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snaillamp · 9 months

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Chapter 3 - An Unwelcomed Guest

“Sup, Father.” The middle aged man said as he looked up from the counter. He watched as the tired looking priest grabbed a Redbull from the fridge next to him and shuffled to the medication. After standing there, looking at the tablets for a while.

He decided painkillers were the best for the demon, grabbing a couple of boxes. Before he went to the counter, he spied some cheap bandages. That seemed like a good idea. Mac looked up in concern at the priest. “Long night, Father?” Mark nodded, looking up at Mac, shoving a $20 bill at him.

“You would not believe the night I had. Couldn’t sleep from that storm, Lord have mercy on my soul.” He cracked open the Redbull, taking a long sip, grimacing at the harsh taste, but it seemed to do the trick. He could already feel his mind waking up.

“And what of these, eh?” Mac asked, gesturing to the tablets and bandages. “Restocking medical cabinets. Some for me and some for the church basement.” Mark was unnerved at how easily the lies slid of his tongue. ‘Well, what can I say? Oh yeah, Mac, last night a dying demon collapsed on my doorstep and now I’m nursing it back to health? How’s your Monday morning going?!’

The priest nodded, grabbing the boxes. “Thanks Mac, God bless.” Mac chuckled. “Back at ya Father.”

When he got back to the demon, it was already worse than last night. The tendrils seemed to be growing back again. The priest frowned, pulling down the sheet and exposing the demon’s torso. The bandage was stained black. The creature gasped suddenly, probably from the cold. “Sorry.” Mark mumbled, yanking the bandage off.

He noticed how the demon drew in a rasping breath every time the gauze he had gathered touched its’ skin. Luckily it seemed too out of it to be feeling the majority of the pain. Last night had proven to him that the holy water wasn’t good for it. “I wonder if this is really working...?” He mused to the unconscious demon as its’ head tossed and turned.

The creature’s hair was soaked with sweat as stuck to its’ skin. It moaned quietly, shuddering as the holy water sank into its wound. The rest of it was just as injured, angry, infected wounds that also needed attention, but that seemed like something antiseptic could actually handle.

Redressing the wound, Mark decided that he would go about his duties, coming back when he had time. He had to keep up appearances after all. Getting dressed for the morning Mass, he glanced over at the demon when he heard it gasp. Occasionally it would twitch, but it seemed to be getting sicker.

After the Mass, he returned, pulling the bandage off and treating the wound with holy water again. The more frequent treatments of the water seemed to be really helping. The wound was less spidery, but the size of the actual hole bigger.

A few hours later, Mark, seated on a kitchen stool, looked up from his laptop at the sound of a whine. He was on a website written by a witch of some kind, talking about demons. Everything she seemed to mention didn’t line up with the creature. It didn’t have red, scaly skin, cloven hooves, horns or antlers. Nothing mentioned lack of pinky fingers or black eyes.

Keh-yah grunted, inhaling deeply as it opened its’ eyes. It blinked slowly, taking in the room. “Where…” It whispered, hoarse. “In my guest bedroom. You were going to fall off the sofa.” Mark mumbled, going back to his research.

“I-” The demon was cut off by a wince. It quivered, curling up. “You okay?” Mark put his laptop on he ground, leaning forward. “I-” The creature tried to speak again, but to no avail, pulling its knees close instead. Mark sighed, grabbing the medicine.

“Take one of these. It’ll make the pain go away, at least it does in humans.” He put the small, white tablet in the demon’s hot, shaking hand. It looked at him skeptically. “You eat it. Don’t bite it though.” He explained, handing the creature the glass of water and helping it sit and drink. Keh-yah swallowed the tablet, gagging, before Mark lay it back down.

Within a few minutes, the demon had perked up a little, at least enough to keep its’ eyes open. It looked at the priest who was tapping away on the laptop keys again. “What are you doing? That sound is…” It murmured, sounding slightly annoyed. “Researching.” Mark replied. “I want to see what I can do to get you well again.” The demon chuckled lightly. “You won’t find anything of use among the human archives. Your kind knows nothing of mine…” It winced a little as it shifted, trying to get comfortable.

“Are you really that eager to get rid of me?” It half joked, glancing at the priest, who sighed. “No, it’s not like that. But I want to at least get you well and back to your kind.” The demon seemed to grow dark, recoiling at the suggestion. “There’s nothing to go back to.” It whispered breathlessly, barely audible.

“What?” Mark asked, glancing at the blue links of the Google results, waiting for the creature to repeat itself. He didn’t get a reply of words, but a quiet choked sound instead. “Uh, you okay?” Mark asked looking at the demon who had gone rigid, staring blankly at the ceiling. Mark leapt up as it began to seize, grunting as it spasmed and convulsed, eyes seemingly rolling back as it shook violently.

Mark stood stunned, unsure of what to do, desperately thinking back to his first aid course. Removing the pillow and sheets, he decided not to touch the creature, letting it seize for a couple of minutes before it sighed, going still and floppy.

It came to a few minutes later, confused and delirious. A post ictal state, the internet seemed to call it. The unfocused black eyes drifted around the room, as the creature tried to move. “Stay still, you had a seizure.” The priest put a hand on its’ shoulder, trying to calm it. That seemed to only freak out the demon and it jolted away, mumbling something in a slurred, foreign language.

Rolling over, it faced its’ back to Mark, laying still for a moment, before he heard a sob. He watched the back of the creature jerk as the sobs escaped through pained gasps and groans. “I- I feel…” It mumbled, shuddering. “I’m gonna….” It gagged, convulsing, before curling up and shivering. Mark leaned over to see what the damage was, but nothing had come out of the demon.

“It’s okay, take your time.” He whispered, gently patting the mattress as he sat down on it, so the demon knew he was there. Keh-yah moaned, clutching its’ stomach. It convulsed again, this time a small glob of translucent, teal coloured slime was ejected from its’ mouth.

Inside the slime was the half digested tablet. It moaned again, relaxing as a wave of relief seemed to crash over it. “That thing… What did you do to me...” It whispered as Mark frowned. “Did the tablet make you seize?” He looked at the demon properly, as it rolled back over to face him, glaring with its’ tear stained face. Its’ tears were black, staining its’ pale, grey skin. It shuddered again. “So cold.” It wrapped its’ arms around itself, shivering. Mark sighed, looking back at his computer, looking at more first aid tips. “Call an ambulance, yeah, right.” He muttered sarcastically, looking at the demon’s face. ~~ An hour passed, and the shivering only got worse. Reaching over to feel the forehead of the creature, Mark’s hand felt like it was touching ice. “Okay. I think you need a bath.” The priest concluded. The creature looked at him confused. “B-bath?” Mark rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you know, a tub full of water that you-”

The creature shot him a look, interrupting him with a snarky tone. “I kn-know what a b-b-bath is M-Mark. I may n-not know m-much ab-out your world, b-but I have b-b-een around l-long enough t-t-to kn-know what a-a ba-th-th i-i-is.” Mark pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Well do you want one or not, dark prince?” Keh-yah looked unamused at the new nickname, raising his eyebrows slowly.

“I d-don’t see wh-why I n-need one. M-more blan-blan-kets ssssshould sssssuffice.” The demon snuggled back down into the bed. It was avoiding eye contact with the priest. It seemed to be even more wary of him now. “You’ll collapse in the shower, and I think a good soak will help warm you up.”

The demon seemed to be biting its’ tongue, wanting to have the bath but also not wanting to leave, maybe out of fear of what might happen if it did. It was shivering violently, teeth chattering as it curled closer in on itself, a tight fetal position.

“I’ll run it for you. Nice and warm, you can even have a little spa day or whatever.” The demon shot Mark a confused look. “S-spa d-d-day?” Mark rolled his eyes, “Yeah, you know, wash your hair, face… everything…” Despite the fact the demon had come to his doorstep in the pouring rain, it still looked a little dirty and disheveled and the sweat from the fever wasn’t helping.

Keh-yah hicupped, wincing as the spasm caught in his throat forcing him to make a strange choked sound. “F-f-f-f-f-fi-fi-ne” Mark nodded in approval, walking down the hall to the bathroom. As he left the room, he suddenly felt a chill pass over him. It happened a lot, the rectory was old and the wind was getting in somewhere, but after all the years of living there, he had never found out where.

Turning off the tap, Mark breathed in the steam. He felt the water, a pleasant warm temperature, and looked back at the door. He would probably have to carry the demon in. Standing from the edge of the tub, he went back to the room to see Keh-yah glaring at the doorway. As Mark paused under it, he felt the chill again. Keh-yah’s focus shifted when it saw the priest returned. It hummed, a weak, but curious sound, looking at him with the black, staring eyes.

The priest left the room to draw a bath. Keh-yah had just wanted to stay in bed and rest, the holy water taking a lot out of him, but he couldn’t help but imagine sinking into the water, all the aches and pains leaving him. He groaned again, shuddering as something cold washed over him.

He already felt cold but this felt like a draft of wind, a sensation Keh-yah knew all too well as the headache began again. He felt his stomach drop. “Fuuuuuck.” He rolled over, moaning into the pillow. Something hit his left cheek, hard. Keh-yah felt a tingling sensation emanate from the source of the slap, rippling over the surface of his skin as a hand tugged his hair roughly.

“…out…” A voice, barely audible whispered.

Keh-yah looked around and with much effort, waving an aching arm to shoo it away. “L-l-leave me al-l-l-one.” He stuttered, listening as the floorboards creaked. Down the hall, he could gear Mark coming back. He saw the outline of the apparition, a faint, almost invisible blue sheen, the outline of a short man.

Keh-yah glared at it, his head pounding as it lifted it off the pillow, grunting with the effort. He stared down at the apparition until it faded, right as Mark walked in. “You good?” He asked confused. Keh-yah’s head felt like lead as he let it drop back against the pillow with a sigh. “It’s n-nothing…” He mumbled, closing his eyes, a ripple of butterflies flying through him.

“Hey! Don’t pass out on me!” Mark jumped forward shaking Keh-yah’s shoulder, before seeing the welt on his face. He rolled the demon over to get a better look at the large, red hand print. “What happened?” He asked as Keh-yah cringed, gasping in pain at the movement. “...ju-just...let's go...”

The priest frowned, helping the demon to his feet. The minute he stood, Kah-yah was overcome with vertigo, whimpering as the collapsed against the priest. His face was planted firmly on Mark’s shoulder, the priest’s arms holding him up as he shuddered and groaned in pain.

Placing Keh-yah’s left arm over his shoulders, Mark led the unstable demon towards the door. As they walked under the doorframe, the chill came back and Keh-yah felt a cold hand wrap around his free wrist, dangling limply by his side. He yelped as he was yanked from around the priest, pulled to the floor and landing awkwardly on his with a heavy thud, before he was pushed to the ground completely.

Mark looked down at him in horror, eyes wide. “Hey! What’s happening? Are you okay?” All Keh-yah could do was moan in reply as Mark reached down and pulled him back up. “What just happened to you? Is that where the hand print came from?” He asked, his voice loud in Keh-yah’s ear, making the pounding worse.

“Hey, tell me what’s up?” He sounded scared. “It’s nothing to be scared of…” Keh-yah whispered, vision blurring. “Just the other priest not happy that I’m here…” His head felt like lead as he tried to focus on putting his feet in front of the other. “It won’t… hurt you… much…”

He had felt the presence around, but he supposed the ghost didn’t have enough energy to manifest properly. With him getting sick, it had decided to feed on his remaining, unprotected strength before realising what Keh-yah was.

When they made it to the bathroom, Keh-yah was shivering and barely able to stand. Mark lay him down against the freezing tiles, helping him shrug off his clothes before lifting him into the bath. The water, which was probably warm to Mark's touch felt like boiling springs to Keh-yah’s cold, fever ridden body.

A moan of pleasure escaped him as he melted into the steaming water, sighing as his sore, aching body could finally rest. He lay back, face just above the water and eyes closed, blissful as Mark gently began cleaning his arms and legs. It was nice, the sensation of the soft wash cloth gently trailing over his skin, warmth following close behind…

Keh-yah awoke to the priest gently cleaning his chest, careful to avoid the open wounds. He made a sleepy hum, and Mark looked at him, smiling gently. “Oh, you’re awake? You were out like a light before.” He laughed, looking at Keh-yah’s contented face. “You having fun in there?” Keh-yah nodded in reply, even his blank eyes seeming more relaxed and happy. “Lean over, I’ll do your back.” The priest muttered gently. Keh-yah nodded, Mark helping him sit forward and then cleaning his back. The water had gone a light teal colour.

‘That’s my blood…’ Keh-yah mused sleepily, finding it slightly funny as the cloth gently cleaned his back. He hummed again, the sound reverberating from deep within his chest. The priest stopped, leaning back over to look him, confused. “Did you just… purr?” Keh-yah looked at him with his tired, sleep heavy eyes, nodding slowly.

“I do that sometimes… That’s the first time in a very long time I have done that…” He looked at his body in the water, the memories flashing by. They sat in silence for a moment, before the priest resumed cleaning his back.

When he finished he gave the now slightly stained cloth to Keh-yah. “I’ll let you do your… bits.” He muttered, looking away. “I should fix us some dinner, then I’ll come get you out. Feel free to add more hot water if it gets too cold, just twist the tap there. Oh and here’s some shampoo.”

Keh-yah watched the man grab a bottle of 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner and body wash, placing it beside the bath. “Don’t uh, I don’t know, drown. Can you drown?” Keh-yah looked up at him nodded, “Theoretically yes, but I’ve never tried to.” Mark smirked at the joke, nodding and turning away, “Cool, well, keep doing that then… Be back in like half an hour.”

Keh-yah lay back, cleaning the rest of himself before reaching for the bottle of 3-in-1. He opened the tube, sniffing it, the scent filling his nose confused him. Turning the bottle around, all it said was Fresh Forest Scent, which didn't help. “I have lived in many forests, and none of them smelt like this…” He muttered, half in disgust.

He read the instructions on the back, before looking at the bottle apprehensively. Would this really work?

Squirting the creamy green liquid from the bottle, Keh-yah rubbed it into his scalp, feeling the years of dirt and grime and blood coming loose. His arms ached as he stretched them, but he continued, massaging his hair until he lay back into the water, cleaning it well. Right as he was about to sit back up, he felt a cold hand plant itself firmly on his chest. A chilling, whisper spoke in Keh-yah’s ear, making his eyes go wide.

“…die…demon…”

The hand pushed down sharply, causing Keh-yah to cry out in pain before he was pushed under the water. It filled his mouth, causing him to choke as his flailing hand tried to grip the side of the bath. By chance, his hand managed to find the edge and he pulled himself up with a gasp. The translucent spectre of a man, very old with sagging skin and beady eyes met his. He was in a priest’s clerical clothes, the white collar almost invisible under the fluorescent light.

Keh-yah’s jaw tightened as he stared down the spirit. “I’m not scared of you.” He growled, glaring unblinking at the apparition. “I am of no threat to you, ghost. I do not know why you decided to stay, but you are not welcome to hurt me. I have sanctuary.” Keh-yah reached deep to find any energy he had in him to fight back against this ghost.

The demon stared down the priest who glared back. “…you…are…Satan’s…spawn…” The ghost rasped. Keh-yah could feel his energy being sapped from him as the hand grabbed his neck, the apparition becoming clearer. Taking in a strangled breath, Keh-yah let the fire ignite in his chest and he hissed, flashing his sharp fangs and forked tongue at the ghost, sending it jumping back. “Leave. Me. Alone.” Keh-yah growled, his right hand tingling as he felt the power flow through it.

“You do not have permission to feed from my energy. Go and get it somewhere else, or move on. This is not my house,” Keh-yah's voice cracked as he unfurled, standing in the bath. His broad form bristled as he began to feel painful pins and needles erupt through his right hand,

“-but I would assume you’re not welcome here. Leave.” He pointed at the door, wisps of smokey, black cloud circling his fingertip. The ghost spied his wound, before it scowled and stalked into a wall, fading away.

Keh-yah sank back down with a sigh, feeling drained. He really shouldn’t have used that energy, but he didn’t have a choice. His mind began to go fuzzy as his heavy eyelids slid shut.

He felt his body get pulled from the water, gasping for air as he did. “What did I say about not drawing in here?” Mark yelled, before his eyes came to settle on the hand shaped bruises on Keh-yah’s chest and neck. “Keh-yah… What’s this?”

Keh-yah lay back, his head against the edge of the bath as he coughed up the water. “What’s- ack - what?” He looked over at the concerned priest, dazed.

“The big hand shaped bruise on your chest! And your neck too?!” Mark yelled, pointing at them. Keh-yah glanced down at the bruise on his chest. “Oh, that. I met your resident ghost. I sensed him last night, but he didn’t have enough energy to manifest well. He must have been feeding from mine while I was out. Quite rude if you ask me.” He grumbled, loud enough that he could sense the scowl of the eyes watching him again, before they faded for good.

Keh-yah sighed as he felt the grip of the ghost’s glare leave him, feeling more weightless. He was limp as the priest lifted him from the cool water, wrapping him in some towels and handing him some new clothes.

Mark glanced around the room, looking pale. “Is the ghost…” Keh-yah shook his head. “How do I make him… leave?” Mark’s voice shook, staring at the bruises. “Tell it to leave.” Keh-yah whispered, voice hoarse from the choking as he lay back against the bath. “What do I say?” Mark asked, concerned, as he stared at Keh-yah, who just shrugged. “Uh, okay. Ghost, you are dead.” He addressed the room, clearing his throat. “I made the decision to look after my… friend and you must respect that. Uh… Leave us alone. Please. Uh, thank you.” Mark looked down as Keh-yah, embarrassed.

“Uh, I’ll let you get dressed, knock if you need anything.”

Keh-yah dried off, before gently easing on the clothes. Thermal underwear, then a loose t-shirt that smelled a little musty, some more sweat pants and a thick hoodie over the top. He smiled as he snuggled into the clothes, feeling comfy.

Barely able to limp to the door, he gripped the handle as the world spun around him and pulled it open, wincing in pain. “Hey, you did it all yourself, good job!” Mark looked at him, grinning. “Don’t patronise me…” Keh-yah growled, shooting Mark an annoyed look, before grimacing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that…”

Keh-yah tried to take a step, but his legs seemed to give out on him. He yelped, clutching the doorframe. “Agh….” He whimpered, looking up at Mark. “I don’t think I can walk right now. I'm too tired…” He winced as Mark pulled his arm over his shoulders again. “Don't worry. I've got ya."

Mark watched the demon eat the dinner he had made with its’ hands. It gulped everything down hungrily, leaning over its' food possessively. Its’ indigo, forked tongue slithered around its’ four fingers as it licked the mashed potato from them. It ate silently, for such a messy eater.

Mark noticed it kept glancing at the juicy steak on the plate in front of it, leaving it until last. When the plate had been completely cleared, it picked up the steak and sank its’ fangs into it, ripping it apart cleanly. When it finished the meat, it began crunching in the bone, making an awful cracking sound.

“You know, we don’t generally eat that bit.” Mark winced at the sound, looking at the grease trailing down the demon’s face. The sound was sending shivers down his spine. “I’ll get you a cloth.” He muttered, feeling like he was going to throw up, his skin crawling.

When he returned, the demon was slouching in the seat, looking full. “Here.” Mark threw the dishcloth at the demon, who jumped as it landed next to it on the table. The creature stared at it, looking at the cloth with a strange intensity. Seconds later, it snapped out of whatever it was thinking about, wiping its’ face clean and tossing the cloth on the table, before it brought its’ hand up to rest against its’ left side.

It still looked uncomfortable. “Did you wanna do another round of holy water?” Mark asked tentatively. The demon scowled, before nodding slightly. “Later. I need a break.” It seemed to shudder again.

Perhaps the demon was feeling better, but it was not out of the woods yet. It was still sick and injured. “Did you want to go to bed or…” Mark shrugged, figuring that giving the creature options was better than nothing. “I'll rest there for a while…” Keh-yah pointed at the sofa nearby, grunting as it eased itself up, before stumbling and falling on the ground, gripping its’ leg.

An agonised groan emerged from it, making Mark rush to its’ side. “Here, let me help.” He lifted the creature's arm over his shoulder, walking it gently toward the sofa. Its' legs seemed to be getting worse. Laying it down on the sofa, Mark lifted the pants up, they were bruised and cut up, much like the rest of its’ body.

Mark gently prodded one. The demon jerked at the touch, glaring at him. “Hey! Warn me if you’re gonna do that!” It snarled, flashing its’ fangs at the priest. “Sorry. I just need to see it.” The demon huffed frustratedly, looking up at the ceiling and gripping the side of the sofa cushions. Mark’s fingers gently examined each leg. “Let me see…”

“Mark, I really don’t think you should play doc- AGH!” Keh-yah cried out as Mark flexed its' right leg. Mark jumped back in shock. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Keh-yah stared at him, at first in anger, but then in defeat. Mark watched as the demon seemed to crumble in front of him, the black tears streaming from its' eyes as it began to shake.

“Please…” It whispered, wiping tears from its’ face and sniffing. “No more… I’m done fighting… Just help me get comfortable so I can…” Keh-yah trailed off.

Mark gasped when the demon meant. “No! No, I won’t let you die, demon!” Keh-yah scoffed. “Why not?!” It snarled, teeth flashing as it forced itself to sit up, hunched over and panting. Mark raised his hands as he took a tentative step back.

“Wait no, please! Don’t hurt me!” He bumped into the coffee table, as he reached for his pocket, feeling the beads of his rosary. In a second, he held it in front of him, arm outstretched. He braced, eyes squeezed shut tightly, preparing for the demon to attack.

Nothing happened.

Opening an eye, he looked at the demon slumped in front of him. Its’ body was hunched with its’ head bowed, its’ arms wrapped around its’ body, breathing heavily. Mark lowered the rosary, placing it on the coffee table and taking a step foreward, Keh-yah looking up at the sound. Its' tired, black eyes met his, looking crestfallen. “I-I didn’t mean to scare you…” It whispered so quietly, Mark barely heard it.

Flashing a look at the priest, it looked away. “You’ve done more than enough, it wouldn’t be fair to make you-” Keh-yah cut itself off, easing off the sofa and limping away.

“Wait. Please.”

It turned, drawing a heavy, exasperated breath.

“I’m not giving up on you yet, Keh-yah. But I don’t know what to do… I’m trying my best, I can’t keep guessing. Tell me what you need, I can help. I admit it, you scare the shit out of me, but I still want to help you, I need you to tell me things, what you need… Please… stay…” Keh-yah eyed him suspiciously. It seemed it was thinking.

“Stay.”

The demon coughed a little, then swayed, holding its’ side tighter. “I’m not giving up on you, and I won't let you give up on yourself either, Keh-yah. If that means I have to bathe you in holy water I will.”

Keh-yah grimaced, grunting in pain. “You don’t have to do that… But I think the only way we can treat this effectively…” It braced itself at the thought of what it was about to say:

“-is if I drink it…”

Mark nodded, going to where he had left the bottle. “Okay, sit down, I’ll help you.” Keh-yah looked slightly ill as Mark guided it to the sofa. “You don’t understand, Mark. It’ll poison me…” Mark felt his eyes go wide. Keh-yah nodded. “I shouldn't die, but I’ll want to... It will feel like death…” The demon smirked slightly, before whispering a private joke to itself, “Oh the irony…”

~next~

~masterlist~

#whump #whumpee #demon whump #demon whumpee #sickfic #poison whump #whump oc #whump writing #whumblr #snaillamp #original post

9 notes · View notes

softaneasy · 3 months

Text

Holy shit! This is my third writting for this year, which feels a bit surreal, going from 0 for years to 3 in not even a month.

Now the quality of it....yeah....

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“Hey, where are you going?” you asked me after dinner when you saw me get up and walk away.

“Back to studying” I replied over my shoulder, going into the study to continue with what I was doing before.

The computer screen was showing one thing to the left of me, my tablet showing a PowerPoint my teacher had given us on the right of me, and my notebook with all my pens and highlights was right in the middle of it all.

As I got back to studying I heard you move around the apartment, before the kitchen door softly closed. I was so concentrated on what I was doing that I failed to hear you when you came into the study a while later, which is unlike me.

“Darlin’, I thought you said you weren't gonna study after dinnertime?” you drawled behind me, making me jump and almost draw a black line over one of my notes.

“Jesus Christ!” I exclaimed with my heart in my throat. “Give a girl some warning will ya?!” I replied irritated.

Had I not had my back turned against you I would have seen you raising your eyebrows in surprise at my inattentiveness. It hadn't taken long into our relationship for you to realize that I automatically kept myself aware of my surroundings and where people were whenever we were home. You had accepted that it was something I just did subconsciously, so for you to manage to scare me when you hadn't been quiet, concerned you.

“ I'm sorry love” you genuinely apologize. “But my question still stands, you promised when you began studying that you wouldn't study after dinner”.

“Yeah well, my exam is next week, and if I fail this one, then I'm giving up. This is supposed to be my area, the one thing I can, and actually am good at! And yet here I am not even knowing what is what!” I snapped, stressed out and scared whilst glaring at my desk. One of my hair locks had fallen out of my sloppy ponytail making me harshly tugg it behind my ear.

“Hey, hey” your hand gently pushed my own hand away from my hair before I subconsciously began tugging at it. “Be gentle ” you gently reprimanded me while carefully releasing my hair from the ponytail to gather all of it up in a new, neat ponytail.

I subconsciously leaned back in my desk chair while you did that, giving off a small sound of discomfort. My back was killing me from me bending over the desk for so long. And your hands felt so good in my hair.

“You know it's just gonna fall out again” I muttered referring to my hair. Whoever cursed me with curly hair that still somehow was as soft as children's hair deserves to rot in purgatory until the end of time.

“Then we just put it up again” came your reply, voice calm. Your hands rested on my shoulders. “And for you not knowing what is what, we both know that's not true”.

“ I just went through an old exam, and I knew nothing!” I snapped at you again, tilting my head back to glare at you, because who had given you permission to disagree with me?

My glare had the opposite effect on you, instead of backing off, you just smiled at me and kissed my forehead, not bothered in the slightest about my eyes trying to pulverize you. I really needed to work on that.

“So what exactly are you studying right now?” You asked and gently began massaging my shoulders.

“PTSD, or at least I’m trying to. My teacher's PowerPoints doesn’t really give much, and neither does the bookssss!!” My shoulders scrunched up suddenly as your fingers had strayed too close to my neck and I tried to lean forward to dislodged your fingers, a stupid smile on my face. “Quit it!!”

‘I'm sorry love” you laughed, amused as always with my reaction to you trying to give me a massage. “ But to be fair, it's not my fault that you are so damn…”

“ Get your stupid fingers away from my neck!!” I interrupted you, a faint blush spreading across my face.

“ You kinda need to let go of my fingers for me to be able to do that darlin” you teased, slowly wiggling your fingers against my neck, all ten of them, which made me squeal before breaking out in giggles.

“Get them out!” I giggled, scrunching up even more to try and still your stupid fingers.

“I will, as soon as you unscrunch so i can remove them, I’m kinda stuck right now”

"Liar! Just remove them!” I continued to giggle, shaking my head, like that would help. New’s flash, it didn’t. My own fingers gripped around your wrist tugging desperately.

“I’m sorry, what now? Here I am, trying to be a good partner, massaging those shoulders of yours that have more knots than a scouts training rope. And not only do you trap my fingers, but now you’re also calling me a liar?! you asked with mock indignation as your fingers speed up, and now purposely tickled my neck.

I squealed again, slamming my back towards the chairs backrest, tilting my head back, trying to actually trap your fingers and stop them from moving.

I regretted my action as soon as I made it, but it was already too late. You managed to remove one hand from my neck only to put it against my forehead as you leaned down and blew a raspberry that had me choking on my laughter. My hands gave up on your remaining wrist and began pushing against your head.

“I’m soooorrhhhhyy!!, I’mmmh soooorrryy!!” I laughed, giving in.

“I’ll stop if you promise to spend the rest of the evening with me” you bargained before going back to blowing smaller raspberries.

Yeah, see, I might not be the smartest one around, but I’m not stupid either, and damn if it didn't tickle like crazy. I didn’t even feel bad agreeing with you as soon as my laughter would allow it.

As promised you stopped, and spinned my chair around while I was trying to rub away the lingering tingly feeling.

