#someone want to come fix the end caps of my build?

[shardcraft]

Ugh I am 80% done with like. Three separate builds it's ruining my lifeeeeee. Why are windows and window ledges and roofs so hard for me to get right????

[rinwritesfics]

The Popsicle

Plot: Fives and reader share a popsicle in a bit of an unconventional way.

Warnings: Sexually suggestive content, 18+ only please

Word Count: 987

Author's Note: You can especially thank @a-single-tulip, @chicknstripz, @homie-one-kenobi, and @wizardofrozz for this.

You and Fives had a teasing relationship. He’d pop his head into the hangar to see you as often as he could and you’d be under some part of a Republic gunship, fixing it. Generally, he made some inappropriate remark and you would jokingly tell him what to go do with himself, your wink and grin softening the words. It had started to get a little more romantic, though, and while you wanted it to be real, you felt he was just teasing for a laugh.

Lost in your thoughts, someone pulled your shop creeper out from under the ship with you on it and startled you, nearly causing you to drop your wrench on your face.

“Fives!” you yelled, scowling. “A little warning would be nice!”

“Well, how am I supposed to surprise you if you know I’m coming?”

“You don’t! What if I had been holding a blowtorch?”

“You weren’t.”

“And you know this how?”

“Republic safety regulations.”

You squinted your eyes at him, but he only laughed.

“Anyway, how is it I had to find from your coworker that you got shipped to this base without hand-to-hand training?”

You sat up. “It wasn’t relevant. Why were you asking, anyway?”

“I didn’t. They had just mentioned it.”

“What do you want, Fives?”

“I wanna teach you how to punch!”

“What, so I can punch you when you drag my creeper around?”

“Ha! No, so you can defend yourself!”

With a sigh, you glanced back at the ship. “Fives, I need to finish this.”

He shrugged. “Okay, I’ll just wait until you’re done.”

“That punch was okay, but your aim was a bit off, and you’re not protecting your abdomen.” He grabbed your outstretched fist and started to manipulate your posture.

You sighed, heavier than you needed to just to gauge his reaction, then relented. “Hand me the driver. No, the driver. No, it’s on your left.”

* * *

The weather was hotter than you had expected, and being under that gunship was not all that cool. But neither could compare to the heat you felt when he touched you. You watched him, your eyes trailing up his bare arms to his black sleeveless top as he went. You were glad the exercise was hiding things like a blush or a change in your breathing.

He cleared his throat. “Try again.”

You both continued on for almost another half-hour before he declared it was time for a well-deserved break. You agreed and fixed your sleeveless top so it sat more comfortably on you. The glance he gave to your low collar was not missed.

You dug through the cooler and pulled out a blue popsicle and unwrapped it, popping it into your mouth and savoring the cooling relief it brought. Fives made his way over, too, and grabbed a chilled bottle of water, cracking open the cap with a sly grin, watching you suck on the popsicle.

"Is that a tease for later, mesh'la?" he chuckled. You grinned back, then made a show of biting off the tip of the frozen treat, earning a whine in return.

You didn’t know where the bold streak came from, maybe it was his whine, but you said, "Depends, are you willing to beg for it, baby boy? Because if not -"

All of the sudden, Fives pushed you into the shade of the back end of the building, one hand on your hip and the other hand tried to snatch the popsicle out of your grasp. You stuck your arm out, desperately trying to keep him from stealing your one source of relief in this heat.

"Oh, no you don't. You can't distract me so you can steal it, get your own!" you said.

He glanced between you and the treat, already melting in your hand and dripping onto your wrist. "What if I want to taste both?" His voice was a little breathless.

You swallowed thickly. "Both what?"

He put his lips near your ear, "Both you and the popsicle." Then, he trailed his lips down your neck and ghosted them over your arm to your sticky wrist. You went to move your popsicle away, but he grabbed your arm and you froze. With a quick smirk sent your way, he stuck out his tongue and flattened it, slowly licking the sugary juice up your wrist and over your palm. His eyes never left yours and his voice rumbled in his throat, sounding an awful lot like a moan. Your eyes widened and your breath hitched.

"Mm, mesh'la, you taste so good," he said, his voice low and quiet before snatching the popsicle out of your hand. You opened your mouth to protest his trickery, but words didn't come out - no, he touched the melting treat to your neck, the chill making you shiver despite the weather. He then dragged it down your throat from left to right and as far down as he could before your shirt collar stopped him. Juice started to drip down to your sternum and your breath hitched again.

"Fives, we can't do this here, someone's going to catch us," you breathed.

He grinned and shook his head. "No, it’s too hot out here for anyone to care. No one’s going to come find us. We have all the time we could ask for, and I'm going to use every minute of it." He dipped his face to your collar and pulled the material away to flatten his tongue against your skin again and lick up the mess he made, taking his time as your chest heaved with each breath.

“You just fancy the idea of getting caught, don’t you?”

He moved his lips back to your neck, kissing up until he reached your pulse point and said against it, his eyes closed, “I’ve already been caught by you. Nothing else matters.”

Tags: @mylifeisactuallyamess, @techs-feral-wife

[butch-with-a-deep-voice]

HRT and the Mental Changes of Arousal AKA How Horny "Feels"

Alright folks we need to have a conversation about how much your libido changes with transition and hormones because that was NOT talked about with the informed consent program I went through, and it honestly should have been. How I feel aroused now is so drastically different than beforehand, in both subtle and obtuse ways, and it is FASCINATING. This post is mainly going to focus on how libido and arousal mentally feel, but I have anecdotal observations on the mechanical changes if there is interest in that. Strap in, this post is gonna be a long one.

I would like to preface that this comes from my own personal experiences as a trans feminine person. If your experiences as a trans person are different, please by all means I would love to hear your input. I have been on HRT for over half a decade, and have had an orchiectomy (in layman's terms I've been fixed), so my adrenal glands do produce a classically female level of testosterone and I no longer need to be on T-blockers. I'm also demisexual, so my experience with sexuality as a baseline is a little different than most.

As someone who works great in communicating via metaphor/simile, I will provide a detailed simile for both testosterone libido, and estrogen libido. I also want to say I prefer estrogen tenfold. I pick it every single day. While I've met other trans people who disagree, my own experiences with testosterone vs. estrogen fueled libidos will fully bias the similes.

Testosterone Libido: The best way I can describe what testosterone fueled libido felt like is once you hit puberty, you have a monkey strapped to your back. Some people's monkeys are better behaved, others more belligerent. Some are more easily "calmed down", while some are more easy to excite. But at the end of the day, it's still a monkey strapped to your back.

What I mean by that is that you are always going to be aware of a goddamn monkey strapped to your back. Sometimes the little guy is silent. Maybe it's having a nap, or it's awake but contented to just quietly "look around". Every now and then it stirs, maybe someone's butt looked nice in a pair of jeans, and you're like "right, monkey..." Honestly I got so fucking annoyed with that monkey just always being there whether I wanted it or not. It's never not there.

But, then the monkey really wants something. I don't know if you've ever seen a monkey really wanting something on video, but they can get pretty demanding really fast. That monkey that's been piggy backing you starts vocalizing in your ear, screeching even. Hitting you. Pulling your hair. I WANT A FUCKING BANANA HUMAN, GIVE IT TO ME. It gets aggressively loud, often times shockingly fast. It will go from napping to throwing a tantrum in less than a minute sometimes. And all you can do is either ride it out and hope to whatever deity you pray to it calms down, or eventually give it what it wants. Hopefully you're home, and you can quickly get one out so to speak. But until then, how on earth are you supposed to be able to get ANYTHING done when there's a monkey screeching away in your ear and slamming on you.

I'm very fortunate to have been raised by a father who taught me how to ignore that monkey. How to respectfully build a resilience to it's tantrums. But, it was always there still. That monkey made me feel so shameful. I hated how often my libido was always a reminder of how aggressive being horny could feel. How blinding it had the potential to get. Often times satisfying it wasn't even pleasurable. It was so often just "oh my god fine would you please just shut the fuck up?" My relationship with my sexuality was often unhealthy as a result of this experience with arousal.

One thing I will give testosterone over estrogen though? That monkey can only get so loud. There is a "cap" for how aroused I could get with my testosterone-fueled libido. I have yet to find the cap for estrogen.

Estrogen Libido: Libido and arousal now, with a body fueled by estrogen and minimal amounts of testosterone is akin to a fine wine. It is wholly and fully intoxicating. What do I mean by that? Well, let's take an evening of drinking a fine wine that you have theoretically unlimited supply of, and you have a somewhat standard constitution.

With a single glass, you can continue to be normal. You may not even notice more than a pleasant mildly "fuzzy" feeling, and your thought patterns being influenced ever so slightly. Hell, you may not even notice those. Most around you wouldn't even guess that you've partaken. Assuming you pace yourself properly, you can "float" in that pleasant not-even-tipsy state for quite some time. That's the thing with estrogen I found. You can float in the various stages all day if you want to. "Ride the wave" as a number of my sex-positive friends have called it. There's no monkey forcing you to drink more. You can just enjoy a pleasant buzz all day (and I often have).

Let's say you have more wine though. I like to call the next stage silly arousal. You've had two glasses, maybe three depending on your tolerance. You start feeling more... unraveled. You can still think, hold a conversation, act more or less normally. But people who are more tuned in can start to tell you've had a drink. You feel friendlier, sometimes that fuzzy feeling has gotten more full bodied, your eyes linger in certain areas when looking at people longer than you'd like to admit. "Have their lips always looked that kissable?" or "Wow their waist looks really nice in that top." But you still feel like a normal person. You wouldn't say you're Horny with a capital "H", just... pleasantly activated. I will fully admit on days where I don't have to fully be a responsible adult I have floated in this stage all day long before. It's a delicious feeling to sit in.

But what if we indulge further? Usually by this point you are drinking with inebriation being a goal, whether that is a fully conscious or unconscious choice. Beforehand the other two stages can be reached over a classic "wine with dinner" situation. Light flirtation, a mildly steamy romance novel, hell maybe even scrolling through here. Now though you've had a bottle of wine, you're properly tipsy. This is where the metaphor of arousal being an inebriant comes into full swing. For me at least, it is a very full bodied feeling (that's a whole other tangent for the mechanical affects of HRT and sex life). Your judgment, thought patterns, and decision making start being heavily influenced by your mental state. Some with more willpower/constitution are still able to get by around others, you're just "acting funny". Others are so obvious when they drink it's like blood in the water for those who know what to look for. This is the stage where if I want to not make poor choices, I stop drinking so to speak. I put my hand over my proverbial glass if someone offers to pour another. I even leave the party if I have to. Why? Because just like alcohol, the jump from this stage to the next is both subtle and pervasive in how fast it hits you.

We are drinking to get drunk now. Just like the threshold between tipsy and drunk, because of how clouded you already were the transition will really sneak up on you. I get TINGLY all over from it, with sensations all over my body becoming electric. You start saying things that you would never say day-to-day. You stop being able to hide how much you've had. Heavily flirting, getting touchy, biting your lip. You can't really think of anything else outside of just how intoxicated you are. If you're someone who is particularly... self-lubricating you're fully making a wet patch in your clothing. You are DRUNK and holy shit is it amazing. Why would anyone want to not want to feel like this? Not want to healthily engage in this every day if they could? Arousal feels so fucking good with estrogen. You feel amazing, you feel confident, and you are willing to make some truly stupid decisions that you may regret because they feel good in that moment. For me at least, I would say this is roughly the area where that testosterone libido monkey can't get much louder. If arousal could be tracked on a bar graph, testosterone capped somewhere around here for me. Estrogen though...

Just like any night of drinking, you can keep going. You can be drunk, and still keep drinking (only difference here is you aren't going to be completely battering your liver doing so). Just like alcohol, this is where I think anecdotal experiences will begin to vary wildly person to person. As such I will talk about what it's like for me. I won't usually reach this stage and beyond it without the help of another person or heavily engaging in smut/pornography. This is a headspace I'm actively trying to push into. Usually by engaging in intentional denial of the act of sex/climax in some form or another while still "drinking".

Pushing beyond "drunk" arousal starts getting irresistibly pervasive, affecting just about EVERYTHING. I feel quite legitimately high off of it at times. Speech pattern gets warped beyond belief, sometimes outright going non-verbal. The slightest touch can be pleasurable. My vision will warp if it gets intense enough (and interestingly warps differently depending on domme space, sub space, or simply "feral" horny). It sometimes even gets so warped I've been known to "Etch-a-Sketch" shake my head in a futile attempt to clear it up. Being neurodivergent, stims start creeping out of the woodwork uncontrollably, I assume because of nervous system overload. My body will fully begin to "betray me" so to speak. Squirming in my seat, drooling to fully obscene degrees, muscles in my abdomen fluttering because even a stray thought caused enough arousal to engage them. If it's allowed to go long enough I will fully begin to growl or whimper passively under my breath, depending on the type of horny.

All of these are just a handful of examples as to just how utterly intoxicating arousal and libido are now with estrogen. The truly startling part of it is I have yet to find the cap to it. I've yet to go fully down that rabbit hole. Part of me is a little scared to if I'm honest. When you get to this stage and onward, your mental state is frighteningly pliable. That level of "inebriation" has fully created new kinks that I'd not had before (or at the very least were buried so deep they weren't something worth digging up). If you or your partner is someone who can reach this level of intoxicated arousal, please please please handle it with care because being ripped out of it is ROUGH on your nervous system. (ie, sub-drop and domme-drop). There are some true horror stories out there for how intense it can be. But if you can engage it safely and healthily, holy shit is it the best. I legitimately prefer it over actual chemical inebriants (although my intox kink would say otherwise).

So, this all being said, I do want to reiterate that these are simply my experiences with how much arousal and libido changed with hormone replacement therapy. Everyone's bodies will react differently, and if you've also experienced a drastic shift with HRT, and it's different to mine I would love to hear. I also have a lot of points I'd love to make on the more physical aspects, from the viscosity of self lubricants, to the fact that I can now orgasm multiple times with no "get sleepy after cumming" endorphin response. If there's interest I'd be happy to get into those.

Thanks for reading!

[cloudbattrolls]

Everything Moves

Jameth Abnale | The Spine | Present Night

Jamie, wobbling on his crutches as the helm holding him thudded to the ground, watched in both awe and horror, for he could hardly believe what he was seeing up above.

What he was hearing.

A terrible cry that had come from someone - something - that sounded like it had never had a throat of its own before.

He held his breath as he saw…as he saw a troll, unconscious and swathed in now fully dead wire. A troll Jastes had made.

Could it…could it be…

He saw Jastes look back down at him, and he shrank away. Was the resistance leader going to do something horrible to him too? Was he about to die?

But the other man only gave him a sad smile, a wave, and then -

- he turned to crackling green energy, and dove into one of the screens on the helm room’s walls.

The rebel was gone.

Jamie’s mouth hung agape. 

The blueblood sat there for a minute, stunned, until the elevator he had come through dinged open and he looked over blearily.

Inexplicably, Chimer Latrai stepped out. At least, he couldn’t imagine who else the tall fuchsia and black blob could be, since he could barely see a bloody thing at the moment.

“Doesn’t that just cap it all.” The kookaburra troll murmured. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“Nope. Though it would’ve been a dream to actually talk to you before this all went pear-shaped. A whole barrel of pears, if what I see here is any gauge. Also, why is there a naked, unconscious troll up there? Who the hell are they?”

A ghost of a smile flicked across Jamie’s lips, for the voice was indeed hers.

“I would be willing to bet that’s the Process. Or Nobody. Or whatever name you might know of them by.”

Chimer’s eyebrows raised as she came closer, but she did not argue. “Yeah, we’ve met. Really interesting if that’s the case, seeing as I was pretty sure they were an AI.”

Jamie coughed, his expression faintly amused. 

“Up until about three minutes ago, you would have been correct. Then Jastes happened.”

“Jastes…?”

“The rebel I was chasing.” 

“I see we’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

“Yes, I imagine we do.” He murmured, wiping some blood off his face. “But I’m very tired, and I imagine the empire still wants my head.”

“Nope. I helped fix that for you. You’re still in a lot of hot water, but you’re not gonna drown.” 

He blinked.

“Why would you do that for me?” Jamie said, weary and suspicious.

The fuchsia chuckled.

“I never had a grudge against you, man. I tried to give your factory back, at first. I suspect our buddy up there stopped us from talking. Granted, things are a little different now, and I’m not just gonna hand it right back to you, but…I don’t want to be your enemy. I need you. Let’s work together.”

Chimer held out her hand.

Jamie sighed.

He took it, and got to his feet.

The blueblood could practically hear Viltau saying ‘I told you so.’

Nevertheless, he accompanied the seadweller back up to the city’s surface with fairly good grace as Chimer dialed someone for aid in handling Process, blinking his eyes in the moonlight as they readjusted. His face felt naked without his glasses, and he sweated a bit in the hot, humid air.

But even he could see dimly as lights slowly began to flicker back on around them, unsteady at first, and then more, and more still, spreading across the darkened buildings like a glowing web. Slowly, the wail of sirens and the sounds of fighting dwindled.

“What the…” Chimer sounded baffled, but Jamie thought he knew.

“There is a new electric mind among us.” He murmured. “Traded one for another. Good exchange, I think.” he said, tapping a crutch on the pavement, for he was sure Jastes could hear him as Process once had. 

He was still frightened of the cyborg, he wouldn’t lie. Especially with his new abilities.

Yet he rather hoped that, some night, they would meet again. 

THE END OF

THE MIND ELECTRIC

[kingofgay-art]

Okay so, a while back I saw a TikTok that showed someone making a sword out of empty pill bottles. Which I thought was super cool.

So being the; mentally ill, highly medicated, running off of spite, ambition, and the incredible urge to try-and-make-something-if-I think-it's-cool-no-matter-if-I-have-prior-experience-in-the-medium-or-doing-shit-like-that type of person that I am decided: Why the fuck not, would be fun considering I have nothing but time and It would cut down on the amount of plastic my family recycles. How hard could it be?

