#roger was probably on the roof but he fell off-

[milesconure]

Some time ago there was this art challange going on and I couldn't do it back then, because of various of reasons. But I really wanted to draw my version, because it... literally fits the Freemaker's perfectly. Three of my absolute favourite comfort characters, in a vehicle where all of them has their own place like in Star Scavenger. But of course, I wouldn't be myself if I didn't decide to do something stupid and place a damn 12 year old in driver's seat-

[lifesuckslikepain]

I love Steve Rogers, but what I love more is Steve Rogers angst. So here’s a story one of them) based on some head canon triggers ⭐️ (warning: guns, death, blood, panicking, and some drinking)

Steve’s Triggers (1) (mine)

-Fireworks-

It was New Year’s Eve, the whole group was together in the main living space, drinking, eating, hanging out. They were enjoying each other’s company in a comfortable area instead of being outside fighting some ‘big shot’. It was around 9:30 when the first set of fireworks went off, Steve had heard them slightly, looking out the window, frowning with an eyebrow raised. “Just fireworks, aren’t they pretty?” Bruce said, taking a notice to Steve’s questionable expression. “Yeah.” Steve said simply, Bruce gave a smile, “I personally like the smaller ones, like sparklers, or smoke bombs.” Bruce fiddled with his fingers. “Sparklers are my favorite too.” Steve sympathized.

10:50, the next set of fireworks went off. This time a bit louder and flashier, or maybe just closer, Steve couldn’t really tell. Steve had been taking sips of the punch Stark had made, it tasted sweet yet bitter, he wasn’t sure how the man did it. He swallowed slowly, his stomach hurt a bit, maybe he just drank too fast.

11:40 another set went off, but they weren’t as close and loud. He gave a sigh and went back to talking to the group, all of them getting prepared for the New Year. Tony had suggested going to the roof to get the best of the best view. He wanted their first New Year’s together to be the best. So going off of that, they all made a comfortable area up on the roof. Steve didn’t know why but he started to feel even more uneasy as 12:00 slowly crept up, maybe it was just cause it’d be a New Year, yeah. Yeah that’s what’s got him feeling all funny.

Tony looked at Steve, he seemed a bit lost in thoughts and pale. “Whats got you so far up your ass? Wish you could spend it somewhere else?” Tony mocked, grinning, Tony had a natural talent for mockery, this wasn’t new. Steve looked at Tony, shaking his head. After getting no reaction from the man Tony pouted a bit, going back to helping set up for the countdown. He looked up to see Natasha, “maybe it’s just cause it’s a new year. Last time he had that it was, what?, 1945? So this is probably a big difference, give him a break.” Natasha gave Tony a small smile, going back to setting up. She looked over at Steve, seeing him mess with his hands, he seemed uneasy, but it was hard to tell, Steve had quite a good poker face at times, so trying to get into his head on what he was thinking was damn near impossible. She gave a small frown, not sure how to handle this, not knowing if she should ask what’s wrong or if she should give him space. She chose the second option.

11:58, the TV played, they all getting their drinks ready. Steve looked into the TV that was set up on the roof, excited as well, he was nervous. Not sure if it was a good or bad nervous though. 11:59 came quickly, too quickly. And soon they were counting down from 10, Steve smiled at the others counting down, he sipped his drink. Before he knew it, it had reached the last 3 numbers. The rest of the team counted down from 3. The TV making an irrupted noise, Steve was fine with that. What he wasn’t prepared for was what followed after, he looked to his left, looking out, his heart started going fast, he broke into a cold sweat, a bit shaky really, or maybe too shaky. Steve felt as though his clothes are too tight, suffocating him. A sudden rush of heat goes through his body, head to toe, his heart felt like it was beating out of his chest.

He looked around, he was in the muddy dirt, trying his best to keep low. The ground squelched beneath him, it was wet and unsettling. The smell of gunpowder and ash was lingering in the air, it made him want to gag, he wasn’t sure if it could get any worse. A bright flash crossed his eyes, loud bangs rang in his ears, someone fell next to him, then another, and another. His breathing was heavy, he felt helpless to say the least, he didn’t move, not finding the right time too. Something fell near him, it was round and he swore he could hear ticking. Before he knew it he was now in no man’s land, it was just him around when it had landed near him, and it still was only him when he was in a trench. His ears rung heavily as his eyes were fogged over from the light. Red, white, yellow, and orange pondered in his vision, he was huffing, out of breath, trying to get air in his lungs.

The trench was small and he felt claustrophobic in no time, dust taking over the air going in and out of his body. His face was distorted, he was trembling, he could barely move without feeling as though he might be caught. To say he was scared was an understatement, he was beyond terrified. He knew what his role was, it was Captain, someone who should know how to handle any situation, but at the moment, he felt small. He thought about how his Ma would hold him, tell him it will all work out. How she will be there with him when he’s in the blues. But he wasn’t in the blues, and she wasn’t here anymore. It only made his heart pound harder as he thought of his Ma. He wasn’t sure which day would be his last, and he sure hoped it wouldn’t be today, not when he hasn’t finished the mission. Tears welled up in his eyes, he breathed raggedly, it’s as though he was a boy again, not being able to breathe after running for a short while. He could feel his throat close up, mainly from the dust and ash around him. It was like he was drowning, in what though?, the particles in the air, maybe the smell of the blood and sight of his once comrades, or maybe he was just drowning.

“Steve? Steve hey, hey it’s okay.” Someone’s voice also echoed in his mind, it was distant, he barely heard it over the ringing that danced in his ears. “Steve come back to us bud..” the same voice reached out to him. It sounded broken yet flowed like honey, it was quiet yet loud. It overwhelmed him, his thoughts scrambling. He couldn’t think straight. What was that voice, where is he, what’s going on? To many things flooded his mind, it felt cramped.

Steve blinked a few times, now the sky was in view, the stars shone as the sky was no longer filled with loud booms and bright flashes. He let out a breath he had been holding, it came out shaky and uneven. His eyes squeezed shut for a second and reopened, now seeing people in front of him. “You back with us?” It was Natasha, and the others behind her looking concerned and confused. “Ye..” his throat felt dry yet his face felt damp, “yeah..” he huffed out slowly several times, trying to regulate his breathing. He looked around, he was on a roof, the people he cared about around him, he smelt alcohol and food, sighing in relief. He was in an opened space, the air was clear. He took in a breath, cherishing it. He could breathe again, he wasn’t in danger, he was safe. “What the fuck happened?” Tony questioned, he was unsure of what happened. Tony and the others didn’t know what had happened other than Steve shook violently and tears formed in his eyes, he also let out small whimpers when fireworks exploded in the sky. They’ve never seen Steve like this, ever. He kept his composure, was bold and straightforward. But seeing him in a broken and unfamiliar state made it feel like he was human and not some perfectly constructed person, specifically built not to break in any way, only job in life was to finish what was needed and move onto the next task he was given.

[youhavenoideahowmuchihatethis]

I had a thought about the USO girls being protective of Steve and then I wrote this little thing. Enjoy!

...

“Goddam straps came loose during the song.���

The girls pool into the dressing room, laughing and chattering. Betty fiddles with the collar around her neck until it’s open where it connects in the back. She sighs in relief as she frees her breasts and pulls the pins out of her hair to get the ridiculous hat off, shaking out her red curls. The other girls start to undress as well, all eager to get out of their costumes and into their (slightly) more comfortable clothes. 

“Ya almost flashed the whole audience”, giggles Miriam, a pretty blonde who joined the group very recently.

“Please, imagine how many bonds would sell with these bombs” Betty says cheeky and shimmies her boobs to a song only she could hear. That earns her a few wolf whistles and howling laughter.

“Would have given the old bloke in the first row a heart attack” Ruth cackles. Betty knows exactly who she meant and giggles too. The guy’s eyes almost fell out just from seeing that much leg. 

“Forget the grandpa, Rogers would’ve gone up in flames right then and there on the stage.” Martha throws in, strapping a small watch around her wrist. “He always acts like he’s not seen us change a hundred times.”

“Nah, he’s just one of them catholics, they feel guilty about everythin’.”

“Ain’t that true!” yells a voice from the back of the room that Betty recognizes as Irene’s. When she isn't on stage she wears a simple silver cross around her neck. “I still hear the fucking nuns in my head when I start to enjoy myself.”

“Where is he anyways?” Miriam asks, looking around a bit.

Ruth sighs. “Probably being paraded around like a showpony again, poor fella.” 

“Can’t really blame them when he looks like the American dream with a cherry on top”, Martha says as she checks her makeup and hair in one of the many mirrors along the walls.

“And he’s such a gentleman too”, Miriam adds with a sigh. “You think he already has a dame?” Betty snickers internally. Oh, poor sweet girl.

“Rogers? Nah, he looks like a brick shithouse but he’s real delicate on the inside, if ya know what I mean”, Betty says conspiratorially and winks for good measure. She had already peeled herself out of the costume and currently buttons up her blouse.

“Well yeah, he’s a big softy, I noticed. He still could have a girl. I bet he’s a real romantic.”

Betty stops fiddling with the buttons. And she hesitates. Ruth silently meets her eyes. She could feel Martha looking too, as well as a few other girls who had been listening to the conversation. Miriam doesn’t seem to notice the sudden stillness, just rolling up her stockings  and securing them on her garters.

Well, Betty thought. Better to get it out now than Miriam finding out about it under different circumstances. Her eyes briefly wander over to where Alice is zipping up her dress. Sweet, quiet Alice, who writes letters to her ‘roommate’ almost daily and always seals them with a kiss when she thinks no one is watching her.

“No, I mean… He’s… He’s a man’s man, y’know?” Her voice is a lot quieter now than it was before and heavy with implication. Most of the girls already knew, but you can never know who might be walking by. They all like him. They all like Steve. They helped him get over his stage fright and he is a goddam cheat at every card game they’ve played so far. They all like him a lot.

Miriam's eyes widen when she understands. Her mouth opens and closes a few times, like a fish on land. 

“You mean… he’s one of them homos?” The last part came out in a whisper, the news clearly shocking to her.

Betty squares up her shoulders to appear taller than she is. Her expression turns cold. 

“Now you listen here Miriam, I’m sain’ this once ‘cause you’re young and new to the showbiz, but these people are everywhere and you’re a stage dancer, so you’ll meet a lot. And let me tell you Miriam, these are fine people who live their lives just as you do. They too just want a roof over their head, food on their table and this damn war to end. Who cares who they’re foolin’ around with.”

“But he’s-”

“Been nothing but nice to you, has he not? Was he not such a gentleman? So you’re gonna learn to accept him and those people and if you can’t, it’s you who’ll have to leave, got it?” Somewhere during her speech she had crossed her arms over her chest, giving Miriam a hard look.

Miriam looks at her with huge eyes and then nods.

Betty lets her frown melt away and gives Miriam a tiny smile and a nod back. Beside her she hears someone let out a long breath. It was Ruth.

“Well damn Betty, heart of gold and tongue of steel.”

Betty gives Ruth her biggest grin. “And bombs for tits, don’t you forget it.” She shimmies again and that breaks the serious and heavy air around them as they all laugh at her.

Martha leans in closer, a secret smile on her lips and a mischievous glint in her eye. “But do you think he has a fella?”

“Who knows?” She shrugs, but couldn’t hide the smirk.  “If he doesn’t I’m sure it’s no trouble finding one. I for sure wouldn’t have trouble if I had an ass like that.”

Screaming laughter erupts so loud that Betty is sure you could hear it in the audience.

[magpietoriches]

LockDown Part I: Bottle Episode [Revised Edition]

Summary: The fate of the Avengers lies in the hands of the Senate this evening, and all you have to do is make sure Loki is prepared for the hearing and ready to leave. 

Setting: 2018 in an alternate timeline where Loki made it to Earth after the events of “Thor: Ragnarok” and Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton, and Scott Lang are still on the Raft.

Pairing: Loki x Reader (First Person)

Playlist ~ Masterlist ~ Next Part 

Avenger’s Compound March 12th, 2018:

    I raced towards the elevator as best I could in my heels, nearly dropping the manila folder that had been too large to fit inside my purse. 

    “Evening.” Travis, the ex-SHIELD agent, looked up from the UPs package he was signing for and smiled at me. His white teeth contrasted against his dark skin. He wore his usual uniform of black cargo pants and a black t-shirt that accentuated his muscles. 

     “Sorry Travis,” I said without stopping. “We can catch up later.” 

   Travis shook his head and laughed. His booming voice echoed throughout the halls of the compound. “Tony doesn’t pay you enough.”

    I reached my destination out of breath and with swollen feet. I removed my shoes and wiggled my toes. Elevators in the Avengers compound, I had realized from my year of working as Tony’s liaison, were a lot like printers; They never worked when you needed them to because they could sense your fear. 

          The button for the elevator flashed a bright red after I had pressed it. I tapped my foot against the laminated floor and crossed my arms over my chest. Unlike myself, the elevator doors remained stationary. I pressed the button gently a second time, and then a third, and by the fourth, I was punching it.

        “Not sure if hitting it will help.”

         I turned around and looked up at the person behind me. “Don’t tell me hitting things doesn’t work. You punched Hitler and it ended a war.”

“I didn’t actually punch Hitler,” Steve Rogers replied sheepishly. The chrome-coloured elevator reflected Captain America failing to readjust his necktie. “And besides, I don’t think this elevator has started any wars.”

       “That we know of.” I swatted Steve’s hand and took hold of his tie. “There,” I said, smoothing down the grey fabric. 

              “Thanks.” Steve pulled an ID badge from his pocket. His hands shook as he tried to clip it to his suit jacket. 

    “Nervous about the senate hearing,” I commented. 

           “Let’s just say I don’t like public speaking.” Steve looked me up and down as the doors to the elevator finally opened. “You look nice. What’s the occasion?” 

      “I’ve got a date.” I swayed back and forth on my heels and tugged on the fabric of my black silk dress. 

        “Finally said yes to Mr Facebook?” Steve asked. He pressed the button for the roof where the Avenger’s helicopter took off from. 

      I rolled my eyes and pressed the button for the 12th floor. I felt a shiver run up my spine. “Don’t call Eric that. Makes it sound like I’m going on a date with Mark Zuckerburg.”

     The remainder of the elevator ride with Steve was spent in comfortable silence. It wasn’t until Steve’s ID card fell to the ground that we continued our conversation.

     “These things are always a bitch,” I said, bending down to pick up the badge. With expert precision, I fastened the ID Card to Steve’s suit jacket. “Took me a few senate hearings to master it.” 

   “How long do they usually go for?”

   “Depends,” I shrugged, “This one probably won’t be so long. It’s already starting in the evening. Thank Tony for that.”  I pulled my phone out of my purse, my heart started pounding when I saw it was already 5:30. “Shit,” I mumbled. 

   “I’m assuming they are going to ask me questions about the signing of the accords, huh?”

    “Yeah, probably.” My head was down as I scrolled through text messages with Eric. I read the last one I had sent this morning. “Looking forward to dinner tonight at 6:00. Le Bernardin.” 

     The musical chime of the elevator caused me to jump. I took a deep breath, and clutched my file even harder. 

    “Everything okay?” Steve asked. I still hadn’t left the elevator. 

     “It will be, once I’m finished delivering this file to the prince of darkness,” I answered, waving the yellow folder labelled “Senator profiles.” 

   “Loki was supposed to have gotten that file last week.”

  “Yup.”

   “And the hearing is in an hour.”

     “It sure is,” I offered Steve a toothless smile. Steve in turn looked at me, with a raised eyebrow.

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

            “You look ridiculous,” Loki greeted me. I rubbed my knuckles which had grown sore from banging on Loki’s door. 

    “And you’re not wearing the suit I got you,” I said, as I squeezed past Loki, who was blocking me from entering his room. His hair was damp and he wore black pants and a simple dark green sweater. Needless to say, he looked comfortable. “This,” I held up the file and slammed it down on Loki’s coffee table. I nearly knocked over the Jenga box Thor had left, “Is for you.”

    “Not interested.” A green glow washed over Loki instantly drying his hair. 

  “You know what?” I threw my hands in the air, “I’ve been trying to help you for three weeks. You want to go to the senate hearing unprepared. Be my guest. I don’t care anymore.”

           “I’m not going, Bug.” Loki sauntered over to the freshly painted black varnished bookshelf that had been left behind by Wanda. Its original red oak colour had been completely erased. Most furniture in Loki’s room had once belonged to Wanda. The only thing distinguishably Loki were the various paintings he had hanging on the walls. The latest one, depicting a naked man and woman, in a forest with a snake, hanging over the fireplace. 

       I watched Loki select “Frankenstein's Monster,” from the shelf and take a seat on the black leather lounge chair, his feet resting on the ottoman. I couldn't help the small hitch in my breath as he licked his finger to turn the page. 

    “You don’t have a choice,” I pulled the ottoman out from under Loki’s feet. His boots slammed against the hardwood. “You’ve been subpoenaed.”

    “I don’t know what that means.”

    “You would if you LISTENED to any of the senate prep, I’ve been forced to give you.”

  “Nor do I care,” Loki pulled his footrest back towards himself. 

   “Oh, you’ve made that painfully clear. But you should care. Do you want to live on New Asgard with Thor or not?”

   Loki sighed and set his book down. “I want to be left alone.”

    “Enjoy the RAFT because that’s exactly where you’re headed.” 

   “The RAFT?” Loki looked up at the ceiling, “Why does the sound familiar?” 

   I clenched my fist. My blood had begun to boil. “You really haven’t been listening to anything I’ve been telling you? The RAFT is a prison where the other half of the Avengers have been- Why am I wasting my breath?”

  “I’ve been asking myself that question for a month,” Loki said with a smirk before turning to another page of his book. 

        I rolled my eyes and crossed my arm. Loki was arrogant. Rude. I wanted to throw something at him. My eyes landed on the Jenga box Thor had left behind on his last visit. God that was a disaster. 

“You oaf,” Loki had shouted, “You bumped the table.”

    Thor called my name and pointed to the fallen blocks, “Tell him I didn't bump the table.”

    Loki and I were supposed to be going over questions he should avoid answering at the hearing. Thor had strolled in believing his brother needed a break. 

“Thor we really need to work,” I had told the God of Thunder. 

            “If you're looking for something to throw at me, can I recommend a pillow?” Loki's voice brought me back to reality. His eyes had never left his book.

    I froze, my eyes widening, and I began looking around the room. 

    “I can't read your mind, Bug,” He looked up from his book and gave me a smile, “You're just very predictable.” 

        “And do you know what you are?”

“What am I?” Loki leaned forward, a smirk on his face. 

“You’re-” My phone started to ring. I pulled it out of my purse and swiped the talk button. Loki’s nose scrunched, and his brows furrowed when I held my index finger up to him. “Hello?” I said into the other end of my phone. Loki rose from his seat and walked towards me as I listened to the woman on the other end of the call informing me that my reservations would have to be pushed to 6:30. “That’s great,” I told the hostess as I walked away from Loki and headed towards his kitchen, “I’m running late myself. Thanks for the heads up.” I set my phone down on Loki’s kitchen island and glared at the god following me around his room. “Will you stop trying to listen in on my conversations?”

Loki placed his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet. “You have a date,” he stated. 

“Yes,” I sighed. 

A few particles of dust fell to the ground as Loki wiped his finger along the surface of the kitchen island. “Who with?” he shrugged. 

“Why do you care?”

“Just curious.” 

I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip. “His name is Eric. Okay? I knew him from high school. His sister used to be friends with my sister. Happy?”

“Not quite. Something doesn’t add up.”

“What?” I asked, taking a gulp of air. My palms began to sweat. 

“Why would Eric want to go on a date with you?”

