#normal cannonical behavior

[patchoulii-2hu-144p]

um i uninstalled and disabled snapd months ago??? this is windows level of bullshit.

[whore4gwen]

Re8 Women dating HCs

Contains: Lady Dimitrescu, Donna Benevento, & Mother Miranda

WLW

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Tags: Light talks of manipulation, narcissism, and sadism, mental health issues, fluff, angst if you squint hard enough, possessiveness, slightly unhinged behavior, MY personal head cannons, very slight suggestiveness, Mirandas fucking God complex, isolation, religious elements, cuddling, poor perception of love, & tax evasion.

A/N: Im working on sm things rn it’s not even funny. Despite that, I desperately wanted to post something, so here’s some of my hc. No these are not all my hcs, these are just some of the REALISTIC ones I have. These are based on my own personal perception of these fictional characters. You are welcome to disagree with anything I write, but you’re not welcome to harass me about it. Please keep negativity to yourselfs. Anyways, please enjoy!

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Alcina:

-It’s not that Lady Dimitrescu is incapable of loving another, I just think it’s the way she would love.

-Carnal, possessive, dangerous, a little crazed even. Nothing about the lady’s love is sensual or soft. She’s powerful, domineering, and boy does she relish in it. Of course she’s aware of all the things she could do, all the things you’d let her do. So willing, so compliant, so easy to control.

-Alcina is a narcissist through and through. You will bend to her will, to her every need. You’re hers, after all. (We still love you thou)

-I feel like her love is very incessant, very smothering for lack of better words. She’s not exactly clingy, but she needs you around, she needs to feel your presence.

-Always, and I mean always watching you. Nothing you do will go past her. She needs to know exactly where you are and what you’re doing at all times.

-A bit emotionally manipulative. Of course she doesn’t see it that way, she just wants everything to go her way. What’s so wrong with that?

-I think for the most part she’s a little self aware about her flaws and what not, but I wouldn’t say this with 100% certainty. A big part of her doesn’t really see a problem with the way she is. It’s absolutely normal.

-But to be fair, it’s not like anyone would call her out.. so🤷🏻‍♀️

-Pet names pet names pet names. Alcina absolutely adores them. She only really uses your names unless she’s really pissed. In that case, run.

Donna:

-Shy. So incredibly so that you don’t hear her voice till weeks after working for her. And the way your jaw fell to the ground when you heard it had Angie belly laughing on the ground. If it wasn’t for her, you thought maybe you were hearing things.

-Forgets to eat often. She gets so preoccupied with her dolls, she doesn’t always take the best care of herself. So make sure you remind her to eat:(

-It’ll take AGES to get Donna there, but when you do, she is nothing short of the wait. Very passionate, and a little unhinged.

-Like Alcina, she’s a bit possessive.

-She finally found someone she was comfortable with showing her scare, you’re not going anywhere. You belong to her and that’s final. You’re literally stuck, so get comfortable.

-Values your opinion over everything. Her cooking, her sewing skills, her Garden. Donna swoons at praise. A light pink dusting her cheeks any time you compliment her, no matter how minor.

-Poor Donna has been alone for quite some time now. Touch starved as well as touch repulsed. Have fun with that :)

- Canonically, Donna has really bad mental health issues, which causes her to lash out and make rash decisions. She’s not abusive by any means, just a lot to handle.

-She gets into her own head a lot. Constantly convincing herself none of this is real. That one day she’ll wake up and you’ll be gone.

-I know she has manic episodes. Cannot convince me otherwise. Before you, they were almost unmanageable. Your first experience dealing with Donna during one terrified you. You were so worried about Donna, you had no idea what was happening.

-You tried desperately to comfort her. Unfortunately the voices were stronger than your weak attempts.

-After a while, she finally calmed down and explained that catastrophe as best as she could without scaring you off.

-At first Donna didn’t really understand the purpose of cuddling. It’s not that she didn’t want to, she was just truly confused. After having the significance of cuddling explained to her, she fell in love with it.

-Unironically, she’s the big spoon. She loves holding you, making sure you’re safe in her arms. Now, it’s the only way she can fall asleep.

Miranda:

-This bitch is so crazy.

-All shits and giggles aside, this woman is absolutely sadistic.

-Mind games are inevitable. Especially if she’s truly in love with you, in her dark and twisted way.

-Possessive asf.

-Did I already say possessive?

-Miranda is definitely stingy and will isolate you from your friends/family. Why do you need them when you have her? She’s your Goddess, she’s all you need. Never mind everyone else.

-Definitely the type to tell you to take a nap if you ever say you’re tired of her shit.

-You’re not going anywhere. Nice try, but no.

-I know this is obvious, but her God complex is really top tier. I mean seriously.

-Absolutely loves being worshipped, and not just in the bedroom, if you know what I mean. She wants to be put first, she wants to be your number one priority, your Goddess, your everything.

-She will find a way to incorporate her status & power in everything she does.

-She loves you, but you must always remember your place, under her. Figuratively and literally.

-Despite her cut off personality, she’s definitely a cuddlier. Especially after a long day of failed experiments and aggravating meetings.

-Like Donna, Miranda has been alone for almost a century. She’s so damn touch starved yet also incredibly touch repulsed at the same time. Have fun coping.

-Of course she threatened you if you ever told anyone thou. I mean can you imagine THE Mother Miranda being spooned? Imagine what the public would say.

-Fucking tax evader.

-After she gets Eva back, successfully, she lessens up, but only a bit. Like Alcina, she is the way she is and she doesn’t really see the problem with it.

I want all three of them so badly.

[paraphwrites]

so if payneland were to become cannon, i think charles would totally take his time to make sure he knows how he's feeling and then to build up to the declaration through flirting with edwin. and charles thinks he's doing a bang up job, using all his best lines, making edwin give that soft little smile

and edwin, the iconic king he is, has no idea charles is flirting. because charles has been flirting with him for the past thirty years. not in a romantic way, just in that fun way you flirt with your friends when you're sixteen and lonely and bored. charles is just kinda a flirty person so even when he's actually flirting with edwin, edwin's just like, this is your normal behavior.

so when charles ultimately DOES confess, it's a right mess. it's coming out of nowhere to edwin, and face it, they're probably getting chased by a demon hellspawn witch creature, for parallelism's sake. & legit i just think that's beautiful

[am-i-interrupting]

Hi! I loved your Hazbin hotel with nails head cannons. Could you do an extension of that where you get nails to match your s/o? Please 🙏 ❤️❤️❤️

There are two ways to take this so depending on whether or not the character would let someone do their nails dictates how I’ll do it. For characters who will, you get matching sets of nails. For characters who won’t, you get nails that are inspired by their aesthetic.

(Part two— the gals)

Alastor

When you show him nails that are red in color with radio dials and deer antlers decorating them, his smile widened and he tilted his head, curious.

“What do you think?” “I think that you look lovely, darling.”

Expect some extra hand holding.

He will be bringing your hand up to his lips to kiss. Looks at the design, smiles a bit more genuinely, squeezes your hand, and let’s your hands drop.

When your in private, expect to be brought into his lap.

He lets you do whatever you like but he is holding one of your hands the entire time.

Running his fingertips down your finger.

He will run his thumb over any ridges that appear due to the design.

When you’re asleep, he memorizes the design, his color, his symbols on your hand against your skin.

Husk

He’s actually shocked when you take his suggestion. He thought you were just asking out of idle curiosity. He didn’t actually expect you to get it done.

He just kind of stares, shocked at your hand.

The nails are matte and coffin shaped.

Most have a black base and have a card type design. The spade, the clover, the diamond. The first two white and the last red.

What he didn’t expect the heart to be yellow and your free fingernail to have the white and pink stripes of his ears. (Listen, I love his pilot design)

He placed a kiss to your hand and compliments them.

He’s not as obvious as Alastor would be (in comparison to Alastor’s normal no touch behavior) but he would be holding your hand a bit more.

When he thinks no one is watching, he’ll stare at your nails with a quirked little smile.

Lucifer

You go get your nails done together.

Lucifer gets a little duck design with a white background.

He just sort of stares at them, surprised at how much he likes it.

He starts going with you more often to get his nails done. It makes him feel good. He starts wearing his gloves less.

When you get nails inspired by him, he’s absolutely speechless.

The pinstripe design of his favorite waistcoat. The apple and snake imagery.

He loves it so much.

He placed a kiss on every single finger.

When the two of you next see Charlie or anyone from the Hotel or Ozzie, Bee, or any of the other sins, he grabs your hand and shoved it in their face.

“Look at their nails! See! They’re inspired by me! They put that on their hand!”

Vox

“So, what did you get this time, my dear?”

His brow would raise when he saw the design.

The Voxtech logo, a wifi symbol, some red and black hypno circles, and the rest same blue as his claws.

“Well, well, what sight. I do believe these are my favorite set yet.”

Would bring your hand up against his and measure how they line up.

He would then curl your hands together so he was holding yours.

He would then pull you into your lap and give you a kiss.

Ideally he’d run his hands along your fingers but that’s just something he does without them.

Secretly (not really) he likes the fact that you’ve willingly put his symbols on you.

Would try not to give away his liking to them away too much so he doesn’t really do much aside saying they’re his favorite set.

[fatkish]

Tomioka with a total opposite reader + jealousy issues head cannons Please!

Giyuu x Total Opposite Reader HC’s

How the two of you are friends is beyond him

You’re similar in personality to Mitsuri and Rengoku, you’re very open and talkative as well as friendly

No one really knows why but you tend to gravitate around Tomioka

Poor boy didn’t even realize when he developed feelings for you

All he knows is that he enjoys when you talk to him

And you do that a lot

You’re constantly following him around whenever you get the chance, talking to him about anything and everything whilst he just listens

When you were hanging out with Sanemi one time, Tomioka got really jealous

He watched as you got along with Sanemi and even made a joke that got a small laugh out of him

Giyuu had given you the cold shoulder for some time which took you awhile to figure out since there was hardly any change from his normal behavior

You realized it when you had offered to make his favorite food and he ignored you, normally he’d turn to you and agree or make some kind of acknowledgment of your offer but he ignored you

You then began to pester him until he got fed up and told you to go hang out with Sanemi

It took some time but you eventually got him to explain that he was jealous of how well you got along with Sanemi

You then helped Giyuu come up with a plan to befriend Sanemi by making ohagi

Giyuu was supposed to deliver the ohagi to Sanemi but it seemed to only make things worse

When Sanemi found out you were behind it he destroyed you in training the next time you spared

You laughed it off and apologized to Giyuu for your idea not working

Giyuu accepted your apology and your strange friendship returned to normal

[irisinluv]

Yandere Stardew Valley- Sebastian

I've been playing some Yandere Stardew mods recently. While I love them..... I feel like they do my husband (Sebastian) wrong. The citizens of Pelican Town are telling me that they can't hang out with me because Sebstian threatened them. That they've noticed some weird behavior. That he's physically violent. I disagree with all of these for Sebby.

He's our hot programmer boyfriend who lives in his basement bedroom, and only emerges to enjoy a smoke break, or to go see his friends. Now, while again, I do enjoy playing the mods...... I think his cannon behavior sets him up to be the perfect chronically online yandere. Pelican Town isn't exactly the most connected (6 out of the 11 rivals have access to a computer), but there's still potential. Obviously they're gonners if they have a computer. Sam finds himself doxed after making a comment about the gifts you gave him this week, and poor Haley's socials are blowing up with hate comments- from her personal insta to her photography blog.

But what about the other 5? The ones who are more disconnected? Well. It's easy enough to get Shane fired from joja. A little email to Morris from "HQ" saying he either fires Shane or his own pay gets docked..... well. Suddenly, everyone's favorite alcoholic doesn't even have a job anymore. Elliott suddenly has all these taxes he hasn't paid on his little shack..... beachfront properties cost a lot, you know. The parents stop letting Penny watch their kids after some..... explicit photos get leaked. It doesn't matter that they're edited. These people don't know about Photoshop. All they know is apparently Penny's making ends meet to support her mother..... and there's a new favorite subject to gossip on between all the older women. The other rivals are equally taken care of. All you need to focus on now is how Sebastian is the only reliable option in the whole damn town.

And he knows you so well, doesn't he? You, who lived away from it all until now. You, who WAS connected to the internet. Who had their entire life detailed through Facebook updates and Instagram posts. Honestly, Sebastian thinks that maybe he DOESN'T need to leave Pelican town... looking at the life you lived before coming to the valley, he thinks its much easier to keep you safe when he can control everything that goes on. There were too many factors to your old life. Too many parties to go to, coworkers to talk to, ex-boyfriends/girlfriends worry about. No. Sebastian thinks that city life isn't fit for the two of you to start you life together.

While he enjoyed seeing the trip down memory lane of who you were before becoming the farmer, and learning more about your likes and dislikes, he much prefers this version of you. The version of you who he found bouncing on their toes outside his door, excitedly shoving a frozen tear at him. Who eventually became the only person he was genuinely excited to have come barging into his room unannounced. And the thought of moving into the farm with you was all together far too tempting. He can picture it already. He'd set up a little area to work on his bike, he'd help out around the farm for you (he saw your hands covered in scrapes and splinters one day, and you sheepishly told him your fences had started wearing down.... but fixing a fence was another first for you. So you ended up scraping yourself up a bit on the old wood. Now, Sebastain, who, while he doesn't enjoy it, grew up with a carpenter mother..... well. He's going to make sure you never have that many splinters again.) Oh and he can already imagine it. The two of you, far away from the rest of the town, from prying eyes, no one to hear what you two would get up to as he helped you relax after a long day of working the feilds.....

This fantasy would sustain him until you eventually asked him to marry you. I don't think he would rush anything. To you, and the rest of the citizens, he was just normal Sebastian. Showing up for band practice, playing pool at the bar (although he seemed to play much better when a certain farmer came to watch). He just realized that the best way to control all the factors in town would be to remain anonymous. Avoid suspicion. After all. In a small town like that, it would be all too easy to turn against him if he decided to publicly threaten someone. And how would you react if you came to drop off some fresh sashimi to your boyfriend, only to find him being dragged out of his house by Clint, with Marlon standing nearby, ready to ship him off to face justice in the adventurers guild? No. That wouldn't do. He can't add any more stress to you like that. He'd remain the puppeteer, pulling the strings of the valley.

This isn't to say Sebastian never stalks you in person or anything like that. He can't help himself. He's a night owl. He knows the villagers schedules, has since before you even came to town. So, he knows he can get away with digging in the trash to find the straw you threw away at the bar. And if someone does hear him.... well. Linus is going to be everyone's first thought. He does, however, start adopting a stricter routine as far as monitoring your house after you mention how you sell your produce.

