before-we-get-started - Tumblr blog

before-we-get-started · 2 days

Text

Cross-Checked ~ Chapter 14

Andy Barber x OFC Leighton "Leia" Andrews

Summary:

Andy Barber is having the best year of his life. His game is on point. It’s gets to play with his best friend and his fiancé just... dumped him?!.

Reeling from a sudden change in status, Andy decides it’s time to just focus on hockey. Until his best friend's sister comes out with news that rock the entire organizations world.,

Andy has always carried a torch for the untouchable Leighton but in her hour of need, is now the time to shoot and score or risk getting cross - checked again?

Warnings: Cheating (but not by the MCs); slow burn; friends to lovers eventually; SMUT!; pregnancy; jealousy; handsome goalies, evil exes...

A/N: The tag list is open!

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS. Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Banners by me!

Previous: Chapter 13: Fit For A Princess

Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 14: Mother Knows Best

Andy

Week 26

I’ve always appreciated Luke and Leia’s parents. Their father would be at every game until he passed. Their mother, Monica, would drive us to the early morning practices and take Leia to figure skating lessons. They took me in when my dad bailed, and my mom had to work nights to support us.

Monica was my support when Mom died and I was a scared 20-year-old, on my own for the first time. I had every respect for her.

Until I was 25 at least.

That’s when she checked out of all of our lives, Leia especially.

Monica had it in her mind that she needed to remarry rich to support her children. Her children that are amazing all on their own. She had a superstar son, who could have taken care of her and a daughter that started her own business. But to Monica, Leia’s smarts were not enough for a woman in a man’s world. She believed Leia needed to give up her dreams and marry someone who will take care of her.

This broke Leia for a long time.

Luke and I did our best to hold Leia up while she dealt with the ramifications of her mother’s words. It unfortunately led to Bret and well here we are. We had gotten her past it. I thought I had made her happy. We were going to be a real family now.

I did not have Monica Andrews on my bingo card.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” Leia was standing at the door, gripping it like her life depended on it. I moved quickly to be behind her.

“Hi Mrs. Andrews.”

“It's DeLaurentis, now, Andrew. Leighton, my goodness, you have really popped.”

I flinch at the backhanded compliment. “Umm, come on in, Mrs. DeLaurentis.” I pulled Leia with me to allow her mother in. I looked at Leia and she shrugged with a confused look that must have matched mine. I moved when she made it to the living room. “Mrs. DeLaurentis, these are my teammates, Linus Ullmark, Brad Marchant and David Pasternak and you remember Stella and Miranda. Guys, this is Luke and Leia’s mother, Monica DeLaurentis.”

Everyone greets her and she says her hellos. She turns back to Leia. “May I speak to you alone, Leighton?” I don’t like the way she says my girl’s name. Like its a swear word. It grinds my nerves.

As they walked into my office, I had a bad feeling in my stomach. I turned to Miranda. “Get Luke back on the phone.”

Leia

I was still in shock that my mother was back in town, and she was married. I don’t remember being invited to that. “I’m surprised to see you, Mother.”

“Well, I’ve been busy.”

I looked at her left hand and the giant diamond on her finger. “I can see that. Congratulations.” I stopped. “You married Summer’s father?”

My mother looks put out by my question. “Its not like he’s still married.”

“Mother, his wife died less than a year ago.” I was incredibly annoyed with her. Monica Andrews, sorry, DeLaurentis, had not been a shallow woman before my father died. She had been the typical stay at home mom that you see on old 50’s TV shows, apron and all. She had been my best friend, like any little girl would have. It was great. Until my dad died. She lasted five years. By the time I was 20, she was gone.

“Don’t talk to me like that Leighton,” my mother huffed. “How come your brother isn’t here?”

“He was named the Bruins all-star so he’s in Toronto right now.”

“Well, I would like to meet with both of you at the same time.” She looked at me up and down again. “We have some things to talk about.”

Andy walked in right them. “Mrs. DeLaurentis, it’s Luke.” He handed her the phone.

“Lukas, when do you come back?... Well, I don’t want to have this conversation twice... The day you get back would be best...” She handed the phone back to Andy. “I’ll meet you on Monday at the Cafe,” she said to me. “Apparently, we have a lot to discuss.”

I wasn’t sure if that was going to be a good thing or a bad. “Like what?”

“I’d rather not say since you have company or rather Andrew has company.” She gave a distasteful look to us. “I’ll see myself out.” She turned without a goodbye.

My knees were shaking and I grabbed onto the island. Andy saw me and immediately put his arms around me. “Hey, baby, take a breath.”

“She didn’t even ask about the baby or anything,” I whispered. “I don’t want to go alone.”

Andy snorted. “Like there was a chance that I would let you. The three of us will go, just like always, ok?” He cupped my face. “I won’t let anything happen.”

If only I could believe him.

Monday comes and I don’t want to get out of bed. I was in and out of sleep but Andy cuddled up next to me, running his hand through my hair and I was asleep. Cheeky brat knows how to calm me. I groan when the alarm goes off.

“Sorry, my queen. I have a team meeting.” He kissed my head, but I grabbed onto his arm.

“No, you are warm and you’re comfy. Mine.” I snuggle deeper into his chest and Andy lets out a low laugh.

“I am yours, my queen, but I still have to get up. You wanted me to wake you so you could get ready for lunch with your mom.” He kissed my nose. “Something about wanting to have that pregnancy glow so she couldn’t be a bitch about it.”

I vaguely remember saying that to him, but he is right. After the awful look she gave me about my bump, I don’t want to go in there looking anything less than perfect.

The relationship between my mother and myself is complicated at best. When my dad died, my mom tried to be strong for us. But it was like half of her soul left with him. My dad was smart, there was savings and a life insurance policy. But my mother got it in her head that she needed to find a way to provide for us. But she didn’t want to get a job. She had been a housewife and that’s all she assumed she knew.

And that’s all she wanted for me.

As I pull on the pale pink sweater dress and leggings, my mind drift to the day after Bret and I split.

“Why are you breaking up? He will be a wonderful partner and provider for you Leighton.” My mom sips her tea at the hotel we met at. Yeah, you heard me, hotel. Because my mother left the house my father had built for her. Lucky that Luke bought it from her otherwise our childhood home would be long gone.

“That is not what I want from my life Mother. I want a partner to grow with me, help me, not treat me like I’m a servant. Daddy didn’t raise me like that.”

“You have no idea what your father wanted,” she retorted. “Bret is handsome, wealthy...”

“Controlling, egotistical, narcissistic,” I finished for her. “He’s in Tokyo and he belittled me and dreams.”

“I think you are making a mistake Leighton.”

Andy pulls up to the hotel where they are serving afternoon tea. I’m grateful as I am not allowed more than one cup of coffee a day, which is a tragedy onto itself. I see Luke sitting in the lobby. “Why didn’t you go inside?”

“And be alone with the Mother? Do you hate me, Cubby?” He gives me a soft hug. “Missed you.”

“You were gone for four days,” Andy says as they man-hug. “Let’s not make her wait or suffer her wrath.”

Andy guides me with his hand on the small of my back, Luke leading the way. My mom is sitting at a table with Kyle DeLaurentis. Fuck my life. The new stepfather. I try not to have a sour face because I don’t need to hear it from her. “Hi Mother.”

“Leighton, Lucas and Andrew, this is a surprise.” She gave us air kisses before she turned to Kyle. “This is Kyle, my husband.”

Andy moves first. “Mr. DeLaurentis, it's nice to see you again. Andrew Barber.”

“I’ve been watching Andrew. Bruins are looking good. Lukas,” he offers his hand to Luke to shake. “Congratulations on the All Star nomination.”

“Thanks,” Luke says tightly.

“This is my daughter, Leighton,” my mom says.

“Leighton, you look beautiful,” taking my offered hand and kissing my knuckles. I try not to shudder at the ick factor that I am getting from Kyle. I went to school with his daughter, Summer, and spent time with their family and I hadn’t felt this before but now I do. Andy, thankfully, pulls a chair for me between him and Luke and we sit as the waiter starts to take orders.

“Andrew, can I ask why you decided to join us today?” my mother asked.

He shrugs. “Leia asked me to come.”

The waiter drops the drinks and an uncomfortable silence. My mother clears her throat and took a sip of her tea before she said, “you are living with Andrew now.” Not a question.

I looked at her. “Yes, I am.”

She scoffed. “An unmarried, pregnant woman living with a man that is not the father.”

I can feel Andy tense next to me. “Yes, she is. Except Leia and I are now together.”

My mother gives us a sharp look. “And what about Bret?”

“What about him? He left me, I told him I am pregnant. I never got a response. I’ve moved on with someone who loves and cares for me and my daughter.” Andy takes my hand and gently squeezes to try and calm me.

“Love, please relax,” he whispers. I try to take a deep breath, but she doesn’t let up.

“You should be with the father, Leighton. A baby cannot be raised in a broken home.”

“It’s not broken! She has a father! Andy is the father!” I stand up and move to the bathroom, trying not to cry. How can she say that? Our family is not broken. Me and Andy and Luke and Miranda are our own family. We make it perfect. The tears flow as I hit the door. I make it and take a few minutes to myself, letting the tears fall. Once I can gather myself, I clean up my face and head out. And ran right into my mother.

“That display was embarrassing, Leighton,” she says sternly.

“Embarrassing for whom? You?” I swallow the yell that wants to come out. “I am not some helpless woman who needs a man to take care of her. I have my business, I have my work with the team, I have Luke and I have Andy. Andy, who knows everything and still loves me. He loves my daughter, even if she isn’t biologically his. You have changed so much since Daddy died that I don’t even recognize you. You’re like a super Stepford wife and you only care about money and status.”

“You have no idea what it's like for your partner to die and leave you with two children to raise!”

“Raise? I was 14 when dad died. You didn’t raise me. You left us! I refuse to do that to my daughter.”

“You ungrateful little brat!” I saw my mother raise her hand and I went to block her when another hand stopped her.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing Mother? “Luke was raging at his mother. “Leia has gestational hypertension, and you are doing this? You need to leave!”

“Lucas, how can you treat your mother this way?”

“Easy. When someone is being a complete bitch to their daughter, I can easily make the right choice. Until you can apologize to Leia, stay away from her, don’t call.”

“Lucas,” she cries.

“I get it. You lost it when dad dies but that is no excuse.”

Andy had been holding me and he turned me to walk out of the hotel as the tears fell. I knew my mother had changed but it was shocking to see it. My mother had never tried to strike me before.

But she would no longer be a part of my life.

Suddenly, a sharp pain flashed through my body and I stopped and cried out. “Leia?” Andy holds me to him. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” I cried. Andy lifted me up as Luke ran for the car. “Andy?”

“Its gonna be ok, baby. We’re gonna get you to the hospital.” He kisses my head as Luke pulls up. Andy puts me in the car, climbs in after me and Luke races away.

Please let my baby be ok.

Taglist:

@patzammit

@texmexdarling

@slutforchrisjamalevans

@firephotogrl74

@tinkerbelle67

@before-we-get-started

@bunnyforhim

@alexakeyloveloki

@sunnyhummingbee

@whiskeytangofoxtrot555

@peaceinourtime82

@saucy-sassy-sparkly

@kmc1989

@kandis-mom

@lokislady82

10 notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 3 days

Text

I'm Your Man Verse

a short series featuring Andy Barber as a soft dark mafia boss who set his sights on you and never plans to let you go

While Andy Barber was well-known in Boston, there are whispers of a darker side, but few know the depths of his darker side. He's successful, he's charming, he's generous, and you're about to find out just how dangerous he can be.

Content Warnings: [check individual parts for their respective warnings] DUBIOUS CONSENT, extortion, explicit smut: oral (female and male receiving), vaginal fingering, vaginal intercourse, spitting, dom/sub undertones, breeding kink, unprotected sex, dacryphilia, somnophilia, financial spoiling

COLLECTION:

I'm Your Man [3k]

Morning Radiance [750]

Prepare for Takeoff [1.5k]

ask: a moment on your honeymoon [350]

Make Her Glow [1k]

371 notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 3 days

Text

This sneakity peek of the next part of the Bratty Beta verse is for @biteofcherry ❤️

—

Ari slowly blinked open his eyes, going from groggy to alert in only a few seconds. Inhaling deeply, he turned to his left, frowning as he found the bed empty. He touched his palm to the sheets, finding them cool, and his frown deepened as he sat up.

It was a rare occasion when he was the one to sleep in.

