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writingouthere · 4 months

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neighbor!Sukuna x singlemom!reader, you go to check out a potential apartment and Sukuna joins because he is very helpful. Longest one yet so strap in!

cw:Sukuna waving his red flag like a matador while you do your best SZA impression

Sukuna thought you seemed more stressed than usual when he got home. You still talked through dinner and entertained your daughter but he could tell something was weighing on you. While Bug chased some very melted ice cream around her bowl with her spoon, he brought over some dishes to where you had already started washing the pans you'd used to make dinner.

"Thought I was responsible for the dishes since you made dinner," he reminded you, gently nudging you out the way.

"It's really not a bother and besides, you're already doing us such a big favor, letting us stay here," you said and you sounded a little choked up at the end which made him turn the water off so he could give you his full attention.

"How many times do I have to tell you I don't mind?" He couldn't help some frustration edging into his tone which only made you look sadder. He sighed and dried his hands on the towel, a new addition you had gotten, it was covered in sunflowers and it reminded him of you every time he used it.

"What's going on, you seem off today?"

You hesitated and he put his hand on your shoulder. He preened when you put your smaller hand on top of his and squeezed before giving you his full attention.

"I-I went to go see an apartment today and it was just awful." Sukuna barely fixed his face in time for you to look up at him. He had no idea you were even looking at other places. You'd barely been at his place a month and he had thought you had a good routine going on. You both split the household responsibilities and you spent your time not working together. He picked up your daughter twice a week now from daycare and took over Sunday mornings so you had some time to yourself. Someone at the grocery store had cooed over your adorable family and you hadn't even corrected them.

Obviously, you still weren't getting it and Sukuna reminded himself that it wasn't your fault. It was still like pulling teeth to get you to talk about your ex and honestly what he'd heard about your family hadn't really impressed him either. You had been taking care of yourself for far too long and it only made sense that you would be worried about being a burden on him when other people had made you feel like that rather than seeing caring for you as the privilege it was.

"Why was the apartment so awful?"

You bit your lip and he felt some concern that wasn't related to you potentially leaving. "What?"

"It was the usual, you know. It was over my budget and it was too small, I mean Bug is getting bigger every day, she needs her own room too. Then the building looks like it's only days away from collapsing and the guy who showed it, I mean he was just such a creep."

"Creep, how?"

You sighed and squeezed his hand again, but he wasn't sure if it was for your sake or you were trying to calm him down since he was sure his anger was obvious.

"It doesn't matter-

"Of course it matters, you're trying to find a home for you and your kid and some guy is making you feel uncomfortable in the space you might end up living-"

"-well I'm not going to live there, so. Doesn't matter," you say stubbornly and Sukuna hums but doesn't argue.

It's clear this is weighing on you, and while Sukuna has no intention of you moving out, unless it's him along with you, he figures this is a two birds one stone situation. Because fuck him if he was going to let you wander around the city being harassed by some dumb fucks who thought they could take advantage of a single mom.

"Are you seeing any other places," he asked and you bit your lip.

"Well, there was this one other place but after today I'm not sure-"

"Let me go with you," he said and you looked up at him and well, with the tears just beginning to fill your eyes and the little glimmer of hope he could see peaking out, how could he do anything but assure you. "Let me go with you and you can look around the place without worrying about anyone bothering you. Besides, it would make me feel better if I could scope out the place you and Bug might be moving to. I want to make sure you'll be safe."

Of course, you two would be safe because you would be with him but whatever got him to the showing.

"What about Bug?"

"Yuuji can watch her. He's been dying to babysit since he met her."

This was true. Sukuna's brother was suspicious, rightfully, of Sukuna and his intentions towards you, but Bug's cuteness was a great distraction whenever the three of them were together.

"Okay, okay. Tomorrow, could he watch her tomorrow?"

"Let me call, him. Don't worry, I'll take care of you, okay?"

You nodded and Bug started calling for you both. You went over to give your toddler the attention she clearly wanted while Sukuna finished the dishes and thought over how he would handle this situation tomorrow.

-------------------------------------------

The next day, Yuuji showed up bright and early with the two idiots that were always with him these days. Sukuna rather liked the Fushiguro kid but the woman that was always with him still got on his last damn nerve. Her and Yuuji together were a threat to decency laws and his fucking eardrums.

"Morning! Where is my precious baby girl," Yuuji cooed stepping in as if he still lived there as Fushiguro gave him a quick nod and Kugisaki walked in without even a hello.

"She's not your baby," Sukuna said, shutting the door a little harder than necessary.

"Well, she isn't your baby either, so."

Before Sukuna could literally murder his brother, you came out with Bug on your hip.

"Uji!!" Your daughter loved Yuuji and you put her down so she could run over and greet her favorite uncle.

"Thank you so much for watching her," you said grabbing your purse off the counter. "Are these your friends from school?"

The two freeloaders introduced themselves while Yuuji started flying your daughter around like he was a plane. At least your daughter would be tired by the time you two got back.

"Let's get going, we got to get there by nine," Sukuna said, putting his hand on the small of your back and directing you towards the door. There were several loud calls of good-bye and good lucks as you two shut the door and made your way to the car.

When you get to the apartment, the super is waiting at the front door of the building. Sukuna sees him shoot you a smarmy grin that abruptly drops off when he takes Sukuna in.

"Good morning miss, I wasn't aware you were bringing your...."

"Partner," Sukuna states firmly and holds out his hand. "Pleasure," he says, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. You only look on in amusement as the fucker shakes his hand and then turns his eyes back on you, much more subdued than he'd been at first.

"Right, so the apartment is on the fourth floor. A walk-up but good way to stay in shape..."

He drones on as you and Sukuna follow behind.

"You cannot carry a stroller up four flights of stairs," he says in a tone that the super can definitely hear. "Bug also can't walk up four flights of stairs, especially after a whole day of daycare. Besides these stairs look like they might crumble and drop you to the fucking basement at any second." You smack his arm and the super looks pissed off until Sukuna stomps on a particularly wobbly stair for emphasis and he looks a little nervous. No way he was letting Bug walk up this deathtrap.

He keeps a running commentary of everything he sees, none of it good on the way to the apartment. The cracks in the ceiling, the chipped the paint, the flickering light on the third floor stairwell that makes him feel like they stepped into an 80's slasher flick. On and on he goes and he doesn't stop once they're in the shithole apartment itself.

A one bedroom, not nearly enough space for two, definitely not three which makes him even more irritated at the fact he clearly hadn't factored in at all to the choice in apartment.

He's in the middle of guessing outloud if the shower head would fall on top of you in the first week or the second when you snap.

"I know it's a piece of shit, Sukuna. I'm not an idiot, I'm desperate." You are more irritated than he's ever seen and the fucking creep of a super shoots him a smirk before Sukuna turns the full force of his glare on him. The man mumbles out something about giving them time to take in the space and leaves them alone, the door closing firmly in his haste.

"I don't think you're an idiot," Sukuna says, more calm than he feels because he definitely feels a type of way about all of this. "I just don't think this place is right for you or Bug. Do you expect me to apologize for caring?"

"Is that what this is? You come here to help me and all you've done is shit on the apartment and scare that poor man half to death."

"That poor man was fucking makes eyes at you until he saw me behind you."

"I know, but he got the point when you squeezed his hand so tight I think one of his knuckles popped!"

Sukuna snorted at that and even you seemed a little amused. You sighed and leaned against the wall behind you.

"I can't live with you forever Sukuna, we need a home."

Sukuna wanted to scream, to shake you and say that he was your home. Home for both of you but he knew you weren't ready to hear it and that if he misstepped you might end up living somewhere that seemed a strong breeze away from collapse.

"It's not forever," he finally said and this was true. You would need a new place soon, just not this place. "When I say I don't mind, I mean that I like having the two of you with me." You seemed a little surprised by this admission and Sukuna weighs his next words carefully.

"You're my friend and I care about you even if I have an unconventional way of showing you." You scoff and Sukuna presses on, he can see you softening. "Just wait a little longer. This place isn't good enough for the two of you but another place might be. I'd rather you stay with me longer and find the right place instead of rushing and choosing somewhere shitty because you think you're putting me out or something."

"What guy wants some mom and her kid crashing with him for months on end," you ask and you seem almost genuinely curious.

"You're not some mom, you're you and I happen to really like that kid." You smile and Sukuna knows he's got you. "I mean as we speak she's probably putting Yuuji and his loser friends through the ringer and that's reason enough to keep her around."

"You think anything will be broken by the time we get home," you ask and he feels the clump of blood and flesh that makes up his heart squeeze just a little tighter. Home.

"Oh, definitely but that's why we're not paying them for their services." You laugh and Sukuna walks a little closer to you. You watch him, a little confused but he thinks he sees some anticipation too as he closes in on your space and puts a hand on your cheek. He leans in and he knows he's not making it up that your eyelids flutter as he gets closer.

It's tempting but when Sukuna kisses you for the first time, it's not going to be in a place like this while some scumbag is probably listening through the door.

"Let's go home," he says and he presses a gentle kiss against your cheek. You'd done the same to him many times by now and he can see the appeal when he hears your sharp intake of breath and finds himself surrounded by the smell of your shampoo.

While your quest to find an apartment was unsuccessful, Sukuna thinks that important progress was made today. It fills him with a sense of contentment that manages to sustain him even as the two of you come home to an apartment overflowing with chaos and a spiderweb of cracks across his tv.

When he goes to kick Yuuji's ass, Bug makes sure to lend her support to her poor uncle by clinging to Sukuna's leg and laughing while the two men roll around on the floor to your amusement.

Like he would ever let you leave this.

also people have been suggesting that I make a masterlist or create some sort of tags and while I know what these are(kind of), I'm also not sure the specifics so any advice on how to make this all easier to find would be appreciated! I've been creeping on tumblr for literally over a decade but never written like this before.

#jjk sukuna #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen sukuna #ryomen sukuna #sukuna ryomen #sukuna x reader #sukuna x singlemomreader #sukuna x y/n #sukuna x you

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smusherina · 28 days

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yard work - chapter 1 (regina george x reader)

fandom: Mean Girls (all media)

pairing: Regina George x OFC/Reader

summary: You'd been in the same class as Regina George since kindergarten. You'd lived on the same street even longer. Once upon a time, when life was sandbox disputes and who got the swing first arguments, you'd even been friends. Now, in junior year of high school, you doubted she even remembered you. The same couldn't be said about you. You definitely remembered her.

chapter 2

Summers spent cleaning the Georges' pool, mowing their lawn, fixing up their garage door, and giving the odd oil change to one of their cars was the norm for you. Your father had made it big as a self-made entrepreneur, climbing the ladder rung by rung all the way up from rock bottom, but he had ensured your upbringing reflected his humble roots. That meant that while you never had to go hungry like he did, your allowance was minimal. Enough for school lunch and a few dollars to spare.

Doing odd jobs around the neighbourhood had been your primary means of making money for the last couple of years. The block was pretty fancy, so not everybody wanted to hire some twerp with no experience when a professional was easily available. Even so, rich folk were surprisingly stingy. You had your own equipment, didn't ask for much and had a familiar face. The Georges were your longest-standing clients. Mowing their lawn in summer and shovelling their driveway in winter had been your job since you were thirteen.

That was probably the reason why Regina kept her distance instead of ridiculing you like everybody else. You went to the same high school, Northshore, but that was pretty much it. You hung around your own (loser) ilk and she had her (cool) troupe. She had this odd little clique with Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith. You didn't know much about the two girls and you couldn't really tell if Regina even liked them. They hung out so they had to have something in common, right? You were but an observer at the end of the day, no matter how your neighbourly vantage point gave you a glimpse into Regina's life.

You counted her ignoring you as a blessing. It would've cut deep to fall victim to her new ways. This persona wasn't that new, you had to admit, but when you'd known her since practically diapers, high school was a pretty new development. She'd never been what people would describe as sweet or nice, but this mean girl persona was on a whole other level.

To be fair, you could very well understand why Regina was the way she was. You knew Mr George. You'd sat at the same dinner table as him, had experienced first-hand how his presence weighed on his family. Especially on Regina. Your father was the same way, all sharp edges with no time for tenderness, not even- especially not for his daughter. That'd been the reason you'd gotten so close to Regina in the first place. Most of the time it was just Regina, her mom and you at their house. Mrs George left you two by yourselves a lot 'cause she had to take care of Kylie. You loved being at the Georges' house.

(Expect, of course, those select few times Mr George was also there. But that was rare. Regina didn't invite you over when he was home.)

And now it'd been reduced to this. You, fishing leaves from the pool. Regina, inside with her new friends. Mrs George, lounging on the patio with a virgin margarita, chatting with you when you rounded the pool closer to her. Kylie, probably in the sitting room dancing along to whatever they played on MTV.

You straightened from your slouched position and groaned at the ache in your back. You leaned back with your hands braced at your sides, trying to stretch out the crick.

"Mrs George?" You hollered and waved your arms in her direction.

"Yes, dear?" She brightened up, perching up in her sun bed.

"You mind if I put my headphones on while I mow the lawn?"

"Oh, sure, of course!" She waved a hand dismissively. "Remember the glasses! And once you're done why don't you have dinner with us?"

"I'll think about it, Mrs George." You smiled with thin lips, knowing you'd be turning the offer down. With that, you plugged your headphones into the Walkman at your hip and walked to the shed.

You wore the safety glasses obediently, knowing all it took to blind you was one unlucky pebble to the eye. Your dad had been sure to lecture you about workplace safety over the years, like every time you stepped foot in the shop, so at this point putting on embarrassing safety equipment was second nature.

The Georges had a big lawn. Stingy rich people, couldn't get one of those driveable mowers. You'd be pushing this cart around till nightfall, or something...

Usher's newest album blasting in your ears and the rumbling of the lawn mower muffling all background noise, you didn't notice her at first. By the time you caught sight of Regina standing on the patio stairs, looking your way, hands on her hips and a displeased frown on her lips, you feared you were too late.

You let the engine die and tugged your headphones away from your ears. "What?" You yelled across the pool.

She rolled her eyes before answering. "Mom wants you in for dinner."

"Oh," This had never happened before. Usually, Mrs George would come round to give you your payment, ask you to stay and you'd say no. She'd smile sadly and say "Maybe next time, sweetie".

"She made casserole," Regina said, inspecting her nails. What was for dinner was definitely not the reason for your hesitation.

"Uh, I don't wanna intrude-"

"You wouldn't have been invited if it was an intrusion, idiot." She cut in sharply. "Don't be rude." And so, she swept inside.

"Uh- I- I'll finish up as fast as I can!"

#mean girls #mean girls musical #mean girls movie #mean girls 2004 #mean girls 2024 #regina george #regina george x reader #regina george x you #regina george x oc #regina george x ofc #mean girls x reader #wlw #lesbian regina george #fic: yard work

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drabbles-mc · 2 months

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Out of Practice

Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

For the Alternate June-iverse prompt: milf/dilf

Warnings: 18+, language, alcohol, steamy things, reader is a mom, bucky hasn't dated in like 70 years

Word Count: 7.7k

A/N: I had no idea what I was going to do for this prompt for the longest time but then tonight this all fell outta me in one sitting lmao. enjoy some cameos from Sam and Tony! And thanks again to @buckybarnesevents and @rookthorne for putting this event together 💖

MCU Taglist: @garbinge @artemiseamoon (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

Bucky was standing at the bottom of the walkway that led to the main doors of the school. Despite the warmth that came from the late spring weather, he still had on his leather jacket and gloves. He was far from the only person standing out and waiting for the final bell to ring, but he still felt like he stood out. No matter how much time went by that was a feeling he had yet to shake.

He pried his eyes off the cracked concrete beneath his boots when the bell rang, shortly followed by the front doors of the school being pushed open by dozens upon dozens of kids desperate to get out and head home. Many of them were sprinting off towards the buses, but some were making a direct line right where Bucky was standing with the rest of the parents and other family members. He kept his eyes peeled, but he still didn’t see who he was looking for.

