#sadly I'm not pulling on his birthday banner...

[paninipillow]

happy birthday to my favorite pink guy ever

[shadowqueen402]

Kaylo's Special Birthday: Chapter 8

(Meanwhile with Rebecca, Cal, and Lucy)

"Darlings, just look at these adorable balloons!" Lucy exclaimed as she admired the balloons that came in a variety of shapes and colors. "We already know what colors Kaylo wants. But the shapes are a different story."

"Knowing Kaylo, I'm sure she'll be happy with any kind of shape we give her," Rebecca said. "Just as long as we get them in pink, purple, and white."

"Let's not forget that we need to get the tablecloths too," Cal said. "We'll need them for the tables. As well as the party banners and other decorations."

"How many balloons should we get?" Lucy asked.

"I'll call Mr. Bruno," Rebecca said, pulling out her cellphone. She dialed Thea's phone number and placed the phone near her ear, waiting for her to pick up.

"Hello?" Thea's voice replied.

"Hi, Mrs. Bruno," Rebecca said. "Lucy, Cal, and I are at the store. We found the balloons. But the reason why I'm calling you is because we need to know how many balloons that we should get."

"Ah, it's a good thing you called," Thea replied.

"Why is that?" Rebecca was now instantly curious.

"Stefan got a call from my sister, Catilin. The rest of the family are planning to meet up with you three st the store."

(Meanwhile with Attilio, Cass, and Lora)

"Sadly, I don't know too much about party games," Lora said as she and Cass were at Attilio's house. "Mainly because, whenever my mother threw a party for me, there would be little to no games."

"Fortunately for you, Lora, I'm an expert on games," Attilio said. "So I have a few ideas on what kind of games that we should add to Kaylo's party."

"We can always add the classic; Pin The Tail On The Donkey," Cass suggested. "That game never gets old."

"We'll add that game," Attilio said as he wrote it down on a notepad. "But I plan on doing something creative as well. Something that is not only safe, but can be enjoyed by both kids and adults."

Lora hummed in deep thought. Then, an idea popped into her mind. "How about this?" She asked. "I found a cotton candy game that we can play."

"A cotton candy game?" Cass asked, curious. "Ooh! I've never played a game with cotton candy."

"I am curious," Attilio said. "What would this cotton candy game be? How can we play it?"

"Okay, so each cotton candy will have something inside of it; money, a small piece of candy, or a toy," Lora explained. "But one cotton candy will have a very special prize in it. Each player will spin the wheel and whichever color it lands on, they have to take a cotton candy in that color and place it in water so it can dissolve and reveal their prize. I can create the make the color wheel for everyone to spin."

"That does sound like fun!" Attilio said. "I bet Kaylo would love that game! Not to mention, it's safe for kids as well! We should definitely arrange for that game to play! Now, let's come up with other games!"

Kaylo, Thea, Stefan, and Catilin belong to @kayssweetdreams

Rebecca belongs to @thehypercutstudios

Lora belongs to @alex-frostwalker

[fuckyeahdindjarin]

Palomino Masterlist

COMPLETE | Explicit 🔞 NO minors allowed

Jack Daniels x F!Reader

Series tags: Dude ranch cowboy Jack AU | mini-series | solo travel romance | lots of horsey details | self-indulgent AF | set in Wyoming | no physical descriptions of Reader

Note: You guys voted for Palomino to be the next WIP after Consent, and who am I to refuse? But honestly, thank you for voting for Jack, because I've been dying to write this story. If you'd like to be tagged, please comment, reblog or sign up at my taglist.

Part 1: Palomino

Unable to get a refund for a week-long horse-riding pack trip you'd booked with your ex, you decide to go solo. As it turns out, a rebound with a cowboy named Jack while traversing the wild landscapes of Wyoming might just be what you need.

Part 2: Buckskin

It's an eventful first day on the trail, to say the least.

Part 3: Dapple Grey

Tinder is a dangerous game. So is Never Have I Ever.

Part 4: Strawberry Roan

Jack pulls out all the stops for your birthday. All of them.

Part 5: Appaloosa

You and Jack play house for a day.