Climbing from bed, Ari stretched on his way to the bathroom, using the toilet and brushing his teeth before heading downstairs.

His feet were just clearing the last step when he heard a strangled moan followed by a satisfied grunt sound from the living room. Head cocking to the side, Ari paused, listening intently.

What he heard caused his lips to curl at the corners.

Moving silently, he rounded the corner and paused in the doorway of the living room, nearly bowled over by the addictive, musky scent of your and Ransom's combined arousal.

12 notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 4 days

Text

｡°✩ ♊︎ The Gemini♊︎ ✩ °｡

Chapter 10

Star Crossed Lover

Series Masterlist

Previous Part: True Romantic Next Part: Promotion

Word Count: 10,607 (I am SO sorry lol)

Warnings: My blog is 18+ only. All minors or blogs without an age in bio will be blocked. Minors DNI. TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of violence, blood, and injury. Allusions and discussion of suicide attempts. Please proceed with caution and and good judgment for your own personal mental health 💞

The drive to your team welcoming at the winery made 45 minutes of highway feel simultaneously far too long yet excruciatingly short.

After what happened in the corridor, you really didn't have much to say. The only words really spoken between you and Steve was you thanking him for getting the car door for you, then him insisting that you played your music.

After a few minutes on the road, Steve stole a few quick glances at you to try and gauge how you were really feeling, but your head was leaned all the way back against the headrest, and your eyes were always either closed or staring absentmindedly on the scenery around you.

He took no offense, in fact, he was glad that you were calm at the very least. Deep down he knew you were always feeling at least a little worse- if not a lot worse than you expressed to anyone. But like always, there was a time and place to address issues. Pulling into a parking spot at the winery and putting his car into park was not the time, nor the place.

Taking a quick peek through his rearview mirror, he could see a few special guests had already arrived, and he could only hope it would help ease the distress you never deserved to have inflicted on you.

Steve turned to you with an empathetic grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "Last chance to run away?"

You turned your head to look at him with a lazy smile, and an unexpected giggle. "I can't run in these shoes."

"If it gets too overwhelming, you know I'll be here. Just tell me, I'll sneak you away for a bit of fresh air." He reminded you.

"You're making me feel like I'm about to be eaten alive" You raised your eyebrow.

Steve shook his head. "No, you're not. I've been on this team for so many years I stopped counting and even I still get overwhelmed by all of them sometimes. Things like this can be a lot even on a perfectly good day."

"I'm guessing I'll relax after a glass of wine or two" You reassured him and yourself. "It'll be like nothing ever happened, nobody even has to know."

That sent red flags raising high in Steve's head. Now he knew for sure you were in worse shape than you were letting on.

"Bug," Steve shot you a serious glare. "You can be sad, it's okay to be sad."

"I'll be sad later." You surrendered. "Right now I'm so happy and honored to be part of such a welcoming and supportive team. We're all going to have a wonderful night, and everything is going to be fine."

"Promise me right now that after this is over you'll cut the bullshit and stop telling me you're fine." Steve held out his pinky to you. All you did was narrow your eyes at him, you knew he could read you like a book far below his intelligence level, and it was equal parts endearing and frustrating. "We both know that's a lie, and we both know there's no reason for you to have to go through any of this alone anymore. We both know this is the beginning of the end of all of your suffering, and should it get worse before it gets better, you have a whole team of people who want to help you and be there for you."

"Fine." With an internal defeat, you wrapped your pinky around his. "I'll be sad later, but only if you get me a glass of wine while I socialize so I don't seem like a bitch for booking it to the bar."

"Great" Steve smiled, shaking your intertwined pinky fingers, locking in the deal. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"This is the worst deal ever." You shook your head with a smile on your face while reaching for the car door handle.

An immediate gasp full of personal offense left Steve faster than you anticipated, and you got ready for the fight you two had nearly every time you got into a car together. "Do not reach for that car door ma'am."

"Twinkles, I have two fully functioning arms and legs. I can open my own car door." You made the same argument you've made a million times before.

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." Steve shook his head at you, his face full of disappointment. "Stay right there before I put the child safety lock on the passenger side of the door."

"Logistically, it'll take more time for you to get out, walk around, open my door, wait for me to get out, then close my door than if I were to just get out on my own." You laughed.

“Yeah well, logistically, this reoccurring argument takes a lot of time as well yet you always seem to want to spark it." Steve spoke as he got out of the car, his door closing behind him. Very quickly making his way to you, he opened your door and offered you his arm to help you out. "See, didn't take that long. Look, this is an unpaved parking lot and you're wearing a pretty high heel which means you could've tripped and fallen and broken an ankle, and it would've been all my fault."

"How could you possibly sleep at night?!" You agreed sarcastically as you got out of the car, and he closed the door behind you.

"I never do." Steve noted. "This is why I have insomnia."

"Too many women and too many unpaved parking lots in this world." You agreed, walking with him towards the entrance. "We really need to contact someone about this."

It didn't take long to enter the beautiful outdoor space that was far too big to be reserved just for the team. You immediately felt like you were the main character of a hallmark movie, strings of twinkling lights shined above your head, the grounds were well maintained, full of plants, tables, and even a dreamy gazebo that was also illuminated by strings of lights.

There were candles lit along pathways and atop the standing tables, booths open that served food, and no less than 20 different wine options, and a whole bunch of friendly faces that all started clapping and cheering when you walked in.

Definitely not expecting that much immediate attention, your cheeks widened into a smile and deepened in color before your hands moved up to hide your face. It only took a few moments before you were brave enough to peak through your fingers to recognize faces you didn't quite expect to be there.

All you expected were the avengers that lived in the compound or near by, but to see faces like Thor, Clint, and even that Spider-Kid who definitely was not 21 and was out passed his bedtime was a pleasant surprise.

Another pleasant surprise was the sweet faces of your mom and dad, sister and brother in law, and a handful of your friends from back home.

Your hands dropped from your face and showed off your full toothy smile and pink cheeks that Steve loved so much it made his heart skip a beat.

It nearly dropped out of his chest and deep into his stomach when you turned to him. "Did you invite them?"

"Of course I did" Steve nodded with a cheeky smile. "I wanted you to feel more comfortable, and you deserve to be celebrated by your family too, not just ours."

Much like earlier in the day when he gave you the suit, your arms flew around him fast and tight. It was shorter this time due to the audience, but Steve still loved it nonetheless. "Thank you so much, you're so sweet."

"You're very welcome" Steve smiled. "I'll go get us some wine like I promised, but I do feel like I need to say hello to your family first considering I've been texting them to arrange this. But I'll be quick!"

"I have so many questions" You raised your eyebrow at him.

"Save them for later!" Steve told you while walking straight towards your parents.

With full trust that nothing chaotic would happen in that interaction, you scanned faces once more and realized Bucky and Nat were missing. You knew why, but it made your happy mood deflate again until Thor was the first of the bunch to walk up and introduce himself.

You made your way through Bruce, Carol, and even said hi to Maria Hill regardless of the fact that you worked with her many times before.

Steve did make it to you with a glass of wine in each of his hands between your interactions with people. "Here you go, Bugs. Not quite sure what this wine is but I told the nice girl at the bar you liked white wine so she poured you her favorite."

"You're the best." Your cheers your glass against his.

"Ugh, I know right?" He agreed sarcastically, drinking down a grin with a sip of red.

Your quick interaction with Steve made your family approach you to celebrate, but he definitely wanted you to have your time alone with them so he slipped away just as fast as he came.

Lots of hugs, lots of chatting, then lots of them pushing you away to go hang out with the Avengers.

Somewhere between Peter Parker and more time with Sam, a quick scan of the crowd had you realizing that now the Avengers were co-mingling with your family and friends. Oh, and Bucky and Natasha finally got there 45 minutes into the actual event.

Lost in conversation with Scott Lang about the most recent episode of that one sitcom he so happened to bring up, a pair of forearms wrapped around you from behind.

You pretty much expected it to be anybody but Natasha, but you were pleasantly surprised that she was already so comfortable with you. "Sorry we're late, but Rogers' mess is cleaned up and you'll never see it again. Also, you look hot in that dress."

There was no chance to thank her or apologize for the mess as she quickly galavanted off into the crowd.

Scott was pulled away from you about 10 minutes later, and your glass became empty of wine. Feeling mildly confident at this point that you had at least introduced yourself and greeted everyone there, you felt comfortable enough to go get a refill on your own.

Another heavy pour and you were back out. Conversation flowed a lot easier than expected between the groups you found yourself in. There was always something to talk about, laughter was a common occurrence, but somehow the mess in the corridor kept seeping into your mind no matter how hard you tried to push it down.

Eventually Bucky found his way to you, and somehow the comfort of one of your best friends helped quiet down all of the unnecessary noise in your brain.

In true Bucky fashion, he approached with plenty of food in hand. Setting a full wood fire pizza on the table, he pushed the whole tray towards you.

"You haven't been eating enough for someone at an event with free food" He noted.

"Hello to you too" You grinned, taking down another big gulp of wine.

"Steve told me you were worried about me." Bucky's face softened.

"I'm always worried about you, that's what friends are for." You agreed with Steve's statement.

"You know what that agent said about me tonight is nothing but water off a ducks back." He reassured you. "But what he said about you is what bothered me. That is what I take personally, and that's what I can't let anyone get away with."

You sighed. "What did you do, Buck?"

"Nat fired him, we both got him on some gnarly lists to ensure he's going to have a hard time finding another job." He explained. "I think Steve did enough damage that the dumbass will probably never reproduce, which is probably a blessing to the next generation. We didn't help him up though, he can figure that out himself."

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh?"

"If it was up to me. I wouldn't have left it at just his balls, but I digress" Bucky shrugged. "I'm really happy you're back, Buggy. I've been smiling all day knowing you're here."

"Well for what's it's worth, I'm sorry people have been saying rude things about you because of me, and I'm happy to be here to hopefully get back on the right foot. I missed you and Steve a lot these past couple of months."

"It's not your fault, so I'm not accepting that apology." Bucky denied. "But I will accept a hug because I missed you too."

"Tough crowd." You grinned before wrapping your arms around him and leaving them there for a while.

Then, he started whispering in your ear. "This was a trap I just wanted to gossip in peace"

You let out an uncontrollable laugh, starting to feel the effects the wine had on you. "What's up? What's the gossip?" You tried to whisper back but it was a little hard to get the words quietly past your smile.

"Has Steve kissed you yet?" Bucky asked in a dramatic whisper.

“No, I don't think he ever will." You denied. "But I just got back last night, give him some grace."

"I don't think he will either. He's really scared of you." He agreed with you. "Do you need me to yell at him for that? Or I can just kind've shove your faces together when I find the opportunity?"

He pulled another laugh from you. "No, it's okay. He's scared, he needs to go at his own pace."

"Have you admitted to yourself that you like him yet?"

"Unfortunately you knew that before I did, but yes, and I told him that too."

"Good, good." Bucky started to pull away from the hug, but your wrapped your arms tighter around him.

"Tell me about you and Nat now" You trapped him.

"Well I'm not a scaredy cat like Steve is so... Girlfriend."

You gasped with a smile and pulled back to observe his face. But it was obvious he wasn't lying to you, so you lit up once more. "I'm so happy for you!"

Raising your hand up for a high five, Bucky hit his metal palm against your hand.

From across the winery and under the gazebo, Steve watched this whole interaction between you and Bucky. He was pleasantly surprised when jealousy never rushed through his veins watching the two of you hug.

Thats when Steve realized how secure he felt with you now. He understood now more than ever that you and Bucky were purely platonic, and it was evident in the way you two looked at and touched each other. In fact, he even felt a sense of warmth and happiness watching you two have a secretive conversation that wasn't so slick. Maybe it would've been a little more discreet had you been a bit more sober, but he found it endearing nonetheless. He found himself feeling hopeful that soon enough the three of you really could smooth over the damage and go back to hanging out together, a notion that once felt impossible.

He was even happier when he saw the both of you take a slice of pizza, cheers, then eat together.

After that, he stopped watching. He was so content knowing that Bucky was keeping an eye on you. Maybe that's where he overestimated his false sense of security, because along with the pizza, Bucky brought you another glass of wine which only meant you were feeling sillier and more socially confident by the second.

At some point Steve fell deep into conversation with your dad, they were getting along so well, in fact, he hadn't even noticed that he spent about a whole hour and a half alone under the fairy light illuminated gazebo with him. They also didn't notice that you were getting along with the team so well it's like you were always part of the little family to begin with.