A couple minutes ticked by and for a moment he wondered if he had shown up at the wrong place, or on the wrong day. He was about to take his phone out of his pocket when the front door opened up again. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw Morgan walking out, jacket tied around her waist and backpack settled on her shoulders. She was looking up at the woman next to her, the two of them talking as the woman balanced a child who looked like she was just barely old enough to be in kindergarten on her hip.

When Morgan looked away, she immediately saw Bucky. A smile broke out across her face as she threw a hand up to wave, an expression and gesture that he returned. He took a few steps so that he met her right where the walkways met. She walked right up to him, holding both hands out in closed fists. Bucky’s grin widened slightly as he held his fists out as well, tapping their knuckles together before the both pulled their hands back, making an exploding sound and gesture as they did.

Once they completed their ritual, Bucky turned his attention to you. You were smiling at the sight of the two of them, but he could see the questioning look still lingering in your eyes. “You must be Uncle Bucky, then?” you asked, although the answer seemed fairly obvious.

He chuckled, looking briefly at Morgan before he returned his attention back to you. “Yeah, but just Bucky is fine.”

He held out his hand for you to shake, and you did so carefully so as not to disturb the sleeping child on your hip as you gave him your name in return. “Hope you don’t mind me bringing her out.” You shifted your weight from one foot to the other. “Just like to make sure that everything’s alright when someone new is picking up one of my students.”

“I tried to tell her you weren’t new,” Morgan interjected, her sarcasm making her sound so much like her father despite only being nine years old.

You shook your head with a knowing smile. “New to me, then,” you corrected.

“It’s fine,” Bucky said with a small shake of his head. “I get it.”

“I appreciate that.” You looked back and forth between the two of them, an odd but fitting pair. “I’ll let you two go. It was nice to meet you, Bucky.” You shifted your gaze to the young girl standing beside him. “And I will see you on Monday, Miss Morgan.”

Morgan was already saying goodbye and turning to head off towards Bucky’s care by the time the words left your mouth. Bucky, however, was still staring at you, looking at the way you were balancing the little girl on one hip while you had her backpack on the opposite shoulder, your own bag hanging in the crook of your arm. He knew that this was probably far from the first time you left the school building with your hands full but he still felt like it was wrong to not at least offer to help.

“Do you need help with—”

“I’ve got it,” you reassured him with a smile, taking a step towards the parking lot, “but thank you.”

He didn’t try to offer again, taking your word for what it was worth. Turning, he easily collapsed the distance between himself and Morgan in one stride, and the two of them started walking off towards his car. You heard the two of them talking as they walked away. Or, rather, you heard Morgan talking about her day and Bucky chiming in with a word of acknowledgment. You cast a couple brief looks at them as you walked over to your car, smiling at the sight of them.

You returned your focus to the task at hand as you tried to get your daughter into her booster seat in the back of your car. You weren’t too worried, since she had luckily been a heavy sleeper ever since she was born, but you still tried to be extra careful. You were clicking her seatbelt into place when you heard Bucky’s car engine rumbling to life.

You caught a glimpse through your own car’s windshield as they drove by, Morgan sitting behind the empty passenger seat of Bucky’s car. They were out of you line of sight as quickly as they’d entered it. When they were gone again you set both your bag and your daughter’s on the floor by her feet.

~*~

“Ew, no,” Morgan said as she shook her head, her and Bucky looking at each other through the rearview mirror, “he’s gross. All the boys in my grade are.”

Bucky laughed, nodding. “Your dad will be happy to hear that.”

“I don’t even want a boyfriend.”

Bucky fought to the urge to give his knee-jerk response which would’ve been, “Well, yeah, you’re fucking nine.” Instead, he asked, “You tell him that?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “He went and asked Chrissy instead.”

“Worked out for you,” Bucky said, throwing his directional on before turning onto the main road away from the school. “You don’t need a boyfriend—you’re fine.”

“Dad says that you need a girlfriend.”

Bucky nearly choking on the breath he was pulling in. His eyes drifted from the road and back to the mirror to look at her. “What?”

“What?” she parroted back to him, blissfully unaware of why he reacted that way. “That’s what he said.”

Bucky was shaking his head, gaze fixed back on the road once more. “Yeah? Well your dad’s a—”

“Have you ever had a girlfriend?” she asked.

Bucky chuckled, a genuine sound. “Ever? Yeah.”

“This century?”

His eyebrows raised, surprised but also not. “You gotta stop listening to your dad all the time.”

A wide grin blossomed across her face. “But have you?”

He shook his head. “I thought we were cool,” he said sarcastically.

Morgan laughed hard enough at that to usher them into another topic of conversation with the rest of the drive home. Bucky went the long way, swinging through McDonald’s on the way since he was told that was fine this time around. It killed a little more time anyway, which was really what he needed. The only reason that he has the one enlisted to go and pick Morgan up in the first place was because Tony and Pepper were both running late with work. Not terribly so, but late enough that they didn’t want to ask her teacher to stay and wait.

Even with the extra stop planned in, and the most scenic route as possible taken, it still didn’t take them very long to get home. Before either of them could think much of it Bucky was rolling into Tony and Pepper’s driveway.

Bucky had just put the car in park when Morgan jumped out of the car, backpack strap in one hand and happy meal in the other. Bucky shook his head at her, laughing as he got out of the car much slower than she had. He finally felt comfortable enough to take off his gloves, tucking them into the back pocket of his jeans as he walked towards Tony’s porch.

Morgan had left the door opened behind her, so Bucky walked through and closed it as he did. When he looked around the room he saw that Morgan had already made her way over to her father and gotten swept off the ground in a hug.

As Tony was setting her back down on the floor, he asked, “You got some extra fries for me, right?”

Morgan laughed. “No way.”

Tony faked deep offense at her response. “It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.”

Bucky piped in. “I didn’t get you any either, for the record.”

Tony smirked. “That much I expected.”

Morgan looked around the room a little more, and when she didn’t see Pepper, she asked, “Where’s Mom?”

Tony gestured deeper into the house. “She’s out back.”

Morgan tossed both her backpack and her McDonald’s box of food onto the counter. “I’m gonna go say hi!” She pointed at Tony. “Don’t eat my fries.” She turned and pointed at Bucky. “Don’t let him eat my fries.”

Bucky gave a small salute. “Yes ma’am.”

When Morgan had scampered out of the room, Tony’s full attention shifted to Bucky. “Thanks for picking her up—I know it was short-notice.”

Bucky shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“Went okay?”

He nodded. “Teacher came out to make sure I wasn’t some kidnapper, but yeah, it went okay.”

Tony chuckled as he opened the fridge. “Figured she would.” He grabbed a beer for himself and offered one to Bucky, when he declined he shrugged with a suit yourself expression and let the door fall shut.

“Why’s your nine-year-old telling me I need to get a girlfriend?” Bucky asked as he watched Tony pop the cap off the bottle.

Tony didn’t miss a beat. “My guess is because you need to get a girlfriend.”

“Tony—”

“You met her teacher then, right?” Tony shrugged and took a sip of his beer. “She’s single. And cu—”

Bucky’s tone shifted drastically as he repeated himself. “Tony.”

The hand that wasn’t holding the beer bottle was held up in mock surrender. “I’m just saying.”

“That why you sent me to pick her up? Is Happy even busy?”

Tony laughed. “Like Happy would ever be too busy to get Morgan from school.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Oh my fuc—”

“Watch it.” Tony lifted the hand he was holding the bottle with, pointing accusingly at him. “There are little ears in the house.”

Bucky sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t need you playing matchmaker.” He leaned forward, bracing his forearms against the smooth dark stone-top of the island. “And I definitely don’t need you roping in your nine-year-old to help.”

“I actually didn’t tell her to say anything to you.”

“I don’t need you talking to her about my love life at all.”

“I was talking to Pepper about it. But hey,” he took another sip, “little ears hear everything.”

He watched as Bucky chuckled in disbelief. Tony knew that it wasn’t his place to say or do anything, that out of everyone he was probably close to the bottom of the list when it came to people who had the right to give dating advice. Even with that being the case, though, Tony had been watching Bucky muddle through and get along without ever really learning to get close to anyone since everything happened with Steve. He was gone now, and while Bucky might’ve accepted that, he still hadn’t really made any moves to let new people in. A girlfriend wouldn’t solve all of those issues, as Pepper had swiftly told him. But it probably also wouldn’t hurt, as Tony had told her in response.

“Gonna make me go to parent-teacher night next?” Bucky asked, his tone light enough to let Tony know that it wasn’t going to turn into an argument for the time being.

“Don’t be ridiculous—you’re not ready for anything more than an open house.”

He scoffed out a laugh. “Thanks.”

They both had plenty more comments to make about the topic but they let it drop as Morgan re-entered the room, Pepper in tow right behind her. Bucky and Tony exchanged a knowing look, one that confirmed that their conversation as on hold for now. Pepper caught it, but knew enough to know not to ask. Instead, she started a new conversation by thanking Bucky for picking Morgan up. He stayed long enough to make a little small talk before excusing himself, making sure to give Morgan another double fist-bump before heading for the door.

“I’ll walk you out,” Tony said, leaving his half-empty beer bottle on the counter.

Bucky knew exactly what Tony was doing, but didn’t say anything. The two of them slipped out the door, and Tony followed him down off the porch and all the way to his car.

When he realized that Bucky wasn’t going to say anything about any of it, he spoke up himself. “I could probably get her number for you.”

“Don’t.”

“Why not? You don’t think she’s—”

“That has nothing to do with it and you know it,” Bucky cut him off. “Just leave it alone, Tony.”

“Mmm.” He shook his head. “Don’t think I can do that. Matter of national security at this point—you’re left unattended an awful lot.”

“And you think I need an elementary teacher to keep me company?”

“She knows how to wrangle kids and keep ‘em in line—sounds perfect for you.”

“Don’t say anything to her.”

Tony stared at Bucky for a long, hard minute. “Fine.”

Bucky didn’t believe it for a second but be also knew that continuing to argue about it wasn’t going to fix anything either. “Thanks.”

They exchanged a quick handshake and a brief goodbye, and soon enough, Bucky was on his way. The drive back to his apartment felt longer than usual, his thoughts wandering in the silence of the car since he didn’t make any move to turn the radio on. He thought about you, not that he would ever give Tony the satisfaction of knowing that, the way you smiled as you balanced your daughter on your hip. He thought about the apparent ease there was between you and Morgan. He thought about your dress and the way it fell just above your knees, the way the bright colors looked so nice and seemed so fitting.

Then he shook his head to dispel the thoughts. Tony was just in his head now, having him overthink about a woman he’d met for all of two minutes. The likelihood of him seeing you again wasn’t very high, not unless Tony started asking him to play chauffer for Morgan a lot more often, and somehow he didn’t really see that happening.

When he walked into his apartment, Bucky was immediately greeted by Alpine running up and rubbing against his legs. He chuckled, crouching down so that he could give him a light scratch behind his ears. Part of it was because Alpine was happy to have his owner home, Bucky was sure. But the other part was about the fact that it was definitely past Alpine’s usual dinnertime. Bucky understood all of that.

“I know,” his metal fingers can down Alpine’s spine, causing him to arch and purr, “I’m late.”

The next few minutes was just Bucky hanging up his jacket, giving Alpine his dinner, and then pulling something out of the freezer to cook for his own dinner as well. While he was waiting for the oven to finish pre-heating, the only sound that could be heard was Alpine crunching on his kibble as he stood above his bowl. Bucky watched him for a moment, a small smile on his face at the simplicity of the life he had now. Something that for a long time he didn’t think he would ever have.

It was a good life. It was quieter now than it had been for a long time—he was almost used to it. But maybe Tony was right, not that Bucky would ever tell him as much in so many words, but there might’ve been something to what Tony had been trying to tell him. A truth that was simpler to ignore because continuing on as he had been required far less work than trying to get to know someone, trying to let someone get to know him.

He pulled his phone out, tempted to search your name just to see what would pop up, what he would be able to learn about you. Then he stopped himself, shaking his head to try and dispel the thoughts. What good would it do? Why was he thinking like you were someone he knew already? Or like you were someone that already knew him? For all he knew, you’d forgotten him already. Hell, for all he knew you had no desire to get to know anyone, let alone someone like him. The beeping of his oven saved him from going down that spiral any further.

~*~

Sam was sitting on the stool to Bucky’s left. The music in the bar was loud, but not so much so that they had to shout to talk to each other. But once Bucky processed the sentence that Sam had just spoken to him, he instantly wished that the music was loud enough so that he couldn’t hear the other man at all.

Bucky pulled a long drink from the beer bottle in his hand, gloved fingers wrapped tightly around the neck of it. “Can’t believe he got you in on this shit too.”

Sam shrugged, unfazed by Bucky’s blatant annoyance. “I’m just sayin’, I think the guy might have a point.”

“Since when do you agree with Stark?”

Sam laughed. “I’ll agree with anybody if I think they’re right!” He paused, studied the look on Bucky’s face and then added on with a laugh, “Well, yeah, not you. But other people.”

Bucky tried to keep his annoyed expression but then chuckled. “Fuck you.”

Sam wasn’t going to let the conversation get derailed. “Alright, so you don’t like the girl he was telling you about, so why don’t you—”

“I didn’t say—”

“They got apps for that now. Oh, sorry,” Sam held up his hand in a pausing motion, “Apps are things that you can put on your pho—”

Bucky’s brows knit together. “I know what apps are.”

Sam allowed himself a minute to laugh at his own joke before saying, “So it’s not the girl. Then, what? Afraid you left all your game back in the forties?”

He shook his head, eyes suddenly glued down to his beer bottle. “Sure, yeah. Something like that.”

“Want my advice?”

“No.”

Sam gave it anyway. “Get over it.” He ignored the increasingly annoyed look on Bucky’s face. “Go buy a girl a drink. Ask her for her number. Use whatever corny line you used back in the nineteen hundreds the last time you had to pretend to have some game.”

Bucky didn’t want to laugh but he couldn’t stop himself. Sam might’ve been oversimplifying but Bucky was also vaguely aware of the fact that he was overcomplicating things for himself. “I’ll think about it. But,” he paused to point at Sam accusingly while he grabbed a sip of his beer, “I didn’t have to pretend to have game. I had it—have. I have it.”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “Riiiight.”

The topic dropped, and they moved onto talking about other things. There were frequent pauses in the conversation, both of them turning to look at people coming into the bar. Neither of them ever thought they would fully break that habit, no matter how often they went out into the world as civilians.

The door let out a quiet chime, and Bucky’s head instinctively snapped in the direction to see who was coming in. His eyes widened and he stopped himself in the middle of the sentence that he was saying to Sam. There was no brain to mouth filter as he let out a quiet, “Shit.”

Sam’s face contorted in confusion as he turned to see what it was that had Bucky reacting that way. He looked over, his confusion immediately shifting into a smug grin when he saw you standing in the doorway. Bucky hadn’t even given Sam a description of what you looked like, but he could tell from Bucky’s reaction that there was no way that you could possibly be anyone else.

“Talk about good timing,” Sam joked.

Bucky was still staring at you, not that you’d noticed, as he spoke to Sam. “Shut up.”

“Now’s the time.”

He fought the urge to shove him off the stool. “I said shut up.”

You were only a couple steps inside the bar, you phone clutched tightly in one hand as you looked around the semi-tight space. The focused furrow of your brow said that you were looking for someone. The tight black jeans and lacy grey top you were wearing said that you were probably looking for your date. There were five million reasons Bucky felt his mouth go dry and none of them were doing him any good.

He saw the rise and fall of your shoulders as you let out a sigh. You typed on your phone for a moment before making your way over to the bar, carefully weaving your way through the clusters of other patrons. The closer you got, the more Bucky hoped that the floor would open up and swallow him whole. You were so focused on getting to the bar and snagging a rare empty seat, that you didn’t even notice that the seat was next to him until after you’d ordered your drink. You wouldn’t have looked in his direction at all if you hadn’t heard someone laughing.

