#wow there’s not a lot of tags I can add to this one huh

[artorableadorer]

Mask Wandersong my beloved

[joemama-2]

fragments of us

tags: angst, light fluff, dividers by @/cafekitsune

pairing: gojo x reader

word count: 1592

“How’d you know I like this flavor?” You gasp.

A smile is directed at you as Satoru sits next to you. A cone of ice cream, taken by you, that’s filled with a sea of blue. Oreo chunks along with chocolate chip pieces decorate it, mixed with cookie dough. The flavors explode in your mouth, with a satisfied hum leaving you.

“Just a hunch,” he licks from his own cone, the same flavor as yours. “I’m pretty great at making educated guesses, you know? They call me the Strongest for a reason.”

Your laugh tickles his ears just right and he doesn’t even realize he’s scooting closer to you until you scoot away. Acting on muscle memory can be good, but in this situation, he has to realize that it’s probably not the best idea.

He clears his throat and juts his chin the direction of your cone. “Don’t waste any, okay? I spent my hard earned money on that.”

“I promise to eat it all.” You reply, already taking bites from the crunchy cone.

Satoru has a problem with staring, especially you. Even something so mundane catches his attention completely. Especially when it’s you doing it. The ice cream dripping down his pale fingers is a reminder to stop his reminiscing.

You two sit side by side in an all too familiar ice cream parlor. It’s comfortable, at least for you. Making conversation with Satoru is easy, he always knows what to say to keep the momentum going. It strangely feels like you’ve done this way too many times before, maybe that’s why it’s so easy to talk to him.

You shake your head free of those thoughts and focus on the now.

“What’s next on the agenda?” You ask him, eyes flickering over to his pretty ones, that are already looking at yours.

“Hmm, that’s a surprise,” he grins and tilts his head. “You like surprises?”

“Mm, sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

“I don’t usually like surprises by men I don’t know very well.”

He hopes he hides his heartbreak well. Humming instead, leaning back in the booth. “Well, I hope you’ll like it. But I have a feeling you will.”

You smile, chin propped up on your hand. “Another educated guess, I presume?”

A small chuckle vibrates through him. “Exactly.”

He takes you to an aquarium.

“Wow,” you gasp in awe, the different variety of sea animals surrounding you. “How’d you find this place, Satoru? It’s beautiful.”

A simple shrug. “I used to come here a lot.”

“Really?” Your head turns up to him. “You don’t come here very much anymore?”

A second of silence passes as he considers his response to your question, deciding on a shake of his head. “Nah, not really. Just…doesn’t feel the same.”

You want to pry more, ask why it doesn’t. But you think it’ll be rude and invasive, considering you just met him. So, you nod and focus back on the beauties of the sea before you. Feet walking on their own, leading you from corner to corner, room to room.

Throughout it all, he follows. He’s mostly silent, but he adds comments here and there that make your stomach feel funny.

Two fish capture your eyes immediately, pointing to them through the glass. “That—“

“Like them, huh?” He cuts you off, the fish also the cause of his fixation.

You pause, eyebrows raising at him in slightly surprise before replying. “Y-yeah, I do. Do you too?”

“Love them.”

His response is immediate, automatic almost. You focus back on the two betta fish. One white, the other black. You sort of want to joke how the white one loosely, or exactly, resembles him.

The black one, well….you think it resembles someone else. It’s almost like it’s on the tip of your tongue, a faint outline in your mind of who it could be, who it is.

But the silence feels nice, so you hold back. The two of you watch the fish go about their routine, swimming side by side, their fins looking like they’re floating through the water. They move together, as one.

For some reason, a heavy press settles on your chest, causing your throat to dry up. Confusion swirls through your mind as you silently battle whatever this is that’s suddenly been sprung on you.

Just as you feel your eyes begin to sting, his arm finds home on your shoulders. Steering you away towards another area, far from the fish and far from your inevitable breakdown.

A small sense of deja-vu causes you to stop in your tracks. You feel like you should say something, but what would you say? Inner turmoil renders you immobile for a few more seconds before you shake your head and continue walking.

Little did you know, Satoru’s stomach was currently doing flips, heart beating faster than normal (it always beats fast around you). However, hope only gets him so far, because like always, you brush off whatever’s going on and resume.

He’s half tempted to pull you back and shake you to wake up and come back to him.

He doesn’t.

He follows beside you and the rest of the time is done without any words shared.

He walks you back to your apartment.

There’s a hint of hesitance in his eyes as he watches you fiddle with your key. Once your door is opened, you turn around to face him. A small smile on your face. It’s polite, formal. Like one you direct towards a stranger.

“Thank you for today. I actually had a lot of fun getting to know you.” You tell him, looking down at the small necklace he got for you that resembles the betta fish from before.

His own smile is warm and welcoming. “Of course, I would’ve hated passing up the chance of talking to someone as beautiful as you.” His comment comes out smoothly, like he’s down it multiple times before.

Each time, your cheeks blush and your smile turns shy, stumbling over your words. “O-oh, uhm….thank you.” The small laugh he gives you makes your body feel hot.

“Maybe we can do this again?” His head tilts, a small tilt to his voice.

Your eyes widen slightly before nodding. “Sure..! Yeah, of course. Just—uh—just let me give you my number.”

He waits patiently as you fiddle around for a napkin in your bag, using a stray pen to messily write your number. Your hands are shaking a bit, which is a little annoying. Once done, you give him the paper, he gives it a small glance before folding it into his pocket.

You two stand staring at each other. You’re not sure if you should kiss his cheek, say thank you again, or just bye. But he did buy you things and he was really nice. You feel bad if you would’ve just left it at that.

So, carefully, you walk forward and give him a small hug. “Thank you again.” You mumble into his clothing.

The way his arms wrap around you almost immediately, his hands on your back running up and down in a soothing motion brings back that heated feeling. The hug lasts longer than one normally should between two strangers, but neither of you pull away.

“Don’t thank me, I’ll always be here.”

When you’re going to bed that night, you take off the necklace he got for you. Opening the drawer of your small jewelry vanity, but you stop mid-way. Because inside, there’s already several of the exact same necklaces inside.

The same fish with the same black string tied to it. Your brows furrow, fixated on the scene in front of you.

It’s only then do some questions ring through your mind. Firstly, how did he know where you lived? He didn’t even ask, and it was almost like you were following him.

Two, what did he mean by he’ll always be here?

It’s exhausting for Satoru. Going to sleep at 4 in the morning then waking up at 7 is one thing, but this is something entirely different.

He knows he should probably let you go, stop killing himself with this. But he can’t. He’s already lost one person he held dearly, and even though you’re still here, he still lost you too.

Pictures from the past greet him as he walks back into his house. He doesn’t look at them, not anymore. Looking back at when everything was perfect hurts him too much, much more than he’d like to admit.

He’ll never take them down, though. A part of him hopes he’ll be able to show you them. You’d probably call him a crazy stalker and call the cops on him. It doesn’t matter to him, however.

He debates himself every night and every morning. Questioning his decisions in life and if what he’s doing is the right thing. But his grip is tight. Satoru can’t let go of things, people easily.

Although that’s a weakness he’s realized, he still pursues.

He pursues it because when he sees your families figure standing in line to your favorite coffee shop that you visit every morning, his lips form a smile.

He pursues it because when he not so accidentally bumps into you, chatting you up like it’s second nature, the smile you give him is what keeps him close to you, in your grip.

The lingering thought stays in his mind. He’s not sure how much longer his heart could last.

Not when he’s already on his 60th first date with you.

Maybe one day he’ll you go.

[shadyruinskryptonite]

Titan Bending Chapter 10

Warning: Violence consistent with cannon, NSFW so MDNI, language, major character death (both consistent with canon of both AOT and ATLA as well as diverging from canon), so much trauma literally everyone is so traumatized, very much slow burn, a little enemies to lovers, SO MUCH ANGST, hurt/comfort, hurt and delayed comfort, AFAB reader

Chapter Warnings: Killing, violence, guns, swords, bombs

WC: 3442

Previous Chapter, Next Chapter

Masterlist

Tags: @mochminnie @sseleniaa

The next day was filled with anxiety between trying to lay low and avoid detection by the MPs, trying to learn who we could trust, and not knowing what was happening with Erwin and Hange on the inside. Not to mention, it still felt like we were no closer to finding out where Eren and Historia are. 

As night fell, it seemed like we were going to go to bed tonight having made no progress. Levi was using some…enhanced interrogation techniques on the member of the Interior Police that we captured, but it seemed that even he didn’t know much. But, finally, we got the break we had all been waiting for.

In the distance, two cloaked figures approach. At first we were all poised and ready to strike, but thankfully it turned out to be Hange and Moblit with a newspaper article detailing everything - including the fact that the Scouts were no longer outlaws.

The kids scream and jump and dance with joy and I can’t help myself but to throw my arms around Hange in a massive hug. A hug that she returns without a second thought. 

Wow, I think I forgot what it’s like to hug someone.

As everyone seems to celebrate around us, Levi approaches and says, “looks like Erwin’s gamble payed off.” It isn’t hard to tell that there’s still something bothering him, though.

Hange responds, “that it did, but it wasn’t just Erwin that gambled. Many people had to make a lot of hard choices for this to work.”

“Whereas my choices got three of your people killed. I’m sorry.” When Levi says this, it only just now dawns on me how much this must have been effecting him. I can see from my vantage point that he and Hange exchange a look that seems to carry more weight than spoken words ever could.

Wow, they must actually be really good friends. There’s a lot of love in the forgiveness that she just conveyed to him. I love the kids, but I hope I can be on that level with them one day. Even Levi, I think.

Ever the voice of reason, Levi interrupts the soft moment that I’m having alone in my head by saying “here’s the thing: the Interiors may have lost but not all of them know it. They still have Eren, and Historia, too. We need to find them quickly.”

Hange holds up a book as she says, “Right, I think I know where they might be. Let’s get there, and put an end to this fight!”

The air is buzzing with a renewed sense of purpose, and for perhaps the first time I genuinely feel proud to be a part of this organization. Since we’re no longer outlaws, we can finally travel by horse and cart again.

As I climb into the cart with Hange, Levi, and Mikasa I hear snickers behind me. I turn to see Connie, Jean, and Sasha laughing together and looking straight at me.

“Hey y/n, I thought you were over your fear of horses! Why are you getting on the cart, huh?” Connie jabs.

Before I could answer Hange lets out a burst of her own laughter and says, incredulously, “you’re afraid of horses?”

“I am not afraid of horses!” I partially yell, looking between Hange and the three musketeers. Directing my attention to Connie as I sit down, I add, “plus, I don’t know if you can tell but there’s not exactly a spare horse for me right now.”

“That’s no problem, you could have mine!” Sasha offers mischeviously.

My eyes widden and I quickly decline her offer, which only makes everyone laugh harder. There’s even a ghost of a chuckle coming from Levi. As soon as I’m situated, the entire group starts forward and Hange begins to tell us about where we’re headed - the Reiss chapel. Hange clearly doubts herself a bit, going so far as to say that she might be jumping to conclusions.

“It seems you’ve got your own gamble, Hang,” I joke lightly. “I think your’s is a bit more of a safe bet than Erwin’s was though.” She simply smiles at me, to which I happily return it. But the smiles can’t last long.

“So, do you think we’ll be up against the same people we fought the other day?” I ask.

“Yes, it’s extremely likely that anyone left from that squad will be there.” Hange answers.

“You should understand, this is Kenny the Ripper. If he’s there he’s our biggest obstacle. In terms of his threat level, it’s like you’ll be fighting me. Oh wait, with those weapons of his, he’ll be stronger.” 

That’s reassuring.

“Then he’s unbeatable, at least for us,” Sasha chimes in.

“Maybe we should wait and meet up with other soldiers,” Connie adds.

“No chance in hell,” Mikasa grits out.

God, this girl really needs to learn how to think without her emotions getting in the way.

The kids keep going back and forth on the topic as Hange dives into why Levi doesn’t know anything about Kenny despite having lived with him. Surprisingly enough, Levi didn’t even know his last name before this evening. And what I didn’t realize is that he has the same last name as Mikasa.

So that’s why she reacted the way she did when Levi was interrogating that interior guy.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to know anything particularly helpful, but what strikes me as really weird is what Levi asked her next.

“Tell me this, have you ever suddenly felt a…power awaken inside you?”

I furrow my eyebrows at him but judging by her reaction, it wasn’t a baseless question. Just then, the cart bounces hard and I’m thrown sideways into Levi.

“Tch, careful brat,” he almost growls at me.

“Oh yeah, lemme just get out and repave the road real quick so that I can ensure I won’t fall on you again and wrinkle your shirt,” I spit back.

Turning back to Mikasa like our little exchange never happened, Levi says “this has happened for Kenny Ackerman as well. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt an absurd amount of strength surging through him. And in that moment, he knew just what he needed to do. And it’s happened to me, too. Makes me wonder.”

As Levi finishes his sentiment, we see the little chapel come into view. It seems rather unassuming. And just upon entry, it is just that: unassuming. Just a couple of pews and a tiny pulpit. But, most notably, no sign of Eren or Historia or Rod Reiss. But, Hange being Hange, knew that this would be the case and quickly finds a small door under a rug.

While she searched for this hidden entrance, the kids and I prepared a series of bombs, barrels of gunpowder, and flamable oil to hopefully give us an advantage.

As we finish up our preparations, I turn to Hange and Levi and ask “Hey, before we go down there, do you think I can bend? I’d be a lot more useful if I can bend instead of relying on this machine.”

“I don’t see why not, this would be the last group that we’d need to keep a secret from anyway and it would give us a distinct advantage since they don’t know about you,” Hange responds.

That’s all the more I needed to hear before I jumped to my feet and ran outside to bend the water from one of the trees nearby. Once I was back inside the chapel, I swirled the water around me to keep it close and available, but it was still too bulky for confines like this. So, with a flexing of my fists, I sped the water up to such a degree that it narrowed and compressed around me. When I’m happy with what I’ve got, I look up only to find everyone staring at me.

This is the first time they’ve seen me really, genuinely, bend. 

I center myself and give a nod to signal that I’m ready if they are. Everyone enters the small crawl space between the hatch door and the doors that lead to the chamber except for me. I have to enter last so that I don’t run the risk of hitting anyone with my water right now, given that it’s moving so fast it would obliterate anything it comes into contact with.

And then it begins.

The doors fly open and the barrels roll down. Everyone bursts through immediately afterwards and Sasha is quick to hit them with a flaming arrow. Now I can finally jump down and join. Levi and Mikasa take off into the smoke. The others shoot signal flares. I add some fog to the mix.

“35 in the top parts of the pillars! Continue with the plan! Take them out right here!” Levi yells.

Each of us takes off.

A female voice yells from above something about getting us to spread out and surrounding us.

Sasha ignites another bomb. People start coughing and I follow the sound. I reserve some of my water to move at high speed while I use the rest to maneuver. 

Someone grunts to my right. I launch a whip and hear a scream in response. I made contact.

Armin calls for Connie to get back into the smoke and I move to cover him. 

Diving back down I see Hange take someone out, but she doesnt’ notice another person behind her.

“Hange!” I scream and she turns. Before she can do anything, I hurdle myself towards her assailant, making sure I get close enough to him that my water helix gets him. It slices him clean in half.

There’s a “whoo hoo” in the distance and I know Kenny has entered the fight. I want to go after him and help Levi but suddenly there are two more people in my way. I drop, narrowly missing their bullets. My water catches me before I spout back up. Once I’m spinning in the air, I get a clear view. They stare for a moment, and I seize the opportunity, sending my own bullets of ice their way. 

Boom!

In the distance there’s another, smaller explosion.

Levi used his oil bag.