He didn't catch you and your sister flipping each other off from across the venue as often as you could, he didn't see the way you and Peter made a secret handshake, or even when you exchanged phone numbers with Bruce. He missed Sam making you laugh so hard you nearly peed your pants, then you, Nat, and Wanda disappearing to the bathroom for a solid ten minutes then coming back with your lipstick magically perfect again.

He also missed your fourth glass of wine.

But that was pretty obvious when you walked out of the bathroom and into the social event, scanning the intimate crowd to try and spot anyone to engage in conversation.

Thats when you noticed your mom batting her eyelashes and giggling in a one on one conversation with Tony, while your dad was batting his eyelashes and giggling under the gazebo with Steve.

A bit wobbly on your feet, you walked over to them and held onto the wooden entrance as you stepped up. Both of their attention was drawn to you from their spot on a bench.

You squinted your eyes at your dad. "Hello, Father."

"Daughter" He raised an eyebrow at you.

Steve didn't know where this interaction was about to go, so he observed carefully.

"Steve, is this strange man bothering you?" You asked him.

Steve laughed as your dad reached over to you and flicked the side of your head, you remained unfazed. "Not in the slightest."

"She's drunk" Your dad told Steve while covering your ears.

"I'm not drunk, I'm silly and perhaps a bit goofy, but I am not drunk." You grabbed your dad's wrists and pulled his hands off your ears. "My sobriety should be the least of your concerns at the moment."

"Why is that?" Your dad asked.

"Tony Stark is flirting with your wife." You pointed to your mom and Tony.

Steve followed your pointed finger and saw that you were actually right, and that made him laugh. "That's really concerning."

Your dad sighed. "So what? I have to fight Iron Man now? You chose to be a superhero and now I have to fight Iron Man for your own Mother?"

"Get used to it." You stuck your tongue out at him.

He stuck his tongue out right back at you before turning to Steve. "Please excuse me, I need to rescue my wife."

"By all means" Steve agreed.

When your dad walked off and you were alone with Steve, you sat down right next to him and pulled his arm around your shoulders before you closed your eyes and rested your head on him.

You didn't see his smile as he pulled you as close as he could and rubbed the top of your arm. "How are you doing?"

"Cold, tired, feet hurt." You mumbled. "Drunk"

"I thought you said you weren't drunk?" Steve quipped happily.

“Well, you're not my dad so you get to know the truth." You snuggled into him. "More truth, you smell really nice, and I just need to sit here for a little while."

A giggle escaped Steve from your confessions. "Are you having fun?"

"More fun than I thought" You nodded. "I'm so warm and fuzzy inside. It's been so long since I've felt happy like this."

That wiped the smile clean off of Steve's face. "I'm so happy that you're happy. It'll keep getting better, I'll make sure of it."

"I wish it could just be like this all the time." The feelings you never talk about spilling out of your mouth. "Life could be so good, and I really love it sometimes. I just don't know how to not take what other people do to me personally. You and Bucky are so good at that."

"You're good at everything you do, and life is about to get so much better for you, sweet girl. I promise."

"I'm trying really hard to believe you." You smiled. "I probably sound sad, but I'm happy right now. 'M always happy when I'm with you."

"You can stay with me however long you want, I'm happy with you too." He squeezed your shoulder.

"How did you guys plan such an elaborate event when nobody even knew if I would agree to be an avenger or if I would even be back at the compound today?" You asked.

"We used magic and our intuition" He said with a smile.

"You are so magical" Your alcohol influenced mind marveled. "And who in my family have you been communicating with because that's so magical"

"Your sister and your mom" Steve giggled at your question. "Your family is very nice and really fun to be around."

"Did my dad tell you embarrassing stories about me?"

"Surprisingly, no he didn't."

"Good, good. Let's keep it that way."

Closing your eyes, you let the wine and Steve's body heat relax all your muscles and wash the tension away. Unsure of how long you had actually been there, there was a point in which you could feel Steve shift to look at an approaching person.

An uncontrollable laugh escaped your intoxicated mind as whoever Steve was looking at sat on the other side of you and snuggled into your body the same way you were snuggled up to Steve, but for some reason you still didn't want to open your eyes.

"Wow, this is lovely" The voice said. It sounded like Sam, but you couldn't be too sure.

"Hey, I want in on this too" Sounded loudly from far away. Footsteps came running, and Maria plopped onto Sam's lap sideways. She kicked her legs over your and Steve's laps.

Slowly but surely, more Avengers, family and friends ended up under the gazebo with you and Steve. The cuddle pile grew with Scott and Nat, and lasted longer than it probably should've.

You were fed enough food by pretty much everyone while you all drunkenly told stories and laughed so hard that your stomach hurt that you eventually sobered up.

Once you were sober again, you realized just how fast time had flown by and were sad to hug your parents goodbye. You're pretty sure your mom hugged and your dad fist-bumped nearly every single person at the event, but that was neither here nor there.

Eventually everyone said goodbye, and by the time you got back into Steve's car it was already almost midnight. And by the time you got home and into Steve's bed, all of your energy was more than depleted. Social battery was in the negative, but you felt like you had been plugged into a high speed charger when he got under the covers next to you.

"How are you feeling?" That seemed to be everyone's favorite question to ask you.

"I kind've feel like you right now" With your eyes closed, your laid on your back with one arm above your head and the other resting over your hoodie on top of your belly.

Steve giggled "what is that supposed to mean?"

"I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"Any particular reason why?"

"I ate too much, drank too much wine. I'm bloated but happy so it's a small price to pay." You explained.

"Well if you're going to throw up, aim in that direction" Steve smiled and pointed in the opposite direction of himself. "Are you still drunk? Do you need some water?"

"No I'm not, I'm okay" Your smile barely ghosted your lips. "Just need some sleep."

Steve reached over and pulled some blankets over your frame before poking your cheek. "Remember what you promised me earlier?"

Your eyes opened to look at him. "I feel better, really. I do."

Steve sighed. "You don't even want to talk about it?"

"What is there to say?" You questioned. "All the same shit, different day. There's nothing I can do about that anymore."

"When this all first started, you were getting sent to my office nearly every day for fighting back, but tonight you kind've froze up. Why?"

"I wasn't expecting anyone to do that to me when I was with you." You answered. "But it's done now, it's fine."

"We both know it's not done" Steve's face softened. "And avoiding it doesn't make it go away."

"Would you like me to rewind time and kick him in the balls instead?"

"No, I just want you to know you can talk to me." Steve emphasized.

"I'm pissed off." You admitted. "I'm always in a state of being angry that this is the environment that I have to learn to thrive in every day, but I've also reached a state of emotional exhaustion that makes me feel like I have no room left to be even more angry than I already am. I've hit max capacity, so I'm choosing to stay as calm as I can because out of all the kicks and punches I've thrown, none of them have worked before. I have no reason to believe it'll work now."

“It's not fair." Steve huffed like kid.

"It never has been." You agreed with a shrug. "But you don't need to hold onto that anger for me. I'm trying to let go of it and move on."

"I'll let go of my anger in the form of making change." Steve told you, now feeling brave enough to pull you close to him.

You snuggled up close, your head on his bicep and your arm holding him gently. "I'm an avenger now. That's all the change I know how to make at the moment."

"I'm so proud of you" he practically whispered. "But I've never met anyone like you before."

"You really need to work on providing context before sentences that might hurt my feelings"

Steve chuckled at your bluntness. "You're telling me that you're happy, but you're also telling me that you're sad. Both of those statements feel genuine, so I don't really know where your mind is."

"Well then imagine how complex and confusing it is to be me" You emphasized. "Never in my whole life have I felt more alone while also feeling more loved than ever. I'm happy and sad, I just accomplished something most people never will by becoming an avenger yet I've also never felt more like a loser. This is the first time I've ever been relentlessly bullied but it's also the first time I've ever been a superhero so I guess the juxtaposition of my emotions is just turning my brain into scrambled eggs."

"Have you tried compartmentalization?" Steve offered with a grain of salt.

"I tried that once, I think I created too many emotional categories and got overwhelmed." You smiled. "But I'm a Gemini, so these complexities have been written in the stars for me since the moment I was brought onto the earth. I think I was born for the very purpose of the universe testing to see if overwhelming contradictory emotions could physically kill a human being."

"One of my greater purposes in life is to protect people against the things that could kill them, so you're in good hands right now." Steve slowly rubbed your back. "Overwhelm will not be your cause of death. Actually, nothing will be. I'm trying to convince Banner to make clones of us to be kept in cryofreeze that way when we die of old age, new versions of us can just be thawed out so we can be best friends forever."

"Spoken like a true cancer" You laughed, patting his chest. "Did I uphold my end of the promise?"

"We can call it even, but I'll always be concerned"

"Even Stevens!" You sleepily enthused.

"Are you rhyming or was that a reference to something?" You could hear his amusement.

"Both, you're a little too old to understand that one."

"That's really rude" Steve faked offense.

"Thanks for coming to my rescue, Twinkles. I know you think you didn't do much, but it means a lot to me when I know I have someone on my team."

"I'll always be on your team, you've always been worth the fight." Steve reminded you.

Those words comforted you enough to ignore your very full stomach and fall into a deep sleep in the hold of your favorite soldier's big protective arms. Unfortunately the universe loved to hate you, because you only got your share of the superhero until about 4am when his phone started ringing effectively waking both of you up.

A few curse words slipped out of his mouth in complaint before he reached for his phone and answered it. You didn't pay much attention to the phone call itself, but you did find it within your lack of consciousness to move nearly your entire body onto his in attempt to keep him forever. Snuggling into him belly to belly, his hand found the back of your head and played with your hair as you slipped in and out of sleep.

By the time the phone call ended, you had effectively caged him between the mattress and your body. Realizing what you had done, Steve's cheeks burned as he let out a sigh.

"You can't go." You sleepily mumbled.

"You and I both know I don't really have any say in that." Steve reminded you apologetically.

"Says who? We all have free will."

"Unfortunately, the president of the United States. Apparently he requested to meet me for an urgent conversation about something that's happening somewhere." Steve explained.

"Damnit." You yawned. "I think the president has me beat in importance."

"I think the two of you are pretty equal in importance." Steve pondered. "The only difference is that people might die if I don't get out of bed."

"My soul will die if you get up, but it's fine, I understand." You joked dramatically.

"You're making it very hard for me" Steve complained, wrapping his arms around your back and squeezing you gently.

"If you're hard that's all the more reason to stay in bed." You joked, knowing damn well Steve wouldn't take a naughty joke like that very well.

And you were right, because the gasp that left his mouth was immediate and visceral. You didn't need to look at his face to know his cheeks were flushed pink and red hot. Your laugh was also pretty immediate and visceral as he used his body to flip you over onto the bed and propped himself up on his arm to lean over you. Pointing a finger at you like a dog, he had one word to say. "Bad!"

You laughed even harder as he shook his head at you. "I'm going to get up and get ready to meet the president, you stay here and think about what you just said."

Laying in bed alone, Steve eventually came to say goodbye to you. It was always sad to let each other go, but also an often occurrence. But this time he was hesitant to leave, of course you both knew why. Last night wouldn't be a one time event, but he encouraged you to stay close to Bucky, Nat and Sam as often as you could, and emphasized that there would be no timeline to his departure so he didn't know when he would be back. He also made it clear that should you need to defend yourself, you should do so with no hesitation.

Luckily, all was pretty smooth for a while. Your friendship with Nat bloomed faster than you'd ever expect it would, so for the first week Steve was gone the two of you were practically attached at the hip. Nat and Bucky spent a whole day helping you move from your old apartment up into the Avengers sector. Though it felt a bit pointless moving within the same building, the team felt better about keeping a protective eye on you when you weren't floors away from them. It was a nice change of pace to have a sense of community around you again.

The second week that Steve was gone, you tried to focus on building individual friendships with the team members outside of your little social circle. Your therapist also encouraged you to try and be brave enough to walk through the compound with a confident attitude so nobody would fuck with you, so you tried a few times on your own, a few times were nothing more than anxiety inducing, and a few times got you confronted with hostility which lead to 3 more agents getting fired by Natasha.

By the third week you finally got a phone call from Steve. It was nice to hear his voice and catch up and hear about what he had been up to for all this time, and it was especially nice to hear that he was wrapping up his work and he would be home soon. That same day you got to visit Jane and Luca over lunch at one of your favorite restaurants, then they helped you pick out a few new things for your new apartment.