So, first off I had to gather a fuck ton of pill bottles. So I told my mom and brother about this and basically told them "if you have any empty pill bottles don't throw them out, give them to me, I wanna do something with them." So I basically ended up with a gallon sized Ziploc bag filled with various types of pill bottles.

After I had taken the labels off of all of them and cleaned both the inside and outside thoroughly with Dawn Dishsoap(including the caps). I planned how it would roughly look but I'm going to skip showing that and instead just show some in progress photos and the finished results!

Building the sword hilt and attaching pieces with masking tape just to get a rough shape for the sword here.

After building the handle and figuring out where I want the hand guard to go.

So here is when it was still in construction but I wanted it to be able to come apart to save space. that way if I; want to bring it to a con, or I need to move it I wouldn't have to worry about the blade snapping in half, I can just break it down and chuck it in a backpack or something If I need to.

Here's the finished results

(yes I know it's not perfectly straight, I've tried going back and fixing it but I would basically have to take apart the entire blade... And I'm not doing that so sue me.)

Moutian Dew can for reference because It was what I had closet to me at the time(I was drinking it) and my water bottle was across the room lol. I was being lazy.

[alyjojo]

Love Reading 🛐 - June 2024 - Capricorn

Singles:

Who is Coming In: 9 Swords rev & Ace of Cups rev

Regarding: 6 Swords rev

Long-Term Potential: 7 Wands

I’m assuming this person is the one that’s rejected you before, based on messages. You or they are coming back around after a long time of being alone, or at least away from you “alone”, like a lot has changed with them due to life life-ing and all of that. Or one of you could live at a distance so seeing each other is once every couple of years, maybe, if at all. You seem to be the one that’s been waiting for them to make a comeback, you keep expecting the two of you are going to end up together…or at least go out once? They aren’t pressed about it at all though. This could’ve been a missed opportunity or connection in the past, a one night flirtation that really got to you, one that’s stayed in your head rent-free while they just moved on with their lives.

I think you two, or at least one of you, is moving on to someone else and that’s what ultimately blocks this or causes the rejection. Long term, you’re defensive you ever waited, this person is a waste of your time…unwillingly. They didn’t intend for that, they’re just living.

Messages:

- Wise Spirit

- My heart wasn’t truly in this.

PARTYING 🎉

- Time With Friends

- Having Fun

- Happily Single

- Living in the Moment

Good grief. Don’t take things personally.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Virgo & Leo

Couples:

Them: The High Priestess, Knight of Swords, 9 Wands rev

Regarding: 3 Pentacles

This person is a perpetual people pleaser, and your side has some anger issues, which they aren’t discussing - for the sake of keeping the peace. Red Flag shows they see it, they know what’s up, they can feeeeel it with The High Priestess here. But they don’t address it. They probably don’t want to piss you off (again?) Being a people pleaser is its own red flag, because this person isn’t direct, they don’t communicate openly, they aren’t transparent and are kinda manipulative with The Magician. But it’s like…manipulative to inspire teamwork, go along to get along, they seem to enjoy the time they spend with you - with Coffee Cup here. They like talking with you, but don’t like calling you out or holding you accountable, maybe because of how you respond. So I guess that’s my job. You’re a hothead with no self-control, get a grip. If not anger, then sexually. This person wants you to figure it out on your own, handle it, and be peaceful where they are concerned - I’m getting this is your problem to deal with, not theirs.

Messages:

- Red Flag 🚩

- Sweet as Candy 🍭

COFFEE CUP ☕️

- Meeting & Talking

- Savoring the Moment

- Feeling Elevated

- Building Friendship

Om Sweet Om

You: 5 Cups rev, King of Wands, Strength rev

Regarding: Ace of Wands

Spirit is coming for you, you’ve got two different Devils in your own messages - shadow energy is reigning over your conscious awareness and you don’t even see it. In fact, you hold onto it like a comfort zone, and probably defend it as well. Or would if this person spoke up and said anything. Ace of Wands is passion, excitement, fleeting moments of feeling ALIVE (or angry) when you clearly otherwise could give a fuck less - 7 Cups & 4 Cups. Or you have several different options, a whole little black book of bitches and none of them satisfy you. Nothing does. You’ve tried to heal this with this person - but King of Wands is how you’re showing up, and this King gets what he wants. He makes sure of it.

To the point of absolute ANGER, lashing out, confidently standing by your own complacency, apathy, and boredom. Trying to get his person on board with putting up with the bs. They have, not because they don’t see it, but because it’s not their job to fix - it’s yours. And you could make them feel very uncomfortable. I don’t see you giving a single fk, especially with the Oracle - you stand by this way of being, believing or behaving. To the point of narrow-mindedness - 4 Pentacles, Cap energy with these Devils. Your own mentality and insistence on being right is your self-undoing. This can also refer to being emotionally cut off and basing things off of passion alone - which isn’t an authentic existence…but do you. Probably a crosswatching read, this isn’t the type of person who goes seeking “meaning” 😆

Messages:

- Dark Desires 👿

- Shadow Self 😈

SWORD & ROSE 🗡️🌹

- Clarity & Truth

- Revelations

- Honor & Protection

- Determination

Fresh out of fucks, and embracing inner peace.

Mutual: Queen of Swords rev, The Hanged Man rev, 6 Pentacles rev

Regarding: 8 Swords

Self sabotage is 8 Swords. Not communicating or holding you accountable, going along to get along, depending on what is actually known or not, there is hurt here. Shadow is all over your side, like an entitled energy with King of Wands, you think you not only get to behave in this way, act out of these narrow-minded perspectives & defensiveness, but that you deserve to. For whatever reason, you’re placing yourself and your beliefs, needs, desires, whatever - above this other person. On a pedestal.

There is a lot of anger held by this person most likely, or Queen of Swords rev may be you being a cold & bitter betch (she is that), a major perspective shift/ego death is needed - and may somehow be reflected in this person in a way that you can’t deny it. The only way out of this is through it directly, addressing not just a lack of reciprocation in the connection - but arrogance about it. And “it” being the release of toxic habits & patterns in the connection. Neither party is interested in working on themselves or taking responsibility for their part. It’s made out to be equal but none of this is looking equal. They don’t like to be confrontational or argue, and you wouldn’t change your behavior even if they were. It’s still healthier getting out your feelings (throwing down) then keeping it all quiet and shit, at least then you both can make a solid decision moving forward. No one is being authentic here, that’s the Mirror.

MIRROR 🪞

- Mirroring Each Other

- Self-Reflection

- Introspection

- Inner Wounds

Show up and throw it down.

Just kidding but seriously though.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Heavy Capricorn, Gemini, Leo & Sagittarius

[waywardxrhea]

Part Thirty-Six: The Battle of Wakanda

[slow burn romance between Steve Rogers and SHIELD agent Emma Baker]

Warnings: 18+, contains humor, fluff, mental health, family trauma, romance, angst, language, violence.

installment list

Word count: 4.8k

The Battle of Wakanda commences.

The jet ride to the kingdom of Wakanda is virtually silent with no one talking because they're all trying to figure out what the hell to do about the upcoming fight. This is the biggest fight they've been in and half of the universe hangs in the balance so it's daunting to think about. Through her turbulent thoughts, Emma can tell Steve is worried too, but not just about the upcoming battle. She stops Steve from his pacing and asks him, "Hey Steve can you come sit with me for a minute?"

Steve nods and takes the seat beside Emma, asking, "Is everything all right?"

"That's just what I was about to ask you. What's wrong? Besides the obvious..."

"It's just..." Steve starts to say but stops. I'm just worried about Bucky, he thinks to himself, but he doesn't want to bring up the sore subject.

Emma looks into his eyes and can tell what he's thinking, so she asks, "You're worried about Bucky aren't you?"

Steve can't help the small smile that makes its way onto his lips at Emma mentioning Buck. This is the first time in a long time he's heard her say his name. The moment passes though and he sighs, lowering his voice and admitting to her, "I'm just afraid, Em. What if they couldn't fix him?"

Emma puts a hand on Steve's knee and squeezes it, saying, "Oh come on, this is Shuri we're talking about. She and the healers fixed my broken spine and I was none the wiser. I can almost guarantee they fixed Bucky and he's there waiting to see you. Everything is gonna work out just fine."

Steve nods and looks out the front end of the jet to see they were coming up quickly on Wakanda so he heads up to help direct Sam into the kingdom. He orders him to fly the jet into a patch of trees and Sam tells him, "I hope you're right, or else we're gonna land a lot quicker than you want to, Cap."

Emma stands to look out at the landscape and as she watches the trees approaching faster and faster, she grabs onto a railing to brace herself for impact. The impact doesn't come though as the jet sails right through the trees and into the kingdom of Wakanda.

Emma's mouth opens slightly in shock at the feat of engineering they just flew through and Steve can't help but chuckle a little bit, calling out to her, "And here I was thinking you'd been here before."

Emma laughs and rolls her eyes, defending herself with, "Well last time I didn't exactly know I was coming nor was I conscious to witness...that. And when we were leaving it wasn't like we flew out through the trees!"

"Time for bickering like an old married couple is up, you two," Natasha tells them as Sam lands the ship and opens the hatch in the back.

Steve replies, "Ha ha, very funny, Nat," before heading off the jet with her, leading the group.

Emma lags behind, gathering her stuff up slowly while her heart begins to pick up its pace at the thought of seeing Bucky again for the first time in years. She tries to stop the shaking in her hands and even out her breathing as she finally makes her way off the jet and into the sun. Looking around at Wakanda once again after all this time still instills a sense of wonder in Emma as she spins in a slow circle taking in the majesty of the kingdom.

Ahead, Steve and Nat along with King T'Challa head the group with Bruce butting in to inform T'Challa how big of an assault to expect. As Emma catches up, she hears T'Challa beginning to name off all of the groups he will have fighting and then points to someone emerging from the building.

"And a semi-stable 100-year-old man," Bucky says to the group as he smiles and gives Steve a hug.

"How've you been, Buck?" Steve asks with a big smile.

"Uh not too bad for the end of the world," he responds while taking a survey of the crowd Steve brought with him. His eyes land on Emma which makes her heart skip a beat as he says, "Now that one I don't think I've met."

Steve smiles and offers his hand out to Emma, saying to Bucky, "This is my girlfriend, Emma." He quickly kisses Emma's temple after he pulls her up to the front of the group.

Emma forces herself not to show the panic bubbling up inside due to seeing Bucky in person for the first time since DC. Steve can sense her anxiety and subtly rubs her back comfortingly to calm her down. The gesture helps a little bit, but Emma still can't help the panic inside. Over the years she had finally come to terms with what happened in her mind, but seeing Bucky in person was a whole different story. She hopes the fear from the past doesn't show on her face as she offers a small wave to him. She tries to think of words to say, but none make their way out of her mouth.

Bucky smiles at her, but looking into her eyes, something doesn't feel right. Suddenly, his mind is swept back to Washington DC. He sees himself hiding in the shadows of an apartment on orders from HYDRA to tie up loose ends. The girl he's waiting on has those same eyes... Her hair looks different now and she's a bit older, but Bucky could never forget the eyes of those he hurt as the Winter Soldier.

The group starts to make their way to Shuri's lab to fix up Vision and get the stone out of his head, but before Steve can head off with them, Bucky pulls him aside and whispers, "Steve. Emma...she looks so familiar. Please tell me that I'm not remembering right, that I didn't..."

Steve sighs and nods, telling him, "You did, Buck, but-"

Bucky shakes his head in shame and mumbles, "God I'm so sorry, Steve, I-"

"Buck," Steve says sternly, interrupting him. "It'll be okay. She knows it wasn't the real you, it's just hard for her sometimes. She's been through a lot and so have you, so when this is all over you two can sit down and talk things over. Build trust. It'll be a process, but I know you can do it. Emma's a very forgiving person."

"Well she's gotta be if she's put up with you all this time," Bucky replies, cracking a smile once more.

Steve chuckles and lightly punches Bucky in the arm, telling him, "It's really good to see you again, Buck. Now let's get this over with so we can all start that healing process. Together." After that sentiment, Steve heads off to the lab with the group heading in that direction.

When they arrive, Shuri is finishing setting up her equipment. She looks up to see them enter and smiles when she sees Emma. The young woman gets Vision set up on her lab table before quickly running over to Emma to give her a hug. "What happened to contacting me?" Shuri asks teasingly.

Emma smiles and admits, "We just didn't want to risk anything."

"Understandable," Shuri replies as she releases Emma from the embrace. She then turns back to the lab table to get started on Vision. As she walks to the table, she calls back to Emma, "Oh, by the way, I've created this really cool tech where you can remotely pilot ships from here. I'm sure we can get your AI programmed in quickly so you can pilot from here when the fight reaches us. You can protect us while I get this stone out. As long as it's okay with your Captain here."

Steve nods quickly, wanting Emma to stay as safe as possible. "That works for me," he tells Shuri.

Emma smiles and nods. "Sounds like I know my mission assignment."

With a look from Shuri, some of the lab techs nod and head over and gesture for Emma to follow them. They work quickly, getting SAM set up with the new system so it'll pilot just like she's used to. Although already programming rather quickly, they start to work faster as one of the members of the Dora Milaje informs everyone, "Something has entered the atmosphere."

Almost as if on cue, Sam's voice crackles over the coms, saying, "Hey Cap, we've got a situation."

This statement is followed by a crash and a rumble that shakes the lab. Emma looks out the window to see an alien craft on the ground with more incoming. She steadies herself and tries to stop the shaking in her hands as she types in the final line of code into her drone at the same time as the lab tech. As soon as they hit enter simultaneously, a command center similar to Fury's on the SHIELD helicarrier pops up around Emma.

The lab tech smiles and informs Emma, "This setup will give you command of all the kingdom's small fighter aircraft. Control it just like you would your AI and you'll be fine."

Emma's mouth sits slightly agape at the new setup and she thinks to herself, Man, I could get used to this... After a few seconds, the shock wears off and she manages to get out, "Gosh I love technology..."

As Emma is taking in the tech and memorizing the layout, Steve comes up behind her, putting his hand on her lower back to turn her towards him. "Hey, Wanda is going to stay here in order to keep an eye on Vision and to destroy the stone when Shuri gets it out. You're the lab's first line of defense. If these things breach, you fight like hell okay?" Steve then pauses, his eyes and voice going softer as he whispers, "I can't lose you."

Emma nods, the gravity of the situation starting to settle in. Tears prick the back of her eyes as she clears her throat and whispers, "I will."

Over the coms comes Sam's teasing voice, saying, "Oh don't go getting all weepy on us now."

Steve and Emma can't help the small smiles that make their way onto their faces at the comment. They both temporarily turn off their ends of the coms though to talk for a few more seconds. Emma clears her throat once more and manages to say, "Whatever happens out there, you better come back to me, okay?"

"I will," Steve promises and leans in to kiss her tenderly, hoping to God it wouldn't be the last time...

After their kiss, Emma pulls Steve into an embrace and whispers into his chest, "Be safe." They pull apart soon after, turn on their coms, and get back to work, knowing they can't delay the inevitable.

Wanda walks over to where Emma is with her setup and admits, "Never in a million years did I think I would be in a situation like this..."

Emma looks up and nods, saying, "Neither did I. But we're here now and we need to fight. Not just for our own lives and those we love, but for trillions of other innocent lives across the universe." She pauses for a second before jokingly asking, "No pressure or anything right?"

Wanda forces a small laugh in response but she can't help but look back over to the table where Vision lay with Shuri working on him, worried. She sighs and whispers, "I hope this works..."

"It will," Emma tells her sternly. "We just need to buy some time and keep those things at bay. I'll do everything in my power to make sure they don't get to Vision."

"Thank you, Emma," Wanda whispers before pulling her into an embrace.

"Thank me later when this is all over, okay?" Emma asks with a smile at her friend.

As Wanda walks back to the table, Emma sends out SAM herself to take a fly around in stealth mode to see what the army has in store. As she looks around, she sees tons of hellish-looking doglike creatures running towards the protective shield that blocks the kingdom from intruders. "What the hell are those..." she whispers at the sight.

"What do you see?" Wanda asks.

"You don't even wanna know," Emma mumbles as she starts tapping away at the command screens in front of her, preparing the small aircraft for a firefight.

Suddenly, Steve's voice comes over the coms, saying, "Emma. They know where Vision is. Line up everything you've got to protect the lab."

"Already on it," Emma replies as she finalizes her keystrokes. She sends out five fighter craft to hover in front of the lab with instructions to shoot any of the alien invaders on sight. After she does this, she sees some stragglers begin to leave the main herd and begin running toward the lab. She instantly sends two more crafts to off the stragglers so they don't get to their location. As more and more get the idea to head off from the pack, she taps her coms and informs everyone, "Hey guys, I'm not sure how many of these things I can handle on my own even with these ships..."

In response to this, T'Challa gives the command to open the barrier and let the creatures in to keep them away from the lab. At his command, the shield is opened and hundreds if not thousands of the hellish aliens flood onto the battlefield. Quickly, Emma says aloud to the AI, "Send out the remaining ships in instant kill mode with no friendly fire. Let's see what these aliens got."

A little while of tense battle goes by with Emma constantly monitoring everything anxiously. All starts to seem too overwhelming for the warriors on the battlefield when suddenly a huge beam of light rains down from the sky. Emma uses SAM to figure out what it was and as it turns out, the beam of light in question contains the one and only Thor Odinson! Before Thor is seen though, his new mighty weapon reveals itself and takes out a lot of the creatures attacking the other Avengers on the field.

"Yes!" Emma shouts in excitement and relief.

On the battlefield, Bruce starts laughing and shouts to the aliens, "Ha! You guys are so screwed now!"