Sebastian was rightfully horrified when you explained that Mayor Lewis comes by your farm at night to collect anything you wish to sell. How it's such a relief to be able to just chuck things in the the bin as you're rushing to bed at 1:50 in the morning, only to get up first thing and start your day again, and not have to worry about lugging all your goods to the store. Sebastian won't criticize you for the lack of sleep..... no. That's not what's worrying. What's worrying is that this old man who has a gold statue of himself and who gets it on in the bushes with his secret girlfriend (of course Sebastian knows about that) is showing up to your house sometime after 2 am. His mind flashes back to his fantasy of the two of you, completely alone on the farm.... and then is mortified as this fantasy morphs into a nightmare where he looks up from bed with you, and sees Lewis' wrinkled face peering through the window. Yea. No. Sebastain installs some hidden cameras to make sure Lewis doesn't get up to anything funny while you're defenseless, asleep, alone..... ok he might need to get a new mayor elected. The old man might just have to go. Perhaps to a home outside the town. Regardless, he makes sure Lewis stops coming by as frequently. Frustratingly, he isn't able to completely stop it, but that'll be an easy fix once the two of you are married. He'll act surprised, "wow Lewis, that's so kind of you to help out the farmer all this time. But hey, don't worry, I'll take over. I'm up late anyways, and it's the least I can do!" But Sebastian still wakes up in a cold sweat and frantically rushes to check the cameras, making sure you're OK. That Lewis really is just checking the shipping bin.

Once y'all get married, he shows a bit more of that possessive side to you. But you chalk it up to just bedroom spicy time, and honestly find his hand tightening on your waist as Elliot asks you to read his latest poem hot.

Just. Yandere Sebastian brain rot.

[valverii]

About reverse skk au, I just had a thought

So, normally apprentices get some characteristics from their mentors, even subconsciously, what if Atsushi gets Chuuya's "goes apeshit when he hears Dazai's name", but it's Akutagawa's instead?

It's like, this nice little boy who is a sweet bean and just helped this old lady to cross the road, then he hears "Port Mafia's Black hound is close" and he starts growing like a feral racoon ready to throw hands

(basically Atsushi's normal cannon behaviour with Akutagawa, just more feral)

OH ABSOLUTELY LMAOO it’s just that chuuya made sure his feral-ness was a learned behavior (atsushi’s working on it but he’s getting there)

[blues824]

Hello again bestie coming back with the yandere pic request but for sebek feel free to do what you want to go feral bestie❤️.

The things I would let this man do to and for me…

Warning: This is a Yandere fic. I do not condone this behavior in real life.

Sebek Zigvolt

There was little time until he got in.

You were panting, out of breath from running back to your dormitory, and you immediately started barricading your front door. You knew it wouldn’t be enough, however, so you used whatever energy you have left to sprint to your room, where you further barricaded yourself into it.

“Y/N WHERE ARE YOU?!” A shout came from outside, scaring you out of your wits and making more tears fall from your eyes. 

Why couldn’t he just LEAVE YOU ALONE?!

He already hurt your friends, you remember seeing Ace coughing up blood because of what he had done. Deuce had a blackened eye. Epel and Jack didn’t look much better. Of course, this was not without struggle. They did manage to deal some damage, but not enough to get him to stop chasing after you.

“Darling, there you are!”

Shit, you forgot about the window!

He was standing on a broom to float, and even though you sat on the opposite side of the room, you could see the figurative delusional hearts in his eyes. Quickly, he used his fist to punch out the glass pane of the window, and he quickly got into your room.

However, what he saw only made him angrier. He saw the armchair, the table, and the nightstand pressed against the door, and he immediately knew what you were trying to do.

“Y/N, were you trying to hide from me? Trying to keep me from you?! Well, you should’ve known that it wasn’t going to work!” He got closer and closer, shouting, making you curl up further and further into yourself.

You knew this wasn’t the Sebek that you had grown to care for. He was under the influence of a potion. A few students thought it would be a funny idea to prank the knight and get him to follow you around like a puppy. However, he went total psycho and possessive.

Earlier today, you sought out your friends to ask for their help in getting you away from him until the potion wore off. However, he managed to find you in Heartslabyul, where you were hiding out, and he lashed out and beat your friends to a pulp. 

Jack fought bravely, managing to scratch him and punch Sebek in the nose, which broke something, as blood dripped from his nostrils. However, he lost in the end, but you ran while the fight was going on. You jumped into a random mirror and it just so happened to be yours.

And that’s kind of where you are now. You would have to personally murder those students later, but right now you have to deal with a yandere and angry Sebek. 

“Darling, why are you cowering before me? I would never hurt you. I’m supposed to be your knight in shining armor…” He kneeled before, taking your wrists into his hands and making you reveal your face to him.

You were praying to whatever being resided in the heavens that Lilia had a club meeting and could hear what was going on in your room. You peered into the half-fae’s eyes, and his lips were closing in on yours.

“Remember that you will always belong to me, and only me, Y/N,” You tried to push him away, but he kissed you with the force of a cannon ball, even as you wiggled and squirmed beneath him.

Once he pulled away, his eyes were glowing a bright green, and he had a smirk on his face.

“Why are you doing this?!” You screamed at him.

“Because you somehow managed to make me fall in love with you: a human who won’t live for very long. I need to be there for every moment… to savor it until I join you in the stars. Then, I’ll still be obsessed with you because you are a mystery to me.”

Usually, something like this would make your heart flutter and you flustered, but right now it just filled you with a sense of dread. You had the entire confession planned out, and it would have been simple and normal, and he probably would have shouted his feelings for you.

But now, with him whispering, it felt wrong.

Really wrong.

[horizontwinflames]

Horizon AU: Twin Flames - Isaac (Zero Dawn Act) final concept/design.

*texts' transcriptions under the cut after the images*

REPOST, EDIT/USE OR FEED MY ART TO AI ISN'T ALLOWED

Read about Aloy, Beta and Elisabet in this AU [here]

omg... I thought I would never finish this... BUT YAY! Here it is finally! Isaac's final design and concepts!

This AU has an ongoing fanfic! You can read on Ao3: [LINK]

Text transcription:

First image:

Isaac - Roughly 3.2m/10.4' -Unknown age (probably just a few months).

Isaac is an original machine character in this alternative universe.

Isaac is the loyal machine companion of the Sobeck family, serving as both a traveling and battle mount. The sisters unintentionally created him while trying to figure out a way to increase the machine override time. The process they applied in the -back then- simple Watcher rebooted their AI and programming back to its essential functions and disconnected them from their original master, HEPHAESTUS. Once he received his name from Beta, the three family members became his new masters, which he unthinkingly obey to.

Due to his blank AI, Isaac is developing his own sentience and personality by absorbing his masters’ traits and behaviors and learning their morals and concepts. He also downloaded all of the sisters’ Focuses’ data to have some initial communication and works as a backup, so he only knows what they know.

He can speak with anyone with a Focus through its text-to-speech function by sending text messages to them - thus, people who don’t have a Focus only hear his Watcher noises. He can still communicate with other machines normally, so he also works as an information gatherer to help in missions and studies.

Second image:

Once a simple Watcher, now a super advanced mount and best friend of the Sobeck family.

Isaac's customizable body can adapt him to travel in any terrain, even underwater. He's able to reach high speeds at a low energy and heating cost - he's also lighter than it seems. His sleek, almost snake-ish, body shape makes maneuvering more dynamic for his rider.

His propulsors give him the ability to do long leaps and high jumps, helping the sisters get to places they wouldn't be able to reach by themselves. But a repetitive use of said skills in a short timespan can drain his energy and overheat him quickly.

Like his owners, he's not adept at using one single type of weapon. Isaac's tail ranged weapons and armor can be changed to better adapt to the situation. However, he hasn't developed efficient battle techniques yet, as he's still learning with the Sobecks. Note that his Sawtooth's sabers aren't intended to be used to fight but to climb and carry objects.

Melee Tail Weapons: Thunderjaw's tail, Stalker's tail blade, Stormbird's tail (also used to swim), Frostclaw's front paws.

Ranged Weapons: Thunderjaw's Disk Launcher, Ravager's Cannon, Scorcher's Mine Launcher, Bellowback's Snout.

Armors: Nora (stealth), Carja (speed), Oseran (tank), Banuk (damage), Old World (mixed).

Isaac is a mount adapted for two people: One is the rider, and the other is the cannoneer. He syncs with them through their Focuses, so his responses to their commands are more instantaneous. The rider directs Isaac where to go and when and how to use the tail weapon. Meanwhile, the cannoneer controls the ranged weapons and propulsors.

Only those who have a Focus can see his holographic face. The images shown are a collection of emojis the sisters found in Old World Ruins (which they update when they find more). His three "horns" also can move solemnly to make him more expressive.

Being composed of many different machine parts makes Isaac the first machine chimera to exist - still keeping the base shape of a Watcher, but huge. He was customized by the Sobecks little by little through the Cauldrons they visited on their first journey.

He can still stretch his neck like a Watcher can normally do.

His eye received enhancements to better aid the Sobecks in their daily life and journeys - such as infrared, thermic, and ultrasound visions.

He also has in his head a sound device to play audio files, such as music from the Old World, and a holoprojector.

[mostlymarvelsstuff]

Moi Devochki: Chapter 3

Warnings: cannon typical violence, Steves an asshole

Word count: 2463

WandaNat Masterlist Marvel Masterlist Moi Devochki Masterlist

About two weeks have passed since the three of you have mated and by some skill and lots of pure luck you've all been able to keep anyone from finding out. Well, accept Yelena but she was definitely an exception. Natasha was dying to let Clint know, but she was afraid her best friends excitement would have that information quickly finding its way into the ear of every Avenger.

   The three of you are in the training room currently, Nat had brought you both here to train you in some more combat techniques. You both knew a few things, but she wanted to make sure her mates were both well prepared, she didn’t want to risk either of you getting hurt. 

   She demonstrates each move before having you try it out on each other. The current move Wanda is to replicate on you is a basic Armeyskiy Rukopashniy Boy(army hand to hand combat) move that Nat had learned from Spetsnaz, the Russian Special forces. All she had to do was disarm you of the rubber training knife without being ‘stabbed’. 

   You lunged at the other Omega, swinging the fake blade at her. She shifted into her defensive stance, her arms and hands ready. Or at least she thought they were ready but halfway through she forgets what her next move is, her hands fumble and the two of you end up colliding. You both fall to the floor below, the training mats softening your landing as Wanda ends up landing on top of you.

   She quickly tries to move, worried you might be hurt but your hands grab her waist keeping her close as you erupt in laughter. After a few seconds you can hear her laugh join yours, both of you finding the situation far more hilarious than you should have. 

Your Alpha chuckles as she watches the two of you. Normally she might repremaind you both for not taking training seriously but she knows she's had you in here for hours and that you’d both been trying your best and had even learned several new moves already, so she lets you all simply be in the moment. 

   Once your laughter dies down Wanda lifts her head to look at you, your eyes meet hers and upon seeing the sparkle of happiness in your eyes she can’t help but forget where you are as she leans down and kisses you. The joy of this moment is incredibly brief, however because Steve had walked in just in time to see Wandas lips meet yours.

   “Wanda! Get off of Y/n right now!” he shouts as he walks closer to you both

   The Omega, startled by the other Alphas presence immediately does as she's told, her eyes gluing themselves to the floor as she prepares to be reprimanded or punished. Your face contorts in concern until you remember Nat is with you, you know she’ll shut Steve up. Before he can get any closer Natasha is in front of him, a deep growl coming from her and he finds himself slightly startled as he had been so focused on the two of you he hadn’t noticed the other Alphas presence.

   “Nat, what are you-” he begins to say before getting cut off

   “Back off Rogers.” she growls out, causing confusion to show itself on Steves face

   He shakes his head, “They're both Omegas, behavior like that isn't befitting of two Avengers. They have to put a stop to whatever this is, now. And you know that.”

   He goes to move around her but her hand pushes firmly into his chest, stopping him in his tracks. “You won’t be going near them.'' Her tone leaves little room for argument, but Steve isn't known for backing down. He studies her a moment before he glances over her shoulder at you and Wanda, the two of you stand there obviously nervous under his gaze. She sees this and gets even angrier, “Keep your eyes off my Omegas.” she says, shoving his chest.

   “Your Omegas?” he questions as his eyebrows shoot up, nearing his hairline. He tries not to let jealousy overtake him, he’d been interested in you for a few months now.

   “Yes. Mine.” she growls, pulling the collar of her shirt away from her neck, proudly showing off the marks the two of you left. He lets out a huff trying to calm himself, but Nat can sense the anger rolling off him in waves. 

   He shakes his head again, “That doesn't excuse this Natasha. They can’t be together.” his tone is harsh, and your Alpha bites back a snarl at his words

   “Like hell they can’t! They love each other, they love me and I love them. I’m their Alpha and I gave them permission to bond-” she begins to say before being interrupted

   “You let them do what?!” he shouts in disbelief. If you were his Omega he never would have let that occur and Natasha allowing it to happen was a huge mistake.

   Upon hearing all the growls and yelling Yelena, Bucky and Tony appear in the doorway. As soon as she sees her sister guarding you both from Steve she calmly walks into the room and stands beside the redhead. The look she gives the Alpha in front of her is cold and if eyes could kill, Steve would be a dead man.

   “Sestra, nuzhno li mne ustranit' etu problemu?(Sister, need me to remove the problem?)” she asks, tone as cold as her glare

   Nat smirks, “Tol'ko yesli vy khotite, chtoby(Only if you want to.)”

   Bucky hurries over to Steves side before the two blond Alphas start fighting, “Whats the problem here Steve?” 

   “The problem is them.” he says, gesturing to Wanda and you, you both flinch slightly. Yelena and Nat both growl at his tone and words. Buckys brow raises in question as Tony strolls up to the conversation. 

   “Now hold on a moment everyone. Let's take a few deep breaths and a few steps back from each other, alright?” he says as he gestures at the two pairs of Alphas. Nat grunts refusing to budge, so of course Steve stands firm, earning him a sigh from Bucky. “Or not. Someone at least care to fill me in?” Tony adds

   “Natasha let the Omegas back there bond with each other.” Steve says

   “They're my mates! Why does it matter to you what I allow them to do?!” she shouts, Yelenas hand on her shoulder the only thing keeping her from getting in Steves face.

   His fists clench and he sighs, “Because, it’s illegal for them to even be together let alone for them to bond. Not to mention it's unnatural, every Omega needs an Alpha.”

   “They have one dipshit! My sister is their Alpha, try and keep up!” Yelena shouts

   “That very well may be the problem.” he mumbles, and Bucky is really starting to fear for his friends safety.

   “What did you just say?” Nat growls, her eyes stare at him with such intensity that even Tony finds himself sweating.

   “I said you're the problem here Romanoff. They each need a proper Alpha of their own. They shouldn't have to be sharing, well, you.” he tells her, disgust in his tone. Now he had managed to even make you and Wanda mad, Natasha was a proper Alpha. So she was a female Alpha, that wasn’t a big deal to anyone younger than World War 2, Steve was obviously stuck in the past. Bucky however could finally see this for what it really was, his best friend was jealous that the redhead got your attention when he didn’t and he was angry that Nat had managed to claim you.

   Natasha growls at his words but she tries to let them wash over her, she tries not to partially believe that maybe he was right, maybe she wasn’t good enough for both or even one of you. 

   Yelena however, oh Yelena strikes. Her fist connects with Steves jaw with a crunch and surprisingly the super soldier stumbles back slightly. Tony flinches as he watches the punch and Bucky is quick to place himself in front of his friend, making his focus go from the two Russians to him instead. At least that was the plan, plans don’t always go accordingly though.

