#they gave a black love interest to Bruce and put her through HELL

[littlefankingdom]

~ Batman: Knightfall

Shondra went through so much trauma that her brain finally decided to regress her age. I just love her so much and I'm fucking crying. She deserves the world.

[the-broken-truth]

Can you do yandere bully damian wayne with fem reader how is a 🐺🔥🥋 🛡 🏹 🏠 she is like demon Hunter in Gotham and sometimes batman call for her help with joker/villains and goes to Gotham academy

They Heated each other guts and she tolerated him for her best friend Jonathan Kent

Damian was dating raven how was using him as cashcow

one day in park damian get drugged and kidnapped and reader saw all the and follow there car to save him after killing his kidnappers and heal him she comfront him and tell him everything is going to be alright and give him her jacket (which he will keep it for eternity) she dropped him to his house after buying him something to eat when damian get to his father house he sees the no-one care of what happened to him they saw the he got kidnapped and they didn't care at all but reader did and the how the obsession began

*STATIC*: An Obsessive Love Born From Loathing Hate? A Golddigger, as well? Quite an interesting request we have here, Broken.

Broken Truth: That we do, so let's see what words weave together from this.

Quick Note: The name of the reader shall be Kacela - The name means 'Huntress' and is of African Origin. Just like Damien, she is a rich kid but not because her parents are rich - her human parents abandoned her and she started her own business; it's well-known but not on the same level as Wayne Enterprises.

Broken: SORRY IT'S LATE! I'VE BEEN BUSY!

- THE RUNED HUNTRESS -

[On Top Of Gotham's Rooftops - Across from a besieged Research Facility]

[The Joker was at it again but this time he wasn't working alone - he enlisted the aid of Clayface, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Riddler, and Penguin to take hold of a Research Lab that contained something each member of the crime group wanted; how Joker knew this and managed to use to persuade the villains into working with him is something The Dark Knight couldn't quite figure out. What he did know was that he was going to need some help.]

[At the moment, Damien (Robin)., Dick (Nightwing), and Barbara (Batgirl) were the ones of the Bat-Family that were with him at the moment but the 4 of them weren't going to be enough and - as much as he hated it - he needed aid from a power beyond what his gadgets and training could do.]

Damien (Walks over to Batman, who is standing on the edge looking at the facility): Father, why are we still waiting while those criminals are making a mess of the place?

Bruce: Because we're waiting for someone.

Damien: Who? We have enough people, we can take them.

Bruce: Don't be foolish, Damien. It's the four of us up against seven of Gotham's Worst, plus they have hostages and have access to unknown tech or substances that could put us at a disadvantage. The person I called has abilities unlike our own and can help us a great deal.

[Damien opened his mouth to protest when a smell hit his nose - it smelled like something was burning.]

Dick (Sniff-Sniff): Does anyone else smell something burning.

Barbara: It smells like brimstone.

Bruce: She's here.

[Nightwing opened his mouth to question who 'she' was when a burst of red light from a ball of fire came shooting upward from the edge of the building before falling and landing in the clear space. The ground was scorched from the fire impact and cinders flowed around the air and lined along with the black marks up everyone looked at the person - or creature - that caused it.]

[The creature was large and muscular the body of a wild canine - a wolf - but it stood on 2 legs; except, wolves didn't have 2 horns on their foreheads. The forearms of the beast were scarred with runes that were glowing red against the black fur. The creature began to stand on 2 legs - its height towered over Bruce - and opened its eyes to reveal eyes made from hellfire. The humanoid wolf opened its jaws - letting the hot smoke out - as it began to speak to the Head of the Bat-Family.]

Wolf Creature: Dark One (What she calls Bruce), I'm answering your persistent summons. Why have you decided to bother me this time?

Barbara: Summons? (Looks at Bruce) Bruce, what is that thing?

Wolf Creature (Glares at Barbara): I am not a 'Thing', I am a Wolf Demon while you are the daughter of a cop - playing dress up just to spite him and stick your pointed head where it doesn't belong.

Barbara (Points at the Wolf Creature): Hey, don't call me a...

Bruce (Raises his hand): That's enough. (Looks at the Wolf Creature) Runed Huntress, I know you told me that you're not interested in helping me but this is important. Those criminals have many innocent people captured and are trying to access some very dangerous information and products. Our gadgets can only get us so far but your power is limitless. We need your help.

Runed Huntress (Snorts - making smoke shoot out her nose and blow in Bruce's face): Very well, I shall aid you once again but - as I said before - do not make a habit out of this; you are this city's protector, not me.

Bruce (Nods): Noted. (Turns back to the building) Now, let's get a move on.

[The Bat-Family & The Runed Huntress leaped across the building rooftops until they reached the last roof that sat at the edge of the street that separated the distance of the buildings and the facility. The Bat-Family watches as the large humanoid wolf clapped her hands together and slowly brought them apart - bring a bow that looked as if it was forged from hellfire itself. The Runed Huntress took the bow in hand and did the motion of drawing back an arrow - Damian's eyes widen as an arrow materialized in her clawed hand before she releases it. It goes soar across the street and crashes into the glass dome but doesn't shatter it - it melts it away and forms a large hole, big enough for the rescue party to get inside.]

[The villains looked upon the hole of melted glass as the Bat-Family glided in and stood before the corrupted 7. The Ringleader - The Madman known as Joker - began to chuckle and clap his hands.]

Joker (Clapping): Bats! I knew you would be here! A little late to the party, don't you think?!

Bruce (Glares at Joker): I don't have time to deal with your demented mind, Joker. Release the hostages and turns yourselves in or we can do this the hard way.

Joker (Pouts and shakes his head): Oh, Batsy... Always the party pooper; no cake for you. But in case you have noticed, I outnumber you so...I don't think you can win.

[Just then - the monstrous roaring howl of the Runed Huntress echoed in the hall as she leaped through the giant hole and landed on all fours between Joker and Bruce. She glared at the villains as her jaws opened as lava leaked from the cracks of her fangs, making 2 pools on the tile floor that began to rise and form into 2 clones of herself.]

Runed Huntress (Rising to her feet as the lava clones did the same): Now...it's an even playing field.

[When Killer Croc let loose a hiss, Runed Huntress barked back at him and the two of them charged at each other - fighting as beasts knew how to. Bruce dealt with Joker, Barbara took on Harley Quinn, Dick took care of Riddler, Damian attacked Penguin, while the other two clones took on Clayface and Poison Ivy.]

[The fight ended with the villains in cuffs and loaded into Transportation Trucks, Barbara found the scientists locked in the safe - all accounted for and unharmed, but mentally scarred - Bruce was talking to Gordon while his family looked on. Damian looked off to the side and watched the large wolf walking away and ran after her as she turned into an alleyway.]

Damian: Hey, where are you going?

Runed Huntress (Looks over her large shoulder at the Wayne Family Heir): What do you want, boy? I have aided your leader, that doesn't mean I need to stay around for his talks with the Commissioner.

Damian: Just what the hell is your problem?

Runed Huntress: My 'problems' are none of your concern, Rich Boy.

[Damian opened his mouth to speak but the large beast was engulfed by a flammed vortex that erupted from the ground around her feet and covered her until it exploded into cinders - leaving Damian alone in the alley, looking at the charred circle in the ground.]

- RAVENS LIKE THINGS THAT SPARKLE -

[The Next Day: Gotham High School - Courtyard]

"I gotta go to the library to do some last-minute reading before class starts but before I forget, can I get some cash, Bae?" The Indigo-Eyed Girl asked as she looked upon the Wayne Heir.

"More? I gave you $700 just last week." Damien said as she looked at his girlfriend.

"I know but there's a sell on some rare spell tomes and I didn't want to risk someone else getting their hands on them. o, can you give me some cash?" Raven asked with a tilt of her head like a cat; making the heir exhale.

"Okay, I send another $800." Damien exhaled, earning a kiss on his cheek from the girl how had his heart before she turned and began to walk away.

"Hey, Damien!" Damien turned to see his friend Jonathan Kent walking up to him, but he wasn't alone.

Beside Jonathan was a dark-skinned female around the same height as him with golden eyes in a constant glare, She had short black hair in an undercut - only on her right side. She was wearing the Gotham High School uniform but the man one - she wasn't in comfortable skirts and she had the money to allow this. On her wrists there 2 golden bracelets - long ones that start at her wrists and end further up her forearms - that had some kind of writing on them that Damien didn't care to translate. Why didn't he care? Because he didn't like her.

"Hey." Damien said as he looked in the direction of his friend and...tolerant.

"You good, Bro? You seemed stressed out." Jonathan said with concern in his blue eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine - Father was telling us that there is some large event tonight and he wants all of us there; no questions asked." Damien said.

"Large event? What's that?" Jonathan asked.

"He talking about Gotham's Angel Award - it's when all of Gotham's CEOs and Walking Wallets gather in one room to see who's been recognized as the most giving and kind." Kacela said as she looked at Jonathan with her arms folded.

"Funny the stray (That's what Damien calls her began she doesn't have parents, relatives, or even a surname.) knows what it is, even though you would never step foot in that place, much less get to hold an invitation." Damien said with a smirk on his face. Imagine his shock as Kacela pulls an invitation to that event from her pocket.

"You were saying, Bird Brain?" Kacela asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Damien began to get mad and Kacela glared at him when Jonathan stepped between them.

"Whoa. Whoa. No need to fight! Just relax, guys." Jonathan said as he looked between her friends. Kacela exhaled and stepped back.

"Fine. I won't fight because Jonathan asked me to." Kacela said as she glared at Damien.

"Same here, Stray." Damien glared at her too before turning back to his phone.

"Whatcha doing, Damian?" Jonathan asked.

"Sending some cash to Raven's card." He said.

"More? Didn't you send her a lot just a few days ago?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, but there was a book sale and she didn't want to miss out on the rare tomes that were for auction." Damian explained.

"Is that the song she sang to you? For someone so brilliant...you can't even see when you are being played." Kacela said as she placed her hands in her pockets and began to walk away.

"What's that supposed to mean, Stray?"Damian glared at her.

"Just remember - Ravens are fond of things that gleam and shine but they are also creatures that sing songs of deception." Kacela said before she entered the building, leaving Damian and Jonathan standing there.

- THE RAVEN'S DECEPTION & TRAPPED IN THE LION'S DEN -

[After Highschool]

Damian wished his friend a good evening before getting on his motorcycle and driving out of the school's parking lot. He knew that the normal route he would take was going to be caked in traffic for the event tonight and decided to head the long way. He was coming up on the red light at the intersection of 4 famous restaurants/cafes sat at the 4 Corners. He was the first vehicle in line when a familiar voice was heard from the right - he looked and the eyes under his helmet widened when they landed on his girlfriend sitting at an outdoor table with shapeshifter of the Titans - Beast Boy a.k.a Garfield. They were sitting at the table, holding hands and smiling at each other - as if they were in love.

"So, what do you want to do this weekend?" Raven asked.

"I wanna go to the new exotic animal show but tickets to that places are stupidly expensive." Garfield said.

"Don't worry, babe; I got the money from that walking piggy bank, Damian." Raven said.

"You got more? I thought he gave you some a few days ago." He said.

"Yeah, I just told him I spent the money on tomes and he gave me $700 more. All I have to do is pout and he'll give me whatever I want." Raven smirked at the notion and Garfield laughed.

Damian felt so bad about what he just heard - when the car behind him hooked their horn to let him know the light was green, he floored it and began driving down the main streets before the tears in his eyes began to blind him and he stopped on the edge of the park, took his helmet off and hid his face in hands - sobbing; showing the weakness of the Al Ghul.

His heart was broken - the one he loved was using him for a wallet for the shapeshifter and he was too blind to see it. The words Kacela said before she left that day - she was warning him that Raven was disloyal to him. The one he hated was the one who warned him.

He was so caught up in his crying that he didn't see the hooded figure sneaking up behind him and smacking him off the bike with a metal pipe in the back of his head. His world got dark when he heard the words.

"We got Wayne's Brat - we're in for a huge payday, boys." the fading voice chuckled until Damian faded into nothingness of mind.

[Around 2 Hours Later]

"Wake up, pretty boy!" someone commanded as he slapped the Wayne Heir wake - he was tied to a chair in the center of an unknown warehouse with 6 Thugs surrounding him - all of them with weapons in their hands.

"What? What the hell do you want from me?" Damian demanded as he glared at the man who slapped him - only for the same man to punch him in the face; Damian could taste the blood on his tongue before he felt it flowing out of his mouth as he tried to shake the daze from his head.

"We don't want shit from you, brat; we want a payday from Wayne and I know he'll pay huge racks to get his little boy back." The leader said.

"Boss, we've been calling Wayne but he ain't answering." A good said.

"Then keep calling! The sooner we finish this, the better." The boss order. Damian hung his head down - he was done for: his father wasn't answering the phone, his love breaks his heart...just what was he to do

The answer came as the window of the warehouse came crashing inward and a familiar Lycan-Shaped Figure came crashing into the room and landed on the ground on all fours before rising to its hind legs with a very pissed off glare in its eyes - the runes on its body shining in the light.

"What the hell is that?!" One of the Goons said as he tried to get his gun - only to have his head bitten off by the creature's jaws, letting his body hit the floor.

"Kill that thing! Fucking kill it!" The Boss said as he made Damian get to his feet and used his as a human by holding his arm around his neck and hold his gun at the creature that jumped around, slaughtering his men before turning to face him.

"Don't come any closer or I'll blow his brains out!" The boss said as he held the gun against Damian's head.

The Runed Huntress looked at a long metal nail that was sitting between her feet and reached down to gather it in her large clawed hand. Damian and the boss watched as the large wolfish creature twirled the nail between her fingers before flicking it on its head and sent it flying like a bullet - hitting the boss in the center of his head, making them lose his grip on Damian and slump to the ground. The Huntress ran over to Damian before he could fall and gathered him tenderly in her large arm before using the other one to cut his ropes - even free, the boy didn't move, he was too...cold.

"Damian, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" The Runed Huntress asked him as she looked at him with concerned eyes. Damian opened his mouth to speak but he noticed the bracelets on the creature's wrists - he saw them before, he saw them every day during school.

"K...Kacela?" Damian questioned as he looked into the creature's eyes again - there was a sparkle, a smile, then a small vortex of fire that revealed the human face of the one he hated at school.

"I always told you that you were brilliant, just weren't wary of the right people."Kacela said as she took off her jacket from her shoulders and placed it over Damian's, "Wear this, you're freezing." She said.

"You... You saved me? I thought you hated me - after everything I said and did to you." Damian said as he looked into her eyes.

"I never said I hated you, Damian; I said I hated the way you acted. As for saving you, I may have a beast's soul and form but I'm not a heartless monster to just let someone get hurt; not even someone who tries to me." Kacela explained before she turned back into the Runed Huntress, gathered Damian in her arms, and rose to her feet, "Now, let's get you home; you are too cold, you might be sick." she said as she turned on her heel and leaped back through the window she came through with the Wayne Family Heir in her arms.

- THE ONE YOU HATE IS THE ONE WHO CARES THE MOST -

[Wayne Manor]

The Runed Huntress landed in front of the door to Wayne Manor, using one of her hands to knock heavily on the door - it was soon opened by the Wayne Family Butler - Alfred Pennyworth.

"Hello, Madam Huntress, is there something I can help you with?" He then noticed Damian in her arms, "Is that Master Damian? Did something happen?" He asked.

"He was attacked and held for ransom but Bruce never answered the phone and he was harmed." Runed Huntress said.

"That's understandable - Master Bruce and the others are currently getting ready for the event and have asked not to be disturbed." Alfred said, making Kacela's eyes widen in anger.

"What?" She growled out. She pushed past the butler and followed Bruce's scent up the stairs to a meeting room - she barged in and - sure enough to what Alfred said - Bruce, Dick, and Barbara were all there, dressed in elegant attire; they all looked at the large wolf who barged into the room.

"Huntress? Is there something you need?" Bruce said.

"Are you serious, Bruce? Your son is in my arms, beaten & possibly sick, are you're asking me if I need something? Why didn't you answer the calls from Damian's phone?" Kacela asked.

"As Alfred told you, we're busy getting ready for the event." Bruce said.

"He's your son, Bruce Wanye - he was attacked, held for ransom, and beaten up and all you care about is this event? He could be sick, he's as cold as a block of ice." Huntress growled.

"Well, you got to him and saved him before he was hurt too bad, but since he can't come to the event, take him to bed and we will deal with him in the morning." Bruce said as he began walking do the door, past the wolf and his sick son, with his other 2. Kacela growled at him before looking at Damian.

"Where's your room?" She asked, her eyes widened when his hand grabbed her fur and held her close.

"Please... Please, don't leave me here." Damian pleaded - begged - as he tried to hold more tears while shivering.

"There's no way in hell I'm leaving you here. I need to get you some warm clothes." She explained.

Damian told her where his room was and she when there - placing him on the bed for a moment as she gathered pajamas and a new school uniform into the bag before closing it, picking Damian back up, opened the window, and the two of them disappeared into the night.

[Kacela's Loft]

*BEEP - BEEP - BEEP*

"Yeah, just as I thought - you're sick." Kacela said as she pulled the thermometer from the boy's lips and looked at the numbers. Kacela placed it on a napkin on the nightstand that was beside the bed Damian was laying in and the chair she was sitting in. "It seems to be a simple head cold - some medicine and rest should get you and running again, not to mention a good night's rest." Kacela explained.

"How come...you didn't go to the Gotham's Angels Award?" Damian asked as he looked at her with a warm feeling on his face - it must have been the cold.

"That place is full of people who just wanna get seen, not for doing right." Kacela explained before she reached on the nightstand to her phone, "You have to eat something before taking your meds and I don't feel like cooking tonight, so I'll order something. What are you in the mood for - Pizza or Burgers?" Kacela asked.

"What? You're letting me choose?" Damian asked.

"Sure, I don't usually have guests, so why the hell not?" Kacela gave a smile...and the warm feeling returned but it was stronger this time.

When the pizza arrived, Kacela helped Damian sit up, and the two of them ate while having conversations - turned out they had a lot of things in common, from their love of books to their outside activities. Damian asked Kacela a few questions about her knowing Raven was cheating on him and why she didn't tell him directly - she explained that it wasn't her place to speak on another person's relationship, plus he made it very clear that he had a dislike for her so what reason would he have to believe her? Damian apologized for his words but Kacela said she heard worse and wasn't bothered. Just before bedtime, Kacela gave him cold and sleeping medicine so he would be alright in the morning; she stayed with him until he fell into slumber before she went to sleep herself.

When the morning sun rose - Damian woke to the smell of pancakes. Kacela made them breakfast and even made sure Damian's phone was placed on the changer. Damian got dressed in a fresh outfit and went to eat with Kacela; who informed him that she got his bike and helmet from the park after he went to sleep; he thanked her, finished his breakfast, and left out the door...with her jacket.

- NOT SO BLIND ANYMORE -

"What do you mean we're over?!" Raven yelled as she stood before Damian.

"Just as I said - I'm done with you, Raven. You're nothing but a gold-digger and a liar, and you only see me as a mess to keep that green boyfriend of yours happy. I'm not giving you anything else but a hard time if you ever show your face again." Damian glared at her, causing her to huff and march away to the school building.

"Whoa, Damian." Jonathan said as he walked over, "You really broke up with her?" He asked.

"I don't have time for gold-diggers and liars." He looked around, "Where's Kacela?" he asked.

"She called and said... Wait, did you just call her by her name? I thought she was a stray?" He said but swallowed when Damian glared at her.

"Never. Call. Her. That." Damian growled.

"Okay. Okay, man - sorry." He said.

"Now, what did she tell you?" Damian asked.

"She said she couldn't come today - there are some major investors that are interested in her company and want to make a partnership, so she won't be in today." Jonathan said.

"Really? Then, I'll speak to her later." Damian said.

"Talk about what? Wait, isn't that her jacket?" He asked.

