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nerdzzone · 3 years

Text

-More Hearts Than Mine-

Summary: Raising a child is hard. Raising a child with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars is even harder. And raising a child with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars who you’re not actually in a relationship with is even harder still.

Especially when a global pandemic is sweeping the world.

With lockdowns and stay at home orders looming on the horizon, the uncertainty of their situation becomes almost too much for Whitney Taylor to handle. Chris suggests that they quarantine together to avoid any potential separations but, given what happened the last time they spent more than a few brief moments in each other’s company, that could cause more problems than it solves…

Chris Evans x OFC

Sequel to: Once Bitten - Twice Shy

Note: Again, just a reminder that all the information I have about covid restrictions in Massachusetts is from google, not first hand experience, so if something seems wrong please just go with it.

Part Three

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Part Four

If avoiding difficult conversations was an Olympic sport then it's pretty safe to say that I would have earned myself a gold medal by the end of the following week. It wasn't all that hard to do though as the exhaustion from parenting during a pandemic was hitting us both. Especially because the weather for the first couple of weeks of April was abysmal. It was cold, stormy and raining almost every day and we were all getting quite stir crazy from being inside constantly - especially our lively and spirited child.

So, it was a massive relief when the sun finally came out.

It was also a relief that it lined up with Grayson's third birthday.

He was going to have a very different birthday than previous years - as most people would over the next few months - but we wanted him to have fun and he was quickly tiring of all the indoor activities that we could come up with.

We set the living room up the night before after he'd gone to bed, putting up a birthday banner with several clusters of balloons, and there was quite the mountain of presents in the corner as most of our family members had sent their gifts in advance. I had hoped to wake up before him, but when I woke up to excited cheers and Dodger barking from downstairs, I knew I was too late. A quick glance at my phone told me that it was only six thirty, but clearly the excitement had gotten him up earlier than normal.

"Whoa, Dodger, Grayson, shhhh," I heard Chris warn the pair of them, his voice still raspy from sleep. "You'll wake up the whole neighbourhood."

I smiled and quickly climbed out of bed. Chris wouldn't let him open any presents without me, I knew that, but I didn't want to keep him waiting for too long.

When I got downstairs, a very excited Grayson was bouncing on the couch as Chris sat next to him, watching him closely with a smile on his face.

"Happy birthday!" I cheered, catching his attention.

He sprang off the couch and bolted towards me.

"Thanks, Mama," He shouted, throwing his arms around my legs and looking up at me. "I'm three!"

"You are!" I smiled as I knelt down in front of him and pulled him into a hug. "You're such a big boy now."

He let me squeeze him for another moment or two before wiggling free.

"Can I open presents?"

Chris laughed at his clear priorities, shaking his head as I stood up.

"Let's just wait for Uncle Scott," he suggested before glancing up at me. "He's putting the coffee on."

"Very smart," I nodded. "I think we're all going to need plenty of that today."

Grayson proved my point by grabbing at his balloons and waving them frantically, setting Dodger off barking again.

"Dodge!" Chris scolded. "It's just a balloon, buddy. Chill."

The poor overwhelmed dog hung his head and came over to me for some sympathy. I happily obliged, cooing some comforting words and rubbing his back.

"Gray, leave the balloons, okay?" I requested. "I don't think Dodger likes them."

Grayson frowned, but instantly let go of the balloon in his hand.

"Sorry, Dodger."

"It sounds like we have quite the party in here already," Scott commented as he sauntered into the room. "Shall we see what's in some of these boxes?"

"Yes! Yes!" Grayson cheered, running over to the presents. "What first?"

"Whatever you want," I told him, smiling as I went to sit on the couch next to Chris. "Do you need some help?"

"No, I can do it!" He insisted, making a bee line for the biggest box and quickly ripping the paper off.

We watched as he opened gift after gift, an ear to ear grin on his face the whole time. Just as he was at Christmas, he was incredibly grateful for every present from the Paw Patrol Lookout Tower that was almost as tall as he was to the dinosaur books that were more educational than flashy and fun.

But there was one gift at the bottom of the pile that Chris wasn't particularly impressed by. The one that my brother had sent.

Grayson opened it, pulling out a t-shirt first.

"What does it say?" He asked, holding up the shirt towards us.

Chris' jaw dropped as I stifled my giggles and Scott burst out laughing.

"It says 'Team Iron Man'," I read. "Remember how Uncle Rob was in a movie with Daddy where they had a big fight? Iron Man was Uncle Rob's character and I think Uncle Jack wants you to be on that team."

"Oh," Grayson smiled. "Okay!"

"Okay?!" Chris protested. "You don't want to be on my team?"

Grayson shrugged as he pulled something else out of the box from my brother.

"Look!" He shouted, his excitement clear as he held up a very fancy electronic Iron Man helmet. "I love it!"

I wasn't even sure that he knew what it was as he hadn't seen any of the movies yet, but his enthusiasm compared to Chris' displeasure was killing Scott and I.

"Oh, it's such a shame that your brother wasted his money," Chris said, his words dripping with sarcasm as he had a forced look of pity on his face. "Those things are expensive and Grayson is never going to wear it."

"I'll wear it!"

Grayson's insistence was followed by him putting the helmet on his head and another howl of laughter came from Scott as a look of betrayal crossed Chris' face.

"Your brother is a jerk."

His words were quiet so Grayson wouldn't hear and I smiled.

"What can I say?" I shrugged. "We're an Iron Man family..."

Chris shot me a glare, but turned his attention back to Gray.

"Well, if you don't want to be on my team then I guess I'll just have to find someone else to have the last present that I got for you..."

Chris was teasing, but Grayson whipped off the helmet faster than we could blink. He looked around, a puzzled expression on his face when he couldn't see anymore boxes on the floor and I shared his confusion as I wasn't aware of anymore gifts either. But the Evans brothers exchanged a knowing glance and I knew they were up to something.

"Maybe Miles would like it," Scott suggested. "He loves Captain America."

"Me too!" Grayson insisted, tossing the helmet aside as if it hadn't been his new prized possession moments ago. "He's my favourite!"

"Oh, is he now?" Chris laughed. "Doesn't take much to make you change your mind, does it?"

Grayson shook his head, oblivious to the fact that he was being teased, but Chris didn't torture him for too long.

"Alright, do you want to see what it is?"

"Yes, I do!"

Grayson leapt up, bouncing up and down with excitement, making Chris laugh as he stood up from the couch.

"C'mon then," he told Grayson, nodding his head towards the door. "It's this way."

Grayson scurried after his dad and I followed, my own curiosity piqued as well.

"What is it?" I asked Scott, but he just shot me a smirk.

"You'll see in a second."

I narrowed my eyes at his secrets and paused at the front door where Chris was waiting for us, his hand on the door knob as Grayson practically vibrated with excitement.

"Okay, close your eyes," Chris instructed. "No peeking!"

"I won't, I won't!"

Grayson covered his eyes as an extra assurance and Chris' grin widened even more as he swung open the door. I put my hands on Grayson's shoulders and guided him through it, seeing a shiny blue bike with a big bow on the handlebars. I felt a flash of worry at all the potential ways for Grayson to get hurt riding it, but there was no time to dwell on that as Chris told him to open his eyes and he gasped with excitement.

"A bike!" He squealed with joy, leaping off the doorstep and running towards it.

He circled it for a moment as if he was really trying to take it all in while I looked up at Chris.

"There better be a helmet with this present," I warned him. "I'm already imagining broken bones and missing teeth."

"He'll be fine," Chris assured me with a chuckle. "It has training wheels, but of course I got him a helmet."

I opened my mouth, ready to share some more potential disasters that could come from this - because even with training wheels he could still fall off or lose control and crash into a tree - but Grayson cut me off.

"Help me, Daddy! Help me!"

He was trying to climb onto the seat, but as I took in the sight of him barefoot in his pyjamas standing in the driveway, I stopped Chris as he moved towards him.

"Wait, why don't we have breakfast first?" I suggested. "We have all day to play on your bike, but you're not dressed or even wearing shoes..."

Grayson's face fell and I felt bad being the mean parent, but Chris nodded in agreement.

"Your Ma's right, Gray," he told him. "Let's go get ready and then we can come right back outside, okay?"

Grayson looked sulky, but reluctantly agreed as he walked back over to us.

"Hey now," Scott said, catching his attention. "No pouting on your birthday! We've got some chocolate chip pancakes to make! Unless that sad face means you don't want them anymore?"

His previous smile slid instantly back onto his face at the promise of such a sugary breakfast and the pep returned to his step as he grabbed Scott's hand before dragging him into the house.

I had no evidence to prove my theory, but by the time breakfast was over, I was almost certain that it would have been more relaxing to be in the middle of a hurricane. There was pancake batter all over the room and we practically had to pin Grayson to his chair to stop him from sprinting around the room with food in his mouth. It was a miracle that he got through the meal without choking.

It was impossible to be mad though when he was having such a good time. He'd had so much to adjust to lately, seeing him happy on his birthday was all that I wanted and I was willing to put up with a little more chaos than normal if it made that happen. Within reason, of course. I did stop him when he suggested that we put the entire bag of chocolate chips in the pancake batter and I did make him help me clean them up when he dumped them on the floor in protest of my ridiculous restrictions.

Once the breakfast circus was over, Chris whisked him off to get him ready to play outside while I helped Scott clean up the kitchen before going upstairs to shower and get ready myself.

When I came back down almost an hour later, I felt considerably less frazzled, but the sound of excited squeals and giggles echoing from outside told me the energy levels hadn't died down much. It really was a relief that he was having such a nice day though so I braced myself for more chaos and headed out to find them.

The sight that greeted me melted my heart completely.

Chris was running backwards across the driveway as Grayson rode towards him. He shouted encouragement the entire time, reminding him to keep pedaling and to look where he was going and cheering as Grayson rode past him before turning around and circling back.

"Look, Mama!" He shouted to me as he spotted me by the door. "I'm doing it!"

"You are, baby!" I smiled. "Good job!"

I sat on the doorstep and watched him ride in circles, proud of how fast he'd figured it out, but after a few moments, my attention turned to Chris.

There were few times since I'd known him when I'd seen him look as happy as he did in that moment. When Grayson was born, when he took his first steps and when he first said 'Dada' were probably the only comparable moments I could think of. He looked absolutely gleeful as he chased after Grayson, laughing as he passed him before dodging a different way and waiting for Gray to catch up before bolting off again. The sound of their giggles and shouts filled my heart so much that it genuinely felt like it was about to burst out of my chest and a feeling of contentedness hit me so hard that it almost knocked over.

It was a feeling that told me that they were all I ever needed. Those two boys, making each other dizzy as they ran in circles. Their happiness and love was all I could ever hope to have and moments like these were all I ever wanted to see. I wanted us to spend every weekend soaking in this kind of joy. I didn't want to fight and argue and transport Grayson back and forth every other week. I wanted to give Grayson what he deserved, I wanted us to be a family.

But as fast as that clarity hit me, the knots in my stomach were there to remind me that it wasn't just about what I wanted. It wasn't about what would bring us the most moments of delight, it was about what would provide Grayson with the most stability and being a family might do more harm to that goal than good.

It was a constant battle between my heart and my head, but I was starting to realize that my head was losing. I was clinging to my resistance with all I had, but it was slipping away. I knew I needed to talk to Chris, to sort out the fog in my brain, but for the time being, I pushed it out of my mind. This was Grayson's day and we didn't have time for anymore heart-wrenching conversations.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Scott appeared from the side of the house on roller blades and the unexpected sight pulled a laugh from my lips as he sailed past Chris and Grayson and headed down the driveway.

"Gray, follow me!"

Gray nodded, frantically pedaling to catch up with his uncle as they sped off down the long drive. Chris watched them for a minute before jogging over to me.

"He got it so fast," he puffed as he fought to catch his breath. "He's a natural."

"The training wheels help," I pointed out, shielding my eyes from the sun as I looked up at him. "But it's fine because he'll be keeping those on until he's at least eighteen."

Chris barked out a laugh, shaking his head.

"No way," he smirked. "We'll have them off by next week."

"Not a chance. I need at least six months to get used to that idea."

"How about we meet in the middle and aim for three?"

"Hmm, maybe," I bit back a smile. "We'll have to see how many injuries he gets with the training wheels on first."

"He'll be fine. He's a champ," Chris grinned proudly. "We've got a pretty great kid."

"We do," I patted the step next to me as I made room for Chris to sit down. "I can't believe he's already three."

Chris accepted my silent invitation and sat down next to me.

"I know," he sighed. "It feels like just yesterday that he was born..."

"He was so tiny," I reminisced. "And you had those huge Captain America muscles."

Chris laughed as he nodded at the memory.

"I was so scared to hold him in case I accidentally crushed him."

"I was so scared of everything," I admitted. "It wasn't until he was actually born that it really hit me that we were completely responsible for his well-being and keeping him alive."

"We've done well with that though!"

"We have," I agreed with a smile. "He's alive and thriving."

"We make a good team."

He flashed me a warm smile that made my heart beat stutter and it almost stopped completely when he stretched out a hand and placed it on mine. His touch was gentle and the warmth of his skin flooded through me even more than the sun streaming down on us. It was a simple gesture, but it eased the heaviness that had been hovering between us lately and I was grateful. I carefully flipped my hand over so our palms pressed together and let our fingers interlace. His smile widened as he looked back out at the driveway, his eyes settling on Grayson in the distance who was laughing at something Scott said.

"Thank you," Chris sighed, his voice quiet and filled with genuine appreciation. "I don't think I've ever said it, but thank you for making me a dad."

His words almost brought tears to my eyes, but I shook my head.

"Chris, you don't need to than-"

"I do," he insisted, cutting me off. "He's the best thing that ever happened to me and he wouldn't be here without you."

"I could say the same," I pointed out, trying to ignore the way his thumb was stroking the back of my hand. "He gets most of his good traits from you too. His kind heart, his sensitive little soul, his loyalty."

"His infuriating stubbornness."

"He gets that from both of us," I smiled. "He didn't stand a chance with that one."

"Well, I hope he gets some of your selflessness," Chris informed me, glancing over and looking a tad sheepish. "Because, as much as I disagree with it and I wish you'd be a little selfish, I get that you're trying to look out for him."

I felt my palms start to sweat and I wondered if he could feel it. I resisted the urge to snatch my hand away from his, trying to play it cooler than I felt. He was watching me closely as I mulled over his words until I found the strength to speak.

"I'm not so sure that it's just him that I'm trying to look out for," I admitted, exhaling a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. "I do think we have more to talk about, Chris, but I don't think this is the right time."

"You're right," he nodded. "I just felt like I owed you an apology after the other night. I let my feelings get the best of me and I came across a little harsh."

I was about to reassure him that he hadn't when the sound of honking interrupted our conversation. Our attention was pulled to the end of the driveway where two cars - belonging to Chris' mom and his sister - were pulling in as Scott moved Grayson and Dodger off to the side to let them past.

"Did you know they were coming?" I asked, surprised by the little motorcade.

"Nah, I had no idea," Chris shrugged. "We'll stay outside though, keep our distance."

I wasn't worried about that really, I knew all of Chris' family were staying very isolated and being smart about staying safe and we were technically allowed to have outdoor gatherings of up to ten people anyway with the current rules in place. I was surprised to see them though as we'd warned Grayson that he would only get to see most of his family over FaceTime. His excitement at that being untrue was clear as he frantically pedaled back up the driveway to greet his guests.

"Mama! Daddy! Look!"

I let Chris' hand fall away from mine as we stood, smiling at Grayson's excitement as everyone started getting out of their cars. They burst into a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday' making Gray's grin grow even more.

"Happy birthday, Grayson!" Lisa beamed as Grayson ran towards her full speed. He threw his arms around her legs before we could even remind him to keep his distance, but Lisa seemed unbothered by it. "Have you had a good day so far?"

"Yes!" Gray smiled up at her. "I got a bike!"

"I saw that!" Lisa matched his enthusiasm. "You're a lucky boy!"

Grayson shot her another smile before turning his attention to his cousins.

"Wanna try?"

His older cousins were probably too big, but Stella's hand shot up first and beat them to it anyway.

"That's really nice of you to share," I called over to Grayson. "But share your helmet too, okay?"

He nodded and struggled with the clip for a few minutes before Lisa helped him take it off and placed it on her granddaughter's head.

Once they were all happy, chasing Stella and Dodger around the drive way, the adults moved over towards us. Lisa was the first to speak, a guilty look on her face.

"I hope you don't mind us just showing up like this, but we couldn't stay away on his birthday..."

"It's great!" Chris assured her. "Don't worry about it."

"And Grayson seems thrilled," I added. "It's nice for him to have other kids to run around with for a bit."

We all turned to watch them as they played until Carly let out a laugh.

"Are Grayson's shoes on the wrong feet?"

I hadn't even noticed, but I laughed as well when I realized that she was right.

"Some days just getting him in shoes at all is a victory," Chris defended himself. "And today was one of those days."

"He's like the energizer bunny this morning," Scott joked. "I can't imagine what he'll be like after we get some cake into him."

"Just think how well he'll sleep tonight," Carly pointed out. "He has to crash eventually."

"I hope so," Chris smiled. "He had me up at six o'clock this morning, I need an early night."

That earned a laugh from the group as his siblings teased him about being such an old man, but I felt a pang of sympathy for him, knowing that he'd been up early with Grayson a lot lately. Maybe it was because we were at his house so it was what Gray was used to, but Chris was definitely the favourite for the early morning wake up call.

We stood in our little circle for a while, just catching up as we watched the kids, all of us enjoying conversation with someone other than the people we were locked up with twenty-four hours a day. It was nice for me to have some female company as well even though Lisa was very pleased to hear that her boys were pulling their weight around the house and not just treating me like some kind of live-in maid.

It didn't take long for the kids to get tired of sharing the bike, especially the older boys who were too big for it anyway, and soon they were swarming around us demanding that we all play a game. After being cooped up for so long, it didn't seem like a bad idea to get us all moving around a little so we agreed and set about the daunting task of finding something everyone was willing to play.

Eventually, we settled on capture the flag - girls against boys. Lisa decided she'd make a better referee than a player so the boys team had one extra member, but they had three children to our one so it hardly seemed like the extra person would cause any unbalance.

The rules of the game were simple: each team had three flags in our 'end zone' at opposite ends of the large grassy part of Chris' yard and the other team had to try to steal those flags. We had to grab it and run it all the way back to our own end zone to score a point, but once it was safely 'captured' it couldn't be stolen back. If someone managed to snatch a flag, but was tagged on their way back to their end zone then they had to give the flag back.

Lisa was very firm in reminding her children that tackling was not allowed as the Evans siblings were fiercely competitive and it had apparently led to trouble over the years. Once the rules were all set, we took our places and started the game.

The teams were fairly evenly matched. The boys had more strength, but we had more agility and were much better at communicating and working together which led to us easily scoring the first point. While Stella distracted Scott, Carly snuck past him to snatch the flag and she tossed it to Shanna who faked a pass to Stella before throwing it to me to get it to the safe zone. It was a beautifully executed play that showed the boys we weren't messing around.

"Oh, it's on now," Chris called out as he sprinted past me.

Shanna bolted after him, but he managed to grab the flag and throw it to Ethan before she caught up. With all the other boys guarding him, he made it all the way back to their end zone without getting tagged.

"I think having a super soldier on your team is an unfair advantage ," Carly huffed, but Chris shook his head with a smirk.

"Nah, because we have Scott too so it balances out."

"Hey!" Scott protested. "I'll switch teams if you're going to be rude!"

Stella jumped for joy at that idea, pleading with him to come onto our side, but the rest of the boys voiced their protests and he decided that, as long as there was no more hurtful comments, he would stick to his team for now. I used their bickering as a distraction though as I snuck closer towards their unguarded flags. I managed to grab one before Scott noticed and called out a warning to the rest of his team, but when I took off running and Grayson charged towards me, I didn't have the heart to out run him on his special day. I slowed down enough that he wouldn't realize I was letting him win and groaned dramatically as he tagged me, making me give up the flag.

"I did it!" He cheered. "Daddy! Did you see? I did it!"

Stella had a disappointed scowl on her face, but everyone else was understanding as they watched Chris scoop him up onto his shoulders, chanting his name as if he'd just won the World Cup while he carried him back to replace the flag.

Their celebration was short-lived though as we managed to steal the flag again almost as soon as Chris and Grayson were far enough away from it. After another perfectly executed play, the score was sitting at 2-1 for us. The pressure was on after that as we only needed one more point to win, it ramped up the competitive spirit.

We were off to a great start in the next round. Shanna got the flag quickly, but Scott had her cornered almost immediately so she tossed it to me. I got about ten steps before Chris was on my heels and I was forced to throw it over to Carly. Chris turned and went to chase after her instead and without even thinking, I leapt on his back to stop him.

"Hey!" He protested, slowing to a stop despite how he was clearly unaffected by my weight. "Is anyone seeing this? This has got to be a foul! She tackled me!"

"I did not tackle you!" I insisted, clinging to his shoulders with my legs wrapped around his waist. "If it was a tackle, you'd be on the ground."

Chris wiggled around, trying to throw me off his back as Carly sauntered into our end zone with the flag.

"The only reason I'm not on the ground is because you're too weak," Chris argued before shouting to his mom. "That doesn't count!

"No, Mama," Grayson joined in, running over to us looking very disapproving. "No cheating!"

I laughed, but slid down from Chris' back.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" I held my hands up as I apologized. "I can't outrun Captain America, I had no choice!"

"Well, now you lost the point," Chris teased me, shoving me playfully and making me stumble a step away from him. "So, lets keep it fair and stop trying to cheat."

I swatted back at him as I stuck out my tongue while Lisa made the official call that the point didn't count and Scott took the recently captured flag back to the boy's end zone.

Chris had a new twinkle in his eye as the next round started. He hadn't let me get very far away from him and I quickly realized that I'd made a mistake by antagonizing him. I would be useless to my team if he was on my tail the whole time, but he was a tank and incredibly fast so getting away from him was next to impossible. I watched helplessly as Scott and Miles easily took our flag and dashed it back to their end zone to tie the score.

"Chris!" I whined as I tried to get around him like I was a cornered puppy, trying not to get caught. "Get away from me, you big oaf!"

"Oh, wow," Chris chuckled. "Let's not start calling names and being mean."

I tried to dart past him again, but groaned as he blocked my path.

"You're infuriating!"

"It's all part of the game."

