#she looked after my kitty cat man and in exchange he taught her how to defend herself

[gelly-art]

Among my WIPs I found a sketch of what was going to be my second-ever Skyrim character. I think her name was going to be Mawine.

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 16: Communion-ity

Keith meets a certain head chef and his tiny half-clone. Said tiny clone is very fond of cats and Lance.

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Keith’s tail twitches nervously. On the other side of this door is one of Lance’s oldest, dearest friends. Given Lance's reputation, Keith can only imagine what they might have gotten up to together. Most likely things that would have him trembling for the better part of the next decaphoeb. After that, probably only disgusted.

“Anyway, Hunk is one who runs the kitchens. He makes every single one of your meals himself. Because, y’know, all of our food apparently tastes disgusting to you.”

“It’s the ‘sweet’ thing. I don’t know what it’s supposed to taste like, but Galra can’t taste it. And apparently you freaks like nothing else.”

“Hey. If Pidge makes that implant for you I bet you’ll love sweet food.”

“Makes a what now?” Keith asks, but Lance throws open the doors, stepping inside with a flourish, bowing halfway amidst a chorus of greetings.

“Alright, everyone. I have my spouse here to see the kitchens, so please be kind to him.” Another chorus from cheery Alteans. Lance holds out his hand for Keith to take, tugs him into the kitchen. Keith stays close, watching Alteans scurry about, preparing to feed not only the royal family, but also the guards and a portion of Altean’s military, the ones garrisoned at the castle.

As Keith walked past, these Alteans stare at him, forgetting themselves for a moment before averting their gazes. It's better than gossip, in a way, but it causes a sort of ache. Loneliness?

“Kitty!” To Keith’s alarm, a very small creature comes running at him, toddling in its chubby legs. Keith grips Lance’s arm, managing not to extend his claws into his spouse’s arm as the child grabs him around the legs in a hug. “Hi, kitty!”

“Rosetta! Rosetta leave the kitty alone- Oh! Oh, gosh! Rosetta, come here!” A pair of very large hands reach down and pry the child from Keith’s legs. “I’m so sorry about that. She’s little.”

Keith looks up to see a very large person in a spotless apron and yellow headband holding the little child. “It’s… fine. It’s all fine. Um. What’s a kitty?”

“You ever seen Honerva carry a little animal around?” the man asks. Keith nods. “That’s Kova. Her cat, also known as a kitty.”

“I don’t look like that.”

“Tell that to a toddler. I’m Hunk, by the way. Nice to meet you.” Keith blinks, looks the towering Balmeran up and down.

“Nice to meet you too,” he mumbles. “Why do you have a child in the kitchens?”

“Oh. My wife is pregnant and needed a break. Toddlers, man. Tiny monsters, I’m telling you. Besides, it’s never too early to begin learning different spices. Isn’t that right?” Hunk bounces his daughter, beaming with delight. He's nothing like Keith had expected.

“You guys are so great,” Lance says, smiling from where he’s leaning against a table covered with produce. “Hunk and Shay are just the perfect little family. Also, they can make cave bugs taste amazing. You wouldn’t believe it.”

“Hey, I can’t take credit for that. My grandmother-in-law taught me that recipe. It’s one of Rosie’s favorites too, isn’t it Rosie?” The child nods, still watching Keith with interest. “So how have you two been getting on? You doing alright?”

“We’re getting on fine,” Lance answers, scowling at a message on his datapad. “Overworked and underappreciated, but fine.”

“I wish I were overworked,” Keith grumbles, ears pinning back against his head. “I mean, what exactly do they expect me to do? Pidge said that all of my devices are monitored until they can find a way to secure my connections and the guards took everything but my knife when I arrived. There’s not a whole lot of damage a lone Galra can do.”

“Hm.” Hunk passes Rosetta to a delighted Lance, who bounces the little one on his hip. “Remember when ‘innocent until proven guilty’ was a thing?”

“That’s only a thing if the commonwealth asks. The reality is that ‘anything to protect our people’ covers a lot of quiznakery.” Lance sighs, tosses his datapad aside in favor of a cluster of some orbed fruits. He takes one for himself, passes one to Rosetta.

“Thank you,” the child chirps.

“You’re welcome.” Lance beams indulgently at the child.

“Thank you, thank you.” Rosetta grins a wide grin at the prince.

“Well you are very welcome, sweetheart.”

Keith silently watches the exchange, watches as Lance expertly handles the child, bouncing her around and chatting with her while Hunk starts in on an enormous basket of some kind of tuber. The prince seems a natural, happy to engage with the child, setting her at a small table in the corner with a collection of toys, playing some game or another.

Something Keith hadn’t realized he’d been clenching unfurls watching his spouse interact with the child. He imagines that Lance won’t reject him when he inevitably must bear them a kit, and won’t reject their kit either. No. Lance will adore their kits, be a good sire, good father, good mate.

“He loves kids. Wants a small army.” Hunk chuckles. “We’ll see what he says after you guys have your first.”

“Hm.” Keith smiles. “Does he have children already? I know his reputation well, at this point.”

“No. He’s always been careful to prevent such a thing, and if any… prior liaison had a child within a given timeframe, he checked to see if they were his by some small chance. Said that he’d take responsibility, make sure they had that second parent.”

“An honorable cad.”

“I suppose. Oh, there’s a tray of samples for you in that coldbox over there. I’d intended it for lunch, but grab it now and let me know what you think. I haven’t had the opportunity to ask about your food.”

“Thank you.” Keith retrieves the tray, sits across from Hunk and his tubers. “And… thank you. For making me food.”

“It’s all good. Fun, actually. I’ve never experimented with Dabazaani cuisine, despite how close Daibazaal is. You guys have good food. I mean, pretty much everybody has good food, but that purple grass you guys use to make bread? Amazing. Rosie loves it, too. She likes it in her stew.”

Keith smiles. “We like to dip it in stew, too... Why do Alteans all eat off their own plates?”

“Most peoples do. Galra don’t?”

“No. Food is… communion. It’s something to be shared. We take from the same pot. We use a sort of flat, crispy bread-like thing to eat softer foods? It’s difficult to explain. We mostly eat with our hands… Sporks are annoying. I don’t use them if I can help it.” Hunk hums, delightedly interested. Keith takes a risk. “It’s why I didn’t eat with everyone for the first few quintants. I was trying to get better at using one.”

“Really? Lance thought you were just very shy. And maybe didn’t like him all that much." Hunk catches Keith’s eye only for the Galra to look away, folding his arms, hunching over slightly on his stool. He is shy. And seems pretty sweet. “Hey.” The Galra shifts, nervous. “Tell me more about what you like to eat.”

“I like spicy things. And… meat. Altean adults don’t seem to eat meat.”

“No, they don’t. Infants do, for a while. They go through a phase where they eat nothing but meat, actually. I’ll reach out to my contact in Daibazaal to see about adding some to my shipments. Have you been to the infirmary at all?”