   A growl leaves Steve as he stands back up, nursing his split lip. “Now Steve, just hang on for a second ok? I think Yelena was well within her merits for that hit.” Bucky says

   Tony nods, “You did deserve it, you were quite rude to Nat.”

   “Telling the truth isn’t being rude.” he hisses through gritted teeth, attempting to push past Bucky, but Bucky holds him in place with his metal arm. 

   “What exactly are you getting at Rogers!?” Nat yells, her patience is incredibly thin at this point

   “Y/n deserves better than to have to settle for you as her Alpha! I could take much better care of her than you ever could! And if she was mine, I’d make sure she never saw you or Wanda ever again!” he roars. Wanda looks scared and she grabs a hold of your arm tightly, like Steve might rip you away and claim you for his own at any second.

   Natashas anger is incredible, “Y/n is my Omega, not yours! She chose me, they both chose me! Not you Steve, me! You will never take her away from Wanda or me and if you ever try I swear with everything in me that I will rip your head off!”

   Steve growls ready to fire back, but Buckys patience has run out. “That's enough Steve. Y/n’s made her choice, you have to accept it. Natasha is their Alpha and if she's alright with it then we really have no say in the matter.”

   “It’s not just about that! Stark, help me out here.” Steve looks to the billionaire

   “Don’t look at me. You dug yourself into this hole and at this point you're even burying yourself in it. Yeah, sure, technically it's illegal, but we all know that's a load of bullshit the Alpha lawmakers just don’t want to change because it potentially means less Omegas to mate with.” he replies

   “But they-” he begins

   Tony has also had enough of this and he can tell you and Wanda are incredibly uncomfortable and scared “Alright that's enough from everyone! The Omegas are absolutely petrified right now! Nat you take care of them, Steve stay the hell away from them. Bucky, keep him in line and Yelena, kick his ass if need be.”

   At Tonys words Natasha turns to you and Wanda and her face falls when she sees tears streaming down both of your faces as Wanda clutches onto your arm like her life depended on it. She hated that Steve was able to work everyone up like this instead of just accepting who you chose. She supposes it's not that easy though, she probably would be acting similarly if the roles were reversed. 

   Bucky manages to get Steve to leave with him and Yelena starts beating a punching bag to relieve some of her frustrations. Leaving Tony to watch your Alpha as she nervously watches the two of you instead of approaching.

   “Go on, they need you right now.” he tells her

   “What if he was right, what if I’m not a good enough Alpha for them?” she worries

   Tony places a hand on her shoulder and she looks at him, “Then two Omegas wouldn’t have let you claim them. They obviously think very highly of you to bond with you. And for Yelena to punch Steve, she must think you're something special. And you know what Nat, they're right.”

   She smiles, “Thanks Tony, I needed to hear that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to take care of my mates.” He smiles as he watches her walk over to you both, enveloping you in a tight hug.

   She quickly gets the two of you back to Wandas room and settled in the nest. The three of you decided to make her room your permanent one for the three of you because you all wanted to keep the nest that was covered in the scents of all three of you from your first night together. 

   Wanda still has a tight grip on your arm so you gently cup her cheek and bring her gaze to yours, “It’s ok baby. I’m not going anywhere, Tasha made sure of that.” 

   “Yelena, Tony and Bucky too.” Nat adds, gently smiling at both of you.

   But Wanda still looks upset. “I was afraid he would take her from us.” she admits

   Your Alpha quickly brings you both close to her, “I’d never let that happen. I love you both so much.”

    “We love you too.” you and Wanda reply

   The three of you get comfortable and your Alpha turns on some sitcoms for Wanda to enjoy. You stay snuggled like that for a few hours, until there's a knock at the door. Nat gets up and opens it to find Bucky and Steve standing there, upon seeing the blond her lip curls in a snarl.

   “Why is he here?” she snaps

   Bucky raises his hands, “Easy Nat. I wouldn’t have brought him here if he meant any harm, you know that.”

   She nods, “Ok. So he’s here because?”

   “Because I’m sorry. I was very rude to you and I frightened your Omegas. I just…I really thought Y/n was it for me, and that doesn't excuse my behavior at all. I just wanted it known that I was running on jealousy and instinct earlier instead of using my head.” he explains

   “Yeah I kinda figured as much. I appreciate the apology, give us some time and I’m sure we’ll be able to forgive you as long as this was a one time thing.” she says

   “It was. Tell Wanda and Y/n that I’m sorry. They make a cute couple, and they deserve to be happy and not let my words or anyone else's hinder that happiness.” he replies

   “I’ll tell them. See you around Steve. Though you might want to stay away from Yelena for a while.” she says with a smirk

   He smiles, “Don’t worry, I learned my lesson. Don’t mess with Natasha or you get Yelena.” He and Bucky turn and walk off as Nat shuts the door and makes her way back to the nest.

   She fills the two of you in on the conversation and the two of you seem much more relaxed now. You both purr as you settle back into her and resume watching the sitcom. You spend the rest of the night cuddled together until sleep washes over you all.

Taglist: @wandaromamoff69 @when-wolves-howl @danveration @sheneonromanoff @sayah13 @likefirenrain @nighttime-dreaming @chaoticevilbakugo @crystalstark02 @wackymcstupid @lovelyy-moonlight @blackwidow-3 @mistressofinsomnia @that-one-gay-mosquito @yomamagf @yourfavdummy @justarandomreaderxoxo @scoutlp23-blog @whoischanelle15 @lissaaaa145 @eline03 @wizardofstories@imthenatynat @marvelonmymind @fluffyblanketgecko @bitch-616 @dakotastorm @zoomdeathknight @aeroae @sashawalker2 @maggieromanov @doveromanoff @mommyluvu @404-almostdone @tarathia @ayoungexwife

[sicklyworm]

Hi yes I would like to hear your thoughts on Shang Qinghua and his characterization (both in canon and in fanfic). I've always really enjoyed the fics with the like,, BAMF!Shang Qinghua tag, but i also can't decide if his cowardice is an act or not, if that makes sense? Or if it's a bit of both.

Oh my gosh thank you for this ask. Please forgive me anon for the absolute rant that's about to happen because of it!!!

I'm going to break down this ask into chunks so properly and thoroughly answer every part of it!

Starting with,

SQH's cannon characterization:

I spent several hours trying to type out a good yet manageable description of his characterization but I found that no matter how hard I try it's a bit too long for a reasonable Tumblr post.

So instead of just ditching this like a normal person I instead started on a essay going over Shang Qinghua's characterization with quotes and analysis!

At the moment of posting it is not currently completed but I'll make sure to reblog this post with the link to the document once it's done!

Now moving on to,

SQH's characterization in fanfiction:

I'm an avid fanfiction reader myself so I see a plethora of different authors writing different arcs for SQH so obviously he's going to act differently in each one.

The thing I think makes or breaks alot of fanfiction with him is whether the author can properly distinguish between their voice and his. As a highly relatable character a lot of us writers can have a pretty hard time distinguishing him as a character from ourselves! When this happens writers can accidentally take bits and pieces of themselves that don't quite match up with him and kind of force them into the characterization of him!

There's also like the cases of hyperfeminization or character bashing but I feel like those are more of a generalized problem then something SQH specific.

Next is,

Is SQH actually a coward or was it just an act?

This question was one I wrestled with quite a bit when I was first starting to dissect his character.

He plays dead and grovels easily when he feels threatened yet displays tremendous courage when it has to do with MBJ. Whether it be saving MBJ from falling to his death or from MBJ'S own uncle, he is necessarily putting himself in danger just for the safety of someone else.

These behaviors by definition conflict with SQH being a coward but It still feels incomplete to just say "he's not a coward case closed." Because he does act incredibly pathetically at times and has betrayed quite a few people!

So after a bit more deliberation I came to the conclusion that "his coward status is determined by his personal connection towards the subject"

If the subject is not close to him or his heart then it is completely subjected to all of SQHs shady and cowardly tendencies. Even if the subject is kinda close to him I believe these cowardly behaviors will definitely cut back some but under enough threat he will ultimately choose his own personal safety.

But in the case he has a deep emotional connection to the subject he seems willing to show tremendous courage and bravery in order to protect said subject.

Example of this playing out in cannon is:

The Sect - low emotional attachment = full rat bastard mode.

Shen Yuan - mid emotional attachment = normal level of courage but will cave under pressure.

Mobei-jun - high motional attachment = huge levels of courage that won't cave under pressure.

✧✧✧

Extra:

My ADHD was going off the rails with this post so I have no idea how coherent it is.

Anyways i am also a big fan of the BAMF!SQH tag and would love if you dropped off some recommendations in my ask box!

[diyasgarden]

it’s definitely head-cannon that Patrick is a certified lover boy

-he defs cuts his hoes off once he knows he’s emotionally invested in someone

People assume that he’s a fuck boy because of his high body count & the activities he’s done when single but relationship Patrick? He’s ALL IN & it lowkey hurts his feelings that people can’t think of him as a serious boyfriend or being committed to someone that he truly loves & cares for

AGREE AGREE AGREE!!! I have some thoughts on this too

I think if you’re friends with Patrick when he realizes he likes you, he gets a bit distant from you at first. His feelings are a bit overwhelming and he needs time to process what he is feeling, but he can’t do that when you’re around. When he finally feels comfortable being around you, he doesn’t want you to realize how he feels. He’s afraid that these feelings could change the whole dynamic. What if you didn’t like him back? He starts to tease and annoy you more than usual to make everything seem normal. Naturally, you find this weird itself.

If you were friends with benefits or just casually seeing each other, he also gets distant. He ends up ghosting you, and tries to get with some other people. Of course it’s not the same. He thought having sex with other people would help him get his mind off you, but It takes longer for him to get off. When he finally does he ends up saying your name and the other person slaps him for that. This happens multiple times. You’d also notice his distance in this situation.

In both situations, you’re the one who has to confront him about his odd behavior. Mostly because it’s confusing and you know something is up. And either way, his behavior kinda hurts your feelings.

He doesn’t even admit it when you do. He panics and acts like you’re overreacting, which just upsets and annoys you even more. After that, now you’re the one who starts avoiding him. This really freaks him out. He feels guilty but also scared he’s lost you completely, but he isn’t surprised. Everyone leaves him eventually. What else could have been expected from you?

If you’re not able to talk about your feelings, Patrick becomes the one who got away. (He feels the same way about, although he wouldn’t admit it)

If you are able to do so, you do end up contacting Patrick again. You guys get into an argument again. He still claims you’re the one being weird, but you maintain your position. Eventually the tension turns sexual and you end up making out with each other. One thing leads to another and you’re both in bed. He finally tells you how you feel about you when you’re laying down next to him. At first you think he may be saying it because of the sex, but you quickly realize he is being honest when you see his expression.

You both agree to try dating properly. He cuts off everyone else he was seeing without a second thought. He isn’t the best boyfriend at first, not really sure how to behave with you. If you were friends before this, he is still worried about what could happen if your relationship doesn’t work out. He’d lose you as a friend then too. If you were friends with benefits or casually dating, he is worried that you preferred just sex with him and may want to go back to something like that. In either case, he thinks losing you as a partner is very possible, and it stresses him out. It can make him somewhat clingy, which is annoying but eventually you’re able to set some boundaries (or you just get used to it). He’s also a bit self destructive, and sometimes it’s clear that his thoughts about your relationship falling apart is more of a self fulfilling prophecy than anything. He may find reasons to pick a fight with you, even when nothing is wrong. It’s up to you to deal with this.

Your friends make fun of your relationship every once in a while. It’s a joke, because they know Patrick’s past, but this just upsets him too. He isn’t one to care about what other people think about him, but this feels different. It’s not about just how they see him, it’s about how they see your relationship. He starts to wonder if everyone is just assuming is waiting for you both to break up. He rants about this to you, and again you’re left to deal with it.

You have to do a lot to show you actually love him. That your relationship isn’t just about sex (which is what he thinks he is best for). You do this by actually telling him how you feel, but also through your actions. Like showing up for his games and practice. He is also a big physical touch person, so you’re always touching or holding him in some capacity to show how much you love him and appreciate his presence. He is also constantly holding on to you in public. Holding your hand, hugging you. Squeezing your ass every once in a while. Sometimes you catch him twirling your hair around his finger. (You love it)

[coff-in]

YES! I SEE YOU’RE DOING AND TAKING REQS AGAIN!!!

Reader who is constantly zoning out 25/8 head cannons. Doesn’t matter if they’re eating, drinking, bathing, walking or working; they’re always daydreaming in their head. Constantly running into things or tripping because they’re too preoccupied in their head. They daydream a lot to where sometimes they reenact their thoughts or speak to nobody in particular. Their S/O always has to bring them back or navigate them so they don’t accidentally hurt themselves.

Reader can be G/N, or female if it’s necessary for a gender. I’d like Andrew to be the S/O, but you can throw Ashley in the mix too (separately or together) if you want. I won’t throw shade.

TYYYYY!!!!

notes from coff-in: i've been meaning to answer the asks in my inbox for weeks now, but every time i tell myself 'i should answer asks' i suddenly find myself not doing it. like the more i think about doing something the longer it takes for me to do it. eventually i just sort of stop thinking about it and get focused on other work and then open my inbox and go 'yeah i'll answer these now :)' like i haven't been gone for a month or so. is this normal? the same thing happens when i think about soaking my mushroom log or taking my pills or even when i was younger and had to wear my retainer, i think 'i'll do it later' and then i never do it. i'll think 'i should do it sometime today' and then i never do it. why do i do that? sorry about that, in other news: i have started playing roblox and i like sebastian solace from pressure. big fish :3

[gender neutral] reader-insert

[reader] is so me fr fr. 'maladaptive daydreaming' you mean... uh normal behavior... gottem. i appreciate that you said 's/o' because i've been meaning to write for julia for a while (hussies unite or smth).

andrew would find [reader]'s daydreaming endearing, but would see it as a hassle to deal with often. he's constantly nudging you and gently shaking you to get your attention. he'd also tease you about running into objects and scold you for not paying attention. protective instincts kinda kick in for him :') he does wish you paid more attention to your surroundings and school ("i'm not going to be able to help you with your homework forever," he tells you while doing your homework)

ashley would definitely be annoyed. you should be paying attention to her! she's YOUR girlfriend, asshole! you would need to repeatedly (hourly, even) tell her that you do love her, you are trying to pay attention to her, etc etc. i don't think a maladaptive daydreamer would pair all too well with ashley. maybe.... she would feel comforted that you sorta act the same with others, spaced out and unfocused, but there's always that worry in her that someone else will snap you out of your haze and take your attention away. hang out with ashley, she's just a girl who's fun and whimsical, give her all your attention. do it. DO IT-- (she will laugh at you if you trip on something)

julia :3 i think julia wouldn't mind [reader] constantly zoning out. julia is (as far as we've seen, mind you!!) such a sweet and gentle girl, i honestly think you and her would work out very well. she's gemtly holding your arm or hand and swerving you away from poles and potholes. she taps you so you can focus on your work and if you wanna veg out next to her, she doesn't mind that. love that emo girl

----

coff-in

is it a certified coff-in post if i don't rant/vent in the opening notes? anyways please ask me about my opinions on pressure, it's infecting my brain :3

[arlana-likes-to-write]

Rescue by Lauren Daigle

Summary: Natasha doesn’t have a lot of regrets, everything she’s done in her life has gotten her to where she is now. An Avenger, a hero to young girls, and trying to remove some red from her ledger. But the one thing she does regret is giving you up. But when a word gets out that you are in trouble, she will come to rescue you. 

