#she once asked me over slack ‘could I convince you to send me a file because walking back is ✨the biggest hassle✨

[bioswear]

You all are so welcome for Steph Gingrich posting

[thekillingmoonmoon]

living legend

masterlist

Pairing: Kishibe x Fem!Reader Warnings: None this chapter Synopsis: with mounting debts and everdwindling funds, will you take your coworker's offer? Length: 1, 2 k

And baby you, all the things you do And the ways you move, send me straight to heaven And baby you, what you never knew What I never said, is you're my living legend

Masterlist

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

“Are you serious?” you groaned at your phone, the latest email from your landlord open and glaring at you. “Never, but I might be for you,” Kishibe answered as you stepped into the elevator. You laughed, long used to the subtle flirtations the older man sent your way, sure that every young woman in the office got the same glitter in his eye and severed smile. You settled into the elevator beside him and groaned, looking down at your phone once more. “What’s got you looking so glum?” Kishibe asked, popping a breath mint and offering one to you, he must have just come from having a smoke outside.

“Rent,” you grumbled, “It’s gone up by ten percent, and with my student loan -” you groaned, taking the offered sweet and throwing it in your mouth. You wished you could go have a smoke, but Makima needed the files tucked under your arm. “This place not pay you enough?” Kishibe asked and you shook your head, “Not even close,” you sighed, “I’m only gonna start saving by the time I hit thirty,” you paused, “and that’s if I get a promotion at the end of this month.” “The one you and Himeno are fighting for?” Kishibe gave you an unreadable stare, You sighed “Yeah, and I feel bad because she needs it just as much,” you pinched the bridge of your nose. The elevator dinged as you got to the executive floor. “You got plans for lunch?” Kishibe asked, and you grumbled again, “No, I left my lunch at home,” you cussed, “I’ll have to get bread –“ “Good,” Kishibe interrupted you, “I’ll fetch you by your office at one,” he looked you over, “You got a jacket to go with that skirt?” You looked up at him and nodded, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. “Good, see you then,” and then he was gone, disappearing down the hallway to his office, leaving you in a fluster, cheeks hot as you stepped out of the lift. Why was he doing this?

...

“How’s it going?” Kishibe knocked and peeked inside your office on the lower floor. You looked at him, surrounded by files. “How does it look?” you grimaced. “You still up for lunch?” He asked, and you shrugged, “You didn’t give me much choice,” he tilted his head, “but I need the break,” you concluded, grabbing your bag and jacket from the back of your door “Let’s go, before Power discovers I’m gone,” You said, peering down the corridor. Kishibe scoffed and held the door open for you, his hand skimming the small of your back as you worked past. He took you across the street, watching as your eyes grew wider and wider as he punched in the highest number in the elevator across the street, taking you to the best restaurant in Tokyo. “Kishibe?” you looked at him, and he shrugged, “My treat,” he said, “I always wondered if the food here was good.” The foot was more than good. Your eyes fluttered close at your first bite, savouring the explosion of flavour over your tongue. “I take it's to your liking?” Kishibe chuckled across from you. You nodded eagerly, cheeks flushed at the taste. “Good,” he took a bite of his food, dark eyes never leaving yours as you sipped at your wine. He had convinced you to drink, citing the need to be slightly tipsy when you got back to the office and had to deal with your coworkers. “That Power,” you shook your head, “Yeah?” “It’s as if she and Denji share one brain cell,” you sighed, “and it’s always hungry,” he scoffed and you found yourself melting back into your seat. You looked out over the city, wondering if this was what it was like to be Kishibe and Makima – to dine at the top of buildings, eating the best food the country had to offer, spending more on a single meal than you spent in a month on groceries. “What are you thinking about, sweetheart?” Kishibe sipped at his whisky, startling you from your reverie. You gulped, and decided that honesty was the better policy, “Wondering if this is what it’s like to be you,” you admitted, “Or to have the means you do,” you clarified. “Would you like to find out?” his next question took you from left field. “Pardon?” Kishibe straightened a bit in his chair, sipping from his whisky before looking across at you. “As you know, I’m single,” oh you knew. And in the darkest parts of your heart, you were glad. You couldn’t imagine Kishibe with someone, his eyes following them when they moved, a gold band burdening his left hand. “Yes,” You narrowed your eyes. What was he suggesting? “It’s not what you’re thinking, doll,” his nicknames spilt so easily over his tongue, smooth and sweet like the wine on your tongue. “How do I put this..” He paused, “think of it as a contract,” he explained. “A contract entailing what?” you were ready to leave, gathering your purse together at any sign of anything untoward. “I need someone to live with me,” Kishibe said simply, “a roommate if you will. Lately,” he sighed, “I’ve been struggling by myself.” “How?” you could not imagine Kishibe struggling with anything, ever. He seemed so together, so straightforward, so confident. “Take a meal for example,” he pointed to the empty plates before you, “Can you imagine eating this alone?” You looked at him, at those unreadable eyes, dark and deep. “You’re lonely?” he shrugged. “You could say that,” he said casually as if he hadn’t admitted something so vulnerable about himself. “What do I do?” You asked, shifting back into your seat, settling, listening. “Live with me,” he said as if he were commenting on the weather, “share meals with me, have a drink with me occasionally,” he tilted his head. “And sex?” You decided to ask outright and he shook his head, “If I was asking you to be my sugar baby, I’d just ask you,” he said. And you accepted it. You looked at him, at his unfathomable eyes, at the relaxed way he lounged in his chair. He wasn’t lying, and you wouldn’t say you weren’t tempted. Having one less expense would make your life a hell of a lot easier. “I’ll think about it,” you finally said, surprised at the slow smile that stole across his severed face. “Good.”

...

Another email. Another godforsaken email. This time from the university, asking for this month’s payment on your student loan. You dropped your head to your desk, startling both Denji and Aki as they walked into your office. “What’s up, Boss?” Denji asked, immediately getting elbowed by Aki, “Have some respect, pest,” Aki hissed, before looking at you, “Are you okay?” You shrugged, “as okay as any person my age in debt would be,” and Aki nodded in understanding. From what you understood, he lived with Denji and Power, and you wondered why you hadn’t thought of getting a roommate sooner. Or becoming a roommate. You dealt with Denji and Aki as quickly and professionally as you could, missing the way Aki’s eyes lingered on your drawn face, how he hung back as you ushered them out of your office, telling them to get home and get some rest. You plopped back down behind your desk. Your email pinged again. You picked up the phone. “Kishibe, sir?” “Yeah,” came the gruff response. “I’m in.”

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[donald4spiderman]

The City

masterlist

-

Summary: Reader is thinking about moving to California. Spencer’s determined to get her to stay.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x BAU!Fem!Reader

Warnings: none

Category: Fluff (angst if you squint)

**Inspired by Ben’s poetic confession in Parks and Recreations, S3E14**

Here’s a draft i forgot to post

-

**not edited yet**

Spencer’s POV

As a profiler, I’ve mastered the observation and analysis of behavior— we all have.

Picking the minds of serial killers is second nature— so why is it so hard for me to figure out why (Y/N) is behaving so strangely?

In the recent months, her witty and charming energy has dwindled into a lethargic imitation. Whether she’d admit it or not— (Y/N) can be extremely enthusiastic about certain things— especially our job.

So, when I watch her drag her feet, inch by inch, into the BAU each morning, It’s hard to contain my concern.

I know Morgan has noticed, and I’m sure everyone else has too. They’re probably just too scared to say anything. (Y/N) doesn’t enjoy people prying into her private life, so we all stay a comfortable distance away.

I watch her a lot... more than I’d like to admit. It’s hard to be unaware of her nervous behaviors— the nail biting, hair twisting, skin picking— I practically have enough data to make a correlation graph. I can tell when she’s upset, and it’s happening more than usual.

(Y/N) has always been kind to me. Even when I was at the peak of my stammering, slicked-back hair phase, she treated me with more respect than I deserved. I can only imagine how awkward I must’ve been (or, still am), and I thank her for not belittling me.

I guess I’m validating the Benjamin Franklin Effect when I say this— but I feel like I owe it to her to ask what’s wrong. Over the years I’ve built up (arguably) the closest friendship with her, so it only makes sense for me to bite the bullet for the team.

It’s partially due to the fact that I’ve developed a slight (if not major) crush over time, but who wouldn’t? A gorgeous, intelligent, quick-witted women is kryptonite for any person. Our conversations are always stimulating, she gives the best advice, and she’s always there to comfort a team member.

So, it pains me to see her struggle through a paperwork day. I wish she would reach out to anyone for help, but it’s not in her nature.

“H-Hi.” I smile as I approach her desk. Her tired eyes look up at me, and she smiles back.

“Hey, Reid. What’s up?

I rub the back of my neck nervously. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Morgan and Emily watching me struggle to form a sentence. They giggle as they watch.

“I-I was... um. D-do you want to get coffee with m-me? Not now! I mean— after work!” Morgan stumbles out of the bullpen, barely containing his laugh. I must sound pathetic.

(Y/N) nods hesitantly, “S-sure. I don’t know why you want to get coffee with me, but I’m free.”

“Really?” My surprise shocks her. “T-that’s gr-great! I can drive you!”

She chuckled, “I think I’d rather drive us. I’m pretty sure you can’t drive a mile without hitting a curb.”

I nod fervently. “Sounds good.”

As I make my way back to my desk, I send a glare in Emily’s direction as she continues to smirk at me.

-

(Y/N) grabs an empty table in the café, and we sit down, huddling close to our warm drinks. She orders a cinnamon latte, I order a black coffee with an unhealthy amount of sugar.

I place the drinks down. “Did you know that cinnamon is shown to reduce systolic blood pressure. It’s commonly used in South Asia and works by dilating blood vessel.”

She nods, “Surprisingly, I did know that. You’re gonna have to teach me something else, Doc.” I laugh in response, enjoying the relaxation that radiates off of her.

“I feel like we don’t get to, um, t-talk as much as I would like to.” My words get caught in my throat and she gives me a lopsided smile.

“Well, we don’t exactly have the most leisurely job.” She states, sipping her drink.

I bite my lip, she looks down. I convince myself that my mind is playing tricks on me, because there’s no way (Y/N) would glance down to watch me pull my bottom lip between my teeth.

“I know... but you used to talk more.”

“I’ve been busy lately. Tired too.” She mumbles.

I mean forward slightly, my voice is a hushed whisper. “A-are you... okay?” I’m anticipating an defensive response, but all she does is sigh.

“I’m alright. I just... I’m getting tired of being here— in D.C.”

My eyes widen and my brows knit together. “W-What! Why?”

(Y/N) shrugs, “I don’t know. I just expected to feel... really, really attached to D.C when I first moved here. I love my job, and I love you guys— but nothing’s keeping me here.”

My face drops. My disappointment is adamant because she scrambles to reassure me.

“It’s not that I don’t absolutely love working with you guys. You’re my best friend, Spencer. But... I came to D.C to... I don’t know... settle down.” It comes out as more of a question rather a statement. “It’s sounds weird, right? Me, settling down?” She laughs. “I-I don’t mean a husband and a family necessarily. I moved here because I wanted to belong somewhere.”

“You don’t feel like you belong?”

“I feel... I feel like everything I have right now is temporary. It’s not the feeling I expected to have. I just want to have something permanent in my life for once.”

I remain silent, lacking the proper response.

“Please don’t tell anyone!” She pleaded.

I smile solemnly, “I won’t. I promise.”

In that moment, I make another promise. Not just to (Y/N), but to myself. I’m going to show her how many things she has here for her in D.C.

I’m going to prove how much I believe she belongs.

-

I started by bringing her coffee each morning— a cinnamon latte from the same café we went to.

The first time she seemed pleasantly surprised. I sped through the doors of the bullpen, my coat and slacks absolutely soaked due to the rainy D.C weather. She giggled at the sight of my hair plastered to my forehead. I was certain that I looked like a wet dog.

“Morning!” I greeted, placing down both cups of coffee on her desk so I could fix my hair. “I-uh-I got you coffee. A cinnamon latte, of course.”

(Y/N) smiles brightly, “You’re the best. Thanks, Reid. I definitely needed this.”

Hotch and Rossi are watching me curiously, pretending not to look up from their files. At this moment, I could care less.

“It’s n-nothing.” Suddenly I’m blushing furiously under the weight of her stare.

“Thanks, again.” She clears her throat, “Y-you’re a really good friend.”

She smiles. And I smile.

-

In the next three weeks, (Y/N) and I grow closer at a rate faster then ever. I try to do something small for her everyday. Finishing up a file for her; Bringing her coffee or water; Sitting next to her on the jet. It appears to be working— she looks much more relaxed and happy. Her sarcastic humor is back and she engages more with the team.

We’ve decided to hang out after today. I find myself enjoying every minute with her, even if all we do is talk, eat, and walk around aimlessly. I’m sure she’s tired of me, but my infatuation with her only grows.

Tonight, we’re sitting at the park, watching people on their late night jogs, dog walkers, babysitters. We finished eating Indian food at a local restaurant. Turns out we’re both regulars at the same place, it’s a shame we haven’t run into each other.

She’s sitting criss-cross on the bench, her elbow rested on top of her knee. “You know,” She starts, “D.C is pretty great. I don’t think I’ve felt this... content in a while.”

I smile, even if it’s too dark for her to see. “Th-thanks. D.C is a great place, despite averaging 39 inches of rain annually.”

She means her head back against the bench. “I still don’t know. I feel like I’m just waiting for something. I don’t even know what that something is... a sign maybe?”

“A sign?” I laugh.

“Y-yeah... a sign. I’d usually make a pros and cons list and research the differences between the two places but... this decision feels too personal to look at it as just statistics.”

In this very moment, I decide to toss all my concerns, questions, what if’s, into the wind. This is my final move; my last resort; my Hail Mary.

My hands are trembling, and it takes me seconds to force the words out of my throat.

“W-well, besides the higher cost of living and considerably gloomy weather, D.C can be a p-pretty great place to reside. It has a busy political culture and is one of the most diverse states in the country.” I pause for a little longer than necessary.

“But, besides statistics and facts, if w-we look past objectivity, to me: D.C is where my friends are, and my friends are my family. Um... I like The City because it’s home to so many great people. A-and I know it’s hard to see the good in things considering how much violence we see on a daily basis, but certain people make me believe that things aren’t all that bad.”

(Y/N)‘a listening attentively, making me even more nervous than I thought possible. “D.C— The City— is beautiful. It’s charming. It’s a warm, cinnamon latte on a rainy day, o-or a late night walk in the park. To me, it’s home.” I catch her smirking a little bit, and I can only hope that she understands what I’m trying to say.

“Plus, The City is really good at her job. The City’s an excellent profiler. But, the city’s an even better friend, and an even better person. It doesn’t hurt that The City has great hair, and gorgeous eyes, and a perfect smile. And, she does this cute thing where she twists the ends of her hair, even if I keep telling her to stop. The City’s beautiful and definitely out of my league. She probably wants nothing to with me now, but I don’t care. I really like The City. And, even if she doesn’t like me back, she should stay, because there are so many people that like and love The City. ‘Cause who wouldn’t.”

(Y/N) is full on grinning right now, and it’s hard to stay patient when so much is on the line.

“Wow.” She giggles. “You really like The City.”

I chuckled awkwardly, “Y-yeah. I really do.”

“I mean, if you think The City’s so great, maybe I should stay. Plus, I’m sure The City likes you too.”

I feign confusion, “Really? I don’t know... The City can be kind of closed off sometimes.”

“Trust me— The City definitely likes you back. And I don’t think The City appreciates you saying that about her”

“Oh really?” I gasp. “Let’s ask her.”

I turn my head around, then proceed to look back at (Y/N) in the most dramatic fashion.

“Hey.” I laugh.

“Oh, Hi Dr. Reid!” She feigns surprise to match my frivolousness.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, b-but I really like you. And, a little birdy told me that you like me back.”

She laughs heartily, “Well, that little birdy is a pretty reliable source.”

Soon, her head is resting on my shoulder. My body’s stiff and the air is caught in my lungs, but I feel more content than I have in years. Somehow the weather is warmer, and the sun is brighter, and things just seem... better.

“This is a great city.” She mumbles, peering up at me in the most adorable fashion.

“Yeah,” I smile, “It really is.”

-

“Pawnee’s a really special town, I love living there. And, I look forward to the moments in my day where I get to hang out with the town, and talk to the town about stuff. The town has really nice blonde hair too. And, it’s read a shocking number of political biographies for a town, which I like.” - Ben Wyatt

[papipopsicle]

SHY AWAY PART FIVE

Pairing: Bucky Banes X Reader

Summary: In which an imitation Captain America leads to Y/N leaving her holiday early and coming back to the field. Stuck between her only two friends, she's forced to reveal a secret she'd kept even from herself.

Song: Rain by Grandson

Warnings: swearing, small amount of John Walker (if he's in here, he's a warning)

Words: 1.4K

A/N- "Doar spune când, James, am sã-l gut ca un porc." Translates to "Just say when, James, I'll gut him like a pig." in Romanian.

MASTERLIST

feedback is always appreciated

"And if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me." The words ricocheted through Y/N's mind as Walker tried his hardest to coerce the trio into helping him. The brunette woman didn't care for his manipulative tactics, unable to focus on anything other than Bucky's dejected tone and melancholy visage.

He couldn't be more wrong, and she wished with everything in her conscious being that he could view himself through her eyes even for just a moment. They may be ever so slightly rose tinted, she admitted to herself, knowing she held her friends to a higher standard than most people. But she had good reason to.

"James Buchanan Barnes." Y/N mumbled the name, finding an instant affinity to the way it sounded in her hushed voice. She sat atop Steve's bed, two months had passed since Hydra and Shield both fell, the two free agents for the first time in three years. The file Natasha had given him lay flat across her lap, ogling at second photo attached, "That Sargent uniform... there is nothing I wouldn't let him do to me while wearing that."

Steve leant against his doorframe, entertained by his friend's enthralment, "And in his Winter Solider gear, and when you saw him pulling me out of the Potomac. I'm starting to think it's not just the outfits, honey."

A small part of her brain accepted in the hierarchy of humans in her life, Bucky was at the top. Y/N tried to convince herself he was equal with and just as platonic as Sam. Prior to 'The Blip', she was so head-sure when it came to that - but now her head swam with his voice and drowned a happy death in his scent.

"A word of advice then, stay the hell out of my way." John's strident voice pulled Y/N from her thoughts. Sam's hand lay on the small of her back, guiding her away from the imitation Captain. She felt like slicing open his neck right then and there, he didn't deserve the shield even for a minute. He could keep the stupid outfit, but the shield meant something to her, to most people.

"Doar spune când, James, am sã-l gut ca un porc." Y/N growled, shaking away her anger as the three walked in the opposite direction to John and his companion.

The air was quiet for a few minutes, maybe even ten. Y/N looked for the nearest hotel, finding an appropriate one and guiding the boys down these unfamiliar streets. Only a quiet 'this way' or 'next turn' came from her, seeming so unnaturally ordinary like an exploring tourist. Sam gave Bucky a once over, checking on his friend, finding his gaze firmly attached to the woman two steps ahead of them.

They may not be the closest kind of friends, but Sam could read the super soldier with ease. He smirked, choosing once again not to mention his findings, especially after the fragility of his self worth shone through the therapy session.

"So, what are you thinking?" Sam asked smoothly.

Bucky observed his surroundings before speaking, alert of all the pedestrians around him, "Well, I know what we have to do. When Isaiah said 'my people'..."

"Oh, don't take that to heart." Sam comforts him, his usual calm nature alleviating any awkwardness left from the station, "That's not what he meant."

"No, he meant Hydra. Hydra used to be my people, they were when he and I met." Bucky said lowly.

Sam let out a large sigh after a moment, piquing Y/N's attention, "Not a chance."

"Walker doesn't have any leads..." Bucky trails off, and Y/N covertly slowed her steps to fall back in line with the two men. She wracked her tired brain, piecing together the conversation she hadn't cared for, until a horrible conclusion struck her.

"I swear to all the gods out there," Y/N began in a hushed voice, her tone not playful like usual, "if you want to see Helmut, ask him to cooperate and help us on this, I am absolutely on board."

Both men scrunched their faces at her change of tune, knowing to be even more wary than when her voice sounded serious. She turned to face them, stopping their journey to the hotel to address the two properly.

"He knows all of Hydra's secrets." Bucky aims his words at Sam, "Don't you remember Siberia?"

The question was obviously rhetorical, but Y/N remembered it far too well. The event that fractured her only ever family. Being who she was, the accords were never going to fly, but the aftermath they lead to was catastrophic. She went on the run with Steve and Sam, finding ways every now and again to slip away for weeks at a time to visit Bucky.

"So you're just gonna go sit in a room with this guy?" Sam asks blatantly doubtful.

Bucky eyes both of his friends warily, "Yes."

"I'm sorry, how are you so okay with this?" Sam directs at Y/N, who had already began walking in the direction her map lead to. She assumed the conversation was over, not feeling the need to explain herself.

