#to actually answer your question (statement?) - i sincerely doubt this is leading to a luck endgame

[trippedandfell]

I was rly excited about the lives until they mentioned Lucy coming back to date Buck :/

i’m going to be real with you anon i’ve only watched the clips through tumblr because instagram lives are one of the things in the world that bring me an unreasonable amount of hatred but personally i think that plotline would be a blast <3

[rubix-writings]

Punisher Pt. 3

Third part of Punisher. I apologize it’s taking me so long to post these, but want to make sure they’re good for you all. Thank you for the support so far!! This is a Chicago PD/Fire imagine with an original character. I don’t own any of the plot points or characters from the show. Also, it doesn’t follow any particular season or sequence in the shows.

Series Summary: Josephine (Jo) never expected to find support and pure love when she left Los Angeles. She ran away to Chicago and was content with living an insignificant, hidden life. But everything changes when she walks into Molly’s to get a job.

Josephine (OC) x Jay Halstead

The italicized lines are internal thoughts of the character.

Warnings: language, mentions of drinking, long (!)

Things are going really well at Molly’s. It’s like falling into step during a choreographed dance. It feels odd to say that I’m comfortable and confident when it’s only my second shift. I’m working with Stella tonight, who to say the least had a lot of fun the night before. When she first walked into the bar she looked as if Casper made a stop in Chicago. At the start of opening she kept her jacket on and slammed down cups of black coffee. Her body seemed to stay in a permanent state hunched over the bar top while she only communicated through slow movements with her fingers. I couldn’t watch her pain any longer, so I used my break to grab a cheeseburger and fries so greasy the oil soaked the paper bag. 

“You need to put something solid into your body,” I announce as I plop the white, greased bag on the bar top in front of Stella’s practically limp body. She slowly lifts her head with a deep groan and analyzes the bag.

“I’m a firefighter Jo, my body is a temple. I can’t eat this,” I can’t stop the laugh that escapes my lips.

“Are tequila shots a part of your ‘temple’s’ regimen?” she sniffs the bag and sighs.

“You see, the tequila actually kills all the bacteria in the stomach,” Stella examines the golden fry before taking a bite. 

“Be sure to tell your theory to the doctors that come in later, I’m sure they’d love to hear that.”

“I will,” she says with a mouthful of cheeseburger. 

Just like magic, Stella is back to her bouncy self. It amazes me how much like Hermann she is, she practically floats around Molly’s. She talks to everyone and makes sure they’re having a good time. Stella sets the tone of the entire bar, bringing life to every inch of the place. It’s nice to watch her interact with others, a part of me is envious of how natural it comes to her. A part of me is, also, envious of her relationship with Kelly. His eyes when he looks at her are filled with unconditional love and the way Stella looks at him when he’s not looking confirms that she feels the same. I’ve never had that… or will have it. The bar top serves its purpose as a closed door to the patrons on the other side, I open it as much as I want and they see what I want them to see. I’m in control.

It’s a busy Friday night, the bar filled quickly. The firemen I met last night stroll in with the same vigor as the night before, obviously hurting a lot less than Stella was a few hours ago. Stella plays it off as if she didn’t have a raging hangover, but Kelly quickly throws her under the bus. Cruz yells as he claims he’s known the truth all along, but Mouch steps in to deny it, leading to Cruz listing out facts about how he knew. I place a few beer bottles in front of the guys, trying not to get involved.

“I’m sorry about them,” Matt says.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. They’re funny,” I smile.

“You don’t have to hear it all day long,” Matt grumbles as he takes a long sip from his beer.

“This is true. I get them in concentrated doses,” I excuse myself to collect empties at the tables scattered around the room. With my hands full I turn to head back to the bar top, but crash into a hard body. I stumble back from the blow and the mystery man swiftly grabs my arms to keep me from falling. Once I get my footing back, he releases my arms.

“Sorry about that. Are you okay?” His voice is like velvet that draws my eyes up to look at his face. Wow. My mind fell into a haze barely registering his question. 

“Um, yeah. Thanks,” he smirks at how long it took me to answer his question. Really smooth Jo. “I should get back to work, sorry about running into you,” I walk backwards a few steps, he immediately steps forward keeping the same amount of space between us as before.

“Let me at least help you with those, I’m heading to the bar anyway,” before I could object, his large hand cradles the numerous beer bottles that were once in my hand. Before my brain can spiral about his large hands, I spin and head back to the bar. I silently weave through the customer’s of Molly’s, I needed to get back to my safe zone to hopefully make his charm less effective. He gently places the bottles on the bar top for me to discard, I smile and thank him. Before I can ask for his order, the firemen and Stella welcome him to the bar.

“Hey Jay, haven’t seen you around here in awhile,” Stella mentions. 

“Yeah I know. Um have you seen my brother anywhere?” Stella shakes her head no. Brother? I try to seem like I’m not listening while cleaning up behind the bar and get any excuse not to look at him again. One embarrassing moment for tonight is enough. Out of nowhere, Will pops up and slaps Jay on the back. They go in for a quick hug before Will says hi to everyone. 

“Hey don’t kill me, but I invited Nat. I know it’s supposed to just be us, but she had a really rough day,” Will whispers, Jay shakes his head to let him know he’s totally fine with it. “Great, thanks man.”

I put two glasses of red wine on the bar top for two women that definitely want to take a firefighter home tonight. After how many women these men turned down the night before I highly doubt they’ll have any luck, but I’m kinda rooting for them.

“Hey Jo,” Will smiles.

“Hi Will,” I say in monotone to mess with him.

“Have you met my brother Jay?” Will slaps Jay’s chest which startles Jay a little, making me smile. Geez, these guys must have gorgeous parents. Will is handsome of course, but Jay... 

“We kinda ran into each other actually.” I smirk.

“Oh that’s great, he’s a really good guy. He’s a cop, detective, sorry,” Will corrects himself, Jay is glaring at him.

“I’m not making you a manhattan,” he slaps his hand against the bar top.

“Worth a shot. Can I get a glass of chardonnay and a beer, oh and whatever Jay’s having,” I nod and grab Will his drinks. He slides me his credit card to open a tab then walks off to see Natalie at the table.

“I’m definitely missing something, why does my brother want a manhattan?” Jay finally asks. 

“Oh Jay it was great!” Stella jumps in to tell a very colorful version of the events that happened between Will and I. As she finishes up she is swept to the end of the bar to take an order. 

“She was drunk last night” I mumble under my breath. Jay smirks, knowing Stella’s retelling was probably fabricated. “What can I get you?” I try to change the subject.

“A beer please,” I nod. “You’re new here Jo?” He phrases it as a question, but it's definitely more of a statement. 

“Yeah, started yesterday,” I hand him his beer. 

“Thanks. Are you from Chicago?”

“No, LA actually, lived there my whole life,” I lean my forearms on the bar top in front of him.

“Wow, big change.” “Yeah, I don’t know if I thought it all the way through to be honest,” he smiles.

“Well let me tell you if you haven’t figured it out already, snow and winter are incredibly overrated.” “Ah yes, that’s exactly what I needed to hear. I can go back to LA now.” “Glad to be of service,” he shrugs. Jay stayed on the same stoll at the bar for the rest of the night. It was strange how easy it was to talk with him, he offered stories about his job and funny stories about him and Will growing up. It’s so beautiful to have those stories, that he’s gone through life with someone that deeply and come out the other side. I tell him that I don’t have siblings and mostly spent time with my mom when I was young. Jay was quick to offer up Will to fill the void.

“I’ll keep you updated on that,” I laugh.

“Are you and your mom still close?”

“Um no, she… she died about ten years ago,” even though her death happened so long ago it still felt so weird saying it out loud. 

“I’m sorry Jo. I lost my mom to cancer a few years back.”

“So you get it,” he nods and offers a somber smile. 

It wasn’t till Will and Natalie announced their departure, that Jay made any moves to leave Molly’s. The bar was slowly emptying out as last call was already declared. 

“I should head out, it was really nice talking with you Jo,” Jay stands.

“It was really nice talking with you too Jay,” I say sincerely. He smiles wide before making a beeline for the front door. I can’t help but stare until he’s fully out of sight, my cheeks start to hurt from fighting the smile on my face. I tuck my loose hair behind my ear and start grabbing the empty glasses from the bar top. 

“Have fun?” Stella questions, I jump slightly not realizing she was standing there.

“Another good night for tips, yeah,” she looks at Kelly who’s the last of the firefighters at the bar. 

“Sure, doesn’t hurt that Officer Handsome was here all night either.” “I… I’m going to wash the glasses,” I pick up the large plastic crate with dirty drinking glasses and head to the back where Hermann showed me where the sink was. Stella didn’t mention Jay again, but it didn’t matter. The damage was done, Jay’s blue eyes and the way he got so passionate during a story were ingrained in my mind for the rest of the night. 

***

Hermann asked if I could open Molly’s for him the next day as he was running late with paperwork at the firehouse. I had a short shift that night anyway and could use the extra money no matter how little. Hermann told me to meet him at the firehouse to give me the keys since they haven’t been able to cut me my own yet. The firehouse isn’t far from Molly’s, a couple blocks on foot. I prepared myself with my warmest coat for the trek since the wind chill makes Chicago brutally cold. I focus on the sound of my shoes against the wet pavement to take my mind off of how cold I really am. 

The firehouse is a ball of color on this cold, dark Chicago day. The plain brick buildings surrounding it emphasize the reds and yellows. It somehow feels untouched by the rest of the city, a true sign of purity. As soon as I walk through the doors of the firehouse I’m met with the sweet smell of food cooking. It’s as if my feet have a mind of their own and take my body towards the magnificent smell’s source. The kitchen was buzzing with people cooking, talking, and playing card games. 

“Jo!” Stella yells, “what are you doing here?” she walks over to me, leaving her conversation with Matt and Kelly, who both wave at me.

“I’m here to get the keys from Hermann, do you know where he is?” 

“Yeah, he’s in the garage let me take you to him,” I try to argue that it could wait, but Stella insists. “Hermman!” she yells once we get into the garage. 

“What?!” he snaps back. She giggles as we both walk towards the outburst. As we turn around the big fire engine, I see why Stella was so insistent about not waiting. “Oh hey, Jo,” he says calmer.

Jay is standing tall with a notepad in front of Hermann. Stella silently excuses herself from the conversation and makes her way back inside. Hermann pays no attention to his surroundings as he’s searching for the three keys I need to open Molly’s. 

“Hey,” Jay smiles.

“Hi.”

“Here you go, I labeled them for you so you know what lock they go into. Once you get inside, lock the front door, just in case,” I nod and take the keys from him. The silver keys have thin pieces of masking tape on them with dark blue sharpie stating what they open. 

“Thanks, I’ll see you there,” I back away from the men to head back to the bar. Hermann nods and waves.

“Hermann we’re done here right?” Jay asks.

“Yeah, let me know if you find anything,” Hermann states somewhat hopeless. Jay puts away the notepad in his back pocket of his jeans and jogs to catch up to me. The sound of Jay’s thick boots hitting the cement fills the sound of the garage. When he finally catches up to me, he moves ahead to open the door to outside for me. 