Part 6: Mustang

On the fifth day, you leave the Halfway House behind, and the conversation turns homeward.

Part 7: Fleabitten

You and Jack spend your last night together in the mountains - for now.

Part 8: Silver Pony

And just like that, your week at the Statesman Ranch comes to an end, leaving you grappling with the prospect of saying goodbye to Jack.

Part 9: Warmblood

The hardest goodbye you’ll ever say.

Oneshots & drabbles

Deleted scenes from the series that I didn't have the word count for.

Bernaise: You watch Jack cook. Deleted scene from Part 4 - Strawberry Roan.

If Only: Jack smiles and brushes a thumb across your cheek. If only you knew.

Peeks into Jack and Darlin's life after the end of the series.

Pressing: Jack marks you as his in an unexpected way.

Real: You call Jack after running into your ex at a wedding.

Cowgirl Aesthetics: 'This dress won't last ten minutes in a real horse yard and you know it, darlin''.'

Headcanons

Miscellaneous headcanons - some requested, some no one asked for.

Silver Pony | Jack’s moustache | Jack and horses | Jack's guilty pleasures | Jack is king of the two step | Jack's allergies | Teak the artist

Visuals

Mostly made/commissioned for A Palomino Farewell.

Special edition chapter banners

Horses of Palomino

Palominogram: About last night

Palominogram: The cellar

Commissioned art

Belt buckle inspiration

Moodboard: Buckskin

Moodboard: Palomino

Horse girl representation

Recipes

Mama Daniels' express chili: featured in Fleabitten

Poppy's chocolate & rum cupcakes: featured in Strawberry Roan

Chapter sneak peeks: two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight

Bonus content

Art and misc. generously gifted by my sweetest friends ❤️

A Palomino Farewell

Palomino playlist

A birthday message from cowboy Jack and Cowboy yearning by the most talented @guiltypleasure-art

Palomino edit by the loveliest Heidi @wildemaven

Moodboard by the sweetest Keira @k-ra

Playlist by sweetest Sil @psychedelic-ink for A Palomino Farewell

Palomino-inspired cocktail recipe by darlin' Skye @iamskyereads

I can't believe that Palomino now has its own cocktail!!! I'm so honoured that Skye created and shared this recipe with us. All the elements are perfect, from the Campfire whiskey (Darlin's favourite time of the day - snuggling with Jack by the fire), apple (If Only reference) and Ginger (who convinced Darlin' not to cancel the trip). I cannot wait to try this cocktail myself, thank you so so much my love ❤️

More notes: This is a very personal story to me as I grew up loving and riding horses. I've been lucky enough to go on several horseriding holidays, and I'm writing directly from experience - except the hot cowboy part, sadly. Even if you don't ride, I hope you enjoy this story, and I will be the happiest writer if I impart to you even a fraction of the joy of exploring the great outdoors from the back of a steady (or speedy) steed.

{ Inspo }

{ Main Masterlist | Taglist }

[angelbabyszn]

Believe Me (Sad Eyes X Reader) - Part Two

Gif by @merakiaes

A/N: This imagine was requested! Read Part One to understand: Part One

Imagine Based On: Can I request where you and sad eyes just had a baby girl named Valentina and one day sad eyes gets told that Valentina isn’t his but it’s not true, and he finds out that he’s been told lies about Valentina not being is, because he took a dna rest turns out he’s 99% the father and he comes and try to make up for it, but reader makes him work for it. Is there a way it can be a happy ending??

OMB Masterlist

Recap:

"I love you Y/N." said Sad Eyes but you didn't respond for the first time. 

Sad Eyes turned back straight and slowly closed the front door on him. 

Once you heard the door shut, you quickly ran to your bed that you used to share with him. You dropped on it as you started to cry the tears of your tears out.

Who knew one DNA test could ruin a whole new family in just a few minutes.

Part Two:

"Mommy," said Valentina and you quickly stopped watching a Netflix show and went over to your daughter and her toys around her to play.

"What is it, honey?" you asked and Valentina turned around and grabbed a frame with a picture in it.

You grabbed it and you saw Sad Eyes kissing you in your wedding dress on the cheek after being wed about two years ago.

