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#BUT i think a man like hank would try again out of need to prove himself or whatever
brw · 7 months
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hank pym hates sentinels, both morally but also because he can't figure out where people keep getting the money to make them because he made one robot and not only did it try to kill everything it also put him in debt.
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volvaofowls · 28 days
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Mayans crushing on/ being infatuated with a younger reader
This is my first time writing for Mayans. I know there are many fans of the show but I feel like there is not enough people writing for it and showing it love.  
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Note:  I roughly guessed what the guys ages would be at the beginning of the series based on their apperance and actors' ages. I would love to know how old you think they are!
Bishop – 49  
Taza – 62  
Tranq – 44  
Riz – 37  
Creeper – 41  
Gilly – 36  
Coco – 34  
Angel – 30  
Ez – 26 
Bishop – He didn’t have any qualms about his attraction to you in the beginning. Walking up to you when you were at the clubhouse and flirting with you, saying it was good to see you around. He didn't think too much about it, he likes the way he feels when you are responding to him in a positive way. Bishop lies to himself, he doesn’t purposefully seek you out in the crowd, but Taza points it out for him - "Don't worry Prez, your girl is outside, having a smoke with Gilly". - And that phrase hits him; the fact that someone has noticed his interest in you, and more so called you "his girl" - that spreads warmth in his chest. He wants you to be his girl, but he is not sure how you feel about it. Sure you reciprocate his attention, smile at him and spend more time with him than other members of MC, but it doesn't mean you want anything more with him than friendship. The age gap is large, Bishop could be your father; and the potential comments that would follow make him shrudder, yet the thought of you in his arms makes him think that he could deal with being the butt of the jokes for some time.
Taza – Taza thought that love is not for him anymore. But the familiar butterflies are starting to dance in his belly again when you laugh at his joke. He loves the feeling of it, but the moment he realises it he gets scared. He is not ready for it, he didn’t think it is possible, he is too old and commited too many sins to be rewarded with these emotions. Taza wonders what he can possibly offer you? His life is filled with violence and loneliness.But then he takes out his phone and sees your name across the screen Che thinks that maybe he can give it a try.  
Tranq – Tranq is a rough man, for the majority of his life he had only his mother and the club. He is "El Pacificador", a giant of a man, always in the epicentre of fights. Even though he is not the loudest and meanest in the club he thinks he might be too imposing for you, scare you away. Let alone the fact that he is in his 40's. Still, when he is next to you Hank’s increased heart beat drowns out the doubts. Against his wishes the softer side of him comes out. The way you lean on Tranq's shoulder when you are tipsy, or when you ask specifically for his help with your car makes him feel special, and he never wants to let go of this feeling. Quite the opposite, he feels insatiable, he is hungry for your affection and Hank wants more of it. He is not a greedy man, he shares everything in life with his club, but you are someone Hank wants to keep all to himself.
Riz – Michael has been disillusioned with life long ago, many people in his life shunned him; only in the brotherhood of Mayans did he find the solace. Riz craves love, family and companionship is something he always secretly wanted. Maybe that's why he was always a ladies man - trying to fill a void in his life with someone, something. When he met you for the first time, it was hard to avert his eyes from you. You were like the smell of rain in summer before the thunder strikes, Riz felt that when you stepped into the clubhouse you brought change with you, and it was just for him, and he welcomes this feeling with an open heart.
Riz knows he likes what he is seeing and he wants you to like him as well. He just needs his chance to prove that he can make it work, and he does what he does best, trying to smooth talk you. Offering you a drink and showering in compliments. He wants you to have a good time with him, he sure does with you. Once you jokingly called him an "old man", Riz quickly shot back that he prefers "daddy" instead, laughing at your shy expression. Age is not a problem for him, not when it comes to you and what the two of you could have, and he is willing to show it to you.
Creeper – Creeper didn’t really think that romantic love was for him. Since childhood there was nothing but darkness staining his life, like he is punished for doing something in his past life and can never repent. So Neron never expects gifts from live; he takes, but only gives. He gives his loyalty and time to his club and he gives his love to you, Creeper doesn't feel like he is allowed to receive any back from you.
Neron feels disgusted with himself and his want for you. You are almost too clean for him, Creeper doesn't have the right to mess you up. He tries to avoid you, but it’s as if you are always seeking him out, sipping on water with him at the parties, forgoing the alcohol. All the time you are asking him about his tattoos, and one time while planning your own you reach out and touch his forearm where a faces of women are depicted. Neron feels burned, but its amazing, he wants to keep your hands there, on him, interested in him. He is scared of rejection, he wants your love, he is ready to trade anything in his poor life in order to be yours.
Gilly – Gilly is know for “disarming” ladies, but it was a shock to him when you swooped into his heart and disarmed him. This young woman, too young for him comes and can out-do him in telling dirty jokes? Who are you? And you are playfully offering to arm-wrestle him, losing instantly. But he loves it, he feels like a teenager again, trying to show off infront of you. You have him wrapped around your finger and you don't even realise it. Other guys are teasing him in good fun, but when one day Coco jokes “you better act up brother or all the younger ones will steal her from under your old nose” Gilly laughs with him but it makes him think “oh shit…. I don’t wanna lose her to anyone”.
Coco – He was a little apprehensive at first about his feelings for you. You have less of an age difference with Letty than with him. He thinks that what he is feeling for you is wrong, even if you are a grown person. Coco always tried to stay away from the things that he cares for, it’s easier that way, he doesn't hurt anyone but only himself that way. You are precious to him, you care for him and Letty seems to like you. He already made all the guys in the club aware that he is interested in you and not to treat you badly. When members from other charters come and you are there, he makes sure to be near you or to keep an eye on you. You should be treated with the outmost respect and gentleness. Gentleness is a funny word for Coco; mainly because nothing in his life is, but he wants to learn it for you.
Angel – Angel stopped caring what other people think long time ago. He feels like he always has to prove himself to others and its never enough. So when you praise him, Angel can't even stop himself, he is floored. You think he is amazing, and you support him when he has a bad day. You are younger, but he feels like he has to look up to you. You are showing him the way of how to live life without being afraid of rejection. Angel thought he is brave, but he relearns the defenition of it when he is with you. He doesn't see the age gap between you as a boundary, because there is so much you bring to his life. And Angel wants for the first time in his life too repay that affection, he wants to make it his mission to worship you and elevate you. You are his guardian angel.
Ez – He hasn't been lucky in love, EZ knows he falls in love fast and hard, but with you he feels like he is falling even harder. Even though your age gap is not too big, he feels like you have whole life ahead of you, he doesn't want you to be tied to him. There is so much you could be doing, travelling, things that EZ cannot join you on. But he is aching for you to choose him over everything else, although he will never admit it, as it will be too selfish. It feels like his life is fixable when you are together and he doesn’t have to just survive anymore, with you he can live.
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An overly passionate post about Hank Pym and Jan Van Dyne
I’d like to preface this by saying Hank Pym is my favorite Ant-man and that I don’t think he deserves all the hate and controversy he gets, however I’ve noticed a lot of his fans tend to villainize Jan Van Dyne for reasons that I think are personally sort of stupid. A lot of Hank’s fans try to defend him by painting Wasp as a creep who took advantage of him during a psychotic break/the time when he was in that fugue state as Yellowjacket by marrying him during that time- but that’s not how it went down! She married him out during that time out of fear of what he’d do to her (he tried to force harsh kisses on her and sexually harassed her etc) and out of genuine concern! Jan clearly loved Hank and would constantly try and build up his nonexistent self-esteem but didn’t know how- She would try and prop up his ego but kept accidentally feeding into Hank’s weird complexes instead. I will say that Jan flirted with other men a lot but that wasn’t her being unloyal so much as her natural personality- but when you cross that with her being more successful and younger than him and he took that as a sign she wasn’t loyal/thinking she only liked him out of pity or to make herself look better. 
 She wasn’t manipulating him for her own ends, she wanted to help and have a healthy relationship with him. Still, she didn’t know how to handle the situation properly- Hank needed a therapist, not a girlfriend who thought maybe if she complimented him enough, maybe if she propped him up enough they could be good together- she comes off as a person who had no prior experience with mental illness like this- no frame of reference, no idea what to do, and she didn’t seem to understand what was going on- so she accidentally enabled him and made things worse but she didn’t manipulate him. It’s pretty relatable- If you’ve ever had a mentally ill friend or whatever but had no prior knowledge of mental illness, you tend to mishandle things- you become insensitive/mean without meaning to, or you end up enabling bad behavior- it’s scary and Jan’s case she was in actual physical danger! 
I’d also like to say that Hank while not at all stable had some lucidity when he hit Jan, and prior to him hitting Jan he was already displaying emotionally abusive behaviors (Destroying her costume, practically interrogating her) so no you can’t blame it his mental illness- he still had enough awareness of what he was doing (That being said who in there right mind let Hank rejoin the Avengers after he had a severe disassociative episode-I would have demanded he’d go to therapy or be institutionalized if he refused) 
I do like Hank, he’s a complex/interesting character. He has an inferiority complex so deep he’s tried to kill himself, he’s made preemptive strikes to prove his worth to others, he gave himself health issues from becoming Giant-man and it’s again tied to his insecurities. Outside of his suicidal tendencies, he’s got anger management issues, suffers paranoid delusions, disassociates, etc. He’s also incredibly self-sacrificing and is a strong believer in second chances- redemption is what he wanted for himself- what he tries to convince others he can have- so he hopes he can give to others too. Also, he’s a badass mad scientist (Literally that’s what sold me on him as a character) but the point still stands he was a domestic abuser, he refused to get help for a long time until it reached a breaking point and his reputation both in-universe and out can’t ever make a full recovery- like I said he’s complicated, so you can’t just paint him as a wife-beater or say absolved of his misdeeds because of his insanity or someone else egging him on, Jan was a victim plain and simple even if you point out some of her enabling behaviors
But my ultimate hot take? EMH’s Hank and Jan are the most annoying couple- separately I loved them but whenever I saw Janet whine or Hank moan about the other all I could think was- “Please, the love of God just break up!”- I was like kid preteen btw and still found that drama annoying
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brandnewhuman · 1 year
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In my super sour skittles induced pain I am once again having small brain thoughts about unhinged men
MY NEW VICTIM IS ELIJAH. YOU ALL KNEW THIS WAS COMING BROS, I HAVE WAITED LONG ENOUGH TO BRING HAVOC INTO THE DBH FANDOM.
i was feeding my little silly obsession of the moment and I have notice something
I see so many writing Elijah as a creep or some sort of unhinged manipulator who gives zero fucks about anyone
I AM ONCE AGAIN GOING TO PROVE HOW YOU ALL ARE WRONG. I DID IT WITH BO SINCLAIR AND NOW IM GONNA DO IT WITH MY GEN Z KING
I hate the headcanon of him not caring about androids or being like some sort of perv towards anyone. While I do think he has a god complex I don't think he's that narcissistic and mean as everyone makes him out to be
I know, I just know he tries to overcompensate how insecure he is by putting on this more cold and calculate persona. I feel like he's the type of person who struggles to find a something to fit in, he fears people and is scared of the idea they might get of him so he just distance himself before anyone can get close enough.
Like I can totally see him doing the most to create a specific idea of himself to others so they don't have the chance to hate on his real self. He prefers to be criticise for what he has choose to be seen as rather for who he really is
I was ready a character study a couple of days ago about him being bullied a lot growing up and it totally makes sense with how he is. Like this man put himself into creating basically a replica of human life perfect and you mean to tell me that the only reason behind it it's because he wanted to be seen as some sort of god? NO, THIS MOTHERFUCKER WANTED A FRIEND AND HE ALWAYS FELT LIKE NO HUMAN PERSON WOULD EVER WANT HIM.
CHLOE WAS PERFECT TO HIM CAUSE SHE WOULD'VE NEVER LEARN TO BE AS CRUEL AS A HUMAN. CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG (DON'T DO IT BECAUSE IM NEVER WRONG) BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN AN ANDROID BEING CRUEL, CHLOE WAS ALL HE NEEDED BECAUSE SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO WOULD UNDERSTAND HIM AND GET TO KNOW HIM NO MATTER WHAT.
CAUSE HE ALWAYS FELT TO DIFFERENT AND OUT OF PLACE WITH OTHER PEOPLE SINCE EVERYONE THINKS OF HIM AS A EMOTIONLESS AND CREEPY BASTARD
HOW I KNOW? CAUSE I KNOW, I ALWAYS KNOW. HE JUST WANTED A FRIEND, AND I GENUINELY THINK HE WANTED TO CREATE MORE ANDROIDS SO EVERY PERSON WHO HAS EVER FELT LIKE HIM COULD FEEL LESS LONELY.
Like no FR imagine being 16 and being the weird super smart kid in a college full of older fuckers who are always treating you either as if you were just a stupid kid or as the bottom of the joke because of the things you like or BC of the way you are. IMAGINE HOW LONELY HE MUST HAVE FELT
listen, I used to be the type of kid who was considered super weird and I used to be like super affectionate with everyone which ended up in being brutally bullied I JUST KNOW THAT HE WAS THE TYPE OF KID WHO WAS ALWAYS TRYING TO BE FRIENDLY AND KIND BUT EVERYONE MADE HIM FEEL BAD ABOUT IT. LIKE YOU DON'T ISOLATE YOURSELF LIKE THAT OUT OF THE BLUE JUST BC YOU HATE INTERVIEWS AND STUFF, BRO IS QUITE LITERALLY THE DEFINITION OF IM NOT JUST A BITCH, IM A BITCH WITH A BACKSTORY.
Also, I don't know why people say he doesn't care about androids and it's just happy causing problems ecc. HE VERY MUCH DOES CARE THANK YOU, I DON'T IF ANYONE HAS NOTICED BUT WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO SHOT CHLOE DURING THE KAMSKI TEST AND HE'S ANSWERING QUESTIONS ECC THERE'S A MOMENT WHERE HE GOES NEAR HER BODY AND PATS HER HEAD. I KID YOU NOT, I SWEAR I CAN ALMOST SEE HIM HESITATING BEFORE TOUCHING HER
You can't fucking tell me that man didn't almost had s fucking heart attack as soon as Connor and Hank left
AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THAT SCRATCHED IDEA OF HIM HOLDING BACK THE OG CHLOE FROM GOING INSIDE THE POOL BC SHE'S NOT WATERPROOF
He's JUST A WEIRD KID AND HE'S GEN Z, HE'S NOT A CREEP AND HE'S NOT THAT MEAN. STOP THIS MADNESS OF MAKING HIM LOOK LIKE SUCH A PIECE OF SHIT. HE JUST DIDN'T PICKED A FUCKING STRUGGLE, LEAVE HIM ALONE
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motownfiction · 5 months
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uncle roy comes to visit
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The Doyle kids almost never get to see their Uncle Roy.
He’s a pretty cool guy. Uncle Roy is about two years younger than his sister, Maggie, and he’s a creative writing professor in Massachusetts. He even got an Em-Eff-Ayyyy from I-Oh-Wahhh, which is how Mom says it every time she talks about him. Years ago, when the twins were still in junior high, he still lived in Detroit. The kids saw him more often then, but it was always thick with something Sadie and Charlie didn’t completely understand.
Sam got it, though.
Uncle Roy has never been married, doesn’t have kids (that he knows of, he jokes – Roy’s had more casual girlfriends than even Daniel could have dreamt of, before Sadie), and gives the best presents. Sam never would have gotten into Bo Diddley as a kid without him.
Sam wouldn’t have a lot of his favorite things without Roy.
He’s in town for the twins’ graduation tomorrow. It’s been about two years since he’s been back home. Everybody’s pretty excited. Charlie wants to show him the piano, Sadie wants to talk to him about everything she’s read this year, and Sam just wants to see him.
Dad picks Roy up from the airport. Mom wouldn’t go. She told the kids she wanted to spend that time getting the house ready, but Sam thought that sounded like bullshit. Before any visit from Roy, Mom has to hide in her room, stare straight ahead at a wall, and do nothing.
Roy walks through the door in the middle of the afternoon. Sam turns back into an eight-year-old boy and runs to the living room to meet him there. Forget Sadie and Charlie. They don’t understand the same way Sam does. They never have. Maybe they’re trailing behind him, but for once – for now – it doesn’t matter.
“Why, if it isn’t Sam Spade,” Roy says, wrapping Sam up in the hug that most men would have exchanged for a cold handshake by now. But Roy’s different. He gets it. He gets that you don’t stop hugging just because you turn eighteen.
“Hey, Roy,” Sam says, hugging him tighter, feeling like it’s been much longer than two years since they last saw each other. “Glad you could make it.”
“Ah, come on, don’t act so surprised. I wasn’t gonna miss your graduation. I’ve only got one sister. Gotta make all the milestones count. You know what I mean?”
Sam grins. He doesn’t know what to do, so he just hugs Roy again. When Roy relaxes into it, Sam knows. He knows just how much he gets it.
“So, what’s it gonna be?” Roy asks. “You gonna go to college, or are you gonna backpack around Europe for a year like I would have if I’d been rich, had the guts, or either?”
“Kind of a compromise,” Sam says. “You’re lookin’ at a future student of Hank High.”
Roy smiles and shakes his head – the kind of look most adults give to Sam when they find someone as smart and as full of potential as he is will spend two years in community college, not caring. Sam takes a breath.
“I mean, if I’m not sure if college is right for me, why should I go just because I know I’m smart?” Sam says. “It could be a huge waste of money … and, and time … and I just don’t know if it would be fair to anyone if I went. Least of all myself.”
Why is he panicking so much? And why is he trying to justify himself? Whenever anyone else asks him about school next year, he sweeps it under the rug, cool as ever. Sam Doyle doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone else. He’s Sam Doyle. He’s beyond.
Roy smiles like he knows too much. He always knows too much.
“I didn’t say anything,” he says.
“Yeah, but your aura did,” Sam says. “Look at yourself.”
Roy sticks his hands out and examines them closely.
“This is the best I can do,” he says. “What am I supposed to see?”
Sam rolls his eyes.
“Please,” he says. “I love a good literalization for laughs, but I just … man, I don’t know what I need.”
He sighs and plops down on the couch like a bad child actor. He can feel Roy laughing a little – not laughing at him, per se, but at the rest of the world. Roy gets it. He’s beyond, too.
“I didn’t think this conversation was gonna turn sad,” Sam says. “I was so happy when you called and said you’d be here … I didn’t want it to be this.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Roy says. “Nothing’s happening. I’m just sitting here with my nephew.”
“You’re standing.”
Roy smiles and sits down on the couch – right next to Sam.
“Thanks,” Sam says.
“Now, we don’t have to talk about any of this,” Roy says – always getting straight to the heart of everything, always understanding everybody. “We can talk about anything you want, like whether or not that Breakfast Club was a good movie, or if John Hughes ripped off my book from last year that nobody read.”
“He totally did.”
“Totally. But I ripped off Kasdan, who ripped off Renoir, who ripped off Laclos and Les Liaisons dangereuses, so I think we all lose.”
Sam laughs a little.
“You’re gonna make me talk about college, aren’t you?” he asks.
“No. I just think you’ll feel better if you do. Nobody’s judging you, Sam. Not here. Not me. I promise.”
Sam nods. If anyone’s telling the truth about that, it’s Roy. According to Grandpa, when Roy first announced he wanted to be a writer instead of anything else, with all his brains and talent, he yelled at him for three days straight. Roy gets it. He’s been there.
It’s just that he has the degrees to prove he’s worth it.
Sam isn’t sure what to do with the fact that he just thought that sentence, all without stopping himself.
“How did you know college was right for you?” he asks.
Roy shrugs.
“I guess it’s just what I was expected to do,” he says. “It was a year before you and Sadie were born. Your mom had done the college and marriage thing, and if I hadn’t … would have looked even worse to my dad, believe me.”
Sam nods.
“But did you think you’d like it?” he asks. “Or did you think it would hold you back? I think about the syllabus papers that Lucy’s parents draw up … I don’t know, they just look like prison to me.”
“I worried about that,” Roy says. “Turns out you’re only as held back as you let yourself be. When you come up with your own ideas … professors kind of like that. It’s not like high school. High school is designed just to crush your spirit and make you hate yourself, whichever comes first. College isn’t like that if you know what to do with it.”
“Everyone keeps telling me that. I don’t know whether I should believe it.”
“I can’t tell you that. If I tried to tell you what to believe …”
“It’d be the anti-Roy. I know.”
Roy laughs a little.
“The anti-Roy,” he says. “I kind of like that. He’s probably a Wall Street douche.”
“Definitely.”
Roy turns his head and looks around the house, probably for signs of intelligent life elsewhere. Sam looks at him and wonders why it doesn’t feel like two years since he was last home. He looks the same. Thick dark hair. Brown eyes. Taller than hell. People always said Sam looked more like his mother’s side of the family – even more than Sadie, who got Dad’s reddish hair. But Sam looks more like a Brady than a Doyle. Ever since he was born.
Eventually, Roy turns his head back around to look at Sam. They look each other in the eye, which is briefly very strange – almost like looking at Sadie. Roy exhales.
“You know, I almost forgot,” he says. “You’ve got brown eyes, too.”
Sam smiles.
“Yeah,” he says. “Like your dad.”
“Heh. Don’t remind me.”
There’s some commotion from the back of the house. Sam’s whole body tightens up, even though he knows what’s happening. They come from every corner, just like a sitcom. Dad from the garage, Sadie from her bedroom, Charlie from the basement. And Mom … just Mom.
Roy spots Mom first.
Sam sighs into the noise.
Brace yourself.
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night-gay · 10 months
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Into the Anthill pt 46 - Parent/Teacher
Hank's been a teacher before and by now I do think he's doing a pretty good job. He's never been a parent though (excluding Nadia and Ultron, but those are both special cases). William Grant Nelson is the son of Tigra and Criti Noll, the skrull who impersonated Hank during the Secret Invasion. Because Criti was disguised as Hank when he and Greer conceived William that makes Hank his biological father. While she made it clear that Hank wouldn't be raising William, she still wanted him to be involved in his life. Hank and Tigra also got back together.
tl;dr - Hank's skrull ex-girlfriend is his current girlfriend's baby daddy.