From the corner of my eye I see him land a good hit on Kenny. But then Hange gets clocked by the blonde bitch and sent flying into a pillar. We all see it. She calls for them to fall back. 

I messily drop to the ground and run over to Hange, her injuries are pretty bad but not the worst, all things considered. Before I can heal Levi calls out, “Armin and Moblit, grab Hange. We have to keep moving.”

“No! Wait!” I protest. “That hit could have very easily fucked up her back, before we move her at all at least let me make sure her spine isn’t broken anywhere because if it is and we move her, she could end up paralyzed.”

I don’t wait for a response, already ghosting my hands encased in water over her back. I heal what I can as I quickly triage her before stating, “okay, it seems like her spine is in tact. It’s possible that there’s some internal bleeding but if I can’t sense it strongly then that’s not a huge problem right at the moment and even if it were that’s beyond the scope of my healing. She’s good to move.” I stand back and allow Armin and Moblit to scoop her up like Levi instructed as we all push forward.

We can only push so far before we’re met with a net and no way out. Levi’s demeanor is outwardly unchanged from his baseline, but I can tell in how he’s looking around that he doesn’t know what to do next and it’s panicking him. And as if things couldn’t get any worse, there’s the telltale light of a titan shifting from the blocked room. 

As the ground continues to shake and the blast tries to blow us back, I realize that something is terribly, horribly wrong.

I yell over the cacophony, “whenever Eren shifts, it doesn’t take this long and it’s certainly not this strong. Mindless titans are a lot weaker so this doesn’t make sense!”

As a small favor of the universe, the tremors at least open a way for Armin and Moblit to get Hange out and to safety, but it’s in the ceiling. The only thing I can think of is to anchor myself with the ODM gear and bend them out.

“Hey! Hold her tight and stand close enough that all three of you can get through that hole together!” I order. They comply without question and, while I have to fight against the gail force wind which makes bending even harder, I’m able to spout them out.

In the time it takes me to do this, the others find a way past the net and I am forced to catch up with them around what is turning out to be a massive titan. By the time I reach them, I see Mikasa holding Historia and Jean, Connie, and Levi unlocking Eren. But by this time it’s also clear that we’re not going to be able to fight our way back in the direction we came and that we’ll be trapped.

I’m not the only one that has this realization. I make a shelf of ice.

It will keep stray rocks off but it won’t do shit against the whole damn ceiling!

The rocks quickly begin to pile on my shelf and it doesn’t take long for it to become a bit difficult to hold. Instead of waiting for the weight to become too much to handle, I chuck it to the side and simply make a new shelf, but now the problem is that I don’t think there’s enough water for me to do this little trick again.

Meanwhile, Eren seems to be going through some kind of existential crisis.

Bad fucking timing, kid. Just fucking do something.

The others seem to be hyping him up as best as they can, but the longer it takes for us to make a decision the harder it becomes for me to hold this ice.

I grit out, “I don’t…think…I can do this…much…longer!”

Levi almost pleads with Eren, saying “listen, I really hate that I do this to you all the time, but…you’ve gotta make a choice here.” And this seems to do the trick. It spurs him into action. Eren transforms. But it’s not a normal transformation. No, that would be too easy. His transformation seems to almost extend beyond him. But that’s an issue for later. Right now we all just have to take cover under him and hope that he’s strong enough to hold out.

Everyone runs towards Eren’s titan, but at this point I don’t have the energy or strength to throw this slab like the last one. It’s Levi that turns and sees me still standing there, shaking under the weight of the rocks. His eyes are wide as he yells, “y/n! Just drop it behind you and run forward!” I start to tilt it back so that it hopefully slides behind me and I just…run like hell. But my wobbly legs only take me a few steps beyond where I dropped the slab before they give out and I’m struggling to even hoist myself up onto my arms.

I have a fleeting thought that this might be it for me, but no sooner does that cross my mind than Levi is scooping me up and carrying me to safety. Everyone else is huddled together and holding onto Eren wherever they can find purchase so that they’re not blown or shaken away, but Levi sets me down in front of him and holds on around me, effectively securing the both of us.

As soon as it began, it ended. Eren had essentially encased us all in a new room, saving us. When things calmed down, Mikasa and Jean went to break Eren out of the shell he had cast himself into while everyone else, including myself, collapsed. It felt like every muscle in my body was shaking from exertion. 

After a few deep breathes, I open my eyes to see Levi peering down at me, offering a hand to help me up. I gladly accept his assistance but when I’m back on my feet I falter again and he’s quickly got his arm wrapped around my waist. His face is still stoney, but I can see there’s worry in his eyes. 

Still holding onto him tightly, I smile tiredly and reassure him, “I’m alright, I’m alright. My body is just exhausted. I just need a minute and I’ll be good to go.” He nods, but notably doesn’t let go of me.

“Thank you,” I say. “For your suggestion to drop the rocks instead of trying to throw them, for pulling me to safety, for making sure I didn’t go anywhere. Just…thank you.” He doesn’t say anything, but it’s like his eyes are saying “you’re welcome.” It’s only now that I realize just how close we are to each other.

Seemingly noticing the same thing, Levi clears his throat and I shake myself out, finally able to stand on my own.

“Where’s Hange?” I ask. 

“Outside with Armin and Moblit,” Levi replies calmly. Just then, the others return after securing an exit and we all leave the chamber. There’s no time to assess the damage left behind by Rod’s titan, so we quickly load up and take off. As soon as we’re moving, I get to work healing Hange.

“Alright Hang, I’m sorry but this is going to hurt worse before it feels better,” I warn her.

Before I start, Erwin approaches on horseback and we debrief. While Hange is distracted, I wrap my hands in water and lean in.

“Ooooooohhh what are you doing?!” Hange asks excitedly.

“I was trying to get this over with while you weren’t paying attention so it wouldn’t hurt as badly,” I glance to her.

“Are you kidding?! I would’ve been so angry with you if you didn’t let me take every step of this in!”

Even when she’s laid up on a cart she’s still painfully curious. Too cute.

I begin talking softly with her as everyone else discusses next steps. “Alright, if that’s how you want it I’ll give you the play by play. I have the water wrapped around my hands and I’m going to place it over the afflicted area. Then once I start actually bending it will begin to glow. Once it starts glowing is when the healing is actually occuring. And before you ask, no, I don’t really know how it works, I just know that I can feel your injury and direct the water to that location.”

She listens with wide eyes and without another word I bring both of my hands forward until they’re just barely ghosting above her shoulder. Just like I said it would, the water begins glowing and I feel her bristle for a moment before she relaxes.

“When I checked you over earlier I thought there might be some internal bleeding, do you mind if I check that while we’re at it?”

“Knock yourself out!”

Smiling at her continued enthusiasm, I move my hands over her chest and then begin slowly working my way along her torso. When I’m done, I flick the water over the side of the cart and give her a thumbs up, saying, “Good news, I don’t notice anything now so I don’t think there’s any kind of internal bleeding. You should probably still have your arm in a sling to rest it and recuperate, but it seems like you’re absolutely fine to me.”

She smiles back at me before I see a familiar look on her face: she’s thinking. Before I can ask what’s on her mind, she says, “Y/n, if you can sense blood, does that mean you can bend it?”

The smile is wiped from my face in an instant and my mouth drops open despite not knowing how to respond. After a moment of sitting there like a fish out of water, I reluctantly say, “Theoretically, yes.”

“Well then we should try it! Maybe that can be our next exp-”

“No. Absolutely not,” I cut her off. Sitting back on my heels I break away from her gaze and notice that Levi had been tuned in to this conversation. Without looking at either of them, I sit back on the cart and wait to reach our destination without another word.

[daily-rayless]

Fic-writer questions!

I stole this from @runicmagitek so thank you! I'm not going to tag anyone specifically, but I know I have a number of talented fic-writing mutuals, so take a stab at this if you want to.

I'm going to include original fiction in a few places, as well as all my fics currently posted to FFN, just so we have more data to work with.

How many works do you have on AO3?

FFN: 52

AO3: 10

What's your total AO3 word count?

FFN (assuming their word counter is still functional, which is perhaps foolish of me): 601436

AO3: 517070

What fandoms do you write for? Tales of the Abyss, Transistor, and Fate most recently. In the past, Persona, Suikoden, Harry Potter, Soul Nomad, Makai Kingdom, Yggdra Union, Wild Arms, and some assorted others.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? (Including FFN's faves):

363 – Birds (Harry Potter)

333 – Death and Ker (Persona 3)

182 – Elysion (Persona 3 & 4)

180 – Word on the Inside (Persona 4)

122 – Crime and Creme Brulee (Persona 4)

All on FFN! These are all very old fics, and I think I'll need a good long while before I get numbers like that on AO3.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Generally, yes. I like to let the reader know I'm aware of them and appreciate them leaving their thoughts, because readers who do want to comment are a minority. As for situations where I wouldn't, I'd probably ignore a flame. Or if a person leaves a bunch of comments at once, I might not respond to each individually. Or if someone left something without much context, like “huh” or “wow”, I might have no idea how to respond and just leave it.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hm, it could depend. Anyone who's reading Scarlet has probably already played Yggdra Union and knows we're going to end with our fourteen-year-old heroine falling in battle while desperately defending her kingdom. “Misbegotten” focuses on the Demon Path of Soul Nomad, so, again, you'd go into that with a certain expectation of angst. So I think my ending that combines the most angst with surprise is the ending of “Cycles”, a Normal Path Soul Nomad fic where I decided to explore the game's concept of reincarnation. So someone dies at the end, very abruptly and somewhat graphically. The fact that I let Gig and Revya be married in it adds to the angst. Looking back more than ten years, yeah, it's very angsty, but I got some good feedback for it, so I don't regret it.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? On the subject of happy endings, I've been accused of not liking them. I love happy endings! But I do live in some dread of things feeling too pat and “wrapped up with a bow”. A lot of my oneshots are fairly low stakes, so the endings are happy enough, but looking at my longer stuff... Soul Searching ends with Gig and Revya getting married, the world being at peace, everything on a pretty happy note. (Unless you count the tragedy of Danette eating all of Gig's and Revya's hotpods, and, honestly, you should.)

Do you get hate on fics? I've never gotten seriously flamed so far. In the early 2010s, there was this one anon going through Persona fics and leaving very short flames on MinakoxShinjiro stuff, barely changing their wording at all. It was extremely low effort, impersonal, and I don't really count it.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? No, I wouldn't say so. When it comes to sex, I tend to focus more on a few individual details than a moment-to-moment description, and then the reader can fill in what they're comfortable with. With my latest original project (not Eola), I did get the threshold moment of my mom reading the draft and saying, “You write sex really well!”

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Okay, so when I was much younger, in the early 2000s, I had this long-running thing I wrote that I ended up calling “Kuja's Coffee-Bean Cafe”. Basically, it was a crossover of every video game I'd played at the time, where Kuja from Final Fantasy 9 ran a restaurant where all the various villains gather and have their own hierarchy and petty infighting and shenanigans. Some good guys are allowed to visit, and some of them have been captured for the villains' amusement, and all of it was played for humor. Trust me when I tell you that it was very funny to me at the time and it does not hold up. (Though it did make me speculatively ship Sephiroth and Celes, and I still think that ship has merit...) Since then, I do still sometimes write crossovers, but they're for my own amusement.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Last year (I think?) there was a post going around about how a lesser-known fan archive was grabbing stuff from FFN and AO3...but I honestly don't remember whether any of my fics were affected.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope, not that I know of.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? My best friend and I came up with a Lion King sequel which I then wrote down. Some years later, me and the same friend wrote two original novellas together. For the first one, one of us would write a paragraph or two, and then the other would take over, and it built from there. For the second one (which we never finished), we each controlled a main character, so we would switch off for dialogue and individual actions, but otherwise we shared the rest of the story. It worked pretty well, and if you have a writing buddy whose style works with yours, I highly recommend it.

What's your all-time favorite ship? I'm not sure I have a mathematically favorite ship versus whatever ship I'm currently most focused on. In 2019, it was Red and Boxer from Transistor. Last year, it was Asch and Natalia from Tales of the Abyss. Right now, I've been swinging back towards Archer and Hakuno from Fate.

What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I've always been sad I never finished Public Speaking, my Suikoden V longfic about super minor npc Salisha Raulbel and what she thought of the war. It was very niche, but readers still found it and enjoyed it. I hung with it for two years, between 2006-08, but a lot was happening in my life, I was changing as a person, I was getting into new fandoms, and I couldn't maintain my interest; I also abandoned another long Suikoden fic and an original novel during that period. What's even worse was that the fic was over halfway done, and for a couple years afterwards, I would get comments asking for an update. I think that's part of why I now never start posting fics until I've completed at least one draft. Do I think I'll pull one of those 10+ Years Later updates? Probably not. But it was a good fic, and I'm sorry I left people hanging.

What are your writing strengths? I'm told my dialogue and descriptions are good. People also seem to respond well to my emotional scenes. And of course on my next book I'm going to put this right on the cover:

“She writes sex well!” – Her Mom

What are your writing weaknesses? Having just praised my dialogue, I'll admit I have a problem with slowing down dialogue to add too much physical communication – compressed lips, narrowed eyes, raised eyebrows. I know it can start to feel ridiculous, but I want you all to see the scene I'm seeing and I can't very well hire actors. I also feel like my fight scenes aren't the greatest; I find them a pain to write. Probably a byproduct of not running around the wilderness with a sword myself. I also, no matter how hard I try, fall prey to typos. I'm pretty good at editing other people's work, but my own writing is a whole 'nother animal.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I think it's a case by case thing. In general though, it can be overdone, especially if the author is, say, writing a character who's speaking in Spanish, but they keep having the character saying “I'm going to do my tarea” or “I need to go to la escuela!” when just saying “homework” and “school” flows so much more naturally. On the other hand, language is culture and character and history – using some of it can be very helpful in establishing setting and even time period. It also changes depending on how tightly we're in a character's pov. If we're right in the protagonist's head, and my hero doesn't speak French, and they overhear a spy saying, “J'ai volé le lapin sacré!" the meaning should remain a mystery. I shouldn't have the translation provided in a footnote or a parenthetical. On the other hand, if the pov is more pulled back and omniscient, then the author can translate it while reminding the reader the hero didn't understand it.

Overall, when it comes to using other languages, I think you need to keep the reader's needs in mind. If you want to throw out foreign phrases for a bit of flair, go for it, but limit it to phrases that aren't crucial to understanding the scene or story. Otherwise, you need to find a way to elegantly explain what's being said, without making it feel like a footnote. Something like that just breaks the immersive feeling of reading.

First fandom you wrote for? Probably that Lion King story. It was called The Lion King IV: The Revenge of Scar. There was a) no Lion King III and b) no Scar. I called it that because it took place three generations after the original (because that's how titles work), and Scar apparently had such a long con going he'd foreseen the actions of future evil lion villains who'd never even met him.

Favorite fic you've ever written? I'm going to repeat what I said on this post – The Beast in the Dark, the third installment of my unposted Fate trilogy. All three fics were written with the intention that I wouldn't be sharing them. That's also true of the Muse Trilogy and all my recent Tales of the Abyss stuff, but the Fate stuff was at a somewhat sadder, lonelier period in my life. I think that's one reason it's so special to me. Also, like I say in the linked post, because I wasn't going to share it, I allowed myself to throw all sorts of over the top tropes at it. I think it really helped me along in my writing, and, arguably, opening it up for public consumption might mess with how I feel about it. We'll see. I'm still not sure about posting it.

When it comes to fics I have posted though, I'll refer back to the same post and say Death and Ker. It was a fic that was really exciting both to write and post, right as Persona 3: Portable was coming out. I feel a lot of nostalgia for it, and while it's not perfect, I think parts of it still hold up.

