#point is we’re trying our best with the shit hand we got dealt and even if i cant talk to him it feels good knowing he has my back

[captains-simp]

hey! so i love wanda and i was wondering if you could write one kind of enemies to lovers or something like that where reader and wanda don't get along well, jealous scene or maybe a very suggestive fight. very angst but happy fluffy ending please

Enemies to lovers owns my whole gay heart and I CANNOT write it without there being sexual tension so xksksjsks smut alert

@g-cordelia hope it's okay to combine your request with this too so there's a healthy dose of angst and fluff with it

"Please don't go."

"Don't you fucking lie to me."

Warnings: choking, fingering, spanking, strap on sex, mentions of oral and hints at mild injury

6k words

[ masterlist ]

Buy me a coffee ☕

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"Your actions jeopardised the whole mission." Steve said sternly before raising his voice when he saw he received no reaction from you or the redhead. "Whatever is going on between you has to stop!"

"You say that like it's ever been any different." Natasha added.

The pair that usually felt like the protective big brother and sister of the team where acing the role of disappointed parents. Admittedly that did make you feel bad, but Wanda showed no signs of giving an apology and you would be damned if you did first.

Natasha and Steve waited for any kind of response from either of you and got nothing. You and Wanda continued to glare at each other from opposite sides of the table, your stubnorness stopping either of you from looking at the two standing at the head of the table.

"Just write up your reports." Steve sighed, giving into the tension of the room before anyone else. If it had been just you, Wanda and Natasha there was no telling how long you'd be in there.

You both got up from the table at the same time, still refusing to break eye contact.

"Y/n stay behind a minute." Oh so they're switching it up to disappointed teachers now. Your attention fell to Steve in a look of confusion although that didn't mean you missed the smirk that played on the corner of Wanda's lips. You cursed her like a sailor in your head and hoped she heard but her back was to you and she was strolling out the room.

"I thought you guys were getting better." Steve sighed as he leant against the table.

"We were when we didn't have to talk to each other." You said honestly. There had been a few weeks prior where you and Wanda had had no missions together and therefore had no reason to talk or train with one another.

"You can't resort to avoiding each other as a way to solve your problems. All that does is make things escalate even more when you're actually together which will inevitably happen. Because believe it or not you two are on the same side and have to act like it." Natasha said sternly. You stared down at the table and thought about how how her words were. But it wasn't like you had that warning before.

When the pair infront of you knew you weren't going to say anything in response Steve filled the silence once again. "You're both suspended from missions until you can learn to work together." He decided.

"What?!" You cried as you snapped your head towards them and stood up. "You can't be serious."

"Deadly." Natasha said. You looked frantically between the two in disbelief.

"Alright." You said finally and clenched your jaw. You turned around and left the room without objection from the two Avengers, heading straight towards Wanda's room.

You never really knew why you and Wanda never got on. Maybe it was because she reminded you so much of the popular girls in high school you always envied while wanting them in your bed...no, it definetly couldn't be that. You just didn't know what.

It didn't take long to get there when you were walking like you were out for blood, that wouldn't be an unexpected result of what you planned. You banged on her door several times in a closed fist so it didn't take her long to answer.

She looked concerned when she opened the door and as soon as she realised it was you that same smirk from the meeting room fell back into place.

"Did they ground you?" She asked as she leant against the doorframe.

"Suspended." You spat. A shit eating grin started to appear but you wiped that off her face instantly. "Both of us."

"What the fuck? I didn't-"

"Yes you fucking did and now I'm paying for it too. You wanna know the best part? We can't go back in the field until we can work together nicely." You said bitterly.

"Why don't they just keep us on separate missions?"

"You can go ask them that later. Right now we're training." You said simply and you grabbed her forearm and pulled her out of her room down the corridor.

"We just got back." Wanda argued but followed you anyway after slapping your hand off her.

"Not prepared to put the work in, witchy?" You mocked, not looking at her as you marched through the compound.

"Don't call me that?" Wanda warned as she kept your pace.

"What are you gonna do? Read my mind?" You continued to taunt as you arrived in the gym and made your way to the mats.

Wanda put her red jacket on the floor and stepped away to take up her position as she eyed you. "I could snap all your bones into pieces so small they could be mistaken for ash." Wanda said stoicly.

"I don't think that's gonna get you another mission." You replied calmly, knowing that while there was a truth to Wanda's words she would never give you more than a split lip or bloody nose in the worst training sessions.

"Don't be a smartass y/n, it doesn't suit you." Your jaw clenched at her words.

Without warning, the entirety of your right arm lit up in flames and was aimed at Wanda in an instant.

You sent a wave of fire her way that she swiftly engulfed in her powers and sent back towards you. She looked less than impressed from your warningless attack.

"That was tacky." She said.

"I know, seemed fitting for you." You grinned but stopped when the red mist surrounded your body and lifted you into the air before a larger wave of fire was sent hurtling down to the redhead. The wall of fire blocked her view of you and subsequently dropped you to the ground as she dealt with the flames.

As soon as you landed and the fire parted you sent another blast Wanda's way only for her to do the exact same thing. You both ducked at the same time, your powers hitting opposite walls and leaving marks Tony would be on your asses about when he found out.

Wanda was clearly thinking the same thing. "We can't use our powers in an enclosed space, especially not yours." She said, her accent thickly woven into her voice.

"Okay then, let's see if Natasha's lessons have paid off." You said as you raised your fists and got into your defensive stance. Wanda mirrored you the way she had been taught and narrowed her eyes.

"They definelty have." She insisted as her eyes flickered over your form to try and identify your weak points already in a very obvious way.

"Just try to keep up." You mocked and swiftly moved to swipe her legs out from under her but she was surprisingly prepared. She jumped up to avoid your attack and kicked her leg out mid air and landed it on the center of your chest. You stumbled back in shock while Wanda looked very proud of herself. The last time you saw Wanda train it was clear she wasn't familiar with close range hand to hand combat. You hadn't expected her to improve so significantly in such a short amount of time.

You gritted your teeth and went for her stomach this time which she easily avoided but wasn't expecting another attack to follow so quickly. She blocked the continuous blows from you until you saw your moments and kicked one of her legs out from under her. Your mistake was thinking you succeeded the moment she was down because she spun around and kicked both of your legs out. You caught yourself partly as Wanda stood up so you were on kneeling.

Wanda's smirk was quick to take place when she saw your position, not missing the opportunity. "You look good when you're on your knees." She quipped.

Your eyes widened at her boldness and a heat rose up your neck that you knew wasn't your powers. You rolled back on the balls of your feet and swiftly stood up to look anywhere but the smug redhead infront of you.

"No snarky remark for that?" She challenged and you charged at her again. Anger feuled your attacks making them miscordinated and all round bad.

"Shut the fuck up, Maximoff." You huffed and made her grin even more at the clear signs that she was getting to you.

One of your punches was pushed to the side and Wanda took the chance to show you just how much she had learnt from Nat. You weren't entirely sure how she even did it it was so quick. Your arm was outstretched behind your back painfully due to Wanda's unrelenting grip on it and made it that much easier to push one of your legs down onto the floor. She held you like that for longer than necessary, soaking up the view of you struggling in her grasp.

"Get off." You snapped and winced when she pulled your arm back more.

"What's the magic word?" She teased.

"Now." You demanded. She tutted and pulled harder. "Maximoff!" You ordered through the pain. She leaned down beside you as her voice dropped to a low whisper.

"Beg." It was one word but you couldn't deny the effect it had on you. It was as though her light breath on your ear shot throughout your body and settled in a place you really didn't want it to.

You were about to object and tell her to stop being a bitch but her grip tightened and she pulled to a point where you thought your arm might just snap off under any more pressure.

"Please." You cried through gritted teeth. She instantly let go all too quickly and you collapsed onto the mat on your front. You heard her chuckle menacingly but cut herself off when Nat appeared in the doorway.

"We told you to write up your reports, not train." Natasha scolded as she watched you massage your shoulder and glare at Wanda.

"Sorry, just got a bit carried away." Wanda smiled, her innocent and sweet act that she put up for everyone except you returning. "Y/n's had enough now anyway." She smirked to herself.

"Fucking psycho." You muttered loud enough for her to hear but not Nat. Her jaw visibly clenched from that making you revel in the small victory as you finally got up from the mat.

"Just get on with the reports." Nat sighed and turned to leave as Wanda called out.

"On it."

"Aww, you trying to be a good girl, Maximoff?" You mocked as the pain subsided and your need to overrule what had happened came through.

"I don't have the time to stress over that, not when I'm busy putting brats in their place." Wanda said as she advanced towards you with a look you had only ever seen aimed at those you were fighting against.

"What?" You whispered as you backed up and felt your back hit the wall. Wanda's hand came up suddenly and wrapped itself around your throat firmly and cut off your breathing. Your eyes widened as you grabbed at her hands but she didn't budge. She looked amused at your efforts as her head tilted slightly to the side.

"And you certainly need to learn your place." She took her hand away and left you gasping for air for a split second before grabbing your arm and pulling you out of the gym.

You stumbled a little as you tried to keep up with Wanda's long strides you could usually match. Your whole body was already trembling in anticipation, more so by the tension filled silence between you both as you travelled through the compound and ended up outside the redhead's room.

She opened her door and shoved you into her room swiftly. You didn't have much chance to take in your surroundings because the Sokovian gripped the back of your neck and forced you to lay on your stomach on her bed.

She made quick work of your clothes, discarding them to some soon forgotten about corner.

You turned your head to the side and gripped the sheets as you felt Wanda's slim fingers trialing up the back of your thighs before she gripped them roughly and forced them apart and lifted your lower half up. Her fingers returned and glided along your drippikg folds, collecting your arousal as she reveled in the effect she had on you.

"What was it that made you this wet, slut? Was it being on your knees for me? Begging me? Or did you enjoy the pain? I bet you enjoyed me choking you too." She chuckled darkly and didn't wait for you to respond.

She slipped two fingers inside your soaking cunt without warning making you gasp out in pleasure. Her fingers curled inside you beautifully, brushing some kind of nerve ending every second they were buried inside you. She had you a moaning, quivering mess in no time.

"Wanda...fuck! Right there, oh God!" She snickered against your skin as she worked her fingers expertly. Even then she wanted to test you. Well it was more that she was setting you up for failure.

"Shut the fuck up. I don't want to hear another sound from that whiny mouth." She ordered and you couldn't help but shiver from her dominant nature.

Of course it didn't last long. Her fingers felt so damn perfect inside you and you couldn't help but moan at the unspeakable pleasure.

She brought her hand down fast and landed it on your ass with a harsh smack that echoed through the room. She did it to both of your asscheeks until they were bright red and you were trembling. The sadistic redhead didn't stop there, she continued to rain down smacks that edged you further to your edge with the pleasurable pain.

Soon, you were moaning into the air as you came around Wanda's slim fingers, desperatly clenching around them in an attempt to prolong the pleasure. Thankfully, she kept pumping her fingers inside you, not caring when the overstimulation kicked in. She even started scissoring her fingers inside you, stretching your walls in a way that has you whimper loudly.

"Gotta stretch you a little to get you ready for my piece, sweetheart." She said in a sinister tone. "There's no way you'd be able to take it otherwise, it's already going to reck you with its size." She husked into your ear and withdrew her fingers, spanking you again when you whined.

Wanda got off the bed and disappeared into her closet, shortly returning with a large strap secured around her waist and pointed at you. You whimpered at the sight of it, not sure you could handle its size.

The Sokovian kneeled behind you and gripped your hips with both her hands as she lined up the strap with your entrance.

"I'm going to fill you up so nicely, Princess. Gonna have your cumming in no time." She husked, her voice dripping with lust.

A scream was ripped from your throat when Wanda thrust the entirety of the strap into your pussy. She set about her harsh, abusing pace instantly and preened at the sound of the pleasure filled cries that left you.

She grabbed a fistful of your hair and slammed your head down into the pillows on your side do she could still hear all of your desperate moans. The rough action earned the redhead a cry of her name.

Her pace was unrelenting, everytime she thrust back into you she somehow managed to hit deeper, pounding the toy against the most sensitive and pleasurable part of your cunt.

"Mommy!" You moaned loudly, not realising your slip up until the words left your lips. Your eyes widened and you feared Wanda's response, but what you got was a smack from the redhead that stung your ass in the best way. Her fucked you with increasing vigor too, wanting you title to spill from your lips again. And it did. Over and over, each time going straight to Wanda's pussy.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum." You whimpered as you gripped onto the sheets tighter to prepare yourself for your release. But Wanda pulled the strap out the the very tip and held it there as she leant over to whisper in your ear.

"Beg me." She ordered and you whimpered again. It wasn't like you hadn't already submitted to the red head you hated but begging would be something that would loom over you for a while.

Your thoughts clashed with the overwhelming need from your pussy as it desleratly tried to clamp down on the tip that didn't provide nearly enough pleasure.

"Please, Wanda." You whispered.

"Please who?" She asked sweetly, clearly testing you making you groan.

"Please, mommy just let me cum." You whined and Wanda smacked your ass hard. She edged the dildo in further ever so slowly and stopped again.

"Mommy, please! I need to cum." You tried again, desperation seeping into your voice. Wanda hummed.

"I can see that." She mused as she rubbed small circles on your throbbing and soaked clit. "I just don't see why I should, brat." She punctuated the name with a harsh slap to your ass again and you caught onto what she was hinting at.

"Please, I'll...I'll be so good for you, mommy."

"Yeah, baby?"

"Yes! Please mommy I'll be so so good for you. Just please please let me c-" You were abruptly cut off by your own whorish moan as Wanda snapped her hips forwards and filled you up entirely.

One of her hands tangled itself in your hair and forced your head down into the pillows, not stopping your incoherent babbles filling the room along with the sound of your pussy being fucked by Wanda and her thighs slapping against yours.

The Sokovian tugged on your hair again so your head was off the pillow.

"I'm gonna cum!" You cried out into the air.

"That's it, baby. Soak my fucking cock." And with that demand you came harder than you ever had around Wanda's strap and moaned continuously as the redhead prolonged your pleasure by continuing to pound into you.

But it soon became too much for your sensitive pussy. You squirmed away from Wanda but she placed one hand on the middle of your back to keep you flat against the bed.

"Too much." You managed to say, however the redhead didn't seem to care.

"I'm nowhere near done with you, Princess."

*

Laying panting and gripping onto Wanda's bedsheets like a lifeline wasn't exactly what you expected to be doing on a Thursday night. You were drenched in sweat and although Wanda had pulled out the toy minutes prior, you were sure you could still feel it filling you up, the faint throbbing a forewarning of what was to come.

It took you a while to gather the strength to get up. With anyone else you probably would have just stayed the night in their bed, but you weren't sure you could do that with Wanda. Although she wouldn't kick you out, you didn't like the thought of sleeping beside the redhead. It seemed far too...soft? Whatever it was, you were sure Wanda would agree.

You searched for your clothes while she took a most likely deliberately long shower, images of her naked figure covered in water invading your mind.

Once you cursed them away they were just replaced with flashes of what you had been doing for all those hours, remembering how she pulled on your hair as she praised you when you went down on her. Of course you did that while on your knees.

What happened between you and Wanda wasn't a one time thing. In fact it became increasingly common until you were in each other's beds almost every night. You would have been fuck buddies if you had considered each other a friend.

It worked. You and Wanda were able to work out your pent up frustration towards each other in a way that didn't hurt one another....well, if that didn't include the scratches along Wanda's back and the constant aching between your legs.

You didn't even make snide comments about each other in meetings or during training. You were able to keep everything in the bedroom.

The success of what you two had going forced you to ignore the noteable change in feelings you had towards Wanda. You saw her differently but couldn't quite tell how. Sometimes it was as though the unplaceable emotion you had towards her from from start spiked and other times you were purely confused.

It was always most prominent after she made you crash over the edge of bliss or when she came undone beneath you. Those moments when your bodies went limp and you were caught up in each other's embrace because you didn't have the energy to move. Hearing her exhausted breathing match her rising and falling chest and faint heartbeat if you had your head on her chest. Those tender moments were the ones that caught you off guard.

You refused to make a big deal out of it though. You refused to investigate your feelings or even acknowledge them. What you had with Wanda was the most efficient thing you could do. You didn't want to muck it up but you knew it couldn't go on forever. Another labelless feeling emerged at that thought.

Natasha was the only one who knew what you were doing. Neither of you told her, the spy was able to figure it all out on her own quickly and confronted you both about it once, only saying to be careful. That was the only time she addressed it verbally but you could always feel her watching you both carefully when you trained.

You thought it was going great. You and Wanda had finally been cleared for a mission that you would both be on, the team certainly needed the man power. That was until Nat told you otherwise.

"What do you mean I'm not going?!" You exclaimed across the room. You had seen Nat in the meeting room looking up something on her tablet and had gone in to enquire something about the mission that was long forgotten.

"I've thought about it and you and Wanda still aren't deemed the most reliable when put together for a mission, with this one being as important as it is we can't afford to make mistakes." Natasha sighed.

"So why don't you take Wanda off the mission? I have more experience."

"Her powers are perfectly fitted to this mission, we need her."

"And not me." You knew you came across as petty, but you had been dying to go back into the field.

"Y/n." Nat tried but you scoffed and glared at the screens with those assigned to the mission. Your eyes found Wanda's picture first and your jaw clenched at the sight of her ridiculously attractive face.

"What did she say to you?" You demanded as something clicked in your brain.

"She didn't say anything, this is my judgement." Natasha began but you didn't buy it.

"We both know if it was you you would have told me as soon as you decided it. You had no issue with me and Wanda being on this mission before. Hell, you cleared us both for the field." Nat glanced down at her tablet guiltily as she searched her brain for another hopeless lie.

"This is unbelievable." You scoffed and turned sharply on your heels to storm out of the room, ignoring your name being called by Nat.

You soon found Wanda in the kitchen making herself a coffee as she hummed softly. You willed your brain to ignore the warmth you got from seeing the redhead in her own, peaceful world.

"Do you have a problem with me?" You demanded, snapping her out of her trance. She visibly figited when she saw you approach her and lean on the edge of the kitchen island on you hands with an expectant look.

"No?" She said, seeming unsure.

"Don't you fucking lie to me." She seemed startled by your increasing aggression.

"What are you talking about?" She asked as she stirred her drink.

"Don't play dumb with me, Maximoff. You got me off the mission!" Wanda stopped her movements as she froze, clearly caught off guard by your discovery. Given how Nat had acted you guessed you weren't meant to find out it was Wanda who said something.

"It's for the best." She finally said but avoided your eye.

"It is not your place to decide what's best for me, you don't get to do that." You argued.

"There should only be a few people on the mission." She tried.

"I know that, I've seen the intel. But we already discussed that those people should be powered. Why am I being taken off?" You demanded again.

"It's dangerous." She muttered as she stared down at her drink.

"It's my fucking job. You think I don't know that."

"Of course you do, but there's a bigger risk than the usual missions we've been on. A bigger risk of you getting hurt." She muttered the last bit, like she wasn't entirely sure she wanted you to hear her. Granted, Wanda showing concern for your safety was new.

"Any one of us could get hurt." You said, lowering your voice marginally.

"But it's you I'm worried about." She insisted. It was your turn to become uncomfortable, shifting slightly under her gaze that held something new.

"I can take care of myself." You said as you crossed your arms, feeling a sudden defensive need to protect yourself.

"I know... but I care about you." You exhaled slowly, becoming increasingly uncomfortable at the tone of her voice. "If something happened to you..." She continued, "I don't know what I would do." Her voice was barely above a whisper, the softness laced in it undeniable. It sparked something in you. Something you didn't want to accept.

"Good luck on your mission, Maximoff." You said through gritted teeth and went to leave but Wanda was behind you instantly and took ahold of your hand to pull you back.

"Wait, I wasn't done-"

"Well I am." You snapped and yanked your hand out of her grip.

"What..?" She said slowly.

"If you don't want to work with me then we won't, no need to keep fucking anymore." You huffed and went to walk away.

"That wasn't what I-"

"Stop!" It wasn't a cry of anger. It was pure desperation. Your pleading look took Wanda by surprise and pained her to see. "Just stop before you say something you can't unsay." You said shakily. Your unspoken message was received. You didn't want to hear about Wanda's feelings towards you. She just didn't know it was because you were afraid that it would uncover what you had been feeling all along. You couldn't handle it. You were scared.

Wanda nodded, defeated, and let you go. You were filled with grief as you walked away, your footsteps feeling heavier than usual. You wanted to look back, to go back to her. But you couldn't.

*

You distracted yourself with a particularly ruthless training session the day of Wanda's mission. Carol showed you no mercy in sparring, weight lifting and boxing - even encouraging power use every now and then. But your mind still wandered to the redhead the way it usually did.

When you finally collapsed on the mat in defeat Carol chuckled and tossed you your waterbottle before encouraging an ice bath and strolling out of the gym for her evening flight.

You stayed on the floor for a while after you finished your water, only stopping staring up at the ceiling when Nat's outline blocked the lights. You sat up and looked at her hopefully, seeing that she was back from monitoring the mission and didn't seem distraught or upset.

"How did it go?" You asked as she sat down across from you.

"It was a success." She said but she didn't seem all that happy.

"And everyone's okay?" You asked cautiously. Nat gave a half shug and sighed lightly.

"There was ice - a lot if it and it was so cold. Dangerously cold." Nat started. You tried not to clench your jaw or show any signs of annoyance, knowing there was no need to point out that mission was fitted for you and your powers that would have guaranteed everyone's safety.

"Wanda got a little cut up, it was impossible to fight on that ground." You eyed the door and bit your lip, refraining from giving in to the urge to go see her.

"She doesn't want to talk to anyone right now, but she needs seeing to the cut." Nat said as she placed a first aid kit down infront of you. She was back already? And why did you have the kit?

"She won't see anyone either." Nat said before you could verbally question her. It took a moment for you to understand what she was saying.

"I don't think she wants to see me, Nat." You said as you pushed it back her way only for her to toss it into your lap.

"Goddmit, y/n. Can you two stop dancing around each other and actually talk?!" She exclaimed.

"We tried that-"

"Talking, y/n, not shouting or arguing. Talking." She said firmly and got up before you could protest further.

You pondered over what Natasha said for a while. You knew she had a good point, that talking was exactly what you should have done from the start, but it was just another thing that frightened you.

"Your job is facing your fears." You muttered aloud to yourself.

You finally got up from the ground, first aid kit in hand, and trudged along the compound towards Wanda's room. You tried to figure out what you could say on the way. But it all came out a jumbled mess that made no sense. Multiple times you stopped in the hallways and considered turning back before convincing yourself to keep going.

You knocked softly on Wanda's door and was surprised that it opened for you. The redhead in question was sat on her bed with a pillow in her lap, fiddling with her hands the way she always did when she was anxious or deep in thought. That evening it was both.

She glanced up at you as you closed the door but turned back to her pillow quickly when you gave her a short smile that didn't quite meet your eyes.

Regardless, you cautiously walked towards her bed and sat down next to her with the small box between you. You brought one of your legs up under you so you could face Wanda and eyed the cut above her eyebrow in concern. She still didn't say anything, neither did you.

You opened up the small box and got out a pack of wound closure strips and carefully unwrapped one. Wanda didn't object to you gently holding the area around her cut as you placed the strip on and lightly smoothed over the edges until you were sure it would stay on.

"I let my emotions cloud my judgement." She mumbled as you prepped another strip.

"It happens to all of us." You said.

"But I didn't listen to you. I should have." You sighed and stopped unwrapping the strip to look up at the redhead and watch her closely. She looked back at you with a guilty and pained expression that was full of regret.

"Yeah." You nodded slowly as you went back to the medical tape and raised your hands to put it on but the Sokovian held your wrist to stop you. "What's done is done, so just let me put these on and we're good." You said but she still didn't let go.

"Just like that?" She questioned.

"The mission was a success. If I'd had been there you wouldn't have gotten hurt, that's all."

"You were really mad though." She continued and you put your hands down to rest them, not failing to notice that Wanda was still holding your wrist but with a much lighter grip.

"It's hard to stay mad at you." You admitted.

"You've always been mad at me."

"Well it wasn't exactly like you were the friendliest person to me." You pointed out. "I was never mad at you, Wanda. I just hated that... that you made me feel something I've never trusted, so I didn't trust you. It was never your fault, I was unfair." You admitted as you stared down at the tape the whole time, afraid to meet the redhead's eyes.

"What did you feel?" Wanda asked, her voice void of emotion making it more difficult for you to say. You gulped as you continued to stare at the tape, willing yourself to give Wanda the answer she needed. The answer she deserved.

"Love." You voice shook. "I loved... love you." You were shaking more as you finally looked up at Wanda. Her eyes were wide and her lips slightly parted like there was a million thoughts trying to be heard but without the ability to.

She didn't say anything for a while. A long while. She stared at you in disbelief then at her pillow as though it would give her all the answers.

Tears rushed to your eyes that you tried to blink away as your head swam with curses to yourself for admitting your feelings. You had opened up and been vulnerable to Wanda, and the result was the exact reason you had sworn to never do it again.

Once you were sure she wasn't going to say anything to you, you took it as your cue to leave. To leave so Wanda could prepare her rejection speech for you. However, as soon as you put your hand to the door she spoke out.

"Please don't go."

You turned around slowly and met her light brown eyes you had always found impossible not to get lost in when you had your fingers or tongue inside her. You timidly went back to the bed and paused before sitting down next to her, facing the wall instead of her this time.

"I thought it was one sided." She started and you felt yourself begin to shake with nerves again. "I thought you didn't love me back." You looked to Wanda quickly and searched her features for any signs of a lie, any signs that she was setting you up to push you down but she was gazing back at you longingly with tears glistening in her eyes.

"When you confronted me about the mission, I was going to say it then, you knew that." You squeezed your eyes shut and nodded, remembering the fear you felt in that moment.

"I wasn't ready, I thought I wouldn't ever be but," You took a deep breath "I want to try, for you." You took ahold of Wanda's hand to reiterate your point. "I care about you too Wanda, so much. More than I could ever express or even handle and I didn't know what to do about it. I mean we've tried a fair few things now," You both laughed a little, "but it I don't think any of them are going to work as well as accepting it and...and I don't know." You looked to her for guidance because fuck did you need it. You needed Wanda to guide you down whatever path you chose to take, as long as she was there with you.

"Maybe we could start with something small." She suggested with a small smile that made her eyes shine.

"Like a coffee date?" You tried.

"Exactly like that." She confirmed, giving your hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Then I'll pick you up around 2." You said cheesily making Wanda laugh. "But first, I have to finish tending to this cut." You declared as you turned around to face her entirely and crossed your legs under you, pausing for a moment to give Wanda a short and sweet kiss.

[justcourttee]

could you do one where dami and mari are dating but they havent told the waynes yet and they keep seeing hints of their relationship (like clothes around the place, dami talking to on the phone and smiling, stuff like that) but they cant figure out whats happening!!!! the ice prince is softening and theyre like wtf!!!

I’m sorry, it’s a little different. I got carried away! I hope you still like it!

Tim is Like a Genius or Something..

It was official. Tim had lost it.

At least that was the sentiment the family shared as they watched him tumble down the rabbit hole that he had sprawled out across the dining room table.

