#oh man that did that idiot manage to derail the conversation

[quindolyn]

Better Kisser || Lily Evans

Word Count: 2228

Note: little bit of James x Reader, but I think it’s mostly focused on Lily, idfk at this point. I questioned my whole ass sexuality today because girls are pretty and we got this. I have come to the conclusion that I would let Lily absolutely rail me and then hold me afterwards.

Warnings: Kissing, alcohol, Lily is hot as shit, sue me, barely edited

Part 2

Masterlist

One thing was for sure, Sirius Black was an upright prick.

And there he was all cuddled up in his boyfriend’s arms, having lost his shirt to Marlene many rounds ago.

“You’re really daring me to kiss your best mate’s girlfriend?” You asked incredulously, hoping you had misheard him. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to kiss Lily. No, on the contrary. You were just afraid that it would make things awkward with both her and James, whom you’d known since the both of you were in diapers.

‘Why (L/N)? You scared?” He taunted, a wicked grin plastered on his face.

“No, course not.” You denied, leaning forward to scoop your glass of water off the floor, you didn’t want to taste like firewhiskey when you kissed Lily. “Are you okay with it Lils?” You turned to her, if she didn’t want to then that was a non starter, James could be persuaded. But Lily’s consent was 100% necessary.

“Sure (Y/N/N), s’not like I’m kissing Sirius,” She jokingly sneered at him, straightening her skirt as she composed herself.

“You okay with it Jamsie?” She crooned at him like he was a child, and sometimes he was, his eyes never leaving her lips, but you could only sympathize because you too weren’t able to pry your eyes off of them. They were plump and red and swollen from alcohol consumption, you wouldn’t really care if she tasted like alcohol. 

“Mhmm,” He hummed, his eyes never quite meeting hers, “You do whatever you want baby, you wanna kiss (Y/N)?” He shrugged, she nodded, “Then go ahead and kiss her, s’not my place to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do.”

“Kiss!” Sirius heckled, taking another swig of firewhiskey before Remus pried it from his hands, kissing his cupid’s bow in attempts to calm him down.

“You ready love?” Lily asked, taking a puff from the blunt Marlene passed her, inhaling sharply before letting the smoke billow out her nose, a lazy smile taking over her face.

You nodded meekly before crawling over Dorcas who sat between you and James, where Lily was perched on his lap.

“Come here doll,” She beckoned with the crook of her finger, you hesitantly settled yourself next to her, your side pressed into James’ arm which was wrapped around Lily’s waist. 

“Can I kiss you?” You asked her, you faces inches from each other, noses prodding each other’s, you had been right, her breath reeked of alcohol and instead of repulsing you it just dragged you in further. Her eyes flitted down to your lips staying there as James had to hers. You wondered if yours were half as pretty as hers were right now?

Her response came as she leaned forward pressing her lips to yours, they were incredibly soft, her lip gloss tasted like strawberries as you licked it from her lips, the tip of your tongue grazing her bottom lip. Feeling her smirk into the kiss at your boldness, leaning in towards her more you cupped the right side of her face in your hand, savoring how the soft skin felt under your hands. Pushing her tongue into your mouth she grabbed your waist with one of her hands, working her way under your shirt to access your bare skin. 

It felt like an electric current surged through your body as your tongues fought for dominance, both of you mounting a fierce campaign, but ultimately you gave into her, letting her tongue explore your mouth at will.

After what felt like a ridiculously short amount of time she pulled away from you, the both of you gasping for air. You were distantly aware of the small whimper you emitted as she broke contact, but you couldn’t find it within yourself to give a damn, you were high off Lily Evans, and you needed more.

“I didn’t think you would actually do it,” Sirius spoke from Remus’s arms which were now rubbing up and down the smaller man’s arms, “I’m impressed.”

“Thank you,” You smirked, quickly regaining your composure.

“You’re an excellent kisser (Y/N),” Lily lilted, brushing a piece of hair that had fallen out of your ponytail, behind your ear.

And just as quickly as you had regained it you lost all sense of what you were doing and quickly fumbled out an awkward thank you to her compliment, you were sure your face was 30 varying shades of scarlet and was quick to hide it from the view of the others in the room. Settling back into your seat on the other side of Dorcas you failed to notice the intense gaze of a certain bespectacled brunette upon you that stayed there for the rest of the night.

The next morning, sitting down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, the last thing you expected was to be immediately ambushed by James. He flew into the seat beside you, straddling the bench before scooping scrambled eggs and french toast onto your plate for you.

Before you could thank him, he opened his mouth and ruined his perfectly pleasant behavior, “I need you to kiss me!”

“I’m sorry what?” You spat out, somehow managing not to choke on the orange juice you had just taken a gulp of.

“I need you to kiss me.” He repeated plainly.

“No, I heard what you said, my bad. I probably would’ve clarified,” You cleared your throat, setting the glass of juice down onto the table, “What the actual fuck Potter? You have a girlfriend.” You swatted his arm turning in your seat so your body was completely facing the table, James was only able to view your side profile.

“And she has a boyfriend but you still kissed her,” He pointed out, you hated when he was right.

Before you could apologize for stepping over the line he continued, his words soothing your woes, “Last night after we all went to bed,” He started quickly, gesturing with his hands as he always did when he was trying to make his case, whether that was to McGonagall about how it most certainly wasn’t him who was hexing Slytherins in the corridors, or trying to convince Sirius and Remus about his idea for a prank, the boy was always moving his hands about like he was trying to direct air traffic, not that he’d know what that was. “Lily was bragging to me about how good of a kisser you are and how much she enjoyed kissing you.”

You blushed at that, moving your hair so that it would hide your face from him, but the boy wasn’t having it and moved it from curtaining in front of your face so he could once again view your side profile. “And that piqued my interest, because watching you guys kiss was,” He paused for a second, looking for the correct word, “Was euphoric.”

“Big word there Potter, Lupin teach you that one?” You tried in attempts to derail where this conversation was heading but he wasn’t having that.

“That was all fine,” He continued as though you had never spoken in the first place, “But then she started talking about how she was sure you wouldn’t have kissed me like that because she’s such a better kisser than me.” You did not like where this was going, “The problem here is that we’ve never kissed the same person, Lily was my first kiss,”

Though he raced over it quickly you couldn’t stop the small smile that bloomed across your face, there was no denying that James Potter loved Lily Evans. Unless you were Severus and couldn’t pull your head out of your ass that is.

“So we need you to help us settle this little disagreement.” He explained as though it were the most logical answer to his conundrum.

“Does Lily know about your little idea?” You finally turned towards him, one leg bent up on the bench.

He hummed, looking down to his hands where he was tugging at his fingers, “Well, no, not yet, I wanted to see if you would be interested in it before I asked her.”

Risking another glance at the boy you were met with his hopeful gaze which quickly morphed into a cocky grin as you nodded your head, “Fine I’ll kiss you, but only if Lily’s in too.”