The battle rages on and things seem to be on the up and up but then there's a deep rumbling in the ground below that shakes the lab. Wanda and Emma send each other a look before running to look out the window to see the ground exploding with huge circular saws that instantly destroy everything in their path. "I need to go out there," Wanda tells Emma urgently.

"Wanda, no, you need to stay here and destroy the stone when Shuri gets it out," Emma tells her.

"But if I don't go out there and stop these things, they'll get into the lab. I'm going. I trust you to hold them off from here, please trust in me to hold them off out there."

Emma hesitates for a second before finally responding with, "Fine, go. I'll protect Vision."

"And I'll protect Steve," she replies.

Emma nods and tells her retreating back, "Be safe, be smart, Wanda." Wanda nods before sprinting from the lab.

Emma then turns to Shuri and says, "Guess it's just you and me."

"And that is all we will need," Shuri replies with a smile as she continues her work.

During this distraction though, Emma's monitoring was left untouched and SAM suddenly alerts her of an alien about to breach the lab. "Damnit," Emma whispers as she tries to catch up to the alien with the outside crafts, but it's too quick. "I guess it's you and me now SAM."

Emma quickly gets SAM back to the lab building and puts her into stealth mode as she searches the halls for the intruder. When she locates him, Emma orders SAM to shoot him with a powerful blaster in the back. The large alien takes a swing at where he sees the blasts coming from, but the blow only makes the drone more powerful. "Oh, you're gonna regret that," Emma says as she sends the drone flying at the alien at full speed to blast his blow back at him.

Not realizing what had happened, the creature takes another swing at the drone to which Emma mumbles to herself, "Wow, you'd think they would learn from their mistakes." She deals another blow to the alien, but while she is reorienting herself, the creature takes the opportunity to evade her.

Suddenly, the door to the lab bursts open to reveal the alien Emma had been fighting moments before in the hall. While waiting for SAM to come and deal with him, Emma takes her pistol off of her thigh holster and begins shooting at him. She knows the bullets won't do too much damage, but any attention on Emma is attention that isn't on Shuri and Vision.

Without even being phased by the bullets from Emma's gun, the alien runs at the Dora Milaje warrior that had been assigned as their security detail. As the warrior and alien fight, Shuri begins to work faster on getting the stone from Vision's head. When the warrior is overpowered, the creature turns its attention to Shuri who desperately begins to shoot her own gauntlets at him to keep him away from Vision.

The alien manages to knock both women off the balcony before rounding on Emma once more. He takes a swing at her, but Emma expertly tucks and rolls away from the swing. She isn't fast enough in getting up though because the next thing Emma knows, she's being picked up and thrown at the wall like a ragdoll.

After a few seconds of seeing stars, Emma pulls herself off the floor, ignoring the overwhelming pain in her body. She thinks of Steve and what he would do at this moment, which snaps her into focus. She needs to fight. She needs to fight harder than she ever has before. "Not today..." Emma mutters as she spits out some blood from her mouth and assumes a fighting stance.

The fight never comes though. Instead, Vision manages to get himself off of the table and throws himself at the creature that was about to deal another terrible blow to Emma. When he does this, the two fall out the window and onto the battlefield below.

Over the coms, Sam makes the announcement, "We have a Vision situation!"

"Someone get to Vision!" Steve shouts.

"I'm making my way down, but it might take a minute, that alien got me pretty bad," Emma replies in a strained voice as she runs down the stairs trying to ignore the excruciating pain in her ankle, back, shoulder, and head.

"I've got him, I can get there quicker," Bruce tells them as he begins making his way to the area where Vision is fighting the alien.

When Emma finally gets out of the lab, she sprints into the clearing, not seeing Bruce anywhere in sight but witnessing as the alien stabs Vision with his spear. "Shit..." Emma whispers and closes her eyes momentarily.

Steve's voice then enters her ear, asking, "Vision what's your status?" When there isn't a response, he asks, "Banner? Emma?"

"Vision's down," Emma breathes as the alien turns to make eye contact with her once more with a sick grin on his face. Emma balls her hands into fists and continues with, "I'm not sure how much longer I can last one-on-one with this guy..."

"Good thing you won't have to," Steve shouts as he sprints into the area and attacks the creature. Through his fight, he calls out to Emma, "Get to Vision and get him outta here!"

As she gets to Vision and begins to help him stand, the creature throws Steve off of himself and begins to strangle him. Rage and fear fill Emma's body and she looks around for something to save Steve with and spots the alien's spear. She quickly grabs the weapon and runs at the creature, driving the spear into its back along its spinal column, killing him instantly. Emma uses all of her strength to throw the alien off of Steve before dropping to her knees beside him and whispering, "I told you to be safe."

Steve chuckles the slightest bit and replies, "I know, I know." Emma helps Steve stand and they both make their way over to where Vision is on the ground, barely functioning. They help him to sit up against a branch and Wanda flies into the area, running to be by his side.

Steve and Emma give the two space and as they walk off a few feet, Emma whispers, "I'm sorry," not able to look at Steve.

"What for?"

"He got into the lab...I was supposed to prevent that," Emma replies.

"You did the best you could," Steve tells her.

Emma is about to go on, but she is cut off by a piercing noise that cuts through the air like a knife. All Emma has to hear is Vision say, "He's here," and she knows that the fight is far from over.

The fighting on the battlefield seems to stop at Vision's words, so while everyone isn't occupied, Steve makes the announcement, "Everyone on my location, we have incoming." As the other warriors make their way to the area, Emma calls SAM to her position and activates the bracelets on her wrists to triple the energy in her punches.

Nearby, a cloud of blue smoke materializes and from it emerges the big man himself, the Mad Titan, Thanos. He dons a golden gauntlet on one hand adorned with colorful stones, the Infinity Stones. Only one is missing and it's the one attached to Vision's head.

Making his way back from his earlier fight, Bruce whispers to Steve, "That's him..."

Steve engages his Wakandan-issued shields and tells everyone, "Eyes up. Stay sharp."

Bruce runs at the man in his Hulk-Buster armor first, but he simply phases through his body as Thanos uses one of the stones to render the attack obsolete. To ensure that Bruce stays out of the fight, Thanos only unphases him when he's stuck in a wall of rock, unable to move any further.

Steve runs at him but is tossed away by purple wisps of energy from the Power Stone. T'Challa is the next to make an attempt, but he is punched to the ground and the energy in his suit is dispelled into the earth below. After that, Sam tries to fly in for an aerial attack but is flicked from the sky like a bug.

Emma reaches for her second pistol and begins shooting at Thanos from one side as SAM blasts him from the other in a feeble attempt to weaken him. The Titan makes eye contact with Emma and says menacingly, "You. You puny Earth girl managed to kill Glaive..." He smirks before saying, "I'm going to enjoy crushing you."

As he flicks the other Avengers off like flies, he makes his way towards Emma who continues to blast at him with SAM. Within a few seconds, Thanos reaches Emma and just like plucking a flower from the soil, he reaches out and grabs to hold her up by her throat. He tightens his grip just a bit as she punches him with a surprising amount of power, but it's nothing compared to his own or even her other friends on the battlefield. He knows how easily he could kill her right now, but doesn't because he wants to make her feel like she has a chance. He wants to see her struggle for her life. She deserves to be punished for what she did. Her friends deserve to watch her die.

After a few seconds, Emma's power starts to weaken as her body begins to lose oxygen. Loudly, SAM begins to shout, "Boss! Boss! Vital signs are starting to fade, you have to fight!"

A few yards away, Steve shakes off the blow of the Power Stone and looks up to see where Thanos was now. What he sees is the Titan with his hand around Emma's throat and her body beginning to go limp. At the sight, Steve feels hot rage welling up in his chest. He doesn't even think, his body just jumps into action to save Emma. Steve sprints over and knocks Thanos's legs out from under him and this makes him drop Emma. As Emma hits the ground, she's dragged away from the immediate area. She doesn't know by whom though because all she's worried about is getting oxygen back into her lungs after what just happened.

Back in the fight, Steve punches Thanos in the jaw and then shocks the Titan by having the strength to hold back his hand that wears the gauntlet. Steve knows he can't let him win. He bares his teeth as he uses his full strength to try and get an advantage, his mind racing through all of his memories with Emma, with Sam, with Bucky, and this gives him the strength to keep holding on. All of this effort is for naught though as Thanos takes a swing at Steve with his other hand and this time he stays down.

Recovering a bit from the lack of oxygen, Emma finally gains the strength to lift her head up only to see Wanda having to use her powers to blast the stone out of Vision's head while still fighting Thanos off. A huge blast of yellow energy erupts as the deed is complete and the stone is destroyed. Mixed feelings of hope and sadness fill Emma's mind as she takes in the scene. 

A few seconds pass and Emma tries to stand, but is pulled back to the ground by a force that isn't her own free will. The same yellow blast from before fills the air as she is tossed back to the ground as time turns itself back. Emma looks up at the scene once more only to see the madman rip the stone out of Vision's head himself. As he does this, Vision loses all color in his body in an instant and falls to the ground.

"Oh my God..." Emma whispers as she watches helplessly as Thanos fashions the last stone onto the gauntlet. The power courses through his body and even he screams at the pain they cause him.

Emma can't watch the rest as Thor comes in to fight the man because she's too busy crying and cursing herself for not doing a better job. After a few moments, she dares to take a look up at the battlefield littered with her friends just in time to see Thanos snap his fingers before falling back into a portal of his creation.

Steve finally picks himself up from the ground and looks around, asking Thor, "Where'd he go?" Steve is met with silence though, so he asks again, "Thor. Where'd he go?"

After that is when Thanos's desire comes to fruition. From beside Steve, Bucky stands up and says with concern in his voice, "Steve..." before fading to dust, leaving his gun to drop to the ground. Steve drops to his knees beside where his friend stood just moments before and his heart breaks. He lost Buck yet again... Panic starts to fill his body as he looks around for Emma and to see who else will fall victim to the snap.

Meanwhile, Emma gets the energy to lift her head and scan the field. She makes eye contact with Sam and feels shame rise in her body as she watches him turn into dust as well. "I'm so sorry..." Emma whispers as he fades from existence.

Finally, Steve spots Emma on the ground and runs over to her. He pulls her onto his lap and cradles her in his arms praying she won't be next. Emma looks up to Steve with tears flowing from her eyes and she manages to get out, "Steve, I'm scared."

Steve holds her tighter and kisses her forehead before mumbling, "It's okay. I'm right here." Fear of losing Emma makes its way into Steve's thoughts as more of their friends fade to dust around them. Having this in mind, Steve adds to his thought, "I love you, Emma."

Emma's mouth opens slightly in shock at those three little words coming from Steve, but she shakes off the shock and quickly says back to him what she's been wanting to say for so long, "I love you too, Steve." At the words, Steve holds Emma closer knowing that these could very well be their last moments together.

a/n: yes of course I'm leaving this one on a cliffhanger! what kind of writer do you think i am? what a ride though! we finally get an "I love you" but at what cost?

next chapter

taglist: @mrsevans90

[starshii4]

A Cold Summer Day

The most special day of my life was not entirely happy. At least, not most of it. But it was a day that changed every other.

It was the end of the school’s first semester. It was winter and the freezing wind ran so strongly that it was easy to think that even the buildings would be blown away. I wore two sweaters and a wool cap, but I felt the cold was coming from inside, not the weather. Fiercinly and impossible to contain, it had firstly frozen my chest and then scratched a hole in my stomach, where throbbing anxiety - that had been chasing me in every moment and thought - had grown.

In that morning, I had heard - while distractedly passing over the TV - that a giant iceberg had just broken off from a glacier. Something related to global warming stuff. Whatever. What matters is that this image stuck in my mind: a piece of ice, alone, navigating without destiny or control on the Arctic Ocean. That was how I felt. Except that my iceberg was not giant. It was very tiny - sizing a 3x2 meter bedroom with rusty walls and no windows.

A teacher talks about some war, another one about some numbers. Test date, background crosstalking. Someone asks for a pencil. Class, class, snack break (eat nothing), class. The day had come to an end in a blink.

6 pm. Somehow, the evening was colder than the morning. At the school gate, the same fussy crowd of entering and leaving students as always. My eyes slowly wandered from face to face while I walked through it.

Then they landed in her. She was beside her old white bicycle, which had a pillion and front basket, leaning on the graffiti wall. My eyelids widened. When she saw me in the crowd, she smiled. And her smile - her kind eyes giggling, the dimples in her cheeks, the slightly curved mouth -, that was the most beautiful sight in the world. Not in a romantic or aesthetic sense, it was something more in the spiritual sense. And she was always smiling; the most smiling person I have ever met

Every day she waited for me there to give me a ride to the train station. The five minutes that we spent together were undoubtedly the best part of the day. In some way, the time I spent beside her, was the only part of the day.

She never fit in the words “best friend”. Not because she was less than that, but because those words were too tiny and claustrophobic to describe her. In those little words, it was impossible to fit all the lonely and deep moments we spent together, all the secrets of our own, all the truths that only two heads understood.

While the wind was blowing our hair on the bike, we had brief and banal talks. She was full of jokes and I pretended to be too. She narrated her day as a fantastic adventure, and for some moments, I really believed that days could be like that. And when I noticed that all my days were cloudly and monotonous - that sometimes I didn’t even remember what had happened - I just realized how I desired to be like her.

She stopped the bike in front of the train station. Every day she left me there; I took the train and she went to her apartment. On that day we said goodbye, as always, and I walked alone to the station ticked gate - every step away from her making me more colder. 

But I didn’t cross the gate. I stopped there, standing in front of the rusty metal bars, my eyes fixed on the nothingness. 

I don’t know what was different on that day. If it was because it was colder than usual, if was something that she had said and I didn’t pay attention, or, I don’t know, just destiny. But my feet refused to continue. My body didn’t want to cross the ticket gate, get on the train, and leave for a tomorrow that would be identical to yesterday. I didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to hear who I needed to be or what I should do, I didn’t want to get stuck in my little iceberg, lost in the ocean. I was tired of obeying the rules that I had imposed on myself as to how I should behave.

I had no idea what I was doing in my life, how I was going to achieve what my parents wanted, how I was going to live the life of my dreams. But, sincerely, whatever. I didn’t want anything at that moment, but to continue beside that girl who was always giving me a ride, and to extend that five minutes when I was alive.

I’m not sure how long I was standing there, but when I came back to reality, people were cursing and saying to don't hold up the line.

I turned around, feeling the heat of a drop of tear sliding over my cheek, and rushed off. I bumped into everyone behind me and they cursed me even more. But, whatever. I ran over the station, over the sidewalk, over the street; people glanced at me in strangeness. But, whatever. I sprinted the fastest I had ever done in my life. There was no meaning in anything but to run. And I did until I reached her, on top of the white bike, waiting for the green light on a crossroad.

And when the avalanche of tears soaked my sweater collar, I shouted her name. 

I shouted so loud, that even the grey clouds up in the sky heard me.

She turned her head, confused, paralyzed. I walked around a car and a motorcycle on the street and reached her. I thought she was going to ask what had happened, why I was crying - anyone would do that.

But no her. Because she knew me.

She got up, smiled, and wrapped her arms around me. So so strongly, that I couldn’t breathe. So strongly, that for the first time in much time, I felt a gentle heat melting the ice inside me.

And, in silence, she invited me to sit on the bike again.

And suddenly, the winter had gone. Suddenly, I noticed it was summer. Suddenly, I felt my heart. And suddenly, all of a sudden, not more than that, while she pedaled, I realized that the sky was blue and bright; I saw the flowers and green trees in the squares; I glanced at the kids playing in the parks. I pulled out my cap and let the wind wash my hair and carry my tears. 

It was on that day that I realized that I didn’t need anything more than that. All I wanted was to be in that pillion beside that girl. Forever.

[theshelbyclan]

Castle in the Sky

Summary: You’re the daydreaming sibling of the Shelby’s, but when the adventure spills over into real life, it’s not as great as you’d imagined

(Gif by @nofckingfighting​) A/N: A sweet anon requested: can I have request please Something like this Tommy was very protective over y/n and she gets hurt by one of the bad guys and sees blood on her face now all bruised but Tommy wants revenge Omg if you do so thank you so much for my request! ❤️ Huge fan of your works!This is set around season 1, back in the good old days when the only real enemy was Billy Kimber, remember those days? So easy… anyways, hope you like it J Words: 2933 ***

You were only nine when you started as a bookie’s runner for the Peaky Blinders. Nothing about this was special, half the kids of Small Heath worked for them, but there was just one difference: the Shelby’s were your brothers. It was a good job in many ways, because it meant not only being able to help your brothers, but people were inclined to give you a bit extra, just for being a Shelby. You imagined they thought it good luck.

