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egcdeath · 3 years

Text

ways to say i love you without saying “i love you”

pairing: steve rogers x reader

summary: you and steve explore love languages

word count: 5.1k

warnings: fluff, a little angst because of miscommunications, reader & steve being idiots, good intentions but terrible delivery, mentions of other characters

author’s note: this fic has been sitting unfinished in my drafts for so long. this fic is like, ancient. this fic was almost destroyed because it was briefly in the library of alexandria. when i reopened the document with this fic, there were mold spores growing on it. (p.s. steve’s love langauge is acts of service, and the reader’s is quality time)

you can find my masterlist and taglist here

Prologue

Steve was a multitasker. You knew this well. Perhaps too well.

That never seemed to bother you before, but if the man who was supposed to be taking a serene nature walk with you checked his goddamn flip phone one more time, you were completely sure that you’d lose it.

You paused your story about your obnoxious coworkers for a moment, stopping in the middle of the gravelly trail you two were making your way down.

“Steve, seriously, are you even listening?” you griped, ushering him towards the side of the pavement as a man on a bike flew by.

He guffawed a bit at this, “of course I am. You just said something about…” he paused, and you gestured with your hands for him to continue. “Okay, sorry,” the blush on his face was becoming more and more apparent.

You involuntarily scoffed, rolling your eyes as you did so, “I’m glad to know that whatever you’re waiting for on there,” you gestured to his pocket, “is more important than spending quality time with your girlfriend, who, must I remind you, took time off to be here with you.”

“Nothing is more important to me than you, I’m just on call. I’m probably going to get called to go on a mission any moment now.”

“Steve!” you huffed, “you literally just got back, like, two hours ago. Can’t someone else go? Tony? Vision? Anyone?”

“I might’ve volunteered myself-“

“You’re unbelievable, Steve. Are you getting tired of me or something? You’ve been avoiding me like the plague ever since I moved in with you. If I upset you, or you’re gonna propose to me or something, can you just tell me?”

“I promise you it’s not personal at all,” he reached for your hand and gently held it. “Everything’s just been crazy. I mean, these Hydra bases have been popping up left and right. Just give me a little grace, okay? I don’t get upset with you when SHIELD starts making you work those ungodly hours.”

You opened your mouth to debate him, but surely enough, the canny and familiar ringtone of Steve’s work phone interrupted you before you could even begin.

“Okay… Yeah. I’ll be there in thirty.”

You frowned at Steve as he spoke on the phone and shook your head disapprovingly, “unbelievable,” you muttered, storming in the direction of your home.

——

Steve was no fool, he knew when he messed up, and he was more than willing to take responsibility for such. Now was one of those times. He knew that he should’ve been making more time for you. He was well aware that he shouldn’t have gotten defensive when you pointed this out.

He just had no idea how to apologize.

You weren’t exactly making it easy for him either, taking much longer hours in an attempt to avoid him. While he could understand your frustrations, it became a little more difficult everyday for him to properly apologize to you in a way he felt was meaningful.

Eventually figuring to use your avoidance as a tool, Steve devised a plot to make an apology for you so considerate, so superb, that you could never be angry with him again. A plot that included a several course meal, all concocted by himself.

He could imagine the look on your face as you came home from work, shocked, but the good kind of shock. Pleasantly surprised that your sweet boyfriend had put in such a huge amount of effort to say sorry.

He couldn’t help but imagine the scenario: you would relax into your seat at the table after Steve pulled out the chair for you, hum in content as he poured your favorite wine. Moan happily at the taste of a homemade and rarely prepared salad dressing, before complimenting the melt-in-your-mouth entree he had spent an unknown amount of time laboring over. Finally, you’d gush over the dessert that Steve hadn’t had the chance to cook in years, tell him that he worked far too hard putting everything together, especially for a little argument. Steve would scoff, tell you you’re being too kind, and you would pull him in for a red wine and dark chocolate flavored kiss.

The thought of you, your genuine and warm smile after a long day at work, and an even longer week worth of unspoken tension between you both, was enough to keep Steve motivated through the hours he spent preparing your meal.

He greeted you at the door like an excited puppy as soon as he heard your keys jingle. Sure, work had kept you a bit longer than he’d expected, and your food was likely a little cool by now, but he was excited to make amends.

However, you did not seem to share the same enthusiasm as Steve.

“Welcome home, gorgeous. Come sit,” Steve nudged you into the dining area, and you sluggishly followed, exhausted from a tiring day of training new agents.

“What’s wrong?” he inquired, pulling out a chair that you didn’t even attempt to sit down on.

“I had a really long day. I kinda just wanna get to bed,” you shrugged before rubbing your creased temple.

Steve internally cringed at the thought of all of his hard work going to waste. For some reason, he’d not envisioned this less pleasant outcome before. “Sweetheart,” he began in a nearly whiny tone, but you weren’t in much of a mood to be persuaded.

“I’m sorry. Weird things were happening at work that I don’t care to get into now, and honestly, I’m not even that hungry,” you reached out and gave Steve’s hand a little squeeze. “But it all looks and smells so good! I Promise I’ll warm some up tomorrow for lunch.”

“I-,” he paused, “please. Maybe you could just take a few bites of everything. It took me a really long time to get everything prepped and ready.”

You frowned at the plea, feeling a bit guilty but almost… satisfied at the same time. Steve struggled to make time for you because of his work, and now he was getting a little taste of his own medicine.

“I really am sorry. But hey, now we’re even?” you offered with a playful wink, slipping away before you gave your partner a chance to respond. You truly didn’t have the energy for a four course meal that night, let alone another argument.

——

Wanda was silent for a moment as she sipped from a mug of coffee, watching you with a suspiciously focused look on her face.

“Wanda?” you prompted, seemingly snapping her out of whatever trance she had found herself in.

“Oh my God, I know exactly what you guys need,” she just about blurted, reaching across the café table to grab your hand.

“Were you reading my mind?”

Your friend didn’t respond, but the devious smirk on her face was enough of an answer.

“What happened to telling me before reading me?”

“You just looked like there was a lot on your mind. And absolutely no way that you’d tell me,” she shrugged nonchalantly.

“Of course I was gonna tell you! Why else would I ask my friend in a cute relationship to meet me for coffee?”

“Because you like me?”

“No, never that. I just needed advice,” the two of you shared a laugh for a moment.

“Well don’t waste your breath. When Vis and I had a rough patch, we just had to learn each other’s love languages. You’d be surprised just how much that synthezoid values those acts of services.”

“And you?”

“I’m a words of affirmation girl myself,” she shrugged. “You should find out yours, and try to figure out Steve’s. I guarantee it’ll be helpful in the long run. I can send you guys a test, if you want?”

“Oh god no, please don’t tell him that I told you about us. Actually, I didn’t even tell you! You were digging around in my brain, and I don’t appreciate that. Just do me a favor, and don’t share this with anyone, okay?” You paused dramatically, then leaned in to speak to your friend in a whisper, “but send me that test when you get the chance.”

Gift Giving

“A little reality-warping birdie told me you’ve been having some relationship problems,” Tony said teasingly once Bruce left the conference room, leaving him and Steve alone.

Steve paused for a moment, trying to decide whether he should lie or fess up to the allegation. “How did she know?” Steve finally responded, standing up and pushing the chair he was sitting on behind him.

Tony shrugged dismissively, “I don’t ask these kinds of things. I just hear in passing that the geriatric is having a hard time and tune in.”

Steve shook his head slightly, rolling his eyes to mask his clear embarrassment.

“Well, is it true?”

“We’ve just been having the occasional… rift. A little more than occasionally.”

Tony nodded, fake pondering the situation, “well, I always know what I do for Pep, at least after I tell her I’m getting rid of the suit. Go buy her something nice. Really nice, like jewelry, or a purse if she’s into that kind of thing. I would say a car, but I know that Social Security check isn’t getting you too far. You know what? Put it on the company card. My treat.”

Steve wanted to scoff, turn his nose up at the offer like it was a terrible idea, but it really wasn’t. Maybe a material surprise was the way to win you back. He made a soft ‘hmph,’ noise as he mulled it over. “That’s definitely not your worst idea. Thanks,” he gave his teammate a soft smile before collecting himself and heading out of the conference room.

His first stop after work was some local jeweler. Steve threw on a (not very) inconspicuous outfit before entering the building, where he browsed for a good hour, searching for something that he believed you’d like. After looking at more jewelry than he had ever cared to see in his life, he decided on a necklace with a thin golden chain with a decent sized diamond hanging off of it. It was a little pricier, and you’d be able to tell— but he hoped it would help the gift mean more to you.

——

When you arrived home late that night, Steve was sitting in the living room waiting for you. It was almost daunting, the sight of him sitting alone on the couch mostly in the dark, only the television illuminating his face. He kind of reminded you of a parent waiting to confront their child who just snuck out, or a concerned friend seconds away from staging an intervention with you.

Walking past the room, you peeked your head through the doorway, and observed the flat, small box in front of him on the coffee table.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” he greeted, standing up so he could greet you with a hug and grabbing the little box as he did so.

“Is everything okay?” you probed, speaking into Steve’s shoulder.

“Of course. I just wanted you to know how much I love you, and that I’m sorry for not having as much time for you as I should,” he pulled away before holding the box out for you.

You hesitantly took the box and opened it, letting out a gasp when you viewed the delicate looking gold necklace.

You were having mixed emotions, because it was clearly beautiful and you were grateful to the gesture. But you knew that this must’ve been expensive, and that it was so unlike Steve to have done something like this. Your frugal, Great Depression era guy wasn’t exactly the most material.

“I love it,” you gushed, admiring the jewelry.

“Can I put it on you?” Steve asked, and received a nod in return.

Steve set the box down on the table and lifted up the necklace, bringing it up to your neck and focusing on clasping it in the back.

“Babe, how much was this?” you blurted, not even being able to filter the words before they left your mouth.

“Hmm? That doesn’t matter,” he dismissed, then stepped away from you to admire your clavicle.

“It just feels weird letting you spend so much on me.”

“It’s a gift, though. You’re not supposed to think about those things,” he hummed, pressing a chaste peck to your nose.

“Steve, I got you a Nespresso for Christmas and you wouldn’t stop complaining about how expensive it was. I love it, I really do. It’s beautiful and I’ll always think of you when I wear it. I just think that maybe we should have the same standards for each other,” you stood up from your seat and sidestepped him. “I need a shower.”

Steve watched you walk off, letting your words simmer in his thoughts.

That was the last time he would take relationship advice from Tony.

Words of Affirmation

This conclusion probably shouldn’t have taken you this long, but you were almost completely sure that this would be the love language to win Steve back over. You felt bad for some of the occurrences between the two of you lately, with sour exchanges and sweet moments that turned bitter on a whim.

In all honesty, you were concerned that Steve doubted your love for him. And if his love language really was words of affirmation, this would certainly convince him otherwise.

You sat at your desk the night before Steve departed for a two-week mission, trying to write a nice message for him. You tapped your pen on the stock paper in deep thought as you tried to figure out the best thing to say.

I’m sorry for arguing so much with you lately. You and everything that you do mean the world to me, even when you get on my nerves. I love you more than anything and that will never change.

The words looked cramped and unkempt on the little note. Your handwriting got messier as you went. You groaned at it, crumpled the paper, and tossed it in your trash bin. Time to start over again.

I’m sorry for arguing with you. I love you a lot. Can you stop picking up your phone when we’re spending time together?

You groaned at the passive aggressive tone of your message. That certainly wasn’t going to get you anywhere. Straight to the bin it goes.

I love you so much so don’t die on your mission or I’ll be pretty upset. Be safe out there xx.

The tone was even more off now. You needed to think of something that would really make Steve remember you while he was gone. For a second, you considered snapping a nude with a polaroid and attaching it to the letter.

I’m sorry that things have been so bad nasty for us lately. I promise that I love you, despite our ups and downs. Nothing will ever change that. I’ll miss you more than you know while you’re gone. Make sure you call me every day, my love.

A little cheesy, but you signed off with your name regardless, and contentedly looked at your work. The spacing looked correct, the tone wasn’t harsh, and you knew for a fact that Steve would appreciate it.

You stayed up a little later than normal, waiting for Steve to get home and change out of his ‘work clothes’ so that you could slip the note into his utility belt.

You folded the note to a small little square and set it beside an granola bar in a pocket you’d assumed he frequently used. Content with your work, you laid back in bed until your partner slipped in bed beside you, and sleepily cuddled into you until you were both unconscious.

—

Around two weeks had passed since Steve had seen you last, and he had decided to stop by the office and finish up paperwork before coming to see you. It had been radio silence on his end, despite the note in his clothing that clearly requested daily contact. Part of you wondered if Steve had seen it at all.

Steve had just finished signing the documents when he finally noticed it, reaching into a sparsely used part of his belt to have a quick snack. His hand landed on a folded piece of paper, and he cringed as he unfolded it, the letter becoming clearer and clearer as he did so. He wondered just how long the message had been waiting for him.

He read your sweet words with a frown on his face, the guilt from not opening it sooner overriding the sweet feelings that he would otherwise have. He grabbed his phone and considered texting you, but abandoned that thought altogether.

“FRIDAY, any idea where Y/N is right now?”

“I was told not to share any information about Ms. L/N, Captain Rogers.”

“Whose orders?” Steve pressed.

“Hers,” the bot quipped back.

Steve groaned aloud. He was really in for it tonight.

Physical Touch

“Have you tried touching her more?” Thor casually queried. The water that Steve had just consumed nearly flew out of his nose, and his cheeks reddened instantly.

“Pardon?” he asked, looking away from his friend instantly.

“I understand that you and Y/N have been having troubles lately. Perhaps she does not feel held by you. Maybe she wants you to show her off in public, to hold her hand, hug her,” he suggested.

Could Steve even be blamed for going there? He was having a chat with a god of fertility. Who wouldn’t think the same?

“Stark’s gala tonight. Show the world that she’s yours, and I guarantee that she’ll love every moment of it.”

——

You were confused. Really confused.

The night began with some simple touches, hand holding as you entered the building, a casual arm around your waist as you chatted with donors and politicians you hadn’t seen in months, a playful match of footsie under the table while waiting for food. But it came to a head when Steve had decided to rest his hand on your ass and grope you in the midst of a conversation.

Now, in any other situation, you would welcome this affection. But both you and Steve had never been a fan of PDA, and this was a bit too far.

As subtle as you could manage, you pushed his hand away, offering him a sour look as you did so.

“Excuse us,” you told some rich old man in an artificially sweet tone before ushering Steve off to his office for a bit more privacy.

“What was that about?” you questioned, sitting down in the padded chair behind Steve’s desk, and running your fingers over your necklace in a bit of a nervous tick.

“What do you mean?” he retorted, standing across from you at the desk and setting his hands on top of the clear table.

“Why were you groping me in front of people? That’s really... unlike you. And it made me uncomfortable.”

Steve frowned genuinely, looking down at the table in embarrassment. “I’m really sorry. For making you uncomfortable. It sounds ridiculous but I was just trying something new.”

“Apology accepted, but are you sure? You weren’t like, jealous of those guys or something? You know you’re the only hundred year old I have eyes for,” you set your hands atop of his and squeezed.

Steve chuckled at this, the flush of his cheeks only highlighted more by the laughter, “it’s just that, uh, Thor told me I should try showing you off more. Or something like that.”

“So you groped me in front of our guests? That’s silly. And a little unprofessional,” you glanced over at the cork board on his desk sitting next to his desktop, and amongst the neatly arranged scratched out to-do lists and random reminders, you couldn’t help but notice the creased paper of the note you’d left for his mission. Your chest warmed when your eyes fell upon it.

“When did you find this thing?” you asked, pointing to the note.

“I meant to say something, but when I found it, FRIDAY said you didn’t want to talk to me. SO I was going to bring it up when I got home, but you were still working. After that, I kinda… you know-”

“Forgot?” you finished with a hearty laugh, “It’s fine. You’re such a dork. C’mere so I can get my own groping in,” you chided, grinning to yourself when Steve wrapped his arms around you in a tight embrace.

Acts of Service

Steve was quietly folding your laundry in your bedroom when it finally occurred to you, but when it did, it hit like a ton of bricks.

Steve’s love language was acts of service!

Things suddenly began to make sense to you, the way that he initially attempted to apologize by spending hours cooking one meal, how he consistently worked to make your life as comfortable as possible, and his great insistence to do house chores, despite you being more than capable.

Steve set down a stack of folded sweatshirts by your calf, snapping you away from your brief retrospective daze. If that really was the case, and Steve’s love language truly was acts of kindness, you had to come up with some sort of plan to communicate to him just how much you cared about him in a way that he really appreciated.

Luckily for you, you were a quick thinker. Before you even knew it, a week filled with random acts of kindness before he was off on yet another mission was quickly hatched.

——

You were up at the ass-crack of dawn. Really. Steve liked to get up earlier than the sun in order to run, or train, or whatever the hell it was that superheroes did. You were seriously regretting your decision to wake up around the same time as him in order to do some favors for him in the morning.

By the time Steve was back from his run, his favorite coffee was brewed and cooling, and you were in the laundry room at the dryer, preparing to give Steve a warm towel after his shower.

Despite the three mugs of coffee you’d just downed, it was becoming more and more difficult to keep your eyes open. It didn’t help that your eyelids felt like they weighed fifty pounds each, and the warmth of the dryer next to you was providing you with just enough comfort to drift off.

And drift you did. In fact, half an hour later, you’d missed the frantic calling out for you from your boyfriend as he searched for you around the apartment.

You finally awoke when he shook your shoulders, his amused voice bringing you back to consciousness.

“What’s going on here?” Steve grinned, pushing some hair out of your face.

“Mmm,” you began, “Iwantedtogetawarmtowel,” you slurred sleepily and incoherently.

“Even with super hearing I couldn’t decipher that. Let’s get you a mattress, okay?” Steve hoisted you up like you were nothing, and carried your half asleep body all the way up to your bedroom.

The next thing you knew, you were buried under your favorite comforter and propped against a mountain of feathery pillows. A gentle forehead kiss and an incomprehensible sentence about calling off of work for you later, you were back in a deep sleep.

So much for warm towels.

—

You were going to do better this time. That’s what you told yourself as you strolled through the grocery store, the same store that you hadn’t shopped in since moving in with Steve, as he preferred to do the shopping himself.

Equipped with a short paper list and sheer determination to make the trip as short and accurate as possible, you gathered all of the groceries that you believed were necessary— just enough to restock the fridge, and fill some gaps left in the cupboard.

Your time at the store was indeed brief, as you found yourself in the checkout lane after just twenty minutes (you definitely weren’t going to brag about that to Steve later. Definitely not), and back home with just enough time to unload the groceries, and further prep yourself to go to work.

You’d honestly forgotten about your trip to the store by the time that you arrived home, up until you found your boyfriend arm deep in your pantry, hellbent on finding… something.

“Can I help you?” you poked with a laugh, coming up beside Steve and peeking over his shoulder.

“I’m just… Did you happen to grab any protein bars while you were at the store?” he asked, pausing his search to look back at you.

“I don’t think so. Why? It’s not like you need any more protein,” you teased, squeezing a bicep to demonstrate your words.

“They’re pretty convenient when I’m out in the field. Don’t worry about it, though. I’ll just swing by the store and grab some before my mission tomorrow. Actually, I should probably go now. Y’know, before I forget,” Steve was already grabbing his car keys from the counter by the time his sentence was finished, leaving you to fight off your disappointment at your minor grocery store failure.

You looked at what you now knew was an insufficiently filled pantry and pinched the bridge of your nose. You had seriously underestimated the ins and outs of shopping for a super soldier.

Well, third time’s the charm?

—

After this week, you would never complain about waking up early again. You were now up at an absolutely ungodly hour, scrambling eggs, flipping pancakes, and spreading jam on toast for a sleeping, unsuspecting Steve.

You placed the plate on a sturdy wooden tray, poured orange juice and an extra glass of water, and set a nicely folded napkin, along with utensils, next to the items.

You hoped that the scent of bacon wafting up to your bedroom would eventually pull him out of his slumber, and seeing how bacon was the only thing left to finish cooking, you took a little break.

A round of Candy Crush turned into two, then three, and goddamnit, why can’t you beat this fourth level! You got so wrapped up in your mobile game that you didn’t even notice when the scent from your kitchen became slightly rancid, and when you rushed over to the oven to check on your now extremely burnt bacon, the smoke detector wailed.

You grabbed a kitchen towel and waved your arms like a madwoman near the smoke detector, the shrieking eventually stopping, but not before Steve was halfway down the stairs.

“Y/N, where are you? Is everything okay?” he nearly shouted, racing down the stairs and barreling through the smoky kitchen to find you. When he reached you, he wrapped his arms around your waist and began to pull you out of the kitchen.

“Steve, relax. Everything is okay. Except those pieces of bacon,” you rubbed your now sweaty palms on your pajama pants before breaking away from him to crack open the kitchen window.

“Christ, what happened? And why are you up so early?”

“I was trying to make you breakfast in bed,” you admitted, rather embarrassed by the dramatic scene you’d accidentally created. “Sorry,” you muttered.

Steve wrapped his arms around you once more, this time in a reassuring bear hug that left your cheeks pressed to his chest. “Don’t be. I really appreciate this, and everything else you’ve done this week. It’s the thought that counts, right?”

“I guess,” you mumbled into his shirt.

“Besides, everything else looks delicious. And you tried your best for me while trying something new. I think that’s really sweet of you.”

“Really?” you pried, looking up at him.

“Really,” Steve confirmed.

“Well, I think it would be really sweet of you if you went back to bed and got all cozy so I can take care of you.”

Steve chuckled softly, pressed a little kiss to your nose, then nodded, “yes ma’am.”

Quality Time

Steve had been in a bubbly mood since getting back from his mission, and for no particular reason. It wasn’t like you weren’t happy that your partner was happy, but feeling like you were out of the loop was slightly concerning.

Before you could let your thoughts run too wild, you decided to pop the question during one of your evening walks.

“Okay Steve, what is going on with you?” you asked, veering to the side of the trail when a biker rode past you.

“Nothing big. Nothing too important. I’m just out of service for the next three months,” Steve said casually, playing it cool.

“What?!” you paused, your brows raising and eyes widening in surprise as you searched his face for sincerity. “You’re serious?”

“Serious as a heart attack.”

“Steve!” you gasped happily, nearly roaring out his name in excitement. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I was going to tell you before wining and dining you, but you beat me to it. So…?”

“…So I’m happy to have you back. I may need you to negotiate some time away from work for me in the next few months, then. I don’t wanna miss this preview of stay-at-home-dad-Steve.”

“Hey, don’t push it.”

“Oh, I’m planning on pushing it.”

Epilogue

The sun was beating down on you, but the soothing breeze that flowed past your checked blanket every so often provided a pleasant antidote to the summer heat.

You’d truly picked the best day for a picnic.

Despite spending a good amount of time with your partner, the last month and a half had truly felt like a whirlwind. You casually started looking for a forever home, found yourselves making plans for an early retirement, and you had a new, sneaking suspicion that a proposal was on the horizon.

In the midst of it all, Steve had suggested that the two of you take a midday tryst at your local park and throw yourselves a little picnic. Of course you obliged, because when your greek god of a boyfriend suggests going on a spur of the moment date, you agree.

You now watched the nearly cloudless sky with pure, unadulterated feelings of content and joy while Steve set a slice of cheese on a cracker, leaning over your body to feed you. As you opened your mouth, Steve paused abruptly at the soft vibration coming from his pocket.

Steve resumed as if nothing had changed, popping the cracker into your open mouth and letting his phone continue to ring.

“Don’t you wanna get that?” you questioned.

“It can wait,” Steve stated nonchalantly, slipping his phone out of his pocket and pressing decline with absolutely no hesitation before tossing the device to the edge of your blanket.

You didn’t realize how long you’d been waiting to hear those three words.

-------

a/n: this could’ve been solved in like 20 minutes by sitting down and taking a love language quiz together

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n #chris evans x reader #chris evans x you #avengers fanfiction #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers fanfiction #captain america x reader #captain america x you

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americasass91 · 4 years

Text

Just a Negotiation

^chose this photo because arms🥵

This will most likely be my last submission for #shamelesshoesforchris. I’ve enjoyed this challenge SO much! Thank you @stargazingfangirl18 and @navybrat817 for hosting such an awesome challenge! This is the longest fic I’ve written so far. I’m such a hoe for Steven Grant so he’s the star of this one. I hope you enjoy it!

Prompts:

“Can you just not right now?”

“I don’t deserve you”

Words: 6.8k

Rating: Explicit(I can’t seem to help myself)

Warnings: Smut, angst, reader not admitting feelings, Steve being Steve, language, unprotected sex, lil cockwarming

“Ah, fuck! Right there, Steve! Don’t stop!”

“Couldn’t stop if I wanted too, sweetheart.”

He grabs your hips and bounces you on him even faster. Planting his feet on the floor so he can meet your thrusts.

Usually he’s the one on top and you’re just along for the ride. But today he told you he wanted you to ride him. He didn’t have to tell you twice.

He’d already made you come twice with his fingers and mouth. So it’s no surprise that you can already feel yourself on the precipice of pleasure once again.

He leans back from sucking on your neck. “You gonna come for me,Y/N? I can feel you squeezing my cock.”

You moan in reply. You aren’t able to form any words at the moment. He’s hitting your g spot with every thrust. You tangle your hands in his hair and slam down on him hard one last time as your orgasm hits you like a freight train.

“Fuck, Y/N. Yes! Feels so good. You’re gonna make me come.”

His thrusts become even harder and faster than before. You know he’s close.

You lean forward and bite his earlobe as you clench down on him, “Come on, Captain. Fill me up. I want it.”

At your words he throws his head back and lets out a loud groan, coating your insides with his spend. His thrusts come to a stop as he rests his forehead against your chest, trying to catch his breath. You run your hands through his hair, your own breathing coming back to normal.

He brings his head up and leans in for a kiss. He pulls away and smiles. “So, same time next week?” He chuckles as he lifts you off of him and stands you up. “Sorry but I have a mission to get ready for. I think most of your clothes are in here, although I think your shirt is in the living room.”

“You and I both know we won’t last until next week, Rogers.” You start gathering your clothes, dressing as you go. You’d never admit it to him, but it always hurts your feelings a little bit when he kicks you out so quickly after your trysts.

Once he’s dressed in sweats and a too tight shirt, he comes over for a goodbye kiss. “That’s true, Y/N. You can’t resist all of this.” He gestures down his body with a chuckle.

You laugh at him. “Unless I have other plans.” You head out of his bedroom in search of your shirt. He follows you and leans against the doorway to his bedroom with his arms crossed, an amused expression on his face. “And what plans would that be?”

You finally locate your shirt and put it on. You head for your purse by the door. “I don’t know, but I could. My life doesn’t revolve around you, Rogers.”

You hear him chuckle. “Okay, tell that to my cock, sweetheart. You’ve been over here every night for the past 2 weeks. Not that I’m complaining.”

You turn around and face him. “I just wanted to create the illusion that I had a life. You know where to find me when you need a release.”

He gives you a smile that makes your knees feel weak. “That I do, Y/N. Have a good night.”

“Good luck on your mission!”

You wave and open his front door, glancing in the hall to make sure nobody is around. Once you realize the coast is clear, you close the door behind you and head back to your room.

You always hate this part. Your walk of shame. Some part of you always feels a little bit like a cheap whore. Although you agreed to this. So really you have nobody to blame but yourself.

See, you and Steve agreed awhile ago to become friends with benefits. It started with you complaining about going through a dry spell. He offered to help out. You know since he’s such a helpful kind of guy.

At first you declined his offer, stating you didn’t want to ruin your friendship. He understood and that was that.

Then a few nights later you had the worst date you had ever been on. You came back to the compound in a horrible mood. You’d really thought this date would’ve been a guarantee for sex. Then the guy turned out to be a total douche. You told him you had to ‘go to the bathroom’ and you made a beeline for the exit.

You stomped right up to Steve’s room and banged on his door.

He answered and looked confused to see you standing there. “Didn’t you have a date tonight? It’s not even 8:30. Is everything ok?”

You push your way inside and shut his door. “Listen, Rogers. I’m going to be real with you. The guy was a douche so I left early. So I was wonder-” He cuts you off. “He didn’t hurt you did he? Cause I’ll kill him if he did.”

You smile at his willingness to protect you. “No, Steve, he didn’t hurt me. He was just some self entitled, trust fund prick who thought the world revolved around him. I couldn’t stand another minute of him telling me how amazing he was. So I left and came straight here. I wanted to know if your offer still stood?”

His brows furrow. “You mean the offer about ending your dry spell? Yes, that offer still stands.”

You surge forward and crash your lips onto his. He reciprocates quickly and wraps his arms around your waist. After a few minutes of urgent kisses he pulls back. “Wait, wait. I just want you to know that I’m not interested in a relationship. With our line of work, I just don’t have time for one.”

You nod in understanding. “That’s great, Steve. But I’m trying to get some dick, not a relationship. And besides, this’ll only be a one time thing.”

That was the first lie you told yourself. At first it was only going to be a one time thing. But the sex turned out to be fucking phenomenal. So one time turned into two that turned into three and so on.

The next lie you told yourself was that you weren’t going to catch any feelings for him. Which you hadn’t for the first couple weeks into your negotiation. Then that all shot to hell. He’s Steve Rogers for goodness sake. How could you not fall for him?

Which leads you back to now. You know you should cut it off with him. But you can’t. You did a stupid thing and fell in love with him. And he’s let you know more than once he doesn’t have time for a relationship.

You finally reach your door and sigh in relief you didn’t run into anyone else. You and Steve have done a pretty good job at keeping this thing between you guys a secret. You plan to keep it that way.

You open your door and turn on the lights and just about jump out of your skin. Sitting on your couch is none other than your best friend, Nat. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me!”

She stands and heads towards you. “Sorry, bug. Couldn’t resist scaring you. So, how’s Steve?”

You can feel the blush heating up your face. You turn and head towards your kitchen. “What? Nat, it’s 2 in the morning. Why would I know how Steve is? I was just working out some frustrations in the gym.” You grab 2 bottles of water out of the fridge and turn to toss her one.

She catches it and just gives you an amused look. “Oh come on, Y/N. I’m a trained assassin and spy. I know you guys are hooking up.” She twists the cap off her water and takes a sip.

“How did you find out?” There’s no use in denying it. You can’t lie to her. She knows you too well.

“Well besides the fact that you guys are always near each other and finding ways to touch each other? I walked to his room a few weeks ago to go over some paperwork with him and heard you guys. I gotta say, Steve has a dirty mouth on him.”

You groan as you head towards your couch. “Well we did a good job keeping it a secret up until now.”

She joins you on the couch. “How long has this been going on for exactly?”

You think for a minute. “About a year, give or take.”

She gapes at you. “You’ve been fucking Rogers for a year and I’m just now finding out about it? I mean is it just fucking? Are you guys in love? Why didn’t you tell me? What’s he like in bed? How big is it? I thought I was your best friend?”

You grab her shoulders and shake her a little. “Whoa calm down, Nat! First of all, yes. It’s just fucking. I didn’t tell you because Steve and I agreed to just keep it between us because we didn’t want to complicate things any further. And he’s the best I’ve ever had okay? His dick is amazing and has probably ruined me for all other guys. And you are my best friend. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. Do you forgive me?” You give her the best puppy dog eyes you can muster at 2 am.

“Of course I forgive you, bug. But you didn’t answer all of my questions.” She smirks at you. You give her a confused look. She just rolls her eyes. “Are you guys in love?”

You look down at your hands in your lap. “I mean, I am. He’s not. He doesn't want a relationship right now.” You raise your head and look at your best friend. “But yes, I’m so in love with him it hurts. And if this is all I can have with him, then I’ll take it.”

She tilts her head to the side as if contemplating something. “Have you told him how you felt?”

You about spit the water you had in your mouth out before quickly swallowing it. “What? No! Of course I haven’t. He doesn’t love me. I’d just be setting myself up for failure.”

“How do you know that? How do you know he doesn’t feel the same? Maybe he’s scared to tell you. Come on! This is Steve we are talking about. Tell him! What’s the worst that could happen?”

You just stare at Nat in disbelief . “Um, he could hear me! And he would’ve told me by now. Right?”

Nat just shrugs her shoulders. “Not if he was afraid to tell you for the same reasons you’re afraid to tell him. Come on, Y/N. Yeah it might be hard to do but at least if you tell him you’ll know once and for all.”

She does have a point. If by some miracle he does feel the same then this could be the best thing that you ever do. If he doesn’t feel the same then at least you can cut ties and move on. You were tired of crying yourself to sleep at night over it. You look back at Nat. “Okay, I’m gonna do it. Tomorrow I’m gonna tell him and then I’ll know.”

She smiles and hugs you. “That’s great, Y/N. But it’s gonna have to wait until he gets back from the mission he’s going on tomorrow.” You furrow your brows. “Oh shit, that’s right. What kind of mission is it?”

“Just a simple undercover one. It’s just him and Sharon going. They have to pose as a married couple to try to get in good with some illegal drug smugglers. We think they’re involved with HYDRA. So they are going to check things out. Should be back in a week or so.”

“Won’t that be awkward with the two of them? I mean they dated for awhile.”

“It shouldn’t be, I mean they split on good terms. Promised to stay friends. I’m sure it’ll all work out fine. Besides it’ll give you plenty of time to work up the courage to tell him your feelings.” She smirks and stands to head towards the door.

You roll your eyes at her and bid her goodnight.

As she shuts the door behind her you can’t help but to think she’s right. It will take you the whole time he’s away for you to work up your courage.

It’s been 3 weeks since you’ve seen Steve. He came back from his mission today. You had psyched yourself up the whole time he was away.

That’s what led you to knocking on his door only hours after he got back. You hope you gave him enough time to debrief and shower the mission off.

Here goes nothing. You knock hesitantly.

The door swings open and Steve greets you with a smile. “Y/N! I didn’t expect to see you so soon but I’m glad you’re here. I need to talk to you.” He leans down to give you a hug and leads you inside.

“Really? That’s great cause I need to talk to you too.” You head to sit on his couch and look at him expectantly.

“You do? Okay then you go first.” He offers as he sits next to you.

“No, no. You go first. I insist.” You pat his hand, encouraging him to speak so you could hurry up and spill your guts to him.

“Okay, so something happened on the mission. Between Sharon and I. I think there’s still something between us. Nothing physical happened because I didn’t think that was right considering what you and I have going on. But I think we want to give it another shot.”

Your heart falls into your stomach. You do all you can to keep your smile. “Oh! Well that’s great news, Steve.”

“It is? I mean you’re not upset? I wanted to talk to you and put an end to this whole friends with benefits thing before I pursued anything with her.”

“Why would I be upset? Consider it ended. I mean it was just a negotiation between friends right? Thank you though, Steve. That was very considerate of you to talk to me about it first.”

He gives you his 100 watt smile. “Of course, Y/N. I mean I know we’ve been having sex but you’re my friend first and always. Unless you think there’s any reason I shouldn’t ask her out?”

He looks at you expectantly.

“Nope, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t. Who knows? Maybe this will lead to that happy ending you're always talking about.”

He looks just the slightest bit disappointed but the look is gone almost as fast as it appeared. “Okay, great. Now you said you had to talk to me? What’s up?”

Oh shit, you can’t tell him now. You quickly pull some excuse out of your ass. “Oh, um. I was just wondering if you’d spar with me? I’m getting a little lazy in my fighting and I think you could help me?”

“Of course. I’d be happy to. How about we start tomorrow? Say 8am?”

“Sure! Thanks, Steve. I gotta get going. Promised Nat I’d watch a movie with her. But hey, good luck with Sharon.”

You get up as quick as you can without it looking too suspicious. He stands up and walks you to the door. “Yeah, thanks. So I’ll see you in the morning?”

You open his front door and turn to look at him. “You bet!”

You shut the door behind you and high tail it to Nat’s room.

Just as you're about to knock, the door opens. Nat looks startled that you’re standing there. “Y/N, hey. I thought you’d be with Steve.”

You push her back inside and slam the door shut. “I was with Steve. And guess what, Nat? He ended things between us. He’s asking Sharon out again. Says he thinks there’s still something there.”

Nat pulls you into a hug. “Even after you told him how you felt? I’m going to kick his ass.” She pulls away and heads towards the door.

“Wait, Nat. No, I didn’t get the chance to tell him. After he told me he wanted to end things I couldn’t do it. He wants to be with her. I just want him to be happy. And if that doesn’t include me then so be it.” You’re doing your best to not cry.

She rolls her eyes. “Oh come on. Don’t cry on me now. I mean it’s not like they made it work the first time. I’ll give it 2 weeks before they break up. Then you can tell him how you feel!”

Now it’s your turn to roll your eyes. “You’re insane if you think I’m telling him anything now. And I’m not betting on his relationship to fail.”

She puts her hands on your shoulders. “Trust me, bug. In a few weeks this’ll all be over and you’ll be in his arms instead.” She winks at you.

“All right, Sharon and I have an announcement to make! We wanted you guys to be the first to know since you’re our family. We’re getting married!”

You were going to kill Nat. 6 months ago she told you this wouldn’t last. Now here you were in the middle of one of Tony’s extravagant parties, hearing Steve’s engagement announcement.

You could feel your heart shattering into pieces. Because of course you still loved him. Those feelings haven’t gone away. You blink back your tears as you hurriedly search the crowd for Nat. You find her and she’s already giving you an apologetic look.

You had to get out of there before the tears fell. You turn around and head towards the elevators as quick as you can. You need some air. You get in and turn in time to see Steve looking at you with confusion. The doors close before your tears fall. Thank god. You hated crying and especially in front of people. You push the button for the roof. You let yourself have a good cry until the doors open again, signaling your arrival.

You head over to the railing and look out at the grounds. You never should’ve agreed to that whole friends with benefits thing. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be in this mess.

You wipe your tears away on the back of your hand.

About 10 minutes pass before you hear the elevator doors open. “So this is where you ran off to.”

You whip your head around to meet Steve’s blue eyes. He walks toward you and leans on the railing next to you. “Why’d you take off? They brought out champagne to celebrate. I know how much you love champagne.”

You chance a glance at him, hoping it’s dark enough that he can’t tell you’ve been crying. “Yeah, I just needed some air. Sorry about that. Why did you follow me? Shouldn’t you be with your new fiancée?”

He smiles at that. “Yeah well you looked upset. I wanted to make sure you were okay. And she’s busy showing everyone her ring anyways. Probably doesn’t even realize I’m gone.”

You return his smile. “Well, I’m happy for you. If anyone deserves their happy ending, it’s you.”

He pulls you into a hug. “Really? You mean that?”

You pull away and step back. You can feel the tears coming again. “Of course I do, Steve. You’ve done so much. You deserve all the happiness you can find.”

“Thanks, Y/N. That really means a lot.”

You turn and look out at the grounds again. “So, have you guys set a date yet?”

He chuckles and turns to stare out at the grounds with you. “Actually yeah. We’re getting married in 2 weeks.”

You turn towards him with wide eyes. “Holy shit, Steve! 2 weeks! Are you crazy? What’s the rush? That’s a whole lot of planning in such a short amount of time.”