Pairings: Natasha x Maria, Natasha x Maria x daughter!reader, past Natasha x Bucky

Warning: gun shot violence, implied rape, death, cannon typical violence, gambling, the reader needs a hug but so does Natasha  

Word count: 7.1 k

“Mail call,” Wanda said, walking into the common area with a few pieces of mail in her hand. 

“Who the hell gets paper mail?” Tony asked, pouring coffee into his mug. 

“Some of us like to do things without technology,” Steve said as Wanda handed him the newspaper. Tony looked at the super soldier with disbelief. It was rare that the Avengers got mail but each one had specific memberships. Vision received a copy of the newest National Geographic and Pietro got Sports Illustrated. Sometimes Sam received a letter from his service buddies and Steve always got the newspaper, he did take the comics out for Peter. As Wanda handed out the mail, Natasha waited with bated breath to see if she received a letter. It was rare but she was excited nonetheless. The Sokovian smiled at the Black Widow and handed her a letter. It was addressed the same way, her name and her current address with no return. 

“Thank you,” the Black Widow said, leaving her unfinished lunch on the table and heading for her room. She barely heard Tony question her odd behavior but she didn’t care. When she was safe behind her bedroom door, she opened the envelope. There was a single picture of a young girl with fiery red hair standing at a picnic table. A birthday cake was lit and presents stayed unwrapped around you. Natasha smiled, moving her finger across your face. Her daughter, whom she only got to hold once on the day she was born. When she defected to SHIELD, she gave up for you to live a normal and safe life. But she was promised that you would go to a good family and on birthdays Natasha would receive a photo. The most important thing was if there was any sign of trouble she would be called in. 

“It’s about that time of year,” Maria appeared at her door. “Did you get a photo?” Natasha nodded as her girlfriend sat down next to her. Not counting the agent, four other people knew of your existence. Maria was one of them but not even the Deputy Direction knew of your true location to keep you safe. The agent gently took the picture and smiled. 

“She’s spoiled rotten,” Maria teased. The Black Widow chuckled, letting her head fall onto Maria’s shoulder. It was times like this that Natasha questioned if she made the right choice. She wished she could be there for birthdays and every school accomplishment. Maria kissed her head. “I know, baby, I know.” 

*

“Miss. Romanoff,” FRIDAY said. Natasha stopped her assault on the sandbag. “Your presence is being requested in the conference room.” 

“Do I have time to shower?” 

“No, Director Fury said it’s urgent,” it was never a good sign when Fury was involved. She quickly grabbed her water off the floor and headed for the conference room. When she entered, Fury and Maria were standing by a screen and her sister and Clint were sitting at the table. Oh, she did not have a good feeling about this. 

“What’s going on?” She asked, not bothering to sit down. 

“Does the Winter Soldier mean anything to you?” Of course, it did. He was one of her trainers in the Red Room but also the father of her daughter. In hindsight it was the perfect companionship; one of the Red Room’s best assassins and HYDRA’s most feared weapon. Their child would be the ultimate fighter but they didn’t need to know that. 

“Yeah,” Natasha said, crossing her arms. “He’s credited for over two dozen assassinations in the last 50 years.” 

“So, he’s a ghost story?” Clint questioned. She shook her head. 

“I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff,” she said, remembering every part of that day. “I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I covered my engineer, so he shot him straight through me,” it was heartbreaking as she stared into the eyes of a man she once knew but there was no recognition in his eyes. She lifted her shirt, revealing a bullet wound on her stomach. “A Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis.”

“Yeah, I bet you look terrible in them now,” Maria sarcastically said. Natasha smirked. 

“Ew,” Yelena said. “He was also a trainer in the Red Room. Before my time but the guards would talk.”

“Why are we here, Fury?” Clint asked. Natasha was wondering the same thing. 

“We picked up chatter that was concerning,” he nodded to Maria, who pulled up a recording and played it. The audio was all static and it was hard to hear but Natasha could make out two distinct voices and they said your name and the Winter Soldier. 

“Send me there now,” she said. The audio was still playing and Maria quickly stopped it. 

“Nat..” 

“Don’t ‘Na’t me,” Natasha cut her girlfriend off. “When I gave her up I asked for two things; a picture once or twice a year and to be notified if she’s in danger. In return, I’d never reach out to her.”

“We need you here to run point and we are going to send Belova and Barton to look after her,” Fury instructed. 

“Like hell, you are,” Natasha was slowly losing her composure. “She’s my daughter.”

“You don’t have any claim to her,” Natasha’s jaw clenched. Fury sighed. “Can I please speak with Romanoff alone?” Each one of her closest acquaintances left the room and tried to reassure her in their way but she ignored everyone. Her eyes never left the man. When the door closed, Fury sighed again. 

“Natasha..”

“Don’t Nick,” she said, walking over to the man. “Don’t say another word because I’m very close to throwing you through a wall,” Fury smirked. 

“I’m trying to look after you,” he said. “Your name was mentioned. It could be a trap.” 

“I don’t care,” she said. “She’s my daughter even if you don’t think she is,” she saw the smallest clench of his jaw. “I hear her SOS. I will never stop marching toward her. So I’m going. You can’t stop me.” He thought about it.

“Fine,” he relented. “But Maria is coming with you as your backup.” 

“Clint will run point and I want Yelena on standby if we need it.” He nodded. 

“What do we tell the team?” She wasn’t sure. For the longest time, she’s kept your existence a secret to ensure your safety. But now it may have been all for tonight. No, she couldn’t think like that. You were going to be fine. 

“The truth,” she said. “It’s time they know.” 

*

“Hurry up,” your best friend called out. You giggled, running over to her. She climbed up to do the monkey bars. 

“You got this Sarah,” you cheered as her arms began to shake when she reached halfway. She fell to the ground unable to go the entire way. “Nice try,” you smiled, beginning your turn. You liked the challenge of the monkey bars, the burn of your arms and hands. Unlike Sarah, you didn’t feel your arms shake and you made it all the way across. Sarah rolled her eyes. 

“No fair,” she pouted. “How are you so strong?” You shrugged. It was a mystery to you and something you attributed to your biological parents. In PE class, you learned to hold yourself back even though you could beat all the kids in your class. No one wanted to be friends with the abnormally strong girl. 

“I don’t know,” you said. 

“Come push me on the swings,” Well besides Sarah, she didn’t care that you were stronger than her and she used it to her advantage. You smiled, running after her. She jumped onto the empty swing and you began to push her. It wasn’t long before your mind began to wander as you looked around the park. There was a small party at the pavilion and a small-sided soccer game. A few black vans were parked on the far side. You found your parents sitting at a bench speaking with a man you knew well. Agent Cruise. He was present at every birthday party and family gathering. According to your mom, he was the one that found you when your birth mother abandoned you. Why was he here? 

“I’ll be right back,” you told Sarah and walked over to the trio. Agent Cruise saw you right away, a smile on his face. 

“Hi firecracker,” he held out his fist and you pumped it three times then gave him a side hug. 

“What are you doing here?” You asked him. 

“I was in the area and I thought I’d say hi to the family.” That was a lie but you didn’t question it. If he was lying for a reason, it had to be a good one. 

“Everything is fine, sweetheart,” your mom said. “Go back and play with Sarah.”

“Okay, love you guys,” you turned around to go back to the playground but a gunshot froze you in your spot. It was a sound you heard on TV and in movies and never expected to hear it in real life. A body crashed into yours pushing you into the ground as another shot went off. 

“W-Will,” you stuttered. 

“Eyes on me, okay?” You nodded, staring into his brown eyes. “My car isn’t far. I need you to run and I’ll cover you.” 

“What about -” Your eyes found your parents, slumped against each other and blood pouring from a single shot in their head. “No,” you whispered, tears pooling at the corner of your eyes but you didn’t let them fall. 

“Firecracker, run,” he got off of you and began to fire. You scrambled to your feet as he shot at a man walking towards you. His bullets made him take cover but you locked eyes with him. They were blue, similar to the color of your own eyes. His brown hair was shoulder length and half of his face was covered with a mask. But the most striking feature about him was his metal arm that shone under the California sun. 

Finding his car wasn’t hard and it was unlocked when you opened the backseat. You slammed the doors closed and tried to calm your racing heart. You mimicked the breathing technique your dad would do. Breathe in for 5 seconds and hold it for 5. In for 5 seconds and out for 5. Soon your heart rate calmed down but your eyes burned with unshed tears. They died, killed right in front of you. You heard voices outside the car and you covered your mouth to keep quiet. His windows were tinted so they couldn’t see in but they would be able to hear you. 

More gunshots and yelling made you yelp and the silhouettes of the men outside disappeared. You removed your hand and listened outside. Soon the car door swung open. You bite back a scream that almost left your lips. “Hey, it’s okay,” you weren’t expecting a woman with red hair and green eyes wearing a black tactical suit. You knew her. Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, and Avenger. “You're safe but I need you to come with me,” you stayed frozen, staring at the woman in front of you. “Look, we are running out of time. Please come with me.” She held out her hand and you took it, hoping you could trust her. 

*

This wasn’t how Natasha wanted to meet you. She had so many other ways that didn’t involve your adoptive parents murdered and an assassin who happens to be your biological father hunting you. Nothing was easy for the Black Widow. “Put this on,” she handed you a helmet. “Get on,” she got on the motorcycle and she felt you get on behind her, hesitant arms wrapping around her waist. Natasha kicked up the kickstand and the engine came to life. “I got her,” she said over the comms. 

“Well, you got company,” Maria said. Natasha looked behind her and saw 3 vans turning down the street; they were one and the Winter Soldier handing out the window with an AK-47. “Stick to the side streets,” she continued. “I’ll get you both back safely.” Natasha trusted Maria to do just that and started to drive. 

“You have to trust me, okay? When I lean, you lean,” Natasha said over the wind. “If you don’t, they will catch us and kill you.” She wasn’t sure if you heard her until she felt your head and squeezed her waist. 

“Take your next right,” Natasha let out a shaky breath and turned right. Your body leaned with hers. Okay, the Black Widow thought, maybe they’d get through this. 

*

The motorcycle stopped and you took off the helmet. You were in an alley between 2 apartment buildings. The Black Widow got off and helped you down, your legs shook and were a little unsteady. “Come on,” she said, leading you to a door. “We can rest soon.” She opened the door and led you up 2 flights of stairs. The redhead stopped at a door, room 324, and knocked three times. It took a minute for the door to open. In front of you was a woman with black hair, pulled back into a bun. Her brown eyes were sharp but they landed on Natasha and they softened. 

“Glad you're alive,” she said, stepping out of the way. You hesitated but followed the Black Widow inside the apartment. 

“Did you have that little faith?” Natasha teased sitting on the couch. You could see the tension leave her body. 

“What the heck is going on?” You asked. “I just watched my parents die in front of me, a mystery man with a metal man was chasing me, and an Avenger shows up,” you looked at the other woman. “I have no idea who you are or what is going on.” 

“I’m Maria,” she waved, sitting down next to Natasha. It was nice to have her name but that did not answer any of your questions. 

“We can’t tell you everything right now but you're safe here,” Natasha said. You stared at the redhead, the color so similar to your own. Now that you looked at the Avenger you saw a lot of your features in her. 

“How can I feel safe when you won’t tell me the truth?” Her green eyes locked onto your blue ones and she looked away. 

“We can’t,” she said. “Not right now.” Your jaw clenched. 

“We may be here for a while,” Maria said, standing up. “I’ll show you to your room.” You continued to stare at the Black Widow, wanting her to look at you or wanting to grab her by her shoulders and yell - ‘are you my mother?’ but she wouldn’t look at you. You sighed, following Maria. 

“Here you go,” it was a simple room. A bed pushed up in the corner, no TV or posters of any kind. It was a stark contrast to your room. “I know this isn’t ideal,” you skimmed your hand over the bedsheets. “But we will keep you safe.” You looked at Maria. 

“She’s my mom, right?” Maria had an excellent poker face but it was a game you’ve been playing since you could talk. She was surprised by your statement so there were a few ways she could go about this; lie, tell the truth, or deflect. You were leaning towards deflection. 

“There are take-out menus on the fridge, figure out what you want to eat.” Deflection. It was the easiest way, to tell the truth without betraying someone’s trust. 

“Right,” you sat down on the bed. “Thanks.” She nodded. 

“Come find us if you need anything,” you didn’t respond as she closed the door. You leaned against the wall, looking out the window to the street down below. People were going about their day unaware of how your life was altered forever. 

*

“How is she?” Clint asked over the computer. They just finished a meeting with the rest of the team back in New York to come up with the next phase of the plan. She ignored Tony's thousand and one questions regarding you. Overall he seemed hurt she never told him, since ‘we’ve been through so much together.’ Natasha felt bad, they were her team, her family but sometimes the thought of you hurt too much. But a plan was made which consisted of you, Maria, and Natasha to head to Norway to lay low while the rest of the teams tracked and captured the Winter Soldier. Easier said than done. Now she was only talking with Yelena and Clint while Maria tried to get you to eat. 

“She’s quiet,” Natasha knew that was to be expected. “She hasn’t said anything since Maria showed her to her room.”

“Does she know?” Yelena asked. Natasha sighed, nodding her head. 

“Yeah, she asked Maria but she didn’t give her a yes or now,” You were smart, maybe a little too smart. “But I haven’t told her.” 

“Are you going to?”

“Do we know how they found her?” Natasha deflected. She didn’t have an answer to Yelena’s question. Clint nodded. 

“Her adoptive father got into some gambling debts,” he said. “Ripped off the wrong people.” 

“But why go after her?” Yelena questioned. “Why do they want her alive?” Now Natasha knew that answer. She pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“Her biological father is the Winter Soldier,” she told them. “That is why they are after her. If she falls into the wrong hands, she could be an unstoppable weapon.”

*

You couldn’t sleep. Every time you close your eyes, you saw the metal man with a gun and your parents dead at your feet. Natasha came into your room to tell you that all three of you would be leaving bright and early and to try to get some sleep. You didn’t respond as she left saying goodnight. So you lay awake, staring up at the ceiling. Finally, you sighed and stood up leaving your small room to venture into the rest of the apartment. The other bedroom was on the opposite side of the apartment but you tried to be quiet as you went through the bare kitchen. In the last drawer you opened, you found what you were looking for. A single deck of cards. You grabbed it and sat down at the dining room table. Game night was common practice that took place with you and your parents almost every night. At a young age, they taught you poker, blackjack, pitch, rummy, and spades. You never left home without a deck of cards as a simple game of poker square or solitaire could calm your racing mind. So, you set up a poker square game. It was a game of strategy, patience, and a little bit of luck unless you could count cards. Another skill your parents taught you. “Couldn’t sleep?” The Black Widow questioned. You didn’t answer, glancing up at the redhead as she got two bottles of water and sat across from you. “What are you playing?” 