“Y/N, take this to the other side of town, will you?” Tommy requested as he sat hunched over a newspaper. You protested a little, “Why me? I’ve done all of mine for today…” “This one’s extra, alright?” “Who is it?” you could never hide your inquisitive nature. But you only showed it around your brothers; to the rest of the world you were just quiet and practically invisible. He smirked slightly, “Someone who’ll pay up big. That’s why I need you to do it. Can’t trust any of the other kids not to steal…” “I have some homework to do, Tommy.” At thirteen, you were still at school, which was a minor miracle in Birmingham. “Tell you what: if you just do this one job, I’ll get you magazine you’ve been talking about, eh?” now he looked up and met your eyes. “Book, Tommy,” you smiled, “You might have heard of the concept? It’s a little like a magazine, a little like that newspaper, but with more pages? Some find it challenging, but once you get used to it…” “Alright, little miss know-it-all,” he grumbled without malice, “Go on, take the slip, make sure he bets all. Off with you. Stop outsmarting your old brother, eh?” He winked to make sure you were comfortable and you returned it with a big grin. “Where?” “Digbeth,” Tommy’s nose was back in the newspaper, “behind the Golden Dragon.” ***

As you were walking through the streets of Small Heath on your way to Digbeth, you were daydreaming. In a way it was strange just how different you were from your brothers, because the entire Shelby clan was very realistic, trying to make their way in this hard world, where you would rather pretend all day you were the main character in some story. The books you read, it was all an escape to you. So while you were walking, the people and factories disappeared. In your head, you were walking through the woods, on a secret mission that your king gave you. With the top-priority letter in your pocket, you remembered what he’d told you before you left: “If you get caught, eat the letter. If they capture you, make sure to be brave and never divulge its contents to anyone. And if all else fails, you must make the ultimate sacrifice. But remember, you have to memorize the contents of the letter first…” Wouldn’t it just be easier to memorize it now and destroy the letter immediately? You pondered on the matter… In the distance, you could see the mountains and the towers of another kingdom, and you knew your enemies were near. Without anyone noticing, you put a hand to your pocket and could feel the reassuring rustling of paper underneath your fingers: the letter was still there. If it would come to a fight, how would you go about it? If there were just one man, the small dagger in your boots would suffice. If it were two, you’d distract one, maybe by throwing the veil you were wearing, quickly turning around to kill the other and then back to the first one before he had time to recover. If there were more than three, you’d run, because you were the fastest after all. You’d get to higher ground and attack them from there, like a deadly shadow they could never see coming. As you smiled to yourself, you left the daydream for a short moment. You looked down and saw the muddy shoes you were wearing, marching through Birmingham mud. In the distance, all you saw was smoke and factory pipes. But it was honestly all you needed: your imagination did the rest. The real world barged in when you delivered the slip in Digbeth. Everything went smoothly at first. Your big brown eyes persuaded him to indeed bet big, and you were quite satisfied with yourself, knowing Tommy would be too. But you still had to walk back with a lot of money now in your pocket.

*** Almost home, there were only a few streets to go. Your head was back in the clouds and this time you were imagining you were a spy during the war. Silently, you moved through the streets, making yourself invisible and pretending every man wearing a hat was the enemy. So each time you saw one, you changed directions or hid for a second. It was a fun game, until you realised the enemy wasn’t wearing a hat. “Now, what’s a pretty girl like you doing on the streets, all by herself?” A man with a heavy Cockney accent popped up next to you and your heart nearly jumped out of your chest. You opened your mouth to reply, but no words came out. In your dreams, you always knew what to say, but in reality it wasn’t so easy. The man approached you and you noticed he’d cut you off from your one exit out of the alley, “It’s Y/N Shelby, isn’t it,” he grinned. “No,” you managed to say, “you got the wrong girl.” He grinned again, “Nice try, sweetheart. We’ve seen you at the Garrison. They don’t allow little girls at the pub, unless they’re a Shelby.” This was all true. You felt your hands getting clammy. “Tommy sent you, didn’t he?” Again, you tried to remember what the hero in your stories would do. She’d run, climb the building and then throw a knife right between the eyes of the man. Or she’d say something clever, just to distract him, and then turn around and escape when he least expected it. He took another few steps forward and you could smell him now, a smell of strange smoke and the river, “Do you know who I am?” Nailed to the ground, you shook your head. “I work for Mr. Billy Kimber. Ever heard of him?” You turned to see if you could escape, but then realised the other side of the alley was blocked by two more men. Neither of them were wearing hats. Cold sweat of fear ran down your back. The man in front of you started laughing, “There’s no running, sweetheart. Just give it to me.” At once you realised he was referring to the money in your pocket, but for Tommy’s sake, you wanted at least to try to be brave, “I don’t have anything.” He sighed, “Don’t play with me. I’m not the kind of man to play with, and neither is Mr. Kimber,” his voice was suddenly low and menacing, “Your brother thought he could, thought he would get away with fixing a race, he did, and now he’s going to be put against the post and shot. Don’t think I won’t do the same to you.” You gulped, but still thought of Tommy’s disappointment in you when he would find out you’d been a coward. So you took a deep breath and said softly, “It’s not yours. This money is ours. You can tell Mr. Kimber to go fuck himself!” It didn’t come out as strongly as you’d hoped. Like a crack of thunder, he swiftly slapped you across the face with the back of his hand. All the air was knocked out of your lungs in a second and you stood gasping for air, as you felt some blood trickling down your chin. “Give me the money,” he demanded again. And then, like your heroes, you pretended to reach for it in your pocket. Suddenly, you turned around and started running into the other direction, hoping to slip past the two men before they could stop you. But it didn’t work. One grabbed your arm and when you tried to push him away, he punched you hard. All strength left you in an instant. The second one started fumbling in your pockets and instinctively you kicked him, which earned you another blow to the head. More punches followed and your head was spinning. As you looked up to the sky, you remembered wanting to get back home, to your castle, where all was well and safe.  In the end, they left you on the ground and the money was gone. Your last thought was: Tommy is going to be so embarrassed. 

*** “Y/N?” You opened your eyes, but couldn’t see for a moment. “Y/N,” the familiar voice repeated, “Come on, yes, let’s get you home. Polly, Polly will know what to do, yes…” Strong arms lifted you up and rocking with his familiar limp, Curly carried you back to Watery Lane. When he’d taken you into the kitchen, Aunt Polly flew to your side in seconds, asking, “What’s happened?” Uncertainly, Curly explained and as he did, he started to become upset over your state. That’s when Tommy came in and started to calm him, while keeping an eye on you all the time. “Sweetheart,” Aunt Polly had taken a cold cloth to the cut in your lip, “Wake up… Come back to us…” Again you tried opening you eyes and you finally managed this time. But all your concern was with Curly, who was still anxiously fidgeting with his cap in hand. “Don’t worry, Curly,” you croaked, “I’m alright now. You did good, carrying me here.” “Polly will know what to do…” he kept on repeating. Tommy put a hand on his shoulder and it had an immediate calming effect, “It’s alright, Curly, go back to Charlie, eh? We’ll take care of her now.” Before he left, you said to him, “Curly? I’ll stop by tomorrow, see about that beautiful horse of yours, alright?” That put an immediate smile on his face, “Yes, she’s a beauty, alright… And she needs her princess to ride her! Back to that castle in the sky…yes…” When he’d gone, you lowered your head again and sighed deeply. Carefully, you felt your face and only then realised how awful you must look. “Who did this,” Tommy demanded at once. Polly glared daggers at him, “You did, I presume?” “Me?” “I told you again and again not to use the little ones to run errands. Sending them across half of Birmingham with money in their pockets, and look what happens!” For a moment, Tommy seemed to be speechless. Then he protested, “They’re invisible, Pol. Nobody knows they’re carrying anything.” “This one did,” you interjected, “because he knew who I was.” “How?” “Said he was with Kimber,” you whispered as the memories came back to you, “said he’d put me up against a post and he’d shoot me, like he’d do with you…” In a sudden fit of rage, Tommy grabbed a chair and flung it across the room. Polly snarled at the gesture and then turned to you, “Stay here. This cloth is cold, keep it against your eye, or it’ll turn black in half an hour, and I can’t take you to church looking like that. I just need to have a word with your brother.” You took the cloth and didn’t dare to look at Tommy, who was now being taken away by his aunt like he was ten years old again and in trouble. Aunt Polly closed the door behind her, but you still tried to hear as much as you could. Most of it was lost, but when they started shouting you heard bits like “putting your little sister in danger!” and “this is Billy fucking Kimber, Thomas” and “family first”. At first Tommy protested with “I didn’t know they knew her” and “Kimber is getting weak”, but eventually he shouted out in defeat, “I fucked up, alright? I’ll fix it. I promise.” When they came back, Tommy looked like a dog that’d just been kicked. So he retreated into a corner and started smoking, still sulking a little. Aunt Polly lifted your head up by placing a finger under your chin, “You won’t look pretty for a week, but it’ll heal.” You shrugged, not caring about being pretty at all, and muttered, “I feel like an idiot…” “Why?” your aunt demanded, “because big men decided to go after a small girl?” Tears started forming in the corners of your eyes, as you admitted, “Because I wanted to be brave! In my stories I’m pretty and strong and the hero, but in reality I’m just like a mouse. No one notices me and I’m useless…” “Sweetheart,” Polly softened her voice and crouched down next to you, “Just because you can’t fight like Arthur or John can, doesn’t make you useless. We’re all stuck here, in Small Heath, and there’s nothing pretty about that. But you reading all those books? That’s what’s going to make this easier. You can pretend, and that’s worth more than you’ll ever realise.” You smiled back at your aunt, who always knew what to say to make you feel better. “I’m off to the chemist to get you some powder against the pain,” she kissed the top of your head, “I’ll be right back, love.” After she’d gone as well, you sighed again and dropped the cloth. Her words mattered, of course they did, but it didn’t change the fact that you weren’t happy with yourself at all. For starters, you still couldn’t bear looking at Tommy. “Y/N,” he grumbled, which convinced you even more he was angry and disappointed, “Tell me what they looked like.” “They didn’t wear hats…” Impatiently he waved a hand, “Apart from that. What else?” “I don’t know,” you shrugged, “it all happened fast, Tommy. They had that accent that Kimber has as well.” “Fucking Cockneys…” your brother breathed. “Tommy?” you tried carefully, “I’m so sorry, but I lost the money. I tried to keep it. When they asked I told them to fuck off and then I tried to run and even fight, but they still took it. I’m so sorry…” He held up a hand to silence you and locked eyes with you, “You told them to fuck off?” “Yes, but it didn’t help…” “You actually told them to fuck off?” he frowned, “Usually you’re too shy to even say anything to strangers…” “I was angry,” you explained, “and I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Tommy walked over to you and much to your surprise, he was smirking, “So you told them to go fuck themselves, and then you fought them?” “Yes?” “Did you hit any of them?” You thought about it for a second, “I think I kicked one in the balls and hit the other in the face.” His grin grew even wider and he mumbled to himself, “Wait ‘till I tell Arthur about this…” “Why?” you protested, “So he can laugh at me as well?” “No, sweetheart, he’ll be the proudest brother ever. His little sister, who everyone thinks is a little mouse too scared to do anything? She fucking hit a grown man and told them to go fuck themselves. Now that’s a hero in my book!” His laugh was contagious and you had to join in. But soon you became uncertain again and asked, “Are you not upset I lost the money?” “The money’s not important,” his face grew serious again in an instant, “but you are.” “Really?” you whispered. “Yes,” he took your face in his hands, “Listen, Y/N, this is what’s going to happen: Billy Kimber threatened my little sister, so I’m going to put himup against the post, and shoot him.” “And then what?” “Well, what usually happens in your books? Maybe I could learn something from them, eh?” A warm feeling of being appreciated for who you were came over you, “You’d take his kingdom and his skull would be put up on the gates, as a warning for all future enemies.” “That’s fucking dark,” Tommy raised one eyebrow, “But I like it.” “Me too…” you smiled at your brother. “I mean it though, Y/N. Kimber touched you, so I’m going to shoot the bastard. I won’t let anyone fucking go near you again.” And just like that, you felt safe enough again to continue dreaming. *** A few weeks later, everything had turned to chaos, both in the Shelby household as in the whole of Birmingham. Tommy didn’t speak to anyone of what happened to you, he hadn’t even apologized, but he wasn’t like that. He told you he’d fix it, promised you revenge, and that was even better. When the men were counting minutes in front of the Garrison and Billy Kimber’s army arrived, you were sitting at home with a book. You couldn’t really concentrate, because you knew there were too many of them. You pretended some angel would appear to save them all. There’d have to be no bloodshed, because this angel would be on your brothers’ side. That angel came in the form of your older sister Ada. She’d always had flair. In the end, only two bullets were fired. You listened to them both. One killed Danny Whizz-bang. The other killed Billy Kimber. Nobody knew, but as Tommy fired, he didn’t have business on his mind.

As he aimed, he saw his little sister’s face, all bruised and battered.

He whispered, “for Y/N,” and shot.

Bang.

***

Masterlist

[angstysebfan]

The Past Can Break You - 2

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

AU: Avengers

Summary: You and Bucky have been dating for aa few years. As far as you’re concerned he is the one. But what happens when a blast from the actual past shows up?

A/N: Ive seen a lot stories of Bucky getting his first love from the 40′s back. And I’ve always wondered... what would happen if he was dating someone already? Reader is from this time. Not proofread.

Warning: Smut 18+ only please

--

When Bucky made it up to your shared room he slowly and silently opened the door. You were sitting on your bed, your back facing the door, but he could tell you were crying by the shaking of your shoulders. It broke his heart to see you so upset.

He closed the door behind him and walked over to sit next to you. He wrapped his metal arm around your waist and pulled you into his embrace. You then openly sobbed into his chest. Bucky caressed your back and kissed you on the head, allowing you to cry.

When you started to calm down you sighed deeply, sniffed, and said, “Are you going to break up with me now?”

Bucky’s heart completely broke. He put his finger under your chin, forcing you to look at him. “No, baby. Of course not. I love you. I love you so much! Why would you think that?” He asks.

“Because before we started dating you told me about Dot and how much she meant to you. You were going to propose when you got home from the war. Well here is your chance to live the life you wanted with the girl you wanted,” you say as tears again start to leak from your eyes.

“Baby, I’m not the same man I was then. Yes, I still have love for Dot, but I’m so madly in love with you. I promise,” he said, kissing your forehead, nose, and then lips.

“I’m going to help Dot become acclimated to the world now, and help her settle. But I promise I will always be here for you, ok?” He asks.

You nod, feeling slightly better. “I love you,” you say.

“I love you too. I’ve gotta get down to the lab. I promised Dot I would be down there with her. But I won’t be long,” he says before kissing you again and then leaving.

You sit and wait for him, hoping it wouldn’t take too long. But after 4 hours you give up on him and go to sleep. You hope that he will keep his word on still loving you. You don’t want to lose him. You love him too much.

- -

1 month later

Over the last several weeks, you’ve only seen Bucky’s about a handful of times. He’s always off with Dot, helping her learn the ways of today, and helping her deal with her “trauma”. Every time he tries to give you a little time she always calls for him saying how upset she is or that she’s about to have a panic attack. You try and be understanding but at the same time it’s really starting to annoy you.

One of the worst things is that he barely even sleeps with you anymore. This morning you woke up to an empty bed, yet again, and head downstairs for breakfast. When you got down to the common room you heard the sound of Dot’s giggles and saw her sitting on the couch with Bucky, her feet on his lap. At that point you lost your appetite, so you went up to the roof instead.

After an hour you hear the door to the roof open as you’re staring off into the distance. You feel arms wrapped around your waist as a stubble chin rest on your shoulder. You decide to ignore him and continue staring off into the distance and several thoughts past of your mind.

“Was looking for you,” Bucky said as he kissed your shoulder. “Why you up here all alone?”

You sigh, “well I’m used to being alone a lot these days. And I guess I didn’t feel like sitting there watching you and Dot flirt in the common room,“ you say annoyed.

You hear him sigh behind you as he puts his forehead on your shoulder. “I know, and I’m so sorry that I haven’t been around much. I’m just trying to do my best to help her,” He said.

“I promise I’ll try and do better at managing my time so that I can spend more time with my girl,“ he says as he kisses the back of your head and trails kisses all the way down to your neck.

He turns you around in his arms and rests his forehead on yours. Before you know it you are both swaying to no music, until Bucky starts singing your song. You wrap your arms around his neck as you both slow dance to your song as Bucky sings. When he finishes you kiss him passionately.

“Tonight we will have date night. No Dot, no interruptions, just you, me, and that new lingerie you bought a few weeks ago,” he says as he continues to sway you.

You smile widely at the thought of spending a night alone with your boyfriend. “Oh Bucky, that sounds amazing! I’ve missed you so much, and I get what your doing, but it’s hard,” you say.

“I know. I’ve been neglecting you and it ends now. You are my priority, not Dot. And I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you. Tonight,” he says.

You kiss him in reply.

- -

Later that night, after dinner and another bout of dancing, you come out of the bathroom with your new lingerie set. You stand in the doorway staring at your half naked boyfriend. Bucky’s eyes darken with lust as he starts to stalk towards you like a lion about to pounce.

“You look good enough to eat, baby,” he says huskily. He then pulls you into his arms with a searing kiss.

He leads you to the bed and throws you on it, before jumping on top, connecting your lips again. His hand travels down to your core and he moves your panties to the side, putting pressure on your clit. He starts rubbing at an intensely fast pace, making you lose your breath. Very quickly he pulls your first orgasm from you.

Before you come back to earth you feel your new panties being ripped from you, as well as the bra. Bucky loved to rip your underwear all the time. He kissed his way down your stomach to your wet core and dove in. Your back arched off the bed.

“Oh my god, Bucky!” You moaned as your hand pulled his hair.

He then stuck two metal fingers into you and started pumping. You knew it wouldn’t be long now. You couldn’t stand the amazing sensation of his fingers and tongue. You started to feel the build up of pressure in your belly.

“Bucky! I’m going to cum,” you cry as you again orgasm on his face.

After a moment Bucky kisses his way back up your lips. You taste yourself on his tongue, which makes you wetter, if that’s possible. “You are the best thing I have ever tasted, Doll. Truly exquisite,” he says.

He then pulls off his pants and boxers before lining up with you. He slowly starts to push in, which feels amazing. After a moment he completely bottoms out in you. He kissed you, and just as he is about to thrust, you are both interrupted by FRIDAY.

“Sergeant Barnes, Ms. Jones is requesting to see you sir,” she says.

Bucky groans into your neck, “Tell her I’m busy and we’ll talk in the morning,” he says.

“I’m sorry sir, but she appears to be having a panic attack and having trouble breathing,” FRIDAY says.

“Shit,” Bucky says as he pulls out of you and grabs his sweats. He looks at you guiltily, “I’m sorry. I’ll be back in 10 minutes tops, and then we can finish what we started,” he says before running out the door.