“Okay,” I pursed my lips and nodded my head, “I’ve wasted enough time. The hearing is in-” I tapped my phone - “50 minutes. I suggest you use your magic and pop off to Washington.”

“I can’t teleport myself,” Loki scoffed.

“And I can’t stand being in a room with you. So, I’m leaving.”

 I barely made it two steps when the lights in Loki’s room went dark. My hands began to shake, and my breath became shallow. It only took a few seconds for the lights to come back on, but instead of its usual fluorescent hue, Loki’s room was basked in a red glow. I had to cover my ears as a loud, unnerving alarm could be heard throughout the compound. The windows surrounding the far end of Loki’s room were covered by a metal slab that fell down from the ceiling. Another metal shield raised from the floor, covering Loki’s front door. The God of Mischief himself gently took my arm and moved me so I now stood behind him. Two daggers materialized in his hands. 

           “Attention all staff, and guests,” FRIDAY’s voice echoed throughout the room. The Avengers compound is in a mandatory lockdown. Please remain where you are. This is not a drill. I repeat. The Avengers compound is in a mandatory lockdown. Please remain where you are.”

As FRIDAY continued to repeat her message a few more times, Loki and I looked at each other. The realization of our situation hitting us at the exact same time. 

I broke the silence first. 

“Fuck.”

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

Author's Commentary

So for anyone who’s seen my update, I have decided to go back and revise some of my chapters. It’s really just a personal preference. So, if you read this chapter before, and don’t feel like reading it again, don’t worry, it’s the same plot as last time. 

If this is your first time reading this story. Hi. Tag list are open. 

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[subwaysurf45]

Winter Makes Ice (Ep.1)

Summary: you’re captured after a brawl at the Avengers building, Bucky and others must save you before Hydra makes a new Winter Soldier out of you, Bucky has given up that title. 

Episode: One 

Words: 3948

Warning: depiction/description of violence, kidnapping, killing, PTSD, depression. 

A/N: I will be making a masterlist for this specific series!

Masterlist!

Winter Makes Ice (series masterlist)

Time: 1:36pm

Date: September 23rd, 2024

“Bucky, I swear to fucking god-” You threw the person you just knocked out onto the ground of the common room, “you have to get out of here, It’s you or this entire building!” Bucky gave you a sympathetic look as you fought off Hydra agents, your gun fired three shots behind you to another agent you sensed running up. 

“But I can’t leave you!” Bucky screamed back over the fire and bullets, Hydra agents were running in from every which way. The smoke rising made it harder for him to see you and Sam, who was also there a couple seconds ago. Everyone else was trying to stop the agents from the outside or other levels. It was a complete break-in. 

“Fuck all that Bucky, I love you but I can’t love you if you’re dead- Fuck!” You screamed in pure anger as you began hand to hand combat with an agent, he wasn’t good at all so it was a quick take down. “James!” you looked over to just see him standing there, his eyes were watery from the pain and smoke, “you need to fucking leave! Run!” you shouted, waving him off. 

“I love you!” He yelled over, hands cupping his mouth to make sure you heard him.

“I’ll tell you I love you after this, we’ll be okay,” you looked over your shoulder to find three new agents running in, their eyes weren’t even looking at you. You looked back to find Bucky still standing there, “fucking run!” Your throat felt raw, all the screaming and fighting was taking a massive toll on you. 

Bucky took off in the other direction, the fire was subsiding as he got further from you. The serum gave him lungs like no other, so running through fire and smoke was easy. With a frantic mind and tunnel vision his left and right mixed up, all Bucky was trying to find was an exit and it should’ve been easy but he’d turn back after remembering this wasn’t the right hallway. His hand was gripped tightly on his gun while the metal hand held a knife firmly, after getting his mind back he found he could throw better with his left and shoot with his right- his dominant hand is right anyway. 

“Anyone on their com?” Everyone had quickly shoved theirs in during the start of the ambush; half the SHIELD agents weren’t wearing their tactical gear. 

“Rogers is here,” Steve ended his sentence with a grunt. 

“So is Romanoff,” Nat sounded a bit more composed but still out of breath. 

“y/n is down on the main floor, she told me to run because all they’re after is me, someone needs to go down and help her,” he received a few confirmations before focusing back to the task at hand. The bright light of the afternoon sun blinded him for a second, with all the lights shutting off and the smoke it made it seem like it was night. Bucky reached up to rub his eyes to help adjust to the sun but ended up just rubbing smoke and fumes into them, “fuck!” He stumbled back against the closed door as he used his shirt to rub his eyes but that was also covered in his smoke. 

Bucky reached back and grabbed a completely full water jug that was the size of his palm, Bucky could feel his heart shatter as his eyes cleared because it was you who- only a matter of hours ago -was leading a very relaxed meeting about these water bottles, ‘you need to hydrate to stay on your feet’ you had said a couple times. His mind was as clear as his eyes, the way you were screaming at him to leave, the way you stood directly between him and the Hydra agents so they had to shoot through you to get him, the way you kept looking back to him with tears in your eyes because all you wanted was for him to stay but you knew better and sent him away. The tears mixed with the water as he sprayed his face, the smoke clung to his sweat like he did to you after a nightmare. The entire Avengers building was slowly caving in on itself, he could feel his heart lurch with every new piece of the building fall on the inside, he just hoped it didn’t hit you. 

He kept walking further from what he once called home, trying to get a better view of it all. He wanted to look away because he felt like all at once the building could crumble to pieces and consume you with it, there was no saving the building; and quite possibly you. 

“Wh-gent-hu?” Bucky had walked too far away from the building and the coms, all of them were close to low battery because of the last mission. Bucky ran towards the building and couldn’t see anyone on the roof, but as he ran closer the clearer the coms got. “Where-agent-I can’t-what is happ-sto-!” It was three different voices screaming together at once, Bucky whipped the doors open and saw just how much the inside changed. 

The walls weren’t a sophisticated grey anymore but rather charred and black, there was no roof, at all. Bucky ran into the common room to find everyone looking under fallen planks and bars of steel, he started lifting them too. Everyone was running around and screaming at eachother, everyone had a different level of injury. Steve was throwing support beams like nothing, Bucky ran over. “Who are we looking for, Steve?” 

Steve just looked at Bucky with tears falling down his face, his skin was brown with dirt but his tears left trails down his skin. “Bucky, man, I’m sorry…” Steve sniffled and covered his mouth. Natasha had walked over, her hands were shaking and clutching something close to her heart. 

“I think we have our answer,” Nat cried and handed Bucky the water bottles you introduced. 

“Who’s-” he was cut off when Bucky flipped the bottle to check the bottom, and there in your hand writing was your name, and a little heart next to it. 

Bucky felt as though his soul had just left his body, everyone was getting close to giving up the search for you. If your body would be found it would be a miracle for you to still be alive, your lungs would have been fried due to the smoke and a pillar could crush you like it was nothing. Sparks flew off of snapped electrical that could be electrocuting you at this moment, small fires still burned which could be living off our ashes, any of the pure destruction could be killing you. And yet people were giving up, by the look on Steve’s face Bucky knew he should as well. 

Time: 11:45am 

Date: September 23rd, 2024

“So you’re saying we have little squirt bottles, this is fucking great!” Sam laughed, he looked at the clear bottle that was shaped into a big teardrop, the kind marathon runners keep on their belt. He pulled a sharpie out of his pocket and wrote his name. 

You sat next to Bucky who was still feeling the effects of the last mission, it was at a Hydra base to just get intel but even then, it was still hard. Everyone got back a day ago and decided to push the debrief for the next day because of the shared exhaustion. Bucky slept for twelve hours because of it. 

“Do you like them?” you asked, referencing the bottles, you both held yours as you waited for the marker to be passed to you. 

“Anything you do, I like, sweetheart.” Bucky pulled you into his side and cuddled with you for a bit, he had always found your touch was a good way to stay grounded. Your heart beat could be felt anywhere, and Bucky would always try and match it. The marker was passed to you both and you wrote your names, a little heart found its home next to the last letter of your name, Bucky could only smile wide and shake his head and he took the marker and wrote his. 

You and Bucky made your way back to your shared room before cuddling up in bed, a movie was thrown on and you both watched it as your eyes started to close. Bucky was awake, he kept looking down at your head on his shoulder to leave a little kiss, he’d always let his lips linger on the top of your head so he could smell your shampoo. Normally you were clinging to him for warmth but he could feel you were radiating heat, your sweater was actually his and the covers were tucked to you and Bucky got the edge, this wasn’t new for him. You were almost asleep but still every minute or so you’d subconsciously snuggle your cheek deeper into Bucky’s shoulder, small little circles in Bucky’s shoulder as you got more comfy. 

Bucky ended up falling asleep too, it was weird when he would wake and realize how vulnerable he was to be asleep with you beside him and the door unlocked, he would smile at himself and make a mental note to bring it up to his therapist that he slept soundly again. Bucky probably could’ve gone the entire night but was woken up by a hard time breathing, something was caught in his throat so his cough woke him up. Then his dry cough woke you up, right away your nose turned up at the smell. 

“Smells like burnt,” you said and stood up, a couple joints popping back into place. 

“Ya, that’s what it was,” Bucky nodded, he pulled his shirt over his nose. 

“Wanda needs to leave Nat alone with the cooking thing, Nat doesn’t like to cook so I don’t know why Wanda keeps bugging her, right?” you turned back to Bucky, he was nodding along. “Everyone has their thing, cooking isn’t Nat’s thing but that's fine,” you sighed, “I’m gonna actually talk to Wanda about-” 

Three bangs landed right on your door, you jumped back from it and Bucky stood up. Two guns were pulled out of the bedside tables, Bucky tossed one of them to you. The banging went again and it wasn’t a friendly bang, you both knew this wasn’t one of your friends. The safety of the guns were both pulled back with a ticking sound, Bucky put his clip in his gun, you like to use a revolver and it was already ready. The top hinge blew off and the door slightly fell forward, the lights were off and the emergency ones gave little light, there was smoke crawling through the cracks in the door. Bucky had made his way to the other side of the bed to you, now you were both in front of the door. 

“Who do you think it is?” You whispered to him, your shoulders rubbed against his with quick breathes. 

“No idea,” Bucky muttered back, his lips barely moved. 

The door busted down and because you both were ready the guy didn’t stand a chance, the intruder fell back in an instant at the rapid fire from the guns, the sound would be as loud as the banging on the door. The intruder wasn’t even ready to fire, his gun flipped out of his holster and slid a tiny bit on the tile floors before stopping. The emergency lights hit the silver gun perfectly, you noticed red on it but it didn’t look like blood, there was some type of symbol or branding on it. You slowly walked closer, your bare feet not giving away you were moving in case someone was waiting before the threshold of the door. 

“Bucky…” you whispered and turned to him, “you gotta get out of here,” you slowly bent down and picked up the gun, the Hydra symbol was hard to see now that it was not getting any light. Bucky’s nostrils flared as a way to hide what he was feeling, his mouth opened to try and talk this through but the sounds of coughing, guns, and screams took its place. 

You both ran to the common room, everyone was there, fighting an agent. Coming from a third angle you took out some of the agents with your gun, they didn’t see it coming; neither did Nat as she pointed her gun in your direction. 

“They want their intel back, go to the computers!” Steve screamed, you turned and ran. 

Bucky joined the fight in the common room, he kept looking back to see you getting smaller and smaller down the hall. All he had was his gun and a knife he picked up from his dresser, both were used as more and more Hydra agents ran in and came from the ceiling that was falling apart. 

You turned quickly into the room, computers and wires everywhere. Your time was spent in the training room rather than here, but you logged in mission reports on the computers. Hard drives of every mission, every person, and every thing were connected everywhere. Tons of information that could give Hydra the upperhand, there were still hard drives you had just stolen from Hydra that no one had looked into yet. This was all they wanted, but it was weird to see how many agents were coming in and not making their way to the intel room. You stood on guard with your gun out and ready, you weren’t wearing anything protective so you stood behind an old computer that was yet to be thrown out. 

A man walked in, he was tall and slim. Brown hair curled down to his shoulders and his eyes were a dark green, they pierced right through you. You were about to shoot but he just put out his hand, his index finger coming up and wagging you off. “I wouldn’t do that,” he warned, his voice was like gravel. 

“Why not?” You grunted, finger ready on the trigger. 

He didn’t even reach for his gun, his hands out in front of him. “Because, you’d never shoot the messenger, would you?” His hands lowered but he kept them out. You slowly lowered your gun but kept your hands ready, fingers still holding the trigger. “I came on my own terms, no leader sent me,” He added and pulled a chair out. 

“Out with it, I don’t need your cryptic bullshit!” your gun was raised again, “hands up!” 

He raised them, “we don’t want intel.” 

“What?” 

“You stole our intel, that’s fine.” his nose stuffed up, “but you steal our weapon, rid him of his purpose...then we have an issue.”  

“He’s not a weapon!” you knew exactly who they were talking about, “and we didn’t steal him, we saved him, we saved Bucky!” you yelled again, tears gathering in your eyes. 

The man sat back on his chair, “I don’t care at this point, none of us do, you either give us our Winter Soldier or we will burn this place to the ground.” He stood to size you up, “the message has been given, shoot me if you want, I heard humans are flammable so I’d help burn this place-” 

The man's brain flew out and hit the walls, blood sprayed over you and the computers. His knees folded in and the hole in his head slammed against the floor, you should have let him suffer but he probably was working for Hydra, and that’s suffering everyday. The man’s skin whitened in a matter of seconds, all the blood rushing out of that one spot was getting near the electrical, so you ran back to the common room. 

Bucky was there, “most of them went to the roof, we got it down here!” He screamed. 

“They’re after you!” you yelled and shot a few agents down, “this isn’t intel, they want you Bucky!” The smoke was flying up and with all the fast movements, it was getting harder to see him, but you saw the metal arm in the reflection. 

“It doesn’t matter, I’m staying here!” He stopped to reload, but you knocked someone down and turned to face him. 

“Bucky, I swear to fucking god-” You threw the person you just knocked out onto the ground of the common room, “you have to get out of here, It’s you or this entire building!” Bucky gave you a sympathetic look as you fought off Hydra agents, your gun fired three shots behind you to another agent you sensed running up. 

“But I can’t leave you!” Bucky screamed back over the fire and bullets, Hydra agents were running in from every which way. The smoke rising made it harder for him to see you and Sam, who was also there a couple seconds ago. Everyone else was trying to stop the agents from the outside or other levels. It was a complete break-in. 

“Fuck all that Bucky, I love you but I can’t love you if you’re dead- Fuck!” You screamed in pure anger as you began hand to hand combat with an agent, he wasn’t good at all so it was a quick take down. “James!” you looked over to just see him standing there, his eyes were watery from the pain and smoke, “you need to fucking leave! Run!” you shouted, waving him off. 

 Bucky took off but as he ran away, right before you lost sight of him, an arm wrapped tightly around your neck. You couldn’t see a face but you heard a voice, “he’ll turn himself in if he knows we have you, now this will hurt.” the butt of a gun slammed your temple, all you saw was black. 

Time: unknown 

Date: unknown

Your head hurt so bad, right as you were waking up it was a pulsing ache everywhere from between your eyes to your neck. It felt like waves, for a moment the pressure would drop but then slowly crawl back in, nothing was rigid. In the room you found yourself in there wasn’t much to register, just a cell that was a little longer than arm's length and some black box on the ceiling, it wasn’t a light but it seemed to hold something. There was no bed as well, you were sat up against the wall in a corner. As you moved to look around your neck all the way down to your knees ached; not to mention the pressure building in your head. It felt like you had been struck in the back of the head even though you thought it was in your temple when you were knocked out, your hand cupped high on your neck, right where your hair started. There was a sting and you pulled away with a hiss, a few pieces of scab came with it. 

There were no windows, no source of light to see what time it was. But the fact that whatever cut was made to the back of your head was a fully scabbed and not bleeding gave away you had been asleep for a bit, that almost made it worse. 

“Welcome, Soldat,” a voice with an accent came through, it was one you couldn’t figure out. “It seems our other weapon got away, we were gifted you instead; we are happy about it no less.'' the voice was coming from a speaker in the top left corner, not the black box directly above you. 

“Where am I?” your voice sounded like sandpaper. 

“In your cell,” you could hear the smirk, “but you’re not in Avenger’s territory anymore, would you like to know where you are?” he didn’t wait for you to answer, “I’ll give it to you if you follow this simple task, would you mind getting on your knees?” the voice asked, you stayed still, “right, I forgot. Soldat, get on your knees.” right away your knees smashed into the concrete floor. “Would you look at that, how pretty?” 

“What that fuck?” you gasped out, your hands folded neatly on your lap as you sat back on your calves. 

“Now that we know your abilities, you’re in Iceland, Hydra gifted us you.” 

“You’re not Hydra?” you asked, this time louder and looking at the speaker. 

“Oh, we are Hydra.” the voice laughed, “just not how you think we are...” 

Time: 9:59pm

Date: September 27th, 2024

Bucky didn’t know how long he’d been curled in his bed with the curtains drawn, there was no perception of time at all. All he did was cry, all day. His body ached and crumbled into itself more and more as time went on. Everyone was mourning the loss of a friend, but to Bucky it was a lover. He held the picture you framed after your first date as a couple, that was one of the first times Bucky had truly smiled. 

You both went to a really nice restaurant and when you were finished you waiter offered to take a picture because they saw you getting self conscious when your arm was up to take a selfie. The both of you leaned over the table and close to one another, right before the picture was taken Bucky reached over and placed his metal hand over yours, allowing it to be seen in the picture. It was something he regretted but after you framed it and kept it on your side of the bed, Bucky looked at it everyday with a smile. 

The picture was still in the frame but it wasn’t on the bedside anymore, rather pushed up against Bucky’s chest. He’d pull it away to look at you from time to time, after picturing all the good times with you, your face seemed to change and warp until it wasn’t you. Bucky would run his finger down the glass and try to imagine the feeling of your skin again, he’d lost almost everyone in his life, all he wanted was to feel you one last time if it really was your time to go. Your smile was so bright it lit up the pitch black room he was crying in, your smile and your personality could keep an entire country running for years. 

He ran out of salty tears and all that was left was wheezing and rocking back and forth in his bed, the emotions were working him out, sweat lines the neck rim of his t-shirt, but he’d also use the neck line to wipe the tears that slipped past his nose and lips. They would roll down and hit his pillow, he had already flipped it to get a dry surface. 

Steve walked in, he didn’t need to knock because he knew what’s coming. Steve had watched you and Bucky grow from barely speaking to napping on the couch for everyone to see, it took a while but Steve knew from the beginning that you were perfect for him. Steve brought Bucky a sandwich everyday at noon because he refused to eat dinner and breakfast. Some days he wouldn’t eat at all but noon seemed to be the best time for him to eat everything. 

“Wanda made it today actually, she added some chips on the side and made it real nice, Buck,” Steve went to the windows and opened the blinds, he did that everyday but  when he would come back 24 hours later they’d be closed. “I also have news, about y/n…” 

Steve saw for the first time in four days Bucky sit up, he saw the grief fade and a small shred of hope appear.

A/n: if you want to be tagged in this series let me know through an ask or anything!

[somewhatgreatexpectations]

Leave Your Lover (Wanda Maximoff/ Reader)

Hello! So, this was going to be one really long part, but it kind of got away from me and I had to split it into two. Don’t worry the next part is going to be very long either way because that’s the half that got away from me. This takes place pre-Infinity War. Inspired by Sam Smith’s “Leave Your Lover”, mainly the line featured. 

Summary: A brief glimpse into life on the run. Will Wanda be able to find Y/n? 

“If I can't have you I'll walk this life alone, spare you the rising storms and let the rivers flow.”