“Come on” you said, not really generous with allowing me time to a, recover, b, try to get rid of the feeling. You dragged me up by my hand, shut down my computer screen and led me into the living room. Where a bowl of popcorn was by the table, with two mugs of what i would guess was tea, and a criminal minds episode lined up.

Damn you, who gave you the right to be so good to me? I sure did not deserve this. As these thoughts were taking over my mind you lied down on the couch and manhandled me to be the little spoon.

“So, we have time for two episodes, where you can swoon over Dr. Spencer Reid as much as you’d like” you said, resting your chin on the top of my head.

“Why only two episodes?” I asked, a bit puzzled. That would put us at approximately 10.30, and we usually didn’t go to bed until midnight.

“Because love, then I’ll have one and a half hours to do whatever I want to do with you” you replied as you dragged me even closer to you, and I could suddenly feel how much warmer the room got in about 3 seconds. “And you see, I want to sleep tonight, which means you need to sleep and not toss around as you sometimes do, so I’m wondering if four is enough for you to fall asleep on, or if we should do five just to be safe?”

“Wait what?” I suddenly felt very trapped, and I knew my face would have that “deer caught in the headlights” kind of look that you loved so much.

“Your right, at least five” you agreed with yourself and pressed play on the tv remote. While the intro played on the screen, I felt your hand move down my body, and I wondered how much of those two episodes I was actually going to watch as your hand slipped inside my pants.

#tickling community #tickle community #tickle content #tickling #lee!#tickling content #tword community #tword content #tickle fluff #tickling fic #tickling fiction #tword fic #why am I even posting these for? xD

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ads1008 · 11 months

Text

You’re not okay

“Are you okay?”

Steve placed a few more items he would need for his week-long mission in his bag. Tony sat on the edge of the bed scrolling through plans for Peter’s new suit.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tony said.

Steve stopped packing and looked up at his husband. After a mission against Ultron, Tony began to isolate himself. He was spending a lot of his time down in his lab, missing meals, and not sleeping. The shadows under his eyes looked like he had two black eyes.

Steve walked over sitting next to Tony. He wrapped his arms around him, allowing his husband to lean against him. Steve placed a light kiss on the top of Tony’s head.

“Tony, you know you can talk to me about anything.”

“Yeah, I know.” Tony continued clicking away, taking stuff off and putting new gadgets on.

Steve lowered the tablet making Tony look up at him. Steve could see something worrying in Tony's mind but Tony would never say. He enjoyed fighting his battles alone even though he didn’t need to anymore. Steve would bar some of the weight that was on Tony’s shoulders.

“Are you sure there is nothing you want to talk about?”

“Steve, I’ve said I’m fine,” Tony snapped. Tony huffed standing up, walking to their bedroom door. He paused turning back to see Steve’s concerned eyes. There was one rule in their marriage and it was to not leave for a mission in an argument. Tony walked back over placing a kiss on Steve’s lips.

“I love you. Message me when you land,” Tony turned around walking out of the room, leaving Steve alone.

—--------------------------------

Steve, Bucky, and Sam loaded the airplane that was en route to stop a Hydra base. Natasha and Bucky held each other a little longer. Sam yelled out of the door for Bucky to hurry his ass up. The Winter Soldier himself threw up a middle finger to shut his friend up.

“Wait, Natasha,” Steve yelled, running down the ramp.

“What’s up, Steve?”

“Can you keep an eye on Tony? I know him and he’s slipping into a depressive episode.”

Nat nodded, promising she would keep an eye out for her friend. She said that she will message Steve if anything changed before he got back. Steve appreciated the family the Avengers were. They looked out for each other through the darkest times.

Steve stood at the edge of the door as it slowly closed. His heart hoped Tony would appear at the last second, waving goodbye. Like he always did when Steve was leaving. The door closed as the darkness engulfed him. Steve knew he had to leave home at home and focus on the mission.

—----------------------------------

Tony sat in his lab working on something. Natasha and Clint hid behind a wall but could still see into the glass windows. Natasha went straight to Clint after what Steve asked her to do. Clint already knew what was going on after hearing Steve and Tony argue in the kitchen a few days before Steve left.

They were using their skill set to collect as much information as they can to figure out what was going on with Tony. The lab looked like its usual mess. Papers everywhere, plates of uneaten food, and liquor bottles. The liquor bottles were the most alarming thing for both of them. Tony stopped drinking after he got so drunk he almost killed Rhodey. Now that he was could mean something was wrong.

“What are the two of you doing?”

Natasha and Clint scrambled to see Tony standing in front of them. Tony crossed his arms, tapping his toe waiting for an answer. Nat and Clint looked at each other searching for an answer.

“Our jobs. My spider bites aren’t working so I was coming to see if you can fix them.” Natasha took them off and tossed them at Tony. Tony caught them and looked them over. There was nothing wrong with them. Tony threw them back. He was getting annoyed.

“Nice try. Did Steve put you up to this?”

“No,” Clint stuttered.

Natasha was done playing this cat-mouse game with Tony. She was the Black Widow anyways. She defeated way scarier men than Tony Stark. Natasha took a step forward matching his crossed arms.

“No, he didn’t have to because we are all concerned. The way you have been acting after the battle with Ultron is not okay. Now you are drinking again. What is going on?”

Tony’s eyes darken at the question. Then he began to laugh. Natasha looked over at Clint concerned by the way her friend was acting. Tony continued to laugh as he backed his way back into his lab.

“Thank you, for the concern but I am good,” Tony closed the door behind him and then flipped the switch so the blinds went down so no one was able to see inside.

Natasha pulled out her phone and sent a message to Steve. It was simple.

He’s drinking again.

—---------------------------------------

Tony was falling off the deep end. That was the only way to describe the way he was acting. His drinking went from half a bottle to a bottle and a half. He was not being careful during small missions and taking on dangerous moves and risky plans. He was going out on his own with no backup. Tonight was the worst when the suit flew him back home while he was unconscious.

Natasha knew that service was spotty. She hadn’t been able to talk to Bucky since the team left. She needed to get in contact with Steve before Tony accidentally kills himself. The phone rang three times before Steve finally picked up.

“Natasha, wrong?” The phone kept breaking up. She could only hear about every other word.

“Get, home, now, Tony.” Steve turned to Sam. Sam saw the look in his friend's eyes and turned on the boosters. They were going to get home as fast as humanly possible.

—---------------------------------

Steve ran straight to the lab but was surprised that it was empty. Fear ran down his spine. He turned running upstairs to their bedroom.

“Tony!”

Steve threw the door open to find him in the corner of their room with the plans of Ultron. Tony was crying and shaking. Steve walked over and crouched down, lifting Tony’s chin so their eyes met. His eyes grew eyes when he saw Steve.

“Steve,” Tony whispered.

“Shh, I’m here. I’m here,” Steve pulled Tony into his embrace where he melted. The wall Tony thought he had built up was crumbled.

“Tony, we can talk or we can just lay here.”

Tony said nothing which was all the answer Steve needed. Steve scooped Tony into his arms and carried him over to the bed. He laid his husband down gently. Steve followed, engulfing Tony in his arms. He laid a light kiss along his collarbone as Tony closed his eyes. The first rest he had in a week.

“There was a little boy. No older than eight years old right where the building fell. I saw him but with comms out and boosters down, there was no way for me or any of us to get to him,” Tony calmly said.

Steve didn’t say anything. He knew that what Tony needed right now was not a partner to counter his feelings. He did not need to hear it wasn’t your fault. He needed someone to listen to what his mind was saying to him.

“They found him in critical condition. He died from his wounds. He was only eight years old,” Tony cried.

Steve held him tighter making circles along his arms to calm him down.

“If I didn’t create Ultron then that boy would be alive.”

“You don’t know that.”

“But I do because of Ultron’s actions lead to that boy dying.”

There was nothing else to say. Tony felt responsible for everything that happened in the world. That guilt carried with him since the death of his parents which was not his fault. Steve knew that he just needed to love Tony.

“Why don’t we donate some money in the boy’s name at the hospital he was in? Then tomorrow why don’t we visit the children’s hospital/ Pick up some toys, draw some pictures, and put a smile on a kid's face? It won’t bring him back but we can remember him by helping others.”

Tony turned in Steve’s arms so they were face to face. Tony lifted a hand, laying it on Steve’s face. He smiled, loving the idea his big-hearted husband had.

“I love you. You make everything better,”

Steve leaned in planting a kiss on Tony’s soft lips.

“I love you too. Just remember let me in,”

Tony nodded. They both knew that tomorrow there would need to be a reset. The lab would need to be scrubbed clean. All alcohol needed to be drained down the sink. A meeting would need to be set up with Tony’s sponsor. For tonight, all they needed to do was be in their safe space. Wrapped in each other's arms as they fell asleep.

@askatrigenderlgbt thank you for the prompt

#stony #stevetony #ash's blurbs

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blackrosesfanfic · 1 year

Text

Chapter 253

Rollie

Leah comes over to me rubbing her stomach. I narrow my eyes at her. She sighs as she get to me.

"What's wrong, Love?"

"Nothing. Shay wants to spend a night at Lexi's. I told her I'd see what you say."

I rub her hips. "You in pain?"

She drops her arms. "No it's nothing. I'm okay."

"You couldn't tell Shay whether or not she could stay? You had to come ask me or you wanted to get in here to lay down?"

"I'm in the middle of washing clothes. I don't have time to lay down."

I stand up. "I feel like you ignoring your body. I'll do it alright?"

"Do what Rollie? The fucking laundry?"

"Whatever needs to be done. Make a list." I lay her down on the bed putting her feet up. Ain't no reason why I can't help."

She closes her eyes not saying shit else. I watch her for a minute then walk out of the room to Jordan's room. It's dirty as shit. Stuff thrown everywhere like she in the middle of playing. I walk into the living room. Her and Lexi are on the tablet.

"You think you going anywhere with your room like that? Your mama trying to grow a baby while cleaning up after us and we can't help?"

"Yes sir I can." She scrambles up.

I look around the living room. "You think people want dirty people coming to their houses? They see this shit you won't be allowed."

Lexi starts cleaning the chips up. "Sorry."

"Is mommy okay?" Jordan (Shay) says folding a blanket.

"We will see after she is done with her nap. She went straight to sleep."

Jordan looks worried. "Mommy doesn't usually nap."

Lexi turns the TV off. "Did we stress her out? Oh no. Pregnant women are at risk. Let's do your chores the right way."

"Yeah." Jordan straightens the pillows. "God I love my mommy."

"She will be okay." I say cutting my eyes at them.

Fucking Bible reading got these girls shook. Don't know if I should be worried or not. I go into the kitchen. I got to ride over to Cammie's Atlanta house and check on things. Kirven was there the other day. I didn't ask him how long he was going to be staying there. Cammie should have rented the place out. Got that nice ass house sitting.

"Dad?" Jordan sits her laundry basket on the floor. "You washing these clothes?"

"I'm folding these clothes. You wash your own damn clothes."

She giggles. "You folding clothes?"

I fold the socks up. "Don't it look like it? Go on about your business."

"I never seen you take clothes out the machine. You be like what wrong with your hands. Jordan help yo mama."

"She pregnant and it getting harder to do this stuff. I can't make you do everything. You still a kid."

"Thank you." She smiles at me.

I smile at her. "You welcome precious. We need to have a talk before you go stay at a man's house."

"Okay." She opens the washer.

"Look at me." I say touching her hand. "Grown men don't touch little girls under their clothes. If your clothes cover it nobody touches it. Not your breast, butt, or anything between your legs. And don’t fucking touch anything on anybody's body. Kids don’t play like that. Got it?"

She nods her head. "Okay."

"You poke his eyes out, run and hide, then you call me. Always have your phone close by. Don't be playing so much you forget. When you away from home you got to keep your eyes on everything. You not a tiny little girl anymore."

"Yes, sir."

"And be clean." I hit her with a towel. "Nobody wants messy girls at their houses."

She giggles. "Yes sir."

I nod my head. "Your mama gonna cut your ass you wash them clothes like that."

"It takes so long." She throws the clothes back out the machine and goes through them.

She knows her mama don't fucking play with her about throwing everything in the washer. She separates them the right way. It didn't take her ass long at all. I reach up to the detergent for her and start the machine. She smiles at me and sit the basket with the next load neatly to the side. She grabs the vacuum and drags it out the room. I answer my phone.

"Yo?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Trey says.

I shrug. "You called me."

He chuckles. "Yo, my fault. I was tryna read this text. But yeah. When does Leah have her baby?"

"In like a month?"

"She having it in Atlanta?"

I get a bit irritated. "Where else She gonna have it?"

"California, South Carolina, wherever her people from."

"Her people from Atlanta. The ones she got."

He clears his throat. "Lane, boy I'm going to cut your ass. Stop. No. Hold on man."

I chuckle. All I could hear was screaming and Trey talking far away from the phone. Trey can't fucking handle that boy. He bad as shit and does whatever the hell he wants to do. I prepare myself to laugh. I'm so ready for it. I know he done did some bad ass shit. Trey comes back to the phone.

"Jayla." He blows. "Keep him in there with you. Cause. Naw he keeps fucking taking his fucking clothes off and putting a diaper on. I don't know where he getting the diapers from. I done put his draws back on 3 times."

I laugh. "Nigga wild."

"He fucking crazy. He go tell her that I'm hitting his butt. She thinking some weird shit."

"Cause she know you not spanking him." I laugh.

Trey blows. "I'm trying to plan this boy birthday party and make sure we are able to come to Atlanta for your baby shit. When is the baby shower?"

"Who supposed to do that me?"

"I don't know. I just know we didn't have one cause Caden was early."

I suck my teeth. "I'm already cleaning the damn house and shit. Don't give me more shit to do."

"Naw call and ask a woman about the baby shower."

"Like my mama?"

"That's who I would call. My mama."

I sigh. "Aight. I'll have her let you know."

"Aight. She here."

"Oh, she was just in Charleston." I laugh. "Yeah with Lane pulling some little girl hair."

Trey laughs. "I got to go ask about that story."

"Yeah." I say hanging up then calling my mom.

"Hey, Tummy. I only invited 5 people."

I chuckle. "Okay. Trey asked me about a baby shower for Leah. Is that like a woman thing or what?"

"Cammie, do you have plans for Leah a baby shower? Me? I would love to throw a baby shower. I usually just attend stuff."

"Well this not April's son so she can mind her business." Cammie says laughing.

"Be easy." April says.

Ma chuckles. "Don't worry baby we will get something thrown together. You would get more gifts if you had it in Charleston at the church."

"That's fine. Leah needs God's hands according to these little girls."

"Amen." Ma says. "Little children will lead the way. Little Lane got Ike to talk to his mother. At 2 years... well almost 3 years old. He is wise beyond his years."

"Ike talked to his mama?" I confirm.

Ma smiles through the phone. "He sure did, Tummy. Now he back to being quiet. There's gonna be a day when she wants that boy to shut up. Tummy let me get off this phone. Lane, Sweetie, why are you wearing that diaper?"

"I pee."

"Lord have mercy." She hangs up.

I laugh out loud to myself. That boy a damn fool. I swear. I get a picture to my phone from Ma. Lane has on no shirt and a damn pull up. Not fucking Caden diaper but a damn pull up. Where the hell he find a damn pull up that fit his ass? I laugh some more staring at the picture. Lane had a big smile on his face like he was proud of his diaper. He a fucking clown. The moment they put him in school the fool gonna get kicked out. They gonna stay changing schools.

"You talking to yourself?" Jordan ask pulling the vacuum back.

"Aye don't go wearing diapers when this baby comes."

She touches her chest. "I would never."

I show her Lane. She falls on the floor laughing.

"This was today?"

"Yes." I nod.

She rolls around holding her stomach then she grabs the phone. "Let me show Lexi. Lane so funny. His butt too big."

"Yeah."

"I promise I won't put on no Pull-up." She laughs walking out with my phone.

Cammie

I hit Lane on his naked butt. "What you doing?"

He laughs picking up his old baby bag. "Put on my draws."

"You stop acting like a clown. Let me see that bag."

"It say Daylan." He says digging through it.

I kneel down digging in it with him. Where the hell did this bag come from? It was from last year. Have we been gone from California since last year? It is his old overnight bag. His ass wants to dig through the damn bag like it actually belongs to him. Put the Pull-ups on. I pinch his butt. He falls over holding his ass.

"My cup!" Lane snaps digging in the bag. "Open it Mommy."

"Lane, I know that cup stank."

"No it not." He smells it. He makes a face. "Smell it."

I laugh. "No."

He smells it again then throws it. Trey just so happen to walk up and get hit by the cup. Lane gasps looking at Trey worried. Trey wasn’t bothered.

"This old ass cup."

"Smell it." Lane says standing up.

Trey smells the cup then holds it away from him. "Damn."

"Throw it." Lane giggles. "Throw it, Nevers."

"Boy." Trey says narrowing his eyes at him. "What you call me?"

Lane was back digging through the bag. I smile at Trey. He called him Neverson. He loves changing Trey's name. But Neverson. Trey points at Lane.

"Why your son naked?"

"This is where he has been getting the diapers. He ran out though. Lane put on some clothes."

He is playing with a toy that he finds. He starts crying, dropping the toy, and walking away. I shake my head. I don't know what his problem is. Trey touches the top of my head. I swat his hand away. He takes his foot and taps my ass crack. I suck my teeth. He chuckles then taps my ass again.

"Can we talk?" he asks

"Yes." I say standing up. "This house is crowded. Do you want to talk privately? Maybe take a walk."

He shrugs a little. "Ditch the kid and fuck."

"Talk."

"Nobody out back, sexy."

He winks his eye at me. I start to walk around him. He steps over a bit but not blocking my way. I run pass him but he grabs me anyway. Thinking I'm so fucking fast. I laugh to myself as he pulls me to him.

"Mommy." Lane says.

"Oh Lord." I yell running from Trey to Lane.

This boy had my baby. Oh my gosh. Lane had Caden by his shoulders hugging him with both hands with his legs fucking dangling. I take him from Lane checking him to make sure he breathing. He just chilling.

"Lane." I start. But what the hell I supposed to say? Don't touch my fucking baby? "Lane why do you have Caden?"

"Cammie!" April says coming down the hall. "You could have fucking said I'm taking the baby."

Trey chuckles taking Caden. "Lane had Caden."

April makes her eyes big. "Daylan! I told you not to touch your brother!"

Lane was unbothered. "I give Taden to mommy."

"I'm done." April says turning and walking away. "Hell."

"Nanma no say that." Lane follows her. "Nanma go outside?"

April spins around. "You gave Caden to your mommy so you can go outside? I can't believe you."

"Go outside?" Lane whines.

"Lane, Mommy going outside." Trey says walking behind April.

Lane cuts his eyes at me. "Mommy go outside?"

"Yes, let's go."

He runs his short ass legs through the house. I can't believe he took Caden from April so that he could go outside. What do you say to this little man who think he is 10 feet tall. I see Ike on the way out the door. He waves at me. I wave back. He is drinking juice sitting at the table by himself. He is such a sweet kid. He gets out the chair running over to me as I walk outside behind Lane. He looks at me.

"Yes?" He whispers nodding.

"Yes, you can go outside." I nod back.

He runs out the door behind Lane. He hugs Lane then runs to the bikes and power wheels. He hops in a car and ride off in it. Lane climbs the jungle gym all by himself. JJ runs outside with his draws on and nothing else. He freezes when he sees me. I just watch him. He walks out towards the yard staring at me. His partner in crime running around with only draws on as well. I guess April put them on him.

"Jayla?" Trey says hugging me. "We have a lot of talking to do before dancing with the stars."

"Yeah."

He kisses my neck. "I missed you."

I touch his hand. "Don't you get worked up about that. It's gonna be just like me teaching that class and that movie."

"Naw, man. Bae, who the hell watching Lane? And JJ? Caden plus Minnie?"

"JJ and Minnie are not your problem."

He blows. "But you gone be working with MiMi. Devin ain't shit. Bitch know just as much as me. We know the time that Mommy comes home. Two feedings and a couple diaper changes. Mommy will be home. Mommy in the next room."

"Tremaine, stop. Lane has April and Rose. Plus my mother."

"You not gonna let Lane stay away."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Cause they will come help if they know we have to be here. My mother will come. We can afford a nanny as well. Are we in financial trouble?"

"Naw."

"Okay then." I nod. "All those weeks I stayed in the hospital."

He sighs. "We each had a baby."

"Tremaine." I grab his face. "I did it for a year with Lane right there like Caden's age. I got this okay? I'm not leaving. I will be right there."

"Right there?"

I kiss him. "I like you stressing over our future. Now next thing."

"Breastfeeding and dancing."

"We take breaks. Plus these pumps are amazing these days. Just put them in your shirt and pump. Do a little dancey dance then empty."

He blows. "Church."

"Oh." I smile. "I found one. Celebrity friendly in Beverly Hills. Diverse, no cult like shit. My mom and Lonnie been there for a wedding before."

"Okay." He smiles.

I kiss him. "You were prepared."

"And what you say about birth control?"

"In my arm." I hold it up.

He touches it. "Oh."

There's screaming. It startled the hell out of me. I look around the yard. Lane is standing there staring at Ike. Ike swings down from the top of the fireman's pole. I don't know who screamed but JJ is riding a bike off to himself. Ike screams. It was Ike the first time as well. I watch how happy he is playing with Lane. Maybe he needed a friend or a family member to encourage him to let go. I hug Trey as he watches JJ fight with the bike.

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talkfastromance4 · 3 years

Text

supportive baby//poly!cashton oneshot

the photo below stirred a little bit of something and I owe my thanks to @in-superbloom and @polycashton so thank you for giving me a small nudge to write something. this is for you🥰😘

a/n: this is also written in a 'you' format which is swaying from my usual poly!5sos writings (usually used in third person and pronouns of she/her) but it seemed to fit better this way with the idea I had. I'm sorry if I fluctuate a lot between the two but...yeah. I hope you enjoy. This is the first semi-decent thing I've written in a while.

****

Ashton always floats with an air of confidence, it's evident in his posture and the aura he puts off. So it isn't too abnormal for his confidence to waver, everyone has bad days, but when it knocks him down a peg or two, it's very noticeable and makes you and Calum sad. You hate seeing him doubt himself and you've picked up on the signs where his confidence sinks.

He constantly runs his fingers through his hair, tucks the strands behind his ears or places a curl in front of his eyes, and checks how it looks in the reflection of his phone. He changes his outfit a dozen times, shirts are tossed about the room, pants landing atop the dresser until his side of the closet is nearly bare. Stripped away of all things that make Ashton Ashton and he's left with more discouragement. When it comes to picking out shoes, you usually find him sat in the middle of the closet staring at the shoe rack.

When he announces he's going to practice his drums, you and Calum are met with radio silence for hours on end. Knowing better than to try and get him out of a creative funk, you leave him be until he's ready to discuss and process what he's going through or for the music to start if he comes to the conclusion on his own.

His actions are no different now that the album is nearly finished and they're going to be playing live together as a band this weekend. Calum is stressed about it as well, Ashton's emotions radiating onto him and he's constantly air playing his bass, his fingers moving along the fake strings. He's worried he's forgotten to play all of their songs.

You try to be as helpful as you can be for the both of them but you feel out of your limit because they process their hang-ups differently and yet it feels similar. Because they're similar. Ashton and Calum are a cohesive unit, not just the rhythmic backbone of the band, but also within your relationship.

So when they're off kilter, you're off kilter.

The night before they're supposed to go to band rehearsal to prepare for playing the first time this Saturday, Ashton sighs heavily before plopping next to you on the couch. You're looking up new soup recipes to try this fall on your tablet and then Ashton's face is in your lap.

"Hi," you smile down at him, your fingers immediately carding through his hair.

"Will you come to rehearsal tomorrow?" he asks, hazel eyes imploring up at you.

"Really? I can see you practice?" You sit up a little straighter at the notion, you've always wanted to see them rehearse but didn't want to be in the way or something.

"Yeah. You'll...I'll feel better with you there. I think Cal will, too."

"I'd love to," you grin. "What time do we have to be there?"

"Eleven."

It's the morning of rehearsal and Ashton dipped out of bed quietly, but not before giving you and Calum a swift kiss on the cheek, so he can meditate. You and Calum are currently watching him from the sliding door window as he sits in the center of the patio on a blanket in the sunshine. He's taking deep, shallow breaths.

"How're you feeling today, babe?" you ask Calum.

"Better. Once we're all together I'm hoping things will just flow...hopefully Ash's meditating will help him, too," he nods towards your love.

You both stare at him for a few moments and then you're struck with an idea.

"He's been feeling down and out about his art, right?" you ask out loud.

"Yeah, which is insane. Knucklehead," Calum scoffs but you can sense the loving tone beneath it.

"I have an idea. Come on," you take his hand leading him to your bedroom and into the massive closet you all share. "Which is your favorite of his merch shirts?"

"Umm...this one, I guess," he points to the long sleeved shirt. "Why?"

"Put it on," you take it off the rack and riffle through his t-shirts until you find your favorite electric blue shirt of his.

You and Calum remove your shirts to pull on Ashton's and you smile as soon as the fabric covers you. It smells like Ashton and you feel surrounded by his presence.

"I love wearing his clothes but how is this going to help him, baby?" Calum asks confused.

"He's feeling down and out about his art, he needs to be reminded that what he creates is genuine and wonderful."

"Cal! Y/N! We better get going!" Ashton calls up from the kitchen.

You and Calum rush down the stairs, Ashton is gathering his phone, wallet, and keys in his pockets before pulling on his pink button up. He glances up at you and Calum then does a quick double take at your shirts of choice.

"What are you two up to?" he asks.

"Nothing," you and Calum say simultaneously.

"We don't want to be late," you smile and kiss Ashton's cheek.

***

The three of you are the first to arrive so they take the time to set up their instruments. You're sat near the door on a stool watching them and waiting for Luke and Michael to arrive. Ashton and Calum talk quietly amongst themselves then sit in front of Ashton's drum set, Calum has his bass in his lap.

You can hear the faint chords from his plucking, Ashton nodding his head along and murmuring what you're sure are words of encouragement. The love and respect is evident between them, especially when they're in their music element.

You're anxious to see them play, it's been so long, and then Ashton is scrolling through his phone. Calum stops playing and they converse a bit more, their eyes flickering to you every so often.

Ashton pockets his phone, squeezes Calum's wrist and leans over to give him a quick kiss. Then he stands up and makes his way towards you. Before you can speak, he's pulled you against his chest in a tight, warm hug. He kisses the top of your head.

"Cal told me your idea about my shirts," he murmurs. "You're such a sweetheart, thank you."

"You're welcome," you squeeze his waist tightly, loving the softness of his body and the warmth radiating from it. "You're an amazing artist and an even more amazing human being."

Ashton leans back so he can look at you, there's a slight blush to his cheeks. You frame his cheeks in your hand smiling up at him and you press your lips to his delicately.

"See? Beautiful art."

***

Taglist: @calumance @in-superbloom @calpalirwin @karajaynetoday @wiiildflowerrr @sunshineeeluke @littledrummeraussie @suchalonelysunflower @hoodhoran @Fobodob @thew0rldneedsmcreycghurt @sunshineeashton @ashtonsunflower @mymindwide @itjustkindahappenedreally @seanna313 @fivesecondsofonedirection24 @mulletcal @pandaxnienke

#poly!cashton #poly!cashton fluff #poly!cashton oneshot #cashton fluff

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sanghyukstattoos · 3 years

Text

SF9's reaction: first time over at theirs, accidentally leak

Warnings: mentions of blood, medicine (tablets)

A/N: None of the images in the collage are mine, refer to here for more; For more SF9, read here, for iKON, read here and for optional bias writings, read here

Safe and happy reading everyone!

Youngbin:

Partly anxious, partly thinks he knows what to do

He has a vague idea of what he should do, it presents itself to his decisions in the form of a solution but he isn't sure, is it what he is supposed to do? Suppose you have been asleep when he found out about your period, he will softly climb back into bed and wake you up. He'll hold you as and when you wake up and he finds it important to cuddle you all day long, even when he suggests that you watch something to distract yourself. He'll try to engage you in doing something like cooking as well but when he see that it doesn't work, he'll tell you that it's okay and pull you to the sofa where the two of you will spend the time either watching the tv or not but in each other's arms. You may go on a walk because he insists on getting fresh air and it's reliving, to feel the wind breeze through your hair, away from the growing stuffiness of staying indoors all day long.

Inseong:

''Oh, she must be in pain, what do I do?''