“-and then he smiled at me. At me! That has never happened before, at least not a genuine one.” He paused to catch his breath, allowing his theory to sink in.

“Timmy, don’t you think you’re giving the boy too much credit?” Jason was the only one able to voice what they all were thinking, at least the one with the best chance of not getting their head torn off. “I mean, he has trouble communicating with his own gender and now you’re telling me he’s been able to woo his female lab partner?”

Tim slammed his hands on the table in frustration before sinking back into the chair he had started in. For weeks now he had been gathering evidence of his brother’s oddities and for weeks he had been haunted by a softer and friendlier Damian.

“Think about it guys, please!”

His pleads seemed to fall on deaf ears as one by one they left the table, each offering their own look of sympathy until he was the only one in the room. It wasn’t long until he himself had given up, collecting his pictures from the table, tearing them in half one by one.

Maybe Dick was right. His hallucinations were getting the better of him. After all, even if Damian was changing, it couldn’t be because of one girl, right?

Absolutely nobody in the world could wield enough power to reign in a demon such as him. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tim had survived another week of hallucinations. He had tried sleeping more, laying off his coffee, and even cutting his hours back from Wayne Enterprises. But as he sat in the kitchen, going through his emails, his mind remained drowning in thoughts of his replacement.

“Timmy, do you know who this jacket belongs to? The ladies say it’s not theirs and if it’s one of Brucie’s night friends, I bet it’s worth thousands.”

Tim spared a glance from his laptop to where Jason stood in front of him, his fist clenched around a small black pullover. He had half the mind to wave him off when something pink flashed from the corner of his eye.

“Jason, let me see the jacket.”

Jason tossed it, his face cautious as if Tim were about to dart with his next paycheck, but it was the furthest thought in the younger Wayne’s mind.

“The girl that Damian is always bringing over, it belongs to her. His lab partner.”

“You mean Marinette? Damn, then I probably won’t make much off of it. Guess I’ll probably give it back next time I see her.”

Tim waited, his face showcasing the perplexion he felt as Jason seemed to walk away thoughtlessly. How he could come to the same conclusion that he did? How? It felt like it was so obvious.

“No.” His voice was firm, barely above a whisper as he shook off the thought, returning to his laptop. He agreed that he would drop it and that’s what he was going to do. “Marinette was just a nice girl trying to help out Damian and he probably views as some intriguing toy, yeah, that’s all.”

Besides, it was just one jacket and why would he want to damn the girl over one jacket.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . He should have damned her. That was the only thought that plagued his mind as he listened to the conversation at breakfast.

“Did you guys know that the Demon uses his phone during patrol?”

Bruce looked up from his paper, his face a mixture of disappointment and interest.

“Can you elaborate Dick? What do you mean by uses his phone?”

“Exactly that! We took a break on a roof in our sector and right as I was about to turn around to ask him where we should check next, he was answering a phone call! We sat on that roof for an hour because he said ‘he couldn’t hang up yet’.”

Tim nearly choked on his coffee as he slammed his mug into the table earning a glance from both the men.

“Richard, who was calling him?”

“Hmm? You know, I tried asking him but he waved me off instead.”

“You mean he didn’t try to tear your head off?” Tim watched in horror as Dick shook his head in denial, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Maybe he finally has a friend other than Jon!”

Bruce nodded as if the notion weren’t completely insane, his eyes returning the newspaper in his hands. Dick smiled, returning to his crossword as if there was nothing wrong with the world as if he didn’t drop the largest bombshell in history.

“This is so wrong, why can’t any of you see how wrong this is?”

Neither spared him a glance as they continued their morning routines with thoughtless giddy expressions.

At this point, Tim wasn’t sure he could drop it anymore. There was so much evidence piling up, so much pointing that Damian obviously liked the girl at least. Why was he the only one who could see that?

It was decided. The next time Marinette came over, he was confronting this once and for all.

.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tim waited and waited. Weeks passed between her last visit to the manor. Damian had left several times and random hours of the day, always giving him vague answers as to where he was going. It was as if the little demon read his mind and decided it was safer to meet her outside the manor.

He was so close to giving up when a truly diabolical thought crossed his mind. His smile was sinister as he approached Bruce’s office, his plan foolproof. He gave a slight knock on the door, two voices asking him to enter.

“Hey Bruce, Dick. I was just thinking the other day, we haven’t seen Marinette around lately. You both know that Damian is terrible at keeping up with his acquaintances. Maybe we should invite her for dinner one night! I mean, we all adore her, right? She is such a good influence for Damian too.”

It was like clockwork. Both Dick and Bruce jumped on the opportunity each pulling out their phones to let both kids know the details of when this dinner party would occur. As Tim left out the room, he couldn’t help the hysterical giggle that escaped from his lips. For good measure, he made sure to linger by Damian’s room, awaiting the reaction he was longing to hear. Surely enough, a soft ‘shit’ could be heard followed by heavy footsteps echoing as if he was pacing his room. It was the best sound Tim had heard in weeks.

Three agonizing days passed before Tim found himself waiting at the manor door to welcome Marinette into the manor. Damian had volunteered to bring her to the dining room himself, but Tim argued that it would be rude if not a single one of them were also there to greet her. In the end, Tim and Dick were volunteered to accompany one angry demon to see Marinette to the dining hall.

“Thank you so much for having me! I was surprised when I received a call from not just Damian, but you too Dick. I was under the impression that Damian hadn’t said anything yet.”

Damian’s face paled as his eyes darted to Dick’s as if Marinette said something damning. Tim caught onto immediately, his eyes also watching Dick’s face for any indication that he had realized the weight in her statement.

“Said anything? You mean about your friendship? Well, it’s impossible to pry anything from him, but we couldn’t let him keep you all to himself!”

In all of his blissful ignorance, he turned on his heel, dragging Marinette with him, chatting idly about whatever came to mind. Damian raced after him, his face a mixture of panic and hatred. It was a sight that warmed Tim to his core.

All dinner he watched as Damian stirred the conversation off Marinette only for someone to inevitably bring it right back. He relished in Damian nearly pulling his own hair out to ensure no one asked the question that Tim had been pressing for weeks now.

As the night drew to an end, Damian couldn’t rush her out of the manor fast enough. The doors slammed shut with a loud thud ricocheting through everyone’s ears.

“So, we’re in agreeance right?”

Tim turned his attention to where Jason leaned against the entryway, his lazy smirk building hope in the younger boy’s chest.

“Very much. They are definitely courting, or what is the phrase you call it now? Dating? Hangin’?” Bruce chuckled at his own joke before his gaze dropped to meet Tim’s. “It looks like we owe you an apology.”

Words never sounded more beautiful to Tim, he honestly felt like he might shed a tear. A heavy weight caused him to stumble as Dick threw himself onto Tim’s back.

“Tim is like a genius or something, right guys? I mean who would have ever guessed that Damian had a girlfriend! Hey, do you think they’ll get married? Does that mean at this point Damian is your best chance at getting grandkids?”

Tim dealt with the picking and jokes and the onslaught of fake apologies as they remained crowded in the entrance, waiting for Damian’s return. To him, none of it mattered as much as seeing his replacement’s face the minute they walked through the door.

After all, it was a large reward for a small price to pay. It all comes with being a genius.

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[donghyuckcuyhgnod]

Would u be willing to have a follow up or pt 2 to guilt flavored cupcakes? If not, could i request a jisung angst that ends with fluff? Hehe 💚💚💚

i tried to fit both of your requests into one :) the beginning is realllyyyy angsty, but i promise it gets better! it’s a bit long, i got a little carried away haha,, but i hope you enjoy <3

(part one is located here.)

“this is all your fault!” jisung yelled, slamming the door he had just walked through, his eyes shining with tears and his voice shaky. out of surprise and shock, all twenty-two of his fellow members had their eyes blown wide. “if you assholes just kept your mouths shut, this wouldn’t be happening right now!”

“jisung, what are you talking about?” taeyong gently asked. even the choreographer had stopped in his tracks upon the youngest’s unexpected entrance.

“them!” he pointed to the dreamies, sitting on the floor in front of the mirror. confused, all of the boys rose their eyebrows. “the one thing that makes me happy—the one person that truly makes me happy isn’t mine anymore because of you,” he spit out harshly, pointing to the five boys who he had initially put the blame on. his phone was clutched tightly in his hands, still lit up and on the page of his call log; your name being at the top of the list. 

“jisung, what the hell are you talking about?” renjun asked, confusion laced in his voice. it wasn’t long before jisung’s bottom lip began quivering, tears streaming freely down his face as he let out an characteristically loud sob. “y/n broke up with me,” he choked out, shutting his eyes so tight as if he couldn’t bare to say those words. he dropped his phone on the ground, pulling at his hair in distress. 

jaemin rolled his eyes, “of course she did. we already warned you, jisung. she was using you for your idol status. think of this as a good thing.” the dreamies shook their heads in agreement. 

johnny spoke up, “guys, i don’t think now is a good time-”

“fuck you.”

silence. complete, utter, silence. jaemin—as well as the rest of nct—was speechless. never, in all their years of knowing jisung, had his members heard him cuss in such a bitter, hateful, and sincere way. shocked wasn’t even the word. 

“what did you just say to me?” jaemin’s eyes were wide, his jaw open in surprise. did he just say what i think he said? 

“you heard me loud and clear, jaemin. fuck you. fuck all five of you. you never gave her a fucking chance! all of you are always so mean to her, and for what? what did she ever do to you? you never even tried to like her. you would push her aside, say mean things straight to her face. you treated her like a goddamned criminal!” his tears were nonstop, cheeks a bright red and eyelids swollen from the constant tears. he sniffled, biting his lip in an attempt to control his sobs. 

“what did she say during the call?” doyoung asked cautiously, laying a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. jisung sniffled again, gaining enough composure to speak.

“sh-she called because her dress was ruined. the dress for the awards, y’know. i paid for it to be altered to her size, and she came by the dorm yesterday when i wasn’t there to pick it up. and she went to take it out of the bag today, and there was paint all over it! and it was ripped in a bunch of places, and when i asked her how she ruined it, she told me that it wasn’t her. but i know exactly who it was,” jisung deadpanned, his eyes growing dark as he looked at the five guilty boys sitting on the floor. their lack of response made the answer very clear to everyone in the room. 

kun sighed in disappointment, “what the hell is wrong with you guys?”

“it was her grandma’s dress.” jisung looked down at his feet, his eyes shining with tears again; and not because of the breakup. but rather, his mind went to the hurt in your voice when crying to him over the phone. “jisung, this dress is the only thing i had left of her. and now it’s completely ruined.”

“what?” chenle said. 

“it was her grandma’s dress. the woman who raised her, who died last year. it was her dress and it was the only thing y/n had left of her. and you fucking ruined it, and tore it to shreds! how fucked up are you guys!? she broke up with me because she can’t do it anymore. she can’t handle the way you treat her. she dealt with it for two years now, and this was the final straw. are you fucking happy now?”

the immediate guilt suddenly had everyone’s heart skipping a beat—and not in a good way. a series of flashbacks had appeared in their minds; all of the times when you were at the dorm, making jisung laugh until he couldn’t breathe. the countless times you brought him soup and cuddles when he wasn’t feeling good, or the small pep-talks you would give him before a performance that always seemed to calm him. the way you always cooked and cleaned around the dorm because you knew how hard jisung and his members worked. all the times he had gushed—and gushed some more—about how amazing you were and how much he loved you with the most joyful smile he had ever shown. 

“jisung, we-”

“save it.”

shit. we really fucked up.

—

a whole four-and-a-half weeks had passed when jeno called you. you weren’t expecting to see his name pop up on your phone, thus the reason you gasped out loud. you assumed he was calling to tell you how bad of a person you are for breaking up with jisung—so you didn’t answer. it’s not like you wanted to break up with him; the dreamies gave you no other choice. when haechan called not minutes later, however, you started to grow confused. surely they would give up, right? but then renjun called. and then, jaemin. and then, chenle. eventually, your curiosity got the best of you.

“hello?” you answered nervously, trying your absolute best to stabilize your voice. due to all the crying and frustration, however, your voice came out more hoarse and broken than intended. the other line was silent. 

“. . . chenle?” 

“meet me at the coffee shop next to the dorms in twenty minutes.”

“what? why?” you began, but the line had already gone dead. confused, you dragged yourself out of your bed and made yourself look presentable. well, as presentable as you could, considering the fact that you’d been hibernating in your room out of sadness for the past four weeks.

you arrived to the cafe with a heavy heart. you were sure your heart was going to burst out of your chest at the sight of the five boys who seemingly hated you, sitting around a table with one empty chair. you hesitantly walked in, the bell on the door gaining their attention. you smiled lightly at them out of habit. you sat down in silence, hugging your sweater a little tighter on instinct, feeling small under their gazes. they were surely going to scold you, right? i mean, you did just break their best friend’s heart. but yours was broken, too. 

the boys took in your appearance, and with one glance, they knew you were just as heartbroken as jisung. their younger friend had barely spoken since that day; he would perform and practice like always, but the minute the cameras were off, he was cold and distant. he locked himself in his room every night, forcing jaemin to sleep on the couch. he had barely eaten, his energy and passion dropping drastically due to a lack of motivation. even the fans had started suspecting the changes. he wasn’t acting himself.

haechan was the first to break the silence. “we’re sorry, y/n. . .” he spoke quietly, avoiding your eyes in shame and guilt. your eyes widened in surprise, a shocked huh? coming from your mouth. is this a joke? as if renjun read your mind, he answered your question.

“we’re serious. we never gave you a chance. we were so mean to you and we’re sorry for everything. truly sorry,” renjun said, a glint of sincerity in his eyes. the apology, in all honesty, pricked at a certain part of your heart. like a bandaid being ripped from a wound, and all it took was a gentle smile from jaemin before your eyes were watering. “especially about your grandma’s dress,” renjun added on in a guilty mutter, training his eyes downward. you flinched at his words, remembering the mess they made of your precious grandmother’s dress.

you sniffled, your tears flowing freely now as you cleared your throat. “you guys were just worried about jisung, it’s understandable-“ you began, before chenle cut you off.

“why are you so nice to us, y/n? we treated you like shit from day one for absolutely no reason, and you’re still being nice to us and making excuses for our behavior. we know we’re in the wrong, y/n. you don’t need to say anything.”

you gaped at him, before slowly nodding your head as you cried. you were surprised to feel a comforting hand on your shoulder, looking up and seeing a kind-smiled haechan through your tears. “seriously, why? you’re too kind, y/n.” you could only look at him, muttering a small, “because jisung loves you guys so much.”

your own words made you cry harder, lightly laughing at yourself out of nerves. “i’m sorry for crying like this,” you said, swiping at your red and puffy cheeks, trying to keep up with the vigorous tears.

jaemin lightly chuckled, “it’s no big deal. it’s no different than jisung, nowadays.” at this, your heart nearly ripped in half, and you felt a pain in your chest that you could only describe as excruciating. you looked up at him wide-eyed, stuttering over yourself, struggling to find the words.

“he’s a mess, y/n,” jeno spoke truthfully, his own eyes watering a bit at the thought of jisung cooped up in his room, crying himself to sleep every night. “don’t blame it on yourself. it’s not your fault. it’s ours,” he said.

your cries hadn’t stopped, the people around giving you weird looks and questioning eyes. “please talk to him, y/n,” chenle pleaded, eyeing you carefully. you quickly regained your composure, hiccups now replacing your cries. you thought for a moment, “what if he’s too upset with me? what if he wants nothing to do with me anymore?”

“trust us, y/n. he wants everything to do with you. he needs you.”

—

your hand shook as you lifted it up to the doorknob of the familiar practice room. you let out a shaky breath, closing your eyes in an attempt to gain back your composure. jisung and his members were leaving for tour in a few days, and you refused to let him leave without talking to him. you were planning to wait until nighttime, but as you sat in your room with your mind swirling, you couldn’t wait any longer.

you had finally gained the courage to open the door, but before you could, someone else beat you to it. mark looked at you with surprise, an unreadable expression on his face. you quietly greeted him, nervously picking at your nails as you shuffled on your feet.

“y/n? what are you doing here?” he spoke, his eyes softening at the clear distress on your face. you lightly peaked inside the practice room, and mark instantly got the hint. he quickly moved aside to make room for you, an encouraging smile on his face.

the world seemed to stop, then. the moment you walked into the room, jisung had caught your eyes in the mirror. his hair was disheveled, his eyes puffy, red, and tired. the bags under his eyes sadly matched yours, his face looking slimmer than normal and his figure hunched over in a sulk. his skin was red and uneven, a few stress pimples coating his forehead and his chin.

“y/n?” he spoke suddenly, his voice broken, and your eyes instantly teared up at the sound of his voice cracking. nearly everyone was staring at you wide-eyed, and you gulped nervously.

“i know this probably isn’t the best time, but i-i just. . . “ you trailed, losing your voice as you looked at the ground. you looked up again, jisung now facing you with a sad look in his eyes. you sighed, “can we talk?”

—

the door was closed and the boys couldn’t hear anything, but that didn’t stop them from looking through the small glass window. even their choreographer was trying to get a better view, all of them hoping and praying that you were here to get their maknae back. they could only see your face, jisung’s back to the door. you held his hands tightly in yours, your lips moving and tears flying freely down your face.

they couldn’t see jisung, but the way his shoulders shook vigorously was a clear indication that he, too, was sobbing. your regretful words and pleas of i love you more than anything, i’m such an idiot for breaking up with you sent daggers through jisung’s heart. your eyes screamed the words forgive me, please. and how was he to say no to you?

he nodded his head with intent, “i could never be mad at you for this, y/n. i’m such a coward for not sticking up for you-“

“don’t say that, park jisung. you did stick up for me. it’s all in the past now, okay? they. . . they apologized to me. they’re the reason i’m here right now,” you confessed, jisung’s eyes widening at your words.

“none of it matters now, i promise. please, can we forget this ever happened? i can’t be without you, baby,” you cried, the affectionate name sounding so familiar yet so foreign to jisung. it tugged at his heart strings, all strumming for you in every way possible. without hesitation, he nodded his head, a relieved smile taking over his features. 

you practically wailed in relief, taking his face in your hands and planting your lips on his in a passionate kiss; all of the emotions that the two of you had felt over the past weeks were being poured out, your pain matching each other’s in the most intimate and vulnerable way possible. the taste of your simultaneous tears didn’t matter in that moment; all that mattered was that you were his again, and he was yours.

“they’re kissing! i repeat, they’re kissing!” taeyong exclaimed, a series of happy and excited shouts filling the room as the members cheered for the both of you. jisung pulled away, only to look back and see a bunch of prying eyes through the window, all smiling and high-fiving each other at the scene before them. and the best part? the dreamies were the happiest of them all. you chuckled at them, causing jisung to look back at you in amazement.

“i love you so much, y/n. please never leave me again,” he whispered, burying his face in your neck and pulling you as close as he possibly could. your arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, closing your eyes in bliss and letting out a sigh of relief. “never again,” you assured both him, and yourself. you basked in his embrace. finally. you were home. he held you as if you were to disappear the second he let go, and in that moment, jisung concluded that losing you was his biggest fear.

[sirthisisa-wendys]

The Weakest Link: Geto Suguru x F!Reader

synopsis: insecurity and doubt creeps into you in your first month as a jujutsu tech student, but somehow, Geto always seems to make you feel better

tw: sexual undertones.

words: 1,730

Excited conversation and sounds of merriment drift from under the other sorcerer’s doorways at Jujutsu Tech, but you stumble back to your room with nothing but the thought of a warm shower and hours of rest. Ache screams in your bones and joints, rolling down from your spine and settling into the base of your bruised tailbone. 

It had been a month since you followed Suguru Geto down the dark alley and into a fight that left you speechless, more or less. Despite knowing all of this, you found yourself in Tokyo, looking up at the massive building in awe. He urged you to join the ranks, but you knew that fighting wasn’t your thing. It was obviously his thing and other people’s thing. But not yours. 

Little red welts reminded you of that as you stripped down to your underthings, careful not to bump or touch any sore spots until you could reach the shower’s warm embrace. Geto had reassured you that every sorcerer went through training - every one of them had been broken for a good reason. 

“It’s not for humanity’s sake,” he had mumbled through a rice cake. “It’s for our sake. We’re a family, and we are only as strong as the weakest link.” 

It was a jab at your failure to procure any meaningful progress, but you pray that your breaking point is near, for your sake and Geto’s sake. The knob proves to be just as challenging to turn hot, and the feeling of failure washes over you with the freezing cold water from above. You can’t even turn a shower knob; how could you exorcise demons? 

A strangled gasp escapes your lips as you sink to the shower floor in defeat. Giving up and going home seems like the best option. At least among your family and friends, you weren’t weak; you were just as strong - if not, more robust - than them. But here, you’re only as good as the humans that were outside of Jujutsu Tech. Which isn’t good enough. 

After pressing your back against the cool tile, you feel the breeze of the A/C kick on and give you goosebumps. Whoever thought to put an air conditioner in the bathroom must have been an idiot, you muse, and give the knob one more effort, one more attempt to make the water hot. 

“Ah!” 

The knob gives with ease, turning the freezing shower into boiling lava. Your midsection takes the brunt of the heat as you hiss in pain, attempting to reach the knob again without more of your body being exposed to the stinging water. Once the temperature settles, you relax into the warmth and steam, sighing with contentment. You lather with lavender and vanilla soap, tenderly going through the motions of washing yourself and your face while the tender caress of the cotton cloth between your hands eases your aches. If only there was someone who could help you with the tension in your back… 

Your mind flicks to a man’s hands for a moment, thinking of them trailing down your spine and pressing against your lower back methodically… thumbs pressing against the space between your neck and your shoulders with care. The phantom hands then wrap around your neck, tracing your vocal cords, soothing the raw and swollen lymph nodes before drifting over your shoulders and down your chest. 

A slight moan escapes your lips at the thought of your body being catered to while the warm shower continues, lips pressing against your ear lobe and whispering something reassuring and comforting. 

“Y/n… do you think about me when you’re alone?” The sound of Geto’s voice in your mind startles you back to the present moment, and instantly, you turn the water to a much colder flow. The cold snap helps you cool down, and the heat between your legs died down just as quickly as it began. When you finish, the towel you wrap around your body provides a comforting distraction to the thought of someone else touching you, smoothing their rough palms against your wet skin, breathing sweetly into your ear… 

Stress. It’s the stress, you reason. It’s why you’re lusting after someone you don’t really know; someone who sees you as a friend and an ally. That’s all. 

You push any and all thoughts of Geto out of your mind as you towel off and shrug on a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. With determination, you snatch up your mala beads and sit on your full-size bed, preparing to meditate. As your fingers roam over the beads, a gentle peace settles into your mind, leaving you with only one thought: Strength comes from within.

The mantra repeats itself with each bead that slides through your thumb and index finger until all you can focus on is the clicking noises and the occasional chatter of birds outside your window. 

Strength comes from within. 

You would endure, you decide. It’s not a case of discomfort or physical pain. It’s a matter of willingness and fortitude to continue down a path you set for yourself no matter the cost. 

Strength comes from within. Strength comes from within. Strength comes fr--

A whisper-soft knock at your door breaks your trance. With hesitation, you slide off of the bed and wrap your beads around your left hand, sliding the door open without checking who stood there first. 

Strength comes… from… where, again?

The raven-haired sorcerer who set you on the meditative path in the first place stands in front of you, leaning his prominent figure on the doorframe. At the sight of you without your uniform on and mala beads wrapped around your hand, Suguru steps back a little, running his black eyes across your figure once before tilting his head. 

“Was I interrupting something, y/n?”

“No,” you respond quickly, noting his casual attire as well. “What’s up?”

“I texted you about dinner,” Geto straightens up, and you realize that the whole time you mourned about your lack of strength, you had neglected to even think about your stomach. As if it had been summoned, your stomach growls angrily like the third person in the room. Geto chuckles a little at the sound, his broad shoulders shaking under his shirt. “Sounds like you need something to eat.” 

“Give me a second.” You shut the door and turn to find something more appropriate to throw on. As you changed into a pair of jeans and a less ill-fitting shirt, your mind fluttered to the idea of Geto bursting in and seeing you half-naked and-- 

“Stop it, stop it.” You hiss to yourself, jumping a little to button your pants. Despite feeling the familiar blooming of a crush in your mind, you set it aside to be dealt with later. This was not the time nor the place to have unrequited crushes; you had a purpose for being here, and it wasn’t to cozy up to someone who considered you to be family. 

“Hey,” Suguru calls through the door, his voice making your stomach jump a little. You were taking too long.“Gojo and Shoko are coming too.” 

“Yeah, sounds good.” Your fingers are stuck in the mess you call “hair,” and the curls latch onto your fingers like snakes as you try to tame them. Against your better judgment, you had let your hair air dry, and now you were paying the price for not even running a brush through it. “Shit!”

“Are you… alright in there?” 

“Jus-just a minute!” A moment of panic sets in as you attempt to control the frizz, but the curls defy your orders, only popping up again after you press them down against your scalp. No amount of bobby pins or gel could fix this. Your comb clatters to the ground along with the various-sized bobby pins, and as you stoop to hurriedly clean up the mess you made, you hear the door slide open. “Not yet, I--” 

Through your thick mane, you can see Suguru’s feet shuffle into your line of sight. You push your hair back to observe his confused then understanding look, and he crouches down to help you, attempting to pick up the smaller bobby pins with his massive hands. It seemed impossible, but he picked up the little and the bigger ones with ease, depositing them back onto the porcelain counter with care. 

“You should’ve asked for help, y/n,” Suguru murmurs, standing and holding his left hand out for the comb. You timidly place it into his hand and let him step behind you to gather the ends of your hair in his right hand. “It’s grown quite a bit.” 

“You noticed.” The thought that he’s noticed your hair growing out from its short length to about mid-shoulder surprises you, and he looks up to meet your eyes in the mirror, smirking. 

“I notice a lot of things.” He doesn’t explain this statement, instead choosing to focus on combing your ends out before getting to the top of your head, gradually increasing his strokes down your scalp. “Do you want to put pins in your hair?” You answer the question by holding out two small bobby pins, and he places both between his teeth before pinning the left side of your hair down to your scalp. The other one tucks your bangs behind your right ear, and you marvel at the care he takes with his movements, careful not to scratch your scalp with the metal. “There.” 

When Suguru finishes, he rests his hands on your tiny shoulders, waiting for you to approve of his work. 

“Thank you for helping me.” 

“You need to start asking for help during training. I’ve watched you struggle for a few weeks like you were struggling just now. It couldn’t hurt to ask the others for some assistance every now and then.” His words made you stiffen, and one of his eyebrows raised as if he was challenging you to tell him he was wrong. 

“Well, I just--” 

“I know what I said about the weakest link made you self-conscious. But you missed the point; all of us are linked. We can’t help you if you insist on doing this alone, got it?” You nod twice, feeling the insecurity and doubt whistle out of your body with each exhale.

“Got it.” 

“Now, I’m absolutely starving, and I know you are. Let’s go.” 

[rhysismydaddy]

Unholy Matrimony Pt. 1 (Nessian)

Nesta’s part of the Damnation Series.

