#tag yourself I’m bruce living the dream

[desertsquiet]

I love how every time I stumble on another video from this specific concert I recognize someone new on stage. “Hey is that Bonnie Raitt doing backup vocals? Hey is that James Burton playing guitar”. Yes, it most certainly is. Anyway the vibe is unmatched and I was smiling the WHOLE time

[richardsgraysons]

lazy sundays (2)

prompt — your fiancé is supposed to be dead. you reminisce.

tags — some mentions of struggling mental health, (s/h), some mentions of potential alcoholism

“you cannot do this to yourself,” damian says, looking at you. he’s always been smarter than you at most things, with what being a literal genius. but he has been affected by dick’s death the same way as you. “it is … unhealthy.”

you sit in a favorite cafe of yours and dick’s—was a favorite. everything reminds you of him. the sunset you’d see out the window. his favorite coffee came from this place.

“what’s unhealthy?” you ask, numb. every word is dulled down and your eyes are looking at your plate. even the foam on your cappucino reminds you of him.

“locking yourself in your apartment. staring at your feet all the time and not doing anything you love. you hardly even go to work. it’s been seven months.”

you slam your fist down on the table. “seven months is too little to mourn,” you nearly cry out. “he was the love of my life, damian, and this stupid life he led killed him! i’m never gonna hear him say a stupid joke. we’re never gonna travel to japan together for our honeymoon. our marriage is never gonna happen.”

damian swallows and looks up at you. he can’t say anything so you stand up and pay the bill. as you do; he squints at your ring finger.

one shiny ring, glinting like the love you have for him.

* * *

haley keeps staring out the window at night. you toss around in your bed, your hand going through your hair. the apartment you have is too expensive to pay for it, but bruce pays for everything.

“haley,” you groan, shoving a hand through your hair. “please, be quiet.”

she doesn’t stop barking. it’s pretty agitating.

you finally drag yourself out of bed, wearing dick’s old navy blue “dog dad” shirt he got from petco. you open the window and peak.

nothing. just quiet whistling. you sign and rub your head. “there’s nothing there,” you sigh, frustrated, and walk back to bed.

in your dreams, you’re there. some utopian city. is it japan? you can’t tell. there’s flying cars up in space and something in your gut tells you that this is a perfect world.

then all of a sudden, you turn around and you’re in a sky high apartment like you’ve always dreamed of living in. you see the lights, the people. they all see so insignificant down below.

“hey pretty girl.”

and he’s there. he leans against the doorway, smirk on his face, twinkle in his eye. his arms are crossed and he has that classic james dean look in his eye.

“dick!” you scream so loud the world notices. you’re running and you throw your arms around him and kiss him, hard on the mouth. he catches you and twirls you around.

“i missed you—“

“wait.” you suddenly stop. “are you a dream?”

he laughs. “what kind of question is that? of course—“

“don’t answer that,” you suddenly say. “i don’t wanna know. if i did, i’d never want to wake up.”

* * *

you’ve been waking up in the same earth that took out your fiancé for the past six to seven months.

it’s cold when you wake up, and you look at your phone the first thing. the cuts on your wrists are dried now, but you have the urge to keep letting yourself bleed.

thirty-three voicemails. all from damian. you frown and recall damian back.

“—this is damian al ghul wayne. do not waste my time with frivolous calls—“

straight to voicemail. jesus.

“good morning, haley,” you groggily say to your dog who stares at you with wide eyes, awaiting her breakfast.

she just barks gently in recognition. lately, you’ve been drinking a bit and she knows not to make the only parent she has left too annoyed. you try to tether yourself, but your isolationism has its limits.

“how’s my pretty girl today?” you ask her as you take her food out.

“i don’t know, how is she?”

you freeze. there’s no way. very slowly, you turn around and look at him. blood rushes into your cheeks, so scarlet it was maroon. blue eyes so deep they remind you of the mediterranean. black tousled hair, a few new scars.

and that damn smirk.

he leans against the doorway, a smirk on his face and you feel alright. a flood of emotions. and you’re processing your emotions right there. he’s alive.

and he looks at you and whispers quietly.

“hey pretty girl.”

[lieutenantfloyd]

Rebel Yell - Ron “Slider” Kerner

Pairing: Ron “Slider” Kerner x Reader

Words: 2.4k

Summary: Penny, readers older sister, leaves to go hang out with Maverick and the crew at the bar instead of "babysitting" her younger sister while their parents are out of town. In an attempt to follow the many rules set by their father, reader calls the bar and asks Penny to bring her a pizza. Penny is less than thrilled at this prospect as she wants to stay out with Mav just a bit longer. Unbeknownst to reader, Penny enlists Slider, reader's long-time crush, to deliver the pizza instead. 

Warnings: smut, age difference, a little bit of risky sex towards the end.

note: This was heavily inspired by Rebel Yell by Billy Idol and I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen. Both of which are on my Slider playlist :)

read on ao3

One thing about being the youngest daughter of a Naval admiral is that no matter how old you are, you'll always be viewed as a child. It didn't help any that your older sister Penny was still required to "Babysit" despite you both being legal adults. You both agreed this rule was unnecessary so it wasn't uncommon for her to leave you at home while she went out with her friends or her on-again-off-again boyfriend Maverick.

This was where you found yourself tonight, alone at home while Penny was out on the town living the young adult dream. Even though there was a bit of an age difference between you two, you still couldn't understand why she wouldn't let you tag along more than once in a blue moon. What made this night different, however, was the fact that both your parents were away on "official business", leaving you and your sister (or really just you) alone in your large beachside home.

Making your way into the kitchen, you opened the fridge as if something to eat had appeared between the 10th and 11th time you did this exact act. It wasn't that there was no food, just that it was all either off limits or required way too much cooking. Not to mention the fact that another one of your fathers' rules was that you weren't allowed to cook when they weren't home.

Sighing, you close the fridge again and make your way over to the house phone. Putting the receiver to your ear, you consider not calling the bar to speak to Penny, but eventually decide that if she's willing to run off all night, the least she can do is bring you a pizza from the shop next door. The line rings for a while before the owner picks up.

"Hi. Is Penny there?" You ask while leaning onto the wall. 

"Yep. Want me to fetch her for you?"

"Yes, thank you."

The owner set the line down and went to get Penny, leaving you to listen in on the commotion of the bar. You longed to be amongst the crowd, singing karaoke and flirting with aviators. Your head swam with memories of the few times Penny took you with her. You'd made fast friends with everyone, Iceman and Slider in particular. You'd always admired him, but it wasn't long until your admiration grew into a full-blown crush. He was older, with soft blue eyes and a physique practically carved out of stone. He was wild and funny and practically dripped confidence. Above all else, he treated you like you were more than just Penny's baby sister or the admiral's little girl.

Just as you were recalling the moments you'd shared with him, namely the moment two months back when Ron was teaching you to play pool and how his big, strong arms positioned you into the right form, penny picked up the phone.

"Is something wrong?'' She asked, clearly wanting to get off the phone as quickly as possible.

"No. But can you bring me a pizza from next door?"

"That's it? Why don't you just cook something?"

"You know how dad is, Penny. Besides, aren't you supposed to be babysitting me? Feeding the baby is part of the job, you know."

"...Fine," she huffed "I'm a little.. preoccupied, but I'll figure something out."

"Thank you!" You teased back.

"Don't push it."

-

Forty minutes later you were sitting on the floor carding through VHS tapes when suddenly the doorbell rang. Expecting either a delivery man or Penny herself, you opened the door without looking through the peephole.

"Surprise delivery." Slider smirks, holding the pizza box out to you.

Your grip on the doorknob slips as it takes all your willpower to stay standing. Taking the pizza with an unsteady hand, he asks to come in and you nod a little too excitedly in agreement. He follows you to the living room in silence. You set the food on the coffee table and turn to him.

"So what are you doing here?" You question.

"Penny asked the table if anyone wanted to bring you a pizza. I accepted because why wouldn't i want to see my favorite girl?" He smiled down at you.

It took all you had not to pass out right there. His favorite girl. There had always been a slightly flirty tension between you, but neither of you wanted to press it and ruin the small amount of time you spent together. But now it was just you two, alone in your house as he stood there clad in grey sweatpants and a complimentary tight white t-shirt that granted an outline of his dog tags.

forcing your eyes off his figure, you continued the conversation the best you could in his presence.

"Well, I appreciate it. Are you um.. heading back to the bar?"

"I was planning on heading over to my place." He answers.

Here goes nothing, you thought.

"Do you maybe want to stay here? With me? I was going to eat and watch a movie." You smiled through your nerves.

"And here I was thinking you'd never ask."

-

A while later the pizza had been all but forgotten in favor of the movie Ron had picked. Some horror flick from the past year. Clutching the pillow tighter to your chest you can't ignore Ron's eyes on you for what seems like the umpteenth time so far. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you turn to meet his gaze.

"What is it?"

"Nothing sweets. Nothing at all." He says, turning his attention back to the movie.

His reply leaves you both puzzled and slightly frustrated. Pushing the pillow onto the floor next to you, you stretch your body in an effort to release both tension and rid yourself of your beckoning sleepiness. Your arms push high above your head, the sensation causing you to groan softly. Settling back down, it isn't long before you feel him looking at you again. Just as frustration bubbles in your chest again he cuts you off.

"Are you tired?" He asks.

"Not really." You lie. 

He doesn't need to know you still have a strictly enforced bedtime.

"Good. Do you think your sister will be back soon?"

This causes you to look up at him curiously.

"No, why?"

"Just wondering." He says before pausing as if considering his words.

"You know, I can always stay until she does. For safety reasons, of course." He smiles playfully.

Maybe it was your tired mind playing tricks on you, but you could've sworn his eyes trailed down your body as he spoke. Your face grows warm at the thought as your head drops shyly.

"I'd like that. Thank you." You say barely above a whisper.

"Of course, sweets." He smirks over at you before moving a bit closer.

Feeling shy next to him you put your focus back on the movie. Soon small yelps start to escape you as jumpscare after jumpscare appears on the screen. It isn't long before you're shielding your eyes and gripping Slider's arm for dear life. His hand made its way up your back and around your shoulder, squeezing you confidently as you continued to shy away from the tv. Hoping to not embarrass yourself further, you peeked out from under his arm. As luck would have it, you chose a terrible time to look. The image sends you scrambling into his lap with a shriek. Without missing a beat his arms curl around your form.

"I told you I was here to protect you" he teases in a low voice.

His voice sends a shudder down your spine. You bury your head further into his firm chest, trying to hide your embarrassment. He only laughs and shifts his grip on your body, grabbing your hips firmly, and prompting you to look at him. With a little coxing you unbury your face, earning a wide smile from the older man.

A wild look flashes in his eyes as he leans down towards your ear again.

"You know, if you wanted to jump in my lap and feel me up you could've just asked."

The heat burning on your face sinks lower as your eyes grow wide. Your heart rate picks up as you start to wriggle under his hands.

"Hey, hey, hey," He coos "Gosh, you really are the cutest."

Suddenly you still in his grip, heat moving from your face down to your belly every time he speaks. You slowly grow comfortable against him as silence falls between you. Just as you settle against him, his arms wrap around your front, rolling you onto the floor while he finds a spot on top of you.

Brushing your hair aside, his head dips as he places a soft kiss on your lips. The kiss deepens instantly and your mouths begin to move in sync. Your arms find their way around his neck to pull him closer and his hands trail down your sides. He pushes your thighs apart and slots his hips between them. His tongue pushes past your lips and he prompts your legs to wrap around his waist. Your hands find their way into his hair and your nails take down his scalp, earning a deep groan from him. Pressing further into you, he rolls his hips against yours. His hands find their way to your chest, but before they move inside your shirt he pulls his mouth away from yours.

"Tell me to stop and I will."

"Please.."  you practically whine.

"Please stop?" He says, backing off slightly.

"No! Just... um.." you say, growing shy again.

"I need to hear your words, honey."

"I want you."

"To what, honey?"

"...Fuck me."

"Atta girl." He says allowing more of his weight to press into you while his lips find your neck. "I'll take care of you," he says between kisses. "or ruin you. Whichever you prefer."

You shudder at his words and he laughs, loving the effect he already has on you.

"Let's try a little bit of both." He smirks slightly, planting a firm kiss to the side of your head.

Without any more hesitation, his lips find the crook of your neck while his hands find their way under your shirt. Your mouth falls open with a moan, prompting him to push his hips back in between your thighs. His hard on pressing into your core. He kisses your lips needily before making quick work of removing your collective garments. the moment his shirt lands on the floor your hands begin to roam his torso, sliding lower and lower until they meet the waistband of his grey sweatpants.

 “Don’t hold back,” he growls, sensing your slight hesitation.  His toned frame and ever-confident personality had you seeing stars. slipping out of his sweats he goes to remove your bottoms as well. You lift your hips up into his allowing him to finally discard your shorts and underwear. His palm pushes between your thighs to cup your heat. His digits push past your folds just enough to dampen them before bringing them to his mouth. You both groan at the sight. Heat floods your stomach causing you to buck your hips up into his. Through his boxers you can feel just how obscenely hard and big he is. You groan again at the sensation, the noise causing him to drop one hand from his mouth and push your hips to the ground. With his free hand, he frees his cock from his boxers and shifts to move the head between your soaked folds.

"Ronnie," you pant "I need you inside me.”

"You don't have to ask me twice," he smirks as he sinks his length into you. Your head falls against the floor as inch after inch of his erection enters your beckoning heat. Coming to hilt he groans and pauses, granting you time to adjust to his size. You let out a few needy moans as the seconds pass and the pressure in your abdomen grows.

"Ronnie, please. I need you to move," you say slowly.

His lips capture yours as he draws his hips back, drawing his length partway out before thrusting forcefully back into you. He swallows your small cry as your nails drag up his back and arms. His thrusts are long, even, and impossibly deep. Your head swims with nothing but pleasure as the head of his dick finds your sweet spot over and over again. Releasing your lips he reaches down and pulls one of your legs around his hip, allowing him to thrust somehow deeper inside you.

Your loud mewls blend with his deep groans. A quick snap of his hips makes your walls clench around him. The sound he lets out is downright pornographic and your mind goes blank. Leaving you a wriggling mess underneath him crying out for more. He continues his quick, sloppy thrusts until you come undone around him moments later.

Riding you through your orgasm, he soon pulls out and spills over your lower stomach. His strong arms land on either side of you. Keeping his full weight from collapsing on top of you. He presses his forehead to yours and your labored breaths sync. As you both come down from your orgasms, you almost don't hear the front door open and penny yell your name. Almost.

The sound of your name sends your once cloudy mind onto high alert. You froze, silently thanking the powers that be that blessed you with a house with a sectioned-off living room.

"Hey!" You yell back through the house, your voice much shakier than intended. A short silence follows before penny speaks up again. "Are you okay y/n?" Penny asks, causing Ron to bury his head in your shoulder in an effort to stifle a laugh. "I'm Fine! Just.. uh.. don't come in here!" You stammer earning a dampened laugh and a wild look from Ron. A much longer silence fills the air this time.

"...I'm just going to head up to bed. Goodnight y/n."

"Alright. Goodnight!" You answer, still half frozen.

Penny starts up the stairs without another word. Thinking you're in the clear, you both relax slightly, letting out soft giggles like two teenagers who just got away with something. Rolling off you, your mind grows cloudy again as he begins to whisper teasing praises into your ear. Yet with what's left of your mind, you hear her stop halfway up the stairs.

"-And goodnight Ron."

"Fuck."  

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@austin-butlers-gf​

[americancowgirl19]

All is Well

Summary: Your home at last with your lovers

Warnings: fluff

Reader: Alpha Female Reader

Pairings: Beta Frank Castle x Alpha Reader x Omega Matt Murdock

Word Count: 467

A/n: Read the ending note!

@insanelyobsessedwithdilfs @liffydaze @tsukishimawhore @glowstick-lesbian @izzy-jez @cuddle-pie @marie975 @mylifeispainandiloveit​ @izbelross​ @kneelforloki​ @raelwrites​  

Masterlist - Series Masterlist

You sat stiffly on the bathroom counter quietly letting Matt take care of the lacerations across your stomach. They were just deep enough to need stitching which Bruce had done in Wakanda after the battle. Since returning to your own kingdom Matt and Frank have been hovering. You could hardly do anything yourself and forget trying to go anywhere alone. You knew there would come a time where this behavior would begin to drive you insane, but it hasn’t come yet.

At the moment Matt was cleaning the wounds as well as putting a glaze over top of it to help ease the pain. You couldn’t take your eyes off his concentrated face. His eyes fluttered around you as his hands gently took care of you.

Your arms are resting on his shoulders keeping them out of his way. You couldn’t help but to softly play with his hair. Every now and then you’d hear his purr, but it wouldn’t last as he focused on you.

“Will I live, doc?” You ask softly. A small smirk lifts the corner of his lips. One of your hands cups the back of his neck. Your fingers glide over his soft skin as you move it to the front of his face. Your thumb brushes over his lips, tracing the grin.

“It’s close,” He murmurs grabbing the wrap for both your ribs and lacerations. “But I think you’ll pull through,” He teases. You huff a small laugh before settling. He leans closer, stepping deeper between your legs, and wraps your midsection.

“Thank you, baby,” You whisper, kissing him softly. Matt sighs leaning into you. Neither of you move when your lip’s part. 

You’ve been home for barely two weeks. It hasn’t been easy. Natasha’s death still haunts you in your dreams, even during the day, and you doubt it’ll stop anytime soon. If it’s not Natasha haunting you it’s the war against Fisk and the battle in Wakanda. Being trapped in the Wakandan dungeon has made you hate tight places. The war has made you uneasy with quick movements and loud noises. It’s been an adjustment.

Your eyes open when you smell Frank coming towards the two of you. Matt’s head falls into the crook of your neck. You purr as he scents you, his arms circling around your waist. Frank crosses his arms leaning against the doorway. He’s smiling at the both of you softly.

You knew that with the both of them by your side you’d be just fine. Fisk is gone and so is Killmonger. The nations have been redivided and wealth distributed. Frank is no longer in the shadows and your destined is crowned Queen. Everything’s falling into place. Even if shit hits the fan again you know you’ll be able handle it with your lovers.

-------

Ok, so that’s how I’m ending what I’ll call Part One of the series. I’m doing this because I know some people don’t like pregnancy tropes but that’s where I’m going to take this. So, this is a nice ending for people who don’t want to read that.

If you would like to continue being tagged, then I’ll tag you. I’m just going to assume everyone will want to continue being tagged UNLESS YOU TELL ME OTHER WISE! If you do not want to read the pregnancy part and you have been tagged and want to be removed from the list then shoot me a message, no hard feelings!

Thank you all for the love and support of this series and I cannot wait to continue!

[nev3rfound]

option two : b.b

after nightmares continue to haunt his nights, bucky knows there’s one person left who could potentially provide some form of comfort, but is she still willing to see him after all this time? (1.5k)

masterlist / permanent taglist / etsy shop - requests open!

5k giveaway celebration 

warnings: angsty, sad bucky, minor spoilers for ep1 of tfatws  requested: nope, just something i’ve been thinking about since ep1 of tfatws

(everything on my blog is my own writing. if it is shared on another page or website without being credited, it has not been approved to be shared by me. all rights reserved.)

It felt real, as if he were back there holding the gun with no remorse.

Cold sweat covers Bucky’s body as he pants heavily, feeling the cool tags against his exposed chest rising and falling with his deep breaths that refuse to calm down.

He knew it wasn’t real, it was all in his head. But he knew it happened, even if it was many years ago, he still held the gun in his hand and pulled the trigger.

“It’s not real.” Bucky mutters to himself, glancing up to see the TV silently blaring a football game that he has no interest in, but it proves as a worthy distraction for the time being. “It’s not real.”

Remaining seated on the wooden floorboards with a blanket draped over his lap, Bucky glances over to his phone knowing there are two possible options ahead of him.

A sigh ghosts his lips as he stares at the contact list consisting of five names, only one having been used in the last week, well, month.

“James, you’ve got less than ten contacts in this phone and I’m the only person you’ve called all week.” Doctor Raynor sighs once more as she reaches for her notebook, not caring about the look of disdain crossing Bucky’s expression.

“It’s not like I’ve got anyone else to call.” Bucky shrugs it off, hearing her pen pause on the paper.

“Well, you’ve been avoiding messages from Sam for a start,”

“He doesn’t count.” Bucky remarks, hearing another quieter sigh leave her lips.

“Okay, then when was the last time you spoke to her, huh?” She counters, noticing his tense form relax at the mention of you. “Come on, James. If you want to help yourself, you have to keep in touch with those who still care about you.”

“I don’t even know if she does anymore, Doc.” Bucky admits, trying to hold back the sadness in his tone as Raynor closes her notebook.

“You have to try, James.” She reminds him. “Otherwise you’ll never know.”

Swallowing his pride, Bucky presses on the contact and listens as the number rings out. He’s counted the rings endlessly, knowing the hesitation there would be at the other end of the call.

“Hello?” He holds back the desperation clinging to his throat upon hearing someone answer, a loud yawn echoing through the line.

“Bucky?”

“Yeah,” Bucky lowers his head into his metal hand, even if it’s a different arm, it’s still part of the same tormented history. “I, could you come over?” A whisper leaves his lips as silence protrudes. “P,please?”

His ears perk up at the sound of sheets ruffling. “I’ll be there in twenty.”

Before Bucky can say his thanks, the line goes dead and the realisation sinks in; he’s going to see you again.

*

Bucky listens closely, hearing you outside of his apartment. He can hear you knock once softly, and a second time with more confidence.

He knows he should hold back a moment and pretend he hasn’t been hovering beside the front door since you hung up a mere twenty minutes ago, but he can’t help himself.

Unlocking the several locks covering the door, Bucky opens it a sliver, allowing you to slip in.

Keeping your head down, your focus remains on your feet as Bucky closes his front door before turning to you.

“I, I didn’t think you’d come.” Bucky admits quietly, afraid to hear what you have to say in response.

“Well,” You start, now lifting your head up to see him and your sentence falters in your mouth. You can’t deny that he looks worse than you envisioned, even during those late nights and early mornings when he woke up screaming in your arms, he’d never looked so grief-stricken like this.

“Yeah,” Bucky breathes out, following your gaze to his tired eyes, scratches covering his arm from attempting to claw it off in his sleep as sweat still clings to his chest. “it’s not great.”