“Poker,” you answered. 

“Poker? Aren’t you a little young to know how to play poker?” You rolled your eyes. It was the same thing said to you by every adult when they found out you could play. 

“Poker isn’t just a way to gamble all the money in your pocket,” you didn’t look away from the cards. “It can teach you emotional stability in changing situations, to think analytically, and how to read people. But also how to be deceptive, you have to make everyone believe you have something in your hand when in reality you have something else,” Finally, you looked up at the Black Widow. “You’d be good at it. Your poker face is shit though.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“You know I thought about you all the time,” you went back to your game. “It kept me up some nights questioning why my mother gave me up. Maybe I wasn’t good enough or a mistake or she didn’t love me,” a glance up and you saw everything you needed in her eyes. They softened as her other facial features stayed stoic. 

“Not your mom, kid,” she lied. 

“From an emotional standpoint, sure, you aren’t. But biologically, I know I share your DNA,” you flipped the last card, placing it in the final spot. Taking a moment to look over how you did, you gathered up the cards again. “Shit poker face remember. It’s all in your eyes, they give too much away,” you shuffled the cards and began to play again. “Not that it’s a bad thing,” you added quickly, not wanting to offend the woman sitting across from you. “Just surprising,” you took a sip of water she gave you. “Can I ask you something?” 

“Go for it,” she said. “You can ask but that doesn’t mean I’ll answer.” Her smirk mirrored your own. 

“Say we don’t share any biological relation, why would the Avengers come and save me?” You began to play again. “I'm nobody,” you said. “It would probably cost less to have them kill me,” you saw her flinch slightly at your blunt comment. 

“You're not the only one he’s after,” you looked up at her. 

“Why?” You questioned. 

“I don’t know,” she answered. You hummed, nodding your head. 

“First time you were honest with me,” you cleaned up the cards. “Goodnight, Natasha,” you took the cards and the water bottle.

“Night, kid,” her voice followed you to the room. When the door closed, you rested your back against it. Your poker face was failing. You felt the cracks. Letting out a shaky breath, you pulled back the covers and climbed in. You were surprised at how quickly you fell asleep. 

*

Norway was beautiful. It was your first time leaving the country. You sat in the backseat of the white car with Maria in the passenger seat and Natasha was driving. You stayed quiet, playing with the charm around your neck. It was a turtle dove, a  Christmas gift from Agent Cruise, who had a matching charm. You wondered if he was okay. Maria tried to make conversation asking about your likes and dislikes. You kept your answers short. Natasha drove through a dirt road through the woods and when the car emerged you saw a camper in the middle of a clearing. The driver's side window was down and you heard water. There was nothing for miles around. “It’s not much but we’ll stay safe,” Natasha said, parking the car. Maria got out and opened your door for you to get out. The wind caused goosebumps to form on your skin as you followed the couple. 

The camper was simple, a couch that faced a small TV and a kitchen. Natasha walked towards the main bedroom, passing a bathroom. When she opened the bedroom door, there was a man fast asleep on top of the bed. The Black Widow hit the man on his foot, who jerked awake. “You're in our bed.”

“I’m..I’m not even under the covers,” he sat up, looking at Maria then you. “You're new. Who are you?” His voice was laced with a British accent. 

“I’m not telling you,” you said, not missing the way Natasha smiled at you. 

“Did you get everything on my list?” Natasha asked, walking back into the main part of the camper. You sat down on the couch as the three adults stood around the kitchen countertop. 

“Got passports, entry visas, and a couple of local driver’s licenses,” he handed the couple a white envelope. “There is a generator outside. It’s petrol-powered and the septic tank will need a flush in a couple of weeks,” he spun around, leaning against the counter. He was looking at you. “You’ll have to haul your rubbish into town. It’s about a 20-minute drive,” he continued. Finally, you couldn’t help but stare at him. 

“Can I help you?” You questioned. He smiled. 

“No, just looking,” you rolled your eyes. 

“Take a picture and it’ll last longer,” you mumbled, standing up and leaving the camper. You followed the sound of running water to a small stream. You sat on the bank and got lost in the water. 

*

“She’s a spitfire,” Mason said, turning to face the couple. Maria picked up the envelope on the counter and hit his arm. “Ow, what was that for?” He rubbed the spot that was just hit. 

“Leave her alone,” Maria said. “You're lucky I hit you and she didn’t.” Mason rolled his eyes.

“Does she know?’ He questioned. “She must, right?” Natasha walked over to the window and watched you. You were kneeling by the steam’s edge. “I mean it’s like I’m seeing double.” Mason continued. 

“She does,” Natasha whispered. “Not sure how she feels about it.” 

“Have you asked?” He asked, standing behind her. The Black Widow shook her head. 

“She’s been through a lot. I don’t want to add more to it.” 

*

The three of you fell into a routine. You slept on the pullout couch while Maria and Natasha were in the main bedroom. By the time the Black Widow was up for her morning run, you were up playing with the deck of cards you brought from the apartment. Maria would cook breakfast and the two Avengers spent the majority of the day doing Avenger duties, trying to help their teammates in any way. While they were doing that, you explored the surrounding woods and walked up and down the creek. When they needed to go into town, you went with them and a movie to end the night. Repeat. Repeat. And repeat. The repetition of the days wasn’t bothering you but the lack of conversation with the Black Widow was driving you insane. Maria was making an effort and you enjoyed talking and playing cards with her. Every time Maria invited Natasha but she would turn her down, coming up with a bullshit excuse. You knew what she was doing. She was building a wall between you and her. It would be fine if you didn’t catch her longing looks at you or hear Maria and Natasha fight one night when they thought you were asleep. Maria called her girlfriend out on her stand-offish behavior and Natasha claimed it was better off this way, it was only temporary.

Temporary. You were only a mission. Once the metal-armed man was dealt with you would go back home. But where was home? The only parents you knew were dead, no one spoke about Agent Cruise, and you were beginning to feel safe with the couple. Even though Natasha’s behavior was upsetting you. You wanted her to acknowledge you so were going to push her buttons. 

*

She just got off a meeting with the other Avengers and you heard the last of it as you came back into the camper for some water. The man disappeared. There were no signs of him. Natasha sighed, closing her laptop. You stared at the Black Widow from the kitchen, finished the glass of water, and placed it on the counter. “I want to go home,” you suddenly said. Her head snapped to you, you thought she was going to give herself whiplash. “They said he’s gone so it’s safe for me to go home.”

“And where are you going to go?” She questioned. Your jaw clenched. 

“Anywhere is better than here,” you mumbled, ignoring the flash of hurt across Natasha’s face and walking back outside. You heard Natasha behind you. 

“You know if you go back to the States he’ll kill you,” you stopped. “That is what he’s waiting for you. He will find you and kill you.” 

“Then use me as bait,” you turned to face her. “Have the Avengers stand guard, he’ll come, you’ll play hero, and we’ll go our separate ways.” 

“That’s not happening,” her face was hard to read, not even you could read her eyes. She had been practicing. Shit. “Even if I thought that was a good idea, which it isn’t. You aren’t ready,” you heard a car pull up as Maria returned from a quick trip to the store. “You have no idea how to survive in this world. It will chew you up and spit you out.” 

“I hate you,” you said, tears swelling in her eyes. You couldn’t help it. Natasha shook her head. 

“No, you don’t. Shit poker face. Your eyes give away too much,” repeated the same thing you said to her. “Not that it’s bad, just surprising.”  

“Screw you,” you snapped and ran towards the woods, ignoring Maria calling your name. 

*

“Do I even want to know what happened?” Maria asked. Natasha put her hands on her hips and looked down at the grass. 

“She wants to go home and I told her that as soon as she sets foot into the States he’ll kill her,” she sighed. “She said we could use her as bait and I may have said some other hurtful things.” Natasha heard her girlfriend sigh and walk over to her. With gentle hands, she lifted Natasha’s head to force her to look up. Green eyes stared into warm brown ones. 

“Why are you pushing her away, my love?” Maria whispered, gently pushing away a tear. Natasha didn’t realize she was crying. 

“This won’t last,” Natasha whispered. “Once she’s safe she’ll go back to a new family and I’ll never see her again. I can’t,” she cleared her throat. “I can’t handle growing close to her and then having her ripped away from me,” Maria brought her into a hug, cradling her head. Natasha felt her fingers run through her hair. Maria’s steady heartbeat helped the Black Widow’s heart calm down. Maria smelt like sandalwood and rain but it reminded Natasha of home. Maria stepped back, keeping her arms wrapped around her. 

“But wouldn’t a little pain be worth it so you experience having her now as you’ve always dreamt about,” Maria pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. “Love her now because you have the chance to.” Natasha let out a shaky breath. 

“I love you,” the Russian whispered. “I don’t think I could do this without you.” Maria kissed her softly. 

“I’m not going anywhere, baby, I’m right here.” 

*

“Kid,” you spun around to see the Black Widow behind you. You weren’t surprised she found you on a small rock near the stream’s edge. “You said you want to go home fine but I’m going to train you.” 

“Train?” You questioned. 

“Yes,” she crossed her arms. “Once word gets out who you are, that man won’t be the only one after you. I was right when I said you won’t survive this world so I’m going to make sure you can. I won’t always be around to save you,” she added on quickly. Her statement made your stomach drop but there was a crack in her pocket face. She was lying. 

“Okay,” you whispered, instead of calling her out on it. 

“Okay,” Natasha repeated. “Come on, Maria is cooking enchiladas.” You stood up, wiping the dirt off your pants, and followed the Black Widow back to the camper. 

*

Training started the following morning. You were up when Natasha went for her run and you joined her. It's been a while since you had to use your full speed to catch up with someone. Natasha was a lot faster than your 5th-grade classmates. After you ran, it was a quick breakfast then strength training and hand-to-hand combat. Maria would stop the two of you for lunch then it was weapon training. That was your favorite. Instead of nightly movies, you spent your time watching fight sequences and going over old mission reports to enhance your battle strategy.

It has hard and back-breaking work but you loved it. It reminded you of when your dad would take you to his poker games and gave you the job of reading his opponents. No one expected a little girl to have a better poker face than a 40-year-old man. Even though Natasha was yelling orders at you, it was the closest you felt to the Black Widow. Was it the healthiest way to bond with the mother that abandoned you? No, but she and Maria were all you had. You liked the proud smile Natasha tried to hide when you did something well or Maria’s gentle hands to help clean the cuts and bruises you received from the day’s training. It was nice, you felt like a family no matter how grueling the training sessions were. 

*

“You're holding back,” Natasha said. You were sparing with the Black Widow with Maria off to the side, watching. You were exhausted. The couple already put you through a 5-mile run and intense strength training. Natasha promised this was the last thing for the day if you managed to pin her. Easier said than done. “Come on, kid, push.” 

“I’m trying,” you said, putting your hands over your head, trying to get more air in your lungs. 

“When you're tired this is how you grow and learn. Now come get me,” you rushed her but Natasha grabbed your arm and threw you back to the ground. You groaned, staring up at the blue sky. “Come on get up. Do you think he’ll or anyone will let you have a break?” You huffed and stood back up. “This is how you survive. You get knocked down 100 times and you keep getting up because if you don’t you will die.” You sighed, wiping the sweat off your forehead. Think and breathe. Think and breathe. It was like a game of poker. You had to make her think you were going to do something then change your attack. Who knew your parents were training you to be an Avenger? Natasha said you were holding back so you weren’t going to. You sighed, bouncing on your toes, and sprinted towards her. She expected it since it was the same move you went for prior but when she went to grab your arm, you grabbed her and twisted it behind her back. She was quick to escape and you jumped back, creating distance between you and her. There was a smile dancing on her lips but you ignored it. You had to focus. 

She made the first move and punched with her right but you blocked it with your forearm. You blocked a few of her blows and hit her a few times in the stomach. She stumbled backward and you surged forward. You grabbed one of her arms and the other went behind her neck. You turned into her, sticking your right foot into her leg, and used the momentum to fling her over your body and onto the ground. You put your knee into her chest and stared down at her. You stared at your reflection in her green eyes. You didn’t recognize the look in your blue eyes but you’ve seen it before. The man with the metal arm had the same look in his blue eyes. It scared you, seeing your eyes void of all emotions and mimicking the glare of that man. Your eyes were dark, losing the light that your parents loved so much. They were void of the color so many people envied. You were terrified of yourself. 

With shaky legs, you stepped away from Natasha and Maria was already walking over. “That man who's after me, what’s his name?” You asked, trying to keep your voice from shaking. Natasha stood up and the couple had a silent conversation with one another. 

“He’s called the Winter Soldier,” Maria said. “HYDRA’s deadliest assassin.” You recognized the name HYDRA, a name said in passing at one of your dad’s poker games. You looked at Natasha. 

“Who is he to me?” You questioned. Her jaw clenched. “Tell me!” You demanded.

“He’s your father,” she said simply. You weren’t sure if it made it worse or better. “The Red Room decided to work along with HYDRA to create the perfect weapon,” there was a deep sadness edged in every one of her words. She looked away from you and towards the woods. Your stomach turned. You were a product of a forced relationship. 

“Does he know?” Natasha shrugged. 

“I don’t know,” her voice shook. “They did this horrible thing to reset him and wipe his memory. I don’t even think he remembers me,” Maria gently took her girlfriend’s hand in hers. You felt cold all of a sudden. Every one of the weird quirks that made you different now had an explanation. 

“Uh okay,” you nodded your head. “I need a minute.” You turned around and walked into the camper, making a beeline for the bathroom and closing the door behind you. Your hands shook as you turned on the water and splashed water on your face. You tried to regulate your breathing; in for 5, out for 5, in for 5, and out for 5 but it wasn’t helping. Bile was rising in your throat. Did Natasha have a choice? Did they have a relationship together or was it forced? You closed the toilet seat and you sat down, your legs finally gave out. 

HYDRA was a name whispered once or twice at your dad’s poker game. Your parents must have known who your biological parents were. Did they care? Did they realize the mistake they made before it was too late? You sighed, biting down on a towel and letting out a scream. You hoped the towel would muffle it. 

*

Maria found you sitting on the couch with one of Natasha’s pistols and a timer. Like playing poker or another card game, you found that dismantling a gun and putting it back together calmed your racing mind. You glanced at the agent. “Where’s Nat?” You asked. 

“Ran to the store,” you nodded. Maria sat down next to you, taking the gun from your hands. “Maybe we should talk instead of playing with a gun.” 

“There is nothing to talk about,” you stared at the TV. “I mean I find out my biological mother is an Avenger and my father is a feared assassin who is trying to kill me,” you felt your throat burn as tears threatened to escape. “My adoptive parents are dead and I’m pretty sure they were the reason he found me,” you folded your hands together, squeezing them. “I finally have answers to so many questions but now I don’t want them because I feel so alone,” you sighed, angrily whipping your face. “But I’m so fucking fine.” 

“Language,” she gasped. You looked at the woman and laughed at the teasing smile on her face. “I want to show you something,” she stood up and grabbed a small box next to the TV. She handed it to you. “It was part of the arrangement,” you opened the box and saw pictures of you at all stages of your life. “Natasha agreed to give you up in return she got pictures of you and was notified if you were in trouble.” Maria sighed, picking up one of the pictures. “I know it’s very hard to see but she loves you very much even if she doesn’t say it,” you closed the box, whipping away a tear that fell. “And you aren’t alone. You have us.” 