"Yes." He said, 'But it's more than just that. It's the start of what Kacela and I shall be...together.'

[nothoughtsonlynat]

Human (Natasha Romanoff)

Human: Chapter 1

A/N: Troyes, France is 6 hours ahead of NYC so 7pm there is 1pm in NYC. For the sake of this fic we’re going to pretend that the Battle of New York lasted quite a few hours.

*This is my first ever fic and I wrote it at 3am so bear with me

WARNINGS: swearing; mentions of weapons; violence; panic attack; anxiety; my crappy writing; and I think that’s it (lmk if there’s anything I should add)

Barcelona, Spain; January, 2012:

The repetitive ticking of the clock registered in my brain before my eyes even opened. I didn’t need that clock to know what time it was, of course. It was 4:30 am— the same time I've woken up everyday for the past twenty-five years of my life. I no longer need to wake up this early, yet it’s a habit so deeply engrained in my framework that it’s seemingly unbreakable. I roll out of bed and make my way into the dingy kitchen with light footsteps. With some quick math I figured that I got barely two hours of sleep last night, but that’s more than usual. I started the coffee machine and asked with a sigh, “Would you like some coffee or are you just going to lurk in the corner?”

The leather-clad stranger with an eyepatch stepped up to the kitchen island opposite of me and responded, “I wouldn’t mind a cup. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you knew I was here.”

“Well, you know what they say about old habits. You got a name?”

“You can call me Fury. We have a lot to talk about, Eight.” I slid him a mug of cheap coffee and gestured for him to take a seat. 

“Then we’d better get started so you can get the hell out of my apartment.” He simply chuckled in response and I could already feel my patience wavering.

Two Hours Later:

“Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division? Really, dude?”

“Yeah, it’s a mouthful. Trust me I know.”

“I’m sorry that you came all this way for nothing, Fury, but there’s no way in hell I'm working for some government spy circus.”

“It’s technically an extra-governmental spy agency-“

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not joining,” I said, cutting him off.

“So, you’re just gonna hop from one shitty apartment to the next until you die? That doesn’t seem like a great life.”

“Better than the one I lived before.”

“You aren’t the person to live in hiding. You’re the person who thrives in the action and lives to kick ass, and we both know it.” When I didn’t respond he continued, “I’ll leave you my card. When you change your mind, which you will, you’ll know where to find me. You don’t have to be the bad guy anymore, Eight.” With that he slid off the stool and left my apartment, leaving me with nothing but my rapidly spiraling thoughts and a black business card.

Troyes, France; May, 2012:

It had been four months since Director Fury came to my apartment in Barcelona. We’d kept in contact and he hasn’t given up on me joining S.H.I.E.L.D.. I'm living in my third apartment since then. Wow…those landlords must really hate me. I was watching the seven o’clock news when I saw something that made me choke on my Cheerios. “An alien invasion?! What the fu-” My Cheerio-muffled exclamation was interrupted by the ring of my burner phone. “Hello?”

“Eight, you watched the news recently?”

“Uh yeah, I'm watching it now. You fighting aliens now, Nicky?”

“Okay first of all, I told you to stop calling me that. Second, yes… aliens. I’m forming a team of…extraordinary people to help protect against these threats and they could really use a hand to finish off this fight.”

“I may be weird as hell but I ain't ‘extraordinary’, Fury. I don’t wanna join your band of misfits.”

“Alright, how about a compromise? You fly your fancy jet here right now and help them out and if you still don’t wanna join once the battle is over, you can go right back to France and I’ll stop bothering you about joining.” After a few seconds of silence I agreed. 

“Fine, but I’m not gonna change my mind. Wait, how do you know about my jet?”

He gave a hearty laugh and said “I know everything, Eight. You should know that by now.”

New York, New York; 96 Minutes Later: 

I flew my jet into the city, making sure to take out a few flying Chitauri in the process. We don’t need to talk about how I got my hands on a German jet that can fly 2100mph. I saw a few interesting characters standing in a circle fighting off an endless sea of aliens. I maneuvered the jet and— wait…is that guy wearing blue tights? Is this what Fury meant by extraordinary? Whatever. I landed in the street about 20 yards away and killed the engines. I hopped out and started jogging towards the group. A couple of them turned around, probably wondering who the hell the chick in the black uniform is and— whoa that’s a beautiful woman. After realizing my steps had literally faltered in a mini gay panic, I slowed to a walk and said “Y’all need a hand?”

“Depends on whose hand it is,” replied the redheaded source of my panic.

“I’m a friend of Fury’s. He practically begged me to come save your asses.”

“Fury doesn’t beg,” she said in a doubtful tone.

“Not typically, but I'm just that awesome. If you don’t believe me then call him up but I’m gonna go kill some aliens.” With that I took off down another street where there was a group of the repulsive bastards. After unloading all of my magazines into Chitauri bodies, I switched to my swords and daggers. After another hour or so of fighting, there were no more aliens in sight. I started jogging toward the rich dude’s tower when I saw said rich dude falling through the rapidly-closing portal. I stopped next to Mr. Blue Tights and the buff blonde guy with the hammer when the big green dude grabbed Mr. Rich Dude from the sky and landed next to us. The green guy yelled, waking Mr. Rich Dude up with a start. “What the hell? What happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me. Except for her, she’s pretty hot,” he said nodding toward me. Just then the redhead jogged over to us and eyed my blood-soaked form from head to toe. 

“See something you like, Red?”

“No. I’m pretty sure I'd be classified as a sadist if I liked the sight of that much blood,” she said with a raise of her eyebrow.

“Yeah that’s fair.” She shook her head at me with a small smirk. There was barely a second of silence when Mr. Rich Dude spoke up. 

“Anybody want shawarma?”

Three Hours Later:

I had gone to the Triskelion after the band of misfits apprehended Loki. Agent Hill showed me where to park my jet and directed me to a room so I could shower and stay the night if I wanted to. I had put on black jeans, a white tee, and a black jean jacket, all of which had been in a to-go bag in my jet. I was toweling off my hair when someone knocked on the door. I opened the door to see none other than the one-eyed-wonder standing there. “What can I do for you, Nicky?”

“The Avengers are being debriefed in Conference Room 6B in ten minutes. You should come.”

“The Avengers? Is that what you’re calling them? That’s cute. But I'm not an Avenger and I don’t want to be an Avenger, so no thanks.”

“You should come anyway.”

“I don’t actually have a choice, do I?”

“You know me so well, Eight,” he said with an amused grin.

I walked into the conference room and the Avengers were already there. Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor, and Natasha Romanoff—whose names I learned from Hill— were scattered around a large table, along with Fury. Romanoff eyed me from where she was standing and arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me. I squinted my eyes and wiggled my eyebrows in response, and I could see her stifle a laugh. “What’s your name?” She accompanied the question with a blank expression, which made me feel oh-so-special. 

“That’s a very personal question, Miss Romanoff. Let’s slow the pace, please.”

“You know my name but I can’t know yours? That doesn’t seem fair.”

“The world isn’t fair, Miss Romanoff, and I love a good mystery.”

“If you two are done flirting, we have business to attend to,” interjected Fury.

“Right, my apologies, Nicky.”

“Don’t call me that, Eight.”

After an excruciating 43 minutes and 27 seconds, Fury finally let us leave. I was so close to freedom when that unbelievably sexy voice called to me. “Eight!” Romanoff hastily walked towards me in an effort to catch up.

“Yeah?”

“Is your name actually Eight?”

“If you want it to be.”

“Why are you so damn stubborn?”

“It amuses me, Red.” There was a brief silence during which both of us were trying to figure out if the conversation was over. 

I was about to leave when she continued, “So that’s it? You’re just gonna leave?”

“Well, no. I’m going to stay the night, steal some really expensive jet fuel, and then leave in the morning before Fury can get up my ass about joining his little team.”

She rolled her eyes and responded, “Why won’t you join the Avengers? And why won’t you tell me your real name?”

“It’s just not my style. I’d rather fly solo.”

“You ignored my second question.”

“Then maybe you should take the hint and stop asking.” With that I turned around and started walking away, but a hand on my arm stopped me dead in my tracks. Alarms started going off in my head, and I'm pretty sure Romanoff was saying something to me but I was too caught up in the memories of beatings, punishments, and psychological conditioning to register it. After a few of the longest seconds of my life, the white of my vision cleared up and the voice telling me ‘physical contact is strictly forbidden’ faded into the background. My heart was still hammering in my chest and I was trying to keep my breathing steady despite the inevitable panic attack trying to drag me under, I regained my neutral expression and said. “Sorry, did you say something?”

“Are you okay?” She had a concerned expression and if I wasn’t so blinded with anxiety, I would’ve appreciated how cute the furrow of her eyebrows was.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just gonna turn in. It’s been a long day.” I turned around and walked back to my temporary room at a brutal pace. As soon as the door closed behind me, hot tears raced down my cheeks and I lost the ability to breathe. It was gonna be a long night.

3:21 am:

I finally managed to calm myself down and stop the panic attack after almost four hours. Well, I passed out because I couldn’t breathe but it did calm me down. Trying to sleep would be pointless, so I decided to leave before anyone woke up. I didn’t really have much to pack so I grabbed my duffel bag and left the room. I made it to the corridor attached to the landing pads and ran into the one person I really didn’t want to see. “What are you doing out and about, Red?”

“I’ve got places to be and things to do. Were you just going to sneak out in the middle of the night like a teenager with a rebellious streak?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing, actually. Do you need a ride? Where are you going?”

“Madrid. Fury said I could hitch a ride on another plane that’s headed for Germany.”

“Well I’m going to France if you wanna ride with me. My jet will get you there a lot faster.” She studied me for what felt like way too long, probably debating if I would try to kill her or not. You know how spies are with their trust issues.

“What the hell, why not?”

And that is how I ended up in a jet with “Candy Shop” playing over the speakers and Natasha Romanoff in the copilot seat yelling at me to, and I quote, ‘slow the fuck down.’ “Why would I slow down, you psycho?! That’s the whole damn point of this thing!”

“Where did you even get a German jet this fast?”

“Germany.”

“No shit Sherlock. How did you get it?”

“I went to Germany, stopped in at the local speedy-jet dealership, and walked out with this beauty.”

“Sarcasm is a defense mechanism, you know? You’re only being like this to keep me from seeing the real you. You built walls. You want everyone to think you’re fine when in reality, you’re falling apart.”

“Okay…um…there was no need for that, Dr. Romanoff. I can find my own therapist, thank you very much. And don’t go pretending you’re all healthy in the head, Miss Assassin.” It was quiet for all of five seconds before we both burst into laughter.

Madrid, Spain:

I landed the jet at the local S.H.I.E.L.D. base and killed the engines. Romanoff and I removed our headsets and I stood to help her get her bags. “Welp, I’ll see you around I guess.” I really wasn’t good at this type of thing. Or any social interactions, really. Twenty-four years in a cell will do that to you.

“Will I? See you around, I mean?”

“Um, I don’t really know, honestly. I’m not part of S.H.I.E.L.D. so we won’t just run into each other or anything but…”

“Why won’t you join S.H.I.E.L.D.? I mean what else are you doing?”

“Ohhh, I see. You just love me so much that you don’t want me to leave. You’re gonna miss me so much-” I was cut off when she threw her backpack at my head. “Hey! You’re lucky I caught that! Freaking crazy woman.”

When our laughter died down she said, “Well I should probably go. Thank you for the ride.”

“Of course. Hitchhikers are always welcome aboard my beloved jet.” A small smile appeared on her face and she stepped forward to give me a hug but she must’ve seen my body go rigid because she stepped back. She might’ve said something but the voice in my head was too loud for me to understand her. I don’t know how long it was before I unfroze but when I did, she was gone. I walked to the front of the jet and started the journey to France.

[misssugarlips]

Jealousy

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Warnings: cursing, drunk reader

A/N: Hey! This is me again. I really hope you like it. And excuse if there's any mistake, english isn't my first language. Enjoy! Gif isn't mine

You felt so jealous and so insecure. It had taken you a long time to become sure of yourself, to come out of your shell ... Just for this to happen. You felt like in high school again and all thanks to Bucky and Natasha. You thought Bucky liked you and you were just waiting for him to confess his love for you, but that never happened and instead he and Nat starting dating. You were very confused, your best friend betraying you like that, it wasn't fair. Although you had never told Nat about your feelings for Bucky to be honest, she didn't know. The one who knew was Wanda and that's because she saw you suspicious and by accident she got into your mind discovering that you head over heels for Bucky. Wanda apologized multiple times to you even though you weren't really mad at her, she even cook you breakfast for a week so you could forgive her, you weren't mad at her but it didn't hurt anyone to take advantage of the situation.

You stood in front of the mirror looking for some flaw, it had always been like that, you always tried to be perfect; to dress perfectly, to look perfectly, to speak perfectly to treat everyone perfectly. The truth was, that it was very exhausting, you forced yourself to smile when the truth was you wanted to cry. In fact no one in the compound had seen you cry, you didn't allow it, you always had a smile on your face. Maybe that was why everyone adored you ... Everyone except Bucky. You thought you had him eating out of the palm of your hand, you thought he felt the same as you, you thought he felt that electric feeling every time you two touched. But you were wrong and you hated that, you must have made a fool of yourself in front of everyone every time they saw your heart eyes every time Bucky was around. You wanted to cry but you couldn't right now, you had a party to attend and you pulled out your seductive weapon: a beautiful fitted black dress specially made to hug your beautiful figure, silver heels and wavy hair and you put on a delicate but beautiful makeup. You grabbed your clutch and headed to the party Tony had planned. The reason? You didn't know, and the truth is, Tony didn't need a reason to have a party.

When you walked in immediately Sam greeted you with a compliment.

"What a beautiful Charlie angel" you giggled and hugged him.

"You look very handsome, chocolate" Sam gave a big laugh, he loved your witty ideas.

"You can eat me anytime you want" Sam winked at you and you both laughed. Thanks to your flirting with Sam you hadn't noticed who was behind him, nothing more and nothing less than the boy who drove you crazy; Bucky scowling and arms crossed. You looked around but couldn't find Nat.

"Hey, Buck. How's it going?" You greeted Bucky, since he announced his relationship with Nat you had been distant with him. And he thought that if he pretended he was dating Nat, you would be more interested in him. The plan to make you jealous with Nat was not working, rather it was taking you away from him and now he didn't know how to fix it. He had to "break up" with Nat before things got worse.

"Hey doll, you look gorgeous" Bucky couldn't help but fall in love with you even more. You looked beautiful, of course he loved when you were disheveled and wore your pajamas, he thought there was a charm in that side of you. You couldn't help but blush. He was always so tender to you that the idea that he was now taken made your heart ache in your chest.

"Did you came with Nat?" You asked him looking for Nat with your eyes around the place.

"Yeah she's upstairs" Bucky replied.

"Ok, I'll go say hi" you got ready to go in Nat's direction to say hi.

"You are a big fool, buddy" Sam told Bucky mocking him.

"I know, I know. It's the worst idea I've ever had."

"Of all the bad ideas you have, yeah, this is the worst" Bucky shot a threatening look at Sam and Sam just laughed.

Bucky needed to find a way to remedy this, and confess his love to you, it doesn't matter if you didn't reciprocate he needed to get it off his chest. When you went upstairs you visualized Nat sitting talking in the company of Steve, Tony, Wanda and Bruce. You greeted them with a big smile and sat down to share with them. Every time you could look at Nat, you couldn't help but feel jealous, she was impeccably beautiful, she looked more beautiful than you. And that silly seductive smile of hers, you understood why Bucky was in love with her, she was just lovely and you couldn't compete with that.

Accepting your defeat you began to drink shot after shot, without pausing and without eating some food.

When it struck 11pm you were already very drunk and you were doing a private show for Wanda, your butt was in her face while you danced and she was laughing, spanking your butt. Everyone laughed at your actions and asked you for a private dance too. Except for Steve who was very flushed and Bucky who was looking at you with surprise.

"She has a nice ass, don't you think?" Nat sat next to Bucky while the two of them watched the little show you gave Wanda, when you squatted your whole butt was exposed revealing your beautiful black lace underwear.

"A very cute one" Bucky replied without taking his eyes off you.

"Why don't you just tell her that you love her and that's it?"

"It's not that easy Nat" Bucky looked at her.

"Oh, come on, she is crazy for you"

"How do you know? She told you?"

"No, but, damn, it's very obvious"

"I'll do it when she's sober, not now"

When Steve had had enough he asked Bucky to show you up to your room. He didn't like that you were in that state, plus everyone already knew what underwear you were wearing. So Bucky scooped you up and carried you to your room.

"Here" Bucky handed you a glass of water, sitting on the bed with you.

"No, I don't want water" you crossed your arms over your chest and shook your head. Bucky thought you looked so cute with your hair tousled and pouting.

"Come on doll, you have to hydrate yourself a bit. Or tomorrow you won't be able to bear the headache" he ran his hands through your hair gently combing your hair.

"I don't like headaches" you replied.

"That's why you have to drink water, here" you drank the entire glass of water in a few seconds. "Another!" you smashed the glass on the floor imitating Thor.

"Y/N, what the hell, doll" when bucky was going to get up from your bed to pick up the mess you made you grabbed his tie and gave him a disastrous kiss. Your lips tasted like vodka and even though you left saliva all over his face, he loved the kiss. It was the most tender kiss someone had ever given to him, but he knew it wasn't right for him to let you kiss him.

"Enough doll, you are very drunk"

"I love you, Buck" was what you replied.

"I love you too, you don't know how much. But surely you won't remember any of this tomorrow" Bucky smiled at you and started picking up the broken glass from the floor. When he finished he saw that you had fallen asleep. He knew you wouldn't remember anything in the morning but he would let you know. He couldn't wait any longer. He loved you and he had to tell you. Bucky took a blanket and wrapped you. He left your room and went to his.

The next day you woke up with a slight headache, you remembered what you had done last night, you kissed Bucky and he told you that he loved you and you couldn't help but smile. You knew that his jealousy game wouldn't last long and when you decided to apply the law of ice to him, you didn't expect to have results that fast. You smiled and closed your eyes again. Bucky loved you.

[infernal-fire]

Long Forgotten

I am choosing to not use warnings. Do not read if you are uncomfortable with themes of infidelity, angst, swearing and sexual innuendos. 

Summary: Your Steve isn’t yours anymore and you’re beginning to understand why. 

Word Count: 3.5k

Pairings: Steve x reader and a surprise appearance ;)

Disclaimer: this is set right after Endgame

A/N: this story was inspired by @nsfwsebbie’s fic please don’t take him (even though you can). it was so damn amazing. i thought of how the situation would go under different circumstances, and added a more strong willed reader into the mix  :)

i tried to proofread but im sort of posting in a rush so all mistakes are my own!

(This GIF does not belong to me)

Your head was nestled in the crook of Steve’s neck and his arms were cradling your tired form. Dried tears left your face feeling dry and your up do from the funeral was now tousled. Steve let out a heavy sigh and held you a little tighter. 

You could fall asleep if it weren’t for the looming stress of returning the stones so you decided to bide your time by focusing on the super soldier’s unnaturally slow heartbeat. 

“We should go, sweetheart. They’re waiting for me.” his voice broke the placid silence that had enveloped the room. 

You silently got off the bed and Steve’s hand nudged yours, stopping you from reaching the door. 

He slowly pulled you towards him and you met him halfway, face-to-face.

“I know things aren’t great right now. But we’ll get through this,” he spoke lowly as his large hands cupped your face. They felt rough against your supple skin, but his touch was as tender as ever.

You stared into his eyes for a moment before speaking. "I’ll come with you,” you offered.

“No,” he affirmed. His tone was firm yet a touch of softness was reserved in there somewhere, just for you.

“I love you Y/N. I’ll love you no matter what,” he said as he pulled your head into his chest and engulfed your body into his. 

