trained with Earth's mightiest heroes.

A big part of walking in New York is watching where you were walking. If you didn't, you could bump into someone and if it was the wrong person a simple sorry wasn't going to cut it. Luckily for the woman who just fell backwards into your arms you weren't one of those people. You cast your eyes down only to be met with stellar baby blues staring right back at you.

" Thanks for the catch cutie but I got places to be," she pushed herself out of your arms and continued walking down the street.

You don't know why but you scrambled after the woman," Excuse me miss !"

She waited for you to catch up to her so you could walk side by side.

" I'm Y/n Y/n"

" Nice to meet ya Y/n Y/ln, I'm Harley Quinn," she stuck her hand out and you shook it.

" So did you chase after me for fun or did you want something from me?"

" Would you believe me if I said I just wanted to talk to you?"

You could see a smile forming on Harley's face, " hmmm I don't know. People who want to talk to women that look like me aren't usually the best"

" Would it help you to know that I'm a superhero?"

She arched one of her eyebrows," Oh really, like Batman or something?"

You shook your head," I'd say I'm a couple of grades above him."

She looked at you skeptically," Prove it"

You looked around for something heavy to lift that wouldn't cause too much of a scene. Your eyes settled on a bench that was bolted into the sidewalk.

" See that bench," you pointed and Harley nodded.

" If you can rip it outta the ground then maybe I'll believe it"

You walked up to the bench and with little effort yanked it out of the ground. You tossed it around a couple of times causing people to look at you in awe before sitting it back down.

" Ok I believe ya" she wrapped your arm around hers and started moving again.

" The bench convinced you?"

" That and I googled you after you walked away. You're one of those bigshot Avengers"

You smiled down at her," I am"

She hummed," So what's an Avenger doing talking to lil ol Harley?"

You ducked your head in embarrassment," Well if I'm completely honest. I don't really know. When you jumped out if my arms I just felt like I had to chase you down"

Her eyes locked on yours and you felt a tingle at the back of your neck. This woman had to be magical or something.

" Look Y/n you're a superhero, you don't need to be chasing around girls like me. There are plenty of respectable women that would be lucky to be with you," she tried to run off.

She didn't get very far before you tugged her back into you, " Harley the thing is I don't think there are any other girls like you. I know we just met and forgive for being so forward but I think this is what love at first sight feels like"

Harley looked around the street before pulling you into an empty alley," You aren't supposed to tell people you just met that you're in love with em, you know"

Your heart sped up a little," I know but-"

She placed a finger on your lips effectively shushing you," You don't even know me Y/n. I've got a rap sheet as big as the bible. I've got blood on my hands, I've been locked in an asylum, I steal, I blow things up, and I've got a phd. Sweetheart I'm crazy and trust me when I say that no one can deal with crazy for too long"

Well a lot of that was unexpected but it wasn't going to deter you. So what if Harley was a little more on the wild side. If anyone could handle it was you. You were a supersoldier, an Avenger, a New Yorker; you could handle a little crazy.

" I must be crazy too because everything you said went through one ear and out the other. I don't how you've done it Harley but I'm completely enamored by you. I want to know everything about you and I want to be there for the new things you do."

She rolled her eyes dramatically, " Y/n we can't do this"

You grabbed both of her hands," Well why not?"

She sighed but didn't try to remove her hands from yours," Because you're a hero and I'm a not so good guy?"

" Well not so good doesn't necessarily mean bad," your eyes were shining into hers.

" Why you gotta look at me that way?"

" What wa-"

Her lips smashed against yours without warning. Her arms locked behind your neck and your hands rested on her waist. Harley's kiss was just as wild as you anticipated. Your teeth clashed and her nose was brushing against yours. She pulled away from the kiss but you followed her lips. She pecked your lips a couple of times before beginning to kiss you all over your face.

" Does this mean you believe in love at first sight?" 

The woman in front of you turned a bright red," I- well maybe we'll see depending on how this all works out"

You kissed her cheek," I think I can hear the wedding bells in our future"

Harley turned even a deeper shade of red," You wanna marry me?"

" Definitely"

Harley was looking off in the distance," And have kids?"

The tips of your ears burned with embarrassment," A boy and girl"

Harley grabbed your hand and began to drag out of the alley and down the street.

" Where are we going?"

She giggled as she ran, " To the county office we're getting married"

" What happened to love at first sight was crazy?" You asked giggling along with her.

She smirked," Y/n I don't know if you picked up on this but… I love crazy"

[clintbartonruinedmylife]

Whumptober 2021 - Day 30

“How’s he doing?” Fury asked. He looked through a window in a room in the infirmary. On the other side lay Clint Barton on a bed, his hands and feet tied with padded leather straps. He seemed to stare at the ceiling but Fury knew the doctors had given him something and he was probably really out of it. 

“Not good,” Natasha said. She had folded her arms over her chest and Fury knew she was as worried as he himself. He had recruited Barton when he was still a teenager and he had to admit he always had a weak spot for the quirky archer. 

“He still refuses to eat,” Natasha continued, “... and the only way to get some food and water into him is through a tube. The moment the sedatives wear off he fights the ties and if they remove them he tries to kill himself, so...” 

“It’s two months now,” Fury said. Two months ago Bucky was killed during a mission and since then Clint had lost all his will to live.

“Nick, we’re talking about his soulmate, not just a meaningless fling,” she said. “You know how rare true soulmates are nowadays and he and Bucky…” she stopped and shook her head. 

“I know,” Fury said and took a deep breath. No one knew why, but in the last fifty years true soulmates became rarer and rarer. He had read in the newspaper that less than one percent of mankind still had true soulmates. He couldn’t imagine the pain when one’s soulmate died. 

“I wish I could do something for him,” Natash whispered. 

“I know,” Fury repeated. It had been hard to lose Bucky Barnes, one of his best agents. But now it seemed as if he would lose another one. 

“What happens now?” Nat wanted to know and Fury took a deep breath. His grandparents had been soulmates and when his grandpa died it took only a few days till his grandma followed him. She had lost her will to live and his mom had told him she had said a part of her soul was forcibly ripped out of her and there was no reason to live anymore. 

“I have no idea,” he sighed. “We can only wait and hope that he’s going to survive.” 

Natasha looked at him but he could see that she had no hope. Clint had lost half of his soul and they both knew he wouldn’t survive. It was only a matter of time.

“I’ll go to him,” she said then and smiled sadly. “Keep him some company till…” She didn’t finish her sentence but Fury nodded nevertheless.

“Yes,” he said. “That’s a good idea.” 

[lesbian-deadpool]

Hey, what about Nat's baby shower? Like what do you think the others will bring her and what will be her reaction to them?

Oh, and Nick Fury! Like how will he feel about his best spy being pregnant ? Do you think he will shed happy tears and then pretend like he has some dust allergy?

Pepper scheduled the whole thing. It was a surprise to both of you. (Mainly Natasha, bc everyone kept asking you what you needed/wanted. They mainly just wanted to actually manage to surprise Natasha)

Everyone yelled surprise as soon as you walked through the door, flicking the lights on. Natasha actually jumped. Then she started crying.

They all started ‘awwing’ at her, and she just whimpered out, “It’s the hormones.” Bc, she was so touched that they would do this for her.

They mainly bought you some baby stuff you might have needed. Some clothes, they even got Natasha some more maternity clothes.

Tony got you two a giant stork.

Oh, Fury.

Fury, Fury, Fury.

Natasha told him she was pregnant a few weeks after she found out, she wanted to wait longer, until she knew that the baby was going to “stick”. But with her job and everything, she had to do it as soon as possible.

Fury listened with a blank face as Natasha told him everything, only saying, “Very well, Agent.” after she had finished talking, “I schedule a meeting to discuss what you want to do and about your maternity leave.”

He then directed her to leave.

Natasha thought that he wasn’t the happiest about the situation. But as soon as she closed the door behind her, the static man reached up to wipe the tears from his eyes.

He was gonna be a grandpa!

[insaneasgardian]

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! Chatroom 1; Memes

Clint has started a chatroom

Tony has joined

Steve has joined

Bucky has joined

Sam has joined

Y/N has joined

Wanda has joined

Natasha has joined

Peter has joined

Loki has joined

Pietro has joined

Vision has joined

Bruce has joined

.

.

.

Y/N: Hi guys

Natasha: Heyyyyy Y/N/N!

Pietro: Hellooooo Y/N!

Steve: Good day ma’am.

Thor: Why, hello Y/N!

Sam: Hey, how you doin’?

Peter: Hi Ms. L/N!

Wanda: Hey Y/N!

Clint: Hiiiiiiiii Y/N!

Bruce: Morning Y/N :)

Vision: A very good day to you Ms.L/N

Bucky: Hi Y/N! 

Loki: Hello, tolerable midgardian.

Tony: 

Everybody: ....

Y/N: Ew.

Clint: I will gut you like a fish for saying that to my innocent baby!

Tony: Your baby is FAR from innocent ;)

Natasha: And now he’s trying to falsely accuse her!

Loki: I’m not surprised, he’s always been a disgrace, even to you low midgardians.

Tony: D: 

Bruce: The hulk has put Tony’s name on his list.

Tony: ....Of friends?

Bruce: No, that list is limited to Y/N and Nat. You my friend, are on Hulk’s NAUGHTY list!

Tony: >:O

Bruce: Anyway, Clint, why did you start this chatroom?

Clint: To introduce the 2 grandpas and the 2 GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT, GREAT grandpas to......

Peter: Memes!

Clint: Yesss!

Y/N: Sounds fun!

Steve: What is a Meme?

Bucky: I’ve heard the term...

Thor: I haven’t

Loki: I am NOT a very great grandpa, you are just very young midgardians.

Y/N: 😂

Vision:  meme/miːm/

noun1.an element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.

2.an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, often with slight variations.

Steve: .... I kind of get it.

Natasha: Let’s show you first, then you can catch on, how about that?

Wanda: Good idea Nat.

Bruce: I’ll go first!

Bruce: 

Wanda: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Clint: Why is that so relatable

Sam: That’s really funny, good one Bruce! 🤣

Thor: Wow... so these... ‘memes’ they make them out of us?

Pietro: Yes, there’s memes about basically everything, and everyone, even you!

Pietro:

Pietro: Like that!

Thor: It’s me!

Clint: HEY!

Y/N: 😂😂😂 It’s true! The rest of us working so hard to stop Thanos, where were you?!

Bucky: It’s true Clint, where were you?

Loki: I sacrificed myself, and you weren’t there to help! 

Clint: You came back to life though... you tricked us... AGAIN.

Natasha: It isn’t important... the question is... WHERE. WERE. YOU?

Clint: I HAD SOMETHING IMPORTANT GOING ON IN MY LIFE, OKAY?! ISSUES AT HOME, I HAD A DRUG ADDICTION, AND OH GOD....

Everybody: ....

Y/N: Clint... we... had no idea.

Bucky: Sorry buddy.

Natasha: Yea, if I knew, I would’ve never...

Thor: I’m sorry an image of me was used against you...

Loki: I.... apologise

Peter: But... Mr. Barton, you told me you didn’t make it because you were binging Brooklyn 99

Everybody: >:0

Loki: THERE WAS NO ‘ISSUES’!

Clint: PETER!! I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL ANYONE!!

Peter: :C

Tony: DON’T YOU DARE SHOUT AT MY CHILD!

Y/N: EVERYBODY RELAX!

Vision: I agree, we do not need another Civil War!

Sam: Yea, everybody, get BACK TO MEMEING!

Wanda: 

Loki: 😁 Ah yes, the good old days.

Pietro: Haha, old man!

Bucky: Lmao

Y/N: XD

Steve: I understood that reference!

Clint: WHY IS EVERYBODY GANGING UP ON ME?

Tony: 

Natasha: Bruh

Peter: >:O

Y/N: Gross...

Tony: Awww don’t worry Y/N, I’m ‘Stark naked’ just for you ;)

Y/N: 🤮

Loki: You keep your grubby mitts off her!

Bucky: YEA! NOT COOL!

Steve: You’re really pushing my buttons today Stark.

Thor: .... Midgardians have a very strange sense of humor.... one of which I do not approve.

Vision: 1010001010011100101010010110100101

Wanda: You alright Vis?

Vision: Ummm... yes.... how about we have a meme contest? I’ll judge!

Natasha: I’m in!

Vision: Okay... contestant 1, Peter!

Peter: Oh... ummm... okay

Peter: 

Y/N: Peter, you genius child!

Peter: :)

Steve: I don’t understand everyone’s obsession with my butt...?

Vision: I declare Peter the winner!

Sam: The rest of us haven’t even got a turn yet!

Vision: :C Fine... next contestant, Bucky!

Bucky: Watch me ;)

Bucky: 

Clint: I came here to have fun, I feel so attacked

Tony: 😂

Loki: >:)

Y/N: Poor Clint, but that’s hilarious Bucky!

Bucky: Thanks!

Vision: That’s pretty nice! Y/N, you’re up next!

Y/N:

Steve: >:O

Natasha: BAHAHAHA, THAT IS SO FUNNY!

Bruce: Made my day!

Peter: I love it!

Sam: So Steve 😂

Vision: Best one so far! Sam, you’re next!

Sam: 

Wanda: That’s so mean 😂

Tony: Lollllllllll

Bucky: Jerk :C

Vision: Not bad ;0. Wanda, you next...

Wanda: 

Bucky: Bro wth?!

Steve: That’s funny, you gotta admit Bucky.

Y/N: Nice Wanda!

Wanda: Thanks!

Pietro: That’s my sister!

Vision: That’s my girlfriend! Pietro is next!

Pietro: Sorry in advance Peter...

Peter: Why?

Pietro: 

Peter: ..... UNCLE BEN 😪😪😪😪😭😭😭😭😱😱😱😱😰😰😰😰

Peter has left

Y/N: What the hell Pietro? Look what you did!

Tony: You hurt Peter’s feelings!

Thor: Poor spider child?

Bruce: Is he okay?

Natasha: I’m pretty sure he’s not.

Y/N: He’s hyperventilating.

Bruce: I’m coming to check on him.

Bruce has left

Wanda: Good job Pietro.

Pietro: I didn’t know, I thought he got over it :C

Bucky: He’ll NEVER get over it idiot!

Steve: It’s always gonna be too soon for the kid!

Vision: Pietro is disqaulified, Natasha, you go next!

Natasha: 

Tony: lmfaooo.... did you know though?

Bucky: .... I feel awkard

Pietro: WOW NAT! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!

Steve: It isn’t bad though.

Y/N: Yea Pietro, you can’t talk!

Pietro: I’m sorry :C

Natasha: My meme was funny, everyone’s gotten over the civil war, unlike a certain BEN PARKER!

Vision: .... Steve next please.

Steve: I got a good one!

Tony: Oh boy.

Steve: 

Y/N: What the- 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Natasha: 😂😂😂 New avenger??

Tony: That’s actually pretty funny, doesn’t even need words 😂😂

Bucky: That’s great Stevie, but all I can focus on is Thor... Is that even Thor?!

Thor: Indeed, it is me :)

Y/N: Wow.....

Thor: Does that picture of me appease you Y/N? ;)

Y/N: You look great....

Thor: Thank you, though nobody can compare to your beauty.

Sam: Our buddy Thor pulling out all the stops here O.O

Loki: Pffft, he doesn’t even look THAT good!

Vision: Maybe you can prove how great you are! Because Loki, you’re next

Loki: Watch and learn peasants

Loki: 

Thor: ;O LOKI?!?!?!?! YOU’RE NOOBMASTER69?!??!?!? :CCCCC

Y/N: I. FRICKING. KNEW. IT! Loki omg 🤣

Tony: Loki is in deep shiiittttttttttt...

Wanda: I must compliment Loki on all the ways he discovers to annoy his brother 😂

Clint: Wowwwww.... after all this time of looking for Noobmaster69....

Bruce has joined

Peter has joined

Tony: Everything okay?

Bruce: Yea, he’s fine now.

Peter: Yea, I’m great! :DDDD

Y/N: Good to hear!

Peter: Mr. Loki is noobmaster69?!!!

Loki: Yes I am ;)

Thor: LOKIIIIIII!!! 

Loki: ... O.O I screwed up

Bruce: You realize that now?

Natasha: It’s a miracle Thor hasn’t killed him yet

Thor: YET.

Bucky: Oh shitttt.

Steve: Language....

Tony: lAngUAgE!

Steve: :C

Vision: Thor is next...

Thor: 

Thor: Noobmaster69... whom we now also know as LOKI!!!

Natasha: Wow, he’s pretty pissed about that.

Clint: I’m actually worried about Loki’s well being...

Loki: Oh don’t worry.... he won’t hurt me.

Thor: YET. I shall wait for the battle of memes to end first.

Vision: ...... Ummm.... anyway, next up is Tony.

Tony: Well... do I have a great meme up my sleeve ;)

Vision: Nothing about Y/N

Tony: Fine >:C

Y/N: Thanks Vis...

Tony: 

Y/N: Okay, that’s.... fine

Clint: At least it’s nothing about my baby Y/N.

Tony: Oh yea, speaking of Y/N... Y/N, do you like arc reactors?

Y/N: .....

Steve has kicked Tony from the chat

Natasha: About damn time!

Vision: Next up, Bruce!

Bruce: Okay

Bruce: 

Bucky: I remember that!

