#the same happens in the opposite direction. black widow lol

[savingthrcw]

Sarah paused, visibly biting back a smile, and let a beat pass before saying: "Will it shock you if I say that I have no idea of what kind of animosity there is between our colleges, besides the fact that all colleges compete with each other?" Making a joke out of how isolated she had been, willingly, was actually helpful, because surely soon he'd realize she hadn't changed one bit. "I didn't dedicate myself to dictionaries, but I did spend more time with a punchbag than I did at... games." God, were those still a thing?

Ah, now it was far more clear, and at least she gave him a semi-apologetic look when he spoke of his ex, because yes, that had to be awkward. "I can use a different name, it would take little for us to re-forge my documents and papers. Would you prefer Jane? Cassidy, Dina?" she offered - if his name had been Bryce it would have been ten times worse; though she doubted his Sarah had played him, stolen information and gotten shot right after. It was still someone he must have been intimate with.

"And it's not just the discomfort. Gay men often have trouble finding dates, especially if they have a job that tends to give little time off and will keep you from befriending your coworkers whenever it can. It's not that I expect every straight or bisexual man to be attracted to me, but there was a chance you'd be... particularly disinterested in dating women. I figured if that was the issue it would be decent to let you know I'd work around it." Went without saying that there'd be no judgment too if she was only asking so that she could recalibrate - but no, apparently he was just out of luck with them. She did wonder why. Sure, he said things that weren't great at first impact, but one could find his lack of filter charming. She did. He had been flustered, and that was cute in itself-"Wait, you think I'm emotionally stunted?"

She broke into a little laugh when he asked her if she was unaware of what she looked like, looking away; admittedly, yes, she was more used to men appreciating her looks than coming off as horrified at the prospect of kissing her. "I'm still a stranger, and I'm not everybody's type," she pointed out amusedly, "It's not impossible that having to kiss me could elicit a look that at least resembles disgust, if you are so... unused to kissing people you don't know well. But good to know I met your standards." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear with a smile, and thought that yes, this was much better than talking about having to stick his tongue somewhere.

"Okay... Just so we are clear, I'll be starting to lean into my character for this, given that she's the one you are dating and you should know her, and I also don't know you but we are coworkers, so I can't exactly pull on you moves I use with unsuspecting targets. But we can talk, and you can tell me more about... what you think I should know as your future roommate and pretend girlfriend, okay? I don't know if you want to reinvent your personality too, in which case I'll follow..." it was a suggestion, he had been undercover at least as a friend before, he was a spy, so he'd know better than anyone if he needed a character or not. Her own usually took something from her real life, truths, but still gave her the opportunity to be safe and shielded away from the other person. She took a deep breath to let herself relax into the girlfriend, and her entire demeanor softened as she broke into one of her bright smiles, focusing on the fact that she had thought he was cute and that she also had nothing to complain about his looks so she could make eyes at him. "Why don't we go get the ice cream we talked about?" she asked, her tone sweeter and happier, "It'll be like our pretend first date... minus the dog. It'll make true when we say that we were coworkers who really only got to know each other while having ice cream at the park."

"You went to Harvard?" Ben asked, arching a brow. "Well, that settles it: this fake relationship isn't going to work, 'cause I'm a Yalie." Here, he flashed a grin, if only to show his jest. "Don't worry: what you hear about Yale types isn't completely true."

Slowly, his smile faded as Sarah started laying out a completely unexpected trajectory. With an incredulous huff, Ben appraised her with growing bafflement. "Sooo, because I've expressed discomfort in kissing a colleague -- you, specifically -- your first guess is I might've dated men?" Here, Ben snorted anew, though this time he laughed. "All right. I'm unsure if your ego is just a tad too healthy there, or if I'm so painfully bad at this that you're praying I don't like women, but allow me to disappoint you either way: I do like women -- arguably, a little too much -- and I've had pretty much zero luck with them. Besides..." He exhaled. "You and my ex actually have quite a bit in common. She was blonde too, and also named Sarah, and, coincidentally, kind of emotionally stunted. Now can you perhaps see the merit in my discomfort?"

"Like I said, our objective is for you not to look disgusted or uncomfortable. Then we can strive for positive adjectives."

Disgusted?

Ben arched a brow, his baffled smile slowly returning. "So are you unaware of what you look like? Because I'm pretty sure 'disgusted' isn't the right word for my situation...but still, you're right. I could use some work."

Absently rolling his palms over his knees, he released a breath and leaned back in his seat, contemplating Sarah's suggestions with a shy little smile. "I haven't been on a date in just as long, so I'm not even sure what's enjoyable these days," he confessed. "But very well: show me what 'Sarah Walker' likes, and I'll try my best to 'get in the mood' for this ruse. You lead, and I'll follow."

[dearest-bucky]

Put a little love on me (2/2)

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: There's a solution for everything, even for Bucky's sleeping problem. His solution comes in the form of a certain team member.