He looks at you and rubs the back of his neck. “I know. But Sharon wants to get married at the Plaza. The only date available anytime soon is in 2 weeks. It was either that or we had to wait 3 years for the next available date. I even pulled the Captain America card. That’s what got us the spot we have now.”

“Wow, well good luck with that.” You pat him on the shoulder.

“Actually I was wondering if you could help out? I’m going to ask everyone to pitch in. I know it’s a tall order but with everyone on board, I know we can make it work.”

“Of course. Whatever you need me to do. But I really have to pee so I think I’m gonna go.” You start heading back towards the elevator. “Just let me know what needs to be done!” You step inside the doors as soon as they open and push the button to make the doors close before he can follow.

You cry as you descend to your floor. You can’t believe Steve’s getting married. You should’ve just told him how you felt. Maybe he would’ve chosen you. You scoffed at yourself. ‘Yeah right. Chosen me over Sharon Carter. Get real. I’ll never be in her league.’ You think as the doors open.

You hurry to your door, not surprised to see Nat standing there.

“There you are! Are you okay?” She opens her arms and lets you fall into them. You cry on her shoulder. She rubs her hand up and down your back. “Come on, let’s get you inside. Nobody needs to see you like this.” You pull away from her and open your door with your key.

Once inside you let loose. “What the actual fuck, Nat! You gave it 2 weeks! Well guess what? They’re getting married in 2 weeks! Yeah! Apparently Sharon just has to get married at the Plaza and that was the only date available.”

“I’m sorry, bug. I really didn’t think they would last. Let alone get married. I really thought he loved you too!”

“Can you just not right now? We were both wrong. I admit I was also hoping it wouldn’t last long. But it’s done, it’s over. Can we just not talk about it anymore?” You had raised your voice, letting the tears continue to fall.

She just gives you a sympathetic look. “Sure, Y/N. Let’s talk about something else. Did you happen to see who Sam was getting all cozied up to?”

You smile and wipe your tears away yet again and engage in the gossip with your best friend. You give her a hug and apologize for yelling.

The next 2 weeks flew by.

You and Nat were currently on your way back to the compound from Sharon’s bachelorette party. She had invited all the girls so you decided it was a great opportunity to get drunk. Even Nat let loose and had too many.

You were in the elevator with her on the way to your floor. You were leaning on each other and laughing at god knows what. The doors open and you both stumble out. You manage to catch yourself on the wall but Nat falls to the ground.

“Oh, shhiiit, babe! You ok?” You slur as you attempt to pick her up. Thank god Sam and Steve choose this time to turn the corner.

“Nat! Dammit are you ok?” Sam asks as he helps her up. She leans against him and starts laughing. “Willssoon! I need to pee really bad. Take me to my room!” She points in the wrong direction. Sam turns to Steve. “I’ll take this one if you take that one?” He nods his head in your general direction. You’re still laughing at Nat falling down. Steve nods. “I got her.” He turns towards you as Sam navigates Nat to her room.

“Hey there, Y/N. You have a little too much to drink?” He asks as he goes to grab your waist. You flinch away at his touch and almost fall down in the process. “Don’t you have your ‘fiancée’ to take care of?”

Steve rolls his eyes at you. “She’s staying with a friend tonight. The wedding is tomorrow and we’re not supposed to see each other. Now let me help you get to your room please.”

He goes to grab for your waist again and this time you let him. All you want to do is sleep and you know he’ll get you to your bed faster. It takes him no time at all to help you to your door and again help you unlock it since you couldn’t seem to get the key in the lock. He leads you inside and sits you on the couch. “You need to drink some water and take some pain pills. You stay here and I’m going to go get those for you.”

“Thanks, Stevie. Always doing the right thing. Always choosing the right girlfriends. I knew that’d never be me.” You kick your heels off as best you can and wrap yourself in your blanket on the couch.

Steve comes back with the water and pills. “What do you mean it would never be you? What are you talking about?”

You snatch the pills out of his hand and swallow them down with the water he offered you. “I just knew I’d never be your girlfriend. Nat lied to me. She told me you felt the same about me. But I knew deep down you didn’t. Why would you? I’m just Y/N. You’re Steve! Handsome, amazing, funny Steve. And it doesn’t hurt that you’re the best I’ve ever and will ever have in bed. And you have a really nice penis.” You start giggling as you lay down. Sleep was starting to take over.

Steve crouches down and touches your cheek. “How do you feel about me, Y/N?”

You smile sadly at him. “Why I love you, Steve. But that doesn’t matter. You have Sharon. Your happy ending.” You close your eyes and feel yourself going under.

Steve sits back and stares at your now sleeping form. You love him. Did you mean it? He’d always heard from a drunk mind comes a sober heart.

He could feel his heart rate increase. What did this mean? You loved him? Why didn’t you ever tell him? Wait. Why was he worried about this? He was getting married tomorrow. He should be worried about the wedding going smoothly.

He shook his head and stood up to head back to his room. You couldn’t have meant it. You were drunk. You didn’t know what you were saying.

Those were the thoughts swimming around Steve’s mind as he tried to catch some sleep.

You wake up on your couch. ‘Huh, I don’t remember getting to my room last night’ You think as you grab your phone to check the time. It’s 11. The wedding starts at 1. Shit. If you were going to make it on time you needed to start getting ready. Did you even want to go?

Just then you hear a knock on your door. You throw your blanket off of you and go to see who it is.

You open your door to reveal Nat with 2 cups of coffee. “Here, thought you might need this. Do you feel as bad as I do?”

You take a sip of the coffee. “Actually, no. I feel fine. Although I don’t remember getting back to my room last night.”

“Oh, yeah. I ran into Sam in the kitchen. Steve helped you to your room. Sam helped me to mine. Apparently I fell down and you were laughing at me.”

You snort into your coffee. “Sorry. But that explains why I don’t feel bad. Steve always makes me drink water and take pain meds when I drink too much and I always wake up feeling ok.”

She glares at you. “At least he was nice enough to do that. Sam just dropped me inside my door and left. I woke up on the floor this morning. He thinks it’s hilarious. That’s ok, I’ll remember this the next time he gets shit faced. So you want me to pick you up at 12:30 and we can go together?”

“Actually I don’t think I’m going. I know it’s going to piss Steve off but I don’t think I can watch him get married. It’ll hurt too much.”

“Okay then I’m staying here with you.”

“No you’re not. You’re going. We don’t need Steve mad at both of us.”

“But you’re my best friend. Rogers will get over it. I want to be here for you.” She grabs your hand and gives it a squeeze.

“That’s really sweet but I’ll really be ok. How about you leave the reception early and sneak a bottle of champagne back and we’ll share it?” You smile at her.

“Okay deal. But I’m only going to stay until they cut the cake. I’ll bring you a piece along with the champagne.” She gives you a wink and heads toward the door. “I know that today is hard for you, bug. Just remember that I love you.”

You smile and blow her a kiss. “I love you too! Now go on and get ready before you’re late.”

As soon as she closes the door behind her you let the tears fall. You knew today would be hard. You just hope he’d eventually forgive you for missing his wedding.

You go take a shower and change into some pajama shorts and a shirt you’d stolen from Steve. Your heart was hurting and all you wanted to do was lay in bed.

You crawl under the covers and hope that sleep will claim you and give you some relief from the pain.

You’re startled awake by a pounding on your door. You glance at your clock and see that it’s 12:55. Nat. She must've decided to skip the wedding. You throw the covers off of you and hurry to the door.

“Nat, I told you to go to the wedding, I’m fine.” You say as you open the door. But it’s not Nat’s green eyes looking at you. It’s Steve’s blue ones. He’s standing there in his tux with the tie undone.

“Steve? Uh, pretty sure you’re getting married in like 5 minutes. What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in? I just called off my wedding so I’m pretty sure I have some angry people looking for me.”

Your eyes widen but you step aside to let him in. “Wait. Why did you call off your wedding?”

He turns around and puts his hands on his hips as he looks at you. “Did you mean what you said?”

You furrow your brows and cross your arms over your chest. “Mean what, Steve?”

“Last night. You don’t remember what you told me?”

You search through your brain for any recollection. “Um, no. Care to enlighten me?”

He takes a step toward you. “You told me you love me. I need to know if that’s true.”

Your eyes widen. God damn tequila. You knew you should’ve stopped after 4 shots.

“Well since it’s apparently out in the open, yes. It is true. Of course I love you.” You can feel your hands shaking. Nervous about what he’ll say.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I was going to! But then you told me you were going to ask out Sharon so I knew I didn’t stand a chance.”

He furrows his brows. “What? Why wouldn’t you?”

You turn away from him as you speak. “Because, she’s perfect. She’s beautiful, funny, a total sweetheart. She’d give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. She’s considerate of others. I couldn’t compete with that.” You wrap your arms around yourself. You can once again feel tears welling up.

Steve walks up and turns you around to face him, placing his hands on your shoulders. “Yeah, you’re absolutely right, Y/N. She is all of those things and even more. But do you know what she’s not?” He brings his left hand and cups your cheek. “She’s not you.”

Your breath catches, your heart rate increases. “Wh-what? What are you saying Steve?”

He just smiles at you and pulls you closer. “I’m saying that it’s not her that I love. It’s you. It just took me awhile and your drunken confession to figure it out. I’m sorry it took me so long. I think I’ve always loved you.”

Now the tears are falling for a completely different reason. You reach up and thread your fingers through his hair. “God, you have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.”

He smiles and leans in and presses his lips to yours for a sweet kiss. You gladly reciprocate and smile into it.

Steve groans and pulls you flush up against him. One hand on your cheek, the other on your lower back.

You barely pull away, your lips still touching. “Steve, make love to me please.”

He pulls back a little more to look you in the eye. “Y/N, are you sure? That wasn’t my intention when I came here.”

You nod your head. “I know it wasn’t. But we’ve only ever fucked before. I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to make love instead. So please?” You give him your best puppy dog eyes.

He lightly chuckles before pulling you back in for another kiss, this one more urgent than the last.

You pull him as close to you as possible and start walking backwards towards your bed.

Once you feel your mattress hit the back of your knees you break the kiss for some much needed air.

You waste no time and start undoing the buttons of Steve’s dress shirt. He takes his jacket off and starts unbuckling his belt to help you along. You lift up on your tiptoes to steal another kiss once you get the shirt unbuttoned. You push it off his shoulders and run your hands down his muscular chest. You quickly unbutton his slacks and pull those along with his briefs down his toned legs until they are pooling at his ankles. He quickly kicks them and his shoes off. You take this opportunity and grab his hard, aching cock and start stroking him up and down.

He groans and pushes you away and grabs the hem of his your shirt and gives you a look. “Are you sure you want to do this, Y/N? I’m willing to wait.”

You shake your head continuing your slow strokes. “That’s nice and very noble of you, Steve, but I’m not.”

He shakes his head with a smile and pulls the shirt over your head and drops it into the growing pile of clothes. He pushes you down on the bed and climbs on top of you, stopping once he gets to your exposed breasts. He looks up at you as he takes a nipple into his mouth, sucking and biting lightly. That’s all it takes to get you to start squirming under him. He takes his right hand and moves it between your bodies until it’s settled at your clothed core. He starts rubbing your slit, your wetness soaking through your shorts and onto his hand. “Steve, please, no teasing. Just need to feel you.”

He grunts and sits back on his haunches and gazes down at you. “So goddamn beautiful. I don’t deserve you.” He hooks his fingers into your shorts and pulls them down and off your legs, tossing them somewhere behind him.

“I could say the same about you, handsome.”

He smiles down at you and gives his cock a few languid strokes before moving back over you, leaning in for another heated kiss. He rubs his tip over your soaked slit, making sure to get nice and coated. “You ready, sweetheart? Ready for me to fill you up?”

You whine and mewl underneath him. “Yes, Steve, please.” You buck your hips and rub up against his cock causing the both of you to let out a moan. Steve pushes the head of his cock against your heat and slowly pushes in. You whimper at the stretch and pull him down for a kiss. He grabs your right hand and places it beside your head, intertwining your fingers as he bottoms out inside of you.

You throw your head back and moan his name, feeling so nice and full. He takes his right hand and cups your cheek, making you look at him. “Are you ready for me to move, sweetheart?” You can only nod as you roll your hips against his, needing some friction.

He pulls out slowly until just his tip remains before slowly gliding back in. He keeps up his leisurely pace, making you feel every drag of his cock against your walls. You wrap one leg around his hip, making him go even deeper. You plant your other foot on the bed and meet his thrusts. “That’s it, sweetheart. Pull me in deeper. You like feeling me stretch you out? Like me filling you up over and over?”

You moan out and grip his hand tighter. “Yes, Steve! Please. Harder. Need it harder.”

He happily fills your request and starts thrusting into you with more force, causing your body to move up the bed. You remove the hand that was tangled in his hair and place it on the headboard above you, keeping yourself from hitting it. “Fuck, Steve. Yes! Please don’t stop!”

He starts kissing up your neck, his thrusts never faltering. “I’m not gonna stop until you fall apart underneath me, Y/N.”

You shiver at his words. You can feel the coil in your belly threatening to snap at any moment. He leans down so his mouth is next to your ear. “I can feel you squeezing me, pretty girl. You gonna come for me? Come on, Y/N. Come all over my cock.”

You shake your head and move so you lock eyes with him. “No, don’t wanna come. Feels too good. I want it to last.” He just smiles and leans in for a kiss before pulling away to look into your eyes again. “Come on, Y/N. Wanna feel you come. Please?”

You moan at his begging. You can feel your legs shaking from holding back. You just want to last a little longer.

He moves his mouth back down to your ear. “I’ve got you, sweet girl. Come for me. I love you so much, Y/N.”

That was your undoing. The coil snaps and you come apart. A tear escapes at the intense orgasm and from Steve’s words.

Steve only lasts a few more thrusts before he pushes his face into the crook of your neck and comes with your name on his lips. His body gives out and he falls on top of you, careful not to put all of his weight on you.

He smiles into your neck and places a sweet kiss there. You sigh in pure happiness and run your fingers through his hair. You both stay like that for a few minutes with him still buried deep inside you, enjoying the intimate moment too much to move.

He lifts his head and gazes down at you with a big smile on his face. “That was amazing. The best sex we’ve ever had.” You nod in agreement. “It really was. We’re gonna need to do that again.” You giggle as he playfully rolls his eyes at you. “You’re insatiable.” You shake your head. “No, I’m in love.” He smiles and pulls you in for another kiss.

Suddenly a thought pops into your head and you pull away. “What if I would’ve said no?” He gives you a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“What if I didn’t love you? What if I had just been drunk and was saying stupid things?”

He just shrugs his shoulders. “I guess I was just really hoping you meant it.”

“You called off your wedding on hope?”

He shakes his head. “No, I called off my wedding because I realized that Sharon wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted you.”

You feel tears well up in your eyes again. “I love you so much, Steve.”

He leans down for another kiss. “I love you, too. You’re more than just a negotiation to me, Y/N. I hope you know that.”

You nod your head and cup his cheek. “I know that now.”

He tucks some hair behind your ear and whispers, “You’re my happy ending, Y/N.”

The tears fall at his admission and you pull him down for another perfect kiss. Glad to finally be wrapped in the arms of your love.

#shamelesshoesforchris #steve rogers #steve rogers smut #captain america #chris evans smut #chris evans #smut #steve rodgers x reader #steve rogers x reader #Cici91 writes

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thatfanficstuff · 3 years

Text

Time Travel - Avengers

Pairing: Tony Stark x Loki with Daughter OFC

Warnings: nope

A/N: Okay so this isn’t what you normally see from me. At all. Last year I offered to write a fanfic for the winner of an auction benefiting the Australian wild fire relief efforts. Wren won and requested a fic. (and then was super patient when my health took a nosedive.) The pairing (family) and basic idea were theirs. I was super happy with how it turned out and they agreed I could share it here. So enjoy something a little different I guess.

***

Frigga Stark had been in the past for nearly three months by this point and she was so ready to go home. It wasn’t that she was completely unhappy here. Her powers and abilities had assured her a ready place in the Avengers even if she had just appeared in the middle of a fight with no warning. But living as a stranger in the midst of her family was so much harder than she thought it would be.

Everyone had been friendly enough of course, but she missed bear hugs from her super soldier uncles. She missed late night movies and chats with Nat and Wanda. She missed Thor having her pick up Mjolnir every time he saw her and laughing that booming laugh of his when she did. And Clint had been teaching her to fly the quin jet.

Most of all she missed her dads. Tony and Loki were both here of course but they were just so different from the men she knew in the future. For one they still hated each other so there was no joking or teasing between them. For another, they were awesome dads and she missed the thousand little things they’d do every day to let her know they loved her. Things she’d never take for granted again.

Fortunately, she’d inherited some of her birth father Loki’s abilities and had been able to disguise herself since her arrival. Wouldn’t want to interfere with the future and all that. That had all come crashing down yesterday when she’d been knocked out in the middle of the battle. Her disguise faded to show her natural dark hair and striking green eyes. It also revealed she was about 10 years younger than she’d been leading them all to believe.

Due to her injuries, they’d allowed her to postpone the interrogation until today. Because that’s what it was going to be. Not a discussion or a talk. No, a straight up interrogation. She hated when they were mad at her. The only thing worse is when they were disappointed. Fortunately, that didn’t happen very often.

“Captain Rogers requests your presence in the conference room in fifteen minutes, miss,” Jarvis’s voice filled her room causing her to sigh. She’d ask for more time but knew it would be pointless. They’d already been more than accommodating. Hell, she was lucky she hadn’t spent the night in a cell somewhere.

“Thanks, JARVIS,” she said as she sat up and ran a hand through her hair. After hurrying through her morning routine, she threw on a pair of sweats and t-shirt. She padded through the halls, making it to the conference room right on time.

She took a deep breath before pulling open the door to step into the room. Fear shot through her as she took in the others. Every single person that meant anything to her was crowded into this room and they had no idea who she even was. That by now familiar pang of loneliness flooded her chest and she did her best to shake it off. They’d moved all the chairs around so they were all on one side of the table while she was left a single seat on the opposite side.

“Morning,” she said as she sat.

For a long time, no one said anything as they studied her. She couldn’t bring herself to meet their eyes, afraid of what she’d find there. Instead, she kept her gaze locked on her hands where they tangled together on the table.

“Why?”

Her head jerked up in surprise at hearing Wanda’s voice before anyone else’s. Frigga cleared her throat. “Why?”

“Why lie?” the other woman clarified. “Did you think we would turn you out because you were a child?”

“I’m not a child,” Frigga corrected automatically. It was an argument she’d had with her family many times. “I’m fifteen.”

“Oh, fifteen,” Bucky exclaimed. “Well, excuse the shit out of us, kid.”

“Really, Buck?” Steve said glancing over at his friend.

Frigga couldn’t stop the smile that came to her lips. This was familiar. Comfortable. She shook her head. She might as well get this over with. She took a breath to fortify her nerves. “None of this is as simple as it seems. And you probably won’t believe half of what I have to tell you, but I’ll tell you everything. I have too.”

“And why should we believe that you’re suddenly going to be honest about everything when you’ve failed to do so up until this point?” Tony asked.

She shook her head. “Because it doesn’t matter anymore. Not now that you’ve seen me. The real me I mean.”

Looks of confusion were exchanged amongst the others causing Frigga to chuckle. “Maybe I should just start with how I came to be here. Three months ago, there was a lab accident. My dads were attempting to combine magic and tech to create a time travel device. They were explaining every thing to me when I bumped into the table. It knocked something off and I automatically reached out with my magic to catch it. Next thing I knew I was here. Seventeen years in the past.”

She shrugged. “Why this particular time? I have no idea. I altered my appearance to keep from affecting the future.”

“Why would us knowing what you look like have any affect on the future?” Steve asked.

Tony narrowed his gaze and pursed his lips. “I think the better question is who her fathers are.”

The look on his face told her he already suspected the answer. After all, how many people here would invent a time machine? And how many used magic? “I was born via a surrogate using genetic material from a female egg donor and Loki of Asgard. When I was two, Dad got married and Pop adopted me. My real name is Frigga Maria Stark.”

There was a moment of silence before the room erupted into chaos. Her family argued with each other and shouted questions at her which she ignored. Not surprisingly, the men who would become her fathers were silent. They exchanged a measuring look with each other before looking back to Frigga. She smirked when she saw the hint of a blush on Tony’s cheeks.

After allowing chaos to reign for a moment longer, she took off the necklace she was never without. She sat it on the table and pushed the button on the side once. It opened to reveal a picture of her with her dads. She slid it over. Pietro was the one to take it from the table. “This proves nothing. This is easily faked.”

She said nothing, just watching as they passed her most prized possession amongst themselves. Loki and Tony lingered over it longer than anyone else. Finally, Tony was the one to give it back to her. “As much as I hate to say it, Speedy’s right. You’re going to have to do better than that.”

She smiled and placed her locket back on the table still open. She pressed the button on the side twice this time. A hologram of the same picture projected above it for a moment until it was replaced with one of Loki spinning her in the air when she was a toddler. A moment later his voice filled the silence. “My princess. I will love you until I take my last breath and beyond. There is never a moment that I am not intensely proud of you. You will conquer anything you put your mind to, and I cannot wait to witness it.”

That picture faded away to be replaced with one of Tony and her laughing with their arms draped over each other’s shoulders. Tears pricked her eyes but didn’t fall. “Hey sweetheart. I love you more than you could possibly imagine. Every day with you has been an adventure and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Again and again pictures faded to be replaced by another with a message to match until it had gone through everyone in her family. Frigga wiped her cheeks quickly as the last message played. Gods, she missed her family. The silence was thick and heavy as she snatched her locket from the table and put it back around her neck where it belonged.

She cleared her throat. “There was a mission last year. Everyone was going to be gone for at least a month. It was the first time I was going to be left alone without any of you. Pops made this and gave it to me the night before you left.”

“We left a fourteen-year-old alone for a month?” Sam sounded appalled.

Frigga chuckled. “No, you left me with Happy for six weeks. But every night before I went to sleep I’d play it. I still do actually. Even when you’re all home.” She took a deep breath and looked at each of them in turn. “I’m sorry I lied to all of you. About everything. Now, I just want to go home. I miss my family.”

Bucky huffed. “What are we? Chopped liver?” He grinned and Frigga looked at him in surprise for a moment before she giggled. Which made him laugh and soon everyone in the room was laughing.

Finally, Tony clapped his hands as he stood. “Well, let’s see about getting you home, kiddo.”

***

It took three more weeks before they were ready to send her home. Everyone gathered in the lab to say their goodbyes until finally it was just Loki, Tony and her. Loki tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked into green eyes so like his own. “Are you sure about this?” he asked her.

Frigga shook her head. “Not at all, but we’ve got to try.”

Loki pulled her into a hug with a sigh. “I know.” After a long moment, he released her. “Remember to focus. If what we suspect is true, you’ll be pulled back as soon as you slip into the time stream but focusing your magic can only help.”

She nodded. “I remember.” They were counting on her dads to have set up a beacon of some sort in the future. It was almost guaranteed that they had. After all it was what this Tony and Loki would have done.

Tony was next to wrap her in a bone-crushing hug. “I’ll miss you, kiddo.”

“No, you won’t.” Loki, Wanda and she had come up with a memory spell so they would all forget who she was and what she looked like once she was gone. When she returned to her own time, she could reverse it.

He laughed and gave her that cockeyed smirk. “All right. Let’s do this.”

Frigga nodded once and prepped her magic. Tony flipped on the machine and it glowed with Loki’s green magic. She added her own purple strands to the mix and the room flooded with bright white light. She closed her eyes against it as she felt like she was floating toward something. When her feet hit the ground, she pulled back her magic and opened her eyes.

She stood near the back of the lab. A device pulsing with blue light stood on one of the tables nearby and she smiled when she saw it. Beacon. The lab was quiet even though it was occupied by two of her favorite people. There had evidently been nothing about her arrival that caught their attention as their backs were turned toward her. Bruce quietly typed away on his laptop while Tony sat at his desk. Some invention or another was scattered on the table in front of him but he wasn’t working on it. He was bent forward with his head in his hands and even though she could only see the back of him, Frigga could tell he was utterly exhausted.

Tears flooded her eyes. “Daddy?” She hadn’t called him that in years. Her voice was quiet and if it hadn’t been for the sudden jerk of his shoulders, she would have been afraid he didn’t hear her. Both heads snapped in her direction. Tony stood with tears running down his cheeks but he didn’t move toward her, afraid she’d disappear if he did.

Only when she hurried to him, dodging tables as she went did he move to meet her. His arms wrapped around her in the tightest hug he’d ever given. “Oh my God, Frigga. We were beginning to think we’d never see you again.” He pressed kisses along the side of her head, but didn’t release the hold he had on her.

“I missed you so much.” She was now openly weeping. She heard a sniff from behind her, but kept her arms wrapped around her dad. “You okay over there, Uncle Bruce?”

“Y-yeah. I’m just so happy you’re home,” he answered while obviously crying.

“Friday, get Loki down here right away, but don’t tell the others just yet,” Tony ordered as he finally released her to look her over.

“Of course, sir. Welcome home, Frigga. It’s good to have you back,” the AI responded.

“Thank you, Friday.”

Tony’s hands stayed on her arms, not wanting to completely let her go just yet. His gaze ran over her from top to bottom. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m sure Bruce will want to make sure there aren’t any lingering effects but yeah, I’m good.”

The door to the lab opened and Frigga glanced over, her heart racing. Her dad stepped in, frowning at the book in his hands. She recognized it as one of her grandmother’s spell books. He was obviously looking for more ways to get her home. “What do you need, love?” he asked without looking up.

Tony stepped to the side so his husband would have a clear view of their daughter but he didn’t say anything. Loki glanced up with a frown when he didn’t get the expected answer. His eyes went wide and the book fell from his hand as he saw Frigga.

She launched herself at him and he caught her, lifting her from the floor in a tight embrace. “Oh, my beautiful, beautiful girl. You came home to us.” He ran a hand through her hair as he held her. “I knew you’d find a way. I missed you so much.”

For the first time in months, the tears on her face were happy tears. For the last four months she’d wanted to be nowhere other than where she was right at this moment. Nothing could be better than this. Tony soon joined their hug, Loki shifting one of his arms so it surrounded his husband and brought him into the fold. Another moment later and they all rocked as Bruce joined in as well. Okay, she stood corrected. This was even better.

#frostiron fanfiction #loki x stark fanfiction #daughter ofc #avengers fanfiction #time travel

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themusicplayedherlife · 4 years

Text

Some Sugar

Part 4: I Need Something Fake

pairing: sugar daddy!steve rogers x reader characters: reader, steve rogers, others word count: 5k+ warnings: angst, fluff summary: things are looking up and you’re flying high a/n: ive broken i need something fake//it’s just manners to pretend into two parts after last chapters mishap. it was starting to get unnecessarily long lol

prev || all || next

Your mom is finally home.

She still has to go back to the hospital for a final check of her arm and the chemotherapy treatments she has left, but you can finally breathe with relief that she’s home.

Esmeralda seems to be more at ease now that she’s back, too, less reluctant to stay at home while you’re at work. Not that she had to worry about that anymore. With what you’re getting from Steve, you’ve been going back and forth with the idea of turning in your two weeks notice at the restaurant or cutting back your hours at least. But you still can’t completely decide. Selena says you should quit, and you haven’t been able to get Steve's input with him currently being away on a mission. But you have a feeling you know what his answer is going to be.

“You cleaned,” she says softly and you smile.

You shrug. “I did what I could.”

Esmeralda throws a pillow in your direction and you dodge out of the way, laughter bubbling from your chest. “I helped too!”

“Did you?” you tease, passing by her with a ruffle of her hair. “If I remember correctly, you were just throwing shit at me instead of cleaning.”

“I was not!” she shoots back, curling herself into your mom’s good side, legs over her lap and her arms around her shoulder and stomach. “I really wasn’t, mom.” She really is the baby of the family.

Before your mom or you can say anything, a loud banging from your neighbor causes you to jump. It’s soon followed by muffled yelling from Mr and Mrs Pallomari, the two trying to outmatch one another’s voices—nothing new.

Your sister sighs heavily and your mom shakes her head. A loud, “Fuck you!” resounds through the hallway and into your apartment as the door is slammed hard enough to shake the walls.

“Straight couples,” Esmeralda says in a serious tone with a deadpan expression she throws in your direction as if she were in the Office, after a moment of silence she breaks it with a giggle and you and your mom can’t help but laugh with her.

However, your laughter is cut short when there’s a bang on your door, the hinge making a horrible screech as if ready to fall over followed by a loud, “Fuck everyone!”

Esmeralda sighs and stands up, moving towards your tool box. “I’ll check the door.”

You send her a gracious smile tinged with nervousness. “And I’ll get started on dinner.”

You can’t sleep, body jerking awake with every sound you hear coming from the main hallway. Any little or loud sound could be Mr. Pallomari ready to fight with his wife and drag all of you into it, as he usually does. Their fighting hasn’t escalated in a while, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t again.

It’s exhausting having to deal with them and all the shitty people that live in the building.

Not much you can do about that except move out. Maybe eventually you’ll have enough to do so. It’s plausible, but you don’t want to splurge, not yet anyway. Not until you’re more secure.

And besides, not everyone in this building is like them.

There’s Doña Garcia and her son Benito, who live across the hall from you. Sweet woman. And her son? A college student that your sister looks up to, having found a kindred spirit in him when she started questioning her sexuality. Both of them check in on your family whenever they have the chance, dropping off food when Doña Garcia cooks too much (but you have suspicions that she actually does it on purpose).

Then there’s Mayra, the sex worker who lives a floor below you, along with her five year old daughter, who you’ve fondly dubbed Juju; and her grandmother Marsha, who loves to gossip with Doña Garcia and your mother. You used to babysit Juju when you had the time, but now it’s Esmeralda who offers her assistance when she has the chance, which is rare since Marsha loves taking care of her granddaughter, but sometimes the older woman needs a break too.

Because of them, because there are good people, you’re not in any hurry to move out, but maybe you should start keeping your options open, especially if you’re lying awake late at night in fear of your neighbor and his tantrums.

You sigh, throwing your arm over your eyes, the faint sounds of people yelling out in the streets and sirens wailing filtering in through the closed windows. Should you make yourself a cup of tea? No. The pot makes a lot of noise and you don’t want to risk waking your sister up.

You reach for your phone resting on the coffee table and quickly unlock it to scroll through your Instagram feed. You would text Steve or Selena, but you’re afraid of messaging him in fear of getting him in trouble or waking up Selena, who is guaranteed to be asleep by now. For now, you settle on liking pictures from old classmates you no longer keep in contact with.

So many old faces getting married or having kids, graduating and getting their masters, or just having the time of their lives.

It’s amazing how easy it is to lose contact with people who were once your friends. Everyone got so busy, including you, to make ends meet that you were no longer able to keep up with one another. You wonder what life would’ve been like if you didn’t live like this, if you had actually finished school—would you be in grad school? Married maybe? Thinking about kids?

Fuck. This is why you usually stay away from Instagram. You hate yourself for ever allowing yourself to think “what if?” when all you can do is work towards a better future, not a different past.

Your breath stutters and just as you’re about to place your phone back down after liking another picture of someone partying, it comes to life with Steve’s name. With your heart racing, you quickly answer.

“Steve! You’re back!”

He’s quiet for a moment and you suck in your bottom lip. “I’m back,” he finally says, soft and followed by a chuckle. “What are you doing up, sweetheart?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Did something happen?” He asks, worry ringing in his voice.

You stare up at your ceiling, not sure how to tell him about your neighbor. But it’s not important, and you’re most likely being paranoid anyway. “Not really, I just—mom is home and I've been kicked out to the living room. The couch isn’t very comfortable.”

There’s rustling on his end and you wonder if he’s getting ready for the night. “That’s great! Not you having to sleep on the couch, but your mom being home. How is she doing?”

“Fine. I think. Tired, but that’s nothing new.” He hums and you readjust yourself, pressing your back against the length of the couch's backrest as you turn on your side. “How was your mission?”

“Tiring,” he admits immediately, letting out a sigh—and he definitely sounds it. Frustrated too if that grunt he lets out absentmindedly as he moves around is of any indication. “Recon was a bust. Complete waste of time.”

“Is it okay for you to be telling me this?”

He chuckles at your haste words and heat crawls up your neck. “Can’t give you details, but yeah, yeah I can. I want to.”

Your grip on your phone laxes, and you hadn’t even realized how tightly you were holding it. “Okay, then vent away.” You wonder if he can hear the smile in your voice.

“I wasn’t expecting you to answer.” He pauses. “At best, I thought I’d hear your voice through your voicemail and that would’ve been enough for me. But being able to talk to you right now… it makes me forget how stressful this mission has been.”

A soft kind of heat envelops you, taking hold of your heart with every sincere word he speaks. “Steve…”

“So, there isn’t any need to vent about. Really,” he adds softly.

You cover your chin with your blanket as if to hide your ever growing smile from him, dumb really. Not as if he could see you right now. “I get it.” And you do. You really do. “I think… I think I’ll be able to fall asleep now.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

The conversation lulls, his relaxed breathing filtering through the phone. And you can almost picture him sitting on the arm chair, head against the backrest, eyes closed as he breathes through his nose. Even when you close your eyes, you can feel his presence next to you.

Is this what it feels like to have someone to rely on? Someone who makes you feel safe and protected?

But your relaxation is short lived—loud noises and a male yelling fills the hallway, causing you to let out a gasp and to jerk up. On the other end of the line you hear Steve slur, asking you if you’re okay, but the noise drowns him out and a loud bang on your door causes you to drop your phone and to stand.

“Sis?” Esmeralda’s alarmed voice reaches your ears, and you quickly spare her a glance over your shoulder as she comes closer.

“It’s fine, Esme, go back to bed.”

“But—“

Another bang and the door makes a loud creaking sound. “Open the door, you dumb bitch!”

Your heart tightens at Esmeralda’s wide eyes, fear slipping into them as they drift between you and the door. “Esme! Go back to bed, please. I’ll handle it!”

“He’s going to break the door!”

Before you can yell at her again, your door is thrown open and Mr. Pallomari stands in front of you, ragged and a complete mess. His eyes hazy and misted over—drunk.

Fuck.

“Where is she?” He demands, face blotchy as he staggers forward.

You quickly stand in front of Esme, pushing her behind you, ignoring the way your heart races and breath picks up. “You have the wrong apartment, Mr. Pallomari! Your wife is not here.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

You need to get Esmeralda away from here. “Mr. Pallomari—“

“Where’s my wife?! Where is that bitch?!”

You push Esme further back and bend your neck to talk to her, doing your best to keep the drunk man in your peripherals, “Go. Call the police.”

“But—“

For fucksakes! Why doesn’t she ever listen to you? “Esme—“

“I’m going to kill her when I find her!”

It all happens so quickly that it almost feels like you’re dreaming—Esme lets out a loud shout and you turn just in time to watch Mr. Pallomari surge forward, his hands reaching for you. There isn’t enough time for you to push Esmeralda and yourself out of the way, not with your feet rooted to the ground—and before he can even grab an inch of you, his round body is tackled to the ground by a smaller, thin body.

“Benito?”

Benito has him by the arms, face pressed down to the ground, but he’s struggling to keep the older man's pudgy body down with his petite frame. It’s the concerned call of your name by Esme’s small voice that has you moving, dropping down to your knees and keeping a part of your weight on the buckling, drunk man to keep him down.

“Ay, dios mio!” Doña Garcia exclaims and Benito lets out a frustrated huff as he asks his mother to call the police just as you do the same with your sister.

“Thank you, officer.”

She nods and moves away from you to walk over to her partner as he pushes Mr. Pallomari into the back of the cop car.

“Good for Alicia for finally leaving her good for nothing husband,” Esme says, leveling a glare in the direction of the cop car flashing red and blue. “Poor woman needed a break.”

You crack a tired smile and wrap an arm around Esme, who leans into you. “She sure did. You okay, Bennie?”

Benito looks up from his phone, most likely texting his boyfriend about what transpired tonight, and nods. “Fine. A little sore,” he says as he circles his arm and holds his shoulder. “But I’ll live. What about you?”

“Rug burn—“ you kick your leg out to show off the wicked pattern on your knee from where you practically slid to help Benito—“but I’ll live too.”

He snorts. “I’m going to check up on our moms.”

You nod as Esme pulls away and she looks up at you. “I’ll go with him and get started on the door.”

“Okay, I’ll be up in a minute.”

She squeezes your hand and follows after Benito, looking back at you once before disappearing behind the heavy metal door leading into the building.

Sighing, you cross your arms over your chest, gripping your forearms tightly as you watch the cops fill out some paperwork; Mr. Pallomari in the backseat with his eyes closed and teetering between the space of a drunken haze and sleep. Will he regret his decisions tomorrow? Or will he act like nothing happened?

Frowning, you’re not sure which one you’d like better.

You knew of people like Mr. Pallomari, regretting it for one night and then going back to the same old bullshit, pretending as if nothing ever happened.

That kind of person isn’t safe to live with or be around, and—you hate thinking it, but—you’re not sure if all the good people you live around is enough to keep you rooted here anymore.

A frantic call of your name causes you to jump in your skin, hands falling to your side as your eyes widen when you spot Steve jogging in your direction with only a cap to conceal his identity.

“Steve?”

You don’t get the chance to meet him halfway because he closes the distances between you two in record time, engulfing you in his strong, sweaty arms. His chest heaves under your ear and you stand there dumbfounded, not returning his hug.

How?

He pulls away from you to check you over, hands on your shoulder as his eyes rake up and down your tired form. For a moment relief fills his eyes but then they sharpen at the sight of your forearms—crescent shapes digging into your skin. “What the—”

“I did it,” you hastily mumble, returning your arms to where they were before, easily slipping your nails into the shapes they left behind. “Bad habit.” He sighs softly and removes your hands from your forearms, gently rubbing at the spots with his thumbs, and you relax at the touch. “What are—what are you doing here?”

“I got worried,” he says, lowering his head as if to get a better view of your eyes under the bill of his hat. “I heard the yelling and—“ Shit!

You tightly clench your eyes and hang your head, berating yourself for allowing him to worry. “I’m so sorry! I completely forgot to call you back!”

He breathes in and smiles lopsidedly as you meet his gaze, warily and sheepishly. “It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re okay.” His warmth leaves your arms, gaze moving from you to the cop car. A frown replaces his smile as he glares in that direction. “Is he—“

There’s a bubbling in your stomach, breath catching in your throat and a deep fear beginning to surface as Steve takes a step away from you. Without thinking, without realizing it, you’ve latched onto the hem of his grey v-neck, immobilizing him completely as he turns to look at you. “Don’t leave. Please.”

You can’t meet his gaze, you try; lifting it, but immediately hanging your head once more when they come to a stop at his chin. “Please.”

His chest rises and falls deeply. “Hey,” he starts softly, his warm, heavy hands falling onto your shoulder and pulling you into him. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here, sweetheart. I’m right here.”

You press your face against his chest and quiet down the sob that escapes your lips.