[kitausuret]

FOR whenever you reblog the “choose violence” ask game at the end of the month: Answer the questions in sequence order of MK’s grocery shopping trips in March

This was asked of me like literally a month ago but I kept scheduling the post for later and later. But here we go.

1. The character everyone gets wrong

(Spectacular Spider-Man #151, Conway & Buscema)

Well, this isn't hard - obviously my answer is going to be Flash Thompson. I don't know why it's apparently so difficult - he's not really that complicated of a character. Not compared to a lot of Marvel mainstays. But so many people either make him JUST a bully or JUST a hoo-rah America military man. And by that I mean both fans and canon writers. But Flash contains so many multitudes! He's worked in schools, he's a mentor, he's a coach, he's charisma incarnate, he has so many ways he can help people. And I love him.

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

Uhhh I'm not gonna do this with an image because I don't save these kinds of things lol. But I did once see a long post (and I mean lengthy) describing in detail - mind you, withOUT actually giving any canon evidence or issues or really anything to back up their argument - why Eddie Brock nor the Venom Symbiote should ever be shipped with anyone else, ADDITIONALLY stating that if you were to, say, add another person to that relationship, that you fundamentally are misunderstanding the whole point of """"symbrock"""" and, largely, Venom as a concept. Uh-huh. Okay.

Hilariously, after I saw that post, it stuck with me but it also spurned me into such a RAGE that I cranked out a massive new chapter of my fic in the space of about two weeks after being stuck for months. It worked, but boy I was so mad about that. I took that kinda personally. Insinuating that I didn't understand Venom. That I didn't understand Eddie Brock. Bull fucking shit.

Anyways,

4. what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

I don't remember specifically the last person I blocked that wasn't a bot, but I do know that I will block people in the Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn tags at the drop of a hat. ...oh wait! I do remember the last person I blocked. They had some octogoblin thing they were going on about but they had put it in the Harry tag. I didn't wanna see that. So. Blocked!

10. worst part of fanon

Wow, loaded question. Probably the racism. And the misogyny. Both of which are still rampant! It's something I, myself, am still trying to work on, so it's not like I'm excluded from my own frustration. But I think what's even worse is people who pretend like it's NOT a problem, that fandom is a magical problem-free space.

I'm also just now realizing that the question says fanon and not fandom but I think my statement still stands. To try and actually answer it though, uhhh I think the worst thing about fanon is when it literally becomes canon. Stop doing that, Big Two.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

I wanna talk about something here but I don't wanna scandalize too many of my followers. Actually you know what fuck it I'm gonna talk about it anyways. (mpreg mention below the cut)

I don't understand why so many people in the Venom fandom make fics where the host (Eddie, because nobody writes about anyone else) is the one going through the gestational cycle when there is a new spawn rather than the symbiote. It is literally so much funnier and also makes so much more sense to make the symbiote the pregnant one. "but kita it's can-" SHUT UP THE SYMBIOTE WAS THE PREGNANT ONE (it's called "choose violence" asks for a reason 💖)

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

Uhhhh see above! Racism. Misogyny. Possibly lesbophobia. Mostly for the denial of it all. But I also find a lot of ship discourse nonsensical. If you don't like it, just block! Mute! Filter! It's literally that easy.

30 doesn't exist so I will. Idk. I will give you a panel from an issue labeled 30. Let's go with Venom #30 (Bunn, Silas) and this very funny moment of the symbiote flirting with Valkyrie. 😂

[nanoa1foryou]

@there-is-just-me-myself-and-i Thanks for the tag! Music games are always my faves! Sorry this took so so long. Sometimes I need time.

Put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, no skipping!

No disrespect by Set It Off

Starting off with a banger. This has been on my workout playlists since the Midnight first dropped. One of my faves on the album.

How Wonderful by NateWantsToBattle

Have listened to it on and off for quite some time. I don't particularly like the slow down ending of it, but beyond that it's a great hyped up song.

Parasite, by Electric Callboy

My favourite on the album. Love it Love it Love it! I think my favourite heavier track from them over all!

Angel, by Big Bad Bosses

I've talked about my problems with this song before, but what can I do? Nate's voice is just too good, and the song is an actual banger.

Wow Oh Wow, by Jedward

Been going over some Jedward music recently. It's all very catchy, though not all great. This one's okay though.

Haunted and Unwanted, by NateWantsToBattle

So underappreciated. It just sounds so different from anything else he has done. And who wouldn't love the more dark vocal peformance??? Hello, where is all the love for this song??

Not Your Baby, by Cadmium & Jex

Got it from some old dsmp animatic that I don't remember the name of. I like it a lot. It's been around ever since.

Delete Me, by NateWantsToBattle

I really like the lyrics. That is all.

National Heroes, by Blind Channel

Also known as Alex Mattson flexing his producer skills on main. Wish they had more stuff like this. I doubt we'll ever get anything like it ever again though

Timebomb, by Blind Channel (feat. Alex Mattson)

Hah, that feature title still makes me laugh. Might as well add it to every song of theirs now, huh. One of the first Blind Channel songs I really listened to. Very fun.

3/10 were NateWantsToBattle and 4/10 he is the singer of. This is a fan account first and foremost. Never forget that.

Still, glad to see some of the other stuff here. Sometimes when I put my music on suffle I get 10 songs I never listen to, so this turned out pretty good.

Anyway, @nwtbobsessedemo

You get to be my one and only tag today! Have fun!

[icharchivist]

i do think the max0r videos are funny but i completely understand thats not for everyone. humor is subjective and i havent played any of the games he makes videos about and i get that if you like something and want to share the love then a guy low-key or high-key making fun of the game isnt what youre up for

its just dumb because those things all have the same game tag so yt assumes thats what you want

algorithms are a plague upon mankind

suddenly lucilius is making a lot of sense

i genuinely don't know the guy so i'm not judging him on his content and all honestly

but ff15 is overhated ever since its releases and you cannot say anything positive about this game without hate coming your way because people need to complain

the screenshot was just because it happened to be this one video coming my way, but it's not the only video that does that. Every single time i rewatch a sad scene from ff15 i get hundred of videos rec about "here's why ff15 was a massive disappointment" "here's why ff15 sucks" "here's why ff15 was so bad"

so i have genuinely no reason to give any second of the day to another creator popping up on my recommendation telling me ff15 is bad, even if it's to make an humorous point. Like wow........ you think ff15 is bad..... so groundbreaking...... you're truly a free thinker...... no one ever had this opinion in their lives before....... as if there hasn't been constant content about how bad ff15 is those past 8 years.... as if ff16 didn't do its whole communication on "we're not going to be bad like ff15 🥰".... truly your opinion on it is very unique and i'm sure will bring a totally new light on the game....... you convinced me 8 years later.....

it wouldn't piss me off nearly as much if it wasn't for the fact that hearing all those negative takes on the game genuinely had me stall if for years because it turned me off from it, only to give it a shot after i dreamed about it out of nowhere (this happens a lot with me, fictions show up in dreams begging me to pay attention to them and who i am to deny it), and despite coming in expecting all the flaws i've heard about, i had such an emotional journey with this game that really little game can properly compare to that it genuinely pissed me off even more that i even gave a second of credit to the mass mob blowing up the flaws of the game to the point of ignoring the way it still is a beautiful game, even if it's a flawed one.

so you can imagine on my hand, just looking out for some scenes that really impacted me on youtube, to just have Youtube telling me "huh... but don't you know the game is bad? here, let me show you. the game is bad. why are you crying. We said it's bad. Here's a funny video about why it's bad. because it's really ridiculous you're crying really. don't you know the mass is always right." like god.

but i'm all with you on the fact algorithm are a fucking plague and it's really just very annoying when you're into something that's like vaguely controversial because you can't just be enjoying it in your corner. Algorithm will be so desperate to feed you more stuff to keep you hooked on the platform it'll just throw you things that drive engagement. And negativity engages people more than positivity.

Anyway i've always been team "Lucilius is right" (my only issues with Lucilius is how he treats his primals, aside from that i'm totally 100% supportive of his motivation that both god and the world suck)

but istg i have this long beef with Youtube on that regard (you'll notice the post i reblogged to add the screenshot is from 2021, in which i was complaining about something i was already experimenting for years). This is not a small term irritation. It's been my nemesis for too long. this is a burning hate that will never waver. they made me this way.

[a-daya]

Going back to Tumblr, wowie zowie

Wow, apparently I haven't updated this thing since 2016, 6 freaking years huh

Well I'm back here now, I have been on Twitter -which is on the risk of going down any time now because of mister emerald mines- since then and a lot have changed. For one I have a gig in gamedev as a low-poly 3D artist! I was able to get it thanks to honing my low-poly 3D modelling skills on Quake

Speaking of, I'm currently working on my own custom Quake campaign, Tomb of Thunder, Which will be 7 maps long (a secret one included), adds two new enemies (the Gladiator and Nail Infantry), one new powerup (The Hourglass of Kronos, which slows down enemies), and replaces 3 weapons (Shotcycler, Chaingun, Railgun). This is not only out of love for the game but also to gather up game dev skills to properly prepare myself for making my own game once I'm done.

Another thing is I am now putting my work (which also includes my art ofc) in this blog also without having to resort to using two blogs to separate both, I think putting everything in one place is more practical, on top of that I will organize all my work I will put there under a unique tag so it can be seen with just a click among all the other stuff I will share.

I will make another post once I'm done putting my stuff in there

[yoongis-black-grilfriend]

Oh em geeee if you do a drama part 3 can you respond to it here or tag me in it pleaseee. Also if you have a tag list can you add me? 💗

Drama 3

Here you go love <3

If you haven't done so yet, click here to read part 1 and part 2

Warnings: Cursing, Toxicity, & Angst

Summary: Part 3 of DRAMA, You and Jack are dating but your relationship isn't public and someone from his past starts drama between the two of you; Jack confronts about fighting Katie at the party...

Finally! 

You literally knew he was going to find out about this so why were you stuck in your tracks? Why couldn’t you find the words to say?

Jack stood up from his chair and walked toward you. 

“Huh you have nothing to say now but you had so much to say when you were feeding me that bullshit this morning. Don’t even worry about it, I'm not trippin” the tone he used was mocking your tone of voice.

Lowkey wanting to go off on him, he still continued on with his rant. 

“I know what she did was wrong fucked up even but do you even realize what you did? Everyone knows we're together now, they all know what you look like!” 

What he was saying was making sense but a part of you disagreed. He took his career very seriously (as he should) but you don't like how he tried to lock you away over a choice he made. Then again he made it very clear what could happen if you guys got together but this stuff with Katie was not something you were expecting at all and you have finally reached your breaking point. 

 “Oh so that’s what this is about?”, your just worried that I'm not your dirty little secret anymore? Are you sad that you don’t have to keep me locked in hotel rooms while you go out and have the time of your life waiting for you to get back just so the cycle can repeat the next day?”

He is now facing, your noses keep brushing against each other and you can feel his minty breath on your lips. His eyes soften slightly.

“I’m not trying to be an asshole at all but this industry is brutal I have gone through so much to get where I am right now and all I have is people watching my every move analyzing how I talk, what I talk about, who I talk about those things with and I'm going to be completely honest with you it is draining the hell out of me, having people assume what I’m really like when they haven’t even meet me and having my every move watched by someone waiting for me to fuck up is sucking the life out of me.” 

He took a deep breath and felt a couple of tears fall from his eyes. 

“I could never forgive myself if you had to go through what I had to go through because I know it would be because of me.” His hands cup your cheeks and he wipes away a few tears that fall from your face.

“I envy you, you are a regular person you have goals and dreams that have nothing to do with being famous or super rich you just want a regular life and I adore that about you, you make me feel normal I know it sounds like I’m hyping myself up when I say this but I am a celebrity some people hardly see me as a person but you make me feel regular person again and you give me a sense of peace in this hectic world I’m living in right now.” 

He presses a soft kiss to your forehead and finishes saying “ No one knows you like I do and I don’t know what I would do if I saw thousands of people trying to tear down the love of my life. They have already tried to do it starting with recording you beating Katie's ass” he chuckled. 

Wow, he had really just revealed a lot to you. You can agree with the fact that his popularity could overwhelm you sometimes and that you love to be in your little shell with just him. So were you really ready to break this shell and showcase your relationship to the whole world? Hell no.

“I see what you're saying and I'm sorry for potentially embarrassing you” He shook his head disagreeing with you “You could never embarrass me, baby, I see where you coming from and I’m sorry for what I said earlier we just have to establish that there is a place and a time for things like this and my time is the legal way.” 

Furrowing your eyebrows you tilt your head in confusion “What is that supposed to mean?” 

He let out a smirk and dropped his hands from your face to go to your living room table. “Every girl I have slept with has signed an NDA which basically states what happened between us stays between us and Katie did not follow through with that agreement so I'm taking her to court.”

You wanted to feel bad but you didn't. She was doing way too much just for Jack to sue her trifling ass.  

“I also am getting that video off the face of this earth just so it doesn't get further out there the only people that have the video were the people at the party which is a good thing because my team is contacting everyone as we speak so this video doesn’t end up somewhere it shouldn't be.” 

Walking back over to you he grabs your hand and leads you to the couch and takes your shoes off laying your feet across his lap. Taking one of your white painted feet he starts to message them. 

“It’s up to you to decide whether or not you want the world to know about our relationship. I'm with whatever you're with, pretty girl.”

You thought about it long and hard and seeing things from Jack’s point of view you were not ready to step all the way into his world. But you're okay with being all the way into his heart for now <3. 

OMG this is the last part of this series please let me know any questions, comments and concerns. And you can also request :)

[primofate]

Genshin x fem!reader [Volleyball Team AU - Inspired by Haikyuu!] You cheer something embarrassing + The rival team comments about it

Note: My fixation on this AU continues... I just think there’s so many scenarios to explore. 

Scenario: Your friend has dared you to cheer something embarrassing for your boyfriend. Everyone hears it, including the rivalling team...

Warnings: not proofread, some swearing and profanity, slight sexual innuendo if you squint (Tartaglia’s)

Other works in the Volleyball Team AU Series: Click Here

#1 Zhongli (Captain/Wing Spiker/Ace)

Zhongli is pretty well-known among Aces.

He knows you’re up there on the stands and for him that’s good enough. Is not the type to keep looking up there to check if you’re watching. He’d rather be focused on the game.

So when you shout out his name just as they’re about to start, his head snaps towards you and you can see surprise on his face.

“Zhongli!!!” literally all eyes are on you now, the coaches, the managers, the other team. “Y-You’re--”

Your friend nudges and whispers at you “Louder you moron! He won’t hear you if you stutter!”

“YOU’RE THE CAPTAIN OF MY HEART!” 

You cringe and just bury your face in your hands, your friend is laughing uncontrollably

There’s silence in the court, BUT THEN HIS TEAM GOES WILD “CAPTAIN ARE YOU BLUSHING?!” “QUICK SOMEONE TAKE A PHOTO” “HE’S MALFUNCTIONED!” 

Zhongli has a blush on his cheeks but gets his team in order “ROUND UP!” but they’re all silently snickering or giggling.

They form a circle and put their hands in together. Zhongli shouts “FIGHT!” a lot louder than usual.

His team grins. Their captain is fired up, so they’re fired up too. 

Just before he’s about to take first serve he makes it a point to look your way, and give you a firm nod.

Then the captain of the opposite team comments about your cheering. “Wah! I wish I had someone cheering me on like that,” is looking at you with heart eyes.

Zhongli exudes a dark aura and everyone covers their head in fear of getting hit by the ball “Eyes over here,” he grumbles towards the other captain who just smirks.