Peter: Me too! Especially Ms. L/N!

Sam: Oh yesss Y/N was all like -

Y/N: I love my spider baby <3

Peter: I love you too Ms. L/N!

Y/N :’)

Wanda: Wholesome content

Steve: SO cute!

Natasha: Adorableeeee <3

Y/N: Anyways who’s next Vis?

Vision: The last person... Clint!

Clint: I have been waiting...

Clint: 

Natasha: That’s totally Bucky!

Y/N: Lmao yea

Thor: Always ready to jump up and defend the Captain.

Bucky: Because that’s what best friends do!

Steve: :’) Awwww

Sam: .... I still think I’m his best friend

Bucky: Oh buzz off Wilson.

Vision: I AM READY WITH THE RESULTS!

Pietro: Let’s do this....

Vision: In 1st place... Clint!

Clint: Yeaaaa!

Vision: In 2nd place is Y/N!

Y/N: Yeshhhh

Peter: Well done Ms.L/N!

Vision: And 3rd place is Peter!!

Peter: Yayyy! :D

Wanda: Well done guys!

Loki: Congratulations

Thor: Really good job!

Natasha: GREAT work!

Pietro: lol noice

Sam: Good work!

Steve: Congrats!

Bucky: Well done!

Nick Fury has joined the chat

Everyone: .....

Nick Fury: 

Clint: ... That’s an option? If so, can I be in the meme department?

Nick Fury: GET BACK TO WORK! Nick Fury:

Everyone has left the chat

Nick Fury: I’m stuck babysitting a bunch of motherfucking babies.

[popculturebuffet]

Jake Reviews Stuff: Star Vs: Friendenemies

Happy pride all. I’m getting ahead of this one for a number of reasons:  1) It’s pride month and this episode is one of the most shiptastic things i’ve seen with two male characters since Robochris from bravest warriors. I mean it dosen’t quite reach “Creating a skull robot of your best friend because he won’t touch you a lot to make him jealous enough to do that” levels of romantic tension but it tries. 

2) My good friend @jess-the-vampire​ is a tomco shipper, and with things being rough for her I figure she could use this sooner rather than later. 3) Shows are actually coming back with Amphibia emerging from it’s year long odinsleep the same week Close Enough finally escapes from it’s dumpster after 10,000 years to conquer earth before it gets put back in there then escapes again and marries lord zedd.. I lost the metaphor the point is I want to keep Tom train, and other star arcs I have planned, moving at a steady clip. 

So with all of that yeah, i’m ready to go. No real exposition to dump again, come on let’s go after the cut!

We open with Marco at his laptop nervous about something and Star coming into his room tangled in christmas lights... so normal day at Casa Diaz.  Anyways Marco can’t help star out of her latest self made prison because he’s preording tickets to a Mackie Hand Film Festival. Mackie Hand is Marco’s faviorite martial artist and movie star, who died performing a stunt on himself.. accidentally.. did he give himself a death punch? Is this the same universe as regular show.. please say yes.  Anyway as is natural for Marco in the first two seasons as god apparently hates him, the tickets sell out instantly and he dosen’t get them, banging his head against his laptop as Star TRIES to comfort him , saying he might still be able to get them. Marco also says “Good things don’t happen to me”

I mean just look at Season 3. Anyways tom comes in licking a rainbow snowcone for no explained reason other than they wanted to make it obvious this was the Tomco episode. Tom asks to hang out and after Star, understandably at this point given you know, the horrible date where he tried to murder her best friend and the gaslighting a few weeks back, tells him a million times no, Tom explains he’s not here for her.. he’s here for Marco. Marco, given tom’s threatned to kill him twice now and tried to at least once, isn’t biting. Tom naturally has tickets to the festival as a trump card, and assumes that time he kidnapped marco and played him in ping pong for his freedom counts as a friend hang out, and geuinely apologizes for his behavior promising not to get angry. Really while as you probalby know we DO get the reveal later he was partly doing this whole thing to finish his anger managment... I do get the sense this apology, and a lot of this is GENUINE. We’ll get more into the why in a bit, but he does seem to genuinely want to bury the hatchet.  Marco pulls star aside and, given the last two times he saw Tom, the boy had some horrible scheme up his ripped sleeves, he understandably, and as it turns out correctly, thinks Tom is once again up to some sort of scheme, star is fully on board. I have. mixed feelings about this. On the one hand STar did forgive tom for the previous episodes mess and Ponyhead for much worse and it does set up the tiny plot curnel of corn that would grow into an entire corn field of her still having some friendly feelings toward tom. But it just feels weird, even with how cahotic star can be to have her flip flop from “Stop calling me” To “You should totlaly go on a date with the guy who harassed me and tried to kill you twice now. “. Especially since next time she has an episode with Tom, She’s fully resentful of him and a bit snarky and spends and episode, in part thanks to aformentioned magical severed ponyhead, suspicious of him playing games with her head again. We’ll get there soon obviously, i’m just saying it feels mildly off. 

So Marco decides, much like bart simpson that getting where he’s going’s worth it even if he has to ride with the devil himself and reluctantly agrees. We see the inside of Tom’s carriage for the first time, and see my good personal friend dead horse again on the outside, and it’s really nice.. lit by torches because mood lighting, but similar to his room it’s plushly decorated and even has two serious speakers and according to Tom 6 flatscreens. Damn I wish I had one of those.. that and I wouldn’t have to drive since I can’t due to my anxiety. Plus who wouldn’t want a firey horse skelton sidekick? Anyways Tom offers Marco cold cereal and Marco is frank with tom, pointing out he’s suddenly being nice to Marco after never being nice to him before and understandably isn’t sure he’s even a mackie hand fan but a bit of banter and trivia shows Marco that no, Tom really seems to be telling the truth.  Tom then confides in marco that he gets why Marco didn’t belivie him: Most people dont’ get past their preconcived perceptions of him. And here the series does flesh tom out a bit: Tom admits to not having many friends.. which frames the previous two episodes in a diffrent light. Sure his actions to Star are still very much not okay... but you at least see WHY he was so obessive about her: She was probably the first real friend he had that wasn’t a casual aquantince, his own family member, or a pet. Most Mewman kids his age probably weren’t too keen to hang out with what to them was a monster, rich or not, little raicst shits. And in the underworld most people probably just did whatever he asked because they were afraid of his temper or his parents fury, even if his parents are the nicest people in the underworld. So when he lost her, Tom didn’t know how to properly react and while his first attempt to win star back was genuine, it was marred by his refusal to adress his anger or control issues that likely lead to Star dumping him in the first place. While Star’s forgivness HERE is a bit werid, her willingness to give him another shot wasn’t: Tom was SEEMINGLY genuinely trying. He was in therapy, he’d been anger free for several days and most glowingly, when a stranger karate chopped his hand off in a misguided attempt to protect star.. he got upset but instnatlly went into his coping mechanisms.  The problem was as I covered in that review.. Tom didn’t WANT to change. That’s the thing about changing: you need to both know there is a problem and WANT to fix it. And even then, as we’ll see sometimes i’ts hard. I know, i’ve had my own personal issues i’ve had to change up as years went on. It’s a slippery slope you have to constnatly climb up. And BMB era tom.. just didn’t WANT to change he just wanted to do what he thought star wanted that would get her to take him back, and couldn’t understnad why she wouldn’t just listen to him and obey, two things not in star’s vocabulary for anyone much less her ex. 

So , much like I did, rather than blame himself for screwing things up, he just saw it as Marco being in the way and tried to fix that. And so he sunk to rock bottom.. but it didn’t fix their relationship and it took Marco having an honest conversation, as someone who was also very close to her and knew her well, to get him to see that Star wasn’t going to take him back unless she wanted it.. what he was doing was selfish and self destructive.. and Tom probably realized in that moment he had to stop. He let her go, and thus as I put al ot of emphasis on last time, made his first step to being better.  And to me that’s why this makes sense as his next step: While it’s partly to fufill a checklist... you get the sense he really DOES like marco on some level. They hung out, which I do feel tom did genuinely feel was like friends hanging out instead of you know the second highest stakes game of ping pong i’ve ever seen. 

The first if your curious. So while part of this is Tom just wanting to get through anger managment for likely his parent’s sake, part of it is also him genuinely wanting to be somebody’s buddy, anybody but a bumbling butler. It’s just being Tom, he dosen’t know HOW to make friends or get them to see past who he is surface wise; a spoiled angry boy and see the inside, a nice kid who just has no idea how to talk to people beyond a surface level or understand them and we’ll see that more both in this episode and as we go. Speaking of going back in the episode proper, two bros drive up and insult Tom’s carriage also wondering if he’s going to his grandpa’s funeral. Fuck you both.. both on general principal and becaause his grandpapapapapapaaaaaaaaaaaa is alive and magnificent. 

Satan bless you Relicor. Anyways, Tom is naturally pissed at this and Marco challenges them to a race.. but eases tom off actually following them as, since this isn’t a fast and the furious movie, the police immidelty arest them and we get the blessed image above. Let’s see that again.

NOGODWHY

Not right but it’ll have to do I fear what may happen if I try again.  ONE BALLON DICK GIRAFFE LATER, our boys are on a high, as Tom finds there are things more fun than obletarating people. #tomhaskilledmultiplepeopleandisstillthebestboy. Marco is reminded of a song from his faviorite band Love Sentence, and Tom, suprisingy given his My Chemical Romance with a splash of metal astetic, is not only a huge fan but has a giant Helga Patiaki esque shrine to them complete with a cd player with shuffle. Fancy. 

We then get a wonderful, shiptastic montage of the two just hanging out, hanging out with a white tiger. Having themselves a party. And given the song itself, sung by 98 Degrees and horrible realtiy show Newleywed’s alumnus Nick Lachey, even says “we used to be enimies but now we have chemistry” yeah I think this is intentional and they are a good ship. Are they my prefered ships for the characters? No tha’ts kelly and flame princess... the last one was recent and I love a good crossover ship sue me. But I do headcanon both as still Bi and still find the ship great, it’s just not my main one. 

However the good times can’t last as it is film time... but Tom refuses to let marco leave befor eblowing his top off... dude that’s not how you build a suppportive relationship, you know this by now. Turns out the white tiger I haven’t mentioned to now is actually Brian, vocied my boy Stephen Root who apparently just.. lives at DIsney’s animation studios now as he has a tendency to show up in every other animated disney show. You may know him from Gravity Falls as Bud Gleeful, THe Mayor from Amphibia, or , in non disney voice work, Bill Dautrive. Turns out as I haven’t even tried to hide, Tom was in the final stage of his anger managment class and to get out of it had had to spend 3 hours with the person he hated most. As I said I do think part of it was GENUINE on tom’s part, that he was trying to be what he thought friends were... it’s just he didn’t get that Marco, if grumblinignly, probably STILL would’ve agreed if he were honest.  However.. it’s still a step up. While i’ts still a scheme, and his LAST on the show.. it’s more benign after the last two; Instead of being harmful his scheme this time is just “Bribe my worst enemy into hanging out with me and get out of anger managment” it’s still not quite right, but compared to the things he’s done with star, it’s an improvment and a sign he is changing despite himself. He could’ve just kidnapped marco again and forced him to spend the three hours.. granted this might’ve just been Brian saying, obviously no tha tdosen’t count, but still, instead he tried being nice and giving an apology. Even if it was for personal gain on some level, Marco’s words clearly got to him and he’s now trying genuinely unselfish tactics. It’s also notable since he spent the three hours with marco, and at least half an hour of awkarndess before it got all fun, WITHOUT getting angry or falling back on old stratgies and only beefing it at the end because, as i’ve established, he dosen’t get people.  So naturally tom gets mad.. while it is a sign he’s getting better he dosen’t do his trademark horrifying demonic EXPLOSION of rage... he’s still being petulant and sore over his failure is mad at marco for pritoritzing the tickets nad destroys them. Marco naturally calls him out, angry over him manipulating him to get some badge , as he puts it, calls him a jerk and a liar, accurate and the worst part to marco? “I WAS DUMB ENOUGH TO FALL FOR IT”

Credit where it’s due while I may not LIKE adam mcarthur as a person...as a voice actor he is excellent and his delivery here is perfect as you do get the pain in Marco’s voice as he genuinely ahd grown to care for tom. Wethere it was friendship or wanting to make out... probably wanting to make out, you get the pain in his voice. Tom admits the love sentence hting wasn’t a lie.. but too little too late.. whcih is marco’s second faviorite love sentence song and leads to another moment of shippy goodness. Seriously I see why this ship exploded in popularity after this. Also I will say both Adam and Rider have damn pretty voices.  So Tom does what any romantic lead faced with a third act breakup would do.. say a demonic chant and bring Mackie Hand back from the dead. This is also the first time we see just how fucking powerful tom is. Before we’ve seen him summon his carriage and immolate some stuff and easily reattach a hand.. but this is the first time that we see he’s every pit as powerful as star, who probably could raise the dead she just dosen’t want to. Granted I don’t know why this sort of undead stuff hasn’t been used on say, Moons assitnated mother, but presumibly anti-monster stigma combined with the fact that we don’t know HOW she died or how much was left, and are probably better off that way solve that. It goes a long way to explain why Tom’s family are allies instead of the conquered like most monsters: They have equal , if far diffrent and spookier, magic power and are the only kingdom with this trump card besides the butterfly kingdom. 

So as we close Marco tries to use Mackie to get in, the usher dosen’t buy it and a fight insues, but Marco and Tom patch things up, Tom becoming a fan of Mackie now he’s seen what the guy can do and Marco forgiving tom since, evne if his actions were still a bit greasy, he immidetly did his best to try and fix what he broke. The two are friends again despite them both saying they hate each other... but they clearly mean it playfully. The End.  Final Thoughts: After the Slog that was last episode this one is a fan faviorite for a reason... well okay 2 reasons. One...

And two.. it’s excellent. I feel bad it took me years to see this one, but it’s one of season 2′s finest. It’s funny, has great character stuff for both boys, introduces a new ship that’s fantastic and a great new dynamic between Tom and Marco that would carry for the rest of the show. It also beliviebly advances Tom’s character arc: He’s TRYING a bit but he’s still got a bit of the scheming and selfishness that defined his earlier outings, but it’s telling that after this episode, and hurting marco, he stops. This episode REALLY gets him to change that and for the better.  Sadly Tom would only make one more apperance this season in Naysaya, an episode I will cover when I cover Jackie and Marco at some point, but has him show up for a cameo when it turns out the episodes antagonist, a curse that takes the form of a sentient head that spills the target’s worst secrets and insecurities when they try to ask someone they like out, is Tom’s fault from back when he was a baddie, and Tom genuinely apologizes and tells him how to vanquish it, if ribs marco a bit since he cast that curse presumibly sometime between BMB and MCC and is delighed and suprised that Marco seriously hadn’t asked anyone out in that time. But it’s a nice bit that shows their not only still friends but Tom is genuinely sorry for some of his earlier behavior. We’ll see more of that as we go and more of tom trying to be better.. he’s made up with Marco, next time we come back to tomtrospective, we’ll see how it goes with Star. 

Coming up besides the obvious, as Pride Winds down I’ll have my first steven unvierse coverage, one of the first openly gay couples in western animation, and some asexula pride as we take our first look at Bojack Horseman..’s loveable rommate todd. Until we meet again, stay safe, black lives matter and later days. 

[natrogersfics]

First daddy daughter dance at Isabel’s dance studio. With Steve on stage and Natasha videotaping. Obviously... Alternative: Isabel’s first dance recital. With grandpa fury and both grandmas and all of their parents friends cheering for her.

Steve’s chuckle causes Natasha to look up, a smirk making its way across her face when she follows his gaze to where Sarah, Melinda, and Nick sit. She couldn’t speak for Sarah, but if someone had told her that one day she would find General Fury and Colonel May at the front row of a pre-K Spring musical, miming the steps to the routine of their three-year-old granddaughter who’s dressed as a sunflower, she would have cackled in their face.

“If only the military could see this,” Natasha mutters, catching the way Steve’s lips twitch even in the darkness of the auditorium.

“Five more seconds! Thor, get the camera! Get the camera!”

Natasha rolls her eyes fondly at Jane’s whispered yells, but she only has a moment to ponder how surreal it is that their colleagues (some of whom couldn’t even make it to work on time two days in a row if they tried) had gotten here before she and Steve had when the music shifts, a tune she’s come to know by heart thanks to the millions of rehearsals Isabel had demanded they have at home. On cue, Isabel moves to the center of the stage, and she and Steve share a smile as their daughter begins her solo.

“You did so well!” Melinda, who had practically grabbed Isabel the second the show was over, exclaims.

“I can see it now,” Sarah says, her hand sweeping out before her. “Isabel Romanoff Rogers, Tony winner!”

“Mhmm,” Nick agrees with a nod, tapping Isabel on the nose and earning a giggle from the little girl. “You were the best sunflower ever!”

“They do realize that she was the only sunflower, right?” Steve asks from where they stand a few feet away.

Natasha snorts, watching as all three grandparents shower their daughter with hugs and kisses while their friends wait patiently on the side for their turn. “Like it matters.”

Drabbles Masterlist

[bravadoseries]

STARS & STRIPES CHRONOLOGY - UPDATED

0.5 Midsummer | Agent Carter | Audrey Carter grows up surrounded by misfits, from her secret agent mother to her Broadway star aunt to her genius (yet incredibly stupid) cousin. Snapshots of her childhood and some of her favorite memories.