“No.”

“You should go and get checked for any deficiencies. I want to make sure you’re getting proper nutrition. Make sure Altea is agreeing with you and all that. It’s very different, isn’t it?”

“Yes. There are plants covering everything! They’re really pretty! And the animals here are cute and don’t bite a whole lot.” Keith's ears perk a bit, his tail sweeping over the floor in long strokes.

“The animals are very friendly -mostly-, and this planet has a lot of vegetation. My home planet is more like Daibazaal. Or maybe a mix of the two. Plenty of plants and animals, but not quite as many. Balmera grow crystals like spines along their nerves. During certain times of year, they will all resonate, and may create a brand new balmera.”

“What… Is Balmera alive?” Keith cocks his head, ears perked with curiosity. He's got wide eyes, Hunk notices, big and dark like the night, shining with curiosity. Lance is doomed.

“Balmera are mineral-based organisms the size of planets. Most are inhabited by entirely unique species. My people are found only on a single Balmera. We love her and care for her. We exist in a completely unique symbiosis.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It’s very nice. Making the sharing of food a part of your daily routine sounds nice too. Your people must have strong bonds with their friends.”

Keith smiles, strangely emotional. “Thank you. Others don’t say nice things about my people very often. Especially not here… They look at me like I’m a monster. They hate me.”

“Well I don’t hate you. Pidge, my best friend, doesn’t hate you. They seem to like you a lot, actually. As for the Alteans… xenophobia is an integral part of their culture. Lance is frothing at the mouth trying to find a way to take them all down a peg.

“At any rate, don’t pay them any mind. You are not a monster. You’re just a guy, who happens to be a Galra. Just like I happen to be Balmeran. Just like Lance happens to be Altean. Life is arbitrary, but community is not, right? We choose who we share our pot with. I think I’d share mine with you.”

The Balmeran smiles at Keith, and Keith smiles back, eyes suspiciously moist. Poor little buddy. Hunk would absolutely share his pot with him. He’d give Keith a hug, but suspects that he wouldn’t like it. He doesn’t know Hunk well enough. Instead, Hunk finishes preparing his last tuber to be sent to the garrison for the castle’s military, heads to the coldbox.

“I don’t have any pots going at the moment, but I’ve got some dough here for your bread. We can share some of that.”

“Can I help?” Keith asks, looking hopeful. “I can cook. I know how.”

“Of course. Food tastes better with more hands. Lance! Rosie! Come help make bread.”

Lance trots over with the toddler, setting her in a special chair. Keith settles in next to his spouse, teaching him how to knead the grainy dough and twist it into traditional patterns. Hunk and Lance carry most of the conversation, switching from common to Altean every now and then so Rosie doesn’t understand the less appropriate anecdotes and gossip.

Apparently, there’s one particular courtier named Seran who spends most of her time ruining her two children and harassing people for even the slightest perceived inconvenience. They both make good sport out of loudly recounting hyperbolic stories for Keith, complete with exaggerated voices for Seran and her evil, entitled children. Apparently, Seran's wife, Renli, is almost as bad.

It has Keith doubled over with laughter, eyes watering with mirth as Lance recounts the time Seran’s gardener trimmed her moss slightly too short and she’d chased him off down the street while swinging his own rake at him.

It’s not until he and Lance are returning to their room, sneaking loaves of Daibazaani bread back with them, that Keith realizes he’s still smiling. He bumps against Lance’s side, happily twists his tail around Lance’s ankle.

“Thank you. For today, I mean.”

“You are most welcome.”

“Thank you for everything else, too.”

“You’re welcome, Keith. Always.”

[whitetigerdemoness]

I’ve started titling this “Evie vs Lila” in my drafts and I kinda wish Penknight was still Evillustrator so I could have Marc call him that.

Master post of all chapters

Ladybug and Chatnoir didn’t have to look far for coffee. Being a news station they had their own little coffee shop on the first floor, whom were more than happy to give the heroes free java in exchange for tea. I mean, details about the akuma attack. Desperately trying to keep her eyes open, having been awake for more than 24 hours at this point, Ladybug gave them the gist of it. 

Hawkmoth had decided Volpina would be a better bet than Prism, forcing his akuma to change hosts. The duo had to wait for the reporters to quiet down before continuing when they revealed that Penknight had managed to throw off Hawkmoth’s control and was currently a free agent. They left out the details of how that had happened, saying only that Penknight was still active, but without his partner had been regulated to ‘lesser threat’ and Viperion was keeping an eye on him for now. They warned the citizens of Paris about Volpina’s illusions, and to be wary of anything unusual they saw until she was cured.

“Unusual like letting not one, but two akuma run free?” A reporter called from the back. Ladybug rubbed at her eyes. Please let this day be over soon, she groaned internally.

“Volpina’s illusions can be dispelled with a touch. If need be, Chatnoir and I are willing to let someone, shake our hands or something, to prove we’re real. As for Penknight the situation is...complicated. Volpina blames his partner, Prism, for humiliating her on live tv and has targeted him. Since Prism has been cured, he is vulnerable to her and having thrown off Hawkmoth’s control Penknight’s only interest seems to be protecting him. Viperion is going to be sticking to him like glue until Chatnoir and I deal with Volpina.” She locked eyes with a short man in a baseball cap and a hawaiian shirt at the back of the room. Seeing he had gotten her attention, the man slowly made his way to the side exit. Well, that was convenient. Now to ditch the reporters.

“That’s all the time we have for now, thank you!” Ladybug said, dragging away Chatnoir who was tolerating various reporters poking him to see if he was real. She lead him out the main doors, taking a wide circle back to the alley between the news station and another building. Before leaping down to talk with Fu, Ladybug turned to Chatnoir.

“Chat...we need to talk before seeing the master. About your miraculous.” Chatnoir looked as tired as she felt. She couldn’t imagine how much stress this whole thing was placing him under.

“My Lady...You don’t need to say anything. I know what’s right. If it was only you and Viperion, I might protest, but Hawkmoth knowing is inexcusable. Just now...when he started talking about how I could get my mom back if I joined him? I was really, really tempted. I know she would hate me for doing it but...I miss her so much, you know?” The cat hero sagged, looking like he had aged a decade in an instant. She had been uncertain about what to do before now, but seeing Chatnoir, seeing Adrien, look so defeated and hopeless gave her determination. Rules be damned. Chat Noir was more than just her crush, he was her partner. 

“I’m not letting the master take your miraculous.” Ladybug said firmly. “I might not be thinking as straight as I could right now due to sleep loss, but I know in my heart that there could never be a better cat miraculous wielder than you. I know you don’t remember some of it due to the miraculous ladybug, but I would have been dead a dozen times over without you. Not defeated, dead.” 

She pulled him into a hug, just as much for her comfort as his. She thought back to a blinding white world, the moon in pieces and Paris under water. She knew there were consequences to what she was about to do. Possible consequences. If her encounters with Bunnix and the miraculous in general had taught her anything, it was that the future was never set stone and that hope was so much stronger than fear.