//

You reached the new, mini version of the previously destroyed time travel contraption Tony made. Sam, Bucky and Professor Hulk were engaging in light conversation that clearly, none of them were interested in. You look up at Steve, who was as tense as ever, clutching your hand like a vice. He let go and glanced back at you before joining Sam. 

You knew deep down that Steve would never be the same anymore. Hell, after the Battle of Wakanda, Steve almost ended the relationship because the Avengers lost.

But the Avengers won this time, and things should feel different. So why did it feel like he was leaving forever? 

You recalled the very short conversation you had with him about Tony’s snap.

 “I should have snapped,” he sobbed. 

“You’ve always been selfless your whole life. This was Tony’s time to be selfless, and you don’t get to take that away from him.” You hugged him and cried with him. 

There was nothing else to be said.

How much you wished no one had to die. 

He stood on the platform and nodded at Bruce before locking eyes with you.

Apologetic. He looked apologetic. 

At the time, you thought he just looked sad. You assumed it was residual sadness from the funeral but looking back, you realized he looked apologetic for what he was about to do. 

Rebuilding your relationship wasn’t easy. Tony and Nat’s death and the trauma of the battle were overshadowing both of your feelings. You salvaged what you could and life returned to a “normal” that never existed. 

Being an Avenger means your living costs are covered by Tony, basically compensating for the missions. Only there weren’t any missions anymore. You were grateful but it meant that you had a lot of time on your hands. 

You took up a job as a waitress and Steve continued running sessions at the VA with Sam. It was humbling to be serving people at a diner after fighting alongside some of Earth’s mightiest heroes. But you needed it. And slowly but steadily, happiness crept its way into the tower. 

You didn’t see Steve around anymore though. You weren’t sure if you were even together anymore, aside from the forehead kisses and lingering glances.

You and Bucky set the table while you heard Sam and Steve banter over who gets to choose the movie today. Bucky chuckled and called them to eat.

There was relentless teasing, jokes being tossed around and big smiles everywhere.

“The nurse had poked him 2 times at this point and there was no blood coming out of him.” Sam laughed. 

“So she asks me if we can do the other arm.” Bucky snorted through breaths of amusement. 

“This guy pulls up his sleeve and the girl faints.” Sam howled as everyone doubled over in laughter. 

You wiped a tear from your eye and you look over at Steve who was laughing as well. It had been a long time since you’ve seen him so happy. 

Sure, he’d been distant. He hadn’t touched you since he came back. It had been 2 months though, and you wondered if you should try again tonight. You put a hand over Steve’s and he snapped his head to you. He gave you a small smile before slipping his hand out from under yours and picking up a napkin.

He needed the napkin, you told yourself. 

You went up to change into something that he might find more appealing. You were torn between the red lace set or the black corset. You settled for the classic red lace and tied on a robe before heading downstairs to tease him a little. 

“You’re going to tell her before you go right?” You heard Sam’s voice and broke your stride to the kitchen. 

“She won’t be happy.” You swore it was Steve’s voice but it was a little too quiet to be sure. You silently padded toward the kitchen, standing right outside the entrance to hear better.

“Of course she won’t be happy. You went back to be with a girl from 70 years ago and spent 4 months with her. You sort of cheated on her Steve.” Bucky’s voice quipped at Steve. 

You couldn’t be hearing right. Steve went back and got together with Peggy?

“It’s not sort of cheating, he almost got married to her,” Sam remarked in rebuttal. 

He almost got married to her. 

He almost got married to her. 

He almost got married to her.

There was so much information to process. Your shoulder sagged with the weight of the news and you cupped your mouth before anyone could hear your sob. 

“But I came back.” Steve countered. 

“Do you love her?” Bucky lowered his voice and inquired. 

“I don’t know anymore.” 

Your chest heaved and eyes burned. You wanted to gasp for air but you knew if you breathed, you would let out the anguish building in your stomach. 

Your back hit the wall and you slid down, not caring if he hears anymore. 

In moments, Steve, Bucky and Sam appear beside you with startled faces. 

You didn’t look at them as you got up and paced to your room. You thought you heard Steve’s voice calling after you but your thoughts pounded and clawed at the insides of your head. You couldn’t be sure and you weren’t going to turn back now. 

He didn’t run after you. You had predicted that he didn’t want to deal with your hysterical crying which surely could be heard past your room walls. When you considered it, this new Steve was actually quite predictable; you knew he wouldn’t bother bringing it up to you until you brought it up yourself. Because he was a coward like that, you decided. All of his actions spoke for themself and the one true motive behind his cheating is cowardice. You don’t know if you would have been okay with him going back to Peggy, but if he talked about it, things not have ended the way they did. 

After 2 days of not leaving your room, you knew that there was a better way to handle this. It wasn’t you who should be embarrassed; instead of sulking, you marched to his room with newfound determination. 

You threw open his door that he didn’t even bother locking. Steve was mid-speech with someone on the phone, seemingly a conversation that wasn’t going his way. He seemed tense, his muscles protruding from the tight white t-shirt pulled over him. 

Your jaw ticked as you shifted your weight onto one foot and rested on the doorframe, waiting for him to end the call. 

“I’m sorry to cut this short. We have a lot to talk about but it’ll have to happen in-person.” he concluded the phone call and sat on the bed with his head in his arms. 

“Seems like you planned it all.” you commented, trying to sound like you didn’t care. In reality, the wound was still very fresh. Even though a part of you had known that the relationship was over for some time now, you were only coming to terms with it now. 

“I wanted to tell you before I left, but you were just so upset and I couldn’t …” he trailed off. 

“All of a sudden you care about me? And now this is somehow my fault that you were too chicken to tell me,” you retorted, unimpressed with his answer.

“I have always cared about you and always will.” He got up and walked towards you. He cupped your face but you pushed his hand off, glaring up at him. 

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I admit I could’ve handled everything lot better but Y/N. When you told me Tony’s snap was his moment of selflessness, I realized that all I’ve ever done is be selfless. And I don’t regret any of it. But it was time I chose to do something for myself. Then I remembered Peggy and the life I left behind and I just knew this world would be okay without me so I chose to be selfish. I chose to be selfish, Y/n, and I don’t regret that either.” 

You were crying now, and Steve reached to wipe it off, but you smacked his hand. 

“You used to choose me. You woke up everyday and chose us. The day you decided you didn’t want this anymore, you decided you would just go ‘fuck all’ and cheat on me? You couldn’t have ended it like a normal person?” you questioned through your tears. Your vision was foggy but you kept wiping your eyes, trying not let him see your tears.

He sighed and let a few moments stretch on before he answered.  

“We both know that this relationship was over a long time ago Y/N.”

You noted his use of your name and not the usual pet name ‘sweetheart’ or ‘love’. It saddened you even more to think that he doesn’t associate those words with you anymore. 

“You’re a fucking bastard Rogers. You are the biggest coward I have ever met in my life. You may be the Captain America, but you are the biggest wimp in real life.” You could tell he was fuming because of your comment but you continued your spiel. 

“I tried everything to make this work. The moment that the thought of cheating crossed your mind, you should have broken my heart. Because all you did now was rip it out and stomp on it before spitting on the what’s left-”

“I can’t believe you’re standing here accusing me of not trying to make this work. You know what Y/N? I fucking left Peggy because I thought about you and thought I could make this work. And then I came back and remembered all the reasons why this wouldn’t work and now I regret it. I wish I could go back to Peggy.”

“Go fuck yourself Rogers,” you muttered and turned to leave. “Actually, go fuck Peggy’s skeleton Steve. I curse you with every cell in my body. I hope you never get to see her again. I know you’re trying to go back,” you added before wiping you final tear, once and for all. There was no way you were going to shed another tear on this asshole. 

Except, it wasn’t that simple. You did cry over it more, but if there’s anything you did right, it was making sure he never saw your tears. 

You also found that post-break up glow up’s were a real thing. The lack of missions means you didn’t need to see Steve unless you chose to be in the same space as him. So you chose to make new friends and bring new light into your life. There was no dread clouding your judgment because for once, there was no impending threat on the future of Earth. 

You cut your hair, you changed up your wardrobe and got as fit as you’ve ever been. Your friends made frequent stops at the Tower which eventually turned into dragging you into their bar hopping.

On the other hand, Steve was doing everything he could to go back to Peggy, just like you had predicted. You manifested his downfall. Hank Pym refused to let his work fall into the hands of the Avengers and Steve was having a very hard time convincing him otherwise. The final nail in the coffin was when Hank decided that Pym Particles should not be produced anymore. As long as the world didn’t understand the entirety of the quantum realm, no one should have access to something that could mess with it. No arguments could ensue because there was nothing anyone could say to change Hank’s mind.

As much as Bucky and Sam wanted him to go back, they knew he deserved it for everything you were put through. When Steve found that his friends weren’t on the same page as him, he spiraled deeper into regret and depression. There wasn’t much to be done in terms of world-saving, which is what he was made for. The person he thought was the love of his life is gone now. When the dust settled, he realized that you were the only thing that kept him going for so long. But now he lost you too, and there was nothing he could do get you back. 

While you were out living your new life, Steve was trying to find a life for himself. He would see you around the compound and wanted nothing more than to feel the warmth of your love. What he would do to feel that again, he couldn’t explain to anyone. 

Your escapades were at an all-time high. You knew that single life is the life. Just when you finally concluded that all men were trash, Ransom came crashing into your life. Although he only reinforced this belief, this man wasn’t just any trash. He was your trash. 

He was the mutual of your friends and you seemed to never be able to escape him. Moreover, your friends decided that you wouldn’t escape him. 

The teasing and playful banter between you two turned into something more serious about a year after your break-up. Ransom was everything Steve wasn’t. 

Steve was a gentleman. Chivalrous. Gentle. 

Then you reminded yourself that he had proven to you that he wasn’t any of things anymore. Ransom was the exact opposite, but he wore it on his sleeve. After all the lies and cowardice, Ransom’s blunt and bold attitude was exactly what you needed. 

There were moments you found yourself comparing the nature of the two relationships. With Steve, a lot of it was gentle and soft with some roughness around the edges. Life alongside Ransom was nothing short of callous, but that’s why soft, vulnerable moments felt even more extraordinary and special. 

If you made a judgement based off first impressions, someone like Ransom seems to be more likely to cheat than someone like Steve Rogers. Upon deeper analyzation though, Ransom doesn’t have any skeletons in his closet. He doesn’t claim things easily, but when he does, he would go to any length to make sure what’s his, will stay his. Soon after you realized this, you began abandoning thoughts of comparing the two relationships. 

//

There was a party at the Tower for Sam’s birthday. It was the first time in a long time that you were going to be around Steve for longer than 10 minutes. Doubt began seeping through your determination; how well would you fare under the pressure of pretending to be okay around him? 

“Do we have to match, sugar?” Ransom whined from your bathroom. 

“Why would you even go to an event as a couple if you aren’t matching?” you hollered back. 

You heard Ransom grumble as the bathroom door swung open. The emerald green dress shirt with small gold polka dots complemented his eyes so perfectly. Ransom was about to complain again before seeing the look of awe on your face. He decided right then that he could suck it up for the night. 

You were wearing an emerald green cocktail dress with sheer black net covering your shoulders, your sleeves reaching your elbows. The material was different, but the print was the exact same as Ransom’s. He couldn’t help but wonder why you put so much effort into such little things. He made a mental note to do something like this for you another time before wrapping his arms around your frame, burying his face into your face.

“Ran! My hair!” you squealed as you tried to push him off. 

“Usually it’s me that takes this long to get ready. You trying to impress the Captain?” Ransom winked and sat on your bed. 

“Oh fuck off.” you rolled your eyes and added the big bow to your half up hair-do. 

“You look so innocent baby. How angelic would you look with my cum dripping out of your mouth?” he smirked as you dropped your mouth, looking at him through the mirror. 

“My god Ran, this is not the time.” You shook your head and pulled him with you, finally making your way to the party downstairs. 

You were breaking out into cold sweat for some reason. Part of you really wanted to show Steve how happy you were now, but you felt that it meant you weren’t truly over him. Were you making a mistake?

Right before you opened the door the common room where the party was ongoing, Ransom stopped you and looked right into your eyes. 

“You know, as much as I’d like to make your ex jealous, if you don’t want this, I could think of a lot of other ways to spend the night,” he winked and you blushed. This is exactly why you liked him so much. There was no pressure to be anything but yourself around him. Even if you told him you wanted to go back to your room, there would be no judgement on his behalf. He wouldn’t ever bring it up as a joke either, because he just knew what he could and couldn’t joke about. 

“Let’s do this, bubbles” you giggled. He groaned at the nickname and pulled you into his side with one arm, opening the door with the other. 

One of Ransom’s many talents was making an entrance and this event was no exception. As you walked through the entrance, Ransom kept his head high and pulled you along with him. His confidence began rubbing off you and within a few steps, you stopped slouching. Straightening you back and tossing your hair behind your back, you bathed in the glory of the looks you and Ransom were getting. He took you straight to the bar, smiled at you and ordered drinks. 

“You know, your ex was fuming in the corner,” he remarked as he sipped on his drink. 

“No!” you laughed incredulously, unable to imagine Steve begin angry over Ransom’s presence. 

“It’s true, look for yourself,” he calmly retorted. His eyes flicked to a corner of the room and you followed his gaze there. Steve looked away upon seeing you look at him but it was clear that he was flustered. Bucky stood beside him, entertaining a gaggle of girls, but Steve’s attention was clearly elsewhere. 

“He’s actually pretty hot in person, it’s making me jealous” Ransom nonchalantly mentioned. 

You threw your head back and laughed. Your doubts of whether this was a good idea were dissipating very quickly. 

Ransom chuckled and then looked at you intently. You looked back at him, the high of the laugh wearing off because of his intense stare. 

“I think I’m in love with you.” you blurted. 

“You know, I’m glad you said it because I did not want to say it first.” he snickered and you playfully punched him. 

“Ow! I’m just kidding, don’t go all Avengers-mode on me!” he fussed.

You pulled him into a tight hug. He peeled your head away from his chest to cup your face and give you a light kiss before whispering ‘I love you too.’ You started to tear up, thinking of all the pain you had to go through to get this moment of tranquility with your favourite person in the whole, wide world. 

He cooed and kissed your forehead. 

“I always got you.” he assured and pulled your head back into his chest. You smiled and broke away from the hug, sitting back on the bar stool. 

“I think you transferred your lipstick because you have a dark red lip mark on your forehead.” 

You groaned and frantically wiped your forehead. 

“Hey,” he caught your wrist. “Why don’t we go back up and fix that?” His eyes glinted in the dim lights and you giggled like a schoolgirl as he pushed through the crowd.

In that moment, and every moment after it, Steve was long forgotten. 

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[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Smiler

Warning: Flufffffffffffff Word count: 2,1k   Summary: Damian Wayne doesn’t smile. Ever. So when he suddenly starts to do so after reading text messages and receiving calls from an outsider his siblings get suspicious. Shenanigans ensue. Pairing: Damian Wayne x reader

Requested by the lovely-dove(l)y(?) Anon again: My second request is Damian is getting random phone calls during the day where he just smiles and walks away to answer it ( it’s the reader on the phone) and everyone is really confused so when he sneaks out they follow him and meet her

A/N: Again SKSKSKSKSK So much fluffffffffffff (a bit less than the other one, but still, I think it’s fluffy), also I decided to end this with the same sentence as the otehrs one because of the similarities and because it just kinda fits I think. 

Damian Wayne was never a smiler. Certainly not before he came to the manor nor after. If he ever smiled it was either through Schadenfreude or it was plainly fake. Everybody knew that: his father, his siblings, the media, his teachers, just everybody. Seeing Damian smile was like an evil omen, and you felt the urge to get your ducks in a row, just in case he’d kill you in a few minutes, mainly if his smile is directed at you. It was like having a lion look at you and fletch its teeth. So imagine how Dick felt when he had Damian smile while they were having a fight. One second he’s screaming at him about what in Imbecile he is, the next second he looks down at his phone laying on the coffee table and smiles. And not one of his evil smirks that you get when he knows you’ll get hurt or embarrassed in some way soon, or one of those fake smiles Bruce had got him to give the high and mighty at Galas, No. It was a real, genuine smile. One he had never seen before. “Damian?” he couldn’t help but try to get his attention back but found himself regretting it when instead of explaining or sharing what made him smile, he immediately went back to insulting him. The next time that happened was shortly after one night of patrol with Damian, Tim and Bruce. The latter sent the two boys home and to bed and decided he’d stay out a bit longer on his own and contact Jason if he needed help. And when the two of them came back into the cave, Tim spectated something completely stunning. While he decided to stay in the suit and sat down at the batcomputer to keep on working, Damian informed him that he’d go shower. But before he disappeared into his father’s office and consequentially into the manor, he walked over to a locker-like shelf in one of the corners near the batcomputer where they sometimes stored their phones and wallets during the patrol. He let the construct scan his hand, alerting Tim to look into the direction with the ‘blob’ sound it made when it opened. And then he saw it. A smile, a real genuine smile like the one Dick had experienced only a day earlier. Tim wasn’t able to see what he was looking it, only knowing that he had only stored his phone in the locker, but he knew it must have been something incredible if it could make Damian smile as simple as that. For a moment, Tim considered asking, considered finding out what in the world could make this happen, but before he could do anything, Damian - and his phone - had disappeared up the stairs.

After that, it started happening more and more often. It wasn’t limited to small glances at Damian’s phone and then a smile, no, now it was him staring and typing (obviously texting with someone) for minutes at a time, keeping smiling or letting small smiles out every now and then and, which stunned them the most, the moments when his phone vibrated and he smiled before leaving the room to answer it. The fact that he smiled? Almost impossible. The fact that he actually took the call? A straight-out miracle. Damian almost never answered his phone, be it over text or call, unless it was his father, Alfred or if he knew it was important and was spammed enough by whoever wanted him to answer. Now, in theory, it might have been, in fact, Bruce who was calling him - even though that wouldn’t explain the smiles - but a key piece of evidence that disputed that was the fact that more than once Bruce was inside the room when it happened. So that eliminated him as a subject. Alfred was out of the question for obvious reasons and Damian’s siblings weren’t even on the list. So who could it actually be? It had to be an outsider, right? “Maybe it’s Jon? Or Billy?” Tim suggested as he sat on the Batcomputer and talked to his siblings who were on patrol. Damian had been grounded for the day earlier because he almost punched a lady in the grocery shop and Bruce was with the league. “Nah, I don’t think so,” Steph replied over the sound of punches being thrown and a man groaning until there was a ‘thump’ and it was silent again. “Yeah, me neither,” Dick agreed, “I mean he’d sell Billy for a single cent and even if he confesses that he’s actually friends with Jon, he wouldn’t smile at or because of him to save his life.” “Right, well that’s all I had,” Tim shrugged and typed away on the keyboard while half-mindedly listening to his siblings discusses the matter over the coms. He was about to stand up, and make himself a cup of coffee when something in the corner of his eyes caught his attention. “Guys,” he smirked and sent them all a screenshot of one of his surveillance monitors, “You are not gonna believe that.”