“So you’re stalking me now?” He jokes.

“Um how did you get to that? Hermann asked me to come here,” Jay quickly fell into step with me, not that it was difficult as he’s much taller than me.

“I was here first,” he says plainly.

“Oh well, with that bulletproof logic…” he laughs.

“You headed to Molly’s?” we stop walking once we get to the sidewalk.

“Yeah, I’m opening today,” Jay slips the keys to his car from his jacket pocket. 

“Let me drive you.” “Oh no, you don’t have to do that. It’s only a couple of blocks and you’re working,” I spew out trying to find an excuse that’ll stick.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m parked right here,” he brushes off quickly. I roll my eyes at his back and get into the car. Jay puts the car into gear and sets off towards Molly’s. 

“So, is Hermann okay?” I ask since I couldn’t get his hopeless tone out of my head.

“His house was broken into, they didn’t get a lot, just some jewelry and a few Alexa’s. His wife came home which freaked them out and they bolted before they did any real damage.” “Jesus. Poor Hermann. Do you think you’ll find his stuff?” “Probably not, that sort of stuff is so small that they may keep it for themselves instead of pawning it, but we’ll try,” the car is silent for a little while till Jay pulls in front of Molly’s.

“Thanks for the ride.” “Course,” I get out of the car and make my way onto the sidewalk. “Hey Jo,” Jay says out of his rolled down window. 

“Hey Jay,” I say while playing with the keys Hermann gave me.

“Are you working late tonight?”

“Not too late, I have a short shift.”

“How about I meet you here later and we get a drink?” Jay says casually. I bite my lip and look down the street in hopes to take my mind off of what he just asked.

“Maybe,” I say as I make eye contact with him again. “See yah Jay.”

“See yah Jo.”

I’m losing control.

[peculiaridealist]

Trouble In Paradise (Literally)

Chapter 4: Brainwashed

After a quick stop on their room for Kara to freshen up, not that she smelled or anything because the attendants probably had cleaned her up which was making her shudder at the thought but she just wanted to be sure that she had indeed sanitized herself that day, they set off to find Winn.

"You said you were asleep for two weeks..." Maggie uttered as they were walking around the facility. "How did they feed you?"

The blonde shrugged as she briefly side eyed the shorter woman. "Probably IV. Maybe when I was groggy enough to be unable to process everything. I don't know. Anything could be possible, really."

Maggie nodded thoughtfully. "And you don't feel any hunger at all? Right now, I mean."

"I do, actually." Kara answered. "But that's just because I'm always hungry."

This caused for Maggie to snort as she turned to look outside through the glass window and Kara was surprised when the shorter woman grabbed her by the arm, making her stop abruptly from walking.

"There's Winn!" Maggie exclaimed and Kara immediately followed Maggie's line of sight and there was indeed Winn, trimming some bushes in the garden.

"Let's go." Kara said and they rushed outside to the attendant's location.

When they had reached the garden, they spotted Winn still trimming bushes.

"Winn!" Kara called the attendant's attention and he immediately turned to look at them.

"Miss Zor-El!" Winn said in surprise. "You're back!"

"Yeah, I am and I- we..." Kara gestured to Maggie and herself. "...need your help. We are leaving tonight."

Winn was staring at them silently for a few seconds before he started to look around as if checking if they were alone and when he was done scanning their surroundings, he turned his attention towards them. "Follow me. I need you both to see where to and not to pass. I can shut some cameras down but I can't turn everything off. It'll raise suspicions."

Both women nodded in understanding and they started to set off towards the facility. They let Winn lead to some turns and stairs and they eventually had reached a room where they all went inside.

Kara's jaw dropped when she saw a whole lot of CCTV footage being recorded in almost every corners and rooms. She was just relieved that their sleeping quarters and bathrooms were excluded or else it would be a breach of privacy.

There, Winn started to do his magic. He turned some cameras off. Some were placed on delay and some on loop.

"With this, you should be good to go." Winn informed them.

"Do you wish to stay here?" Kara asked out of nowhere.

Winn looked at her and gave her a small smile. "I have to. They pay me high enough for me to be able to fund my techs."

"You know, there are a lot of jobs out there in National City that's far more better than this." Maggie uttered as she was just looking at the screens.

"I've tried applying for other jobs actually. It's just that this job was the one that accepted me almost immediately." Winn then shrugged. "I never knew nor had any idea what this facility was doing before."

"But you didn't do something about it when you knew what they were up to." Maggie pointed out as she casted a quick glance at Winn.

"I didn't..." Winn's voice was small as he agreed with Maggie. "It was because I was afraid of losing this job. I stayed silent and just did what was asked me to do."

"What changed?" Kara asked again.

"I... don't know." Winn admitted.

Kara just nodded silently then. Well, whatever it was that changed Winn was definitely something that she'd be thanking for.

"You know what they're doing to people and yet, you still choose to work here?" Maggie's brows were furrowed and disbelief was lacing her voice.

Kara elbowed Maggie earning a groan of protest as the short woman glared at her and she glared back.

"You don't have to answer that, Winn. I'm sure you have your own other reasons." Kara's voice then dropped in a hush tone which was intended only for Maggie to hear. "Just be glad that he's helping us so enough with those questions."

Maggie huffed and rolled her eyes but she nodded reluctantly as Winn gave the blonde what seemed to be a small but grateful smile.

"I believe our work here is done." Winn announced. "Are you good to go? Everything taken into account?"

Taking one last look at the monitors, both women nodded.

"Yeah." They answered simultaneously.

"Thank you, Winn." Kara uttered with full sincerity as she gave the young attendant a hug followed by a hum of agreement from the shorter woman. A way of expressing her thanks.

Both Kara and Maggie walked out of the room but before they had even closed the door, they heard Winn calling out. "Good luck!"

The two women went straight towards their shaded spot and sat on the bench quietly, both thinking about tonight's escape and all the possible things that could happen. Kara could only imagine what Maggie was thinking.

Eventually, Kara broke the silence. "Hey, Mags?"

"Yeah?"

"What would you do if- when we got out of here?"

Maggie pursed her lips as she was thinking what her answer should be before facing the blonde. "I'll be honest with you, Kara. I don't really know what I'm gonna do after being gone for so long but what I'm sure of is that I'm never going back to my parents' house and I'll help you find Lena. We will find Lena."

A small smile formed on Kara's lips as she heard the shorter woman's statement. She knew that Maggie was a hundred percent onboard in finding Lena and she can't thank the shorter woman enough that she doesn't need to be alone in that conquest.

"And, Kara?"

"Yes, Mags?"

"Whatever happens..." A smile formed on Maggie's lips. "I'm glad that I've met you."

Kara returned the gesture as she hugged the shorter woman. "Despite everything that has happened, I'm glad that I have met you, too."

"This place is turning us into a sap." Maggie chuckled as she returned Kara's embrace. "We definitely should get out of here."

This elicited a soft giggle from the blonde. "Is it, really? I was already a sap even before I got here that I haven't really noticed."

"Oh, yeah." The shorter woman nodded in agreement. "You were already a sap."

"The sappiest of them all." Kara proudly said.

Maggie snorted as she pulled away from the hug. "You're incorrigible."

"But you love me." Kara retorted which the older woman just rolled her eyes to.

Moments later, they were both engulfed with silence. Maggie was left on her own thoughts again and Kara on hers as well. It dawned to the blonde that this was really it. They were doing this and there's no turning back anymore. Not that she would ever want to turn back.

**

Nighttime came, dinner had been served and eaten (somehow), and Kara and Maggie both found themselves in the comfort room, throwing up whatever it was that they had consumed that night. When they were done, they casually walked back to their table, with Kara going first and Maggie following a minute after.

Just as they were about to be ushered back to their rooms, doubt, once again, settled on Kara.

"Mags?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you..." Kara paused briefly due to hesitation. "Do you think this will work?"

Maggie placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze as she smiled reassuringly at the blonde. "It will, Kara. It has to."

"But what if-"

"It will work, Kara." Maggie repeated sternly, cutting the blonde off.

"Okay..." Kara acquiesced and repeated, "... okay."

Kara doesn't know why she was having doubts when she was so sure just awhile ago about everything.

Probably just nerves. That's all. Kara thought to herself. It has to be the only reason why she was acting like this.

In silence, they waited and waited, probably for an hour and a half, before they sprung up in action with Maggie on the lead and Kara following closely behind. They got out of their room without a hitch and went on their way towards the dark hall.

Kara groaned quietly in annoyance. "Ugh. Why does our room need to be on the third floor?"

Maggie, despite their situation, managed to chuckle silently but didn't say anything and just continued to cautiously lead the blonde to the proper direction when they heard footsteps and voices slowly coming their way. The shorter woman immediately dragged Kara to a large pillar to hide in a haste as the voices grew louder.

"I feel sorry for these residents." Said the first voice.

Maggie turned to Kara and mouthed attendants which the blonde just nodded to. Of course, it would be attendants. Who else could it be?

"I, on the other hand, thank them and their cash." The second voice piped up.

"Not surprised there. Your world revolves around money after all."

Kara tensed and clenched her fist tightly at what she had heard. Clearly some people are just downright disgusting. Maggie probably noticed how Kara's demeanor shifted for she placed a hand on Kara's shoulder. The blonde looked at the shorter woman and she saw the worried look Maggie was giving her.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to relax and exhaled deeply. She then looked at Maggie and gave her a small smile and turned her attention back at the approaching attendants. The two were still talking as they passed the pillar where the two women were hiding.

"But, you know what?" The second attendant continued to talk. "It's too bad that Luthor had been shipped back."

Now this caught both Kara and Maggie's attention.

"Why?" Asked the first attendant.

"Because..." The second attendant drawled. "... she was one of this facility's biggest source of income. If she had just kept her pretty ass parked where it belonged, she would still probably here."

"Yeah." The first attendant agreed. "The same will happen to Zor-El tomorrow."

Before she could even stop herself, Kara audibly gasped and Maggie immediately clamped a hand on her mouth but they both know that it was too late for the heads of the attendants snapped towards their direction.

"Who's there?! We heard you so you better come out!" The first attendant demanded as they slowly approach their hiding spot.

"I guess we don't have a choice but to fight our way out of this." Maggie muttered and Kara's eyes widened. Fight? Hell, she can't even hurt a fly!

Before she could even react, Maggie left their hiding spot and faced the two attendants.

Goddammit, Maggie! She thought and she followed suit and when the eyes of the attendants shifted from Maggie to her, the look of surprise was evident on their faces but it quickly receded.

The two attendants didn't waste any more time as they lunged themselves towards the two women. Maggie, being the experienced one, was quick on her toes and was able to dodge the attendant that was coming after her in a sloppy attempt. Pivoting around, Maggie and the attendant faced each other at the same time but his reaction was a bit late for the last thing he might remember would be Maggie's fist connecting hard on his face as he went down.

Kara, on the other hand, wasn't doing that well but she managed to dodge every swipe of her assailant. She might not be used in fighting and all but Kara had the speed despite the lack of work out.