Being on the run was difficult to say the least and being on the run while trying to find someone who was actively trying not to be found was even worse. Despite being told by the rest of the group that it may be in her best interest to just move on and let you go, Wanda knew that wasn’t an option. She had made a promise to herself that she was going to keep fighting for you, no matter the cost. Wanda had let you go once and she wasn’t going to let it happen, not if there was a part of her that knew you still had love in your heart for her.

The only one who knew where you were at all times was Steve and he had spent the last few months absolutely refusing to disclose your exact location. That never stopped her from trying though. 

Eventually though, he gave in. Steve wasn’t sure if it was her sheer determination that impressed him or the fact that he had never seen you happier than when you were with her. If she thought she could create happiness in a terrible situation, Steve thought she at least deserved a true chance and he wouldn’t stand in the way. 

When she received the location, Wanda quickly packed what little she had and booked the next train ticket to Rennes, France. Feeling hopeful for the first time since long before the events of Lagos. _________________________________

For the majority of the time you’d been on the run, you stuck to the idea that hiding in plain sight was the best course of action. Which is why you were currently at a poorly lit bar, trying to live as normal a life as you possibly could under the circumstances. The only unfortunate thing was that you couldn’t interact with anyone due to the risk of being discovered. So, when you felt someone tap your shoulder, you knew it would be time to go.

Before turning, you downed your drink to prepare yourself to either get hit on by a random drunk person or convince them you weren’t who they thought you were.

Neither options were what you got when you turned around though. You tilted your head in pleasant surprise at the sight before you.

“Long time no see, stranger.”

Without thinking and perhaps partially due to the alcohol coursing through your veins, you wrapped yourself tightly around the woman in front of you. She laughed in surprise and gladly returned the embrace. You couldn’t help but revel in the contact, touch deprived from all the time you had spent in solitude.

For a while, you both just stood there, wrapped in one another’s embrace. Ignoring the occasional odd look from random passer byers. With one final squeeze, you released her but kept your hands on her shoulders. “You have no idea how good it is to see you, Nat.” you admitted to her with a smile on your face.

Natasha easily returned the smile. “It’s good to see you too. I was passing by outside when I thought I saw you sitting here and I had to see if it was really you.”

“What are the chances?” you asked with a laugh as you signaled the bartender over and ordered drinks. “Let’s celebrate.”

After drinking for a bit and catching up slightly, you both agreed that staying longer would be too much a risk and decided to take a walk outside. 

“You dyed your hair.” You noted as you reached over and took a strand of her hair gently in between your fingers before letting it go. “It looks good.”

A playful smirk spread across Natasha’s lips. “Yeah, well, I figured the red was a dead giveaway for me, so… blonde it was.” She nudged you playfully. “A better disguise than a beanie and glasses at least. You’re no better than Rogers.” 

A boisterous laugh escaped your lips, “What can I say? That man taught me everything I know.” Natasha shook her head but laughed despite herself. 

You knew you would have to separate soon, but you tried not to focus on that. The pair of you walked in contented silence, enjoying the comfort of not being alone, even if it was temporarily.  Eventually you both come up on the street where your hideout was located and for the first time you didn’t feel the need to rush in. Thankfully there was a small bench located across the street and you both wandered over and took a seat, enjoying the cool air.

“How have you been?” Natasha eventually asked, her eyes on yours as she attempted to analyze you.

You pondered the question for a moment. “I’ve been… lonely.” You finally breathed out, turning your gaze skyward. “I feel alone. I miss real connections. I miss just being able to walk down the street without fear of corporal punishment. I miss human contact.”

Natasha’s hand fell to your knee and squeezed lightly. You turned your head to meet her eyes. “I know what you mean. You’re never really alone though, Y/n. You know we’d all be there in a heartbeat if we could, if we have to.” 

The touch and the knowledge that you weren’t alone was something you had missed. Again, whether it was the alcohol in both your systems or the deprivation of another human’s touch, but you both found yourselves leaning forward and connecting lips. 

It was gentle and nice, but you couldn’t help but compare it to Wanda. Kissing Wanda always felt powerful and right. The way your whole body felt like electricity was coursing through your veins at the simplest of touches. Kissing Wanda always felt like coming home. You could’t help but think you needed this to realize that the one you still wanted was the one you shouldn’t want.

Despite this, you didn’t pull away, tangling your hand in Natasha’s now blonde locks as her hands fell to your waist. You allowed yourself this small moment of comfort.

Across the street, Wanda had been approaching only to stop in horror at the sight before her. Her mind rushing and heart breaking at the sight. If she felt a fraction of what you did that night on the roof, she couldn’t imagine how you got through it. As much as her heart ached in her chest, she didn’t allow it to stop her. She just hoped it wasn’t too late. That you hadn’t already given your heart to another. 

After some time, both you and Natasha pulled away. Laughing when you met one another’s eyes. “That was… nice.” You said lightly.

Natasha rolled her eyes and pushed your shoulder. “Yeah, we’re drunk. We will never speak of this again.” She chuckled and looked at her watch. “My train leaves in a little over an hour, I should probably go.” You nodded in understanding and she hugged you once more before beginning to walk away.

“Hey, Nat?” you called after her. She turned. “Take care of yourself, okay?” She nodded and blew a teasing kiss your way before walking off into the night. With a sigh you leaned into the bench and closed your eyes for a moment, taking in the fact that you were alone again. 

It had to have been less than a few minutes when you felt someone sit next to you, your eyes shot open and met with stunning emerald eyes that used to be your world. “Wanda?” you whispered, feeling the air leave your lungs at the sight of her. 

Wanda quirked her lips up slightly, but there was melancholy in her eyes. “So, you and Nat, huh?” There was no accusation in her tone, just sadness. Possibly even acceptance. You quickly realized that she must have seen the kiss.

“And if we are? Together, I mean. What will you do?” You probed challengingly.

Pain flooded her eyes as she dropped her gaze to her lap. “Nothing. I’m not going to interfere if you’re happy, but… but just know that I won’t stop fighting for you. I’ll be here waiting because our love is destined and I’m not going away. I’ll still love you even if you chose to love someone else. You have all of me. Always.” She paused slightly. “You are my only direction.” She added quietly, repeating the words you once told her back to you. 

Your heart clenched at the referenced moment, of one of your formerly favorite moments. 

Staring off into the distance, you could feel the numbness begin to fade as the alcohol started to leave your system. “Why?”

She lifted her gaze up to you curiously, but you didn’t meet her eyes. “Why what?”

“Why do you keep trying?” 

Wanda took a deep breath and turned so she was facing you completely even if you wouldn’t look at her. “Love.” She stated simply, “I’m in love with you, beyond all rationality. Even if you don’t believe me. I want you to have everything you want, even if its Nat, even if that destroys me.”

Even in Spain you had never heard her speak so passionately. It terrified you. Terrified you so much that you wanted to get up and run far, far away from her. Far from the feelings that her words stirred within you.

Wanda wasn’t done though, she needed to get everything off her chest. To lay all her cards out. “When you love someone, you don’t stop. Even when everyone on the team calls me crazy and tells me I should just move on and let you go. I won’t stop or give up because if I could give up…” She risked taking your hand in hers, sighing in relief when you don’t pull back. “If I could give up and listen to everyone’s advice and move on and find someone else that wouldn’t be love. That would be some imitation that is not worth fighting for.”

“Wanda…” you whispered finally looking up at her, noticing the way her eyes shined with unshed tears.

She squeezed your hand again. “But you… You are more than worth fighting for. You will always be worth fighting for. And if I can’t have you I’ll be alone because no one else can hold my heart. This is love.”

“I’m not with Natasha.” You admitted softly after Wanda’s declaration, watching the way relief filled her eyes. “I think we were both just lonely and comforting each other.”

The relieved smile that took over Wanda’s features was contagious as you couldn’t help but smile hesitantly back at her. 

Wanda’s heart fluttered at the sight. That was the first time you had smiled at her since the night on the roof. 

“What does that mean?” she questioned hopefully.

With hesitation, you interlaced your fingers with Wanda’s. “It means that I’m still not sure I trust you and I’m not ready to be with you again.” Her head dropped in dejection. “But. I’m not going to ask you to leave if you want to stay and work on that.”

For the first time in a long time, Wanda felt a semblance of happiness blossom in her chest. Unable to stop herself, she surged forward and took you in her arms, melting when you held her back. “I promise I’ll earn your trust back. I’m not going anywhere. I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, Y/n.”

Part 10! double digits! Pre-Infinity War and Infinity war was supposed to be one chapter and in hindsight that was probably overly ambitious of me. That means there will now be 13 parts instead of 12. Anyway, as always let me know what you think, and hope you enjoyed! :)

[theladybarnes]

AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE - CH7: SENTIMENT

Time is waiting. We only got four minutes to save the world! No hesitating Grab a boy, Grab a girl!

FEATURING:Loki Laufeyson, Thor Odinson, & The Avengers WORD COUNT: 1,746 SERIES MASTERLIST: ★

Sounds of sirens and screaming in the distance can be heard out the open window. The Chitauri were here and the city of New York would be the first of their destruction. And YOU were stuck in Stark tower, currently being held down but the God who had brought them here.

He had your body strapped down to the chair with a cool hand that forced your gaze to look out the window with him. Currently his attempts to harm you were on pause as he scanned over the city. The look on his face was questionable to you. The smile would make him look pleased, but the anxiousness in his eyes said otherwise.

“You seem so pleased to watch the place you wish to rule, burn.”

He didn’t bother to turn to look at you. “You will learn to keep your mouth shut around me, Little Stark.” You hated the way he said your name. “I might just use you as an example instead of my little toy.”

An exhale fell past your lips. “You might as well kill me now, Pigeon. Otherwise you’ll really start to get annoyed by me.” You let the glass shard slip out from your sleeve into the palm of your hand. The jagged edge stung into your skin but you bit your cheek to keep from crying out.

“I can assure you it’d be quite the painful death so you wish for it.”

His attention was completely pulled away from you and he made the mistake of not checking your person once more before he stepped out onto the balcony. Probably for a better view of his chaos.

The whole thing was short-lived as Thor landed on the balcony beside him. The two of you shared eye contact briefly and you mouthed that you were okay and took the chance of Thor confronting Loki to cut at your rope finally.

“Loki! Turn off the Tesseract, or I’ll destroy it.”

You bit back a laugh and focused on the work instead of how Thor sounded like an angry father.

“You can’t! There is no stopping it. There is only.. the war.”

“So be it.”

The rope finally snaps and you use your good hand to undo the rope that was around your legs. The relief of being free felt good and you scrambled up from the floor. The room was a bit dizzy from all the hits your head kept getting today.

Sounds of grunts and yelling pull your attention and you glanced back out the window to see the intense battle between the two brothers. You pressed the comm in your ear, “JARVIS,” you ran over towards the room and looked for any kind of weapon you can arm yourself with. “Link me in.”

“Miss Stark, it’s good to hear from you. Patching you in.”

The static clicked instantly. “Tony?!”

“Thank God! It’s really good to hear from you, Sprout.”

“Scout?!” The panicked voice of Steve tugged at your heart and you couldn’t help but feel bad that you had last left off in a bit of a fight. “I’m so glad to hear your voice.” he continued and if you weren’t too busy trying to find a weapon around the luxurious loft, you’d probably try and listen to him repeat that again.

“Flirt later, Rogers. We’re coming in hot, Scout. Try and get to the roof.” Clint interrupted.

“Glad to see we got you back, Barton.”

“Me too kid, Shit is getting real messy out here.”

You glanced over to the balcony. The battle between Thor and Loki was still just as intense. “Same thing from my end, I think I gotta help out Zeus over here.” you muttered, reaching out into the fireplace, you pulled on a poker and settled for that as you snuck back towards the balcony.

“Scout, please tell me you’re not about to attempt to take on a God.” Natasha’s smooth voice was laced with concern but you knew better than to dwell on it.

“You’re killing me, Sprout. Can you please go to the roof? Let the team get you. In fact, I can drop back to you right now. Right after I- Shit! These guys are damn annoying.”  Tony seemed to be at a struggle.

The humming of the quin jet approaching the tower caused all eyes to focus up in the sky. In a moment of distraction, Loki was able to hit Thor away and aim his sceptre at the jet. The hit is dead on and you panicked, watching it descend down into the ground.

“Steve?!...Guys? I’ve lost sight of you.”

It’s a few good seconds of panic before you get a reply. “I’m okay, we’ve managed to land.” Steve said with a pant. Your heart jumps and you try your best to remain calm.

“Yeah, we’re okay too, Scout. In case you were wondering.”

“Sorry Clint, I’m glad you guys are alright. I’m gonna help out here and then try to do an evac down outside the tower. Let’s meet out in the middle, okay?”

You didn’t bother listening to any of their rebuttals and slowly made your way towards the landing down that Tony had made. With the way that Thor and Loki fought, the only way to gain any sort of upper hand on him would be from above. A large shadow flies over the tower and you feel your knees weaken at the sight of the large beast. “Right...an army.” you muttered, recalling the conversation between Tony and Loki.

“Look at this! Look around you!” The two struggled against each other but the younger brother listened. You can’t see his face but it’s enough that he’s not fighting back at the moment. A part of you felt like praying, anything to have Thor come through. Loki had been devolving since you were taken. Surely someone that knew him could convince him otherwise.

“You think this madness will end with your rule?”

“It’s too late– It’s too late to stop it.”

“No. We can, together.”

There it was. The peace offering. Even if he took you hostage and basically threw Tony off the building. There was always a chance to fix things. Loki didn’t do anything. Thor looked almost like he was relieved. That is until Loki reached back and plunged a small dagger into his stomach.

“Sentiment.” You saw red.

Taking a quick step back, you ran off the balcony and launched yourself onto Loki’s back. It was almost like you weighed nothing as he quickly reached behind him and pulled at your body. You landed one good kick to his chin before he threw you onto the ground. “YOU FOOLISH MORTAL!” he boomed.

Instinctively, you kicked at his shins and caused him to fumble forward. He swiped at you and you would have been hit by his punch had it not been for Thor that dragged you back. He ran to tackle Loki down and you used the chance to climb over Thor’s shoulder to land a punch against his cheek.

Loki pushed the two of you off and you stumbled back and watched as Thor lifted Loki in the air and slammed him to the ground with a yell. He stayed still for a moment and you made the mistake of stepping an inch beside him, giving him the chance to jump up and grasp a hold on your body.

Thor stayed still, waiting for Loki to make a movement. “Let her go, brother.” he looked so worried. It ached in your chest as Loki drew up another small dagger and grazed it at the base of your neck. “She’s just trying to stop this. Please. ”

“I think our time is up, little dove. ” His face pressed against yours, the dry skin of his lips were against your cheek as he spoke. You shuddered when he almost nuzzled against you. “You did say you wished for death, it’s time I give it to you.” He stepped back again and you glanced at your side to see the edge of the balcony. Your heart was beating faster. This is not how you would go down. He was not allowed to win.

Without another thought, you reached down and gripped at his hip. “What if I take your previous offer?” you said slowly. The hot breath against your cheek gave you enough courage to turn your body to face him. He still held you close but looked down at you curiously. Before he could reply you reached up, placed your hands at the sides of his face and pressed your lips together.

As you expected, he had the same reaction a shark would if you touched the tip of their noses. He stilled, eyes wide and body frozen in place. You pulled back in time for Thor to come through and land a good punch to his face, causing the other man to fall to the ground.

Loki came to his senses after that and used the time to roll off the edge. You gasped running forward to see him land on one of the flying chitauri. Once he’s off in the distance you finally looked over at Thor. He pulled the dagger out from his side and chucked it over to the side.

“That was a bold move from you, Little Lady.”

You shrugged. “Yeah, I wasn’t too sure that it’d work out. But I’m glad you were quick to jump in with that punch” He ducked his head a little shyly at the comment. “Didn’t exactly have a plan other than maybe push him off.”

The two of you share a laugh at that. “What about the way you flew on top of him? That was a very skilled move you showed there. To take on an Asgardian without any knowledge of how to fight them shows a great warrior is within you.”

“Thor stop.” you waved your hands at him. “You’re being too nice.”

“Scout? Are you two okay up there? I just saw Loki fly overhead.” Steve’s panicked voice perked up in your ear. You almost had forgotten about the plans since the fight right now.

“We’re good, had a small hick up but we’re fine. Heading down now.”

Thor reached down for his hammer and approached the edge of the tower. You quickly jumped to his side. “Uh, do you mind if I catch a ride?” He looked back at you with a smile.

“It’d be my pleasure.”

[cheeseburgersstuff]

Hi can u pls write steve rogers x barnes!reader like(enemies to lovers trope) modern au plsss

Hey, nonnie!! Thank you for requesting this! 💕✨ I hope you like it :')

LOVEABLE

Steve Rogers x Barnes Reader

Warnings: language, asshole reader, mistakes, shitty writing:') 

Master-list

You rolled your eyes for the 10th time. Nat, your best friend and not to forget the girlfriend of your brother gave you an annoyed look.

"C'mon why do you hate him so much? He is such a sweetheart." She said, taking a sip of beer.

You looked at her incredulously, "sweetheart? He is a fucking asshole! He always talks shit…" you were about to express your feelings about him when Nat cut you off.

"And what about you? You gave him respect?" You frowned at her words, why was she defending him.

You opened your mouth to reply to her but she didn't let you speak.

"I think you should date him, it's shocking you are not together knowing each other from your childhood." You kept looking at her with an open mouth.

She looked at the corner and got up from her seat.

"Consider what I have said," she said and walked off, probably to your brother, bucky.

You scoffed, shaking your head. You can't stand that blondie, from the start. The moment that guy became friends with your brother, you started to dislike him. 

Bucky stopped spending time with you, it was always about Steve from then. 

He is coming for dinner. Sorry tiger, Steve and I are going to the movies.

Your plans with bucky were ruined because he had to take care of that cute little shit who got beaten by some bullies.

You didn't know why he looked cute to you even with his small fragile frame, he was just so perfect for everyone. So polite, so respectful.

But you knew the truth, he was a shithole, who always found it amusing to annoy you, he knew your dislike for him so rather than doing something to make himself a bit lovable for you, he started to irritate you.

Those annoying mimicries turned into snarky comments and remarks throughout the years.

And that cute little shit was now a big hot asshole you have ever met.

You still couldn't stand him. If it wasn't your big brother's birthday party, you wouldn't tolerate standing beneath the same roof as him. This was how much you hated him.

You sighed again, checking the time waiting for your boyfriend, John.

You looked around to see if he came but there was no sign of him.

Suddenly your gaze fell on a blond girl, throwing herself on Steve, who was quite enjoying her company.

It looked like he felt your gaze and looked towards you. He smirked at your eye contact. You rolled your eyes and turned your back towards them.

You were getting bored when he came beside you.

"Hey, sweetness." Again that teasing tone.

You ignored him thinking he would leave but of course, it was steve grant rogers, he never took a hint.

"Why so lonely huh? Your idiotic boyfriend is not here." 

That made your blood boil. You turned and pointed a finger towards him.

"Shut the fuck up. Do not talk to me and don't even dare to call him an idiot." You hissed at him.

Steve only chuckled and grabbed your finger gently pulling you towards him. You looked at him with wide eyes and tried to pull your finger outta his grip.

"You gotta keep your eyes open girl or else you will keep waiting for him in every party and he will be enjoying with some—"

"Shut up rogers" she yelled and pushed him away. A few people stared at both of you but you didn't care.

"Just because you were fooled by your  fiance doesn't mean everyone is out there cheating on their partners. Not everyone is like Peggy carter" you whispered those words pure-hearted but as soon as those left your mouth, you regret them. 