You look up and you see Valentina making a sad face. Your heart started to hurt in pain for Valentina because she hasn't seen him in three months.

Yep. It was Valentina's birthday today and you and Sad Eyes were planning a first birthday for her. Due to everything that went down, it will be a small party for her today with your family later on today.

"Daddy." said Valentina sadly and your eyes widened a little bit by what you saw in Valentina's eyes. You start to see Sad Eyes in them and your heart starts to hurt again.

You still love him after what he did. You know he didn’t do it on purpose but it was still shady that he didn’t believe you and did it behind your back. 

You know you have to become strong and be there for Valentina. It's been hard these last three months being by yourself and taking care of her.

It was also hard falling asleep without the guy you love but you can't be falling into his arms again. 

"I know you miss him. Come here." you said and you reach over to grab Valentina and hold her in your arms.

You started to rock her and her eyes slowly started to close until they were completely shut ending in her falling asleep.

You got up from the floor and put her in her crib carefully in her room. You give her a kiss on the head and Valentina did a small smile, making your heart melt.

You carefully walked out of her room and shut her door quietly. You walked back into the living room and started cleaning her toys off of the floor with memories with Sad Eyes starting flowing in your mind.

You miss him so much. You want to be in his arms right now. He didn't believe you, making you come back to cold hard reality.

Once you were finished, you got a message on your phone. You opened it to see it was from Spooky.

Spooky🖤: come over. bring Valentina too.

You: why? 

...

You: Spooky?

You sighed because Spooky wasn't responding. You looked back at Valentina's room and growled because you just put her to sleep.

-

A few minutes later, you arrived with Valentina still sleeping in your arms at Spooky's house in confusion. You guess it was one of the rare days you don't see the gang hanging out in the front yard.

You knocked and a moment later, Spooky opened the door and you felt Valentina being taken out of your arms.

"Spooky! What are you doing with Valentina?! Give her back!" you whispered, screaming at him because she was still sleeping.

"Don't worry, I got her." said Spooky. 

Before you could speak again, Oso quickly put the blindfold over your eyes without you realizing he was behind you.

"Oso?! Spooky, what the h*ll?!" you shouted as you tried to take off the blindfold off of your eyes but it was too tight on you.

A moment later, Valentina woke up and she started to cry. Spooky quickly calmed her down by bouncing her a bit in his arms, making her stop.

"Shh. It's okay. It's just uncle Spooky." said Spooky and Valentina smiled and giggled, making Spooky do a little smile.

"Spooky, get this off of me now!" you demand as you still tried to take it off.

"Nah. Just grab Oso's hand and follow him in his footsteps." said Spooky and he opened the door a bit wider. He let Oso and you enter the house.

A few moments later, you stopped walking and Oso let go of your hand.

"You ready, Y/N?" asked Spooky and you turned your head to his voice.

"Yes! Get this off of me!" you said and Oso took the blindfold off of you.

Your eyes widened to see you were in the backyard with everybody you know yelling surprise.

You turned your head to see a banner saying "Happy One Year Valentina" and gifts for her underneath on a table.

"Oh my gosh. You guys did all of this for Valentina?!" you said, surprised as you walked in front of everyone with happy tears started to come down your eyes. You thought you would have to do a small party today for her. 

"Yeah. We did but one certain someone planned all of this." said Spooky walking up to you.

"Who? Ruby?"

"Sadly, no. I wanted to. Could've made this even better." said Ruby with an upset face and crossing his arms against his chest. 

"Then who planned this?" you asked in front of everyone.

"I did, my reina."

You turn your head to the voice and see Sad Eyes coming out of the crowd and going towards you.

It was the first time you saw him in person ever since that night. You started to breathe heavily.

"Hey...reina, please. Calm down." said Sad Eyes, looking at you as he continued to get closer to you but you stepped back.

"I'm fine just...it's the first time I've seen you." you said softly. 

"I know. You look...beautiful." said Sad Eyes taking another step closer to you but you stepped back again.

"Thanks I guess." you said trying to avoid eye contact with him.