When you turned, the first thing you saw was Bucky, the familiar face and leather jacket. The next thing you noticed was the man on the other side of him, the source of said laughter. You tilted your head as your eyes made their way back to Bucky. You allowed yourself a laugh of your own. “Bucky?”

He nodded, clearing his throat. “H-hey. Yeah, hi.”

“So funny seeing you here!” You paused, looking back and forth between him and the man next to him. “How are you?”

He nodded again, pulling the words up one by one. “Good. I’m good. You?”

“I’m, um,” you chuckled awkwardly, “I’m alright, I think? Supposed to be meeting someone here but,” you glanced around, “I don’t see them yet.”

The man on the other side of Bucky leaned across him and held his hand out. “I’m Sam, by the way.” He flashed you a charming grin. “Not the person you were looking for, but figured I’d introduce myself anyway since this guy wasn’t going to.”

You laughed as you told him your name. “Nice to meet you, Sam.”

The three of you chit-chatted, and you tried not to think too much about the way that Bucky was looking at you. You were putting too much thought into it, you were certain. Maybe you were just projecting, taking all the growing disappointment you were feeling about your supposed “date” still not being there and channeling it into the way that Bucky seemed to be so attentively listening to you.

Taking another sip from the straw in your drink, you checked the time on your phone one more time. Letting out a deep sigh, you looked over at Bucky, and Sam too. “I’m glad I ran into you two tonight, because from the looks of it the person that I came out to see is not showing up.” You shoved your phone back into the pocket of your jeans with a shake of your head.

“He’s an idiot,” Sam chimed in without hesitation.

You laughed and nodded. “I appreciate the sentiment.” You finished off your drink and you didn’t try to dissuade the bartender who was grabbing your glass and heading off to make you another. Looking back at the two of them, you said, “My friends were the ones who convinced me to get on those stupid dating apps anyway.” You shook your head. “Lotta good it did, huh?”

Bucky nodded, shooting a pointed look at Sam as he said, “Yeah, I know the feeling.”

Sam was laughing, but Bucky noticed the way that he was moving to throw some cash down on the bar. He gathered up his jacket as he got off the stool. “Well, not to be the bearer of more bad news, but I gotta take off.” He clapped Bucky on the shoulders as he walked by. “But you two crazy kids stay out and have some fun. It was very nice to meet you.” He flashed the two of you another grin. “Call if you need bail money. Not me, but, you know, call somebody.”

You laughed as you and Bucky each said goodbye to him. The two of you watched him as he practically skipped out of the bar and out onto the street. Bucky was caught between wishing he could chase Sam down and tackle him, and wishing he could skip right out the door alongside him. There was no buffer between the two of you anymore, and Bucky felt so strangely exposed.

“Sorry about your date,” Bucky finally offered up.

You smiled good-naturedly. “I’m not that heartbroken over it,” you said honestly as the bartender set your fresh drink down in front of you. “My expectations were pretty low, but, you know,” you took a sip, “not so low that I assumed he wasn’t gonna be here.”

Bucky chuckled. “That’s fair.”

“Honestly, I’m just more pissed off that I wasted one of my few free weekend evenings on some guy who didn’t even bother texting me to cancel.”

“Few?”

You smiled as you said, “My daughter. Every other week she’s with her dad. I miss her when she’s gone, so I try to stay busy. Usually with friends, but every now and then it’s some pipe-dream of a date.” You took another sip. “They usually do show up, though, at the risk of making myself sound horrible desperate,” you joked.

Bucky laughed. “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

Your smile softened a touch, but it was still there. “Well, thank you for that at least.”

You had every intention of finishing off your drink, paying your tab, and heading right home. You weren’t typically one for staying out all hours in a bar or a club somewhere, even when you were out with your friends. And, as nice as it was that you had a chance run-in with Bucky when everything else seemed to be going wrong, you were still ready to turn it in and go home. Back to your pajamas and fuzzy blankets.

That’s not what happened, however, despite your best intentions. Somewhere along the way you switched from cocktails to soda just for the sake of being able to stay longer without getting too much of a buzz as you talked to Bucky. He wasn’t exactly a chatterbox, per se, and you hadn’t really expected him to be. The two of you managed to keep up a good pace of back and forth regardless of that. He did a little more listening than he did talking but it didn’t seem to bother him. It also made you realize that even though you had your friends, and your fellow teachers at school, there weren’t a whole lot of times when you went out to socialize with other adults. It also didn’t hurt that Bucky was so nice to look at, that he seemed to be just as interested in looking right back at you.

You’d both lost track of time as you sat there, and when you were both finally making your way towards the door of the bar, it was much later than either of you had bargained for. The two of you walked, and Bucky pulled the door open for you. The two of you were mid-conversation when you landed back out on the sidewalk. It was only then that you realized you probably weren’t going to be heading in the same direction.

Bucky watched as you motioned back over your shoulder, the opposite direction from the way he was heading. “I’m parked this way, but, it was really good seeing you. What are the chances, right?” You laughed lightly.

He smiled, nodded. “Yeah. It was, um,” he could feel the words that he wanted to say resting on the tip of his tongue and he was conflicted about whether or not he wanted to actually say them, “it was good to see you again.” He paused, hating every bit of hesitation that he was feeling. “Do you, um, I was wondering,” he was reaching for the pocket of his jacket for his phone as he fumbled his way through the question, “I mean on your next free weekend…”

You felt your face warm as he continued on. You knew where the line of questioning was going, and part of you knew that maybe you should put him out of his misery. But it was sweet, and you were enjoying that. Finally, you nodded. “That’d be nice.”

He let out a sigh of relief as he took his phone out. “Great. Okay, yeah. I’ll…I’ll call you. You know,” he managed a smile with a little more ease, “save you from all the apps.”

You laughed as you typed your name and number in. “You’re a lifesaver.”

In the back of his mind he knew that he should be making some sort of move now. Walk you to your car, give you a hug, something. But if asking for your number was as difficult as it had proven itself to be, he didn’t know what it was going to be like trying to manage anything else. So he took the win, and bid you goodnight.

Over the course of the next couple days, he was caught between wanting to tell both Tony and Sam separately that he’d gotten your number. He thought maybe it would help get them off his back. What he didn’t want, though, was for them to just get on his case about a whole new slew of things. He also didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing that they’d been right.

So, instead of reaching out to either of them, he texted you instead. It was casual at first, just brief messages here and there. Texting wasn’t his favorite way to stay in touch with people, but he at least recognized that it was what people did now.

He called you once, when he wanted to actually try and make plans to see you. That conversation wasn’t one that he wanted to have over text, and he told you as much. You also found that to be sweet as well. It wasn’t a long conversation, one taking place while you made dinner and your daughter was busy with her toys in the living room. But the two of you settled on a date, a time, and that he would come by your place to pick you up. You couldn’t remember the last time you smiled so much while making pasta.

~*~

“Tony is never gonna let you hear the end of this when he finds out,” Sam said as he sat down at Bucky’s kitchen counter.

“Yeah, I know,” Bucky grabbed drinks out of his fridge. “That’s why I haven’t said anything to him about it.”

“Nothing?!”

“No!” Bucky said, breaking down into laughter after a moment. “You gonna tell him?”

“What, you think that we’re texting about you all the time?” Sam shook his head. “Get over yourself.”

Bucky was about to come back with something snarky as per usual when his phone chimed on the counter. Sam looked, too nosey to stop himself. The grin that spread across his face when he saw your name on the screen. At the look on Sam’s face, Bucky’s instinct was to reach and flip the phone over, but he stopped himself. Instead, he grabbed his phone and messaged you back before setting it down.

“You wanna call me while you’re getting ready?” Sam joked. “I’ll help you pick out an outfit. Tell you how to do your hair.”

Bucky chuckled. “Fuck you.”

~*~

He didn’t call Sam before the date. He also hadn’t heard anything from Tony which led him to believe that Sam had been kind enough to keep his mouth shut. That was all well and good, but he wished that it did anything to soothe the nerves that he was feeling as he stood outside your door.

He felt like an awkward sixteen-year-old again as he stood on your front step. He rang the doorbell, flowers clutched tightly in his hand as he waited. He’d spoken to you earlier, and you had seemed excited about it all still. That gave him hope. But again, it still wasn’t enough to eradicate the lingering feelings of anxiety he had.

Another few seconds passed by and then you pulled open the door. You were smiling at him as you were trying to do the latch on your necklace. “Hey! Sorry, I still have to get my shoes on and stuff. Please,” you stepped back and nodded for him to step inside, “come in. I’ll be ready in like, two minutes.”

He smiled as he somewhat nervously followed your instructions, stepping just past the threshold of your house. “Take your time,” he said calmly as he shut the door behind him.

He looked around while you finished putting on your jewelry and went to grab your shoes. He wasn’t sure what he had been picturing your house looking like, but what he saw felt fitting. It was tidy considering how young your daughter was. There were some toys scattered about in patches, framed photos on the walls and drawings tacked onto the fridge by magnets. It was a home in a way that none of Bucky’s places since he came back had ever been.

“Okay,” you said as you reappeared, smoothing out your blouse, “I’m ready. Sor—” you stopped short when you finally noticed the bouquet of flowers in his hand. The smile on your face was wide enough to make your cheeks hurt. “Those are beautiful.”

Bucky’s eyes widened for a moment, like he’d forgotten that he had them. He held them out to you. “Just figured, you know…”

You smiled as you took them, flitting off to the kitchen so that you could put them in a vase with water. “Thank you.”

As the two of you drove, you could feel him slowly starting to relax. The two of you talked, and you could see the way that his grip on the steering wheel started to become less vice-like. There was something refreshing in the way that he opened the car door for you, and the door to the diner that the two of you had agreed on. He sat down across from you in the booth and you noticed the way that he still had his gloves on as he looked through the menu. You wanted to ask but you didn’t—if he wanted to say something about it you had a feeling that he would.

The conversation felt easy, the same way it had been that night at the bar. The only difference now was the feeling in the air. There was a different kind of tension now that hadn’t been there before. Sure, you’d been attracted to him even then, but that hadn’t been a date. Not like this.

Every now and then if one of you shifted in your seat and your feet or legs would brush. Neither of you said anything about it, but you could feel the upward curl of your own lips as it happened, the occasional pink flush of Bucky’s cheeks. Sometimes it’d make him stumble in his sentence and you’d do him the courtesy of not commenting on it.

The two of you were splitting a piece of pie for dessert, something you insisted on because you knew the woman who baked them for the diner. It wasn’t as though Bucky put up any great fight about it. The closer the two of you got to finishing it, the more you engaged in low-stakes warfare, dueling with your forks over the pieces with the best crust-to-filling ratio.

“You can have the last bite,” you conceded with a laugh, leaning back in the booth.

“Oh, come on,” he joked, “it doesn’t feel good to win by forfeit.”

You laughed, warmth blossoming up your neck and across your face. “It’s not forfeit. Think of it as, I don’t know,” you drummed your fingers against the tabletop, “me being nice since it was your first time here.” You paused, studying the amused look on his face. “That better?”

He shrugged, a smirk on his face. “Little bit.”

The two of you walked back out to his car, and you found yourself walking much closer to his side than you had been on the way in. Your arm brushed against his as the two of you walked, and you found yourself about half a step away from leaning into his side.

He reached to open the car door for you, but before he could you leaned back against it so that you were facing him. You let one arm hang by your side, with the other you brought your palm so that it rested against his chest, pads of your fingertips pressing lightly against the leather.

Bucky almost pulled away out of reflex, but he didn’t. “Yes?”

You shook your head, still smiling. “Nothing, nothing.” You let your hand drop, the pads of your fingers dragging for a moment before your arm was back at your side once more. You moved just enough so that he could open the door again for you. “Thank you.”

Bucky walked you up to the door of your house, and he felt like his heart was beating clean up into the back of his throat. He didn’t remember dating being this nerve-wracking before. You seemed perfectly unfazed, though as you sauntered up and slipped your key into the lock.

“You wanna come in?” you offered as you opened the door. “Have a drink?”

It took more effort to swallow than it should have. “Oh. Yeah, sure.”

You chuckled. “If you don’t want to—”

“I do,” he reassured, his voice earnest.

Your smiled grew. “Okay.” You stepped and waved him in with you. “C’mon.” You noticed the way that he still had his jacket and gloves on when you came back out of the kitchen with a bottle in each hand. You handed one over to him. “Nothing fancy, but it’s also usually just me drinking them, so…��

He chuckled and shook his head. “It’s fine.”

There were a few beats of silence, each of you sipping out of your bottles before you said, “You don’t do this a lot, do you?”

His eyes widened for a moment, slight panic. “What?”

Your smile was warm as you gestured with your hand that held the bottle. “This. Dates. Not…not your thing, is it?”

He held the bottle between both his hands. “I’m…out of practice, yeah.” He cleared his throat. “That noticeable?”

You shook your head. “Not really. You just seemed, I don’t know, a little nervous. And I don’t know why a guy who looks like you would have any reason to be nervous on a date other than…”

“Other than I don’t go on them,” he finished with a soft laugh.

Your face heated up as you smiled. “Kinda.”

“How’d I do?” he asked, mostly joking.

You stepped in closer to him, noticing a different kind of tension in his body. “You’re doing great.”

He huffed out a laugh but it was much softer than he intended, betraying more of his real feelings than he bargained for. “This part?” He made a small gesture between you. “This part I’m really,” he forced out a puff of air through his teeth, “yeah.”

There was a flutter of butterflies in your stomach, something you hadn’t felt in a long time. “Want some help?”

He laughed but he didn’t say no, didn’t move away. He swallowed hard as you took the bottle from his hand and set them both on the coffee table in your living room. He was fighting hard to say something—ideally something smooth but at this point he would’ve settled for just about anything. Within seconds you were standing close to him again, bodies a breath away from being pressed flush against each other. Your hands rested on his chest for a moment, and you waited to see if he would change his mind and pull away—you were giving him the chance. But then you felt his hands tentatively land on your hips and you smiled, your body easing against his. You brought one hand up to the side of his face, thumb caressing his cheekbone.

“Not so bad,” you asked softly, “right?”

He shook his head, finally forcing out a quiet, “No, it’s not.”

You smiled and leaned in, lightly pressing your lips to his. It was delicate, fleeting—you were pulling away as quickly as you’d leaned in. The sliver of space left between your lips and his was the silent ask for him to let you know if this was the end of the night or not. He could pull away from you, no harm no foul, or he could lean in and kiss you again and figure it out from there.

It felt like you were both holding your breath for a moment, faces just too close to be able to get a good look in each other’s eyes. You were about to pull back to really look at him when he leaned in and kissed you, more conviction than the quick gesture from before. You readily gave into him, hand sliding from his cheek to the back of his head to keep him pulled to you. As his lips moved against yours, one of his hands slid so that it was resting at the center of the small of your back.

The two of you stayed like that in the middle of your living room, all locking lips and wandering hands. You would’ve let the entire night fall away spent just like that and been more than fine with it. When the two of you finally came back up for air, when Bucky pulled away from you enough to really look into your eyes, you saw that more than anything he was surprised. Maybe it was at you, maybe it was at himself, but regardless it was there. Underneath that, though, you could see that there was something more. His hand that wasn’t on the small of your back came up to cup your chin, the leather of his gloves smooth to the touch against your skin. He tilted your chin just slightly and then your lips were back on his again.

Out of instinct you tugged down the zipper of his jacket. Your hands came up to his shoulders, getting ready to push his jacket down off of them. It was only then that he pulled away from you again, breathless as he desperately searched your face.

“What?” you asked gently, pausing your movements.