Y/N doesn't stop her ambling towards the hotel, now only a few minutes away. The boys surely follow after her, "It's pretty simple Sammy, I'd rather have someone I hate twelve percent less help us make things right before John even has a chance."

"Twelve percent?" Bucky queries, both him and Sam quickening their paces to catch up with her.

"Yeah," She threw a grin over her shoulder at them, "obviously an estimate. But, if I actualised my hatred at this current time, Helmut is at steady seventy five percent, while John is presently at eighty seven percent."

The two men nodded at her theory, silence settling over the group as they walked the final few minutes to the hotel. It was a small independent Bed and Breakfast with a black illuminated sign reading 'Sutton's B&B'.

"Three rooms please, whatever you have will do we aren't picky." Sam asked the tired elder lady at the front desk, flashing his pearly whites for extra charisma. Y/N found out a long time ago that her presence often frightened most women, she didn't have much experience when it came to charming them, that was Sam's area of expertise.

Bucky stood beside Y/N as Sam spoke with the front desk lady, his body nearly falling slack as the brunette woman leaned her weight against him. He steadied himself, wrapping his right arm around her figure- he had no reason to, other than he felt like it. They didn't shift away from each other when Sam turned back with a key each for them.

"I've been real nice and given Bucky the double, because I doubt he'd fit in a single bed. Y/N and I are sharing a twin single." Sam quietly said, feeling himself betting closer and closer to asking what was his friends deal.

He wanted a couple more days to clear the air before questioning the two, and maybe by then they'd have a straight answer for him rather than them both denying it.

"Night, James, message me if you need anything." Y/N implored in a hushed tone as the trio reached the super soldier's room for the night. She squeezed his side tightly and a small kiss landed on her forehead as they parted.

Bucky unlocked his door, smiling at his two friends, "Goodnight."

The old door clicked behind him, and Sam tugged along the sleepy ex assassin "Come on, you need to sleep if you want to destroy John Walker."

"Sammy?" Y/N asked with a small yawn, eyes attempting to find their room.

He pointed at a door a few steps away, locating their number, "Yeah?"

"You always know just what to say." She hummed, using her key and immediately flopping down on the small bed with a thud.

part six?

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✎ 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

✎ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭; 4k

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬; 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐚𝐢.

*𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲*

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒;  𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞

a/n; 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬/𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥! (p.s i hope ya’ll like this new concept I’m giving the maknaes)

she slips out of her bathrobe and steps into the steaming shower. the heat of it all somehow lifting this weight off of her shoulders. she had just finished grad school for psychotherapy and god only knows where she’s going from here. she thought things would be easy you know. as soon as she’s done with school she gets to go ahead and get a good paying job, buy a nice home and then her and soobin could finished living their happy life together.

but no. it wasn’t like that at all. 

they were married and struggling. soobin was trying his best to finish up med school and become the surgeon that he wanted to be ever since he was a kid. luckily in the meantime he landed a job as a dental assistant which means they weren’t flat broke. but they also weren’t making enough money to start a life of their own. 

so yes, they were on the edge of getting evicted from their home and struggling with bills. and it stressed kaija out more than anything else in the world. she thought once she got marriage out the way, especially at a young age she’d be alright and living the life of her dreams. but it seemed everything was the complete opposite. 

she slides into her nude colored body con dress,  the long sleeved one with the neck that stopped just above her cleavage and the hem that stopped just below her knees, one that hugged her body the way she liked and made her feel like she was on top of the world. she let her long, sleek and black middle parted hair stop above her lower back. and with no hesitation she also steps into her favorite black suede heels, ones that fit her like socks did almost. 

this is what kaija did. 

every morning she’d dress to impress, swooping her edges with gel, installing her lashes and beating her face with makeup until she looked like a barbie doll. she would blame it all on the company’s “standards”. giving soobin the run around about how she “had” to look like that. but in her heart she knew she didn’t. 

soobin gifts her the daily morning pecks on her cheeks and lips. telling her how good she looked and to not worry because everything was going to be fine. kaija smiled her pretty smile as always and convinced him that she knew everything was okay. it was easy to convince everyone but herself. 

she was handed a file first thing this morning. to which she sat at her desk and looked over it while drinking her morning coffee. what she wasn’t expecting was her client to be so prompt. within just a few minutes of her reading over his file her assistant was opening the door saying, “heuning kai is ready to see you”. and kaija nods giving her the okay to let him in. 

she stopped in her tracks once she saw the man. he dressed in a simple black suit and black slacks. his hair was brown and near shoulder length, parted graciously to the side like so. he wore a white dress shirt beneath it, the collar of it sprawled neatly on the top of his suit jacket and the top buttons were undone giving kaija a clear view of his thin diamond encrusted necklace that fitted him the same way a choker would. milky skin, pudgy pink lips and sullen eyes. and not to mention he was tall with broad shoulders. one of the few things that always were on kaija’s checklist. 

“good morning how are you doing? I’m heuning kai”. 

kaija blinked and quickly stood to her feet to shake his hand. she smiles nervously. “nice to meet you kamal--I meant heun--or heuning kai I’m sorry I just finished reading your file so my mind is all over the place”. 

stupid kaija and her always talking too fast. 

he chuckles a little. oh god, kaija wanted to pinch herself. she couldn’t be acting like this. she’s a married woman.

“it’s alright, any name will do”. he assures. 

“okay then. take your seat if you may. we can get started as soon as possible”.

he sits in front of her desk and scoots his chair in a bit. she plucks up his file. 

“so? I see that you’re a young CEO, looking for someone long term correct?”.

he nods. “absolutely”.

she continues reading. “hm, no kids but you’d like some in the future....you’re religious...you don’t smoke...you drink on occasion---it says here that you wouldn’t want a woman that isn’t the jealous type? do you mind telling me little more about that?”.

“well, I think of jealousy a bit differently. I think jealousy is another form of love. you get jealous in a relationship when you feel as though someone or something is a threat to your connection with your significant other. there’s nothing wrong with that. I want a woman whose jealous even about the small things. it’s comforting to know that she loves and wants me that much”.

kaija never mentioned the hypnotic smoothness he had to his voice that reeled her in. she couldn’t stop looking at him and his sharp jawline and silky hair. she was on the verge of asking him to repeat himself but luckily she heard the important things. 

“and..you don’t think that’s a bit crazy? a woman being jealous over little things?”.

“i happen to think it’s cute”.

kaija nods and gives him a small okay before she continues reading. that was definitely something she’s never heard before. her eyes skim over some of his answers and she finds herself subtly chuckling. 

“oh wow, you have a little attitude don’t you? you don’t like being ignored, you don’t like the silent treatment, you don’t like when your significant other doesn’t give you the attention you want. you don’t like when she isn’t on your side in arguments?”. 

he diligently nods his head. “that’s correct”. 

“heuning? how do you expect to find love with all of these requirements? a woman isn’t going to always be on your side in every argument. and what if the both of you have kids? she can’t always give you the attention you ask for”. 

“and why not?”. he asked, with his face practically made of stone. kaija was expecting to him at least crack a smile or something. but she realized he was serious. and he was genuinely curious as to why he couldn’t have the woman of his dreams. she swallows. 

“well, because it’s unrealistic”. 

“I think there are a lot of things that are unrealistic until they actually happen. though I’m young, I’m a big fan of old time love. and that’s hard to find nowadays. I’d like to send roses to my girlfriend’s place of work at random times. I’d like to write her a whole bunch of love letters telling her how beautiful she is and how she lights up my life. I want to take her to picnics by the river and take pictures of her when she isn’t looking. I want to take midnight drives with the windows down and vibe to music and eat food. we can travel the world together, gambling in vegas or having dates in the pool caves of Greece. I want to give her everything she asks for and everything she doesn’t ask for. but most importantly I want to love her like no one else has loved her. nothing more nothing less”. 

kaija could just cry. half of those things she didn’t even do with soobin. they only went on dates when neither of them were tired or stressed and most times they argued so much that they barely spoke to one another. 

“is everything alright?”. kai asks after the prolonged silence. she snaps out of it. 

“yes--yes everything is fine I’m just a little surprised by your answer there”. 

“I know you probably think I’m too young for all of that but it’s what I really want”. and he was right. younger than kaija and wanting all of that. 

she writes down additional notes. “no it’s fine. It’s just something i wasn’t expecting. you have a fairytale ideal type of love. hopeless romantic. it’s cute”. 

kai chuckles. “you seem to be shocked way too often by all of this. I’m sure looking like that you’ve been wined and dined plenty”. 

kaija smirks a bit while her pen dances along the page. “looking like that?”. she repeats his words. 

“yes you’re gorgeous”. 

she tilts her head to the side trying to stifle a blush. “ i think we’re here to set you up with one of my clients, not to set you up with me. I think we should keep things professional”. 

“if things were as professional as you’re trying to keep it why are you blushing then?”. he smiles and kaija laughs at his boldness. 

“i think we should stop here for today”. she says closing his file. 

“oh good, that gives me time to ask if you’re free tonight?”. 

she crosses her legs and clicks her tongue at the question. “listen here, heuning. I don’t know what you think this is. I’m not some booty call or a one night fling. I’m a grown woman. so don’t come in here thinking just because you’re cute and rich, I owe you something because I don’t”. 

kai oddly grins. he sits up in his chair staring into her eyes like his life depended on it.  “I know, love. you’re right you owe me nothing. but let’s face facts life sucks. but dinner never hurt anyone has it? as friends”. 

kaija smiles a bit and folds her arms on the desk. he was right. her life was a mess right now and friends were okay right? “fine. and life does suck so this better be the highlight of my day”.  

“what time are you off today?”. 

“5pm”. 

“i’ll be here around that time. is that okay?”. 

“yes that’s okay”.

texting soobin that she would be coming home later tonight was easier than she thought. usually because as soon as he came home from work he slept so he’d barely notice anyways. she was exhausted by the time she locked up her office and she forgot kai was even coming. so of course she was startled to see a black mercedes benz waiting for her outside the building. she sighed once she saw kai opening the passenger door for her. she gave him a small thank you and he slides in the driver’s seat soon after.

she straps on her seatbelt. “boy I’m surprised you have a license”. kai chuckles and he starts driving. “seriously how young do you think I am?”. 

“I have your file I know your age”. 

“so you just like teasing me about it?”. 

she laughs. “pretty much”.

“but if I were to call you a cougar I’d be wrong right?”. kai laughs and kaija laughs along with him, surprised by his humor. “yes you’d be wrong because i’m not that old and I don’t have any kids”.

“so how old are you then if you don’t mind me asking?”. 

“when that becomes your business maybe i’ll tell you”. 

“you’re right. you owe me nothing”. 

she thinks for a moment. “hm. if I tell you my age will you tell me something?”.“something like?”.

“what is someone as young as you doing trying to find love at a firm? you’re rich and good looking can’t you just go out and find someone easily?”.

he laughs while turning a corner. “and find someone who will just use me for my money?”. “how do you know the clients we have won’t do the same?”.

“when you match make you look at all of our attributes. rich, poor, dumb or smart. you analyze the way we think and how we think to see if we would go well with other people. If theres someone who sounds like a gold digger you won’t match them with me. besides, it’s not that I hate gold diggers I just hate if it’s the sole purpose of dating me. it’s hard to deny the fact that people love someone with a little extra money”. 

“that’s true. it kind of makes me want to match you with a gold digger for shits and giggles now”. 

kai laughs and shakes his head. “please don’t. we’re here though”.

she unstraps her seatbelt and like the gentlemen kai was he opens the door for her. all in all though she could safely say she wasn’t expecting kai to take her to a cooking class. kaija didn’t know what to think really, until she actually started doing it. she thought it was kind of fun making messes and trying to cook things she didn’t know how to cook alongside kai. “don’t cut me!”. kai playfully shrieks and she laughs seeing the tip of her knife just centimeters from his arm. she thought he looked stunning even with a messy black apron and his white sleeves rolled to his elbows. she laughs, “I’m not! just move”.  trying to cut the garnish while kai was on steak duty. 

she wasn’t a big fan of asparagus but it was on the menu. that and mashed potatoes which she offered to cook since kai was chopping enough pieces of garlic to kill them both. the teacher cheered them on consistently and was sure to correct their mistakes but kaija still felt a little unprepared for all of this. it wasn’t every day where she went to a cooking class trying to cook gourmet meals. 

she was measuring the cream cheese for the potatoes and kai was measuring the olive oil for the asparagus. she laughed at the way he looked. messy as hell and definitely not the rich boy that walked into her office this morning.

“and what you laughing at?”. he peered down at her with an amused grin.

“you”. she laughed again.

“and what about me is so funny?”.

“a billionaire cooking. a billionaire not taking me out for dinner but taking me to a cooking class to make our dinner. it’s cute”. 

“I thought it would be fun. aren’t you having fun?”.

“yes i am actually. the most fun I ever had while cooking”. 

“I’m glad because I’m having fun too. I can’t wait to see how this turns out”. 

kaija laughs watching him pour the salt. 

“nasty and salty as hell now”. 

kai sits down the salt shaker and laughs trying to dust some of the salt cubes off to spare them both. but he didn’t know if that really worked especially when they sat down to eat. kai tries his hardest to hide his growing pain for his salty vegetables but kaija laughed knowing all he wanted to do was spit them in the trash. 

“I mean-- you did a decent job on the steak”. she compliments stifling a laugh. 

he finally coughed them up in his napkin, “damn I really don’t belong in the kitchen. these mash potatoes are good though. I guess as you get older you get better at cooking”. he teases. she playfully hit him on the shoulder. 

“I’m not old!”. she recites once more. “you’re just young as hell”. 

“if you were so offended by my age you wouldn’t be hanging with me right now”. 

“i don’t know, maybe I just need something different in my life I guess”. she unintentionally confides forking over her food. 

“well, when that becomes my business I’ll ask”. 

she rolls her eyes and laughs. “you’re annoying”.

it was a night kaija definitely wasn’t expecting. especially with a billionaire who had enough money to take her any place she wanted. it was fun though she had to admit. she laughed and smiled more than she had in a long time. and she didn’t want the feeling to end especially when kai pulled up to her house. 

“thank you for hanging with me, buddy”. he jokes. kaija snatches up her purse hoping soobin was still asleep. “thank you. I had a good time”. he smiled a little with his eyes peering at her house. he couldn’t help but notice her lights were on and tv as well. almost as if someone was home. “you live alone? it looks like you have an intruder”, he asks. “I like to leave my things on”. she lies. 

 he was heading to open the door for her but kaija assures him that she has it and that he’d done enough gentleman stuff today. 

he admired her for all she was while she slips out the car. she was so beautiful. “I’d like to do this again maybe? as friends”. 

she sighs. “I don’t kno--”. 

“please? you can’t expect me to have this much of a good time and only do this once”. 

“as friends. have a good night heuning kai”.

she shuts the car door and he sits back in the driver’s seat. satisfied with her answer even if it was sprinkled with a little sass. there was no point in denying the fact that he wanted her. 

and there was something twisted about his brain. when he wanted something he had to have it by any means necessary. even if it killed him.

but she would never know far he’d go just to have her.

[laylacooke]

The Cat’s Meow (Pt. 2) || Regan & Layla

timing: Mid August (before Cabin Trip) [continued from here.]  parties: @kadavernagh​ & @laylacooke summary: Meow?

Layla’s heart was beating fiercely in her small compacted chest. Orange fur heaved up and down as she finally stopped running and had made her escape from Luna and Indy. But confusion still hung heavy over her mind, along with no immediate ideas of how she was going to get out of the situation she was in.

She hadn’t been able to catch a mirror on the way out, but when she had tried to speak Ariana’s name the only thing that came out was a pitiful meow. A meow that had alerted her to more than she had wanted to know in the moment.

It had to be a dream, right? No, more like a nightmare. God, was she stuck inside another nightmare? She had just escaped that reality. But then it hit her like a double headed dildo to the face...Cordy. It was the only possibility, right? She had just seen the woman the day before and pissed her off. Maybe she could go see her and this would all go away. Maybe she would be Layla again. Maybe just maybe - Screeeeeeech! “Watch it you stupid cat!” Eyes wide, the small ginger cat hunkered down in fear realizing she had almost gotten hit by a car. Focus, Layla. Or the next time you’re going to look like Binx from Hocus Pocus.

Quickly escaping from the street, before another car came, Layla realized she needed help.

Remmy? Moose might eat me.

Kaden? Uh-uh. He’s an animal catcher and a hunter for fucks sake.

I’ve got it!

Picking up one paw after the other, the small, furry animal made her way through town as she tried to avoid the temptations that were starting to overwhelm her. Fresh fish. Blagh. A large juicy rat! Oh fuck no. Chasing a bird? Maybe. No, Layla. No. Mind on the mission. Mind. On. The. Mission. It was the small child that was now chasing her screaming ‘kitty’ that put a little extra pep in her step. Stop! No! Bad child! Bad! She let out a horrific meow as the toddler grabbed onto her tail pulling her backwards, and with no choice, she released her claws and swatted at the child. Seeing him tear up broke Layla’s heart, but she couldn’t stop, especially now when his mother was chasing after her and trying to kick her away. I’m sorry!

With a huff, she continued moving forward; little legs growing tired with the occasional breaks scattered throughout, but when she looked up, she realized she had made it.

Waiting for the right moment, Layla weaved her way through the legs of the person entering the building. Maneuvering up the stairs with stealth, she finally arrived. Regan’s apartment. She had saved the medical examiner when the woman was only five inches tall, and now, it was Regan’s turn to save her.

It had become a ritual. Coming home, spreading out the case files from “The Collector’s” victims, and scrutinizing the images and autopsy reports until her eyes felt numb. Regan was thumbing through them again when she heard an insistent meow outside of her door. For a moment, she wondered if it had been a hallucination. She wasn’t sure she’d ever hallucinated a cat before, though. Maybe it was best to check. Reluctantly, she shuffled over to the door, opening it to see -- “How did you get in here?” Regan frowned down at the animal. Did Nadia get another cat? Or did Ms. Carmody? The old woman always seemed a little pleased when there were cat carcasses on the lawn; maybe she had a soft spot for them. Before she could close the door on the cat, it slid past her legs into the apartment. “Hey! Stop! Sit!” She tried to command it like she would Abel, but the animal seemed determined to stay inside. Her wings rustled in annoyance. She shut the door, at least for now, lest anyone who wasn’t Nadia walk by. It was just her and the cat, now. She studied its orange fur and bright eyes. The animal looked relatively healthy, as far as she could tell, though she wasn’t exactly a veterinarian. “Fortunately for you, cat, I’m dating someone in Animal Control. He’ll find you a good home. One that isn’t here.”

Regan had taken the bait, and Layla was in. The world, including the M.E’s apartment was so much bigger as a cat. Everything seemed to be duller and her field of vision seemed limited to a degree and made the already drab apartment seem even less exciting. However, that didn’t matter. Trotting over to Regan, the small cat rubbed across her leg continuously, until she mentioned Animal Control. Fucking Kaden. He was going to be the foil in her plot. Hissing at the idea, she left the woman’s side and ran to the nearby couch. Jumping up onto it, she started to pace back and forth, rubbing on the cushions trying to be loving. If she thinks I’m cute, maybe she won’t let Grandpa haul me away. She meowed softly; her big yellow eyes making contact with Regan’s hoping to win her over.

The cat yowled as Regan mentioned Animal Control, like the animal had some idea of what that meant. That wasn’t possible, was it? She didn’t know very much about cats, but dogs could recognize their name and some commands. Did this one actually know what that meant? Kaden surely wouldn’t euthanize the cat; it would be brought to the shelter and adopted out into a home that would be at least adequate. The cat flung itself around the apartment and ended up on the couch, coating it in fur as it rolled around. Regan frowned at it, then looked down at her slacks. Fur clung to her shins where the cat had rubbed. Great. She brushed it off, then took a cautious step toward the animal. She wasn’t keen on touching it. What if it had rabies or something else? It could have been exposed to anything outside. “Cat,” Regan announced, unsure how to address it, “this isn’t going to work. There’s too much screaming and not enough tuna here for you. I don’t know how to take care of a cat! I’ve never had any animal before and half the time I don’t even know if Abel is afraid of me and-- and this is ridiculous. I’m talking to a cat that turned up in my apartment.” She pulled out her Nokia to shoot Kaden a message: How do you catch a cat?

When Regan addressed Layla as Cat, she meowed in response, Yes? However, what the woman had to say wasn’t exactly what Layla wanted to hear. Please don’t let Kaden take me away. Please! Her eyes grew wider as she paced back and forth nervously. Maybe if I lay down and be a good cat, she won’t send me away with Captain Putain. Circling in one spot, Layla found a place to settle into and laid down. Her tail swished back and forth on its own accord as she continued to look at Regan. Meow. It was soft and welcoming. Inviting Regan over to pet her. She could be a good cat. Layla could exist peacefully with Regan, until she could figure out a way to get the woman to help her, so long as Kaden didn’t come with a cage and pole to snag her with.