“I’m right here,” he repeats softly, an arm wrapping around your back and the other slipping behind your neck, pressing you closer to him—and god you’ve never felt more thankful to have someone like him in your life. Someone who can hold you and look after you. “You did so good, baby. You were so brave. ‘M so proud of you,” he whispers into your hair, and you sniffle in response. “It’s okay to let it all out now. I’m right here for you.”

Your hold on his shirt tightens and you breathe him in, the smell of sandalwood, detergent and clean clothes filling your senses. “I just need a minute,” you mumble.

Something soft pressed against your head—a kiss, a soft kiss. “Take all the time you need.”

Frustration is all you can feel as you walk around Queens looking for an affordable, vacant apartment.

Esmeralda follows behind you dutifully, hands shoved into her pockets and barely holding back a grimace. Maybe you should’ve asked her to stay home, invite over Peter and the others to distract her.

You both had tried fixing the door, changed the hinges, but the actual door? With another attack, the chance of the door breaking in half is highly likely. Your landlord doesn’t exactly use thick, sturdy doors, preferring the thinner less reliable models because it’s more cost efficient. And you’d think because it was cheaper, he’d get off his ass and replace the damn door, but getting him to do anything is like trying to tame a bull. And you can’t even buy the damn door yourself because then your stupid landlord will throw a fit and try to kick you out for fixing his damn apartment!

When you brought up the prospect of moving, Esmeralda had jumped at the chance, agreeing that there had to be someplace in Queens you can afford! Your mom was more reluctant, and unsure, but after a wave of optimism from Esmeralda, she had relented.

And that’s how you and Esmeralda find yourselves outside of another building with high rent. What was this? The tenth place you couldn’t afford? Another place that wasn’t even sure running your credit was worth it?

“Why is everything so expensive?” She finally breaks her silence and you pause in your steps to look at her.

“Hey, we just gotta keep looking. I’m sure there’s a place out there that we can afford.”

“Yeah,” she says with a snort. “With the same shit heads we’re already surrounded by.”

You can’t bring yourself to scold her. You’ve had those thoughts, too, but you’ve always caught yourself before your thoughts could get worse. Because it isn’t fair, not to the people who have been nothing but good and kind to you, and not to your mother who has tried her best to give you everything she could. “Esme,” you start slowly and she grimaces.

“I—I didn’t mean it like that. I meant—I’m just tired.”

“I know, baby.” You approach her slowly, like one would with a small, frightened kitty, and take her hand in yours. ”Let's call it quits today and go home. We can stop by a bodega and get ingredients for those chicken enchiladas you love so much?”

“With queso fresco?” she shyly asks, her earlier frustration melting and showcasing that joyful youth that is rare to see in her.

“With queso fresco,” you promise, the two of you walking with your hands laced together like when you were children walking home from school.

The three of you stuff yourselves until you can’t eat anymore and even make sure to feed Doña Garcia and Benito as a thank you.

When you pack yourself a lunch for your break, your sister whines that you’re stealing her leftovers, but you only stick out your tongue and place it into your bag—all the while hoping Steve will like it.

The bar is alive with soft chatter and noise; Cassandra is behind the bar with a coworker and new hire you’ve been helping train. You clocked out five minutes ago, but you find yourself occupying the booth in the dark corner, watching Steve as he takes a forkful of the enchiladas you made earlier with Esme straight out of the Tupperware.

His mouth closes around the fork and his eyes close, letting out a sinful moan as he slowly pulls the fork out of his mouth and chews.

“Good?” you ask when his eyes flutter open to reveal brilliant blue eyes.

“So good,” he affirms. “Really good.” His lips form into a teasing smirk. “You sure you made these, sweetheart?”

“Hey!” Reaching over the table, you smack his arm with a pout and he bubbles in laughter. “Gimme that, you don’t deserve the rest of these—“

With the quickest reflexes you’ve ever seen, Steve pulls the plastic container away from your reach and beside his being where you can’t grab it unless you round the table. “It was a joke, sweetheart. Promise.”

You let out a mock of a huff, fighting off the smile that’s trying to work it’s way to your lips. “It better be.”

He chuckles and takes another bite, moaning and humming as he goes, practically cleaning out the dish. Watching him devour the whole thing causes pride to swell in your chest.

Resting your elbow on the table, you cradle your cheek. “I probably should’ve brought you more, huh?”

“I’d probably be able to eat a whole tray of these.” You believe him.

“You’d probably have to fight Esme for it.” He laughs and you grin. “But I’ll keep that in mind.” For next time, are the unspoken words. Because there will be a next time and you’re looking forward to it. Is he?

He pauses, eyes skipping up at you and softening as they roam your face for a moment too long, your breaths stalling until he finally says: “I’d like that.”

You breathe out and smile. “Good.”

He flashes you a toothy grin. “How has the apartment hunting been?” Whatever Steve sees in your face causes him to place down the fork and reach for your unoccupied hand. “That bad?”

“Yeah,” you say with a sigh. “Rent has really skyrocketed over the years. I’ll probably have to rescind my resignation from the restaurant at this point.”

“Let me help you,” he says with a squeeze of your hand.

“Steve—“

Before you can tell him he’s done enough, he interrupts you, thumb rubbing circles on the back of your hand. “My job is to make your life easier, remember? If helping you find an apartment and helping pay rent does that, then I’m willing to do just that.”

You purse your lips, eyebrows drawing together as you think about it. “You really have done too much, Steve. I feel like I haven’t done enough—“

“Are you kidding me? Just knowing I have you, that I can be able to call you after a mission—all of that has done wonders for me sweetheart.” Your breath hitches at his confession and you can’t help the heart that crawls up your neck. “If it really bothers you that much, why won’t you be my date for the upcoming charity gala Pepper and Tony are hosting at the tower?”

He knows that’s part of your agreement! If he needs a date, you’ll be there. Why is he giving you more than you can give? “That’s a given, Steve.” You bite your lip. “Just promise me you won’t go over the top? Even if it’s just a one bedroom apartment in a moderately safe area, I’d be okay.”

He didn’t go over the top, but my god did he almost.

The place he found, not only is it close to May and Peter’s place, but it’s also close to your mom’s clinic. No more having to pay ridiculous prices during rush hour for an uber or cab, no more having to worry about something happening to Esme or your mom on the subways or walking home.

No more.

Your eyes scan the front of the house; it’s light blue, cute with a small patio where a lemon tree is growing, a few specks of yellow showing on the top of it and your heart drops to your stomach only to fly back up and smack itself against your rib cage—it reminds you so much of your childhood home. Your small little home with blue coated walls and yellow window panes that you and JC hated so much because it clashed with the dark blue exterior—“it gives the house personality” your parents would say.

“Steve…”

He smiles down at you, taking your hand in his and pulling you with him. “Come with me.” Pushing open the small white gate, he gently tugs you along with him up the three steps leading you to the front door. He slowly inserts the key and opens the door, and moves aside, allowing you to enter first.

Your hand never leaves his as you enter and he follows after you, not allowing his fingers to slip away from yours.

“Welcome home,” he murmurs, and you don’t have to look at him to know he’s smiling.

You stifle a sob trying to push through your throat, eyes taking in the beautiful, newly renovated home—wooden flooring, fresh painted walls, gorgeous L shaped stairs leading upstairs—and you have to blink to will the tears away. You turn to Steve and find him already looking at you, gauging your reaction, and he looks so soft and proud and happy and—and, god you want to kiss him.

So you do.

You kiss him softly, slowly, tentatively and unsure, and every other synonym of those words. He’s frozen under your touch, completely unaware of what to do, and your heart stutters. Too soon? As you begin pulling away, his hand leaves yours to wrap around your waist and tug you impossibly snug against him, his lips landing on yours for another take—one you gladly accept.

Your arms wrap around his neck, bringing him down closer to you and one of his hands cradle the back of your neck, fingers digging into your skin

He tastes so so sweet—sweet like juicy strawberries straight from their bush during a warm, Spring day.

And you don’t think you’ll ever get enough. God, why did you take so long to do this?

His forehead rests against yours and one corner of his mouth lifts into a confident, boyish smile. “I guess that means you like it?”

Laughter bubbles out of your throat and you nod. “Like it? I love it. More than you can ever know. Thank you.”

The hand on the back of your neck, smoothly cups your jaw as he lets out a sweet sigh. “Anything for you, sweetheart.”

His lips dance against yours and his warmth wraps around you, and you know you’ve found something with Steve, something that you can’t quite put into words, something you don’t know if you want to put into words.

Not yet.

A couple of days later, you’re settling everything with your old landlord and moving into your new home. Your mother couldn’t believe it and neither could Esmeralda, but once you told—lied to, really—them that Selena found an old friend of hers that was renting their home because they were leaving out of state, your mother and sister accepted the keys you dangled in front of them.

May and Peter immediately offered their help; Doña Garcia and Benito did too; and so did Cassandra and a few of your coworkers from the bar. Steve tried to offer his help, too, but you waved him off, promising to let him know when you were completely moved in. He begrudgingly accepted, not like he had a choice. He was sent on another mission during that period of time. You miss him, and even though you know he couldn’t check his phone, you send a message everyday with your move-in progress.

Esmeralda throws herself onto the sofa as your mom hums in the kitchen, and you can’t help but send Steve the selfie you took with Esme and your mom when the living room was completely furnished.

A smile blooms on your face as a text bubble appears and your finger smooths over your lips, strawberry lingers on your lips and as you read his message, you want to taste him again.

You look beautiful, sweetheart—all three of you do.

Can’t wait to see that beautiful smile of yours in person soon xx

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n #steve x reader #steve x you #steve x y/n #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers #marvel imagine #reader insert #i forgot to tag before posting oops

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aries-writingblog · 3 years

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Stay With Me (7)

Summary: James Buchanan Barnes had never looked at himself as a family guy. He never even thought of it until she came around, flipping his world inside out. Bucky likes trouble and this girl? Well, she seems to invite chaos to dinner.

Pairing: Mob! Bucky Barnes x OC! Alex Grant

Chapter Word Count: 1939

Chapter Warnings: Language, threats, violence, blood, knives, mentions of the stalker

A/N: This is an OC story but I try to make them with the least amount of physical description as necessary. The pronouns used are feminine for the character.

“Alex- we’re taking Alpine to the backyard!” Wanda called over her shoulder, cuddling the white fur-ball to her chest. She was followed by a gaggle of their friends, all piling outside to watch the cat.

“I’ll come get you when the pizza’s here!” Alex responded, turning back to Pepper. The woman poured another glass of wine, pushing it over the counter. Alex accepted it, gulping down a few mouthfuls.

“Bucky isn’t coming today?” Pepper asked, looking over to Tony who was lounging in the living room with Pietro. Tony was wearing a crown that read ‘birthday girl’, he brought it as a joke and Wanda refused to put it on. Pietro, however, had taken the offer immediately. They had been passing the crown back and forth for the past half hour.

“No, he had business today. He took them out for dinner last night instead.” Alex explained, licking frosting off her fingers. She turned the cake once more, giving it a final check.

“So things are getting pretty serious, then?” She questioned, crossing her legs, cocking a brow. Alex scoffed, piping Wanda’s name under Pietro’s. They all argued about the dessert this morning- Pietro claiming he should be above his sister since he was older. Wanda claimed the spot because she was Alex’s favorite- which started a whole new argument, resulting in Alex refusing to make a cake at all. In the end, here she was, frosting the cake in her own decision- Pietro then Wanda.

“I don’t know about serious.” Her eyes cut over to Natasha who snorted. The red read leaned forward across the island, tapping a fingernail against the marble.

“Please- you should’ve seen them last night!” She crowed. “They acted like the cutest little family I’d ever seen! He acts like they’re his kids!” Alex scoffed, picking the cake up and putting it in the fridge. “And he looked at her like she was a goddess come to earth- it was fucking insane! And the gifts he gave them- it was absolutely wild, that man should come with a warning label.” Pepper chuckled as Alex reached over, snagging the bottle of wine from her sister.

“That’s enough of that for you.”

“Hey!”

“Why do you think it isn’t serious, Alex? It seems like Bucky wants to stick around, he loves you.” Pepper reasoned. Alex’s face felt hot, she avoided eye contact with the women, puttering around the kitchen. Natasha groaned dramatically, banging her head against the table.

“You’re not allowed to get cold feet on this guy, Alexandria Grant.” Natasha sat back up, staring at her half- sister. “I let you run from John, I helped smooth things over with mom and dad- not my best work but they still claim you as their daughter sometimes! I will not let you ruin this for yourself. That man is done for- he loves you, it’s in every move he makes. And I’ve never seen Pietro and Wanda that happy either, he’s willing to accept everything you throw his way, no questions asked. You’re never happy unless you’re failing, it’s always been that way.”

The kitchen fell silent, Pepper staring between the two women. Alex kept washing the dishes at the sink, her back turned to Natasha. Alex knew she was right, when things got good, she left before they could turn bad. She was a runner, it was how she lived, how she survived.

“Do us all a favor and just... be happy. Don’t run again.”

~~~~~~

Bucky was fed up with the idiots surrounding him. They had been pushing for twenty five percent of all markets, all day. Steve made him swear he wouldn’t lose his temper when he heard. So, Bucky threatened to just leave- the deal would fall through. The men changed their stance on it- not much though. Bucky was now dead set on pushing them lower. Just because they were assholes.

“We’ve made more connections than some of your senior officers in less time- six months.” Rumlow argued, pushing Bucky to raise the margins. “You can’t argue we don’t do good work.”

“It’s not that you’re not doing good work- it’s great work.” Steve assured the men. “But you can’t come into the ranks above senior officers- that’s not how it works with us.”

“That’s bullshit!” Pierce shouted, slamming a fist to the table. Bucky simply sat back, lacing his fingers together. “Why should we sit lower on a pay grade if we’re doing triple the work?”

“Because of your lack of subordination.” Bucky finally spoke up, running a hand across his beard. He drug his eyes between the two men lazily. “You may sell more product, move more weapons, have more connections than seven of those pricks combined but, they’re loyal. I guarantee that you two gentlemen already have a plan in mind to kill me. So, I think I’ll pass on this deal.” He tapped the table twice, standing up.

“You walk out of this meeting and we’ll just have to pay a little visit to that bitch you’re hiding.” Rumlow’s voice cut the air, filling Bucky’s ears. His whole body filled with rage- white hot anger. Steve tensed beside him. He whirled around, pulling the glock from his holster, aiming it directly at the man’s forehead.

“You even think about her again, I’ll make sure you never see the light of day.” He growled. Steve stepped up beside him, hands on his belt. Pierce shrugged, as if his business partner was in no trouble.

“Well... look at that- you owe me twenty bucks, Brock.” He drawled, leaning back in his chair. A dangerous, dark smirk crawled it’s way onto his lips. “He’s not just using her to get his cock sucked-“

Bucky cocked the gun, firing a shot into Pierce’s abdomen. He then pointed the gun back at Rumlow, only to find the man had pulled a knife. Bucky chuckled darkly.

“I didn’t want any trouble out of you two- I was actually considering the deal you had when we walked in this morning.” Bucky admitted, waving the muzzle in Rumlow’s face. “Then, you disrespected my girl. You threatened her. And that’s a crime that requires the death sentence in my book. If I find any of you ex-Hydra dickheads, fucking around anywhere near her, I’ll obliterate your whole branch.”

“Oh please, if you were gonna do something... you’d have done... done it already.” Pierce panted, blood splattering onto his lips, dribbling down his chin. He kept his hands pressed to the wound, blood seeping out over his fingers. Bucky gave a sick smile, reaching over and pressing down hard over the man’s hands.

“I’m letting you off with a warning, Pierce. If I were you, I’d take it and shut my mouth.” He hissed. Just as he went to back away, Bucky felt a stab of pain enter his right thigh. He looked back over to see Rumlow’s knife lodged in the muscle, blood making his pants stick to his skin. “You wanna meet God today, fucker?”

Bucky fired a shot into Rumlow’s chest, another in Pierce’s knee cap, just for the hell of it. He backed away, shoving the doors open, following Steve out to the armored SUV.

“Call the guards posted at Alex’s house. Make sure they’re on the lookout.” Bucky instructed, wiping Pierce’s blood off his hand. Steve did as he was told, looking back over to Bucky’s thigh.

“You wanna stop and get that looked at?” He asked. Bucky grit his teeth, feeling his jaw pop with the pressure. Any other day, he would do it himself- hell, even get Steve to look at it. But right now, Bucky just wanted to be home.

“No- Davis,” he addressed the driver. “I'm going to Alex’s.”

~~~~~~

Bucky staggered up the steps, the street dark. The lights were still on in the house but it was quiet. He’d missed the party. His knuckles rapped three times, leaning against the threshold of the house. The door swung open, revealing Pepper. She gave a look of surprise before looking down, seeing the knife still sticking out of his thigh.

“Oh my- Alex!” She called, ushering Bucky into the house. He limped in, allowing Pepper to steady him. Tony and Natasha looked over from the living room, concern across their features. Alex came through from the garage, looking for the cry she’d heard. Upon seeing Bucky, her eyes lit up, approaching him. Then, she saw what Pepper had seen.

“You fucking idiot!” She leapt into action, shoving the man down to sit on the hardwood floors. “Nat, get some wet rags from the kitchen, Pepper I have an emergency kit in my bathroom upstairs. Grab a couple towels while you’re there.” She turned back to Bucky, examining the wound. “You’re a dumbass, you know that?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. I do.” He sighed, leaning his head back and giving her a weak smile. She carefully maneuvered around the knife blade, tearing the edge of his pants wider to get a better look. “But if you wanted to rip my clothes off, all you had to do was ask.”

“Not the time, James.” She barked, reaching for the towels Pepper brought down. She wrapped it around the knife, pressing down on the area. “I’m gonna pull the knife out, alright- there’s gonna be a big rush of blood but I’ve got you, okay. Do you trust me?” Bucky met her eyes, the answer already clear.

“With everything.” He murmured, watching as she steadied her hands and took a deep breath. Alex yanked the knife, Bucky flinched, grunting in pain.

“Sorry- I’m sorry.” She whispered, moving to quickly stop the bleeding. The door opened again, Steve coming in through the door.

“Oh, good. You’re not in the bushes outside.” He muttered, glancing at the audience of people. “Hello.”

“Steve- what happened?” Alex asked, pressing a fresh cloth to the wound. Bucky shot a glance at his friend, effectively communicating that it would be a very bad night if he told the truth.

“Just, uh... letter opener accident?” Bucky groaned, his head thumping on the wall behind him. The stairs creaked.

“Alex?” Pietro called. Her head shot up, casting a glance over to the group.

“Somebody- keep them upstairs.” Every adult rushed to do so, a stampede of feet going upstairs. Alex kept pressure on the wound, Bucky noticed she kept her attention solely on his thigh, never looking up to him.

“Hey- I’m alright...” he whispered, bringing a hand up to her cheek, pushing her loose hair behind her ear. “Alex... look at me. Come on, pretty girl. Let me see those eyes.” She reluctantly dragged them up to his, a smile on his face. “There she is. I’m alright, just a business deal gone bad. This is the best case scenario, really. I’m sorry that I brought this home to you- I just... I wanted someone I could trust.”

“I...” she shook her head, lowering her eyes again. “Bucky- I’m sorry... there’s... I’ve been getting these phone calls- they started Monday. It’s only gotten worse.”

“What phone calls?” He asked, gaze hardening, heart plummeting to his feet, smacking his stomach on the way down. When she didn’t answer, he pushed her further. “Alex.”

“Just- calls! A weird, voice calls and just describes my whole day in detail, when I got to work, when I drank coffee, took a bathroom break, slept in an on call room- you showing up! The kids, getting off the bus-“

“Okay-“ Bucky shushed her, his hand resting on her neck. “It’s alright. I’ll figure it out, alright?”

“James...” Alex looked up, true panic in her eyes. “I think it’s John.”

#bucky barnes x oc #bucky barnes fic #bucky x oc

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capsicle13 · 4 years

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A Second Chance (Stony/mpreg)

WARNINGS: Implied mpreg, angst.

I posted this on my AO3 page but decided to post it here, too. Hope you all enjoy it!

Summary: The last thing Steve knew better than to do was ask Tony for a favor, especially after their fallout. But he wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important. Their daughter deserved better than what Steve could provide. Surely Tony could understand that.

***************

The small whimper his daughter makes when he straps her into the car seat almost has him reconsidering his decision, but he pushes that thought aside and reminds himself that this had to be done. Steve has her calming down in minutes, the soothing sound of his voice enough to send her back to sleep.

With her asleep and secured in her car seat, he gets to work on packing the bag that she was going to need. He doesn’t have much for her, but it would be enough for now. At least until she’s settled in her new home.

The thought of leaving her behind brings tears to Steve’s eyes and he quickly wipes them away when a few escape and roll down his face. He needs to be strong, if not for himself then for her. He only wishes he could be stronger. Maybe then she wouldn’t have to go.

Steve takes a shaky breath to calm himself, and he sends a glance in his daughter’s direction. She’s still sleeping and he can only hope she stays asleep for the rest of the trip.

A presence is what steals his attention away from her and he turns toward the entryway of the room, finding T’Challa lingering. Steve knows why he’s here

“I’ve made up my mind,” Steve says, beating him to the punch. They’ve had this conversation before and each time Steve’s answer was the same. He was not going to back out. He didn’t have a choice.

When T’Challa says nothing, Steve turns away to continue packing his daughter’s belongings.

“She is safe here,” T’Challa finally says. Steve sighs harshly and pauses, glancing up to meet the king’s gaze. “Wakanda will take care of her.”

“Thank you, but what you’ve done for Bucky was already asking too much. I can’t have you do this, too.”

The silence that falls over them makes Steve believe that maybe the king has finally understood his decision, but when Steve glances up again to still find him lingering, he lets out a heavy sigh.

“You know she’ll be better off away from me,” Steve tries to explain. It hurts, hearing himself say those words, but it’s the truth.

“And what about you? Can you be away from her?” T’Challa asks, this time taking the small steps into the room that Steve was lucky enough to call his own for the past few months. Just being reminded of the kind of hospitality he and his daughter were shown almost makes him consider taking up the king’s offer and letting her stay in Wakanda.

But he can’t do that.

“No...but she deserves to know him. I didn’t know my father and I don’t want that for her.”

“She won’t know you.”

The grip Steve has on the bag tightens, fresh tears gathering in his eyes. The words T’Challa speaks are painfully true. She wouldn’t know him. But maybe that was for the best.

“She’ll be better off with him. He’ll...he’ll take care of her.” It’s wishful thinking. Steve has no idea how Tony will react and he can only hope that he’ll accept her despite their past.

T’Challa lets out a sigh. “I can't tell you what you are doing is a mistake…” he pauses, and Steve knows that’s exactly what he’s trying to tell him. “You know what’s best for her. If you change your mind, Wakanda is always open to you and your daughter.”

Steve nods. “Thank you.”

He’s left alone after that.

He gives the room a quick look over, making sure he’s not missing anything that his daughter might possibly need. He knows Tony will handle the rest, and Steve can’t help the small smile that forms over his face at the thought of Tony spoiling her. That smile falters quickly. There was no guarantee that Tony would accept her, but Steve had to have faith that he would.

Tony Stark did have a heart. Steve has witnessed it many times, and he knew their daughter would get to witness it next.

Steve lays a blanket over his daughter’s sleeping form, smiling softly when she yawns and stretches. He wishes he had chosen a name for her, but doing that would have only made letting her go harder.

He had considered naming her after his mother, but she didn’t look like a Sarah. Her features were a Stark trait, if the dark hair atop her head went anything to go by. He can see a bit of himself in her, but it was clear she was going to take after Tony.

She was perfect.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Steve gently picks the car seat up, shushing his daughter when she whimpers from being disturbed a second time. “I’m taking you home.”

Getting inside the facility had been simple enough, proof that Tony had yet to change his access codes. Steve knows better than to get too hopeful. Just because he was able to slip inside didn’t mean that Tony wanted him there.

They ended on bad terms. The fight in Siberia quickly became the thing Steve regretted most. No, losing Tony was his biggest regret. Out of all the stupid things he’s done, lying and betraying Tony was now and forever going to be number one on his list.

For as long as he’s known Tony, their relationship was far from perfect and becoming friends was a rocky journey. They happened to beat the odds and form a friendship, but anything other than that seemed impossible. At least, at one point it did.

Steve moves quickly, knowing he’s already set off Friday and she has probably already alerted Tony of his presence. The compound is quiet, the only sounds his quickening footsteps and his daughter’s small whimpers.

Please don’t cry…

She would give him away if she did. And maybe there’s a part of Steve that wants her to, just so he can get a glimpse of the man he loved; still loves. The other half argues against that idea and Steve finds himself choosing its side. He can’t imagine what would happen if he were to bump into Tony. Another fight would surely break out.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Steve didn’t have time to find out. He enters the common room, deciding this would be the best place for her. He gives the room a look over, letting out a sad sigh as memories from his time here replays in his mind.

The last time he had been in this room was during the discussion over the accords. That was the day he thought had changed everything between himself and Tony. Turns out he was wrong. It was what happened in Siberia.

The soft noises his daughter makes when she stirs snaps Steve from his thoughts and he directs his attention on her. He carefully sets her down near the sofas, then he’s kneeling down to adjust the blanket that has slipped from around her.

This was the hard part. It wasn’t the day he discovered the life growing inside of him; it wasn’t the day he suffered through excruciating pain to bring that life into the world. This, saying goodbye, was one of the hardest things Steve has ever had to do. Saying goodbye to Tony had been difficult and he still hadn’t healed from that. Now he was having to say goodbye to another person he loved.

She stirs again from his touch, revealing the dark eyes he can’t live without, but knows he needs to figure out how to do so. He smiles softly at her, his vision blurry from the tears that have gathered.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he whispers, reaching out to gently stroke his thumb along her face. He leans forward, pressing his lips against her soft hair, his eyes squeezing shut when more tears threaten to fall. “I love you so much.”

He lets his lips linger a little longer, a choked sob leaving him when he realizes this was the last kiss he was ever going to give her. She stirs again, forcing him to pull away and he leans back, wiping his tears quickly before reaching into his jacket pocket and retrieving a white envelope, placing it neatly with her things.

He wonders if Tony read the last letter; it’s a thought Steve’s had ever since he sent it. This new one was more important. This one couldn’t be ignored.

Steve rises to his feet. His daughter had fallen back to sleep, giving him the opportunity to turn and leave. Only he can’t. He’s frozen, stuck to the floor beneath him.

For a moment he contemplates taking her with him. He doesn’t know where they’ll go or what they’ll do, but at least he’d have her. It’s too risky. A life on the run isn’t one he wanted for her. She deserves to live a happy life. Even if that meant without him.

He gives her one last look, then he goes, just like he promised he would. He tells himself that this was for the best.

If only it felt that way.

#stony #stony fic #stevetony #implied mpreg #mpreg #AO3 fanfic #angst #hurt #stony parents #tony stark #steve rogers #alternate universe #not canon

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theonewiththefanfics · 5 years

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Hawkins’ Charm (Part 7/?)

Synopsys: They had gotten out of Hawkins. After all the shit that had happened, all the heartache and pain, Billy and the Reader had gotten away from that hellhole, building their life in California as he had dreamed. But when Max’s graduation rolls around and they go to celebrate, it’s as if the Upside Down was just waiting for all of them to return. And it has a bone to pick.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x f!Reader; platonic!Steve Harrington x f!Reader

Genre: angst, lil bit of fluff

Warnings: blood, mentions of injuries and death, fighting, swearing, mentions of sexy times, but not smut

Word count: 3337

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CONDONE BILLY’S ACTIONS AND THE THINGS HE’S DONE! THIS IS BASICALLY AN AU, WHEN REALLY LOOKING AT IT! SPOILERS FOR S3! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

It was like the air had suddenly been sucked out from the world, leaving him a heaving, dizzy mess in the void. His dad. His old man. The person that was supposed to love him unconditionally but had been abusing him since he was a little kid was the one the Mind Flayer was using as a host. “I’m gonna kill him,” Billy seethed. “Did he touch you?” he doublechecked every inch of Y/N’s body. “I’m gonna fucking murder him.” “Billy, he didn’t do anything,” she put a hand on his cheek, and he practically melted, taking in a shuddering breath and nodding. “I didn’t even see him. I’m alright.” “Was he,” he gestured vaguely around, “you know, possessed when we went to his?” Y/N shrugged. “I don’t know, but he was by the time that whole thing at Tina’s happened. But Billy… he knows… about Clara. I tried to keep them out of my head but,” her chin wobbled, and Billy had to keep his composure. “He’s so strong,” Y/N whispered. “Like, not to say what happened to you wasn’t horrible and painful and bad, but he’s,” she shook her head. “He’s so fucking strong. I don’t know how we’re gonna stop him. If we can stop him.” They thought the Mind Flayer might have evolved, they knew it could, but with the way El had struggled against the small piece inside of Y/N, she couldn’t even imagine what battling against the full force of that thing would be like.

“We gotta close the Gate,” Hopper said. “It’s our only option.” A murmur of agreement spread through the people in the cabin, Billy’s attention still on Y/N as she flinched when she reached for the glass of water Robin had offered. She practically gulped the whole thing in a second. Only then did Billy realize how thirsty he was too, but he could wait. “Is my mom,” Max’s lip quivered, making Y/N look at her, and Billy reached for his sister's hand squeezing it in comfort, something that just five or even three years ago he would’ve never voluntarily done. “Is my mom one of them?” When Y/N shook her head no, Max almost sagged to the floor in relief. “I didn’t feel her. He has a lot of others under his control – Tina, Tommy, Vicky, pretty much everyone else that didn’t leave the party that night… they drugged the punch and knocked everyone out, and then Neil helped them bring the rest to Benny’s where… ya know… they got possessed and shit…” Y/N groaned trying to stand up, but when her knees buckled, she opted for staying on the bed. “How does your back feel?” Robin asked, making everyone remember that before being possessed by a Mind Flayer, she’d been dragged away by a monster with knives for fingers. “Like a Demogorgon wanted to make a skinsuit out of me,” Y/N shrugged and hissed at the pain. Without it possessing her, she was back to herself, and it meant she was back to feeling things and not just ignoring the unpleasant itch in her back. Billy was instantly in action mode. “Okay, we need to clean those. Don’t want you getting an infection.” Joyce was immediately on her feet. There was an old bottle of vodka, she’d found in Hopper’s room from that day when she’d ditched their ‘date but not date’ to instead go to Mike’s science teacher, and she went to grab it. “Vodka doesn’t have an expiration date,” she muttered to herself taking a clean cloth as well. “Here,” Joyce gave both of those things to Billy, and Y/N sighed. “This is gonna hurt like a bitch,” he warned soaking the rag with the alcohol and reached for one of the leather restraint that had been wrapped around her wrists. “Yeah, I’m kinda expecting it to,” she grumbled and bit down on the belt. With one final nod, Y/N readied herself, and he pressed the cloth against her wounds. Searing hot pain erupted throughout her body, and for a second Y/N’s vision went completely white. She grabbed onto the sheets and fisted them between her fingers, holding back the scream. Honestly, she’d rather be possessed by the Mind Flayer than feel every single time the alcohol ate at her wounds. And oh god, when Billy had to peel away the scabbed over parts… Y/N thought she’d pass out. Hoped she’d pass out. Childbirth had been easy compared to the torturously slow movements as each crusted bit was ripped from the gashes leaving them open to the air. She spit the belt out to the floor and growled, “Hurry the fuck up!” “Sorry, sweetheart,” Billy murmured seeing Y/N’s face scrunch up as he dragged the cloth across the third out of five slashes. “But I gotta be thorough.” It dragged on for five more agonizing minutes before Billy and Joyce deemed Y/N’s skin would not rot and fall off her back. For the time being at least. She’d definitely need to see the doctor first thing in the morning. “I think these might need stitching,” Billy trailed a careful palm along the two of the deepest gashes. “Yeah, nope,” Y/N shook her head heaving and shuddering, and Joyce applied a compress to her back. It had some sort of a cold salve on it, and it instantly relieved her blazing skin. She’d been the only one smart enough to remember about El talking about Y/N’s wounds, so while everyone had gathered tons of tinfoil, Joyce had bought a first aid kit and some other things that she considered might be necessary. “Thank you for cleaning them up, but I ain’t letting you anywhere near me with a needle and thread,” Y/N smirked. “Wha- hey!” he exclaimed. Usually, he’d slap her arm playfully, but this time he opted out on it. “Do I need to remind you when you tried, keyword tried, to sow up Clara’s dress?” she gave him a pointed gaze and shook her head, smiling as Joyce muttered a ‘men’ underneath her breath. Steve who had joined their little group once the gross stuff was out of the way, crossed his arms and snorted. “What happened?” “I ended up having to throw it out,” Y/N gestured at Billy. “Because cross stitch is so hard.” “It wasn’t that bad,” Billy protested but accepted his defat and helped to wrap the layer of gauze around Y/N’s back. Immediately it got soaked and turned a scarlet color, but it was better than leaving the scabs on with millions of possible infections underneath them. And the red was a much pleasant color than the pitch black. “She’s just being dramatic.” “Frist of all,” Y/N hissed and pointed a finger at him. “I’m allowed to be dramatic. At least right now. Second of all, you managed to sow the dress to your jeans, and then, when I told you to just cut the thread off and pull it out, you cut a hole into the dress.” “It was a stylistic choice.” “Yeah for what, her third arm?” It seemed insane to be bickering about what were now minuscule things. A ruined dress. Billy’s inability to sow. Him being in absolute denial about it. Insane, but nice, given how the actual things they needed to worry about were the possible invasion of their world by an interdimensional alien, a Russian army opening up the Gateway between the two universes and her father-in-law being the main henchman. “How do we explain this to Clara?” Billy nudged his chin towards Y/N's back, and her eyes widened. “Fuck,” she swore under her breath. “I hadn’t thought about that…” There was no way she could just brush it off, and their little Terminator had to know everything. It had been an interesting enough conversation when she’d asked about her dad’s scars, but now when her mom would arrive home with a destroyed back was not something, they thought they’d have to deal with. “You might also wanna figure out what to say to mom,” Alex said as he stood to the side, arms matter-of-factly crossed over his chest. “What? Why?” Alex’s eyes widened. “Graduation’s in like a few hours, and you're gonna show up like that?” That’s when the rest of the kids also remembered Friday was just three hours away, and graduation only fifteen. “Oh, shit,” Max muttered sharing a look with Mike, Dustin, Will and Lucas. El hadn’t gone to a public school, having been taught by Hopper and then Joyce at home. “Well, we can’t go,” Mike said. “This is bigger than some fucking graduation.” “Hey, watch your mouth!” Hopper said pointing at the teen. He was still in the mindset of ‘keep the door open three inches’, no matter if four years had passed. “I think going might be our best bet,” Y/N butted in. “Or at least, you have to go.” “Not to be rude, ‘cause I know you went through some pretty dramatic shit,” Lucas said, “but Mind Flayer versus getting a piece of paper,” he made a gesture as if he was weighing the options with his hands. “The Mind Flayer wins.” Y/N shook her head and stood up, leaning heavily against Billy. “He still needs to keep up the appearances. I mean when Billy was possessed, he went to his job at the pool, so I can guarantee he’ll be at the school. And that’s when we can strike.” The thought of attacking the Mind Flayer and bringing the fight to him, instead of how it usually had been with it striking first, made everyone perk up and start talking, but Billy didn’t join in, even though he might have the most cause to. Instead, he tugged on Y/N’s palm making her attention flit just to him and look at his furrowed brows. It seemed as if the formulation of the words on his tongue were the hardest ever, but in the end, he got them out. “What did you mean by ‘the three of us…?’ When you said you wouldn’t let me taint the three… of you…” “I don’t know…” she shook her head. “I have no clue where that came from.” “Do you,” Billy swallowed harshly and wrung his hands together, “do you think you might be pregnant again?” That thought had crossed her mind, but Y/N didn’t think it to be plausible. Every time they’d had sex they’d been very careful, as they weren’t planning on having another kid. Sure, Clara hadn’t been planned either and turned out to be the best gift ever, but they were doing really well at that moment, so another gremlin would be quite jarring. “I don’t think so… I had my period right before leaving.” “Yeah, but we did have a lot,” he emphasized the word and smirked, “of fun at the motel in the morning. And when we got to yours in the shower… and before going to Tin-“ “Okay, you don’t need to recount every time,” Y/N chuckled feeling heat crawl up her body. “I remember, I was there.” “You better, otherwise, I’d need to remind you.” She tilted her head to the side. “I wouldn’t complain about that. Like at all.” A beat passed before she spoke again. “If it was though…” Y/N bit down on her lip. “Would you want it? Another kid? Would you want one?” Billy snorted cupping her cheeks and giving her a sweet kiss. “If you’d ask me to run through Hell barefoot, I’d fucking skip through it with a smile on my face.” “So, would that be a yes?” “You’re such a dork,” he shook his head, the affectionate grin never leaving. “Yeah, but I’m your dork.” He scoffed. “You better fucking be.” “We’ll figure it out…” Y/N nodded her head as if affirming herself they would. “If we get out of this alive.” “When,” he growled back. “When we get out of this alive. Don’t you dare talk that way.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m just being realistic.” “Well stop it then.” He grumbled like a toddler being told he couldn’t have any more candy. “Be optimistic.” Y/N scoffed. “Yeah, because you’re not only Keg King, but the King of Optimism as well.” He watched her bring Nancy’s given shirt over her head and helped the woman let it slip over her body. Billy loved that body with every inch of his being. He loved each and every birthmark, scar and dip, and now it had been completely rearranged by some monster. There was nothing in the world that would make him think of Y/N as anything as beautiful, but a small part in his head screamed at how much he hated the rips that would scar over at some point. They had been his fault. His ugly marks on her gorgeous body. “Where’s uh where’s your ring?” Y/N asked, clearing her throat and bringing him out of the pondering. This was so not the conversation she thought she’d ever have. It was like they’d had a silent agreement to never take the golden circlets off, so seeing his finger bare, with a pale line around it, made her stomach churn. “When you were missing, I asked El to help find you. She needed something that had a connection to you…” he shrugged flexing his fist. “This was the only thing I could think of.” “And why haven’t you put it back on?” It seemed like the question completely shifted the mood, and Billy let out a sad chuckle. “ ’Cause I don’t think I should.” Y/N’s eyes widened. “What?” She could feel tears burn at the edges of her eyes, but Y/N was not going to let them fall. Instead, she cleared her throat and repeated the question in a much softer tone. “That day when we got married, I promised to protect you. I might have not said it out loud, but I promised it to myself.” Unlike her, Billy allowed himself to fully feel the emotions, a drop rolling down his cheek. “And I failed. How can I put it back on, how can I promise that to you, when I broke it in the first place? I know it wasn’t you saying all those things, that it was the Mind Flayer using my fears against me, but it had a point. I don’t deserve you. Or Clara. For years this whole life has felt like a dream, like a fluke that I’d gotten so lucky. And now I know it is, ‘cause there’s no way I could ever deserve you or your forgiveness.” Y/N thought she’d be sad and hurt by his words, but instead, she was just pissed. “Forgiveness for what?” “For this whole thing,” he gestured at her torn-up body. “Had it not been for me, you wouldn’t have been possessed by that fucker. Had it not been for me, we wouldn’t have gone to Tina’s. I wouldn’t have gotten drunk and pissy, and you wouldn’t have had to wander off into those fucking woods… this whole shit’s my fault…” Her lips were pursed into a very thin line before, Y/N nodded. “Okay, so answer me this – did you know the Gate was open?” “N-no,” Billy stuttered out not sure where the conversation was going. “Did you know the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer were back?” Once again, he replied with a soft ‘no’. “Did you have any clue any of this would happen?” her voice was getting louder with each word. Billy hid his face in his palms but shook his head no. “Then why are you punishing yourself?” “Because who else am I supposed to punish?!” he exploded jumping up. “You?! I was the one who put you in danger, I am the one with the shit father who’s even shittier now! All of your biggest problems in life have been because of me, and now whenever we’ll go to the beach, whenever you’ll take a shower, I’ll have to see those fucking marks on your back that you wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for me!” Y/N was practically shaking as she stood face her husband, despite the tendrils of pain rippling down her back. “I did not sit by your hospital bed for two whole days while you were unconscious, I didn’t spend my last summer here with you in the ICU for you to say this bullshit to me,” she seethed and moved closer. “Now, you’ll listen to me Billy Hargrove, we’ve been through so much shit, it’s insane. I could write a novel about it and still, there wouldn’t be enough pages to tell the full story.” Her gaze was piercing, and he couldn’t pull his eyes away from Y/N’s. No matter how much Billy wanted to, it was impossible as every word found its mark, yet he still listened to her, still nodded along and let the tears slip down his cheeks, his wife’s soft thumbs brushing them away. “I did not go through childbirth, through doubting myself if I’m a good person, let alone a mother; I did not go through this shit, only for you to tell me that you don’t wanna wear that ring anymore, cause guess what? I’ve fucked up too. That day at the pool when we got into that huge argument and the whole Mind Flayer shit happened to you? I blame myself for that.” Billy’s mouth dropped open in shock. “But – but it’s not. You had nothing to do with it… it just happened, it was bad luck.” “Exactly,” a painful smile of relief made her lips pull up hoping he'd get where she was going with it. “I know it wasn’t my fault, I can’t control the Mind Flayer, but I still blame myself. Maybe if I’d been more understanding, maybe if I’d tried to work it out, it wouldn’t have happened... you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” His hands shook as he settled them on Y/N’s waist, pressing his forehead tightly to hers. He’d never even considered that she blamed herself for that summer’s events. He never even entertained that idea, ‘cause it was simply untrue, so he didn’t spend time on it. “You blame yourself for this, and I blame myself for what happened to you... even though it was neither of our faults... So,” Y/N let out a shaky breath, “put that fucking ring back on your finger, or I swear, I’ll serve you some divorce papers.” Billy chuckled, pulling back from the embrace to fish out the ring from his pocket, but not before pulling Y/N in for a passionate kiss. Fuck, did it feel good to kiss her again. “Yes, mam.” Beautifully, as if it was made to sit at the base of his left ring finger, the piece of jewellery slid on and stayed there. As it would forever. “I love you,” he whispered pecking her lips. “I love you too, dumbass.” “Whatever you say Mrs Dumbass,” he bit on his bottom lip and glanced down at her. “You’re an amazing person, by the way. And an even better mother.” Y/N mouthed a ‘thank you’ against his lips before caressing them again. “You two okay there?” Joyce asked peaking inside the bedroom as they stepped back from one another. Only then did they realize when the argument had started everyone else had left the room to give them privacy to work things out. Billy nodded, smiling over at Y/N. “Yeah, we’re alright. But I think we’ll be even better when we decide what to do with the whole Upside-Down thing.” “I think I have an idea,” Y/N sighed and, leaning heavily on Billy’s shoulder they entered the living room where everyone else was. Max raised a concerned eyebrow, thumb between her teeth, and when their eyes met, she gave the redhead a small but assuring smile, making her heart lift from her feet back to her chest, knowing that everything was okay between the two. Hopper opened his arms and then put them on his hips. “We’re all ears.”