You stare at the door as it closes in shock. He just left you in the middle of sex for his ex. What the hell! You lay there and wait, but after 2 hours you decide to get dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. You take your ruined lingerie and throw it out. You lay back on your bed thinking about how you will have a stern discussion when he comes back.

Before you know it, another 2 hours go by and it’s the middle of the night. You’re more than angry, now you are hurt. You grab your pillow and your blanket and leave your shared room with Bucky, and head to your old room. After locking the door, you inform FRIDAY not to let anyone, especially Bucky in. You climb into bed and allow a few tears before falling asleep.

- -

Bucky woke up the next morning disoriented. When he realized he was still in Dot’s room he panicked. After he finally got Dot to calm down last night he went to leave but Dot begged him to stay until she fell asleep. He must have dozed off too. He quickly got out of the bed and quietly exited the room.

Steve was coming down the hall and saw Bucky’s coming out of Dot’s room. “ why are you in Dot‘s room?” Steve asked.

“She had a panic attack last night and I came to calm her down and fell asleep. Y/N is going to be so pissed at me,” Bucky said.

“Wasn’t last night date night?” Steve asked.

Bucky nodded, “Yea and Dot interrupted right in the middle of sex. I left Y/N there naked on the bed like a jackass,” Bucky said angrily.

“You left her in the middle of sex to deal for your ex!? Why didn’t you ask me to deal with it?” Steve yelled.

“I don’t know. Dot says she only feel comfortable with me. I’m just trying to help her. But I’m going to lose my girl in the process. I’ll talk to Dot later about it, but things have to change. I can’t keep ignoring my girl,” Bucky said.

Steve nodded, “Yeah, we’ll good luck with talking to her after last night,” he said before slapping Bucky’s shoulder and leaving.

Bucky sighed and went to your shared room, only to see that you weren’t there. He checked the kitchen, common room, roof, gym, and lab but couldn’t find you. The last place he went was to your old bedroom. He found the door locked, which told him he found you.

“FRIDAY, can you please open the door?” He asked the AI.

“I’m sorry Sergeant Barnes. But I was requested by Agent Y/L/N to not let anyone, especially you in,” FRIDAY said.

Bucky’s heart dropped. He really messed up.

- -

Chapter 1 / Chapter 3

A lot happening in this chapter. Bucky being stupid, but at least he is aware. Now can he fix it? will the reader let him? And what else will Dot do? Feedback is appreciated!

Permanent Taglist:  @hailmary-yramliah @tuiccim @comedictragedy @cap-n-stuff @thefridgeismybestie @swiftmind @aleaisntcreative @lookiamtrying @pinknerdpanda @morganclaire4 @iamvalentinaconstanza @verygraphicink @im-squished @joannie95 @peace-love-hobbitness @connie326 @amandamdiehl @harrysthiccthighss @its-izzys @roserose26 @rebekahdawkins @elegantobservationstudentsblog @broco8 @shinykoalacat @white-wolf1940 @jessyballet

Story Taglist: @afuckingshituniverse @wintrfld 

[nothinghcppens]

bad liar - pietro maximoff

masterlist

pair: pietro maximoff x female!reader

summary: y/n is the new addition to the avengers, she was introduced to tony stark by nick fury who had heard of her special abilities after she was seen saving a building of people from an attack. when she gets introduced to the team she is taken in immediately, but others seem to not be as keen to get to know her.

warnings: swearing, mentions of trauma

“right, y/n.” tony stark said to you as he led you up the stairs of the avengers tower, “there’s going to be a lot of people here, it might be overwhelming. try not to freak out.”

“i promise you i’ll be fine, it’s them i’m worried about. have you told them what’s wrong with me?” you replied, following behind him. he stopped outside a large foggy glass door.

“there’s nothing wrong with you. these guys are the freaks.” he joked with a slight grin. you rolled your eyes and shook your head. the bearded man, who you had already began to enjoy the company of, placed his hand on your shoulder. “come on kid, let’s make a good first impression.” he pushed open the door and walked in, you stepping in behind him.

the room went silent as the large group of people looked at you. they were sat on the two sofas, a few on the floor. you immediately recognised a few of them, steve rogers and natasha romanoff stood out amongst the crowd, you saw them on the news all the time.

“okay losers, meet y/n y/l/n. she’s our new recruit.” he announced as he clapped his hands together. they all stood up and approached you, you’re eyes widening. you’re eyes scanned the group, now seeing clint barton and sam wilson. standing at the back of the group were a brunette girl and a blonde boy and floating slightly to the left was a red man with a mysterious glowing gem in his head.

“you probably already know steve, natasha, clint and sam.” tony said, gesturing towards them.

“yep, you’re pretty famous round these parts.” you explained, causing laughter from each of them.

“nice to meet you, y/n.” steve greeted, putting out his hand for you to shake.

you glanced at tony before taking his hand and shaking it lightly. “very... formal.” you noted with a grin.

“he’s very traditional.” tony commented, his smile copying yours.

“who’s the red dude?” you asked. the group let out a collective chuckle.

“vision, but the red dude works too.” he said, lowering himself to the ground.

“at the back we have the twins. come on you two, introduce yourselves.” tony called. the two pushed their way to the front, the girl with a smile on her face.

“i’m wanda, very excited to be working with you.” she said. you smiled and looked to the scowling boy next to wanda.

“pietro.” he stated. he was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a tight fitting t-shirt that accentuated his arms and chest. he was very attractive.

“well, can’t please everyone.” you commented, noting his cold demeanour.

they all eventually made their way to the couches again, everyone wanting to get to know you. tony had gave you a coffee and you sat on the carpet with your back against the sofa. wanda and nat joined you on the floor and the rest sat on the leather sofas.

“so, y/n.” nat started, glancing around at the team. “what’s your special talent?”

“i thought you told them?!” you exclaimed at tony.

“i didn’t say that!” he replied, chuckling. you groaned and stood up, ready to showcase your “special talent”.

“i need a volunteer.” you announced with a smirk, “or multiple.” confused looks were shared between the team. “fine. i’ll choose. wanda, steve and mr grumpy over there.” you said, pointing at pietro. he seemed to clearly not like you, so why not annoy him a little.

the three of them stood up and you led them to a clear space in the room. “who wants to go first?” you asked. tony leant back on the char as steve stepped forward, ready for the show. “go on then captain, give me your best shot.” you teased, throwing your arms up in a fighting stance.

a smile grew on his face and he went to throw a punch with his ‘super solider strength’ but you caught his arm and spun him around, pulling his arm behind him. you felt his strength flow through you as you ‘copied’ his powers. your knee flew up and hit his back, causing him to grunt and fall to the floor.

“okay so what? you can fight, there’s plenty of people like that here.” pietro commented with a scoff. his sokovian accent was thick but his english was fantastic.

“fine then, speedy. your turn.” you stated and steve stood up and laughed. “sorry captain, someone had to go first.” he retreated back to the group, taking his seat again. you took a step to the side, now standing in front of pietro who was glaring you down. you beckoned him with your hands and he cracked his neck before starting in a run towards you. you focused your mind on him and you mimicked his powers, running away at his pace. you ended up behind him and he stopped, confused. he turned around and you saw his eyebrows furrow. he ran towards you again but you sped towards him and grabbed his wrist from behind him, preventing him from moving any further.

“what the fuck?” he cursed, looking at you with anger in his eyes.

“aw what? mad that you aren’t the only fast one anymore?” you taunted, a dramatic pout on your face. he scoffed and ripped his hand from your grip, stomping back to the team. “i don’t think he likes me very much.” you could see tony’s amused face from where he sat, he sent you a wink and you turned to face wanda who was buzzing with excitement.

“is he always like that?” you asked, gesturing towards the blonde boy.

“only when he feels intimidated.” she replied, her accent similar to her brother’s.

“you ready?” you questioned.

“always.” she said, her hands glowing red.

you concentrated on her, absorbing her abilities. your hands began to glow the same red as hers and you flicked your hand towards her, lifting her from the floor. she retaliated by thrusting her hand at you, causing you to be thrown against the wall. you pushed yourself up and tossed her across the room where she landed at the team.

“ta-dah!” you said with a dramatic curtsy.

“copying people’s abilities. i like you kid.” sam announced, standing up and helping wanda get to her feet. he walked over to you and clapped his hand on your shoulder, “i think this calls for a celebration. after y/n gets settled in, let’s crack open the drinks!” everyone cheered in agreement.

“we’ll take you to your room.” nat explained with wanda at her side. you were shown to your room where all your belongings had been brought up.

your two new friends helped you choose an outfit for the night and sat with you while you got ready.

“don’t you two need to get ready?” you asked as you applied a thin layer of lip gloss.

“we don’t need to rush, steve and pietro take longer than everyone combined to get ready.” nat replied with a laugh.

———

the bar area of the tower was lit dimly and was filled with people you had never seen before along with your new team members. music played softly over the chatter of people around the room. you were wearing a black slip dress and heels, getting dressed up wasn’t something you got to do enough. you spot steve, sam and pietro at the bar, fixing your dress you made your way over to them.

“good evening boys.” you greeted, sliding in beside steve. he was wearing a blue button up shirt, sam a white shirt and black suit jacket and pietro was wearing a black shirt a few buttons undone, tucked into black trousers. his platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes stood out against his dark attire. if he wasn’t such a moody brat, you’d maybe appreciate how attractive he was.

“hello, y/n.” sam said with a large smile.

“you look lovely, y/n.” steve complimented.

“thank you cap, shame you’re just a few hundred years too old for me.” you joked, placing your hand on his shoulder. the two let out a laugh and you looked at pietro, his eyes trained on you.

“hey grumpy, enjoying your night?” you asked with your eyebrows raised.

he rolled his eyes, “i was.”

you let out a gasp of shock, placing your hand on your chest. “i’m not entirely sure what i did to piss you off so much, pietro, but can’t you just reign it in for one night? i mean this is my night after all.”

he huffed in response. “is it because i embarrassed you earlier?” you taunted.

“no it’s because i don’t trust you.” he spat.

“ding ding ding! there it is!” you exclaimed. sam cleared his throat, signalling to steve that they should probably leave.

“we’ll go get you a drink kid, don’t go too hard on him.” he said, walking away. steve followed behind him.

“so, why don’t you trust me?” you questioned, leaning against the bar.

“i don’t trust many people.” he explained, taking a sip from his drink. he sat it on the bar before looking back at you.

“what about all them?” you asked, gesturing to the room. you took his glass in your hand and took a sip, seeing his looks of protest. “what? i don’t think they’re actually getting me a drink, they’re just not wanting to stand they’re awkwardly.”

“they saved my life.” he replied.

“so for you to trust me i need to save your life?” you said, turning to face him.

“yup.” he stated, popping the ‘p’. he took his glass back from your hand.

“oh come on.” you groaned, “there’s nothing else i can do? i mean we’re even matching outfits tonight! i think that means we are immediately friends.”

he looked between the two of you, his eyes glancing up and down your body. “he so we are.” he chuckled.

“see! you’re already warming up to me.” you teased, taking his glass again and gulping down the drink.

“you wish.” he replied. you scoffed and gave him the glass back.

“so, what’s sokovia like?” you asked, trying to get to know the mysterious man.

“well now, nonexistent. but from what i remember it was... home. i mean, i only got to experience it for a short amount of time before hydra took us.” he explained.

you sighed, “i heard about that. that sucks. well if it makes you feel any better after my parents found out about my abilities, they locked me up and stopped me from leaving so i couldn’t hurt anyone.”

“really?” he questioned.

“yup.” you replied, mocking the same way he answered earlier. “wow look at us, trauma-bonding. i’m telling you, warming up to me!” you said in a sing-song voice.

“oh shut up.” he laughed.

“is that a laugh i hear brother?” wanda called as she approached them, followed by other members of the team.

“wow kid, you really know how to get people to like you.” tony said.

“i can’t help it. i’m just so charming.” you replied.

the team stayed with you for a long time, everyone talking and laughing. an hour or so passed and everyone had made their way to the couches they found themselves on not long ago. this time you were sat on the couch instead of the floor, the cool leather against your legs. you were sat in the middle of sam and pietro, enjoying watching the team tell stories of their battles. they eventually made their way to the topic of the battle of sokovia that they hid recently been through. you felt pietro tense next to you- he clearly didn’t enjoy hearing about his near-death experience.

“hey, do you want to get some fresh air?” you whispered into his ear. he nodded slightly and you stood up, reaching your hand out for him to grab. you helped him to his feet and announced that you were going to get drinks.

you led him out of the warm room and up to your room which was equipped with a balcony. you pushed open the glass doors and felt the cold, fresh air fill your lungs.

“much better.” you stated, leaning on the railing. “are you okay?” you asked, feeling pietro’s presence behind you.

“i am now. i’m just not ready to talk about it yet.” he explained, “thank you.” he muttered.

“what was that?” you queried, looking over your shoulder at him.

“nothing.” he replied.

“no. i heard a thank you!” you declared.

“nope. you did not!” he exclaimed, his eyes filled with mischief.

“you’re a bad liar.”

———

since the night of the party, you and pietro have been inseparable. you guys train together, eat meals together and you introduced him to all your favourite films. the rest of the team were sick of seeing you guys with each other. no one could get a minute alone with either of you.

“i can’t believe you hated me when i first arrived.” you said, throwing a piece of popcorn at his hair. you two had been watching the maze runner films, as per your request, and were midway through the scorch trials.

“seriously? it’s been 6 months and you’re still not letting that go?” he joked, throwing it back at you.

“nope. you hated me. just because i ran faster than you.” you bit, a sly grin growing on your face.

“you did not! how dare you y/n!” he growled.

“i did! but since you’re too proud to admit it, let’s try again.” you suggested. he raised his eyebrows.

“are you sure you want to test me, princessa?” he questioned, his nickname for you that had become a recent thing. you absolutely adored it when he spoke sokovian. you adored many things about him, his cheeky comebacks, his sarcastic humour, his laugh, his eyes, okay so a lot of things. you had been pushing down any possible feelings towards him, there was no way he felt the same for you.

“oh i do.” you replied, placing the bowl of popcorn on the table, pausing the film and standing up. he followed suit and walked closely behind you as you led him outside.

“what’re you two up to?” cap asked when you walked past him.

“proving to him that i’m faster.” you answered.

“my money’s on y/n!” clint shouted from the floor above.

“same!” chorused nat, sam and tony.

“wanda?” pietro asked.

“same!” she said, peering over the railing. you let out a large laugh as you saw his shocked expression.

you walked out to the courtyard, the sun beating down on your face. pietro stopped very close behind you, his breath hot on your neck.

“you ready?” he mumbled into your ear. his voice sent a shiver down your spine.

you cleared your throat, “yup.” taking a deep breath you turned around to face him. he was a lot closer than you thought. his blue eyes seemed even more beautiful in the sun. you took his wrist in your hand and felt power flow through you. there are many ways that you could copy people’s powers, most of the time when they are in front of you and are about to use their powers on you, you can just imitate their abilities. but you could also touch them and copy them that way.

“to the bench?” you asked, letting go of him.

“sounds good.” he replied, taking his place next to you,

steve and sam were stood at the door, watching intently at the interaction.

“count us down steve?” you called over your shoulder.

“3...2...” he began.

“you know piet,” you said, looking at him,.

“1!” steve shouted.

“you have really beautiful eyes.” you added as you broke into a fast sprint, blue light trails following behind you. you heard his startled gasp before he ran after you. your plan to distract him had clearly worked and you got a head start. you stopped at the bench and plopped yourself down, a second before pietro.

“you cheated!” he complained.

“no, i played smart.” you protested. you stood up to walk away for dramatic effect but pietro appeared in front of you with a gush of wind.

“no. you cheated.” he said, taking a step closer.

“i didn’t.” you replied, “steve! sure i didn’t cheat?”

“don’t bring me into this kid!” he called back, him and sam leaving you guys alone.

“see, even cap thinks you cheated.” pietro stated.

“i can’t help that you got distracted by my charm.” you teased.

he groaned and suddenly bent down and scooped you up, over his shoulder. “pietro maximoff put me down!” you squealed, hitting your hands off his back. he ignored your protests and ran around, whistling a faint tune.

“piet please!” you begged, laughter straining your voice. he stopped and threw you off his shoulder but before you landed on the ground you grabbed his t-shirt and pulled him down with you. you landed on the grass with a thud and a wheeze as he landed on top of you. he went limp and let all of his weight lie on you.

“get off me!” you shouted, laughing heavily.

“i’m quite comfortable actually.” he said. his voice was muffled from his head being nestled in the crook of your neck. his breath tickled your neck. you brought your hands up and placed them in his hair, tugging him up so he could look at you.

“piet i’m going to kill you. get. up.” you growled. his signature smirk grew on his face, clearly trying to annoy you. your eyes fell to his lips but you blinked quickly and met his eyes. his smile grew even wider, he noticed your glance.

“looks like you’re going to have to kill me. i’m not moving.” he replied.

“god i hate you.” you sighed, rolling your eyes.

“no you don’t.” you said, pushing himself up on his arms so he was now hovering above you.

“yes i do.” you protested, folding your arms across your chest.

“i really don’t think you do.” he replied, lowering himself closer to you slightly.

you forced a frown on to your face and glared up at him, “fuck off.” you muttered.

he gasped, “fuck off? that’s not very nice.”

“you’re not very nice.” you retaliated.

“ouch.” he said, the smile still present on his face.

“can you get up now?” you asked.

“fine.” he replied, getting up and taking your hand. he pulled you up harshly and you crashed into his chest.

“you are pushing my limits today maximoff.” you said, pushing yourself free from his grip. but it’s never that easy with pietro, he grabbed your wrist. “what the fuck is wrong with-“

he stopped you from finishing your sentence by pulling you in and pressing his lips against yours. you immediately melted at his touch. his hands moved to your waist and yours moved round the back of his neck, into his hair. he pulled you closer, you felt his rough stubble brush against your face. you both pulled back, breathing deeply.

