#AND FOR FUCK SAKE I HAVE JUST REALIZED THAT WE AREN'T GOING TO HAVE TONY AND STARBRAND BABY CONTENT SOON NEITHER :'O

[tratshka]

Single dad tony and the starbrand baby, that's my solution

#and rhodey is co-parenthing with him #and thor cuz he is the cool uncle #AND FOR FUCK SAKE I HAVE JUST REALIZED THAT WE AREN'T GOING TO HAVE TONY AND STARBRAND BABY CONTENT SOON NEITHER :'O

[eveenstar]

𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝑮𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔 [𝑨 𝑳𝒐𝒌𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒖𝒇𝒆𝒚𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏]

||➸𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈: 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐞||

Tags/Warnings: Mentions of death, angst, sadness, (Y/N) going a bit insane, a bit of spoilers but not much, happens three years after Infinity War. Also fem!reader, so it's easier for me to write, sorry guys!

Summary: It's been three years since Loki died, and two years since you isolated yourself from the outside. On a particular routine day, you receive a call from Natasha asking you to come by the Avengers Tower.

Note: First chapter of my new fanfic series, "Saturn Gardens"! Pardon me for any English mistakes, as you may know, it's not my native language :) Hope you enjoy!

Your fingers calmly slip through the book pages you're reading. The faint light that escapes through the clouds and into your bedroom provides enough light to see what you're reading. Not that it matters anyhow, your mind is somewhere else. Somewhere distant, old and familiar. Somewhere you wished to be right now.

Your lips met the cold glass of wine you've been drinking for the past twenty minutes, and your gaze drifts to the large landscape in front of your eyes. The sizeable windows made it possible to see almost of all the meadow and the trees in the background, some people would contemplate this beautiful view, but you thought it felt lonely. Empty. Voidless.

A soft and pale mist had fallen upon the land due to it being early hours in the morning. No birds were singing, no animal was in sight, just you and the current book that lays in your hand. You'd grown to enjoy silence, but this silence was restless.

Sighing, you stood up from your white chair and placed the glass of wine on the table. Dressing your Indigo blue robe, you made your way to the kitchen. This would be the second time you'd leave your bedroom since you woke up, first one was to get wine. What would your mother say to you, if she saw the horrible state you were in?

"You look like a widow, for fuck's sake (Y/N)!"

That's because you are one, indeed. Or were you wrong? You and Loki never married, even though you'd spoken about it a few times. This house, this stupiditly huge and modern mansion, was all that was left for you. Tony Stark offered it to you and the trickster God, according to him as a "offer of good will and peace" but it was honestly because your previous home burned down and you didn't have the money for another one. Tony, as the rich friend of the group, decided to be a gentle soul and get it for you.

You opened your fridge, which used to be filled with all kinds of food, but now there's barely enough for dinner. Your stomach is empty, it craves for food, but your heart is too heavy to think about it. Your feet felt chilly on the black mosaic floor tiles, and it reminded you that you aren't wearing any socks. You glance down to your feet, your mind drifting off once again and you lose track of the time you spent staring down.

The black tiles are ice cold and hurt your feet, they decor the floor of all house, minus the bathroom; in which the floor's tiles are white instead of black. Sometimes you get tired of the colour pattern; Black and white.

In the walls, in the floors, in the roof...Sometimes it was too much, sometimes it was too little. Maybe you should repaint them. Maybe you shouldn't.

Loki complained about them sometimes, he said they should be green and golden. You had no idea if he was being serious at the time. He never was much for decor, he said he wanted you to decor it at your taste; he'd love anything you love.

He was always like that.

He was.

He is like that

"What should I eat today, love?" You whispered to no-one. Your eyes shifted to the kitchen's balcony and stared at the Narcissus flowers on the small plant vase. Narcissus flowers are native to Europe, Asia and North Africa, there's more than 100 species of the plant and they were one of Loki's gifts to you. They are some of the first to bloom in the early spring, announcing the end of winter, which you found incredibly cute in a way. They came from the Greek word "Narke", which meant numbness, and ironically how you felt right now.

They also symbolize rebirth and new beginnings. Was this the Universe sending you a message? Telling you that it's finally time to move on?

You dragged your feet to the couch and drowned yourself on the pillows. Everything felt cold, no matter how many lays of clothing you'd wear, it felt cold nevertheless. Maybe it was coming from inside you, the emptiness had consumed you to the point nothing warm would take that effect away.