Your breath was heavy with all that emotions. You looked up at Steve and felt more guilty.

His jaw was clenched. You expected to see hate and anger in his eyes but you saw the worst, sadness. 

He didn't say anything just looked at you for a few seconds and walked away. 

You ran your hand from your hair in frustration. You crossed the limit you knew, you just wanted to make him angry.

Your eyes fell on bucky and nat, they gave you a disappointed look before running outside towards Steve.

~

It had been a week since that disaster and your guilt was doubled in those days.

You just couldn't forget the emotions you saw in those beautiful baby blue eyes.

You were thinking to apologize to him, it was difficult, very difficult but necessary.

But you didn't see Steve after that night. Mat and buck weren't talking to you, just a few words here and there. 

You felt like a criminal. You remember the day when Peggy broke the engagement, three years ago. He was so sad that day, you even heard him cry in bucky's room.

You remember how happy he was on his engagement day. The way he looked at her, the love in his eyes, you felt so weird that day. 

You didn't even want to attend his engagement party but of course bucky forced you. That little shit trapped you to come along with him, saying you were just jealous. 

You would have broken his head hearing if Nat didn't come between you two siblings.

Anyway, you still were thinking about his red puffy eyes from all the crying session when suddenly you buzzed bringing you out of your thoughts.

You looked at your phone. It was a text from an unknown number, with an address and time, along with a picture of your lovely boyfriend with some girl. You couldn't see her face clearly.

You frowned seeing that message. Now you wanted to know whether steve was true or not. 

A part of you believed him, yes you disliked him but still, you knew him from. your childhood.

He would never try to create misunderstandings between you and your boyfriend just to annoy you. 

"Still you talked shit about his love life huh" your inner self made you feel more horrible.

You groaned and fell on the bed with a thud. 

You decide to go to that address and then you would apologize to Steve as well.

~

It was a small cafe, you arrived a bit earlier than the time mentioned.

You didn't know who texted you and who's gonna bless you with their presence there. 

You kept waiting outside the cafe. Some time passed and no one appeared and you started to think it was some silly prank on you. But suddenly you saw John coming out of his car with some bimbo.

She was clinging to him. They didn't notice you and were walking inside the cafe when you marched in front of them.

The expressions on John's face, you would have laughed in any other situation with that moment you were furious.

He called your name with shock, of course not accepting you there. 

That girl just looked at you with confused, annoyed expressions.

You kept looking at him with anger, not knowing what to say.

That is what happens with you, always saying wrong things at the wrong time and when you have to say nasty stuff, nothing comes out of your mouth.

This was your anger.

"Who is she Johnny" that girl with her annoyingly high-pitched voice.

You cringed at her, "his girlfriend" you glared at her.

She got shocked at the revelation, "which I assumed you didn't even know about" you added.

And then it was two of them, she started to fight him ignoring you and the other people around you.

And strangling you were enjoying it. And suddenly she slapped his face. You covered your mouth with shock and to control your laughter too.

She walked off still cursing towards him. John glared at you. His eyes were filled with eyes. And that moment you thought why were you with that asshole.

Suddenly he grabbed your arm and forcefully dragged you towards the corner.

You freed your arm from his grip. You opened your mouth to talk but he cut you off.

"She slapped me in front of everyone because of you. How did you even get here huh" you were beyond shocked at his words.

And this is the guy for whom you talked shit to Rogers. She groaned internally.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? You are the fucker who is cheating on me and still have the audacity to blame me! Like wow," you yelled at him.

He grabbed you again, this time with much more force, "do not talk with me like that" he murmured.

"Let me go, you idiot. Steve was so right about you, I was so stupid to defend you!" You hissed still fighting to pull him off.

"Oh, so suddenly Steve is all good and I am bad huh? Maybe you are the one cheating on me. Are you fucking that— 

Suddenly he got pulled off of you and was on the floor with a bloody nose.

You looked up and saw an angry Steve glaring at your now ex-boyfriend.

For the first time in your life, you were so happy to see that hit asshole.

John got up for the floor and tried to hit Steve but blocked him by grabbing his fist.

"Don't even try with me, Walker." He freed his hand with a force.

John glared at him and then you, "you will regret this, bitch" he hissed and then walked off.

You sighed in relief and looked towards Steve.

Suddenly you remembered your words and felt awkward. 

"You here?" You asked timidly. Steve was amused by your tone but didn't say anything.

"Umm..yeah. Buck called here" he said.

"And here I am" suddenly bucky came out of nowhere.

"I just wanted to show her how wrong she was to defend that guy," Bucky said looking at you still with disappointment.

"And things she said— he was saying but Steve interrupted.

" seriously buck. I told you to leave that matter." He sounded annoyed and you wanted the ground to swallow you.

Steve sighed and started to walk away. You could feel tears forming in your eyes. Bucky cleared his throat causing you to lookup.

He was giving you, go after him idiot, look. Steve lived near that area, so you ran towards the way his house was. 

Bucky smirked and pulled out his phone. 

"All done" he texted Nat. Finally, their plan to set these idiots up was about to fulfill.

Soon you found him walking on the side road with his hands in his pockets.

"S...steve" you called hesitantly. He turned around to look at you with a bit of a shocked face.

You walked closer to him. "I—" you looked around there were only a few people but still you didn't feel comfortable.

So you grabbed his hand and pulled in the corner, a small alley. 

 He raised his eyebrows at you, making you feel weird in the stomach.

"Steve about that night" 

"It's o—" he was about to say.

"Please let me speak," you said pleading yet a bit annoying tone.

"What I said was horrible, I should not have, no matter whatever the reasons were. Steve, I am so sorry about that. I didn't even mean those words, I don't know why I said those things" you were rambling when you felt his thumbs cleaning the tears from your face.

You didn't know when you started crying. 

"It's okay sweetheart" his voice was soft, just like his eyes. A worried frown was on his face, you wanted to smooth out with your fingers but controlled yourself.

"I surely was sad but I wasn't mad at you. So stop crying now" you nodded but still feeling bad.

Suddenly out of nowhere, something came into your mind which you blurted without thinking.

"Maybe you should come for coffee tomorrow at my house. It will make me feel better and—" he raised his eyebrows encouraging you to speak.

"Maybe we could take a long overdue but necessary fresh start?" You pulled out your hand for him.

"Truce?" She smiled. 

Steve chuckled and shook your hand.

"So it's not a date?" You knew he was annoying you. You rolled your eyes but then bit your lip.

"Umm. Well if you want…" you said looking up at him.

Suddenly his gaze fell onto your lips and then to your eyes. Your heart was beating violently.

He grabbed your face with both of his hands and started to lower his face.

His lips felt so soft against your, so perfect. They molded perfectly as if meant to be together. 

He kissed you softly and slowly, savoring that moment. Loving the feeling of them against his. 

His kiss literally took your breath away and you inhaled deeply after being apart.

"That was long overdue too" he whispered, resting his forehead against yours. You chuckled kissing the tip of his nose.

You couldn't believe you just kissed him. That hot asshole you claimed to hate suddenly seemed all loveable to you...

[brooklyns-supersoldiers]

Please Don't Leave Me (3)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader

Warnings: Brief mentions of blood/injury (nothing in too much detail), bad writing?

Summary: New information is discovered

A/N: So this is part 3/4! There will be one more part to this! You all are the best! Thank you so much for the kind words and support on this fic! Also, I hope I didn't miss anyone on my taglist, but if I did I'm so sorry!!

Word Count: 1250

-

The first thing you felt was cold. So cold. Your whole body felt numb until you registered the pain. It radiated all over your body. You groaned and tried to move to alleviate some of the pain, but you barely moved an inch. You were pinned down. You coughed as dust entered your lungs before opening your eyes to figure out your surroundings.

Darkness. By now you realized it was rubble from the building pressing on top of you and you tried shifting again, feeling a little bit more give this time.

You vaguely remembered you almost made it out before the building collapsed. You had run as fast as you could, somehow making it to the door you had entered through before everything came crashing down on you. Just a second too late, but by some miracle, you were still alive.

By all odds, you should be dead. Long dead. You tried not to focus on that fact as you struggled for a bit. Mustering up all of your remaining strength, you managed to drag yourself out from the rubble covering you and into the snow.

“Okay. I definitely have a concussion.” You muttered to yourself as you self-assessed. You managed to get yourself standing despite your dizziness. Taking a step forward, a jolt of pain shot from your ankle sending you back to the snowy ground with a yelp.

“Probably a broken ankle” You winced. “Don’t know how long I’ve been out or how much blood I’ve lost.” You noted as you felt the back of your head and felt more blood.

You pulled your phone out of your pocket and cursed as you realized not only was it dead and the screen was cracked. Just your luck. Alive but stranded with no way to get in touch with the team.

“No sign of the jet and it’s dark out…” You mumbled as you looked around. “Great.”

Even in your weakened state, you knew you couldn’t stay there. You had to get in touch with the team somehow and get help. The nearest town was at least 4 miles away. With your injuries, that trip would not end well.

Steve had mentioned some cabins which were scattered in the woods where people would stay for the winter. Why anyone would be willing to stay here during this time of year puzzled you, but it was your best chance despite how risky it was.

You got yourself back up and hobbled to the tree line, wincing the whole way whenever you had to put weight on your ankle. From there, you used the trees to support yourself. You moved slowly as you used the trees to take the pressure off your broken ankle.

Everything ached. Your ankle was hurting progressively more as you continued on. Your head started pounding as well. Your body didn’t seem to want to continue on, but you were determined. You had to get home. You had to get back to Bucky.

Your heart broke knowing how worried he must be about you. You hadn’t checked in like normal. For all you knew, the whole team thought you were dead.

Your breaks were starting to get longer and, despite your best efforts, it was getting difficult to keep going. You sat down in the snow. The cold had slowly stopped bothering you which you knew wasn’t a good sign. Your body was screaming at you at this point. A break couldn’t hurt.

“Just five minutes.” You muttered to yourself, closing your eyes. Five minutes and then you would continue on in search of the cabins. Just five minutes...

~

Your body jolted you awake and you winced as pain shot back through you. You wanted to go back to sleep. Your dreams had been filled with Bucky. Your Bucky. What you wouldn’t do to have him here right now. You missed him. He was the best boyfriend you could’ve asked for.

Looking up at the night sky you smiled slightly as you remembered your first date with Bucky. He had taken you up to the roof to stargaze. It had been a fun night with both of you sharing stories and lots of laughter.

You and Bucky had been close friends before you had started dating which made it more natural of a transition. Both of you had unknowingly been harboring crushes on the other for months before Steve, Sam, Nat, and Wanda had gotten involved. Between the four of them, they’d managed to get you two to admit your feelings for each other. The rest was history.

“Gotta get back to Bucky.” You muttered to yourself and took a deep breath before dragging yourself back up. You could only imagine how he was acting right now. If the team thought you were dead he must be devastated and heartbroken. You couldn’t have that.

You forced yourself to keep moving forward. You had to get back to Bucky and your friends. This was your motivation as your body protested further.

Finally, a cabin came into view. Smoke was coming from the chimney and a soft, inviting glow was coming through the windows. You almost cried tears of joy at the sight.

“Help!” You weakly called out as you collapsed to the ground, the snow breaking your fall. Your exhaustion was catching up with you, your body finally starting to shut down completely.

“Help!” you called out again as you tried to drag yourself closer. You didn’t know if they had heard you. You couldn’t quit now! You called out one more time as your vision got blurry and your eyes started to close. You tried to keep them open but eventually, they got too heavy.

“I’m coming, Bucky, I promise.” You mumbled as your head finally rested in the snow. The last thing you saw was the front door opening before everything went black.

~

They were halfway through the debriefing when FRIDAY interrupted causing everyone to exchange looks of confusion.

“Pardon the interruption, but this seemed important.” The AI started to explain as the images on the screen switched over. “I’ve been scanning the hospital databases in the same area as the base as requested and someone with the same description as Ms. L/N has been admitted as a Jane Doe.” She showed a picture of the hospital and its location before continuing.

“The injuries listed match what we expect Ms. L/N would have sustained. Apparently, this person was brought in by a couple staying in one of the cabins that were near the base. I can’t get a definitive answer if it is her or not. I wasn’t able to tap into the surveillance system.”

“We’ll check out that lead, thanks FRIDAY.” Steve quickly replied, gathering the files he had and jumping to his feet. He was hopeful it was you. All the signs pointed to it being you.

“You’re welcome, Captain Rogers. The coordinates are already programmed into one of the quinjets.” She answered.

“Nat, Sam, you’re with me. Let’s go.” Steve ordered. The two fell into line with him as they walked towards the hangar.

“Should we tell, Barnes?” Nat asked. “You know it’s got to be her, right? There’s no way it’s a coincidence.”

“We can let him know when we get back. I don’t want to get his hopes up on the off chance it’s not her.” Steve explained.

Nat and Sam both nodded as they followed him onto the jet and set out to find the truth.

---

TAGLIST:

@criesinlies @angstysebfan @bluemoon-icecream @james-bucky-barnes-bitch @stucky-my-ship @fangirllife98 @austynparksandpizza @blacclatte @soccer-100000 @crist1216 @lomlparker

[thran-duils]

Lost in Zero Gravity (P.23)

Title: Lost In Zero Gravity (Part Twenty Three) Summary:  Fem!Reader x Mob Boss!Tony Stark x Mob Boss!Steve Rogers.  Reader is a call girl who runs high end parties. She catches the attention of Tony Stark who invites her back to his room with his friend. She might have performed too well because she becomes their new favorite play toy and they don’t like to share. Words: 2,693 Warnings (for the fic in entirety): Smut, prostitution, infidelity, angst, domestic violence, stalking, possessive behavior, drug use

Part Twenty Two || Part Twenty Four || Masterpost (mobile) || Fanfic masterpost

“What do you want me to say? What do you want me to do?”

Steve shrugged, “You don’t have to say or do anything yet.”

“’Yet’,” Cecile scoffed, digging her fingernails into the wood of the kitchen table. Steve sat to her right, facing her.

The car ride home had been silent, the tension stifling. As soon as she had walked through the door, she had gone upstairs and left Steve in the foyer of the house. He had called Y/N then.

“Are you still in agreement?” he asked.

“Yes. But—”

“Then I’ll get an appointment set up for you so you can check to see how far along you are. Have Tony reach out to me if you insist on him collecting the contract from me instead of yourself,” Steve cut her off. He paused for a moment before he said softer, “I really wish you would reconsider what you are asking me to do. It doesn’t have to end like that.”

“No. It doesn’t. But it’s going to,” Y/N said, only a slight waver in her voice. “I’ll speak to Tony. Goodbye, Steve.”

She hung up on him.

“Yes. Yet. I’ll give you time to think.”

Cecile was quiet for a few moments before she asked, “You really wouldn’t give me anything substantial if that is what I decided?”

Steve narrowed his eyes and said, “I told you I would give you some.”

“But nothing more?”

“Why the fuck would I?” Steve snapped, giving her an incredulous look. “Having me fund your life away from me? That’s a fucking ridiculous and heartless thing to even suggest.”

“So what are we going to do then, Steve? Cause you’ve made it crystal clear you are not going to claim the child as your own. Does blood really matter that much to you?”

Steve chewed on his cheeks, glowering down at her. “In this instance, yes, yes it does. All I’m gonna see when I look at that child is you loving someone else.”

“We could try again, Steve. After—” Cecile tried to say but he interjected.

“I might have a solution. But it involves adoption for your baby.”

That caught her completely off guard, her mouth falling open before she asked appalled, “Adoption?”

“Mhm,” Steve confirmed, unbothered by her reaction.

“What plan?” Cecile demanded, crossing her arms sternly.

“I’m not ready to talk about it.”

“You might as well lay it all out for me, Steve, so I can make an informed decision.” Steve snorted at her phrasing, and she snapped, “I am serious.”

Steve studied her for an uncomfortable amount of time before he said, “You would give your child up for adoption and mine would take its place.”

“Yours?” Cecile asked confused. Steve stared at her silently, waiting, and realization washed over her, her arms relaxing every so slightly. She looked kicked, shaking her head. Her hurt turned to anger in the blink of an eye though. “Oh, so your infidelity can live underneath the roof but mine can’t?”

Steve’s hand slammed on the table, and she jumped at the sudden movement. Leaning forward he sneered, “It’s not the same. I don’t love her like you love him. And if it is my child, it’s because I knew you were unfaithful, and I went to great lengths to get it.” Cecile’s face screwed up in confusion and Steve ignored her, “And if this other plan doesn’t work out, well, then we are still going to talk about adoption because I am not going to raise a child that isn’t mine. As I’ve made crystal clear, as you said.”

“You won’t even give it a chance?” Cecile asked furious. “What if you grew to love them? They won’t ever have to see him. All they would know would be you as their father. I swear that.”

“Right back at you. She wouldn’t be in the picture.” Cecile’s mouth formed a thin line and Steve cocked an eyebrow. “Hmm, doesn’t sound so appealing to try when the table is turned?”

“If you make me give them up... what? Do you think I’ll just sleep with you again? Try again? That will be right out the window. I will resent you forever, Steve.”

“Go ahead.”

“You can’t keep me trapped here because of money.”

“I’m not,” Steve laughed humorlessly. “You’re doing that yourself because it seems to be what you really care about. If you didn’t, you would have no problem telling me you want a divorce right now and walking away. But you’re not. And you’re showing me your true colors plainly.”

“So, you would be fine living in a loveless marriage?”

“I’m already doing that. It’s very one sided. You played well. On vacation I mean. I felt happy there, lying in bed with you for long mornings. Cuddling you... it felt good. But apparently, it was all an act.”

“It wasn’t. I’m just appalled at you right now and you’re showing your true colors. All you care about is control! You don’t love me, Steve! You want to own me! For me to be miserable!”

Steve was out of the chair in a second, it flying back with the ferocity of his movement. He towered over Cecile, and she cowered under his prowess. Sneering, he told her, “If I could dig out whatever feelings I have for you and be rid of them, I would do it in a second. I’m sick of being desperate for you to reciprocate my affection and knowing it will never happen. I want to be free of you. But since it seems I can’t do that, then yeah, you’re right. I want you to suffer with me.”

Cecile began to shake her head, but Steve did not give her a chance to speak before he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

<><><>

Tony was awake when you walked back inside, catching you off guard. He was looking at you expectantly, suspicious probably that you had closed the door and spoken outside.

“It’s not his,” you told him evenly, walking towards the fridge.

Opening the door, you grabbed out the water pitcher and poured yourself a glass. Tony was quiet behind you as you took a long drink. You felt a little numb as it sunk in that you were going to have to go through with this. But it had to be this way, it was how you were going to get out of owing Steve. That phone call was a blessing; that is how you had to look at it.

“What was it like?” you asked Tony, turning around.

“What was what like?”

“Pregnancy for your wife.”

“Tiresome. Endless cravings and mood swings,” Tony responded surly, sitting on the edge of the couch. He leveled you with a stare and said seriously, “You know I could just pay him, right? What he owes. And then you would not have to worry about any of this.”

“I’ve already told him I would do it; he’s already working to set up an appointment. And I don’t think he’ll take too kindly if I back out. Especially now that he found out that his wife isn’t carrying his kid.”

Tony shook his head, “I wish you hadn’t called him and put that idea in his head at all. You could’ve… never mind. I know I asked you what you wanted and I meant it.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

“He wants you to contact him about the document.”

“Right,” Tony muttered, standing up from the couch. He straightened out his clothes and said, “I… I do need to go home. It’s Forest’s birthday in a couple days and I should be around for that.”

Your stomach clenched at that. He had not left you alone for multiple days since Steve had whisked you away from the apartment.

“You’ll be alright?”

