#the fact that a soldier says he’s got a club broke me guys

[lgbtqforeverything]

changes to the troy saga and the cyclops saga that i noticed immediately and am losing my mind over

the new reverb and deepness when zeus sings in the horse and the infant

the new sound of the lotus eaters

THE LOTUS EATERS SAY NOM NOM NOM

AND SCARY CAVE

athena maintaining her clear tune the first time her and odysseus sing “warrior of the mind” together and then joining odysseus in embellishing it the second time

polyphemus sounding deeper and having more reverb

a soldier’s the one who say “he’s got a club”

the “captains” at the beginning of survive

the new sound for the “who hurts you”s

[wheredafandomat]

Match📱

Loki x female reader

Maybe I took some edibles and then randomly decided to write this, who knows? 😁

Part 2

Single was a criminal understatement for your current relationship status. Being single usually meant dating on and off, maybe a few one night stands and a couple of cheeky sexts but you were doing nothing of the sort. The Saturday nights you’d usually spend at the club or at a guys house was traded in with nights in on the sofa with your cat after you broke up with your ex Chris over a year ago. It was a memory you wanted to forget but standing in the rain and crying as you begged for him to take you back was etched into your mind especially considering the fact that a car then drove past you, splashing you with the dirty water from a puddle resembling a river. It did nothing to progress your relationship with Chris. He didn’t take you back, in fact what he did was worse.

“Chris please. I LOVE YOU.” You cried, feeling the stinging of mascara spilling into your eyes.

“Y/N, go home.” He sighed.

“Please Chris I— FUCKKK, GOSH ARE YOU BLIND OR JUST A PRICK!” You yelled, at a speeding car that splashed you.

Seeing you completely drenched, Chris quickly came outside and welcomed you in as he wrapped you in a towel. He sat you down on his couch as he made you a cup of tea. Handing it to you, you smiled up at him offering him a warm smile.

“Y/N I—” he began, looking down at you.

“Me first. I love you so much a-and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you m—”

“I’m seeing someone else.” He interrupted, causing you to drop the tea on top of the carpeted floor.

“Ah y/n, the carpet doesn’t take well to stains.” He scolded, quickly picking up the tea.

“You bastard!” You yelled, dragging the mug out of his hand and throwing it against the wall causing it to shatter. “You fucking bastard.” You repeated before storming out of Chris’s house. Needless to say, you didn’t speak to Chris ever again. Worried you’d run into him, you traded your life in London for a job in New York working for none other than Pepper Potts

That painfully embarrassing memory is what brought you here, in your own office alongside the Avengers in Stark Tower. You started off as an intern however graduated to become Peppers assistant which granted you your own office. Breaking up with Chris, which is what you told everyone you did, lead you to what felt like your destiny. You lived amongst earths mightiest hero’s which also meant that you didn’t have to worry about spiders in your office, they always dealt with them for you. It also meant that you were friends with earths mightiest hero’s which allowed you to trade their usual professional names for more informal ones.

You were fine with being single. Single meant that you’d attend galas with a strong, sexy super soldier on each arm, two men who didn’t expect sex at the end of the night. Single was great up until people began asking questions.

It started off with light teasing. Natasha would sometimes buy you skimpy lingerie whenever she’d go shopping so you’d have “something hot to wear to bed” but then teasing turned into “when are we gonna meet the lucky guy?” There was no guy. There was never a guy. It was a lie you told when you had apparently come into work looking especially well rested which lead to everyone believing you were having sex with a cute guy when it was in fact your favourite cute toy and nsfw audios on YouTube. You didn’t want to admit how extremely single you were so you ran with it. That’s what got you in your current predicament. You had to find someone to date.

Biting your lip, you filled in all you details on the dating website you conveniently had an pop up ad about on YouTube. It was like they knew you were single.

“Interests” you sighed “not exactly like I can simply write men” you spoke allowed “or how I sometimes like it rough.” Taking a sip of your tea, you began to write a paragraph about how you enjoyed reading as well as poetry. Your ideal date in New York was going to your favourite Chinese restaurant for a fancy dinner and maybe going for a walk afterwards in Central Park. There was nothing you loved more than stargazing, you had loved it since childhood. You added the picture of yourself from your lanyard onto the sight before hitting the ‘match me’ button.

The following morning you woke up and saw notifications on your phone from the app. After showering and getting ready for work, you poured yourself some cereal as well as some dry food for Kat, your four legged companion. Looking at your phone, you decided to open the app. First of all, you grinned seeing the amount of matches you had, a grin that quickly fell when you scrolled through the messages you had received.

“Got any sexy pics ;p?”

“I’m looking for a quick hit and quit”

You spat out your cereal seeing a dick pic.

“Argh, are all men this gross.” You grimaced, putting your phone down before putting your shoes on and heading in for work.

As always, you greeted the clerk at the reception before heading into the elevator. On your way, you walked past a few of the team who you exchanged hellos with before reaching your office. Sitting down, you logged onto the computer before scrolling through your emails until there was a knock at the door.

“Hello trouble, what can I do for you?” You greeted Loki as he walked in.

“Good morning y/n, I was wondering whether you’d be able to do me a favour.” He asked politely, sitting in the chair opposite yours.

“Absolutely.” You beamed, smile falling when he remained silent still looking at you “what is it?”

“I was told there was a way I’d be able to get books delivered without actually going to the library.” He started.

“I thought you loved the library?” You interrupted.

“No I do it’s just I don’t like the attention I receive whenever I go.” He chuckled nervously, looking down.

“Yes I can get some books delivered here for you, what would you like?”

“Um— wuthering heights please.” He replied “and Jane Eyre.” He added.

“Nice.” You smiled to yourself, ordering them.

“You have heard of these books?” Loki delved.

“Heard of them? They’re two of my favourites.” You grinned.

“Perhaps we can discuss them once I’m finished.” He smiled curtly, standing up to exit “thank you y/n.”

You absently saluted him him in acknowledgement, still focused on the computer. His gaze lingered on you for a few moments until he left. Once you were certain he was out of sight, you could no longer fight the smile that threatened to spread across your face. You’d never admit it but you did have a small crush on Loki. You never acted on it as you barely knew him, save the few conversations you’d have. Loki was quite reserved and so you respected that, observing him from afar and revelling in small moments like these when he’d be in your office. The things you’d do to him in this room. You’d start by—

“Y/N, NO!.” You whispered to yourself, snapping out of your thoughts as you ordered Lokis books.

As Loki headed back towards his room, he couldn’t help but feel giddy after seeing you. He had grown to really like you in your time knowing one another. He was devastated after finding out you were in a relationship. Cursing himself, he wished he had courted you earlier, maybe you’d have ended up with him as opposed to whoever the lucky man was. Until you were once again single, something Loki found himself wishing for almost daily, he’d have to settle for liking you from afar.

After a day of training as well as going on a short mission, Loki found himself once again in his room, alone. He felt ridiculous for craving something as simple as affection but he did. Not knowing any other way to feel intimacy, Loki turned to online dating sights to meet women. At first he felt strange. Bucky had recommended it to him one drunken night saying that there were women who were looking for a good time as opposed to being in a full blown relationship. It sounded perfect to Loki. Stress free casual sex which allowed him to explore his more sensual side. Most meetings would often resolve in intercourse where Loki was able to feel the loving arms of a woman welcoming him inside of her, wrapping her arms around him. Regardless of how faux the lovemaking was, it sufficed.

Loki showered before settling into bed where he picked up his phone and began scrolling through the newest dating sight he had joined. Wanting to quickly get off, Loki decided to entertain one of the women who had previously messaged him with some raunchy pictures. He slipped his hand under the band of his briefs as he spoke to her. A few naughty voice notes and some provocative pictures later, Loki was desperately stroking himself to completion. His mind drifted onto you as he came. He imagined filling you up, how you’d writhe underneath him, how it would sound to have you moaning in his ear. He hated how he thought about you in the comfort of his sanctuary but there was something about you that left him pining for you.

Loki quickly ended the chat after his climax, saying his goodbyes to the lady before closing the chat window only to be left gasping when your picture popped up onto his screen as a match for him. He cautiously clicked the profile, not wanting to accidentally press anything that could alert you that he was on your profile. He thought it must have been fake considering you were apparently in a relationship but as he read the information about you, he realised it wasn’t.

I love reading. Jane Eyre is my favourite classic but I read all genres. I enjoy stargazing and long walks.

He skimmed through your profile, simpering at the picture of you. He remembered the day the picture was taken. He was walking past Peppers office where she was snapping a picture of you for your lanyard. He stood outside, allowing you your privacy until he heard the sweet sound of you giggling. Peaking in, he watched as you nervously looked into the camera letting a small smile grace your lips. He thought you were beautiful. Allowing that picture to linger in his mind, Loki fell asleep.

A/N: This will probably be three parts, ignore my bad writing I haven’t reread this I just had a brainwave and had to write this 😂

Tags:

@sharris8

@immersed-in-mischief

@mischief2sarawr

@llaufeysondggerxx

[babygirl-diaz]

You're Cute Enough to Fuck With Me Tonight (AU)

Going to a club when you’re in your late 30s is not the best way to spend your Saturday nights, but Steve and Natasha insisted, so Sam ended up giving in to the peer pressure. Natasha got them to bypass the queue outside because she apparently knew the owner. The nightclub turned out different from what Sam was expecting. It was an elite club with its own fancy VIP lounge. Natasha got them a VIP booth and the three of them did whiskey shots to celebrate the successful first season of their tv show.

They were talking and laughing and well into their third beer when Natasha said, “Sam, don’t look now, but cokehead over there is eating you up with his eyes.”

“Huh?” Sam asked, and turned around to see who she was talking about when he found a white dude with short dark hair and a face full of facial hair, looking at Sam like he was starving and Sam was a buffet. There was a line of cocaine in front of the guy and he leaned down to snort it before coming up to wave at Sam. Sam ignored him.

“I tell him not to look and what does he do… he looks,” Natasha said sarcastically. “The guy’s hot, though. I think you should go for it.” She leaned back against Steve, who absently stroked her arm.

“The guy looks like trouble to me,” Steve pointed out. “I think you should stay away.”

“Wow, thanks, Dad,” Sam huffed.

“I love this song!” Natasha announced when the strings of a familiar song played. Before Sam could say anything, he was being pulled onto the dance floor by his friends despite his protests. “Call Me By Your Name, really?” Sam asks

“What? It’s a nice song!” Steve said, almost offended.

“You’re so whipped!” Sam laughed and slapped him on the back.

He moved his hips and ass along with the music and let out a frustrated groan when Natasha and Steve started grinding up against each other and got lost in one another. Sam knew this would happen. He’d end up as the third wheel and that’s why he wasn’t keen on coming tonight.

Sam lets out a surprised sound when he felt hands on his waist. Whoever had their hands on him spun him around, and Sam immediately came face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes, rimmed red. It was that cokehead from earlier. Sam wanted to pull away but got hypnotized by the look the guy was giving him.

The guy leaned in close to Sam’s ear and sang completely out of tune. “Romantic talkin'? You don't even have to try. You're cute enough to fuck with me tonight.” His voice was rough and despite the bad singing, it ran a shiver down Sam’s spine.

“I’m Bucky,” the guy introduced himself and pulled Sam even closer to move their hips together. “And you’re hot.” His voice was slightly slurred.

“Well, lucky for me, my name is Sam and not Hot.” Sam wrapped his arms around the guy’s neck and pressed their chests together.

“Sam…” Bucky said as if testing out his name. “Beautiful name for a beautiful guy.”

“You’re just saying that to get into my pants,” Sam smirked.

“Is it working?” Bucky pouted

“Nah, you gotta try harder.”

“God, you’re so hot,” Bucky said into Sam’s ear and took his earlobe between his teeth and pulled on it, making Sam moan. “I want you so bad,” he continued to say and squeezed Sam’s ass. Maybe the alcohol made him do it, but Sam surged forward and kissed him. He darted out his tongue and licked Bucky’s upper lip before taking it between his own lips. He then tilted his head to the side and kissed the edge of Bucky’s lips. Bucky opened his mouth and Sam’s tongue slid inside and he let himself explore Bucky’s mouth. The kiss got intense and heated. Sam felt Bucky’s cock press against his and he moaned into Bucky’s mouth, and Bucky swallowed up the sound. The song ended and they pull apart but stay close. “Let’s get out of here,” Sam said over the next song.

“Okay,” said Bucky and took Sam’s hand, leading him out of the club. But when they got outside, a small group gathered around them and asked Sam for autographs and photos. Sam felt himself strain in his jeans and he hoped no one noticed it as he took photos and signed autographs. Once the crowd dispersed, Sam found Bucky giving him a curious look. “You some kinda big shot?” He asked.

“I’m an actor,” Sam replied. “Ever heard of the show Captain America and the Winter Soldier? I’m the Captain America part of it. My friend Steve is the Winter Soldier.”

“I don’t watch tv. Don’t get the time,” Bucky shrugged. “But I get to fuck someone famous. That’s one thing off my bucket list.”

“So that’s why you wanna fuck me?” Sam asked faking offense. “And hey, who said you get to fuck me?”

Bucky got closer to Sam and kissed him again. “Oh, you’re so gonna let me fuck you, doll.” The way Bucky says doll makes Sam shiver and bite his lips.

“You wanna come back to my place?” Sam asked.

“Nah, I can’t wait that long but I know just the place.”

Bucky took Sam’s hand and led him towards the parking garage. Sam raised an eyebrow when they got to Bucky’s vehicle. “You some kinda soccer mom?” He asked looking at the Jeep SUV.

“It’s nondescript. Works well for my line of work,” Bucky shrugged. “Besides, you’re gonna thank me in a bit.”

“Your line of work? Fuck, you’re not a stay-at-home dad, are you? I don’t do married men.”

Bucky threw his head back and laughed as he got into the SUV. Sam followed him. “I am not a stay-at-home dad or married,” Bucky replied.

Bucky was on him, kissing him, the second they got in.

Sam pulled away briefly to ask, “What do you do then?”

Bucky looked him right in the eyes. The red rim around his eyes was gone and his eyes turned dark as he replied. “I’m an assassin. I was at the club to kill one of my targets.”

Sam blinked at him before he burst out laughing. “Wow, I’m the actor, but you’re the one with the vivid imagination.”

A smirked twitched along Bucky’s lips. “What can I say? I have a boring ass job. So I’m just trying to make myself sound interesting.”

“So what do you actually do?” Sam asked. “No. Wait. Lemme guess.”

“Be my guest.”

Sam’s eyes trailed down Bucky’s body. “You’re an investment banker.”

Bucky’s eyebrow shot up at that. “So damn close… I’m a stockbroker. How did you--”

“I’m just that good.” Sam winked at him. But then a smile broke across his face and he shook his head. “I saw you with those Wall Street folks earlier. Wasn’t that hard to figure out what you did for a living.”

Bucky leaned in close and kissed Sam once again. “So smart,” he said in between the kisses. “Just the way I like ‘em. Get in the backseat.”

Sam didn’t need to be told twice. He made his way onto the backseat and took off his clothes. He tossed them onto the front seat and felt his cheeks heat when he noticed the way Bucky was looking at him. Bucky’s blue eyes dilated, and he licked his lips while once again staring at Sam like he was a buffet. Bucky pulled out a condom and single-use lube from his wallet and Sam raised an eyebrow at him. “You were waiting to get lucky tonight, weren’t you?”

“I just like being prepared,” Bucky replied as he got into the backseat as well. He took off his own clothes and threw them onto the driver’s seat and pulled Sam closer to ravish his lips.

Bucky was right. Sam was thankful for the fact that the vehicle was an SUV. They had enough space to fuck in the back.

When they finished, it left Sam breathless and sore, but in a good way. Bucky drove him home, and the two cuddled up naked on Sam’s bed.

“Didn’t think you’d be a cuddler…” Sam commented.

“Oh, I love to cuddle,” Bucky replied, and tightened his grip around Sam’s middle.

Sam made his head more comfortable on Bucky’s chest and kissed his pecs. “You’re gorgeous, you know that.”

“So I’ve been told,” Bucky chuckled.

Sam frowned at that. “How many guys do you pick up at the club?”

“Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?” Bucky teased and kissed the top of Sam’s head. “If it’s any consolation, you’re the best I’ve ever had.”

“You’re just saying that cause I let you fuck me,” Sam huffed.

Bucky got on top of Sam and pressed their lips together again. “Nope, I’m only saying that so that you’d let me fuck you again.” His hand moved down on the sheets and groped Sam’s ass, making him gasp.

“You asshole,” Sam said, with no heat behind his words. “Lube and condoms are in the side drawer.”

“How many guys do you bring around here?” Bucky asked, narrowing his eyes.

Sam smirked at that. “If it’s any consolation, you’re the best I’ve ever had.”

***

Sam woke up the next morning to a cold and lonely bed. Bucky had snuck out during the night without even saying goodbye. That made Sam hurt a little. Just a little. Huffing, Sam threw the sheets over himself and fell back asleep. He didn’t know how long he slept, but the ringing of his doorbell woke him up. Sam wanted to ignore it and go back to sleep, but the person on the other end of the door was relentless.

Groaning, Sam got out of the bed and put on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt before making his way to the door. He threw it open and found Natasha and Steve standing there, looking equally worried.

“Oh thank god,” Steve pushed past Natasha and hugged Sam tightly.

The guy was built like a tank, and Sam struggled in his embrace. “Let me go! You’re crushing me!” Sam complained and pulled away from his friend to catch a breath. “What is wrong with you, man?”

“You disappeared last night! And then this morning there was news that someone at the club died and you wouldn’t answer your phone… we were scared!”

“What?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, your leering cokehead friend, one of his friends OD’d at the club last night.”

“Shit,” Sam hissed.

I’m an assassin. I was at the club to kill one of my targets. Bucky’s words rang in his ears and for a moment, Sam entertained the thought that maybe Bucky wasn’t joking after all. But he shook his head and got rid of the thought as soon as it entered his mind. There was no way Bucky was responsible for some guy overdosing. Sam was being ridiculous.

“Where did you go last night?” Natasha asked, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

“The leering cokehead… I brought him home,” Sam replied.

“What?!” Steve screeched. “Why would you do that?”

Both Natasha and Sam gave him an exasperated look, and he threw his hands up.

“So how was he?” Natasha asked.

“The best I’ve ever had,” Sam replied.

[morlock-holmes]

I was bored and watching first episodes of things on HBOMax and I tried Lovecraft Country and I got so annoyed I turned it off after 20 minutes because every bit of dialog coming out of these people in the early 50s sounded like an Onion AV Club article from the mid-2010s.

Like, there's this scene where the main character and this woman are walking down the road together, and she asks him what he's reading, and he explains that it's one of the John Carter of Mars books, and when he says John Carter was a soldier in the army of West Virginia, this conversation happens:

"Ah, so he fought for slavery."

"Well, he's an ex-soldier of West Virginia-"

"He fought for slavery, you don't get to put an 'ex' in front of that."

Okay, but why are they walking down the road? Well, when the segregated bus broke down, the driver found a white guy with a pickup truck but said white guy was too racist to give the black passengers a ride.

I went back to double-check and neither character has a single line of dialog about that.

It's like, lady, what "ex"? The people around you don't consider the slavery part of the civil war an embarrassment or, like, one small part of a complicated war, they aren't glossing it over or trying to forget it, they're fucking proud of the fact that their ancestors hated you.

Like, this character is so political that she cares whether there's a pretend confederate martian in a book that a lot of adults back then would have found embarrassing to read, but not political enough to tie it to the fucking racist guy who made you carry your suitcase five miles in a ditch on the roadside? This show takes place in the 50s, they're at most five years out from the Montgomery Bus Boycott, this was very much on people's minds.

Like, the characters in the show are surrounded by this really overt, hostile racism but they only comment on the parts that people argue about online in the 2010s while passing over much nastier, more immediately relevant things in utter silence.

I don't know, maybe this is an intentional thing, I've read that it gets meta eventually, but it really, really really annoyed me.

I haven't been as immediately annoyed by a TV show since trying to watch the first episode of Breaking Bad. Both shows hit one theme really really hard, but only in the most easily-digestible middlebrow way possible, and I just got this point of, "Yes I get it, Walt feels imasculated by society, Lovecraft wrote some really racist shit can we fucking move along here?"

[angstsfordays]

Beautiful Pain (6)

Chapter Six- Growing Pains

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced! Reader

Summary: Post-Blip, you started to feel lost when most of the Avengers team are gone. Coping with your loss, you still find hope in the connection with your remaining friends. However, it is not easy as everyone is trying to figure their lives after the Blip.

Having a long history with Bucky ever since you both saved each other from Hydra, you were still glad you had Bucky after all this time. However, as you try to give Bucky space to find himself after being pardoned for his past, you start to wonder if you should ever cross the line of friendship before it’s too late.

That thought might have to be put on hold though, when you, Sam and Bucky find yourselves having to deal with threats that continue to rise in a post-Blip world.

Chapter synopsis: Arriving in Latvia, you find your group closing into Karli’s group. You found yourself unexpectedly in upsetting exchanges with Bucky, making you take two steps back from the progress you two had since Madripoor.

Warnings: Angst as I like it! Bucky being a dense block of wood.

Word count: 4k

Notes: It’s insane the number of followers I have gained after starting this series. I am very humbled to know that you guys take interest in my work! Appreciate all the likes and reblogs! 🙏🏼

Hope y’all would enjoy this chapter! Things cannot be forever smooth sailing and we see a roadblock to Bucky and reader’s progress. I would love to know your feedback on the story so leave a comment if you can! 🥰

The tag list is still open! Let me know if you want to join with a message or comment in the chapters!

Previous: Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five

Next: Chapter Seven

-------------------------//---------------------------

Six years ago

The embers from the fire glowed warmly in front of you, a finger daringly reached out to touch the flames. The energy flames emitted from the tip of your finger and blended into the fire.

Turning your head back to Bucky and Ayo, you saw how Bucky was anxious and had a doubtful expression on his face. It had been a week since the programming has been removed from his system.

While he was still reassured that the worst was over, he had a lot of reservations. Having you by his side was the only source of comfort that he could through these hard times.

“I won’t let you hurt anyone,” Ayo spoke to relieved Bucky of his concerns. You flashed an encouraging smile back to him and Bucky nodded at Ayo for her to start.

As Ayo started saying the code words, you could see Bucky’s entire body tensing up as if he wanted to resist the possibility of being turned. Holding in your breath at the entire situation, you clasped your hands together in prayer, wishing that things would turn out well.

Every time each word was said, it built up hope and anxiety at the same time. You could see the dread, regret and guilt all from his eyes alone as Bucky stared intensely at the burning fire. It seemed his mind was heavy on a lot of memories and recollections that seemed to eat him away.

You wanted to take a step forward but Ayo shook her head, silently asking you to stay put.

As the number of codewords was closing into zero, your anticipation grew at how Bucky was doing well. However, your heart started breaking when you saw the tears welling up in his eyes.

Once the last code word was spoken, Bucky was sobbing. Seeing this sight, your own tears started to fall down your cheeks as you brought your clasped hands over your heart.

“You are free,” Ayo stated with a pleased smile and she looked over to you to give you a nod. Grinning a full wide smile at her, you looked down to Bucky shaking by the fire. You wondered what was wrong until he removed his clenched fist from his face. It was when he turned to face you that you both mirrored the full-blown smiles on your faces.

-------------------------//---------------------------

Stretching your limbs on the plush couch, your eyes closed wearily from the flight to Latvia. You still couldn’t process the entire series of events that had happened in the past 72 hours and your mind was mentally drained.

Hearing the door open, you lifted your head to finally see Bucky joining everyone in Zemo’s fancy place. Bucky’s eyes turned to yours and the two of you stared at each other silently for what felt like an eternity.

You first broke the stare by blinking and bit your lips in nervousness. Your mind immediately went back to what happened in Sharon’s club and you turned your back to avoid looking at him for the time being.

Bucky was thinking of the same thing and tried his best to maintain a cool façade. Seeing how you turned your back on the sofa, he felt it was best to move on to business with the others first.

“Well, the Wakandans are here. They want Zemo.” Bucky spoke to Sam before looking at an unbothered Zemo who was fresh out of the shower in his robes.

Bucky’s words managed to get you to turn back and sit up at attention.

“It was sweet of you to defend me at least.” You see Zemo looking grateful at Bucky but the super-soldier just rolled his eyes.

“Hey, you shut it. No one’s defending you.” Sam shut Zemo down as he couldn’t believe how thick-skinned the Sokovian man was. “You killed Nagel.”

Zemo tried to defend his stance while Sam definitely wasn’t buying it. You couldn’t say it out loud lest you get a look from Sam but you were glad Zemo did it. Who knows if there would be a day where you would be handed off to Nagel and he got his hands on you to do whatever he wanted?

You shuddered at the thought and as if Zemo knew what was on your mind, you see the Baron turning back to give you a wink and mouthing a ‘welcome’. Your nose scrunched in distaste, not wanting to give the man the satisfaction of him being right.

“Karli bombed a GRC supply depot,” Bucky spoke up again after looking up from his phone. Sam asked for the amount of damage to which Bucky answered that eleven were injured and three were dead.

This was getting serious. Especially when you heard Bucky saying that the Flag Smashers were promising more attacks if their demands were not met. You suddenly felt a renewed sense of responsibility and purpose to help the world once more after the last battle.

Even though you were tired of fighting, you knew that bearing the powers that you had gave you the responsibility to take action for the greater good.

Zemo then remarked that he had the will to follow through with this mission but questioned you and your friends.

“She’s just a kid,” Sam emphasized, showing his empathetic and kind heart who chose to see the good in others first. It reminded you so much of Steve and you smiled at the resemblance.

Zemo didn’t agree with Sam’s opinion and explained how Karli was a supremacist. The very idea of super-soldiers was troubling, how they viewed themselves as invincible and above others. Zemo compared it to the Nazi ideology, how it led to Ultron and the Avengers.

His last point rubbed you the wrong way because you knew your friends were never focused on themselves but rather dedicated time, effort and their lives for the world.

Sam understood that Karli had indeed been radicalised but still argued for a better way to manage the situation, one that he hoped would be peaceful and led to lesser bloodshed.

“I agree with Sam.” You spoke up for the first time. All three men focused on you as you lifted yourself from the sofa and walked towards them. “She’s not doing this for power or money, she’s doing this to help her community and the vulnerable. The least we could do is to try to talk to her first.”

Zemo tilted his head with an annoyed look, seeing how you backed Sam up in this debate.

“Y/N. The desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideals. Anyone with that serum is inherently on that path. She would not stop, in fact, she will escalate unless you kill her.”