Your phone rang, and rang, and rang. You grunted and covered your head with a pillow, hoping to muffle out the annoying sound. But it didn't seem to stop no matter how much you tried.

So you finally answered it.

"(Y/N)?"

Natasha.

"(Y/N)? Can you hear me?"

Yes. I'm still here.

"(Y/N), could you please come by the Avengers tower? We need to talk, it's important."

Why?

"Please, " She pleaded, "Come meet me."

You looked at your phone for a while once silence remained. It seems neither you or Natasha knew what to say to each other. The silence remained for a long while that you even had doubts if she was still on the call.

"Do you want me to order something to your house? Are you in need of anything, (Y/N)?"

Yes.

"Do you know who you are?"

Yes.

"Do you know where you are?"

Yes.

"Do you want to keep living this way?"

A sudden sound woke you from your thoughts and startled you. Your eyes scammed the living room and saw there was no sign of threat, then you took a glimpse of your phone's screen.

Natasha - Call ended 10 minutes ago

Great, you were hearing voices now. How quite. She did asked you to go by the Avengers Tower, didn't she? Maybe you should go. It's been almost three years since Loki died, and two years since you closed yourself from everyone and everything. It's been a while since you've stepped foot outside your house or your lands.

Again, you dragged your feet relutanctly to your bedroom and stared at the mirror. The reflection of yourself was sad, to say the least. How did you break down so easily? How did you allow yourself to break this way?

"Do you think I should go, Loki?" You asked in a whisper while staring at a empty spot of the room. Silence.

"You're right." A tiny smile formed on your lips, "As always."

Your body always worked in autopilot. Even if your mind was somewhere else, your body took a shower and grabbed the first outfit in hand. Your hands were cold, once in contact with your skin.

Wet and cold like an abandoned dog in a rainy street.

You frowned slightly at the thought and realized you were dressed, heavens know for how long. Did your mind wander off again? Great. It has been like this a long while, no matter how many pills or medication you took, you began to forget things. Names. Places. Memories. It's like your body wasn't your own anymore, just a robot moving in autopilot. You wrote down notes about your favourite memories with Loki, as you didn't want to forget them. You missed his (surprisingly) warm hands, his deep grey eyes, or his charming smile. You missed running your hands through his hair while you both layed in front of the fireplace, books in hand.

You grabbed a framed picture of the Avengers together and noticed a strange detail. Your face was blurred out. You blinked once and twice, but it didn't go away. Was it always like this? Maybe it was and you forgot. Maybe a photo error, or it's simply dirty. Just that.

Placing the picture down, you stared again at a empty spot of the bedroom, "I'll be back soon, my love."

Your steps felt heavy on the floor, like no matter how much you'd walk, the exit door seemed to be distancing itself. By the time your hands grabbed the door knob, you were out of breath. I-just-ran-a-marathon out of breath.

The wind outside was refreshing, in a way. It felt different, lighter even. You closed your eyes to feel the breeze blow through you, just for a single moment. Then you heard a bird sing, just on top of the tree in front of your house. You weakly smiled and waved at it, then you entered your car.

The trip to the Avengers Tower was quiet and peacefully calm. Leaving your house, you didn't notice the dark silhouette standing on the living room's window, watching you from afar or the strange amount of ravens taking shelther in the same tree of the singing bird.

#marvel fanfic series #marvel loki x reader #marvel loki #loki laufeyson #loki laufeyson x reader #eveenstar #Saturn Gardens Fanfiction Series

[one-spidey-boii]

BUMMER SUMMER || peter parker; ch. two

read chapter one here

masterlist

an; welcome back y’all. thank you to all who have read so far, even tho it’s only chapter two. i’d love to hear your feedback! enjoy!

**italics indicates flashback**

warnings; mentions of battle wounds (i.e. blood/scars/etc), future smut, mature language, fluff, angst, both peter and oc are 18+!!

word count; 2.2k+

edie's pov

so that's spiderman? seems like a fun guy, i think as i walk through the dark alleyways so i don’t draw unwanted attention to myself. it's late and i'm navigating my way home, still thinking about my run-in with the red and blue clad boy. it's easy to tell he's young by the sound of his voice, leading me to believe he’s twenty at most. that doesn't bother me of course, as i too am considered young for a crime-fighting vigilante.

i turn the last corner before reaching my street and sigh with relief at the sight of my apartment building. the light in my window is off, aiding in the illusion that i'm asleep so my mom doesn't come in while i'm away on my semi-nightly adventures. just before i can touch the brick stones of my building as i pass by, a mechanical swoosh comes down and picks me up off the ground. i let out a small yelp and quickly find myself placed on the roof.