The smirk on Chris' face had my competitive side firing up as I could see behind him that Miles had snatched our last flag. Stella was hot on his heels though, so he had no choice, but to pass to Grayson who was coming our way. Was I going to stop my three year old son from scoring the game winning point on his birthday? Probably not. But I had to at least make my attempt genuine so I came up with a plan.

"Is that..." I squinted off into the distance on the other side of the yard. "Is that Dodger chasing a cat?"

My Oscar worthy performance had Chris spinning around to check out what I saw and it gave me enough time to bolt away towards Grayson who wasn't far away from winning the game for his team. I made it an impressive five steps before Chris figured out what I'd done and came after me. Grayson saw what was happening and dodged to the left so I followed, but my change of direction gave Chris an opportunity. The next thing I knew, I felt a crash against my hips before I was lifted from the ground and found myself dangling over Chris' shoulder.

I let out a squeal of surprise as I kicked my legs, trying to get down, but Chris had a tight grip on me and there was no getting away. The ease with which he threw me around wasn't at all distracting and there wasn't a single part of me that was revelling in his strength. Not at all.

"This is absolutely a tackle!" I protested, focusing my mind back onto my predicament. "Put me down!"

"If this was a tackle, you'd be on the ground," he mocked me. "This is payback."

I had a nice view, my head only inches above 'America's ass' so, swept up in the moment of playfulness between us, I reached down and gave it a smack. He yelped and jumped, shaking me as he did.

"Chris! Put me down!"

My demands were weakened by the giggles that I couldn't hold back, but thankfully Scott stepped in to help me regain some dignity.

"Alright, you two," he called over. "Can we get back to the game now or would you like us all to give you some time alone?"

A blush covered my cheeks as I remembered that his entire family was around us and was relieved when he lowered me to the ground.

"Games over," Chris called back. "Grayson scored!"

Grayson jumped up and down happily, but Stella had a scowl on her face.

"Nuh uh! When Whitney tackled you, it didn't count!" She pointed out. "Grayson's point doesn't count too!"

The joy on Grayson's face fell into a look of anger as he stomped his foot at his cousin’s claim.

"It does!" He insisted. "I did it!"

"Now look what you've done," I playfully scolded Chris quietly before shouting to the rest of the group. "I think we're going to have to let them have the point, ladies. I wouldn't have been able to catch up to Grayson even if Chris didn't cheat..."

Stella's jaw dropped in clear shock that I hadn't supported her protests, but to stop the war before it could start, Chris chimed in.

"Grayson didn't need my help to score that point, I shouldn't have interfered," he started. "But why don't we call it a game and go have some cake?!"

The promise of sugar seemed to quash any animosity between the teams as all the kids let out a shriek of approval at that suggestion and took off running back to the house.

"Oh, yes," Carly sighed. "Because what my children clearly need right now is more energy..."

"It's Gray's birthday," Chris shrugged with a smile as we all followed the children at a much more reasonable pace. "We have to have cake!"

"And if it wasn't his birthday then I wouldn't have let you win."

My taunting earned a bark of laughter from Chris.

"Let us win? Yeah, sure, okay. You just keep telling yourself that you're faster and stronger than me," he teased. "Whatever makes you feel better."

I shoved him, but he was braced for it and I ended up more affected by the impact than him which proved his point, putting a smirk on his face.

"Asshole," I muttered as I shook my head, but I couldn't hold back a smile at how nice our affectionate teasing felt.

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted. It had been a fun and very special day for Grayson so we were thrilled for him, but exhausted nonetheless. Gray fought his bedtime with all the will power he had, eager for the day to go on just a little bit longer, but we won out in the end and he made it to bed on time. Scott had gone to his own room while we were fighting with him and Chris and I parted ways shortly after to get some much needed quiet time of our own.

I found myself distracted though, when I was finally alone, as the importance of the day had me feeling sentimental. Watching Grayson grow up and hit these milestones was a joy, but it left me feeling a bit reminiscent of the years gone by. Years when he was even smaller than he was now, just starting to figure out the world and how to speak, walk and be a part of it. The time was really flying by and as I began to scroll through old videos of his first year of life, the nostalgia was almost too much to bear.

Eventually, I stumbled on a video that had distinct parallels of today.

It was a video of Grayson's first birthday when we'd given him his own little cake and let him go to town on it. Of course, as many babies do, he'd stared at it for a moment before smashing his face directly into it. It was adorable and tugged on my heart strings considering how comparatively neat his cake consumption was earlier that day. He'd grown so much in such a short time and I felt compelled to share my discovery with Chris so I dragged myself out of bed and crept down to his room.

There was a fluttering of nerves in my stomach as I knocked on his bedroom door, the feeling only growing as he called out an invitation to come inside. I did as he'd asked and let myself in, finding him leaning back against the headboard of his bed - wearing nothing but his pajama pants - with his own phone in his hand.

"Hey," he smiled. "What's up?"

"I found a video," I told him, standing awkwardly near the foot of his bed. "I was feeling a little sad about how fast Gray is growing up so I was looking back, watching old videos and I found one that I thought you might like to see."

Chris’ smile widened and he eagerly patted the bed next to him, encouraging me to sit. I took him up on his offer and settled in as I unlocked my phone and started the video.

"He was so little..."

Chris' observation came as the camera settled on Gray where he sat in his high chair. Chris was right next to him, a grin on his face as he chatted happily to our son despite the nonsense babble that he got in response. I appeared on the screen after a few moments, carrying a tiny cake as everyone started to sing Happy Birthday. Grayson had a look of confusion on his face as he looked around at the crowd, but his eyes widened when the cake was placed in front of him.

"Go on, Gray," I prompted once the singing had stopped. "You can taste it."

He needed no more encouragement and simply face planted right into it, popping up a moment later with blue icing from the tops of his eyebrows to the bottom of his chin. He had a huge, cheeky grin on his face as he looked at us and, just as he did in the video, Chris laughed next to me.

"Oh, man, it kills you, doesn't it?" He questioned before clarifying. "How cute he is."

I hadn't realized that Chris' arm had found its way behind me when he leaned in to watch until I felt his breath on my hair as he spoke and I couldn't resist leaning back, tucking myself under his shoulder. The whole day, the knowledge that my baby was growing up, had me needing some comfort. It was exciting, to see him learn and shift from a baby to a little person, but at the same time, I felt the overwhelming urge for time to stop.

"It does," I agreed, letting my phone fall to the bed beside me. "I can't believe how much he's changed since then."

"In some ways," Chris agreed, looking down at me with a smirk. "In others, he's still that goofy, reckless baby."

"If he's anything like you, he'll probably never grow out of being goofy and reckless."

I felt Chris' shoulders shake as he chuckled at my teasing and I was reminded of the last time we'd been cuddled up, in a similar position to this, in his bed. I felt a flood of warmth run through my body at the memory as I was suddenly aware of how close we were, aware of how good he smelt and how strong his hard muscled arm felt as I leaned against it.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I meant it as one," I assured him. "I like that you're goofy. Your recklessness used to give me anxiety sometimes, when you'd always insist that you just had to do your own stunts on Captain America as if you really thought you were a super soldier, but I like that you're willing to take risks."

"Awe, gee, Whitney," he teased, squeezing me closer against him. "It was nice of you to worry about me."

"Of course I worried," I rolled my eyes. "Your muscles are bigger than your brain sometimes."

"Not anymore..." Chris held up the arm that wasn't currently around me and flexed his muscles, showing off a bicep that was still much larger than most even if it wasn't quite up to the Avengers standard. "I'm out of shape."

Against my own best interest, I turned slightly, letting my hand drift up towards his arm as my head fell against his chest. I traced over the bulging muscle and watched as tiny goosebumps rose up on his skin at the sensation. Skin that felt so soft under my touch and I felt his breath shift as he clearly felt the mood between us change the same way that I did. I felt emboldened by how amorous our emotional day had left me as I let my head tip back to find him looking down at me with the same intensity he had a few months ago.

My breath caught in my throat and I couldn't help myself. Despite every alarm bell going off inside my brain, I stretched up just enough to press my lips against his. For a moment, he relaxed. His shoulders dropped as my fingers curled around the arm they were just stroking, but then suddenly his entire body tensed as if he'd been shocked by a bolt of electricity. He jerked away, sliding out from under me and off the bed before I could even realize what was happening.

"No," he said firmly, pointing his finger at me the same way he did to Dodger when he was being naughty. "No, no, we're not doing this again. Not until we talk about it what's going on here."

I felt the sting of rejection so harshly that it almost brought tears to my eyes, but I knew he was right.

"I'm sorry," I squeaked out, my cheeks burning. "You're right. I shouldn't have done that."

My voice was shaking as I scrambled to stand up, the stunned look on Chris' face only adding to my embarrassment. We stood there, staring at each other with the bed between us, but he didn't speak and after a few moments of silence, my shame was overwhelming, kicking my flight instincts into gear.

"I'll go," I mumbled. "Sorry again."

I didn't wait for a response before darting towards the door, but Chris' voice stopped me before I could make my escape.

"Whitney, stop." He didn't shout, but his tone was firm and demanding enough that I froze on the spot. "We need to talk about this. We can't keep going on with it hanging above our heads."

I turned to face him, discovering that he'd moved closer and was standing by the foot of the bed. He was still a few feet away from me, but close enough that it felt almost suffocating and I bit my lip as I stared at his feet, unable to look him in the eye.

"I don't know what to say..."

"I can take it," he insisted, a hint of resignation in voice as he continued. "You've had plenty of time to think it over since our last conversation and you said earlier today that we needed to talk. If you're gonna turn me down, put whatever this is to bed, just do it now and get it over with."

I furrowed my brow in confusion at his words, my heart beating in my chest so fast that I could hear the blood pumping through my ears.

"Turn you down?" I questioned. "Why do you think I'm going to turn you down? I just kissed you."

"That didn't mean much at Christmas."

He had a very valid point and I felt another pang of guilt at how badly I was treating him. I was hot and cold, affectionate and withdrawn, unwavering in my decision one minute and unsteady the next. I hadn't spared much thought to how cruel that was and now that I'd realized, I couldn't hold back the frustrated groan that fell from my lips.

"I don't know what to do, Chris! I think I know what the right decision is. It's what always felt like the safer choice, but then there are times when that's just..." I paused, taking in a deep breath to work up a dash of courage. "It's not what I want."

Chris watched me closely as if choosing his next words very carefully.

"If the safer choice isn't what you want then it sounds like maybe you need to take a risk. You can't live your life making decisions out of fear."

My eyes narrowed. He was over simplifying the situation. That way of thinking might work if it was just the two of us, but with Gray in the middle, things were more complicated.

"It's not that straight forward."

I shook my head as I spoke, but Chris countered with a nod.

"Sure, it is," he shrugged before asking a question that almost stopped my heart. "Do you love me?"

I stared at him, opening my mouth to speak and then closing it again when the words didn't come. I stood there, gaping at him like some kind of ridiculous puffer fish, until I finally got a word out.

"What?"

A smirk slid onto Chris' face at my floundering as he repeated the question.

"Do you love me?" He asked. "And don't say it doesn't matter or it's not important. Just yes or no."

I stared at him for a moment longer as a war between my head and heart raged inside me. Deny, deny, deny was what my head was screaming, but in the end the quiet reminder of now or never from my heart was what won out.

"Yes, I do," I admitted, proud of my voice for not breaking. "I always have."

There was a grin on Chris' face now, but my stomach churned because it didn't mean anything. As I said, I'd loved him all along and yet here we were, no better off.

"That's all that matters then," he insisted. "We can figure out the rest."

"But what if we can't figure it out?" I protested, crossing my arms as if I could somehow fold into myself and disappear completely. "What if it's nice for a while and then it all comes crashing down around us? What about Gray?"

He shrugged again. His whole demeanour miles away from my own. He seemed confident, hopeful, almost excited while I felt nauseous, terrified and paralyzed by fear.

"But what if it doesn't? What if it all works out nicely? Why are you so convinced that we wouldn't last?"

"Because you're you," I reminded him, my tone flat as I stated the obvious. "Hollywood super star, Chris Evans. And I'm me, a boring nobody. You could have pretty much any famous actress you want, the only person who wants to be with me is the creepy maintenance worker in our apartment building."

Chris looked taken aback as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What? I've never heard about this guy."

"He's just some weird guy who does the repairs," I shrugged. "He comments on my outfits and looks at me in this way that makes my skin crawl, but he's harmless."

"Doesn't sound harmless to me," Chris argued, crossing his arms as a thunderous look settled on his face. "Does he have access to your place?"

"No!" I assured him, but after my quick answer I realized that I wasn't so sure. "Well, I don't know. He might have a spare key, I guess. If most maintenance people do? They have to give me notice before they enter the apartment anyway."

"Unless he's sneaking in to perv on you."

"Chris! That's gross!" I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "Why would you put that thought in my head?!"

"I told you that you should have let me buy you a house," Chris huffed. "You're moving when all this covid shit is over."

"Oh my god," I groaned having flashbacks to our conversation a few weeks ago about him buying me a car. "All of this is so beside the point! We're talking about how you'd get bored of me and leave me heartbroken for some flashy Hollywood babe, remember?"

"Right," Chris nodded, letting his arms fall to his side. "But that's such a ridiculous idea that I thought it was hardly worth acknowledging."

His dismissal of one of my biggest fears sent a flash of anger through me.

"How is it ridiculous?" I snapped. "It's true!"

"You know me, Whitney," Chris sighed. "You know that my team had to practically force me into doing Captain America because I had one foot out the door of the whole acting gig and I hated the way Hollywood made me feel. Do you really think that I would give up a chance at a having family with you, someone who I really care about, for some wild, short-lived fling?"

His tone conveyed his disbelief, but he hadn't quite accurately interpreted what I meant.

"I think you'd regret it," I clarified. "I think that once the initial excitement wore off, you'd see that I'm nothing special and that I don't fit in your world."

Chris was looking at me as if I'd grown an extra head and I crossed my arms a little tighter around myself.

"We were friends long before Grayson came around and I've always thought that you were something special. Where is all this insecurity coming from, Whitney? Because I just don't get it."

I swallowed hard as I bit my lip. I felt incredibly vulnerable and the urge to run away and continue ignoring all my feelings seemed much preferable to standing here and analyzing them all, but I stayed strong. We were both adults and this was the only way to move forward. Whether it ended how Chris wanted or not, he deserved to know how I felt.

"I spent a long time convincing myself that you didn't care about me as anything more than a friend. I told myself that it was an insane idea because we're in two very different leagues so there was no point getting my hopes up. Then that night happened and I thought that maybe I'd been wrong, that it could be the start of a really good thing, but then you were gone by the time I woke up and you never called."

I barely choked out the last few words as I fought back the tears that were swimming in my eyes. An unmistakable look of guilt flashed onto Chris' face and he opened his mouth to comment, perhaps to defend himself, but I held up a hand to stop him. I needed to get it out or I never would.

"Then three weeks later, I found out I was pregnant," I continued. "I assumed from your silence that you didn't want to be with me and I knew that we were good together as friends so I kept my feelings to myself and spent the last three and a half years beating myself up for thinking for even one second that you would want to be with me."

"I did want to be with you..."

Chris was looking at me with those puppy dog eyes that he'd mastered and I sniffled as a tear slipped down my cheek.

"I know that now, but I can't just turn those thoughts off."

Chris sighed and rubbed his hands over his face before holding out his arms.

"C'mere."

I shook my head, wiping my tears as I worried that I'd fall apart completely if I stepped into his arms, but when he persisted and gestured me over again, I couldn't resist. I took the few steps needed to close the space between us and let my arms slide around his waist. He hugged me close to his body, burying his face in my hair as pressed mine into his muscled chest. We stayed like that for a few moments until Chris broke the silence.

"I'm sorry. I was an idiot," he apologized, his words muffled by my hair. "I should have fought for you. At the very least, I should have stayed until you woke up and I should have called, but I was scared too."

I felt more tears fill my eyes as I choked out a soft "I know".

Another silence fell between us before Chris spoke again, his words making my heart almost stop completely.

"I was going to propose." I pulled back at that confession, my eyes wide as I looked up at him unable to process his words fast enough to speak before he continued. "I called my mom up as soon as you told me you were pregnant. I wanted her to help me pick out a ring, but she talked me out of it. Said you'd think I was doing it for all the wrong reasons."

My heart fluttered back to life at the sincerity in his admission, but I nodded my head.

"Your mom is a smart lady," I told him. "I absolutely would have thought you were only doing it because you felt you had to."

"It wasn't out of obligation though," he insisted. "Maybe I was getting a bit ahead of myself leaping straight to marriage, but I cared about you. It was an opportunity to make it official, make that commitment and be a family. That's what I wanted."

I stayed quiet, resting my head back against his chest as I tried to take in all this new information. It was a lot to process especially when it directly contradicted the belief I had clung to for so long - that Chris and I would never work and for Grayson's sake we were better off apart. That assumption was so deeply embedded in my brain that it was hard to find the courage to take such a risk.

As if Chris could sense my lingering indecision, he continued.

"It's still what I want," he said softly. "Being here these last few weeks with you and Grayson as a family has been a dream come true. I wouldn't give it up for anything or do anything to jeopardize it if you'd just give me a shot."

The word 'okay' was so close to the tip of my tongue that it shocked me.

That was all I had to do, just open my mouth and agree and he would be mine.

My heart was pleading with me to do it, to take that leap and ignore any of the arguments against it that were running through my mind - especially now that those arguments seemed much less sound than they had a few short weeks ago. I was so conflicted that it almost physically pained me to have to make a decision and I couldn't help, but wonder how he could be so certain.

So, I leaned back and tilted my head so my eyes could meet his.

"How can you be so sure?" I questioned. "After how things have been these last few years, how can you be so confident in your feelings?"

"Because I love you," he told me plainly and with unwavering surety. "If you tell me right now that it's not what you want, then I'll accept your decision. But if there's a hint of a chance, then I'll wait as long as I need to. I've been waiting for years, thinking that I didn't even have a shot, I think I can wait a little longer now that I know that I might."

It was another heart wrenchingly honest explanation, another vulnerable admission, and something in the openness with which he spoke made me realize that over the last three years he had done nothing to earn any distrust from me. Even after the fallout from Christmas, he'd put his hurt feelings and pride aside to make things easier for me. He'd been sincere during every discussion we'd had since then and hadn't been cruel or impatient about my indecision. I had no reason at all, other than my own fear and insecurities, to assume that he was going to break my heart and tear apart our family.

He deserved a little bit of trust from me as well and a clarity washed over me as I finally knew what I had to do.

There were words I could have said, probably should have said, but I didn't feel like there was anything that would accurately portray how I was feeling. I settled for a more direct approach as I pressed up onto my toes and let my lips fall against his.

He tensed at first and for a brief, heart stopping moment, I thought he might push me away again, but he didn't. He relaxed, pulling me closer as my hands slid to cup his neck.

It was a soft kiss. A gentle, loving kiss, that I hoped conveyed what I couldn't figure out how to say. But when our lips parted and he leaned down to rest his forehead on mine, there was a concern in his eyes that told me I wasn't going to get away with it that easily.

"What does that mean?"

I bit my lip, staring up past his long eyelashes into his eyes. There was still a tiny voice in my head telling me to run, to stop being so foolish and leave now before I made a mistake, but my heart had found its footing now and wasn't going to back down. Listening to my head all this time hadn't made things any easier, so it was time to try something else.

"It means," I started, taking in a shaky breath. "I don't want to keep you waiting anymore."

Chris let out a breath of relief as a tentative smile slid onto his face.

"Really? You're sure?"

I swallowed hard and nodded my head.

"Yes," I breathed out, my voice thick with all the emotions swirling through me.

He dipped his head a touch lower until our lips were reconnected. It was a deeper kiss, more desperate than the first as his tongue slid against mine and his grip tightened on my waist, my nails scraping against the fuzz of his recently cut hair. I caved into him, clinging to him like he was a lifeboat in a storm until he pulled back to take a breath.

My chest heaved against his, the adrenaline of his touch and what this finally meant, almost too much to handle. I settled back down, flat on my feet and nuzzled my face back into his chest as I fought to calm my racing mind and just enjoy the moment.

"You really mean it?" Chris asked again, the shakiness of his voice filling me with another pang of guilt. "You really want to give this a try?"

"I mean it," I nodded against him. "Doesn't mean my concerns have all vanished in the last five minutes, but I...I think I need to trust you."

"I won't let you down," he murmured into my hair as he pulled me even closer. Another silence fell between us until I broke it with an embarrassingly large yawn and Chris' chest shook as he chuckled. "Do you wanna sleep down here tonight?"

As soon as he'd asked the question, it suddenly hit me how exhausted I was. Even just the thought of walking upstairs seemed like an impossible task when there was such an inviting, comfortable bed only steps away from where I stood. But a thought popped into my head that I couldn't ignore and I turned my head slightly so I wasn't speaking directly into Chris' muscles.

"What about Gray?" I asked. "He always comes to you in the morning..."

"Would it matter?"

His tone wasn't accusing or annoyed, but genuinely curious as sharing a child did add a strange new element to all this. I didn't really know what the best way to handle it was since Grayson didn't really understand our relationship or know how a typical family was set up anyway, but it didn't seem like the best way to introduce him to the idea.

"I think we should talk to him about it instead of just letting him stumble on us in bed together," I suggested. "But I think maybe we should wait a while?"

Chris' face fell as the look of worry returned.

"You want to keep this a secret?"

"I didn't mean it like that," I shook my head. "You can tell whoever you want, but I think we should figure things out, make sure things are stable between us before we try to explain it to Gray."

"Alright, that's fair," Chris agreed before leaning down to place another soft kiss on my lips. "I'll wake you up before he comes down."

"Okay," I nodded as I let my thumb stroke his cheek.

We reluctantly slipped out of each other's arms, but it was a brief separation as we climbed into opposite sides of the bed. Once we'd turned the lights off, we met in the middle and he pulled me back against his chest, letting me hook my leg over his hip as we settled against each other.

Chris ran a hand up and down my spine as he nuzzled in my hair.

"This feels nice..."

"It does," I hummed. With the darkness around us, the quiet that had settled in, I felt encouraged to say something that I'd felt I should have said long ago. "I'm sorry, Chris."

I felt him tense.

"For what?"

"For messing you around so much," I admitted. "Especially at Christmas...that wasn't cool."

"If I had expectations, I should have laid them out before anything happened." His answer sounded rehearsed, as if he'd spent a long time convincing himself of that fact. I wasn't entirely sure it was a fair statement, but he continued before I could question it. "I can understand where you were coming from, but I promise I won't hurt you."