You knew that there were part truths in Zemo’s words. You kept quiet and he looked at you pleased that he probably has gotten through you in some sense.

“Or you can kill her first.” With this, Zemo stared straight at you as if he decided to give you this responsibility, knowing that you were the likeliest to overpower Karli when the time comes.

“Maybe you’re wrong, Zemo. The serum never corrupted Steve.” Speaking from behind you, Bucky refuted Zemo’s claims but Zemo seemed unaffected. He even added on that there was no other Steve Rogers. Who were you guys to presume not everyone could get corrupted once they had a taste of power?

Having enough of Zemo, Bucky suggested handing Zemo over to the Wakandans right at this moment and you wanted to agree. You were indebted to them and with their late king’s murderer right in front of you, a sense of guilt washed over you as you must have realized how livid they must be that he was walking free.

Sam then explained how Donya was an influential member of the community and related it to his own story of his TT aka his aunt. When someone who was a pillar in a close-knitted community had passed, people would gather to hold a long ceremony in memory of that person. He presumed that the same would be done for Donya and that’s where you all should lead with.

-------------------------//---------------------------

The four of you decided to venture to the streets to ask for information on Donya. As Zemo and Sam went their own ways, Bucky looked over you as if to ask if you wanted to join him.

“Uh, I-uh-I” You started stuttering without realising. Bucky knitted his brows in confusion at your sudden display and he immediately thought of your almost moment. Did you not want it? Did he overstep?

Inwardly groaning, he couldn’t believe he did something so stupid in the heat of the moment. Deciding to do something about it, he spoke up.

“Hey. About earlier-” Glancing up at Bucky, he nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to find the words to say.

“Earlier?” You weren’t sure what he was referring to and returned a quizzical look. Taking a deep breath before exhaling, Bucky tried to continue the conversation.

“I mean back in Madripoor. You know that uh-” Your eyes widened realised at the particular event that he chose to bring up. Your heart quickened at how he was choosing to address it now and you stared at him expectantly. “Yeah?”

“It was stupid, all right? I didn’t think and it was all at the moment, I didn’t mean to went in like that-” Blinking your eyes as if you couldn’t process what Bucky had just said, your heart dropped at the realisation that everything turned out to be one-sided wishful thinking of yours.

In his attempt to piece his words together and play it down, Bucky didn’t realise the disappointment painted on your face and how you stopped the tears that welled up in your eyes from falling.

You felt so stupid. There was no way that Bucky would have taken interest in you. All this time, you were nothing more than friends. You didn’t doubt that that moment in Madripoor with its atmosphere could have clouded both of your senses.

“It’s okay, Buck. I totally understand.” You spoke up to prevent him from continuing to dishearten you.

“I’m cool. We were swept up in the music and the dancing- it’s natural to uh-do that.” You were starting to choke up at your words but forced yourself to swallow down the knot in your throat.

Pulling your lips into a tight grin and forcing yourself to meet Bucky’s eyes, you saw him puzzled and expectant of your next response.

“I am going to go that way.” Mustering up a cheerful voice to make it sound like you were fine, you pointed over to a random street. “We should split up and cover more ground. Bye!” Giving a quick wave to him, you hurriedly turn your back and almost broke into a sprint to get as far away from him as possible.

Bucky knew that from your reaction he must have done something wrong. He just wasn’t sure what he did. Scolding himself for being such an idiot, he looked back to where he last saw you before you turned the corner.

Bucky’s hands and jaw both clenched with tension at how things had been with you just moments ago before allowing himself to be distracted with the mission. He made a mental note that he had to catch you later and have another talk.

-------------------------//---------------------------

You were a woman with a purpose and that was to find out more about Donya Madani. You realised after the first few queries, people here were wary once you mentioned the woman’s name.

Cracking your brain to think of a strategy, your eyes roamed around the neighbourhood for some sort of idea. A familiar back caught your attention and your eyes widened in shock at who you had spotted.

The man back from the fight on the truck was here. That means Karli and her group were here too! You didn’t have the chance to see the man’s face as he had a mask on back then but you recognised him instantly.

He was alone and that gave you a good chance to corner him. You blended in with the crowd while closing in on him with every step. As he turned the corner to an alley, you quickened your steps in fear that you might be losing him.

Once you stepped foot into the alley, you were shocked to see there it was clear and empty. Running your fingers through your hair in a stressful moment, you wondered how he could have disappeared without a trace. Venturing further down the alley, you hoped that you might be able to catch sight of him once more.

Your body reacted a second later than your intuition when you felt someone grabbed you from behind, the hands covering your mouth to prevent you from screaming.

The person switched hands and used their strength to push you against the brick walls. Feeling the wind knocked out of your chest, you took quick hurried breaths to regain yourself and that’s when your eyes looked up to meet the dark eyes of the man that you had been following.

His eyes mirrored yours as they widened at the recognition of who you were and he then spoke. “How did you follow us? Where are the rest of your friends?”

Clawing at his hands to free your face, your hands started glowing a bright orange to get him to release you. The man was taken aback at the display of your powers and decided to make a run for it, knowing that you would have the upper hand eventually.

“No wait, please!” You cried for him to stop. The man’s steps slowed down at your plea and he turned back slightly to face you. You raised your hands up in surrender to show you meant no harm.

You willingly put your hands behind you, clasping them together and showing them to him.

“I just want to talk.” You continued saying. Sensing the man’s hesitation, you then emphasized please desperately. Taking a few steps closer, you still left a gap between the two of you.

“I am Y/N.” Hoping that introducing yourself showed that you were interested to get to know him, you looked on anxiously for his response.

“Dovich.” The man replied curtly before staring back at you. Repeating his name once more in your mouth, you showed off a friendly smile before resuming.

“I know what you must be thinking, but please I do not mean any harm.” You hoped that the sincerity in your voice would get his guard down but seeing Dovich squaring his shoulders to look more intimidating, you knew that he couldn’t trust you yet.

“Lies!” Dovich refuted your claims.

“What happened back there was self-defence!” He must have thought about how you were about to use your powers just moments ago. “Trust me, if I wanted to do any damage, I would be able to but I didn’t.”

Seeing how you were still standing there with your arms behind your back, Dovich’s stance seemed to ease up a little. “What do you want?”

“We- my friends and I want to talk to Karli.” You knew your words only served to upset him once more as his face distorted into a frown.

“We really want things to work out! We don’t ever want things to escalate, it is never in my interest to kill anyone.” Dovich glanced over you to see an earnest expression on your face and he couldn’t help but be a little swayed.

He knew who you were. You were less well-known but still regarded as part of the Avengers team. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t intimidated. He recalled how you fought his group back then and knew that given your powers, there was a chance to be bested even if he had taken the serum.

Dovich still clearly remembered how you pulled him up when he was about to fall off the moving truck from before. Your actions at that moment had changed his impression of you, regarding you in a better light. It matched what you had just said earlier, you weren’t interested to kill anyone.

“Karli wouldn’t listen. She is determined and resolute in our vision.” Dovich hoped you understood his perspective and you nodded in acknowledgement.

“I know but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to try settling this peacefully. We don’t want more lives gone than it already had.” You added on to your own perspective in the matter. Dovich believed you but he still wasn’t sure. He couldn’t be so easy to trust especially of all of the experiences that he and his group went through.

You were still considered a threat to the existence of the group.

“I don’t trust your group. Especially that Zemo guy. We know he hates super soldiers.” Dovich reiterated his mistrust before continuing. “Plus you guys are the Avengers, you wouldn’t know what it is like to be us. You get to live comfortable lives and do as you please.”

Hearing his assumption, you shook your head in disagreement. You closed your eyes and exhaled deeply before speaking.

“The Avengers aren’t really there anymore. Most of our group are gone. We are only what’s left but it doesn’t feel like there’s a team anymore.” Your mind to your current situation. Yes, you were with Sam and Bucky but they were just tolerating each other for the moment. You didn’t exactly feel like you were a team at all but just a group put together because you were all that’s left.

The sense of camaraderie from your previous team was gone and you were at a loss. You did what you had to do to support your two friends but you felt empty on the inside. You titled your head up to see Dovich peering at you with an almost concerned look on his face.

“Besides, that’s a bit of a generalisation you have there. We don’t live fancy lives, that’s a misconception because of uh-Tony. We all are still normal human beings dealing with struggles in our personal lives too. We gave up most of ourselves to defend this world….” Reeling from the exchange that you two had, you knew Dovich was someone that could be reasoned with.

“Of course, I am not trying to brag or anything!” You hurriedly explain before he had the thought that you were trying to make yourself look better in his eyes. “It’s just that I hope you could understand where we are coming from too.”

Dovich didn’t expect the conversation to progress in this manner. He had spotted you in the reflection of a glass window of a shop and initially wanted to get you off his tail. Despite the initial scepticism, he was starting to warm up to you. He figured you weren’t like the rest of your group and seemed down to earth despite being an Avenger.

He couldn’t lie to himself and claimed he thought of you several times ever since the first encounter. How can one not forget someone who stepped in to save their life once?

Dovich gazed at you now standing civilly with an awaiting look. He wanted to trust you, he really did. But he knew Karli was especially alert and distrustful of anyone outside her circle. Your affiliation wouldn’t help in this case either. He couldn’t make a promise that he can’t keep.

“I can’t promise you anything.” A grin formed on your face for the first time and you nodded your head in understanding.

“Of course, I just need a chance to talk. That’s all.” Dovich nodded back before he started walking back to the other end of the alleyway. He told you that he would speak with Karli after Donya’s ceremony and asked you to wait for his contact. He made you promise to not speak to your friends about this meeting and that he only trusted you.

You gave your agreement and maintained a friendly smile before he turned back to go onto another street.

-------------------------//---------------------------

Walking with lighter steps, you were glad to be able to do something right. You re-entered Zemo’s place and was greeted with the men gathering around to discuss their lack of result. You had to control yourself from revealing about your meeting with Dovich and kept quiet.

You agreed with Sam’s remarks on understanding Karli’s perspective and how she and her group were not motivated by malicious intentions.

Bucky then gave his own input that Karli would not be any different from Zemo. Recalling your last exchange with him, you suddenly felt upset with the super-soldier. You didn’t agree with his words either as you believed you understood better after talking with Dovich.

“I agree with Sam on this. Karli’s group is different and we need to give them a chance.” Bucky looked at you in disbelief. This was the first time you were ever not on the same page with him. He couldn’t agree with your views of giving the Flag Smashers a chance when they were such obvious threats.

Bucky believed that your soft-hearted nature was clouding your judgement and he thought better of you given your experience of dealing with such people.

“Can’t believe you are actually siding with terrorists Y/N.” His words came out harsher than expected and his heart twisted when he saw the tinge of sadness at how you received his words. A brief moment later, he saw your brows frowning and now looked at him with an offended stare.

“Not everything is black and white, James.” You scoffed before walking off to use the bathroom.

Sam and Zemo were surprised to hear the condescending tone in your voice towards Bucky. Knowing how you and Bucky were close-knitted, witnessing the suddenly tensed exchange between the two of you would have been baffled at what just transpired.

Hearing you calling him James was clear as day to Bucky that you were definitely not happy with him. Rubbing his temples in dismay, he wondered what have gotten over you suddenly. Sure, he was at fault for saying such a harsh comment but he still didn’t expect you to be like this.

Bucky lost his cool when Zemo stated he wanted to keep his leverage by not revealing any more information he had gotten from the little girl on the streets about Donya.

“You wanna see what someone can do we leverage?” Bucky too the glass in Zemo’s hand and threw it to the wall behind the Sokovian baron. He was silently seething at Zemo’s play on top of the unpleasant exchange that he had with you.

Sam came around to calm Bucky down before he indicated that he would make a call.

You stepped back into the common room when you heard the smashing of glass. You looked to see Bucky and Zemo in an intense standoff, well more so Bucky than Zemo.

Sam walked away first. Zemo asked Bucky if he would like some cherry blossom tea but the super-soldier refuted the offer with disdain in his tone.

“Y/N?” Zemo gestured to the lovely glass tea set on the coffee table. Glancing up to meet Bucky’s eyes, you could tell he was still bearing an annoyed look on his face.

You weren’t sure if it was his emotions from his exchange with Zemo or yours. Walking up to Zemo, you gave a polite smile before speaking.

“I would love to.” It was the second time that you acted out of character in a row. He knew that you didn’t like Zemo at all, only because of what Zemo had done to him. You were his girl (well sort of) and seeing you accepting Zemo’s offer even if it was just tea hit him differently.

Hearing how you graciously accepted the glass from Zemo and commenting on the fragrance of the brew, Bucky couldn’t believe his ears. He immediately stomped away from the scene before he felt like he would implode.

This was not right at all. Why would you suddenly act like this?

-------------------------//---------------------------

Tag list: @tanyaherondale @spookycereal-s @cataves @archaeoheart @conflicted-noxsirius @archaeoheart @idiotinnit @anxious-stitcher @lindseyrae20 @mads-weasley

[anna-pixie]

padawan -> obi-wan kenobi {part three}

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

hello!! i have written and rewritten this part a lot, and i still can’t decide whether i am completely happy with it, so honest feedback is encouraged!! ty all so much for your love on the last part, i hope you enjoy <3

summary: you and obi-wan head out on another mission, but something has got him in an awful mood (lmk if you guys figure out what his mood is about before the next part!!)

pairings: obi-wan kenobi x reader

warnings: mentions of sex

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

“Y/N, when you said you were serious about your training I expected I would see you there on time each morning.” The familiar lilt of Obi-Wan’s voice jerks you up from your incredibly deep sleep. You wipe away the drool from the corner of your mouth and gaze around your room with bleary eyes. 

There’s nobody there. 

Then a knock sounds from your door and you realise that your Master is too respectful to just barge into your room without permission. 

“Come in, Master.”

You hear the hiss of your door sliding open and smile sheepishly as your favourite bearded face peers around into the unhomely expanse of your room. Unlike the Jedi Masters, padawans weren’t encouraged to decorate their rooms. That’s a privilege earnt through time and experience. You’re thankful that you went to bed wearing a large jumper last night, though as you stretch the material exposes your stomach ever so slightly. 

“I broke my datapad yesterday…” You trail off, knowing that this is the third one you’ve gone through this year, “I didn’t have anything to set an alarm on.” An innocent smile graces your lips as Obi-Wan sighs, sitting next to you on your unmade sheets as he returns it with his own wry grin. 

“Whatever am I going to do with you, Padawan?” You know your Master well enough by now to be able to tell what he is feeling by the tone of his incredibly expressive voice, and thankfully right now he doesn’t seem too annoyed by your lack of care for your datapad. However, you also know that you’re treading on very thin ice, that you’re going to have to start putting a lot more effort in unless you want him to give up on you like everyone else has. 

It’s been a few weeks since you met Ahsoka which gave you the motivation you needed to get back on track. To say it’s been a hard few weeks would be an understatement. You’re up every morning before the light, fighting and learning and meditating with Obi-Wan. The two of you spend a lot of time together alone in the mornings and evenings when most other people in the temple have already retired to bed, but a lot of your time in the day is shared by Anakin - he thinks it is a great idea to train you and Ahsoka together. 

Now that was a kick in the teeth. 

You like Ahsoka, you really do, but it’s so humiliating to be trained alongside someone so much younger than you. Especially in front of the man you’re head over heels in love with. And, as another cherry on top of the cake of your shit life, the senate has been quiet as of late, which means Padme has plenty of free time to come and oversee your training sessions. Keeping an eye on the Jedi Temple, she says, but everyone sees the smiles exchanged between her and her Jedi. It makes you feel queasy. 

How are you supposed to focus on training when your biggest distraction is hanging in front of you everyday?

You have to give it to Obi-Wan, he tries his best to steer you away from the pain caused by seeing Anakin and Padme together. He stands directly in your eyeline when he knows they are near each other, so that you can’t see anything except his smiling face. When Anakin suggests lunch with Ahsoka and Padme, Obi-Wan regretfully informs him of the non-existent prior engagements the two of you have with a sneaky smile your way. 

With all the hardship of the past few weeks, you’re happy with how close it has brought you and your Master. 

“Can we just leave it for today, Master? Please.” You flop back down onto your bed, your eyes remaining on Obi-Wan as you send him your best pleading, doe-eyed look. 

“Sadly, we’ve been called away to war so I’m afraid that isn’t an option. It seems as though this is going to be a long operation. We’re first needed in Umbara, it seems as though General Krell has been executed by the clones. After that we go straight to Mandalore.”

“The clones executed a Jedi General?” Your voice is high as you stand up, heading over to your small closet and quickly rifling through your clothes to find something that would hold up for a few days. 

“It appears that he was a Separitast sympathiser. He turned two clone units against each other, forced them to kill their own.”

Your eyes are wide as Obi-Wan continues to explain the situation awaiting the two of you on Umbara, and your heart clenches as you think about what the Clones must have been gonig through during their time there. You know attachments are forbidden as a Jedi, but you can’t help the close relationships you have formed with some of the soldiers. Captain Rex is like a brother to you. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

An hour later, you’re holding onto the bar above you as your ship takes off in the direction of Umbara, Obi-Wan looking more jittery than you’ve ever seen him as he paces around next to you. 

“You okay, Master? You seem shaken up.”

“I’m fine, young one.” He dismisses you with a shake of your head, “Come with me, we may as well get some training in whilst we’re enroute.” He doesn’t say anything else, just turns away and heads out of the bridge with not so much as a glance back to make sure you’re following him.

What on Alderaan is going on with him?

His mood doesn’t let up during training, you’ve never seen him come at you so relentlessly. If it wasn’t for the fact that they knew you so well, the passing clones would probably assume that the two of you were fighting to the death in your training room. 

A cry escapes your mouth as he knocks the saber from your hand, as it clatters to the ground and rolls somewhere you don’t bother to look for, you expect him to stop. However his saber remains active, and he seems to be in a trance of sorts as he swings for you once more, only stopped from making contact with a part of your body when you swing your leg out from beneath you, causing the two of you to fall to the ground with a low grunt from him. His saber falls from his grasp in the same way yours did, and you work on figuring out how to calm him down as his body cages yours into the ground. 

The only noise in the room is the sound of you both breathing heavily, and when your eyes finally look up and meet his again you almost feel as though he has used the force to steal your breath away from you. His blue eyes capture yours, not letting up as his gaze seems to only darken the longer the two of you lay there. 

You can’t help but be reminded of a similar situation you found yourself in with Anakin a while ago, the two of you ended up tangled on the ground after a round of playful sparring. It was all heavy breathing and dark looks and you remember that all you could think was how much you had wanted him to kiss you in that moment.

So why, Maker tell, do you have the exact same feeling now? You thought that your crush on Obi-Wan had been a silly, fleeting thing back when you first began training under him. You didn’t think it would return with a vengeance, your mind silently asking him to lean down further as you struggle to pull your eyes away from his own. When you and Anakin has been in this same situation, you had hoped that he was going to kiss you, so it was humiliating when he finally tore his gaze from yours and pulled himself away from you with an awkward cough. 

You think that Obi-Wan will do the same. Of course he will, he’s the most rule abiding Jedi you’ve ever met. 

That’s why, when you feel his lips being placed softly on yours, you think you’re just hallucinating. It takes your mind a moment to catch up to what is actually occurring, your eyes fluttering shut as he pulls away and then presses his lips to yours with more fervour once he realises that you aren’t going to push him away. 

The hand that almost struck you with his saber minutes before reaches up, holding onto your jaw whilst the other keeps him steady on top of you. He breathes heavily as he kisses you, your breath minging as you savour the feeling. This isn’t your first kiss, you had snuck out to the clubs of Coruscant before and kissed random boys before, but this was different. This was your first kiss since you had fallen in love with Anakin. All those nights you had spent dreaming, hoping, praying that he would be the next person you kiss. Yet here you are, your lips moving feverishly against your Master’s as you thread one of your hands into the long hair at the nape of his neck. 

You must stay like that, basking in the feeling of each other for a good few minutes before a loud bang from the corridor snaps you both out of the spell you had fallen under. Obi-Wan quickly gets up, sticking out his hand to locate his saber, unable to look you in the eye as you slowly rise from your position. Your mouth tingles and your eyes are wide as you stare at the side of Obi-Wan’s head. 

He smooths his hand over his beard and mumbles a quick, “That shouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry, Padawan.” before leaving the room hastily. You flinch at the way he says the word Padawan, like he is reminding you both that what you just did was not only forbidden but also extremely morally wrong. You’ve never been one to care about such trivialities, but Obi-Wan is definitely a fair bit older than you, to say the least. 

As you catch your breath and find your lightsaber, you think to yourself that it’s good that you were interrupted, because if you weren’t then you might’ve been found by a soldier who would’ve reported what he saw back to the council. You ignore the part of you that wishes you would have continued, that thinks of how well your lips worked together and how at home you felt with his body on top of yours. And most of all, you ignore the part of you that wonders if him kissing you had anything to do with his sudden mood change since departing for the trip.

The rest of the journey is slow and quiet, you take some time to meditate and gather your thoughts, knowing you’re in no state to be dealing with anything important right now. A soldier offers you something to eat but you have to decline, with the way your stomach is turning you know you won’t be able to stomach any food. 

Obi-Wan seems to have retired to somewhere quiet on the ship, you don’t see him until you touch down on Umbara. The capital has been captured now, and that is where you will spend the night before heading to Mandalore, however you must first deal with the execution of General Krell at a nearby facility that was taken by the clones. 

You walk silently alongside your Master, an awkward tension in the air that is an extreme change from your usual playful banter and general good moods. As you approach Captain Rex and his troopers, he shoots you an inquisitive look, which you quickly brush off with a whisper that you’ll talk to him later. 

The situation is resolved quickly, you and your Master both know you can take Rex’s word for the events that transpired, and you make sure Krell’s body is properly taken care of. 

“We’ve only got one spare speeder on us, General, so Y/N will have to ride with one of the boys.” Are Captain Rex’s departing words before his gunship takes off towards the capital, leaving you, Obi-Wan and a few more troopers to travel back via speeder. 

“You can ride with me, Y/N.” A clone who is about to depart shouts over to you, though your attempt to walk in his direction is thwarted by a sudden, harsh grip on your forearm. You turn quickly, shocked to see Obi-Wan shake his head, gesturing over to his own speeder instead. 

“She’ll ride with me.” 

The trooper offers no argument, simply saluting the two of you before speeding off towards the capital with a trail of dust in his wake. 

You notice that Obi-Wan still hasn’t directly addressed you since the incident on the ship, so you stay quiet whilst climbing onto the speeder, waiting for him to say something. A squeak leaves your mouth when you’re pushed forward, Obi-Wan’s large body enveloping you from behind as he reaches past you to grab hold of the handles, and you’re off before you can even think about what is going on.

“We need to talk when we get back.”

Are the first words spoken to you, and the last, because he quickly falls silent. Though, you can’t help the warmth that spreads through you when his chin rests on your shoulder, his beard scratching your cheek oh so slightly. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Dinner in Umbara is a quick affair, you scoff down what you can, not talking as much as usual due to your preoccupied mind. Obi-Wan disappeared after you both briefed Master Windu who is still back at the temple, and you wonder if he is off meditating somewhere, trying to reconcile for the ‘mistake’ that the two of you made. 

You’ve been fighting your own inner turmoil about the situation since it happened earlier that day. Once you finish your food, you retire back to the uncomfortable bed in a tiny room at the top of the large building, assuming that Obi-Wan has decided to forgo the conversation and ignore you altogether. 

As you lie on the hard metal, your mind wanders over the past few months. You wonder how Anakin would react if he knew you and Obi-Wan had kissed. Would he be angry? Jealous? Happy? Deep down you know you would want him to be jealous, you would want him to be angry at the thought of any other man having you in the way that he wants you. 

But he doesn’t want you in that way, you remind yourself. Does Obi-Wan even want you in that way? You know he is a well revered man, and nobody can deny how good looking he is. If he really was looking for a romantic, or even just sexual, connection he could probably find that anywhere - why would he get that from plain old you?

A pang of sadness hits your gut as you think about him regretting the kiss, returning to Coruscant and finding another girl that he would rather betray the Jedi code in order to be with. And with wide eyes and a whisper of ‘oh no’, you realise that this is exactly how you felt when your feelings for Anakin started growing stronger. Just what did that kiss stir within you, surely your years old feelings for your Master haven’t suddenly resurfaced, right?

A knock on your door startles you, that deep in thought you hadn’t heard anyone approaching your rather isolated room. 

“Y/N?” It’s Obi-Wan. 

“You can come in, it’s open.

He slides the door open, his actions sheepish and small and not at all like the overly confident man he usually is. It pains you to see him like this, stumbling and second guessing everything he does. 

“You shouldn’t leave your door unlocked when you’re not on Coruscant, anything could wander in.”

“Sorry, Master.” You’ve shuffled to the edge of the bed now, Obi-Wan sitting beside you, mirroring the exact position you were in when he woke you up this morning. Before everything turned into a mess. 

“I… I’m so sorry, Padawan. I abused my position as your Master and I never should’ve even thought about doing something like that with you. Especially after you confided in me about your feelings for Anakin, I don’t want you to think that I’m taking advantage of your vulnerability.” His voice is so shaky that you barely recognise it, and a wave of sadness hits you when you realise that he must’ve been carrying this burden of guilt around with him all day. 

“Obi-Wan, it’s fine. You didn’t force yourself on me, I was completely on board when it happened, in fact I quite enjoyed it. I know it was wrong, against the code or whatever, but I won’t tell anybody. Please don’t feel guilty.” You make sure he keeps his eyes on you, a delicate touch on his cheek to keep him faced your way. A sigh emits from his mouth and your heart swells in your chest when he leans his head into your hand, seeking your comfort. 

“I’m tired, Y/N. This war, I’m beginning to feel it’s toll.”

“There’s no shame in admitting you need a break, Master, but it’s not just tiredness that is eating at you right now. I know you, there’s something else going on. You can tell me. Is it something to do with Umbara, Mandalore, anything?”

“Thank you for your concern, Padawan, I’m quite alright.”

“Don’t do that, Obi-Wan.” Your voice wavers this time, “Don’t use that title as a way to brush me off. Yes, I’m your Padawan, but I hope that by now I’m also your friend.”

“Jedi aren’t supposed to have friends, Y/N.”

You scoff, removing your hand from his face as you turn away from him, not wanting to look at him as he lies to you. 

“I was always jealous of him, you know.” He speaks again, after a few minutes of slightly uncomfortable silence. 

“Of who?”

“Anakin.”

You turn back, your interest peaked as he looks at you. You swallow, a blush coating your cheeks as you note that his eyes are as dark as they were before. Before he kissed you. 