"hey, wolfie." mr. stark says as he walks out of his iron man suit. i let out the breath i was holding and turn around to face him. i offer him a small smile and take my hood down.

"mr. stark, hello, sir."

"school's almost out, right?" before i can answer, he keeps talking, "good. i'm gonna need your help with something."

i wipe away the beads of sweat running down my forehead as i bend down to pick up my throwing knives from the concrete ground. i steady myself and focus on the tattered piece of cardboard nailed to the wall that is my makeshift target. with a small grunt, i fling one towards the center of the red dot, hitting it dead on. i continue this activity until i run out of things to throw and my arms feel like jelly. i lost count of how many times i'd hit the center of the target in a row.

stepping back with a satisfied smirk, i collect my knives, shoving them back into their rightful place in my bag or around my waist and turn on my heel to head home. i manage to take two steps before a voice stops me in my tracks.

"hey, don't walk away now, kid, the next one would have been fifty." my eyes widen at the familiar voice that often appears on my living room television. i slowly move to face the man and gulp, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, not being able to say a word.

"come on, one more. show me what you got." says tony stark, with a loose smile on his face.

without a word, i force my trembling hands to grab my favorite knife from my right boot and brace myself for a throw. my breathing is shaky as i raise my right arm and inhale along with it. i can feel the sweat running down my back as i close my eyes for a moment. don't embarrass yourself, e, i think to myself. with that i snap my eyes open and silently chuck the knife towards the target.

i missed.

"oh for fuck's sake." i groan into my hands before i remember who i'm with and freeze. i keep my head in my hands, making sure to cover my face, only gathering enough courage to peek at tony stark through my fingers.

"well, that's awkward, i won't lie," he says, looking uncomfortable, "but i think i saw what i needed to see beforehand. i'm tony stark, or iron man if you wanna get fancy." he reaches a hand out in my direction.

"edie wolfe, hi." i reply with a defeated and lame handshake. to save both of us from looming silence, he pulls at my hoodie before continuing on, "okay, ms. wolfe." he pauses to inspect my attire, "what is this? leggings? and a hoodie? kid, if you're gonna be throwing knives, you gotta expect people to throw them back at you. this isn't going to cut it." he motions to the thin fabric covering my arms and chest.

i laugh at his words, "oh hey i see what you did there."

not catching on to his own pun, he moves on again, "what? actually never mind, we have a lot of talking to do, wolfie."

ever since that night, he took me under his wing- and a week later i got a package with a brand new suit in it. one that would protect me a whole lot more than what i was working with before.

"earth to wolfie, beep beep boop," mr. stark says as he pokes me in the forehead. i swat his hand away and give him my full attention. he continues on, "so you're in? a summer at the compound, being scary and keeping bad guys away?"

i raise an eyebrow at him, "what makes you think my family will be okay with that?" i ask. mr. stark simply rolls his eyes, "i already talked to your father, need i show you the proof?" i shake my head and he nods with satisfaction.

"okay, kid. see you in a few days." he says, preparing to get back into his suit, but before he can fly away i stop him, a question looming over my head, "am i doing this alone?"

"of course not. i wouldn't leave you alon- well actually i can't leave him alone so that's why you're gonna be there," he explains with a shake of his head.

"and who exactly is this person?" i ask with my arms crossed.

"how about one friendly neighborhood spiderman!" he yells and takes off before i can say anything back.

-

finally, the last day of school was upon us. it seems that the ending of every school year is bittersweet, and to be honest it hasn't quite hit me yet. senior year was way lamer than everyone played it off to be. you're told that you're officially ‘top dog', but let's be real- no real credit is given until you've graduated. but hey, here's to making it this far.

i'm sitting at my usual lunch table, surrounded by peter, ned, and mj. we pass jokes around the group and take in every moment we have left of our time together, yanno, since peter is leaving. but so am i. which is something i still have to share with everyone.

"uh, hey, guys. can i be a debby downer for a moment?" i ask, clearing my throat and disturbing the light mood of the afternoon. the table quiets down and all eyes are on me. "so you know how peter is leaving this summer?" i ruffle peter's hair in an attempt to not make that statement so sad.