You scoff under your breath as you follow Bucky through to his small kitchen where he pours you both glasses of water. “That is clearly an understatement.” Accepting the glass, you take the moment to reflect whilst he’s occupied. “How long has this been happening?”

Pausing at the sink, Bucky stares down into his glass of water, remembering the countless nights they attempted to drown him or try shock therapy. And how every time it didn’t work, he remembered it all.

“A while.” He mutters, his grip tightening on the kitchen ledge as his metal hand clenches around the glass, shattering it into the sink.

“James,” You call out, slowly rising from your seat and moving toward him. “I’m right here, you’re here too, alright?”

Standing beside him, you reach out for his hand, easing his grip on the counter until he lets go.

“You’re right here.” You repeat to him as his eyes remain tightly closed, his jaw locked and left hand still clenching the broken glass. “You can let go, Bucky.” The words leave your lips in a whisper as the remainder of the glass drops into the sink, and Bucky turns his body to face yours.

“It wasn’t real,” Bucky tells you weakly. “please tell me it wasn’t real.”

Without thinking twice, you lift your hand to rest it against his cheek and Bucky instantly cradles it with his flesh hand, keeping it in place.

“It wasn’t real, James.” You confidently state as he moves your hand and presses a gentle kiss against it. “Why didn’t you call me sooner?” You sigh as you both remain in the dimly lit kitchen, the only movement from Bucky as he turns the tap off.

“Nothings been the same since Steve,” He can’t help but trail off, knowing he doesn’t have to explain himself around you. “and I just couldn’t face it, not with all that history.”

Stepping backwards, you let your hand slip from his as you lean against the counter, crossing your arms. “But what about the rest of us, Bucky? You just stopped answering, after everything we’ve been through.” You try to keep your voice low, remain calm, but after all this time, it’s difficult to not let your feelings get in the way. “I’ve lost all of you. Sam, Wanda, Peter, Clint, Bruce, Thor and now you too.”

“I’m sorry, doll,” Bucky breathes out. “I never meant to hurt you, I, I’ve been making amends.”

Walking past you, Bucky rummages through his bedside table, revealing the well-worn notebook.

“Was that?” You don’t have to finish your question before Bucky nods, flipping through the pages to a series of names scribbled down.

“These are all the people I wronged or hurt or who were affected by the Winter Soldier.” Bucky explains, holding the book out to you.

He watches closely as your eyes scan over the names, flipping through the pages seeing those crossed out or circled or left untouched. Until you see the last name on the list, yours.

“Y/n, I’m truly sorry for leaving you, for causing you any pain.” Bucky begins to explain as you close the notebook, placing it back on the counter out of sight. “I know I can’t take back what I’ve done, for disappearing for months without warning, but I,” Unable to fight his emotions, Bucky cracks.

You reach out as he curls up to the ground, quiet sobs wracking through his body as you hold him close.

“It’s okay,” You shush him as you fall to a sitting position, Bucky curling his head into your lap once more. “we can talk about this in the morning, okay?”

“You’re not leaving, are you?” Bucky tenses beneath you before sparing you a glance, allowing you to see those blue eyes, the ones you’ve missed falling asleep beside and waking up to, those same blue eyes that hold so much pain you can’t comprehend.

“No,” You whisper, running your fingers through his short hair, missing how the long ends used to feel against your face in the mornings. “I promise, I won’t go.” You lean back against the cabinets as Bucky begins to relax beneath you, his metal arm outstretched whilst his flesh arm remains around your waist, hugging you close.

“This is real, isn’t it?” Bucky sadly asks, looking out toward the dark hallway of his apartment, seeing nothing besides the faint glare of the tv. “I, I’m not dreaming this again am I?”

The thought breaks your heart as you rest your hand on his shoulder, running your fingers along the faint scar that remains etched into his skin.

“It’s real, Bucky.” You tell him, trying to disguise the cry that is lodged in your throat. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

Despite your words of comfort, Bucky closes his eyes uneasily, wondering when he’ll wake up from this dream to the painful reality he truly lives in.

t a g l i s t (thank you for the support!) link in my bio and at the top of this piece to add yourself☺️(if your user isn’t tagged, it’s because nothing comes up sorry!)

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[writingblock101]

Still Insufferable (Damian Wayne x Reader)

This is a part two to Insufferable! I had an anon request this a while back and found some prompts that gave some great inspiration! Hope y’all like it! You don’t need to read part one, but it does make the transition smoother. For reference, you and Damian are 17. 

Words: 2,800 

Tags: @idkmanicantenglish @mayahoelland2013

Warnings: None

“Do you ever follow directions?” A familiar, condescending voice asks you from the ground. 

You spot an annoyed Damian Wayne from your upside perch, staring up at you with crossed arms. You grin, a little too excited to see someone who looks so annoyed with you. 

“I’m creating an extensive target practice!” You claim, gesturing with your bow to the targets down range

“By hanging upside from the rafters?” Damian raises an unimpressed eyebrow. 

“You’re questioning my methods.” 

“I’m not questioning it,” Damian corrects. “I’m saying it’s stupid.” 

You gasp in mock offense then unhook your legs and flip to the floor. 

“Your words wound me!” 

“You’ll recover,” Damian says dryly. 

“I thought you would approve of me making a more comprehensive training.”

“You were hanging upside down from the rafters. How is that more comprehensive?” Damian questions.

“Because I don’t always get the pretty shot with the perfect set up in the field!” You argue. “Sometimes, I’m making the shot while hanging upside down with a broken toe!” 

Damian pauses, his eyes flickering to your feet. 

“Is your toe broken?” He asks.

He almost sounds concerned. It’s kind of sweet. 

“No,” You admit. “But what if it was?” 

He blinks. The concern is gone. 

“You spend too much time with Roy and Jason.” 

“Well, Roy is basically raising me at this point, so yeah, kind of,” You point out. 

Damian rolls his eyes. 

“Mission briefing.” 

“Aw, you came all the way here to tell me yourself,” You tease Damian, aware of the various intercoms around the Tower.

He scowls at you, but doesn’t dampen your good mood. 

“I was the closest to the range. It made the most sense for me to come tell you.” 

“No need to make excuses,” You shrug. “I get it, I’m amazing and you can’t resist being around me.” 

“You’re insufferable.” 

“You know, that line didn’t fool me when we were 12 and it’s still not fooling me now.” 

Damian’s scowl deepens. 

“Mission briefing, now.” Then he walks off before you can make another smart ass comment. 

Sometimes, Damian makes it too easy. You hit the switch to pull the targets back in, figuring you’ll get your arrows later. 

You’ve been an official Teen Titan for a few months now. After Roy talked you into tagging along with the team for a mission, you were hooked. The rest of the team agreed to extend an invite to you, which you happily accepted. You love the team, including Damian. Despite your constant bickering, you and Damian work well together in the field, enhancing each other’s skills. 

In all honesty, you really enjoy being around Damian. While he’s a bit uptight, when he relaxes, he’s fun to be around. You’ve enjoyed getting to see the more relaxed side of Damian. Besides, it's fun to have someone who keeps up with every sarcastic remark you make, even if it includes him calling you insufferable. It’s a bit of a long shot, but you know Damian likes you more than he makes it seem he does. 

You head to the main conference room of the tower and settle in for a long presentation. While the briefings are long, and rather boring, they’re in depth. You have to give Damian credit, even when things go wrong on missions, his extensive briefings prepare your team for almost every possibility and help make adaptations to the plan on the fly. 

You fiddle with a pen, unscrewing it, laying out the pieces then put it back together as Damian talks. As you get more fidgety the longer the meeting goes on, Damian wordlessly slides a new pen over to you with a slightly different composition. You smile at him and busy your hands with taking part the new pen. Damian’s cheeks darken slightly, but before anyone can notice, he’s back in leader mode. 

Damian pulls up the blueprint, running through everyone’s role and position for the mission.

“And Black Falcon, you’re with me, handling guards on the roof and additional security measures.”

“The dream team,” You grin with a wink.

Damian rolls his eyes and ignores your remark. Instead, he fields any questions then dismisses the team. You glance down at the file briefing in front of you then remember one last question for Damian. As a few Titans clear out, you wander to the front of the room where Damian is studying the blueprint from the presentation. 

“Hey, boss man,” You wave your file at him. “This building is using the Kingsley Security system. What are your thoughts about debuting the new hacking arrows?” 

Damian frowns, flipping to the page with the schematics concerning the security system. 

“How effective is the firewall on the arrows?” 

“If you’re worried about them tracking back to us, the arrows’ firewall should be strong enough to erase our trail.” 

“Should be?” Damian raised an eyebrow. 

“They’ll be fine, but I don’t like to make guarantees.” 

“And why is that?” 

“Because sometimes, shit happens.” 

“I don’t like variables.” 

“Well, Dames, I’ve got bad news for you about how life works.” 

You cross your arms, leaning your hip against the table. 

“I don’t like variables on my missions when lives are on the line,” Damian says, scanning over the Kingsley credentials. 

“We’re connected to a computer with the highest level of security to currently exist. Even if they manage to trace back the arrows, they won’t get far.” 

Jon and Colin watch you two bicker about arrows and security.

“He likes having someone to argue with way too much,” Colin mutters to Jon. 

Jon nods along. 

“You’re telling me. He’s not going to do anything about it though.” 

Colin cracks a grin. 

“He’s just gonna roll his eyes and tell her she’s insufferable.” 

Jon and Colin snicker, catching Damian’s attention. He narrows his eyes at the two who sit innocently. 

“Listen,” You bring Damian’s attention back to you. “It’s your mission and I’ll respect whatever you want to do, but the only way for me to improve the arrows design is to test them.” 

“I’ll consider it,” Damian says. 

His phone lights up with notification on the table. Your eyes dart toward the light and your eyebrows go up. Damian catches your eye and snatches his phone off the table with red cheeks.

“Am I your lock screen?” You ask with a small grin. 

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” Damian shoves his phone in his back pocket. 

“Really?” Your grin grows as your eyebrows move higher. 

Jon and Colin watch with shit eating grins. 

“Grayson set it,” Damian growls. “I haven’t bothered to change it.” 

“Sure, he did,” You nod. “It’s a cute picture.” 

The picture is after Damian and Bruce got into a huge argument, bad enough that Damian called Dick to get him out of the Manor. Dick figured it would be a good day to give Damian a childhood experience he missed out on and decided to take Damian to a theme park. Knowing you were in town with Jason while Roy was handling some business in Gotham, he talked Jason into bringing you. While at the park, Dick insisted you and Damian needed to try a funnel cake since neither of you had ever had one. 

You and Damian decided to split one since Dick warned you they were pretty sweet. When you and Damian tried your first bites, Damian’s face instantly scrunched up which made you laugh and Dick managed to catch the moment on camera. 

Damian scowls at you while you just grin. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone and ruin your reputation,” You laugh, leaving the room. 

Damian scowls at you as you leave and returns his attention to collecting his files. 

“Ah Dames, get that look off your face, we all know how you feel,” Jon teases. 

Damian turns, scowling at Jon. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Sure you don’t,” Colin rolls his eyes. “We can all tell you like Y/N.” 

“She’s--”

“Insufferable,” Jon finishes. “Yeah, we know. You know, just because you keep saying it, doesn’t mean it’s actually true.” 

“And you know, we get it, you’re a condensing, uptight dick--” Colin starts to rattle off. 

“Why does everyone assume the worst of me?” Damian scowls at Colin. 

“It saves time,” He grins at his friend. “But, despite those things, you can be charming when you want to be. And if you actually acted on that charm, Y/N would agree to a date with you.” 

Jon stares at Colin for a minute, looking unimpressed then turns to Damian. 

“My advice is much more subtle. Stop being an ass.” 

“I didn’t ask for advice,” Damian growls. 

“We are aware and we also are aware that you never will,” Colin nods. 

“Why not let yourself be happy, Dames?” Jon asks. 

“I am happy,” Damian glares at the two of them then walks out of the room, tired of hearing their advice. 

“Think he’ll listen?” Colin asks. 

Jon shrugs. 

“Who knows.” 

. . . 

Your back hits the ground but you roll to the balls of your feet, breathing hard. You tighten your grip on your bo staff, ready to lunge for another hit when you notice Damian walk into the training room. As he walks toward you, you straighten up and grab your water, figuring it’s time for a break. Damian raises his eyebrows at your bo staff. 

“That’s not your normal choice in weapons,” He observes. 

You shrug, taking a swing of water and ignoring your cheeks heating up. While you wanted to expand your training, you’ve seen Damian using a bo staff a lot. He seems to like them so you figured you’d give them a shot. Besides, Tim has given you a few pointers. 

“Decided to try something new,” You say casually. 

Damian quirks an eyebrow, but says nothing else. 

“I’ve been thinking--” He starts. 

“A dangerous pastime,” You nod solemnly. 

Damian glares at you but continues, as if he didn’t hear your sarcastic comment. 

“We have a strong enough firewall on the computer in the Tower that if your arrows malfunctioned, we could detect and fight a security breach.” 

“So, I can bring them on the mission?” You finish. 

“Yes.” 

“Sweet!” You grin, pumping your fist. 

Damian rolls his eyes again at your celebration, but you can see him trying not to smile. He turns to leave, but you look back at the bo staff you were training with. 

“Wait! Damian!” You call. 

He turns, looking at you with raised eyebrows. 

“You’re better with a bo staff than I am,” You admit. “Wanna help me out?” 

Damian’s eyes flicker between you and the bo staff. You see a small smile fighting its way onto his face. 

“I’ll change into something more suiting for training.” 

You grin, spinning the staff around you then go into a mock solute. 

“Yes, commander.” 

Damian rolls his eyes again, but leaves to change. 

. . . 

You swing your staff up hard, but Damian blocks it and swipes at your legs with a low kick. Grinning as he falls into the expected move, you flip your staff around and hit Damian’s side. He grunts and moves again, this time, landing a hard blow to your arm. You grimace at the force, but swing your staff around again and manage to knock Damian’s legs out from under him with a move he showed you. 

Damian hits the ground hard with a grunt, but instead of rolling to his feet for another hit, he lays on the ground, looking a little dazed. 

“I got it!” You cheered as Damian sits up, watching you with a small smile. 

“Drive your hips more so the power doesn’t come from your arms as much,” He instructs. 

“You know, with all the archery I do,” You flex a muscular arm. “I’m pretty sure my arms are stronger than my hips at this point.” 

Damian rolls his eyes as he pushes himself to his feet. You swear you sees his eyes lingering on your flexed arm. 

“Basic anatomy,” He claims. 

“Right, your definition of “basic” and a normal person’s is pretty different.” 

Damian raises an eyebrow at you. 

“How do you mean?” 

You narrow your eyes. 

“You know what I mean.” 

“I don’t,” But the slow start of a shit eating grin on his face tells you Damian knows how you meant that statement. 

You groan, throwing your hands up. 

“Okay, fine, Wayne. I’ll give it to you, you’re pretty smart.” 

“Am I now?” Damian full on grins, making your heart flutter. 

You roll your eyes again, despite your raised heart rate. 

“I’m not going to say it again.” 

“I didn’t think you would. It doesn’t change the truth.” 

You sigh, shaking your head. 

“Why do I still like you, knowing you’re a total asshole?” You question as you walk toward your water. 

Damian freezes for a moment, your words slowly mulling over in his head. Before he can say anything else, his watch beeps. Damian looks down at it with a scowl.

“Duty calls?” You ask, handing Damian his water. 

He looks up from the notification and nods. 

“Get dressed, we leave in ten minutes.”

. . . 

Following your normal post mission tradition, you relax on the roof with a few boxes of take out. You dig into your box of fried rice, enjoying the view as your legs dangle over the edge of the huge tower. The roof access door opens and someone sits next to you but you don’t have to turn to see who. Wordlessly, you hold out Damian’s vegetarian Lo Mein which you took the courtesy to grab while he showered after the mission. 

“Your arrows worked,” Damian comments, accepting the box from you and digging in with his own chopsticks. 

“Mmhm,” You hum with a smirk. “Told you.” 

Damian rolls his eyes. 

“Of course you wouldn’t be able to resist making a childish remark.” 

You grin, nudging Damian’s shoulder. 

“You knew I already knew the arrows worked. You just wanted to hear me say it.” 

“I absolutely did not.” 

“Sure you didn’t. I’m irresistible.” 

“You’re insufferable,” Damian corrects. 

“I still don’t believe that line.” 

“Your belief does not change the truth.” 

You laugh, leaning against Damian as you both continue eating, enjoying the view and each other’s company. After the first time Damian joined you on the roof, it became both of your traditions to enjoy your post mission meals together. Later, you would rejoin the team for game night or movie night, but for now, you two enjoy your quiet meals and unwind peacefully. 

Once your meals are finished and the boxes are discarded to the side, you scoot closer to Damian, resting your head on his shoulder. He slowly places a hand on your knee, seeming a bit uncertain. You smile to yourself and squeeze his arm, scooting a little closer to encourage him. He leans into you, seeming more relaxed by the affection. 

“You know,” You finally say after a few minutes of silently watching the sun set. “I turned out liking you a lot more than I originally planned.” 

“How much did you intend to like me?” Damian asks.

You feel him starting to go stiff. 

“Well, given you insulted me when I first met you,” You point out with a shrug. “I didn’t expect to like you very much.” 

“And now?” Damian asks hesitantly. 

You lift your head from Damian’s shoulder to look at him, your noses inches away.

“Now, you’re pretty alright,” You tease, admiring his pretty green eyes. 

Damian rolls his eyes with a small laugh. 

“Just alright?” He asks, squeezing your knee lightly. 

“Well,” You shrug again, feeling your heart pound. “Maybe a little more than alright.” 

You stare at each other for a long moment until Damian’s eyes flicker to your lips. Here goes nothing. Before you can bring yourself to regret, you close the small distance between each other and press your lips to his. He’s hesitant for a moment, stiff against you. Before you can pull away, Damian’s fingers sink into your hair, pulling you closer as he kisses you back. 

You melt into the kiss and grip his shirt tightly. As he shifts his head to deepen the kiss, a voice yells from behind you: 

“It’s about time!” 

You and Damian jump apart, still holding a hand on each other to see Jon standing by the roof access door. Damian scowls at him while Jon grins like he’s just won the lottery. 

“You have no idea how annoying it was so watch you two pretend like you don’t like each other,” Jon rolls his eyes. “Come on, we’re starting game night.” 

He disappears back through the door as you look back at Damian. 

“Well, duty calls,” You joke, sliding off the ledge. 

Damian turns, catches your wrist, and tugs you back to him.

“They can wait,” He mutters to you, kissing you again. 

You happily melt into the kiss, your hands on Damian’s chest as his hands slide to your hips. 

“Am I still insufferable?” You tease against Damian’s lips. 

He smirks, standing to his feet and pulling you close by your waist. 

“Yes,” He kisses you again. 

I’ve been writing things as I get inspiration. I think I’ll be compiling a prompt lists soon because I have some request... They are really big ideas and I don’t think I can take on any projects that big right now. I hope you enjoyed! 

[space-mermaid-writing]

House Arrest [Loki X Reader] Chapter 2

Summary: You are Clint’s 'little' sister and actually a trained Shield agent. But you gave that up a few years ago and became a Chef, because you wanted a normal live. Then one day Natasha shows up at your door and takes you to the Avenger Tower for a while for security reasons.

Tags: Reader is an former Shield Agent, chef!reader, Reader Barton, 2012 Avenger vibes, everything is still alright, Slice of Life, Avengers Family, Loki has a good heart, still the god of mischief, Slow Burn, mention of food and cooking

Read it on AO3

Chapter 2: Not the new kitchen help

You can now call a cozy apartment with two rooms and a nice bathroom your own. You have stored your things in the bedroom and are now looking around the tower. The living rooms seem to be spread over several levels. Either there are really a lot of people living here or they tried to keep a little space to avoid stepping on each other's toes all the time. Living and working together can be quite a challenge for some people. The floors above consist - judging by the signs - of labs and various development rooms. Most of it is probably technical stuff, but some of the doors also have concerning warnings, and you don't want to spend your first day trying to figure out if they're genuine.

You find the outdoor platform with the big A and see, then it’s connected to some sort of party or lounge room. There are several couch sets and a rather nicely equipped bar. Overall, everything is very spacious and you're sure you can walk around here for a few days without anyone noticing your presence. At least once, you think you've lost your bearings for a moment, but then you find your way back to the elevators. On the other hand, there was surprisingly little going on up here.

All floors below the living area seem to be offices, at least the names of the elevator buttons suggest that. You don't feel like visiting them right now, because the exploration tour has left you pretty hungry. The last meal was also your breakfast this morning and now it's almost afternoon. So you look for the room that interests you the most anyway. And you find it near the lounge: a wonderfully large kitchen with fantastic equipment. You explore it with interest and notice that it‘s visibly little used. Among the people and other beings here, there seems to be no one enjoying cooking. Saving the world probably takes up enough of their time. As you open the refrigerator, a voice suddenly comes from somewhere, startling you briefly at first. "Good afternoon, Miss Barton. If you have any requests regarding the food or ingredients, please let me know." You look around, but can't see anyone. "My name is JARVIS," the voice explains. "I am an A.I. and I am available to assist you." "Uh-huh...hello," you merely reply, processing this information. Jarvis, meanwhile, continues talking. "Welcome to the Tower. The other Avenger members have been notified of your arrival in a memo." "Okay, thanks." It‘s a bit weird talking to a room, but apparently modern technology has already reached the next level here. Hearing nothing more, you start inspecting the contents of the refrigerator. The result is quite sobering. "It's all just fast foods," you grumble. "Would you like to suggest changes in the selection?", Jarvis asks. "Yes! Please and thank you." "You're welcome to make a shopping list, and I'll have everything ordered." Why not? Regardless of whether a computer can really do it, you nod. "Okay." "A personal tablet will be calibrated for you. You can pick it up from Mr. Banner."