🐜🐜🐜
Avengers Academy vol 1 #7-13
Tigra had Hank run some tests on her son William to see if he had any skrull dna from his father Criti Noll. Since he’d been transformed into Hank at the time of conception that made Hank the father genetically with no trace of skrull dna left. Greer balked at the idea of co-parenting with Hank, but did ask that he raise William if anything were to happen to her. When she brought up Janet Hank mentioned that he had new plans to save her from Underspace, but it wasn’t without risk. After a fight with Absorbing Man later that day where he was reminded that exposure to dimensions like that for even a short while can break a mind, he realized it wasn’t worth bringing Jan back if there was a chance she’d lose her mind in the process.
When footage of The Hood abusing Tigra was released on the internet and the Academy students found it, Hank and Tigra used it as an opportunity to teach them that seeking revenge isn’t the answer but seeking help is. Striker, Hazmat, and Veil ignored the lesson to track Hood down and kick the crap out of him to “avenge” her. For breaking the law, endangering lives, and engaging in selfish violence Tigra expelled them on the spot. She acknowledged that they needed the opportunity to change for the better after the rest of the staff talked her down. Rather than expulsion they were placed on probation and assigned extra ethics classes.
To help Hazmat with her anger Hank invited Leech to the academy for the day so that she could spend some time out of her suit safely. While the rest of the students took their normal guest instructed lessons, Veil snuck into Speedball’s room and caught him cutting himself. She later told everyone she saw him using his Penance abilities. Robbie forgave her for spying, but she felt the need to prove herself further so she then snuck into Hank’s lab to pick up his abandoned work and save Janet van Dyne herself. Hank arrived too late to stop her, watching in horror as the machine resurrected not Janet, but Carina Walters (daughter of The Collector and long-lost wife of Michael Korvac). Her energy form had only taken Janet’s appearance due to exposure to Hank’s machines treating her as if she' were actually her'd been Jan all along. Now that she had become corporeal again Korvac arrived to take her away.
Hank called in the Avengers to stop Korvac, but they weren't enough, so Carina used her powers to age-up the students to have them battle Korvac as well. Adult Striker was killed, but she confirmed that his original body would survive the encounter. Working together, Veil and Hazmat were able to immobilize Korvac long enough to destroy his body for the time being. After the fight, Carina restored all of them (aside from Reptil) to their original bodies and apologized to Hank for not being Janet like he’d hoped. Hank scolded her for not apologizing to his students instead before she left.
To make this up to them, Hank organized a dance with other young heroes around their age and some a bit older. Mettle and Hazmat bonded over the fact that they couldn’t get close to anyone but each other and decided to give things a chance. Hardball and Firestar started fights with Reptil and Justice over love triangles. Striker got beat up by Nomad after trying to grope her while dancing. Reptil was convinced to return to his original age by Spider-Girl. And Hank missed all of that due to a heartfelt conversation with Tigra that led to them sneaking out to hook up.
Minor/Cameo appearances from this period:
Captain America: Hail Hydra vol 1 #2
Hawkeye: Blindspot vol 1 #2
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breanime · 3 years
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His Vows (with Bonus Boy)
Pure fluff ahead!
Billy Russo: Never in a million years did Billy ever think he’d be marrying someone--much less someone he actually loved. Affection, loyalty, vulnerability, those things that were required for love came hard to him. And yet, with you, he felt them. Looking at you made him feel incredibly strong and somehow especially weak, like he could take on the world, but only if you were by his side. The orphan in him wanted to spend thousands on your wedding, wanted to make a statement, a declaration for everyone to see. But the man in him knew better. The man in him--only recently discovered through your support--didn’t need to impress strangers, didn’t need the approval of his “betters”. He only needed you. So as Billy stood in front of the judge, Frank and Curtis at his side, your parents and best friend behind you, he knew this was right. You told him you didn’t want a big wedding, didn’t need the fanfare, and that alone was enough to make Billy, over 100 confirmed kills under his belt, fall to his knees in devotion. You only wanted him. He reached out then, taking your hand in his, and let the small audience around you fade into the background. “Despite what my guys at Anvil might say,” he began with a slight smirk, “I’m not really one for speeches,” he paused, hearing Frank’s scoff and Curtis’ chuckle, before going on, “so I’ll keep this brief. I never thought I’d have this. Growing up, my only goal was to become somebody, and even then, that was more about proving something to myself than anything else. But then I met you. And damn,” he shook his head, his smirk turning into a rare, genuine smile, “if you didn’t change everything. So thank you. Thank you for making me into the man I am today, and thank you for staying with me, working with me, being so patient with me. I love you, and I promise, from this day forward, I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re the happiest person on the planet,” he looked into your shining eyes, a sense of certainty going through him, an instinctual push that let him know that he was doing the right thing, “I love you, and I’m so happy to be your husband.”
Logan Delos: As soon as you and Logan had walked down the aisle, officially man and wife, Logan pulled you away. “Logan,” you laughed as he led you down a hall, “what are you doing?” “I’m having a private moment with my wife,” he answered, opening a door and pulling you into the spare room with him, “My wife. Mrs. Logan Delos,” he grinned down at you, “Fuck... How’d I get so lucky?” You laughed, and Logan reached over and held your face in his hands, staring down at the rest of his life. “I’m serious... How did I get so lucky? I mean... I’m a perpetual fuck up, the bane of my father’s existence and still, despite all of that... I got you,” he sighed sweetly, “I love you, princess. I’m gonna love you till the day I die, and maybe even after that too,” he smiled at your responding laugh, “Definitely after that. Fuck,” he let out a breath, laughing at the end of it, “I just... I just won at life, babe. I mean--look at you. Look at us! I always thought I’d spend the rest of my life in-between lovers, just waking up smothered in a sea of dicks and--” “--You realize we’re in a church, right?” You deadpanned. He laughed--Logan laughed a lot when he was with you--and he leaned down and kissed you, his tongue slipping into your mouth as you moaned against his lips. “Ah ah,” he teased, pulling back with a smirk, “you know we’re in a church, right? But seriously, babe... I never thought I’d be a one-woman guy. But you... You’re all that I want. You’re everything. You just... You just came into my life and changed everything. I was just running around, fucking around... and you just burst in and gave me... Purpose,” he sighed happily, “It wasn’t until I met you that I realized why I was put on this earth. I was born to be yours. I was born to marry you and love you and take care of you, and I will,” he leaned down and kissed you now, his kiss soft and slow, nothing but love in his touch, “I will.... So now, let’s go get drunk and dance so we can get out of here, and I can really show you how I feel.”
Jax Teller: “I promise to treat you as good as my leather,” Jax recited, that famous Teller smirk on his face. You laughed as the room erupted in cheers and applause, and Jax kissed you. He was smiling when he pulled back, those blue eyes of his twinkling with love for you and you alone. “I really lucked out when you agreed to be my Old Lady,” he said, his voice making the laughs die down, all eyes on him, “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life... especially with love,” he admitted, “I was stubborn and ignorant and lost, but even through all that... You were there. You kept me grounded, you showed me what it meant to be a man and an outlaw, taught me how to reconcile those parts of myself, and for that... I’ll always be grateful to you, darlin’. You understand me--all the parts of me. I don’t ever have to worry about how to tell you things, or keep things from you. You get the club life. You support me. Hell,” he chuckled, “even my Mom likes you, and we all know what a tough sell she is.” The crowd laughed, and when you glanced over at Gemma, she had tears in her eyes. She gave you a small, approving nod, and that, coupled with Jax’s words, had you crying too. Jax laughed, gently reaching out and wiping your tears away with his thumb, “I love you. And I’m gonna love you for the rest of my life. No matter what life throws at us, I know we can handle it. You and me... we’re meant to be together, baby. We’ve been through enough to know that that’s true,” he smiled down at you, a soft, special smile on his face that was just for you, “I know everyday isn’t gonna be perfect. There’s gonna be times when we argue, but I promise you--here and now, in front of everyone we love, that I will never go to bed angry at you. I promise to always do whatever it takes to make sure you’re safe, and happy, and protected,” he leaned a little closer to you, every inch of him devoted to you and you alone, “I promise that I will be the husband and the man you deserve. And, most importantly... I promise to ride you as much as my Harley.” The room erupted in laughter again, and you were still laughing--and crying--when your husband kissed you again. You knew, from that kiss, that he would keep his promises to you. Every single one. 
Coco Cruz: “I’m not... I’m not fucking great at this,” Coco began, his hands in yours, his eyes darting around the room, “You know, public speaking and all that shit... But, uh, I think it’s important to, uh... To speak my truth, so...” He took a breath, and you squeezed his hands in yours, and that was enough to calm his raging heart. Coco looked at you, his wife, and felt a completeness that he’d never imagined he’d feel in his life. He swallowed, willing himself to speak. “Everybody knows that, when I became a Mayan, when I joined the MC, it changed my life. I was in a bad place, you know? Just came back from Iraq, my mind was all messed up. But the MC helped me get right, you know? And then there was you, and all of a sudden, I realized... I was made for you,” he leaned forward a bit, swaying as he spoke, his hair blocking everyone but you from his sight, “I used to think my life was just some sick fucking joke. Then, when I became a Mayan, I thought it was all about being a warrior, being a brother--and it is. But there’s more to it then that. I didn’t realize until I met you, but... I was born to be with you. From the second I saw you, I knew I needed you. I need you way more than you need me,” he smiled, a soft chuckle coming from his lips, “It’s true,” he turned, addressing his brothers, “You guys remember what it was like, right? When we first started dating?” He was met with low murmurs and laughter. “I was a fucking mess,” he laughed, “I kept asking Taza and Hank how to be a good boyfriend. And somehow Angel ended up giving me advice, which was basically just ‘man up’,” he chuckled, his eyes twinkling as he looked at you, “I just... I just need to say, you’re perfect. And I know you don’t like when I say that, but it’s true. You’re perfect to me. Even when you’re a fucking raging psychopath,” he chuckled at your fake incredulous look, “you’re perfect. You help me see past the bullshit, help me see that life don’t just gotta be some fucking struggle... You make me happy, man. So happy. And I just want to make you happy, too. I want to be a good husband to you, and I’m gonna try. And even on days when shit ain’t perfect, I will still love you with all my heart, so...” He took a breath, his heart pounding as he looked down at you, his perfect person, his wife. “... Let’s fucking party!” You laughed, wiping your happy tears as the room erupted in cheers and the sounds of beer bottles clanking together. This was the first day of the rest of your life, and you couldn’t be happier for it. 
Angel Reyes: Angel sighed, his eyes welling up with tears. “This,” he began, stopping when he heard the sound of his own voice breaking. He cleared his throat, “This is... This isn’t how I imagined it. Like, when I was a kid, I mean. Like, not to be soft and everything, but... I used to think about this day, you know? Me marrying some dope girl, being in love, my family here to celebrate. So I mean... I’m happy,” he nodded, “I’m so... Man, I’m so happy. I didn’t think it was possible to be this happy, just... I feel like... Like I was incomplete before this, you know? Like this woman... she’s the other part of my soul. And I’m so happy, it’s crazy. It’s scary. I keep waiting to mess it up, keep waiting to say or do something to bring it all crumbling down, but... it won’t. I trust that it won’t,” he nodded again, meaning the words he spoke with all of his heart. Angel reached out, his fingers--adorned with no other ring but his wedding ring--brushing against his mother’s altar, “Watching you and Pop... I always wanted a love like yours, and now I got it, and I’m so happy, Ma... I am, but,” he blinked, the first tear falling, “...but I wish you were here to see it. I wish you could have met her; I wish she could have met you. You would have loved her, Ma. Pops loves her, EZ loves her--I tell her about you, but... But it’s not the same,” he wiped his tear, shaking his head a bit, “I know you’re looking down at us from Heaven, I know you see us, see her,” he sniffled, swallowing his tears, “And that’s good enough for me,” he chuckled lowly, “I know you saw when we first met, saw me pulling that machismo crap, trying to impress her. You saw it ain’t work, either,” he laughed again, “I bet it was you that gave me the idea to bring her lunch at work, wasn’t it? Yeah... That has you written all over it, Ma,” he tapped her urn, smiling warmly at the memories, “I love her so much... And I know you would have loved her, too. I just... I want to be a good husband to her... a good father---someday--to our kids,” he took a breath, “So, Ma, please... Be with me now like you were with me when I proposed, give me that same courage and certainty you gave me before, yeah? Cause in a minute, I’m about to go out there in front of all our family and friends, and I’m about to commit myself to this woman for the rest of my life, and I... I need you with me, Mami,” satisfied, he kissed two fingers and pressed them against his mother’s urn, “Thank you.” He straightened up, fixing his hair and wiping his eyes again. Nodding to himself, he walked off, murmuring, “Good chat...” all the way to the altar. 
Miguel Galindo: “I am not a man who can easily admit he was wrong,” Miguel began, chuckling along with the rest of the church at his words, “Okay,” he admitted, shaking his head a bit, “I never admit I was wrong,” he paused, looking into your eyes, and he felt that familiar tug in his chest that he always felt when he looked at you--pure love. “But I was wrong. As many of you know, I was married once before. And I thought that I’d spend the rest of my life with that person. I was wrong,” he reached out for your hand, taking it in his, the warmth of it spreading through his entire body, all the way into his heart, “I was wrong, and I have never been happier to admit that. Because from that failure, came you. And I’m thankful for you every moment of every day,” he smiled, and your heart flipped in your chest at the sight of your soon-to-be-husband, “It isn’t easy to be with me, I know,” he nodded, giving you a silent acknowledgment, “But you... You just know me. You know how to read me, how to get me to talk when I don’t want to,” he laughed, “how to shut me up when I want to talk... I’m at your mercy. And what’s more,” he leaned forward a bit, “...I like it,” his smile widened at the sight of yours, “I remember the day that I realized that I needed you in my life for the long haul. It was when we flew to Iceland. You fell asleep against my shoulder. You were so tired... And I was too. I was frustrated and tired and irritated, but when I looked down at you... Mi amor, I felt nothing but gratefulness. Grateful to have you in my life, grateful to be able to have you by my side, to have you as mine. I’ve been blessed with many great things; a wonderful son, multiple successful businesses, a beautiful home... But it’s you, my love, you who makes me take a step back and really see how lucky I am. Because all of the money in the world would mean nothing if I didn’t have you to share it with,” he reached out and wiped your budding tears, smiling fondly at you, “I love you,” was all he said before he was kissing you, and the resulting applause blooming around you was nothing but white noise with Miguel’s lips against yours. He whispered something against your lips as the church applause your love, just a short, simple sentence that had you crying with love. “Thank you, mi amor, for proving me wrong.”
Nick Amaro: “Gil and Zara and I are so happy to welcome you into our family,” Nick said, giving a special smile to ring-bearer Gil and flower-girl Zara, both of whom grinned back at him, Zara flashing you a quick wave, “Gil keeps saying that I took too long, and Zara says I should have just married you months ago, and they’re both right,” he laughed, “But I wanted to give you this--the wedding, the reception--because I know this is important to you. It’s important to me, too,” he took a breath, looking down at your intertwined fingers before looking up again, smiling at your beautiful face, “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, my career, but you...” He sighed happily, “I know I can get in my own head a lot, but somehow, with you... It just seems like everything falls into place. I mean... That’s your power. You just make everything seem so easy. I see you with the kids, with your job, with me,” he chuckled, “And it’s like you instinctively know what to do, how to handle me. You make it look easy, and you can ask Olivia, dealing with me, isn’t easy.” He looked over at Olivia, her eyes shining with approval as she watched you together. “But you do. For good or bad, better or worse,” he took your hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a quick kiss to the back of it, “I love you. Completely. Totally. And I’m going to continue on loving you until the day I die,” his smile reached his eyes, and they shimmered with love for you, “And probably even after that, to be honest. Every morning when I wake up and see your face, when I hear you and the kids laughing, when I see the joy you bring into our lives... It makes me feel so... secure,” he nodded, pleased at his choice of words, “And you know better than anyone how hard that is for me: to feel secure. You just... You make everything easier, more manageable... And everything I do from here on out is for you and the kids. I love you...Mrs. Amaro.”
Johnny Tuturro: Johnny couldn’t stop smiling. His mom was there, his Graceland family was there, and most importantly--the future Mrs. Johnny Tuturro was standing in front of him, just minutes away from becoming his wife. “Alright, alright, alright,” Johnny began, “Everybody shut up, I got somethin’ to say!” Jakes groaned in the crowd, “Jesus, Johnny, then just say it!” “Don’t rush him,” you called back, giving Jakes a friendly glare. Johnny laughed, kissing your cheek, “Thank you, baby,” he stood up straight, “Look, anyone with eyes can see that my girl is fly,” he started, making everyone laugh, “But for real, the moment I saw her, I knew she was different. I mean, she’s gorgeous, yeah, but she’s also smart, brave, a certified badass--sorry for cussin’, Ma--and the love of my life,” he smiled down at you, eyes soft, “I love you, I love you, I love you. And I am so happy to be making you my wife,” he turned pointing off into the audience at Briggs, “Which by the way--ha HA! I knew she wouldn’t go for you! Best bet I ever took, seeing which one of us was gonna get your number... though I ain’t gonna lie, you had me scared for a moment there when you started getting chummy with Charlie,” he chuckled, “But I was the lucky one. That was the start of the rest of my life, and I want to make every day we have together a perfect day. No matter what life throws at us, what happens at work, what we go through as people or as a couple, we’re always gonna have each other’s backs. Me and you,” he went on, “We were meant to be, baby. Fated. And baby, I promise you, I will be the best husband I can be. Because that’s what you deserve. And as happy as I am to be here with you right now, in front of all of our friends and families... Man, I can’t wait to get out of here and just be with you,” he grinned, and you could see the dirty promise behind those sweet words, “I’m crazy about you, baby girl, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” he leaned in, kissing you, his next words whispered, so only you could hear him, “can’t wait to have married sex in the limo, either...” 
Rio: When you woke up, the late morning sun painting your body in its light, the first thing you saw when you opened your eyes was Rio’s eyes. They were soft and warm, that deep brown peering down at you and making you feel like the most beloved person on the planet. Which, of course, you were. “So?” He asked, caressing the side of your face with two of those long, sinewy fingers. “So what?” You asked, already in a daze from the softness of his voice and the sweet smile on his face. “So what do you think? How’d the first night of matrimony go? You ready to give back my dowry yet? Sell me back to my father?” You laughed, cuddling closer to him. “Nah, I think I’ll keep you. I mean, you did come with a cow and two chickens, so I guess you’re worth it.” He wrapped his arms around you, and you closed your eyes, melting into his touch. “I love you,” he said, his voice muffled as he buried his face in the crown of your head. “Love you, too,” you said back, rubbing his back. “Hey,” he pulled back a bit, looking down at you, “Yesterday was perfect,” he began, “The wedding, the reception... I ain’t never seen Marcus so excited to talk as he was when he gave his speech.” “Oh, don’t remind me,” you sighed, smiling at the memory, “I cried so hard; it was such a good speech.” “Yeah,” he nodded, kissing your forehead, “He was so proud to be able to tell you how much he loves you,” Rio sighed, “but, here’s the thing, mama... There was one thing about yesterday that I wish I could change.” You frowned, “What?” “I kinda wish we would’ve done vows,” he admitted. “Really?” You asked, eyes wide. You and Rio had decided early on not to have vows, you’d both agreed that it was so private, you didn’t want to make a spectacle out of your love. But hearing him say that he’d wished he’d given you his vows had your heart pounding. He nodded, “Yeah. So... I was thinkin’... Maybe I could say my vows now. I mean, I ain’t write nothing down or anything, but I just wanted to say... I love you. I love what you’ve done to me, to Marcus... I love the way you brighten up my life, how you accepted my son with open arms, how you work so well with me, the way you inspire me, the way you make me want to flip my game. I love how I can tell you everything, how I never have to hide any parts of myself with you,” he titled your chin up, smiling down at you, “I love having you as my wife. I love you, Mrs. Rivera.” He kissed you then, and you kissed him back, sighing against his lips, pressing yourself against him. “So,” he grinned, “How was that? Decent vows?” You laughed, kissing his nose, “Perfect.”
Bonus Boy
Tommy Shelby: “I have something I want to say,” Tommy announced. Everyone in the church grew silent, and you couldn’t help but notice the small smile on Jeremiah’s face as he turned to you. Every eye was on you, and you turned to Tommy, curious as to what he was about to say. “I want it known,” he started, his voice booming through the church, “That this is the last time I’m ever getting married, because this is the woman I was always meant to be with,” he looked over at you, those brilliant blue eyes piercing right through your soul, “Me whole life, I’ve spent planning, thinking, rethinking. Every move I’ve made as a businessman has been a calculated one, but with you,” he said, his focus on you and you alone, “It’s all instinct. I don’t have to overthink or second guess with you, because I can feel that you’re what’s right. You’re what’s been missing. And now that I have you... Well, there’s peace. Peace in me head and me heart that I thought had left for good. And I have you to thank for that. So now, I want to make you a promise, and I want to make it in front of all of our family and friends, because if nothing else, I know Aunt Pol, Jeremiah, and our Ada will make sure I keep it,” he gave you a small smile, and just that one gesture was enough to have you nearly swooning, “So here it is. I promise, from this moment, till the day I die, to always love, honor, and respect you. I will never lie to you, I will never leave you. I am yours,” he promised, “Every part of me; even the parts I don’t like, belong to you. And everyone,” his voice got a bit louder, and he turned a bit, addressing the crowd, “will know that you are Mrs. Tommy Shelby, and they will treat you accordingly.” You smiled; his words were as much an announcement as a threat. “Now, Jeremiah,” he said, a friendly note coming back into his voice, “Let’s get on with this ceremony, eh? I want to take my bride to London.” 