I felt a pang of uncertainty because that wasn't always a promise that could be kept, but the sincerity in his voice gave me hope. I placed a soft kiss against his chest as his hands slid up under the loose shorts I was wearing to cup my bum.

"I love you," I mumbled against his skin.

"I love you too," he replied, making a feeling of warmth flood through me. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

I sighed happily as my exhaustion had my eyes fluttering shut. I wanted to stay awake, to keep this moment before the brightness of the morning could bring any doubts or second guesses, but I was powerless to resist as sleep overtook me.

Part Five

Tags: @maggotzombie @moonlacebeam @mizzzpink @zaylaugh @flowery-mess @flowerjewels @njrronaldo7 @hockeychick10

#chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fic #more hearts than mine

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letarasstuff · 3 years

Text

An awkward Meeting

(A/N): This was requested by an anon. I'm happy to finally present you this one, I really had fun writng it, because it's practically a casual slice out of the crime fighting lovelies :) Enjoy it!

Summary: Derek's daughter accompanies her Aunt and Uncle to the convention. That's pretty much it. Except for that one awkward meeting...

Warnings: A little awkwardness, Kevin Lynch, mentions of murdering someone (it's a joke), the reader dresses up as Black Widow (dunno why I say this, but maybe someone doesn't feel comfortable dressing up as a white/female character)

Wordcount: 1k

✨Masterlist✨ _________________________________

Derek Morgan is the king of teasing. No, really. If there was a medal and trophy for teasing, he would definitely have it displayed in his glass cabinet next to his daughter’s achievements.

That’s why (Y/N) has to defend her choice to go with her Aunt Penelope and Uncle Spencer to the bone. “Princess, are you really sure you want to do that? I mean, I won’t be mad to take you back home. We can relax on the couch or look at the new house I want to renovate. What do you say?”

(Y/N) pushes the hair from her wig out of her face. “I say no. Dad, I promised them to go and I worked way too hard and long on this cosplay to just don’t use it. Face the facts, your daughter is a nerd dressed in a Black Widow costume.”

Derek laughs and tries to ruffle her hair from his position without causing a car crash. “You, little missy, spent too much time with your Uncle Spencer when you were younger. I think I have to keep both of you from interacting with each other.”

“Oh shut it, you love us and our nerdy rants. Also you have to take the next exit”, his daughter says while looking at her phone for the directions. “Oh okay. I see. You don’t trust your old man bringing you to your little geek event or what?” He teases her and takes the turn.

“Ok, have fun with your Aunt and Uncle. Penelope will bring you home after you ate dinner together. Be good for them, understood?” “Yes”, (Y/N) murmurs while checking her bag.

Her father smirks. “Yes what?” “Sir, yes, Sir. Better?” He pulls her in for a hug. “Much. I love you.” The teenager opens the door and responds: “Love you, too! See you later!” And off she is, the red curls of her wig bouncing with her very step.

“Ah, there she- Oh my god, this cosplay is amazing, like literally everything. You really have to steal our spotlight, do you?” Penelope gushes over (Y/N)’s outfit. “No, I mean look at you. And Spencer, did you handknit that scarf, because I’ve been looking for one like this for ages and I couldn’t find one. You have to show me the pattern if you did.”

After a while of babbling over each other’s cosplay and how certain parts got done, the trio decides to go into the convention. “Okay, the TV Movie is at Hall H at 9. Can we go to that?” Penelope asks, being a step ahead of them. She is practically glowing with excitement.

“Absolutely!” Spencer tells her, being as delighted as the blonde techie. “Do you guys think we can make it to the Enterprise panel at 11? I really wanna see that”, (Y/N) nearly begs. She didn’t wait for nearly two months to miss it in the end.

Penelope nods. “Probably. Thank you both for coming.” “Of course, I wouldn’t want to miss it for the world”, the genius tells her. Together they go into the convention and nerd out about any little thing.

“Do you guys think my Dad would be mad if I bought that Bucky hoodie and Captain America shield after purchasing two pop figures already?” (Y/N) asks, looking indecisive. “There is only one way to find out", encourages Spencer with a sly smirk.

A little later they leave the complex to get a bit of fresh air after spending hours upon hours in a clamped building. As they fangirl about other people’s cosplays, they meet a familiar face.

“Penelope!” “Kevin” Garcia counters, though she is more solemn. “You came and brought a friend. CSU technician Sharp how are you?” Spencer and (Y/N) look at each other uncomfortably. This is definitely the most awkward situation they ever witnessed.

After telling Kevin how lame the whole convention is, Penelope takes her companions by the arm and drags them away.

“Wow, I’ve never seen Penelope Garcia this stiff. Are you sure you don’t have a stick up your-” “I dare you to end that sentence and I’ll tell your father the real amount of money you just spent in there”, she cuts the teenager off, looking her deadly serious into the eye.

This whole Kevin thing pretty much killed the mood, but they still go on with their day. They even meet Rossi, who seems like he just wants to forget that he saw the three of them in costumes.

Later that evening, (Y/N) sits with her Aunt on her couch nearly passed out from the food coma they induced themselves in. “To be honest, Penny, I think you can do 1000 times better without Kevin. Also, I can 100% kill that guy for you, I watched enough Bones episodes to know how to do the perfect crime.”

The blonde laughs and cuddles her godchild closer to her. “Naw, I can’t let you do that as a responsible wine aunt, but I thank you very much for the offer. Now get up, I have to get you home else your father will send out a search party with dogs and as much as I want to pet them I don’t think he will be happy about it.”

That night Derek enters his daughter’s room, spotting her on her bed nearly asleep. “I had the most awkward meeting today, Dad. It was even worse than your cooking fiasco last Christmas.” “Nothing is worse than that. The only thing able to trump that is Penelope meeting Kevin”, he laughs quietly. But as he sees his daughter nodding, his eyes go wide. “No they didn’t!”

“They did and it was super awkward!” Derek lays himself beside her. “Spill the beans. I have to know everything about that to tease your aunt at work.”

And this is exactly how they fall asleep, cuddled close to each other, gossiping about anyone they don't like.

Taglist:

All works:

@dindjarinsspouse @big-galaxy-chaos

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl @herecomesthewriterwitch @ash19871962

#derek morgan x reader #derek morgan x daughter!reader #derek morgan x teen!reader #penelope garcia x teen!reader #spencer reid x teen!reader #derek morgan #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #x reader #reader insert #x daughter!reader #x teen!reader #penople garcia #spencer reid

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embrassemoi · 3 years

Text

Surrounded by the Moon and Stars ✷ 30

Pairings: Sirius B, F!Reader, Remus L Warnings: Language, angst, meeting new characters Important Question: do you guys prefer shorter or longer chapters? also, I listened to first love / late spring by Mitski for this ch if anyone else wants to listen along!

【 Masterlist | Previous Chapter | ao3 】

Chapter 30: Like a Tall Child

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

Remus was alone for the trip back to King’s Cross; not wanting to be stuck with James or Peter who would only pester him. He mulled over his thoughts as his head rested against the window, watching the scenery whip by. But the more he had time to think, it caused more guilt to build; they were only trying to be supportive. They cared so much, still willing to associated with someone like… him. And all he did was push them away. He didn’t deserve real mates like them.

Remus tried to distract himself: knitting, drawing — reading next year’s material, but settled on pulling out his cartridge of cigarettes. About to light one, his attention was drawn to the soft knocking on the carriage door. Lily was there, waving before coming in.

“Hey,” she said, closing the door and sitting down. “I wanted to say bye for the summer.”

He exhaled, now itching for the rush of nicotine while Lily fidgeted in her seat. He already knew why she was there.

“Sev — Snape — came to me a couple days ago…”

It was impossible to escape, wasn’t it?

“They’re mad, his theories… He’s been telling me the entire year and kept going on about this one story… wild story of you and Y/N and the other Marauders…” Lily looked up nervously.

Instead of getting angry, Remus closed his eyes, feeling himself sink further into the cushions, centring his breathing. “What did he say?”

“He’s been telling me you’re a… a...”

“Werewolf?”

She froze at the word, having to take a deep inhale and suddenly looked paler than usual. Remus wanted to jump out of the moving train. “Yes,” she stated, “But I told him to bugger off.”

Lily stopped again, meeting his eyes. “So… It’s true?”

“You can’t tell anyone.”

Lily sat straight, leaning over and even putting a hand on her chest, close to her heart. “I’ll take it to the grave.”

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

(Letters between Y/N and friends)

To my lovely Whiskers, I hope your summer has been grand so far. Are you sure you can’t spend time with me? It’s been so lonely. Prongs

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Dear Bambi, Unfortunately, I can’t. Mom’s dragging me to New York for the month. Something about being invited to do a special surgery. Said leaving me alone will do no good. I promise to bring you back a souvenir? How are things with Black? Whiskers

━━━༻✩༺━━━

My adoring, wonderful Whiskers, And it hasn’t. My parents are concerned. They’ve been trying to get me to talk about what happened but I can’t. Dumbledore and McGonagall have already started their punishments. He lost over 200 points for next year, got detention for half the year and he can’t try out for the Quidditch team if he wanted to. I wonder what they’ll do next. I love souvenirs! All things Muggle! Yours truly, Prongs/Bambi/James

━━━༻✩༺━━━

July 20th, 1976 Meet me in Times Square at 1 pm on the 8th. There’s a bench outside a bagel store, there’s no way you’ll miss it. Until next time, Matthew G.

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¡Hola! Greetings from Barcelona! My brothers took a few weeks off to spend time with me to come to Spain with my parents! They’re dragging me to a football game later. I heard they call it ‘soccer’ in North America. M. McKinnon

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Y/N L/N, Hello, I hope you’re having a wonderful break. Your letters are the highlight of my day and they keep me busy. So I hate to inform you that you need to stop sending me letters for now. I’m not supposed to be getting any and my parents are going to start confiscating them if I receive any more. I’m sorry. I can’t wait to see you in the fall. R.A.B

━━━༻✩༺━━━

I’m visiting Tuney with my parents in a few days. She moved to London for a clerical job in March and we’re meeting her boyfriend, Vernon! He sounds nice but she’s told me she’s nervous about me and magic around him. Lily

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Petals! I’m sure you’ll be fine! Who couldn't love you? Write back and tell me what happens!

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Whiskers, I’m with my parents up in Wales in their cottage. I was born there before having to move for my Dad’s work. Also, I think I have to get a rabbit. James always told people that I got my scars from a poorly behaved rabbit and if I’m not seen with one soon, people will start to question. Remus

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Does this mean I get to call you Moony now? Professor Moony? Wales? And that’s where that small accent comes from. It bleeds through when you’re concentrating or relaxing. And a rabbit? At least they’re cute! I’m sure you can just Transfigure a book though. Y/N

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Professor Moony? Haha, okay! And really? I never knew. I’m kind of embarrassed now. I’ve thought about that but at this point, I think it would be easier just to have one.

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Oh no! It’s nice! Gives you personality. I think it suits you well How about… Moody Moony near full moons? And Moody Moony Mondays on Mondays.

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Now you’ve gone too far. Bloody fucking Moody Moony? Have you ever heard of Mad-Eye Moody?

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Would you prefer 'my Moony' then?

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Yes, actually.

━��━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

August 6th, 1976

“Hurry up!”

She thudded down from the top of the staircase, dragging her trunk behind while her mother sped out of the terminal door, flagging down one of the zipping yellow taxis with her luggage in hand.

It was strange, being with her mother again after almost a year apart. She hadn’t come to King’s Cross again, instead sending her a bus fare in anticipation of school ending. She hoped for some sort of recognition, any kind of sign that she was missed but was only given a side-armed hug and delved back into work.

Y/N wondered if maybe she just didn’t want her there, hoping she would get lost and never come back. She only had been on a bus in London twice, therefore almost ensuring that she would get lost and would have stayed lost if she didn’t have extra spare change to use a payphone.

Ignoring the crackle of whispers as she strode to the cab, people blatantly stared at her unnatural coloured hair, as she entered the car, slamming the door shut.

“Where ya ladies off too?” Said the driver, pulling out a map from their car door.

“Cranberry Street, Brooklyn Heights.”

It was a quiet drive, aside from the driver drumming their fingers on the steering wheel at the sound of the Bee Gees blasting in the background. She watched other cabs whipping back and forth, people going on with their days, the dirty streets and building under construction.

“Hey, mom?” She asked, reasoning now was a good time to talk about her OWL results. She’d gotten them mere seconds before leaving their house back in London and she’d been putting off looking at the results until now.

She only grunted, flicking through one of her medical journals, jotting down notes. “I don’t have time right now.”

Y/N sighed, that familiar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach expanded again. “It’s kind of important.”

“Not now.” She waved her hand and ended the conversation.

Thirty minutes later, the cab came to a stop as they grabbed their luggage and strolled up to the brownstone building they were renting for the month.

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

Jet lag got to her as she unwinded lounged until finally getting up from bed that morning as her mom rushed around the house. She frantically was putting on shoes, dressed impeccably sharp, no doubt in hopes to make an impression as her eyes flew across her journal. Her feet were scrambling to the door as she flung her bag over her shoulder.

“Have a good d —” And then the door slammed shut.

She stared blankly at the door for a while and then turned around, getting ready for her day. A daint drum of excitement yet nervousness built up, pushing aside that sinking feeling. Today she was going to see Matthew again.

Having a few hours to spare, Y/N walked around, marvelling at the tall buildings and lights before heading into the heart of Time Square, immediately spotting the bench outside the bagel shop. She sat, waiting for him anxiously. She made sure to wear a hat, covering any sight of hair to avoid weird stares and chatter.

But then a few minutes turned into ten and then twenty minutes later.

Slipping out the letter again to make sure, she re-read it. Time Square, at one, today… near the bagel shop…

“Where y’at?”

Her head lifted as she jumped to her feet and pulled each other into a tight hug.

“Matthew!”

His face nuzzled into the side of her neck, arms wrapped around tight as her face pressed gently into his chest. Eventually, she pulled away - arms outstretched to get a good look.

Matthew Gaplin looked different. His hair, coarse and thick, had grown. He was taller, filled out more, tan skin became even tanner from the beating sun and he filled out.

His smile was large. “S’been so long.”

She gave him a small whack!

“Ow!” He jumped back, “What’s wrong wiv ya?”

“I thought you stood me up.”

“Sorry, doing something for Mom. Had to wait on line forever.”

He looked down bashfully, now staring at the hat. His face made a disgusted look. “It’s disgusting out. Why are you wearing —” Curiously lifting the hat, his lids widened astronomically as Y/N grabbed it, covering her wild hair.

“I told you,” she hissed.

“Right the Potter sport!” He gave a full-body laugh. “Oh come on, I wanna see it again!”

But her hand clamped down on that hat to prevent him from pulling it off. “No! The Muggles keep judging —“

“Muggles?” Matthew’s brows furrowed. “The fuck is a Muggle? Sounds… demeaning.”

“Sorry, it’s what they call No-Majs.”

“Ahh,” and then he moved to loop an arm around her shoulders and continued to walk. “Too good to use ol’American terms?”

“Turned British snob.”

They laughed loudly as he took charge, showing her around the city. There was something so calming amid the chaos of New York. The bustle, low chatter and his enthusiasm made it all the better.

Soon enough, after hours of walking around, they both came to a stop in a large park as they grew hungry. Matthew disappeared for a while, leaving her alone to lay down on the soft grass before returning, holding up a brown bag with two drinks.

“Got us bagels wiv schmear.”

She mumbled out a thanks and took it from him as he sat down on the grass beside her.

“Missed ya, really.”

She shoved him playfully, his head dropping bashfully. “Shut up.”

It stayed quiet for a bit, as they listened to the birds chirping until he broke the silence again. “Ya thinkin’ ‘bout moving back eventually, right?”

“Why?”

Matthew gave her a haughty look, contemplating his words carefully. “Do ya… not know? They’re losing the war.”

Momentary terror gripped her heart but she swallowed it down fast. “Matthew,” her voice dropped, “Please, I want a fun summer… can we not talk about the war? I have more than enough time to worry later."

He wanted to keep talking, worried for his good friend but he refrained, biting down on his lip and nodded stiffly.

“So…” he thought to himself, contemplating how to change the direction of their conversation and fast. “Fess up, what’s been goin’ on over there.”

“Huh?”

“You’re telling me you haven't — what is it called? Kissing?”

“Snogging?”

He smiled. “You’re telling me you haven’t snogged anyone of those rich Old-Majs yet?”

“Nope!” She spoke too quickly and voice was a little too high.

“Liar. Ya going tell me who then?” Y/N looked down, hand going to fiddle with the fem of her clothes while Matthew shook her. “Come on! Tell me!”

“Fine! His name is Sirius Black.”

Matthew's eyes widened in recognition as he sat upright. “You don’t mean the Black family? Gawd! No way!”

“What?”

“And ya don’t even know!” Matthew was full of amusement. “They’re one of the oldest wizarding families out there! Are you still wiv him?”

Y/N stopped, trying to conceal a chuckle. She didn’t have it in her to lie anymore. “No! He almost got me killed.”

“Ha. Ha, very clever. Fine, don’t tell me.”

“You? Anything exciting?”

Matthew snorted. “Fought over a fin if that counts as exciting.”

“You know that’s not what I'm talking about,” she teased.

He abruptly became very serious and it had Y/N sitting up straighter. Matthew breathed in, this time not looking at her but instead at his metal pop can. “I’ve… had a tumble wiv a few... didn’t matter their… genders.”

It took a second for his words to click in but when it did, her mouth fell open and saw his face fall as she pulled him into a tight hug. “I don’t care who you cop, just be safe and have fun.”

He mumbled into her shoulder. “Been rehearsing that since I knew you were visitin’.”

“Love ya, could never judge you.” He tried to look insulted from the babying but prickled with tears before wiping them away quickly.

“Bless ya!”

“You alright though?”

“Now that I know your reaction, never betta. Now, you talk, enough ‘bout me.”

After making sure he was okay, Y/N prattled about Hogwarts. Matthew would pop in a few times, asking her to clarify or ask what words the British used — he often called her his ‘British insight.’ She rambled much about her day, her new friends but made sure to leave out a few details. Matthew became peculiarly silent through most of her speech. It wasn’t like him to not try to speak up, but he looked at her with something she’d only seen a few times prior.

Matthew stared at her for a long time, analyzing with underlying adoration. “What did them Brits do to ya?”

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue. “Ya sound different.” He says calmly, going to sip on his pop. “Talk funny.”

“Tawk funny,” she mocked and earned a shove. “Different? How so?”

“Everything ‘bout you seems different. Y’look happier,” he smiles, although there was a twinge of hurt. “Talk softer, look different — move differently and ya voice sounds different… but the same.”

She takes a bit of her food. “I hope that isn’t a bad thing.”

Matthew smiles gently, sheepish but there. “Not at all.”

She smiled back. Matthew always knew how to make her smile and it felt good, normal.

“Happy looks good on ya.”

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

She finally sat down, tired from the long day she spent wandering the city. But it wasn’t long until a tapping sound came from the window. Celeste was there, waiting with a letter in her beak. She walked up to her, letting her fly inside and opened the letter.

Got my OWL results. Outstanding in Astronomy, DADA, Charms, Transfigs. Exceeds Expectations in everything else but an Acceptable in Potions. Moony

She re-read that last part. Remus getting Acceptable in Potions? Her attention travelled to the stark white envelope peeking out from the side pocket of her carry-on. She marched up to it, ripping it open and scanned the paper.

Outstanding in Transfiguration, Potions and Herbology, Arithmancy. Exceeds Expectations in everything else except Poor in History of Magic. She cringed at that.

She immediately got up from her seat. Rushing over to the master bedroom, peeking her head in. “Mom?” She said quietly, “Can I talk to you.”

“Didn’t I tell you I was busy?” Her voice cut through. “It’s not the time to be a nuisance.”

A scorching feeling of anger thrummed through her but kept her voice low and steady. “That was a few days ago.”

"My answer didn't change."

Any semblance of calm vanished. “It’s about my OWLs. My future. I need some sort of guidance.”

“I wouldn’t understand them,” she sighed and peered up. There was an odd expression, borderlining on confusion and something else. “It’s not the same. I’m not a… witch like you are. I don’t know how to help you.”

“I’ll make it into No-Maj terms?” Y/N’s voice was tight and came rushing over to where she sat on the couch. And laid out her examination results. “Look, an O is the same as getting an A! It’s the highest grade you can get. And here,” she pointed, “My teacher, Professor Slughorn, invites me to parties because of my work in Potions class. I’m one of his top students.”

She glanced at her mom excitedly but was met with a look of annoyance and slight judgement. But she continued, “A-and in Herbology I'm doing excellent too! I was becoming interested in becoming a Healer. I told you in my letters. It’s similar to being —”

“I’m sorry,” her mother said but it didn’t have any trace of guilt or sorrow, “I’m busy and you’re getting in the way of work — my achievements — that you know are important.”

“Are mine not important?”

A thick, profound silence filled the space between them. Everything about the connotation had her averting her body, feeling the sinking in her chest explode. From the war, traumatic near death experience and her mother's constant aloof nature, it was her cracking point.

Snatching the OWLs results, she walked out the door, shutting it gently before diving into her room; throwing the covers over her head.

All the New-Maj and No-Maj children were told stories of the Boogeyman. To Y/N, it felt comparable to reverting to a small child as she tucked herself into a tight ball. She recalled watching all the other children running up their parents, being roped with large hugs and smiles, surrounded with infinite quantities of love as they left the school playground. She remembered being envious, wanting to have two parents as the images of the Boogeyman drew near.

There was an overwhelming sense to scream — to cry out for guidance as the knot in her stomach grew. Instead of her mother coming to her rescue — to reassure, to give any sense of security or safety while other parents would scare off the Boogeyman or monsters ready to nip at their children’s toes under the bed, Y/N was left in the dark as all sense of relief or love vanished. It left her vulnerable, exposed to the monsters lurking in the dark.

Her mother may have not been physically absent but it sure felt like it.

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【 Next Chapter 】

Slang dictionary:

Fin = $5 / five dollar bill Bagels with schmear = bagels with cream cheese Wait on line = the same as 'Wait in line' Pop = Canadian slang for soda / soft drinks Sport / old sport = (depending on the context) a term of endearment similar to buddy, pal, friend

112 notes · View notes

chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay · 3 years

Text

// Day 6 //

// Fame //

Tikki was pissed. Her holder had been bullied mercilessly by Lila and due to the spell cast, her Ladybug's friends can't see it.

If only she could cause the lies to backfire.

Of course!

…..

Lila giggled as the swarm of admirers asked her for another story.