Most kids acted as if a home store was cruel and unusual, but Luca was very opinionated about rugs and throw pillows. He even convinced you to get a new pair of sneakers at the clothing store he wanted to go to across the street from the compound.

Lots of therapy, lots of solo workouts, lots of team building, you were starting to feel mentally and physically stronger.

Strong enough to keep walking alone, and pushing forward no matter how hard it was.

When Steve landed on the runway after 3 whole weeks and a handful of days of being gone, he was so relieved to be back home. Without even making it off the jet he was already fantasizing about shaving the beard he unintentionally grew after forgetting his razor at home, a long shower and a long nap since it was only early in the afternoon and definitely not bedtime yet.

His fantasies continued as he stepped off the jet and into the building. Now he knew he wanted to see you before he knocked out for that nap he desperately needed. There would be some snacks at some point, and definitely no pants after the got out of the shower.

The sound of his boots on the sleek floor actually brought him joy knowing each step was one closer to you.

Like most fantasies, what he hoped and dreamed of was far from reality. Especially when a loud alarm sounded in the sector of the compound he was headed towards.

Stopping in his tracks and cringing at the sound, he waited for the code and location to be called out before springing into action. It could've been as simple as a knocked over vial in the lab, or complex as an invasion of an enemy. But when the code called out for aggressive physical conflict in the gym, Steve's heart sank and he started running as fast as he could.

He didn't want to believe it was you, but he couldn't be naive either. His racing heart and even faster legs carried him there faster than anyone else could. As he entered the doorway into the compound gym, he could hear the footsteps of a few sets of feet trailing behind him, but waiting for others arrival wouldn't slow him down.

Especially not when he entered the gym and it was completely empty besides two people, his heart sank even further when he recognized it was you, and the number on the back of the uniform of the other person was 212. Harvey.

No less than a billion racing thoughts came sped through Steve's mind, and none of the billion came together to form any good ideas. He swore all he saw was a blinding white and all he heard was his own heart beat in his ears as he sprinted through the equipment to get to where the altercation was happening.

The two of you looked like a cartoon before he went into fully protective mode. As he weaved through punching bags and stair climbers, he couldn't pick out where your body started and Harvey's ended. There might as well have been a big dust cloud around you, with puffs of air pluming out.

The consequences of putting himself in the middle of a fight wasn't even a thought in Steve's mind as he jumped over a treadmill and wrapped his arms around your waist from behind and tried to pull you backwards, far away from Harvey.

Unfortunately, you were a little too preoccupied trying to save your own life to notice the alarm was sounding or that anyone was coming to save you, let alone Steve who you didn't even know was home yet. Assuming it was another attacker, one of Harvey's buddies helping him take you down, you forcefully thrashed and kicked yourself out of the Steve's grip. Adrenaline clouded your judgement, flight was nowhere to be seen as fight took over your every thought, you turned around and swung your fist right at him to earn yourself more time to knock Harvey down. You know you made pretty harsh contact considering there was a shooting pain buzzing through your knuckles, but at this point there was pain jolting through nearly every part of your body, so this wasn't going to slow you down.

Still not realizing what you had done, you watched Natasha sprint into the room and full body tackle Harvey to the ground, followed by a few other commanding officers, Sam, and Bucky. Trusting their ability to deal with Harvey and not let him touch you again, you turned back around to deal with whoever else was.

Fist balled, ready for a second swing, you looked up at the targets face, and devastation immediately took over the whole of your emotions. Steve blocked your punch and caught your wrist mid swing.

"Hey hey hey, it's me. It's just me" Steve frantically tried to get you to stop.

"Oh my god" You whispered to yourself as you realized you punched Steve right on his cheekbone, hard enough a bruise was already forming.

He watched you come to the realization of what you had done, your wrist was shaking in his hand, even more so as he loosened his grip and gently placed your arm down to your side.

You looked battered and bruised, but when he looked back at Harvey, it was clear that you had won this fight.

Looking at your wide eyes, he could tell you were in shock, and coming down from the copious amount of adrenaline coursing through your veins. He knew all too well what that felt like. Guilt, shame, the full effects of pain from the injuries sustained, the tremors and how weak your knees and thighs would get. He's been in your position far too many times before, he knew it was the worst feeling in the world.

Especially when your cheek was oozing blood, your arms were scraped up and bruised. Steve could tell the fight started with an unfair advantage.

Then, tears started pooling in your eyes as you looked at Steve's face and you opened your mouth but no words would come out.

"It's okay." Steve told you, very slowly reaching out to put his hands on your shoulders trying to snap your brain out of fight mode. "You're okay."

A tear fell down your cheek and your eyebrows furrowed before you muttered a quiet. "I'm so sorry."

"You didn't know" Steve shook his head. "You were just trying to protect yourself. You're okay, buggy."

You looked over your shoulder and saw Harvey on the ground. His face was a lot bloodier than yours. With eyes swollen shut and his nose definitely not in its usual form, you felt like a monster.

A sob escaped your throat, and your shaky hand flew up to cover your mouth before your eyes squeezed shut. "What did I do?"

"Everything is going to be fine." Steve reminded you, pulling your attention back to him.

His bruised face only made your sobs escape faster and your heart pound even faster. "I'm so sorry, Steve, I-I didn't mean to. I didn't know it was you."

"I know you didn't, you didn't even know I was home." Steve reasoned with you. "It's okay, just take some deep breaths for me."

You shook your head, still panting from the physical exertion. "I can't."

"You can't?" He questioned.

"I have to go." You took a big step backwards, Steve's arms fell back to his sides.

More concern than Steve ever thought was humanly possible took over his mind. "Where do you need to go?"

"I don't know." You sobbed. "I just need to go. I'm sorry"

Another two scared steps backwards, then you bolted out of the gym. Steve started making strides towards you, fully prepared to follow you but Sam approached him and stuck his arm out.

"You have to let her go on her own." Hand flat to Steve's chest, he stopped him. "She needs time to calm down and come to terms with what just happened. Trust that if she needs something, she will call you."

Steve's shoulders deflated. He wanted to go help, convince you to see a medic and have an emergency meeting with your therapist, but he also knew Sam was probably right.

With a big deep breath, Steve assessed the state of the gym. Realizing one of the treadmills was still on and going, he reached over the machine to stop it. Then a few commands slipped through his mouth while trying to organize his own brain.

He needed the security camera footage of the incident, he needed the alarm to stop, he needed a lab clean up crew to get rid of all the blood on the gym floor, and he needed Harvey handcuffed to the hospital bed he was bound to end up in. He was too tired to do any of that on his own, but luckily others were eager to get this taken care of too.

Just as he was no longer needed, Bucky approached and squeezed his shoulder.

"What's that thing on your face?" Bucky's nose scrunched up.

"She got me on accid-"

"I'm not talking about the bruise. I didn't even know you were capable of growing a beard" Bucky commented.

Narrowing his eyes, Steve glared at Bucky. "I forgot my razor."

"Respectfully," Bucky stated looking him up and down. "You look like shit, Pal."

"Thanks, Buck." Steve sarcastically smiled. He knew he looked disheveled and tired.

"Really, I think 66 more years of sleep would look good on you." He backhandedly tapped Steve's chest. "Go take a nap."

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep after she ran off like that." Steve sighed.

"We'll take care of her." Bucky reassured him. "We can always wake you up if need be, but her and Nat have grown really close. She has a lot of people in her court."

After about 10 more minutes of arguing with Bucky, he decided to just let him win under the conditions that he would keep him updated when he found out any new information.

Steve showered, shaved, and put on sweatpants and a shirt before getting into bed. He didn't want to wear pants, but he did it for your sake, just in case you came to find him. Realizing it had been about an hour since the incident, he tried calling you just to see if you would pick up, but he wasn't shocked when you didn't. So he sent you a text letting you know he was here for you when you were ready, then tried his hardest to get his mind to calm down enough to fall asleep.

It took an unfortunately short amount of time, as the second he laid down sleep hit him harder than your fist against his face, and he knocked out for so long that he woke up to the sound of his phone ringing, and it was now pitched black in his bedroom.

"Hello?" Steve mumbled into his phone.

"Jesus Christ, good morning sleeping beauty." Bucky said.

"Weren't you the one who told me to get some sleep?" Steve poked.

"Not important, glad you're back from the dead. I have some updates for you. Are you awake enough to process the words I'm speaking to you"

“I will be once I'm filled with rage over this situation again. What's up?"

"The security footage was recovered and I finally got to see it. It's enough evidence to land Harvey in jail for assault, so that's what Natasha is currently perusing."

Steve sat up in bed and reached for the lamp on the bedside table, blinking his eyes to adjust as it clicked on. "What happened?"

"She was alone in the gym, running on the treadmill and minding her own business. 212 saw her in there on her own, snuck in through the back door and yanked her off the treadmill. Her foot slipped off the end of the machine so he pushed her forward and scraped her face and arms against the moving belt, which is why she was bleeding. He was screaming some things at her but none of it is very clear. He tried kicking her a few times but she was able to get up and try to push him off of her, he persisted and she got fed up after he managed to get a swing at her collar bone and kicked her chin. She just... started swinging at him and didn't stop until you and Nat got them away from each other." Bucky explained.

"If this video can get him in jail, that would be great. But it can't be used if it's incriminating against her. We can't have that happen." Steve sighed.

"If anything, it's proof of self defense. You know Nat would never let anything bad happen to her. None of us would." Bucky reminded Steve. "It looked really painful on her end though. She ended up going to medical, but they released her a couple hours ago. JARVIS is telling me she's hanging out on the roof."

"Think I should go up there?" Steve asked, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, already knowing the answer.

"Well I don't necessarily think she should be alone for much longer."

"I'll talk to you later then."

The call ended and Steve stood in front of the mirror to fix his hair, while trying his hardest to ignore how tender and swollen his cheek was now. Before making it up to the private roof access, Bucky sent him the video and it took everything out of him to not kill Harvey with his own two hands. But a deep breathing exercise helped him regulate his anger again.

When he got up there and made it to the top, he saw you laying beneath the stars on a blanket with your headphones on, quietly crying to yourself and hoping that the moon understood your pain.

You noticed Steve immediately, and took your headphones off before sitting up as he quietly sat down next you. Trying your hardest to be brave, your lip wobbled trying to contain the new wave of emotion you felt. No words needed to be exchanged as you gently reached up and cupped his bruised cheek into your palm. There was a physical pain blossoming in your chest as he wrapped you up into his arms, but butterflies fluttered in his stomach as you let one of your arms keep him close, and your hand stayed over his cheek.

You cried tucked into his neck for a little while as he rubbed your back and simply let you feel your feelings. After a little while he heard your small broken voice.

"I'm so sorry." You apologized again, bravely pulling away and moving your hand to inspect the damage you did to his face. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"It's okay, Bugs. I'm fine. It was a dumb move on my part to grab you like that, if I was you I would've punched me too." Steve responded sincerely, taking in the burn-like scabs on your face down near your jaw. "Are you okay?"

"Could've been a lot worse." You nodded with a sniffle, really trying to convince yourself that you were okay. "I don't remember what happened, it all happened so fast I can't even recall specifics. I got scared and didn't want to hurt anyone else so I ran. I'm still trying to come down from that."

"I saw footage from the security camera, it wasn't good, Bug." Steve broke the news to you softly. "You did what you needed to do, and it was all within reason. There mere fact that you walked away with a few scrapes and bruises is a miracle."

"Did he sneak up on me?" You asked, Steve simply nodded in return with a sympathetic look on his face. "That's what I thought must've happened, that's also probably why I punched you so hard."

"If you need to see the video to help you process, I'll show it to you. But right now, I think it's best to just try and wind down."

In agreement, you made yourself comfortable next to Steve. You sat sideways nearly on his lap, with your legs thrown over his. His arm pulled you into his torso, and you rested your head onto your shoulder. Steve noticed your tiny winces as you adjusted to the new found pain and soreness in your body, but he tried his best to avoid all the spots he knew were injured.

“You saw a doctor right? Is everything okay?" He questioned, genuinely concerned.

You nodded. "Everything is pretty surface level, but apparently being slammed onto some heady gym equipment can bruise a rib."

"Bruised ribs are so painful" Steve's face scrunched up. "You're one tough cookie."

"I'm sorry this is what you came home to after being away for so long."

Steve was looking at you, admiring the way you looked under the moonlight, yet you couldn't keep your eyes off the stars. "I wish you didn't feel the need to apologize for things that aren't your fault."