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oh-for-fic-sake · 3 years
Text
It’s A Match Chapter Two
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Masterlist
Summary: as you and henry become closer he lets his family know there may be a new woman on the scene. And you surprize him by moving a little quicker then he had thought. Not that he is against it. He is all to eager to move along to the next step.
Warnings: RPF, Swearing, Angst, Heated Discussions, Fluff.
A/N: here is chapter two, this will only be a short fic maybe there or four chapters but i hope you all like it. This is just me writing down my fluffy fantasy.
Taglist: In Reblogs.
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'Shes a big fluffy teddy bear, and loves hugs, even if Shes crushing me~' henry froze hands quivering nervously over the keyboard. You replied? You actually? Holy shit! He bit his lip sitting up straighter with a grin and smoothed his hair back. He wasn't sure why it made him so happy but? He had a reply, and actual reply from a person! A woman!
Now what?
He wracked his brain and frowned. What does he say? Does he ask questions or just talk about dogs? He didn't know all he did know is that he had messaged a complete stranger and she had messaged back.
'I can imagine moving her must be hard work if she's comfy'
'Yeah but on the plus side she's always warm~ a huge hot water bottle'
'A numb but warm set of legs then😂'
'Absolutely! That sounds like the talk of a man who's been there?'
'Yes I have an American Akita, a very snuggly boy that gives me atleast one dead leg a day😅'
'Aww I love Akita's, I was going to get one but them Amii sort of fell into my lap, and has stayed there ever since'
'Big or small a lap dog is a lap dog'
'Definitely😂' Henry paused. Shit what does he do now? Does he just ask questions? Explain a bit more about himself? Both seemed a little too juvenile... And it was scary... Awkward he wants a nice chat, for conversation to flow naturally. He didn't want to fuck up. There was another ping as you typed another message.
' I have to say I'm surprized I got a message on here, only been on here for a few days😅' henry was thankfull, you wasn't going to judge. You were both in the same boat. Both nervously talking to a stranger in the hopes of there being something more. It made replying a little easier, he hoped that things would get less awkward after breaking the ice.
'Really? I made mine today... not sure about all this new online stuff but will figure it out'
'Well I'd say your doing alright,  at least you had the courage to message someone, i made the profile then chickened out😅'
'I almost did, your the first profile that caught my eye'
'Was it Amii?'
'No, as cute as she is you lacked a duck face selfie, and you look very sweet and have kind eyes' henry froze after sending the message. Shit, shit! That was fucking cheese! Cringe and just a fuck up! He quickly wracked both hands through his hair and cursed trying to think of a way to get out of this but nothing came to mind... And then he saw it the tiny y/n is typing... At the bottom of the screen, he winced dreading the reply he was going to get. He bit his lip worried he hopes he hasn't tripped at the first hurdle.
'Thank you that's kind of you to say. And is a missing duck face that strange?🤔'
'Every woman has a duck face'
'Well I do not have a duck face'
'Really?🤨'
'Well not a good one 😅My duck face is sub par more a fish face, call me guppy😂' he chuckled, you did have a sense of humour which was good. He liked making people laugh and not having them take everything so seriously, it meant he could relax and let loose. To just have fun! He heaved a big sigh unconsiously petting Kal as he sat up and leant on his leg. He quickly began typing once more finding it easier chatting with a stranger with each message.
'🤣🤣 I got to admit I'm not sure what to talk about, this is my first time🤔'
'Well that makes us both online virgins😅lets start with the important things shall we?' Henry froze panicking. 'Oh god! Oh god! What ere you going to ask?!' He thought watching the little dots on the screen holding his breath dreading you'd ask for picture or something. He was put out of his misery with a tiny ping sound and your message popped up. He threw his head back and laughed outloud seeing the all important question.
'Who's your favourite superhero?' You were definitely a geek girl, just like he wanted. He bit his lip and typed without needing to think of the answer.
'Superman, afterall he is the grand daddy of all superheroes. You?'
'Oh your not gonna like this~ I love batman🤗' henry smiled at the screen and leant back wiping his mouth trying to massage the ache from his cheeks. He really was grinning ear to ear just from speaking to you so... Unguarded he was just being himself and it was freeing!
'Oh no!😱can I ask why?' He typed quickly not wanting you to think he was going to keep you on read? Was that what they called it nowadays?
'He proves that at 30 you can have a dramatic goth early midlife crisis and that regular assholes can be heroes too, all you need is money🤗🤗'
'🤣🤣 oh god! You know I never thought of it like that!' henry shook his head laughing out loud as he replied
'But you'll be happy to know supes is number three on my list'
'Well he makes the top three so that's salvageable😆'
'Yeah... Two is Captain America though'
'Rich goth with issues, man with an expensive tea tray, then supes got it 👌👍'
'Omg yes!😂that's sums it up beautifully🤣' after that the conversation moved on which he was a little thankful for. Not that he disliked geeking out but... it'd be easy for him to slip up on that subject. Luckily though he didn't have to think of a change of topic as you began chatting away casually about your day and he did in return before long the conversation was over too soon as you stated you really had to get on with filling out these payslips. So the chat drew to a close with promises of speaking tomorrow.
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And you kept your promise. For the next week you both spent your evenings chatting away at one another becoming fast friends. That was when he decided to let his family know in the new weekly face time zoom chats.
He looked to the screen fidgeting as his family spoke amongst themselves trying to find the right moment to break the news. But his mother had noticed and asked him out right, leaning closer to the screen watching him worriedly.
"Henry? Are you alright your looking nervous?" The others stopped speaking at the question and henry heaved a sigh nervously twisting his fingers.
"Yeah yeah I... I just have some news... Is all" he said swallowing trying to find the words. He was worried, it had been a while since he'd tried to introduce someone new into his life and his family. He didn't want to alarm them but... he wanted to forewarn them that he was on his way to hopefully sharing his life with someone.
"News? Oh its nothing bad is it?" His younger brother asked, but his oldest paused straightening up with a smile already guessing his brother had taken his advice.
"No nothing bad... Its really good actually... I'm sort of... well I'm speaking to someone online... A woman"  he stuttered rubbing the back of his neck and called Kal onto the sofa with him stroking his fur trying to calm himself and fend of the huge grin that seemed to spread across his face everytime he thought of you.
"You did it?" His eldest brother called out clapping his hands excitedly. A ripple of confusion washed over the others and they frowned looking to one another unsure what had happened between the two.
"Did what love?" His mother finally asked not understanding what her sons were talking about
"I made an online dating profile" he said plainly drawing gasps from everyone.
"Oh gosh love are you okay? Your not being hounded are you?" His mother jumped immediately concern etched deep in her features. His father looked uncomfortable-hell they all did! Each worrying over him. He wasn't surprized they had seen fans both love and hate on him and his partners.
"No mum its fine-better then fine I'm really carful... I've covered my ass and no one knows its me, she doesn't know" he said trying to placate his family but instead he was rewarded with disappointed faces, tutting and small, cringing hisses. Fuck.
"Oh god Henry you haven't made a fake profile? Tell me you didn't- please tell me your not lying to this poor woman" his father scolded sternly. His dad may not be up to speed with all this new age online dating shenanigans but he did know that it was wrong to lie to a potential partner. Just thinking that one of his boys were doing just that left a bad taste in his mouth. If he could he would clip his son around the ear!
"Well no not exactly- its me and I'm myself on there I just... changed my name to Hank... And crop my photos so she can see me but not recognise me that's all! I swear I'm not lying or-or anything!" he explained willing then to understand but with the deep sighs and unimpressed looks he got it would seem they didn't understand or approve.
"Are you sure about this? What will she think if things get serious and then this young lady finds out you've been lying?" he father spoke up again wanting to hash this out. Henry faltered for a moment, he worried about that too. He was frightened that you'd get angry and leave him without even giving him a chance!
"I'm not lying, I just? just omitting certain details about my life, I'm being me I'm showing her the real quirky geeky side of me- this is? Its my one shot! The only chance I'm going to get to have someone look at me, not what they can get out of me... I'm not going to blow it or hurt her... if we get to that point then I will explain things- she'd understand she's really thoughtful and is logical" henry pleaded trying to convince both himself and his family. He cant ignore it, he was worried and had been telling himself over and over you'd understand. But he also knew it could really shake you up. But what he was doing wasn't wrong! It couldn't be helped, he thought they would understand!
"Well I hope so because you could break her heart son... And I want you to understand that, this woman could fall for you. You could really upset her when she finds out" his father finally spoke drawing the issue to a close not wanting to argue, but he still wanted henry to know what ever happens was his own fault good or bad. Not everything ends with a happy ever after, but he didn't need to voice that out loud. Henry knew, they all did.
"I know dad, I've only been speaking to her just over a week anyway, for all i know she will ghost me or something" henry nodded calming a little not wanting to fight but still it was clear to everyone henry hadn't appreciated the lecture.
"Ghosting?" he mum perked up trying to diffuse the situation not wanting this to blow up. Tensions were high and no one needed a family spat at the moment.
"Its when someone stop talking to you and ignores you for no reason" his brother revealed explaining the term to his parents. They both ahh'd in realisation but were still a little tense. So his younger brother spoke up deciding to try and be more supportive to him. And henry was thankful.
"Well how about you tell us about her henry. What's you lady freind like? What does she do?" henry quickly grinned forgetting the irritation. His family watched the sudden change as henry got the chance to boast about the woman who had caught his fancy. It was sobering to see, he was glowing with pride and excitement, overjoyed from just thinking about this mystery girl.
"She's just? God where do I start? Shes amazing and funny and wholesome... She doesn't live too far away- Shes pretty much on my doorstep! Shes really funny and nice we talk everyday and have soo much in common its amazing we like the same music and tv and just- everything! Its like talking to a female version of myself! And Shes a fan too" his family all seemed to warm to the idea of this woman until his final remark. Everyone paused. And so did he, what was so wrong about her being a fan? Why was that a red flag for them and not him?
"A fan? Henry... are you sure she doesn't know? If she's a fan she might know and be... making her answers more favourable" henry bristled at that and visibly leaned back brows furrowed and eyes glowing, showing as much anger as he dared show his mother who had spoken out against you.
"What? No! No she doesn't mum she hasn't got a clue- Shes not a fan of mine per say but? She likes my work, she's a huge lover of DC and fantasy so has seen the Witcher and she loved it! Shes really just like me! Is that really hard to believe? That there are women like me? That enjoy the same things?" what had started as a panicked explination quickly became heated and sour. His words slowly becoming uncharacteristically venomous. But Marie Ann new it was just him getting defensive, he was frightened. He had this silly belief he was an abnormality, that his interests will make him forever alone. The thing that did stand out was just how defensive he was about you. A woman he'd probably not even met yet, someone he was only chatting to. It wasn't like henry to take to someone soo quickly. It made her hopeful, that he really had found someone, found his soulmate. But she was a mother and couldn't help worry over him, no matter how old or huge her boys got they were just that. Her boys. And she will always feel the need to look after them.
"Henry please don't get angry, I didn't mean to upset you but... I worry" she said slowly trying to calm him before he got himself into a tizzy. She could see much more then he wanted her too. And right now he was anxious, probably questioning himself over this woman and the way he was approaching her. She could only hope her son was right and had covered his ass and that this woman was as understanding as he said. Otherwise henry was about to get a wakeup call like never before. It wasn't everyday a well known actor fakes a dating profile. It'd be a media shitstorm that he may not recover from.
"I.. sorry I didn't mean to- y/n isn't like that I... I just know alright she isn't after anything" henry apologized smoothing back his hair taking a huge breath and leant back once more relaxing.
"So why don't you tell us a little more about her son? You've been speaking for a week so must know a little more then her name and were she lives?" she said moving on wanting to coax more information about the woman.
"Well she has her own successful business that caters to dogs, walking, grooming and rehoming and is a kc registered breeder. Shes thirty years old and... Absolutely stunning- and no she hasn't filtered any photos either...wait here! See?! Isn't she beautiful?" Henry gushed quickly bringing up your profile picture he had saved on his phone and holding the phone to the camera. He heard a few compliments but could still see the worry in his family. He understood but he just new. He new that you were real, that you were honest and everything you said you were. You were blunt and didn't have time for games, you said life's too short for that crap. And he agreed.
"You have a photo saved already?" henry faltered at the question that had followed a round of compliments and quickly pulled his phone back flushing embarrassed he hadn't even thought of how that would look
"I.. w-well yeah... I'm gonna ask for her number soon and want a photo for my phone... We decided to stick to messaging for a while first and" he tried desperately to dig himself out of the hole he'd just unceremoniously swan dived into. But his brothers burst into laughter making whipping motions making him flush and shrink further. They were definetly going to busting his balls for this. But with a quick shake of his head he continued to gush about you wanting to side step this whole premature photo saving incident.
"she doesn't have Instagram or snapchat... she's just... I can't explain it she's just funny and sweet and genuine... I really like her.. I could easily fall for her" silence reigned after his admission and everyone saw just how serious and devoted henry was to trying to make this relationship work. His mum nodded with a smile, this was just a watch and wait scenario. This woman would either make or break her son, and all she could do was hope to god it was the former.
"Okay then love. I'm happy for you henry just be careful okay?" she finally drew the curtain on the subject and everyone sighed in relief.
"I will, I promise but you have nothing to worry about, I just wanted to let you guys know that i might have someone for you to meet in a few months" henry said eagerly, like a small boy waiting on Christmas eve. He was full of life and enthusiasm. It was nice to see this side to him again, she'd dare say he was well on his way to being loved up! Smitten.
"And we look forward to it henry, but take your time. There's no rush just enjoy yourself" one of his brothers spoke up jumping in on the conversation wanting to make it clear they all had his back whether this ended good or bad. For now they were happy for him.
"I will, we decided were wont meet for a while and just see how things go for the time being but... I have a good feeling, she's everything I've been looking for I'm really excited" henry preened trying to pace himself, he didn't need to be daydreaming in a family face time. Luckily he was pulled from the edge of his own fantasies by another question.
"You said she had a company?"
"Yeah here I'll send you the link its called Puptown! She's actually handled Kal a few times, I send him there for his nails and teeth" henry said quickly sending the link to his brother. He wasn't stupid they were going to look you up, they were worried. He might aswell sent them the link. There was a tiny bio on there of you- the owner on the staff page that had all the staffs qualifications and roles on there.
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You moved through the groom room Amii was curled up under your desk fast asleep as you began taking a stock list. Recently you'd been getting more and more white dogs in for their groom so needed to top up on the bright white shampoo and it was tick season soon so had to double check you had all the tick removal forceps, and ear powder- lots of ear powder the poodle clients had doubled over lock down after all the new puppies bought in lockdown. Every dog deserves a professional groom. But poodles needed them.
"hey boss! You doing another check?" Mandy called as she hoisted a tiny black poem into the bath. Bella a regular and very few people could actually groom her out of the five staff only two of you dared to try. And you didn't blame them this dog was a tiny savage, but the trick was not to show fear.  
"yeah, trying to prepare for summer already, you know i think this will be our busiest yet especially with lord whiskey." you muttered nibbling the pen and moving a few bottles about. Flea treatment and some dry skin conditioner were quickly added to your growing list.
"lord whiskey?" Mandy asked louder over the sound of the shower instantly Bella began snarling like the hell demon she was. On walks and about the place she was a little soppy loving lap pup, but when it came to bath time? Different dog. You cant help thinking she had a bad experiance before she came here. You sighed and placed the pad and pen down standing along side the bathe and began petting the tiny dog.
"yeah they are the vet clinic for lower incomes... They want to set up a new clinic and have reached out" you explained you had to admit the request came out of the blue and you hadn't had chance to tell everyone yet. The staff meeting was on Friday.
"that would be good!" she said slowly wetting the snarling prom that was trying her absolute hardest to frighten you both off. But alas she was no great wolf, but a teeny cute little raging fluff nugget, and to her utter dispair neither you or Mandy found her scary at all. Even if she was trying to foam at the mouth.
"yeah that's what I thought, having a vet on site... We're still talking but if everything goes acording to plane we will have the mobile vet out front while setting up the small clinic... I was thinking in the old groom rooms? They had water and electricity already and its a littl out of the way so the unwell puppets can be separate from the healthy customers" you shrugged moving around Mandy to help tend to your most vocal customer.
"so business will be booming?" Mandy said moving to rinse underneath the small feral beast. You giggled and stood Bella on her back legs as she seethed but in between her savagery she was actually licking at you, showing a hint of the sweet girl she really was. You pet her praising her promising chicken treats and snuggles afterwards. You might even pop Amii in with the others in the small day care pen. Bella liked laying on her using the huge dog as a fluffy bed.
"yes hopefully, i mean were not taking anything for them, they are a charity but hopefully we will get a few visits in the shop? And the more people know about us the more likely they are to use us!" you said you had been weighing up the pros and cons about the new venture. More people visiting the premises, more footfall in the shop and hopefully you can draw enough people to have a little pet café. Your business was right on the edge of the huge woodland park you'd always wanted a small café that serves both animals and people you want a little empire to become a franchise company and give the little guys a chance.
"And how about you? Any luck on the online dating front?" she asked with a small smile. You sighed you half regretted telling her about it. Mandy has been with you since the beginning, she was your first employee and most trusted freind. And she has been hounding you about your love life for a while now. She wants you to take a step back from Puptown and find some time for yourself, and now that the business was established and ticking over nicely it was the time to do it.
"Ooo! Oh my god your blushing!? Bitch spill!" she squealed excited as you flushed and looked away not answering her. And by doing so answering her at the same time.
"I'm talking to someone~ Hank.. He is... Funny and charming we've been chatting each night for about a week" you revealed quietly making her beam at you. Thankfully Bella chose that moment to make a mad dive over your shoulder but you managed to catch her and pop her back into the tub.
"ooo yes get in girl, you have been pouring too much into this company! Its about damn time you focused on yourself" sandy began as she washed Bella lathering the pup with a rather expensive de-sheading anti tangle shampoo.
"Please don't start, I'm doing it now and that's what matters. He is... He messaged me first and things are going good and that's where I'm going to leave it okay? I will update you as we go... I promise" you said releasing the now wet pup as Mandy began rinsing her down. You stepped back to the shelves full of half empty bottles of product. needing to change the topic to avoid daydreaming and fucking up your orders. As great as the wholesaler was this was still expensive stuff and you didn't want to unbalance the books and get more then you needed.
"Oh Bella?~ baby girl its so bad isn't it? Being brushed and washed and massaged? Then getting yourself a blow out and having a nap in the nice cosy play room?" you called over your shoulder condescendingly at the pup who was still snarling out her displeasure. She really was a little brat in the bath.
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Another week passed and you were lazing around the house having a duvet day, snuggled in bed with Amii on your lap. Normally your days off were all housework and finalizing orders or paper work but this week was different. With lord whiskey agreeing to taking the old groom room you decided to finally get an extra set of hands in management to take care of paperwork. It was strange at first but worth it. You now hade someone else to rely on, not that you didn't have managers to help out before but now you had a full time employee that's whole role was to take care of the business side and alleviate the pressure. So instead of the normal made rushes and mountain of paperwork you were in bed chatting away with henry.
He had just finished his work out and was relaxing, having a cool down before having yet another painfully boring sounding meeting with his own bosses. You sympathised. Practical work was the bomb! But the theory and paperwork kicked everyones asses. Risk assessments can eat shit! I'm a person and can asses the risk and decided to do it, why answer to a tick box system? But then again everything needed a tick in a box nowadays. You shuffled about grunting as Amii played dead on your lap so you couldn't move her from the comfy slump she was in over your thighs pinning you down.
'Soo you said you game?'  was the message that changed the subject, thankfully choosing to move on from speaking about work.
'God yes, when I can'
'What do you play? Sims and stuff?'
'depends if I'm on pc or xbox I'm more into fantasy and historic rpgs, but if I'm on my switch its little farming sims sometimes I branch out to things like shooters but not often, I like the big immersive fantasies!'
'So you really do mix and match are you playing anything atm?'
'I'm doing a re-run of skyrim with a load of mods just to spice things up. And just restarted Witcher wild hunt again'
'You like Witcher?'
'I adore it, Witcher skyrim and dragon age are my all time favourites, do you? Sorry I realise I'm just takeing over, I just get excited, I never really talk about this stuff 😅😅'
'No, no its fine I'm the same, I never really get to geek out anymore with work and stuff. I'm happy to have the chance, and I do love the Witcher too fantasy is my thing😄' henry paused for a moment. Should he? I mean you just said you were replaying it... Would it be big headed? To ask what you thought of the show? Of his performance... I mean it'd be an unbiased view, you wasn't going to try and butter him up you still didn't know it was him.
'So you've watched the show on Netflix I presume?' he typed and pressed send quickly before he lost his nerve.
'Absolutly, I binge watched it a few times.😅'
'You liked it? I know a few people didn't' henry couldn't help but dig a little deeper, he desperately wanted you to have enjoyed it.
'I loved it, but I think it was easier for me to watch bc I new what was roughly going on before hand. Most people that struggled thought it was going to be an easy watch? Like got'
'Oh come on, there must be something you didn't like?🤔🤔'
'😞okay you got me, I was a tad disappointed with geralts eyes you can do the toxic eyes and cat eye potion at least give me a teeny cat eye just a smidge🤏🥺'
'Yes I see what you mean, their could have been a little frame of it but there are always sacrifices when going from books to the big screen 😅'
'But henry's portrayal more then made up for it! That man was on point! I was so happy when they anounced it was him playing Geralt there was no way he was going to fuck it up!' henry stopped breathing. You liked it? You actually like him playing Geralt? His heart swelled and he laughed out loud for some reason you enjoying his work just... It meant the world to him! He was over the moon. Quickly his attention was drawn to his tablet again as another message pinged on screen.