#2 Diluc (Vice Captain/Wing Spiker/Defense Specialist)

“Diluc! THE ONLY THING STRONGER THAN YOUR SPIKE IS MY LOVE FOR YOU!”

Oh yea gurl. Even your friend is embarrassed and ducks behind the railings to hide her face.

“That’s kinda...cheesy...” Kaeya mutters under his breath and scratches his cheek.

Childe is glittering all over, “It’s so cheesy but I’m kinda jealous,” They both turn to Diluc.

Yea he’s gone. From neck to hairline he’s red all over and steam is coming off from his ears.

His teammates crack up.

He’s so out of it the rest of the team needs to clap and hit his back to get him back into the real world.

“Oi, get yourself together, your girlfriend’s watching!” He snaps out of it at that and puts on his game face.

The other team comments, “She’ll find out my spike is stronger!” 

Diluc is livid that they’re trying to outshine your cheers and spikes like never before.

#3 Kaeya (Middle Blocker)

“KAEYA! YOU CAN BLOCK SPIKES BUT YOU CAN NEVER BLOCK MY HEART!”

has a shit-eating grin the moment he hears it. 

Cups his hands around his mouth and shouts back. “YOU CAN’T BLOCK MINE EITHER!!! I LOVE YOU!!!”

The whole team is just...what in the world is this cringey-ness unfolding in front of them...?

Team doesn’t know whether to be motivated or to puke.

But Kaeya is there to the rescue. He’s so hyped that there are flowers hovering around his peaceful face. “Come on, come on, we gotta show Y/N who the kings of the courts are here, don’t let me down,”

Half-way through the game one of the opponents ask him, “Hey, that your girl up there? She’s kinda cute,”

KAEYA ISN’T EVEN FAZED Y’ALL “She is, isn’t she?!” Probs will show you off more, to his team’s displeasure. 

After the game (which they obiviously won) he bear hugs you and is proud of how much you cheered for him.

#4 Albedo (Setter)

“Bedo!!! YOU SET MY HEART ON FIRE!”

You say this just as the ball touches his fingertips, he slips up a bit at the embarrassing cheer and they end up losing that point.

“Oh crap,” you mutter under your breath and duck under the rails to hide while your friend laughs, pointing at your hidden form when Albedo looks up to the stands.

“Don’t mind, don’t mind!” his teammates slap his back to reassure him that they can get the lost point back.

Tartaglia is the one that zooms in on Albedo’s face, “How are you not making any reactions at all?”

Albedo stares at him for a moment. “...Because she merely stated the truth,” 

Kazuha laughs at how logical their setter is but adds, “He slipped up, I think that’s enough of a reaction,”

Albedo pouts a little but continues with the game. 

A little later on the setter of the other team tries to provoke him. “Hey, you didn’t even give your girlfriend any reaction. Watch out, I’m pretty sure I can give better ones,” 

Albedo is so pissed he actually spikes the next ball with his eyes on that bastard.

#5 Tartaglia (Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)

“TARTAGLIA!!! YOUR SPIKES MAKE ME WEAK IN THE KNEES!” 

Another one who has a shit-eating grin on his face.

Shouts back at you “THAT’S NOT THE ONLY THING OF MINE THAT MAKES YOU WEA--” is FREAKIN slapped by Zhongli at the back of his head.

You kind of thank his captain that he wasn’t able to finish that sentence but damn it’s still embarrassing.

Kaeya and Tohma is snorting with laughter

Xiao and Albedo does not get it.

Someone from the other team begrudgingly comments, “Dude you don’t have to flex her that hard,” 

Tartaglia is the type to take the bait, a dark look on his face while looking at the opponent. “That’s right, be jealous, no one’s cheering for you huh?”

Whacked by Zhongli the second time and pushes his head down and apologizes for this man-Childe

#6 Kazuha (Decoy/Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)

“KAZUUU!!! YOU JUMP JUST LIKE MY HEART DOES WHEN I HUG YOU!”

Laughs aloud sheepishly but waves his hand at the stands where you are. 

Is secretly stoked and fueled.

But his other teammates are still teasing him about it. “Wow she must be having some kind of heart attack whenever she hugs you then,” “Come on Kazuha! Show us how far you can jump!”

Laughs sheepishly again and waves his hands at his teammates, “Okay, alright, that’s enough,”

But man is FLYING during the game, literally. The team is kinda scared about how high he’s jumping today and wonders if you’ve cast some type of magic spell.

They’re all thinking ‘...if I get a girlfriend will I perform better too?’ with these glum looks on their faces.

The opposing team’s member remarks, just speaking out loud. “She’s right he really does jump high for someone so small...”

Kazuha smirks at them, although there’s still a friendly smile on his face. “Y/N knows me best,”

#7 Xiao (Libero)

“XIAO! RECEIVE THAT BALL THE WAY YOU RECEIVE ME IN YOUR ARMS!”

low-key the other teammates start to add-on to the teasing. “Wow, how DO you receive her in your arms, Xiao?” “You like cuddles or what?” “So do YOU initiate the cuddles or does she?”

“ENOUGH!” he’s a blushing mess and pushes away his team members to try and focus on the game. 

He shoots you a half-glare while you’re over at the stands but later on he’s prolly gunna give you cuddles the way he likes it.

Every time they’re on time out or break the terrible two (Kaeya and Tartaglia) tease him by wrapping their arms around Xiao and repeating what you said “Receive that ball the way you receive me in your arms!!” “Hug me Xiaoooooo!”

Xiao just punches the both of them on the head.

Albedo deadpans the terrible two and says “That’s a very good way of showing that you’re jealous no one is cheering for you,”

They both sulk on the side of the court.

The other team’s spiker comments, enough for Xiao to hear. “Gee she’s kinda cute,”

Xiao doesn’t even hold back, with fire in his eyes, points at that guy. “You! You won’t get any ball past me!” 

#8 Tohma (Pinch Server/Middle Blocker)

“TOHMA! YOU CAN SERVE THAT BALL BUT I CAN SERVE YOU SOME LOVE!!!”

Tohma laughs heartily and turns to his teammates, “Hear that guys? Guess it’s time for me to go and get served some love,” 

He’s literally just in seventh heaven and is about to nope it out of there to meet you at the stands but Diluc grabs the collar of his shirt and drags him back. “The game isn’t over...”

Deadass pouts the rest of the game, but is so motivated to finish that most of his serves are unstoppable.

And then in the middle of the game, someone from the other team waves back at you. “I CAN SERVE YOU SOME LOVE TOO!”

Tohma serves that ball straight at the guys head, his eye is twitching in annoyance.

Is possibly the happiest that you came to his game and swings you around when he meets you. “Thanks for cheering babe!”

Taglist: @softlybeloved @bobaducky @normalisthenewnorm @how-simpy @atasi-luna @berryqueue @hallohun @milkypompon

Hello Hello! Technically this could be counted as fluff, but I understand that not everyone is fond of AUs, so, if you don’t mind being tagged to something like this, please fill in the survey again (I’ve added AU as an option, just click that one if you’ve signed up for the others before!)

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Masterlist

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[mostlyoriginalmcyterstuff]

(Tumblr is being stupid and not allowing me to actually answer the asks so I’m tagging the asker and screenshoting the ask) @grapewish

This request gave me so much space to add fluff I said, “hahaha angsty flashbacks go brRrRRRRRRRR-“

Trigger Warnings: Negligent father, toxic parent figure, neglect, trauma, sad flashbacks, yelling

Extras: I wrote the reader as a minor, but it’s possible to read as the reader not being a minor, this is FULLY PLATONIC, and I didn’t add what age the dad left at, so that’s up to you.

——————————————————————————

Your father had not played a big part in your life, or any part at all.

He hadn’t been around since you were very young,

~~(Flashback)~~

Your mother had been crying, and yelling in the other room and your father kept yelling louder screaming about how he was done

You were hiding in your room, the door shut as you listened to the yells of your parents,

This was one of those times where you wished you had thicker walls, walls that would block out the sounds of your parents yelling.

Suddenly, a door slammed closed, and you heard your mother crying, you reassured yourself that your dad would be back soon.

You should have known you were just lying to yourself.

~~(End of Flashback)~~

You never really minded since you didn’t really know how it felt to have a father figure in your life, so you didn’t think you were missing much.

That was until recently.

Recently you had started streaming and had been doing quite well so far.

You had even met some really nice people through streaming, one of them being Philza Minecraft himself.

Philza had given you some advice off camera on how to improve more, not that you were bad! He just was giving you some tips on stuff that helped him a lot and that he wished he knew earlier.

Dadz- I mean Philza, had basically taken you under his WING and showed you some more things to help you stream better.

Other than streaming, he was always checking up on you to see if you were okay, after you streamed for a long time, he’d message you reminding you to drink some water and eat so you don’t overwork yourself.

He didn’t know about your absent father, or that he was acting in as the father you didn’t even know you wanted/needed. He was just dadza, and it was instincts to constantly check if you were alright.

One evening you, Techno and Philza were playing on a new world, testing out some of the new updates.

Philza was streaming while you and techno were not, you had streamed a bit earlier that day, so you weren’t going to stream again.

You gasped as an axolotl you were hanging from a lead fell to the ground and died.

“nOoO!! Little Greg!!!” You cried out(jokingly), you flew down and landed on the ground where the axolotl had died and crouched and bowed your head down.

“L-little gre- Why do you keep naming them Greg or Johnny?? At least think of a new name, you nerd.” Techno said back, flying over to you and hitting your character once, although it didn’t hurt you since you were in creative.

“You do need to start thinking of more names for these types of things, mate.” Phil commented, flying above you and techno’s heads with a few axolotls attached to his own lead.

“I-“

“And give them better names than GREG, give them a name like...Technoblade.” Technoblade cut you off to make a self-promotion joke.

You rolled your eyes in real life before fake sniffling

You fake sniffled, before jokingly saying; “oh wow, Little Greg left faster than my dad did.”

Technoblade choked and snorted before laughing a bit.

Phil laughed too, “Oh wooowwww, talking about me like I’m not here, really, mate?” He laughed a bit more at his own joke

It was your turn to laugh this time,

“You left me when I was 3! And refused to pay child support, dAd! I will bad talk you in front of you, as much as I want!” You joked more, your character flying up and flying after Philza.

Technoblade laughed more, following you in game.

Phil fake gasped “WHAT. I PAID MY CHILD SUPPORT, your mother must have taken it for her own needs again” He exclaimed, causing you to burst into a fit of laughter again.

After a while of joking around about Philza being your father and Techno being the one child Phil “took with him in the divorce”, Phil had ended the stream and you and Phil were just calmly chatting in a VC.

Techno had gone to bed by now, it was pretty late for him, and during the stream, he kept complaining about you and Phil keeping him up.

You two were just talking about each other’s days until Phil brought up a question you didn’t expect.

“Hey, (y/n)?”

“Yeah?“

“I may be overthinking this, and I’m sorry if I did overthink it, mate. But during the stream you joked about your father having left, and you’ve never talked about him before, so, uh, do you actually not have a dad in your life right now.?” He asked, and it caught you SO off guard

You paused, not speaking for a moment, causing Phil to panic a bit.

“Did I overstep? I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me, I’m just worried and-“

“No, I don’t have a dad, but I’m fine without one, I’ve been doing perfectly alright without him and it okay, you didn’t overstep don’t worry!” You answered and reassured the man, fidgeting with your fingers as you waited for his response.

“You- So he actually just straight up left? Are you serious? That’s an absolutely sh*tty move, dude.”

“You shouldn’t have had to deal with that and be fine with not having another parent in your life.” Philza continued on, sounding disgusted and angry, you knew it wasn’t at you though.

“It’s fine, Phil. I’ve managed quite well without him.” You replied, looking down at your lap,

“I’m glad you’ve managed without him, but you shouldn’t have had to, (y/n).” He sighed,

“I’m here for you, mate, even if you just need to talk, it’d help me sleep better at night knowing I was able to stand in and help you when HE wouldn’t.” Phil ended his small rant, waiting for your respond, but all he got was a small sniffle, and a real one this time

“Thanks, Phil.....” you whispered, your mic just barely catching it

“Oh (y/n).. Of course.. It’s the least I can do” he replied, smiling to himself.

“Wow.. you really are dadza, huh..” you laughed a bit, wiping away some stray tears.

Phil laughed before responding;

“Oh absolutely, and now, I have another child.”

[buckyismybicycle]

[CHAPTER 7/23] teach me how to love (dad!Bucky x Teacher!Reader)

Title: teach me how to love AO3 Pairing: Bucky x Reader (teacher) Rating: Teen for now (*this will get bumped up later) Tags/Warnings: godfather!Bucky, canon-typical violence/death of character, fluff, slight angst, learning disability, almost a spy AU & some amazing friendships, PTSD, nightmares, mentions of anxiety Summary: Natasha leaves behind her precious daughter, Yelena, and with her dying breath asks Bucky to look after her. You happen to have Yelena in your class this school year.

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Author's Note: AAAHHHHHHH! As always, thank you SO much for the support, feedback and recommendations to your friends. Love you! 💖

“Please tell me that’s not what you’re wearing on your date,” Laura frowns at him as they stand around the island kitchen.

“Hey!” Bucky yells in mock hurt. “Give me some credit, I’m not meeting her until six.” 

“Thank God,” Laura mumbles as Clint plays with the kids in the next room. “So, where are you taking her?”

“Uh, actually, she chose a local bar that she frequents. I was going to take her to Maybelle’s but...”

“Maybelle’s? Wow, Bucky, you really want to woo her,” she teases. 

Bucky can’t even deny it. He does, he knows he does. “Yeah, yeah, give me grief. But she mentioned before that she had some… anxiety. I didn’t — I thought maybe she’d be more relaxed in a familiar place?” 

“Absolutely,” Laura agrees easily. “Good on you, Bucky. You really like her, huh?”

“Is that stupid?” He asks, his nose scrunching. “I feel like I’m sixteen.”

“It’s not stupid!” She hollers as she whacks him with a towel. “It’s your first date, you’re allowed to be a little giddy.” 

“I guess,” he grumbles. “Guess I’m not used to it.”

“It’s been… Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you nervous for a date.”

“That’s ‘cause he hasn’t been on one in a decade,” Clint jokes as he enters the kitchen, the kids now engrossed in a movie. He kisses Laura on the cheek before grabbing a drink from the fridge, and she slides out of his way like she knows exactly where he’s going and what he’s doing. 

It hits Bucky that he… wants that. The ease that the two of them have in their space, the way they can act like they can read each other’s mind, the casual kiss on the cheek because it’s just part of their day. 

“I was never lookin’ for more,” he admits. “But it’s different with her.”

“Yeah, we know Buck.” Clint punches him in the shoulder. “That’s why we’re rooting for you.”

“You’re going to be fine, Bucky,” Laura adds. “Besides, it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve spent time around each other.” 

He supposes that’s true. “Thanks, guys. For everything.”

“Any time, Bucky,” Laura smiles widely as she loops an arm around Clint’s waist. Easy. Comfortable.

“Wish me luck,” he mumbles before going to say goodbye to Yelena. 

“You won’t need it,” Laura assures. 

♡

You check your eyeliner for the tenth time that night. It’s not even a lot, just the slightest bit around your eyes, depending mostly on your mascara to make your eyes pop. You don’t wear a whole lot of makeup, working with children, so it’s not something you have a whole lot of or even know that much about, you just know that this is working right now. 

Skipping the lipstick, because you were being awfully optimistic about a goodnight kiss, you smooth your hair down and go back to deciding which shoes to wear. 

You and Bucky had agreed on nothing fancy, something lowkey and local. When you suggested going to a small bar instead, he eagerly consented. Something about a dimly lit table at a bar is more comforting than the bright lights of a restaurant to you. 