“Nothing, nothing. I,” he pressed his lips into a thin line for a moment. “I wasn’t expecting…I just…”

“If it’s too much,” you said, taking a small step back, “we can—”

“No,” he stopped you short, shaking his head. “It’s not that. I just…” He took a breath. “Do you know? Who I am?”

You chuckled. “You’re friends with Iron Man and Falcon. I,” you shrugged, “I connected some dots along the way.”

He laughed, a sound of relief. “A lot of people don’t…you know…”

“A lot of people don’t have people from The Avengers dropping off school snacks once a week.” You paused and let both of you laugh. Allowing your tone to get a little more serious, you said, “I know, Bucky,” you moved once more to push his jacket down off his shoulders, “and it’s okay.”

He allowed you to do it, allowed his jacket to drop to the floor. Even with the long-sleeve shirt that he had on underneath, you could see the difference between his arms. You brought your hands to his, helping him pull the gloves off next. He was holding his breath—you could tell. When his gloves were off you ran your fingers along each of his palms, skin and metal, with equal delicate care.

When you looked into his eyes again you saw the way he was looking at you—bewildered, eager. You brought one hand back to his face again, urging him back towards you. It was a cue that he gladly took, kissing you with fervor. His hands were on your sides, and when he felt the way your other hand was running up his arm, he couldn’t stop himself, from letting his hands slip beneath the fabric of your shirt.

It’d been so long, he realized as his hands roamed your sides and back, since he’d last felt someone like this. When your fingers slid underneath the collar of his shirt, splaying across what they could reach where the nape of his neck turned stretched into his shoulders, he also realized that it’d been a long time since he’d let someone feel him like this too.

All the nerves, the tension of the night, it all started to melt away as he felt you reaching for the bottom hem of his shirt to pull off over his head. He didn’t want to stop you, and he knew that that meant something. Maybe they’d all been right—maybe there was something to letting someone else in again. As he felt the warmth of your palms against his skin, he could only hope that the rest of it felt this good too.

#connect4au #alternate juneiverse #marvel #mcu #marvel fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes imagine #x reader #x reader fic #bucky barnes event #my writing #fanfiction #drabblesmc

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meangirls-imagines · 2 months

Text

Leap of Faith

Description: Part 2 to "Best Friends?" The roommates call an audible when they see how much the aftermath of the Incident™️ is affecting both girls. Help comes in the form of the Murray family.

WARNINGS: buckle up, this is a 2.4k word RIDE, realizations of love, reader being sad, sports injury (reader breaks her ankle), first kisses.

a month.

that's how long it had been since what leighton had deemed "d-day".

this was the longest she had ever gone without talking to y/n and leighton was hurting. she broke things off with alicia after the incident happened. it wasn't pretty.

hurtful things were said, alicia flipped a coffee table and had to be escorted out of the dorm building by jackson, who kimberly luckily had at the ready when things turned south.

her roommates could see this was taking a toll on the blonde, the trio trying their best to keep leighton's spirits up. whitney was really the only one who got to see how it was affecting both girls.

y/n, in whitney's opinion, was doing worse than leighton was. whitney rarely saw the girl outside of practice and the one class they had together. she had heard through the grapevine that y/n hadn't slept in days, maybe weeks. all she had been doing was going to class, practice and the gym.

had she tried to talk to y/n? yes. but to no avail. the girl had brushed her off every single attempt. whitney had no idea what to do. she talked to bela and kimberly and they formed a plan.

they were going to get the girls together.

leighton was pleasantly surprised when she saw her dad and nico sitting outside her dorm on a bench, seemingly waiting for her. she walked up to them and immediately was pulled into a hug by nico.

"leighton! there's my beautiful sister." the blonde was confused but hugged her brother back. once he released her, her dad pulled her into his arms. "hi guys. not that i'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?" the two shared a secret look with each other. "we wanted to visit and say hi. your mom is here too, but she went to talk to the kappa president about something."

the blonde looked suspicious but shrugged it off. the two men kept talking as they guided leighton to their suv that was parked near by, planning on taking her to lunch. the blonde allowed them to, finally relaxing for the first time in weeks.

y/n shot another ball into the back of the net at full force. practice had ended over an hour ago and she was still kicking penalty shots, trying to get her frustration out. her body was exhausted and threatened to shut down at any moment, but y/n stayed fueled with energy drinks. she had jogged after the ball she had been practicing with when a voice yelled out.

"i knew you'd be here."

y/n froze. she hadn't heard that voice in a while. she slowly turned to see a woman taking off a pair of designer sunglasses, staring into y/n's soul.

there she stood, in all her glory. mimi murray. y/n audibly gulped at the woman staring at her. she slowly walked towards the woman, kinda like a scared puppy. the woman looked at y/n and cupped her cheeks. "have you been sleeping? eating?" y/n opened her mouth to answer when mimi put her hand up to stop her.

"no. you don't need to answer, i already know. grab your stuff. we have plans." y/n nodded and quickly grabbed her stuff, not wanting to disappoint the woman more than she probably had.

with leighton, nico, and henry, the trio were out eating at an italian restaurant half an hour away from campus. the two men noticed how quiet leighton had gotten, asking her if everything was okay. she spilled everything to them, the men looking at her sadly. "leighton, i'm gonna be honest with you, i'm surprised it took you this long to catch on."

leighton looked at her dad surprised. "what do you mean?" her dad sighed. "i had a feeling a while ago that she had feelings for you. and then the feeling was confirmed last year. remember when that alex guy came to our house to ask you to prom?" leighton frowned. "yeah?"

y/n and leighton were hanging out in the living room of the murray household. since it was the spring, soccer season had taken over most of y/n's schedule, leaving her barely any room to hang out with the blonde. so, every rare weekend that y/n had off, she spent at leighton's house.

as the two sat on the couch cuddling and watching a movie, the doorbell rang. thinking it was one of nico's friends, the girls ignored it. until leighton's dad came in. "hey leight, there's someone here for you." confused, the two girls got up, walking to the front door where alex hightower stood at leighton's door with a huge sign and a bag of leighton's favorite treats. the sign read "it would be a treat if you went to prom with me". y/n's heart dropped to her stomach as leighton smiled at the boy, accepting his invite.

she was hoping to gather enough courage to ask leighton if she just wanted to go together as friends. she visibly deflated as leighton spoke excitedly with alex about prom plans. henry was standing off to the side watching it all unfold. he saw how y/n reacted to the proposal and his heart broke a little bit.

alex eventually left as leighton dragged y/n up to her room to have the girl help her plan her dress. henry saw as y/n plastered on a fake smile and allowed the girl to drag her up the stairs.

when he woke up the next morning, y/n had already left. a few weeks later, as leighton danced with her date and scanned the room looking for y/n, her heart breaking when she didn't see her anywhere. y/n sat at home alone, looking on instagram and seeing how happy leighton looked. in that moment, y/n made sure that leighton kept that happiness with her, no matter how much it hurt her.

leighton's heart broke at the revelation. she had no idea she was the reason y/n didn't go to prom. it broke even more when she thought of y/n wanting to ask her to prom. she definitely would've had the perfect prom with y/n. nico and henry looked at leighton. nico spoke up. "leighton, y/n has been in love with you since you guys met. she has dedicated this friendship to making you happy, even though it kills her. and i think you love her too."

leighton was crying at this point. henry scooting closer to her and pulling his daughter into his side. "leighton, honey. you wanna know what i think you should do?" the blonde sniffled and nodded. "take the leap. go after her. you two are made for each other. you need each other more than you know. take the first step and get your girl." leighton sniffled and nodded.

they paid for lunch and headed back to campus. on the drive back, ideas ran through leighton's head on how she could take the leap. a light bulb went off in her head and she smiled.

she knew exactly what to do.

with mimi and y/n, the older woman took the girl to the best spa in town. after she had received a mysterious phone call from leighton's roommate, she listened as the girl told her what happened between y/n and her daughter and how y/n wasn't taking care of herself. her protective mom side came out and she cancelled any meetings she had for the rest of the day and headed to essex.

now, the two sat in the steam room together, fresh out of their swedish massage sessions. mimi decided to break the ice first. "so, what happened between you and leighton?" y/n froze again. "we had a fight last month. i haven't talked to her since." mimi nodded. "did this fight have to do with the fact that you're in love with my daughter?"

y/n's head whipped around to look at the older woman nervously. "w-what?" mimi looked at the girl smirking. "i know more than you think. i also know that my daughter is also in love with you." y/n's jaw dropped. "no she doesn't. she's dating someone else." mimi shook her head. "nope. she called me the night you guys had the fight and told me that she broke up with that anna girl."

y/n chuckled. "you mean alicia?" mimi waved the girl off. "same thing. she told me that the breakup didn't go well with alicia." y/n's heart dropped to her stomach at the thought of what might've happened. she shook her head. "so what if she broke up with her? she's not in love with me." mimi sighed. "yes she is. don't you remember what happened a couple of years ago?"

leighton murray was NOT a school spirit person.

except when it came to y/n.

when it came to y/n, leighton and her parents would be in the front row of the stands. leighton would be draped in whatever jersey y/n wasn't wearing, her soccer letterman, and the blonde would even go the extra mile and paint her face in school colors. she loved watching y/n play soccer. especially when y/n got extra sweaty. (leighton would daydream about other instances where y/n would be sweaty but she would never admit that.)

this certain game, spence was playing their cross town rivals, st. john academy. the game was intense, both teams receiving multiple cards before halftime. y/n was getting pushed around and tackled more than usual and every time she hit the ground, leighton would lose a little off her life.

it all culminated in the 40th minute of the game. y/n was sprinting down the field with the ball at her feet, no defenders in front of her, ready to put spence in the lead. a defender from st. john had caught up to her and slid into a dirty tackle. y/n was blindsided as the defender's cleat came in at full speed and force to y/n's ankle.

there was a pop, a scream, and a thud as y/n fell in a heap to the ground, not before bouncing her head off the field. leighton couldn't breathe. she squeezed nico's hand extremely tight as the boy tried to calm her down. the second the ref waved her hand for the medics, leighton was out of her seat, sprinting to the field.

coach smith met her at the sideline and ran over to y/n with her. the girl was writhing in pain on the ground, tears streaming from her face. the medics began prepping her ankle to transport her to the hospital. leighton kneeled next to her head. "y/n. hey, you're gonna be okay. i promise." the blonde took y/n's hand, squeezing it gently to let her know she was there. y/n squeezed back as her head pounded and her ankle throbbed.

the medics eventually moved her to the ambulance where leighton demanded to ride with them, texting her parents to meet them at the hospital.

leighton never left y/n's side during her recovery. so when senior year rolled around, leighton was where she always was, front row, letterman on, watching her best friend take the field for the last time in her high school career.

y/n was pulled out of the vivid flashback by mimi. "i knew leighton was in love with you when that happened. she was glued to your side that whole year you recovered. she had multiple guys ask her out on dates and she always shot them down. she always drove you to physical therapy. i knew then that if leighton, who refused to go near one of us when we're sick, was doing all of this for you being hurt, she loved you."

y/n's heart raced. maybe mimi was right. but, had she ruined it with the fight they had last month? mimi noticed the hesitation on her face and stood. y/n looked at her confused. "where are you going?" mimi turned and smiled at the girl. "i'm taking you back to campus to get your girl."

y/n walked back to her dorm, more relaxed than when she left that morning. maybe she would sleep on it and make a decision from there. she pulled her keys out to unlock the door, eagerly wanting to get into bed. when she opened the door, the sight before her took her breath away.

leighton had crafted a blanket fort in the common room of y/n's dorm, fairy lights and all. y/n could see that leighton had gotten her favorite takeout, including dessert, she had a bottle of wine (that she convinced her dad to buy), and her laptop had disney plus queued up with the movie they always watched together, cinderella.

y/n looked at the blonde, who stood nervously by the couch. she was wearing one of y/n's soccer hoodies and some sweatpants. y/n had never seen her look more beautiful than she did in that moment. leighton smiled shyly at her. "hi. i know you're probably still mad at me but i've missed you and i couldn't stay away from you any longer so i did all this so hopefully you would forgive me? it's totally cool if you don't-"

y/n strode across the room and pulled leighton into her arms. she was taller than the blonde so she buried her face in leighton's hair. the blonde relaxed into y/n's arms, tucking her face in the crook of her neck. "i missed you too bubbles." leighton smiled at the nickname. they pulled away from the hug as leighton looked up at y/n.

in a last second idea, leighton leaned up and kissed y/n, catching the girl off guard. y/n quickly relaxed into the kiss, sparks flying behind her eyes. the two kissed for a few minutes and pulled away.

"i love you. i think i always have but i was too scared to admit it. but i've always had this weird feeling when i'm with you. i can't explain it, but i know it's a good feeling. and it's a feeling i don't want to ever lose. i wanna be yours, y/n. forever, if you'll have me."

y/n smiled wide and pulled leighton in for another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. "you have no idea how long i've waited to hear those words, bubbles." leighton smiled at the girl. "well, buttercup, get ready to hear them forever." the two kissed again, their passion slowly bleeding into the night.

the couple could never figure out what came over leighton's family to show up that day.

they would find out years later.

in a speech, surrounded by their friends and loved ones.

with matching rings on their left hands.

#leighton murray x reader #leighton murray imagine #leighton murray

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pinkyqil · 25 days

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Good news Bad news | a.Putellas x j.Hermoso

Hidden secrets series part 2

Mention of : Angst, comfort, mention of acl and pregnancy

Alexia had never felt like this before in all her life.it felt like everything she worked for all fell apart. broken acl and on top of that finding out your having a baby after many failed procedures of her and jenni trying over and over again.

all she could do was lay on the couch rethinking her whole life purpose.Tears slowly streaming down her face.

She had recently been feeling unwell and decided to take a trip to the hospital. Thinking it had something to do with her acl. But no she was so wrong instead. after she got to the hospital explaining her symptoms to the doctor's.

they told her that she was 8 weeks pregnant.

the look of shock on her face was not missed by the nurses around her. Her and jenni had been trying for a really long time Their last try would be around the beginning of the year, we're they received a negative blood test. but here she was finding out that she's around 2 months pregnant.

The world really does surprise you at unexpected moments.and this was one of them for alexia. The only thing that was going through her mind at the moment,was how she supposed to tell jenni or anyone else. Stil deep in her thoughts she heard the nurses ask if she would like an ultrasound. all alexia could do was nod agreeing to do it.

After finishing her business at the hospital she decided to call her mami cause she's about to be a mami herself so why not call her own too let her know.

Alexia brought out her phone dialing the first number she saw since it belongs to her mom.it only needed to be rung twice for eli to pickup her phone."alexia what happened did you get hurt are you okay" her mother questioned ?. She couldn't replied as tears started slipping down on her already wet face. Eli could tell something was wrong, alexia never cried that much.

often keeping to herself and when she did it would be mostly happy tears, but eli couldn't bring herself to know what was happening has alexia sob became louder.

"bebe I'll need you to tell me what going if not I cannot help you". eli said delicately trying to clam her daughter with a soft tune.

"Are you hurt" eli asked.

"Not like that mami" alexia said still choking on tears.

"So what exactly happening xia" eli asked her again.

" i don't really know what to do mami,I felt sick and went to the hospital- alexia said before getting cut off by her mother

"Alexia Putellas Segura you just told me that you weren't hurt and now your telling me how you felt sick what honestly going on you have me really worried". She heard her mother say on the phone

"Just let me finish explaining", she said. eil could hear the crack in her voice and hummed letting alexia to continue.

"After going in the hospital and explained my symptom's to one of the nurses attending to me said that i was expecting i don't know what to do how I'm I suppose to let her know mami".

Eli was the only one who knew how the couple had been trying for the longest of time especially knowing how hard it was on her daughter and lover.

"oh ale it all going to be alright but you'll have to tell her at some point she also deserve to hear about it from you".eli told her daughter

A while later that she finished talking to her mom.

now home staring at jenni phone number deciding on how to break the news to her. but the panic in her body said otherwise.