Words: 4.1K

Warnings: angst with a happy ending, two idiots in love, Bucky is sad and cute, reader is dense but cute too lol

A/n: The final part, I hope you like it! xx

Originally posted: February 19, 2020

Bucky didn't have any idea how it had happened, but when he woke up the rays of sun were shining high in the sky. Warmth and light peeking through the half opened blinds.

He had no sense of the time, it could be early morning or late afternoon.

What he knew though, was that this was the greatest he had felt in a very long time, maybe for the first time in his life. Having y/n wrapped around his body, so close there was no space for even a piece of hair in between them, felt amazing.

Some time during the night he had rolled on his side and tucked y/n in his chest, his arms enveloping her in a strong and secure embrace. Now he could feel her deep and steady breathing softly hit his chest even through the material of his shirt and he could feel her arm around his middle, they were wrapped with each other in a cocoon of limbs and had apparently slept that way for the most of the night.

A small sigh escaped Bucky's lips and he instinctively tightened his arms around her body, before his mind could come to its senses and realize this wasn't normal at all for them. But then, why did it feel like the most normal thing in the world?

Bucky hadn't had a sleep as good as this night before in his life, even before the war and although the pillows had helped improve his sleeping time, it was nothing compared to having slept with y/n in his arms.

Immediately, Tony's words ringed in his mind. I always sleep better when Pepper is with me.

Bucky couldn't help but think that y/n could be his Pepper. He had always liked the woman, but she never allowed herself to get close to people, especially men. He didn't know why, she never told him her reasons, but it wasn't as if Bucky had asked her and she refused to tell him. Bucky had his own demons to fight and his own insecurities. However, he heard from Captain big mouth one day when he was talking about y/n, something about a bad break up leading to  heartbreak. That was enough for Bucky to take a guess at what had happened to her, so he never said anything about it.

But now, he wanted nothing more than to get to know her, to get her to open her heart to him and let him love her like she deserved.

She was still sleeping soundly in his arms and he profited of these moments to just enjoy her presence and warmth and soft skin against his. But that didn't last long as she started to stir in her sleep and slowly waking up.

Bucky held his breath to see her reaction.

"Mm, Buck..." She mumbled sleepily and a smile escaped his lips at the sound of her sleepy voice.

She let out a yawn and closed her eyes again peacefully, but that only lasted a short second before she quickly untangled her limbs from his and frowned.

"Bucky what the hell?" She asked him and instead of the sleepy, peaceful sound of her voice, he only heard confusion and panic. "What happened? Why, why.. Why were we cuddling?"

He was just staring at her and couldn't stop thinking about  how adorable she looked with her bed hair and sleepy face. But he had to focus on the present, on the fact that she obviously hated him for cuddling with her during the night.

"I'm sorry," He replied calmly. "I guess it just happened at some point during the night."

She held his gaze for a short moment then got up from the bed without another word, moving to the small bathroom that was inside their hotel room. Bucky reached for his phone in the nightstand and was actually shocked to see it was half past ten.

After several minutes, or maybe it was a long hour, y/n emerged from the bathroom, hair brushed and dressed ready to go. Bucky hadn't moved yet from his previous position, but when he saw she was ready he willed himself to get up from the bed and do the same.

They checked out of the hotel and got in the jet, ready to go back to the compound. During the entire flight back, none of them said even one word to each other, each staying in two opposite corners of the jet, the jet itself flying on autopilot.

****

The relation between Bucky and y/n had changed drastically after that night in Kiev. If before there was some sense of professionalism and just general acquaintance between them, now it was as if y/n was going out of her way to ignore him.

If she was about to go in a room and Bucky was already there, she would turn around and go someplace else. If she was already in a room and Bucky would join her, she would immediately leave the place without a word. It was getting ridiculous. The entire team had noticed the weird vibe they were giving.

Bucky was miserable. More than a month had passed since that night in Kiev and y/n had been ignoring him ever since. He thought it would be a little awkward between them in the beginning and that it would go away in time, but it was the second month and the tension was still palpable between them.

She was going out of her way to ignore him, and Bucky couldn't help but feel the pang of pain in his chest every time he thought of her. And he thought of her a lot lately.

He had returned to his sleepless nights, nightmares not as much of a problem anymore, but his restless thoughts were now tormenting him. He knew he had to do something about this situation, but he did not have even the smallest clue as to what.

But while carefully pondering his options during one of his restless nights, he thought of his best friend. Yeah, he could ask for Steve's help. He knew Steve wouldn't let him down. So that's what he did, first thing in the morning.

Steve was surprised to see Bucky join him in one of his morning jogs, but happily welcomed the company. He had asked Bucky for weeks to go running with him but his oldest friend always turned him down, until today.

They had been running for at least 2 miles when Bucky decided to finally ask, a little anxious for the answer, but it was better than not knowing.

"Hey Steve, can you please tell me what happened to y/n?"

Steve stopped right in his tracks the moment the question left Bucky's lips. He stared at his friend for a second, before coming up with an acceptable answer.

"Buck, you know you're my best friend and  I love you, but maybe it would be better if you asked y/n about her personal life."