“But when the mission is over, what happens to me then?” You asked. 

“What do you want?” You weren’t expecting the question, not thinking you had a choice in the matter. 

“I know what I want,” you answered. “But I don’t think I can have it.”

*

Natasha didn’t join you and Maria for dinner. She was outside, drinking from a bottle of vodka when you joined her. The only light was from the stars and the small camping light. You sat down next to her on the top of the picnic table. “Are you hungry?” You asked. “I can go get you something.” She smiled. 

“Not hungry, kid, but thank you.” You nodded, watching her take another sip from the bottle. 

“I’m sorry,” you told her, looking up at the stars so you couldn’t see her face. “This probably hasn’t been easy for you since I’m a constant reminder of everything. Plus I know I haven’t made it easy for you.” 

“This is not your fault. I should have been honest with you from the beginning. It just,” Natasha sighed. “Hurt too much.” You nodded, that you understood. Silence fell between you and her. 

“I asked Maria what was going to happen to me once the Winter Soldier situation was over. She asked what I wanted,” you looked at her. “Do you know what I want?” You asked. She shook her head. “I want to go live with you and Maria and meet the other Avengers.” The shock was evident on her face. 

“Why?” She whispered. 

“Because you're my mom,” you whispered back. “And I know I’ll be safe as long as I’m with you.” Natasha let out a breathless laugh, shaking her head. 

“Your innocence was stolen because of all this,” she whispered, pushing some of your red hair behind your ear. “I will send out an army to find you even in the middle of the darkest nights. I will rescue you,” she whipped away a few of your tears that fell. You didn’t realize you were crying. “There is no distance that cannot be covered. I’ll be your shelter and armor. There was never a moment you were forgotten or I wasn’t thinking about you.”

“I can’t,” your voice shook. “I can’t lose any more people in my life. I think it will break me.” She pulled you into a hug and something inside you snapped. You cried. You finally cried against her. 

“Sh, dorogoy (sweetheart),” Natasha whispered, rubbing soothing circles on your back. “I’m right here. I won’t go anywhere.” You heard the camper door open but you didn’t move from the Black Widow’s arms. You felt the table move as Maria sat down on your other side. Without looking you intertwined your fingers with Maria. She squeezed your hand. “We won’t leave you. We are right here.” You nodded your head against Natasha. You so wanted to believe them but there was a theme of people coming into your life and leaving. Maybe you were the problem. 

“Come on, sweetheart,” Maria whispered. “Let’s go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow.” You nodded, removing yourself from Natasha. ‘Along the day,’ you thought, ‘It’s been the longest few weeks of your life. What’s one more long day?’ 

Part 2                                                                                    

[echantedtoon]

A Lovers' Circle (Poly Haishira x Reader) Ch5 Date Weekend: Friday

(Warnings for some innuendos. 

If anyone is confused by Sanemi's surprised behavior, it's because I'm Kimetsu Gauken it's cannon that while Sanemi is kind to women and children, everyone is afraid of him due to his scary appearance. So Yn being genuinely kind to him despite his appearance is surprising to him.)

The day was bright and beautiful as the morning light fell through the window and grazed over the few patrons still in the small cafe she worked at. The murmuring hums of light talk, generic elevator like music, and the occasional bike passing by outside. It combined with the sounds from the kitchen. Clinking dishes, utilities, and the occasional shout of an order ready to be served. Relatively peaceful and normal day for those whom worked the cafe life.

It was a demanding job sometimes if you had to handle multiple orders by yourself especially if you were by yourself or happened to be short-staffed that day or if there just so happened to be a large crowd. But it wasn't a bad job. The Patrons were mostly friendly aside from the occasional Karen or grumpy person in the morning who demanded their caffeine high for the morning. It always smelt nice with the lingering scents of coffee, chocolate, and various hand made baked goods in the glass display nearby.

After a while one would even start to recognize the frequent customers visiting the shoppe's doors. The guy who always hugged down at least three cups of coffee in the morning before classes. The couple always coming in Thursday afternoon for the college students discount on the sandwiches. That one girl always stumbling in with a mountain of papers always quickly buying a quick donut before scurrying away. There was the frequent college students or bookworms that just liked to sit in the cafe and do their own things. Sometimes they'd order snacks sometimes they didn't but that was life. But such was life on campus.

It was a slow day this morning in particular.

The smells of glass cleaner mixed in with the scents of coffee and sweet vanilla as a cloth ran across the shiny glass of the display case. Inside it beheld the delicious sights within it's hold. A few cupcakes and cakes ready to be bought and eaten. Tempted to take one herself. But it'd have to come out of his pockets if she did so. Not many people had come in today either. A few in the morning for a quick coffee run before classes but for now it was just her alone here. She didn't mind, it was peaceful and quiet other than the distant sounds of the generic elevator like music that constantly played around the area.

She couldn't wait for the end of the week. There was going to be a girls night with all her girlfriends and then they were going to spend the entire weekend together going to the spa, and the amusement park, and then there was going to be a cute little movie marathon!! Oh it was gonna be so much fun! And it's been so long since they all got to spend time together! She was so excited, she barely heard the door open. Only being aware of the fact when the door opened and the bell above rang a cute little jingle causing her bright green eyes to snap around.

She gasped. "Obi!"

The slightly smaller black haired that walked in barely reacted to her. Maybe it was because he didn't get a chance to before she squealed excitedly and rushed him. Pulling him into a nearly bone crushing hug and literally lifting the man off his feet.

"I missed you so much!"

"Ish omly beem a few hours," he replied to the best of his abilities half muffled by the fact she was crushing him into herself.

She squeezed him just a bit tighter for a second or two. "Mm mm!" Before finally releasing him back onto his feet allowing him to wheeze for air, but by now he was used to it after being together for so long. "You're always so sweet coming to see me at work!" She gushed grasping her cheeks.

It took him a few seconds to collect himself but he was able to recover from his girlfriend's usual greeting and looked at her evenly. "I'm happy you seem to be in better spirits." Mitch matched eyes glanced partially past her and made contact with a wiping cloth and a bottle of glass cleaner abandoned on top of the display case of delicious pastries. "Is your shift over with yet?"

"Almost! I'm just cleaning up and getting ready to clean out the display case. You know what that means!" She gushed brightly at the thought. "Which means lots of free leftovers for us tonight! It's gonna be so yummy!"

"Just be sure you don't eat all of it before we get it to the others. Don't want a repeat of last time." Last time she unknowingly snacked on everything before they could reach Kyojuro's house and they ended up having to drive out last minute and get take out and frozen pizzas. Poor Mitsuri nearly cried for an hour after trying to pay for everything.

Her face lit up an embarrassed pink as she pouted. "I won't! Besides everyone's supposed to bring something! What are you bringing everyone?"

His answer was to raise a box of canned Moonbucks coffee. "This."

"Obanai, coffee isn't a good choice for a potluck! We're supposed to bring something everyone can enjoy!"

"They do. Especially Shiny and Sanemi. They're always tired as fuck."

"And no cussing! We're trying to make a good first impression for Gyomei! What's his new girlfriend gonna think if you do that?"

"Didn't he just say they just went on like two dates? That's not a girlfriend." Her eyes narrowed at him. "*sigh* Fine. But I'm not the one you should be worried about."

"Sanemi promised everyone he won't say anything mean."

"It's not Sanemi I'm worried about." Knowing Tengen and his 'flamboyant' (innuendy) way of talking a lot of the time you couldn't tell if he was flirting, teasing, both, or just talking. Not always the best thing for a great first impression.

"Oh Tengen's gonna be fine! You'll see!" She patted his shoulder before bubbly bouncing towards the counter again. "I'm gonna finish up cleaning now so we can grab the goodies and go!"

"M'kay. I'll just wait for you to get done then." He went right ahead and made himself comfortable in a nearby chair as she happily went back. "Are Hinatsuru and Makio still here too?"

She nodded wiping at the remaining glass. "Yep! They're cleaning up the back! We should be done real soon!"

"Good. I can't stand Tengen making anymore jokes about me trying to steal his wives again. The sooner we leave the better."

"Oh you don't really mind that!,"she sang from where she was finishing up cleaning the display case. "He's just teasing you."

"Yeah. Well I wish he'd do it in a different way." He rolled his eyes at her insistence. "How much longer until they're done?"

"Just now actually." 

A new voice echoed out of no where and both pairs of eyes looked up at who had just walked in. Pink eyes crinkled up in a smile as two women appeared both had black haired tied up in ponytails but but only one had orange bangs and was carrying a broom. Immediately the orange eyed one just went to sweeping up the front where he was sitting as Hinatsuru held up two large boxes, the kind you'd buy a dozen donuts in. 

"Hi, Obinai," she greeted him with a cute smile. "Come to give us a ride there?"

He nodded eyeing Makio starting to thoroughly sweep the floors, moving tables and chairs and reaching under booths connected to the wall. "Yes. Are you all ready to go?"

She shook her head. "We have to clean up before closing for the weekend, but we haven't gotten the front yet. Besides-" She held the boxes higher. "We still need to box up the goods." 

He nodded. "Right.." before slowly standing up and grabbing the canned coffee he just quickly bought from the local convenience store. "I'll just wait for you guys in the car then. Parked right out front."

He left them to it he supposed walking out with the sound of the bell above and back to a beaten up old hand me down van. It wasn't the prettiest car, but it worked, it got him places, and it's what he can afford so he treated it with care.  From the inside he boredly watch his girlfriend and their partners sweeping and mopping up the front. Mitsuri was quick to wipe down the large windows inside and out before disappearing back in and a moment later the three emerged back out. Mitsuri first holding the door open for Hinatusu to walk out carrying the two boxes with Makio right behind them. He patiently waited still for them to get inside the van with him with Mitsuri leaning over to give a large kiss to his cheek leaving behind a giant kiss mark no doubt the others will tease him for it later. 

"Hey. So you girls finally ready now?" Regardless of asking he was already reaching out for the key and starting the engine.

"Yep! But they wouldn't let me hold the boxes."

"Last time you ate it all before we even got to Kyojuro's 

His girlfriend whined as he was already shifting to reverse. "I didn't mean to! They were just so yummy!"

"Yeah? Well this time we're holding onto them."

"I'm assuming we're going to Kyojuro's then."

The car slowly turned to the right and began it's long journey down the roads. From all of the places they lived, Kyojuro lived the farthest away from the University. Nearly an hour's drive worth of traveling by car. It was a wonder that Kyojuro wasn't more late to classes, but then again it was easier for him to blink with Tengen during school days and just go home on the weekends and holidays. The drive there was mostly silent other than the happy hums of Mitsuri who once and a while gave the boxes in the back a look but they were firmly sat in Makio's lap and he doubted that she'd let her go anywhere near them. 

The roads continued to get a bit crowded from the weekend rush for everyone to go to the beach or wherever the rowdy crowds took them. For them it was a long well deserved weekend planned out a whole month in advance and meeting a really special guest. He wasn't too thrilled about having to help play host to a newcomer but he'd be nice for Gyomei and meet this girl. With a sigh, he turned a corner and went up a street only to slow down to a stop and park right in front of a large home. They were here. He just wondered how many of them were here already. 

The first one there was Mitsuri excitedly just running up the driveway and without even bothering to knock, threw the front door open beaming wildly. "HI GUYS!!"

"Hey, Peaches n Cream is here with her dashing night in shining armor! And of course my two beautiful princesses.~"

"Shut up, Tengen!," he shouted as he finally got inside behind the girls.

Most everyone was there. Tengen had taken up most of the small sofa laid across it with his head in Suma's lap getting it massaged by the looks of it. Sanemi looked bored off to the side only looking up when the four of them came walking in. Knowing Kyojuro he was somewhere else in his house. 

"Where's everyone?"

Tengen waved a hand too invested by the soothing hands of his wife. "Kyo's ordering some more pizza. Giyuu said he'd be grabbing the others and Gyomei said he's gonna be late and to start the movie without him." He finally seemed to perk up slightly eyeing the boxes Hinatusu was carrying. "What do we have here though?"

"Everyone's bringing something to eat, Tengen. Which reminds me." He slapped down the box of canned coffee on the coffee table between all of them before plopping himself down on the second couch with a sigh. "A little gift from me to you."

"Oh finally. I need something to keep me awake during this bore fest."

Sanemi was already tearing up the box to get to the delicious taste of coffee. The girls filed into the kitchen presumably to put away the food minus Mitsuri who must've found Kyojuro because everyone heard him give a loud grunt from the kitchen area before loud laughter echoed out from both of them. No doubt she must've given him a surprise glomp- CLICK! The sounds of a a can being opened filled the small house as the white haired man threw his head back to just start chugging it down. 

"Hey, Obanai. Did you bring the movie?"

"Yep. A horror one. Nothing like the one Tengen picked out last time."

"Hey! What was wrong with what I picked?!"

"You picked a documentary on Katsushika Hokusai."

"And what's wrong with that?! He was a very talented artist!"

"When you said you brought 'the most flamboyant movie ever' I thought it'd at least be about something cool like swords or wrestling! This is why we take turns picking movies instead of letting you in charge."

"YOU TWO JUST DON'T GET ARTISTS!!"

Both Sanemi and Obanai exchanged looks- Sanemi took a louder drag of his coffee can as Obanai just got up to start the movie. The others started filing in sooner than they expected. Kyojuro finished up ordering them pizza for the big dinner and came back to rejoin everyone as the movie started. Five minutes in the door opened again and in walked Kochos and Giyuu with a bag of chicken wings from a nearby fast food place and a couple six packs of different sodas like Peppi and Coda. It was all placed in the kitchen as they awaited the arrival of pizza and Gyomei bringing along their mystery guest. Shinobu helped herself to some of the canned coffee as well before flopping herself across Sanemi to casually cuddle not that anyone minded. 

The movie was just about near the end when Tengen abruptly sat up and nearly knocked over Kanae sitting on the armrest of said sofa, eyes alert and looking right at the door.

"Oi. Watch it, Uzui. You nearly knocked my girl off-"

"Someone's here!"

His announcement had everyone going silent for a long moment. Someone eventually paused the movie, not sure who, but the newfound quietness of the home made it easier to hear things. A small cough or two from everyone turning to stare at the door. Obanai exchanged looks with Suma the latter shrugging her shoulders. Sanemi was the only one who broke the silence taking a sip of his drink. Until they heard it. The heavy footfalls of a familiar heavyset person making their way to the door.

THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.

They came up the porch steps and slowly towards the door getting closer and closer. 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Heavy and loud but gentle knocks reverberated from the doorway and echoed out into the large living room. No one made a move to get up stunned and after a moment, they came again a little louder this time.

"Maybe we have the wrong address?"

"No. I've been here plenty of times. This is the correct house."

Two voices came from behind the door one familiar one not but it was enough to get Kyojuro to place down his bottle of water and get off the couch. 

"It's strange that no one answered by now though."

"Maybe we're the first ones here? But we did say we'd be running late..Did they go to a movie theater or something?"