1. Monachopsis | The Avengers | In which Steve Rogers emerges from the ice to find that he left more behind than he thought. Or, Peggy was pregnant when the Valkyrie crashed, leaving Captain America with a half-super-soldier daughter and a lot of catching up to do. Against a backdrop of alien invasions and near-world destruction, the two star-spangled heroes attempt to found a relationship.

2. Nodus Tollens | up to CA:TWS | After the Battle of New York, Audrey and Steve are adjusting to life in Avengers tower. While her dad fumbles his way to a date with Darcy Lewis, Audrey deals with the trials of her own love life (namely, DGSE agent Delphine Lamontagne), being Doctor Foster’s bodyguard during Another Alien Invasion, espionage, and a transfer to Washington DC. Bruce Banner/OC

3. Oblivion | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | A mission gone awry leads Audrey, Steve, and Natasha to discover that SHIELD is not what it seems. New enemies, new allies, and the ruination of her roots throw Audrey headfirst into a fight that blurs the lines between good and evil.

3.5. Symbiosis | from CA:TWS to A:AOU | It's that classic story. Olivia Perales is a baker in New York. Sam Wilson is the newest Avenger who saves her from an armed robbery. You know how these things go. Sam Wilson/OC

4. Aurora | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Almost a year after DC, Audrey, Sam, and Steve have been searching desperately for Bucky to no avail. A new threat arises, however, in the form of Ultron, Tony’s robot-gone-wrong, who believes inherently that the key to saving the world is ending the human race. The fight leads Audrey to the Maximoff twins - powerful, dangerous, and terrifying. Against impossible odds, the Avengers reunite once again to save earth from destruction. Bruce/OC, Helen Cho/OC, Steve Rogers/Darcy Lewis

4.5. Redamancy | Post AOU | Pietro and Wanda Maximoff were anti-America anarchists just months ago—now, they’re the world’s newest Avengers. The Maximoffs must navigate the road to heroism, their respective romances with medic Mattie Rowland and security guard Oliver Modi, their friendships with the other Avengers, their complicated relationships with working for the country they once hated, and the winding force that tethers the twins to each other. Wanda Maximoff/OC, Pietro Maximoff/OC

5. Elysian | Post AOU | In the wake of Bruce’s disappearance and the fight to stop Ultron, Audrey struggles to make sense of the silence between wars as everything slips through her fingers. Bruce Banner/OC

5.5 Dreamer | from CA:TWS to CA:CW | Juliette Fury, Nick Fury's daughter and favorite Rising Tide hacker, has always had a rule about not dating S.H.I.E.L.D. agents—but, uh, dating the guy who helped burn S.H.I.E.L.D. to the ground is the opposite of that, so…? Bucky Barnes/OC

6. Allegiance | Captain America: Civil War | When a disaster in Wakanda threatens to schism the team, Audrey is forced to choose between her father and one of her best friends, all the while grieving the loss of her mother. For once, the enemy isn’t really an enemy, and she’s faced with a conflict in morality over whether or not she’s the hero. Though desperately trying to reunite the team, it seems the only way out of the fight is through.

7. Eternity | Thor: Ragnarok & Avengers: Infinity War | After a year on the run, Audrey trips down the wrong rabbit hole and ends up in a faraway world of gods and monsters. Although reunited with Bruce, Audrey is soon caught up in wars between worlds and trapped with a role she never wanted to play: savior. Bruce Banner/OC, Valkyrie/OC, Loki/OC

8. Metanoia | Avengers: Endgame | Five years after Ultron's victory, Audrey wakes up on the wrong side of the universe with Carol Danvers. Knowing that the Avengers need to try again, she heads onto a ship and begins a journey across the universe to challenge the man who took everything from her. Multi-ship, but mostly Bruce/OC.

8.5 Meliorism | Post Avengers: Endgame through Thor: Love & Thunder | Loki, God of Mischief. Amanita, Head of Avengers Product Design. Put them in space with the second God of Thunder and the New King of Asgard and you get, well, this. Loki/OC

9. Ostranenie | The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | Sam Wilson takes up the mantle of Captain America.  Olivia Perales won’t let the fact that she’s heavily pregnant stop her from fighting by her husband’s side.  Bucky Barnes gets back in the game.  Juliette Fury continues to disrupt the system.  Sharon Carter accepts the burden of Peggy’s legacy.  Beckett Hope is a mysterious stranger.    Welcome to the new Team Cap.  Sam/OC, Bucky/OC, Sharon/OC

10. Arcadian | Post-Infinity Saga | Margo Banner’s life is anything but usual. Her parents are superheroes, her grandpa is turning 150 soon, her grandma was a spy during World War II, and she’s got super strength. When she starts her first year at the Avengers Academy, she doesn’t think that life can get any stranger. She’s wrong. Multi-ship.

[cptn-stvngrntrgrs]

A Post-Avenger Nick Fury accidentally goes to the future and sees his two best agents (Steve and Nat) are married. Natasha notices Nick isn't from their timeline (she just knows lol black widow tingle) and Steve gets a smug grin and just says "Best matchmaker ever" Nicky Fury returns to the past and calls Steve and Nat to his office to offically "partner then up" and said to himself, "this two motherfuckers don't know what's in store for them" NICK FURY IS THE OG MATCHMAKER 🤪🤪🤪🤪

hi anon! i know this took me a while to finish but i hope you like it! thanks for the prompt!

Title: when push comes to shove

Relationship: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanoff

Summary:

These two motherfuckers don’t know what’s in store for them.

so the future part of this place takes place after Endgame.

modifications: Steve and Natasha has been married before IW. They had kids in those five years between IW and Endgame. And of as per my usual, no one dies XD enjoy!

Also on AO3!

“Motherfu-”

–

Nick Fury woke up in his room, his head pounding. He couldn’t remember much except for an explosion at the SHIELD facility the day before. Has it been a day? He only remembers getting hit with a ray of light. And suddenly, he woke up. He propped himself up on his headboard gently, his vision swimming.

After steadying himself, he squinted and looked around his room. It looks different from how he left it from. He remained sitting that way, analyzing his surroundings. It’s most definitely his room, yes, but also, it doesn’t feel like it. He heard a beep and looked down at his phone.

Frowning, he took the device and examined it. It’s most likely his personal phone because it’s not SHIELD issued but why does it look so… advanced? He patted the jeans he was wearing - Why is he wearing jeans to bed? - and took out a phone. His phone. It’s an iPhone 5. The one that is currently beeping looks way too modern. What is this, an iPhone 12?!

Nick checked the newer phone in his hand. It immediately unlocked when he brought it up to his face level. What in the SHIELD tech power is this?Opening the messages app, he saw an unread text from Natasha R. Hm, Romanoff.

“ Hey Nick, let me know when you get there! Have a safe flight! The kids miss you already.”

“What the-”

There was a photo underneath the text - of two young kids pouting at the camera. The boy has reddish-blond hair while the little girl has long blonde curls.

“Why is Romanoff sending me pictures of kids all of a sudden…” he muttered to himself, feeling his headache come back - this time, from stress. What is happening to him? Last time he saw Natasha was two days ago, giving him an update on the Chitauri clean-up happening in New York.

Gathering himself, he walked to his living room to turn the TV on. He almost did a double take; his living room is vastly different from how he remembered it. What felt like a bachelor’s pad before - bare walls, sleek black leather sofa and a matching glass table - is now replaced with a leather sectional and picture frames all over the place.

He sauntered over to the shelf that holds what looks like awards and photos. One of the framed photographs looks like a wedding, looking closer, he almost dropped it when he realized who were getting married.

It was Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. And it looked like he officiated the wedding, based on how he was at the head of the altar looking at the two happily. Next to that is a photo of two kids smiling brightly, the same kids he saw on his phone earlier, sitting on his lap on what looks like Christmas morning - And is he wearing a Santa costume??!! The frame’s border has an engraved “World’s Best Grandpa” on it.

Well, he’ll be damned.

–

Okay, Nick Fury pieced it all together. After a while of brooding and confusion, he figured that he’s not in 2012 anymore. How he got there, he has no idea. So far his theories are severe memory loss or time travel. He’s witnessed the cutest, cuddliest cat eat a person and just a month ago, aliens were on New York City. So, really, the possibilities are endless.

After figuring out how to get to Natasha’s house, he stopped on the sidewalk to take it all in first. Who would’ve thought - his best agent and master spy, living in a house with a literal white picket fence. And has two children. Married to the American Icon. Oh, the number of Cold War jokes he could think of right now.

His reverie was broken by screams of “Grandpa Nick!” and he turned just in time to see two bouncing children run to him and latch themselves on each of his leg. He looked down and smiled at them, awkwardly patting their head.

“Grampa Nick, you’re back!” the little girl basically screamed, tugging on the sleeve of his pants.

“Mommy said we won’t see you until next week!” the boy told him, giggling, and failing to notice the strange look he had on his face. He was thinking of something to say until a voice cut him off his thoughts.

“Nick? What are you doing here?” Natasha asked, leaning on the doorframe and looking at them. By her legs is a golden retriever watching him. Dang, they even have a golden retriever. Nick smiled and shook his head at the thought.

“I, uh, decided to stay…?” he answered her, well, more of asked, really. The kids let go of his legs and took each one of his hand, pulling him to get inside the house.

Natasha arched a brow and stepped aside to let them in. “Steve is grilling on the backyard, we’re still waiting for some of the guests to arrive,” she informed him, watching him sit on the couch.

Nick nodded absent-mindedly as he looked around the living room; the house just feels so warm and so… not Natasha. Not that he doesn’t think she’s a warm person, no, but she’s just not one to settle for domesticity. That’s why she’s one of his best agents - she’s not one to get attached or dwell on herself for too long. She’s cold and closed off - he knows that the only ones to get through her barrier are himself, Clint, and occasionally, Maria Hill. So to see this Natasha - wearing a casual tee and shorts, with her hair long and up in a messy bun - is a nice change.

She also looks younger and happier . Nick isn’t one for using cheesy words or anything, but there’s nothing else to describe it - Natasha is positively glowing. Natasha caught Nick looking at her and narrowed her eyes and tilted her head while he gave her the look . It’s the look he usually gives her when she questions him during meetings and she laughed.

“You know, I missed that look,” she said, moving to sit next to him, the little boy on his lap. “I haven’t seen that since your last meeting,” she said fondly, stroking the boy’s hair.

“My last meeting?” he asked incredulously. Surely she’s not implying that-

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him once again. “Yes. You know, the last meeting you had before retiring?” Nick’s eyes widened fractionally - never the one to openly display his reactions, but Natasha noticed it nonetheless - and he stayed silent. Natasha sighed, leaning back on the couch. “You’re not Nick Fury, are you?”

Nick frowned. “The he-” he was going to say ‘hell’ until Natasha widened her eyes and looked down at the boy on her lap. Nick cleared his throat. “What do you mean, I’m not Nick Fury? You know me better than that, Romanoff.”

Natasha chuckled and poked the child. “Hey James, go get daddy and play with Sarah for a little bit please?” the boy - James, it seems - beamed up at her and kissed her cheek before jumping down and running out. Natasha looked back up at Nick, who was watching the two intently. “See, that’s how I knew you’re not Nick.”

Nick opened his mouth to defend himself but Natasha held up a hand to continue. “Yes, you’re Nick Fury - I don’t think you’re a Skrull,” she said, smiling and shaking her head. “But I have a feeling that you’re not from this timeline, aren’t you?” she asked, as if a person not in the same ‘timeline’ is a very normal occurrence. Since when did she know about Skrulls? Is Carol back?

He was about to answer when Steve Rogers walked in, an apron fastened around his waist. Nick tried not to laugh as he got closer and leaned down to kiss the top of Natasha’s head as if he hadn’t seen her in a while. “Nick? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Mexico with Phil and May by this time?”

Natasha waited until Steve was sitting next to her before speaking. “I don’t think this is our Nick.”

Steve frowned and stared at Nick. “Is Talos playing a prank on us again?”

“How do you know Talos?” Nick spoke up and sat up straighter.

Natasha grinned. “See, you’re not our Nick, but I think you’re still actually Nick Fury.”

Nick Fury just looked at her passively, obviously asking for an explanation.

“Nick, what was the date yesterday?” Steve asked.

“June 17, 2012.”

Natasha and Steve shared a look - in sync, Nick noticed with fascination - before turning back to him.

“Nick,” Natasha began softly. Uh oh. He does not like where this is going. “I’m sorry to tell you but the date today is September 28, 2025; you’re 13 years into the future…” she trailed off, laying a hand on his knee and squeezing it.

“The Nick Fury in this timeline is currently on vacation in Mexico with Phil Coulson and Melinda May as well as other SHIELD agents. He must have left his backup phone at home.” Steve added.

Nick stayed silent, trying to process what he just heard. “Do you know how to get me home? Or back to 13 years ago, at least?” he asked after a while.

Natasha and Steve exchanged a look. Again. Nick fought the urge to roll his eyes. Really, they’re cute, but they’re going to make someone feel left out if they continue to do their silent communication thing.

“Well, we do have a way to travel through time… but it’s complicated. Do you think anyone from your time can bring you back?” Steve asked.

Natasha snorted, making both men turn to look at her. “He’s from June 2012. That’s a month after the Battle of New York. Time travel won’t even be on our minds back then. I highly doubt it.”

Steve cast her a sheepish smile before raking his fingers through his hair. “Well, I guess we gotta do a part three of the Time Heist, then.”

Nick raised an eyebrow at them. “Time Heist?”

“A lot of things happened in those 13 years, Nick.” Natasha answered with a smirk.

“I can tell,” Nick retorted, looking pointedly at the two. “Last time I saw you, a helicarrier blew your mind and you were crying about the 21st century. But now you’re talking about time travel like you do it everyday and both of you have two children and house with a white picket fence.” Nick tipped his chin at Steve. Natasha’s smirk grew wider while Steve blushed an angry scarlet and looked down, a shy smile playing on his lips.

“So spare me the gory details and tell me about you two,” Nick continued. “How did this-” he waved around them, “- happen?”

“Well, all I can say about that is you’re the best matchmaker ever,” Steve answered, squeezing Natasha’s hand, his eyes twinkling.

—

After a whole afternoon-long conversation, Scott was ready to take Nick home. They all went to the Compound to set everything up and explain the mechanics of it to Nick.

“You ready?” Natasha asked Nick as she and Steve approached him.

“As I’ll ever be,” he answered with a smile.

“Here, keep this,” Steve took out a picture of James and Sarah from his wallet and handed it to Nick, who was hesitant to take it at first. “Really, it’s okay. We have thousands of pictures at home,” Steve reassured with a chuckle. “Besides, you’re the reason we happened. Or should I say, the catalyst that made us happen. I know Nat and I’s partnership were rocky at the beginning so whenever you feel like screaming your head off at us, just look at this photo. I swear, it’ll help.”

“Maybe all that yelling I did was what made your sexual tension snap,” Nick joked, making Natasha blink and look at Steve. Nick noticed the action. “Don’t tell me-”

He was cut off by Scott calling him to get in position. He shook both Steve’s and Natasha’s hands as he made his way to Scott. After a wave at everyone, he was gone.

“You know, he’s not wrong. It was after that one mission where he yelled at us after we fucked up in Ireland that we first…” Steve cocked his head down at Natasha, who was smirking up at him.

“Tested the durability of Irish-made headboards?” Natasha asked, licking his lips as they both reminisced their first “casual sex” night together. Steve let out a throaty chuckle and leaned down to clash their lips together.

“My god, go home you two!” Tony yelled, rolling his eyes fondly as he brought Scott back.

Steve and Natasha were pulling away from each other just as Scott materialized. “Aw, I want a kiss from Captain America too.”

“Oh, I’ll give you a kiss,” Sam piped up, waggling his eyebrows at Scott, who walked over to him and gave him a hi-five.

—

“Nick! You’re alive!” Maria Hill all but shouted in surprise as he walked in his office in the Triskellion. She was at his desk furiously flipping through reports.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” he asked, approaching his desk. Maria stood up from his chair and made way for him.

Maria gave him a weird look as he sat down. “What do you mean? Nick, part of that building exploded , we have 10 SHIELD agents casualties. Well, I guess it’s just 9 since you’re here…” she muttered the last part to herself. “But you were the only one missing - we figured you were vaporized on the spot. The others died from the explosion itself. These are their files,” she pointed at the stack of folders on his desk.

“You thought I was vaporized ?” Ouch. That sounded like a harsh way to die, even for Nick. Maria just nodded grimly. “I was just… transported somewhere else.”

Maria perked up at that. “Oh? Dr. Selvig had that theory but we all thought it was nuts… he said based on the energy, you must have been brought in another time.”

Fury scoffed. “Well, he’s not wrong.” Maria tilted her head, fishing for more information, but Nick waved his hand. “Another time. Are Romanoff and Rogers here?”

Maria nodded. “Yes, sir. They were both in town because the facility in New York had to be renovated. Most of our active agents are here save for Agent Barton who’s still out on his mission.”

“Can you call Romanoff and Rogers in, please?”

“Yes, sir. Do you need anything else?” Maria asked and Fury shook his head. She gave him a nod and exited the room.