He may wake up because of your whimpers and heated body (you feel warm to the touch, much more than usual) so he wakes you up, giving you a detailed report of the blood stains and your probably high body temperature. He's freaking out which is cute before you sigh. The previous evening you felt your pms but when would it actually come? That was your question. Nevertheless, he leaves you to freshen up and takes the sheets for cleaning. He has some tricks up his sleeve; he knows that to do. When you come out, maybe hug him from the pain, his heart will squeeze like a towel filled with water, he'll press kisses on your face and give you gently words of support, ''You're doing so well. You want to lay down? I'll lay down with you, come.'' as he tugs you along. If you feel more active, he'll try his best to cook, as in, he'll give in his ultimate best. Extra effort so that you can eat food at home rather than from outside, it will taste good in the end because he would have followed the recipe and it's measurements to the t. Shining eyes should be following your movements when you taste his food, anxiously waiting for your response. Should you feed him, he'll melt, like a marshmallow. He loves you that much.

Jaeyoon:

Jaeyoon's a sweet heart

He'll ask you, ''Are you cramping?''. His voice is soft, almost down to a whisper. It draws you closer to him. You nod, pout whilst holding your lower tummy. You feel uncomfortable standing because of the pain, he knows it and draws you into his arms, holding you steady on your feet. He gives you little kisses on the cheek, teasing out giggles from you. He'll cook for you, maybe pancakes or avocado with fried eggs on toasted bread, whatever you want + as long as he is capable of making it, he may even surprise you! When you are eating, he'll give you company, his chin will rest in the palms of his hand and he'll give you this look where his eyes shine and the pads of his fingers drum on his cheek. He'll melt if you feed him, into a puddle his true form has been summoned. He'll make you smile, partly because of his cheeky jokes but also partly because of his own smile, lit cheeks that resemble a baking bun. He'll tell you not to apologise for the stained sheets, kissing your concern away. He'll join heads with you and figure out to do with it. The rest of the day, he'll spend it with you by taking you into his arms. Be prepared, fluff! passionate-driven! domestic husband! Jaeyoon is out to cuddle you!

Dawon I Lee Sanghyuk:

🥺🥺

He may wake up to your groans of pain, too disorientated at first to comprehend that you may be pms-ing so he'll go back to sleep. When he wakes up later on, the first thing he may say is, ''Shit.'', biting his lip but not yet thinking of a solution. He'll first check up on you, to see if you are still asleep or not. If you are, he'll let you you be and sit back with his mouth agape, wondering how this could happen. This may go on for some moments. He doesn't have even half the heart to wake up but if he has to, he will. When you curl up into a foetal ball, his heart will break. After you refresh, he'll rush to sort out a hot bag for you and maybe some tea and cuddle with you on the sofa till you begin to feel hungry (he may wait for when you are ready to make breakfast!). It's because he loves eating and so he'll love to see his significant other too. He knows that you enjoy what you are eating and that makes him happy, so he'll wait!

Rowoon I Kim Seokwoo:

Luxurious level Rowoon 💸💸💸

You may already be up when he wakes up. ''Oh!?!?'' is his voice when he looks at the lil' crime scene you left. You didn't stress about it okay maybe a little but decided to deal with it when he woke up. O-O is his facial expression. He can't believe his eyes. He's scared, he may never be able to un-see it again, ever. To bad for him, slightly better for you. You are already refreshed and not feeling to great, drained even before the day has begun but he's not asking anything, only how you are feeling. You settle in the seat beside him, pressing a kiss to his cheek, he greets you with a kiss back, discussing about your plans for the day. ''About the sheets'', ''It's okay'' he says, noticing your apologetic face, ''We'll throw them out'', ''Okay~ they are your sheets'' you laugh. Otherwise, if he wants to make love to you, your period may briefly hinder his thoughts but not by much, especially if you agree. He undress you in the shower and kiss you all over, to relieve the soreness of your body and fill you up. He would be okay to cock warm, to sit there with you on his lap and talk to you, giggle and laugh with you, occasionally cutting you off by giving you love-bites and sucking your nipples, nipping the area around them, if you find yourself comfortable with cock warming.

Zuho I Baek Juho:

Home-man Ju, never-leaving-his-cats Ju

But for you, it'll happen. You may have not brought pads or tampons with you because your schedule is hay-wire. If no and you have some then problem solved but if not, he'll leave you with a hot bag and run to the nearest store to buy you some pads. He'll hurry, knowing that you are in pain so he'll even say to his cats before he goes, ''Be good and take care of y/n for me okay?''. You have half a mind to chuckle at this adorable behaviour. In his pyjamas and slippers, he'll walk out, coming back with pads/tampons and food! Food! What's not there to love about this man? He'll bring your favourite snacks, putting them on a plate while you freshen up. If you borrow his clothes, you'll take his breath away. He'll put something on to watch or go out, like an amusement park or food stalls or wherever you would love to go. He wants you to feel better.

Yoo Taeyang:

Shocked or master level response

The first would be more appropriate for this man no? But I can't also help but think that he would see you in pain and move quickly. Without thinking of a plan or immediate solution, he would try to use what he has, a resourceful character is my point. He may rummage through the kitchen and medicine cabinets, standing there for two to three minutes, pondering over what he could use. He is quick to find a heat bag and warm it up, perhaps a wet towel that he thinks he will come back to and tablets for your pain. No doubt that his once blurry eyes and tired mind have disappeared to the back, your peacefulness of mind and sleep becomes his first priority. He takes you to the toilet and while you hazily strip off your clothes, he warms up the water and fills the tub with it. While you soak, cleaning yourself up, he lets you be, giving you the space you need to take a while and gather your peace of mind. There's a lot he would do for you. In the morning, he would cook for you and take you out. Later in the afternoon, you'll fall asleep together and in the evening, if you both are in the mood, he'll be willing to try and ease your cramps with releases. He's someone to be grateful for.

Hwiyoung I Kim Youngkyun:

Shy, to the bone

You knock on his door, ''Kyun?'', ''hm? You okay?'', he is curious. ''Yea, I'm going to the store and coming back.'', ''It's pitch black outside, I'll come with you.'', ''okay'', it's dangerous outside, anyone could be there. Just left the complex, he asks, ''What do you need?'', ''Tampons'', ''oh.'', he's flustered now. The tips of his ears turn pink and his cheeks- he can't resist them from going upwards. After scratching the tip of his ear, he asks, ''Does it hurt?'', ''hm, I can feel it, it's hurts a little but later it may hurt a lot.'', ''As in, unbearably?'', ''Yea and I think that I may have already leaked.''. ''Shit'' he murmurs, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, ''If you want, you could go home and I could get them?'', he asks, in all seriousness. He doesn't contemplate that he's never done this before but he could, for you. ''It's okay, I think I can make it. Plus, you won't know what to get.'', ''Call me, ''Are you sure about this?'', ''Absolutely, I'll drop you off and then I'll pick them up, do you want something to eat?''. The endeavours make you smile, now you are at the front of his house, ''Anything is okay with me.'' to which he chuckles. He knows what you want, ''So some snacks?'', in a teasing manner. He moves closer to you. It's a pause from the outside world, cupping your face entirely in his hands, he kisses your cheek. You softly gasp, slipping into his grasp when he lets go. You could smell his shampoo and the way he lingered, he's already telling you, ''Go up, I'll come to you.'' having you shake you head and tell him, ''thank you.''. As he begins to walk, he resists turning back and pulling you into a kiss driven by heat-blinding passion.

I guarantee that the kiss doesn't happen for sometime but when it does, you end up making soft love under the covers. He starts with mapping out kisses along your body + he loves how you touch him when he kisses you.

Chani:

Loving and admirable

When he sees you in pain, he hurts too, expressed as a pout or frown, tugging your hand and asking if you are okay. He wants to make your pain go away. He may be doing some work on his laptop, he'll hold you in his arms with your head on his chest and you softly snoring away. It'll make him smile, after all you were woken up so early in the morning by your cramps, waking him up to a few hours later to find that you made breakfast. It depends on who wakes up, one or the other makes breakfast after a long competition of seeing who can sleep the longest. He feels grateful and he tells you that, before saying that you shouldn't have when you felt this much pain and that he was okay with eating outside food. You have to smile and place a finger to his mouth to prevent his nagging from chewing your ears off and give him a little kiss and then immediately pull him for cuddles. Complain about how you are in pain and he will melt like a lolly on a hot summer day and instantly cuddle you, hovering over your figure that he placed on the sofa and tease you, maybe by feeling your waist to your neck to a small make-out session. It'll be automatic for him to compliment you and shower you with love, easily embracing you and kissing you to tell you that he loves you.

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blu-joons · 3 years

Text

He Worries About You Overworking ~ Song Mingi

Mingi felt his heart break as he watched you stumble down the stairs, smiling weakly in his direction as you made your way to the sofa. He quickly stood up, grabbing a blanket, and moving some of the cushions to make a bit of space for you.

Your voice was barely audible as you thanked him for making the space for you, laying yourself across the full length of the sofa, letting go of a sigh of relief.

“You were asleep for hours,” he sighed, taking a seat on the floor beside the top of your head, “I’m beginning to worry Y/N, this is really doesn’t feel like something goof to be happening.”

You’d been working hard recently as work got busy with deadlines for you to reach, no matter how much they took out of you, it was too important for you to give up on. All of the time you spent on work had a severe knock-on effect on your life at home too, you barely had any time for Mingi, and when you did, you usually spent it fast asleep on the sofa or tucked up in bed.

“I didn’t think I was asleep for long, but I didn’t really get much sleep last night,” you informed him, tucking your hand underneath the cushion.

“You’ve not slept in weeks, I thought you were fine, but I’m beginning to worry Y/N.”

You knew Mingi worried about you, your health hadn’t always been in the best condition since you met him, which was something he often struggled with. He tried hard to trust in you and leave you to understand your own body but at times like this, he couldn’t sit back and watch.

“Maybe we need to have a chat with work about what’s going on,” he suggested, but you quickly shook your head. “You’re overworking yourself to a point where you have no life aside from work anymore Y/N.”

Your eyes closed at the sound of his voice bellowing beside you. “It won’t be forever, in a few weeks then all of this will be done, and they’ll be no reason to worry.”

“And what if it’s a few weeks too late?” He challenged, refusing to let the topic drop. “Your body is exhausted, it’s not in the best condition anyway. At what point do you decide that enough is enough and you need to put the focus back on yourself?”

You pressed the cushion tighter against your head, trying to push aside the pain that you were beginning to feel in your head, made worse by the sound of Mingi right by your side.

As much as you knew he cared, you knew at what point you needed to stop. A couple of weeks of exhaustion and stress were something you could deal with if it meant you didn’t face the pressure and anger from everyone at work towards you.

“It’s breaking my heart seeing you struggle Y/N, and don’t even try and convince me that you’re fine. I’ve known you for long enough now to know when you’re far from fine.”

“What can I do?” You asked him, opening your eyes back up. “I’m stuck in the middle of making myself ill and potentially getting the sack from work, how can I choose between the two?”

His head shook gently, “you choose your health every time, no matter what. If work give you the sack, I’ll look after you, but I’d rather look after you here than in hospital at your bedside.”

His words were tough, but they came from a place of love. You were unaware of a tear rolling down your cheek as Mingi reached across to wipe under your eye, quickly removing it.

“I’m not prepared to sit back and watch you waste away once again.”

The first time he watched you fall apart was easily the toughest time of his life, there was no way that Mingi could stand back and watch it happen again, it was hard on you, but it was hard on him too.

“I appreciate how important work is to you Y/N, but how can you work if you can’t even stand on your own two feet for a few minutes before collapsing onto a chair again?”

“I’d make it work, like I always have to.”

“You don’t have to,” he quickly clarified, “there’s always a choice, and I’m begging with you to make the right one before it’s too late. You just have to trust me on this.”

Your head and your heart pulled you in two different directions. You weren’t blind to the fact you were beginning to fall apart, but you were also very aware just how important everything at work was for you to do too.

“I won’t let this drop Y/N,” he added as you fell silent, “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that you’re alright, I can’t let this happen to you again.”

“What if it already is happening? What if it’s too late?”

He sighed softly, moving closer towards you. “It’s not too late,” he spoke in a much softer tone, “there’s always a chance to turn things around, you can’t possibly think like that.”

“That’s the thing, I’m not thinking,” you groaned, pressing your exposed hand to the top of your head, “I’ve not been able to think for weeks, work fills up my mind.”

“Then let me help you change that, it’s what you have to do.”

Your eyes met his, noticing the sincerity from the very start. “What am I supposed to do Mingi? Maybe I do feel like I’m overworking and falling apart, but where do I go from here?”

As you finally began to admit that you were struggling, his whole body relaxed. One of his arms wrapped over your waist, whilst the other pressed over yours on the top of your head, recognising straight away why it was there.

“Let me handle things, and you just focus on yourself. I’ve always told you that I’ll care for you no matter what, and that’s not going to change now.”

“Thank you,” you whispered, squeezing gently against his hand. “I don’t what I’d do sometimes if I didn’t have you here with me.”

You’d spent a long time fighting all by yourself, which often left you stubborn to help. Mingi knew that if he worked hard enough, he could break you down, it was just about finding that weak spot that would make you recognise how much help you needed.

“How about I start with getting you some pain relief for that headache and then we can think of something?” He suggested, standing up from the floor to had into the kitchen.

“What are we going to do?” You asked as he came back a few moments later with a glass of water and a packet of tablets in hand.

His shoulders shrugged innocently, “I don’t know where we go right now, but if we sit down and take a moment to relax, we’ll come up with something.”

“What do I do about work? What if they get rid of me?”

“I’ve already told you; I’ll look after you. Whatever happens, your health comes first, and then we can think about the future after that.”

“You really want to be the one that looks after me?”

“Of course. That’s all that I ever will do.”

---

Masterlist

#ateez #ateez imagine #mingi #mingi imagine #song mingi #song mingi imagine #ateez scenario #ateez reaction #ateez mingi #ateez drabble #ateez one shot #mingi reaction #mingi scenario #mingi drabble #mingi one shot #kpop #kpop imagine #mingi ateez

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honeypirate · 3 years

Text

Quick drabbles about sweet moments I would like to have with some of my favorite characters.

Fem reader sometimes

Fire force

Benimaru

He comes into your room with a sigh, closing the door quietly before kneeling at the bottom of your bed and crawling up between your legs, pushing his head under your hands holding your book and laying his head against your chest. You chuckle and set your book aside before running your fingers through his hair “hello sweetheart” you say and he pushes up so his face was in your neck now, kissing the skin softly “hello” he says and sighs into your neck. “I missed you” you say and he nods into your neck “I missed you” he says and you wrap your arms around his shoulders, hugging him tighter to you and kissing the top of his head.

Konro

You sit behind him in the bath, the hot water up to your shoulders and you lay your head against his back as he tells you about his day, his hands brushing up and down your legs beside him. You were careful to avoid the charred marks on his neck, arms, and back as you careful washed him, leaving kisses around them. You took care of him better than anyone and he felt the love you had for him every time you helped him, you never made him feel like a burden or anything less than, you made him feel comfortable in his own skin. “God I love you so much” he whispers as you finish washing his hair “it’s my turn now” he says and you carefully switch places with him, his large hands gently washing your body and kissing your neck. He washes your hair and then spends extra time running his fingers through it, loving the soft feel in his hands. You run your fingertips against his legs and up to his thighs as you talk and relax until the water gets too cold.

Obi Akitaru

He throws you over his shoulder after you get back to the compound, you giggle and lightly hit his back “Obi! Put me down!” He laughs and slaps your butt “not gonna happen. My girl was injured so I gotta carry her in” you sigh and relax in his hold “ It’s just a little burn! On my arm! I can still walk” he laughs but doesn’t set you down until you’re in his private bathroom. He helps you out of your fire force coat and pants before taking off his own, leaving you in just your underwear and a tank top and him in boxers. You smile softly up at his as he gently washes the soot off your cheeks and neck. “You’re so beautiful sweetheart” he says and you blush, reaching up and cupping his cheek with a smile “you’re not so bad yourself” you say and he grins. You take the washcloth from his hand and rinse it out before gently washing the soot off his cheeks for him “let’s hop in a shower so we can do this properly” he says as he dips down to capture your lips in his.

Hinawa

You push the kitchen door open quietly and peak in at him, he’s singing along to a old record he borrowed from Obi, some jazz from before the cataclysm. You watched him cook and sing, butterflies in your belly from how adorable it is. His voice was perfect for this kind of music and it smelled like he was making your favorite meal. You walk over to him and wrap your arms around his middle, his singing turning into a low chuckle. “Hey sweetheart” he says and you smile, placing a kiss against his shirt on his spine “it smells good but I want to know....are you on the menu for tonight?” you say and his hand holds yours on his stomach “naughty girl” he says before taking the pan of the heat and turning around in your arms, he holds both of your cheeks and you look up at him, your chin on his chest. His eyes were dark, you could see the lust in his eyes and the adoration he has for you. You stand on your tiptoes, meeting him halfway as he captures your lips his.

Haikyuu

Aone

Sitting in the living room, leaning against him on the couch as you both read together. His arm around you as he scrolls through his book on his tablet, your head against his arm, kissing it every other page turn. When you finish your chapter to mark your page and set your book on the coffee table before turning your head up and kissing his chin softly, watching his lips turn up in a smile before his eyes flick to yours after he finishes the sentence he was on. “I’m so unbelievably lucky” he whispers and you blush, after all these years he still makes you feel giddy in your heart.

Kuroo

You’re cooking breakfast while he pours mimosas, the Sunday morning air filled with sweet kisses and witty banter, him sticking to you like glue, his hands on your hips and his chin against your shoulder as he sways you to the music playing, singing the lyrics to you as you flip the pancakes.

Ushiwaka

Taking the long drive through the country for a weekend away, his hand on your thigh as he drives, you play a perfect relaxing mix of music but the radio is quiet background noise as you talk about anything you can think of. You loved that he was so open minded, you could ask anything your crack head thoughts come up with and he’d respond honestly. You never felt the need to fill any silence though, it was comfortable, he felt like home to you.

Daichi

You’re singing along to the music you had playing loudly as you did some late night cleaning while waiting for him to get come from work, he had to do some extra paperwork but you didn’t mind. You were excited to see him after being apart all day and to combat that excitement you decided to clean. When he walks in the house he smiles at the sight, you were standing on the back of the couch, the vacuum on as you suck the dust off the blinds, your foot tapping along to the music that was so loud you could hear it over the vacuum. He closed the door as he admired you before walking over to you and quickly clicking the vacuum button. You yelp as he knocks the back of your knees so you fell into his waiting arms, his smiling face made your heart skip as you relaxed into his arms “you naughty boy!” You say as you laugh and kisses your cheek “What can i say? I missed my darling”

Nishinoya

You’ve been together for years, spent traveling as you worked as a freelance photographer mostly but now you’ve decided to go home and put down your own roots, get back to family. After a few months you decided you wanted to adopt a pet tigether, finally deciding on a sweet cat you met at the shelter, he couldn’t stop talking about her so you thought it was a pretty good sign. Her first night home with you, you let her get adjusted and she kept to herself for the most part, claiming one of the chairs in the living room for herself. In the middle of a movie you were watching you got up to use the bathroom, when you returned he was mouthing screams at you pointing down, you chuckled as you saw that the cat had jumped up and fell asleep on his lap. He was so cute you about teared up for a moment before taking a picture of them on your phone, setting it as your Lock Screen. Your perfect little family.

Tendou

When he was making you homemade chocolate at his apartment for your fifth date, you took a spoon and dipped it into the melted chocolate when you thought he wasn’t looking. When he turned around and saw you with the spoon in your mouth, an obviously blissed look at how delicious it was, he knew he loved you. “Sorry” you say around the spoonin your mouth, your cheeks warming under his gaze. “You’re such a sneak, I’ll have to look out for that” he says as he boops your nose. You felt your heart race at the way his eyes lingered on you with a smirk. This man would be the death of you.

Bnha

Bakugou

You sing a little song to yourself as you break your chopsticks apart, dancing in your chair as you look down at your ramen. You were so happy to be in this moment with your favorite boy and your favorite food. He looks across the table at you, an amused smile on his face as he watches you and listens to your impromptu dumb song about how much you love ramen and love him, all the anger in his body leaving. You look up into his eyes and you feel your cheeks get warm “hmm?” You ask and expect his usually dumbass banter but your breath hitches when he says softly “I just love you is all” He‘ll never forget how lucky he is to be sharing perfect moments with you.

Midoriya

A date that’s not a date. You go to a thrift store with your friends but take his hand and lead him back to the clothing, taking turns choosing ugly accessories and coats for the other, spending the whole time lost in the moments with him. By the end you have many pictures together on your phone. You break off from the group, walking behind a few feet with him as you talk about your favorite heroes, you asked him questions about his notebook and he showed you the page he had written for you but forgot the small little drawing of a heart next your name at the top of the page. He noticed when the notebook was in your hand but couldn’t really tear it from you, that would be nuts. So he just hopes you don’t notice as you read his notes(you do) “this is amazing. I didn’t know you paid this much attention to me” his cheeks flush “y/n you have an amazing quirk! I love to watch you!” His face turns very red as you raise your eyebrows “you love to watch me?” You smirk and he starts to ramble “no! I mean I do. But like not in a weird way. I just like to see how your quirk develops. I’m not a stalker or anything” you reach out and take his hand with a chuckle “I like that you pay attention to me so don’t worry Zuku” you say and he lets out a deep breath. The rest of your group notices but just leaves you be, this was a long time going and to be honest bakugou started a bet to see how long it would take. He won when he bet it would be sooner rather than later. The first time he ever bet on Deku but only because he knew you were bolder.

Kaminari

Oh man. You were home early and he hadn’t heard you come in. You could hear he was on the phone with someone so you didn’t make any loud noises as you set your things down. “I’m gonna ask her tonight. Yeah I have the ring here in my hand, it’s so perfect. ... I have a reservation at the place we had our first date” he busts up laughing and you crack a smile when you realize he means the skate park near your old high school. “Yeah man the skatepark. But it’s actually a really nice restaurant now which I thought was so romantic. Shin, I can’t even begin to explain how sure I am about this. I can’t imagine a life without them in it.” You feel your heart skip and your eyes mist over for a moment before you suck in a breath and make your way over to the door, opening it quietly and then shouting “Hey im home early! Are you home?” You act, dramatically picking up and dropping your keys again and kicking your shoes. You hear a drawer shut and him say “I gotta go man she’s home thanks so much” before he comes out of the bedroom with a big grin on his lips “y/n/n! do you wanna go out to dinner tonight? There’s this new place I want us to try”

Aizawa

The way the breeze coming in through window ruffled his hair woke him up, it was just after two am and he must of forgot to close the window before you guys fell asleep. He got up to shut the window and he turned around, pausing for a second when he noticed you were looking at him. The moonlight framed his back and hit your face, your sleepy eyes taking in his shirtless frame as he walked back to bed. “You look like an angel” you whispered to him and he chuckles as he scooted under the covers, “you must still be dreaming if you think I’m the angel of this relationship” he mutters, trying to hide the way his heart skipped when you called him an angel.

Fatgum/ Taishiro

He comes home, his big suit in tatters and his body smaller, bruises already forming on his face and chest you can see from the torn fabric. “Oh babe I knew it was bad but I really wasn’t-“ you hold your hand to your lips to try and stop your tears as he walks over to you and wraps you in a hug and standing, carrying you with him to the bedroom “oh my angel don’t worry. I’m okay. All I need is a little bit of your home cooking and a lot of your kisses, then I’ll be right as rain” you shower with him, helping him out so he didnt have to use his sore limbs. Kissing him as much as he would want, showing him how much you love him. After you dress you make him multiple different foods, full meals so he could have as much as he wanted. He watched you cook from his spot at the kitchen table, his heart as full as his stomach will be later. The food you make for him always tastes the best, better than any food he could ever order, he feels your love through the act of service you give him every time you cook for him.

Present mic

The moment after a concert where you’re walking back to the car holding hands, smiles on your lips as your ears ringing from the level of music as you talk about your favorite songs that were performed. You start to shiver from the sweat on your body and he pulls you into a hug “I got something for you” he says quietly knowing your ears were already ringing as he kisses the top of your head “what is it?” You ask with a smile “close your eyes” he says and you lean up to kiss his lips softly before pulling back and keeping yo eyes closed. You feel something go over your head and you instinctively put your arms up through the sleeves knowing it was a hoodie “okay open your eyes” he says and you do, seeing him wearing a hoodie in front of you and looking down to see you had a matching one on “this is amazing Yama! I love you! Thank you!” You hug him tight and he laughs holding you close “anything for my girl”

Toshinori

Walking through the park in the morning, getting some coffee and people watching, hitting the farmers market on the way home he buys you some flowers while you’re distracted with the fruit. You buy an aloe plant in a pot painted with his face on it that looks like his hair for your office at the school and when you walk home you buy some donuts from the stand at the end, your arm in his as you have endless entertaining conversations.

Naruto

Kakashi

You gave him an excuse of a mission so you could go to the sand village for a few days. There’s a small bookstore there who was going to be releasing a limited edition Icha Icha book with a twist ending and you wanted to make sure you could get one. You were the first one in line and you waited all night long to be the first one in when it opened that day. You got the book and then swung by where you heard Jiraiya was, some bar by a hot spring between the sand and the leaf. “What are you doing here?” He says through a confident slur as you sit down next to him. you pull out the book and a pen and grin at him but when he doesn’t show any emotion you sigh, pulling out your wallet and handing it to him before he nods and takes the pen “I always have time for my fans”

When you get back to the apartment it’s after 2am the day of his birthday. You take the stairs two at a time, ditching your pack by the door as you enter silently. You hold the book in your hands, neatly wrapped in paper as you kick off your shoes and make your way to the bedroom. He’s sleeping peacefully in bed and you can’t wait to ruin it. You climb up in the bed and sit cross legged next to him, a smile on your lips and the book in your lap as you softly run your fingertips across his cheeks and his forehead and then down his nose before his eyes flutter open. “Hi” you whisper and he smiles as he stretches his arms out “welcome home baby. How was the mission?” He sits up and you look down at the book in your lap “the mission was successful” you say with a chuckle before looking back up into his eyes “what do you got there?” He asks and you hide it behind your back “oh nothing at all I don’t know what you’re ta-“ he talked you to the bed and stars to tickle your sides “taLKING ABOUT!” You start to giggle as his fingers hit all your ticklish spots “Kashi stop!” You beg through laughs and tears before he captures your lips with his and you relax into him, not noticing when his hand slides under your back and pulls the book from your grasp. He knows exactly what it is the moment he’s touched it. “You didn’t” he says as he pulls back and you just grin “open it” you say and he does, gently pulling the paper from the book. He holds it like he’s holding somethjng extra precious “there wasn’t a mission” he states as he looks down at the book in his hands, flipping through the new pages. “The only mission was making you happy” you whisper and he looks up into your eyes, his looking a little misty, “I love you so much, thank you” he says quietly, afraid his voice will crack. “I love you Kakashi. Happy Birthday”

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lovelybarnes · 3 years

Text

family- p. parker

pairings: peter parker x reader, reader x ocs, peter parker x ocs

warnings: none? ig peter with glasses and a little freaking out at the beginning

about: requested! peter meets your family

a/n: thank you so much for requesting!! i hope you like this!

your eye twitched as you stared, hearing the words peter was saying but being unable to process them. this was not as serious as you were making it out to be, you knew that, but dammit, were you still nervous. your fingers were drummed lighty on your thigh, watching peter hunched over his desk, scrawling sentences on his notebook.

“y/n?” peter asked, suddenly at your legs. “are you okay? you kind of spaced out for a second there.”

you let out a long breath, squeezing your eyes shut, “i’m leaving to go visit my family for a weekend, and- i love them so much, but i’m going to miss you, and it’s so many people, i’m just really nervous, i haven’t seen my aunt gloria in like four years and my aunt maribel always ambushes me about the boyfriend and the-”

“hey, calm down, it’s- you’re gonna miss me?” peter asked, cutting himself off and you glared at him. “okay, not the point, why are you so nervous about this?”

you shrugged, nuzzling your head into his shoulder when he sat down next to you, “i love them but they’re just a lot. it’s just-” you sighed, a stray conversation between you and your mother from a few days ago coming back to you. “hey,” you started, lifting your head off of peter’s body. “do you have plans this weekend? my mom told me to extend an invitation to you if you were free.”

peter’s face lit up, and you relished in the shine in his eyes. “yeah! yeah, i’m free! you really want me to meet your family?”

you sucked in a small breath in remembering that fact but nodded, “yes. i kind of breezed over that fact, which i shouldn’t have, but now that i can think about it, i do. i’m so sure they’re going to love you.”