You decide on a pair of high-waisted distressed black jeans, since you can’t wear them to work, with rips from the knee up to your thigh and a floral-on-black crop top that just comes down to where your jeans end. With the leather jack you throw on, it’s hard to tell it’s a crop top anyway, but sometime in the night you plan to lean back just right, to show Bucky a little skin and see where it goes. You were just as nervous as you were excited and you hadn’t felt this teenage-like giddiness for a long time. So what, if you wanted to look good for him?

When you head downstairs to meet Bucky, he’s leaning against the side of his Camaro, dark blue jeans stretched over his thick thighs, with a simple black shirt underneath his signature leather jacket. He looks like a goddamn supermodel. 

The two of you take a moment just to take in the sight of each other, and your skin tingles as you watch his eyes roam your body up and down.

“You’re absolutely breathtaking,” he says. “I think I might be underdressed here.” 

You shake your head with a smile.

“You look stunning, like you always do,” you tell him truthfully, stepping right up to him. With your heels on and him slouching against the car, you can almost look him in the eye. As payback for the stunt he pulled the last time he saw you, you lean forward, placing your palms on his chest and kiss his cheek, just shy of his lips. He can smell the sweet, floral scent of your perfume and he’s barely placed his hands on your hips before you back away and leave him stunned, looking at you with wonder — and a little hunger — in his eyes. 

“C’mon,” you smile cheekily, grabbing his hand. 

The bar is close by, and you two walk hand-in-hand in the breezy autumn evening, Hallowe’en just around the corner, chatting about Yelena, knowing it would help get Bucky relax. 

As expected, the bar is moderately full, but you’re able to grab a table near the back and order drinks to start as Bucky tells you he’s ordered the book you’d recommended to him when you first met. 

“And, have you started?” You ask once the server’s gone. 

“Not yet, I found a short story about Halloween, so I’m going to read that with her first.” 

He had taken your advice! It made you feel so good to know that he’d listened to you, and that it was something he loved doing with Yelena. 

It’s so easy for him to talk about Yelena with you, and his whole life, really considering Yelena is about 90% of it these days. In turn, you tell him about yourself too, the ups and the downs, because he doesn’t judge you or try to lecture you. Neither of you have bothered to check the time, but it flies by. You talk about everything and anything — you learn his full name, his birthday, his favourite ice cream flavour all the way to his childhood dreams and plans for the future. 

“I’ve gotta ask,” he starts. “How is it that someone like you hasn’t been snatched up? I mean — there’s no way you don’t have a line up of guys and gals waiting for a chance to sit where I’m sitting.” 

“I — wow, I… Ha! Bucky, you’re just so good at making me feel special,” you reply shyly. “I haven’t exactly had the best luck, I guess. I’ve tried a few times, but it just never seemed to work out and I think towards the end I got a little desperate for something to stick and it made me a little blind to some of the warning signs.”

“What do you mean?” He asks, with his head tilted and an uneasy look.

“Um, well, my last boyfriend and I had a messy split. The two guys before him had both ended up cheating on me, so I guess it made me a little paranoid. I got too clingy, just, you know, wanted it to work for once, so we moved in together and everything. My best friend caught him on a dating website, sent me his profile and everything and we just — ugh, we had a huge argument about it and I’m sure you can imagine where it went from there.” You keep your eyes downcast because it’d been a long time since you’d thought about all this, but it still hurt to be cast aside even if you knew it was for the best.

“I’m sorry, that’s — you don’t deserve any of that.” Bucky sounds horrified, and his eyes are intense as they look at you.

“It’s alright,” you try to sound convincing. “I always believed that everything happened for a reason. And all things considered, I think I’m happy where I am now. If we hadn’t broken up the way we did, I might not be here in Hamden. I started applying for jobs in different cities to leave all those messy breakups behind, that’s how I ended up here. And if I hadn’t moved here, well… I never would have met you.”

Bucky can’t believe that meeting him would be considered such a positive thing to you, but damn was he glad to hear you say it. “Doll, you could have anyone you like, no matter where you go,” he spills truthfully. “But I’m glad it’s me that’s sittin’ here.” 

“You don’t think, iunno, that I was a bit… naive? Childish?”

“No, why would I think that?” Bucky shakes his head. “You were the one that got hurt, time and time again even though I know you to be nothing short of an angel. I can’t imagine how anyone could do that to you.”

“One of my exes — he said I was like a kid sometimes, that’s why we couldn’t work. He wanted to move… fast. I wasn’t ready. I know that it’s not my fault, but he made me think it was and I never forgot what he said. I can hear it, sometimes, the way people talk to me,” you confess. “They think that I’m naive because I smile on the outside and try to find the positive in every situation. Like, I vomit unicorns and glitter or something. But I’ve spent so much time worrying or beating myself up, I just —I don’t want to ever go back to being that person. I just wish people would take me more seriously… I’m not as young and innocent as I look, I just wanted to do things a bit slower than he did.” 

You realize after the words leave your mouth how that sounds, and stare at the table praying Bucky isn’t reading too much into it.  

“I am taking you extremely seriously right now,” Bucky grins, and you flick his hand that’s wrapped around his beer bottle. “Joking aside, I think you’re incredible. The way you treat the kids, the way you always want to help. That’s not naivety, that’s you being kind, and generous. And I don’t know where I’d be without those parts of you. For what it’s worth, we can go as slow as you’d like.” 

The mixture of the alcohol and his praise make you feel warm and pleasant. You’re heating up, and you’ve both taken your jackets off by now, but his gloves stay on. 

“Hey, Bucky? Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Your gloves, you always wear them, can I ask why?” You study his face as it goes through a series of complicated emotions. “You don’t have to tell me, of course,” you quickly add. 

“No, I do want to tell you, I’ve been meaning to. It’s just… complicated. The bar is still buzzing but most people have migrated to the side of the bar with the pool tables and there isn’t anyone around. Still, he glances over his shoulder and lowers his voice even though it’s unlikely anyone can hear him over the music that plays from the jukebox. 

“I had an assignment. With Natalia, Yelena’s mother.”

“Bucky, oh gosh, I’m sorry — you really don’t have to tell me, I know it’s painful,” you assure him again. 

“It is, but I want you to know. The full story.” 

So you nod and promise to keep quiet while he finds the words. He describes the ambush they’d walked in on, how the intel was bad and it might have even been a mole within the KGB because only a handful of people knew about the mission. You can hear in his voice how it haunted him, how the details that he remembered and carried with him still threaten to tear him apart some days. 

“I was barely conscious when they finally came to get us out, half the building had collapsed. I remember them telling me they couldn’t save my arm but I didn’t care at that moment. I just had to make sure they got Nat out of there too. We used to joke about how people in our profession rarely get a burial — most of the time there isn’t a body left to bury. Morbid, I know. I just begged them to take Nat’s body with us, I wanted her to have a burial, a proper funeral. It was the last thing I could do for her, you know? To bring her home.”

“Bucky, that’s terrible, I’m so sorry. Not just to live it, but to witness. I can’t imagine.” You end up holding both his hands in yours. 

He looks down pensively at your joined hands, rubbing circles on the back of yours until he retracts them to take the gloves off. Right away, you see the difference — the shining silver of his left, ridges along the metal in his fingers. You wonder how far up it goes, if it hurts him, if you could take the pain, somehow. 

“I think they were scared, they suspected a traitor amongst them. They put a lot of trust in me, since I obviously didn’t set myself up, and they tasked me with finishing what Nat and I started. Couldn’t do it with one arm, of course, so they pulled out all the stops to build this, designed specifically for me. I was the only one they trusted with this.”

You weren’t quite sure what to even make of the invention you were looking at. It looked dangerous, and yet you’d seen for yourself how gentle he can be with it every time he scoops Yelena up.

“Not that I’m proud of it, but I did a damn good job at cleaning them up. When I brought them in, they sang like canaries and before we knew it, dozens and dozens of names came pouring out. Some far-reaching supremacist group,with its claws in deep. It wasn’t enough, I couldn’t just bring down the people responsible for the bombing of the building. I wanted all of them. Fastest clearance they’ve ever seen, though I got a little sloppy at the end. Yelena was due to be released into my custody since Nat’s will and all the other paperwork like the adoption forms finally checked out. And then I left. Just booked it the hell out of there. They never asked for the arm back, or maybe they didn’t know how to undo what they did, but I’m stuck with it now.”

“You’re so brave, Bucky. You’ve been through so much, but you stayed strong and took care of Yelena so well. Nat would be so proud of you. You took an impossible situation,” you nod at his hand. “And made the best out of it.” 

“You don’t think it’s… an abomination or something?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous!” You take his hands back in yours, kiss the knuckles on each of them with a sincere smile, not caring that one was warm while the other was cold, and without having to say anything at all, he knew. 

He knew that you were it for him and goddamn did he want to be it for you too.

♡

It’s been almost three hours, half the apps menu and half a dozen drinks so you have to reluctantly ask for the bill, and Bucky insists on covering it all. He lets you loop your arm through his as you start the walk back to your apartment.

“I had a really good time tonight, Buck.” The nickname sort of slips, but he doesn’t seem to mind. You don’t really want the night to end. 

“So did I,” comes his fast reply. “I really wasn’t sure you’d agree, to be honest. I was surprised.”

“What are you talking about! I would be crazy to turn you down.”

“Sweetheart, you could have anyone you wanted, trust me. I, for sure, did not think you’d go for an old man like me. I’m a retiree, you know. Could hit my mid-life crisis any day.” 

You laugh but slap his arm lightly. “Don’t be silly. If anything, you are the most eligible bachelor in the city. Retiring early is a sign you’ve been extremely successful, don’t you know?” 

Bucky refuses to believe it, which ends in more bickering and smiling until your cheeks hurt. The Camaro comes in sight much sooner than you’d hoped. 

You laugh and wink at him as you approach his car. “You know, I think all the teachers at the school have been checking you out when you come by. Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” 

He’d had a number of drinks, after all, even though he seemed to be in better shape than you were with your rosy cheeks and heated body. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. It takes a lot to get me anywhere near drunk unfortunately,” he huffs.

“You… Could come up for a coffee, or something, if you need.” You didn’t dare look him in the eye, in case he saw the hunger in your eyes, you knew it wasn’t decent of you, he just — 

“Darling, I… Shouldn’t. I want to, but I’m afraid I might never leave.” 

You look for signs that he wanted to end your night early or maybe had no interest, but he seemed genuine, and you tried not to feel disappointed. “I promised you we’d take it slow, at your own pace, I — I want you to be really sure, first.”

You want to scream I’m sure about you! But you take Bucky’s words to heart. He’s trying to protect you, maybe you should think it over, at least for tonight. “Will you at least text me when you get home? Please?” 

Bucky looks at you with stars in his eyes before he nods shyly, thinking about how sweet you were. He wants — but he shouldn’t. He can’t. He walks you all the way up to the entrance of your building, and you still haven’t let go of his arm. 

“I had an amazing time, Bucky,” you say earnestly. “Thank you for tonight.” 

“Thank you for taking a chance on me,” he shrugs. “I had a really great night too, beautiful.” 

He’s slipping and he knows it, but it’s worth it to see you flushing beautifully under the streetlight. 

“Goodnight, Bucky Barnes,” you whisper, feeling butterflies in your stomach as you lean in, making it very obvious what you’re looking to do.

“Goodnight, gorgeous.” His eyes watch yours as you inch into each other’s space. 

The kiss is everything you imagined kissing Bucky would be, sweet and slow before his tongue gently asks for entrance. You’re eager to reciprocate as his arm around your waist holds you close as the other curls behind your neck, and it feels so good to be flushed against his solid body, his scent surrounding you. 

When you break apart, you’re not sure if it’s been five seconds or a year, but the pleasant warmth that spreads in your body makes you feel giddy. He has to take a step back before he gives into his urges and it takes all your willpower to finally turn to enter your building. 

“Remember to text me!”

Like I could forget, he thinks. But as he waves you inside, he simply says, “I will.” 

♡

“дядя Clint?” The tiny red-haired girl starts softly. 

“What’s up, buttercup?” 

“Will you be friends with Ms. Teacher too? ‘Cause papa is, and papa’s your friend.”

“I’d love to be her friend,” he answers truthfully. “Because you’re right. Your papa and I are really good friends and it would be nice to be friends with his friends. Then we can all do stuff together, right? What about you? Do you think Miss  will be a good friend to your Papa?”

“Uh-huh, she’s really nice and she always smiles at him, and Papa smiles back. And when Papa was really sad the other day, she made him flowers and helped me with my painting for him,” she continues, playing with the stuffed bird plushie she’d brought from home. “He’s happy he has a friend like her, because he smiles lots now.”

“That’s good.”

“Mmhmm. Papa should be happy,” she yawns sleepily. 

“Couldn’t agree more, kiddo,” Clint answers. “Your papa deserves all the happiness in the world. Now come on, let’s get some shut eye.”

“G’night дядя Clint, love you.”

“Love you too, kiddo.” 

“G’night to mama and papa too, love you.”

“They love you with all their heart, little one. Sweet dreams.” 

♡

The house feels empty without Yelena, but he knows she’s sound asleep at Clint’s by now. It’s a little lonely, something he hasn’t experienced in… a long time. It’s quiet and dark, reminding him of his previous life. There isn’t anything to do before he heads to bed, he’d burned all his energy when he’d gotten back from Clint and Laura’s by cleaning anything and everything he could find.

He sends off a text, after erasing it and re-wording it a few times, and hopes that you don’t see the ellipses as he struggles to find the words.

Then, he undresses, goes through his night time routine and does his best to sleep when you text him back to say goodnight. 

It doesn’t work, of course, because he’s still thinking about your smile, the way your laugh gets higher pitched toward the end, the way you looked at him. He doesn’t remember when anyone’s looked at him the way you did. Nobody’s ever held his hands the way you did.  

He’s so screwed. 

NEXT CHAPTER | Series Masterpost by Chapter | [overall masterlist]

Thank you as always for getting to this point! If you’ve enjoyed this so far, please consider reblogging to help me share & feedback is so, so very much appreciated! 

[floraltypes]

Owe Me a Coffee

who - gibbs x reader 

tw - mentions of sex, fires, blood, beatings, death

an - I took french for two years, but I’m not fluent and had to use a translating app so I hope it isn’t too bad ! Request something as well, I finally got them working :)

uneditied :/

“Damn you DiNozzo,” You cursed, staring at the man and moving your hand to smack him up besides the head.

You couldn’t help but think back to this morning, getting stuck with the annoying, cocky, flirty, obnoxious, co-worker. Doing a undercover mission with him definitely wasn’t your first choice, you’d rather do paperwork at this point.

“Huh?” You looked at Gibbs like he had just said a alien had landed down at the NCIS building asking for you. “You want me with Tony?”

“Yeah, did I say it in some other language? You and DiNozzo are going undercover, found a marine’s wife dead, along with her killers. Abby was able to access their computers and found out they were doing hit man work, and the director wants us to locate their boss. But since the two are dead now, we need some people to go undercover, you two,” He reminded you, reading the case the five of you were all taking on now.

“Oh, ho, ho!” Tony laughed, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards him. “Looks like little Y/n finally gets a chance with the Tony master.”

“Tony master? Is that another cocky Tony name to make him feel better about himself?” Ziva wondered.

“It’s what my last babe called me, the master, so why not add Tony in front of it?” He smiled, getting smacked in the back of the head by Gibbs.

“You’ll be undercover, not as yourselves. So, refrain from the names DiNozzo.”

“Got it boss!” He exclaimed, shooting you a wink before you turned back to your computer.

“L/n, Elevator, now.” Gibbs commanded, and you quickly stood up to follow after him.