Once he was alone again, Nick pulled the picture Steve gave him. James looks just like Steve except he got his mother’s eyes and most of her hair color. Sarah, however, was all Natasha, except for her father’s bright blue eyes and blonde hair. He smiled fondly at the picture and put it back in his wallet just as he heard his agents approach his door.

“You called us in, sir?” Steve’s head popped up from the door. Nick nodded and Steve and Natasha walked in, standing in front of him.

“I never thought you’re dead, you know, for the record. I believed Dr. Selvig,” Natasha told him smugly, making Nick chuckle.

“Well. I’m back and I have a mission for the two of you.” he took one of the folders from his desk and slid it forward to them. “This will be your first solo mission as official partners.”

Silence followed his statement as the words hung in the air. He raised an eyebrow at them, waiting for the blow up that’s about to happen. He almost thought they’d go down without a fight until:

“NICK!”

“Sir, I’m not-”

“He’s not a spy-”

“I’m really more of a sold-”

“Clint is my part-”

Ah, there it is. Nick leaned back in his chair and let the two of them scream it out, their words drowning the other out. This is fascinating to watch, really. After a few more moments, the two eventually stopped, huffing, when they noticed that their director was silent.

“So there’s that. The folder has everything you need to know. Take what you need and report back when you’re done. Good luck!” Nick said with a fake cheerful voice and a big smile. The voice might be fake but the smile was real. He really was excited.

He saw Natasha glare at Steve, who looked just as pissed, if not a little horrified. She grabbed the folder from his desk like a snake would snap at its prey, and promptly turned on her heels to exit the room, Steve following with his head hanging down.

Nick has to admit, he thought there would be more fight. But he also knows that Natasha knows that once he puts his mind onto something, it’s not going to change. Once they were fully gone from his office, he leaned back on his chair and pulled out his wallet to look at James and Sarah again. Oh, these two motherfuckers don’t know what’s in store for them, he mumbled to himself and grinned mischievously.

[crushedbyhyperbole]

Makin’ Whoopee

Summary:  The Sugardrops are in need of a pianist, and who better to fill the role than newly-minted 18yr old Bucky Barnes.  The charismatic front lady known as Sugar gives him an opportunity he can’t refuse, in exchange for something precious; his innocence.

Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x OFC

Word Count:  5.5k

Warnings:  18+.  Mentions of the state of racial relations synonymous with the 1940s, injury that’s speculated to be related to hate crime, plenty of flirting and smut at the end.

A/N:  One shot written for @the-omni-princess​‘s 1k follower writing challenge filling the prompt of Band AU.  Congrats on the milestone your majesty, and thank you for letting me take part :)  The character of Sugar is styled after Mae West with the looks of Rita Hayworth, Nick is based on comic book Nick Fury rather than Samuel.L. and the encore song is performed like Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys.  Enjoy!

Cassidy’s Bar.  He’s only ever been in here once, when his cousin Nora had gotten married to that rat-faced asshole, Billy?  Bobby?  Barry? It was something ending in ‘y’, anyway, and that’s exactly what his Ma had said; why?

Turned out the why was babies and the who was Mr Rat-face and the when was, well, so far before the question of marriage that poor Nora was round on her wedding day.

They had the same seats at the bar, Bucky thinks, him and his uncle Tony.  One beer was all he was allowed the first time, but tonight, uncle Tony is on a mission.

“Happy Birthday, kid.” The older man clinks his glass against the one warming in Bucky’s grasp, a man’s amber fire to the boy’s weak beer. “Drink up and I’ll get you another before the band starts.”

Gulping the bitter draught down, Bucky feels it warm his guts, loosening knots inside him he didn’t even know were there.  It’s his third pint, and though he’s had beer at home, he’s never had more than one in a bar where the dim lights and choking smoke are making him feel woozier than the drink.  He’s never felt like one of the men and never thought of himself as one, not even now.

Whoops and whistles. That’s how you know there’s a dame on the stage.  She’s pretty, too, Bucky thinks, watching her slink over to the manager in a dress made of green satin and what looks like liquid suns dripping from her shoulders.  It’s much too classy for a place like this and Bucky wonders if she’s some Hollywood starlet fallen from grace with her auburn waves and lips as red as victory.

Stunning.  He’s changed his mind, there’s nothing pretty about her.  She’s sexy as sin and all the men know it, hell, even she knows it.

Tony is already pushing another drink into his hand as he leads Bucky to a table by the stage, a smaller glass that tinkles as he walks.  One sip and Bucky thinks the beer is better, this stuff burns as it evaporates off his tongue.

“Looks like we got ourselves a problem.”  The starlets voice is smooth and sultry, if a little husky.  “Sammy can’t play.  It’s his hand, see.”

Her dark-skinned companion is nursing a busted hand that looks far worse than just bloodied knuckles from a fight.  If Bucky didn’t know better he’d have said the man met with a car door, a hammer, or a vicious bootheel; integrated bands are something of a controversy, hell, integrated anything is.

“Great, just great!” The bar manager groans.  “So what am I supposed to do about it?  Can’t you do without him, sugar lips?”  The bar manager is a beast of a man; jaw like a tank and shoulders to match, buzz-cut that’s a remnant from military service and an eye-patch that lends nothing but intimidation to his demeanour.

“Gee, I dunno, Nick!” One hand fists against the sassy cock of her hip, she lets rip with the sarcasm.  “Can a piano do without its pianist?”

Nick scoffs wordlessly, chewing the end of his cigar.

“A girl needs a good ivory pounder.”  She says with a wink, her tone suggestive enough to make Nick’s ears turn red. “Sam’s my best guy.”

“He ain’t poundin’ nuthin’ for a while.”

“More’s the pity.” She sidles up to him seductively, there is nothing subtle about her play, even Bucky can see she’s trying to manipulate the man.  “You got any hidden talent around here you been keepin’ from me?”

In the moments between her wink and the soft glide of her hand down the front of his shirt, Nick’s face turns pink, then red, and he’s choking on smoke.

“Help a girl out?”  A tempting pout and the flutter of eyelashes punctuate her request.

“I’ll ask around.”  He says with a tight smile as the starlet turns with a sway of her hip and sashays away.

The gents in the lounge are rowdy now, after catching a glimpse of the much-anticipated leading lady. The call for attention is barely heard but word passes between the tables that they’re asking for a pianist.

“You should get yourself up there.”  Uncle Tony nudges Bucky with his elbow, an almost proud look on his face.

“Play piano in front of all these people?”  Bucky has never been the nervous type, but he is now.  He’s only ever played the piano for the family at home, and the teachers and pupils at the music school.

“Sure, kid!”  Tony claps him on the shoulder.  “You’re as good as any of ‘em.”

“I dunno, uncle Tony.” Bucky sinks down in his seat, almost sensing what’s coming next.

“Hey!”  Tony is on his feet, waving to the hefty bar manager. “I got a pianist!”

There’s laughter all around, because Tony sounds like he just said ‘penis’, and that makes Bucky even more mortified when Nick is suddenly stood in front of them.

“You play?”  Nick is gruff and down to business.

“My nephew.”  Tony hits Bucky on the arm with the back of his hand, a gesture that says ‘sit up straight’.

“How old are you, kid?” Narrowed eyes scrutinise, and Bucky blanches.  He’s old enough to be in here but he feels so out of place he still doubts he belongs.

“Eighteen today, sir.” Bucky steels himself.  He’s not going to be this nervous kid.  He’s Bucky Barnes, confident and charming, and most definitely not intimidated by a piano, a beautiful redhead and a burly bar manager (eye-patch or not).  At least that’s who he wants to be.

“And you play?”

Bucky nods.

“Come with me.”

Tony is stuffing the tumbler into his hand again and pushing him out of his seat towards the stage with a cheer.  There’s a bit of shuffling as Bucky finds his stride.  Chairs scrape out of the way as he passes and it feels like he’s walking the plank; shark infested waters are all around him, the men sneer a little at the sight of him, just a boy, being lead backstage where the starlet and her band are getting ready.

Backstage isn’t as glamourous as Bucky thought it would be.  The reception room is dingy and cramped, merely a glorified store room compared to the plush furnishings and flattering lighting that he imagined. Eight sets of eyes turn to stare at him as he enters behind the mountainous Nick.  He’s intimidated and starting to sweat but that’s the least of his worries when a swathe of red hair and green satin is invading his personal space.

She looks him up and down with a sly smirk.

“I know I like ‘em young, but I’m not one for wet nursing.”  It’s salacious, the tone she uses, almost like she’s purposefully trying to ruffle feathers.

“He’s not for your boudoir, Sugar, he’s for the piano.”

“Oh, why not?”  She winks subtly, pulling her lips into a playful smile.  “A man in the boudoir is worth two on the street.”

“Sugar…”  Another redhead chastises.  She’s older but there’s a resemblance, sisters, maybe cousins.

“Oh, alright, spoil my fun.” Sugar plucks the drink from Bucky’s hand, fingertips brushing lightly against him leaving a trail of goosebumps coursing up his arm.  Her eyes never leave his as she lifts the glass to her painted lips and sips.  “I always get what I want, eventually.”

She’s turning away from him and his glass is back in his hand like it never left, save for the scarlet red print that perfectly resembles the fullness of her lower lip. Bucky swallows.  She’s a dangerous woman and he knows she can chew him up and spit him out in ruins, but hell if he’s not willing to let her do it.

“Sam’s the name.”  The dark-skinned fellow interrupts, introducing himself and offering his uninjured hand to shake.  His injuries are hidden by off-white crepe and gauze now, out of sight out of mind for the rest of the band.

“James.”  Bucky clears his throat.  “James Barnes.  But my friend’s call me Bucky.”

“You read music, James Barnes?”  ‘Sugar’ levels a torturously flirtatious glance over her bejewelled shoulder. Everything about her screams seduction and sexuality; she’s unashamedly feminine but predatory like no woman he’s ever seen.

“Yes, ma’am.  I do.”  Bucky battles his nerves.  “And I can play by heart.”

Sugar turns, a slow blink fanning her long lashes against her rosy cheek before she’s dragging her eyes up his body.  “Show me.”

In the corner of the room is a busted upright piano that is much in need of repair.  It’s older than his grandpa’s but the keys are clean and it looks to work.

“You want me to play here?” He should have known there would be an audition.

“Scared to show us the goods, kid?”  And older gentleman with dark curly hair shifts in his seat, his hands are large and his fingers thick and calloused.  He isn’t stocky but he isn’t a beanpole either, and he’s got a nervous tick, just below his right eye which tells Bucky the man has a temper.

“Bruce is right.” Sugar purred, leaning closer.  “An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promise.”  Moist pinkness pokes playfully at the corner of her perfectly pained mouth, the teasing tip of her tongue then sweeps her upper lip deliciously.

Bucky jumps into action, if only to distance himself from the sight and scent of the woman who seems hell bend on turning him into a mess of jangling nerves and tight trousers.

The stool is hard but the perfect height.  Bucky runs his fingers over the keys, rippling out scales to test the instrument’s tuning.  His music school diploma kicking in as he opens the booklet of sheet music at the first page.

It’s a tense moment as he starts to play, finding that some of the music has been amended in a chicken-scratch scrawl, little finesses added here and there and a different tempo, but Bucky knows the song.  He bangs out Puttin’ on the Ritz, relaxing into the music as a tall mousy-blonde man in his late twenties, sits by the piano and taps out a percussion rhythm on the wood, and the older redhead starts to sing along.  Her voice is quite lovely, Bucky thinks.

Sam nods approvingly but Sugar isn’t completely convinced.

“Play me something you think I’ll like.”  She says. “From the heart.”  The last words are tainted with a sigh.

Bucky thinks he knows the perfect song.  It’s more of a joke than anything, the reason it pops into his head is purely because of her salacious innuendos.  It starts off a little jerky, as he plays some of the string and trumpet parts on the piano but when the tune fully kicks in everyone is laughing, even Sugar is grinning.  The blonde picks up the beat, tapping on his legs and the side of the piano, curly-haired Bruce is humming and boom’ping in time as a bass, and a tiny blonde kid he’d never seen plays a mock trumpet.

When Sugar starts to sing ‘Makin’ Whoopee’, it’s somethin’ else.  The cadence of her voice is just like she is, rich, velvety and incredibly seductive.  She comes to sit on the stool next to Bucky, swaying and snapping her fingers along with the music.  As far as impromptu jams go it wasn’t half bad, and the mood is suddenly lighter when the song is done.

“Well, aren’t you full of surprises, James Barnes.”  Sugar adjusts a piece of his hair that has fallen out of his smoothly combed do.

“It’s just Bucky.”  He sighs bashfully, almost melting at her proximity.  Red lacquered nails and glistening red lips, soft cascading waves of copper leading his eyes down from her face to the sweetheart line of her dress and a scandalously deep cleavage he has no business staring at.

Suddenly he’s being pulled to his feet and introduced to the rest of the band.  Peter is the percussionist, he’s easy-going and a bit of a joker.  The little guy is Steve, he’s the trumpet player but, like Bucky, he can play a few instruments, just not the piano.  Bruce plays the double bass.  The older redhead is Natasha, she’s on backing vocals with another redhead called Wanda and yet another redhead called Gamora.  Bucky notices that Wanda and Gamora aren’t natural redheads but they all fit together so well it’s hard to notice from afar.

The lounge looks completely different from where he’s stood at the edge of the stage behind a dusty red curtain.  He can see uncle Tony drinking a pint and laughing with a guy at the adjacent table, no doubt talking about how proud he is of his nephew, god knows his daughter is a disappointment; poor Nora who got pregnant before she was married.

Bucky necks his drink. The ice has already melted but it does little to quench the burn of the whiskey, still, liquid courage eh?

Soon he’s being ushered out onto the stage with the rest of the band.  There’s a light smattering of applause and a huge cheer from uncle Tony as Bucky takes his seat at the grand piano.  Sam is there with songbooks and a list of tunes they’re going to play tonight.

“Any of these you don’t know?”  Sam hands him the paper and it shakes in Bucky’s fingers.

They’re all covers, of course, a small band can’t put out original songs in a lounge like this and earn a living.  They’re all fairly recent songs, too, keeping up with current trends.  Bucky knows them all well enough to play them by heart, but Sam likes to make notes on the sheet music to tweak the songs a little more to fit their ensemble.

Bucky scans down the list, smiling when he sees songs like Daddy, Blue Champagne, and Strange Fruit. He can imagine Sugar singing them, how wonderfully they will work with her voice.

“I think so.”  Bucky nods, confidence building through the panic because he knows he can do this.

Another glass of whiskey is set atop the piano for him and Sam is leaving with a reassuring pat on the shoulder, leaving him to stare at the crowds in the lounge, leaving him to the adrenaline and the nausea in his guts.

Suddenly there are whistles and whoops, that’s how you know the dames have hit the stage.  The three backing singers stroll on, waving and smiling brightly.  Bucky is surprised to see Wanda carrying a fiddle; she’s like him and little Steve, multi-talented.

And there’s Sugar.  He sees her before she’s clear of the side curtain.  She’s all confident strides, swaying hips and a non-too-subtle wobble at the sweetheart bodice of her dress.  He barely notices the crowd now all he can hear is the frantic thrum of his pulse whooshing in his ears.  His mouth goes dry as she makes eye contact with him and he feels as though she’s going to walk right past the microphone, right up to him, and show him what those smirking red lips can do.  

But she doesn’t, and her attention is no longer on him but on the crowd.

“Well, hello there Cassidy’s!  We are The Sugardrops!”  Christ she’s just as seductive when she addresses the whole room.  “My, my we’ve got some handsome gentlemen out there tonight, wouldn’t you agree ladies?”  She’s playing up to her girls and to the crowd.  “Tonight, for your entertainment pleasure we’re going to perform a few numbers.”

“YOU CAN PERFORM ON MY LAP, IF YOU’D LIKE!”  A drunken jeer erupts from the crowd, already the men are worked up.

Bucky glances from the dishevelled heckler to Sugar who is giving her most amused smile.

“Oh sweetheart, I’ve been in more laps than a napkin.”  She shifts her weight, popping her hip to the side.  “Yours ain’t nothing special.”

Laughter drowns out the spluttering heckler who is suddenly shoved into his seat by burly Nick, with the warning ‘behave yourself or get out’.

She’s incredible. Bucky thinks.  So confident and sassy.  He’s never seen a woman like her in his whole life.  She’s larger than life, and more alluring than a precious stone.

She clears her throat, pinning him with a stare.

Jumping to action for the second time at her request, he poises himself and waits for the trumpet to start the first song; Nice Work if You Can Get it.

Steve is good, he’s got good lungs for a scrawny kid and he blasts out an intro that’s picked up by Bruce on the double bass.  Then Bucky is joining in and Peter with the subtle snare and high-hat setting a swinging rhythm.  Sugar and the girls croon out the lyrics and Bucky finds himself joining in, bouncing on his stool with the music.

Before he knows it the song is done and he’s barely looked at the music sheet.  It all feels so natural to him, like he’s meant to be here with these people, on this stage, playing his heart out.  It’s been a while since he felt any love for music other than something to dance to, with a girl on his arm, maybe one who’ll let him kiss her at the end of the night, maybe one who’ll let him stroke his hand up to the top of her stockings.