"I'm working on that, and I don't anymore for most people. But for you? A million apologies wouldn't be enough. You're too sweet for this kind of nonsense."

"You are too, but out of all people you should know that I understand." Steve stressed. "In a lot of ways, we're very similar, Bug. I know what it feels like to be in the position you're in right now. You don't need to explain anything or apologize to me. I get it."

You tried to understand his words, but you really didn't. For a moment, you almost got upset with him for implying that anyone would treat him the way you've been treated around the compound. Steve was one of the most respected people in the world, you could barely earn the respect of a new hire agent. "I don't see anyone rushing to try and physically harm you for going on a run." You wiped tears from under your eyes.

"No, maybe not here." Steve agreed with you. "But way back when I first got the serum, I struggled really hard to earn respect from anyone around me."

"I have to admit, it's hard to imagine anyone disrespecting you."

Steve grinned and carefully brushed a few stray strands of hair away from your eyes. "I went from a 90 pound asthmatic who didn't have the strength to complete one push up to a human science experiment. I proved myself the very moment after I got the serum and it still wasn't enough for a lot of people. Thats why I was paraded around on that USO tour for so long, nobody thought I could handle fighting a war."

"You looked really cute in those booty shorts" you sniffled.

Steve chuckled at your statement. "Stop making me laugh when I'm trying to teach you a valuable lesson."

"I'd rather jump off this roof than not make you laugh" you smiled despite the contradictory tears.

"The point of this conversation is actually to make sure you don't jump off the roof." Steve informed you.

Your eyes moved from the stars to his eyes, they were both as equally beautiful and bright. "Is that what you're worried about? I would never-"

"Quite honestly, yeah, I am." He cautiously continued with a slight nod. "We see a more on a daily basis than anyone should see in their whole life, that alone is grounds for struggle but when you factor in everything else, I don't think that concern is far off."

Your tears fell faster at his statement. As a sad sob slipped past your throat and your eyes found the sky once more, Steve's heart broke knowing he hit the nail on the head. He also knew you wouldn't open up if you felt defensive about it, so he needed to take the scenic route to get you there.

"What's your favorite part about the stars?" Steve asked. "You seem to love looking at the sky when you're sad."

"Looking for constellations helps me stay calm and get out of my head" You explain with a sniffle. "They're hard to see in the city but it's better here upstate."

Steve looked up. "It's amazing to me that you can find constellations. All I see is each individual star."

You pointed at the brightest light. "That's Saturn, and these stars right below it make up the Aquarius constellation."

"It's crazy that the universe is so vast."

"That's another reason why I like the stars so much. With so much happening out there, it's a good reminder that everything down here is so tiny and insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe. Sometimes that makes me feel like I can keep going strong, like one day none of this will even matter."

"You really believe in astrology? I go back and forth. The stars are so far away, I struggle to understand how they can control so much of who we are." Steve pondered.

"I do believe in it." You nodded. "The moon controls our oceans, the tide is physical proof. Our bodies are made up of 60% water, and all of the other elements we're made up of were formed in the stars over the course of billions of years. It's hard for me to believe they don't have a say in what's going on down here."

"I've never thought of it that way." Steve grinned. "It's really magical when you put it like that."

"Maybe you're made up of more stardust than the average human considering your eyes seem to twinkle like they're already up in space." You noted. "It's magical, but it's also equally devastating to feel like the bad parts of your life are written into the stars."

"We need the not so great stuff to help us understand how amazing the good stuff is. Can't see the stars if the sun is out." For some reason, his perspective brought you comfort. It felt like the hug he kept you wrapped up in. "Maybe that's always why I've thought so highly of you. Despite the darkness you've continued to show excellence, and shine brighter than the rest."

"Then maybe I'm a supernova because sometimes I really do feel like I'm going to explode." You giggled at your own realization.

"Even then you'd still shine a million times brighter than the sun!" Steve enthused, big smile on his face. "But don't explode, black holes are terrifying."

"I won't. That's why I came up here. Avengers only access, don't have to worry about anybody else or the damn sprinklers."

"When I was in the Army, drawing was my version of looking at the stars. It was the only way I could really get my mind to quiet down." Steve explained. "Back then, I was miserable. All the army men hated me, I had recently lost my mom, and I thought I killed Bucky. The war was so horrific I didn't think I'd ever be able to recover from what I had to do or what I had to see, and I felt even worse for the innocent lives taken in the whole ordeal. So, when I knew that I could end it... I did."

"You're a hero because of it." You agreed, feeling a bit confused by his words.

"No, you don't understand." Steve denied. "The plane crash that got me stuck in the ice? I could've gotten out. There was a chance for me to jump out of the plane, but I didn't. I didn't see the point."

Your heart sank at the implication of what he was confessing to you, and all it wanted to make you do is just hold him tight and weep forever. But you knew that wasn't the point, you knew you just needed to keep listening.

"I can't say that I regret it, because had that never happened I would've never gotten to enjoy living a life I never imagined, and I would've never met you, or the Avengers." He explained. "But it made my life far more complicated, and at least once a day I imagine what my life would've been like had I just gotten myself to safety, and that imagining- the 'what's ifs?' is something I'd never wish upon anyone. I do know how you feel, and much like you know the moon controls the ocean, I know things will get better. All you need to do is believe it."

Your eyes momentarily squeezed shut to rid them of the tears blurring your vision. They dripped down your cheeks as you shook your head, and his brave vulnerability made you realize that you always loved him, but in this moment you had fully and irrevocably had fallen for him. It was as if there was no more questions in your mind, you couldn't even understand anymore why you hadn't been with him way before this whole mess. It consumed every single one of your emotions, you simply couldn't ignore it anymore.

"I would never, Rogers, never." You confirmed with a cry. "I can't lie, I've been pushed to thinking about it, but it made me realize that I couldn't do that to you, my parents, Luca. Nobody. I love you so much, and I really hate to hear that, but I'm really glad you're here."

"Maybe this is what was written in the stars." Steve reached his hand up and used his thumb to gently swipe tears off your cheeks. "Maybe all of this was meant to happen so that this moment, right now could teach you that no matter what happens, you'll always have people to catch you at the bottom should you feel like you have nowhere else to go."

"Or maybe the lesson is that the idea of our existences happening at the same time is so unlikely that we have no choice but to listen to the universe." You said quietly, almost coming to that realization in real time. "Maybe you were always meant to be mine."

Steve's heart nearly pounded out of his chest as you spoke those words, then, as you looked up at him and closed the distance between your lips, he felt like a supernova too. He was burning hotter and brighter than ever before when your soft lips connected to his, his chest was mere seconds away from exploding when you pulled away to examine his shocked face.

Trying to process what had just happened, the sound of your giggles at his twinkling eyes and blushed cheeks grounded him and pulled him right back down to earth.

"Wait hold on..." Steve clutched his chest.

"Are you going to throw up?" You asked, wiping the last of your tears off your face as your smile took over.

"I think I need to sit down." He stated, finally making eye contact with you.

Your laugh boomed once again. "You're already sitting!"

"Okay, then I need to lay down." He said, readjusting to lay down on your blanket.

Your smile persisted as you laid down next to him. Shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, your hands intertwined. "This is better than you throwing up."

"Wait..." Steve spoke, looking up at the moon.

You turned your head to look at him. "What?"

"Again" He insisted, turning his head towards you too.

It took a lot of effort to contain your smile enough to kiss him, but you did, and it felt just as right as the first time. Keeping it short and sweet, it didn't take long for Steve to point to the stars.

"I like these bitches, they're being very nice to me right now" He smiled.

Admitting to how hard you laughed at his statement would simply be too embarrassing, but it was hard enough to yell at him for further irritating your bruised rib. "Now you can't get mad at me for calling you Twinkles."

"You can call me whatever you want, Love Bug."

Butterflies in your stomach erupted in flutters at his choice of nickname. "A cancer and a Gemini, who would've thought?"

Steve shrugged. "It works."

"What now?" You asked with a sigh, you didn't know if you were asking Steve or the stars.

"You fight your ass off in a trial against Harvey, you help us out in an investigation on him and everyone that's been tormenting you, you continue doing what you're amazing at, and you keep that beautiful smile on your face because all of this is about to change." Steve explained. "This was the fuel we needed to start a fire around the compound. It's enough to light the whole place up and change the status quo. By the end of it, it's going to improve the lives of every agent in the program, that's my vow to you."

All his words sounded appealing and genuine enough to believe them.

"Pinky promise?" You raised your pinky on the hand that wasn't already holding his.

"Pinky promise" He connected his pinky with yours, then kissed the back of his hand... then your forehead... then your lips.

He knew confidently, now more than ever, that his love for you transcended time and space. The laws of life, love, nature, and even the stars never applied to the connection you two shared.

Maybe it was fate, or maybe it was coincidence that the boy born in 1918 had a chance to fall so deeply in love with a girl who didn't live in the same era as him.

Or maybe everything did happen for a reason. Maybe your life was already mapped out in the stars, and all you had to do was find the right constellations.

You would always have infinite questions about the intricacies of the universe, but out of all the answers you are confident in, you knew two things for certain.

Steve was your North Star. So long as you had him to guide you, you always knew you'd be on the correct path. You'd always get where you needed to go, and he would always be there for you regardless of what season of life you were in.

He was your star crossed lover.

Next Part: Promotion

Taglist: @saranghaey @firephotogrl74 @selella @talesofadragon @ss28 @nekoannie-chan @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @spikeluv84 @crazyunsexycool @callmissrogers @xxxalicerogersxx @whore-for-chris-evans @em8rin @mulbsstuff @qalijahbydior @awkotaco24 @buckybarnessimpp @nicoline1998enilocin @buckystevelove @rogersbarber @mybuck @dbnightingale24 @ynstark @sincerelytlh @alexakeyloveloki @mrsevans90 @smhnxdiii @claralovescaptainamerica @hisredheadedgoddess28 @bigtreefest @whiskeytangofoxtrot555

113 notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 4 days

Text

This shirt ❤️

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers Avengers: Age of Ultron

143 notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 5 days

Text

“The devil had once been an angel, after all, and this man was ready to make you sin for him… and you were ready to comply.”

Oh my damn, @targaryenvampireslayer, this is fucking good!

𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐒𝐭��𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨…

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟑𝟗𝟔𝟎

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐒𝐦𝐮𝐭! 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐃𝐨𝐦!𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞. 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐱, 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡, 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐖𝐏, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝟏𝟖+ 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔.

𝐀/𝐍: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠, 𝐈 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟏𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎.

𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 @whimsicalrogers

𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 @maysdigitalarts

𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐧 <𝟑

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 @musingsinmoonlightlibrary 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬.

It was dark in the club, low blue lights and a smokey haze making the space almost ethereal. Bodies move together, shouts and yells were lost in the deep bass of the music, and skin gleamed from glitter, from makeup, and the sweat of the wild dancing that was occurring with crazy abandon.

You hadn’t been to a club in so long, but it was your birthday, you were newly single and, well… why not?

People danced with you - total strangers. Men, women, both, neither. It didn’t matter to you, all that mattered is that you felt good. You knew you looked great - your credit card had made sure you could afford to look as fuckable as humanly possible. Now, it was just a game to play. Dance and smile with everyone, stick to drinking bottled water, and find that perfect someone to drag home and kill the self imposed abstinence with.

So far no one had caught your eye, which didn’t bother you as much as you had assumed it might, it just felt good to be out, to be a face in the crowd, and to dance the sour taste of a useless ex out of your mouth.

Hands on your hips stop your thoughts about the breakup you had endured, and you spin to face the person who wilfully put their hands on you… and your jaw drops open.

Tall. Blonde hair. Possibly blue eyes. Shoulders wide enough to get stuck in doorways…

You blink at the man, and attempt a smile. He smiles back - lips visibly pink even buried amongst the scruff of his beard - and mouths a greeting at you,

“Hey stranger.” He’s still holding your hips, and you’ve unconsciously wrapped your arms around the back of his neck. The music is fast, but you’re happy to dance this one slow. You sway your hips against his, push yourself as close as possible to him, and mouth back,

“Hey yourself.”

He leans forward, speaks directly into your ear, “You gotta name?” his beard rubbed against the shell of your ear, immediately aking goosebumps erupt across your skin, and you’re suddenly desperate to find out how much better it will feel against other places. His voice is deep, even over the bass it’s rumble can be felt all the way down in your belly. You close your eyes and return the gesture, turning your face to his neck and pressing your own lips against his ear,

“Do we need names for this? Tell me if I’m wrong.” You know what you’re asking. You’re only in this for a night, you came alone and whilst you’re happy to leave with him, it won’t be permanent. Thankfully your new friend looks relieved - almost too relieved but you don’t dwell on that - and grins smugly at you,

“No names. You wanna get out of here?”