"yeah, edie, we know." mj says with an eye roll as she picks at her cold french fries. i roll my eyes back at her and mock her voice. i can't help but notice peter's guilty face sitting next to me, little does he know i am going to make it a whole lot more weird up in here.

i take in a big breath and hold it to up the anticipation, "well it looks like i'll be gone too."

ned drops his chicken wrap and shakes his head furiously, "nuh uh, nope. no way. sorry, e, i can't allow that to happen," he says with a stern voice. peter chooses this moment to negatively highlight my new confession, "edie, how dare you! someone needs to be here to look after the kids."

i lower my head in shame, god this was so hard to do. faking a playful smile, i try to make light of the situation, "hey, c'mon, we all know mj is the mom friend of the group."

mj shakes her head violently and protests against my statement, "absolutely not. i veto that with all of my being, ned is the mom." she insists as she points to the pouting boy. we all laugh at that before falling into an uncomfortable silence. i glance in peter's direction and try to smile at him. doing this to him was the hardest, i tell him everything and knowing full well that i can't tell anyone about my stay at the compound, it just hurts my heart. we won't be able to communicate all summer.

"my mom signed me up to be a camp counselor...at, uh, a self-defense camp." i panic at the last second, realizing i never thought about what kind of camp i would fictitiously be a part of. the whole table bursts out into laughter.

through short breaths and a hearty laugh, ned pokes fun at me, "edie? teaching children how to kick someone's ass? look at you, you're like a soft pillowy little marshmallow." i stick my tongue out at him and cross my arms.

"hey, i wouldn't shut down the idea too fast, remember e's dad is like, an actual fbi agent. i'm sure he's taught her some stuff," peter chimes in, coming to my rescue. i nod along and hum a 'mhm', snickering inside at how much they don't know.

-

once i'm home, i pack my suitcase with all the things i think one would need to stay at a high tech superhero compound. i grab all of my knives and shove them into a utility pack, along with my suit.

my parents know where i'm going, and lucky for me they’re okay with it. well, at least my dad is.

my father, sam wolfe, works for a hidden branch of the fbi that trains government spies and the occasional assassin. thus being the reason i grew to be so good at combat. he would take me onto the roof of our building and have me shoot at targets and hit punching bags. we would practice for hours at a time, his booming voice critiquing my every move and decision as i worked. i've never been comfortable with a gun, so i stuck with knives and made that my craft.

i haven't seen my dad in a few months now. to 'protect' me and my family, we weren't allowed to know where my dad was going or why he had to leave in the first place. once mr. stark came into my life, he and my father became close, putting his trust in mr. stark to watch out for me whenever he was gone.

my mother on the other hand, she hates everything about it. she’s afraid of the world and all the things that lurk behind closed doors. when dad isn't around, we aren't allowed to talk about anything related to knives or fighting or tony stark. and for my nine-year-old brother's sake, i oblige.

pulling my bag onto my shoulder and lugging my suitcase through the hall, i meet my mother and brother in the living room. she meets my eyes with her cloudy ones and closes the distance between us with a strong hug. i chuckle at her before wrapping my arms around her plump frame.

"mom, it's okay-" i start, before she cuts me off, "shhh, edie. let me have this moment."

i shut up and continue to embrace my mom. i know this is hard for her, but she needs to understand that this is an amazing opportunity for me. i'm being put in charge of the avengers compound for the entire summer. i wish i could share this excitement with my dad, but i know he's happy for me, wherever he may be.

"edie, promise me you'll come home if you can't handle it. no one is going to judge you for that. you're only eighteen. i can't believe your father is letting you do this." my mother rambles as she pulls away from me. i smile at her and just nod my head.

my little brother looks over in our direction with a shy smile on his face. i ruffle his hair and pull him to me for a quick hug, "take care of mom for me, booger." i whisper into his ear. he gives me a simple nod and backs away.

my phone buzzes in my pocket. i pull it out to see a message from mr. stark.

'beep beep, i'm here'

i sigh and look up at my mom one last time, "that's my ride." she lets a single tear stroll down her cheek before wiping it away and shooing me out the door.

once out of the apartment, i lug my suitcase down the three flights of stairs and out onto the sidewalk. mr. stark is pulled up to the curb in his fancy black car. he rolls down the passenger side window and yells at me through it, "time to party, wolfie."

i stroll to the car and pull the back door open to throw my stuff down. then i hop into the front seat and look at mr. stark, "you know, you could have come in."