“still hate me?” he whispered.

“yup.” you breathed. you let out a laugh.

“now you’re the bad liar.” he said.

“tony! i’ll take that $20!” you heard sam shout. you both looked up to see him standing on a balcony.

“he made the first move? really?!” tony replied. he jogged out next to sam.

“proud of you speedy!” sam called.

“you better watch it bird man, i can be up there and you’ll be over the edge faster than you can blink!”

[gintokisimp]

Sunset - Aiden x Hakon Ficlet

Sometimes they drink and talk on the rooftops. Spoiler-free. 

Genre: Comfort, Light Angst maybe 

Rating: General Audience 

Word Count: 1,115 

The sunset is slowly progressing, blossoming upon the clouds, illuminating the roofs of Villedor, tinting the sky in a deep orange. The colorful dome stretches above the two men sitting on the ledge of the small dwelling in the middle of the city, not far from the bazaar.

The faint sounds from the progressively active undead below them don’t bother them as they share a bottle of old whiskey Aiden found on one of his lonely nightly raids. He flicks the cap away and takes the first sip. The liquid burns in his throat, almost forcing him to spit it all out again, but he refuses and finally slams the bottle next to his leg next to the other man.

“Why’re you still living alone?” Aiden begins their nightly conversation. He stopped counting how many times they already sat up here and shared something to eat or to drink. The evenings fly by, it feels like years already with all the talking they do. Sometimes they trade materials from the expeditions with no one being the real winner or loser in the end. Just some fair trading.

“You worry more about me than my fourth wife did,” Hakon laughs dryly and snatches the bottle out of Aiden’s hand to drink his share of the alcohol. Aiden reaches behind him and grabs a roof tile to throw it on the cars below. The howling increases in volume, limping steps and the sound of naked running feet resounds between the buildings. The evening scenery could be quite poetic, with the sun setting behind the skyscraper skeletons and if Aiden imagines the sounds of the walking corpses as singing birds.

“I didn’t say I was worried,” Aiden defends himself. “Aren’t ya tryin’ to find another one? I mean, there’s a lot to choose from actually. What about those two women who were with you when you saved me? What was her name again.. Jana?”

“Don’t want another one.. don’t need one,” Hakon whispers and stares into the distance. “Maybe it’s time for a change.”

“What kinda change are you talkin’ about?”

“Hm?” Hakon turns to Aiden with a surprised face. “Oh, I’m just dreaming about leaving the city again..,” he says and looks down into the alley under their feet. Unsurprisingly, a horde of undead had gathered there, drawn in by the sounds of the falling tiles and their chattering.

“Don’t ya get tired of living alone?” Aide continues after a pause.

“Maybe, but it’s not easy to find someone who wants to live up here and the chance of the other person just never coming back is too high,” Hakon says, his eyes still fixed on the corpses. He’s right , Aiden thinks. The risks of living together or.. falling in love are just too high.

Aiden grumbles, annoyed by his own thoughts. “I should find a better place to live for the time I’m here. Running from camp to camp isn’t that great, it’s nicer to come back to a.. home.”

“Mh yes, you’re right. But as I said.. Let’s get to know each other and find out, right?” Hakon smiles and takes another sip out of the bottle. Aiden tilts his head. His reply doesn’t seem to be an answer to his statement and Aiden doesn’t grasp what exactly the survivor means with that, but having a roommate in these times always has its advantages and it’s not just anyone, it’s Hakon..

“No one needs my help anymore,” Hakon continues without waiting for a reply from Aiden.

Aiden thinks a moment and leans forward, throwing one of the loose tiles on one of the heads below and grins when his victim howls.

“This whole case with Lucas is a really tense situation,” Aiden drawls, pushing his thoughts about Hakon’s depressing statement aside. “It’s not easy to please both sides when you try to find out what really happened.” A small laugh from Aiden echoes over the roofs when he places down the bottle next to him. Hakon grabs it and fidgets with the bottleneck for a moment before he takes another big swig himself.

“Yea.. I can imagine,” he replies a little hesitantly. “Any progress with that?”

“Nothing of relevance,” Aiden sighs. “They just sent me from one point to another and every damn time I arrive somewhere, someone’s already dead. It’s like death is always a step ahead of me, but what can I do,” He lifts his head, staring into the falling night.

“If we just went to the ocean — “

“ — Don’t start with that again Hakon. The ocean’s not gonna solve any problems,” Aiden interrupts Hakon’s unreachable dream. “Even though it would be a nice solution. Just run away and leave everything behind. But we can’t do that.. I mean, I can’t do that.”

Hakon laughs. “I’m just saying, maybe no one really needs your help here,” he says wryly and leans back, propping himself up on his hands to stare into the sky just like Aiden does.

I’m not doing it for them, I’m doing it for myself,.. I think,” Aiden hesitates. “I have to make progress to find my sister,..”

Aiden feels a hand on his shoulder. “I know, I know,.. I hope I can help you with that at least.”

Aiden turns to look at him but Hakon still stares into the colorful heavens above them. “I still don’t know why you’re offering to help me every damn time, the first time we met you saved my life, no questions asked,” Aiden says after a tense break with the man's hand still placed securely on his shoulder.

Hakon stands up and walks up to the corner of the roof. He takes a swing and throws the bottle off the building with an anger Aiden can’t quite interpret. The bottle crashes against a brick wall and shatters into a million pieces, the liquor splattering all over the wall. A few angry howls can be heard as the walking corpses get drawn into another direction by the loud sound of broken glass clattering to the ground.

Aiden frowns and looks at the man who has his back turned to him. “Hey what’re you doin’, there was still quite a lot in there, wasn't easy to find it! Had to run over a lot of bodies for it,” he protests and Hakon turns around with a smile on his lips.

“We can always find another one,” he replies and Aiden looks up at his friendly face.

We?

“C’mon Aiden, another night of surviving,” Hakon holds out his hand and Aiden takes it firmly.

The darkness falls quickly as the two men silently run over the rooftops, outliving another night in an inevitable ending world.

———

AN: 3 friends and I started to play the game on release day (first session was 12 hours no breaks lol) and I started to ship them for fun since they first met each other because I'm sorry, but Hakon is clearly flirting with Aiden. He's doing everything for him, literally love at first sight. On the same day I started to search for fics, but of course there was nothing on release day. But I checked again today and there are three already! So I thought I should add something as well <3

[bottoms-movie]

SAMBUCKY FIC RECS PT. 2

The first part did really really so I decided to make a second part of sambucky fic recs. Just as the last one: the fics are split into three categories: based on tfatws, canon divergence, and au. CHECK OUT PART ONE HERE All fics are completed and all are on AO3. 

BASED ON TFATWS

The Truths Beneath Our Ribs | Mature | 6,742 words

5 times Bucky wears Sam's things +1 time Sam wears something of Bucky's

anything you can do, i’ll do you better | Explicit | 5,526 words

Steve is going to kill them if they don't learn to get along, but did they have to take it so far?

making amends | Explicit | 8,645 words

“Not Cap yet,” Sam said. He looked a little ruefully at his hands, which were covered in nicks and cuts. He could already feel his palms bruising from that last shield catch, but at least nothing was broken this time.

“I respect that,” Bucky said slowly. Sam raised an eyebrow, but didn’t respond. Bucky flexed and unflexed the vibranium fingers of his left hand, a nervous habit that Sam had clocked ages ago. “And you’re right.”

“Thanks, I know.” Sam waited a beat. “About what?”

Muscle Memory | 3 parts | Explicit | 13,156 words part 1: Muscle Memory | Teen | 1,766 words

Barnes sighs, and it’s a deep, soul-weary thing. “Maybe no one ever told you this, but I’m telling you right now. You don’t have any obligation to care about me because Steve did. You don’t have to pretend.”

Sam blinks, taken aback. He has to think, really think, about what he says next, because it’s - it’s either going to build or break something.

You’re My World | Explicit | 6,585 words

“I… oh, I get it now.” Sam tilted his head, perceptive as ever, goddammit. “All this flirting with my sister, that was just to get my attention, wasn’t it? I know it was. Say it.”

“That wasn’t—” Bucky croaked, but Sam wasn’t having it.

He huffed a low laugh, and bulldozed right through Bucky’s feeble pretense. “You like it when I pin you against the wall? Take away all that power you have, that strength that your arm gives you? Make you feel small, maybe?”

Call Me By Your (Pet) Name | Teen | 6,928 words

“You got a list of the nicknames available to us lesser mortals?” Sam continued, staring straight ahead at the seat in front of him. “The ‘you’re not Steve Rogers, so don’t even think about it’ collection?”

“Yeah, sure, there’s a list,” Bucky replied, pausing long enough to draw a pointed look from Sam. “Bucky,” he finished, gesturing broadly with his arm to convey the obviousness of the answer.

5 times Sam and Bucky used pet names as a joke + 1 time they used them in earnest

That’s not very gunkle of you | 2 parts | 4,325 words part 1: Bestie Vibes Only | Teen | 1,822 words

“What’s buzzin’ cousin?” Says Bucky, sitting down next to Sam on the docks.

That’s the moment that Sam realizes he needs to change tactics, no more subtly looking up definitions for his weird old person slang, it’s time to fight fire with fire.

“Not much bro, this view is highkey just hitting different TBH” he says, casually looking out at the water.

There’s a beat of silence and then,

“That’s swell doll, I just ate some four-o cackle jelly with side arms, and I’m looking for some kicks, you dig?

Oh, this means war.

misunderstandings | Not Rated | 3,167 words

Sam thinks Sarah and Bucky had a date, and he's Not Okay

you walked into my life to offer me a better view | Teen | 2,534 words

He was standing twenty feet away at the edge of the docks, chatting with Sarah, and Sam couldn't take his eyes away. Bucky's smile was warm, wide, and when he tipped his head back and laughed, his nose scrunching up and eyes crinkling at the corners, Sam could feel it vibrate straight to his heart.

falling, falling, flying | Teen | 2,778 words

Bucky had kissed him.

And Sam had pulled away, because that beautiful golden sunset made Bucky’s hair gleam with the faintest touch of blond, that rare summer breeze hissed like a dying missile past Sam’s ears, the kiss was so familiar, too familiar, and Sam was falling, falling—

(“Let yourself be happy, Sam. Please.”)

lonely boy, you are my world (and i could be anything you need) | Teen | 5,747 words

It all starts with Sam, a shelter, and this sweet kitten that reminded him far too much of a certain century-old, grouchy super soldier.

too dangerous to fall | Explicit | 3,466 words

Bucky Barnes is a one-armed menace. He has murder eyes and no care for basic safety protocols. His jokes are terrible and his bad moods are worse. He’s a godawful roommate who leaves his wet towels on the floor and his combat knives in the linen cabinet. Sam can’t stand the sight of him.

What happens in Louisiana | General | 3,478 words

But just then, in the engine room of the Wilson family boat, away from prying eyes, it felt like something they both needed. The closeness. The warmth.

Steve would laugh at them. Two grown men not being able to get it together. He would roll his eyes at Buck, nudge him with his elbow and tell him “you’re sweet on Sam Wilson so make a move already, punk.”

keep the ashes from my heart (and walk away) | Explicit | 4,412 words

“Jamie asked me out on a date,” Sam says. Bucky swallows. “Took him long enough,” he says, keeping his tone light. He bumps their shoulders together for good measure. “You should go for it.” “You really think so?” Sam asks, looking at him. “Yeah, man,” Bucky says. He fixes his gaze on Torres, high up in the sky, sunlight glinting off his wings. It hurts Bucky’s eyes. He blinks, rapidly. “You should be with somebody who can make you happy.”

(In which Sam starts dating someone who is not Bucky, and Bucky pines, gets seriously injured, and proves himself wrong.)

Hey Samuel | Teen | 3,223 words

"Bucky."

"Yeah?" He looked up eyes wide. Did he say something out loud?

"We're walking the wrong way."

"Oh." Right. Um. "Let's get ice cream."

"I don't know about you, man, but if I eat ice cream in this weather I will get sick."

Bucky was at a loss for words. What now?

OR Ride along Bucky's journey of figuring out when exactly did he fall for Sam Wilson.

Anyday, everyday | General | 6,735 words

He moved his head and locked eyes with Sam. "D'you- can you.. help me cut my hair?" He asked. He forced himself to look away, feeling embarrassed for asking him to come all this way just to give him a haircut.

His stomach dropped when he felt Sam let go of his hand to stand up. Of course he was about to leave. Who wouldn't want to leave Bucky?

"C'mon, Buck. Let me cut your hair." Bucky's eyes snapped up to Sam's. He had a small smile on his face and his hand was reaching out, waiting for Bucky to take it.

Or; the five times Bucky fell more and more in love with Sam, and the one time he finally got the guts to tell him.

If You’ll Have Me | Teen | 4,779 words

Sam casually shrugged, although there was an intent look in his eyes, "Yeah, well it's getting late and I didn't feel like flying anymore so I was wondering if your old man self is okay with-"

"You can stay here." Bucky quickly finished for him.

I like Bucky, Sam I am | Not Rated | 2,653 words

"I would kiss you on the boat. Or in Wakanda by your goats."

Static in the Dark | Teen | 4,989 words

So prompt idea, some bad guy follows Bucky to the docks for revenge (over whatever you can decide) and Sarah gets to see how protective Bucky really is over Sam when he gets in the line of fire

CANON DIVERGENCE

A Different Kind of Problem | Explicit | 7,616 words

“Do you know what it feels like to be insatiable?”

Two months ago, an interrogation gone wrong left Sam with Bucky’s explicit words seared into his brain and body.

Now, Bucky is living in the Avengers Compound, making pancakes and wearing Steve’s huge sweatshirts, fluffy haired and a little shy, seemingly completely content to be on house arrest — and Sam has never been more confused. Whatever Steve thinks, Sam doesn’t have a problem with Bucky. This domesticity is just so at odds with the feral sexuality Bucky had used to rattle Sam during his interrogation. Where did that side of Bucky go? And why can’t Sam stop thinking about finding it? Maybe Sam does have a problem with Bucky… it’s just not the problem Steve thinks it is.

Bucky’s Choice | Not Rated | 4,753 words

When Bucky enters Westview to try to help Wanda Maximoff, he is confronted with something he never expected- Steve Rogers, back from the dead and ready to start a life with Bucky in Westview. It's everything that Bucky ever wanted, everything that Steve abandoned when he went back in time to live his life with Peggy Carter. But Bucky and Sam have been involved for months, and Sam is waiting for Bucky outside of the Hex. Bucky has to make a choice- the life he always wanted with Steve, or a new start with Sam?

tonight i’ll need you to stay | General | 2,227 words

For once, Bucky wants to stop leaving when things are finally looking up. And he wants people to stay with him, too.

(or, 3 times bucky needed an excuse to stay with sam, and the one time he didn't)

How to Win a Supersoldier in Ten Days | Explicit | 14,901 words

When they realize that all the Winter Soldier's interactions with Sam are just him trying to Awkward MurderBot Flirt (TM) with the sexy man, Steve, Tony, and Nat convince Sam to play the honeypot and bring Bucky in.

Sam's pretty sure the honeypot isn't supposed to fall in love with the target, but what can you do?

at the end of the war (what’s mine is yours) | Mature | 4,290 words

They don't talk about it: that's how it works.

warm blood (feels good, i can’t control it anymore) | Explicit | 4,492 words

Sam's just chilling watching TV one evening when Bucky comes in and stares at him silently for a minute or two before sitting down on the couch. He's pretty close to Sam.

Okay, he's really close to Sam. Like, Sam would be using the word 'cuddling' if it wasn't so bizarre.

"What," he says, carefully not looking at Bucky, and Bucky huffs a sigh.

"Steve's not here," he says as if it's obvious. "Don't make it weird. Just- shut up."

Caught With Their Pants Down | Explicit | 3,539 words

“Sam, this guy is not coming, the intel was false,” Bucky replied. “I get this whole ticking boxes and what not, but Rogers got it wrong, and for the love of God I need a fucking toilet.”

“You need to learn to plan your water intake better, is what you need. You’re a damn fool and I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“Because you love me,” Bucky replied, and Sam could hear the smile in his voice.

“In your damn dreams, Barnes.”

They’d been fucking for about six months, but Sam didn’t want Bucky to go getting a big head about it.

AU

sharp teeth, soft heart | 3 parts | 17,866 words part 1: you touch me within and so i (know i could be human once again) | Explicit | 12,444 words 

It’s inevitable, the way it goes. He’s my friend, Steve says, and he is, he is, he must be. Sam’s best friend is Steve, and Steve’s best friend is a werewolf, that’s just how Sam’s life works now.

But once he realizes he’s attracted to Bucky and Bucky can tell, everything becomes, like, a thousand percent more difficult to negotiate. Sam’s just trying to live his life, that’s all, and he keeps getting confronted by Bucky Barnes in a soft flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up, hair all soft and shiny. Bucky glances over at him and smirks, and this is really very embarrassing, how Sam can’t hide his attraction even if he keeps a totally straight face.

I’m so into you I can barely breathe | Explicit | 6,515 words

Sam Wilson had a long day dealing with morons, so he decided to finally go to the famous club in town. There he meets someone who just might get him back in a good mood. And then some.

twelve ounce steak (boxers in briefs) | Explicit | 3,753 words

Sam has pretty lips. Bucky seems to think so, too.

caught it bad (i’ll be on the way) | Mature | 4,830 words

Sam constantly gets roped into doing dumb things with Steve, but this time, it works out perfectly for him.

meet me in the a.m. | Teen | 3,147 words

Steve accidently starts a fire and Bucky's tired. When unbelievably hot firefighter Sam saves the day, though, he can't really be that mad.

i wanna savour, save it for later | Not Rated | 6,419 words

"It's his damn ratings, man," Sam says. "It's weird 'cause when you read the reviews, he seems to like our food and all. Nothing but praise for days. And then you get to the rating, and it's always the same. Three goddamn stars."