Tags (crossed out wouldn't take):

Hawkins’ Charm tag list: @genius2050 @aiifandomsunite @ashleymarieriffle @littlefool-smalljester @infinitelycharmed23 @llcalumllhoodll @benevolentgemini @rxmanovbby @euphoniumpets @krazykatykat456 @believerofall @ccidk @babechief @meganmj @blackhood5sos @fml9603 @noodlenerd101 @universefinds @kuroidesuchloe @im-a-stranger-thing @grxxn-gardxns @springholland @beforethebraces @robinisourlesbianmom @queeneliza108 @neenaw-neenaw @lexisntthatweird @choicesismylife @mckenzie2020 @kcd15 @snuggleducky @reckless-sofia @didyouseetheflair @silver-winter-wolf @jay-ta-blog @hopeless-lovex0 @anyasthoughts @robinismyqueen @yeah-butyourenot-dacremontgomery @mcrganstarks @psychoticobsession @cutehipstergirl25 @sbfandom @mickmoon @jackyfrost01 @txhmine @dark-princess99 @morgangrice18 @changingmylifestyle367 @sweetdayme4427 @alowexpectation @sexyvixen7 @golddvstwoman @evelynfreakinaddams @sunfucked @sataninsatin @queenbbarnes @venomavocado @rangotangomango @psychosupernatural @sereiins @frickin-bats @bandsruinedmylife @thee-brunette-princess @queenskyster @aspiring-fangirls-world @gracethegeek9902 @katiexdacre @dreamwavej @escaping-reality21 @void-fire-rose @slvtherinseeker @paranoiadestroyah @arromite @jojo-buttercup @danarysstormborn @graveyard--baby--666

Forever tags: @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @dewy-biitch @avxgers @unlikelygalaxygiver @sweet-ladyy @magicwithaknife @ollyoxenfrees @bnhvrdy @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl @sj-thefan @teenwolflover28

A/N: heya! Sorry for the delay on this part, but I had such a full weekend that I just didn’t have the time to write or post, but I hope you enjoy this part. The next one might be the last or close to that, but I have a few other Billy imagines in mind, so if you wanna be tagged in any of the future fics drop a message (whether Hawkins’ Charm tag list, Forever tag list (means you’ll be tagged in EVERYTHING or just Billy’s :) )

ALSO! HOLY SHIT WE HIT 6K!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!! THANK YOU!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THERE ARE SO MANY OF YOU THAT LIKE WHAT I CREATE AND IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME THAT YOU’RE STICKING AROUND :****

P.S. my tags are always open

P.S.S. what did ya think? :)

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frauleinsmaria · 5 years

Text

Signed, Sealed, Delivered {1/1}

Summary: Emma is frustrated with where she's at in life, and even more frustrated with her job as a retail manager. Killian is the UPS driver who starts making deliveries at her workplace. And maybe, somehow, their brief interactions every week mean more to each other than they ever expected.

Rated T, includes references to sexual misconduct.

A/N: Kicking off @csseptembersunshine with this story I’ve been sitting on for a while! Just for clarification, the premise was based on my job as a retail manager, and the sleazy UPS driver I have to deal with on a regular basis. So, of course, I had to write a fic where Emma is me but instead gets the hot, polite driver me and my coworkers have always wanted. I know it’s a little weird, but I am pretty proud of the end result, and I hope you enjoy reading it!

Major thanks to @thejollyroger-writer and @scientificapricot for providing beta duties, @shireness-says for the title and the store name (I’m letting you name everything for me now), and @let-it-raines for bringing up the “frost yourself” thing and inspiring the rom-com element. You’re all fantastic humans, and I appreciate you immensely.

Also on AO3

-/-

Tuesdays were the worst. That’s how everyone seemed to feel about Mondays, but Emma didn’t mind those quite so much. After getting her one guaranteed day off every week on Sunday, it was a bit easier to come into work the next morning, semi-well rested and ready for a new week.

The same couldn’t be said for Tuesdays, though. Retail was far from booming at the first of the week (which Emma understood; shopping wasn’t exactly high on her list of priorities until the weekend.) Any project Elsa or Anna gave her to work on was usually simple and completed within a relatively short amount of time. So that often left her with far too much time with nothing to do but refold the same shirts, wipe down the same counters, and scroll through the same posts on her Instagram feed while waiting for business to come or her shift to end.

Emma was grateful for her job at Crystalline. She’d been looking for a new job for almost six months when Mary Margaret suggested she reach out to the Frost sisters to ask if they needed an additional cashier at their boutique during the previous holiday season. And after working there for three months, Elsa and Anna offered her a promotion to become their assistant manager. She hadn’t hesitated before accepting. Not only would the position come with a small raise, but also additional responsibilities to help her feel like she had a purpose in a season of life that seemed so monotonous and uncertain.

Turns out, though, there weren’t really a lot of added responsibilities she didn’t already have as a cashier. Sure, she had a key to the store and acted as the manager on duty for a few hours every day before or after Elsa and Anna’s shifts. And she could tell one of the part-time employees to do something and be taken a bit more seriously. Sometimes. But unless it was around a holiday or a weekend that brought in a significant amount of business, Emma found herself spending most of the day trying to conceal her boredom. The store was a typical boutique that sold mostly women’s clothes, shoes, and accessories, meaning there were significantly less tasks and responsibilities than she’d have being a manager at a corporate store.

The store had been open for less than an hour, and she was on her third cup of her coffee and hot cocoa mix since arriving earlier to open. It was only she and Jasmine working this morning, since Anna had taken the day off to celebrate her husband’s birthday with him, and Elsa didn’t come in until after lunch since she would be closing tonight.

Emma took her thermos to the front of the store and propped herself up against a rack of overpriced shirts. (They sold few things in Crystalline that she could afford at full price. Thank goodness for her employee discount at least.) It was her typical method of trying to look like an attentive supervisor when she was too tired to walk around or even stand straight up. No one had yet to call her out on it, which she took as a sign she was doing something right.

Jasmine stood in the middle of the sales floor by the cash registers, dusting and wiping down every surface regardless of whether it actually needed to be done. Emma hadn’t had the heart to tell her she was saving that as part of her personal list of things to do to keep her preoccupied later when Jasmine left for the day. But they’d had a grand total of two customers since opening, a pair of older ladies who looked around for approximately thirty seconds before leaving. She couldn’t blame Jasmine for wanting to stay busy.

While Jasmine dusted the jewelry counters, Emma sipped her now lukewarm drink and composed a mental list of everything that needed to be taken care of after work. A trip to the grocery store was unavoidable; she’d put it off for too long now and had been stuck with peanut butter crackers for breakfast as a result. The clothes she’d washed and dried the day before needed to be folded and put away. And she needed to write. Even if it was only a few hundred words based off of a random prompt she found online. Something was better than nothing, and nothing was all she’d done lately when it came to any of her stories.

“Five hundred words,” she muttered to herself. “You just write five hundred words tonight, and you can start the new season of Queer Eye.” Priorities. Some days she had to take motivation wherever she could find it.

The next half hour or so elapsed with little activity other than overhearing Leroy yell at Deputy Humbert across the street over what sounded like a parking ticket. It was mid July, and Emma could make out the sweat beading on Leroy’s brow if she concentrated enough. (At least she did have the bonus of being in an air conditioned space all day.)

To be fair, he knew damn well not to park his truck in front of a fire hydrant. Part of Emma couldn’t help but feel for Graham as Leroy hurled insults at him, even though thinking about him came with an inevitable feeling of discomfort now. The two of them had gone out a handful of times a few months prior. Each date had been a bit worse than the last as she came to realize she had zero romantic interest whatsoever for Graham, but hadn’t known how to say as much without hurting him. The moment she came clean was incredibly awkward, and he had avoided her ever since, something easier said than done in a small town. It didn’t help that she was close friends with the sheriff and his wife, meaning Graham was often mentioned when David shared recent stories about work at their weekly dinners together.

Her attention was taken away from Leroy and Graham with the arrival of the UPS truck outside. Emma sat her coffee to the side and went to prop open the door for the driver, more than familiar with this routine after her seven months on the job. They received deliveries several times a week, packages containing everything from new merchandise to supplies and equipment for the store. The days on which these deliveries happened varied by the order date and shipping location, but they almost always took place later in the morning following any drop-offs to Dark Star pharmacy and Storybrooke’s Animal Shelter up the road.

Emma heard the truck’s back door open as she used her foot to set up the door stopper. She hoped today’s drop off would be quick. Over the past few months, deliveries had been made by the same man — Walsh, she thought she remembered hearing — who went out of his way to hit on her, calling her “baby” and “sweetheart” and sticking around to make uncomfortable conversation that she wanted no part in.

She’d come close to calling him out for it several times. Telling him “Ms. Swan is just fine, thank you,” or that she needed to get back to work. But it was the fact that she was working that always stopped her. There were a number of ways he could react to being told off. She had learned the hard way how badly men could react if their advances were rejected. Emma was hesitant to cause a scene in front of customers, despite knowing Elsa and Anna would take her side should anything happen. The joys of being a woman in retail.

Stepping back from the door, she glanced up to see the man pushing a hand truck stacked with boxes in her direction. The reluctant “Good morning” she’d prepared for Walsh died on her lips as she took him in. Because this wasn’t Walsh.

The man wearing the standard brown button up and matching pants had never made a delivery to the store, at least not during one of her shifts. She would have remembered his head of dark, messy hair and blue eyes that met her own as he reached the store’s entrance.

“Good morning, lass.”

Of course he would be English to boot. It was almost unfair.

“Morning,” she replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

“This is my first run in this part of town, but I do believe I’m at the right place.”

“If it’s 723G Greene Street, then it’s ours.” She noticed the familiar logo printed on the side of the cardboard boxes. “Unless there’s another clothing store I don’t know about nearby that also sells Steve Madden.” This must have been the new sneakers Elsa mentioned ordering a few weeks earlier.

“Aye. What I saw of the pharmacy and the animal shelter makes me think anything here wouldn’t fit well.” He gestured around the storefront. “Where would you like these?”

Emma stepped back and nodded to an open space at the window. “Here’s fine. We’ll probably need to make some room in the back office before they’ll fit with the rest of the new inventory.”

It was difficult not to stare while he stacked the boxes up where she’d indicated, the fitted uniform showing off the taut muscles in his arms and shoulders. (The pants suited him too. Not that she’d admit to paying attention.) When he’d finished, he unclipped a device from his belt and offered it to her. She’d done this enough times to know how it worked, quickly using the attached pen to scribble her last name on the blank line before handing it back.

“Thank you, Miss,” he glanced down at what she’d written, “Swan.” He smiled back up at Emma. “Quite the unique surname.”

She didn’t respond, only smiled politely as he clipped the device back to his belt and turned with the hand truck in the direction of the open door. It was better than, Thanks, I chose it myself, which was all she could think of to say. Not the best can of worms to open with a stranger.

He paused just before stepping out the door and turned back to Emma. “Perhaps I’ll be seeing you again? For future deliveries, I mean,” he added when her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Oh. Yeah. Maybe.” Such a smooth talker she was.

The man gave her a quick nod before exiting the store, a long list of delivery stops probably awaiting him. Emma watched from the window as he climbed back into his truck and drove off, disappearing around the corner.

Part of her mind was preoccupied with the fact that she’d never seen a UPS truck with its doors closed before. Shouldn’t that be a safety hazard? It was more than likely time efficient for deliveries, but she wasn’t sure if there was a point in saving time if your life was going to be threatened in the process. Storybrooke had its own breed of crazy drivers too.

The other part hoped the driver was right about seeing her again.

Emma thought about him more than she would like to admit over the next few days. The lilt of his accent, the lines around his eyes that crinkled when he’d smiled at her. She felt more than a little ridiculous for noticing such specific details after a single encounter lasting all of five minutes. If only she could have that level of concentration when it came to writing. She’d gone home that night and tried to muster up a few hundred words of something, anything. Instead she had stared at the blank screen in front of her and questioned if there was even any point.

Regardless, it was a poor decision to even give him more thought. She reminded herself of this as she went through her usual routine to open Crystalline again on Friday morning. The only information she had on the man was what he did for a living, and a vague idea of where he was from if the accent was anything to go by. For all she knew, he lived a nice, white-picket fence life with a partner, a few kids, and maybe a dog.

(He looked like a dog person. Emma believed that was something you could easily determine.)

And yet her pulse did something she refused to acknowledge when he entered the store around the same time that he’d come on Tuesday. There were several packages today, at least four or five stacked on the hand truck he pulled in behind him.

Emma approached him as he stacked the boxes at the normal spot by the window. “So you did make it back after all.”

He glanced up and her and smiled. “Indeed. It appears from the looks of it that this area is going to be part of my regular route for the time being. I hope that’s alright with you,” he added, one eyebrow inching toward his hairline. There was a hint of teasing in his remark, although it seemed to be genuine too.

It was more than alright with her eyes. Her nervous system, maybe not so much. “I think we can manage that. If you can deal with all this excitement.” She gestured to the empty store. He was the first person to enter that day besides Elsa and herself an hour earlier.

The smile on his face remained, thankfully. It would have been awkward had he not understood her sarcasm; that happened with Walsh a few times. “Sounds tricky. But I do love a challenge.”

Emma struggled with a response but came up short. If only he knew how many challenges she could present.

“Crystalline, eh?” he asked, glancing around the store. “Interesting choice. It means having the structure and form of a crystal, right?”

Was he a walking dictionary or something? “Uh, yeah, I think so. The owners’ last name is Frost, and they wanted to name the store something that went with it, so, like, ice crystals.”

“I see. It’s certainly an easy name for me to remember.”

“When Elsa first hired me, I made the joke that they should have gone with Frost Yourself since we sell jewelry, but she didn’t get the reference until I showed her a clip from the movie.”

“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?” he answered, as if on cue.

It seemed this man was full of surprises. “That’s the one.” What were the chances that she’d come across a guy who shared her love for mediocre rom coms from the early 2000s? She’d tried to watch Love Actually with Graham once; he’d yawned the whole time.

A moment of silence passed between them. Emma looked down at the device she still held and realized he was waiting for her to sign for the delivery. Of course he wasn’t standing there to make idle conversation, he had a job to get back to. Like the last time, she quickly signed on the screen and returned the device to him.

“Have a nice day, Miss Swan.”

“You too, um—” she paused, not wanting to call him “UPS guy” to his face.

“Killian Jones.” She took his hand when he offered it. But instead of shaking hers, he briefly brought it to his lips.

Emma took a sharp intake of breath that she hoped wasn’t audible. The only time she’d ever seen a man kiss a woman’s hand was in one of those period movies Mary Margaret made her watch every now and then.

But she didn’t necessarily mind it. Maybe more men should take notes from their predecessors. Or rather, the actors playing them. Technicalities.

“Right. You too. Have a nice day, that is.”

He flashed her another smile before leaving. Emma watched him return to his truck, not hearing the footsteps coming up behind her.

“I didn’t realize we were getting so friendly with the new UPS driver.”

She jumped and turned to see Elsa, who sported a knowing grin. “Clearly that paperwork didn’t take as long to get through as you’d expected.”

“No, and I’m glad,” said Elsa. “Otherwise I would have missed your little interaction just now.”

“What was there to miss? He just dropped off a few packages, one of which I hope is wrapping paper refills. Regina wasn’t exactly nice a few days ago when I explained that we only had two options for her to choose from, and neither were red.”

“She should just be grateful she got it wrapped for free. Beggars can’t be choosers. But back to my point,” Elsa continued. “He kissed your hand, and you looked like you wanted to devour him.”

Oh no. “Did I really?”

“I don’t blame you; he’s gorgeous. Although I can’t exactly allow said devouring to take place on the sales floor, even though it would probably add some much needed excitement to our day.”

“Ha ha.” She hope Elsa wouldn’t notice her cheeks reddening; it would only make the teasing worse. And she had been one of the few people who never tried to set Emma up with someone or meddle in her love life. “Don’t even get started with me about Killian, though. He’s just our UPS driver. I’ll probably see him for a collective five minutes a week max.”

“If you say so. But if you have a chance at any time during those five minutes, can you find out if he has a brother?”

Anna’s head popped up from behind the shoe fixture she’d been reorganizing. “Who has a brother? Is he cute?”

“You’re married,” Emma and Elsa reminded her in unison.

Anna rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a nice face. I’ll make it a point to be lurking the next time I see him come by.”

Despite Elsa’s insistence, the chances of finding out anything else about Killian during his deliveries were minimal. Something told Emma it wasn’t a great idea to play twenty questions while he was trying to unload packages.

At least she had a name to put with the face now. A very nice face (thanks, Anna) that she thought about often that night while she ate pretzels and watched Pride & Prejudice without any prompting from Mary Margaret. She even added a few paragraphs to one of her old short story drafts afterward. Maybe something was changing.

But even if the perceptions she’d inadvertently made were inaccurate, even if she knew more about him (or even knew him well), that didn’t mean getting to know him more than necessary was the best idea for either of them. She already received enough pity or disdain — sometimes both —from everyone else in Storybrooke. The girl who moved back home after a horrendous breakup no one knew the details of. The unsuccessful college student who’d dropped out her junior year to find herself working retail to keep a roof over her head. If only they knew.

So, yes, it was better to keep her distance. No matter what her pulse did when she saw him approaching. Or when he’d kissed her hand. Distance was best for everyone.

But distance was tricky to maintain when someone frequently came to the place where she spent most of her time. Killian made deliveries twice the following week, and three times during the one after. (Thankfully, those deliveries always happened while Elsa and Anna were busy elsewhere.) Each of their additional encounters were similar to the first, brief but with enough friendly conversation that only made her want to know more about him: What made him start driving with UPS? When had he moved to America and why? What did he like to binge watch on Netflix? Was he single?

That last question wasn’t one Emma truly needed answered. She was just curious. They were getting somewhat friendly, and friends knew these things about each other. Didn’t they?

Regardless, something about Killian Jones captivated her in a way she couldn’t explain. And she wasn't sure just how to feel about it.

As summer ended, the new fall merchandise quickly began arriving. Their tank tops and sandals were replaced with sweaters and boots Killian brought in, not to mention beanies, scarves, and jackets Emma knew she would take advantage of once the temperature dropped. On one of the first cool mornings, Killian made his delivery wearing a standard UPS jacket over his regular uniform. How he still managed to make the bulky brown option look good was something she couldn’t understand.

The two of them continued to make casual conversation when he came by, often on a number of different topics depending on the day. There was one Wednesday morning she’d worn a blush colored blouse and he made the comment that he was glad she’d remembered to wear pink. And another day when something he said reminded her of that one quote from Legally Blonde. It seemed he shared her affinity for 2000s rom coms after all. She would have to ask him about that sometime when she wasn’t overthinking every one of their interactions.

One of the biggest downfalls to retail was working almost every weekend. Emma seldom, if ever, had a Friday night or Saturday free without requesting to be off several weeks in advance. She didn’t always mind. It wasn’t as if she had a long list of prospective plans to keep her busy. And even when she did have to work, her friends occasionally talked her into doing something after the store closed, regardless of how exhausted she was or how much she’d be kicking herself for it in the morning.

Her free Saturday in October just so happened to be the weekend of Ruby’s thirtieth birthday. Her friend typically liked to do something big for the day, like a trip down to Boston or New York. This year, however, Ruby had surprised everyone by asking that they meet up at The Rabbit Hole. Her and Mulan’s wedding was the next Sunday, and they both were too swamped with the last of the wedding planning for her to feel up to doing more.

Emma found herself sitting between Mulan and Belle at the large table they’d chosen in the middle of the bar, sipping at her drink as her friends teased Ruby about being another year older.

“You do realize you’re two years older than she is, don’t you?” she reminded David after he made a joke about people in their thirties, which also should have applied to him.

He shrugged. “That’s beside the point. It’s not my birthday.”

“No. But it will be in three months, which means I’m gonna start preparing all kinds of old man jokes for you now.”

“Why do I have the feeling my wife is going to join you on that?”

“Because I most definitely am,” Mary Margaret piped up from her seat on his other side.

As much as she preferred staying home in front of the TV on her nights off, Emma had to admit it was nice getting to go out and have fun without waking up early for work the next morning. Most of the people who’d shown up to celebrate Ruby were ones she hadn’t seen in far too long.

It was hard to ignore how Graham insisted on keeping his distance from her, sitting at the far end of the table and looking away if she merely glanced in his general direction. But if that was how he chose to act, then fine. She’d done her best to break things off as amicably as possible; it wasn’t her fault he’d chosen to become so bitter.

They’d been at the bar a little over an hour when two men entered the room. The one in front, blue eyed with dark curly hair, glanced over at their table, a look of recognition in his eyes when he caught sight of David. Her friend waved him over, and it was only when he started approaching that Emma got a look at the person he’d arrived with.

“Killian?”

He did a double take when he saw her, eyes widening before his lips parted into a wide grin. “Hello, Swan.”

The other man paused in the middle of the conversation he’d just started with David and looked between the two of them. “Little brother, you two know each other?”

Emma could see the resemblance now that the relationship was clarified: Killian and his brother didn’t look identical by any means, but they had they same defined cheekbones and blue eyes, although Killian’s were still bluer somehow, probably a result of the dark blue button down shirt he wore.

(It was a bit odd to see him in something besides his standard brown uniform. Not that she was complaining. Not at all.)

“Liam, you ought to know by now that there are few people in town I haven't made deliveries to at some point or another. Emma works at Crystalline.”

“The one the Frost sisters own?” It was hard to miss the way the man — Liam, she supposed — perked up at the mention of her bosses.

“Yes, that’s the one Elsa owns, since I know that’s what you were really asking.”

Well, this was interesting. Elsa had no idea that she was onto something when she’d joked about Killian having a brother.

She turned back to David and Liam. “So, how do you two know each other?”

“Liam’s daughter is in Leo’s class at school,” David explained. “I hear stories about Harper every day. He loves her.”

“Bloody hell, don’t tell me that! I thought I had at least another decade before she and I would have to discuss boys.”

The two of them continued to chat about their children while Emma became fixated on Killian again. She wanted to say something to him, but what? That it was nice to see him outside of her workplace? She hated forced small talk and didn’t want to trap either of them in an awkward conversation.

She went back to what David had just said about Liam having a daughter, and the comments he and Killian had made that hinted he was interested in Elsa. A quick glance at his left hand showed that he wasn’t wearing a ring, but that didn’t necessarily mean much. Could she broach the subject to Killian without appearing to cross a line? Elsa may be her boss, but Emma also considered her a friend. Maybe she was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong, but she’d want someone to do the same for her and spot any potential red flags.

Emma’s train of thought was broken by Mulan getting up and walking over to the jukebox. Soon, the opening notes of “Single Ladies” played from the speakers, and Mulan came back over to drag Ruby to dance.

Emma glanced back at Killian. He looked somewhat shy standing there alone, one hand in the front pocket of his jeans and the other scratching behind his ear. Liam had clearly abandoned him for a conversation with David, probably discussing Leo’s intentions with his daughter.

“You can have a seat if you want,” she told him, nodding to the now empty seat beside her. “Something tells me the lovebirds won’t be coming back any time soon.”

“Something tells me you’re right. I’d hate to be a bother though,” he added, seeming to notice the space (or lack thereof) between the now empty seat and her own.

“No bother. Plus, the bar stools here are ridiculously uncomfortable.”

“I can’t argue with that.”

It wasn’t until he sat down beside her that Emma was aware of just how tightly the chairs had been packed around their small table. Killian’s right thigh and shoulder were nearly pressed against her own. It normally would not have been a situation she’d object to, but she now realized how much personal space she was sharing with an attractive man she barely knew (and had embarrassed herself in front of on at least one occasion.)

“I can’t get over the irony of Mulan choosing a song that basically celebrates being single to dance with her fiancee to,” Emma blurted out when it occurred to her. “And a few weeks before their wedding at that.”

“Something tells me she’s too inebriated to care considering they’ve made their own dance floor in a bar that doesn’t actually have one.”

“Touche.”

They both laughed. Maybe making conversation with him outside of work was easier than she’d assumed.

“I take it you have the night off?” he asked. “Not to sound intrusive; I just noticed the list of store hours on one of my last deliveries.”

“I do. Saturday’s off are few and far between for me, so I try to make the most of them. Tonight, that’s celebrating my friend’s birthday even though she’s clearly done paying attention to any of us.” They both glanced back over at Mulan and Ruby, who had started slow dancing in the middle of the room. Emma wouldn’t be surprised if they made an excuse to leave soon, Ruby’s birthday celebration be damned.

“I understand about your weekends,” said Killian. “I’m lucky enough to have a fairly regular work schedule, but Liam is an ER nurse on top of being a single father, so his free time is quite limited. He’s great at his job and an even better dad, but I like to make sure he gets to go out and do something for his own enjoyment every now and then.”

His comment about Liam being single cleared her earlier suspicion. She didn’t feel comfortable asking what had happened to his niece’s mother, so they discussed the child herself instead. Emma learned that Harper was four years old and already a spitfire, keeping both Liam and Killian on their toes at any given moment. She found out that the two of them had moved from England to the States as teenagers, where Liam went to nursing school and Killian enlisted in the Navy.

“How long have you been driving?”

“About two years. I did some truck driving in the Navy and was able to get my CDL while I was still enlisted. It wasn’t my dream career field by any means, but it paid decently, not to mention it wouldn’t keep me confined to the same cubicle or office all week long. I applied at UPS because I didn’t like the idea of being gone for days at a time on a regular basis. This way, I get most weekends and holidays off, and have an idea of what time I’ll arrive home every night.”

“Seems like you’ve got a decent arrangement there then.”

“Aye. I like having a consistent schedule most of the time. The driving helps clear my head when I need it to.” He paused and Emma saw what looked like a frown tugging at the corner of his lips. “But enough about me. I’ve gathered next to nothing about you so far. Well, other than the fact that I interrupt your work day at least twice per week, sometimes more, but I don’t think that counts.”

He clearly didn’t want to discuss whatever it was driving helped clear his head from. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. If I’m being honest, your ‘interruptions’ are a nice, albeit brief, distraction from the monotony that just causes me to question what I’m doing there.”

The frown reappeared. “You don’t like your job?”

“I wouldn’t say I dislike it. Elsa and Anna are great. It’s nice knowing I get the same day off every week. And I save forty-two percent on my shoes.”

“But?”

She shrugged. “I mean, that’s about it. Nothing ever happens. It’s not that we don’t get business or anything, but it’s not the kind of store people feel the need to come into on a regular basis, like Target or something. I spend most of my shift being bored. Which really just gives me more time to think about where I’m at in life — more like where I’m not at in life — and how unfulfilled I am with, well, everything.”

She hadn’t expected to open that can of worms tonight, but once she started, it was hard to hold back everything she’d been keeping to herself for months now.

“I take it retail wasn’t your first choice when it came to finding a career?”

“Far from it.” She laughed dryly. “I was a creative writing major in college. So many people in Storybrooke gave me hell about it, said I’d never be able to do anything with my degree. But I didn’t care. I just loved writing and knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. Until my junior year anyway.”

“What happened then?”

“I took an upper level Writing Fiction course during the fall semester. I was really excited about it because the professor was a fairly successful author, and I’d always had a conflict with another class before that kept me from taking anything with him. To make a long story short, the class was great at first. I got along well with the professor, and he seemed to like the projects I turned in for him. He liked my boyfriend’s projects even more.”

She forced down the lump forming in her throat and took a quick sip of her beer. Talking about Neal became a bit less difficult over time, but that didn’t mean it was easy either. “He was a writing student too. We met sophomore year in an intro creative writing course. I fell for him right away despite all the warning signs: he cut class a lot, was disrespectful to me — to all women, for that matter — and thought he could get away with anything because his dad was loaded. But, despite all this, he told me he loved me. And I fell for it.

“Anyway, back to the class we had together. I noticed every now and then that the professor would make a comment or say something overly friendly that felt a lot like flirting. I never brought it up with Neal outside of class since I thought he’d tell me I was overreacting.” Emma now saw the fact that she thought that way about him should have been a red flag in itself. “So, the end of the semester comes around. Our final was to write a short story. We turned them in to him before classes ended and then were supposed to come by his office during finals week to pick them up to see our grade and hear any comments he had for us.”

She paused to take a long sip of her drink. She had told this story a handful of times since it happened, but the next part never got much easier to share. “I went by as soon as his office hours started. I had worked really hard on the story I submitted — like, spent weeks planning and pulled several all-nighters to write hard. Anyway, I get to his office and he tells me to take a seat. I figured he wanted to talk to me about the story. And he did...for a few minutes anyway.”

Killian listened as she told him about the professor quickly changing the subject and talking instead about how much he'd enjoyed having Emma as part of his class. How he'd enjoyed it so much that he came over and put a hand on her knee while making the comment that he thought he would enjoy having her in other environments too. “I bolted. I was so scared of what he might do; I never even found out what my grade was. Not that it really mattered in retrospect.”

“Bloody wanker,” Killian muttered. “I’m glad you got away from him when you did. What happened after that?”

“I went to Neal. I ran straight to his apartment and told him everything, thinking he would at least try to, y’know, help me or be supportive or something.” Emma shook her head and laughed dryly. To think she was naive enough to think he’d react differently than he actually did. “He accused me of making it all up. He said I was jealous that he and the professor got on so well, and that I came up with a story to have attention on me instead. To top it all off, he said I was a shitty writer who would never amount to anything outside of school.”

There was a sour expression on Killian’s face. “Please tell me you broke up with him.”

“I did.” She sighed and smiled sadly to herself. “The damage was done though. I withdrew from school and left the city as soon as I could. I came back to Storybrooke and had intended to only stay for a few months and then reapply somewhere else, but I never got around to it for one reason or another.” One reason being the fear of being stuck with another sleazy professor. Another being how she’d constantly questioned her potential as a writer since those comments from Neal. She wasn’t sure she could risk the time, energy, and funds required to go back to school if it was all just going to crash and burn for her in the end. It was also why making progress on any story had felt like pulling teeth ever since.

She hated that he and his words still got to her like they did almost eight years later.

“I’m sorry you were treated so terribly in both circumstances. Truly.” Something about the way his eyes softened as she’d spoken made her believe he wasn’t just speaking out of pity. It seemed that he genuinely cared. “And perhaps I’m overstepping here since I’m simply the man who makes deliveries to your workplace, but from what I’ve gathered over the past few weeks, you appear to be a strong, compassionate, and capable woman who can do anything she sets her mind to. Whether it be venturing into another career field or going back to school, I’m sure you’ll figure out what’s best for you and do it well.”

Emma stared at him for a moment, too dumbfounded to speak. She had just poured her heart out to a man who still felt like little more than an acquaintance. And yet he wasn’t judging her, criticizing her, or even looking at her like she’d lost her mind, and she would have normally expected as much. But Killian seemed to get it: her past and her fears that the future would be no different.

She found herself thinking that maybe Killian Jones had come to understand her more during their first lengthy conversation than anyone else had in years.

The idea didn’t scare her nearly as much as it once would have.

As fate would have it, Killian came by Crystalline with a delivery first thing the following Monday morning. She’d spent most of the weekend both taking his words to heart and wondering if he’d act differently after their conversation. But, to her relief, he entered the store with the same smile on his face she’d become used to seeing with his arrival.

“Good morning, Swan.”

“Morning. What have you got for us today?” There were three or four boxes stacked on his hand truck.

“Oh, this is just the first load. There’s at least seven more where those came from.”

Emma quickly helped him move the boxes to their normal waiting place by the door while he went to retrieve the rest of their packages. She knew the rest of their winter merchandise for the holidays was supposed to arrive soon, but she hadn’t expected so much of it to come at once. She, Elsa, and Anna were going to have a whole lot of fun sorting it out over the next few days.

She stood there feeling somewhat awkward as he finished unloading, wanting to say something to him about the other night at the bar, but not knowing exactly what. She was still contemplating it when she signed for the delivery. “What do you call this thing, anyway?” she asked. “I’ve just been calling it ‘UPS device thing’ in my head, but I’m sure there’s a technical term for it.”

Killian chuckled. “It’s called a diad. Stands for Delivery Information Acquisition Device — so you weren’t too far off.”

“Huh. Maybe I should come work with you then, considering I already know so much about how things work.”

“I’d certainly prefer you to some of the ride alongs I’ve had before. Remind me to tell you about what happened on Will Scarlet’s first day sometime.”

“Will do,” she confirmed, handing the device — diad — back to Killian. He clipped it back to his belt and was turning to leave when she spoke up. “Killian?”

“Yes, love?”

“Are we friends? Sorry,” she continued when his eyebrow shot up to his hairline. “It’s just that we see each other pretty regularly and I actually enjoy our conversations, and you let me spill my guts to you Saturday night without judging me and that seems like something a friend would do. But for all I know, you might not even want to be my friend. Which makes this really awkward and—”

“Hey,” he interrupted. “I would like nothing more than to be friends with you, Swan. Truthfully, I’ve thought of you as a friend for some time now. And it’s nice — no one else I know has the same penchant for cocoa and romantic comedies.”

“I’m one of a kind, I guess.”

“That you are.”

“Will I see you at the wedding this weekend?”

“Aye. Liam and I will both be attending, him more so not to let Ruby down.” Another fact Emma had learned at the bar was that Liam and Ruby were classmates in nursing school and had remained friends since. “Weddings haven’t exactly been one of his favorite social events since Harper’s mother passed.”

Emma’s heart sank. She’d never been married, but could only imagine what it felt like to attend an event where people celebrated the very thing you’d lost. It may have stung when Neal turned his back on her, but she knew it had to be worse when someone was taken away unexpectedly, leaving you to wonder how much more time you could have had together.

“I get that,” she told Killian. “He’s really lucky to have you around, though.”

The responding smile he gave her didn’t reach his eyes. He glanced back to the stack of boxes he’d brought instead. “Yes, well. If that’s the last of it, I’m afraid I have to keep going. Goodbye, Swan.”

Emma stood there frozen and perplexed as she watched him go. Had something she said about him or Liam that struck a nerve? The thought nagged at her over the next few days, causing her to wonder if she’d unknowingly caused some kind of problem just minutes after confirming their friendship.

But when he arrived for their next delivery on Thursday morning, he was himself, charming and witty as ever. Emma was glad to see him act as if nothing had changed, but she knew there was much left to learn about Killian Jones.

Ruby and Mulan’s wedding took place on Sunday afternoon in the yard behind their house. The space had been adorned with fall decor in various shades of orange, yellow, and of course, Ruby’s signature red. The ceremony itself was simple, no wedding party or long introduction from the officiant. But the vows were touching and heartfelt. Emma found herself wiping her eyes more than once at both women’s words, and then again when they were pronounced as each other’s wives.

The reception that followed the ceremony, however, was anything but simple. There was a great deal of food, music, and alcohol, not unlike the celebration they’d had for Ruby’s birthday the weekend before. There was, however, a makeshift dance floor set up in the yard, where the brides once again ignored everyone else while they alternated between slow dancing and spinning each other around in circles. (Funny enough, no one was playing “Single Ladies” this time.)