Was the cat pacing? Was that normal cat behavior, or did it indicate some neurological concern? Regan really needed to get Kaden over here to catch this animal. It probably needed extensive veterinary care. Was it a stray? It stopped walking across the living room after a minute, planting itself in front of her, and all she could do was stare down at those bright eyes. “Do you want something?” She asked it. “Food? Do you want food?” It probably wanted food. What did cats eat? Tuna, of course. Right? She hadn’t purchased any since she realized she couldn’t tolerate fish anymore. Regan walked past the cat into the kitchen to see what she could find. Peanut butter, yogurt, granola, lettuce, sprouts… nothing a cat would be interested in. “Uh, I might need to ask Kaden what cats eat, and then go shopping. Not that you’re staying here. I mean, for long.” She aimed a glance at the animal. “Really, it’s a bad idea. An extremely bad idea.” Was she trying to convince herself, or the cat? She wasn’t sure and didn’t want to dwell on it. Sighing, Regan knelt down on the floor to get a closer look at the animal, nearly tripping over her wings. It had healthy, orange fur and seemed bright. For a stray, it was in good condition. She wondered if the cat was microchipped. The vet would be able to figure that out. “Do you have any owner?”

Food had briefly crossed Layla’s mind on the way over, but it was more temptations than anything. However, she was getting hungry. Listening to Regan, she wanted to speak to her badly. Say something other than a variation on the ever so popular meow, but it was useless. Instead, she watched the woman walk to the kitchen and listened as she rambled on about food and why she shouldn’t keep Layla the Cat and what Kaden would suggest. However, what she hadn’t expected was for Regan to come back and kneel down just to further inspect her. With the M.E that close to her face, Layla was at least able to respond to the ‘owner’ question with a swift shake of her head, no, indicating she didn’t have an owner. Did cats shake their head yes and no? Probably not, but she was no ordinary cat and not being able to communicate with words was driving her bananas. When she got out of this, she was going to have some strong words with Cordy...well, if she got out of this.

Did the cat just… did it just shake its head? Regan gawked down at the animal. It had to be a coincidence. There was no way the cat understood the question, right? Which, sure, she felt more than a little ridiculous for asking it in the first place, given that. And she was only going to feel more ridiculous now that she was continuing to verbally engage with a cat. “You don’t have an owner?” She asked cautiously, standing up again. Her wings gave a disgruntled flit and she brought her hand to her forehead. “I’m going insane,” she said simply, “that’s the explanation. And you’re going to get checked for a microchip once I get you to Kaden. But that’s… something I’ll have to do tomorrow.” She looked out the blurry window, noting that the sun was setting. “You can stay here for now, but no sleeping on the bed, and no swatting at me. Understood?”

Layla had found Regan’s reactions amusing to say the least. Erm...meow the least. Letting her golden round hues follow the woman, the cat meowed. You’re not going insane, because if you are then that means I should wake up from this nightmare any moment, but I haven’t yet, so you have to help me find my way out of this situation since Ariana couldn’t! The mews were continuous and full of inflection but resulted in nothing. Well, not what she had wanted, but Regan had given her permission to stay, so at least that was something. Hearing the stipulations, she nodded her head yes. I think I can handle that. No swats, and, fine. No bed, but I bet you’ll come around. If my little cat body is any reflection of my human cuteness, I’m going to win you over like a bettin’ man gettin’ lucky for once. Challenge accepted. She narrowed her eyes for a moment before hopping off the couch and going back over to Regan. Chirping sweetly, she rubbed against her leg hoping to be picked up.

Why was it meowing like that? Was something wrong? Was it supposed to do that? Regan grimaced down at the cat like it was a light she’d just shattered. It wasn’t broken, right? But then it stopped meowing, and-- she jumped as it leapt from the couch, wings taking her a few inches off the floor. That sent another wave of panic through her and she fluttered back away from the animal, dropping back down to the ground. It seemed intent on following her, though, and rubbed against her shin again. Why did it keep doing that? Regan reached down and gave it a quick, cautious stroke on the top of its head, then tore her arm back away from it like it might seize her. “What? I’ll get you food tomorrow. I don’t have anything that I can-- is it water? You want water?” She brought a small bowl full of water from the kitchen and set it down on the floor, hoping to retreat into the bedroom while it was distracted.

Oh, if a cat could laugh! Layla watched as Regan proceeded to freak out. If you could only see the way you’re acting, Dr. B. While getting picked up didn’t work out quite like she planned, the water now sitting in front of her was well appreciated. Moving in, she slowly leaned forward. Seeing her reflection in the water startled Layla, but once she had accepted it, she leaned closer towards the bowl of liquid. Okay, just...you can do this, Layla. Just like...Her tongue easily began lapping up the cool water from the bowl. It was refreshing, to say the least, and while she stood there consumed by the taste of the water in her parched mouth, she hadn’t noticed Regan slip away into the bedroom. By the time she looked up, it was too late. Eyes scanning the room, she let her nose lead her to the door. I hear you in there. Meows rang out sounding closely like the word ‘hello’. Hello? Helloooooo. Hello?

Regan had just brushed her teeth and wiggled into her nightshirt when she heard meowing from the other side of the bedroom door. Her arms sagged with exhaustion and she felt a little bit like screaming. Hadn’t she told the animal she wasn’t allowed on the bed? So much for it being able to understand. Maybe it just wanted to be near her. Domestic animals evolved to be in human proximity, right? She sat down on her bed for a moment, debating. Would it keep meowing out there if she didn’t let it in? Would she be able to get any sleep if she did let it in? Regan groaned, standing up. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” She opened the door, standing back as she watched the cat to see what it might do. “Remember, no bed. You can sleep on the floor. And no. Swatting.” Abel had stuck his nose in her wings plenty of times, and she could only imagine what damage a cat might do. Just thinking about the claws made her wince. Regan waggled a finger at the animal before falling back on the bed with a long, drawn out sigh. “Goodnight, cat. Tomorrow, you’re going to the vet.” 

Layla continued to say the one word she could as a cat, “hello”, until she heard the door open. With wide innocent eyes, she looked up at Regan. She listened as the woman spouted off the rules again, before she trotted into the bedroom, tail swishing back and forth. There had been nowhere to lay on the floor. And Regan would be warmer than curling up trying to rely on her own body heat for warmth. It had been a long day, and all she wanted was to sleep peacefully, especially knowing she was going to the vet tomorrow; which had caused her anxiety to spike. What would going to a vet be like? She already hated going to the doctor. She would deal with that issue in the morning, but for now, she just wanted to not feel so lonely, and completely ignoring the ‘sleeping on the bed’ rule, the small, orange tabby launched herself up onto the edge of the mattress. Slowly and cautiously walking over the covers, once she reached Regan, she curled up in a ball next to the woman. Snuggled in closely, before the fae could object, she began purring softly and closed her eyes. 

Regan flicked off the light and settled in. It was always a struggle trying to get comfortable these days, given the unwelcome wings, but somehow, it was starting to get a little bit easier. She gave the cat one final expectant look that said stay on the floor, then she closed her eyes. Regan didn’t even feel the animal soundlessly jump on the bed, not at first-- but something soft and burning hot curled up next to her, and Regan didn’t have the energy to argue with a cat. Besides… it was like having a tiny campfire right next to her, and was the purring really so bad? She’d wash the sheets tomorrow. Regan draped an arm over the animal, allowing herself to hope, just for a moment, that its presence would lead to a nightmare-less slumber.

[dontcare77ghj]

Cold

Steve x reader x Bucky x Natasha

It had started with you and Natasha. The two of you had been together years, before SHIELD had brought you in, working together as the best assassin duo in the world. You were both trained in the red room to be the best and together you became the best of the best.

Clint had found the two of you in Budapest with the intent to kill you both, but he’d seen something in you two that he believed redeemable. Instead of killing you both, like he’d been told, he took you both into SHIELD and convinced them you were good.

Fury had recruited you two to join his team, he called the Avengers, this is where you met you third. This is how you met Steve Rogers.

You and Natasha had fallen for the blonde solider. The two of you were talking late one night, when you blurted out your feelings for the man, Natasha had smiled gently and admitted she felt the same. It was months after this when you two finally talked to Steve.

Steve said he felt the same way, but he was apprehensive, this was not what was done back in his time. The three of you had sat down and you explained to Steve what polyamory was, after this conversation Steve had become confident in his emotions and the three of you had entered a relationship together.

Not long after, the three of you found Bucky. You three of you had worked together to reverse the brunettes brain washing, and when it broke, you helped the man return to a semi normal life. The four of you had been getting closer for months and one night you found yourself having a familiar conversation, but this time with Steve and about Bucky.

Bucky was much more open to the concept of entering a relationship with the three of you. He easily admitted to feeling the same about all of you and eagerly entered the relationship with the three of you.

The three of you had all been together for three years. The four of you worked together perfectly and became an unstoppable team, there was nothing the four of you couldn’t overcome. Especially the cold.

“Steve, it’s one meeting. Tell Fury to piss off.” Natasha sighed, and rolled her eyes, as she pulled her curls into a ponytail.

“You know I can’t do that.” Steve replied leaning his head out of the shower door. “It’s Nick Fury, would you tell him no?”

“Oh God no.” Natasha snorted. “You don’t say no to Nick Fury. But you’re Captain America! The golden boy! You’re allowed to say no.”

“No, as Captain America I have to pick up the slack around here.” He said, shutting the door.

“Are you calling us lazy?” You asked entering the bathroom. “Rude.” You commented upon hearing his affirmation.

“It’s alright kotyonok.” Natasha said smirking and pulled you into her. “While Steve goes to his boring meeting, you, me and Bucky are going to stay here and have some real fun.” She added leaving kisses down your neck.

“Hey, that’s not fair.” Steve complained.

“Tough. You can still to stay.” Nat suggested, smirking against your skin. “What’d you say, kotyonok, do you want Stevie to stay?” Nat asked pulling away from your neck.

“Nat, that’s not fair to Stevie.” You moaned. “You know Fury will just send him on more missions, and then he’ll never be home.”

“Thank you, Y/N.” Steve said loudly. “At least someone’s on my side.”

“Not for very long.” Nat said wrapping an arm around your waist. “Finish up your shower, you gotta go soon. We’re going to wait for Buck to get back.” Natasha added pulling you out of the en suite.

“That’s what I was going to tell you before you distracted me.” You said turning in the woman’s arms. “Bucky called, he said he’ll be back in a little.”

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” Bucky cut in as he entered the room. He was still dressed in his running gear with his hair up in a bun.

“Hey, Buck.” You and Nat greeted in sync. You pulled out of Natasha’s arms to pull the man into a hug.

“How was the run?” You asked, placing a kiss onto his cheek.

“Good, Sam was an ass, but that’s standard at this point.” He replied leaving a kiss on your hairline.

“When are you two going to learn to get along?” Nat asked as she tucked herself into Bucky’s side.

“Probably around the same time Stark stops calling me android.” Bucky said with a shrug and placed another kiss to Nat’s head. “Where’s Steve?” Bucky asked looking around the room.

“In the shower.” You answered. “He’s got a meeting with Fury in half an hour.”

“If he wants to be on time, he has to get out now.” Natasha said as she pulled away and walked into the bathroom. “Oh shit.” Natasha cursed loudly.

“Nat, are you okay?” You asked quickly moving into the bathroom, Bucky right behind you. Natasha had turned the shower off and was kneeling in front of a shivering Steve. “Stevie.” You breathed squatting next to Nat.

“What’s wrong with him?” Bucky asked yanking a towel off the rack.

“I don’t know, he was like this when I came in.” Natasha answered as the two of you moved to the side. Bucky pulled the shivering man off the floor and wrapped the towel around him tightly.

“Stevie look at me.” Bucky commanded taking the mans face in his hands. “Steve.”

“Buck, so cold.” Steve uttered through chattering teeth. “I don’t want to go back.” He said as you ushered him into the bedroom.

“Go back where, Steve?” You asked, taking a spare blanket off the bed and wrapping it around him.

“The ice. I don’t want to go back.” He whimpered.

“You won’t go back. You’re safe, Dorogoi. We’re here.” Natasha said crushing him tightly into her. You and Bucky followed suit and pulled the, still shivering, man into an embrace. The four of you stood there for a long time, whispering soothing words to calm the tall blonde.

Natasha pulled away slightly to look up at the man. “How ‘bout I call Fury and tell him you won’t be coming?” She asked only receiving a nod from Steve. “OK. Buck, you want to get him something warm?” Natasha asked this time looking at the other super solider.

Bucky nodded and pulled away from Steve as well. While he went into the closet, and Natasha left the room to make a call, you held onto Steve tighter.

“You want to tell me what happened?” You asked, maneuvering the man to sit on the bed.

“I don’t know.” He whispered. “The water got cold and I was back in the plane. I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to lose anyone.” He said holding onto you tightly.

“You won’t be losing any of us.” You promised, running your fingers through his hair. “I promise.” You added kissing his cheek.

“We’re with you Stevie.” Bucky said coming back into the room. “Let’s get you dressed, and we’ll spend all day here, ok?” Bucky asked getting a nod from the man. The two of you quickly helped Steve into the warm clothes and got into bed with him.

Natasha came back into the room shortly after Steve had drifted off. “Everything OK?” She asked crawling in next to Bucky.

“The water got cold and he had another flashback.” You explained causing her to nod. “What’d Fury say?”

“He had a few choice words, but he won’t bother us today.” She said, curling into Bucky’s back.

“Good.” Bucky responded. He wrapped one arm around Nat and stretched his other arm across you and Steve. The three of you laid in silence, the only sound were the gentle snores of your fourth, until you all drifted off together.

Bucky had a problem with the cold. Everyone knew this. After being forcibly frozen for decades at a time, it was understandable. But SHIELD had received information that someone had gotten their hands on some of Stark’s old weapons. So the four of you had been sent down to shut down the operation and destroy the tech.

“Okay, Steve you and Y/N will enter through the front, Buck and I will go through the back. Wait for the signal before you rush in.” Natasha stated looking over the schematics of the building. “The informant says the tech will be somewhere in the middle of the building, so we’ll meet up there.” She added before giving you all a look. “They are reported to be hostile, so, shoot first ask questions later.”

“Let’s go.” Steve said strapping his shield on. The four of you split into the two groups and made your way to your positions. You and Steve were hidden in the front line of trees, carefully waiting for the signal. “After this, I say we use Tony’s card to get something real to eat.” Steve said after a few minutes.

“That sounds like a good plan.” You agreed with a smile. “We could get some of the Pirozhki you liked.” You suggested receiving a kiss on the cheek in response.

“Now that’s a good plan.” He said with a smile. You opened your mouth to  say something, but were cut off by a loud bang. 

“Guess that’s the signal.” You said with a laugh, watching as people in dark colors streamed out of the building. “Let’s go.” You said and ran towards the building once the people were out of sight. 

The two of you easily made it in and saw no-one once in. “Nat, Buck are you two in?” You asked holding your gun in front of you. 

“I’m in.” Natasha’s voice came over the com’s. “James, went after a couple people who ran out. They had some of the tech on them.” Natasha explained.

“How close are you to the meeting place?” Steve asked as you made it closer to the middle. 

“Already there.” She answered coming up from behind a corner. She had her batons out and a smirk on her face. “I’ve only seen a few people, everyone else must have gone to check out the explosion.” She said coming up to you.

“We haven’t seen anyone.” Steve said checking opening one of the three doors. Natasha and you each checked a door each, there was no tech in sight behind your door but computers and files galore.

“Jackpot.” You and Natasha coursed.

“I’ve got the tech.” Natasha said.

“I’ve got files. Nat you want to hack the computer, while we destroy the tech?” You asked moving to her door.

“On it.” She replied rushing into the other room. You and Steve set about carefully destroying all the old Stark tech, without killing yourselves in the process.

“Buck, come in.” Steve said into his com once the tech was ruined. “Bucky, respond.”

“Steve I’m on my way back.” Bucky came through the earpiece. “I got em, I’m almost ba-” Bucky began but stopped halfway through his sentence. “Shit.” He cursed, the sound of gunshots echoed through your earpieces.

“Bucky, what’s going on?” You asked already rushing out of the room.

“Y/N, you and Steve go help Bucky.” Natasha commanded. “I’m almost finished with this transfer.” She said.

Neither you nor Steve responded, both of you rushing out to the back of the building. 

“Bucky, talk to me.” Steve ordered as you barreled out of the back door. “Where are you?” He asked. You scanned the surrounding land, eyes squinting at something in the difference.

“Steve!” You yelled pointing to the two figures in the distance. The two of you sprinted forward, Steve in front of you, with weapons raised. Once you were closer, Steve threw his shield at the man shooting at Bucky knocking the weapon out of his hands and you shot him the head. 

The enemy fell to the ground, blood staining the white ground, and Bucky turned to face the two of you. You both began to walk towards Bucky only to stop at the loud cracking that permeated the air. Bucky looked at you with wide eyes before he fell.

The ground beneath him had swallowed him, liquid splashing around the area he fell.

“Bucky!” The two of you screamed as he disappeared. You both ran forward, caution to the wind, and stared at the space he had fallen through.

Steve dropped his shield to the ground with a clatter and dived head first after the brunette. 

“Steve!” You called dropping to your knees, you stared down at the ice trying to find any sign of them.

“Y/N! What’s going on?” Natasha demanded over the com. “Y/N, answer me!”

“Bucky fell through the ice and Steve jumped in after him.” You explained hurriedly. “I can’t see them, Nat!” You panicked looking into the icy water. “I’m going in after them.” You announced ripping off your jacket and boots. 

“Y/N , don’t be stupid.” Natasha scolded. “You’ll drown if you do that.” 

“And if I don’t they could already be dead.” You snapped. “I’m going in.”

“Y/N, don’t!” Natasha yelled but it was too late, you had already jumped into the icy water.

 Your whole body tensed at the stinging sensation but you threw it off as you swam down. You caught sight of two dark lumps below you and dived down to them. Gripping onto the lumps you began to drag them, with some difficulty, up to the surface. 

A hand shot into the water and pulled the three of you onto the surface. You let out a gasp as you were yanked onto the ground. The sound of spluttering caused you turn to the side. Steve was hunched over, choking on the water forcing itself up his throat.

“Steve.” You got out through chattering teeth and crawled over to the man. “It’s okay.” You said patting him on the back as he finally stopped. 

“Where’s, Buck.” He spluttered looking behind you. Natasha was kneeling next to the unconscious man, giving him CPR. You and Steve dragged yourselves closer to the pair and watched as the red head breathed life into the man.

Bucky let out a choked gasped and rolled over to his side as water spewed out of his mouth. The three of you let out sighs of relief and said soothing things to the still retching brunette.

When Bucky finally stopped throwing up, he sat up with the help of you three. Natasha looked the three of you over, all of you drenched, shivering and slightly blue, and said, “Fuck all of you.”

Natasha pulled Bucky in for a tight hug and kissed him soundly on the lips before doing the same to you and Steve. “I’m serious, fuck you all.” She repeated after kissing you.

“Love you too, Nat.” You said with a laugh. 

“You’re all going to give me a heart attack.” She said looking you all over. 

“Sorry, Nat.” Steve said taking her out of your arms while you wrapped yourself in Bucky’s. 

“Are you okay, Buck?” You fretted looking the man over. He smiled slightly and tightened his arms around you. 

“I’m fine, doll. I promise.” He said through chattering teeth.

“Come on.” Natasha sighed. “We gotta get out of here before you all freeze, or you know the guys who own this building come back.” 

“Shouldn’t we stick around and take them in?” Bucky asked as you helped him stand. 

“Not necessary.” Nat said. “Fury wants the informant to stick around and collect some more information, we were only here to get the weapons disarmed.”

“Good.” You said wrapping Bucky’s arm around your shoulders. “Let’s get out of here then because I’m dying for a hot shower.” You added causing Bucky to smirk.

“Is that an invitation, doll?” He asked making you hit him lightly in the ribs,

“Shut up.” You told him with a grin. The four of you picked up your things and quickly made your way away from the building. It took a while, but you finally made it back to the hotel without anyone seeing you.

Once you made it back to your hotel room, you all stripped out of your frozen clothes and stepped into the toasty shower. The rest of the night was spent eating warm Russian meals, being bundled into blankets by Natasha and showing each how much you loved each other.

This is not how you wanted your night to end up. All you wanted was to be at home with your boyfriends and girlfriend, but no, here you were at some gala trying to find some HYDRA scientist.

“I have eyes on the target.” You murmured taking a sip of your drink. You were stood at the bar, watching the target who was across the room.

“Good job, Y/N.” Steve praised from his spot in the back of the room. “Keep your distance but don’t let him out of your sight.”

“You act as if this is my first time doing this Steve.” You commented under your breath with a smirk. 

“I know it’s not, but I’m a worrier you know this.” Steve said over the coms.

“You don’t seem to be a worrier when you jump out of planes.” Bucky commented, he stood next to Natasha, who was talking with some posh woman about something.

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?” Steve sighed as you smiled in amusement. 

“Guys.” Natasha cut in as they walked away from the woman. “We’re supposed to be watching the target, not arguing about how much Steve is an idiot.” She chided making Steve let out an indignant sound.