“I’ve never agreed with how we’re supposed to keep our identities secret from each other. Especially knowing what I know now, I can see so many situations that could have ended better or we could have avoided completely if we knew who each other was. I don’t think the other heroes should know but us? We’re a team, and we’re not at full strength if we’re keeping secrets from each other.” Chat clung to her like a lifeline. It hurt her heart to pry him away, but she needed to see him for this next part.

“Adrien Agreste, my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’ve had the biggest crush on you since the day you lent me your umbrella, and I am not letting you go just because some old man who would rather force a pair of teenagers to be responsible for all of Paris instead of shouldering the burden himself thinks we should.” Oh dear god, she had said it. She had finally said it. She confessed to Adrien. She had always thought it would be more romantic than this. Not half crazy from sleep loss and smelling like cheap coffee.

“Marinette?” Chatnoir whispered the word like it was something fragile, precious. “No, that’s not possible. I saw Marinette and you at the same time when Marinette was Multimouse.” Ladybug sighed.

“That is exactly the kind of situation I’m talking about where not knowing our identities makes things harder than it needs to be. Kwami Buster almost had us because we had to avoid each other. At that time, I used the fox miraculous alongside the mouse to create an illusion so you would leave before my time ran out. Also so you didn’t discover who I was. That entire mess could have ended very badly and been easily avoided if we had only known.” Chatnoir took a moment to process this. As he came to terms with Ladybug and Marinette being the same person, his eyes lit up like stars.

“Marinette is Ladybug.” He laughed. “This had to be some weird dream because I can not be that lucky.” Ladybug blushed and looked away.

“Contemplating your state of cosmic karma will have to wait kitty. We’re going to need to have a much longer talk about...all of this later but for now if we keep Master Fu waiting any longer he’s going to be suspicious.” Chat grabbed her hand as she prepared to jump down.

“Ladybug wait, what are we going to tell him about my miraculous?”

“If that luck of yours holds out? Absolutely nothing. I meant what I said. I’m done with letting someone who shoulders none of the responsibility make all of the decisions.”

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Chatnoir’s luck held out just fine in the end. Ladybug had had to slowly count the bricks in the alley wall to keep her cool as Master Fu gently scolded them over not only having failed to cure either akuma after so long, but also for letting Viperion keep his miraculous unsupervised. She could tell from the tightness around Chatnoir’s eyes he was having a similar problem. Their talk on the roof had really driven home just how unequal the balance of duties were between the two heroes and the miraculous guardian. 

As Fu lectured, Ladybug thought about all the ways he made life difficult for them. They ranged from forcing Ladybug and Chatnoir to remain secret from each other to his new vagrant life that made obtaining allies tedious, if not impossible at some points. In her exhausted mind she wondered if he even wanted them to defeat Hawkmoth. If protecting the miraculous was so important a wielder had to give theirs up when their identity was discovered, why did Fu get to keep an entire box full of them when Hawkmoth knew who he was?

The errant thought sent a jolt of alertness down Ladybug’s spine. That was actually a really good question. Not only was Fu in custody of every miraculous except hers and Chat’s, he knew the identity of every wielder save Hawkmoth and Mayura. If anyone was a security risk, it was Master Fu. Ladybug knew logically SOMEONE had to be in charge of the miraculous, but in her tired, fed up state she was only angry at how strictly the guardian held them to rules he himself flaunted.

“Master,” Ladybug began as politely as she could manage, “We know leaving the miraculous unattended can be dangerous, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask for one more.” Fu gave her a disapproving look, but she plowed onwards. “Our enemies have proven they’re capable of making long term plans, but they’re not the only ones. I have an idea but I need the bee miraculous for it to work.”

“The bee miraculous, Ladybug?” The old man sounded disappointed in her. She kept her nerve. Ladybug was done caring about what he thought about her. For now at least. After some sleep she might change her mind, but for now? She was exhausted. “I hope you know the right person to give it to.”

“Don’t worry Master Fu, I know exactly who deserves this miraculous.”

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Bee miraculous tucked safely away in her yo-yo, it was time to check in on Viperion and Penknight. She talked her plan over with Chatnoir as they made their way to the address Viperion had texted them, trying very hard to focus on the matter at hand and not let her mind wander over how one might text with a lyre. She’d expected him to be hesitant at who she wanted to give the bee miraculous to, but was surprised when he was in full support of her idea. She only hoped her candidate felt the same, especially since they were essentially dumping an akuma on top of them.

Arriving at the hospital, Ladybug and Chatnoir were ushered in by relieved looking medical staff. As they neared the room Marc was staying in she could see why. The two heroes probably would have been able to find the room without directions just by following the shouting.

“Oh thank heavens.” A harassed looking doctor said as she caught sight of the two heroes. The graying woman was standing between two groups of people, and her expression said she wasn’t pleased with either of them. On one side was Viperion and Penknight, the snake hero very firmly holding the fuming akuma in place. On the other was Alya Cesaire, recording the incident with her phone no doubt for the Ladyblog, and a man in an official looking suit. Alya was slightly off to the side, looking only slightly less angry with the suited man than Penknight did. Ladybug felt a headache coming on. Why did things need to be more complicated than they already were?

“Please convince at least one of these parties to leave. I don’t care if it’s the akuma or Mr. Berger but one of them has got to go. This is a place of healing and that means quiet.” The doctor ordered more than asked.

“The akuma OR me? Insinuating this demon has more right than a member of the Office of Akuma Affairs to be here?” The suited man, Mr. Berger, sneered. Oh boy, the Wah Wah were here. The official abbreviation was OAA but Ladybug and Chatnoir referred to them as the Wah Wah, because without fail they showed up after an Akuma attack to go ‘waaah waaah’.

“Your party is NOT officially recognized by the Parisian government, making you essentially a civilian. The akuma was behaving himself until you came in and started stomping around, making accusations and demands for confidential patient information.” The doctor snapped at him.

“Ladybug, this guy has been running his mouth something awful. Viperion has been doing a great job of keeping Penknight in check, but I think I know who is behind that door and if this starched monkey makes one more insinuation about their virtue Penknight won't have to deck him because I will.” Alya steamed. “I’ve been turning a blind eye to people bad mouthing my friends for too long to let this one go.”

“So you admit to being friends with one of these demons? Not surprising that the writer for the trash rag you call the ‘Ladyblog’ is friendly with the enemy. You vomit praises for these masked terrorists so easily it’s not a surprise at all to find you supporting another one.” Mr.Berger harrumphed.

Among the demands of the Wah-Wah were that akuma identities should be public record, alongside that of heroes. Of course, they didn’t believe the miraculous wielders were heroes at all, but rather part of Hawkmoth’s scheme to terrorize the city. Their biggest talking point on this was how Ladybug and Chatnoir had conveniently showed up the same day Hawkmoth did, and how easily they seemed to defeat his minions. The two parties must be staging the fights, claimed the Office of Akuma Affairs. Even the akuma were paid actors, and the part about them losing their memories after being cured was a lie. How could someone not remember becoming a super villain and rampaging through the city? They asked.