Alexia had decided to send jenni a photo of the ultrasound pictures and the positive pregnancy test that she took.

Message sent

Once she had sent the pictures she turned off her phone and decided to go too bed she couldn't deal with the emotions she was feeling at the moment.

mi amor 💕 : typing...

A/n: what's jenni's message to alexia gonna be ? How would she react too it and what does she plan on doing ??

p2 coming soon enjoy this small cliffhanger,ideas and questions about the series are always welcome and feel free to let me know what you think about it 🫶

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sc0tters · 9 months

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My Love, My Life | Jack Hughes

summary: you find out that you are pregnant and when Jack is less than impressed it caused the start of your pregnancy to be a little bit rocky.

request: yes/no

warnings: partially unwanted pregnancy, allusions to sex, swearing.

word count: 4.07k

authors note: when I rewatched Mama Mia I heard the song my love, my life and I instantly knew it had to be the title of a pregnancy imagine. I really did enjoy writing this though so if you guys want to see this possibly become a series, let me know!

It was the longest three minutes of your life.

Jack had gone out on the boat with his friends and brothers giving you what felt like the perfect window of opportunity. All you had to do was pee on that stick and wait for the results.

You knew that you’d have to book and appointment with your gynecologist, not because you were pregnant but because your irregular period that decided it didn’t want to show up for three months. Honestly you thought you were simply one of gods favourites, but as your boobs began to grow tender and keeping any food down before ten a.m. became virtually impossible you began to worry.

Ellen had bought you those tests, not because she wanted you to push yourself into having kids but after you shared your worries with her she suggested you took the test and even offered to buy them for you “you okay in there sweetie?” Ellen asked as she was stood on the other side of the door.

The idea of taking this test alone was simply far too daunting for your little heart to handle thus you asked for her company “I’m good,” you opened the door as you waited for your timer to go off.

She was like the extra mother you never had, your own mother was still in your life but she didn’t get you the way Ellen did. You had laughed, you had cried, and you even got drunk on homemade frozen margaritas with Ellen and that was whilst you and Jack were still friends.

Just as the saying goes mothers do truly know best and Jack’s had predicted that you two would end up married and in love one day. She got the in love part right but despite the four years of dating Jack and being with him through all of the highs and lows of his career there still wasn’t a ring on your finger.

That’s not to say that you didn’t mind though because you both agreed you were too young “it’s time,” the timer derailed your thoughts as both of your heads snapped to the line of four tests.

Both of you walked over to the different branded tests that all said the same thing.

Pregnant

You didn’t want to admit it but you knew exactly when you fell pregnant. The final game of the season was against the Capitals and the moment Jack got home he was met with the sight of you in a new red lingerie that you kept hidden by his jersey. That night Jack didn’t have any condoms and you were too horny to care, apparently the morning after pill did not do it’s job.

As Ellen let out a gasp you could do nothing but cry “oh honey!” She didn’t give you a moment to let a full sob out before she pulled you into a hug.

Her hand went into your hair as she attempted to soothe you “I’m not ready to be a mom!” Your eyes went wide at the realisation, you were barely out of college and were now meant to be the mother of a child.

You were grateful that you asked Ellen to be there as she pushed your worries to the side “if you don’t want this you don’t have to keep it.” She reminded you of the different options you had “but if you do then you will not go through it alone.” Her hand went to your cheek to wipe away your tears “I promise,” she kissed your head as you cried on her shoulder.

“We’re home!” Jack called out as they walked back into the house.

Your head shot up as your eyes went wide “go wash your face and I’ll distract them for a bit,” Ellen offered as she squeezed your shoulder quickly letting you get a moment to yourself.

You faced the mirror as you looked at your red cheeks “hi buddy,” you sniffled as you looked down to your stomach “I’m your momma,” you surprisingly didn’t feel weird as you introduced yourself to your baby.

It felt natural as you let your hand cup your stomach as you smiled, that moment showed you that there was love in your heart for this baby, for your baby.

Jack remained oblivious to what had happened as you and Ellen collectively avoided the topic and anything that remotely related to it. Sure he thought that you were a little bit more quiet than usual but he just wrote that down to you being tired after struggling to sleep last night.

The dreaded conversation though eventually had to come as you were back in your bedroom “babe where is your aloe gel?” Jack called out as he was trying to cope with the sun burn that had formed on his back.

You were so caught up washing your face as you let your mind lapse “my drawer of the bedside table.” You explained as your eyes went wide the moment you had said it.

Panic ran through your system as you stopped what you were doing to run back into the bedroom “wh-what is this?” Jack asked as he picked up one of the tests that he was faced with when he opened the drawer.

Yes you thought it was best to hide them in there “answer my question dammit!” He grew frustrated with your silence.

Tears from earlier came back as a lump formed in your throat “we’re having a baby,” you cried as you used the back of your hand to wipe your now snotty nose.

Jack simply didn’t share your emotions “no,” he shook his head as he took a step back “I don’t want it.” He added as it caused you to scoff.

His response frustrated you “this is a baby Jack not a new shirt you don’t like.” You spoke in a duh tone as you crossed your arms.

The hockey player pressed his lips into a fine line “this is not happening,” he announced as he wanted to just go back in time and not have this conversation.

Unfortunately for him there was no other choice that he had “look I get that you’re not happy about this baby-” raked your fingers through your hair “you’re asking me to give up the prime of my career for some kid?” The venom in his voice was a punch to the gut as you chewed at the inside of your cheek.

It made you see him in a whole different light “this isn’t some kid Jack it’s our kid.” Your voice was soft as your lip began to quiver “I’m not asking you to give up your career for them either.” You added as your nose scrunched not believing that you actually had to say that.

You were left in shock as the boy grabbed his phone and charger like he was going to leave “where are you going?” You two had a rule to never go to bed angry and it truly looked like Jack was going to break that “I’m going to spend the night in Luke’s room.” He explained as he walked out of the room before you could say anything else.

When the door slammed shut you finally got the chance to drop to your knees as sobs left your mouth. Somehow in this moment you felt so alone even though you had this baby with you “I’m doing this for you,” you mumbled as you wiped your eyes before you went to your laptop.

Sure it hurt as you found the next flight back to New Jersey but you knew you had to do it.

Jack didn’t want this baby and as you both had different feelings about it you knew this could very well mean the end of your relationship. With your luck it meant there was a flight back to Newark in three hours, so you were quick to pack your suitcase as you knew you had to hurry if you wanted to make that flight. Since everyone was asleep it meant you also had the chance to leave without being noticed “y/n?” Luke asked as he saw you bringing down your suitcase.

The youngest Hughes boy often got midnight snacks as he stayed up into the early hours of the morning “hi Luke,” you sighed sending the boy a soft smile as he took your luggage from you to walk it down the stairs “heard you and Jack,” Luke confessed breaking your heart in the process.

Years ago when you first fought Luke had heard it all and asked you if you’d still be friends with him even if you and Jack broke up “we just need some time apart,” you explained as you began to feel so drained from all of the crying that you had done.

Luke wrapped his arms around you as he didn’t know if he would see you again “for what it’s worth I’d be grateful to be this little one’s uncle.” His voice was soothing as it made you smile “how are you so young?” You asked yourself as he was so sweet and caring.

“Just making sure you stay safe.”

The next morning Jack and Ellen each woke up to a message from you.

y/n: hey mama Hughes! Sorry for the abrupt goodbye but Jack didn’t take the news too well so I came home. Will keep you updated on this little baby!

doll 🩷: I’m not going to force this baby on you but I’ve made my mind up and I want to have it, I’d like you to be there but if not. I won’t blame you x

Ellen didn’t usually think she was a negative person. Truly she thought she was a good gentle soul, yet the thoughts she had as she sent her middle son daggers in the form of glared made her reconsider her opinion of herself. Sure this wasn’t the most ideal time for them to bring a baby into the world but the love the couple had for each other was so obvious that it was almost painful. When you two were wrapped in each others arms whispering sweet nothings into each others ears was enough to make anyone sick in the best way possible “good morning Luke,” Jim greeted his son who seemed to be sharing the same reaction to his older brother as his mom had.

Despite the one cup of coffee that barely had time to settle in his system Quinn could tell that something was off “what stupid thing did he do now?” The Canucks player asked as he furrowed his eyebrows sending his youngest brother a confused glance.

Jacks ears perked up as he looked up from his phone “I didn’t do anything stupid,” he scoffed as he crossed his arms growing defensive.

Both Ellen and Luke wanted to hit him as he said that “you sure about that?” The blonde hadn’t used her strict tone on her boys in years and it truly instilled fear in her three sons.

At that moment everything clicked for Jack “Kyoto!” He called out as he got up. The Hughes brothers had given that title to moment when they needed their brothers to drop everything because one of them had something to say “really?” Luke groaned as Quinn followed the younger boy out “you know the rules.” The trio of boys soon left their parents as they walked outside to have their conversation.

Jim sipped his coffee as curiosity got the best of him “what do you think they are talking about?” He asked as he turned his attention to his wife “got a few ideas,” Ellen shrugged wanting to text you as she hoped you got home safe.

Quinn sat at the outside table as he wanted to desperately know what was going on with his brother “can someone please fill me in?” He asked as he looked between his two younger siblings.

When Jack remained silent Luke took it upon himself to reveal what happened “y/n left last night because Jack learnt that she’s pregnant-” Luke couldn’t blurt out all that he wanted to as Jack reached out to hit him “dude!”

The air around the three boys was still thick “always thought you’d have kids first.” Quinn confessed as he knew how serious you and Jack were early on in your relationship.

You wished that Jack was sat next to you in that doctors office as you realised that the OB had a space open in the morning. Funnily enough he would have preferred being sat there right now over being sat with his brothers “you want to tell him what you told her though?” Luke spat as he sent Jack a harsh glare.

The Devils player grew defensive “you eavesdropping or some shit?” Jack scoffed as he matched his brothers strong look.

Just like always Quinn had to intervene “let’s just breathe and then talk like adults.” He proposed as he pulled Luke’s chair closer to him so that it was out of Jacks grasp.

Luke sighed as he nodded “why did you say that to her?” He didn’t even mention the reasoning that Jack used to make sure his brother knew what was going on.

Jack picked at his nails as he didn’t want to look at anyone “didn’t want to screw up at being a dad.” The forward also didn’t want to disappoint his child in life but more importantly he didn’t want to be a shitty partner to you. Every road trip the team took, every late night training session or game all added up and Jack could see how it screwed with some of the older guys who had kids.

“Bullshit,”

The trio of boys whipped their heads around to see that Ellen and Jim were stood at the porch door. Ellen actually stomped over to her middle child “every parent screws up,” she pointed out as she couldn’t count how many times either her or Jim had done the wrong thing when it came to parenting those boys “but you deal with it with your partner!” The girl scoffed as she couldn’t actually believe that Jack could act in such a negative way that it drove you to leave in the middle of the night without a peep.

Jack was honestly shitting himself as his mom stood over him “now you’ve got a girlfriend with a heart of gold currently sat terrified in New Jersey as she’s all alone?” Ellen scoffed not realising that the forward furrowed his eyebrows “truly thought I raised you better than that.” Her anger had turned into disappointment as she couldn’t imagine the stress that you could have been going through, especially after that had happened in terms of the stressful build up to taking that test.

When he eventually spoke up it was quite “she’s terrified?” He asked as his chest began to grow heavy because this was the first time since he had heard the news that the thought of you and now you felt about it all.

Sure it was selfish but Jack found himself so caught up in his own stream of doubts that he hadn’t let the two other parties involved in the matter take up any space in his mind “she’s just found out that she’s pregnant and her boyfriend isn’t with her.” Ellen’s voice was comforting as Jack felt tears well in his eyes.

He didn’t often feel this extreme emotions but the thought of you, the woman he centred his entire world around, feeling all of that pain due to his actions made him feel sick “how do I fix it?” Given that Jack was of college boy age, romance wasn’t something he ever truly mastered and besides it wasn’t like he needed to when you looked at him like he was the only guy in the world.

The blonde felt her heart soar as her speech obviously knocked some sense into him “go talk to her.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The Hughes family watch on as the middle child got up and made his way back inside so he could go back home, back to you.

From the moment you got back inside you couldn’t help but listen to the video of the heart beat as you stared at the pictures from the ultrasound. Despite the fact that, the house felt foreign as Nico let you stay at his whilst he was still on holiday after you called him in tears you were now feeling content. The Swiss man first took you under his wing when he realised that you were Jacks girlfriend because you so clearly needed “a bit of mental relief.”

Your hand clutched at your stomach “you are going to be my little darling when I finally get to meet you.” You confessed as you didn’t bother introducing yourself for the second time “don’t be fooled by the smell of this place we don’t live here.” You laughed to yourself “but I should really ask uncle Nico where he gets his candles from.”

Jack had to admit that he was surprised when he came back to your apartment and none of the lights were on. At first he blamed it on your poor sleeping schedule and maybe you were just taking a nap. But when the apartment began to not look lived in, plates hadn’t moved from the clean dishwasher, the pillows on the couch were still perfectly fluffed the alarm bells began to ring as Jack realised that something was well and truly off.

My Love x: where the fuck are you

My Love x: this isn’t a joke

My Love x: I’m back in Jersey

My Love x: just let me know that you’re safe please

A sigh of relief left your lips as you hoped that it meant things would be better with Jack. That he’d change his mind but you had to make sure it was what he really did want.

doll 🩷: I’m safe but I don’t want to see you for the next week.

doll 🩷: you need to make sure that what you decide is right for you

doll 🩷: but until then thought you would wanna see this.

*one video attached*

It was the video of the babies heart beat. Jack let out a laugh at the end when your voice came into it “they’re my strong little buddy,” you gasped deciding that buddy was the perfect nickname for your precious little baby.

Jack hadn’t noticed that he was crying until the tear drops began to hit his phone. At first he was crying because he realised how much he must have hurt you but then it morphed into him crying because he was scared. The idea of bringing a child into this world made him feel nervous, not the soft nerves you get thinking about the Stanley cup. These were the nerves you get when you think about facing your fears. Jack knew you’d be the best mom a child could ask for, he saw the way his teammates kids eyes lit up whenever they saw you and how the grin would spread across your lips when they wanted your attention. After this one game you came down with a baby on your hip and you were so caught up telling the child this whole story that you didn’t notice Jack staring at you. In that moment Jack honestly wanted to go home and get a few babies inside of you. His self restraint was truly tested that day when you smiled and walked over to him with the baby still in your hand “this little ones momma had to go to the bathroom.” You explained as you thought he was looking at you weirdly because you were just holding a child.

That memory replayed in Jacks mind as his thumb danced over a picture frame. The image it held was one of the two of you on the boat at the lake house as you had fallen asleep and Jack was so caught up playing with your hair that he didn’t notice when Quinn captured the picture.

This next week was awful for both of you. Neither one really got much sleep as you both just lay on your beds thinking about what the other was doing. You had moved out of Nicos place and in with a friend just so that it meant you would have company when the nights grew dark.

One thing you seemed to be craving the entire week was a red velvet cupcake. There was one place in New Jersey that made a cupcake above them all so on the sixth day of this week that was meant to be radio silence between you and Jack, you finally caved and went to get the sweet treat.

What you didn’t expect though was that Jack would he walking out with an order of his own. He had gone to eat his feelings as he loved their chocolate cake “hi,” Jack gasped as he got the words out.

You smiled as you looked at him “hi baby,” you didn’t even have to wait for a second before Jack pulled you into a hug “I’m so sorry doll,” he blurted out causing tears to form in your eyes for what felt like the a millionth time this week.

It broke your heart when you looking up to see he was crying too “didn’t mean to hurt you like that.” He added as he brought his hand up to cup your cheek.

The gesture was soft as he wipe the tear away from under your eye “you wanna come with me to grab my stuff?” You asked as your hand went on top of his “I know I said I’d give you a week but I can’t sleep in a room without you for another-” your ramble was cut off when Jacks lips captured yours in a kiss.