“Do you ever wonder who Gibbs is getting it with?” David asked, standing beside DiNozzo and McGee as they watched you and Gibbs enter the elevator.

“It’s ‘getting it on with’ and yes, I think we all do.” Tony corrected her. “But I doubt he is, because if he was, he might be happier.”

“Well, just because you go to school, it doesn’t make you smart. A perfect example is you, Tony,” David turned towards the man with a smile and pinched his cheek, Tony slapping the hand away.

“I actually get some, doubt Probie has ever had any.”

“Well, I actually-“

“If you have to say ‘actually’ while talking about sex it’s probably a lie. So, probie, just dream out your fantasies without getting them mixed up with real life,” DiNozzo smirked, smacking his back while moving to his own computer.

You were on the elevator, looking at your boss who clicked the ‘Emergency Stop’ button, causing the transportation to pause its route.

“Yeah, Gibbs?” You leaned onto the back of the elevator, a small smile playing out on your lips as you smiled at the man.

“I’m putting you on because I need someone convincing. So, put on your acting skills and make it work,” He mentioned, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, yeah. I took drama for two years in high school just for this moment,” You joked. “You’re going to owe me a nice, creamed, coffee because of this.”

“And if I don’t? Right now, I’m your boss, I can’t be your boyfriend.”

“Good to know, boss.” You moved in front of him and unlocked the button. “I’ll keep that in mind for my acting, I just hope you don’t mind, boss,” The doors soon opened and you exited, walking into Abby’s area.

“Ah Gibbs! L/n! What do I owe this pleasure?” Abby greeted, taking a large sip of her drink.

“Are you running the prints on the gun found by the female hit man?” Gibbs asked as you took a seat on one of Abby’s chairs.

“Of course!” Abby hopped up and moved over to her machine, pointing to it, showcasing that it was running. “Working on it right now. But, I don’t think you’ll find much luck with it considering it was the same gun used to kill the commanders wife.”

“Well, we don’t know that for sure, so work on that. L/n,”

“But I want to chat with my dear friend before moving on,” You whined, while he shot you a stern look in return. “I’m going,” You quickly stood up, following the man out.

“I want you to go upstairs and get ready with DiNozzo,” He demanded and you just nodded.

“Right. On my way!” You yelled, running to the elevator. “I’m thrilled for this, but even more thrilled to finish this mission and go on a date,”

“Have fun with that.”

“I will! Hopefully Palmer will as well,” The elevator doors shut and Gibbs continued to make his way down to the Autopsy room to speak with Ducky. Now, not to thrilled at the mans assistant.

You arrived back upstairs, looking at the agent who had his feet on his desk and talking on the phone.

“Who is he chatting with? Gibbs wants us ready,” You commented, moving by Ziva and McGee who were watching him.

“Some girl, someone named Louis,” McGee answered.

“That sounds like a older woman’s name,” Ziva added.

“Yeah. Hey, McGee,” The man looked up from where he was watching DiNozzo and turned to face you. “Remember when you gave me food poisoning, and felt so bad you promised you give me a favor. Well, I want to turn that in now,” You smiled at him, writing down a note on a piece of paper and handing it to him.

“What are you up to?” Ziva asked as McGee left the two of you, heading to his own computer.

“Having some fun with a certain co worker who is going to ruin my night,” You got up from Ziva and moved over to DiNozzo. “Who are you chatting with?”

“A babe,” He mouthed, smiling as you could hear the little rambles on the phone.

“Gibbs wants you ready to go in twenty. And I know it takes you thirty to just do your hair, so, maybe you should cut the phone call.”

He put his hand to cover the speaker on the phone, taking his legs off the desk, and leaving in closer to you. “And you need forty to suck in that gut,”

You laughed, reaching over to grab the phone and putting it to you ear. “Tony! I got you your superhero costume, sweetie! We can now go and dress up together, but not in those tighty whities,” You voiced into the phone, slamming it down and looking at his stunned face. “Never comment on a woman’s weight, now, get ready for tonight because I’m not easy to please.”

The man mocked you for a moment and then left his desk, you turning to look back at Ziva.

“Impressive,” She complimented, walking by you and patting your shoulder.

“Thanks, I’m just starting,” You smiled at the girl, grabbing your gun and sticking your knife into the pocket inside your custom made boots.

You soon got yourself ready in a nice short, red dress that fit your body well enough that you were comfortable, and able to hide a knife around your thigh area.

“Ready yet Y/n?” DiNozzo knocked on the door, fixing his tie and suit.

“Wow Tony, you do know how to clean up,” Ziva commented, coming up behind him, in front of the restroom door, with McGee.

“Thank you, Ziva,”

“Well, besides the tag sticking out in the back. Are you really that cheap? I thought you took, uh, pride in your choice of clothing,”

“I don’t see the point on wearing something very expensive to a undercover date,” He told her back.

“You also missed a spot when shaving,” McGee pointed out, pointing to the far right side of Tony’s face.

“Shut it Probie. At least I didn’t need mommy to help me shave in highschool,”

“Abby told you about that?”

“Well, now she did,”

You opened the door and flattened your dress, then fixing a ring on your pointer finger and smiled at the three other special agents.

“Tony, didn’t you need your mom to help you do your laundry in highschool? Not one to speak,”

“You look well. Didn’t know you were even able to-” You whipped out your knife from underneath your dress and pointed it at the man. “You look stunning, great, nice.”

“Looks like you’re on a thin glacier, Tony,” Ziva laughed.

“I think it’s thin ice,” McGee corrected.

“Same thing!” Ziva threw her hands in the air. “Y/n, I didn’t know you had those moves,”

“Yeah, not a lot of people do. I like to hold some secrets with the team, and my past career is one of them,” You smiled.

“Let’s go,” Tony gripped your hand and intertwined it with his. “My love,” He gritted through his teeth.

“Not too convincing DiNozzo,” Gibbs walked over, smacking the back of his head. “You don’t treat a lady like that. Grip the hand like this,” He smoothly let his hand move its way to yours and he gently connected it with yours. “Even McGee knows this,” He smiled at you and let your hand go.

“I-I know how to do it, boss. Just- nevermind,” He grumbled, loosening his grip.

“I’m starving, care to escort me to the car, Armon?” You got yourself ready to take on your character, smiling at the man besides you with one as if you were really happy with the situation you were in.

“Anything for you, Belle,” The two of you made your way out of the building. Your fellow co-workers watched as the two of you walked away, yet, you were both still messing with each other and hitting while walking out.

“My last wife tend to do that,” Gibbs commented, soon making his way after you two to get into his own undercover van.

“Is that a normal thing for American couples?” Ziva asked McGee.

“Well, I’m not sure. But I have seen plenty of married couples do that, so they’ll fit right in,” He answered, the two then leaving as well.

Once arriving to the hotel, you waited for DiNozzo to open your door and grab your hand to lead you out of the car and into the new building. While clutching your purse and waiting behind a few other guests who were trying to get in, you turned to fix Tony’s glasses and clicked the ‘on’ button.

“Looking swell, honey,” You smiled at him as he placed a arm over your shoulder.

“Thank you. I’m thrilled we were able to get these reservations, dinner should be delicious tonight. You’ll be getting the salad, like normal, correct?” He looked down at you and you stepped on his foot as the line moved forward.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry! I always have the most trouble in heels like these, oh the line, hurry up now!” You voiced, walking into the hotel and following everyone else into the dining area.

“We should look for our names now,” He told you, sneaking up from behind as the two of you searched the tables for little cards with your last names on it. “Bingo! Right next to the Lezarres,”

“Oh and the Garndels are here as well. I’ve heard some things about them,” You added, letting Tony pull out a chair as you took a seat.

The both of you introduced yourself to the other couples and went through the night engaging in some small talk about politics and the food. You and DiNozzo had done a swell job at it and you retreated to the rest room at the end of dinner to hear any new news.

“So, what’s the update?” You asked into the little microphone hidden in your bracelet.

“There’s a hotel room in your name, bought out by your boss and, uh, boss wants you two to stay in there,” McGee told you into the ear piece which was located in your right ear.

“Great, more time with that stupid bastard. He couldn’t shut up about himself at dinner, like always, I’m really contemplating divorce,” You muttered, fixing your lipstick as another woman walked out, moving to wash her hands.

“I know just how you feel, best of luck,” She mentioned before walking out.

“Thanks,” You spoke back to her before turning your attention back to the mirror. “Do we think this boss of mine is going to go after the commander of that wife?”

“Yeah, Gibbs want you to stop him before he does. We have no clue who the boss is but he will be visiting the both of you tonight,”

“Got it,”

“Y/n!” Gibbs spoke now into the earpiece on the other end.

“Yeah?”

“If he got the hotel room, expect it to be bugged. So, you better act,”

“No worries. I’ve had to act in the bedroom before, and past boyfriends sure believed it,” You walked out of the bathroom and stood next to Tony. “Hun, my feet are killing me. I think it’s time we head to the hotel room and rest,” Tony nodded and stood up from his seat. The both of you said a goodbye to the couple and got your key from the front desk, soon getting into the elevator.

“So, a hotel room? Really want to sleep with me tonight, huh?” Tony laughed to himself as you positioned yourself in front of him and kissed his cheek, soon moving your lips closer to his ear.

“Room could be bugged, even the elevator, time to act,” You whispered, pulling back and placing a small kiss on his lips.

“Oh dear, if you really want me no need to ask,” He moved a arm around your waist, pulling you into his side a bit.

“The bags should already be in the room,” You smirked at him, and were soon at your level, the both of you getting off the elevator.

Once getting into your room you took off your heels and placed your bracelet on the table.

“I’m going to take a shower, care to join?” You commented, moving to the bathroom and starting the shower.

“It would be my pleasure,” He walked into the bathroom and started to unzip his pants.

“Babe, be patient,” You slapped his shoulder. “Turn around now, you know how self conscious I am,”

“That’s why I warned you not to eat that cake at dinner, my piece too,” He grumbled, turning around and lifting up his shirt as you took off your clothes and stepped into the shower.

“It was just so good! Being the loving, husband you are, I knew you wouldn’t mind,”

“Yeah, anything for you,” He stepped into the shower while your arms were trying to cover your breasts and vaginal area.

“Don’t look, just act,” You quietly scolded. “And try to cover your, uh,” You subtly moved a finger to point in the downwards direction and he quickly moved his hands there.

“Need another hand to help cover yours?” He joked, moving a little closer.

“I’ll kill you,” You mumbled. “Oh! Armon!” You moaned, Tony sending a sly smile and grunting. “You look like you’re enjoying this,”

“Might want to cover up that breast a little better,” He removed one hand to point at your left one.

“Damn it,” You did just that and reached for a towel which was on the toilet lid. “Ah, soap in the eye,” You voiced louder, just in case the man was listening and skeptical about it. You turned around from Tony and wrapped it around your chest area, then moving both hands to block your other.

“You really think they’re listening to us in here?”

“A good boss would. Especially if he is in this type of business.”

“I hate to know about some of your previous bosses,”

“Oh! Right there! Right there!” You yelled. “Yeah, you would. Most of them are dead though, so you won’t have to worry about that,”

“Old age, huh? What’s with old men being bosses anyways?”

“One was, but that’s not how he died. Man was a perve, had it coming,” You shrugged.

“You killed him?!”

“No, no. Not for that reason,” Tony’s mouth dropped. “Ah!” You yelled loudly, then making your breaths sound loud. “Gosh you are one messy man, good thing we did this in the water,” You smirked at DiNozzo who just mocked you.

“And you still are the easiest to ge-”

“I’m getting out now, you should too,” You removed the towel and let it drop to the floor of the shower, covering your breasts and looking for a robe, soon wrapping it around you.

While leaving the bathroom to grab your shirt and pants you heard the phone in the room start to ring and quickly rushed to it.

“Hello, Belle,” The man on the other line spoke into the phone. You could just imagine what he looked like, some rich guy with a cigar in his hand wanting some job done.

“Bonjour Monsieur,” You spoke, grateful that your mother had taught you french when you were young. “C’est qui je pense?”

(Hello, sir. Is this who I think it is?)

“Oui. Retrouvez-moi dans le salon. À neuf heures,”

(Yes. Meet me down in the lounge area. At nine o’clock.)

“D’accord. Au revoir,”

(Okay. Goodbye)

You placed the phone down, and grabbed your clothes, quickly changing into them as Tony emerged from the bathroom with his wet hair clinging to his forehead and a new, comfortable outfit on.

“Who was that, dear?” He asked, sneaking over by you.

“Un ami,” You smiled at him, tapping his nose.

“Uh, yeah,” He nodded, clearly not understanding and you just tried to stifle a laugh. “You know, grandpa, uh, Gibbs, he wants us to figure out when we should have dinner with him,”

“Ah. How about we go over for a breakfast at nine. He just got his living room refinished not too long ago, correct?”

“Sounds good. And never call me a grandpa again, DiNozzo,” Gibbs spoke into both of your earpieces.

“It’s almost nine already. I should go and ask for a extra pillow, sweetie. Get the bed ready for us, can you?” You grabbed your hotel key and put on your special boots. “No need to dress so fancy for getting something so simple,”

“DiNozzo, go with her,” Gibbs commanded. “David and McGee are heading to the lounge area now,”

“You sure you don’t want me to come with?” DiNozzo asked you.

“I’ll be fine. It’s a silly little pillow, nothing too much,” You kissed his cheek and quickly left the room. While walking down the hallway to the elevator, you took a quick look around to make sure you weren’t being followed.

Once waiting for the elevator, you fixed your boots a bit and entered when the doors opened. There was no one inside, so you pressed the ‘1st level’ button. When getting near the ‘2nd level’ the elevator stopped, indicating someone was going to get on.

It was a staff member in their normal uniform. He smiled at you with blankets in his hand and entered.

“Puis-je vous aider avec quoi que ce soit, mademoiselle?” He questioned, pulling out a gun from his side and opened the elevator door once again for two new men to appear.

(Can I help you with anything, miss?)

“Oui. En me alissa the vivre,” You told him, one of the man entering the elevator and pulling you out, the man in the staff uniform having his gun pointed at you.

(Yes. By letting me live.)

“Tsk. Ne peut faire. Vous souvenez-vous de moi?”

(No can do. Do you remember me?)

“Vous n’avez pas l’air familier,” You spoke, getting dragged down the hallway as someone reached into your ear and broke the earpiece.

(You don’t look familiar.)

“Enough of this french,” The man who was dragging you sneered. “I want to hear this bitch speak,”

“Fine,” The one in the staff uniform sighed. “I don’t think you’re the person we’re looking for. It’s a shame you think we were that stupid to not know what our employees look like,”

“You’re just so intelligent,” You commented, getting kicked in the back of the leg.

“I was speaking. You really played it off, the whole sex thing. But it’s a shame you won’t have anymore time with him, he won’t get his little pillow. At least I won’t have to worry about the real couple anymore, they knew too much and I couldn’t let that get out. All I have to do is deal with you,”

“That will be harder than you think,” You told him, the grip on your arm tightening.

“I’m always a fan of having some fun,”

“They’re going to find the bullet your men used to kill the couple. You knew we were here since the beginning,”

“Correct,” One of the men opened the door and you were led in. “With you posing as the couple, you were able to gain a connection with the couples you were seated with. That way, we could then swoop in and learn more about them, giving us the opportunity to hack into their phone and get the passwords needed,”

“You’re stupid to tell me this. I could’ve figured it out on my own, my team probably already has,” One man then put you in a chair and started to tie you up, the one in the staff uniform kicking you in the gut so you fell backwards.

“Lift her up again. I want to have my fun before she must go, I hope you don’t mind the heat,” The second man lifted your chair up and a few more punches were landed on your body.