'And I have a little fan theory over the whole eye issue😏'
'Hit me with it I'm all ears'
'Geralt has complete control of his eyes right? And is a softy deep down so my idea was he is always holding his pupils open so he doesn't scare anyone'
'🧐that is brilliant! It makes so much sense! 🥰🥰 its also nice to know I have a little conspiracy fangirl on my hands😁'  henry frowned heart clenching as you went quiet, he waited and waited minuets seemed like hours. His mind immediately jump to conclusions terrified you had caught him, that you'd figured out just who you were speaking to. Sweat formed on his brow as he frowned praying he hadn't got a little to close to home and given himself away. Then the dots appeared. You were typing.
'So I was wondering I know we agreed not to at first but since we've chatting every night I thought we could maybe exchange numbers? Only if you want to! No pressure. I'm just excited' henry slumped, melting into his seat. Thank fuck for that! His relief quickly became excitement at the prospect of hearing you! Actually speaking to you properly having an actual phone call? Fuck yes!
'😊😊I was actually trying to find the time to mention it myself, i know its only been three weeks but it feels much longer.'
'Omg thank god! I thought you would think i was rushing you😅here xxx xxxx xxxx' henry was quick to pull out his phone and type the number in, not wasting any time in creating your contact info into his phone book. And whislt doing that also replied to you putting you at ease.
'No not at all, I'm excited I cant wait to hear you🥰'
'Oh god don't build your hopes to high I don't have the most attractive voice it may be the deal breaker😅'
'I doubt that anything could put me off you love, your gorgeous, smart, funny, kind everything I could of dreamed of and soo much more'
'I'm glad its not only me Hank, I have to say I was frightened by how quickly we have become friends, but I suppose it makes sense we are two peas in a pod' henry grinned reading the message and nodded to himself pressing the small green call button and held the phone to his ear feeling confident as he re-read your last message.
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You hummed nibbling your lip, chewing it nervously after giving out your number. You couldn't help your mind dredging up all the horror stories of Ted bundy-esque creepy ass psycho killers, luring in prey on the internet... Fuck you were a bigger girl so easy to sweet talk. You whined and snuggled into the massive furry lump on your lap, lacing your fingers into the dogs thick fur. Petting her as your over active imagination conjured scenario's that could end up with you in a eight foot hole in someone's basement ,being told to 'put the lotion in the basket'. Jesus Christ. But it was fine right? He wasn't weirded out or anything? He seemed happy. You were sensible, or at least you thought you were.
You yipped at your phone suddenly vibrated in your hand, you almost threw it across the room. The screen lit up with 'unknown number' you swallowed eyeing the device then nodded answering the call heart beat thundering in your chest your breath picked up you made to speak but couldn't quite make sounds, unable to force the words to roll off your tongue. There was a deep chuckle, gorgeas and rumbling even if it was quiet.
"You have no reason to be frightened darling I'm just as eager to move on" you gasped as the thick voice spoke in slow syllables, calling you by the nick name he had taken to calling you. You'd asked a few girls at work about it, worried things were going to fast. But they had calmed you down saying it was his way of avoiding being freind zoned. You had to admit the cute little names always made you grin and blush, but this? God this was better then anything! His low timber and slightly more eloquent accent uttering the name sent a shiver up your spine.
A surprizing reaction in all honesty, you'd never really thought about voices much, never had a voice kink or really thought anyone could have an attractive voice. Well not a real voice anyway, sometimes characters on tv with low raspy voices got you going Geralt and Alcide to name a few. He almost sounded like the former if you thought about it... Just more refined? A regal soft lilt.  It was definetly a voice you could listen to all day, this man could read you a bloody take away menu and you wouldn't even gruff at the extortionate prices. You wet your lips and dug your fingers into the warm dog in your lap breathing deep, filling your lungs with air trying to ease yourself and draw in some courage.
"O-oh your? Really there? Really.. real?" you stuttered slowly. You chided yourself for sounding so silly, so childish. But you couldn't help it you felt completely unprepared. Which irritated you because it was you who'd offered your number, what were you expecting him to do with it? Use carrier pigeon? Of course he was going to call you.
"I'm most definitely real love" he spoke again with a small chuckle, he was clearly amused by your flustered question. You blushed and squirmed on your seat trying to breath quietly, you didn't want him to hear just how on edge you were.
"Oh gosh that's.. wow I cant even, I don't know what to say" you huffed trying to think of something- anything else you could focus on rather then the absolute sex that was his voice, then he spoke once more
"Now, now don't be shy love, I want to hear you, your voice is just as I thought it'd be" henry tried encouraging you wanting to hear you and revel in your sweet voice, wanting to commit it to memory.
"Oh? And what's that then?" you asked trying to be playfull but in all honesty you wasn't hitting the mark, you were to nervous. You'd never really thought about your voice, was it attractive? Or too high? Deep? I mean you were normal, you spoke normal and if anything sounded common.
"Pure and delicate, playful and charming all in one just like the woman it belongs to" henry's breathing hitched as you giggled. The sweet tinkling laugher warmed his heart and made him huff out a chuckle himself. He was so happy he could have cried. It was just so overwhelming to hear you finally, to put a voice to the amazing woman he was slowly falling inlove with. He sometimes grew wary thinking you were too good to be true, that you were a catfish yourself. But here and now he knew. You were as real as him and all it did was solidify his resolve, he was doing the right thing. He was falling for a genuine woman. A real woman with no strings attached, and with any luck you were feeling the same.
"well I think I just found my mans flaw~" you giggled once more blushing under the weight of all the compliments. He was really smooth, smoother then you'd thought and that was saying something.
"really darling? Care to enlighten me?" he quipped playfully you usual banter and teasing between you both flowing just as effortlessly as it had when messaging each other.
"your clearly deaf! Well have no fear, i will talk a little louder and learn some sign language for you~" you laughed out loud he joined you low echoing chuckles that sounded as if they came from a deep wide chest. It was enough to drive you mad with lust, but that may be the new found voice kink brewing.
"well its nice to know you are so committed to your man and his disability love" suddenly you froze and trembled panic and anxiety washed over you clogging  your wind pipe at his words... Fuck!
"oh god- no I? Your not really deaf are you? I'm sorry I didn't mean to make fun-" you began apologizing not quite picking up on his sarcasm. Henry was quick to cut you off and stop your guilty rambling.
"No love I'm not deaf I was just pulling your leg" his voice was strained as if he was trying not to laugh at you, but you couldn't really say anything. You were the one nervously crack jokes then immediately trying to take them back. Stumbling your wat through the very first real conversation with a man you were crushing on. God you were such a dweeb!
"oh Jesus you scared the crap out of me" you heaved a sigh wanting to bury yourself into the covers and hide despite knowing he couldn't see your glowing face.
"I apologize darling, I have only the purest of intentions... Well maybe not that pure~ but I don't want to scare you" he grinned when you gasped at his little flirtatious comment. And he wasn't kidding, he found you incredibly attractive and wanted to do all manner of very filthy things with you. It didn't help when you were sending him photos of you drenched nipples hard and drawing him in like a moth to a flame. You probably hadn't even noticed that and he was thankfull for it because you wouldn't have sent it otherwise. It was his favourite photo, apparantly it had been a husky escape from the bath as you switched his lead to another hook.
"your fine, I'm just a little nervous is all" you huffed finally somehow managing to sort yourself out and think clearly overcoming your excitement and nerves.
"I understand but just remember its just me love. So have anything else planned for today?" henry hummed sweetly before giving you a chance to change the topic, you'd never know it was because he was barely holding himself together. He was almost bursting at the seams wanted to laugh and cry and shout all at once. He was completely overwhelmed with joy and relief and wanted to listen to you as much as he possibly could.
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Both you and henry then began the nightly ritual of phone calls and texted all day. He even had a new nick name. Puppy. And he couldn't be more thrilled you'd said it was because he made tiny cute puppy whines when you teased him. But he didn't care, he would happily be your puppy anyday!
The weeks became one month, then two and before you knew it you were one week shy of three months. And that was when it happened. Those fateful words left his mouth as he spoke to you just before bed. He had asked to meet, he was certain and confident he wanted to meet you and take this further, and he hadn't really planned to ask it just happened.
"So your really letting lord whiskey in your old groom space? That's incredible, I'm so proud of you for letting them in love. It says volumes for you and your business, that its not all profit driven" henry spoke down the phone as he stirred his tea getting ready to go up to bed.
"I mean it just seems right... No matter the income everyone should be able to get medical care for their animals. And I'd be lying if I didn't hope some people will come into the shop or realise that we are here and come back for our facilities." he smiled at that. You wasn't just trying to make a great profitable business, you cared and wanted to give everyone a reasonably priced alternative to pooch care. And he was right behind you, he loved that you were trying to give owners the chance to spoil their fur babies without breaking the bank. In slashing your prices you'd attracted more customers and been making a great profit, so much so that you could afford to just give away your old groom rooms to the charity for free.
"shop? You have a shop?" he pondered padding about the kitchen giving Kal his nightly biscuit treat and motioned for him to take it upstairs. Which he didn't need to do, Kal new the jig and was already carrying the treat to the stairs.
"yeah it opened last year? The year before maybe? Its small but here with food and treats a few toys and leads... I try to use smaller businesses the brands that you wont see in the bigger shops" you said slowly and he heard a small yawn and rustle of paper. You had said you were packing up and heading to bed for the night soon.
"I may have to pop over with the bear~" he teased coyly humming to himself as he sipped his tea.
"pop over? I.. Well you could I suppose?" you hummed quietly, henrys eyes almost popped out of his head were you inviting him to ask you out? He coughed quickly trying not to choke on the mouthful of tea and then rocked his head from side to side. I mean he could come over and see you.
"I'm only ten minuet's away darling, Kensington... I've actually used your grooming service once or twice getting the bears nails and teeth done"
"oh?! I didn't know that." you said trying to picture the owners of the akita you saw, but honestly? You had soo many customers now it was hard remembering everyone, that and you wasn't really front of house now, you had more and more to deal with back of house, even with the new manager.
"well you do now sweetheart... So? Do you want to meet up tomorrow?" he asked placing his tea down in favour of crossing his fingers hoping he had read your signals right.
"Yeah of course I'm covering for walking duty tomorrow... So I can't really do anything in the morning or early afternoon" henry fist pumped and grinned faking a silent shout of victory as he managed to wrangle a date.
"That's fantastic actually... I could meet you in the park? I'll bring the bear with me and we could walk the dogs and grab a coffee or something?" he said somehow managing to quell his excitement enough to arrange the date properly, placeing a hand on his heart as it beat wildly. The realisation that he could see you- meet you face to face!
"Yeah that sounds like a brilliant idea, will noon be alright? That's when we do a switch over and go back to feed the dogs in day care so I'll have an hour lunch break" you said stuttering a little when it began to sink in that this was happening!
"Its a date I will see you tomorrow at noon love" Henry anounced eagerly suddenly tomorrow couldn't come soon enough!
"See you then puppy, good night sweet dreams" you said needing to hang up and squeal into a pillow or something.
"sweet dreams love" as soon as he hung up he was already scrolling his phone selecting the number he was after and called in a tizzy.
"Piers?! Piers! I'm? Oh god- were meeting tomorrow and fuck- I'm freaking out already! What do I say? What should I wear- kal's coming too do I put his halti on or just his collar- fuck I don't know what to do!? Please help!" he yelped down the phone to the unsuspecting man drawing a deep sigh from him before he began talking him down.
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Stark's Girl
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part 015/015 "the real hero"
previous part
masterlist
word count nearly 9k whoops
an: okay so... this is long and honestly... be prepared for an ending that took me days to write. i do not take any ownership on dialogue/scenes used from endgame, and i tried to make it original as well... anyways, here's the final part, and i can't wait to see what y'all think of the ending :3 oop i cried three times in this so be ready.
Was this actually going to work? Were the Avengers really about to get everyone back? According to Tony.. No. There were too many factors against it.
You tried to talk to him about it that night, but Tony avoided the conversation like the plague. By the morning Tony had disappeared and you were set to head back to the Compound that evening. You hadn’t heard from anyone if they had gotten anywhere beyond Tony’s involvement but it raised the question.. Who would even be able to make it work besides him? Hank Pym had been blipped, and as far as you knew this must be outside of Banner’s expertise. Tony was avoiding you, and that bugged you.
You understood the hesitation, but you knew how tore up he was about losing the Parker kid, even to this day. Morgan and Pepper were his world, this was his fresh start, so if it didn’t work then it was all for nothing. But what if it did? Then everyone would be back, and things would go back to how they were.
You zipped your bag shut and reached for your phone that laid on the bed. There were no new messages and you couldn’t help but sigh when there was a light tap on the door frame behind you. You glanced over your shoulder before tossing your phone into the bag and picking it up, and facing your brother fully. “Look who decided to say goodbye.”
“Got everything?” Tony asked and motioned his hands. “Clothes, toiletries-”
“I have everything,” you reassured him. “Was that all or.. Do you wanna talk about it?”
Tony sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. You dropped your bag to the floor and sat down on your bed, and pat the spot next to you. Tony pushed himself off the door frame and ended up by your side, and you hit him with your shoulder. “Go on old man.”
“I hate it when you call me that,” Tony grumbled before he sighed and looked at you. “I just don’t see it working. And I can’t risk losing all of this.”
“I get that Tony, I really do,” you replied. You slid closer to him and snaked your arm through his and rested your head against his arm. “What you have here it’s.. Well I haven’t seen anything like it since mom and dad.”
“But you want me to figure it out,” Tony said. You sighed and looked up at him.
“I just.. I want to know if you really think it won’t work.”
Tony sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“It’s never been explored, I get that,” you told him. You unlatched yourself from his side and stood, and grabbed your bag before placing a hand on your brother's shoulder. “I have to get back and see what they’ve come up with though.”
Tony placed his hand over yours and gave you a tight squeeze. He spent the rest of the day with one question on his mind.
Would it work?
When you got back to the Compound the sun was nearly setting, and you sat in your car after switching the engine off. You pulled out the velvet box from your bag and ran your thumb over the top a couple times before pushing the lid open and staring at the contents. The ring inside still had a gleam to it, and you smiled a bit at it. You snapped the box shut and got out the car with your bag in tow, and headed inside. There was a strange brown van parked in the large hangar that made you slow your pace a bit, but you shook it off and continued on your way to the common room. As you got closer you could hear more and more chatter, and prepared yourself for what you were about to walk in on.
“I only have enough Pym particles for a few more goes,” you could hear Scott saying. “So I hope you were able to figure it out.”
“I got it down.. Mostly,” another voice said. It sounded almost like.. Banner?
When you came around the corner you were met with what looked like equations, workarounds, and everyone’s back to you. You had heard about “Professor Hulk” (that’s what his students called him at least) but you hadn’t seen Banner since after the blip. It was definitely, well, something. You came to a halt and couldn’t help but smile. “I see you guys have made progress since I saw you.”
Everyone turned around and Natasha approached with a smile. “Did he come around?”
“No,” you admitted. “He has a family now Nat, they mean the world to him.. And he doesn’t think it’ll work.”
“Well,” Nat looked back at Banner before he moved out of the way. “We might have a start.”
Bruce (Hulk?) explained everything. Tomorrow they would attempt time travel by sending Scott back to the 1950’s, and pull him right back. He said it would be easy, and checked his work multiple times to prove it. It sounded plausible, but until the morning no one would really know if it could work. Your nerves were shot at just the thought of it, and decided to make yourself some tea. You weren’t a huge fan, so as you dipped your tea bag into the hot water of your mug, the smell made you shake your head.
“You should try adding some honey.”
You glanced up from your mug at Steve walking into the kitchen. He stopped at a cabinet and pulled out a container filled with golden honey. He made his way to your side and set it on the counter, and you graciously took it and swirled some of it into the steaming cup. You lifted the cup to your lips and took a small sip, and turned to rest your hip against the counter and face Steve. “You think it’ll work?”
“It has to,” Steve said. His hand came up to rub one of your arms. “We owe it to everyone we lost to at least try.”
You nodded at his words and tapped your mug lightly in thought, and something surged through you. You set the mug down and reached into your pocket and pulled out the velvet box he had given you just days prior. Steve felt his heart stop at the sight, and his stomach twisted as you placed it on the counter between you both.
“I know you said you’d give me as much time as I needed, but.. I don’t need time to decide my answer.”
“I’m sorry,” Steve mumbled. “I guess I read too much into things-”
“Steve,” you cut him off from even finishing that thought. You placed your right hand up on his cheek, and Steve met your gaze. “The answer is yes.”
“Yes?” He asked quietly, and you nodded.
“Yes,” you repeated, and couldn’t help but giggle when a smile spread over his face. Steve pulled you into his arms like you were going to disappear right in front of him. When he set you back down you watched as he grabbed the velvet box and opened it, and pulled the ring out. He gently grabbed your left hand and as he slid the ring onto your finger, it felt like both of you weren’t breathing. You held your hand up to look at the gold band and diamond on your finger, and Steve’s smile fell.
“Are you okay?”
You met his gaze again and nodded. “I just never thought this would ever happen for someone like me.”
Admitting that to him felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. Steve’s look turned more understanding and he took your hand and placed a chaste kiss to your fingers. He pulled you into his embrace and your arms wrapped around his waist and head laid on his chest, while his arms held your body close. You had the sneaking suspicion the last few months that Steve did know what had been running through your mind, and this felt like confirmation. Your confession was absolute, and Steve understood it. And he would spend everyday making sure you knew you were worth it until the end.
It was the first night you spent together, welcoming one another’s embraces in a quiet and tender moment. To you, you had felt like it would be one of the last quiet moments before finding out if time travel was possible, because from there it would be non-stop until they got everyone back. You knew it, and Steve did too. One last night of quiet, then one last time saving the world. So Steve took residence in your room once more, sharing your bed and holding you so you knew you were worth this.
The next morning came too soon, peeking through your shades until FRIDAY opened them higher like you had scheduled. Steve traced his fingers up and down your arm that draped across him for awhile before duty called. Begrudgingly you both changed and went to the hangar hand in hand, only separating when you got in view of everyone. Natasha though never misses anything.
“Good morning love birds,” she quipped while typing away on a computer near Banner. As you two neared you came to her side and nudged her with your arm gently to take over.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you replied back and met Steve’s gaze with a little smile.
“The ring on your finger says different,” she threw back your way. Banner looked down over the exchange and saw what Natasha had been talking about.
“What? Since when!” He asked.
“Recently,” Steve offered. Banner tapped his rather large hand on your back and shot a finger Steve’s way.
“I always knew you two would work it out, congratulations.”
“Speaking of working out,” Natasha cut in. “Are we ready?”
“Almost there,” Banner said as he worked on a couple more calculations. “I’m going to go over this with (Y/N).. Cap do you mind setting the breakers and getting the emergency generators ready just in case?”
“Got it,” Steve said. With one final glance between you both he casted a smile and walked back into the compound. Banner hovered over your shoulder and walked you through the equations running through the sequence, and also working in the Pym particles into that. You followed it for the most part, but for some reason something didn’t add up, you just couldn’t put your finger on it. Tossing caution to the wind (you weren’t a genius like Banner was of course) the sound of footsteps echoed in the hangar, and Steve made his way back.
“Alright, here we go. Time travel test number one. Scott you can fire up the uh, the van thing,” Banner instructed. Scott, in what looked like a retro Ant Man suit, powered up the Quantum tunnel and you double checked Banner’s work.
“Breakers are set, emergency generators are on standby,” Steve said as he walked back to your and Natasha’s side.
“Good. ‘Cause if we lose the grid I don’t want to lose Tiny here in the 1950’s,” Banner said lightly. Everyone’s gaze went to him in shock.
“Excuse me?” Scott asked from near the van.
“He’s kidding!” Natasha told him, before turning and whispering to the group. “You can’t say things like that!”
“Yeah, just a bad joke!” Banner said loudly for Scott, and offered him a thumbs up. Scott nodded hesitantly and smiled nervously.
“You were kidding right?” You asked. Banner lowered his voice again.
“I have no idea. We’re talking about time travel here. Either it’s all a joke or none of it is,” Banner explained, though it didn’t calm any of your hesitations. Banner looked back to Scott and gave him a nod. “We’re gonna send you back a week, let you walk around an hour, then bring you back in 10 seconds. Make sense?”
“Perfectly not confusing,” Scott tried to level with humor.
“Good luck, Scott. You got this,” Steve offered in encouragement which Scott gave a more confident smile.
“You’re right. I do, Captain America.”
You met Scott’s gaze for a moment before giving him a nod of approval, and with Banner’s direction you pressed a button and Scott disappeared into the tunnel. Silence fell over the group, and you exchanged glances with Steve, who put his hand on the small of your back. Banner, with his arms crossed keeping track of time on his abnormally large watch gave you a nod.
“On the count of three. Three.. Two.. One!”
In the same sequence as before you pressed the button and the Quantum Tunnel spit a figure back out… But it was not the same one you sent in. They were younger, and your heart dropped as Banner moved you out the way.
“Guys? Uh this doesn’t feel right,” the teen said, and everyone’s attention shot to Banner.
“What is this?” Steve asked.
“Who is that?” Natasha asked next and Banner mumbled to himself.
“Jesus, is that Scott?” You asked this time and Banner huffed.
“Yes, it’s Scott!” Banner exclaimed. Before anyone could get a grasp on the situation, Banner hit buttons and teen Scott was sucked back into the Quantum Tunnel, only for an older man to be spit back out.
“My back,” the old Scott said and Steve shuffled next to you to face Banner fully.
“Can you bring him back?” Steve asked and Banner tapped the buttons furiously.
“I’m working on it!”
Tensions were high as old Scott got sucked back in and in a flash another body was spit out. The Ant-Man suit had fallen to the floor and inside was..
“It’s a baby,” you said matter of factly.
“It’s Scott,” Banner countered.
“As a baby!” Nat said again, matter of factly.
“He’ll.. Grow,” Banner offered and Steve shook his head.