" I miss you Y/N. So much." said Sad Eyes looking at you deep. You slowly look back up at him to see his eyes begging for forgiveness from you.

"I'm so sorry. These rumors and predictions got into my head and it got me thinking if Valentina was actually mine." said Sad Eyes.

"She has the same smile and eyes as you!" you said and Sad Eyes looked from you to Valentina to see a small smile on her face like his. 

"You should've talked to me about it." you said as you felt your heart beating out of your chest full of hurt and disappointment for him.

"I'm sorry Y/N. I threw this whole party for not only my daughter but for you. You're been the most wonderful wife in this whole world and I could've asked for a better mother for my daughter. I begged you to forgive me for what I did." said Sad Eyes looking into your eyes with consent. 

He bends down on one knee and looks up at you with his eyes staring into your eyes begging for forgiveness.

You started to hesitate because you didn't know what to say. You turn to Valentina still trying to get out of Spooky's arms and go over to her father on the ground, happy to see him again.

"Daddy!" said Valentina and Sad Eyes turned to her and gave her a small wave where she waved back with her little right hand.

Your heart melts at the interaction with them. You realize what you need to do. For Valentina.

"Sad Eyes?" you asked and he quickly looked back up at you.

"I'll forgive you but I won't forget. For Valentina. Only because she needs her dad in her life." you said with a serious face and Sad Eyes stands up and looks down at you with a smile. 

"But for us, you have to earn that back. I'm not saying I love you until I think you deserve it." you said and looked at him with your arms crossed against your chest.

"Oh course. I'll take it. I'll do anything to be with you again. I love you so much." said Sad Eyes and he grabbed both of your hands with his. 

Just feeling his hands made you start to feel a way. It’s been a long time since you felt his touch.

Sad Eyes pull your right hand up with his left hand and  slowly kisses it as he looks into your eyes deep. His stare just made your heart skip a beat.

"Well um, how about you go say hi to your daughter? She misses you." you said quickly backing up and getting out of Sad Eyes's touch.

Sad Eyes looked at you for a few moments and nodded. He walked over to Valentina and took her out of Spooky's arms.

Valentina smiled and started to hug Sad Eyes happily to see her father again. You smiled at them as the music started the party trying so hard not to take a photo of them.

Oh course you failed miserably so you quickly took a photo of them quickly so nobody don't notice.

-

A few hours later, you close Valentina's door and walk into the bedroom. You see Sad Eyes in bed sitting up with a small box in front of him.

"Um, I got you something and I think you may like it." said Sad Eyes, kinda stuttering which made you giggle because you like when he's nervous.

You sat next to him and took the box from him to open it.

You gasped to see a gold necklace that says "Valentina" in diamonds. You looked at him with your eyes widened.

"You did not-"

"Oh yes I did. For you. You deserve it." said Sad Eyes and you slowly start to look at the details of the necklace.

You took the necklace out of the packaging and started to put it on but you couldn't. Before you could even ask, Sad Eyes took the necklace by the lock and put the necklace on for you.

Your heart skips a beat as you feel his touch again through his fingers once he grabs the necklace. He went behind you to put it around your neck. 

You got up and looked at the full length mirror at the corner of the bedroom to see the necklace.

"It's so beautiful." you said looking at the necklace through the mirror.

"Just like you." said Sad Eyes walking behind you to see the necklace on your neck through the mirror.

"Thanks." you said looking at him through the mirror and he nodded. 

A moment later, you gasped as you felt a pair of arms wrap around your stomach. Your heart skips a beat again as you see Sad Eyes close to your body through the mirror.

"Is this fine?" asked Sad Eyes and you nodded. It's crazy he still makes you feel this way after everything that went down.

"How am I doing?" asked Sad Eyes through the mirror, referring to working on your relationship. His jaw was sitting on your right shoulder. 

"I love you. I'm sorry for what I did." said Sad Eyes looking deep into your eyes, trying to make everything better again.

"It's okay. I still love you." you said, caressing his left cheek, making him gain a pink blush.

"Really?" asked Sad Eyes and you nodded.

"You found the perfect way to make things right again. You made our daughters first birthday special." you said and Sad Eyes smiled.