Bucky sighed in disappointment. "Yeah sure, I would ask her if she didn't ignore me as if I have the plague or something. I can't get her to stay in the same room with me for more than two seconds, what makes you think  I can get her to talk to me?"

"You're a clever man. I'm sure you're going to figure something out." Steve replied and resumed to his running.

Bucky cursed under his breath and kicked a piece of grass with the heel of his shoe, before going after Steve to continue their run.

So much for his best friend's help. He had to count on himself to solve this situation and in the best case scenario win the love of y/n.

No matter how much Bucky tried to convince himself that he only wanted to at least make amends about what happened with y/n, he knew he wanted her to let him love her, and to have her love him in return.

****

Y/n had just woken up and moved to the compound's kitchen to get her cup of coffee. Leaning in the counter were Natasha and Wanda, chatting with each other animatedly about something y/n couldn't even care about at this point.

Ever since the night in Kiev and the next morning when she woke up in Bucky's arms, she hadn't been the same. She avoided contact with pretty much everyone, especially Bucky.

It was difficult to keep everyone at arm's length, but she didn't feel up for anything lately. She didn't feel like a good company to anyone and she didn't want to take anyone down with her in her self-pity party.

Having woken up in Bucky's arms that morning almost two months ago now, was one of the best things that had happened to her. She had felt secure and warm and loved.

And that's what scared her shitless. Love.

That's the reason she had been avoiding Bucky at all costs all this time.

When Natasha's eye caught her half-awake moving form from the spot where she was sitting close to Wanda she knew this was a good moment to corner the other spy and ask what was she was dying to know.

"Good morning y/n!" She greeted in her usual unusually soft voice. Wanda smiled and did the same.

Y/n grunted a "good morning" of her own in response and moved to the coffee machine in quick but short steps.

She poured herself a mug and held the pot in the air, asking silently if any of the other women wanted coffee too. Natasha held her own mug in her direction and y/n refilled it for her.

They drank their coffees in silence and only after she saw that y/n had drank more than the half of her coffee, Natasha decided to finally talk to her. And she was determined to not let her dodge this conversation anymore.

"So y/n, what's going on with you lately? Haven't seen you around a lot." She said in a casual voice, almost innocent, but y/n knew better than that, she knew that the Black Widow never asked a question without a motive.

"Nothing much Nat, same old things." She replied, trying to keep the same casualness in her voice, then quickly taking another sip of her coffee to win a little moment to collect herself.

Wanda was just looking at the two women, not saying anything yet, but she knew what this was about, having read Natasha's mind just a second ago.

Natasha was growing tired of y/n trying to avoid everyone and everything lately. She wasn't letting that happen anymore.

"Okay, " she said all of a sudden, after y/n's reply. "I've had enough of this." She got up from her seat and left her mug on the counter, taking y/n's mug from her hands as well and placing it to the counter too.

Y/n stared at her in disbelief, while she looked like a woman in a mission.

"What is really going on? Ever since you came back from that mission in Kiev with Barnes you've been acting weird, isolating yourself in your room most of the day and training like a mad woman during ungodly hours of the night."

Y/n's eyes widened at her last words, but Natasha kept talking.

"Yeah, don't think I haven't noticed. You know nothing escapes me. So now you better tell me what really happened before you upset me." She finished with a serious tone of voice and y/n knew she couldn't get away from her this time. She had been postponing this moment for too long, now it was the time to open up with her girls.

When y/n first joined the team she had immediately warmed up to Natasha, then Wanda had joined their small group of estrogen and they had become an inseparable trio ever since. They became best friends and sisters, trusting each other with their life about everything.

Y/n stared at Natasha for a moment, then averted her eyes to Wanda, before speaking. "Okay, let's sit down, I have a lot to talk to you about."

They moved to the common area and sat on the couch, y/n sitting in the middle with the other women each on one side. Two pairs of eyes were glued to her, waiting for her to spill the beans.

Y/n cleared her throat awkwardly before speaking. "So you know how that time in Kiev me and Bucky had to spend the night in a hotel before coming back..."

Both women nodded faintly, waiting for her to continue.

"We got there and there was only one bed in the room. Long story short we ended up sharing the bed that night and when I woke up in the morning we were cuddling."

Natasha's eyes lit up and a smirk grew on her face, while Wanda had a sincere smile on hers.

"I don't see what's the problem here." Natasha finally spoke.

"Well let me finish." Nat rolled her eyes and motioned with her hand for y/n to carry on. "When I was waking up I half moaned his name and then I panicked and yelled at him for cuddling and it was embarrassing." She finished, her voice getting lower with each word, until she finished her sentence in a hushed whisper.

"I still don't see what the problem is." This time it was Wanda who spoke. "It doesn't explain the misery you've been wallowing in for the past two months." That witch! They were determined to get her to tell them everything.

Y/n groaned in response and hid her face in her palms. "You guys don't get it." She spoke in a muffled voice.

She sighed before letting her hands down and looking at her friends, then continued to elaborate more.

"That night was the best sleep I had gotten in a long time and waking up in Bucky's arms was a miracle in itself. I felt secure and happy like I hadn't felt since I can't remember anymore, but..."