“Great!” James exclaimed, pulling you up from your seat at the table and dragging you out of the Great Hall as he excitedly jogged towards the library where he knew Lily to be. 

“Oi, Potter, slow down my legs are shorter than yours!” You complained attempting to keep up with his long strides.

“Sorry Love,” Though he made no move to slow down for you, if anything he picked up speed. 

“Lily!” He announced your entrance when the two of you finally came to the library, earning him a sharp look from Pince. You tried not to look around at everyone in the library not wanting to see the looks they were undoubtedly flashing you, instead burying your head into the back of James’ shoulder, allowing him to guide you through the maze of tables and bookshelves until he finally found the coveted redhead pouring over her potions book.

“What do you want Ja-” She looked up catching sight of you as you tried to hide behind James, suddenly very nervous about what you had previously agreed to. “Oh, hi (Y/N). What’s going on?”

“I was thinking about last night, after we all went to bed,” He moved into the chair next to her, propping his head up in his hand which rested on the table top, “And I love you Flower, I really do but you’re just not the better kisser here, I am. But since you refuse to see that and we’ve never kissed the same person before we can’t really come to a conclusion. Until now that is, because (Y/N) here has agreed to kiss me and then she can tell us who is better.” He motioned to you with a wave of his arm and you felt the blood rush to your cheeks, the way Lily was looking at you, as though she was appraising you, made your legs tremble.

“You sure about this darling?” The question was directed towards you.

You nodded your head, not trusting your voice at this moment.

She sat in her chair a minute longer drinking you in before nodding, turning to her boyfriend who was smiling like an absolute idiot. “Not here though,” She commanded with a flick of her wand that had all of her supplies flying back into her bag, “Our dorm,” She looked at you as she grabbed James’ hand, then yours leading you out of the library.

James was sprawled out on Lily’s bed, the three of you had come to an unspoken agreement that that was where this would take place, it only seemed appropriate. Lying back, James propped himself up on his forearms, his eyes raking over Lily’s figure as she shrugged off her outer robe, leaving her in her tight fitting button down and plaid skirt. 

“You don’t have to if you don’t wanna love,” She murmured in your ear, brushing her lips against your skin, “Jamsie’s just being a dick wad.”

A gentle laugh escaped you at your joke but you shook your head, “No, it's okay, I want to.”

“Alright then bub,” She hummed, “Get on J’s lap.”

You scrambled to comply, easily settling into the grooves of his thighs, “Are you gonna sit up?” You asked him glaring down at where he laid splayed out on the bed.

“No was thinking you’d come down here since I’m gonna be doing most of the work anyway,” He smirked smugly up at you as you leaned down to connect your lips thinking, it's only gonna cost you points Potter, go ahead, you’re just hurting yourself here.

You brushed the hair off his forehead as your lips met each other, he tasted like mint and citrus, it left you wondering what Lily usually tasted like when she didn’t have alcohol on her breath. He wrapped his arms around your body, pulling you closer to him as his hands ran up and down your back, soothing you into his touch. His lips were rougher than Lily’s had been, though you suspected they would be, you weren’t sure if you’d actually seen him ever apply anything to his lips aside from Lily’s.

His tongue gently pressed against the seal of your lips before pushing past it into the velvety expanse of your mouth. James let out a moan, you didn’t realize what had caused it until you felt Lily’s delicate fingers slide up from his scalp to caress your face. 

You stayed there, in their shared embrace letting James’ tongue have its way with your mouth until your lungs couldn’t take it anymore and you were forced to push away, inhaling deep gulps of air.

James barely let you catch your breath before asking his question, running his hands up and down your arms which were the only things keeping you up. 

In all honesty they were both phenomenal kissers and they were lucky to get to kiss the other every day but there was a correct answer to this question, and James wasn’t going to like it.

tagging: @randomoutsiders​

[pianoperson]

Ikerev Army Boys in a Zoom Meeting

Because they gotta stay in quarantine but have to talk about important matters.

Black Army

Ray Blackwell

Look, you can’t tell me his background in Zoom is NOT a bunch of cats.

He’s the host of the meeting, being King of Spades.

He’s trying to look serious as he brings up important matters to discuss, but it’s hard to look serious when he’s always petting Belle and the 200 other cats he brought in his house because he knew he couldn’t go outside to the alleyway of cats so he brought them all in plus several other cats he encountered.

“Ray, stop petting the cats and focus.”

“But they’re too cute... and they’re hungry and need to be fed.”

He and Fenrir tend to sidetrack really often too.

“Rayyyy I want to see you again! Quarantine is killing me!”

“Fenrir, I promise you, when we meet again, I’ll be wearing a chicken suit and go ‘bokbok’.”

“We’re derailing from the conversation.”

“And why are you going to wear a chicken suit??”

“DM inside jokes”

Sirius Oswald

He’s the one making sure the meeting is organized, especially with the 40-minute time limit.

He takes notes of important points that are brought up in a notebook.

But here’s the thing about Sirius.

He’s wearing a decent polo shirt.

But then Zeta called for him because something in their house happened that requires his attention.

So he stood up... and revealed his pink strawberry boxers.

“Wait... what???”

“Sirius wha—“

Everyone ended up laughing their butts off.

Luka Clemence

He turns off his camera for most of the meeting because he’s cooking during the meeting but is still listening.

He didn’t mute his mic, however, so the commanders could hear the sound of him mixing and cooking.

Cue the grumbling of stomachs

Unfortunately for him, by the time he was done cooking and decided to turn on camera, the first thing he was greeted to was Sirius’ pink boxers.

Poor guy was traumatized.

Seth Hyde

Ok this guy was wearing a face mask during the whole meeting.

Well... both the N95 face mask and that face mask you apply on your face to make your skin smoother and remove any blockheads.

Oh, and he has curlers on his hair for reasons.

He gives a lot of side comments this whole meeting.

“Sirius, you’re really serious!~”

“Lukaaaaaaaaa what are you cooking?? You’re making me hungry!~”

“Fenrir, you’re such an idiot!”

He shrieked when Sirius revealed his pink boxers.

“EEK SIRIUS OSWALD, THAT IS NOT APPROPRIATE AT ALL”

Fenrir Godspeed

He screamed when he first saw Seth’s mask because it looked really creepy.

“SETH WHAT THE HECK IS THAT”

“It’s my beauty mask, Fenrir.”

“It looks scary man!”

“What did you say?!”

“ALRIGHT YOU BRATS, LET’S GET BACK ON TOPIC!”

Ok, aside from the occasional sidetracking of topics with Ray, the guy was mostly behaved.

But on the side, he was browsing through memes on 9gag and ended up chuckling quite a lot.

When the meeting proceeded, he secretly videoed the whole Zoom meeting just in case, and it came in handy when Sirius had to stand up.