“i hope they do,” peter said, nerves laced within his voice and you pouted, pressing your lips to his jaw. “they will. i doubt anyone couldn't.”

peter snorted, “yeah, well ask flash. or the vulture. or-”

“they’re literal villains! and flash- they’ll love you, you’ll see.”

you were still nervous on the day you left for the huge cabin you and your family would be staying at; although considerably less so with peter’s arm wrapped around you and his lips repeatedly pressing kisses to your cheek in the backseat of your mother’s car. you could practically feel your anxiety melting with each press of his lips against your cheek.

as he rested his head against your shoulders, you twirled his hair around your fingers, appreciating the effect the shower he’d taken hurriedly had had on his hair; leaving it damp and curlier than usual. he was silent for the most part, until he lifted his head and you dropped your hand.

“so, tell me about your family members! what are all their names?” peter requested, and your mother raised an eyebrow, “that’s going to take a lot longer than this trip.”

you nodded, “she’s right, it’s better if i just introduce them to you when we get there.”

you whisper now, “i will tell you that my aunt lauren- really skinny and small- will ask you if you’re a secret superhero. she doesn’t know anything, she asks everyone that, don’t panic.

“i have a bajillion little cousins that will be all over you, so hopefully you don’t get too annoyed by children. my uncle carlos will clap you really hard on the back, my aunt lola likes to be called lolita and will bake you too many cookies to eat. please eat them even if you hate them, she’s just trying to make everyone happy.”

peter is nodding along, as focused as you’ve seen him in class. “she sounds sweet, and i doubt i’ll have any problems with your uncle carlos, seeing as i’m spider-man and all.”

you laugh softly, rolling your eyes. “yes, well, let’s see how well spider-man can handle twenty or so relatives throwing themselves at him.”

you almost feel dumb for stressing out so much about the event while you watch peter interact with your family- key word almost, when you notice the pleading look he’s sending you while being trapped in your grandmother’s embrace. you walk over to him at once, tapping your grandmother’s shoulder lightly, “grandma? pete needs to breathe,” you point out, and she pulls away, “oh, i’m sorry!” she exclaims, patting him on the cheek, “i have to attend to rosa’s mess of a dinner in the kitchen, it was nice to meet you,” she tells peter. he nods, and your grandma begins to walk away, stopping next to you. “he’s so cute,” she whispers to you, but, of course, peter catches it and beams.

your grandmother strokes your cheek before slapping it gently as a form of goodbye, walking away.

“they do like me!” peter whispers excitedly, and you smile at him, grabbing his hand, “of course they do, but these are the easy ones.” he tilts his head at you, looking so much like a puppy that you nearly coo. “what do you mean?” he asks, and you tug him by the hand, heading to another room.

you bite your lip, “my cousins. the first boyfriend i brought here, they told me they didn’t like him, and two months later, i found out he cheated. it’s happened two times, they’re, like, psychic.”

“this is making me nervous,” peter mumbled, drawing small circles on your hand. humming, you turn to him, promising your next words, “you’re going to be fine, you’ll see.”

you kiss his nose and give his hand a squeeze, “they’re just little kids.”

you open the door, “with surprising intuitive abilities,” you mutter before your favorite little cousin spots and immediately runs to you. “y/n!” she screams, and you grin, bending down to her level and picking her up. “hi, kami!” you greet, kissing her cheek, and she giggles. she pauses for a second, squinting at peter standing behind you. “who’s this?” she asks, and you turn slightly, “this is peter, he’s my boyfriend.”

peter extends his hand to her with a dorky smile, and she looks at him for a moment before taking it.

other small people are beginning to crowd around you, and you put kamila down, gasping at all the barbies being shown to you and eventually being directed to sit down at a chair, nodding along to an explanation of a video game you’d seen peter play before.

after a little while, diego is distracted enough for you to be able to look up and see peter, in his absolute element, playing with kamila, liam, and veronica. he’s smiling, watching kamila color with veronica in his lap. liam is poking at his arm, directing his attention to the tablet in his chubby hands. veronica swipes at peter’s glasses, which sit perched on his nose.

with brown curls falling over his forehead, black rimmed glasses on his face, and surrounded by your little cousins, you can feel yourself falling even deeper for him, because how can you not? how can you not love the boy who is sitting in a cabin with your family, entertaining the cousins you love?

before you can freak out properly, you are pulled away by kamila, who has appeared by your side and instructs you to play in the play kitchen with her.

not five minutes after, while you are in the middle of making a fake salad, peter appears beside you, offering his help to kamila. he gets right to work, turning the knobs on the plastic kitchen, and he turns to you and mouths trophy husband with a goofy smile.

seeing him mixing a bowl of plastic food, you’re reminded of the alarming realization of just how in love you are with peter parker.

#peter parker #peter parker fluff #peter parker x reader #peter parker x you #peter parker x y/n #spiderman #spider man #spider man x reader #avengers #marvel #peter parker x reader fluff #request #peter parker request #requests #peter parker imagine #peter parker blurb #fluffy peter parker

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after-avenging-hours · 4 years

Text

Out of Time [Epilogue]: Steve x Reader

Series Masterlist

Summary: After Steve gets injected with a mysterious substance during a mission gone wrong, you come to find out that the only thing that can save his life is a pure sample of Dr. Erskine’s Super Soldier Serum. Unwilling to let the love of your life die without a fighting chance, you travel through the quantum realm back to 1943. Equipped with little more than your knowledge of past events, you have to figure out just how exactly you’re going to get your hands on that serum. Not only that, but with the infinity stones no longer protecting the reality you’ve come from, there is now a chance that your presence in the past can change the future you’ll return to. Can you succeed without messing things up? And if things go wrong, can you fix it before it’s too late? Or will you run out of time…

Word Count: 4614

Warnings: You might die from cuteness

When you land back in the future, your entire body is shaking. You have just enough strength to hit the button on the time watch to dissolve your quantum suit before you collapse to your knees.

“Vic!” Bucky vaults onto the platform. He kneels in front of you, taking your face into his hands. “Vic, what’s wrong?”

“Did you get the serum?” You can hear Bruce’s voice.

Your breaths come out in sputtering gasps, but you try to fight through it and nod your head. “Yes,” you choke out. “I have it.” Your hands are shaking as you reach for the internal pocket on your coat and hand it over to Bucky. “Dr. Erskine said that the components will begin to degrade the longer it’s left unused. I don’t know how much time we have left.”

Bucky takes the vial and quickly hands it off to Bruce, before returning to you. He places a comforting hand on your shoulder. “What happened?” he coaxes gently.

Tears well up in your eyes when you look back at him. “I think I messed up.”

He gently helps you to your feet and takes you to your bedroom to get cleaned up and changed into something more comfortable as you begin to divulge in full detail what exactly happened when you traveled back in time. He sits patiently on the corner of your bed as you pace up and down the room. You talk until your voice is raw and then you keep going.

“But then he threatened to drop the vial if I didn’t tell him who I worked for! I didn’t know what else to do, so I told him the truth…”

“And he believed you,” Bucky surmises, already putting the pieces together.

“He did,” you confirm, going a little soft as you recall his reasoning for believing you. “But Bucky…” you begin to shake your head fervently. “I broke every rule! I changed everything! None of that was supposed to happen!” You gesture wildly off to the side in a vague attempt at pointing toward the past. “And now, it’s too late to fix any of it,” you say brokenly.

Bucky releases a long breath, his mind spinning after everything you’ve just revealed. “Look, I’m not the science expert here and my only experience with time travel is getting shoved into an icebox every few years,” his lame attempt at a joke makes you scoff at best. “But I’m pretty sure that if anything got changed from this, you would be the only one that knows any different. So, let’s start small.”

You tilt your head as you look back at him, not understanding where he’s going with this.

“Look around your room. Is anything different here?” he asks.

As soon as you realize what he’s getting at, you start to walk around the room. Everything is exactly as you had left it. There’s a picture frame on the nightstand on your side of the bed. You’re tucked under Steve’s arm and smiling brightly at the camera. You remember that the photo was taken during one of Tony’s parties. Steve is wearing that tight blue button-up shirt that always drives you crazy and you’re decked out in a pretty red dress. Not even ten minutes after this photo was taken, you and Steve had snuck off for a quickie in the bathroom, because you just couldn’t handle how sexy he was in that damn shirt.

You smile fondly at the picture and move around the rest of the room. The books on your bookshelf are all the same. Half of them are yours, half are Steve’s. The closet is still divided between both of your things, but it’s all the same outfits you’ve seen hundreds of times. The bathroom still has both of your toothbrushes in the cup by the sink. A few different makeup products are scattered over the counter from when you’d been trying to figure out what you were going to take with you to 1943.

You make your way back over to Bucky, shaking your head and shrugging your shoulders. “It’s all the same.”

“Okay,” Bucky nods. “And I assume that I’m not any different, right?” He asks. “Now be careful with what you say, because if you tell me I didn’t have to lose my arm, I may just pull this one off and throw it at you,” he jokes again, pointing to his metal arm.

That one manages to successfully pull a laugh out of you, even if it’s a small one. “No, you’re the same. Metal arm included.”

“Alright…” Bucky grunts quietly as he pushes off the bed to stand up. “Then let’s widen our scope. While we’re at it, let’s head to the kitchen and get some food in you.”

You’re not very hungry, but you know that Bucky is just trying to take care of you in Steve’s absence, so you don’t argue. The two of you leave the living quarters and head for the shared kitchen. It’s strange being back. Not only because of the abundance of technology, that you had seriously taken for granted, but also because that feeling of uselessness was beginning to sink back in.

You’d completed your part. You got the serum. Now all that’s left is to wait and see if it paid off. You’re of no use at this point and that is really starting to weigh on you. “Bucky… what if it doesn’t work?” you ask, your voice sounding hollow.

“Don’t say that, Vic. Don’t even think it,” he responds swiftly. “You busted your ass to get us that serum. It’s going to work.”

You have to bite your lip to keep it from trembling, your eyes are already so raw from how much you’ve been crying that it physically hurts to tear up. “How can you be so sure?”

His gaze softens when he looks back at you. “You said it perfectly yourself. I have faith.”

Bucky was lucky enough to get some food in you but was wholly unsuccessful in getting you to rest. So here you are, 24 hours after arriving back from the past and you’re sitting at Steve’s bedside, desperately scrolling through a tablet reading through as many historical events as you can from the last century, trying to figure out what’s changed. So far, you’ve come up empty.

Bruce showed up at about 3 in the morning to tell you they had a breakthrough with the serum and had been able to synthesize a cure. He had even reached out to Shuri in Wakanda to have her double-check their work before preparing the antidote to administer into Steve’s IV. You gave her a quick phone call to let her know how grateful you were for her help and to tell her how handy her healing gel had been during your travels. When you asked how you could ever repay her, she’d laughed and told you to take her to Disneyland, because T’Challa still refused to take her himself. That made you crack a smile and you quickly agreed to get a trip planned.

Everyone else had, for the most part, left you alone to be with Steve. You are completely exhausted, both physically and mentally, but you can’t seem to let your mind rest. You can’t help but feel in your gut that your presence in the past had to have changed something. You just can’t for the life of you figure out what.

“Vic?”

The rough voice has your head snapping up so fast, you get whiplash. “Steve!” You quickly place the tablet down and scramble to your feet.

He blinks heavily, and he looks groggy as all hell, but he’s definitely awake.

“Oh, you big idiot. You scared the shit out of me!” You’re already crying again, just from the relief of seeing him awake.

“Sorry,” he grimaces. “What happened?”

“Those Hydra scientists injected you with some type of anti-serum poison. It almost killed you.”

“Would explain why I feel like shit…” he mumbles.

You scoff out a wet laugh. Reaching up, you push his bangs off his forehead then curl your fingers down his temple and over his smooth cheek. “Jerk,” you tell him affectionately.

His lips tilt into a half-grin before immediately falling into a frown. He grips your arm to stop you from pulling it back. “Vic, what is this?” he questions, looking at the bruise around your wrist. Figures he would notice that in mere seconds of being awake. You hadn’t even gotten a chance to have anyone else look at it yet.

“Oh, it’s nothing…” you try to brush it off and take your arm back, but his grip is surprisingly firm for someone that had literally been just steps away from death. Damn Super Soldier.

“It’s not nothing,” he insists. “That’s a handprint! Vic, who did-” he cuts himself off, gaze flickering down to where his fingers are wrapped around the middle of your arm and then back up to the bruise. Slowly, almost hesitantly, his hand travels up the length of your arm until he’s circling your wrist. He’s gentle and doesn’t press on the bruise at all, just hovers over it enough to see the exact match. “I did this,” he states upon the realization. His brows then furrow in confusion. “Why don’t I remember…?” He inhales sharply, his grip going slack, causing his hand to drop into his lap. In the next moment, his head whips around you meet your startled gaze. “You went back!” he exclaims.

“What-” your jaw drops as you stare back at him, wide-eyed. Your heart begins to pound in your chest. “How…”

“Vic, honey, this is serious. Did you go back to 1943?” Steve questions insistently. He looks just about ready to jump out of the hospital bed if you don’t answer immediately.

You release a shaky breath. “How did you know that?” you question, your mind racing to come up with an explanation for whatever seems to be happening here. You jolt when the medical equipment hooked up to Steve starts beeping because of his elevated heart rate. He pulls the heart monitor clip off of his finger and tries to push himself into an upright position. “Whoa, Steve!” you place your hands on his chest to make him lie back again. “Hon, you need to take it easy. Your body is still trying to fight off the poison and you haven’t received the full dose of the antidote, yet.” You hit the button on the side of the bed to lift him up into a seated position.

“Vic, where’s my suit?” he asks urgently.

“Your suit?” you question, not understanding why he’s asking about it. “It’s right here,” you point to where it’s neatly folded on a table behind you. He’d been stripped out of it so they could work on him, but you hadn’t had the time or mental capacity to put it away, yet.

“Look under the chest plate, on the inside of the suit,” he instructs. “There’s a hidden pocket on the left.”

You give him a perplexed look before slowly turning to move toward the table. You slip your hand under the collar of his uniform and feel around under the chest plate. Sure enough, your fingers brush against the small pull tab of an invisible zipper. Pinching it between two fingers, you open the pocket and try to feel for what could be inside. Your fingers brush against some kind of paper. The beat of your heart fills your ears as you slowly pull the paper out and carefully unfold it.

“Oh my god…” all the air rushes out of your lungs at once.

It’s you. Drawn out in charcoal. Asleep on the cot in the barracks at Camp Lehigh. The drawing is unmistakable. You just saw it yesterday morning, so you can recognize it instantly. But the version you hold now is faded and smudged. The paper is soft and worn, the edges have turned yellow. The one you hold now didn’t come through the quantum realm. This one passed through the passage of time one single day at a time.

“You said I should carry you in my heart,” Steve’s words pierce straight through your scattered thoughts, making you gasp. “So, I did.”

Your hands begin to shake. You quickly set down the sketch, afraid that you might damage the delicate paper. “I…” you huff, your mind racing faster than you have the strength to comprehend. “I don’t understand.” Your breath hitches and you cup your hands over your mouth.

“Vic,” Steve calls for you gently.

When you turn to face him, he’s got his hand stretched out, beckoning you closer. You feel dizzy as you walk on unsteady legs over to him, taking his hand and letting him pull you closer until you’re sitting on the side of his bed. “Steve… I don’t- What does this mean?”

He gives you a small smile, squeezing your hand gently for comfort. “You just spent the last two weeks in 1943, right?” You swallow thickly and nod your head. “Vic… those two weeks happened 80 years ago for me.”

You choke on your next breath when his words confirm what your brain is trying to grasp at. “So, that means that I did mess up the timeline, then. Oh, God. Bruce warned me that-”

“Honey, you didn’t mess up anything,” Steve cuts you off, using a soothing tone.

“But…”

He runs his fingers over your hand, tracing out the lines on your palm in a calming gesture. “Do you remember when you were trying to figure out my Ma’s potato soup recipe?” he asks. “You would get so sad whenever it didn’t turn out quite right.”

You release a shaky breath watching how his fingers trace over your palm again and again. “I almost gave up.”

“I know. But then I begged you to try again. Just one more time. I told you that I knew you would get it right and what happened next?” he prompts.

You huff out a laugh at the memory, “The next one was perfect.”

Steve nods in confirmation. “I knew you would get the recipe right because you’d already made it for me once…” He stops the ministration of his fingers on your hand and waits for your gaze to lift to his. “In 1943,” he finishes.

You hold his gaze and let that sink in. “So… These last two weeks… That was always supposed to happen?”

“Yes,” he confirms with a breath.

“But…” you shake your head trying to wrap your head around this new concept. “You never said anything… Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

He fixes you with a sad look, “For the same reason you were terrified to tell me the truth,” He explains. “I wanted to tell you. In fact, there were several times when I almost did. But I was scared that if I told you before it had a chance to happen, then it wouldn’t happen at all.” He’s gone back to fiddling with your hand, now that he’s the one that needs comfort from the contact. “Vic, look at me,” he implores. “Why do I make you dance with me whenever Taking a Chance on Love comes on?”

He’s never given you a reason before, which means there’s only one answer. “Because I made you dance with me to it in your apartment,” you answer.

He smiles. “Why do I always ask to make sure you’ve checked the expiration date on your emergency inhaler?”

Your breath catches in your throat. “Because I had to give it to you during your asthma attack.”

“Why do I kiss you on your stomach and on your back where you now have a set of scars underneath that t-shirt?”

Your press your free hand to the side of your stomach absentmindedly. “Because you helped me patch up the gunshot wound.”

“See?” he asks. “You didn’t change the timeline, Vic. You completed it.”

The words have no sooner left his mouth before you’re promptly bursting into tears. However, these tears aren’t coming from a place of sadness or fear, they instead stem from pure relief. You crumple forward against his chest, openly sobbing as he wraps an arm around you. “I was so scared that I had messed things up!”

“I know, Honey. But it’s okay. Everything’s okay.” He places a kiss to the top of your head and rubs soothingly at your back. He holds you close as you cry out the last of the stress and tension out of your body.

When you’re no longer racked with sob you push yourself off of him and rise off the bed. You grab a few tissues from the side table to blow your nose and dry your eyes before tossing them into the trash. You release a long sigh, feeling the last of the tension leave you. This, however, allows pure exhaustion to settle over you in its place.

“Vic, I mean this in the most loving way, but you look like crap.”

You release a dry scoff, shooting Steve with a light glare. “Gee, thanks.”

He looks back with concern. “When was the last time you slept?”

Your gaze softens up. “In 1943,” you tell him honestly.

“Come here,” he lifts his arm in invitation.

“Steve, you’re still recovering,” you protest.

“I’ll recover a whole lot faster if you don’t make me get up and come after you.”

You huff out a laugh, but relent and move back toward the bed. “Stubborn jerk,” you mumble. You kick off your shoes and raise the thin blanket covering his legs to tuck yourself in close next to him. You lay on your side, with your head on his chest and a leg thrown over his. You shift around a bit until you find the most comfortable spot. “You were easier to spoon when you were smaller.”

Steve releases a low chuckle, settling his arm over your shoulders and resting his hand at your back. “At least you never called my penis adorable when I was this size.”

“Oh my God,” you grumble. “I never said that, but I can certainly start!”

He snickers when you slap his chest. His hand slips beneath the hem of your shirt and crawls back up until his fingers touch the scar on your back. He releases a low hum. “As soon as I get out of this hospital bed, we’re having crazy hot reunion sex.”

You snort in amusement. “I’m sorry, we’re having what?”

“Hey, you got some like two days ago, but I haven’t had sex in like a month,” he protests.

“Are you seriously jealous of yourself?” you ask dubiously.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” he admits, continuing to run his fingers over your scar. “Usually whenever I missed you enough to make my chest ache. It happened a lot when you first left, but it would also creep up on me whenever things got slow on the war front. It always made me think about how there was a version of myself somewhere out there in another time that got to spend every night wrapped up in your arms. A version of me that got to touch you whenever he wanted. Kiss you whenever he pleased. It killed me not knowing when or if I’d ever see you again.”

You rub your cheek against his chest and listen to him talk. “When I was in the Valkyrie while it was going down and had to decide what to do… You were my first thought. If I crashed the plane and died, then I’d never get to see you again. And that thought scared me more than anything else. But then I remembered what you told me the day you left. Don’t make your choices based on what you think will bring you back to me. Make the choice because you know it’s the right thing to do. And I knew at that moment that this was exactly what you had been talking about. So… I grabbed onto my faith and plunged into the ice.

“When I woke up in 2012… I was terrified that I had overshot the timeline and missed my opportunity to be with you. Then the battle of New York happened and suddenly I had bigger problems to deal with. When I got assigned to the DC SHIELD office, as soon as I got my credentials, you were the first thing I looked up. Imagine my surprise when I found out you’d actually been in New York with me.”

“Like two ships passing in the night,” you comment, watching your fingers draw random patterns against his chest. “I was re-assigned to the LA office after New York.”

“I know. I purchased a plane ticket to California.”

Your heart skips a beat at his admission. “What?”

“Yeah. I flew out there to find you. When I got to the SHIELD base, the director made a big deal about my arrival and wanted to give me a grand tour of the facility. You were training when I first saw you.” You shift up onto your elbow, so you can look down and meet his gaze, eager to hear what he’ll say next. “You were with a guy. Sparring. I could tell you both were pretty friendly with each other. The way you fought was more teasing than actual combat training and whenever he pinned you to the mat, you would laugh. From where I was standing, it looked like you were flirting.”

You rack your brain, trying to figure out who he could be talking about. “Was that my old partner?” you question. “The one that was already married?”

Steve purses his lips and scrunches his nose. “And gay… It would take me a few years before figuring that one out.”

“Ugh, Steve!” you groan and flop back down onto his chest. To think you could have been with him even earlier if he hadn’t jumped to conclusions.

“I know,” he agrees with a sigh. “I really shot myself in the foot with that one. But you’d also been younger than I remembered you, so I was pretty sure I hadn’t missed our chance. I flew back to DC and then waited for you to come to me.”

“How the hell did you manage to keep all of this a secret? You suck at lying.” You ask in disbelief.

That gets a laugh out of him. “I honestly have no idea, but I am so glad that I can talk about it with you now.”

“Well, then I guess while we’re on the subject of clearing the air, I also have a confession to make.” Steve looks at you curiously. “I kind of had a ‘klepto’ moment,” you admit.

His brows pull together, “What does that mean?”

You bite your bottom lip and grimace, “I took something that doesn’t belong to me and brought it back through the quantum realm.”

He raises a brow, unsure if he should be amused or disapproving of your actions. “What did you take?”

Pushing yourself back up, you crawl halfway over his body and stretch an arm out to the wheeling table by his bed where all of your friends have put flowers and little trinkets to express their well wishes. Steve grabs onto your hips to make sure you don’t fall out of the bed as you drag the table a little closer. Plucking an object off the table, you settle back against Steve’s side and hand it to him.

“Vic…” even with just the one syllable, you can hear him choking up.

“Our last morning at the camp, you left to take a shower and your suitcase was just sitting there. Open. I saw where you had tucked it, and I don’t really know why, but I took it. I knew that when you woke up in 2012, anything that hadn’t been with you on that plane had been lost forever. I just… I wanted you to have them back.”

He stares down at the picture frame for a long time, unblinking.

“Are you mad…?” you ask hesitantly.

He finally blinks and a single tear travels down his cheek. “I never thought I’d see this again,” he says quietly. As you reach to wipe away his tear, his gaze lifts to yours. “Thank you,” he tells you, his voice filled with so much love you can feel it.

You smile tenderly back, rubbing your thumb gently against his cheek. “They would have been so proud of you.”

He swallows thickly and you have to wipe another tear from his cheek. “My Ma would have loved you.”

You lean your head down to rest your forehead against his. He takes a moment to process through his emotions before tilting his face forward to capture your lips in a sweet kiss. You release a content hum and fall into the kiss. This kiss feels a little different somehow. It’s pure and clarifying. It wipes away all the pain and stress you’ve felt over the last two weeks. It mends the cracks in your heart that formed when you had to leave him in 1943. You made it back. The serum worked. He’s alive and speeding down the road to recovery.

When you pull back, you’re crying again, because your heart is just so full that there’s nowhere left for your emotions to go. “I love you,” you whisper wetly against his lips.

He looks back and gives you the sweetest smile, “I love you too, Vic.” You help him put the picture of his parents back on the side table before settling against his side once again. “Okay, reunion sex first, but then we’re getting married like immediately after,” he comments.

You grin wide and release a laugh at his words. “Do I get a say in any of this?”

His arm tightens where it’s wrapped around your waist. “Only if you plan on saying yes.”

“Normally you’re supposed to ask these kinds of things,” you tease. As if there was any other option.

“I am way past the point of asking,” he huffs. “Would have done it years ago, if someone hadn’t told me in 1943 that we weren’t married yet!”

“What was I supposed to say?!” You ask, wanting to laugh again. You can’t believe that this is your first argument after coming back.

“You were supposed to say that I married the shit out of you the second I saw you again! Maybe then, I would have tossed you over my shoulder and taken you for myself in California.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” you giggle at his pouting face.

“Say you’ll marry me, or things are about to get a whole lot more ridiculous. I will toss you over my shoulder and go right now,” he threatens, but the twitch at the corner of his mouth is giving him away.

“Yes, you stubborn idiot. I will let you marry the shit out of me.”

He shoots you a smug grin before his laughter starts to break through. “What happened to stubborn jerk?”

“You’ve been promoted for suggesting we should get married while you’re still hooked into an IV bag and I haven’t slept in 80 years.”

He looks over his shoulder up at the IV that’s still slowly administering fluids and the antidote into his system. “I can bring the IV stand with us and you can nap on the way. It’ll be great.”

You laugh at the goofy grin plastered across his mouth. “Good luck with that.”

If possible, his grin widens even further. “I don’t need luck. All I need is my Victory.”

The End

#steve rogers x reader #pre serum steve x reader #40s steve x reader #captain america x reader

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hanoella · 3 years

Text

Affettuoso- With Feeling (Part 2)

Pairing: Bucky x Pianist!Reader

Set after the events of TFATWS: In an effort to start over and make a home in Louisiana, Bucky meets a friend of Sam’s who ends up being his landlord. With only a driveway to separate them, he finds that he’s not the only one looking for a fresh start.

Series tags/warnings: Slow Burn, Eventual Bucky x Reader, Mentions of Domestic Abuse, Canon Level Violence

Part 2 Word Count: 3.5k

Read Part 1; Read Part 3

Autumn

A few days passed and the temperature had started dropping to one appropriate to fall. Each morning, Bucky had gotten up to exercise. And each morning, he opened his curtains to see that the house across from him remained unchanged. Lights that never turned off. No noise whatsoever. If it weren’t for your car in the driveway, he would’ve thought that no one lived there.

On his runs, he was able to see various things that needed fixing, like a fallen tree that was slightly in the way of a path or a pothole in the driveway he could patch. This morning though, instead of his run, he decided he was going to look around the back of the house, which was fenced off into a yard. From the gate, Bucky could see an old in-ground fire pit in the middle of the yard, closer to the screened in patio of the house than the far end of the yard, where the grass was overgrown- he would have to get on that.

The sound of a vehicle crunching on the gravel driveway caught Bucky’s attention. He walked from the side gate to the front porch where a man in a postal worker’s uniform was straining to get a large box out of the truck. Jogging over, he helped the older man set it down on the ground.

“Phew, thank you kindly sir,” the older man huffed as he took his hat off and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

After taking a few moments to catch his breath, he walked around the side of the mail truck to grab a tablet from the front seat.

“Can you sign for this package?” He asked as he handed the tablet over to Bucky.

“Uh, sure.”

As he was signing, you came out the front door with a bottle of water in your hand. Bounding down the steps, you handed the cold water to the postal worker.

“Sorry, I would’ve been out earlier but I saw that you were working so hard, so I went back to grab a water for you.”

Bucky handed the tablet back as the older man thanked you.