“Shit. The targets gone.” You said scanning the room. 

“Fan out, he has to be around here somewhere.” Steve said. 

“On it, Cap.” You all said and split up. Slipping out of the party, you walked into the back of the hotel. You caught a glimpse of someone slipping into the kitchen.

“Got cha.” You said under your breath. You quickly followed the figure into the kitchen and found nothing. Walking in further you could hear someone breathing but still couldn’t see him. “I think I’ve found the target.” You said into your earpiece.

“Where are you?” Bucky asked. You were about to say when you felt a breeze behind you. You spun around only to be met with a blunt force to the temple. The last thing you remembered was Bucky’s voice over the earpiece and a blurry figure standing over your body. 

When you woke up it was cold. It was freezing. A dim light hung above your head and you could see you were in a freezer. Standing on shaky legs you walked over to the door only to find it wouldn’t budge.

“Fuck.” You stuttered. Reaching up, you felt for the earpiece only to find it was missing. “Double fuck.” You cursed. “Hello! Open the door! Someone open the door please!” You yelled, banging on the thick doors. 

The sound of movement outside made you increase your cries for help. “Bucky! Nat! Steve! Someone, please!” You called before listening closely to the outside. The door didn’t open but the sprinklers did turn on.

“Fuck!” You yelled as the icy water burnt your skin. “Let me out!” You cried as it became colder. Your body felt numb as the water and cold air hit your skin. Curling up into a corner you attempted to shield yourself from the spraying water.

A loud bang outside the freezer caused your head to snap up. On trembling legs, you stood and made your way to the door. Weakly banging on the door, you started yelling again.

“Someone please, open the door! I’m in here, someone please!” Thundering footfalls came closer to the door. There was a sound of something being thrown and the door was wrenched open. You almost fell face first as your knees buckled, but an arm wrapped around your waist to keep you upright.

“Kitten!” Steve cried out as he saw the blue shade your skin had turned. “Nat, get Sam in here to deal with him, Buck let Banner know she’s going to need a once over.” Steve ordered, lifting you into his arms and turning to face your other lovers.

They stood over the unconscious body of the man you’d been looking for and each had a worried look on their face. At Steve’s command, the two began to speak rapidly into their com, Sam barreled into the room not even a minute later.

“Banner’s out front. I got this, go get your girl help.” He said clapping Steve on the shoulder. This was all they needed before you were hurried out of the hotel and into a waiting van out front.

“She needs to be warmed up.” Bruce commanded once you were in the van. Natasha quickly shed you of the frozen dress and you were then wrapped in both Steve and Bucky’s jackets.

Bruce gave you a thorough check over, declaring that it was only a case of mild frost burn and a concussion.

“I feel fine.” You said as you pulled up to the tower. “Honestly.”

“You may feel fine, kitten, but we just want to make sure.” Steve said as he picked you up.

“But there’s nothing wrong with me.” You whined as you all walked into the tower.

“Kotyonok, you have a concussion.” Natasha interjected. “And you were locked inside a freezer, let us worry.”

“I don’t want to make you worry, though. I should’ve known better, I should’ve known he was behind me.” You said as Steve walked into your room.

“Doll, none of this is your fault.” Bucky said as he took you from Steve’s arms. “There isn’t anything to be at fault.” He added walking with you into the bathroom.

“Zaichik’s right, kotyonok. We still accomplished the mission and we still got the guy.” Natasha said as Bucky sat you on the counter. “The only thing left to do is get you warm and keep you awake for a little while.”

“Are you kidding me?” You groaned. “I nearly get frozen to death and I don’t even get to go to sleep yet.” You whined causing the three to laugh slightly.

“Sorry, kitten, but it’s just a precaution.” Steve said from the doorway. He pushed off the doorway to help you take off the two jackets and your underwear. “Let’s get you warmed up.”

“You really want to have sex now, Rogers?” You asked with a smirk.

“Not right now, sweetheart.” Steve said shaking his head. “What is with this group and wanting sex after near deaths?” He asked no-one in particular.

“It’s called adrenaline, Stevie-boy.” Natasha said as she too got undressed. She stepped into shower, which Bucky had set up, and helped your cold form in. A gasp left your mouth at the feeling of the warm water hitting your frozen self. Natasha held you tightly to her and were soon encompassed by more warmth as both boys entered the shower too.

“It’s alright. You’re ok.” Natasha soothed as you shivered. “We’re all safe. We’re here.” She added. The boys both agreed and added their own soothing words.

“It’s okay, doll.”

“We love you, kitten.”

The four of you all stood in the shower for nearly an hour, before you all got out. The four of you all got into bed together, you clad in one of Bucky’s shirts and a pair of Steve’s tracksuit pants.

“Are you sure I can’t sleep now?” You asked from between Natasha and Steve, Bucky laid behind Natasha.

“No, doll, you have to stay awake.” Bucky said with a smirk.

The four of you laid together in bed, you laid awake, talking for hours until one by one you all slowly began to fall asleep.

“Whatever happened to, ‘I’m Russian, the cold never bothers me.’ Huh, what happened to that?” Steve mocked with a smile.

“That ended when someone shoved ice down my top!” She said glaring at a still laughing Bucky. The four of you had finally decided it was time for a vacation. Since most of you had issues with the cold, Tony had offered you all the use of his house in Australia.

It certainly wasn’t cold, that was for sure, in fact it was incredibly hot. So hot that, while in the home, you were all walking around in your underwear for most part.

It was the hottest day of the week so far and Natasha, in particular, had really felt it. She’d complained about the sweltering temperature even with the air conditioner on. So, Bucky, had taken it upon himself to help her cool down.

About an hour and a half ago, Natasha had gone for a nap. Because she was still feeling the heat, she had laid on top of the covers in only her underwear. While she was going for her nap, you, Steve and Bucky had set about lazing around. Or so you thought.

You and Steve were in the living room watching some day time TV show, when a loud yell echoed through the house. You two had jumped off the couch, you grabbing the gun you’d stashed in the couch, and rushed into the bedroom to find a laughing Bucky and an angry Natasha.

“What the hell happened?” You asked dropping the gun on the bedside table. “Nat why are you dripping?” You questioned looking at the woman who was indeed dripping onto the floor.

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask him?” She snarled glaring at the brunette.

“Bucky, what did you do?” Steve asked looking between the two.

“Well she said she was hot, so I just helped her cool down.” He said with a smile.

“He threw a bucket of ice water on me and put ice in my bra.” She snapped glaring at Bucky. “God it’s cold.” She said pulling at her bra.

“Here.” You said moving behind her to pull the wet material off her body.

“Whatever happened to, ‘I’m Russian, the cold never bothers me.’ Huh, what happened to that?” Steve mocked with a smile.

“That ended when someone shoved ice down my bra!” She said glaring at a still laughing Bucky. She pulled her bra off and flung the item at Bucky.

“It’s too hot, it’s too cold, you’re never satisfied, are you?” Bucky asked sarcastically.

“I’ll show you unsatisfied.” Natasha said with a smirk. “For the rest of the week, there will be no sex for you.”

“Tasha, there is four of us in this relationship, deducting you and me, that means there is still two other people I can sleep with.” He said arrogantly.

“After that romantic sentence? Yeah, you’re on your own.” You snorted.

“And if Steve, wants to keep his underwear ice free, he wont touch you either.” Natasha said giving Steve a look.

“Sorry, jerk.” Steve apologized causing Bucky to look at him in shock.

“You’re going to leave me unsatisfied for three days, because Nat threatened you? Traitor!” Bucky declared dramatically. He dropped down on the bed before jumping up when he laid on the cold sheets. “Shit!”

“Yeah, next time think it through, Zaichik.” Natasha laughed as she pulled you two out of the room.

“Where are you going?” He called.

“We’re going for a swim in the pool. And then we’re going to fuck.” Natasha stated causing you to laugh as Bucky whined.

The three of you stripped out of your minimal clothing and jumped into the cool water. Swimming up to Nat you pushed her into the wall of the pool.

“That was mean.” You commented, pushing your body into hers. She let out a hum and ran her fingers down your sides.

“I’ll let him off later.” She said offhandedly. “But for now, I do believe I said we were going to fuck.” She recalled before beckoning Steve over. Natasha attached her lips to yours and began to heatedly make out with you. Steve’s large body came up behind you and pushed you further into Natasha as he began to kiss your neck.

The three of you were so focused on each other, that you didn’t notice Bucky had snuck up behind you until…

“Again!” Natasha shrieked after the bucket of ice had been tipped over the three of you. The three of you jumped back to glare at the smirking brunette.

“C’mon, sweet cheeks, it was funny.” Bucky defended, he began to back away as the three of you started to get out of the pool.

“Y/N get some ice. Steve, get him. Bucky, run.” Natasha stated causing Bucky to quickly run as the blonde ran towards him. The rest of the afternoon was spent chasing each other only ending when all the ice was gone.

Even though you all had your own problems, with the cold especially, together you could face them all. You were after all, an unstoppable team.

Leave feedback. Leave a comment. Reblog. Give it a like. Buy me a KO-FI.

Coming soon;

Natasha x reader x Steve

Steve x reader x Bucky

Bucky x reader x Natasha

Natasha x reader x Clint

Sam x reader x Steve x Natasha

[ddreammcatcher]

BAU Corporations

My next entry for @cmbingo. This fills my business au square. 

part 2

I stand up and stretch from my desk. I walk to the glass window overlooking the city. I’m the CEO of BAU corporations. My father started the company twenty years ago. When he died, I inherited the business. I didn’t want the business to start with. I got used to the lifestyle and what the expectations with the job were. It’s been five years since I became CEO. The company has broken many sales records since I took over. Most people think that all I care about is money.

My door is knocked on. “Come in.” My secretary Penelope walks in. “Hotch, your 10:00 interview is here.” “Thank you. You can send her in.” Penelope leaves. I take a seat behind my desk. The door is knocked on again. “Come in.” A petite woman with blond hair walks in. “Helly Mrs.Jareau please take a seat.” She hesitantly takes a seat and leans away from me. “Do you have a problem with me mrs.Jareau?” I make eye contact and she quickly looks away. “No sir.” She’s scared and I can tell. I’ve been through too many employees to not know the signs.

“Mrs.Jareau, this is only going to work if you are honest with me. Now, what is the issue?” She scoots back on the chair as far as she can. “I’m sorry sir. It’s just that…” I stare at her. “Just what? I don’t have all day.” I’m annoyed at this woman I hardly know. Unless she can turn it around in the next five minutes, she’s not getting the job. “I’m sorry sir. I just admire you.” I glance at her. I know that she won’t fit in with our team the moment she says that. “I’m sorry Mrs.Jareau, but I don’t think you’re the right fit for the job.” She looks sad. I push a button and Penelope opens the door.

“You don’t have another interview for half an hour Hotch.” I nod. “Thanks.” She closes the door. Penelope is the only person whose first name I use. She’s also the only one allowed to call me Hotch. She was my best friend in college. When I took over, she didn’t have a job, so I hired her on the spot. It took a little convincing for her to be my secretary. There were a couple other women doing it before her and she would get mad about it. She finally decided to do the job herself.

I spent the half hour working on a pitch for our next meeting. I’m trying to hire someone with new ideas that fits with the team. My team respects me and knows what I expect. When they don’t finish the work they were given, I give them some stupid punishment like not being allowed some privilege they had earned in the past.

My door is knocked on. “Come in.” Penelope walks in. “Hey, your next interview is here.” “Thanks. You can send them in.” I sigh when she leaves. A woman with black hair walks in. “Did I tell you you could come in?” I glare at her. “Your secretary said I could come in. I didn’t think I needed to ask again.” She holds my gaze as she says this. “Have a seat Mrs.Prentiss.” She sits, her hands resting on my desk. “What makes you think you can do this job?” “I’ve been working in the industry for years. I’ve traveled all over the world and have contacts that can help me.” 

I glare at her. “Are you trying to brag Mrs.Prentiss?” “No sir, I’m sorry sir.” I nod. “What do you think of the eco project we’re beginning?” I’m curious about her. “In all honesty, it’s crap.” I raise my eyebrows. “You want to be eco friendly, but you’re not changing anything in your company. You need to change something to make it real.” She sits in silence realizing she just insulted my business. “Mrs.Prentiss, I am unfortunately out of time for today. I pick up a file that no one but me has seen. “I want to see you back here on Monday at 7 sharp. Look over this and write up a report on it.” I hand her the folder. “Thank you sir.” I open the door for her. 

I close the door behind her and Penelope walks in. “You walked her to the door Hotch.” “Yeah, I think I’m going to hire her. I gave her a file to look over. It’s a fake project, but I want to see how she does with it before I offer her the job. You can cancel the rest of the interviews.” She smiles. “This means you can be done early and come out for drinks with me and Morgan.”

Penelope has been trying to convince me to go out for drinks with her and her boyfriend for months. I don’t like social situations, which is why I didn’t like this job to start with. “Pen, I have work to finish today.” She sighs. “Fine Hotch. Only because you found someone to hire. Don’t forget I know the one thing that will always make you come with.” She laughs. I groan. “I shouldn’t have told you that.” “Too bad.” I flip her off as she leaves and she just laughs at me.

I finished the pitch I was working on earlier. Once I’m done, I pull up Emily Prentiss’ file. I click on it and open it. It has a lot of information in it. She signed forms giving us access to all of it. Her school transcripts could have been better. She has places with lots of absences. She got good grades even with missing school. She has a business degree and a minor in psychology and Spanish. It’s something I wouldn’t have thought of. 

I look at her background check. Her adult life has been clean. Yet she has a juvenile record. She got arrested for stealing food. She said it was for her and her mom. She was given probation and had been clean since then. There was also a sealed case report. I decided to not look at that.

I push a button and Penelope comes in. “Penelope, when Mrs.Prentiss gets her on Monday, have her change into the required outfit.” She nods. The required outfit is a white button up shirt, a red tie, a black blazer with the company logo on it. There is a black skirt or black slacks. The shoes are all black dress shoes. If you are wearing a skirt, you must wear the white knee high socks as well. Your hair must always be secured out of your face. I go home to an empty house again. All I’ve focused on for the past five years is my job.

The next Monday at 7:30, my door is knocked on. “Come in.” Emily walks in. Her tie is not tied and shoved into the blazer pocket. The blazer is hanging over her arm. She has a pair of black slacks on and the correct shoes. Her hair lays in long waves over one side of her face. “Here’s your file.” “Take a seat.” I look over the report and am very happy at how she did. “You got the job.” I state. “Thank you sir.” She gets up to leave. “Mrs.Prentiss, we are not done here.” 

She sits back down and pouts. The pout gives me butterflies. “Mrs.Prentiss, your uniform is not worn correctly. Fix it or I will fix it for you.” She doesn’t move. I give her five minutes. “Fine. I thought we weren’t going to have this problem. I noticed it a little on Friday, but I was hoping I was wrong. Stand up.” She does. She set her blazer on the desk. I pull the tie out and lift her collar. I tie the tie in place and start to take her hair in my hands. She jumps away from me. “What the fuck.” I frown at her. “I gave you the chance to do it yourself. Now, your hair has to be pulled back. For now, I’m going to put it in a ponytail.” I take her hair again and she shudders, but let’s me do it. I then hold out the blazer for her to put on.

“Mrs.Prentiss, are we going to have a problem with your uniform in the future?” “No sir.” The door is knocked on. “Sir, I’m ready if she is.” “Prentiss, this is who you will be reporting to. This is Alex Blake.” Emily nods. Alex gives her a glare. “I understand sir.” I nod. “Mrs.Blake, I want a report of her progress at the end of the day.” “Yes sir.” I excuse both of them.

Emily’s POV

I follow Alex out of the room. We walk down a few hallways. She leads me into a room broker up into cubicles with one private room. I follow her to the furthest cubicle from the door. “This is your desk.If you don’t behave. You will lose privileges.” “Okay.” She sighs but let’s it go. Alex leaves me to get settled.

Hotch touching my hair really bothered me. I thought that things were maybe getting better. My dad used to come home from his day job and hit me and my mother. I left home as soon as I could. I haven’t had a man touch my hair since then. 

I get to work on the file on my desk. Alex walks in at the end of the day. “How did it go?” “Pretty well.” I hand her the file. She opens it and flips through it. “This is good, but not great. I’ll give you some pointers. Also mr.Hotchner wants to see you in his office at 7 tomorrow.” I nod.

Hotch's POV

Tuesday morning, my door is knocked on. “Come in.” Emily walks into my office. “I heard you wanted to see me sir.” I can hear the annoyance in her voice. I give her a once over. Her tie still isn’t on. Her hair isn’t pulled back, just her bangs are pinned back. “Mrs.Prentiss, fix your uniform.” She puts the tie on, but doesn’t touch her hair. “Your hair needs to be tied back.” She slowly does it. I hand her a file. “Look this over. I want it revised and returned to me by the end of the day.” “Yes sir.” “You can go now Mrs.Prentiss.” She gets up and leaves.

Penelope walks in two minutes later. “Hotch, what did you do to that poor girl?” I glare at her. “Pen, she needs to learn the rules.” “Give her a break. It’s her second day. What happened?” I sigh. She knows me too well. “Nothing.” She sticks her tongue out at me. “I know something happened, so tell me.” “Have I ever told you how much I hate you?” She laughs at me.

I sigh. “Fine. Sean’s coming.” “I’m sorry Hotch. I know how hard that is for you.” I nod. “He still believes that I stole the company from him. He should be here on Friday.” She puts her hand on mine. “I’ll make sure someone picks him up at the airport and brings him straight to your office.” “You’re the best Penelope, now I have work to do.” She smiles and leaves.

I spend the rest of the day going over briefings from meetings I had yesterday. I take notes on what I want to revisit and what just needs to be finalized. At 5:30, my door is knocked on. “Come in.” Emily walks in and hands me the file.

“Take a seat.” I can tell that she’s tense. I read over her report. “You have a knack for this. This file and yesterday’s were tests for me to see how you would do.” She seems confused. “I want you to be in charge of the eco project.” Her jaw drops. “You will give me weekly updates. Before you make changes, you need to get my approval.” “T-thank you sir. Can I ask, why are you letting me be in charge?” She’s skeptical. “You’re willing to take risks. You called me out on the first day. You’re willing to speak your mind and I think you can make this a great project.” She’s stunned. “Here’s my card. Give it some thought. Tomorrow you can work on other projects that have already started to be developed. Let me know what you decide.” “Thank you sir.”

She lets herself out. Penelope comes in. “I thought you had left for the night?” She glares at me. “What?” “Did you apologize to her?” “No, I didn’t. I know I should have, but I couldn’t do it.” She shakes her head. “Hotch, you need to cut her some slack.” I shrug. “She’ll be fine. I just gave her the eco project.”

She gasps. “I thought you said that was done and you were going to move on to rollout.” “Well, she called my bull.” I slightly smile. “You like her don’t you.” I blush. “Shut up Penelope.” “Hahaha, okay, I’ll see you tomorrow boss.” I shake my head as she leaves.

Friday comes all too soon. Emily still hasn’t given me an answer. I really want her to do it. She would be great at it. Sean should be here soon and I’m not looking forward to it. Penelope texts me that he’s landed. I groan. Time to be an adult and play nice. He gets here half an hour later. My door is knocked on. “Come in.” Sean walks in.

“Hello Sean.” “Hello Aaron, we need to talk.”

[ask-de-writer]

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 70 of 83 : World of Sea

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SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 70 of 83

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

copyright 2020

written 2007

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users   of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may   reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information   remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in   my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical   compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  PART 1 is here

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Until he was ready to cast his net over the whole school, he was going to keep it that way.  It had been tricky politics to get the ship’s Council to agree to keep the contents of the note from the crew, except for the fact that it would enable them to recover Kurin. Master Juris had been the most difficult to convince.

“There may be more than just recovering me behind the Longin  coming early, Tanlin,” said Kurin earnestly.  “Captain Mord has been acting strange ever since I was poisoned.  I don’t know what he will do anymore.”

“I have had an idea about that problem,” said Barad, approaching them across the gently rolling deck, a mass of parchments in his hands. “I had the scribes give parchment and pen to all who can write. These are instruments of personal surrender to you in accordance with the Council Edict.  Tanlin, my love, yours is here.  You were busy, so we prepared it for you.  It only needs your signature.”

Barad proffered a parchment to each of them.  “Kurin,” he smiled, though solemnly,  “you and Tanlin are the only people in the world that I would trust enough to do this.  This one Kurin, is your receipt for and acknowledgment of the surrender of the Grandalor and her entire crew.”

Wordless, disturbed by the responsibility just placed on her young shoulders, Kurin signed.  Tanlin handed her the last surrender document, along with her prized knife, hilt first.

“Ye ‘old us in yer ‘ands, Kurin.”  She looked entreatingly at Kurin and added, “Oi know t’at we’ll be as safe wit’ ye as t’e Dragons allow.”