Applause rings out and he can hear uncle Tony cheering.  There’s an exchanged grin and a proud nod from the elder man, tears in his eyes like he’s looking at his own son.  Of course, Tony only had daughters, so Bucky was special to him; a fellow man in the family.

Sugar is peppy as she sings, almost prancing around the stage, energised by the folks who are dancing on the dancefloor in front of the stage.

Hey, listen to my story, ‘bout a gal named Daisy Mae Lazy Daisy Mae Her disposition, is rather sweet and charming At times alarming, so they say

Glass empty and another replaces it, sitting in the same condensation ring that marks its predecessor; Bucky has lost count of the drinks as the songs have flown by.  The swell of emotion in his chest as he pounds or tinkles the ivories as desired, it’s almost euphoric.  So much so, he doesn’t notice Sugar sashaying his way as she sings.

She has a man who’s tall-dark-handsome, large and strong To whom she used to sing this song

She drags her fingertips up his arm as she sings, over his shoulder, neck and into his hair.  Then she spins, resting her back on his, dipping to her haunches and arching her back, earning whistles from the crown, a vicious blush from Bucky and a few fumbled notes of the tune.

Hey, Daddy, I want a diamond ring, bracelets, everything Daddy, you oughta get the best for me

Hey, Daddy, gee, don’t I look swell in sables? Clothes with Paris labels? Daddy, you oughta get the best for me

Bucky is already lost in the sway of her hips and the glistening red of her lips.  She’s singing about champagne and caviar but all he hears are the breathy moments in between the verses where she’s almost gasping for breath.

He can’t remember how many whiskey’s he’s had but he knows now it’s too many.  His skin burns and he needs air but all there is, is the rhythm of the music, the feel of the ivory under the pads of his fingers and a tightness in his groin that’s been building since she first levelled her glittering eyes at him.

Now she’s dancing around him, touching him, and teasing him with her sensuality, he’s already gone. He just prays the music comes out fine.

“You got one more song in you, sweetheart?”  Sugar is leaning over him, her lips brush the shell of his ear and her perfume permeates down into his lungs, heady and so perfect.  She’s got bare shoulders now, the bejewelled bolero jacket that was part of her dress now adorns the top of the piano with several empty glasses.

“One more song?”  He blinks up and her and she grins, stroking his face gently.  The crowd are calling for an encore and Sugar is thriving on their attention.

“Just one more.”  She assures him.  “For me?”

She doesn’t need to ask, he’s already caught in her snare, captivated by the desire in her voice and the heat in her gaze.  He doesn’t know if it’s real, but he doesn’t care.  He’s never been wanted like this by any woman, let alone one as gorgeous as her, and he’s never been so desperate to give a woman what she so clearly craves.

The rest of the band have gone back stage and it’s just the two of them out under the lights.  Bucky feels so nervous all of a sudden he could lose his dinner but when Sugar climbs up on top of the piano, legs curled to the side, he’s more concerned with avoiding the view right up her legs.

Bucky is about to ask, but when she turns to him and winks, he knows what song.

Tinkling the keys, he delves into a soft and seductive jazz melody that’s so perfect for her it’s like her soul is pouring out into the air.  Her grin is astonishing it lights her face up, stripping years off her like she’s closer to his age now instead of in her thirties.

Then she’s melting the words so they come out coy and teasing, and she’s flirting with her whole body; just enough leg, just enough cleavage, a perfectly-timed toss of her stunning red hair, and every time she says the words ‘makin’ whoopee’ his johnson twitches in his pants.  But she’s not doing it for him, she’s doing it for them, or she’s doing it for her, it really doesn’t matter who, he thinks.  She’s right there in front of him and it’s his music she’s moving to, his fingers making the notes that set her on fire, it’s him who she looks back towards and winks at subtly.

Later it’s him who she’s taking by the hand and it’s him whose lips are trailing down her neck. It’s him who is unzipping her dress and trailing his hands over her hips as he pushes the fabric to the floor.  He doesn’t know how he got here but he isn’t complaining, not one bit.

She’s a sight to behold. Her lips are swollen and smeared red where he’s messed her lipstick, and she’s panting as she strips him of his shirt. Once he’s down to his shorts, erection tenting the front, she lifts his hands to her breasts where the stiff fabric of a strapless number presses against his palms.  He stalls out, suddenly not sure what to do.  He’s never gone this far with a girl before, let alone a woman like her.

Her smirk is beguiling as she shoves him backward into a worn, ochre-coloured armchair.  His panic is momentary and he settles, sat forward, watching as she lifts her leg and with toes pressed to his chest, she pushes him back against the cushions.

The teasing way she unhooks her sheer stockings has a wet patch forming in the front of his shorts, the weeping tip of his johnson is eager.  When her legs are bare she turns, presenting him with her clothed bottom. Then she bends, oh so slowly. Dragging her knickers down, exposing herself to him.

She mustn’t know he’s untested in the boudoir (as burly Nick put it earlier in the night), or she wouldn’t be teasing him so much.  His brain is spouting words from the good book, somewhere in the depths; he’s never been one to listen but when they sound like his Ma he can’t help it.  Lead us not into temptation.

“Temptation?”  Sugar chuckles. Had he said that aloud?  “Why resist it?  There’ll always be more.”  She tosses her knickers at him and steps forward.

Straddling his lap she places his hands on her hips as she rolls her body, unclothed womanhood dragging against the hardness in his shorts.  Her bra is unhooked at the back and her perfect breasts spill forward in front of his ogling eyes.

“Touch me.”  She moans softly, spurring him into action.

Kissing his way down her neck and into the valley between her gloriously large breasts, he cups her in both hands and squeezes, rubbing his palms over her nipples until they’re hard. She guides him carefully, showing him how to pinch and play with them, not too roughly but just firmly enough to have her gasping.

“I’ve never…”  He swallows hard.  Bucky Barnes has a reputation as a man all the ladies swoon after, but he’s no match for a woman of her experience.

“I know.”  She moves against him, reaching down until her fingers reach her sex, and she’s stroking herself leisurely.  “I’ve known plenty of men who didn’t know how to please a woman.” She moans, sliding her fingers fully inside herself as Bucky watches, astonished.  “I’ve always found the time to teach every single one of them.”

She lifts her fingers to his mouth and he opens instinctively, feeling the salty sweet slide of her over his tongue.  Lips close around her and he’s drinking her taste down with a groan.  He wants to taste her again so he reaches down, strokes his fingers through the wet heat of her core, not brave enough to push them inside as she had, not yet anyway.  He smears her arousal across her nipple and brings it to his mouth, sucking and nibbling. Just like with his fingers, there’s a balance to be found in the playful bite, firm suck and soothing lick of his mouth.

Soon, Sugar is practically singing for him.  All her sassy flirtations are gone and she’s telling him what she wants.  Her nipples and lips are swollen from his attention and the front of his shorts are soaked with both his and her arousal.  The skin of her neck and chest is flushed red as she grinds against the finger he’s got buried in her womanhood.  The beckoning motion she’d shown him is making his hand ache but he’s too wrapped up in the beauty of her to care.  He’s never seen a woman orgasm before, let alone been the cause. He’s strung tight, excited beyond belief and she hasn’t even touched him yet.

Then he feels it; a tightening of the flesh around his middle finger.  She’s quivering with need, working so hard toward the release she’s desperate for.  It seems to go on forever, like she’s hanging on to the pleasure for grim death, but it’s just not enough.

Feeling bold he pulls back and gives her a second finger, pushing deeper inside her until he can feel the soft spot he was rubbing before.  Digging his fingers in harder, he braces his thumb against the hooded nubbin beneath the whispy red of her pubic hair, and squeezes.

Her wail almost stops him in his tracks but the look on her face compels him to act.  Harder this time he pulls his fingers against her, milking that sweet spot inside until he can feel the spasms start.  Her breathing is erratic and she’s gyrating in his lap, shaking and moaning as her body spasms around his hand.  It’s powerful, the way her muscles work and even when they start to die down, Bucky carries on.

“Too much.”  She stills his hand with her own.  She looks so beautiful, all flushed and satisfied. He wants her, wants to be in her, to feel with his prick what he felt with his fingers.

His mouth is on hers as he thrusts his hands under her thighs and stands.  She squeals and clings to him a moment before she realises what’s happening.  He’s about to deposit her on the floor of her dressing room when she halts him.

Bucky has never seen a condom before.  He’s heard about them; standard issue for the army to stop the soldiers from catching venereal disease, and to stop them from fathering children in every city they visit. Sugar winks as she rolls the rubber down his erection.  It feels strange and tight against his skin, and through it her hand feels less pleasurable but he moans nonetheless.

A multi-coloured crochet blanket is put down with a pillow from the armchair, and she lies back with her legs spread for him.  The reddened petals of her flower are on display and Bucky feels the urge to taste her. Of course she’s sweet, and slightly musky but less salty than when he tasted from her fingers.  Her legs twitch each time he licks past the hooded nubbin above her entrance, and he fancies that that’s the way he’s going to make her orgasm again.

And he does just that, with her hands buried in his hair and his fingers deep in her once more, pulling gently this time, he kisses and licks her until she’s shaking and moaning for him.

“I like a man who pays attention.”  She smirks as he stares up at her with a look that’s no doubt revering.  “I like a man who makes me scream even better.”

With her hand on his shoulder, she urges him forward until he’s hovering over her, afraid to lay his weight on her.  It’s with a throaty giggle that she wraps her thighs around his hips and pulls him down, reaching between them to place the tip of his throbbing prick against her heat.

“Don’t keep a girl waiting.” She slaps his bare butt cheek.  “I might go find what I need elsewhere.”

With a determined grunt, Bucky pushes into her, pushes against the resistance of her flesh, pushes into the pleasure that shoots down his prick and tightens something low between his hips.  It feels so much different than touching himself, a less intense pleasure but there’s more of it, singing to the nerves in his abdomen and all the way up into his chest.

Sugar rolls her hips, urging him to move, and with her hands on his hips and her feet hooked under his buttocks she guides his movement, drawing from him smooth deep thrusts that hit all of the right spots for her and have him seeing stars before too long.

“I can’t… keep this… up.” He grunts, slightly ashamed that he can’t last.

“It’s alright, sweetheart.” She arches her back and sighs. “I’m close.  Keep going.”

Bucky is panting heavily as the pleasure overwhelms him.  Sugar is writhing and moaning beneath him and he can feel her muscles around him start to quake.

She’s going to climax, he thinks with joy.  She’s going to climax while I’m inside her.

That’s it for him, the pulsing pleasure coursing down his spine, all around his prick and tingling over his scalp – it’s amazing.  He spills into the condom but continues to thrust into her until she’s spent.  Then and only then does he collapse forward with a disbelieving chuckle.

“This is the first time I ever known a woman like you.”  He kisses her lips but she’s already turning away, rolling him off her to get some air.

“If I have my say, it won’t be the last.”  She winks but there’s no gleam in her eye.  She lights a cigarette and falls back onto that god-awful ochre chair.

“I don’t know if I should thank you or worship you.”  Bucky notices that she seems diminished somehow, like her light has gone.

“I wouldn’t say no to both.” She’s looking up, not at him, as she blows smoke up to the ceiling.  “Are you free tomorrow night?”

“For you, yeah.”  He’s coming across eager but he doesn’t care. A lot of the effects of the whiskey are fading and he knows what he’s doing.  He wants to see her again, to feel her again.

“What about the night after that?”

“Yes.”  The condom comes free with a dull twang.

“And the one after that?”

“Sure.”  He’s pulling on his shorts.

“Next week?

“Absolutely.”  Bucky kneels in front of that horrific chair.

“Next month?”  She asks, and he knows better than to think she wants a relationship. Someone like her could never be tied down.

“I’m free whenever you want me.”  He flashes her his most charming and cheeky smile.

Her laugh is stifled behind that coy smirk she favours as she swings the leg that’s cocked over the arm of the chair.  Her naked breasts and her womanhood are unashamedly and fully on display.  Hell, if it didn’t send tingles of desire down into his gut again.

“Oh, I want your fingers alright.”

“Just my fingers?”  He flirts back.

“For the purposes of the contract, yeah sweetheart, just your fingers.”  The smoke from a long drag is blown in his direction.  “The rest can be our little secret.”

“Contract?”  Bucky balks, confusion sending a jolt to his chest.

“Yeah, sweetheart.” The gleam is back in her eyes, and her sultry smile teases the corners of her plush mouth once more.  “Welcome to The Sugardrops, James Barnes.”

[durrzerker]

Taskmaster: The Line. Chapter 8: Submission

Hey everyone, I know it’s been a couple weeks since Chapter 7. There’s a reason for that! Chapter 8, the finale of Taskmaster: The Line, is supposed to reflect a mega-sized comic, so it’s a mega-sized chapter! Chapters 1-7 were between 2000-2500 words. Chapter 8 is over 7000! I hope you enjoy the final entry in this story, and there will be more to come soon! 

--

The submarine was completely unmarked. No flag. No sigil at all revealing its loyalty. Ironically, these were all the details that Taskmaster needed to be sure that this was another one of Thunderbolt Ross's little projects. The old man had always been as secretive as he was brutal, and this reeked of his style. Without hesitation, Taskmaster drew his sword and shield and started towards the looming colossus of steel before him. "Ross! I know that's you, ya overgrown son of a walrus. Come on out of yer big metal cock and face me!"

Tony had to admit, he was a little surprised when the hatch swung open, its silence in doing so a testament to how well-maintained the submersible was. Rivulets of water continued pouring off the sides of the vessel, its hull extending so far that Taskmaster literally couldn't see past it. After a few seconds that felt like much longer, a large older man with an aggressive moustache and round face climbed the ladder out to stand on the hull. That was him -- Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross, perpetual thorn in the side of the Hulk in the distant past. These days, he seemed to have his fingers in just about every pie that you could imagine, from working alongside Captain America to forming his ridiculous Thunderbolts squads to do his dirty work for him. Briefly, Taskmaster wondered if the Wrecking Crew were supposed to be Thunderbolts; ultimately, he decided it didn't matter. They had hopefully drowned by now, every last one of them.

Tony wasn't in the kindest mood, which made Ross's first words all the more effective.

"Tony Masters," the older man called out coolly. "Amazing to see you walking -towards- a fight for once. I don't see the Scions with you, so I suppose this isn't the apology that you owe me."

"I don't owe you shit, Grandpa Genocide," Taskmaster snapped. "I dunno what all this is about, but those kids're safe and you ain't ever gonna see them again. The hell is wrong with you, Thaddeus? This is low, even for you; and that's sayin' something for a man who works with Zemo for -free-."

Undaunted, Ross took off his glasses and started to wipe them clean. "It's true, then; you really do have amnesia. I thought Fury was just full of shit, trying to get in my way. He still was, of course - but it seems he was at least right about this. Amazing. They try to call you the most dangerous mercenary alive, and you're just - what, a mindless enforcer for Merced? She always was the brains of you two. She whispering in your ear right now?"

Leering aggressively at Ross from behind his mask, Tony didn't respond for a moment. Apparently, he had to add yet another person to the list of 'everyone knows this shit but me' regarding The Hub...though if he was lucky, Ross didn't realize the woman was apparently his wife.

Man, he really was struggling to internalize that. It stuck in his craw like a piece of food that just wouldn't go down; could he call her? Promptly, Tony realized that was ridiculous to even be considering right now. He had bigger problems than getting his head screwed on straight, and almost all of them were right in front of him. "Gimme one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now, Thaddeus."

"Because if I'm even half-right about how your last few days have gone, you're too curious; otherwise, you would have thrown one of your ridiculous ripoff toys at me already. Come on, Masters. Just get in the sub and we can talk this out like the adult that I am and that you pretend to be."

Shrugging off the insults - when they came this fast they were pretty much just like a gentle rain, especially from Ross - Taskmaster made his way up onto the submarine. "Fine, but you try anything on me, and I'll run ya through. I know you can't Hulk out anymore, and the power of arthritis ain't gonna save ya if you pull yer usual crap."

"You really seem to resent the fact that I've lived to an old age, Masters." Ross sounded amused as he let the mercenary descend the ladder into the submarine first, following after. Despite his age, Tony marveled at how much of a tank of a man Thaddeus was; Tony was still a little taller than the not-so-good general, but Ross had to be nearly twice as wide as him, and he looked like he still had the strength to match it. Taskmaster made a mental note not to underestimate him if this did get violent - Red Hulk or no, this was a man who had tangled with the best and come out with his ridiculous facial hair intact.

"I think everyone on God's Green Earth resents you still being alive." Impossibly, the damned submarine seemed even bigger on the inside! The gargantuan seacraft's interior was more cavernous than he had expected; as soon as Taskmaster had set foot on the metal floor of the highest level, he could tell that at least this section of the ship was a single enormous hallway, wide enough to drive a tank through and sparsely populated with only a few men and women milling about reading reports, checking equipment, and saluting Ross as he approached. The old general led Taskmaster in a direction that he could only vaguely parse as towards the bridge of the vessel, if his itching familiarity was anything to go by.

"Hilarious. Remember this place yet?" Ross asked, sounding legitimately curious. Adjusting his cuff-links before leaning down to take off his glasses and get read by a retinal scanner, he straightened as a bulkhead opened, leading them towards a small fleet of what looked like sleeker, militarized golf carts. "Come on. I'm too old to be walkin' like this, and you're gettin' there yourself."