“Bring Scott back!” Steve ordered. And Banner looked to Natasha and motioned to the generators.
“When I say kill the power, kill the power,” he instructed her. Natasha nodded before rapidly walking towards the generator and grabbing a hold of the lever. You came up by Banner’s side again to see what he was doing and he pointed at Nat. “Kill it!”
Nat pulled the power and out shot regular Scott, which made everyone sigh in relief. Scott, on the other hand, stood there in disbelief and admitted something quietly. “Somebody peed my pants.. But I don’t know if it was baby me or old me.”
You glanced Steve’s way and offered a sad smile. Tony was right, this wasn’t going to work. Natasha came back to the group and mumbled a thank god, while Steve wrapped his arm around your shoulders.
It wasn’t going to work. It was a grim thought, and everyone got their hopes up for nothing. Though Banner still tried to remain optimistic, and threw his hands up in triumph.
“Time travel!” Banner exclaimed, only earning a few shakes of the head. Steve motioned his head in a direction and off you two went, leaving behind Nat and Banner, and Scott who didn’t know what to do about his situation.
Steve had led you outside into the sunlight, where he removed himself from your side and let you walk out of the shade and close your eyes. He felt defeated, and took a seat on a hard surface and casted his gaze to the ground.
There was no victory, not even an opportunity for it. He had to once again come to terms with the fact he would never see Bucky again, or Sam, or Wanda. Wakanda would never get their King or Princess back, and the kid from Queens would never get to step foot back in the city. Steve was so lost in thought he nearly missed what you said.
“Holy shit,” you said out loud. Steve averted his gaze back to you, only to see what you had referred to. A car was fast approaching, and he knew just who was behind the wheel. Steve was by your side before the car came to a halt before you and the window rolled down.
“Why the long faces?” Tony asked.
You couldn’t help the smile that broke out over your face. There would only be one reason why Tony would come here (voluntarily)... He figured it out.
“Let me guess.. Lang turned into a baby,” Tony said and you covered your mouth to hide your grin. Steve nodded beside you and shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Among other things, yeah. What are you doing here?” Steve asked. Tony removed his sunglasses and tossed them onto the passenger seat before stepping out the car. He walked around the back, and opened the trunk.
“That’s the EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you must’ve pushed time through Lang. It’s tricky, dangerous even. Somebody should’ve cautioned you on it,” Tony went on explaining. Steve smiled a bit and nodded at him.
“You did,” Steve admitted and Tony put his hand over his chest, acting shocked.
“Did I? Well thank God I’m here,” Tony replied while fishing something out of his pocket. It looked like a funky little watch, which he promptly tossed your way and you caught easily. “Regardless, I fixed it. That is a fully functioning Time-Space GPS.”
“Son of a bitch,” you mumbled to yourself looking at the device in your hands.
“And don’t think I didn’t notice that,” Tony pointed from where he was. You looked at where he was pointing and smiled at the sight of the ring on your finger. “I just want peace, if you’re okay with it.”
“Of course I am Tony,” Steve confirmed and Tony sighed as he lowered his voice for the two of you.
“We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities. Bring back what we lost? I hope so, yes of course. Keep what I got?” Tony paused while focused on you and nodded at him. “I have to, at all costs.. and maybe not die trying would be nice.”
“Sounds like a deal,” Steve agreed and offered Tony his hand, and you watched them shake on the promise. Tony pulled one last thing from the trunk of his car and Steve looked uncertain to take it. “Tony-“
“Why? He made it for you,” Tony insisted. And finally.. Steve took the shield once more.
“Looks good, Cap,” you commented, earning one of those looks from Steve and Tony shut his trunk.
“Ew. Please I don’t need to hear that.”
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The Compound was about to be bustling once more. It was one of the more festive dinners the Avengers compound had seen in awhile, nearly every seat occupied and chatter among everyone. Pizza was the easier choice for the evening, and you had found yourself looking for a seat near Nat, Tony, and Steve who had engrossed themselves in early talks.
Clint had proven that Tony’s way of time travel worked, though it had taken a couple weeks to get it ready. You learned the calculations for entry points and exits, then re-entry back to the present. It was confusing, but the thought of getting the world back to normal was worth the late night lectures with Tony.
So now it was down to figuring out where and how to get all the stones as they are scattered throughout time. There wasn’t a clear path though, not yet anyway. But as you came up to the trio you could hear them still discussing it.
“I’m so glad we have the Three Stooges figuring this out,” you commented as Steve welcomed you to sit in his lap. Tony tossed a napkin your way and you chuckled before taking a glance around the room. “It’s nice to see all these faces again.”
“Hopefully soon it’s everyone,” Natasha offered. Her hope never died these last five years, and it made you nod in agreement as you bit into your slice of pizza. One of Steve’s hands ran up and down the side of your hip, and everything felt a little more normal.
“Lang only has enough particles for ten round trips, one for each of us,” Tony went on about, though you quickly swallowed the bite of pizza you had to inject.
“What about me-“
“No,” Steve and Tony said in unison. You narrowed your gaze at them both and took an angry bite of your pizza. It was ridiculous that they made the decision you were to stay here and track them on the time heist.
“Thor and Rocket could go for the Reality Stone in 2013,” Steve offered.
“Clint and I can get the Soul Stone, Nebula and Rhodey can handle the Power Stone.. We know where those are in 2014,” Natasha said out loud.
“That still leaves three stones and four of us,” Tony sighed. You shrugged your shoulders and took a bite of the crust you had left.
“I mean if you pick the right year, there’s three stones in New York,” you said off the top of your head. When silence fell among the group and you looked up to see them all staring at you you raised a brow. “What?”
“What did you just say?” Tony asked and you blinked at him.
“I said if you pick the right year there are three stones in New York?” You replied and when everyone still looked confused you sighed. “The wizard had the Time Stone, you guys had the Space Stone aka the Tesseract, and Loki’s scepter had the Mind Stone.”
It was silent, everyone seemed to be processing what you said when Banner came up to the group, but Tony was already in motion. “There’s only one pizza left can I have it-“
“Jolly Green take a look at this,” Tony said as he whipped out a small device and displayed images in the room. His actions made everyone else look on as he moved pictures, air typed words, and took a step back to show everyone. Tony put his hands on his hips and Banner looked surprised.
“Shut the front door.”
“This is it,” Natasha stood and looked on. “This is how we get all the stones in one go.”
For once you were glad to have caught up on all those confidential SHIELD documents on what you had missed.
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No..
No no no. No it wasn’t supposed to be like this. This wasn’t supposed to happen, no one was supposed to die.. This was supposed to fix everything, but not this. No.. No it wasn’t true. What Clint was saying couldn’t be true.
He fell to his knees, he had to be picked up from the floor as he recounted what happened. A soul for a soul, he said. It shouldn’t have been the price but it was, he said.
It couldn’t be true.
The thought just ran over and over again in your mind the rest of the day. Everyone had gone to the lake and discussed it more but that one line just kept running over you. Clint insisted there was no other way, there was no give backs.
She bet her life on it.
Tony crafted a gauntlet to house the stones in. He carefully placed each like where Thanos had them originally. He was precise, this was delicate after all. Someone died to make this happen.
Steve was distant. You chalk it up to being focused on the situation at hand.
But who should snap?
Thor offered but was met with (quickly) apprehension from everyone. Tony said he was in no condition to do so, so Bruce said it should be him.
“You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive,” Banner said.
“How do we know you will?” You asked. It was one of the first times you had spoken up in days, and seemed to shock everyone a little bit.
Honestly, you couldn’t handle someone else dying right now.
There was no way to know for sure, but it was time to find out. This time you weren’t letting anyone tell you not to join, and you grabbed the nano suit attachment Tony had made for you. The chest pendant stuck to your shirt and like a second skin it dispersed the suit over your body, leaving your face still exposed.
You came up by Steve’s side and he glanced your way and sighed. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Let me be here for this,” you said lowly. Steve didn't question you again, and strapped his shield tighter to his arm as Scott came to his side and gave him a ready nod.
“FRIDAY do me a favor and activate Barn Door Protocol will you?” tony asked.
Barn Door Protocol was simple. There were protective blast doors that closed the Compound in the event of a catastrophic event. It protected every square inch of the facility-
You get the point by now. It’s in case some shit goes down.
The room got slightly darker, and Tony gave you a nod across the room and both your helmets covered your faces. Tony projected a shield before him and Clint, and you shifted in your place.
This was it: one last mission.
Banner slowly put on the gauntlet, the metal growing over his enlarged hand, and when it fit snugly the stones began to glow and you could see their power begin to surge through him. Suddenly, Banner fell to his knee and grunted in pain.
“Take it off!” Thor hollered.
“No, wait,” Steve called over the chaos. “Bruce you okay?”
“Talk to us, Banner,” you tried to reason over the conflicting voices.
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Bruce reassured everyone and even attempted to give a thumbs up. But the scene unfolding told you (and probably everyone) that Bruce was not okay. He screamed in pain, holding his hand that housed the gauntlet and just when you thought he was going to pass out from the pain he was in--
-- He snapped.
Bruce fell to the ground and the gauntlet slid off his hand and Clint kicked it away. Steve rushes to his side and you move to do the same but Tony stops you.
“Don’t move him,” Tony instructed and Bruce gripped onto Steve’s arm.
“Did it work? Bruce asked immediately. Everyone glanced around, unsure if it did or not.
Nothing felt different, nothing screamed yes it worked. Tony iced Bruce’s affected arm and just when the dust was settling-
A bad choice of words. Suddenly everything evaporated around you. Explosions, debris, rock and dirt flying everywhere. Everything was disorienting, nothing truly felt settled for minutes. You weren’t sure how long time had passed, but there was chatter in your ear and you gasped back to life.
“We’re drowning! Does anybody copy? Mayday!” Rhodey’s voice rang a little choppy.
You groaned as you pushed yourself up, feeling the same water building around you. Rhodey, Rocket and Hulk came into view and you forced yourself up, having to crouch because of the fallen pieces of cement. You rushed over as water continued to fill the small cramped area, and came to Bruce’s side.
Your boots cemented themselves to whatever ground you stood on and helped push the cement that was threatening you all. “I got you, big guy.”
See you on the other side, man,” Rhodey said to Rocket who was next to him. The water was quickly rising, and this didn’t feel real.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
Bruce and you couldn’t bear the weight, not with the water circling your necks. It was an ironic death, because your life did flash before your eyes. Seeing your parents death, seeing Tony again, that date with Steve where he kissed you in the rain, then the flashes of Siberia, Natasha’s last smile.. You wouldn’t admit this to anyone until much later, but you welcomed this ending.
Suddenly something cupped you all and air rushed around you. The large hand hugged you all carefully, and when they released you the scene of the outside world was a punch in the stomach, but there was no time to reflect. You could see that Purple Titan from this far, and you could also make out the size of his army.
And by the looks of it, Bruce’s snap worked.
Bruce leaped out of Scott’s hand and Rhodey, back in his suit hovered with Rocket, and you landed by his side. The chants of the Wakandan tribes ring in the air, but one voice cuts over the comms in your suit and you clutch your fists.
“Avengers!” Steve calls out.
“Assemble.”
Both forces charge one another, Thanos still on the battlefield pointing his legion on. You had flown in with Rhodey by your side as both sides met in a chaotic middle, and landed before one of the ugly Sakaaran aliens and ricocheting them backwards with the repulsors in your palm. Asgardians, Wakandan forces, wizards, and fellow Avengers fought all around you. Landing by your side, your brother shot another alien backwards past you.
“You alright?” his voice projected into your suit. An alien charged you and you grabbed it around the neck and propelled yourself upwards before using the momentum to slam the body back down to the ground.
“Oh just the usual Tuesday,” you replied before someone landed beside you two.
“Mr. Stark! Hey! Holy cow-” the young kid started. You gave your brother an understanding nod, and flew back up into the air, eyes landing on an incoming Leviathan, heading straight for Clint.
“Anyone have my back with the big space worm?” You asked over the comms, while cycling through the weapon options of your suit quickly.
“I got it!” Scott called over the comms and you took a play out of your brothers book. Scott was charging forward and as the Leviathan came near the forces fighting below, he punched the space worm, and with your charge ready, a small missile shot out from your suit and into a now exposed piece of flesh and exploded the Leviathan. Scott continued on, but in your state of distraction one of the Chitauri from the ground leapt up and pulled your downwards.
Shocked, the alien slammed your back down to the ground, and with a scepter like device flourished downward to pin you. You stopped the scepter just before impacting your chest and huffed and you tried to push them off, but they’re a lot heavier than they look. Before you have time to panic, the alien is thrown off of you, and a couple shots ring through the air.
Standing above you is Bucky Barnes.
Barnes lowers his gun and looks down at you, before offering his exposed vibranium hand for you to take. Without hesitation, you grip his hand and he pulls you up but not without lingering his hand in yours before letting you go, and you give him a nod.
“Thank you,” you tell him. “That’s two I owe you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Barnes replied. Both of your attention is pulled away when chatter erupts in your ears.
“We have incoming!” Someone shouted. Everyone turned their attention above as the looming ship Thanos arrived in began to fire. The same explosions that rocked the Compound hit the ground in the same destructive way, but the wizards (you really needed to learn the correct term for them) began to make shields to cover the people around them. You projected the shield Tony had integrated into these new suits and held it above you while Barnes shot at a couple more aliens who were still attempting to attack.
“Guess that’s only one you owe me,” Barnes said next to you and you let your helmet disappear to look at him fully.
“Did you just make a joke?” You asked and he shrugged.
“I do that sometimes,” he replied and you smiled a bit before your helmet reappeared over your face.
Above, you could just barely make out the Spider kid with the gauntlet being carried away on a Pegasus before you see them get knocked off the winged horse. But there was no telling how to get the ship to stop firing on both forces below, and that started to sit badly in the pit of your stomach. But in near perfect timing, the cannons stopped, and everyone around looked at one another in question (including you and Barnes). Your shield disappeared and the cannons moved to point upwards, and shot into the sky.
“What are they firing at?” You asked over the comms, before FRIDAY answered that something was entering the atmosphere.
In a blazing ball of glory shoots down from the sky and into a part of the ship, straight through, and then back in, all before shooting out as the ship began to crumble below her. You smiled behind your helmet before refocusing on the scene before you.
Get the gauntlet to the brown van, and put an end to Thanos once and for all.
“See you on the other side, Barnes,” you commented to him before shooting back off into the thick of it all. In a matter of seconds Thanos threw his sword towards the brown van and almost in slow motion, the gauntlet is lost in the dirt. You land besides Steve, who seemed to have almost forgot you had been here during this.
“(Y/N)-”
“We can’t let him get that gauntlet again,” you said to him, your eyes trained on your brother who was heading that way. “We can’t lose anyone else.”
Instead of arguing with you, Steve nodded in agreement and he outstretched his hand, and Mjolnir flew into his grasp, his shield on the other arm. Side by side you charged towards Thanos just as he smacked your brother away, Thor arriving at the same time. The two men teamed up to distract Thanos, and you focused your attention on the gauntlet, whose stones shined under the grim that now governed it. You could see Thanos overpower both Thanos and Steve, and with no one else in sight you picked the gauntlet up and back into the air you went. But you didn’t get very far, a large hand grabbing ahold of one of your legs and pulled you backwards, and for the first time you came face to face with the Titan who ruined everything.
Thanos used his free hand to grab a hold of your neck and released your leg, and you felt the metal of your suit dig into your sin as you gasped for air. Thanos looked you over, as if he could see your frightened expression behind your suit, and with his free hand he plucked the gauntlet from you and looked it over. His hand still was tight around your neck, and your vision began to fade before he looked back at you.
“Pathetic,” he muttered to you, before tossing you away. You weren’t sure how far you landed, but the impact shocked your body. You could feel yourself come in and out of consciousness, hazy vision of the dark clouds in the sky moving ever so slightly each time you came too. It wasn’t until the snarl of an Outrider nearing you did you finally find the strength to push yourself up, but before it lunged at you.. It disappeared into the wind like dust.
Pushing yourself up, you watched as all around all of Thanos’ different forces began to crumble away into dust. The Chitauri, the Sakaraans, and the Outriders all disappear before your very eyes in the same manner half the world did five years ago. You pushed yourself forward, over a heap of debris in what seemed like just enough time to see Thanos sit himself down in the middle of an open area. Thunder crackled above, and Thanos crumbled away into dust as well.
It.. It was over. It was really over.
Your helmet disappeared so you could see the spectacle for yourself. The only people still around were the Avengers, and everyone who helped that day (you would call them Avengers as well). You smiled a bit as your eyes landed on Steve who was focused somewhere else, but then he looked around frantically before spotting you. His expression made your chest hurt as you looked to where he had been staring previously.
No..
You could see Tony fall to the ground and people begin to surround him. There was an urgency in each step you took and when someone tried to stop you you pulled your hand from their grasp to get closer. You needed to see your brother, he had to be okay.
He just had to be.
When you finally got to his side you felt your heart stop. Peter was being pulled off the ground by Rhodey, while Pepper took his spot. She was stroking the side of Tony’s face, and whispering something to him you couldn’t hear. You found yourself taking in every detail, but still you couldn’t believe what you were witnessing. Tony stared off into the distance, his body was… It was just completely eaten up from what you knew were the stones. He was the one who snapped, and you shook your head in disbelief.
He was supposed to go home after this.
People looked at you, and Pepper glanced behind to meet your gaze. She held out her hand and you took a heavy step forward, until you kneeled down in front of your big brother… But his eyes held nothing in them anymore. Carefully you grabbed his hand that Pepper wasn’t holding and you gave him a squeeze, not really sure what to say.
With a shaky hand you reached out to stroke the side of his face that wasn’t burned, but your touch did nothing to get a response from him. You could feel the tears fall down your cheeks as you watched him barely breath, and you shook your head.
“I love you so much,” you managed before the sobs in your chest ached to be released. “I love you-”
Just as you were struggling to get the last words out, the light of his arc reactor went out. You gasped lowly as Pepper fell forward to sob into Tony’s shoulder, and someone pulled you off the ground as your sobs were just starting. Steve had pulled you into his embrace as you cried, and the somber feeling carried through everyone else.
You had lost the last piece of family you had left.
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Uncertainty. That was the one thing that had settled into your life those days between the battle and Tony’s funeral. Those of you who needed it found yourselves in a hotel in the city, and each of your days blended together in the same way. You slept all day, most of the time waking up and opting to stay in bed and stare ahead.. Your eyes burned, and you didn’t know what to do with yourself.
Steve stayed with you, though it was hard on him. When you first arrived, you nearly immediately got into the bed and under the sheets, and he couldn’t coax you out for two days. He opened the blinds to the windows, but you stared blankly out, and when he came with food you told him you weren’t hungry. He tried to help, but he didn’t know how.
The day before the funeral, when he finally got you to eat oatmeal (even if it was just a couple spoonfuls) and managed to get you into the shower, he tucked you back into bed and you went to sleep once more. He stayed in the room for a while, his own thoughts heavy on his mind, before going to the one person he knew would understand him the most.
When Bucky answered the door, he gave him a sad smile and let him into his room. Steve walked in and stopped in front of the windows overlooking the city, which was now bustling with life again. Bucky came up behind him, and Steve could hear him open the mini fridge in the room and pull something out.
“How is she?” Bucky asked. Steve sighed and turned back to face his friend while crossing his arms.
“I got her to eat a bit, but Buck… I’ve never seen her like this and I.. I don’t know what to do,” Steve admitted. Bucky sat himself on the edge of his bed with a water bottle in his hand and sighed.
“You just have to be there for her, Steve,” Bucky offered. “No matter how long it takes.”
The guilt on his conscience was too much, and Steve nodded in response. He took a seat in the chair across from the bed and rubbed his hands together, all while Bucky took sips from his water and watched him closely. Bucky knew he was holding something back.
“Steve.. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Steve looked up to meet his best friend's gaze, before looking back down to the ground. “I… I don’t think I belong here anymore, Buck.”
Bucky’s brows narrowed as he looked at his friend. Where was this coming from? Hethought you two would’ve worked things out in the five years he was gone, Bucky had only assumed so since Steve was by your side during this.. He thought Steve moved on from this kind of talk. “What do you mean Steve.”
“What if I should go back?” Steve asked him, meeting Bucky’s gaze again. “There’s a way now and… And I saw Peggy-”
“You saw Peggy?” Bucky asked, and Steve gave him a nod. “Steve now think about this… I thought you were over this, I thought you were set on making things right with (Y/N)-”
“I was,” Steve cut him off this time. “But Buck when I saw Peggy… There’s something telling me that… That it was always supposed to be her.”
“Yeah, maybe back then,” Bucky conceded. “But Steve think about now. You’re here for a reason, not back there… I thought you passed this.”
“Maybe I never was,” Steve asserted. Bucky looked over his friend, and he shook his head and stood up again.
“I think you should consider this a lot more than you have… Because there is someone really hurting right now, and she needs you,” Bucky told him. “I don’t know if you two worked it out over these last few years but Steve you need to think about this.”
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Tony was… Exceptional. He was what you had always wanted to be when you grew up. And maybe that was more true now than ever.
You found yourself unable to do a lot of things the last few days, including dress yourself for this funeral. You felt sickly, but the cries had drawn themselves out and left you too tired to continue today. You were there for the entirety of Tony’s message to his family, and Steve was still by your side as Pepper set a wreath with an old arc reactor into the lake by their home.
You felt empty. Emptier and more alone than you had ever felt.
When you managed to be alone you had wandered off by yourself to Tonys’ work shed and pried it open. Dust lingered in the air, and you entered slowly with hands shoved into the pockets of the coat you had been wearing. You were chilly, probably getting sick, but you ignored the thought as you turned the light on to see better.
What you had been searching for was staring at you like it had been weeks ago. Slightly discolored, the photo of Tony and you from when you were younger screamed at you of a feeling you’d never feel again. You reached out for it with a shakiness you couldn’t control and grabbed it, and traced your fingers over the glass front before holding it to your chest in an effort to comfort the pain in your heart.