“I appreciate it, ma’am. Do ya'll need help getting this inside?”

You looked at Bucky who shook his head.

“I think we’ve got it from here.” He said.

“Okay folks. Have a nice day.”

The postal worker turned around and got back in his truck. As the car started to roll forward, he lowered the window and waved while saying,

“It’s nice to see a kind young couple move into this area!”

With the truck halfway down the driveway, there was no chance to correct him. You looked at Bucky, mouth slightly ajar before shrugging it off with a small laugh. He chuckled as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“He seems like a sweet guy.” You said as you watched the truck disappear behind the trees.

“Yeah.”

You stood there for a moment in silence before you spoke.

“So…”

“I’ll help you bring this in.”

“Okay, great, because there was no chance I was going to get this in by myself.”

You watched as Bucky lifted the large box with ease. As he went up the porch steps, you quickly passed him to hold the door open for him.

“I’m pretty sure that’s my bed frame, so you can set it in the room at the end of the hall.”

He turned to head down the hall, being careful to not bump into any walls. Entering the open room, he saw a room with plain white walls and a light sand-colored hardwood floor. Delicate sage green curtains moved ever so slightly as the breeze brought fresh air into the room. There was a mirrored closet with clothes that was cracked open, a small white table close to the ground, some boxes stacked in the corner of the room, and in the middle of the floor was a mattress covered in sheets, blankets, pillows and a laptop paired to some over ear headphones. He set the box down leaning against the wall.

“Ah, sorry about the mess, I haven’t had a chance to really get anything set up.” You say as you pass him to open the curtains wider.

“It’s alright, I’m sorry you had to sleep on the floor.”

“Oh, that’s alright. I still had the mattress so it wasn’t bad.”

Another pause. Bucky cleared his throat.

“Do you want help putting it together?” He asked, gesturing towards the box.

You sighed in response.

“Yeah, actually, I could. I’m sorry to trouble you.”

“It’s no trouble.” He replied, seeing you smile tiredly from the corner of his eye.

You grabbed a pair of scissors sitting on the vanity and started opening the box. Once it was open, Bucky pulled out a large fabric cream colored headboard. You tried not to be too impressed at the fact that he pulled it out with one arm, flexing the muscles in ripples. It felt wrong to ogle so you shook your face slightly and dug into the box.

The material of the headboard was similar to canvas, reminiscent of the old cloth bags that flour used to come in when he was a child. As he set it down against the wall, he ran his right hand over the cloth one more time before letting his hand fall off.

The sound of you pulling out the metal parts to the actual bed frame snaps him out of his lull. Setting them down gently on the floor one by one, you attempt to make conversation.

“So, how’s the apartment? Is it okay? Do you need anything?” You asked, trying to hide how slightly out of breath that you were. Bucky walked over to grab the rest of the metal bars out of the box before you could try.

“Yeah, everything’s great. Thanks…”

There’s a lull as you fish the bag of screws and the instructions from the bottom of the box.

“Great. I couldn’t get down here soon enough to check everything myself. The real estate agent took pictures but it’s definitely not the same as laying your eyes on it in person.”

You open up the instructions and Bucky stands awkwardly before deciding to sit on the floor across from you. He leaned back onto his hands and enjoyed the fresh air circulating in the room. The slight chill was nothing compared to all the cold he had faced in his lifetime. That meant he could get by in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans. You, however, were bundled up slightly more. Bucky’s eyes trailed over you slowly as you focused on the instructions. Your hair was tucked back behind your ears in an attempt to keep it out of your eyes as you read, forest green shirt was layered with a cozy open cardigan. The black slim-cut joggers had fuzzy mid-calf socks layered over them to keep any warmth from escaping. Bucky wondered how much more you could possibly layer when the Winter comes and the true cold settles in the area. Before he could think about that, you flip back to the front page of instructions and tentatively spoke.

“Okay, so I think I get it…”

---

The next hour or so consisted of you telling him what parts went together and him screwing them together. It settled into a good flow, with scattered conversation sprinkled in between.

“So, how’re you enjoying Louisiana?” you asked casually as you skimmed over the next set of instructions.

“I haven’t been here long. It’s… different than New York,” he said as he twisted the screw in. At his prompting, you handed him another one. “Everyone’s friendly. It seems like a tight-knit community.”

“They definitely are,” you mused. “Brooklyn, right?”

He looked up at you, causing you to blink and then avert your gaze.

“Sorry,” you started to explain. “I saw the Smithsonian gallery during my last visit to New York… Do you ever have people recognize you?”

“Sometimes,” he said quietly, pausing for a moment before continuing on. “When I do get recognized, it’s not usually the kind of people I’d want to recognize me.”

Bucky thought back to shortly ago in Madripoor. Definitely not the kind of people that he wanted to recognize him. He shook the thought out of his head and continued.

“It’s strange to think that all those people who pass by the exhibit just know me now.”

You reflected on when you saw the exhibit. Right in the middle was a cutout of Bucky Barnes: Captain America’s Right Hand Man. The few paragraphs that were featured at the exhibit did not seem to fully encapsulate the man sitting in front of you, carefully screwing the metal pieces together.

“I think they know about you, but they don’t know you. There has to be more to James Buchanan Barnes than three paragraphs written by someone who’s never actually met you.” You say, meeting his eyes and raising your eyebrows comically.

For some reason, hearing his full name unnerved him. It made him antsy. He didn’t have any experience with being the center of any positive attention, and all of a sudden, your focus on him was scorching. He looked away and cleared his throat.

“Yeah, I suppose so.” He said gruffly.

You smiled gently before looking back down at the instructions to try to put him back at ease. It was funny, watching someone with such a hardened exterior be flustered so easily. There was definitely more to Bucky Barnes than meets the eye.

---

Bucky sat by himself, screwing the last piece in. You had left a few minutes ago to grab refreshments and hadn’t come back yet. He stood, dusting off his hands and pants before stretching his back and looking at the completed project. Picking up the mattress and all the blankets piled on it, he gently set it on the frame. Now it looked like you actually lived here. It was simple, but cozy.

The smell of butter and cheese wafted into the room, grabbing his attention. Looking up at the clock, Bucky realized it was almost noon. He followed the familiar smell to the kitchen where you were cooking, hair tied back and light-yellow apron. The delayed drinks were gathering condensation on the counter behind you. You looked over at him and slipped the apron over your head.

“Ah, sorry. I figured you could handle the last few screws so I started making lunch as well.” You said sheepishly.

“No, it’s fine. Thank you. It’s all done.”

He watched as you took the spatula and lifted a sandwich onto a plate, golden brown from toasting in the butter, matching the plate next to it. You had made the both of you lunch. Taking a knife, you cut the sandwiches in half and hand him the plate with the warm one that had just come out of the pan.

“It’s a grilled ham and cheese. I hope it’s okay.”

“You didn’t have to.” He responded, watching the melted cheese drip down the sides.

You shrugged. “I wanted to. Thanks for the help.”

“Thanks for the food. Do you need help assembling anything else?”

Your gaze flicked to the boxes leaning against the hallway. He looked behind at them and back, raising an eyebrow. Sighing in defeat, you spoke.

“… Yeah. But Sam is actually coming over later to help so you don’t have to do it now. If you do still want to help, you could come over then. I’ll be ordering dinner so you don’t have to worry about cooking. Though, please don’t feel like you have to. You’ve already done so much today.”

Bucky hesitated. He didn’t want to invade your life too much. After all, you were a woman living alone in a new area, the last thing you probably wanted was a strange man turning a contract into a forced friendship because you were polite. But then again, you had just moved down here. Of course, you needed a lot of help in the beginning. Soon, things will settle back to normal and then you’ll be back to just being neighbors who see each other outside occasionally.

“Sure. I’ll be back later when I hear Sam pull up. He doesn’t follow directions anyway so you probably need someone to supervise him.” He joked.

You smiled up at him.

“Great. You must be tired. You can take lunch to go and bring the plate back later.”

You didn’t want to keep him. He wouldn’t have minded staying. But he was still new to being an actual person again. His social battery was a little drained, and he appreciated the easy out.

“Okay, I’ll see you later.” He said, giving his classic low-key three finger salute.

“Bye,” you replied softly as you watched him open the screen door and walk down the porch steps. Lightly padding down the hallway, you peaked into your room, seeing the final product. It was sweet that he put the mattress down and you noticed he had also straightened out the blankets just a little. What a sweet gesture. He was a gentleman. Despite the gruff. You padded back down to the kitchen and sat at the counter to eat. It always felt wrong to make so much noise. You were just one person. One tiny insignificant useless person.

---

Bucky sat at his kitchen table, finishing the sandwich that he had started to eat on the way in. His attempt to eat it while it was still hot was so worth it, the bread still warm and comforting. As he took his last bite, he traced his finger on the little pattern of flowers and leaves on the border of the sage green ceramic plate. All of the little homey, slightly old-fashioned details were very reminiscent of home. Not his previous apartment in Brooklyn. But home back in the 1930’s when he was growing up. It was comforting. He sat back in the chair and closed his eyes, dreaming of a world that no longer existed.

---

Later, Sam knocked on the door way and shouted up the stairs through the screen door.

“Hey, anybody home?”

You bounded down the stairs and unlocked the screen door to let him in, giving him a hug in greeting.

“Woah, woah, don’t make me spill the goods,” he said with a laugh, holding the two cases of beer up.

“Good to see you too,” You joked.

Bucky saw the interaction from the garage window that faced your porch. He wondered if there was something between you two and quickly shook the thought from his head. He wasn’t jealous, just curious. It didn’t matter. After all, you were Sam’s friend first.

People can have friends, idiot. What does it matter to you? He thought to himself as he walked down the stairs to the garage.

Walking across the gravel to your front door, he knocked on the screen door as well.

“Come in!” You yelled from upstairs.

He opened the front door and walked up the stairs into the living room.

“Hey, Buck! How’re you settling in?” Sam said, giving him a hug as well.

“Good, it’s really nice out here.” He replied after they had separated.

“Good. I’m glad. You look like you finally got some rest.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, he was over early this morning, hauling around a bunch of heavy stuff and putting furniture together.” You interjected, bringing the bottle opener in from the kitchen.

“Let me guess, he completely messed it up? Turned your table into a chair or something like that?” Sam teased. Bucky slapped him upside his arm.

“Despite the picture you painted of him, he was extremely competent.” You said while trying not to laugh at Sam’s face of fake hurt. “Now come on, there’s a beer fee, you get one beer for every piece of furniture you put together.”

“I’m the one who brought the drinks though!” Sam protested, following you down the hall to the room where the boxes were.

Bucky smiled a bit as he listened to you both squabble. Friends or not, it was nice to have someone else to annoy Sam with.

---

“You sure you’re okay to go pick up the food?”

You looked up at Bucky from where you sitting on the floor, reading directions while Sam, who was ever so slightly tipsy, was trying to get a leg of a night stand to fit straight.

“Yeah, I’m good. He looks… busy. And it’s probably better for me to go out this late. You know, ‘cuz you’re a woman... lady.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“Not to say that you’re not perfectly capable of handling yourself, I just mean… uh…”

“Pff-”

The laugh that Sam had been trying to hold back escaped from between his lips loudly as he covered his mouth. You rolled your eyes but regardless, a smile crept up on your face.

“Ignore him. I was just giving you a hard time. It’s very chivalrous.”

You paused thoughtfully.

“On a serious note, that’s very sweet of you. I appreciate it. You can just charge it to the card I gave you.”

He nodded and started walking down the stairs to the porch.

“Be safe!” He heard you call softly down the stairs.

“Will do.” Bucky instinctively responded.

The screen door shut behind him as he made his way across the driveway to where his own motorcycle was parked. A sleek modern black sports bike. Something he’d bought when he wasn’t ready to look at Steve’s old cruiser. He’d put the cruiser in the garage to work on and keep safe.

He mounted the bike and started it, the engine coming to life. He went to check what time it was on his phone when he realized he had left it inside. Swinging his leg over, he started to walk back up to the front door when he heard your conversation with Sam from the open living room window.

“Feeling at home?” Sam asked. There was a short silence before you answered hesitantly.

“Something like that.”

“How you holding up?”

“It’s been okay… lonely… I just can’t believe I let it go on for so long.”

Bucky hadn’t realized he had stopped in his tracks, eyebrows furrowed as he listened.

“The people who are trapped in the abusive relationship themselves always have a harder time seeing it than anyone else.”

Bucky blinked in surprise as Sam continued.

“It’s like that thing they say when you’re cooking with frogs. If the water’s boiling when you first put them in, they’ll hop right out the pot. But if you put the frog in cool water and slowly heat it up, they’ll stay, no matter how hot it gets. The more gradual the process is, the less likely they are to realize that they’re in trouble before it’s too late.”

“Yeah…” Your voice sounded heavy. Burdened.

“He was nice at first, wasn’t he?” You asked rhetorically.

“He was.”

“Fooled me…”

“Fooled me too. I never would’ve introduced him to you if I had known that’s what he was like. I should’ve known there was something off about him. I should’ve sensed it during the support group he came to at the VA.” Sam said regretfully.

“Hey, it’s not your fault, Sam.” You said, chastising him. “At some point, I knew that things were heading in the wrong direction. He got so angry. So spiteful. I knew I had stopped loving him and started being afraid of him. But then everyone was dusted, and I didn’t have anywhere else to be, anyone else to be with besides him. Being somewhere new by myself would bring struggles I couldn’t prepare for. At least with him, I knew what to be afraid of. Then everyone came back and he almost killed me. I guess I was just a poor little froggy.”

You tried to ease the heaviness of the conversation by being lighthearted with the last sentence. But there was still a sadness in your voice.

“Still. I wish I could’ve helped you when you broke your shoulder.”

“Don’t feel bad, Sammy. I ended up just fine. I’m here now. The only thing I regret is letting him trash my piano. It was old, but I grew up playing that thing.”

“I know how much it meant to you.”

“It’s okay, it's a new start. Besides, you were off fighting to be Captain America! Rightfully so. If this was the sacrifice I had to make for the right man to be able to take up the shield, I would’ve broken my other shoulder too!”

Sam must have given you a death glare because you laughed suddenly and your tone changed to defensive.

“Kidding! Kidding. Yeesh. But seriously, I’m proud of you. And thank you, for helping me start over.”

Bucky unclenched his hands. He hadn’t realized that he had gotten tense. Turning around, he headed back to the bike. He didn’t need his phone. He didn't want to let on that he overheard. Getting back on the bike, he waited until he heard laughter to sneak down the driveway, masking the fact that he was just now leaving.

Once he got out on the road, he sped up- letting the wind sting against his face and cool it down. The thought of a man using his own strength to hurt what was supposed to be his other half- it made him so mad. No wonder you were scrambling to get out here. He hoped that you never had to go through anything like that again.

Rest assured, if he can do anything to prevent that from happening, he will.

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes #bucky imagine #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x y/n

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blackrosesfanfic · 1 year

Text

Chapter 253

Rollie

Leah comes over to me rubbing her stomach. I narrow my eyes at her. She sighs as she get to me.

"What's wrong, Love?"

"Nothing. Shay wants to spend a night at Lexi's. I told her I'd see what you say."

I rub her hips. "You in pain?"

She drops her arms. "No it's nothing. I'm okay."

"You couldn't tell Shay whether or not she could stay? You had to come ask me or you wanted to get in here to lay down?"

"I'm in the middle of washing clothes. I don't have time to lay down."

I stand up. "I feel like you ignoring your body. I'll do it alright?"

"Do what Rollie? The fucking laundry?"

"Whatever needs to be done. Make a list." I lay her down on the bed putting her feet up. Ain't no reason why I can't help."

"You think you going anywhere with your room like that? Your mama trying to grow a baby while cleaning up after us and we can't help?"

"Yes sir I can." She scrambles up.

I look around the living room. "You think people want dirty people coming to their houses? They see this shit you won't be allowed."

Lexi starts cleaning the chips up. "Sorry."

"Is mommy okay?" Jordan (Shay) says folding a blanket.

"We will see after she is done with her nap. She went straight to sleep."

Jordan looks worried. "Mommy doesn't usually nap."

Lexi turns the TV off. "Did we stress her out? Oh no. Pregnant women are at risk. Let's do your chores the right way."

"Yeah." Jordan straightens the pillows. "God I love my mommy."

"She will be okay." I say cutting my eyes at them.

"Dad?" Jordan sits her laundry basket on the floor. "You washing these clothes?"

"I'm folding these clothes. You wash your own damn clothes."

She giggles. "You folding clothes?"

I fold the socks up. "Don't it look like it? Go on about your business."

"I never seen you take clothes out the machine. You be like what wrong with your hands. Jordan help yo mama."

"She pregnant and it getting harder to do this stuff. I can't make you do everything. You still a kid."

"Thank you." She smiles at me.

I smile at her. "You welcome precious. We need to have a talk before you go stay at a man's house."

"Okay." She opens the washer.

She nods her head. "Okay."

"Yes, sir."

"And be clean." I hit her with a towel. "Nobody wants messy girls at their houses."

She giggles. "Yes sir."

I nod my head. "Your mama gonna cut your ass you wash them clothes like that."

"It takes so long." She throws the clothes back out the machine and goes through them.

"Yo?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Trey says.

I shrug. "You called me."

He chuckles. "Yo, my fault. I was tryna read this text. But yeah. When does Leah have her baby?"

"In like a month?"

"She having it in Atlanta?"

I get a bit irritated. "Where else She gonna have it?"

"California, South Carolina, wherever her people from."

"Her people from Atlanta. The ones she got."

He clears his throat. "Lane, boy I'm going to cut your ass. Stop. No. Hold on man."

I laugh. "Nigga wild."

"He fucking crazy. He go tell her that I'm hitting his butt. She thinking some weird shit."

"Cause she know you not spanking him." I laugh.

Trey blows. "I'm trying to plan this boy birthday party and make sure we are able to come to Atlanta for your baby shit. When is the baby shower?"

"Who supposed to do that me?"

"I don't know. I just know we didn't have one cause Caden was early."

I suck my teeth. "I'm already cleaning the damn house and shit. Don't give me more shit to do."

"Naw call and ask a woman about the baby shower."

"Like my mama?"

"That's who I would call. My mama."

I sigh. "Aight. I'll have her let you know."

"Aight. She here."

"Oh, she was just in Charleston." I laugh. "Yeah with Lane pulling some little girl hair."

Trey laughs. "I got to go ask about that story."

"Yeah." I say hanging up then calling my mom.

"Hey, Tummy. I only invited 5 people."

I chuckle. "Okay. Trey asked me about a baby shower for Leah. Is that like a woman thing or what?"

"Cammie, do you have plans for Leah a baby shower? Me? I would love to throw a baby shower. I usually just attend stuff."

"Well this not April's son so she can mind her business." Cammie says laughing.

"Be easy." April says.

Ma chuckles. "Don't worry baby we will get something thrown together. You would get more gifts if you had it in Charleston at the church."

"That's fine. Leah needs God's hands according to these little girls."

"Amen." Ma says. "Little children will lead the way. Little Lane got Ike to talk to his mother. At 2 years... well almost 3 years old. He is wise beyond his years."

"Ike talked to his mama?" I confirm.

"I pee."

"Lord have mercy." She hangs up.

"You talking to yourself?" Jordan ask pulling the vacuum back.

"Aye don't go wearing diapers when this baby comes."

She touches her chest. "I would never."

I show her Lane. She falls on the floor laughing.

"This was today?"

"Yes." I nod.

She rolls around holding her stomach then she grabs the phone. "Let me show Lexi. Lane so funny. His butt too big."

"Yeah."

"I promise I won't put on no Pull-up." She laughs walking out with my phone.

Cammie

I hit Lane on his naked butt. "What you doing?"

He laughs picking up his old baby bag. "Put on my draws."

"You stop acting like a clown. Let me see that bag."

"It say Daylan." He says digging through it.

"My cup!" Lane snaps digging in the bag. "Open it Mommy."

"Lane, I know that cup stank."

"No it not." He smells it. He makes a face. "Smell it."

I laugh. "No."

He smells it again then throws it. Trey just so happen to walk up and get hit by the cup. Lane gasps looking at Trey worried. Trey wasn’t bothered.

"This old ass cup."

"Smell it." Lane says standing up.

Trey smells the cup then holds it away from him. "Damn."

"Throw it." Lane giggles. "Throw it, Nevers."

"Boy." Trey says narrowing his eyes at him. "What you call me?"

Lane was back digging through the bag. I smile at Trey. He called him Neverson. He loves changing Trey's name. But Neverson. Trey points at Lane.

"Why your son naked?"

"This is where he has been getting the diapers. He ran out though. Lane put on some clothes."

"Can we talk?" he asks

"Yes." I say standing up. "This house is crowded. Do you want to talk privately? Maybe take a walk."

He shrugs a little. "Ditch the kid and fuck."

"Talk."

"Nobody out back, sexy."

"Mommy." Lane says.

"Oh Lord." I yell running from Trey to Lane.

"Lane." I start. But what the hell I supposed to say? Don't touch my fucking baby? "Lane why do you have Caden?"

"Cammie!" April says coming down the hall. "You could have fucking said I'm taking the baby."

Trey chuckles taking Caden. "Lane had Caden."

April makes her eyes big. "Daylan! I told you not to touch your brother!"

Lane was unbothered. "I give Taden to mommy."

"I'm done." April says turning and walking away. "Hell."

"Nanma no say that." Lane follows her. "Nanma go outside?"

April spins around. "You gave Caden to your mommy so you can go outside? I can't believe you."

"Go outside?" Lane whines.

"Lane, Mommy going outside." Trey says walking behind April.

Lane cuts his eyes at me. "Mommy go outside?"

"Yes, let's go."

"Yes?" He whispers nodding.

"Yes, you can go outside." I nod back.

"Jayla?" Trey says hugging me. "We have a lot of talking to do before dancing with the stars."

"Yeah."

He kisses my neck. "I missed you."

I touch his hand. "Don't you get worked up about that. It's gonna be just like me teaching that class and that movie."

"Naw, man. Bae, who the hell watching Lane? And JJ? Caden plus Minnie?"

"JJ and Minnie are not your problem."

"Tremaine, stop. Lane has April and Rose. Plus my mother."

"You not gonna let Lane stay away."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Cause they will come help if they know we have to be here. My mother will come. We can afford a nanny as well. Are we in financial trouble?"

"Naw."

"Okay then." I nod. "All those weeks I stayed in the hospital."

He sighs. "We each had a baby."

"Tremaine." I grab his face. "I did it for a year with Lane right there like Caden's age. I got this okay? I'm not leaving. I will be right there."

"Right there?"

I kiss him. "I like you stressing over our future. Now next thing."

"Breastfeeding and dancing."

"We take breaks. Plus these pumps are amazing these days. Just put them in your shirt and pump. Do a little dancey dance then empty."

He blows. "Church."

"Oh." I smile. "I found one. Celebrity friendly in Beverly Hills. Diverse, no cult like shit. My mom and Lonnie been there for a wedding before."

"Okay." He smiles.

I kiss him. "You were prepared."

"And what you say about birth control?"

"In my arm." I hold it up.

He touches it. "Oh."

2 notes · View notes

kaitwrites · 3 years

Text

Valentine’s Day

Helloooo! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I wrote this as a part of Spud Corner’s Valentines Collab, hosted by sweet bby @wootato. Big thanks as always to my amazing, talented, show-stopping wife @garbagepale-kid for proof reading and editing you’re the best love you forever bby give kitch.

Word Count: 5155

Katsuki Bakugo x Fem Reader

Rating: Chocolate (Fluff, SFW)

Warnings: Language, this is Bakugo we’re talking about here

“Oi, I said 7 O’clock! Why aren’t you ready yet?” Your boyfriend’s deep voice boomed from the front of your apartment, followed by the sound of your front door closing.

Panicking, your eyes darted to the digital clock beside your bed, afraid you had miscalculated the time, only for it to read 6:45. “Suki, you’re fifteen minutes early!” You called from the doorway of your room, “I’ll be ready in five, just stay out there!”

Six months ago, you had reluctantly agreed to go on a blind date at the urging of your childhood friend Mina, and it hadn’t been great. The guy had been cold and standoffish, clearly wanting to be anywhere else, and he’d even ended up taking you home early. You weren’t entirely sure why he’d chosen to invite you out again, just like you weren’t sure why you’d accepted, but looking back at it now? It was easily the best decision you’d ever made.

You smiled as you put on the earrings Katsuki had gotten you for Christmas and spritzed a bit of his favorite perfume before looking at yourself in the mirror one last time. After smoothing the wrinkles in your skirt, you grabbed the jacket you had set out and walked from your bedroom to the front of your apartment.

Katsuki was standing in the doorway of your kitchen, leaning against the counter and flipping through one of your many cookbooks when you rounded the corner. “I could teach you how to cook, you know, you don’t need these shitty things…” He trailed off as he turned around, taking you in. “Wow,” he breathed out, eyes raking up and down your figure to absorb every curve of your body.

All you could do was stand in the middle of the hall, fidgeting as a blush crept up your neck. He looked as good as always, wearing a charcoal grey long sleeve shirt that fit snugly on his chest, the sleeves hanging more loosely around his arms, and a pair of dark jeans. His signature smirk never left his lips as he slowly made his way across the room to you, placing his hands on your hips before pulling you close and pressing his lips against yours, making your heart jump out of your chest.

He pulled away, looking you up and down. “You ready or what?”

“Yeah! I’ve just got to put on my shoes.” You pulled out of his arms and made your way to your front door, where you noticed a bouquet of red roses sat on the table near the entryway.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around you as Katsuki bent down to rest his chin on your shoulder. “You weren’t supposed to see them just sitting there, damn it.” He whispered, kissing your cheek.

You turned yourself around, resting your head on his chest as you snuck your arms around his waist

“Happy Valentine’s day, Y/N.”

“I wasn’t expecting flowers. In fact,” you started, leaning back a little to jab him in the chest with your pointer finger. “you told me not to expect flowers. I didn’t take you for the sappy, romantic type, Suki.”

“Damn right, I’m not the sappy romantic type” He kissed your forehead before releasing you and gently pushing you away from him. “Get your shoes on, we’re gonna be late.” He grumbled, grabbing the flowers and bringing them into the kitchen to find a vase.

You slipped on your favorite pair of black strappy heels and smiled as you heard him rummaging through your cabinets, grumbling to himself. The kitchen fell silent as you let out a short laugh. Katsuki liked to pretend he wasn’t a big teddy bear, but after all the long nights and soft words meant only for your ears, you definitely knew better.

The blonde emerged from the kitchen empty-handed, looking you up and down for a second before fixing you with a firm look. “You should grab a heavier jacket.” He said, reaching for the coat closet to the right of the front door. You put a hand on his forearm to stop him, shaking your head.

“I’ll be fine! We won’t be outside for long anyway, right? Where are we going, anyway?” You ask as the cool February air sending chills up your spine as the front door swung open.

Katsuki looked doubtful but sighed, gently pushing you out the door. He then locked it and slipped his keys into his coat pocket before offering you an arm, leading the way down the steps.

You grinned up at him, giving his arm a small squeeze. “Hey, you never said where we’re going?”

“Nowhere if you don’t shut up.” He bumped your hip with his before reclaiming his arm and wrapping it around your waist as you made your trek through the city. Katsuki’s apartment was just a few blocks from your own, so it was no surprise that he’d walked to your place instead of driving What did surprise you was when the two of you strolled straight past the parking garage of his apartment complex.

Your steps faltered for a second, and Katsuki looked down at you with a quirked brow. “What?”

Your head twisted around, eyes zeroing in on the parking garage again. “We aren’t taking the car?” You asked, tilting your head to look up to him. The cold wind had caused his nose and cheeks to turn red, creating a semi-permanent blush on his face, and you couldn’t help but smile at how well it suited him.

“Restaurant isn’t too far from here. Why? You cold? I told you you should have grabbed a different coat.” He grumbled as he looked down at you and scowled. “What’re you smiling at, dumbass?”

“You’re pretty cute, Suki.” The small tease had the blush deepening across his cheeks, and you felt his arm tighten around you as you continued. “And no, I’m not cold. I just figured we were gonna drive.”

“I’m not cute, damn it. You’re cute.” His eyes turned up to avoid the satisfied smirk that settled on your lips.