Emma sat at one of the round tables placed around the dance floor, eating what may or may not have been her second slice of wedding cake while she and her girl friends chatted about a handful of different things: the recipe Mary Margaret had recently found for chocolate coconut brownies, what they’d each been watching on Netflix, and the town’s upcoming fall festival.

“Speaking of approaching events, I do believe someone has a birthday soon,” said Belle, glancing toward Emma, a warm smile on her face.

She wasn’t sure whether to smile back or sigh in defeat. Her birthday was on Wednesday, but it wasn’t something she enjoyed celebrating nearly as much as someone like Ruby or her other friends. And everyone knew this, although their knowledge on the reason why was minimal.

What was the point in celebrating a day that only reminded her of what she didn’t have? Because, in spite of any gifts or attention her friends might try to shower her with, she was never able to focus on anything but what the day signified and the questions she may never have answers to. The main one being why was she abandoned outside of Storybrooke just after (if not on) the day in question.

She forced down the lump quickly forming in her throat. Her friends’ wedding was the last place she wanted to reopen those old wounds. “I need more punch!” she announced, getting to her feet. “Anyone else?” Not waiting to hear anyone’s answers, she took her mostly full cup to the punch bowl at a table on the other side of the yard.

Emma topped off her drink and grabbed a handful of crackers she didn’t actually want just to appear preoccupied. She didn’t feel up for going back to her seat just yet.

Then it hit her: she had yet to come across Killian or his brother. Hadn’t he said they were coming?

A hand tapped Emma’s shoulder just as she began looking through the crowd for a familiar face. She turned to see bright blue eyes and that smile she’d become so partial to. “Hello, Swan.”

All of the tension seemed to leave her when he said her name. “Hey, Killian.” He wore a well-fitting navy suit with a crisp white shirt. How he kept finding things to wear that made his eyes look even more blue was lost to her. “Nice ceremony, huh?”

“Aye. I believe that was the most enthusiastic kiss I’ve ever witnessed at a wedding.”

“This is Ruby we’re talking about. There was little chance of her keeping things PG, wedding or not.”

“A valid point.”

He looked over to her friends’ table where she’d been sitting earlier. “I hope I’m not keeping you from your friends. I’d been looking for you and wanted to speak while I had a moment.”

“No, you’re not. I was honestly trying to avoid them. Let’s just say they’d brought up a subject I wasn’t up for discussing today,” she continued at his questioning look‍.

“That’s certainly understandable. In that case, I’m willing to distract you for as long as you may need it.”

“Okay, weird question. Your brother’s here, right?”

“He is. Although I’m not quite sure why you think that’s an odd thing to ask.”

“Well, that’s what I was getting to. I got the idea at The Rabbit Hole last week that he has a thing for Elsa?”

“That’s an understatement. Liam has been absolutely smitten since he was introduced to her at the Miner’s Day celebration back in the spring. But I don’t believe he’s made much of an effort to get to know her. He’s never come out and said as much to me, but thanks to a few bad experiences he’s had with dating over the past few years, it seems he thinks that she wouldn’t be interested since he has a child.’

She wasn’t sure just how to respond to that, mostly because she understood. The more a person had lost and been hurt, the harder it became to open your heart back up to something (or, in this case, someone) new again. And, truly, she didn’t know how Elsa would feel about potentially dating a single father. But she did know that both she and Liam deserved to be happy.

“I obviously can't speak for Elsa or her feelings, but I can put in a good word for Liam if you don't think he'd mind me intervening.”

(Had she gone and turned into Mary Margaret?)

Killian's answering smile made her stomach swoop in a way that had nothing to do with the amount of alcohol in the punch. He was just unfairly attractive and she liked seeing him happy, that was all. “I think he'd appreciate that quite a bit. And even if he did mind, I'm sure he wouldn't anymore if it works in his favor.”

She returned to her table a moment later, this time taking the empty chair next to Elsa rather than the one she'd been sitting in before. “Hey. So, I have a question.”

“Sure. What is it?”

“You remember that day when you saw Killian for the first time and you made that comment about him having a brother?”

Elsa glanced at her and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

“Well, you're in luck. He does have an older brother, Liam. Apparently you met him at the Miner’s Day festival.”

“Wait, that Liam? He's Killian’s brother?”

“So you remember him?”

“Yes, I do. I just remember thinking there had to be some kind of catch for him to be so good looking, a wife or a criminal past or something.”

“There's no criminal past that I know of, and no wife. But he is a widower and a dad to a little girl. Would you be okay with that?”

Elsa pursed her lips. “It's not something I've given much thought to. I don't think I've ever dated someone with a kid before. But if he’s a good guy, and a good dad to his daughter, I see no reason to object.”

“I was hoping you’d say something like that.” She looked back over to where she’d left Killian at the punch bowl, where he now stood talking to Liam. Smiling at Elsa, she nodded in their direction. “He’s over there with Killian now if you want an excuse to go get another drink. You kind of know Killian already from the store, and something tells me it won’t be hard for you to get introduced.”

Her smile grew as Elsa’s face lit up. “I am getting thirsty. If you’ll excuse me.” She stood and went over to the brothers, not even remembering to take her cup with her.

Emma watched as she spoke to Killian first, then turned to Liam, obviously feigning ignorance. Killian’s gestures indicated he was making introductions between the two of them. She couldn’t see Liam’s face since his back was turned to her, but Killian shot her a wink that said all she needed to know.

She eagerly anticipated hearing details about the meeting from Elsa at work the next day, not wanting to ask intrusive questions, but hoping her boss would choose to bring it up. All she mentioned was that Liam was “just as charming as his brother” and had made a comment about hoping he’d see her at the town’s fall festival the night before Halloween. But there was color to her cheeks and a gleam in her eye when she spoke of it.

Killian’s first delivery of the week happened on Wednesday, the day Emma turned twenty-eight. Per her request, Elsa and Anna had kept the surprises minimal, although there was a cupcake in the break room she looked forward to eating on her lunch break. Chocolate was a hard thing to object, even if she objected everything else about the day in question.

Seeing the familiar truck turn the corner, Emma went to open the front door and wait for Killian as she usually did. Was it weird for her to do that? She was just trying to make his delivery easier. And maybe she looked forward to seeing him. Because they were friends.

It was odd not to see him pulling in a hand truck, but instead carrying a single package. “Good morning, love.”

“Hey. Is that all today?”

“Aye. Don’t be alarmed, though. I’m sure I’ll have at least a dozen for you next time.”

“You’re probably right.” She took the package from him, looking for a name on the return address. It was just boring office supplies.

Checking to make sure Elsa wasn’t out on the floor, she asked “Has Liam said anything about Sunday? My boss is being minimal with the details.”

Killian barked out a laugh. “My brother has been anything but minimal. I haven’t heard him speak of anything else since. I’d give him hell about it if I wasn’t so glad to see him happy, even if they’ve only had one real conversation together.”

“Sometimes one conversation might be all it takes.”

It was when she was signing her name on the diad (and feeling proud of herself for remembering it’s actual name) that the idea came to her. “Killian? Are you doing anything tonight?”

He considered it for a moment. “Nothing besides going home after my shift and finding something on TV to entertain me for a bit. Why do you ask?”

“Would you maybe want to come over and watch a movie? As friends,” she quickly added, hoping he wouldn’t detect any desperation in her voice. “I was going to order pizza and find something to watch, and just figured it would be nice to have the company. I mean, don’t feel obligated or anything if you have something better to do. I just thought I’d offer.”

His following silence and perplexed expression were enough to make her regret asking. She’d made it clear that it was meant to be strictly friendly, but maybe the invitation still hadn’t come across the way she’d wanted it to.

But then after what felt like an eternity (probably a few seconds in actuality), a grin broke out across his face. “I would like nothing more, Swan. As long as you’re sure I wouldn’t be imposing on you.”

“Of course not. You’ll probably be doing me a favor by not making me eat the pizza alone since I can never finish it all and get stuck with leftovers for, like, five days afterward.”

“In that case, I expected to be well-compensated for my assistance.”

She refused to let her mind run away with that idea in public. “We’ll see.”

Emma then remembered she didn’t have as much as a phone number for him. All of their interactions so far had been face to face. “Here.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, opened the screen to start a new text, and handed it to him. “Put your number in there, and I’ll text you my address. Not that it’s that hard to find in a town this small, but still. Six-thirty work for you?”

“Sounds great. I look forward to it.”

By that evening, she was equal parts excited and terrified. She’d spent most of the day wondering if inviting him over had been a mistake. Not because she didn’t want to spend time with him, but because of how many things could go wrong.

There was a knock on the door at six twenty-eight. Emma took a deep breath and went to answer it, glancing at herself in the hall mirror and hoping she didn’t look like she was having an internal crisis.

“You’re right on time.”

“Of course. It would be bad form to keep a lady waiting.”

“Honestly, where did you learn to talk like that?”

“A number of different places. My mum had a penchant for Jane Austen, for one. Liam and I were forced to sit through that bloody BBC series so many times I practically had it memorized by the time I was ten years old.” He rolled his eyes but laughed when he spoke.

At least she knew that’s where the hand kissing had come from. “I’m partial to the 2005 movie myself. What does she think about that one?”

Killian’s smile vanished. “I’m afraid I don’t know. She passed that same year.”

“Oh my gosh. Killian, I’m so-”

He dismissed the attempted apology. “It’s alright, Swan. You didn’t know. She was sick for quite some time, but she did ensure my grammar skills were impeccable.”

“That they are. And speaking of impeccable, the pizza place was running a special. So I got garlic knots too.” Food was her go to method for deflecting awkwardness, it seemed.

“You’re quickly learning the way to my heart.”

They settled onto opposite ends of her couch with the pizza box and bag of garlic knots between them, not even bothering with plates. Emma turned on the TV and opened Netflix. Her first suggestion was going to be Love Actually, but maybe something without Colin Firth would be a better option after what he’d just shared with her.

“I’ve learned without having to ask that 2000s rom coms seem to be a guilty pleasure for you too. Any suggestions?”

“I’m open to anything. Although I did see Love Actually was back on Netflix if you’re not one of those people who thinks it’s too early for Christmas movies.”

Huh. Maybe she’d been wrong. And maybe he was a mind reader.

“Are you kidding? It’s never too early for Christmas movies.”

“As I just said, you are learning the way to my heart.”

Almost everything she learned about Killian continued to surprise her. And there was so much more she wanted to know. How he took his coffee, what his favorite subject in school had been, if he spoke any other languages, topics he had strong opinions on. He was like an addictive prologue that made her want to stop and binge read the rest of the story.

They sat in comfortable silence for the first half hour or so of the movie, eating the pizza and garlic knots and occasionally making a comment about a specific scene or line.

“What’s your favorite storyline?” she asked him. “And please don’t say the Alan Rickman one, or I’ll be forced to question this friendship.”

“Of course not. He was a bloody wanker to his wife. No one deserves to be treated like that.”

“Okay, good. Friendship officially saved.”

He let out a dramatic sigh of relief. Emma laughed and rolled her eyes. “In all seriousness, however, I do quite like Jamie and Aurélia’s story. They’re able to fall in love despite an inability to communicate, and then he goes and learns another language for the sake of confessing his feelings. It’s quite romantic.”

Of all the things about Killian that she’d learned so far, this surprised her the least. Of course he’d be the romantic type, maybe not with flowers and chocolate and other material things, but in his actions, the things he would do to to show someone they were loved.

“What about you, Swan?” His voice broke her train of thought. “Your favorite storyline, I mean.”

Oh, right. They’d been having a conversation. “That’s easy. David and Natalie.”

“Because of Hugh Grant?” he teased.

“No. Because she got the kind of support I wanted when he found out about everything with the president.” He placed the blame where it was due and never expected the victim to take responsibility for a horrible man’s decisions.

Killian’s smile instantly faded. “Bloody hell. I’m sorry, love. I should have been more considerate.”

“No, it’s fine. Really,” she continued when he attempted to protest. “I mean, that whole situation in itself isn’t fine, but I know you didn’t mean anything by asking. It’s just...well, frankly, today’s not a great day for me and I guess it’s made me reflect on all of it a lot more than usual.”

He pursed his lips before he spoke. “Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”

Here goes nothing, she thought. “Well, today’s my birthday. I didn’t mention it before because it’s not something I really like having a lot of attention on. To be frank, I don’t have a family, I never have. I was found on the side of the road right after I was born and grew up in foster care. The only reason I was able to go to college was because I lucked out and got a scholarship through the high school. And you already know how that ended.

“Don’t get me wrong, I know I have a lot of great things in my life that I’m thankful for. I have friends who are like family to me. I have a job, that, despite my frustrations with it, still pays the bills and keeps me on my feet. But today makes it hard for me not to wonder where I could be now if things had gone differently. If my parents had kept me, if a family had wanted to adopt me, if my first love hadn’t been the kind of man to make me question every bit of my worth. Along with every other decision I’ve ever made.”

She turned to him. “I’m sorry to invite you over and then dump all of this on you. I honestly wasn’t intending on bringing any of it up. I just knew I didn’t want to be alone tonight, and, well, you seem to understand me a lot more than most people do.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Emma’s heart dropped and she felt her palms grow clammy. She’d finally done it. She’d said too much and was pushing him away without even trying.

Just as she was preparing a long, drawn out apology, Killian broke the silence. “You know Liam and I lost our mother. She took us and left our sorry excuse of a father when we were young, and we lived in Boston until she passed. Despite the fact that I was nearly grown, Liam felt as if he had to look out for me for years after. I enlisted in the Navy both because I couldn’t think of a better option after school, and so he could feel he had the freedom to go to nursing school like he’d always wanted.

“My first few years are a bit of a blur now. I was still consumed with grief over losing Mum, and turned to whatever I could to avoid facing it — drinking, gambling, women. Whatever could distract me. Things went on like that until I met Milah when I was twenty-three and stationed on the West Coast. She was older, adventurous, free-spirited, everything my own demons kept me from being. She was also married, something I knew from the beginning but promptly ignored until I was in too deep.”

Emma listened as he explained how he received news that he would be transferred back to the northeast. How he’d gone to Milah and asked her to come with him so they could have a fresh start together. Instead, he’d been crushed when she objected — despite whatever connection the two of them had, she couldn’t leave her husband and their life behind.

“And that was it. I assumed there was no chance of me convincing her otherwise, despite how much I wanted to. So I left and went on to my next post. I’d been there less than two weeks before I heard from one of my old mates that she’d been killed in a boating accident.”

If she’d thought her heart couldn’t sink any lower, she was wrong. “Oh, Killian.”

“I was a wreck for months. I told myself if I’d tried harder, if I’d fought for us, that she might have come with me and would have still been alive. The only thing that kept me from spiraling back into grief was Liam. When he found out, he threatened to leave school to make sure I didn’t go off the deep end. I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I got in the way of his dream. And I started driving. I can’t explain how or why, but being out on the road gave me the release I hadn’t been able to find elsewhere.”

He reached over and took her hand in his. “My point behind all this, Swan, is yes, I do understand you. Our pasts may be different where circumstances are concerned, but I know all too well the feeling of questioning how your life could have been different or if you’re where you’re supposed to be. It’s okay to be confused or even upset about how some things have turned out, but I really hope you won’t think less of yourself for it.”

It was difficult to hold back the tears she felt pricking her eyes. She had no desire to cry in front of him after everything else, even though she knew he wouldn’t judge her for it. “How do you always know exactly what to say to me?”

“It’s like you said, love: you and I, we understand each other.” He considered the thought again. “Then again, maybe it’s just all part of my instinctive charm.”

She rolled her eyes and whacked his shoulder with a throw pillow.

Long after the movie ended and Killian had left, Emma found herself lying awake in bed as she considered their earlier conversation. She’d known he was nothing like Neal before she opened up and told him about her past. (Truthfully, she’d known he was a better man than Neal from the day they’d met.) Still, the way he listened, accepted her for who she was, and tried to encourage her when she needed it was nothing like she’d expected.

She also didn’t expect that abnormal thing her pulse did when the UPS truck arrived at Crystalline now. Or when he’d taken her hand earlier. Or when he smiled, laughed, or even so much as cracked a corny joke in her presence.

Everything she’d wanted but had never been able to find with Graham.

Shit. Had she really gone and fallen for her UPS driver?

The answer, she soon learned, was an absolute yes.

Killian was constantly on her mind over the next few days. She thought of him every time she passed a UPS truck on the road, or when one of the literary memes pages she followed on Instagram posted something related to Pride & Prejudice. And his deliveries, which were already one of the better parts of her work days, soon became something she eagerly awaited, despite feeling silly for it.

Emma only hoped that if there had been a shift in her demeanor or actions since the revelation on her birthday that he wouldn’t notice.

And he wasn’t the only thing often on her mind, either. She wasn’t even looking for writing opportunities when one fell into her lap. She’d been online, researching the English and creative writing programs at a handful of colleges in Portland, more for curiosity’s sake than anything else. It was still uncertain when or even if she would be able to go back, but there was no harm in looking, right? That's when she found the promotion for a Young Fiction Writing contest open to residents of Maine under 30.

A few months ago, she might have glanced over the details and moved on. But something made her stop and carefully read through the description and guidelines. It wasn't necessarily the particular contest itself that stood out to her; it was standard as far as events like it were concerned.

No, what stood out to Emma was the confidence she hadn't felt in years when it came to writing. Because, for once, her immediate reaction wasn't thoughts of doubt or self loathing. She felt as if she could actually get it a shot. Even though the deadline was less than a week away.

Within minutes, she'd bookmarked the posting and opened the word document for a short story she'd written about seventy percent of before abandoning it several months earlier. It was an adventure story about a runaway princess who leaves home after a dictator takes over her kingdom, and finds unexpected romance with a reformed pirate as they team up to overthrow him.

She had never even finished plotting the last quarter of the story. It was part of her cycle of getting excited about an idea, writing part of it, and then giving up at some point thanks to doubt and insecurity.

But cycles could be broken.

For the rest of the night, she went back and forth between her laptop and the notebook she used to jot down story ideas and managed to come up with the bare bones for the remainder of the story. The rest of the details could be filled in along the way; she had what she really needed.

The next few days passed in a blur of working, helping prepare for the town’s fall festival, and spending hours in front of her laptop in attempt to finish her story before the contest deadline.

And somehow, she managed to do it all. After one last read-through to catch any technical errors she might have missed before, Emma submitted her contest entry less than an hour before the midnight deadline.

The chances of her winning anything was minimal, she’d known that from the beginning, especially since she’d thrown together the last bit of the story so quickly. But that wasn’t important to her now. She had done it. She’d finished a story for the first time in months, years maybe, and that alone meant more to her than any prize.

And she couldn’t wait to tell Killian.

She had hoped he would be making a delivery the next morning so she could tell him first thing. Of course there was always the option of sending him a text, but she wanted to tell him in person considering how significant his encouragement had been to her wanting to write again in the first place.

At least she knew he would be attending the fall festival that night with Liam and Harper. Surely she could find a moment to talk to him while Liam was off romancing Elsa.

Since there was no delivery, she spent the rest of the day on pins and needles waiting for the festivities to start that evening. Elsa and Anna closed Crystalline a few hours early, and at six, the three of them walked to the town square where the event was being held. The space was packed with both people and various attractions, but Emma’s only concern was locating a familiar head of dark hair and blue eyes.

After half an hour of wandering around through vendors and game booths, she finally spotted him at the face painting table with Liam, and a little girl with her father’s dark curls that was having a unicorn painted on her cheek, courtesy of Belle.

She came up behind Killian and tapped him on the shoulder. “Please tell me you’re getting a matching unicorn on your cheek too. It would really bring out the blue in your eyes.”

“Hello, Swan. And, as much as I hate to disappoint you, the answer is no. With my luck, I wouldn’t be able to wash it all off and wouldn’t hear the end of it during my stops tomorrow.”

Emma sighed dramatically. “What a shame. I guess I’ll never get to find out what a cute Brony you would have been.”

She and Liam laughed at Killian’s objection as Liam took his daughter’s hand and suggested he take her to the pumpkin carving table.

When they had left, Emma turned back to Killian. “What are the chances he only wanted to carve a pumpkin because he knows Elsa is over there helping Anna and Kristoff?”

“Pretty likely I’d say. I can’t wait to tease him about it during my speech at their wedding.”

“I will most definitely hold you to that. Oh! I had something to tell you,” she said, remembering why she’d been so eager to find him in the first place. “So, long story short, I finished writing something for the first time in ages, and submitted it to this writing contest thing I found online. I’m not expecting to win or anything, but all that matters to me is that I did it.” She couldn’t hold back her smile. “And I really felt like I needed to thank you, because I’m not sure I would have done it if you hadn’t encouraged me so much and made me feel like I could have a purpose outside of being a retail manager.”

The massive grin on his face made her pulse do that thing she still wasn’t sure was completely normal. Or safe. “That’s wonderful, love. I don’t think you truly needed me to make any of that happen, but I’m honored I was able to help all the same.”

“Help is an understatement. Trust me.” She could go into a long, emotional speech about the number of things he’d helped her see differently, but she’d save that for another time, one when they weren’t surrounded by everyone in Storybrooke.

But their present circumstances didn’t stop her from taking an additional leap of faith, not unlike the one she’d taken by inviting him over on her birthday. “Will you go out with me?”

Killian’s eyes widened as if wondering if he’d heard her correctly. “Come again?”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to. I just figured that while I’m on a streak of doing things I wouldn’t normally have the guts to, maybe I should keep it up before I lose my nerve.”

His brow furrowed and he placed a hand under his chin like he was deep in thought. “Hmm. I’ll accept on one condition.”

“And that is?”

“You let me take you out to dinner, but we’re having pizza, garlic knots, and cinnamon twists.”

Maybe he was a man after her own heart too. “With an offer like that, I think I’d be a fool to say no.”

#cs ff #meredith writes #cs au #cs fluff #captain swan ff #captain swan #csseptembersunshine #captain swan fic #captain swan fanfiction

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prettyboy-parker · 5 years

Photo

good boys, bad boys

masterlist

chapter 3: football

words: 2.5k

warnings: none

author’s note: OKAY I JUST REMEMBERED FOOTBALL ISNT IN THE SPRING/SUMMER TIME IM AN IDIOT BUT JUST GO ALONG WITH IT

For Peter, this week has been incredibly boring. The entire school seems to have the itch for summer, you can almost feel it. His teachers are running out of planned material, but they still aren’t allowed to goof off.

At least it’s Friday.

“Are you coming to the football game tonight, Peter?” Steve asks, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Before Peter has a chance to respond, Sam cuts in.

“You better be, Parker. This is the semi-final.”

Sam Wilson is a junior like them, one of Steve’s best friends and teammate.

He sighs and picks at his mixed fruit cup.

“I wouldn’t miss it. You know that.” He responds, catching a glimpse of Steve’s baby blue eyes.

“Damn straight.” Sam huffs, taking a bite of his almost-soggy pizza.

The boy with fiery red hair and posture like a dancer turns to him.

“We appreciate you attending, Peter. Even if some people,” He shoots a glare at Sam, “Don’t make that clear.”

“Thanks Vis. But really, I love watching you guys play. It’s fun. And I wouldn’t miss the semi-finals for the world.”

Peter doesn’t know much about the senior, only that he plays football and Vis is certainly not an actual name.

Vis gives him a small smile before turning back to his lunch.

“Does anyone want me to take their trash?” Peter offers, standing up off of the plastic bench.

A couple of hands place wrappers onto his tray. He turns and heads to the trash can. On his way there, he sees that Stark and his guys are eating at the table next to it. Taking a deep breath, he pretends to look at the other tables as he approaches the trash can. He successfully gets rid of his trash and tray without interruption. As he walks back to his own table, he can’t help but glance back at their table, meeting the blue-grey eyes on a familiar face.

***

“Why do we even have to pay to get in? At least we show up.” Stephen complains as they stand in line, waiting to pay their admission.

“Come on, it’s only $2. And we’re supporting the school.” Peter tells him, poking him in the bicep.

“Oh, the school. How could I forget.” Stephen scoffs, taking out his wallet a grabbing 2 dollar bills. Peter takes his own crumpled money and tries flattening it out.

“Hello, boys.” Their teacher, Mrs. Harriman, says as they approach the ticket booth.

“Hi, Mrs. Harriman.” They say in unison, holding out their wrinkled bills.

She takes them and stamps their hands with a custom stamp of their school logo.

The atom design is smudged and unclear from the ink, but Peter doesn’t mind.

They walk inside the gates, noticing how the bleachers are already packed.

“Peter!”

Peter’s heart rate increases when he notices Bucky calling and waving to him, surrounded by Stark and his friends.

“Why the fuck is he calling for you?” Stephen hisses, grabbing Peter by the arm and forcing him to make eye contact.

“Um, I-I don’t know.” Peter stammers.

Stephen’s eyes narrow.

“Just, go find Wong and Anne, okay? I’ll find you later.” He says quickly and Stephen drops his arm.

“Fine.” He grumbles, turning to find his friends.

Peter turns back around to face Bucky, only to find him watching intently.

He plasters a smile onto his face and jogs over to where they’re standing against the side of the bleachers.

“Hey, Bucky! Fancy seeing you here.” He chirps, stopping before he runs into the boy. It feels so natural for him to just lean up and kiss him-

Wait, what?

“Have to show some spirit somehow, darlin’,” Bucky says, taking a quick puff of his cigarette.

Peter flushes at the nickname, rocking on his heels nervously.

“You the spirited type, Peter?”

Peter turns slowly to face Tony. For a second, he quiets and analyzes the older boy. Far away, his unwavering smirk gives the impression of constant mischief, but up close you can see the dark circles under his eyes that no high schooler should have.

“What, no introduction?” Peter quips, crossing his arms.

Tony grins.

“I think you know who I am.”

“Sure do.”

“Now are you going to answer the question?”

Peter lets out a giggle.

“I guess you could say I am.” He tells Tony, looking down at his ratty Midtown t-shirt. He’s not wearing much, the shirt paired with running shorts. He seems to always be wearing running shorts, probably because it’s all Aunt May can afford he likes them so much.

Tony makes a noise deep in his throat that sounds like a hum. He takes a long drag of his cigarette, then stretches out his arm to Peter, raising his eyebrow.

“No thanks, I don’t smoke all that much.” He tells him sheepishly and Tony shrugs as if to say ‘okay, whatever.’

The conversation behind Tony ceases.

“Who’s this?”

A kid with long, greasy black hair steps forward. He has an old, worn jean jacket that’s littered with patches thrown over a plain black t-shirt.

“This is Peter,” Bucky tells him, throwing his arm around Peter’s shoulders.

He feels like he’s going to die.

“Loki.” The kid responds, standing awkwardly.

“He’s the baby of the group,” Pietro says from behind Loki, squeezing the younger’s sides. Loki squirms and swats Pietro’s hands away, the bleach blonde’s shrill laugh heard over the commotion of the game.

Bucky leans down, lips brushing against Peter’s ear to whisper, “He’s a sophomore.”

Peter would be shocked to learn that a sophomore is in Stark’s crew, but he’s too focused on the bubbly feeling that spreads throughout his body at the close contact from Bucky. Jeez, he could even feel the small amount of stubble brushing against his jaw.

“O-oh.” Peter stutters, taking a few steps back. Bucky stops him from walking too far.

“Okay team, let’s go find a place to sit,” Tony says, starting to head to the bleachers. Peter ends up shimmying out of Bucky’s grasp, almost running to keep up with the rest of the group. His short legs can’t carry him that far. They push past throngs of people, finally eyeing an empty spot at the top of one of the bleachers. The group heads up the bleachers, combat boots and Doc Martens loud on the metal. They all sit down, Peter ending up squished between Tony and Bucky.

They both smell like cigarettes and cologne.

The marching band is playing their school Fight Song before the players come onto the field. The cheerleaders are yelling something from the sidelines. Tony notices him watching them and nudges him with his elbow.

“See the chick with the red hair? Heavy eyeliner?” He asks, pointing to the cheerleaders. There’s a girl with long, wavy, red hair in the team’s uniform.

“Yeah,” Peter responds, turning to look at Tony.

“That’s Maximoff’s sister. Slept with her once. Can’t remember it.”

Peter looks away, uncomfortable.

Saving him from anymore conversation, the speakers amplify the voice of the announcer. He goes through the players on the other team, the Oak Ridge Bears. This is met from many boos from the Midtown kids, the students from Oak Ridge’s cheers drowned out. When it’s time to introduce the Midtown players, the crowd loses their shit.

Peter makes sure to cheer extra loud for Steve.

The game is one of the more exciting ones, the team with the lead constantly switching. It’s dark, and while it is summer, there’s a chill in the air. Peter curses himself for leaving Steve’s letterman jacket at his house. He rubs his arms rapidly, seeking some short-lived warmth.

“Sweetheart, do you want my jacket?”

Peter looks at Tony, startled.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to. I’m okay.” He manages to say.

“Please take it. I’m warm.” Tony insists, already starting to shrug off his leather jacket. Before Peter can protest some more, Tony drapes the jacket over his shoulders.

It’s heavy, warm, and smells like smoke and expensive cologne.

“Thanks, Tony,” Peter says, slipping his arms into the sleeves.

“Anytime.” Tony grins, then turns his attention back to the game. Peter notices how good his arms look in the tight AC/DC shirt. His muscles are definitely from some sort of manual labor and Peter shudders at the thought of him bending over the hood of a car. His tan skin is covered in thick arm hair and Peter immediately thinks,

Italian. He must be Italian.

Peter forces himself to tear his eyes away from Tony, focusing on the game again.

The rest of the game goes quickly, Midtown eventually gaining the lead in the last 2 minutes. Their team ends up winning, guaranteeing them a spot at finals. They follow the crowd to head to the parking lot.

“Don’t want to lose you!” Tony calls out from ahead of him, reaching backward and grabbing Peter’s hand. Peter can feel his face turn red.

Tony squeezes his hand and Peter squeezes back.

Tony leads him to the parking lot, Peter ending up beside him, swinging their arms gently.

“Um, Tony? I have to go find my ride.” Peter tells him sheepishly as the group approaches their motorcycles.

“Why don’t you come to get milkshakes with us, doll?” Bucky says from behind them.

Peter turns around in surprise, dropping Tony’s hand.

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude.” He says, toying with the end of his sleeves.

“You never intrude. I’ll take you home afterward.”

Bucky smiles and he looks so gentle, hands tucked into his pockets.

“Sure.” Peter finally agrees.

Tony taps him lightly on the shoulder. Peter turns around to see him with a helmet in his hands.

“Don’t want that pretty little head of yours getting hurt.”

Reluctantly, Peter takes the helmet.

“What about you?” He asks while securing it on his head.

“Don’t worry about me,” Tony tells him with a smirk, swinging his leg around his bike.

“Hop on, Pete. All you have to do is hold on to me.”

Peter nervously gets on the bike, wrapping his lanky arms around Tony’s torso.

“Bye, Maximoff. Barton.” Tony waves at the two other guys, starting the bike. Peter jumps at the sudden jerk of motion, squeezing Tony a bit tighter.

“Nothin’ to worry about!” He laughs over the engine and Peter rests his head on his shoulder.

They start driving, the air turning cool. Peter can predict how ridiculous his hair will look. He’s more than nervous to be on a motorcycle.

If Aunt May ever found out about this, she would surely kill him.

They eventually reach Tip Top, a close to run down neighborhood diner. Aunt May says it’s been around since she was little. Tony parks the bike, Bucky right next to him.

“God, I love this jacket on you.” Tony murmurs as he unclips the strap on the helmet. His calloused fingers brush Peter’s smooth cheeks and he almost faints.

“It’s yours, silly.” Peter giggles, playfully swatting Tony on the arm.

“How about we head inside?” Bucky says sharply, stopping Tony from responding. This does little to dampen Tony’s spirits because he grins.

“Drinks on me! Race ya.”

All three of them make a mad dash to the front door, making patrons near them upset. Bucky reaches the door first, most likely due to his long legs, and they all stumble into the restaurant.

“MJ!” Peter squeaks upon seeing who’s the hostess. He totally forgot MJ just landed a job at the diner, taking the closing shifts.

The brunette looks at him, utterly surprised.

“Peter! What are you doing here?” She asks, but her expression reads ‘what are you doing with them?’

“Oh! Tony and Bucky offered to go get milkshakes. We were at the football game.” He tells her, looking up at Tony and biting his lip. He gives him a small smile, throwing his arm around Peter’s waist.

“Could you get us a table for 3?” He asks MJ.

She blinks in surprise, remembering that she’s working. She hastily shuffles through a stack of menus and grabs three.

“Follow me.” She says quickly, guiding them through the almost vacant restaurant. She sits them at a light blue booth, more than a few holes in the plastic seating.

“Thanks, MJ,” Peter tells her once he’s seated next to Tony.

All she does is give him a glare before walking away.

When their waitress comes, an elderly woman named Ruth, Tony orders large vanilla milkshakes for them. When they arrive at the table, Peter immediately eats the cherry off of its stem. Peter notices Bucky watching him intently.

“Can you tie a knot with your mouth, doll?”

Peter immediately flushes, but pretends to act like the comment didn’t phase him.

“I’ve never learned. That doesn’t mean my mouth isn’t good for other things, though.” Peter tells him with a wink, then proceeding to take a sip of his shake.

“Like what?” Tony asks.

Peter pretends to mull over the question.

“Talking. Mostly.”

They sit and drink their milkshakes for about 30 minutes, all of them flirting back and forth. Once their glasses are empty, Tony bids his farewells to Bucky and Peter, including letting Peter wear his jacket home.

“Can I walk you up?” Bucky asks when they reach Peter’s apartment complex, helping Peter off of his bike.

“I, uh, I don’t know. My aunt..” Peter trails off, looking down at his worn Converse.

“Hey,” Bucky says softly, taking his hand and tilting Peter’s head upwards.

“I get it. Parents don’t like me.” He says sadly, pain in his dusty blue eyes.

“But you’re the nicest guy I’ve ever met. I wish my everyone would see that.” Peter sighs, resting his hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

“Peter.”

“Hm?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Peter nods with parted lips. He stands on his tippy toes and leans in to meet Bucky. His breath is knocked out of him when their lips touch. Peter’s own lips are smooth and soft, while Bucky’s are a bit dry.

He makes a mental note to buy him some Chapstick.

Bucky pulls him in closer by his waist, Peter desperately leaning into the kiss. Bucky’s tongue darts out across Peter’s bottom lip, a silent request of entry. Unsurely, Peter parts his lips a little bit.

He’s not experienced.

Peter’s only kissed two people in his life. First was Janine in 5th grade at the winter dance, which was also the day he decided he definitely didn't like girls.

The second was some kid named Wade in 9th grade, who proceeded to tell him how shit of a kisser he is afterward.

In conclusion, Peter doesn’t really know what he’s doing.

His brain goes fuzzy as Bucky’s tongue slips into his mouth, giving him a taste of tobacco. He’s never really been one to smoke, but tasting it on another guy?

That’s a different story.

Peter groans and grabs Bucky by the collar of his leather jacket, pulling him closer. Bucky’s free hand makes its way up to Peter’s hair, tugging gently.

They eventually run out of air, pulling away ever so slightly. Peter’s lips are swollen and slick, as well as Bucky’s. The older looks down at Peter, eyes blown with lust.

“Goodnight, darlin.”

“Night, Bucky.”

tag list (ask if you want to be added):

@starker-flame @lurafita @sam-christo @337-years-old @thebadthingshappen @twink-peter @the-dark-obsidian-princess @spideravocados @gayfandomsaremything

#prepsandbadboys!au #winterspider #ironspider #spiderstrange #spidershield

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wilsonsnest · 5 years

Text

winter, Sweetheart - VI

this is the part where i go age of ultron? whose ultron? and civil war? idk her. we’re pretty much totally deviating from here on out folks. feat. shit getting real and nat to the rescue.

warnings: sickness, hurt/comfort, bad medical practices

He finally settles them in a Bucharest. Romania, he admits, probably isn’t the safest place for the both of them to hide out. But Sweetheart is getting worse, and he loses strength too quickly to make moving possible. The Soldier - Bucky, now, he’s trying it out still. He tries to fix the Falcon’s wing as best as he can, but he’s no expert when it comes to cyberbionic systems even if he was, the mess of Hydra’s experiments would have made his skills useless anyway. Neither of them really knows how the wings work exactly, and the best he can do is solder any wires that seem to go together and snip any ones that seem to be in the way.

Neither of them are keen to test the results of Bucky’s patch job and so Sweetheart’s wings stay tucked away and covered. He supposes it doesn’t matter anyway, their former “employers” are either dead and on the run. The Soldier and the Falcon are on their own now.

For a short time, things seem okay. Bucky accessed Hydra accounts that even most Hydra techs wouldn’t have a clue about. He’s able to buy them a shitty one room apartment with peeling wallpaper and a creaky wooden floor where the landlord asked zero questions except for cash payment.

He steals painkillers for them both, easier than buying illegally or legally. Both of their flesh bruises and wounds heal fairly quickly though, thanks to the bootleg serum Hydra had pumped them full of. Bucky is in good enough shape, but its the Falcon’s broken wings that are causing the problem. The strain of the pain has reached levels where Sweetheart mostly stays curled up in bed, sweating into the mattress and gritting his teeth in pain. It was running like an infection, but the wound was entirely technological.

The last time Bucky had taken a look, the Falcon had actually whimpered in pain. He didn’t try to touch his wings again after that. At this point, he would only make things worse. Bucky focuses on the things he can do for Sweetheart. He washes him, feeds him and starts hunting for someone who can fix this. He knows there has to be some cowardly Hydra doctor that ran off before everything came crashing down.

But the longer he searches, the worse Sweetheart gets. There are nights when neither of them sleeps. Sweetheart is in too much pain, on as many painkillers as his body can stand and Bucky stays by his side, almost hoping for someone to find them so he can take his anger out on someone.

He gets desperate and he drops a clue. One that only a particular person will recognize.

Bucky waits by the kitchen counter, the windows blacked out and a singular light on near him. Theres a gun stored in one of the kitchen drawers, close enough that he knows he has a 75% chance of getting to it before she can attack him. He stiffens, as the door opens and Natasha walks in, dressed in a tailored pantsuit hands weaponless. Bucky narrows his eyes, and can see the points where she’s hiding her supplies, probably more firepower than he has currently stored in this room.

But theres an uneasy truce here, and they respect one another enough to not greet each other with guns drawn. He’s shot her once before, but he’s also the one who taught her own to survive worse.

She closes the door behind her, but doesn’t lock it. “I was wondering who contacted me. The Winter Soldier,” She gives the civilian clothes he’s wearing a once-over. “or James Barnes.”

“Bucky.” He says tightly, only really sure of that for now. He moves in an arc around the room, careful to face her at all times. He doesn’t want to get too close, but he also wants to be near Sweetheart in case he has to haul him away to escape. The Police could already be on their way.

“I know someone who’d be happy to hear that.” She says softly, and its more genuine than he ever remembers hearing her speak. She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, no wire. “I can’t guarantee someone hasn’t tracked me here.”

Bucky nods, he knows that. He moves to kneel by the mattress Sweetheart is laying, finally asleep after a long night. His skin is ashen and clammy, sweet dappling his feverish forehead. Even asleep, he shakes. Bucky swallows and gestures toward him, not touching. “He needs help. I can’t… fix this.”