The floor echoed as someone entered, and you wiped the tears from your face as they came up behind you. They didn’t sound like Steve’s footsteps, and you turned to face the person who must’ve followed you out.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Bucky Barnes said to you. You found yourself nodding and looked back down at the photo you were clinging onto.
“Me too,” you admitted quietly. When you met Bucky’s gaze again he looked like he wanted to say something, but Steve came up behind him and the moment was stopped. Steve glanced between you two before refocusing on you, and he cleared his throat.
“Happy has something for you,” Steve admitted and you gave him a nod. Steve waited for you to pass him before Bucky turned his way and gave him a knowing look. Though they hadn’t discussed it since, Bucky hoped Steve had come to his senses.
Things never felt normal for you, not as soon as people seemed to hope it would. You tried to be more.. Enthusiastic. But how could you just be okay after that?
Weeks had passed since the funeral, and you didn’t feel any better. Happy had given you a drive with a message he said Tony had left for you, but you couldn’t seem to bring yourself to listen to it. Not yet, maybe ever. It was hard enough seeing his face plastered on the news, and in depth reporting on the Stark legacy, with people questioning what you would contribute in the family’s wake. Even Steve had asked you about your commitment to one another… You hate to admit it but you told him you couldn’t right now, not with this pain in your heart. He told you he understood. You weren’t sure if he noticed, but you tucked the ring he had given you back into the velvet box, and then away safely.
But things were uneasy between you two, and you did what you always do. When Bruce called with work, you accepted it. Anything to get you mind off the thoughts that ran rampant. There was one last thing that needed to be done: the stones needed to be returned.
You had memorized every detail of Tony’s work when it came to the Quantum portal. Bruce and you had replicated one in record time, and on a sunny day you stood there beside him double checking the trajectories. Steve had volunteered to return the stones, with no arguments from anyone on the matter.
“Now, remember,” Bruce explained to Steve. “You have to return the stones to the exact moment you got them. Or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities.”
“Don’t worry Bruce, clip all the branches,” Steve said as he messed with the com in his ear. You were too focused on the conversations that unfolded, your mind drifting off for a moment before being pulled back with Bruce setting his hand on your back.
“You okay?” He asked, and you nodded and returned to finalizing the jump.
“I’m fine,” you reassured him and looked up to see Bucky and Steve hug for a moment. Steve stepped up onto the platform and the familiar Quantum suit appeared over him. He picked up the case that had all the stones, and Mjolnir as well.
“How long is this gonna take?” Sam asked.
“For him? As long as he needs. For us? Five seconds,” Bruce explained before meeting Steve’s look. “We’ll meet you back here, okay?”
Steve looked at you, with a look on his face you couldn’t quite place. Your stomach felt like it was twisted in a knot, even though he gave a nod and looked back Bruce’s way.
“You bet,” Steve replied.
“Going quantum in three, two, one..” Bruce counted down before Steve disappeared. You intently watched his stream disappear on the monitor you had before you, and Bruce started counting again. “And returning in five, four, three two, one-”
When Steve didn’t reappear you frantically looked for his stream location, only to see it shoot past his return point. “He blew right past his time stamp-”
Bruce moved you out the way and your gaze focused on the empty Quantum portal, and you shook your head a bit. You could hear the conversations around you, but couldn’t quite make out the words being said. All you knew was Steve didn’t come back. When everyone went quiet your attention went to the three men who were focused in the distance, with Sam heading towards a figure who hadn’t been there before.
You stepped off the platform you had been working on and took a few steps in the grass closer to where Bucky was standing and watching whatever was unfolding. You had your disbelief, but that was crumbled the minute you saw Sam take the shield, and you could now make out it was an old man.
When Tony died time had all but warped together.. But what you were seeing right now had felt like the ground was taken out from under you. The older man had stood and shaken Sam’s hand, and when they looked back at Bucky, when you could see those eyes even from this far you stumbled backwards. They were Steve’s eyes.
Confusion… Panic… Hurt. Everything coursed through you at once, and ignoring the calls from whoever tried to get you to stay, to probably talk about it, you turned away from the scene and pulled the arc attachment from your pocket and desperately threw it onto your chest. The suit that you hadn’t worn since the battle appeared out your body, hid your face behind a helmet and you shot off from the ground with only one destination in your mind.
You had never used the fastest flight power Tony’s suits had to offer but you did that day for the first time. You needed to get back to the hotel you had been staying at quickly, and when you landed on the roof and your suit disappeared as you ran for the entrance to the building, you needed to find it.
Out of breath by the time you made it to your room and threw open the door and it shut behind you, you overlooked your room and couldn’t get your mind together. You hurried over to the bedside table you had hidden what you were looking for and pulled it out the housing completely, only to find it empty.
A frantic panic flooded you, and in a matter of minutes you had nearly destroyed the hotel room, overturning every piece of furniture, overlooking every crevice you could find. You rested your back against a wall and breathed heavily, before sliding down and for the first time in weeks, fresh sobs left your body.
Steve Rogers had taken his ring back. And now you were truly alone…
...In 1974, Howard Stark was going to unveil his City of the Future to the world, but was having a hard time coming up with the right words. Tony had interrupted him once, though he couldn’t hold it against the kid, he was only four and Howard worked late nights. With Maria talking about wanting another kid, Howard was doing whatever he could to set them up for success, and here he was, getting ready to record a message for them.
He just needed to get something off his chest, and he leaned back against his desk with his arms crossed before him, and searched his mind for the right words. He tapped his foot lightly before sighing under his breath.
“I’ve never been a man of many words, as crazy as that sounds. But trying to build all of this, I’ve had to put my best foot forward,” Howard started. He touched the model beside him and looked at the camera. “You don’t know it yet but your mother is talking about having another baby, and I’m… I’m looking forward to that, when it happens.
“Tony, you are too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you. I built this for you, and by the looks of it your brother or sister, and some day you two will realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world.”
Later on Howard would go on to edit this message, just weeks before his death, to include another message. This one would go unheard for years. Until you were ready, this message sat alongside Tony’s on the drive he left for you.
“You turned five this year. When someone told me that I would become a sucker for my little girl, man did they mean it,” Howard chuckled. Something caught his attention off screen, but he looked at the camera he had set up in his study and on a rare occasion he smiled. “With Tony, he became my vision, the reason why I wanted my work to make the biggest impact on the world… So that he would have the best future. But you? You’re my aspiration. And just like Tony, I know you’re going to change the world… If you both sat through these messages, I just want you to know one last thing.
“What is, and always will be, my greatest creation... is you two."
- - - - - - - - - -
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Text
sticks and stones may break my bones but...
prompt: “who did this to you?”
whumpee: nick burkhardt
fandom: grimm
hi here is my second nick fic of the month, this one is hopefully better than the first lol. it’s set well before the show starts, when nick is still very new to being a detective and has fairly recently met hank. i hope you enjoy!
Nick is in the middle of digging through his freezer for something suitable to use as an icepack when there’s a knock at the door. He startles, bangs his head against the freezer door, slams it shut like it’s done him a personal wrong, and trudges to the door, silently cursing whoever is on the other side. 
He looks through the peephole, ready to call out that he’s not interested in whatever product or ideology is being peddled, but is cut short by the sight of a familiar face - Hank. 
He opens the door, tilting the left side of his face away so it won’t be directly in Hank’s line of sight. 
“Hey, what’s up?” he asks.
Hank shrugs. “You said you didn’t have anything to do tonight,” he explains. “I don’t either, and there’s a Timbers game at 7. Figured we could watch together. I brought food,” he offers, holding up a paper bag. 
That’s...actually really nice. If this were any other night, Nick would’ve accepted enthusiastically, but as it is, he just says, “sure,” and opens the door wider, gesturing for Hank to come in. 
They quickly settle onto the couch, Nick making sure to stay on Hank’s left side, carefully resting his chin on his hand to cover as much of the bruising and scrapes on his face as he possibly can. 
For the first half, everything is fine. Nick has a headache, but it’s not too bad as long as he doesn’t stare too intently at the TV. Hank’s snacks are good, the conversation is sparse and easy, and Portland is ahead with one goal. 
At half time, Hank asks where the bathroom is, and when he comes back Nick has leaned his head back against the top of the couch cushion, eyes closed, trying to ignore the way the left side of his face is aching. 
“Hey,” Hank says, and Nick startles for the second time that night. He quickly repositions his head, tilting his face down in the hopes of hiding his injuries, but Hank is too observant for that. 
“What happened to you?” he asks, and Nick brushes him off. 
“It’s nothing.”
Hank’s fingers touch the underside of Nick’s chin, lifting his face. Nick doesn’t bother to try and fight him off - he knows he’s not going to win. Hank looks concerned, which Nick supposes is fair. He knows how he looks. Black eye, scrapes, a bruise on his jaw. Nothing very pleasant to see. 
“This isn’t nothing,” Hank says, fingertips ghosting over the bruising on Nick’s skin. “Who did this to you?”
Nick shakes his head, forces himself to lean away from the touch. He’s not going to tell Hank what happened. He himself is not even completely sure what had happened, to be honest. 
Hank looks irritated, but doesn’t push. He just stands up, sticking out his hand in a silent invitation. Nick takes it, lets himself get pulled to his feet. 
“I assume you have some kind of first-aid kit?”
He nods. “Under the bathroom sink.”
Hank disappears, and a second later reappears with the first-aid kit in his hands. “You got somewhere with decent lighting?”
They end up in his kitchen, sitting at a small table pushed against the wall. Hank has dragged his chair around the table so the two of them are sitting less than a foot apart, which Nick thinks should probably feel more awkward than it does. 
Hank does what Nick would have been doing by himself tonight. He cleans out the shallow scrapes on Nick’s face with a stinging antibacterial spray, presses a bandage to the one that Nick knows is a bit deeper and wider than the others. He manages to locate a soft ice pack in the far recesses of Nick’s freezer, and Nick holds it against his face, propping his elbow on the table and leaning into the cold material. 
“What happened?” Hank asks, placing an ibuprofen into Nick’s unoccupied hand. Nick glares at it, then at Hank, who just stares back with a very unimpressed look on his face. 
“It’s nothing,” Nick repeats, swallowing the pill so he’ll have an excuse to not say anything else.
“It’s not nothing,” Hank counters, “and you need to tell me who did this to you and why so I can -”
“I don’t need you to do anything, okay?” Nick snaps, which is maybe a little harsh but also, he thinks, true. He drops the ice pack and stands up, although he doesn’t really know what he’s going to do - he can’t exactly walk out, this is his apartment.
“I know you don’t need me to do anything for you,” Hank says patiently, not getting up, “but we’re partners. We’re supposed to do things for each other. We’re supposed to trust each other. C’mon, man, at least tell me what happened.”
Nick relents, less because he actually wants to and more because standing up so suddenly has made his headache spike in intensity and he’d really like to sit back down. “I got punched.”
There’s a moment of silence. “And?” Hank prompts, when it becomes clear Nick isn’t going to say anything else.
“And nothing. It’s no big deal.”
“Anything that leaves you bruised and bloody automatically falls under the heading of ‘big deal.’”
Nick shakes his head, pressing the ice pack back against his face. “Hank, I swear, it’s -”
“If you say ‘fine’ one more time I’m going to take you to the precinct and lock you in a holding cell.”
Nick senses he’s not going to be able to get Hank to stop. “If I tell you what happened, you have to swear not to do anything about it,” he says. Making Hank promise him feels a bit childish, but he really doesn’t need anyone else knowing about this and he definitely doesn’t want the guy who punched him thinking that Nick can’t fend for himself. He’s new, he has a lot to prove, and, as he’s recently realized, a lot to learn about how this job actually works. 
“Yeah, sure,” Hank agrees.
“It was Robertson,” Nick mumbles, half hoping Hank won’t be able to understand him. 
Hank’s eyes widen. “Robertson. The guy from evidence lockup?”
Nick nods. “I...I honestly don’t know what I did. I had a question about the knife we found on Thursday, and I wanted to ask if I could see it, and then he started talking about protocol and I interrupted to ask him a question and he just sort of lost it. I hit him back and he stopped, really suddenly, and told me to get out of there.” He shrugs. “Maybe he was just having a bad day, I don’t know. He seems like a nice enough guy normally.”
Hank looks like he wants to punch something, so Nick quickly reminds him of his promise. 
“That was before I knew our coworker did this to you,” Hank protests, but Nick shakes his head forcefully, reaches out and grabs hold of Hank’s arm.
“It’s okay, Hank. I’ll talk to him myself on Monday, figure out what happened, work things out. It’ll be fine. I’m still new, you know? I’ve got a lot to learn about how things work around here.”
Hank still doesn’t look happy, but he nods, and Nick releases his arm. He glances out to the living room, where the score is still 1-0. “You up for finishing the game?”
Hank nods again, then stands up and offers Nick his hand, just as he’d done several minutes before. Nick again takes it, holding on for a little bit longer than is strictly necessary as he waits for the pounding in his head to die down to a reasonable level. They make their way back to the couch and sit down as Portland takes a corner kick. 
“Thank you,” Nick says, after a few minutes of easy silence.
“Of course,” Hank responds immediately. “This is what partners do.”
thanks for reading this! i hope you enjoyed :)
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rotshop · 3 years
Text
(leans in very close to the mic)
Hi
so. gonna be honest i dont like how this is written. lol. but!! idk its a fun idea i think soooo <3
mostly 2b x reader but there's some Deimos hints maybe a little
tw ; death, brief talk / mentions of corpses, disassociation and heavily implied betrayal / murder of one's friend
2b had become accustomed to seeing bodies in his line of work. Even in his lifestyle he'd become used to seeing them. His younger self would've been shocked and sickened at the sight of them, now they just blended into the background for him. That's part of why he insisted you were fine for so long.
You'd gone missing after going on a mission with Sanford, Deimos, and Hank. It wasn't anything super special, another base to clear out and look for any data that you didn't already have. 2b had stayed behind, full expecting someone to get injured and him having to deal with it. Despite him seemingly knowing someone would get injured, he never expected anything more than that.
That's why he'd begun to grow uncomfortable when they'd stayed out much later than he originally expected. He'd tried to call in to any of them to no avail. He was left completely in the dark in terms of what was going on. So, he simply sat in his quarters and waited in silence. It didn't take too long for him to slip into unconsciousness.
He'd been woken up by the sound of tires crunching down dry sand and dirt. He'd had to wait a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of his room, glancing around a bit to make sure everything was in order still. Distantly, deimos' voice could be heard, tone off in a way 2b noticed but..couldn't place. A few moments passed as he waited, typically after a mission you'd talk with the others for a bit before going and checking on him. It seems like you were taking your time tonight, it was fine of course, he liked knowing you were on good terms with the others. Though, he was a little desperate to see you at the moment, he'd never get to tell you that though.
He'd stumbled a bit, sleep still clouding his mind as he did his best to put one foot in front of the other. The conversation became both clearer and more muddled as he drew closer and closer. Finally, the other three came into view- three. You were absent. That'd managed to wake him up, confusion replacing his previous grogginess as he watched quietly for a moment.
"Hank- We have to go back, what if they're passed out somewhere in that fucking building and they wake up and don't know where they are and-" Deimos stumbled over his words, hands gesturing animatedly in some sort of desperation.
'It's too dark out, it's not safe for us to be there this late,' came Hank's reply, signed finely. 2b noted how calm he seemed about this.
Deimos went to go say something further before 2b had cut him off, "What's all this about?"
Deimos turned quickly to look at the other man, shaking his head, "I- Fucking. [Name] is missing. We all got split up and when we found each other again they were gone so we tried to look for them and we just- we didn't find anything. Not a single fucking trace."
The clear desperation made 2b's heart drop. You were missing in the dead of night at a base. He knew full well you could handle yourself well, you were strong enough on your own and you'd proved that time and time again. Even then, he couldn't shake off the concern and the cold laying in the back of his mind. As Sanford apologized and patted him on the back he recognized it.
It was fear. He was afraid.
He didn't sleep after that. He'd spent the night up staring at the ceiling as he thought it over again and again. He'd argued with himself over it, one side insisting you would show up eventually and another insisting you were simply gone. He felt sick.
The next morning he'd gone out with the other three to look for you again. Then the day after that and then the one after that, then the one after that one, until eventually it was just himself looking for you. Deimos had joined him one more time, despite him already giving up hope he still tried. He still wanted to be there for 2b, it was obvious that he was taking this even worse than he was.
"I don't know I just..I mean, I thought I saw Hank follow after 'em but he said he hadn't seen where they went," Deimos spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.
2b paused and looked back at him, "Hank went after them and didn't just keep following them? We've always kept in pairs on missions like these."
Deimos returned the look, "I guess? He..didn't say much about it, he just said he'd lost sight of them because of some soldats."
He tensed and went quiet for a few long moments. It clicked and his paranoid suspicions had been confirmed. Deimos tilted his head at thee other's actions, mind already swarming with questions and concerns. "Are..are you ok?"
2b didn't respond.
They went home.
By some miracle (arguing.), 2b had managed to bring Hank back to that base. The way there had been silent, deafeningly so. Hank had turned to ask something when he'd heard a click.
"I want you to take me to where you did it."
2b had a pistol held up at him. He knew it wouldn't affect him very much, maybe stun him for a few moments but nothing too harmful. He couldn't tell if it was better or worse that way.
'I don't know what you're talking about.'
"No, Hank, you do. I'm tired. I don't want to argue with you over this," he steeled himself, "Just take me there already."
There was a long pause. 2b couldn't see Hank's eyes behind the goggles but he knew he was staring down at him. For all he knew, he could've been glaring daggers at him, he didn't care. He was too far gone to worry about that right now. Wordlessly, Hank began to walk off.
Eventually, he'd stopped outside of a room, jerking his head a bit to motion for 2b to look for himself. He didn't want to, he didn't want to see it but he knew he'd never have closure if he didn't. Reluctantly, he'd peered in, pistol still trained on Hank.
There was nothing. A few scattered burn marks across the room but aside from that, it was nothing out of the ordinary. 2b was quick to turn back to Hank, confusion and dry irritation evident as his grip on his weapon tightened.
"I'm not fucking joking. This isn't it-"
'It is,' Hank cut in, going to continue before he'd stopped.
"Then where are they."
He peered down at him for another moment or two, deathly silent before he spoke up, "They didn't leave a body behind."
2b felt sick.
"They didn't bleed. They just fell and dissipated."
He wanted to scream.
"They put up a fight."
He didn't come back home after that. Deimos had shown up somewhere in the night. The hours were lost on 2b, too numb to even try and keep track of them. He just vaguely registered the other man sitting down next to him in silence, tears still running down his face as he'd shook.
It'd taken 2b a while to notice it. It had been laying under a desk behind a tipped over box, hidden in the dark. It was a halo. Specifically, your halo. He'd been hesitant to touch it, you'd let him in the past, insisting you trusted him and that it would be ok. Now though, he just felt some guilt over it.
It'd taken him a while to sort any real thought over what he would do. He was alone now, for the most part. Deimos had yet to really decide what he was going to do, too upset to have a clear mind about it. He didn't blame him for it, he wouldn't be upset even if he went back to the others.
He stared up at the ceiling for a moment longer or two before something dragged him up. Distantly, he felt himself walk forward, looking for something. It didn't take him too long, the barbs digging into his hands as he picked it up off the ground. He had some things to clear up, he would need your help with that.
With that final thought, he placed the halo atop his head and allowed it to take the reigns.
78 notes · View notes
wolveria · 3 years
Text
Inside Your Wires - Ch 6
Pairing: Human!Connor x Android!Reader
Series Warnings (18+ only): Eventual smut, slow burn, fantasy bigotry, violence, brief noncon elements, angst with a happy ending
Chapter summary: Connor gets his new assignment. He's not thrilled.
AO3
Story moodboard by @uh-kitty-got-wet​
Chapter 5 art by @semains​ (18+ only)
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November 6th, 2038
Saturday 09:56AM
There was a time when Connor didn’t have to come in on Saturdays. He remembered the days when mandatory overtime was few and far between.
Not anymore. 2038 seemed to be the year shit just kept happening, and now that he thought about it, quite a few of it seemed to be because of androids. Ones gone missing. Disobeying orders. And now, homicidal.
Connor rubbed the bridge of his nose after putting his car into park, regretting how enthusiastically he’d hit the bottle last night. It wasn’t too bad this time, just an annoying throbbing behind his eyes, but it made it more difficult to see and he’d had to squint through his windshield.
Whatever. The reason for his shame-drinking was no longer relevant. Connor just had to survive until lunchtime, and if he were lucky, Hank would let him go early. He tried not to itch at the butterfly bandages on his cheek, applied himself after he’d woken up in a haze with blood on his pillow having completely forgotten the injury existed.
Connor kept his head down as he walked through the lobby of the station and through the security checkpoint to the bullpen proper. He tried not to be completely antisocial, however, and sent weak smiles at the coworkers who bothered to notice he was there.
Helen, Alexander, and Rupert all acknowledged him with various degrees of warmth, some colder than others, and all pretty much deserved. Ralph gave Connor a nervous smile from his chair, though it quickly faded as his eyes flickered to something across the room.
Frowning, he followed Ralph’s eye line across the bullpen and scowled when he spotted Colin leaning casually against Connor’s desk, talking to… someone. He couldn’t see who, Colin’s figure blocking them from view.
Against his better judgement, Connor drew closer, pressure building at the back of his neck, an uneasy feeling of dread that increased with each step.
“Con’s just gonna love this. But seriously, if he bitches about it too much, or gives you a hard time, you can always partner up with me. I won’t mind one bit, promise.”
Connor would have rolled his eyes at his brother’s typical cocksure demeanor, but instead, he went stock still at the familiar voice that answered.