"...I don't," Taskmaster admitted honestly. "But I've been here, haven't I?" He didn't even need to ask the question, he could tell. When his specific memories failed him, the muscle memory didn't; he knew the layout of this place. He wasn't lost, and he could -feel- like he knew what was coming, which only made the mercenary more anxious as he stuffed himself into the cart that was far too small for both him and Ross.

"Been here? Son, you spent six months in this sub training the Scions. This here's the home of the United States' greatest super-soldier project since Steve Rogers himself; and if ya knew how many shots we've taken at that particular target over the years, you'd understand how impressive that is. Hell, even you were an example of the Krauts tryin' to get in on the action, until ya stole their big bad serum."

"I like to think I rescued it," Taskmaster corrected as Ross drove them through the submarine. The first few chambers were nondescript, full of nothing more than the extensive supplies and equipment that a vessel this size needed to remain underwater for months at a time. As they approached the bridge, however, things got a little more interesting. Tony caught sight of men and women in strange gas masks, with bulging muscles and aggressive body language, being herded by handlers into a series of cargo elevators; he saw tanks full of human beings being studied by scientists, readings being checked and one of them even awake and looking distinctly panicked. "Speaking of rescue, the -fuck- are you doing to those guys?"

"Saving their lives, believe it or not. If they weren't in those tanks, they'd be dying of oxygen poisoning due to a rare mutation they've developed."

"Developed during one of your little super-soldier experiments. Real noble of ya." Taskmaster sighed. This place was wearing him down more by the minute, aggravating his already explosive temper, and he wondered vaguely if Ross was hoping for that result. All the more reason to stay on his guard. "Look, quit baitin' me and spit it out. What'd I do here? And -why-?" Dread laced his words, even though he tried to avoid it. As much as Tony hated to admit it, he was a little scared to find his own history on this project, and with the Scions...

...But not enough to avoid finding the answer.

Pulling the cart up to the bulkhead outside the head of the submarine, a digital screen displaying the ocean around them and betraying that they were moving -quite- quickly through the water, Ross stepped out and gestured for Taskmaster to follow him. As the caped mercenary tread at his heel, the general flashed his eye at another retinal scanner, then his palm print at another. Whatever this was, it had even heavier security that the chambers they'd already passed through, and as the pair stepped into an elevator, Ross finally replied to him.

"Well, first and foremost, ya ought to know -- this is YET another one of SHIELD's old messes". The elevator didn't have even a single button; it clearly was designed to exclusively travel between two destinations, and if Taskmaster's experience with SHIELD told him anything, this was the -only- way in or out of the other location. Wherever Ross was taking him, it was the kind of government secret that even Nick Fury would have a hard time getting access to. "Well, SHIELD's and yours. You ever wonder about how much of a mess you leave behind when your memory resets, Masters? Or do ya really trust The Hub to clean up after you? 'Cause I gotta tell you, she does a fine job - but not a perfect one."

Tony didn't respond to the comment about his wife. He could tell he was being baited. Instead, keeping his eyes on the prize, he asked, "Get to the point before your heart gives out, gram-gram. What happened?"

"You happened, Masters. When you took that serum that gave you your photographic reflexes, it was when a laboratory full of the stuff was exploding. The kraut bastard who told you what it was capable of told you it was the last dose, right?"

"Fuck if I know," Taskmaster answered honestly.

"Exactly. So shut up and listen, boy. That facility was at the top of a mountain - and a great deal of that serum that was 'destroyed' in the blast actually leaked into the water supply. The Hub knew about this; something about a 'village of Hitlers', which I definitely do not want to know more about." He shook his head as the elevator opened into a dark hallway. In fact, it was pitch black until some overhead lights came to life one after another, exposing black walls and smooth floors that reminded him of what he'd heard of the Red Room. "That woulda been the end of it -- except it turns out about ten years ago, water from wells near the village was gathered en masse by the suppliers for some disaster aid groups. You figure out where this is going?"

For a moment he didn't, but as they proceeded down the hallway, Taskmaster's eyes widened down his mask. "...The Scions."

"Children from families in poverty or disaster-stricken areas across the last decade," Ross confirmed. "Each displaying unusual capacity for perfect mimickry of complex tasks -- photographic reflexes, previously only known to a select handful of individuals, including you, Masters. Your serum got out into the world, and now little Task-babies are sprouting up. Russia, Ireland, Brazil, even Wakanda after Namor wrecked the place. We found them and brought them here -- to the greatest training facility in the world."

They passed through a security checkpoint with a couple of silent, armed guards flanking them into a gargantuan arena that seemed too massive, too awe-inspiring, for even the gargantuan submarine that they were inside. Curved walls and ceiling reminded Tony of a stadium, right down to what almost resembled bleachers along the edges of either side. The 'field' was littered with what must have been a hundred different types of training equipment, from futuristic-looking weightlifting machines to obstacle courses that Taskmaster immediately recognized as his own design. He'd made them some years ago to test not his students, but himself and the limits of his photographic reflexes. To have them here meant only one thing:

"...So you brought in the best teacher to train them," Tony said with resignation. Had he really agreed to this? Had The Hub?

"Exactly," Ross nodded in agreement. "We might not get along on a personal level, Masters, but there's no denying your credentials. Given actual time and resources, you've sculpted some of the finest government agents we've ever had: John Walker, Spider-Woman, even Crossbones before he went rogue. Besides, there's no one else who's as much of an expert as you on photographic reflexes. Some of the other people in charge of this project wanted to bring on Echo or Finesse, but they were considered a little too...sympathetic."

"Yer flatterin' me," Taskmaster deadpanned. "So glad I'm the one you think of when it comes to tutoring kidnapped children." They descended a long ramp towards the training machines; was Taskmaster imagining something, or did he see a dried bloodstain in the combat ring? Before he could focus on it, the earpiece hidden in his mask came to life, a crackling signal of a few rapid, stuttering sounds. It was The Hub, reporting through an old Cherokee code that they used to send messages back and forth when the risk of being overheard was high. Translation?

'The kids are safe. Black Ant's coming to back you up.'

It was a good thing, too. TESS wasn't going to be the reinforcements he needed, she didn't fare too well at getting underwater. Eric, though...well, sometimes he wondered if he really did need to give the guy more credit. They'd have to talk about this once he was done here, if he survived his insane plan that was forming now.

"I'm not flattering you," Ross growled out, stopping in front of the combat ring. "I'm guessing that you've already figured out this didn't exactly end well. You know how long you were here, Masters? Three months. And it turns out that for all three of those months, as you were training those kids, you were preparing to abscond with government property. Remember that part, Masters? When ya tried to steal from us?"

Tony saw Ross rounding on him, sensed the agents approaching him from behind with batons in hand. It should have been a fight he could manage, even an -easy- one...but he couldn't move.

Suddenly his memory came rushing back, so powerful and overwhelming it nearly brought him to his knees. He couldn't even lift a hand to defend himself as he heard the attack coming, felt the rush of wind of the baton smashing into the base of his skull from behind. Stumbling forward before collapsing right onto his face, Tony looked up and saw Ross one last time before the darkness took him.

--

"Tasky."

When consciousness returned, it brought explosive pain with it, a shooting star that begun at the base of Tony's neck and erupted in every direction from there. He groaned and tried to bring his hands to his suffering temples, only to find that he was tied down; bound by steel cables to a stretcher, he could barely wiggle his arms and legs. That got his attention.

The mercenary opened his eyes, which felt bleary and unfocused. He was definitely still aboard the submarine, in what he recognized now as the interrogation room. Dim lighting, an assortment of torture devices nearby; this wasn't good.

"Tasky!" Came a tiny voice, directly in his left ear. He winced at the severity. It could only be Eric.

"Black Ant...?" He murmured. Had he been drugged? He felt sluggish, even moreso than he should from having gotten whacked across the dome. "How'd you find me so quickly?"

"I didn't," Eric replied; he was barely the size of an ant, really living up to his name, sitting inside Taskmaster's ear. "You've been here for four days. I had to wait for the submarine to surface at a hidden base near the Everglades before I could sneak on board. They really messed you up, man. You gonna be good to go?"

Trying to figure out what Eric meant, Tony looked down. His costume was gone; he was wearing...well, nothing, and a number of fresh wounds marked his skin every few inches. The effects of the drugs had exacerbated his amnesia, but now he remembered; they'd spent hour after hour torturing him, driving implements into his flesh and drowning him to get the answer to one simple question:

"Where are the kids?"

He felt a surge of pride, spiteful and strong, as he realized he hadn't told them a damn thing. "I'm fine. Can you get me out of here?"

"Yeah," Eric replied, "But it'll take me a few minutes. They really didn't take any chances; I'm gonna have to use my fusion cutter. Keep still, alright? I already looped the camera feed, and they usually only come in here once an hour. We've got plenty of time." He felt the tiny merc jump out of his ear and start to grow, pulling a device that looked much like a miniature welding torch out of his belt. As he started to cut his way through the cables with the intense blue laser that it emitted, Taskmaster spoke up.

"Thanks for coming for me, little buddy."

"Of course. Thanks for not breaking; would've been a real hassle if we had to deal with the Yellow Submarine here. Besides, it's my job."

Tony was grateful, but with his memory returned...he had to ask. "...And because you feel guilty, huh?"

Eric almost paused the cutting with the torch, he was so surprised. "What do you mean?" Taskmaster could sense some brief hesitation as he finished the job, cutting enough of the cable so that Tony could take the fusion cutter and free his own legs.

"You knew this whole time what happened here," Tony responded calmly. He didn't sound angry; he didn't FEEL angry. "...You were here, too. They brought you in for another job, figured since we were partners, it'd be fine." Now Eric -did- stop cutting. Taskmaster could tell the younger mercenary was stunned, that now, of all times, he didn't expect this to come up. "You came in and saw me training the Scions...found out from The Hub I was planning to help them escape. Together, we were gonna do it. We were gonna do something good for once in our lives, Eric."

"Tony..." Black Ant's mask came up, the automatic visor lifting to reveal his face. He looked terrified, legitimately so, even with his messy red hair covering half his face. Tony didn't stop, rising from his bindings. Something about his presence, despite the blood matting his hair and the fact he was naked, must have been striking; Eric backed away.

"...We were almost out, weren't we? We'd almost saved them when Ross's heavy hitter came. It was a tough fight. So tough, I had to use my photographic reflexes to stop her...and it fried my brain, as it tends to do. I forgot what we were doing. Forgot we were trying to -save- those kids." He advanced a step; Eric retreated one. Tony didn't sound angry.

But he felt pretty angry.

"...We had to get out of there," Eric accused. "You were suddenly operating on auto-pilot, Tony. You think I WANTED to leave the kids behind? But we were ALL gonna die, them included, if we didn't bail! You don't know what it's like!" Eric's fear turned into anger of its own now.

Eric was right; Tony didn't know. "...You could have told me later. We could have come back for them."

"And what, heard you call me full of shit? Your BRAIN. IS. BROKEN!" Eric roared. "HOW ABOUT YOU TAKE IT UP WITH THE HUB! IT'S HER FUCKING JOB TO KEEP YOU IN CHECK, NOT MINE! AND YET HERE I AM!"

"...Yeah. It should have been The Hub," Tony agreed, looking around the interrogation room. Damn; they hadn't been stupid enough to keep his equipment nearby. "...Or ya mean, my wife?"

Eric didn't respond to that, averting his eyes. A tense silence hung in the air for awhile between them before Tony finally spoke.

"We got pretty loud, they're gonna check this out. We...can talk about this later. You came for me, O'Grady. We're still a team. I'll do my best, but without any weapons, this ain't gonna be easy."

Happy to change the subject, Black Ant tossed something so small Tony's way that he barely caught it even with his uncanny reflexes. "Here. It's not much...but I was able to sneak this in." As he triggered the Pym Particles, Taskmaster broke into a grin. He hadn't seen -this- thing in awhile...

It was his energy generator, old SHIELD tech that could take any shape at the will of its wielder; he preferred to have a larger arsenal on hand, so he'd eventually abandoned it, but right now? It was exactly what he needed. Strapping it to his forearm, the mercenary straightened as he heard footsteps rushing towards the interrogation room. "Thanks, little buddy. Let's do this."

Relieved, Eric didn't hesitate to crack a joke. "Can that thing take the shape of pants, by chance? I don't really feel like staring at your glazed hams for this whole fight."

"Sorry, I'm going balls out for this one. Literally." With that, Taskmaster broke into a sprint just as the bulkhead door opened; the first thing the agent who entered saw was a very naked, very muscular brown-haired man leaping into the air, just before the jumping snap kick borrowed from Batroc the Leaper broke his neck. As he went down hard, another of the guards went for the alarm, but Black Ant was already leap-frogging over Tony's shoulder, shrinking and then growing in rapid sequence to slip right through the crowd and tackle him.

"Help!" The man cried out. "The prisoner's escap--" He was cut off as Eric's fusion torch was shoved into his mouth, evaporating his tongue and boiling his brain in seconds. "Ew," Black Ant commented, even as he leapt backwards and drove his elbow into another sentry who was approaching him from behind.

Taskmaster had the rest under control. He had a feeling these guys were trained to fight him; that was a mistake on their part. Instead of his first instinct to turn his energy generator on into the shape of Cap's shield or Black Knight's broadsword, he dug a little deeper. He could tell it had been a good idea when a heavily armored soldier reeled back in surprise as the form of Shang-Chi's nunchaku came to life, whirling like a tornado to deflect an oncoming strike from a stun baton before taking most of his teeth out with a vicious swat across the face.

The pair were a blur of motion, perfectly coordinated until the last of the guards had fallen. They'd come a long way from accidentally hitting each other like the first time they'd faced Spider-Man together, that was for sure.

"That's better..." Taskmaster breathed, dismissing the energy nunchaku. "I remember the layout of this place; we're dead in the center of the sub. Even if we fought our way out, thing's on the move right now, isn't it?"

Black Ant nodded. "Yep. We're back at sea; I barely had time to get on board before Ross was moving again. Even being able to track you, it was hard to infiltrate this thing...I can see why he likes it."

"Then escape ain't an option. We gotta commandeer the sub."

"How?" Black Ant asked. "There's hundreds of soldiers here, not to mention Ross himself and whoever he's hired as his elite security. We won't be able to hold the bridge that long."

Taskmaster considered this. "Good point. I'll head for the bridge. You go to the Engine Room. If we can't conquer the submarine, we'll hold it hostage. You can threaten to blow the engines, sink the whole thing, unless they let me take us to the surface. Even if they try to rush the engine room, you can shrink down and start causing trouble to get them to back off."

Eric thought about it, then nodded. "...Risky, but our best option. You'll be taking most of the heat, though; Ross is gonna be on the bridge, and he'll call reinforcements to save his wrinkly butt. You sure you'll be okay? You look pretty roughed up." The concern was touching; it reminded Tony he needed to give Eric the benefit of the doubt. He wasn't sure he could let what had happened slide entirely...but he didn't need to punish the mercenary for it.

"...I'm good. Thanks, Eric. We'll get out of this together, alright? See ya on the other side." He extended a closed hand.

Smiling, Black Ant bumped his fist with his own. "Yeah. We got this."

With that, they split up, unsure if they'd ever see each other again.

---

By the time Taskmaster ran into the next pack of guards, he wasn't even thinking anymore about the fact he was completely naked. At first he thought it'd be funny, surprising these assholes with some full frontal nudity before kicking their asses, but he was just angry. Angry, cold, and ready to show them exactly how big of a mistake they had made.

Two of the sentries had guns, high-tech air rifles designed to be lethal without risking the integrity of the submarine. He took them down first, generating shuriken and flinging them with enough force to go right through the men's hands and send them to the ground howling in pain.

A Bullseye special. A second later, he was bringing forth a little trick from Zaran the Weapons Master, cleaving through his assailants with the wickedly curved blade of a chinese hooksword. Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Daredevil; these men were clearly expecting those heroes, had trained and prepared accordingly. He could read it in their movements.

As the last one fell, gurgling as a hole poked in their throat surged with blood, Tony shook his head. "Fuckin' amateurs. You think I've spent my whole life doin' this and I only got five people's moves? I was bein' -nice- before." He was close to the bridge now. A little longer, and he'd knock Ross out, tie his moustache to a radiator or something, and be done with this.

"Nothing nice about what I'm looking at, Taskmaster." Tony nearly froze. He knew that voice. It was the only one Thaddeus could have hired to reasonably stop him -- the only mercenary alive he considered to be on his level...and the one he'd been forced to throw everything at just to survive last time.

Elektra Natchios, clad head to toe in black leather armor save for the red mask around the lower half of her face, stood between him and the entrance to the bridge.

"...You again," he growled. She didn't lose her composure at his obvious venom, though she did seem visibly amused.

"You remember, then. I suppose that means you know this won't end well for you. Give up, Taskmaster. You're out of your depth here; you don't even have that ridiculous suit of yours."

"...I thought you had a soft spot for kids, Elektra. This doesn't seem like your kind of job." Tony gripped the energy generator on his wrist, considering what to summon. What could he really use to surprise the world's greatest assassin?

"Don't pretend you know me," she countered. Unsurprisingly, her signature sai were her weapon of choice; she rarely -needed- much else, drawing them from her hips and twirling them in place. "Who are you to talk? You ruined those kid's lives already, blowing up that facility and letting them develop your powers. I'm trying to help them; -Ross- is trying to help them. Do you realize they're already starting to get your memory problems? I don't like Ross, but he's the only one working on a cure. Psychics, scientists, the whole nine yards; he's saving them."