Getting over her surprise, Kurin immediately handed back Tanlin’s dagger. She knit her brows under her shock of white hair and thought. Somewhat skeptically, she asked, “Just how completely does this put me in command?”

Without hesitation Tanlin answered, “W’atever ye order’ll be dune at once.  T’ do any less wad be mutiny.  T’e Grandalor’s yer sole property.”

“Then get Darkistry up here,” Kurin said decisively.  “I want her in on our plans for contact with the Longin.”

It took only a few minutes for Darkistry to come, literally running.

“You didn’t have to run,” said Kurin with a pleased sparkle in her eye.

“I run everywhere, now that I’m off the invalid list,” Darkistry replied, panting just a bit.  “It’s helping to get my leg back to strength.”

“Good. Are you up to combat steering?” asked Kurin seriously, “We may need you at the helm in an hour or so.  The Longin has been sighted, coming alone, over a day ahead of the other ships of the flotilla.”

“But – the Longin is your home ship,” protested Darkistry.  “You can’t mean for me to sink her!”

“I certainly hope not!” said Kurin animatedly.  “But it may be necessary to bluff her or even,” she tried to swallow a lump in her throat, “teach her the same kind of lesson that you gave the Fauline.”

The others all looked at Kurin with sympathy.  They understood how hard that last order must have been to give, for no matter it was phrased they understood that it was an order.

“How do you want me to handle the contact phase?” asked both Tanlin and Darkistry at virtually the same time.

Kurin thought for a moment.  “I don’t know anything about combat situations.  How would you do it, Darkistry?”

With complete sureness, Darkistry answered, “I’d pull tight into the eye of the wind, maintaining bare steerageway, and let most sail go slack.  I’d furl no sail but maintain the crew ready to catch the wind.  That would let the Longin approach from downwind, which is where I’d want to keep her.  We’d look helpless.  Actually, we’d be ready to set up an attack run on a moment’s notice.”

“That sounds good,” said Kurin, now into the intellectual part of the problem.  “Do either of you have any ideas that may help?” she inquired of Tanlin and Barad both.

“Hostages,” said Barad promptly.  “If they want any of us to go aboard, we need to get them to send folk aboard the Grandalor.  We can take them for security against our safe return.”

Chapter 25: Contact

Aboard the Longin, Acting Captain Kotance Warn Grinna had been busy since he had received the message revealing where the Grandalor was hidden. He had sounded out crewmen and women who might be interested in becoming officers on the Grandalor after they took her.  He had recruited a cadre of folk who were looking for a shortcut way to officer’s shares.  Apparently, they were like minded to himself.

Now, he ordered his picked men to their stations.  “Is everybody clear on this?   To insure that there is no interference with the plan, you men guard the shops.  Don’t let the Masters out or send messages until we have captured the Grandalor.  Guard detail, go!  Boarding party, form up.  Cron, go get knives from the armory.  Prepare to launch the boats!”  Just a few more hours – a day at the most …

Aboard the Dark Dragon, Sula watched with consternation as the Wide Wing that had been circling and wheeling in the sky ahead of them as a guide, suddenly left them behind.  It swept up high, stooped toward the bows, pulled out of the dive streaking north, almost out of sight, climbed and repeated the performance.  Then it circled up high and began riding the wind, straight north, as swiftly as a Sea Hawk could fly, out of sight.

“Something’s as wrong as an Ord in a net of fish!” she signed emphatically. “Sound the hailing drum.  I need to go aboard the Soaring Bird as soon as possible.”

She turned to the Officer of the Watch and her fingers told him, “Mister Morson, you will have the ship in my absence.  Our target is the local 00 West by 800 North.  As soon as I, Captain Sarfin, and the Council representatives have transferred, put on all sail and come as swiftly as possible.  Rig for battle but do not engage without clear orders from myself or Captain Huld.  We will link up at the target.”  She did not waste time asking if the orders were clear.  Nobody on her bridge needed to be told twice unless they asked for a repeat.

While the hailing drum was calling the Soaring Bird close, Sula ran to Captain Sarfin’s quarters.  He looked up from the parchments that he was working on in surprise at her haste.

“Sula, what’s the hurry?” he inquired mildly.

“The Wide Wing just left for the north as fast it can fly.  It dived to our bow and pointed north, twice, then left.  Something is wrong, and I don’t know what.  Pack all that you need, especially the Council parchment.  We are transferring to the Soaring Bird as soon as possible.”

“We?” asked Sarfin, starting to gather his files together. “Is it really so bad that you will leave your ship?”  

“Yes,” Sula replied.  “I will be packing in a moment.  We need the fastest warship possible and the Soaring Bird is it.”

“I see.  It will only take a few moments to pack my duffel.”

“Good, I will meet you at the starboard boarding ladder,” Sula said as she left to get the Council’s witness and the prosecutor.

As fast as he packed and got to the deck, Sula was there before him.  It took a few more moments for the Council’s witness and the prosecutor to arrive.   A crewman stood beside Sula holding a heavy crossbow with a long light line attached to the quarrel.  That line was bent to a larger rope coiled neatly in a tub.

The Soaring Bird was pulling into position alongside.  Sarfin watched with admiration as the two ships crept closer and closer, both sailing forward with undiminished speed.  He knew the artistry with which both helms were being handled.  When the ships were only about thirty feet apart, the crossbow-man fired and the quarrel sailed across the Soaring Bird’s deck, trailing the line.

Eager hands on the other ship seized the line and pulled it over to them, dragging the rope across.  Soon the rope was secured between the two racing ships and a bosun’s chair rigged to it.

Without hesitation, Sarfin got into the flimsy seeming contraption and allowed himself to be secured to it with a line.  Immediately, the crew of the Soaring Bird began pulling on their end of the rig, and hauled Sarfin across, swaying only feet above the waves below, to the safety of the deck.  The moment that he was freed, the Dark Dragon’s crew pulled the bosun’s chair back for the Captain’s Council prosecutor, Captain Farrol of the Muline, and then the witness, Captain Urson of the Marganser.  Sula was the last to transfer.  As soon as she alighted on the deck of the Soaring Bird, the lines and ropes were sent back to the Dark Dragon.

Immediately, tocsins and horns began to sound, and both ships separated to a safe distance.  They began to add more sail and drew everything into tight trim.  The Soaring Bird pulled quickly away from the swift, but definitely slower Dark Dragon.

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS   NEXT==>

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[rena-rain]

...Smile the Brightest

The saddest people…

It’s that friend you never thought you’d have to worry about. The one with the infectious laugh. The one you don’t know is hiding the most pain.

Marinette realizes she should have been watching closer.

ao3 link

----

Marinette was struggling to keep her eyes open. Hawk Moth had decided three AM was an excellent time to release an akuma. The fight was over by three-twenty, but the adrenaline and nerves and general anxiety kept her awake much longer. She woke up frustrated and dead on her feet.

She was late for school and kept tripping over low walls and her own feet and fire hydrants she didn’t see because of her falling eyelids. It all culminated when she miscalculated where she walked and slammed her shoulder into the locker room door. She heard a stifled gasp. Marinette froze on instinct, listening. There was a moment of silence followed by a sudden series of hard, shuddering gasps.

Somebody was crying, and holed up in the locker room to hide it. Cautiously, Marinette turned the corner.

“Oh my god, Adrien!” She rushed to his side, knelt where he was curled up against the lockers with his face buried in this knees, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

He didn’t reply, just cried harder. Heart in her stomach, Marinette wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Adrien tucked his head into her neck and gripped her tight. His body shook against hers. Hot tears spilled onto her skin.

Marinette had no idea how long they sat there on the cold ground as Adrien sobbed. It hurt to see him like this. But the only thing she could do was stay and stroke his hair, letting him cry himself out.

Once the tears petered out and his breathing became even, Adrien’s hold on her loosened. His form went slack. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

Marinette looked down at him in shock. “Sorry? Don’t be silly - not, not that you’re silly! I mean - you have nothing to be sorry for. I’m here for you when you need me.”

Adrien closed his eyes. “Thank you, Marinette.”

A few minutes passed with neither of them moving. Finally she asked, “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It made you cry.”

“I’m just tired.” Adrien pulled away and gave her a wan smile. “I didn’t sleep much last night and I just got set off easily today.”

He stood and pulled her to her feet, too. Marinette fiddled with her backpack strap. “Adrien...you don’t have to tell me. But if you ever want to or just need someone to listen - ”

The school bell interrupted her. Did they just miss all of homeroom?

Adrien surprised her with a quick hug. “I appreciate it, Marinette. Really.” Students filed in to get their books for their next class and Adrien released her and walked away, leaving Marinette frozen in her hailstorm of emotions.

“ Girl. ” Alya jolted her to her senses. “Did I just see Adrien hugging you? Did you and Adrien skip class together? Oh my gosh, tell me everything, spare no details.”

Oh, shoot. Alya thought she’d walked in on a … romantic overture. “No, no, it wasn’t like that. I was late and Adrien was already here…” she trailed off. It wasn’t her place to tell anyone Adrien had been upset. He obviously wanted to keep that on the down low, and he’d never trust her if she blabbed about walking in on him in tears , even if it was just her best friend, who was his best friend’s girlfriend, so Nino would probably find -

“Then what was it?”

“I shouldn’t say. It’s kind of private.”

Alya’s face fell for a moment. It wasn’t in her nature to just let things go, especially stuff involving her friends. Then she shrugged and grinned. “I get it. I’m happy you guys are getting closer, at least.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“I’ve got notes from Ms. Bustier’s class this morning I can send you. Did you hear about the akuma last night? I slept through the whole thing, I’m so bummed…”

It was hard not to get excited when Alya was excited; her enthusiasm was infectious. Marinette loved having her as her best friend.

-

Marinette’s phone went off at eight that evening. It was a text from Adrien.

Adrien: Thank you for staying with me this morning.

Adrien: Is your offer to talk still on the table?

Marinette: Of course.

He didn’t respond for a while. The text bubble appeared and disappeared several times. Marinette bit her tongue anxiously.

Adrien: It’s stupid. As I was leaving the house this morning I heard my father yelling in his office. I think he was on the phone or something. Usually I can just ignore it and I thought I did but then Chloe yelled my name this morning and I just kind of lost it.

Marinette: This happens a lot?

Adrien: No, I normally have better control of myself.

Marinette: No no I meant the yelling.

Adrien: Sometimes I guess. Not like all the time but enough that it shouldn’t catch me off guard like that.

Marinette: It’s not stupid at all! Hearing your dad like that must feel awful.

Another five minutes passed before he responded. It only took two for Marinette to start spiralling.

“Oh my god, Tikki, did I say something wrong?”

Tikki looked at the phone. “Doesn’t look like it to me.”

“What if I accidentally offended him? What if he thinks I’m a bad friend and he never talks to me again?”

Her phone chimed.

Adrien: It does.

Adrien: It really does.

-

The next day Marinette met her friends to find them all cheery as ever. Adrien was laughing with Nino and Alya, looking like nothing could ever get under his skin.

He gave her a one-armed hug in greeting and her entire being immediately lit on fire. Alya smirked at her knowingly.

She kept one eye on Adrien for the rest of the school day. She noticed he seemed a little subdued when he had to go home for lunch but otherwise he seemed fine. Good, even. He laughed, he bantered with his classmates, he helped Rose study for their physics exam, he listened to a new mixtape Nino had made.

Maybe his bout of crying had been a one-time thing after all. Maybe she shouldn’t be worried.

He texted her again later that night.

Adrien: Can I ask you something?

Marinette: Yeah go ahead, anything

Adrien: How often do your parents eat dinner with you?

Marinette blanched at the question.Where did that come from?

Marinette: It kinda depends on how busy they are with the bakery.

Marinette: Like a lot of days, tonight was just me and my mom. But I get both my mom and dad a few times a week.

Adrien: I wish I had that. I’m lucky if I see my father two days in a row.

Marinette: Well, I’m sure my parents would love to have you over sometime if you’re eating alone.

Adrien: I don’t want to intrude

Marinette: I’d have to ask them first, but I don’t see them saying no.

Adrien: I doubt he’ll let me go out. But we’ll see.

Adrien: You’re an awesome friend, you know?

Marinette: That means a lot coming from you.

-

A couple things changed from then on.

First was a slight shift in Adrien’s behavior at school. He made a habit of touching her in a dozen small ways every day. A hand squeeze. A friendly side hug. A brush of fingers when he hands her a pen. Sitting next to her with their thighs lightly pressed together. Bumping her shoulder when he makes a silly joke. The contact flustered her at first, but with each day that passed she drew more comfort from his touches. Adrien was only touchy-feely with his friends. Marinette hoped this meant he trusted her.

Second, Adrien texted her every night without fail. Sometimes he just sent her a fashion-related meme that made her giggle and said goodnight. Usually they talked about their days, teachers and homework, Marinette’s projects and Adrien’s extra lessons. After some coaxing, he sent her a recording of an original piano piece he was composing. It was a little rough but the melody brimmed with emotion and it brought tears to her eyes. She saved the audio file and told him it sounded beautiful.

Marinette: I’d love to hear the later versions as you work on it

Adrien: Absolutely! I send you another recording once it’s finished.

Marinette: Would you be willing to play it for me in person?

Adrien: :) we’ll see

The more they talked, the more convinced Marinette became that Adrien wore happiness like a mask. She caught glimpses of sadness in his texts; she inferred he wasn’t happy at home. It wasn’t surprising. Whenever Adrien talked about his dad it was about his absence or his making all of Adrien’s decisions for him.

One late night he really opened up to her.

Adrien: I think I might hate him

Marinette: Your dad?

Adrien: Awful, right?

Marinette: Definitely

Adrien: Yeah. I feel like such a shitty son. I shouldn’t hate my own father.

Marinette: Wait no no no no no!

Marinette: I didn’t mean YOU were awful!

Marinette: You’re wonderful Adrien it’s just that you hate him is awful

Marinette: Ugh

Marinette: I meant the SITUATION is awful. I thought that’s what you meant. It sucks that you’re in this position.

Adrien: You’re right. It sucks.

Marinette: What brought this on now?

Adrien: Maybe hate isn’t the right word. More like resent. I’ve had to fight tooth and nail for every ounce of freedom he’s given me. I have to make an appointment with his assistant just to talk to him.

Adrien: Yet he controls every second of my day and I never even see him

Marinette: Is that why you snuck out to see your mom’s film last year?

Adrien: Yeah. We ended up watching it together at home. I remember he said I should’ve trusted him.

Adrien: He’d told me to schedule a meeting time with Nathalie. He couldn’t stop working for five minutes to hear me out

Adrien: It was just “not now, go practice your piano, Adrien”

Adrien: How exactly does that give me the opportunity to trust him?

Marinette: It doesn’t.

Adrien: I want to. My mother’s gone. He’s my only family.

Marinette typed a response. Then deleted it. Started a different response and backspaced halfway through the message. She wanted to make him feel better. She wanted to throw a Lucky Charm in the air and magically fix everything wrong in his life. A memory perked up, something her dad had told her.

He’d said, “You can’t fix all your loved ones’ problems. Sometimes the most important thing is to affirm that the situation is bad and let them know they’re not alone.”

Marinette: I’m so sorry, Adrien. That must be really hard.

Adrien: I’m sorry for unloading all that on you.

Marinette: No

Marinette: Thank you for trusting me.

-

On Friday morning, the bell rang, signalling all the students to move on to their next class. Alya turned to Marinette as they got up and packed their school supplies. “Hey M, wanna do a sleepover tonight?”

“Oh I’d love to!” Marinette replied happily. God knows she could use a break with her best friend. “Your place?”

“Actually, can I come over to yours this time? I could use a night away from home.”

“Something wrong?”

Alya chuckled as they walked into the crowded school corridor. “Nah, just too many sisters. It gets crowded and noisy and girl, I cannot watch the Ladybug cartoon again. ”

Marinette giggled. “Because of you, I savor being an only child. Let me call my mom and dad, I’ll leave them a message.”

Truth be told, Marinette could use the distraction. Adrien’s dual personality made her worried sick. He acted like the same Adrien he always had, though they’d become closer now. He was helpful, and quiet, and funny, and bright...a ray of sunshine that made her feel warm whenever he was near. At night when she struggled with the homework he called and talked her through the assignment. He texted her screenshots of animal memes all the time. (Her favorite was a picture of a squirrel that looked like it was water-bending. The one of a Labrador holding a glove by the middle finger had made her spit out her water in shock.)

But some nights...some nights, everything he kept dammed up inside him trickled through the cracks. He couldn’t even admit he was annoyed without two apologies and a self-flagellating monologue.

She felt like a bad friend. But Marinette needed one night of complication-free friendship.

-

After school Alya went home to pack an overnight bag then came straight back to the bakery, looking ready to chill for hours. But Friday or not Friday, Marinette insisted they get as much homework done as they could before dinner. Alya complained that they had the whole weekend and she felt exhausted but Marinette knew if she didn’t start now then she wouldn’t start until Sunday night and she refused to get grounded again and besides what if Hawk Moth chose that exact moment to set loose an akuma on the city?

Predictably, when Tom called them down for dinner Alya leapt out of her chair and vanished through the trapdoor before he could finish speaking.

Despite what she’d said earlier that day, Marinette sometimes wished she had a sister or a brother. She loved her parents, but the dinner table always felt a little fuller and livelier with a friend there, too. For a moment, she felt a pang of sadness when she saw her mom kiss the crown of Alya’s head before sitting down; it made her think how much Adrien probably needed that.

(She still thanked God there were no screaming babies or toddlers waking her up in the middle of the night.)

The girls did the dishes since Tom and Sabine had cooked - not to mention worked in the bakery all day - and spent as much time scrubbing as flicking soap bubbles at each other.

Out of the blue, Alya asked, “Marinette, have you ever played poker?”

“Umm...no?”

“Wanna learn?”

“Girls.” Sabine chose that moment to walk into the kitchen with her tea. “I’d advise against it. Gambling can be very addictive, I don’t want you to get in the habit of betting away your money,” Sabine admonished. “Marinette, you’re allowance is for you to practice managing your finances.”

“I mean, we can play without putting precious euros on the line.” Alya’s eyes lit up. “Hey Mme. D-C, how many leftover pastries does the bakery have today?”

Alya was a genius. She dealt the cards while Marinette divided up the sweets into their pseudo-currency. Marinette couldn’t shuffle for the life of her; the one time she tried it turned into a game of 52 pick-up. But her eye for strategy translated into cards as well as video games. After she won four hands in a row Alya pouted at her about beginner’s luck and “I’ll beat you so hard when you’re not new anymore,” making them both laugh.

-

Saturday morning, Marinette woke up to find herself as Alya’s new teddy bear. The blatant, subconscious affection warmed Marinette���s heart. With winter approaching and the weather getting colder, Alya’d gotten more cuddly the last few sleepovers.

She batted her hand around until it found her phone to check the time. Two messages glowed from her lockscreen, from 9:15 and 9:26 last night.

Adrien: Hey, are you awake?

Adrien: Sorry, you’re probably sleeping, I hope I’m not bothering you.

Marinette squeaked, then slapped her hand over her mouth. Alya thankfully didn’t stir. She unlocked the phone and started typing.

Marinette: God, I’m so sorry Adrien! Alya slept over last night and I just wasn’t paying attention to my phone - I promise I’m not ignoring you!

Adrien: No worries, it’s cool. Did you have fun?

Marinette: We stayed up too late watching old movies and playing blackjack. Right now she’s still asleep and has me in a death grip.

Marinette: Did your evening go okay?

Adrien: It was fine. Not as exciting as yours :)

Did a smiley face emoticon mean he was actually smiling? Or was it just a simpler smile to hide behind over the phone? God, she’d do anything to make Adrien smile.

-

Days passed. A week passed.

Nino and Marinette managed to snag Adrien on one of his evenings off. According to him, convincing his father to let him go to dinner with friends had been like pulling teeth, even though they never ate together anyway. But in the end he’d relented, so Adrien spent the evening being smothered by Marinette’s parents while Marinette watched with a red face and Nino sang praises to Tom Dupain-Cheng’s cooking. She’d rarely seen him so animated before. Something in Adrien just came alive. He shamelessly entertained Tom with horrible, horrible puns (that left Nino, Marinette and Sabine) groaning into their food. He talked to Sabine in Mandarin while she gently corrected his pronunciation. He even loosened up enough for Nino to shoot a grape into his mouth, though Nino was quickly admonished for encouraging childish behavior at the table that should really be reserved for the kitchen.

The only thing that could have made that night more perfect was if Alya could’ve joined them, but she’d been home sick with the flu.

-

Two weeks passed.

Marinette wasn’t sleeping well. She had nights like that, when no matter what she did she just wouldn’t drift off. Adrien hadn’t responded to her texts, so she hoped he was just asleep. She was passing the time bundled up in a warm coat and blanket on her terrace, knitting a new sweater for her mom.

She startled at the movement in her peripheral vision. A certain leather-clad superhero was perched on her railing, tail swishing agitatedly. He leapt to the floor and landed on his feet.

“Chat Noir? What are you doing here?”