You giggled as you made your way through the busy streets with Katsuki steering you away from other pedestrians as much as possible. Though you’d denied being cold, the low temperature and icy breezes were killing you, and you briefly regretted not doing as your boyfriend had suggested and grabbing a better coat. Katsuki ran hot, but not enough to offset the cold of late winter. Katsuki yanked you closer to him as someone came dangerously close to bumping your shoulder, and you let out a small squeak of surprise as you were smushed against his side.

Though he was off duty, he never let his guard down when he was in crowded places, especially when you were around. Katsuki was a pretty private person, so dates were few and far between, so when pictures of the two of you out to lunch surfaced online, he became even more reserved. He said that it was to keep his personal life exactly that, personal, but in reality, he knew his line of work and what villains did to heroes' loved ones.

Katsuki led you to a tall building, opening the heavy glass doors and ushering you inside. the lobby looked like it could have belonged to an upscale office building, the black matte walls complementing the cool marble floors. A desk situated at the center of the space was manned by a bored-looking security guard. But in the far corner of the lobby near one of the elevators, however, was a podium manned by a man in a black tuxedo. The host lifted his head as the two of you approached him, Katsuki dragging you behind him as you took in the intricate chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

“Welcome to The Peak, name on the reservation?” The man asked, and you noticed his eyes widen, smile faltering for a split second when he recognized the pro-hero standing before him.

“Bakugo, indoor seating on the east side of the building,” Katsuki answered from beside you, removing his hand from around your waist.

The host looked through his tablet, tilting his head as his brow furrowed. He looked to Katsuki once more, then back down. “What was the time on the reservation?”

“7:45,” You could hear the annoyance in his voice, and you took his hand that had previously been settled on your waist into yours and squeezed, knowing there wasn’t much to do to keep his short temper under wraps but hoped that your hand in his would help keep him grounded.

“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t see your name on the list. Is it possible you made a reservation at our Tokyo location?” The poor man was terrified, it was obvious he knew who Katsuki was and about his temper.

Katsuki clicked his tongue and huffed. “No, I didn’t make a reservation for the damn Tokyo location. I triple checked.” He barked, but quickly regained his composure when you elbowed him. “Are you sure? B-A-K-U-G-O. For two.” He asked, more calmly this time around.

The host cleared his throat and looked through the list once more, taking a little longer this time so as to make sure he was correct, not wanting to face the wrath that was Katsuki Bakugo. “No sir, I’m sorry I’m not seeing your name on the list. Did you get the confirmation email?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes but pulled out his phone, scrolling through his emails until he found what he was looking for. “Here, right there. Reservation for two, special seating request, 7:45 on February fifteen-” He froze. “Fuck me.” He locked his phone and shoved it back into his pocket as if it had burned him, gaze darting to the ceiling. “I made the reservation for the wrong day.”

“I’m sorry about that, sir. We currently have bar seating available, and if a table happens to open up we can move you.” The host told him, seemingly less nervous now that the intense gaze from the blonde was off of him. “I know chances are low but it’s an option.”

“It’s supposed to start raining soon, you really think I want my girlfriend getting sick because I can’t get a damn date right?” He turned on his heel and started walking to the entrance. “Whatever, I can cook something ten times better than whatever crap they serve here.” He looked back at you. “You comin’ or what?”

You nodded and rushed to be back at his side, taking the arm he offered to you. “So… are we going back to your place?” You asked, looking up at him through your eyelashes.

He sighed and led you down the street back towards his apartment. The streets weren’t as crowded so he didn’t make the move to put his arm around you, but he made sure to keep a watchful eye on anyone passing by whose gaze may have lingered a little too long. “We’ve got to stop and get some things first. What do you want?”

“Mmm… Oh! How about curry!” You exclaimed, loosening your grip on his arm just a bit as you jumped up and down. He pulled his hand from his pocket and slipped it into yours, staring down once he felt how cold your hand was.

“Damn it, woman. I told you to grab a heavier coat. Your hand is freezing.” He grumbled, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, now taking both of your hands into his and bringing them up to his mouth, blowing hot air onto them and rubbing them together within his. “Or at least some gloves.”

“Oh, stop it, Suki! My hands just feel cold because you’re a human heater, they’re always cold compared to yours!” You whined, knowing you should have listened to him when he advised you to grab a coat, and really kicking yourself in the ass the longer the two of you stood on the sidewalk.

He rolled his eyes and dropped one of his hands, pulling you along to the corner store at the end of the street. You followed him around, watching as he picked out the needed ingredients for your dinner. “Stop starin’ at me and go get somethin’ for dessert, eh?”

“You’re gonna let me pick?” Your eyes widened in shock. He was always the one to choose dessert because he couldn’t handle sweets like you could. You smiled and kissed him on the cheek when he nodded and quickly made your way to the other side of the store.

Katsuki watched as you bounced away, his cheek tingling where you had kissed him. A soft smile tugged on his lips. He didn’t notice the shopkeeper come up behind him, and he jumped when the old man chuckled. “I remember when my lady and I were your ages. I had that same look in my eye that you have now.” Katsuki looked to the older man, he was staring off in the direction that you had disappeared in. “You make sure you take good care of her, son. Time flies. Before you know it you’ll be my age, running a little corner store with the love of your life.”

“Yeah yeah, gramps. I hear ya.” He said, feeling his cheeks heat up, embarrassed that he had been caught staring at you by a stranger. He turned his attention back to the area you had gone to as your head popped out from around the corner, a big grin on your face.

“Strawberry mochi!” You held up the packages as you made your way back to him. He rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance as the old man beside him chuckled again, patting him on the shoulder and making his way back up to the front.

“What?” You tilted your head to the side questioningly as you stopped in front of your boyfriend. “Too sweet? Should I get something else?”

“Tch, nothin’s too sweet for me.” He grabbed the mochi from you and put it in the basket, before wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you into a soft kiss, catching you off guard. Katsuki wasn’t one to show much PDA, but the store was fairly empty, and for some reason, he was taking the words of that old man to heart. “Come on, let’s get out of here before it starts raining, eh?”

You nodded and leaned into him as he led you to the front of the store. The old man and Katsuki shared a look before the former turned to you and smiled, handing you a box of chocolates. “Happy Valentine’s, this one’s on the house.”

Reluctantly, you took the box of chocolates from the older gentleman and smiled, bowing slightly. “Thank you.” You beamed at him once you stood up straight once more, he looked back to Katsuki and winked, not saying a word.

“Keep the change, Gramps. Tell your old lady I said hey.” Katsuki grabbed the chocolates from your hand and put them in the bag, then took your hand and squeezed as he led you into the cool night air once more.

The temperature seemed to have dropped drastically in the twenty minutes you had been in the store, and you shivered the moment you stepped outside. Katsuki noticed this and clicked his tongue, setting the bags down and shrugged off his coat, genty shoving it into your arms.

“No, It’s okay Suki. I’ll be fine.” You tried to give him the coat back but he rolled his eyes and refused to take it from you.

“Keep it. You’re not getting sick because you wouldn’t listen to me.” He picked the bag back up and sighed when he looked at you again. “What?”

“I won’t get sick, it’s just another ten minute walk to your house. I’ll be fine!” You tried once again to give him his coat back but he just glared down at you, flaring his nostrils. This obviously wasn’t up for discussion. “Fine.” You huffed, wrapping his coat around your shoulders, the scent of caramel and his cologne invading your nostrils. As soon as the coat was over your shoulders you wanted to smile. You were surrounded by Katsuki, and it made you happy. But you were trying to be mad at him for forcing you to take his coat, so you avoided eye contact, knowing if you looked at him you wouldn’t be able to hold back a smile.

“Are you done now? Can we go?” You didn’t bother to answer, just turned around and started walking in the direction of his apartment. “Oi! Don’t ignore me!” He caught up to you in just a few long strides and grabbed your arm, spinning you around to face him, his signature smirk plastered on his face as soon as he saw the smile that crept onto your lips. “Bet you’re warm now, aren’t you?”

A strong gust of wind swept through the city blocks, and your hands darted down to your skirt to keep it from blowing up with it. “Suki can we just go? I’ll tell you you were right when we get back to your place. I’m freezing!” You pulled his jacket tighter around you once you were able to let go of your skirt, pouting at him.

“You don’t have to tell me I’m right. I know I’m right. I’m always right.” Katsuki wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled you close, kissing the top of your head before heading in the direction of his apartment. The streets had begun to empty out almost entirely. Those who were still out were either advertising their shops or rushing home, trying to beat the rain. Katsuki let out a sigh and slowed his steps, and you looked up to him, confusion written over your face. “Sorry I fucked up the reservation.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Mistakes happen, all that matters is that I get to spend the night with you. I don’t care what we do, I just want to be with you.” You reassured him, watching a scowl come across his face.

“I don’t make mistakes. Especially stupid ones like getting a stupid date wrong.” He grumbled, causing you to giggle. “S’not funny. I wanted tonight to be perfect.”

“Let me tell you what.” You stopped, standing in front of him. “Katsuki Bakugo.Any night I get to spend with you is perfect. We don’t need a fancy dinner for a perfect night. We could be in our pajamas sitting above the sushi shop watching crappy romance movies and I’d be happy because I’d be with you.” You pressed your pointer finger into his chest and he tried to hide his smile by turning his head.

“Whatever, dumbass. Let’s get going before you get sick.” He began walking once more, returning his arm to your shoulder.

The two of you had been taking your time making your way back, and had you known how fast the rain was coming in you wouldn’t have made that decision. Just five minutes from Katsuki’s place the sky opened up.

“Shit, this way.” He directed you to under the awning of a nearby shop and adjusted his jacket from your shoulders to cover your head. “Think you can run?”

“Suki, I’m wearing heels.” You pointed to your feet and he sighed. “I can try though.”

He nodded and offered you his hand. “Ready?”

Taking his hand in yours, you beamed up and him and nodded, letting him pull you into the rain and guide you to his place. It felt like you were a little kid again, running and playing in the rain with your friends, unable to hear your screams and giggles over the sound of the rain pounding on the pavement. While the jacket was doing an okay job at keeping the rain off the top of your body, it wasn’t so much the same for the lower half. Your skirt was drenched, and it felt like there were puddles in your shoes.

Each step you took was more difficult than the last, and just a block down from Katsuki’s apartment you felt the heel of your shoe snap, your ankle rolling as the jagged edge hit the ground. You yelped in pain and stopped in your tracks, causing Katsuki to double back and be back at your side in an instant, his hand leaving yours to come to your waist to help steady you.

“What?” He was on guard in an instant, always assuming the worst.

“My shoe broke,” you winced as you put pressure on your foot. “And I hurt my ankle.”

“I can’t bring you anywhere. How do you always manage to hurt yourself?” Katsuki adjusted the bag in his hands and turned his back to you, kneeling down. When you didn’t catch the hint he turned back to you. “Get on my back, dumbass. We’re almost home. I should have just carried you like this in the first place.”

You were ready to argue, tell him you could make the walk back, but you were cold, it was raining, your ankle hurt, and there was no way you were ready to put up a fight. Climbing onto his back, you wrapped your arms around his neck and took the bag from his hands so he could fold his hands behind himself to support you.

He made it to the doors of the lobby in a minute flat, gently setting you down so he could get the key card from the pocket of his jacket that was settled on your shoulders once more. Katsuki led the way to the elevator, you hobbling behind him, being careful to not put too much pressure on your hurt ankle. He punched the button for his floor and the two of you were standing there in silence, water dripping onto the floor beneath you as the elevator made its way up the building.

Walking into Katsuki’s apartment always took your breath away. His place was only a few blocks from yours, but they had two very different views. While his was near the top of one of the tallest buildings in the area, overlooking the busy city, yours was above a Sushi Shop that you had lucked out on because the owners were moving into a bigger place. It was cheap, close to your work, and, sure, it smelled like fish sometimes but it worked.

Katsuki’s clothes were drenched, his shirt was clinging to his body like a skin-tight suit and you couldn’t help but admire his build. The way his shoulders and arms moved beneath the fabric as he lifted the shirt over his head, and the way his skin glistened beneath the lights of his apartment. He was beautiful.

“You gonna go get dried off or what?” He looked over his shoulder, smirking when he caught you staring at him. “Go take a shower or something. Food will be done when you get out.”

Katsuki lived in a two-bedroom apartment. His room was at the end of a long hall, the other room serving as a home office and gym. The walls were decorated with his achievements from the past and two photos. One photo of his parents - Mitsuki told you she had snuck that photo in when they were helping him move, and he either never noticed it, or never bothered to take it down - and one photo of him standing with Deku and All Might at their graduation.

Attached to his bedroom was a massive bathroom, complete with a huge tub and separate shower, and his and hers sinks that he originally had no use for. Eventually, he’d started letting you keep some of your things on one side of the counter for when you would sleep over. You debated over whether you should take a bath or a shower, knowing the bath would feel amazing and would help soothe your ankle. You ultimately decided on the shower, because even though your ankle hurt, the shower would be faster, and after this evening's events, you wanted nothing more than to cuddle up next to Katsuki and let his warmth embrace you like a blanket.

After you’d cleaned up and changed, you made your way back to his room, searching for the clothes you left there the last time you stayed the night. Katsuki kept a couple of drawers cleared out for you, but you tried to keep the things you left over to a minimum, not wanting to completely take over his place. The only problem with that is that sometimes you left nothing but shorts, not a single shirt or pair of pants could be found anywhere in his room.

“Suki?” You called from the doorway of his room. “I can’t find a shirt, and I only have shorts!”

“So? Just wear something of mine!” His gruff voice boomed through the apartment over the sounds of the kitchen. “You know where my stuff is, just take whatever.”

Turning to his closet, you set sights on his favorite sweatshirt, which in turn, happened to be your favorite as well. You had only ever worn it once, while he was out of town. He was gone on a mission and asked you to stay at his place to keep an eye on it, and while you didn’t know this, he knew there was no reason for someone to be staying in his place. He lived in one of the most secure buildings in the area, but he didn’t like the thought of you staying at your apartment, with nothing but a deadbolt to keep you safe. You spotted the sweatshirt hanging up neatly with the rest of his jackets and pulled it over your head, the bottom of it reaching your mid-thighs, covering the shorts you were wearing.

“It smells good in here.” You made your way into the kitchen, snaking your arms around Katsuki as he stood in front of the stove, placing your cheek against his back. He had snuck back to the room at some point, exchanging his wet clothes for a pair of sweats and a black snug-fitting tank top. A yawn escaped you and Katsuki turned around, lifting your chin to give you a soft kiss on the lips.

“Of course it does, dumbass. I’m cooking.” He looked further down, the look of realization coming over him as he recognized his sweatshirt. He held you out at arms length, eyes trailing up and down your body, not unlike the way he took you in at your apartment earlier. His eyes finally settled on where the sweatshirt ended.

You tilted your head to the side, eyes wide, trying to read his expression. It was almost like you were thrown back to when you had first started dating, trying to figure out if he was angry or embarrassed or if he liked it. You played with the hem of the sweatshirt and looked down. “I can go change if you want. I know this one’s your favorite but it’s just so warm.”

Your words snapped him out of whatever trance he was in and he shook his head, a slight frown coming to his lips, offended that you would even consider changing. Katsuki gently pushed you to the other side of the kitchen, lifting you up and setting you on the cool, marbled surface of the counter. “The hell would you think I wanted you to change for, dumbass?”

“Because I couldn’t tell what you were thinking. I couldn't tell if you were angry or upset, so…” You trailed off, cheeks turning red from embarrassment. You liked to think you knew Katsuki well, but times like this is where he would throw you off, completely unexpecting anything he would say or do.

“Hell no, in fact, I never want to see a damn shirt of yours in here again. You look good, hell, even better than I do.” His voice fell to a whisper as he lifted your chin again, your eyes staring into his beautiful vermillion, lips just a few centimeters from his.

Katsuki was so sure you would be able to hear his heart beating out of his chest. Your smile, your laugh, the way you spoke so passionately about your work or listened intently to anything he said about his. His heart rate picked up any time you were near him. At first, he hated it, the tightness in his chest was uncomfortable, and even though it took him a little longer than most to realize, he finally understood what it was.

He took a shaky breath and tucked a strand of damp hair behind your ear before bringing your lips to his. Your hands bundled into his tank top, pulling him closer while one of his settled behind your head. There was something different about this kiss than any of the previous that had been shared between the two of you. It was soft, yet hungry at the same time, passionate like he would never be able to kiss you again.

A burning smell came from the stove, and Katsuki quickly pulled away, rushing to remove the pot from the burner, cursing as the contents bubbled and burned to the hot surface. He ran a spoon through the pot and cursed even louder when he realized the food was burnt to the bottom of the pan.

You couldn’t help but giggle, watching as your boyfriend tossed the pot into the sink. “Suki, I think someone’s trying to tell us we can’t have a good Valentine’s Day.”

His shoulders relaxed at the sound of your laugh, “to hell with them. I’m going to make this the best damn Valentine’s Day you’ve ever had.” He stood before you again, lifting you to sit on the counter and standing between your legs.

“It already has been the best Valentine’s Day.” You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into another kiss.

Katsuki was the first to speak after you broke the kiss, resting his forehead on yours and pulling one of your hands away from his shirt, entwining your fingers with his. “I love you, Y/N.”

Your free hand moved up to his slightly damp hair, eyes staring up into his once more, a smile tugging at your lips. “I love you too, Katsuki.” This time, you were the one to pull him into a kiss, over the moon that he felt the same.

The tightness in Katsuki’s chest lifted the moment you spoke those three words to him. All of his worries and fears that you hadn’t felt the same melted away. You meant everything to him, and if he could freeze this moment in time, to hold you the way he was holding you like he is now for the rest of his life, he wouldn’t think twice about it.

#Katsuki Bakugo #Katsuki BakugoxYN #Katsuki Bakguo fic #Valentines #Katsuki Bakugo Valentines #Bakugo Fluff #Katsuki Bakugo Fluff #Spud Corner Colab #Valentine's Day #Valentines Collab #Bakugo Katsuki Fluff #Bakugo x reader #Bakugo x YN #the first 'I love you' sho schweet i luv him

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captainsimagines · 3 years

Text

To Topple A Giant || Chapter Seven

Summary: You had made it your mission to destroy even the smallest evils. When the opportunity arises to finally take down your own family after years of gaining their trust, you reach for it. And so does Steve, the man who represents a symbol of everything you hate.

Pairing(s): Steve Rogers x Reader || Avengers x Reader

Part 7 of 10 ~ Mini-Series

Warnings: This story contains mature themes and discussions such as extreme canon violence, strong language, emotional angst, mentions of Endgame deaths and recoveries, sexual situations, and emotional/physical abuse. This is purely fanfiction.

Warnings in this Chapter: abusive parental relationship; strong language; canon-level violence (explosions); mentions of alcohol poisoning; mention of Infinity War/Endgame deaths; perceived domestic partner abuse (no such thing actually happens!); concussions and minor injuries; mentions of arranged marriages; mentions of drug smuggling and human smuggling; lying; ANGST!

Word Count: 14,100+

A/N: So close to the finish line...

Spain, 2024, 5:07 pm.

“Get the damn ice cream, Peter. I’m not holding you back.”

The kid sped down the sidewalk as fast as his feet would let him, skips in his steps and ignoring the chastising yells from Bucky.

“You’re letting him have sugar?” Bucky whines, sluggish in his own steps. The Spanish summer sun was blaring, burning your forehead and building the same cold craving in your throat. It was just the three of you, carefree but melting, happy but annoyed with the constant proximity of each other. The villa (if you could call it that, it was more of a cottage) was listed as having three rooms - not the two you were stuck with. Bucky was at the last inch of self-control, begging you to switch with him - if only for one night - because ‘the kid fuckin’ talks in his sleep, doll! One more night and I might smother him.’

It was Bucky’s idea to take a little vacation. A year after the blip and only a few months after Peter’s world was turned upside down, a vacation seemed like the best choice. Preferably somewhere that was quiet and somewhat rural - somewhere you guys won’t be easily recognized.

So the three of you packed and flew across the pond. In all honesty, you hadn’t even told the rest of the team where you were going besides Wanda. One day you were greeting them in the common room and preparing lunch, the other you were throwing your suitcase in one of the two vacant rooms in this little Spanish cottage. The three of you were truly off the map in terms of late notice.

“Let the kid live. He’s having a mid-life crisis at eighteen.”

“I’ve had more mid-life crisis’s than his age combined. He’s not special.” The pointed look on your face had Bucky sighing in small defeat. “Okay, okay.”

These past two weeks in shared solitude, even if this trip was supposed to be relaxing, was beginning to melt into a tiresome routine. Well, just nights. The days were mild at best. And to make matters worse, you and Bucky had been dodging the team’s calls, messages that you left for voicemail. Bucky had clicked ‘end call’ more times than he could count and his excuse was always, ‘ the kid doesn’t want to leave, doll.’ Even annoyed with Peter, Bucky wanted only the best.

It was only a matter of time until your phones were tracked and you were forced to come home. Everyone probably knew where you were anyway - you weren’t exactly hiding. But since you already got a good two weeks in, you figured they had taken some sympathy.

“Think we can get him to visit a museum today or something?”

Bucky shrugged, lining up at the coffee stand near the ice cream cart. “Saw him checking out banana bread recipes last night. Seems more like a baking day.”

You could go for some banana bread. Ordering two iced coffees and making more miscellaneous small talk while waiting for Peter to order, you studied the streets of Spain. The country had suffered greatly when, cruelly, more than half their population disappeared. Left in proper ruins, no one believed it would ever recover. But then there was an election, a change in the structural government, and it just… did. They rebuilt themselves better than any country had, in your opinion.

It was a rather calm day with minimal people out and about. It was exactly what you guys deserved after every mission - in your case, after a long month of PR recovery after that bar fight alongside Sam.

“You bake, Barnes?”

He smiled fully, “Any chance I get.”

“You guys want anything?” Peter yelled out, bouncing lightly on his heels as he waited. You waved him off. “You sure? It’s pretty cheap for summer prices!”

After rejecting Peter’s dozen ice cream questions and offers, the three of you decided the heat was a little too much to bear, even with sunscreen. Peter spoke most of the way. Something about that banana bread.

Bucky, being the baker, helped him choose the best recipe of the four Peter had bookmarked and soon the kitchen was only half dirty with eggs and mashed bananas.

“What do you mean a cup of baking soda, kid? Use your eyes,” Bucky yelled in second hand embarrassment. “I don’t think a cup of baking soda goes in anything.”

“Read right here, dude,” Peter poked at his tablet. “A cuuuu... okay. Okay, I see what I read wrong.”

“You two better be making me some good ass banana bread today. I don’t want to throw up!” You had opted to let the two men have their fun in the kitchen. You tried to bake, but you were more of a cook than anything else.

“You could be reading out the directions.”

“I could do a lot of things,” you respond with the emphasis on “could”.

The doorbell interrupted your no-so-real argument. Peter snickered, “You could get the door.”

With a displeased grunt and a straightened middle finger to the kid, you opened the door to find two people who were definitely not invited. Clint, with this magical and massive smile on his face and Steve, with his eyebrow cocked and arms crossed.

“Oh, would you look at that. Guests! Welcome to our humble abode!”

“Now, how and why?” Bucky groaned. But his actions contradict his words as he went to give Steve a hug, covered in flour and all.

“Hey, Clint,” you mumbled, purposely ignoring the super soldier side-eyeing you. “Care to tell us what you’re doing here?

Clint returned your warm smile, “See, Cap? They’re safe. Can we go now?”

Steve rolled his eyes, arms crossed over his chest in a rather demanding way. “We’re here to take them home, Clint.”

Bucky scoffs.

“Eh, you might be. But I’m here to soak up some of this Spanish sun.” A low grunt sounded in the back of Clint’s throat as he spoke. He was already making his way to pick at the mashed ingredients.

“You heard the man, pal,” Bucky slaps Steve’s shoulder, leaving him at the door as well. Awkwardly left alone, you blow a small raspberry and step aside to let Steve in. Bucky continues, “We’re here to soak up some sun. And I’m not done soakin’.”

With great protest, Steve maneuvers Bucky away from the kitchen and into the hallway beside the master bedroom. With both super soldiers out of the way, you finally go to help Peter with mixing. “Why did he come, really?”

Clint shrugs, arms deep inside your cabinets and collecting whatever desserts you had pre-packaged. “Honestly? I think he missed you guys.”

“All this drama because he misses Bucky? He could have just shown up declaring truce and had a nice little vacation,” you mumbled, glaring at Steve from behind.

“Think he felt like he needed an excuse to even show up. But they really are asking for you guys back home. Threatened to arrest your ass.”

“Lucky me.”

You could make out snippets of their tiny argument up ahead.

‘You could have called.’

‘You haven’t been answering the phone, Buck.’

‘I’ve been relaxing.’

A heavy sigh.

‘I just thought we told each other everything.’

‘Believe it or not, Steve… but I’ve got more friends now. Isn’t that what you wanted? I’m not trying to ignore you, I - I just needed to help another friend out this time.’

Peter, with great care, washes his hands and makes sure there aren't any random mashes of banana on his clothing before he side-steps you and Clint to interrupt the very ‘private’ conversation between the super soldiers. “Hey, Mr. Steve- Cap, hey.”

Steve immediately lets his hard gaze falter. “Hey, kid. You doin’ good?”

Peter nods in response.

“He’s doing great! Much needed vacation that still isn’t over.”

“Buck.”

Inserting yourself may not have been the best option. “Give it up, Rogers. We’re on vacation. And until the kid says he’s ready to go home, we go home.”

Peter fumbles, “Oh, please don’t put me on the spot like that. I’m not good with confrontation.”

Bucky quickly answers before Steve can, “It’s not confrontation, Peter. We love being out here and if it’s helping your mental health, we’re not going to take that away from you.”

Steve blinks and his expression looks like one of hurt. “You think I wanna do that? The literal president has been asking for your location. You’re not allowed to leave the country.”

You shrug, “Well, no one told me that.”

“Buck, you were just granted immunity three months ago. And you go and drop off the face of the earth?”

“I’m literally in Spain.”

Steve blinks again. He really can’t believe he’s got to deal with two people with similar personalities. “Your point?”

“On Earth…?”

Clint decides to make his presence known. He has even inserted the poured batter into the glass tray for you guys. “Why don’t we just stay with ‘em, Cap? God knows you need a vacation, too.”

“We have two rooms. You’d be bunking on the floor,” you say, pointing to random areas on the floor.

Clint waves his hand in the air, “Not the worst place I’ve slept in.”

“I’m being hounded day and night to bring you three home.” Steve looks about ready to burst into tears of frustration.

“Turn off your phone?”

Steve whips his head and stomps to close the few feet of distance between the two of you. “You really think it’s that easy? You really think I wasn’t worried when my two best friends just disappeared one night and didn’t tell me?”

Two.

Best.

Friends.

Before you could even comment, Bucky puts on the dramatics. “We ran away together, Stevie. We meant to tell you.”

Steve takes a moment, just staring at the ceiling and piecing together his thoughts. “Joke all you want, Buck. I’m bringing you home.”

“Ste-”

“No!” He’s stomping back to the front door now. “I’ve had enough! I can’t stand not knowing where you guys are all day when bad things keep happening in this world. Just… just come home.”

All is quiet besides the quiet munching of Clint and his rogue cookie. Steve’s face did this thing when he was at war with himself, anxiety crawling up his arms or panic weighing his empty stomach down. His face drained color and that perfect renaissance oil lost its blush, blended paint that turned a murky gray. A masterpiece lost in storage.

“I can take the couch,” you whisper, arms erupting in goosebumps. “You guys can stay the night and we’ll go home tomorrow, okay? Or somewhere pre-approved, I guess.”

Bucky didn’t argue. Neither did Peter.

Steve's imaginary painter adds the softest pink back to Steve’s cheeks as you compile a mess of blankets and pillows for him.

Present Day, 2025, 7:15 am

There’s a warmth near you as you begin to lazily shuffle against the sheets, heavy on your chest but comfortable all in all.

There are no worries, no sudden bursts of Avenger business, no fights needing to be fought. Simply Steve warm against you with sunlight draping over his bare and freckled shoulders.

The serum enhanced for the sole purpose of strength and survival. And sure, it healed the body quicker than the average human body could naturally, but the one thing it couldn’t do was strip personality.

Steve had freckles splattered along his broad shoulders and down to in between his shoulder blades, light in color and all similar in size. Something a lot of people hated about themselves and tried to cover up while others tried to mimic. The serum was supposed to heal damaged skin, sunburnt areas, birthmarks, and even moles - at least, that’s what the official 1943 report had claimed.