“What reason could you possibly have had for being jealous of him? Oh, Maker, don’t tell me you’re in love with Senator Amidala.”

He chuckles, “No, little one, I was jealous of him because he always seemed to have your attention when he cared so little for you. I wanted you to look at me the way you looked at him.”

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

tag list:

@blondekel77

@magicalaquarian

@acciovisio

@lysawayne

@theriveroftruth

@algentforthewin

@pree-2003-blog

@asaucecoveredsomething

@urbankaite2

@marauder-lover

@idiakh

@mandosboobiez

@whyiminlove

@poguesvixen

[merakiaes]

The Tracker’s Sister - Reg Slivko

Pairing: Reg Slivko x reader

Requested: Yes. 

Prompts: None. 

Warnings/notes: The title is horrible but I really couldn’t think of a better one so I hope you’ll be willing to ignore it hahah😭 Not proofread so I apologize in advance for any possible mistakes, I hope you like it. Let me know what you think xx

Wordcount: 4377

Summary: Captain James Conrad’s younger sister comes along on the ship for the mission on Skull Island, and catches the eye of a certain brown-eyed soldier. 

Somewhere in Saigon, district Quảng Nam, you were sitting in a club and casually reading a book, completely uncaring about the fact that you were the only woman there who wasn’t a stripper or an escort, and also about the fact that your brother’s harmless game of pool had turned into a full-blown fight and that he was now beating on his opponent and his friends with a broken pool stick.

You were used to this kind of behavior at this point. You weren’t very bothered by his aggressive habits, knowing he could hold his own more than well enough – much to the dismay of anyone who happened to land themselves on the receiving end of his temper.

You simply sat there at your table, wetting the tip of your fingers in order to flip the page of your book while James flipped one of the guys to the floor and hit another in the face, declaring himself the winner in well under a minute.

And that’s when they approached him, two men you had never seen in your life before, finally causing your attention to leave the book.

“An uncharted island?” Your brother’s eyebrows shot up in an unimpressed manner as the man who had introduced himself as Bill Randa explained the mission for him, and so did yours, before you moved your eyes back to your book.

“Let me list all the ways you're gonna die.” He continued, raising his hands and beginning to count off his fingers. “Rain, heat, mud, disease-carrying flies and mosquitos. Sure, you could load up on the atabrine for the malaria... But what about the other bacteria?”

“And don’t forget the things that will try to eat you alive.” You spoke up flatly, without looking up from your book.

The two scientists turned to look at you, and the youngest of the two, Brooks, gave you a look. “Who are you, again?” He asked, and you simply spared him a glance and a raised eyebrow.

However, you immediately went back to the book in your hands, letting your brother do the talking.

At the question sent your way, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back into his seat, setting his stern gaze on the young scientist. “She’s my sister.” He replied. “So I would watch that tone if I were you.”

A look of realization crossed over his face, and Randa cleared his throat, motioning for the money laid out on the table. “We'll double that.” He said.

“You have no idea how dangerous this is.” James wasted no time in replying. “I want five times that. Plus, a bonus if we make it back.”

“If?”

“Pay him.” Randa said, waving his hand. “I mean, I think Mr. Conrad should be fairly compensated.”

Brooks nodded, and Randa gave your brother an expectant look.

“So that’s it then?” He asked. “You’ll come along?”

“I’ll agree to it.” James nodded. “But my sister is coming.”

The two scientists instantly exchanged a doubtful look. “I don’t think-“

“If she doesn’t come, I don’t either.” James quickly interrupted him, giving him a stern look.

This time, it was returned, their demeanors turning sour. “If you bring her along, she’s your responsibility.” Randa said. “We’re not going to let inexperience jeopardize this mission, let’s make that clear.”

At this, you finally had enough of just sitting by and listening in, closing the book in your hands and looking up at him with a heavy sigh. “With all due respect, sir, the only thing I’m good at is reading. I have no interest in going to an unexplored island.” You told him in a flat tone, your face equally as neutral.

“Do you take me for a fool?” James joined in. “You really thing I would bring my nineteen-year-old sister along on a life-threatening mission? She’s staying on the ship.”

“Obviously.” You added, watching as Randa’s face pulled into a tense and awkward smile.

“Of course.” He nodded. “You’ve got yourself a deal then. We look forward to seeing the two of you again soon.”

With that said, the two of them stood up and left, and come the next evening, James and yourselves were boarding the ship with your bags slung over your shoulders, ready for a new adventure.

Or, well, James was. You weren’t really the adventurous type, but rather more of a sit in silence and read kind of girl, something you’d inherited from your late mother.

When James joined the army and went out into the world to follow in your father’s footsteps and honor his name, you stayed behind in your hometown with your mom, and you remained there until she passed away when you were sixteen and James became your only living relative and therefore also your legal guardian.

You’d been on the move with him ever since. You wished he would settle down somewhere and stop accepting missions that put his life in danger, but that was more so for his sake than for yours because you didn’t really mind moving around, and at the end of the day, it was your only source of income.

So you made the best of the situation every time, this time being no different. 

You happily greeted anyone you came across on the ship, and you also took it upon yourself to introduce your brother seeing as he was too distrusting to do so himself.

Other than a dozen scientists, you got to meet with Preston Packard and Jack Chapman, who both greeted you with respect even though you would be doing nothing to contribute to the mission, something that instantly brought your mood up.

After that, James and the rest of the scientists and soldiers who would be coming along to the island were called to a briefing, leaving you to get settled in yours and James’ shared room on your own.

In the briefing room, everyone of significance were gathered and divided into their respective groups, soldiers on one side and the scientists on the other, the latter sitting quietly and awkwardly, but the former chatting away like it was just any other day.

And right now, you were the topic, and Reg Slivko being the victim of his fellow soldiers’ torment.

“I heard he brought his sister.” Cole said, pushing on Reg’s shoulder lightly and flashing him a playful grin. “She’s supposed to be your age.”

“Oh, I met her just a few minutes ago.” Jack joined in, smiling. “A fine looking young lass, good manners, and funny too.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively at the youngest soldier, and Reg was all in on it to a start, laughing along with them.

“You hear that, eh?” Mills said, smirking mischievously. “Maybe this is the time where you finally meet your match, get lucky and lose your V-card.”

At that, everyone but the boy on the receiving end of the jokes broke into loud laughs, his face pulling into an angry, offended glare. “How many times to I have to tell you? I’m not a virgin!” He exclaimed, which only made them laugh louder.

“Keep telling yourself that, man.” Mills slapped his back, not at all fazed by the glare he got in return.

None of them got the time to say anything else as Jack was called to the front and the subject was changed, all of them turning serious – as serious as Reg Slivko could get, that is.

About half an hour later, the briefing was all over and done with, and you were still in yours and James’ room, the latter not yet having returned.

You had made it a habit a long time ago to not fall asleep until he was there to sleep too, so you occupied yourself with the cassette player you had brought with you.

It was an old and worn-out player, however. It tended to stop working every once in a while, one of those times being right now, of course when James wasn’t there to help you fix it, leaving you to annoyedly fiddle with it yourselves.

You had no idea what you were doing, though, no matter how much you tried to convince yourself that you did, strings of curses leaving your lips.

Reg Slivko was in a mood as good as ever, whistling a happy tune as he walked through one of the many corridors of the ship, heading in no particular direction.

It was then that his ears picked up on the light, gentle voice from one of the open doors ahead, and more specifically the colorful language said voice was spilling out.

The contrast caused his eyebrow to raise in surprise and mild interest, his whistling coming to a stop and his pace slowing down.

He instantly realized who the voice had to belong to and when he reached the open doorway and peeked his head inside, he got it confirmed when his eyes found your form sitting cross-legged in one of the two beds, cursing and roughly handling a cassette player.

His face instantly pulled into a wide grin, at first because he realized you were extremely attractive, and then because he, for some reason, found your frustration and the accompanying pout on your lips extremely cute.

He stayed right there for a moment, amused at the fact that you hadn’t noticed him yet, but when he noticed you becoming too aggravated, he raised his hand to the doorframe and gently knocked on it, watching as your head whipped around to face him.

Your eyes were wide with surprise and your heart beating hard and quick in your chest, but when you regained your composure, your face instantly pulled into a smile to match his own.

“Oh, hi.” You greeted him, and he wasted no time in pushing himself off the doorframe to step inside your room.

“Do you need help?” He chuckled, motioning for the cassette player in your hands with an eyebrow raised in amusement.

Your smiled turned shy, your eyes flickering down to the device. “Would you mind?” You asked carefully, looking back up with a sheepish chuckle. “I'm afraid I’m not nearly as handy as my brother. I’ve been trying to get it to work for an hour but can’t seem to figure out what the problem is.”

He chuckled right back, coming over to you. “I don’t mind at all.” He said, motioning for the bed. “May I?”

You wasted no time in scooting over to make room for him, and in turn, he wasted no time in sitting down.

You wordlessly handed him the cassette player and he immediately started working on it, pressing and twisting all of the buttons first, and when getting no response from the device, he turned it around and peeled off the plastic piece at the back.

From then on forward, you had absolutely no idea what he was doing, but not even a minute later, the cassette player released a rustling noise, and not long after that, music filled the room.

A proud grin overcame his features, and your lips pulled into a wide smile too.

“Wow, that was quick.” You said, taking the player back from him when he held it out for you, looking up to meet his eyes. “Thank you.”

He casually shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t mention it.” He said, holding your gaze for a moment before nodding to the player in your hands. "You've got good taste in music." He complimented, and you chuckled.

“James isn’t too fond of it.” You replied, eyes squinting playfully. “Would you believe me of I told you he likes classical?”

“It’s always the ones you least expect who do.” He snickered, before sticking out his hand. “I’m Reg. Reg Slivko.”

You turned off the music and put the cassette player to the side, and took his outstretched hand in yours, giving his a soft shake. ”I’m (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you Reg Slivko.”

“Pleasure’s all mine. It’s not every day a guy meets a girl as pretty as you.” He answered smoothly, his demeanor taking a more flirtatious turn.

You chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “Does that usually work on girls?” You asked, tilting your head and squinting your eyes.

“I wouldn’t know.” He only shrugged, his smile softening. “I signed up for the army the second I graduated and I wasn’t very popular in school.”

You hummed, the playfulness melting off and being replaced with sincerity. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” You said softly. “I was something of an outcast myself.”

“Really? I find that very hard to believe.” He said, his flirty smile returning. “Pretty, funny, polite. You don’t strike me as an outcast.”

Your entire body turned warm at the compliments that never stopped coming, and you hoped to God that he couldn’t see the blush rising to your cheeks. “Tell that to Theresa Jackson.” You chuckled, back, and before either of you could say anything else, James walked in.

“What’s going on here?” He asked, slowly walking into the room and causing the two of you to turn to look at him.

“Oh, James.” You instantly smiled at the sight of your brother, holding a hand out to the boy next to you. “This is Reg.”

“Slivko, sir.” Reg quickly added, clearing his throat and the humorous, flirtatious demeanor melting right off.

James hummed, obviously not impressed, and raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. “And what business do you have in my sister’s bed, Reg Slivko?” He asked, and you rolled your eyes at that, the smile falling from your lips.

“He was just helping me fix my cassette player.” You said, giving your brother a pointed look.

In return, he raised his eyebrows at you, silently asking you “are you sure that’s all there’s to it?”, but before either of you could say anything else, Reg got up to his feet, standing up from your bed with a shrug.

“I was just about to leave.” He said, and James didn’t miss a beat, giving him a nod and a narrow-eyes look.

“I’m sure you were.” He agreed, lips pulled into a tense and sarcastic smile.

Reg nodded, and after sparing you one last glance, he walked right past your brother without another word, taking a right in the corridor outside and disappearing from your view.

The second he was gone, James closed the door to the room and flicked off the light in the roof, instead moving over to his bed where he turned on the table lamp standing beside it.

Falling back on the bed, you clasped your hands over your stomach and heaved a heavy, over-dramatic sigh. “You’re the worst.” You told your older brother in a grumble, and all he did was chuckle in response, the two of you going to bed shortly after.

When you woke up the next morning, the first thing you wanted to do was to find Reg and talk to him again, but your brother had other plans, dragging you along for the entire first half of the day.

By the time he finally let you go off on your own, you couldn’t find Reg anywhere, and when you did some time later, he was out on deck joking around with all of his soldier-friends, drinking beer, listening to music and playing around shirtless in the afternoon sun.

You weren’t a very big people-person, hence the foul mood you had been in when in the club with James two night prior, so you weren’t very keen on approaching him when he was surrounded by people.

Unfortunately for you, that was pretty much all of the time for the rest of the journey, so eventually you just gave up and stuck to your brother’s side.

You reached your destination in what felt like no time, and soon, the morning on which your brother and the others would be flying to the island was upon you.

You were going to be staying on the ship with most of the scientists and didn’t really have to get up early, but you were still up and at it at the crack of dawn to help your brother prepare and to see him off, the two of you currently standing out by the choppers where everyone were pulling their own weight to get everything packed up.

“Go talk to her already.” Mills told his fellow soldier where they stood on the other side of the deck, sparing him a glance while he packed the record player into its briefcase. “You’ve been standing here staring at her for ten minutes now and it’s starting to get weird.”

Reg’s head instantly whipped around, his eyes leaving your form to meet his friend’s gaze. “What? I’m not staring.” He denied his accusations, glaring.

But Mills obviously saw right through him. “Uh-huh.” He said, giving him a deadpan look and raising his hand to his chin. “Is that drool I see?”

“What? No.” Reg hurried to bring his hand up to his chin to wipe it, finding that there was, in fact, no drool there.

His reaction brought a laugh from Mills, who shook his head at him in amusement. “Idiot.” He said simply. “We leave in less than an hour and you’re going to regret it if you don’t go talk to her, so go say goodbye. Go.”

He shoved at his shoulder and Reg held his hands up, backing away. “Fine, fine! I’m going!” He said while glaring, turning around with another word and approaching you where you were leaning against the side of one of the choppers, your brother luckily occupied with talking to a scientist.

You noticed him approaching instantly, your back straightening, your arms uncrossing from over your face and your lips pulling into a smile.

“Hi.” He was the first one to speak once he reached you, and you wasted no time in replying.

“Hey. You ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He smiled back widely, and then his confidence took a sudden turn, his hand coming up to scratch the back of his head awkwardly. “Hey, listen, I was wondering if, maybe, when we get back to the mainland, we could go out for a movie, or dinner, or something.”

You raised an eyebrow, the smile playing on your lips widening. “Like a date?” You asked, and he shrugged.

“Yeah. I mean, if it’s- if you want to. And if it’s okay with your brother.” He trailed off towards the end, his eyes flickering to something over your shoulder

It was only then, when you turned your head around to see what he was looking at, that you noticed James had now abandoned the conversation he had previously been having to listen in to yours instead, his pointed stare never wavering from the boy in front of you.

“You know what? I don’t-“ He started, but you immediately cut him off by throwing your hand out to slap his chest.

His eyes flickered down to meet yours at that and you glared. “Don’t you have someone else to bother? Go away, please.” You told him, and with a long look at Reg, he did as told, picking up his bag and leaving you alone.

Once he was out of earshot, you turned back to Reg with a smile, your head nodding. “Dinner and a movie both sound nice.” You agreed. “But for now, your main focus should be coming back in one piece.”

His entire face was lit up in a huge grin, and a chuckle left his lips at your words. “I can promise you that I will.” He said, and you snickered back, crossing your arms over your chest.

“I’ll hold you to that.” You said, the two of you then walking over to where the others were getting ready to board their assigned choppers.

You said goodbye to both Reg and your brother, the latter of the two goodbyes being a bit more sentimental, James hugging you close and kissing the top of your head, making you promise to be good, as if you were ever anything but.

Once they had left, you were on your own with literally no one to talk to, and you found yourself at wit’s end trying to find something to occupy yourself with.

You’d brought books with you but only three, and you were a quick reader, all of them being finished within two days. And just your luck, your cassette player chose the most horrible timing to stop working again, and no one on board knew how to fix it.

But just when you thought you were going to die from boredom, they returned, and you wasted no time in running outside and sprinting straight into your brother’s arms, only then realizing how worried you had been.

When you came back apart, you looked up at him with a worried gaze, taking note of how roughed up and exhausted he looked.

“Are you okay?” You asked, and watched as his lips pulled into a tight smile.

“I’m alright, don’t you worry.” He assured you and you smiled back, nodding your head.

Your smile faltered as soon as it appeared, however, when you spotted another familiar face behind him, and James instantly noticed, stepping to the side to give you free passage.

“Go.” He said, and you gave him a doubtful look.

“Are you sure?” You asked, and he simply nodded.

“I have some business to take care of. We can talk more later.”

He didn’t have to tell you twice, your feet moving you in the direction of Reg just a second later. 

Mills was the first one who noticed you approaching and slapped his friend’s shoulder, causing him to look up.

He barely even got the time to process your face, before you had reached him and pulled him into a careful embrace.

“Oh.” He mumbled into your neck, eyes widening in surprise. But he wasted no time in wrapping his arms around your waist and hugging you back, melting into it. “Wow. I could get used to this… You smell really good, has anyone ever told you that?”

You chuckled at his words and much to his dismay, the warmth of your embrace was gone too quickly, the two of you stepping away from each other again.

You immediately began looking him over for injuries, and you instantly spotted the torn up fabric of his pant-leg, or more specifically the wound peeking out from underneath.

Your eyes flickered back up to his, and you raised an eyebrow. “What happened to the promise of coming back in one piece?” You asked, and he shrugged, giving you a small smile.

“My leg is still attached to my body, isn’t it?” He pointed out, bringing a chuckle from your lips.

“Yes, I guess it is.” You agreed. “Can you walk?”

His face turned serious at the question. “I’ve just spent the last twenty-four hours running from a lizard with teeth the size of my head. Pretty sure that proves that there’s nothing wrong with my leg. Just a scratch on the surface.”

At the sound of his words, your interest was immediately piqued, but you knew it was neither the time nor place to ask about it.

“Well, we should still get it cleaned up.” You told him, reaching out and taking his hand in yours. “Come on.”

He did nothing to protest, limping slightly in his step as he followed you into the ship where you brought him to your room.

You instructed him to sit down on your bed and left him alone for a few minutes, heading off to the medbay where the other survivors were being checked over, to retrieve a medkit.

Once you had everything you needed, you returned to your room and wasted no time in getting to work, starting off with cutting off the lower part of his pant-leg and then moving on to clean the wound.

“You don’t have to do that, you know. I’m very well capable of patching myself up.” Reg told you as he watched your hands work, leaning back on his palms to be able to keep his leg straight out in front of him.

You glanced up at him at that, raising an eyebrow. “Are you complaining?” You asked, your lips pulling into a smile when he immediately shook his head.

“No. Definitely not.” He said, and you chuckled.

“That’s what I thought.” You said, turning your attention back to his leg with a shrug. “And besides, you owe me a date. Can’t have you dying on me from an infected wound.”

In the corner of your eye, you noticed him nodding his head. “A very valid point.” He agreed, and you smiled, finishing up bandaging his ankle.

“Exactly, now turn around. I need to clean the cut on your shoulder, too.” You instructed him, making a “turn around” motion with your finger.

He wasted no time in obliging, bringing his leg down from the bed and turning around. “Yes, ma’am.” He said, grabbing ahold of the upper hem of his shirt and tugging it up to expose his back to you.

In turn, you wasted no time in soaking a fresh cloth with alcohol, preparing to clean the cut stretched out over his shoulder blade.

“So, where are you from?” You asked, trying to make some light conversation.

“Detroit, born and raised.” He replied without missing a beat and you hummed, reality coming crashing down on you and dampening your mood significantly.

“I’m from London, if you hadn’t already gathered that from the accent.” You told him lowly. “I guess that date is going to be harder than we thought, huh?”

But much to your surprise, he only shook his head. “That won’t be a problem. I’d-“ He cut himself short for a moment, a hiss leaving his lips when you pressed the cold, alcohol-soaked rag to the cut.

But he regained his composure rather quickly, glancing over his shoulder to meet your eyes. “I’d follow you anywhere.” He finished, giving you a crooked, goofy smile.

You automatically smiled back, the two of you holding eye-contact for another moment before he turned back around to allow you to finish patching him up, both of you knowing you would continue the conversation later.

(If you want to be tagged when I post Reg Slivko stories, let me know in a comment, ask or private message)

[hbosscreations]

Us Ladies Have to Stick Together

It’s a little later than I’d hoped for, but here is my contribution to @redvsbluesecretsanta for @artesoterica! You asked for Southalina, with a general positive mood! This fic is an AU taking place on Season 15′s Chorus moon in a universe where the Reds and Blues actually get to rest and build a life for themselves. I hope you like it.

                                   Us Ladies Have to Stick Together

 When South heard Carolina’s coded message, left in such a way that any of her former people would find it if they were looking, she…didn’t really know what to expect. She wasn’t certain it was meant for her with the way South left things, what with her and Wash trying to kill one another, but it was so damn earnest that South couldn’t ignore it.

‘Wash and I are alive, we’ve shut down the Project and made a safe space for all of us to live. If you see this, come find us. Come home.’

She wasn’t keen at first on going to find anyone, let alone other members of Project Freelancer, but Carolina was good on her word Chorus’s moon wasn’t what she thought it would be. It sounded like isolation, like hiding in a long-abandoned base or in a tiny apartment sleeping in shifts, but Carolina and her people had turned it to something else entirely. The Reds and Blues regularly communicated with the planet below, a shuttle came up more than once to drop off and pick-up soldiers for no reason South could figure out aside from play dates with weapons.

Just like this one.

A shuttle had arrived earlier that day carrying a new face along with a few others that South recognized from the deliveries every other week. The Sim Troopers had quite the fan club, and it was very normal for the shuttle to arrive and stay overnight so the troops could hang out. This time, the newcomer seemed to get all of the attention. It was such a relief to not feel the pointed stares from both the Reds and Blues and the Chorus soldiers.

South blew up her bangs and retied the bandana around her head to keep her hair out of the way while she worked on Sarge’s warthog, the perfect vantage point to observe without staring and be present without having to actually interact with anyone. The Sim Troopers weren’t as bad as South expected them to be most days, Washington’s influence excluded, but that didn’t mean she was comfortable with them yet.

The strange woman who arrived in the shuttle, wearing bright yellow armor and a swagger that told everyone who saw her that she was hot shit and she knew it, immediately screamed for Grif to get his lazy butt outside and come help move her shit inside the base.

It didn’t take long for her to start chatting and then chasing the Sim Troopers around. She hooted and hollered and pelted the soldiers with paintballs from a gun that should not have been shooting paintballs in the first place, all the while crowing ‘GO BLUE!’.

Despite the fact she didn’t seem to care if she was hitting a Red or a Blue.

Judging by the yelling and giggles, they didn’t seem to mind it either.

South’s helmet was dropped next to her on the engine while she watched, contemplating if she had earned enough good will to join in considering practically everyone on the moon was playing already, and Carolina put a hand on South’s shoulder to draw her attention.

New Carolina was the day to Old Carolina’s night. More emotionally mature, more secure in herself, and more confident. The dark shadows had finally passed, but she was still the same woman South had served under.

“You should probably put that on. It would be horrible if Kai accidentally shot you in the eye; the only medical treatment you’re likely to get is CPR and orange juice.”

The hand shifted from her shoulder and brushed the back of her neck. South barely held in her shiver.

New Carolina was more tactile, taking the time to make contact outside of training. She always had time for a smile, something kind to say even if the comment was odd, and casual touching that felt out of place coming from her former leader.

South had to admit that it was nice to be appreciated, though.

“Which army is Kai from, Fed or New Republic? I don’t recognize her or the paint job.”

“She’s the youngest of our Sims, Grif’s little sister, not from Chorus.”

The Reds looked to have begun their retaliation, pulling out buckets of paint, paint balloons, and paint ball guns of their own. They ran around screaming with her instead of running from her, and South laughed a little.

“They’re like a bunch of goofy teenagers, aren’t they? I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep them all alive so long.”

She pulled her helmet on, ignoring the fact that most of her armor was on the ground. She could handle paintball welts and didn’t feel like trading the extra protection of the armor for the contact she got when Carolina watched her work. Standing just a little too close, with her hand on South’s lower back, it felt like things were actually right.

“She’s going to be staying.”

The warthog got regular work, practically daily maintenance and fine tuning, but for some reason it felt like everything South did to it was undone at the end of the day.

“Hmm.”

“She talks a lot, but you can’t be mean unless you want the Reds and Blues both mad at you. Grif is really protective of her; they all are.”

Knowing Sarge, it probably was. He probably came in as soon as she walked away and fiddled with it, bickering with Lopez as he used a wrench on the wrong pieces and broke screwdrivers inside.

“South? Are you listening to me?”

“Sure, Yellow is a wild child and I shouldn’t pick on her. The Sims don’t talk to me much, why would I bother with Grif’s little sister?”

Was Lopez doing this? Normally he fixed things, but maybe he resented her coming in and doing his job for him. It did prevent him from avoiding the rest of Red Team.

“South, will you stop for a second? Look at me?”

Shit. South must have missed a tone thing again, it happened sometimes. Between the military and being on her own for so long, South didn’t always know how to read casual conversation anymore. She preferred direct conversation any day.

“I’m worried about you.”

That flash of guilt that flared up any time Carolina wanted to take care of her was back.

“You don’t have to worry about me, I’m coping.”

“You’re stagnating. Soon you’re going to start tearing your hair out and alienating the guys because you’re bored and looking for stimulation. Trust me, antagonizing the Reds and Blues will only lead to problems and you do not want that. I care about you and I would hate for you to end up with mustard in your blankets or a bucket of snakes above your door. Let me introduce you to Kaikaina Grif.”

“I don’t understand what meeting her has got to do with antagonizing anybody or the strangely bizarre and specific pranks.”

“You’re bored, and Kai is definitely not boring. I think spending some time with her will be good for you.”

Carolina didn’t accept Wash and South tiptoeing around one another or South trying to sneak out in the middle of the night because of her insomnia, and she apparently wasn’t going to rest until South had made some friends, even if that meant flying friends in for her.

The hand on her neck started to massage gently, feeling the tension that had settled there. South let out a groan.

“You’re what? Assigning her to me?”

“Oh no, Kai’s been a Blue longer than you’ve been here, she outranks you. I’m assigning you to her.”

“What?”

Carolina called out to Kai and waved her in before she firmly turned South to face the Sim Trooper charging at them. The moment the woman in yellow skidded to a stop in front of them, she took a beat to look South up and down before she turned and did the same to Carolina.

“Carolina, lookin’ fine-ah! Still bangin’ as always! How are the jam sessions with the band?”