"But?" Wanda urged her to continue.

"But I'm scared Wan. I can't make myself available for the same heartbreak again. I feel I'm falling for him but I can't risk my heart again with love. You know what happened the last time I fell in love." She looked down at her lap and her fingers were picking at the skin of her hands, a nervous tick she had.

"Oh honey, you know it wouldn't be the same. Bucky would never hurt you like that asshat did." The soothing voice of Natasha did nothing to ease her nervousness though.

"But that's the thing Nat. I don't even know if he feels the same. If he doesn't everything will be worse and  I would die of embarrassment and it would be so awkward and..."

"More awkward than it already is?" Nat asked smirking and y/n glared at her.

"You know what I mean..." She sighed, exasperated.

Nat hugged her with one arm and Wanda did the same on her other side.

"We know honey, but everything will be fine. You need to talk to Bucky." It was a sincere suggestion made by Wanda, but y/n whipped her head up as if Wanda's words burned her.

"No, no, no way! There's not one single chance of me talking to him ever again."

"But you love him, don't you?"

Y/n let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She wasn't ready to say it out loud that she loved Bucky, but hearing Wanda say it so casually, so naturally she couldn't help but contain a little smile blossoming from lips.

"I.. Yeah, I do." She whispered. "I love him."

****

Bucky had just returned from his run with Steve and headed directly to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge, then made to move to the common room but stopped in his tracks when he heard the voices coming from the other side of the wall.

"...You need to talk to Bucky." He recognized Wanda's voice. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but couldn't help himself when he heard the Witch mentioning his name.

"No, no, no way! There's not one single chance of me talking to him ever again." This time was y/n speaking, and he felt his heart constrict at the sound of her voice. Panic was evident in her tone and he couldn't help but feel sad, he knew he had something to do with her condition, but he didn't know what to do to make things better.

He was about to leave when he heard the categorical refusal in her panicked voice to the thought of talking to him, but he froze when he heard the Witch speak again.

"But you love him, don't you?"

His breath hitched as he was anxiously waiting for y/n's reply. He was scared to know the answer, scared that he would get hurt if she didn't feel the same, but braced himself for whatever was about to come.

She formed her reply in a hushed voice Bucky could barely make out from behind the wall, but he was sure he caught her soft voice saying the words, "I love him."

His heart did a weird unexpected flutter as soon as his brain registered her words and a sigh of relief left his lips.

Now that he knew, he needed to talk to y/n as soon as possible. He couldn't wait to put them both out their misery.

For the moment he retreated to his room, leaving the girls to carry on with their conversation, already feeling bad for eavesdropping but in the same time so happy he did. Otherwise he would never gather the courage to do what he had planned.

****

Despite him knowing about y/n's feeling, and y/n admitting her own feelings and agreeing to talk to Bucky soon, that didn't happen for another week, in the most unconventional way.

As per usual, Tony had made almost all of the team go to a charity event in one of the hospitals of New York City. It would be good publicity for the Avengers to do something of the sort, as if proving to the world that the Avengers were good at not only fighting aliens and destroying entire cities as collateral damage.

New York Presbyterian Hospital was their destination of the day, all they had to do was visit some of the patients, especially little kids, shake hands, answer some press questions then go home about their normal day.

They were walking along the hall of the second floor of the hospital, following behind a young doctor, when someone called from behind for y/n.

Y/n turned around to meet the source of the voice calling her name, but she was surprised, and not in a good way, to see in front of her, none other than Trevor, her cheating ex-fiancé who had dumped her at the altar.

That had happened four years ago and y/n was totally over Trevor, she was sure she didn't love him anymore, had stopped loving him since long ago, but facing him now, even after all this time didn't do any good to her. All the pain and the agony he caused her when he  abandoned y/n in the day that was supposed to be their wedding day, came back to her as bad memories. She sucked in a short breath and steeled herself in front of him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of her pain.

"Hello, y/n. It's so great to see you here." He greeted in a cheery voice, as if nothing bad had ever happened between them.

"I wish I could say the same." She said in a bitter tone. Her eyes fled for a second to his left hand, where a golden wedding band was placed and shining proudly. So he was married.

Y/n hadn't heard anything about him since that day she so desperately wanted to erase from her mind. She had no idea he was even working there now.

He had found himself another woman to marry, while y/n had lost all these years closing herself off to each and every man that would show the slightest bit of interest in her. How stupid of her to do that! How stupid of her to lose herself because of a man who didn't love her, and most importantly didn't even deserve her love at all.

"Listen, I know we didn't part on the best terms with each other but I want you to know I'm sorry." He carried on with speaking. "But now I'm married to this wonderful woman and...." At this point y/n had stopped listening and simply shut him out. She wasn't interested in what he had to say. She didn't care that he was married. She didn't care about anything that had to do with him anymore. All she wanted was to get away from Trevor as soon as possible, but he kept talking and talking.

"So what about you, anyone new in your life?" He asked so casually as if they were two good old friends.