The Uber ride home is the good kind of tense, filled with silences that spoke volumes, looks that promised all kinds of pleasure, and his low timbered voice lilting to you from across the seat.

The man was so hot you felt you could combust just from a look at those large hands rubbing against the denim of his jeans suggestively. His thighs were huge, stretching the abilities of the dark and coarse material to its limits. You lick your lips and chance a look into those pretty sea blue eyes, feeling the weight of his hungry gaze like a physical caress,

“So… come to that club often?” You don’t know why you say it, and you cringe a little when the Uber drivers tuneless humming falters. The man grins slowly at you, it’s like looking at a wolf smiling at prey… he’s hungry and he’s going to make you love how well he devours you.

“I try to stay out of New York, but when I do…” again, his eyes rove over you, and he raises a hand to rub his fingers over his lips, “I’m not usually one for clubs, my friends would laugh at me if they heard I was there.” It’s not an entirely odd thing to say - you had your own friends who thought that clubbing was out-dated for someone of your age, that was why you had come on your own.

Apparently the hot man and you had at least one thing in common.

“I don’t usually. Go to clubs, I mean. At all. I mean-” he’s looking at you, moving closer, smelling like mint and something woodsy… he’s so close, he’s so warm… all your senses are engulfed by him and your poor attempt to explain yourself is ruined.

But you try, anyway.

“I just ummm… wanted to go to a club. For a change.”

Nailed it.

The man cages you against the door, completely ignoring the driver who grumbles about drunk clubbers ignoring road safety, and murmurs against your lips,

“I don’t care why you were there… just that you’re going to thank god by the time this night is over, sweetheart.”

You’re not sure if you’re relieved or enraged when the driver pulls up outside of your building and politely demands you both get out and to also leave a good review. You both stumble out after paying the man, and you quickly get you both inside and into the elevator. He holds your hand during the ride up to your apartment, rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand in a surprisingly soothing gesture. You look at him, marvelling at how gorgeous he really is in the brighter lighting.

There’s something vaguely familiar about him…

“You sure you’re okay with this?” He asks, faint concern etched onto his face at your close scrutiny, “I can get a cab or…”

“No!” You’re quick - perhaps a little too quick - to stop him from leaving, and shake your head desperately, “No, please come up. I just… you’re really fucking hot.” A pink flush stains his cheeks, and you grin at the way he suddenly ducks his eyes.

“Guess being hot is better than being cold, and I would know.”

“What?” You raise about eyebrow at him, but the ping of the opening elevator doors brings your attention back to where it really needs to be, and you all but drag him out and down the hallway to your apartment. The key trembles in your fingers, anticipation thickens the air and makes your heart race in the best way. You quickly grab the guy by the front of his shirt, bringing him close to you,

“What should I call you? I need something to scream.” That wolf like smirk crosses his face again, making your knees tremble,

“Call me… Grant. But I hope your mouth is going to be too busy to do much talkin’, doll face.”

You don’t know how you do it after that, but the key slides into the lock easily, you turn it, and you both fall into the dark apartment, lips finding each other desperately. He tastes like the edges of whiskey, deep, fiery, intoxicating and heady. Your head spins a little as he pushes you back further into your apartment and your back collides with the opposite wall, clattering the picture that hangs there. A gasp escapes your lips, but it segues into a moan when his mouth trails from your lips to your neck and you finally start to feel how good that beard burns,

“You okay? I didn’t hurt you?”

“No, this feels…” it feels amazing to be wanted this much that time is something to be devoured. That there are no lingering seconds and halting minutes that can be used to enjoy leisurely enjoy each other’s pleasure. There’s just the now, the present, the hot steel of his muscles as you pull at his shirt, and his strong fingers as they rip the seams of your dress right from your body.

His strength should scare you, at least make you second guess who it was you invited into your space, but the way he was thumbing your nipples and tonguing your pulse point left no words or coherent thoughts in your head. Your nails scratch over his stomach muscles, the way they jump under your touch causes the small inner muscles deep inside you to clench in need.

You’ve barely got a good look at the man half naked and you’re ready to fall to your knees for him, mouth salivating at the thought of what he was going to feel like everywhere. Apparently ‘Grant’ has the same idea as you, he grips your chin in one hand, your wrists in another, lays a bruising kiss on you and then pushes on your shoulder so you’re kneeling before him in just your panties and heels, your arms raised above your head. His blue eyes shine at you, the blonde in his hair glitters like a halo around his head, even in the dim lighting.

The devil had once been an angel, after all, and this man was ready to make you sin for him… and you were ready to comply.

“Open.” His command is deep, but laced with a tempting smile. His free hands pulls on the button of his jeans, and he just pushes them down far enough to get his cock free. Your mouth drops open at the sight - regardless of his demand of you. His cock is long, thick enough that you could already feel the burn he would give you, and leaking just a drop of pre cum at the tip. You swipe out your tongue to taste, and hum.

Bitter sugar. Nectar and salt.

There’s a muscle jumping in his jaw, his grip is almost white knuckled on the base of himself. You have a half formed thought that maybe it had been a long time for him too, when he pulls his hips away far enough your tongue can’t reach him, and then knocks the head of his cock against your cheek, leaving a small wet spot. He growls low in his throat, and you clench again, wetness pooling heavily in the gusset of your underwear,

“I said open. Stick your tongue out, doll face.” You do, eagerly, and his responding smile is dark, butterflies erupt at the sight of it, “Good girl.”

Then he thrusts inside your mouth, the hand that had an iron grip on himself goes to your cheek, holding your face steady and his thumb kept pressure to hold your jaw open for him. You relaxed your throat as much as possible, tried to breathe through your nose. He possessed you, engulfing you completely. There was no light but the needy shine in his eyes, no smell or taste that didn’t emanate from his pores, no person on planet earth that wasn’t this man…

“Good girl… good fucking girl… such a good mouth, look so pretty swallowing me like this.” The cords of muscle in his neck hypnotise you, they stand out in stark relief against the golden hue of his lightly tan skin. There’s a vague wonder if he’s been travelling, you notice that there are small tan lines around the base of his throat that show the sun never got to the skin of his (ridiculously impressive) chest… but then he’s let your wrists go, and holds your head in both large hands, fucking into your mouth with a firm strength.

“Use one hand on my dick and the other on my balls, rub ‘em, don’t squeeze, or I’ll spank you.” There’s sensual promise in his words. You don’t know this man, but you’re certain he would make good on the promise, make it hurt so good that you would want more. Spanking had never interested you before now… but the thought of being over his lap made yet another rush of heat run through you. You gave a small experimental squeeze, humming at the growl that came from him, and then did as asked.

It didn’t take long, you ran your tongue over his head, under the length of his shaft, and hollowed out your cheeks, sucking him greedily. His thrusts into your face got sloppier, harsher, and on a groan, he came. Hot and thick ropes shot down your throat, and you closed your eyes, breathing harshly through your nose so you could swallow without gagging.

As soon as you finished, Grant grabbed you back up, kissing you so quickly you barely had time to breathe, and then murmuring,

“That was beautiful, sweetheart. Think you deserve a reward for that.” He barely sounded winded, another thing that should’ve rung some alarm bells, but you didn’t get much of a chance to consider the fact his recovery time was apparently non existent, before he moved you over to the desk in the corner of the small living room, and promptly bent you face first over it. Your thighs trembled when you heard him move your wheely chair behind you, and sit down on it.

You could just make him out in the reflection of your computer screen, staring at your rounded out ass, and rubbing his hand thoughtfully over his beard. Your face felt hot enough to burn at the scruitiny, the feeling of his fingers reaching for the waistband of your panties solicited a barely vocal whimper to escape you.

God you wanted his mouth on you more than you wanted air to breathe.

The air reached your cunt a second later when your panties were swiftly pulled down and off your legs, casually thrown into the depths of your apartment. His hot breath swiftly cooled against your hot and wet lower lips. You jumped a little when his hands touched your cheeks, spreading you open for him, desire leaking from you and bringing a smile to his face.

“Well, don’t you just look good enough to eat, sweetheart.”

“Oh, god, I hope so!” You met his eyes in the reflection, and that was all it took, his mouth latched onto your cunt like a starving man, his tongue swirling swiftly around your clit and then plunging into your channel. You squirmed back against his mouth, wanting more, needing everything that he was going to give you. The fist push of two of his thick fingers into you made your back arch, a keen of sound escaping you, “Grant… oh my god-” He suddenly stood up and over you, keeping his fingers inside, rubbing and stroking your inner walls, finding that spot that made you see stars. His thumb swiped gently over the tight ring of muscle of your asshole. A gasp flew out of you… but the shock of sensation wasn’t bad. It was… kind of okay, actually.

“You ever been fucked back here, sweetheart?” When you shook you head quickly, but didn’t pull away, he pressed a little firmer, trailing circles over the skin, and never letting up on finger fucking you, “You want to be?” You can’t answer, not in words… it’s all too much, it’s not enough…

A fire is burning inside you, pressure building. Grant places a quick kiss to one cheek, presses his tongue against your back passage on a hum and a promise to come back to it later, and then flips you onto your back. His thumb goes to your clit, and he thrusts determinedly against your g-spot,

“Play with your tits for me, gorgeous. Let me see how pretty you are coming for me when you’re touching yourself.”

Oh god.

Your fingers tremble as you touch them to the pebbled buds of your nipples, and yet more pleasure spreads across your skin. It’s like cotton candy electricity - appearing from nowhere and covering your entire body in a matter of seconds. Grant is the one controlling it, the heat, the tempo, and the pleasure burns and spikes…

“Come for me, sweetheart,” he growls at you, leaning over you so his hair falls over his face, a golden cocoon to seal you in for his eyes only, “all over my hand.” A brush of his lips on yours, and that’s all it takes.

You cry his name out to the ceiling, your back arches off the hard surface of the desk, and for one stunning moment, you completely forget your own name under the onslaught of ecstasy that rips through you. You just barely hear the clatter of your shoes as Grant pulls them off, and moan when his fingers are pulled out of you. You can just make out a crinkling sound, and a second later - your cunt still clenching in aftershocks - he pushes his way into you in one quick thrust.

Another orgasm hits you out of the blue when his cock hits deep inside. He chuckles in your ear, mutters low words about how tight and hot you feel around him, before he gathers you in his arms and lifts you up. You legs automatically circle around his waist, and your arms constrict around the back of his neck in more than a little shock.

He’s still buried inside you when he starts walking you towards your bed. There’s a moment where you wonder when he got rid of his jeans and shoes, and a slightly longer second where you ponder just how strong this guy appears to be… but your foot taps his backside as he moves and your concentration is no longer on such unimportant matters of strength.

This guy’s ass could bounce pennies.

Your back hits the soft blankets on top of your mattress, and you quietly cringe at the fact that it was in complete disarray, and that the sheets probably needed cleaning… but Grant tilts your head back so he can kiss you.

There’s no space in between your bodies, his firm muscle presses deliciously into the softer curves of your own body. His tongue invades your mouth, tangling with yours. He starts pulling out of you, the length of him stretching enough to make your eyes roll back in your head. You plead for him to fuck you harder, quicker, but Grant takes his time. Shallow thrusts drive you to the brink of insanity, his hot tongue on your neck, across the slopes of your breasts, the peaks of your nipples, chased with the cool breath he blows across the saliva slick skin makes goosebumps set up home across the expanse of your skin.

Grant takes his time fucking you, completely at odds to how he was when you let him in to your apartment. It takes all night, but he has you in every way imaginable, every way that you missed and needed.

His large hands stretch your legs wide, and he ruts into you like an animal. He makes you sit on him, and ride him slow, holding the side of your head so you look into his eyes as he thumbs your clit with slow precision. His grip is firm when he fucks up into you hard enough that the mattress bounces off the wooden floor. He takes you from behind, pushing your face into your pillows, and then fucks you standing up against the wall.

Grant uses your mouth, your cunt, and - after discovering some lube in your bedside drawer - carefully fingers your ass before fucking you there too.