The Wah-Wah demanded that the heroes be held accountable for the destruction of the city on a regular basis (as if Ladybug’s magic didn’t fix everything good as new) and for the lasting psychological trauma the akuma wrought. That second demand...Ladybug felt guilty for how many people got hurt in some of their worse battles. Sometimes people who were hurt, or even died, were revived good as new without their memories of the incident. Sometimes they remembered every second. After Syren, various support and therapy groups had popped up in the city to help those who remembered drowning, or watching loved ones suffer. Those groups grew in number and membership as time went on and akumas toppled buildings and destroyed bridges full of people. Ladybug thought back to the destroyed Paris of the future. Had her miraculous ladybug revived everyone? Did they remember dying? Was there an alternate future somewhere where Chatnoir was hated even more than Hawkmoth for destroying the world? Ladybug glanced at her partner, who had stepped over to help Viperion with Penknight. That was one future that would never happen, she vowed.

“Mr. Berger, we’re not even sure if Penknight still counts as an akuma right now. His situation is one we haven’t encountered before. What I can tell you is that as long as you are not a threat to...the person he’s protecting, he’s not a threat to you.” Chatnoir tried in a diplomatic tone.

“Unique situation?” Alya chimed in, perking up at potential spicy news for her blog.

“Hawkmoth doesn’t control me anymore.” Penknight huffed. “That doesn’t mean I’m suddenly on the side of angels. You say one more thing about my treasure and I’m throwing you off the roof.” He growled. 

“Dude what is it with you and chucking people off rooftops?” Chatnoir wondered aloud.

“I’ll say whatever I want about that whore you’re hiding-!” Mr. Berger didn’t get to finish his sentence as Penknight screeched and lunged at him, only the combined efforts of Viperion and Chatnoir keeping the maybe akuma from swatting the man’s head off with supernatural strength. 

“Oh that’s it” Alya growled, putting her phone down and pushing up a sleeve. Ladybug jerked her back on her way to get between the two parties.

“You stay there.” She said to Alya. “You calm down!” She shoved a finger in Penknight’s face “And you shut up before I toss you off the roof!” She hissed at Mr. Berger. “Whatever your personal feelings on the matter are, people who have been akumatized currently have the right to remain anonymous, especially minors!”

“So the little harlot is a minor, hmm? I bet I know exactly which school she goes to as well. College Dupont seems to be a breeding ground for filth.” The idiot in a suit smirked looking smug.

“He’s not a girl!” Penknight snapped, still struggling against the two heroes. Ladybug winced, she knew Marc was sensitive about his feminine appearance, but Penknight had just unwittingly given the man more ammunition. 

“That thing was a boy?” Berger hissed in disgust. “A demon and a fa-” a sharp smack cut the man off before he could finish that last syllable. The woman doctor raised her hand again as the suited man turned to her with his mouth open.

“That. Is. Enough.” The woman gritted out. “You will leave my hospital of your own free will, or I will have security THROW you out.” Said security guards shifted nervously in the background. “Ladybug, I’m sorry, but I really will have to ask your party to leave as well. The patient has received all the care we can give him at this point and should really go home and rest. The only reason he has a room is because Mr.Penknight bullied my staff into giving him one. Leave. Please.”

“Of course doctor, that was our intention from the start. Volpina is still after m-uh, “Prism”, and we have a safer location in mind.” She said to Penknight when he looked like he was going to protest. “Do the windows on this floor open?” She asked the doctor.

“How dare you you vile-” Mr. Berger began to spit, but the doctor wasn’t having it. 

“Security!” She called over his rant, stepping aside to let the two nervous looking men in uniform attempt to push the raging man towards the elevator. “No Ladybug, they do not. No windows in patient rooms do, it’s a jump\fall hazard.”

“That’s not a problem. I can just erase and replace the window.” Penknight offered, looking calmer already as the Wah-Wah man was forced away.

“Let’s do that. Leaving from the lobby seems like a bad idea.” Ladybug sighed rubbing a hand over her face.

“Ladybug, one moment! Do you have anything to say for the Ladyblog?” Alya asked, not about to let a potential scoop go by.

“Is this live?” Ladybug asked as Viperion followed Penknight into the hospital room they had been guarding. Chatnoir lingered outside, waiting for her. 

“No, I try to avoid live streams now days just in case something…sensitive needs to be edited out.” Maybe there was a brain in her friend’s head after all, Ladybug thought to herself. She leaned in close to whisper the next part, not wanting to be overheard.

“Then go home and keep an eye open. This is shaping up to be a huge mess and we might need all hands on deck later.” Ladybug certainly hoped not, but she knew the words would keep the girl safe at home and out of the line of fire.

“Ah, right! Of course Ladybug! Maybe I can get that interview some other time.” The red head said, putting her phone away.  Ladybug forced a smile and went to join the others in Marc’s hospital room.

“Did you mean that My Lady? Do you think we’re really going to need everyone later?” Chatnoir asked as he closed the door behind her, miraculous enhanced hearing easily having caught the exchange.

“I hope not kitty, but it was the first thing that came to mind to get her out of here.” Penknight had generously allowed Viperion to hold Marc (who was fast asleep. At least someone was getting some rest) as he erased the window. That didn’t stop the akuma from hovering like a mother hen the entire time.

“Relax, I’ve got him. He won't even feel a bump.” Viperion soothed. He left out that Marc might not have felt anything even if he were awake due to the pain medication the hospital staff had given him. Ladybug was once again very, very glad that calm, level headed Luka was who Master Fu has sent to help and not one of the other heroes. Maybe he could do some things right, though most likely Luka had been the only one he could find during school hours. Oh god, school. Marinette and Adrien had just left in the middle of the day, though since Alya had been here just moments ago perhaps they had been released early. Or maybe the reporter had ditched to get a scoop. Wouldn’t be the first time.

“Don’t go too far.” Penknight warned, stepping out behind the snake hero to balance on the small ledge running along the side of the building.

“Just to the next rooftop.” Viperion promised, before making the jump. Penknight leaned after him like he wanted to follow, but pulled himself back. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get out.” The akuma huffed at the remaining heroes. Neither Ladybug nor Chatnoir argued, jumping after Viperion and waiting with him on the next rooftop for Penknight.

“How is he?” Chatnoir asked, gesturing to Marc.

“Better than he could have been if Penknight hadn’t managed to get Volpina off him in time, and keep her off. Only his leg is broken and it was a clean break.” The shadowed look on Viperion’s face said he had seen a future where that hadn’t been true. Chatnoir winced in sympathy, and Ladybug abruptly recalled his (not so) brief time as Aspik, who had spent months of second chances essentially watching her die. Suddenly the over protective attitude Chatnoir had had recently made more sense. At first it had annoyed her, but with this new context she felt devastated. The two of them really, really needed to sit down for a long talk and maybe spa day.