"Thanks. I was just finding the perfect way to get both of you back. I miss both of you so much. It was so hard not wanting to come here and talk to you everyday begging for you to take me back." said Sad Eyes. 

Sad Eyes starts to look from your eyes down to your lips slowly and back up to your eyes.

He slowly starts to close his eyes and lean to you with his lips until you stop him with your right finger.

"You don't own that yet, baby." you said and Sad Eyes chuckled underneath his breath.

"It was worth the try. I miss our kisses." said Sad Eyes looking at you with a pout face.

"Well keep working on that. You ain't getting nothing until you deserve them." you said with a sassy tone, causing him to look at you crazy.

"Come on Y/N. You gotta be missing my kisses too." said Sad Eyes.

"In your dreams." you said and you walked out of the bedroom, leaving him with his jaw dropped at your response.

"Wow. It's like that now uh?" asked Sad Eyes with a smirk.

"Yep. Now come watch a movie with me and get me snacks." you shouted in the living room as you sat on the couch getting comfortable.

"Yes, my reina." said Sad Eyes with a grin and turned off the lights in the bedroom and walked into the kitchen to get snacks.

You and Sad Eyes watched movies all night and started talking to each other again like you guys never went on a break.

Eventually, Sad Eyes earns a kiss again from you after putting in effort into your relationship and it's better than ever.

You and Sad Eyes couldn't be more happier than being together again while raising Valentina together as a family.

[buckyreaderrecs]

Blood

Summary: Bloody Mary; a ghost who appears in a mirror when called by name three times.

Words: 2235 Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Reader Characters: Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Shuri Additional Tags: Infinity War and Endgame didn't happen, Stark Tower is still a thing, recovering Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier Bucky, a bit angsty, mostly canon compliant, Bruce Banner and F.R.I.D.A.Y. are mentioned but aren’t in the story, I love Shuri SO MUCH, female pronoun Reader Warnings: death/dying, blood, description of body decomposition, nightmares

Note: This is my submission to @waiting4inspiration's Myths, Folklore and Legends writing challenge! Hope you love it, Jess!

Tag list (open): @darlingtholland @browngirlmagic

Blood

Bucky Barnes doesn't believe in ghosts. In this day and age, it's more likely that a ghost is just a loved one brought back to life. Reanimated to fight on the wrong side, kind of thing. Or maybe the ghost is a clone. A hologram. A science experiment gone wrong. If you are lucky, the ghost could simply be a hallucinatory symptom of brain disease. But, no matter what, there is always a scientific explanation.

Bucky Barnes doesn't believe in ghosts because the existence of them implies the existence of an afterlife, some sort of potential of God. Of meaning and purpose. If he thinks about that too much, he unravels. So, he chooses to not think about it.

Bucky Barnes just does not believe in ghosts, so when he sees you standing behind him in the bathroom mirror, he runs straight to Steve.

"Something's wrong with me," he blurts out.

Sam and Steve look up from conference room B's table. Case files are open and spread across the room, spilling down onto vacant chairs and placed in chronological order on the carpeted floor.

"Gonna have to be more specific, Buck," Steve replies, eyebrows furrowed.

Sam considers making a joke, but there's a darkness splashed across Bucky's face that warns him away.

"I'm… They… I don't think they got everything. In my head," Bucky tries to explain.

"What happened?" Steve asks, pushing away from the table and assessing Bucky's body language. He's cagey, almost afraid.

"I saw… someone… She's dead. She's dead but I saw her,"

"Happens a lot around here, man," Sam offers.

"It's not like that. I was in the bathroom. She was in the mirror,"

"Like, in the mirror?" Steve asks.

Bucky shakes his head, annoyed but aware that he's not really helping them help him. "No… I was shaving and…" He tried to think. What exactly happened? When did he notice you standing behind him? There was blood…

 …

 The small cut would heal before he left the bathroom, with only the few drops of red blood in the porcelain sink left as evidence that he'd been distracted enough to cut himself shaving at all. You'd been in his head again. The nightmares had started on the day that would be your birthday.