Despite what you felt, you nodded, trying to reassure him. He nodded in acknowledgement and walked over, giving you a quick kiss on the forehead. He would barely meet your eyes.

“I’ll check in.”

You opened your mouth to say something, but he was quick to turn around and search for his keys. He was in a rush to leave now.

“Tony…” He hesitated, keys in hand, looking back over at you. You sighed, “Nothing. Sorry.”

When the door closed behind him, you stared at it. He was upset about the whole ordeal, that was clear. You had a suspicion he wanted to just be rid of Steve entirely but now he would be around for almost another year.

<><><>

Tony pressed the call button on his Bluetooth and settled back into the seat as he drove.

“Funny how you’ll call when she asks you to but not answer me when I’ve tried multiple times,” Steve answered dryly.

Ignoring his clear jab, Tony said, “Y/N said you are working on a document I need to get perused.”

“It’s already done.”

“You are always good about being prepared. Leave it on my desk.”

“You got it. I’ll do it in the morning,” Steve returned just as shortly before hanging up on him.

Tony rolled his eyes, “Fucking prick.”

<><><>

Tony’s hand was at your back as he held the door open for you and you walked past him into the doctor’s office. Steve was waiting in the lobby and you tensed seeing him in person. His eyes fell on you and his lips upturned ever so slightly before he noticed Tony over your shoulder and his smile faltered. He recovered quickly though, standing up to greet you. You stopped a few paces from him, and he gestured for you to sit. You took his seat, keeping an eye on him. But his attention was on Tony.

“A word?” he asked.

Tony shot you a quick look before he nodded, turning and Steve followed. When they were around the corner, Steve let out a small laugh.

“Couldn’t let her come alone?” Steve asked, amusement in his eyes.

“I’m not an idiot, Steve,” Tony said stiffly.

“So, are you gonna be a third wheel every checkup if it happens to be mine?”

“You’re damn right.”

“You’re really going to let this break up the team.”

“I am letting –,” Tony started to snap in disbelief before he shook his head. “No, I’m not doing this here.” He made to walk around Steve, but Steve stepped into his path and Tony’s mouth set into a thin line.

“You’re right. She’s pregnant and sensitive. Zen and all in her environment. Are you doing that? I just can’t be sure because I am not around.”

“She’s perfectly fine.”

Steve ran his eyes over Tony before asking point blank, “Were you looking at her as a replacement from the get-go?”

“Pardon?”

“You heard me. Was this how you wanted it to end up? You and her, living in a place together? And you know you are quite sneaky. You never drive there. At least I haven’t seen it yet. Is there a landing pad? For the suit I mean? Or do you just land outside on the sidewalk?”

Snorting, Tony told him, “Shouldn’t be surprised you’ve been stalking — or asked someone else to. I anticipated that. That’s the thing about us smart guys. We always cover our asses.” He stepped closer to Steve and said in a dangerous tone, “You’re gonna leave her alone after this, Steve.”

Steve smirked, a cruel glint in his eye. “Heard you loud and clear. We can both get what we want.”

Tony did not trust him farther than he could throw him.

<><><>

“It’s legit. I had one of my lawyers look it over,” Tony explained to you, sitting down at the table beside you as you worked on a coloring page. You were finding it really helped calm your nerves to focus on them.

“So, I just sign it?”

“Essentially,” Tony said, straightening out his suit jacket. “I had them take a copy of it to keep on file for me. And I’ll ask Steve for a copy of the final signatures.” His eyes narrowed slightly, looking at you. You stared back, waiting for him to ask whatever it was that was on the tip of his tongue. “You really want to go through with it?”

“Yes. Why are you so against it?” you asked, not accusatively, but curiously.

“He’s been a loose cannon. It makes me nervous,” Tony answered honestly, sighing a little. “And it’s not like him and I are ones who typically follow the law. This document may mean nothing, it may just be a smoke screen. I mean, there is nothing in here about him leaving you alone even when he pays you out. It’s mainly just that you are giving up your parental rights once the baby is born and he becomes legal parent.”

“I don’t think he’ll want anything to do with me after he has the baby,” you told Tony. “That’s what he wants.”

Tony muttered, “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

You reached out and grasped his hand, catching his eyes. “Seriously. If he really cared about me, he wouldn’t have done anything that he did. It’ll be fine.”

Tony sucked his teeth, like he wanted to say something else but he just nodded.

<><><>

The first appointment had shown you were six weeks along. Which meant New Years Eve. That still left the door open for Steve to be the father. The next three weeks were nerve wracking; you found yourself pacing more often than not, lost in thought. Elisha had come over a handful of times to distract you – you had not told her you were pregnant, you did not want to have that conversation with her.

Now, you found yourself back in the doctor’s office. You had come back to the room to Dr. Varma with Steve. You had been hesitant, but the procedure would not take long.

“And Mr. Rogers, I’ll contact you. Ten days,” Dr. Varma told him, finishing up.

You opened your mouth and Steve cut you off, seeing you about to protest. “Dr. Varma already has my contact information. We have rapport.” You eyed him curiously. Was this… no. You pushed the thought of your head. That was preposterous. Steve would not take you to the same doctor his wife was going to. Sticking out his hand, Steve shook Dr. Varma’s hand and stood up. He turned, helping you get up and you tensed beneath his touch. If he noticed, he did not show it. “Until next time.”

<><><>

Thankfully, you had not had any morning sickness, a real blessing considering you had been terrified of it. You did not like vomiting. And it looked good that you would not get it considering you were approaching the eleventh week. You were finding yourself tired though. A lot.

Sipping on a smoothie, you flipped through Hulu, just as your phone rang.

You sat up and placed your smoothie on the coffee table, reaching for your phone. Your hand hovered above it for a second, seeing it was Steve. Hand shaking now, you picked up the phone, gulping.

“Hello?”

“Your follow up appointment for a checkup is next month on the 14th. It’s a Tuesday.”

“So…”

“I wouldn’t have made a follow up appointment if it wasn’t mine, Y/N.”

“Right,” you said, your throat dry.

“So. I’ll send you over your meal plan. Like we discussed with Dr. Varma, the nutritionist he recommended already made up a mock one for me.” He was really serious about being involved clearly. You said nothing. “I would appreciate it if you would honor what I want and I would like you to buy your groceries around what is recommended.”

“Okay.”

Steve gave a humorless chuckle, “I would much rather be around to make sure that that is happening, but I know that that is out of the question.” He hesitated for a moment, as if he was waiting for you to rebuke it. When you did not, he exhaled sharply. “Be sure to pass that date on to Tony since he’s insisting to tag along every time.”