OOF this took so long sorry. I rewrote it, changed it, then deleted it entirely about 9 times. I literally started writing the version before you, from scratch, on Sunday. All parts are linked below, so I’m only tagging people on this version! To go to the next chapter, there is also a link at the bottom <3

ALSO, an important caviat: Nesta is an only child in this one! I originally wrote it for her to be adopted and not know it, but it wasn’t really relevant to the story, so... idk. Just ignore that plot hole I guess.

Parts 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 -- pls like each part I’m insecure

______________________________________________

~Cassian~

“You’re getting married.”

The glass of bourbon halfway to my mouth pauses, because despite being known for being rash and unpredictable, even I’m surprised by the sudden change in conversation.

My eyebrows raise as I look over at Rhysand, my best friend and Capo, trying to figure out if this bastard is serious. His tone says he is, but that doesn’t make sense, because before a few seconds ago, the word “marriage” was in neither of our vocabularies.

He’s been single for as long as I have, although I’m starting to suspect he’s got a bird in the city. He’s too damn happy these days, and the other day I saw him laugh at something on his phone.

Which is weird, because we both know long-term commitments don’t really do well with our lifestyle.

We were raised to not give a shit about anything except the job. We kill without remorse, live in the shadows, and whatever other shitty euphemism you want to use. Settling down in some suburban, picket-fence prison has absolutely no appeal to Made Men.

Don’t get me wrong, most of us get married at some point. But never for love.

Some men choose a bride that’s pretty and sweet. Someone who will donate to charity and help clean up their image. Governors’ daughters, women from old-money families, and social princesses make up this category.

Some men marry to advance their station in the Family. Second sons who will never inherit the business marry daughters of Underbosses to get a nice boost to their status.

And then there’s the ones who are forced to marry by their capo--ie. me-- so they choose whatever attractive woman that’s in the Family and available. Those are always the happiest.

But regardless of the reasoning, marriage in the mafia is heartless, political, and for me, unnecessary.

I know I’ll have to pick someone eventually, but there aren’t a whole lot of desirable options at the moment. Not many of the other Underbosses have daughters that are over the age of fifteen right now, and I have no interest in doing the child-bride thing.

Plus, there’s no way I’d marry someone outside of the family. At my rank, it isn’t an option.

That leaves... a widow?

The only one I know is Ianthe, and considering I highly suspect she killed her last husband and the fact that she’s crazy, there’s no way in hell I’d legally bind myself to her for life.

So he must be joking.

I take a pull from my cigar and look over at Rhys with narrowed eyes. “Uh huh. Sure. To who, exactly?”

“Volchonok.”

The Wolf Cub.

The cigar snaps in my fingers.

“You’re fucking kidding,” I say, honestly hoping that’s the case. He’s either that or insane, and I’d hate to lock someone who’s like a brother to me in a padded room.

Rhysand’s unflinching gaze doesn’t change, but his tone morphs from that of my friend to my boss. “You will marry her, Cassian.”

“She’s a fucking Russian,” I spit, not understanding. That should be reason enough for him to be joking.

In our world, being Russian is a crime similar to stabbing the Pope.

We’ve been at war over New York with them ever since they decided to try and get a stronghold on the east coast, and I’ve killed more of them than I can fucking count. Now I’m marrying one?

“Yes, she is, and so is her father, Alexei Olov.” Aka the Bratva Boss responsible for blowing up half of St. Petersburg last year when the local police refused to buy his weapons. “You will marry her, move to New York full time, and run the city with her by your side.”

“Why? Two or three more years, and we’ll have the city anyway.” Every day the Russians get weaker, and I’ve been responsible for pushing them out of my city block by block.

So there has to be a reason we’re suddenly okay with the enemy.

Rhysand sighs. “It was his idea, not mine. Orlov has agreed to sell our coke in Moscow and Seattle instead of his usual dealer and will supply us all the weapons we need for five years. There will also be no more midnight raids, bullshit arrests on bullshit charges, or missing shipments. He’s offering you a dowry, too.”

I don’t need his money, but the old fashioned term makes me laugh.

“Yeah? And how much does he think his wolf cub is worth?”

His lips twitch. “Ten million.”

“She must be a real pain in the ass, then, if he’s going to pay me that much to take her,” I chuckle.

Not that ten million dollars is anything but pocket change for the man. Orlov may be losing the fight in New York, but the bastard is richer than sin. 

Selling arms to half of the entire world will do that to a person.

“I hear she’s beautiful,” he says, trying to tempt me to not fight him.

“Then you marry her,” I shoot back, not ready to give up the argument.

“I don’t feel like it.” Fucking typical. Rhysand sighs. “You and I both know we can work this deal to our advantage, so what will make you say yes?”

He could order to me to say yes and I’d have to, but he hates enforcing that kind of authority with me.

So I think it over, make a show of lighting a new cigar. “I want Sera.”

It’s a burlesque club in New York I’ve always been a little envious of, owned by Orlov and operated by his men. I’d tried to buy it a few years back but hadn’t had enough leverage on the Russian to strongarm him into selling.

Now I do.

Rhysand--the only one who knows about my failed attempt to buy the place--nods and tells me he’ll make it happen.

“When’s all this happening, anyway?”

He looks like he might laugh. “Wedding is in a month, but she’s flying in tomorrow night.”

A quick laugh forces its way out of me. Also typical of him to give me absolutely no time to change my mind.

Well, I have a month. That’s already longer than any relationship I’ve ever had. 

Sighing, I stand and shake his hand, cementing the deal before I can even lament the loss of my bachelorhood.

~Nesta~

“Chto sluchilos?”

I slide my gaze to my father, because seriously, that’s the stupidest fucking question I’ve ever heard. 

What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Everything.

“Nichego,” I lie, assuring him for what feels like the tenth time as I look out the window. The plane picks up speed and lifts off, taking me towards an uncertain future, an uncertain place.

I might have told him nothing’s wrong, but inside, I’m screaming.

Three days ago, I woke up to find a marriage contract on the pillow beside me. There was a blank space where my name had been typed and a pen waiting for me to remedy that.

I still haven’t.

I’m not signing anything until I meet this... Cassian. 

God, what an Italian name.

An image springs to mind, one of a slumped-over, hairy-chest beast with slicked back hair and a gold chain. 

I know it’s stereotypical and hopefully incorrect, but I’ve never been to Italy and Alexei strictly forbids me watching movies that portray Italians as anything except revolting. 

But looks aside, there’s one thing I don’t need to guess to know. 

My future husband will be like all the other men in my life: controlling.

Men in the world I live in take what they want, don’t ask for permission, and feel like they’re entitled to anything and everything. I’ve dealt with it my entire life, so it’s more amusing than anything at this point.

I guess I’m a bit non-traditional in that sense, considering most of the women around me have no problems taking orders from their fathers or husbands. But Alexei and I figured out pretty early in life that wasn’t going to work for me.

As he frequently likes to tell me, I started telling him to fuck off when I was five.

What did he expect? All the kids I hung out with were the opposite sex and at least five years older than me, so my vocabulary and mannerisms became pretty... colorful early on.

Regardless, I’m just not looking forward to having to deal with yet another man who thinks he can control me.

“Ty vresh',” Alexei accuses, lips twitching. You’re lying. 

“Konechno.” Of course. 

Of course I’m upset, but I understand what’s happening. I might have found out about it three days ago, but I’ve known it was coming for far longer.

As the only child of the great Alexei Orlov, Wolf of Moscow and Pakhan of the Russian Bratva, I’ve been told my entire life that I will one day be used as a pawn to gain more power.

It would--should--piss me off, but I’ve also been told I’m to one day take my father’s place and run his company.

So by gaining more power for him, I’m also doing the same for myself.

Not that I really give a shit about that kind of thing. I started officially working for Alexei years ago, and I already have enough money saved to never have to work again. 

But in the Bratva, there’s no getting out. I was put in this world by birth, and the only thing that will take me out is death. 

In case it isn’t obvious, I’m not a typical business woman. 

My father is an arms-dealer. 

A less than legal one, if you believe the heinous lies the media spreads about him.

He sells weapons to governments, private armies, and whoever the fuck else has the money to buy. 

He’s also built himself a shipping empire to haul said weapons around the globe, runs the drugs and prostitute rings in Moscow, and has enough real estate to rival most small countries.

It probably sounds like I don’t care, and that’s because I don’t. 

I like what I do in the sense that I have a mind for business. I went to business school and graduated at the top of my class, and I enjoy running the clubs and hotels I have. Trained by Alexei himself, I’m ruthless in negotiations, enough so that people started calling me the Wolf Cub by the time I was twenty. 

But despite being good at it, I’m not particularly fond of the aspect most people think of when they picture my career in the Bratva. I detest drugs, have never hired a prostitute, and don’t really enjoy selling arms to bad people. 

The alleyway meetups, the broken bones and bullet holes, and the blown up houses are all a little tiring to me.

Sure, it sounds exciting. And for a while, it was. I used to lose myself in the chaos, used to enjoy coming home with busted knuckles. But I honestly just got tired of it.

Right now, I don’t have to deal with it as much because Alexei’s still alive. But when he dies and I officially take over the family business, I’ll have to be more involved. Even if the thought makes me want to sigh.

I pull out my laptop and look over the financial report for Sera, my newest club in New York. As predicted, everything’s running smoothly. 

I turn the laptop around to show my father, grinning when he pulls out his reading glasses and leans closer. 

“Starik,” I tease. Old man. 

He flicks my forehead, then reads the report and nods. Then he turns to his phone, probably playing Angry Birds or some shit, and leaves me to work.

The plane ride goes by quickly, and by the time we’ve landed in Chicago, I’ve gotten ahead on my schedule for next week, slept, and changed into what I’ve chosen as the “meeting my future husband” dress.

It’s simple and sleek, the black material clinging to my curves without being obscene. It’s long enough to hide the holster on my thigh, not that I feel in any danger with four personal guards stationed near me at all times.

My heels click as I make my way down the plane stairs and across the tarmac to the waiting sedan, and once my luggage and belongings are unloaded, we head to the Italian Capo’s house.

We’re meeting here, finalizing the contract, and then Cassian and I are flying to New York. 

My new home.

“Try to look happy,” Alexei tells me, his heavily accented English almost ridiculous to hear. He speaks English only when he’s in the states, and considering he hasn’t come here since I graduated B school two years ago, he’s a little out of practice.

“I’m ecstatic,” I say, intentionally using a word I know he doesn’t understand.

His eyes narrow, because it isn’t the first time I’ve used this trick, but he doesn’t call me out on it. We continue to ride in ecstatic silence, eventually pulling up in front of the Capo’s... house.

It’s almost obscene to call it that, considering it’s fucking huge. Like obnoxiously huge.

I heave a sigh, step out of the car, and take in my surroundings. The neighborhood’s quiet, likely filled with friends of the Cosa Nostra too scared to make any noise. 

A butler--seriously, a butler--opens the door and welcomes us inside, and as soon as I step in, I have to repress the urge to roll my eyes.

The amount of dirty money in the air is suffocating. It drips off the vaulted ceilings, down the artwork on the walls, across the marble floors. It’s in the little details of the crystal chandeliers and the mahogany staircase. 

Ridiculous.

One look at Alexei’s disgusted face says he’s thinking the same thing.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re rich. Grossly so. Alexei could have ten houses just like this, if he wanted them.

But he doesn’t. He owns property all over the world, but most of it is commercial or apartment complexes--property that makes him money, in other words. This, however, is a massive waste of capital. 

The butler leads us further through the house and into an office where four men wait. 

One is immediately identifiable as their lawyer, his over-priced cologne making me have to resist the urge to sneeze. The humongous man in the corner is hired muscle, if the boxy shape of the guns under his jacket is any indication.

The man behind the desk is obviously in charge, so I’m guessing he’s the Capo. Rhysand or Rhyland or something weird like that. He takes me in silently, bright eyes not seeming to miss any details. 

That leaves the man leaning against the desk to be Cassian Azara.

My fiancé. 

Our eyes meet, his golden gaze beautiful and wild, and I have to remember to keep my expression bored. 

Because the stereotype, the horrible image I’d conjured up in my mind, couldn’t be further from the truth.

For one, he isn’t hunched-over. He stands tall, leaning a hip against his Capo’s desk with obvious confidence. But I see more than just self-assuredness in his eyes. He seems a little too rough around the edges, wild gaze almost like he’s daring someone to swing at him. 

If the confidence didn’t already make him attractive, his looks sure as hell get the job done.

His hairs long and dark and curly, half of it pulled up in a rouge manner that clashes with the suit he’s filling. He has a few days’ stubble, too, like standing still long enough to shave just isn’t an option. 

His shoulders are impossibly wide, narrowing down to trim hips and legs long enough to make him tower over everyone in the room. 

His knuckles are tattooed and split open, and there’s a cut above his eyebrow that tells me I was correct to assume he’s a fighter by nature. 

Usually, that would be a deterrent for me, but there’s something about the way he’s dressed in a dark suit jacket and crisp white shirt while also looking so untamed that has me cocking my head to study him some more. 

He studies me, too, beautiful eyes taking in the long blonde hair and bright blue eyes offset by pale skin. He looks at the dress like he can see everything underneath, and I have the strangest urge to blush. Jesus, he’s toxic.

He’s attractive, is what I’m getting at.

Which is not what I had planned on, considering I’d been trying to think of a plan on how to not sleep with him, but suddenly that’s all my mind can focus on.

His lips twitch like he knows what I’m thinking, and I realize we’ve just been standing here staring at each other for a bit too long.

So I turn back to Alexei and shrug like I’ve seen what my future husband has to offer and aren’t impressed in the slightest. 

I toss the marriage contract on the desk, grab the Capo’s fancy little fountain pen out of his hand, and sign my name on the blank above my name. 

Cassian watches, but I ignore him entirely until the ink has dried. Then I look up at him through my lashes and wink, turn on my heel, and leave the room.

~Cassian~

I think I’m in love.

Fuck.

She hasn’t said a single goddamn word, but the way she looked at me has me feeling itchy all over, anticipation and nerves rolling through me. I feel like I feel before I fight or something exciting happens.

Like I’m primed and ready and need it to happen now. 

Nesta Orlov, my bride to be, is nothing like I expected. 

I was fully braced for some meek little woman, similar to most of my friends’ wives, to come in and smile and say hello. 

But nope. Nesta didn’t smile; she came in like she was walking onto a battlefield. 

And she didn’t smile. She looked me over, clinical blue gaze noticing too much, and left me feeling winded. God, she’s beautiful. Just looking at her made me hot.

She also didn’t say hello. 

Just signed the contract and left, like this was nothing more to her than a boring business deal. I mean, that’s what it is, but... I don’t know, I expected more of a reaction. 

I’ve heard from some Underbosses that their wives cried or raged when they were forced to sign, but shit if that were the case with Nesta. She honest to God looked like she didn’t care.

Alexei, on the other hand, does look a little pissed about the situation, but I couldn’t care less of the old man’s opinion. He’s signed the contract, so to me, he’s irrelevant. Regardless, he and Rhys proceed to iron out some of the details about the wedding and other shit I’m not paying attention to.

Then they shake hands, and the Russian warlord turns to leave. 

He reaches the door and looks over his shoulder at me, and there’s amusement in his cold gaze as he mutters, “Udachi.” Good luck. 

As soon as he’s gone, Roman and the lawyer follow, leaving me alone with Rhys. 

He slides the contract to me, and I sign my name next to hers, making this shit official. 

“This should be interesting,” he comments, vague as usual. 

I sigh, because I have a feeling interesting isn’t going to cover it. 

_____________________________________________________

NEXT CHAPTER

Tags: @elorcan-trash @januarystears @emikadreams @sjm-things @santas-dwynwen @thebitchupstairs @sayosdreams @perseusannabeth @cursebreaker29 @a-bit-of-a-cactus @elriel4life @girl-who-reads-the-books @shinya-hiiragi @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln @ireallyshouldsleeprn @highqueenofelfhame @rowaelinismyotp @nahthanks @ghostlyrose2 @lovemollywho @tillyrubes10 @claralady @tswaney17 @rowanisahunk @superspiritfestival @thegoddessofyou @awesomelena555 @booksofthemoon @greerlunna @jlinez @studyliketate @over300books @justgiu12 @masstrash @aesthetics-11 @bamchickawowow @b00kworm @sleeping-and-books @musicmaam @hizqueen4life @maybekindasortaace

[iliumheightnights]

The children are our future? | Peter Parker x Male Reader

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Peter Parker x Male!Stark Reader

Summary:  (M/N) goes to surprise Peter and pick him up from school. While there a student tries to befriend him and (M/N) may or may not have lost his temper after realizing who it was.

A/N: I’ve been reading loads of fics about Peter and the field trip trope and like...maybe that’s coming… ;)

…

Peter tapped his pencil against the desktop repeatedly. It was obvious the school day was dragging on and he was ready to get out of there. He always wanted to get out of school early but even more so since he was supposed to be working with Tony in the lab today. Of course that would happen AFTER he saw his boyfriend, he always came first.

Peter was brought out of his boredom when he felt his spidey senses going off and no soon after something hit his head. It didn’t hurt and when he looked it was just a crumpled up piece of paper. He shouldn’t pick up that paper, everything in his body said to just ignore it. So he did, he ignored it. Then after a little bit another one hit him. Then another. Then another. He could tell it was Flash trying to mess with him and as much as he hated saying it, it was working. With one last paper ball Peter had enough.”WHAT!?” He glared at the boy who was only smirking at him. “MR.PARKER! What is going on?!” Peter felt his stomach drop. Oh he was in trouble. “I...I was-” “See me after class!” The whole class snickered and Flash smirked at him. Peter hated it here.

Peter stayed after class to get a talking to by the teacher. He was angry to say the least, Flash never got in trouble or anything. It should be him here not Peter. The teacher was going on about respect and not causing trouble, Peter really wasn’t listening if he was being honest.  After the rant Peter left the class to be greeted by Ned. “Hey, figured I’d wait for you. How’d it go in there?” Peter shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing important. Just another person who won’t deal with Flash.” Ned nudged him. “At least you didn’t get like, detention or anything. We can deal with Flash another day.” Peter and Ned exited the front door of the school and heard whispers and talk. “Is that (M/N) Stark?” “What’s HE doing here?” Peter looked up and gulped. There he was, his boyfriend...looking absolutely annoyed with a starstruck Flash talking to him. “Or he’s gonna deal with him.”

…

(M/N) Stark leaned against the passenger side of the car. He was there on a mission, Peter had been acting strange for the past week and it was worrying him. He was so worried he got in contact with Ned, who after several minutes of questions, told him about Peter’s bully Flash. (M/N) would have dealt with it sooner had he any name other than a Fake name to go off of. He could have asked Ned but (M/N) had a better idea. 

Before Happy could even reach his car, the poor man was intercepted by (M/N). “Sup Happy. You out to get Peter? Well belay that order, I’m picking him up today. Go out and get yourself some lunch you deserve it.” Happy didn’t know what was happening but he watched as (M/N) got into one of Tony’s sports cars and drove out of the parking garage. That’s how he found himself outside of Midtown High.

(M/N) was scrolling on his phone waiting for his boyfriend to arrive. The school bell rang and students started walking out. He could hear people talking about him and it made him smirk. “Holy shit! You’re (M/N) Stark!”  (M/N) looked up to see a boy who looked like he was about to faint. “That’s me.” He didn’t say anything else as he returned to his phone. “What are you doing here? Never mind. You have a really cool car! I got a sick ride too! I can show it to ya if you want! Oh! Can I get a photo?” (M/N) let out a sigh. He didn’t want to be rude, but frankly this kid was getting on his nerves. “What’s your name kid?” “Eugene, Eugene Thompson. But you can call me-” He stopped as Peter and Ned came walking up. (M/N) smiled at his boyfriend who was smiling back at him. “Hey.” Peter said but was interrupted by Flash. “Hey Penis! Can’t you see the two of us are talking? Trying to make it seem like that Stark internship is a real thing?” Peter glanced to his boyfriend who was still smiling, but his eyes held the intent to murder. “I bet (M/N) here would just LOVE to hear about it. A loser like you wouldn’t even be able to go through the front doors!” Peter smirked at Flash. 

(M/N) started typing into his phone, still smiling. “You know what EUGENE. I would LOVE to hear about it. Why can’t Peter here walk through the front doors when he is one of the best interns my father has ever had?” Flash looked shocked while Peter was smirking, Ned looking somewhat lost and happy. (M/N) was still typing on his phone. “Also I should point out that the very boy you are insulting and calling penis is actually my boyfriend and if you know anything about me...I don’t take kindly to people who hurt the people that I love. And....done.” (M/N) looked back up from his phone to Flash. “You have now been blacklisted from every ivy league college on the eastern seaboard. You’re welcome. You’ll be lucky if even a community college accepts you here.”(M/N) held up his phone and took a photo of Flash’s red face. “What!? Y-You can’t do that!” (M/N) smirked. “I can. You know why? I’m (M/N) fucking Stark and you fucked with my boyfriend. You’re lucky that being blacklisted was all I did.” He stepped closer to the boy and tightly gripped his shoulder. “Because if I wasn’t so good about controlling my anger.” He let some of his powers slip through to let his eyes light up. “You wouldn’t live to see graduation. Now get out of here and don’t let me hear about you messing with Peter, his friends, or anyone else again.” Flash looked like he was on the verge of tears but nodded and ran away. Before he could get too far (M/N) stopped him. “Oh and Eugene! This isn’t over, I’ll be watching.”

With everything that went down it was no surprise that most of the students were staring at them. Some shocked still from the Stark boy being at their school, others for what he just did to Flash. They weren’t sure what he could really do to them so no one dared say anything or take videos. Turning to a blushing Peter, (M/N) smiled brightly at him. “Hey babe.” Peter smiled and looked embarrassingly at his feet. “Did you really have to do that?” (M/N) smirked at his boyfriend and held onto his shoulders. “Of course I did. He was a dick to you and annoying me. He made his bed now he gets to lay in it.” Peter was about to say something else but his boyfriend cut him off by pressing his lips to Peter’s. The sound of gasps and whispers could be heard, but neither of them cared. Pulling apart (M/N) opened the passenger door. “Shall we go? I’m sure dad’s already working in the lab.” He turned to Ned who was looking shocked beyond belief but also smiling broadly. “Thanks again for your help Ned. Much appreciated.” Ned nodded. “Anytime. See ya later Peter. Bye (M/N)!” 

Peter said his goodbye before sitting in the car. (M/N) got into the driver's seat and pulled away from the school. “Man...I really hate public school. You sure you don’t want dad to just...pull some strings and get you into M.I.T or something?” Peter chuckled at that and looked at him. “Yeah I’m sure, I’d miss Ned and MJ too much. Besides I have a feeling it’ll be alright now that you’ve dealt with Flash. Don’t think anyone else would want to get on your bad side.” (M/N) shook his head with a smile. “Good. They better not, otherwise I’ll come after them. I wonder if that twerps gonna go run to mommy and daddy. If he does...I’ll end them too.” Peter’s soft smile turned into a glare. “Don’t do anything that you’ll regret or that will be too...bad.” (M/N) huffed a laugh. “TOO BAD!? What are you five? Don’t worry it’s not like I’ll ruin their lives...just make it a little more difficult.” Peter put his face in his hands but smirked. “Sometimes I worry about you.”

“You love me.”

“Maybe TOO much.”

…

The rest of the drive had been pretty uneventful. Just small talk about what each other's day had been like. Peter had made sure to leave out the part about Flash getting him in trouble, if he told his boyfriend that he’d ruin his life even more than he already had. When they had arrived at the tower Peter wanted to do nothing more than to lay down with his boyfriend but Tony wanted his help in the lab.

“So I heard my son single handedly ruined a kid's life today.” Peter blushed at Tony’s words and focused on the project in front of him. “Ugh..k-kind of. I can try talking to him to undo it.” He heard Tony scoff. “Don’t you dare. That kid deserves it and plus...you honestly think we’d be able to get (M/N) to undo it?” Peter laughed along with Tony, at least he didn’t seem mad about it. “The question is kid...why didn’t you tell us? We would have done something a lot sooner and maybe less...intense.” Peter didn’t know what to say. He had wanted to tell them about everything but also didn’t want to at the same time. “Well, I DID want to tell you. I just...didn’t want to bother either of you. I just thought it was something I’d be able to deal with on my own. Figured it wasn’t that important.” Peter shrugged but felt Tony’s hand on his shoulder and he was soon facing his mentor/future father inlaw. “Peter. We both love you. Anything that deals with you is important to us. We want to make sure that you’re okay and living your best life. Asshats like that try and get off on pushing people around thinking they can get away with it. Now he won’t do it to you or anyone else again. Please, if something like this happens again tell us. We’re here for you.” Peter let out a sigh and felt tears building up in his eyes. “Thanks Mr.Stark.” Tony pulled him into a hug. “Anytime underoos. Now...Put away your tools and stuff. I’m sure my kid’s anxiously waiting for you upstairs.” Peter pulled back from the hug and began putting everything away. Tony going back to his own project. Peter was heading out of the lab when Tony called out again. “Also if you two get heated just make sure to wear protection!” Peter blushed. “Mr-Mr.Stark!” Tony waved him off. “Kidding! Kidding! Now go on!”

Peter walked to the common room where (M/N) was laying on the couch watching tv, when he saw Peter he smiled. “Hey. You’re done early.” Peter walked over and sat beside him. “Yeah. Your dad let me out.” Peter leaned his head on his boyfriends shoulder as the others arm pulled him closer. “Doesn’t sound like my dad. Maybe he’s an imposter.” Peter rolled his eyes and sighed. “Did you really black list him from every college?” (M/N) scoffed. “Peter I’m not that cruel. I believe people can have redemption. But I DID block him from the good ones on the eastern side of the us. He can still go to community colleges or to good schools on the other side of the country. It’s not like he’s out of options.” Seeing his boyfriend's face he sighed. “Ugh. If you feel that’s too harsh I’ll undo it. But I think it’s the push he needed to understand.” Peter smiled at him. “I love you.” (M/N)’s breath hitched. “What? I mean I love you too but...how did that come about?” Peter blushed and kissed his cheek. “Because even though he was incredibly rude to me you still were willing to undo it for me. Which I don’t want you to. He’s rich, or at least well off, I’m sure he’ll be able to go across the country. And you’re right, he needs to learn...plus maybe I’m a little salty about the years of bullying he’s done.”

(M/N) leaned in, smiling at Peter. He cupped his face in his hands. “Honey. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I gotta say you’ve pretty much ruined me.” The two boys laughed at each other. “I’ve been told I’ve had that effect on people.” Peter leaned in and brushed his lips against (M/N)’s, who leaned deeper into the kiss. After a while the two separated and laid down together. “So...what are we going to watch?” “Have you seen clone wars?”

“Duh.”

An hour later Tony would walk in to find the two boys passed out on top of each other. Quietly he pulled out his phone and took a photo. “Nerds. But they’re my nerds.”

[some-dr-writings]

Fuyuhiko x Reader who won’t confess

·       Of all people you could have fallen for, why did it have t be the YAKUZA BOSS!? He has a bad temper on top of that! What if you tried asking him out and he was insulted by it so he had you killed!? Nope! No! You couldn’t do it! You were way too scared! It would be best you ignore the feelings…

·       …

·       But how could you!? Sure, he was a hot head, but he was a good guy, kind and loyal to his friends. It didn’t help either that you saw each other every day because you were in the same class. It also REALLY didn’t help that your best friend there was Peko, her and Fuyuhiko never spent much time together but the few times they did they seems to be good friends, and Peko seemed to know a lot about Fuyuhiko, so the pair of you would end up talking about him and your crush on him often.