"yeah, well we all know your mother doesn't like me very much. i don't wanna poke the bear," he says as he pulls his sunglasses over his eyes and revs the engine, "let's get you to your new home for the next three months, shall we?"

|| taglist; @my-patronus-is-mabel-pines

#iron man #chaos walking #spiderman homecoming #tom holland chaos walking #avengers #holland #tom holland #tom holland cherry #tom holland imagine #peter parker fluff #peter parker x oc #peter parker angst #peter parker smut #tom holland fluff #tom holland smut #tom holland angst #spiderman #spiderman far from home #spiderman x oc #bummer summer #tony stark #avengers endgame #peter parker imagine #original character #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #original story #read me #tommo hollandy

[team-free-winchester]

Back to you part 2~ Justin Foley

Summary: After what Justin did to Jess you helped Clay and Sheri for the sake of Jess so Tony didn't have to. You thought after it all he would love you but you can't unsee what happened in the locker room.

Pairing: Justin x reader

Warnings: Some swearing maybe

Every single word builds up to this moment

And I have to convince myself I don't want it

Even though I do

Rushing out of the locker room I ran into the nearest room I could find letting the tears flow freely down my face. Me and Justin were never an item but we were close, close enough for me to think I had a chance. Walking into a stall I pressed my back against the door, my throat tightening as I try to fight back the tears enough for me to walk out with no one getting suspicious.

As I begin to regain my composure I hear someone else walk into the bathroom, their heels clicking against the tile floor. ‘Great, now I have to hide in here until whoever it is leaves,’ I think to myself plopping onto the seat softly. After about five minutes I hear the door again and Justin's voice, “You got to get back into the gym right now, let's go.”

“What? Why? What's going on?” I hear the person who's been in here with me, Jess, ask confused.

“I don't have time to explain it to you, get to the gym I still have to find y/n,” I heard Justin answer frustrated followed by the sound of her heels walking away.

When I thought for sure there would be enough distance between me and them, I slip out of the stall. Looking at myself in the mirror I fix the mess of makeup my tears caused while I fought the new ones back. I was so lost in my own head that I didn't hear someone walk into the bathroom.

When I turned around I walked smack into someone's chest causing me to fall back against the sink. Looking up at the culprit my y/e/c eyes were met by Justin's sad ones for a minutes before I was pulled into his chest.

“Im sorry y/n, I'm so sorry,” he mumbles into my hair, his arms still firmly around me holding me to him.

“You have nothing to apologize for Justin,” I say as I try to pull myself away from his body, “besides maybe being in the girls bathroom.”

When I say that it seems like he remembered a very important detail and began trying to pull me out the bathroom, “shit we got to go, like now!”

“Why? What aren't you telling me?” I question getting nervous at his urgency, “Justin tell me!”

“Tyler, he's going to shoot up the school, you need to get out of here. We can talk when your safe!” He rushes pulling me towards the front doors.

I stop looking at him confused, fear is evident in my eyes when they meet his, “If we leave he'll see us before any of them. Why can't we just go sit in a closet, or even the gym?” I asks my voice not reaching above a whisper.

Justin doesn't say anything else, he just nods grabbing my hand and walking towards the janitor’s closet. When we both slip inside he locks the door making sure we are safe inside. I was thankful it was dark in the closet to hide the tears streaming down my face as I slid down the back wall of the closet.

“Are you okay?” I heard just ask concerned though I couldn't see his face.

“Yeah,” I say, my voice betraying me by cracking.

Justin finds his way to the back of the closet to sit beside me, pulling me to him into a soothing hug, “It's going to be okay, we just gotta distract ourselves.”

When I don't say anything he decides to continue the conversation himself, “listen I know you seen me and Jess, it wasn't supposed to happen okay and I'm sorry. I didn't plan on that happening. I- I went to clear my head, figure shit out, and she followed me. It all happened so fast I didn't have time to stop her. Then you showed up and by the time I seen you you were gone.”

“You don't have to explain it to me Justin,” I whisper stopping him from rambling on more.

“I want to okay so just listen and then if you want me to shut up when I'm done I will,” he says and when I don't speak again he continues, “when I seen you I realized when was going on and I got her off of me. I was down there to figure out how I felt about you, about us. God when I got back to the gym and Zach told me all I could think about was making sure you were okay, I thought I was going to be sick when they said no one seen you,” his voice was hoarse and I could tell he was trying not to cry.