It’s hard to admit this weakness, but he fears the worst if he doesn’t get help. Natasha’s brow furrows, and she takes cautious step forward. She can tell how hard this is for him, how bad it must be if he’s willing to risk asking for help. Her eyes are unreadable, but theres no disgust or anger and Bucky is grateful for that. Natasha never met the Falcon, though their training overlapped at points. Hydra kept the Falcon isolated and even more secret than the Winter Soldier.

“I can call Stark.” Natasha offers quietly. She looks at Bucky now an shakes her head before he can protest. “It’s the only way he isn’t ending up in a jail cell or worse.”

“The Falcon,” The name tastes bitter on his tongue, but he’s never called him Sweetheart in front of anyone before. It would be like a betrayal to do it now. “Has never killed anyone.”

He knows this because he made sure of it. Natasha gives him a plaintive look and raises an eyebrow but Bucky only holds her gaze steady. Eventually she concedes and nods. “It gives us something to work with at least.” The tight spot in Bucky’s chest loosens just a little.

“His name is Sam Wilson.” She adds, dipping her head toward Sweetheart. Bucky just stares at her blankly and she huffs a little. “His friend, Riley, the one whose car you destroyed? He was Sam’s partner in the Air Force. He thought he was dead. He’s looking for him,”

Like Steve’s looking for you. It goes unsaid, but hangs in the air between them.

Still, to know the Falcon’s identity feels surreal to Bucky. It means nothing. As far as Hydra was concerned, Sam Wilson was erased. He has only ever been The Falcon and to Bucky he’s always been Sweetheart. He doesn’t know if he likes how Sam feels yet.

“Do you have a go-bag?” Natasha asks even though she already knows the answer. “As soon as I call this in to Stark, everyone is going to know. Including Steve.”

Bucky grimaces, but he knew that was coming. Even hearing his name makes his head hurt. He isn’t ready to face that yet, or else he would be going with them. He hates the idea of leaving Sweetheart, but can’t handle being around Steve or the rest of them. He glances at Sweetheart, shaking beneath the thin sheet and presses his lips together tightly. He’s never left him not knowing he’d be back. He has no idea when they’ll meet again and it terrifies him. His Sweetheart has been his responsibility for so long, how can he trust anyone else to look after him?

But then Sweetheart moans low in his sleep and rocks a little, trying to soothe his own pain. Bucky moves closer, presses his metal hand against his hot skin. Sweetheart settles and Bucky looks up at Natasha. “Don’t tell him.”

“I can’t lie to Steve anymore.” Natasha almost sounds apologetic, but he can tell shes telling the truth. “And he’s smarter than he looks, he’ll see right through me.”

Bucky ducks his head, but nods, he can appreciate her honesty at least. For a moment he rocks in place and out of the corner of his eye he sees Natasha look away. Grateful, he leans forward and presses his lips to Sweetheart’s temple. A promise that he would see him again. He moves quickly after that, he wouldn’t be surprised if the Avengers are already en route.

He lifts the floorboards to grab his backpack and heads towards the window. He stops and glances toward the Falcon and Natasha. He can’t hide his concern from Natasha though and she carefully moves closer to the mattress.

“I’ll stay with him.” She assures him. Theres a determination in her gaze that makes Bucky want to believe her. “Rileys told us a lot about Sam. He’s a good man. I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Bucky wouldn’t know anything about that, but he does know that the Falcon deserves the chance to be free from whatever Hydra did to him. The truth is, he only really trusts himself as far as Sweetheart goes, but his hands are tied in this instance. He’s kept his Sweetheart’s hands as clean of blood as possibly could and thats all he can really claim. With a final heavy sigh, he slips out and the window and disappears.

#sambucky #winterfalcon #sam wilson #Bucky Barnes #natasha romanov #mcu fanfic #wintersweetheart

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cchellacat · 5 years

Text

Frustration (Part 3 of It’s Not A Cuddle)

Love All The Marvel Ships Challenge

Day Ten ~ Making Out

A continuation of It’s Not a Hug and Vacation.

Three times Bucky and Darcy nearly Made Out and the One Time They Finally Did.

After she arranged for Sam to be dropped in the vat of slime Bucky finally gave in to his need to admit that he liked Darcy Lewis. Who was he kidding, he was already in love with her.

He’d tried denying it for months, but the truth was that as soon as he saw her standing there in the kitchen the day after he arrived in the Tower with flour on her face and her hair piled up on her head with an apron tied under her bust he’d been gone on her like some hormone driven teenage boy noticing a girl for the first time. When she’d smiled at him with her bee stung lips and great big china blue eyes and offered him a cup cake, he’d pretty much just lost the ability to speak, instead he’d stepped forward and picked her up and ran. Steve had found them three hours later, Bucky curled up with his head in her lap, arms wrapped round her middle while she ran her fingers through his hair. After that he’d followed her around from sun up to sun down whenever he could escape from Steve and his mother henning tendencies. The more time he spent with Darcy, the more he got to know her, the deeper he fell.

Darcy was kind and funny. She always knew everything that went on in the Tower at any time. She was always the first to dive in and help in any situation. She sassed anyone that tried to give her shit and the way she and Stark smack talked each other had even Steve cracking a smile. The Soldier in the back of his brain made heart eyes every time they thought about her. Bucky’s pretty sure the Soldier imprinted on her like a baby duckling, for the Soldier she’s a combination of handler and divine being, for Bucky she’s the embodiment of all the dreams he’s had before the war.

She was a force of nature and for near everyone that lived there she was the heart and soul of the team.

The first time he found himself holding the sweet dame in his arms was at 3am on a Friday morning. He woke to find himself standing in the gym, his whole body wrapped around Darcy like a vice. He could tell from the tightness of his arms that they’d been standing there like that for a while. When he let go of her, horror on his face, she had just smiled up at him, kissed his cheek and told him she didn’t mind playing teddy bear any time he needed before walking outta the gym and heading back to her room. The memories he’s managed to prod the Soldier into sharing were of him wandering the corridors after a nightmare and bumping into Darcy outside the gym. She’s taken his hand led him inside and asked what he needed. The Soldier had taken over and gathered her into his arms and cried. Initially Bucky had felt embarrassed, but Darcy’s only response to this had been to coo and pet him and tell him he was safe, that everything was okay now and she’d take care of him.

After that, anytime he felt like he was about to slip and he was near enough to Darcy he just hugged her close and told her it wasn’t a cuddle. She just held him back and agreed without any fuss or making him feel stupid.

Sam said Darcy grounded him, kept him in the real world because he saw her as something more real and alive than anything else. She was the opposite of all the terrible things he had done and been put through. Then he preceded to tease the crap out of him for it. That had been the wrong move on Sam’s part, cause Darcy heard about it and quickly planned her revenge. She didn’t like people pickin’ in him for any reason. It made him feel sorta warm and fuzzy on the inside that she would go to the trouble of making Sam suffer just for teasing him.

This was reason two that he loved Darcy Lewis, if she took someone under her protection, she would go to the ends of the earth for them. Move mountains, create miracles, all to keep those she loved safe. Fiercely protective and loyal as she was, he couldn’t fathom why Steve didn’t seem to like her very much. Then the Soldier reminded him that Steve was lonely and sad and if the stuff the therapists rambled on about meant anything then they could figure the poor guy was experiencing attachment and abandonment issues. This made Bucky feel a little guilty and he tried harder to give Steve some slack. The guy had saved him after all, had come after him at great cost to himself to help Bucky, he owed him. Even if he didn’t remember everything from before Hydra had him, he knew Steve had been a good friend, why else would he lay so much on the line to save his ass? Besides, Darcy didn’t seem to pay too much attention to Steve’s odd behaviour and was incredibly patient with him all things considered. She even kept her revenge pranking to a minimum on Steve, only mildly inconveniencing him if he pissed her off.

This led to the third reason he loved her, she was one sneaky, conniving, smart ass with the most twisted sense of humour and justice he had ever encountered. If she wanted to get even with someone, they’d never see it coming, but when it did it hit full force and was guaranteed to cause maximum embarrassment for the victim to the same level and greater than the transgression she felt they had made. No one messed with her and survived the experience with their dignity intact.

The first time he tried to kiss her had been after she made him cherry pie and they had watched Sam’s decent onto the bowels of the building and straight into a tank of bright red slime. They’d been sitting cuddled up on the couch talking, Darcy still in his lap, her tiny hands tracing patterns over his jumper while they flirted lightly with each other.

There had been a moment right there where he’d seen the perfect opening, her staring up into his eyes, the emotion had changed from playful to serious, the air around them electric. He’d been about three inches from bringing his lips to hers when Steve had walked in and ruined the moment. After Darcy had reluctantly swept off to feed Jane, Steve had tried in his own strangely mangled way to tell Bucky why he couldn’t get involved with Darcy. Bucky had stomped off to his room to change then spent the next seven hours murdering punching bags in the gym, the Soldier muttering death threats at Steve in six languages before reaching through and sending their fist straight through the punching bad.

The second time he manged to get her alone they were on the balcony while Tony and Pepper hosted a party in the penthouse. She’d been dolled up in a classy little number with a sweetheart neckline, her hair half up on one side and the rest curling over the opposite shoulder. Her dress had been red, and her lipstick had matched. He’d spent the whole night staring at her mouth and thinking about what she’d taste like if he managed to kiss her. The Soldier had had slightly different thoughts, that Bucky thinks as a gentleman, he shouldn’t have agreed with.

He’d followed her out to the balcony just as the band struck up a slow number and he’d asked her to dance. Dancing with her was a different sort of holding than the way he held her for comfort. It was a language of its own creation between two partners. The dip of her waist, the sway of her body, curved and pressed into him, her hand held firmly in his, it seemed to say we’re good together. They way they’d slowly moved closer, pressed hip to shoulder, the tiny noises Darcy had made as her body brushed against his in certain places told him just how good other things would feel. The song drawing to a close as they stopped swaying, the tension from before returning between them and ratcheting up a notch, Jesus Christ, he’d been a half a second from taking those sweet cherry lips with his when Steve bounced onto the balcony looking for him and insisting he come meet some painter Tony had invited. He and Darcy had shared a knowing look, the grip between their fingers tightening in the solidarity of frustration.

Last week he’d pulled her into a supply closet with every intention kissing the living daylights outta her when the Tower alarms had went off causing momentary chaos. Steve said he’d accidentally set it off when he was doing a security check. Bucky didn’t believe a word of it. The man was trying to ruin his love life before he even managed to kiss the dame.

Yesterday he’d found Darcy asleep in the kitchen, bags under her eyes, a pile of paper work at her side, completed. Looking through it all he realised the majority of the forms she’d had to fill in all centred around requisitions Steve had made, missions Steve had been on and other Steve related material. He’d about snapped at that. Steve was driving her into the ground with paper work so Darcy would have less time to spend with him.

He’d gathered her up in his arms and taken her to her room. He’d tucked a very sleepy Darcy into bed after stripping her down to slip. She had thanked him prettily and told him she would kiss him properly eventually, then bestowed a soft press to his cheek.

If something wasn’t done about Steve soon he was going to murder him in his sleep. The Winter Soldier in the back of his brain proposed a number of different ways to dispatch him that would be more entertaining than the merciful death Bucky had imagined.

That morning he’d been on his way to the labs to visit Darcy when he’d overheard her and Steve. Now, not only was the guy trying to sabotage his love life he was actively trying to warn his best girl away from him.

He’d snagged Steve and pulled him into a closet and proceeded to have the biggest blow out with him he could ever remember. They’d shouted and argued and hurled a lot of hurtful things at each other. By the time they were done Bucky had felt wrung out and exhausted. All he wanted was to see Darcy and get a hug. Almost on auto pilot he’d let the Soldier slip forward a bit and they’d found their Doll entering the common room, a mischievous smile playing across her lips. Bucky had stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug, the kind he hadn’t felt the need to get from her in a month. When she hugged him back and promised him sunshine, a pool and her in a bikini his brain had nearly shorted out and he wondered how she’d pull it off.

Two day’s later they were on Stark’s private jet heading for Malibu, sans Steve, who had been called in by Fury for an urgent mission.

Bucky is almost afraid to make a move, convinced that even here, several thousand feet in the air Steve would still manage to interrupt them, somehow.

Darcy just smiles and holds his hand in the seat next to him and asks if he’d like to share a room. He’s embarrassed to admit it took him a good ten seconds before it dawned on him what she was proposing.

“What sorta guy do you take me for, Doll?” he’d teased her with a lazy grin.

“Am I stepping on your old timey sensibilities Soldier?”

“Nah, just think we should probably have kissed before sharing a bed.”

“Well, there’s nothing stopping you now.”

He decides she’s right, she usually is, he pushes up the arm rest between them and pulls her into his lap. They’re sitting right at the back, tucked away in a quiet corner, no one is paying any attention.

“You wanna make out with me Darcy?”

“You bet your ass I do. I’ve felt like teenager sneaking around trying not to get caught by her folks for the last month. So yes, I do wanna make out with you.”

For the next three hours they’re left blissfully alone, and Bucky doesn’t let her out of his lap until he absolutely has to.

They kiss and touch and explore, to the point that it is a miracle they don’t join the mile-high club, but Bucky’s conscious of the others at the front of the plane. He won’t even slip his hands under her clothes, much to her chagrin, but there’s a nostalgia in taking the time to work each other up with some heavy petting and intoxicating kisses.

He catalogues every sound and breathy moan she makes, the way the flush spreads over her collar bones and up her neck, the tiny little pants when he runs his hand over the shape of her breast, letting his thumb catch the nub of her nipple through her dress. He doesn’t remember if he’s done this before with someone, not exactly, but he knows what to do and what to say. It’s like riding a bike. The dirty things he whispers to her while tracing his tongue round the shell of her ear make her whimper, but she’s swell gal and gives just as good as she gets. She whispers back even filthier things that she wants to do to him once they’re alone, he’s so hard at this point that he considers pushing her panties to one side under the flowy skirt she’s wearing and lowering his zipper right there, because fucking hell she plays dirty.

By the time they get off the plane Bucky has a hard time standing up and has to drape his jacket over one arm to hide the evidence of three hours with Darcy Lewis in his lap. He’s not sure if it’s the frustration of the last month sneaking around or just the three hour make out session, but he’s never been so turned on in his life.

Stepping off the plane and wrapping his arm around his girl is a heady feeling, he only feels a tiny twinge of guilt that Steve won’t get to enjoy a vacation with them.

When they finally reach the house, Darcy drags him off to their room and locks the door. The saucy wink and the smile she gives him as she seductively disrobes has him scrambling to help. Bucky’s pretty sure this is going to be the best vacation ever.

@captain-rogers-beard

#bucky/darcy #darcy/bucky #love all the marvel ships #love all the marvel ships challenge #wintershock #it's not a cuddle

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peterkayscarshare · 6 years

Text

Life in the Slow Lane Chapter 3 by OvertheRainbow

She hated arguments. Mainly because she was completely rubbish at them. She couldn’t do confrontation and inevitably ended up in tears within minutes. This time was no exception. It didn’t help that her journey back to Mandy’s had been to the soundtrack of Forever FM’s “Sunday Love Connection With DJ Danny Love”. The whole thing was cheesier than an extra large Margarita Pizza, with stuffed crust, cheese bites, cheesy garlic bread and maybe a fondue thrown in for good measure. She’d held it together through Van Halen’s “Why Can’t This Be Love?” but by the time the late great Whitney Houston had finished belting out the first chorus of “All The Man That I Need”, played with “All my love always” from Leanne in Oldham to Richie in Southport, she was a blubbing mess. That it triggered her memory of John, on their first official “date”, telling her about his dedication to her, that she’d missed by moments, really didn’t help her situation. Try as she might, she found it impossible to be angry with him. Frustrated yes but angry, no. Even if he could never bring himself to fully open up and give her any more than they currently had, even if he could never actually say the word “love”, preferring to make hints and coded references, even if this “thing” was never going to work out, even if he was destined to break her heart beyond any and all repair, it was his to break. It always would be and that was that.

As she finally parked up in front of the house that never really felt like home, Kayleigh took a moment to compose herself. Steve was in his usual location, doing exactly what he always did. Rain, hail or shine. Mandy was on the front step next to a large ladder, looking exasperated, gesticulating wildly and intermittently pointing up at the Christmas lights, which had been hanging precariously from the roof for the better part of a year. As Mandy’s tone varied from a “not in front of the neighbours” whisper, to a socially acceptable outdoor voice, to a full on bollocking, Kayleigh caught the general gist of the conversation, even from inside the car. It was best summed up by Mandy’s final, very audible declaration, “You’re a useless dickhead!” Mandy never had any qualms about venting a sense of anger in her relationship. Throughout the entire tirade, Steve had remained his usual sanguine self. Saying nothing and wiping a spanner on his oil stained shirt. She’d never fully understood the dynamic between her sister and Steve. Mandy had the Kitson feisty gene. Steve was utterly passive to the point of comatose. She wasn’t entirely sure how her sister hadn’t strangled him, or died of boredom by now and yet, somehow it just worked for them. She knew how this latest incident would play out. Steve would leave Mandy to “simmer down”, then eventually fix the lights, at his own pace and in his own time. He’d give Mandy a cuddle, whisper something doubtless filthy in her ear, she’d giggle and smack him on the backside and before long, they’d be disappearing up the stairs. Kayleigh would settle on the sofa with a brew, open her iPad, load up Netflix and put her headphones on. All while contemplating yet another night alone in that tiny box room with a cross trainer, 36 pairs of shoes, a set of Babyliss Crimpers and a plastic heart shaped lamp for company. At least now she could add in another pair of shoes, yippee. Steve tapped on the passenger side window, “You gettin’ out sometime today or what?” “You fixin’ those lights sometime this year, you lazy sod?” came her terse reply as she opened the drivers side door. “Don’t you start. I’ve already had it off your sister”. “I know. I heard. I‘m guessin’ they could probably hear it in Dundee!” “Yeah well, Mandy’s got no volume control.” “She’s got more bloody patience than I’d have, that’s for sure. You said you were takin’ them down the day after New Years! They’ve been hanging up there like an afterthought ever since. They almost came down entirely after that bad weather last month.” By now Kayleigh had retrieved her bags from the car and was heading up the driveway. Steve was still surveying their “festive light display”. “I don’t know. Maybe we should leave ‘em as they are. They look like...what do they call it?… shabby chic”. “They look like shabby shit. Mandy’s right. Get ‘em fixed”, with that Kayleigh went inside, leaving Steve to resume his avoidance of the inevitable.

As she entered the hallway she could hear Mandy “negotiating” with Chloe and Alfie over the evening’s dinner options, “We’re having a roast!” “We want chicken dippers!” “I want a fortnight in St Lucia, all inclusive but it’s not gonna happen.” “It’s not fair!” “No you’re right. Unlike many others, you’re going to bed tonight with full stomachs and a roof over your heads. It really isn’t fair.” “Yeah but we won’t have chicken dippers!” “Your suffering is noted. I’ll call Simon Cowell, see if One Direction want to reform for a benefit gig.” “So, can we have them then?” “Eh...let me think about it...no.” “Muuummmm” “Chlooooeeeee. Both of you, zip it. We’re having a roast dinner. Any more complaints and it’ll be with extra veggies and no Yorkshire’s.” That appeared to do the trick and the pair retreated in defeat. Kayleigh smiled at her exasperated sister. “One of those days?” “Let’s just say it didn’t improve after you left. Sometimes it feels as though I’m tryin’ to manage three kids.” Looking at her bags Mandy asked, “D’ya get what you wanted?” Now there was a question. “I got some shoes and a couple of bits”. “Well then. Let’s see!” Kayleigh produced her purchases to much ooing and ahhing from her sister. “Those shoes will make your legs look incredible! You’ll knock John dead!” Kayleigh’s reaction, or rather lack of it, spoke volumes. “Oh no. Please tell me you haven’t gone and binned him off.” “No! Course not! We just had a difficult conversation earlier.” “Define “difficult””. “I sort of, off loaded on him. I was feeling frustrated and I did exactly what I always hate. I just let it all build up and then got stroppy with him. I don’t think he had a clue what was going on, I didn’t even give him a chance and it all just spiralled out of control. I’m ruining everything!” Suddenly Kayleigh burst into tears. Mandy immediately rushed over and embraced her sister, “Aw, sweetheart.” As she offered what comfort she could amid the loud sobs, Alfie wandered through the hall and declared, “See! Even Auntie Kayleigh wants chicken dippers.” Mandy’s response was swift, “She’s crying because I’ve just told her what’s going to happen if you mention them again!” Kayleigh found herself laughing despite herself. “Listen, I’ve got a roast on. Needless to say, our resident food critics approve. It’ll be an hour or so yet. Why don’t you have a lie down. I’ll give you a shout when it’s ready.” “Thanks Mand.” “You really do need to talk to him Kayleigh. This isn’t fair on either of you. You need to explain your feelings and try to get some answers and he needs a chance to understand you and give his side of things.” “I’ll give him a call after dinner.” “Good idea. It would be such a shame to throw it all away when the two of you just need to get on the same page.” “You’re right sis. I can’t lose him because of this. You know, talking’s always been so easy for us. We’ve never done awkward silences. Now we’ve found the one topic that’s guaranteed to be a conversation killer and it’s the one thing we actually need to talk about.” “Well, get some rest and then take on the unspeakable Wonder Woman.” “I’ll fetch me golden lasso and cuffs.” “Now that’ll definitely do the trick.” Mandy grinned and Kayleigh headed up the stairs in the hope that a quick snooze might help her formulate a plan.

“Christ! Take it easy Lewis Hamilton!” John exclaimed, as he swayed precariously in the front passenger seat. “I thought you wanted to get there quickly, Miss Daisy!” “I do! I’d just rather it wasn’t in a bloody body bag.” “Can I assume we’re not heading to Bury for you to have a long overdue booty call.” “Not unless it involves her sticking her boot up me arse.” “Well, if that’s how you like it. I make no judgement. Each to their own.” John gave Jim some vicious side eye. “Where’s your sense of humour these days?” “I’m just finding it hard to laugh at the general fuck up that my life has become.” “I thought we sorted this back at Big Bob’s. You love her, you want her, you just need to get over feelin’ awkward and you can crack on.” “You make it sound so easy”. “It is John. You keep on makin’ it complicated and you may as well forget it. Have you ever actually told Kayleigh how you feel about her?” “She knows. She’s got to.” “How? She a mind reader on the sly?” “I wrote her a song for Christ’s sake! It was all about hearts and journeys and colours and shit and I meant every word of it too. What more does she want!?” “Hearts and journeys and colours?” “Yeah, you know, she walked away with me heart, made my journey through life lonely and turned my world to colour from black and white, that sort of thing.” “You’re no Gary Barlow mate.” “That’s not what she said.” “Yeah, well she’s your number one fan.” “You make her sound like a friggin stalker!” “Has it ever occurred to you that maybe she doesn’t want theatrics and riddles. Maybe she just wants to hear you say the word.” “What word?” “LOVE! You bloody idiot!” Why does that matter so much!” “Because it’s a small word that’s about as big as it gets. It doesn’t mean “Iike”, it doesn’t mean “fancy”, it doesn’t mean “You’ll do for now until something better shows up”. It means, you’re feeling it where it matters, where it counts and not just between your legs! It says you could hurt me...maybe even more than I could ever hurt you. That’s what’s freakin’ you out. Isn’t it?” John sighed, “Yeah. Yeah it is. I’d never cried over a woman until Kayleigh. I mean, I’ve been sad before, I’ve even gone off me food.” “Jesus! When were that!?” “Oy!” “Sorry”. “I know now that she can hurt me, more than I’ve ever been hurt before, because she did”. “Now there’s a lyric. Seriously though, do you really think that by just not sayin’ it, you can somehow not feel it. Do you think it’ll protect you? Cause if you think that’s the case, I’ve got one question for you mate...how’s that workin’ out for you?” John put his head back against the headrest and momentarily closed his eyes. It was a silent answer, which somehow spoke volumes.

The rest of their journey was spent in companionable silence, interspersed with occasional instructions on which direction to take, from John. Finally, they arrived on the familiar road that led to Mandy’s house, or as John always thought, to Kayleigh. His heart and his brain were currently competing in a race to the finish that neither seemed willing to concede. “It’s up here on the right. Number 25. It might have a green gazebo.” “A green gazebo!” “Yeah. Her sister’s fella Steve’s into fixin’ bikes.” “That still doesn’t explain the gazebo.” “Fuck the gazebo! It’s not even up!” “Alright John! Calm down.” “Sorry, it’s here with the shitty Christmas Lights. Right, this is it.” “D’ya want me to come with you or wait here?” “Christ! I hadn’t thought about that. I don’t know how long I’ll be. She might kick me out before I can get a word in edge ways. Either that or I’ll be here for ages. It’ll be a feast or a famine.” “Well, let’s take it as it comes shall we? You need me to make meself scarce for a bit, I’ll find a Maccie D’s. You can text me when you want me to come back.” “Cheers mate.” “Is that Steve?” “Yeah. He’s sound”. Steve was already waving at John. John and Jim both got out to greet him, “Alright Steve?” “Hey John mate. I wasn’t expecting to see you today!” Furtively looking back at an amused Jim, John attempted a casual reply, “Well, Yeah, we, eh, happened to be in the area and I just thought I’d stop by and say hello to Kayleigh. She about by any chance?” “Yeah, she’s just back from the shops. Front door’s on the snib. Go on in.” “Thanks pal. This is my mate Jim by the way. Jim, this is Steve.” “How do mate.” “How do. Nice bike. Ya can’t wack a Triumph. John’s Dad were into his bikes if I remember rightly. He had a Triumph at one point and...aw what were it called? John! What was the name of that bike your Dad had?” John was already heading for the front door as he replied, “A Land Devil. Steve knows. I gave him some bits from the garage”. Steve replied, “That were very decent of you by the way”. “No bother”. With that John disappeared inside as Steve and Jim stood awkwardly like two spare parts at a wedding. Suddenly Steve produced a flask, “Fancy a brew mate?” “Don’t mind if I do.” Steve poured the tea into the plastic cup at the top of the flask, then refilled his Robocop mug”. “Nice mug.” “Thanks”. Steve looked up to Kayleigh’s bedroom. Jim watched his gaze and followed it upwards in the direction of a window with a heart shaped lamp at its centre. “He in the dog house again?” “How did you guess?” “She gets in a right mood when she’s pissed off with him”. Jim sighed before ruminating, “I think they just need a good talk.” “You ask me they need a bloody good shag!” For a second nothing was said as the two men simply looked at each other, in silence, before they both simultaneously broke into laughter and toasted each other with their mugs. Steve reached down into an ancient biscuit tin and brandishing it in front of Jim enquired, “Hob Nob?” With that, the male bond was firmly created.

John announced his arrival by calling out, “Hello! It’s John”. Mandy was in the kitchen up to her neck in carrots. She was shocked to see him but couldn’t deny that she was also delighted for her sister, “John Redmond! As I live and breathe. What brings you to the bright lights of Bury? Could it be a certain red head by any chance”. Offering her a kiss on the cheek John smiled, ‘Hey Mandy. You rumbled me. She accepting visitors?” “She’s having a lie down upstairs.” “Any chance I could....?” “I’m not sure if I want you to finish that sentence”. “I just want to talk to her Mandy. We need to sort a few things.” “Do me a favour. Try to sort them in a way that doesn’t disturb the neighbours or traumatise the kids.” John smiled and looked suitably sheepish. “Up the stairs, first on the right.” “Thanks Mandy”. “Oh and John, do ya want a bit of roast?” “I’d love to but me mate Jim’s here with me. He’s outside with Steve.” “He can join us too if he likes. I’ve got half a cow ‘ere.” “Thanks Mandy, you’re a good ‘um.” With that, she smiled and retreated to the kitchen as John took a deep breath, climbed the stairs and knocked on Kayleigh’s bedroom door. She’d been lying on the bed with her headphones on listening to an old eighties mix tape. She hadn’t heard the knock at the door, so when it opened and John’s face peaked in, she literally shrieked, “JOHN!” Misty immediately started barking from the back garden. Only Kayleigh could reach that octave. She pulled her headphones off and immediately jumped off the bed. John stood in the doorway, his eardrums struggling to recover. “What are you doing here?!” “Well. I remembered it’s Sunday and I thought you might like a cuddle and a Chinese....or a cuddle and Mandy’s roast...or maybe just a cuddle.” Kayleigh stood so still, that he began to be concerned about what was to come, then without warning, she threw her arms around him and promptly burst into tears. “Oh John. I’m sooo sorry. I was so horrible to you. I didn’t mean to be such a nasty cow.” “Hey, sweetheart. Don’t get upset. It’s ok. It’s ok. You weren’t a nasty cow. You don’t have a nasty bone in your lovely little body. Don’t cry love.” “I just love you so much John”. “Look at me.” With that Kayleigh pulled back and faced him, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’ve never said this to anyone before and it’s because I’ve never meant it until now. I should have said it to you weeks ago. The truth is, I probably knew it months ago...but I’m absolutely bloody certain of it now...I love you too Kayleigh Kitson. I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love anyone or anything in this world and I’m scared. I’m terrified because for the first time in my life I’ve realised that something was missing and that something was you. If I lose you, I go back to who I was before and now I know that who I was before wasn’t complete. I had a Kayleigh Kitson shaped hole in my heart and in my life and I don’t want to go back. Not now, not ever.”...and there it was. He’d finally said it.

#peter kay's car share #carshare #carshare fanfiction #overtherainbow2

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vcg73 · 7 years

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Witch!Kurt #20: Witchcraft 101

I really should have worked in Kurt’s witchcraft studies a long time ago, but just keep in mind that in spite of the length of this series, it only actually covers a couple of months in character time. (Author’s excuse. Heh.) To make up for it, this chapter is quite lengthy. : -)

~*~*~*~*~

“How did it go?” Kurt blurted the moment he walked in the front door on Friday evening.

“How did what go?” Adam asked, with a display of overt innocence.

“The job interview, as if you didn’t know!” Kurt said, wrestling his way out of his dove gray wool pea coat, black gloves, gray and purple scarf, and a deep purple Homburg hat crafted from warm finely-woven wool that Elliott had given him for Christmas. He took a moment to brush a dusting of white off the hat brim before placing it lovingly on the little stand he had installed next to the front door. “I’ve had my fingers and toes crossed for you all day.”

“That must have made dance class fun. Is it snowing?”

“Just started again.” Kurt came in and plunked down on the sofa, sitting sideways so that he could face his still annoyingly unperturbed fiancé. He paused for a moment, distracted by Adam’s ensemble of a crisp white shirt, a dark red tie with subtle stripes, Kurt’s old Cheerios warm-up pants, and black slipper-socks. “Nice outfit.”

Adam glanced down at himself and laughed. “Oh, right. The interview was a video chat so I only spiffed up the upper half. I was wearing a Henley and your Hello Kitty apron to cook dinner, but that didn’t seem quite appropriate to the occasion.”

“Probably not the impression you wanted to make on a bigwig like Stewart Henderson,” Kurt agreed, tugging Adam’s tie forward to kiss him on the lips. “How did it go, though? Did he love you? Does he want you to start right away? Is the remote connection thing going to be an issue?”

Adam’s shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, but all I can say so far is that I’m in the running and that Stewart seemed to like me. I finished my interview just a bit ago, and though I had the feeling he was somewhat skeptical of Gran’s glowing sales pitch, after speaking with me he said that I showed good instincts, had an excellent educational background, and that he thought I might do, but he’d have to look into a few things. I assume regarding my issue with leaving the house, though he didn’t specifically say so. I didn’t go into the real reasons, either, but I also didn’t try to hide my condition from him and he seemed to appreciate that. At the end of the interview, he said he would have someone contact me once he’d made his final decision. He still has a couple more candidates to speak with.”

Kurt deflated. “Damn. I hope that wasn’t polite code for ‘better luck next time’. I really thought he would recognize quality and snap you right up. But hey, you put yourself out there and no matter how this goes, that’s still progress. Plus you’re on a first name basis with Stewart Henderson. That’s pretty impressive!”

“Well, I don’t think I’ll be inviting him to pop round for tea any time soon, but he was very kind and surprisingly easy to chat with. Quite a funny man,” Adam said, seeming far less disappointed by the idea that he might have received a brush-off than Kurt was. “He insisted that I use his given name the moment we began. Said if he was going to consider taking on an assistant who is only 24 years old, he was damned well going to pretend we were contemporaries and not be reminded every two minutes that he’s old enough to be my grandfather. And as I said before, if this doesn’t pan out, I still have a few more avenues to explore. This, for example.”

He offered Kurt a sip of tea from the steaming cup he’d had before him on the coffee table. Kurt’s nose twitched at the scent, recognizing the particular blend of jasmine tea from a local shop they both liked. “Bui’s Tea? What does that have to do with anything?”

“The interview got bumped forward an hour so as I had some extra time, I walked over for a cup and a biscuit before starting on dinner,” he replied casually, as if the shop was not five blocks away and farther than he had ever managed to venture on his own before. Seeing Kurt’s probing look, he dropped the nonchalance and admitted, “It was terrifying. You probably felt a sense of panic right around 3pm. I was honestly attempting to go to the grocery and buy a bottle of wine to serve with the lasagna, but it started to snow rather hard before I got halfway. Suddenly finding myself surrounded by a field of swirling white nothingness . . . well, let’s just say that I had to duck into the first available shop before I ended up having a melt-down in the middle of 12th Street.”

“I did feel something, but I thought you were getting worked up about the interview. I was in the middle of dance class so I couldn’t call to check on you. I almost did, but then the feeling stopped. Should I have called anyway?” Kurt asked, guilt washing over him as he said, “Oh gosh, I should have. I knew it! I tried to absorb some of the fear and project a sense of confidence back down the length of our connection, but Miss July called on me right then to demonstrate a series of wing changes.”

Adam reached over and squeezed his hand, telling him without words that he was not upset that Kurt had not dropped everything to run to his side. “How did that go? If you were projecting to me at the same time, I’m guessing not very smoothly.”

He sighed and brushed his free hand through his hair. “Yeah, it could have been better. I know I was doing the moves correctly, but between your anxiety and my distraction, Miss July told me that I looked like an over-caffeinated cricket. The class found that hilarious until she made us do speed rounds against each other.”

Adam laughed. “Nice. You’re a regular speed demon on the changes. I’ll bet they were eating their laughter as sauce for the humble pie before you were done with them. Your projection does explain why I suddenly felt so much better, however. I just assumed it was because I’d found a haven.”

Kurt shrugged sheepishly. “It was probably Bui’s that calmed you down. That place always smells delicious, and it’s dimly lit and sort of cozy in there. I can see why it would be a perfect place to get your bearings.”

“Well, in any case, thank you for your help. My detour might have been a blessing in disguise, however. Mrs. Bui saw that I had a case of the collywobbles and you know how she is. Bustled me right over to sit and was pressing a hot cup into my hand, and a cool towel to my neck before I could suss out what was even happening.”

“She’s a sweetheart,” Kurt agreed. The biggest reason he loved that tea shop was for its plump, ever smiling owner, who always gave him a cookie and a pinch on the cheek when he stopped in, as if Kurt was only five years old. The fact that he had to bend forward so that she could reach his face just made the gesture even more charming. To call Mrs. B five feet tall would be a generous fib.

Adam nodded, taking another satisfied sip before setting the cup back down. “She is. We got to talking, and I found myself telling her all about us, and about my recent struggles, and how I was looking for employment but somewhat limited in what I could apply for. Next thing I knew I was being offered the chance to replace Steve.”

“Her son?” Kurt said in surprise. Steven Bui was his widowed mother’s eldest and had been helping her create the special blend teas and coffees that made the shop stand out in a vast sea of similar businesses. “What happened to him?”

“University,” Adam said. “It seems that Steve is a bit like yourself. Too stubborn to take no for an answer when his first application was denied. He brushed up his CV and tried again for the winter term at UCLA and he’s made it. Flew out to begin classes last week.”

Kurt smiled and shook his head, somehow not at all surprised. “Good for him. Do you know anything about making tea, though? I mean, you definitely drink enough of it to be a good taste-tester, but isn’t the blending process more complicated? Or do you just infuse a little potion-making and voila, instant deliciousness?”

Adam laughed. “Mrs. B is a Standard, so that would be a bit of a cheat. I would go in as more of an apprentice, at least at first. I do know a little about the process, but I would be mostly ringing up customers and stocking inventory. Assuming I accept the job, of course. I still may get the position with Henderson Productions, which would certainly be more of a financial boon than working in a tea shop. There is also the problem that while I made it that far today, it doesn’t guarantee that I’ll be able to do it every day. I’m finding, unfortunately, that making progress against mental barriers isn’t quite as cut and dried as knocking through physical ones. The little bastards seem to rebuild themselves while I sleep. I went for a walk today in part because I found I couldn’t make myself go out onto that bloody balcony again. Previous success be damned.”

“Progress is still progress,” Kurt told him. “You did it once, so now you know it’s achievable. And you will get there, Adam. It’s enough that you keep on trying, and learning to figure out what things will trigger the fear. Those roadblocks won’t stand a chance in the long run. As for Mrs. Bui, you said she offered you a job after you’d told her about your problem, so I don’t think she’s going to take it back if you find that you can’t bring yourself to come in every day.”

Adam nodded. “At any rate, I told her I would have to wait and see how today’s interview works out before I could give a firm answer, since I have no idea what sort of schedule I’ll be keeping if it does. And there’s the matter of needing to devote adequate time to helping you train with the coven, and face down your ex. Then of course, there’s the very important matter of a wedding and honeymoon to consider!”

Kurt beamed at the reminder. They had Skyped with Burt and Carole last night, and with Henry and June early this morning. Both families had been surprised but gratifyingly enthusiastic about the engagement. Henry had expressed some doubt that they could put a wedding together so quickly, but naturally Burt and Carole held no such reservations. “That reminds me. I told Isabelle our news when I dropped off that paperwork yesterday. I know we were going to wait until we’d told the families, but I was basically bursting to talk to someone who would be as excited as I was.”

“I understand,” Adam said with a grin. “I may have spilled the news to Tanya yesterday when the Apples were over. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d be disappointed in my big mouth, but as yours was equally indiscreet, I no longer feel guilty.”

He laughed. “Good, then neither do I. The important part here is that Isabelle called me back about an hour ago . . .”

Recognizing a cue in the pregnant pause, Adam turned and offered his undivided attention. “Aaand?”

Kurt bounced in place, clasping his hands underneath his chin in an adorable effort to contain his excitement. His shining eyes gave it away regardless. “And she’s offered us the use of The Ballroom for our reception! Can you believe that? The Ballroom!”

Adam’s mouth fell open in honest amazement. He had only been to the company owned reception hall once before. The first time he and Kurt had dated, his boyfriend had been helping put together some sort of grand couture event that his boss was managing. The place was very popular for upper crust society bashes; presumably because it was beyond posh, with a price tag to match. “On Valentine’s Day? How on earth . . . ?”