“I will.”

~~~

Forever tags: @coconutqueen21 @undecidedsworld

Fic tags: @icant-hangout-imdrumming @oceaniamaddness @multifandom-superlover @imsonick @holl2712 @here4thefanfics @agustdowney @fanofalltheficsx @buttercandy16 @last-saturday-night @woohoney

[toosicktoocare]

long time listener, first time caller! Ahem: "Come on, man. You're far from 'fine'. Why'd you lie?"

Going to continue my AU where the Avengers don’t know that Peter is Spider-Man just cuz, lmao.

You can find the first fic of this AU here!

“Go get some rest, Spider-Brat.”

Peter cocks his head to the side, watching as Sam drops down to the rooftop he was about to web off of. “Hey, I wasn’t too much of a brat today.”

“You made a bet with a bank robber that he wouldn’t punch Stark, and he punched Stark.”

Sam tilts his head at Steve’s voice in the comms, brows rising, and Peter shrugs. “I didn’t think he would actually do it,” he tries sheepishly.

“Me either, kid.”

Peter winces at Tony’s voice, and Sam laughs before him, walking forward to clap him on the shoulder.

“Maybe you should send flowers?”

“Maybe,” Peter parrots back, the word catching in his throat. He turns away from Sam to cough, and Sam’s hand tightens just a fraction.

“Like I said, kid. Get some rest. Maybe try not coming out when you’re sick next time?”

“And miss all of this?” Peter tries lightly around grating coughs. “I could never.” He captures his breath, sucking in cold New York air through the filter in his mask, and Sam rolls his eyes and slips toward the edge of the roof.

“Whatever you say, brat. I’m not saving your ass, though, if you pass out in battle.”

Sam offers a final wave then hops off the building, the wings of his suit spreading wide and loud, carrying him in a smooth, downward glide that Peter watches with muted envy until the mere act of looking down enhances the blur edging his vision. He shakes his head, blinking against his mask. Now that his adrenaline’s waning, he has time to take stock of how he’s feeling, which, he quickly finds, is nothing short of terrible.

His head feels as if Thor took his hammer to it... repeatedly, and he can physically feel every single inch of his skin. Everything’s too hot but also too cold. He shivers, which he finds particularly annoying considering his neck is slick with sweat that his suit clings to uncomfortably.

He’s itching to spill out curses, but he’s not sure who’s still listening on the comms, and his head cannot handle a Steve Rogers lecture right now. He bites it back, swallows down his tired frustration, and leaps off the building, webbing away from the scene, a little clumiser than usual, until he’s dropping down into an abandoned alley where his backpack’s tucked up against a dumpster.

He’s quick to slip out of his suit and back into civilian clothing, shoving his suit deep down into his backpack before hs shoulders it with a shudder. He drags the hood of his jacket over his head with a shaky sigh. It’s getting dark, and as much as he wants to catch a bus back home, he promised May he’d pick up some milk and eggs.

He ducks into a nearby convenience store, coughing into his fist and offering a half-wave to the cashier behind the counter. He’s quick on his feet as he slips around to the back of the store, but before he can pull a freezer door open to snag a half gallon of milk, his lungs tighten, and he turns to cough harsh and deep into the crook of his arm until his chest hurts.

“Woah, kid. You okay?”

The hand that falls to Peter’s back is as familiar as the voice, and he steps back, shaking his head and still coughing as he eyes Sam, dressed casually, with Bucky walking up beside him. With how big this stupid city is, Peter thinks, it can, very quickly, feel annoyingly small.

“How come you didn’t go back to the Tower?” he asks, only realizing the full extent of what he just said when Bucky frowns sharply at him.

“What?”

“I just mean,” Peter starts, sweating underneath his jacket, “the robbery was on the news,” he mutters, swallowing thickly around the lump in his throat. “We all saw it- figured you’d be tired after...”

Sam’s mouth falls into a soft ‘oh’ shape before it gives way to a smile, and he claps Bucky on the back. “This guy here wanted some fine cuisine,” he says, waving a package of pre-made sushi about that Peter wrinkles his nose at.

“It’s good,” Bucky defends flatly, snagging the sushi and stepping around the two.

Peter watches him go, a few weak coughs slipping past his lips. His heart’s still flying in his chest, threatening to burst past his rib cage, and then Sam’s clearing his throat, and Peter whips back around, mutely grabbing at his head.

“Kid?”

“Huh?” Peter blinks away the fuzziness chasing his vision.

“You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I’m fine,” Peter answers quickly, the words practically trained on his tongue. He turns to grab some milk and a carton of eggs from the freezer, hissing at the chill that briefly brushes past him. “Just a cold,” he adds, sniffling.

“If you say so,” Sam says, clapping his shoulder. “Take care of yourself.”

Nodding, Peter keeps his eyes cast down as Sam leaves, and he waits until he hears the small ding of the entrance and exit bell before he shuffles over to the counter, mindlessly moving through motions: wallet from pocket, card to cashier, card back, wallet back, bag in hand, fan face...

He steps out of the store, his face positively burning. He waves his hand before it, trying to cool it down, but it’s so hot that it’s almost suffocating. He tugs at his collar, welcoming the cool air against his neck.

He shouldn’t be this hot; he knows this isn’t normal. He should get home, take some medicine, burrow in bed until his fever breaks, but after one step, the heat becomes too much, and the last thing he hears is his milk jug thunking against the ground.

He comes to slowly. There’s a warm hand patting his cheek- that’s the first thing his mind can focus on. The touch is light yet persistent, and it’s much warmer than the rest of his body. He’s lying on something cold and hard, and he’s shaking a little. The muffle in his ears begins to clear until he can hear sounds around the ringing: cars, footsteps, a voice far too close to his face.

“Hey, you with us?”

Opening his eyes, Peter’s vision is suddenly filled with Sam’s worried face. He flicks a quick gaze to see Bucky standing just behind Sam, worry evident in his eyes.

On instinct, Peter rasps out the first thing that comes to mind. “I’m fine.”

“Come on, man,” Sam starts, helping Peter up slowly into a sitting position. “You’re far from fine.”

Peter opens his mouth to reply, but then Bucky’s crouching down in front of him, eyes narrow.

“Why’d you lie?”

“I...” Peter leans forward, running a hand through his hair. He takes stock of his surroundings, finding that he’s embarassed to see he didn’t make it two steps from the convenience store before he fainted. “Sorry. Habit I guess.”

“You have a habit of lying about how you’re really feeling?” Bucky cocks his head to the side, and Sam scoffs, laughing small under his breath as he smooths the back of his hand to Peter’s cheek.

“Kid, we know one too many people who do that, and it almost never ends well.” Sam pulls his hand back. “You’re burning up, by the way, but I guess you know that.” He’s careful to help Peter to his feet, and Peter sways, his head struggling to wrap around the fact that his muscles are being used.

“Easy,” Sam says lowly. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Peter,” Peter mutters, swallowing around a hollow cough. He unconsciously leans into Sam’s chest, but his muscles tense when Bucky stares hard at his answer.

“Peter,” Bucky tries the name in his mouth, working it around his jaw, brows furrowed. “Aren’t you the kid that fell off the roof a few weeks back?”

“Oh, yeah!” Sam nods quickly. “The one Steve and Tony were talking about.”

Peter’s heart’s fluttering in his chest, and he quickly shakes his head, regretting it the second pain blooms hard across his temples. He brings a hand to his head with a groan, and Sam claps the back of his neck.

“Easy. We must be thinking of a different kid.”

“I don’t think we are,” Bucky says, and Sam fires a glare of a gaze his way, mouthing ‘shut up.’

“I’m sorry,” Peter tries, stepping away from Sam. “For bothering you both.” He spares a brief, somber glance to the spilled milk still faintly pooling from the brown store bag. He should buy more, but he’s not sure how long he’ll be standing this time. May will understand, he thinks. “I should go.” He makes to gather his ruined groceries, stopping when an alarmingly cold and metal hand wraps around his arm.

“Hang tight. We’ll take you home.”

Peter wants to argue, but Bucky’s pulling him to a nearby bench, and Sam’s walking back into the store. Peter watches numbly, his head throbbing too hard, as Bucky picks up the milk carton and most likely broken eggs. But when his vision begins to tunnel, he finds that he’s focusing more on the gray dots dancing across his eyes, and he only comes back to the present when Bucky drapes a jacket over his shoulders.

“You’re shaking.”

Peter jerks through a nod, slipping his arms into the large sleeves. “Thanks.”

Bucky only grunts in response, and moments later, Sam’s walking back toward them with a new bag in hand. “You live far from here?”

Peter shakes his head, allowing Bucky to help him to his feet. “It’s just a few blocks from here.”

“Can you walk?” Bucky questions, and Peter takes a few steps unassisted. He’s a little unsteady, faintly light-headed, but he doesn’t topple over, so he nods slowly, and he starts walking, sandwiched between Sam and Bucky.

It’s weird, Peter thinks, coughing into his fist. And if his head weren’t clouded over in dull, aching pain, he’d find the time to be alarmed that he, as Peter Parker and not as Spider-Man, is once again trapped in the presence of Avengers.

Sam and Bucky fill the silence with rapid back and forth banter throughout the ten minute walk, and Peter’s steps almost falter when they mention Spider-Man.

“You think he made it home okay? He sounded like shit today.”

Peter masks his faint gasp with a harsh cough that has Sam patting his back.

“Kid’s pretty strong. He’s probably fine.”

Peter crosses his arms, Bucky’s jacket practically swallowing his frame. Sam and Bucky’s words fade in and out against his ears. He’s so careful with his alter hero; every decision he makes is calculated. Still, he’s scared of being discovered; he doesn’t want the others to look down on him.

“Earth to Peter?”

Peter shakes his head, frowning. They’re stopped outside of his apartment building.

“You good?”

Peter has to swallow back the urge to say “yes,” instead saying “I will be.” He makes to slip out of the jacket, but Bucky stops his with a raised hand.

“Keep it.”

“Thanks,” Peter says, accepting the bag from Sam. “Thank you both. Really. You didn’t have to do all this.”

“Steve would have both of our heads if he found out we left you passed out on the sidewalk,” Sam laughs, leaning forward to touch Peter’s forehead again. “Now get your ass in there, and rest, got it?”

“Yes, sir,” Peter nods, and Sam puffs out his chest.

“Hear that, Bucky? ‘Sir?’ Has a nice ring to it, right?”

“I hate you,” Bucky mutters, and Peter climbs the steps up to his apartment building with a smile as Sam’s laughing fades into the distance.

[thunderbladecath]

What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

When Catherine was six, there was a giant, ferocious beast that terrorized the countryside near House Charon. It was horrifying. Mercenaries and Knights were sent to fell it but those who made it back were out of commission for months.

The beast never came out into the open fields surrounding Catherine's family home, however as it was nocturnal in nature, her parents made her come inside the moment the sky started changing shades (which she hated).

Anyway, because she couldn't play outside as often as she used to, she had to make due indoors. And as Catherine was the most rambunctious of the little children, she lead her younger brother and sisters on countless monster hunting rampages throughout the family home. One child would be the monster, one a noble who needed rescuing, and the rest the knights who would fight it. They would switch up between each session, but Catherine of course never played the noble.

They had this one knight living with them in their home, and this man hated, absolutely hated, when Catherine and her younger siblings would play this game. For fair reason; the value of the antique pottery and family heirlooms the children broke was probably enough to feed a small village through the winter. So, because their parents couldn't find a governess who would dare to travel through their woods during this terrifying time, and they themselves were away pretty regularly with her older brother, they decided 'you know what? Let's have Roger look over our children. Roger is a good knight. Roger has children of his own. He would never let any unfortunate circumstances fall upon our household.'

What they did not take into account however, was that while Sir Roger was indeed a father, he had not seen his children within the past three years and his parenting skills were little to none. His solution to the children's chaos? Panic attacks and yelling. Catherine, of course, did not like Roger. In fact, she disliked him. Very, very much. And each time he interrupted evening playtime, Catherine would picture just the most terrible things happening to him (and she once had even taken it upon herself to become one of those terrible things; her solution being sinking her teeth into his palm).

Anyway, the long winter ended and spring came and Lord and Lady Charon sent for their children to come and spend the season with them in their "cottage" (mansion with moss on the roof). Hand picking the knights to accompany their children, they of course picked out Sir Roger to accompany them on the holiday. Though they traveled by daylight, within the woods, they soon heard the bone-chilling sound of a howl from outside the carriage. "Stay inside," they heard the knights yell. "Continue down the road, we'll hold it off!"

The sounds of hooves galloping away on the soft dirt behind them was enough to pique Catherine's interest. "Cass, they told us to stay inside," one of her sisters pleaded, but Catherine was too interested. She wanted to see the fearsome beast.

Popping open one of the side windows of the carriage, Catherine stuck her head out and looked back, searching for the danger. She saw it then: a large, lupine creature, larger than a horse, snarling at the Charon knights, its paws swiping at them, its claws sharper than daggers. Roger was there, one of the knights who had rushed back to fend the beast off. Catherine's breath caught in her chest. The wolf growled and Roger held his lance at the ready. If it jumped, surely he would impale either its throat or its very heart.

But when the beast reared back, it kept its hind legs firmly planted in the earth below it. It smacked Roger across the face, knocking the pole arm from his very hands. Roger looked back at the creature, eyes wide, and the creature held his gaze, landed back on its front paws, and roared the loudest most fearsome roar Catherine had ever heard in her life.

"No! No, no! No! That's it," screamed Roger. "That's it, that's the final straw! I'm out!" He grabbed for the knife at his side, brandishing it in a defensive manner better suited for a shield, as he backed away, the other knights closing in on the beast from all other sides.

"Cassy, come on!" Her brother pulled her back in, not that she would have been able to see much more, anyway. The carriage had turned a corner as it continued to speed down the forest road.

The monster had finally been defeated a few days after. The knights had been able to track it back to its den and sink their swords into it while it slept. Sir Roger, however, never did return to the Charon family home. He had apparently handed in his resignation shortly thereafter, eyebrows raised all around as clearly, he was too early for retirement. The family had branded him a coward.

Catherine on the other hand, was positively thrilled. The evil had been defeated, after all.

And that is why to this day, whenever Catherine experiences something she is quite truly not a fan of, she raises herself to the full extent of her height and roars like a beast.

[writerwrites]

Yuánfèn | 05

Ch. 5: L'esprit de Escalier: “The feeling after leaving a conversation where you can’t help but think about all the things you should have said.”

Summary: When you’ve lost everything and try to run away from your problems, you keep finding a way back to the one person who completely understands. Can you make another person happy with a broken heart?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader Chapter Chapter Word Count: 4.3k Chapter Warnings: Slow burn, anxiety and shock related to elevator failure incident, small mention of Steve’s minor injuries from the initial Ultron fight in the Tower, small mentions of two idiots being horny and doing nothing about it because re: idiots

Series Masterlist | Series Playlist | Complete Masterlist

“You look…” She trailed off, eyes bright as they met Steve’s.

“I look like what? You don’t like the blue?” He tugged on the collar of the blue button up he’d put on for Tony’s party as he laughed nervously. His smile was almost one of shy boyishness as he looked tenderly at the familiar woman in the small bed, relieved she was lucid. He’d asked Sharon to keep him in the loop and she hadn’t had a single clear day when he was in Spain.

“I was going to say tired. When’s the last time you slept?” Her aged hands reached for the glass of water on the bedside table and Steve quickly stepped over to help her. “The blue looks nice, but you know I’ll always prefer you in a uniform.” He could feel the heat rise in his cheeks.

“It’s been a few days, but knowing Stark, I probably won’t get any sleep tonight either.” Steve realized he was holding back, Peggy noticing it too when he paced around the end of the bed with his hands on his hips. “Like father, like son, I guess. Big party tonight. Tony even joked that he’d invited some of our old friends, so just wait until I’m back to let you in on whether or not we had some other vets there.”

“Hmm,” She smiled and watched him, “I wouldn’t put it past Stark at all...and did you find a new dance partner?”

Steve felt like he should've known that she would figure out why he came before he could pluck up the courage to ask Peggy to help him talk through his feelings. Sam was a great listener but there wasn’t anyone left that really knew him, not like Peggy did. Even with Natasha invested in his romantic life, she didn’t understand why he was so hesitant to try something new. With a nod, he sat in the chair next to Peggy’s bed, pulling it in closer. She smiled at him, reaching her hand out for him and he didn’t hesitate to take it, “I didn’t ask anyone to Stark’s party, but she’ll be there.”

There was a long quiet between the two of them. Steve wondered if he’d hurt her by mentioning you or whether Peggy was trying to find the right questions to ask. It wasn’t a painful silence, their hands staying together, fingers laced through like they were making the most of their time together and, in a way, they were. Periodically they would steal a glance at one another, smile softly, and settle back into their thoughts. Eventually, Peggy would break the silence, but not how he’d expected. “What are you still waiting for, Steve?” His thumb paused in its rhythmic brushing over the loose, translucent and speckled skin. “Burdening yourself with things you can’t change is no way to live.”

Though he nodded in agreement, Steve bit his tongue. There was so much that felt unfair, complicated. He let Peggy change the conversation, reminisce about old Stark parties and music from the forties, but Steve fought to be present and enjoy this rare moment with her. Was it fair to tell you he had feelings for you when he still loved Peggy, even if he couldn’t have her? You both had your own baggage, so could you find happiness together without working through that first independently? These were the same questions that had been running through his head every night he’d been back at the Tower. He had sat up, notebook in hand, and tried to write through it, but only ended up staring at the sketches of you asleep on his chest. He wanted to say there was happiness in Spain, but the silence since returning to New York felt like he had misread the situation. Instead of talking through it, he pressed a kiss to Peggy’s forehead and told her he’d be back as soon as he could, making no promises to dance with that new dance partner.

Your ears were still ringing when Sam picked you up off of the elevator floor. He had shouted over the sound of fighting far overhead and your own screams every time the elevator moved, but it hadn’t started in complete chaos. At first it seemed like a power surge, the elevator falling a few floors. JARVIS didn’t respond and then, after a little bit of waiting all hell broke loose. I got you, that was all he kept shouting as he pinned you in a corner of the elevator, arms wrapped around you while you wondered how many floors it would take to plummet to a certain death. In the minutes of peace between the first serious fall and the second, Sam still held you as he tapped on his smartwatch to call for help. The snapping sound of the elevator cables, clang of something heavy and metal clamoring through the elevator shaft and denting the roof, the squeal of the elevator breaks struggling to stop the lift from another terrifying descent. Needless to say, Sam’s message went unanswered. With Sam pressed against you and both of your bodies losing weight in the third descent you worried about the team, certain that it had to be exceptionally bad if whoever was responsible managed to get into Stark Tower.

Somehow the breaks held long enough for Sam to pry the doors open. The entire experience left you shaking in fear and even though the voice in your head was saying you were in shock, you couldn’t make yourself move from the curled up position in the corner of the elevator. It left Sam tasked with picking you up and using his adrenaline to carry you up the three flights of stairs back to your office as your body kept shaking in his arms. You couldn’t be sure if the ringing in your ears made the stairwell seem uncomfortably quiet or if the hell you two had just escaped was all in your head.

“Doc, I need to check on the team. I’ll be right back, just keep the door closed and…” He looked around your office, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, brought your bag to you and set it at your feet. “Your phone’s in here? I’ll be right back.” Even with tear-blurred vision you could see the concern in his dark eyes and the turmoil of leaving you, so you nodded because your teeth were chattering and you couldn’t bring yourself to speak. Sam pulled the soft blanket from the back of your couch over your shoulders, “I’ll be right back.”

It didn’t matter if he’d been gone five minutes or ten or even twenty, you spent the entire time with a racing heart. Every little sound set you off into a fit of tears that would choke up after your racing brain tried to logic yourself into calming techniques and there were sounds, screaming and banging. With your face buried in your knees and your body completely racked with exhaustion you lost all track of time, your mind pinballing between replaying the elevator’s descent, your need for sleep, fits of panic and calm, and even the horrible moments where you’d been in a cold basement identifying the remains of your family members years earlier. What you hadn’t been thinking about was getting your head in the game and following Sam to the frontline to patch up the team.

Sam came back, as promised, but he wasn’t alone. The sound footsteps in the hall had you sobbing into your knees, rocking back and forth as you tried to not imagine the worst. “Hey you,” Steve whispered, his warm breath hitting your arm moments before he took your hands in his. “You’re okay. You’re safe.” His warm hands brushed up your arms and pulled gently to untangle you from the ball you’d put yourself in. “Let’s go home, okay? Let’s get you out of here.”

Picking your head up a little, you looked around the room, the light was on and your office looked completely unchanged. Sam was standing behind Steve watching you, looking far more put together than you were as you caught sight of your own reflection and immediately looked away. You hadn’t seen yourself in such a state since the Chitauri attack and it wasn’t a trauma you wanted to relive. Slowly you turned your gaze to Steve and his thumbs immediately brushed away the damp on your cheeks. With a sniffle you asked, “Is it over?” The rasp in your voice gave away that you’d been screaming in the elevator or maybe it was from all the crying afterward. That logical voice in the back of your head tried to push forward again as you tried to box up your own feelings,  “Is the team okay? Do they need me?”

“Nah, we’re getting you out of here, Doc. The big brain idiots can deal with their mess.” Sam’s tone was brotherly but firm, no room to tell him you could handle the truth about whatever happened at the party.

When Steve tried to help you up your legs wobbled and you nearly fell. Quickly wrapping his arms around your waist, he steadied you. “It’s a lot of stairs, honey. Let’s just think about this for a minute.”

“Between the two of us we could get her down to the garage.” Sam offered as he watched you stare at Steve’s feet while you tried to steady your breathing, unaware that the reason you were trying to calm yourself down now had more to do with the proximity to the super soldier that just called you a pet name.

“You’ve been through hell tonight too, Sam.” Steve may have been talking to Sam but his attention was on you, how your arms were still pulled close to your chest and your whole body was shaking. “You both can crash here at the Tower. There’s a spare room next to mine. She can have mine, it’ll be fine. We can make it work. That’s a few floors down, we’ll manage if you can just carry her bag for her.”

“Steve,” you started with your head already shaking ‘no’ but you couldn’t be sure if you were saying no to staying in the Tower or kicking him out of his bed, probably the former. It wasn’t lost on that noisy logical part of your brain that your body seemed to have settled on freeze rather than fight or flight, but that sliver of rational brain seemed to focus on the fact that if someone got into the Tower once that they could do it again.

“I promise, you’re safe. You just hold on to me.” Effortlessly, Steve picked you up and pulled you to his chest. Wrapping your legs around his waist and locking your ankles behind him, you buried your face in Steve’s neck. Your arms draped around his neck but as they walked you through the Tower to the level with the Avengers’ apartments you relaxed, albeit just a little.

You had only been on this floor a handful of times and if anyone was watching you cling to Steve like a baby björn, you were too busy trying to remember to breathe to notice. In fact, you hardly even noticed Steve and Sam talking along the way or the conversation about showers, clothes, and breakfast in the morning. What you did notice was the circles Steve was pressing into your spine as he talked casually to Sam. He took his time to head next door to his room and what may have seemed like casual chit chat to Sam or even appeared like Steve being a bit of a moving, physical talker felt like you were being gently rocked into a less panicked state. Slowly, Steve had somehow lulled you into the headspace you were in once he joined you in Spain, the weight of emotions washing away in the familiar smell of his body wash and clothes. 