Fenrir was laughing the hardest among the BA guys, and even managed to take photos of Sirius’ boxers.

He uploaded the portion of Sirius revealing his boxers on Youtube, titling it ‘Funniest Zoom Meeting’, and it got 1.1m views. Don’t tell Sirius, though, he doesn’t know about this.

Red Army

Lancelot Kingsley

The poor guy didn’t know anything about Zoom.

First, he joined without video, so his face wasn’t seen.

He accidentally muted his mic and he was talking, not realizing they couldn’t hear him. He was really confused on why everyone was ignoring him.

“King Lancelot, why are you so quiet?”

“Wait Lance, turn on your video and mic.”

???

The last 10 minutes was wasted on trying to direct Lancelot how to turn on his video and mic. But thankfully, in the second meeting, he was heard and seen

It was really weird for him, seeing his comrades on a screen and not face to face. And frankly, it was a little refreshing to see them not wearing their uniforms. Kyle and Zero looked a little more frazzled than they usually are (well, Kyle always looks messy, but this was a whole new level) while Edgar and Jonah still looked impeccable as ever.

Otherwise, he was normal. Just needs help with technology.

Also took him forever to leave the first meeting oof

Jonah Clemence

He was the one who hosted the meeting.

Like Sirius, he was the one who kept the meeting organized and was the one bringing up points for discussion.

Oh but he also nags the others.

“Edgar, stop eating jellybeans! How many times do I have to tell you that?!”

“Kyle, your hair is a mess. Fix it. Now!”

“Lol ok Mom”

“Mom?!”

He’s the one making sure the meeting does not sidetrack but ironically is the one who changes topic by being mom.

Edgar Bright

He’s taking a video of the whole meeting and taking down notes of important points brought up.

But the whole time, he was snacking off. He turned off camera and muted his mic at appropriate times so Jonah wouldn’t catch him. But somehow, Jonah still caught him.

“Oh, you caught me. But how? I have my camera off and my mic muted when I eat.”

“Edgar... I just know.”

“Jonah’s mom senses were tingling. Can’t get away from motherly instincts Edgar.”

Edgar does not regret taking video of the meeting at all, partly for reference but mostly because of Kyle’s boxer reveal when the meeting was over.

Like Fenrir, he also uploaded it on Youtube and it also hit 1.1m views.

Kyle Ash

He was late to the meeting because guess who had a hangover.

He slept through the first meeting. Thankfully, he joined the second one on time.

He was mostly spacing out throughout the whole meeting, and Jonah had to snap at him to get his attention.

Head empty, only beer

When everyone said their goodbyes, Kyle got up, not realizing he forgot to leave the meeting and that he had his briefs shown to the others, butt facing the camera. He scratched his butt too.

Edgar and Lancelot were laughing really hard, especially the former. He even took pictures of Kyle walking around and touching things with the hand he used to scratch his butt.

Jonah had spat out his tea when he saw Kyle and his briefs.

“KYLE ASH, TURN OFF YOUR CAMERA!”

Zero

Goodest boi

He was actually paying attention.

Well, he was eating his meal during the meeting.

He was both bemused and disgusted at Kyle’s briefs reveal and he was kinda glad he didn’t stand up because he was also in his underwear.

But yes, good boi, not much to say

[sanpatron]

An ‘Isola News’ post regarding these events will be made soon. Until then I hope that this is an enjoyable read to anyone who decides to go through the whole damn thing. It’s a bit of a mess but I’m still proud of finally getting this out there. That being said; please welcome one and all to the start of an incredibly long and incredibly exciting tour de force of all manners of criminal activities and gang shit.

With the Purgatory Casino having now opened and other business ventures owned by the Saints doing financially well, the Boss was rather content in the gradual progression of the gang’s influence across the city. It wasn’t anything too spectacular just yet, especially compared to how everything came together back in his universe, but he couldn’t complain. Slowly but surely the Saints will become a dominating force throughout Spirale, and whether people liked it or not they would be here to stay.

Now as he tends to do when there wasn’t much work to take care of, the Boss had decided to take one of his usual strolls throughout the city and see if anything of interest would catch his eye. He had found himself wandering into the Fibonacci Ward, which felt a bit too appropriate given the sort of trouble he’d been causing here over the last few months. Surprisingly enough criminal activities weren’t on the mind as he wandered through the ward’s streets. Instead he began to think about the possibility of opening another store here. It seemed like a good idea as it would give the people here a means to purchase fine clothing without having to travel all the way to the Cotes Ward.

Having this in mind he decides to send a message to his second-in-command, one Roman Torchwick, to let him know of the idea in question. Now Roman wasn’t necessarily directly involved with the matters of GANG☆STAR, but the business was still a means for the Saints to collect more income in order to finance all their various misdeeds. So naturally his input on the idea would be greatly appreciated. If it meant a greater revenue for the gang then surely it was a marvelous idea.

Over the next few minutes the two of them would continue their conversation through text messages. An unfortunate distraction as the Boss would fail to realize, at least until the very last minute, that he had several sets of eyes on him. It was a small group of about seven or so men, all in civilian clothing in order to blend in with the rest of the crowd. They had been watching him for some time now; practically as soon as he first set foot within the ward today. As the group pushed their way through the crowd and came closer and closer upon the man, the Boss finally took notice of them. And with a quick message towards Roman that he was being pursued, he placed his phone back into his pocket and quickly picked up the pace before these bastards could get to him.

Not wanting to lose sight of their target, one of the men in the group begins firing at the Boss. He’s far too focused on the task at hand to care about any poor civilian who might be struck by a bullet. Immediately mass panic begins to set in and people all throughout the streets rush to the safety of any location or barrier they could find before they too are caught up in the crossfire. Using the scattered civilians to his advantage, the Boss lets himself get lost in the crowd before finding himself heading straight into a back alley where he can possibly find himself a brief moment to process what exactly is going on.

‘ Shit. Guess those assholes are with Alfonso’s higher ups. ’ He thinks to himself. There’s no way in hell he’s going to deal with these bastards out in public without some sort of disguise, lest the people of this city discover who he truly is. Thankfully the man had made it a conscious decision to carry the mask he had designed for him by Shiro Iori on his person at all times now. However, he’d need to find a better spot to put it on as he can already hear these assholes yelling out for him. “��Where the fuck did he go?!?! ” “ I think he might’ve ducked this way, I see some blood! ”

It’s that last comment that makes the Boss realize that he had indeed been shot at. Thankfully the wound isn’t anything he hasn’t dealt with before—it had entered and exited the left side of his torso—but he’d have to cover it up soon else he’d wind up bleeding out. And if he’s to take on these motherfuckers personally then the last thing he needs is to spill his own blood in the process.