A few minutes later you find yourself in the labs on the upper floors. The sterile lit hallway reminds you much more of Shield than the lower floors. You turn a corner and have to go down some stairs that lead you into a large room. Here, tables are jumbled with various types of modern computers and equipment. Further back is a robotic arm soldering a hard drive all by itself with a quiet whir. It’s a dream for any technology enthusiast. From one corner, you hear typing and beeping, followed by quiet murmurs. That's where you turn, looking at the whiteboards on the wall along the way, where complicated calculations and drawings could be seen. Then suddenly, right in front of you, a hologram appears in the air and you stop, rooted to the spot. "Oops!" "Oh, sorry." A head pops up from behind a nearby screen and you recognize Bruce Banner. His face is always shown on the news whenever there's been a shot of Hulk. But now you're more interested in the hologram as you take a closer look. It shows a nebulous, pulsating entity. "What is that?" you ask the scientist. "We got some cosmic stones. This was in one of them." "It's moving. Is it alive?" "Living would be an exaggeration, but there is energy present. My name is Dr. Banner, by the way." He reduzes the size the hologram so it's out of your way. "Barton, nice to meet you." "Clint's sister, I read the file. He never mentioned you though." "I didn't want any attention, but didn't quite work out, I guess." Bruce smiles sympathetically and reaches for a cup of tea, which, judging by his expression after the first sip, seems to be cold. You ask for the tablet you came for, and Bruce looks around searchingly. There are a few of them in the room, but the display of one lights up, drawing your attention. You see your name displayed and simply conclude that it's the right one. Briefly you say thank and goodbye, before you go back to your room and start making a shopping list. Please fresh ingredients and please deliver today.

Afterwards, you browse around a bit. The tablet, like every electronic device in the house, seems connected to the main computer and to Jarvis. You pull up a few files on your new housemates and read them curiously. At least the parts that are publicly available. You also take the opportunity to look for your own name. Because even though you know that your records were officially destroyed when you left, you know that no data is ever really gone. So you're almost surprised when you find only a few sentences about yourself and not even a photo. Mainly it was about your and Clint's entry into Shield at a young age as orphans. You had received a pretty good education, which may have also kept you from going off the rails. Besides hand-to-hand combat and firearms training, your specialty was handling knives, while your brother took up bows and arrows. For foreign missions, you had also had to learn various languages and had chosen the widely spoken Spanish and Russian. But you didn't work for Shield for a long time, instead opting out of your career early on. It just wasn't the life you wanted to lead. So you changed cities and mingled with the civilian population. And before you knew it, your talent with a knife led you into a traditional apprenticeship as a chef. You enjoyed this work more than having to fight to death, and you even expanded your knowledge and skills during a year abroad in France. But there is very little of all this in your records.

You set the tablet aside and stretch out on your new bed. Normally, you would be in full swing at work right now. A glance at the clock reveals that it's already early evening. Rush hour in most of the restaurants. But here? Without a task or a plan, there's not much you can do. On the other hand, a little vacation wouldn't hurt you.

At some point, the tablet gave a soft ping and when you checked, it was a notification that the refrigerator and all the pantries had been restocked. By now you are very hungry and you heard nothing about a joint dinner time, so you decide to cook yourself something. Out of sheer habit and to avoid getting your clothes dirty, you put on a chef's jacket and apron you brought from home and go into the kitchen. There's a radio in one corner that you turn on. Jarvis really did get everything you had asked for. It was a dream come true. Now in a much better mood, you grab a pan and get to work. From the freezer, you pull out a fish, which you gut and fill with fresh herbs. It goes into the pan first. Then it's the turn of the potatoes, which are peeled, boiled and rolled in rosemary.

You're so absorbed in your work - you've just poked a knife into the boiling potatoes to see if they're already done - that you don't notice a visitor, who had entered the kitchen at some point, until he makes himself known. "I'll have the course menu and a white wine to go with it." Somewhat confused, you look up as you hear the man's voice and see Tony Stark standing at the sideboard across from you. He notices your look and returns it with a smile. "I didn't realize we hired a new kitchen help." You frown and take a sharpening rod in your free hand to sharpen your knife while not taking your eyes off Tony. "Oh, I'm not a new kitchen help," you clarify. "I'm a chef." "Excuse me. Then would the chef please serve me the course menu and a white wine?" The trillionaire indicates a polite bow, but you merely turn to the stove and take the potatoes off it. You then retrieve a plate from the cupboard. "Jarvis", you direct your voice to the computer, hoping it’s still listening. "Would you please explain to Mr. Stark that I'm not here to cook for him and that he'll have to order his course menu, if he really wants one, from the Chinese place next door?" "Mr. Stark, I'm supposed to-." "I heard her, Jarvis," Tony interrupts the A.I., eyeing you a little more closely now. "That does make me wonder what you're doing here, Miss...? Aside from the fact that there's no Chinese working next door." "Then you should make one move in there," you replay amused. As you do, you wipe your fingers on the cloth you've hung on the apron at your hip and prep your dish. Just as Tony is about to say something clever, the door opens and another person walks in. You recognize Thor at first glance. "What's that delicious smell in the air?", he asks, looking around curiously. You smile and point to the stove. "I was just cooking. There's still some left for you to take." With that, you want to go to your room, but Tony stops you. "Oh, he gets something, but I don't?", he complains. You shrug your shoulders. "He didn't want a whole menu." With that, you disappear through the door and go back to your living quarters. There you quickly change into something comfy and make yourself comfortable on the couch, where you watch an episode of your favorite show while you eat. A little company would be nice, but you don't feel like meeting more people you don't know yet. And you don't feel like searching for Natasha in this huge complex. So you’re fine with being by your own right own.

After dinner, you continue watching the show, but eventually you realize you're getting tired. It really had been an eventful and long day. So you quickly take your dirty dishes back to the kitchen. But just as you're closing the dishwasher, Tony comes back in and leans against the frame with his arms crossed. "So… you‘re a Barton." Apparently he had spent a few minutes of his precious time gathering information about you and then waited for you to reappear. "Surprised there's another one?" you ask with a smirk. He takes that as a sign that you're not holding a grudge against him. He pushes himself off the door frame and comes closer, now leaning his arms on the kitchen island. "Nothing about Legolas surprises me anymore. Met his wife and kids the other day. Nice family. Are you guys a whole circus?" "Not anymore." You shrug. "So, what’s your deal?", he wants to know. "You left Shield in your early twenties. What's normal life like out there? No one waiting for you to come home?" You turn on the dishwasher and grab a water bottle from the supply. "Life is nice. Often stressful, but I have to worry a lot less about getting killed." You don't answer Tony's last question. It's really none of his business. "That is when you're not being yanked out of that life and brought into the house of superheroes", you add. "You'll get used to it. Both that we're super and that we're heroes. I promise." You laugh at his words. Tony seems to be a real egocentric, but also a humorous person. "Well, let's see", you reply, "Now if the welcome speech is over, I'd like to go to bed." "I won't keep anyone away from their beauty sleep. Good night." You wish him the same, then head back to your room, where you make yourself comfortable on the large bed. The strange surroundings were unfamiliar, but not you don't feel uncomfortable and so you soon fall asleep.

[your-highnessmarvel]

From Bleak to Bright Part Four

All other parts on on my masterlist, link provided below.

AN: OOOOH the development of this story makes me so excited for the rest!!! Loki is def in this part babies;)

Warnings: angst, language

Enjoyed this and want more? Send in your requests!

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MASTERLIST

PART FOUR

The evening sun bore down onto the horizon, coloring the sky a myriad of blue and yellow and pink. Like vagabond brushstrokes upon the canvas of the sky. A few, wandering birds called from a distance, lazily gliding in the wind. 

The door behind you opened and closed. You turned away from the darkening horizon and saw your brother offering two cups of steaming chamomile tea. 

“Steve says they might have a point of entry for you,” he said, but his tone wasn’t into it, as if the week’s dealings bore on his shoulders alone. 

When Tony had announced your role as the bait, Bruce had thrown himself at your side. No one would hurt his baby sister, he’d said.

“I don’t think he’s going to fall for it,” you said halfhearted. 

Bruce sighed, handing you the cup. You wrapped your hands around the burning warmth. “I think you still don’t fully understand the soulmate bond,” your brother said.

“Huh?”

He sipped on his tea, clearing his throat. “At least for men, it’s not really about how you feel towards that person, albeit that yes, there’s passion.” He scratched the back of his neck, awkwardly coughing. “It’s more the protection you want to have on this person. Their wellbeing is of utmost importance. It’s hard, sometimes, to differentiate between protection and possession.”

A lump formed in your throat. Possession?

“And knowing Loki,” Bruce went on. “Knowing his nature of envy and greed, he’s for sure feeling the effects of the bond as just that - possession. He feels like you belong to him.”

Astonished, you turned away from your brother, both to hide your flaming cheeks and the awkwardness forming between you. 

“Has he made anymore...” you hesitated, “demands?”

Bruce shook his head. “No.” Then he looked at the horizon. “But he’s looking for you. He went to your apartment. Your daytime job. Even the school you used to go to part-time in the summer.”

That seemed like so far behind. Like someone else. Not you. That life you’d had barely more than two weeks ago, when you’d accepted to help Bruce. That girl, living alone in a somewhat nice apartment, going to work on public transport, and studying in the summer - that girl seemed like a stranger now. The girl who used to see in black and white.

“So what happens when he finds me?” you asked tentatively. 

“We swoop in,” Bruce answered. “We get him. We hand him over to Thor, and he brings him back to Asgard and makes sure he never comes back.”

That word. Never. It rung like a Cong inside your brain. The prospect of never seeing Loki ever again, never talking to him, stroke a cord in you that you wished you could ignore. 

During this whole week of scheming, no one had asked you how you felt about all this. He was your soulmate after all. And the idea that, after all this time, you’d finally found him and he was bound for eternal life in prison made you want to scream.

Bruce put his hand on your upper back, as if sensing your discomfort. “Let’s go to bed,” he said soothingly. “Tomorrow is a big day.”

Yes, tomorrow was a big day.

***

You strolled through downtown New York, trying your hardest not to look over your shoulder. It had been a week since you’d been in a huge crowd, and returning to the crammed streets of the city made your belly buzz.

Nat sounded in your ear. “Make it look authentic,” she said. 

Right. Because luring a thousand-year-old demi-God into a quiet corner to trap him was the easiest thing in the world. Nat had tried to teach you a few things when they’d all cooped up at Tony’s secret forest getaway, but now, living it, you couldn’t remember how to act benign. 

You tried to pretend to be listening to music, the airpods in your ears actually being comms with the Quinjet hidden overhead. You stopped at Starbucks. You pretended to look through the windows of clothing stores. You stepped into a bookstore and bought a novel. 

It had been an hour that you were “baiting” and nothing. 

Not even a glimpse.

You sighed in defeat, pushing your hair behind your ears. The day’s heat was boring down on you, and you knew your nose was burnt. Your tank top was soaked, your jeans sticking to your legs. Totally uncomfortable would be an understatement.

You saw a glimpse of something gold in the Macy’s window and looked over your shoulder. 

“Y/N,” Bruce sounded in your ear. “Come in.”

You remained silent. The crowd before you changed, people walking past you in a hurry. You turned back to the window, muttering to your brother, “I’m fine.” 

“Get away from Macy’s, you have enough clothes,” your brother muttered back.

You couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What’s funny?”

You jumped, yelping, staring up into Loki’s green gaze. Heart hammering, blood roaring in your ears, you tried to focus on calming yourself. Your hands were sweaty as you reached up to take out one airpod.

He smirked. Under the sun, he was glorious in an all-black ensemble, his raven locks freshly cut beneath his chin, pushed back behind his ears. 

“Fancy a stroll?”

You gulped, looking at the elbow he offered. Something shimmered there, around the edges of his forearm. As if he glowed.

He’s not really here. 

You remembered from your briefing on Loki, that Thor had said the jester loved his illusion tricks.

“I presume I have to pretend to hold your arm?” you answered, feeling the knot of anxiety dissolve in your belly at the sight of his grin.

“Clever.” He retreated his arm, looked around at the crowd swiftly moving past him. “May we talk somewhere private?” he asked. 

Nat had told you he’d say that, and your job was to not look too eager. He’d smell a trap before you’d even agree.

You forced yourself to frown. “You want to get me alone?”

He huffed, his lips pulling into a dashing smirk. God, he really was beautiful. The sun, so warm and overbearing to you, seemed to grace his entire being as if he’d been crafted by the hands of the gods themselves. 

“If I wanted to get you alone,” he said, dropping his voice to a lower octave, stepping closer to you, “I would have gotten you out of Tony’s little wayward cabin much sooner.”

He stood close, not close enough to smell him, but close enough that you had to tilt your head to keep eye contact. 

There was a quiet turmoil building inside you at his words, someone whispering “Shit” in your airpod. A slight tremor began at your core, echoing out into your limbs. He’d known where you were. He knew what you were doing.

At the sight of your face - you, who could barely hide your emotions - he grinned wildly. 

“I am the God of Mischief, or did you forget?” He tilted his head, squinted his eyes. 

Your mouth was dry when you answered. “That’s why you’re casting yourself as an illusion?”

“Clever,” he said, again. Then he licked his lips, erasing the comical expression on his features and replacing it with something akin to stone. “You’re mad if you think you can fool me.”

“Takes one to know one.”

He would have laid hands on you if he wasn’t incorporeal. His eyes darkened, chin dipping so that he stared at you along the length of his nose. 

“You’re a chipper little thing,” he said, voice laced with venom. The tone, his expression, the way his illusion made the edges of him tremble instead of glow, made your heart speed with fear. “I’m sure the Avengers trained you well. I’m sure your brother thinks he can save you.”

Bruce whispered in your ear, “Son of a bitch.”

Loki’s unmoving expression slipped enough for him to smirk maniacally. “In fact,” he said, “tell him right now that I’ll win. I’ll win this battle of wits. This fucking planet. And I’ll win his sister.”

And then he vanished, leaving you to hear nothing but your drumming heartbeat, like a sea of swarming insects. The only thing that lingered behind was the smell of pinewood.

I PROMISE PART FIVE WILL BE LONGER!!!!!!!!!!

Tags:  @subtlemalice @yallgotkik @buckyandlokirunmylife @kaz11283 @legolas-bromance @shylittlemountain @tofeartheunknown @feelmyfckngsoul @kind-of-crazy-butthatsokay @caffiend-queen @tomhollandsslilslut @lady-loki-ren @nathan-no @rosaline-black @abundanceofcarolines @my-own-oracle @it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream @marvelouslovely @drbaureid @bored-as-hell-666 @youhavemyfantasticbeasts @theinfinitenerd @toe-vind-ek-jou @ink-and-starlight @blank-bakabane @sunshineonloki your tag doesn’t work bb

[repurposedmeatlocker]

Tagged by @mickgaydolenz (thank youuu) to do a tag game :3 might as well oblige.

Nickname: I guess my online moniker, “Moth”, would count as a nickname. Only in online circles though. Technically my irl name that is used most often is my nickname. I like my full name, but it’s a real mouthful. Recently one of my friends started to call me “Toni” which has also been cool.

Height: 4′11 : /

Last thing I googled: UM I am not going to say specifically because that would be a dox, but to keep it short I was looking up the address to my local CVS lmao

Song stuck in my head: “Jungleland” by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Was listening to it last night : )

Amount of sleep: This is so messed up. I don’t think atm I really have a set amount of sleep. During school I’d say I usually get six hours at most. On weekends and non-work days I have nine hours. Recently though I’ve been sleeping about fifteen hours. I seriously don’t know. I’ve got to figure things out.

Dream job: Oh boy! I don’t know if I have a specific career in mind at the moment, but I know for sure I would like to work somewhere in a film related field. Film director for live-action and animation, screenwriter for live-action and animation, television screenwriter, editor, concept designer, storyboard artist...I’m not quite sure what exactly what I’d want to do, but I garner I still have a lot of time to figure that out. I don’t consider any of these things exclusive either. If I can do them all, I guess that would be a dream job.

Wearing: Pajamas! A Tintin T-shirt I got in Quebec, gray pajama pants, and gray fluffy house socks with a cat deign on the sides :3

Movie/book that summarizes me: Ok so I am going to put down a movie AND a book. For movie it would probably be Blade Runner (1982) by Ridley Scott. While it isn’t the film that initially got me interested in movies (that would have to go to The Great Escape), it is the one that I consider the most absolutely perfect. It’s whole presentation, narrative, themes, cinematography, etc. is just so inspirational to me and kind of my singular goal whenever I want to make something. For a book it would probably be Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. If there is two things about me it is that I love stories that blend fantasy and reality, and I love stories with ambivalent main characters.

Current fav song: Probably “This Year” by The Mountain Goats.

Aesthetic: UMM I don’t know if I strictly subscribe to one lol. Most of the time I just wear a T-shirt and jeans with plaid shirt or various sweaters. To give myself more credit, I have been making efforts to wear things that make me happy or make me feel nice. I guess my visual aesthetic preference is a kind of 60′s - 70′s hippie look. Preference for underground psychedelic and kind of surreal art-nouveau design mixed with some vaporwave, dereality-type visuals from 2013-2014. 

Fav author(s): Off the top of my head: Roald Dahl, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Beatrix Potter, Sarah Vowell, Ken Kesey, Edgar Allen Poe, Jeff Smith...

Random fact: Uuuh...I’ve never been to Disney World??? And I don’t really care to ever go : )

Idk who to tag, so if you see this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged by me : ) happy holidays to everyone who celebrates! 

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Stalker X Stalker, Part 8

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Perma tag: @nathleigh @peachmuses

Stalker x Stalker taglist: @aespades @jayjayspixiepop @blueslushgueen @fan-written @seraphichana @nerd-nowandforever @toodaloo-kangaroo

Tim woke up the next morning, because that’s how things work.

He fought back a groan as he slowly flexed each muscle individually, making sure that everything was still working. To his surprise, it actually was. His brain stuttered to a stop. Why had he been asleep, then? He was pretty sure it wasn’t his usual sleep day…

Then, he finally processed the fact that his face was pressed to something that definitely wasn’t his pillow.

He cracked an eye open. He was laying on top of Marinette, head resting on her stomach. She was still asleep, he noted, one of her hands was thrown over her eyes and the other tangled in his hair.

He vaguely considered just staying there. He could stay in that position forever…

Except he couldn’t. He had responsibilities. He was pretty sure that if he skipped both patrols and work his family would assume he’d been brainwashed in some way.

So, reluctantly, he pushed himself up and reached a hand out to poke Marinette awake.

She grumbled a little and caught his hand, blinking her eyes open. She looked up at him for a moment, uncomprehending in her sleepy state, and he couldn’t help but smile. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead before clambering away from their tangle of limbs so he could take a quick shower and get ready.

First, though, he started up the coffee machine. He’d known that she’d had coffee, he’d been there when she bought it... but, really, if she was worried enough to lie about it he’d at least try and alleviate those fears a little.

That done, he took a quick shower. He already had a towel and toothbrush at the house -- wow, Marinette really wasn’t joking, he had basically moved in already, oops -- so he used those.

Then he pulled on the outfit she’d made him. By the time he needed help lacing up the corset, Marinette had stumbled into the room in a daze.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hello?”

She held out one of two mugs for him and he was forced to hide his smile behind his cup.

“Could you help me with this,” he asked.

She nodded and downed her entire mug before walking behind him. He felt her forehead tip forward to rest against the back of his shoulder as she worked and he was very glad she couldn’t see his face because he was sure that he was beginning to get redder than their costumes.

She pulled the lace tight and tied it off and he had no clue if the tightness in his chest was because she had laced him too tightly or because of nerves but either way he didn’t really mind. He turned back around, pressing another kiss to her forehead.

“I’ll see you later?”

She smiled at him. “I’ll make some bacon for you to eat on the go. Don’t want you to be hungry.”

He considered saying no but, really, he didn’t see her all that often in the morning and he had to admit that it was pretty cute. “If you remember to make some for yourself then sure.”

She hummed a little and turned around to go make food. He’d check on her in a few minutes to make sure she hadn’t fallen back asleep while cooking.

For now, he absently checked his clothes over for bugs. It was an old habit from years of living with the bats and, had he been even slightly more awake, he wouldn’t have done it.

Except he did. And there, hidden in the cuff of his shirt, was a bug.

… he hadn’t even been this happy when Damian had bugged him for the first time. She cared about him and his well-being! He was accepted!

When he made his way back into the kitchen he made sure to give her a long hug.

~

Marinette was so tired. She had been working on attaching the diamonds to Cassandra Wayne’s dress and there were so fucking many.

So, when Robin climbed through her window, all she did was give a vague wave of acknowledgement.

“You need better window locks,” he informed her.

“Most people don’t know how to pick every lock in existence, kid.”

“But some do.”

She thought about whether or not she really wanted this to be the argument that took up valuable work time. The answer was no, definitely not.

She finally turned to face him, resting her cheek against the couch. She didn’t know Damian personally outside of messing with Tim when they were in their superhero identities, she wasn’t even completely sure that this was Damian (though he did match up with the measurements she had for his outfits), so there was no good reason for him to be there.

She squinted suspiciously at him. Now that she was paying attention, she could see that he had his hands behind his back.

“What do you want?”

“I saw on your lease that you are allowed to have pets in your apartment.”

Oh no.

“Please tell me you didn’t,” she whispered, her voice close to begging.

He slowly brought his hands out from behind his back to reveal a black cat with almost luminous green eyes. She rested her head in her hands, taking deep breaths to remain calm.

“I wish to coparent with you.”

“... your dad didn’t let you get another pet?”

(Yes, she knew about the pet problem. She had seen Batcow. She had seen the Batbats all over the cave that he had apparently taken in.)

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Possibly.”

She slowly lifted her head from her hands to glare at him. Unfortunately for her, he puffed out his little baby cheeks in a pout and, even if most of what she did was played up to mess with Tim, she was weak for little kids that look sad.

“Fine. But you’re paying for everything and you better actually help me take care of it.”

“She! And her name is Vanelope!”

“Van --?” She decided she didn’t care. She glanced at Damian’s still disapproving expression and rolled her eyes before leaning down to be at the cat’s eye level: “I’m sorry for calling you an ‘it’, Vanelope.”

He nodded, apparently satisfied by her begrudging apology.

“C’mon, put Vanelope down, we’re going to the pet store.”

Damian beamed. She pulled the front of his hood down over his eyes in retaliation for the dumb situation he’d put her in. Revenge achieved, she transformed and ducked out her window before she could get stabbed.

~

Scarecrow’s parties were always the best.