"Oh. I have this story about this family from Gotham. You probably haven't heard of them, but they're a big deal over there. The Waynes. I even dated one of them. Tom."

Marinette rolled her eyes. Of course she'd go for Gotham socialites, just before the class heads to America.

"Oh it's such a shame that you can't see them on the trip."

Their class had been planning this trip for months. They raised enough money to spend a few days in a city and two or three towns. One of the cities that were excluded due to budget was Gotham. But this was so very convenient to Lila.

"Actually," a mischievous voice piped up, "Daddy graciously agreed to match the money we raised and double it. Just so we won't miss out on anything America has to offer. So we will be able to go to Gotham."

A few of the girls in the class smiled.

"That's so kind of you and your dad, Chloé," Lila said, "But we wouldn't want to be abusing your friendship."

Marinette laughed slightly as Chloé's shark grin widened, "Oh it's no problem. I've changed for the better now! And what's a better way to prove it than providing for our class. I mean Marinette does so much for this class, what's a little money?"

…..

As it turns out, the 'little money' was not little. At all.

Chloé's dad didn't just match and double the money raised. Adrien's dad added to the pile, too! Although probably not out of devotion to his son, more like devotion to not being shown up by André Bourgeois of all people. The class itself raised over a thousand more than they needed to, anyway.

Now the class budget for visiting America was worth over 10 times as much and both Bourgeois and Agreste had to be asked to stop giving money, because Marinette couldn't think of any other activities or places for the class and they couldn't reasonably spend that much.

…..

The day after summer break started, the class arrived at the airport, ready to get their trip started.

The only problem was that Marinette's ticket was missing. The whole class looked for it everywhere. Only for Rose to find it ripped up in the bin.

"Oh dear, Marinette," Lila said, feigning innocence, "It looks like you can't come!"

Alya rubbed her friends back in comfort, "Don't worry, girl. We'll figure something out!"

…..

In fact, they did figure something out. Mlle. Mendeleiev explained the situation to the front desk.

"I'm sorry ma'am, unfortunately we can't reissue you the ticket for the same seat. But there is a seat in first class free. We can upgrade Mlle. Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette scratched her neck, "I don't know. That sounds expensive."

Adrien and Chloé met each others eyes, a silent agreement was made between the two ever since Lila's spell broke. To help Marinette whenever they can.

He walked forward, "Don't worry. I'll pay."

Marinette scrunched her eyebrows, "Adrien, no! That's too much"

The lady at the front desk grinned, "No need to worry, sir. The airline will provide the seat free of charge. Have a good day!"

…..

As the class boarded the plane, Lila feigned ear pain.

"Mlle. Mendeleiev! I'm having a tremendous earache! Maybe sitting in first class will help? They have hot towels."

The teacher looked alarmed, "Lila if you have an ear infection, it can be dangerous to fly. You could burst an eardrum! Maybe you should stay here and fly out when you're better."

Lila's eyes widened, "Oh, never mind! My mind must be playing tricks!"

…..

The class landed in LA and collected their bags from the carousel. Except Marinette.

Lila, once again, faked concern, "Oh Marinette! All your clothes are gone!"

Chloé grinned, "No worries, Marinette can borrow some of mine until she figures something else out."

Alya nodded, "Mine too!"

There was a chorus of agreement from the girls (and from Kim who wasn't listening but still agreed when he realised what was happening).

Marinette smiled kindly, "It's fine guys! I appreciate the offers but that was just my night bag! I sent my bags ahead just in case something like this happened. There were only old pyjamas and a few toiletries in there."

Lila let out a low growl that nobody noticed. Except for a little red bug rat who's mischievous grin spread wide.

…..

When they reached the hotel, the class looked around in awe of the fanciness.

Marinette collected the room keys and assigned rooms to everyone, making sure to hand the Los Angeles itineraries out as well.

"Feel free to get something to eat before going to bed and meet here at 8am.

…..

Marinette woke up feeling refreshed, she checked her phone and found it was only 6am local time.

"Hmm, I'm never up this early. Must be luck!"

She opened her door to see if anyone else was awake, but on the floor outside were her suitcases.

"Oh, how fortunate! The hotel must have sent them up a few hours early."

…..

Lila looked all over the lobby, feigning concern, "Oh, it looks like Marinette isn't here. Maybe we should go ahead without her. She's probably sleeping in. You know our Marinette."

Suddenly, the automatic doors of the lobby opened to reveal Marinette carrying a coffee and wearing some of the most stylish clothes Lila had ever seen.

Her eye twitched.

…..

The class was about to climb off the bus before Marinette stopped them with an announcement.

"Okay, everyone. I need you all to listen because this is very, very important. Today we'll be visiting many attractions, including a tour of some of the studios. I tried to get tours of places that will interest at least one person. Please remember that these are places of business even if it doesn't seem like it with all the costumes and acting."

…..

Lila couldn't believe her misfortune. None of her attempts to hurt Dupain-Cheng have worked and some have even backfired right back on her.

She tried to push Marinette onto the set of a show filming live. But she just tripped herself and had to face the humility she tried to subject Marinette to.

She couldn't even pin the blame on Marinette because there were cameras pointed at the audience and if they checked they would see her failed attempt.

Lila couldn't have that.

…..

A few days later, the class packed up and headed to Anaheim, so they could spend a few days in Disneyland before heading to the next state.

The result was not great for Lila.

…..

"Oh thank you, Marinette, for saving my space, you can go now."

Marinette's face scrunched up and Adrien and Chloé were about to pounce.

But someone else bet them to the punch.

"Um… Excuse me, miss."

Lila turned around only to be met with a hair bob.

"There aren't any cuts allowed."

Lila smiled beautifully at the woman, "Oh my friend was saving this space for me."

The woman didn't look impressed, "No, cuts. Do I need to get an employee over here? I've been waiting in this line for three fricken hours, because my kid didn't wanna go on the Teacups, if I have to wait three hours to get on the Tower of Terror. So do you."

Lila was pushed out of the line by the Karen.

…..

While on the bus to Arizona, Lila got herself thinking.

'Why are my attempts of ruining Marinette, not working? Am I losing my touch?'

…..

For the next few weeks, the class had the trip of a lifetime. They visited many attractions, including the Grand Canyon, the Kennedy Space Centre and they saw alligators in Louisiana.

The class were delighted to learn that even though the road trip portion of their trip was over they still had a lot left.

They flew up to Massachusetts and spent a few days visiting tourist sites in Boston, whilst others took college tours.

Everyone was excited to visit their colleges of choice and luckily Marinette was able to arrange for train and bus tickets for day trips for anyone who wanted to visit any colleges in the second part of the trip.

Lila made it her mission to take up Marinette's offer whenever possible, just to slightly inconvenience her, but no matter what Marinette seemed happy to help. It infuriated Lila.

Every time she'd get off a bus or train, Lila would walk around the town, shopping, instead of going to colleges.

…..

Soon, the class arrived in Gotham, Lila was worried.

For some reason, people would pass by Marinette and ask for selfies, which greatly confused the class before Max found out that MDC was very famous and popular in Gotham. Apparently, the Wayne's were big fans of MDC's work and they owned several originals. Unfortunately, for Lila they were also the family she lied about and they had a connection to Marinette, her one rival.

"Oh Marinette, isn't that swell! I did mention you in passing to Tom, but he must have looked you up and liked your work!"

She knew that the likelihood of running into a Wayne was low, so she had no problem lying. But, on the day Marinette announced to the class that she and the entire class was invited to the Wayne Gala, Lila felt a pit in her stomach.

…..

Luckily for Marinette, her fame in the city got her some discounts in fabric and supply stores, so she was very easily able to get what she needed for her friends outfits.

The class was supposed to be in Gotham for a month in order to attend some summer classes in Gotham University, so Marinette (who only signed up for 3 classes) was able to get a lot done.

In fact, by the time the Gala came around she had all the outfits ready.

She made everyone an outfit.

A bouncy pink dress for Rose and an elegant but dark coloured dress for Juleka. For Alix, she made a suit that would match her favourite sneakers.

Alya had a high-necked burnt orange dress that went to her knees, whilst Chloé's high-low amber dress brought out her eyes.

Sabrina had a purple two-piece and Myléne had a green floor-length dress.

For the boys she made suits with their own flare, to avoid a uniform look.

She even made Lila a dress, but the girl refused to wear it in favour of a dress she bought during one of her 'college tours'.

…..

"My father will be furious when he learns that I went to a Wayne party in clothes that he didn't make," Adrien joked with Marinette and Chloé.

Lila let a shark grin take over, "Oh, Adrien, you shouldn't let Marinette get you in trouble. They're only clothes. Maybe you should change. Maybe we should all change, just in case."

Adrien shook his head whilst waving Chloé off, "No, Lila. I was only joking."

(For once, Lila was right. Gabriel was furious that his clothes didn't get into a Wayne party but a teenage girl's did. But it wasn't like he could do anything about it, while they were in America)

…..

When the class exited their stretch limo. The paparazzi outside the Manor ooh'd at their clothes. Lila decided to go last just so her outfit can have the most climactic admiration.

When Marinette stepped out, wearing a navy halter high-low with sparkly stones sewn in a way that emulated the night sky, the crowd shushed.

Marinette was about to hide her face in embarrassment, 'They don't like my dress.'

Suddenly, the crowd broke into whispers of curiosity and admiration.

"Look at her dress. It's gorgeous."

"Is that an MDC original?"

"Is that MDC herself?"

Lila smiled, 'If these guys think her dress is nice. Wait till they see mine.'

She stepped out and, well, it was anticlimactic.

The praise slowed and turned into more of a polite murmur.

"Oh her dress is… nice."

Her dress was a grey spaghetti strap that went to her knees. It was actually a nice dress but it was not formal at all and made Lila stick out like a sore thumb.

'I should have just taken Dupain-Cheng' s stupid dress.'

…..

As the class entered the Manor, they were greeted by a young man, who Marinette and Chloé both recognised from their Business class in Gotham U.

"Tim? I didn't know you'd be here?"

Tim laughed gently, "Well, it's kind of my family's party so I have to be here. Trust me I'd rather be anywhere else."

Chloé smirked, "Oh, you're a Wayne? Lila here, used to date one of you. Tom was it, Lila?"

Lila shrunk back, "Oh no! You must have misheard me. I never said I dated a Wayne."

"Yes, you did."

Everyone turned to look at Max, "I have an eidetic memory and you definitely said, and I quote, 'I have this story about this family from Gotham. You probably haven't heard of them, but they're a big deal over there. The Waynes. I even dated one of them. Tom'."

Tim scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion, "Well actually that's a coincidence, I also have an eidetic memory and we don't have a Tom. We have a Tim, and that's me. And I've never dated a Lila."

The class had varying facial expressions, but all of them had one emotion in common. Hurt.

Rose gently pushed out, "Were you… Lying to us, Lila?"

"No, I-I wasn't, I just-"

Alya almost cried, "I almost cost my whole journalistic career for you! Marinette stopped me from posting about you onto the Ladyblog. If she wasn't there, I would be ruined!"

The class all came to their own realisations.

"If Marinette didn't send off my application, instead of letting me rely on you--"

"If she didn't push us to continue--"

"Marinette knew and we didn't believe her," Nino said, "I'm very sorry, Marinette."

"Me too!"

"Same."

"Yeah."

She smiled at them graciously, "It's alright, guys! You learnt in the end and you didn't know any better."

Lila looked around frantically, "Why isn't the spell working? It should be working!"

"Spell?"

Alya walked forward, "Lila, what spell?"

Chloé spoke up, "She was given the power to make anyone believe her lies, unless they have been given undeniable proof."

The class looked at her in confusion.

"Hey, I actually knew Ladybug, remember! Unlike her."

…..

Tim sat beside Marinette, "So…"

"My classmate has been lying about famous people including your family for years?"

"And…"

"She keeps her victims under a spell, so they can't learn the truth."

"... Ladybug?"

Marinette grinned, "One of our superheroes. Chloé used to be one and revealed her identity. She isn't anymore."

His face was scrunched in confusion, "You know, Gotham is really fucking weird but I've never heard anything like that."

"Eidetic memory?"

Tim sighed, "I am technically, kind of, very much knowledgeable on… Things."

She smirked, " 'Things'. Timothy you are so very specific," She teased, "I don't even need you to clarify."

He knocked her shoulder against hers, "I've been meaning to ask…"

"Oh more than usual?"

"Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face, Marinette. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to dance."

He held out his hand.

Gently she took it, "I'd love to!"

Tim looked down at Marinette's dress, "Is that an MDC original? I love her work! Where did you get it?"

Marinette deadpanned, "What are my initials Tim."

"... OH!"

"Do you not have Twitter? People have been tagging me all month."

Tim smiled sheepishly, "Okay to be fair, I'm a dumbass and my pregame to any events like this is to drink a shit ton of coffee every day for a month."

A man who very obviously knew Tim walked by and looked at him incredulously, "Tim, that's your pregame to waking up every morning!"

Tim glared at him, "Fuck off, Jason!"

@timari-month-event

Buy me a coffee?

#i spent so long on this #*throws this into crowd* APPRECIATE ME!#timari #Timari January #Timari Month #Day 6 Fame #buy me a coffee #Pls #i'm poor #Commission me if you like this lmao

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lost-in-sokovia · 4 years

Text

Who Ever Said Anything About Makeup?

hi hi hello loves! i promise i’m not putting anyone else’s requests that came first behind i just saw this from @mrs-spookyd1az and almost died🥺 so i hope you enjoy this lil fic and I HOPE YOU ENJOY MEETING BABY GIRL EVANS🤍

You smiled and waved at your phone as you sat in front of your lit-up vanity in the master bathroom. Tons of people had already shown up and were spamming you with comments and likes.

“Hi guys, it’s (Y/N) Evans!” You grinned. “This is my first ever livestream! I’m a model for Ulta Beauty and Aerie, and today I thought I’d show you my skin and makeup routine!” You said happily. “I know quarantine has been getting us down, so I hope this provides a distraction!” People were commenting so fast and spamming you with compliments, and you giggled. “Thanks for all the love already, let’s get started.” You winked.

Your hair was damp and you were in a fuzzy white bathrobe after just getting out of the shower. You thought that you should do this while your face was still fresh. Though you were a model and set an example for beauty, you weren’t afraid to show your natural self and remind how beautiful everyone was in their own skin.

The companies you worked for were good at that. Ulta embraced everyone for who they are, along with Aerie being so body positive. You only worked with companies like that who didn’t have unreal ideals of beauty. You could always count on Aerie and Ulta to welcome and make everyone feel special.

“So first what I normally do is put on a light moisturizer, nothing much because I hate the feeling of something dense or oily on my skin,” you explained. You showed them your moisturizer tub and quickly scooped a little out, working it into your skin. You smiled and grabbed your eyeshadow palette. “Now since I’m obviously not going anywhere today I’m not going to put on any foundation, but we can get right to this eye look-“

There was a loud babble in the background and you froze and sighed. People in the comments began raving, asking if that was your daughter.

Thirteen months ago, you and Chris had decided you two had wanted a baby. Though it was time for him to be filming Knives Out, he was getting major baby fever after four months of marriage. And in no time you were pregnant. So nine months later, Bianca Elise Evans was welcomed into the world right after Christmas.

It was no secret you and Chris had a baby. It was adorable to think how he gushed to all his cast members at the end of Avengers Endgame about your pregnancy. You remembered having such a stressful yet exhilarating time trying to keep Chris quiet at the premiere and avoid any “future baby” questions from reporters. You remembered finally making a video for Chris to post on Twitter of your pregnancy announcement. He gushed about you and his future baby wherever he went, wether it was to film or in interviews. You had briefly taken a break from modeling at that time, just to cut down on stress.

He cried at the gender reveal when he found out he was going to have a little girl. It was one of the best moments of his life. He showcased your baby bump at the Knives Out premiere and was such an adorable dork about it. He had a hand on your belly almost the whole time, and wether or not reporters asked about it he would bring up his daughter.

And when the time finally came for you to give birth, he cried when his little girl came into the world. The two of you had decided on Bianca since it was such a classy yet strong name. Since the two of you were both Disney freaks, you made the connection of the confident and feminine white mouse from one of your favorite classics The Rescuers. You couldn’t think of a more suitable name for your new baby girl.

You leaned your head back to call for your husband.

“Chris?” You called. No answer. (At this time, some viewers were beginning to make the astonishing connection that you were married to the Chris Evans.) “Chris?” You tried again. He was probably doing a workout while Bianca was asleep, and now she was awake. “Sorry guys, one moment please,” you smiled at the camera. The comments exploded with excitement for getting ready to see your baby.

You walked right into your room and looked through the bars on Bianca’s crib. She whined as she reached for her mom in the darkness of your room. You reopened the curtains to let in some light.

“Oh good morning Bia,” You cooed as you picked her up. She sucked on her fingers as you brushed through her messy brown tufts. You kissed her cheek as you made your way back to your vanity. You sat down with the sleepy baby in your lap and smiled as the comments blew up with heart-eye emojis.

“So for those of you who don’t know, this is Chris and I’s daughter Bianca,” You said happily as Bianca’s blue eyes stared in confusion at the screen in front of her. “She’s four months old,” you added as you read a comment that caught your eye. She rubbed her eyes and blinked her long eyelashes. Bianca was looking to be a carbon copy of Chris, and there was nothing you could do about it.

“So while Chris is doing whatever he’s doing, Bia will be joining us for a while,” your voice got lighter and more cheerful as you glanced down and bounced your daughter. You grabbed a colorful makeup palette and a few brushes. “So I got this palette at Ulta, and this one is really useful for more colorful and vibrant looks,” you explained. You could tell the viewers were more interested in your daughter than what you had to say about makeup, and you chuckled.

“Bia I think you’re stealing the show here, princess!” You teased. Bianca began to coo loudly and pat at your hands in gesture for you to hold hers. You held her tiny hand gently and tried to begin talking again.

“So I’ve got a few brushes here that honestly aren’t too big in size, but they’ll work well for what we’re going with.” You held up about three brushes. Bianca managed to wiggle one out from your grip and try to stick it in her mouth, but you gently pulled it away.

“Ah, not today miss,” you told her and looked around. “Where is Chris...” You muttered. Just then you heard footsteps come up the stairs and walk into your room. You leaned your head back and said “Chris” before your husband turned and smiled at you. He gave Bianca an even bigger smile before walking into the bathroom to check out the scene.

You sighed playfully. “Everyone, please welcome my husband, Mr. America’s Ass,” you teased unenthusiastically as Chris pulled up a stool next to you and laughed that adorable laugh of his. Bianca reached her hands out to her dad and Chris gently moved her from your lap to his.

“What have we got going on in here?” He asked before glancing at the phone with a smile.

“Well I was trying to do a makeup tutorial, but you and B decided to come and steal the show huh?” You joked and smiled down at your daughter to rub the top of her head. Chris chuckled as he read some of the comments.

“‘What a hottie,’” Chris read aloud before breaking out into laughter and causing his little girl to smile. You slugged him playfully in the arm.

“See? Stealing the show,” you remarked. He acted serious for a moment and held up a hand.

“(Y/N), (Y/N), don’t hate me because I’m beautiful,” he said. The two of you laughed and he glanced at the livestream. “Though I’d love to stay and chat, someone has to be fed,” Chris explained to the camera. He didn’t want to interrupt your livestream, he knew how much this stuff meant for your career.

“And by that ‘someone’ he means himself,” you added with a smile. He laughed.

“Thanks for watching everyone, enjoy!” Chris said as he waved to the camera. He quickly pecked you on the lips before carrying his daughter downstairs. You glanced at your phone as all the comments were about Chris and Bianca. You chuckled.

Maybe you’d have to save makeup for a different day.

i hope you enjoyed that lil fluff🥺 bianca is free to be requested in any cevans fics from now on🤍 thanks for all the support, i love you all!

#cevans #cevans x reader #christopher robert evans #chris evans #chris evans x reader #chris evans imagine #chris evans fanfiction #dad!chris evans x reader #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #chris evans x pregnant!reader #chris evans x you #chris evans x female reader #knives out #coronavirus #covid 19

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dearingbooks · 3 years

Text

The Difference one Woman can make.

Late Friday night in June, we had stopped for a burger on the way to the cinema, we used to do family movie nights at the cinema when a new film came out that the majority of us wanted to watch, this time I was the one who was reluctant to go, sadly we do this significantly less now. So, stubborn 2015 me, rolling her eyes and dragging her feet up the cinema steps to find our seats to watch the new Jurassic World movie. Pathetic! I thought, why pay money to watch a movie about a dinosaur theme park! My parents had completely lost it! Huffing and puffing I took my seat on the aisle and sipped my blue raspberry slushie and looked up at the big screen. Ugh! I wanted it to be over, quickly. I sat down and shut my mouth, despite not wanting to watch it, I wasn’t going to spoil it for the others; but I didn’t get why they would want to watch it, I watched the trailer before going, was not impressed, it looked dumb!

However, as much as my pre-Jurassic self would not like, I found who I was during that movie, I discovered a whole new admiration for actors and movies. I found that I related to the main female protagonist, Claire Dearing. She did not need a man, or children, she was so focused on her career and let no one boss her around. She was top dog, and I completely fell for this fictional character. I evolved through that movie with her character, I felt content with being a strong female who put career over family. I wanted to embody this fictional woman; I wanted to be her.

On the journey home I typed ‘Claire Dearing actress’ into google and saw this stunning redhead- Bryce Dallas Howard. I immediately recognised her from movies I had watched prior, and I was completely astounded at her range of characters she can portray and portray them well. After scrolling through her Wiki page and reading news articles about her, I learned that she is the daughter of Ron Howard, one of my parents’ favourite people in film.

“Dad, that woman in the movie is Ron Howard's daughter”, I needed to inform my family that my now favourite woman in film is the daughter of my parents’ favourite people in film. My parents were shocked that I enjoyed the movie despite my loud vocalisation of not wanting to watch it.

Googling ‘Bryce Dallas Howard’ became my new after school routine, learning that she applied to acting school as Bryce Dallas to avoid people knowing she is the daughter of an already famous actor and director, and she had met her true love at nineteen and is still happily married to him. Yet what most stuck out to the self-conscious, body hating 2015 me, was that Bryce wasn’t a skinny twig of a woman that you see in most movies, she had classy curves and promoted body positivity despite some backlash the media gave her. I made a connection with this woman I had never met because I too received negative comments about my figure, yet Bryce took that on the shoulder and learned to love herself. I wanted to feel that self-love about myself that she acquired.