Somewhere in the middle of being The Solider, the people around him made the mistake of not seeing him as sentient. They spoke around him, conversed and told secrets to each other, thinking he couldn’t understand. That's how he learnt about your arrival at the facility. Your name. Birthday. Power.

Bucky had nightmares about a lot of things, but you were often there. Sometimes you were centre stage with your sad eyes and painful defiance. Sometimes you lurked in the shadows, having being taught by The Solider how to do it so well. Nightmares and restless sleep were synonymous with being an Avenger, a hero. It was a high price, but Bucky considered himself to be in enormous debt.

The blood in the sink reminded him that he was still there, alive, human. He watched it slowly seep downwards, sighing out loud to himself. "Fuck," he muttered, shaking his head and trying to move the haze from his head. "Y/N," he said, then stopped. Your name had slipped through his lips straight from his unconscious. It didn't sound quite right. "Y/N," he tried again, adding another sigh like it was the last syllable of your name.

Bucky looked up, studied his reflection. He wondered what you'd think of him now.

"Happy birthday, Y/N," he whispered, his attention returning to the razor and shaving cream.

The bathroom light flickered, freezing Bucky entirely. Without moving, he glanced out the open bathroom door. The hallway outside was still. He couldn't recall if the light had flickered out there too.

He felt it then. He wasn't alone.

His eyes moved fast, up to the mirror. You were there.

Sad eyes. A strange fragility despite being possibly the most dangerous thing in Stark Tower. Alive.

He bolted. The razor clanked into the basin and the bathroom door slammed shut behind him.

Steve… Find Steve, Bucky thought.

"There's something wrong with me."

 …

 "We talked about this. It's normal to se-"

"It wasn't like that," Bucky interrupted Sam.

"We can look at the CCTV. I'll ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. to-" But Steve was cut off too.

"She's dead, Steve. There's no way… She's dead, alright?"

"I would have said the same about you," Steve softly tried to reason.

Bucky could vividly remember what it felt like to lose you. He chewed his lip and crossed his arms across his chest. "I watched her die. She… she died in my arms and nobody came for us for three days. Alright? She was dead in my arms for three days."

Sam and Steve glanced at each other.

"Okay… Okay, Buck. I'll talk to Shuri. See what we can do," Steve agreed.

"If I'm- I'm seeing shit, I should be-"

"Come on, man," Sam stopped him, moving to hold his hands on Bucky's shoulders. Bucky felt the weight of each of them differently. "If you're seeing shit, you're like every other vet out there. Something's wrong, we'll cross that bridge. Ain't no use walking around all gloom and doom… We need a break anyway, right, Steve? Let's go get some pizza."

 …

 In Bucky's nightmare, the three days turn into a week. Then longer. He sits as still as a statue in the corner of a boarded-up room of an old snowed-in cottage. It's a Hydra safe house, and it contains the bare essentials to keep someone alive. Not you though. You're too hurt. It's bad. There's so much blood. He can see your insides and shoving everything back in and holding his jacket hard to the wounds isn’t helping.

You cough up blood as you watch The Solider panic. It's rare to see any emotion, so you feel grateful in your final moments. When you die, The Solider shuts down, like a computer malfunctioning. Hydra would have to do one hell of an 'alt ctrl delete' when they finally come for him.

It's cold, which is good. But you're an open corpse, which is bad. The blood hardens and turns dark. He can smell your organs as they begin to decompose. The whites of your eyes turn a sick colour, but The Solider never tries to close your eyelids. If he does that, he's alone. The inside of your mouth goes darker and darker, and the weight of your body on his continues to change.

In reality, that's about when Hydra arrived. Any longer and you would have started to fall apart very literally. In his sleep though, that's exactly what happens.

Your body begins to bloat, small blisters appearing along the surface of your skin. Parts of you liquify, find their way out, soak into The Soldier's clothes. It happens slowly at first, then within dreamstate minutes your muscles and organs and skin tissue turn to goo. Sometimes The Solider just sits in the human muck, counting the teeth left behind. Sometimes he's frantic, scooping you back up and trying to hold you together; it makes it worse.

And, although he hasn’t seen a single fly in the safehouse, there are hundreds of maggots infesting the deepest cavities of your body.