For one thing, there was the haunted house. Scarecrow took the whole ‘scaring people’ thing very seriously, it was his whole shtick, so you could always count on him to dream up the best haunted houses. Even better, he’d give out brownies laced with minute traces of fear toxin to make the whole thing just a little bit scarier.

Speaking of brownies: the food. Tim was pretty sure that some of the stuff served at the parties could rival the things Marinette and Alfred made.

Then there were the venues he picked. They had to get bigger every year, what with Bruce’s adoption problem and the Rogue’s ever-expanding roster. This year the man had rented out an entire park and the building nearby. The building had a dance floor and a kind of second floor that overlooked everyone. The park held all the people that the building could not.

Add in the fact that every single person was probably clinically insane in some way or another and you’d have the reason for why he was always excited to go.

Tim attended the party as a Red Robin employee. He had to, it was on brand.

Marinette raised her eyebrows when she saw him. She’d gotten there before him, which had been a little bit of a surprise. He’d thought she’d at least wait for a few vigilantes to come to make sure it was safe --.

Oh. Nevermind. He stifled a grin when his eyes landed on a blonde in an outfit he recognized as Cassie’s. He was pretty sure dressing up as Wonder Girl was betraying the bats but he wasn’t going to be the one to call Steph out on it. Cassie was pretty cool...

Cassie -- no, Steph -- was suddenly grabbed by the arm by an excited Marinette and pulled her over to him. Marinette was wearing a pirate costume and he suspected that the bottle of wine in her free hand was more than an accessory.

“Red Robin, yum~,” both women chorused.

He rolled his eyes. “They’ve infected you already. Soon you’ll be disappearing into the shadows without ending conversations.”

Marinette grinned, the corner of her mask (now tinted black in some places to mimic a pirate’s beard) twitching. “It’s about time you assholes got a taste of your own medicine.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Y’know, for someone who didn’t like the idea of the party before, you sure did get into your outfit.’

“Please, I put effort into all my outfits.”

“Except for the Ladybug one,” teased Steph.

She huffed. “I was on a time crunch --.”

Tim grinned. “That’s no excuse.”

“... you had thought about it for who knows how long and not only did you come up with the name Drake, but you also came up with an ugly brown outfit. You don’t get a say in this.”

Steph grinned. “And me?”

“Your outfits are okay,” said Marinette after a few second’s thought.

Tim gasped in mock offense. “And I thought we were friends.”

“Friends call each other out for their stupid fashion choices.”

Steph smirked and slung her arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “And, really, you need an intervention.”

When did they start ganging up on Tim?

“Whatever. This outfit is nice, so that makes up for all past mistakes.”

“It’d be nicer if you didn’t make the same joke every year,” Steph teased.

He huffed and pouted, but then something caught his eyes. Dick had arrived, Tim could see him perched on a second floor railing in his work clothes… of course, the name tag marking him as Nurse Grayson was gone, but it was still the same light blue scrubs.

He paled a little under his domino for two reasons. The first was the instantaneous worry about their identities; sure, Gotham had many medical workers, but who knows, Gotham and Bludhaven twitter both insisted that Dick had a very distinct body. The second was Marinette was going to end up liking Dick quite a lot -- she already looked up to him for his fighting style, there was no way she was going to be able to resist the signature Grayson charm that had won over every superhero, vigilante, and villain on Earth (and a few other planets as well).

He knew that, inevitably, Dick would win her over… but he was definitely going to stall it as much as he possibly could.

So, he pulled a grin to his face. “Oh, Ladybug, you haven’t gone in the haunted house yet, have you?”

She gave him a slightly wary look. “I don’t do good with scary things.”

He grinned. “I’ll protect you.”

She raised her eyebrows slightly before sighing. “Fine.”

So, they made their way across the park to the haunted house. Scarecrow had, somehow, built an entire house in the one month since he had broken out of Arkham. It looked like it had been torn right out of a video game, with the blackened, decaying, and peeling wood and rickety steps.

Jonathan Crane smiled when he saw the two of them approaching. He was dressed as a scarecrow, but the one from the Wizard of Oz instead of the creepy one he was usually dressed as.

“Crane!” Tim greeted.

Crane held out the plate of fear toxin brownies for them. “Nice to see you, Red Robin. And nice to meet you, Ladybug.”

Marinette blushed a little, her head tipping to the side. “I’d shake your hand but you haven’t set down that tray the entire time I’ve been here. Starting to think you can’t.”

He laughed a little. “I appreciate the sentiment.”

Tim smiled a little and popped a brownie in his mouth. Fear toxin tasted a lot like chili powder and, he had to admit, it was pretty good.

Marinette took a brownie with a lot more hesitance.

“Oh! Have you been exposed to fear toxin yet?” Asked Crane before she could take a bite.

Marinette looked a little worried about the use of the word ‘yet’.

Marinette shook her head, though. “No.”

“Then your immunity isn’t built up. I’d suggest just eating half of that.”

She nodded thoughtfully and broke the brownie in half. She held the halves in her hand awkwardly, unsure what to do now.

“I’ll take the half you haven’t eaten,” suggested Crane.

He set down the tray -- Tim swore he could hear a cartoon sound effect as the man struggled to unstick his hand to the metal -- and took her other half.

“Since it’s a lower dose it’ll probably take longer to take effect,” said Tim. “We’ll have to wait a bit so you can have the full experience.”

Marinette took a tentative bite and her eyes lit up. “This is really good. What’s your recipe?”

Apparently, Crane had once tried to replicate the taste with normal chili powder and had fallen short. Tim watched the two of them theorize what it could be that his attempts had been missing. It was clear that Marinette had missed living in a bakery more than she was willing to admit and, unfortunately, none of the bats were particularly good at even cooking basic meals, let alone the kinds of things she was able to do. Alfred was the only exception and, even then, Bruce wouldn’t let him near her most of the time because of Identity Reasons. Tim was glad that she had someone to talk to about it, he just kinda wished that that person wasn’t a Rogue.

Tim jolted out of watching them when Marinette started rubbing up and down her arms absently. Ah, the toxin must be setting in for her now.

“Ladybug, ready to head inside?”

She blinked and looked up from the conversation. “Oh. Sure. I’ll talk to you later!”

“I’ll try not to get thrown into Arkham by anyone else while you’re gone,” joked Crane.

Tim grinned and took Marinette’s hand, pulling her inside.

It turns out she actually wasn’t all that good with scary things. Or, at least, jumpscares. She clung to his arm, dull nails doing their best to dig into his skin.

On one hand, he kind of felt bad for telling her to come along. On the other hand he thought it was kind of cute, maybe the next movie they watched together could be a horror.

He would probably be able to enjoy it a little more if he wasn’t tripping out on fear toxin himself. There was a creepy little girl following them around and he wasn’t going to acknowledge her and her creepy little white clothes because talking to hallucinations is always bad.

But then, towards the end, she disappeared.

He didn’t like that either. It set him on edge. It shouldn’t, the fear toxin was just wearing off… but he didn’t feel like it was wearing off. He was still a little shaky and the buzzing under his skin was still present, so maybe she’d been real and something was up.

He got his answer when he heard the sound of little feet dashing overhead.

Marinette squeaked and her grip on his arm tightened, somehow.

When the end was in sight and Tim was waiting anxiously for the final scare, he heard someone running towards them. High pitched laughter echoed around them.

“Oh fuck no,” he yelped when he saw the little girl running towards them, arms outstretched, pretty white dress splattered with red.

Marinette seemed to agree with the sentiment. She nearly pulled his arm out of its socket as she pushed herself into a sprint. He stumbled awkwardly a few steps before catching his footing and returning the tight grip.

And then, like the vigilantes with nerves of steel they were, they ran from the child.

~

She tried to look calm when the door swung shut behind them. She was pretty good at managing her emotions, she thought (or, at least, good at pushing them down).

But it wasn’t necessary because, when they reached the safety of the outside, they were handed a framed picture of them sprinting away from the creepy little girl, horror written plainly on their faces.

She blushed, more than a little embarrassed.

Thankfully, she was quickly distracted from her embarrassment. Her eyes landed on Bruce, who was dressed as a vampire. She waved for his attention, intending to point out the similarities in their outfits to mess with him, only for his eyes to zero in on the wine bottle in her hand.

Marinette mumbled a curse.

She turned and pressed a ‘kiss’ to Tim’s cheek through her mask. “Gotta go,” she chirped, before promptly disappearing into the crowd.

Alright, time to avoid Bruce. Where is the last place she’d be? Actually, no, he’d probably check the last place...

Her eyes landed on where Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn were hanging out by the drinks.

Hm... a negative (people she was wary about) and a positive (drinks!) to balance each other out. A good middle ground.

She walked over and picked up a weird drink with a lot of different candies sticking out of it. She did not know why Scarecrow felt the need to sully the good name of alcohol with American candies but, since it was apparently the only option, she slipped a straw under her mouth to drink.

The drink was taken from her fingers.

She looked at her now-empty hand, brain struggling to catch up, straw hanging limply from her mouth. Then she spat out the straw and cursed.

She slowly turned to look at the person who had stolen it from her, expecting to see a disappointed Bruce, only to meet eyes with Poison Ivy.

(Ivy had dressed up as a stereotypical martian. Marinette wondered, vaguely, if actual aliens were ever offended when people dressed up like the movie versions of them.)

“I’d like that back, thanks,” she said, reaching for the drink.

She held it out of reach -- holy shit she was tall -- and raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her. “You’re a child.”

“I’m nineteen.”

“Exactly: a child,” she said.

Marinette rolled her eyes. Was this how Damian felt? Damn, no wonder he was always so angry about it… but, to be fair, Damian actually was a child. She was nineteen. She had a job and an apartment. Completely different.

But, since convincing Ivy she wasn’t a child wasn’t working, she had to come up with a new approach: “I’ve been drinking since I was six.”

For some reason, this didn’t seem to soothe the woman in front of her.

Thankfully, Harley Quinn -- who was wearing a knockoff Riddler costume -- decided to take pity on her: “Let her drink, Ives, Europeans drink differently than we do.”

Marinette and Poison Ivy exchanged confused looks. Marinette hadn’t gone out drinking with anyone properly in America outside of occasionally dropping into bars to trick old men into giving her drinks and then disappearing. Poison Ivy just, apparently, wasn’t aware of the difference.

“For them it’s a social thing, they don’t really get drunk like we do.”

Ivy hesitated. “You don’t get drunk?”

“I mean… we can get drunk,” she said slowly. She cringed visibly. “I did, once. The day I turned eighteen my mom told me ‘Just this once, to see what it’s like’... the pictures… they deleted them, but I will never live it down...”

She reached for the drink again and, this time, Ivy gave it to her. She was lucky she had her mask to hide the smirk on her face.

When Poison Ivy didn’t leave after that, Marinette knit her eyebrows together. The woman blushed (she blushed green?) and Harley pushed her towards Marinette a step.

“I would like to apologize for how we met…” Ivy said slowly. “Joker was an asshole in Arkham and I’d had a fight with Harley and I guess I just…” She snapped her fingers.

Marinette raised her eyebrows. “It’s fine. It’s not the first world-ending event I’ve had to stop because someone had had a bad day.”

Harley hesitated. “That’s… different.”

She shrugged. “New city, same shit… just sometimes easier, I guess. People are actually scared of Joker?”

“Now, that isn’t very nice!” Said a painfully cheery voice behind her.

She’d summoned him.

Marinette took a long, deep breath, before turning around to greet Joker and Punchline. They were dressed as circus clowns, because of course they would. “Hey! Still alive, I see.”

Joker smiled, like he always did. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Pretty sure you’ve died more than B-man over there,” said Harley.

“No clue why they keep bringing you back.”

Marinette’s eyebrows scrunched together. The man had died? And they had brought him back? Willingly? Weird.

“It’s ‘cause I’m Batsy’s favorite,” cooed Joker.

“Favorite punching bag, maybe,” said Ivy.

Marinette, wisely, decided to back up a step so she wasn’t between the two fighting groups.

“At least people pick him as their first choice,” said Punchline.

“You’d be the expert on what it’s like to be the second choice, I guess, since you’re just me but purple,” said Harley.

“I’m you but self-aware,” Punchline corrected her.

Ivy raised her eyebrows. “Some would say that’s worse.”

Punchline almost punched her.

She didn’t stop because of some amazing show of self-restraint, of course. Nightwing had just chosen that moment to drop down between the two groups. And then Nightwing, with his all-amazing powers of getting pretty much everyone on his side, got them to declare a truce and go to opposite sides of the room.

Marinette was a little disappointed as she took a sip of her drink. It had just started getting good.

But also: Nightwing!

“Is it true that you can do a quadruple somersault?”

Nightwing smiled widely.

~

Tim was beginning to think that maybe Marinette was so interested in Dick because she was secretly his long lost sister or something. They had the same ability to make even some of the worst people like them.

But, no. Dick having a secret half sister or something? How stupid would that be?

Still, Tim had seen her making friends with: all of his siblings that lived in Gotham, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Dick (damn it, he’d hoped he could keep them apart just a little longer)... the only people she hadn’t gotten to like her were Punchline and Joker, and even then she was choosing to annoy them, who knows what would happen if she actually tried to befriend them… and now she was hanging out with Riddler...

He sat next to them on their bench. “I’m beginning to think you can’t make friends with anyone normal.”

She grinned. “It’s a blessing and a curse.”

Riddler (dressed as the gameshow host he would probably be if he hadn’t gone off the deep end) looked over at Tim with barely hidden disdain. “Red Robin,” he greeted coolly.

Marinette frowned. “Why don’t you like him?”

“Him and all the bats… they always answer my riddles before I finish telling them.”

“Well, that’s an easy fix: Red, wait until he finishes telling the riddles before answering.”

He scoffed. “Why would I?”

“For the drama!” Riddler said in a tone that made it obvious he thought it was obvious.

“Half the time you have people’s lives on the line. Lower the stakes and maybe we’ll be more attuned to the dramatic tension.”

Riddler scowled. “You bats just don’t appreciate my art.”

“You’d think that they’d be all for drama.”

“Right? They have a whole brooding cave! But I want high stakes and suddenly I’m too concerned with the vibes of things.”

Marinette grinned and leaned towards Riddler conspiratorially. “They have more than a brooding cave. They have brooding gargoyles, brooding rooftops, brooding cars… I once caught Red over there brooding on his motorbike. Who can brood on a motorcycle? It’s a motorcycle!”

Tim huffed. “I thought we agreed to keep that a secret.”

“Sorry, darling, it’s just too easy to mess with you.”

Tim started to respond, but then he realized something.

‘Darling’?

That could mean one of three things. He needed to excuse himself from the conversation to figure out which was the truth.

He sent the two of them a halfhearted glare. “I will not put up with this bullying any longer.”

“Fine, fine. If you’re going to come back, bring me a cookie.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “If I must.”

With that, he turned on his heel and strode off, a man on a mission.

After questioning all of the family she had talked to (she had yet to meet Jason, apparently), he determined that she didn’t use nicknames all that often. When she did it was usually just to make things quicker for herself. The only people outside of him that she ever used nicknames for were Bruce (‘B’) and maybe Damian (‘kid’).

And he had a nickname like that, too, of course. She called him ‘Red’ from time to time, probably just because she was too lazy to go through the hassle of saying his entire codename.

… but ‘darling’ was different. He had a pet name. In both identities, apparently.

Which meant one of two things:

a) he was special to her in both identities

or b) she knew he was Red Robin.

He was kinda hoping for the first one, but he wasn’t about to let emotions cloud his judgement. He sought out the world’s only accurate lie detector.

He found her surveying the crowd with Jason. They looked like they’d been transported directly from the renaissance, with her plague doctor outfit and his Shakespeare costume.

Tim grinned at them despite his slight anxiety. “Nice of you to bring a Green Arrow costume back from Star City, Flamebird.”

Jason touched the ugly goatee and mustache that both of them shared before sending him a glare. “And you all wonder why I don’t come home more often.”

“Really? I thought it was because you and Roy were --.”

Jason’s face reddened with either anger or embarrassment, Tim didn’t know and didn’t particularly care as his brother left them in a huff.

He couldn’t see Cass’s face but he could feel the disapproval.

“I just… I wanted to ask you something in private…”

Cass didn’t leave, so he assumed it was okay.

“Does Ladybug know our identities?”

Cass was motionless for a moment and he wished she didn’t have such a bulky outfit because it was hard to get a read on her…

And then she nodded, tapping the side of her forehead (the sign for ‘know’) to further emphasize the point.

He looked down at where Marinette was excitedly describing something to an enthused Riddler.

He’d been anxious about her finding out but, now that she had, he found that it was a huge weight off his shoulders. She knew who he was and she accepted it.

He leaned against the railing, a smile threatening to make its way across his face.

She accepted him.

[shreddedparchment]

A Wife for Thor Pt.13

12/12/2020

The Honeymoon’s Not Over

Pairing: King!Thor x Reader          Word Count: 5,309

Warnings: jealousy, slight angst, light smut, language, talks of pregnancy

A/N: I’m sorry these are taking longer. My grandparents are living with me for a few months and these are going to get a little slower now that they’re here. I hope you enjoy it! If you have a favorite part, let me know what it is! I’d love to hear. If you happen to reblog, thanks so much for helping me spread my work! xoxo

Please DO NOT repost my stories on any other blogs or sites.

REBLOGS are always welcome!

Not knowing what to expect from a marriage to a veritable stranger is predictable. Of course, you’re not going to know what’s to come when you don’t know the man you’ve agreed to marry.

Apart from the responsibilities of the throne you’ve chosen to sit upon, and the obligations you have to provide the kingdom with an heir, the marriage you have chosen for yourself was entered into blindly.

You knew absolutely nothing about Thor when you agreed to marry him. You knew a little bit more by the time you stood directly opposite him and said your vows.

Now, after spending time with him in the company of his comrades, his friends, you know what Thor sounds like when he busts a gut. You see the twinkle in his one eye when they all sit around the living room reminiscing about battles won.

You see sadness over their losses, and the loyalty of his friendship. You see the weight they all carry on their shoulders to give this world its best chance against all forms of threat.

Most of all, you know how proud Thor is to have you by his side. At every moment possible, he’s pulled you into their games and conversations. He’s invited Tony to give you a tour of the compound and Bruce had tagged along and whispered to you smaller things that Tony conveniently left out because they weren’t things for him to boast about.

As the night went on, the Avengers told you their farewells and those that lived outside of the compound took their leave. They told you it was so nice to meet you, shook your hand—or hugged you as was the case with Wanda, Nat, and Steve—and then made you promise to stop by again and stay for longer than a day.

“We’ll make a real vacation of it, I assure you,” Thor promises Bucky who has taken a shine to you more enthusiastically than you thought he would.

Since you made your opinions on Loki clear, he’s been much more eager to speak with you and exchange ideas on more than just overlooking the troubled pasts of people desperate to make a change.

By one o’clock in the morning, Tony and Bruce are the only two left in the living room.

Bruce sits at the edge of the sofa, his glasses balanced at the end of his nose as he scrolls through large amounts of text and numbers on a sleek black tablet.

Tony has taken over the corner of the sectional, his phone pressed to his ear again as he yawns but resists sleep.

You hear him say Pepper’s name and a quick acknowledgement that he misses her when you decide that maybe it’s time to give them their privacy.

You rise slowly, Thor back in the main common room where you’d all eaten dinner, talking to Loki or Hilde on his own phone to keep up with what’s happening back home.

Bruce notices, not as invested in his reading as you’d thought.

“I think I’m gonna head to bed.” You admit, gesturing over your shoulder towards the other room.

“Oh, okay. Have a good night. I think Tony has breakfast set up for eight o’clock tomorrow morning so, the others will be back by then. I think?”

Bruce turns towards Tony who has his legs folded up on the seat, his hand combing through the back of his head as a sappy grin overtakes his face.

“Hey, breakfast at eight, right? Tomorrow morning?” Bruce asks, reaching over to place his hand on the seat of the sofa to attempt and get his attention.

“Hold on, Pep, there’s some weird old man trying to ask me something. I think if I ignore him long enough, he’ll leave me alone.” Tony mutters, loud enough for everyone to hear but muffled enough to make it clear that you’re not supposed to.

From the other end of the phone, you hear a clearly amused female voice speak back, “Be nice. He’s trying to be accommodating for Thor’s wife.”

He throws his hand back towards Bruce and waves his hand at him in clear dismissal.

Bruce sighs and gives you an apologetic smile, but you’re smiling from ear to ear.

“Sorry. Just to be safe, we’ll say eight o’clock.”

“Thanks, Bruce. For the tour and everything.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Bruce nods.

“Good night. Good night, Tony.” You call at him pointedly.

Tony makes a point to look back at you, fixing you with a buttery smile, “Goodnight, Cherub.”

You scoff, laughing a little, but give them a wave and move into the common room.

Thor’s back is tense, and it makes you worry.

Despite the conversation you’d overheard in the kitchen, you’re more confident now than before that Thor is devoted to you.

Because it’s in his touch. It’s in his gaze. It’s in the way he pulls you into his side when the others teased you about now being obligated to be an Avenger and the consequent terror that filled your eyes.

“A jest, my sweet.” Thor had whispered, then chuckled with the others.

He’d promised to tell you about this threat when the two of you were alone, but you’re so exhausted and as much as you want to go over and demand he fill you in now, you turn down the long hallway and pass two or three doorways before you reach the bedrooms.

The first door on the left is Thor’s and you slip in quietly, hoping not to interrupt Thor’s phone call.

It’s toasty warm inside. You peel off your clothes and despite wanting to just snuggle into bed, you make your way into the bathroom and the deep tub is long and wide enough for two people.

You flip on the shower instead, the water burning hot and as it glides down along your skin it summons goosebumps as the cold is chased away.

You hadn’t realized how chilly the compound is until now, and wonder if the Avengers are just hot natured. It would be weird for all of them to be like that, but if the ones with powers are like Thor, then maybe they all run a little hotter?

A tickle around your arms, just above your elbows, coaxes your eyes back open.

You hadn’t even realized you were falling asleep. Looking down you see two sets of large familiar fingers.

The hands they’re attached to turn you around and pull you close until Thor’s lips press down against yours, pushing you even further into peaceful bliss.

He opens his mouth wide, coaxing your own to respond as his tongue delves hungrily into your mouth.

You’re slow to respond, so tired but eager and pleased with the affection.