After watching Jurassic World, I explored many more fandoms, and from there I became obsessed with movie franchises and TV shows, actors and directors. I could not give you a full list of all of the fandoms I am in, there are too many to count, and they have all played a role in helping me evolve to who I am today. All because I latched onto one character from one movie I did not even want to watch, one film got me hooked on this life: it’s like a drug. I cannot stop. I also went back and forth with my hairstyle due to this woman; in the movie Bryce has a stunning ginger graduated bob with a fringe, however I never had the guts to go ginger until now; shame the hairdressers are all shut.

Now, almost six years later Bryce Dallas Howard has had great success in directing two episodes of The Mandalorian. Over the Christmas break I watched the show with my dad, sat on the sofa, fire lit, the chocolate Labrador curled up between us, peach vodka and diet lemonade in my hand, hot cup of tea in my dad’s. We binge watched both seasons in a week (it’s amazing) and he was shocked to see ‘Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard’ at the end of one, let alone two episodes. “Shit, she’s come far in the past few years” he said putting another episode on.

Bryce allowed me to find my best friend, Iz, through Instagram; Bryce has brought so many people together it is so surreal. And when I found out that Iz was going to Southampton University in 2019, a 20-minute drive from my house, I was finally able to meet her, because of one woman we both adore. I was friends with Iz for three years before I was able to meet her, I asked my school friend to come along with me so she could film the moment Iz, and I met! We got pancakes and watched the second Maleficent movie at the cinema, it was one of the best days of my life. I was so thankful that I met a truly hilarious and loving girl through this one actress! Because of Bryce Dallas Howard, I have made so many other friends from all over the globe as they too idolise Bryce and together we have created the ‘BDH online family’. A small group of us do regular zoom calls to catch up and chat about the recent photos and updates that Bryce has posted on Instagram, talk about Covid-19 and the types of restrictions and lockdown rules each of our countries has. During one of our calls, we had the craziest idea- Invite Bryce to one of our zoom calls. Bryce said yes! And after a few months of organisation, we had the date. The date was-

My.

Birthday.

The day came around and I was so nervous, it was 11pm exactly. The Wi-Fi had cut out fifteen minutes before the call. I was in tears. Mascara down my face, puffy eyes, I joined the call with a few minutes to spare before Bryce joined it. My mum hung around off camera for the first 5 minutes to double check the Wi-Fi was stable, luckily it stabilised. The other girls had never been so glad to see me, everyone was panicked for me; I could not miss it for the world (despite telling my parents, in floods of tears, that I cannot join and that it’s the end of that).

“Kat! You’re here!” “Happy birthday!” “Are you okay? The Wi-Fi sorted?”

They all chimed, happy to see my little face in the bottom right corner of their computer screens. Luckily Iz was there, otherwise it would have been extremely awkward with only one of us since we are known as a duo in the online family, we have to do everything together, we come in a pair and there can’t just be one of us.

“Shit girls, that was stressful”

I hadn’t realised I was holding my breath until I exhaled the large breath when my Wi-Fi settled, and I was on the call, I fixed my makeup and was ready to meet Bryce.

The few minutes we had before Bryce joined were intense, two of the girls left to get a drink and we weren’t sure if they would be back in time, luckily they did return.

“No way!” One of them, Anna who was hosting the call, gasped “Bryce is in the waiting room!”

We all freak for no more than 10 seconds, we compose ourselves then our faces are reshuffled, and we see this stunning glowing face that we all admire smiling at us. Omg, it's her.

“Hi girls!”

I have never smiled for so long in my entire life, my cheeks hurt afterwards. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining at all, it just hurt as I thought I would only be smiling for half an hour, since that is how long we were told Bryce had. However, we were speaking to Bryce for nearly an hour and a half, she just kept talking and asked us questions! She was so lovely to talk to, so relaxed; it was if I was talking to a friend that I had known for years!

“Before we go I want to all sing Kat a happy birthday!”

My idol wanted to sing me a happy birthday! The other girls were really ecstatic for me, I still can’t believe to this day that The Bryce Dallas Howard wanted to sing to me!

It was both the best and the worst happy birthday song that has be sung to me. It was the best because, well my idol was singing to me! And proposed the singing! It was the worst in terms of the actual song as they were all out of sync and lagging, it was bloody hilarious!

At 10:27pm the next evening, watching a rerun of Game of Thrones on Sky, I got a notification ‘Brycedhoward just posted’, I clicked the notification then see our smiling faces on her page, she posted a screenshot of our call on her social media! The call was supposed to be a secret so other fans weren’t upset. There’s a few snotty comments on the post, but they’re just jealous and to be frank, I don’t care! My smiley face is on her page forever! All ten of us have printed the screenshot of Bryce’s post off and put it in a frame, one day all ten of us hope to congregate somewhere, most likely in America, and sign the backs of all of our photos. I’m still in utter awe and shock- How many celebrities have you seen that would do a free zoom call with some fans? Not a lot, and that amount is even slimmer when they talk for an extra hour than scheduled. Bryce truly is one of a kind and the best idol anyone could ever hope to have.

Compared to a zoom call with Bryce herself, the few times she has liked my comments on her posts feel like nothing in comparison! I remember being so excited, running downstairs to my parents.

“Mum! Dad! Bryce liked my comment! She knows I exist!”

“Was it actually her? Remember when you got a Facebook request from Robert Downey Jr and it turned out it was a fake account?”

I rolled my eyes at her, it was Bryce, it was her verified account. The comment was a book recommendation I had for her, she posted on her hashtag BDHbookshelf and I thought I’d take a chance and comment a book recommendation I had for her, and the chance paid off.

I cannot wait to see what the future holds with Bryce, she has been such an inspiration to me for the past few years, and she promotes such wonderful causes and body positivity! I hope to one day meet her and thank her in person for changing my life for the better, and I think I’ve come up with the perfect opportunity to meet her- Iz and I have decided to travel up to London for the Jurassic World Dominion premiere in 2022 (if Covid lets us!), we’d get a hotel and actually meet Bryce in person, as well as meeting other members of the online family!

Words cannot fully contain the admiration that I possess for Bryce, her soul is utterly and truly exquisite, she has been such a visionary while I’ve been transitioning from a girl who had no idea who she was with no dreams or aspirations, to a woman who has now found so many new friends and now knows who she wants to be.

#bryce dallas howard #claire dearing #jurassic park #jurassic world #jurassic #blog #owen grady #chris pratt #marvel #Claire Dearing fanfic #bdh #bdh online family #writing #celeb #Jurassic fanfic #june 2015 #film review #favourite films

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rosaliestark01 · 4 years

Text

Dusk Till Dawn - Part 2

Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter wants to help you but he doesn’t trust your new friend.

Warnings: Swearing (most likely), angst, jealousy,

A/N: colab w/ @annies-marvel-imagines. Part 3 will be posted on her account. GIF cred goes to owner.

The second Peter felt your presence, he knew that something was wrong. He could feel your emotional distress without even having to see you. It was strong and he couldn’t figure out what had caused it. He knew that he wasn’t the only one who was worried about you.

Your dad had called him last night thinking that the two of you had fought. Apparently, you refused to come out of your room since coming back from the mission and you refused to talk to anybody. In short, the Avengers though you were avoiding them.

That was another thing that pissed you off. They ignore you for six months and then have the nerve to say that you were the one avoiding them? Well, technically you were. The only person you’ve spoken to was Steve, but that was just because he ambushed you on your way to the kitchen in the middle of the night.

He also assumed that you and Peter had a fight or something. He had told you that if you needed anybody to talk to, he’d be happy to listen. You weren’t sure where any of this was coming from. He had been one of the many people who had ignored you for so long.

Whatever it was that you were feeling, Peter felt it too. All day, Peter couldn’t concentrate on a single thing his teachers were saying. It was like the only thing his senses could focus on was you. At one point, it had gotten a bit embarrassing when he didn’t answer his teacher right away, causing Flash to make some smart-ass comment about something. He needed to talk to you right away.

If only Eloise Day hadn’t beaten him to it.

“Does your dad know that you know?” Ellie asks. You had told her about what you had found out about yourself from the USB that you stole from Hydra.

“No. Not yet at least. I just can’t believe he’d keep something like this from me my whole life.” You sigh as you shove your school books in your locker. Yes, you were pissed. Your dad told you that your mom was a summer fling who died giving birth to you.

“You had a right to know,” Ellie tells you as she places a comforting hand on your arm. You just wish that people would be honest to you. The only two people who you can really trust were Ellie and-

“You had a right to know what?” Peter unexpectedly asks, causing you to almost drop your Science book. Peter catches it before it hits the ground and places it neatly in your locker.

“It’s nothing,” you say. You trusted Peter, but this wasn’t something you wanted to tell him. You knew that he would try to defend your dad and make up lame excuses. Peter idolized your dad and you also didn’t want to take that away from him.

“Hey, Peter,” Ellie looks at him grudgingly, as though daring him to push the topic further.

“Hi,” he says half-heartedly. Right now, he cared about you a lot more than some random girl who he barely knew. “You should come over today. May says she misses you.”

Peter knew that it was just an excuse to get you alone. Yeah, May really did miss you, but Peter was really starting to worry. You were always open to him, so the fact that there was something you weren’t telling him on top of your awful mood was causing him to freak out a little. Was it something he did?

“I don’t know.” Peter noticed your hesitation. “I’m not feeling that great.”

“It’s okay.” It most definitely wasn’t okay. You lied to him. Peter always knew how you were feeling and he knew that you weren’t sick at all. “Maybe another time?”

“Yeah.” Peter nodded his head as he watched you walk away with Eloise.

Ellie had insisted on you coming to her house. She said that she wanted help on her Chemistry homework, but you knew that she was actually curious to know more about what you found out. If Ellie really was as smart as you knew she was then there was no way that she needed help with homework.

As usual, her parents were working late. You’ve heard stories of Ellie’s parents, but you’ve never actually met them. From what you knew, they always worked and Ellie was always alone.

“So if Tony Stark isn’t your real dad, then who is?” Ellie sat with her legs crossed looking at you curiously.

“I wish I knew. The only information I found about who my real parents are is my mom’s name.” You couldn’t really find any pictures of her, but you really liked her name.

“What was her name?” Ellie was a good friend. It’s not like she was going to go around telling people about this.

“Christine Y/L/N”

“What?” She looks at you with an expression that you couldn’t quite read. “I think I know someone who might have known your mom.”

“Really?” You sat up giving her your undivided attention. Could she really help you find out more about your past?

“Yeah, but I’m not a hundred percent sure.” You followed her to her parent’s room where she dug through one of the suitcases that were under the bed. “Do you mind doing a DNA test?”

“Um... I don’t know.” She finally found what she was looking for You eyed the syringe warily.

Bucky had one told you to never give your blood to anyone unless it was a life or death situation and even then you were supposed to be cautious about it. Steve and Nat were quick to agree but this had to be an exception, right? This was important to you and they would have to understand.

“Come on. It’s just me. You trust me, right?” Ellie prompted.

“Okay, just do it quick.” You hated needles. After a few seconds, she was done but there was another problem.

“There, um...” She looked around for band-aids. You ended up having to use a tissue temporarily until Ellie came back with the box. “These are the only band-aids I have.”

The band-aids were all Avenger themed. You pulled out a band-aid and put it on. It was blue with tiny shields all over it. It was actually kind of cute.

“Thanks.”

“So what’s Parker’s deal?” Ellie asks. You didn’t look like you knew what she was talking about so she continues. “He looked like a lost puppy when you turned him down earlier.”

“Well, we’ve sort of been best friends since we met,” you say remembering the day you met. It was in that airport in Germany.

“Weren’t you two fighting each other when you met?”

“Sort of.” You got ready to tell her. “I was fighting him but he wasn’t fighting me.” While you fought Peter, all he did was dodge and defend. Not once did he throw a punch your way. You kind of already knew Peter, but you had never really spoken to him until that day. You figured that Tony had asked him not to hurt you or something like that.

“Did you know that he actually saved my life that day?”

“How?” She scrunched her nose in confusion. You weren't oblivious to the fact that Peter and Ellie did not like each other at all. Either way, Ellie was your friend and you were excited to talk to her about this.

“Well, the whole fight has pretty much escalated out of control and a giant bus flew at me but Pete swung in and grabbed me before the bus hit me.”

“Gwen is a lucky girl,” Ellie stated as she got back to doing her homework.

“Gwen?” What the hell was she talking about?

“Yeah. They obviously like each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked her to homecoming.”

You just now realized that Peter and Gwen actually have been spending a bit more time together than usual. She started eating lunch with Peter, Ned, and Harry around the time that you started eating lunch with Ellie so she wouldn’t be alone.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” You didn’t want to think about Peter and Gwen together. “I should probably go home, but it was nice hanging out with you.”

“I like hanging out with you too.”

Ellie had offered to drive you home, but you figured that you needed a bit of alone time. Unfortunately, you figured you should have taken her up on that offer. On the subway, you ended up siting next to a man and woman who couldn’t control their pet chicken. You finally made it back to the tower a little after ten.

“Y/N, where have you been?” Pepper asks. You couldn’t find it in yourself to hold any grudge against her. She, although often busy with running Stark Industries, had always treated you like her own daughter. You were sure that she would have told you the truth if she hadn’t worked for you dad for so long.

“I was at a friends house,” You say. Suddenly, your dad walks in and you could feel the anger seeping back into you.

“Oh. There’s pizza in the fridge,” he casually says as though he hadn’t realized you were gone for so long.

“Thanks,” you say bitterly, although nobody seems to have noticed.

“Nice band-aid,” he says after spotting the Captain America themed band-aid. “What happened?”

“Nothing. Just an accident.” He hummed as he scrolled through his phone.

“I think Peter is waiting for you in your room.” Your anger vanished a little after hearing that Peter was in your room.

“Why?”

“Something about studying for a physics test.” You knew that was a lie. You share five classes with Peter, Physics was one of them, and there was no Physics test to study for.

“Okay.” Your dad and Pepper walked off (probably to talk about that dude who keeps spreading rumors about SI), and you went to your room.

“Hey,” you say. Peter was sitting on the edge of your bed and you knew that he was expecting you. He was wearing his Spider-Man suit, except he was holding the mask in his hands. You didn’t like the accusatory look he was giving you one bit.

“I thought you said you weren’t feeling well,” Peter says. You felt bad about lying to him, but you knew that he would want you to talk about what was bothering you. You weren’t ready to talk to him about it and even if you were you weren’t sure if you should.

“I’m not.” Technically, in an emotional sort of way, you weren’t feeling well.

“You were at Eloise’s house.” You sigh, knowing you were probably going to be lectured. “Y/N something is bothering you. You know you can talk to me right? About anything.”

“I know. It’s not that important.” Again, you lied. You loved talking to Peter, but you really didn’t want to talk to him about this one specific thing.

“You do know that I know when you’re lying.” Damn spidey-senses.

“You wouldn’t understand.” Peter stood up and you had a feeling that he would start pacing any second.

“You don’t know that.” You knew that Peter wouldn’t understand. He knew exactly who he was. You thought you knew yourself, but your whole life has been one big lie. You weren’t who everyone thought you were.

“Pete, can we please talk about something else?”

“Fine.” Peter was most likely going to want to talk about it again, but he understood that now probably wasn’t the right time for you. “Do you want to go on patrol?”

“You haven’t already?” Peter usually goes on patrol immediately after school gets out. You were surprised that he hadn’t yet.

“No, I was waiting for you.” You nod your head as you feel a sigh blush creep up your cheeks.

“Okay, just let me get changed first.” Peter remains standing facing you. “You can turn around.”

“Oh- right.” Peter awkwardly coughs as he turns around.

“So how was school?” You find your suit stuffed in the corner of your closet. It sort of reminded you of Tris Prior from Divergent, except your outfit was more flexible and mostly bullet proof. You really needed to upgrade it against whatever it was that comes from stupid space guns. Your side was still a little bit sore, but it wasn’t anything you couldn’t handle.

“A pain,” Peter scoffs. “Your emotions were really strong today.”

“Sorry.” You hadn’t realized that Peter’s senses would pick up on your emotions. You felt bad that it affected him so much.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he says softly. “I just want to be there for you.”

“I’m done.” You say.

Going on patrol with Peter was nothing short of refreshing. You missed spending time with him and it was the perfect distraction to everything you’ve been feeling up until this point.

There wasn’t a lot going on tonight other than one purse thief and a few shoplifters. You and Peter mostly hung out reminiscing about old times. It made you realize how while some things change too fast or too much, some things never do. Peter had the same brown eyes you loved. His laugh was still music to your ears. He was still the same person who saved you all those years ago.

Peter knew that he should have gone straight home after dropping you back off in your room, but for some reason he found himself wandering around in the park. It was like he needed to be there but he didn’t know what for.

After a while of mindlessly walking around, he sat down on a bench. He quickly stood back up again when he saw an all too familiar face. Eloise Day stood waiting not that far from where Peter was. She didn’t see him, but he definitely saw her.

A black van pulled up right next to her. It looked more like an old worn down ambulance that was painted black and rusting. Peter was ready to swoop in in case she was in danger but something told him she wasn’t.

A man exited the vehicle and shared a few words with your friend. She handed him something and in return she was given a small folder. Peter could instantly tell that whatever this was wasn’t good. He wanted to tell you, but would you believe him?

Tag List:

@eridanuswave @drishtisikarwar @spideygirl2003

Anyone who wants to be removed can message me or @annies-marvel-imagines

#peter parker x stark!reader #tom holland x reader #tom holland #peter parker x reader #peter parker #tony stark #peter parker x yn #tony stark x daughter reader #tony stark x daughter!reader #tony stank #peter parker x stark!daughter #peter parker x avenger!reader #spider man x reader #spider man x stark!reader #spider-man

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lost-miraculous · 3 years

Text

Why and What's changed

Long post under the Fold.

Aright so I should kinda explain why I’m doing all of this, well I’ve been a fan since I saw the first trailer and was hoping to see a really good show. The character designs were cool, the art style was amazing and gave off an edgier more teen vibs and I was in my teen years so I was excited to see a show aimed for an older crowd.

Then the second trailer came out… I was disappointed that it was now 3d but I still had hopes that it would be for teens.

Then the show came out it felt like they were aiming for kids and not teens. I was willing to enjoy the show even though the parts that I liked for the trailers were gone; The unique art style, the mature atmosphere, changing Felix into Adrien etc. I liked MLP in my early teens so I was hoping I could get a fun kids show that I could enjoy and I did for the two seasons.

I was fine with the no order episodes cause I’m used to it with most kid shows, though releasing the ‘first’ episodes in the middle of the show was jarring but I pushed on. I loved shows that had a bratty character but as the show goes they get better and that’s what I was hoping would happen to Chloe and season 2 and parts of 3 gave me that but it fell through…

After the mess that was the release order of the episodes in season 3 my ADHD had me wait till I could watch them in ‘Order’ but after seeing most of season and the burning of Chloe’s character growth for BS reasons I dropped the show.

I had so much hope in it, partly became one of my top shows that I love and keep going back to. But I stopped enjoying canon content and relied on the fan content to make me happy with the show. Seeing character redesigns, fun ships, several AUs, fan characters, and fun headcanons is what is keeping it alive in my opinion. So that is where this comes in.

I’ve been so annoyed that a grown man is getting anger that people have genuine complaints with the show and want to see that show get better that he whines, contradicts and belittled fans of this show going as far as to make a self-insert character that is ‘bullied’ by everyone, even though Ladybug had a genuine problem with the characterization of herself but whatever, and most fan regard that episode as the creator trying to get sympathy from other fans about him being ‘bullying’ online. So I have taken it upon myself to rewrite the show.

Now I’m going to explain what I have changed.

First, Fu’s background and why he chooses who he did. Fu chose to become a guardian and was not taking at like 8. He became the guardian of the Zodiac box and made it his goal to find the two missing miraculouses. Finding that the butterfly was activated in Paris, Fu knows that it could be in the wrong hands so he needs to have heroes standing by. Knowing the power of the Black Cat miraculous is very dangerous and decided the Ladybug and Turtle would be the safest to put out as heroes. He was hoping to get adults to become the heroes but they were either rude, selfish, or snobbish. So that is why Marinette and Nino have them. How they get them is in the first episode.

Next, The Bourgeois. Ah yes, the worst family in the show… I changed how the Bourgeois work as a family because it works better this way.

Chloe is the second daughter, which is why she doesn’t follow the ‘A’ name pattern. She has always been seen second to her twin sister and is willing to do anything to get attention or approval of her parents. She says things her dad says thinking that it’s ok cause he’s the Mayor. Her mom never calls her by her name, always something else.

Amber is the oldest daughter and hates it. She was treated like a princess, and got whatever she wanted with no questions. Her mom turned her into a model for her youth clothing line and moved them to America and only went to Paris for her birthday. Amber had a negative association with her body.

André is a corrupt politician who plays the kind and lighthearted Mayor for the public eye but makes dirty deals behind the scenes. He also makes sure that Chloe understands that her class is full of ‘Poor people’ and Adrien is the only one she should be friends with. Sabrina is tolerated as an assistant.

Audrey the high fashionista who makes clothes that are much too scandalous for the age range she markets to. She is also annoyed that Chloe even exists and never talks to her properly on purpose. There are also rumors about why she is back in Paris for an extended period of time.

Last major thing, Gabriel’s reason and what happened to Emilie. There are many theories for what happened in canon but here is the reason for this AU. They were on vacation because Gabriel had put himself into his work and Emilie, with the help of Natalie, wanted him to take a break. They went to the Himalayan mountains where there was an accident and Emilie was put into a coma by snow falling from a tree. Gabriel found the miraculouses and book in a bag when the snow fell on Emilie so he didn’t immediately notice. So Nooroo explained that the Black cat and Ladybug miraculous can bring her back. He creates this complex lie that Emilie died in an accident while they were there and secretly keeps her safe in the basement till he can get the miraculouses.

Other notable changes are;

Nino and Mari have been friends for a long time, being classmates and all.

I changed some characters' names or gave them names.

I’m not a coward so there are LGBT+ characters in the rewrite.

Not every episode will have a villain where there will be episodes where the characters get to be civilians for a bit. Also I do have a calendar for the rewrite.

Adrien has been going to school the whole time but missed a lot of school when his mom “died”.

#To Create and Protect #what changed

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justanotheronechicagofan · 4 years

Text

Previous Chapter

7. The thing that works

series summary - Will the Halstead brothers be able to reconnect with their sister after 5 years? chapter summary - a worried Hailey visits Jay and finds out more about Madeline Jay Halstead, Hailey Upton TW - Mentions of parental death and missing persons investigation

series masterlist | main masterlist

Several loud knocks on Jay’s door jerked him from his stillness.