She shifted her weight from one feet to the other, not knowing how to answer. "I, umm.. actually... I.." she began stammering, only embarrassing herself further, until a moment later Bucky came to her rescue, casually circling his arm around her middle.

"Doll, what's going on?" He asked in a sweet tone of voice, that was directed only for her, but at the same time the look he gave Trevor screamed "stay away, she's mine".

"H-hey, Buck." She replied to him and put her hand on his shoulder, trying to steady herself in his presence.  "This, hmm, this is Trevor. My, uhmm.." she didn't know how to continue her sentence, but Trevor stepped in, stretching his hand in front of Bucky's.

"I'm her ex." He said flatly.

Bucky shook his hand, a little more firmly than necessary, wanting to intimidate the man.

"James." He said in a stoned voice, Winter Soldier like. "The boyfriend."

Trevor's eyebrows rose in surprise and Y/n met Bucky's eye for a second, kind of shocked by his words, but she quickly gathered herself before meeting Trevor's face, a small smile of approval to Bucky's answer plastering in her features.

Trevor was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say, but Bucky didn't allow him a lot of time.

"It was good to meet you Tim, now we have to go." He said in the same cold tone and didn't even let him reply before moving away with y/n beside him.

When they were out of Trevor's sight, y/n stopped and turned to face Bucky. "Thank you for that." She said in a  shy voice, her head hanging low, eyes not meeting his.

"It's okay." He replied, suddenly unsure of what to say anymore. "You know, actually I..." He carried on and only then y/n picked up her head to meet his loving gaze. She silently urged him to continue speaking, so he took her hands in his, before resuming to what he wanted to say.

"Shit, I can't believe I'm doing this now." He was talking to himself now more than to her. "Okay, here goes... Y/n I really like you. And I really want to be for you what I said to that guy back there I was." He rushed the words out quickly, before he lost his nerve.

"You mean..." She trailed.

"I mean..." He repeated and slowly started closing the distance between them, unsure of the next step, but her eyes closed in their own volition and her head tipped up for her lips to meet his, and Bucky didn't need any other reason to lock their lips in a much awaited kiss.

They kissed for what felt an eternity and this was the only time after a really long time that y/n felt truly happy. She kept kissing Bucky until the need to breathe became too much and only then they broke the kiss. Even then they didn't move too far from each other, Bucky snaking his arms around her shoulders and holding her close in his embrace. She sighed happily in his chest and her arms tightened around Bucky's torso.  They weren't planning on moving but it was Steve who broke them off their reverie, calling for them from the other end of the hall.

"Buck, y/n, we're leaving." He said and a smile was plastered in his face.

The pair finally moved and made their way to the exit, holding hands and smiling so wide their faces were practically shining.

[dyslexicsquirrel]

Chapters: 1/2 Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Minor or Background Relationship(s) Characters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Clint Barton, James Rhodes, Bruce Banner, Sam Wilson (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Western, Marshal!Steve, blacksmith!Tony, Explicit Sexual Content

Stony Bingo N4

AU: Western

This is the last prompt I’m doing for Bingo (probably). There will be a second part posted on AO3 later, but if you don’t want to read the sex it ends after this lol

Tumbleweeds rolled past, the only movement detectable down the stretch of dirt road through the center of town. If you could call it that anymore. Not six months back this place had been thriving, talk of a new rail stop being built. Now it looked abandoned.

Steve directed his horse toward the saloon anyway. If someone was still here, it was a good chance they’d be at the Black Widow. Sure enough when he dismounted, the door swung open and Natasha walked out to greet him, six shooters hanging from her gun belt. She leaned a hip against the railing, arms crossed, waiting for him to hitch his mare. Star nickered at being tethered, but calmed when he patted her neck, and Steve followed behind Nat inside at her nod toward the door.

Natasha sat heavily in a chair, the same seat she’d most likely left to greet him judging by the bottle of whiskey and the half empty glass on the table next to it. She pushed a chair out for him with one booted foot. The glass was held out in offer when he sat, but Steve shook his head. Natasha shrugged, slugged the amber liquid back and set the glass down to refill her glass.

Steve set his hat on the table, feeling his brows rise watching his friend imbibe so heavily. She might own a saloon, but she was the type of woman who preferred to keep her wits about her. “What happened here?” He asked, glancing around the empty room for emphasis.

Leaning back in the chair, Nat kicked her feet up on the table, crossing them at the ankle, glass resting against her stomach. “Mine dried up. Most everyone left.”

“What about the railroad?”

“Didn’t come fast enough. Folks needed to make a living and left for greener pastures.” She smirked, adding, “So to speak.”

His lips twitched, though he shook his head. Wasn’t much else but desert outside. Few months a year when the rains came the landscape was greener, but still far from pasture or forests.

“Sorry to hear it,” he said and he was. This had been a nice town, but like many in the territories out this way, they were short lived destined to become ghost towns. More than half the population of Copper Butte had been employed by the mine. If the mine stopped producing and the company pulled out, a lot of people would have been out of work. Like Natasha said—folks needed to make a living. Nothing came for free, especially not out here. “Where’s Clint?”

She tipped her chin up. “Where d’ya think?”