Thor’s knee nudges against the inner part of your thigh and you take a step, but he catches it as you do, and he lifts it up against his hip.

Water rains down along your naked bodies and Thor slides into you slowly.

You moan, low and sweet. Quiet and pleased but lazy.

“Thor…” You whimper, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as he dips down to nibble at your throat.

He pumps in and out so deliciously slow that the stretch of him pulls an orgasm from you quickly.

You’re so sensitive at the moment. You go limp in his arms, and he adjusts to support your body as you relax while he continues to push into you.

He rests your back against the shower wall, hips pulled against his as he fucks you slow. Watching him thrust into you, hips rolling slow, is perfection.

You caress the side of his face and he pulls back to look at you before he kisses you sweetly.

It all feels like a dream, and as he speeds up, you shut your eyes and you’re sent off with another wave of pleasure.

~~~~~~~~~~

The morning is toasty. Large warmth wrapped around you.

You twist where he holds you, straining to look at his face which you know like the back of your hand by now. No eyepatch, you reach up to trace the edges of his missing eye.

He croons and curls into your touch, the space gets red and itchy sometimes from wearing the patch all day.

This feeling, this soft glow in your chest, the way it aches and makes you feel like you could fly is something you didn’t know to expect from your marriage.

This iridescence, this shine that grows from your very center to entangle itself around you and Thor.

“Sleep longer,” Thor whispers, his voice deep and gravelly with sleep.

He pulls you closer, large hands splayed against your back as he rubs it several times up and down.

It almost does lure you back to sleep but you force your eyes open.

“We have to go down for breakfast. Everyone will be waiting.”

“Mmmmmm,” Thor protests.

No, he’s straight up whining. Tightening his hold, you groan as he squeezes. Any harder and he’ll crack your back.

“Thor,” You insist, and after a bit he opens his eye and peeks at your face before shutting it again.

“I do not appreciate early mornings when I am supposed to be enjoying uninterrupted time with my new wife.”

“You’re the one that brought us here!” The chuckle that slips through your lips is unintentional, but he’s so cute all pouty.

“It doesn’t matter,” He frowns, “I am King. Things should go my way.”

“Well, excuse me Your Majesty. Should I go tell the Avengers that they need to reschedule breakfast until you’re ready to wake up?”

“Yes,” When you start to move, he shoots up, tackling you to the bed and pinning your arms over your head as you laugh. “Wait, I don’t want you to leave the bed.”

“How the hell else am I supposed to go tell them then?”

“I suppose we can’t make them wait. I am so glad that we’ve still got a few days left to spend at your home. I want to make sure we go back to the palace with my child firmly planted in your womb.” He gushes and even though the words aren’t exactly dirty, it’s got your core throbbing and aching for more of what you think happened last night.

“Did we make love last night?” You really don’t know if it was just a dream or not.

It was all so sleepy, the memory like smoke. It could very well have been a wet dream.

“Don’t you remember?”

“Kinda. I was so tired.”

The amused curve of Thor’s lips give you the confirmation you need, “Yes, you were very tired. I had to catch you after your second climax. You fell asleep just as I also reached mine.”

“I don’t remember,” You confess, trying hard to remember what happened after your eyes shut.

You vaguely remember feeling supportive hands on the back of your head and back.

The soft mattress of his bed supporting you as he placed you on it?

“I’m not allowed to get drunk or to get really tired around you anymore. I hate not remembering my nights with you.”

He settles down on top of you, keeping his weight light and balanced on his side. His hands he brings down along your arms until he has his right cupping the left side of your head while his left hand finds its usual spot on your hip.

“I quite enjoy it when you can’t keep your eyes open. You sang for me on our wedding night.”

His reminder makes you groan and you turn away from him but he catches your lips in a kiss before you can turn away fully.

Thor gives you a good morning. A very good morning.

You both shuffle out into the common room where you’d had dinner last night with wide smiles, playful chuckling, and completely satisfied.

Both of you are so into what the other is saying or doing with their hands that you don’t really hear the murmur of conversation by the long table.

“When we get back, we should break in that bench in your backyard.” Thor whispers.

“Are you joking? That thing is gonna leave so many marks on my body. No way.”

“Come on, I’ll put a blanket, and you can be on top.” He presses his lips right up against your ear as he seduces you, but you’re stronger than that...maybe.

“Mmm, that’s really tempting there, Your Majesty,” you tease, reaching up to tug on his ear until he meets your lips in a quick peck.

It’s noisy and it smacks. So loud in fact, that you two finally notice the way the murmur of voices has disappeared and turned into silence.

Both of you stop, searching ahead for what might have caused the sudden death of conversation and at first don’t see anything.

Well, you don’t see anything.

“Good morning, everyone. What’s-is everything okay?” You ask, finding Steve’s face as he stands with his arms crossed across his chest, looking at you and Thor with his chin tucked in a bit.

He looks pensive and worried.

A quick look at Natasha and Wanda tells you that they’re worried for you for some reason. Both of them sitting at the edge of their seats.

Beside you, Thor has gone stiff.

“Thor?” You look at him, not sure why and search his face to see if there might be a clue but his eye is lasered in across the room and you follow his gaze.

You’re still not quite certain what he sees until movement on the furthest seat of the table draws your attention to a small brunette, with peachy skin, rosy cheeks, and bright brown eyes.

She’s so nervous that she’s almost clumsy, pushing her long hair over her shoulder, her lips quivering into a smile and then back into a straight line several times before they settle into a teeny uncertain curve of her lips.

Pink lips. Not chapped. Perfectly proportioned so that both lips are the exact same thickness.

“Jane…” Thor says, almost like it’s a realization.

“Oh,” Your voice is more timid than you expected it to come out if you ever came face to face with this woman. “That’s Jane.”

You’re suddenly really sad you never Googled her so that you’d at least have been prepared for the absolute petite beauty that she is.

Thor’s head whips towards you and he blinks, mouth opening as he searches for the words.

“I-we-er-I mean...This-this is my wife,” He introduces you breathlessly.

Clearly seeing her has caught him by as much surprise as you. Maybe more.

“Queen of Asgard,” he gives her your full name.

In Asgardian tradition, since Thor doesn’t technically have a last name in the traditional sense like humans do, you’ve kept your own.

“Right,” Jane shuts her eyes, claps her hands gently then nods slowly. “Right, of course. You’re King now! RIght. Your Majesties.”

Her greeting is simple and she even gives a quick somewhat off balance curtsy, probably from her nerves.

“Oh, that’s-”

Thor takes your hand, pulling you just a smidge more into his side, cutting off your protest to her curtsy.

“Thank you for that,” Thor tells her, nodding once. “None of these rascals bothered to bow to my new Queen.”

There’s something odd about Thor’s voice that you’ve never heard before. An anger. Subdued rage. Surprise too. His own sprinkle of nerves thrown in there as well.

You steal a glance up at his face and find a tightness around his eyes as he then drops your hand to slip it around your shoulders.

“What are you doing here?” He asks her, and the Avengers take this as their cue to rise from their spots and move into the living room or the kitchen.

Jane comes around the table, stopping a few feet away from the two of you.

Their eyes are locked on each other, her pretty browns and Thor’s one electric blue.

The silence, though it lasts only a quick three seconds, is endless. Instantly you’re an intruder and you spot Bruce peeking from the kitchen. He makes eye contact with you and there’s a beckoning from him, a promise of safety and sanctuary in this super fucked situation you find yourself in and you pull out from Thor’s arm and nearly scamper into the kitchen but a large hand wraps around your wrist gently, pulling to stop you from moving.

“Where are you going?” Thor’s face has softened, all tension leaving his beautiful face as he steps towards you to close the distance between your bodies.

It’s still respectful, a good two feet between you as opposed to the narrow six inches he’s kept you in all week.

Something tells you that he’s also keeping you at arms’ length because Jane is right there and it’s only been at most, two weeks since he ended things with her.

“I was going to give you two some space.” You whisper, though Jane is literally right there, so she can hear you.

“Oh, you don’t have to-” She starts, but Thor cuts her off, almost as if he can’t hear her.

“You do not have to give us space, cherub. You are right where you should be, at my side.” Thor doesn’t bother to whisper, but it’s clear in the volume of his voice that his words are meant only for you.

“It feels weird…” You whisper more quietly that it makes Thor move closer and lean his head down.

“It shouldn’t,” He reaches up to stroke your cheek, and you can’t help but peek at Jane.

She’s watching the two of you, her eyes darting away and back and away again, a fleeting look of confusion on her pretty face.

You reach around Thor’s side and give his side a little pinch to bring his attention back to Jane.

“She’s waiting,” you inform him, and flick your head in her direction before turning to face her again, planting yourself beside Thor just as he wants.

“Right,” Thor agrees, then wraps his arm right back around your shoulders. “What brings you to the compound, Jane? I can’t imagine anything would get you out of the desert with what you showed me last time I was there.”

Your heart gives an upsetting lurch at the reminder to Thor’s and Tony’s conversation last night, but you simply lean into Thor’s side some more, pushing down your insecurities for now.

“Yeah, um...I was in the lab when a weird energy spike completely threw off my sensors. It fried my stabilizer. So, I checked with NASA and UNOOSA, CNSA, SUPARCO, and a whole bunch of other contacts at various space agencies around the world and all of them also had similar readings. Not as strong, but they all swear that they don’t have anything in orbit or out in that quadrant. Given the strength of the surge, I contacted Tony to let him know so that he could get word to you but then he told me that you’d be here this week for a day, so I...I decided to stop by and tell you myself.”

She smiles, just a quick awkward little thing, at you and then at Thor.

Thor’s mind processes what she just told him as quickly as it can while you steal a glance at the kitchen again where Tony is peeking out this time.

“To be fair, I didn’t know you were going to be so nice.” He tells you, unapologetic that his words will reach all ears in all three rooms.

He quickly ducks out when you frown at him, leaving Bruce peeking out behind him who then panics and also pulls himself back out of sight.

What you can infer from his words is that he’d invited her to come when he’d known that you and Thor would be on your honeymoon in an attempt to get them back together?

As you look back to Jane who stands there staring at Thor with those stupid big brown eyes, you wonder if she knew Tony’s plans and that’s why she’s here.

“What’s the trajectory of the energy you found? What’s it heading towards?” Thor wonders, taking a half step forward, dropping his arm from your shoulders.

Your mind goes into a sudden frenzy as you, like him, put two and two together quickly.

“The threat?” You guess, stepping away from him but also moving around so that you can look at him and speak a little more face-to-face with him and Jane too.

You’d completely forgotten about the damn threat! You’d been so seduced and tired last night that you passed out. Then Thor woke you up so sweetly with more seduction that you’ve put the secret threat Thor has been trying to hide from you out of your mind.

His furrowed brow, large biceps bulging as he crosses his arms across his chest, betray his guilt at having kept it from you. But the two of you know that you have no time to dwell on petty arguments, so you table the argument you’d planned on having last night for another time.

“Could that be it?” You push, looking to Jane who looks a little confused by the tension in both your and Thor’s bodies.

“It might be.”

“What threat?” Jane wonders.

“What’s the matter, Cherub? What’s got you all worried?” Tony shuffles over, probably having heard the bit about the threat.

You give him a quick glance before you look at Jane, “What kind of energy reading was it? Cosmic? Solar? Celestial?”

All of the Avengers who had begun to make their way back into the common room for breakfast along with Thor, Tony, and Jane stop to look at you, several of them with mouths open and in complete surprise.

The silence is deafening, pressing in on you from every direction. Thor takes a step towards you and seems to be the only one unphased by your question.

“I don’t know that Jane would be able to determine the type of energy at this distance.” And yet, he turns to look at her once he’s spoken. “Jane?”

She blinks, still completely in shock by your knowledge, “Uh, I might be able to find a way to determine...how do you know about-?”

“As soon as Thor formally asked me to marry him I started to make a list of things that would probably be good to know in my position. Loki helped me um…” Wait, shoot...maybe you shouldn’t be so open with them?

“The weird sister helped you what?” Tony asks, casual disdain in his voice for the younger Asgardian prince.

You frown at him.

“Nevermind.” You cross your arms across your chest and sit down on the seat right behind you.

“He didn’t mean that, cherub.” Thor cuts in, moving towards you he pulls the seat beside you out to sit down, facing you. “Isn’t that right, Stark?”

“No.” You frown, really not liking the way some of them seem to really hate Loki.

Part of you knows that you can’t blame them. Loki did a lot of bad the last time he was here for an extended period of time.

He killed a lot of people and wreaked havoc on New York. They have every right to be angry at him. Even though you know this, you can’t find yourself letting them get away with their open hatred for him in front of you.

Thor looks at Tony with a pleading, his large hands on your knees as he strokes your legs softly to try and soothe you.

You see Tony roll his eyes from the corner of your own and with a silent exasperated sigh, he throws his hands out in front of him to physically push away his words.

“Alright, you’re right. I’m sorry. He’s made amends, right? He’s spent the time since he came back doing right by those people that he hurt. You’re right.” The longer Tony speaks, the more it looks like it physically hurts him to say sorry.

“Wait, you actually like Loki?” Jane asks, her smile in slight disbelief.

“Didn’t he save your life before?” You throw at her, having heard all about her infection by the Aether and how she’d helped Thor save many worlds.

It’s intimidating and not a story you’d easily forget.

At the time, you’d wondered how you’re ever going to compare to that. She’s helped Thor save Earth twice. What can you do?

Your words have the desired effect, and she quickly deflates as you meet Thor’s eye and sigh slowly.

“They don’t mean anything by it, cherub,” Thor promises, his voice soft and gentle and soothing.

You see the way Jane’s head twists in your direction at his pet name for you but he reaches up to take hold of your chin and turn your face towards his.

“Loki is lucky to have your loyalty.” He praises, looking genuinely happy about it too, but the smile leaves quickly in favor of his curiosity. “But how did you learn about different types of energy?”

“Loki hacked into the S.H.I.E.L.D. mainframe when I told him that I wasn’t sure that I was up for the task of being Queen and wife of an Avenger since I knew almost nothing about anything. I-I did a lot of reading.” You admit, heart in arrest as you gauge everyone’s reaction to Loki’s deceit. “But he only did it because I was crying and really worried and I was almost having a straight up panic attack, and he wanted to help so he offered me a place to learn and I couldn’t-I didn’t have it in me to say no even when he told me how he was going to get me the info so if you’re going to blame anyone, blame me because I was feeling so inadequate and he was just trying to make me feel better.”

Once again, the room is left in silence, save for Thor who smiles at you and reaches around to grab the back of your neck and give it a gentle squeeze.

“It’s alright. We’re not angry. Any of us, right?” As he looks around at everyone, they all nod quickly, giving you reassuring smiles save for Tony who has his arms crossed over his chest now, hand covering his mouth as he shakes with silent laughter.

“You’re angry?” You ask him, and he startles slightly when he realizes you’re talking to him.

“Me? Oh, no. No, I’m not. I just can’t wait to tell Fury that Loki hacked into his servers.” Tony bursts into laughter and has to turn away from all of you and move back into the kitchen to get a hold of himself.

“I’m sorry.” You repeat, reaching down to take hold of Thor’s hand, “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“You could never disappoint me, love. Never.” He smiles at you, then pulls you down to kiss your forehead before rising and moving to stand behind you. “Can you get to work on detecting the type of energy it was that destroyed your instruments?”

Jane straightens up out of her slouched pouting as she realizes that he’s talking to her, “Yes. I can. That’s kind of why I came here, to get some help from Bruce. It could also be gamma, so I wanted to consult with him before I made any decisions.”

Bruce lumbers forward between Nat and Bucky, waving Jane over, “We can go now? I don’t exactly have an appetite at the moment. If you don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Jane shakes her head and moves for him as he turns to lead the way.

Before she can get too far, she stops and turns to look at you and Thor as he moves back to take his seat next to you, your hands pulled up to his lips.

“Uh, congrats again, both of you,” With a firm nod, she turns and leaves you all to your breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~

“We don’t have to cut our honeymoon short?”

“Definitely not.” Thor frowns, “I would quit my job as King of Asgard if we had to end our private time.”

You smile, despite the pit in your stomach, “You can’t quit, silly.”

“I can. Loki would be more than happy to take over.”

“Well, I won’t let you quit. You’re an amazing King.”

“You’re my wife. You are clearly biased in my favor. I can’t believe a word you say.”

You chuckle at his playful banter, but after a few seconds, your worry for the people of your kingdom takes over.

“But really, Thor. If the threat coming is the same thing that destroyed Jane’s equipment, shouldn’t we go home and, I don’t know, deal with it?”

Thor breathes in deep, considering your words as he finishes pulling off his armor, tossing the last piece onto his red cape leaving him in a plain dark shirt and pants.

In a clear attempt to distract you, he rolls up the sleeves to his elbows, you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t a distraction.

Mmmph!

“I already have Sif and Hilde working on it. Loki is managing things with the palace, beefing up security for when we get there and until Tony and Bruce can come and make their own modifications.”

“Then we can enjoy our last four days?”

“Enjoy them?!” Thor moves to you, slipping his hand down around the waist of your skirt where it intertwines with the lower piece and with a firm tug, he rips through the fabric leaving only the bodice.

You gasp, hand pressed to your chest as you laugh in surprise.

“I’m going to impregnate you in the next four days if it’s the last thing I do.”

Oh my.

“No, turn around for me cherub, so I can finish ripping this dress off of you.” He coaxes you around and leans down to press a kiss to your back, then rips down the back of your bodice with more firm tugs that shake your body.

His lips trail open mouthed kisses down the side of your neck, hands gripping the flesh of your thighs with a possessive squeeze.

Despite your worries, it doesn’t seem like seeing Jane has affected his desire for you in any way. Somehow you’d never believed his devotion to you, until now.

With meeting Jane now that you’re married out of the way, and Thor’s cock still solid as he rutts into you from behind as he strips you, you feel a lot more secure in the emotions and passion you’re able to summon from him.

Almost like he knows you need it, “Tell me you love me, cherub.”

How can he doubt it?

“I love you, puppy.” It just slips out and Thor freezes.

You panic, turning to look at him because you hadn’t meant to say it, and it was something you’d just been calling him in your head in secret because of that look he gives you when he’s begging you to give in for whatever he wants in the moment.

“I’m-” He cuts you off, smashing his mouth down onto you, open wide as he delves into you, tasting you, tongue searching and coaxing.

“Mmmph,” You whimper, wrapping your arms around him to grip the back of his shirt tight.

He suddenly tosses you back onto your bed, pulling his shirt over his head and then shoving his pants down before he grabs your ankles and pulls you towards the edge. With wide splayed out hands he pushes your thighs open and settles between them, two fingers run up along your slick slit making you quiver.

“Tell me again,” he orders, voice so deep you feel it in your toes.

“I love you, pu-AH!”

[nincompoopydoo]

PAIRING, BAGELS, REPEAT

— HYMN OF THE LOVESICK ; PART 5 / ?

( gif from this beautiful gifset by @knightwayne )

PAIRING: Bruce Wayne x reader

WORD COUNT: 2k

SUMMARY: Alfred definitely knows something about Bruce that you’re not willing to think about and Bruce has an epiphany that changes the way he sees you.

A/N: Guess who forgot which day pbr is usually posted? This idiot here. God, I’m sorry and this chapter can be boring. Next chapter will have a lot more going on, I promise. Also, this might end in the next chapter or two. Enjoy, folks.

WARNINGS: Kinda dramatic because I’m dramatic.

MASTERLIST ; MASTERPOST

Driving through the Wayne estate gives you a sense of much-needed peace. The never-ending tunnel with walls of identical colossal pine trees as you faintly hum to Aretha Franklin over the low whirring of the running engine. It’s a quarter to noon, and the sun doesn’t seem to shine in the city of Gotham—clouds of grey constantly shield its optimum shine, only to ever allow rays to seep through the gaps in the moving Autumn wind. You don’t mind it and you never did, growing up in the city left clouds unnoticed to you unless it signified the arrival of a thunderstorm. Weather and nature are the least of your concerns but you would appreciate it now and then.

The tunnel of trees comes to an end as a clearing of extensive fields emerges into view. What is left of the Wayne Manor still stands with ostentation, despite its skeleton along with its dignity rotting away to be eventually consumed by mother nature herself. There’s a sense of eeriness to it; you find it odd how a building could seem so alive at times, like it's watching you, despite its apparent decay.

You turn your head away and focus on the road.

A glance at your hand on the wheel, you’re reminded of last night, when his hands held yours—it burns at the mere thought of his gentle touch. And the drive home, silent with the occasional glances and small smiles. You recall how the passing streetlights cascade hues of orange on his wearied expression and how his eyes were bright when they flit to your figure in the passenger seat for just a moment. Something must have changed between the two of you, but you can’t quite tell what. Maybe it’s your undying love for Bruce. Maybe he feels the same way. You snort to yourself, alone in your car, one can only dream but it doesn’t mean they all come true. Bruce may love but he doesn’t commit. You can’t commit too. Now, you’re starting to believe you’ve been lying to yourself.

The glasshouse comes into view as you steer around the bending road and into the driveway. It contradicts everything the manor was but only shared its sense of glory. You like the glasshouse, less deafening and structured with the purpose of bareness and vulnerability but its dark furnishings keep it grounded and secure. Its sense of balance tricks your mind into thinking you’re stable. His car is still around, parked by the porch but you don’t see him, ambling around the household.

Switching off the ignition, you snatch the paper bag from the passenger seat and clamber out of the car. Darker clouds begin rolling from afar, your hair flying in the strong wind. A storm is coming, you’re sure of it. One of the rare times it rains during the season. You dread the thought of having to drive back into the city and across Westward Bridge. Driving over bridges built over the water in the rain scares the heck out of you.

As you swing the car door to a close, you hear the shuffling of feet amongst leaves behind you. Alfred, with a barrel of chopped wood—stocking up for the winter. There’s a glimmer of amusement in his eyes albeit startled by your sudden presence. He mentions your name with endearment; you greet him with a small smile. You always liked Alfred. You enjoyed his company.

“What a pleasant surprise seeing you here,” he says, pushing the barrel aside as he nears you. “I’m afraid you just missed Bruce. He left for Metropolis an hour ago—duty calls.”

You nod, ignoring the clench in your heart. He hadn’t told you anything but frankly, you weren’t expecting him to anyway.

“Well, I just came by to drop off this,” You lift the paper bag, swaying it a little within your grasp. “As a thank you gift, you know.” Alfred smiles at this, gestures towards the house in a beckoning manner. “Come on in, I’ll make you some tea.” Before you could even protest, he’s gently guiding you to the door by the shoulder. It’s hard to say no to Alfred, especially when he offers tea.