Any voices quieted when his footfalls approached the door and he stood there a moment, taking a second to look back to everyone else who still stared silently, before reaching out to grab the doorknob, twist it, and slowly opened the door up. Red-orange eyes blinked widely at who was on the other side.. before his usual bright grin dawned his handsome features.

"GYOMEI!," Kyojuro greeted loudly holding out his arms, "SO HAPPY YOU'RE FINALLY HERE! WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!!" No else could see from their sitting spots, but Kyojuro's head tilted downwards to the right instead of up to the tall man in the doorway. "AH! You must be the guest he told us about! A pleasure!"

A deep sigh was given outside of the doorway followed by a tiny woman's chuckle. "Y/n, this is Kyojuro Rengoku. I'm going to be spending the weekend with him here. Kyojuro Y/n. Do try not to shout her ears off."

"GLADLY!!"

A few eyes blinked when a woman's small hand appeared sticking into the doorway. "It's so nice to meet you! Gyomei's told me so much about everyone."

Kyojuro gladly shook her hand. "A pleasure! Please come in!" Before stepping aside for them both to come in. "We were just in the middle of watching a movie!"

"Sounds lovely."

Everyone watched as in walked Gyomei who had to duck in order to get inside behind him followed a girl, with long f/c hair and a smile on her face as she gave a look around before her eyes caught onto the other ten pairs of eyes looking at her. F/c orbs blinked in surprise seeing so many people blinking but she still smiled widely at them. 

"Oh my. There certainly is a lot of people here. Hello."

"HI!!," Suma yelled out breaking the awkward silence as she waved a full arm at her. "Oh my gosh! You're so pretty!"

"She is pretty cute. Dam, Gyomei. You didn't tell us she was a cutie.~" Tengen smiled widely at her. "Where were you when I got married?~ OW!!"

A smack went off as Kanae's hand met the back of Tengen's head as her polite smile never wavered. "Tengen, control yourself. That's not a polite way to greet someone."

Said man hissed rubbing his head as Gyomei's hands met his face in embarrassment already. Although surprisingly the woman's face while slightly surprised, didn't really change from her smile. Gyomei sucked in a deep breath and eventually pulled his head out from his hands and gestured to the white haired man whom just spoke. 

"Y/n, allow me to introduce you to Tengen Uzui. The women next to him are his wives," how he knew all three of his gorgeous wives were all laid on him Tengen would never know but he was right. "That Suma, Makio, and the one to the far left is Hinatusu. The lady on his left is Kanae Kocho."

"Wives?" She glanced over them. "Wow. I wasn't expecting anyone to be married. Usually everyone I know is really busy trying to get through college."

Tengen didn't take any offense to that laughing loudly. "Well family arranged marriages would do that." He waved at her anyways. "Nice to meet ya! Hope the big lug hasn't been too much to handle.~"

"T-Tengen!" Gyomei's face frowned at him harder but the girl only giggled more.

"Thank you. He's actually been really sweet.~ " Her eyes glanced over everyone else in curiosity. "But I don't think I've met everyone yet."

"O-Oh. Of course. *ahem*"

Ignoring Tengen's smirk boring into him, he gestured to the others. Introducing them as Mitsuri Kanroji. Iguro Obanai. Sanemi Shinazugawa. And Shinobu Kocho. And explaining who exactly was who's girlfriend or boyfriend to you and making it easier to understand what dynamics were which. Nervously awaiting her response and hoping she wouldn't change her mind and think it was weird after all. Instead everyone was surprised by the gentle and kind smile on her face making her look so adorable as she bowed. 

"I'm happy to meet you all! It's so nice to meet Gyomei's friends! Uh- Boyfriends and girlfriends. Or..." She slowly stood straight again with a confused scrunch to her face. "...What do you all refer to each other as?" 

"We call our significant other by the regular boyfriend or girlfriend title otherwise we just call each other out partners," Shinobu explained with a smile, "Other than Tengen since he's really the only one married." She gestured referring to his wives. 

"Oh! I'll keep that in mind then."

"What do you have in that box?"

It was the first time someone mentioned the box she was carrying and pointed it out. It was just a plain bakery like box, the kind Hinatsuru was carrying earlier. She smiled wider at them all. 

"Y/n remembered me mentioning that Sanemi liked ohagi." Sanemi's eyes snapped up at the mention of his favorite food. Hand paused mid sip as he glanced up at Gyomei's smiling face. "She brought along some to share-"

"Ohagi?" She nodded and opened her mouth but Sanemi was already standing up and descended upon her. Blinking as he was leaning over her suddenly and his hands roughly pushed the box open. His smile widening as the delicious scent of red bean ohagi hot him. "Fuck yeah! Thanks, Mei! I didn't think they sold 'em this late."

That's right. Gyomei mentioned that the cafe he took you too sold his friend's favorite ohagi. She blinked as he just roughly grabbed one of the ohagis and took a massive bite nearly swallowing it whole. A pleased noise left his mouth as the sweet taste hit him and he continued devouring onto a second one pulled up from the box with a third in the other hand. 

"So good!," he managed to get out between bites as he continued eating.  "Mei, I owe you one."

"I-..Well thank you but I didn't buy them." His large hand patted the new woman on the back. "Y/n here made them herself." Sanemi paused comically mid bite. "That's why we were late. I'm afraid it took a little longer than expected for her to get off work and make them all."

She nodded smiling. "I'm glad you like them though. I've only made them a handful of times."

"Did I miss something?," a new voice asked from the kitchen just as Giyuu appeared from the kitchen carrying a drink and what looked like a donut swiped from what the girls brought 

"Ah. Giyuu, right on time." Gyomei gestured with a smile. "Y/n this is Giyuu Tomioka. He's taking the same health course you are so you both might know each other."

You stared at him for a second before nodding. "I vaguely remember you but I don't think we actually talked before. You're taking the health course too."

He nodded. "Working on a bachelor's degree in physical education, and the health classes will help me improve my skills as a p.e. teacher."

"Oh! So you're studying to become a teacher too?"

He nodded. "All of us are. Why are you taking the same classes?" The blunt way he asked could've been rude to anyone and got a concerned look from Gyomei but she didn't bat an eye.

"I'm studying a degree in baking and pastry arts and the health classes help me understand people's health better. You never know if someone has special dietary needs or allergies."

"Huh... That's very observant. Would you like something to drink? Coda alright?"

She nodded. "That'd be fine."

"In the meantime why don't you two come join us for the rest of the movie?" Kyojuro motioned for Tengen and the girls to move over making room for the you and Gyomei on one of the sofas. "It's a good movie and pizza should be arriving any moment now."

"I'd love to!"

Giyuu was nice enough to take the box of ohagi to the kitchen before Sanemi- ate it all, and the both of you were settled down to watch the rest of the movie or in Gyomei's case listen. Pizza arrived a little bit later and it too was taken to the kitchen before Giyuu handed you a cup of soda with a thanks from you. The movie was alright but it didn't make much sense since you didn't see the entire story however judging by everyone's else's reaction it must've been at least a compelling story. Afterwards Obanai and who you remembered was called Makio offered to get up to get pizza for everyone. 

"Oh finally. At least something worthwhile."

Kanae shot her boyfriend a glare. "Sanemi, don't be mean! It was Obi's turn to pick the movie and we have a guest here!" She scolded him.

"Tch! Whatever!" Sanemi grumbled in annoyed defeat leaning back where he sat, crossing his scar littered arms and throwing one leg over the over. "The whole day's been boring."

"Sanemi."

"Well it's true," he countered at Kanae when she frowned at him. Directing a hand towards the big screen. "When Obanai said he'd be bringing the movie, I was expecting something actually scary like The Exorcism or Night of the Living Corpse! Both of those are scary. But no. Instead he brings a documentary on Pythons."

"It is not a documentary!" Mitch-matched green and yellow eyes narrowed at Sanemi from the doorway to the kitchen. An accusing hand pointing at the bored looking white haired man. "Mutant Boss is an excellent horror flick that you just don't appreciate the complex storytelling behind."

"It's about a mad scientist that mutates a couple lizards and they eat people until the hero tricks them into going inside a junkyard incinerator that burns them to death. What complex story is there?! It's not even scary!"

"Excuse me!? Being swallowed whole by a giant snake IS terrifying! And the story is only half about the snakes! How about the deformed doctor who lost everything and sacrificed himself for his best friend who he secretly loved?!"

"Just admit you have a fetish!"

"WHAT?!"

"OK!! SUBJECT CHANGE!" Rengoku yelled out holding up his hands before anymore arguing could be done between the two of them and to their credit both of them didn't say anything but still glared at each other. With a sigh his hand reached up to rub at his face. "Sorry about that." Eyes glanced towards the newest woman who didn't look the least bit bothered. "They're like this a lot but I promise they're not usually this ..rude."

A sound pierced the air. One that had Sanemi pausing in his motion of bringing the canned coffee to his lips and just about made everyone else freeze as multiple eyes blinked at the woman giggling and smiling at them all.

"It's alright. I don't really mind a bit. Please don't feel like you have to act differently on my account. I really want to know everyone."

"Oh good. At least I don't have to worry about walking on eggshells anymore." The man known as Tengen sighed before just throwing an arms around both Sanemi and one of his wives, Suma if she remembered right. "Y'know...If you guys are bored n' really want something to do, I got-"

"Hell. No " Eyes scowled up to Tengen's bored face as Sanemi simultaneously leaned out of his arm and firmly placed the can back down in the coffee table in front of them. "For the last time we are NOT doing your stupid push up game!"

F/c blinked at him. Curiosity peeking out with the blink of lashes. "Push up game?"

"Yeah! It's this real fun idea Tengen came up with!," Suma gushed waving an arm excitedly. "It's a challenge! All the guys do push ups with one of us sitting on their backs and whoever lasts the longest wins!"

"Yeah but Sanemi and Obanai never wanna do it." Tengen chastised rolling his eyes boredly and slinging one arm behind his head. "Killjoys. They never want to do anything fun."

If anger had a picture in the dictionary, Sanemi would be it with the way he snapped at his friend and partner. "Yeah! Fun things! I actually do those! Your idea isn't fun, it's fucking stupid as shit!" Obanai made a noise of agreement from the kitchen. "A push up contest? That's middle school crap!"

"You won't let me paint you or do any of my ideas. I swear it's like you hate my stuff." ...a smirk appeared on his face then. "But I know you don't really hate the idea. It's something else.~"

"Oh sure." He rolled his eyes hard grabbing his drink again to occupy himself. "And what do tell is this 'something else'?"

"You're fucking weaker than I am with your wussy muscles."

CRINKLE!

F/x eyes blinked as a weak can had no chance and was cushed by a stiffened hand around it's weak metal body. The soft metal crinkle sound of a can being crushed was enough to signify the situation to Gyomei, whom only sighed and reached up to rub his face something like 'goodness here we go' leaving his mouth. Silence stilled as Sanemi went unusually silent, veins popping up along his arms and his forehead as black pupils went small. Ever so slowly, one white haired man looked at the other.

"What did you fucking say to me?," Sanemi asked slowly almost inhumanly so. His left eyelid twitching twice.

"You heard me,~" Tengen sing songed out with a smirk, showing not an ounce of fear towards the admittedly scary face. "You're weak compared to me. A mouse. Miniscule-"

"You fucking take that back right the fuck now, Uzui."

"No." His face fully turned that smirk to him now leaning closer to be in Sanemi's face. "You can just prove it instead."

"FINE!" A thudding was heard as the can was thrown on the coffee table and a hand was pointed straight to Tengen's Cheshire cat grin. "But you're going to fucking eat those words when I fucking beat you at your stupid game!!"

"Finally!" Tengen leaned back up with a smile. "We can have everyone participate!"

"Yeah. No. Count me out."

"C'mon, Obi. It's all in good fun," Mitsuri gently tugged on her boyfriend's shirt where it held onto his shoulder. "You can lift me up on your back."

Those different eyes widened at her in an instant. ".....Oh alright. But just this once." Eyes narrowed at Tengen who barked a laugh at him. Predictable. It made the man narrow his eyes and cross his arms. "And only if the prize is worth the effort. What does the winner get anyways?"

"That's a good point," Shinobu pointed out, "You never told us what the winners get. So cough it up."

Tengen hummed. "How about a free painting? Ill draw anything you want."

"I'm not doing any manual labor for a painting!"

"We'll bet a hundred dollars each!", Sanemi declared giving a devious smile. "Whoever wins gets the money!"

"Fifty bucks each! Some of us are broker than others!," Giyuu butted in.

"Deal!"

"Deal! But on one condition," Tengen quickly agreed with a bright smile, "The money can only be used for the winner's girlfriend for their date night. After all it's nearly Christmas. We need to spoil our darlings.~"

"FINE!! Oh I'm going to use your face to wipe the floors when I'm done!" Sanemi grinned deviously wider as he abruptly stood up still clenching his fists.

"HA! We'll see about that! I'm already thinking about how I'm going to be giving my wives' the most romantic night of their lives.~

He too stood up as Rengoku turned to Giyuu. "I think I'll join! Sounds like fun! What about you?"

Giyuu didn't answer him at first, calmly finishing whatever it was he was drinking and looking at Shinobu. "I would like to treat you to a nice dinner." He bluntly told her as her ever smiling face looked at him. "Should we try?"

"Why not? It'll be a fun challenge, and I'd like to run it into everyone's faces."

"Oi! Babe, get over here and sit on my back!"

"Kyojuro can borrow Makio-"

"Count me out," Makio stated bluntly from where she stood still leaning against the wall. "Someone has to be the ref anyways, so I'll do it."

"Ok! Kyo can borrow Hinatsuru then and I'll take Suma!"

F/c eyes still blinked watching with an amused smile. Quite a lively bunch. Weren't they? Gyomei sighed next to you tiredly but smiled despite himself as the sounds of scraping furniture being moved around to make room for the lot of them all shuffling around into place. Murmuring about how fun this was going to be of how stupid it was or that they were going to kick Tengen's ass. Good thing Rengoku's home happened to have a very large living room.

"Hey, Gyomei!," Rengoku called making the man blink. "Come join us! It'll be fun!"

Gyomei blinked surprised his way before holding up a hand. "No. I better not. Makio said she did not want to participate."

"Have your girlfriend there sit on your back then!"

A choke sound escaped Gyomei's throat as he blinked Tengen's way. "I beg your pardon?!"

"You know what I mean. C'mon. She can sit on your back and act as weights. The rest of us are doing it too and I'm sure she doesn't mind."

"Now Y-You see here, Tengen," he sternly said brows furrowing, "I am not about to ask her to subject herself to that just for a silly game. Especially something so...I-Intimate."

"Gyomei, you're the kind of person who thinks hand holding is scandalous."

Gyomei frowned harder but a woman's voice next to him surprised him. "Actually I don't mind." Gyomei paused, blinked, and then turned his head shocked to her. "It's ok. Actually it sounds fun, and I've never been invited to be a part of a game before."

"I-...I do not know."

"C'mon, Mei! Relax and have some fun with us! Your girl's cool with it, and besides think of the nice date you can take it on if you win!"

"Yeah, Gyomei it'll be fun!" "Come join us!" "Live a little will you?"