“I know!” he gushed, practically dancing in his chair. “It seems that being a managing editor at Vogue has its perks. There was some sort of event rescheduling today that left a 3 hour window open on the 14th. Isabelle heard the receptionist confirming the change and she snapped the slot up. She called once the change was confirmed and offered it to us as her wedding gift! I’ve been on pins and needles ever since I got off the phone, trying not to leak my feelings to you and give the secret away. I didn’t want to distract you from your interview.”

“Hang the interview, this is amazing!” Adam said. “Imagine telling people we had our wedding reception where celebrities and ambassadors have danced and dined! And with that much space, we can invite as many friends as we like with no worries.”

Kurt’s enthusiasm dimmed, taking on an edge of concern as he said, “Maybe one worry. Are you sure you’ll be okay with a big space filled with dozens of people? It won’t be like the Christmas party where we could slip away whenever we liked. As the grooms, everyone’s attention is bound to be focused on us. Maybe I should call Isabelle.”

Touched by his concern, and willingness to give up something he had doubtless dreamed about for years if it meant sparing Adam pain, he said, “No need for that. I’ll be so delirious with joy at having made you my husband that I doubt it would bother me if the entire cast of the Macy’s Parade were to show up demanding a slice of wedding cake.” They both laughed, imagining what that might look like. “And if I should have any difficulties, I’m certain that my dad will be happy to transport me, or both of us, out for a quick breather whenever it’s required.”

“Good idea.” He kissed Adam’s lips, intending it as a quick reward for his forward thinking, but Adam responded with avid enjoyment and they were soon wrapped in each others arms for several wonderful minutes of making out. Kurt’s elegant designer top and Adam’s shirt and tie quickly became lost over the back of the couch.

Pausing to catch his breath and straighten what remained of his outfit after Adam had treated him to a very enthusiastic welcome home, Kurt said, “God, you should have a job interview every day if it makes you react like that!” Adam just laughed, making a show of slowly licking his lips. “Oh, Adam. The stars really seem to be aligning for us, don’t they? It’s almost scary. After so many years of everything going wrong, I’m a little freaked out to have everything suddenly going so right.”

“Don’t be,” Adam suggested, getting up and dropping a kiss on Kurt’s forehead as he went to fetch each of them a warm jumper to wear, picking up their discarded garments from the floor as he went. It wouldn’t do to let their friends see the evidence. Not if they wanted to get through the evening without being teased to death. Tossing Kurt a fleecy blue garment, he tugged on a camel colored version of his own and continued, “Trouble comes when it will, barring the interference of those who force it upon us, but good times are precious and need to be celebrated. So for now, let’s just enjoy being in a happy spot and cherish our good fortune.”

Kurt nodded, forcing himself to shake off the habit of anticipating the worst. Pulling on his sweater, he said, “You’re right. After all, even the grayest clouds can turn out to have a silver lining. A bully can become a brother. An enemy can become a friend. And one of the worst years of your life can turn you down a path to meeting the love of your life.”

“Exactly. And a crowd of faithless friends can lead one to a band of true and lasting comrades. Speaking of which.”

“The coven is due around six,” Kurt agreed, catching his hint immediately. “And the snow isn’t going to slow them down, so we need to get going on dinner.”

“As I’m sure your nose has already informed you, I’ve prepared two pans of lasagna; one with meat and one without. The bread is ready as well, but for garlic spread and a touch of baking.”

“I’m a little disappointed. You haven’t left me anything to do.”

Adam smiled. “You can toss the salad. And as you’ve recently expressed an interest in building up your witchcraft skills, I thought you might enjoy a quick lesson in potion-stirring the garlic butter.”

Kurt perked up at once. He had just spent a busy day at work and school, but this sounded like fun. Hopping up from the couch, he joined Adam in the kitchen and grabbed an apron. Not that he needed one just to make garlic bread, but it was habit to protect his clothing from any risk of kitchen spills. “I like it when you play teacher. What do we do?”

“First of all, would you like to stir any particular variety of charm into it, or just have it be especially delicious? I might suggest a simple tonic. It’s easy to create and garlic makes an excellent cold remedy even without magic. Add a bit of enhancement and one only needs a small dose of it become immune to cold and flu season.”

“What happens if we just add enough charm to make it taste really good?”

Adam laughed. “Then you have people eating you out of house and home.”

“So, an average night with the gang then,” Kurt quipped with a smile. He picked up one of the garlic bulbs from a hanging basket of vegetables near the stove, looking at it uncertainly. “Are you sure about this? Your cooking is always wonderful, but what if I try to create a good health charm and it makes the bread come out tasting like cough syrup?”

Adam admitted, “That’s a valid concern. The first time I tried enchanting molasses, I infused too much raw magic into the blend and everything I made with it tasted like tar. Needless to say, I was forced to toss that batch. However, I promise I won’t let any of our friends suffer if your initial potion doesn’t come out.”

Kurt nodded, willing to accept that. “I’ll trust you. I already put my dad through the burned rubber phase when I was learning how to make quiche and I’d rather not repeat the experience with our friends.”

“Self-taught, were we?” Adam inquired, a tender smile playing about his lips as he imagined a pint-sized Kurt with the same deadly serious face that his fiancé took on whenever he was concentrating on doing something difficult.

“Yeah. I used my mom’s old cookbooks, plus I was kind of obsessed with the Cooking Channel when I was in middle-school.”

Adam cocked his head. “I still enjoy those programs. I’ve had a great opportunity to catch up with all the latest editions during my recovery. So let’s begin by softening and whipping a brick of butter to make it good and spreadable, then mince the garlic. We’ll add a bit of Italian seasoning and pepper when we mix it together. Just a hint of both to seal the flavor and enhance the charm.”

“I think a cold remedy will be a good choice. It sounded like Johnny and Dani were a little under the weather when I called them. This might be a nice way to apologize for pushing everyone away recently.”

Resisting the urge to remind Kurt that the coven was equally at fault, Adam just said, “I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Remember the method we used at the holiday party to improve your boss’s crab cakes?” Kurt nodded. “We’re going to use a similar trick here, but first let’s get the salad out of the way. When that’s done, I need you to chop up a clove of garlic, very fine.”

Kurt just nodded and went to work, chopping and mixing a variety of cold veggies with the efficiency of lifetime practice. Once it was done and waiting in his favorite salad bowl, he pulled out a cutting board and a sharp knife, quickly mincing a clove of garlic into tiny shards. “Is that small enough?”

“Perfect. Now I want you to do the same thing with this dish of butter that you did when warming the crab cakes. Not too much. Just a hint of heat to make it spreadable.”

Fine control of this power was one of the things that Kurt constantly struggled with, and his shoulders slumped when he tentatively willed a surge of heat into his palms, only to watch the rectangle of butter immediately dissolve into a pool of bubbling liquid.

Adam was unperturbed by the mistake. “Not to worry, we’ve plenty more,” he said, taking away the first dish and placing a cold brick of butter into a new bowl. Setting it aside, he placed his right hand under Kurt’s left. “Take a deep breath. Find your center and concentrate on the shape and feel of the magic without activating it.”

Seeing that Kurt was hesitant, Adam placed the pads of his left and middle index fingers against Kurt’s temple, guiding him to the place he needed him to go. It felt almost like a click when Kurt found what he was looking for.

“Oh, this is kind of like when Brittany first taught me how to See potential!” Kurt said, closing his eyes and turning his Sight inward. “The first day I became linked with the coven.”

“Exactly like that,” Adam told him, and though his voice remained calm and encouraging, Kurt felt a pulse of dismay echo down their link. He actively sent back a feeling of questioning. “You picked up the grounding of your power very quickly, but it’s clear to me now that no one told you that when you actively engage in spell casting, you need to find your center and work out from it. Otherwise the magic can become unstable and difficult to control. It also drains you more quickly. I feel like a fool for not recognizing the problem sooner.”

“It’s okay, Adam. You’ve had a lot on your mind,” Kurt said quietly. “We all did. I think maybe everyone thought that I knew more than I did because they’ve been witches for so much longer, and most of us grew up together so they kind of assumed I had the same experiences they’d had. Then of course there’s what happened when I went into the Void.”

He cocked his head. “Meaning?”

“I used magic all the right ways that day, but it was mostly instinct and emotion. I followed Dani’s directions to reach you, but I’m just starting to realize how much I was using the link I had forged with the coven to guide me once I was in the Void. I’ve been thinking about this a lot since we talked. Once you started to get better, I tried to get back to magic lessons, but I couldn’t seem to do anything right. None of it made sense, and whenever I asked a question the answer didn’t make much sense either, and everyone . . . okay not everyone; mostly just Santana . . . acted like it was so self-explanatory that I felt really stupid. You said the other night that all my practice is paying off, but I’m not sure that’s true. I have gotten better at directing the power where I want it, but the levels are still hard to control, and I still can’t seem to help activating my thermal magic when I get upset. At least not consciously. I’m just lucky that I haven’t set it off in class, or at work! And when I work with the coven, I can tell that they’re getting exasperated with my lack of progress. Or maybe it just feels that way because I get so frustrated with myself. Lately, I’ve been thinking that I was having so much trouble because I wasn’t . . .”

“What?” Adam said gently, reading embarrassment in Kurt’s sudden hesitation.

He nearly mumbled the words, “That I wasn’t good enough. That I’m not really as Talented as everyone keeps telling me, and they just don’t know how to break it to me after all that build up about what a great witch I was supposed to be.”

“And that was another part of the reason you’d started avoiding the coven,” Adam concluded.

Kurt nodded tiredly. “Part of me is still afraid that they only stick around because we need to stop Blaine, and that once that’s over, I. . .” He paused, licking his lips to give himself a moment. This was difficult to admit. “I’ve never had a group of friends quite like this one, but the Glee Club came really close. New Directions was like a family, at least at first. I thought we had something special and lasting, but then they all dropped me as casually as a worn out pair of shoes. And it wasn’t only due to Blaine. Whenever I didn’t act the way they wanted me to act, or when someone more interesting came along, I was suddenly at the bottom of everyone’s best friend list. It happened over and over, and the more I tried to hang on to my friends, the more they took advantage of my willingness to do anything to keep them. In the end, it still didn’t matter. People leave me, Adam. They just do. Always have.”

“And always will?” he finished, an expression of ineffable sadness filling his lean features. “Is that what you’ve been struggling with? You believe that because your high school friends were so unfortunately fickle, that the coven will be too?”

He nodded meekly, hating to admit it but forcing himself to be honest. He cared too much about Adam, and knew that Adam cared too much about him, to hide his true fears anymore just to keep up a happy appearance.

“Oh, darling. I’m sorry. Again, I see that I’ve been paying too much attention to my own issues at the expense of yours. Between losing your mum, nearly losing your dad twice in body and then again in spirit, the sudden death of your brother, your cheating fiancé, your best friends haring off to chase the lure of stardom . . .” He sighed. “And then there was me. Vanishing into thin air, then coming back only to be reluctant to start up an intimate relationship again. Yes, I can see exactly how you might feel that way.”

Kurt gulped, ducking his head. “It makes having faith in people hard for me sometimes.”

Adam took Kurt’s hands, dipping his chin to catch his beloved’s downcast eyes and encourage him to look up again. “I know it is. But I need you to make a leap of faith that things are different this time. I know it’s hard, because experience has taught you that you can’t depend on anyone to stand by you, but I believe I can speak on behalf of the coven when I say that we will not let you down in that way again. Including the members who were part of your high school group. I can’t promise no one will ever die. Time marches on, and that’s simply beyond mortal power to control, but as long as we do live I can promise that we’ll always be a part of your life and heart. I promise you, Kurt, that none of us are fair-weather friends. I, for one, never have and never will never leave you by choice.”

Kurt nodded and wrapped him in a fierce hug. “I know. I do know that,” he mumbled into Adam’s shoulder. “In my heart I do, but sometimes my head gets in the way. A nasty little voice starts whispering in my ear, and sometimes I can’t help listening to it. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. That’s one of the things I’ve been using my sessions with Janice to talk about.”

“I’m glad of that,” Adam said, holding him in comforting arms, in no hurry to break the embrace. “She’s done me a lot of good, and I know she’ll do the same for you if you give her time and trust.”

“I’ll try.” He pulled back to look into Adam’s face. Seeing the love and understanding shining in his eyes allowed him to find his smile again. “Leaps of faith aren’t exactly my specialty. They have a way of biting me in the ass, but I’ll take one for you, and for this coven because both of you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And if things do get rough, well, I’ve never been afraid to work for the things I wanted.”

Adam kissed him. “True, and that’s one of the things I love most about you. As for the coven, we’ll have a talk tonight and get everyone on the same page. I’ve a notion your magical studies will get a great deal easier after that. At least in the sense of not merely being an exercise in frustration.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Kurt agreed. And it really was. Just hearing someone acknowledge his problem and take it seriously, proposing a workable solution rather than treating it like an imaginary issue that he should just get over so that they could take center stage again, made him feel a thousand times better already.

“Good. As for anyone thinking you hadn’t the strength or talent for being a coven leader, you could not be more wrong. If anything, I believe the others have been assuming too much the other direction. Thinking they didn’t need to spend time on the dull but necessary basics because you showed such incredible instinct. I think they’ve been hesitant to push you in case you proved a bit too powerful. Hearing that you intend to take combat magic from trained professionals may just prove something of a relief.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Kurt’s mouth. “Someone told you about the exploding canary, didn’t they?”

“They might have done,” Adam admitted with a chuckle. “Is it true that LT and Elliott both hid underneath the couch?”

“Yes, and everyone else ducked behind it,” Kurt remembered, the remains of his bad mood dissipating at the memory of his friends diving for cover. “It was pretty funny.”

“I wish I’d seen it.” Adam considered for a moment. “As for your magic, I think we should ask Elliott if he’d mind staying with us for a time. He really ought to be taking point on your training and that will allow the two of you to spend more time together.”

“Why Elliott?”

“Because he’s your Familiar,” Adam said, as if it were self-explanatory. Seeing Kurt’s blank look, he ventured, “Didn’t anyone explain what that means?”

Fighting the desire to roll his eyes, Kurt said, “Apparently not.”

Adam considered that, and then shrugged. “No matter. This is as good a place as any to restart your elementary witchcraft lessons. A Familiar is a very rare creature, and the bond between Familiar and Witch is a deep and special one. Coven leaders, witches who need special training, witches who have no human to appropriately guide them in the use of their power; these are the ones who typically attract a Familiar. It was almost inevitable that you would partner with one.”

“Wait, are you telling me that Elliott auditioned for my band because he was planning to become my Familiar one day?” Kurt said, astonished. He took a seat on one of the tall kitchen bar stools and pulled a pad of paper and a pen from one of the drawers built into the cabinet. He jotted down ‘Lesson 1 – Familiars’ and then made a quick note of what Adam was telling him. If he was going to become a dedicated student of magic, he was going to do it right, and Kurt Hummel had always been a dedicated note-taker in class. “I remember him telling me that he came to New York to be part of my band, but I thought he just meant that he wanted to be part of one that was just starting out. That’s more or less what he told me.”

Adam smiled. “I’m sure that the band was an attractive component in itself, given his musical proclivities, but it’s not as if he was going to introduce himself with, ‘Hi, I’m Elliott. I spend half my life as a cat and I’d like to be yours!’ You’d have assumed he was either barmy or that he fancied you.”

“Those two things are not always mutually exclusive,” Kurt agreed with a wry smile.

“True, especially as I recall my own embarrassingly enthusiastic sales pitch on the day we first met,” Adam laughed. “Your talent as a singer is more than enough to attract admirers, but the band audition probably presented Elliott with an ideal opportunity to get a close-up impression of you without attracting attention.”

With a snort of amusement, Kurt said, “Right. Steam-punk glasses, a top hat, leather outfit that he made a point of telling me he designed himself, sky-high platform boots, about three pounds of glitter, and swinging from a chandelier. That was the kind of ‘not attracting attention’ that Starchild felt would make a decent first impression. And I suppose it worked since that outfit is still burned into my retinas, but I was so freaked out and convinced that he wanted to take over what I was trying to build that I basically told him to get lost. Luckily he didn’t listen to me.”

“He never told me that,” Adam chuckled. “Still, once you did meet face to face, he would have known for certain whether he was meant to be a part of your life. A pure-bred cat Familiar like Tubbington chooses their own charge. A human Animagus like Elliott has the instinctive need to bond, and becomes attracted by the magical signature of their particular witch. A feline homing instinct, if you will.”

“So in a way, Elliott and I were sort of born to be good friends,” Kurt said, finding that idea both pleasing and a little scary. He quickly jotted down this new information. “I’m guessing that a witch who attracts a Familiar is typically trained in magic by them. Do they get something in return from us? I hope the answer is yes, because otherwise this feels pretty selfish.”

Adam smiled, a bit wistfully. “Indeed they do. It benefits your Familiar greatly to spend time with you. You provide them with affection, emotional stability, and a sense of connection. Being a part of a coven is important, but the connection the two of you share together is deeper and more personal. Or at least it’s meant to be. It should ideally be something like the emotional bond you share with me. I don’t fully understand the particulars myself. You’d have to ask one of the cats, but it seems to satisfy some inner craving in a Familiar to have frequent physical contact and plenty of opportunities to help his charge.”

Kurt’s voice was quiet as he said, “So . . . when he offered to Transport me to and from work, Elliott was really asking to spend more time with me. And I refused because I thought I was putting him out, when in reality I was denying him the closeness he needed. Oh, Adam, why didn’t he tell me? He must have seen that I didn’t understand.”

“It may have been a mutual misunderstanding. You thought you were putting him out, and he may have feared that he was crowding you. Don’t forget, Elliott is still new to this relationship as well. I wouldn’t worry. I’m sure he hasn’t held it against you,” Adam said kindly. “Familiars aren’t quite like ordinary witches. They live a long time, barring accident or injury. That old saw about cats having nine lives was undoubtedly based upon them. Tubbington is considerably older than any of us, I suspect. I do know that he was bonded to Brittany’s grandmother before her, and that he’s now chosen to expand his protection to Santana.”

“And to the rest of us.”

“Correct.” Adam agreed, eyes twinkling. “I believe he sees the lot of us as unruly kittens in need of a firm paw. Plus he’s more or less mentoring Elliott, who is quite as young as he seems.”

“Why didn’t I know any of this?” Kurt complained, annoyed. “It seems like these are things somebody should have clued me into if I’m really supposed to be the coven leader.”

“I suppose the right time just never presented itself.”

Scrubbing a hand over his face in an effort not to start yelling, Kurt blew out a tense breath. “That’s definitely something that’s going on the list to talk to the others about. If the right time doesn’t ‘present itself’ then they should frigging well put up with the awkward! For crying out loud, Tubbington stayed with me an entire week when Brittany was out of town, right before we went searching for you. It seems like he could have found a minute in there somewhere between raiding my cupboards and binge watching my Netflix to tell me some of this.”

“Agreed, though perhaps that’s another thing you were meant to be learning from Elliott. You’re a new witch, but I don’t believe any of you lot have ever had much experience with covens before now. I have, because my family is massive and we have connections to at least half a dozen covens. Oh, you smile darling, but my parents’ little brood of four practically made them the childless couple of the clan. One can hardly toss a rock back home without hitting a Crawford or one of our many offshoots.”

“You should know, you’re making me very curious to see your home town,” Kurt said with a grin. “I bet they’ll throw a parade if you dare to show your face back there after being gone so long.”

Adam looked a trifle disturbed by that idea. “Hmm. They might at that. At any rate, what I was trying to say is that you should give yourself, and the others, some slack and try to enjoy this new experience. Meanwhile, I’ll speak to Tubbington about being a little less circumspect with his knowledge. As for Elliott, I want you to spend time with him. It’s important that you two bond as much as possible, though I am here and now drawing a line against his accompanying us on our honeymoon.”

Kurt laughed. “Agreed. You’re sure it won’t bother you, though? That Elliott won’t have the same Witch/Familiar bond with you that he has with me?”

Knowing enough about Kurt’s relationship history to know what he was really saying, Adam said, “No, darling. I’ve known many cats in my life and though we’ve always got along well, to this point none have ever chosen me for a bonding, and I’m all right with that. As I told you, it’s a rare thing. The fact that you have been chosen just makes you even more special in my eyes.”

Kurt heaved a contented and audibly relieved sigh. He had had too much experience with people who only seemed able to be happy for him, or supportive of him, if there was something in it for them. He was getting used to it, but it still caught him off guard sometimes when Adam would freely offer no-strings support. “Thank you. And if you want one, I’ll be happy to find a nice non-magical kitten that can be yours alone. It can be one of my bonding projects with Elliott. He loves kittens.”

Adam laughed. “Thank you. I may take you up on that one day.” Letting him go, he picked up the butter dish again and placed in Kurt’s hands. “So, back to work. Hold this in your hand, center on just the individual thread that is connected to heat. I’ve realized that the last time we did this, I simply guided you to the correct place without showing you how to find it. So this time I want you to see and feel it for yourself. Separate your Talents like picking out one particular voice section in a choir.”

Eyes closed, Kurt did as he was told. His magical energies were usually something he viewed as a whole. He found that thinking of them in terms of a choir helped a great deal. He was able to relate this lesson back to the one Dani had given about separating singing from spell-casting, and he remembered something else he had been told early on; that nearly all witches seemed to be musical in some way. Music was something he had always been able to understand. “That’s it,” said Adam, as he felt Kurt relax. “Now, what do you feel?”

Kurt considered how best to describe it. “The kinetic magic that I use to move things and levitate is the ‘loudest’ part,” he said. “The melody, I suppose you might call it. I can touch that with hardly any effort at all. I’ve noticed before that moving things has gotten a lot easier the more I’ve grown used to having the ability.”

“Undoubtedly your primary power,” Adam observed. “What else?”

“The thermal is probably the next strongest. Now that I’m looking at it next to the kinetic, it kind of reminds me of when Rachel and I used to compete for solos. Both wanting to be noticed, but only one getting all the attention.”

Adam laughed. “So moving things about is your Rachel power, and setting things alight is your Kurt power, eh? That may be a good way for you to think of them. It also may explain why you tend to ignite things when the frustration builds. One can only take so much rubbing the wrong way before they explode.”

Opening his eyes again, Kurt rolled them at his grinning fiancé. “Oh, ha ha. What does that make my transference magic that I use to change clothes?”

“Well, the power is understated, unique, and quite spectacular when you choose to show it off. What was the name of that friend of yours? The one you said always got overlooked until it was time for the big power note?”

Kurt laughed. “The Mercedes power? I like it! And I think she’d like knowing that she’s finally been put in charge of my wardrobe.”

“Add in a few minor dribs and drabs, like potion making and your power of Sight, and you have a very fine choir of internal magics,” Adams told him, liking this analogy more and more as he noticed how comfortable Kurt was with it. “But unlike your daft choir master, this time you get to be in charge of who gets which solo, and when.”

Following Adam’s instruction carefully as he showed him how to draw forth just a hint of well controlled power, Kurt activated his thermal magic, watching with delight as the butter in the dish obligingly softened around the edges, becoming creamy rather than melting into liquid.

Adam made a satisfied sound in his throat, and picked up Kurt’s free hand to hold it over the fragrant garlic bits. “Excellent. Now keep the butter just at that state, then reach into the garlic and feel its essence,” he said quietly. “Imagine the plant as nourishing and full of good health, then draw that quality forward. Sort of coax it into being its best self.”

It was hard to imbue personality into a few bits of garlic, but Kurt tried his best. It was difficult but when he turned on his Sight at Adam’s command, he was surprised to see the garlic take on a soft golden glow. What’s more, it suddenly looked mouth-watering.

“Very good. Now just add the garlic to the butter and we’ll seal our charm with a sprinkle of spice,” Adam said, singing a few soft wordless notes over their concoction as Kurt stirred it together. The butter suddenly ‘flashed’ in Kurt’s Sight, startling him so much he nearly dropped the dish. Having expected the reaction, Adam steadied him before their experiment could end in disaster. “And there we go. All done but for spreading it over our bread and baking it in.”

“That’s it? So it’s . . .?” Kurt said, blinking his vision back to normal and gesturing curiously toward the innocent looking spread.

Adam took a tiny swipe of butter onto the tip of his index finger and held it out with a smile. “Yes, indeed. Taste for yourself.” Kurt obeyed, wrapping his lips around the end of Adam’s finger and sipping off the butter, just slowly enough to make his pupils dilate. Adam cleared his throat. “What do you think?”

“Delicious,” Kurt said, teasing a bit. Then his brow furrowed as he licked his lips and realized, “Actually it really is. It tastes fantastic.”

Blue eyes twinkling, Adam said, “How’s the blocked nose?”

“How did you know I had . . . ? Whoa. Adam, it’s gone!”

Adam grinned brightly at his astonishment. “You sounded a bit snuffly when you first got home. And now I’ll bet you’re right as rain.”

Kurt pulled a deep breath in through his nose. Winter colds were such an average occurrence that he had barely noticed how little air he was getting before. “That’s amazing. You could totally corner the pharmaceutical market with this stuff.”

He laughed. “If it wouldn’t be a complete violation of secrecy and ethics, I might. But you certainly did your share. I guided the power and spoke the necessary incantation, but the rest was all you. You did very well at your first potion, and I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” he said with a grin. Kurt personally felt a bit doubtful that he had really done anything, given that Adam had sung the spell that bound it all together, but it was nice to know that he might be able to do something similar one day. He glanced at the clock. “Oh, gosh! The others will be here any minute!”

As if conjured by the thought, a knock sounded on the front door. Kurt recognized the signatures of his friends as they touched the wards. He unlocked the entrance with a thought and yelled, “Door’s open. Come on in!”

The others piled in, the entire coven having arrived en mass; Dani, Elliott, Santana, Monica, Johnny, and finally Brittany.

“Hey guys. Something smells great!” Johnny greeted as he and Dani both passed over bottles of wine they had brought to complement dinner. “You said we were having pasta. I hope this is okay.”

“It’s perfect, thanks. Welcome everyone!” Kurt said, accepting the offering with a hug of greeting for each of them. Noticing how cold the embraces were, and how much snow was covering coats and hats, it was obvious that the group had not used any teleportation magic to get here tonight, “Is the storm getting any worse?”

Brittany, who had been looking oddly as if she were pregnant, opened her long overcoat and presented Lord Tubbington, who she set on the sofa before moving to give the hosting couple a warm hug. LT seemed disinclined to change to his human form right away, just stretching and yawning as he hopped up on the couch-back to observe the fun. “It’s pretty windy and we only have a couple of inches so far,” she said, taking off the coat, “but we’re in for a big blizzard, so we’ll stay the night with you. I brought pajamas for everyone so we can have a sleep-over. I got you purple ones so you can wear your new hat with them if you want! I bet you’ll look super cute. And also sexy, so Adam will want to keep you warm tonight.”

“He already has been if my Spidey-senses don’t deceive me,” Santana noted, taking off her scarf and looping it around Kurt’s neck to tug him closer. She looked into his surprised eyes and said, “Oh, yeah, our baby is finally getting some back!”

Kurt shoved his cackling ex-roommate away with a blush. “I never should have told you about Adam singing me that song.”

“Notice he’s not denying your observation, though!” Dani teased. She gave Adam’s rear a little squeeze in passing that had him yelping in surprise. “Good job, gorgeous.”

Needing to change the subject, Kurt looked to Monica for a distraction. “Are we really expecting a blizzard tonight?”

She nodded. “At least a couple of days. I’d say closer to three.”

“In that case, I’d better email the script revision Maggie asked for tonight, and get any homework assignments the professors might have put up on the NYADA website, just in case we lose power,” Kurt said, not questioning her prediction. Along with metallurgy and scrying, Monica was more reliable than a meteorologist at forecasting the weather. “Um, by the way. Not that you guys aren’t welcome, but why exactly do you need to stay here tonight? Between Elliott and Santana, you can all get home safely no matter what the weather conditions are.”

“Where would be the fun in that?” Santana demanded. She grabbed a grocery bag out of Elliott’s hand and shoved it at Kurt. “This is Hummel coven bonding night, right? So why not make it last! And since you’re doing all of the cooking tonight, we brought dessert. Hope you guys still like B and J.”

Kurt opened the bag to show Adam at least a dozen different small containers of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. “We’re about to have a blizzard and you got ice cream?”

She hopped up on one of the kitchen stools. “Sure, why not? We didn’t know what flavor you guys would want, so we bought a couple of everything they had in the freezer case.”

“Well I think both sleep-over and ice cream are excellent ideas,” Adam said, looking at a tub of Phish Food with a covetous glint in his eye. “And the wine will go perfectly with lasagna. Thank you all for the additions. Kurt and I were just making up some garlic bread, so dinner will be ready in a trice.”

“Hope that means soon,” LT said, projecting his mental voice to the room.

Kurt grinned. “It does. Should be ready in just a few minutes. Adam and I made a good-health charm for it, so it anyone is feeling under the weather this should help.”

Dani immediately looked interested and came around to examine the bowl of garlic spread. “May I?”

“Please,” Adam invited, smiling proudly at Kurt when the girl used a spoon to take a tiny dab of butter and taste it, promptly following with a deep uncongested breath of relief.

“Wow, this is good stuff,” she approved. “Like, hundred proof cold medicine!”

Kurt was a little concerned, “Too strong?”

“No way! Johnny, you need to try some of this.”

As Johnny came over to get a taste, Adam said, “Go ahead, but don’t eat too much of it. We still need enough to cover the garlic toast. It’s strong because it’s in pure form. Once it’s baked into the bread the potency will lessen a bit, but it will still be good for curing any wintertime sniffles.”

As Adam quickly moved to rescue the enhanced butter and get it added to the bread before his greedy friends could sample it all away, Kurt pulled Elliott aside for a private word.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so distant with you,” he blurted. “I’ve had a lot on my mind and I didn’t know that I was pushing you away when I refused your help with getting to and from places. You’re my friend and my Familiar, and I want you to know that I appreciate both of those things. And if you want to hang out more, or do things together more often, I would like that. Magical or non-magical, because Adam thinks that we really need more of both, and I agree with him, and he also thinks you should stay with us until the wedding so that you and I can develop a proper Witch-Familiar bond.”

Elliott looked startled by this quick burst of contrition. Then his usual bright grin appeared and he wrapped his long arms around Kurt to give him a back-thumping hug. “I’ve missed you too, buddy,” he said, not a trace of hurt or anger in his voice. “Of course we can do more together. You’re my witch, Kurt, so I’m always here for you. And did you just say wedding?”

“Oh. Oops, I hadn’t meant to spill the beans that soon,” Kurt said with a surprised laugh. He’d been in a hurry to get everything out and hadn’t even realized. “But yes. I asked him a couple of days ago and he said yes. We’ve decided to get married on Valentine’s Day and I’d really like it if you’d agree to be my best man. Or best cat! We can make you a tiny top hat and a sparkly tie if you prefer it that way.”

The taller man burst out laughing. “That could be super fun, just to see the looks on your other guests’ faces! But naw, man. I’m honored and I would love to. And for you, I’ll do the traditional human in a tux routine, or whatever you want me to do. I’ll even whisk you away to whatever honeymoon destination you choose, airplane free, as my wedding gift. That’s what being a Familiar is all about. Well, that and being your magical guide.”

“I’m just now learning what that really means,” Kurt admitted. “I have a few things to talk to all of you guys about tonight. Some important changes that need to happen if we’re all going to be happy and successful as a coven, but first I really need to make sure that you know how much I love and appreciate you and all that you do for me. Before any of this witch stuff happened, you were my best friend, Elliott. I don’t want that to change just because I have different commitments now.”

“I love you too, man, and nothing is going to change that.” He looked at Adam, who was now engaged in a game of self - defense with his butter spatula as he laughed and struggled to get the pan of garlic bread into the oven unmolested. “He’s a good guy, and I’m really happy that you two found each other again. Speaking of which, you both seem unusually relaxed tonight. Santana was right about you two, wasn’t she?”

Kurt could not help the silly grin that spread across his face. He nodded. “A couple of days now, and it’s every bit as wonderful as I knew it would be.”

“Aww, congratulations! On everything, not just the sex, but definitely congrats on that too.”

He folded his laughing friend into another enthusiastic hug, and when he let go, Kurt was startled to see LT in his newly changed human form standing right next to them. “Mazel tov, kid,” the large man said, clapping one pudgy hand on Kurt’s back and rubbing his fingers over the surface in a way that reminded Kurt of a kneading paw. “You’re a big commitment kind of guy, as taking on all of us kooky hairballs goes to show. You and Adam feel right together, and I believe that you’re doing the right thing by making it official.”

“Thank you, Lord Tubbington,” he said, not quite sure why he felt an instinctive need to be so formal. Perhaps it was because the man/cat was being completely serious for once. “That means a lot.”

Suddenly, a squeal from Dani rent the air and probably nearly burst poor Adam’s eardrum since she was now hugging him with all her might. Monica and Johnny were grinning like proud parents and clapping him on the back.

“I think Adam may have just spread the news,” Kurt laughed, not minding at all, especially when Brittany and Santana instantly ran to embrace him, Santana nearly choking him to death with the ferocity of her hug.

“Good job, lady-face,” she said, sounding a little choked up, though she attempted to pretend like she was not tearing up by quickly dashing away the moisture as she moved over to give Brittany a turn. “And good riddance to that last sham of an engagement. Consider it the disastrous rehearsal dinner that you’re supposed to have before the perfect wedding day. Please tell me you’re going to use a High Magic Day for the ceremonies?”

Kurt grinned. “Valentine’s Day!”

She made a face. “Seriously? Ballads, and flowers, and cupid vomiting pink and white hearts all over everything? Although now that I say it out loud, that does sound like your kind of day. Still, hasn’t that holiday been kind of cursed for you, between Gorilla Boy, and the Schuester-Pillsbury cold-feet-o-rama, in which you were injected with loser venom by the walking grease-gun?”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the reminders. But that’s kind of the point. Adam knows I’ve never had a decent Valentine’s Day and he suggested we sort of redeem the holiday by making it our own. And you can’t deny that the level of positive feeling in the air created by all those expressions of love will make this the ideal High Magic Day.”

“He’s right,” Brittany told her girlfriend. “You know that’s why it’s one of the most popular days for the commitment ceremony, as well as weddings. I think it’s a great choice, Kurt.”

“Commitment ceremony?” Kurt repeated, realizing that Santana had also mentioned ‘ceremonies’ in plural. “What’s that?”

Brittany clapped her hands like a little girl. “That’s right! You’ve never been to one before! It’s a magical ceremony performed around the two of you by your family and best friends. It reinforces the connection you and Adam share, and the love we all feel for the two of you. It’s a spiritual wedding, different from a legal one.”

“Think Pagans,” Elliott told him. “The rite stems from centuries ago. It involves some ancient incantations and a couple of rituals to invoke luck and love, and to celebrate your strength as a committed couple. And don’t worry, it’s not a religious ceremony in the modern sense. We invoke the elements and the spirits, not God.”

“That sounds really nice,” Kurt decided, appreciating that Elliott knew him well enough to respect of his atheist beliefs. “And I’m actually glad that we have a way to celebrate as witches, since the actual wedding reception will have both magical and Standard guests. I haven’t sent out any invitations yet, but my boss has given us The Ballroom for our reception and I want to invite pretty much everyone I know to celebrate with us!”

He laughed, feeling giddy at the thought. The others made impressed noises at the news that Kurt and Adam’s party would be held in such a venue, immediately offering their services as decoration committee.

The rest of the coven danced over to offer their own hugs and congratulations to Kurt, as Elliott, Brittany, Santana, and LT did the same for Adam.

“You’ve got the reception booked, but what about the wedding?” Johnny asked. “Are you just going to sign some papers for a judge, or have an actual ceremony with an officiant?”

Kurt and Adam looked at each other, question in their eyes. Given the short planning time, they had thought to just ask Adam’s father to whisk them to the courthouse for a quick service in front of the grooms’ two families. They shared this plan, bracing themselves for reactions of disappointment, but to their surprise and relief, the coven was completely on board.

“Great idea,” Tubbington approved. “That way you can get married without a lot of people telling you how you should do it. If you want, we’ll come to the courthouse to watch. Or we can just greet you at the reception hall with a big fanfare of ‘Here Comes the Groom’. Then it’s party time!”

“That’s the part everyone shows up for anyway,” Santana agreed practically. “Cake, dancing, free food, booze, embarrassing toasts from your friends . . .”

The wicked gleam in her eyes left little doubt as to which part she was volunteering to provide.

“I can take care of the food,” Dani offered.

Johnny chimed in, “I have an uncle who owns a bakery in Midtown. He’s from the Standard side of the family but he knows all about us. He totally owes me a favor for some space savings and oven efficiency spells I did on his store when he first opened the place. You’ll have the best wedding cake ever. He does some beautiful three tier cakes, unless you need more. What flavors do you want?”

They grinned at each other and Adam said, “Three will be wonderful, and thank you mate. As for the flavors, what do you say to a vanilla base, a champagne middle, and a chocolate cheesecake top layer?”

Kurt’s eyes gleamed with approval. “Yum!”

“Sure,” Johnny said, pulling out his phone and sending a text to his uncle without delay. For Valentine’s Day, ordering early would be vital, favor or not. He received a chime back almost at once, showing it to his friends with a grin. It said, ‘Glad to! For all the $$$ you’ve saved me, your friends can even have an extra layer of white cake.’ “What do you think?”

“Sold,” Kurt said happily.

Brittany offered to conjure up as many flowers as they liked, and Monica and Elliott both had some connections on champagne and other liquor from past jobs they had worked. It wouldn’t be free, but given how many other expenses had just vanished from his planned budget, Kurt had no problem with that.

“You guys are amazing,” he told them. “And I’m really sorry I’ve been so stand-offish lately. I’ve been avoiding you instead of talking to you, and now I’m realizing how stupid that really was.”

The oven timer dinged just at that moment and Adam suggested, “Why don’t we all get our supper dished up and eaten. Kurt and I have some things to discuss with you lot, and I think that conversation would best be had over full stomachs.”

“Agreed,” Tubbington said at once, already heading for the kitchen. In his view, everything was best done over a full stomach.

The others curiously followed, but held their questions. Soon all nine of them had full plates in front of them and were gathered around the dining room table. Conveniently large enough to accommodate them all, complete with chairs, courtesy of Johnny and Brittany who used an expansion spell and a conjuring spell, respectively.

Food, wine, bread, and salad were enthusiastically consumed with many compliments, and it was not until the dishes were washed and everyone was gathered again in the living room with pajamas on (except for LT, who had chosen to resume his natural form instead), that Adam broached the topic that most concerned him.

“It has recently come to my attention that we, and I decidedly do include myself in that, have bollixed up Kurt’s magical training to a shameful degree,” he began. He held up a hand to stop the immediate babble of protest that rose up. “Did you know that Kurt was unaware that he needed to find his magical center and separate the individual Talents before performing complex spells? Or that one needs to weave power and spells together when creating a potion?”

They all fell silent, looking at one another in surprise.