“I...I…” he swallowed. “Alya Cesaire’s your best friend, right? The ladyblogger?”

That was incredibly low on the list of things Marinette expected him to say. “Yeah.”

“I saw her jump off a building tonight. I caught her at the last second and took her to the hospital, but she has some bruises and a broken rib.”

They stared at each other in silence. Moments stretched into minutes.

“She jumped?” The words were hardly a whisper.

Chat nodded.

“She tried to...to kill herself? No. No no no nonononono…”

Marinette yanked at her pigtails. She wasn’t looking at Chat Noir anymore but she did hear his soft voice. “If I weren’t there...I wouldn’t believe it either.”

“ Why? Why would Alya…” Chat seemed to understand what she needed. He held her tightly to his chest, arms around her waist and back while she muttered and stared at nothing in shock.

It would not surprise her if they’d stood like that for hours, smushed together and silent, while Marinette slowly came to terms with what she’d heard. It didn’t make sense. But this was Chat Noir. Her partner whom she trusted implicitly. He would never lie to her, he would never just make this up.

“You’re sure she didn’t just fall? She definitely jumped?” Her voice cut through the silence like a dagger.

“She jumped.”

But Alya would never do this. She was too…

...happy.

Alya was too happy.

The realization hit her like a bullet train. Whatever was going on, she’d been hiding it from the world this whole time.

For the first time Marinette sobbed. She pounded her fists on Chat Noir’s chest. “I’m her best friend! How did I not know? She should’ve told me she felt so bad, she - I can’t believe - I’ve been so blind, why didn’t I notice anything? Why didn’t I NOTICE anything? She needed me!”

They sank to the wooden floor of her terrace while she cried.

And cried more. She cried so hard at some point she started screaming. Her parents, well-attuned to their daughter’s distress, burst through the trap door.

“What’s happened? What’s going on? Marinette, oh dear, what’s wrong?”

Chat Noir gently transferred Marinette to her mother. “It’s delicate, Mssr. and Mme. Dupain-Cheng. I caught a jumper while I was on patrol tonight, and, um. It was Marinette’s friend, Alya Cesaire. She’s alive and in the hospital.”

Marinette heard Sabine gasp.

“I apologize for dropping this on her so late at night. I should’ve waited.”

When he let out a surprised mew, Marinette peeked over her mom’s shoulder. Tom had scooped up Chat Noir in a hug. “You saved my little girl’s best friend. Thank you, Chat Noir.”

Chat Noir looked miserable. Marinette tried to imagine being in his shoes, if she were out patrolling as Ladybug and spotted someone - a teenager her age, no less - try to jump to their death. She wouldn’t want to hear thanks after catching that person, either.

-

Nino did not take the news well.

Mme. Cesaire had called him and told him Alya was hospitalized. The next morning, at school, he was in a right state, frantic that his girlfriend’s mom sounded so upset and so cagey on the phone and no one was telling him anything.

Marinette bore the burden of sitting him down and explaining. It was a tough choice: she wanted to respect Alya’s privacy, but Alya keeping to herself got them there in the first place. He was her friend, too. She couldn’t leave him in the dark and let not knowing drive him mad.

Maybe not knowing would have been better.

Nino buried his face in his hands. “I should’ve known, I should’ve known, I should’ve known…”

Marinette and Adrien patted his back. “None of us saw it coming, bud. She hid it really well.”

“That’s just it though! I knew something was wrong. And you know what I did? Nothing. Jack lotta good I’ve done as her boyfriend.”

“Nino, please don’t blame yourself,” Marinette pleaded.

“Marinette, she’s been, like, pulling away from me. I thought she was getting ready to dump me, but I got too scared and selfish to see she needed - ”

Marinette grabbed his cheeks and forced him to look at her. “It’s. Not. Your. Fault.”

Nino shook her off and walked away. “I need some air.”

Marinette looked at Adrien desperately. “He shouldn’t be alone right now.”

“Honestly, some space might help.” Adrien leaned forward on the bench, elbows on his knees and fingers knitted together. “It’ll give him time to process things.”

“No, Adrien, Nino is a prime akuma target right now. That is the last thing he needs today.”

“Oh. Oh shit. Yeah, I’ll go keep an eye on him.”

-

After school, once he’d made sure Nino wouldn’t blow his lid if he left him alone, Adrien went with Marinette to the hospital. The front desk accepted that they were family without pause; it made Marinette antsy about the security around here.

She turned to Adrien. “Why isn’t Nino coming too?”

“He’s still really upset,” Adrien said. His eyes were sad and kind of hard. “He needs to process and get his head on straight before he tries to talk to her.”

She didn’t reply, just kept walking.

Nora stood outside Alya’s hospital room like a bouncer. “Nope.”

“If she’s awake, it might help her to see a friend.”

“Alya’s extremely sick right now, pigtails. She’s probably asleep anyways.”

Marinette stood her ground. “I know why she’s here, Anansi.”

Nora snorted. “In a hospital? Gee, I wonder.”

“No. I know what happened. I know what she tried to do.”

Nora’s eyes narrowed in obvious fury. She looked between Adrien and Marinette. “Who told you? Did that mangy Mr. Whiskers go blabbing about my little sister?”

“No! No, Chat Noir isn’t like that. I’m the only one he told - last night when he landed on my terrace. Plus, this is the psych ward. What did you think I was going to think?”

Adrien backed her up. “No one should be isolated when they’re feeling like this.”

“Be honest, you two. Did you have any, even a minuscule suspicion that Alya was depressed?”

Shame-faced, they both shook their heads no. Molten coal burned in Marinette’s stomach and her face.

“Then what do you possibly think you could do to help? Please, just leave.”

“But Marinette is - ”

“Adrien, let’s just go.” Marinette gently tugged him away and down the hall. She whipped out her phone and sent him a text.

Marinette: Could you cause a distraction so I can get inside?

Their eyes met. He nodded slightly. He went back while Marinette kept going and turned a corner.

She didn’t know what he did, exactly, or at all. Marinette heard a squeak, some yelling, the pounding of running footsteps, then more people running. Nora appeared, being dragged by two security guards toward the exit. Her face was maroon with fury.

Marinette jogged back to the hospital room door. “What did you do?”

“She was already on edge. It didn’t take much to get her to make a racket.” He shrugged. “I’m not proud of it.”

Marinette reached for the handle. She didn’t turn it. Her fingers hardened into marble around the metal.

A warm hand covered hers (completely covered - his hands were so big!) and Adrien helped her turn the handle and push open the door. She looked at him to find their faces inches apart.

“Good luck,” he breathed. Marinette’s heart ached. She tore her eyes away from his and went inside.

-

Alya looked like hell. She was buried under a pile of white blankets, lying in a white bed, wearing a white hospital gown. The only color was the red in her hair. Her glasses were gone.

“What are you doing here, Marinette?”

Marinette paused. “I’m not sure. I want to help?” Alya snorted. The sound was sharp, derisive, mean, alien coming from her throat. “I know I can’t. So I guess I want to ask why. Why did you do it? How long - ”

“I didn’t plan it, not really! It’s not like I got up and decided ‘Today is the day I’m going to off myself.’ Something about last night - I ran out of options, I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Marinette had no idea what to say. She felt so out of her depth. Alya was experiencing something she couldn’t ever imagine, and that was the understatement of the century.

Alya decided to keep talking, her voice a little quieter now. “I couldn’t sleep so I went out for a walk. I’ve wanted to die so many times, I can’t even count. Usually,” Alya took a shuddering breath, “usually I just ride it out and the wanting kind of passes and I can tolerate it all again. But for some reason I followed through this time.

“I’ve felt like I’m going crazy, Marinette. I can’t make sense of it.”

Marinette peppered Alya’s forehead with kisses. “Of course it doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t have to make sense. I love you.”

Alya scooted to her right and patted the bed. Marinette climbed in next to her. Alya took a deep breath then started talking.

“It’s like I’m empty. I feel like everything’s been drained out of me and there’s nothing but a vacuum left inside. And it hurts. Did you know feeling nothing hurts? Everything’s numb but it’s horrible pain like getting slowly crushed under a giant rock.

“In a way I already feel dead. Like I’m a body pretending to be the person I was, just going through the motions. I need it to end, Marinette. I’m so sick of just feeling nothing. The worst part is after finally talking about all of this, I don’t feel any better.”

Marinette held Alya close. “We’ll get you help. This feeling can’t last forever, and we can get you help. Just please, please be patient. And for now I’m just...I’m here. I hear you.”

She’d planned to stay as Alya fell asleep, but Marinette ended up drifting off. When she stirred, her best friend was still breathing.

[iwillbeinmynest]

Hold On Loosely - Biker!Steve x Reader(f)     Chapter 8

Authors Notes:  If you’d like to be tagged please send me an ask. I keep better track of tags that way.

Word Count: 1.1k

Special Thanks: Here’s to @itsanerdlife for fueling my Biker obsession and being my Beta for this whole thing. To my girl over at @girl-next-door-writes who also beta’ed for me. And an extra shout out to @bettercallsabs for this beautiful graphic. She is amazing and y’all need to check her out!!

Notes/Warnings: (My notes and warnings are for the story as a whole. Some notes and Warnings will not apply to every chapter.) smoking (I do not support smoking. keep your lungs clean y’all.) drinking, (be of age, don’t be stupid) minor violence, backstabbing, attempted murder, anxiety, stress, mentions of death, car accident, trauma, …I think that’s it. let me know if I’ve missed something.

Master List

 Steve couldn't hide his smile as he opened the front door to Y/N's house. He pushed it open then gestured a quick ‘Ladies first’.

 Y/N jaw fell slack. “Oh my gosh… Steve.” She looked back at him before huffing in amazement. “How did…” her voice faded as she took in the beauty of her home. Her once wrecked interior was now fresh and repainted. All of the broken or stolen furniture had been replaced and there wasn't a single scratch on the walls.

 “Nat put the prospects to work.” He shoved his hands in his pockets after closing the door and setting the alarm. “It still smells a little like paint so, weather permitting, we’ll open the windows tomorrow and air the place out.”

 She shook her head. “She didn’t have to do this…”

 “She wanted to. She likes you.” Steve stood close behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. 

 She reached up and put one of her hands on his. Y/N did everything she could to keep from crying but her eyes still watered up. 

 “I don’t know what to say.” She chuckled and turned to look at him. “Thank you.”

 Steve kissed her forehead. “You like it?”

 “Of course I do!” She looked up at him with the biggest smile he’d ever seen her wear.

 “You should go see your office.” He turned her around and pushed her towards her hallway. 

 Y/N gave him a curious glance before she continued in the nudged direction. When she got to the door she stopped. “Oh my…” Her words failed her and she couldn’t move. When her legs finally worked again she walked into the center of the room and turned, taking the whole remodeling in. “How-”

 “I told you,” Steve grinned from the doorway. “Nat likes you.”

 She blinked three times before closing her slacked jaw and looking at Steve. “She didn’t know anything about my office other than it was trashed. How did she know that I needed a new filing system and a bigger desk?” 

 He shrugged. “She’s just that good.”

 “Why won’t you just take credit for it?” She asked him plainly.

 Steve licked his lips and looked at the floor while he shifted his weight. The smile on his face morphed into uncertainty. “Cause guys like me can’t.”

 “What does that mean?” Y/N ran her fingers over the new dark wood desk to feel how smooth it was.

 He shook his head. “Nothing.”

 “Steve…” 

 When he looked up at her he could tell she wasn’t going to let it go. He sighed. “I didn’t pay for it, Nat and Buck did. So, it’s not something I can take credit for.” Steve could feel his nerves starting to bug out and he began to talk quicker. “I’m just a mechanic, a bike mechanic at that. I can’t support you or buy you fancy gifts so you might as well just think that this was all Nat. I mean, look at you! You’ve got clients and important meetings. You run your own business and a successful one, too. You deserve fancy dinners and huge flowers and a house with 2.5 kids. No wonder you were with a guy like Danny, he had the big house and good income. I can’t-”

 Y/N shut him up by shoving him backwards into the hall. “You got a lot of nerve, Rogers.” She frowned.

 There was a pause. No one spoke, they just looked at each other. 

 Of course he’d messed things up. Him and that mouth of his. He never did know how to talk to women. They way she looked at him, it hurt. Like she’d been punched in the stomach. She opened her mouth to say something but he watched the thought pass and she sighed.

 “I’m gonna go put some coffee on. You want any?” She couldn’t look at him any longer. She wondered what she’d done wrong to make him think that.

 Steve shook his head.  

 Y/N left him standing there in the hall and disappeared into the kitchen.

 Before Steve had a chance to man up and talk to her, he heard her phone ring.

 “Hello,...hey, yeah, I’m home....I do, I love it. Thank you so much. You really didn’t have t-...No, of course…”

 Steve didn’t listen to the rest. He walked out the front door and stood on her porch for a moment before getting onto his bike and riding off.

 Y/N paused when she heard the door open and close. With Nat going on and on in her ear, she pulled back the curtains and watched Steve mess with his phone before pulling out of the driveway.

 Just as he rode down the street, her phone buzzed in her ear. She let Nat continue to ramble about how she pulled it all off while Y/N checked her notification.

 STEVE:

 Running to the store be back in a bit. Please set the alarm. The code is Danny’s birthday.

 Y/N sighed and put the phone back to her ear. “Yeah, no, it is crazy. I really can’t thank you enough.”

 “Well, you deserved it.” It was obvious that Nat was smiling on the other line.

 “How do you figure?” Y/N entered Danny’s birthday and listened to the high pitched beeps that alerted you the alarm was set.

 “Look,” Nat’s excitement seemed to calm. “He’d kill me for telling you but, you’ve really changed Steve. He’s lost pretty much everyone he’s ever cared about except for Bucky and he’s always been real careful about who he lets himself get attached to. I mean, it’s been years since he’s had a girlfriend. But with you, honestly, I haven’t seen him this into a girl...well, ever.”

 Y/N didn’t know what to think.

 “He really likes you, Y/N. I know he’s a mess when it comes to women and I’m sure he’s already done something to make you think he’s not into you but, he is. Just cut him a break, he’s a moron.”

 “I guess he is, isn’t he?”

 “Oh, great. What did he do?” Nat sighed.

 “He thinks I’m too rich for him. Made some comments about what I deserve and why I was with Danny.”

 Nat cursed under her breath. “Ignore him. Please don’t let him scare you off. He talks out of his-”

 “Yeah, I noticed.”

 “I’m sure he just got nervous. He was probably trying to convince himself he didn’t deserve you. He’s self destructive like that. In his own twisted way it’s because he’s got it bad for you.” Nat explained.

 “Yeah, okay.” Y/N nodded as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “Thanks, Nat. For everything.”

 “Anytime, sweetheart.” And she hung up.

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

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[theclaravoyant]

the start of something

AN ~ so i definitely did curse myself when i promised this like a month ago but i have been in a slump lately and I FINALLY crawled out long enough to finish this fluffy piece of shameless awkward skimmons flirting ft. a little trope I like to call Unnecessary Physical Contact

this is sort of a sequel to Swinging My Way, Baby? but I liked the original too much as a standalone to make this an official chapter two. all you need to know is the location (their college) - Daisy is on the softball team and has invited Jemma to meet her after practice for a date

shameless fluff with some adorkable nervous flirting. Rated T. enjoy!

read on AO3 (2000wd)

the start of something

Jemma Simmons quite liked early mornings at the best of times. She liked the sunshine, the crisp air, the birds singing. She liked the routine of it, and the walk down autumn-coloured streets to the college. She loved the fall especially; it reminded her of the beauty and the relentlessness of life, which was just the kind of encouragement one needed in the morning. This particular morning, however, she had an extra reason to smile. She could barely restrain it, in fact – and why trouble herself to do so? - as she skipped down the steps to McLean Field, and headed toward the batting cages and softball green.

The softball team was wrapping up practice, running and tossing as if in some kind of drill. Jemma did not follow it, but she would be lying if she said that bothered her too much as she admired the show of athleticism on display. Her eyes wandered between the figures as the players broke formation, waving and farewelling each other. It was not long before she spotted Daisy, jogging across the field toward her, flushed but smiling.

“Hey!” Daisy greeted. “You came!”

“Yeah,” Jemma agreed. “I’ve got a hot date.”

“What? Where is she?” Daisy made a show of looking around for the mystery woman, and laughed. In truth, she had been looking forward to this as much as Jemma had, if not more. She had been thinking about it ever since she’d convinced her fingers to type out the invitation and send it to Jemma. Now that she was living the moment, she could hardly believe she’d been so nervous. Jemma’s face was lit up with laughter, and combined with her cute beanie and coat and apparently effortless fall-catalogue aesthetic made the whole scene remind Daisy of something from a film.

“So, coffee?” Daisy offered.

“Sure,” Jemma agreed, “but uh - that hot date promised to teach me how to hit a six, so maybe later.”

Daisy blinked, surprised, and glanced at the pile of equipment the rest of the team had left nearby. She hadn’t really expected Jemma to be seriously interested in softball, it was just a helpful ruse – and a universally accepted one, or so she’d thought. Still, she knew better than most that the heart wanted what the heart wanted. And she was on the pack up roster this week, after all, so she could swing it. Literally.

“Are you sure?” she checked. “In those shoes? And what does ‘hit a six’ mean?”

Jemma shook back her hair, and took off her gloves. “Oh, my apologies,” she corrected, and affected an American accent to add, “I meant ‘a homer’.” `

Daisy rolled her eyes, and strode up to the pile of practice bats. She selected her favourite –electric blue aluminium, a little battered and with paint chipped off in parts, but still good – as well as a practice tee, and then she backed up into the field, goading Jemma to follow.

“Alright, hot shot. Come on then.”

Jemma’s heart leapt in her chest as Daisy plunged the practice tee into the earth. It was at once, a rush of attraction – she was strong, and in her element, and this was something a little different from the standard coffee date – but at the same time, no shortage of fear. It was all well and good to talk the talk, but in truth, Jemma had no idea how practically coordinated she was… or was not. It was not that she was unfit; far from it. It was just that… well… there was a lot going on with one’s hands, eyes, and mind, and she had been too busy flirting to remember that she didn’t actually have the faintest idea what she was doing otherwise.

And then Daisy held out the bat.

“Uh.” Jemma hesitated, just for a beat, but it was enough to catch herself out. How was she to take it? How was she to hold it? Like a sword, a mallet, a racquet, a baton? How had she gotten to this point, standing in the grass, about to make a complete fool of herself in front of Daisy? Fantastic. In the span of a few seconds, she’d overthought it so much by that she’d scarcely be surprised if she downright dropped the blasted thing.

Daisy raised a curious eyebrow. It was strangely comforting to watch Jemma “Brilliant At Everything, Including Saying the Word Brilliant” Simmons confront her own overconfidence, but Daisy couldn’t let her flail for too long. She took the bat back, demonstrating the hold.

“Like this, remember?”

“Right. Yes.”

Jemma finally took the bat, and though she fumbled with its obvious foreignness, she didn’t seem too fazed. In fact if anything, Daisy thought, that scowl of concentration meant she was genuinely interested in putting her money where her mouth was and learning how to hit this thing out of the park. Daisy bit her lip. She liked a woman who liked a challenge, especially when said woman decided to shuck off her coat as well. She cut a fine form in a cardigan and neat slacks, and though she looked a little out of place, she was fit and determined. Daisy found herself perusing the curve of Jemma’s hip with such admiration that she all but ignored the woman’s otherwise poor form until her first attempt at bat crumbled into a twisted, poorly aimed, overzealous mess.

“Oh, bloody hell!” Jemma cried, but it was more of a whimper than a curse. She hit the tee with an unflattering clang and the ball bounced off half-heartedly, and the base of the tee ripped up a clod of earth and grass as it keeled sideways. The bat all but fell from her fingers.

Jemma closed her eyes for a long moment, cringing on every conceivable level of consciousness. She looked a fool. She had probably insulted Daisy by not taking it seriously, something she loved and had been invited into. Was she going to get Daisy in trouble? Oh no.

Instead, Daisy laughed. It was a gentle sort of chuckle, barely mocking at all.

“Don’t worry, that happens to all the newbies,” Daisy promised, fixing the tee and resetting the ball. “You’ve just gotta stay grounded. Here. If you don’t mind…”

She disappeared back behind Jemma for a moment, but it was only a moment, and then Jemma’s heart was pounding for an entirely different reason. Daisy reached in from behind to steady her hands on the bat, and stayed there. Jemma felt with every fibre of her being the warmth of Daisy’s breath on her neck; her weight where their legs brushed; her breasts just ever so slightly pressing against Jemma’s back.

Hesitation. Daisy’s fingers tensed around the bat, wondering if she’d pushed it too far. It was only a first date, after all. Maybe she should have just stuck to coffee. But then –

“Like this?”

Jemma asked, and if Daisy was not mistaken she was holding her breath a little as she moved her hand to wrap it over Daisy’s. Jemma’s fingers were cold, but Daisy felt a stinging warmth where their skin touched. She swallowed hard. She’d brought this tension on herself. Jemma laughed, and Daisy knew it was for her. The sly little minx was enjoying herself – she should have known, she was not the only one to have seen enough rom coms to recognise this move.