-

Your mind wonders as you watch the drizzle of rain form ripples in the lake. You sit on a chair with a contemporary structure to it; it digs into your lower back, due to your bad posture. Uncomfortable but nice-looking and great armrests. Contradicts everything a chair should be. Alfred emerges from the kitchen with a black ceramic mug in hand, steam from the brewed tea lingering above it. He holds an identical mug, for himself. With two hands, you clasp onto the mug with acceptance, a radiant appreciative smile upon your lips. “Thank you, Mr. Pennyworth.” Alfred shoots you a look of disdain, “I’ve told you many times, Alfred is fine.” Taking a sip, you shake your head, a smile still lingering. “No way. I have too much respect for you to call you by your first name.” Alfred mirrors you, settling for the chair to your right, swiftly sliding the scatter of papers to the corner of the table. You find it easy to fall into a natural conversation with the older man—the two of you are mutuals after all of a certain billionaire. Yet, Alfred is more of a father figure, having practically raised Bruce and you, well, it’s complicated. It always is. You don’t know where you stand in his life, and you're not sure if you want to know.

“Anyway, where have you been? I haven���t seen you in weeks.” It’s true. The usual sight of the butler sauntering around the glasshouse or somewhere in the Wayne Estate was absent during the last two weeks. Alfred is always around, his disappearance was glaring, impossible to go unnoticed.

He shifts in his seat, placing his mug on the table, teaspoon moving with a soft clang. “I was visiting family back in England. I appreciate that you have noticed my absence,” An eyebrow raises, your laugh comes out more like a huff. “Always, Mr. Pennyworth.”

Family. Mother. Dinner—you remember the dinner with your mother on Sunday night, and you’re the host. The host hasn't decided on the menu for tomorrow’s meal. Oh God, it’s tomorrow. Procrastination is your friend but your family’s expectations for you aren't. If you pop enough wine bottles, maybe she'll be too drunk to be disappointed by the end of the night.

And the wedding. The mere thought makes you sick. You don’t want to bring a date, but you don’t want to be alone. Weddings, love, couples—it makes you tick. It’s a glaring reminder of how your love life is an absolute disaster and your inability to maintain relationships. It’s hopeless, you’ll die a spinster and everyone lives happily ever after.

“Are you alright?”

It’s funny how those three words have been the most frequent words you would hear from those around you. You appreciate the concern, really, but you can’t help but feel there’s a stronger and deeper meaning to those words. It’s a question of assurance, a reality check, and a realization that you might be broken. Everyone is broken—in their own ways.

Although you seem reserved to some people, your tendency to open up about your issues to those close to you contradicts that though you instantly regret it. Especially when people tell you to change. You hate change. It’s terrifying.

You pause, suddenly feeling...fidgety. Yet, in the words of Bruce: In Alfred, you trust.

Remember, keep it light. You don’t want to haul all this luggage of yours onto an aging man. He’s already got Bruce’s luggage.

“My cousin’s getting married in two weeks and,” you sigh, he listens intently. “And as pathetic as this sounds, I really don’t want to go to it alone.”

Your words are direct, straightforward and you sound like a whiny teenager or the main character in a Wattpad story but truth be told, there’s an underlying meaning to it and you know, Alfred knows it. You just don’t want to admit it.

He takes a beat, assessing your sentence like he’s a therapist, wanting to select his words carefully. “Well, I don’t think you’re pathetic. It’s...understandable,” he flashes you a pointed look and you find yourself straightening your back. “Why don’t you ask Bruce?”

Your brain must have short-circuited at that moment.

Oh, hell no. Not in a million years.

You’re shaking your head, laughing nervously. “No, no. No. Never. I couldn’t possibly ask him to do that. He’s already done so much for me—”

“You’ve done a lot for him too.”

A pause, words stuck in your throat. You just look at Alfred through confused eyes. You’re not sure what that means. He’s staring at you with a knowing look. You sigh, shaking your head in denial once more. “No, that’s...that’s not true.”

It’s almost infuriating how stubborn you can be sometimes that it’s even irritating yourself. You’re staring at your fingers, playing with the tag attached to the teabag by a thread. As far as you’re concerned, Bruce is...the greatest friend you’ve ever had. Through thick and thin, he’s been there for you. He’s always there. It’s partly the reason why you have fallen for him in the first place. Hard. He’s easy to love when he wears his heart on his sleeve. It’s rare but it’s beautiful. You almost feel ashamed to be allowed to see him in that light.

“Bruce will do just about anything for you,” Alfred says calmly as he watches you avoid eye contact. “And I know, you’ll do the same for him.” You throw your eyes at the older man as he cops you a look. Your heart is beating so fast, so thunderous, you hear it in your ears. He’s right and you know it. That accidental kiss to your forehead on the night you asked him to come for the play comes back to mind in a flash. It feels like a mark on your forehead, it feels like it’s burning.

“Would you like a scone with that?” He’s pointing to your tea and with that, he’s off to the kitchen once more, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

-

It’s late—a quarter to four in the morning. He spends most of his nights in the Batcave, hidden away from all the sounds and tumult of the world, shrouded in the darkness as the light of the computer screen cascades on his tired eyes. He ambles through the glasshouse, weary feet against hardwood floors, body begging to lay on grey sheets though he dreads a vacant bed.

He strains his eyes peering into the gloom when he perceives a paper bag, sitting idly on the table by the window. Nearing it, there’s a yellow post-it note stuck onto the bag and under the gentle light from the moon that reflects against the lake, he can make out words written on it.

It’s from you.

Thanks for coming to the play. I would have bought you something else, but I’m really broke. Sorry. I owe you one.

A drawn heart follows it. It’s tiny. His chest feels warm.

He should have recognized the paper bag because inside, there are four bagels. Four Asiago bagels. He laughs, it comes out more like a puff of hot air, feeling the warmth that resides in his chest spreading throughout his body.

Then, it hits him like a bullet to the heart. The impact is strong, powerful. Your impact on him is strong, powerful. There’s no mystery to his feelings for you but at this moment, he’s completely certain. For the first time in life.

He loves you.

Bruce staggers into the chair, hand carding back the strands of his hair. He can’t keep doing this to you. Whatever the hell is going on. Your friendship, the...stupid agreement. He wants none of it because it feels like he’s constantly going around in circles.

But what do you really want, Bruce?

TAGLIST

@raineeace

[irisidacelestecastille]

Marvel oneshots

Thor x Loki x Younger sister | Prank 

Summary: Loki isn’t ready to accept that Iris is his sister but will one prank on Thor will change his thinking?

Work count: 2.1k

MASTERLIST

----------------------------

It was surprising how fast Thor had come to accept his lost sister, Iris, the goddess of fire, but it wasn’t surprising how Loki thought every move his sister made was a trick against them. Odin had told them, how Iris, long stolen from them, was their younger sister, Loki believing it less and less as the days went by. Thor on the other hand was constantly looking for ways to spend more time with Iris, be it sitting in the kitchen for hours on end talking about how PopTarts were the best thing to ever happen to him, to sitting under the night sky, looking at the stars, her telling her brother how long she’d loved Steve, and how he didn’t love her back. But mostly it’d be about their mother and father, the life they’d lived without her and the life they could live with her if she chose to come to Asgard.

* * *

It was a beautiful party, Iris thought to herself as she walked down the stairs into the main living room of the compound. It was almost every week that Stark found a way to invite everyone over for drinks, but the perks of Tony’s richness did treat her well so why would she complain. She made her way to the Avengers, crossing over some special agents from SHIELD. She had arrived in the middle of a conversation, she had noticed, as Loki, standing right across from her, stared into her soul. 

“Oh hello Iris!” Thor greeted her, his body swaying off of the drunk-ness that overtook his mind. “You’re just in time,” he continued, “I was just telling everyone about the worst prank Loki has ever played on me.”

Loki smiled at him, announcing how every prank he’d ever played on Thor was worth talking about. Thor covered his mouth with his hand, hushed him, and then started on the story. 

“There was one time when we were children,” his hand moving from Loki’s mouth to his shoulder, pulling him closer as he swung back and forth. “He transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes.” Thor’s dialogue was speeding up by the second as was his grip on Loki’s shoulder, the force trying to sheer through his skin. “So I went to pick up the snake to admire it..” 

Bruce was the most invested in the story, Iris following close behind him. She looped her arms into his and both of them were leaning into the circle, as if moving closer would show them details of the event that Thor wouldn’t announce to the rest of the group. 

“And he transformed back into himself and was like ‘yeah, it’s me!’” Bruce and Iris’s mouth fell open as Thor did the worst possible impression of Loki. 

“And he stabbed me. We were eight at the time.” Silence fell on everyone in the room, all eyes on Loki, trying to understand if Thor was only joking about the rather cold act. “I hate snakes now.” Thor announced to the room, hoping to comeback from what seemed to the group, a depressing story. 

Loki’s face was serious as it could be, a small smile appearing on his lips, his shoulders broad with pride of being able to carry out such an elaborate prank. Iris simply looked at Loki with complete awe, her mind filled with all sorts of plans they could carry out together. She was a prankster as well, a good one too, not admitting to any allegations ever made once the prank was accomplished. 

I get it from him, she thought as an extensive idea flooded her mind. 

* * *

It was very late into the night when Iris knocked on Stark’s door. He opened the door almost immediately, as if already on his toes, waiting for someone to come. 

“Sweetheart, I’m not in the mood for sex right now.” He told Iris, holding the door open for her to come in. 

“What? Ew, no. In your dreams.” She said, scrunching her face up in disgust. 

“What ‘no’? Isn’t that why a fair maiden, much like yourself, comes to the room of a handsome man in the middle of the night?” He reasoned, his actions going against his words, as he walked away from her, pouring himself a drink. 

“Okay first of all, not you acting like I would ever willingly sleep with you, and secondly, I need a favor.” 

She was going to pull off a prank, a big one in her books, but she needed some equipment, and there was only one person in the compound who spoke machines.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. How’s the whole love angle going with Cap?” He questioned, his face full of genuine concern for her love life now. 

She dodged his question immediately, counting her demands off of her fingers. 

“So I need Jarvis, and I also need your image drone, the one that can project 3D images without the whole white screen thing.” 

Stark let out a chuckle, noticing how the mention of Steve made her uncomfortable. And then it hit him, what she was actually asking for. He immediately shook his head announcing that the response was a hard no. But Iris could never back down before a fight, especially when it was against Stark. But this time he was a step ahead of her, already asking her what she would do in return of the equipment. 

“Well clearly because you’re having lady troubles with Pepper, I can give you a counseling session on what you’re doing wrong.” Her offer was genuine, a slight smile accompanying the offer. 

“I’m not having lady troubles with anyone.” He announced, looking away from her. He knew she was right but how could he ever give her the satisfaction. He looked back at Iris who was now staring directly into his eyes. The depth of silence that was suddenly created pushed him to admit that he was having commitment issues with Pepper. 

“So it’s done then? I can have the equipment?” She was eager, her leg bouncing up and down faster than it was before, her confidence fading by the second. 

“Yes bu-” Iris picked her heels up in her hand, making her way out of the door before he could change his mind. 

“Just don’t burn anything down!” 

His warning was all in vain though, Iris already making her way to his lab, ready to meet Jarvis yet again to prepare her exquisite plan. 

* * *

It was at the crack of dawn that someone knocked on Thor’s door. He was awake anyway, getting ready to go down to the gym to work his body out a bit, considering that he ate about 15 turkeys the night before. He opened the door, a basket of eggs waiting for him at the foot of it, a small note accompanying it. 

Meet me in my room in exactly six minutes, the door is open, let yourself in. -Irisida. 

They were simple instructions, the thought of a pleasant surprise overtaking his mind, he made his way to his sister’s room. He was walking down the corridor when he heard his brother’s voice screaming his name in the back. Loki walked towards him, greeting him a good morning, asked what he was doing with a basket of eggs.

“Well brother, if you must know, I am on my way to Iris’s room. She sent me a message this morning. I reckon that we are going to make breakfast together.” Thor explained, a smile crawling onto his face thinking about his sister’s sweet gesture.

Loki on the other hand was groaning, looking at his brother with utter disgust. He took the basket from Thor and squinted at the message tag. 

“Her name’s Irisida, brother, and she’s not our sister, well not really. You need to stop following her around.” Loki was hellbent on isolating Iris. 

Thor tried to defend her. “She doesn’t have to be your sister if you doesn’t want her to be but that will not change the fact that she is my sister.” 

Thor snatched the basket back from Loki, making his way once again to Iris, hoping he was just in time for what she had planned. Loki called after him, saying that he wanted to see what all the fuss was about. 

The two were standing outside her door now, contemplating whether they should knock first or simply just enter. It was when Thor finally lifted his hand up to knock when the two heard a screech from behind the door. The two looked at each other frantically, barging into the room in attempts of saving their sister, Thor going through first. 

It was silent now, Iris’s room, the sense of emptiness hitting the duo. They heard a slither in the distance, and so they moved farther into the room, trying to isolate the threat. Thor singled out the slithering as coming from behind the headrest of Iris’s bed. He looked back at Loki who simply nodded at him, a knife suddenly appearing in his hand. With the basket still in his hand Thor walked towards the headrest. It was as if the slithering sound was receding the closer he got. He peered over the headrest, seeing nothing there, he looked back at Loki once again, his shoulders now calm. It was when he looked back at the space that he saw something move, he looked closer and then there it was, a huge snake, triple the size of Thor, leaping out of the space. 

The act was so quick, so hard to follow. He immediately withdrew his body off the bed, the snake hissing at him, throwing itself on top of him. Thor, to protect himself, covered himself with the basket in his hand, forgetting the raw eggs that were in it. They poured out of the basket immediately, breaking on his clothes and shoes. He looked up, his arms now open as the yolk seeped into his clothes, the clothes now sticking to his body. The snake was gone, the whole event like a dream. 

The two were confused, frozen, too scared to even move a muscle. 

That’s when a childish laugh sounded in the background. The two turned around slowly, only to meet the eyes of their sister, the one who’s room they were standing, the one who’d called them here in the first place. 

Loki understood what was going on as soon as he saw Iris. Thor on the other hand was still traumatized, the ghost of the snake he’d just encountered flooding his mind. 

“Oh I’m sorry brother but you should have seen the way you looked when the snake came on top of you!” She was laughing like her life depended on it. 

“What is this Iris?” Thor was confused, but he was also very angry. His ears were red, his eyes filled with fear. 

“She’s pranked you, brother” Loki announced, the whole situation making sense to Thor now. 

He was very upset, Iris could tell. She walked over to the headrest of her bed, pulling out a drone like machine. She explained how the snake was a mere illusion, and that she could never actually put their life in danger, that she loved them too much to do so. Thor forgave her faster than he ever had Loki. The two hugged, Loki just watching them from a distance. The prank was smart, Loki had decided, and rather well built up too. 

Iris finally walked over to Loki. 

“I’m a big fan of you, brother. This whole prank was inspired up by the one you played on Thor when you were kids.” She put her hand over his crossed arms. “I know you don’t like me, or trust me even, but I promise I will prove to you that I am your sister.” She turned around to leave but before she could, Loki cleared his throat. 

“I apologize for the way I have acted with you, it was not fair. You are our sister, my sister.” The apology burned his throat but he smiled at her, looking back and forth between her and Thor. “Plus you seem to have the prank talent to prove it.” 

He pulled her into a hug right after, her laughs blending in with the tears that were now flowing down her face. Thor joined them too, hugging the two with his visibly huger body.

This was her family, Iris thought to herself, happy that she was finally home. 

[wolfish-trickster]

Advent kisses

16/24

Loki x female!reader

Word count: 1 254

Summary: Instead of chocolates, kisses are going to be recieved everyday until Christmas.

Tag list: @gaitwae @lucywrites02 @modestlyabsurd @winterfrostsarmy @spaceyempress @thefridgeismybestie @laramoonworld @birdgirl90 @nickkie1129

A/N: I googled. Clint's kids' names are Lila and Cooper, to avoid confusion (the third one's Nathaniel. I didn't use it, but just in case).

Loki fullfilled your childhood dream yesterday. You couldn't be happier. What followed after your magical trip was just a cherry on top. Watching everyone trying to make sense of the "flying snake with a rider" news was a pure comedy. It became yours and Loki's inside joke.

"G'morning flying snake."

"Good morning snake rider," he handed you a steaming mug.

"Wow, you learned how to make hot chocolate! With whipped cream and everything!" you happily sipped at the sweet drink. He made it better than you ever did.

"Well, I am a skilled learner," he winked at you with a smile.

You heard voices. Coming from the hall. Both of you turned around.

"It snowed!"

"It snew!"

"No. IT. SNOWED!"

'All respect to Laura and Clint for keeping sanity with those two.' "Hi kids, how about 'snow fell'? Gramatically correct enough?" you chuckled as they hugged you and nodded.

"What's important is that it's new snow and it's beautiful and we can make snowmen and igloos and snow forts..."

"Breakfast first kids," their actual mother called at them.

"Sorry Y/N, they can be little annoying sometimes."

"Don't worry, it's no big deal. They are adorable," you ruffled their hair.

"But they can be quite handful, add this third one into the mix," she gestured at the small boy sucking his own fingers in her arms, "and soon you won't have any time to yourself. Just wait until you and Loki have your own-" you caoughed loudly, Loki choked on his chocolate and started caughing as well.

"What? Did I say somethi-"

"Let them be hun, they are in denial," Clint showed up from behind his wife and kissed his son first, then Laura's cheek.

The liquid in your mug seemed rather interesting to you. Your whole face was burning. 'Why are they ruining everything all the time?' You awkwardly walked out of the kitchen and went sit next to the giant window. Kids were right. Freshly fallen snow is beautiful. How it sparkled on the morning sun.

"EVERYBODY," Steve said loud enough to attract all of you to living room. He had one of Clint's kids on his shoulders. "This little trouble maker just challenged us to snowball fight. Attendance is obligatory."

Not even 40 minutes passed and everybody was ready to fight. You always knew all of them were still playful kids inside. Everyone showed up and wanted to fight. Well except for Loki and the youngest Barton. You tried convincing Loki to go, but he just turned on his heel and locked himself in his room.

"Don't worry about him, you will understand in time," Thor tried to calm you down, as all the adults got selected into two teams, both lead by Clint's kids. You got into a team too. Well after you begged Bruce to let you enjoy at least something when he already banned you from skiing.

Thor, you, Natasha, Tony, and Sam were in the Lila's team. Wanda, Vision, Steve, Bucky, Clint and Bruce were in Cooper's team. Laura and Pepper were cheering along with the little boy licking icicle.

"There's more of them, of course they're gonna win," Lila pouted.

"Where's Rhodey when I need him?" Tony started to make a snow wall for you to hide behind.

"Alright folks, heads together," Natasha ordered. "We all know Bruce has a horrible snowball aim, attack him first. Remember rules: no throwing in the face. Steve is like a rock, just stands still with minimal movement. You may throw at him but his aim is great, watch eachothers' back-"

"Nat, it's snowball fight, not a spy mission, you don't have to take it so seriously," everyone knew Sam will go against his words.

"The first team to be completely covered in snow loses, ready?" Bucky shouted from other side of the battlefield.

"Ready!" all of you team had a ball of snow in your hands.

Laura started it off. "Ready, Set, FIGHT!"

You immediately bolted from behind the wall and threw a ball straight into Steve. He stood as solid as a rock. What he lacked in agility he made up in speed. He quickly tackled Tony down as he tried to throw more snow at him. You got chased by Vision and Clint who had Cooper on his shoulders, throwing ball after ball at you. In the end it was everyone against everyone. Some were lying in snow as others tried to shove some of it under their clothes, others were laughing and keeping their distance, throwing at those who seemed vulnerable. Some who already lost went to build a snowman.

You laughed at Bucky and Tony teaming up against Steve and Sam, who took this way to seriously. A movement in the window caught your eye. You looked up and saw Loki, watching you from his room. You smiled and waved at him. He returned your smile, but it looked kinda sad, almost..... lonely. What if he felt left out?

"Hey girls, if anyone asked, I went inside to make dinner," you told Pepper and Laura as you passed them on your way inside.

"I'm going inside too. My little boy's hungry. Bet our big boys will be hungry too after a while. I'll help you."

"Yeah, me too," Pepper joined you with exhausted and freezing Vision.

And that's how you gained unwanted company to your and Loki's alone time. Thankfully the kitchen was way too small for all of you. Vision and Pepper started cooking, Laura took care of her baby boy and you started walking towards Loki's room. It was unlocked.

Knock, knock. "Loki? Can I come in?"

He opened the door and tower over you. "Who won the fight?"

"Eeeh, no one? It turned into complete chaos. I just wanted to ask you if you were okay. You looked kinda lonely in that window. Why didn't you go outside?"

"Well, it's complicated. Do you want to come inside?" he stepped out of the door frame to let you in.

You got out of your heavy coat and soaked gloves. "How complicated is that? Like you have a cold allergy?"

"No. It's more of an Asgardian thing. Thor adapted quickly, but my relationship to cold is still....I don't know how to describe it. Passive agressive?" when something was difficult for Loki to describe, you knew it was serious. So you let it be, for the better of both of you. You started to rub your freezing hands together. You also noticed how cold your toes got. Amazing how you brush off these details during games.

"Are you cold?" he walked over to you, rubbing your shoulders to warm you up.

"Heh, a little bit. Nothing too seriou-" you felt how he made your wet clothes vanish and made fluffy warm ones appear on you before you even finished your sentence. He walked over to his bed, took the green blanket and wrapped it securely around you.

"There, can't let you fall sick few days before Christmas Eve, can I?" he hugged you close to him. You never felt more safe and warm.

He pulled his head away and kissed the tip of your cold nose. You felt how warmth flooded through your entire body. A warming charm. Again. His forehead touched yours after the kiss. You closed your eyes and just let this gentleness happen.

[matbaerzal]

Agree To Disagree | M. Barzal

Summary: Mat isn’t really an animal person, but his new neighbour loves dogs.  A/N: This all started when Mat said he didn’t like small annoying dogs, and I wrote a post joking about an “enemies to lovers” fic, and then I actually started writing it and it got way out if hand..  Warnings: PUPPIES!! accidental slowburn, awkward silences. a very non specific timeline (?) Words: 5,5K Copyright © @matbaerzal 2020 All Rights Reserved Tagging: @bluebarriemuzzins​ @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69​ @zuucc​ because why not??

When you first saw your new neighbour you were intrigued. He was wearing a suit, looking important, he gave you a polite smile as he walked past you. He was handsome, and he held the elevator door for one of the movers that was going down to get more of your belongings. It seemed like the two of you would get along as neighbours. Unfortunately first impressions aren’t always right.