If the sound of a door closing and the quiet that ensued wasn’t an indication that you were now in Steve’s room it was the smell of the place, just as lovely and welcoming. As Steve leaned forward to set you down on the bed you instinctively clung more tightly to him. He straightened up and you felt the rumble of him holding back a laugh before he sighed and gave in, walking into his bathroom and setting you down on the sink. Absolutely refusing to let go of the small comfort that had numbed the terror of the evening may have been the main reason for your behavior, but there was also the fact that you didn’t want to acknowledge your bundle of insecurities. So, for a moment longer at least, you stayed right there holding on to him. “So this is how it’s going to be?” Steve brushed his fingers through your hair as you nodded into his chest. “Well, I’m not sure how comfortable you’re going to be trying to sleep in this dress and my shirt’s pretty torn up after the fight.”

The fight… For the first time since you stepped onto that elevator you really looked at him. Your legs slowly loosened their grip on his waist and Steve helped you reach the ground, even if it was just by the tips of your toes because he pinned you between his body and the counter of the bathroom sink. Even in the warm golden glow of the bathroom you could see that he was already healing from a good hit to the face. Your palm went to his cheek and he covered it in his own as if to tell you he was okay. Maybe you were going to ask him if he was, but all you managed to say was one shaky, half whispered, “Stay?”

Steve felt selfish for even thinking, hoping really, that you would ask, but he wanted to stay with you. He wanted to keep you safe and finally get some sleep himself. Instead of asking if you were sure, he found a confession passing his own lips in the same hushed tone, “I haven’t slept since we got back from the villa.”

The sound of your breath hitching, your surprise and exasperation, would’ve been unnoticed by the average person, but it might as well have been on a loudspeaker with the super soldier serum in his veins. Your teeth sunk into your bottom lip as you tried to unpack the weight of what you were feeling with those words, with the pet name he’d used before he scooped you up. Somewhere between being both understood and hurt that neither of you had managed to say as much in three days. Your head was clouded by his words and your body seemed to forget that lungs needed air to breathe as his hands were back firmly on your hips. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you I missed you. I should’ve checked on you.”

Steve hushed you, a welcome end to what you knew would’ve been a word vomit rambling monologue of you unpacking whatever you were feeling. Your eyes met and you wanted to lean forward just a little and see what it was like to kiss him, to see if he would reciprocate, but the panic settled back in your bones and you scolded yourself for even entertaining the thought, gaze falling back to the floor. As you came down from the jittery terror of the elevator and the high of being held by him you remembered the sting of Tony’s speech at the party. To his world, you were certain that he saw you as nothing more than a silly girl with a silly crush.

When you withdrew into yourself again, Steve assumed you were trying to figure out how to ask for some privacy. It had been a long night and even though he thought you were still beautiful with makeup mussed from crying, he didn’t want to put more emotions on the pressure of the day. His thumbs brushed over your hips and he took a step back toward the door. “Take a shower and I’ll pull some clothes for you. I’m going to run down to the gym and take a quick shower there myself and then we’ll forget this day happened and get some sleep.”

He looked down at your hands, fingers now wrapping tightly around his pinky and ring finger. Steve wasn’t sure what you stopping him from walking away meant, but he was too scared to ask. While you had been the first person to understand him on a deeper level since he came out of the ice, you were still from a generation that was much more upfront sexually than he was. As much as he wanted you, that wasn’t something he could just walk into without clear boundaries and commitment. For you, your reluctance to let him go was too embarrassing to put into words, you kept your eyes on your linked hands rather than his face, terrified to find a look of pity or something less emotional written there. You spoke to your hands, giving them a gentle squeeze when you asked, “How long will I be up here alone?”

Tilting his head to the side, the Avenger realized what you meant and he visibly relaxed, “Full of surprises.” With those words, your words, a call to your trip to Spain, you managed to look up at him. When your eyes met you both managed soft, understanding smiles. “Ten minutes tops, put a timer on your phone. If you hear any clanging around it’s Tony fixing the elevator. I promise, you’re safe, okay? We’ve got everything under control and no one, especially me, will let anything happen to you.” It may have been what you needed to hear to let your hands fall from his, but it didn’t change the fact that after Tony’s speech you doubted that anyone was going to rush to save you. Whether Steve really realized that or not was another issue entirely, but you bit your tongue, nodded, and watched him leave.

10… You turned the knob of the shower and looked through the glass at your clothes on the floor. It felt like another life when Steve stammered over complimenting you in the dress and just as you replayed that moment in your mind your brain tugged at the latter events of the evening. You ducked your head under the hot stream of water to try and rinse everything away as your fried nerves seemed to be so eager to push you back into that shaken state.

9… He hissed as the water poured into the small cuts on his back and scalp while his gaze moved to the pile of clothes on the bench next to the shower. Another party, another missed opportunity to steal a dance with a girl he couldn’t get off his mind. The part of him that still loved Peggy was beginning to feel like someone else. He paused under the water, cringing as the water pressure made the fresh bruises on his back throb. The man had no idea how to string a sentence together around either of the two of them.

8… You paused, savoring the smell of Steve’s body wash coating your skin. Immediately, you wanted to run back to him, to the safety that you always found in his arms. The rapid pulse fluttering in your chest neither complete panic or complete anticipation. You only knew that it had more to do with him than the fear of any attack on the Tower.

7… He quickly rinsed off the bubbles of soap, eyes pressed tightly closed as he tried not to picture your bare silhouette through the foggy glass of his shower. That muscle twitched with want and neglect at the thought of the hot water running down your body, the same one that had clung to him for nights on end.

6… Wrapping your arms around yourself under the cascade of water, you pushed away the thoughts creeping into your mind as you became more aware of how alone you were in his space. You tried to remember to breathe, relax, find one happy moment in the day to say it was a day worth surviving. Safety was just a few minutes away, you repeated over and over in your head, but the hot water didn’t seem to be able to reach the cold in your bones.

5… Clearing his throat, he toweled off and practically ran back to his room. Circumnavigating the way he overthought every moment with you until he was back in his room, focusing on the reality of you asking him to stay.

4… You froze, staring at your reflection in his mirror, when you heard the door to the bedroom open and the movement just a few feet away on the other side of the door. The sun-kissed bare-faced reflection looking back looked exhausted, anxious, a weak and fragile stranger.

3… Steve pulled on his clothes quickly in case you came out to see who had walked into the room. Then he grabbed his favorite crewneck sweater, a bit worn in so that it’s once rich-blue color had faded just a little. The sweatpants he piled on top were his only ones with a decent drawstring, which he hoped would help them from falling off of you. As he reached for a pair of socks he remembered how much you hated them, always trying to keep your cold feet off of him in the night and ultimately wiggling out of them on instinct just a few minutes after you were actively asleep.

2… With a sheepish smile you reached a hand out of the bathroom when you heard the knock and tried to take his clothes without dropping his towel- which you couldn’t seem to wrap tightly enough around your curves. Yawning, you dressed as quickly as possible. Grabbing your dirty party ensemble, you caught a glimpse of your clothed reflection. It wasn’t just that you were swimming in his clothes, it was how different you looked with his sweater clinging to your damp skin and sweats threatening to slip lower on your hips- their width and the drawstring your only saving grace.

1… His mouth fell open when you walked out swimming in his clothes. You were too busy throwing your own in your bag to notice. There was no compromise to be had, Steve knew he could never ask for it back now.

Though he’d been laying on the bed, he swung his legs back over and went to stand up. Immediately worrying he was going to leave you panicked and asked, “Wait! Where are you going?”

His eyes stayed on you as he approached you slowly. When he reached you in just a few steps, Steve brushed his fingers through your hair, combing it out of your face. “I promised I wasn’t going anywhere and I-”

“Keep your promises. I know.” You smiled and nodded up at him. “But you also promised we were going to go to bed and forget this day ever happened.”

There was so much he wanted to try and explain, but just like he had with Peggy that morning, he fell silent. The last thing he wanted was for the first time he kissed you to be in a bed, it was why he’d stood up. Now he also didn’t want it to be in the Tower where you’d almost died an hour earlier or in a bedroom where you may have thought he was trying to take advantage of you. He lost his resolve, settling on waiting a little longer. Instead, he looked at you and focused on something small that had been bugging him all night. “I’m sorry you want to forget that today happened, but I understand. Tony can be a bit of an ass. I was really excited that he was going to finally give you the recognition you deserved as a member of the team. I appreciate everything Dr. Cho has done for us, but you’re the one taking care of us day in and day out.”

Throwing your arms around him, you hugged him more tightly than you ever had before. Your hands held his shirt in fists as you refused to let yourself cry anymore for the day. Steve didn’t hesitate to hold you back, rubbing those familiar circles down your spine. He knew that though he couldn’t find you in the crowd tonight he could perfectly picture the disappointment on your face at Tony’s slight and to his surprise it had made his temper flare a little. One thing Steve didn’t know about you though was that when you were completely tired or overly emotional you had a hard time processing in English and the muffled “Thank you” into his chest came out in your first language. That new little realization made him smile.

Pulling you to the bed, you climbed in after Steve and settled closely into his side as you always had. Like two pieces of the same puzzle, a perfect fit. Steve pulled the blankets over the two of you, turned off the light, and while one hand found yours and held it just below his chin, the other went under his sweater to your back. His large hands on your bare skin sent shivers down your spine. It was a welcome surprise that you thought might lead to something else, and you immediately hid your face at the stupidity of such a thought. Steve drew those little circles into your back again and, for the first time, he fell asleep first. The slow rise and fall of his chest, the cadence of his heartbeat, and you were quick to follow. You pressed your lips to his side and he hummed in his sleep and pulled you closer as you drifted off, a million things left unsaid.

A/N: You’re still here!? Thanks for reading Chapter 5! I never promised every chapter’s word would belong to Reader and in this one I think it may even belong more to Peggy than Steve. The over arching theme of Yuánfèn is about Steve and Reader though, don’t worry. I really appreciate you all being so kind and supportive of my little corner of Tumblr while I try to write consistently on a crazy schedule. Your comments and messages mean the world to me.

What do you think will happen when our favorite little idiots wake up in the morning?

Divider by the amazing @firefly-graphics​​​​​

I will be reblogging with tags, send an ask if you’d like to be added either to the series or to one of my other tag lists.

[anika-ann]

Hell Froze Over - Pt.3

The Rush-Girl

Type: mini-series to a series (part 1 & part 2 & part 3 & part 4),  Avenger!reader AU.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader       Word count: 3350

Summary: There’s a new enhanced on a scene, showing up at places of the Avengers’ fights. She’s fast. Really, really fast. And Wanda can’t read her mind.

You and Steve were chosen to approach her. It goes as well as expected.

Warnings: bad brief action, pseudo-science, mention of hypothermia, language

A/N: Watch out, I’m posting two chapters today as a treat… because part 2 was rather short. READ no.2 first ;)

Previous part  II Story masterlist

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Learning that the enhanced girl was not hiding in a warehouse was a terrific surprise and a pleasant change. Planning on descending to the attic of an old church near Saint Brigit’s, using ropes and tackles, you headed to the nearby building as inconspicuously as possible.

It helped that the darkness fell on the city, hiding at least a bit of your distinctive looks; you didn’t want to change, mostly because you needed to represent. After all, you had talked about the mysterious girl several times and had come to conclusion she wanted to catch the Avengers’ attention.

So, the Avengers coming to her it was.

You wordlessly watched Steve as he tackled the stripes around your wrists to make sure you wouldn’t fall even if letting go of the bar for any reason. When he met your curious gaze, he gave you a reassuring smile.

“Better safe than sorry.”

“Will you have safety straps too?” you questioned, not unkindly, but still blatantly calling him out.

As expected, his face darkened in response.

“Have I almost fainted on the battlefield today?” he shot back, mimicking your tone, masking real worry.

You opened your mouth to reply, the words stuck in your throat – because there was some logic behind that. So you closed it again, silence falling between the two of you for several moments. Your heart swelled and ached at the same time. You adored Steve, but he was… being a bit too overprotective now.

To be fair, you didn’t want to become a splat on a pavement either, so you didn’t call him out on it further, kissing the corner of his mouth instead.

“I’m fine now, you know.”

His hands fell on your hips, turning you 180 degrees so you would face the open space between the two buildings.

“You should know by now that it’s not about me not trusting you. I just rather not be taking any necessary risks,” he whispered to your ear, reacting to a thought that crossed your mind and which you barely acknowledged yourself.

Yeah, trust was a thing. But for a while now, you knew that he there were times when he believed in you much more than you believed in yourself.

Either way… no necessary risks, huh?

“Then wear your helmet,” you hummed back sweetly, making him cackle in response.

“Fair enough. Be careful, I’m right behind you.”

Alright, let’s do this.

Taking a deep breath, you pushed your legs, jumping off the window, trying to ignore the leap your stomach made as the thick rope slacked a little under your weight. This you would never get used to.

The ride was almost too short, but you definitely didn’t complain. Your feet soon hit the surface of the flat part of the roof, running of their own volition because of the momentum. You released a shaky breath, feeling the adrenalin pulsing in your veins, sparks in your nerves.

Well, that was the easy part you supposed. You unbuckled the safety straps, rolling your wrists, turning to check if Steve was on his way already. He wasn’t, probably wanting to be sure he wouldn’t slam your body down if he caught up with you while you were still on the rope.

Ever the gentleman.

Deciding to start closer observation on your own – mostly because you were afraid you would be spotted before making a single move –, you made your way slowly and discreetly to the attic, using a small window instead of the door, simply because you could. Steve would never fit into it, because broad shoulders, shield on his back, but you slipped in, soundlessly landing in the abandoned sanctuary.

The space was poorly lit with a few candles, giving it an aura of mystery and a holy place. Several sculptures of angels watched you with disapproval and you crossed your heart in apology; this was your first visit to a church in more like ten years. It would be a ridiculous gesture, wasting a precious time, but the row of sculptures actually provided a good hideout, dividing the smaller space from the main room, so you figured you were fine.

You glanced over the stone. What you assumed was your girl was dressed in a hoodie and jeans, curling onto herself, occasionally rubbing her hands, breathing on them in attempt to warm them up. You could see a bit of her blond hair sticking from under the hood, swinging as she paced back and forth. She was about your height, rather thin, but with her baggy clothes, it was hard to tell – she had to have some muscle under after all and you wouldn’t want to underestimate her.

Except… maybe it was the abandoned place, maybe it was her clothes, but… the sight of her actually caused your throat tighten in sympathy. Who the hell lived in an old church? Alone? With barely a bag of clothing?

It made you want to drop your ready-to-fight mode at instant. All alarm bells in your head were set off with that desire, warning you, but you couldn’t help yourself. Not wasting another minute, you made your way to her as you faced her back, crouching when she turned to a near window.

Luckily for you, she was so focused on the task of warming herself up and staring at the floor that she didn’t notice you in the reflexion. With your heart hammering against your ribcage, you exhaled soundlessly, taking another step to her, still down.

You clenched your jaw when the old floor betrayed you and creaked under your feet.

“Oh crap!” the girl cursed at the sound, swiftly looking up. Your gazes met in the window.

Your hands immediately flied up on instinct, ready to strike. She spun on her heels incredibly fast, a blur or a movement really, and suddenly she was facing you, eyes wide in horror.  

The look was so disarming for you that if she tried to kill you, you wouldn’t be prepared to defend yourself.

She was scared of you.

“Please, I mean no harm,” you promised, lowering your hands a little, which was something Steve would no doubt scold you for later.

The girl just stared at you in shock, not even breathing. She looked like a deer caught in headlights– no, she actually looked like a baby deer in headlights, her alarmed gaze taking you in. You didn’t quite blame her, you had to admit your armour was a bit much for someone who wasn’t used to it, even if it was just the tactical cat-suit in a different colour… and the eye-mask.  Then again, this wasn’t the first time she had seen you.

This up close, you could tell her whole body was shivering as if she was so cold she wasn’t able to stop it and she curled up into herself further. She looked so weak and feeble and innocent that you couldn’t but let your hands fall to your sides completely. Your heart clenched at the sight of her, so vulnerable, her eyes turning glassy.

This was the girl who had been popping up at the war zones? Saving lives? Escaping Tony’s tracking?

How?

“I promise I won’t hurt you,” you whispered softly and the girl honest to god sobbed, her palm quickly muffling the sound.

“Goddammit! I told you to wa-“ Steve stormed into the room with his shield ready to be thrown, his words dying in his throat when he saw the blond girl’s state and your palm against him in silent plea not to attack.

You met his eyes, seeing surprise in them – you could only imagine how much compassion he read in yours.

The unstoppable shivering of her body… it brought back memories. Memories of your own body almost freezing and no treatment helping. What if that was what the girl needed? Your help? Well, the Avengers’ help? The scientific team’s help? Her, showing up at places where the Avengers had… what if it was a cry for help?

Okay, now you were making up things, but the familiarity-

“Hi,” Steve greeted the girl, snapping you from your trance. Clearly, he had adjusted to your play. Except you had no play, acting on instinct, but he didn’t need to know that. He walked to your side slowly, lowering the shield a bit, attempting not to scare the girl off; but to have you in his reach if she decided to attack without a warning. “I’m Steve-“

“I kn-n-now who y-y-you are-re,” she let out between the series of clatters of her teeth. “B-both.”

Steve forced a tiny smile to his lips. “Good. We’re not here to hurt you, we only want to talk.”

The situation got even more familiar with Steve’s words, with his voice, the sweet soothing tone he had used when he had first encountered you, the memory of your own fear, your own mixed emotions washing over you like a tide-wave.

You were watching the girl, trying to figure out if Steve was having the same effect on hears he had had on you all those years ago. Her body language was hard to read, but her face was incredibly open. Also, the hand over her mouth was very clearly stiff with how cold she was.

You gasped when you noticed that.

“Oh my god,” you breathed out, crossing the distance between you without your feet consulting with your brain. “You’re freezing.”

Before you knew it, the girl was on you, catching you completely off guard.

Her arms locked around your form and just a fraction of second before you could knock her off you, you realized that she… she was hugging you.

Hugging you.

You stood literally frozen on spot, letting her shivering body press against yours, her trembling arms tightly wrapped around you. You only managed to blink, too stunned to let out a single word… or move.

“I kn-n-now y-you wou-wouldn’t-t hu-hurt m-m-me.”

You honestly couldn’t tell anymore whether it was her teeth clattering or the sobs what made her speech so disjointed.

“What the— what the hell?” Steve questioned under his breath, slowly making his way to your peculiar pair.

“Uhm…” you hummed, still not quite able to form a coherent thought, let alone a sentence. So you left Steve’s question without a reply.

“P-pret-tier in p-p-pers-son…”

You could imagine quite vividly Steve’s lips parting at the statement, as puzzled as you were. You blinked again, wondering whether the girl was referring to you or Steve.

Probably Steve.

“Okay. Uhm… we would let us take you in? Just to talk,” you reminded her Steve’s promise as you felt her stiffen – barely, she was still shaking was too much, but the effort was obvious. “We have lots of blankets and heaters,” you added hesitantly, catching Steve’s gaze as he finally appeared in your field of vision.

Her grip didn’t loosen in the slightest, but after few more moments, you could feel her nod against your shoulder.

Mission accomplished.

Not as expected but… accomplished.

────── ·❆· ──────  

“So… are we gonna talk about it?” Steve’s voice disturbed your absolutely inappropriate staring at the girl who had introduced herself as Katie and was now being babysat by Clint.

She had two thick blankets over her shoulders, a mug of chocolate in her hand, and she was sitting at the lab under Stark Tower while you watched from behind the glass. You couldn’t take your eyes off her, watching her every move, fascinated.

She had managed to give a smile to Clint when he had handed her the chocolate you had prepared. There was something painfully familiar about her and more than anything, you were getting sure she had gained her powers in a very similar way you had. Even when her ability seemed to be superspeed, you were recognizing the symptoms you had suffered after the transformation – the symptoms you had always had, but had got so much worse after the ‘treatment’. Tony and Bruce had helped you at that time, which was one of the reasons why she was in the lab now.

“You mean the way she jumped me?” you hummed absently, noticing that Katie’s eyes kept staring at the one-way mirror you were behind.

You had no idea why the girl had showed you affection – why she would even feel some towards you. Was it admiration? Was it the fact you had icy powers and she had troubles with thermoregulation? Or was simply a need for a physical contact with another human being and you being the closest in her reach at the time?

“That too.”

You eyed Steve as he crossed his arms on his chest, examining the girl with a frown before he looked at you, his eyes speaking of supressed anger. And here it came…

“But mostly about the fact you waltzed in alone and completely forgot about any safe distance, just standing there, ready to let her attack you. You know how fast— dammit, Snowflake!” he sputtered, turning away from you with a sigh, which caused you to gulp.

You hated disappointing Steve. You hated disagreeing with Steve.

You licked you lips, feeling the girl’s gaze burning through you, even though you knew it was impossible for her to see you. So strange…

Shaking your head, you turned around to look at Steve’s pacing figure instead.

“She was scared, Steve.”

“You didn’t know that coming in!” he protested, facing you as well, arms still crossed. “You didn’t wait for me-”

“No, I didn’t,” you agreed easily, seeing no point in denying your so-called mistake. Okay, not so much so-called as a real big mistake. “It was a stupid move, I know. Dangerous. But I don’t regret it. And after… I could have been wrong, but luckily, I wasn’t. I…” you hesitated, feeling small under Steve’s gaze, which was still boring into you with intensity. “Steve, she reminds me of myself so much. The trembling, the fear in her eyes… I think she was lost and that’s why she kept showing up. She needed our help.”

Steve’s features softened at your confession. He sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping as he crossed the distance between you. His arms fell to his side first before wrapping around you instead, pulling you close. You smiled into his chest contentedly as he rested his chin on the top of your head.

“You’re too good,” he whispered, pressing his lips to the crown of your head, causing your smile to widen at both the sweet gesture and the irony.

“That coming from you…”

He chuckled, retreating only to cradle your face in his hands. His eyes roamed your features, tired smile playing on his lips.

You didn’t think you would ever get used to the way he was looking at you – the bluest eyes you had ever seen, so deep and as beautiful as his soul. His gaze was intense, staring at the bottom of your own soul, and the twinkle in his orbits suggested how much he loved what he was seeing. It was moving you to tears.

“I love you. I’m sorry I scared you,” you whispered genuinely, his lips met yours in a feather-light touch in response.

“ ‘kay. I love you too, so don’t make it a rule, alright?” he requested, instantly earning your nod of agreement. A smile played in the corner of his lips then. “You can always make up for it later, when we deal with her.”

Your eyebrows shot up unwittingly and you chuckled at the blunt suggestion “Is that so, Captain?”

He hummed approvingly, kissing you again, this time lingering; a promise of what would come if you solved the little blond problem you had on your hands.

“Alright. I think I will... Now let’s go, so we don’t keep her and you waiting.”

After one more kiss, you entered the room just as Bruce was taking the last vial of blood from her. A third one. Katie’s head immediately shot up to you, a twinkle appearing in her eyes.

“Hi!” she greeted you, way too cheery for some being drained of blood.

You frowned at the scientist, ignoring her for a sec. “Is that a good idea? Taking her blood? I mean, she was hypothermic, right?”

“I’m gonna be okay. I’m sure they’ll take good care of me,” she reassured you, her eyes following your every movement as you walked closer.