“Alight where are we going?” Penknight cut Ladybug from her thoughts, landing next to the heroes and holding out his arms in a clear demand for Viperion’s precious cargo. Viperion gently transferred the sleeping boy to the akuma without a word. Marc sighed and buried his face in the akuma’s chest without waking up, causing Penknight to give him the dopiest grin. Ladybug had to face it, Penknight’s devotion to his friend (maybe more?) was downright adorable. It was a shame he wasn’t going to remember any of this when she finally cured him.

“Ah, My lady, that could be us but you playin’” Chatnoir teased. Ladybug rolled her eyes good naturedly. 

“I thought you liked games kitty.” She teased back, booping him on the nose. Viperion cleared his throat, looking amused and...a little sad? Maybe he was feeling left out.

“Right. Our destination. I honestly never thought I would say this, but there’s only one person qualified to keep Volpina away from Marc while Chatnoir and I get some rest. Mostly because Volpina would never think to look there.”

“Rest?” Penknight interrupted “With Volpina after Marc?” The akuma looked mutinous. 

“ ‘Knight, the two of us have been awake over 24 hours at this point and transformed most of the time. I know we make this whole superhero thing look easy, but being transformed does take energy. Volpina seems to be laying low for now, and we’re crossing our fingers she’ll stay that way for at least a few hours...unless you’re saying you don’t think you could handle her if she finds you?” Chatnoir challenged the akuma.

“Of course I can handle her.” Penknight huffed. “Which is a good thing seeing as I might have to. Tomorrow’s a school day and the two of you probably can’t afford to miss much more. Besides, someone is going to get suspicious after a while if the two of you keep vanishing the same time Ladybug and Chatnoir appear.” Ladybug did not like the implications of that.

“What do you mean? Ladybug doesn’t go to our school.” Chatnoir chuckled nervously.

“Save it. There might be some sort of weird magic that keeps people from recognizing you when you’re transformed, but it stops working when someone figures out your identities. Some pretty good magic, seeing as Ladybug didn’t even bother to change her hair style. Put in a little effort Mari-”

“OK ENOUGH OF THAT.” Ladybug frantically cut him off. “I need sleep and I need every scrap of energy I have left to deal with Chole.”

“Chole?!”  

[winryofresembool]

Fic: Kittens and grandparents

Summary: Al and Mei visit the Curtises with Ed and Winry’s kids and encounter a cat problem.

A/N: /Finally/. @finalcam, here’s your giveaway fic! You wished for Izumi and Sig baby sitting the Edwin kids, with hints of Al and Mei, and I tried my best to do it in quite few words. This has honestly more Almei focus than Sig and Izumi but I still hope you enjoy! Once again I have @randomlyopeneddictionary to thank for this idea. What would I do without your help? As usual, comments are very much loved. 

Characters: Al, Mei, Sig, Izumi, Edwin kids Alan and Emma (no Ed or Winry tho WHAT IS LIFE?)

Words: 1650+ (more than planned but since I made you wait, I guess that’s OK)

Genre: general, a tiny bit fluffy (because of the cat :D)

warnings: none

“Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”

Two kids, a 4-year-old boy with golden hair and equally golden eyes and a 2-year-old girl with a slightly lighter shade of blonde hair and azure blue eyes, were getting impatient. Only a little while ago they had been so excited to get onto a train with their aunt and uncle who were spending the summer in Rush Valley as their family’s guests. However, based on the amount of seat kicking and bickering about the smallest things, they seemed to have forgotten about the excitement already.

The kids’ parents had seemed visibly relieved when Al had suggested he and Mei would love to take the kids with them to see “granny Izumi” in Dublith. It didn’t take Al too long to understand why; the two Rockbell-Elric children could be angelic when they wanted to be, but they were just as stubborn as Edward and Winry were, and also impatient. They had only been on the train for an hour, but this was probably the third time Emma and Alan started chanting the question that was familiar to a lot of traveling parents in unison. Al had hoped that maybe a good meal at the restaurant car would help, but it seemed to make the kids even more energetic than before. Two more hours to go. Thank goodness they didn’t have to travel to Dublith all the way from Resembool…

As the large buildings of Dublith finally started to show, both Al and Mei sighed of relief. At least when they’d make it to the Curtis household they could trust the kids to behave well because they seemed to respect Izumi in a way that neither them or Ed and Winry could never reach. Besides, Sig had a habit of sneaking an extra piece of the kids’ favorite sausage on the sandwich when they were acting nice (as long as they wouldn’t tell Izumi), and it seemed bribery worked pretty well on Emma and Alan too.

Once the kids had gotten their stomachs full (Al and Mei wondered how they could fit all those sandwiches there after the proper meal on the train), they went to take a nap, giving Al and Mei a good opportunity to go outside to see all the familiar places where Al had wandered as a child. Devil’s Nest seemed to be empty at that moment, and Al felt chills in his core as he remembered some not so happy memories from that place. Sensing what he was feeling, Mei squeezed his hand to pull him back from his thoughts, and he smiled at her gratefully.

Continuing their walk, Al noticed that Xiao-Mei who was sitting on Mei’s shoulder seemed to get irritated by something she saw. Her ears went flat and she emited small hissing sounds. The reason for the panda’s reaction became clear soon; Al heard a tiny “meow” behind a box someone had left on the sidewalk. The small furball peeked at them nervously, probably wanting to run away but not knowing to which direction it should go.

“Mei? Could you… make sure Xiao-Mei doesn’t run anywhere? I’m gonna… try to talk to this little pal.”

Mei wanted to protest but put the tiny panda into her bag and saw Al starting to approach the cat. He walked really slowly, not wanting to scare it away, talking to it in a calm and quiet voice. Somehow, he managed to gain the kitten’s trust and soon it was sitting on his hand while he was petting it with the other one.

“Alphonse?” Mei asked carefully. “You do know that someone might be looking for that cat, missing it dearly?”

“But look at it! It’s so small and alone, and it’s gonna be cold tonight. I can’t leave it here!”

“Fine,” Mei gave in. “But just for tonight. You will start looking for its owner tomorrow, will you not?”

“Sure thing, my princess. But just because she’s insisting,” he whispered to the kitten, lifting it close to his face so he could snuggle his cheek against the soft fur.

“Meow!”

…

Some time later, the couple returned to the Curtises to find Al’s nephew and niece already awake. Alan, who was already good at reading people’s emotions, sensed that Al was hiding something, and asked:

“Uncle Al? Why do you look so funny?”

“Yes, Alphonse-dear, do you have something you would like to share with the kids?” Mei asked slyly, and Al had to pull the kitten from his pocket.

“Kitty, kitty!” Emma yelled excitedly. From very early on she had showed interest in animals. The new dog at home had gotten more pats from her than anyone else in the household, but for some reason her parents didn’t let her get a cat.