When Mat first saw you he was intrigued. You were carrying boxes, moving into the apartment across the hall from his. You looked tired, but you had a smile on your face nonetheless. You were wearing an old The Office t-shirt, so you had that in common. You were really polite to the movers helping you. His first impression of you was that he’d get along well with you. Unfortunately first impressions aren’t always right.

You were by no means new to New York, you’d grown up in Manhattan, and as you were looking for a new apartment, you happened to find the perfect place in Brooklyn. It was close to your new job, had a nice kitchen and most important, they allowed pets in the building. Your old building had a strict no pets policy, and Zoe, your Golden Retriever, had to stay with your parents. Now, she could finally move in with you, and you could open your home to shelter dogs too.

You loved dogs more than anything in the world, so to be able to foster dogs and help them find loving homes had been a dream of yours for a long time. You got in touch with the local shelter even before you moved in, because you were so excited. Your job as a writer for a magazine luckily allowed you to work from home a few days a week, so you could spend as much time as possible with the dogs.

---

The second time you see your new neighbour is the day Zoe finally moves in with you. It’s also the first time you actually speak to him. You were about to take Zoe for a walk around her new neighbourhood when he exits his apartment, he’s wearing casual clothing this time around. Zoe is a well behaved girl, but she can be very curious so when a stranger joins you in the elevator it’s natural she wants to introduce herself. You don’t expect everyone to be a dog person so you hold her back until you see him smile at her as he walks into the elevator. Much like anyone else, he greets Zoe before he introduces himself to you.

“Hello” he says in that high pitched voice most people get when they see a cute dog, he reaches his hand out for her to sniff it before looking up at you. “Hey, you’re my new neighbour” he says matter-of-factly. “Hi, yeah” you say, reaching out your hand telling him your name as you shake hands. “I’m Mat, who’s this?” he says, referring to the dog before scratching her behind the ear. “This is Zoe” you laugh as the elevator dings and the doors open. Your interaction is cut short as you exit your building, going in separate ways, giving each other polite smiles. “I’ll see you around,” he says.

Bruiser

After living in your new building for two weeks your paperwork to start fostering dogs is finally done and approved. Your main job would be to socialize the dogs and make them ready for adoption. The first dog you take in is a little chihuahua named Bruiser, you and Zoe have met him a couple times at the shelter, and you’ve been told he’s usually not too fond of strangers.

You walk into your building with Bruiser in your arms. As the doors are about to close you see Mat enter the building, his steps rushing towards you. You hold the door for him, and he gives you a small smile. “Thank you” he says, before looking down at Bruiser, the expression on his face unreadable.

“What happened to Zoe?” he asks eyeing Bruiser suspiciously. “Oh I left her at home whilst I was picking up this guy” you say lifting the little dog up slightly. “This is Bruiser, Bruiser, this is Mat, our neighbour” you say. That’s when the elevator dings and the doors open, Mat shoots out and into the hallway, suddenly in a rush. “See you later” he throws over his shoulder, he unlocks his door and then he’s gone. “That was a bit strange, huh?” you look down at Bruiser, walking over to your apartment door

You go about your day, forgetting your interaction with Mat. Spending the day introducing Bruiser to his new temporary home, and for the most part it goes really well. You notice he has a tendency of barking and getting restless whenever he hears something outside your door, so you take note of that, so you can work on making him more used to unfamiliar noises.

---

A couple weeks later, Bruiser has already improved a little, he’s much less timid and has even made some friends in the dog park you liked going to. You’re about to take him and Zoe there, and you see Mat in the elevator. You make eye contact with him, so you’re hoping he’ll hold the door for you. His eyes shoot open when he sees the little chihuahua and instead he presses the button to make the doors close. You frown, looking down at your dogs, “that was a bit rude, no?” you say. You think, maybe he was in a hurry, or maybe he accidentally pressed the wrong button.

The next few weeks, similar things happen and he keeps avoiding you. Barely says hi to you in the hallway, and on the rare occasion that you’re actually in the elevator together he is practically pressed into the corner, his head buried in his phone. You’re not one to impose yourself on someone who obviously doesn’t want to be around you, so you start avoiding him too. If you’re about to leave and you hear him in the hallway you wait until you can’t hear him anymore before you leave.

Your co-worker had mentioned her aunt was interested in adopting a dog. And eventually Bruiser moves out of your apartment. You’d grown fond of him, so obviously you're a bit sad as you make your way home with Zoe next to you. You don’t even notice Mat walking up to the elevator as you’re stood there trying not to cry. The doors almost close before he stretches his hand out to stop it. “Are you avoiding me or something?” Mat says with a laugh, a little out of breath. You frown, it’s your first time interaction in who-knows-how-many weeks. “Me? Avoiding you?” you scoff

The doors close and an awkward silence fills the space between you. Zoe stays by your side, pressing her head into your hand. You can see Mat looking at you in the corner of your eye. “Where’s the little one? Bruce?” he asks, his tone cautious. You look up at him and so does Zoe, a scowl on both your faces, and as if the universe was on your side that’s when the elevator dings and the doors open on your floor. “His name is Bruiser, and why do you care?” you snap and stomp out. You quickly find your key and get into your apartment before he can even react.

A few more weeks go by and you notice Mat isn’t trying to avoid you anymore, though he never says more than a small hi to you and he almost always looks a bit guilty. You still try to avoid him sometimes, you’re not sure why. Maybe it’s the inevitable awkward silence that follows whenever you see him. Maybe you’re a bit embarrassed by how you snapped at him when he asked about Bruiser. All you know is that sometimes you like to check if you see or hear him in the hallway before you leave your apartment.

Stella

The next dog you take in is a Beagle, Stella, she doesn’t bark as much as Bruiser, but she growls if you approach her when she’s eating or playing with a toy. She’s also been known to bite if she gets cornered. She’s warmed up to you and Zoe a bit more, but she’s still cautious around other people.

You’re out walking the dogs when it starts raining, you’d been to the dog park to try and socialize Stella. The weather had been really nice when you left, so it catches you off guard.

You try to find cover under a tree in the park, but you’re still getting some rain on you. Your building is about a 10 minute walk away so you’re dreading the thought of having to walk that far in the pouring rain.

Just when you start considering just running for it, a car pulls up next to you. The window opens and there’s Mat with a worried look on his face. “Hey, do you need a ride home?” he shouts through the rain. You look around weighing your options, ultimately you look back at him and nod. Sprinting over to the car, he gets out and opens the door for Zoe to get in the backseat and you run to the other side, picking up Stella before getting in the passenger seat. You sigh out a breath as you close the door, “thanks” you huff out, trying to get Stella to settle in your lap.

You see Mat in the corner of your eye looking at Stella for a moment before he starts driving towards your building. “You replaced Bruiser pretty quickly, huh?” Mat says and you see him instantly cringe after the words leave his mouth. “What do you mean?” you frown at him, “shit, I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just you got a new dog, and it’s not long ago that Bruiser, you know-” he trails off at the end, leaving you confused. “You know-, what?” you ask him to clarify, “died” he almost whispers. 

You laugh in surprise, “Bruiser’s not dead, he got adopted” you say. “What do you mean adopted, wasn’t he yours?” he asks, glancing over at you before looking back at the road. “No, I was just fostering him, like I’m fostering Stella here” you say, Stella is still wiggling in your lap.

There’s a moment of silence before Mat speaks up again, “are you fostering Zoe too?” he says. “No, I’ve had Zoe for about 5 years now” you say just as he pulls into your building's parking garage. He parks and turns the engine off, but just as you touch the door handle he turns to you.

“So, just to be clear, the chihuahua and Stella aren’t yours?” he says. “Not really, no” you say, “you sound very relieved by that” you laugh. “I’m not really an animal person, especially small overly energetic dogs, I don’t like those” he says, eyeing Stella who, to prove his point, is still trying to wiggle out of your lap. “Zoe is great though” he rushes to add. “You’re just saying that to be nice now” you tease him. “No! No, I really don’t mind Zoe” he says and you hum, you don’t really believe him.

As if she could understand what you were saying Zoe suddenly sticks her head in between your seats making Mat jump. You roll your eyes at him with a smile on your face as you open the door. You keep a hold of Stella as you get Zoe from the backseat, walking over to the elevator where Mat is standing waiting for it to arrive. Silence fills the space between the two of you and you can’t help but think this was a one time thing, after this you’ll go back to the awkward silences.

The doors open and you internally cringe as you steal glances at each other and he motions for you to go in first. The doors close and Mat presses the button to your floor, the moment just before the elevator starts going up feels like an eternity. You clear your throat “thanks again for the ride” you say “and sorry if your car smells like wet dog for a few days” you add with a small laugh as Stella squirms in your arms. “It’s no problem, really” he says, and the space is filled with silence yet again. 

The elevator comes to stop as you reach your floor, the doors open and you step out, Zoe following after you, you finally put Stella down and she tries to pull you towards your door. You laugh at her, but follow after her regardless.

Mat walks a few steps behind you and speaks up again just as you reach your door. “I’ve been kind of a shit neighbour, haven’t I?” he admits, you turn around to face him, not sure how to reply. “I swear I wasn’t avoiding you, I just- Chihuahuas and I don’t get along” he says and you can’t help but laugh out loud. “You avoided me because of the dogs?” you say and Stella pouts and scratches at your door with a small bark. Mat looks at her pointedly as to say see what I mean?.

Ignoring his look you quickly open the door so Stella can go inside, Zoe calmly follows after her. “I realized how stupid I was being after a week, but I guess I’d started a pattern and I didn’t know how to break out of it” he says, his hand scratching the back of his neck. “Maybe we could start over? Could I make up for being a bad neighbour somehow?” he says. You take a moment to think before you get an idea, “you could help me with Stella, come with me on walks and all that” you reply. For a brief moment you see regret in his eyes before he swallows it, “yeah, sure” he says hesitantly.

“Are you free tomorrow?” you smirk at him and he shakes his head, “I’m actually going away for a couple days for, uh-, work” he says. A pang of disappointment hits you, so much for making it up to you. “I’m back again on Thursday, though” he rushes when he sees the expression on your face that you failed to hide. You hesitate for a moment before nodding, “I can do Thursday”. You hear a suspicious noise from inside your apartment, “I should-” you say pointing behind you. “Yeah, I’ll see you Thursday” he says and starts walking backwards towards his door with a wave goodbye.

---

Thursday arrives before you know it, and you realized you never set a time to meet up. Around 3PM you decide to just go over with Zoe and Stella and knock on his door. He opens his door almost immediately, already dressed to go out. “Hey, you going somewhere?” you say, “I was just about to go knock on your door actually” he chuckles. You smile and offer Stella’s leash to him, he eyes it sceptically, you roll your eyes at him “fine, you can take Zoe” you laugh.

You get to the park pretty quickly, on the way Mat explains what he does for a living, and you realize that’s why he’s away a lot. Once you get there you tell Mat to let Zoe off her leash, and he looks towards you. “What about Stella?” he says, “she’s got a tendency to get territorial, and could bite if someone tries to take something from her” you say and Mat takes a small step away from you and you laugh a little at his reaction. “My job is to help her get out of her bad habits, so that someone will adopt her” you explain.

“You get paid to do that?” he asks, and you shake your head “no, I volunteer”. He looks at you with wonder in his eyes. Zoe comes running back to you carrying a stick, instead of going to you she surprises you and goes to Mat. With the way he acts around Zoe you would have never guessed his dislike for small dogs. He fakes his throw once before throwing the stick as far as he can, Zoe runs to get it back.

The following weeks he comes with you for walks whenever he can, and Stella takes a liking to him, much to his dismay. You could see Stella get more and more comfortable around strangers, and she doesn’t put up much of a fight when you want her to let go of a toy. You’re comfortable enough to let her off the leash at the park now, and she plays catch with Zoe without any conflict. Whenever Mat comes with you to the park Stella refuses to play with you,  it’s as if she can read his mind and she’s doing it just to annoy him.

---

It’s getting warmer out so you and Mat decide to pack lunches with you and spend the day at the park together. He’s become a regular part of your life now, and the time you were ignoring each other seems like an alternate reality. You’d even caught a few of his games from the comfort of your living room and whenever the camera closed in on him your dogs would perk up and look at the TV. Sitting close to him on your picnic blanket, leaning your head on his shoulder whilst watching the dogs, feels natural.

“Do you want to come see the game on Sunday? We’re playing the Rangers” Mat says out of the blue and you lift your head off his shoulder to look at him, “I’d love that” you say with a smile. “Cool” he says and leaves it at that. “Cool” you say laughing at him, “It’s just, everyone wants to meet my cute neighbour” he says and you swear you see a small blush on his cheeks. “Cute neighbour, huh? You invited Mrs. Davis too?” you tease, referring to the sweet old lady living a couple floors down from you. He breathes out a small laugh and looks down, definitely blushing this time. “Oh yeah, she’s a huge hockey fan” he laughs. You shove your shoulder against his lightly, “she’s probably only in it for the cute players though” you say.

The flirting wasn’t entirely new, but your heart beat still raised whenever he used his charms on you. And you always felt nervous whenever you would flirt back, but you couldn’t help yourself. You were too in your own bubble to notice the change of the weather and when the first couple rain drops fall on you it catches you completely off guard. You quickly gather your things and call the dogs over. The second you get the leashes on the sky opens up, and Mat grabs your hand with his free one and drags you to the nearest tree.

The tree doesn’t give you much cover, it’s barely even enough for one person. He sets the picnic basket down and pulls you close so you don’t get rain on you. “I can’t save you with my car this time” he laughs as you’re both looking around at the downpour. When you look back at each other you realize how close the two of you are, chest to chest, his arm tightly around your waist. A couple of hair strands are stuck to his forehead and you instinctively move your free hand to brush them away, your cheeks going warm as you do, resting your hand on his shoulder afterwards.

Mat is studying your face, as if he’s looking for something. Stella, ever so mischievously pulls on your leash bringing you impossibly closer to each other. You’d looked at his lips before, but they had never seemed as inviting as they do now. Mat takes a breath before he leans in, your noses brushing together as he hesitates in his actions. You move your hand to his neck as you lean into him closer, closing your eyes as you take a deep breath. The world stands still and it seems like you stay like that, lips almost touching, forever. Until, Stella pulls on your leash again, this time pulling you away from Mat.

You almost drop the leash from the pull, and you have to move yourself away from Mat completely to settle her down. You hear Mat swear under his breath and he’s scowling at Stella when you look back at him. You give him a sympathetic smile before turning back around to calm Stella down. The rain doesn’t last long, and you start making your way home, keeping the conversation to a minimum, the air between you filled with disappointment because of a ruined moment.

---

Mat leaves for a road trip the day after, and when he comes by to say goodbye he hugs you a bit longer than normal, and your eyes linger a bit longer before he walks down the hallway to the elevator. You know you won’t be able to see him until Sunday at the game and time moves so slowly the days leading up to it. You text back and forth a little, but neither of you mention your almost kiss. You can’t stop thinking about it though, and you keep wondering if he’s thinking about it too, but you’re too afraid to actually ask him.

He’d texted you where to go, and you’d heard enough about the other players girlfriends to not be so nervous as you go to find your seat at the arena. You’d gotten Amy, a friend from work, to look after the dogs in your apartment, just to be safe. Just as you’re looking down at your tickets to check if you’re in the right section you hear an unfamiliar voice speak up, “are you here for Barzy?”. You look up to see a blonde woman looking at you with a smile, “he did invite me, yes” you stutter shyly.

You learn her name is Grace and she takes it upon herself to introduce you to all the other girls. Your first observation is that watching a hockey game on your TV is very very different from seeing it in person. Sure, you would celebrate some goals in your living room, but not like this. You blame it on the atmosphere, but you have to admit to yourself that you were enjoying yourself. The game was tied for most of the third period, and after the Rangers scored a flukey goal near the end, the Isles weren't able to respond.

It’s quiet between you and the girls as you walk to where you’re meeting Mat and the rest. His hair is still damp, a frown on his face, and there are a few strands of hair stuck to his forehead, bringing you back to the moment in the park. Your heartbeat speeds up as he meets your eyes, he gives you a small tired smile. He stops in front of you, a respectable distance away, you take another step towards him and he looks relieved when you do. Before he can say anything, who you assume to be Anthony steps up next to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. “This must be that cute neighbour” he says with a smirk, making Mat blush.

Mat introduces the two of you as you make your way towards where their cars are parked. You’d taken public transport to the arena and Mat was “obviously driving you home”. You say goodbye to everyone before getting into the car. On the way home you talk about the game and the past couple days. You tell him a couple people have shown interest in adopting Stella, and you can see in his eyes that he’s not as excited as he pretends to be.

As you’re walking up to the elevator your hand brushes against his accidentally, but he takes a hold of it, without saying a word. In the elevator you lean into his side and he puts his arm around your shoulder, without saying a word. It’s a comfortable silence, but it leaves your mind running. The feeling of his thumb rubbing back and forth on your shoulder making you warm. Wishing you’d just went for it in the park, wishing you knew how his lips felt against yours. You’ll kiss him tonight when he says goodnight, you think.

His arm stays around your shoulder, your arm around his waist, as you walk down the hallway and to your door. He turns to face you as you arrive, keeping the embrace you’re in. “Thanks for coming tonight” he murmurs, his hand moving down your arm, he goes to take a step away, but your arm on his waist urges him to stay. “Thanks for inviting me,” you say. The moment feels oh so familiar as he studies your face, his eyes finally landing on your lips as you lean in even closer. Your noses brush against each other as you close your eyes. Then, just as you're about to lean in the rest of the way, Amy opens the door.

She swears, and you break apart from each other as she apologizes, going back into your apartment. Again, the moment is ruined and Mat clears his throat awkwardly, your whole body is flush with warmth. Amy emerges again, her movements sneaky, “dogs are sleeping, see you at work” she says in a hushed voice, she looks at Mat and gives him an awkward smile. “Nice to meet you” she says, before walking fast over to the elevator, pressing the button several times before the doors open.

The comfortable silence the two of you had earlier is now filled with frustration, and when you hear an unidentified noise from your apartment you know there’s no saving the moment. You can’t help but groan, “it’s ok” Mat says, giving you a sympathetic smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch?” he asks, “yeah” you say, hesitating as you open the door behind your back. Mat takes a few steps backwards towards his door. “Good night” you say in unison before slowly getting into your apartments.

Stella runs up to you as you lean against the door, leaning your head backwards hitting the door with a thud. You flinch slightly and swear under your breath at the impact, your hand going up to rub the back of your head before leaning down to Stella. Zoe is peacefully asleep in her bed as you enter your bedroom. You put Stella back in her crate, figuring Amy must not have closed it properly before she left.

As you go back out to the kitchen to get some water there’s a soft knock on your door. You furrow your brows, wondering who it could be, before going over and opening the door. Before you know it Mat is pushing you back into your apartment and against the wall next to the door, he stops for a moment as he’s leaning in before shaking his head, “fuck it” he mumbles. Then, his lips are finally on yours, his hand on your waist pulling you closer as you kiss him back.

 One of your hands grip his arm, the other hand moves to his neck, threading your fingers through his hair. His lips soft, moving against yours as you get lost in each other. He breaks the kiss, letting you catch your breaths for a moment before he leans in and gives you another short, firm kiss.

His forehead rests against yours and you feel his lips break into a smile before you open your eyes, leaning back a little to meet his eyes. “I couldn’t wait any longer,” he grins, his voice hushed. You bite your lip as you look up at him, breathing out a laugh. “I’ll see you tomorrow” he repeats his words from earlier and you nod eagerly, leaning up to give him another brief kiss, not able to help yourself. He chases your lips as you lean back again, he breathes out a laugh before forcing himself away from you, grinning as he walks back to his apartment.

---

He greets you with a kiss and a blush the next day when he meets you at a cafe after his morning skate. It feels a lot like a first date to you, but you’re not sure what he wants or what this means to him. “Is this our first date?” you burst out and he looks surprised for a second as he looks up from the menu. “I’d say we’re way past our first date, no?” he smirks making your cheeks flush with color. 

“Yeah?” you manage to let out and he reaches his hand over the table finding yours. “All those walks in the park- do you really think I’d put up with Stella if it weren’t for you?” he jokes making you roll your eyes. “I’m trying to be serious here” you laugh. “Well, I seriously really like you” he smiles, his eyes genuine making your cheeks even redder. “I really like you too” you shyly admit.

On your way back to the apartment after lunch, he holds your hand, his thumb rubbing back and forth on your skin. He’ll be going away for another few days tomorrow, so you make plans to have dinner together when he comes back. You tell him you’re meeting a potential couple to adopt Stella, and he goes a bit quiet.

When he’s been gone three days you’ve met Stella’s potential new parents, and made your decision. You call him right after you’ve dropped her off at her new home, and he’s sweet about it. You wonder if you hear some sadness in his voice, but you don’t ask him about it. 

He keeps the focus on making you feel better. When he comes home he gives you a long crushing hug, and when you’re in the kitchen getting you something to drink you overhear him talking to Zoe. “I miss the little bother, too” he whispers as she cuddles closer to him on your couch.

Zoe

A few weeks later you’re in the park with Mat and Zoe. You’d been there for a few hours already, Zoe was taking a little break, lying peacefully next to you and Mat. You’re seated between his legs and resting your head on his chest, the sound of birds chirping and people having fun filling the space. 

You’d teased him about wearing shorts when you left, but now, as you’re running your hand mindlessly up and down his thighs, you’re grateful for his choice. Eyes closed, basking in the sun, you can't help but hum in content as he kisses your shoulder. You automatically lean your head to the side as he kisses up your neck.