“I’ve got my eyes on the prize,” Jason whispered happily while sitting on his parked bike, dressed in his civilian clothes, and spectating a very suspicious Damian walking through the streets of Gotham City in a black hoodie and black pants as if he tried to impersonate any wannabe robber in a Hollywood movie, the hood drawn over his face. “Anything suspicious yet,” Steph asked, he tone still slightly annoyed with the fact that she wasn’t the one to follow Damian because she was on patrol and had to leave it to Jason and Cas. “For Damian? Not really, nothing unusual yet. Isn’t the first time he sneaked out and it sure as hell won’t be the last time.” Jason watched as his little brother looked around as if he was being followed - which admittedly he was - but Jason and Cas, who was taking the roof-route, even though she too was in her civilian clothes, were careful enough not to let him catch them. “You see that?” Cas asked him and the two of them watched as Damian got his phone out, smiled a little, stuffed it back into his hoodie pocket and entered a small café, not the kind of place that Damian would usually go into. “Now that is… interesting,” Jason muttered to no one in particular and quickly gave Cas a nod who came jumping down from the fire escape of the building a few feet away from him. He got off of his vehicle and put on some shades and a baseball cap to keep himself somewhat incognito, before crossing the streets and entering the establishment himself, making sure to keep out of Damian’s sight and slipping into a booth in the corner from where he could see his brother’s back turned to him. A few minutes passed before anything happened- except for Cas who slipped into the seat opposite him in silence, and they started to wonder what Damian was doing there. It looked like he was waiting for something to happen, or rather someone if you took the untouched steaming cup in front of him into account, but he didn’t seem impatient or annoyed or any of the other things he usually was with even the smallest things. They couldn’t see his expression or his face, but he once again pulled out his phone when he received a call and even with only his backside in view both Jason and Cas could make out the bright expression that painted his face. He turned around in his seat and Jason laid his chin into his hand, elbow on the table, to hide as much of his face as possible, and Cas turned as far as possible without looking unsuspicious. Because of this Cas missed what Jason was able to see. She missed the girl that stepped into the cafe with her phone against her ear. She was around Damian’s age and wrapped into a trenchcoat along with a scarf that looked just a little bit too much like the one Damian had bought a few weeks earlier on a fair Dick had dragged him to. Back then he hadn’t explained himself, only scoffing at his siblings’ comments about it and they all just made up their own theories. that it maybe was a gift for Steph’s upcoming birthday, or that it was maybe supposed to be something to strangle someone with. The girl looked around the café and her already shining eyes got even more bright when they landed on Mister grumpy who had stood up at this point. she lowered the phone and almost jumped over to where Damian was standing, falling into his open arms, giggling quietly. “What the-” Jason muttered, prompting his sister to follow his gaze only to almost freeze on the spot when catching the sight. The girl and Damian managed to tear away from each other’s arms and slip into the booth that Damian had occupied earlier. She took a sip of the drink Damian had ordered for her and seemed to thank her from what Jason could read from her lips. He couldn’t read Damian’s lips with his brothers back turned to him, but whatever he said made the girl blush immensely and shyly turn her head away, causing a strand of her y/h/c hair to fall into her face. Cas and Jason couldn’t stop staring at the two of them, the whole scene so surreal. It was Damian Wayne they were seeing there, the ‘Don’t touch me I’ll bite off your fingers one after another’ Damian Wayne. And he had hugged this girl like his life depended on it and now, this was maybe the weirdest thing yet, he reached over the table to brush the hair out of the girls face, but instead of pulling the hand back again, he cupped her cheek and she practically melted into his touch. “Jason, don’t-” Cas tried to hold Jay back when he stood up and started to make his way over to the other booth, but he didn’t let himself be stopped so the only thing Cassandra could do was to go along with it. The girl who sat facing their direction caught sight of them first and seemed - understandably so - confused when the extremely tall man with the shades and baseball cap and the girl that she could swear looked familiar walked right over to them and stepped beside their table. That was when Damian noticed her distracted eyes and followed them only to let that look of being caught flash over his face before he quickly hid it under a facade of annoyance. He pulled his hand away from the girl’s cheek, but left it in front of her on the table, ready to grab her hand at any given moment. “What are you doing here, Todd?” he asked, clearly not fooled by his disguise, before turning to his sister, “And you Cain? I expected this from an imbecile like him, but I had higher expectations in you.” “Damian who are-” the girl tried to ask, but was interrupted by Jason. “You’re one to talk Brat, I very clearly remember the old man grounding you so guess how surprised I was to see you here.” “Wait, Dami you’re groun-” “This is none of your business Todd, leave us alone,” Damian scoffed and balled the hand that wasn’t near the girls into a fist. “Hmm,” Jason acted like he was thinking about it, but it was clear for everyone involved that it was nothing but an act, “Nah, I don’t think so.” Much to the dismay of a by now very, very annoyed Damian he pushed him further into the booth to the windows and let himself fall onto the couch-like seat beside him, now directing his attention to Damian’s friend. Cas send the girl a sorry smile before slipping into the seat beside her. “Todd? What are you do-” Damian wanted to ask, but Jason shushed him. “You don’t want Bruce to find out you sneaked out?” he asked and was validated by the silence that followed from his little brother, “Well then, I guess this is gonna be an interesting evening then, mind introducing me to your-” he seemed to search for the appropriate word, “-Companion?” The girl was utterly confused by now and switched looking over the faces of the people surrounding her only to land on Damian’s when he took ahold of her hand and pushed it like he was trying to silently apologize. “This is Y/N, she’s my girlfriend. Y/n, this idiot is Jason Todd, unfortunately, my older brother, and Cassandra, my sister,” he introduced and the eyes of everyone involved widened. “You have a lot to explaining to do young man…”

[cozy-the-overlord]

For the Lobster of Loki

Summary: Exposure to terrigen mist during a mission-gone-wrong results in you developing some newfound aquatic abilities. Unfortunately, this opens the door for your Avengers teammates to make use of the bane of your existence: fish puns. 

Word Count: 2,850

Pairing: Loki x Fem!Reader (first person)

A/N: I can’t believe I actually wrote this.

For those of you wondering what the hell this is: a few weeks ago, I had autocorrect change the word "love" to "lobster" while writing a fic. I found this hilarious and made a joke about it on Tumblr and it kind of turned into a meme on my blog. A couple of my friends told me I needed to turn this into a story and so now I present to you the stupidest thing I have ever spent precious time creating. Also, I usually don't like writing in first person at all, but my go-to third person limited just did not feel right with this nonsense, so I decided to experiment with a different style

Thanks for reading! :)

Tags: @lucywrites02 @gaitwae

If you want to be tagged, feel free to send an ask/message :)

Read it on Ao3!

I was going to murder Tony Stark. I was going to murder all of them, but I was going to murder him first because he was the one who started this nonsense and now it had been going on for two weeks and I was one fucking smirk away from scalping myself.

It all started when I woke up with gills. Waking up with gills is a strange experience. Don’t get me wrong—I realize all things considered, I had it pretty good. I’ve heard about some really horrific transformations since I experienced my own— people who came out of the midst having lost their eyes or their limbs or their minds. There have been people who came out of the mist looking, sounding, and feeling like completely different creatures than when they went in. And there have been people who don’t come out at all.

No, I know damn well I was lucky to come out of the experience with nothing more than a pair of gills stuck in my neck. Still, it was an odd feeling—there was a heightened awareness every time I breathed in, pinprick chills trickling across the newfound ridges as I exhaled. It didn’t feel right, but it didn’t feel wrong either—it was a stiff feeling, a bit like putting on a new pair of shoes for the first time, if that makes sense. I didn’t know what to make of it.

When I woke up, there was about a hundred doctors hovering around me, each with some new sterile terminology to throw my way about my condition, none of which made anything close to sense. I was losing my mind until Bruce showed up. He was able to put it simply: during the mission, I had been exposed to terrigen mist. Instead of killing me, it triggered a transformation in my DNA. I was inhuman.

My inhuman gift, it seemed was the magical blessing from the Black Lagoon. I had gills now—that was the most immediate realization—but there was also the fleshy webbing between my fingers and a weird film over my eyes that I didn��t notice until I tried to rub them with the heel of my palm. All of these wondrously fishy attributes added up to one glorious result: I could swim like a fish.

That was the first thing they tested. As soon as the doctors said I was good to go, SHIELD dumped me in a pool and told me to have fun. And I did. I had never been a fantastic swimmer or anything—the extent of my swimming knowledge came from the lessons my mother had forced me to take as a kindergartener because she was afraid I’d fall into the pond at the park down the street from our house and just die, which … fair. I still hated those classes. But now, now—oh, it was a completely different experience! I cut through that water like a knife, like Michael Phelps who? I was a bullet, shooting back and forth across the pool and just hanging water for as long as I liked.

Because I could breathe underwater now. That’s what gills are for, I guess, although it doesn’t really feel like breathing. Like, I’m not inhaling water while I swim. I’m just … I don’t know, my lungs are still filling with air, my chest is still going up and down, but it’s not through my nose. I don’t know how to explain it, it’s weird. But it’s really fucking awesome.

The team was very supportive of everything. I had only been living at the Tower for a little while, so I had still felt like something of an outsider—I didn’t have powers, and I certainly didn’t have the years long rapport that they had with each other. But they were really cool! Tony designed me a sleek new suit that was able to move well in water while still offering protection, and everyone had the time of their life trying to think up a pithy new code name for my newfound superhero status (we still haven’t quite decided, but I’m leaning towards Torpedo, because isn’t that the coolest thing you’ve ever heard?). Everything was great.

Well, almost everything. There was one thing that was kind of bothering me. Loki hadn’t talked to me since I got hit with the mist. That might sound like a weird thing to get hung up on—oh no, the psychotic extraterrestrial terrorist is ignoring me!— but Loki’s not really like that. He doesn’t really talk about the whole New York thing much, but he’s said enough to make it clear that it’s not something he did of his own volition. If you saw it you’d understand what I meant, the way he tenses up whenever someone brings up the Chitauri and his eyes go all glassy like he’s not really there behind them. You can just tell that whatever had been waiting for him on the other side of that portal, it wasn’t good.

We never talked about New York, but we talked about other things. I’m not really sure how that happened. He does this thing where he acts all annoyed with everyone, like he’s just so over everything, and it irritates everyone so much that they all avoid him like the plague, which of course is what he wants. I guess I just didn’t avoid him when I arrived—I was too busy avoiding all the other superheroes who made me nervous to bother trying with him—and he grew to tolerate my presence.

We started talking about stuff one day, random shit like the purpose of nutritional facts on the side of poptart boxes and the boiling point of water on Earth vs on Asgard because apparently that’s different. And then we’d do things like make fun of the way Steve talks because he’s just so easy to make fun of, and Steve would overhear and tell us to knock it off and that would just make the whole thing funnier and Loki would mimic his voice and say something stupid like “I can feel the righteousness surging!” and Steve would just shake his head and walk away while we laughed like idiots. So yeah. We were friends. Or at least, I thought of him as a friend.

But I was starting to think that maybe he didn’t see me in the same way. We had been partners on the mission where I got hit with the terrigen mist, but he didn’t even come to visit me while I was still in the hospital. And literally everyone came to visit me. Friggin’ Director Fury came to visit me, although I’m pretty sure that was more because he wanted to see what my transformation had entailed and not because he had any particular interest in my wellbeing, but still. And then when I got out, he never said a word to me and everyone else wanted to talk to me so I didn’t say anything to him, but I was worried about him just the same. He was avoiding me too—he wouldn’t ever look at me when I was looking at him, and a lot of times he’d get up and leave the room if I came in. And I didn’t know what was going on.

I probably should’ve asked, but I don’t know … I was afraid, I guess. Like, what if he was really mad at me for something, and just me trying to talk with him would make him upset? So I just didn’t say anything—went through my day pretending everything was normal and ignoring the ache in my chest constantly reminding me that it had been weeks since I got my powers and Loki still hadn’t asked me if I was okay.

But I kind of forgot about all that when Tony started this bullshit. Honestly, I’m surprised he didn’t start it sooner, because it was the type of low hanging fruit that had his name written all over it, but once he started it there was no going back.

He started it one day when we were in the kitchen. I had been making a sandwich (tuna fish, because I’m a cannibal) and Tony was leaning over the counter watching me, and we were just talking about my general fishiness.

“I’m jealous, really,” he was saying. “It’s definitely something that would come in handy. You need to get something underwater, you just dive down—no tanks, no masks, no suits. Very sophisticated.” His eyes lit up, which is never a good thing. “Sofishticated!”

I groaned. “Stop it.”

But Tony was cackling. “Sofishticated! That’s rather gilliant, if I do say so myself.”

“Tony …”

“It doesn’t get any betta than this!”

I waved the bread knife in his face. “I will throw this at you.”

“Alright, alright.” Even as he held his hands up in surrender, he was giggling like a child. “I’ll stop.”

He did not stop.

The next morning, it was fish puns. Everywhere you turned, it was fish puns.

“Can you get that report back to me soon, or do you need more time to mullet over?”

“Just let minnow when you’re ready to try on the new suit.”

“Don’t trout your abilities, we all know you’re fintastic.”

It was only breakfast and I was inches away from crushing my face against the china cabinet.

Natasha raised her eyebrows. “What the hell have I walked into?”

Tony grinned. “It’s fish puns!” he said. “Because, you know—” he gestured vaguely in my general direction. “It’s her brand.”

I moaned, face in my hands. “Just kill me now.”

Clint perked up. “Don’t you mean krill me now?”

Laughing, Tony gave him a high five over my head as I writhed in pain. “That’s the spirit.”

I don’t know how he did it, but in the matter of hours Tony had the whole damn tower on the pun train. Natasha was joking about how she was having a whale of a time with this new game. Clint was telling me to clam down and enjoy the fun. Steve asked me if I could get kraken on my o-fish-al business. Even Bruce—Bruce, who always made a point of staying out of Tony’s nonsense—even he was coming up to me with shit like “Cod you come help me with somefin in the lab?”

I glared at him. “Why would you ask me that?”

He hesitated for a moment. “Well …” Bruce inhaled. “Salmon had to.”

I stormed off as Tony roared with laughter from behind the corner.

It was inescapable. Wherever I went there was someone armed with some new fishy atrocity. You’d be surprised at how many fucking fish-related words exist in the English language. JARVIS was so overloaded with the amount of Internet searches for “fish puns” that he started bookmarking lists for easy access. It was an absolute nightmare.

“Don’t play koi, sweetheart,” Tony teased one night while we were waiting for Clint to choose a movie. “We know you lobster it.”

“Lobster?” I scoffed. “That doesn’t even make sense!”

“You just don’t appreciate my ingenui-sea.”

“OH MY—”

“Ignore them, my lady.” Thor smiled gallantly “They are only jesting. You should just relaks.” He grinned, stepping back as he waited for a reaction. We all just blinked at him. He frowned. “You understand, yes? Re-laks? Laks? That’s a fish!”

“Lak is not native to Midgard,” Loki interjected without looking up from the book he was reading. I jumped. He had been so quiet I had forgotten he was in here too. “Their oceans are too warm.”

Thor was surprised. “Truly? But I thought we’ve tasted lak since we’ve been here!”

Loki rolled his eyes, still without looking up. “That’s salmon. It tastes similar, but it’s much smaller.” He turned the page, muttering something that I didn’t quite catch. I was suddenly struck by the fact that it was the closest we had come to talking since before the mist, and that ache came back, gnawing at the edges of my heart. He didn’t look at me. I didn’t say anything.

About a week later, it was my birthday. I don’t really like birthdays in general, but I had really been bracing myself for this one all week because there was no way in hell these morons weren’t going to something infuriatingly stupid to mark the occasion. I guess I didn’t do enough bracing, because when I walked into my bathroom that morning to find a big fat lobster scuttling around in my sink I nearly had a fucking heart attack.

Across the mirror, someone had scrawled a message in red lipstick.

Sending you birthday fishes and lots of lobster!

And that was the moment I decided I was going to murder Tony Stark.

I stormed out into the hallway with no weapon, no plan of action, nothing except the pajamas on my back and the lobster in my hand. Additionally, this was the moment I decided that I hated lobsters more than any other creature on this earth. This thing looked like something from outer space, with its antenna and its bulging eyes and its spindly spider legs—that what it was, an overgrown spider in a slimy red shell. It was disgusting.

I was on my way to Tony’s floor, so engrossed with this half-baked notion of busting down his door and throwing this extraterrestrial arachnid on his face while he snored in bed, that I didn’t even see the Asgardian prince until I walked right into him.

Luckily, Loki grabbed me before I stumbled backwards, because I recoiled so quickly I probably would’ve gone flying. He raised his eyebrows as he took in the sight.

“I assume there’s a reason for the crustacean?” he asked.

There was something ever so slightly condescending about his tone, and I bristled. “They left this thing in my room! I swear, I’ve had it up to here with this fish bullshit—”

He hushed me, pulling the lobster from my grasp. With a wave of his hand, it was gone.

I inhaled. “You didn’t kill it, did you?”

“Oh no. I merely moved it to a more preferable location.” He frowned at the moisture left on his palm, conjuring a handkerchief to wipe it off with. “You know,” he said slowly. “The more visibly upset you allow yourself to become over this, the more encouraged they’ll feel to continue.”

“I know, I know. I just—” I sighed. “It’s so annoying. It’s been going nonstop, for two damn weeks! Puns are the absolute lowest form of humor, it’s just obnoxious.”

Loki only nodded as he turned to make his way down the hall. “I’ll take your word for it.”

And just like that, it was back to ignoring me. I watched his retreating form, the ache in my chest quickly bursting in to flames.

“Why are you avoiding me?” I snapped.

He froze, slowly turning around. “Pardon?”

“Why are you avoiding me?” I repeated. “You won’t talk to me anymore, you barely even look at me— did I do something wrong?” Maybe the fish jokes really had fried my brain, because I was dangerously close to tears. “I don’t get it Loki, I thought we were cool and now you just hate me!”

“I don’t hate you!” he said. “I just—”

“Just what? What is going on with you?”

“You could’ve died!” Loki yelled. I had never heard him speak that loudly before, and guess I was shocked into silence. “With the mist, on the mission. It was only pure chance that you didn’t.”

“I—I don’t understand.”

“I was supposed to cover you. I should’ve realized sooner that they were using terrigen crystals. Instead I miscalculated and you nearly died.” He let out a shaky breath. “I thought you were dead. When I found you, enveloped in that shell …” His voice trailed off and I realized with a start that his eyes were glistening with tears.

“Loki …” My gills tingled on my neck as I reached out for him. Is that what this was all about? Guilt? “Loki, you can’t blame yourself for that. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. And besides, I’m fine now. It all worked out in the end.”

He shook his head. “You don’t understand. You didn’t see yourself. You were gone, I was certain you were gone—”

I griped his hand. “I’m here now though. I’m here and I’m fine. Stop beating yourself up about it. I want to be friends again. I—” For a moment, the words caught in my throat. “I missed you.”

He gulped. “Truly?”

“Of course! Besides, I need your help getting back at these idiots.”

He smirked. “Oh, I’ve already started on that.”

A high-pitched scream broke out across the floor. “How did the fucking lobster get in my shower?” Tony bellowed from his bedroom.

We exploded into laughter.

“Oh,” I wheezed. “That was fucking perfect!”

Loki grinned, squeezing my hand. “Only the best for you, my lobster.”

[multiplefandomfics]

Finally

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Warnings: smut, Sargent kink, metal arm kink, slight dub-con,

Words: 2087

I had worked at Stark Industries since I left college. I was really good with computers and technology in general. Hence the scholarship to MIT. Tony Stark had found me there personally to recruit. I had been working there ever since.

Tony was a little eccentric… okay a lot but he was nice enough and payed very well. He even took me with him to the Avengers tower and later to the compound after the tower was destroyed, to work alongside him and Bruce Banner. It was magical.

After I helped them a lot fighting Thors’ handsome brother Loki in the battle of New York I officially became an honorary Avenger and moved into the compound. It was so surreal. Breakfast with Captain America, training with Black Widow and giving Thor and insight into popculture from earth. I loved the life at the compound.

One evening I went on a girls night out with Natasha, Wanda and Pepper. We dressed up and they put a shit ton of make up on my face. To me I looked ridiculous but the male population at home seemed to like it. Th guys shamelessly ogled me. They didn’t see me like that very often. I didn’t really care about any of their stares. Only one certain dark haired beauty constantly made me blush when he checked me out. I had a thing for Bucky since I moved here. I was so embarrassed because I thought he’d never want me like that. I was not skinny like Nat or Wanda nor did I have their charm. I was a total geek which I had no problem with but Bucky was drop-dead gorgeous. Why should he ever be interested in me? I never told anyone of my crush not even Nat and she had grown to be my best friend in the whole world. We arrived at the club at around 10.30 pm and it wasn’t too full yet so we sat at the bar and raised our blood alcohol level. After two beers and four shots I started to loosen up and grabbed both girls hands to go dancing. The mood was hot we danced closely and carefree. Celebrating our day off from saving the world.