“They have yet to comment on my being tone deaf and I’m not spoiling the game, so it’s been fun. Kai, this is South, she’s an old friend of mine in need of someone to teach her how to have a good time. Can you do that?”

“Ch, yeah! I am great at fun!”

“Fantastic. Kai, from now on, South follows your orders the way she used to follow mine. She won’t like it, she’ll bitch, but she’s a great soldier and a good friend to have at your back.”

“If you want a knife put in it.”

Washington came around the warthog, a large splash of red down his left side and a steady spattering of blue on the right. He must have gotten caught in the middle of the fight.

“Hey, Kai. What’s up?”

“Hey, Cop. You still being a cop? You have to tell me, you know!”

“That’s still not a law.”

That easy amused tone shook South. He sounded so much older; more world weary. It fit him.

“Washington,” Carolina bit out, “If you’re not going to play nice, go away.”

He saluted, patted Kai on the shoulder, and moved back into the fray. The soldiers cheered as he snagged a balloon and smashed it into the side of Tucker’s head.

“Anyway, Kai, South is my gift to you. Think of her like you’ve just been given a very angry puppy and you’ll be great.”

“Carolina, you cannot be serious.”

“I am very serious; you need someone to help you transition to our way of life and Kai is the best person to do that. Kai, her job is to do what you tell her, your job is to keep her from going off the deep end. Don’t order anything I wouldn’t approve of, but other than that, go nuts.”

South scowled at the thought of a woman at least ten years younger than her, a stranger, issuing orders. She didn’t exactly have a choice but to go on with it, where else was she going to go?

“This is ridiculous.”

And it’s not like she wanted to leave anyway. Not again. Not after everything she’d gone through to get there.

Not after finally getting her chance to be with Carolina again.

“I’m not your commanding officer anymore. You could always say no, but if that’s the case I’m giving you to the Reds, and their chaos is unbridled. Think of it this way, Donut will do your nails, but Kai excels at doing hair and your purple has been missing for too long.”

South shrugged and Kai immediately dragged her toward the base.

“You’re the one with purple tips, right? I’ve seen the pics. We’re doing your hair right now. I know that you haven’t had a dye job since you got here, there’s no one here that does hair even half as good as me!”

She jabbered endlessly while she set up a chair at the big sink on the base. Her steady stream of increasingly weird stories about herself and her sex life made South laugh, and the commentary about the guys on base made South sure she never wanted to get on this girl’s bad side.

Once they were gone, Carolina wheeled a large box into the room.

“Your portable salon, madame. Don’t scare her off, ok? It took forever to bring her home.”

“Pshaw! She likes me already! Don’t you, baby?”

Both women looked at South and she shrugged.

“You’re fine. Let’s get this over with so I can get back to work.”

“I’ll take that as a win for now! You’ll warm up.”

With that, Kai pushed South into the chair and threw a cape around her shoulders. Kai’s hands were sturdy and soothing as they carded through South’s hair and scratched at her scalp, talking about what she thought would look best for a minute before she realized South wasn’t listening in the slightest and switched back to talking about herself again. How she’d wanted to go to beauty school when she was younger, and that she used to do everyone’s hair at the circus. South only half listened.

God, her fingers were like magic.

South melted into the chair and decided to let the woman have her way with her hair. Worst case scenario, South would shave her head and let it grow back. And it was worth it to have her hair ruined if Kai would just keep working on her hair.

“She’s funny, right?”

South made a questioning noise.

“Carolina. She shows her love weird. She’s been trying for weeks now to get me out here, telling me Grif misses me, that the team is trying to set up a training center here. Didn’t fly, cause that sounds awful, so she talked to the freaking president of Chorus and got me a training gig putting together events and festivals on the planet’s surface. Someone decided they needed events for good public relations and off world traffic, and I’m pretty good at it!”

Carolina laughed a little from where she was pointedly not hovering.

“She got you a job, huh?”

“She got me a good paying job where my brother can keep an eye on me, so he’s happy. From there, it’s like a waterfall, making him happy makes Simmons happy, which makes Donut and Sarge happy, which makes Caboose happy, which makes Tucker happy, which makes Wash happy, which makes Carolina happy. Everyone here is sooooo codependent. You, I don’t know about, but that’s ok. We’re gonna party and I’ll learn all your secrets.”

God, the thought of going to the planet’s surface to ‘party’ made South’s whole body tense up. Way too much exposure, to high a risk of being seen.

“I don’t really party these days.”

“Yeah, I figured. I’ll fix that. Once I get you sorted, Carolina can finally stop worrying about her little circle and relax. Anything you want in particular? Because if you don’t, I’m gonna trim you up and give you crazy purple hair, it’s gonna take some time, but it’ll look fabulous.”

“I’m in your hands, gorgeous.”

“You’re a flirt! I like that.”

South did her best to keep up the chatting, thankful that Kai held the majority of the conversation herself, and when she might have lulled, Carolina stepped in and stoked the conversation back up.

She did the whole nine yards; washed South’s hair, massaged her scalp, trimmed her up to something more akin to her preferred style, bleached her hair for coloring and mixed colors. South honestly didn’t give a shit about what Kai did, so she gleefully went to town.

Once she started putting color on, Carolina frowned.

“You’re doing her whole head?”

“I have creative license here, so yeah, I’m doing her whole head! It’s gonna be fucking badass, just you wait!”

Carolina pulled up a chair and sat across from South with a nervous smile and stretched her leg out to brush ankles with South. South smiled back and tapped Carolina with the side of her boot. She didn’t pull away, she didn’t want or need to.

Kai wasn’t wrong, Carolina did show her love in weird ways. She never said it, but she showed it in a thousand different ways. South watched Carolina work with the Reds and Blues every day, watched her interact with the people from Chorus who flew up to the moon to ‘train’, how she took the time to touch and ground the people around her despite her own discomfort with the process.

How she understood that South needed help and care but was too angry and proud to ever ask for it.

“I trust you, Kai, just don’t make her look like a clown.”

“I would never! This gorgeous face can pull all kinds of looks, and I intend to make her look fucking sexy as fuck! Chill, Carolina, I’m not going to mess your other girlfriend’s look up.”

South tried to look up at Kai, confused, but Kai grabbed South’s head and held it in place.

“Don’t move, you’ll ruin my hard work.”

Carolina laughed a little and rubbed her ankle against South’s and asked Kai about her most recent exploits. South just closed her eyes and listened to the women talk.

The color was washed out, her hair blow dried and style, and with a cheeky grin, Kai shoved a mirror into South’s face.

“Well?”

It looked…good.

Her head was covered multiple tones of purples, blues, and reds, in a way that looked like it shouldn’t have worked, but it really did. Dark and bold, her hair felt soft and fell nicely. Honestly, it was too good for the life South lived. Between helmet time and working on trucks, she was sure she wouldn’t do it justice in the long run.

But Carolina looked really happy, and judging by Kai’s bright smile, she was too.

“You like it, right?”

“Don’t push her.”

South smirked.

“She can push me if she wants, you’re the one who told her to boss me around. I like it.”

“Great!” Kai crowed. “We’re gonna get our nails done tonight, no fighting, I brought Donut a new gel kit and he’s dying to use it!”

Carolina stood up and pressed a kiss to Kai’s cheek and praised her for a job well done, before she kiss to South’s cheek as well.

“I’m glad you like it. Kai’s great, you to are going to get along like a house on fire.”

“Uh, I’m not lighting anything on fire.”

South hadn’t expected anything good when she came here, came home, but everything was genuinely better than she expected. Carolina took her hand and kissed the knuckles before idly telling Kai that she hoped they’d also brought decent alcohol because Donut’s wine and cheese hour was dreadful without actual wine to drink.

She hadn’t expected it, hadn’t known how badly she wanted it, but she was so glad she’d come.

[itsunclebucky]

The Bride of Bucky

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Weddingplanner!Reader Summary: Bucky marries you, his girlfriend who works as a wedding planner and planned their wedding.  Word Count: 2,402 Warnings: FLUFF, a little talk about sex but nothing explicit.  A/N: It’s @the-ss-horniest-book-club​ surprise AU and I was given permission to use this for the challenge. Thank you so much and hope everyone enjoys it!! 

As Bucky stood in the floor-length mirror, adjusting his tie for the hundredth time that morning, he remembers how it all started and how he became the world's luckiest man.

He once believed that once Hydra had control of his mind and made him their personal puppet and killing machine it would be the end for him. He was just waiting for the day to die.

He never expected to unknowingly run into his long lost friend Steve Rogers during a mission to take the targets down and he didn't expect Steve to help him.

And he didn't expect Shuri to reboot his memory in Wakanda where he healed successfully, for the first time feeling healthy and happy.

Steve and Tony had sat down and put their differences aside, Tony accepting the fact that Bucky didn't know what he was doing at the time Hydra had control of his mind, and subsequently offered Bucky a room at the compound where he stayed for a while.

He had total freedom, he was allowed to leave the compound whenever he wanted, roam the city whenever he pleased. He wasn't trapped in his room like an animal and how Hydra had once treated him.

Bucky had left the compound early that morning to grab some coffee and something tasty he liked to eat as he walked around the city, visiting old neighborhoods and diners he once knew of.

As he stepped in the small cozy cafe, he allowed an old frail woman with her Walker goes in front of him. The delay in the queue allowed him to look around the cafe and that's where he saw you, huddled up in a corner with umpteen folders and your computer, he watched as you typed away with your nose scrunched up. He was curious about what kind of work you did, why you needed so many folders.

And then your phone rang and you had answered it. "Hi, Y/N speaking." Your voice was like music to his ears. His heart strummed in his chest as he listened to you talking about the different kinds of flowers you recommended for a big day. He didn't understand, he was still learning about everything. As you hung up, your eyes glanced in his direction.

A blush crept up to your cheek as you smiled in his direction. You didn't recognize him and never saw someone so handsome.

"Sir?" The person standing behind Bucky tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the barista standing behind the counter patiently with a smile on her face, waiting for his order.

"Sorry, was another planet." He chuckled nervously. The barista smiled and he relaxed. He wasn't sure how he would handle being yelled at in front of you for daydreaming. "Can I get an almond milk latte and whatever that lady over there ordered?" He pointed in your direction and your gaze dropped to your keyboard. You couldn't tear your eyes away from the adonis of a man. His eyes captivated you and you didn't even know his name. His beard lined his cheeks beautifully and you wanted to run your fingers through his hair because it looked so inviting.

You were replying to an email to try and distract yourself. But from your peripheral, you could see the man approaching you.

You stopped typing and looked up at him, smiling.

"Uh, I'm sorry to bother you but you seemed really busy and thought you would be in the need of a hot chocolate." He smiled sheepishly, lowering your cup by your hand.

"Thank you so much. That's so kind of you." You motioned for him to sit down in the seat opposite you. Work was forgotten for over an hour as you talked to the man who called himself Bucky.

He found out a lot about you, about your job. You were a wedding planner and by the looks of it a very successful one. He listened as you talked about why orchids were a better choice for a wedding. And you had for some reason told him your dream wedding.

"It'll happen one day." He reassured you.

You chuckled and shook your head. "Not without a boyfriend it won't."

Bucky's eyes grew wide in surprise. He was expecting you to be in a relationship, which he realized he probably should have asked at the beginning before he started to chat you up.

"If a man is too blind to be with you doll, they aren't worth your time."

It was almost midday when Bucky looked at the time and he had to reluctantly say goodbye. He couldn't believe he was sat talking to you for hours. He didn't leave without your number though.

The texts started out friendly, and then they became flirty the longer you talked to him.

His confidence grew as he was remembering how to talk to a woman, but also leaning to type with one hand on his iPhone Wanda had very generously gifted him a few Christmases ago.

After a couple of weeks of flirting, Bucky had asked you out on a date. Which you very excitedly accepted and couldn't wait for.

Tony had worked his magic and booked a reservation at a top restaurant in Manhattan. During dinner, you had learned a little more about Bucky. His metal arm didn't once bother you and you made sure to let him know you weren't afraid of it or him.

One date turned into five dates and you were dating each other officially.

He confessed to you everything that happened in his past. He didn't want to enter a relationship without you knowing. The things he did, the regret and guilt he still feels. You assured him that whatever happened in the past is in the past. He was a new man and this is a new chapter.

The Winter Soldier was a different man to Bucky Barnes. Bucky was sweet, kind and considerate with a lot of sass and a great sense of humor.

For every day he was with you, there wasn't a day that went by where he didn't have a smile on his face or laughed.

Bucky wanted to take it slow and you were happy to comply since it was his first relationship in a long time.

But by your 8-month mark, Bucky was already living with you in your apartment.

"Sam is driving me crazy doll, making sex jokes and asking if I can 'still get it up'." He announced as he walked in the door with his duffel bag and another bag full of his DVDs.

"Why does he want to know that?" You laughed as you pecked his lips.

"Maybe he's jealous?" He laughed with a shrug. "He's a strange guy."

You chuckled and said it was alright and it was. You would be lying if you said you didn't enjoy his company and you felt safer with Bucky around.

Two years into your relationship and you were still happy together and in love.

As much as it shocked you, it shocked Bucky more but the two of you never fought. You were perfectly in sync and shared the same taste in style, food, drink, and art. There were no arguments about who washed the dishes, who cooked because whoever did one, the other person would do the other.

And judging by your complete happiness. It was absolutely no surprise when Bucky finally asked you to marry him on the rooftop of the compound surrounded by his closest friends and teammates.

Almost as if he had predicted your answer, Tony went to great lengths setting up fairy lights, candles, and expensive champagne.

It was Bucky's favorite memory because the two of you didn't get out of bed afterward for a good couple of days, celebrating a new step in your relationship.

It was your decision to plan your wedding. Because of your organization skills, you didn't trust anyone to do it. You were a perfectionist and this was your special day, it was Bucky's special day and it had to be just perfect.

The date was set for 9 months. And because you were so organized, your dress was already picked out and you had the arrangements set up for his suit.

Because Wanda, Nat, and Pepper became close friends to you. The invitation for them to be your bridesmaids was an easy decision to make. And they were overjoyed with happiness.

As the day got nearer and nearer, your nerves were through the roof.

Bucky had watched as you paced back and forth your living room, close to tears as the photographer had canceled on you at the last minute.

The wedding was in 2 days and there was no way on this planet you would find another photographer this close to the date.

"It's a disaster! We're not going to have any photos to show our kids. Oh my God, what do we do!" A sob broke out as you hung up the phone. Bucky stood and wrapped you in his strong arms and shushed you.

"It's gonna be ok, doll. I promise. You've worked so hard, go and run yourself a hot bath, relax and let me find a last-minute photographer." He insisted, leaving no room for arguing.

The bath had relaxed you, and Bucky took care of you in the night. Assuring you he had found a replacement but didn't say who it was, but you trusted Bucky.

On the morning of the wedding, you were shaking as you sat in your bathrobe in the hotel room in front of the mirror, having your hair and makeup done professionally. Your flowers had arrived on time, the girls were getting ready, everything was going according to plan.

You and Bucky decided to stick to the traditional way and spend the night apart. The first night he had spent away from you and he wouldn't do it again. He missed you and he was worried about you. He started overthinking the reasons why you would leave him but Steve quickly quieted his thoughts.

"I see the way she looks at you Buck, there is no way she would stand you up," Steve said, squeezing his shoulder as they got ready in their tailor-made suits.

"I love her so much." Bucky chuckled with tears in his eyes. He would carve his love for you over his heart if he wasn't afraid of needles.

"And she loves you. Enjoy the day, relax."

As the boys back at your shared apartment got ready. You were ready to slip into your dress. It was a gorgeous white lace dress, and it was one of your dreams. Even after you had spent hours upon hours searching Pinterest for dresses, they never compared to this one.

Your dress was tightened, and your veil was attached. You had half an hour to go before you needed to go to the venue.

You hoped Bucky didn't change his mind. Your love for him so was pure, ever since the day, you laid your eyes on him in the cafe. You couldn't imagine your life without him now.

He took care of you, took care of each other.

Bucky was the first to arrive. He walked down the aisle, greeting, smiling and thanking friends and family for coming. He waited by the priest, with Steve, Sam, Clint and Tony standing behind him. Everyone had a smile on their face. He was just waiting to see you.

With each second that passed, his heart beat faster. Then the doors opened, the music started to play and your bridesmaids walked down the aisle first and waited on the bride's side.

His eyes were fixated on the door. He gleamed when he saw you walk through them in your gorgeous dress. Flowers in your right hand, your left hand-linked around your father's arm as he walked you down the aisle.

You kept your eyes on your Bucky. And you couldn't believe how handsome he looked. His suit, his white flower pinned on the left side of his blazer. His hair slicked back and tied at the nape of his neck. He had shaved his beard and was left with stubble, one you couldn't wait to feel later tonight.

Everyone around you was invisible and each step you took towards him felt longer.

But you made it. You were given away, thanked your father and kissed his cheek as you stood next to Bucky and smiled lovingly at him.

"Hey, you." You whispered. Taking his hand in yours.

"Hey back. You ready for this?" He squeezed your hand. You squeezed it back assuring him you're ready.

The priest spoke, welcoming everyone as he joined you in matrimony.

Your eyes welled up as your vows were told. His words hit your heart and your love for this man just kept on growing.

"By the power invested in me. I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss your wife."

"I love you so much," Bucky whispered against your lips as he pressed his own to them.

"I love you too, so very much." You smiled as you pulled away. The sounds of applauds surrounded the two of you as you walked the aisle together. Confetti was thrown over you when you made it outside.

The photographer was Bruce. And you chuckled. His great green body had somehow managed to squeeze into a suit.

"Say cheese!" Bruce said. The flash blinded you but you honestly didn't care. "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Barnes!"

Everyone cheered and you kissed your husband with a passion.

The start of a new life as husband and wife.

Bucky would continue to count his lucky stars every day for the rest of his life. Fate caused you to be in that cafe on that day.

His ma would have absolutely adored you. His father too. And you cried one night as he was sad they couldn't be here for his special day.

You reminded him they were, in his heart and they forgave him. They loved him.

And your family was his family, he would never be alone.

Bucky once believed he deserved to be caged up and fed to dogs.

Bucky was once convinced that would happen.

This is his family and his life and nobody could ever dare take that away from him.

Taglist: @leosandbuckysgirl​ @jobean12-blog​ @sebbbystaaan​ Some others: @littledarlinhavefaithinme​​ @book-dragon-13​​ @criminal-cookies​​ @valkyriesryde​​ @mushyjellybeans​​ @emmandhercoffecrisp​​ @captainchrisstan​​ @this-kitten-is-smitten​ @godofplumsandthunder​​ @moonbeambucky​​ @searchingforbucky​​ ​ @buckythewhitewolfx​​ @your-highnessmarvel​ @katbtracy​ @mermaidxatxheart​

[houseisekai]

FE3H:HI Shadowbringers - Part 1: Return to Abyss

House Isekai Shadowbringers AU Masterlist Here

----

Being awoken by a familiar voice, Kazuma’s group, The denizens of Nazarick, and the School-Living Club find themselves separated from everyone after the battle of Garreg Mach.

As they try to reunite, they find that they are caught in a grand scheme of unknown purpose...

---

(Familliar Voice) “Just how long do you all plan to sleep? I did not save you all to just watch you be snoring away in this void!”

(Aqua) "Ngh...W-What?"

(Familliar Voice) “The time to wake is now...The time to stand on your legs with your own strength is now!”

(Aqua) "That voice is...so...familiar..."

(Familliar Voice) “The world is being swept away in the tides of war, light threatening to consume us all! Fodlan needs you, House Isekai!”

(Aqua) "...So...thi-"

(Familiar voice) “For the love of-"

(Kazuma's voice) "GET THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW!"

(Aqua) "DWAUH?!"

Aqua jolted herself awake, sitting completely upright so fast she accidentally headbutted Kazuma.

(Aqua) "ACK!"

(Kazuma) "AGH, MOTHERFUCK-OW!"

(Aqua) "Ow...Why were you so close to my fa-"

Aqua noticed him wiping a single tear away, but she didn't know if that was from almost breaking his nose with her head.

(Aqua) "...How long was I out?"

(Kazuma) "Dunno. Just woke up myself and our bodies ended up here."

Kazuma helped Aqua up and he took a look at his surroundings.

Darkness and Megumin were near the door, checking for any damage they may have-

...Door?

(Kazuma) "...We fell down the canyon, didn't we?"

(Megumin) "Ack! Yeah, my bones certainly feel it!"

(Darkness) "Disappointing, I don't feel it-"

(Kazuma) "Shut your pie hole. Now, if we fell down the cliff during the battle, why are we in a room?"

(Everyone) "..."

The first thing everyone did was look directly up. They were in an enclosed room, that much was certain.

(Darkness) "Did we fall into a building?"

(Kazuma) "If thats the case, where's the debris? Why are alive if we crashed through? None of us look terribly injured other than a few bruises."

As everyone continued to speculate in their heads what was going on, Megumin tried to open the door and get a better idea of where they were.

(Megumin) ? "Uh, the door's stuck."

Megumin tried yanking the handle open only to rip it off the door.

(Megumin) "...Uh oh."

(Kazuma) "Ah damn it! Look what you did!"

(Darkness) "...That normally doesn't happen unless the doors are very old are in need of repair.”

Darkness took another look at the room and noted that it was relatively dark. It wasn't pitch black thanks to a torch Kazuma lit himself with a spell, but the room didn't look like some ancient ruin.

In fact it looked a lot like...

(Darkness) "Are we in Garreg Mach?"

(Kazuma) "Aqua, you can see in the dark right? What's the verdict?"

(Aqua) "...Its kinda hard to say. It definitely looks like it, but we need to go outside the room."

(Megumin) "But how? I just broke the handle."

Darkness pulled out her sword.

(Darkness) "Stand back, Megumin! HAAAAAA-"

CRASH!

Somehow, Darkness managed to completely miss the door with her sword and hit the wall instead.

The blow created a hole wide enough for everyone to get through, no problem.

(Kazuma) "Nice aim."

(Darkness) "S-SHUT UP!"

Aqua took a good look around but still struggled to make out where they were.

(Aqua) "...I think we need to keep going. Frankly this could be any random dungeon in this world."

(Kazuma) "Hm, alright. Darkness, you take lead."

She nodded, and the four of them went on their way, deeper into the building...

...

[A Dark Sign - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

The Pleiades maids kept their weapons out as they silently advanced, Albedo with her axe still out leading the group.

Cocytus remained at their rear with all four weapons out while Aura and Mare continued to scan around them to find out where this was.

(Ainz) "Demiurge, do we have any idea yet?"

(Demiurge) "None yet, Lord Ainz. I'm afraid I do not recognize anything here."

The hallway they were going seemed to go on forever.

The only sounds he could hear was their footsteps.

They even tried to do a life scan spell but it didn't pick up anything.

(Ainz) "The only option then is to keep-"

(Shalltear) "Lord Ainz, there's a hole here!"

Everyoned turned to the right and saw a massive hole into a room.

The rooms they had passed by had all been intact, if a little old.

The door was still strangely intact, but it was clear the room had been abandoned for quite some time.

(Sebas) "It's hard to tell how recent that is..."

(Ainz) "Then let's keep going, we don't have any time to waste."

(Albedo) "By your command, Lord Ainz."

...

Footsteps began to loudly echo as Kurumi stepped out onto a massive arena-like area.

She used her torch to get a better look at the area around her but with no luck.

(Kurumi) "Guys, look at this!"

Yuuri, Yuki, Miki, and Megumi all came behind her, eyes widening.

(Yuki) "Its...really scary here."

(Kurumi) "Heh, no worries! If anything comes up, they're getting this nice little shovel to their heads!"

(Miki) "Kurumi-senpai, please take this a bit more seriously. We're the least equipped for a fight if it comes to one."

(Megumi) "As long as we stick together, we'll be okay."

(Yuuri) "..."

(Kurumi) "Yuuri? Whats up?"

(Yuuri) "...We're being followed."

...

thud...thud...thu-

Everyone moved to the side of the entrance as Kurumi readied her shovel.

Thud. Thud. Thud!

(Kurumi) "HYAAAAAH!"

CLANG!

THUD!

(Familliar Boy's Voice) "OW, SON OF A BITCH!"

Rounding the corner, Kurumi was about to swing again until she saw who it was.

(Kurumi) "Leclerc?!"

(Kurumi) "Thank god its you! I got so scared and-...Oh crap, I just clobbered you with a shovel!"

Kurumi helped him up, and the group walked over to them.

(Megumi) "Yuri, are you alright?"

(Yuri) "Yeah yeah, its fine Megunee. Heh, didn't think I'd see any of you guys down here."

(Miki) "So wait, that means we're back in Abyss!"

(Yuki) "Oh, everyone's out right? We need to group up with the others too!"

(Yuuri) "...When did your hair get so long?"

(Yuri) "Ya know, I was just about to ask you something similar. How do you guys look exactly the same 5 years later?"

(Everyone) "..."

(Kurumi) "...F-Five years?"

(Yuri) "You don't know? Thanks to you guys, you helped evacuate our people. But, according to reports, and my own scouts, you all fell into the canyon."

(Megumi) "That part is consistent at least. Well, we fell into the canyon but when we woke up, we found ourselves in here."

(Yuri) "So...you guys didn't blow anything up then?"

(Yuuri) "No, why?"

Yuri grabbed his sword and frowned.

(Yuri) "We got some intruders in here besides my group and the knights then...”

...

Several knights laid across the stones, blood splattered left and right.

The knight captain stepped forward and examined the bodies with his torch, looking up.

His men stood behind and in front of him, making sure if anything attacked, they’d be ready.

This was a tight hallway, and from the looks of it, these knights didn’t have time to react to whatever attacked them.

(Captain) “Alert all forces down here that we have intruders! I want every exit covered, every corner with three man squads!”

(Knight) “Yes sir!”

The team quickly scrambled back to the entrance of the hallway.

Once they were completely gone, Kazuma became visible once more, using his lurk ability to hide in the shadows far ahead of them.

(Kazuma) “Clear.”

Darkness, Megumin, and Aqua poked their heads from the corner and slowly walked to the bodies.

(Darkness) “These wounds don’t appear to be physical...”

Their armor had burn marks, suggesting whatever attacked them was magic based.

(Megumin) “Could be someone from House Isekai.”

(Kazuma) “Doubt it. If it was Class VII or any of the Persona users, they would’ve knocked them out. And if it was Nazarick, there wouldn’t have been anything to find except the blood.”

(Aqua) “Whatever it is, I hope we don’t find out...”

(Kazuma) “If we can follow those knights out, we may be able to find an exit out of here. At the very least we’ve figured out this is Abyss.”