"He's turning them into weapons," Taskmaster growled. "You're fucking deluded if you think he's doing anything because he has their best interests in mind."

"Not as deluded as a naked supervillain who thinks he's the hero here. No more words." Elektra rushed at him, her body little more than a black-and-crimson blur. Even having faced her multiple times, Taskmaster was always alarmed by her speed; it was like trying to battle a waterfall, all its weight bearing down on you...and just as useless to try and hit.

She didn't stop, didn't run into him; she dashed right past him, swinging her sai for his shoulder. Turning and summoning his Captain America shield on reflex, he realized immediately that was her whole plan, to push him into falling back into his faithful moves, his reliable ones. Too late; she was already pirouetting like a dancer, bringing her other dagger up and driving it into his back. It would have run through his kidney and ended the fight right there if he hadn't caught on, but he managed to turn and instead have it driven straight into the muscle group behind his ribs instead.

No time for pain. He swiped with the shield, missed as she deftly ducked, but he was back in control. On the backswing, the shield became a gauntlet, enveloping his fist. Elektra's eyes widened in surprise as she was clocked across the face by a classic move from The Destroyer; she recovered quickly, rolling with the momentum and whirling her leg up in a kick that stopped him from being able to pursue. Now on guard, she closed in once more, this time protecting herself with one sai while thrusting with the other.

A katana. A boomerang. A large, bouncing ball that rapidly whacked Elektra in the forehead and then bounced back into his hand to intercept an attempted cut. Taskmaster pushed himself to his limits, conjuring the most esoteric and obscure techniques he'd ever picked up, desperate to keep Elektra from overwhelming him. As her nose ran red with blood, the same red that trickled down his wounded back, the mercenaries circled each other.

"I always respected you for being able to keep up," Elektra admitted. "Put anything in your hand and it becomes a deadly weapon."

"Bit late for flattery," Taskmaster replied, preparing to  summon the next energy weapon...but he didn't get a chance. Elektra dove in, went low with a stab for his thigh. When he stepped back to avoid it, she came up, smashing her skull into his chin and nearly making him bite his own tongue off, sending him staggering. Reflexively, he moved to summon his shield again - damn it - and she punished him for it. Instead of trying to stab his less vulnerable head, she shoved her sai right through the energy generator itself.

It sputtered, sparked...and died. Suddenly, Taskmaster was weaponless.

"It wasn't flattery. I was explaining your weakness. You're a mimic, Masters...a vague shadow, always one step behind those of us who push ourselves to be the best." She wasn't haughty, wasn't arrogant; just stating facts. Every word stung as true as her dagger as she started towards him. "You gave up everything to be the greatest fighter alive...and you failed at even that."

She lunged. It was all Tony could do to keep himself away from the vicious points of her weapons; he took a kick, a backhand, a pommel smack across the temple in his desperate attempt to block her myriad stabs and cuts. She was a whirlwind of speed and aggression, not reckless but wholly confident that he couldn't keep up with her without a weapon, couldn't spare himself getting run through and land a blow against her at the same time.

Realizing she was right, Tony took a deep breath...and charged head-long at her. He'd told himself there was no way he could truly copy someone like Wolverine; he'd tear his body apart.

But right now, that was a worthy price. As Elektra tried to guard herself with a vicious cross-up slash, Tony suddenly reversed his momentum, trying not to scream in pain when one of his ankles cracked from the sheer speed with which he re-directed his momentum. The assassin couldn't keep up as he whirled in a capoeria kick that smashed her across the jaw, sending her spinning.

She was correct. He couldn't copy his way out of this one. There was one thing, though, that Tony had that even she couldn't match. "You know why I'm the only merc who hasn't fucking -died- and come back by now?" He growled through bloody teeth, rushing at Elektra again. She caught him, intercepted his oncoming punch with her sai. Pain shot through Tony's hand like lightning as the blade punched between his knuckle like a sick inversion of Wolverine's claw, thrusting all the way down until it emerged from his wrist.

But he didn't stop. Taking advantage of his greater weight and raw, adrenaline-fueled strength, he used the fact her blade was stuck in his hand to -yank- her towards him, smashing his forehead into her nose. Elektra reeled, bringing her other sai up into his ribcage; he felt the sick, liquid heat of the wound opened in his liver, then swatted his right hand up with staggering force to box her in the ear, causing her to issue forth a scream of pain that she couldn't even hear as her eardrum exploded.

"Because for all the shit you talk about being better...none of you know how to -survive-. None of you know what it means to really be outgunned, to be against a better opponent...and to take them the fuck down."

Again.

Again.

He beat her. He savaged her. She kept ripping away, giving up on her sai embedded in his flesh and clawing at him with her nails, biting him like a wounded and angry animal, tearing flesh off a chunk at a time.

But he drove his fingers into one of her eyes, slammed his knee into her stomach, and ripped out one of her sai, finally shoving it into her gut. Wavering a moment, Elektra looked down at her wound...and finally collapsed.

It was all Taskmaster could do to not mimic that, too.

"You'll live," he muttered, wiping a frothy mix of his saliva and both of their blood from his face. "As for me...remains to be seen." Taking both of her sai, bleeding from a dozen wounds and running purely on adrenaline, Taskmaster advanced towards the bridge. One brave soldier, a survivor of the previous fight, took aim with an airsoft gun -- he never even saw the dagger that was thrown directly between his eyes, killing him on the spot.

The bulkhead of the bridge hissed as it opened. Thunderbolt Ross was on a mic, shouting himself hoarse. "NATCHIOS! COME IN! IS TASKMASTER--" Hearing the door, he turned around and cursed. "Fucking christ, Masters...you look dead already. ...Hey!" He didn't expect the sheer speed with which Tony closed the gap, driving the sai into his shoulder and literally pinning him to the wall. As he started to struggle, Tony twisted the weapon, narrowing his good eye; the other one was swelling shut, more purple than brown by now.

"We're surfacing. The Hub's going to pick me up. You're never gonna see those kids again. You wanted to know where they were? They're..." He paused, remembering Laura Kinney's last nod to him as she boarded the quinjet.

"They're with an -actual- hero. They're safe, and they're out of your reach."

"Who do you think you are, Masters?" Ross spat. "You'll bleed out before we even breach. You got no idea who the fuck you're messing with, Uncle Sam's--"

"--Uncle Sam isn't gonna do shit. I remember everything now, Thaddeus. This project? It's your little pet. Off the books. No accountability...but no backup. You'll be disowned; thrown out of the military if you're lucky, into The Raft if you're not. And ya know what? I came up here fully intending to bury this fucking dagger in your skull...but I've seen what it looks like to actually give a shit about human life, even worthless ones like yours. So I'm gonna let them."

He jabbed his thumb into a pressure point he'd picked up from Shang-Chi years ago, and Ross fell silent. Stumbling to the controls, he grabbed hold of the mic, even as his photographic reflexes took over and automatically went about commanding the enormous vessel to breach. It was optimized for Ross himself to pilot, all the sub-systems that would normally require a staff of dozens to manage redirected through this very console. A strength...and a weakness.

"Black Ant...this is Taskmaster. I got the bridge. You good?"

He heard gunfire, and for the first time, legitimately felt a pang of fear. Then the speakers crackled. "I'm good. No one else here. You sound like shit."

"Yeah, well...shove...shove it up yer ass, O'Grady."

Taskmaster collapsed against the control panel, just as the submarine began to gain altitude.

                                                                                       EPILOGUE

Tony woke in a stark white room, hooked up to so many machines that he couldn't tell where his arms ended and the needles and cables began. Nauseous with pain and barely able to lift his head, he was greeted with not only the faces of Black Ant and Wolverine, but even the hooded mask of Spymaster and Mara, the young leader of the Scions.

"No one was sure you'd make it," Laura said. "But I said you were pretty damn tough...for a supervillain." Her smirk was wry; maybe it was too optimistic to say it was fond...but it showed relief that he was awake. More than he'd expected.

"...Where am I?" He groaned.

"Albino's hospital," Spymaster explained. He almost collapsed again with relief. There was no one he'd trust more to patch him up after a fight like that. "Don't worry, you haven't been out for another four days...only one this time." Tony winced at the lost time, but it was better than being dead.

"...Ross? The sub?"

"I arrested Ross myself," Laura confirmed. "He's in the Raft awaiting trial. The Scions have agreed to testify, and with that, it's pretty much certain he'll never see the light of day again."

"Hell yeah," Tony replied, then glanced over at Eric. "You make it out alright?"

"Better than you," O'Grady affirmed, then lifted the t-shirt he was wearing to expose an enormous hole in his torso. Tony could see cables and machinery all around the wound. "Except for this. But sometimes being an LMD is kind of awesome, huh? I'm on my way to the repair shop now, but wanted to check in with you first."

"Thanks, buddy."

"...Well, we might not see each other for awhile, after all." Eric averted his eyes, then narrowed them at Laura.

"What do ya mean?" Tony looked curious, then felt a surge of panic as he realized that he wasn't too weak to lift his arm: it was cuffed to the bed.

Laura, her eyes apologetic but her voice firm, didn't make him wait. "...Ross isn't the only one I arrested," she began. "Elektra is also in jail...and you will be too, as soon as you're able to walk."

"Are you fucking--" Taskmaster started, but when Spymaster held up a hand, he stopped.

"Let her talk," Spymaster pleaded. Furious but silent, he nodded for Laura to continue.

"...You have to be tried for what you did, Taskmaster. For a lot of it. But this isn't supposed to be revenge. I told you the Scions are going to testify against Ross..."

Mara picked up where she left off, "...But we're going to testify for you, too. Spymaster explained everything on the Quinjet. About your memory issues. About how you really did want to help us...but you didn't know we existed after you fought Elektra."

Laura nodded at that, then added, after the first hesitation she'd shown this whole time, "...And I'll be testifying, too. I'll tell them about how much of a bastard you are...but also how much I think you can change, if you really try. If someone gives you a chance. You're not well, Tony." It was the first time she'd used his name, -really- used it. "You don't need to be in prison...you need help. And I think if you got it, you could really do a lot of good. But this can't keep happening. You can't keep forgetting who you are, then going right back to mercenary work. I'm hunting The Hub now. She has to account for how she's been controlling you...and if she really is your wife, if she's trying to help you do good as well...then she needs to do better. She needs to bring in professionals. You're not a good man, Taskmaster...but maybe you could be, someday. With help."

Tony tried to look mad, but it didn't work with the tears starting to well in his eyes. "...Why you? Of all people?"

Digging into her pocket, Laura tossed something familiar onto his chest. It was barely as big as his pinky. "After you shot my sisters and I took you down, I wondered about why you seemed so reluctant to fight me. I found the 'bullet' you hit Gabby with. Airsoft pellet...wouldn't have done more than knock her out even if she hadn't been wearing armor. I realized that on some level, even you know you can't keep going on like this...and you don't want to be the villain you let yourself be made out as."

Taskmaster didn't say anything. He couldn't think of anything -to- say. Staring at the deformed pellet, he just laid his head back on his pillow. Smiling faintly, Wolverine gently patted the side of his bed.

"Alright. He needs to rest," came another voice. It was Albino, a sharp-featured and white-haired woman dressed in a pristine lab coat and with a complete lack of fear as she entered the room. "If you want him able to attend this ridiculous trial of yours, I suggest you let him sleep. Out."

Tony watched them go, even weakly lifting a shackled hand to wave at Mara. Black Ant lingered, then leaned down to whisper, "And if they -do- try to put you away, I'll spring ya, buddy. We'll go on the lam together. It's win-win!" With that, he skipped out with the rest.

For the first time in ages, Tony was smiling - sincerely and wholly - as he fell back asleep under Albino's loyal care.

--

Black Ant had gone off for repairs, and Mara had already been escorted away; upon being informed of Akeja's location, Black Panther had quickly contacted Wolverine and agreed to bring all of the Scions to an Academy in Wakanda, where their burgeoning memory issues could be addressed and they could get the care and education they needed after the year they'd missed since their kidnapping. Attempts would be made to find their families, but they would be well cared for regardless.

Now it was just Laura and Spymaster, who stopped the heroine as she was about to leave. "Kinney."

"What?" Laura turned back to face the hooded woman, narrowing her eyes. "Just because I'm helping Taskmaster doesn't mean we're friends. We're finished here."

"...No we're not," Spymaster replied. "In fact, I suspect you're going to want to have a long talk with me." She pulled down her hood, then lifted her mask. Laura had never seen her before; it wasn't someone she recognized, a latina woman with a shock of black hair, stunningly intelligent brown eyes, and the most long-suffering, yet confident quirk of the lips she'd ever laid eyes on.

"...My name's Mercedes Merced. I'm Taskmaster's wife -- and The Hub."

[tnystrk-exe]

Home End

Tony Stark X Reader

Reckless and Impulsive

Baby Steps

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 End

Learning to Live

“Seb?” You looked up at the view box. The surgeons that were watching the surgery now looked shellshocked. “I don’t think we have any other choice but to finish.”

He glanced up and nodded. “You’re right. It doesn’t look like much of an option now. Was the call serious?”

“Sounded more like a goodbye now that I think about it,” you said, worry breaking through your calm demeanor.

“Hey, it’s fine. He was just drunk. Right?” He just needed you to stay rooted. If the back up couldn’t handle whatever news they found out and Tony called you it had to be serious. “Everything’s okay.”

“Yeah. Okay. Yeah, he’s drunk,” you followed along. “That’s all what it was…He’s just drunk. In his feelings. Everything is okay.”

The next hours were grueling. You were so worried coupled with the growing exhaustion. It was more of a comfort that Rhodey hadn’t called with every hour that passed. That meant it wasn’t the end the world. You had to hold on to that hope. It was too distracting to think of anything else.

So, you didn’t. Instead you focused on the patient, making sure you were what she needed you to be. You were sure your skills were sharper than when you had just stepped into the room. Maybe that was just because you were fighting the urge to sleep.

“Mark, time?” You asked your assistant quietly.

He checked the stopwatch he had set up, “We’re on hour 20 ma’am.”

“How are you doing? Do you need to tap out?”

“No,” he shook his head, looking at you with wide eyes, “I’m fine.”

You spared him a glance, “Sure? You look dead on your feet.”

“I-I want to be apart of this.”

“Okay, I’m just checking up on you. We’ll finish this up together.”

“Thank you.”

Six hours later you did the final stitch on your patient. Relief and drowsiness flooding over you, Sebastian, and the two assistants. The four of you made it out of the operating room, new owners of the record and finally allowed to hear the news of what happened in New York.

“What happened to Iron Man?” You asked, waking right back up.

“Well, towards the end of the fight he had this nuke and was taking it up to the hole in the sky an-“

“There was a hole in the sky?” Amanda interrupted.

Mark rolled his eyes, “Aliens were here too, keep up.”

“I don’t have enough patience for this, both of you shut up or find someone else to fill you in,” you turned your attention back to Mia, “What happened to Tony?”

“He went through the hole and it started shrinking. Then just before it closed, he came back down. It didn’t look like he was flying and nothings been heard about the team since…Are you okay, YN?”

Sebastian cut in for you, “Why don’t you fill in these two some more? I’m going to find somewhere quiet for YN.” He led you into an empty room, studying you. “Hey, it’s okay. If it was serious someone would have told you something.”

“He was saying goodbye Seb…” your voice quivered.

“Hey, hey,” Sebastian pulled you into a hug, “You didn’t know. How could’ve you? All you knew is he was finishing the building right?”

“I don’t know…I should have known. He sounded different.” Pulling away from him, you took out your phone.

“What are you doing?”

“I need to see it,” you answered, opening up YouTube. “I just, I need to know how it happened.”

Sebastian tried to grab your phone, “You need rest. Seeing that is just going to upset you.”

“I need to. I can sleep later. So watch this with me or go away.”

He looked upset but nodded, “Fine, but after this you’re letting me drive you home and I get your couch.”

“Deal.”

-

Since falling out from the sky being revived by hulk and shwarma. Not too long after the Avengers got cleaned up and parted ways. Nick Fury was left to deal with the mess, they already handled the threat.

Bruce was in his new room, exhausted after the Hulk out. Which left Tony alone in his lab. Tinkering. Thinking. Pepper had came back as quickly as she had left. She had thought about him first. He didn’t. When the time was running out he chose you. It was selfish.

“How are you holding up Tony?” Pepper asked, setting a cup of coffee down in front of him. There would be no use in trying to get him to sleep.

“Good. Fine. Still breathing so that’s something. Gotta start figuring out improvement to the suit after all of that.” They’ll be back.

“I’ll let you work then,” she moved to walk away before he stopped her.

“We really need to talk.” He waited a second sorting out his thoughts. “I had a choice to make. Really this was something I’ve had to figure out for a while. When it came down to it, I knew, in my heart, what the answer was and why I can’t keep doing this.”

“Keep doing this…YN? You chose YN.”

Tony saw the tears in her eyes and he’d be hard pressed to say he wasn’t as torn about this either. A part of him did love her, but it just wasn’t enough to make him stay. He didn’t know if you felt the same. Hell it would be just his luck if some guy coming out of no where to swoop you away when he was ready again. “J.A.R.V.I.S. gave me the option to call you before I….without a second of thought I asked for YN. You don’t deserve that Pepper. You should be someone’s first choice. Someone leagues better than me. Honestly Pepper, I’m not sure that is being together is the best thing for either of us.”