“He also was unaware until this evening exactly what having a Familiar entailed, including the fact that they’re meant to be spending extra time together to cement their bond,” Adam continued. He met each pair of shame filled eyes squarely, reaching to his side to take hold of his fiancé’s hand. “Each of us has assumed that someone else was showing him the ropes, that he knew the basics of witchcraft simply because he was using it somewhat effectively. As we’ve all noted more than once, Kurt has enormous power at his disposal, but we’ve essentially left a powder keg sitting next to a lit furnace. There’ve been some complaints that we aren’t moving fast enough to confront Blaine, but what happens if Kurt goes to face him having little more idea than his enemy does of how to control his power?”

Elliott winced. “Kablooey.”

Adam nodded. “Precisely. Someone will get hurt, and if we’re lucky, that someone won’t be our own coven leader. He’s had dribs and drabs of training. How to See, how to separate normal singing from casting a spell, how to recognize and differentiate one power from another, but it’s like having a lot of individual cooking ingredients with no earthly idea how to blend them into an edible recipe.”

“We’ve been expecting gourmet meals from somebody who’d never even seen a spice-rack before we met,” Dani concluded with a self-directed grimace. “Shit.”

“And I thought you needed space to take care of Adam, so I’ve given you so much space that you’re on a different planet,” Elliott concluded, wrapping his arm around Kurt’s shoulders and giving him an apologetic squeeze. “Man, I’m sorry.”

Monica, who was sitting on the coffee table, reached out and squeezed Kurt’s free hand. “Sweetie, why didn’t you tell us you were struggling so much? I agree, this is totally our bad, but if you were completely lost why didn’t you tell us? You’re our coven leader, as well as our friend. It’s our job and our duty to help you when you need it.”

Kurt was blushing furiously by now. This was necessary, and would hopefully be very helpful in the future, but for now he just felt embarrassed. “I . . . I guess I didn’t really know that either. You all have had magic for years. Most of you grew up with it, and have been surrounded by it all your lives even before you could use it yourself. I didn’t even know witches were a real thing until a few months ago. I guess I should have said something, but I just felt more and more lost and stupid.”

“It’s hard to know what you need to know, when you don’t already know what you don’t know,” Johnny said wisely, holding his serious expression for a moment as everyone turned confused eyes on him. Then he grinned and said, “Y’know?”

The entire group laughed, easing the tension considerably.

“So basically, what you’re telling us is that we’re all a bunch of dumb-asses and Kurt isn’t the only one who needs to go back to the beginning,” Santana concluded with a wry smile. She and Brittany were sharing the love-seat, Santana stretched across her girlfriend’s lap, with Tubbington comfortably lounging on her. Unable to get up, she formed a fist and aimed a little force-field at Kurt to give him a long distance punch to the arm. “Noted and painfully accepted. Jesus, can you imagine what Coach Sylvester would have said if one of us had showed up for Nationals after having skipped nearly every practice that season?”

“You think this is hard?” Brittany barked. “Try building a squad of assassins from a kindergarten class! That’s hard! And also? Get off my squad before the stench of mediocrity kills us all.”

All of the former McKinley students cracked up, while the others just looked at each other in confusion, then shrugged, realizing you probably had to have been there.

Adam continued. “The good news is that we’ve discovered the difficulty before too much harm was done, so we can still take steps to remedy it. Our first step is to invite Elliott to stay with us and give Kurt some one on one instruction whenever he’s free of other commitments.”

“He’s already invited me,” Elliott said with a nod, “and I’m totally up for it. I promise I won’t get in the way, and I won’t sleep on your bed unless I know you’re not, uh . . . otherwise occupied.”

His teasing grin earned him a smile and a quick elbow to the ribs from his blushing best friend.

Adam cleared his throat loudly. “Ahem, at any rate, that’s taken care of. Secondly, I have recently begun looking for employment and I have a couple of promising prospects. If that goes well, it will free up more of Kurt’s time, as well as giving him relief from being our sole financial provider.”

There were several interested questions at that, and Adam quickly explained what had been happening since they last met.

“I gave my notice at the diner,” Kurt added, drawing a look of approval from Adam and surprise from the others. “I can’t keep up with all my commitments, including devoting more time to my magic, if I’m going to be a good friend or a good leader. Plus, I’m taking on a TA position with Cassandra July next semester at school, and hopefully devoting a few hours a week to combat magic with Troy and other jocks. I talked to him briefly today and he said he’ll check his schedule and help me work something out.”

“Kurt feels that he needs to learn combative spells, including self-defense against magical attacks, before we proceed against his ex,” Adam said.

LT nodded his head. “Smart thinkin’, Junior. Wild witches are hard to predict, even at their most innocent, and this one is anything but. With all that local power to steal from his brainwashed friends and little birdie buddies, he’s both dangerous and potentially clueless. I’m pretty sure sending Adam to the void was a complete fuck-up rather than a calculated move, and who even knows if that was an isolated incident or not. Building up your defenses is smart, and so is getting that training from an outside source that won’t be afraid to smack you around a little.”

“That’s what Adam thought too,” Kurt said ruefully.

He shrugged one furry shoulder. “Best way to learn, kid. Blaine ain’t gonna be giving you pats on the head if things get serious.”

Kurt agreed, “I know. He came at my head with a bo staff in Stage Combat class just three weeks after I’d gotten out of the hospital with a skull fracture, and that was when we were supposed to be in love. I’m not taking any chances.”

Unhappy expressions crossed every face at this news. Dani lifted her hand, catching Kurt’s attention, then formed a tiny ice sculpture of Blaine Anderson in her palm, which she then pointedly crushed into powder. This wordless show of support warmed his heart.

Feeling like everything was finally traveling down the right road again, Kurt told them, “In addition to the magical training, it would be good for me and for all of us as a group, to spend more time doing things together that are unrelated to being witches. I’ve . . . well, I’ve kind of been feeling lately that nobody else cared about that side of our friendship. We never have band practice anymore, or go to a movie, or just have an evening like this one that’s about having fun just being together. I’ve really missed you guys.”

Monica launched herself across the space between sofa and table and hugged him. Elliott joined in, then Dani, and soon all of them had formed a laughing, tearful dog-pile of witches, with Kurt in the center.

“You and me, hot dogs in the park next week,” Tubbington offered, transforming to his human self long enough to ruffle Kurt’s hair before switching back and flouncing out of the room on a mission towards Kurt and Adam’s comfortable bed. “Have a good night, kiddos. Save me some sausage and waffles in the morning.”

They all laughed, yelling goodnight to their retreating mentor. Taking his cue, the visitors took a few minutes to make up places to sleep, pushing back the furniture and making a cozy circle after Brittany helpfully whisked in the sleeping bags and air beds she had bought but left at her and Santana’s apartment. Kurt and Adam mutually decided to stay out here and join the others, leaving their room to the no doubt already slumbering cat.

“I really am sorry we let things get so far out of hand,” Dani said quietly to Kurt as the two of them spread blankets atop one of the air beds. “We’ll make up a rotation so that everyone can share magical knowledge as our schedules match up. And you and I are totally on for mani-pedi day once this storm clears up. Okay?”

“Count me in for that!” Monica offered with a grin, “And we should totally schedule in band practice once or twice a week. We can do it for fun, but One Three Hill needs to book some paying gigs, man!”

Elliott held up a hand and dipped his head, shaking his hand like he was attending a revival meeting, “Amen, sister.”

Kurt laughed. “Let’s start with the band practice, then figure out the other once things cool down, okay? My show at the Lexington is coming up in only two weeks, so I need to devote my spare time to that for now. Plus, I still haven’t come up with a song for my mid-winter critique.”

“We can totally help with that,” Brittany offered. “We’ve got three days until the blizzard clears. We can come up with choreo for you! Oh, unless that cranky turban lady is judging you again. She didn’t seem to like our first performance, even though you wore the hot gold pants.”

“The dick framers?” Santana asked, looking interested. “You never told me you wore those for your NYADA audition. And Tight-ass Tibideaux still rejected you? I thought she was straight.”

Kurt shrugged. “She has three ex husbands, but maybe that’s the problem.”

“Those gold pants definitely would have won my vote,” Adam murmured, wrapping his arms around Kurt’s middle as he came up behind him and kissed his neck. “I’ve seen the photos.”

Hugging those arms, Kurt looked around the room at his busy, laughing, chattering coven. The future suddenly felt a great deal brighter. He did not know why he had been so worried about talking to these people for so long. This coven was not like his fickle friends of the past. Not even the members who had been a part of that past. They, like Kurt himself, had grown up and changed for the better.

He smiled. He would take that leap of faith and believe that they would continue to move forward together.

“Who wants ice cream?”

THE END

#Witch!Kurt #Kadam #One Three Hill Coven #Lots of talking - they had a lot to say and would not be stopped #Seriously this sucker is over 12K words long

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mrhotmaster · 4 years

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Best Amazon Prime Video Movies In India (February 2020)

Best Movies Of Amazon Prime Video In India (February 2020)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day From Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.

Amazon Prime Video's motion picture acquisitions probably won't have a similar global profundity as Netflix, yet it's without a doubt more grounded and more extravagant in its nearby assortment, with its titles spreading over the Tamil, Telugu, and the Malayalam universe of filmmaking notwithstanding Bollywood. Furthermore, that is coordinated with an incredible assortment of American imports, to convey an assortment that can more than hold fast against the world's greatest spilling administration. It needs with its unique endeavors — a couple are available underneath, for what it's worth — but at the same time it's significantly increasingly moderate at Rs. 999 every year, versus Netflix's Rs. 650 per month. To pick the best motion pictures on Amazon Prime Video, we depended on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and IMDb appraisals to make a waitlist. The remainder of them was favored for Indian movies given the setbacks of surveys aggregators in that office. Furthermore, we utilized our own article judgment to include or expel a couple. This rundown will be refreshed once at regular intervals if there are any commendable augmentations or if a few motion pictures are expelled from the administration, so bookmark this page and continue checking in. Here are the best movies right now accessible on Amazon Prime Video in India, arranged one after another in order.

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Hoodwinked into servitude on the record of work, Steve McQueen's adjustment of a free New York dark man's (Chiwetel Ejiofor) nineteenth century journal is a staggering genuine story, and a significant watch.

3 Idiots (2009)

Right now the Indian training framework's social weights, two companions relate their school days and how their third tragically deceased musketeer (Aamir Khan) propelled them to think imaginatively and freely in a vigorously conventionalist world. Co-composed and coordinated by Rajkumar Hirani, who stands denounced in the #MeToo development.

Agantuk [The Stranger] (1991)

In Satyajit Ray's last film, a secretive and world-tired pioneer comes back to India following 35 years to see his lone enduring family member, his niece, however experiences difficulty persuading the family who he professes to be.

Aladdin (1992)

Disney puts its activity season onto the well known society story of a road urchin who camouflages himself as an affluent ruler in the wake of finding a genie in an enchantment light, trying to dazzle the Sultan's little girl.

Amal (2007)

After just a few days before his arrival a poor Delhi rickshaw driver (Rupinder Nagra) was named sole inheritor by a very rich near by person (Naseeruddin Shah).

American Beauty (1999)

A discouraged promoting official (Kevin Spacey) amidst an emotional meltdown succumbs to his high school little girl's closest companion, in Sam Mendes' parody of American white collar class that at last won five Oscars including Best Picture.

Anand (1971)

Rajesh Khanna stars as the eponymous giddy man, who doesn't let his conclusion of an uncommon type of malignant growth impede making the most of what's before him. Told from the perspective of his PCP companion (Amitabh Bachchan). Hrishikesh Mukherjee coordinates.

Anbe Sivam (2003)

Kamal Haasan and right now R. Madhavan star in this tamil cult film, in which both flights are spread over a thousand kilometers from home after a substantial flight drops all the flights. The material was also written by Haasan.

Andaz Apna (1994)

Two bums (Aamir Khan and Salman Khan) who have a place with white collar class families compete for the expressions of love of a beneficiary, and unintentionally become her defenders from a nearby hoodlum in Rajkumar Santoshi's religion parody top pick.

Ankhon Dekhi (2014)

After an enlightening encounter including his little girl's marriage, a man in his late 50s (Sanjay Mishra) settle that he will have a hard time believing anything he can't see, which normally prompts some emotional intricacies.

Aruvi (2016)

A social parody from a debutante essayist chief, which follows an eponymous young lady (Aditi Balan), who experiencing an episode of existential emergency, chooses to sparkle a light on the consumerist and misanthropic practices in her general public.

Back to the Future (1985)

Relatively few movies approach the overall intrigue and inheritance left by this science fiction passage including the notorious DeLorean that Michael J. Fox's character uses to (incidentally) time travel to when his folks were his age. Unusual then that it didn't get the green light for a considerable length of time.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015)

The intensely dubious Salman Khan stars as a sincere Hindu Brahmin and an enthusiastic lover of Hanuman, who sets out on an excursion to rejoin a quiet six-year-old Muslim young lady, lost in India, with her folks in Pakistan. Kareena Kapoor co-stars. Salman is an indicted poacher, out on bail, and blamed for chargeable manslaughter, pending intrigue.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

The life of John Nash, a splendid however asocial mathematician, from his winding into neurotic schizophrenia and taking a shot at a mystery venture he made up, to recovering authority over his life and turning into a Nobel Laureate.

The Big Sick (2017)

Kumail Nanjiani stars as himself right now approximately dependent on his sentiment with his significant other, in which a hopeful entertainer interfaces with his sweetheart's folks after she falls into a strange trance state.

Blood Diamond (2006)

Set during the Sierra Leone Civil War when the new century rolled over, an arms dealer (Leonardo DiCaprio) vows to support an angler (Djimon Hounsou) discover his family in return for an extremely valuable precious stone the last found in a stream.

Bombay (1995)

Set during the 1992–93 Bombay riots, author chief Mani Ratnam offers a gander at the public pressures that cause a strain on the connection between a Muslim lady (Manisha Koirala) and a Hindu man (Arvind Swamy).

The Bourne set of three (2002–07)

Actually not a set of three, yet the initial three parts — Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum — featuring Matt Damon in the number one spot as the main CIA professional killer experiencing amnesia were acceptable to such an extent that they changed the longest-running covert agent establishment ever: James Bond.

Brazil (1985)

Terry Gilliam mixes social parody with his mark visual imaginativeness right now fi set in a retro-future world, which follows a modest agent who turns into a foe of the state in the wake of attempting to address a managerial blunder.

Commander Fantastic (2016)

After his bipolar spouse out of nowhere bites the dust, a single parent (Viggo Mortensen), who raised his six kids living off the matrix and detached from society, must acquaint them with this present reality just because.

Ditty (2015)

Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara star right now, and exquisite show around two lesbians living in perfect inverse universes in 1950s New York, as they explore cultural traditions and their own needs. In light of Patricia Highsmith's tale, The Price of Salt.

Cast Away (2000)

After his plane accident arrives in the Pacific, a FedEx worker (Tom Hanks) awakens on a betrayed island and must utilize everything available to him and change himself genuinely to endure living alone.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks appear in Frank Abagnale's (DiCaprio) biopic by Steven Spielberg, who, while being checked out by FBI director, created large numbers of dollars of check as a young person.

Chak De! India (2007)

Excluded and denounced by the press and open, a previous Muslim men's hockey chief (Shah Rukh Khan) plans to vindicate himself by training the unpolished Indian ladies' hockey group to brilliance.

Act (1963)

After her important fellow has been killed while trying to leave Paris, three men who need a fortune he has taken and are looking for the help of the outsider (Cary Grant) are looking for a young lady (Audrey Hepburn)." The greatest film ever made by Hitchcock" is known as "Hitchcock."

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Visit colleagues Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are behind this 'redo' of the 1971 unique dependent on Roald Dahl's 1964 book, where the title character — a little fellow (Freddie Highmore) — wins a voyage through an inventive chocolatier's chocolate industrial facility with four different children.

Chhoti Si Baat (1976)

This transformation of the 1960 British Film School for Scoundrels is the story of a smooth and striking man for love's expressions, Bombay, where a gentle young man (Amol Palekar) went to Colonel (Ashok Kumar) for life mentorship. It appears as Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Hema Malini. The co-ordinatesof Basu Chatterjee.

Chupke (1975)

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's change of the Bengali film Chhadmabeshi, in which a recently married spouse (Dharmendra) chooses to pull tricks on his significant other's (Sharmila Tagore) as far as anyone knows brilliant brother by marriage, discharged in a similar year as Sholay. Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan additionally star.

Guarantee (2004)

Tom Cruise plays a contract killer who takes a cab driver, played by Jamie Foxx, prisoner in Michael Mann's neo-noir wrongdoing spine chiller, in which the last should make sense of how to stop the previous.

The Conjuring (2013)

A couple of paranormal examiners (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are procured by a family who have been encountering progressively upsetting occasions at their farmhouse, right now from James Wan.

Insane Rich Asians (2018)

In light of the novel of a similar name, a Chinese-American educator ventures most of the way around the globe to Singapore to meet her sweetheart's incredibly rich family, where she should battle with abnormal family members, envious socialites, and the beau's opposing mother (Michelle Yeoh).

A Death in the Gunj (2016)

In Konkona Sen Sharma's full length directorial debut, a timid and touchy Indian understudy (Vikrant Massey) addresses a substantial cost for his delicacy, while on an excursion with his vain family members and family companions. Ranvir Shorey, Kalki Koechlin star close by.

The Death of Stalin (2017)

Veep maker Armando Iannucci approaches this earth shattering event throughout the entire existence of Russia through the perspective of dark parody and political parody, portraying the force battles that resulted following the main tyrant's demise in 1953. Jeffrey Tambor, who stars, stands denounced in the #MeToo development.

Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

Farhan Akhtar's directorial debut around three indistinguishable cherished companions whose uncontrollably extraordinary way to deal with connections makes a strain on their fellowship stays a faction top choice. Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta & Amir Khan star.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)

Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol's characters experience passionate feelings for during an excursion to Europe with their companions right now film — which is as yet playing more than two decades later in a solitary screen Mumbai theater — however face jumps as the lady's preservationist father has guaranteed her deliver union with another person.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015)

After a court request orders a video tape storekeeper and a RSS volunteer (Ayushmann Khurrana) and a larger measured instructor in-preparing (Bhumi Pednekar) to rescue their bombing marriage, the two start to imagine each other's perspective, before choosing to participate in a piggyback race. Won a National Award.

Ee. Mama. Yau [R.I.P.] (2018)

A child battles to arrange the terrific entombment he guaranteed his father right now dark satire that is to a great extent shot in characteristic light. Lijo Jose Pellissery coordinates.

The Exorcist (1973)

One of the best blood and gore movies ever, that has left an enduring impact on the class and past, is about the satanic ownership of a 12-year-old young lady and her mom's endeavors to spare her with the assistance of two clerics who perform expulsion.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Roald Dahl's kids' novel about a fox who takes nourishment from three mean and well off ranchers gets the prevent movement treatment from Wes Anderson, including the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Michael Gambon.

Fight Club (1999)

Brad Pitt and Edward Norton star right now from David Fincher, about a white-nabbed sleep deprived person disillusioned with his free enterprise way of life, who frames an underground battle club with a flippant soapmaker, which advances into something considerably more.

Forrest Gump (1994)

A moderate witted however kind-hearted man (Tom Hanks) participates in a progression of characterizing occasions of the second 50% of the twentieth century in the US, while pining for his youth love.

Forushande [The Salesman] (2016)

Oscar-victor Asghar Farhadi utilizes Arthur Miller's play "Passing of a Salesman" as his story inside a story, to portray topical equals with the crumbling relationship of an Iranian couple after an ambush on the spouse. The spouse needs to discover who the aggressor is against her desires, while she manages post-injury stress.

Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)

Roused by the 2008 Tamil-language film Subramaniapuram, Anurag Kashyap comes up with a hoodlum epic that mixes legislative issues, retribution, and sentiment as it takes a gander at the force battles between three wrongdoing families in and around the Jharkhand city of Dhanbad, the focal point of the coal mafia.

Ghare Baire (1984)

In light of Rabindranath Tagore's epic of a similar name, and set in the disorderly repercussions of the segment of Bengal, author executive Satyajit Ray recounts to the narrative of a lady wedded to a ground breaking man whose lives are overturned by the presence of the spouse's extreme companion.

Ghostbusters (1984)

A lot of capricious paranormal lovers start a phantom getting business in New York, and afterward unearth a plot to unleash ruin by bringing apparitions. Brought forth one of the most notable tune verses ever.

Gladiator (2000)

Victor of five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe, this Ridley Scott-coordinated film recounts to a moving story of a Roman general (Crowe) who loses everything — his family and rank — to wind up as a slave and afterward looks for retaliation on the culprit (Joaquin Phoenix).

The Godfather (1972)

In what is viewed as probably the best film ever, a maturing pioneer (Marlon Brando) of a New York mafia moves control of his domain to his most youthful child (Al Pacino), who goes from a hesitant untouchable to a heartless chief.

The Godfather Part II (1974)

Francis Ford Coppola's follow-up to his unique, fixating on Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) at the highest point of the hierarchy while offering a glance back at his dad's (Robert De Niro) past, is considered by some to be superior to its ancestor.

Gol Maal (1979)

A sanctioned bookkeeper (Amol Palekar), with a skill for singing and acting, falls where it counts the bunny opening in the wake of misleading his supervisor that he has a twin, right now parody.

Gone Girl (2014)

In light of Gillian Flynn's top of the line novel and coordinated by David Fincher, a puzzled spouse (Ben Affleck) turns into the essential suspect in the unexpected riddle vanishing of his better half (Rosamund Pike).

Gravity (2013)

Two US space explorers, an amateur (Sandra Bullock) and another on his last strategic (Clooney), are stranded in space after their van is annihilated, and afterward should fight flotsam and jetsam and moving conditions to get back.

Gully Boy (2019)

A hopeful, youthful road rapper (Ranveer Singh) from the ghettos of Mumbai decides to understand his fantasy, while managing the intricacies that emerge out of his own life and the financial strata to which he has a place. Zoya Akhtar coordinates, and Alia Bhatt stars nearby.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Alfonso Cuarón ventured behind the camera for what many consider to be the best Harry Potter film, as the kid who lived enters his third year at Hogwarts, and is informed that Sirus Black, an escapee from the wizarding scene jail Azkaban, is after his life.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Working off the tone set by Alfonso Cuarón, the fourth section in the arrangement finds the main picked one maneuvered into a between school supernatural competition, while doing combating the upsetting dreams and the hurting torment that originate from his brow scar.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

Right now section, the renowned trio — Harry, Ron, and Hermione — face a test of skill and endurance to discover and pulverize Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes, while the understudies and educators of Hogwarts join to protect the school.

Heat (1995)

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro star on inverse sides of the law — the previous a criminologist, the last a cheat — in Michael Mann's expressive wrongdoing show, with a gathering of burglars arranging a heist ignorant the police are onto them.

Hera Pheri (2000)

Jobless and battling with cash, a proprietor and his two occupants (Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar, and Sunil Shetty) chance on a payment call and plan to gather the payoff for themselves right now the 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking.

How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

Raised in reality as we know it where Vikings have a custom of being mythical serpent slayers, a youthful adolescent turns into an unexpected companion with a youthful winged serpent and realizes there might be more to the animals than everybody might suspect.

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Best picture champ at the Oscars, another pioneer (Jeremy Renner) of a bomb removal squad astounds his subordinates with his perspectives and careless way to deal with the activity in the Iraqi capital. Kathryn Bigelow turned out to be first lady to win best chief.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Coordinated by Steven Spielberg off a story by George Lucas, an eponymous classicist (Harrison Ford) ventures to the far corners of the planet and fights a gathering of Nazis while searching for a secretive antique, in what is currently frequently considered as perhaps the best film ever.

Into The Wild (2007)

In light of Jon Krakauer's genuine book, Sean Penn goes behind the camera to coordinate the tale of a top understudy and competitor who surrenders all belongings and investment funds to good cause, and catches a ride across America to live in the Alaskan wild.

Iruvar (1997)

Aishwarya Rai made her acting introduction with a double supporting job in Mani Ratnam's personal film, which is motivated by the genuine contention of 1980s Tamil Nadu political symbols M. Karunanidhi (Prakash Raj) & M.G. Ramachandran (Mohanlal).

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983)

Right now legislative issues, administration, and the media, two picture takers (Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Baswani) incidentally catch a homicide while attempting to uncover the rich. A Mahabharata performance in the third demonstration is a prestigious feature.

JFK (1991)

At the point when a New Orleans lead prosecutor (Kevin Costner) attempts to uncover the secret and potentially connivance behind the death of previous US President John Kennedy, he's confronted with impressive weight from the legislature. Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman co-star. Oliver Stone coordinates.

Jurassic Park (1993)

It may be more than 25 years of age now yet viewing the absolute first Jurassic film from Steven Spielberg — in light of Michael Crichton's tale, which he co-adjusted — is an extraordinary method to remind yourself why the new arrangement, Jurassic World, has no clue why it's doing.

Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)

Master Dutt coordinated and featured in what is viewed as probably the best movie ever, about an acclaimed chief (Dutt) who throws an obscure lady (Waheeda Rehman) in his next film, and the contradicting directions of their professions subsequently.

Kannathil Muthamittal (2002)

After discovering that she is embraced, a little youngster sets out on an excursion across common war-assaulted Sri Lanka to locate her organic mother who is a piece of the progressives. Mani Ratnam coordinates.

The King of Comedy (1982)

In Martin Scorsese's disregarded parody of big name love and media culture, a trying comic (Robert De Niro) stalks his late-night syndicated program symbol to win a major break, and afterward abducts him when things don't work out.

Kumbalangi Nights (2019)

Four siblings who share an affection despise relationship remain behind one of their own in issues of the heart right now family dramatization that investigates manliness with subtlety and in detail. Directorial introduction of Madhu C. Narayanan.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

After a hefty kung fu fan panda is apparently erroneously picked as the Dragon Warrior to battle an approaching risk, he is reluctantly educated by an older ace and his understudies who have been preparing for a considerable length of time.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

As debasement blends in post-war Los Angeles, three cops — one corrupt (Kevin Spacey), one severe (Russell Crowe) and one moralistic (Guy Pearce) — research a progression of murders in their own specific manner, and structure an uncomfortable coalition. Spacey stands charged in the #MeToo development.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)

Right now the 2003 unique (likewise on the rundown), the Mumbai black market wear (Sanjay Dutt) begins to live by the lessons of Mahatma Gandhi to dazzle a radio racer (Vidya Balan) he's stricken with. Some felt it impaired Gandhism. Co-composed and coordinated by Rajkumar Hirani, who stands denounced in the #MeToo development.

The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)

Ajay Devgn plays the main communist progressive and political dissident in essayist executive Rajkumar Santoshi's biopic, which follows Singh — and later his partners, Shivaram Rajguru, Sukhdev Thapar, and Chandra Shekhar Azad — from the Jallianwala Bagh slaughter to the besieging of Parliament House. Some didn't care for its treatment of Gandhi.

The Lego Movie (2014)

A conventional, rules-following Lego minifigure (Chris Pratt) is erroneously distinguished as the most uncommon individual and the way to sparing the world from a malevolent dictator, for which he is entertainingly underprepared. It brought forth the hit single, "Everything Is Awesome".

Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016)

Denied for a discharge for a half year, this dark satire fixates on four ladies in community India who set out on an excursion to find opportunity and satisfaction in a traditionalist society.

The Lord of the Rings set of three (2001-2003)

Subside Jackson brought J.R.R. Tolkien's far reaching Middle-Earth to life in these three-hour sagas, which diagrams the excursion of a tame hobbit (Elijah Wood) and his different sidekicks, as they attempt to stop the Dark Lord Sauron by crushing the wellspring of his capacity, the One Ring.

Maanagaram (2017)

Emergencies happen to a couple of adolescents — a taxi driver, a BPO interviewee, and a hot-headed sweetheart — whose lives are interlinked after they show up in a major city right now spine chiller. Full length debut for author executive Lokesh Kanagaraj.

Manichitrathazhu (1993)

Right now suspenseful thrill ride exemplary, a youthful spouse (Shobana) is controlled by the soul of a vindictive artist after she opens a secured room their new spooky chateau. To help dispose of it, the spouse's therapist companion (Mohanlal) recommends an unordinary fix.

Mean Girls (2004)

Tina Fey's faction hit youngster satire follows a self-taught 16-year-old (Lindsay Lohan) who's a moment hit with A-rundown young lady coterie at her new school, until she tragically falls for the ex of the club's alpha.

Men in Black (1997)

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones star as two operators of an eponymous mystery association, whose activity is to screen extraterrestrial life on Earth and conceal their quality from people, utilizing neuralysers to delete recollections whether need be.

Mera Naam Joker (1970)

By a wide margin the longest movie on this rundown with a four-hour runtime, this semi-self-portraying take on executive, maker, and lead star Raj Kapoor's own life is about a carnival comedian (Kapoor) who must make his crowd giggle regardless of how troubled he is inside. Told in three parts, it highlights three ladies — Simi Garewal, Kseniya Ryabinkina, and Padmini — who formed his reality. Contrarily got upon discharge, it later experienced a basic revaluation.

Minority Report (2002)

Steven Spielberg freely adjusts Philip K. Dick's short story of a future where an uncommon police unit can get hoodlums before a wrongdoing is submitted because of an innovation, and what happens when an official from that unit (Tom Cruise) is himself blamed for a homicide.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

After the organization he works for is wrongly ensnared in the shelling of the Kremlin, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and another group are compelled to denounce any and all authority and away from manager's name right now of the establishment.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

With the association he works for disbanded and his nation after him, Hunt (Cruise) attempts to beat the clock to demonstrate the presence of the rogues calling the shots right now. Acquainted Rebecca Ferguson with the establishment.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

In what is ostensibly the best section in the establishment yet — 6th, in case you're tallying — insight operator Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and Co. set off on a globe-running experience from Europe to Kashmir, to recover three plutonium centers from the hands of fear mongers. Henry Cavill joins the good times.

Moneyball (2011)

In light of the genuine story of Oakland Athletics and supervisor Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), it follows the last's endeavors to assemble a serious group by depending exclusively on measurable examination, with assistance from a Yale graduate (Jonah Hill).

Munich (2005)

After a Palestinian psychological oppressor bunch murders 11 Israeli competitors at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, the last's administration dispatches a mystery counter, entrusting five men to chase and execute those liable for the slaughter. Steven Spielberg coordinates, in light of a genuine story.

Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003)

After his folks discover he has been professing to be a specialist, a genial Mumbai black market wear (Sanjay Dutt) attempts to vindicate himself by selecting a clinical school, where his sympathy catches up on against the tyrant senior member (Boman Irani). Co-composed and coordinated by Rajkumar Hirani, who stands charged in the #MeToo development.

Mustang (2015)

Set in a remote Turkish town, this presentation include by a Turkish-French chief portrays the lives of five youthful stranded sisters and the difficulties they face experiencing childhood in a moderate society.

Nayakan (1987)

Propelled by The Godfather — however good karma getting author executive Mani Ratnam to let it be known — and the life of Bombay (presently Mumbai) wrongdoing supervisor Varadarajan Mudaliar, it delineates and the life and passing of Velu (Kamal Haasan) who turns into a criminal and assembles a domain.

Newton (2017)

Champ of the National Award for best Hindi film, in which Rajkummar Rao stars as an administration agent who attempts to run a free and reasonable political decision in the Naxal-controlled clash ridden wildernesses of India.

Once Upon A Time in America (1984)

Spreading over four decades, Sergio Leone's last rambling film about a child in a Jewish ghetto (Robert De Niro) who ascends to unmistakable quality in New York's universe of sorted out wrongdoing stays one of the best hoodlum movies ever.

Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood (2019)

Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio Leads outfit cast of Quentin Tarantino's "fantasy tribute" to the winding down days of Hollywood's brilliant age, which follows a maturing entertainer (DiCaprio) and his long-lasting companion and trick twofold (Pitt) as they explore an evolving industry.

Padosan (1968)

Sunil Dutt, Saira Banu, Mehmood, and Kishore Kumar star right now the 1952 Bengali film Pasher Bari, about a youngster (Dutt) who begins to look all starry eyed at his new neighbor (Banu) and afterward enrolls the assistance of his artist on-screen character companion (Kumar) to charm her away from her music instructor (Mehmood).

Pariyerum Perumal (2018)

A hopeful youngster from a poor, abused station family hits a fellowship with an a lot wealthier female cohort at graduate school right now film, procuring him the fierceness of her family members and the general public on the loose. Introduction for author chief Mari Selvaraj.

Peranbu (2019)

After his better half forsakes him and their cerebral paralysis little girl for another man, a single parent (Mammooty) filling in as a taxi driver in Dubai must get back and bring up his solitary child, while on the precarious edge of vagrancy.

Pinjar (2003)

In light of Amrita Pritam's Punjabi tale of a similar name and set in the years when the Partition, a Hindu lady (Urmila Matondkar) comes back to her Muslim ruffian (Manoj Bajpayee) after she's repudiated by her family after getting away. Won a National Award.

The Prestige (2006)

After a heartbreaking mishap, two individual entertainers (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) turn unpleasant adversaries right now Christopher Nolan, and participate in a fight to make a definitive hallucination, while giving up all that they have.

Prisoners (2013)

After his girl and her companion are hijacked, a dad (Hugh Jackman) assumes control over issues while the police deliberately track down different leads, pushing himself into difficulty. Jake Gyllenhaal co-stars.

Pyaasa (1957)

Master Dutt coordinated and featured right now in then-Calcutta which follows a battling, anguished writer named Vijay (Dutt) who can't get acknowledgment for his work until he meets Gulab (Waheeda Rehman), a whore with a kind nature.

Raazi (2018)

In view of the genuine occasions portrayed in Harinder Sikka's 2008 novel "Calling Sehmat", Alia Bhatt stars as a covert Kashmiri RAW operator who weds into a Pakistani military family to keep an eye on the adversary before and during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. A few pundits thought that it was unlikely.

The Report (2019)

An optimistic government examiner (Adam Driver) reveals stunning privileged insights as he plunges into the CIA's post-9/11 utilization of "improved cross examination procedures" — in more straightforward words, torment — and faces extreme pushback from those aware of everything.

Roja (1992)

Before Dil Se.. what's more, Bombay, Mani Ratnam's investigation of human connections against the setting of legislative issues started with this Tamil-language film, about a recently marry lady who moves to Kashmir and battles to discover her significant other after he is seized by Kashmiri separatists.

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Right now dependent on Ira Levin's top rated novel, a youthful pregnant lady (Mia Farrow) suspects a detestable clique — including her neighbors — needs to take her child for use in their customs.

Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)

In view of Bimal Mitra's correspondingly titled 1953 Bengali tale and set throughout the fall of British Raj feudalism, low maintenance hireling (Guru Dutt) builds up a nearby, dispassionate bond with the disregarded, desolate spouse (Meena Kumari) of a privileged person (Rehman). Waheeda Rehman likewise stars.

Sankarabharanam (1980)

Victor of four National Awards, an old style music legend faces ruin right now dramatization attributable to changing music patterns and the sudden bond he shapes with a whore's little girl, who is crashed into outstanding conditions.

Sparing Private Ryan (1998)

In Steven Spielberg's World War II show, while war seethes on in Normandy, a military commander (Tom Hanks) is given the errand of looking for a specific private (Matt Damon), whose three siblings have just been executed.

Looking (2018)

Told completely through screens — PCs and cell phones — a dad (John Cho) breaks into his young little girl's PC after she disappears and criminologists can't locate a solitary lead.

A Separation (2011)

Asghar Farhadi's Oscar-winning show follows an Iranian white collar class couple, whose 14-year-old marriage starts to break down after they arrive at an intersection over the spouse's desires to leave the nation and the husband's interests for his old Alzheimer's dad.

Sholay (1975)

Relatively few movies have a degree of noticeable quality in well known Indian culture that is appreciated by this fine case of "Curry Western", which mixes genuine components with crafted by Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone. Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, and Jaya Bhaduri (presently Bachchan) star.

Screen Island (2010)

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese work together for this adjustment of Dennis Lehane's 2003 novel, around two US Marshals (DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo) researching the vanishing of a criminally-crazy patient, who was detained for suffocating her three youngsters.

Siddharth (2013)

After a poor Delhi man's (Rajesh Tailang) 12-year-old child disappears while away on work many kilometers away in Punjab, he sets out the nation over to discover him, dreading he's been dealt.

Insect Man 2 (2004)

In what many consider the best Spider-Man film ever, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) can't get a break. He loses his employment, his forces, and the adoration for his life Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). What's more, his closest companion (James Franco) is out for Spider-Man's blood to vindicate the passing of his dad.

Creepy crawly Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Drawn with a blend of PC produced and hand-drawn craftsmanship, Miles Morales is brought into a between dimensional clash not long after he's bit by an insect and additions superpowers, pushing him to collaborate to spare the multiverse. Set for a 2022 spin-off.

A Star Is Born (2018)

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga star right now fourth, in case you're checking — change of the 1937 exemplary story, of a heavy drinker blurring star (Cooper) meeting and finding a future star (Gaga). Cooper denotes his directorial debut.

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams reboots the Trek film establishment by bringing it into an other reality, where the youthful Kirk and Spock on board USS Enterprise must battle a decided foe from what's to come, who's making dark gaps to obliterate planets individually.

Sully (2016)

The genuine story of the 2009 crisis plane arriving on New York's Hudson River gets the regular saint treatment from Clint Eastwood, concentrating on the pilot's (Tom Hanks) heroics and the ensuing examination that attempted to paint him in any case.

Eliminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as the android, presently reconstructed and sent back in time (once more) to ensure a more youthful rendition of an opposition chief, in James Cameron's spin-off of the first that is viewed as probably the best film ever.

Thalapathi (1991)

Mani Ratnam coordinates this Tamil-language wrongdoing show inexactly dependent on Karna and Duryodhana's kinship from Mahabharata, where everything changes for a ghetto abiding vagrant (Rajinikanth) who's taken under the wing of a nearby pack master (Mammooty) with the appearance of another region judge.

Tumbbad (2018)

While searching for a mystery treasure in a town in twentieth century Maharashtra, a man and his child face the outcomes of building a sanctuary for an incredible devil who shouldn't be loved right now film.

Unda (2019)

In light of a genuine story, a nine-man Kerala police unit (Mammootty among them) must guarantee serene decisions in the Maoist-inclined territories of Chhattisgarh with a lacking number of shots — unda is Malayalam for "projectile".

Vaastav: The Reality (1999)

Approximately dependent on the life of Mumbai hoodlum Chhota Rajan, a youngster (Sanjay Dutt) from the ghettos incidentally kills somebody, which drives him into an existence of wrongdoing where he quickly moves up the stepping stool — before propelling into a winding.

Virus (2019)

Set against the setting of the 2018 Nipah Virus episode in the Indian province of Kerala, people from different backgrounds meet up to contain its spread right now language spine chiller. Parvathy, Revathi star & Tovino Thomas.

Whiplash (2014)

A driven youthful drummer (Miles Teller) is pushed as far as possible and past by a damaging teacher (J.K. Simmons) in what became author executive Damien Chazelle's leap forward.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a genuine stockbroker who cheated over $100 million from purchasers and misled his way to the top, before he was gotten and accused of extortion, defilement, and tax evasion. Martin Scorsese coordinates, in manners that were blamed for celebrating its hero's unpardonable activities.

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