(Darkness) “Then that means the Church won the battle while we were away if they’re down here.”

(Kazuma) “Damn. Well come on, we’re wasting ti-”

(Aqua) “Crap, in front of us!”

Everyone turned around and saw a torch light coming around the corner where the patrol of knights went out of.

The four could hear the heavy footsteps of armor marching towards them.

(Kazuma) “You gotta be-Shit, alright! Come on, we’re going back the way we came and we’re choosing a different way, MOVE YOUR ASSES!”

...

Ainz and his group eventually made his way to a flight of stairs upwards into the Monastery, arriving near the old student dorms.

It was nighttime when they emerged, the moonlight covering the entire monastery in a soft white glow.

Albedo looked around first, giving the all clear signal.

The Pleiades maids took positions around the walls to find any knights, but were unable to.

(Aura) “No life detected up here, Lord Ainz. Just us.”

(Mare) “W-Where are all the soldiers?”

(Ainz) “Good question...”

Sebas opened one of the student’s doors and looked around, noticing how dusty it was, with cobwebs formed all over it.

The Pleiades maids did the same, opening up the dorms room by room.

(Yuri Alpha) “Strange. We fell into the canyon when it was late afternoon. By all accounts, the rooms should be relatively unchanged and soldiers should be all over the Monastery.”

(Solution) “Yet everything looks like its been abandoned for years.”

(Pandora’s Actor) “Perhaps it’s been more than a few days than our awakening?”

(Cocytus) “I DOUBT THAT THIS AMOUNT OF AGING COULD HAPPEN IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.”

(Ainz) “...We will investigate the dorm rooms. Sebas, you and the Pleiades will check our surroundings and make sure no surprises await us.”

(Sebas) “My Lord.”

The Pleiades knelt down quickly, then jumped onto the rooftops and began their scouting.

(Shalltear) “...This quiet is troubling me.”

(Demiurge) “It’s as Mare asks, where are the soldiers? If the Church was victorious, we should have seen multiple sentries on the way. And the same goes for the Imperials.’

(Ainz) “Let us keep looking. If we see anyone, we take them prisoner and find out what we know. No killing.”

Everyone nodded and went on to investigating the dorms and the nearby greenhouse.

Narberal and Solution went to the graveyards as their sisters looked elsewhere.

They said nothing as they looked over the walls and into the nearby rooms, weapons drawn.

Still nothing.

Narberal took a quick glance at the graves then back at the classes-...

Something wasn’t right.

She turned back to the graves and noticed one had been dug up.

Narberal looked to Solution and hit the nearby stones loud enough for her sister to hear.

Solution saw Narberal motion her head downwards, and they went down to the entrance of the graves and went towards the dug up grave.

Solution nodded as to keep watch while Narberal knelt down to get a better look.

While embarassingly enough, she couldn’t actually read the language of Fodlan, she was able to decipher the name of who the dug up grave belonged to.

‘Sitri’.

Narberal furrowed her brow.

‘Sitri’. Sitri was that woman who was Byleth’s mother and Aelfric fused with during that incident with the Ashen Wolves earlier in the year.

She and Lord Ainz were one of the few who personally made sure that her body was put to rest, so why was the coffin gone?

Narberal put her fingers to her ear for a message.

(Narberal) “Lord Ainz. This is Narberal Gamma.”

(Ainz’s Voice) “Report.”

(Narberal) “No one has been spotted yet, but there is something...troubling, to say the least that I have discovered. It’s about Sitri, her grave has been dug up.

(Ainz’s Voice) “...How recent was it?”

Narberal poked at the dirt and noticed how soft it was.

(Narberal) “Very recent. As to where the person who dug it up went, I am unsure of.”

(Ainz’s Voice) “...Hmph. This is Lord Ainz, everyone regroup at the dorms, I think we finally have a lead.”

Ainz started making his way back to the entrance of Abyss.

(Cocytus) “WE ARE HEADED BACK IN?”

(Ainz) “Yes. Someone has very recently dug up the grave of Byleth’s mother.”

(Albedo) “What could anyone in this world possibly want with a corpse of a woman?”

(Ainz) “If it’s anything like last time, nothing good...”

...

Yuri opened the door to the Ashen Wolves’ old hangout spot and revealed Constance, Hapi, and Balthus in the room.

(Hapi) “Hey Yuri-bird...Well, aren’t you guys a sight for sore eyes?”

(Megumi) “Thank goodness, you’re all okay!”

(Constance) “Hah, but of course we are! A few grunt soldiers aren’t enough to stop a Nuve-”

(Balthus) “HAH! I knew it! There’s no way that you guys died during that battle!”

(Constance) “H-Hey, I was talking!-”

(Yuki) “You all look so different...!”

(Hapi) “And...you guys look exactly the same?”

(Constance) “Huh. Now that you mention it, they don’t look any different despite the years that have passed.”

(Miki) “What is going on here...?”

(Yuri) “When we get out of here, we can start speculating on that all we like. Right now, we’re not the only ones down here besides the Knights.”

(Balthus) “Think whoever it was caused that explosion?”

(Yuri) “Definitely.”

(Yuki) “Maybe it’s others from House Isekai?”

(Constance) “I sincerely doubt any of your friends are that stupid to give away their location like that!”

(Everyone) “...”

(Constance) “...Okay, maybe there’s just a few of them that would.”

(Megumi) “Actually if I can ask, what are you four doing back here in Abyss if the Church has occupied it?”

(Hapi) “At first, it was just to keep our promise we made to Byleth and your class, to meet up here five years later for the Millennium festival. We still got about 4 days before that actually happens but we figured it’d be better to come here early.”

(Constance) “And from what we have gathered, it hasn’t been a full occupation by the Church. I think these men were sent here to assess the damage from the battle and see how much forces were needed to take it back.”

(Balthus) “As we were sneaking through, we heard a loud explosion, which alerted the knights as well.”

(Kurumi) “How deep in Abyss was that explosion?”

(Yuri) “We were originally near it, actually. I heard some voices which sounded like yours, so I followed it, since it didn’t sound like the knights. Lo and behold, it was you all.”

(Balthus) “And since we have those extra days, we might as well investigate it and take care of any knights in our way! You still know how to swing that shovel, Kurumi?”

Kurumi smiled and swung the shovel up onto her shoulder.

(Kurumi) “You bet I do!”

(Constance) “Fantastic! We do not know what’s down there, so we’ll need all the help we can get!”

(Hapi) “As for the rest of you, we’ll find you a weapon on the way so you can at least defend yourselves. Now let’s go ahead and get moving, we’re sitting ducks right now.”

Everyone gathered their gear and went outside the room, traversing deeper into Abyss.

...

Kazuma leaned on the wall as he was running out of breath. He checked behind him, and Megumin and Aqua were in the same state.

Darkness was perfectly fine, not even breaking a sweat from all that chasing.

He looked around the room and noticed it was very spacious, almost like an arena of some sort.

(Megumin) “I...think I’ve been down here before actually.”

(Aqua) “Really? When?”

(Kazuma) “Not important right now! Did we lose them?”

(Captain’s voice) “SPREAD OUT! I WANT THEM CAPTURED ALIVE!”

(Kazuma) “...Shit.”

(Megumin) “O-Oh, I know! We can go down there!”

There was a stairway that had a soft orange glow radiating from a doorway at the end of it.

(Darkness) “Well, if it comes to fighting, we may as well fight where we can see them!”

(Kazuma) “We are NOT going into that deathtrap just so your libido can get satisfied!”

(Darkness) “W-Wha?! I’m being serious!”

(Knight) “I think I heard something!”

(Aqua) “Deathtrap it is! UP UP UP WE GO!”

Aqua ran first down the stairs, followed by Megumin. Kazuma groaned but followed in suit, Darkness going last.

Aqua threw the door open, stopping dead in her tracks with eyes going wide.

They all collided into each other and fell onto the floor.

(Kazuma) “Hey, why the hell did you-...” !!! “...S-Stop...?”

[Those Who Sow Darkness - Fire Emblem Three Houses OST]

The room they were in seemed like a chamber, but it was covered in blood with bodies dressed in black strewn all over the floors. Some were torn in half while some other bodies were missing heads.

Despite all that, that wasn’t what caught everyone’s attention.

It was an open coffin, with a body inside of it that was disturbingly clean.

And the body that was very much alive standing over it.

It was a figure dressed in black like the rest of the corpses in the room, and it slowly turned around to face the four.

(???) “What do we have here?”

A man’s voice came from the figure, but he was wearing a mask, making it impossible to tell who it was.

Everyone quickly got up and drew their weapons.

(???) “Ah. I had mistaken you as part of those zealous knights, but no, you are something far more interesting! You are one of the last part of Byleth’s little class!”

(Aqua) “Who are you, creep?!”

(???) “...Let’s just say, someone who knows what will happen if I were to harm any of you.”

(Kazuma) “Yeah, we’d put you into the dirt!”

(???) “I doubt by the likes of you idiots. No, it is your teacher who would see my head mounted on his wall. He’s become something of a reaper to our group as of late...”

(Aqua) “You think we need Byleth to kick your sorry ass? TURN UNDEAD!”

Aqua raised her hand at the figure, but nothing happened. Not even a glow of light emitted from her palm.

(???) “....Even if that spell WERE to work, I assure you, I am VERY much alive! Not unlike my poor colleagues here. And I told them to be careful as well...”

(Aqua) “M-My spells aren’t working?!”

(???) “I silenced the room, so to speak. No magic spells, not even mine, will work unless I say so. I anticipated you all to be the more threatening of your group here, but it seems I overreacted.”

(Kazuma) “Wait a- YOU’RE ONE OF THOSE DAMN MOLE PEOPLE WITH THE GOD AWFUL NAME!”

(Everyone) ?

(???) “’...Just so I never have to hear us referred to as ‘Mole-people’ ever again, you may call us Agarthans. We, are true sons and daughters of humanity, fighting against that bastard Seiros! And considering what has happened to you all, we need not be adversaries.”

(Darkness) “And side with the very people who murdered Byleth’s father and countless students, do you think us THAT stupid?!”

(???) “That was a poor display by my colleagues, and something I voiced against, if you choose to believe it.”

(Megumin) “Alright, sure, we believe you. Now what’s with that body?!”

(???) “Hmph. I thought it was obvious enough. Though unfortunately for you all, that is all the explanations you are getting from me, it seems we have overstayed our welcome.” 

Knights burst into the room and completely covered the entrance.

(Captain) “Freeze! Don’t move a-...What in the goddess’s name?!”

(Knight) “Sir, those are Imperials!”

(Captain) “SEIZE THEM!”

(???) “I’d advise you four to get down.”

The four turned around and saw the blood rising into the air and going into the body in the coffin.

And a dark purple light emitting from the man’s hand.

(Kazuma) “OH SHIT!”

Kazuma grabbed the three and jumped to the side, a dark spell hitting the Captain first, and the explosion catching the knights.

The entire squad exploded into bits with their limbs slamming against the wall.

All the blood that shot out from their bodies was pulled into the coffin like mist.

The man walked away as the last of the blood began to dissipate and he turned to Kazuma.

(Kazuma) “What, you too lazy to pick that corpse up with you?”

(???) “She is a corpse no longer. Though, she may need a little more lifeforce, but I’m sure you’ll find a way. Consider it my gift to you...Oh, and before I forget, I recommend you steel yourself for battle. We accidentally triggered some form of defense while traversing the depths to get her.”

Before anyone could respond, he teleported away.

(Aqua) “Damn it, that little prick got away!”

(Darkness) “...What did he mean by ‘she’?”

The four got up and went to the coffin.

Megumin gasped audibly seeing who was inside.

(Megumin) “Sitri?!”

(Aqua) “What the- what were they doing with her?!”

(Sitri) “...N-Ngh...!”

(Everyone) ?!

(Kazuma) “What the fuck- Is that what all the blood was going into?!”

(Aqua) “I-I could try healing magic-”

(Megumin) “Hold up a second! I think dark magic was used for this to even happen, I think holy skills would hurt her!”

(Darkness) “C-Can we even trust the words of that man?!”

(Kazuma) “Shit, well we gotta do something to get some life into her and-...”

Kazuma grabbed Darkness’s neck and Sitri’s hand, using his skill life drain.

(Darkness) HOOUWAAAUAAAGGGGGGGGH?!

...

Sitri suddenly felt her body come back to life slowly, but surely. Her eyes opened slowly, but everything was too blurry to tell where she was.

Her sense of hearing was coming back as well, and she could hear several muffled voices.

Finally opening her eyes, Sitri was-

[We’re Hungry because We’re Alive - Konosuba OST]

(Kazuma) “HARUUKAACKFAAACK!-”

(Aqua) “Wow, that looks painful.”

(Megumin) “Doesn’t she get off on that?”

(Darkness) “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT TO ME AGAIN!”

(Kazuma) “EETWASHANEMERGENCHY!YOUHAVEMOSTHPOFAAACK!”

...Sitri was horribly confused.

(Megumin) “G-Guys, she’s awake!”

Darkness let go of Kazuma’s neck and he grabbed the side of the coffin almost tipping it over.

(Sitri) “W-Wha?!”

Darkness acted quickly and grabbed the other side of the coffin, though she accidentally grabbed it too hard, catapulting Sitri into the air.

(Sitri) “AAAAH!”

(Kazuma) “SHIT!”

Kazuma caught Sitri as she fell, which made him collapse into Aqua and Megumin as well.

(Aqua) “OW! DAMN IT KAZUMA!”

(Megumin) “Oof...”

(Darkness) “O-Oh! Ma’am, I am so sorry!”

(Sitri) “I...I...What?! Who are you people?!”

(Kazuma) “H-Hang on!”

Kazuma only helped Sitri up while the Megumin and Aqua had to get themselves up.

(Kazuma) “I’m Kazuma, that’s Megumin, Darkness, and Aqua.”

(Sitri) “...”

Sitri did not feel any less uncomfortable.

(Megumin) “Oh um...Miss Sitri, it’s nice to finally meet you!”

[To the Resting Place - Konosuba OST]

(Sitri) “You...know who I am?”

The three let Megumin in front, since she dealt with the incident regarding Sitri personally.

(Megumin) “Y-Yes. The four of us are students of Byleth, your son.”

Sitri looked shocked at first but smiled.

(Sitri) “Oh, Byleth became a teacher...”

Upon hearing that she started to laugh. Though, tears started to roll down her cheeks.

She wasn’t there to see her son grow up.

(Sitri) “How is he? A-As a teacher, I mean.”

(Megumin) “Hah well...He was a bit awkward at first, not knowing how to deal with the rest of the class. But overtime, he became such an inspiration to us all. I don’t think I’ve had any teacher as great as him.”

Sitri took a breath of relief.

(Sitri) “Then Jeralt raised him right...I knew he would. If I may ask, is his father doing alright?”

Sitri didn’t like the faces they suddenly made.

Aqua was about to say something, but Kazuma put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

Darkness looked down in silence while Megumin took off her hat and spoke in a more soft tone.

(Megumin) “I...I’m sorry to say Jeralt died, saving Byleth and several other students.”

Sitri stopped smiling.

(Sitri) “I...I see.”

(Darkness) “We personally took care of those responsible for his demise. We buried him alongside you, actually.”

Sitri nodded, and a sad smile was on her face.

(Sitri) “Thank you.”

...It took a second for Sitri to realize what she had said.

Buried Jeralt alongside her.

She’s alive.

She’s alive?

Why is she alive?

It was then she noticed what kind of state the room was in. The bodies and body parts lying everywhere.

(Sitri) “What...What happened here?!”

(Kazuma) “...That’s right. We HAVE to get out of here!”

(Aqua) “Wait a second, I hear footsteps!”

Everyone got into positions, Kazuma and Darkness at the front with Aqua and Megumin behind.

Megumin put her arm in front of Sitri.

(Megumin) “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you!”

The door swung open, and someone came charging in.

(Kurumi) “GET OUT OF OUR SCHOOL YOU PUNKS!-”

(Kazuma) “The fuc- WOAH WOAH WOAH!”

Kurumi stopped midway once she realized who they were and slipped, making her fall face first into the floor.

Her shovel went into the floor as well, making a loud clanging noise.

(Yuri) “Kurumi! You idiot, I said to...Wait...Kazuma?”

(Kazuma) “Yuri, Ebisuzawa?! HOLY SHIT, YOU GUYS ARE...Dude your hair, how did it-”

Kurumi peeled herself off the floor and grabbed her shovel.

(Kurumi) “SATOU! YOU GUYS ARE OKAY!”

She hugged Kazuma which made him go stiff.

(Kazuma) “H-Hey, let go of me!”

Kazuma’s group relaxed and put away their weapons.

(Darkness) “Finally, some friendly faces!”

The rest of the School-Living Club and Ashen Wolves went into the room.

(Megumi) “Oh, thank goodness, you’re safe!”

(Aqua) “Megunee! You will not BELIEVE what we just went through!”

(Hapi) “Hm. Finally some good news for a-...?!”

(Constance) “Hapi? What is the ma-...!?”

Yuri and Balthus noticed it too and were as silent as them.

(Yuuri) “...Who’s the woman in the back?”

(Miki) “Isn’t her hair color a bit like...?”

(Yuki) “Byleth-sensei’s!”

Megumi and Kurumi looked at Sitri as well, the room going dead silent.

(Yuri) “She’s...She’s alive.”

Sitri felt tense, not knowing what to say to the group staring at her.

(Sitri) “Um...”

Rumble...!

(Kazuma) “The hell?”

(Yuri) “Tch, now that one sounded close!”

(Kurumi) “Is the place coming apart or something?”

(Balthus) “Don’t think we should stick around to find out!”

(Yuri) “Move it people, we’re leaving Abyss!”

Everyone nodded, dashing out the room.

Megumin held onto Sitri’s hand as she dragged her along with the others.

They made their way into the center of the arena, going into the hallway the entered in.

(Yuri) “Hapi, how close was that explosion to us?!”

KAFOOOOOM!

The wall in front of them completely exploded, shooting stone everywhere.

[In the Name of Ainz Ooal Gown - OVERLORD OST]

(Megumi) “OH MY GOD!”

A giant golem was being smashed into pieces by a an armor clad figure with an axe almost as big as the figure was.

From the hole created, several maids jumped into the battle and started severing the golem’s limbs.

(Constance) “Wait a moment, battle maids? I know who they are! NARBERAL!”

Narberal and Albedo finished smashing the head into pieces killing the golem, but her face twitched upon hearing the voice.

(Narberal) “Oh, please not her-.”

(Constance) “HAVE I MISSED YOUR COMPANY DEAR NABE!”

The other maids began to laugh as Narberal refused to turn around.

(Kazuma) “A-Albedo, is that you?!”

(Albedo) “Ah, the other members of House Isekai. For once, I am glad to see you humans safe.” 

The rest of Nazarick came through and noticed who she was talking to.

(Aura) “Hey, the School-Living Club!”

(Shalltear) “Surprising, Kazuma’s group is somehow alive.”

(Cocytus) “I AM GLAD TO SEE MY FELLOW STUDENTS SAFE, IT SEEMS THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES HERE IN ABYSS.”

(Ainz) “Everyone, focus! We’re not out just yet!”

(Demiurge) “Oh? I believe we just found our missing body.”

Sitri was scared by what she was seeing since most of these ‘classmates’ weren’t humans.

(Narberal) “Hmph. So they found Sitri. I suppose I should say good job.”

(Kazuma) “S-Shit that’s right! The defense mechanisms!”

(Yuri) “Defense mechanisms? What do you mean?!”

...

(Ainz) “So, now that we’ve successfully revived her, every monster that’s down here is about to come on top of our heads.”

(Kurumi) “Welp, that’s just great! Why did they only activate now though, she was brought out of her resting place before, right?!”

(Yuri) “No idea. I guess that’s something we’ll have to interrogate that black hooded bastard for! Miss Eisner, can you keep up with us on your own? We’re going to need every fighter we can get.”

(Sitri) “Y-Yes!”

(Kazuma) “It’s a long climb up. There’s a lot of us, but no doubt there’s going to be a big bad monster after our asses.”

(Ainz) “So, it’s just like a raid...Heheh...”

(Everyone) ?

(Ainz) “Perfect. EVERYONE! Our duty is to escape with everyone, no man left behind.”

(Yuri) “Uh...what is he doing?”

(Kazuma) “S-SHSHSHHH! He’s having a moment where he actually knows what to do, don’t let him get distracted!”

Pretending to not have heard that, Ainz continued.

(Ainz) “You will protect Sitri as if she were me, and I will tolerate no excuses if any harm is to come to her! Pleiades, you will guard the rear, taking care of any of the lower mobs that will inevitably aggro to us.”

(Sebas & Yuri Alpha) “Understood, my lord!”

(Ainz) “Albedo, you will be the vanguard, drawing anything to you. Shalltear, Mare, the Ashen Wolves and Kazuma’s group will be accompanying you. Remaining in the middle will be the School-Living Club, Sitri, Demiurge, Cocytus, Aura, and Pandora’s Actor. Pandora’s actor will be leading Alliance A, Sebas will lead Alliance B, and I will lead Alliance C.”

(Everyone) “Yes, Lord Ainz!”

(Yuri) “Wow, that’s the most organized I’ve seen him-”

(Shalltear) “Watch your tongue, human.”

The floor beneath them began to rumble.

(Ainz) “GET WITH YOUR PARTY, NOW!”

Everyone scrambled to their positions.

(Ainz) “Now...

Time to make our escape!”

[Clash - OVERLORD OST]

Albedo charged into the hallways first, Alliances A and B following closely behind. 

(Ainz) “Yuri, you know the way out of here?”

(Yuri) “Yeah, we take a left once we get to the next intersection of hallways!”

They rounded the corner and found what Yuri was talking about.

Before they could progress any further, they were stopped by several knights.

(Knight) “FREEZE!”

Albedo raised her axe and cleaved the first knight in half, twirling it to the other side and decapitating another that tried to swing his sword.

A knight further back raised his bow and aimed it at Albedo.

(Kazuma) “STEAL!”

A glowing light came out of Kazuma’s hand, a small gust of wind blew past everyone.

The archer noticed something felt colder, but he still had his bow and arrow.

(Kazuma) “AW, FUCKING GROSS!”

He dropped the knight’s underwear and wiped his hand on his jeans.

The knight was distracted long enough for a spell to hit him in the stomach, sending him flying back.

(Shalltear) “Hah, I can see your priorities clearly, Satou!”

(Kazuma) “LIKE YOU’RE ONE TO TALK!”

(Yuri) “Now, to the left!”

Meanwhile at the back, CZ used her rifle to blast away any incoming automatons of Abyss charging at them.

Once one got close enough, Sebas’s fist came into contact with its head at almost blinding speeds, sending the body flying back and hitting several others after them.

Narberal casted lightning through her fingertips and shot it at the group that Sebas had knocked down, causing them to explode into debris.

Several more came barreling in, everyone doing their best to not let a single one through.

Lupusregina skewered one with her staff while Entoma had hundreds of insects shoot out of her sleeve and eat away at another, though two slipped past them.

Yuri grabbed one as it was rushing up the hallway and smashed its head into the wall, Solution catching the other one by deforming her arm into a whip-like slime arm.

It struggled to move as Kurumi knocked its head off with her shovel, with Cocytus stabbing the body with a single arm.

Before Kurumi could take a breath, she noticed even more coming towards them.

(Kurumi) “You gotta be kidding me!”

(Pandora’s Actor) “Father, it looks like they’re increasing the number of automatons! How is our escape looking?”

(Ainz) “1. Don’t call me that, and 2.-”

Ainz casted a fireball and lit a Knight on fire, everyone else caught into a fight.

(Ainz) “-Get up here and prepare for a fight!”

Yuri dodged out the way of a knight swinging his sword, and countered with his own attack, the slash catching the knight in the chest.

Before another knight could get Yuri from behind, Balthus kicked him down and stomped on his head.

Constance, Hapi, and Shalltear casted a spell together, creating a giant pillar of light that disentigrated a group of knights coming at them.

(Aqua) “Incoming right!”

Albedo swung her axe and slammed it to her right, chopping off the top half of a knight using the shadows to ambush them. She looked down the hall and saw a massive bridge in front of them.

(Darkness) “That’s right near the entrance to Abyss!”

Another knight came up from behind, and Darkness slashed her sword at his head.

(Knight) “...H-Huh?”

(Albedo) “YOU MISSED?!”

(Darkness) “DON’T MAKE FUN OF ME!”

Mare’s staff hit the leg of the knight, snapping it completely backwards, making him scream.

(Mare) “It’s probably too dark for you to hit accurately, right?”

(Darkness) “Y-Yes, that’s exactly it!”

(Kazuma) “SHUT UP AND KEEP MOVING.”

Kazuma cast an enemy detection skill and noticed a large one coming from below the bridge, at a rapid speed.

(Kazuma) “Ooooh, SHIT! EVERYONE, WE NEED TO GET OVER THAT BRIDGE NOW! SOMETHING BIG IS COMING!”

Alliance C stood at the exit of the bridge fighting off any automaton while the other two alliances caught up.

Alliance B went first, Yuri Alpha and Sebas killing any knight that was coming to them, with Alliance A coming into the middle.

Alliance C went onto the bridge once the last members passed by, all dashing to the middle of the room.

Right as Megumin was the last one to pass the bridge, a massive automaton emerged from the depths, smashing the bridge into pieces.

(Ainz) “Hah, it actually is like a raid, now we’ve reached the boss!”

(Yuri) “H-How are we supposed to fight that?!”

(Ainz) “TANKS, FRONT AND CENTER!”

Albedo and Darkness ran to the front, weapons at the ready.

(Ainz) “Now, YOU WILL SEE THE FULL MIGHT OF-”

(Kazuma) “Fuck that, MEGUMIN, LIMIT BREAK TIME!”

(Megumin) “...Does that mean-”

(Kazuma) “YES, KABOOM, HURRY YOUR ASS!”

(Yuuri) “Uh oh.”

(Sitri) “K-Kaboom? What does that-”

(Yuki) “IT MEANS GET DOWN!”

The room around them turned into a dark orange as Megumin aimed her staff at the automaton.

“EXPLOOOOOOOOOOOOOSION!”

A tiny ball of flame appeared below the automaton, then erupted into a blinding light, and shook the entire room so violently that any pillars near them completely melted into ash from the explosion.

It sent everyone flying back from the sheer force of the explosion being so close.

When everyone opened their eyes, it was completely gone.

(Sitri) “...o-ow...”

(Megumin) “YEAAAAH! I DID IT!”

WHAP!

Megumin slammed face first into the floor.

(Everyone) “...”