"Just let us go. Please. I don't want to anyone to get hurt." Kara pleaded.

"The only one who will get hurt will be you if you continued to resist." The attendant spat as he furiously swiped again and this time he managed to get ahold of Kara's hand.

"Let me go!" Kara tried to pull her hand but the attendant got a tight grip on Kara's wrist.

"You are going nowhere." Kara can practically hear the triumph in his voice.

Kara's heart was pumping wildly and fear was consuming her fast. No matter how hard she tried, there was no escaping the attendant's tight grip. Was this really it? All those planning and preparations they have made would all go to waste?

I'm not even ready to say goodbye to Lena.

She was in the brink of tears when she heard a very familiar voice which made both her and the attendant freeze into place.

"Hey, asshole."

Kara and the attendant whirled their heads at the same time on Maggie and before they knew it, the attendant was already clutching his throat as he choked.

"You forgot about me." Maggie calmly stated as she knocked the living daylights out of him.

Kara was staring dumbly at the unconscious attendant, her mouth slightly agape. She then jumped in surprise when someone placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry." Maggie immediately apologized as she raised both of her hands. "I didn't mean to startle you. Are you okay?"

"I- I'm okay." Kara managed to answer. "B-but what... How did you-"

Maggie gave out a lighthearted chuckle and grinned at the blonde. "These are amateurs when it comes to fighting, Kara, and I'm not wearing a badge for nothing."

"Huh..." Kara huffed out. Of course, the shorter woman knew how to fight. She's a detective for goodness sake. "That does make sense."

The shorter woman rolled her eyes good naturedly and grabbed Kara's hand. "We should move before more of them shows up. I don't think we can get past all of them if they started to converge at us at the same time."

Kara just nodded in agreement and the duo made their way out of the facility. Cold air immediately hit their skin as soon as they got past the facility's protective walls and it made them slightly shiver. This time, however, they successfully got out without having any attendant spotting them.

Taking the familiar path that they were always using, Kara and Maggie quickly got at the cliff and they made their way down. Having been used on this routine, they quickly got at the base of the cliff and a bit more walking, they spotted the cave's entrance. They were almost at its entrance when they heard a beep not too far from them.

"Not again." Maggie muttered under her breath but Kara heard her.

Though she was terrified of the answer, Kara still asked. "What is it?"

"A walkie talkie. Someone's near." Maggie answered. "Let's just hope that whoever that is, they haven't spotted us yet."

They cautiously trudged towards the cave. Maggie still leading and Kara on the rear. Their eyes peeled on their surroundings and as Kara was about to turn back towards Maggie, she caught a silhouette just a few feet away from them and was coming fast towards them. Kara almost yelled for Maggie to run when she had familiarized who the person in question was and it made her smile.

"Winn!" Kara exclaimed which caused for Maggie to snap her head towards Kara's line of sight. She waved at the young attendant but, as Winn got close looking frantic, her smile slowly faded.

"No time for pleasantries. You need to move quick!" Winn rushed as he pushed the two inside the cave. "Someone was assigned to check your room and the whole facility was then alerted that you two were missing. You need to get out of here now before it's too late!"

Without asking more questions, the two women sprung into action and they pulled the rowboat out of its hiding place. With Winn's help, they had gotten the boat out to the shore faster than only the two of them could. Maggie then pushed the boat into the water and climbed aboard but, before the blonde followed suit, Kara gave Winn a worried look.

"Come with us." Kara took hold of Winn's hand. "You don't have to stay here."

Winn just gave Kara a sad smile. "Even if I wanted to, they could catch you easily now, with everyone on alert, without having someone to distract them."

"But... will you be alright?"

"I will be."

Kara engulfed the attendant in a tight hug which had caught him off guard and made them almost lose their balance. Well... almost.

Winn returned the hug and whispered. "Both of you be safe out there, okay?"

Kara nodded as tears were threatening to escape her eyes. "Thank you... Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. Now, go." Winn urged her and she reluctantly let the attendant go before joining Maggie on the boat.

There was beeping sound again and a static. Turns out the sound they heard awhile ago was the young attendant's radio.

"All clear there partner?" Kara heard from Winn's radio.

A beat... then there came another static.

"Yes, sir. All clear." Was what the young attendant responded.

As Maggie rowed towards the open sea, Kara looked back at Winn and she saw him giving a tiny wave. She returned the gesture and Winn turned on his heels as he trudged back towards the facility's direction.

"Let me help you with that, Mags." Kara offered which was declined by the shorter woman.

"Nah, it's fine. I can handle this."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"Well... tell me if you're getting tired okay? I'll take over."

Maggie just nodded in response as they were slowly gaining distance from the facility. The island was getting smaller and Kara felt a sense of relief washing over her. They stayed on that island for too long that she thought that the only way to escape was to wait until they'll be shipped back to the mainland. Though relieved, she couldn't help but to worry about Winn. Would he really be okay? What if they found out that he helped them?

So many questions came up in her mind but those questions would only be answered if she ever see Winn again.

"You know... I'd forever be in his debt." Maggie voiced out, shattering the silence between them, as she continued to row slowly.

"Yeah..." Kara agreed. "Me, too."

Silence once again settled between them and they were both engulfed by thoughts of their own.

The sky was already a shade of blue, a sign that the sun was about to rise, when they had reached the shore of National City's mainland. Both were exhausted but they couldn't afford to waste time to rest. They walked and walked until they found a busy road where they can hail a cab.

"Do you have a place to go?" Kara asked as they wait.

Maggie paused for a moment, a frown forming on her face before she answered. "I'm... not sure."

"You know, you can stay with us for awhile." Kara offered.

"I don't think your aunt will be very happy."

"I meant on my real home. I'm never going back to that crazy woman."

"Wait... Real home?"

Kara nodded and a ghost of smile played on her lips. "The Danvers. They're my foster family. They took care of me after my parents died."

"Oh." Maggie breathed out, a bit surprised about this information. "Well, I wouldn't want to impose..."

"It'll be fine, Mags." Kara assured her. "Eliza will be happy to have you."

"Okay..."

**

"Kara!" A tall, red haired woman immediately exclaimed as she engulfed the blonde with a very tight- more like a bone crushing- hug that knocked the wind out of the blonde's lungs.

"A-Alex... Can't... breathe..." Kara wheezed and her older sister had let her go, looking quite sheepish.

"Sorry." Alex apologized then her demeanor changed in just a snap. "Oh, wait. Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? You've been gone for months. Why weren't you returning my calls? Your aunt won't tell us where you were and Mom's worried sick. Where did you go? What did you-"

"Alex, slow down! One question at a time." Kara chastised her older sister. "Maybe you can let us in first before you start barraging me with questions?"

"Right. Wait... us?"

"Yes, us. I brought a friend." Kara gestured to the shorter woman who had been silently watching the whole ordeal with amusement. "This is Maggie."

Alex's gaze shifted towards Maggie and her eyes widened in the slightest bit.

"H-hi!" The redhead stuttered as she introduced herself, extending a hand for a shake. "I'm- uhh... Alexandra. Alexandra Danvers. But you can call me Alex."

Maggie gave her a dimpled smile as she shook Alex's hand. "Maggie Sawyer. A pleasure to meet you, Alex."

"Holy shit. Your hands are soft." Alex uttered in surprise then she inhaled sharply, her face turning a deep shade of red. "Oh my God... I did not just say that out loud."

"Consider it unheard." Maggie said, her smile turning into a grin.

"Uhh... Alex?" Alex and Maggie turned their heads towards the blonde. As much as Kara hated to ruin this moment of theirs, she just had to. "I forgot there's a cab outside... and we sort of don't have any cash."

Alex's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"I swear I'll explain later." Kara immediately threw in.

Alex rolled her eyes as she sighed. "Fine."

When everything was settled, the three of them huddled on the living room and Alex was looking at them expectantly. Kara's gaze flitted back and forth towards Maggie and her sister before taking a deep breath.

"Okay... If you really want to know what happened, brace your self because it's gonna be a very long story." Kara started.

Alex shrugged as she leaned and made herself comfortable on their couch. "I've got time."

"Can't we just wait for Eliza?" Kara queried. "I don't want to repeat everything over again. Where is she by the way?"

"I'll help explain everything to her later and she's out to buy some kitchen necessities." Alex answered. "Now, spill."

Kara groaned. "Fine. So, it all started with a dinner..."

**

[1 year later]

"Hey, Mags..."

Maggie looked up from her phone. "Yes, Kara?"

Kara bit the inside of her cheek, contemplating whether she should go and pursue her plan or not. She knew she should have done this as soon as they had returned but, the thought of being in the real world made her second guess everything. She always had her doubts even when they were on the island but seeing a certain green eyed woman on the television screen with a man who has been deemed as her lover only made her come to a conclusion that the brunette wasn't expecting her anymore.

"Kara?" She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Maggie's worried tone.

"S-sorry. Spaced out for awhile."

Maggie nodded in understanding. "You were about to tell me something?"

Kara unconsciously patted the pocket of her sweater and she felt the bulge of the rock that Lena once gave her. Maggie saw the gesture and she knew what was in the pocket.

The shorter woman then sighed. "Is this about Lena again?"

Kara bit the inside of her cheek and nodded slowly.

"It's been a year, Kara."

"I know..."

"Then why? Why are you still thinking about-"

"Because I promised, okay?!" Kara snapped, cutting Maggie off. She then closed her eyes as she took a deep breath to regain her composure. "I promised her that I would find her and it... it really makes me feel guilty that I somehow broke that promise."

"That was when we were at the island." Maggie reasoned. "We both swore that we would find her, and Kara, believe me when I say that I do feel bad about it, too, but think about it. She already has a life of her own. I mean, she obviously had moved on. I think it's time for us to let go of the past and make a life of our own as well."

Kara was silent as her gaze was locked on the floor. She knew that. She knows that Maggie was right. She could have done that. She just won't.

"... And I may have ran into her a couple of days ago."

Kara's attention was immediately shifted from the floor towards Maggie and she gave the shorter woman a bewildered look. "What?"

"I was at a coffee shop nearby... and to my surprise, Lena stepped inside the shop." Maggie started to explain. "I saw that she was surprised to see me the moment her gaze landed on me as well. What made even more surprised was that she just passed by me like I was a complete stranger. When I tried to talk to her, she have said some- uhh... things and she also told me to stay away from her... especially you."

"Why didn't you tell me right away?"

"Because I didn't want you to get hurt, Kara."

Kara nodded somberly. She understood why Maggie did it. What she doesn't understand was what Lena told Maggie. It wasn't like they parted with grudges or anything. She didn't even do anything wrong... or at least she believes that she didn't.

"Maybe she was mad that I broke my promise?" Kara mused out loud.

"Or maybe something happened back at the facility the night she was shipped back her." Maggie stood up and paced back and forth that Kara could practically see the gears turning in Maggie's head. "You once mentioned that the Lena you saw at the TV back in the facility wasn't the same Lena that had said goodbye to us, right?"

Kara only got to nod when Maggie spoke again. "And Winn said that the facility was doing a bit of drugging... and a whole lot of brainwashing. Kara, this all makes sense now!"