As he continues to make his way through the various alleys the Boss comes across what looks to be a building up for lease. A perfect place to hopefully buy him some time. Using his monster strength on the door in front of him he begins to rush through the building, climbing up a set of stairs that takes him towards what he assumes to be a former office area. Once he feels as if he’s gotten enough distance from the group following him, he proceeds to quickly check his wound before tying his suit jacket around his body to stop the blood flow. From there he checks the ammunition on the pistol he had begun to carry for situations such as this. “ All loaded up and ready to go. ” he says to himself, placing the mask onto his face as he gets himself into position.

“ This way! I think he went in that building! ” shouts one of the men from outside. “ Oh how fun, the cavalry’s here. ” A downright ironic thing to say as the group of men had in fact called more reinforcements. They really weren’t fucking around this time as the reports they had gotten from the casino massacre months prior and the takeover itself made them incredibly cautious. A dozen or so men stood outside the building while the previous group of seven made their way inside, soon climbing up the stairs into the office area.

The room itself was rather dark as the only source of light coming through was from a set of windows towards where the front of the building would be. Slowly the men made their way through the empty cubicles, peeking over walls and around corners. Keeping themselves quiet as they wanted to get the jump on him. Even their breathing was far more quiet than normal. They could not let him escape. They could not let him continue his actions throughout the city. To them the casino takeover was only a taste of what the man and his crew were capable of doing.

A sense of doubt soon overcame the men as they began to question themselves as to whether or not the Boss was actually still in the building. This was then followed up by two shots, the sounds of which rang out throughout the room, alerting the men to their target’s presence. And before a single one of them could even react towards what had just occurred, they had suddenly realized that their group of seven had now dwindled down to five.

And with that all hell broke loose.

None of the mobsters standing outside of the building had any semblance of an ideas as to what may be going on. Either their comrades had managed to get the upper hand on the Boss or that bastard was slaughtering them all. Gunfire is all they heard for a bit two or so minutes before complete and utter silence. They all stood their momentarily, wondering if any of them should enter the building and see just what the hell happened. Yet before any of them could make a single decision they’re quickly made aware of the fact that one of their own had been tossed out the window, his body landing right before all of them. Poor man looked like a mess—his body riddled with bullets from what looked to be one of the assault rifles they were carrying.

Following this the Boss soon appears, leaping forth from the window and using the man’s body to break his fall. “ Wow, did all of you boys really come out here for little ol’ me? I’m touched! ” he yells out before quickly gunning down a few of these jobbers, soon making his way towards cover. And boy oh boy did they really send out quite the number of people for him. Normally he’d stick around and see just how many he could murder in broad daylight, but with the unfortunate wound he’s been given plus the fact that the cops could arrive at any second he didn’t wish to fuck himself over. After popping off a couple of more rounds the Boss makes a quick beeline over to some more cover before finding the opportunity to really start booking it.

Making his way through one of the many different tunnels connecting the various buildings of Fibonacci, the Boss pushes his way through the numerous crowds of people as his pursuers continue to follow him along. Many attempts are made at knocking him down via shots to his limbs, but fortunately enough these idiots can’t aim for shit. He soon finds himself in another populated area, one with a whole slew of shops, restaurants and other public services. Eyeing the wall to one of the many shops littered about, the Boss makes his way over to it to use as cover and begins to fire away at the chucklefucks still on his ass.

“ YOU BOYS GONNA TELL ME WHO YOU’RE WORKING FOR? I’D LOOOVE TO KNOW WHO DECIDED TO ARRANGE THIS LITTLE GET-TOGETHER. ” He shouts out, voice disguised as so no one could recognize him. From the look of things these idiots have an impressive set of tools at their disposal; pistols, SMG’s, rifles, you name it. Whoever they work for must be the real deal if they’re able to provide their boys with this kind of hardware. As he continues firing away at his enemies the Boss recalls what Alfonso had told him and Roman previously when taking over the casino.

He had alluded to his superiors having eyes and ears everywhere, not to mention that going up against them was to basically ask for a death wish. ‘Criminal Illuminati?’ he wondered to himself. ‘ Hmm. Sounds like it’d be fun. Maybe I could ask Roman to ask Neo if she could do some digging. ’ Immediately his train of thought is derailed once he feels a bullet fly right past his head. Seemed like a good sign to keep moving on. As he continued his trek towards practically anywhere the property damage caused by both him and the other mobsters steadily grew more and more. Windows broken, vehicles damaged, merchandise destroyed. It was an absolutely chaotic nightmare, made more ridiculous by the fact they were all on the higher end floors of Downtown. Oh man were the numbers going to be in the thousands.

Eventually the Boss finds his salvation in the form of elevator, one that should theoretically take him to an area with a shuttle train. If he can get to it fast enough there was a chance he could shake off these assholes and properly take care of his wound. However, during this moment of realization a few of the mobsters happened to catch up to him. Unfortunately there was no clear form of cover he could take so he opts for his tried and true plan B; bum rushing them!

Now the sight of a 6′5″ man rushing towards you as he fires off his assault rifle is quite the terrifying sight. Made more so by the fact that he’s wearing a rather creepy oni mask that looks like it’s just smiling all the damn time. You could only imagine what these poor bastards must be thinking as the Boss rushes towards them, having only heard stories about the kind of damage he caused the last two times at the casino. Immediately the Boss shoves the barrel of his rifle into the chest of one of the men and begins firing away. This idiot is then left to lie on the floor in a pool of his own blood, desperately trying to comprehend what just happened to him as he withers away and dies.

Soon the other three try their hardest to back and make some space between themselves and the Boss. Unfortunately he’s already starting to beat them senseless with the stock of his rifle. And while a few good blows are given back to the man, the Boss is far too efficient and pissed off to let these punks get the best of him. In a fit of rage he pulls out his bowie knife and begins to continuously stab one of the men in the throat before tossing him aside. Seeing a chance to gather more ammo he takes what’s left from the bodies scattered around him before continuing into the elevator as he hears more men approaching.

The elevator ride is a much appreciated moment of calm, one in which he could use to contact Roman and inform him that he’s doing alright. However, it doesn’t take long before the elevator reaches its destination and he can a shuttle platform straight ahead. As he makes his way over he pays no attention to the number of civilians staring at the sight of this large man with an oni mask and blood stained clothes carrying around a rifle. Some begin to question calling the authorities while others try their hardest to pay no mind. This is all soon interrupted by the arrival of those relentless dipshits; one of them yelling out “ YO, ASSHOLE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE! ” before they all begin to rush towards him.

‘ For fucks sake, I don’t have time for you guys. ’ the Boss thinks to himself. At this point he can’t let stick around for much longer. Deciding to outright ignore the men after him, he makes a mad dash towards the shuttle’s platform. Closer and closer he makes his over till he sadly realizes that train is about to depart. So with no other options and a strong idea to get the fuck outta here, he decides to jump on to the train itself and hold on for dear life.