[Duty Complete (Victory theme) - Final Fantasy XIV OST]

DADADADA DA DA DA DADA DAAAAAAAAAAAA!

(Sitri) “Is she going to be okay?”

(Aqua) “She’s used to it. She’s actually learned how to break her fall better since she started.”

(Sitri) “So this happens regularly?!”

(Yuri) “With these idiots, yeah. With us? They’re about as foreign to us as we are to you...”

(Ainz) “Everyone, you did well. I could not be any more proud of you all.”

(Albedo) “Hah, your praise is too much, Lord Ainz!”

(Cocytus) “WE ONLY DID WHAT WE WERE EXPECTED TO.”

(Ainz) “Part of me wishes that raid could’ve gone a bit longer...A-ANYWAYS...”

Before Ainz could finish his sentence, everyone began to hear clapping.

[Those Who Sow Darkness - Fire Emblem Three Houses OST]

They all turned to where the sound was coming from, and saw a man in black with a mask clapping his hands together.

(???) "Bravo, bravo! The others were already afraid of what your class was capable of, but once they get word of this, they'll be pissing themselves, haha!"

Everyone drew their weapons at him and he sighed in response.

(???) "...You still don't trust me. Eh, fair enough. Not like I'm exactly comfortable with you offworlders either."

The man turned to Sitri.

(???) "And its good to see you out and about, Sitri! Byleth will be happy with that at least."

(Sitri) "What do you know about my son, who are you?!"

(???) "...You may call me Lahabrea. I only know what I've been told from Thales and reports...and the few conversations I've held with him.”

(Megumi) "If you even laid a finger-"

(Lahabrea) "Hah! And get between him and his little crusade? I'd rather live, thank you...Though right now with your class's appearance all over Fodlan these past few years, he's not as ruthless as he used to be."

(Ainz) "Years?"

(Lahabrea) "I'm not the right person for THAT conversation. You have mister Leclerc for discussing how many years have passed. For now, I leave you in good faith, with your gift. Your other friends will be showing up in the next few days, so I'll be taking my leave. I feel as if I'm not welcome here anyway."

He raised his to his face and an aura of energy surrounded him.

(Lahabrea) "Oh, and the only thing I ask of you is to give a message to Byleth when he comes. Lahabrea sends his regards."

With that, he teleported away.

(Kurumi) "The heck is that supposed to mean?"

(Yuri) "...Before we get too settled in, lets get out of here. Last I checked the surface of Garreg Mach was clear."

Yuri motioned everyone to follow, and they all finally left Abyss together.

The next morning, everyone met up in the mess hall, answering each other’s questions of what happened in the past, what has been happening, and what House Isekai is to Sitri.

Sitri is utterly fascinated by this fifth house, sounding almost like a fairy tale, heroes coming into another world to save it and its people.

(Sitri) "House Isekai sounds..."

(Ainz) "Impossible?"

(Megumi) "Insane?"

(Kazuma) "Stupid?"

(Sitri) "Unique, actually. My son must be proud to have you all as his students but...what happened to him?"

(Yuuri) "The last I remember, Rean had his giant robot thing teleport Byleth away when we fell..."

(Megumi) "I hope he's okay..."

(Ainz) "I sincerely doubt anything would actually be able to harm him."

(Aqua) "Somethings been bothering me about that actually. We fell down that cliff, so how are we still alive, much less be here five years later?"

(Kurumi) "...When we woke up, I heard a voice gently talking to me...then it uh...screamed at me to wake up like she was my mom."

(Albedo) "Odd. That's what happened to us as well, though...that voice sounded familiar."

(Constance) "So, that answers how you all awoke, but how many others are here too?"

(Yuri) "The way that Lahabrea guy was speaking made it sound like some others of House Isekai made it here before you guys."

(Kazuma) "He said to my group that we were among the last to arrive. So how long have the others been here before we woke up?"

(Sitri) “And...why did he resurrect me?”

Everyone remained silent, trying to think of some possible answer.

(Yuri) “...Well, now that we cleared things up for Sitri-”

Yuri put his cup down on the table and looked to House Isekai’s members.

(Yuri) “-It’s about time we tell you guys what’s happened with the war.”

(Kazuma) “So, who’s winning, the Empire or the Church?”

The Ashen wolves looked at each other.

(Balthus) “About that...-”

-----

Outside Garreg Mach

Dimitri stared up at the Monastery silently.

It had been five long years since he last laid his eyes on it.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw someone walk towards him.

(Dimitri) "Edelgard..."

Edelgard stopped in front of him and the two remained silent.

Dimitri's solemn expression turned into a wide smile.

He raised his hand, and Edelgard grabbed his, both holding each others arms firmly.

(Dimitri) "Hah, it is good to see you again."

(Edelgard) "Likewise, old friend. It's been far too long."

The two turned to face Garreg Mach.

(Dimitri) “Best not to keep anyone waiting, right?”

(Edelgard) “After you.”

----

Year 1, Ruined building in Faerghus territory...

Byleth walked alone through the streets of this small town. He didn’t know what it was called.

All he knew was that it was destroyed in the last massive battle that took place here.

Imperial and Kingdom soldiers lay dead as he passed them by, not bothering to check if anyone’s breathing.

He stopped walking after a minute and reached for the Sword of the Creator.

Byleth activated the whip function of his sword before a voice spoke up.

(Man’s Voice) “I’m not here to attack you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Byleth slowly turned around and saw a man dressed in black, leaning against a wall.

It was nighttime and the area was almost pitch black, but Byleth could tell immediately what he was.

(Byleth) “Give me one reason I shouldn’t cut off your head right now, Agarthan.”

(???) “I can give you two, actually. One: Because I’m the first to actually talk to you instead of attacking, unlike the rest of the idiots who tried doing that. I doubt anyone who knew the reputation of the Ashen Demon would even come within a 100 mile radius of you.”

(Byleth) “And two?”

(???) “I can give you the power you seek to destroy the Church. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all.”

(Byleth) “...Just who are you?”

The man stepped forward and the light revealed that he was wearing a mask that covered his face.

(???) “You may call me...Lahabrea.”

PART 1: END

[Escape - Darling in the FranXX OST]

The forecasted rain wets us

What should I say to you, as you tremble? My soaked blazer is cold and heavy

I feel as helpless as a chick who's left its cage. I felt that my dreams were on the other side of the heavy clouds

I digested only the sweet pain that spread in my chest

I wonder if it'd be better if I'd never met you

Hey, I can't even see the stars

Hey, my tears won't fall either

To Be Continued in:

[funesgoal]

Undercover | Will Halstead (part 2)

Pairing: Will Halstead x Ruzek!reader

Word count: 1,777

Summary: Y/N is Adam Ruzek's sister but she is also very good at being undercover. Her aptitudes are very good for a cop, except she isn't one. One night she chooses the erroneous target and everything starts to go wrong.

Warnings: none.

Part 1

The Chicago police intelligence unit used to catch every criminal that it set out to catch. The other officers thought it was easy, but they never saw the work before the arrest. Searching for information, gathering facts, talking to informants. None of the superiors took into consideration their hard work, which was not done alone. Each and every one of the detectives in charge of Sergeant Voight put in their greatest effort to make the teamwork pay off.

But on this particular day, Detective Jay Halstead could not concentrate. His phone kept vibrating in his pants pocket, and that was something everyone had noticed.

"Halstead, are you with us?" Voight's gaze settled on him.

"Of course, sergeant."

"Well, tell that to your cell phone."

The boy's face turned red instantly because of the embarrassment he felt about being exposed by the boss, in front of all his buddies. He took out his smartphone and hid it under his desk, ready to kill the one who kept calling.

He was surprised to see that it was his brother Will.

«Stop bothering» He wrote the text as fast as he could and sent it. He immediately got a response.

«We need to talk. NOW. »

Millions of ideas crossed his mind about what might be happening and none of them was good. It could be his father. Will wouldn't bother him if it wasn't something important. He knew very well that he was at his workplace.

His thoughts must have been transferred to his face because when he raised his head, everyone, in the room was looking at him.

"Jay, do you need to go outside?" This time Voight wasn't being ironic, he was being supportive. The ex-soldier nodded to go somewhere away from the rest. "Thank you, sergeant" he said.

Once alone, he started calling.

"Will" his voice came out like a sigh as soon as his brother answered the call, "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I don't know" he answered. Jay didn't know how to interpret his tone of voice. "I'm so angry, how could I be so stupid!"

"Wait, wait" he tried to calm him down. "What are you talking about?"

The man on the other end of the line kept yelling things the detective couldn't understand. He asked him to calm down, one more time. "I have to tell you everything."

"It's all right."

"I've been robbed" there was a deep silence on the call. "Not on the street, not in the hospital. In my house. By a girl I met in a club."

Jay rolled his eyes. "I really can't believe you called me to talk about this. Report the lost property and get over it. It'll give you experience."

"You don't get it. It wasn't just a robbery. It was all planned, Jay. She injected me with some kind of substance to put me to sleep. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. She's turned the whole department upside down."

The detective didn't even let him finish. "It's okay. We're working on a case now but when you finish your shift at the hospital come down to the station so we can try to reconstruct his face and get an arrest warrant. Are you happy with that?"

"I don't know" Will finished the call and of course he wasn't happy with his brother's response. Meanwhile, he went back to Voight and the rest of the team.

Erin Lindsey was standing in front of the board. The images that were on it had been taped there a few minutes ago. "Julio Mamani. He belongs to the Latin Gods. We've seen him and his people before, but they had always gone unnoticed. They've cooperated with the police a few times." She said, pointing to the man in the first photo.

She stepped forward and pointed to the next photo. "Andrés Rivera. He has worked with the Latin Gods, but he separated from them in 2016. Our informants say Mamani and Rivera had fought and Mamani forced him out of Chicago. But one of Antonio's informants claims she's seen him come back."

"Do you trust her, Antonio?" Hank asked the dark-haired detective.

He nodded. "She's never lied to me. Her information has always been true."

"The question is, why is Rivera back right now?" continued Erin, trying to develop the information as clearly as possible. "If he left almost without a fight before, what's so important that he came back to face Mamani?"

Adam Ruzek stepped forward so that he could ask. "And why do we think Rivera came back for Mamani? I mean, maybe he forgot something the last time he was in Chicago."

"We know from this" She pointed to a picture with very low quality. The first thing you saw at first glance was the pixels. You could see that it was a cargo truck. The second thing you could see was the kilos of cocaine that the members of Latin Gods were taking out of the truck. "This image was obtained by Mouse from the security camera of a nearby pharmacy. All this cocaine, we could count at least 20 kilos, belonged to Rivera. He's been smuggling it into Chicago's Mamani areas for at least three years."

"We think Rivera's back to take down Mamani" Antonio stood up and joined Erin. "We're not sure, as I said, it's a theory."

Olinsky, from his hidden desk, made an important point. "And if Rivera ends up with Mamani, a gang fight will break out."

"Exactly" Erin finished. "And we can't let that happen."

Hank Voight nodded. He stood up, ready to give the orders.

"Halstead and Lindsay, find out everything you can about Rivera. I want to know every step he's taken in the last four years" the sergeant pointed them out. Then he turned to Ruzek and Atwater. "You two concentrate on Mamani. Find out about the places he usually hangs out. If Rivera goes looking for him, he'll probably do the same. Al, come with me."

Sergeant Platt appeared in the room accompanied by a red-haired man. He was wearing medical clothing and his face was unsettled.

"Halstead, your brother is here," said the woman, then she turned and walked out.

"Yes, thank you, sergeant."

Will Halstead joined his brother. He welcomed him with a smile, mocking him. "So... How are you?"

"Stop mocking me, Jay. I'm telling you, I'm serious. "

They weren't alone in the room. Erin Lindsey and Kevin Atwater were with the brothers. They both said hello, curious to know what was going on. It was the woman who asked first. Jay went ahead and answered.

"My brother had a problem with a girl."

"It wasn't my problem!"

"Atwater, how many girls you meet in bars do you take home?"

He didn't want to answer, but he didn't have time because Will beat him to it.

"I met this girl at a club, we had a couple of drinks and went to my apartment. I woke up today with the whole place a mess and no credit cards. I took a blood test" he pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket. "She injected me with midazolam."

"That's what you get for wanting to take every woman you see to the bed" he went back to bother him. "Kevin, could you help us make a portrait of her?"

Atwater nodded and got on with it. Erin took her notebook. "Tell us everything you remember about her."

"She was blonde, long hair, brown eyes. She must have been in her twenties, twenty-two. She was British. She said she arrived in Chicago just yesterday."

The woman was writing while the man was drawing on the tablet. Jay looked at him to ask him a question. "Did she tell you her name? Anything about where she was staying?"

Will snorted. He put his hands to his head, slowly denying. "She told me to call her «Agatha Christie» "

Then Jay and Kevin broke up in a fit of laughter. So much that Atwater had to put the tablet down to keep it from slipping out of his hands. Lindsey didn't copy them, though. "Come on, Erin. Don't pretend you're not amused."

"I am not really," she said, rereading her notes over and over again. "She just got to Chicago and the first thing she does is go to a club and make out with a guy?"

"That may not be your type, Erin, but hers is."

The woman bit her lower lip. She shook her head. "No, all of this is odd to me."

Atwater got in the way. "What do you think? Looked like her?" He showed him what the picture looked like. Will pointed out a couple of details and after the corrections, the man was sure of the picture.

"Yes, it looks like her" he suddenly seemed to remember something. He put his hand in one pocket and tried to find something, but without success, and then he went back to the other one.

Ruzek entered the room. He had a folder full of papers and looked ecstatic. "Hey, you won't believe what Mouse and I... Oh, hi, Will!" He walked over to the others and handed out different papers to the three detectives. "Well, what Mouse and I discovered. Every Friday night Mamani and a good number of the Latin Gods go to the West Meigs Casino. Apparently, they frequent certain prostitutes, one of whom is an informant for Antonio, which would serve as a starting point for us to go undercover."

"Great job, Ruzek" Kevin congratulated him.

"Wait, I haven't said the hard part yet. Mamani will be in a special room at the casino. The police could ask for a warrant, but, obviously, the Latin Gods wouldn't go if we did that. So, Mouse is trying to get away in and-What... How...Where did you get that, Will?"

Ruzek pointed to his right hand. The surgeon raised it in the air, showing what was in it.

"The girl left it at my house. She probably dropped it while she was putting away the money she stole from me."

"What are you talking about?" He said, but then he left his question behind. "You know what, never mind. That's a ticket to Room 11! Where Mamani will be!" the excitement was in the man's voice. "I have no idea how you got it, but now we just have to make enough copies. I'll go tell Mouse to do it. You're a genius, Will!"

Erin took one look at Jay. "You still think she had nothing to do with it?"

[baddadjokez]

514 Dad Jokes

What do you call a fake noodle? An Impasta.​I would avoid the sushi if I was you. It’s a little fishy.​Want to hear a joke about paper? Nevermind it’s tearable.​Why did the cookie cry? Because his father was a wafer so long!​I used to work in a shoe recycling shop. It was sole destroying.​What do you call a belt with a watch on it? A waist of time.​How do you organize an outer space party? You planet.​I went to a seafood disco last week... and pulled a mussel.​Do you know where you can get chicken broth in bulk? The stock market.​I cut my finger chopping cheese, but I think that I may have greater problems.​My cat was just sick on the carpet, I don’t think it’s feline well.​Why did the octopus beat the shark in a fight? Because it was well armed.​How much does a hipster weigh? An instagram.​What did daddy spider say to baby spider? You spend too much time on the web.​Atheism is a non-prophet organisation.​There’s a new type of broom out, it’s sweeping the nation.​What cheese can never be yours? Nacho cheese.​What did the Buffalo say to his little boy when he dropped him off at school? Bison.​Have you ever heard of a music group called Cellophane? They mostly wrap.​Why does Superman gets invited to dinners? Because he is a Supperhero.​How was Rome split in two? With a pair of Ceasars.​The shovel was a ground breaking invention.​A scarecrow says, "This job isn't for everyone, but hay, it's in my jeans."​A Buddhist walks up to a hot dog stand and says, "Make me one with everything."​Did you hear about the guy who lost the left side of his body? He's alright now.​What do you call a girl with one leg that's shorter than the other? Ilene.​I did a theatrical performance on puns. It was a play on words.​What do you do with a dead chemist? You barium.​I bet the person who created the door knocker won a Nobel prize.​Towels can’t tell jokes. They have a dry sense of humor.​Two birds are sitting on a perch and one says "Do you smell fish?"​Do you know sign language? You should learn it, it’s pretty handy.​What do you call a beautiful pumpkin? GOURDgeous.​Why did one banana spy on the other? Because she was appealing.​What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef.​What do you call a cow with two legs? Lean beef.​What do you call a cow with all of its legs? High steaks.​A cross eyed teacher couldn’t control his pupils.​After the accident, the juggler didn’t have the balls to do it.​I used to be afraid of hurdles, but I got over it.​To write with a broken pencil is pointless.​I read a book on anti-gravity. I couldn’t put it down.​I couldn’t remember how to throw a boomerang but it came back to me.​What should you do if you are cold? Stand in the corner. It’s 90 degrees.​How does Moses make coffee? Hebrews it.​The energizer bunny went to jail. He was charged with battery.​What did the alien say to the pitcher of water? Take me to your liter.​What happens when you eat too many spaghettiOs? You have a vowel movement.​The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray was a seasoned veteran.​Sausage puns are the wurst.​What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.​Why shouldn’t you trust atoms? They make up everything.​What’s it called when you have too many aliens? Extraterrestrials.​Want to hear a pizza joke? Nevermind, it’s too cheesy.​What do cows tell each other at bedtime? Dairy tales.​Why can’t you take inventory in Afghanistan? Because of the tally ban.​Why didn’t the lion win the race? Because he was racing a cheetah.​What happens to nitrogen when the sun comes up? It becomes daytrogen.​What’s it called when you put a cow in an elevator? Raising the steaks.​What’s america’s favorite soda? Mini soda.​Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing.​What kind of car does a sheep drive? Their SuBAHHru.​What do you call a french pig? Porque.​What do you call a line of rabbits marching backwards? A receding hairline.​Why don’t vampires go to barbecues? They don’t like steak.​How do trees access the internet? They log on.​Why should you never trust a train? They have loco motives.​Is your refrigerator running? Better go catch it.​The future,the present and the past walked into a bar.Things got a little tense.​I saw an ad for burial plots, and thought to myself this is the last thing I need.​I just found out I'm colorblind. The diagnosis came completely out of the purple.​I'd tell you a chemistry joke but I know I wouldn't get a reaction.​Have you ever tried to eat a clock? It's very time consuming.​I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.​Read enough of our funny puns, and you'll be punstoppable.​Yesterday a clown held the door for me. It was a nice jester.​I used to go fishing with Skrillex but he kept dropping the bass.​The wedding was so emotional even the cake was in tiers.​What does a house wear? A dress.​Why can't bicycles stand up on their own? Since they are 2 tired.​I owe a lot to the sidewalks. They’ve been keeping me off the streets for years.​Imagine if alarm clocks hit you back in the morning.It would be truly alarming.​Why is a skeleton a bad liar? You can see right through it.​What do you receive when you ask a lemon for help? Lemonaid.​A man sued an airline company after it lost his luggage. Sadly, he lost his case.​What does a dog say when he sits down on a piece of sandpaper? Ruff!​What do you call crystal clear urine? 1080pee.​At my boxing club there is only one punch bag. I hate waiting for the punch line!​An untalented gymast walks into a bar.​Einstein developed a theory about space, and it was about time too.​I was accused of being a plagiarist, their word not mine.​My friends say they don’t like skeleton puns. I should put more backbone into them.​Let me FILL you in on my trip to the dentist.​Why does the singer of Cheap Thrills not want us to Sia?​Traveling on a flying carpet is a rugged experience.​Cartoonist found dead in home. Details are sketchy.​The old woman who lived in a shoe wasn’t the sole owner,there were strings attached.​Did you hear about the crime in the parking garage? It was wrong on so many levels.​My new diet consists of aircraft, its a bit plane.​Have you ever tried to milk a cow which has been cut in half? Udder madness.​Why are there fences on graveyards? Because people are dying to get in.​Why do trees have so many friends? They branch out.​Models of dragons are not to scale.​Never discuss infinity with a mathematician, they can go on about it forever.​Why don’t some couples go to the gym? Because some relationships don’t work out.​Don’t trust people that do acupuncture, they’re back stabbers.​A persistent banker wouldn’t stop hitting on me so I asked him to leave me a loan.​I ordered a book of puns last week, but i didn't get it.​People say i look better without glasses but i just can't see it.​Don’t judge a meal by the look of the first course. It’s very souperficial.​I heard Donald Trump is going to ban shredded cheese, and make America grate again.​I relish the fact that you’ve mustard the strength to ketchup to me.​What do you call a young musician? A minor.​Police were called to a daycare yesterday, where a 2-year-old was resisting a rest.​If artists wear sketchers do linguists wear converse?​I changed my iPod name to Titanic. It’s syncing now.​Jill broke her finger today, but on the other hand she was completely fine.​I smeared some ketchup all over my eyes once. It was a bad idea in Heinz- sight.​I flipped a coin over an issue the other day, it was quite the toss-up.​I got hit in the head with a can of soda? Luckily it was a soft drink.​I heard that the post office was a male dominated industry.​Why isn’t suntanning an Olympic sport? Because the best you can ever get is bronze.​What do you mean June is over? Julying.​Why is Kylo Ren so angry? Beause he’s always Ben Solo.​These reversing cameras are great. Since I got one I haven’t looked back.​The candle quit his job because he felt burned out.​Our maintenance guy lost his legs on the job, now he’s just a handyman.​Going to bed with music on gave him sound sleep.​A magic tractor drove down the road and turned into a field!​I met some aliens from outer space. They were pretty down to earth.​The plane flight brought my acrophobia to new heights.​My phone has to wear glasses ever since it lost its contacts.​I, for one, like Roman numerals.​How do mountains see? They peak.​The show was called Spongebob Squarepants but everyone knows the star was Patrick.​This is not alcohol, water you thinking?!​Novice pirates make terrible singers because they can’t hit the high seas.​I told my friend she drew her eyebrows too high. She seemed surprised.​The earth's rotation really makes my day.​If I buy a bigger bed will I have more or less bedroom?​Two peanuts were walking in a tough neighborhood and one of them was a-salted.​Two ropes were walking in a tough neighborhood and one of them was a-frayed.​What kind of shoes do ninjas wear? Sneakers.​I got a master’s degree in being ignored; no one seems to care.​After eating the ship, the sea monster said, I can’t believe I ate the hull thing.​Smaller babies may be delivered by stork but the heavier ones need a crane.​A bartender broke up with her boyfriend, but he kept asking her for another shot.​I had a pun about insanity but then I lost it.​He couldn’t work out how to fix the washing machine so he threw in the towel.​Why does the man want to buy nine rackets? Cause tennis too many.​Why don’t cannibals eat clowns? Because they taste funny.​If I got paid in lots of Pennes I would make loads of pasta.​I thought I saw a spider on my laptop, but my friend said it was just a bug.​A doctor broke his leg while auditioning for a play.Luckily he still made the cast.​The tale of the haunted refrigerator was chilling.​Why are frogs so happy? They eat whatever bugs them.​If you wear cowboy clothes are you ranch dressing?​I was addicted to the hokey pokey but I turned myself around.​Simba, you're falling behind. I must ask you to Mufasa.​I bought a wooden whistle but it wooden whistle.​The bomb didn't want to go off. So it refused.​The sore mummy needed a Cairo-practor​I feel sorry for shopping carts. They’re always getting pushed around.​The display of still-life art was not at all moving!​On Halloween October is nearly Octover.​Pig puns are so boaring.​Why couldn’t the dead car drive into the cluttered garage? Lack of vroom.​What do you call Samsung's security guards? Guardians of the Galaxy.​What does Superman have in his drink? Just ice.​How does a penguin build it’s house? Igloos it together.​Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.​The safe was invented by a cop and a robber. It was quite a combination.​What do you do when balloons are hurt? You helium.​One hat says to the other, "You stay here, I’ll go on a head."​How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh? Ten tickles.​When does a farmer dance? When he drops the beet.​When the scientist wanted to clone a deer, he bought a doe it yourself kit.​If people ask how many puns I made in Germany I reply, "nein"​Did you hear about the invention of the white board? It was remarkable.​If Donald Trump becomes president, America is going toupee.​Can February March? No, but April May.​I hate Russian Dolls, they are so full of themselves.​What do you do to an open wardrobe? You closet.​The magazine about ceiling fans went out of business due to low circulation.​So what if I don’t know what apocalypse means? It’s not the end of the world!​Some aquatic mammals at the zoo escaped. It was otter chaos.​A backwards poem writes inverse.​Getting the ability to fly would be so uplifting.​I asked my friend, Nick, if he had 5 cents I could borrow. But he was Nicholas.​The soundtrack for Blackfish was orcastrated.​Where do you imprison a skeleton? In a rib cage.​There’s a fine line between the numerator and the denominator.​I used to work at a hairdresser but i just wasn’t cut out for it.​Why is metal and a microwave a match made in heaven? When they met, sparks flew.​The lumberjack loved his new computer. He especially enjoyed logging in.​Garbage collectors are rubbish drivers!​When the church relocated it had an organ transplant.​Lettuce take a moment to appreciate this salad pun.​The scarecrow get promoted because he was outstanding in his field.​Sleeping comes so naturally to me, I could do it with my eyes closed.​I never understood odorless chemicals, they never make scents.​What do prisoners use to call each other? Cell phones.​Why was dumbo sad? He felt irrelephant.​When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.​Old skiers never die. They just go down hill.​Did you hear about the pun that was actually funny? Neither have we.​You know why I like egg puns? They crack me up!​Want to hear a pun about ghosts? That's the spirit!​I used to make clown shoes… which was no small feat.​Did you hear about the human cannonball? Too bad he got fired!​What happened when the magician got mad? She pulled her hare out!​Did you hear about the circus that caught on fire? It was in tents.​The one day of the week that eggs are definitely afraid of is Fry-day.​A hen will always leave her house through the proper eggs-it.​The man who ate too many eggs was considered to be an egg-oholic.​All the hens consider the chef to be very mean because he beats the eggs.​Eskimos keep all of their chilled eggs inside of the egg-loo.​Under the doctor’s advice, the hen is laying off eggs for a few weeks.​I had a real problem making a hard-boiled egg this morning until I cracked it.​The best time of day to eat eggs is at the crack of dawn.​The chicken coop only had 2 doors since if it had 4 doors it would be a sedan.​Crossing a cement mixer and a chicken will result in you getting a brick layer.​That reckless little egg always seems to egg-celerate when he sees the light turn yellow.​Hopefully this egg pun doesn't make your brain too fried or scrambled.​Don't ever have multiple people wash dishes together. It's hard for them to stay in sink.​People using umbrellas always seem to be under the weather.​I dissected an iris today. It was an eye-opening experience.​What was Forrest Gump’s email password? 1forrest1.​What planet is like a circus? Saturn, it has three rings!​Before my father died he worked in a circus as a stilt walker. I used to look up to him.​Why did the lion eat the tightrope walker? He wanted a well-balanced meal!​I really look up to my tall friends.​I hate negative numbers and will stop at nothing to avoid them.​Long fairy tales have a tendency to dragon.​It takes guts to make a sausage.​Why shouldn’t you give Elsa a balloon? Because she’ll “Let It Go”!​What do you call cheese that’s not yours? Nacho cheese!​How do you make a tissue dance? Put a little boogie in it​What do you get when a witch goes to the beach? A sand-witch!​Where do cows go on Friday nights? To the mooooo-vies!​What did the mommy tomato say to the baby tomato? C’mon, ketchup!​Why did the banana go to the doctor? Because he wasn’t “peeling” well!​What did one snowman say to the other? Do you smell carrots?​Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance? Because he had no body to go with!​What is a pirate’s favorite letter? Arrrrrr!​What does a piece of toast wear to bed? His pa-JAM-as!​What does one eye say to the other eye? Something between us smells​Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide!​What happens when an egg laughs? It cracks up!​What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!​Why didn’t the teddy bear want dessert? Because he was stuffed!​Why can’t you tell a joke while ice skating? Because the ice might crack up!​What do you call a pig that knows karate? A pork chop!​What’s mommy and daddy’s favorite ride at the carnival? A married-go-round!​How did Cookie Monster feel after eating all the cookies? Pretty crummy!​What do you call a skunk who flies in a helicopter? A smelly-copter!​What do you get when you shake a cow? A milkshake!​How do you catch a squirrel? Climb up a tree and act like a nut!​Why did the bee get married? Because she found her honey!​What did the ocean say to their airplane? Nothing, it just waved!​Where do eskimo pigs live? In pig-loos.​What’s a dinosaur called when it’s sleeping? A dino-snore!​What did the cookie say to the annoying cookie? Crumb on!​Why did Mickey Mouse go up in space? To find Pluto!​What does Olaf eat for lunch? Icebergers!​What letter is always wet? The C!​How do you throw a space party? You planet.​How was Rome split in two? With a pair of Ceasars.​Nope. Unintended.​The shovel was a ground breaking invention, but everyone was blow away by the leaf blower.​A scarecrow says, "This job isn't for everyone, but hay, it's in my jeans."​A Buddhist walks up to a hot dog stand and says "Make me one with everything."​Did you hear about the guy who lost the left side of his body? He's alright now.​What do you call a girl with one leg that's shorter than the other? Ilene.​The broom swept the nation away.​I did a theatrical performance on puns. It was a play on words.​What does a clock do when it's hungry? It goes back for seconds.​What do you do with a dead chemist? You barium.​I bet the person who created the door knocker won a Nobel prize.​Towels can’t tell jokes. They have a dry sense of humor.​Two birds are sitting on a perch and one says “Do you smell fish?”​Did you hear about the cheese factory that exploded in france? There was nothing but des brie.​Do you know sign language? You should learn it, it’s pretty handy.​What do you call a beautiful pumpkin? GOURDgeous.​Why did one banana spy on the other? Because she was appealing.​What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef.​What do you call a cow with two legs? Lean beef.​What do you call a cow with all of its legs? High steaks.​A cross eyed teacher couldn’t control his pupils.​After the accident, the juggler didn’t have the balls to do it.​I used to be afraid of hurdles, but I got over it.​To write with a broken pencil is pointless.​I read a book on anti-gravity. I couldn’t put it down.​I couldn’t remember how to throw a boomerang but it came back to me.​What did the buffalo say to his son? Bison.​What should you do if you’re cold? Stand in the corner. It’s 90 degrees.​How does Moses make coffee? Hebrews it.​The energizer bunny went to jail. He was charged with battery.​What did the alien say to the pitcher of water? Take me to your liter.​What happens when you eat too many spaghettiOs? You have a vowel movement.​The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray was a seasoned veteran.​Sausage puns are the wurst.​What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.​How did Darth Vader know what luke was getting him for his birthday? He could sense his presence.​Why shouldn’t you trust atoms? They make up everything.​What’s the difference between a bench, a fish, and a bucket of glue? You can’t tune a bench but you can tuna fish. I bet you got stuck on the bucket of glue part.​What’s it called when you have too many aliens? Extraterrestrials.​Want to hear a pizza joke? Nevermind, it’s too cheesy.​What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta.​What do cows tell each other at bedtime? Dairy tales.​Why can’t you take inventory in Afghanistan? Because of the tally ban.​Why didn’t the lion win the race? Because he was racing a cheetah.​Why did the man dig a hole in his neighbor’s backyard and fill it with water? Because he meant well.​What happens to nitrogen when the sun comes up? It becomes daytrogen.​What’s it called when you put a cow in an elevator? Raising the steaks.​What’s america’s favorite soda? Mini soda.​Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing.​What kind of car does a sheep drive? A lamborghini, but if that breaks down they drive their SuBAHHru.