The son that left his lips as he continued made my heart clench and caused me to reach up wrapping my arms around him, “I thought I lost you before I even told you how I felt.”

“You didn't Justin, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere,” I say trying to soothe him.

I feel his head rest in the crook of my neck before he continues, “I care about you y/n, and I don't know why it took me this long to see it when you have been by my side through everything, from the moment Clay found me to detox me it was you there skipping school and taking care of someone who didn't even want the help. When I got locked up all I could seem to think about was you, I missed us being together all the time. I missed seeing you all the time, but a part of me was scared to ruin your life like I ruined Jessica's.”

After a few minutes of silence, I was still processing what he said when he tried to pull away from our embrace causing me to rest a hand on his cheek, “Justin, you made a mistake and you paid for it. You didn't ruin her life Bryce did and you're not going to ruin mine. I have been so much happier with you here. It would hurt me more to see you with her than you could with us being together.”

The moment I finished talking his lips were on mine in a soft, passionate kiss that only ended because we lacked oxygen. When are lips parted Justin asked, “so then will you go out with me?”

With a giggle I lean in and kiss him again when his phone goes off, though neither of of care at the moment. For once in our fucked up lives things are going good even under the circumstances around us.

AN: This was the final part of Justin's Back to you story I hope you enjoyed it.

#13 reasons why #13 reasons why imagines #13rw #justin x jess #justin foley imagine #13 reasons why justin #justin x reader #justin foley

[imaginetonyandbucky]

Tony is a shapeshifter who imprints on a pack. He imprints on Avengers as his pack & they don't realize. Could be a shapeshifting world - shifters are known & the others are not shifters or aren't pack animals or shifters aren't known. Bucky joins the team and realizes that Tony is suffering from pack rejection/broken bond -painful and deadly, wasting away. Could be after CW- bonds are broken or they never knew & cemented bond. Bucky recognizes and makes it better. No A/B/O dynamics please.

Tony wasn’t so churlish as to let the world burn rather than work with his former pack, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when they called on him without so much as an apology or an acknowledgement that they’d left him to suffer the devastation of a broken packbond..

Not that they knew the full extent of what they’d done, because Tony would never give them that satisfaction. He had Pepper sometimes, and Rhodey, when they had time, and that was.. Well, it wasn’t really enough, because it wasn’t really a pack, even a small one, but it kept Tony going most of the time.

So when the alien fleet was spotted heading toward Earth, Tony told them he’d be there to help them stop it.

“Tones,” Rhodey said as they suited up, “are you sure–”

“I’m sure I don’t hate the world enough to see it destroyed,” Tony said. He ignored the way his flight suit sagged over his gaunt frame and stepped into the armor rig. “We’ll show up, blow these guys back to whatever planet they came from, and be gone before the press can show up to ask questions. Simple.”

Of course it wasn’t really going to be that simple, but Rhodey didn’t call him on it, for which Tony was grateful. Rhodey had seen the reports, the same as Tony had. They didn’t really have much choice.

[’ware the readmore!]

He’d expected it to be difficult to work with them, but it was worse than difficult. It was easy. They fell into the old rhythms as easily as breathing, and for a few hours, Tony felt as if he had a pack again, a network that would hold him up even as he held up the others, stronger as a unit than they were separately. He felt his own strength surge, his mind take off running, his intuition leaping larger and larger bounds. Even adjusting for the new members was only a minor effort.

Barely any effort at all for Barnes, in fact, whose serum had been based on ‘wolf plasma and whose abilities had been honed by science or torture until he nearly registered with Tony’s senses as ‘wolf, himself. It was too bad Rogers had chosen to break the pack over the guy; it might have been nice to have someone else in the pack who carried those instincts.

And then it was over. The aliens were defeated and fleeing. And the euphoria that had carried Tony through the fight ebbed away, leaving his bones cold, like all the marrow had been sucked out of them.

Romanov was looking at him curiously, and shit, he had been sidling toward Rogers, head tipped, just aching for a pack leader’s acknowledgment. A pack leader he didn’t have anymore.

He shook it off, squared his shoulders and forced himself to stand up straight. He thanked whatever gods might be listening that Romanov had a human’s nose, that she couldn’t scent the despair and desolation that must be rolling off him.

“Well, it’s been fun,” Tony said, his showman’s smile dripping off his teeth. “Be sure to call me the next time the Earth is in imminent danger.”

“Tony, are you okay?” Rogers asked, frowning.