"Oh alright." He sighed hearing the bout of everyone else's voices encouraging him to come join their game and have fun with them. "But only this once. I happen to think this is entirely out of the question for a third date."

Despite his words he ended up slowly standing off of the nice soft sofa, it let out a squeak from his shifting weight. A much smaller hand grabbed his in fun anticipation pulling him further into the space they cleared away, footsteps sounding as everyone else shifted to make room for the other two of them. Once everyone else was settled Makio downed her soda and let out a small sigh before leaning herself off the wall.

"Ok. Let's keep this fair," she stated firmly hands on her hips. "Here's the rules. Each guy has one of us weighing him down, if anyone gets off your back for any reason you're out. If anyone of you fall or something you're also out. There's no time limits, but the last one remaining wins. Lastly, you can do the push ups as fast or as slow as you want. Again there's not really a number limit. It isn't about how many you can do.. It's about how LONG you can do the push ups with the weight." She seemed to remember something. "Oh. One last thing. You have to do a full push up every time. All the way down and then all the way back up. No half assing it. If I see anyone trying to cheat, then you're out."

"We get it! Let's just get this over with!" Sanemi rubbed his hands together. "I got three hundred bucks with my name on it!"

"HA! If your weak muscles can handle that!"

Sanemi just growled at Tengen before just dropping to his hands and feet. "Let's just get it over with already!"

Makio watched and waited as everyone else got into the push up position, and the girls gently sit down on each respective boy's backs (or in Suma's case throw herself into Tengen's back although their husband was barely affected by her giddy enthusiasm). Gyomei seemed very reluctant to be doing this but stiffened as he felt someone suddenly sit down on his back.

"Here you go!," Kyojuro's voice sounded helping Y/n hoist herself into his frame.

"Thank you. ..I'm not too heavy am I?"

"Haha! Not at all! You were as light as a feather and with Gyomei's strength you'd weigh nothing to him!" Kyojuro have a small amused smile to the pink rising to his friend's face.

"Alright, alright." Makio's voice once again cut through the air as FINALLY EVERYONE was settled. "Ready? ..START!!"

Immediately the air was filled with cheering and giggling from the girls either encouraging the boys on in their endeavors or giggling loudly at the sudden motion of being lifted up and down. Mostly that last one applying to Suma giggling her head off as she lovingly wrapped her arms around Tengen's neck. In the meantime Makio watched with narrowed eyes like a hawk, grazing back and forth constantly at everyone else in front of her the same way a drill Sargent would watch his troops train.

For the first ten minutes nothing really changed other than a couple of the guys starting to sweat under the weight and physical activity they were pushing themselves to do, in Sanemi's case with incredible determination and gritted teeth. It was only around the fifteen minute mark that the first of them began to struggle. Makio zeroing her eyes in on Obanai's shaking arms and excessive sweating seeming to struggle pushing himself back all the way up with Mitsuri on his back.

"Obanai, you about to drop there?" Her brow rose as a head of black hair shook no

"N-No..I can...make it," he struggled to get out between gasps of air making Mitsuri look concerned.

"Maybe we should stop, Obi. I don't want you to get hurt." Her concerned puppy dog eyes gazed over his shaking arms before she shot Tengen a frown when another round of laughter left his mouth.

"To be honest I bet that's how he'd like to die. You crushing him under you!"

"That's not funny!" "S-Shut..UP!!"

Obanai lasted another three minutes. The shaking in his arms becoming more and more worse than before with each passing second- Before out of nowhere he collapsed. Falling face first onto the floor with a loud thud, and a surprised squeak from Mitsuri as she fell backwards off of him. Makio quickly checked on the wheezing man and thankfully he was alright just tired and was dragged into a chair by both ladies to catch his breath and get a cold drink of whatever liquids was placed on the snack tables.

"C'mon guys. Let's go!" Makio ordered clapping her hands together as Mitsuri fanned her poor exhausted boyfriend behind her. "Up. Down. Up. Down. Keep those push ups coming! You want that money don't you?!"

"Is she a ref or coach?," Sanemi gritted through his teeth but felt a gentle hand ruffle his hair.

"Relax your muscles, Nemi. It'll be easier to do if you weren't tense," Kanae suggested from where she sat between his shoulder blades.

"I would if I could."

Another bout of annoyance was added to him seeing the others barely breaking a sweat, especially Giyuu. The guy was still going on without a problem with Shinobu even having the audacity to be laying on his back looking so relaxed. Her purple eyes caught Sanemi's..And a cheeky smile and wave was sent his way making him growl again. Like he'll be was loosing! HE. WAS. NOT. LOOSING!!

"Looking a little hot under the collar there, Sanemi.~"

He snapped turning to the other white haired man with gritted teeth bared. "SHUT UP YOU DUMB-!!"

"Ah!?"

A loud squeak sound echoed out as Kanae wobbled from the sudden movement Sanemi made, holding her arms out to regain balance but falling over anyways-

"SHIT!!"

It was quick thinking of instinctively reaction, but Sanemi completely stopped what and was doing and flipped. Landing hard on his back and catching Kanae on top of himself before she could hit the hard floor.

"Sanemi, you're out!"

"WHAT?!" He shot Makio a raged look from where he laid. Kanae looking up from his chest. "THAT'S NOT FAIR! HE DISTRACTED ME!!"

"There's no rules against talking. You made her fall off yourself," Makio sternly said pointed behind her. "Now move it!"

Sanemi looked absolutely mad especially when Tengen chuckled at them. Oh he was definitely getting him back later for this but for now Kanae got up ushering her angry boyfriend up with her before he could get the idea to kick Tengen's arms from under himself. Two out only four left and it had only been about twenty five minutes. Rengoku was next, not because he slipped or got super tired but because he said he didn't want to get super sweaty and ruin his shirt with sweat stains, so he stopped, politely waited for Hinatsuru to safely get off him, before leaving really quick to go clean himself off and grab a new shirt. He returned later to everyone cheering one of the three guys left except for Sanemi who continued to sulk on a chair.

It was Gyomei, Tengen, and Giyuu left. Suma continued to giggle loudly, Y/n still smiled, and Shinobu continued to lay along Giyuu's back without a care in the world. It was surprising that Giyuu had so much stamina but then again he mentioned wanting to be a physical education teacher, it made sense he'd be able to pace himself accordingly to keep up with the other two.

"UGH!! C'MON!! ONE OF YOU TWO BEAT HIM!!," Sanemi eventually yelled at the both of the men who weren't the smug Tengen. "I DON'T CARE WHICH ONE JUST DON'T LET HIM WIN!"

Almost forty minutes in now when another one of them dropped out. Giyuu did. His heavy breathing and fatigue eventually getting the better of him and he slowly stopped. Resting onto his knees and hands as Shinobu perked up at the sudden stop in motion.

"Giyuu's out!," Makio announced firmly as the two slowly stood back up. "Only two people left! C'mon you two! Let's go!"

"C'MON, MEI! PUT SOME MUSCLE INTO IT!! MY DIGNITY'S RIDING ON YOUR WIN!" "GO, TENGEN! GO!" "Put your backs into it!"

Everyone cheered and laughed at the two still going. It was a toss up between Gyomei and Tengen! The two tallest people in the group and possibly the strongest in this kept going. Lungs breathed in panting breaths as muscles burnt and sweat ran off their foreheads as it continued past the forty five minutes mark and to the fifty minute checkpoint. Everyone watching in wait for whoever would give in first, especially Sanemi. Tengen must've felt his eyes because he looked up briefly and smirked smugly again at him only aging on the man's anger more before he glanced from Tengen to Suma still giggling on his back...Sanemi paused. Gaze slowly looking at Makio and then the other girls. Gears turning in his head until an idea hit him and a devious smile again crossed his mind.

"There's not gonna be a winner at this rate!", he suddenly shouted getting most everyone's attention. "Y'know what this needs?" He waited two seconds making sure most everyone had eyes on him. "More weight! ... C'mon guys. More weight! More weight!"

"More weight!," Obanai unsurprisingly joined Sanemi in his cheering. "More weight! More weight!"

"That's not fair!"

"Actually, Makio. There's no rules saying there couldn't be more weight added." Tengen looked almost horrified as Sanemi chuckled and Makio hummed in thought.

"... Alright. More weight!" A loud 'YES' erupted from Sanemi. "But there has to be an equal amount for each of them."

"Right! Babe, get on Mei!"

"Now hold on a minute!"

"What's wrong, Tengen?" Sanemi grinned widely at him condescendingly. "Too weak to do it?"

"Of course not!," he panted out between breaths eyes darting around. "But-..It's just...N-No one asked Gyomei if he was alright with it!"

"I. Do not. Mind," Gyomei managed to say between pushed upward and making Tengen look at him wide eyed.

"That settles it! Shinobu and Hinatsuru join Suma. Kanau and Mitsuri up with Y/n. Let's go!" Makio ordered.

Tengen looked more pale but didn't fight it when both girls came on over. Both men slowing down as the four girls climbed onto each of them adding more weight to the mix. Tengen gritted his teeth with a grunt but pushed onwards. Mitsuri joining Suma in giggling as Shinobu simply leaned back smiling. Hinatsuru and Kanae held similar smiles as they continued to push through more seconds passing...But Sanemi wasn't done getting even. He just waited a few minutes to watch Tengen struggle before opening his mouth.

"Hey, Makio. That's not fair to Gyomei."

Makio looked over her shoulder at him with a raised brow. "What?"

He shrugged. "It's not fair to Gyomei. That's all."

"What isn't fair?"

"You said there has to be an equal amount of weight right?" He shrugged casually again. "Mitsuri and Kanae weigh more on him than Hina and Shino does on Tengen." Immediately Tengen's face snapped up wide eyed.

"What are you talking about? Are you calling them fat or something?!"

"Actually statistically speaking-", Giyuu butted in literally and genuinely thinking while holding his chin in thought, "-Mitsuri and Kanae's muscle density is much greater than either Hinatusu or Shinobu...So they'd genuinely weigh about one person more combined when added with Y/n. So legitimately speaking..." He looked at Sanemi. "Sanemi calculated it right. Tengen is genuinely carrying less weight than Gyomei is. About a whole person worth."

Tengen couldn't go anymore pale as Sanemi smirked. "Of course I'm right! Everyone knows my math is always on point!" He whipped back to Makio. "You should join Tengen."

"What?"

"Yeah, Makio! Come join us! It's fun!"

"I don't want to."

"C'mon Makio. You said so yourself. Equal weight."

"Oh alright!" She rolled her eyes and made her way towards Tengen much to his horror. "But only because you all won't stop bugging me!"

Tengen didn't argue. Couldn't argue as Makio just walked over and just sat down on his back when he dipped down again making him give off a grunt and Sanemi laughed loudly.

"C'mon, Tengen! You can do it!" "Crush him like a grape, Gyomei!"

More cheers. More laughter. More their muscles burnt pushing the weight up and down. And up and down. And up and ..Down. He could feel his arms shaking. Swear dripping down his face as he struggled to push back up. Come on! He can do it! Hecandoithecandoithecandoit! He..can..do.. The girls amongst Tengen squealed out as he suddenly shifted. No one fell off or got hurt thank goodness but his left hand slipped, and in order to save his balance, his forearms made contact with the floor effectively stopping everyone else from falling.

"THAT'S IT! TENGEN LOST!!"

An uproar of typical college boy cheers came from mostly Sanemi and Obanai as they taunted the honestly tired and heavily gasping man, whom looked annoyed but too tired to say anything about it for now.

"You did your best, Tengen!," Rengoku consoled his boyfriend going to help him stand back up as the ladies slipped off his back. "How do you feel?"

Despite his current state, Tengen laughed. "I ju-just *ha* almost got crushed to-to *gasp* death by a hoard of the most beautiful women in-n the world." He gasped out between breaths. "If I-I had to d-die that *gasp* way....I would've died happy.~"

Despite himself most everyone gave a few giggles including Sanemi whom was nice enough to start helping you three off Gyomei by lifting you up and setting you back down on your feet. You thanked him with a smile which caught him off guard and made him blink surprised but you were already turning to Gyomei slowly standing up and being careful not to accidentally knock anyone over.

"That was so fun! I didn't know you were so strong!," she gushed in delight and it made the larger man go a deeper pink and rub at his neck.

"I-...Well it's healthy to keep in shape. *Ahem*"

"In your face, Asshole! You couldn't even win at your own game! Fork up the money!," Sanemi shouted somewhere to right.

"Hey! I'll win next time, and the money goes to Gyomei. Remember? The winner? Honestly he's gonna be able to buy his girlfriend one hell of a Christmas present."

"LET'S NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT NOW!," Kyojuro's booming voice cut off everyone else and gained attention quickly. "All of us are disgustingly sweaty and not very clean. Let's go clean up and let the girls have some time to eat! You all can borrow my washer and dryer for your clothes since I doubt anyone but I have access to extra clothing."

"Actually we packed all of you guys some extra clothes, Mei included." Kanae interrupted gesturing to the giant extra black duffle bag in the corner. Oh was that what that was?

"...You girls just conveniently packed everyone an extra pair of clothes? Why?"

"You're guys. We knew you'd do something weird or stupid and get yourselves dirty." Makio bluntly stated before making a shooing motions at them. "But Kyo's right. You all smell like a sweaty gym locker room. Go take a shower and wash those clothes! We're not lugging dirty sweat soaked clothes home with us!" 

"It is getting late." You glanced out the closest window and saw the lights starting to wane in the sky. "I'd better head home."

"No! Stay!" Mitsuri suddenly grabbed your hands and pulled them up. "At least wait to say goodbye to Gyomei first and have dinner with us! It'd be unfair if you didn't get to eat anything after cooking something for us and coming all the way out here to see us!" She insisted making you blink.

"Really? I don't want to be a bother."

"If course not." Shinobu tugged you towards the kitchen with a smile. "Come on and eat while we wait for the boys to finish cleaning up."

"Well.. alright then."

[creepy-friday]

Do you have any head cannons for slenderman? I love the way you portrait him

The Slenderman Headcanons

Summary: daddy issues

Here is a link if you want to hear a short dribble of his past: here

He's much taller and eerie looking than portrayed in drawings.He needs to bend down a lot to fit into any normal room,that's why the last floor has ridiculously high ceilings.

Despite his devoid of features white face,he can form different expression while deforming his face-much like clay.In different lighting you can clearly see an expression.

While in hunting he can deform his face so much to form a monstrous looking mouth.

His tendrils leave marks.On the walls,the chairs,ceiling,floor and human skin.It's very hard to heal a mark left by them.They feel slimy and surprisingly warm.

The Operator doesn't recruit everyone and anyone,no matter how good of a fighter they are.What he's looking for in a potential minion is the undertone of revenge attached to them.

His office consists of countless books. Some ancient and some modern new ones. He has collections of tales made for children,occult books, psychology and war.

An eternal being whose essence serve little to no meaning in this world.

His mission is to eliminate anyone who would make his presence known to the world. A lot of close calls were made during proxy mistakes that lead to police teams coming in the forest.

The line between care and ignorance for the creeps is thin,the roots of his past never leaving him and sometimes the faces of the children he was meant to protect forms on his murderous residents.

Depending on his relationship with the reader,his behavior towards them drastically change.