Steve looked up and sure enough Clint was sitting on the second floor landing, legs stuck between the posts and hanging over the side with a shotgun across his lap. He waggled his fingers at Steve. Steve raised his hand back, gaze turning to Natasha once more. “If the town’s deserted, what’s with the fire power?”

“Never said it was deserted,” she answered cryptically.

Steve frowned. “Who’s still here? Besides you two, that is. Never did know when to quit.”

“Still hoping that rail line brings some people here. Besides,” she paused to take a drink. “Everything we got is sunk into this place. Got some savings, business was good for a while there, but…”

She trailed off, tipping her head to exchange a look with Clint. Steve could fill in the blanks. They had savings, but maybe not enough to start over somewhere else from scratch.

“As for who all’s still here.” Nat took a deep breath and rolled her head back in his direction. “The Sheriff. Doc is planning on sticking around as long as he can. Wilson didn’t want to leave the telegraph office unattended.”

She rolled her eyes at the last. Nat was a fighter, but Sam had been a soldier before he came out here to open the general store and man the telegraph office both. A soldier didn’t abandon his post; Steve understood that and wasn’t surprised to find he was still there.

Couldn’t say he was surprised about the sheriff, either. Rhodes took responsibility for this town when he took the job and wouldn’t give that up lightly. What he did find a bit surprising was that Banner hadn’t hightailed it back to civilization. The doctor was a city boy from a good family in Massachusetts—came out here with something to prove. Not that city folk couldn’t cut it in western territories, he was a city boy himself from New York, but he and Banner’d had very different upbringings. Steve hadn’t expected the man to last the year, as mild and gentle as he was. Even he could be wrong sometimes.

“Well, ‘spose I ought to go check in with the sheriff, then.” Rhodes was more likely to tell him whatever it was that Natasha was keeping close lipped about. Steve stood and donned his hat. “If I could get a room for the night, I’d appreciate it.”

“Take your pick. They’re all empty,” Natasha said with a smirk, not bothering to stand. “You can join us for dinner. Cook left, but it’ll be edible. Clint’ll take care of your horse.”

“I’d appreciate that, too.” Steve’s mouth curved in a crooked smile at the sound of Clint’s groan and he tipped his hat at the other man, turning for the door, spurs jangling softly. Nat’s next words stopped him before he stepped outside.

“The blacksmith is still here, too, if you were wondering.” He had been and by the sly note in her voice, Nat knew exactly why. She didn’t pull one of her guns on him, however, so he figured she didn’t find it too objectionable. She offered to eat with him and have him sleep under the same roof, after all. He nodded once without turning and stepped out into the shade of the overhang. His eyes were drawn down the main stretch of road where he knew Tony’s smithy was from having walked there many times, most recently when he rode through on his way to California.

Steve didn’t walk that way, though. He turned in the opposite direction for the sheriff’s office. Business before pleasure and all that.

*

By the time Steve made it to Tony’s place he was hot, sweaty and tired, dirt caked to places on his skin and co wrong his clothes, the days of travel catching up with him. He was sorely in need of a bath and a bed, but found his feet carried him here instead, his mind preoccupied with the conversation he had with Sheriffs Rhodes.

Steve hadn’t realized Hydra was out this way, last he’d heard they robbed a train in Indiana, but he must be out of the loop. The gang of outlaws had been terrorizing trains and stagecoaches from the Midwest to the Pacific for years without much luck in taking them down. More than a few of his fellow Marshalls had lost their lives to their guns. They took down one of ‘em and their ranks grew by three. The Marshal's department was always one step behind. He would need to wire Bucky and let him know the situation, maybe get him out here, though his friend wouldn’t agree with Steve’s decision to try and gather information or try to take them down.

Stopping outside the large doors to the smithy, Steve doffed his hat and used it to beat the worse of the road grime from his coat before stepping into the dim interior. Before his eyes had a chance to completely adjust to the low light, a flare of sparks and a clang off to the side drew his attention and his breath caught.

Tony was dressed in a thin shirt with the sleeves rolled, a heavy leather apron covered his chest and legs, thick leather gloves hid his ropey  forearms from sight and goggles obscured his eyes. His shirt was almost see through in places from the sweat coating his skin and Steve was transfixed by the play of muscles in his back and shoulders as he wielded a hammer to manipulate a piece of metal into the shape he wanted.

Whether Steve made a noise that Tony heard over the din of metal work or he felt Steve’s eyes on him because he looked up, head turning in Steve’s direction. The hot, glowing metal went into a bucket of water, hissing and sending a ploom of steam into the air. Tony pushed the goggles up over his forehead, eyes looking as dark as the night of a new moon, fathomless and mysterious.

“Marshall,” Tony said, stripping his gloves off one by one to drop onto the table next to him. There was a question hidden in the set of Tony’s mouth and Steve’s brow furrowed at the formal address.

“Blacksmith,” he shot back, walking farther into the wide open space of the converted barn. “You didn’t leave with everyone else.” He pointed out the obvious, laying the statement down like a gauntlet. Tony was mad about something, agitation in the way he stripped off his apron and tossed it over top of the gloves, and it seemed to be directed at him, even though he wasn’t sure what the hell he’d done. They had parted on good terms or so Steve had thought.