He’s rough with you, you know your skin will be tender with bruises. He’s soft with you, endorphins flood your system. He growls and he whispers, his palms caress as often as they playfully spank and smack and pinch. His kiss demands surrender, even as he holds you so tenderly…

Grant possesses you until the stars disappear, the moon lands on the other side of the horizon, and the birds begin to chirp.

The air is too hot, and it smells of sex and the cinnamon scent from the hidden bottle Grant had now emptied. Your sheets are ruined, and you have the vague thought that you should probably replace them… or burn them. But you’re too busy staring silently up at the man who was easing out of your arms and gathering up his clothes.

You couldn’t move, were pretty certain that you wouldn’t be able to walk for the foreseeable future… but you still reached out for him. Just the tiniest whine entered your voice,

“You can stay. If you want.” Sea blue eyes land on yours, as the low beginnings of sunlight hit his face. There’s a sadness there that you hadn’t expected… and a thrill of something that felt like recognition - but couldn’t be - went through you.

“I… I can’t. I’m sorry. I Uh… I had a great time though.” His face flushes at that, and he shoves his legs into his jeans. The muscles in his back move like poetry when he pulls his shirt on, and you sigh, nodding slightly,

“Yeah. Me too… thank you.” Sleep is dragging you under, and you have just the presence of mind to send a text to work to say you were too sick to come in before you start to let the pull of rest take you under.

Grant was going to make a great memory to keep in your dreams…

“It’s Steve… by the way.”

You snap your eyes open, staring at the man as he stands at your door, hand on the door handle. There’s something about the way he looks at you, shoulders thrust back, and gentle smile-

Oh shit.

“Maybe I’ll see you next year, birthday girl. Thank you.”

He leaves then, and you fall back on the bed, alone with the incomprehensible knowledge that you had just had the most debauched sex with Steve Rogers - Captain America. You look at your phone again…

Only three hundred and sixty four days until my next birthday…

Steve sighed when he left the building and saw Nat waiting for him, arms crossed and her white blonde hair pulled back with a black headband. She was in running clothes, but there was no scent of sweat on her - she was just blending in with the crowds out to run at this time of morning.

Judging by the wrinkle of her nose though - he certainly smelled, and definitely of more than just perspiration.

He rolled his eyes at the huff of impatience that escaped from Nat and handed her the drive that they had come to New York for in the first place.

“I was careful. The guy in the VIP section was too busy ogling the women to notice that I wasn’t really drunk when I stumbled into him and took it.” Steve tried to reassure his friend, to no avail. Nat didn’t say anything, hell, her face barely moved, but he knew she was annoyed at him.

But when he had seen you in that club… he couldn’t help himself. You were lost and alone, just like him. You wanted a connection…

Just like him.

He missed The Avengers, missed the sense of family it had given him. Working with Nat and Sam undercover - trying to right small wrongs before they could turn into large catastrophes - certainly eased the pain of Germany, Siberia, and Wakanda. But it wasn’t like before.

The warmth he shared in the beds of Natasha or Sam (or sometimes both) came at the cost that they all knew what the others had done to wind up where they were right now.

Alone. Even when they were together.

Being with you - a stranger who didn’t recognise him thanks to his longer hair and almost shaggy beard - had eased that hurt a little. You were a beautiful stranger, and he was just a guy that could give you simple pleasures when you had needed it. Steve sighed and started to walk away, Nat hot on his heels.

A year wasn’t that long. Hopefully he could see you again.

1K notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 6 days

Photo

Chris Evans not even trying to answer interview questions

698 notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 6 days

Photo

Chris Evans for Vanity Fair - 2009

1K notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 6 days

Text

Chris Evans

519 notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 8 days

Text

CHRIS EVANS as CURTIS EVERETT Snowpiercer (2013) | dir. Bong Joon Ho

566 notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 8 days

Text

One of his best photo shoots ever

71 notes · View notes

before-we-get-started · 8 days

Text

Ah Siri, I love this SO much! I love what she’s going to do to Ransom ❤️❤️❤️

@stargazingfangirl18

Wild & Free: Chapter 2

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Fem!Reader Word Count: 4,343 Summary: You reunite with your only friend. Warnings: Explicit language. Reference to: drinking, drug use, self-destructive behavior, rehab, shitty family, captivity and abuse, and bad parenting/grandparenting. Angst. Innocent, kind of raised in the wild vibes!Reader. Cranky, self-loathing!Ransom.

A/N: These two live rent free in my hoe brain tbh. If you’re new to this story, be sure to check out the first chapter! I hope you enjoy this installment, and I encourage you to please take a moment to leave a reblog or comment once you finish reading! Thank you so much! ❤️

Your eyes were as wide as dinner plates as you stepped into the kitchen, your mouth dropping open as you glanced around.

It was so big! So nice and so warm and so clean.

And it hit you quite suddenly, how filthy you were.

You frowned as you glanced down at yourself. Your old, worn dress was still wet and caked in dirt, and your bare, muddy feet were leaving dirty footprints all over the otherwise pristine floor.

"I'm sorry," you whispered, your eyes welling with tears of shame as you hugged yourself tightly, your shoulders hunching as you curled in on yourself.

"It's fine," Ransom said, watching you for a moment before he continued, "You can use one of the guest bathrooms to shower. Come on."

You peeked up at him as he gestured for you to follow him before he turned and led you through the large, dimly lit manor. Your eyes stayed big and curious as you tried to take in every detail of the space around you, marveling at how gigantic it was–overwhelmingly so–as well as all the different items, portraits, and decorations that filled the manor.

Soon you were following Ransom into a large guest bedroom on the second floor, careful to walk on the hardwood instead of the immaculate white throw rug taking up much of the space.

"Bathroom's through there," he waved a hand toward the door that was ajar and the dark room beyond. "There should be soap and towels and everything you need to get cleaned up."

You blinked at him, overwhelmed, not knowing what any of those things were, but the tense lines in Ransom's handsome face had you suppressing your questions, worried that you would make him mad. So you just nodded and scurried into the bathroom before just standing there in the dark.

After a long, awkward beat, you heard Ransom sigh behind you before he joined you in the small space, reaching for a switch on the wall and flipping on the lights.

You winced at the sudden brightness, blinking owlishly as you glanced around the room that was done up in all bright whites and grays and that looked just as sparkling and beautiful as the rest of the house that you had seen so far.

"Here's a spare toothbrush and toothpaste," Ransom said, rifling around in one of the drawers before setting said items out for you beside the sink.

Those things you were familiar with, as grammy had brought them to you every so often so you could keep your teeth strong and clean and they didn't need to hear you whine about any pain or issues over the years.

Next, Ransom pulled a fluffy, folded bundle from the cabinet beside the sink and set it on the edge of the counter for you.

He waved you toward the large glass encased shower, "It's all yours."

But when you just glanced between him and the shower, your brows furrowing in confusion as you swallowed nervously and didn't move an inch–clearly unsure of what to do next–Ransom huffed, hands dropping to his hips as he cocked his head and gave you an annoyed look.

“You’re acting like you’ve never showered before," he snapped in frustration.

You winced at his tone, blinking back tears as you admitted, “I haven’t.”

Ransom's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he just stared at you for a moment before his features softened as he asked, “They never let you out of the shed? Not once? In all those years?”

You shook your head. “Grammy would bring a bucket of water and a cloth so I could clean, but this is the first time I’ve been…" you struggled for the words before finally settling on, "Not there.”

“And you immediately came here?” Ransom gaped at you.

“Just like you told me to," your lips curled into a small, proud smile. "I remembered this whole time, what you said."

Ransom swallowed, raking a hand through his hair, glancing away for a long moment–like he needed a beat to comprehend what you were telling him–before his gaze returned to you. “How did you get out?”

“Poppy, he was so mad and he…” your voice quavered, your vision blurring with tears as you whispered, “He died. And grammy’s gone, too. Just me now.”

"Jesus," Ransom muttered, just watching you and observing how you were starting to fidget and curl in on yourself again. "Okay, let's just get you cleaned up, alright?"

When you nodded quickly–grateful to move on from that line of questioning–Ransom turned to the shower and showed you the different nozzles.

"This one's hot water, this one's cold, you can adjust them however you like." He turned the water on, glancing over at you as you jumped and squeaked in surprise as the showerhead burst to life and rained down clean water in a loud rush.

"Oh!" You scurried closer, peeking around him in wonder and hesitantly sticking your hand beneath the stream of water. "It's so hot!"

"Too hot?" he asked, noting how your hand quickly recoiled. He adjusted the temperature until it was slightly cooler, his gaze dipping to your dress. "You can just leave your dress on the floor. I'll have the housekeeper trash it tomorrow and we can get you some new clothes. In the meantime, I'll find you something to sleep in, okay?"

"Okay!" you answered quickly, not really paying attention to what he was saying as you hesitantly stuck your hand back into the stream of water, making a noise of wonder.

"Okay," Ransom chuckled, earning your attention then–and an abashed smile–as he moved past you.

You watched as he left the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Your smile faded as you realized you were all by yourself now–again–and in an unfamiliar space no less. Desperate to rejoin Ransom–to not be alone–you hurried to undress and stepped into the shower, gasping in delight at the warm spray of water and how good it felt on your cold, achy body.

You read the bottles of the products lining the in-shower shelves, using a few of them and in awe at how nice they smelled and how soft they made your skin feel.

After a while, you were fumbling with the shower nozzles, clean as a whistle as you turned off the water and just stood there dripping for a moment.

You stopped at the sink long enough to use the toothbrush and toothpaste, then once you figured out how to use the faucet and nozzles, you drank some cold water before returning to the bedroom.

It wasn't as big as some of the other rooms in the manor, but it was so nice! The bed was huge and piled high with soft, luxurious linens and pillows that you couldn't help but touch.

At the foot of the bed was a small pile of clothes, and you touched those too as you walked by before leaving the room and retracing the route Ransom had taken earlier so you could go and find him.

Ransom wiped up the last of your muddy footprints from the kitchen floor before throwing away the dirty paper towels, and then he just stared down at the closed silver trash can, unseeing as he tried to remember the last time he actually cleaned up anything himself.

He literally couldn't recall. His entire life, his family had employed help to clean up and cook and take care of them and their various homes.

Meanwhile you had been locked in that shed like an animal for your entire life.

Ransom planted his big hands on the edge of the marble countertop, sagging against it as he closed his eyes and tried not to drown in the guilt and shame that was eating him alive.

How could he forget about you?

How could he have done nothing and just left you to that awful fate?

It didn't matter that he had tried to tell his parents about you and they had done nothing, at the end of the day, he had failed in his measly attempt to help you.

And then he had been whisked away by his parents, back home to the city, leaving you behind and stuffing the memories of you–and the distress that came with them–down so deep he didn't even know they were there.

It was finally starting to make sense, why he endlessly sought escape through drugs and alcohol. He had always thought it was to escape his family–drown out their constant noise and disappointment–and some of it was because of that.

But Ransom was starting to think that maybe, on some level, he had been punishing himself.

He just didn't know why until now.

Ransom was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of quiet shuffling behind him, and when he straightened and turned around, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock.

Because you were standing in the kitchen doorway, shivering, dripping wet, and completely naked.

Ransom just gaped at you a moment, his mouth hanging open as his dark blue eyes trailed over the length of you from head to toe.

It was obvious that you were malnourished, but despite that–despite the life you had lived, if it could even be called that–you were beautiful, and your eyes were still so bright and kind as your lips tilted into a smile as you met his gaze.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, something in his chest clenching at the soft, happy way you were looking at him–a way he didn't deserve, not after what he did to you–but he quickly shook it off.

Before he could rein himself in, his discomfort got the best of him, and Ransom was snapping at you with a narrowed gaze. "Jesus, what the fuck are you doing?"

You cowered at his harsh tone, your smile falling away as you hugged yourself tightly and whispered, "Sorry?"

"Why aren't you wearing the clothes I left out for you?" Ransom huffed as he rounded the kitchen isle and moved toward you.

Your look was part puzzled, part surprised as you gaped at him. "For me?"

He blinked at your confusion, suddenly realizing that you probably weren't used to receiving things. Averting his wandering gaze from your body–and feeling pissed at himself for even looking–Ransom stormed past you and back upstairs to the guest bedroom.

He was confident that you would follow him, and you did, trotting after him as he swept into the room, then the bathroom, grabbing the towel from the counter before returning and holding it out to you. "Dry off."

You were like a deer in headlights, and Ransom could see it written all over your face, that you were perplexed by what he was asking of you. Still, you tentatively took the towel and just held it against your chest, unsure of what to do next but too afraid to ask as you stared at him.