“I have the biggest on him you know?” I slurred. “On who?” Wanda screamed over the music. “Bucky of course.” I explained as if that had been obvious. Nat opened her mouth as if to say something else but I interrupted her: “Oh my god! That’s our jam!” I almost wooed. That was the end of the conversation.

Suddenly I felt someone solid press against me from behind. I didn’t know who it was and I couldn’t turn around. Panic filled I looked at the girls when I felt the guy behind me kiss my shoulder blade. Pepper just smiled at me and Nat and Wanda had a look on their face like “go and get some girl”. So I let myself flow with it. They would have rescued me if something wasn’t right with him. At the end of the song he whipped me around and I was staring in the eyes of no other than Bucky Barnes himself. I must have had an obviously shocked expression on my face which made him smirk. “Hey doll!” he whispered in my ear. Doll? Was he serious? My panties were soaked immediately. In an instant I was sober again. He stared intensely at me with those big puppy dog eyes and I wanted to melt. “Wanna dance doll?” I just nodded still unable to form proper words. We started dancing to the rather slow song coming out of the speakers. It really helped me relax into him and before long I had my arms loosely around his neck and our faces were inches apart. The girls had vanished with knowing looks on their faces. “Wanna get out of here? it’s so loud. I’d like to talk.” he suddenly whisper yelled in my ear. “Sure!” I said confidently I really wanted to have a normal conversation plus I needed some water. He took my hand and pulled me away from the dance floor. But before we could completely leave another guy I had never seen before grabbed my ass harshly and slurred “Fine piece of as ya go there. Wanna go some where for a quicky?” I was disgusted but before I could say a word Bucky was in front of me. Between the asshole and me. I didn’t take Bucky for a macho but he flexed his muscles and you could smell testosterone in that moment. He even showed his metal arm that I thought was sexy as hell but normally he hid it from the world as a bad memory to his former hydra days but to ensure my safety he did anything. The problem was that the guy was really fucking drunk and didn’t even notice the threat in form of 260lb Bucky Barnes in front of him. He just pushed further: “Hey shithead let me to her she ain’t yours you just met her tonight.” it was so creepy that the drunk had observed me all night. “She is more mine than she’ll ever be yours.” Bucky gritted out through his teeth. It was so cute of him to defend me. So 40s actually. “You wanna fight? let’s do this.” the madmen provoked. If glances could kill the man would have been long dead. “Buck come on let’s go. You don’t need to do this.” I convinced him. He was mature enough to let it go and turned around to leave but the drunk couldn’t let it go and punched Bucky square across the face. I just sighed and rolled my eyes at the guy as Bucky lunched at him and threw a punch back. At least he used his right hand not the metal one or the mans head would have been bashed in. Immediately security came rushing towards us and friendly asked Bucky and me to go before they called an ambulance for the man on the floor. So we left, grabbed a cab and drove back to the compound. “You alright?” he asked me in the car. “Yeah. It was a little strange though. Thanks for saving me.” “Anyone would have done the same.” he replied and blushed a bit. “No they wouldn’t have. You’re a true gentleman Bucky Barnes. I appreciate your help.” I said and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Which seemed PG-13 if you considered the way we had danced earlier. “Can I kiss you properly?” he asked shyly. “If you want to.” I was a little shy now myself. He did what he had asked for and took my face into his hands and pressed his lips to mine. His hands stood in stark contrast to each other. One smooth and warm and the other cold and hard. I could hear the whirring sound of the metal plates shifting in his left one. I really had a kink for that thing. The kiss got more and more heated until we arrived. I threw some bills at the driver and we made our way inside and to my room. It was the last on the left at the upper floor. The moment the door behind us closed his hands were on my hips again. He grabbed the hem of my dress and pulled it over my head “No panties doll? Naughty girl!” he observed. He dragged the middle finger of his flesh hand through my folds and groaned at the wetness gathering there. “All for me baby?” “Yes Sargent all for you!” I tried to get him to pleasure me finally. He growled deeply in his throat and pushed me back on the bed. “I want you to sit on my face doll.” oh god I wanted that too. I had thought of him between my legs more than once but the real deal was so much better than I could have ever imagined. He laid on his back and I straddled his face. It was so strange that he was still fully clothed but I wasn’t gonna object then. I flung my bra across the room and touched my breasts as he pulled me down on his mouth and dove right in. The first contact of his tongue on my clit was like heaven. His strong hands on my thighs controlled my moving. Before long I was squirming like a fish in a net. This made him see that I was really close but I couldn’t form words to tell him. As he pushed one of his metal fingers inside my slick channel my orgasm broke over me. I gushed over his face and he was happy to lap everything up. He was still pumping his fingers inside me and holding me with the other arm even though I was very oversensitive after the intense orgasm I had just had. “Stop Bucky please. It’s too much.” I whined and he let me go as I fell to the mattress next to him. “that was just.. wow.” I panted and he licked his lips smiling. “You smell and taste fantastic doll so thanks to you too.” Soon I was eager again and grabbed for his clothes “You’re wearing too much sarge.” I said seductively. He let me undress him and then he was in an instant on top of me. Attacking my neck with kisses and nips that would turn into lovebites eventually. But I couldn’t care less. I wanted everyone to see who I belonged to from then on. “You ready?” he was as impatient as I was and I nodded. So he started to push past my barrier. I moaned in pain and pleasure “You’re so big sarge. Feels so good.” I moaned loudly. I couldn’t and I didn’t want to hold the noise back. He grunted in restrain. Bucky didn’t wanna hurt me so he went very slowly but at one point it was just too slow so I pushed my heels into his ass to draw him deeper. He got the hint and started moving faster and faster it was heaven. He hit my g-spot dead on. His length reached depths I never knew a man could reach. The pain and pleasure I felt when he hit my cervix was enough to push me into an amazing second orgasm. I clenched around him and that made his movements stutter. He suddenly pulled out of me and came all over my breast and stomach. It was sticky but oh so hot. He panted loudly and laid next to me on his back for a minute before getting up and taking a wet wash cloth out of the on suite bathroom to clean me up. I thanked him for it and felt my eyelids getting heavy. “So you mine now doll?” he suddenly asked into the silence. “I always was.” I answered truthfully and kissed him one last time. He smiled satisfied. “Good night.” I said before I finally drifted off.

The next morning I awoke with a slight hangover and a sore feeling between my legs. Slowly memories from last night came flooding back. I felt happier than I had ever been. Bucky was still snoring next to me so I got up silently, grabbed some comfy clothes and ventured towards the kitchen. I was so hungry after the events of the night before. I met Natasha and Wanda there drinking coffee and talking until they noticed me in Bucky boxer shorts and a t-shirt. “Mornin’” I grumbled because I knew I was in for a hell of a conversation. “So you and Bucky caused some trouble last night at the club.” Wanda remarked. “Yeah and then you were gone so fast we couldn’t even wish good night.” Nat chimed in. “I assume you did it last night. So how was it?” she added. “A lady enjoys and remains silent.” I winked at them. Suddenly I felt Buckys’ familiar hands on my hips and he murmured a “good morning doll.” in my ear. I smiled and bid him good morning as well. I just ignored the girls. Then a happy Steve came rushing through the door. “Mornin everyone. Did you all sleep well?” then his eyes fell on Bucky and me in close embrace and he just threw his hands in the air and called out “Finally!”

[liquid-luck-00]

Connections 3

Chapter 3

this is based on @thepeacetea daminette soulmate au

Masterlist *** First *** Previous *** Next

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Mari knew that this final concert was for a charity fair and that dad would perform on the last day closing the entire thing. She couldn’t wait to explore the fair and she went downstairs to leave the hotel to start.

 ---

 Damian didn’t want to be in France much less in Paris, but Mother dragged him away from the league in order to, as she says, ‘teach him something they cannot at the base’.

They were standing in the lobby of the hotel and Mother was surveying everyone who entered and exited the room. “See that little girl there” she was pointing to a girl that seemed to be his age with bright blue eyes and blue-black hair.

“Yes, is she the target”

“Yes, you have one week to gain information on her and report to me what you find” Damian didn’t understand what he was supposed to do, his confusion flashed across his face and mother must have noticed. “you must figure out her deepest secret, in other words get close to a target in order to determine their weakness.”

Damian nodded to his mother and walked over to the girl in question.

---

 Marinette couldn’t wait to visit the fair there were rides and games and she didn’t know what to do first. She was walking out of the hotel when she noticed him. He was around her age, he had black hair and jade eyes, he seemed to be walking towards her and that was when she turned. He stopped and seemed to be struggling to say something, so she started.

“Hi, I’m Marinette.” She gave a small wave and he seemed to break from his struggle.

“hello, I’m Damian” he gave her a curt nod and continued “I was going to the fair and was wondering if you would accompany me?” at this Marinette simply burst into a fit of giggles. She looked up and he seemed to be confused but it changed quickly into a scowl.

“I’m sorry” she managed between the laughter, “but you just sounded like such and old man” she gave him a lopsided smile. “I would love to go to the fair with you. Come on” she grabbed his hand to pull him and then immediately let go and started to walk towards the fair ground.

 ---

 This girl would be the death of him. He hasn’t gotten any information of importance other than her name. She was insufferable! Damian couldn’t believe his luck, he had to deal with her for a week and she might not say anything useful.

The two of them spent the day going from ride to ride and stayed in relative silence until another girl around their age showed up in line behind them.

“I can’t believe you went to Achu with your parents over the summer” a small girl with blonde hair squeaked.

“I even met the Prince; he is our age and he has the most adorable little brother. He even gave me a gift before we left.” The girl pulled out a necklace that he recognized was from a vending machine. He scoffed and turned his attention back to Marinette. She looked like she was trying to remember something, but it kept eluding her. She was weak of mind which means he should strike now.

“What are your interests?” he spoke curtly, and it seemed to pull her attention back onto him.

“Designing I guess” she responded with a shrug.

“TT. You guess that makes no sense” this was going nowhere, and she wouldn’t stop giving round about answers.

“My interests are always changing but that is the most resent” she only responded with a shrug.

The rest of the week went by the same she never gave him a true answer and he was frustrated. Mother seemed to laugh at him but even when she met Marinette she was also thrown in circles.

On the last day of the festival before they went back to the hotel, he went to say goodbye to her. He simply went to shake her hand, but she pulled him into an embrace.

“You know I can cut you free Out of the drudgery and walls you keep in So trade that typical for something colorful And if it's crazy, live a little crazy You can play it sensible, a king of conventional” she whispered in his ear singing the sentence and pulled out of the embrace “Goodbye Damian” she gave him a wave, turned, and walked away. Damian stood there confused and light at the same time, but he didn’t know why.

Who the hell is this girl. That sentence sent chills down his spine almost as if, as if she knew exactly what he was. But what did she mean, truly, she couldn’t have known that he is an assassin. Surely that is not the case.

Little did he know that those words would follow him.

 ---

 Marinette had fun this past week, she really enjoyed spending time with Damian, but something just felt off. She felt as if she had to be on constant alert. It didn’t help that he kept tying to get her to answer so many questions, so she decided to not give direct answers. If he asked her favorite color, she would say she didn’t have one but liked pink and also white. If he asked her age, she would say it wasn’t important. She knew that he was annoyed with her answers but then again, he never gave her straight answers to her questions. But then again, he did keep hanging out with her, so she didn’t know what to think of him.

She was however proud of the fact she got him to laugh, well it was more of a chuckle. He was so stoic but she saw his reactions that he covered quickly, and that was odd, almost as if he couldn’t show how he was feeling, so for the week she made it her job to see how many emotions she could pull out of him. Granted they were few, but they were there, and that was a victory.

Dad, Penny, her were staying two extra nights in Paris in order to rest before heading back to Gotham. Mari couldn’t stand staying in the room, so she went to go explore the city. As she walked around, she couldn’t help but be drawn to a little shop. So, Mari went in, she didn’t know what to expect but she didn’t expect to see an old man in a Hawaiian shirt standing in front of a phonograph.

“Hello. Oh! What are you?” Mari shifted her focus from the man to a small drawer near the man.

The man chuckled and responded to her “I believe you mean Who not What”

Marinette simply shook her head and stepped closer to the drawer. “No, I meant what” she stated as a fact more like and adult than a child. Coming to the drawer she opened it to find a small creature that resembled a turtle of sorts.

 ---

 “Master?” the little turtle stated questioningly as he looked at the man, who only sighed and turned to the little girl.

“you must have questions?” she only nodded, she was a strange child, almost as if she has suffered greatly at such a young age but still was full of light. “come child”

He turned towards the phonograph and opened it ad retrieved a pair of earrings that he handed to the girl. “My name is Fu and this” he waved towards the turtle “is Wayzz”

“it’s nice to meet you both” she had finished putting on the earrings when there was a flash of pink light.

“hello there, hello again Master Fu” a red figure not unlike the turtle appeared. “Hi my name is Tikki”

The girl seemed to be confused but analytical “these two” he motioned towards Tikki and Wayzz “are known as kwamii and are bound to the miraculous, the earrings I gave you are bound to Tikki. But I must say you child are highly perceptive to be able to sense Wayzz. You must be a true chosen to have that gift.”

He smiled at the girl who asked many questions, by the time all her questions were answered it was noon. She rose and was about to exit the shop when he called out.

“For the safety of yourself and of the kwamii you must never reveal your identity or Tikki”

She looked at him with a look of pure determination and said “It is a secret. Which means the less people who know the better” with those words the strange little girl left the shop along with the kwamii of creation.

 ---

 The last morning in Paris Marinette stayed in the hotel they were leaving around dusk, so she wanted to stay close.

“What are you doing hanging out alone Dupain-Cheng?” Chloe remarked with a smirk. But Mari saw through it, she knew Chloe and she knew that Chloe knew that Lila was a huge liar.

“Well dad and I were here for the fair, and Clo its Stone actually” she replied with a smile as she walked towards the girl.

“I know” her posture shifted, and the two girls embraced, “how have you…?” she drifted off.

“nope were going to have fun all morning because I have to leave”

“Ridiculous. Utterly Ridiculous Mari” she spoke exaggeratedly while giving Mari a smile and pulled her off into the hotel.

Mari couldn’t help but think how much things had changed in only a year. She had a dad who loved her and Penny was practically her mom (who was made her godmother), her best friend in Paris (Chloe), and she now had three brothers and Bruce who was practically a second dad (not even Jagged opposed this), not to mention she now had Tikki and she couldn’t be happier. Gotham looked more and more like home the closer she flew to the city, she couldn’t help but smile, she had a home surrounded by people who loved her.

Next

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Taglist🐞🦇

@thanks-captain-obvious @mandy989 @our-preciousss @readingismyoxygen @birdy912 @shifty-lesbian-retro-goblin @todaylillypads @laurcad123 @deamonangel27 @be-happy-every-day-please @fandom-trapped-03 @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @t1dwarrior-of-earth @saays-bitch @kawaiigiantjudgefish @k-poplunardreams @animegirlweeb @animezodiac707 @weird-pale-blonde-person @myazael @toodaloo-kangaroo @moonlightstar64 @miraculous-simmer7 @wannajointhecrabcult @blackmagicforever @iamabrownfox @inkattbi @i-wanna-be-a-ninja @justcourttee @consumeconstantly @abrx2002 @livelifeauthorstyle @certifiedbidisaster

[ashbrea381writings]

Red-Eye to Destiny: Chapter 2, The Gala

Mari and Luka texted Damian as soon as they made it back to the house just outside of town. Upon receiving the return message, they promptly fell into bed and slept soundly until late into the morning. Lazily getting dressed for the day, the pair started unpacking their clothes, setting up for laundry and airing out coats that didn’t need washing but definitely needed some care. Going into her design studio, Mari checked on her dress that she’d completed before they left for the last few concerts before their holiday break. “Luka, why does your dad want us to go to this thing again?” Mari sighed, hanging the dress up to check for any last-second alterations she might want to make.

“It’s good networking. He’s hung out with the organizers a bunch and wanted us to meet them, plus tons of people are gonna be there. He said that one of the organizers has a bunch of sons who usually cause some scene or another so it’s usually pretty funny.” Luka walked into the room and rested his chin on top of her head. “Besides, it’ll be a chance to show off your skills to some people who might want to commission something.” “I suppose.” Mari leaned back into Luka for a moment before pulling away to pull out his suit. Mari had made Luka a custom Leather Tuxedo jacket with teal trim on the cuffs and lapels, a matching teal lining and a few silver studs on the collar. His pants were simple charcoal grey with teal lining on the pockets, and subtle teal stitchwork around the cuffs and waistband. His shirt was simple black with a teal pocket square and everything. “I’m still so impressed by you, Melody.” Luka sighed, pouring love into every word through their bond. Mari just giggled in response and ran her fingers over the seams in both his suit and her dress. The dress itself was a strapless, deep burgundy dress with black cherry blossoms embroidered and beaded in a sweeping shape from the hem to the bodice of the dress where it spread out to cover most of the bust in beautiful, 3d flowers made from thread and beads. A small bit of lace rose above the bodice and, when worn, would drape itself modestly over the top of the bust making the sweetheart neckline appear more conservative than it was. The skirt itself was more or less simple, full with the aforementioned flowers down the front in a curve before meeting the black velvet hem of the skirt. Secreted around the skirts where only Mari knew the openings, were several Kwami-sized pockets. “What does everyone think?” Mari asked the room, and all of the Kwami’s looked it over, giggling with delight over the pockets and giving their approval. “We won’t be able to take everyone, but other than Tikki and Sass, who wants to come with us?” Surprising Marinette and Luka, Plagg moved forward. “I know he can’t really wield me since we don’t mesh well, but do you think you could take the ring with you? I think I’m supposed to go.” “What do you mean Plagg? You haven’t wanted to be active other than saying hello and eating some camembert since Adrien decided he needed a break away from all this?” Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow at the Kwami. “Something is different. In you two, especially scales over there.” Plaggs eyes narrowed at Luka. “I think my kitten is in this city, and you two have met him.” Luka and Marinette grinned at each other before confusion took over their faces again. “But what does that have to do with the gala?” “I can do some recon if I’m there.” “Alright then, that’s one for me.” Mari laughed and put a little clip with a black cat on the end on the edge of one of the pockets. “There are 5 in total not counting Tikki, and Luka can only carry another two besides Sass.” In the end, it was decided that Mari would have Plagg, Mullo, Trixx, Pollen and Nooroo in addition to Tikki. Luka ended up with Wayzz, Duusu and Sass of course. The others weren’t interested in going to the party and would rather hang out in the box or around the house.