“I do deserve someone better than you,” Pepper no venom in her words just stating a fact. “This should have ended at Christmas. Sure you were handsy and always dropped lines, but I though that’s just Tony. He’s always like that, he won’t change. Then I asked you to and you were so snappy and pent up. You know Tony, I shouldn’t have to ask someone to change.”

“You shouldn’t,” he agreed, “I’m sorry. It’s just-“

“I know, Tony.” She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest protectively. “You don’t think I haven’t seen it? You listen to her, trust her, it’s easy to see you love her more than you could ever love me. We’ve been through so much together but I don’t think I’d ever hold a candle to her in your eyes. Hell, Tony, you didn’t see her for years and suddenly you’re raising a baby that isn’t yours with her. I never even thought you wanted kids.”

“Pepper, you didn’t have to say that. I see him in her every day. Nothing that guy has ever done has made him Ro’s father,” he said instantly, not prepared for that low blow.

“You’re her dad Tony, it was just the wrong wording. I’m not thinking straight. The fact of the matter is, I knew when this started. Maybe, I thought, you were ready to grow out of it. Here we are…you weren’t. I don’t even think you wanted to change. I’m your second choice right?”

“I didn’t want you to be,” he answered, honestly, “I tried so hard to let it go. Didn’t realize just how tight I was holding on.”

“You should go back as soon as you can. I’ll make sure everything here is taken care of.”

“Where are we?” He asked. She was still one of the few close people he had.

“I…think we’ll be fine…We definitely need some time, but we’ll be okay.”

Pepper left him alone in his lab again. He bided his time looking over blueprints and improvements he could make. Part of him wanted to leave soon, but he should help Bruce settle in somewhat.

His phone rang, some kiddy tune Ro had picked for you, and he answered immediately. “Hey, Cupcake.” Your responding sigh of relief made him smile.

“Tony, you’re really killing me here.”

“Did you break your record?”

“With a couple of hours to spare. Did you break anything?”

“Attagirl, congratulations,” he chuckled, “I think I broke the record of most badassary shown in one day.”

You yawned, “I can give that to you. Easily.”

“Why don’t you go to sleep, honey?”

“Can’t. I tried. Sebastian brought me home and crashed on the couch. Rhodey said he’d watch Ro a while longer for me. I tried to sleep, but I just really needed to hear you and I wasn’t sure if you’d be free.”

“What if I drone a while for you? Until you fall asleep.”

“That’s definitely a runner up to having you here at home.”

He smiled, “Soon enough. I promise. Now let’s bore you to sleep.”

Tony went into detail the concepts in the most dull way possible because he knew your interest would pipe up other wise. “Honey? Are you following me?” He asked once your breathing fell more rhythmic.

“Mhm.”

Oh you were out soon. “Okay. I love you.”

He could almost see you curling up into your blankets. It was easy to wish that he was there instead of this lab at that moment. “I love you too,” you mumbled.

God you had him like an idiot teenager. Then again after years of ignoring how he felt, maybe this was going through the systems. You dropped off quickly once he started back up with his details.

-

It was a week before Tony told you he was coming back home. Ro seemed to gloss over the fact that he almost died. There were much more exciting matters at hand.

“Captain America was there!” She jumped up and down, “Daddy and Captain America are a team!” Rhodey did well to shelter her. Tony had been okay, there was no use in worrying her. If she had questions the two of you could answer her. “I can’t wait!”

“You can’t wait?”

“They’re going to be best friends!” Ro said happily, “Daddy said grandpa was friends with him. Daddy can be too.” An excited scream was let out, “I’m so excited!”

You laughed, “To see your dad soon or someday meeting Captain America?”

“Daddy’s coming home?” She shouted, “Yes!”

“Letting you have a cupcake with that much extra frosting wasn’t a good idea, huh?” You asked, wiping away at the red frosting by her lips. Excitement with added sugar? Ro was on another level.

She looked up at you and tried to wink, which turned more into a blink. “It was the best idea mommy. You should let me have more.”

“Don’t try your luck,” you laughed, smearing a bit of frosting on her nose.

“Mommy!” She reaches over, her frosting covered hand aimed for your cheek. A familiar knock stopped her in the brink of time. “It’s daddy!” Running away from you she headed straight for the door.

“Open!” You shouted, not wanting to deal with wiping frosting off the door.

Tony opened the door, catching the small child in his arms almost instantaneously. “I missed you, Rugrat!” He hugged her close.

“Missed you too, daddy.” She returned the hug, smearing frosting onto Tony’s face and clothes.

“Didn’t wait to make dad feel back at home, did you?”

“Can you teach me my bike now? So that I can show Captain America I can ride it all on my own?”

He set her back down on the floor, “Go clean yourself off, then. We’ll teach you how to ride your bike today.” You walked over when Ro ran off, grabbing him into a hug. He melted into you, stress rolling off of him in waves. His face was pressed against your neck. “Missed you.”

“I missed you too,” you sighed, carding a hand through his hair. “Let’s get all this frosting cleaned up.” Grabbing his hand you led him over to the kitchen.

“You’re awfully touchy today,” he commented a smug smile on his face.

“It’s this or  I yell at you for not telling me what was happening.” You grabbed a rag and dampened it before wiping off the frosting Ro had rubbed into his goatee and over cheek.

“It’s not the worst thing I’ve done.” He studied your features closely. Perfect as always, of course. You were fairly clean despite the hug, your shirt getting the worst of it. Though there was a tempting bit of frosting that had made it onto your bottom lip.

You scoffed, rolling your eyes, “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done then?”

“Probably not doing this earlier.” A hand on your hip pulled you closer, the other tilted your chin up slightly. Leaning down, he closed the gap. To his delight, you didn’t waste anytime falling into step. Both of you rushed into it. He had missed death by seconds time and time again. “I think Cupcake has been a very fitting nickname,” he chuckled, pulling away, the too sweet frosting still lingering.

You groaned in annoyance, “God you talk too much.” There wasn’t any time wasted to wait for his response before you pulled him back down for another kiss. This time the kiss was gentler, shier. Love filled to the brim, because he almost left and this all would have been lost. The sweetness couldn’t last the second your fingers tugged at his hair. He pulled you closer, a low groan coming from him. It was just the two of you for once, no walls.

“Ew!” Ro screamed, covering her eyes, “Gross! Gross! Gross!”

The two of you pulled away abruptly. You managed to compose yourself quicker than Tony.

“You said daddy and mommy don’t kiss!” She said wrinkling up her nose. “Daddy kisses Pepper.”

“Actually, tyke, he doesn’t. Not anymore,” Tony informed.

“I thought when you kiss, you kiss forever. Like princess and prince.”

He picked her up, “Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Y’know that story where the princess has to kiss the frogs until one becomes her prince?” She nodded. “Well I’m sort of another frog for Pepper.”

“Is daddy just a frog for you too mommy?” Ro asked, putting you on the spot. “Can daddy please be a prince? Please!”

Tony gave you a small smile. He knew you and you probably started overthinking the second you saw Ro. “Sometimes you don’t know right away, Ro. That’s okay. Now, you and I have a bike to learn how to ride, don’t we?”

“No training wheels!”

He chuckled, walking with her out the door. “That would have been a great mentality a few weeks ago.”

You joined them after setting yourself straight. There wasn’t time to over do things in your head. Later when Ro was in bed the two of you would talk. It was the quickest way to understand one another.

Tony pushed Ro on her bike. Helping her figure out how to balance herself. They had been practicing a couple of weeks now, but she’s scare herself and fall. “I need to let go after a little.”

“No! Not yet!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll catch you, okay? Trust me?”

“All the time,” she nodded. He let go and the bike started to wobble underneath her, “Not right now!”

Tony put a hand on the handlebars, steadying the bike. “A little bit more practice then.”

“Did grandpa teach you how to ride a bike?” She asked as Tony helped her around.

He shook his head, “Grandpa didn’t like to do these kind of things. He said I had to figure it out myself if I wanted to learn.”

Ro frowned, “That’s mean. Did you learn by yourself?”

“Didn’t have to,” he moved his hands from the bike, slow enough that Ro didn’t notice a difference. A slight wobble, but she stayed up. He continued walking beside her. “I had Jarvis. Usually he was the one to teach me things.”

“Like wall J.A.R.V.I.S.?” She sped up a bit on her bike, still thinking she was being held.

“No, I named J after him.” He looked over at you and winked. “Hey, why don’t we start going that way?” Tony pointed to the left toward you.

She changed direction, not noticing Tony was no longer beside her. “Okay, daddy.”

“I’ve definitely earned a reward,” he told you, tapping his lips.

Ro looked back at him, confused. “Why?” It took a moment to click before she realized what had happened. “Mommy! Daddy! I can do it!”

You stopped her short before she crashed into the garage door. “You did great beautiful!”

“I wanna try again.”

“Okay, try going back to dad,” you instructed, helping her redirect her bike.

Ro rode her bike to him without so much as a wobble. “I did it again! I’m amazing!”

“Dear god, she has your ego,” you teased him.

“That’s right she does!”

Jumping off her bike, Ro dashed over to Tony, hugging him tightly. “Thank you for teaching me daddy.”

He kneeled down to hug her better. “Anytime sweetheart. What are we learning next?”

“Hmm,” she thought for a minute, “the piano! We can play our favorite songs!”

“Piano it is, ill just need a refresher. Haven’t really touched a piano in a while. Why don’t you try out that bike of yours a bit more first?”

Both of you sat down on the porch watching Ro do circles in the driveway. She didn’t want to stop until the sun went down and both of you were more than willing to oblige.

“So?”

“So what?”

“Am I another frog here?”

You sighed, “Let’s get Ro fed and in bed. Then we can talk.”

Two hours and five stories later, Ro was asleep for the night. Leaving her room you met up with Tony in the living room. He was relaxing on the couch, a glass of scotch held limply in his hand. “You over thought it sweetheart?” He asked as you sat down beside him.

“Tones, I don’t know..”

Tony sighed, a hand on your knee giving it a soft squeeze. “What don’t you know?”

“What if we don’t do well? I can’t mess up things with you and Ro just because of what we want and you’re so…. Tony, I don’t think I’d be able to handle you breaking my heart again. Besides,” you shook your head, “You almost died people make rash decisions after something like that. It’s risky.”

“C’mere.” He pulled you over, making you straddle his lap, closing the bubble around the two of you more. “We don’t know what happens or how this ends. Do we? Yes, something could have happened a couple of days ago, but nothing did. The only thing that happened is I don’t want to keep playing this game.”

“We don’t have a good history. Things get tough and you leave or I send you away.”

“What isn’t good about our history? There’s love, happiness, we’ve supported one another multiple times. Yes, there’s bad too. I’m not going to stay here and tell you that ends today. Let’s face it YN, it’s me and I’m a mess. That doesn’t mean we can’t be better.”

“What do you think would make us better?”

He took a sip of his drink, offering it to you which you accepted happily. “I’d probably stop hiding the both of you away. I’m proud of my girls and doing all this secretive stuff is just stealing away our time. The two of you keep me straight and I’m tired of things pushing us apart.”

“I don’t know, Tones.”

“YN, honey, look me in they eye and tell me I don’t love you. I know, when we were kids we admitted things to each other. The first thing I did was set a limit on it, because things were messed up and I wanted to wait until things got better. We’d wait forever if we keep going through that path.”

You knew he was right. Nothing will ever be right and you would never have an idea without trying. This had to be a leap of faith and you had to trust Tony to be there to catch you. “You’re really not giving the media a break this month are you?”

“Nah, that would have been too easy.”

Leaning down, you caught him in a kiss. His arms wrapped tightly around you, making sure there was no where else you could go. It didn’t take long to know that this would head a certain way. You got his tie out of the way and started working on the buttons of his shirt. His hand made it under your shirt, letting you set the pace. He kissed up and down your neck, unable to resist leaving a few marks here and there.

“Oh, so this is happening now?” Rhodey asked, having seemingly entered when both of you were preoccupied.

You pulled away and Tony followed after, muttering something like, “He’s seen worse we can keep going.” Stopping him short, he rested his head against your shoulder, “Whats up Rhodey?”

“I promised Ro I’d be here in the morning. Figured staying the night would be easier. I’m guessing now isn’t a good time. I guess I’ll just leave and take Ro with me.”

“We’re fine,” you said, slipping off of Tony’s lap. “You’re good.”

“Actually, Platypus. If you wouldn’t mind staying here, I think we’re heading to my place.”

“By all means, no one wants to hear that again. Besides, I’m banking on the two of you getting less annoying after it.”

Tony didn’t waste anytime taking you to the door. “You’re the best!”

-

You groaned, pulling Tony’s duvet closer around yourself. “Tony’s in his lab?” You asked J.A.R.V.I.S. sleepily.

“Yes Dr. LN.”

“What time is it?”

“2 o’clock. Sir instructed not to wake you. He did want me to tell you there was food waiting in the kitchen,” the A.I. informed you.

“Thanks, J.” A shower and food were high on your priority list. Before heading to your usual room in the mansion, you grabbed one of Tony’s white button ups. Looking in the mirror, you spotted all the hickeys he left that would be a pain to cover up. There was no need to worry about that so soon.

Within thirty minutes your were in the kitchen, eating the Chinese food Tony had left for you.

“I’m surprised you can even walk,” Tony joked, coming up from his lab.

“Fuck you,” you laughed, rolling your eyes at him.

He smirked, “You did a couple of times, but I’m always happy for another go.” Tony gave you a quick peck, “Morning Cupcake.”

“Morning.” You smiled when he wrapped his arms around you, already going for your neck. “You’re insatiable, Tones. Care to explain all of those?”

“Figured you’d look amazing with them. Like always, I was right. With the added affect of my shirt?” He put a hand over his arc for dramatic affect, letting out a breath. “You’ll be the end of me sweetheart. Besides, it’s not like I was the only one. Someone was way more possessive than they let on.”

You laughed, “Maybe we’re both a bit guilty then.”

Tony smiled, kissing the side of your mouth. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. I think we waited long enough. Don’t you?”

“We definitely have,” you returned his kiss happily, “Now, why don’t you show me what’s down in that lab of yours?”

He short circuited for a second. “Marry me?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Try again in a couple of years.”

“I’m trying again tomorrow. I’ll take what I can get for now.”

“I love you, Tony,” you admitted. “I don’t know what I was so scared of.”

He chuckled. “One of us had to be the worrier.” Tony grabbed you by thighs, pulling you up to hold you. “I love you, YN, and I think I’m just about ready to show you how much again. J, do not disturb for a couple of hours.”

[ao3feed-stevenatasha]

when push comes to shove

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2L7QN6s

by cpt_stvngrntrgrs

These two motherfuckers don't know what's in store for them.

-- for anon: A Post-Avengers Nick Fury accidentally goes to the future and sees his two best agents (Steve and Nat) are married. He returns to the past and calls Steve and Nat to his office to officially "partner them up". NICK FURY IS THE OG MATCHMAKER.

Words: 2864, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Nick Fury, James Rogers, Maria Hill, Scott Lang

Relationships: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov

Additional Tags: Time Travel, im soft for grandpa nick fury uwu, dumbass shield energy ngl, so endgame happened but they're all alive as usual, more nick fury-centric than i thought it would be, no f-bombs tho

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2L7QN6s

[manbehindtheshield]

they gave him an apartment -- all decorated with furniture from the 1940′s of course.  he supposes it’s to make him feel at ease and comforted being surrounded with things that were familiar to him.  however, it makes him miserable and longing for a time of long ago. 60+ years to be exact.  he feels out of place and lonely.  what’s he supposed to do now?  how’s he going to adjust to this new life where everything is so foreign to him?

his blue eyes shif over to the ‘telephone’ on the table.  one of the shield agents showed him how to use it, but he couldn’t bring himself to try it out.  besides, who’s he going to call?  peggy’s  the only living person he knows, but she’s well into her eighties and -- from her file -- she had been married and had a family of her own.  what’s he going say to her now?

leaning back on the couch he looks at the television screen -- another thing that was quite different from what he was used to. there was an old dodger’s game playing on loop -- it only brings back memories of being a kid and trying to scrounge up enough money with his best friend to go see them play.  his heart clenches at the memory.  steve closes his eyes for a moment before looking at the clock on the wall.  nick fury’s sending someone over here to ... talk to him...help him transition... he doubts he’s going to get used to this -- not for a very long time, anyway.

he’s just about to get up and try to figure out the coffeemaker when there’s a knock at the door.  a sigh escapes him, and heads to the door instead.  his ‘new friend’ is probably here.  steve makes a quick look in the mirror to make sure he’s presentable.  he’s wear a neutral-tone plaid shirt and khaki colored pants -- they had given him suspenders, but he opted not to wear those today. even without them he still looked like a grandpa compared to how men dressed these days.  oh well, this would have to do -- at least he had showered this morning.  he opens the door, there’s no smile, but he still tries to look friendly.  “hi, um, are you from shield?” he asks the blond woman.  “come on in.  i’m steve ... i’m sure you already know that..” he tells her, shutting the door once she’s inside.

@cptcardnvrs