When Hydra came to claim their property, The Solider fought back. He clawed and kicked to get you back close to him. He screamed your name in every language he knew. That's where the memory stops. Often too, the nightmare.

"Y/N,” Bucky whines in his sleep, almost sounding like he's drowning in sticky, syrupy blood. “Y/N!” It is louder the second time. “Y/N!" Bucky yells, shooting up in bed and almost tearing a pillow in two.

He tries to breathe in, but the air is icy cold. Bucky only then notices the door. The balcony door is open. And you are standing there, hair moving in the breeze. Suddenly the room is bright, and warm palms are dragging his head to face away from the balcony.

"Buck?! Buck, are you okay? You’re screamin’ again,”

"Yeah, yeah," Bucky replies, pushing Steve's attempts at emotional first aid away. "Just a dream… nightmare… whatever."

He looks back for you, but you are gone.

Steve stands and watches Bucky crawl out of bed and move across the room.

"You hate the cold," Steve laments, concerned.

"Did you-" Bucky goes to ask, but stops himself too late.

"You saw her again, didn't you?"

 …

 Wakanda is beautiful. It's the closest thing to peaceful Bucky's ever known. Before making his way to Shuri, he visits old friends. The goats don't seem to remember him, but the children promise the White Wolf that they do. They show Bucky how well they've been caring for the goats, and they show him all the things they're learning in school. They ask if they can be Avengers too. He smiles sadly, and tells them, "Not yet."

"Ah! Bucky Barnes! My favourite broken White boy!" Shuri greets while pulling Bucky into a hug, then immediately focusses on his left arm. "So, your boyfriend says you need a check-up?" she asks as she opens a panel and frowns.

"It's not my arm, Shuri. That's workin' perfect,"

"Of course it is!" she laughs, yet doesn't stop tinkering. "But there can always be more. Be better."

When Bucky fails to reply, Shuri studies his face, then nods. Softly, kindly, she says, "Come, my friend. We'll have tea."

Shuri is easily one of Bucky's favourite people. She listens, which is already more than she has a responsibility to do. Bucky knows she's just a kid, but he also knows better than to stop a kid with that much genius and tenacity.

...

When all physiological and psychological avenues have been explored, Shuri shrugs at Bucky. "Maybe she's real,"

"She can't be," Bucky replies quickly.

Shuri makes a face. "You, of all people, really gonna stand there and say it's impossible for the dead to come back?"

"She was… very dead,"

"The dead are never truly gone, White Wolf. Not really."

 …

 Bucky hasn't seen you in a couple weeks. Sam says to him, "Two's only a coincidence, man. Three times, then we'll worry, yeah?" But Bucky remains worried nonetheless.

The mission they've been preparing for, the one that has taken over conference room B, is on Bucky's mind. He finds Steve sketching away, curled into an armchair and looking a lot smaller than he actually is. For a second, Bucky almost catches himself missing the 1940s.

"I shouldn't go," Bucky declares, dropping to the floor in front of Steve, back resting on the armchair and head falling back.

Steve looks down at his friend. "Nobody's going to make you do anything you don't want to do… But you are okay, Buck…"

Bucky looks up at him, exposed and vulnerable. Slowly, he shakes his head. "If I see her again while I'm meant to be focussed… I don't wanna screw anythin' up,"

"Okay. Sit this one out," Steve replies, brushing loose strands of hair out of Bucky's eyes. "But you gotta promise to be here when we get back."

 …

 The floors occupied by the Avengers are quiet. Bucky’s almost alone, save for F.R.I.D.A.Y. and Banner who is basically living in his lab. Bucky doesn't ask why he's not on the mission, and Banner returns the favour.

The irony isn't lost on Bucky; he haunts the spaces he shares with Steve, silent and invisible like a ghost. Part of him is waiting for you, he knows. The other part is genuinely terrified in a way he hasn't felt in decades.

He kills a few hours in the pages of a book, then finds himself lingering outside the door of the bathroom.

It's a little past two am when he gives in, stands in front of the mirror and closes his eyes.

"Y/N?"

He listens.

There are sounds but none of them you.