***

Damian sighed and ducked around a column to get a moment to himself cursing the nosy people at the party in various languages. In his brief moment to himself, he began to notice that he wasn’t just feeling his own annoyance. Frowning in concentration, he turned to scan the ballroom, spotting them near the stage, talking to Jagged Stone of all people. He focused on them, and tried to be heard by just them across the ballroom. ‘I didn’t know you would be here.’ Both Parisians jolted, and looked around, spotting him in his little hiding spot. ‘Is there a reason you’re hiding instead of saying hello?’ Damian could hear the amusement in Lukas' voice. Both of his soulmates looked away and just quietly stepped away from Jagged, making it look like they were talking amongst themselves. ‘Yes, people are too nosy for their own good and they will ask more questions than I am prepared to answer.’ ‘Damian, we owe nobody an explanation for saying hello.’ Marinette chided gently. ‘Besides, Luka and I have mastered the art of getting people to leave us alone with just a look.’ ‘If you say so. Give me a moment.’ Damian straightened his jacket and made it seem like he’d been adjusting his wardrobe as he left the pillar. “There you are, I wanted to introduce you to someone.” Damian held back a grimace and turned to his Father. “Those camping trips I take once and a while? This is the man I go with.” Incidentally, the person Bruce was pointing to was Jagged himself. “Hell of a time getting away for both of us, but SO worth the quiet.” Jagged grinned and held out his hand. “By camping, Brucie means we go to my cabin in the mountains and sit around the fire pit complaining about life. Pleasure to meet you at last, I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.” “Thank you sir, it’s nice to meet you.” Damian’s smile in return was a bit forced, but thankfully Mari and Luka came to the rescue. “Someone interesting, Jagged?” Marinette asked as they walked over. ‘How much do you want us to say, Damian?’ Marinette added silently, her eyes concerned over how stiff he was and how tightly he was holding his emotions. Damian relaxed slightly, his fake smile relaxing into something a little more neutral but real. ‘I am alright. I will explain to the others later, but perhaps if we can get a quiet moment with my Father?’ Both Luka and Marinette raised an eyebrow at the fact that he’d left out that he was a Wayne before but took it in stride. With little more than a glance between them, Luka put a gentle hand on Jaggeds arm, and pulled the man away, asking him a couple questions about the tour they’d just finished. The man was bewildered, but Luka and Marinette planned things behind his back all the time when they felt it necessary, so he didn’t do more than give Damian and Marinette a questioning look as he was led away. “That was.” Damian commented out loud, shaking his head. “Surprisingly easy for you two.” Marinette laughed, “We’d been working together before we knew, so it took little time to figure it out. Now, Luka pulled Jagged away so the three of us could have a private word.” She turned to Bruce, glancing around for listening ears. “We happened to be seated on the plane next to Damian and, well.” She gestured between them. “I’m afraid you will have to elaborate, Ms. Dupain Cheng.” Bruce narrowed his eyes at the two of them, his face visibly confused. “What she is referring to, Father, is that they are apparently my bonded.” Damian explained. “Both of them.” He added after a moment’s silence. ‘You will explain the work you did together?’ He asked Marinette silently. ‘Soon enough, it’s a rather long story.’ Marinette’s face didn’t even change when she answered, and she started talking to Bruce over the end of her own sentence. “Luka and I had known each other for years before we found out our bond, and we’d always known that there was supposed to be a third for us. However, as we were in Paris, and Damian was apparently here, that obviously made it so that we didn’t meet until on the airplane here.” “And how did you figure it out? Not that I’m not happy for you three, but I know my son, and he tends to be reluctant to even speak to strangers.” Bruce was fishing, and Damian knew it. Marinette seemed to be able to tell too, as she was unphased by his question. “Easy, he was exhausted and fell asleep on the plane leaning on Luka. When Luka needed to move and was panicking because he didn’t want to wake up Damian, he was obviously exhausted and seemed comfortable where he was, Damian responded to his silent monologue about the situation and Damian responded in kind.” Marinette giggled, mentally nudging him when she made an edit to preserve his dignity. ‘Thank you for not going into detail.’ Damian rolled his eyes and smirked. “I had thought I’d talked to him out loud, and promptly fell back to sleep, when they woke me again shortly before the flight was over, and informed me that I had not -in fact- spoken out loud.” He then surprised both his father and himself by reaching over to put a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “They were kind enough to give me time to process and after I gave them my phone number, texted me only to give me theirs and let me process on my own after that.” “To be fair, we passed out and slept till almost noon after we texted you, so it wasn’t restraint on our parts, just that we were too tired to stay up anymore. Especially since we didn’t sleep on the plane.” Marinette laughed dryly. “That’s an eight hour flight.” Bruce commented in shock. “You two were awake the whole time?” “Well yes, we hadn’t been up all that long anyway, and with Damian sleeping against Luka, he wasn’t sure if Damian would be offended if he woke up to a sleeping man holding him. Luka’s a cuddler and even if Damian started it he didn’t want to do anything that would make him uncomfortable.” Marinette shrugged. “If he was uncomfortable, why did he not simply move me to not be leaning on him anymore?” Damian asked, having realized that the only time he’d been moved was when Luka got up for the bathroom. “One, the only discomfort he had was not something that moving you would have solved, and two, we did.” She sighed, shrugging. “Every time he shifted you to be sitting upright, you just grabbed onto his arm and put your head back on his shoulder. And when he had to get up he tried a little harder and you got grumpy, but when he sat back down you were right there again. You were practically in his lap.” “And how many people saw this?” Damian asked with an internal groan. “If it gets put on the internet, I will never hear the end of it from the heathens.” “I think Luka and I were the only ones to notice, most everyone else was asleep.” Marinette reassured him. ‘I do have a couple photos and plan on one of them being your profile pic on my phone later.’ This was added as a teasing whisper in his mind and he internally groaned again. Luka broke into the conversation, ‘You have two guys inbound, tall, one of them is slender but muscled, the other slightly shorter and stocky.’ He added a look at where they were and what they looked at. “Grayson, Todd, what did you want?” Damian asked dryly as soon as they stepped close enough for him to hear their footsteps. “How did you do that, Demon Spawn?” Todd demanded as all three people turned to face the men who’d walked up. Marinette stiffened at the nickname, obviously offended at the nickname. ‘It’s alright, he says it because he cares.’ Damian reassured her, sending soothing emotions to her and Luka who’d been walking over as this was said. “I don’t feel like answering that question right now, Todd, but why did you come over here, this was a private conversation.” “Why did you and B need a private word with Jagged’s niece?” Grayson asked, frowning and looking between Bruce and Damian like he could figure out their secret. “That’s a conversation for home, Dick.” Bruce sighed. “And that’s when we decide to tell you, but it’s just something we needed to talk about before moving forward.” He glanced at Luka over Marinette’s shoulder, nodding at him to acknowledge that he’d walked back up. “Can you please not call her his niece? It’s rather awkward at this point.” Luka commented, putting his arms around Marinette’s waist. “She’s my soulmate, he’s my dad, it’s weird, you know?” That caught everyone’s attention, including Damian. “Wait, you’re Jagged’s son?” Bruce sputtered, his face astounded. “The way he talked about you, I figured you were like ten. Not an adult that was touring with him. He also didn’t introduce you as his son.” “I know, I didn’t grow up with him. My mom raised me and my sister, I didn’t really have any contact with him until I was a teenager.” Luka shrugged, “Doesn’t make it any less weird when he calls my soulmate his niece.” “Excuse you, I claimed her before you two even met.” Jagged laughed loudly, causing half the ballroom to look to see who was being so loud. “I think that gives me the right to keep calling her that.” “It’s still weird.” Luka shot back, shaking his head and leaning into Marinette’s hair. ‘This is why I pulled him away, he’s so loud about everything that the whole ballroom would know if he’d been part of it. You said you’d get made fun of if certain people found out.’ Damian smirked, looking down slightly, ‘Thank you, Luka.’ “Anyway, Luka, Marinette, these are two of my other sons, Jagged I’m sure you remember Dick and Jason?” Bruce pointed to each one in turn. “Wait, why does Damian call them by other names then?” Marinette wrinkled her nose a bit, trying to figure it out. “Damian… Has his own way of doing things. I’m surprised he doesn’t call you two by your last names.” Bruce admitted. “We never told him them.” Luka shrugged calmly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Okay, I’m confused, how do you all know Damian?” Dick asked, crossing his arms as Tim came to investigate what was going on. “For the love of… Short answer, they met on the plane here, the rest of it we will talk about at a later time and place, when Damian wants to share. That is the end of it, go back to the party.” Bruce grunted at the boys, glaring at them in annoyance while keeping the rest of his face in a neutral expression that he’d practiced for years. “Alright, alright, we’re going.” Jason threw up his hands and grumbled about people being touchy as he walked away. “The one day he’s not in a grumpy mood he has to irritate the rest of us.” Damian clicked his tongue in irritation and shook his head as Dick and Tim also drifted away with shrugs and curious looks thrown at the Parisians. “Well, why don’t you guys enjoy the party, we can talk soon. After I’ve had a chance to wrangle the whole family into not bothering the heck out of Damian over everything.” Bruce gave a small, slightly sarcastic smile and then softened. “Glad things are good though. I’m happy for you.” He patted Damian on the shoulder and walked away to join Jagged who was now talking with a few women by the refreshment table. “So… I take it he approves?” Marinette asked. “Yeah, I think he does.” Damian had the urge to hug his soulmates, but he contented himself with sending as much warmth and happiness to them through the bond as he could.

[red-hood-redemption]

SO I know I’m like, super late to the party, but I finally got my hands on Robin 2021 and there is literally no one for me to talk to about it so now I’m just screaming my thoughts into the void ✌

First off, before i even bought the first two issues, I read through a lot of other people’s opinions on it to kinda get an idea of where it was going characterization-wise for Damian, and because of all the mixed reactions, I figured I should just read it myself and find out. Now I am the FURTHEST thing from a comic book authority, so like, this is truly just an opinion piece but if it convinces anyone to give the run a chance, then yay!!! Honestly, I’m really glad I gave it a shot because I’m genuinely hooked! I’m actually excited about this series (and it scares me lol)!!!

I'm gonna separate my thoughts into two sections: characters, and story, mainly for my own ease, but also if anyone cares more about one thing or the other it's easier to distinguish. But,  the line is a little blurry so if I end up getting a little too much into the characterization in the story section, just bear with me lmao. OH and I'm going to try and keep this as un-spoilery as possible but we'll just have to see. SOOOOOOOO

Characters

I think it goes without saying that Melnikov's art is absolutely gorgeous, and really does show how much Damian has grown up. It makes me want to sob its so beautiful, everyone is so pretty, even the guy that looks like a washed up, high as fuck Tony Stark lmao. But moving on to the actual characters,

Rose Wilson

I honestly don't know too much about Rose, I haven't read enough about her to say anything about her characterization and how it compares to her other appearances, or whether or not she is OOC, but so far, I'm enjoying her taking up the "big sis" role, like, immediately lmao.

I don't know how much I trust her yet, but I definitely get the vibe that even if she does betray Dami in any way, she's probably gonna stick her neck out for Dami again and he's probably gonna do the same.

I'm really intrigued about her motivations for being here. Obviously, Respawn has something to do with it, but I want to know what's up with that. I've seen a lot of theories and I'm so excited. Also side note, that Black Swan chick is hot, and I can't wait to see more of her in action!!!

I feel like Ravager knows a WHOLE lot more than Dami does about the interesting things going on on the island, mainly because she's been doing a lot more sitting and waiting than he has as of yet, but I'm hoping to see more of the two of them doing detective-y sleuthing together. We love a mysteryyyy

Flatline

Okay but real talk, why does she look like a character straight out of Monster High

Honestly tho, I dig it. It's cute! She's cute! She isn't annoying (yet) but I don't know if I care too much about her other than she would make a cute friend for Dami.

I think the problem with DC is that they know people LOVE Harley Quinn and they try so hard to make characters just like her but it always falls short, so honestly I am a little wary of her character development in this run, but I'm willing to give her a shot since her little coffin purse on the cover of the second issue is so damn cute. I'm a slut for character design, okay?

Oh speaking of Flatline and Dami, I don't ship it and I don't want them to force a romantic relationship into Damian's "coming of age"/"soul-searching" moment okay? Because that's what this run is about, at least to me! More on that in the story section!

They're literally 13/14 years old. That's 8th-9th grade, babes lets think about that for a minute

Also let's stop the whole "lets introduce a female character just to make her a love interest!" bullshit okay?

Basically, Flatline is interesting, or at least has the potential to be, but I don't want to get my hopes up because DC is notorious for disservicing their female characters 😕

I think the mixed reaction to her is valid, I don't think she's had much time to make a solid impression yet, so I guess you'd have to read it for yourself. Personally, I don't understand why people immediately hate her, especially because she's like, 14, and what kid that age isn't annoying? like at least a little bit lmao! But, yeah. I don't trust her either but literally everyone on this island is sketchy at least and a murderer at best, so hey 🤷‍♀️

Damian

His new outfit lmaoooo at first I was like "WHaT is this child wearing? You'd think Dick would have rubbed off on him and taught him what good taste looks like" but then I saw the later outfit, with the gold patterning and those sleeeevessssss ugh and I take it all back. A Fashion Icon TM. Truly stunning. A sight to behold. So proud, look at him go 😪

I think there's a lot of different opinions on Damian's characterization in this run, and I can definitely see where its coming from, but I disagree with the notion that Damian has been done dirty and reverted to a blood-thirsty, feral child.  And I have a LOT of opinions on the whole "feral" thing regarding Damian period (but that's for another time).

I don't think of Dami's rampage as a regression for his character. He's letting of emotions right then and I think its very similar to him venting. Its just not verbal, its physical and he knows he's not going to have to grapple with the consequences of his actions on the first kill. He knows he's technically not doing anything wrong.

He is clearly upset at Bruce and his failure to protect Alfred, and while Dami and Bruce are really often described as being very similar personality-wise, they are still distinctly different individuals who came to their current moral codes in vastly different ways. Bruce came to his "no killing" rule on his own; he made that decision for himself. It wasn't taught to him, it was a moment-of-truth kind of situation. Damian, on the other hand is in a vastly different situation.

Dami is, I think, at the beginning of the climb to his own moment-of-truth. He is in his rebellious phase like Dick, where he's gone off to spread his wings. It's not his conscious intention (at least that's not the vibe I got from reading the first two issues), but its directly underlying his "mission".

Damian is growing out of the expectations of his parents and into his own person. We all know he's been thrown from one moral code to another, both drastically different from each other. I don't think its a regression for him to lose his way a little, because realistically, he's going to have to in order to find it, specifically a moral compass that he forged on his own. He's just what? 14? Like hell a kid his age wants to listen to any form of authority. He's as stubborn as it comes. Damian needs to come to his decision regarding the path he takes in life on his own. It can't be made for him. He's seen and lived both sides of the coin, and I don't think he should be forced just yet to choose a side or pave a middle ground, but I do think that he should get the opportunity to see and experience all the gray areas on his own.

I think I'll transition from characterization to story here, because let's face it, this story is about Damian dealing with his confused emotions right now, in the wake of losing Alfred, a man that kind of acted like a grounding presence, a voice of reason, or a moral compass for him (and honestly Bruce and the rest of the bat crew if we're honest).

Story

So there's a lottttt going on in the story that is really enticing and exciting, and I'm really interested to see how it all plays out.

All the rules to the tournament are so, sketchy? Like they don't sound like they are meant to be sketchy, its basic safety and guidelines or whatever but with all the glowy green shit and the stakes of the tournament? Yeah, you can bet your ass its the "no fighting at night" and other shit is gonna be broken, and that's likely when the fun begins *insert evil laughter*😈

I was slightly put off by the whole "let me teach you to have fun" thing with Rose, because it's not like Dick, Steph, Jon, and like the Titans haven't done that with him too, but eh, not something I'm too concerned about. It's definitely just a segway to get us introduced to more characters that might become Damian's friends which will be interesting considering what Mother Soul said about fraternizing.

And that's another thing! I want Damian to make some friends! I know he already has some, but here's the thing: I think he's already been struggling with belonging, and he's definitely been feeling the disconnect between his life and other kids', whether they're supers/vigilantes or not. I think it'd be nice to see Dami have the experience of meeting people who he at first thinks are just like him!! and then realizing that maybe he doesn't really fit in here either, and that it's okay to feel like you don't belong, as isolating as it may feel at times. It just means you have a set of values. I want him to realize that its not always a bad thing, and you learn more about yourself and your own heart this way.

And from there,,, lets talk about the thing that stuck out to me the most in these two issues! GUILT!! It's mentioned SOO many times already, and I think its going to be a really fun, heartbreaking, and interesting aspect to explore about Damian. Is it guilt about his actions? Leaving behind family? Not being able to save Alfred? Not being a perfect example of Robin? He may call himself Robin but he doesn't sport the OG look or symbol like before. I love that his guilt takes on the form of Alfred though, or at least his conscious. I think it'd be really interesting to see this conscious disappear when Dami strays too far from his center, and when he finds it again, it reappears.

I really think that seeing Damian's actions in this run as a failure of character development is an unfair assessment, though. You can't do everything right in order to grow! You have to screw up, lose your way, experiment with life to find your fit, right?

Something tells me he doesn’t care for the tournament itself, but the end result, and the people behind it and more about WHY it was hidden from him. I mean he finds out the tournament TRULY begins once everyone has died once and tHEN he kill everyone? Felt to me less like a “killing spree” as everyone put it to a calculated decision to get the tournament going. He literally cuts Mother Soul off in the middle of her speaking to start fighting at the beginning

Anyway, just my thoughts lol. I do have some issues with the past two issues, and I might make a separate post about that, but honestly not enough for me to dislike Robin 2021 so far. I mean, besides the very obvious white-washing in the second issue, because DC can absolutely do better. And they should. It’s like they thought we wouldn’t notice???? But besides that, story and characterization-wise I’m looking forward to more. Here’s to hoping it stays that way, just with a better colorist!

[reddrobins]

of coffee cups + criminals - one [j.todd]

TW: none

TWO - THREE

chapter one:

The newfound silence was the most comforting sound that could possibly be heard at this hour. It was almost 11:00 pm and she had yet to flip the ‘open’ sign to ‘close’. It was an oddly busy day at Gotham Grounds - the local coffee shop just west of the Narrows. To say that it was the busiest day that [Y/N] had encountered thus far would be an understatement. 

The small shop was used to serving thirty, maybe forty customers per day. This bustling autumn night however, [Y/N] found herself running out of coffee, having served well over 100 people throughout the day. Luckily, the young barista had finally used up the shop's total stock, forcing her to close up.

“Hey IRIS, call Jason.” She called to her cell phone, hands too full with empty cups to dial the number. Cleaning the counter space in the front, she patiently waited for the dial tone to stop, hoping to hear the voice of her boyfriend on the other end.

After a minute or so, the ringing stopped. [Y/N] stilled in her place, giving her full attention to the call. “Hey, you know who this is, leave a message. Or not, thanks!”

The [H/C] rolled her eyes, swiftly going back to cleaning. When Jasons voice message finished, she hollered to her phone, “Hi Jay, it's me. Finishing up work right now. Be home in,” She paused, surveying the cleanliness state of the cafe, “eh, maybe a half hour. I hope… anyway, see you then!”

Juggling the mass of collected cups into one arm, she picked up her cell and ended the call. 

The prospect of going home clouding her better judgment, [Y/N] dumped the cup load into the sink and instead of engaging in her routine cleaning, decided to leave the dishes for tomorrow. If it were any other night, having a load of dirty cups just sitting in the sink would have driven her mad, but it was almost midnight, and all [Y/N] wanted to do was go home.

Being one of the owners of Gotham Grounds did however give her liberty to leave the shop as she wished and so, deciding that her half-assed clean up was enough, [Y/N] locked the front door and strolled onto the sidewalk, not once glancing back.

-

Jason was having one hell of a night.

First, big old Batdad was being a prick, as always, and lectured Jason to no end. This time it wasn't about his objectively harsh vigilante methods, rather his familial engagement… or lack thereof. Bruce went on about how it was the third family dinner he had missed this week, that Alfred missed him, that he wasn't letting anyone in. Jason had had enough of his father's scolding and abruptly left the cave, not bothering to even take a peek at the case files he originally came for.

Secondly, just with Jason luck, Black Mask had disappeared. The tracker that Jason had previously put on Sionis’ car no longer had a ping. It seemed to Jason that the idiot had finally caught on and disposed of the vehicle, annoying the vigilante to no end. 

Not only did he have to deal with stupid familial problems, but now his one lead had vanished. On the bright side, Jason thought, this night could not possibly get worse. But of course, he was proven wrong.

In the midst of his Red Hood business, Jason had ignored the vibrating of his phone - brushing it off as Dick trying to make amends for Bruce’s actions. So when he finally settled atop the Wayne Enterprises building, he then saw it wasn't Dick that called, but [Y/N].