Tony stepped back, away from the possibility that Rogers might try to reach out, to touch. He couldn’t take that now. “Stellar,” he bit off. “Just tired. Not all of us can shake off an alien invasion like–”

“Bullshit.”

Tony turned just in time to see Barnes striding toward him in full-on murder mode, his expression dark and his lips curled into a snarl.

Tony stepped back again, but Barnes grabbed at the collar of the suit and held him in place. Which was impressive, given the suit’s hydraulics and general strength.

“Yeah, okay, no,” Tony said. “Hands off the merchandise, Inspector Gadget.” Tony pushed, and Barnes let himself be pushed away.

“You’re not okay,” Barnes said. “Who did this to you?”

Tony snorted. “Three guesses, sunshine. I’m sure your new pack will help you fill in the details.”

“It’s just how Tony is, Buck,” Rogers said. “He overworks himself.”

Barnes gaped at Rogers, then narrowed his eyes at Tony. “You didn’t tell them.”

Tony threw his hands up. “What’s to tell?”

“Did they even know they were your pack?” Barnes demanded.

“Of course they did,” Tony said, and Rogers froze.

“We were your pack?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Rogers,” Tony snapped, “of course you were. I brought you all to live with me and put a big damn logo on the Tower! We practiced together and fought together! We had team movie nights! I know none of you are ‘wolves, but what did you think was happening?”

“You didn’t say it in so many words,” Barnes said softly, “and they didn’t realize.”

Natasha’s mouth set stubbornly. “I asked you,” she said. “I asked you if you were making us your pack. And you said–”

“I said I’d have to be crazy to bond with you lunatics,” Tony said. “It was a joke. I thought you already knew, and we were being… funny. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You left, you all left, you made your fucking choices. What difference would it have made if you’d known?” He speared Rogers with a look. “Don’t even try to lie.”

Rogers opened his mouth and closed it again.

“Right, I’m out of here.” Tony wasn’t about to let Barnes guilt the Avengers into taking him back.

“No,” Barnes said, and stepped forward hastily. “At least let me come with you.”

“What?” Tony wasn’t sure whether he or Rogers said that.

“Buck?” Steve looked poleaxed.

“Look at the man, Steve,” Barnes demanded. “Look at him. I know you can’t smell worth a hoot, but you should be able to see it. He’s dying. He needs a pack, or at least another ‘wolf around him.”

“I’m not dying,” Tony lied. “I’ve got Rhodey. And Pepper.”

“Pepper lives on the west coast,” Natasha observed quietly. “And Rhodes has his own duties to pursue.”

“He visits when he can,” Tony said stubbornly. “It’s enough. I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” Barnes said through gritted teeth. “I can smell it on you. Please. I can’t…” He looked at Tony, bristling with challenge, and then, slowly, he tipped his head to the side. Showing his neck, deliberately making his ‘wolf subordinate to Tony’s. Don’t make me be responsible for your death.

Tony wondered if any of the others even knew, the things ‘wolves could say, even in their human forms, without so much as opening their mouths. Shifters were rare, and most of them kept to their own enclaves. Howard had been a lone ‘wolf, better off without a pack – but Tony had never been as strong as Howard, that way.

And the idea of having another ‘wolf in the place, even if they never spoke to one another, just to scent the presence… Tony wasn’t strong enough to keep rejecting that for much longer. “I don’t need your charity, Barnes.”

“Okay,” Barnes said easily. He turned to Rogers. “Gimme your neck, pal.”

Rogers, the blithering idiot, did it without so much as a blink of hesitation.

“No, don’t–” Tony tried, but by the time he got it out, Barnes had already bitten Rogers, nearly to the point of breaking skin. “Damn it, Barnes, you didn’t have to go that far.”

“What just happened?” Rogers wondered aloud. The great oaf.

“I left your pack,” Barnes said. “Now I’m packless. And it was pretty much proven when I left Hydra that I need a pack to survive, now.” He grinned at Tony like it was all a great joke. Tony half-expected his tongue to loll out the side of his mouth. “So, let me come with you?”

Tony slumped. “Fine,” he sighed. “It’ll be like a sleepover. We’ll braid each other’s hair and talk about boys.”

“Can’t wait!” Barnes said, and the weirdest thing was, he almost sounded like he meant it.

~ @27dragons

#winteriron #tony stark #bucky barnes #tony x bucky #au:shifter #27dragons #prompts #Anonymous