(She would later find out that Jemma had learnt it from the X Files. Funnily enough, that’s where she most vividly remembered it from too.)

Then, because Jemma was full of surprises today, she swung with force and a shriek of panic-slash-delight, and sent the ball careening – well, not that far, but still. She collapsed into more laughter; this time, not a smug little chuckle, but crinkle-nosed hysterics, as she jogged through the grass to collect the ball. Daisy found herself beaming too, despite the flush in her cheeks, as Jemma held the ball out to her.

“I think I’d best leave it to the experts, hm?” Jemma speculated.

“I don’t know,” Daisy suggested with a shrug. “I think after a few more training sessions, you could really be something.”

Was she thinking, Jemma wondered, of more skin-on-skin, breath-on-breath ‘training sessions’; like this one, but perhaps, in more private and opportune locations? Or was it coffee and dinner and films and stargazing on her mind, and that something they could be… maybe in that sunlight-yellow breakfast nook Jemma had always dreamed about?

There was a little smile on Jemma’s face at whatever she was thinking, and Daisy drunk it in, surprised at her own enrapturement. She hadn’t spent a lot of time imagining her own future, but it was easy with Jemma. The now was, at least. They jested with each other, talked; they read each other like nobody seemed to have done before. If she were being honest, Daisy wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted, or thought they could be. All she knew was that she wanted to spend more time with this woman. Any time. All the time.

They stood two arm lengths apart, holding the ball between them and thinking. Overthinking. Until each of them decided, in the spirit of those thoughts, to step in and close the gap.

“I – um,” Daisy murmured. She wasn’t used to feeling so many butterflies with her crushes.

“I think I rather like you,” Jemma confessed, and Daisy laughed and filled the space between them with frosty air. It seemed so soft, so simple put that way.

“Me too,” she agreed.

“If I’m being honest, I actually don’t have a great deal of interest in softball,” Jemma continued. “It was all a ruse. I was rather hoping to kiss you, actually.”

“Good, because I was rather hoping you were hoping to kiss me.”

Jemma blushed, and Daisy smirked and raised her eyebrows; a little bit of a challenge, but one she knew Jemma would take as an invitation. Especially when she tugged on the softball they were both holding between them, pulling Jemma even closer.

For her part, Jemma didn’t need to be asked twice. Her nose was cold and she wasn’t sure exactly where she was sticking it, but she was a practiced kisser and if she stood on her toes just right she could almost find the perfect angle for her and Daisy to fit together. Satisfied, she grinned against Daisy’s lips when she heard the softball drop to the grass between them with a dull thud, and felt Daisy’s arms wrap around her hips instead.

They stood in that little pocket of embrace for a long moment, until they started to realise that the world was still moving around them. Jemma took a deep breath, and sighed it out. Daisy looked around at the mess she had left to clean up. The day was pressing on, and time waited for no woman… but maybe they could chase after it for a while.

“I still have time for tea before my first class?” Jemma suggested.

“Help me put away this junk and I’m there,” Daisy agreed. “I haven’t even eaten breakfast.”

And so help her, Jemma made it almost thirty seconds – she collected her gloves and picked up some of the equipment and made it a few paces behind Daisy before it finally slipped out –

“You know, it’s not just a saying, that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

“I know,” Daisy promised in a sing-song voice, though, she didn’t really know. And she was all too happy to see that spark of knowledge flare up in Jemma’s eyes as, hardly missing a beat, the woman launched into a paragraph. And maybe it was a little ironic given the grounds across which they were walking, but Daisy didn’t think she’d ever been so happy to shut up and listen.

[mandowh0re]

Say You Won’t Let Go

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x f! Reader

Warnings: None

A/N: Songfic using Say You Won’t Let Go by James Arthur. I fell in love with this song when I heard it and had to write a songfic using it. I also know this isn’t my best work but I’m a little rusty cut me some slack.

Happy reading!

I met you in the dark. You lit me up.

Natasha’s eyes immediately fell on you when you walked into the room.

She had met you a few brief times before. You were Pepper’s personal assistant and would sometimes be up on the common floor as the two of you worked on Stark Industry matters.

Pepper had hired you about a year ago, and almost immediately she and Tony all but adopted you as their own.

Natasha was a goner the first time she laid eyes on you. Though she didn’t admit it to anyone, not even herself.

You were in the common room when Natasha walked in. A nightmare had woken her and she decided to take a walk around the Tower.

There you were, in the dim lights of the few lamps on, fussing over the files in front of you.

“Who are you?” Natasha asked, her body preparing for a fight, when you stood abruptly and turned towards her.

Her breath caught in her throat and her stomach did a flip.

“I’m sorry! Sorry! I’m Y/N. I’m Mrs. Potts’ assistant. I was just working on some things and I guess the time just got away from me,” You explained as you hurriedly gathered your things, “I’ll head out now. I’m sorry again for startling you.”

You rushed past her into the elevator, giving her a small smile as the door closed.

You made me feel as though I was enough.

When you started hanging around the Avengers more often, everyone immediately took a liking to you. Pepper and Tony gave you your own floor to live in. It was easier for everyone involved if you just lived in the Tower.

Natasha though, stayed on the outskirts of the group and any conversation when you were around.

The feeling you gave her terrified her to no end. She felt like this only once before, and it didn’t end well.

The Red Room and it’s teachers didn’t take kindly to their students falling in love.

But you persisted. You wouldn’t give up until she finally smiled back at you. It was infuriating to her how you could just bat your eyes or smile her way and she would just lose control over her own thoughts.

Every instinct in her told her to run.

But she couldn’t force herself to move even if she wanted to.

Nobody besides Clint or Fury had made an effort for her before. Not before you.

We danced the night away

Deciding she had had enough of walking on eggshells, Natasha crossed the room until she was standing in front of you.

The dress you had on was a satin green evening gown that dipped just below your breasts and hugged all of your curves in a way that made Natasha’s head spin.

“Dance with me?” Natasha asked, though it sounded more like a demand than a question. You didn’t second guess it though, and only smiled in return, taking her hand in yours.

We drank too much.

The sound of your laugh as you threw back another shot had Natasha’s stomach in knots.

While your voice was like sleeping on silk, your laugh was the most radiant thing she’d ever heard. She then made it her personal goal to make you laugh every day.

She downed her own shot, catching a glint in your eyes she hadn’t seen before.

I held your hair back when you were throwing up.

You coughed and spit into the toilet. Your chest was heaving as you attempted to catch your breath.

You felt like shit and you knew you looked like a wreck, but for some reason Natasha was still sitting there with you, holding your hair.

Then you smiled over your shoulder, for a minute I was stone cold sober. I pulled you closer to my chest.

What the hell was wrong with her? Here Natasha was, sitting in a bathroom with a woman she barely knew, holding her hair back while said woman retched into the toilet.

But repulsed didn’t describe her feelings in the slightest.

As you sputtered and fought to catch your breath once more, you looked back at Natasha and offered a weak smile in thanks.

And it was like a train came out of nowhere and slammed into her. All of the alcohol suddenly disappeared from her system and her breath caught in her throat.

Pulling you back from the toilet, Natasha leaned against the your bathroom wall, pulling you with her.

You nestled your head in her neck, your breath tickling her skin as you attempted to keep them even.

And you asked me to stay over. I said, I already told you. I think you should get some rest.

“Stay with me tonight?” You asked, your eyes getting heavy and your quiet voice and even breathing signaling to Natasha that you were falling asleep.

“You really need to sleep. You’re going to have a hell of a hangover tomorrow.” She said as she rubbed your back, not planning on going anywhere else tonight.

I knew I loved you then. But you’d never know. ‘Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go.

Natasha didn’t talk to you for a week after the Christmas Party.

She knew she was hurting you. But she knew if she let this go any further, it might be more than just your feelings that got hurt.

She convinced herself she had to distance herself from you. Force the feelings away, cast them out.

I knew I needed you, but I never showed.

You weren’t having it. You cornered Natasha one day when she was the only one in the kitchen.

“What the hell, Nat!” You yelled, “I don’t understand! I thought we were finally getting somewhere but all you’ve done since then is ignore me. What did I do? What is so wrong with me that you can’t even stomach talking to me, let alone be in the same room anymore?”

Natasha closed her eyes. This isn’t what she counted on. She thought you’d be mad at her, not questioning yourself.

“I’ll hurt you.”

“A little late for that, don’t you think?” You replied. But there was no heat behind it. There was no heat behind any of your words. The only thing she could hear in your voice was hurt and confusion.

“I’m sorry I thought we had something. I’ll leave you alone for now on.” You turned away from her with tears in your eyes. You got two steps in before she grabbed your wrist and spun you around to her.

You didn’t even have time to question what was happening, because right then she took your face in her hands and kissed you.

She let all of her feelings pour into that kiss. She finally let herself feel.

She didn’t let go until she committed the taste of your lips to memory. Until her head was spinning off her shoulders and she had you reeling with her.

I wanna stay with you until we’re grey and old.

Just say you won’t let go.

The moan that left your lips as Natasha climbed on top of you, biting her way to your lips made her thoughts cloud over even more than they already were.

She caught your wrists and pinned them above your head, kissing you and sinking the both of you into your mattress.

Just say you won’t let go.

When you came down from your climax induced high, Natasha kissed your forehead and laid next to you. She pulled you flush against her body, wrapping her arms tight around you.

“I love you.” She whispered to you as you fell asleep against her.

I’ll wake you up with some breakfast in bed. I’ll bring you coffee with a kiss on your head.

Your eyes opened as light poured into the room. Reaching over, you frowned when you found that the other half of the bed was empty.

“Good morning, beautiful.” You heard Natasha say. Pulling yourself up, you slipped on your glasses to see your wife bringing you a tray of food.

When she set it down, your stomach growled at the sight of your favorite breakfast foods. You also noticed a small card on the corner of the tray that read “Happy Birthday”.

“You didn’t have to, you know.” You smiled up at her as she leaned down to plant a kiss on your forehead.

“Of course I did.”

I’ll take the kids to school. Wave them goodbye.

Natasha watched from the classroom door as Lillia hurriedly greeted her friends.

She couldn’t help but smile. She hadn’t been able to take her daughter to school much lately due to Avengers work, but you never once complained. You took her to pre-K every morning, sending her a picture of Lillia every time.

And I’ll thank my lucky stars for that night.

When you looked over your shoulder. For a minute, I forget that I'm older. I wanna dance with you right now.

When she got back to the car, Natasha leaned head back on the head rest and let her mind wander back to the night she fell in love with you.

She remembered your green dress, your E/C eyes boring into hers, and the way you glided across the floor in her arms.

She remembered how you drank just to keep up with her, which ended up with the two of you on your bathroom floor as you puked your guts out.

She giggled at the memory, remembering how you looked back at her. Your face was pale and tired but you smiled back at her nonetheless.

Oh, and you look as beautiful as ever. And I swear that everyday'll get better. You make me feel this way somehow.

Natasha has just gotten back from a particularly rough mission. You were there waiting for her when she walked through the door.

It was late, so she knew Lillia would be in bed.

She dropped her bag on the ground, staring at you as if to beg you to catch her. Her legs couldn’t take her any farther.

Crossing the room in three strides, you caught her in your arms as she fell to the ground crying.

Both of you stayed that way for a while, her gripping onto you as tight as possible as she calmed down, and you rubbing her back and combing her hair with your fingers.

You sang her her favorite song. The one that reminded her of you. The one that you danced to at your wedding.

I'm so in love with you. And I hope you know. Darling your love is more than worth its weight in gold.

Natasha sat beside you in the medbay holding your newborn baby boy.

You were sleeping soundly for the first time in months, and she was more than happy to hold Eli while you did so.

The heart monitor’s steady beeping and your even breaths kept her calm. This pregnancy had been high risk for you, and Natasha had been worried sick the entire eight months.

You’d been rushed into an emergency c-section last night after you passed out. Luckily, Steve caught you before you hit the ground.

It was a whirlwind, Natasha caught in it as everyone rushed you down to the medbay. Her thoughts jumbled up as you lay unconscious on the surgical table.

She prayed for the first time in her life that night.

The entire team had been worried, but Natasha felt like she was going to go out of her mind with panic.

Looking down at her son, a tear slipped down her cheek. He was so tiny, born a month early and slightly underdeveloped. But Dr. Cho had reassured the two of you that both mom and baby would be fine.

We've come so far my dear. Look how we've grown. And I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old.

The four of you sat on the couch as a family watching Tangled for the umpteenth time, per Lillia’s request.

Natasha looked over to see you with the baby asleep in your arms, Lillia sprawled out across both of your laps.

She couldn’t believe this was her life now. Not once did she ever imagine that she would be a wife, nevermind a mother.

But here she was, with her two kids and beautiful wife, watching Disney movies before bed.

And it all started that night of the Stark Industries Christmas Party.

Just say you won't let go

Natasha was stirred from her thoughts when a hand grabbed hers, and she looked over to see you had grabbed it while smiling at her.

Just say you won't let go.

I wanna live with you, even when we're ghosts. 'Cause you were always there for me when I needed you most. I'm gonna love you till my lungs give out. I promise till death we part like in our vows

Natasha opened her eyes, blinking a few times to focus her swimming vision.

“Nat? Oh my God!”

She grunted as she was enveloped in a tight hug. She didn’t even need to see to know who was hugging her.

Slowly she brought an arm around your neck, reveling in your touch.

You pulled back, tears streaming from your face.

“When we said ‘till death do us part’ that wasn’t permission to get yourself killed!”

She chuckled, then immediately regretted it. She grabbed her chest, struggling to pull in deep breaths.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” She spoke softly, her voice thick with emotion and heavy with medication.

“Idiot,” you giggled in reply.

So I wrote this song for you, now everybody knows. Finally it's just you and me till we're grey and old.

Just say you won't let go

Just say you won't let go

Just say you won't let go

Oh, just say you won't let go

***

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[dcladies-secretsanta]

Titans

TO: @dccomicsbookshelf

FROM: Your Secret Santa 

Done Right Steph and Cass were surveying Gotham from their favorite perch in the city, all the bats had a favorite vantage point. Theirs happened to be the very top of a semi popular casino. Way up on the neon blue sign saying “Fortune!”. It wasn’t really known for its originality. It was a fairly quiet night in Gotham, they’d only had to stop five bank robberies and three were at the same place down the block. Cass was quietly enjoying ice cream and watching the sober people entering the casino as the distraught and less than sober people leaving.

“I think I’ve had my fill of inaction. I kinda want to beat someone up.” Steph said with a huff. Cass tilted her head.

“Yes.” She said with a decisive nod. Steph pulled out binoculars and scanned the skyline, that was when the lenses went dark. Steph pulled away and blinked in surprise at the hovering amazonian. Donna Troy was smirking at them.

“My sisters in arms, Starfire and I require your aid, will you join us?” She asked, Steph always forgot how ripped donna was. She was starring a little too long at her arms.

“Uh yes, Yes! Sorry, we’re in. RIght Cass?” Cass nodded tossing her cone which elicited a a faint cry of anger from below.

“What’s the crisis?” Asked Steph Donna extended her arms and each batgirl grabbed a hand as Donna flew northward.

“A most peculiar alliance has formed between unlikely allies. It would seem Riddler, Dr. Light, Captain Cold, and Mr. Zsasz have taken hostages in some heist. The purpose is yet unclear but it is dire nonetheless.” Donna said, Cass threw a sideways glance at Steph who hid a snicker.

“Why, do you need our help? I’m sure you and Starfire could easily handle them.” Hell one of them might have been able to take on all four of them.

“We require a more subtle unit in this battle, we know nothing of the layout of the building, nor what hostilities may lie in wait. Additionally Star and I are not particularly adept at avoiding notice.” Cass smirked.

“Yes.” Steph grinned. “Alright, so Cass and I sneak in, get the scoop, you bust in, we rescue the hostages and beat the bad guys. Sounds easy enough. Where’s Star?”

“Star awaits at the scene, making sure it does not escalate why I gathered reinforcements.”

The rest of the flight was mostly silent, and brief, Donna was pretty fast. They arrived at the Gotham science department, it was odd because none of the listed villains had a particular fixation with science. Star was watching the building from a rooftop across the street.

“Oh salutations friends! I’m so glad you have joined us!” Cass chuckled and waved. “Any developments Star?” Steph asked pulling out the binoculars to see into the building, She sighed as she couldn’t see anything.

“The police are doing their best but they are, as they say, at a standstill.” “Cass let’s enter through the roof access, Donna, Star, take these, this is how we’ll stay in contact.” Steph handed them earpieces. She and cass then slipped into the darkness and Donna soon lost track of them.

“Do you think our friends have the what it takes?” Star asked concerned.

“Without a shadow of a doubt Star.” Star hovered back and forth. “Be at ease, they are skilled warriors, you need not fret.” Star nodded and took a few deep breaths.

“Am I correct that there are six sidekicks to the Batman?” Donna smirked “Verily there are two more, the one called Oracle and the mighty Batwing.” Starfire shook her head.

“Nightwing had always said his family was quite complicated.” “There is even another, she is not counted among the children, a batwoman, and Batman has a lover called Catwoman. I’ve heard a few of them speak fondly of an Alfred and a hound called Ace. I think it is more complicated than even they are aware.” Star giggled.

“I would very much like to meet a ferocious Bathound!” They both laughed quietly at that. “What is next a Batcow?” Donna said between fits causing them both to erupt into laughter again. After a few moments the giggles and tears subsided.

“Are there more of you Donna?” Donna shrugged. “I suppose I have no room to jest for there is another Wonder Girl named Cassie, Diana has a Kangaroo named Jumpa, and I heard rumour of a brother. There’s also a fierce Amazon by the name of Artemis, she has been Wonder Woman once or twice.” Star nodded smiling.

“Is it nice to have such a group?” Donna nodded. “We are bound by the deepest sense of sisterhood, I know that even in times of peace my sister will always be there with me.” She said fondly staring up at the night sky lost in memory. “Surely a Princess of Tamaran has many warrior friends?” Donna said turning her attention to the fiery alien.

“Well I have a as you say, caretaker who was most kind. I have a sister but my sister is... most unpleasant. We used to be close, the last few times we’ve encountered one another it has ended in violence.” Star said closing her eyes to the hurtful memory.

“Not all sisters are from blood or comradery in arms, some are formed through friendship.” Donna said placing a hand on Starfire’s shoulder. Star smiled.

“Thank you Donna, your words are quite the comfort.” “Spoiler to Troia, Black Bat and I have located the hostages, it looks like there’s 9 scientists. Meanwhile the bad guys are rounding up the tech from one of the labs. It looks like they plan to destroy it. I can’t tell what it is from my vantage point but it looks like it deals with brain waves of some kind. I see a few headgears.”

“Well done Spoiler, what of bombs or traps?” “There’s none that we can make out but Riddler is a tricky son of a bitch.” “Do they have a route for the escaping?” Star asked. “Strangely no, they look like they might plan to just head out the front door. Their only superpowered members are Cold and Light, and while they’re dangerous they could potentially be overwhelmed by gunfire. Another strange thing is that they aren’t talking to one another. It’s just silent, no arguing or barking orders.” Star and Donna exchanged a perturbed glance.

“Are you able to cause a distraction or rescue any of the hostages?” Steph laughed over the radio.

“When you see it fly in and grab some hostages alright?”

“See what?”Star asked confused only to be answered by a boom, and a billowing of smoke that could be seen through the windows.

“Ohhh, I should have known, Nightwing is fond of the smoke bombs.” “Let’s go!” Donna shouted and the two swooped inside, a quick sweep said the smoke was surrounding the bad guys and the hostages were clustered together in the corner. Donna and Star extended their hands allowing three people to grab a hold per arm. One climbed on Donna’s back and they swiftly carried the hostages out to the police. “What are the villain’s interest in your work?” Donna inquired. “The devices they are gathering up are telepathic enhancers and inhibitors. Some generate pockets of psychic interference, others can amplify a psychics range and power levels.” Said a dark skinned woman. She looked like the head of the team.

“Did they say anything else?” Star asked. “No, they just moved silently, they didn’t even seem very interested in us. Several of us were secretly texting family and the police. They didn’t even care. It may be my work clouding my judgement but they act as if they are being controlled.” You could almost see her mind working to put the pieces together.

“Thank you, you’ve been most helpful.” “Spoiler, Black Bat, We are headed in. Be careful there’s a possibility they are being controlled.” Star and Donna flew in once more to see the batgirls engaged in battle. Cold and Light were firing blasts of ice and light at Cass and Steph who were dodging with incredible acrobatics. Cass hurled batarangs, two were frozen but the third detonated sending cold flying. Donna swung her lasso at Zsasz who had run swiping his blade at Cass and yanked him toward her. Star and Dr. Light began hurling light blasts at each other. Their light beams ricocheting dangerously. Riddler threw his own projectiles that Steph avoided easily. Cold got up and hurled more ice daggers at them. Cass and Steph propelled upward, Cass swung around delivering a devastating kick to Cold’s jaw, Star managed to blast Dr. light in the chest while Steph descended from above to land on the riddler. Cuffing him in the process.