There was no denying how much you had missed him, and the pregnancy brain was causing you to miss more than just his company “wanna take you home,” Jack mumbled as he rested his forehead against yours.

A giggle left your lips “what are you waiting for then?” You playfully asked as you sent him a smile.

You had told yourself that you could have handled this alone, but deep down you knew you were going home with the man of your dreams who you needed alongside you in this team.

Six months later.

Jack watched in awe as you slept “you got your mama’s eyes my love.” Your daughter cooed as she looked up at her father totally unaware of what he was saying to her.

Since you shut your eyes fifteen minutes ago Jack had just been bouncing her in his arms as he moved around the room “just be grateful you don’t have her toes cause those aren’t as pretty as the rest of her.” He smiled as a random baby noise erupted from her little body.

You scoffed as you had slowly been waking up for the last minute and a half “there is nothing wrong with my feet.” You mumbled as you turned to face them.

The hockey player laughed “you sure about that?” He shot back but quickly went quiet as you sent him a glare.

Your daughter looked at you like you were a foreign sight when Jack sat next to you on the bed “she’s gonna be a daddy’s girl.” You mumbled as you could see the way she already had Jack wrapped around her finger.

He blushed at the comment “as long as my first girl doesn’t get neglected.” The boy pointed out as he hooked his fingers under your jaw so he could peck your lips “I didn’t go through seven hours of labour just to get a peck Hughes.” You always called him Hughes when he was in trouble.

But this time it just made him laugh “can’t use that one for much longer,” he pointed out as he motioned to the engagement ring on your finger.

“I’ll use it until she’s ready to get married.” You shot back as he let you kiss him this time on a deeper level before his thought pulled him away.

“Married… she’s never getting married!”

#jack hughes imagine #jack hughes #jack hughes x you #jack hughes one shot #jack hughes x reader #jack hughes x y/n #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #nhl imagine #imagines #nhl oneshot #oneshots #amber writes fics

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blue-aconite · 9 months

Text

it was just a kiss || j.h.s

Summary: A night at the Hard Deck takes a turn when Jake confides in Mickey about some personal matters.

Warnings: swearing, fluff, jake has feelings, no use of y/n (reader has a nickname), fanboy is the ultimate bestie, drunk rooster is a menace to society

Word Count: 2.4k

Pairings: Jake Seresin x reader

Authors Note: Based on this prompt by @creativepromptsforwriting. Thanks to @writercole @demxters & @seresinsweetie for looking this over for me!

“The girl with the bachelorette party has been eyeing you all evening.” Fanboy handed him another beer, perching onto the bar stool next to him.

Hangman looked over to where the group of girls were seated, catching the eye of the brunette that had been trying to get his attention since they arrived. The girl gestured towards the doors but he shook his head, giving her an apologetic smile.

“Dude, what are you doing? She’s hot.” Mickey slapped his arm, eyes wide as saucers.

“I’m not interested.”

Fanboy looked concerned, swivelling around on his chair. “Alright, let me get this straight. For the past month, I’ve seen countless women approach you, yet you’ve turned them all down. What’s going on?”

Jake snorted into his beer. “Nothing. I’m just not interested.”

“Can we please just have a human conversation? I know that underneath all of those protein shakes and hair products is an actual human being called Jake, and not Hangman. So, stop trying to avoid the subject.” Mickey leaned back against the wall, knocking his knee into Jake’s.

Jake stared at Fanboy for the longest time, not knowing what to say. He opened his mouth but no words came out, so he settled back against the wall as well, keeping his eyes on the floor.

The Daggers had been permanently stationed at Top Gun since the Uranium Mission, instructing and flying together. Jake tried his best to play nice, offering to drive most of them home from the bar at times and buying beers on their nights out. He had made an effort to try and interact more, trying to show interest in their lives but he didn’t think that the rest of the group, save Javy, had actually accepted him into their little makeshift family. He still felt like he wasn’t truly a part of the group, but Mickey’s concern told him that maybe he was wrong.

Fanboy shifted slightly, putting his beer away. “Jake. You can talk to me.”

“I didn’t think, uh, I mean -”

Fanboy smiled, patting his arm reassuringly. “I know. I know you think we don’t care, but we do. If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. But something is obviously bothering you. If you’re not comfortable with me, Javy might be a better option?”

Jake didn’t know what to say. He waited for the punchline, where Fanboy would laugh and mock him but it never came. Mickey was being sincere. The WSO just waited patiently, fingers drumming on the wooden bar behind them.

“You know, you remind me of my brother.” Mickey picked at his jeans, pulling at the loose strings over the knee. When Jake didn’t respond, he kept on talking.

“His name is Diego. He’s the oldest. There’s five of us, by the way. He’s just like you. Walls up so high you can barely see past them. He always used to make fun of us when we were kids. I hated it. But when I got older, I realised that he was only doing it to push us. Mom and dad put a lot of responsibility on him and he did the best he could.”

Jake listened as Mickey rambled on, the uncomfortable pit in his stomach lessening the longer Fanboy kept talking.

“I know you’re doing the best you can as well. I know that you taunt Rooster with the sole purpose of making sure he pushes his own limits. I can tell. You push us all to be better.”

He swallowed thickly, trying to make out what had transpired in the last 20 minutes. “How? How can you tell?”

Mickey grinned widely. “Like I said, you remind me of Diego,” he grabbed the bottle again, “you’re one of us Jake, even if you don’t think so.”

Jake decided to throw caution to the wind and believe what Fanboy was telling him. If it was all true, then maybe he could talk to him. Maybe he could start being a part of the group. Before he could even open his mouth, Rooster appeared out of thin air and threw an arm around his shoulder.

“HANGMAN! The lady over there is asking about you!” Bradley leaned in closer, as if he was going to share a secret. “I think she wants to fuck you.”

Fanboy snorted loudly, startling Rooster. “Fanboy, didn’t see you there! What do you think, do you think she wants to fuck him?”

A bright red flush was covering Bradley’s cheeks and his eyes were slightly unfocused and glazed over.

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Rooster, how much have you had to drink?”

Bradley was leaning onto Jake now, his head on his shoulder. “You know, you smell good. And your hair is very soft.” Rooster patted Jake’s head, smiling stupidly at his teammate.

“Okay buddy, I think we should get you home.” Bob appeared, slinging Rooster’s unoccupied arm around his shoulder, supporting most of his weight as he pulled him off of Jake. Bradley made a sound of protest as he was separated from Jake.

“No, I was gonna help Hangman get laid. There’s a lady over there, and she’s got the hots for him.” He waved in the general direction of the bar.

“He isn’t interested. So you can go home,” Fanboy laughed, pushing Bradley’s hand away as it aimed for his head.

Bob tried to get him to move, but Bradley turned in his grasp, almost losing his balance. “You’re not? But I was gonna help.” He pouted, leaning back onto Bob who grunted under the extra added weight.

Jake didn’t get the chance to answer as Bob hauled Rooster away with the help of Payback who had snuck up on them. Bradley complained the entire way, waving excitedly to Penny at the bar as his teammates practically carried him out of the door.

“I guess that’s it. You two coming with us or what?” Nat sauntered by, Javy following closely.

Jake was about to agree but Fanboy beat him to it. “In a minute. You go ahead.”

They waved goodbye and Jake itched to follow his best friend. Now it was just him and Mickey. Even though he was about to spill his guts out right before Bradshaw interrupted them, Jake hesitated.

“C’mon, let’s get some air.” Fanboy left his seat and Jake had no choice but to follow him out onto the deck. The sun was long gone, the pale moon taking its place. He could hear the waves crashing against the shore, people laughing further down the beach as they sat around a bonfire, sparkling brightly against the darkness.

“I could tell you were actually going to talk before Rooster interrupted us. Still want to?”

Jake hesitated for a moment before slumping back against the wooden rail. “Have you spoken much to the new team of mechanical engineers that arrived a couple of months ago? Like, Mercury for example,” he sighed as he nodded towards the window. Through it, across the bar, he could see Mercury sitting with her friends.

Mickey stretched out his legs in front of him. “Sure. Mercury is badass. Her team is much better than Rogers and his idiots.” Their former mechanical team had been replaced by Mercury and her co-workers at the beginning of spring. Everyone preferred the new team.

“Well, you see, uh. A couple of weeks ago, I ran into Mercury. And we’ve hung out a few times, outside of work. And I…” Jake trailed off, not knowing how to continue.

Fanboy turned to him, eyes wide. “Are you telling me the reason you’ve been turning down all these women is because you’ve got a crush on Mercury?”

Jake’s heart hammered in his chest, gut twisting slowly. “It’s not that. Well, partly. I can’t stop thinking about her, no matter how much I try to occupy myself. I miss her when I don’t see her for a couple of days and I feel like, I don’t know, all giddy and shit when she smiles.”

“It sounds like more than a crush. So why the sad face man?” Fanboy nudged his side.

“I kissed her. Well, she kissed me. We kissed. And after, she said ‘it was just a kiss’.” Jake deflated with disappointment, trying to hide just how much her response actually hurt him.

Mickey stayed quiet for a while before speaking. “Did you say you wanted something more?”

“I told her that I knew it was just a kiss but asked if it had to be just that.”

“What did she say?”

It hurt more than Jake liked to admit to revisiting what happened after their kiss. “She said that while she liked me, she knew of my reputation and had no intention of being another notch in my bedpost.”

Fanboy clicked his tongue. “And that’s why you’ve stayed away from all the women. Trying to show her that you’re serious?”

Jake hadn’t anticipated for Mickey to see right through him. The emotional turmoil of opening up like this, to have someone listen and not mock, was jarring. Jake didn’t exactly have a lot of those people in his life. But Fanboy stayed, listening patiently as Jake talked.

“Yes. Her words hurt but they’re true. I’m just trying to show her that I’m willing to change, for her. That I have changed.”

His companions' next words cut deeper than they should. “You’re in love with her. This isn’t just a crush.”

He hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself. Love wasn’t something Jake was familiar with. It scared him, to be vulnerable and open with someone. To let them see every part of him. But it was true. Over the course of a few short weeks, being in Mercury’s company had him breaking all his own rules as he realised that he did love her.

“Yes.”

“Then you should tell her. Tell her that you’ve changed, for her. Tell her that you love her.”

Jake sighed. “I can’t. She doesn’t feel the same, she made it very clear.”

Mickey slapped his arm, startling him. “Dude! Stop. You said that she said she liked you. If your past is the only thing stopping her, then you need to tell her,” he paused for a moment before lowering his voice, “and you deserve someone, Jake. You deserve love.”

He didn’t want to cry but Mickey’s words brought a wave of emotion upon him. He swiped at his face, trying to hide the tears.

All of what Mickey was saying went against everything Jake had ever been told. His father always told him he was no good and that no one would ever want anything from him. That he would never amount to anything. Never achieve anything.

“It’s okay man. I get it. You’re scared. But in the wise words of my abuela, ‘To love is to be scared. If you’re not scared, it’s not worth it’.”

Jake laughed, a watery sound before wiping his face again. “She sounds like a smart woman.” Jake took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts.

Mickey laughed as well, eyes sparkling. “She’s the best,” he looked past Jake, eyes trained on something outside Jake’s field of vision. “If you were to tell Mercury, what would you say to her?”

Jake took a moment to ponder, trying to put his feelings into words. He guessed it was too late to turn back now, Mickey had already seen parts of him he hadn’t shown anyone in years.

“I guess I would tell her how she makes me feel. That her smile brightens my day and that I want to make her laugh. That she makes me push myself to be better, both for myself and her. I’d tell her that I love her, even if it scares me. That I’ve changed and that my past doesn’t matter. She’s the only one I want.”

Fanboy clapped his hands together, smiling widely. “Good.”

“What do you mean ‘good’?” Jake turned but Mickey wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were trained behind him, shit eating grin in place on his face.

Jake turned his head, his eyes landing upon Mercury standing a few feet away, bottle dangling from her hand. He immediately choked up, hands growing clammy as he tried to find his voice. The look on her face told Jake she had heard everything.

“I’m gonna head back inside,” Mickey pushed off the chair before murmuring, “Remember what I said. You deserve love,” to Jake. He then sauntered back into the bar, saluting sloppily as he walked past Mercury.

Jake held his breath, counting to twenty as she approached him, sitting down tentatively in Fanboy’s abandoned seat. Neither of them spoke at first. Jake’s heart was beating so hard against his ribs that he thought it would break free. His palms were sweaty and he wanted to bolt, rush back inside.

“You love me?” She quietly asked, hands twisting in her lap. He desperately wanted to reach out and intertwine their hands but he wasn’t sure it would be welcomed. Mercury chose for him when she grew tired of waiting for an answer.

She reached over, clasping one of his hands between her own. “Jake. Talk to me.”

Mercury was staring at him with a gentle smile. Her face was open and inviting, making Jake feel braver. He could do this.

“Yes. I don’t know when it happened.” She laughed, squeezing his hand. “Does it matter when it happened?”

“I guess not.”

Neither of them spoke after that but there seems to be no need. All Jake focused on was the feeling of his hand between hers, the way they both seemed to breathe at the same time. It’s peaceful.

“I’m sorry that I said it was just a kiss,” Mercury murmured while tracing the veins on his hand. “I wanted to say it was more than that, but I didn’t want to get hurt.”

“Hurting you is the last thing I want. I want this. Us.” Jake squeezed her hand back, intertwining their fingers. He desperately wanted her to repeat his earlier words back to him but he didn’t want to push her either. He knew he loved Mercury. He could wait while she sorted her feelings out.

After all, he hadn’t exactly planned on telling her nor even approaching her.

“Jake?”

He hummed contentedly, the feeling of her hand in his calming him down better than any trick his therapist had ever taught him.

“If you want to, I’d like that kiss to be more than just a kiss. I want you. Truth is, I think I fell in love with you when we went hiking. I know that’s so long ago and I’m sorry for not telling you but -”

Jake cut her off, cupping her face and pressing their lips together, smiling into the kiss. She loved him. It was all he needed to know. They’d figure the rest out later. If Jake had it his way, they’d have the rest of their lives.

Taglist: @wildbornsiren @therebeccaw@imjess-themess@antiquitea@fuckyeahhangman@writercole@hederasgarden@yanna-banana@wkndwlff@bobfloydsbabe@hollandorks@anniesocsandgeneralstore@ereardon@luminousnotmatter@roosterscock@thedroneranger@fandomxpreferences@top-hhun@princessmisery666@bradshawsbitch @princessphilly@a-reader-and-a-writer@green-socks@angstybluejay@seresinhangmanjake@ayorooster@notroosterbradshaw @indynerdgirl@gigisimsonmars@girl-in-the-chairs-void@bradshawbabes@unhinged-btch@horseshoegirl@sadpetalsstuff@bradshawbaby@ahopelessromanticwritersworld@ummjustfics @septemberrie @somenamewithepineapple @seresinsweetie @crescentwolf @seresinhangmanjake @sylviebell @waklman @roosterforme @rosiahills22 @dempy @i0veless @ilovewriting06 @kmc1989 @demxters @amortentiadrops @teacupsandtopgun @hangmanscoming

#jake seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin x reader #hangman x reader #top gun maverick fic #fe writes #jake hangman seresin

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littlebitsalt · 3 months

Note

Hello can i request yandere catboy x reader, so the yandere is reader's cat (in cat form) but in school yandere is also reader's classmates (in his human form (so he can change his form to cat and something perfect human even human with ears & tail)) so automatically the knew each other as classmate (they're not close in school) but reader didnt know that their classmate is their cat too, the yandere its so obsessed with reader inside school and house, but he more clingy when he in his cat form because he can get patted and cuddled with reader, but one day when they're cudding together the cat turn into human which make reader shocked, the reader keep trying to get rid of him even start to ignore him in school where he suddenly being clingy ans touchy, the rest of the story i let you continue (≡^∇^≡)

Yandere catboy x reader

Note: longest fic I've written It got longer than I expected 😙

Summary: you find out your cat is actually your classmate.

drawing of yandere catboy 1

drawing of yandere catboy 2

Your friend stopped walking as an orange cat came into view.