“You know me, I’m not one to walk away from a challenge.” Like having no business because the town was all but deserted. Steve stopped in front of Tony, barely a foot separating them, staring down at the shorter man who crossed his arms and tilted his chin, cocky smirk firmly in place. From this distance, Steve could make out the dark circles under Tony’s eyes and the shadows in the brown depths. “‘sides, I didn’t want to leave without telling you. It would be rude.”

His mouth pulled down in a frown, turning those words over and over in his mind, trying to figure out what Tony meant because they were so loaded they had a weight behind them. When it hit him, like a punch to the head, Steve rolled his eyes. “I told you I was leaving at first light.”

“Could have woken me up,” came Tony’s petulant reply.

“Have you ever tried to wake you up, sweetheart?” Steve closed the remaining distance until their chests touched, hand lifting to cup Tony’s jaw even though he had his face turned away, looking at a point beyond Steve’s left shoulder. “You’re meaner than a rattlesnake that got stepped on.”

Those golden brown eyes that appeared like chocolate in the low light flicked to his. “A note would have worked if you were so scared of my bad mood.”

Tony was full of sass today and Steve had to fight the smile trying to break free. His hammer was still within reach, after all. Not that Steve actually though Tony would hit him with it, but threaten? Sure. Then Steve would have to work harder to sweeten him up.

“I’m sorry, I should have left a note.” Steve took it as a good sign when Tony didn’t pull away from the hand Steve placed on his hip. “I’ll do better next time. But I’d already stayed longer than I meant to. You’re hard to leave.”

Tony harumped, but laid a hand on Steve’s chest, under his vest so the only thing separating their skin was the fabric of Steve’s shirt, leaned his forehead against Steve’s sternum before straightening, nose wrinkled. “You stink like horse and dirt.”

“I’m telling Star you said she stinks.”

“Don’t you dare.” Tony glared up at him. “That beast already hates me.”

“She does not. She’s just a mite prickly sometimes, like someone else I know.”

“You had better be talking about Natasha or you can sleep alone tonight.”

Steve huffed a laugh, nipped at Tony’s lower lip before claiming his mouth in a kiss. Lord, how he’d missed this man. Their facial hair rasped together, the short hairs covering Tony’s cheeks felt so much different against the palms of his hands than the hair on his head when Steve moved from cupping one to gripping the other.

It’d been six months since they’d touched and Steve put ever ounch of the longing he felt into the kiss, all tongue and teeth and wet heat. When they parted, lungs  protesting for air, Steve rested their foreheads together. They stood that way for long minutes, letting the sounds of their breathing surround them.

“Nat knows.” When Tony’s only response was to raise a single brow, Steve clarified, “About us. Which means Clint probably knows, too.”

Tony rolled his eyes, laughing when Steve frowned at him in irritation. “Of course she knows. The whole damn town knew, except maybe the preacher.”

“What?”

“You’re so oblivious sometimes.” Tony patted Steve on the cheek and stepped back. “It’s precious.”

Steve’s frown deepened. He was a United States Marshall—he was not oblivious. If he were, Steve wouldn’t have survived long emotional here. And there was no way Tony would have been allowed to stay if so many people had known about their proclivities. “I’m sure you’re exaggerating.”

“If you say so, dear.” Tony smiled up at him sweetly. “Now, why don’t you go back to the Widow and see if you can rustle up a bath. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“You’re gonna be there?”

“Of course,” Tony said with a snort, looping his apron back over his head. “There’s only six of us in town, we eat together most nights.”

“Oh. Alright then. I’ll see you later.” Before Steve turned to leave, Tony threw him a wink and slid his goggles back into place. Steve shook his head and walked back out into the bright sun. The whole town, huh? He reckoned that was why he’d always felt more at home in Copper Butte than anywhere else, even New York City where he grew up.

And here he had been thinking it was just Tony.

[laseroy89]

Fighting Me

[WP] You were always taught to never take your helmet off during war. One day in the middle of a battle you end up in a fist fight to the death. Something extremely rare these days. As you pull off the helmet to gouge their eyes you pull back in shock. The person looks exactly like you.

“Ron, take the stairs on the right side, take out the top floor. Take Ray and Pirate with you. Ed and Neem, you’re coming with me through the front, clear the ground floor. Section 2 will be taking the buildings behind this block, so once this building is clear, gather at this landing and await for further instructions from HQ - DO NOT LEAVE THE BLOCK. Any questions?”

“No Sir!”

Sam folded his map and crammed it back into his utility pouch. He made a “go” motion with his hand. “Alright, move out.”

“Yes Sir.” Everyone nodded, and dispersed. Sergeant Ron motioned for Pirate and I to follow, and the three of us treaded carefully through the tall grass, towards the grassy mound that would provide good cover about five metres away from the targeted staircase. We took our positions in the shallow depressions behind the mound, and awaited the signal.