Kara swore that she could see Maggie lighting up when the shorter woman reached a conclusion.

Then it hit her. "Mags... are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Basically, yes." Maggie answered with a nod. "Lena's been brainwashed."

Well, no shit.

[knk-sun-moon-star]

Always || Donghae

Written By: Admin Chen

Paring: Donghae x Reader

Requested By: no one in particular

Word Count: 1.8K

Warnings: nothing, this is pure fluff that’ll make you cringe to your core. Also this is my first ever work, so please read with caution cause it’s truthfully dreadful!!!

••  •••  •• ••  •••  •• ••  •••  •• ••  •••  •• ••  •••  •• ••  •••  •• ••  •••  •• ••  •••  •• ••  •••  •• 

You, without a doubt, heard your boyfriend say that he’d be back before 9:30pm so why is it already 10:48pm and he is nowhere is sight. So instead of wasting away the night, worrying and waiting for his return, you decide to call your best friend Donghae, to spend the rest of your night with.

Getting off the lounge that your are comfortably sitting on, you grab your phone off the coffee table in the process and making your way into your bedroom to go change, whilst dialing Donghae’s number.

••  •••  ••

*Phone Conversation*

“Hello?” You hear Donghae’s voice answer over the other end of the phone.

“Donghae?” You mumble out of sadness and boredom.

“Yes? Y/N, Is something wrong?” He questions with worry lacing is voice.

“No. It’s just that JunHwi hasn’t come home yet and he said he’d be back an hour ago, so I’m just a little worried and bored” You sigh, looking around your room before getting off the bed.

“Okay, don’t move a muscle till I get to your place okay. I’ll be there in 5 minutes so bye” he replied and you know he’s rushing around from the amount of background noise coming from the phone, before he hung up.

*End Phone Conversation*

••  •••  ••

Just as Donghae said, in just under 5 minutes he was on your door step demanding that you get your coat because he taking you somewhere, with no questions asked.

“So where are we going?” You ask out of curiosity, looking over at him as you straighten out your coat and fix your scarf around your neck.

“You know what a surprise is right?” Donghae said as he looked at you with a blank expression before continuing to walk a little ahead.

Over the span of your walk, the two of you talked about a variety of subjects before making your way into HangangPark.

“Hey look Y/N, isn’t that a 7/11. I was starting to get a bit hungry for Choco Cone” Donghae said as he took hold of your arm, leading you into the convenience store.

“Luck for you I feel like a strawberry cone” You reply giving him a smile as you reach the ice cream freezer. You both take hold of your chosen ice creams and make your way towards the counter to pay. Once you are outside, you head over to a grass clearing by the side of the Han River, eating our ice creams.

While the two of you were sitting and enjoying the scenery before you, your vision drift to a couple off to your left, minding their business, hugging, talking and kissing occasionally. You noticed that the side profile of this man looked awfully familiar and as the guy turned to face the light you noticed that he looked distinctly similar to your boyfriend, Junhwi but even though it’s bright under the light, it’s still night so you weren’t 100% certain.

So what does any girl do when they think they see their assumed boyfriend cheating on them you may ask? Well you don’t know about others but you stood up and walked over to the couple. The closer you get to them, the more the tears stream down your face, but when you reached the couple, standing in front of them, seeing the pure shock lacing my boyfriends face, you knew you were have a full breakdown whilst  quietly asking “Why. Why did you do this” over and over as you take a few steps back.

“(Y/N), wait it’s not what you think” Junhwi says as he unlaced the girl from his arm, lifts himself off the park bench he’s on and taking steps towards you as you step back more.

“Not what I think. Do I look stupid to you? Then if you’re not cheating then tell me what this is? Do you think I want to sit around and sing Kumbaya with you? Who are you kidding?” you say shouting in his face while more and more tears stream down your face.

“(Y/N), let’s just talk about this” he says in a calm voice take more steps towards you grasping hold of your wrist.

“I’m not sure I can even look at your face right now, let alone talk to you” You say about to pull your  arm towards you but his grip tightens.

“(Y/N)…” Junhwi was cut off by a sudden force of you being pulled to the left, leaving the both of you in shock as you suddenly brought into a hug.

“Did you not hear her? She doesn’t want to talk to you.” Donghae directs his stern words towards Junhwi before looking down at you and with a gentle voice , he pulls you away.“ Let’s get out of here.”

The two of you hastly walked away before you stop in your tracks, turning to face your now ex-boyfriend.

“I just want to know if you even loved me during our 3 years together?” You looking directly at him but instead of answering, he just looks down at his feet in guilt and in that moment you knew the truth as you let your last tear fall.

••  •••  ••

You arrive back at my apartment that you shared with Junhwi over the past 3 years and it took a few moments for you to even be able to walk through the door.

Once you made your way inside, Donghae helped you pack what you needed the most before you make your way out the door. You stop dead in your tracks, turned to look back at the interior before turning to him.

“Just give me a few moments, I have one more thing to do, will you wait for me downstairs?” You say turning to make your way into the kitchen, not giving Donghae anytime to respond.

You slide open the top draw and reach inside to take out a pen and some paper, with the intention of leaving Junhwi a letter.

••  •••  ••

Dear my beloved Junhwi,

When your reading this, I will most likely be gone from this apartment but I hope you made the right choice because I know I did when I decided to let you go. I was truly sad to see that you thought so little of our relationship but I hope you don’t treat this girl the same way you treated me and in the end I hope you receive the love you truly deserve. Have a happy and exciting life without me.

Your sincerely,

(Y/N)

••  •••  ••

With this, you left the letter on the kitchen counter with the keys to your apartment resting on top before making your way out and not looking back once as I meet Donghae downstairs. He pulled me in for a hug before kissing your forehead and leading you down the street towards his apartment.

••  •••  ••

*Two and a Half Years Later*

You turn off the steaming shower, place the towel around your body and look in the mirror at your appearance before drying off and dress myself for the day. You pick up your engagement ring and place it onto the 4th finger on your right hand, before making your way out of the bathroom and into the lounge room.

“Are you ready now jaji?” Your fiancé asked, looking you over before a smirk lifted his lips.

“Like what you see?” You ask, the smirk now playing on your lips as he let out a low chuckle.

“Always” he replied giving you a quick peck on the lips.

“So shall we go to that new coffee shop that recently opened up down the road?” he asked grabbing you hand before heading to the front door, locking it behind him and leading you out of your apartment building.

“Of course, it’ll be your treat right” You reply before entwining your hand with his as you make your way down the street towards this new coffee shop.

Once the two of you are standing out the front of the cafe for a few seconds, you both look at each other instantly, pulling a funny face as soon as your eyes connect. A lighthearted laugh passes you lips  before Your boyfriend your fiance walks ahead to open the door for you.

“Well aren’t your a being such a nice gentleman today. I’ll find a seat if you’d order for me?” you say as you make your way towards a seat for two not giving him any time to answer your question. You take a seat and set your bag on the floor between your legs and the table leg, as a shadow appears over you. You look up from the floor and in an instant all the colour drains from your face as soon as your  eyes connect with a pair that your haven’t seen in over two and a half years.

“(Y/N)” Junhwi looks down at you with a big smile on his face.

“Junhwi...” you trail off after a few seconds of silence and it’s only gets more awkward as the two of you are eloped in more silence.

“I’ve missed you” Junhwi finally speaks.

“I’ve really missed you, (Y/N)” he says once again, making you feel even more awkward as he try’s to reach for your shoulder, but before he can you rise to your feet and take a few steps away from him as you fold your arms around your torso in a protective stance.

“Do you have any business with my fiancé?”  you look up and your eyes meet Donghae’s as he places down a table number rather abruptly and loud. Your facial expression and posture softens upon seeing him as his hardens upon seeing Junhwi.

“Donghae…” Junhwi said through a breathy tone of disbelief.

“Your dating (Y/N)” Junhwi looked between the two of your before settling on your face to see if you would say otherwise, but instead you take hold of Donghae’s tight fist, so that your hands are now entwined.

“Not just dating, were actually engaged. You know, to get married” Donghae said as he lifts your right hand to his lips for a kiss, your engagement ring on full show now. Junhwi looked down at your hand the instant that statement was let into the world.

“Like I said, do you have any business with my fiancé?” Donghae said looking directly at Junhwi’s face, looking for a reaction but he said not even one word as his shoulders slouched and he looks down at his feet.

“If not then could you please leave us?” Donghae said before unlinnking your hands as he took his seat and Junhwi slowly turned, heading back in the direction he came from.

“Donghae, thank you" You say as as sit down in your seat once again with a wide smile on your face.

“Only for you, my love” he replied as he one again laced his fingers through  yours and kissed your hand gently.

[iwritethat]

Dick Grayson: UnreQUITed

Request: i was wondering if maybe you can make a Reader x Dick Grayson where Reader is in love with Dick but Dick is in love with Barbara ?? thanks!!

A/N: When you attempt Angst for the first time and it’s just ... I tried but I need the practice.

>>>>——————————>

~ Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~

You wanted to quit.

Oh how you did.

Being in this situation was hopeless, it wrenched your heart from your chest every time he said it.

"I love you.”

Yes, it hurt like a thousand needles piercing your internal organs and he had no idea, which is why he continued to utter those words in your presence.

Your eyes glossed over when Dick Grayson's unmissable voice rang through your ears with those very words. He was your best friend, you loved him but he didn't love you - he loved her.

"Thanks Babs, I love you so much~"

There it is again, and your face fell into your hands with regret.

"Uh, (Y/n) what's wrong?" The handsome man you'd unintentionally fallen for called to you, genuine worry in his tone. Maybe it made the situation worse that he actually cared for you undeniably.

"Blergh, all this lovey dovey stuff is making me sick. Can you two quit it?" You laughed, over the months you'd made it convincing even to your best friend. He had no idea, if he wasn't so wrapped up in Barbara Gordon then he'd see right through it, alas can they quit their relationship too? No. You want him to be happy deep down.

"Yo (Y/n), sorry to drag you away from your little Dickiebird but I want your help!" Jason hollered, tapping his gun on the table you were sitting at rather sadly.

"Shut up Jason." You shoved past him, knocking your shoulder with his as a display of your anger. Dick gave his 'brother' a suspicious look and Jason shrugged but his sympathetic gaze followed you out.

It was on your way to the mission that the Red Hood spoke to you again, this time stating something he'd reluctantly acknowledged long ago.

"You still love him don't you?"

"Pffft love is stupid, who would I love?"

"Don't play dumb with me (Y/n), I know you better than that."

"It doesn't matter anyway, he loves her. And that sucks because she's perfect - I can't hold a candle to her Jay, I'm nothing and she's his sun, moon and stars... I'm...ah..." Tears involuntarily slipped from your lashes as you began a rant you never wanted to delve into and you were wiping them away as quickly as they appeared.

"Hey, don't do that - I've never seen you do that. C'mon (Y/n) I'd choose you over Babs any day." Jason attempted to comfort you, his words were sincere but he could see in your eyes you were head over heels for his brother.