[luckystarcabs]

you go to my head

bucky barnes x reader, 1.3k words

a/n: this is a short lil thing based on you go to my head by billie holiday. i just wanted to try my hand at a pining bucky because i love when he’s being a sweet little idiot :’) no warnings, as far as i know. i hope you like this and thank you for reading! and once again, thank you so much to @sugarfreecapsicle​ for reading it first and dealing with my nerves and all my questions. you’re the beeeeest D:

It’s Steve’s birthday. Tony had insisted on a big to-do and absolutely wouldn’t let Steve weasel his way out of a very public celebration. Steve hadn’t so much as relented as Tony had just had his people plan the party anyway, and then turned the entire thing into a charity gala so Steve would feel bad about not showing up. And Tony, ever the clever host but more assuredly a consummate wise-ass, had also insisted on a theme. The Forties. Steve had acted put out when Tony smugly announced the theme and also the expectation that everyone arrive in period appropriate attire, but he had still dragged Bucky out to find a suit the very next day.

So now what has to be literally every Stark Industries employee and their plus ones are milling around the top two floors of Avengers Tower. Everyone is dressed in their vintage best with champagne flutes and mint juleps in hand, while Billie Holiday croons in the background. 

Being Pepper Potts’ assistant meant that you not only had a hand in throwing this whole thing together, but that you were somewhere amongst this mass of people. Bucky saw you when he first arrived and his breath caught in his chest. You were chatting animatedly with a few other Industry employees, all of them rightfully enraptured. You were radiant always, but tonight you were so especially, devastatingly beautiful that he couldn’t stop himself from staring. You must’ve felt him gawking then because you had looked directly at him, meeting his eyes with a glittering smile. His own mouth pressed involuntarily into a thin line, the most pathetic excuse for a smile in return. He broke from your gaze first, ducked his head in defeat and made a beeline to the bar. He needed a stiff drink and a minute to get a damn grip. He hasn’t seen you since.

Now he has his back pressed against a wall, the itchy wool suit jacket Steve had picked out and paid for shed and dropped unceremoniously to the floor by his feet. He’s partially hidden behind a pillar and far removed from the bulk of the party guests, resolutely not thinking about the fact that you hadn’t seemed to have a plus one. But at this point he’s really just watching the room and biding his time until he can dip into the elevator and down the couple levels to the floors reserved for the team. He’s happy to celebrate Steve, the guy deserves some praise and to have a good time, but for Bucky this is all just a little too much.

A number of couples are gathered in the middle of the room, revolving in languorous circles to the sultry tune floating through the air. He vaguely remembers this one, remembers shuffling across creaky wooden floors of smoky jazz clubs with his fair share of dames. A lifetime ago, before he was made a ghost.

He spots Steve, and you circled in his arms, in the dead center of the dance floor. His head is thrown back in a roar of a laugh and you stare up at him, smirking with eyes full of mischief. A warmth creeps up Bucky’s neck, his already rotten mood souring further. There's nothing between you and Steve beyond friendship, he knows that, but knowing is little comfort while he watches you laugh with him so easily, while he twirls you across the floor and back into his arms. Bucky watches the tulle hem of your dress fan out as you spin, drags his eyes back up your body and drinks in the whole picture of you. You’re a dream, he thinks. Your vintage dress is black, but still bursting with bright florals, soft and so sweet but with an edge, and it’s perfect for you. Your hair is down and spun in the softest curls, and Bucky wishes more than anything he could press in close and twirl them around his fingers. This whole party, this theme, is muddling his mind and making him feel more than a little strange, but god, if you don’t look beautiful done up this way. You’d have had him on a string back then. Hell, you do now.

Not that you’ll ever know. Actually he’s pretty sure you might already, but he’ll be damned if he ever says anything, both out of a fear you’ll break his heart by not feeling the same and an even greater fear that you’ll agree to give him a shot. Because if anybody would, it’d be you. You’re the best person he’s met this side of War World II. Sunshine personified, if the sun were warmer, brighter, unbelievably kind, with a quick wit and a smart ass mouth. You deserve someone who can shine right back. He may be once again corporeal, no longer quite the ghost he once was, but he’s still got a ways to go before he’s solid like he used to be. He could never ask you to wait.

The song ends quietly and you and Steve break apart. He gives you a little bow and you whack him on the shoulder, laughing once more, and when he stands straight you push up on your toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. Bucky’s own cheeks burn and he scowls, ducking his head to stare holes in the floor. When he lifts his head again you’re halfway to him and grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

After what feels like both half a second and a hundred years, you sidle right up next to him, close enough that the bare skin of your arm presses against his, warmth radiating into the cool metal through the thin material of his dress shirt like a fever. You’re both almost painfully quiet at first. Bucky is trying desperately to just keep it together, and you’re making quick work of finishing your glass for mostly the same reason. It’s you who speaks first, once you've downed your drink and set the glass on the floor. Your cheeks are pink when you give him a glance, and not solely from the champagne and the dancing.

“You gonna hold this wall up all night, soldier?”

“Thought about it. You seem to be having an alright time with the birthday boy, though…” he says, unable to keep the jealousy from his voice. You notice and heat envelopes you, coloring your cheeks further and resting heavy in your gut.

“We were talking about you, ya know. Wondering when you were gonna ask me to dance.”

You’re still facing straight ahead, but you cut your eyes to him uncharacteristically timidly, peeking through painted lashes for his reaction. Nerves have you both acting with old-fashioned modesty. His heart thrills when he feels you link your pinky around his, and when he doesn’t move away you slide your hand fully into his with a modern abandon. The smallest chuckle huffs from his lips, anxious and deliriously happy. The little sound makes your heart swell and gives you the last bit of encouragement you need. You drag him behind the pillar fully and pull him flush against you. Your arms circle his neck and his hands find your hips naturally, like that’s where they were meant to be this whole time.

The two of you spend the rest of the next song swaying hazily on a dance floor all your own before slipping still hand in hand to the elevator. When the doors close you fit yourself to his side, your arm wrapping around his waist as you drag his around your neck, and when you look up at him like that, smile soft and eyes shining, he forgets every reason he had that this could crash and burn; thinks maybe they were all bullshit to begin with.

[boreum-dal]

la confiture, pt. iii

fandom: miraculous ladybug (adrinette, nino/alya) 

summary: marinette dupain-cheng is one step closer to her dream of becoming a top chef when she's hired to cook at the famed restaurant, la confiture. but to get to the top, she's got to surpass adrien agreste, her rival and the son of la confiture's owner.

too bad he's so sweet that he's nearly impossible to dislike.

and too bad she loves when he invites her over after work to test out new dishes at his apartment.

and too bad his relationship with his father makes her want to hold him and never let him go.

and--just like that, her dreams don't seem so simple anymore.

“Marinette…”

Marinette turned around, too surprised to do anything besides look at Adrien’s hand, just barely touching her arm, and then up at his eyes, dazed and full of… What was that? Confusion? Appreciation? Something she didn’t know how to name. She wondered vaguely to herself how they could look so green and vibrant in the dim lamplight of his foyer. It wasn’t fair.

“Why... Why are you doing this for me?” Adrien asked, his voice quiet.

Marinette felt her heart drop, a soft breath escaping her. Oh, Adrien. “Because you’re my friend, of course. And I didn’t want you to be sick and alone with no one to help you.”

cross-posted: ao3

prev: i | ii

la confiture

part iii.

Comment from Chat Noir on “Chocolate-Glazed Marble Cake” 

1:31 AM

22/1

Hi, Ladybug! I hope you take comfort in the fact that the cake looked delicious, even if not the most aesthetically pleasing. It’s unfortunate that one of your cakes broke, but the other looked beautiful when it came out of the oven! I also totally sympathize with your frustration with tempering the chocolate for the glaze. Truth be told, for things like glaze, I find it’s much easier to do away with couverture and just go with a big slab of chocolate compound. You won’t have to deal with the mattifying effect you described, and the glaze will look professional grade. Thanks as always for your wonderful posts. They really do make my week!

  Reply Comment from Ladybug to Chat Noir on “Chocolate-Glazed Marble Cake”

2:40 AM

22/1

Chat Noir, thank you for the solid advice. I did a little reading on compounds after your post and am sad that I put myself through the pains of tempering couverture chocolate now, ha. Thanks also for your kind words. I always love getting to know my followers, but I’d like to say I’m so happy you’ve become a regular commenter these last few weeks. These days, I find myself wondering what you will have to say in particular about my dishes with each post! Please take care. 

---

“How is it that you stop by the restaurant and talk to Nino one time and land a date within five minutes of meeting him?”

Alya laughed. “I’m a charmer, what can I say?”

Marinette shook her head as she whisked a bit of cream into the sauce she was simmering. “You really are. Well, he’s a wonderful guy, and I actually think you would get along really well. I’m not sure why I didn’t think to introduce you two before. Here, come try this.”

Alya hopped off of her seat on one of the barstools by Marinette’s kitchen counter, wine glass in hand, and let Marinette tip a spoonful of sauce into her mouth. “Oh, that is so good.”

“Yeah?” Marinette grinned. “That’s great—I’ve been trying for days now to lessen the amount of cream I use in this sauce to make it less heavy, but it’s been really hard to replicate the taste.”

“Guess you found a winner! I can’t wait to eat. So tell me more about Nino.” Alya leaned back against the counter beside Marinette and took a sip of her wine.

Marinette glanced up as she continued to stir, thinking. “Mm... Well, he’s very easygoing, a good conversationalist, and a good listener. He doesn’t get riled up easily, but he’ll also stand his ground. It kind of makes him the perfect bartender, because he can talk with anyone and nothing will ruffle his feathers, not even the worst customer or Gabriel Agreste on his worst day. Plus, he’s so nice.”

“And cute,” Alya added.

Marinette giggled. “And cute. I think he’s also interested in music? He mentioned DJing at a few places before he started working as our bartender.”

“So that’s how he got tickets to that show!”

“What show?”

“The one he’s taking me to for our date. It’s a really popular DJ on his European tour. Those tickets were sold out weeks ago.”

“Somehow, it doesn’t shock me that you’re going to a club for your first date,” Marinette said, laughing.

“Hey, now. I’m not a cheap date. He’s taking me to dinner first!” Alya grinned. “Also, he mentioned to me he’s close with your little chef prince.”

Marinette frowned as she turned the stove down and removed her pan from the heat. “My who?”

“Adrien Agreste. So if you’re so close with Nino, why can’t you use him to get closer to Adrien?” Alya reached up into Marinette’s cupboards and began to pull down plates.

Marinette snorted. “How would I even do that?”

“I don’t know, like figure out if they ever hang out outside of work and then tag along with Nino!”

“Okay, now that would be shameless,” Marinette said, giggling. She carefully began plating the steak and mushroom marsala. “Just too weird. Nino and I aren’t nearly close enough for that. Plus, I don’t need to get any closer to Adrien.”

Alya frowned. “Why not?”

“It makes me… I don’t know, confused?” Marinette said, keeping her eyes on the plates. “It’s simpler not to know him well. Like you said, it’s much harder to compete with someone I like.”

“There is such a thing as friendly rivalry, you know.” 

“I know.” Marinette sighed. “I just preferred when I had tunnel vision and this singular goal with no distractions.”

Alya patted her friend on the back. “Look, Marinette. You’re a fantastic chef. You’re also a fantastic human being. It’s natural that people around you will want to get to know you. I think you can afford to make a few friends while you work your way up the ladder, don’t you think?”

Marinette chewed her lower lip before smiling. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

Alya grinned. “And a little romance wouldn’t hurt, either!”

Marinette laughed and whacked Alya playfully with the dish towel she’d been holding. “As if. Let’s eat!”

---

Marinette stared at the metal numbers glued to Adrien’s front door and wondered to herself how she’d ended up here for the second time in a month. She bounced a bit on her toes, wondering why she was nervous to knock. 

Despite what she’d told Alya at dinner a few days ago, she’d caught herself wondering—only when her guard was down—whether Adrien would actually invite her over again. They’d brushed elbows and exchanged glances and jokes at work a few times, and they’d left and locked up together even more, but beyond that, he hadn’t expressed any interest in seeing her outside of the restaurant again. Much to Marinette’s own surprise, she’d found herself disappointed instead of pleased—until he’d asked her out of the blue a few days ago if he’d like to come by on Monday to learn how to make that coffee cake. 

Alya’s triumphant cackle when Marinette had told her echoed in her ears. 

Whatever, she thought to herself. This is normal. Perfectly fine! I’m excited for no other reason than the fact that we’re friendly coworkers, and he offered to show me some new tricks. Like baking a coffee cake.

She sighed before knocking on the door. 

“It’s open!”

The door creaked loudly as Marinette opened it and stepped inside, taking a moment to shiver in pleasure at the burst of warm air. It was frigid outside, and the drafty interior hallways of Adrien’s apartment building were not much better. She glanced around at the kitchen and living area as she shrugged off her coat, but Adrien was nowhere to be seen.

Plagg appeared beside her, butting his head against her ankles. Marinette smiled and reached down to pet him. “Hello, chaton. It’s nice to see you, too.”

“Marinette?” 

Marinette looked up, and there was Adrien, dressed in a grey long-sleeved knit and black fitted joggers. She’d never seen him so dressed down before—even when he’d had her over previously, he’d been in jeans and a button-down. It made her feel like he was a little more human, even if a voice in the back of her head reminded her unhelpfully that he still looked quite handsome.

“Hi,” she said, standing up as he came over to take her coat from her. “Thank you for having me over.”

“Anytime.” Adrien smiled, and this close up, Marinette realized he had a dimple in his left cheek. She promptly urged herself to ignore this.

“Sorry I didn’t come to the door—I was digging around in the pantry for the hazelnuts. I thought for a second I was out and nearly panicked. Ready to learn the ways of the Agreste family coffee cake?”

Marinette caught an apron he tossed to her as she followed him into the kitchen area, where Adrien had already set up two stations with all the ingredients they’d need. 

She tried to quell her nerves; Adrien had proven himself time and again to be kind and astonishingly nonjudgmental. He wouldn’t make her feel bad once he saw how badly she would botch this cake. Or tell his father and then have a good laugh about it. Right?

“I was born ready.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Adrien cheered. Plagg looked up at Adrien disdainfully. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

---  

“Look at that,” Adrien said softly, peering into the oven window beside Marinette. “You’re a natural.”

Marinette smiled, feeling herself flush. She glanced back into the window of the oven, where her surprisingly not-malformed coffee cake was baking. “We can’t say that just yet, can we? We’ll jinx it. Plus, look at my work station. And myself,” she said, standing up and laughing as she held out her forearms, which were covered entirely in flour.

Adrien chuckled, wiping up a little bit of flour from Marinette’s work station with his finger. “There were... a few mishaps, sure. But what’s important is you soldiered on and didn’t let the mistakes affect your final product!”

“You’re very kind, Adrien.” Marinette grabbed a paper towel and wet it under the sink, intending to wipe the remnants of flour and batter from the counter while they waited for the cake to bake. She paused when she felt a hand on her arm and turned to Adrien, eyes wide.

“We’ll leave that for later,” Adrien said, a grin on his face. “For now, how about a latte? Can’t have coffee cake without coffee.”

Marinette felt her stomach do that same uncomfortable flip it had done when she’d first walked up to his door that afternoon. She swallowed and nodded, trying to ignore it. “U-uh—sure.” She smiled. “A latte sounds nice.”

The two ended up on Adrien’s sofa, artfully poured lattes in hand. Marinette had removed her shoes and her knees were drawn up to her chest, chin resting on them as she relayed to Adrien her experiences growing up in the public school system. 

“So you’re still friends with Alya to this day?” Adrien asked, eyes wide. “How old are you?”

“Yes, she’s still my best friend,” Marinette said proudly. “I’m twenty-eight.”

Adrien whistled. “That’s incredible. Twenty years of friendship. I don’t think I’ve known anyone for twenty years except my father.”

He sounded wistful, and Marinette took a moment to observe him more carefully. Adrien sat with his elbows leaning on his knees, hands folded around his cup, bright green eyes staring out at the cityscape beyond his window. His mouth was set in what looked, at first glance, like a neutral line, but when Marinette looked a little closer, she realized that one corner was tilted up—but then, she thought, why did he look sad?

Marinette knew how demanding the life of a chef was. The days they worked were long and tiring, beginning before lunch and often ending in the late hours of the night when the city was already shutting down. The few days they had off consisted of catching up on sleep where they could and then still spending time training to perfect their craft. So in a sense, every chef was probably a little bit deprived of personal relationships compared to the average person.

But Adrien had revealed to Marinette as they’d taken their first few sips of coffee that he had been home-schooled his whole life until he’d attended culinary school. He had been given no chance by his father to even consider working anywhere besides La Confiture upon graduation. And upon learning these things, she’d come to a realization that produced the strangest ache in her chest: Adrien must have been profoundly lonely throughout his childhood. Even in adulthood, it was evident in the way he so readily opened his arms and his home to his colleagues.

“Marinette?”

Marinette startled, nearly spilling her coffee. “Hm?”

Adrien’s lips curled up into a soft smile, and now Marinette’s stomach was doing those stupid flips and that ache in her chest was getting stronger. When he spoke, he sounded amused. “You seemed like you were checked out there for a little bit. Or maybe there’s flour on my face?” 

“Oh!” Marinette could feel her face getting hotter by the moment, and she scrambled for something to say. “I—um—I was just thinking—speaking of Alya, did you know that she and Nino are going on a date this weekend?”

Adrien, much to Marinette’s relief, seemed totally distracted by this information. “Is she really? That’s awesome!”

“Yeah! So—maybe one day, if it works out between them, I mean—we can all grab lunch—I mean—that is, I’d love for you to meet her…” Marinette trailed off and tried not to imagine how red her face was by now. Why couldn’t she stop rambling?

Adrien didn’t seem to notice, and instead gave her that same slow smile, electric green eyes trained on hers. “I’d really like that. Thanks, Marinette.”

In lieu of responding—or throwing herself out of his window, which was her preferred reaction—Marinette opted to gulp down the remainder of her latte.

---

“So, how was your date?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t a date, Alya.” 

“You went to his house and baked and had coffee and then he made you dinner! Sounds like a date to me.”

“The dinner was impromptu,” Marinette mumbled into the phone as she settled into bed.

“Dates can be impromptu.”

“Alya,” Marinette groaned. “Can we not? I’m confused enough as it is.”

”Okay, okay. Can you at least tell me how it went?”

“It went fine, of course,” Marinette sighed. “I mean, he was perfectly sweet, he’s a great teacher, and when we talked…”

“When you talked?”

“It was… I just learned so much about him that made me feel… I don’t know, like he needed a friend. Like I should be his friend.”

“Hmm. That’s not the tune you were singing a few days ago.”

“I know,” Marinette said, and then, only because this was Alya she was talking to and no one else, she let herself admit, “But maybe now I’m in too deep.”

Alya was quiet for a moment, and Marinette knew that her friend was thinking of how to respond. Thankfully, she didn’t press the issue.

“So did the cake turn out okay?” Alya asked, pivoting to another subject. “You can use the recipe for your blog!”

”No way. On the off chance he reads my blog, he’d figure out who I was in an instant if I did that.”

“So?”

“So then he’d know that I’m a sham of a chef!”

“Marinette,” Alya said, exasperated. “You are not a sham. You’re working at one of the top restaurants in Paris. The Gabriel Agreste personally called you in to tell you you’re doing a good job. Just because you never attended cooking school or got formal training doesn’t mean you’re not a real chef. If anything, it makes you even more amazing for having gotten where you are today.”

Marinette smiled softly. “Thanks, Alya.”

“You know it. Any time you feel that impostor syndrome coming on and need someone to kick its ass, I’m your girl.”

---

Marinette glanced at her watch as she made her way out of the kitchen. She frowned. It was already past three, and Adrien was nowhere to be seen. By now, he’d normally have already finished whatever prep work he had to do and would have moved on to help the others, cracking terrible jokes that everyone secretly loved. It felt awfully quiet without him around. 

Nino called Marinette over from the bar, startling her out of her thoughts.

“What’s up?” Marinette said, taking a seat at one of the stools. 

“Looking for Adrien?”

Marinette’s brows shot up to her forehead. “Wh-no, I—” 

“It’s okay,” Nino said, laughing. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. I’ve just seen you looking around all afternoon, but I get it because I’ve been worried, too.”

Marinette pursed her lips. “Well, do you know where he is?”

Nino nodded. “He finally texted me back about ten minutes ago. Said he’s at home sick.”

“Sick?” Marinette repeated. Her frown became even more pronounced. “He must be feeling horrible if he couldn’t even come in."

“Yeah, I think so, too. He’s such a workaholic.”

Marinette glanced around to make sure they were relatively alone, and then she leaned in. “How does Chef Agreste feel about it?” she whispered.

Nino shook his head. “He’s in a bad mood. No telling if that’s why, but he’s probably not very happy that Adrien couldn’t make it to work.”

“Of course,” Marinette sighed. Chef Agreste did not strike her as the type of person who easily overlooked even his own son calling in sick on a shift. “Do you know if anyone’s been by to see him?”

“I don’t think so,” Nino said. “I offered to take him some leftovers from the restaurant after we closed up, but he said he’d be okay. I worry about him, though, living by himself and being that ill.”

Marinette turned this information over in her head. Adrien was a grown man, and he could obviously take care of himself—but the picture she had painted of him over the time she’d gotten to know him made her think he was probably lonely and wracked with guilt, on top of being sick. 