“Tu es une racaille,” You mumbled, trying to move your arm in the tight ropes.

(You’re scum.)

“Let’s go,” The head man told the other two. One of them grabbed a gas can nearby and started to pour it on the bedsheets. The head man grabbed a match from his pocket and lit it, throwing it on the bed for the flames to begin. “Au revoir,”

They left the room and you struggled to try and move one arm.

Meanwhile DiNozzo was in the elevator with his gun in pocket, going down to the lounge area.

“Y/n can’t hear us anymore,” DiNozzo voiced into his microphone. “Did she make it to the lounge?”

“No. Damn it DiNozzo, I told you to stay with her,” Gibbs spoke, looking at DiNozzo once the elevator door opened. “David, Mcgee, take the back entrance me and DiNozzo will take the front and head up,” He demanded.

Everyone split up. Ziva and McGee ran to the back to catch two men rushing out. They quickly aimed their guns at them and announced their presence, only to receive some shots at them.

Ziva was able to shoot down on of the men and the other surrendered, McGee cuffing the one and letting a police who arrived take care of them.

“We didn’t call for backup,” McGee muttered to Ziva.

“Yeah, uh, someone called into 911 about a fire,” The police pointed to a window on the hotel building. “People should be evacuating the building now, firefighters are on their way,”

McGee’s mouth dropped as he stared at Ziva.

“How odd it happened tonight,” Ziva mumbled.

“It’s obviously intentional!” McGee exclaimed.

“I know that. I hope those guys don’t die,”

DiNozzo and Gibbs started to rush up the stairs, they could feel a bit of the heat from the room and were able to catch the man in the staff uniform in the stairway.

“Sir, are you alright?” DiNozzo stopped, grabbing onto his shoulders softly. “NCIS,”

“I’m fine, just startled, I need to get out of here,” He waved his hands and tried to slip away from DiNozzo’s grip.

“DiNozzo, that’s him,” Gibbs quickly told the agent who soon put the mans hands behind his back. “Where’s our agent?”

“She won’t make it, a fire like that, no one would,” He smiled and DiNozzo led him down the stairs.

Gibbs continued to rush up them, into the hallway that was catching more and more on fire.

“L/n! L/n!” He yelled, looking around to try and find your figure.

He saw you emerge into the hallway, bloodied and bruised, some of your shirt on fire, and a knife in your hand. He rushed to your side, letting you lean on him.

“Y/n, can you hear me?” He asked and you shook your head a little, letting him fully help you down the stairs and out of the building.

He guided you to the ambulance who tended to most of your wounds, but you refused to be transferred to a hospital.

“You need to go,” McGee tried to convince you, standing by your side.

“It would probably be for the best,” David chimed in.

“Hopefully, they can fix your hair too,” Tony laughed, looking you up and down.

“Damn you, DiNozzo,” You stood and smacked the back of his head, while he just laughed.

“Go home you three, I’ll make sure Y/n gets home alright,” Gibbs came over, waving the three agents off who spared a small goodbye or hand wave. “You ready to go, idiot.”

“I almost died, and you’re calling me a idiot,” You chuckled a little. “Help me to your car?” You asked and he let you lean on him once again.

Once the both of you were in the car it was a very quiet ride. You didn’t talk to each other, just letting silence from the long day overtake each other. He truly was nervous for your safety, thought the two of you hadn’t been dating long he felt a lot of compassion regarding you and wanted to continue your relationship smoothly. 

“I really was worried. I told you not to go alone, you should’ve let DiNozzo go with you,” He finally spoke, once you were both in his driveway, sitting in the car, in the dark.

“I’m alive. Just got kicked around a bit, I’m super grateful I always carry that knife in my boot,” You softly told him. “Don’t worry about me too much, I may be younger than you, but I have experience.”

“I know that, just don’t be so stupid last time and take the help.”

“Fine,” Gibbs got out of his seat and moved around to your door, grabbing your hand and helping you out of the car. He smiled at the factor of how easily you trusted him to care for you. “I didn’t doubt you would get me for a minute.”

“Good, you should know that.”

“Only because you still owe me a date, and I did say I would let you pick this one out,” You looked up at him with a goofy grin. It amazed him that even with being beaten up a bit, and almost dying in a fire, you could make jokes with him. 

“I say we have the little date here,” He leaned down a bit to place a gentle kiss upon your lips, smirking into it a little bit, and then moving the way you were leaning on him so he would be able to pick you up. 

“Someone’s excited.”

“Let’s watch a nice movie on the couch. I bought some creamer, so, I can make that creamed coffee you wanted because now I’m your boyfriend but still pissed you made a stupid and life threatening decision in there,”

“Good enough. Palmer will have to wait. Poor kid,” You commented as Gibbs lead you to the couch and helped you rest on it, soon moving to his kitchen to start brewing a pot of coffee. 

“That idiot will be fine.”

“Yeah, luckily for him, though I won’t be able to atend, I do have a friend that will,” You smiled to yourself, imagining how that would be going right now. 

While you lied on the couch with your boyfriend who was, secretly, doting on you, giving you his undivided attention. DiNozzo was at a bar, chatting with someone while looking around for them. 

“She said she would be at this booth,” DiNozzo whispered to himself, wallking to the booth in the corner for where they shall meet. “God, she looked so good in her profile picture, I’m so- Palmer?!”

“Tony?” He looked up from his seat. “You’re Y/n’s friend? I guess I didn’t specify the gender, and she didn’t say a specific name.”

“Y/n? She’s not that good at compute- Damn, probie.” 

[drabbles-mc]

Passing Through

Bishop Losa x F!Reader

Request by @masterlistforimagines​: Okay so reader is passing through Santo Padre for some reason. Her car breaks down, and Bish is her mechanic. I’m thinking like super cute and flirty Bish

Warnings: language, alcohol, Bish being a flirt with a capital F

Word Count: 2.8k

A/N: I feel like I always let myself get carried away with requests from you. Like they almost always take on a life of their own once I start writing them. Thank you for loving me and continuing to send them to me regardless lmao. We get a few of our other MC boys in this fic too. Hope y’all enjoy! xo

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You’d been driving for practically 2 days straight. It was your own doing—you wanted to go all up and down the coast while you had the opportunity. You didn’t know the next time you would get a few weeks off. However, the first leg of your journey you took your sweet time and didn’t really plan things out, which left you in the tiniest bit of a time-crunch as things were coming to a close. It was impressive that your car had made it this far to begin with. It wasn’t exactly new, but it had always gotten the job done. You knew that this was a big ask, though, and the universe was finally coming to collect.

You sat on the hood, soaking up the sun while you waited for the tow truck to get there. Music was playing from the speaker of your phone as you recounted all of the adventures that you had had so far. If it hadn’t been such a good trip already, this mishap would’ve been far more upsetting. You were in too good of a headspace to be upset, though. Whatever the deal was with your car, you’d figure it out one way or another.

When you saw the tow truck approaching, you shut the music off and hopped down off the hood of your car. You stretched out, trying to gear yourself up for whatever the next leg of your journey was going to be. The truck parked in front of your car and one man hopped out of each side of the vehicle. You bit back a laugh at how different the two of them seemed.

“Are you Y/N?” one man approached you with a clipboard.

You took note of his hands but expressly tried not to stare. Besides, the smile he greeted you with was contagious it was difficult to focus on much else as you nodded, “Sure hope so. Otherwise someone else out there is having just as bad of luck as me.”

He nodded as he handed you the clipboard, “Just need you to fill out this form here for me, Miss.”

You smiled as you took the clipboard and pen from him, “I think I can handle that,” you continued to speak to him as you filled out the paperwork, “What’s your name?”

“Chucky.”

Your eyes flicked up from the paper as you smiled at him, “Nice to meet you, Chucky,” you nodded towards the man who was in the middle of hooking your car up to the tow truck, “Who’s your friend over there?”

“The one and only Johnny ‘Coco’ Cruz.”

You laughed, “One and only, huh?” you handed the clipboard back to him, “Seems like you might know a lot of people who are one-of-a-kind.”

The drive back to the mechanic shop was much more comfortable than you thought it was going to be. Chucky never seemed to run out of things to talk about, which was refreshing. Coco was quiet for most of the ride, chiming in here and there but staying silent for the most part as Chucky drove. The two of them made you wonder what the rest of the people were like at the shop they were taking you to.

When you rolled into the lot, Chucky hopped out and motioned for you to do the same while Coco set about getting your car off the tow truck and into the shop. Part of you wanted to watch it all happen, but Chucky needed you to fill out the rest of the paperwork and answer a few more questions. When he asked you about a rental, you asked if you could see what the damage was on your car before answering that.

You walked over to where your car was being worked on. From the angle you were standing at, you couldn’t see exactly who it was that was working on your car. It was just a pair of legs sticking out from underneath your vehicle. You found a stool to sit on while you waited for whoever it was to resurface so you could ask what exactly was going on and if you were going to need to find a new car to get back home in.

After a few minutes, they rolled back out. He sat up, eyes immediately locking onto yours. You smiled, eyebrows raising slightly as you took in the sight of him. He wiped his hands off on the rag tucked in the pocket of his jeans.

“She yours?” he nodded towards the car.

You sighed, “Depends on what you’re about to tell me.”

He chuckled as he shook his head, “Nothing that we can’t fix.”

“Is it gonna cost me an arm and a leg?”

“It shouldn’t, no,” he stood up, leaning back against your car, “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

The simple pet name shouldn’t have made your face feel hot, but it did, “It’s Y/N. But you can keep calling me sweetheart if you like,” you paused, “You?”

He laughed at your response before holding out his hand, “Bishop.”

“Nice to meet you, Bishop,” it was hard to take your eyes off of his lips and beard. You shook your head to dispel the thoughts, “So, what exactly is wrong with my car? And can you fix it in the cheapest way possible? I just gotta make it back home.”

He smiled at you, “Back home?”

You nodded, “Yea. Had a couple weeks off between jobs and decided to take advantage of it. Probably should’ve used that time to go car shopping though, huh?”

He chuckled, “Maybe.”

You listened as he outlined what was wrong with your car and how he planned to fix it. You were focusing on what he was saying for the most part, but it was easy to get distracted as you watched the way the muscles in his shoulders and arms flexed as he moved and shifted. You were practically salivating by the time that he finished talking.

“You got all that, sweetheart?” he asked with a laugh, knowing that you had definitely tuned out at a few different points as he spoke.

“I got the important parts,” you said, not trying to deny that you let your mind wander.

“How long are you in town for?” he asked, a curious glint in his eyes.

“At least until you fix my car,” you laughed.

“Maybe I should take my time then.”

You smiled, crossing your arms over your chest, “I don’t know how professional that would be of you, Bishop.”

“First you want me to call you sweetheart, and now you want me to be professional?” he laughed, eyes crinkling at the edges, “You’ve gotta pick one or the other.”

You smiled, nodding, “Fair enough,” you paused, “How about this?” you saw the curiosity written all over his face as you continued, “I’ll budget an extra night or two in Santo Padre into my plans, that way you don’t gotta drag out fixing my car. Besides,” you smiled, “I can’t afford to pay for three days’ worth of labor.”

He smiled and nodded, “Alright. That sounds fair. In that case I could have you up and running by tonight.”

“Just in time for you to take me out for a drink?”

He smiled, “Yea. But I wouldn’t make you take your car for that.”

“Oh? You wouldn’t?”

He shook his head as he gestured towards the row of motorcycles, “I’ll take you out on the town in style.”

You laughed, “Can’t wait,” you stood up off the stool, “I guess I’ll let you get to work then. I know I can be a bit distracting.”

“You’re a welcome distraction,” he nodded towards the building behind you, “If you wanna get outta the heat you can go wait in the clubhouse. My guys will take care of you.”

“Wow,” you tucked your hands into your pockets, “feel like I’m getting the royal treatment.”

He smiled, “Because you are,” he walked over to his toolbox and started taking a few things out, “I’ll come and get you when I’m done.”

You made your way over to the clubhouse. You glanced back over your shoulder and saw Bishop standing there, watching you walk away. You couldn’t help but to flash him a smile as you continued to make your way away from him.

When you pushed open the door to the clubhouse, suddenly everything began to make a lot more sense. You saw multiple men walking around with kuttes on, which explained why you got the feeling the place was a bit like the island of misfit toys. It took all kinds. However, despite the fact that it was home base for the local MC, it didn’t feel like an intimidating place to be. You felt perfectly comfortable as you approached the bar and took a seat.

“What can I get you?” the young man behind the bar offered you a sweet smile as he asked the question.

You clocked the prospect patch on his kutte as you looked him over, “Just water, please. Just trying to get outta the heat.”

“What brings you here? Don’t think I’ve seen you before,” he noted as he handed you a bottle of water.

You sighed slightly, “Car broke down,” you took a sip of your water, “One of your guys is working on it now, though. Bishop?”

The man behind the bar looked surprised, and the man who was sitting a couple stools down from you couldn’t refrain from making a comment. He turned towards you, “Damn, Bish is working on your car?” he chuckled, shaking his head, “Been a minute since I seen Pres get his hands dirty out there. You know him?”

You shook your head, “Don’t know any of you guys, actually.”

He moved to the stool next to yours, holding out his hand, “I’m Angel,” he nodded towards the man behind the bar, “That knucklehead is EZ.”

You laughed as you shook his hand, giving a courteous nod to EZ, “Nice to meet you both. I’m Y/N.”

The three of you sat and chatted while you waited for Bishop to finish up your car. You laughed as you listened to the two of them banter back and forth. For as much as you wished that your car hadn’t broken down, there were a lot worse people to be spending your afternoon with, so you really couldn’t complain.

“So I met Chucky and Coco,” you said as you sipped on your water.

“The dynamic duo,” EZ said with a laugh as he cleaned the glasses behind the bar.

“Is that right?” you asked with a smile.

“Nah, we all love Chucky,” Angel said, “But him and Coco are on the same wavelength sometimes. Shit’s weird.”

You were listening to the two of them dive into another story when a different voice cut through the conversation, “These guys bothering you?”

You laughed as you turned around to face Bishop, “Not at all. They’ve been perfect gentlemen.”

He raised one eyebrow as he looked back and forth between EZ and Angel, “I find that hard to believe.”

You chuckled, shaking your head, “What’s the verdict on my car, presidente?”

Angel and EZ biting back their laughter was audible. Bishop shot them a look but the serious expression only lasted for a moment as a smile broke out across his face, “So I see the three of you have been talking.”

“We have,” you leaned back against the smile, “I’ve also been informed that I have to be pretty high up on the totem pole in order for you to be the one to work on my car.”

He shook his head with a quiet laugh, “Something like that.”

“You decide to work on my car just because you thought I was cute, Bishop?”

“If I say yes are you gonna be mad?”

You laughed, shaking your head, “Not at all.”

“Then…yes.”

You couldn’t contain your laughter at his response. And you also couldn’t help but to notice the surprised looks on the faces of EZ and Angel as they watched you and Bishop go back and forth. Something told you that the Bishop that you were talking to, wasn’t the Bishop that they were used to seeing. That in and of itself was very interesting to you.

“But in answer to your original question,” Bishop got the conversation back on track, “Your car should be good to go.”

“Perfect, thank you so much,” you hopped off the stool, “I’ll go square everything up with Chucky, then.”

Bishop shook his head, his hand catching you by the waist when you went to walk by him, “You’re all set.”

“Bishop,” you folded your arms across your chest, “I can’t just let you not charge me.”

He nodded slowly, “Alright. First round is on you tonight then. Deal?”

You nodded, knowing that that was as much as you were going to be able to get him to budge, “Deal.”

“Let me go clean up and change. I’m sure these two can keep you amused in the meantime.”

You laughed, nodding, “I think so.”