You shook yourself out of it, like taking off a mask and you were once again determined to end this drug ring like putting up a facade. A strong trait that many admired, it even still left Jason in awe as you went in full force.

The mission was going smoothly up until the last cheerful voice you wanted to hear echoed into your earpiece.

"Hi (Y/n) it's Barbara!"

"Great." You scoffed, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I know you hate being interrupted during a mission and for that I'm sorry but Dick wants to talk to you." She was so polite to you, if anything she considered you a friend and honestly you could never hate her despite your hearts longing desires.

"Alright, tell him to make it quick." You chuckled lightly, a smile automatically appearing as soon as you heard his scuffling and it only widened further once being exposed to his voice.

"Hey gorgeous, you know you're my second favourite person in the universe..." Second, like always, you felt your heart shatter into a million pieces.

"Heh what do you want this time Dickiebird?" Your tone was kind but held an underlying sadness you couldn't quite explain.

"Damian got grounded and will only accept you as a suitable 'sitter' since I'm busy. Would you cover for me tonight?" The eldest sibling pleaded, and you condemned yourself for never being able to refuse him.

It's like your mind went blank as soon as he'd ask anything of you and you'd agree on instinct, you’d die for that man if he so much as needed it and it killed you to think like that.

"Of course, anything for you."

"Thank you (Y/n), and thanks for calling them babe now we should get ready." As soon as you'd heard that you ripped your earpiece out and squeezed your eyes closed to prevent further tears from falling. You had a mission, screw your heart.

By the time you were reunited with your partner in crime, you had been gifted with an idea.

"You were a little ruthless, are you-"

"Please let me join the Outlaws!"

"Woah woah, what are you talking about?"

"I quit Red! I can't do this anymore, I can't be around him and since you travel around the world as mercenaries I want to go with you. I want to disappear because it hurts every time I see them! Please, I need to go!" You were broken and any sane person could tell, your voice didn't hold its usual charisma and kindness, it sounded hopeless and lost.

All because of unrequited love.

Now Jason would love for you to join the Outlaws, to travel with you wherever he went; to have you by his side unconditionally - but he knew Dick would never forgive for him for it. Dick needed you around and for Jason to sweep you away like he wanted to would kill his older sibling, you two had an unbreakable bond but it was unknowingly tearing you apart.

"I can't do that, you belong here idiot. Nightwing, Gotham, and all your friends are here too." Jason nudged your shoulder but as soon as you heard his decline that was all you focused on.

That night you didn't travel back with Red Hood, you made your own way home and when questioned on your whereabouts Jason could only shrug since comm link was down. By the time you'd returned to your apartment you began packing.

Only necessities were included. Midway through your exploit, your phone viciously vibrated again and guess who it was? Dick Grayson, calling you for what seemed to be the hundredth time since you left Jason - you didn't answer.

You couldn't answer in fear of breaking down and telling him exactly what you were doing and if you did that, no doubt he'd sabotage your plans with his shining crystalline irises and hopeful smile that controlled your very willpower. You wanted to cry but instead threw your phone over to the couch in irritation and to get it as far away from you as possible to ensure you didn't pick up.

In the next instance, you had a vigilante busting through your bedroom window and you swore if it was Jason you were going to murder him. Instinctively you accumulated one of the many weapons at your disposal and aimed at the intruder with a glare.

"Why didn't you answer?!" Was all that left his mouth and you'd recognise the vibrant sapphire V anywhere. Nightwing had dropped by.

"I didn't feel like talking Dick."

"Ouch, what's up? Are you alright, let me help I'll-" He was caring, as he always was, he was at your beckoned call if you ever needed anything. But you weren't as high on his priority list as Barbara was.

"I'm fine. Just startled, like you are when someone barges into your room." You cut him short almost too quickly, monotonous with a tinge of anger present.

"Right... Oh are you going somewhere?" The hero removed his mask, inspecting the bag you were currently filling with clothes rather curiously. He reminded you of a cute puppy wondering where their owner was going.

"Yeah, I'm taking a weekend mission away from Gotham. The city crime is tiring y'know." You responded with a smile.

Dick nodded in acknowledgement, getting up to get goodness knows what.

"Here, you better take this then. For good luck!" The male practically sang, handing you an old forgotten photo of you both.

You were smiling, this was back when you first ran into him. He had an arm around your waist to pull you into him in order to take a selfie with a Polaroid camera.

You kept it, the squiggles on the back displaying 'To my one and only. ~ Love your Best Friend.'

It was before he and Barbara starting dating and honestly they were probably the best times of your life.

In fact you're pretty sure you still had that camera stashed away and soon found it in the depths of your cupboard. Dick came over to investigate but could only smirk at your actions.

You held the camera out in front of you, angling it so that it included both of you.

"Smile pretty boy, for old times sake." You smirked, Dick complied, cheesiest grin plastered on his face almost mockingly playful.

Soon after a flash, it printed out the Polaroid and you shook it before viewing.

"Hm, I like that one." The ravenette chuckled, yourself nodding agreement.

Dick quickly returned to his Nightwing alias, replacing his mask and heading for the window frame. Before he could leave, your arms tightly encircled his torso from behind, thankfully shielding your watery eyes from his view.

"Thank for everything, I love you so much Dick Grayson and I want you to remember that." You muttered sorrowfully.

You felt your friend sigh, one hand interlocking with one of yours that wrap around his abdomen.

"I love you too (Y/n), you better not forget that either now I gotta go save the city." He was cheerful and upbeat and for a second you forgot about the circumstances because he loved you. For once it wasn't her.

After your so called hero left on patrol, you zipped up your bag and were yet again interrupted by Damian - or Robin.

"You're leaving aren't you?" It was a statement rather than a question, one that lead you to believe Damian was around longer than a few seconds and probably heard most of your conversation with his elder brother.

"Aren't you supposed to be grounded? I was literally on my way to the Manor."

"...I'll keep your secret if you keep mine (L/n)." You offered a sympathetic smile at the boys words, Damian radiated unease - he didn't want you to go.

"Deal. Now get over here!" You beckoned him in and allowed him to embrace you into a tight hug, one that was the equivalent of a silent but meaningful goodbye to him.

"Please stay, I can help you avoid them."

"That's impossible and you know it. I couldn't avoid Grayson if I'm here and besides he has someone better. Barbara is a hero, she's good and I'm an ex assassin - she's everything I'm not. Dick needed to save me, and she was all he wanted from the start." You mournfully explained.

"You're the best assassin I know, Gordon has got nothing on you. Trust me, I wish Grayson had seen that. Gordon is brilliant... but I'd want you as my sibling in law." Damian nonchalantly commented, like it meant nothing at all.