And then suddenly, you were chirping softly, your eyes going big as you realized the towel was so soft and fluffy. You hugged it against you, rubbing your cheek along the material, and you looked so fucking sweet and amazed that Ransom felt all of his frustration instantly melt away.

How could he be annoyed with you?

It truly seemed an impossible feat, especially as he watched you bury your face in the towel and cling to it like it was some kind of cherished stuffed animal or pet or something.

Heaving another sigh, Ransom patiently explained how to dry off, his gaze pointedly focused elsewhere as you did what he instructed.

"Put these on," he said next, scooping up the spare clothes from the foot of the bed and handing them off to you. Again, he kept his eyes averted before you were breathing a quiet, awe-filled "Thank you." that had him finally looking back your way.

You were swimming in the sweatshirt and joggers he had lent you, and Ransom tried his best to squash the primal kind of awareness that was rising up in him at seeing you dressed in his clothes.

It helped that you beamed up at him, so sweet and innocent as you spoke another grateful little, "Thank you!" And how you kept smoothing your hands down the front of the sweatshirt, murmuring to yourself, "So soft and clean!"

When your stomach growled loud enough to startle you, making you squeak and jump as you shot him a wide-eyed look before dropping your gaze to the floor in embarrassment, Ransom chuckled, so fucking charmed by you.

"You hungry?" he asked, waiting until you peeked up at him and nodded shyly before moving past you. "Come on, I'm no chef–and she comes tomorrow–but I'm sure we can find something to tide you over."

And back down to the kitchen you both went.

You stood awkwardly in the doorway of the kitchen, unsure of what to do with yourself as Ransom rooted around in the cabinets before moving to a huge, silver box at the end of the counter, opening its doors, and doing the same.

Your curiosity got the better of you, and you couldn't help but ask, "What's that?" as you gazed at the silver box, trying to see around Ransom to its brightly lit contents.

He glanced over his shoulder at you, lips twitching at your inquisitive look as you stared at the fridge, explaining, "It's a refrigerator. It's a kitchen appliance that keeps food cold and fresh." He pulled a few things free, gently tapping the bottom drawer of the fridge with his foot since his hands were full as he told you, "And that's the freezer. Freezes things, makes them cold as ice so they last longer."

"Oh."

Closing the fridge, Ransom turned toward the isle and placed down a small haul of items, his eyes flickering to you as he frowned at the way you were just standing in the doorway, fidgeting nervously.

"Have a seat," he gestured to one of the stools on the other side of the isle counter, waiting until you tentatively made your way closer before turning away to pull a plate from the cabinets and a knife from a drawer.

Your throat jumped on an apprehensive swallow as you stood beside the stool across from Ransom, your brows furrowed in trepidation as you asked, "I can sit here? On the nice chair?"

You smoothed your hand over the soft microfiber material of the seat, humming a little at how nice it felt as you glanced up at Ransom.

He blinked at you, processing your question–your hesitancy to use the furniture–before his features softened. "Yes, you can sit there."

"Thank you," you grinned, carefully climbing onto the stool and folding your hands in your lap as you sat still and watched him.

Ransom nodded, quickly making some sort of sandwich as you observed, and then he set the plate in front of you.

You perked up in your seat, your stomach growling non stop now and your mouth watering, because it had been days since you last ate anything, and you were starving.

But still, you waited for Ransom's permission to dig in, watching in amazement as he used a device on the front of the refrigerator to fill a tall glass with water before placing it in front of you.

He just watched expectantly as your gaze flickered between him and the sandwich, his brows furrowing in confusion before he realized what was going on.

"Go on, eat," he encouraged, his eyes sad as he watched you nod eagerly before picking up half of the sandwich.

Your gaze flickered to Ransom's before you took a bite, and you chewed slowly, humming your delight as the salty-sweet flavors burst all along your tastebuds. The flavor was so familiar, and it took you a moment to realize that Ransom had made you a PB&J sandwich, just like he had when you were children and he came to visit you all those years ago.

Something about that realization, and those memories, and the fact that you were now here–free and with him–hit you hard, and you burst into tears as so many mixed emotions rose within you at once.

Sadness and relief, gratitude and disbelief all warring within you–consuming you–as you set down your sandwich and covered your mouth with your hand as you sobbed.

There was a long, awkward moment where you just sat there, shaking as you cried, lost to the maelstrom of your feelings–beside yourself and so overwhelmed–and then Ransom's warm, musky scent filled your nose before he hesitantly touched your shoulder and began rubbing your arm to console you.

Another sob hitched in your chest, and it was instinctual, the way you turned and sank against his chest, seeking comfort from the one and only person who had ever been kind to you.

Ransom was rigid against you at first, but his stance softened the longer he held you, his chin knocking against the crown of your head as he murmured, "It's okay." His big hand pressed between your shoulder blades, a soothing weight, as he shushed you. "You're okay now, I promise."

Your unexpected watery giggle had him stilling, and he stayed close, holding you loosely as you pulled away, sniffling and wiping away your tears.

"Pinky promise?" you quavered, holding up your pinky.

The smile that broke out across Ransom's face at the familiar exchange from a lifetime ago was beautiful–and it instantly quelled the turmoil within you–his eyes warming as his cheeks glowed with a rosy flush and he nodded.

"Yeah, pinky promise," he chuckled, curling his pinky around yours and giving it a shake. After a long moment of watching you gather yourself, he stepped away, nudging your plate closer to you as he said, "Come on, finish eating, I'm sure you're starving."

You nodded, devouring your sandwich in record time, humming and wiggling in your seat, thoroughly enjoying the yummy taste the entire time as Ransom watched you in amusement.

Just as you finished your first sandwich, he placed another on your plate, smiling as you chirped your gratitude before scarfing down that one, too.

When you finished, you drank down half your glass of water in one go, feeling exhaustion start to lap at you as you blinked over at Ransom, who was watching you with warm, twinkling eyes.

"You're kind of a disaster, you know?" he teased, reaching for a nearby napkin and stepping up beside you to wipe stray jelly from your cheek.

Despite his words, his tone was fond, and you leaned into Ransom's soft touch. You were desperate for it, having gone so long without such a gentle kindness or physical contact that wasn't a violent punishment.

Once he set the napkin aside, Ransom remained close, watching as your small hands smoothed over the front of his sweater then up along his broad shoulders. Your touch was innocent–inquisitive–your eyes, although drooping with fatigue sparkling with wonder and appreciation as you pet along the soft material of his shirt.

Soon your admiration for his sweater shifted to admiration of him, your gaze lifting to Ransom's, unwavering as you said, “You got so big and strong!" Your lips twisted into a slight frown as you watched him, raising your hand to cradle the side of his face as you whispered, "Your eyes are the same though, so pretty, but so sad now, too."

A slight grimace flickered over Ransom's features, but then his lips were curling into a small smile as he looked you over in return. “You’ve grown up quite a bit yourself.”

You returned his smile with one of your own, blinking at him sleepily before you reached for him. Your fingers curled into the front of his sweater and you tugged him closer, whispering, "I missed you."

Ransom swayed near–against you–not resisting as you pressed your face against his chest and just took a moment to breathe him in. There was an unfamiliar feeling rising up within you the longer you remained in Ransom's loose embrace, and it was something so foreign to you that it took you a moment to place what exactly it was.

Safety.

Ransom made you feel safe.

You sank against him even more at the realization–trying to soak it all in, and desperately so–gripping his sweater tighter as you blinked back a fresh wave of tears, because you never thought you'd feel this way, not in your wildest dreams.

Ransom's amused voice and gentle touch as he rubbed your back snapped you back into the present moment as he asked, "Did you fall asleep on me?"

His amusement lingered as you gave him an abashed smile. Your eyes drooped with exhaustion as you whispered, "Sleepy."

"Yeah, it's been a long, crazy day, huh?"

You nodded.

"Okay, let's get you to bed then."

Ransom stepped back, waiting for you to slip from your seat. You followed him back upstairs, yawning as you padded behind him, trying to cover it with your hand as he stood at the doorway of the guest room and ushered you inside.

"My room's all the way at the other end of the hall, past the staircase, if you need me," He gestured behind him. "The staff should arrive first thing in the morning, so if you wake up before me and want some food or coffee or something, just ask the chef."

You were too tired to ask what coffee was, but you were suddenly more alert when Ransom took a step back to retreat. You darted toward him, your eyes going big and scared as you asked, "You're leaving?"

"Not leaving," he told you, "Just going to my bedroom to sleep."

You swallowed, looking distraught as you wrung your hands before you. "Not leaving? Like before?"

Ransom's features softened as he stepped into your room and closed the distance between you. His hands cupped your upper arms as he ducked his face close, his expression–and eyes–so earnest as he said, "I'm not leaving, I promise."

You automatically held up your pinky in expectation at his words, and Ransom huffed a laugh.

"Pinky promise," he told you as he curled his pinky around yours.

"Okay," you still looked worried as you stepped away, frowning a little before another yawn broke free and your tiredness won out over your apprehension.

You sank to the floor, your hand running over the soft texture of the rug beneath you before you went to curl up on your side, but Ransom's voice stopped you.

"What are you doing?"

You glanced up at him, lips pursing in confusion. "Sleeping."

"That's what the bed is for," he said, moving around you and pulling some of the decorative pillows from the bed and tossing them aside. He pulled back the thick comforter before stepping back and gesturing for you to climb in.

You felt another lump rising in your throat as you stared at the bed.

You'd never slept in a bed before. You'd spent your entire life sleeping on the floor of the shed, considering yourself lucky when you had a spare, worn blanket to help shield you from the cold elements during the winter months.

"For me?" you trembled, pulling your tearful gaze from the bed to glance at Ransom. "I can sleep there?"

"Of course you can, it's a guest bedroom and you're my guest."

"I am?"

"Yeah," Ransom laughed, "Now tuck in, it's late and we're both exhausted."

You scrambled into the bed, quietly squealing at how soft it was. You tugged the comforter up to your chin and sank back against the luxurious pillows, wriggling around, your eyes big and brimming with happy tears as you breathed, "It's so soft! And warm!"

"That's kind of the point," Ransom grinned.

“Thank you, thank you!” you told him, dipping your nose to the comforter and inhaling the soft clean scent. "Such a good friend!"

"Eh, these days, I'm not really the friend type," Ransom replied before he could think better of it.

Your face fell, your lower lip wobbling as you whispered, "Oh."

A look of panic flickered over Ransom's face, and then he was clearing his throat, glancing away as he replied, "But I suppose, I can make an exception for you."

Your dejected look instantly melted away as you perked up, giving him the sweetest look of hope ever as you asked, "So…friends?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "Friends."

You were launching yourself from the bed before you realized it, overcome with joy and hugging Ransom tight as you thanked him over and over again.

"Okay, you're welcome, Jesus, calm down, you little ball of gratitude," he muttered, giving you a squeeze before corralling you back into bed. "Sweet dreams or whatever."

He turned to leave but paused in the doorway when you called his name.

"Ransom?"

He glanced back at you. "Yeah?"

"Thank you for protecting me," you smiled.

He just watched you for a beat, looking strangely sad before he mustered a smile and murmured, "You're welcome. Good night."

"Good night!" you echoed back at him, watching as Ransom stepped from your room and switched off the light before pulling the door shut.

Still smiling, you settled back against the perfectly fluffy pillows, hugging the thick comforter around you and feeling like you were living an actual dream, one of the many fantasies you had conjured up over the years to help you escape your harsh reality.

When you finally fell asleep just a few moments later, safe and cozy in bed for the first time in your life, your dreams were so much better than your fantasies had ever been.

You dreamed of a new reality, of a life where you were free and happy and loved, and Ransom was there with you the entire time, his big hand holding yours tight as he kept you close–right beside him–where you belonged.

EEEEEEP!! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, THESE SWEET, TRAUMATIZED BABIES 🥺😭 ALSO! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT - TWO CHAPTERS AND STILL NO FILTH?! HAHAHAHA. PLEASE OH PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO DROP A REBLOG OR COMMENT! I TRULY APPRECIATE IT! 🙏🏻❤️

—

I no longer do tag lists, but if you'd like to be notified when I post new writing, follow my side blog @‌sirisshamelesshoelibrary and turn on notifications to get pinged when I drop some new hoe fuel 😘

Please note that I do not give permission for my work to be translated, reposted, or published anywhere other than my Tumblr or my personal author website. Reblogs are most welcome and encouraged though! ❤️

195 notes · View notes