He let his fingers trail lightly across the small of your back as he walked away. This time it was your turn to watch him, biting down lightly on your bottom lip as you did. You stepped back and found your seat once more at the bar, not able to return your attention to the men in front of you until Bishop was completely out of sight.

“Seriously,” Angel said with a laugh, “who are you?” he shook his head, “Never seen Bish flex so hard around someone.”

You laughed, “It’s because he knows he’s on a time crunch. Can’t play the long-game.”

“Time crunch?” EZ spoke up.

You nodded, “Yea, I’m just passing through. Honestly, Santo Padre wasn’t even really a stop I was planning to make before my car shit the bed,” you chuckled with a shrug, “But now that I’m here I might as well make the most of it. Told Bishop I’d budget in some extra time here if he could make it worth my while.”

“Damn,” Angel shook his head with a smile, “you really put him on the spot like that, huh?”

“He certainly didn’t seem to mind,” you laughed.

“Yea, I’ll bet he didn’t,” there was a knowing smirk on Angel’s face as he lifted his beer bottle to his lips.

Before you could try to pry further into what he meant by that, Bishop reappeared in a fresh set of clothes and his kutte. You couldn’t hide the fact that you were gawking at him as he approached you. He smiled as he approached you, holding out a hand to help you hop down off the stool.

“Ready if you are.”

You nodded, “I was born ready,” you laughed as he draped an arm around your waist and guided you back towards the door to the clubhouse.

“Anywhere in particular you’re looking to go?”

You shook your head, “You’re calling the shots tonight, Pres.” You heard Angel let out a whistle from the bar at your statement and you couldn’t help but to laugh. You turned to look at Bishop as the two of you exited the clubhouse, “Your guys seem pretty happy for you.”

He chuckled and shook his head, “Yea, something like that.”

You let him guide you over to the bikes. You weren’t sure if you should mention to him that you had never ridden one before. But he must’ve seen the look of slight apprehension on your face because he gave you a reassuring smile as he handed you a spare helmet.

“It’s not that bad. Just hang onto me and you’ll be fine.”

You smiled at him as you clipped the helmet on, “That sounds like an easy direction to follow.”

He got onto his bike and helped you to do the same, giving you a moment to get situated. You draped your arms lightly around his waist, but the second the bike roared to life your hold on him instantly tightened, causing him to laugh. He checked one last time that you were good to go and once you said yes, he shot out of the compound. You were holding onto him so tight that you were afraid you were going to crack one of his ribs, but he didn’t say anything.

A few miles into the ride, you finally loosened your hold on Bishop a little, allowing him to breathe with ease. You could feel his body vibrating with laughter as you slowly found your comfort.

“You good, sweetheart?”

You laughed as you leaned against him, “All good.”

Of all the towns that you could’ve gotten stranded in for an afternoon, you were glad that it was Santo Padre. And if there was anyone worth switching up your travel plans for, you had a feeling that it was Bishop.

[jadelynlace]

How Ivar Met Aiden⎮Ink Drinker Modern Vikings AU⎮Deleted Scene

☞ catch up with the series here.

☞ requests are currently closed, but they will reopen soon!

We’ve established that these two met in college, Ivar was studying calculus and Aiden was studying biology. They shared a dorm, and they lived together in a small apartment after graduating. Aiden was also the one who helped Ivar figure out he was bi-sexual.

But, what brings two totally different majors together? I’ll tell you! Introduction to Art History. 

And, when you’re a freshman, you think “Oh, an 8 am class won’t be too bad!” No, it’s not bad. It’s fucking terrible.

Both Aiden and Ivar are artists, both of them were told to get degrees in “useful areas” because drawing won’t pay the bills. That’s why they both became tattoo artists, to shove it in peoples faces. Yet, they decided to take the courses that appealed to them, after all they have the electives and could pick freely.

Ivar takes his seat in the back of the lecture hall, energy drink already half gone, but it’s not like he slept well anyways. He opted for a single dorm, which in retrospect wasn’t the best idea he’s had, but he hates everyone, and wants to be alone. Even when the loneliness is killing him.

Now, who do you think decides to sit next to him, even with dozens of open seats around the room? That’s right, fucking Aiden. Plops down in the chair next to him, pissing Ivar off until he watches the man set his coffee down. Aiden sets the tumbler on the table, pops the top off momentarily, reaches into his bag and pulls out the same flavor Red Bull Ivar drinks. (It’s the tropical one, in the yellow can, if you were wondering.) And cracks that open, dumping it straight into his coffee as if it’s a normal fucking thing to do.

“Either I’ll meet the Gods or become one,” He says to Ivar before he takes a swig, and Ivar thinks there’s no way that tastes...decent.

“That can’t taste good,” Ivar says back.

“Oh, no, I’d rather drink straight cum but it’ll keep me awake!” Aiden laughs. “I’m Aiden,”

“Ivar,” Ivar says back, cautiously eyeing the man as he sips his own energy drink.

“Are you an archer?” Aiden asks back and Ivar almost swallows his drink down his windpipe.

“You know what my name means?” Ivar asks back.

“My Dad’s a history professor, I know a lot about a lot...none of which I care much about. What’s your major?”

“Calculus,”

“Wow, you’re a nerd, huh? Mine’s biology, only because apparently I can’t make a living with drawing,” And that alone, that makes Ivar very interested in the conversation.

“You draw?��� Ivar asks.

“All the time, it’s the only thing that’s keeping me from...you know,” Aiden says, striking his finger across his throat. “Do you draw?”

“All the time,” Ivar says back. “Let me try that,” Ivar then adds, picking up the coffee and taking a swing. “Oh my god. You’re right, I’d rather drink straight cum too,”

Ivar looks forward to the lecture the next time class meets, where Aiden sits down with an espresso shot that he tosses back as if it’s tequila, and then chases it with a different flavored energy drink. The chaos, the organized chaos this man exudes reminds Ivar of Hvitserk immediately, and he’s quite frankly curious how this man is still standing after what he puts into his body.

It’s no shock that they become friends quickly; much more quickly than Ivar thought possible, let alone thought he was capable of. Aiden’s style of artwork is much more traditional than Ivar’s (think traditional, colorful tattoos, verses the ones Ivar does), and they are both content to sit in the same room and draw. Not soon after, Aiden’s roommate leaves randomly, so he has a spare bed and asks Ivar if he wants to move in. 

And that’s when the fun really begins.

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[avengerscompound]

Moving On - Chapter 1

Moving On: A Falcon & Captain Marvel Fanfic

Masterlist

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Sam Wilson x F!Reader, Carol Danvers x F! Reader

Word Count:  1764

Rating:  E

Warnings:  None for the chapter, Smut, pregnancy, character death, grief, angst, on series.

Synopsis:  You thought Sam Wilson was the love of your life.  You had planned to do it all with him - marriage, kids, see the world.  Even when you’re life gets turned upside down, and you both end up international fugitives, he’s there by your side.

Then Thanos comes.

When Sam is one of the many turned to dust, leaving you alone and pregnant, you don’t think you’ll ever stop grieving.  Yet, everyone tells you that Sam would want you to move on and live your life - that he’d want you to be happy. Gradually you open your heart up to another.  Carol Danvers has lost people too.  First her daughter, then her wife.  As the two of you lean on each other, feelings grow and you move on together.

So what happens when Sam is returned to you?

A/N: Still working out how I plan to end this, so be aware it could go down a polyamory path or it could go down in a ball fire with much wailing and screaming and beating your fists against the wall. 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TAGGED IN THIS LET ME KNOW OR ADD YOURSELF TO THE TAGLIST

Chapter 1: Sam

You met Sam Wilson on a Tuesday morning.  You’d seen him around and obviously knew who he was, but you had assumed, much like with the other Avengers, you weren’t really on their radar.

You liked to refer to yourself as a redshirt.  The cannon fodder that ran into battle after the supers and if they got themselves killed, no big deal, there were plenty more of you, and besides did any of you even have names?

You’d been projecting.

The Avengers were good guys for a reason, and on the day you met Sam you’d realized that it wasn’t just a need to save the world.  They actually cared about the people living in it.

He’d greeted you by name and told you that you’d been doing great work with the team.  He’d asked you how you were handling things and if you needed anything or had any suggestions for keeping up morale and when you answered, he’d listened.  Really listened and not just nodded and placated you before ignoring everything you had to say.  In fact, a few of your suggestions were even implemented a few weeks later.

It was a Thursday afternoon when he began talking to you as a friend.  A small group of you and the other redshirts had gone to a bar near the compound.  He and some of the Avengers were there drawing the attention of the locals.  Sam approached you at the bar when you went to buy a round for your friends.

“Can I get this for you?”  Sam asked as you waited for the bartender to finish serving someone else.

“Trying to lower my inhibitions?”  You asked, raising your eyebrow at him.

He laughed and shook his head.  “It’s smart to be wary.  What about some mozzarella sticks?  No one feels like having sex after they’re full of cheese.”

You laughed hard and you knew then it didn’t matter what happened tonight, Sam Wilson was someone you wanted to get to know intimately.

He’d ended up paying for the round for your friends and leaving you to get back to them.  Your friends had all called you crazy and told you to go back to him.  You didn’t.  Not right away.  You didn’t approach him again until people had started calling it a night.

“Hey,” you said, as you reached his table.

He kicked out the chair beside him.  “Hey, yourself,” he said.

You sat down and he bought you a basket of mozzarella sticks and you bought him a beer and the two of you sat and talked until the bar kicked you out.

You had been dating ever since.  You were well and truly head over heels in love.  While you couldn’t claim that the two of you were inseparable - Avenging and spy work meant that there would be long periods where you were apart - you were each other’s person.  You trusted him completely and he trusted you, and when you could be together, you made the most of it.  You’d been sharing a room at the compound for over a year and were having all the big talks about marriage and family and all those things people talk about when they’re planning on spending their life together.

So when he took you to the only four and a half star restaurant within an hour of the compound, you had an inkling what was up.

It was located in a big red building that looked a lot like a barn and didn’t exactly raise your hopes for an elegant night out, but inside was decorated in a way that perfectly hit rustic and contemporary.  Something that very few places could pull off.  The hostess seated you at a table by the window that had a crisp white table cloth on it and beautiful linen napkins.

“Wow, Sam,” you teased, as the hostess left you with the menus.  “This is fancy.  I wonder what the occasion is?”

“Hey now!”  Sam laughed.  “Don’t get ahead of yourself.  Maybe I just want to have a nice romantic night out.”

You laughed too and raised an eyebrow at him.  “Of course.  You’ve just never done this before so that makes total sense.”

He stifled a laugh and perused the menu.  “Want to get a bottle of Champagne?”  He asked.

“Why?  Are we celebrating something?”  You teased.

Sam hid his face behind the menu as he broke down into a fit of giggles.  “Will you cut it out?  You’ll make me chicken out.”

“Chicken out from doing what, honey?”  You asked, feigning innocence.  “It looks like they don’t have any champagne anyway.  They only have Prosecco.”

“What?  But they’re French fusion,” Sam yelped, turning to the wine menu.  “What?  This doesn’t make any sense.”

“French/Italian,” you said.  “I guess when it comes to sparkling wines, they pushed into the Italian.  They have a Rose from the Champagne region of France.  Do you want that?  It only comes by the glass though.”

“Let’s get the Prosecco,” Sam said.

Almost as if that decision had summoned her, the waitress appeared at the table and took your drink orders.  She disappeared as quickly as she appeared, and you noticed Sam tap the stop on his jacket where the inside pocket was before going back to the menu.

“Do you know what you’re having?”  Sam asked.

“Mmm… not sure.  What are you thinking?”  You asked.

“So there’s lobster...” Sam said.

“Ohh… you’re really going all out, huh?”

“...but I think if I order that I’d just be getting it because it’s Lobster and not because I want Lobster.  You know what I mean?”

“It does come with seared scallops,” you said with a shrug.

“I might get the New York strip,” Sam said.  “Herb butter is good, but what’s Au Poivre?”

“Pepper sauce,” you answered.

“Oh… yeah I’ll go herb Butter,” he said with a nod.  “I was thinking that sharing a starter might be nice.  They make their own ricotta cheese.  Did you see?”

“I did see,” you smiled.  “We can share, but Sam…”

He looked up at you and smiled.  “Yes, gorgeous girl?”

“I have a question,” you said, digging around in your purse.

“What is it?  Do you need to know where they sourced the milk?”

You bit back a laugh and shook your head.  “No…” you said and got down on one knee.

“No…” Sam gasped.  “No!  No, no, no.”

“Sam Wilson,” you began, pulling out the ring box from your purse and popping it open.

“You little shit!”  Sam said, quickly dropping to his knee in front of you and whipping the ring box from his pocket.

“Will you marry me?”  You both said at the same time.  You both started laughing loudly and you tipped forward slightly and had to grab hold of Sam to steady yourself.  The noise you were making drew the attention of the whole restaurant and people had started watching on both to figure out exactly what was happening and to hear what the answer was.

“Of course, I’ll marry you,” you giggled, leaning in and capturing his lips.  You could feel his smile as he returned the kiss.  His hand went to your neck and he held you in place as his lips moved with yours.

He pulled back and grinned at you.  “I guess I’ll marry you too, ya dork,” he teased.

You laughed and took out the ring and slid it onto his finger.  It was black titanium with a line of red right down the middle and he took a moment to admire it before he slid your engagement ring in place.  You both stood looking at the rings as you sat back at the table and people around clapped for you both.  The ring Sam had given you was white gold with a single round cut diamond in a claw setting.  Curled around the side of the diamond was a silver feather inlaid with black opal.

“I can’t believe you just did that to me,” Sam said as the waitress approached.

“Congratulations,” she said, showing the bottle of Prosecco to both you and Sam.

“Thank you,” you said, nodding to let her know the bottle was fine.  She popped the cork and poured you both a small taste.

“I’ve never seen people propose at the same time,” she said as she waited for you each to try the sparkling wine.  You took a sip and nodded, holding your glass out to be filled.  “It was really cute.  You’re a cute couple.”

“Thanks,” Sam said.  “She is pretty cute, huh?”

She poured your drinks and took your order, and when you were alone again Sam held up his glass to you in a toast.  “To; spending the rest of our crazy-ass lives together.”

You giggled and clinked your glass with his before taking a sip.  “I seriously can’t believe you just did that,” Sam said, looking at his ring.  “You were supposed to let me ask you!”

“Who says?  The patriarchy?”  You joked.

Sam laughed and shook his head.  “Yes, dear,” he teased, putting on the voice of a hard done by television husband.  “It’s the patriarchy.”

“Besides,” you continued.  “If I hadn’t asked - you wouldn’t have that sweet ass ring.”

“It is a really nice ring,” Sam said, looking down at it again.  “How long have you been planning this?  How did you know it was going to be tonight?”

You laughed.  “I didn’t know it would be tonight until you told me to dress up.  I’ve been planning it for a long time.  We’ve been talking about it so much, I just thought it would be funny if we both had rings ready at the same time.”

Sam’s eyes softened and he tilted his head as he looked at you.  His thumb ran over the engagement ring sitting on your finger.  “I love you so goddamn much, you know?”

You lifted his hand to your mouth and kissed it.  “I do.  And I love you at least twice as much as that.”

“Hey now!”  Sam yelped.  “Don’t make me take you over my knee.”

“Promises, promises,” you said.  “So… about this wedding… is it going to be a big one?”

“Oh yeah,” Sam said.  “The biggest.”

You laughed a little picturing a wedding with all your families and the Avengers all in attendance.  Him in his blue formal uniform, you in an over-the-top white dress.  It was a fun little vision and you couldn’t wait to start planning it properly so the two of you could get on with spending your whole lives together.

// NEXT