He quickly redialled her number, hoping that the two of them would not be starting a game of ‘phone tag’. 

“Hello?” 

Jason smiled to himself from under the mask, just hearing her voice was enough to turn a shitty night into something tolerable. “Hey.”

On the other end, [Y/N] too found herself smiling at his voice, “Hi, nice to finally hear from you.”

Jason let out a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his neck, he hated not being able to answer the phone all the time. Truth be told, talking to [Y/N] was the only thing Jason really looked forward to. “Yeah,” He started, “Sorry about that doll. I got kinda hung up at work.”

This piqued [Y/N]’s interest. Though she knew only as much as Jason was willing to reveal about his ‘night time activities’, any chance he opened up about them intrigued the girl. “Oh?” She asked, “Is everything okay?”

Nonchalantly, he brushed it off, “Oh yeah, all good. Just a minor inconvenience s’all. Don't worry about it.” 

Upon hearing his insouciance, [Y/N] shrugged off the conversation, nodding into the phone. Jason then turned the questions towards her, “What about you love? What’re you up to on this lovely Gotham night?”

[Y/N] laughed at his sarcastic tone, “Just getting home now actually.” She started, only to be interrupted by Jason’s surprised outburst of, “really?”.

She nodded into the phone again, then remembered that alas - Jason could not see her, “Yeah, really. It was like scarily busy today. I’m pretty sure all of Gotham, hell, maybe even Metropolis too, all came to grab coffee today.”

Jason let out a low whistle, “Damn, guess I missed the memo.”

[Y/N] chuckled as she dug a set of keys out of her jacket pocket. The coffee shop was not too far from her apartment, luckily, and she had been a good ways through the trek when Jason called. “I know, I hoped to see you stop by. Tim came, by the way, it was nice to see him.”

Jason knew that she didn't intend for there to be a double entendre within the sentence, but he took it as that. With his closing in on Sionis, he had pulled away from the Batfamily and as an extension, so had [Y/N]. He knew it wasn't fair to her, within the months of their relationship she had gotten close with his siblings. Just because he wasn't investing in the relationships didn't mean she couldn't. 

“Jay?” Her call shook him out of his rabbit hole of thought.

Jason cleared his throat, “Yeah, I’m still here. That's good… I’m uh, I’m glad he stopped by.”

Sensing her boyfriends uncomfortability, [Y/N] changed the focus off of his family. “I just got home, do you want to swing by or…” closing the front door, she hung up her keys on the hook, waiting for his response.

“Uh,” Jason pulled his phone away to check the time, it was quarter to twelve. He sighed, “I don't think tonight, no. Sorry love, it's late and I don't want you waiting up for me.”

“Jason,” She began to lightly scold, “I told you, I don't mind-”

Silence gripped the phone line.

Jason furrowed his brows, waiting to hear [Y/N]’s voice again. After a beat, he spoke, “Doll, you still there?” It was as if metal flooded his veins, cold fear encasing his body until she finally replied.

“Yes… I- I’m going to have to call you back.” 

Before Jason could even get a syllable in, the line went dead.

-

“Jason,” [Y/N] started as she went further into the apartment, “I told you, I don't mind-”

Now on most nights when [Y/N] came home, she would be the only occupant in the living space. But she already knew today was not like other days. 

There, lounging against her kitchen island stood a man she’d only ever seen on the news.

Roman Sionis gave a mocking wave at her frozen frame. Fear seeped into every ounce of her body, words unable to form a cry of help.

“Doll,” Jason’s voice briefly brought her back, “You still there?”

She opened her mouth, trying to sift through the mile-a-minute thoughts in her head, trying to form a coherent sentence, a cry for help. 

Words bubbled to the tip of her tongue, but were quickly popped as Sionis lifted his hand towards his face, a black-gloved finger held up to his lips, shushing her. Something flickered in her peripheral vision, in the Black Masks other hand a pocket knife flipped open.

[Y/N] knew in this moment, her cry for help would turn into one for death.

“Yes…” She said slowly, searching Sionis’ face for an ounce of approval, “I’m going to have to call you back.”

[itsmeevie01]

Bio!Dad Bruce Month Day 13- Gifts

a teen was standing in an airport, the hood of his hoodie pulled up to hide his dark hair. His hands were stuffed in the pocket of his sweatpants, and he kept his eyes (really blue eyes!) fixed on his phone. When the arrival of the last flight from Paris for the night was announced, he glanced up, scanning the area. Satisfied that whoever he was looking for wasn’t yet at the baggage claim, he returned to his phone. 

20 minutes later, the device binged, and his head shot up, once again scanning the area. The athletic boy’s face split into a smile when he locked eyes with a girl who was waiting near a pile of bags, looking through the ones that were spitting out. The boy made his way over and pulled the girl into a hug. After they had snagged the last of her bags (how on earth did the kid have 6???) the two made their way to the parking garage. When they neared the doors separating the warm airport, the boy pulled the girl’s hood up and made sure his was up as well before pulling the bags he had taken behind him. the tow hurried through the cold air, heads down. 

As they passed a line of cars in the drop off lane, the boy’s hood got knocked off by the wind. He ducked down further, but by then, it was too late. “Timothy! Timothy Drake!” his name flew through the reports and visitors in the crowd. The boy, Tim, scowled and cut those closest to him a glare. The girl behind him sniggered at his distress before pulling her hood farther forward. As she pushed past the teen, there was a flash of blue eyes, before she was pulling him after her. As they hurried off, there were multiple flashes of cameras and questions floated through the air.

---

“what that fuck did you do?” the question was punctuated by the slamming of Marinette’s door. Tim huffed as he slumped into the driver’s seat.

“I didn’t do anything though! Honestly, it’s not my fault B has been making me do the public appearances for WE!” at his sister’s suspicious look, the older teen made a face and checked to make sure she had buckled her seatbelt. S

oon, the two were speeding down the road that led to the manor, where the rest of the family was gathering. 

---

When they walked in, they were greeted by Alfred, who gave Tim an unimpressed look before smiling at Marinette and insisting that the two go join the family in the big sitting room. When they entered, they found everyone staring at the television, where a news story was flashing on the screen. As the Anchor continued to talk, a picture of whatever had caught the family’s interest appeared on the screen and-

“well shit, Timmy, can’t you even pretend to be low key?” Jason’s question made the other boy groan and throw himself into a chair.

“I tried, Jason. I tried. It wasn’t until we were almost to the car that someone saw us.” He glanced at the image on the TV, “at least M can’t be seen clearly. That went correctly.” Jason snorted derisively and let himself fall back into his seat.

“how long do you think before the conspiracy theories start flying?” at his question, Marinette looked up from where she was scrolling through her phone.

“oh, those have already started. Half of Twitter thinks I’m Tim’s Girlfriend.” The room erupted in laughter and the siblings moved to accommodate the teens before turning back to the news.

Bruce smiled at his children as they started to stumble down the stairs. First, Marinette had come down from her room. The 14-year-old had taken the holiday to swap out her jeans and long-sleeved tees for a pair of leggings and a long green top that settled mid-thigh. Although her clothes weren’t festive, per say, you could tell she had thought her appearance through very carefully. At this point, Bruce mused, he wouldn’t expect anything less from the budding fashion designer.

Next had come Tim, somewhere around 5 am. The teen had also changed from his Pajamas into what Bruce realized was an outfit Marinette had planned. Black joggers, black tee peeking out from under a red hoodie, and a pair of slippers that Bruce suspected were actually his.

 Once the two had curled up together gripping their coffee, Dick and Jason appeared. They too had forgone the customary pjs for joggers, in Dicks case, and sweats in Jason’s. Dick was wearing a deep blue hoodie that was almost back, with…OH that must have been Marinette’s doing who else was going to make a custom hoodie for Dick that displayed his Nightwing symbol so subtly. Jason on the other hand…Marinette clearly had put less into being subtle with him. instead of a deep garnet that could blend into the bat symbol on his chest, the hoodie was a bright glaring red. On the back, in cursive, the name “Red Hoodie” had been sewn. Bruce held back a laugh of disbelief at the ease the girl had used to sneak the hoodies into the boy’s wardrobe.

While Bruce was marveling at his daughter’s creativity and sneakiness, Cass slipped in and settled next to him. she too was wearing a hoodie that Bruce now recognized as one of Marinette’s. it was black on black with white outlining the bat symbol. At his look of amusement, Cass handed him the hoodie in her hands.

It was black like hers, except much bigger and completely devoid of color. As he inspected the hoodie, Bruce found a small selection of embroidery on the bottom hem. “dad, I didn’t want to do anything huge, but this is a thank you, and a small reminder that I love you. Stay safe, Marinette Cheng-Wayne” he smiled as he ran his fingers over the stitching. 

When he glanced over at Cass again, he found her playing with the embroidery on her own hoodie where it met her leggings. Before he could turn and say anything to the designer, Damien made his presence known as he entered the room. The boy scowled at everyone before he plopped down on next to Marinette, on the side opposite of Tim. Bruce shook his head as he watched his two youngest interact, Damien in a green hoodie and sweats. The hoodie wasn’t anything special, except for the red lining and yellow accents that Marinette had obviously added as a nod to his hero persona.

Alfred came in shortly after and handed out coffee and Hot Cocoa. As the siblings woke up, they moved so that the family made a semi-circle around the tree. They pulled out their phones and started checked the time, texted their friends, and generally got accustomed to the early morning. 

When Alfred came back to join them, toting two giant trash bags and a camera, Dick perked up, it was time to start handing out presents. As the young adult started moving through the room, the others sorted what he was handing them when they all were given boxes in an unfamiliar paper, many of the older ones traded confused glances with each other. When the last present had been distributed, everyone turned to Damien who glanced around in confusion. “what? Do I have something on my face?” the others laughed, and Marinette bumped him with her elbow.

“its not that, little brother, you are the youngest, so you go first. You open one and everyone else will take turns after until it comes back to you!” the boy rolled his eyes at her explanation, before reaching for the paper that the rest of the family knew signifies that the gift was from Alfred. 

When the youngest had opened the parcel to reveal a selection of books on drawing and wildlife, Marinette smiled at him and nodded to Dick, who had ended up next to Damien. Dick flashed her a bright smile and opened his own present form Alfred. After Dick, Jason tugged off the paper on his box. Then, Cass who turned to Bruce with a prompting tilt of her head. After Bruce had opened his bag (really, Alfred! He didn’t need any more books on raising emotionally stable children. He had done well so far, right?) he nodded to Alfred who raised a pointed eyebrow at him (about what, Bruce wasn’t sure. He hadn’t done anything yet, had he? It was barely 6 in the morning!). Tim rolled his eyes at their interaction, before ripping open his own package and letting out a yelp of happiness at the stack of books that he found waiting for him. 

After that, Marinette simply giggled at the family antics and opened her gift. When Damien reached for the next present, Alfred lifted his camera to capture the smiles that were flooding the room.

Somehow, Damien had left the unfamiliar papered gift for last. When he reached for it, he tried to do a mental tally to figure out who it could be from. First they had opened Alfred’s gifts, so it couldn’t be him. then they had moved onto Bruce’s then Jason’s. After that, they had gone through Cass’s (apparently, she was a notoriously bad gift giver) and his own. Then, Damien had reached for the ones he knew came from Marinette, before deigning to opened Tim’s. if they had opened all of the family presents, then…” Alfred, why are these under the family tree?” Dick’s question broke Damien from his thoughts. “shouldn’t we wait until the Kents get here to open these?” the old Butler shook his head and gestured for the vigilante to open the box. 

When Dick did as instructed, he full on squealed. “How!” at the family’s confusion, the oldest of the siblings held up a card that had been nestled inside. The small crème square read ‘Complements of MCW’. As the family processed what they were seeing, all hell broke loose. The others tore into the boxes in front of them, and all found a personalized gift, and a matching Christmas sweater. No one noticed Marinette’s small smile at the chaos surrounding her, or that though she had the Christmas sweater, she didn’t have a personalized item to go with. 

No one, that is, except Tim.

so, this is LATE, because the place im staying over the weekend has crazy spotty internet and i couldnt get Word to save anything. that said, i will also be uploading day 14, so keep an eye out for that today...

[star-spangledstud]

PARADISE

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader 

Summary: The Avengers enjoy a hard-earned vacation.

Word Count: 3700-ish

Warnings: Fluff (None)

Blistering heat. Skin sticky from several layers of coconut-scented sunblock with built-in self-tanner, causing a dewy glow to set upon your bronzed, heated skin. A bright pink cocktail stood beside the tanning bed you were laying on, a slice of fresh lime and a tiny blue umbrella hanging off the side of the glass. Drops of condensation made their way down the length of the fishbowl shaped glass, collecting on the palm tree coaster it sat on. You sipped it every minute or so through a neon yellow plastic straw, allowing the icy drink to cool you down while the alcohol warmed the back of your throat as it went down.

You turned the page of your romance novel, green doe eyes covered by large black sunglasses following along the words written on the tattered paper. A glance up from your book to the pool area in front of you revealed toned bodies in brightly colored swimming trunks and skimpy bikinis sprawled everywhere. Natasha sat beside you on Wanda's sunbed. She'd braided her hair and was busy putting flowers in it. Fake daisies by the looks of it, made of cloth with little plastic stems. You smiled and took another sip, savoring the sour taste and slushy texture and took a mental note to order the same thing over dinner later. Then, you turned back to your book.

Steve loved summer. Perhaps it was the stark contrast provided by the sun's rays to the ice he was trapped in for so long or the scent of nature in bloom all around him that sparked his admiration for the season. He wasn't sure. All he knew is that he enjoyed the blistering heat and the breeze carrying the scent of fresh flowers across the resort.

His skin had become wrinkly from spending hours on end in the pool with the guys, but he was finally starting to win the game of volleyball against Sam and Thor, and Captain America did not like to lose. He'd tried to convince Tony and Bruce to join them but they were sitting in the shade, stacks of paper and two laptops covering the sunbeds around them. You smiled and shook your head at them, but didn't comment on their constant need to work, even though it was Tony's idea to take everyone away for a two-week paid trip to paradise in the first place. Maybe he just really loved showing off his money. You didn't care, because you were sipping on your fourth free cocktail.

Your eyes drifted back to the water glistening beneath the rays of the sun, to Steve, who was laughing so hard at something Peter said his hand went to his chest.

Steve felt your eyes on him as soon as you lowered your sunglasses to the bridge of your nose so you could watch him lose the game. He held his hand up to the guys, motioning for them to continue without him. Peter begged him to stay, knowing he could never win the game by himself, but Steve already waded to the edge of the pool. Instead of using the metal stairs, he gripped the edge of the pool and lifted himself out in a fluid motion. Water dripped from his torso and out of his shorts, leaving a trail of it on the marble tiles as he closed in on you.

He softly took a hold of your calves, lifting your legs and placing them into his lap so he could sit down on the sunbed. You placed your book on your chest, marveling at drops of water that ran down his milky white torso. That boy did not tan.

"Tired?" You teased, eyes drifting to Thor smashing the ball across the water.

"I can go all day, remember?" He replied, a soft smile playing on his lips.

"Sore loser then," you retorted, "nothing wrong with admitting defeat."

"'S not in my genes, I'm afraid," he paused, "so, what' cha reading?"

Even after the sun had set behind the palm trees, the heat remained. The air was still heavy and humid by the time you woke up from your pre-dinner nap and the second you stepped out of your shower, your skin was sticky again. You'd already given up on washing your hair. It would just get greasy again.

It was nearly nine when all of you met up at the restaurant. Overlooking the beach, you had a perfect view of the waves that crashed upon the shore from your seat at the table. You ordered the same ridiculous cocktail and were sipping it quietly, listening to your teammates conversating. Shadows of the palm trees waving gently in the breeze cascaded across the candlelit tables, hypnotizing you for a moment.

Tony's laugh broke your trance and you smiled, not really having listened to the joke. He stood up, scraping his chair back across the cobblestone. His glass of white wine swirled when he rose and he used a fork to tap the side of his glass. Silence immediately fell over the table.

"A toast, to the most annoying yet best teammates a guy like me, could ever ask for," he grinned, "the only reason why I'm saying this is because I've been day-drinking. They make hella Pina Coladas here."

"We know," Natasha said, grinning widely, "we love you too, Tony."

Waiters circled around the tables that had been pushed together to accommodate all of you, plates filled with various kinds of gourmet dishes balancing on their arms and in their hands. You raised your glass, smiling while everyone else did the same.

You looked at Steve, who had taken a seat beside you. He'd traded his swim shorts for a pale blue button-up shirt of which he'd rolled up the sleeves. A shark-tooth necklace, courtesy of one of the salesmen down at the beach who just wouldn’t leave him alone, hung around his neck. It was perfectly visible through the undone buttons on his chest. His hair was fluffy and soft from being in the water all day. You could tell he hadn't tried to style it with gel.

You almost hated yourself for watching him, even from the corner of your eye. It was a habit that had crept into your system over the course of four months. A habit that resembled an addiction to drugs. It was just fun at first, but your constant need to have your eyes on Steve had turned into a necessity, into a way of life.

The two of you had always hit it off. He was the first person to introduce you to the rest of the team when you were initially hired and he had taken it upon himself to show you the ropes and guide your training after that. He made you feel comfortable in an environment filled with strong, confident people during a time in which you felt like a small fish in a big pond. He watched your back on missions and took you to the city on days off - although admittedly, he mostly brought you along for his own selfish reasons.

He forced you to take him to places like McDonald's and KFC, not because the food - although advertised as such - was finger-licking good, but because he'd missed out on the experience of greasy fast food when he was growing up in the previous century. He forced you to take him to BestBuy, not because he was in the market for a new smart-fridge, but because he needed you to explain the appliances that had been invented after he went into the ice without judging him for his continuous stream of questions. It wasn't until your throat was sore from all the talking that he would take you to a coffee shop so you could sit down and enjoy a hot beverage. Not Starbucks though. Way too crowded and the drinks were too complicated. What the hell was a Frappuccino, anyway?

It was during those days where you began to glance at him. Peaks, out of the corners of your eye when he was trying to figure out whether to order a Quarterpounder or a Big-Mac. Admiration for adjusting so quickly in a world so far away from his own, for accepting it. Glances turned into zoned-out stares that focused on his features until he'd wave his hand in front of your face and ask you what planet you were on. Your cheeks would heat up every time, a sight he loved - but would never admit - and you would stammer and make up a stupid excuse about being tired.

You hated the feeling of butterflies fluttering around in your stomach whenever he would brush his arm against yours during the movie nights, or when his knees would hit yours as you sat opposite each other in the coffee shop. You hated the lopsided smiles he gave you when he thought you weren't looking and hated how close he would stand to you in the kitchen when you were making breakfast, shirt off and sweatpants riding low on his perfectly sculpted hips.

You hated how you'd begun to develop a crush on Steve Rogers. It just crept up on you, silent and deadly like a black viper. It had wiggled its way into your heart and settled there, causing it to hammer skip every time you were near him. You wanted to punch yourself for acting like a lovesick puppy because you were sure it was a one-sided thing and yet even as you laid in bed at night with thoughts racing and images of Steve flashing before closed lids, you couldn't turn your fucking brain off long enough to think clearly.

You and Steve were friends. Not just friends, either, but best friends. You spent so much time together it made Tony gag. Natasha couldn't stop obsessing over the two of you, constantly trying to prove that you were secretly dating. Even Bruce caught wind of the closeness of your supposedly platonic relationship and when he caught the two of you in the common room late one night doubled over in hysterical laughter, piles of blankets and fluffy pillows surrounding you on the couch you were sitting on, even he was convinced there was more going on than you were letting on.

As you were sitting on a tropical island, surrounded by the people that you cared for the most, a part of you wished there was. How nice it would be to experience a vacation at a fancy resort in the tropics with a romantic partner. You snorted, picking up your knife and fork while shaking your head. There was nothing going on between you and Steve and as far as he was concerned, there never would be. You were friends, after all, best friends at that, and there was no way that Steve could be interested in you in any other way. He was so perfect in every way and you were just, ordinary. Plain, a Big-Mac without toppings.