“ SHIT! HE’S GETTING AWAY! ” screams another of the mobsters as they all soon take turns firing at the Boss who in turn flips all of them off. This joy is however short-lived as he remembers that this shuttle was probably going to wind up at another part of the ward. He suspects that no matter where he goes right now he’s bound to run into more of these assholes. Seemed like another stupid idea was in order. Thankfully the sight of one of the many highways that connected Fibonacci to the rest of the city gave him a pretty good one. He was more than positive that what he was about to do would wind up causing him some serious injury, or at the very least leave him quite sore for a few good days. So with really no other options he decides to jump off the shuttle and try to, hopefully, land on a car to break his fall—all to the shock of the many passengers aboard the train of course.

And predictably he winds up slamming down on some poor schmuck’s car. However, the impact winds up tossing him onto another vehicle, which is really all-too familiar of the many instances of Insurance Fraud he’s committed. Thankfully it’s the bed of a truck and from what he can tell the driver is heading right into the Archimedes Ward. The driver, having noticed the Boss land in his vehicle, makes an attempt to pull over to get him out. Though a quick brandishing of his pistol and a surprisingly nonchalant threat makes the man reconsider.

Eventually the two arrive in the ward and the Boss quickly hops out. Despite how downright sore he’s feeling, not to mention the still active bullet wound, he begins to rush deep inside the ward to gain more ground between him and any potential threat that may come his way. He hopes they have no one looking for him right now, or at the very least that they gave up on their search. Faster and faster he keeps on running, ignoring his exhaustion plus any and all pain that seems to violently surge throughout his body. None of that matters right now. Needs to focus on surviving. Needs to focus on making it out alive. Before you know it he finds himself off in some corner of the ward with seemingly no one around.

Maybe it’d be wise to take a breather. Just a few minutes. Nothing more and nothing less. He slowly trudges his way towards a wall before finally slumping down and letting himself catch his breath. Something about how he currently feels doesn’t sit right with him. Was he still tired from that fantasy war that was days prior? Perhaps. Would have to train his body more. Can’t let himself get this tired so easily. But this will be something to think about later. Right now all he wishes to do is rest.

Looks like things were about to start picking up around Spirale. About damn time the show finally started.

[theroseandcrown]

The Rose & Crown: Chapter Four

Rating: M Chapters: 4/24  Summary: Clara struggles to return to her life as a teacher at the Coal Hill School. She hasn't heard from the Doctor nor knows where he is. She attempts to keep her mind on her work when a strange sound is heard coming from outside the classroom door.

Read this story on another platform: Archive of Our Own Fan Fiction WattPad

Six weeks had passed since the doors to the TARDIS closed and left her in her flat to resume her life as if nothing happened. No calls, no hidden messages, no whirring of the time machine manifesting in her living room nor anywhere else for that matter. Not a single clue to the Doctor’s whereabouts in all that time. Was he alive? Dead? Trapped on some planet billions of light-years from her? As often as she tried to hide the dreaded thoughts that found their way into her mind, there was no one else she could turn to. No one who would understand.

How am I doing? Well, for one, my time-travelling space alien not-boyfriend is probably being tortured somewhere or trying to save an entire species from extinction and he’s abandoned me here while he’s off gallivanting the universe without me! But thanks for asking!

The ridiculous nature of that one-sided conversation was enough to bring even the smallest amount of humour into her clouded thoughts. As difficult as it had been to resume her life ‘as normal’, she could not dissuade the constant reminder that he hadn’t come back. It was a feeling she just couldn’t shake. Such as when an empty cup once containing your favourite beverage had been drained of its final drop and sat next to you at the table for some time. Every so often you pick it up to take a sip, only then to experience the saddened reminder that it is vacant of any liquid. That is what it felt like to be without the Doctor while trying to pretend his very existence, or lack thereof had not altered her life in any way. As she stood in front of her students lecturing on the importance of literature throughout human history, she couldn’t help but think to herself that as many adventures as she had been on, as many stars and planets and species she had seen passed even the ending of the Earth itself, time had barely passed for anyone else. Yesterday’s homework, which felt as if it had been assigned years before, was simply today’s paperwork to be marked. It remained a constant struggle to keep her own living timeline in order, let alone the many she encountered throughout her travels with the Doctor.

Though her physical body remained a teacher at the Coal Hill School, her mind wandered as her students read experts from their current works. Even her love life, if she could call it that, was suffering as Mr Pink continued to comment on her absent-mindedness as of late. Fooling him into believing there was nothing the matter proved more difficult than trying to understand all that was and is the Doctor. “That was great, Samuel. Thank you. Would anyone else like to read their work?” Several of the students raised their hands. “Let’s see. Okay, Marie. If you don’t mind.” The girl stood and began to address the class with her most recent writing. Clara took a seat at her desk to jot down a few notations while the girl read aloud. Trying to keep the thoughts of her best friend out of her head, she couldn’t help but peer down at her phone for which felt like the hundred-thousandth time since she last saw him. No missed calls, no messages, just nothing. The urge to call him always lingered in her mind but she resisted as she knew that when he was ready, she would know. Feeling the sadness overwhelming her, she tried to concentrate on her work. Suddenly, there was a faint tapping noise coming from the viewing window of the classroom door. At first, she thought it was nothing. Just her mind playing tricks on her as none of the other students lifted their heads in acknowledgement of the sound. Then she heard it again. A distinct tapping coming from the hall. And then she saw him, as sure as there are stars in the sky, standing on the other side of the window waving at her. The Time Lord. Seriously? Here? Now?!  She could barely even contain her anger as she silently mouthed the words “go away” through gritted teeth. She raised a hand signalling to him that she was in class doing her job and there were students to teach. “Miss Oswald, shall I go on?” the girl asked, taking notice of her teacher’s distracted gaze. “Yes! Sorry, Marie. Please continue,” she replied, trying her hardest to ignore the old man’s impatient pacing back and forth from behind the closed door. The anger was building inside of her as she thought about how much worse his timing could possibly be. “Miss?” another student began. “Yes, James. What is it?” “I think the caretaker is trying to get your attention.” Clara sighed then looked towards the door where the Doctor was waving his hands signalling for her to come out. “Well, I suppose I’ll go see what he wants then. Excuse me a minute, be right back. Oh, and uh, just keep reading, Marie.” She approached the door, eyes squinted and fuming towards the Doctor. She opened the door and exaggeratedly greeted the man dressed in a caretaker’s uniform. “Ah yes, Mr Smith! How may I help you?” She waited until the door was closed then lowered her voice to return to her natural state. “What are you doing here! Where the hell have you been?! You know what, I don’t even want to know. I can’t even believe you!” “Clara, I need you to come with me. Right now.” His hurriedness did little to derail her anger. “Oh hello, Clara!” she imitated his voice in her best Scottish accent. “Sorry I’ve been gone for six weeks without ringing and dumped you off here without any explanation to where I’ve been in all that time. What d’you say we go out for some chips and pretend like this whole thing never happened, eh?” “How can you possibly think of food at a time like this?! Wait, did you say six weeks?” “Yes, idiot! Six weeks! For all I knew, you could have been dead! Do you even understand how cross I am with you?!” “Never mind that. Listen, Clara. I think I’ve stumbled onto a clue to our memory loss. But you need to come with me immediately!” “Doctor, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m in the middle of class.” “And? Just let the little pudding-brains take over! Look, that one there,” he pointed to Marie who was continuing to read to the class. “She looks like she could handle things in your stead.” “Unlike you, Doctor, I’m not abandoning my students whom I care about to go on some worm chasing escapade with you!” she fumed, trying not to raise her voice any louder than she should. “Fine!” he conceded. “Meet me after class in the caretaker’s building. This is a matter of utmost importance!”