“While the offer is appreciated, Lieutenant, my instructions stipulate that I must assist Detective Anderson with his new, specialized caseload. I’m sure you can understand that CyberLife only wishes to cooperate with the DPD and does not want to interfere with police procedure—“
“What the hell are you doing here?”
The YN800 model blinked and turned its head to meet Connor’s eye, its little blue light blinking for a moment before solidifying again.
It was sitting in Connor’s chair.
“It’s good to see you again, Detective,” it answered, chipper as ever as a fake smile graced its features.
Connor looked the prototype over, his nose crinkling at its appearance. The suit must have been brand new, there were no stains or bullet holes, and her—its hair was once again pinned upwards into a perfect knot.
He felt his insides churn at the near slip, at thinking for even a split second that this thing was a person. Shoving down the crude thoughts of the night before, Connor gave the order through gritted teeth.
“Get. Up.”
The prototype did as it was told, for once. It rose out of his chair, not even having the decency to look chagrined as it straightened its jacket of nonexistent wrinkles.
“I’m sorry, Detective, but I tried to call your phone and left you a message. It was not my intention to surprise you—“
“Oh, no, it’s never your intention to do anything, is it?” Connor snarled back. His headache was in full force now, and he swore he could see the bright lights of the station brighten in time with his heartbeat.
“Aw, c’mon!” Colin slapped him on the shoulder. “Be nice to the temp.”
“Temp?” Connor answered, voice pulled as taut as a wire.
“Yeah, you know. The temporary assistant. The new girl. The—“
He shoved Colin’s hand off his shoulder, leveling a glare at both of them. Colin merely shot him a shit-eating grin while the YN800 stood there, hands clasped behind its back at parade rest, polite and perfect as ever.
“Connor!”
All three of them turned toward the voice booming across the room.
“Get in here!”
Connor glared at the android, as if Hank’s shouting were its fault, which was probably the case.
He turned without a word and stalked to the captain’s office, shoulders hunched as his heart raced and his hands shook at his sides. He let the glass door fall shut behind him, but when he didn’t hear the whoosh of it close, he glanced over his shoulder to see the YN800 had followed him inside.
Great.
Connor stood in front of the desk with his arms crossed.
Hank sat down in his chair, pointedly looking at the chairs in front of his desk. Connor remained standing.
The older man glared, answering Connor’s attitude with a look and a heavy sigh.
“Bet you’re wondering what that’s about.” Hank jerked his chin over Connor’s shoulder. The prototype had taken a spot at the back of the office, observing politely with its hands clasped in front of its hips.
“Yeah, I am.” Connor was a little too cranky this morning to try a more diplomatic approach. “What the hell is it doing here?”
“I’ll get to that. First on the docket, I got a shit ton of android-related cases filling up our database every day and I’m at wit’s end.” Hank took a deep breath, bracing himself as he met Connor’s eye. “Which is why I’m assigning all of these cases to you.”
“You’re what?”
Connor stared at him, dumbfounded.
“You think that case last night was a one-off? We’ve got more android-related crimes rolling in, including assaults and homicides just as bad as the Ortiz case, and right now, you’re the one with the most experience.” Hank leaned his elbows on his desk as he leveled a formidable glare his way. “Is that going to be a problem, Connor?”
 “Yeah, it is a problem, Hank! Why the hell do I have to do this? What about Colin? He was with me at the crime scene and was there for the interrogation!” Connor shoved a finger at the glass wall to prove his point.
Hank’s jaw tightened. Connor had seen that behavior enough times to recognize how he was pushing his luck.
“CyberLife asked for you specifically.”
“What?” Connor blinked, dumbfounded once again, racking his brain but coming up empty. “Why?”
“The hell if I know!” Hank barked back, rising to his feet as he pointed a finger at Connor, “and frankly, I don’t give a damn. Colin’s got enough on his plate—“
“—and I don’t?” Connor interrupted, scowling. Hank sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, and Connor almost felt guilty for his outburst.
Almost.
“That’s not what I said.”
“But it’s what you implied.” He tried not to sound like a hurt child, but, well, that’s exactly what he sounded like.
“For fuck’s sake, Connor! There are more people that are gonna start dying from this!”
“Yeah, I know, but—“
Hank lifted his hand, palm forward, effectively shutting Connor up.
“You saw what one of those deviants was capable of last night, and that was with three of you and another android trying to get it under control! You think the average person stands a chance against one of these fucks? That a little ol’ grandma can defend herself against the murderous robot gardener coming at her with a pair of shears? What the hell happens when a nanny bot decides to take a human kid for itself? Oh, wait, that’s already happened, and you would know that if you checked the goddamn case files I sent you!”
Connor was silent as Hank deflated. The older man leaned back against his desk as he looked through his glass wall out over the bullpen. His voice was rough but much quieter for the next round.
“We’re totally in the dark, Connor. We don’t know how bad this is gonna get and how many androids we’re dealing with. This has the potential to turn into a fucking nightmare with Detroit as ground zero.” Hank’s gaze drifted over Connor’s shoulder to the elephant, or the machine, in the room. “CyberLife was gracious enough to send us a state-of-the-art prototype until this issue is contained. It’s gonna be your partner until such a time that these androids are no longer a threat, and then you’re free to go back to being a misanthropic son-of-a-bitch as much as you like.”
Connor was thoroughly shamed by the end of Hank’s speech, that old familiar feeling of disappointment making his gut roil with nausea, but his anger hadn’t entirely flagged. He clenched his hands tightly to his thighs, fingers desperate for either his coin or his cigarettes.
Connor hadn’t felt the need for one in months. This was bad.
“Hank,” he tried again, his voice soft and pleading in that way he knew Hank couldn’t ignore. “I’m not saying this just to be a pain in your ass. I understand the stakes, but I genuinely believe I’m not qualified for these types of cases. I’m not a CyberLife technician, or an AI specialist, or a computer engineer. I’ve never even owned an android.”
That last one was technically true but only in the barest sense, and Hank gave him a knowing look. It wasn’t without sympathy, and his own answer was given with more kindness than he probably deserved.
“I know, Connor. I also know you’re the sharpest pair of eyes on the force, not to mention the quickest brain and the best instinct. You see shit other people don’t, even Colin, and you’ve got this creepy knack for taking one look at a person and knowing what makes ‘em tick. I’d say you’re almost like an android yourself, but I know how much that’d piss you off.”
Connor gave him another narrow-eyed scowl, and Hank immediately put up his hands as a sign of surrender even as a smirk played on his lips.
“My point is, I need you on this, son. I know it’s not ideal, hell, it downright sucks, but I know you can do this. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”
And there it was. As effective as Connor’s pleading expressions could be, they were nothing in comparison to his need for Hank’s praise. The old geezer knew it, too.
And throwing a “son” into the mix was a goddamn dirty move, but Connor couldn’t even muster up annoyance. He just sighed, gave Hank the smallest hint of a smile, and said, “All right. But only until these cases are solved. Once the deviancy issue is addressed, the prototype is going back to CyberLife and you never give me an android case again.”
“I’ll pay for the postage to ship it back myself,” Hank said, smile wide and pleased as he patted Connor on the shoulder before returning to his desk. “And I want daily reports on the progress you and your new partner are making. Gotta make sure CyberLife’s best is pulling its weight.”
“I can assure you, Captain Anderson, I am worth every penny. And considering it took a small fortune to build me, I—“
“Yeah, yeah,” Hank interrupted the prototype, using that catchphrase that Connor and all of his brothers had picked up years ago. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
The android blinked almost comically before giving a slow nod. It then turned to face Connor, straightening its back at attention, and he rolled his eyes. He was still being handed the shit end of the stick, but he couldn’t deny that the cases were piling up and Hank really did need the extra help.
But why, out of all the androids in the world, did it have to be one like that.
Exhaling sharply through his nose, Connor turned and left Hank’s office, not waiting to see if the android would follow, knowing with a sinking feeling, it would.
Next Chapter
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givemethatgold · 3 years
Text
Fix’er Upper Pt 2
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Pairing: Eventual Frankie “Catfish” Morales x F!Reader
Length: 1.5k words
Warnings: Too many commas, some extra ‘u’s in words as I’m Canadian..., not enough time spent world building. Hope y’all got an imagination.
Notes: They meet! They meet!  (Tags at the end.)
PART ONE
The morning sun saw Frankie already awake and amidst his trees. He knew that most people thought him stubborn by wanting to run his little orchard himself. He had heard the whispers, seen the side glances, the quirked eyebrows. The odd reputation he was gaining was worth the solitude and peace he had found.
The reputation of Town Recluse was better than That Ex-Cokehead Murderer. A small part of his brain knew that he was being too hard on himself but a larger part was convinced he deserved it. 
So, he worked his penance here. Frankie nursed the trees back to fruition, his sweat and blood sacrificed to bring forth life; refusing to use pesticides or any form of agent that might harm another living thing. Deer, rabbits, mice, and bugs were the bane of a harvester’s business but Frank had decided to find joy in their presence. If he didn’t have to see another death until his own, that would still be too soon.
It had taken him three years to get anything more than a few barrels of apples. Most asked why he didn’t just cut them all down and start anew. They didn’t understand, hell he barely did, but in his soul, Frankie knew he needed to prove that he could do good. He had made his own baskets, built sheds, mended fences, and slowly built the business and a small loft for himself in the old barn.
Looking down the rows and rows of trees, Frankie was starting to get the feeling he might need help this harvest season. It wasn’t easy for him to acknowledge this but if he didn’t get at least one helping hand, more than a few bin-fulls would go to waste. Frankie decided he would put up a flyer on the notice board the next time he went to town and pray that only quiet people would apply.
The trees were his pride and joy. A variety that had been lost and forgotten until he had bought the aging orchard and a man named Tom Brown had come along asking about the fruit.
He felt at peace when he worked as it let his mind focus on the job at hand and was tired enough to slip into a deep slumber at night. Previously plagued by nightmares, long days of pruning, fixing, or working in the mill proved the cure for a dreamless sleep.
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“I’m sorry, how much did you say the total was?” you asked while rapidly trying to do some math in your head. If you purchased everything you needed at the hardware store that would only leave you forty-seven dollars left in this week’s budget. And it was only Monday. “Ermm, on second thought, I don’t know if I really need the plaster and trowel just yet. I’ll just take the drywall and screws, please.”
Leaving the store, head down, you were feeling like such an ass you didn’t even notice the two older ladies watching your exit and whispering madly to each other. The owner of Hank’s Hardware, whose name was oddly Allan, kindly helped you pile the drywall into your truck box. You were too busy with the tie-downs to notice him join in on the developing whispered plot.
Unable to resist, you purchased a bouquet of sunflowers. They were your favourite and, once you mentioned that you were new in town, the sweet older gentleman selling them gave you an extra bunch for free. The bright flowers lightened your heart enough to almost, almost, make you forget your even lighter wallet. 
The laden-down truck was nearly out of town when you spotted an open-air market down a side street. It had a surprising number of booths set up and looked so welcoming that you couldn’t resist.
Slowly walking between the stalls, you smiled at each vendor and complimented their handiwork. A few you recognized and thanked for the delicious foods they had brought by when you had first moved in.
You wished you could have supported more of the vendors, you respected their ability to create and be confident enough to share their wares. Taking one last look around, your gaze was caught by a familiar logo: it was the same one you had seen scattered across your porch a few weeks ago. ‘Catfish Cider’ in bold script framing a picture of a gnarled old tree. Maybe you should buy some and have Jacquie over for a less depressing girl's night? But could you afford it, even with leaving behind some of the reno items at Hank's?
You didn’t realize how long you had been standing there staring at the display until a voice called out.
“You gonna buy something or just wanted to block off my stand?”
Whipping your head up you noticed the man standing behind the stand for the first time. His face, for the moment, set into a grimace you assumed was due to him being upset at your loitering.
“I dunno,” you fired back, annoyed by his annoyance and too tired to stop yourself from saying a bratty, “is it actually worth the money?” 
His grimace turned into eyebrow-raising shock, the tan skin of his rather attractive face reddening a shade or two with anger.
“Oh, you have such a discerning pallet to know better?”
“I- what? No! I just want to make sure I’m spending my money on something worthwhile.”
“Like flowers?” He challenged, his stance widening and arms crossing across his chest. 
You’d seen that pose too many times in the past; Brad used to tower over you posturing himself just like this asshole at the market. He liked to hover over you menacingly any time you had mustered up your courage to state an opinion or to belittle your ideas. It made you inwardly flinch, making you angry at yourself for still acting like a meek victim, and then, in a show of great maturity, you projected that anger onto the stranger who initiated the exchange.
“Like it’s any of your business!” You cried out in a shrill voice you didn’t even recognize as your own. “But yes, these flowers make me happier than anything else I’ve seen today could.”
“I’ll have you know-” he ground out, jabbing his finger at you.
“Nope!” You interrupted him, “I’m going to stop you right there. I’m done listening to men like you!” 
“Men like me? Men like ME?” He crowed, “Pray tell, what the hell do you know about men like me?”
Had you been acting like a functioning adult you might have realized that your voices were beginning to get noticeably loud. A small crowd around the two of you had stopped what they were doing to listen while also trying to look like there weren’t eavesdropping.
“I know all I need to,” you proclaimed, not quite able to stop the tremble in your voice. “and I’m not going to waste any more of my life listening to one.” With that, you sharply turned and made your way through the suddenly thick crowd of people.
Once the adrenaline from your encounter had worn off, you found yourself crying in your truck and regretting the way you had snapped. The hot guy at the stand might have been a bit brash with you but he hardly deserved you taking out all your inner turmoil on him like that.
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Frankie winced again, thinking about how quickly out of hand the conversation had gotten. His remark was supposed to come out light and teasing but he was out of practice talking to people. Pretty people. People who were framed by armfuls of sunflowers, whose skin glowed in the Autumn sun, who had a ready smile for everyone she talked to. 
He had found himself craving one for himself, and when she had stopped at his booth, looking lost in thought, he silently begged for her to look up. Impatient, he just blurted out the first words that came to his head and instantly regretted even trying. His cheeks grew red from embarrassment and Frankie just stood there looking at her blankly, not sure how to salvage the situation.
Before he could open his mouth to apologize though, the woman responded with a retort of her own. While it could have been interpreted as teasing, there had been a fiery glint in her eye that had pushed his pride button. Frankie was suddenly ready to throw down or at least regale her with the accolades of his cider and how it came to be.
What a mess he had made. He had riled up the beautiful stranger to the point her voice had wavered with barely repressed emotion. Not to mention the stir he had caused in front of half the town.
Once the market quieted down and everyone was closing up shop, Greg from the stall next to his, called over, “Know who that was?”
Even though it had been over an hour since the spat, Frankie knew he was referring to the woman with the sunflowers.
“Hopefully just some Leaf Peeper, I’d hate to run into her again.”
“Oooooh I dunno,” mused Greg, “A woman with passion in her blood like that can be a boon to crusty old men like us.”
Frankie noticed the gleam in Greg’s eyes and felt an odd burning in his stomach because of it. It was not jealousy at the unbidden image of Greg and the woman together. Definitely not.
PART THREE
@rebelliouscat @pedro4ever @speakerforthedead0 @yespolkadotkitty @ilikechocolatemilkh @weirdowithnobeardo @pedro-pastel @disgruntledspacedad @a-skov 
169 notes · View notes
knockknockchicagopd · 3 years
Text
❛ OH, SHE ISN'T PLAYING ❜
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❚❙ REQUEST BY @ocetevasgirl: Hola preciosa! Can I request prompt 8 from the fluff list with Voight? Love you 💖
❚❙ PROMPTS: “You're jealous, aren't you?” “You're calling that jealousy? If she/he can still use her/his legs, I'm not being jealous”.
❚❙ HANK VOIGHT MASTERLIST.
❚❙ WORDS: about 2k.
❚❙ A/N: this writing hasn’t been edited, you may find some grammar mistakes, I’m sorry about that. If you find a description about body or a word out of place, or something that it makes you feel uncomfortable / unrepresented, let me know by a private message and I will change it delighted.
❚❙ GIF credits: to my amazing @sonsofeorl.
❚❙ Tag list: @melblacc @rebelwrites @skyofficialxx @sesamepancakes @scarletsoldierrr @mondefantastique @that-chick212 @enbyamaro @inlovewith3 @ocetevasgirl @sophie-writes. If you want to be added to my tag list, send me a message.
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Since you saw this morning Olivia Benson walking downstairs accompanied by Voight, your good mood got burned into ashes just in a sight. He hadn't told you that she was going to come and, actually, he hadn't why to tell you. For him, it's only part of his job. But you know it's something else for her. You have seen her how she looks at your man. The unjustified and unnecessary touches on his back, on his arm. The stupid smiles she draws to him, that you would be delighted of erasing using your fist.
You have never, ever, been the kind of jealous girl. You trust your boyfriend blindly, but you don't trust her. You can't. You have tried it with all your efforts, but then you heard her laughing for no reason and Hank responding with a fleeting smile. You haven't talked him about how you feel, because the age gap between both makes you look stupid sometimes. Fortunately, you're professional enough to not let these things affect your job and your relationship. You have learnt how to hide your emotions, even if sometimes your friends suspect that something is going on by the tic that makes you blink your left eye unconsciously.
Aware that he must be there with his amazing friend, Kim places a hand on your shoulder trying to encourage you to cross the entrance and come into the Molly's. Licking your lips as you calm yourself a little, you nod pushing the door to be embraced by the warm atmosphere inside it, covering you from the cold breeze of Chicago. Letting your eyes travel around the place, you greet some of your friends waving a hand, before landing your gaze on your boyfriend. He turns at that exact moment, not even trying to contain a smile. You show him another back, but his disappears when he sees you passing him away straight to the Unit's table without greeting him. And Olivia notices it, but you don't care.
“What's up, trouble?” Jay pulls down your hair, earning a laugh from you.
“Platt said you crashed a patrol”. Wrinkling your nose in a funny gesture, after Adam's words, you take a seat next to him.
“These aren't the things you have to learn from us, you know it, right?” Antonio makes you all chuckle, calling to his sister raising a finger to ask for more beers.
“I caught the bad guy, didn't I?”
“Yeah, crashing a car”. Atwater raises his eyebrows, leaning over the table.
“But I caught the bad guy, that's my job not to take care of the cars. I'm not a mechanic…”
“BUT A COP!” You all say in unison, as always, like a famous quote.
As soon as the beers arrive, you make another toast for your car lost in action. And everything is fun until you feel a presence behind you and the silence gets installed around your table. Gulping and licking your bottom lip, as your friends drink from their bottles trying to pretend that you all weren't doing what you were doing, you turn around over your stool forcing a smile.
“Having fun, officer (Y/L/N)?” Platt's voice gives you the kind of shivers you can hide.
“No, no, n— I mean… yes”. The look on her face causes you to swallow again. “I me—mean, no?”
“It's a simple question. Yes or no”.
“Trudy, leave the kid alone”.
Saved by the bell. Your hero.
“Crash a car is part of our tradition, ain't it?” Hank tries to put some humor in the situation, traveling his eyes from her to you.
“Hm”. The woman just replies, before walking away.
You don't know about what kind of tradition he is talking of, but at least he has saved your ass. Again. Not being able to look at him, you sip from your beer trembling yet. Probably, tomorrow Crowley will ask for a convincing explanation. I caught the bad guy will not work with her, that's for sure. Feeling a soft touch in your lower back, you raise your orbs from the bottle to your boss, who makes a brief move with his chin to point at the back door at the end of the bar. You don't want to go, you know exactly what it's going to happen and you just want to forget the intense day you have had. But he raises his eyebrows with that cockiness usual on him, about to drag you if you don't put down from your stool.
With an imperceptible sight, you end up obeying in silence under the attentive eyes of your friends. Hank walks behind you with both hands in the pocket of his jeans, as you wear your jacket to zip it above your chest. The fresh air hits your face once you reach the Molly's back alley, resting your back against the wall with your face bowed to your military black boots. Placing himself in front of you, he studies thoroughly your gesture, your lips pressed and the lack of eye contact.
“What's the matter?”
Shaking your head slightly, you cross one leg behind the other, putting your hands on your lower back.
“You're jealous, aren't you?”
Letting go an exaggerated chuckle, you roll your eyes before gluing them on him. “You're calling that jealousy? If she can still use her legs, I'm not being jealous”.
“It ain't a good moment to be sarcastic, sweetheart”.
“I'm not. She is just a colleague, right?”
Hank nods in silence tilting his head closer and you're sure he can hear your heart speeding up under your skin. He always does that, putting you nervous only to prove the power he has on you, on your body, on your senses. And you hate him. You hate how proud he feels because of it. The grin on his face causes a chill down your spine, standing up from the wall to pretend that he is wrong, that he doesn't control your reactions.
“Hm… Good to know you're conscious of her position. She's gonna stay in my house tonight. We didn't plan to need more than one day and she doesn't have a place”.
For a moment, the image of you punching his face runs your mind, keeping your hands inside the pockets of your jacket to close them in two fist until you feel your nails hurting your palms. There are a lot of replies to his words stuck in your throat, but if it's a proof of trust, you would fail miserably. This is a clash of titans and you're not going to let him win.
“That's fine”. You respond squinting at him, taking a step ahead almost facing Hank. “Anything else?”
“No”.
“Okay”.
With a feigned smile, you turn to the left to leave the alley and come back to your private party, which means to get drunk until Burgess and Hailey have to carry you home.
“What an interesting night is gonna be”. Hank whispers seeing you grabbing the doorknob, teasing you as only he knows how to do.
Kissing your lips as your steps stop dead, you turn your head about to lose your calm.
“If I see her putting a hand on your leg again, I'm gonna break every single fucking bone of her body”.
You couldn't help it. He knows exactly which words he has to use to push you to the edge. The worst part is the fun he usually has doing it. Walking towards you moving his head as if he was nodding, Hank caresses his bottom lip with a forefinger looking thoughtful.
“I didn't think of you as someone violent”.
“Fucking watch me, Voight”.