You nodded in acceptance, Damian heading for the exit and disappearing into the night after waving goodbye for good.

~~~

A month had passed and Dick Grayson was pacing the Batcave pulsating with discomfort.

"Where is (Y/n)?! They should be back by now!"

New number and no contact, you knew exactly how to erase your tracks. They were never finding you, you couldn't let that happen. You quit.

"Don't you get it Dick?! They're gone - (Y/n) isn't coming back. They're untraceable, off the radar I can't even track them down. I should've said yes. Damnit!" Jason responded, running a hand through his hair out of stress.

"That's ridiculous, they wouldn't do that to me. There's no reason to." Denial.

"It was because they love you!" Damian hissed from the stairway, fed up with his brother being so oblivious, he was glaring with strong rage emitting from his smaller stature.

"What?"

"(Y/N) WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU!"

Dick froze and before anyone could stop him, he'd raced to your apartment in record time but with no response from knocking, decided to break in. However, his hopes were relentlessly stripped away with his discovery, a camera and polaroid lay on your coffee table - all other traces of you long gone.

It was the one from the last time he saw you, in your apartment packing a bag for a “weekend mission”. Those were you exact words, and god he missed your voice, he missed everything. Carefully he picked it up, flipping the image to find your signature font.

'To my one and only, forgive me for never saying Goodbye but it hurt too much to do so. I love you remember. ~ Your Best Friend.'

[a-splash-of-stucky]

I Know This Game | Nine

Pairings: Bucky x Foster!Reader

Summary: In which ALL is revealed, and you make a difficult decision.

Warnings: SAD!Bucky (like, really sad), mentions of sex

Notes: You’re gonna need some tissues. 

IKTG Masterlist

“It was—,”, Bucky sighs and shakes his head ruefully, “I don’t have the same way with words as you doll, but I guess it was kinda slow, pretty gradual. I realised it was happening pretty late in the game, but I think I was in love with you for a long time,”. 

Bucky slowly reaches across the table and cautiously rests his flesh hand on top of yours; you don’t pull away. “You were so patient, so understanding, so kind to me,” he says softly, “You had this…this intuition about me. When to let me make my own choices, but not to make me choose when I was overwhelmed, or make me choose between too many things. It was always this or that. And slowly, we worked it up to this or that or that. And—you can’t believe how much of a help that’s been,”.

There are tears gathering in his eyes, so you twist your hand around so that your palm is facing upwards and use your thumb to soothe small circles on the back of his hand. Bucky smiles wistfully at the gesture.

“That’s not the only thing you’ve done for me, sweetheart. You’ve done so many things, things you’re probably not even aware you were doing but—,” he cuts himself off as a tear rolls down his cheek, shaking his head dolefully. When Bucky looks into your eyes, even the dumbest of fools could not mistake the sincerity in his gaze, “I always appreciated what you did for me, doll. Don’t you ever think otherwise,”.

The shattered remains of your heart flare with joy at that.

“I knew I loved you,” Bucky says, eyes focused on where your hands are clasped together, “I’d forgotten what it was to love. The only people I’ve really ever loved where my parents and my sisters, and Steve, I guess—but that’s not the kind of love it was like with you,”. Bucky’s gaze shifts to your face and he cocks his head to the left, deep in thought. “It was like…I was sinking, but I didn’t want to swim my way to the top. At first I was scared, ‘cause I didn’t wanna hurt you, but—I just let myself sink,”. He lets out a watery chuckle, “And when I got to the bottom, I let it embrace me. And with you—it’s like I realised I could breathe underwater,”. Bucky looks so unsure of himself that you can’t help but give his hand a little squeeze. The corner of his lips twitch in response.

“You know the first time I realised?” Bucky asks. When you shake your head mutely, he continues, “It was when you and I had our first picnic in the garden, do you remember?”

“Yeah,” you laugh breathlessly, “Yeah, I remember,”. 

It had been a wonderfully crisp spring day, some six months after you moved into the compound. You’d decided to take your session with Bucky outside, spreading out a proper picnic blanket — courtesy of Pepper — with plenty of food. Bucky had looked so content, sitting with his palms behind him, face turned towards the sun, a tiny smile playing on his lips. The two of you had talked, but it wasn’t a very rigid or particularly structured session; things felt more organic, the conversation flowing freely. It was one of the first times where your interactions crossed the line from strictly professional, to something more intimate.

“It was one of the best days I’d had in a long time,” Bucky admits, “I said something — can’t remember what it was, now — and you laughed. Honest-to-god laughed, a proper big one,”. He’s grinning now, lost in the memory, and you can’t help but smile along with him. “Your entire face lit up brighter than the sun, and your eyes shone like two gigantic stars. And you looked so goddamn gorgeous, and the sound was so pretty, I—that laugh made me feel happier than anything else in this world. Made my heart skip a beat and helped fuse together the random pieces of my mind floating around inside here,” he says, knocking his temple with his free hand. “And I just knew that I wanted to make you laugh like that again,”.

“And you did,” you murmur comfortingly, not missing the way his face falls after saying that.

Bucky gives you a self-depreciating chuckle. “Yeah, guess I did. You know what else made me sure? That I loved you?”

You’re not sure if he actually wants an answer or not, but you say “What?” nonetheless.

“Babydoll, you were the person to show me that I could use this,” Bucky waves his metal hand around, “For something other than destruction. For pleasure, specifically,”.

“It was very pleasurable,” you confess, winking at him playfully to lighten the mood. The lopsided smirk you get in return makes your heart tighten with longing.

“There are other things,” Bucky continues, “Millions of things, so many that I could fill whole books, doll. Or, well, I would, if I could actually write. But we’ll digress from the story if I go into them now,”.

“Back to you and Nat?” you murmur.

He nods in agreement, “Back to Nat and I. Right. So, once I realised that I had feelings for you, like proper, feelings for you, I told her and we cut things off. This was before we ever did anything even vaguely romantic together,”.

Your brows furrow, because things just…don’t add up.

“Right, well, now we’re getting into the good stuff,” Bucky sighs, leaning back into his chair. “We — that is, the Avengers and I — figured that there had to be a spy in the compound,”.

“A spy?” you echo, “What—how?”

“A couple of months after we started dating, the team had a number of bust missions,”, Bucky says slowly, clasping his hands together and resting them on the edge of the table. “Budapest, Vienna, Jakarta, a few more. Everything from being ambushed, to lousy intel, to hostages, to the bad guys getting there before we could, you name it. And it was all…too perfect, too in the nick of time, so we figured there had to be someone leaking out sensitive info,”.

“At first, we couldn’t see a pattern; they all seemed unrelated. And worse still, not all the missions we went on, went south. It was kind of luck of the draw, until Steve and that big brain of his realised that all the missions that were going bust were HYDRA-related in some way,”.

Your eyebrow quirks up in interest.

Bucky’s getting into it now, hands moving animatedly as he recounts his tale. “Not HYDRA, per se — there’s hardly anything left of them — but a lot of the facades they’d set up over the years were still in place and starting to act up. So this raised the question: alright, so who’s the HYDRA rat? The only people that have access to this info besides us are the STRIKE team, so we figured it had to be one of them,”.

You scrunch your nose in disapproval. The STRIKE team provided extra support for the Avengers in whatever form they might require, usually in the form of extra man power. You’d had a few brushes with the team members over your couple of years in the compound and you didn’t like any of them one bit. Big ugly brutes; way too macho and aggressive for your taste.

“We didn’t want to call their bluff too early, ‘cause we wanted to see how deeply HYDRA had breached our security,”, Bucky explains.

You’re getting more and more confused. “I don’t see how this relates to you and Nat,”.

Bucky nods sympathetically. “I know, doll, we’re getting to that part, I just got a few more pieces of the puzzle to show you,”. He clears his throat, “So, it was no secret to any of us that HYDRA wanted me back,”.

You grimace because you hate thinking about the atrocities that Bucky had had to go through in those years. Alone, no less. You weren’t a violent person by nature, but you had a strong urge to rip the people who’d hurt him apart, limb from limb. Bucky, sensing your distress, gives you a placating smile. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, no one in the team was gonna let that happen, especially not with Steve around,”. The two of you chuckle fondly; the Cap was known for being a little paranoid over matters concerning his childhood best friend.

“But the point is, they wanted me back. Makes sense, right? They invested a whole lot of time and effort and money into me, the Fist of HYDRA, their greatest asset, so they’re not gonna let me just walk away. Either they have me, or no one has me. And we figured that if there was a mole in the compound, ultimately, they would attempt to get me back. Because with the Soldier under their control, HYDRA would be able to rebuild much faster,”.

Bucky takes both your hands in his, as if he needs to take some strength from you. When he gazes into your eyes, you see the vulnerability in his stare. “And…if they knew what you meant to me, sweetheart, they wouldn’t hesitate to use you against me. They’d take you and manipulate you, just so they could get me back,”.

You suck in a surprised breath at his statement. It’s not too far-fetched to believe; after what those monsters did to him, you’re certain that nothing is beneath them.

“And I’d go after you, sweetheart,” Bucky says, his voice wavering, but sincere. “Don’t you for a second think that I wouldn’t. I would tear this world apart, bring down heaven and raise the Devil from hell itself if that’s what I had to do to get you back. You’re my everything, sweetheart, my everything,”. Buck turns away and chokes back a wretched sob. You don’t have it in you to doubt him, so you squeeze his hands reassuringly, a silent show of your faith in him.

“I know, Buck,” you whisper, “My love, I know you would,”.

He smiles wetly. “A part of me lives inside you. I’m not whole without you,” he murmurs, paraphrasing some of the words you’d said to him in your letter. Bucky pulls his human hand out of yours and wipes away his tears with an exhausted sigh, “So that’s why we had to keep our relationships under wraps,”, he tells you.

You hum in understanding, pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place. Bucky had been very insistent that as few people as possible knew about your relationship. You’d assumed — and he hadn’t said anything to lead you to think otherwise — that it was because he just wanted to keep you to himself for a while. Being in a group as high-profile as the Avengers meant that many aspects of Bucky’s life were under scrutiny by the general public, so he treasured any scrap of privacy he could have. The only people in the compound who were in on your little secret was the rest of the team; Sam, Steve, Tony and Nat. Now, his behaviour and requests make a lot more sense.

“Yeah,” he says, smiling when he sees the understanding flicker across your face, “Think about it, who knew about us — just the team right? To everyone else, you were just my therapist. Even allowing you to be seen as a close friend was risky,”.

Bucky’s fingers twitch as he pauses. His eyes are dark, but have a far-off look in them, as if whatever he has to say next really hurts. “We had to throw their scent off further,” he says quietly, “I couldn’t risk them knowing about us. We tossed a few ideas around, but agreed that the ultimate way was to pretend that I had a private, yet illustrious affair with Natasha herself. It would make sense to them. I already had history with her, so they’d think I was just acting on old urges,”.

“And if they ever got Natasha,” Bucky adds, with a little shrug, “She’s been held captive before, potentially by worse people. I’m sure she could take it. She rather it were her, than you,”

“She’d do that for me?” you breathe, voice quietly incredulous, “She would…I guess, sacrifice herself for me?”

Bucky nods, a tiny smile on his lips, “Yeah doll. She saw what you and I were. She’d do that for us,”.

Suddenly, you feel extremely guilty for ever questioning the strength of the friendship between you and Nat. You should’ve know that although she may have had a dark past, her fierceness of character and sense of loyalty to the people she cared for would never waver.

“So, we had to keep it private,” Bucky continues, “Yet make sure that the people who we thought might be rats — the STRIKE team — were in the know. That’s why Nat and I started going on a lot of missions with them, and being…well, touchy, around them, I guess,”.

Your face twists into a grimace at the thought of them together, your mind conjuring up images of when they had been incredibly touchy with one another. Bucky seems to notice this, as he is quick to add, “She treated it like an extended mission, love, and so did I. I was never in love with her. I—I just took it as a job, right? It was always just part of my job, keeping you safe,”.

“You know how hard it was to lie to you?” he says urgently, hands clutching yours a little tighter. Bucky’s eyes burn with intense desperation, he wants you to believe him so badly. “It broke my heart every time I had to lie to you, every time I had to touch her. I wish I didn’t have to, doll. I really did. We had to—there was so much we had to do to make sure you didn’t find out. God, I never wanted to hurt you, love, but I didn’t know what else I had to do to keep you safe,”.

“How long did it go on for?” you ask quietly.

Bucky hesitates and your heart is filled with a sinking feeling. You’re not going to like his answer.

“About nine months,”, he says, at last.

Your eyes widen, because that is…practically all the time that the two of you were dating.