Bucky tips his beer bottle from side to side, lips pursing slightly. "I see. And that's… a bad thing?"

"We are not a three-star joint," Sam says flatly.

Or, the one where food truck owner Sam gets caught up in his quest to unmask an anonymous food blogger. Falling for one of his regulars was never on the menu.

we were a fire with no smoke | Explicit | 15,295 words

Sam can’t help but roll his eyes. Take the boys out of New York but they’re still Brooklyn Catholics, that’s clear enough. Bucky catches the gesture, smirks hard enough Sam can see his eye teeth. It should be dangerous but he’s beautiful, pale and charming and recklessly easy.

“You wanna come in?” Sam asks, ignoring the noise Steve makes, and Bucky’s smile gets wider.

“Yeah,” he says. Steps up close to Sam. “I do.”

my house of stone, your ivy grows | Teen | 9,042 words

When Sam Wilson inherits the manor of the old man he once took care of, it feels like his luck is finally looking up. It's an opportunity for a fresh start, something he's in desperate need of. When he arrives, however, it becomes clear that an easy transition into estate living is not exactly a possibility. The house is run-down, nothing like Sam remembers it, and the groundskeeper — who Sam apparently has to share the house with, wants nothing to do with him.

You Smiled Because You Knew | Teen | 3,754 words

"You've got the wrong address," the man who'd answered growled. He had long, scraggly hair that had mostly escaped his attempts to pull it away from his face. He had nice eyes, and wouldn't have been unattractive, especially with a shave, except for the scowl. "Nobody here wants or needs your . . . services."

It was apparent by the tone the man did not appreciate Sam's hard work.

Well, that was tough shit.

[dreamwritesimagines]

Twisted 22 - Red Right Hand [Spencer Reid x Reader]

A.N.: Thank you so much for your wonderful support my loves! Here’s the next chapter, I hope you will like it as well, and please let me know what you think of it! ❤❤ Ily, kisses! ❤❤❤

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Murder, serial killers, violence, manipulation, mentions of sex, drinking, smoking, blood, nightmares.

Word Count: 4000

Summary: Anyone can be a suspect.

When you woke up, the first thing you realized before even opening your eyes was that you weren’t in your bed.

Your bed was softer than this, the sheets were silk and the pillows were fluffier-

Spencer.

You were sleeping in Spencer’s bed, and in all honesty, both he and you were terrible at this break up thing.

You rubbed your eyes and sat up in bed, trying pull yourself together and get rid of the haze of the sleep. Judging by the state of the bed, it was very obvious that Spencer hadn’t slept there and the clattering of plates coming from the kitchen let you know that he was already awake. You yawned, stretching out and kicked off the covers before you quickly made the bed and stepped back to see if it looked good.

Well, it looked acceptable at least.

You shrugged to yourself and stepped out of the room to approach where the noises were coming from, then leaned sideways on the door frame, a smile warming your face when Spencer turned his head to look at you.

“Morning.”

“Hi there,” you said, your voice still raspy because of sleep, “What are you making?”

“Um- I realized I just had coffee and not much of anything else,” Spencer said, “Unless you like leftover Chinese.”

“My favorite breakfast.”

“So grilled cheese sandwich?”

“Oh man, you don’t want to share your leftover Chinese?” you curled your lips, “I guess grilled cheese sandwich could be breakfast too.”

He chuckled and put the sandwiches on the plates, so you grabbed them and went to the living room to sit on the couch, Spencer following you with two cups of coffee.

“Jesus Spencer, you didn’t have to sleep here,” you motioned at the blanket, “You’re taller than the couch.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

You shifted your weight and picked at the toast before nibbling on the piece,

“How did you sleep?” he asked and you chewed on your bite.

“Like a rock,” you said, “I got like four hours, do you know what that is? A miracle.”

He thought for a moment before he walked to the table to pull open a drawer as you grabbed your cigarette package,

“Do you mind if I smoke here?”

“I do actually.”

You looked down at the package in your hand, then put it back into your purse as he walked back to the couch, clearing his throat.

“So I was thinking,” he said, “The um-the next time it gets too much for you, even though I’m on a case away from the city, if you ever need to get away from your place…” he reached out and put what looked to be a spare key to his apartment on the coffee table and you stared at it for a couple of seconds, your heart skipping a beat.

“Professor,” you managed to say when you pulled yourself together and tried to ignore the spark of hope, “I say this with the best intentions, but we really do suck at this whole break up thing.”

“We’re not so bad-“

“We’re literally the worst ex couple I’ve ever seen. You take your key back from your exes, not give them one.”

“But it’s not like that,” he said quickly, “It’s so that you can drop by when I’m not here if you want to.”

You were melting, and he wasn’t even aware of it.

“Spencer…” you tried to stop the smile warming your face and pursed your lips, “I can’t.”

He pulled his brows together, his soft gaze on you almost confused, “Why not?”

You heaved a sigh and reached out to wrap your fingers over the back of his hand, the spark of electricity shooting through your whole system. Your body didn’t care about the break up as much as your mind did, that was clear. Even now, even after everything, even if you knew it was wrong, the only thing you absolutely craved for was to be closer to him, however you could be.

“Trust me,” you said, “The only thing it’ll do is to give me hope, and I can’t have that. Besides, who knows? Yet another friend of Luke’s might disagree with this decision if you ever end up not talking about your ex during the first date.”

He let out a small chuckle, “That’s not happening, you know it as much as I do.”

You scrunched up your nose, “My point about being terrible exes,” you started, but before you could say anything else, your phone started vibrating. You looked around and grabbed it, then took it to your ear.

“Hello?”

“Finally!” Mina’s voice reached you, “Why can’t anyone reach you? Mom called you like a hundred times.”

“I was busy.”

“Doing what? Your assistant said you didn’t show up yet.”

“What happened?” you asked back and she heaved a sigh.

“Mom wanted me to ask if you want them to send you a car for tonight.”

“Why would I-“ you started and then it dawned on you and you threw your head back, “Charity auction.”

“The one that we told you like a month ago, and your assistant already put it in your schedule. You know, the whole point of having that is checking it sometimes right?”

“I wanted to erase it from my mind, probably that’s why,” you grumbled.

“Well you’re coming. I’ll actually kill you if you bail on me, we’re all going to be there.”

You rolled your eyes, “Okay, whenever we go somewhere like this, mom socializes, you and Kenz hook up in the bathroom, I’m the only one who doesn’t have fun in these things! I’m allowed to-“

“I’m literally running to a meeting on stilettos so I don’t have time to feel sorry for you but I’ll put it in my schedule if you want,” she said, “Unlike you, I check mine. No car then?”

“I’ll drive there myself.”

“Suit yourself. Cry beforehand if you’re going to be in this mood for the whole night, will you? You don’t look good with smudged makeup.”

“Fuck you Mina.”

“Love you too brat!” she sang and hung up, and you huffed out a breath.

“Charity auction?” Spencer asked, “Rossi was talking about that too.”

Your head shot up, “Wait, you will be there?” you asked, the grumpiness leaving you instantly and he shrugged his shoulders.

“A part of the team will. We don’t know yet.”

“I hope they pick you to be there.”

He tilted his head, “Why?”

You bit inside your cheek, still trying to fight the urge to be closer to him before you took a deep breath.

“I don’t know,” you admitted, “Maybe I wouldn’t hate tonight that much if you were there.”

                                                 ***

Having breakfast with Spencer was a perfect way to start the day, that was for sure, but you couldn’t say the same for the rest of the day. Much like Mina, you spent the whole day running from meeting to meeting, and by the time you got home to get ready for the night, you were already way too tired.

But as you found out, a good night’s sleep made wonders, so even if you were tired, you weren’t as drowsy as before.

Special thanks to Spencer, for that one.

You did your make up and your hair before getting into the gown and you looked in the mirror, smoothing over the fabric. You turned around to see whether the long skirt looked good at all the angles but then your phone started vibrating on the bed and you grabbed it to answer it.

“Hi Linc,” you put him on speaker as you opened the drawer to pick a necklace, “What’s up?”

“Just wanted to check whether you’re going to pretend you’re sick to get out of it,” he said and you chuckled.

“Good idea, I’ll use it the next time,” you clasped the necklace behind your neck and fixed your hair, “And no. Unfortunately I’ll be there.”

“Come on Y/N, we’ll have fun.”

“I don’t think so.”

“We’ll have alcohol, you like alcohol.”

“That’s the only way I can stand these things,” you murmured, “How about you? Are you sure you haven’t changed your mind about coming?”

“Are you kidding? Watching you sulk is like a hobby of mine at this point, I made my peace with it.”

“I don’t sulk!”

“Yeah you do,” he chuckled, “I’ll see you there okay?”

“Yeah yeah, see you,” you murmured and hung up, then grabbed your coat and left your apartment. You got into your car, turned the music on, and started driving.

It took you almost an hour to get there because of the traffic. You handed your keys to the valet, thanked him and started climbing the marble stairs but as soon as you looked down at your phone you felt someone crashing into you.

“Ugh!” the woman let out a furious breath but still kept talking on the phone, “I said I don’t want them blue, I want them green! What are you, an idiot? I don’t have time for this…”

“Apology not accepted asshole,” you murmured to yourself and kept climbing the stairs.

“Good evening ma’am.”

“Good evening,” you smiled at the man by the door and stepped inside to walk through the huge foyer until you reached the hall. You looked around as soon as you reached the table surrounded by empty chairs and stopped one of the waitresses.

“Excuse me,” you smiled at her, “Hi, is this the table number one?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Thank you,” you said and heaved a sigh as she walked away, “How am I the first one here God damn it?”

You checked the time on your phone before making your way out of the hall and went outside again so that you could smoke a cigarette or two until everyone got there. There was no way you would sit there alone, you already didn’t like this evening and that would make it even worse. You leaned back to one of the pillars, lighting a cigarette and exhaling the smoke up into the dark sky, watching the people entering and leaving the building.

You heaved a sigh after minutes passed and you lit your third cigarette, sending Mina yet another text in all caps but then you heard someone clear their throat so you looked up from your phone and your heart started pacing in your chest, a wide smile pulling at your lips before you could stop it.

“Professor,” you managed to say and Spencer ran a hand through his hair as if he wanted to make sure it looked good, “Well this is a nice surprise. Came to save the damsel in distress?”

He pulled his brows together, “I doubt you fall under that category.”

You scrunched up your nose, “You have a point. I’m probably the big bad wolf in a dress.”

“I mean it’s a pretty dress,” he murmured before stealing a look at you, “You look great. As usual.”

You could feel the happiness filling your system and you giggled.

“Thanks,” you said, “So do you. But hey, that’s not a surprise. The only reason why the FBI is keeping you around is your looks, not your smarts, we all know that.”

That seemed to make him chuckle and you gasped, then reached out to hold his scarf over your dress.

“Spencer look, we match!”

“Look at that, we do-“ he smiled but before he could say anything, you saw Lincoln climbing the stairs. You waved at him and he took a look at you two with a slight frown on his face, then made his way to you.

“Jesus, took you long enough.”

“I know, I had this last minute phone call about work….” he shook his head, “Dr. Reid. You seem to be everywhere nowadays.”

“Seems that way,” Spencer stated curtly and Lincoln turned to you.

“Why are you outside?”

“Because no one at our table showed up yet,” you said, “And you know I hate sitting alone.”

“Ah well, I’m here now so if you want-“

“I think I’ll smoke some more, thanks though,” you told him and a small smile curled Spencer’s lips before he raised his brows, looking at Lincoln who checked his watch.

“It’ll start soon though, just so you know,” he said, “See you inside.”

With that, he walked away from you into the building and Spencer turned to you.

“That was subtle.”

“He’ll be fine,” you said and threw your hands up when you caught the sight of Mina getting closer, “Did you like die or something? Where’s Kenz?”

“On her way, there was something with the babysitter, my meeting took forever!” she said, “I drove here straight from work, is mom going to kill me?”

“No one is here yet.”

“Probably because of the accident.”

You frowned, “What accident?”

“I think there’s some kind of an accident, the traffic is insane,” she eyed Spencer up and down, “Oh great, cute sad giraffe is here too.”

“Mina!” you hissed and Spencer shot you a look as if he was desperately asking for your help, but Mina waved a hand.

“I’ll be inside,” she said and walked inside while you shifted your weight.

“…Cute sad giraffe?” Spencer asked and you rubbed the back of your neck.

“Please ignore her,” you said, “I apologize on her behalf.”

Spencer stared at you, then scoffed a laugh, “Does she hate me or…?”

“She doesn’t hate you as a person, she just hates all my boyfriends as a princip- ex. Ex boyfriends.” You quickly corrected yourself, “She hates my ex boyfriends as a principle.”

“Why?”

“It’s a sister thing. I threatened one of her ex-girlfriends once, so this is what I get.”

“You threatened-“ Spencer started but you waved at Nolan who was climbing the stairs and he frowned at you and Spencer, then approached you.

“Well hello there,” he greeted you two before turning to Spencer, “I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Nolan, this is Spencer Reid,” you introduced them, “Spencer, Nolan. He’s the love of my mom’s life for some reason.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Nolan said and clicked his tongue “You’re the infamous Dr. Reid then. I’ve heard about you.”

“Nolan,” you murmured warningly but he ignored you.

“Has Y/N mentioned the head of FBI is a good friend of mine?”

“Um- no she hasn’t—”

“Well I’d keep that in mind just in case you happen to make yet another mist—“

“Thank you Nolan!” you said very loudly, “Mina is inside, you could join her if you want- also, have you seen my mother?”

“I came here straight from my house but I sent her a car, she was on her way,” Nolan said as someone by the door called out his name and he heaved a sigh, “Business doesn’t wait, excuse me.”

“Did he just…?” Spencer asked as Nolan got inside and you shook your head fervently.

“No he didn’t.”

“That sounded like a threat.”

“Ignore him as well,” you said, “It’s just uh… You know. Rich people. They have no manners.”

He tilted his head, confused, and you waved at Kenzie who climbed the stairs at full speed and waved at you back, then pressed a hand over her chest at the sight of Spencer and winked at you before rushing inside as well.

“Anyway,” you tried to change the topic, “So I owe you breakfast then. Do you want it before or after my next emotional breakdown?”

He smiled softly, “You don’t owe me anything.”

“Oh you have no idea how much I do,” you murmured, “Do you want to get Honey Cinnamon French toast the next time? It’s full of sugar, you’d like that. Considering your coffee choices.”

His jaw dropped, “It’s not that bad!”

“I took one sip of your coffee one day while we were dating and thought I’d get into sugar coma.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“Don’t you have statistics about how it’s bad for you?”

He nodded at the cigarette between your fingers, “Do you want to hear the statistics for that too?”

“You’re on thin ice, professor,” you pointed at him, making him laugh but then both of you turned your heads when you heard your name being called. Your mother looked between you, then smiled and stepped closer.

“Dr. Reid, it’s lovely to see you again,” she said politely, “Y/N honey, why are you outside?”

“Waiting for you,” you stubbed the cigarette, “I was the first to get here.”

“I know, the driver kept going into different roads because-“

“Accident. Yeah, Mina told me.”

“Let’s go inside, it’s about to start,” she said and you looked up at him.

“So I should-“

“Yeah,” he nodded, “I should probably find Luke. It was nice to see you again, Ms Knight.”

“You too Spencer,” she said and linked her arm through yours as you walked inside, “Anything I should know about?”

“We’re just talking, mom.”

She arched a brow, “I don’t know who you got this obliviousness from, but not me,” she said and you turned to look at her.

“Hm?”

“You’d have to be blind not to see the way he looks at you.”

You blinked a couple of times, “The way he looks at me?” you repeated as you approached the table and you took your seat beside Lincoln.

“Had your smoke?” he shot you a look and you rolled your eyes at him.

“Don’t.”

“No really, are you guys sure you broke up? Like, did anyone let him know?”

Kenzie whispered something into Mina’s ear and she smiled, sipping her champagne.

“I’m a better person than you are, so it’s no wonder I have a better friendship with my exes than you do, Linc.”

“Is that what we call batting your eyelashes at your ex nowadays?” he asked and you made a face at him.

“You’re hilarious- should I buy something?” you wondered out loud, “Where’s the catalogue?”

Nolan handed you the tablet and you swiped on the screen.

“Are you buying something?”

“One or two,” Nolan said, “Your mother liked that vase on the page sixteen.”

“I will bid you for that,” your mother joked, making him smile and press a kiss on her cheek, and you downed your champagne before motioning for another.

“How’s your girlfriend?” you murmured to Lincoln and he shrugged his shoulders.

“She’s fine,” he whispered as the auctioneer started talking about the first item, “We had a small argument earlier, but…”

“About what? Did she finally see your real personality?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not taking relationship advice from a girl who’s obviously not over her ex even though she was the one who dumped him-“

“Hey, I’m trying to offer you my infinite wisdom you dickhead,” you whispered, making him chuckle.

“I’ve been working a lot these days, but I have to close this new deal,” he said, “She doesn’t seem to understand that.”

“Why don’t you pay her a visit?”

“Did you miss the part where I said I was working a lot?”

“Lincoln,” you heaved a sigh, “Honestly. If you love this girl, you need to show her that.”

“After I close this deal-“

“No, before you close your deal,” you insisted, “You don’t want to be one of those people who picked wealth over love.”

Lincoln raised his brows, “I guess we know what your pick is.”

“I take all my advice back, I hope your girlfriend dumps you,” you sipped the champagne, making him laugh.

“Come on, I’m just messing with you,” he said, “Do you want me to buy you an extra ugly vase so that you can forgive me?”

“I can buy my extra ugly vases myself, thank you,” you sulked, “Do you know what my problem is?”

“Hm?”