·       “I understand your apprehension, but you can try talking to him more, nothing has happened to our other classmates who have gotten close to him.” “Peko. Gurl. I am the Super High School Level Crime Boss. I may be bold and cunning, but I’m not going to approach the heir of the biggest and greatest crime syndicate in Japan with something like this. I could go with the excuse we are both great powers and should be on amicable terms so we don’t slaughter one another, but that would be a lie, and we don’t lie in my family.” “… Would it be a lie to say you wanted to get to know him because you like him, and he is your classmate?” “… Hmm… perhaps. Even so, I don’t need others on looking, possibly seeing us getting chummy and taking that as a threat.”

·       You didn’t avoid the man per se, but you did try to spend as little time with him as possible, fearful of him asking something in just the right way where you couldn’t dance around it and would have to confess. The few times you did get to spend time together was rather nice.

·       The wind rolled past carrying bright green leaves along with it, a much-needed break from the heat that came pouring down from the cloudless sky. You sighed, taking a sip of your cold drink. With the condensation on the glass, it slipped in your hands for a moment, almost spilling into your lap. You and Peko chatted away at the balcony of the café, loving the summer day. You sighed noticing Fuyuhiko from the corner of your eye. You had figured out long ago that Peko was Fuyuhiko’s secret bodyguard, the man always was near by whenever the pair of you spent time together outside of school. He was even generous and kind to his subordinates letting them live life outside of his syndicate. It truly kind man.

·       “Hmm, oh, Kuzuruyu, hello.” “Huh?” “What?” Clearly both you and the man were caught off guard, it evident on your faces. “What are you doing here?” “Uh… Well, this place just opened but I’ve heard nothing but good things, so I decided to check it out.” “Same with us. Say why don’t you join us?” You spat out your drink, choking on it mid-sip hearing the suggestion, thankfully for the heir who only would have gotten flustered if you had noticed the bright scarlet that had erupted on his cheeks when he approached you and Peko. “Y/N!?” “I’ll get some more napkins.” Peko immediately dashed off, leaving Fuyuhiko with you. You were still coughing, covering your face with napkins, embarrassed by the whole situation and not wanting your crush to see you like this. Nervously Fuyuhiko pat your back, feeling too awkward to do much else. When you settled down you were completely embarrassed but tried to remain calm and let the staff clean the table. “You okay?” “Physically, yes. Emotionally, no, I am a wreak right now.” “Ah.” …

·       …

·       Thankfully for the awkwardness neither of you tried to make idle chit-chat allowing you to notice… something. “Since the staff are taking care of things let’s look for Peko.” “Yeah.” Instead, you both immediately left the premises. Your suspicion was confirmed, you were being followed. At the first opportunity you raced to anything you could use for a quick getaway, a motorcycle this time. Mentally you apologized to the couple and made sure make a note to repay them with a new motorbike later as you slammed a helmet on Fuyuhiko’s head, dashing away on the bike.

·       “Sorry for getting you caught up in this. I recognize the bastard, some assassin who’s like a cockroach, won’t just die no matter how much lead I pump into em’!” A bang sounded, a gun having been fired, the bullet landing right beside the tire sending a few sparks flying. “A cockroach. I’ve dealt with the likes before. Focus on driving, I’ll take care of them.” “Alright. Let’s see how good of a shot you are!” A chuckle seeped out of you, the thrill of the chase always something you couldn’t help but enjoy no matter the danger. With a rev of the engine you took a sharp turn, turning around, leaving skid marks on the pavement as you did so before charging head on for the car behind you. Fuyuhiko blew out a tire as you raced past. “Only two in the car, usually has at least ten assistants. Don’t let your guard down!” “Wasn’t going too. This isn’t my first assassination plot.” “Except you’re a bystander who got dragged in this time, so at least you aren’t the primary target.”

·       Fuyuhiko kept up carefully aimed fire, only having so-many bullets, but you though trying to escape and dodge fire you also specifically made opportunities for Fuyuhiko to get good shots in on any attackers.

·       “Fuck! Gun’s jammed!” “OF COURSE!” Fuyuhiko kept muttering swears under his breath desperately trying to get the damn thing to work again. You looked over your shoulder for a moment, finding Fuyuhiko opted the hurl the junk at the car, cracking the windshield right on the driver’s side. “Hah! Nice one.” “Don’t celebrate just yet. We’re out of fire now.” “Hell no! We could die at any moment, so we’ve gotta celebrate when we can!” You laughed, speeding away as the car behind you wavered, almost crashing. Still though it made chase. Now it was completely up to you to keep you both alive. Taking a sharp turn off the street you instead raced down an alleyway in between buildings. You smiled seeing where you were. “Take in that ocean air Kuzuryu! We’re almost home free!” “Home free you say? Alright, show me what you’ve got!”

·       “There’s more assassins!” “Got it.” Unfortunately the streets by the sea side were much narrower than deeper in the city so dodging was near impossible, all you could do was weave between cars and hope for the best.

·       “Kuzu, Hold on tight!” You dashed through traffic, turning into the opposite lane and cutting across it, slipping between spaces in the railing. Unfortunately, the hill beyond the railing was a bit steeper than you remembered, the pair of you being in the air for a while before crashing down, wavering too much you could only keep balance for a few moments before flipping over.

·       “Hey. Hey, Y/N!” You groaned, slowly getting up, your head ringing and the world swirling and spinning. “Y-you alright?” “For now, but we need to go!” Taking your arm he pulled you up and ran along. The motorcycle left deep marks in the ground, signaling where it crashed, pointing out where you were. “Just gotta get to the docks. We’ll be safe there.” “Got it!”

·       Quickly the pair of you ran along, hiding behind anything you could, from shrubbery to beach umbrellas, the gun fire raining down around you. However for a short time it did suddenly come to a stop. “Peko!” Indeed it was the swords woman, putting a stop to the attacks as long as she could.

·       “Young Master!” Finally you had reunited on the docks. Not stopping for even a moment you raced for a building, kicking the door down upon entering. “Get in the seaplane, now!” The moment your companions were in, you started the engine, immediately going not even giving them the opportunity to strap in.

·       You were surrounded by nothing but blue. Blue skys, blue water, not another plane or boat in sight. You let out a shaky breath, shuttering. “Holy hell, I have not had a chase like that in a while! You two okay? If not there’s a first aid kit under my seat. If you have any serious injuries we’ll have to land and do work on the wing of the plane. But if it can wait for an hour or so we can take care of it on the island.” It was a rather small plane, just for personal use so there was little room, only enough for four seats to be squished against to one another. “I’m fine. Peko-” “I am unharmed. However, you have several cuts.” “Y/N, you’ve been shot!” You gritted your teeth, instead focusing on piloting. “Maybe… but it can wait.” “No! You’re landing this thing right now!” “Kuzuryu! The island has much better supplies for this, and though I know there are no other sea planes in the docks they could have them hidden elsewhere and I want minimal risk of them finding us and my private hideaway. So we have to out run them” “… Fine, but we’re using the first aid kit on you.”

·       You winced as Peko and Fuyuhiko tried patching the wound as best they could. The bullet didn’t get in too deeply but the longer your flight went on the more that fiery pain seeped into you, it no longer being ignorable as your adrenaline lowered and slowed. You could feel our heart pounding against your rib cage, your breathing getting heavier. “Y/N, you’re pale.” “I-I’m fine.” “Like Hell you are! Don’t pull that bull shit with me!” “I can fly this thing, if I can keep doing that I’m fine. It… it’s not too much farther now.”

·       …

·       You were in the cabin. “A-aunty, Uncle.” You smiled, knowing you had arrived at the island safely seeing the elderly pair. “Wh-where’s my guests? How are they?” The woman simply gestured to the wide open doors leading to your tropical paradise, the sand and ocean waves so close, Fuyuhiko and Peko standing in the frame. Fuyuhiko had a few bandages but seemed fine. Both of them looked relived. “Boss shall we leave you with your guests?” “Yeah, but before you go, how long till I’m healed?” “You may get up now.” You looked questioningly to the older gentleman. “We sedated you with sleeping drugs this time so you would not have to just lie in bed and constantly sneak out instead of resting for your health.” “H-hey! I’m not that reckless!” “Boss, you had three bullet wounds.” You simply shriveled in your bed. “I-I needed to check on everyone else myself. Too many got injured that time. Those basters needed to pay.” “And you can not risk your health when doing so, Boss.” “… Thank you, Uncle. You and Aunty prepare some food for us.” In unison the elderly folk said ‘Yes, boss’ heeding your command and making their leave. “I shall assist.” And Peko left with them. Slowly you sat up, getting out of bed. “Well… care for a walk? I feel rather sluggish from having slept for several days at least apparently.” “Sure.”

·       Even if you would regret it later, you could safely spend time with the man now, knowing none other than Peko where here to protect him and heed his command. Just this once you could get a little closer without fear, and more importantly, learn exactly how bad his injuries were.

·       You took the chance to explain to Fuyuhiko just who exactly your assailants were, how they were actually an organization made by rogue government officials who wanted you dead no matter the consequences. How this island was your personal place you only allowed the most trusted of family members in your organization to go to, or those injured should this place be the most convenient, how you ‘Aunty’ and ‘Uncle’ were individuals who had worked in your organization since you first created it and were like family though not actually being blood related to you or even married to one another. And… you just kept talking like how you found this island and made it your home away from home, about school and your classmates. You both just talked about whatever through the day.

·       And soon there you were sitting on the sandy shore, looking up to the starlit sky. “Really? I don’t believe it.” “No, I really did crash the car there.” “You call the assassins cockroaches, but that more so describes you.” “What!?” Fuyuhiko couldn’t help but chuckle a little seeing your reaction. “Yeah, surviving car crashes, being shot through the chest, poisoning, now a motorcycle crash. Seems you’re unkillable.” “Excuse me, but all of those were calculated risks!” “Exactly. Even in crazy situations you can keep calm and take the less disastrous outcome…” His smile faded, a more serious expression taking on his features. “Y’know… When I step up as the leader of the Kuzuryu clan, I’ll need someone strong, and capable by my side… maybe… someone like you.” “……… Are you… confessing, or am I horribly misreading this.” Fuyuhiko froze, a blush flaring up on his cheeks. “Well, I think we worked rather well together today so… W-wanna go out?” “Yes! Absolutely yes!” “O-oh… alright then.” Clearing his throat he stood up. “Well… it’s getting late, I’m shoving off to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow… maybe you could give me a run of the grounds here?” “Yeah, definitely!” “Good… I’m looking forward to it.”

·       “Oh my god, Peko, I finally asked them out! And they said ‘Yes’!” “Good for you, Young Master.” “I didn’t even hesitate! I know you said they it would be safe since nothing had happened to our other classmates, but… they’re still the Boss of the greatest crime syndicate over seas! This could have gone horribly and I just did it! I didn’t even use the excuse we should be on good terms or allies, so we don’t kill each other. I just asked them out!”

·       Even if Peko’s plan didn’t go quite as she thought it would it still worked out. Her duty is to protect her young master, so it would not do for him to kill himself due to stressing over asking his crush out. She already knew things were going to turn out great for the pair of you. You were so alike and so drastically different you just complimented one another perfectly.

[magical-girl-coral]

Izuru's day off, or how Gin got a concussion right after waking up from a coma.

Izuru was nervous. No, saying he was nervous was an understatement. After his captain was in a coma for a week, his first day being awake in a complete daze, the second day being given to Rangiku, and the third day to Orihime and Tousen, the seated officers of the Third Division were finally allowed to visit their restrained captain. Izuru felt as if there were a thousand wasps were stinging him from the inside of his stomach.

"I still can't believe he agreed to meet us. It honestly feels like a prank," Third Seat Riku Togakushi said, and Izuru had to agree with him. Their captain had quite literally jumped from windows in the past to avoid social confrontations. Riku turned his head to their other men, "And I can trust you three to behave?"

Fourth Seat Akiko Hizuki rolled her red eyes, "For the hundredth time, yes. I do know how to be civil when I have to, you know. We're all minor nobles here. We learned to hold our tongues the hard way."

"Besides," Fifth Seat Taketsuna Gori added, "it's Asuke you should be worried about. He's the idiot that saw our five-and-a-half-foot spitfire over here," he said pointing at Akiko with his thumb, "and decided the best idea is to make a short joke as a greeting. You'd think he'd know better after leaving with three little sisters."

Sixth Seat Asuka Katakura's eye twitched. "Would you shut up about that already? My home was a fucking warzone, so we didn't have time to learn from our shit lessons. You try being fucking polite while growing up with three hellspawns!"

Riku let out a sigh as their arguing continued in the background. "I'm already starting to regret this decision."

Izuru let out a soft chuckle before stopping at the room. With a big swallow, he opened the door to see his former captain sitting up on his bed and watching from the window before turning to them with his usual fox-like smile. "Oh? I didn't know you were gonna bring a party with ya, Izuru. I woulda brought out some snacks if you'd have told me."

"You wouldn't have agreed if I told you," was the only thing Izuru was able to say before his throat closed up and body froze, his captain's chuckle making it even worse. It felt all the words and screams he wanted to shout all tried to get out at once, and he ended up choking on them instead. The rest of his men seemed to be in a similar state. Thankfully, Akiko was the only one who didn't seem to be affected by the tension in the room. Izuru saw her walking with confidence to their captain, standing in front of him with grace and a determined look in her eyes...

Only for her to take out a giant paper fan and began to hit their captain without any mercy.

"FOURTH SEAT HIZUKI," three men shouted since Taketsuna let out a shout for a laugh.

"YOU BETRAYED YOUR DIVISION," Akiko screamed as she hit him, "ABANDONED ALL OF US, MADE US FEEL LIKE SHIT FOR MONTHS, AND YOU GREET US WITH A FUCKING JOKE? I SHOULD KILL YOU RIGHT NOW-"

"Fouth Seat Hizuki, please calm yourself!" Riku yelled out while trying to disarm her along with Izuru as Asuka came to grab her from behind, lifting her feet from the ground and shouted to Taketsuna to get his shit together. Instead, Takestuna continued to cry-laughing.

Finally, after a few solid minutes of struggling, Izuru was able to disarm Akiko and took the paper fan for himself. The room cooled down, with Izuru's heavy breathing being the only sound.

"Lieutenant Kira?" Riku asked wearily after noticing how eery the silence became. He got his answer when Izuru started to whack their captain.

"LIEUTENANT KIRA!" Both Riku and Asuka yelled out together.

"DO YOU - HAVE - ANY - IDEA - HOW - MUCH - PAPERWORK - I HAD - TO DO- BECAUSE - OF - YOU!" Izuru shrieked between hits. Akiko screamed encouragement and told him to "hit it where it hurts" while struggling against Asuka's hold. Taketsuna fell to the ground and lost his last shit.

"Lieutenant Kira, that is enough!" Riku yelled at Izuru as he held the latter back. Izuru struggled against the hold in the same vein as Akiko.

"Would you get up from the floor already, you fucking neanderthal?!" Asuka screamed at Taketsuna, who had that point, was choking on his own laughter.

Thanks to all the commotion, three members from the Ninth Division came to see where the screaming came from.

The Ninth Division's Third Seat took out his camera and a gleam of opportunity in his eyes.

"Captain Unohana said that whoever leaks information from the Fourth Division will be dealt with by her own hands," Shuhei warned his men.

The Ninth Division's Third Seat lowered his camera with shaking hands and went to look for some nurses under Shuhei's command. From the looks of the scene, it seems like Gin had gained another head injury from a visitor. Captain Unohana was not going to be happy about this.

[fuckyeahderpcrew]

Important update regarding Galm (April 20th, 2021)

Hello, everyone. This is going to be a long post, so a lot of it will go under a keep reading.

It will include some links and a long, long, long transcript.

TL;DR John has addressed what's happened with Galm; Galm has messaged people and said some things troubling nature.

There may be some content you might not feel comfortable reading, so please be careful.

I'll put the keep reading right here, so please take the time to read this when you're able to. It's all very important. And please remember that with everything going on right now, we can only support the derp crew to the best of our ability by respecting their decisions and wishes.

Oriana_gray's post: Reddit (x) Her Twitter thread (x) cw for sexual harrassment

John's address: ( Twitch highlight here )

Transcript link: (on Reddit)

Read Transcript Below:

( URL - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/994753439 )

TL;DR John has addressed that Galm is not in a healthy mental state, and that things he has done during this time are inexcusable. Nonetheless, he hopes that Galm gets the help they need. At the time being, neither him, nor the derps, nor any of us can do anything to help him. This topic is no longer to be discussed in chat.

"So, we're gonna...before I, uh, get onto the actual stream, there was one thing I didn't really wanna talk about and, uh, it may be the reason why there are in fact like 5...6 mods in here, uh, just because this- it's something that we needed to like- we need to...sit down and talk about. Uh, just because, um, you know...it's- it's kind of necessary, it's kind of important and um...I've been thinking about it for at least a week now. Uh, so, before we get into it, just fair warning- I got all the mods here, all the mods who are hanging out. Uh, if you see something that like needs to get shut down, please do me a favor and shut it down. Uh, yes we’re having a serious sit down talk. [laughs softly] It is me, your father, we’re gonna have a talk. I...am fucking old- that’s not what we’re talking about. But, um… [laughs softly again]. Yeah, my point is, we’re gonna- we- I- this is serious- this is some serious time we need to have...um… Let me fix this really quick before we… [adjusts camera] I’m pushing- I’m delaying the inevitable, I’m sorry. But, yeah...More or less, um...so…

“Like I said- sorry. So, mods, you know what to do. Anyway… Let’s [claps hands] Let’s break it down really quick. I’m gonna try not to make this so in-depth because one, it’s not my place to, uh, divulge any information further on than what is out there. Uh, if- fuck, I’m dropping stuff on my desk, hold on. Um- this isn’t me delaying it, I promise you. Um- but yeah it is not my place to necessarily speak about a lot of the events that have happened, and… it isn’t my- I’m not going to be the one to do that. Uh, whoever wishes to talk about it and whoever wishes to tell their side of the story...I am obviously gonna listen. I’m gonna be open to it, and I’m gonna hear it out, but I need to start this off of course. And I’m not looking at the camera because this is gonna be- this is gonna be hard for me to do so I just gotta keep rolling through it. I’ve been trying to think about how I’m going to speak about this. I think if I just shoot from the hip and get it over with that’s the best way we’re gonna get through this.

“Um, so it is no secret that our friend Galm is very mentally unwell. And…[sighs] it’s- it’s one of those things where a lot of information has come out publicly- um- in the time in which his mental state has gotten worse. Um...the only thing I can say is I- it is no longer in our hands. And I say that because his family has gotten involved, so from this point forward, there is nothing we can really do about that. And that’s something I wanna stress like off the bat. I’ve spent a long time talking with my therapist over this stuff since everything has started. And...I find that I am a person who tends to internalize a lot of- a lot of things, so...uh, for me, I have been making Galm’s mental health my problem and making it my mental health, and um, because of that my anxiety has drastically spike to a point in which, uh, for those who remember a couple months ago I took a two month break off because I was having really bad anxiety attacks. And I’m not trying to make this about me. I promise I’m not trying to, I’m just trying to convey- like I- was like- it’s- things have been on that level again and I don’t want them to be. I can’t do that again. Um, but my point- I wanna get back to what I’m saying- ‘cause again I don’t want this to be taken out of context. I don’t want anything to be taken out of context and made to look like, uh, like a certain way. “Um, so, a lot of- of what has been going on. Uh...I’ve seen a lot of DM’s...I’ve seen a lot of text messages. Um, and to the people who’ve, uh, dealt with that, I know I’m not responsible for it but I am so sorry that you went through this shit that went down because it’s- it’s not okay. It’s absolutely not okay. Um...while Galm’s mental state is deteriorating, and while- I-I know for a fact based on dates, and based on times, a lot of what was sent out was during said, like, manic episodes, like those manic episodes where they were...con- they were consecutively tweeting minute after minute, constantly. Um, I know a lot of it was during that time, however, and I think that we can all agree here. Regardless of...your mental state and your mental health, um, none of that- none of what was sent to other people, none of what was texted to other people is absolutely not okay. It’s not okay for a person to um...send messages like they did- I’m trying to be as vague as possible. It’s not okay for...those conversations to be had in the way that they were had. Um...and, I personally can’t stand by it. That’s not something that I ever want to see happen in the...I don’t want to say “Derp Crew”...I’m not saying that. I’m gonna say, that’s not something I ever wanna see in general. I don’t wanna see anyone go through that ever again. Especially through um...especially due to someone who was so close to me for so long, and I’m not trying to say that- I’m not trying to say that, like… I’m not trying to be like- I’m not trying to be like “fuck Galm” you know what I mean? Like I’m not trying to do that, that’s not something I wanna do. But I just want to make a point to say what happened was not okay and we need to accept that. And we need to understand that that’s not something that never needs to happen again.

“But, on the flip side, we also need to understand that this was taking place- all of this was taking place during a deteriorative mental state, I think that’s the way to put it. Um… but again, on the flip side again, it’s still not okay, you know what I mean? Like it- it’s not. It’s not okay. Um...and, at this point, uh, th- it- I will be honest, like I’ve said, it has gotten much worse from the updates I’ve heard. I’m not going to divulge the information because again, it is not my business and- well it- [sighs] it’s not- it’s not my place to say, that’s what I’m trying to say, it’s not my place to say. Um...and unfortunately things are at a point with- I could- I could assume based on some of the things that Chilled has said, that Aphex has said, uh, that...I- I am also- I can also say that like...how do I...how do I put this…

“I understand that- that Galm...really, 100% needs help. I understand that wholeheartedly. The thing is, I can’t be the one to help anymore. Like, I can’t do it, because...my- how do I put this- uh, Galm’s mental health is not mine. It’s not Chilled’s. It’s not Ze’s. It’s not Tom’s. It’s not Aphex’s. It’s not any of you. It’s not- it’s none of our cross to bear, if that makes sense. None of us should be beholden to the burden of Galm’s mental health. It comes down to- and if I- just as an aside. If it sounds- I don’t know if I said “he” or “they”, I’m just trying to make sure it doesn’t- I’m going based on the Twitter profile of, um, uh… [snaps fingers] “she”, “her”, “they”, and then in parenthesis “‘he’ is sometimes okay”. But I’m trying to like- I- I have been really, like, I’m gonna be honest with you, I have been very, very, very careful. Because...I wanna make sure I’m trying to do this right, so, I’ve been trying to go with Galm and I think that- that’s where I’ve been with that all, because, as- as, I hate to say it, most of the stuff in that realm has come out of the blue. And I’m not gonna discredit that. I don’t want- I don’t want Galm to think I’m like discrediting, uh, their feelings, but like, I just- I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure in regards to how close the gap of these- the psychotic episodes and coming out- like, I wanna make sure he- uh- I wanna make sure that uh Galm is happy with who they are, and I’ve been trying to be very good with it. So...don’t mind me, I’m trying- I’m still trying, and it’s- I’m not trying to be an asshole or anything. I don’t wanna be. This is a serious talk and I’m just trying to make it understood.

“Anyway, so, getting back to it. A lot of this is- the things I’m saying is I’m processing a lot of this still. And this is like...this has been going on at least, for- since, February, all of this. And it’s now finally just coming to a hit, you know what I mean? And I hate to say it, but, like, what...like I said, this is...not my cross to bear. It’s none of our cross to bear. Um...I don’t even wanna call it like, the Derp Crew, I’m just saying in general. Like, none of this is for us to hold the burden of, because at the end of the day, um… Galm has unfortunately- and this is the only like, real, like, shit thing I’m gonna say about it is um… in- in the...things that Galm has said and done um...a lot of people were hurt. A lot of trust was- was broken, that I don’t know...if it can ever be...mended? I wanna hope, ‘cause I’m a person who hopes, that things will, uh, always be on the mend, as my Discord knows. I am something of a- a second chances guy. And I know I am to a fault, that I can be like that, but...um sorry I’m not- I’m not crying, my voice is just shot ‘cause I’ve been like screaming at work all day. [ wheeze-laughs ].

“Um, no, but...I personally- exactly- Jess-

[Addressing mod JessTries in chat who wrote “You always look for the best in people <3”]

“I try to look for the best in people and I’ve always tried to look for the best in people, even if, uh, those people have...have shit intentions, I guess is the way I can put it. But- not what I’m trying to say in this. My point is, um, yeah- a lot of- a lot of shit went down. A lot of shit went down and I don’t know how some of it can be recovered, but at this point… [laughs softly] At this point, my situation with Galm is… [sighs] My situation with Galm is that, like, they’ve- they’ve said to me we’re good, but it’s hard to be good when all of these messages are being shown, and people are coming out talking to you about how- okay- not talking to you, sorry, but, just talking about how, um, they were treated a certain way, and I don’t like that. I really don’t like that.

“So, my...my feeling is that, like, [sighs] I can’t really- I can’t really stand by Galm when all of this is going on. I can’t do it. I can...I can’t be of help to someone who- who wasn’t accepting it. And I can’t be...um, I can’t stand by someone who does things like that. Um, and, not to- I’m not trying to throw anyone under the bus, I’m not trying to throw Galm under the bus. That’s not...that’s not fair. Um...I honestly, if I could just, say to them I would, like, I- I feel like...like I don’t know...I don’t know what they can do...aside from getting help. That’s- that’s the main thing. Just...Galm needs help, and...I can’t be the one to provide it. Um...none of the group- none of the people in the group can provide it. None of you can provide it. Um...and, it’s a matter of owning up to what was said and done to a lot of people. And...what went down, obviously, if you know you know, um…

“But, like it’s just not fair to put you’re- you’re mental health...on- on...on your friends like that...so, I’m sorry I’m like coming down all of a sudden, I’m realizing like oh shit… [laughs softly] Um… but yeah, so like… [sighs] i-it’s hard, man. Like, it’s really fucking hard to do this, ‘cause you wanna- you wanna try and be honest, but like you wanna respect everyone’s privacy, and you wanna show like, hey, this is how it is. But, to everyone out there who dealt with this, and to everyone out there who had their- their problems...I’m gonna support you guys. I’m gonna be there for you, um… [rubs chin] I’m also gonna support my friends, but at the same time, I can’t support any of what happened. I’m not gonna stand by it, and, I- the only thing I can say, and I think the only thing that like everyone needs to say is like, you [Galm] need to get help. You need help. 100% you need help and like...I hope you get it. I really do hope you get it. And I hope things are...I hope things are on the mend for you. And I hope you can figure it out. Um… [clicks tongue]

“Okay, I think...I think I’m done. I’ve been just- this whole thing, this whole talk...I’m just- I’m just being honest with you guys. This is my way of processing my thoughts, and this is my way of getting past a topic. This is my way of getting past something of a chapter in my life, because this is...unfortunate. All of this is unfortunate that it had to go this way, and I was gonna say something earlier, it’s just- I felt as if when I try to come up with the right words, it was gonna turn...the wrong way. I really did. And like, I don’t want- I want it to be right. I feel like this is the right way, and um… [laughs softly] Don’t get me wrong...it’s- it’s taking a bit, and every time I try to… every time I’ve tried, something happens, and I don’t want- I don’t want- just right place right time I think is the way that it needs to be.