His phone screen flashed back at him - 22:38 and multiple texts from his partner.

💬 Hailey :) [23 minutes ago] I'm gonna take your lack of response as a no - I'm coming over

💬 Hailey :) [48 minutes ago] You okay?

💬 Hailey :) [1hr ago] Wanna grab a beer? I’ll buy ... :)

Shit - Considering he doesn’t even know where the past hour is gone, he really isn’t in the mood to see people. Especially people that he can’t hide from. Rubbing his face, he quickly made his way to the door. Before he even has the chance to tell her that he’s fine, his partner makes her way into the apartment, his favourite 6pack in tow.

“Hails-” “Nope. I get you wanna be alone but that’s just not gonna happen” she says, already putting the beers in the fridge. Knowing he’s already lost this, he sighs and goes to grab the glasses. When he turns, he can’t help but smile seeing her struggling to reach for the whisky. “I got it,” he said, swiftly grabbing it. “Why’d you put it so high?” she huffs. “Because, someone had a little too much and kept fighting me for more last time, remember?” he patronised with a smile on his face as he poured. He’ll never admit it but there’s a little part of him that left it there because he finds it cute. She gives him a look but a second later, her eyes crinkle. “Still had that hangover though” laughing in the brightest way. He chuckled and they clinked their glasses together before falling into a comfortable silence.

They stand around the counter slowly sipping and although there’s a part of Hailey that wants to know, she decides to just join him in the quiet. After a while he reveals, “That girl from yesterday. She’s my sister” She suspected it but it still takes her back. Reigning in the questions popping up in her mind, she just asks “What’s her name?” “Maddie. Madeline Grace” Jay said with a small smile. “That’s pretty. It suits her” she said. “Yeah it does. Mom had it picked out way before she knew she was having a girl” Hailey notices how this is the first time in weeks she’s seen him genuinely smile. “Oh wow. Prepared lady.” “Hell no. We were both in high school when Maddie was born - Will was a senior!” Jay laughed. “Total surprise after Mom and Dad went to the cabin for their wedding anniversary.” “Well, that cabin does have views,” she said, remembering when Jay invited Intelligence to Wisconsin in the Summer. “Yeah. Mom was thrilled. I mean she loved us but I think she always wanted a girl. And man did Maddie have all of us wrapped around her finger, even Dad” Hailey chuckled as the image of a teenage Will and Jay trying to win the affection of a newborn popped in her head. “What?” Jay smiled holding her gaze. “Just trying to imagine how that went down,” she amused. “Oh it's exactly like you imagine it. Gets funnier when she got into fairies” “Did you join in?” she asked, holding back the laughter even though she knew the answer would be yes. “Course I did Hails. Tea parties, playing house, being her horse, serious business.” he listed schooling his face before joining Hailey who was bursting. “Seriously though, younger me would have loved that” Hailey said once they calmed down. “Yeah?” “Mhh. I was more into princesses than fairies but my 12 and 9 year old brothers weren’t as keen. They were good when I wanted to join in playing cops though so guess that came in handy” she joked. “I guess it did,” Jay smiled, imagining a little Hailey running around. “C’mon what do you wanna ask me?” he said when he saw her debating something in her head. “Uh- The tv the other night. I looked it up and that film- I mean, was she always into acting?” “Mmm. Was a surprise to me too. I haven’t asked her about it yet but I guess she always did liked to perform” “Perform?” she said, cocking her head. “Yeah. She’s loved ballet ever since Mom first took her - I think she was like 3 or something. Told me today that she’s training to be one” he replied, proud. “Really? Jay! That’s amazing!” “Yeah. I’m so proud of her. I mean, Will and I always knew she would” he beamed. “You have any photos?” Hailey asked, relieved seeing Jay this happy.

He came back from the bedroom moments later and handed her a purple file folder decorated around the edge with gem stickers. She first picked up the stack of pictures and as she looked through them, the red haired girl in beautiful costumes grew before her, perfectly poised and always smiling widely at the camera. “Man, you Halstead’s don’t like to go half way with doing things do you?” Hailey joked, perusing through the several clippings of local papers, the word ‘places’ and ‘wins’ jumping out at her in almost every headline. When she got to the last one, she paused at the date.

_______________________________________________________________________ Carlisle ballerina wins first place in Youth America Grand Prix | 14 January 2013 Madeline Halstead of Carlisle took first place in the junior classical division of the Youth America Grand Prix Regional Semi-Finals held in Pennsylvania this past weekend. The 13 year old who has trained at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet since the age of 7, performed three variations in front of 5 judges and a full audience. Although the Youth Grand Prix is considered to be the world’s largest ballet competition, this was not the first time Madeline captured a win. Miss Halstead first received gold when she was just 10 years old, going on to place in the top 12 in her category every year at the Philadelphia Semi Finals. The spotlight is on for Madeline as she prepares ahead for the NY Finals in April where she placed third in the same category last year. _______________________________________________________________________

She furrowed her eyebrows as she flicked back through the articles - the earlier ones were mostly about holiday productions held in local schools but there was at least one for every year starting from 2006. Where were the others? “That’s the last one,” Jay said, reading her thoughts. She looked back at him confused, but that’s 5 years ago. He meets her with the same indescribable expression she had witnessed that night at Mollys. Jay bore into her as if he was analyzing her trust, then finally placed a file she didn’t catch the first time round in front of her. She tensed as she instantly recognised the front. A case file.

_______________________________________________________________________

Carlisle P.D. - Missing Juvenile Report Name: Madeline Grace Halstead Age:14. Female. White. 5'4", 93 lbs. Red hair, long. Last seen: Exiting ballet studio at 21:32 on 6/03/2013 walking towards North Street. Reported: 20:36 on 7/03/2013 Reported by: Robert Louis Davis, MD _______________________________________________________________________

Her breath hitched as she read the first few lines of the report. She looked back at him when she got to the reported time. Why did it take that long to report? Who is Robert? He’s a doctor? And where even is Carlisle?

Hailey watched as Jay downed his drink and slowly began.

“When Mom died- She uh went to go live with our aunt in Pennsylvania- cause none of us really could be with Maddie. Me n Mouse, we’d just got back, Dad was drinking and - I mean Will didn’t even come back for the funeral.” Hailey noticed the tinge of blame that was there. A smile touched his eyes as he continued, “But Mads loved it in Carlisle. Mamie, our aunt was Mom’s best friend and um she never had kids but she used to come over all the time and she helped us out a lot when Mom got sick. Mads and Mamie, they’d always call or send pictures and me n Mouse would go whenever we could. Mamie and Rob, they really helped me and Mouse out that first year cause- we were just- ”

Hailey recognised that look in Jay as he trailed off. She always saw it creep up no matter how hard he tried to hide it. She didn’t know where to take this but she figured that him giving her the case file was his way of an invitation. She asked gently, wanting to bring him back. “Jay. She was walking home?”

Jay slightly shook, bringing himself back and continued, “Maddie always biked or walked there cause it’s like a 15 minute walk and the towns small, safe. Tree lined streets, I mean the actual studios in a college.”

“And Robert? He didn’t realise?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t even look at him because of it then. But I can’t blame the guy - he got home that night at 2am and then slept cause he’d worked 18 hours. The school didn’t call him and Mamie didn’t pick up when the studio called cause she was out of town. Mads usually went straight there from school so he didn’t even know. Only found out when he went to pick her up. They tried but by the time it got reported it was-”

“Nearly 24 hours gone” Hailey thought aloud.

“Yeah. Didn’t have anything to work with. The footage of her leaving the studio was the last thing, she didn’t show up on any eyes after. Just disappeared. They put out AMBER alerts and reached out to Chicago and New York cause that’s where me and Will were. They thought maybe she ran away but-”

“She would have shown up on footage” Hailey finished the sentence.

“Yeah.” Jay breathed out, looking down the empty glass. “That and we knew her. She was so excited for the Finals in NY. Case never closed but after a while -” he shaked his head. Hailey watched his body clench as resentment smouldered his features “Not even a year after, Dad started speaking like she was dead. Like she was with Mom. Haven’t talked to him since” Hailey then witnessed the slight, almost imperceptible change in him, but couldn’t quite place it. He inhaled shakily then breathed out,

“Thing is -”

“I thought she was dead too”

It made sense to Hailey now. How her partner always seemed to find the cases involving kids the hardest. How he always went beyond helping out families who lost theirs. She wondered if maybe that’s why he joined Intelligence. If maybe in those late nights he stayed even when all the paperwork was done, he was searching for her. And that look she’d seen that night at Mollys. She could name it now. It was a look she would never be able to fully understand. And as his escaping tears crumbled the wall away, she moved silently and held him.

She was going to stay with him tonight.

💙✨🦋✨💙

Next Chapter

A/N - The characters belong to Dick Wolf and are from the One Chicago universe he created. A longer chapter featuring Hailey and Jay. This was really difficult for me to write so I hope it turned out okay. Thank you so much to those that are coming along on this story with me :)

#upstead #chicago pd #jay halstead #hailey upton #tw: parental death #tw: missing persons investigation

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simsadventures · 4 years

Text

Joke’s on You

Summary: You’re still a little pissed at Steve for never pestering Bucky and Sam for their pranks and always joining them. You plot your sweet revenge.

Warnings: a/b/o dynamics, pranks, fluff

Pairing: Alpha Bucky x Omega Reader, Alpha Steve x Omega Reader (platonic, friendship)

Word Count: 1798

A/N: This is a sequel to Little Children, and it has been requested by my sweet @voltage-my2dlove. Hope you all will enjoy this little piece.

Bucky Barnes Masterlist __ Masterlist

It’s been almost two weeks ever since the boys pulled their last prank on you. They’ve been terrorising the rest of the team ever since, but never you again. And while you were extremely thankful for that, because you didn’t know what you’d do if they try and get you once again, so soon after they almost cause you a heart attack. No, scratch that. You knew exactly what you’d do, and it involved their dicks and your knife. And no, you didn’t mean some sexy knife play.

What you didn’t understand was how they could switch from being the Avengers, the mighty heroes of the Earth, it’s defenders who wouldn’t be caught smiling on a mission, to these bunch of shits they were in the compound. You loved seeing them happy, that wasn’t the problem, but sometimes they seemed to forget that not every prank is funny for both sides. Like last time, for example. For some reason (and you still couldn’t figure out why) Steve dared Peter to start an open fire by the pool, on the roof of the compound. What Steve didn’t predict, was that there weren’t any fire extinguishers, and if it wasn’t for Natasha and her quick reflexes, the damaged might have been much more extensive than one fake plant and Clint’s brand new towel.

You pestered Steve for this little “prank” so much, he actually had to go around the compound and personally apologise to everyone involved. It was a punishment of sorts, for you big bad Alpha. Admitting his mistakes and owning up to them wasn’t one of his most considerable talents.

After what happened to your necklace, Steve would try and win you over again. It was not that you were pissed, or that you didn’t want to talk to him, it was more of a punishment for him as well. Because if there was one thing that Steve hated, it was to not be liked by everyone around him.

It was at that very moment that you had a marvellous idea. You knew exactly how to get Steve back for all the times he either encouraged the boys to do something or he did some pranks himself. It was a little cruel, even you had to admit it, but their jokes were all getting a little too much, and you just wanted them to stop.

But you knew you couldn’t pull it off all by yourself. You needed the whole compound to be on in your prank and give to Steve good. You prepared a game plan in your head, getting yourself ready, and when you thought it was all, you asked the AI to let everyone except Steve know that you wanted to speak with them, urgently and very privately.

You knew people would be more than confused why you called them in the middle of free Saturday to your room, but they would find out soon enough.

The first one to come in was Bucky and Sam. They have been training outside, trying to stay in shape, so they were both sweaty and exhausted. Your eyes roamed Bucky’s body, seeing all the places where his clothes were stuck to his body thanks to the sweat, and you let yourself admire your Alpha’s posture for a bit. He really was a sight for a sore eye.

“You called us here for a reason, Y/N, or just to see your precious Bucky? ‘Cause if so, I could really use the spare time to have a hot, hot shower,” Sam said with a smirk. You scoffed, and if he stood closer, you would’ve slapped his shoulder. Idiot.

Bucky has his eyebrows raised, waiting for you to tell them what you wanted because he was damn sure that if it was just to satisfy your needs, you wouldn’t have called Sam as well. And if you did… Well, you needed to have a conversation it seemed. But before he could overthink, even more, Clint and Natasha came in, with the rest of the team close behind.

“What’s up, Y/N? Why are we all here? Missed us already, or what?” Tony hollered as he sat on your vanity.

“Sure, missed you very much, Tony, but that’s beside the point. As you can see, not everyone’s here.”

It was only then that people realised that Captain America himself was missing.

“Right, so, we all know that Steve is mister prankster here, for some goddamn reason. And it’s getting old and tiring. So, I thought we could pull a prank on him, and maybe he’ll realise that not everyone thinks pranks are funny and that maybe, just maybe, not all of us want to be involved in his shenanigans. What do you think?”

From the corner of your eyes, you could see Sam and Bucky smirking at each other, obviously excited that they could do something to Steve. Peter was also all in front, he excited nodding. The rest of the team took a little longer, but after a few minutes, everyone was in.

“And do you have something specific on your mind, Y/N?” Clint asked, still not 100% sure he wanted to participate only for Steve to get him back again. He still missed his perfect purple towel.

“I do, actually. You know how Steve wants to be the most likeable person? Like, how he hates if someone’s pissed at him? Well, I think the best way to prank him is if we all stop talking to him for the rest of the weekend. He’s gonna go completely nuts!”

You could see the devilish smirks appearing on faces that were previously little undecided. They all thought it would take some trying, something they would actually have to do, but it was more about what they didn’t have to do. It would hurt Steve’s ego a bit, but nothing else. Neither you nor anyone else on the team wanted to hurt Steve, it was just a little something that would (at least you hoped) make him realise a few things.

“Ok, and the end of this pranks is when? Tomorrow night, then?” Peter asked, still smiling.

“I would say we all gather around 8 PM in the common room, bring Steve in and explain things to him.”

Everyone nodded, and after a few more friendly exchanges, everyone was on their ways. And as for you, you couldn’t wait to meet Steve.

And you met him not even an hour later. You were walking down the corridor to the kitchen, afternoon snacks calling for you when you saw him walking towards you. He gave you a smile, but you stared right ahead, completely ignoring his presence. He called your name, but still, you didn’t turn, didn’t even acknowledge you knew he was there.

Steve shook his head and began walking again, thinking that you were still pissed at him for both the necklace and the little stunt he made Peter do a few days ago. He didn’t think much of it.

It was only after he met Natasha, Bucky, Peter, and then Tony, respectively, and none of them even smiled at him, didn’t answer his questions, nothing. They all acted as if he didn’t exist. As if he became invisible during the lunch-break or something.

Steve went to sleep that night, thinking about he’s done wrong in the past few hours that people would be so pissed about that they didn’t speak with him. But he couldn’t think of anything.

The next day, the exact thing happened. Steve bumped into you and Bucky when you were walking outside the compound, going on a supply run, because the stack of sweets and chips were running thin.

“Hey, guys, want me to tag along to help you?”

Nothing

Damn, Steve thought. Not even Bucky was answering his damn questions, and that spoke volumes. Even after Steve pissed, his best friend’s Omega was Bucky ignoring him. Sure, he yelled and cursed at him, but that was about it.

Steve was slowly losing his mind. All he wanted was someone to talk to, or at least someone to smile at him. But help was obviously not coming and Steve was in despair.

It was only around 8 PM when FRIDAY told him the team was waiting on him in the common room, that a glimpse of hope simmered in his eyes. He sprinted towards the room, and sure enough, when he got there, the rest of his friends were there.

You were in the forefront, your hands casually in your pockets.

“What’s going on? Have you decided to have mercy on me and finally speak with me?” Steve asked desperately.

“It was really uncomfortable, wasn’t it, Stevie? When people were doing something, you didn’t want them to. Seems familiar?”

Steve thought for a second, and when he looked at everyone in the room, they had their eyebrows cocked and smirks playing on their lips.

“You pranked me, Y/N? You made everyone not talk to me, on purpose? I thought I did something, you little-“

Steve made a step towards you, and while you were calm and collected, knowing that Steve, despite being an Alpha would never hurt you, Bucky and his protective nature obviously weren’t convinced. Bucky stepped next to you, his arm finding its way around your waist to keep you close to him.

Steve stopped in his tracks, realising that if he made one more step, Bucky would be in front of you, protecting what was his.

“It’s not a nice feeling, is it, Stevie? Imagine the rest of us, being dragged into something we don’t want to have any part in, almost all the time. You’re like a dad of this group, and I always thought you were the responsible one. You wanna pull pranks? Cool, but do it with the three idiots that actually want to act like 5-year-olds. Or at least give us all a little break. You’ve been doing this for how long, 2 years now? And we’re all kinda tired,” you smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

Steve looked around and smiled, as well.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you all were feeling this way about it all. I just felt like we were growing apart, and I wanted to push us together.”

You kissed Bucky’s cheek, letting your still alert Alpha know that you were alright and that he could let you go before you walked to Steve and hugged him.

“We’re family, Steve. No-one’s going anywhere, but we all need some space and time for ourselves. When you find your Omega, you’ll understand what most of us are about,” you smirked at him, and he gave you a snorted laugh.

“So, we’re all good? I’m not in probation anymore?”

“We’re all good, Steve, but no more jokes, please.”

Bucky Taglist

@this-kitten-is-smitten @sebbbystaaan @paradisiacalsparks @crazybutconfidentaf @owlyannah @lassini @s-trawberryv-eins

Marvel Taglist

@voltage-my2dlove @kneel-begyourpardon @lumar014 @ptrs-prkrs

Forever Tag:

@eileenalone @sasbb23 @p8tn0lish @coffeebooksandfandom @waiting4inspiration @caswinchester2000 @mogaruke @justthatfangirloverthere

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tsukikento · 4 years

Text

Empathetic Ch. 9

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

Summary: After your mom, the number 1 hero in America, gets offered a teaching position at U.A., you two pack up your things and head to Musutafu, Japan to start a new life. Pressure for you in America was at an all-time high, and now you’re in Japan, where almost no one knows you, or your family’s past.

This tale starts on your first day of class where your new teacher decides the best way for you to fit in is to fight against the strongest person in your class: Bakugou Katsuki.

Warnings/Genre: This multi-chapter fic has fluff, angst and everything in between. There is only some slight swearing, although the reader’s dad is a shit head and that will be addressed in future chapters.

A/N: Sorry for the wait :( I hope you like like it! Please let me know what you think!!

(series masterlist)

When you woke up on Friday, you could already tell the day was going to be rather uneventful. Although you couldn’t complain when last night was more than enough action for you. You sat up in your seat and sighed, running a hand through your hair, and thought back to the previous night.

Hopefully, today will live up to being as uneventful as you wished.

After getting up, you went about your normal routine and had only a few interruptions by people wishing you a good morning.

Your school day was even more boring than your morning routine. You found yourself doodling in your notebook more than you were taking your notes. You also spent your lunch with Ashido and the guys. Kirishima and Sero led the conversation while you, Ashido, and Kaminari practically napped while munching on the food.

Jeez, I guess everyone is tired, you thought as you looked at your bored and lazy friends.

When lunch ended, it was obvious that a handful of the class was missing, all of them working in extra lessons with your mom. Within your now significantly smaller class, Aizawa instructed the rest of you to simply work on homework peacefully.

“I’ll have something more educational planned next week,” He reasoned while drifting off to sleep in his iconic yellow sleeping bag.

When the snores of Aizawa filled the class, each student got up and moved to sit in different seats, everyone was forming groups. You were now sitting with Hagakure and Ashido, who were each pulling out their homework.

Something rather weird you noted was how Ashido would easily hang out with boys during lunch, but stick with the girls during class time. Although I guess everyone does that, you noted as your eyes wandered to see Kirishima and Sero sitting with Sato. It seemed that the only exception to this rule was Iida, Uraraka, and Midoriya.

“You know what,” Ashido began, looking up from her paper and drawing your attention back to the small group. She had a wide grin spread on her face that made her look like a cheshire cat. “We should get ice cream after class. It’s starting to get so hot now.” She leaned back in her chair and used her hand to wave cool air onto her face.

“Ooh,” Hagakure exclaimed. You saw the uniform she was wearing shake as if she was wiggling in excitement. “I am so down!”

The two girls looked at you, expecting you to agree. Sheepishly, you looked down at your lap and bit your lip. “I actually have to feed my mom’s cat after work,” You explained. Although feeding your cat was absolutely necessary, you felt a small tinge of guilt because of how often you skipped out on hang-outs.

In America, you often spent time on your own because no one really asked for you to hang out with them. However, here, it seemed everyone was friendly and willing to invite you out. It was something you weren’t used to, and you definitely had to adjust your schedule to fit these new friends into your life.

Although you couldn’t see Hagakure, you were sure she was pouting just like Ashido was. “Lame,” The bubbly girl complained while Ashido rested her chin on the palm of her hand in thought.

“Well, what if we come with?” Ashido suggested. “We could get changed after class, go feed your cat, and then get ice cream!”

“Yes!’ Hagakure agreed, once again excited.

Ashido looked over to you, anticipating your reply.

A nonchalant grin spread across your face. “Sounds great,” You replied. Although you were tired, the prospect of a cold, sugary sweet was one you didn’t want to pass up.

On top of that, you knew it would make your mom happy. A bad habit you had back in the U.S. was isolating yourself. Your mom was always encouraging you to spend time with people, but you just wanted to either focus on hero work or laze around in your bed.

Overall, you knew that going to get ice cream was the next step in your friendship and it was a step you definitely needed to take.

At the end of the day, the three of you casually walked back to the dorms, changed into street clothes, and finally made your way off-campus.

As usual, Ashido and Hagakure led the conversation. You made a note in your head to bring up Kirishima and Ojiro at some point. However, now was not that time because the walk to your house was brief and you were already approaching the doorstep.

When you unlocked the door, your cat, who had been asleep on the couch, perked up. He stretched out his limbs, his gray fur moving with him, and then finally made his way to sniff you.

You bent down and put out the back of your hand so he could smell you. It had been a few days since you saw him, but you were sure he would remember you in an instant.

“Hi, sweet boy,” You soothed as he sniffed your hand.

When he began nuzzling your hand and legs, the two girls behind you cooed at the cuteness. That brought his attention to them and he proceeded to sniff both of their hands while you pet him to show him they were friends.

Once your cat was comfortable with Ashido and Hagakure, you stood back up and made your way to retrieve his food.