“Hm…”
Containing a laugh, he opens the door for you, pointing at the inside with a hand. Clearly challenging you. But before you can pass him away, the sergeant grabs your forearm to push you back and lean his lips over your ear.
“She booked the hotel yesterday”. His raspy voice touring your head makes you feel your cheeks burning in shame.
He has won already and you know it. Wanting to leave him again, he pulls you back again hearing the heavy snort escaping your mouth.
“She knows who you are. Told her this morning”.
Did really he? Arching up one of your eyebrows, you can't help but turn your face slightly at him. Your parted lips reveal the surprise and the confusion. Why can she know it, but not your friends? Just because she doesn't work in Chicago? It isn't fair. At least, under your opinion. It's not like you're going to act like Voight's girlfriend and take the advantage of what it means. But it allows you to smile at him when you cross your eyes in the hallways, it allows you to don't have to hide if you want to have lunch together, it allows you to not have to drive two different cars and leave his house before him to work. Small simple things that for you means a lot.
“Cut off the show, boss. Everybody is looking at us”.
It isn't the first time that Hank can't avoid touching you somehow in public, finding the stupidest excuse just to feel you. And he really enjoys putting you nervous, watching the way you lick your lips and bite the bottom one, feel the way your body gets tense when he lays his hands on you, the short frights he gives you coming behind you and whispering ‘officer (Y/L/N)’ in your ear.
Actually, there's no reason why you decided to hide your relationship. You haven't even talked about it. You haven't thought if it's because of the age gap, because of his past, because he is your boss (...). You haven't given it any importance, till you met Olivia Benson a couple months ago. That kind of sergeant who comes from New York and thinks that she runs the Chicago police department. Hank hasn't told you how they met, imagining they did when he was working on the Gang Unit.
“Admit your jealousy”. Tilting his head enough to look into your eyes, the challenging grimace comes back to his face.
Knowing that he's not going to stop, you simply nod. “It isn't fair that other women can… touch you, and I have to wait more than twelve hours just… simply to smile at you without looking suspicious”.
Hank can hear to perfection the hopelessness in your voice, feeling your fingers loosening his grip around your other forearm. It's not a question of possessiveness, but of insecurity; and he's discovering it now, thinking about since when you feel like that.
“Do you wan'me to take you home?”
You shake your head, now with guilt running under your skin because you know it has ruined his night.
“I'm okay, boss. Gonna have some fun with my friends after a long day”.
“Will you have some fun with your boss after that? End the night in my house playing pool, drinking whisky? I will let you win”.
You can't help but show him a fleeting smile, almost curving your lips. That's a yes for him and Hank feels satisfied. Holding your right hand on his, your boyfriend brings it to his mouth placing a tender kiss on the back of it, before letting you go.
Hailey and Burgess are squinting at you, knowing that their suspicions weren't wrong at all. Not saying a word and pretending normality, you sit back on your stool to have a sip from your beer. You're literally sweating right now, and it isn't because of the jacket you are wearing but because of the petty smiles appearing on the other cops.
“You know that we work in Intelligence, right, little trouble?” Antonio is the first one talking jokingly.
“Yeah, and we don't need to be detectives to know what's going on”. Hailey hums resting his arms over the table.
“How is Voight in private? I've always had curiosity. He takes off the stick of his ass when he comes home, or…?”
“Halstead, I can hear you”.
“Yeah, that was the intention, Sarge”. He replies, lifting up his beer in a silent toast.
Turning at Hank just for a second, you can't help but shrug with your eyebrows briefly frowned in a funny grimace that makes him giggle. It was inevitable, since they have seen the way and how close he has talked to you. But now, the pressure within your chest is dropping down, feeling better.
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asset35-maya · 3 years
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HEAT WAVES
This is a short multi-character series about different kinds of love blooming in the summertime. Written as part of the DBH LATE SUMMER PROMPT CHALLENGE
(Read Parts 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 and 6 first!)
[PART 7/7: HEAT OF THE NIGHT]
**TW: SEXUAL CONTENT
//
\\
“Hey baby.”
Gavin was barely audible as he shifted on Hank’s couch to make room for Nines. He opened his arms and let the android lay down with his back to his chest. He wrapped an arm around Nines’ middle and nuzzled his neck.
“I couldn’t find Sixty anywhere. Are you sure you didn’t see him leave?”
“Hmm…? No…”
“I think he’s disabled his tracker. The little shit! The house keeps coming up as his last location when I search for his signal!”
“Don’t worry, babe. He knows his way back. Like our cat… If Con went missing that would be a real problem. Like if Sumo went missing. But with Six… it’s like our bitch-ass cat. She comes and goes as she pleases. We shouldn’t wait up.”
Nines rearranged his husband’s sleepy grip to be less stifling and relaxed into the cuddle.
“Hmm. You always did understand my own brothers better than me. I just can’t figure out why he was so upset earlier.”
Gavin yawned and pulled Nines closer despite having just been pushed away a little. He tended to get handsy after a few drinks.
“He should be fine now...”
Frowning, Nines twisted in the human’s grasp. He was smooched lovingly before he could articulate any response. He allowed a few messy kisses before breaking off with a quiet whine.
“Gavin, if you know where he is, just tell me. I’ll sleep better for it.”
“Babe, I have no idea-”
He broke off as a rumble came from overhead. Something scraped across the tiles on the roof and came to a stop with a muted thud. Nines looked up at (and through) the ceiling, eyes glazing over and LED spinning rapidly. 
“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.” 
A detective through and through, Gavin chuckled as he easily deduced whatever Nines saw using his x-ray vision. He pressed a kiss to his husband’s throat. 
“Just like us back in the day, huh?” 
//
\\
Allen broke away panting. He put a hand on Sixty’s chest to still him. It had been years since he’d done anything like this. Lying on top of a man’s house and making out with his son for hours like a teenager.
Their chaste first kiss had evolved into something decidedly more mature. Months of mutual pining and sexual tension spilled over effusively and now the two of them were rock hard and desperate for some kind of release. 
Sixty moaned in Allen’s ear and ground against his thigh. With the way they were lying intertwined, that action also brought some much-needed friction to Allen’s groin. He sucked his breath in through his teeth. 
“Sixty... just... Fuck it. Just touch me.” 
“Are you sure, Cap?”
“Fuck, don’t call me that if you’re going to jerk me off!” 
“Yes, sir.”
Sixty kissed him once more and undid the buttons of his jeans with ease. A hand slipped past the waistband and palmed his erection through his briefs. Impatient, Allen lifted his hips and brought both his underwear and jeans down to his thighs. Sixty’s eyes widened at the sight of the exposed and leaking cock.
Despite having very limited experience in this department, the android moved with confidence. He rolled over his captain’s body and captured his chapped lips in another deep kiss, wrapping a hand around the turgid shaft and stroking. 
Allen sighed into the kiss with satisfaction and began to unzip Sixty’s trousers. He quickly found his prize and ran a thumb over the tip of the synthetic penis, producing a garble of static and glitching noises from the android. 
Their wrists moved in tandem, speeding up and slowing down in a well-coordinated rhythm. Allen let his consciousness wander and allowed himself to forget that he was perched two floors above the ground. He placed all his trust in the android holding him. It wasn’t the first time he’d done so, albeit in a very different context... so it was incredibly easy. 
Sixty soon felt himself get near to the close and could tell that Allen was even closer. He withdrew his hand and peeled Allen’s fingers off his own dick. Looking deep into his new lover’s eyes, Sixty lowered himself further and brought their slick cocks in direct contact with each other. 
That was absolutely the right thing to do, considering the loud moan that Allen let out. The older man clapped a hand over his mouth in shock at his own reaction, but quickly recovered when Sixty spat between them and began to move. Trapped between their abdomens, their cocks slipped and slid against each other... hardening and pulsing and twitching... and then finally releasing.
LED flashing a myriad of colors and cooling fans running high, Sixty finished with a groan and fell onto the roofing tiles beside Allen. They both lay there staring at the moon… thoroughly undignified… shirts hiked up over their nipples…spent cocks dribbling onto their stomachs. 
“Great job, Cap.” 
“You too... bud.” 
//
\\
Tina arched her back and clamped her thighs over his hips as she rode him, backwards. She tossed her hair and rolled her body in ways she’d only seen in certain films. If she thought about it for too long, it felt kind of silly. Like she was just playing a part and the director would yell cut any second. 
But this was real. This was not a Hollywood studio. This was her boyfriend’s bedroom and this was the sex life she had now.
She wondered whether it had anything to do with him being an android... Connor was insatiable. He wanted her all day, every day, everywhere. 
She didn’t know if or how long it would last, but hell, she wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was the best sex of her existence and she would take however much of it she was given, especially if it came with heaps of adoration and praise and affection.
Connor jerked his hips underneath her. She got the message and picked up the pace. His hands came to rest on her stomach from behind and slid upwards slowly to cup her breasts. He held on tightly and sat up, pressing his chest against her back with enviable core strength. 
Tina turned in his grip and he brought his mouth to hers. She parted her lips and invited his tongue in. He then leaned forwards and brought her crashing down onto the mattress. Another position, then. 
With a series of implicit gestures, Tina relinquished the lead and passed the control back to Connor. He flipped her onto her back and hooked her legs around his waist, all the while buried deep inside and pumping ceaselessly. His deft fingers circled her clit and she knew that she’d be coming again... for the fifth time in a row. 
“Hey T.” 
“What?” 
“I love you.” 
//
\\
Gavin sighed against Nines’ bare back. Falling asleep was proving difficult, given the clamour from various parts of the house. He knew his husband was wide awake too.
“Baby…”
“Shhhh.”
“Don’t act like you can sleep through all this.”
“What?”
“Your siblings making multiple trips to bone town? Plus your dad trying to out-snore his dog. It sounds like we’re on a farm here.”
Nines made a petulant noise but Gavin could tell that he was also amused.
“So what do you suggest we do?”
“Well, I’ve always said… if you can’t beat ’em… join ’em…”
Gavin scooted around on the couch a little and pressed his groin flush against Nines’ backside. A sharp hiss escaped the android.
“Really?”
“Yeah, why not?”
There was a pause (during which a series of snores and moans echoed in the living room) while Nines considered the proposition. He apparently found little objection to it and ground back against Gavin’s hardening length.
“Now we’re talking.”
Gavin gently bit down on his husband’s shoulder and pulled on the drawstrings of the sweatpants they both wore. He eased the fabric off the both of them. In no time at all, his stiffening cock was between Nines’ cheeks and his hand wrapped around Nines’ shaft.
Self-lubrication was one of the things about androids that Gavin was eternally grateful for. He gathered the drip from Nines’ tip and coaxed him to full mast, all the while rutting against the slick crease of Nines’ ass.
Their motions were easy, well-practiced.
Once they were both fully aroused, he stroked his hands over Nines’ body and guided one of his thighs up to fully expose his entrance. There was absolutely no resistance. Even in the dark, there was no hitch to any of these proceedings. They’d made love like this a hundred times before and would do it a hundred times again.
Gavin took hold of his cock, gave it a few pumps and aimed. He slowly found his mark, slipping in and bottoming out with grace. He hooked an arm around Nines’ raised leg and waited a beat, before pulling halfway out and pushing back in exactly once.
“Ohhh…”
“Is that good, baby?”
“Shhh… don’t talk.”
Gavin smiled into the side of Nines’ neck and set up a gentle rhythm with his hips. He had to go with the shallowest of thrusts if they intended to stay on the couch. But that was fine, they’d had plenty of rough, fast sex in the early days of their relationship. They weren’t missing out on anything. In fact, nowadays both of them preferred the sweeter, gentler kind of lovemaking.
Nines reached behind and cradled Gavin’s head in the crook of his arm, pulling him down for a deep kiss. He obliged easily, and for his part, used the extra room to slip his free hand around Nines’ body and grasp his cock.
Under each other’s careful ministrations, they took turns to sink into the pleasure and fall apart. Eventually, when he could hold himself back no longer, Gavin began taking all the steps to make sure Nines came first. He sinfully grazed the synthetic prostate on every thrust…caressed his chest… teased his nipples… massaged his laden balls… and pumped his cock with dedication until Nines seized up against him and came with a muted gasp.
Gavin stroked him throughout the climax and caught the ejaculate in his fingers. Without any instruction, Nines grabbed his hand and licked the mess off his digits. Keeping his breath steady, Gavin pulled out and lay flat on the couch with his flushed and wet cock in the air.
The android moved over him with absolutely no need to be asked. Nines took his husband into his mouth and swallowed down to the base of his shaft with an utterly inhuman lack of gag reflex. Gavin finished down his throat and the two of them fell back into the spooning position that they’d begun in.
They lay together quietly, catching their breath and basking in the afterglow of yet another round of happily married sex. It was so blissful that they almost forgot where they were until one of Hank’s rumbling snores resounded through the house. Nines had the presence of mind to get up and pull their sweatpants back on before both drifted off to dreamland… uninterrupted by lustful moans from the spare bedroom and heavy thudding from the roof.
//
\\
@connor-sent-by-cyberlife
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ships-bynoa · 3 years
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The Titans are almost back, bitches. aka 3x06
Guys, literally every time the titans are together-or even paired up-the episode gets ten times better, but in 6 episodes there is simply not enough Kory and Gar. I can easily forget that when I’m basking in the episode they are in, especially when they’re giving us family dynamics.
Kory:
“You’re not mad that I left. You’re mad I came back.” Kory’s face tells us Blackfire is right on the money, and who would know her better than her sister?
So, Kory, oh boy. Our girl is on edge. She is slowly unraveling and is super vulnerable and raw with Kom around and little sister is going to exploit it and her guilt, which I think she’s carrying a lot of. So far their dynamic has been fascinating because there’s so much to read between them and so many accusations being flung back and forth, from both. From Kory; you sense guilt and even contempt and from Kom there’s envy and resentment, but also there’s a sense of idealization for her older sister, too, which of course, with younger siblings, there always is an element of that. And as an older sibling, there is always an unspoken and sometimes spoken responsibility placed on them for their younger siblings. Parents often don’t realize it, but they can create a lot of tension within siblingships by assigning roles.
They remember home and family very differently, which is often the case, too. Kom was often thrown in the pit and to that, Kory attributes her sister’s constant rebellion as the reason, and yet, Kory herself was a bit of a rule breaker, sleeping with her guard, Fiddei.
Kory was being suffocated by the laws and customs of her home planet; one could say she rebelled by going on a mission, to escape her duties. Home did neither of them any favors because while one rebelled because she did not fit in, the one who did fit in was dying inside, surrounded by little robots and becoming one herself. Being told what to eat, wear and who to love or be friends with is yikes.
I was thinking Kom began her game of manipulation in the bunker, but she really started before that when she sent Fiddei to bring Kory home when she probably intended to kill him all along. After all she would’ve castrated him if she’d had the chance to for sleeping with Kory in the first place. Shortly after Fiddei’s death, Kory flamed out. No powers. Emotionally wrung out from the news her family was dead and now the culprit is here. These two know each other very well and know exactly how to get underneath each other’s skin. Right now Kom is getting underneath Kory’s and our girl is losing patience fast. 
I’m wondering when exactly Dick will tune into Kory’s anxiety-ridden state and step in to support.
Ultimately, I just want to see what truly happened to the girls on their planet and how we have the versions we have now. Like, Kory said to Rachel, “No one is born good or bad, we are defined by our choices.” I get the feeling Kory has given Kom so many chances to make a different choice and has become disillusioned, meanwhile Kom believes nothing she does will give her the respect she feels she deserves anyway, so she may as well blow shit up, figuratively and literally. At least then she’ll have Kory’s attention.
Gar: 
Gar losing it on Dick was so cathartic and yet he could’ve gone much further, considering Dick abandoned him last season to go jail and hallucinate Bruce. It ultimately led to Gar (and Conner) being kidnapped and experimented on by Mercy. It’s actually all the adults fault this happened, but as the leader promoting his family everywhere he goes, he needs to keep his eye on the ball. He would know if he spent five minutes at home with them that Gar is struggling. Last season Gar was #OperationSaveTitans and this season he’s #ThisFamilyIsDying. He’s doing what the adults should be doing, or at least leading the charge on it. He’s the glue, but who will hold him together?
He’s carrying too much emotional responsibility and Dick’s dismissal, because he is fully locked into Gotham and being Batman, makes me mad. Get your head in the game, Grayson. Gotham is going to eat your family while you retread the nostalgic steps of your past.
We all know Dick’s not good at expressing himself emotionally, though he’s usually forced to express something when talking to or being confronted by Kory, so I was proud of him for giving Gar the floor to speak. I just wish Gar spoke about himself, but then again, he needs more time and consistent offers to be heard. I’m happy Dick followed up the conversation up with a bonding/training session. There was definitely pride in Dick’s face because Gar really has come a long way in this group, but he needs MORE SCREEN TIME. I’d like to see the two of them out in the field together the way we’ve seen Kory this season with Gar and Conner. 
I wonder if Gar losing control is the start of all his trauma bubbling up to the surface, will being in Gotham, hunting down a friend be too much?
As a side, has the CGI tiger face gotten worse?
Kom (and Conner):
First thing’s first, what music are we thinking Kom listens to? Probably the kind of music she can break your tailbone to, like, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Jay Z, or Prince, Jimmy Hendrix, Stevie Nicks and Led Zeppelin? Rihanna?
Kom is absolutely a villain this season and if she isn’t, what a waste that’ll be. A mastermind at mind games (see, her picking up the chess piece), who is going to drum up Kory’s paranoia and anxiety around her being there. Trying to kill her suspicion by guilt tripping her while simultaneously being a do good-er to the group, feigning interest in helping the Titans to earn her way in, a tip from our boy, Conner.
She says she wants acceptance and I believe that’s absolutely true, but she doesn’t know how to get that without using power, so she’ll continue to covet acceptance through and with power because according to Kory, she’s always been a climber. Add to that, being born the cursed child and the only royal member born without the gift of fire, something that differentiates them from the common folk, being too frail to participate in the same games as Kory, having a speech therapist be her only friend while being the object of ridicule and you have a villain origin story nicely set up.
I really enjoyed Conner and Kom’s exchange. The boy lit up when he spoke about seeing his family happy and it made me light up. He’s so genuine and has a big heart and Kom is going to take advantage of it, that’s not to say she won’t develop real feelings for him, but she can like him and still use him.
Conner’s “you have to earn your way into the family,” is perhaps an internal and personal struggle he has from sharing blood with Luthor. I think it may come from an insecure place because he was made a titan as soon as he woke up and no one questioned it, but as he’s only half of superman, he’s constantly trying to prove his usefulness for good, which losing Hank has rocked, leaving him vulnerable to Kom’s recognition for his otherness. Their otherness.
She gave us insight into her mind, but also she has likely seized an opportunity to use the vulnerability against Conner and to her favor by making him her kindred. Outcasts. Will she gain influence over him? He’s still young and learning, and trusting, too.
Her interest in him felt layered, ignoring the ugly customs of sex servants, she was also observing Kory’s relationships and ranking them in her sister’s life. Her being able to determine who may have Kory’s interest (which Kory gave away with her vulnerable display of worry over Dick’s welfare in front of Kom) will surely come into play at some point, right? After all, Kom did kill Kory’s last lover/royal guard. This may be me projecting. LOL.
Romantically, I’m waiting to see how they play it before I decide if I like it or not, but so far, they have a nice chemistry. Friendly.
Dick (and Barbara) :
What a lovable dumb ass. 
I was so happy Kory lost it on him and called him on his lone ranger shit, at least when it’s her, even when he’s being an idiot, he’s still listening. “Let’s go.” and I thought it was hilarious that he tried explaining himself, but when Gar called him out, he got all huffy with, “Excuse me, young man.”
Gar asking Kory not to have words with Barbara over Dick getting shot was so funny because Dick’s face seemed to ask the same when she asked how it happened. We love a protective Kory. I’ll be looking at him when it’s his turn to reciprocate.
I don’t like him dismissing their concerns about his personal safety and how it affects them, it’s like he’s learned nothing after running off alone to battle Trigon, or rather has unlearned his lessons of S2. I’d like to see some more permanent emotional growth from him by this season’s end. In his current state, he’s not an exuding leader. He can’t be when he’s still wrapped up in Bruce and all things Gotham. He’s not tuned into Kory’s anxiety, or Conner’s grief and insecurity, or Gar’s emotional burden. 
He’s started making it up to him, but he has much to do in taking Gar’s concerns and emotional needs seriously.
I’m not even going to try and work out the timeline between Barbara and Dick and Dick and old Titans in San Fran and S1. But it doesn’t bode well that Dick’s dream with Barbara ended in a nightmare. 
I wish they’d never did the whole Dick and Dawn relationship in S2 because they’re basically repeating some of the beats in showing us how they don’t work as a couple, only his relationship with Babs makes a lot more sense even though I don't care. Dick has unfinished business with that relationship, Bruce and Gotham and I can only hope he’s wrapped it up for good by this season’s end. I want to see relaxed, smiling and happy Dick in THE PRESENT. I still Babs will be the one to notice and point out Dick's feelings for Kory.
Barbara (outside of Dick) is being downplayed a little, no? Dismissing Dick’s suspicions about Jason when he arrived, showing no knowledge of Jason��s visits to Crane and then taking the bait and moving Crane after he got a light beat down. A commissioner who was also a very capable vigilante is tricked by a recording and goes to meet “Bruce” on her own. I really enjoyed that she could hold her own and the fight scene was really good, but it was a bit baffling that she fell for that ruse. So far, she’s not entirely good at her job.
Dick’s a distraction in his own right and her feelings clearly get in the way, which is why she keeps asking him to leave the precinct and Gotham; because she’s pining a fantasy and he’s ruining it. Lastly, I really like the way Savannah plays Barbara.
Why’d they do that to Tim?? :(
Overall, it was a better episode and I enjoyed it more than latter episodes, but they’re not quite there yet for me. I’m  still waiting for Team Titans.
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