Clara approached the caretaker’s building being careful not to attract any attention to herself. She casually monitored her surroundings and when she felt there were no prying eyes, she opened the door. Inside was all that could be expected of a caretaker’s managings. Spare linens, a few brooms strewn about, and in the corner appearing as though she had always belonged there was the TARDIS. She placed a hand upon her closed doors letting her know of her presence and thought to herself how much she missed the old girl. With a heavy sigh, she opened the door and stepped inside to prepare herself for what was to happen next.

“Ah, Clara! Good, you’re here!” came the Doctor’s voice, his face half-hidden from behind the time rotor. He hurried over to her, took her by the arm, and gently dragged her to the middle of the room. “Tell me, what’s the last thing you remember?” “Well, let’s see,” she started, still unbelievably cross with him. “First you showed up to my school, interrupted my class, called my students pudding brains-” “Yes yes, before that!” he interrupted. “Before the memory worms.” “I dunno. I remember being at home, getting ready for my date, then you showed up in my living room…” She strained to recall what really happened that night. “Anything else?” he tested her, trying to determine how far back this all started. “And then… then the TARDIS phone rang.” “Precisely! The phone rang! Don’t you see, Clara? That’s where this all began! The moment I picked up the phone, the start of an entire night we don’t even remember occurred!” “I don’t understand.” She tried to let go of her frustrations with him over the past six weeks to become what he needed from her the most. To be his companion. “The phone deleted our memories?” “I’m afraid it goes much deeper than that,” he attempted to explain. “The phone call was just a fixed point in time. It’s everything after that which has been altered. If I hadn’t answered the phone, you would have gone off to your date as if nothing had happened. But something did happen, Clara.” She stood silently staring at the man in front of her trying to decide if she was supposed to speak next. Yet she couldn’t think of a single thing to add to his wild detachment from the reality in which she was living. He sighed heavily. He knew he had hurt her. He had asked her to wait and wait she had without ever knowing if he would be coming back for her. One of the most difficult parts of being the Doctor was not being able to understand the fragility of human emotions. “Clara, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left you here. That I was not there for you.” He struggled to find the words to express exactly what he was feeling at that moment. For him, time could pass in the blink of an eye. But for everyone else, for Clara, well, without him she was living her life on the slow path as if each day were an eternity. “I’ve spent the last six weeks trying to retrace our steps hoping they’d lead me to an answer,” he continued. “The data to the TARDIS was deleted either by force or with purpose. There’s no record of us leaving your flat. I searched everywhere for even the smallest trail of breadcrumbs that would explain what happened that night.” He studied her face hoping for any amount of reassurance that somewhere inside that stubbornness of hers she could find it in her heart to forgive him. “I was at a loss. Until I found this.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small rectangular sheet of paper to hand to her. “I found it inside the breast pocket of my tuxedo. I have no memory of how it got there.” Clara reluctantly read the inscription on the face of the paper aloud. “You’re invited. We welcome you to join us during the Prima Nova Biannual Charity Auction Ball.” She reread the card a few more times in her head, the frown on her face deepening each time she read it. “That’s it? That’s all there is? Just an invitation to a party?” “Not just any party, it’s the party. The one we attended six weeks ago, the one we can’t remember.” “So, what do we do? Go back in time and attend the event to see what happened to us?” “Unfortunately, no. We can’t risk running into our past selves. It could create a rift in the fabric of time.” “Alright, so now what?” She tried to keep up with the fast-paced thoughts of her best friend. “The answer is right there in front of you! It says ‘biannual’, as in more than one!” The Doctor was on the move creating laps around the console, pulling levers and pressing buttons. “Okay, so…” She started to understand what was going through that daft mind of his. “So... we simply go forward in time and attend the next event. Surely whomever originally gave me this invitation will be there. It’s the best option we have to figure out who might have been involved in all of this.” “We’re going now?!” She realized what a silly question that was almost immediately after asking it. Of course he meant now. “Well, not like this we’re not,” he noted, gesturing to their appearance.

[captain-zajjy]

Solstice, Chapter 11 - A Final Fantasy XV Story

Pairing: Ignis x Female Original Character

AO3 | Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

A/N: Sorry this one's a bit on the short (relatively speaking) side! I have part of the next chapter ready to go, but it didn't make any sense to end on that scene, so it'll just have to wait until next week.

Altissia. Ignis. In spite of what had happened to her, it was all Valeria could think about once she’d heard the disastrous news. Please don’t leave me, Iggy. Not you.

It had taken her half a day after Caligo first put his hands on her to compose herself, to devise a means of concealing herself from the monster, at least for a time.

Valeria had traded one of her mother’s diamond earrings for a flashlight, canteen, and a handful of spare batteries - an absolutely terrible deal under better circumstances, but as things were, such items would serve her far better than any jewelry. She’d then gathered her paltry belongings and left the Imperial encampment, shutting herself away in one of the power substations she’d earlier helped to restore. She knew if Caligo really wanted to track her down, it would be a place he’d eventually send his men to search, but with no one willing to take her in - not while she wore the mark of Imperial ire so plainly on her face - Valeria could think of nowhere else to go. At least there she had privacy.

Her beating hadn’t caused her to receive any sympathy from her fellow Lucians; something she was no longer expecting, but secretly yearned for all the same: a kind word, a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, anything to quell the horrible, pervasive sense of loneliness that was consuming her. But people didn’t want to get involved, especially when half of them thought she was some kind of traitor in the first place.

She hadn’t dared call Ignis at first; not because she thought the Niffs were capable of spying on her even when she was alone, but for the simple fear that she’d immediately burst into tears, and he didn’t need that, not while he was trying to navigate the Prince through the complicated mire of Accordan politics.

Instead, she swallowed her pride and attempted to contact her father, who, predictably, did not answer when she desperately needed him the most. He was probably out with his ‘girlfriend,’ or some other, new woman who’d fallen hook, line, and sinker for the sob story he’d undoubtedly concocted regarding his dead ex-wife and missing daughter.