Dessert came before you even realized what was going on. You were buzzed at this point from all the cocktails you'd consumed and instead decided to order a glass of ice water to accompany the chocolate lava cake you had ordered. You only ate half, stomach feeling like it was going to burst at any point if you ate any more. Steve, being the gentleman he was, took the fact that you placed your spoon down as a sign and finished it for you.

"Y/N?"

You hadn't heard him coming.

He was standing behind you suddenly, shirt unbuttoned further than before and hair blowing in the wind that had started to pick up. Of course, it had been Tony's idea to host a private party after dinner in the club that was attached to the resort. Employees of SHIELD and the Avengers were dancing inside, booze flowing just as smoothly as the music. You'd stepped outside for only a moment in desperate need for some fresh air and time to think. 

It was still warm outside, the soft breeze feeling wonderful on your slightly reddened skin. 

"Hey," you said, elbows leaning on the railing that separated the resort from its private beach, "what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said smartly, offering you a sip of his sprite, "This is a nice place."

"It's beautiful," you mused, watching the gentle waves and the pearly white sands ahead.

"Yeah," Steve mumbled, "it is."

Seeing you in a white triangle bikini was the single most amazing thing Steve had ever seen. It had taken all his strength not to rip you from the beach and into your bungalow where he could kiss you and have you all to himself at last. The salty water had transformed your hair into waves, and the sun had kissed your skin and made you glow. You were on a towel on your stomach, book in front of you and sunglasses hiding your eyes. A bottle of sunscreen poked out of the tote bag you brought and a bottle of water stood perched up into the sand. It had to be warm by now, but you didn't care.

He loved seeing how much you enjoyed this. How naturally you adjusted to the change of pace, how you blended in with the scenery as if you'd always been there. He got to see a side of you he'd never seen before when you were in New York, where the rain seemed to permanently hang over the city. He loved how you interacted with people you were so used to seeing only at work,  but this also made him jealous. He was used to being one of the only people you would hang out with in private but now, you'd practically been glued to everyone but him. How badly he wanted to take you out for a stroll on the beach alone or enjoy a cocktail with you with no-one else watching. Hell, he'd even dance for you at that club with the music he could hardly call music if it meant he got to spend more time with you alone.

He was playing volleyball again, on the beach this time. Half of your party had gone out on scooters for an island excursion, but not you. You had decided that your book was more important, and so you were reading the final chapter with the sun cascading on your back. He'd tried to get you to join him earlier, but once again, you'd declined. Not now, when you were so close to finishing the book. The main character was about to confess her love for the man she'd been chasing for years. She had finally built up the courage to tell him how she really felt. Her words caused your stomach to clench and your heart to pound. You had to know how it would end.

But even the most experienced of readers required a break every once in a while. You were hot, extremely hot and in desperate need of something to cool you off. Alas, the water you'd brought had warmed up, offering no relief from the constant heat blazing down on you. You got up, placing the book into your bag so it wouldn't get covered in the sand and stretched your limbs.

You looked around the beach for a while, noticing it was a lot quieter with half the staff gone for the day and exhaled, allowing a deep breath to escape your lungs while you began to jog across the hot sand.

"When are you going to tell her you're in love with her?" Tony asked with a smug smirk on his face and the ball in his hands.

Steve swallowed, catching the ball with ease.

"You're supposed to hit it back, not catch it and stand there like a dead guy," Tony commented, "Anyway, you dig her and for some reason, you're too afraid to just man up and tell her. Why?"

"Because," Steve said, "we're just friends."

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock. Look, nothing's ever gonna change unless you act and you're an idiot if you think she doesn't feel the same way. Plus, I made a bet with Tash, so you better step up your game and get to it. Like, right now."

"Tony, I can't do that."

"Give me one good reason. Go on, I'm waiting." Another cocky smirk.

"We're coworkers."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Oh please, Fury doesn't give a shit and neither do I. Sign a couple of forms if you have to. Listen, pal if you don't make a move soon, someone else is bound to come in and sweep her off her feet and you'll be sorry forever."

Steve thought for a moment, watching as you walked further away from him and cursed Tony for being right. Again.

"She's the only one who can tolerate your shit, Rogers. Don't let her get away so easily."

Your feet were just touching the water when a hand around your upper arm stopped you from walking into the ocean. You'd ventured out to a more quiet area of the beach, where the only sound audible was the crashing of waves and seagulls over your head. You could still see your towel from where you stood, but the details had become blurry. Perfect.

"Hey,"  you said, voice sounding startled after you'd turned to look at whoever was holding you.

"I don't know why I allowed Tony of all people to convince me to do this, but I wouldn't be here if what he said to me didn't have a truth to it so I suppose it was for the best." Steve stammered, hands now on your shoulders as if to shield them from the sun.

"What are you talking about?" You asked, confused.

"Do you like me?" He asked, cheeks reddening more and more with each passing second. You couldn't tell through the darkness of your sunglasses, but he didn't know that.

"Of course I do Steve, you're my best-" He cut you off, testosterone and adrenaline taking over now.

"Not like that. Listen, you make me happy. Like, happy, happy. I don't mean the kind of happy that I get when I run into Sam at the gym and he has a fresh smoothie and a bagel for me, or when we successfully complete a mission and return home safely. It's not the kind of happy I get when I drink my favorite coffee, or when I see a dog at the park."

"What are you saying?" You whispered, eyes hidden by tinted glasses sliding across his face for any sign of fuckery.

There was none. You're suddenly painfully aware of the water swishing against your legs, aware of the grains of sand beneath your feet and his touch, which burned hotter than any sun in the universe could ever do. It's like you'd taken a step inside the book you were just reading.

"You make me feel things I haven't felt before, but want to feel all the time. I crave you when you're not there. The brush of your fingers, the softness of your voice and your laugh, Y/N, I need to hear it all the time and hell, I don't want to even think about having to share it with anyone else because I can't stand to bear the thought." He realized he was being dramatic, but he didn't care.

It disgusted him how easy it had been for Tony to convince him to tell you, but he was right. Walking on eggshells around you was ridiculous and even though Steve realized that being this honest could ruin everything in a matter of seconds, he also knew that lying was a habit he hated and he had been lying to himself for far too long by pretending to accept your friendship as the endstage.

Your hand was on his chest before he knew what was happening. A small smile played on your rosy lips, yet there was hesitation hidden behind those sunglasses. Hesitation, because what if the only reason why he said those words to you was because of a stupid bet? You were almost convinced of it, but his blue orbs told you the truth far better than any of his words could ever do. He was searching for confirmation, waiting for you to tell him you felt the same. Hell, they were begging you to say something, anything just to get the anticipation out of the way. It was like a horror movie, where you knew a jump scare was coming but you didn't know when.

"I do like you,"  you said finally, "more than dogs at the park."

An amused expression on your face allowed him to finally breathe again. Bright blue eyes still intensely scanned your face, just to make sure you too were telling the truth. He wasn't a walking lie detector - unlike Natasha - but he could tell you were honest.

"I want to take you out," more adrenaline, "properly. Not a coffee shop date, but a real date. With flowers and dinner."

Your heart clenched, second hand finding his chest, "I would like that."

It was hard to stand on the tip of your toes while being in the sand. You sank a little, so it kind of defeated the purpose, but still, you did your best to gain some height on the tall man in front of you. His piercing blues traveled across your shoulders, followed a trail of glimmering sunshine along your body and you sighed, almost fearful you ended up with a heat stroke and were currently delusional. Or drunk. Or both.

But his lips, salty from the ocean water he took in when he went under a while ago and soft, felt very fucking real. You could hardly believe it because did dreams really come true, but hell yeah they did, because you were in one right now and you were not asleep. You were kissing, mouth on mouth and it didn't stop there, because your tongue soon slipped in - you blamed the alcohol you had earlier for your sudden boldness. Blamed him too, for overwhelming you with it.

You didn't even care about the fact that Tony and some level 6 SHIELD employees were watching you guys make out on a private beach. Didn't give a damn about the fact that Tony picked up his phone to call Natasha about how she now owed him $200, or how your sunscreen was starting to wear off and your skin would soon turn red. You finally had Steve right where you wanted him, really had him now, and you didn't plan on letting go anytime soon.

[chubbyreaderwriter]

Dangerous

Natasha Romanoff x Chubby/Plus Size Reader

Imagine: Everyone tells you not to get involved with Natasha because she’s dangerous but you don’t see it until you get kidnapped. 

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: kidnapping  

Masterlist

You groaned as you woke up in the morning from Natasha’s alarm at god knows how early in the morning. You felt her sitting up to get out of bed and you reached out your arm to grab her hand, “No stay, I want my morning cuddles.” You heard her laugh and you slowly opened your eyes to look at her, how did she look so good first thing in the morning? You pouted and Natasha leaned down to kiss you, “You can get your morning cuddles later, go back to sleep, I’ll wake you up when I’m done training okay?” You whined but nodded, wrapping your arms around your pillow to act as a Natasha substitute. You closed your eyes to go back to sleep and you heard the bedroom door click shut. 

Natasha was so sweet with you, it was very difficult to believe that people were scared of her. But when the two of you when public with your relationship, that’s all people kept telling you, “You’re with her? I hope you stay safe,” “Natasha? Don’t you know how dangerous she is?” “Are you serious? You two? She’ll rip you apart if you piss her off.” You had chosen to ignore them, you believed that they were just jealous of your relationship and wanted to break you up so Natasha was single again. 

You had no reason to believe them, yes she was strong and a great fighter but she was one of the most affectionate people you’ve ever met. You loved her and she loved you so you didn’t care what other people had to say about it. You weren’t going to leave her just because some people are afraid of her, that would be stupid. 

You smiled to yourself as you felt yourself being gently pulled closer to someone. Peeking open your eyes, you caught a glimpse of familiar red hair, “Hello again, back so soon?” Natasha chuckled, “I’ve been gone for a few hours, you were just asleep.” You stuck your tongue out at her and she pulled a face of fake shock, “Oh really? That’s how you want to treat your girlfriend?” You squealed as you felt her hands tickling your sides, trying to squirm away from her but she had you held in place with her legs intertwined with yours. “Okay! I’m sorry, you win.” Natasha grinned, leaning down to kiss you, “I always win, now what’s my prize.” 

You blushed a little as you felt her hands sliding under your pajama shirt. It was still a little surreal that someone as hot as Natasha was interested in you, no matter how many times she told you that you were perfect in her eyes. The sex helped a lot, but there were still moments where you thought you might not deserve someone as good as her. She had told you once that she felt the same way about you and it had blown your mind that she didn’t think she was good enough for you. 

Just as things were starting to heat up, JARVIS broke through the sound of heavy breathing and soft moans, “Miss Romanoff, Mr Rogers requires your presence in the lobby.” You mentally cursed Steve for ruining your moment with Natasha as she regretfully pulled away from you, kissing your neck, “Looks like we’ll have to continue this later, babe.” You smiled at her as she put her shirt back on, “You’ll text me when you’re on your way back?” She nodded, “Of course I will, I’ll be back soon. I love you,” “I love you too,” you mumbled to yourself as she had already left the room. 

You stayed in bed for another thirty minutes, spending time just flicking through your phone, mostly twitter and some texts that you had from Tony, who had an obsession with sending you memes of Steve and Clint that he found online. When your stomach started growling, that’s when you knew it was time to get up and go get something to eat. You got up and walked out of your bedroom and headed to the kitchen, not bothering to get dressed, you were fine in your baggy shirt and grey shorts. 

It was weird for the Tower to be so quiet, usually there was someone about, whether it was Clint paying games on an Xbox, Bucky and Steve watching movies from their very long list Tony insisted they need to watch, Peter following around Tony like a lost puppy, Bruce doing some kind of science, etc. At the very least, JARVIS usually had some music playing but it was silent. All you could hear was your own breathing and it freaked you out a little bit. “JARVIS?” Your voice gave away your nerves and it only got worse when you got no response. You tried to calm down, it was probably nothing right? Maybe it was Clint playing a prank on you? 

You walked into the kitchen and had been about to open the fridge when a hand was clamped over your mouth and an arm was slung around your waist. You tried to shout but it just came out as muffled grunts. Twisting your body in all different ways didn’t seem to be helping you get free and you were pushed into the kitchen island. The few seconds you stilled as you dealt with the pain of impact gave your attacker the perfect opportunity to inject you with something. You tried to move away from them but your movements became very slow and your limbs felt so heavy. 

Your eyesight started to blur and you felt the person behind you let go of you but you were too drowsy to run away or do anything. You tried to look at who was in front of you but all you saw was a large black blur. You felt yourself being lifted just as your eyes closed and you drifted into unconsciousness. 

. . .

A heavy pounding was in your head as you woke up, groaning from the pain. You tried to reach your hand up to touch your head but you were restricted. You blinked a couple times as you waited for your vision to come back to you before looking around the room you were in. You were tied to a chair that was bolted to the ground and the room looked like it was made of concrete you guessed, with nothing on the walls apart from the one in front of you. There was a window and a plain door. You tested your restraints by shifting around on the chair but the zip ties wouldn’t break, keeping your arms and legs to the chair. 

You were alone in the room for about a hour, left alone with your thoughts when you saw someone walk past the window and seconds later the door clicked and you watched it open and close behind a man you had never seen before. You didn’t say anything and tried your best to keep a straight face but he probably knew just by looking at you that you were scared. You’d never been in a situation like this before and you weren’t sure how to react. 

The man smiled at you, “So sorry we had to meet like this Miss (L/N), but we’ve received information about your relationship with a Miss Romanoff. We’ve been waiting for her to show a weakness for quite some time and here you are. It was strange to see that you were so easily taken, for a moment, I suspected we were wrong about you. Who leaves their loved ones so unprotected.” 

You knew what he was doing, he was just trying to get inside your head. You knew that Natasha loved you and she thought you were safe in the Tower, this wasn’t her fault. You continued to keep silent, you had no intention of saying anything to him. He tutted, “If you cooperate and tell us what we need to know, you won’t be harmed. Fail to do so and.. consequences will be provided, understand?” You kept still and kept your mouth shut, you weren’t going to tell him anything, no matter what he did to you. 

He sighed and looked down to adjust his tie and shirt before looking back at you, “It’s in your best interests to cooperate Miss (L/N), you wouldn’t want your girlfriend to get hurt now would you?” “Go to hell!” You glared at him, you’d be damned if you were just going to let them hurt Natasha or use her to blackmail you. He smirked, “Ah so she speaks, now you’re going to tell me everything I need to know about Natasha Romanoff and the so called ‘Avengers’ and maybe we’ll let you leave in one piece, hm? I’ll give you some time to think about it.”

You watched as he left the room, keeping your head held high until you were sure he wasn’t anywhere near you before you couldn’t hold back your tears anymore. You had never been more terrified in your life, what was going to happen to you? Would you ever going to get out of here and see Natasha again? Your family? Friends? You took a deep breath to try to calm you down before you completely started panicking. 

You had been left alone in that room for a long while now and you were tired, hungry, cold and your muscles were sore from being kept in the same position for ages. If it couldn’t get any worse, that’s when you heard the gunshots. They were muffled from how thick the walls were in this place but you still heard them. You felt your heart race faster and faster as they got closer and closer and you kept a close eye on the window. 

A scream left your mouth as you watched someone get shot right outside your window and then a familiar face looked inside. You were so relieved to see Natasha’s face. She kicked open the door and rushed over to you, pulling a knife out to cut the ties holding you down to the chair. You started crying again, feeling so happy to see her, “I was so scared, but I didn’t tell them anything I promise.” Natasha held you against her as you cried, “Shh, it’s okay, you’re safe now. Let’s get you home.” 

You sniffed and let her help you stand up, your muscles aching after sitting down for so long and being knocked out. You walked out of the door and you felt uncomfortable since you didn’t have any shoes on but it was a price you would gladly pay to get out of there. You covered your mouth as you saw blood all over the walls and some on the floor, all around dead bodies as Natasha held your hand and dragged you out the building. 

Your voice was barely a whisper as you looked around, “D-Did you do this?” Natasha turned to look at you, “They took you from me, they had to pay.” It felt wrong to blush from her words but you did anyway, she sounded so possessive and you didn’t want to admit it but you liked it. Natasha saw how you reacted and smirked, pulling you closer to her, “You like this side of me don’t you?” You couldn’t speak, not finding the strength to say anything so you just weakly nodded. 

Natasha grinned as she hurried quicker to pull you to safety in the form of a quinjet that was waiting outside for you two. As soon as the doors closed behind you two and the pilot took off, you felt a lot safer. Natasha sat next to you and wrapped her arms around your waist, “I promise you that you will never have to go through this again. I will keep you safe this time, I’m so sorry baby.” You saw how badly this was affecting her and you turned to lean into her embrace, “It wasn’t your fault, I’m just glad to be back with you.” 

When you were back at the Tower, the first thing you did was go get something to eat from the kitchen, you were starving. You didn’t care that Natasha wanted you to get checked over by Bruce for any injuries, you hadn’t eaten anything all day, or however long you were gone for. You had started eating a sandwich you made when you felt yourself being picked up and thrown over someone’s shoulders, but you recognised that behind, “Steve! Traitor.” He chuckled, “Sorry doll, Nat’s orders.” You groaned as you were carried down to Bruce’s office, “I thought you were the leader?” Steve shrugged, “So did I.” 

It didn’t take long for Bruce to do a few simple tests and once you were given the all clear, you left to go to your bedroom to see Natasha sitting on the bed, looking as though she was waiting for you. “Bruce gave me the all clear so no need to worry.” Natasha didn’t say anything, she just stood up and walked over to you until she had you pressed against the door, “You know you’re mine don’t you?” You blushed and nodded, “Mhm, I’m yours.” Natasha grinned, “Well it seems some people still don’t so it looks like I’ll have to make it more obvious for them.” 

You gasped as you were pushed over to the bed and onto your back, Natasha was on top of you within seconds, kissing you passionately. Yeah okay, so she might be very dangerous, but you loved her and it was kinda hot. 

[mattelektras]

very out of the blue considering your content recently but do you think talia’s catalogue of comics is worth reading through? i love the potential with her as a character but sometimes reading up on all of the ridiculous racist plot lines she’s been put through is so depressing i don’t even know if i want to subject myself to it

yeah she’s written with a loooooot of racist tendencies, a lot of misogyny, grant morrison being the worst offender. and a lot of people are just happy to run with that and misconstrue everything about her, which is why you get people thinking shes a rapist, shes a bad mother, shes evil, she’s obsessed with bruce etc etc which is... all wrong and you dont get those problems with other batman love interests. selina has had a lot of bad writing and no one has ever taken the mischaracterizations of her and used them as a reason to hate her.

on top of that she’s... almost always coloured pale as hell. colouring in comics is in general a huge issue (ie storm, damian, sunspot, pretty much literally any black character ever) and talia is a huuuge victim of that. except rare occasions when shes being extra evil, then she might look darker.

and shes been in so! many! bad! comics! and whilst she was always meant to be in the vein of the ~~~asian dragon lady trope a) we literally dont have to continue writing her that way and b) honestly? earlier comics did her a lot better than a good amount of modern ones which isnt something u can often say about racism and misogyny in comics. shes such a complicated and unique character and she really is so fun to read when someone cares enough to write her well and i think if people gave decent comics a chance instead of like. the shitty go to recs for her, they might understand her character a bit more and actually appreciate her as a character. idk this got away from me i just. care her!!!! the tl;dr is yes i do recommend reading her comics but shes unfortunately one of those characters where u just gotta read the right ones?? (if it says grant morrison on the front then that’s the wrong one)

here is a talia blog i see all the time n i really love their takes on her. they have a reading order here (which i followed myself ages ago when i wanted to read more) and a lot of responses on similar issues as the above in regards to talia here