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t mean what I said to you!” Bucky insists, squeezing your hands harder when he feels you starting to withdraw. “Please, doll, you gotta believe me, I never, ever, loved her, it was only ever you in my heart of hearts,”, he says, conviction lacing his tone. You search his face for any sign that he is lying, but then again, how would you know? Apparently, he’s been lying to you for almost your entire relationship, and you didn’t notice then, why would you notice now? Your confusion is only heightened.

“Please, doll,” Bucky whispers brokenly, eyes bright with unshed tears.

“So what about…the whole…incident?” you ask, fighting to keep your expression as cool and neutral as possible. You pray the you won’t have to specify which ‘incident’ you’re referring to.

Bucky flinches, not wanting to say the next bit. “It was set up,”.

“What?!” you exclaim, perhaps a little too loud. From behind the counter, Scott shoots you a curious look. You wince and say it again, quieter this time.

“Hear me out, okay?” Bucky pleads, “I had to push you away, love. Things were…getting too close, too heated. Nat and I—our cover was under question, some of the STRIKE team weren’t buying it so much, and the only thing any of us could do to keep you safe was to make you leave,”.

You are genuinely stunned. You’d thought that your friends had betrayed you, but really…they were trying to keep you safe? The knowledge doesn’t lessen the pain in the slightest. It had felt so real.

“How—how did it—you gotta tell me more, Bucky,” you say, voice trembling a little.

Bucky nods. “So I told JARVIS to send you down to the hangar. Nat and I got set up in the janitor’s closet — we purposefully left the door unlocked, d’you know that?”

You had found that detail particularly strange. Forgetting to lock the door didn’t seem like something that either of them would do, even in the heat of the moment. “So—you didn’t have sex with her?”

Bucky blushed profusely. “No, not sex. But, we had to make things look as convincing as possible, so she got naked and I had to—make it hard, which was a, uhh,” he trails off and laughs abashedly. “Um, embarrassing, I guess. I had to, y’know,” he makes a rude gesture with his hand and you roll your eyes, biting back a smirk. “But god bless her,” Bucky murmurs, “Took it all in stride. Very little fazes her,”.

His expression sobers and he looks at you intently. “With her, it was only ever that one time when she was drunk. You have to believe me doll, I would never ever cheat on you, you deserve so much better than that. I only ever wanted to keep you safe and make you happy, and I guess I did one but not the other,”, Bucky sighs.

“You did make me happy, Buck,” you whisper softly.

Bucky shrugs. “You shoulda seen Steve, after,” he says softly, “Wanted to come running after you. Steve doesn’t have it in him to be cruel. Even Tony and Sam were pretty shook up. Are still pretty shook up. Just because they weren’t in love with you doesn’t mean they didn’t care for you, doll,”.

“So all of them really were in the know?” you ask.

“Yeah. We spent a long time planning it, trying to make it as realistic as possible, trying to make it so you left the compound and severed all contact with us,” says Bucky. “And we figure that the only way it was going to happen for certain, was if you just felt…well, betrayed,”. He cracks, then, a harsh, wounded noise ripping free from his throat. A fat tear rolls down his cheek and you just manage to stop yourself from reaching across the table to swipe it away.

“I never wanted to hurt you,” Bucky sobs, “Honest, I never. None of us wanted to. None of us wanted to see you go. We were all hurt, love, I—even Natasha, you know? Felt so guilty. All of us felt so guilty,”.

You can’t bear to look at him anymore, fearing that your last reserves of control would be used up. You avert your gaze to stare at your lap, “Did you catch your rat?”

“Well, we figured out who he was,” Bucky replies, “Rumlow, the bastard. He got away before we could catch him. We’re trying to track him down, but the son of a bitch is pretty damn smart,”.

The two of you are silent for a long time. Bucky is anxiously waiting for your response, watching you through his lashes as you try to process the onslaught of information you’ve just received. 

You’re utterly shocked. A whole slew of emotions are raging through your system — you don’t know whether you feel more angry, or upset, or grateful. It’s a real mixed bag, and your overtaxed mind is struggling to cope. You feel a lot better now that you know the truth, but the knowledge does hardly anything to dull the pain.

“You know how you don’t realise how much you need something until it’s gone?” Bucky asks timidly. His eyes flicker to yours to make sure that you’re listening. “That’s what it was like, losing you. I didn’t know that I was taking you for granted until I ripped us apart. I didn’t realise just how much I loved you until you were gone,”.

Bucky sits forward in his chair, brings both your hands up to his mouth and grazes his lips over your knuckles. “I love you, Y/N,” he whispers urgently, eyes glimmering with held-back tears, “I’ve never stopped loving you, sweetheart. And it’s okay if you don’t feel quite the same, I hurt you, I understand that, but—I never wanted to. I love you, sweetheart, you’re my everything,”.

If I keep my eyes closed, he looks just like you

The expression you wear betrays none of the turmoil raging inside you. You’re silent as you appraise the situation. This man sitting in front you is not who you thought he was, but at the same time, is. Ultimately, Bucky did what he thought he had to do to keep you safe, but can the end justify the means? You recognise that he had good intentions, but nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that he literally tore your heart out of your chest and stomped all over it. Was there really no other way to save you?

Your exhausted brain doesn’t know what to make of all this. The Bucky sitting in front of you looks like the Bucky you fell in love with — if a little rough and scruffy around the edges and gaunt from lack of sleep. But sometimes, when your mind plays tricks on you, you can’t help but see him in a different light. You see his lies for what they are — as well-intended as they may be — and you see the way he looked with Natasha tangled around him. You love him, but it’s not the same, and you don’t know if you can ever go back to loving him like that, not when you know too much. You want things to go back to the way they used to be, but know that that is not a possibility.

In a split-second, you know exactly what to do with yourself.

“Bucky, I love you too,” you say slowly. His face immediately brightens, his smile tugging at your heartstrings and making the hole in your chest ache with longing. “But I don’t know if it’s the same way I used to,”.

Bucky nods, and is about to open his mouth, but you stare him down, stopping his thought in its tracks. “You remember what I said in my letter? How all my relationships are the same? They end the same way—,”

“Yes, but doll—,”

“Let me finish,” you growl quietly, “Please,”.

Bucky bites his bottom lip and nods reluctantly.

“Before I can love anyone else, I need to learn to love myself,” you say, “I need to learn how to be whole on my own, without someone filling this—this chasm in my heart,”.

His brow furrows as he turns this piece of information over and over in his head. You forge on, “My heart—all it’s ever been is broken, or barely held together. I’ve—I’ve never given it time to heal, y’know? And maybe, once I’ve discovered what it means to be myself, without having to depend on other people, I’ll realise what I want. Maybe that’ll be you. That’d be nice. Or maybe, it won’t,”.

“So what’re you gonna do?” Bucky asks, not meeting your gaze.

“I’m gonna take a year for myself. Doing my work, travelling the world. No dating, no romances, just taking time for myself,” you say decisively, “And in a year, I’ll come back and reassess what I want,”.

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Bucky murmurs, lifting his head so you can see the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

You shake your head, “I don’t want you to do that,”.

He opens his mouth to protest, but you put a hand up to stop him. 

“I might not come back to you,” you say. Your heart twinges with pain as you force your mouth to say those words. “I don’t know if I can come back to this,” you say, gesturing with your hands in expressive circles, “Not just because I feel betrayed, but because…I don’t know if I can handle the stress of you going out on missions and not knowing if you’ll come back. All these secrets. The—I believe in second chances, Bucky, but I don’t know if I have anymore to give,”.

Bucky’s eyes are brimming with tears and his bottom lip is wobbling and it is taking every ounce of self-restraint inside you to stay strong. “I’m not saying never,” you whisper, taking his metal hand in both of yours, “I’m just saying…that I need time to heal, and I don’t want to leave you with the false hope that I’m coming back. Maybe I will, maybe I’ll just be your friend, or maybe…not,”, you finish.

“Please don’t go,” Bucky pleads, tears leaving streaks of wetness down his cheeks, “Sweetheart, I—I need you,”. The anguished look on his face is steadily breaking down your walls.

Your own eyes are watering now, because goddammit, how is anyone supposed to hold it together when James Buchanan Barnes pulls his sad-puppy face on you? It’s always been your weakness, and now is no exception.

“Love—,” you have to cut yourself off to wrench back a sob, “Bucky, I still love you. That’ll never change, but--Buck, you gotta remember that I literally just broke up with Loki less than 12 hours ago. Don’t expect me to be jumping into anything anytime soon. In fact…I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to jump back in at all, my love,”.

Bucky is absolutely shattered by this revelation, you can see this so clearly. “Babydoll, please,” he begs, “I—I’ll never find someone to replace you. No one can ever take your place in my heart, sweetheart—,”

“Bucky,” you say forcefully, perhaps a little more sharply than you intended, “You, of all people, know the value of being able to make your own choices. I ask you to respect mine. Let me make this decision for myself,”.

You can see that your words have hit him like a slap. Bucky jerks away looking absolutely crestfallen; you immediately want to take back what you’ve said, but know that your words have achieved their intended goal. “I’m sorry,” you whisper, stroking your thumb over the back of his hand, “I love you. Don’t doubt that. I just need to love myself, before I can…move on to the next chapter of my life,”.

Bucky smiles, but it’s only a shadow of what his real one looks like. “I love you too, doll. Always. Take as much time as you need sweetheart,” he says. His voice sounds exhausted.

“Can I—can I hug you? Before I go?” you ask timidly.

He grins as if you’ve just told him that you’re about to hand him the sun, or something. “Of course, doll,” he murmurs, stretching his arms out to the side. 

You saunter over to the other side of the table, and arrange yourself across his lap as he wraps his muscular arms around you. You close your eyes and tuck your face into the side of his neck, inhaling his unique scent that reminds you of cuddles in a too-big bed and warm summer days spent in the compound gardens. You rake your fingers through the hairs at the nape of his neck, silky soft like they used to be.

If you keep your eyes closed, you can imagine that the two of you are back in your room in the compound. You can pretend that none of these things ever happened, that the universe did not try to drive the two of you apart. Bucky feels like he always has; large and strong and powerful, and you take comfort and security in his embrace. You don’t know if you’ll ever be able to have this again, so you cherish this moment, trying to memorise the curve of his body, the planes of his torso, the smell of his skin, the weight of his arms around your waist.

You don’t realise that you’re weeping quietly against his neck until he shushes you, hand stroking tenderly over your hair. “Shh, doll, it’s okay,” Bucky coos, but his voice sounds fragile, like he’s seconds from losing it himself, “It’ll all be okay,”. Bucky hooks his index finger under your chin and tips your head back, so you can look into each other’s eyes. A sad smile graces his plump lips as he uses his thumb to wipe away your tears. You note how his eyes linger on your lips for a heartbeat too long.

“Can I kiss you?” he breathes, all the hope in the world held in his tone.

“Y-yeah,” you reply, voice equally as quiet.

Your heart sings with joy when Bucky presses his lips to yours. You feel complete. This is what you want, what your body was made for, what your soul desires.

He keeps it completely chaste, content to just savour the pillowy softness of your lips against his. It’s tender, and gentle, and caring — everything that you’ve missed about him. You run your fingers over his face, trying to memorise the shape of his nose, the feel of his stubble against your fingertips, committing it all to memory. Before things can get too far, you both pull away, with no small amount of reluctance from either of you.

Bucky’s openly crying now, and you cup his jaw in both your hands, press a butterfly kiss to each cheek. “Take care of yourself for me, okay?” you whisper, trying to inject some humour in your voice.

He laughs mirthlessly. “Only if you promise to call, every now and then. If you ever wanna come to the compound, to see the rest of the gang, all you gotta do is ask,”.

“Deal,” you say softly.

A glance at the clock on the wall tells you it’s almost 8AM. The two of you have been sat here for almost three hours. Alarm bells in your brain remind you that you have to be at your office soon. “I—I gotta go, Bucky,” you say, with a wry smile, “I gotta go to my clinic to see a patient,”.

Bucky nods morosely, “Okay, doll,”.

“I’ll miss you,” you mumble, poking him in the sternum. Bucky catches your hand and presses a kiss to each of your knuckles, a gesture so tender, so filled with reverence, that it’s a wonder you have any self-restraint left at all.

“Not as much as I’ll miss you,” he quips, trying to muster up the cockiest smirk he can. There’s a little bit of sadness behind it, though. Bucky can’t hide the sorrow in his eyes.

You have nothing to say in response. Everything has been said.

With great difficulty, you force your muscles to let go of Bucky and get up. He waves off your offer of paying for the food, claiming that it’s the least he can do for you. Bucky watches in silence as you stuff your phone back into your pocket and slip on your jacket. You move as slowly as you can, half-hoping that he’ll say something to make you change your mind, whilst at the same time knowing that he won’t. He promised to respect your wishes, and that is exactly what he’ll do.