“Okay, so, we’re done. We’re done. From this point on, mods, you can- you can probably set up an automod or something like this, but mods, from this- and chat- from this point on, this- this topic? This conversation is over. Um...we’re done. We’re done talking about this. "

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

One Shot: We’re Going For A Ride, Doll...

Summary: Steve’s been away for a few weeks running a mission, and whilst he’s been away Katie hasn’t exactly had a relaxing time. What better way to relieve a tension than a little night time bike ride… Warning: Language! Smut (NSFW, 18)

Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark.

A/N: Biker Steve smut…yeah..it’s a kink and this was written purely for my own self-gratification reasons.

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

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

March 2014

Katie let the scorching hot water cascade down her body, loosening her muscles and washing away the last of the tension from her meeting earlier that day. It had been frustrating, middle aged men in trousers trying to prove who had the longest dicks as per usual until her temper had snapped and she’d called time on the finance review, and told them to come back in a few days when they had finished trying to see who could piss up the walls the highest.

Pepper had smirked when she had stormed out of the meeting and declared she was flying back to DC and then her smirk had turned to a frown when she’d seen the look on Katie’s face, instead asking the youngest Stark if she was okay. Truth was she was far from it. She was exhausted having not slept properly for the best part of two weeks now. And the reason for the lack of sleep was that for the first time since she’d started dating Steve, they’d been snapped out on a date and the offending photos splashed all over the internet.

Her flight in from DC had been smooth and, feeling rather refreshed actually all things considered, Katie clutched her coffee as she walked down the corridor, her Louboutins clicking on the tiles as she pressed her palm to the door and strode into the publishing office. She glanced around, nodding to a few people as she made her way to her office, frowning as she felt eyes following her. She turned her head over her shoulder and saw one of the junior admin assistants hastily avert their gaze. She paused for a moment before she shook her head, walking into her office and dropping her purse on her desk. No sooner had she done that, than JARVIS spoke.

“Miss Stark.” “Morning J.” “Mr Stark has asked you pop up to see him.” “Tell him to come here. I’m busy.”

“He said you would say that. He told me to tell you it’s important and he doesn’t want people listening in. He’s waiting in his office.” With a groan she grabbed her coffee and walked back the way she had come, ignoring the glances that were coming her way before heading to the elevator and selecting the floor that housed Tony’s office.

“What do you want?” She demanded as she walked into his office, to see Tony and Happy both looking at something on the screen.

“Good morning to you too, Sunshine!” Tony quipped and Katie let out an angry noise.

“Tony, I’ve got meetings all day. I have a potential author coming in at twelve so…” Tony waved his hand and the screen he was looking at projected the image onto the holodisplay in front of her and her eyes widened. It was a photo of her and Steve sat in her car in the middle of a deep kiss. Steve’s hand was cupping her cheek as hers was tangled in his hair, and she knew exactly when it had been taken, the previous night when they’d been out on a date. Steve had been called right in the middle of their evening for an urgent mission so their meal had been cut short and she’d dropped him home and he was kissing her goodbye.

“Shit.” She groaned, and looked at Tony who grinned and shrugged.

“Yeah, you got papped.” He explained before he paused. “Actually papped isn’t the right word seeing as it wasn’t a professional photographer, they know now to not even bother. This was some member of the public. First we saw was when our daily Social Media monitoring reports picked it up.”

“Are there anymore?”

“A few.” He said, flicking through the photos which basically were snapped in succession. There was one of them breaking from the kiss, Steve pressing his head to hers, then pecking her lips again, before climbing out of the car.

“Can we get rid of them?”

“Oh yeah.” Tony waved a hand. “We already deployed the algorithm, usual stuff…and I tracked down the person who took the original shot and offered him an obscene amount of money to hand over the rights. At first he wasn’t going to do it, but then I told him it was that or I fired a virus straight down the line to blow up his phone.” Katie rolled her eyes “And he believed you could actually do that?” Happy shrugged “Well, we can in a way. Maybe not the blowing up bit but…” “Thing is we don’t know how far this has gone.” Tony shrugged “We can keep the photo off the net but, well, it was already trending when we saw it.” “Under what?”

Tony grinned and waved his hand, revealing the hashtag.

“Stark Spangled Man?” Katie groaned “Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah, I was tempted to leave it just for that tag.” Tony mused and Katie rubbed at her temple.

“If the guys at SHIELD have seen this…”

“Already had the Goth Pirate on the phone.” Tony shrugged “Told him I’d deal with it. It’s not like the public didn’t know you two are…you know.”

“Has Steve seen it?”

“How the fuck should I know?” Tony looked at her “He’s your boyfriend. You ask him.”

“I can’t, he’s on a mission and it’s radio silence.” She bit her lip and ran her hand through her hair. “I can’t see him being particularly pleased about it.” “Maybe he shouldn’t have been eating your face in the front of your car then.” Tony shrugged.

“Oh piss off.” Katie snapped at her brother, who simply raised his eyebrow, smirking slightly.

“Kiddo, we can stop the photos.” Happy looked at her, “But the comments and tweets, it’s a huge job and…” “Yeah I know just…” She shrugged “Oh whatever, they’ll get bored eventually. Just make sure no fucking trashy tabloids get hold of it.” Thankfully they hadn’t. But the comments on social media had continued for a week. Most of them were actually pretty nice, saying it was cute and they made a nice couple. Some of them not so nice, commenting on Katie’s appearance and the like, not that she gave a fuck. She’d dealt with comments like that before, knowing full well it came from a place of jealousy most of the time, what she was struggling with, however, was the fact she hadn’t managed to speak to Steve about it at all.

How he was going to react was worrying her a little. A general interest in their relationship was a risk they knew they were running, having gone public in December at the New Years’ Eve gala, but up until that point they had been lucky. They were also careful in that when they were out, they kept to quiet places as much as possible and, as Steve wasn’t huge on public displays of affection in general (holding hands and the odd quick kiss being as far as he went), there wasn’t really anything of interest to pap. Until that night. And it wasn’t just the social media side of things. The gossip at the tower had also pissed her off. It was like some huge secret had been revealed which wasn’t the case. The fact they were dating was public knowledge, but it was more the fact that people had seen the photo in the way they had and she felt like it was undermining her authority at work, which is what had contributed to her lack of sleep and her outburst earlier that day.

With a heavy sigh, she turned around and let her face soak in the stream one last time, then she turned off the water, stepped out and grabbed a towel before she headed back into her room.

Steve had been gone for three weeks now, on an undercover mission. Something to do with some guy planning to flood the US with dirty drugs. She didn’t know much, no longer being at SHIELD she wasn’t party to the secrets and, despite the fact Fury was actually pretty good at keeping her as updated as he could, she always felt stressed and anxious when he was away, not knowing if he was okay. It had been easier when she had been an Agent herself, something which made her sometimes question her decision to quit.

Especially on days like today, with meetings like that one.

Having dried off, she pulled on a pair of leggings before tossing one of Steve’s hoodies on which still vaguely smelt of him and quickly blasted her hair with the hair-drier, letting the waves naturally set before she wandered into the living room. It was nearing dinner time, and she couldn’t be bothered to cook, intending instead to indulge herself in a bottle of wine and a pizza from Seconds.

The pizza arrived when she was halfway through the bottle of wine and by the time she’d had her fill, she’d finished said bottle. She was just on her way to grab another when her phone rang, the familiar sounds of “Only One In Colour” hitting her ears, which was the tone she attributed to just one person.

She hastily ran back to the living and grabbed her phone which was on the sofa cushion, smiling as she saw the photo of her and Steve filling the screen.

“Hey!” she said a little breathlessly and she heard a chuckle on the other side.

“Am I glad to hear your voice” Her soldier spoke and she felt herself tearing up.

“Me too.” She sighed, taking a deep breath “I take it the mission is done?”

“Yeah, took a little longer than we thought. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to call,Doll.”

“It’s okay” She smiled, “When are you home?”

“Yeah, about that.” He said softly, and she took a deep breath, bracing herself for bad news before he spoke again, a playful quality to his soothing voice. “Look out the window, Baby girl.”

Katie felt a huge grin cross her face as that could only mean one thing. In a flash she yanked open the doors that led to her balcony and ran out, peering over the edge. And there he was, in all his glory, waving up at her from where he sat on his bike.

“What you down there for?” She teased as she looked down.

“We’re going for a ride, Doll.” He replied simply and she grinned.

“I’ll be right down.”

“Three minutes. Captains Orders.” He shot back and she turned and headed back into her penthouse.

“I love it when you get all masterful”

“I know.” He gave a little laugh. “Now hurry up.”

She cut the call and headed quickly into her bedroom, pulling off the hoody and exchanging it instead for a long cashmere sweater that finished mid-thigh. It had been a gift from Steve not long before he had left and she knew he loved it on her. It was a deep green colour- “It matches your eyes, Doll”- The fabric was soft, and the turtle neck line scooped slightly so that you could see a flash of her collar bone at either side of her neck. She cinched the waist in with a tan belt and shoved her feet into a pair of matching ankle boots. Grabbing her biker jacket and her helmet, she grabbed her keys and ran to the elevator.  

She emerged onto the street and stopped as Steve turned to face her. She gave herself a second to take him in, scanning his dark jeans, white t-shirt and open jacket all set off with a distressed leather belt and matching boots, before she gave a squeal and ran towards him. Steve stood up off his bike and strode towards her, meeting her halfway as she threw herself into his arms.

“Hey.” He whispered softly, his face pressing into her hair as her legs circled his waist. “God I missed you.” “Missed you too.” She mumbled, before she pulled back and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Like, really missed you.”

And then she suddenly became conscious they were in the street. She threw a glance around, looking for any sly public amateur photographers and Steve frowned, spotting her change in demeanour.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She looked at him as he set her on her feet, his hands on her waist. “Let’s get out of here.”

He didn’t press her further, simply led her back to the bike and she swung her legs over the back, clipping the straps of her helmet into place. He settled in front of her and she laced her arms around his waist, under his jacket as he fired up the bike with a roar. Steve took another glance over his shoulder, her eyes visible through the visor of her helmet and they were shining with excitement. Flashing her a smile he turned round and set the bike off, heading up the street.

He drove the familiar route to Rock Creek and after half an hour or so pulled the bike to a halt in the spot he always parked at, a hidden little clearing just off the main parking lot. It was deserted due to the hour, which suited him fine. Cutting the engine he felt Katie shift behind him and he set the stand on the bike before he turned to see his girl taking her helmet off. She fluffed her hair out slightly and then grinned at him as he patted the space between his legs. She jumped off the bike, hung her helmet over the handlebars before she climbed back up, this time facing Steve, her back to the handlebars of the bike.

The little wooded area was dark, bar the moon shining through the lattice of leaves above them and Katie took a deep breath, inhaling the rich scent of pine needles, fresh air and the slight smell of the early spring flowers. The babbling of the brook was loud in the quiet of night providing them with a little background noise as Steve reached out, his hands cupping her face as he drew her to him. Katie closed her eyes, allowing him to take the lead as his tongue slid across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth slightly, his movements smooth and graceful as he kissed her passionately before he pulled away, her bottom lip caught between both of his. He released it gently, pressing his forehead to hers, their noses bumping together slightly.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked her quietly. Katie sighed, and looked down at his long legs which were stretched towards her. Leaning her own legs forward, she hooked her calves around his, the denim of his jeans rustling as it bushed against her leggings. Her hands dropped to his knees and she ran them up the outside of his thighs, her fingers skating the strong muscles as they stretched the fabric of his dark blue Levi’s slightly. “Katie?” he asked again and she took a deep breath before she reached for her phone in the pocket of her jacket.

“Someone papped us, well I say papped, it was more some nosey bastard member of the public…” she sighed, scrolling through to the photo. She handed it to him and he took it from her, fingers brushing hers gently. He glanced down at it and after a second he screwed up his face and let out a breath from his nose.

“Crap.” He muttered before he handed her phone back and looked at her, rolling his eyes.

“Tony managed to get rid of it from the net but…” She shrugged “It’s been a pain in the ass, Steve. All the fucking mumbled little comments in the office and…” She rubbed her neck slightly “Not being able to warn you either.”

“Warn me?” He cocked his head to one side. “About what?”

“The fact you were all over the internet eating my face.” She shrugged and he gave a snort of laughter “Didn’t want you walking back into base and being blindsided. I know you’re not big into PDAs and I figured if the guys from STRIKE got hold of it, hell, if Nat got hold of it…”

“Doll, I couldn’t care less.”

Katie looked at him, blinking “You don’t?”

“No, well, I mean it’s not great but, well, I’m more pissed that you got a hard time in the office about it.”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” She shrugged, before she grinned. “If they carry on I can just fire them all.” Steve chuckled, his hands dropping to hers as he laced their fingers together. “Bet Tony had a field day.” “Yeah, he thought it was pretty funny, especially the hashtag it was all trending under.” “Which was?”

“Stark Spangled Man.” She raised an eyebrow. Steve paused for a second before he tipped his head back, his broad chest and shoulders shaking with the force of his laughter before he shook his head and peeked up at her slightly. “Ten outta Ten for imagination, huh?”

“Well, they’re not wrong.” He said simply, his hands leaving hers and they slid under her ass as he pulled her forward so she was straddling his lap. “I am completely and utterly Stark Spangled…”

“I never wanna hear you say that ever again.” Katie narrowed her eyes as her hands slid up his arms coming to rest on the firm planes of his chest just below his collar bone.

“No?” He asked gently, his hands splaying on her back gently underneath her jacket.

“Not unless you want me to start singing an amended version of your chorus song.” She grinned.

“Shut up.” “Make me.” She retorted, a childish tone to her voice and arched an eyebrow as he looked up at her.

“Brat.” He mumbled, his hand sliding up to her neck, pulling her face to his. The kiss was fierce, his lips warm on hers, the familiar tingle spreading up her spine making her shiver slightly and a soft moan escaped her mouth to his and she felt his lips curl into a smirk against hers before they moved gently from her mouth to her jaw line. He peppered soft, warm and wet pecks down her neck before he gently moved her sweater to the side a little more, exposing more of her shoulder.

The feel of his mouth on her skin was electric, and Katie let her head fall back, eyes closing as Steve’s hands splayed on her back, holding her in position as he kissed every inch of her skin he could find. Her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed, thickly as he paused his fingers digging into her back.

“You’re not wearing a bra.” He mumbled.

“Not wearing any panties either.” She said softly and he pulled back to look at her, a groan escaping his mouth.

“You’re killing me, Doll.” “Well I was in my comfy stuff and you gave me three minutes to get ready.” She shrugged “Captain’s orders, remember?”

“Because you always do exactly what I tell you.” He said sarcastically, looking at her with those baby blues which were now a dark midnight shade through desire.

“When it counts I do.” She smirked, rolling her hips, pushing down on his crotch. He hissed slightly, his hands gripping her tighter as he bit his lip. Steve took a look round the deserted clearing and his attention turned back to her, his eyes challenging.

“Don’t start something you’re not gonna finish, Sweetheart.” He warned her sternly, his voice low and the tone he spoke with had her twitching even more. She wasn’t one to back down to a challenge, and he knew that, but despite the fact she knew he was playing games, she simply smirked and her hands slid down his chest to his belt, fingers making short work of the buckle before she moved her attentions to the button on his jeans, popping them easily before she slid down the zipper.

“Who says I wasn’t gonna finish it?” She shrugged, as her hand worked into his boxers and wrapped her palm around his warm cock and he gave a low moan, his head falling back as she began to work him.

Katie simply watched his face, his soft lips parting slightly, eyes fluttering shut. Long lashes lay against his rosy cheeks, his Adam’s apple bobbed and he gulped slightly when her movements and grip grew stronger. His eyes opened and locked onto hers, his pupils completely lust blown, speckles of moonlight reflecting in them gave her the impression she was looking at the starry sky and he leaned up and pressed his lips to hers in another hungry kiss, their teeth clashing slightly. She felt the heat pooling between her legs as his hands slid under the side of her long sweater, fingers gripping her skin tightly as he squirmed underneath her.

Katie moved her hand more rapidly, loving the effect she had on him. The fact she could undo the stoic, taciturn Captain in matter of minutes was a fucking turn on and she grinned as he buried his face into her neck as she alternated between fast and hard, long and slow strokes. She felt him attempt to thrust desperately into her palm as he let out a low sigh of her name and she tilted his face back to hers with her spare hand and captured his mouth in a hard kiss as she gave him another slow stroke. At that, clearly done with the teasing, he growled into her mouth, standing up suddenly, spinning her round so her back was pressed to his chest. Katie let out a squeak of surprise as one hand kept her supported easily as it hooked over the front of her chest, the other pulling down one side of her leggings then the other. He sat back down, pulling her over him and in a single thrust upwards had buried himself inside her.

The sudden intrusion made Katie cry out as she felt him fill her, and once he was fully seated and she was stuffed as full as possible, he began to thrust upwards, controlling the speed completely. Her thighs were tight around him, and she was powerless to spread her legs apart much as they were clamped together thanks to the fact her leggings were bunched round her ankles, restricting her movement. Instead, she leaned back, arching her back, head falling to his shoulder, shifting the angle slightly which allowed him to drive up into her even deeper. His hands moved, sliding up her sweater to cup her breasts and as he gently tugged on her nipples she gave a loud wail as the sensation speared through her and she pushed down as hard as she could, rotating her hips slightly. Steve’s breath was hot on her ear as he pulled her down with every thrust up that he made, grinding right up against her spot.

“Such a needy little thing, aint you…” he said, his voice low and punctuated by his heavy breathing and she gave a low keen as he nipped at her neck, his fingers tugging her nipples harder.

“3 weeks Steve…” she panted, and he gave a dirty chuckle, pushing up again, bottoming out completely. It was a movement he repeated again and again, his mouth chaining kisses to her neck. One hand moved down from her chest, calloused fingers brushing lightly against her skin, over her stomach, and she shivered at his touch as he gently reached the spot between her legs. As he pushed up again he gently rubbed against her clit and she cried out, her head falling forwards slightly before his other hand moved upwards, gently wrapping around her neck as he pulled her back, his hand turning her face to his where he caught her mouth in a sloppy kiss.

The feeling of being manhandled like that, in the open air, one hand between her legs, the other round her neck, his cock thrusting slowly against her spot was almost too much, and she groaned, writhing on his lap, her mouth falling open, and when she finally found her voice it was raspy as she struggled to form her words.

“Please, Steve…I need…” her hand grasped the wrist which was between her legs, trying to speed him up. He looked down at her, his face contorted in a mix of pleasure and concentration, sweat beading on his brow.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” she nodded, and his fingers picked up their pace as did his hips. Her legs shuddered slightly as she felt the white, hot heat rising in her belly and she let out a low cry of his name.

“Come on, Doll.” he murmured, “Cum for me, Sweetheart.” And she did, with a force so intense she couldn’t stop herself letting out a loud “Fuck” as she shuddered, the world fading to dark around her, as the waves of pleasure racked her entire body.

“Shit, Katie.” Steve stuttered, his thrusts growing erratic as be bit down gently on her shoulder and he came with a groan, his hips slowing to an eventual stop as he sagged forward a little, forehead buried against her shoulder.

They stayed still for a while, the silence of their surroundings bar the trickle of the stream providing a soothing background as they both recovered themselves. Katie tilted her head round to look at him. His expression was dazed, mouth open in supplication and she loved seeing him so utterly wrecked. A fresh fucked Steve was the most beautiful thing in the world to her. All golden haired, slack jawed, kiss swollen lips and long eyelashes framing that stunningly handsome face. Taking a deep breath, Steve pressed a soft kiss to her neck before he cracked his eyes open and gave her that beautiful smile she lived for.

“For the record,” she hummed into his mouth as she captured his lips in a small kiss. “I’m well aware you totally just played me.”

He gave a soft chuckle and looked up at her, his blue eyes sparkling “Guilty as charged.” His hands ran up her sides underneath her sweater, fingers gently trailing down her ribs. “But I did tell you we were going for a ride.”

**Original Posting**

[maybebanks]

I Could’ve Stopped It CH.I

interactive fic

idea from @outrbanks

JJ Maybank x Routledge!reader

alternative plot to episode “Dead Calm” - outerbanks

“So that’s what we’re doing now? We’re robbing drug dealers?” Kie asks, her tone worried and angry at the same time.

“This Barry guy is gonna find out. And he’s gonna come after us,” Sarah adds.

“Yes he will, okay, this is not the time to start wilin’ out,” Pope agrees.

“How’d you guys like havin a gun pulled on ya?” JJ retaliates.

You clenched your fists at your sides, Barry had threatened your group earlier and if it wasn’t for your brother John B initiating the reverse attack, he would have stolen your gold.

“Relax,” John B told JJ, stepping closer.

“He had it right here on you bro,” JJ pointed in your brothers face.

“Look,” John B pressed, “Just give me that shit-“ John B reached for the duffel bag JJ was holding.

At this, JJ lunges at John B, pushing him into the van. A loud banging noise erupting.

You flinched, but only Kie noticed.

“We’re putting it back,” John B orders. Still at the mercy of JJ.

“You feel like a tough guy, huh!? What are you gonna do when he comes for us?” John B questions.

You bit your lip, to be honest, the thought of vengeful Barry was worse than him before.

“We punch him in the throat,” JJ responds.

“Yeah good fuckin’ idea, JJ,” John B adds.

JJ scoffs lightly, “I’m not putting it back,” then JJ hops inside the van, taking a seat in the back.

“You guys getting in, or what?” JJ shouted, shuffling around in the bag.

You looked at Kie and she shook her head at you, almost telling you no.

Pope exchanged a glance with John B. No one said anything.

JJ took notice and got out of the van, “What?” He asked.

“We’re sick of your shit,” John B says, you wanted to stop him, but your feet were planted.

“Oh, my shit?” JJ scoffs.

“Yeah, yeah, your shit,” John B confirmed.

“Yes. Your pulling guns on people shit.” Kie pointed out.

“Y/n?!” JJ brought you into this, you were standing behind Kie, but you didn’t have anything to add, other than the fact that you were just scared.

Pope stepped forward, “You’re acting like a frickin maniac-“

“Pope! I took the fall for you man! You know how much money I owe because of you?!” JJ exclaimed.

“I’m gonna pay you back!” Pope responded.

“I just did! Pay it back,” JJ said, now quieter, “Right here, right now, by myself,”

JJ turned his head, locking eyes with you, “You know what? That’s exactly what I’m gonna do,” JJ decides, grabbing the bag and zipping it shut.

“No, JJ-“ you began, your throat still dry.

“Go off, by myself,” he said harshly. He pulled the strap over his shoulder, turned his back, and started walking away.

“JJ wait!-“ you called, but stopped when you felt two hands grab your shoulders from behind and pull you back.

“Hey, don’t, Y/n,” John B, your brother said.

“He’s our friend-“

“Just..let him go,” Sarah added. Making you slightly angered.

Kie sighed, as Pope slammed his hands on the van.

“You can’t tell me what to do, John B,” you told him as you stepped forward to join JJ. You knew what would happen, that JJ had nowhere to go.

John B grabbed your again, by your waist, pulling you back towards him, “I’m not gonna let you hurt yourself over JJ and his-“

“Let go of me!” You screamed, John B pulling you into his chest as you squirmed.

You felt his muscular arms close in on your chest, watching JJ get farther and farther away.

“John B...” Sarah said as she saw you fight against him.

“I’m gonna let you go, and your gonna go straight in the van, okay?” John B said, condescendingly.

“No!” You spit, “fuck off,” you struggled.

“Y/n listen to him,” Kie added.

“Can’t you see he needs us right now?!” You strugged yourself away from John B.

“He does this, Y/n. He’ll come back sooner or later,” John B persuaded.

“I can’t believe you guys,” you scoffed, yanking your last arm out of John B’s grip.

“Y/n, don’t you dare,” John B challenged.

“Seriously?!” You exclaimed, staring directly at John B.

“He’s just trying to protect you, Y/n,” Sarah argued.

“You don’t fucking know him,” you said harshly, Sarah was surprised by your anger.

“Yeah, but we know his Dad. Y/n you don’t want to do this,” Pope reasoned.

You sighed, looking for JJ and now not able to see him, he must have gotten through the trees.

You tried not to show the sadness on your face at the thought of what would happen to JJ if he went home. He usually stayed with you and John B.

You didn’t say another word and just got in the passengers seat. John B started driving it beside you, the rest of the gang in the back.

-

You felt anxious, scared even. And not even of the fact that Barry could shoot up your house any minute.

You paced back and forth through the kitchen, only focused on your footsteps against the wood floor. You looked up only once or twice to see the couch spot JJ sometimes slept on, maybe he would be there.

“Y/n will you stop that?” John B asked, coming inside from the porch.

“I can’t...I’m fuckin’ worried,” you expressed, breathing out your words.

“Y/n, he’ll be fine. He’s dealt with his dad before. He’ll come back in two days, tops,” John B suggested.

You frowned, but didn’t respond, just sat down on the bed, staring at the couch JJ sleeps on.

“Hey guys,” Sarah says tiredly, coming in and hugging John B.

You rolled your eyes, she’s here, while JJ isn’t.

John B smiled and said something about starting a fire for her, then headed outside.

Sarah approached you slowly, then sat down next to you, hesitantly.

“What?” You said.

“You really care about him. I get it,” Sarah said.

“I just don’t want him getting the shit kicked out of him,”

“I know, that’s how I feel about John B,” Sarah agreed.

You scoffed lightly, trying not to provoke her, “You’ve known John B for like 2 days, Sarah,”

“Yes...but I know I’d protect him...like he did for you,”

“John B stopped me from going to JJ’s because he doesn’t think I can handle his dad. I’m also not going to abandon JJ just because his dad’s a tool,”

“His dad does drugs?” Sarah asked.

“Among other things,” you mumbled.

“Well I’m sure John B had good intentions,” Sarah argued.

“Sarah, it’s not your place,” you told her.

Suddenly, Pope walked in, also looking worried. When he saw you his eyes widened.

“Hey, can I talk to you? It’s about JJ,” Pope started.

You jumped up subtly and quickly got towards Pope, “yeah what’s up?”

“He wasn’t at his place,” Pope told you quietly.

“What?! You went there?!” You exclaimed.

“Shh! Yeah...I think something bad happened. Like maybe Barry got him. I don’t know. I’m just worried,”

“Yeah same. I just want him safe. So what do you think we should do?”

Pope shrugged at your question, “we could scout out his place again. You go there, I’ll check Barry’s.”

“If we’re going to do this you can’t tell John B. He’ll freak if he finds out I was anywhere near JJ’s place,” you mentioned.

“I don’t know, seems like the more people know the greater our chance of survival is,”

“Look, I just don’t want John B playing the overprotective brother all night. I want to find my friend,” you assured.

“Fine. But send out a letter to my parents when I die, Barry is one scary ass dude,” Pope says.

“Ugh...okay...maybe we don’t have to go to JJ’s I mean, we already know he’s not there. And I can indirectly find out if Barry has him,”

“Indirectly?” Pope questions.