"Oh- There's a cat over there!"

Before you could react, your friend dashed over to the cat.

"Aww... so cute."

"Come on, let's go home."

You said, standing beside your friend who is taking pictures of the cat.

"Wait- she's purring. I need to take a photo of this."

You sigh. Your friend was obsessed with cats and never missed any chances to watch them, take pictures of them and touch them. She also took photos of this orange cat just outside the school gate everyday.

"I don't have anything to feed you today.. but I'll buy some tomorrow, okay? Bye, Chesse."

After one last pat, your friend stood up.

"That cat has a name?"

You asked.

"Of course she does! Everyone in school calls her Cheese. Her soft fur is just like cheese."

Your friend proceeded to show you pictures on her social media. You had no choice but to look at her social media that is filled with pictures of cats.

You didn't hate cats, but you weren't a fan of them either. You've taken a few pictures of cats in the past, but admiring cats all day was not that interesting to you.

After saying goodbye to your friend, you went to your home.

"Mom, I'm home."

You shouted loud enough for your mom to hear.

Your mom was in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

"Hey mom- huh?"

You felt something cling to your leg. You immediately looked down to find a black and white cat.

"What is this?"

You said, confused. You tried to back away from the cat, but it was still clinging on to you. You turned to your mom to hear some kind of explanation.

"It's a cat from my office. I'm sure you've seen this cat a few times."

Your mom replied. Now that you think about it, you could remember this cat from a few days ago when you visited your mother's office.

"Is this cat the one staying at the back of your office building?"

"Yes it is! I made a simple bed for it to stay.. and I decided to just take it home-"

"What? Does dad know about this? What about my brother?"

"They seem pretty chill about it. Your brother liked the idea. You know the drawing he drew in his kindergarten? That kid likes cats."

"What if this cat already has an owner?"

"I checked it, and everyone around my office said this cat was alone for a few years. So it's fine, (y/n), don't worry."

"You could have asked if I'm fine though."

You looked back at the tuxedo cat. You didn't want to blame the cat, but getting a cat without your opinion was not the best feeling.

You patted the cat's head while it curled around your leg. This cat was acting like it's smart enough to comprehend your feelings. You felt the cat clinging to you more as you touched it.

"I'm sorry (y/n). I should've told you sooner, but I was busy. Plus, the person using the second floor starting next week is allergic to cat fur, so I had no choice to take the cat to home."

Your mom said. You nodded as a reply and looked at the cat again.

"Look, the cat likes you the most. That cat never warmed up to me like that. Why don't you name the cat, (y/n)?"

Your mother was true. You visited your mother's office a few times, and this cat only liked it when you touch it.

"I'm bad with names, and why don't you name it? It's you that brought it here anyway."

"Oh come on, (y/n). Don't be so harsh on the cat."

You ignored your mom and tried to go inside your room, but the black and white cat followed you inside your room without any presence.

"You really do like me.."

You murmured to yourself.

The cat still curled up to you between your legs. You had to pick up the cat and move it to your bed to unpack your school bag and change into comfortable clothes.

You crawled into your blankets and got your phone ready to watch videos before dinner. The black and white cat also crawled beside you, using your right arm as a pillow.

"Oh right.. I need to think of a name for you.."

You said as you scratched the cat.

"What about.. just Tux? That's pretty easy to pronounce."

You said as the cat digged into your chest.

"Do cats like their owners this much..?"

You mumbled.

"So Tux it is? Or do you want another name?"

Your cat ignored your mumbling and rubbed its face onto you.

"... okay then. Your name is Tux from now on."

Your cat, now named Tux, reacted to its new name, and it seemed quite pleased.

You spent time scrolling down social media with your cat beside you before your mother called for dinner. As you got up and walked to the kitchen, Tux followed you. At the kitchen, you found your little brother and your dad talking about their experience today in the playground.

"Where have you been?"

You asked your brother.

"In the playground with my friends... wait- that's the cat mom's talking about-!"

Your brother's attention darted to Tux immediately as he touched the cat. Tux didn't avoid the touch either.

"That cat's name is Tux. I named it."

You said, sitting on your chair and eating food your mom prepared.

"That's a.. intuitive name."

Your dad said, looking at Tux.

"... Anyways, why did you agree to raise a pet?"

You asked. Looking at your brother's wide smile, your dad answered,

"Didn't your mother tell you? Uh.. your brother likes cats, and why not?"

"... yeah whatever."

You ate dinner listening to your little brother talking about Tux. You felt good that your brother got a pet that he wanted. However, at the same time, you felt uncomfortable... having a pet all of a sudden. It felt like having a new family member without your permission.

You know that having a pet will feel like having a family member as time passes. Your friends told you about how their pets meant the world to them... But there was this uncomfortable feeling about Tux.

Maybe you were just mad about your family and wanted to leash your anger to Tux. You didn't know.

When you woke up the next day, you found Tux right beside you.

"How did you get in here..."

You went to sleep alone last night. You remembered that you closed the door before Tux gets in.

You shrugged it off since you had little time before you go to school. You walked around, brushing your hair and wearing your uniform.

"Where is it? Ugh.."

You mumbled as you searched for your earphones. You put them on last night, and the right one was missing.

"Hey- don't distract me."

You lifted up Tux from the bed sheets and searched to see if the bed sheets were covering your right earphone. You rummaged through your bed sheets but you couldn't find it. While you were busy lifting up bed sheets, Tux crawled under your bed.

"What are you doing?"

You also looked under the bed.

"Oh- You found it!"

Tux was playing with the right earphone you were desperately searching for. You grabbed your right earphone and put in the case as your cat tossed it to you.

You sighed in relief and looked at Tux.

"Thanks for your help... I would've died for boredom in school without your help."

You smiled at Tux and left your room, ready to go to school.

In your classroom, you talked about your new cat to your friend. As expected, your friend was excited about it, asking dozens of questions.

"How can you not have a picture of it?"

Your friend said.

"I didn't think of it. I'll send you a picture when I go back home."

Your friend rambled about how her mother would not allow her to have a pet. You listened to your friend quietly.

"Hey."

Someone poked your shoulder. You looked back to see who it was, and one of your classmates was standing right behind you.

"Huh?"

"You're sitting on my seat."

Your classmate said.

"Oh- sorry-!"

You stood up right after.

"Don't you think you and him have a lot of connections lately?"

Your friend said, eating a chocolate bar she bought in free time.

"Who are you talking about?"

"You sat in his seat in lunch time. How could you not remember?"

"Oh- are you talking about Blake?"

"Of course I am! Don't you think he likes you?"

You knew your friend loves setting people up and likes searching for possible couples, but this time, she's talking nonsense.

"I didn't even talk to him that much."

Your friend was eager to tell you what she has found.

"That's not the point- The important part is that he's constantly gazing at you during class. Also, how can you not notice that it's you he talks to!"

"He talks to plenty of people."

"Oh no, you're clueless. If you observe further, you'll definitely realize he only talks to certain people, or friends, and they all knew Blake even before highschool."

"How do you know that?"

"My eyes and ears are open."

"..."

Blake and you? That's such a confusing match.

"Your observations can't be the reason."

"See for yourself then. I'm sure. Blake has interest in you."

"..."

You didn't believe a word your friend said before Blake asked if he can join you on the way home.

It was awkward, walking with a classmate who you've barely talked to. Blake was quiet, and you didn't know how to start a conversation.

"I thought you go home with your friends."

You said.

"Oh- I moved recently. It seemed like you go home this way too, so... I thought it could be great having another friend to go home with."

Blake said. You could see he was a bit nervous... but why?

Not much conversation went by, and you waved goodbye to Blake in front of your house. You went into your house, throwing your book bag onto the bed and taking off your jacket.

You looked around to see if Tux was around, but you couldn't find it anywhere. You went into every room in your house but Tux wasn't in any of them. You went back to your room, wondering where that sneaky cat hid himself. You were unpacking your bag when you noticed something jumping over the fence. You looked at it to realize that it was your cat that was jumping over the fence and into your home.

You quickly opened the window facing the garden Tux was walking across and let it in your room.

This was strange. The doors were all locked, and you went out of the front door in the morning, so there's no way for Tux to get out. Your mother took your little brother to kindergarten and your father went to work after you left for school.. but they wouldn't have left Tux leave the house.

"Do you get out of the house when no one is watching?"

You said, in a surprised tone.

Was this cat extra smart, or were you mistaken about all the doors being closed?

Tux didn't seem to care that it got out of the house when everyone was outside.

You were skeptical but decided to ignore it and kept on unpacking your bag and organizing your clothes.

After a few hours, your mom came home with your brother.

"We're going to have dinner after an hour when your dad comes back from work-"

Your mom said loudly enough for you to hear.

In your room, you were studying while Tux was watching. You studied until your mother called you to eat dinner.

Your little brother was talking about his day in kindergarten like always, and your mother was setting food plates on the table.

You ate quietly as your brother went on about how his friend and him played some kind of game.

"Mom, today a classmate wanted go home together with me. The funny thing is.."

You said to your mom when your brother cooled down.

"Are you listening?"

You asked your mom.

"Oh- I am listening. Go on."

"The funny thing is that.. I've never talked to him properly yet."

You went on.

"And I beat Anthony- so I got a prize-!"

Your words were blocked with your brother's babbling.

You sighed. Everytime your brother blocked your words, it felt so frustrating.

"Can't you wait when I'm talking?"

You would've heard what your brother needed to say, but this time, you felt like speaking up.

"What?"

Your brother looked at you.

"I mean.. I want to talk too."

"But-"

"Your brother is thrilled he got a present today in kindergarten. Let him talk, he's feeling good today."

Your dad said.

"I think he talked enough though."

"You talked a lot more when you were young too."

Your mother said, smiling.

You were annoyed. Why was she smiling?

Your family wouldn't listen to you, and it was so frustrating to you.

"I ate a lot, I'm going back to my room."

You said.

"You haven't eaten half of it, why?"

Your mother asked.

"My stomach hurts today."

You stood up and walked to your room. Tux follwed you.

You couldn't understand it. You wanted to talk about your new friend too. You wanted to talk about how Blake suggested to go home with you.

You turned to your cat that was cuddling you, covered in your bed sheet. You scratched its fur as it purred.

You noticed that Tux followed you everywhere in the house. You also noticed that Tux only cuddled with you. That actually felt heart warming.

Tux jumped off the bed and crawled to a shelf you collected all your goods like small stuffed animals, and some figures you collected from before. It was usually goods from a few years ago.

"Is there something interesting?"

You looked at the shelf, confused.

"I don't see anything interesting... wait-"

The shelf was missing something.

Now you searched through all your goods to find there was a figure missing. And you also found some of your markers missing. You actually needed those markers for art class tomorrow.

The first thing that came up to your mind was your brother.

You thanked Tux and went out of your room, to the table where your family was eating dessert.

"Where's my figure and markers?"

You asked your mother.

"What do you mean by markers and a figure? The ones on your shelf?"

Your mother replied.

"Yes- where are they?"

"I gave it to your brother."

With your mother's answer, you went straight into your brother's room to find your figure on the corner of his shelf. You grabbed it and put it back on your shelf. Your mom watched with a confused expression.

But you couldn't find your marker still.

"Where's my marker?"

You asked your mother again. Your brother was quiet, staring at you now that he realized how irritated your voice was.

"Why?"

"I said multiple times that I needed my markers for my art project-"

You were shouting now.

"I gave it your brother because he had a drawing competition today, and your brother left it in kindergarten because it got damaged. You can draw with something else for your art project, right?"

Your mother said, annoyed too.

You tried to calm down, but this was too much. How can your whole family ignore your words?

"That's not the point here- why would you take my stuff without my permission?"

Your mother said nothing, but she was definitely baffled from your statement.

When your mother said nothing and your brother kept whining, you went into your room again, shutting the door roughly.

The next day, you were silent the whole time getting ready for school. You didn't have your marker, and you couldn't finish the art project how you wanted to because of that.

You walked to school with heavy footsteps.

Art class was after lunch, so you still had time to think about how to do your art project. But you didn't have good ideas on your mind. Also you have already done the sketch for the drawing, which makes it harder to think of other good ideas.

Time flew by fast and it was time for art. Unfortunately your friend didn't have markers, so she couldn't help you out.

The uneasy feeling went on. You had to decide whether to switch the concept of the drawing or find usable markers one way or another.

"You'll do good with or without markers..."

Your friend comforted you.

"Thanks..."

You decided to use watercolor the school had and walked over to the sink with a small yellow bucket.

"Hey."

You felt a poke on your shoulder.

It was Blake.

"Oh- hi."

".. I have markers.. if you want to use it."

"... wait- really?"

You couldn't stop yourself from smiling.

"Yeah.. you can take them and use it at your table. I use watercolor anyway."

"Thanks- you're a lifesaver."

Blake was a lifesaver, and that went on for a few weeks. He gave you stuff you really needed, which made your friend more invested in your relationship with Blake.

Your relationship with your family recovered a bit over a few weeks, but you were still in some kind of a cold war, and you were still angry at them. You didn't talk very much either, so it really didn't matter.

You went home with Blake a few times a week. Blake wasn't the funniest person to talk to, but Blake was sure a great listener. Just like Tux.

Blake listened to you, occasionally talking about how he thought. He was not like your family who ignored how your life was in school, and everytime Blake helped you out, you thought of your friend's words. Maybe your friend was an expert at reading people's feelings.

If Blake helped you out in school, Tux was your company in your home. When you went home alone, Tux was waiting for you behind the front door.

You felt uncomfortable around Tux at first, but now you warmed up to Tux. You spent all your days with Tux telling your worries and secrets that you wouldn't tell anyone.

Tux stayed right beside you curling its body into your arms.

Spending your time with Tux felt soothing, and you thought this would go on for sure.

However, despite your wish, it didn't last long.

It was Friday, and you walked home alone. You went home fast to see your cat waiting for you.

"I'm home-"

You shouted.

You didn't see your cat behind the front door, so you walked into your room to find your cat lying down on the bed.

It was unusual for you cat to be like this. Tux always tried to rub itself on you if it had the chance.

You sat beside Tux, worried if the cat is sick.

"Are you ok?"

You asked. You knew Tux won't understand what you're saying, but you wanted your cat to know you're worried by your tone.

You lay down on your bed with your school uniform on. There was no one in the house, so there was no one to scold you for not changing clothes.

You turned to your cat. Tux seemed to be struggling with something, and you didn't know why. You thought about calling your mom, but you knew she wouldn't answer when she's busy with some project of hers.

What if Tux needs to go to the hospital?

Several thoughts went by your head.

Tux was still in a bad state and you didn't know what to do.

You got your phone out and searched through the internet to find some clue after you messaged your father(hoping for him to message you back).

As you searched with your phone, you felt Tux slipping away.

Tux was slowly crawling away from you. It seemed he wanted to head out of your room.

"Hey, where are you going?"

You put one arm around your cat, confused.

"Do you need something? Where are you going all of a sudden?"

But your cat was desperate to get out.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

That was the moment you saw something so unbelievable.

With a blink of an eye, Tux was gone, replaced with a boy your age.

".... Blake?"

You couldn't believe what you just saw.

Tux was no where to be seen, and Blake, who said he was going home with his friends, was exactly in Tux's place, facing you.

Surprised and confused, you quicky removed your arm on Blake's body. Then you jumped out of bed before Blake could react.

"W.. wait-"

Blake grabbed your arm and yanked you back into the bed. You lost balance and fell back first to the bed while Blake grabbed your arms still.

"What the- what are you doing??"

You said as Blake's grip got stronger.

Blake was on top of you, facing you with his face red.