Steph and Cass high fived over the defeat of the villains. “Fantastic job friends!” Star cheered. “Who are you working for Zsasz? The Lasso compels you to obey my command.” Zsasz struggled and gasped but did not answer. Donna blinked.

“Answer me!” She commanded, Zsasz suddenly went slack. “Little heroes, you can’t expect me to give up my secrets so easily, you may have won the day, but trust me. I’ll be back.” And with an ominous chuckle Zsasz became unconscious. The four of them stood around feeling a slight sense of foreboding and quickly delivered the criminals to the police.

From a rooftop a few buildings away a woman watched the proceedings with disdain. “Shall I convince them to finish the job your highness?” Asked the man next to her with a wicked grin.

“That won’t be necessary Psimon, the children may have interfered in the destruction of the originals but with all the confusion I believe the research we’ve gathered will make sufficient copies.” Queen Bee smirked at the tablet that now had all the files from the project. Riddler may be annoying but he was useful with a computer.

“Come psimon, I think we have a few upgrades to work on.” and with that the queen of Bialya and her henchman disappeared into the night.

Back at the crime scene out heroes were busy celebrating. “We should do this again, I have a feeling that this particular mission isn’t over yet.” Steph said.

“Agreed.” Said Cass. Donna and Star smiled. “I’d like that.” “As would I!” And the four walked off into the night as well with the beginning of a beautiful team up.

[alexiela73]

So there was a request I had been working on. I hadn’t been able to finish it at the time and my friend had told me it was possible to save it as a draft on tumblr. So I handed her the computer, she posted it and when it wouldn’t save as a draft, she ended up accidentally deleting it. So here it is, and I apologize to the person who requested.

The request was McCree, Soldier and Hanzo flirting with a guy and then he sends them a naughty selfie.

McCree

“There you are,” McCree drawled, placing a hand on the shoulder of a man sitting at a bar in a small rural town. A cigar hung from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes alight with amusement. “Been lookin’ everywhere for you.”

In a matter of minutes, the man had his hands tied up behind his back and Jesse was sipping a scotch at the table beside him. This man was a criminal he’d been chasing for almost two months now, and had somehow managed to slip by him every time Jesse had closed in.

The man looked pleading, not having expected to be found here. “Please! Come on, man. It was just one diamond...and nine pearl necklaces. Can’t you cut me a break?” he begged.

Downing the last of his liquor, McCree gave a shake of his head.

“Sorry, pal. Can’t do that. There’s a large bounty on your head and I’m here to collect,” McCree said with a grin. Before the criminal could reply, there was a beep and McCree pulled out his phone. “Excuse me for a minute, will you?”

Still facing the criminal and sitting beside him, Jesse opened up a file you had sent him. It took a moment to load, before suddenly Jesse could only stare at the picture.

The silence as well as the dumb expression on Jesse’s face filled his captive with curiosity, and when Jesse didn’t move or look away for another minute or so, the captive found himself wanting to see what had the cowboy shocked.

Getting up, he went to stand behind the cowboy and look over his shoulder and the image he saw made his cheeks warm. After a moment, Jesse’s cigar slipped from his mouth and hit the floor.

The criminal whistled low. “Hot damn. That ass looks tight,” he says in appreciation.

Jesse made a noise of agreement. “It’s tight. Nothing is as heavenly as that ass,” Jesse said, nodding slowly, his eyes seeming to study the picture hungrily, heat rising in his groin. There was already a tent in his pants.

“His cock looks delicious-bet you love sucking that,” the criminal said, giving Jesse a pat on the back.

Jesse shook his head. “It is delicious, but its even better when he’s on his knees and his lips wrap around-Wait, excuse me?” Jesse cut himself off, before he slowly turned around to face the criminal as realization took over. The criminal almost didn’t realize the look of anger on his face at first.

“Don’t talk about my boyfriend like that!” he snarls and punches him in the face. The criminal was out in seconds, blood pouring from his nose. 

Glaring down at him, Jesse glanced once more with longing at the picture before sending you a quick text, then slid his phone back into his pocket as he prepared to take the man to jail.

“See you home in fifteen- Jesse.”

Soldier

Soldier had met you at a formal party with the government. It had been like any tradition party held by high status agents, with a bit of dancing and fine dining. Gabriel, Jack and Angela had all attended, sitting at a large round table with three others.

You had been one of the three others, and Jack couldn’t help noticing how handsome you looked in your tuxedo and velvet black tie. While Angela and Gabe had managed to strike conversations up with the other two, Jack had hesitated, unsure of how to just begin a conversation that wasn’t just political.

Considering your part was as an assistant, Jack wasn’t sure if he should be discussing any of his thoughts with someone from the opposite party. But that didn’t stop you from starting a conversation with him, instead talking about the city.

“It’s beautiful here, don’t you think?” you asked, a smile curving your lips as you gazed at Jack. The way your eyes slowly slid up and down him told him that the city wasn’t the only thing you found beautiful here.

Clearing his throat, he toasted his glass of champagne toward you in salute. “Indeed it is. The weather is wonderful, and I find the company here to be quite enjoyable,” Jack said smoothly.

Resting your elbow on the edge of the table, you rested your cheek in your hand as you swirled your champagne around in the other, watching Jack with half lidded eyes. “I see. I’ve unfortunately not found any company so enjoyable yet, but I will admit my...interest has been perked by one of the guests here tonight,” he said, voice low and sultry.

Heart skipping a beat, Jack knew he was incredibly attractive to you. He wondered if you were flirting because you were actually interested, or because you hoped to lower his defenses and possibly let loose a secret or two.

“Hopefully this guest will maintain your interest, if given the chance,” Jack said, and wondered how delicious the champagne would taste on your lips.

Before you could say anything, Jack was asked to go speak briefly to the host. Without thought, he excused himself and went, not realizing he’d left his phone on the table. With a wicked gleam, you excused yourself from the table before disappearing to the bathroom.

Jack returned twenty five minutes later, and was disappointed to see you’d left the table, your chair pushed in. Noticing his phone on the table and open, he frowned when he saw that there was a new folder in his phone.

Opening it, Jack’s breath caught at the pictures that he found. The fact that you’d managed half of those in the bathroom were amazing, and best was the picture at the end with the caption “If your interested, I’m waiting on the balcony. Don’t worry, I know how to be quiet.”.

Swallowing hard, Jack’s cock was hard, straining against the material of his pants as he thought of you out on the balcony and what you implied. After a moment, he couldn’t stop himself.

Standing, he excused himself once more and made his way out to the balcony. The two of you were out there for likely thirty minutes, and let me tell you, nothing has ever been as thrilling to you as getting fucked outside on the balcony, a few feet from the balcony doors.

Hanzo

The two of you were out on a mission together that required a lot of stealth and focus. While some of your team had gone on ahead, Hanzo and you had moved to another area, prepared to take on the target alone. But if he didn’t miss, then the two of you wouldn’t need to engage.

Hanzo glanced at you as you continued to talk beside him, before starting to climb a very large brick wall with just enough crevices and clutches for the two of you to climb it. It was not something you wanted to do, but Hanzo started up with ease, seeming to have no trouble at all. You supposed it would be easy.

“You know,” you said as you began, eyes alight with a wicked glint. “My view would be even nicer if you’d wear a little less,” you teased.

Hanzo grunted as he climbed, moving at a bit of a faster rate. “Do you plan to focus any time soon?” he asks, as you’d been flirting for probably half of the mission so far. 

A grin slid on your face. “Oh, I’m focused. Focused on how I’m going to want you in bed tonight,” you said with confidence and you couldn’t help yourself. Hanzo was a dream, and you had been craving him for awhile. Just because he could be grumpy or an ass didn’t stop your body from wanting him.

“You talk a big talk,” Hanzo growled, managing to get to the top and he glanced down at you disinterestedly, noting how you were further down still then he’d realized. “Could you move a bit faster?”

Chuckling, you gave him a wide grin. “You’ll be saying that tonight too,” you said with a wink, and Hanzo turned and walked away from the side of the wall.

Climbing, it took you another minute to get to the top and when you did, you didn’t see Hanzo anywhere. But you knew where he was headed, so you began in that direction too. You’d sworn you had seen the telltale signs of pink cheeks before he’d hurried off.

On your way, you went through your photo gallery and found a very nice shot of you holding your hard cock, with an expression that begged to be touched. This was probably your favorite, because it had specifically been made for Hanzo. You were suppose to give it to him as a gift when he finally agreed to be with you but it might do better convincing him instead.

Sending it, you managed to find the area Hanzo was suppose to be in. He was there, standing at the window, pale light outlining him. He had an arrow notched, and he seemed to be waiting for a perfect moment.

As you came up beside him, you saw the target was in perfect view, with no obscurities. Seconds ticked by, and Hanzo made no move.

“...Hanzo?” you asked with a frown. “You need to shoot.”

Another moment of silence, before you felt his arm go slack and the arrow lower. When you looked at his face, it was flushed and Hanzo was almost embarrassedly looking away. There was a little blood on his nose, and you could see the barest light shining in his pocket.

Ohhh, you thought, the picture. Smirking, you patted him on the back as the target disappeared. “Next time, buddy. Don’t worry, you’ll have a blast tonight though,” you said, and he only groaned in shame.

Hanzo enjoyed getting his ass fucked hard that night, let me tell you.

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Resource Management, pt13

Word Count: 2383 Tags: @supermoonpanda @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @feelmyroarrrr @anyakinamidala @dirajunara @anotherotter @little-study-bug @rampant-salamander @goodnightwife @samaxraph99 @anotherotter  @outside-the-government @kingarthurscat @coyote-in-space @originalpottervengerlock @dolamrothianlady @curiositywillbethedeathofme @superheroesofbothuniverses @mtriestowrite @wanderingkat77

“I could have sworn you were supposed to be a genius!” I exclaimed, stomping toward Stark with murder in my heart. “Do you have any idea what kind of compromise you have caused? In light of the current situation at SHIELD?”

“In all fairness, there is a method to my madness,” Stark shrugged. I resisted the urge to choke the life out of his smug fucking throat.

“Start talking because I’m feeling a little like I’d like to get in some target practice.” I cocked an eyebrow.

“I guess it’s a good thing I swept for bugs already then.” Stark took a seat. His movements had a careless grace to them that emphasized that he really wasn’t the least bit concerned that I might hurt him. Fury should have started training me years ago. I could feel the rage boiling to the surface, and clenched my jaw.

“You’ve read her personnel file, Stark. Do you want to risk her hitting you?” Phil prompted.

“Right. Here’s the shortest, most condensed version of the story I can give you. SHIELD has been compromised. I want to know by whom. I need to know. And you need to help me.” He stood as he spoke, and walked over to Phil. He poked him. Then squeezed his bicep. Then poked him again.

“Stark.” It was a warning.

“It’s remarkable, Phil. I can’t believe it,” Stark shook his head. “You look so life-like.”

“Mr. Stark,” I cleared my throat. “We know SHIELD is compromised. My data analysis suggests HR was specifically targeted.”

“And why would anyone want that information?” Stark asked.

“You’ve seen how detailed those reports are. You could practically determine what toppings I’m likely to order on my pizza and how often I think about sex from them,” I blurted and immediately blushed.

“Phil looks good. My guess is you think about it a lot,” Stark wiggled his eyebrows at me. I sighed and dropped into my chair.

“Make your point, Stark.” Phil crossed his arms and glared at Tony. Tony made his way back to the chair and with the same practiced grace, dropped back into it.

“What she said. You can determine exactly the type of person each employee is by looking at his or her personnel file. If you were a big terrorist organization, that would be pretty handy information to have. You know, if you were going to recruit within the ranks.” Stark cracked the knuckles on one hand and was about to start on the other. I grabbed his hand to stop him.

“What you’re saying, Tony,” I was too surprised to keep up the formality, “is that anyone could be a traitor based on savvy recruiting tactics incorporating information gleaned from a personnel file.”

“So it would stand to reason that –“

“That we could pinpoint who might be a traitor by scanning personnel files,” I interrupted. “Can your fancy-ass AI get us in the files without using my login information?”

“JARVIS has been able to since about five minutes after I first opened any of the files,” Stark nodded.

“We need to know who might be a traitor,” I was thinking out loud. “We need to scan for debt, or weird past history, and –“

“And what are we going to do with this information once we have it?” Phil broke back into the conversation.

“Forward it to Fury. Let him tell us what to do next,” I shrugged.

“And if Fury is compromised?” Stark asked.

“Are you kidding?” I was pretty much finished with Stark sass for the evening. “Are you abso-fucking-lutely kidding? Fury? Compromised? That would be like saying Captain Rogers doesn’t know the words to the Star-Spangled Banner. If there is anything in the world I am certain about, it’s that Fury is one of the good guys.”

“I’m not,” Phil countered. I spun to stare in surprise.

“Wha –“

“I still don’t know why he saved me. I still don’t know how. I know I wasn’t in Tahiti. I almost know, I almost remember what happened. But Fury won’t give me answers.” Phil’s shoulders were tense. “I don’t know that he’s one of the good guys.”

I dropped into my chair, certainty gone. I was pretty sure that despite my on-again-off-again dislike for Tony Stark, we could trust him. He could buy half the world if he wanted to, so there was no reason for him to covertly become some terrorist superpower. And he was obnoxious enough that he wouldn’t be able to lead a bunch of baddies without them trying to mutiny. I trusted Phil, ironically because he didn’t talk shop despite my advanced security clearance. Well, and the sleeping together relationship thing. You don’t get terribly far in relationships when you don’t trust your sleepover pal. But if Phil could question Fury, then who was trustworthy? I rubbed my fingers across the bridge of my nose, trying to release the tension.

“We can’t be the only three fighting this battle. I’m not even a field agent,” I complained. Phil nodded.

“We need to identify allies, instead of trying to root out traitors,” he agreed.

“Where do we start?” I asked. Stark spun around in his chair.

“We have the Initiative.” He steepled his fingers and narrowed his eyes, thinking. “Cap’s girl is probably safe. I don’t think Cap’s righteousness would surge for a traitor.”

“Jesus, Tony, what are you, twelve?” I snapped. It was gross, but I kind of agreed. I suspected Cap had some sort of trustworthiness detector.

“I love that you use my first name when you’re mad at me. Does she do that to you too, Phil?” Tony smirked. I stretched my hands and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself.

“Don’t think I’ve made her mad yet,” Phil shrugged. “Romanov and Barton are probably safe though, I agree. Thor’s off planet right now. Do you know where Banner is?”

“Yeah, I know where Bruce is.” Tony was playing with his phone. Messaging someone, probably.

“You people mind telling me what the fuck is going on? On a Saturday night? In a restricted building?” Fury walked through my office door. “And why the fuck are the two of you even in the same room?”

He glared at Phil. I glared at Stark, hoping he’d admit to what he’d been up to. Remarkably, he did. In a few minutes, he’d explained everything he’d done to infiltrate SHIELD, admitted to pulling ‘some’ personnel files, and made it clear that I was not at fault. I suspected I was still going to get a dressing down from Fury, but it was the thought that counted.

“Sir, how would you like us to proceed?” I asked when Stark had finally finished his explanation.

“You, particularly, need this.” He handed me a small leather wallet. I gave him a confused look and flipped it open. It was a SHIELD badge.

“Sir?”

“You have level one competencies on the range. Barton confirmed that this morning. You’re at least a level five on your hand-to-hand, but Romanov will assess you on Monday to ascertain how good you are. You’ve proven yourself more than once tactically and strategically. You will wear your sidearm at all times. You will not hesitate to drop anyone you feel is a threat to your own wellbeing, or the safety of your fellow SHIELD agents. This will not be going into your personnel file, as far as anyone who can access the system will be able to tell, you are still an overworked, underpaid HR manager,” Fury explained.

“Except I’m now an overworked, underpaid HR manager who can shoot people who piss me off,” I raised an eyebrow.

“As tempting as it may be, shooting Mr. Stark would be a felony,” Fury smirked.

“How do we know we can trust you, Director?” Phil asked. Fury turned to face him.

“You don’t. But I’ll make this easy for you. Your assignment is to determine who is loyal to SHIELD. I don’t want you sending me reports. Keep that between the three of you. It’s up to you to decide whom you trust. But I’m not going to ask for a list of names. Watch your backs.” As quickly as he’d come in, he headed back out into the night.

I curled into Phil’s side and yawned. It had been a late night. After Fury had left, we’d made it clear to Stark that it was up to Phil to reveal himself to the other Avengers when he felt ready. It had taken a bit of convincing, but Stark finally got on board. The relationship between Stark and Phil wasn’t as tense as I was expecting, but it’s not like they stripped down to compare chest scars either. I think Stark had probably been a thorn in Phil’s side too many times to make him feel really companionable, but Phil’s ‘death’ had definitely changed Stark. I caught him staring at Phil with slack-jawed wonder a couple of times, but more surprisingly, I caught him looking on Phil with a great deal of respect. I thought that would probably come in handy at some point.

Phil wrapped his arm around me and kissed my forehead. If the sun streaming in my window was any indication, it was mid-morning.

“When do you have to head back to your team?” I asked, my voice rough with sleep.

“I should head back soon. We’re still assigned to the cleanup. The preliminary damage report came in on Friday afternoon, and unbelievably, there’s very little structural damage. Again, pointing to an inside job.” He trailed his hand down my shoulder.

“I’m scared, Phil. This is not what I signed up for,” I admitted. He kissed my forehead again.

“Did you really never wish to be outside of HR? Not even once?” He teased.

“Maybe,” I admitted.

“A girl doesn’t get a black belt in every martial art invented and not ponder life as an agent, I suppose.”

“Not every martial art,” I laughed and shimmied up the bed until we were face to face. I kissed him, gently. His free arm came up to my shoulder and he pushed me onto my back, and trailed kisses from my shoulder across my collarbone, and down to the valley between my breasts.

“It’s normal to be scared, Annie,” he spoke between placing his lips against my skin. “Even those of us who did sign up for this feel fear. Sometimes.”

“Do you think we’ll be moving back into the Triskelion?” I was distracted. He was distracting.

“You won’t be. Fury wouldn’t have spent money on that office if he intended to move you back. But they’re talking about putting in new windows this week. Fixing the exterior. Then repurposing the worst damaged areas.” His lips had made it to my hipbone, and his hand was rough on my thigh. He was finished soothing me with words.

“Are you going to bring your team in on this?” I gasped.

“This? Now? No. This is between you and me.”

Stark wanted to meet for dinner. I did not want to meet with him on my own, and Phil had gone back to the bus, so I begged off. I was exhausted from processing all the crap that had changed so quickly in my universe, and I just wanted an enormous cup of tea, trashy television and an early night. He made me promise to meet on Monday, but I hedged on that as well. I was going to have my first training session with Romanov, and I was nervous as hell despite Fury and Phil’s reassurances. The woman was going to kick my ass across the countryside. And then, in all likelihood, back again.

I was just settling in with my tea when I heard a knock at the door. After the lecture I’d received about door safety from Phil, I peeked out the peephole. It was Erin. My stomach dropped. I wanted so desperately to tell her everything, but I didn’t want to put her at risk too. I took a moment to steel my nerves and opened the door. She pushed past me.

“I went out with Matt again. What is wrong with me?”

“Did you go to a rugby game this morning?” I teased. She nodded. I laughed.

“I swear I used to know a girl who looked just like you who swore she would never settle down,” I teased.

“How am I supposed to be the yin to your conventional, commitment-happy yang if I’m going to Sunday morning Rugby games?” She complained from the kitchen. She was already fixing herself a cup of tea.

“That’s definitely a reason to dump his ass before it gets serious,” I deadpanned. “Wait, you went to a rugby game. Totally too late.”

“Shut up!” She complained. “Is that a box of bullets?”

“Yeah, for my sidearm,” I confirmed.

“The fuck? You have a sidearm?”

“Not that I’m particularly effective with it, but yes. I’m getting some remedial learning,” I yawned. It had been a long weekend.

“I will lose my mind if I have to start taking additional training,” Erin complained. Obviously Fury hadn’t spoken to her yet. Well, I wasn’t taking that bullet for him. He could give her the happy news himself.

“It’s not so bad,” I shrugged.

“It is. And it’s bullshit. I think they’re too worried about this attack. I’m sure it was random, and wasn’t targeting us at all.” She pulled the teabag out of the cup and tossed it into my composter. I kept my face neutral, but was troubled by her blasé attitude. She was going to get hurt if she didn’t start taking the threat seriously. But again, I didn’t want to be in the middle of an Erin shitstorm, so I was going to leave that conversation to Fury as well.

I flicked the TV over to some ridiculous comedy, which was Erin’s usual cue to launch into a detailed narrative about her weekend, but even the competition between the TV and Erin’s expressive way of speaking were doing nothing to keep me awake. I finally shut the TV off, and sent Erin home. I needed to be up to run in the morning, and her office was right next door to mine.