“Bye, Bucky,” you murmur, giving him some weak version of a wave.

The corner of his lips twitches into a little smile. “Bye, Y/N,”.

When you get to the door, you turn around to get one last look at Bucky, your lover, your best friend, your…soulmate. It takes all your effort to ignore the fact that every single fibre of your being is shrieking at you, telling you to follow him back to the compound, take your place in this universe beside him. The rational side of you knows that you need time to find yourself and discover who you really are, but the part of your soul tied to Bucky’s is saying that you have found yourself, that the missing pieces are with him.

Perhaps sensing your internal dilemma, Bucky calls, “Hey, Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Break your trend, okay? For once in your life, I wanna see you winning at your game,” he tells you.

You smile, because you know that this is Bucky’s way of telling you that he trusts you to make the right decision for yourself. If you love someone, you do what’s best for them. If that means letting them go so they can do what it takes to win the game, then that’s what you do. 

That’s what Bucky’s doing.

“I will, my love,” you promise.

--------------------------------- Condensed tags: @feelmyroarrrr​ @valkyeries​ @hollycornish​ @buckingoffthebed​ @moonbeambucky​ @sanjariti​ @in-winchester-we-trust​ @badassbaker​ @retroasgardian​ @lostinspace33​ @waywardpumpkin​ @jurassicbarnes​ @buchonians​ @katielu-blog​ @alohabucky​ @sarahmatthews7​ @i-should-probably-be-asleep-rn​ @toongtii  @barnesdeservestheworld​ @amrita31199​ @amour-quinn​ @ugh-supersoldiers​

[lolethlovesbangtan]

What Fate Wants

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Word Count: 2,286

Summary: You had - with the help of your friend - decided that four years was long enough to wait for something that was exclusive to fairy-tales. However, fate had a different plan for how your blind date would go.

“You’ll love him”. That’s what your friend had told you the moment she picked up your call, reassuring you that the blind date she was sending you on would not end in murder, and that the guy you would be having dinner with was most definitely your type. “Tall, dark, handsome”.

“When did I say that was my type?” you asked, wrinkling your nose at the cliché whilst pulling out another potential dress. This one was a little sexier than the last, with its black silk and low neckline, but you still weren’t sure that you would even be going.

“You told me that your last boyfriend was tall, dark and handsome,” she reasoned, and you blanched at the thought of him – your last boyfriend.

Your friend – who had only known you for a year now – would laugh out loud if she knew that your ‘last boyfriend’ was from four years ago, back when you were eighteen. You had been best friends long before the night he held your hands and admitted that he liked you and wanted to ‘try it’, but that had been a mistake.

It still hurt a little to think of him, especially when it had been time and life and individual journeys that had separated you two.

As you settled on the dress, laying it out on your bed with a sigh, you tried not to wonder what he would be doing now, and whether or not you would still be together, if not for ambition…

“Still there?”.

“I’m still here,” you replied in a quiet voice, frowning at your reflection – how on earth would this tall, dark and handsome guy react to you? Why were you even doing this again?

“You have to stop thinking of him,” your friend complained, reminding you of your reason. Her high-pitched voice bought you back to reality. “It’s not healthy! You have to move on! How long has it been?”.

Four years, you thought bitterly, but your lips had other plans.

“Hm”. You thought of a reasonable and acceptable answer. Not too long otherwise you were pathetic. Not too short otherwise you were moving too fast. “Five months, maybe?”. You added the ‘maybe’ for effect, so that she didn’t see how often you thought about it.

“Long enough!” she exclaimed, but you knew she would have said this no matter the time-scale. “You are a fabulous woman, Y/N”. You almost scoffed, but stopped yourself just in time. “You can go out tonight and have fun – he’s a good guy! Quiet, sure, but probably not once you get to know him. And like I said”. She paused, no doubt for dramatic effect. “You’re going to love him”.  

She was right.

Well, she would have been right if she had said this to you a long time ago, or at least said it in past tense.

You had loved him.

The restaurant was moderately busy; people were seated comfortably at a majority of the tables, sipping expensive drinks and talking animatedly with one another. Soft, pretty music floated around the room, lifting your mood the moment you had stepped inside, helped by the warm, cosy atmosphere.

Subtly glancing from table to table with the intent of finding Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome, you straightened down your dress subconsciously, wondering again whether it sat a little too high on your body, whether you were showing far too much skin for a first date.

After a conclusive search, a waiter had finally given you an expectant look, and you explained that you were waiting for someone.

It wasn’t until you sat down at a table for two, staring blankly at the assortment of flowers in the centre of the table, that you realised how bad an idea this was.

I should have just stayed at home and watched Netflix, you thought, letting out a sad sigh.

Panic set in – he was late. You convinced yourself that he wasn’t coming, and anyway, punctuality was a big thing for you (it really wasn’t but you needed an excuse to leave) so it didn’t matter if he showed up anyway. Therefore, you concluded, it would be best to leave now. You’d call your friend and thank her for trying, and you’d work it all out later.

You had actually already leaned down to pick up your bag when he walked in.

In a black, fitting suit that showed off his lean figure and a bowtie, he spoke to the same waiter, searching the room in the same way you had done. His wide, brown eyes landed on each face, widening even further when they stopped on yours.

You forgot how to breathe.

Jeon Jungkook – your ex-boyfriend and the original Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome – gazed at you from across the room.

Every detail about him made your breath hitch. There was something so familiar in that smile of his, and you watched it grow on his face, stirring memories up in your head.

He was smiling at you, but there was a sort of frightened/completely confused expression on your face, and you urged yourself to act normally. You willed yourself to act as though you hadn’t dreamed of this moment once or twice.

But then he was walking over to you. He was taller now, and part of you wondered what it would be like to kiss him again as he licked his bottom lip. You weren’t sure whether it was the lighting, but his eyes definitely sparkled, and you had no idea why he was so happy to see you.

“Y/N”. He said your name like a statement, and his voice…

Was it your imagination being dramatic, or had he once told you he loved you in that voice? By now, it was difficult to remember what was real and what was a dream.

“Jung…”. You had to breathe in order to say his name, scared of what hidden feelings your voice would show. What was he doing on a blind date?! The thought that he struggled in love was ridiculous and unfathomable. “Jungkook?”. You weren’t so sure. There was a look in his eye that was never there before, and you still hadn’t worked out why he was so happy to see you.

“Why are you on a blind date?” he asked, stealing your question.

“Oh”. You suddenly felt awkward about the fact that you were sat down whilst he was stood up. “I just thought it would be fun”. A lie.

“Yeah, me too,” he agreed with a certain nod, and you wondered if your lie had been more convincing than his. This felt much too casual for a four-year break. “Do you still want to eat or?…”.

“… We can just leave it,” you decided, trying to mask the sadness in your voice. This had been a cruel and nasty trick that life had played on you – letting Jeon Jungkook show up again. You clutched your bag tight, wavering eyes trained on the door of the restaurant. “It was really nice seeing you”.

“You’re…”. He seemed confused, so you stopped in your tracks. “You’re leaving alone?”.

“Who else would I be leaving with?” you asked incredulously, but then his raised eyebrow and teasing smirk made you blush once you realised what he’d meant.

“We should catch up,” he said, a laugh in his voice as he reached out a hand for you to take. “It’s been four years, Y/N”. You thought about telling him that you already knew - all too well - how long it had been, but the sincerity and mild desperation in his eyes made you nod your head.

“What are you even doing here?”. You took his hand and let him lead you outside, watching as he apologised to the waiter, pretending that it didn’t feel really good to be holding his hand again.

“I wanted to come home for a little while,” he said with a shrug, as if this wasn’t the weirdest coincidence in the history of time. “I guess we have a mutual friend, huh?”. He laughed that bright laugh that had aided you in falling deeply in love with him some time ago, and the world at night was the perfect backdrop as the two of you walked – without direction – down the street.

People hustled by, unaware of the magic that was happening right now. As you walked, you noticed that the flashing lights of the city were brighter, the traffic louder. Your heart fluttered in your chest despite you reminding yourself not to get too excited about where this could all lead to.

“I can’t believe…”. You trailed off, shaking your head as the wind blew through your hair. “This is so weird”.

“Maybe it’s fate”. You turned your head to look at him, surprised to say the least.

His smile was shy as he looked down at his shoes, and you remembered teasingly calling him a ‘cute bunny’ back when you had been friends, even more so when you fell in love.

“I’m sorry,” he said, eyebrows furrowing.

“For what?”. You absentmindedly squeezed his hand. “Times change. We can’t stick around forever, Kookie”.

You hadn’t meant to call him by his nickname, but the adorable way in which his entire face lit up when you did made it worth it. Despite yourself, you laughed.

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard in a long time”.

“What? Me calling you ‘Kookie’?”.

“Why does that make me so happy?”. You thought that he must have been joking, but Jungkook was staring at you as the two of you walked along, wondering where this stroke of luck had come from.

Ever since he had left all that time ago… you had never really gotten off his mind. There had never been anyone else for him, either. Tonight was supposed to be a statement to say that he was over you, because he was certain that you were over him. However, the moment he had seen you…

He wondered whether you knew how beautiful you looked tonight in that dress. It was definitely more daring than anything he had seen you wear before, which made it even harder for him to stop staring.

“I’ve missed you,” you told him honestly, needing to say it. The words came out as a breath. Jungkook almost stopped walking, especially when you smiled from embarrassment. “A lot”.

“I guarantee that I missed you more”.

“Nope”. It made him stupidly happy to see that you were comfortable around him again; you even swung your arms a little as you walked together. “I missed you so much, Jeon Jungkook, that I haven’t dated anyone in four damn years”.

“I’d be impressed, “ he began, not even flinching at the fact that you had previously found so humiliating. “If it weren’t for the fact that I haven’t dated in four years either”. Your mouth fell open in total shock – it had never even occurred to you – not even for a single moment – that Jungkook had felt the break up as much as you had.

“But you’re…”. You fell silent, unsure of what to say.

The clouds grumbled their warning overhead, and people started to pick up their pace, speed-walking to their destinations with newspapers and umbrellas up in early defence.

Jungkook frowned towards the sky, tightening his grip on your hand.

“Why do I get the feeling that we’re about to-“.

“Get completely soaked,” you said, and then the rain started to pour, relentless and constant, heavy and everywhere.

You had a fleeting thought as Jungkook searched around frantically for cover, tugging you into a space where a shop roof offered some protection. The thought was that if you had went home alone – if you had been walking by yourself right now – the rain would be an annoyance. You would have held your bag above your head and walked slowly, your mascara running from the raindrops and the tears. It would have been the worst thing if Jungkook had left you alone, a confirmation that he does not miss you.

But here he was, pushing his wet hair back and smiling so widely that the corners of his eyes crinkled.

“Do you think it’s a sign?” you asked, having to shout a little to be heard over the rain. You chose to ignore how much you were shivering now in this tiny, tiny dress.

“Definitely,” he agreed, and he sounded so sure that you let yourself breathe out fully for the first time all night. “I missed you so much, Y/N. I didn’t stop missing you”. You thought about interrupting him, but he was staring at the rain with a lost expression, and you wanted to hear what he had to say. “It never stopped. I tried so hard to just stop missing you”. His laugh was strange and sad. “…But you’re amazing. There’s just… no one like you. When I saw you tonight, I could feel myself falling all over again”.

“So dramatic,” you commented, but you had butterflies.

“The rain makes me reflective and emotional,” he told you matter-of-factly, and you laughed whilst Jungkook dropped your hand and instead wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you in so close that the cold no longer meant anything.

He rested his forehead against yours, and it felt like four years hadn’t even passed. Things were different now, but things were better, and you had tried living without each other already to no avail.

“Am I moving too fast?” he asked, a nervous laugh in his voice.

“Too slow,” you whispered, and you kissed him, slow and real and all too magical. You could personally guarantee that nothing in the world had ever felt so right. It seemed ridiculous and improbable, but you could have sworn that you could actually feel your heart healing.

“Are you saying you-“.

“It doesn’t matter what I say,” you whispered against his lips, shushing him. “Fate wants us together… who are we to argue?”.

My masterlist!