“I’m surrounded by love,” you nodded at Kenzie and Mina who seemed to be in their own worlds and your mother and Nolan who held hands over the table, listening to the auctioneer, “It’s like being surrounded by booze when you’re trying to go sober.”

“Hey if it makes you feel any better, my relationship is in shambles too.”

“It will stop being in shambles the moment you stop being a stubborn ass,” you murmured, still holding the fragile glass in your hand but as soon as you took another sip, your mother raised her brows, looking at someone over your shoulder, Mina narrowed her eyes and you felt someone’s presence behind you. The lovely scent filling your nostrils said it was Spencer, and your suspicion was proven when you heard a low whisper in your ear.

“Come with me.”

The champagne you were drinking went down the wrong tube and you started coughing before you stared up at him, convinced that you had just imagined that, considering it wasn’t the first time you were hearing that only in a different context.

“I’m sorry?” you managed to stammer and he frowned at your reaction, then nodded at the door.

“Outside?” he said and it dawned on you,

“Right, outside,” you murmured as you tried to pull yourself together and pushed your chair back.

“Y/N?” Mina said warningly but you shook your head.

“It’s fine, I’ll be right back,” you said as you stood up and felt Spencer’s hand on your lower back as he guided you out of the hall, his skin on yours sending a pleasant shiver down your spine. As soon as you stepped out of the hall he turned to you, his eyes searching yours frantically.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice and you pulled your brows together, trying to understand what he was talking about.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be okay?” you asked “I’m having the time of my life trying to pick between an ugly vase and an ugly painting. Seen anything you like yet? It’s for charity.”

“No, Y/N-“ he nibbled on his lip and you stared at him for a moment before your breath got caught in your throat and your hand shot up to hold his arm.

“Another murder?” you whispered, “God, did someone die? That’s why you’re being like this?”

“We just found her a block away.”

“Do I- do I know who it is?” you asked numbly and he pulled out his cellphone to show you the picture and you gasped, covering your mouth as soon as you saw the screen.

It was that woman who had bumped into you just at the beginning of the night, the one who had walked away without apologizing.

“I just…” you swallowed the lump in your throat, “I think I saw her tonight. But it- she- she was just alive, I don’t-“

“The marks show that it just happened. Very recently.”

You could feel the room spinning around you but you tried to pull yourself together.

“But I don’t-“

“Y/N,” he said your name, clearly this time, “I was talking to you probably around the time it was happening, but you mentioned you were the first one to get here right?”

You nodded slowly, “Yeah, the traffic. Well, that and the meetings and the babysitter- how is that relevant?”

Spencer fell into silence, taking a deep breath and you looked up at him.

“What?” you asked again and he stole a look at the hall.

“Obviously there’s no evidence to show this yet and I might be wrong, but do you want to know what I think?” he asked and you nodded again.

“Yes?”

“I think you were sitting with the copycat killer just now.”

You blinked dumbly, your brows furrowed in thought and slowly, very slowly that ice in your veins made its way through your system, a tingling spreading from the base of your neck up to your head. You could feel the panic crashing down on you before you turned your head to look at the your table, Mina and Kenzie watching you, Lincoln playing with his phone and your mother and Nolan having a quiet conversation. Spencer’s words echoed in your head, drowning out every single noise coming from the hall.

I think you were sitting with the copycat killer just now.

“Oh,” you breathed out, closing your eyes, “Fuck.”

Chapter 23

[crockettmarcel]

📸

cora | the farm

wc: 1314

warnings: religious cult (implied)

send me a 📸 for a short fic based on the first picture on my pinterest feed

There’s a chill in the air when Ava wakes, the type that leaves your breath visible as a little cloud in front of your face, and she’s sure that they must be well into September by now. The Elders probably know, but after last time, she’s learnt not to ask questions like that, so she files it away in the back of her mind and decides that today is the fourteenth. One week until her mother’s birthday, if she’s right.

For the next few minutes, she lies still in bed, watching in the dim light as the people in the room around her wake as well. They all stir, some pulling their covers back, but no one gets out of bed. It’s not until the door at the end of the room swings open, letting in a cold wind from outside and the ringing of a bell, that people start to get up.

Ava doesn’t move, though. It’s warm under the covers, and she’s reluctant to get out and face the very real possibility that the linen dresses given to her when she was brought here won’t be enough to keep the cold out. There’s a pair of woollen tights in the trunk at the end of her bed, but she knows she needs more than that.

She also knows that the punishment for not being ready in time makes hypothermia seem like a reward, so she forces herself out of bed, wincing slightly as the cold air hits her bare skin. For a moment, she just stands there, letting her body adjust to the sudden change in temperature, and she thanks whatever god is out there (not the one these people believe in, that’s for sure) that it’s not her building’s turn to shower today. Hot water is allowed only for cooking with, or as needed in the infirmary, and she’s sure that a cold shower on an already cold morning would be enough to push her over the edge.

She dresses quickly, immune now to the lack of privacy that bothered her so much just a few months ago, then scrapes her hair back into a bun, the way she used to do before a surgery. If she closes her eyes, she can almost feel the scrub cap sitting in place on her head, and the ties tickling the back of her neck as she moves. 

It hurts too much to think about though, so she keeps her eyes open and firmly fixed on her hands as she sits down to tie her shoes. 

When she looks up again, Sarah’s there in front of her, with her little boy perched on her hip and a grey bundle in one hand.

“You can borrow this.” She holds the bundle out, and as Ava reaches for it, she realises what it is. “If we’d known it would get cold so suddenly, we’d have worked to get your sweater ready in time, but I promise you’ll have it in a couple of days. We’ll make it our priority.”

“Thank you, Sarah. And you know, there is a way of predicting the weather. It’s called meteorology, and it’s fascinating stuff, really.” She pulls the sweater on, and it’s only when it’s over her head that she sees the horrified look on Sarah’s face.

“You shouldn’t say things like that, Ava.”

“Oh come on, don’t you remember it from before you came here? Someone standing in front of a map on TV, telling you how hot it’s going to be and what the weather will be like?”

“Don’t- Stop it. I don’t want to hear about that.”

Ava opens her mouth to respond, but Sarah’s already turned on her heels and is making her way towards the door. Her footsteps echo around the room, and as Ava listens to them get quieter and quieter, she almost feels bad. Sarah’s one of the few people to show her kindness here, and she knows it’s wrong to treat her like this in return, but she can’t just sit by and do nothing. Maybe Sarah’s the wrong person to try and get to change their views — she’s been here since she was a child, after all — but she has to at least try.

Now clearly isn’t the time for it though, so Ava simply sighs, then follows Sarah out of the building, hoping that she’ll remember later to apologise to her. She can’t lose her only friend here.

Sarah doesn’t wait for Ava the way she normally does, and by the time she catches sight of her again, she’s with Crockett, trying her best to herd their children in the same direction towards the canteen. It’s not going well, and as the twins bolt off in one direction and Lolly in another, Ava can’t help but laugh. They’re good people, good parents, and it warms her heart that even in somewhere as awful as this, they can still have fun with their kids and be almost normal.

“What’s funny, Avey?”

She hadn’t noticed anyone near her, too distracted by the sight of Crockett running along with a wriggling toddler under each arm, but when she looks down, she’s met with a familiar gap-toothed grin.

“Cora! How are you this morning?”

Cora shrugs, then pulls at one of her braids. “I don’t like my hair today.”

“Oh, but you look so pretty. Who did your hair this time?”

“Miss Lucy did it. I think Mama does it better.”

She tugs again at the braid, trying to undo the ribbon, and Ava knows there’ll be hell to pay for both Cora and Lucy if she turns up to breakfast with her hair down.

“Come here.” She holds her arms out, and the offer of being carried is enough to distract Cora from her hair, even just for a moment. “Are you okay? Are you comfortable?”

Cora nods, and with that, the two of them set off for the canteen. The walk seems longer with a child in her arms, but Ava refuses to put her down until they get there, so she struggles through it, hoping Cora can’t sense how much her body is starting to ache. 

“Do you think I’ll see Mama again?”

The question comes out of nowhere and almost stops Ava in her tracks. It’s not the type of thing she knows how to answer, despite all her years of medical training. Connor’s always been better at dealing with people, especially children, while Ava has never doubted that her strengths lie in cutting people open and fixing them. It’s exactly why she became a surgeon in the first place - you don’t have to know what to say to people when they’re unconscious.

“I don’t- I don’t know, Cora. Do you miss her?”

“All the time. I wish she would come back.”

She’d never really spoken more than a few sentences to him, but it was moments like this when Ava wished she could ask Dr Charles for advice (or better yet, get him to have this conversation). He’d be able to reassure Cora in a way she simply didn’t know how to.

“I know you do.”

They’re both silent for a moment, standing still while everyone else walks past them, and all Ava wants to do is run and get them both out of here. Her heart aches for Cora, who looks so much like she did at that age it’s almost scary, but any failed attempts to escape would lead to something infinitely worse than what they’re experiencing now, and she doesn’t want to take that risk. For herself, maybe she’d try it, but she could never involve Cora in it.

“I’m hungry.” Cora finally announces, and Ava grins. Things could definitely be worse.

“Come on, then. Let’s go get you some breakfast, and maybe after, you can tell me how your Mama used to do your hair.”

[foli-vora]

more than words - pt.1

A/N: I’ve had this in my head for forever and a half so it feels good to finally sort my thoughts and random notes out. Hope you enjoy!

Summary: The one person who you thought would be happy for you finally getting with someone decent was your best friend. After all, he had set you both up. Who would’ve thought he’d be the reason it all falls apart?

Pairing: best friend!Benny Miller/f!reader, Frankie ‘Catfish’ Morales/f!reader

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: alcohol consumption, swearing, mentions of sexual acts/sexual refences (no smut yet but it’s coming so this is strictly 18+)

pt.2 / pt.3 / pt.4 / pt.5 / pt.6

+++

Wednesday nights were pizza nights. A rule established in the early stages of your friendship with Benjamin Miller – a loud mouth, golden hearted ex-spec ops mess of a human being. A chance meeting one stormy day on the freeway, led to something you weren’t expecting – a friendship, and a solid one at that.

“– she damn near tried to suck the life out of me!”

“Jesus Ben, there are kids a table over.”

“So? They shouldn’t be eavesdroppin’ on conversations that don’t concern them.” He grins lopsidedly at your scowl of disapproval, ripping off a mouthful of pizza and humming as he chews it, head swaying to the faint music playing behind the bar. “You’re payin’, by the way.”

You snort quietly, “Don’t I always?”

He recoils, blinking in playful surprise. “Excuse you? I paid last…” he trails off, eyes rolling to the wall as he thinks but a frown soon pinches his brows. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I love you and I appreciate you.”

You laugh quietly, shaking your head as you signal for another round. “Anyways, reverting to our previous topic before you got carried away with your blowjob story.”

He makes a noise, snapping his fingers as he tries to rush chewing and swallowing his mouthful. “So,” he starts, “I’ve got a friend…”

You groan immediately, letting your head lull back. “Ben –”

This wasn’t anything new. Benny took it as his own personal mission to fix you up with anyone he thought could give you a good time and treat you well. Friends, colleagues, Hell – even his brother at one point. Will was lovely, by all means, but not your type. Both you and Will had agreed you were not a match in the slightest early in the evening, enjoyed a night of beer and pool, and then went your separate ways.

Although, now that you thought about it, Ben hadn’t mentioned setting you up with anyone for a long while. Not since before his mysterious trip.

You still didn’t know anything about it, other than he and some old work friends went on an apparent ‘vacation’. It was more than that – you knew it, and he knew you knew it, but you didn’t push the topic. Instead of interrogating him, forcing question after question on him, you let it go, sensing it was something he really didn’t want to talk about.

He had returned from that trip a few months ago, heavy with exhaustion and usually bright eyes dull and weary. You tucked him into your bed, and left him. He slept for hours. It wasn’t until much later that evening that you crept in to see how he was doing, and found him thrashing silently in the sheets, sweaty and incoherently mumbling, face pinched and puckered in pain. You didn’t wake him. Instead, you knelt beside the bed, softly stroking along his forehead until his erratic movements and breathing calmed. You didn’t bring it up.

“I know, I know,” he threw his hands up in defence with a small grin, “but I think you’ll like this one.”

“That’s what you always say.”

“No, I mean it this time. He’s a real good guy – one of my closest. I think you guys would really hit it off. I haven’t tried to set you up before because he was with the chick but she upped and left him alone with the baby and –”

“Sorry, what?”

“What?”

“He has a baby? Like a… like a child?”

Benny frowns defensively, “You’ve always said you want kids!”

“It’s still a huge commitment, Ben.”

“Jesus, I’m not walking you down the aisle! Just meet him and see where it goes. If it ends in some good sex, you say ‘thank you Ben’ and we move on. And if it ends in something more, you guys take it slow and buy me wings as a thank you.” He shrugs, looking thoroughly impressed with himself, and reaches for his beer, polishing it off in one swig.

“And what if it ends in bad sex?” You challenge, crossing your arms on the table and leaning forward to eye him critically.

He scoffs, “Woman please. I know my brothers. You’ll be in good hands.”

You take a moment to thank the waitress as she stops at your table with your beers. She lingers just a little on passing Ben his, an act he didn’t miss as he shoots her a wink and a honeyed, thanks sugar. She smiles, cheeks flooding with colour before she turns and waltzes off towards other customers, swinging her hips as she goes.

You’re expressionless when he finally turns back to you, “Sugar?”

“Shut your mouth.”

Façade cracking, a snicker falls past your lip and you chuckle. “Alright,” you concede, “you’ve got my interest. What’s his name?”

“Fish.”

… what?

“Come again?”

“Francisco – we call him Fish. Catfish, actually.”

“Your age?”

“Bit older.”

You sigh deeply, rolling your head on your shoulders in thought. You were curious, no doubt about it. Despite never being able to make anything last long-term out of the list of men Benny had set you up with, none of them were bad guys. They were all kind, funny and incredibly respectful. One great thing about Benjamin Miller was that he had an impeccable taste in character.

“I don’t know, Ben –”

He slips his phone from his pocket and swipes away at his screen before wordlessly handing you the device. It was a photo, taken from one of Benny’s many weekend trips into the wilderness. Your eyes are dragged from the incredible background of snow peaked mountains and lush green forests to the man standing beside Benny, tucked under his arm. Average build and height, a well-loved trucker cap hiding dark hair. Warm brown eyes, crinkled from a large dimpled grin between dark patched facial hair.

Benny, seeing the sudden spark of interest, grins around his beer bottle. “So, I’ll slip him your number?”

You tighten your jaw and hand his phone back, sniffing impassively as you reach for your beer. “If it means you’ll leave me alone, then fine.” You mutter coolly, ignoring his quiet chuckle.

+

“Wait, wait – you have a best friend and it’s not one of us? I’m cut, Benny. Cut real deep.” Santiago Garcia was curious, to say the least. For years, he had known the youngest Miller and he had never mentioned anyone beyond their little circle or their families. “She cute?”

Benny huffs a chuckle, leaning across the pool table and lining up the final ball. “Hell yeah, she’s cute.”

“Where you been hiding her?”

“She moved away – only came back late last year.”

Santi hums, “Ironhead – she cute?”

Will half smiles, dragging his attention away from the pool table to shrug. “She’s alright.”

His bait works. Benny snaps it up – hook, line and sinker. He stands abruptly from his shot, cue just skimming the white ball, and points an angry finger in his brother’s direction, “I won’t take that shit. She’s a damn angel and you know it.”

Will chuckles to himself before returning his attention to Santi. “Yeah, she’s cute. Show ‘em.”

Benny briefly steps away from the pool table, opens his phone and brings up your Instagram profile, throwing it to Pope and letting him scroll through your feed.

“How come you’ve met her and we haven’t?” Pope aims his question at the older Miller brother, currently bent over the table and pocketing the black ball.

He half shrugs, straightening. “He set us up. It didn’t work out.”

Santi’s face puckers into a teasing glower, and he pouts at the younger Miller. “So, what? You set everyone else up and just leave me to die alone? What’s that about, Benjamin?”

Benny holds his arms out in obvious exaggeration, gesturing deliberately to himself. “You’ve got me.”

Frankie quietly sips his beer and watches in fond amusement, content to stay in the background and away from the bickering. Like Santi, his interest had been piqued but he was somewhat nervous about the situation. He already had feelings of apprehension returning to the dating scene after the shit show of a year he’d had, and those feelings tripled when it came to potentially dating someone close to one of his longest friends. He hadn’t dated in years. He was rusty. What if he disappointed you and Benny ended up kicking his ass? It could get messy real quick.

“I don’t know, man.” He finally pipes up, crossing his arms comfortably across his torso and reclining in the bar stool after peaking over Santi’s shoulder and at the screen he was lazily scrolling through. Ha. Way out of his league. “This kinda shit never works.”

“You sayin’ she’s not good enough for you?”

Frankie shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “You know I’m not.”

“Sounds like you are.”

“Quite the opposite.”

“I’ll take his spot. Give me her number.” Santi holds a hold out, clicking his fingers impatiently when Benny merely rolls his eyes. Pope grins, settling back into his seat and elbowing Frankie softly. “I think you should go for it, man. She seems great, and you need to get back out there.”

“I can’t, I’ve got Mena –”

“And Mena’s got her tío. Go for it. You’re just looking for excuses – no seas cobarde.”

Frankie chews on his lip as he gives it a bit of thought, wondering what’s the worst possible case scenario that could come from it. A busted lip? His self-image in ruins? Scared off from dating for the rest of his life? All things he could live with.

“… alright.”

Immediately, Benny perks up from setting the pool table with a large grin. “Yeah?”

Fish sighs, long and drawn out as Pope playfully pokes his side. “Yeah. Give me her number, I’ll message her now.” Before he freaks and changes his mind.

Maybe he was just thinking too much. What’s the worst that could happen?

+

Tags: @anu-simps​