Marinette smiled at Nino. “You know, I make a pretty mean chicken soup... I’ll bring it by to him after work. I’ll send him your regards.”

---

Adrien opened his eyes to darkness, completely disoriented and not quite able to understand what had woken him in the first place. His head was pounding. 

His phone buzzed twice more on his nightstand before going silent, and he realized someone had been trying to call him. Blindly, he reached over to grab his phone and looked at the screen. 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Missed Call

It registered somewhere in the back of his fever-addled brain that since they had exchanged numbers, Marinette had only texted and never called him before. Before he knew what he was doing, the phone was at his ear, and he heard two rings before Marinette’s voice came through the speaker.

“Hello? Adrien?”

“Hey, Marinette,” he rasped. He cleared his throat—he didn’t realize until just then that he’d gone the entire day without speaking. “What’s up? I missed your call.”

“How’re you feeling?” 

Adrien sat up, leaning back on one hand. Plagg stirred in his spot on top of the duvet between Adrien’s calves. His covers fell off of his torso, and he immediately regretted the action. Sweat had soaked through his t-shirt as he’d slept, and the air outside of his blankets felt frigid against his dampened skin. 

“Oh, you know. Just…”

“Terrible, I’m guessing, if you called in sick,” Marinette said, her voice sympathetic. “Did I wake you?”

“No,” he lied. He leaned back against his pillow. The inside of his head was so hot, but his body was so cold. He had no idea how to fix this. “What’s going on? Everything okay?”

“Of course! Actually, the reason I’m calling is—well, I know you’re not well, but I was wondering if I could stop by? I made you soup.” 

The surprise cleared Adrien’s head better than any medication had all day. “Soup?” 

“Yeah, but I also completely understand if you don’t want visitors,” Marinette responded quickly. “Plus, it’s late—I’m sorry, this was stupid of me, and—”

“No, no,” Adrien said, sitting up again. “Please—please come by. If it’s not too much trouble.” 

There was a pause. “You sure?” 

“Yes. Soup sounds wonderful. Are you coming from the restaurant? I’ll see you in fifteen minutes?"

“Um... Not to be creepy, but I’m already here. I was just going to drop it off, so—”

“Oh,” Adrien said, too dumbfounded to respond in a more intelligent way. He shook his head. He felt a rush of appreciation for Marinette’s thoughtfulness. After he’d reluctantly called in sick, his own father hadn’t called once to check on him—not that he’d expected him to. “I mean—no, it’s not creepy at all. Hang on, I’ll buzz you in.” 

---

Marinette could have kicked herself. She didn’t know what she’d been thinking, coming over uninvited. And of course Adrien would be way too nice to turn her down, as intrusive as she was being. The door opened before she had time to convince herself to turn around.

“Hey,” Adrien croaked, and then he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry. I probably sound horrible.”

All of Marinette’s embarrassment drained away into concern. Adrien leaned against the doorway, pale and gaunt in wrinkled, baggy pajama pants and a t-shirt, blond hair mussed and matted against his head this way and that. He looked like he might fall over any moment.

“Adrien! Just how sick are you?” Marinette said, rushing inside. She set the large container of soup down on the nearest surface and reached up to feel his forehead, and then felt blood rush to her cheeks when she recognized how intimate the action felt. 

Adrien, for his part, didn’t seem to mind; he closed his eyes, and Marinette felt the slightest pressure as he leaned his forehead into her hand. Something warm surged inside of her at the trusting nature of the action.

“You’re burning up,” she said, feeling her brows knit together. “Have you eaten anything today? Taken any medication?”

“I’m fine,” Adrien mumbled. 

“I’ll take that as a no. Well, lucky for you, I brought chicken soup! And there should be enough for you to last you through tomorrow, too.” She picked the carton back up and held it up to him proudly. “Mind if I use your kitchen to heat this up?”

“Oh—of course not,” Adrien said, slightly dumbfounded. “Um... Do you need help?”

Marinette laughed. “You are impossible. No, I don’t need help! I just wanted to pour it into a pot and heat it over your stove for a bit. You should go lie down.” She turned to head toward the kitchen, pausing only when she felt warm fingers brushing against her elbow.

“Marinette…”

Marinette turned around, too surprised to do anything besides look at Adrien’s hand, just barely touching her arm, and then up at his eyes, dazed and full of… What was that? Confusion? Appreciation? Something she didn’t know how to name. She wondered vaguely to herself how they could look so green and vibrant in the dim lamplight of his foyer. It wasn’t fair. 

“Why... Why are you doing this for me?” Adrien asked, his voice quiet. 

Marinette felt her heart drop, a soft breath escaping her. Oh, Adrien. “Because you’re my friend, of course. And I didn’t want you to be sick and alone with no one to help you.” 

Adrien’s eyes widened ever so slightly—or maybe that was just Marinette’s imagination. His lips parted, like he might say something, but instead, he let out a quiet exhale. Marinette was aware, perhaps too acutely, of the warmth of his fingertips, still on her elbow. Later, she would guess that they stood like that, staring at each other in complete silence, for maybe three seconds after she’d answered his question. But in the time it happened, it felt like forever.

“I’m—I’m gonna go heat this up, okay?” she finally said. “I’ll bring it over when it’s ready.”

“Ah, right. Okay.” Adrien paused. “You’re eating, too, right? You must be starving after work, after all.”

Marinette glanced at the clock, surprised. She hadn’t even realized how late it was. She looked back at Adrien, who was watching her again, this time with clear anticipation, evident just at the end of the curve of his lips, in the slope of his raised eyebrows. She was reminded, again, of how much he seemed to crave human company, and how much he must have been deprived of it in his lifetime.

“Sure,” she said, nodding. “I’ll make myself some, too. Find something good on TV, won’t you?”

---

Adrien was a no-show the next day, as was expected. Marinette was mostly relieved—she wouldn’t have been shocked if he’d tried to drag himself out of bed, even in his condition, if his father gave him hard enough of a time—but she also found herself enjoying work a little bit less. As Rose had noted the day before, Adrien’s absence was oddly loud.

Thankfully, La Confiture was so busy that night that Marinette didn’t have too much time to think about it. With Adrien gone, everyone’s workload had increased somewhat, and as one of the more junior chefs in the kitchen, Marinette was saddled with quite a bit of extra work. But in the few spare moments she did have, she thought more than once about pulling out her phone and sending him a message.

Just checking on you. Hope you’re ok. Eat all of your soup!

Marinette stared at the screen of her phone, which glared back at her in the darkness of the locker room, where she’d come for a brief reprieve from all the action. She chewed on her lower lip as her thumb hovered over the “send” key. Why was she hesitating? Her stomach felt funny—maybe she’d caught the bug from Adrien. It was a perfectly normal message to send. But she felt like she’d imposed so much the night before by just assuming she could come by, and—

“Marinette!” Juleka’s voice rang. “We’ve got a situation in the kitchen!”

Marinette sighed as she pressed her thumb against the backspace key and shoved the phone back in the pocket of her coat. 

---

At 1:05 AM, when the kitchen was finally clean and the restaurant was totally silent, Marinette let herself into the locker room and began to pull on her coat. She picked her phone out of the pocket and hit the home key absentmindedly before nearly dropping it in surprise. Below a missed call from her mom and half a dozen texts from Alya, there was a particular name she hadn’t expected to show up in her notifications.

Adrien Agreste

3 New Messages

12:47 AM

Marinette slid her thumb across the screen, not sure what to expect, and opened the messages.

Hey, thank you again for the soup! It was just as good on day two. I feel better already. Hope things weren’t too insane at the restaurant tonight.

And then, beneath a picture of Plagg, standing on the coffee table and sticking his nose into a near-empty bowl:

Plagg likes the soup, too, btw.

Marinette felt her lips curve up into a smile. Without too much thought, nerves forgotten, her thumbs automatically typed out a response. 

Tell him I’ll bring some more by tomorrow, if he’d like.

An answer came back immediately, and as she read it, Marinette registered with some shock what that odd, dully painful bubbling at the pit of her stomach was. 

He would love that. 

[magdaclaire]

primekent’s winteriron fic recs

PREFACE: This is the 30k to 75k version! If y’all want a less than 30k rec list and/or an over 75k list, let me know!

Also: these are in no particular order!

Four Strings and Second Chances by Vashoth

Summary: It was reluctance to let one of his finest inventions ever out of his grasp that made him take a couple days over a week to send the arm to Pepper’s office. But all things considered, Tony figured that sending finest prosthetic that had ever come into existence--literally grasping an olive branch--was one of the classiest gifts he’d ever given. He’d included a note and everything. ‘Barnes,

Can help with installation. Or not. Up to you.

--Stark'

Personal Review: The softness. The quality choice of making Bucky Barnes a ukulele gay. Preserving Steve and Bucky’s friendship while still making it clear that Bucky loves Tony. The iconicism of this fic. I love it. 

Like a Goddamn Katy Perry Song by tisfan

Summary:  Tony is chased into the woods during his first heat, where the status-poor alpha, Bucky, lives. Running off the pack of heat-taggers, Bucky takes the young Tony home for recovery, to discover there’s not much time before the omega goes into full heat. Well… now what?

Personal Review: I don’t normally go for A/B/O. However. The writing of tisfan brought me in. I came for the tisfan and stayed for the cute dynamic! Bucky being protective while trying to be detached, Tony trying to stay distant but getting more and more entrenched.... love that. 

my light (smell) will guide you home by  winterbitch (WinterLadyy)

Summary: After escaping from HYDRA and dealing with Captain America, Bucky goes to New York. He can get lost there and figure out who he is. But something huge is missing from his memory and when the full moon comes, Bucky figures out what, but it's too late. The Wolf takes over, snooping around New York and looking for what's pulling him. Then he meets Tony Stark, who just can't leave the huge, fluffy dog starving on the streets.

Only the huge dog is weirdly protective and definitely smarter than average...

Personal Review: WHERE WOLF? THERE WOLF! BUCKY BARNES! Okay, sorry, I just love werewolves. Magic tattoos, protective wolfmen, CUDDLING? We’re hitting all of my favorite things. 

Forms of Love by bear_bell

Summary: Months after the Avengers' dispute in Germany, the team returns to the US and moves back into the tower. As always, everyone pretends that nothing happened. Tony is just fine with this. He's used to pretending, and he'll be damned if he lets any of them see him flinch.

Tony's the bad guy, after all. He's used to it. He's fine with it. He's good at it.

Only now, there's something far worse loitering around the tower - The Winter Soldier. No one notices the guy at first, but when they do, Tony figures that he should have the soldier's back.

Birds of a feather should flock together, and the bad guys should start a book club.

Personal Review: This. This fic. I love. This fic. Separate People!Winter and Bucky is like my favorite thing. The writing. The characterization. The development. C’est magnifique. 

Cat Nipped by Akira_of_the_Twilight

Summary: “Steve,” a bit of anger leaked into Bucky’s voice, so he paused to cull it back. “Tony is a werecat, and you really want the two of us to meet?”

Steve sighed, his shoulder dropping. “Bucky…”

“No!” Bucky bit back a bark. “Steve, I’m a werewolf, in case you have forgotten. Canine weres and feline weres do not get along well.”

“I’m a werecanine and Tony and I get along fine.”

“That’s not what you were saying last week.”

--

When cats and dogs collide there is bound to be trouble.

Personal Review: Protective Bucky! Angry Bucky! Kitty!Tony! Wolf!Bucky! It’s very character driven and I think that’s beautiful. 

Fractures (Filled With Liquid Gold) by itsallAvengers

Summary: Ultron happened. The Avengers left.

Tony is fine with being alone again. He always worked better as a Lone Wolf than a team player anyway. He's not sleeping or eating or resting or... living, but it's fine. It's good. It's okay.

And then there's James.

Personal Review: *clenches fist* It’s about the loneliness. I love protectiveness, and this fic is so heavy with it. The PACING. I just. Includes the dialogue line “I’m gonna launch it into the fucking sun,” and I think that’s very cash money. 

Strong enough to trust by Enmuse (Scifiroots)

Summary: Steve makes a life-altering choice, and Bucky wakes up from cryostasis to better circumstances than he could anticipate: Mind free of triggers, name cleared, fully pardoned, and a ticket back to the USA. It's far more than he deserves, but with no other plans or ties, he finds himself relocating to the Avengers Initiative Compound alongside Stevie's rogue superheroes.

He begins establishing a new life - friends, work, maybe even love - but doesn't realize that the castles he is painstakingly building are ones in the sky.

---

“I... don't understand," Bucky admits in a murmur.

Stark's gaze drops to the silver-plated shoulder. "I fix things," he says. His fingers drum restlessly against his chest. "And this is something I broke. You shouldn't have to just live with the consequences when something can be done about it."

Personal Review: I thrive on Steve Rogers related anger. It’s what I live off of. This is a great characterization of Bucky, of Tony, even of Steve, even as it’s very angry at Steve. I just love this fic. 

Measure of a Man by JasperMoar

Summary: Tony is so. damn. tired of losing control. He gave it away freely before, and that got him stuck with some sharp metal and a magnet in his chest. He tried taking it back, and that got his heart ripped out of his goddamn chest. He pours his heart and soul into a system to protect the people he can’t save, tries to take control of his own flaws, and nearly destroys the world via genocidal robot. He realizes that hey, he’s one man. One terribly-human, incredibly-fallible man, and tries to make himself more accountable. Tries to give the control to people who might actually know what the fuck they’re doing. He tries to stop being the one to condemn young kids with bright futures.

He ends up half-dead in Siberia, as one of his best friends walks away. Leaves him there. Tony had never possessed an ounce of control over that situation to begin with.

The only one who’s going to get hurt in this little game is Tony, and that’s fine. At least he’ll be in control.

---In which Tony Stark develops an eating disorder. This does not glorify eating disorders, and in fact will focus mainly on the consequences and recovery.

Personal Review: This does have a heavy trigger warning for eating disorders and negative self talk/esteem. But, it’s a really good fic. The triggering content is well done, well written and non-offensive, as someone who struggles with disordered eating. It’s mostly about Tony’s personal development rather than the ship, but it is also still fulfilling on that front. 

and of course

tell me no by halfwheeze

Summary: Barnes, 107th Infantry 32557038.

Barnes is not Bucky. Barnes is not the Winter Soldier. Barnes doesn't know who he is, or even sometimes, what he is.

Maybe Tony Stark can help him figure that out. Or maybe, if he just gets all the tools, he can fix Tony along the way too.

Personal Review: this is my own fic it’s garbage but i have to rec it 

[goldstonegolem64]

Hope returns Chapter 48 I Spy  by goldstonegolem64

Hope returns Chapter 48 Kevin  by goldstonegolem64

Before the break out. 

In the bridge of the castle of lions 

Allura, Coran The paladins, Isara, Ezra , Asmo ,Matt, Ryner  and Kolivan were all standing in the  holo table 

“ So Allura why are we all here “ Asmo asked

“ Well we have learned something quite alarming Pidge show them “ 

“ On it Princess” Pidge said as she send an image to the hole table that showed several Copies of Shiro, Jay and a weird mixture of the two

“ What are we looking at here ?” Isara asked as she looked 

“ were looking at Advanced cloning Tech here and i’m going to guess that this is what we were called here for you to tell us that  the empire is making Clones of Shiro and Jay an using them to pilot those. Copy Valkyries and they also my be used as new form of super soldiers do to the fact that they share the same Berserker gene  as jay dose “.    Ezra said with a smile on her face

“ Well love you just explained everything really quick’ Jay said with a look of surprise on his face.

“ Well it was kind of obvious. I mean one of them sounded like you but younger  and edgier from what we heard.” Ezra said 

“ Well seeing as Ezra has basically covered all the bases. What do you all think of are newest problem” Hunk said as he clapped his hands together nervously 

“ The Fact that are blades on the inside didn’t know about this is disconcerting “  Kolivan said

“ Well the berserk thing will be a problem for are ground troops. But will manage seeing as long you guys handle the robeasts will be good “

“ Look we handle planet invading bugs. Some just give me some time to figure this out ok.”  Isara said as she slowly started regretting her decision to join the rebellion. But she was already into deep now

“ sorry for bringing you into this Isara” Jay said 

“ It’s fine I said yes to this . In return I want the blue prints to the Valkyrie and Insurance that the queen Slayers get the resources and funding we were promised once this new universal government is instated  right princess “ Isara said 

“ Of course Isara I always keep my promises “ Allura said 

 “ I already gave Ezra the blue prints to the Valkyrie ‘ Jay said 

“ Thank you Both. Now what is are plan to hand this cloning problem we have 

now”

“Well first we have to” Allura was cut off as the Alarm systems went off 

[ Prisoner as escaped all personnel be on high alert ] beau said over the ship’s P.A system 

Everyone was caught of guard. When they heard this 

“ How did he get out he was in Cryo  sleep” Allura said confuse 

“i don’t know but we have to handle it now before anyone gets hurt “

[ too late Shiro ] Beau said 

“ Well lets just stop them from killing anyone else “  Lance said 

[Warning Berserker as been detected on board the ship all  personnel on level three and four be on the look out an make it to a safe room or make your way to an exit.]

“Beau can we get a visual of what is going on down there “ Allura asked 

[on it ] Beau replied as a screen appeared showing off a hallway Massive Black and white scaled toad with massive bull horns and gorilla like arms leaping through the halls smashing through doors and crushing anything that was underneath it. 

[ Floor is clear of all personnel locking down the level four  ]Beau said as he locked doors, put up barriers at each exit points and shut down the elevator.[We have it trapped Princess ]

“ Ok we have it trapped. but what now” Matt said as the door to the bridge opened and closed 

“ Who just left?” Allure asked as everyone looked around the room and noticed that jay had disappeared

“ Where did he.Oh no” Shiro said as booked it out of the room and saw Jay enter entered . Shiro only saw Jay’s Back as their friend entered the elevator “Jay wait “ Shiro yelled as the elevator door closed Jay didn’t respond he just turned his head slightly to reveal  crimson red skin and a yellow lizard like eye. Then the door closed. “ Beau stop the elevator “

[No can do Shiro Captains orders ] Beau replied 

Shiro slammed his fist into the elevator door ‘ What are you thinking Jay”

In the elevator 

Jay stood in the elevator breathing heavy and sweating. He body was switching back and forth between being his normal old self then to his berserker state which caused him to panic and leave the bridge in a rush “  What the fuck is happening to me “ Jay said as he looked at his right hand as it was double it’s normal length an size with Claws slowly coming out of finger tips . “ Then another croaking sound rang out causing Jay to fall to the ground as he began fully changing. He felt the floor of the elevator clutching  his head as he felt his body stretching and could hear the yellow shirt he was wearing started to rip and tear as spikes started to line spine 

The elevator door opened an out came a hulking Lizard man with a gator’s head wearing  the tatter of a bright yellow long sleeve shirt and a pair of  cargo pants stretched to there limits . They walked on two leg and slowly left the elevator . Their clawed feet clattered against the polished metal floors of the castle. it sniffed the air then let out a low anger an confused Growl seeing as this new foe smelled of the empire that was the enemy but it also smelled like him and of the of the pride his other half was friends with. They most figure this problem out

Beserker   jay continued to walk switching from two legs to all fours and slowly creeped around the halls following the scent of this foe. As they stalked the empty hall  the croaking and slamming got louder. As they turned a corner they saw a Massive toad slamming it’s fists into another barrier  surrounded the broke bodies of sentries that tried to stop them. The beast  let out a low hissing sound as it completely came around the corner teeth bearded

The toad berserker stopped slamming their fists against the barrier in front of them an turned around to see a Hulking beast standing at the other end of the Hall way. The toad berserker   puffed up it’s chest slammed it’s fist’s into the ground and let out an world shaking croak. Followed by B-Jay letting out a roar of his own. Then the two Charged at each other.

Elsewhere in the castle

Shiro, lance ,Hunk and Keith were standing in the elevator

All of them were nervous seeing as they were about to run into a brawl between to Berserkers.

“ Alright everyone remember the plan “ Shiro asked as he put on his helmet 

“ trying to lead that thing to an Airlock so Beau  can rob it’s body of Oxygen”   Lance said 

“ An try to avoid hitting Jay “ Hunk add as the ship shock followed by two beasts roaring at each other.

“  I hope the other are ready for this Keith said as he readied himself for what’s to come 

As the door open the four of them quickly stepped out of the elevator an quickly moved toward the source of all the noise. As they moved through the hall they saw the aftermath of the two beast left in their walk .There was holes in the Wall were dented doors were punched in and their were dents on the ceiling and there was small amount of blood splatters. As they got closer the sound of ,Thunderous roars of beast as punched and slashed at each other a mass of red scales an torn clothes  was thrown out of the hall the four of them were about turn down . The mass Smashed into the wall denting it , It hit the ground with a loud thud. All four of them stopped in place as the Mass of Red Scales slowly got up. It towered  over them. 

“ Oh shit that is what he looks like “ Lance said kind of shaken by Seeing their friend as a hulking monster.  

Beast  shook their head then looked towards the source of the  voice and saw The pride leader ,his brother, The blue one and the yellow one. They looked at them confessed for a few seconds before a massive blur of Motion Slammed into him sending back into the wall followed by  the pain of having his back slamming into the Wall again followed by the Blur slamming into them Again an pinning them to the wall followed by the pain of being punched in the side rapidly. they let out a pained growl and began ripping into the back of his Amphibious Adversary. But their clays couldn't  cut through the thick hide of his attacked.  So they switch targets to the eyes they used their tail to stab into the right eye while he dug his clawed metal finger into the left 

The toad beserker well out a scream in pain as they backed away quickly trying to back away only to have the beast grab onto their horns and repeatedly slammed their jaw into the ground before ripping off the left horn, An processed to use it like a club slamming it  down multiply times . One hit braking off the other horn ,another hit  bent in the metal arm another one dislocated a shoulder. An with each hit the Beast got angrier and angrier an only stopped when the horn broke.

An when the horn did brake they grabbed onto what was left of K-7′s right horn an let out a ear shattering roar in their foe’s face. Then let go of the horn an watched as the beaten Toad berserker let out a low fearful crock as they lowered their head in submission as they turned back to normal . Seeing this the beast let out another roar before letting their other half take control again.

Jay awoke and found himself standing in a random hallway. He looked down first and saw that his shirt was wearing was destroyed and the pants he was wearing were stretched out so badly that they were falling off only being stop by his tail . He then turned his head too the left and saw nothing . He then look to his right an saw Shiro, Lance , Hunk and Keith looking at something to their right. His front  

“ What are you all loo” Jay stopped mid sentence as he came face to face with Shiro. But it wasn’t Shiro or it was but this one was younger, shorter no scar on the noise and they had four familiar looking cheek marks. Jay titled his head to the left in confusion of what he was seeing. An  as he did that the pilot mimicked Jay then tilted his head to the right an the pilot did the same “ Oh this is weird “

“ What is weird Alpha  ‘ The pilot said 

Jay was taken a back by this “what is that about “ He asked  inquesatively seeing as the person in front of him had tried to kill him twice now

The pilot’s face showed on  his faces.” I don’t know but something in the back of my mind is telling that your in charge now” The pilot said 

“ Ok then “Jay clapped his hands together Then looked towards  Shiro Guys I don’t know what to do help me “ Jay said as he looked toward his teammate for help 

‘ Alright me  call the other an tell them that the problems has  been handled “ Shiro said   

A Few minutes later 

Allura ,Coran and Ezra walked out of the elevator that had delivered them to level four .An waiting for them just a few feet away was lance 

“ Good to see your alright Lance “ Allura said 

“ Thanks for the concern princess it means a lot. Now if you all don’t mind follow me please ‘ Lance said as he started walking followed by the others

“ So what have we learned from the prisoner ?” Coran  asked 

“ Well their designation is K-7 . Also were working on get the information from him but it kind hard seeing as Jay is the only one that they talk to so you’ll have to ask him “ Lance said 

All five of them walked into a huge room in it was Adam ,Hunk , Keith Shiro , Matt , Pidge, Isara, Kolivan , and several other rebel troops  all standing in front of a Particle Barrier that was trapping a human man who  looked  like Shiro . Talking to them was Jay who was wearing what looked liked a green version of Coran’s outfit 

“  Now my last Question do you remember how did you get off of the cryo pod?" Jay asked

" No one minute I'm fighting the Valkyrie next I Wake up and someone is pointing a blaster in my face and I reacted appropriately”  

“ By blowing his head off “ Jay said as he pinched the bridge of his noise 

“ when you say it like that it sound bad My Alpha “ K-7 said 

“ Because it is a bad thing and stop Call me Alpha it’s weird dude just call me Jay that’s what everyone calls me “ 

“ Alright J-Jay do you need me to do anything else “

“ No just get some rest for now. “ Jay said 

‘ Alright Sir “ K-7 Said 

“ Ok “ Jay then turned an was about to walk but stopped when he saw Allura “ Boss your here good “  Jay walked up to Allura , Coran and Ezra

“ Hello Jay good to see that your doing fine after you just disappeared to fight are rampaging prisoner . Now Have you learned Anything from new friend over there “ Allura said as she looked passed Jay towards the clone standing there looking At Jay 

“ It’s weird he wants to take but something is stopping them from talking. Maybe it something in the cybernetic in their body preventing them from spilling the beans on where he and his brother are being made or maybe something is suppressing that knowledge I just down know”  Jay said

“ Well that’s not great to hear an I don’t feel like were going to get anything else from him if he can’t talk about it .Lucky for us  we still hae his memories to look through so we might get the answers later” 

“ An what are we going to do with him “ Jay asked as he turned his head towards the imprisoned  K-7 

“ We will decide that later as for right now. K-7 will be imprisoned here until we leave for the mission”  Allura replied 

As this was conversion was  going on K-7 was just standing there listening. But unknown to him   he wasn’t the only one watching them. An  through a mixture of Cybernetics an Dark magic. Haggar and Zarkon were watching everything through the eyes of K-7

“ While that was entreating to watch but was he suppose to be captured My love ?” Zarkon asked 

“ Yes he was “ Haggar said with a smile 

“Ok But what if they just put him back in a cryo pod “

“ Then he will be put back to sleep and is no longer a use to us . But now that he is loyal to The Silver Paladins via his Berserker D.N.A, an the fact that he looks like the Black paladin they might just keep him around. An if they do then we will have a Man on the inside my dear” Hagger replied 

As the two continued to watch the paladin the door opened Haggar’s Lab opened to reveal Harley and Quinn Dragging in an unconscious Thace

“ We found the Spy Lord Zarkon”   Quinn said

“ Good now lets see what he knows “ Zarkon said with a twisted smile on his face