“Do you think it’s going to rain later?” he murmurs, and you hum in a questioning tone, “Wouldn’t mind a redo on our first almost kiss” he speaks against your neck, leaving another kiss there as you laugh. You lean forward a little to look back at him and he’s got a content smile on his face. He leans in and kisses your lips, not able to help himself. You smile into the kiss, “If I remember correctly, we were under that tree over there, not on the picnic blanket” you tease. He raises his eyebrows before getting up, offering his hand to you.

Zoe picks her head up as Mat drags you up, leading you over to the tree. His arms wrap tightly around your waist, pulling you close to him. You hum as you move your hand to brush away hair from his forehead that isn’t even there before moving to his neck. 

Mat leans in, brushing your noses together stopping just before your lips touch, your eyes closing as you stay like that for a moment. Then you thread your fingers through his hair at his neck pulling him the rest of the way. The world melts away as your lips touch, your heart beating rapidly in your chest. You’re left breathless as you pull away, smiles plastered on your faces. He gives you another short kiss before leading you back to the blanket.

You sit just like you were previously, your head resting on his chest, hands on his thighs. You sit in silence watching Zoe play around with a little chihuahua. “There’s a new dog at the shelter that needs a foster home” you tell him with a smirk. “Please don’t say it’s a chihuahua” he groans, you laugh barely able to finish your sentence “No, don’t worry, it’s a Pomeranian” you say, making Mat groan even louder.

[anjuschiffer]

Following the Unknown

Okay, so sometime ago, I wrote something up about another soulmate au that was inspired from a dream I had (and for some reason I can’t find it in my archives...f* you Tumblr! And if anyone remembers what I’m talking about, think you can send me a link? Cuz I can’t find it QQ).

So the AU concept went something like this:

Some people know they have soulmates because they can hear their soulmate’s voice. If you’re lucky enough, you can actually see them, or rather their silhouette in the form of a swarm of leaves, that trail away once your soulmate stops talking to you. These leaves fly off and sometimes if you chase them, lead you to your soulmate. However, if they go on, that means that your soulmate isn’t close. Some people have feathers as guides, however, those who have seen these feathers and followed them are guaranteed to see their soulmates...but only at the brink of death. People dread to have feathers guide them to their soulmate, despite their gold color. 

The only con of this soulmate bond is that only those with the bond can see the glowing white leaves, no one else can see the leaves but those with that type of bond. 

And I haven’t touched the au until I was listening to Into the Unknown...

With that explanation out of the way, I hope you enjoy it!

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Song: Into the Unknown by Idina Menzel | Daminette Soulmate Au

Context: Damian is 17 years old, never once telling anyone he had a soulmate bond. Mari is 16, her soulmate bond appearing that very year, something she always wanted, but hated that it was at the worst time to receive a bond. After all, defeating Hawkmoth was her top priority.

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Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak​ @damianette-is-life​

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AO3

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Damian stirred in his bed, a whisper ringing in his ears. Attempting to block them out, Damian wrapped his pillow over his head, his knuckles turning white as he did so.

Damian threw the pillow to the side, wincing at the voice that echoed within his head. Struggling to get up, Damian quickly drew out his sketchbook, flipping to the back of it. There, a meticulously set of dates were written and organized, a tip of a quill meeting the page, Damian writing down a new date.

Ever since his 16th birthday, he had been having these effects, a voice whispered to him. 

It was soft, soothing, but annoying all at the same time. 

Hello. It would whisper. Can you hear me?

I can hear you but I won't.

Of course he was able to. It bothered him to the ends of the Earth, causing him to become distracted at school and during patrols.

He regretted ever answering back to them after they kept trying to contact them for four solid months.

With that single response, he had been able to hear the voice clearer, causing the noise to grow stronger, something that Damian hated. 

Because of it, his grades slowly slipped, but Damian had managed to keep them up. Patrol, however, was another story. 

He kept getting a scolding from his father and brother, causing his mood to sour even more. 

He already had a pretty shitty sleep schedule and the noise just made it worse. 

He would awaken at random times during the middle of the night, ranging from one in the morning to four. He rarely got them at five and six, but nonetheless had them then as well. 

Ignore your whispers which I wish would go away

Damian got back to bed, hoping to fall back to sleep as he heard the noise stay with him. Damian didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, but he did, nonetheless when the noise had whispered to him. 

Sorry.

And the voice remained quiet for the remainder of the night.

------

“-and only one in every three million have this type of soulmate bond.” Damian paused the video, writing something down in his notepad, circling the new piece of information.

The Wind Bond.

A bond that those who had it describe it to be like a wind itself.

It caused you to hear the voice of your soulmate, ever so softly heard like a midsummer breeze. 

The soulmate’s voice would only grow stronger if they were close by.

Those who had a romantic version of the bond would also see their soulmate’s silhouette in the form of leaves, scattering into the air if you managed to see it. 

However, only the people with the bond were able to see and hear their soulmate.

It was also because of this that people called it the Wind Bond; many only faintly heard the voice of their soulmate and almost never got to ingrain the silhouette of their soulmate, causing them to lose all hope in ever seeing their soulmate.

It was hard to catch, hard to believe, just like the wind.

As Damian tapped in pencil against the table, the noise returned, Damian dropping his pencil to cradle his head.

You're not a voice, you're just a ringing in my ear.

With shaky hands, Damian reached for the headphones laying on his desk.

Damian paired them to his phone and put music to drown the noise, his shoulders relaxing when he could no longer hear it.

I'm sorry, secret siren, but I'm blocking out your calls.

Damian looked at what he had written, huffing at the paper. 

Why would he ever believe in this?

Soulmates?

Damian ripped the paper and tossed them into his metal trash can. Seeing that all of the pieces were inside, Damian opened his desk drawer, rummaging through it until his hand found a small rectangular-like item. 

Flicking the lighter, Damian took the final piece of his ‘research’ and lit it on fire, tossing it in with the rest, watching as smoke rose from the can.

Soulmates…

Why would he ever think he had one?

Even if he did have one, he shouldn’t care.

They were unnecessary, a hindrance to him…

At least his mother and grandfather told him. 

As he watched the last ember die, Damian went back to studying, the ringing fading from his mind.

------

Damian’s eyes widened as his eyes caught the thing behind him. 

He had just gotten past the manor’s gates when he heard someone call out to him.

Turning, Damian found a girl made of softly glowing bluebell leaves.

He watched as they soon scattered into the air, Damian taking a step forward before going into a sprint.

He had the Wind Bond. And the romantic type at that.

Romance…

Love…

Chasing…

Damian quickly came to a stop, watching as the leaves finally left his view.

I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you

Damian didn’t know for how long he was standing at where he was, but when he was done accepting what had happened to him, he let out a long deep sigh.

A soulmate, huh?

He would just have to try his best to ignore it.

------

Damian dug his nails into his hands, the noise coming back inside his head, and at the worst possible time.

What do you want? 

He was busy trying to concentrate on the math problem in front of him, the clock ticking as his professor reminded the class of the time constraint.

“There’s ten minutes left!”

Are you here to distract me so I make a big mistake?

No

Damian wanted to scoff at the answer, racking everything he learned to solve the integration before him. It was the only thing left, but for some reason he just couldn’t seem to figure it out.

Just breath.

He did.

Recheck your fourth to last step. That’s where-

“Five minutes!”

Damian quickly rescanned his work for the twentieth time, finally noticing where he had gone wrong. Reworking that step, Damian began to internally grin as he confidently finished the rest, smiling when he placed his pencil down and the professor called time.

Damian hated to admit it, but was glad to be able to hear her voice clearly this time around.

The bell rang, signaling the start of the next class, Damian quickly walking out to get to it.

Thank you. 

------

“-I simply did what I had to do!” Damian yelled, a snarl present on his face.

“You endangered the civilians inside the building!” Dick yelled, throwing a glare at Bruce. “And you allowed him to-”

“It was necessary for the mission.” Bruce simply stated, walking out the cave, leaving Dick with his feelings.

“I thought you had changed B!” Dick yelled, grabbing his coat. “Seems like you haven’t.”

Damian watched as Dick left, wanting to call him back, but knew that he shouldn’t. Instead, he went off to his own room, heading straight to the shower to get rid of the sweat that made his shirt cling to his body as if it were a second skin.

As he stood under the steaming hot water, Damian pondered to himself.

While he always held his father in high regards, Damian struggled to follow his standards, finding himself to lean more towards Dick’s. Who was right? Who did he have to follow? To please? Who’s standard should he even begin to follow?

Neither.

But he had to.

But don’t you already have your own set?

He did.

Then follow it.

Damian pursed his lips, turning off the water.

Why should he follow his own instead of one laid out before him?

Because if you try to meet the standards someone placed for you, you’re going to burn out quicker. You will start to lose yourself. Believe me. I’ve been there and hated it. Every. Second. 

Damian kept wondering about the words the voice told him, catching the resentment behind them. 

Despite having lived under the same roof as his father and older brother for seven years, Damian could still measure the tension between themselves. The air was suffocating, made his breathing heavy and felt off.

Or are you someone out there who's a little bit like me?

They did mention having to choose a decision and regretting it.

They had been through it…

Was it when he told them to take the ring from the other person she was fighting with?

If so, were they once like him? Did they once have these unwanted thoughts? Thoughts of fleeing?

Who knows deep down I'm not where I'm meant to be?

Damian shook his head, throwing himself onto his bed, Titus laying beside him. 

As he laid in bed, Damian closed his eyes, replaying the day he stopped chasing the bluebell leaves.

Damian found himself reaching towards the ceiling, grabbing one of the leaves. He watched as the bluebell turned red before it slipped out of his hand.

Damian quickly chased after it, stopping as he reached the edge of the manor’s garden, watching as the red leaf turned bluebell once more and disappeared into the distance.

His hand reached out in an attempt to grab it again, despite knowing it was futile. 

Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go 

Into the unknown

------

Are you out there?

“-you alright Bugaboo?” Ladybug blinked as she registered what Chat had said, finally facing him after scanning their surroundings. “Is there something-”

“You didn’t hear that?” 

“Hear what?” Chat asked, tilting his head, his ear twitching in anticipation.

Marinette looked to her side once again, wondering what the hell was happening to her.

Migraine? No, definitely not. 

“Do you really-” Ladybug was about to ask, only to get interrupted by Chat.

“Seems like you can do it with a day off.” Chat said with a grin, twirling his baton. “You know, maybe a date at-”

Marinette zoned out Chat’s voice, wondering what was going on. She swore she had heard someone call out to her, a smooth voice that sent chills down her spine. But despite that, she felt curiosity behind that whisper.

“-and who knows? We might find out that we’re actually-”

“Soulmate.”

“You mean soulmates.” Chat tried to correct, watching as Ladybug’s face pale. “Bugaboo. What-”

“My soulmate bond.” She whispered, feeling a lump in her throat. “I got my soulmate b-”

“Does that mean-!”

“No.” Ladybug said, sternly looking at Chat. “We’re not soulmates.”

“How are yo-”

“When I asked if you heard that, you said no.” 

“And what does that-”

“My soulmate bond has to do with hearing each other’s voices. Our thoughts.” Ladybug watched as Chat’s smile dropped, his eyes turning dull. “You’re not my- Chaton!” Marinette yelled out as Chat ran away from her, using his baton to launch himself to who knows where.

Sighing, Marinette called off her transformation, Tikki flying up to Marinette’s cheek. “Why now? Why now of all times?”

“I wish I had the answer to that Marinette, but even we have no knowledge on how soulmate bonds are assigned and given. If we did-”

“I always wanted a soulmate bond.” Marinette confessed, Tikki giving her a small smile. “But to think I would get one right now, with Hawkmoth-”

“It’s going to be alright Marinette.” Tikki assured, snuggling closer. “It’s going to be alright, you’ll see.”

“I hope you’re right Tikki. I really hope you are right.” Marinette said, embracing Tikki in her own way.

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Do you know me?

Or rather do you remember me?

Marinette had not heard back from her soulmate in a solid month, wondering what was going on. 

Was it just a fluke?

“I don’t think so.” Tikki said, munching on a cookie. “While we may not know everything about soulmate bonding, we do know some basic principles. Using those, I’m pretty sure you have a soulmate bond. It’s just taking a while to settle into your life. Well, lives.”

Marinette sighed, placing her head on her desk, attempting to reconnect with her soulmate for the umpteenth time.

Months continued to pass, Marinette now dealing with a tantrum-throwing Chat and an unresponsive soulmate.

Yes, the soulmate bonding was supposed to be the least of her worries, but how can Marinette ignore the fact that she hadn’t heard from them in three months?

In attempts to push it to the back of her mind, Marinette focused on retrieving the cat miraculous from Chat. 

Another month passed when a miracle occured. 

Marinette was sick and tired of playing cat and mouse with Chat, promising herself to try this one last time before she officially gave up on taking back the cat miraculous. 

They were once more fighting an appearance changing akuma, the akuma changing the appearance of any person they touched, Marinette doing everything in her power to avoid being touched. What should she do? She didn’t want to be a useless fish nor-

Take it when he gets hit by his opponent. 

Marinette stiffed at those words, feeling as if he knew then from experience himself. 

Marinette didn’t get a response, but stuck with their advice, watching for her opportunity to rise. 

An hour later, there it was. 

As she flung him out of harm’s way, she slipped the ring off of him, her eyes closed as she renounced his ownership of the ring and of Plagg. 

A single tear slipped as he heard him scream at her. As he begged her to reconsider. 

Ladybug simply ignored the growing guilt in her chest, but knew it was for the best. 

With a final tug at her yo-yo, Ladybug took down the akuma and prepared herself to be the hero Paris truly needed. 

Back at home, Marinette hugged her pillow, crying her heart out as she started to doubt her decision from earlier that day.

Sorry.

———

A month had passed since that day, Marinette slumping into her bed as she de transformed. Plagg and Tikki quickly checked on their Guardian before going off to replenish their own energy. 

With a heavy sigh, Marinette threw her arm over her forehead, feeling the tension in it. 

Hawkmoth was still out there, searching for her, using all her allies against her. All but two. 

Rena Rouge has the first out. 

Then Carapace. 

Lady Guêpe was forced to resign. 

Then Chat Noir. 

Ryuuko and Viperion remained, but at what cost?

But she couldn’t keep burdening them with her duties, with her life. 

The trio were the only ones to protect Paris, although it was majorly Lady Chat in the scene.

Announcing to Paris that Chat was no longer going to aid with the defeat of Hawkmoth ended up turning for the worst, half of Paris wondering why Ladybug would ever do such a thing. 

Why would she ever let Chat go when she needed him the most?

She ignored them, knowing it was for the greater good. She knew that what she did was necessary. 

She wasn’t going to allow Chat to continue to corrupt Plagg, even Viperion and Ryuuko agreed with her. 

And yes, she did always meet up with them...in their slightly hidden civilian forms. 

While the previous guardian told her the importance of keeping their identities, Marinette’s morality began to waver. 

If they wanted any chance of defeating Hawkmoth, they needed more trust with each other. 

Yes, they can potentially leak out each other’s identities if akumatized, but she was willing to risk it. 

So with Ryuuko and Viperion’s help, Ladybug sought a way to take down the enemy, once and for all. 

Marinette’s thoughts soon became muddled, equations blurring into her mind. 

She sat there, cradling her mind as math flooded her head, a concerned Tikki rushing to her. 

They are rushing it. 

They had to use substitution there, not the answer they got in the first part. 

What do you want?

Are you here to distract me?

No.

Just breath.

Recheck your fourth to last step. That’s where-

The voice faded, becoming a soothing hum. Mari felt as her shoulders relaxed, only then noticing she had then square and tense. 

She decided to sit up, eyeing her sketchbook. 

When was the last time she opened it? 

Just as she turned to a clean page, Marinette started to sketch, writing the word red at the side. 

That’s when she heard her soulmate say something she thought they were never going to say to her. 

Thank you. 

Giddiness filled her imagination, Marinette got to designing, Plagg and Tikki smiling as they watched her emerge herself into her work. 

———

Marinette placed a final pin into her alterations when her head began to angrily hum.

Who’s standard should I follow?

Marinette wondered what was going on with her soulmate that made them question and doubt the morality standards around them. But if she went off experience…

Neither. 

But I have to choose a side.

Don’t you have your own set of morals? Principles?

I do.

Then follow them.

Why can’t I just choose one of the ones laid before me?

Because if you keep trying to choose one of them, you’re going to burn out. You’re going to lose yourself.  And you’ll hate it. Every. Second. That passes.

Marinette began to panic when she didn’t hear anything said back, looking at Tikki for some type of explanation. 

Tikki simply looked at her with sad eyes while Plagg purred against Marinette’s cheek, Marinette deflating upon not getting an answer to her situation. 

———

Can you feel me?

The voice asked, Damian debating on whether to answer it. 

Because, no. He couldn’t feel them, but certainly did feel their emotions 

He had been for the past half year. 

And he knew that whoever they were, they were either a hero or vigilante. 

He was able to clearly feel their emotions and hear their thoughts when they finally defeated someone called Hawkmoth. 

He had tried to ask them who it was, but they never responded, quickly changing the subject. 

Mostly about their upcoming schedule. 

Something about having to make a dress for some event they were invited to. 

He remembers telling them about him being in the same boat, having to get his measurements taken for a new suit for the gala. 

Can you show me?

Their bond only allowed them to hear each other.

And our silhouettes. They added. 

“Master Damian, there you are.” Alfred spoke, Damian looking over at his grandfather (not that he would ever say it out loud). 

“Is this about the gala? I presume Father wants me to do something for him.”

“More like remind you of how-“

“I won’t let some random harlots try to seduce me.” Damian stated firmly, picking up Alfred the cat. “They can try, but I will not waver.” 

Alfred let a smile out, giving a few words for thought before leaving. 

Damian sighed, going back to his conversation. Or at least attempted. 

He tried to say something to his soulmate, but never got a response…

Not even as he tried to talk to her for the next few weeks.

———

Marinette stood by the punch bowl, watching as everyone around her talked like old time friends, chatting away into the night. 

She rubbed her hands against her bare arms, wondering why someone like her was even at the Wayne Gala. 

Oh right. She was personally invited because of her other identity: M. 

M - the mysterious designer that had taken the fashion world upside down with their presence and style. 

Marinette sighed, taking her glass of champagne and walking towards the balcony, not a single set of eyes following her crystal embedded red dress that stood out like a sore thumb.

Leaning against the stone railing, Marinette huffed, twirling the glass between her fingers, watching as the champagne sizzled as it swirled. 

Finding herself bored, Marinette hummed to herself, wishing she was still able to talk to her soulmate.

Ever since that night a few weeks ago, she hadn’t been able to contact them, even Tikki growing worried as to why it was happening.

Marinette missed talking to them, even if their relationship did start on the wrong foot.

She missed them...dearly.

As Marinette continued to hum to herself, something caught her attention; a single emerald glowing leaf flew into her line of sight, her breath hitching. 

It continued to fly away, into the hall in which the gala was taking place. 

Where are you going? Don't leave me alone

Without a second thought, Marinette quickly followed it, not caring about the stares she was gathering as she pushed her way through the crowds. 

She stumbled a bit as she saw the butterfly take a corner, almost losing it in the process. 

How do I follow you

Into the unknown

Marinette quickly called out Kaalki, giving out an order to bring Mullo to her. 

As soon as she had made it out into the open, Mullo quickly joined Marinette into the chase, multiplying to help with the search. 

Marinette’s heart beat louder and stronger as she watched the butterfly begin to pulse brighter than ever before, a smile growing unbeknownst to Mari. 

The joy died done when the butterfly stopped going, hovering in the middle of the garden which Mari found herself at. 

Finally having a moment to breath, Marinette looked around herself, hedges and rows of flora surrounded her, shades of camellias encircling her. In the distance, she noticed some blue salvias, the tips peeking from under bushes.

Why was she brought here?

Here of all places?

Her thoughts were broken when she heard a pair of shoes click their way towards her, Marinette watching as the shadowed figure became another person. 

When their eyes met, a group of leaves burst around them, the soft bluebell mingled with the emerald ones, dancing around each other. 

“So you’re my soulmate.” He started, Marinette wondering how he wasn’t breaking a sweat in the layers of formal attire. She also couldn’t help but notice that his suit had kevlar integrated. 

“I must be if the leaves guided us to one another.” Marinette responded, wondering what to do next. 

The two looked at each other, wondering who was going to take the next step when the man broke into a smile. 

“Damian. My name's Damian Wayne.”

“Marinette.” She followed. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m glad I found you, Damian.”

She really was. 

She was happy to have followed the wind bond into the unknown. 

Epilogue/Bonus:

Dick watched as Damian ran through the crowds in the gala. 

“Damian! Where-“

“Somewhere!” Damian yelled, peaking Dick’s curiosity. 

Dick waited until he saw him leave the hall before tailing him, having to pick up the pace when he almost lost sight of the boy a few times. 

Dick wondered where exactly Damian was running off to, worry growing stronger when they had left the manor and were running into the garden. 

He quickly tumbled into a hedge when he watched Damian slow down, following his gaze. 

There, a few meters away, was a small stature girl with the most captivating red dress. The off-shoulder dress perfected fitted the girl’s small frame, Dick watching with the utmost glee as he saw Damian approach the girl. 

Just as the two were three feet apart, Dick watched as a kaleidoscope of butterflies burst around them, leaving Dick starstruck. 

He’d always heard of the wind bond, some of his friends telling him they had it. But this was the first time he’s ever seen it, let alone seen actual soulmates-

Soulmates…

HIS BROTHER HAD A SOULMATE AND NEVER TOLD HIM?!

Filled with hurt, Dick curled into a ball and stayed there in shock. 

“Grayson. How long do you plan on staying there?” 

Dick raised his head, watching how Damian attempted to keep a smile in check while his soulmate was wrapped around his arm. “Come on, the gala’s about to end. I need to make an announcement as it does.”

It took a quick second for Dick to figure out what he had meant by that. 

“Damian! Don’t you dare-“

“Watch me.” Damian said with a grin, watching as the girl looked at Dick in confusion as Damian led her back inside. 

Dick, however, didn't make it in time to warn their father, watching as Damian announced to the world about his soulmate… right as his own father was going to propose to Selina on live. 

“That idiot.” Dick muttered, a smile still on his face as he watched Damian glow alongside his newfound love.