“Shhh, Emma, please don’t be so loud… If Izumi hears…” Al said, clearly very nervous about his old teacher’s possible reaction.

“If she hears what?” Sig asked, entering the room at a critical moment. Al felt like a school kid again when he tried to push the tiny cat into his pocket, but not before Sig saw what he had in his hands.

“Alphonse, aren’t you a bit too old for that already? You know how Izumi feels about cats. Especially after your brother managed to talk her into keeping that one when you lived here…”

“Did daddy have a cat?” Alan asked curiously when he understood they were talking about Edward.

“Well, he helped me get one when we were little…” Al answered, still looking a bit awkward.

“It was quite a funny story too. Do you kids want to hear it?” Sig asked, smiling at the memories.

“YES!” they shouted in unison.

“Fine. Once Edward and Alphonse found a kitten on our neighbor’s backyard and overheard the neighbor wanted to get rid of it. When she left the house for a moment later that day, the boys snuck the cat into their room even though they knew Izumi would be mad if she found out. Apparently she had had bad experiences with cats as a kid. The neighbor was of course very happy when she couldn’t find the cat anywhere, but my wife got suspicious when she heard they had disappeared. You just don’t keep secrets from her, especially if you’re living under her roof.”

“Anyway…” Sig cleared his throat. “Not much later, she found the boys hanging out in their closet instead of doing their homework, and… it was pretty scary, even for me. But Ed didn’t budge. He had seen how important the cat was to Al, and he wanted his little brother to have this one nice thing, even if it meant he’d get his, um, butt, kicked for it. So, when Izumi asked, why the boys had hidden a cat in their closet, Ed looked her straight into eyes with a very serious expression, and said: “All is one, one is all, that’s what you taught us. We are learning about the circle of life by making it eat the mice in the closet.””

Emma looked a little bit upset when she heard the cat ate other animals, so Sig continued quickly: “Anyway, Izumi just stared at him for a while, before bursting into the loudest laughter I had heard in a long while. Then she just shook her head and mumbled something about the nerve the boys had, but after that the cat was never talked about again. It got to stay in our garage until the boys left back to Resembool. After that we searched a new home for it.”

“Sig? Why are you telling them about the only soft moment I have ever had?” a woman’s voice suddenly said behind the group, and Sig’s ears turned bright red.

“No reason, honey!”

The kitten in Al’s pocket decided to start meowing in that moment, and Izumi rolled her eyes.

“Alphonse, have you still not stopped picking random cats from the streets? Who knows what illnesses they might carry…”

“But teacher… I mean Mrs. Curtis… It’s so small, and it’s gonna be a cold night…” Al stuttered. Mei wondered what exactly had happened during the brothers’ apprenticeship that made an adult man so nervous. He hadn’t been that nervous in front of her father, the previous Emperor of Xing, when she had introduced Al to him.

Everyone was surprised when the little Alan stepped in: “Granma Izumi, it’s not…” he struggled with the words a bit, “… eqi… equivalent exchange if we get to sleep in our warm beds but the cat has to sleep on a cold street!”

It was the first time anyone had ever called Izumi a grandma (the kids had called her that at home but never in front of Izumi herself), and that alone was enough to soften her heart. But she also realized how much the boy reminded her of his father, using alchemy phrases and all, and couldn’t help but smile a bit when she answered:

“You know what, Alan? I guess you’re right. He may stay here tonight. Just tonight, though. Tomorrow you will try to find his home, right?”

“Alright,” Alan agreed, and Izumi patted him on his head.

Watching the kids (and Al) having fun with the kitten later that day, Izumi felt the weird kind of happiness in her chest that she didn’t remember feeling after the boys had left Dublith. Finally, she managed to name the feeling; she was grateful and proud that Ed and Al had managed to go so far in their lives; Alphonse was back in his body, living with a girl he would soon marry, still loving kitties as much as he always had. And Edward’s two children were happy and healthy (and dare she say, quite nosy already), and if they were anything like their parents, they would do well in this world. And that was all she could hope for.

[takaraphoenix]

I really want to drown you in Marvel prompts now xD But I'll try to be nice. How about WinterIronPanther and their punk kids? Maybe Steve walking in and being like "Bucky??? Bu you don't have a kid? Tony has Pete, and T'Challa has Shuri but you don't--" And Bucky just looks at him. Long and hard, waiting for him to realize.

It all started two years ago, when SHIELD fell. When Steve, Natasha and Sam came to Tony, not knowing where else to go. When Steve told Tony about the death of his parents. When the team actually started to grow together, knowing they could only rely on each other.

And then Zemo came along and tried to tear the Avengers apart. Only that that didn’t work. They had been a team for years now, they trusted each other, Tony and Steve led the Avengers together, as a united front. Together, they signed the Accords, with the right reserved to make amendments – because Steve knew they were flawed and so did Tony, but Tony had the lawyers to work on them and Steve knew that and trusted Tony on that. Granted, Zemo framing Bucky tore the Avengers temporarily apart because Steve was blinded and refused to even consider that Bucky might not be innocent – and in the end, he was right and after Tony learned the truth, him and his half of the team joined Steve in Siberia. Zemo’s endgame was to shock Tony by showing him the video of how the Winter Soldier had killed the Starks. Tony knew about that though. He had known that for years and while it hurt to actually see it, he knew that it hadn’t been Bucky Barnes who had killed them and he had come to terms with that. So, instead of playing into Zemo’s hands, Tony, Steve and Bucky went and pummeled Zemo before arresting him.

“Barnes isn’t safe in the US right now”, stated Tony seriously.

T'Challa had his arms crossed over his chest. “I owe him, for trying to take his life in a fit of rage when I thought he had killed my father. I will take him to Wakanda, he will be safe there.”

“Thank you, your highness”, whispered Steve, looking torn.

“Oh, stop it with the sad puppy-dog eyes, Rogers”, grunted Tony and rolled his eyes. “He’ll be safe there, that’s the important thing for now, while my lawyers get onto clearing his name.”

T'Challa looked bemused by the exchange. Over the past few days, he had seen the ups and downs of their dynamic. Steve and Tony bickered like brothers and even when it had gotten physical in Germany, they had been pulling their punches, not wanting to hurt their own team. Now that the truth was out, that the tension about Barnes was resolved, things seemed to be going back to what was considered normal to the Avengers. T'Challa, he was a good man, so he was going to repay his debt to Sargent Barnes. He was going to keep him safe in Wakanda and put his sister onto seeing if she could remove the Winter Soldier programming.

/break\

It was rough, adjusting again after what had happened in Germany. It had not been intentional, what had happened to Rhodey, and Sam was feeling the most guilty about it. Rhodey was still recovering. Wanda had been sent away. Even though Steve had been all for protecting her at first, only seeing her as a child – after he saw the physical evidence of what Wanda had done to Vision over being kept on house-arrest, after Sam sat him down and talked to Steve about it, he saw reason.