Valeria had remained hidden away in the substation for several days, cursing her father’s wanderlust and the excruciating pain in her face, until hunger and thirst finally forced her outside. Her plan to quickly grab some rations, refill her canteen and disappear were immediately derailed by the news of Altissia practically being sunk by the Hydraean’s waves.

Oh, Gods. Ignis... Caligo, Loqi and the rest be damned - she’d sent Ignis a flurry of messages, desperate to confirm that he hadn’t drowned along with half of the city. If he dies... No. She couldn’t bring herself to finish that thought.

When she finally did hear back from him, the news hadn’t been good. He was alive - and thank the Gods for that - but he was hurt. Badly. And knowing Ignis, it was probably even worse than he’d let on.

But for now, all she could do was wait, pray, and hide.

Several days later, on her next foray for provisions, she had the misfortune of rounding a corner and running directly into Loqi Tummelt.

“Damn,” he said, eyes scaling her up and down. “You look like shit.”

Valeria immediately scanned the vicinity for an escape, backing toward it. “Get away from me,” she hissed.

“Come on,” Loqi said, shaking his head. “Is that any way to talk to the man who saved your life?”

With his leg fully healed, he quickly moved to block her exit, easily arresting her attempts to push him aside.

“I said get away from me,” she repeated, with the futile hope that all the bruised, battered one hundred and ten pounds of her somehow managed to appear threatening to this armored soldier.

Loqi crossed his arms over his chest. “You know, I liked you better when you were trying to kiss my ass.” He regarded her for a moment, Valeria unable to quell her trembling, her instinctual fear that they were going to hurt her again.

“Just chill out,” Loqi said, sounding more annoyed than empathetic. “I’m not going to hit you. Unlike that idiot Ulldor, I know that you can’t tell me shit with a broken jaw.”

Valeria met his gaze with her eye that wasn’t partially swollen shut. “What do you need me for? Prince Noctis is on the news, fighting the Hydraean in Altissia.”

“Was in Altissia,” Loqi said. “I’m sure your boyfriend’s whisked him off to some other hidey-hole already.”

The reference to Ignis caused Valeria to glower at him, as best as her bruised face would allow. My friend can barely get out of bed, thanks to you people.

“Ulldor’s headed down there to search for him anyway,” Loqi went on, a grimace forming around his colleague’s name. “Like I said, he’s a moron. Me? I’d prefer to make a deal.” His grin was so smug, so self-satisfied, it made Valeria nauseated.

When she didn’t respond, he went on. “My terms are simple: give me the Crown Prince’s location, and I’ll make sure the Empire spares your boyfriend’s life.”

“So this is why you ‘saved’ me.” She couldn’t help but sneer. “You want to hand in the Prince yourself.”

Loqi’s expression darkened to one of indignation. “Of course I do. Ulldor got his ass captured and beat up, and they toss him a damn promotion? You know what I got when the Blockade fell? I got yelled at for four hours and sent to this shithole. At least I fought!”

“Yes, life sounds like it’s been so unfair to you,” Valeria muttered sardonically.

“Don’t be a bitch,” Loqi replied. “This is a good deal. You’ve gotta know there’s no way the Crown Prince and his - what? - four buddies are going to win this war.”

The thought had crossed Valeria’s mind far more times than she was willing to admit, but it always circled back to Ignis and his assurances that it was possible. Somehow.

“They’re going to get themselves caught sooner or later,” Loqi went on. “And believe me when I say that your boyfriend will be very, very lucky to face the firing squad.”

Valeria inhaled sharply. “You’re talking about torture.”

“Eh.” Loqi shrugged. “More or less, I guess. Let’s just say, Imperial R&D doesn’t like to waste good human test subjects.”

Human test subjects? In spite of herself, Valeria shuddered.

“I’m not sure what they’re doing over in One-Five, but trust me - you don’t want your boyfriend to end up there.” Loqi jabbed his thumb into his chest. “I can make sure of that.”

Sector 1-5...the Manufacturing District. The Manufacturing District that was off limits, even after they’d restored the power.

Valeria’s eye went wide. “They’re...they’re doing human experiments in the Manufacturing District?”

Loqi shrugged, seemingly unaware or uncaring of what he’d inadvertently let slip. “Dunno. They don’t even let me in there. But I know whenever the Research guys set up shop, it’s not to hand out candy. Look,” Loqi shifted his weight. “You don’t have to tell me anything right this second. Just think about it, okay? We both know how this is going to end.”

After gathering more food, water, and trading for a few more batteries, Valeria threw on her coat against the evening chill and exited the relief camp, frequently looking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t being followed. Even now knowing that Caligo had left the city, her mind was hardly at ease. She was certain the vile man had left people to watch her, to catch her doing exactly what she was about to do, but she was almost positive she was alone now.

She walked to the end of an empty, narrow alley and sat down on the curb facing the street so that she’d see anyone who came along, and pulled out her phone. Calling Ignis was a huge risk, she knew, but after hearing about what had happened in Altissia, she couldn’t help herself. And worrying about his injuries distracted her from her pain, Loqi, and everything else.

“Hello?” The slow, quiet way Ignis answered the phone sounded so unlike his usual brusque, confident self. And the uncertainty in his voice made her conclude that he still couldn’t see who was calling.

“It’s me.” Valeria hoped she sounded upbeat. It was hard to do when your mother was dead, when your city was grey rubble, when half your face was black and blue, when your dearest friend was hurt and suffering half a world away. But she tried, for his sake.

“Val.” Was that relief in his voice? A modicum of cheer? Ignis sounded so weary, so used up, it was hard to tell.

“Feeling any better?” she asked.

“A bit,” he replied. “The headaches have begun to abate. As have the dizzy spells.”

“That’s good.” No mention of his vision, which meant her hunch was correct: he still couldn’t see. She desperately wanted to believe what he’d told her, that it was only a matter of time before his right eye, at least, was back to normal, but she knew Ignis. He loathed being fussed over, loathed being out of control. Valeria didn’t think he’d outright lie to her, but it was very much like him to minimize the severity and prognosis of his injuries. If only she’d asked that Prompto when she’d had him on Ignis’s phone.

“How are you?” he asked, trying - and not quite succeeding - at a conversational tone.

“I’m okay.” As long as I don’t look in a mirror. Like Ignis, she had intended to give him a somewhat whitewashed report about what Caligo had done to her, but had decided not to trouble him with it at all after finding out about Altissia. The monster was gone, so she was, theoretically, safe from his wrath for the moment. And Loqi’s ‘offer’ didn’t even bear mentioning, as far as she was concerned.

“Noctis woke yesterday,” Ignis said.

“Oh?” There was some good news. “How is he?”

“Despondent.” Ignis sighed. “In spite of his attitude toward the wedding, he cared deeply for Lady Lunafreya.”

“The Empire’s blaming it on the Hydraean.” It was all anyone was talking about, that the Oracle was swallowed by the wrathful Leviathan’s waves.

“It was the Chancellor.”