But over the years, Steve had continued to age and grow into his new body. And while he couldn’t get dangerously sick anymore, anything unknown could still occur. No one had the same serum as Steve and last Tony had heard, Peggy had spilled the last remnants of Steve’s original DNA (blood they took before the procedure) in the Hudson. Bucky seemed to be experiencing the same natural changes as well.

It had been proven that neither Steve nor Bucky could carry or transmit diseases, experience abnormal cell production, nor could they develop a lifelong ailment without severe reason.

So imagine everyone’s surprise when Clint called one morning while deep in a routine mission (somewhere in Africa, you really don’t remember) to relay the news that, ‘you guys aren’t gonna fucking believe this - yeah Rogers, I’m telling them the hilarious news right now - Steve’s appendix just up and exploded last night - hey! He just stole - hold on. Give me back my hearing aid, you abelist fuck!’.

Steve had stretch marks on his back from the procedure, his elbow still hurt from time to time after he had snapped it a year ago, and the white scar above his right hip reminded him that even super soldiers are not exempt from the wonders of the appendix.

His breathing was slow and his eyelids flickered. Seemed he was enjoying his first deep sleep in a while. You craned your neck to try and read the cable box across the room, slightly making out a seven in the front before you gave up. You were due for your annual eye appointment, anyway.

Steve did have perfect eyesight though, so damn him.

You shrugged the sheets from your arms. He was on his stomach, cheek planted on your chest and right foot dangling off the side of the bed. His left arm was draped over your middle and his right was tucked inside a pillowcase. His hair draped over his forehead and some of it was still tucked behind his ears.

Careful to not wake him, you gently traced the ridge of his nose with your index finger, resting it on the tip that always turned bright pink regardless of mood. Once at the end, you went back up to trace it again.

“Beak,” you whispered more to yourself, and you bit your lip to suppress the overwhelming urge to giggle.

Steve was here, next to and near you, and he was so warm.

You could have stayed in bed for hours, sleeping and cuddling and fucking, and you would bet your left kidney that Steve wanted that too. It was impossible to question it, it had to be, because Steve was too genuine. You had met hundreds of men in your life: some the literal devil, some cowards, some reserved, and rarely, some genuine at heart. Steve fit some category that didn’t even exist.

You wanted to love him and hate him. You wanted to make love and fuck him. You wanted to kiss him and annoy him. He checked a box that didn’t exist but that you would just have to reserve for him. The annoying little shit who could lift Thor’s hammer.

The door almost ripped off its hinges by the brute force of someone’s leg. You didn’t even fully register being crushed by Steve until his elbow stabbed you right in the gut.

“Rogers!” you groaned in pain and half trying to reach for your pistol on the bedside table.

There was a collective gasp of surprise (and maybe terror) from the people that just broke down your door. After yesterday’s unplanned run-in with Ramirez, no doubt this was called-for.

“Oh, hell…” Sam grumbled, lowering his gun the second he realized two of his friends were sharing one bed. “Lemme guess, the other bed’s mattress was too firm but this one’s just right.”

Bucky stood behind him, a knowing smirk plastered on his smug face. He looked between you and Steve, ignoring the way Scott was practically pulling his shoulder down in pure fits of laughter. Didn’t take much for Scott to tip himself over and almost drag Bucky down with him.

“Couldn’t you knock?” Steve nearly yelled, body still trying to shield yours even though you were fully dressed. You were struggling to push him away in pure embarrassment, but he seemed intent with this form of protection.

“You weren’t answering your phone! We changed our check-in times to seven instead of eight, remember?”

Steve, ever the gentleman, brought the sheets up higher for you and finally lifted himself out of bed.

And Bucky, ever the gentleman who has been spending way too much time with Clint, nodded his head toward you. “You two fuck?”

Mouth dropping in humiliation, you pulled the sheets up over your head and screamed into the temporary cover. Steve sputtered over whatever explanation he was thinking of pulling out of his ass.

“You two fucked,” Bucky smugly confirmed.

Steve pulled on the nearest shirt and went to kick Scott, who was ‘criss-cross apple-sauced’ on the floor and laughing way too loudly. “Is it really any of your business?”

“Man, that’s an answer!” Sam was about to fall into the same fit as Scott.

Annoyed, and fueled by that annoyance, you ripped the sheets off and marched for the bathroom. “You really want to know, you nosy little fucks? We did fuck and he made me come three times. Ask him how, I’m sure he’ll teach you a thing or two, no matter how embarrassed he may seem right now.”

You left him alone. You literally just exposed him and you left him alone with the wolves.

All was quiet until Sam blew a small raspberry. “Three times?”

Bucky didn’t need to speak to show he was about to tease the hell out of you. He simply sipped his coffee until he emptied it, and then refilled it. You couldn’t even finish a single mug yet because you were waiting to break the tension.

Looking around the hotel bar because he still valued your privacy, Bucky made sure to keep his voice low. “Three times?”

Half wanting to slap the smirk off his face and the other half wanting to announce Steve’s naughty accomplishment, you settled for pouring more coffee into your mug.

“Don’t you dare hold what I said against me, I literally had just woken up.”

“Mm, yeah. I remember how you literally moaned Thor’s name when you were startled awake from a nap in the living room.”

“Bucky!” you yelled, turning your shoulders inwards when you received a few odd looks from other early risers. Well, some were early risers. The person closest to the door was an agent, as was the other eating breakfast at the bar. “You promised you would never mention that again!”

He shook his head with amusement, “I can’t believe you swore me to secrecy when Loki basically told everyone.”

“He-!” Choking on your own spit, you slid lower into your booth. “That mischievous, conniving, son of a bitch.”

“In all honesty, I think that was his way of flirting with you.”

“Telling everyone I had a wet dream about his brother?”

“Oh, you wouldn’t be the first.”

You smirked, “Oh, trust me. I know.”

Bucky squinted, guilty in his spoken words. “All I’m saying is, it’s nice that you didn’t just write Steve off with us, as if nothing happened.”

It made your heart swell that even in a moment with you, Bucky would still always protect Steve.

“I would never. We actually talked last night and he really apologized.”

“Really?” His eyes were hopeful.

“He did. And as cliche as it sounds, one thing led to another.”

You realized your earlier words were contradictory when Bucky sighed sadly, “This better not have been a one time thing. I’ll strangle you both.”

You scoffed and finally took a piece of that blueberry muffin on your plate. “Screw you, Barnes. It’s Steve we’re talking about. I’d give him the world if I could.”

That made Bucky blush. “God, I’m stupidly happy for him. I always said he’d need to find a dame who had as big of a mouth as he does.”

Rolling your eyes, you offered him some of that muffin. He gladly broke off a piece. “Don’t go marrying us off just yet.”

“Doll, he almost imploded when we discovered you slept together. Teasing him about proposing might just kill him.”

You laughed at that. Although Steve had admitted he regretted the time you lost, there wasn’t any chance he would push you any further. He was probably comfortable with taking things slow, no matter the history. You had that in common.

“Seems we’re all just gonna have to make sure we don’t cause his demise.”

Smiling as he chewed, Bucky played with your feet under the table. Safe moments like these always occurred before a mission, no matter how simple or heavy they were. And like people love to say, you never fought with each other before. Just in case.

Going to bed angry was another thing entirely. That, the whole team was proficient in.

“You ready for tonight?”

Yesterday had definitely turned you against the very concept of family reunions, what with the small ache between your shoulders. You were angry with Seda, with Ernesto, disappointed with Ramirez, and neutral toward your sister.

God, your sister. This would be the first time since you left Mexico for school and SHIELD that you would be seeing her, as well as your other siblings. Jackeline was perhaps the only sibling you had some real memories with. Everyone else was already deep in the business or far away from the chaos. The team only knew of two other siblings who rsvp’d. The others: radio silence.

“Part of me just wants a normal family wedding. I’m kinda hoping we can just end it all tonight.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Bucky chuckled, finishing off your muffin for you. “You’ll get some closure soon enough.”

There was no such thing as closure. Just less of a constant sting.

“Bucky,” you spoke seriously now. “My father made Steve sign something yesterday.”

“He told us at the debrief yesterday.”

“When did you have a debrief?”

Bucky scooted in his booth, quickly explaining. “Uh well, it wasn’t so much of a debrief as it was a simple overview. Just a heads up.”

You tilted your head, somewhat unconvinced. “Uh-huh… but we could void it, right? He had a fucking notary there and everything.”

“We can declare it void, yeah Y/N,” he grabbed your hand over the table. “He won’t get tangled in this.”

With a heavy sigh, you gripped Bucky’s hand tighter. “I’m really glad you guys are gonna help us.”

He returned your smile. “Anything for family.”

Family.

After all these years of self-hatred and despising your own blood, you blinded yourself of the simple truth that you already had a real family. Whether you were accepted after Sokovia, or after you helped Steve escape with Bucky, or after those long five years, you were accepted. And you accepted them right back.

The briefing goes as expected. Didn’t seem like anyone was going to live down the now obvious fact that you and Steve had slept together after years of unnoticed pining. You simply took the teasing in stride, better than Steve even, who stuffed his face full of chips in embarrassment.

The plan was simple but ever-evolving. The three of them will hang back: Bucky at the hotel, Scott and Sam at the nearby base with Torres. The base was fifteen minutes from the estate, hidden behind those same pine trees but the perfect cover - it was a nearby diner. Steve will still take the shield, FRIDAY was installed on your personal phones, and any weapons you attached to your person were specifically made to deter metal detectors. Once in, it was mingle, mingle, mingle.

There were going to be a thousand questions to answer: What in the world is Captain America doing here? Is he here to cause trouble? Are you two seriously dating? So, Captain America being one of us means holding Thor’s hammer was a myth, aye?

Then you would move on to the more important guests. Jackeline’s greeting would be more of a reunion. But flying under and over the radar had to walk the same line - you needed to mix in with the crowd and make sure they see you participating, but then escape for a little while to continue the mission.

Once in, the task was to electronically and physically retrieve everything Scott didn’t have time to yesterday, plus the new information Ernesto got for today and tomorrow. His latest emails, list of contacts, checks, birth certificates, video evidence.

“Do we all know our duties?”

You wanted to wrap up Steve’s commanding voice and keep it a special secret, a secret that was yours and the team’s to share.

“We got it, Cap. For the tenth time this week - you two okay?”

Sam was rewarded with a slanted smile. “Everytime you ask me that, I’ll lie.”

He nods, “At least you admit it. You’re not alone in this.”

“For years,” you continued, “It’s been that way. I guess I’m both ready for it to end and not. I want them behind bars. I don’t want the repercussions.”

“Makes sense,” Bucky agrees. “At least part of the fight will be over.”

Beside you, Steve clenches his jaw. “We’re always fighting.”

Bucky grins at him, “Yeah.” There’s a sparkle in his eye as he leans forward to squeeze Steve’s thigh. “At least it’s not with each other anymore.”

They weren’t lying when they said vibranium was lightweight. Felt different from nano-tech and was an obvious change from your regular body suit. You felt protected and stylish. Good, because even though you weren’t obligated to impress those vultures, there were still a few cousins and extended family members you wanted compliments from. And?

The black turtleneck was warmer than you expected and didn’t strangle you. You were a bundle of velvet bliss right now. The cuffs were a golden brown, completely made from vibranium. Modeling in the mirror, you whispered a few ‘pew-pew’s as you blocked pretend bullets. C’mon, golden bracelets? You were basically Wonder Woman.

The tights were your own, thin and black and you could still see there were faint bruises on your knees from training. Once all that was situated, you pulled on the long skirt and tucked in the bottom of your shirt, glad the way the high-waisted design sucked everything in. The skirt was the same golden brown as the cuffs, shorter in the front and wavy as it draped down the back, barely reaching your ankles. You tied the skirt’s belt in a tight bow and pulled on the black boots Shuri had also sent you. The heel was thick and short, and the boot was pretty tight around the top of your ankle.

Time was ticking on that well-deserved goody basket you were meaning to send to the royal siblings.

Hoop earrings, three rings dressing your left hand, a simple golden necklace - now you need to do your hair and make-up.

Steve was just patiently waiting for his turn in the bathroom, bless his heart.

“Scott said the files are in his personal belongings. We suspect he’s planning to smuggle over fifty people tomorrow. Their records should be hidden away in those belongings, too.”

Sam always kept a leveled head in dire situations like these. He was rational and helpful, always waited until the job was done and everyone was safe before he had a drink or a cry. It was safest, perhaps the most fair thing the Avengers could do for the public after destroying half the cities they fought in. The media didn’t need to know about the late-night fights, alcohol poisoning, or frequent therapy sessions. Your coping methods were all different - Steve has no doubt Sam will immediately pack an overnight bag and Bucky to visit his sister and nephews once the wedding concluded.

Steve? Well, Steve was surprisingly calm, all things considered.

“You get any hits yet? Anything from Ramirez that could help us find those people sooner?”

Sam sighs sadly, shaking his head. “It’s looking like we’re heading into a full-on fight.”

That’s not what Steve wanted to hear. A ‘full-on’ fight almost always had accidents, misfires, innocent casualties, and a few cuts and scrapes to add to his own personal collection.

“Sam,” Steve puts down the files in his hand and shuts off his monitor to signal he’s done researching for the night. “I really don’t know how to thank you.”

“You know,” Sam smiles at him, “I’m gettin’ real tired hearin’ you say that.”

Steve huffs out a laugh. Sam gently exhales - Steve can feel it.

“You two really are the same.” Sam points at Steve and to the bathroom door. “Always apologizing for shit you can’t control.”

Steve looks down to his feet, a blush in his pale cheeks. After failing to clip his cufflinks on his own, he holds his arms out to Sam who happily clips them for him.

“Is it real?”

Steve pauses. He doesn’t really need to think about it because he knows. He’s known for a while even if he was on autopilot. The pause only serves to help him catch his breath from the happy prickle that crawls up his spine. “As real as second chances go.”

Sam laughs and claps his shoulder, “I get it. We seem to get a hell of a lotta those.”

Now that the mission was truly kicking into gear, fucking full speed ahead, Steve had no other choice but to pull shreds of Captain America from that metaphorical attic of his. Took everything in him to revert back, never fully, and each time would be different from the last. Sometimes it was mentally draining being responsible for a whole team and creating the plans, other times he regretfully felt like a colonizer, an intruder who followed orders from the top and was forced to execute them. This time around, he was stepping into uncharted territory, but still familiar, and he had a million roles to mime.

“Steeeve.”

His smile was instant and he gravitated to your voice. “Hmm?”

“So, I have an idea for a hairstyle,” you reply, throwing open the bathroom door with a brush in one hand and the other holding the top layers of your hair up. “I got enough hair for it.”

“Tell me about it. It gets in the way of everything.”

“Haha.” You rolled your eyes, still trying to shovel more hair higher. “I curled it, so all I gotta do is tug this upper half up into a ponytail while the rest stays down. But can you help? My shoulders still hurt and I haven’t taken my advil yet.”

Steve shuffles back into the room to grab you two pills before he replaces his hands with yours. “So, just lift it up?”

You hum confirmation, watching Steve in the mirror as he pulled your thick curls higher, snapped the hair tie between his teeth, and tied it all. He pulled the strands outward so the high curls still fell around your face. The hairstyle would have been easier with extensions (for a much fuller look) but if you had to throw your body around these next two days, you’d rather save yourself the embarrassment of having them pulled off.

“Thank you,” you blush. These moments were so intimate, so sweet, just you and Steve. “You need any help?”

Steve looks down at himself. He had already tied his own tie. He could style his own hair and comb his beard. “I think I’m good. Forgot to pack cologne, though.”

“I’ve got some perfume in my suitcase. There should be one in there that isn’t too flowery.”

Steve rolls his eyes and turns to leave. “Not really a problem, doll.”

Pulling on his suit jacket and reaching for your suitcase to set it on the bed, he miscalculated the balance he was so obviously lacking. Instead of toppling head first himself, he fumbles your suitcase and spills its contents on your bed. He stills for a second, looking to the closed bathroom door to see if you popped your head through to ask what the hell that sound was. But it remained closed, and Steve silently groaned because of his clumsiness.

He tries his best to roll the clothing items back in, cursing whenever he would accidentally squeeze a perfume bottle you had hidden in there. He counted three. The one he picks smells like roses.

Amongst the ruins he finds your passport, multiple IDs, and two pairs of sunglasses. He chuckles to himself and thinks, we’ve been here for four days and she hasn’t worn these once.

A torn piece of paper stood out from the pile, folded neatly in its own envelope but still damaged.

CLINT

Curious, Steve opens the envelope, wholeheartedly expecting to find the written contents from the archer himself, but pauses when he reads the simple sentence, in your handwriting.

‘After careful deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that I want you to have all my video games.’

If Steve didn’t know any better, and judging by the multiple other letters peeking through the torn tape from the corner of your suitcase, it sounded like a goodbye letter.

“What’s taking so long?”

Startled, Steve shoves the letter under the pile of clothes. “Uh, my clumsy ass spilled your clothes everywhere so I’m being good and fixing everything.”

“...annoying.”

Still, you stayed inside the bathroom.

He glanced back just to make sure. And he knew he shouldn’t be snooping, the guilt was already eating away at him, but he now noticed the lump under the torn tape and another envelope poking through.

They were all signed for different people. Bucky, Wanda, Peter, Rhodey -

The devil on his shoulder drowned the cries of the angel.

Opening his, he prays for his quick reading skills to aid him before you realized what he was doing.

Steve,

Believe when I say that I thought I would put a bullet in my father before he could. Whoops…

I don’t really know why I’m writing these letters besides the thrill of morbidity for my untimely death or because I’m an amateur writer on the side. I never know what to say to you, anyway. Whether it’s in person or on paper. I’ve got a hundred drawn-up speeches in my head I almost say to you. But they don’t come out when I want them to and it seems a bit much to write out the words to several imaginary crumpled pieces of paper.

This will have to do.

Steve, I know for a fact, deep in whatever soul I have left, that you are a good man.

When the world fell apart, I held on to you. I don’t know why. Natasha bugged me about it, sent me those signature smirks of hers whenever we did anything remotely weird. She believed something was going on between us and I would get so angry with her because it was like she saw something I couldn’t. And I wanted to see it. Wrap it up for myself and live in the softness.

You slept by my side when I would ask, you let me look through your private sketchbook to help ease my mind, and you would jump at every chance to shield me from danger. Even when you know I can take care of myself. I don't know how many times I have to remind you.

I don’t understand why you shut me out after we brought our friends back. And at the time, it hurt like hell. I literally wanted to kill you and then myself. It made no sense, it still doesn’t. I won’t lie and say it still surprises me or that it no longer hurts. ‘Cause I’m numb to it now and the pain is more of a dull ache.

But I guess you had your reasons, no matter how hurtful, how ridiculous, no matter how stupid.

Fuck, why didn’t you get some of that life Tony had always wanted for you? The question eats me alive. Maybe you did move on, maybe you would miss us too much, I truly don’t know. When you confessed to wanting some form of that life when we rescued Wanda, it just confused me more.

Then my father basically declared war and you cut me out. I can’t help but think you stayed behind to help me finish this, what with that righteous streak of yours, but if it is the case, then I am so sorry.

You deserve to live, Steve.

Guess what I really want to close with is this: find that life you always wanted. Buy a boat, or a cabin in the secluded woods and become a lumberjack, travel, open your own art museum - hell, erase all traces of your identity and sell painted landscapes for a living.

In any form you find it, just try. You know I’m always rooting for you, and I’m always by your side. No matter how annoying and smart-mouthed you may be.

There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here, there, and everywhere with you.

With as much love in me,

The swirl of your name leaves him disoriented, and slightly paralyzed. Steve licks the envelope closed.

Steve puts the very existence and contents of your letter to the back of his mind for the time being. He doesn’t have time to dwell on it, no time to dissect it word for word. He’ll focus on it later. He still doesn’t know what reaction he should be experiencing. The letter was unexpected, yes, but it’s the matter of you writing a goodbye letter - as if you weren’t going to make it out of here alive. And that about saws Steve in two.

Steve thinks the elevator comes too fast and wonders what he could do to stop time. The mics on your neck generate enough noise for you to hear the static on the other end. No one is currently online, and Steve cherishes the little moments he’s getting before having to transition into ‘Captain America’ mode.

There wasn’t much time today to truly bask in the afterglow. The moment the elevator opens Steve literally drags you inside and captures your lips in a rather chaste kiss. It surprises you momentarily but you’re responding, and it’s fluid and familiar. The kiss is brief, but it feels as if your years mold into this single act, and Steve’s smiling wider than he has today when the first thing you say as you part is that maybe you chose the wrong shade of lipstick because it looks too damn dark on his lips.

The elevator reaches the ground floor and he looks over at you one last time in the privacy you’re afforded. He’s got that good ache in his chest again and it’s both calming and a little bittersweet, because staring at you is like staring at the sun - it hurts to look at for a long time but oh, so tempting.

The lawn was separated into two halves with only one fully decorated and the other still under a tarp, hidden because it was mid-construction and to not spoil the surprise. Over to the side, just left of the large lake, there was an extra tarp the workers were manning in case the clouds in the sky decided to cry.

Jackeline had chosen violet as her main color scheme, with golden hues stitched alongside. The flowers, soft lights, marble floor, and desserts were all violet; the curtains and tarps, plates and glasses, flowers on the wall, and Jackeline’s rehearsal dress were all gold. Ernesto must have spent over a million dollars in the decorations alone.

Everyone donned their best designers and since only family was in attendance today, the little amount of people were easily outdone one right after the other. In total, there were fifteen guests, and that included you and Steve: Ernesto, Seda, the groom’s father, Jackeline’s mother, two of your half-brothers, three aunts (sister’s of Ernesto), two cousins, the maid of honor, and Marcus White.

They have already fawned over Steve, some with a major guard up as expected, but as Ernesto explains the specifics, everyone becomes more pleased than weary. ‘It was just too good to be true that the Avengers were all good’, someone announces. Steve grips your hand just a little tighter.

The mere absence of Ramirez was enough of an answer: he really was going to be eliminated.

Across from your private corner, cheers and claps sound as the happy couple finally emerges. Even your father leaves mid-conversation to go greet her.

She’s a fifties masterpiece. Her dark hair cascades in uneven but gentle layers, framing her face and she’s both glossy and matte. Her skin is darker and her eyebrows are fuller, widow’ peak and strong jaw, thin neck and perfectly rounded shoulders. She has a painted blush on her high cheekbones, dark eyeshadow and a faint cat eye, and the reddest, fullest lips that are already spitting wit as she greets her more serious guests. Her voice is high but steady and she’s so obviously the center of attention, she’s the literal bride, but you bet she could take over the room even if she wasn’t. Her fiancé, surprisingly enough, trails behind her as if he too is in a trance, greeting the same guests and attempting to match her enthusiasm. She’s making herself known, and she’s succeeding.

It isn’t until she locks her sight on you that Steve finally mumbles a quiet ‘woah’ underneath a shaky breath and you can’t blame him, dear god you can’t, because seeing her for the first time in six years is eating away at you. She’s nineteen, young and sweet, and still trapped in the world you were planning to destroy.

Her first reaction is to run into your arms and hold you tightly, the force swinging you from side to side. Her giggles are contagious and you find yourself reacting similarly, grip tightening as she begins to ramble about how much she missed you and how proud she is that you have saved the world ten times over. The statement is overwhelming, but you find yourself nodding along in place of anything verbal.

Steve is patient as he witnesses this family reunion, standing at your side with respect and a tint of scarlet staining his cheeks. Finally, Jackeline turns to greet him and for a scary second, Steve sees Peggy.

“No way!” She keeps her voice low. “I could have sworn my bit-... uh, my bunch of tias were lying about you really being here.”

Steve shakes the fifties image from his head. The resemblance, even if Jackeline has more slanted eyes and a larger forehead, is uncanny. “Thank you so much for inviting us. The ride up was a bitch but we made the most of it.”

Jackeline stutters over her own laugh. “Oh.” She looks to you with a wide grin. “Oh, he’s a keeper.”

“Thought so myself,” you grin back. “You should hear him swear during a football game.”

“All men turn into animals when their teams don’t live up to expectations.”

Her accent is thicker than yours. Living in New York for over 10 years definitely helped smooth over some dialect and create your own voice. But Jackeline’s, considering she had never lived outside of Mexico, was thick and silky and resembled a place you no longer called home.

She pulls the man behind her forward, effectively interrupting and ending the conversation he was having with one of your cousins. “This is Julian. Julian, this is my one and only sister and her boyfriend!”

Julian, bless his heart, holds out a slightly shaking hand for you to shake. You do so, and try to convey calmness through it. When you watch his glance fall to Steve and feel his hand start to shake yours more rapidly, you can’t help but stifle a laugh.

“It’s an honor!” Julian finally says, voice deep and wracked with some nerves. He shakes Steve’s hand when he gets the chance. “Captain.”

“Please,” Jackeline rolls her eyes. “He’s just like us! You should be swooning over my sister, who is probably going to be the one to kill you if you ever hurt me.”

Julian blinks. His eyes go from Steve to you, contemplating his next move without wanting to seem rude. He nods in your direction. “I don’t doubt you would. Excuse me if I came off as rude. I’m just starstruck by this one here, is all.”

His accent matches Jackeline’s.

Steve waves his hand through the air. “You are not the first tonight, son.”

Sometimes you forget that Steve is an old man. Biologically, he’s in his mid-thirties. Ever changing and growing old as normal, but his soul is old. From a different time and out of it. The mere nickname he just gave Julian, no doubt because of his young age, leaves you averting your eyes and turning away to smile up at one of the many golden chandeliers.

“I really hope you enjoy tonight. The party may seem small right now, but trust me, half of Mexico will be dancing with us tomorrow night.” Jackeline bounces in place, hand intertwining with Julian’s, and she leans in to speak more clearly with you. “Meet me later? We have so much to catch up on.”

Agreeing, you watch the happy couple leave to converse with the few other guests.

Steve turns toward you, eyes squinted in amusement. “Is she really cheating on him with a man of the cloth?”

You can’t help the involuntary snort that leaves your nose. “The photos were watermarked, right? Time stamped? Maybe they’re old.”

Steve huffs a laugh and grabs two champagne glasses as the tray flies by him. “She’s got a way about her. Reminds me of a dame from this book I read a while back.”

Sipping your drink, you ponder. “What book?”

“The one where the dude gets shot at the end.”

“Oh, you mean every book from the 20th century?”

Steve laughs, “That twenties one!”

Mouth dropping, you push at his chest and turn to walk away. “You did not just compare her to Daisy from The Great Gatsby!”

Steve follows. “That’s the one! Honest! She has this way about her!”

It’s not long after a few dances and photographs that you’re all seated for the actual dinner. There are three long tables, two parallel to each other and the main one perpendicular. You don’t know if it’s a power move or whatever, but your name cards are placed on one of the parallel tables. But it doesn’t bother you much since you have a front view of Seda and your father.

Dinner is a six-course meal. Not that you assumed any different - Ernesto really went all out for his youngest child (that you know of). Your mics are picking up conversations left and right so you’re actually able to enjoy the meal. Salad, soup, a weird looking appetizer that’s actually quite delicious, the main course of either chicken/fish/or steak, and two desserts. All throughout, Steve is actually having the time of his life being fed so well.

“Answer me this,” Steve leans in to whisper in your ear. “Are those hearts or paper airplanes hanging from the ceiling?”

You smiled against the ridge of your champagne glass, “You mean those clay flowers?”

“Is that what they are?” He pauses for a long second, squinting.

“Are your eyes going bad?”

“Eyes don’t go bad.”

Your mouth falls open. “Your eyes are going bad!”

“Again,” Steve holds up a finger. “My eyes are just fine, not bad.”

Something else to add to that list you had made in the morning.

“This is fucking fantastic.”

Steve, still trying to casually squint, huffs. “Annoying...”

You bump his shoulder and lean in to whisper quietly. “Turns you on.”

Steve just blushes.

It’s like he forgets where he is for a second, what with the great food and surprisingly good conversation with one of your brothers beside him. Steve’s already built a much stronger rapport with the thirty-something year old man than you have. There’s a stab of guilt for a second, a need to duck and drown in shame, when you realize you can’t even remember his name.