She had always been a threat. Not just in Johannesburg, before that. She had willingly joined Hydra, of all people, and allied herself with Ultron until it became inconvenient for her. A part of Steve wanted to see her as an innocent child and had refused the facts. But to see the reminders of the past and to see that she was still out of control… they had sent her away. Professor Charles Xavier owned a school for children with superpowers, where she would not be able to harm others and might learn to properly control herself. Because just sending her to prison was not going to do anything good; at the forefront needed to stand her learning to control herself.

Much had happened in the past months. They were busy adjusting the Accords and they were busy trying to free Bucky of all charges, considering the brainwashing. All the while, Steve played the moping puppy-dog about Bucky being literally on ice in Wakanda.

Tony worked with T'Challa’s sister on restoring Bucky though; BARF proved to be a good foundation for Shuri to build on to remove the Winter Soldier programming, apparently, and with it removed, Barnes got out of cold storage and into some solid therapy.

The Avengers became regular guests in Wakanda after that. After all, Wakanda opened its borders and as a sign of good faith T'Challa had joined the Avengers – on a strict emergencies only base. He was still the king, after all. But he wished for the Avengers to know that if aliens attacked again, they could call Wakanda for backup.

Things… developed, albeit Tony was not entirely sure how. There was a charming, handsome king on one side and an adorable goat-herding former assassin on the other… and Tony in the middle.

Tony and T'Challa had corresponded with each other a lot since Siberia, mostly Tony passing on notes to the princess, or them talking about the Accords and about T'Challa’s specific conditions to joining the Avengers. Steve was… too busy chatting with Bucky to really pay attention, every time it came to Wakanda, or more specifically every time they came to Wakanda. Tony was easily charmed by the king and brilliant king. And it wasn’t like Tony didn’t get to spend his fair share with Barnes too – helping the princess with the adjusted and modified BARF program.

Turned out that in the meantime, the goat-herding former assassin and the charming, handsome king had grown close too, during Bucky’s stay near the palace, his regular visits at Shuri’s.

It started one night, three months into Bucky’s stay in Wakanda, when the Avengers as a whole had come to Wakanda to celebrate together. Celebrate Bucky’s recovery – the last of the triggers had been successfully removed and he was overall doing so much better now. So they threw a party. There was booze, music, dancing, food, laughter. It had been a really fun night.

The morning after however was rather interesting, because Tony didn’t wake up in the guest-room T'Challa had given him. He woke up in an even more luxurious room, a large bed with purple silken sheets… and two handsome, naked men next to him on either side. T'Challa was on his back, one arm on his stomach, the other spread out next to himself. Bucky was curled together and wide-awake, staring over at T'Challa and Tony with curious and calculating eyes.

“Good morning Buckaroo”, drawled Tony slowly, grinning amused.

He turned to face Bucky with a broad grin. Unexpectedly so, he had grown very fond of Bucky. Once the man had recovered enough to be himself, not that empty shell and weapon anymore. Bucky offered one of those charming, sweet, soft little smiles and tilted his head.

“You seem in a good mood. That’s good. I was not sure…”, started Bucky.

“I didn’t touch a drop of alcohol last night, Buckster”, assured Tony, one eyebrow raised.

“But you were all…”, drawled Bucky, motioning awkwardly.

“That is simply Tony’s… personality”, offered T'Challa from the other side, quite amused. “He has taught me that you do need a good sense of humor to deal with politicians on a long run.”

“It keeps boring events fun”, chimed Tony delighted.

“So we were all very sober when all of this happened?”, asked Bucky, looking at the other two.

“I have learned not to drink while my sister is armed with a camera”, replied T'Challa dryly. “And now that, thanks to Tony, she has back-up… I am not risking that.”

Tony laughed delighted at that before leaning over to kiss Bucky briefly. “Don’t look like a startled deer, Buck. We have been flirting for weeks now, haven’t we? I figured we were all so… well-spirited last night, it just all came to the logical next step. Right, kitty-cat?”

“Absolutely. Though the nicknames already make me regret everything”, chuckled T'Challa.

“Aw, you don’t mean that, Simba”, gasped Tony, dramatically touching his arc-reactor.

T'Challa rolled his eyes fondly and wrapped an arm around Tony to pull him into a kiss. “Indeed.”

Tony smirked into the kiss before getting up and startling the other two men. “Well, I for one am absolutely famished. Your enhanced super stamina completely knocked me out. Feed a guy after you fuck him, will you? Or are you just going to stay in bed, staring at me?”

“I mean, I could do that”, nodded Bucky and turned to T'Challa. “You?”

“Most definitely”, agreed T'Challa with a delightful grin, wrapping an arm around Bucky.

Bucky looked pleased as he snuggled against T'Challa. The two looked gorgeous together. Tony felt rather good knowing those were his now. Wiggling his ass, Tony went to T'Challa’s closet to get dressed, throwing clothes at both Bucky and T'Challa too.

“Very well, let me feed the both of you”, sighed T'Challa and unwillingly got out of bed.

“My, our king has manners”, chimed Tony.

T'Challa pulled him into a brief kiss before getting dressed himself. “You too, James.”

Bucky made a displeased sound, but he obeyed. He was still getting used to his new arm – including actual feelings – that Tony had made him. It had been their greatest source of… bonding. Bucky had spent hours in the workshop with Tony calibrating the arm. They had quipped and talked, gotten to know each other. Tony was nothing like Howard, which, apparently was the greatest compliment Bucky could have given Tony.

“What… do we tell others?”, asked Bucky slowly when they exited the king’s quarters.

A couple of Dora Milaje stood in front of it. They acted stoic and didn’t react to the three exiting, but they still very well saw them. T'Challa greeted them before taking Bucky’s flesh-hand in his own and reaching for Tony with his other hand.

“What would you be comfortable telling them, James?”, asked T'Challa gently.

“I…”, started Bucky with a frown. “You’re the king. And this is the Tony Stark.”

“Heh, I like that”, laughed Tony amused. “I mean, we would certainly be quite the scandal couple. But the thing about Wakanda is that while its borders are open, paparazzi haven’t been stupid enough to try anything. They are way too afraid of the Dora Milaje. So, no one’s saying we gotta make a public engagement announcement, Bucky-Bear.”

“What Tony is saying is that we do not have to tell anyone, albeit I suspect most of the Avengers have been onto us for weeks”, offered T'Challa.

“Yeah, Nat knows. Nat knows everything. Rhodey knows, because I told him – hey, a guy’s gotta whine about the two hot guys tempting him”, argued Tony.

“Stevie knows about… uh, my feelings”, tagged Bucky on.

“So, basically, the only Avengers who don’t know are… Clint, Peter and maybe Sam, though Sam is a bright guy and I suspect he has figured it out too”, mused Tony.

“Might as well tell them”, sighed Bucky with a defeated nod. “If there is something to tell.”

“Well, I’m too old for this whole one-night-stand nonsense”, chimed Tony lightly. “And I think we should see where this could be going, mh?”