"Y/N… I… If you're there… alive… I'm sorry…"

His voice is shaky and he feels stupid, but he's started and now he can't stop.

"I'm so, so sorry… I… tried. I tried but I couldn't… And we were… If you're here, if you're here, please… just… Are you still…? Are they still out there?"

Bucky can't collect his thoughts. Each shatters into ten more, then those explode into even more, until there are hundreds of unanswered question in a web of confusion and emotion.

"Y/N…" Bucky's voice cracks.

It hurts you to hear.

You listen to his uneven breathing, listen as he tries to calm himself, hold back tears.

Bucky stands up straight, stretches out his neck muscles. He opens his eyes.

Those stormy blue-grey eyes.

"Hi," you say as softly as you can.

There is a split second where Bucky almost turns, an automatic movement, but he stops himself from spinning and stays firmly planted where he is. He's afraid that if he moves, you'll disappear again, like you had before.

"…Hi," he replies.

"You know my name… My real name. I didn't know that you knew it…"

Bucky nodded, slowly. The Soldier had never called you by your name while you were alive, just like you had never said 'Bucky.'

His blood gets pushed faster and faster around his body when his heart rate increases. The top of his cheeks flush pink.

"I know your name," Bucky says.

[incorrectsotm]

Benchmark: What are we doing here Parse?

Parse: Come on out, I know you're here.

Biomancer: (Sarcastic Clapping)

Benchmark: Biomancer!? He's back!

Biomancer: Hello Parse, did you miss me?

Parse: Yes. Everyone else is so dumb.

Biomancer: Reunited where we first met, you are so... predictable.

Parse: Only half as predictable as you.

Biomancer: I assume you saw this coming?

(Laser sights show up on Parse's chest)

Parse: And I assume you saw this coming.

(Laser sights show up on Biomancer's chest)

Biomancer: I assume we both saw this coming.

(Laser sights show up on Benchmarks chest)

Benchmark: Oh god not this again.

Parse: Enough of the charade, these are clearly just laser pointers.

Parse and Biomancer: Except for the one pointed at Benchmark.

Benchmark: What!?

(Benchmark gets shot)

Biomancer: So, saw that coming did you?

Parse: Indeed. That's why I upgraded Benchmark's chassis while he was sleeping.

Biomancer: I know I snuck into his flat and degraded it.

Parse: I know I was under the bed waiting for you to leave and then I re-upgraded it.

Benchmark: (Screams of Pain)

Parse: So predictable.

Biomancer: Did you predict I would bake you a cake? (Reveals cake)

Benchmark: That's actually really nice.

Biomancer: Except there's a fleshchild in it!

(Fleshchild comes out)

Parse: I bet you didn't predict that I would lobotomize it. And then bake all these cupcakes (Reveals cupcakes as Biomancer inspects the lobotomized Fleshchild)

Benchmark: Parse why are you doing this?

Parse: To prove how smart I am, that's why I do everything.

Biomancer: Sadly you are not smart enough to have prdicted this. (Pulls out a balloon animal)

Parse: Oh really? (Pulls out tape recorder)

Parse on the Recording: Biomancer will bring a balloon giraffe, and it's not a very good one.

Biomancer: Oh? Keep playing the tape.

Biomancer on recording: I knew you wouldn't like my balloon.

Parse: Well did you forsee me buying you a tricycle?

(Pulls out tricycle)

Biomancer: I already put it on ebay.

Parse: I know. I already bought it. AGAIN. Utterly predictable. Unlike these 6 pepperoni pizzas.

Biomancer: (Holds up pizza cutter) And I brought a bunch of children to eat them. (Children rush out)

Parse: Impressive Biomancer. But, you have made one grave error.

Biomancer: Your confidence amuses me Parse.

Parse: These children all have a mutual friend, Vanessa. (Young Vanessa Long comes out) And today is her birthday. (Puts party hat on, banner reading "Happy 8th Birthday Vanessa" comes down)

Children: Happy birthday!

Biomancer: (Slow clap, then running away in panic)

Benchmark: I'm sorry did you just trick Biomancer into putting on a birthday party for a little girl?