“Yeah, no kidding,” you murmured under your breath and Steve gently caressed your arm.

“Well, now that you’re here, maybe Katie could tell us her last name,” Clint remarked sarcastically, giving her a pointed look. The girl immediately lowered her gaze as if in shame.

Or was it fear?

“I can’t. It would… it’s too dangerous. You should have never got to me.”

Well that wasn’t ominous at all.

Steve tilted his head to side, attentive eyes examining her features. “Then why did you keep showing up where we did? If you didn’t want our attention?”

Her gaze flickered to him, quickly falling down again. “I wanted to help. And… and I wanted to see you.”

“Who’s ‘you’?” Clint asked, his tone still remaining gentle and curious.

Katie shook her head again. “I can’t.”

You licked you lips, feeling your eyebrows drawing together. She really wasn’t giving you much to go on.

Maybe if you tried? She had reacted rather well to you for some reason, kept looking the direction you had disappeared…

“Okay. So what can you tell us? I don’t know… uhm, maybe about your powers? Or the cold? I noticed your hand turning so stiff it must have been painful from it,” you queried, trying to keep your voice even.

“I… it never happened before,” she explained, seemingly embarrassed. That confused you.

Seriously, what was going on here?

“And your powers? You’re really fast,” Steve noted and you saw his arm twitch as if he wanted to cross them on his chest again.

He stopped as he clearly realized it made him look intimidating and he didn’t need that – this girl was afraid enough already. You couldn’t help but smile a little. This girl was getting under his skin too – and it made you feel better. Because his instincts were usually right.

“I… that’s true. Partly.”

“Partly?” you blurted out before you could stop yourself. “So there’s more?”

She bit her lip, nervously glancing Bruce’s direction as he returned to the room from where he placed the samples to analyse and sat behind a computer to wait for the results.

“It’s okay. Your secret will be safe with us.”

“I know,” she whispered, glancing into Steve’s eyes with surprising confidence at those words. “But… I’m not sure how much I am allowed to say.”

“Allowed?” Clint questioned, asking the question everyone wanted to ask.

“It’s… like really complicated.”

Her gaze locked with yours again. You would swear her eyes turned glassy. You throat went tight – there were so many unspoken feelings, mingling one with another, that you couldn’t but believe her. You didn’t understand – but you believe she had a good reason for not wanting to tell you. You tried to clear your throat.

“Who knows about your abilities?” Clint prodded slightly and the girl gulped.

“Family. Extended,” she added after a short hesitation, making you all even more baffled.

“Meaning?” Steve pressed.

“My dad and… aunts and uncles. Sort of.”

Clint ran his hand down his face, eyeing you, Steve and Bruce. “Okay. So, to sum it up. You have abilities, of which one is being really fast, you can’t tell us your last name, and you have uncle-ish and aunt-ish people. And you were playing hero while having troubles with your abilities to… see some of the Avengers.”

“I don’t have problems! I swear this was the first time!”

“Hey, hey! It’s okay!” you stepped in immediately, seeing how wounded she was by that accusation. “No one is saying you’re not in control of your powers.”

“Thank you,” she said in earnest, her expression endlessly grateful as you caught her gaze. Your heart ached a little. She seemed so lost. How could she not remind of you when you first got your powers?

“Alright. So… what do we do now?”

“Now, we wait,” Bruce said simply and you exchanged a wordless conversation with Steve.

Yeah, that was exactly what you did not want to hear. Could you at least get some rest during the wait?

Of course, the answer was no.

────── ·❆· ──────  

Part 4

────── ·❆· ──────  

If you glimpsed a tiny Cloak and Dagger reference in this chapter, you were not wrong ;)

Anyway – happy Easter time to those who celebrate it.

Thank you for reading :-*

[oriigami]

Adventures in Babysitting

[So ever since doing some age math for a different fic, I’ve had this headcanon that Dragon spent awhile as Cora’s designated babysitter, so I wrote some extremely self-indulgent and headcanon-heavy fluff. Read it on ao3 here!]

“OI, DRAGON!”

Garp’s voice echoed down the halls of marine headquarters, and Dragon immediately started mentally packing up any hopes he’d had of a quiet day. Maybe if he found an unused office or someplace else to lay low until his father lost interest or got distracted...

He didn’t quite manage it on time; he rounded a corner, headed for one of the ladders that led up to the roof, and nearly ran smack into the very man he’d been hoping to avoid.

“Ah, there you are!” Garp said brightly. “Take this, will you?”

And he shoved a child into Dragon’s arms.

Dragon cursed, hurriedly readjusted his grip so as not to dump the poor kid on the floor, and glanced up his father.

“This?” he echoed, and then, after a quick glance down at shaggy blonde hair and arms patterned with faint scars, “…Isn’t this Sengoku’s kid?”

He’d seen the kid in passing once or twice since Sengoku had brought him back to Headquarters, usually trailing close in Sengoku’s footsteps, quiet and a little jumpy. He hadn’t really anticipated that this would be how he wound up actually meeting him.

“Yup!” Garp laughed, reached down to scrub a rough hand through the kid’s hair. “This is Roci! Senny asked me to look after him for the day, but I just heard Roger was sighted in Paradise and I have to go chase the bastard down. You don’t mind, do you?”

“I don’t know-“

“Great!” Garp said. “He’s a good kid, doesn’t really talk, shouldn’t give you any trouble. Thanks again!”

And then he was gone, barreling back down the hall, leaving Dragon no room to get a word in edgewise. Dragon watched until he disappeared around the corner, footsteps quickly fading, then sighed and looked at the kid- Roci- who was giving him an uncertain, wide-eyed look from behind his messy bangs.

“Hi,” he said, and sighed. “I’m Dragon. Sorry about him. I’m going to set you down now, okay?”

Roci nodded, and Dragon crouched down to lower him to the floor.

“How old are you?” he asked, leaning back against the wall.

Roci frowned for a moment, then held up six fingers.

“Six, huh? Can you read yet?”

A nod.

“That’s good. My dad mentioned you don’t really talk. Want me to find some paper to write on?”

A hesitation, and then another nod.

“Alright, follow me,” Dragon said, pushing himself to his feet and setting off down the hall. Roci fell into step beside him, hurrying a little to keep up, and Dragon took the opportunity to take a better look at him. His gait was a little jagged and uneven, not pronounced enough to be a limp but maybe a sign of some old injury, and the scars he’d noticed before were bright under HQ’s fluorescent lighting, thin lines and bigger circles all up and down narrow arms.

He didn’t know where Sengoku had found the kid, just that he’d come back with him after some mission somewhere in North Blue. He sure wasn’t about to ask. Scars like that didn’t come from nowhere, and six year old kids didn’t just not talk without some reason.

Roci stumbled, tripping spectacularly over what looked like nothing at all, and Dragon stopped in his tracks, turning and bending down.

“You okay?” he asked, offering the kid a hand to help him up. Roci took it, picked himself up, and nearly tripped over his own ankles again while doing so, his hand tightening around Dragon’s to keep from smacking his face into the floor again.

Dragon sighed, readjusted his hand to get a better grip, and tugged the kid to his feet. “You’re kind of clumsy, huh?”

Roci flushed a little and nodded, gaze fixed on the ground.

“...You can keep holding my hand? If that makes it easier?” Dragon offered after a moment.

Roci didn’t say anything- of course- but his hand tightened just a little more in Dragon’s, and the next time he tripped, Dragon was able to keep him on his feet.

Dragon led them into the first office he came across, and managed to find a notepad and a pen after emptying most of the contents of someone’s desk onto the floor. He passed them down to Roci, who immediately scribbled something down, then held the notebook out.

Sorry, it said, in a childish, slightly uneven hand. No elaboration, but Dragon didn’t have to think hard to guess what he was referring to.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dragon said, waving a hand. “Better I’m looking after you than my dad, honestly. When I was your age he had me running drills with his men, and it was terrible.”

He dropped down into the unoccupied desk chair, propped his feet up on the desk. “So how’re you liking HQ so far?” he asked. “You’ve been here for a month or so now, right?”

Roci nodded, settling down with his back against the desk drawers at Dragon’s side. I like it, he wrote. It’s

A pause, while he tapped the pen against the notepad a few times, then finished, clean.

“Ha, yeah, I guess it is,” Dragon said. “The marines are pretty big on that. Order above all, and all that sh- stuff.”

Roci nodded, and after another pause: I want to be a marine.

“Yeah? You considered getting a haircut?” Dragon asked idly, considering the kid’s shaggy mess of hair. “Marines usually keep it short.”

Roci shook his head immediately, so hard it was almost violent. A pause, then he scribbled something else down in his notebook.

Yours is long?

Dragon snorted. “Yeah, well. I’m not gonna be a marine, so.”

Roci blinked and tilted his head, the why? clear and unspoken. Dragon frowned and tipped his head back to look at the ceiling, trying to figure out how to explain in terms a child would understand.

“There’s... bad things in the world,” he said after a moment. An extreme oversimplification, to be sure, but one that was unavoidable. He might be tactless sometimes- often- but he wasn’t about to give a six-year-old a crash course in the horrors of slavery and genocide. “I’m going to try and fix them, and if I want to do that, I can’t be a marine.”

Roci was giving him a curious look from behind his bangs. “Don’t tell my dad I said that,” Dragon added after a moment. “He’d probably get on my case for ‘indoctrination.’” The kid just looked confused at that, and Dragon waved a hand. “Never mind.”

Roci was still giving him that curious, uncertain kind of look, and Dragon tipped his head. “What is it?”

Roci scribbled something in his notebook, then turned it around. Garp-san is your dad.

Dragon nodded. “That’s right.”

A pause, and then, with another quick scribble: Monkey D. Dragon?

Dragon raised an eyebrow. “Yes, that’s my name,” he allowed. “Why?”

You’re nice.

“Not really,” Dragon said, and almost laughed out loud at the openly doubtful look that won him.

He wasn’t nice, really, and he knew the path he was planning on heading down didn’t leave much room for softness anyways, but- he did like kids, and they deserved to be treated with at least a little gentleness, especially kids who the world obviously had been cruel to.

“You know any sign language?” he asked curiously, and Roci brightened a little.

I’m learning, he wrote. Sengoku-san is teaching me.

He signed something with quick movements, then wrote, My name. R-O-C-I.

“Can you show me one more time? Slower?” Dragon asked, and when Roci ran through the gestures again, he copied him, a little clumsily, and repeated it a few times until he felt he had it down.

Roci lit up, smiling big and toothy for the first time since Dragon had met him, and it almost felt like the room got a little brighter.

“How would you do my name?” Dragon asked.

Roci frowned for a moment, clearly thinking, then signed another short chain of gestures, slow enough that Dragon could follow along. Dragon copied him- D-R-A-G-O-N- and Roci nodded enthusiastically.

A smile tugged at Dragon’s lips, and he glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was past lunchtime, and he realized all of a sudden he was starving.

“You want to go rob the kitchens?” he asked, standing and absently offering Roci his hand again. Roci nodded, bouncing to his feet and only stumbling a little, and took it.

—

Sengoku found them several hours later, sitting on the roof of Marine HQ, Dragon still snacking on what was left of their stolen food cart. Roci’s head jerked up from where it had been bent over his notepad, and he waved excitedly at his adoptive father. Sengoku returned the wave, a reluctant smile tugging on his lips before he turned his attention to his son’s erstwhile babysitter. “Dragon,” he said, half-sighing.

“Sengoku,” Dragon replied without looking up, sounding absolutely unimpressed. “Thought you were doing inspections today?”

“I cut them off early when I heard Garp had left to try and chase down Roger again,” Sengoku said with a grimace. “I was worried he might’ve been reckless enough to actually take Rocinante with him.”

Dragon snorted. “He probably would’ve been, if he hadn’t run into me first.”

Sengoku sighed, pressing a hand to his temples and closing his eyes for a moment. “Thank you. Really.”

Dragon waved it off. “It was no trouble,” he said. “Roci’s a good kid. Wouldn’t mind looking after him again sometime.”

“I’ll take you up on that, if you’re serious,” Sengoku said, absently reaching down to ruffle Roci’s hair. “I’d much rather have you watching him than Garp.”

“I’m always serious.”

“Except when it comes to respecting authority figures.”

“Give me a reason to respect you and I will,” Dragon said impassively. “I like Roci, though. Like I said, he’s a good kid.”

“He really is,” Sengoku agreed, softening slightly, glancing down at Roci, who smiled up at him. “I’ll leave you be, then. Come on, Roci.”

Dragon nodded, signed something at Roci. Sengoku wasn’t paying enough attention to catch it, but whatever it was, it made Roci visibly brighten, face lighting up with a grin. And-

Well. Sengoku might have had a truly awful day, but at least he’d gotten a reliable babysitter out of the deal, so he supposed it balanced out. Garp’s spitfire son wouldn’t have been his first choice by a long shot, but he had to admit the boy was at least measurably more reliable and better with children than his father was, and the two seemed to really get along.

And anything that got Roci smiling like that was a win in his books, anyways.

[petersasteria]

The Forces of Nature || Ch.17

Pairing: Peter Parker x Superhero!Reader Summary: “There’s this kid out there that can control the wind or something. I think she’s a great addition to the team. Let’s recruit her.” 2,456 words italics are flashbacks Series Masterlist || Parker || Taglist

On the way to Greece, Steve formulated a plan that was suitable for everyone and upon arriving, they went to work. They landed in Athens and they were ready to fight. The Violent Swine wasn’t showing up yet and they still had time to review their plans. “Okay, let’s huddle.” Steve announced. Tony looked at him like he was crazy, “We never do huddles.”

“Yeah, but I figured we could review our plan.” Steve said, turning around to face everyone.

“Did you mean your plan? You planned everything. We got no say in it.” Tony said.

“Can both of you stop it? We’re here for Y/N. We have no time to listen to both of you fight, okay? We’re supposed to stick together, not fight each other. Fight each other later when all of this is over, but for now, shut up.” Nat said sternly. Steve and Tony immediately quieted down.

Deciding to steer the attention back to their purpose, Y/N thought it’d be nice to take the reins. She cleared her throat and said, “Okay, let’s review Steve’s plan. Tony, Sam, and Rhodey will handle the aerial fights and the tech stuff. Nat and Cap will handle the fights on the ground with the rest of us, but on the other side of the city. Clint will be on one of the roofs. Tony will bring him there. Th-”

“You’re kind of like my Uber.” Clint glanced at Tony, who rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Okay and Th-”

“I know where I’ll be Lady Y/N.” Thor interrupted with a smile. “I shall be with Steve and Lady Natasha here on the ground and we shall fight the villain and his allies. And this man,” Thor put a hand on Bruce’s shoulder, “will turn green and throw things upon doing so.”

“Yes, thank you for that, Thor.” Y/N chuckled a bit. “Wanda will rescue people and Scott will be hiding. Careful on where you step because Scott will be small for this. He’s back up. I guess for the meantime, Scott can help Wanda.”

“Got it.” Scott nodded.

“Me, Pete, and Bucky will be looking for the villain and we’ll fight him. He’ll probably bring an army of allies. Are we all ready?” Y/N asked everyone and they all nodded. She grinned, “Alright. Make sure all your comms are on so we can talk and check on each other. Let’s split up and take care, everyone.”

They all went their separate ways and soon as they did that, The Violent Swine arrived with his allies. His allies were wearing old-fashioned Greek clothing and they all looked like gods.

“Is it just me, or are they all dressed like people from Asgard?” Peter asked, getting ready to fight.

“Don’t be silly, Peter. They only have sheets as clothes.” Y/N pointed out, making Bucky chuckle. “I’m quite nervous, though. I haven’t been in a fight before.”

“This one’s a big fight, that’s for sure.” Peter said, nervously.

“This is going to be the greatest fight of your lives, trust me. Both of you can do it.” Bucky encouraged.

“We finally met.” The Violent Swine grinned as he walked towards Y/N. “I would say sorry for your loss, but I’m not sorry for what I did. I wanted to get your attention.”

“It worked. I’m here now.” Y/N said. “What do you want from me?”

“You don’t deserve to be here. I want you gone; dead, even.” The Violent Swine said. He was angry at her for living and Y/N didn’t know why.

“Not if I kill you first.” Y/N answered, making the eyes of Peter’s mask widen in shock. He didn’t know that the plan was to kill the villain. He thought that they’d take him to prison.

“We’ll see about that.” The Violent Swine turned his head to his allies before looking back at Y/N, “Epíthesi! (Attack!)”

With that, the battle began.

The first to strike were the deities in the sky, making Sam, Tony, and Rhodey confused. “What is this shit?” Sam asked as he fought one of them.

“I don’t know, but they just popped out of nowhere!” Rhodey exclaimed, shooting the one he was fighting. After blasting the sky deity that attacked him, Tony said, “After this, I’m taking a break. This Avatar shit is making me tired.”

“You’re just getting old.” Sam joked.

“Okay, Big Bird.” Tony responded as they fought off more of the deities.

Clint was on the roof, shooting arrow after arrow up in the sky to help Tony and the rest of the guys. “What’s happening up there?” Clint asked through the comms, taking a break from shooting arrows.

“Just fine!”

“Yeah, we can do it!”

“Go help Nat and Capsicle!”

“Roger that.” Clint said before parkouring his way down from the rooftop. “Nat? Cap? Where are you, guys?” He made his way through the crowd as people ran for safety.

“We’re outside The Parthenon fighting off these big guys!” Nat grunted as she got hit on the ribs.

“I’m on my way.” Clint ran through the crowd and went there. As he passed by, Wanda and Scott a few feet away from him, leading people to safety.

“Can you take your helmet thing off? You’re freaking people out.” Wanda said.

“No way. After we lead these people to safety, we’re going to help them fight off the bad guys and it’s protecting my head.” Scott responded. “Geez, how many people are here?”

“Thousands, probably.” Wanda shrugged. When the last people were led to the safe place that Scott found, they closed the door and looked at each other.

“What now?” Scott asked.

“We help them.” Wanda answered. “Where will you go?”

“Probably with Thor. You?”

“The sky.” Wanda said.

“Alright. Good luck!” Scott said. Wanda flew up to where the three men were and joined them in fighting. “I figured you needed a woman’s help in fighting because you three seem to be losing.”

“Is that trash talk?” Tony asked, amused.

“Only if you want it to be.” Wanda said as she effortlessly fought off the deities.

On the ground, Scott was on his way to Bruce and Thor. He didn’t have to ask where they were because he could see Hulk from where he was. “I’m here!” Scott said, standing next to Thor and getting ready to fight.

“Ahh, yes! The tiny man who can also grow very big!” Thor exclaimed. “Bruce is already smashing things and I’m going to do my thunder stuff. You can fight them off by getting really big.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.” Scott shrugged and turned himself bigger. All three of them fought alongside each other and they were winning. “Hey, Spidey! How’s it going over there?” Scott asked.

“Not good for me!” Peter shrieked as he got dragged by one of the allies. Peter shot taser webs at them and they immediately let go of him. Peter stayed on the ground to catch his breath and Bucky ran past him, “C’mon, Peter! Keep up!”

“Yeah, just a second!” Peter shouted, as he slowly stood up. He looked at Y/N and she was busy fighting The Violent Swine in hand-to-hand combat. Y/N threw in good punches and kicks as she skillfully dodged his attempts. Needless to say, she was winning.

“Kid, I know you can fight better than her, but she’s owning this shit!” Bucky said as he shot every ally he could find.

“Gee, thanks.” Peter said before concentrating and joining the fight once more.

“Y/N!” Bucky shouted as he saw her being punched so hard that she flew a few feet away. Bucky ran towards her as she took deep breaths. “I’ve been in a lot of fights and I know it hurts. But you have to get up and fight him harder than he fought you. If he loses, it’s over and we can go home.”

He helped her up and after making sure she was alright, he ran off to help Peter. Y/N angrily walked towards The Violent Swine and said, “You took my only family away from me and I’ll never forgive you for that!”

“Yeah, I figured. It won’t matter anymore when you’re dead like her. I’m doing you a favor, Gaia.” He said tauntingly.

“Don’t call me that!” She shouted and flew up in the sky. She looked down at him and got ready to finally end him.

“Oh, you don’t know your origin?” The Violent Swine chuckled. “That’s upsetting, darling. You don’t belong here at all! That’s why I’m sent to kill you.”

“Who sent you?” She asked, brows furrowed.

“Ouranos.” He replied before shouting something in Greek to his allies. A few of his allies flew to where Y/N was and they fought. With all her strength, she fought. It was difficult, but she was pushing through.

Peter and Bucky saw it and Bucky said, “Peter, do your web sling thingy!”

“Who will I shoot it to?”

“The fucking enemy, of course!”

“Geez, calm down, old man!” Peter said before doing what he was told. He shot stun webs at Y/N’s enemies and they all fell on the ground. As soon as they did, Bucky ran towards them and fought them. Peter joined Bucky and asked, “Mr. Stark, you okay?”

“Yeah, we’re all okay here. I think we fought the last of them. Wanda helped us. Capsicle, how are you and Nat?”

“We’re good. Clint thinks Nat broke a rib and I think so too.” Steve said, breathing heavily while wiping some blood off his lip.

“I’m fine and I can still fight!” Nat exclaimed.

“You can sit this one out, Nat.” Clint said.

“Scott, you there?” Steve asked.

“Yeah! Thor’s been doing his thunder stuff and Hulk has been throwing cars at the bad guys. I asked help from the ants too and they did a great job. We were able to tackle this one guy and it turns out, he hated ants. So my little ant dudes just-”

“Okay, that’s enough. Thank you.” Steve said.

“Oh, yeah. No problem!” Scott said happily.

“What’s going on there, Queens?”

“I think Y/N and the swine flu guy are confronting each other because Y/N killed his allies. She just landed on the ground and they’re talking.” Peter said, updating the rest of the team. “I think you guys should come and see this.”

The rest of the avengers joined Peter and Bucky as they watched the interaction between Y/N and The Violent Swine.

“You killed my allies.” The Violent Swine said as he looked around. The damage was done and he knew that the Avengers would win if they took him away or worse, kill him. If he killed one of them and got away, it’s the loss of the Avengers. He weighed out his options and formulated a plan.

“It’s over for you. Just give up.” Y/N said. She was tired, but she wanted to make sure that this villain was gone.

“I’ve been watching your every move since you were born and you grew up nicely.” He said. “You lost a lot of people in your life and you lived with your cruel aunt and seeing you alive and kicking is refreshing. I applaud you for that, truly.”

Y/N didn’t know what his motive was, but she knew that he wasn’t sincere. Something off about him and his speech and she could feel that something bad was about to happen. She just had to beat him to it.

“That night, when you killed Eunice, the police saw the words ‘overthrow gaia’ on the wall written with blood. What did you mean by that?” Y/N asked, mentally preparing to fight.

“I can’t give you the answers because Ouranos never told me everything. He just showed me who you are and said ‘Gaia’ and threw me here. He made me watch you grow up and develop your powers. He’s the reason your parents are dead.”

“What?” Y/N looked away in distraught. Her parents. Her poor mother and father never made it out alive.

Anything can happen in a blink of an eye. A few seconds can pass and that can be considered as the past already. That's the concept of time. Because of this, everyone does stupid things. It can be anything. After all, stupid things that a person has done might not be stupid enough to another person. It's totally different, but everyone can agree that drunk driving is stupid.

Anything can happen in a blink of an eye. One second Y/N and her parents were going on a drive then the next second, they were hit by another car. They were in the middle of nowhere in an intersection and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Their car got hit by another car, similar to their own car, and it was a strong impact. Unfortunately, due to that almost everyone died. Almost everyone. Y/N was the only one who survived. She only had scratches.

She didn't know why she was left alive. She didn't know why she was spared, but she figured the man upstairs had plans for her. She didn't know what the plans were, but she was willing to figure it out.

She quickly got out of the car and she was glad she did because after she got out of the car, it blew up. It was hard for a 15 year old to see that. The driver of the other car died too. She later found out that the driver was drunk when the ambulance came.

She was brought to the hospital for her wounds to be cleaned. Then her grandmother was called to inform her what happened. Y/N's grandmother picked her up from the hospital and drove her home.

While looking away, The Violent Swine made his move. He took a small dagger from his pocket and ran to Y/N. She felt someone running towards her and she turned around to see The Violent Swine holding a dagger, ready to stab her.

It was as if everything happened in slow motion. The Violent Swine got ready to pounce on her, but the ground shook and it opened. Y/N saw nothing but fear in his eyes as he fell down the hole she created before closing it up. The ground that The Violent Swine walked on, swallowed him whole. The sight made the avengers gasp. They had never seen anything like it before.

“Remind me not to make her mad.” Scott said, breaking the silence.

Just like that, it was over. The evil met his demise.

* * * *

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @blueleatherbag @cocoamoonmalfoy @thatforgottenangel @parkerpeter24 @slutforsr @givebuckyhisplumsnow @buckys-little-hoe @runawayolives @chewymoustachio @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @yourstrulyamour @beverlythrillz @pearce14 @juliediggory @yaya4302 @alexx-stancati @rumplebutterbaby @dummiesshort @spideyspeaches @moonlight-onyx @marvelsimps @angelsgrxzer @dreamy-clousds @bora-world @hunnybunimdun @supred12 @more-like-reyna @caitsymichelle13 @aayaissaa @oliviabren03 @wannabemobwife @bigassnocash @repostcentral

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