“We could. We should”, agreed T'Challa with a light smile.

The three of them entered the private kitchen of the royal family together. It was usually where the Avengers ate whenever they stayed over in Wakanda. And while not all Avengers were present, at least some had already found their way here. Steve and Sam were leaning against the counter, discussing something over coffee, while the teenagers were sitting at the table eating pancakes. Shuri, Peter and Ned Leeds – who was not actually an Avenger, but Peter’s best friend and also in on Peter’s secret identity. So while not a regular to go with them, since this was a larger outing of the Avengers, they had invited Peter’s best friend along too. Ned had been over the moon.

“Ah, look at our kids bickering”, chuckled Tony fondly. “It’s hard, raising a teen, isn’t it?”

Peter perked up and smiled at Tony, handing him a coffee. “Good morning, Mister St—Tony.”

“Good boy, he’s learning”, laughed Tony. “Thank you, Peter.”

“Yours at least adore you”, grunted T'Challa with a frown.

“Mister Stark is the best!”, exclaimed Ned enthusiastically.

“You’re just saying that because you’re still trying to butter me up to build an actual Death Star for you”, countered Tony amused and sat down with the teenagers.

“Look at them”, huffed T'Challa, staring at his sister. “How nice they are to Tony.”

“They do not have to live with Tony 24/7”, countered Shuri. “No offense, Tin Man.”

“No, that’s a fair enough argument”, chuckled Tony.

Bucky got them plates with pancakes and sat down next to Tony. “Have you considered how much you stress your brother by living with him 24/7, princess?”

“Oi, what are you accusing me of there, White Wolf?”, asked Shuri offended.

“You’re a little punk. With all due respect”, chuckled Bucky.

“I mean, Petey’s too!”, argued Tony, pointing at Peter.

Peter looked at him like a kicked puppy at this. “Mister Stark-”

“Going after the Vulture all on your own, without the suit or backup, you took ten years off my life!”, exclaimed Tony, running his fingers through his hair. “I had to dye to cover the gray!”

“Mister Sta—ark”, whined Peter, hanging his head low.

“I’m sure Shuri has taken far more years off my life by now”, stated T'Challa dryly.

“Oh, is this a competition now?”, wanted Tony to know, raising one eyebrow.

“You’re both gonna lose if we’re starting a competition about a punk-ass kid who took years off your life”, declared Bucky dead seriously, stirring his coffee.

“Buck? You don’t have a kid”, interjected Steve confused as him and Sam finally joined the table.

The kitchen fell very quiet. Ned and Peter exchanged a pointed look, while the adults all stared at Steve like he had grown a second head. Sam heaved a deep sigh and patted Steve’s back.

“You, you big, blonde oaf”, stated Sam pointedly. “He’s talking about you.”

“What-”, asked Steve surprised, looking around.

“Captain Rogers, sir, we literally learn about that in our history classes”, pointed Peter out.

“Yeah! The adventurous pre-serum times! How you used to be a stick and still chased bullies and had Bucky clean it all up afterward”, agreed Ned, nodding wildly.

“Wait. Why are you learning that in your history class?”, asked Steve flustered.

“It’s the great origin story of the righteous Captain America”, chuckled Tony amused. “Always fighting for the little guy, even when you were a little guy yourself. And judging from everything Buck’s been telling me in the past weeks, the history books were very generous on it all.”

“Punk’s got into a different fight every single week. Sometimes an asthma attack took him out before the bullies could”, grunted Bucky with a deadpan expression. “The number of times I nearly had a heart-attack because of you, Stevie-”

“Oh, come on, Bucky, I never-”, argued Steve.

“You literally signed up for a quite shady secret government program that injected you with an untested drug, all of this without telling Bucky”, pointed Peter out. “…Captain Rogers, sir.”

“Traitor”, muttered Steve beneath his breath, cheeks red.

“There, Parker. You and me aren’t the worst”, declared Shuri pleased.

“Yay to that!”, agreed Peter, high-fiving with Shuri.

Steve sulked and sank deeper in his chair. Sam chuckled and shook his head as he pushed some pancakes down toward Steve, who while still sulking started eating. Tony smiled bemused, resting his chin on his hand and staring at Bucky fondly, who looked rather pleased with himself.

“So, the three of you finally… did something about that cut-able tension?”, asked Sam.

“Yes, we did”, confirmed Bucky and cleared his throat.

“I told you, brother. Modern times. Polyamorous long-distance relationships can work”, declared Shuri pleased, nodding slowly. “You just gotta make them work. And use your words.”

“Yes, yes, if I had listened to you, I could have already wined and dined them both for weeks”, sighed T'Challa with a roll of his eyes. “Alas, it all worked out perfectly well.”

He gave Bucky’s hand a squeeze, earning a nearly shy smile from Bucky. Tony bit his lips at how adorable that was and he leaned in to kiss Bucky’s cheek on impulse.

“So, wait, are we related then?”, asked Peter thoughtfully. “Since my superhero-dad and your brother are together, are we then like in-laws or something?”

“We’re not married and I never adopted you. You need to stop making people believe I’m your father, Peter”, grunted Tony pointedly and a little flustered. “I have had to come to a board-meeting concerning your parentage and who I paid off to keep it quiet, kiddo.”

Peter looked the opposite of apologetic. Bucky grunted amused and shook his head.

“You’d think he’s Stevie’s apprentice”, muttered Bucky beneath his breath.

“Thank you, Sargent”, chimed Peter.

“That was not a compliment, kiddo”, snorted Sam amused.

“Depends on how you interpret it”, countered Peter with an innocent smile.

“You are all menaces in one way or another”, stated T'Challa seriously.

He pointed at Shuri, Peter and Steve equally. Tony laughed and leaned back in his chair.

/break\

“We’ll make this work somehow, even when you leave for New York again, Tony.”

The three of them had decided to take a walk through the palace’s garden together after breakfast – mainly to get away from the team’s teasing. They had come to sit down at a pond together, Tony in the middle, resting a hand on Bucky’s thigh and having one arm around T'Challa’s waist.

“Top notch technology will make it so you won’t even miss me”, assured Tony amused. “Besides, for now I’ll be here for two weeks, so let us make the best of that first, mh?”

“Oh, I believe my mother and sister have already planned at least half a dozen dates for us”, sighed T'Challa a little embarrassed. “They have been trying to be… useful.”

“That’s adorable”, grinned Tony and leaned in to kiss T'Challa’s cheek.

The king looked flustered at that, though also a little pleased. “But you are, of course, right. With Wakandan technology, we can see each other every day despite any distance and you are always welcomed here, Tony. I have a room in the palace for you.”

“I preferred your room, Bagheera”, grinned Tony and kissed him. “What do you say, Buckster?”

“I liked your room too, T'Challa”, agreed Bucky with a grin.

T'Challa laughed, eyes sparkling as he leaned back and looked at his new lovers. “Perfect, then.”

Read this here on FFNet & here on AO3!