Valeria frowned, which in turn caused her to wince. “The Imperial Chancellor killed Lady Lunafreya?”

“Indeed. Noct saw the whole thing. I wonder-” Ignis stopped, made a sound like a stifled groan, before going on. “I wonder if he acted alone -  without Imperial sanction that is. There’s something very...wrong about that man.”

“Well, he’s a Niff...”

“It goes beyond that.” Ignis paused, likely lost in his thoughts. “Anyway, I admit I’m glad to finally be rid of that place.”

“Altissia? You left?”

“This morning. We’ve a long road to Cartanica.”

“Cartanica? You’re going all the way to Cartanica?” Were they crazy? That was getting dangerously close to Niflheim proper - a perilous journey under any circumstances, but with Ignis injured and Noctis a hunted man...

“The site of the final Royal Tomb,” Ignis explained. In Cartanica? Valeria didn’t understand why a Lucian King would make his tomb so far from home - Ignis probably did know, but she wasn’t in the mood for a history lesson.

“You’re still hurt,” she said.

“It will take more than a week to reach our destination.”

Valeria sighed. As if he’d be back to full health within a week. They both knew that was utter nonsense, so she didn’t bother to state the obvious.

“Are the others looking after you?”

“I’m fine, Val.” Ignis sounded exhausted - likely tired of trying to convince himself.

“You are not fine,” she insisted, “and that’s okay, Iggy. It’s okay to be down once in awhile. Even for you.”

“I have to see this through. I must.” His voice had grown quiet, thick with emotion. If they had been somewhere alone together, somewhere no one else could see, she would have forced him to let it all out. But she knew he couldn’t do that, not in front of the Prince and the others.

Valeria huddled against a sudden chill, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I know you do. Just...come back, Iggy. Please.” You’re all I have left.

[poorcap]

A Family (Steve Rogers x Reader)

Summary: It started off with you hating them, hating him. For what they’d done, you hated them with every thing in you, and you wanted to see them controlled, or better yet, gone forever. But your little sister managed to change your mind. And now, sitting in a room surrounded by the Avengers, cuddled up to your boyfriend, Steve Rogers, you reflect. 

Word Count: 916 

Warning(s): n/a

A/N: Apologies for the long wait!

Prompt:  hi, could I request an imagine where the avengers are having a party and they're all sitting together and reader is dating Steve and they're cuddled up on the couch. Then the readers little sister comes in and the just act like idiots and Steve looks at reader in awe, thank you! Xx - anon

“Listen, listen, I fight like an Avenger just like the rest of ya, let me have just one teeny-tiny beer, Mr. Stark. Remember that time I took down that little guy that became this huge, gigantic guy all by myself for you? Maybe, I don’t know, maybe I could have one beer as thanks. Come o—”

“Sure, sure, I’ll just call up Aunt May, and—”

“No! No, no, don’t tell Aunt May she’ll…”

The conversation between Queens’ odd little spider-boy and Tony faded into the background, even with them sitting just on the other end of the couch, meshing into the thumping bass line of whatever Tony had deemed as good party music. Instead, what grabbed your attention was the comforting, sculpted arm that curled around your shoulders and invited you into his warmth.

Steve.

He must have noticed the little shiver that ran up your spine. Tony always insisted on keeping the common area’s temperature down when they held parties at the Avengers Tower, convinced that it made people want to drink more to try and get some heat into their fingers and toes. Sometimes you wished that you had some crazy superpower like the rest of them, preferably something fire related so you weren’t chilled right to the bone every get together.

His lips brushed the shell of your ear, and the shiver that captivated you then wasn’t from the cold as he murmured, “Cold?”

A smile tugged at your mouth, and you instinctively nestled yourself into his side, to which he gratefully took as encouragement to pull you closer. “Not anymore.”

“Oh great,” Natasha scoffed playfully from the other couch. “The lovebirds are at it again.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve turned his head towards her as he gave your shoulder a small rub. “Hey, we’re just enjoying the time we have. I learned the hard way to make sure to cherish every moment.”

There was a unified groan from the entire group.

But your cheeks flushed with color as you bashfully nuzzled your face into Steve’s chest, hiding in the blue knit sweater that hugged his muscles. And that only earned yet another harmonious noise of disgust.

“I’m proud an’ all of ya, pal, but even you have to admit that was chock full of cheese,” Bucky grumbled, pointing a metal finger towards his best friend, even though there was the beginnings of a smirk beneath all hard exterior.

You felt Steve shrug and turned your eyes back towards the rest of the Avengers as they sat around the two of you. “Maybe a little,” You said in his defense, and with a small smile and a brief adoring look up at your boyfriend, you played into that cheese. “But I love it nonetheless.”

Just as you were about to get yet another rise out of everyone, a tiny, but loud cry of your name pierced the jumping music, and in came your little toddler sister, screaming her head off with laughter as she crashed the party and inevitably jumped right on top of you.

She was the only real mother figure she knew. Your parents had been casualties in New York, which was what brought you to the Avengers to the first place; initially, you’d been a protester like the many that surfaced especially around the time of the Sokovian Accords. But when you were finally faced with them, something changed your mind. Or rather, your sister did. She immediately ran and hugged Steve’s leg, crying about how he was her favorite superhero, and from that moment on, slowly, Steve became your superhero, too.

“Hi, (Y/N)!” She giggled, bouncing on your lap. But it only took a few seconds before her attention derailed from you right to the man on your right and she moved from your lap right to his.

“Well, hello, Bitty,” Steve laughed, carefully removing his arm from around your shoulder (to your dismay) and holding on to her little waist so she didn’t fall back. Elizabeth loved when he used her nickname, evident with the loud, bubbly giggle before she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Everyone in the room cooed. Funny, when you thought you were cuter.

“Right, everyone thinks she’s adorable,” You made a face, joking, and poked your little sister in the side. “But she’s just a boyfriend stealer.”

Elizabeth turned her head and stuck her tongue out at you before burying her face into Steve’s chest again. Steve only chuckled and rubbed her back, while you continued to pout.

“Aw, come on, (Y/N), your sister looks up to the Captain. Do I call you captain? Sir? Mr. Rogers? I-I, uh, don’t really know, um. I’ll shut up. Right,” Peter rambled on, scratching the back of his neck when Tony shot him another death glare.

“Steve is fine, Peter. We’re all friends here.” Steve pressed a small kiss to Elizabeth’s forehead before sending a sweet smile your way. “There’s no reason to be jealous. You’re the only girl I have eyes for.”

Everyone groans.

“And we’re back to nauseating,” Sam mumbled.

But even with Elizabeth now the one pouting, the way Steve was looking at you made it so that nothing else mattered. Not the past, not the dangers that always lurked, not the future. Just him, you, your sister, your friends. A family.

The Avengers were your family now.

Steve was your family.

And you couldn’t think of a better change of heart than your own about them.