“What’s his name?” Hagakure asked as the cat wandered around her with a curious look on his face.

“Jerry,” You replied. “Like, Jae-Ri,” You added, trying to make the name just a bit easier for them to pronounce.

“Aww,” Ashido gushed, “Hi Ko-di!” Before the girls could continue to pet Jerry anymore, the sound of you opening his food can caused him to perk up and rush over to you.

Overall, the three of you stayed there for about half an hour so you could feed him, clean out his litter box, and make sure he had enough water. By the time you were thinking about going, your cat was perched on your lap, really getting into all the attention he was receiving.

You picked up the small, gray cat and moved him to be next to you. You stood up and Ashido and Hagakure followed while chatting away.

“So,” Hagakure mentioned, “It’s about a 10-minute walk to the nearest ice cream shop.”

“Perfect,” You replied, “Let me just get the roller for cat hair.” You explained as you wandered around the house in search. Once you found the roll of sticky paper, you cleaned off your pants quickly before leading your friends to the door. You turned off the lights, said your goodbye to the cat, and shut the door.

The three of you left the apartment and made your way down the street. The sidewalk was too narrow for all three of you to walk side by side so Ashido led the way and you and Hagakure followed behind.

Considering now was as good a time as any to bring up Kirishima and Ojiro, you cleared your throat and looked towards Hagakure. “So, how are you and Ojirou?” You inquired.

Considering last night, you knew more about Ashido’s relationship than Hagakure’s. Mainly you wanted to test the waters in order to find the best time to bring up Bakugou. You didn’t think it would be anytime soon, but you liked to plan ahead.

The invisible girl squealed at the thought of Ojiro. You were sure that if you could see her, there would be a blush spread across her cheeks.

“Oh, we are good,” The bubbly girl mumbled. You noticed that she got much more shy than usual when talking about Ojiro, making you not want to push more.

“You guys had lunch together today, right?” Ashido interjected.

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun,” Hagakure gushed, and you were sure there was a shy smile on her face. “We ate in the courtyard under the blooming cherry blossoms.”

“That’s so romantic,” You added, more curious if Ojiro was confident enough to plan something so obviously a date than jealous of her date

“I know! I can’t believe he suggested it!” Hagakure exclaimed.

“So, are you guys official yet?” You proposed as the three of you turned the corner onto a quiet street.

At your question, Hagakure gasped and took a step back. You and Ashido stopped walking and turned to look at the girl. “Of course not!” She snapped. “ I can’t believe you would ask such a thing!”

At first, you were worried you crossed a line with Hagakure, however, Ashido’s high-pitched laughter echoed through the empty street. You joined in to tease the shy girl about her ‘almost-boyfriend.’

“You guys should go official, you guys would be such a cute couple,” Ashido reassured Hagakure, turning around to flash her a friendly smile.

“Like you’re one to talk,” You bellowed, smirking and squinting your eyes at the pink girl, obviously judging her confidence.

Ashido feigned innocence with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Y/L/N-chan,” She replied. She pursed her lips and turned around to continue walking toward the ice cream shop.

“Jeez,” You teased, “It’s only been one day since you had that date last night and you are already denying how much you guys like each other.”

Ashido guffawed at your statement and placed her hand on her chest. “How dare you?” At this point, you weren’t sure if she was actually joking or not.

“What was last night?” Hagakure probed.

“Ashido and Kirishima went on a date,” You deadpanned, a smirk once again spreading onto your lips.

It’s so easy to tease these girls, you thought as Hagakure gasped at the new fact.

“I need details now!” The invisible girl practically screamed.

And so, for the rest of the trip to the ice cream shop, Ashido explained the date from when Kirishima first asked if she wanted to have a movie night to Kirishima grabbing her hand after the kiss scene.

The whole story just reminded you of how happy you were that you didn’t bring up anything about Bakugou and you that night. You were sure that this night would be a fond one to remember for them. If you had mentioned anything about you and Bakugou, this story would be different from how sweet it currently sounds.

“That’s so cute,” Hagakure sighed as you pulled the door to the ice cream shop open.

A bell attached to the door rang to signal new customers, but the busy workers were too preoccupied with the current customers to welcome you in. It seemed that everyone had the same idea to get some ice cream today.

Ashido, whose face was pinker than usual, replied with an “I know!” The excitement in her voice was obvious.

“Are you going to confess this weekend?” You inquired, as your eyes went over the menu.

“Idk, maybe, probably,” Ashido babbled while moving her hand up to her lips to nervously bite on her nails.

You swatted her hand away and scolded her. “You said you would confess,” You reminded her.

“I know…” She sighed as you all stepped forward in the line. “I just kinda like where we are right now.” Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as if debating what she should do.

Before anyone had a chance to say something, the worker welcomed you to the shop and asked what you would like.

You all focused on the workers and each of you ordered your respective flavors before paying. Once done, you all sat outside on the small patio the store had. No one else was sitting outside and only a few pedestrians past by making it a very private area.

Hagakure was licking at her ice cream cone while Ashido fiddled with her bowl of ice cream. “You know,” You began, grabbing their attention, “I think it is totally okay for you to not confess.” You took a quick bite of the sorbet you were currently nursing before speaking again, “it can be difficult to confess and as long as you are happy, you may not need to make a change.”

Ashido smiled brightly and grabbed your hand to silently say thanks.

“Well,” Hagakure interrupted, “I may not be following this advice, but why wait? If you are sure he likes you, wouldn’t you rather have all of Kiri-kun?”

The comment made Ashido groan and she covered her face in her hands. “I hate this,” She mumbled, the sound slightly muffled by her hands. “I hate boys.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle at the comment. “Same,” You sniggered while trying not to laugh too loud for the environment. You grabbed the small water cup you got inside and took a sip to try and calm down.

“Honestly, Y/N,” Hagakure lamented, her tone much more somber than usual, “You are so lucky you aren’t crushing on a clueless idiot like us.” Although you couldn’t see the invisible girl, the way her uniform hunched over made you incredibly aware of her depressed attitude.

Oh, if only they knew…

Not only did you like an oblivious idiot, but that idiot also happened to be a ticking time bomb of anger with no interest in a relationship.

“Yeah…” You mumbled, trying to play off your lie. Although you knew Ashido and Hagakure would accept you and help you out where possible, you found it more important to help them when you still weren’t sure what you wanted to even do with your crush.

The conversation died down with your plain response, each person becoming overly preoccupied with their ice cream. You picked at your partially melted bowl of ice cream and took a few bites till someone finally spoke up.

“Oh my god!” Ashido exclaimed, “I can’t believe I forgot!”

Both you and Hagakure looked towards the horned girl who had sat up straight in her seat. The wide grin on her face made your worry dissipate, it was clear she was excited about something.

“What?” Hagakure inquired before taking a bite of her ice cream cone.

“The new spring line is out for ADEAM!” Ashido practically shouted as she grabbed out her phone to find the photos.

“Really?” Hagakure gasped, also pulling her phone out to look up the photos.

You, however, were completely unaware of what they were talking about. From what little information you had, you were fairly certain ADEAM was a clothing brand. Regardless, you still felt ridiculously clueless and decided to speak up. “Um,” You interrupted as the two girls showed each other outfit after outfit on their phones and screamed over them. They stopped and turned to look at you with curious faces. “What is ADEAM?” You asked.

Both girls gasped before looking at you with wide eyes.

“You don’t know ADEAM?” Hagakure hissed, a slight judgment to her tone.

You shook your head and both girls immediately shoved their phones into your face to explain just what ADEAM was.

By the time you got home, the sun was in your eyes and the temperature was starting to cool down. When you, Ashido, and Hagakure walked through the door, Yaomomo, Tokoyami, and Tsu were all just starting to work on dinner.

“Ooh,” Hagakure squealed while skipping over to the kitchen, “What’s for dinner?”

“Soba noodles,” Tsu responded while filling a pot with water.

You and Ashido stayed a little farther back and you took this space to stretch out your limbs that were a bit sore from walking in the heat. “I have to do some work,” You groaned while thinking about your hero costume and the mass amounts of work ahead of you.

Ashido hummed in understanding. “Would you like me to text you once dinner is ready? I won’t let you skip dinner like last night,” She scolded while pointing her finger at you.

A small chuckle fell past your lips at Ashido’s glowering face. “I know,” You bashfully replied like you were being scolded by your mom. You pulled out your phone, “Here, put your number in and I’ll keep it right next to me.” You unlocked your phone and pulled up the contacts page before handing it over to Ashido.

Ashido gladly accepted the device and pulled it close to her to put in her number. Once done, she handed the phone back to you, a wide grin still gracing her lips. “Text me so I have your number,” She instructed.

In an instant, you nodded and began typing out a text to her number. Her phone dinged and her smile somehow grew bigger. She rapidly typed something back and hit send. When your phone vibrated, you looked down to see her hello text followed by multiple emojis.

You smiled at the text and looked back at Ashido. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Sounds good,” Ashido nodded and turned to go hang out with Hagakure.

You silently left the common area to go to the elevator. Once upstairs, you emptied your pockets and changed into a slightly more comfortable outfit. It took you only a few minutes to get yourself seated at the desk with a notebook, pencil, and laptop splayed out in front of you.

The first thing you did was look up the costume designer Bakugou had mentioned the other day. You scrolled through the website and social media pages he had, admiring his work. Eventually, you turned back to your notebook, debating whether to continue sketching or not.

It was an easy decision to choose to go with Bakugou’s designer. Although you hadn’t seen Bakugou’s hero costume, the possibility of a discount or at least quick help mixed with the great work you had seen so far made it worth it. However, you weren’t sure it was necessary to sketch out a horrible drawing of what you thought you would want when you really should go meet with the designer.

Unfortunately, Kobayashi’s store was currently closed and you, therefore, could not call to schedule an appointment. That left you with nothing to do moving forward.

You found yourself thinking back to the previous night when Bakugou insisted you tell him when or if you went to go see Kobayashi.

Does he want to come with me? You thought, wondering if you should reach out to him and make a plan to go together. Ugh, like he would hardly want to go.

Putting aside your insecurities, you decided to text Ashido, the only number you had of a classmate, to see if she knew where Bakugou was. You weren’t a fool and knew not to just waltz up to his room.

Before you could regret it, you grabbed your phone and typed the message. You didn’t want to overthink it or worry about how your search for Bakugou would seem to Ashido.

Do you know where Bakugou is?

And send.

You put the phone down and stared at your notebook until you heard the buzzing notification sound. Before the vibrating tone even finished, you snatched your phone back up.

You took in a deep breath.

Jeez, I feel so whipped.

You looked at the message.

Why do you want to know? ;) But also he is at his internship with Midoriya and Todoroki at Endeavor’s agency.

You bit your lip, not just because you were nervous about Ashido’s comment, but also because he wasn’t home. By the time he got home, you were sure your confidence would be gone and you would once again be too nervous to ask him.

I had a question for him but didn’t want to bother him if he was angry rn ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You subconsciously bit your lips, wondering if this partial lie was worth it. It was true that you had a question and wouldn’t bother him if he was in a sour mood, but you did not need to give Ashido more details than that. You hit the send and put your phone screen side down so you could continue to focus on your costume.

Before you even met with Kobayashi, you knew you needed a list of features to make sure you were wearing the best costume for you.

You wanted a suit that would allow for quickness, but also make up for the lack of offensive skills your quirk had. Additionally, something else that had crossed your mind while admiring other costumes was the mystery that multiple people tried to have. Thinking back to your fight with Bakugou on the first day, you reminded yourself that Aizawa left your quirk a mystery because you don’t get to know people’s quirk ahead of time. Considering your mind-reading allowed you to keep a distance from people, it might be essential to keep yourself hidden during missions

Ugh, this is so complicated. I’ve never had to think so hard about my hero costume before.

“Ughh,” You audibly groaned as you ran your hand through your hair and let your head fall forward onto the desk. You pushed yourself up and used your hands to rub your tired eyes.

Just then, your phone buzzed once more, and you tiredly grabbed it to see two texts, one from Ashido that was sent a few minutes ago and one you just received from your mom.

You unlocked your phone and pulled up your mom’s text first.

Hi sweetie, busy day but thank you for feeding Jerry. Depending on how the other classes go, I might need you to feed him more often. All the classes are on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Also! Feel free to keep bringing your friends over, I’m so happy you are getting along with your classmates unlike before :)

The text somehow made you simultaneously smile and groan. It was nice that she was being supportive and checking in, but frustrating that she was being such a mom.

You quickly typed out a reply that you would be happy to feed Jerry and then moved on to look at Ashido’s text.

Lol, okayyyy...he should be home around dinner time, but he goes to bed pretty early most nights.

You typed out a quick thank you before putting your phone back down and looking back at the list you had going.

“Hmm, what else...what else,” You mumbled to yourself as you tapped the end of your pencil on your chin. “Oh, I know!”

Blades. Swords. Anything sharp!

Although you already wrote down that your costume needs to enhance your offensive skills, you decided it was best to mention your want to show off your weaponry. It was important that you kept a focus on the skills you already had. You didn’t want to risk getting stuck with a weapon you weren’t familiar with.

I do need to get better with combat though, you reminded yourself as you remembered how you haven’t been able to use your weapons over these past few days.

Just as you finished writing on the paper, your phone buzzed once more. When you looked at it, you realized it was a text from Ashido telling you that dinner was ready.

Before Ashido had a chance to storm up and demand you come downstairs, you closed your notebook and left your room. When you exited, you noticed that Kirishima and Shoji, or at least you hoped that was his name, were inside the elevator.

You rushed through the hall to try and make it to the elevator in time and Shoji used one of his arms to keep it open for you.

“Thanks,” You graciously mumbled as you entered the elevator.

Shoji then pressed the ‘close door’ button and once it dinged, you three were left in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but it wasn’t comfortable either. Regardless, you purse your lips and keep them closed instead of trying to start a conversation.

The elevator dinged once more and the doors opened. Each boy allowed you to exit first and followed behind you towards the kitchen and dining room. When you entered the room and were greeted by most of your classmates, you waved hello and made a beeline to Ashido.

Considering you didn’t know the whole class very well, you wanted to stay by the person you were currently closest to. Not only was she outgoing enough to introduce you to everyone, but she was also naturally able to keep the conversation light and balanced for times you may not want to be the center of attention.

“Wow,” Yaomomo greeted, smiling at you, “I’m glad you’ll finally be eating with us today.”

You sheepishly smiled at the backhanded compliment. From the few conversations you’ve had with the elegant Yaoyurozu, you knew she wouldn’t mean anything horrible by it. However, the comment still hurt a bit. “Yeah, it took me a few days to adjust and get back to a normal schedule,” You explained.

Yaomomo once again smiled. The grin on her face was kind and welcoming, making her previous comment seem even more innocent.

Currently, everyone was standing in a line, waiting to grab a plate or bowl for salad and noodles. You were standing with Ashido and Kaminari who were currently complaining about the math homework Ectoplasm had assigned for over the weekend.

“I know,” Kaminari whined as he grabbed himself a bowl. “Not only am I going to spend the entire weekend trying to figure out the math homework, but I also have to do the special lessons homework.” The frown on his face was evident and you could already tell he was even more tired than he was during lunch today.

How hard are these extra lessons?

You grabbed a plate and filled one side with salad and the other with cold soba noodles. At the end of the counter, you grabbed a pair of chopsticks and poured a raspberry vinaigrette over your salad. After capping the bottle, you followed Kaminari and Ashido to one end of the large dining table. Already sitting there was Sero and Bakugou.

“Kaminari!” Sero cheered, “How were the extra lessons? Bakugou won’t say anything.”

“It was good, just an introduction day,” He shrugged while sitting next to his black-haired friend. “Elemental talked for a while and then had us do some light sparring to show off our quirks.”

Kirishima then walked up, taking a seat next to Ashido, which definitely didn’t go unnoticed by the group.

As the boys continued to talk about the extra lessons, Ashido leaned over to you and whispered, “Are you gonna ask Bakugou whatever question you had?”

Reflexively, you swatted her on the arms. “Shut up!” You hissed. “Obviously not!”

Ashido snickered and luckily the boys were polite enough not to ask what your whispering and laughing was about. Before you had a chance to continue the conversation with her, she turned away to face the rest of the group and you turned your attention to the salad on your plate.

“Bakugou, how was the class for you?” Kirishima asked, leaning over the table to get closer to Bakugou.

Currently, Bakugou was at the head of the table. To the right of him was Sero and Kaminari and to the left was you, Ashido, and Kirishima respectively.

At the question, the ashy blond-haired boy grunted and shoved more salad into his mouth.

“Use your words,” Sero joked, putting on a voice that made it sound like he was talking to a baby. He had pushed his hand out, using his chopsticks to point at Bakugou.

In response, Bakugou swatted away Sero’s hand, using a little more force than necessary.

“Ouchie,” Sero whined, bringing his hand to his chest and rubbing where he was hit. “Punish your child!” Sero jokingly said to Kirishima.

Kaminari, Ashido, and Kirishima all laughed loudly at Sero. Kaminari then breathlessly spoke through his laughter, saying, “Come on, man! It wasn’t that bad!”

Bakugou scoffed at that. For someone so loud, it seemed like he was incredibly reluctant to actually speak. You found yourself observing the blond boy, trying to figure out just what he was thinking without actually taking your earbuds out.

Without staring at him for too long, you noticed his furrowed eyebrows and pursed thin lips. His face was surprisingly pale and he was clumsily picking at his salad as if he couldn’t find the perfect bite. The hand grasping his chopsticks was pale and the grip he had was ridiculously tight. His jaw was clenched and his teeth bared.

Anyone could see that he was angry.

And yet, it seemed you were the only one being conscious of it. The rest of the group was still laughing at and teasing Bakugou.

“Honestly,” Ashido began, bringing you back to the conversation at hand, “I wish I was in the group. I would love to have some personal lessons from the number one hero in America.” Ashido nudged your shoulder and smiled at you while referencing your mom.

“Just drop it, idiots,” Bakugou finally spoke, his voice low. His jaw clenched again and he shoved a large bite of salad in his mouth.

“Are you really saying you got nothing out of training with Elemental?” Kirishima questioned.

“I personally had so much fun today!” Kaminari added.

“Yeah, dude, what’s up?” Sero asked.

After three rapid comments and questions, Bakugou stood up and slammed his hand on the table. “It was a waste of my time! Is that what you want me to say? Why do I have to train with a stupid hero that doesn’t even live here when I already work with Endeavor?”

The whole table was silent, Bakugou’s voice resonated throughout the common area. It was the loudest you had ever heard him yell outside of playing capture the flag with him.

After a few beats of silence, Kirishima stood up and walked over to his friend. He grabbed Bakugou’s elbow to pull him close and whispered, “Dude, you need to chill. That’s Y/L/N-chan’s mom.”

Bakugou pulled his arm back rapidly and ground his teeth. The blond-haired boy hissed, his voice surprisingly quiet, “Like I give a shit.” Bakugou looked at you for just a moment, his eyes unreadable. If you weren’t mistaken, there might have been a small glint of regret. However, before you could read more into it, Bakugou stormed off.

#bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #my hero academy #boku no hero headcanons #bakugo #bakugou #bakugo katsuki #bakugou katsuki #katsuki #bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader

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akkermans · 4 years

Photo

( madelyn cline / cis woman ) PHILIPPA ‘PIP’ AKKERMANS is 22 years old and is a JUNIOR at thales university. SHE is majoring in JOURNALISM and is known for being THE DESPONDENT as SHE can be CURIOUS and INSIGHTFUL as well as SELF-PUNISHING and MOODY. every time i see HER, SHE reminds me of SMOKE RISING FROM A CIGARETTE, THE CRUNCH OF LEAVES UNDERFOOT, INCOHERENT SCRIBBLINGS IN A NOTEBOOK.

hi hello hi i’m hero, i’m 22, she/they and i live in the est tz! i’m a recentish graduate who likes horror, my cat, and a damn fine cup of coffee!! i’m so excited to be here w/ pip!! if u wld like to plot, give this a like or hmu on my discord @ ‘garlic bed #3345′!!

full name: philippa ‘pip’ akkermans

birthdate: june 24, 1998

age: 22

gender: cisgender woman

pronouns: she/her

zodiac: cancer

nationality: dutch-american

ethnicity: white

hometown: utrecht, the netherlands

languages: dutch, german, english

family:

julian akkermans, father

lotte de vries, stepmother

amelia akkermans, mother (deceased)

sophie akkermans, twin sister (deceased)

orientation: bisexual biromantic

religion: atheist (formerly catholic)

height: 5 ft 6 in

distinguishing features: thin scar from crown of head to right eyebrow, eyes, lips

character inspo: theo crain, alaska young, shane and ryan from buzzfeed unsolved, camille preaker

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃

TRIGGERS: death, car accident, alcohol and drug use, mental illness (depression, ptsd)

born in utrecht, the netherlands to a dutch father and american mother, pip akkermans’ life has been marked with tragedy since she was born. it seems to follow her. she was born five minutes before her twin sister, sophie, but as the two girls took their first breath, their mother took her last, leaving julian akkermans a single father.

growing up without a mother, pip and sophie found solace in each other, forming a bond akin to many twins, one so close, so dependent, it was like they were in their own little bubble. sophie was always the bright one, the one who walked into a room and immediately lit it up. pip was always the quieter of the two, her energy more dour, more withdrawn. but together they were a team, causing trouble left and right, getting out of it with sophie’s sweet smile.

their father was never the same after their mother died, but the coldness that possessed julian was all they’ve ever known. often times he was out of the house, unable to properly step up in the role of father to girls that were the spitting image of his lost love and the sole reason she’s gone. he drank. a lot. but he was never violent, simply sad.

he starts going out a lot, and eventually, brings home a woman that he says is going to become their step mother. a wedding quickly ensues. there’s a meanness in her, a clear disdain for the twins. but they don’t care, they don’t need to. they have each other. they’ll always have each other.

they’re fourteen and visiting amsterdam for the weekend when their car is hit head on by another, there’s enough momentum to flip them twice. the driver and pip are fine, minor injuries, but sophie passes away before anyone arrives, her hand in her sister’s as she takes her last breath.

pip is distraught, and for obvious reasons, she’s lost the better part of herself, even though she promised she wouldn’t go away. if her dad is heartbroken, he doesn’t show it. he simply continues to pull away. eventually sending pip to live with her aunt in america, rhode island to be specific.

she doesn’t exactly adjust well, not only is she still reeling from the death of her sister, but she’s experiencing intense feelings of detachment and nightmares of sophie every night, among other symptoms. her aunt eventually takes her to a psychologist, where she’s eventually diagnosed with depression and ptsd.

thus begins her long journey into managing her mental health, her aunt showing a surprising amount of support. she wishes on some level, that she had always grown up with her, that her father sent them away when they were children, maybe she wouldn’t feel so alone. maybe sophie would still be here.

for the first year in america, she doesn’t quite have friends, because she prefers her usual solitude. but eventually, she finds her group of friends, within her soccer team, her clubs, anything to get her mind off of her old life.

she tries to be normal, she really does, but she knows something is off– she feels empty, all the time, and her medication makes her feel like a zombie. eventually she falls into a crowd that is prone to partying, drinking, smoking. she’s sneaking out most nights to join them at their spot.

her senior year, she spins out, has a very public breakdown, that ends up leading to her taking a leave of absence from school, and essentially once again, returning to pariah status.

she does manage to graduate and get into thales university, by sheer force and extracurriculars, where she begins majoring in journalism, because it’s always been something she’s interested in, having been a part of her school’s newspaper before, well, everything.

she meets nana in one of their gen eds, and they hit it off immediately. they’re practically inseparable for a few years, until there’s an incident of pip being caught in a compromising position with one of nana’s flings at the time (it wasn’t what it looked like) and before she has a chance to explain, they’re no longer speaking.

nana goes missing a few weeks afterwards, and the emptiness comes back, feeling guilty as if it was her fault. as if everything that has happened has been a result of knowing pip and her general trail of misery. she was going to apologize, too. she just never got the chance.

now with the death of steven, her curiosity is piqued, her journalistic instinct triggered by the mystery afoot, and focusing on that means she doesn’t have to think about herself, because by god, she does not want to think about herself.