“Ok go go go.” Sergeant whispered through my earpiece. We moved quickly to the staircase, our rifles raised in high alert position, ready to engage. I pointed my rifle around, looking for any potential threats, and surveyed the area at the same time.

It was as described in the photos provided to us. The building was in a sorry state - paint was peeling off the walls, and there was mould and moss all over the exterior. Most of the windows were just openings in the side of the building with no glass panes, but there were a few on the upper floor that were completely black and opaque, such that it was impossible to see whatever shady stuff people were doing inside. The rest of the complex wasn’t much better off - most of the fence had collapsed, allowing our company to infiltrate almost effortlessly, and the other buildings seemed to be in the same state as our target building.

Once I reached the side of the building, I patted Pirate’s back. He patted Sergeant, and together, we crept up the stairs. I could see Sergeant’s rifle trembling - come on man. The enemy guards at the guardhouse - more like guard-shed, lol - were easily neutralised. They were definitely not prepared for an attack, how easy could this be? We’ll finish them off in no time and be back in time for a nice long bath and….maybe a visit to the massage parlour? Heheh - yeah that’s right Pirate, you’re reading my thoughts exactly.

We got onto the second floor, our boots making muffled thuds on the concrete.

“Door, door left. Open in.” Sergeant moved to the opposite side and faced us, hand on the handle. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

Sergeant turned the handle and pushed the door hard. Pirate and I rushed in, and opened fire.

Left, fire, fire, fire. Up, fire, fire, fire. Forward, forward, crouch behind chair, fire, fire, fire. Get up, forward, lean over counter, fire, fire, fire. “Clear!”

“Clear!”

“Door, door right. Open in. Ready?”

“Ready.”

Forward, right. Forward - LEFT, FIRE, FIRE, FIRE, FIRE! Fire. Forward. Right, fire, fire, fire. “Reload!” High knee. Put safe, eject mag. Empty magazine check. Check clear. Loaded magazine check. Weapon loaded. Cock, put safe - put back on semi. “Ready.”

“Door, door left. Open out. Ready?”

“Ready.”

Forward, left. Forward - LEFT - FUCK FUCK FUCK! Against wall, enemy on rifle. Fight. Jab left, jab left, elbow right, elbow down. Ooof. Kick left shin. Kick left shin. Kick left knee, crack. Kick groin. Headbutt - oooof. Rifle gone. Punch right, down, ooof. Head down, twist right wrist. Jab left, dislocate left shoulder. Jab, neck. Up, sweep his helmet off, position fingers -

His eyes. Brown irises, staring at me - glazed, sightlessly, lifelessly. A normal enemy would be filled with fear, with anger, with pain, his brow furrowed in frustration, in terror - but not his. He stared at me - he stared THROUGH me, as if he was already dead. But no - he fought on, kicking frantically against my hard plate.

But it wasn’t just the eyes. It was the hair too. Buzz cut, but with a widow’s peak, and a little scar just above the right ear - just like me. The pockmarks that acne left all over his face - there was even that little red bump in the right cheek, the cyst that refused to go away no matter how much ointment I spammed in that area. That blunt nose, broken maybe twelve times. That cut on that lip, when my crazy ex smashed me with a glass.

He was me.

He stopped struggling too, but he didn’t stop staring through me. And he opened his mouth, and…..inhaled.

A ear-piercing whine drowned out all the commotion that happened around me. All the gunshots, screams and shouts....they were all replaced by the sound that threatened to rip my head apart, yet I couldn’t bring my hands up to block it out. I was frozen to the spot, my entire body rigid, and out of my control.

Slowly, I felt my skin pull away. Gentle tugging at first, but it got stronger and stronger. I could feel it started to run down my chin, and…

I was slammed against the wall.

“What the hell happened?” Pirate shook me by my shoulders, staring at my face. “You just froze up on that….oh my bejeezus what the hell did he do to you?”

I realised that he wasn’t just staring at my face - his focus was directed at my chin. Gingerly, I lifted my hands to that area, and felt little scraps of skin hanging off. It felt waxy to the touch, but as I pulled my hands away from my face, I saw that the liquid wax that I felt was my blood.

That sucking wasn’t in my imagination. That bugger had tried to suck my skin and flesh off.

I pushed Pirate’s face away.

That soldier - or whatever that thing was - lay still on the ground, its torso torn up by dozens of bullets. But its face was still intact, and…..it wasn’t just my imagination. It was an immaculate duplicate of my face, and Sergeant was still standing over it, constantly switching between looking at my face, and looking at it.

“Sergeant….we need to leave this area. There’s something fishy going on.”

“Negative. We proceed down to the landing as planned, and meet the rest of the team….”

We stared at each other, as we realised what was happening.

There were no gunshots anymore, even though this was supposed to be a battle. Instead, there were intermittent screams, but the main sound that filled the air was this….whining noise. The sickening whine, exactly like that sound when my face was being sucked the hell off.

“Sergeant, I don’t think there’s a rest of the team anymore.”

Pirate grabbed his rifle. Sergeant backed off from the body, and looked out the window.

“We need to get out of here. Right. Now.”