“Through Rafe. I should probably go alone though, he’d be more inclined to talk,”

“Shit, Y/n...I hate to say that’s a good plan. Because dealing with Rafe can get messy, John B would kill me right now-“

“If this works..he won’t be so overprotective, and you won’t have to worry. And anyway, let’s go get out best friend back,”

-

You pulled at the hem of your crop top, secretly wishing it would cover the rest of your midriff. There was some pop song playing up the walk way of the country club. You sighed.

“Hi! Uh excuse me! Members only beyond this point,” some worker mentioned to you, blocking you from entering.

“I’m actually here with Rafe Cameron? You know him? Or maybe you know Ward-“

“Yes, alright, he’s in the private suite,” the worker said and quickly turned away.

You nodded and walked slowly, past the bar and to where a group of privileged boys were laughing.

“Uh Hey. Rafe can I talk to you? In priv-“ you stopped yourself when you saw a sick smile grow on his face.

“Hello Y/n! So glad you came here! More pogues to join the fun,” he exclaimed, sniffling something under his nose.

“More pogues?” You asked, confused.

“You’re John B’s sister right?..Sorry how rude of me, I’m Topper. I was just thinkin about the revenge I could get on him by messing with you,” he laughed, eyeing you.

You tried not to look afraid, swallowing hard.

“There’s no need for that!” Rafe paused, “it was the guy who put a gun to your head that needs the reprimanding. That’s what he’s here for isn’t it?” Rafe chuckled, putting his arm around you.

You grabbed his wrist gently and pulled him off, “JJ’s here?!”

Rafe raised his eyebrows, his amusement only growing, “JJ, my man! Come out and serve me my mai tai!”

You looked around, and soon, as Rafe said, JJ came out behind the bar, his head was hanging low. He served the boys some drinks, not even making eye contact with you.

You were in utter shock. He didn’t have the country club uniform on, so you knew this wasn’t a legit job. Just a way of stripping JJ’s pride.

“What-What are you doing?” You ask JJ, dumbfoundedly.

JJ looks down, ignoring you. His face is littered with bruises, and cuts on the weakest points of those. It hurt you to see him like this, battered. And all of his pride and cocky happiness gone.

“What the hell? You think not treating JJ like a human is fair revenge?” You tried not to let your voice crack.

“We didn’t even beat him up yet! I was gonna have my fun,” he paused rolling up his sleeves, “you’ll stay for the show, won’t you?”

At that, Kelce, Topper and some other dude grab JJ and hold him up in a position for Rafe. JJ struggles, trying to hold out for you.

“Very Rafe of you,” you rolled your eyes.

Rafe muttered some things about how he was going to punch JJ. Instantly, you stepped infront of Rafe’s tall figure. You grab his fist in both of your hands, “Don’t hurt him,” you ordered.

You though you saw a flash of hurt or sympathy flash in Rafe’s eyes. But what he says next destroys everything you thought.

“Move out of the way...or I’ll let Topper do what we’ve all been thinking ever since we saw you in that red bikini,” Rafe seethes angerly.

“I can’t get that image out of my brain, yo,” Kelce added, smirking.

JJ’s jaw clenched, he hated this. Hated how you had to come save him, hated how they talked about you like some object. You weren’t, you were a amazing person to him inside and out.

“Fuck off!” You shouted, shoving Rafe’s shoulders back aggressively. Subconsciously knowing your exits.

“Wanna say that again, sweetheart?” Rafe exclaimed, he wrapped his hands around your neck, digging the tips of his fingers into your skin, “why do Pogues always get in fights they don’t belong?” He seethed.

You whimpered at the pain he was giving you, then Rafe shoved you against the floor, two feet away from where they were about to beat JJ.

You took a few deep breaths before interfering, you weren’t going to give up. Not on JJ. Like you did before.

JJ notices you stand up, and walk over to put yourself in the fight again.

“Get out of here, Y/n,” JJ warned, shoving against his confinement.

“Rafe, please! Don’t you have better things to do? I mean..what would your dad think-“ you were just thinking on your toes, you didn’t expect to activate him.

“You watch your mouth, pogue,” he fumed.

“Make me, asshole,” you stated, remaining completely unfazed at the threat his body alone was posing.

That’s when he snapped. His whole body lunged towards you, you jumped back. But he caught you, his chest against yours as he forced your back into the nearest wall.

“Get away from her!” JJ shouted, thrashing more violently against the group of boys.

“I have her right where I want her,” Rafe said, both of his hands were on either side of your head, closing you in.

You really wished John B was here.

“Hit him,” Rafe ordered, nonchalantly.

The kook boys responded.

Your eyes widened in panic, “NO!”

-

CH.II if you like fluff

CH.II if you prefer angst.

[rhysismydaddy]

Unholy Matrimony Pt. 5 (Nessian)

Damnation Series

Parts 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 

____________________________________________________________

~Cassian~

A week later, I’m exceptionally proud to say I haven’t given in yet. No matter how much I want to.

Tensions the past seven days have been... high, to say the least.

Both of us are doing our absolute best to drive the other insane.

She’s doing it so I either sign the deed and give in or turn to someone else, both which would give her Sera back.

I’m doing it because if I have to suffer, she can bet her pretty ass she does, too.

Ironically, tonight’s our engagement party. A celebration of our undying love and an announcement to the world the Russians and Italians of New York should no longer hate and murder each other.  

They’re allowed to be sexually frustrated as hell, but no, they can’t kill each other.

I’m waiting for the little minx who’s spent the week making me regret ever even asking for the club, drinking bourbon so I’m too drunk to even be tempted by her--which is likely enough to kill me--when she finally deigns to grace me with her presence.

I take one look at her, starting at the high blonde ponytail that would wrap around my fist at least twice and ending at the very high, very red shoes I immediately want by my shoulders.

“Fuck.”

Obviously the reaction she was looking for, she smiles.

Her dress is a cream color thing that clings to her curves and is short enough to showcase her long legs. It’s somehow classy, while low enough to draw my eyes to her breasts as she comes down the stairs towards me.

Nesta stops right before me, close enough I smell the jasmine and vanilla of her skin, and looks at me through her lashes.

I turn my gaze to the ceiling, vowing to keep it there until I trust myself to not do something stupid like tell her she’s the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen.

“I’m so fucked,” I mutter hopelessly.

If possible, she comes closer, sliding all the interesting, female parts of her against me. “You would be if you just gave me back my shit.”

I glare down at her. “I don’t like to lose.”

“Would you really be losing?”

I keep my mouth shut, because the answer to that question is a big fat no. God, she’s good.

“Tell me again why you refuse to put us out of our misery?” I ask in return, trying to remind myself who the fuck I am.

Even though I wonder if it is our misery. I can’t read her, can’t tell if this is affecting her like it is me.

She gives me a cold look. “What do you see happening after we get married, exactly? You think you’ll work a few hours at the club I spent three years building from the ground up, come home and eat a home cooked meal, then fuck your complacent little wife however you want?”

I have no idea what to say, because when she puts it like that, I sound like the biggest douche in the world.

Nesta sees the hesitation in my eyes and rolls hers. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I allow you to disrespect me like that, stronzo.”

“I respect you,” I say immediately, meaning the words.

“Just not enough to value my career.”

“Nesta-”

“Deal with it. If you somehow keep the board from voting you out in the next two weeks and manage to not sleep with me--which is unlikely, considering the way you look at me--the club will be yours.” She takes a step back, steeling her spin. “But I will not.”

I’m conflicted as hell, torn between wondering if she’s just playing me or being sincere.

Apparently done with the verbal smackdown, Nesta spins towards the door.

Hand on the handle, she turns back around and cocks her head. And then she answers the questions I hadn’t realized I’d been too scared to ask.

“No and yes.”

My brows raise. “What?”

“No, it hasn’t all been just me trying to mess with you. Yes, I want you as much as you want me. But I respect myself too much to allow someone who blazes into my life and steals something from me without a care or even a real negotiation to have my body, too.”

She walks out the door, leaving me standing in the living room stunned.

I eventually follower her down to the garage and we leave for the party Rhys is hosting for us downtown. But even though I go through the motions once we arrive, my mind is on the woman next to me the entire night.

I hate admitting it, but she’s right.

I took something that belonged to her, didn’t even question talking to her first, then acted like she was in the wrong for doing whatever she could to get it back.

I’ve said I like how strong and independent she is, but I tried to take that independence and turn her into something else. I bulldozed my way into her life, then acted like I was the one inconvenienced by it.

And seriously, why am I even fighting for this place? Yeah, I like it and think it’s unique, but the place is above board. Which to me translates as boring.

The past two weeks, I’ve had to go to investment meetings, deal with sending out the nightly invitations for entrance, and plan events for upcoming holidays. Things I never do with my other properties.

I hate managing things--I hire people to do that kind of thing for me. But I know I can’t hire someone, because who the hell besides my fiancé would do the job right?

No one.

I realize that on the drive home, and it gets me thinking. By the time we’re inside the apartment, I’m already mentally finalizing the details.

I tell her I have to take care of something, go to my office, and close the door.

Then I pull up the marriage contract, along with the deed to Sera, and hit print.

~Nesta~

A week after our engagement party, I realized I’ve started to lose hope.

Cassian’s managed to wrangle or bribe or threaten the board into not voting him out, and the employees have stopped calling me to ask when I’m coming back. He hasn’t touched me or tried to seduce me in six days--probably a record for him--and I start to feel like I’ve lost.

My club will be his in a week, and after we’re married, only him signing the deed over will get it back. Something that will never happen, considering it’d be a serious hit to his pride to do something as weak as give me what’s rightfully mine.

My club will be his, but like I said, I won’t.

Which honestly is just as upsetting.

Even though he’s a stubborn, boneheaded stronzo with a big enough ego for us both, it’s hard for me to overlook the moments of the past three weeks that haven’t revolved around Sera.

Little moments that have made it harder for me to pull away from him.

He’s made me laugh more than anyone I’ve ever met, whether with his foul sense of humor or stories about his violent, wild childhood. He stopped leaving the toilet seat up when I pointed it out. He hasn’t said a word about me ordering take-out all the time or working in bed while he tries to sleep.

He even dealt with one of Alexei’s buyers for me when they tried to renegotiate the price originally agreed upon.

And he hasn’t really pressed the celibacy thing. Sure, he’s complained about it enough for me to want to smack him, but I don’t know any other Made Men, Russian or Italian, that would’ve respected my wish after how much I’ve teased him.

If he would just-

I cut that train of thought off and focus on the report in front of me, because at this point, it’s obvious he won’t.

I sip my wine, which is starting to grow on me, and look over shipment records from one of Alexei’s yards, flagging crates that need to be smuggled instead of brought in through the main channels. Repressing a groan at the thought, I realize I’ll have to go down one night this week and make sure they arrive without problem.

I take another long pull from my glass.

“Drinking to forget?” Cassian asks, leaning in the doorway of the bedroom and looking me over.

I shrug, not much in the mood for banter.

“I got you something.”

Sighing, I reply, “Yeah, me too. It’s on the nightstand.”

His brow furrows as he walks over and picks up the ring box, opening it to look at the titanium band inside.

Just another symbol of our lifelong, happy, sexless marriage.

He puts the ring back in the box and extends a hand. “It isn’t a ring.”

“What is it?”

“Get your ass out of bed and find out.”

I would, except I don’t want to. And I don’t really want whatever stupid, materialistic thing he’s bought me-

He closes my laptop and pulls the cover back, ducking when I swing a fist towards his head. “Violent little wolf,” he teases.

“Stop calling me that,” I demand, trying in vain to keep the blanket on me so he can’t tell I’m not wearing anything underneath the t-shirt I stole from him.

He pauses, sighs, and scoops me up, blanket and all. “I love watching you fight how much you love me calling you that.”

“I don’t have to fight anything except he overwhelming urge to smack you.”

Cassian just huffs, walking us out of the room, through the living room, and into his office. Then he puts me down, smacks my butt to get me moving, and grunts when I elbow him in the ribs.

“Maybe this will fix your bad mood,” he mutters, flipping the light switch on and bathing the office in golden light.

I take an involuntary step forward, eyebrows going high on my forehead.

I’ve only been in here once before, just long enough to notice the obnoxiously big desk and wall of windows behind it. I’d taken in the black leather couch and wing-backed chairs, determined it was a typical male office for a typical male, and vowed to work somewhere else.

But that was a while ago, and it’s obvious he’s done some home improvement.

There are decidedly now two desks in the corners near the windows, angled in to the middle of the room where two cream-colored leather chairs sit. The desks are identical, mahogany and classic without being ostentatious.

A rug covers the hardwood floors, a deep maroon color that matches small details throughout the room.

It’s beautiful.

Cassian leads me with his hands on my shoulders to one of the desks, and I let him guide me around to the chair and push me down in the soft leather.

I look up to ask him what this is about, but he jerks his chin to the desk where to two papers lie.

One is the deed to Sera.

A rush of surprise goes through me as I see he’s transferred the building back over to me, even going so far as to deem the process irreversible. It’s signed and dated a week ago, the night of our engagement party.

My eyes are shiny as I look at the other document and read through it.

“What is this?”

“A partnership, of sorts,” Cassian explains, leaning a hip on the- my desk like he did in his Capo’s office. “You’re now a partner at my businesses, and if you sign, I’ll be yours.”

My eyes find his, and I see that he’s serious but still choke out, “What?”

He smiles and shrugs, like signing over half of your life’s work is easy. “You had me pegged when you first saw me and figured out I’m a fighter. I hate everything about running a business except the in-person negotiating and knitty gritty shit. It’s boring to me, and while I can do it, I’m not nearly as good at it as you are.”

“Cassian-”

“So run them both. I’ll do the day to day shit I know you hate, and you’ll do the rest.”

I can’t hardly process what he’s saying.

“What if we disagree?” It’s a valid question, considering we’ve basically been fighting the entire time we’ve been engaged.

“We talk about it and try to figure it out. And if we can’t, the original owner has the final call and veto power in all situations.” His eyes say he knows how important it is to me as he says, “You’ll still be in control of your property, and I’ll still be in control of mine.”

I don’t know why I’m still asking questions, because it sounds great, but there’s one more thing I want to know.

“Why?”

He sighs, sitting on the desk fully and looking down at me with open, honest eyes. “Because I’m tired of doing this shit alone. I’m tired of going to work and dealing with every single thing and then coming home and having no one who understands.”

He looks out the window, shoulders tight. “I thought you’d be like my friends’ wives, which is why I was such an ass. I thought you’d be just another thing for me to take care of, and I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to realize you could be my partner, not just my wife.”

His eyes are back on mine, the heat in them making my heart pound. “I’m sorry, Nesta. I’m sorry I stole Sera in the first place, then refused to hear you out and give it back. I have a tendency to be a little stubborn.”

My lips twitch, and his eyes soften at the sight.

“But what you said about respecting yourself stuck. I don’t want you to feel like I don’t respect you, because I do. You’re smarter than me, cool when I’m rash, and have the mind for business I never have.” He smiles softly. “I know you’re just as alone as me, and just as tired of it. So say yes.”

I feel a smile on my face as I get to my feet, moving to stand between his thighs. “Are you just doing this so I’ll sleep with you?”

He sighs, dropping his head in shame to rest against my chest. “You caught me.”

My arms wrap around his shoulders, his going around my waist, and I use the opportunity to play in his hair. It’s so soft and curly, and he makes a content sound as I run my hands through it.

“Are you saying yes, little wolf?” he murmurs against my collarbone, dropping his head to rub his face across my breasts.

I roll and tug his hair to keep the randy bastard away. “Yes, pervert, I’m saying yes.”

Cassian smiles a big, goofy smile so ridiculously charming I lean in and kiss him.

His hands lock at my waist, resting on the curve of my back, and for a moment, he just lets me kiss him.

It isn’t our first kiss by any means, but it’s the first one where neither of us have ulterior motives, so I take my time.

I kiss his top lip, his bottom lip. Find I like them both equally.

My hands work across his shoulders, the thick muscles contracting under my hands, and I sigh his name.

Cassian’s hands fist in the fabric of my pajamas--which happen to still be his shirt--and draws me closer. He kisses my neck, inhaling deeply.

“You smell so fucking good,” he mutters, biting down softly and making me gasp. “It drives me crazy.”

His hands slip to the back of my thighs, then I’m on his lap, knees on the desk next to his hips. “You drive me crazy,” he clarifies.

He kisses me again, hands sliding up my thighs to my ass to grind me against him. Callouses scrape against my skin as he sweeps the shirt off and tosses it behind me.

“Shit,” he murmurs, eyes dropping to take me in.

The fact that he’s still fully dressed while I’m in nothing but my underwear makes me feel even more exposed, doing strange things to my mind. I start unbuttoning his shirt while he kisses down my chest.

He teases one with his hand while he takes the other in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the peak. I squirm, pressing my hips more fully against is, but he holds me still, kissing and teasing me until I can’t take it anymore.

“Cassian,” I murmur, tugging his hair to pull his gaze to mine. “Thank you for the desk. I love it.”

His brows furrow, and I can see him start to think about how much I’ve teased him, but before he can worry that’s what I’m doing, I whisper, “Now fuck me on it. Please.”

A muscle in his jaw flickers, and his fingers dig into the flesh of my hips.

Before I can say another word, he stands and spins us around, sliding me on the desk. He holds my thighs around his hips, and then an idea seems to dawn.

“Wait right here.”

“Seriously?” I ask, even though he’s already half-way out of the room.

“Don’t you dare fucking move!” is the shouted response.

I roll my eyes, but he’s back quickly, holding the red stilettos I wore to our engagement party. I howl with laughter, and a faint blush colors his cheeks, but he stays firm in his desire and puts them on the floor beside my feet.

Then he leans against the window and watches while I slip them on.

His golden eyes blaze as I lean back on my elbows and slowly spread my thighs, in nothing but lace panties and heels.

“I’ll buy you all the desks you want, if you sit on them like that.”

Laughter bubbles out of me, and he’s suddenly on me, leaning over me to kiss me in a frenzy.

I rip his shirt open, and he doesn’t even break the kiss as he throws it to the floor. I hear the telltale clink of a belt, and then he stands up to slide my panties down, grab my legs, and guide them up.

I feel him brush over the center of me, instinctively lifting my hips to give him a better angle.

But he doesn’t give me what I want.

Cassian just stands there, gaze gliding from the hells on his shoulders to the apex of my thighs.

“Hold that thought,” he mutters, dropping to his knees and putting his mouth on me before I can even blink.

My back leaves the desk, a gasp escaping me.

“Cassian.”

“I want you to come on my tongue, then you get to come on my cock.”

“Cassian.”

He hums, the sensation sending shivers down my spin. He kisses me like he’s doing it for him, not me, mouth on every part of me it can reach.

I can see the lines of his tattoos on his shoulders, the top of his curly hair. It’s too much to handle, so I just lay back down on the desk and throw my hands above my head to hold on to the edge of the desk.

The only time he stops is to tell me things that apparently can’t wait five minutes, but I don’t even care because every word out of that sinful mouth makes me burn hotter.

“Come for me,” he demands breathlessly a few minutes later.

“Don’t boss me around,” I groan, even as I do exactly what he wants.

He lets me ride it out, dropping kisses to my thighs and stomach and hips.

As soon as I catch my breath, he’s on his feet, putting me in the exact position I was in earlier.

And then he’s pushing inside me, and I honestly almost come again from the feel alone. “Thank God,” I groan, the past three reminding me of the misery teasing him put me through.

“Fucking hell, you’re perfect.”

Hands on my thighs, he holds me in place as he starts to move. But as he picks up speed, going harder with each thrust, his hands have to slip to my thighs to keep me still.

I say his name, sounding like I’m begging him for something, and he groans. His head’s thrown back, bare skin shining and making him look likesome sort of beautiful devil.

“Hurry up, little wolf,” he almost pleads.

The sound of that stupid fucking nickname does me in, and I come with a loud moan. I would’ve kicked him in the head if he hadn’t immediately dropped down on top of me to kiss me without abandon.

His hips still but he keeps kissing me until he has to break for air.

I’m boneless and limp beneath him, and he looks me over with male satisfaction.

Then his mouth drops open, betrayal in his eyes, and he says, “I just realized you didn’t speak even French! All these weeks of me fucking fantasizing about that... well, I guess we’ll just have to do it again.”

“Accorde moi un instant,” I pant in French, asking for a moment.

He grins down at me. “Take your time. We have a lifetime.”

My lips twitch, and I don’t stifle the urge to smile.

I’m about to say something, but then his expression turns serious. “You realize I have to fuck you on my desk now. Equality and whatnot.”

I laugh and pull his mouth to mine. “As long as you know I’m still not giving you my side of the bed.”

He tugs on my bottom lip with his teeth. “We can share.”

~

We get married seven days later, surrounded by a crowd of family, dirty politicians, thieves, drug and arms dealers, and friends.

In the past week, we’ve solidified our business model to a thing of perfection. I handle public relations, real estate and development, and negotiations for the shipping business. Cassian handles both the Bratva and Cosa Nostra soldiers in New York, training new recruits, drug distribution, and negotiations for the arms business.

Basically, I do what I’m good at, and he does what he’s good at.

I know it’s ridiculous to trust someone with half my business after only a month of knowing them, but like Cassian said, I was tired of doing this shit alone.

I’d been dreading the future, dreading taking over and doing everything myself. And now I don’t have to.

I have him to lean on, him to trust.

Looking up, I notice him watching me as we dance, not at all paying attention to the crowd. “What are you thinking about, little wolf?”

“I’m thinking how I thought of this marriage as nothing but an alliance at first. I guess it still is that, but... it’s also more.” He spins us around to the music, watching me with a knowing expression. “You’re more to me than that. And I’m... I’m happy. Working with you and the thought of our future makes me happy.”

He smiles. 

“You love me,” he states with quiet confidence. 

My heart starts pounding, because I’ve never told a living person that before. 

But it’s never been true before, and it is now, so I respond steadily, “I do.”

“I love you, too, Nesta Orlov. Have since the moment I saw you.” He sounds so relaxed about it, the words falling from his lips so easily.

“Doesn’t it scare you?” I ask, not understanding how he’s the calm one all of a sudden. 

“Anything you love something, there’s the risk you could lose it or it could hurt you.” Cassian brushes a thumb over my cheek. “But I could never be scared to love you.”

I shake my head and start to say something, but he cuts me off. 

“Every morning, when you wake up, there’s this little moment where you look around, confused. And then you look at me, and that hesitation in your eyes just... melts.” He dips me, wrapping his arms tight around me. “You look at me like you trust me, and love me, and want me.”

He presses a soft kiss to my lips. “That look is worth every risk and hardship and whatever else loving someone entails.”

I kiss him back as he brings us to standing. “Italians are such saps.”

He shows off the smile I’ve realized he only gives me, and I say the words I know he needs to hear just as badly as I did. “I love you, Cassian. You’re worth the risk, too.”

______________________________________________________

THANK U FOR READINGGG soft ending for the win

[lumosinlove]

Coast To Coast

part iii

Two Meetings and a Reunion

(Notes: To chirp in hockey is to make fun of/lightly insult.

Nous n'avons jamais passé une nuit dans un lit ensemble sans—nous embrasser: We’ve never spent a night in bed together without--kissing each other)

Gryffindor, 2017

Logan had heard from Finn over the phone, of course. Congratulating him. They FaceTimed. They missed each other.

They didn’t talk about it. The day Finn left.

Finn’s call to Logan had been one of many congratulatory emails, texts, calls, and voicemails. One call of which had been from Sirius Black himself, slightly awkward, but awe-inspiring none the less.

Drafted to the Gryffindor Lions. First Finn, now Logan.

If they had been anyone else, Logan would have thought it too good to be true.

But that was all they were: Phone calls, and messages. A screen between them, one of them having to go soon, both of them busy.

It was nothing compared to Logan pulling up at Finn’s apartment, having just dropped his things off at none other than Pascal Dumais’ house. There would be no buffer. It would just be Finn, right in front of him, tall and lean muscle and…everything.

Logan pulled his car into park in the street and took a breath. The problem wasn’t Finn. He wanted to see his best friend more than anything. The problem was that he wanted to kiss him, too.

I’m here, he texted Finn, coming up.

He received only a string of exclamation points in return.

Logan got out of the car, feeling his heart jump with every step. He waved to the doorman who held his hand out.

“Congrats, my friend.”

It startled a laugh out of Logan. Gryffindor really did love their Lions. The man must have recognized him.

“Thanks,” Logan shook his hand, and the man smiled.

Logan spent the short elevator ride bouncing on his toes in silence. He took of his hat, pushed his hair back, and then put it back on.

All he wanted was to see Finn. Maybe that was part of the problem.

When the doors did ding open, he almost didn’t get out. He stood there until the doors started closing, and then pressed his hand against it, making them spring slowly back apart.

8B, Finn had said. Logan looked until he found the right numbers on the door. He knocked, and the door opened instantly to reveal a slightly breathless Finn.

Logan almost turned around.

Finn looked the same, and different. His smile was the same, wide and lopsided. Logan remembered going to the dentist with him to get that bottom tooth fixed. His brown eyes and the wavy red hair. The dark freckles over his nose. He had a gray t-shirt on, the collar loose and making his pale skin look creamy. But he looked stronger, his chest and shoulders pressing against his t-shirt in a way that was new and no help at all to Logan.

“Hi, Fish,” Logan managed.

Finn let out a noise that hit Logan right in the chest.

“Lo,” he sighed out, and then Logan was in Finn’s arms. It was a feeling that he had thought he was ready for. He was wrong.

Finn clutched at him, leaving Logan no choice but to bury his nose against his shoulder. He smelled the same. Logan pressed his hands hard against Finn’s back figuring, if he couldn’t have anything else, he could have this.

“Fuck me,” Finn laughed and pulled back. “Fuck, come in, come in.”

Logan let Finn lead him into his apartment and seat him at one of his open kitchen’s bar-stools.

“Wow,” Logan said as he sat, looking at the view overlooking Gryffindor. “This place actually does make OKN look like a shit hole.”

Finn snorted as he messed around with some coffee, dousing Logan’s in cream and sugar and leaving his own be. “NHL salary, ma-is a-mi-es.” Finn grinned when Logan winced, sitting beside him. “Still can get you with my horrible French. That’s good to know some things never change.”

Logan smiled, trying not to let his eyes trace over Finn’s entire body, and took a sip of his coffee instead.

Finn just looked—good. Healthy and happy and so gorgeous Logan didn’t know how he had dealt with it for so long.

Maybe Finn had someone now, Logan thought. Maybe that was why he looked different.

“How’s Dumo’s?” Finn said, resting his feet on the rungs of Logan’s stool.

“Surreal,” Logan said, corner of his mouth lifting in a shaky smile. He knew where this conversation was going.

Finn nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t stop feeling like I was in some fucking dream of mine until four months into last season. Flight?”

“Same old, same old. My mom fussed, you know how she is.”

“Boy, do I. Bet your sisters wanted to come.”

Logan smiled. “They wanted to see you, really.”

Finn laughed. “Aw. Well, I miss them.”

Logan nodded, spinning his mug around slowly on the table. He had missed Finn, sometimes so bad that it hurt, and now he didn’t know what to do with himself. He wanted another hug, wanted to touch him somehow. He reached out and pulled a piece of string from his shoulder, flicking it away and returning to his cup. The slow scraping noise of ceramic on stone filled the room for a few moments before Finn set his mug down and leaned in a little.