TL;DR: pip and her twin sister, sophie, are born in utrecht, the netherlands– their mother dies when they’re born. their father withdraws, eventually remarrying a bitter woman. when pip and sophie are 14, they’re involved in an accident that takes sophie’s life, and leaves pip alone, a bit traumatized. she moves to america to live with her maternal aunt, and goes to high school there, until she essentially has a breakdown her senior year. she meets nana her first year of thales, and they’re inseparable until a misunderstanding a month or two before she disappeared. now with steven’s death, she’s using her journalism skills to investigate it all.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

between the melancholy is a very bright girl. she’s always been rather inquisitive and observant, the quieter one of the akkermans twins. as she grows older, learns to live without her sister, learns to live alone, she grows into her own voice. she becomes someone unafraid to speak her mind, simply because she has nothing left to lose. she’s a bit dry, a bit sarcastic, and her humor can border morbid on occasion because she’s gotta laugh or else she’ll cry. she has a bit of trouble sticking her nose in places it shouldn’t be. she’s rather loyal, but it takes a lot for her to trust you– she trusted nana, and look where that got her. that being said, she has long bouts of depression, and detachment, which she’s been trying to manage for years now, but still, in the quiet moments, there’s a feeling the girl is rather– haunted.

𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒

she has pretty good investigative skills! she works on the newspaper at the school, so she’s kind of all over the place

explores a lot, likes to wander because it clears her head, though it also means she’ll probably enter places she’s not usually allowed (i.e. abandoned buildings, etc.)

also a soccer player! she’s played soccer for a good amount of her life, except her senior year of high school when she withdrew, she’s debating quitting the team here though

has a slight dutch accent, it’s noticeable mostly on specific words

disaster bi….. disaster bisexual…. usually stumbles into relationships and they never last due to her own shortcomings

can’t drive fr shit never learned how, fr some… obvious reasons, has some anxiety getting

has a few tattoos! her first and favorite was two butterflies on her wrist for sophie

has two piercings in each ear, a daith piercing in her right, and a upper cartilege piercing on her left

doesn’t really talk about her sister, however, claims she sees her/feels her sometimes

a skeptical believer of ghosts and spirits, mostly likes the stories that comes with her

speaks to her father once every two years, their relationship is nonexistent

likes to have a beer every so often but doesn’t exactly party, if u do see her at parties she’s prob lounging on a couch chatting with someone who’s name she’ll never remember

lived on campus for the first two years but this year got her own apartment, has an esa, a two year old scottish fold named noodle

has an extensive collection of sweaters and cardigans

kind of an old lady……. just learning about tiktok now

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

partner in crime – the ryan to her shane, the trixie to her katya, maybe they’re not the best of friends but they get into a LOT of trouble together

the reason nana and her stopped talking – pretty much nana walked in on a situation and misread it entirely and her drama loving ass cut pip off until her disappearance

friends

former friends – pip pulls away a lot, she is the undoer in a lot of relationships… or maybe it was your muse….

roommates (2-3) – new girl-esque shenanigans to be had!

newspaper coworkers

soccer teammates

someone she’s been helping with a case

fwb (f/m/nb) – girl has got needs, and doesn’t always like to be alone so

exes (f/m/nb) – prob broke up because pip’s inability to ever truly connect to other’s… haha! or it could be on good terms, and they’re pals now

crush (f/m/nb) – either way, reciprocated or unreciprocated, but it’s weird and you’re both kinda hot?

people she has Hooked Up w/ and now it’s awkard (f/m/nb)

rivals, but are we?

only likes her because her cat – noodle rights, babey!

‘she accidentally stole your coffee order once, but hey, she’s pretty cool’ – prob bought u a new one after she drank a bit of it…. now you see each other around fondly

‘she stuck her nose in your business for the Scoop’

hate-to-love friendship – i want to k*ll you to hey you’re pretty alright but don’t tell anybody i said that

‘you sent her an anonymous tip, but she accidentally figured out it was you’

someone who gets her out of her shell – takes her to parties! out with friends!

anything in my wanted tag!

#pyrrhic.intro #intro.#death tw #car accident tw #alcohol use tw #drug use tw #ptsd tw #depression tw #blood tw #only because the watercolor on the graphic does look a lil like it

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nineteenninety-six · 4 years

Text

Arguments of Concern - Part Two

I got a couple of people asking for a second part so here you go! I hope you enjoy it. :) I feel like I set myself up for a part 3 so who knows

Also, I have to apologize for taking so long to get to requests, like it’s been taking me over a month for me to get to them but uni has been taking up most of my time, unfortunately.

WORD COUNT: 1287

[PART ONE] [PART THREE]

A week had passed since Tommy and (Y/N)’s argument and Arrow House has been filled with silence and tension since then. Tommy was barely home for more than a few hours spread over a few days but when he was he spent his time with Adam and (Y/N) usually left them alone when they were together but the both of them had an unspoken agreement to at least act cordial to each other in front of their son.

(Y/N) had continued sleeping in Adam’s room, even with Tommy’s absence she had yet to go back to their room and if Adam found it strange that his mother was sleeping in his room he had yet to mention it.

This had been the longest they’ve stopped talking to each other after an argument and despite the fact that they were both headstrong and stubborn people, they were usually quick to reconcile and make amends but (Y/N) would not allow herself to give in so quickly this time. She did miss Tommy and knew that they had to talk sooner rather than later but whenever she thought about what he was going to do with Mosley made her sick to her stomach and so she refused to give in so easily.

Currently, she was outside in the large fields that rested behind Arrow House with Adam, it was summer and she wanted Adam to get as much fresh air as he could. Tommy had forbidden them to go out in public due to the many different people trying to kill him and the rest of the family so instead of the park she had to compromise with the field instead but that didn’t seem to bother Adam who was having a whale of a time running around the fields and playing with one of the many men Tommy had supplied as security.

“Mama!” Adam’s shout pulled (Y/N) out of her thoughts.

“Yes, darling?” (Y/N) bent down so that she was the same level at him.

“Play with me, mama!”

“Play with you? Hmm, what do you want to play huh?”

“Tag!”

“Tag? Okay….. tag you’re it!” (Y/N) tapped Adam on the shoulder before shooting up straight and running away from him.

“Mama!” She heard Adam shriek and as she glanced over her shoulder she saw him chase after her, his giggles spilling through his lips.

They played for another half hour until the sound of a car driving up the long driveway caught their attention. It was Tommy. It had been the better part of a week since he was last home.

“Dad!” Adam began running towards the car as soon as Tommy stepped out, excited to see his father after so long. (Y/N) slowly followed after him, taking her time.

“Dad! Dada!” Adam lept into Tommy’s open arms, tightly wrapping his own arms around his father's neck. “Missed you dada!”

“Dada missed you too” Tommy held Adam tightly against him, pressing a kiss to face. Tommy quickly spotted (Y/N) and made his way over to her, Adam still in his arms.

“Hey,” Tommy pressed a kiss to her cheek before he leaned over to her ear and whispered, “We need to talk”

(Y/N) simply nodded before leading them inside.

It was only after Adam was fast asleep and safely tucked up in bed were Tommy and (Y/N) able to talk.

“I’m sorry (Y/N). I should have spoken to you before I made any sort of deals or agreements with the government or Mosley. I truly am sorry.” Tommy was stood in front of the fireplace, drink in hand, facing away from her.

“If you’re truly sorry Thomas then you face me and look me in the eye whilst you apologize,” (Y/N) wasn’t going to let him get off easy.

Tommy walked over to (Y/N) and took her hands into his, “I...I don’t have a reason as to why I did it without telling you but I am sorry. With everything that’s going on with Michael, the company and the Billy Boys, I just wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Thomas, it’s not just the two of us anymore. You have a son and Adam should be your top priority.”

“I know” Tommy deeply sighed.

“Do you? Remember how you said you do this so our children wouldn’t have to struggle as they grew up like how you did but what use is all your work if our son grows up without a father or if he ends up dying because his father made foolish choices involving dangerous men and he had to pay the price?!” (Y/N)’s voice cracked as she began to tear up.

“(Y/N)-! Don’t think like that.”

“Don’t think like that? Thomas, I think about it all the time, about what I would do if you died or if something happened and I would have to escape with Adam. Every time you leave, I worry if it’s the last time I’ll ever see you and curse myself with the thought that if you died that Adam would be too young to remember you” (Y/N) was full-on crying.

“I won’t ever let something like that happen to you” Tommy took her face into his hands.

“John got killed, who’s to say we won’t be”

“It’s not the same”

“How?”(Y/N) knew Tommy didn’t have an answer to her question and began crying harder, causing Tommy to bring her closer to him, allowing her to sob into his neck.

“Hey, hey, we’ll think of something” Tommy pulled her away from his neck and wiped away her tears.

(Y/N) slumped into Tommy’s arms, mentally exhausted.

“How?” Tommy led her over to the couch and let her cuddle into him.

“How about you go somewhere. Somewhere safe and away from here until it’s safe enough to come back. Like America to New York or-or California. Or even Australia!”

(Y/N) pulled away from his grip, “You’re want to send us halfway across the world?!”

“Just until it’s safe”

“So what, I’m stuck in America or Australia all by myself with Adam in a foreign country where I don’t know anyone making myself sick with worry wondering if you’re alive or dead?”

“(Y/N)....” Tommy sighed, something that he felt like he had been for half the evening.“Tommy, I don’t want this anymore then you do but I have to put Adam first.”“I know, I am too.” Tommy joined their hands together.

They sat in silence for a while, (Y/N)’s head resting on Tommy’s shoulder, both their minds racing on what to do.

Tommy shifted suddenly when an idea occurred to him.

“I’ve got an idea but let me check it’s viable first”

(Y/N) barely managed to open her mouth before Tommy rushed out of the living room, leaving her speechless and confused. She decided to make herself a drink whilst she waited for Tommy.

As (Y/N) sipped her drink, Tommy finally reappeared with a smile on his face.

“I’ve got it” Tommy shuffled to sit next to her and took her hands into his once again.

“We’ll send you and Adam away — ah let me finish— but not to another country, you’ll stay in England just a few hours away from Birmingham with a friend.”

“I- uh- what?” (Y/N) was a bit overwhelmed and shocked, “go to where? Who’s this friend?”“Margate and the friend...he’s an old one.”

“Tommy, you don’t have old friends.”

Tommy pressed his head against (Y/N)’s, “Trust me on this. Please.”

“This friend...you absolutely trust him?”

“Yes.”

(Y/N) nodded, “So Margate?”

“Margate.”

#tommy shelby imagines #tommy shelby x reader #peaky blinders imagines #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #Peaky Blinders #peaky blinder imagine #imagines #angst #fanfic #thomas shelby #thomas shelby x reader #Tommy Shelby #peaky blinders x reader

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marinaaniseed · 4 years

Text

Ribbons and leaves

Song: Ribbons and leaves from the album Happiness in magazine by Graham Coxon.

Summary: Bucky finds you after 80 years.

Pairing: Female reader x Bucky Barnes

Length: 1,984 words

Warnings: Some old fashioned attitudes to sex and sexuality, traumatic events in Bucky’s past (including at the hands of HYDRA) and I guess spoilers if you’ve not seen the Captain America films. This one might hurt.

A/N: This was written for @lancsnerd‘s #Lancsnerd1kchallenge. So happy for you, you deserve every follower! I’ve combined it with a songshot, so for clarity, stuff in bold are the lyrics, stuff that’s underlined is my prompt, anything sans formatting is just me. I made myself cry while writing this, so be warned again, this one might hurt. See here for what this is all about.

***

In an old house, in an old street, Bucky finds you. You’re old too, of course, exactly as he should be.

Sitting in front of the TV, your son lets Bucky in. James, he said his name was. A good name, Bucky thinks, even if he hates it when people call him that.

Bucky’s surprised by the lack of surprise when he appears on your doorstep, like somehow your son was expecting him. He supposes that you told James about him, after the world found out that Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier were one and the same.

Tea is brought through on a tray, and James excuses himself, leaving the two of you to talk.

“Took you long enough to find me,” you tell him, turning the TV off and turning to look at him. Time and circumstances have weathered him a little, but essentially he’s still the same man you said goodbye to, back in the 1940s.

“I’m sorry,” Bucky mumbles, because he is. But he’s glad you’re still alive, that he’s found you before it’s too late.

“You’re here now. Better late than never,” you observe. “Got your old cap and tobacco tin, you can finally have them back.”

He’d forgotten about those. It hurts his heart to hear how you kept those things, that you never forgot him, even though he was forced to forget you. It seems you never quite moved on, despite the photos that line the walls.

“I see you have a beautiful family,” Bucky says, looking around the room. He can’t see your husband in any, just two children at various ages, and eventually grandchildren and even great-grandchildren too.

“So do you,” you say softly.

“No, I never settled down,” Bucky notes. But if he had, he would’ve liked it to have been you.

“James, who you met, is named after his father. He and his sister were born eight months after I last saw you,” you state, not sure what else to say.

You can pinpoint the exact moment that it finally dawns on Bucky. His eyes go wide, skin goes deathly pale, and he opens and shuts his mouth several times, failing to make any noises.

“I have a son? And a daughter? Do they know? Did James know?” he eventually stutters.

“They’ve always known, I never hid from them who their father was,” you tell Bucky. “James has my late husband’s surname, but he always knew you were his father.”

“That’s why he wasn’t surprised to see me,” Bucky surmises, kicking himself for not finding you sooner.

“Correct. When I found out, I wrote to you. My letters went unanswered and I got in contact with your sister, trying to find out what was wrong. How we prayed for you to come on home. Eventually, we got the news that you’d fallen to your death,” you explain.

Bucky shudders at the memory. In a lot of ways, it would’ve been better if he had died that day, instead of enduring what HYDRA put him through.

“My soldier, my dead prince. You can understand the predicament I was in. An unwed mother to be. Marriage was the solution for me and for my husband. He was a queer fella, a friend, needed a wife so that the navy didn’t find out what he really liked. A practical solution for all,” you note. “He died in Europe, too, but at least I got to play the part of the honourable widow, with two young children, instead of the stigma of having two bastards.”

That explained why your husband was missing from all of the photos.

“And you never remarried?” Bucky asks. He imagines how he feels right now is comparable to the shock Steve must’ve felt when he realised that Bucky was still alive.

“Never,” you note. “I married for practical reasons, the only way I’d do it again was for love, and the man I love was gone.”

It doesn’t escape Bucky’s notice that you said love, not loved. He moves to sit next to you, taking your hands in his. So small and delicate in comparison.

“I love you,” he says, blinking back tears. “I’m sorry you lived all of this without me. I’m sorry you never knew that I was still alive.”

“It’s ok, you’re here now,” you tell him, handing him a tissue from the box on the table. “You’re here now, it’s not too late. Everyone will be so excited to meet you.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, doll. I’m the thing that monsters have nightmares about. Or I was,” Bucky says, gnawing on his lip. “I don’t want to intrude into your lives or cause any bother.”

There’s a soft knock on the door, and James enters, a tiny sleeping baby in his arms.

You give him a smile and a nod to let him know that it’s ok, that Bucky knows.

“So, uh, dad,” James starts softly with a smile, so like Bucky’s own that he can see that this is definitely his son. Tears start rolling down Bucky’s face, moistening his facial hair. He never thought anyone would call him dad, and now here is this man, who looks old enough to be his father, calling him dad.

“Since you never got to hold any of us when we were small, I wondered if you wanted to hold Samantha? She’s my first granddaughter. We brought her round to see mum today,” James says, stepping towards them with the baby.

It’s all too much. Bucky’s heart shatters at the thought of all that he’s missed. His own son is here, in the twilight of his life, and Bucky’s missed it all. He sobs softly and you put your arm around him. James sits down on the other side of him, holding the still sleeping baby.

“Are you sure?” Bucky asks, voice breaking. “Are you sure you trust me? You know what I’ve done.”

“Of course I trust you, you’re my dad,” James observes, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Even when we found out about the Winter Soldier, about you, mum never believed it was really you doing those things.”

“The man I knew wouldn’t, couldn’t do those things,” you tell Bucky. “They took the gentlest man in the world and turned him into a machine. I’m glad they couldn’t erase all of you.”

One day, maybe, he’ll sit down and tell you, tell James, everything that happened, everything he can remember. It’ll take time, because there’s so much he needs to know, so much he wants to catch up on and understand.

Carefully, James places the baby in Bucky’s arms. Her hair is so dark and chocolatey, just like his. She stirs slowly, but doesn’t cry, blinking open big eyes. They’re the same shade as yours. Even so many generations down the line, parts of you and parts of Bucky are still evident. Samantha tries to focus on Bucky and her mouth forms a small smile. Bucky smiles back, trying not to cry again.

It’s been so long since he held a baby, probably not since his sister.

“Did you ever meet my sister?” Bucky asks James.

“Aunt Beccy was the only real family we had,” James answers. “Albert’s family, mum’s husband’s family, lost touch with us after he died. Moved away to Hawaii. We didn’t have any cousins, so Beccy treated us like her own. I’m sorry she died without knowing you were alive.”

“It’s ok, it’s better that she didn’t know what I did,” Bucky insists.

A tiny hand grips his vibranium thumb. Something so beautiful, tiny, and innocent, unwittingly grasping a weapon.

No, that’s wrong. He’s not a weapon anymore, he’s not the Asset.

Bucky’s so lost, staring at his smiling great-granddaughter that he doesn’t notice more people have joined them.

A small boy, probably just around school age, stops in front of you.

“Happy birthday, grandnan,” he says cheerfully to you, holding out a handmade card covered in glitter and stickers.

“Thank you, Tristan,” you tell him with a smile. “Is this why I wasn’t allowed in the kitchen until you were done?”

The boy nods, hair flopping forwards. While your hair is white now, the colour Bucky remembers lives on with this small boy.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” Bucky mumbles, cheeks heating up. “I completely forgot it was your birthday.”

“I’d prefer to forget it,” you reassure him. “But apparently, when you get to our kind of age, every birthday is a big one. Does that mean I’m older than you now?”

“You’ll always be my baby girl,” he says. “Looks can be deceiving, but you can’t change facts.”

“Do you know who this is?” you ask Tristan, gesturing towards Bucky.

He looks between you, James, and Bucky, trying to make the connection.

“Granddad's dad?” he ventures.

“Yeah, that’s right honey bun. Granddad's dad,” you explain.

“Why isn’t he old like you and granddad?” he asks, and Bucky’s glad when he hears you laugh, even though James tries to tell him that’s not a polite question.

“You remember at school when you learned about Captain America? Something similar happened,” you answer, to Bucky’s relief. That’s not a story he wants to tell a small child.

“You were frozen?”

“Yeah,” Bucky says, because that’s not exactly a lie.

“Why is your arm made of metal?”

James tries to shush him again, but Bucky understands. The kid is curious. He would’ve been exactly the same at that age.

“I lost it in an accident,” Bucky says. “I can take it off if it’s scaring you.”

“You can take off your arm? That’s so cool, I wanna see!”

“Sorry about that,” a man with a moustache says, trying to steer the kid away. “He doesn’t quite understand that some questions are impolite.”

“I don’t mind,” Bucky reassures him. “I’d have a lot of questions if I was him.”

The kid could be standing on his balls and he’d still be over the moon.

“This is my son Michael and his wife Jessica,” James tells Bucky. “You already know, but this is my dad, James.”

“Bucky,” he says instinctively.

“Nice to meet you,” Bucky’s grandson and wife say in unison.

“Thank you for letting me hold your daughter,” he says, handing Samantha back to her wary mother.

Your hand strokes Bucky’s hair. It’s even softer than you remember it being. A shiver runs up his spine as he recalls that last night you spent together, how you’d stroked his hair then.

As soon as there’s space, Tristan clambers into Bucky’s lap, determined to monopolise the attention of this strange man with a metal arm.

“Metal granddad,” Tristan tells him, making Bucky laugh.

“Sure, you can call me that. Or you can call me Bucky,” he says, not really sure what the kid should call him. He’s still getting his head around James calling him dad.

Tristan tries to hug him in his tiny arms, face buried into Bucky’s chest.

“I love you, metal granddad,” he says.

“I love you too,” Bucky replies. It’s been decades since he’s heard those words said to him.

But now he sits surrounded by a small portion of his family, a family he never knew he had. Bucky’s overwhelmed by all these faces, so happy to see him at last. Now that he’s taken this first small step, he can’t wait to meet the others.

Even when he didn’t know who he was, he was loved.

“Mum never stopped loving you, none of us did,” James mumbles next to him, as if he can hear Bucky’s thoughts.

“I can see that,” he says with a smile, still cuddling Tristan.

“I guess you didn’t either,” James continues, “because you finally found us.”

If the monsters could see him now, they wouldn’t have nightmares about him. It’s a thought that makes Bucky very glad indeed.

#366songshots #Lancsnerd1kchallenge #Winter Soldier #james buchanan barnes #james barnes #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes x reader #Female reader

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