Ernesto stands to announce toasts. His is brief and not all that fatherly, but it’s the longest you’ve heard him string some nice words together. Seda follows, brief as well, and includes a childhood anecdote about her. Jackeline’s mother is a young woman, somewhere between forty and fifty, and her toast is only a sentence long - ‘Solo quiero que estas contenta, mi amor.’ For the first time tonight, Bucky voices his thoughts over the mic with a quiet and sad sounding hum.

Ernesto lifts himself from his chair, swatting away his men who go to help him. He has the microphone again and he’s walking toward you, face neutral. You know better than to refuse in front of this big of a crowd. Steve squeezes your hand before you stand and he remains beaming up at you from his seat.

You’ve seen it in the movies - raise the glass, say some words, end it nicely. It’s what you do. But it feels surreal, almost unnerving when you don’t recognize the faces looking back at you.

“Here’s to you,” you lift your champagne glass, looking around at the happy yet solemn faces at the small table.

“You deserve all the happiness available to you. You are so lucky to have each other,” you finish the toast and drink your whole glass. There is no applause, just sad smiles in response. You’re not asking for much, you never had.

Tony and Pepper share a quick kiss, thanking everyone around the table quickly as the two cakes are being cut. Their wedding was limited, with only a few people in attendance. Whoever was left. Tony’s cabin could obviously accommodate more people, but he had only requested the gathering of those he could stomach to see. But when that turned out to only be Pepper and Happy, he was forced to open the doors to more.

So, you accepted your chocolate cake from Rhodey as he handed it to you. Shared some quick chit-chat with Steve and Natasha; greeted Thor as he made his first appearance in a while, hair now longer and baggy clothes hanging from his body, a tortured smile on his aging face; and sat through Happy’s own speech, enjoying his refreshing and joyful attitude.

But now you stood in front of the kitchen sink, staring at the hidden picture frame behind the mugs - a reminder of what was really missing from this special day.

You studied Peter’s awkward smile and demeanor, his expression youthful and frozen in time. He became foggy, silver clouds blotting his cheeks and his hair went white, and soon the sink sounded with a tiny ‘clunk!’ as you wept silently.

You felt a hand slide into your own, squeezing with care and understanding. You looked up to see Steve, his eyes watching your face. He gave you one more gentle squeeze, the same tortured smile as Thor’s on his beautiful face, and walked to his room to retire for the night.

Glass raised in the air, you swallow in hopes of not choking over any word because of your nerves.

“Here’s to you,” you start, already deciding this was going to be like pulling a band-aid. “May this world treat you kind, and that you are kind to each other, and that it’s all that matters.”

Steve forgets to drink. He can’t seem to shake the feeling of wanting to cry.

Everyone watches as Steve leads you onto the dance floor which is intimidating with its glittering violet light and marble that resembles polished glass. If these were the decorations for the rehearsal dinner, Steve can’t even begin to bet on how tomorrow’s going to look.

Steve holds you close, one arm wrapped around your waist and the other framing your spine. It’s like a tight hug. “Do you enjoy dancing?”

You step on his foot once again. “Shut up, Steve. Tell me your real thoughts.”

“Who, me?”

“Steve.”

“You suck at dancing.”

“There it is.”

It isn’t hard to sneak away once everyone piles onto the dance floor. Steve shares a few dances with your aunts before excusing himself to use the bathroom.

The mission itself goes rather smoothly. Infiltrating and collecting information was childsplay. Amateur. You’ve done it a thousand times and your father isn’t exactly a tech wizard. Neither is Seda.

You find the electronic bank records Scott couldn’t yesterday, as well as a detailed spreadsheet (more like a hitlist) dating ten years back. In the same file, this actually only slightly encrypted (slightly), are the names of high-level players involved. It’s color-coded, some names familiar because of their involvement with Hydra, and it’s only a matter of seconds before you notice that red means eliminated, black means still at large, and blue means ally.

There’s a lump in your throat as you scroll through and find Steve’s name, thankfully in blue. It’s expected, so you simply move on, until you find yours. And it’s in black.

It should terrify you, have you running for the hills and tucking your tail between your legs but you’re won’t because Steve’s name is blue.

That’s all that matters.

There’s still no concrete information about the shipment, nothing online or on a loose post-it note. It’s non-existent and that’s suspicious and you don’t know why you don’t voice that to Steve. He’s listening at the door and responding to Sam’s questions. You and Scott are the hackers of the group after all.

You scan through drawers and cabinets, snapping photos of things you can’t take just yet and filing the papers you can. Papers detailing contracts and miscellaneous connections: lawyers, doctors, politicians, police. Once that’s done, you shrink the evidence to the size of a fingernail with the help of Scott’s tech and hide it in your bra.

Surprisingly enough, the two of you are able to slip out of the office and the first couple living rooms undetected. Until Jackeline herself appears, pulling down her dress as she exits the bathroom. Steve, stunned by the presence of anyone, pulls you toward his chest with unfocused strength. You hiss loudly and naturally go to cup your injured elbow. It takes a moment for Steve to realize what he’s done and who he’s done it to.

Jackeline nearly stumbles over her heels out of pure clumsiness but her mouth parts as she notices you and the harsh sound you make. If she truly saw or heard anything, she’s keeping it to herself it seems.

“Ernesto wanted to see me before we called it a night,” Steve says, letting go of your arm and taking a step back. He doesn’t outright say he’s sorry; he doesn’t know if he’s allowed to. So he braves a smile, sends you a look, and excuses himself.

No conversation ever comes naturally - or, rather they take at least minimal effort from either party. You say the first thing you can think of and that’s to congratulate her again.

Your rambling sort of sounds like the toast you gave earlier, but Jackeline either doesn’t want to embarrass you or simply doesn’t notice. She waits for the pause in your voice before she finally speaks.

“Before I start, don’t hate me for this.”

“That’s not a good way to start a sente-” Your face is smacked to the side absurdly hard and you can feel the sting at the base of your neck. You look back at your sister with wide eyes.

“You couldn’t leave the world dead? He was finally dead!”

Baffled, you rub at your sore cheek. “Why am I the one getting the most blame for that? I followed a fucking raccoon around and I didn’t even snap my fingers!”

“Sorry,” she blinks, eyebrows scrunching as she thinks of the next thing to say. “Sorry, I just… it was that easy to kill him and then he just… wasn’t.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but you were also dead.”

“I was.”

“And we brought back trillions.”

“I know.”

Never once did you wonder what your siblings might have thought. More than half of them were separated from this life, while a few remained and conquered their allowed sectors. Ernesto had never discussed which of his children would take over his seat. But when he was dusted and Seda assumed power, it was clear not one sibling wanted anything to do with it. Or they were just too scared to outright disobey Seda and his tyranny.

Jackeline stands tall, shoulders straight and chin held high. She didn’t seem to worry about the repercussions of her actions - she knows who you are and what you are capable of. The smack seemed deliberate but restrained.

“So?” It’s the only word you can muster up.

“Please don’t judge me.” Her confidence falters and her eyebrows push down even further. “I know you know.”

“You gotta spell it out because I know a lot of things.”

Sighing deeply, she grabs the hand you’re using to rub at your cheek. She grips it tightly as she speaks. “I love him. But he’s impossible to love now and I can’t do anything about it.”

“Oh, Jackeline…”

You could have contacted her. You were on social media - you could have followed her, maybe messaged her annually - hell, called her once in a while to simply check in. The ticket you got was always a temporary one: go to school and find a way to make the trade routes easier to travel. School finished, you found Fury, and you created an alternate identity and background plan to trick your family into doing just what they ordered. And during all that time, Jackeline was barely in her pre-teens, probably scared and alone and missing her only sister. This was just you throwing that smack out of proportion but there was truth in it all. Wasn’t there?

“Julian’s okay. I agreed to this arranged marriage. I’m sure I can grow to love him,” she shrugs, biting her lip as it begins to quiver.

Her eyes are no longer happy - perhaps that was the wrong word to use after she had just confided in you about the reality of her upcoming union. But they definitely seem more dull in comparison to the joyfulness she presented earlier tonight.

“Jackeline, you don’t have to-”

“No, I was gone those five years. He had to move on.” You drop your shoulders and lean forward to give her a hug. No matter how badly you wanted to wrap your hands around Ernesto’s neck, they had more use tenderly wrapped around your sister.

Relishing the feeling for only a moment longer, Jackeline is ignited once again. “Besides, I should be telling you that! I saw the way that… that fascist pulled you. If he’s hurting you, I’ll kill him.”

Your eyes must be bulging out of your head. “Oh.”

She looks at you as if you’re going to admit abuse and confide in her like she did you. “No, it’s okay. Steve’s perfect, he’s… wonderful.”

Jackeline shakes her head rapidly, “Don’t you lie to me. I know what I saw.”

“I’m not lying. But you gotta trust me. I’ll explain later-”

“Explain what?”

Seda breaks the conversation and you forget to curse inwardly. Instead, a mumbled ‘fuck’ is heard. It only serves to fuel the flame. Jackeline flashes a rehearsed smile, and she truly is your sister because for a sad moment she looks exactly like you.

“Explain why she never returned my calls to be my maid of honor! I swear, this one is always so busy she forgets I exist!”

“She is,” Seda agrees, grinning like he already knows what the original conversation was about. “Always busy.”

Jackeline keeps the same smile and is about to continue fanning the flames when Seda interrupts again. “Jackie, your father wanted me to speak with your sister alone for a moment. It has to do with tomorrow’s shipment.”

“Yes, of course. Don’t keep her for too long, okay? Tomorrow’s a late start but we all need our beauty sleep.” Jackeline leaves and fails to look over her shoulder to double check on you.

Seda steps closer, arms swinging casually like he’s pondering the possibilities of what he could do without Steve present. But instead of focusing solely on him, you listen to the soft sound of Bucky’s voice through the mic as he tells you that he’s listening in and he’s here.

“What did she say to you?”

“Is it really any of your business?”

He snaps immediately, gripping your cheeks in one hand so you can’t move your head. “When will you learn to keep your goddamn mouth shut around me?”

“You asked.” Smacking his hand away would have been frowned upon before, but not anymore. Free reign if need be. “Besides, when will you learn that that will never happen?”

“You can’t believe anything she tells you. Ernesto’s only two daughters are mistakes, both threats to his reign. Never submissive, always asking questions-”

You grunt almost comically, “Men and their irrational fears of women… What did I ever do to you?”

He pauses and you notice how his angry eyes always seem to water from his frustration. “You brought him back.”

“I also brought back trillions.”

“You know,” his face does something unpleasant. “Before Jackeline was dusted, she had been seeing that priest.”

“How could you possibly know-”

“He was so devastated by her loss. Found God, became a changed man.”

“Seda, what are you playing at?”

“She came back.” He lifts one finger. “He couldn’t resist.” He raises another. “Didn’t take long for Ernesto to find out.” The third one is the last, and he mimics a small explosion as he concludes. “But don’t worry, we took care of him.”

You never once believed the Devil was this angry, red demon with horns atop his head and a sharp tail, voice booming as he ruled the underworld with the weapons of pain and suffering. He didn’t possess or haunt random places. If anything, the Devil himself was simply a metaphor, a representation of the evil in a living world. It only made people comfortable to create an image, no matter how ridiculous.

Once you even thought the Devil was Hades, and he wasn’t all that bad when it truly came down to the root of all problems. He oversaw the underworld but he didn’t take life, he didn’t cause the pain, he simply watched and ruled. That maybe Hades was real considering Thor was, and he was just chilling in the underworld bored out of his mind.

But the evil the Devil represented was a constant in this world already, in your life from start to finish, and Seda’s eyes held something unspeakable. Dark brown eyes almost black, left cheek twitching with the urge to smile grotesquely, the tense nature of his broad shoulders. He was no massive man, a few inches taller than you, but he was a giant in a world in which Hades lacked and the Devil persisted.

“But Julian-”

Seda scoffs, “Julian was her rebound. Got mixed up in the business, with Ernesto - but I don’t doubt he loves Jackeline.”

You’re this close to breaking the man’s fingers. He doesn’t stop counting his supposed triumphs. “When were the pictures taken?”

“Don’t do that,” he laughs as he finally steps away from you. “Ask your real question.”

Your smile was involuntary. So was Seda’s. It was the one thing you had in common: smiling at things that weren’t funny. “Did you threaten him? Torture him? Kill him yet?”

“... Jackeline will never know.”

Your mouth parts slowly like you’re still digesting his words. “You unimaginable bastard.”

If you had to bet, you would have placed all your money on Ernesto being the giant to fear. He had hurt you in countless ways, used you and discarded what he didn’t like, put you in the line of fire for his own gain. He had taken pleasure in knowing you hurt, in knowing what you had lost and suffered. He mocked your sacrifice time and time again. And there was a sentence you had never uttered out loud for fear of what you might do, or what anyone hearing you might do, that Ernesto had said one chilly November night only a year after the world returned. It was a thought so suppressed you almost always forgot it had been real. ‘A shame the Widow did what she did - what an unbelievable asset wasted over something pointless.’

No one outside your circle could possibly understand. They didn’t have to - but to dismiss the main reason he was retaking his tainted throne... insanity.

But something in Seda’s voice moved even the most dormant areas in your soul. The giant was a man with nothing and everything to lose but with the power to choose which. Staring at him for too long prompted an uncomfortable sting across your waterline like his glare burned. Such a normal looking man with short dark hair and an aging face. He stared at you with a set look, one that told you he knew something you didn’t. Like he controlled giants even bigger than him. He wasn’t Hades, who restrained himself and hid in the shadows of a world he was forced to rule - he was the Devil’s metaphor, with red strains licking his tan skin and eyes sharp enough to puncture.

With a small tilt of his head and a strangled grin, he finally turns to leave. “Have a safe drive home.”

After saying a quick goodbye to Jackeline and securing the estate, you hurried to get to your car and leave. Ernesto had just sent you a quick nod of the head and reminded Steve he needed to see him again before the wedding started. All your leftover energy literally went into pulling open the passenger door.

Out of instinct now, you wait until the car is past the gates and a good mile from the hidden entrance before speaking freely.

“We get everything?”

The night is dark and you can barely see the outline of the trees. The sky is covered with gray clouds and there are no lampposts to provide light. It’s really just your headlights. “I think so. I think.”

Steve can sense the hesitancy in your answer. “What’s wrong?”

You shake with an exaggerated shiver, “Seda was being creepy… just more than usual.”

“What do you mean?” Steve was probably communicating and online with Sam during his conversation with Ernesto and completely missed the one you had with Seda.

“Fuckin’ didn’t think it could get weirder, but Jackeline mentioned how this was basically an arranged marriage and then Seda,” you stop suddenly. The uneasiness was creeping back.

“An arranged marriage? Fuck, what else is this mission going to throw at us?”

‘Captain?’

Steve’s hands accidentally swerve the steering wheel as response to the small fright. “... Was that your phone or mine?”

You fumbled through your mini purse for your phone. “Me. Hey? Friday?”

‘The one and only. I hope that didn’t frighten you because I really need your attention right about now.’

Steve chuckles, eyes straight ahead as he drives. “That doesn’t sound ominous at all.”

‘My readings are picking up something strange. The vehicle, even if I’m not able to virtually connect, seems to be stalling.’ Torres did curse you two before you left for renting a car made before 2013.

“What do you mean? It’s working just fine.”

You set your phone down on the dash to start looking around the interior of the car.

‘The pedal, yes Captain. But I’m afraid my readings are focused on the brakes.’

You bite your tongue and scrunch up your nose. What else could possibly happen tonight? “That’s always fun to hear, great. Greaaaat.”

“Friday, what are you picking up?” Steve’s voice is more stern and even if he’s not doing it on purpose, he’s trying to ignore your coping mechanism of joking during dire situations.

‘It seems that when they took the vehicle for parking, they attached something to the brake lines. Sort of like a trigger sensor. Do not slow down.’

“We’re stuck? We can’t stop?”

‘Everytime the Captain de-accelerates, the sensor heats up. That’s what my readings are.’

“Fuck,” you unclipped your seatbelt and turned your body toward Steve. “Fuck!”

“Friday, what do we do?” The least Steve could do is be the level-headed one here.

‘Exactly what you’re thinking, Captain. The shield’s in the trunk.’

“We can’t exactly get to it!” You don’t mean to scream at Friday. You’re sure she’s used to adrenaline induced attacks guided toward her and never about her.

‘The burners were produced by Stark Industries for our very own spy unit. They are equipped with a taser, flashlight, and laser.’

Jumping so your feet were planted firmly on the passenger seat, you make sure everything is in place: the stolen files, your gun, your phone, and earpiece. “Keep your foot on that pedal, Rogers. I don’t feel like blowing up tonight.”

He releases a shaky breath, hands turning pale from the grip he has on the steering wheel. “You and me both.”

“Friday?” Your voice is only slightly timid, but you manage to move your body out from the front seats and to the back.

‘The laser, Agent Y/LN. Cut through the seats.’

Nodding along to her instructions, you search for the burner under your skirt and unstrap it from the holster. Pulling its ancient antenna outward, Friday verbally guides you through the very simple instruction. The laser blasts out unexpectedly at first making you squeal, which in turn causes Friday (a literal AI) to chuckle. You’re thankful the antenna was facing the back seats already.

“Doing good back there?”

You respond with a low grunt as you carefully carve out the largest rectangle you can create. “You better have shoved the thing close. Any stop signs up ahead?”

Steve’s getting worried now, but instead of putting you more on edge, he hides it pretty well. “Thank god this place is in the middle of nowhere.”

You don’t even give his response acknowledgement as you finally pull the leather, metal, and weird cushion filling away and spot the shield. “I got it, got it, got it.”

‘My sensors suggest you’ll have a good five seconds to escape the vehicle once the Captain releases the pedal.’

You make sure your hair is in the tightest ponytail known to man and that your skirt is bunched up in your free arm. You strap the shield onto the other. “Steve, you gonna be alright?”

His eyes are still focused on the road, but he braves a look in the mirror back at you. His voice is stern but not demanding. “I know you hate the damn shield but bend your legs, jump sideways, and tuck your head.”

“Yeah,” you nod along. Damn straight you’ll put your hate aside for one second if it’s here to save your life. “You better jump on time, you understand me?”

“Sam,” Steve keeps the speed steady and tries to ignore the way his heart is pounding from the sound of you kicking open the back door. “Sam, Widow. Widow.”

Before you jump, the asphalt a never ending, rapid glare of absolute darkness, you leave your phone on the seat in case Steve still needs her. “Friday, send Sam and Torres our location. They’re the only ones who can fly in undetected. Tell them what you told us.”

‘Will do, Agent Y/LN.’

“Be careful.”

You smirk at him, “Don’t be a hero and crash this one into the ice, yeah?”

You don’t wait for his reaction and instead take the plunge. The shield makes a hard impact with the asphalt down below, screeching for what seems like an eternity before slowing down. You did as instructed: knees tucked into your chest as far as you were able, head doing the same. By the time the ride finally ends and you’ve gone partially deaf, you can make out the sound of a loud explosion a close distance away. The heat from the sudden burst of wind nips at your face. You’ve also gone partially blind.

Your poor boots are definitely ruined and there’s a faint tell of a bruised ankle in the works. The arm attached to the shield will also need to be popped back into place - it shouldn’t feel this loose. Luckily, your head and torso were completely unscathed.

Lifting yourself up the best you could without straining anything too much, you noticed the car still in flames but driven off the road.

“He jumped, he jumped, he jumped,” you repeat, limping as quickly as you could, shield still attached to your arm. The closer you get the clearer everything becomes, regardless of the smoke. “Steve.”

You squint through the orange light and the dark of night. The fire wasn’t all that loud in its crackles and it doesn’t take you long to realize while tapping your ears that you lost your earpiece.

“Steve,” you try again, adrenaline still pumping but panic seeping in. As if on cue, you can make out his body laying far away from the car relatively unharmed. “Ah, shit.” You drop down on your knees and wince involuntarily. Slapping his cheeks doesn’t wake him up, neither does gently shaking him. You don’t want to do anything to hurt him more.

The sound of gravel popping kicks you back into spy mode. Hide. This was a hit, of course it was, and they were coming to see their job done.

“You so owe me,” you groan as you unstrap the shield to throw it into the woods, the faint tell of it hitting a tree enough to make you work faster. You hook your arms underneath Steve’s armpits and bend your knees, breathing in deeply and out a few times before pulling him with all your strength. There’s pain shooting up your arm but you try to ignore it. Small whimpers escape you as you pull harder and finally make it a good distance from the wreckage. You sit Steve, still unconscious, behind one of those massive pine trees and sit next to him after retrieving the shield.

It’s only two black SUV’s that come to check their hard work. They’re bending down and using their own fire extinguishers, snapping their own photos, the works. It isn’t until Seda walks over to admire the wreckage that you have to bite your bottom lip to keep from screaming.

You’re seated in front of Steve now with the shield in front of you when a sudden movement to your left startles you. Before you scream, however, a hand covers your mouth.

“Shh, shh.” Sam. Your eyes fill with tears.

“I’ve got him. Torres is coming for you, alright? I’m the only one who can carry him out.”

It doesn’t take much to convince you. You’re silently helping Sam strap Steve against his chest as Seda and his men are now investigating the woods. You can hear them close, cursing and yelling about finding you.

“Go a little further. Down there,” Sam points in front of you. “Torres is parked and waiting. Go.”

“Don’t drop him.” Sam stifles his laugh.

You follow his directions, limping as quickly as you can, and finally find Torres, your second knight in shining armor of the night.

After an all clear from the medical team, Steve is left alone in your hotel room to rest. He still hasn’t woken up but Helen isn’t worried since his scans show no major damage. Small talk with the rest of the team fills in the time but it’s like you’re not really there, merely a participant on a loop. There’s a bitter taste in your mouth and you’re covered in scratches and smoky ash and you can’t shake the feeling of wanting to kill something.

Your father wanted you dead. And showing up to the wedding was just going to anger him more but it had to be done. But you were tired, so fucking tired, tired to the point where you couldn’t sleep or rest.

You let your hair down but stay in your tattered clothing, making yourself useful as best you can. You answer questions, you review footage, you draft up some reports. Bucky tries to sit you down at one point, but he backs off when you simply shake your head and give him that famous broken smile.

You’re sitting at your desk trying to save some of your phone’s cloud through the connected email. Sam has already ordered you a new phone. On the computer to your left, you’re scanning and uploading the files you stole tonight. On the right, your little butterfly is transcribing conversations from yesterday.

The transcription is finished before the uploads. It prints.

SEDA: ‘Ernesto needs to know how many more women we can get from Jonathon. I thought you said your Italian contact was up to date?’

UNKNOWN: ‘He is. But the women are coming from here instead. Got a load of ten just now.’

SEDA: ‘The shipment goes out during the wedding. Not before, not after. We can’t fuck this up for Ernesto and we cannot have the stars and stripes finding out.’

UNKNOWN: ‘Ernesto plans to mention it to him tomorrow.’

SEDA: ‘Then make sure he keeps quiet about it.’

The bitter taste in your mouth returns and you have to run to the nearest bathroom.

Steve wakes just an hour after, disoriented but able to discern who he is. “What happened?”

You’re standing at the foot of his bed, having just got there a few minutes before, practically on the verge of tears. “... Did you know?”

There it was. Any hope of truly coming to terms with this new world order or his role in it, any hope of feeling like he did before he succumbed to the American war propaganda and became a science experiment, crumbling before him. The heavy weight that were your shoulders, crumbling like shaky mountains. His own, tense and straining and urging him to get out of bed.

He’s been in the trenches when the smell of gas and blood clogged his nostrils and made him dizzy. He’s experienced loss a thousand times over, just heinous instances of despair where he swore he was torn in two. He’s lost on his own accord and pretended like the world was still on its axis.

And he knew his time was up. He just thought he’d have more than a day to enjoy it. “I was going to tell you.”

It’s like the air is punched out of you. “You knew?”

“Please, listen, please,” he scrambles out of bed.

“What the fuck, Rogers?”

“Ramirez told us yesterday. I swear I only found out yesterday. Yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” You’re stepping away from him. He’s almost on his hands and knees and you’re stepping away from him. “Before?”

Steve makes a pained noise. “Yes, but please-”

“No! You kept this to yourself and you had the fucking audacity to share the same bed as me?”

“Please, let me explain-” He tries to reach out but you side-step him. He reacts like you’ve shot him.

“Don’t touch me, Steve!”

“Please, just let me explain. We all know - Bucky, Sam, Torres, we all know.”

Your face does something he’s never seen it do. “Fuck?”

He’s talking faster now, words just spilling on the floor and into the air and he doesn’t know what else to do. “We’re tracking it. We have a plan set. We were supposed to tell you tomorrow before the wedding.” He stops to take in a breath. “I was going to tell you.”

“You went behind my back.”

“If I would have told you, you would have done something horrible tonight! We need your father alive to find those people!”

Eyes wide in shock and anguish, you step further away from him. Each step was the equivalent of a dagger plunging deep into Steve’s heart, twisting and burning its way to the depths of his vulnerability. He wanted to succumb to the pain - after all, he deserved it.

“That would have been my choice to make!”

Now he pushed forward, shoulders hunched and palms turned upward as if he was pleading for a crumb of understanding. “I was gonna kill him.”

He drops to his knees, arms wrapping around your waist. You remained perfectly still, a tree stump with no cover. “I was gonna shoot him between the eyes when I first found out. But if I had done that, then we would never know the location of those people.”

His weight was pulling you down and you felt his wet cheek against your stomach. “I deserved to know.”

His grip tightened, “You did. But if you would have known-”

“I would have known. Period.”

He had to know how much he weighed. But Steve leaned his body onto yours harder, afraid you would vanish and god forbid turn to dust. It didn’t really register in his mind that, even though he was holding you in place, you weren’t exactly trying to escape his hold either.

He had let you go once and he’ll be goddamned if he let you go again.

“It ate me alive. I hated doing this-”

You pushed against his shoulders and sensed his reluctance to let go. Instead, you look down at him and tense your jaw. “Steve, you don’t hate me, do you?”

His face dropped and his grip loosened. You should just slap him across the face, Steve thinks, because how in the world were you thinking that at this moment? Never did he think you would find a way to twist this - to somehow blame yourself for his mistake. Took a long time to see it, but you were just as righteous as he was. It would get you both killed someday.

“Why do you think that? What in the world would make you think that after all this time? After everything?”

He lets you push him away so he could stand but he makes sure to keep his hands on you. A tangible promise that you are real.

“You agreed to help me catch a drug lord. You didn’t sign up for this extra mess.”

“We may not always know what we’re up against,” Steve began, sniffing and wiping at his wet face. God, he felt like such a mess. “But I could never fucking hate you. Don’t even think that.”

“You sure?” your voice cracks, hands slightly shaking from the need to touch him too. “Captain America didn’t sign up for this.”

He shakes his head almost violently, “No, no. Don’t go there. I am not him, I haven’t been him in a long time.”

“Steve-”

“No! I’ve hated the title for a while now. I’m done. I’ve hated my reflection for years and years.” The tiny whine in the middle of your throat gurgled and your hands moved instantly to cup his cheeks. “I represent no one but myself. I’m tired of others thinking I’m the same man from ten years ago, or the same man from the forties, or the same man from last week just because they’re enamored by that star on my chest.”

He tilts his head to lean into your touch, “I am helping you because it’s the honorable thing to do. I signed up for this work, I intend to finish it. Not Captain America, but me - Steve, me.”

“You’re still making me feel like it’s something you have to do.”

“I admit that I was never overly fond of the idea of being wrapped up in this,” Steve admits, hands now cupping yours over his cheeks. “But toppling this empire will keep you safe.”

As heartwarming as that sounded, you broke the fantasy. “The minute we take the giants out, they’ll elect someone new.”

“But we take the giants out. The giants that hurt you.”

He’s right, like always.

“Steve,” you say quietly, bringing his face closer to kiss away his tears. You’re struggling to keep the tippy-toes and your ankle is screaming for a break, but you persist. “You should have told me.”

“I know.”

“No more secrets.”

“None, I swear, I promise.”

Biting your lip to keep from crying, you make sure his eyes are locked on yours before you speak. “I’m not walking away this time. I’m not leaving you. Not again.”

Steve’s mouth releases a big burst of air like he was holding it in, and he wraps you in a hug that promises the same.

TAGLIST: @dumb-ass-writer @justab-eautifulmess @supraveng @mycosmicparadise @missnighttigress

A/N: Wooooo that took forever lol xxMoni

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