“Lo, did you—did you ever think about…”

Logan raised his eyebrows when Finn trailed off. “Harz, there are so many ends to that sentence…”

“Sorry, sorry,” Finn ran a hand over his face. “I just…” Finn gestured widely around the apartment, then laughed, a disbelieving, short thing, and stared at Logan with sadder eyes. “I’ve got three fucking bedrooms in this place. It’s just me.”

Logan looked away, back towards the view of Gryffindor. “We talked about this.”

“No,” Finn said. “You texted me that you were living with Dumo. That was it. That isn’t a conversation.”

“You know why we can’t—” Logan stopped, blood rushing in his ears. “Why I…Nous n'avons jamais passé une nuit dans un lit ensemble sans—nous embrasser.”

“Here we fucking go,” Finn let his head fall back for a moment in frustration before he looked at Logan again. “You can’t do that shit when you don’t want to talk about something.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, Logan!”

Logan stood up. He took a step back. “You know why we can’t.”

Finn stood, too, hands outstretched like he wanted to gather Logan to him. He watched Logan retreat though, and drew back, holding them against his chest.

“I thought,” Finn began. “I thought maybe…Lo, now that you’re here—”

“The Lions newest rookies,” Logan snapped. “Fucking each other. That’s how you want to start your NHL career?”

Finn narrowed his eyes. “I refuse to give a flying fuck about anyone who thinks I’m wrong for wanting you.”

That rang like a bell in Logan’s mind. “Then why haven’t you told anyone?”

“Because you don’t want to!” Finn shouted. “And I want you, and I was worried it might make you…”

Finn trailed off again, and Logan watched as his entire posture deflated. Finn sank back onto the stool, rubbing his palms over his eyes, shoulders hunched. “Might make you want to not, like…fuck, I don’t know, not be seen with me or something.”

Finn’s words hung in the air.

Logan knew he should say something. The air didn’t feel quite in his chest anymore, but sucked out by the vacuum that was Finn ever thinking that Logan wouldn’t want him around. He hovered there, just a few steps from the door.

I want you. Finn had said it twice. Logan felt a sick sort of guilt twist in his chest. He had never even said it out loud.

Logan turned towards the door, away from Finn, and pressed his hands over his eyes. He took his hat off and put it back on.

“Can you sit down? Alright, just…can you sit?” Finn said. “I’m sorry, this isn’t how I wanted this to go, but I just had to know.”

Logan turned again and sat, every part of him feeling heavy. He was pretty sure this wasn’t what you were suppose to feel like when you were drafted into the NHL.

“I understand why you’re scared,” Finn said slowly. He pressed a hand to his chest. “I’m scared. Our lifestyle doesn’t exactly have a nice track record with openness. We both know that.”

“So, I live with Pascal,” Logan said.

“And what, ignore me?”

“No,” Logan groaned, pressing a hand over his eyes. “I just mean—if I lived with you, Finn…”

“What?” Finn said, and then reached forward, tugging Logan’s hand away from his face, his fingers wrapped around his wrist. “You what?”

“You know what,” Logan snapped. “J’ai—“

“Logan.”

“I like to kiss you,” Logan said, voice raising. It was the closest he could get.

“Then kiss me,” Finn said right back. “Kiss me all you want, we’re in the same fucking room for the first time in over a year.”

Logan stood again, raising his hands slightly, before letting them fall back against his thighs. His heart was beating out of his chest. He wanted what Finn wanted. But he also wanted all the things that meant he couldn’t want Finn. He didn’t know how to make the two meet. He didn’t want to hide.

Finn stood, too, but instead of saying more like Logan thought he would, he just pulled Logan in again, holding him against his chest, one hand pressed to the back of his neck.

“Okay,” Finn said, voice quiet, like he was trying to lull Logan. He ducked, pressing their cheeks together. “Okay. Fuck, Lo, don’t look like that.”

Logan blinked past him, dazed and warmed through and through. He wondered what his expression could have showed. He clutched back at Finn, letting out what felt like all the air in his lungs.

“Let’s agree,” Finn said, and pulled back, hands on Logan’s shoulders.

Logan would never get tired of the determination in Finn’s eyes. “Agree?” he asked.

“I miss my best friend,” Finn said. “I don’t want to lose you because…”

But neither of them had the words for it. Because of a mistake, because they wanted each other, because they didn’t have the luxury of doing either. Logan didn’t know.

“I miss you, too,” he said instead. Because it was simple. He did.

“Come get lunch with me,” Finn said. “Let’s just—let’s go out to lunch, I’ll show you around the city. I want to hang out. I fucking miss you. We don’t have to…we can just…” Finn sighed. “We’ll talk about it when we talk about it. But I just want to be with you right now.”

Logan’s mouth felt unbearably dry. But the prospect of being with Finn all day filled him with a sunny ache. “Pascal says you should come over for dinner tonight.”

“And what do you say?”

“I said we would bring the wine.”

Finn laughed, hands still warm on Logan’s shoulders. “As if we know how to pick out wine.”

Logan smiled a little, the air around the two of them easing a little.

“Come on,” Finn said, and he smoothed his hand up to press against Logan’s neck for a moment before he let go. Logan leaned into the touch. “I’ll take you to Sid’s for pizza.”

He started towards the door, but Logan stopped him.

“Harz,” Logan said.

Finn picked up his keys from the table by the door before turning around. “Hm?”

Logan took a breath. “I could never not want to be seen with you,” he said, the urgency that Finn understand him filling his chest. “Finn, I’m not ashamed—of anything. I’m just…”

Finn nodded quickly. “I know.” He let out a short laugh, before swallowing hard and looking down at the keys in his hands, twirling them with his fingers slowly. “Believe me, I know.”

Logan let Finn lead him back out into the sunshine.

~

Gryffindor, 2019

Finn thought he had cleaned the best he could. He also thought he had done the right thing, offering Leo a place for the year so that he didn’t have to stay in a hotel room, alone and wondering if he was good enough not to be called down. He had extra bedrooms, just down the hall from his own. He’d cleared one out, bought some nice high-thread-count sheets and a quilt, and then left the rest up to Leo. He wanted him to like it here. He remembered how hard it had been to be a rookie. Glorious, but hard. Homesick, intimidated, working harder than he ever had in his life to prove himself. In love with his best friend. Although he was fairly sure Leo wouldn’t be dealing with that last big, he wanted to take as much of the weight off of Leo’s shoulders as he could.

Finn looked around the living room, checked the time on his phone, and looked around again. The Xbox was displayed proudly in the TV stand, he’d folded the blanket on the couch like his mom had told him to a million times, and the kitchen looked clean enough—it didn’t get a lot of use, anyway.

Finn had read Leo’s stats, watched his tape, and so, when a six foot something guy showed up at his door, he wasn’t surprised. When cornflower blue eyes looked at him from beneath sunny blond hair—

He was a little taken off guard.

“Hi, Finn?” Leo said, and held out his hand. “Leo Knut, pleasure to meet you.”

There was a southern accent. Finn swallowed.

“What’s up, hi,” Finn took his hand and smiled. “Come on in, Leo. Hey, I can snag one of those.” Despite Leo’s protesting sound, Finn took the heavier of the two hockey bags and slung it over his shoulder. They ended up just piling Leo’s stuff in a corner of the living room.

“Well, here she is,” Finn gestured to the living room. “I hope, um,” Finn rubbed the back of his neck. “I hope the traffic wasn’t too bad. I really could have picked you up.”

“No, no, it isn’t worth the trouble,” Leo waved him off before pulling his sweatshirt off. He had a white t-shirt underneath, tight over his strong shoulders. “Gets hot here, huh? Not as hot as it does back in NOLA, but…”

“Oh, yeah,” Finn said with a smile. “New Orleans.”

Leo nodded. “Where’re you from again?”

“New York. New York City,” Finn said. “Yeah. Pretty similar to Gryff. Walking, and subway, and all that.”

“That’s nice, for it to be a little bit like home.”

Finn nodded, sitting down first in case Leo was waiting. It seemed like he was, and he sat down beside him in the couch, crossing one strong-looking calf over the other. His legs went on for miles, stretched out like that. Finn forced his eyes back to his face and cleared his throat. “The team helps, too. They’re great.”

Leo let out a laugh. “I got a call from Sirius fucking Black welcoming me to the team. I didn’t know what to do with myself.”

Finn laughed, too. “Yeah, I remember getting that call. Lo—ah, Logan Tremblay, we—”

“Were at Harvard together,” Leo nodded. “Yeah.”

Finn smiled, a little surprised. “Yeah. Well, he was with me when Sirius called. Completely freaking out while I was trying to play it cool, you know? Fucking wild, man.”

Leo sank back into the cushions, nodding. “Nice that y’all’re playing together again.”

Finn smiled, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah, no, we’re just lucky, I guess.”

“But he doesn’t live here, too?”

Finn glanced away. “No. No, I think his parents wanted him to billet. And Dumo offered, so…” Finn shrugged, and Leo nodded with a friendly smile.

Finn watched for a second, as Leo looked around. He was poised, and calm. A stable sort of strength seemed to flow through his every limb. Finn was sure he wasn’t like that when he was eighteen. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anything like it before. It was calming. It felt almost completely opposite to being with Logan, who was like a fire cracker waiting for its fuse to hit, constantly moving and saying whatever came to mind, no filter. Leo seemed to be more think than do. Finn could understand how he had become a goalie.

“Thanks again for letting me live with you…Harzy, right?”

“Yeah,” Finn said. “You?”

“Knutty,” Leo said after a moment.

Finn laughed. “No kidding.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “It’s pronounced newt, but you can’t be a hockey player and have a name like mine without that getting lost in translation. I’ll tell you now that I’ve heard it all before.”

“Right in the nuts?” Finn said.

Leo nodded.

“Peanut allergy?”

“Don’t even get me started.”

“Damn,” Finn laughed. “All the good ones are taken.”

Leo tilted his head at him, smiling so a dimple appeared. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

~

Boston, 2019

Leo watched Logan hover in the room, bag still over his shoulder and eyes darting around as if he was expecting something to leap out and bite him. When Logan finally looked back at him, Leo smiled, a little questioningly.

“Ah,” Logan began, then gestured with his room key between the two hotel beds. “Do you like the bed by the door or the bed by the window?”

Leo shook his head. “I’m sure you already have a preference.”

“Yeah, but you goalies are crazy,” Logan said, a small smile building on his face at the chirp. “Wouldn’t want to mess anything up.”

“I thought older players were suppose to take advantage of all the seniority they could get their hands on.”

Logan narrowed his eyes at him playfully before slowly dropping his bag onto the bed closest to the door. Leo nodded and walked around him, bumping him with his own bag accidentally, and sat on the bed closest to the window before taking out his phone.

“Do you want to grab dinner, maybe?” Leo said, then glanced up, suddenly a little nervous. “We could get some guys together. I was looking restaurants up in this area and there’s a good looking Mexican place.”

Logan unzipped his bag and rummaged through it. “Me and Harz were thinking of going somewhere.”

Leo almost nodded, understanding, but before he could get a word out, Logan said, “Come with us?”

“Yeah,” Leo said. “Yeah, sure, thanks.”

Logan nodded, before promptly stripping out of his shirt. Leo looked appreciatively for a second, before Logan pulled on a clean, long-sleeved one. It was cotton, and thin enough to show the strong shape of his broad back and shoulders. The dark green color matched his eyes. He wasn’t wearing a hat for once, and his hair curled over his forehead and temples.

Logan patted the back pockets of his jeans for his phone and wallet before looking up at Leo. “I’ll text Finn, lobby in five?”

Leo nodded, standing to change out of his plane clothes, too. “Sounds good.”

They were able to walk to the restaurant, which was a nice change from sitting on a plane and bus all day. They met Finn in the lobby, who smiled and threw an arm around Leo when he saw that he was coming. It was a surprisingly warm evening, the sky turning a dusky blue. Leo walked between the two of them on the streets of Boston, occasionally adding his two cents about the upcoming game against the Bruins, but mostly quietly amused by their bickering.

“I’m just saying that their power play sucks, okay,” Finn said, and then leaned in to look at Leo’s phone which had a map up to the address. “Should we have gone left?”

“We’re literally following the blue line,” Logan said.

“I know, but that way looks shorter.”

“New Yorker, forever in a hurry,” Leo said, and Logan laughed.

“Got that right.”

“I’m hungry!” Finn said, shoving Leo’s shoulder, which made Leo stumble into Logan, which knocked Logan off balance.

“Merde,” Logan laughed. “Keep your octopus limbs where I can see them, Nut.”

They reached the restaurant a few minutes later, and the hostess seemed to recognize them. She took an interest in Finn immediately, telling him as she sat them at a table near the bar that she was from Gryffindor.

“Really,” Finn smiled, running his fingers through his hair. He glanced at Logan. “It’s a great city.”

“Why don’t I bring you boys some margaritas and chips and guac to start, on the house,” she left with a hand on Finn’s shoulder.

Logan whistled lowly. “Better let Timmy know now that he better find somewhere else to sleep for the night.”

Finn shoved him. “Shut up.”

Loe smiled and looked down, picking at his napkin. The girl came back with their drinks and took their orders. Logan had gotten up to use the bathroom, and Leo watched as Finn ordered for him without a second thought.

“No cilantro on his, please,” Finn smiled up at her, before turning back to Leo.

“Glad you came with us, Nut.”

“Me, too,” Leo said. “Hope this place lives up to its reviews.”

“Well, yeah,” Logan said, returning to his seat and making a grateful sound when he saw the chips and drinks. He picked a few pieces of cilantro away from the guacamole before digging a chip into it.

“Won’t live up to your cooking, though,” Finn said with a wistful look at Leo, propping his chin on his hands.

“You cook, Nut?” Logan asked through his mouthful of chips.

Finn snorted. “Does he cook. Fuck me, best steak I’ve ever had.”

Logan raised his eyebrows. “Better than Celeste?”

Finn hesitated. “That’s an unfair question.”

Leo laughed. “I’ll answer. No. I don’t think anyone is better than Celeste and I’ve been there all of once.”

Logan looked around. “Can we order?”

“Sit still,” Finn said, patting Logan’s hand on the table. “I ordered for you. Relax.”

“I’m relaxed.”

“You’re never relaxed,” Finn raised an eyebrow.

“Do you guys having any friends from Harvard coming to the game?” Leo asked.

Logan shook his head, wiping salt from his bottom lip with his thumb. Leo tried not to stare. “Non, most everyone we know graduated by now.”

Finn looked mournful. “We’re old. Unlike Peanut here.”

“Yeah,” Logan nodded at the margarita in Leo’s hands. “How’d you get your hands on that?”

“The hostess saw that Finn’s hot.”

Finn turned a little pink, groaning and covering his face, but he was smiling. Logan’s smile was more subdued, and he broke a chip into little pieces over his napkin.

Their food was pretty quick, and they talked while they ate, Leo listening to some stories from wild parties at school.

“You ever wanted to go to college?” Finn asked.

Leo shrugged. “I wanted to play in the NHL. But, I think about it, sometimes. I know I probably missed out on stuff.”

Logan took a bite of his food. “Eh, sort of, sort of not.”

“Wouldn’t have met me, though,” Finn smiled, leaning his head in to tap against Logan’s temple. Logan smiled, ducking away.

“You’re all trouble,” he murmured.

It sounded like a joke to Leo, but Finn’s smile dimmed a little, and then Logan looked up sharply at him, like he’d said something wrong.

“Yeah,” Logan added, brushing their shoulders together. “You made it worth it.”

Leo looked between the two of them, suddenly feeling like he was intruding on something. The colorful lanterns that covered the restaurant ceiling turned Finn and Logan a million, warm shades. They shared a smile, and then the moment passed, but Leo was still locked into it.

He had known what he was getting into, placing himself in an NHL locker room, surrounded by beautiful boys all day every day. He wasn’t complaining, but he wasn’t looking to develop any hopeless feelings either. But he’d grown up hiding his sexuality in a locker room, and so he knew a spark of something when he saw one. There was a new set of strings between Logan and Finn that he could see now, ones that weren’t just friendship. He wondered what else they hadn’t missed out on at college together.

They got back to the hotel relatively early, ready to head to bed for a morning practice. For a first road trip with the Lions, Leo decided it was going smoothly. He and Logan didn’t seem to need to communicate too much to dance around each other in the bathroom as they got ready for bed.

Leo came out of the bathroom last to find Logan already laying on his bed, scrolling through his phone. Leo had only just taken off his shirt when his phone started ringing, his mother flashing up on the screen.

“I’ll take this outside,” Leo said, but Logan waved him off.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Only if you want to.”

Leo didn’t really feel like pacing the hall in just his pajama pants. He smiled gratefully, and swiped to answer. It was a quick call, mostly just his mother asking if she should send him anything else for the apartment and saying goodnight. Leo smiled, told her that he and Finn were working it out, and that he loved her.

He had hung up his phone and was leaning over to plug it into the charger on the bedside table between them, when he caught Logan staring at him. His eyes were wide, and he looked mildly horrified.

“What?” Leo said.

Logan start at him for another moment, before he seemed to compose himself.

“What,” Logan began. “What just came out of your mouth?”

Leo laughed, realizing. “We speak French back home, too.”

“Your accent,” Logan said. “It’s…”

Leo snorted. “I could say the same about yours.” Although, Leo had to admit he rather liked Logan’s accent. The hard ‘r’s were so different than his own. If he was the sun and heat, Logan reminded him of snowy mountains and green forests. Ice over a lake.

Logan laughed, shaking his head. “I just didn’t know you spoke French.” He pushed his covers back and crawled beneath them. “Merde. That was the strangest thing I have ever heard. Will you get the light?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Leo smiled. He pulled his own covers back, too.

“First roadie okay, Nut?” Logan asked. He had his hands tucked up by his chin, his hair and eyelashes dark against the white pillow case. Leo stared, and then turned off the light, climbing into his own bed.

“Yeah. Really good.”

“Good.”

Leo thought of Logan messing with him on the ice. Finn’s bed-head in the morning, tripping over his feet for coffee. He thought of the both of them tonight, walking on either side of him. He listened to Logan’s breathing even out, and wondered what the hell he was getting himself into.

[glitta]

Okay, so I need to just.. get some things off of my chest here. Because at some point soon I’m probably going to stop coming to the tag because I need to vent but I also don’t want to keep wallowing. It’ll make it harder to move on when I keep reminding myself of it and getting angry and sad about it.

First I’ll say that I am 100% convinced that they’re done with romantic barchie. I become more convinced each day. And I know some people are hanging on, which is fine.. you do you. But I also hope you see it soon, because I don’t want them to use you. I don’t think it’s fair, and we barchies have been through so much.

What convinces me that they’re done? First.. this was the perfect opportunity to go for it. If they didn’t explore it now, when the road was clear, then they’re not going to. Next..they made some callbacks to the first season, and they were in vrchies favour. The callback to the s1 party? Ended the same way. Archie going after Veronica. You would reverse it if you wanted barchie. And they even used the “if you love me” pilot song back in 5x06, which showcased Archie looking off - because he was feeling things for Veronica, as it turned out. So no, the answer to the question if he loves her is no. (now, I call bullshit and retcon, but this is the canon they’re going with now) Then you have Archie not showing indecision or being caught between the two and not showing feelings for Betty. I hate it, but didn’t. He said he was perfectly fine with booty calls, but I guess when it started mixing with Betty being upset after a nightmare, it started to feel wrong when his feelings for V were growing and he didn’t want to lead Betty on. Archie didn’t look happy when Jackson said he was juggling two girls.

Then you have Archie’s wildly different reactions to Veronica picking his key, and Betty getting his key. Like, honestly.. even if they wanted to go in a direction of him having to deal with lingering feelings for Veronica and then feelings for Betty getting deeper.. we would have seen him having feelings for Betty. Like now. And that’s not how it played. He just showed zero feelings. Which is a retcon from practically the whole series, but this is their new take. To erase barchie from the equation and guarantee the fans of those other ships their endgames.

Then you have “the break up scene”. Following on from the retcon, I’m just so frustrated with this because of the lack of effort. They didn’t explore barchie and let them really navigate their feelings and figure if they worked or not. They just had them had meaningless sex (apparently, at least on Archie’s end) and throw some reason out there why they ~don’t work~. That was full fanservice and closing the door by declaring that they.. don’t work. Even though it was full TELL and not SHOW. I still don’t even understand?

Take it back to Betty’s conversation with Kevin - where she was so happy and didn’t want it to end, btw. Like lets lay it out:

 “I don’t want to get too deep with him.”

“Why?!”

“He’s this lit window in the darkness. And I don’t ever want that light to go out.”

Okay.. so my take away from that is that she would like it to be more, but it’s a fear of losing him if things don’t work out and she’ll lose the light that he brings. Fair enough, I kind of get it.

But then when it’s a conversation with Archie, she just say’s they’re completely different people in their cores. ?? Being different people is not a reason to not be together if you get on. If you’ve been best friends your whole lives. If you have amazing sexual chemistry. And then with him being her light - damn, utilise that. Does it really make a difference if he’s helping her as a friend or romantic partner? Will that make a difference in not dragging him down if he’s there for her anyway through what she’s going through? It just doesn’t make any sense to me. And it’s not like Archie doesn’t have his own issues and trauma. But it’s again all in favour of the antis/other shippers who just want to know that BA are over and insist from their biased perspectives that they can’t ever work. The writers are full on catering to that, and I can’t for the life of me understand that obsession when you’re running the show to it’s end with those kinds of decisions. I just feel like they went.. right, we need to find an excuse why they wont work, and insert some word vomit and use the words “we should work because (cliche) but we’re different.” and think that just.. explains it all, even though it’s all tell and no show.

Anyway, I think that covered the biggest red flags I saw for the end of the ship. So now let me start on the thing that pisses me off even more even more than them fucking ruining my ship to serve the antis everything they want.

The engagement of the writers on social media leading up to this. You want to tell a story and do whatever you want? Fine. But I cannot grasp what kind of people take a ship that it’s fans have been waiting for.. for four years while they dropped hints and had them kiss and teased them.. and hypes them up and makes them promises of a romance coming up.. and then fucks them over in about 3 episodes by ending the ship for good. And rushing back to the other ship.

Who does that? How do they think it’s okay to fuck with people like that? And then they victimize themselves because people are calling them out. (note: not condoning any death threats or extreme things)

And it’s not even shippers that have a right to be angry, just as a side note. A fresh start and new things were promised. And they’re right back to the stale things? Make it make sense. You can’t.

You know, not that long ago I was still laughing at myself for loving a ship on Riverdale. Like no offense, but past the first few episodes I thought this show was a joke, and became more so. But I loved barchie. They were this little thing that made so much sense and seemed to have a set up for a beautiful story in the end. So I got invested in that. Jokes on me?

And I will never understand how they think it’s the best story to keep the same two couples together for the duration of the show with little to nothing else. They couldn’t keep them apart for 5 episodes through cheating and a time jump? It is SO insane and odd? It is so boring and complete fan service and actually ruins the show and makes it a joke?

And I’m happy that Betty and Jughead were “allowed” to have sexual relationships outside of each other, but at least 3/4 of these characters never got to experience another loving relationship outside of their high school loves..? (and I’m only excluding Veronica because I think at some point she loved Chad at the start..?) Now, I’m not dissing all high school relationships that go to marriage. But to just pair up two couples neatly with these core 4.. and have them break up for 7 years and still not give them these experiences and relationships is stupid and really fucking sad. You can love more than one person in your life, and it doesn’t discount anything.

And if they wanted them brought back together eventually, they could have actually had a much better build up back to it? Yet they’re just incapable of taking any time and wont keep them apart for more than a handful of episodes? I’ve never encountered a show like this, and that is not a good thing. At all.

And the fanbases they’re catering for are so entitled. And I guess that goes hand in hand with the constant fanservice, but it’s just such a toxic thing. I don’t think any fanbase are innocent angels, but as someone who has dealt with their shit and entitlement from season 1.. it’s just unbelievable and funny any time that they try to say that we.. I don’t know, deserved this? What does that mean your toxic fanbase deserves?

But let me clear about something: I’d never want your content and ships. More screentime, maybe. But even then the screentime and focus on two ships took over and at least the barchie fandom never wanted that with our ship. We were happy to share screentime with other characters. And if my ship had one cheating on the other with someone the other character had always worried about.. and they never apologised for the cheating? I think I’d be done. As it is there’s a lot of barchies that don’t excuse or forgive things that went down and unsure if they could forgive it and like the ship again.

And hey, I will take Archie being Betty’s light and never wanting to lose that vs I don’t know.. sharing darkness with someone else?

And barchie’s chemistry was unmatched. (and drew people back in that they will now lose.)

Anyway.. I think I’ve covered at least most of what I wanted to. Didn’t mean to get so anti-other ships at the end, but I’m just venting on everything.

[having-a-hyperfixate]

The Final Day’‘

This is absolutely going to be long and rambley af so I’mma just put a cut here. This is just one massive post for the entire rest of the game.

Rindo is back in the RG somehow. Which makes less than no sense. What was that crazy beam. Shibuya is GONE there isn’t an RG to send him back to, even if someone did want to send him back?

That beam reminded me of the Jesus beams not gonna lie.

But… Fret. Presumably Nagi and Beat too. They’re. Gone. Poor Rindo… That’s the worst kind of gaslighting. Reality itself is gaslighting this poor kid. ‘Your best friend in the world is gone, so gone that no one remembers him. You don’t even get to mourn properly because there is no one TO mourn.’  I am also not okay.

I assume this random talking to us at Hachiko is the dude I saw a brief glimpse of in a screenshot from the final trailer. Hazuki Mikagi, okay. Everything about this is supremely weird. 

Leading this weirdo around and he asked how we feel about emotions? Um, what?

Was he responsible for that beam of light?

This whole thing is extremely unsettling, I don’t think I like it. The music is all… serene, this guy keeps asking existential questions, who even comes up to some kid clearly having a bad day and demands a tour of the city.

He knows Rindo’s name even though we never told him. Not sure if that was a slip or an intentional nudge that Something is going on but there we go.

‘I should take this chance to apologize for Kubo. He’s a real piece of work.’ WHAT. YOU SEND HIM TO SHINJUKU?!?! IS THIS KID GOD!? WHAT!??!

‘Exorcised’. Like a demon. Which is a psychic rank you can get in the first game, and probably this game, ergo, a thing that exists in this universe.

Okay. So this Hazuki guy is Something Else. I dunno if he’s an Angel or higher or WHAT. He’s something. And he “exorcised” what Fuckwad had Fallen to when he decided not to stop at Shinjuku and continue on to Shibuya. But he only did this after Rindo faught so hard to stop it. And then he gave Rindo what he thought Rindo wanted. And now he’s here trying to understand why Rindo is miserable. Which to us, as humans, is obvious: the people he loved, the connections and family he had made through the game are all gone and worse, no one remembers they ever existed.

And now he’s being offered the chance to try again. This feels like a double edged sword. And I don’t care.

Okay I actually kind of appreciate the thing Hazuki is pulling here. He knows what it is that Rindo wants, I’m pretty sure he’s listening to his thoughts, actually, and in order to make Rindo own up to it he’s arguing the ‘no’ position. Giving Rindo someone to argue against so he can convince himself.

WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAPPEN AT UDAGAWA.

Bruh some of these clips were in the announcement trailer.

(I can’t wait to read the secret reports. That’s gonna be a wild ride.)

Oooooh that’s what ‘exorcised’ means. That is hardcore. He definitely deserved it but that is uh. Slightly inconvenient.

Can we actually contact Rhyme this time PLEASE. Oooh Rindo worked out Kaie is waiting for Rhyme. :O I’M FINALLY GONNA GET MY MASSIVE COUNTER OFFENSIVE FUCK YES. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I’M PUMPED LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOO!!!!

Who’s gonna protect them. Beat. Really. Just give them the damn pins at this point. They both know their ways around a fight and Kaie might need the backup. If we lose, we’re all toast regardless, and if we win everyone gets put back where they belong.

AAAAAAAAAAAH SHE’S HERE!!! RHYME!!!! Aw… She can’t see Neku and Shoka cuz they’re actually dead. That’s really depressing. Makes sense but like. Oof. Especially for Neku.

I love that Rhyme still has a saying for everything.

This timeline is going to be a mess by the time I get everything positioned correctly lmao

Beat’s ‘How do you know about my sister?! Right, future.’ is never going to NOT be funny. It’s very refreshing to have a time travel plot where people just listen when he tells them shit needs to happen.

Is it acutaly Shiki time ohh my god. I might cry. Please tell me she has a face now. If her face is still illegal I will actually scream.

I’m offended. We didn’t get to go see Shiki. The betrayal. OH but now we might be? Stop playing with me, game. GIVE. ME. SHIKI.

Rindo was freaking out that we weren’t gonna be able to get rid of all the Noise around the café and I definitely threw my hands up and yelled when I saw the word ‘zeptogram’. And I read it before he said it, cuz I read v. fast. Nice to see you again, idiot. Please don’t go berserk again.

I am. Very impressed that Minamimoto managed to work out where the Dissonance Noise are coming from, down to the exact energy source that creates them. He nailed it. Well done sir.

I think… he’s proposing we awaken the city and use the energy generated by the thoughts and emotions of the living people to neutralize some of the Dissonance Noise that are waiting in the pin. Erode some of its power.

“How about this: I’ll talk, you type.” Lmao.

I got denied Shiki again. Part of me is annoyed. The other part of me is like ‘are they saving her entrance for when she can see Neku again properly because I can live with that’.

OH the Hishima cutscene is voiced now OKAY. Guess that means this is the one. Rhyme is voiced too. This is gonna be it.

And she speaks Minamioto. Coo.

Huh. Neku’s power is to sync with people. Which he learned to do in the first game. From Mr H, with the harmonizer pin. (Twister is playing and I have Emotions help) And now he’s gonna do it on an absolutely MASSIVE scale. This is insane. I am 1,000% here for it. Sync, Dive, Remind. And if I had to guess, we’re doing this atop 104.

Alright Shiba. ‘Mere. Tsugumi’s eyes aren’t all freaky anymore yay. Oh snap. He’s gonna unleash the Plague Noise against the Dissonance ones. Nice. Turnabout is fair play. I’m kinda sad Fuckwad isn’t here to witness that.

Alright. Change. Our. Fate.

SHIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I gave myself a headache ow.

“07734.” “Ew. Hey! Don’t just spout off numbers and walk away, you jerk!” That was amazing.

FUCK ME SIDEWAYS. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. NO. NO WAY. I DIDN’T THINK THERE WAS ANY WAY. OH. MY. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. This is the first time Neku’s seen him since Joshua failed to stop Coco from killing him. I’m. A puddle. Help. Neku looked so happy. My cat is slightly concerned haha.

Neku still holds his hands like he’s got the headphones. The same pose as in the first game when you scan. This gives me all the feels.

“They’re just mindless thoughts” Okay so I’m mentally exhausted at this point and I processed that as ‘thots’ and it was hilarious. BEGONE THOTS.

Okay this thing right here? This is a final boss. And it is cool as fuck. Too bad it’s trying to END ME. So cool. SO. COOL. Here comes phase 2 lol. I died and had to redo it. FML.

That. Was awesome. A worthy successor to the epic final strike of the first game. 999% eh?

I continue to not like Shinjuku rules. Once you’re a Reaper, leaving means you get erased once the game ends? Disrespectfully, fuck that. Oh don’t you dare, Shoka. Don’t. You. Dare.

Oh, Joshua is here. PLEASE. Lmao Shoka’s reaction. I’m sure he appreciates that, the drama queen.

*facepalms* Joshua strikes again. I’ve missed you, you little shit. You are terrible, but I missed you. Rindo, I’m pretty sure she’s fine. I think captain helpful over here reincarnated her for you. Since you saved him and his city. I guess I’ll see though.

Uzuki and Kariya continue to be adorable. I love them. And yeah, good luck calling in that debt from Minamimoto, Coco. Gooooood luck.

I’m having a lot of Joshua centered emotions right now there is too much Joshua all at once help. “I should have known I could trust you.” You are killing me dude. You really, really should have. I’m going to turn that line over in my head for way too long, I just know it, but let’s try to get through this before my brain turns off completely. “Let’s not keep her waiting.” OKAY THANKS I’M GONNA CRY AGAIN.

What Hazuki was saying about ‘purifying’ as opposed to ‘destroying’ Shinjuku makes me think that restarting it in some form was always part of the plan, so hopefully they’ll have luck with that. It’s still profoundly fucked up that any of that happened, and even more so that it was sanctioned. I’m. Going to be hung up on that for a while once it sinks in.

This poor idiot hitting on Rhyme is about to get got oh no XD

Shiki is breaking my heart. Aaaaaaaah!!! Reunioooooon.

Ooof it’s been a month since Rindo saw Shoka. Big oof. Joshuaaaaaa.

And then they almost got hit by a car lmao. OMG HE MISSED HER FRIEND REQUESTS AHAHAHAHAH YOU GOOBER. Neku really should have warned them that Joshua is Like That lol. Even when he’s being helpful it’s in the must backhanded way possible.

I would very much like to know why on earth Shinjuku needed to be obliterated though. Like. Does that… Happen often? Maybe the secret reports say.

Speaking of, time to get those, along with the rest of the trophies.

!!!! The title screen updated, NICE. Can’t let anyone who hasn’t beaten it see that but NICE.

There’s another Another Day. Oh boy. I am not ready for that madness yet.

Random thought as I was moving this from word, where I typed it: I’m really, really fucking glad they didn’t decide to deal with Mr H the way they dealt with sleezy mcfuckwad. That would have been… I don’t have a word.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch32: The Impossible Choice. Part 2:  One Which Crumbles From Within

Summary: Katie faces an impossible choice- her husband or her brother.  

Warnings: Bad language, angst

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Wonderful edit again from @angrybirdcr​

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

Chapter 32 Part 1

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Katie had no idea how long she sat waiting, lost in her thoughts and worries but eventually she heard a shuffling noise and spun round to see Steve supporting Bucky who was missing his metal arm. Both men were bloodied, battered, but alive. 

“Where’s Tony?” She asked as she stood up, looking at Steve.

Steve took a deep breath, “In there. It got out of hand but he’s okay.” Katie immediately headed to the door of the bunker.

“Katie, he won’t listen.” Steve shook his head sadly as he called after her. “This…it’s too far gone to fix.

“I have to try Steve, he’s my brother.”

She left the sentence hanging, not looking back as she moved back into the bunker. She had to try and talk him round, make him understand this was what Zemo wanted. It was the last chance to try and sort all of this out. If she couldn’t then there was no way Steve could go back. No way he would go back.

And she was going to lose one of them.

“Tony.” She spoke gently, walking towards where he was sat, back against a wall in the depth of the concrete building.

“You know, when Rogers asked for your hand in marriage I couldn’t have been happier. Finally you’d met someone that treat you well, looked after you. Now, I wish he’d never come out of that fucking iceberg.” He snarled up at her.

Katie took a deep breath. “You’re upset, I get that.”

“Really? You do?” Sarcasm dripping off every word as Tony glared at her. “That’s good because I thought for a moment you were missing the point.”

“What is the point, Tony? Do you think for one minute that I like what happened to our Parents?”

“How long have you known?” he looked at her.

“Since we took SHIELD and Hydra down.” She bowed her head.

“Two years?!” his voice rang round the cavern. “You knew for Two fucking years?” “I didn’t know for certain it was him until yesterday, I swear.” She took a deep breath “But Steve is right. It wasn’t Bucky that did it. It was the Winter Soldier.”

“Oh God, he’s brainwashed you as well.” Tony groaned, banging his head against the wall. “That man murdered our parents!”

“HYDRA murdered our parents.”

“BUT HE DID IT!” Tony yelled, “And whilst that mind control is in there he’s a danger and he needs to be dealt with.”

“He needs help.”

Tony laughed, scornfully “Frankly if you believe that, you’re the one that needs help.”

“We both know what it’s like to be tortured, to have your dignity stripped from you in a way people cannot possibly imagine.” Katie swallowed, turning to her brother “And for us it was weeks Tony, fucking weeks. He endured it for seventy damned years.” “He killed our mom!” Tony screamed. “And he saved my life!” Katie yelled back, her voice cracking. “The Winter Soldier did those things, not Bucky Barnes. Tone, this is tearing me in two. I can’t choose between you, I can’t do it!” “You already chose.” “No, I didn’t. I did what I thought was right. Not just the Accords but coming here. And you know it was right too, deep down or you wouldn’t be here either. You saw those soldiers in there, it could have been so much different.” Tony snorted. “For once in your life just admit you’d follow Rogers anywhere.” Katie shook her head, sniffing slightly as her eyes misted over “You’re my brother, my father even, and I love you so much, but he is my husband and I love him too. What am I supposed to do, huh? Tell me?” Tony looked at her, and turned away. He felt betrayed, by them both. But as much as he hated what she had done, he loved his sister beyond belief and he knew no matter what happened here there would be no winners. If she stayed her heart would break at losing Steve and she would end up inside that shit hole pokey until some agreement or deal was done. 

And if she left, she might be free, but then he would lose her. 

But Tony knew the thing that would break her the most was having to make that choice, a choice between a life on the run with Rogers, or being with him. He couldn’t see her go through that, he couldn’t see her miserable and without the man she loved, and who clearly loved her, despite the fact he might be an asshole. There was nothing else to do, Tony had to make the choice for her.

And moreover he knew he had to be the one to lose.

"I don’t even wanna look at you right now.” His voice cracked and he turned away. “Get lost, go on.” “And go where?” Her voice was strained. "Wherever your precious Captain is running to. And you best run fast. Because if Ross gets hold of you, you’re both gonna be in that pokey with the rest of them and I’ll make sure Rogers never sees the light of day again.” “And me?” Her eyes were wet with tears as she looked at him. “You went against the accords.” He shrugged, unable to meet her eye “Maybe they could get you a double cell.” Katie felt her heart breaking. Her brother, the man who had been there all her life, was actively pushing her away. This is what it had come to. But just as she was about to argue, try and see they could get a way through this, he delivered the final blow. “You know, I’m glad mom and dad ain’t here to see this, because they’d be so ashamed of you.” Tony took a deep breath before he delivered the blow he knew would kill her, and he was going to hate himself for it. “Hell, I’m ashamed of you.” That. That there, was the moment Katie felt her heartbreak. “Tony.” Her voice cracked “Tell me you don’t mean that.” “I mean every word.” Tony lied, forcing himself to look at her. He didn’t mean any of it, he was beyond proud of her, how strong she was. But he knew, this was the only way she could be spared the agony of a shitty choice. 

With a shaking sob Katie stood up and began to walk across the cavern slowly, giving Tony a chance to stop her but he didn’t. As she reached the start of the corridor she stopped, taking a deep breath and turned back to look at him through her tears.

“Me not telling you about mom and dad was a mistake. But I did it to save you from all this, save you from hurting because I figured you’d seen enough over the past goodness knows how long.” She shrugged, wiping her face. “I’m so sorry Tony.”

He looked away, not meeting her eyes because he couldn’t.  “Just go.”

She walked from the cavern as calmly as she could. Once she was out of site she began to sprint, wanting nothing more than the comfort of Steve. She was that wrapped up in her thoughts, twice she took a wrong turn and hit a dead end, screaming in frustration, before eventually, after what seemed like a lifetime she burst out into the snow before collapsing onto the floor, a loud agonising wail erupting from her chest.

“Katie?” Steve saw his girl fall to her knees, the noise she made chilled him to the bones. He sprinted straight towards her, ignoring the aching all over his body from the blows he had taken over the past three days or so. He dropped besides her “Honey?”

Katie took a deep breath before she looked up at Steve unable to voice her emotions or explain what happened. She simply bowed her head again and shook it. Steve sighed and placed an arm round her shoulder “Come on.”

With his help she rose to her feet, looking round. There was no sign of T’Challa. Zemo or Bucky.

“Where is everyone?” She sniffed, sliding her arm around Steve’s waist, more for support than anything else.

“T’Challa left about two minutes ago. He’s taken Zemo to the United Nations.” Steve answered as they trudged through the snow.

“Least Bucky’s in the clear.”

“He’s not.” Steve sighed “Even if he’s proven not guilty they’ll want to lock him up, especially whilst HYDRA are in his mind.” He stopped at the bottom of the ramp to the jet and turned to face her, taking a deep breath as he knew this was it. The point at which she was going to have to make a decision on what she did next, and his heart was breaking for her.

“T’Challa has offered to help. He’s given me the coordinates to Wakanda and says he has someone there who could assist in fixing whatever it is Hydra did to Buck’s mind.”

“If the UN catch on he’s harbouring him it’ll cause even more trouble.” “I know, which is why they can’t find out.” Steve looked at her. “T’Challa is going to tell the UN that we’re all here so they can send a craft out to pick everyone up. Then the cover story is that in the meantime Bucky and I escaped, and no one knows where we have gone.”

“Think they’ll buy it?” She asked, ignoring for a moment the fact that he had said Bucky and I, not Bucky and us.

“They’ve no reason not to.”

“And he really thinks he can help him?”

Steve nodded. “So that’s the plan. Take Bucky and lay low for a while, at least until I can figure out what to do next”

He paused for a moment and then looked up the ramp before taking a deep breath and looking at her.

“I didn’t want any of this to happen” he sighed, “and if you don’t want to come I’ll understand.” He took a deep breath, as he grabbed both of her hands, the tears swimming in his eyes. “I don’t ever want to force you to make a choice so whatever you do decide, I’ll understand, I just want you to know that I love you, I’ll always love you.”

Katie looked up at him, his last words were barely audible above his choked back sob. She knew Steve was going to run, and that he wouldn’t settle being behind bars, but he was offering her a way out, a chance to stay with Tony. Her husband had never, not once through this entire situation pressured her to take his side. And she hadn’t taken his side, she had done what she believed was the right thing. But now, when it came down to it, there was simply no choice for her to make. Tony hated her, the Accords had finished the Avengers, Ross would make sure she was locked away…and the thought of Steve not being with her broke her more than anything.

There was nothing else left for her to do but go.

Her eyes misted over as she looked up at the man who was her world, her everything. “I can’t stay.” She whispered “Not without you. Please don’t leave me.”

“Leave you?” His voice cracked and he pulled her into his chest, hard, hands pressed at the base of her back and her head as she fisted her hands into the dirty material of his uniform. “Never, Doll.”

“Then get me out of here.” She pulled back to look up at him, gently using her thumbs to wipe away the tears on his face that had run down below the line of his helmet.

“Are you sure?” He had to ask again. “Because if we do this, there’s no going back. You might be able to sort things with Tony if you stay.” “When I’m locked up in prison?” She shook her head “What’s the point in that. Besides, we both know that you wouldn’t stand for it. You’d break me out in a week.”

He gave her a soft smile, she was right. He would. She leaned up to place a soft kiss on his lips before she turned and strode up the ramp into the jet, wiping her eyes and putting her weapons away silently. Steve followed her in and she turned to look at him when she spotted Bucky who was looking significantly worse for wear sat on one of the seats.

“You okay?” she said gently. He looked up and swallowed.

“I’m sorry, I really am.” His voice cracked and his head hung again.

“I know.” She shrugged sadly as she headed over to cockpit.

Steve settled in the pilot seat just in front of her, removing his helmet and punching in some co-ordinates. Moments later the jet was airborne.

“Auto-pilot locked. ETA 4.5 hours” Katie muttered, reading the computer before she stood up and dropped her hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Think it’s about time I patched you boys up.”

“Start with Buck.” Steve instructed gently, standing up “He’s worse than I am.”

She moved to the back of the jet and began rummaging in the first aid boxes gathering various things before she told Bucky to sit on the gurney in the medi-bay area of the jet.

“This is probably gonna sting a little.” She bit her lip as she began to wipe gently at the various cuts and bruises on Bucky’s face. If it hurt he didn’t give any outward signs that it did. She then moved to the back of his head, clearing up a nasty gash from where he had taken a hit and, once that was done, she checked his arm. There was no new wound, but his metal arm had been removed just below the shoulder blade, leaving the metal socket intact.

“Does it hurt?” She asked him gently.

“No.”

She looked at Steve, shrugging as if to say that she had done the best she could and he nodded, looking at Bucky.

“Why don’t you rest?” He nodded over to the seats. “We’ve got a while before we arrive and I doubt any of us had much sleep last night.”

“You guys certainly didn’t.” Bucky said slyly as he stood up. Katie shared a look with Steve who she was amused to see had flushed from the neck upwards, the patches of his face that weren’t dirty were now a bright crimson.

“Walls in hotel rooms are thin.” Bucky continued, grunting slightly as he dropped into one of the seats, leaning back and closing his eyes.

Katie bit her lip as Steve sat down on the stretcher, same place Bucky had sat before. She studied his weary face and noticed that there was a huge bruise forming on his right cheek and a smaller abrasion on his left. His nose had at some point been bleeding and there was a split in his lip, but all in all his helmet had saved him for the most, as he was nowhere near as bad as Bucky. She gently wiped at his face, as tenderly as she could to avoid hurting him. She cleaned off the dirt, dried blood and then the cut above his eye, before moving to the one on his lip. As she touched it with the antiseptic wipe he hissed slightly.

“Stop being a baby.”

Steve opened his eyes and simply watched his wife’s face intensely. Her eyes were red rimmed from her crying and he couldn’t help but wonder what Tony had said to her when she had gone back in.  But he knew she would tell him when she was ready. Eventually she finished and dropped the wipe she had been using into the dish to her right, and he placed both his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him, so that she was stood in between his legs.  

“I love you so much.” He whispered gently. She brought her hand up to brush across his now clean but bruised face and sighed. 

“I know.” She dropped a soft kiss onto his lips, careful not to aggravate any cuts further. He would heal fast, he always did. In a few days there would be no evidence of any of these.  

From over in the corner of the jet there came a soft groan “Get a room. Preferably not next to mine.”

*****

It was three hours into the journey before Katie finally told Steve everything. What Tony had said, how he had told her to leave, and that he was ashamed of her, and Steve’s heart broke for her as she cried again, her tears falling to his shoulder as he sat and simply held her before insisting she also took some rest. He knew what Tony had said was bullshit, the man was ridiculously proud of his sister, and he found himself understanding why he had done it. To save her from an impossible choice. Tony was as selfless as the next person where his sister was involved.

About forty-five minutes or so later, when Katie was fast asleep, Bucky woke up and he noticed Steve was sat in the seat at the front, simply staring out of the window.

“Got anything to drink?” He asked, and Steve’s head snapped round.

“Should be some water in the fridge, hang on…” “I lost my arm Punk, not my legs.” Bucky grumbled, heading over to where Steve was directing.

“Glad to see your attitude is still as bad as ever.” Steve raised an eyebrow as Bucky threw a bottle to him which he caught in his right hand.

“Yeah well, there are somethings even being brainwashed can’t get rid of.” Bucky sighed as he headed over to the seat by Steve. Clasping the bottle in his knees he worked the top off with his right hand and took a deep swig.

“Do you really think they can do it? You know, get whatever Hydra put in my head out?”

“T’Challa seems to think so.” Steve nodded, looking at his friend.

“Well, perhaps when he has we can catch up properly.” Bucky’s voice was wistful.

”Like old times huh?” Steve smiled, a twinkle in his eye.

Bucky grinned, before he grew serious again. “You know I did think about finding you, but…” 

Steve looked at him for a moment and then leaned forward slightly. “How much do you remember?”

Bucky sighed, “I remember most things, about my life that is, but at first it was just a big jumble. That’s why I wrote it all down.”

The two men fell silent again, Steve full of his own guilt again for not going back for him that day he fell from the train. He could have spared him all of this.

“How did you do it?” Bucky asked suddenly, making Steve look back at him “Wake up seventy years in the future and just carry on?” “Katie.” Steve answered instantly, not even needing to think about it.  “I came out of the ice, I’d lost everyone I knew, had no idea what to do, but then she turned up. Almost like it was meant to be.”

“I thought Steve Rogers didn’t believe in fate?” Bucky teased “What was it you used to say? You make your own luck?” Steve chuckled “I didn’t, I mean I don’t really, but whatever it was be it fate, luck, circumstance, hell, I’m just glad it happened.” He trailed off, before he carried on. “You know, I loved Peggy but that was nothing to what I feel for Katie. I can’t imagine being without her.”

Bucky looked at his friend, smiling. He had always known that when Steve found the right dame he would fall hard and fast, and it was clear he had. After all of his bad luck before the war, it was nice to see the man so happy and loved. But Bucky wasn’t going to let it lie without the chance to tease his friend. He grinned and looked at him, a cheeky smile spreading across his weary face.

“Yeah she’s pretty hot too. How did a punk like you manage to pull a gal like that?” “Buck!” Steve groaned exasperatedly as Bucky laughed.

“I’m just playing with you Stevie. I’m glad you found someone.” He smiled gently. “Just gutted I wasn’t at the wedding, well properly anyway. You looked happy though when you came out of the church.”

“I was. And I wish you could have been there properly too pal.” Steve’s voice taking on a teasing tone “But Sam made a pretty good substitute best man.”

“Wait, you had Seagull as your best man?” Bucky’s tone was indignant.

“He’s a good friend.” Steve paused again, before he took a deep breath. “You know I haven’t thanked you yet for saving her life.” He nodded over to where Katie was curled up in a seat under a blanket “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.” “Right time right place.” Bucky shrugged “You know, I didn’t recognise her at first, just heard all this screaming and, well she was in a bad way.” “I know.” Steve dropped his head. “They…they hurt her.” Bucky didn’t need to ask what they had done to her. He could imagine.

“She’s okay now though, right?”

“Physically yeah.”  Steve nodded “Mentally, well, she still has nightmares sometimes but don’t we all? She’s strong though, way stronger than me.”

“I dunno from the noises I heard last night you seemed to be pretty strong.” Bucky quipped and Steve groaned

“Sorry, our walls at the compound are soundproof so…” He offered an explanation, blushing again.

“Yeah, well the first time we just kinda ignored it but then when you started again an hour later, then again, well, frankly it was a little gross.”

“Guess we just got a bit carried away.” Steve felt the heat spread up his neck.

“Sam said you were showing off.” Bucky smirked causing Steve to snort. “You got some stamina, bud, I’ll give you that.”

“Something we both thank Dr Erskine for on a regular basis.” Steve shot back cheekily and Bucky barked out a laugh.

At that point the alert on the cockpit started to go and Katie sat up, rubbing her eyes as the noise roused her. Steve shot her a smile, pretty sure he was still blushing, and then turned to look at the dials on the cockpit

“Hey.” She approached the front, dropping her hand to Bucky’s shoulder as she pressed a soft kiss to Steve’s head. “We here?”

“I think so.” Steve frowned, “The co-ords are telling me to drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0…only…”

Katie looked ahead, it was nothing but a thicket of what looked like jungle.

“You trust T’Challa?” she asked, settling in a seat behind him.

“Yeah.”

“Then do it.” She said simply, looking at him like he was an idiot.

Bucky smirked slightly and Steve rolled his eyes, but obeyed all the same. They passed through the trees as they simply disappeared, like a computer image and they were left with the skyline of a beautiful city. Katie let out the breath I hadn’t even realised she had been holding.

“What the fuck?” Bucky whispered, and Steve laughed in agreement.

*****

They were welcomed by T’Challa’s Mother, younger Sister Suri and a few members of his King’s Guard. T’Challa was on his way back from the UN and wouldn’t be back for an hour or so, so in the mean time they were given something to eat and a place to clean up, Katie taking her time in the scalding hot shower in their luxurious suite. Steve had stayed with Bucky and she was glad, as she broke down once more thinking about Tony, wondering where he was. Once she had cried all the tears she had left to cry, she dried off and crawled into the bed passing out almost immediately. She didn’t feel Steve climb in besides her later on that night. He stayed awake for a lot longer than she did, having spent the evening with T’Challa who had filled him in on what the UN had said. Tony was home okay, he knew that much, and the authorities had accepted T’CHalla’s explanation, essentially meaning he, Katie and Bucky were outlaws. For once in his life he had no idea what to do next, and the guilt at dragging her into this was eating him up. With a sigh he wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

The next day felt slightly more positive. After breakfast Suri took Bucky into her lab for a scan on his brain. Bucky had worried that going into a scanner would remind him of the machine Hydra used and could bring out the Winter Soldier again, but Suri had simply smiled and shook her head, before using what looked like a beaded bracelet to perform the scan.

Now she stood over a tablet looking at the image.

“Your mind has been fighting this the whole time.” she said tapping a few places on the tablet and bringing up a hologram image of Bucky’s brain for them all to see. She pointed to a bright, pink line which snaked all over the image “That’s what they put in there but it hasn’t melded properly, which I suspect is why you required constant…how to put this…recalibration I suppose.” she pondered something before she turned to look at the soldier and smiled. “I can fix this.”

“Really?”  Bucky said, his head jerking up as he looked at her, his eyes shining.

“I may have to engineer something new equipment wise, and it could take me a few months to do it- but it is reversible.” She nodded, voice oozing with confidence as she looked at the scans of Bucky’s brain on the screen

“How?”  Bucky frowned, hardly daring to believe what she was saying. He would be free…

“I can cut it out.” she said, like it was something she did every day. “Like I say, it has not melded to your brain. Think of it as foreign object, not a part of you, and all foreign objects can be removed.“

Katie squeezed Steve’s hand as Steve let out a loud breath as he looked up at the ceiling. Bucky was going to be ok. He glanced down at his wife who smiled at him, as they both turned to see Bucky’s eyes were wet as he wiped tears off his face. Suri dropped a hand to his shoulder.

“You won’t have to live with this anymore, Sergeant Barnes.” she said to him.

Bucky looked at her, then to Steve before his face crumpled and in a stride Steve had closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around his friend in a brotherly hug as Bucky sat on the bench, unable to believe that he was going to be free, finally free from Hydra. Katie watched the two of them as T’Challa gently squeezed her shoulder as he and Suri made to leave the room. She followed them, pausing in the doorway to turn to look at the two men, Steve stepping back from Bucky to look down at him as he wiped at his face, a teary smile crossing his features.

It had cost them everything, but at least there was something good going to come out of it all.

**** Chapter 33

**Original Posting**