"I'll explain-"

You didn't want to believe it, but from the looks of it, Tux was actually Blake.

Blake's face came closer to yours, and you could hear Blake's heart beating fast.

You pushed off Blake and ran out of your room before Blake came any more closer. Blake followed you without hesitation, desperate to explain himself.

You maintained certain space between you as Blake tried to take a step closer to you.

"I can explain-"

Blake protested.

"Get out of my house.. I'll listen to your explanation later.."

"No- no- I didn't do anything wrong.. I just.. wanted to get closer and help you out."

"I messaged my dad and he'll come home soon. I'll tell him about you if you don't get out."

You said in a harsh tone. You wouldn't tell your dad that Tux is human, but you had to threaten Blake..

Blake's face clearly showed that he was not satisfied, but he left.

When your dad came home, you told him Tux was somehow escaped. Your little brother was upset. But you didn't care to notice him because Tux being Blake was the most important topic in your head for hours.

You've done some pretty embarrassing stuff in front of Blake in his cat form. You told him all your cringey moments, you showed him your true personality.. and you even changed clothes in front of his cat form. You basically showed every aspect of you.

You went to bed imagining how it will be meeting Blake in school again. You imagine yourself being awkward in front of Blake.

You hoped not, but the thought that Blake came to your house just to be beside you made you feel a bit frightened.

The whole situation was weird. Blake was weird. His actions only tell you that he's creepy.

Instead of confronting Blake, you avoided Blake in every was possible. You ran straight to home after school, hoping for Blake to lose sight of you.

"I'm home-"

You said. You find your mom sitting on the couch.

"(y/n)-! Tux came back!"

"..."

"Why, aren't you glad Tux came back without a scratch?"

"Can we just let him be a stray cat again?

You blurted out.

"How can you say that, (y/n)? We brought Tux here, so we have to take care of it."

"It was your choice- you brought him here- then don't let him in my room, okay?

"Why are you acting sensitive lately? Don't you think this is too much?"

You ignored your mother and walked back to your room. Blake tried to follow you, but you shut the door at his face.

Your mother noticed this right away. Irritated herself, she opened the door to your room and let the cat inside.

"Don't vent out your frustration on Tux, (y/n)."

With that, your mom closed the door and headed to the livingroom again.

You glared at the person pretending to be a stray cat. With the frustration that built up past few weeks, you couldn't stand someone deceiving you.

"Get out."

You said.

Blake was still in his cat form, standing still.

"Are you listening..?"

You said. Blake just stood there, staring at you.

"... I'll just go out then."

At that moment, Blake went back to his human form, grabbing your wrists.

"Don't go out."

Blake said.

"....why don't we cuddle like we always did?"

"Are you serious? Why would I-"

You tried to get his hand off your wrist, but he's grip only got stronger.

"You can't even force me out of your room."

"Can you at least let go of my wrist?"

"Oh-.."

Blake let go of your wrist, but he didn't move away from you.

Both you and Blake got quiet after. Your mother shouting from the livingroom broke the silence.

"Stay here."

You said, looking at Blake. Then you went to the livingroom.

"Why did you call me?"

You asked.

"Actually, I didn't buy eggs since I was busy with work. Can you buy them now? You didn't even change to comfortable clothes yet."

"I'm keeping the change."

"Okay. Just come back before I prepare dinner. Oh and we need something else too. I'll send you a list."

You got money from your mother and walked back to your room. Blake was waiting for you, sitting on your bed.

"Where are you going?"

"To buy groceries."

You looked away from Blake and picked up a bag to carry groceries.

You felt someone following you while you were walking to the supermarket.

You knew it was Blake.

"I know you're following me."

You said.

As expected, Blake came out of his cover. He was in his human form.

"I just wanted to see if.."

You ignored him and kept walking. Blake followed suit.

"I like you a lot.. I'm sure you know by now..."

You stayed silent. The whole situation was strange and you didn't quite process it.

"I actually liked you way before you knew me. I can move around more freely as a cat, you know?"

"..."

Blake held your hand and walked right beside you.

"It was hard for me to keep my distance from you in school... that's why I tried to be a stray cat. To get closer..."

"That's... uh..."

Blake suddenly wrapped his arms around you out of nowhere.

"What are you doing??"

You said, trying to push him away. Unfortunately Blake didn't budge. Instead he only got closer, which made your head spinning.

"What if someone sees us?? Stop-"

"Does that mean I can hug you in your room?"

"That's not what I meant.."

Blake laughed as you panicked and didn't know what to do.

"You should stop ignoring me in school. You liked Tux, why not treat me like it too?"

Blake said, holding your hand again.

"Uhm..."

Blake didn't do anything that would attract glances while buying groceries. He kept holding your hand, but he didn't do anything other than that.

You quickly bought the things your mother asked and went home with Blake. Blake transformed into Tux by the time you arrived home and everything went smoothly after that, like a normal day. Blake, in his cat form, watched you from afar as you ate dinner.

You went back inside your room and Blake quickly made his way inside before you could lock the door.

Blake changed back to his human self as soon as he closed the door to your room. Then he lead you to your bed, wrapping his arms from the back.

"I waited for this."

He said while digging into your neck.

"Hey- don't rub your face onto my neck-"

There was no use resisting because Blake had no intention of letting you go.

"I have to study. Let me go."

You said firmly.

"I know you don't study right away after dinner. Let's watch something together. Or we can just lay on bed together and sleep."

"What if my family finds out??"

"Then you should be quiet."

Blake smiled.

You were annoyed, but you kept quiet.

Blake pestered you so you couldn't do much of anything. It was soon late at night and all your family members went to sleep.

"I'm going to sleep."

You said, organizing your desk before bed.

"Really? Then we can sleep side by side. Cuddling each other."

"I'll get you bed sheets. You can sleep on the floor."

"What do you mean-"

"Or you can turn into a cat again."

"I- I'll turn into a cat."

Blake, in his cat form crawled beside you when you lay in bed, covered with blankets.

You heard the alarm and slowly opened your eyes to see Blake's face right in front of you. You screamed right that moment.

Your mother heard your scream and opened the door to check if anything's wrong.

"What's wrong here?"

Your mom asked.

You quickly hid Blake under your blankets, covering his face with your arms.

"Nothing- just a bad.. dream."

"Well, ok. Come eat breakfast in 10 minutes."

"Alright."

Your mom walked out of your room, still suspicious of your actions.

"What were you doing? We could've been caught-!"

You jumped up pushing Blake away.

"Are you going to change into your uniform?"

Blake asked, still lying down on the bed.

"What?"

"I mean.. uh..."

"..."

You grabbed your school uniform and changed your clothes in the bathroom.

"I can't believe you watched me all the time."

You said, leaving the house. Blake already prepared for school and waited for you at the front door.

"..."

"Aren't you hungry? You haven't ate since yesterday lunch."

"I go back to my house in night and stay there until it's time for you to wake up. I do regular things I missed at daytime."

"That explains why you're sleeping all day at school."

"Then will you let me sleep in your room with you? I want to beside you all day."

"All day? That's exhausting."

"It's not exhausting for me. I want to be beside you whether it's in school or home."

"I'll think about it.."

Blake held your hand.

"I know you'll accept it at some point."

Blake said with confidence.

Blake's words were oddly convincing to you.

He was beside you when you fought with your family and got upset. He listened to your words and helped you.

It's true that you liked Tux in your home, and Blake at school as well.

You like Blake's warm touch, but you'll have to think about Blake staying with you all day.

Part 2 here

#yandere #yandere boy #yandere oc #male yandere x reader #yandere x reader #yandere catboy #yandere imagines #yandere fic

175 notes · View notes

fabricated-misslieness · 10 months

Text

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: earth 42 miles morales x spider gn reader

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: nokia vs. super-powered teen, who wins?

ʀᴇ𝐐: no ~ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 798 ~ part 1

"So... What did you mean "I don't want to kill you"?"

You look up at Miles from your position on his chest, then back down. How do you explain this? A spider bit you, and now you have powers. That sounded silly, didn't it? But there was no better explanation.

"Well, first off, a spider gave me these superpowers. You know, sticking to walls and stuff."

"A spider gave them to you." Miles laughs, and it definitely sounds like he doesn't believe you, "Did you swallow it in your sleep?"

"No, no," You groan, "it bit me."

"That simple? Hell," Amusement is written all over his face, and it's kind of annoying because you're being serious, "Imma have to do that myself."

"Look," You begin seriously, looking to catch his attention, "it wasn't a normal spider. I don't know what it was that made it so special but don't get yourself bitten by a venomous spider, now, I don't need you in a hospital."

"Okay, fine, but I thought the spider stuff was just part of your suit. Like you were some kind of spider-fiend." He waves his fingers to mimic spider legs.

"I'm not that good." You shrug, "You're the genius one. I designed the suit and the web-shooters, but even that was hard. Can't imagine doing it all over again." You shake the hideous thought off, "Point is, I got super-strength from it."

"How super?" Miles questions.

You sit up on the couch–much to his dismay–and say, "Do you have anything I can break?"

"Was there anything he didn't value?" was more the question. Miles thinks about it... well, the materials for his Prowler suit were very precious, and he already knew you could break those, so that was off the list. Kitchen appliances...no, his mom would kill him.

But then, there was something: his mom's old Nokia. She always said she still needed it. Just in case her smartphone broke, she had a back up. Then again, she was careful with her phone, with everything, so that was highly unlikely.

When Miles returns with the old phone, he hands it to you with doubt, "I don't know if you'll be able to break this. It's a Nokia, after all–"

Crushing it in your fist was too easy. Now, splitting it in half? That's a more garish display. It was sure to make your boyfriend speechless.

You take each end of the Nokia and bring them apart before he can even finish his sentence.

For a moment he stares, shocked, even as you place the poor phone on the coffee table and sit back to admire his expression. Honestly, it's priceless. A gaping mouth accompanied by two wide eyes that are glued to the sight of the Nokia.

"Awesome, right? Honestly, I think I could do worse things, but I've never tried–"

"Holy shit." Miles finally says. He picks both pieces of the phone in his hands to examine them.

...and just then, "Miles, I'm home!"

Miles tosses the phone back onto the table, making a loud clack! noise, whilst you push a hospital mask onto your face.

When Rio turns the corner, she gasps, "Miles... ¿qué le hiciste a mi telefono?" (what did you do to my phone?)

"I–nada, mami." (nothing, mom.)

"Ey, ¿como que nada?" She chastises, clicking her tongue, "¿Te volviste mentiroso o que?" (what do you mean, nothing? Did you turn into a liar or what?)

"Mami, ¡te lo juro! Tu sabes que nadie puede romper una Nokia tan..." This was not the right time to forget an expression, but Miles didn't know what to say. "clean como asi." (Mom, I swear! You know nobody can break a Nokia as... clean as this!)

"Y ahora vienes con tu espanglish." Rio sighs, placing a hand on her hip. "Young man, you are in trouble." (And now comes the Spanglish.)

"Mami–" (Mom–)

"(y/n)!" She finally notices you. You straighten up on the couch and hide your nervousness with a cough. "Oh, sweetheart, what happened to you?"

"Hey, Mrs. Morales, I got–I mean, I'm... sick." You muster up the loudest, longest, and most horrendous cough you have with all your being.

Rio almost seems to recoil at the sound. Regardless, she stands up straight, "I think we need to get you some medicine."

"It's fine!" You stop her before she can, waving your hands frantically. You really did not want to take a random pill or something. "Really, Mrs. Morales. I already had some."

"Then I can make you some soup. That is, if you're staying for dinner, of course." She shakes her head at herself, so inconsiderate.

You glance at Miles and he just shrugs, "Okay, sure."

When she goes to the kitchen to start up a broth, you turn back to your boyfriend. He seems relieved, because his mom was too distracted caring for you to properly find a proper punishment for him just yet, but he tenses up at the sight of your panic.

"Now I have to hide this from your mom too??"

641 notes · View notes

themorningsunshine · 1 year

Text

Pretense

(Requested)

Masterlist

Pairing - Bucky Barnes x f!reader , platonic Avengers x reader

Summary - You have been with orverprotective parents your whole life, and it never bothered you as much. You know they mean well. Until they spew lies in front of your friends and ruin everything for you, including your chance at love.

Warnings - shitty parents, angst, fluff, misunderstandings, a lot of crying, slight language. not proofread

Word count - 7k (I need to be stopped)

a/n - This was requested by the lovely @caritobbg. I thought it would be a short one shot but it instead turned out to be the longest fic I have ever written. I tried to do the idea justice, hope you lile it, girl.

"Yeah, dad. I am at the tower."

"What do you mean why? I live AND work here."

"Yeah, I am taking care of myself, mom." "No, they don't fight each other all the time."

"No, Tony hasn't filled the tower with deadly robots." "No, Steve doesn't conduct history lessons here."

You sighed as your parents asked you for the 10th time this week if you were being kept hostage at the Avengers compound.

Your dad spoke from the other side of the phone. "You know we worry about you, princess. We just don't trust those superheroes."

You smiled a little at the nickname your dad had always called you since you were a little girl. "Yeah, dad, I understand that you worry about me but they are my friends and I trust them. I really wish you could trust them too."

Your parents had always been a little too protective of you. Being an only child, you were the object of their affection more often than not. It had never bothered you as much. You know they meant well.

But it had gotten much worse now. About a year ago, Tony Stark himself offered you a job to work with the avengers considering your skills and obviously, you said yes. It was an opportunity of a lifetime and you had found a family in the team too.

You hadn't told your parents about your new job for 6 months because you were afraid of their reaction. As you had anticipated, they didn't take their little girl working for superheroes very well.

Okay, that was an understatement. Your parents didn't trust the Avengers and they surely didn't trust them enough to be able to protect you. They took any chance they got to convince you to leave the job. All you wanted was for both of your families to get along. Maybe it was too much to ask for.

"Dad, we are friends. We look out for each other. We have each others' backs. Give them a chance, please. Why can't you try to trust them?"

"Hmm. Let me see. Your 'friends' consist of ex-assassins, a witch who used to work for Hydra, a "genius" and his scientist friend who created a robot that wanted to kill the whole of humanity. Oh, and the scientist also has huge anger issues. Like he literally turns into a monster when he is angry. Your best friend has killed more people than she can count. And this group of yours almost broke up once when the best friend of one killed the parents of another. Oh, and that soldier of yours has also reportedly killed a president. You are right. What's there to not trust?"

"Dad, he was brainwashed!!"

"Doesn't make him any less unstable."

You sighed. These arguments with your parents were a dead end. You knew you weren't going to get anywhere.

"Alright, mom, dad. I gotta go."

"Okay, sweetheart. Just take care of yourself. At least until we come to meet you next month."

You smiled at that. "Can't wait. I want to introduce you to everybody. Love you, guys. See you soon, Bye"

"We love you too, princess."

Your smile dropped as you hung up the phone and realization struck you. Your parents were going to visit and as much as you wanted them to meet everybody, you were scared. You could never be sure about how your parents would react. They were too unpredictable.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't hear footsteps approaching.

"You okay, doll?"

The voice startled you as you turned back to be met by the beautiful blue of Bucky's eyes. You kept a hand on your chest to calm your breathing. "God, you scared me, Buck."

Bucky just chuckled as he looked at you, eyes filled with concern. "Well, maybe you should be careful who sneaks up on you, doll. This is not really the safest place on Earth."

"The only person who sneaks up on me is you, Bucky." You replied with a smile of your own, as you felt your concerns slipping away.

"Exactly my point. I am not really the most trustworthy person either."

"Then why do I trust you with my life?" The words slipped before you could think about how they would sound. Your cheeks turn little red as you look down at your feet. "You are too good for your own good," Bucky replied with a slight blush of his own and he meant it with everything he had. You were too pure and too trusting for this world. He would never know how he got to even call you his friend.

His eyes squinted as he noticed something. "Doll, there's something in your hair."

Before you could react, he took a step towards you and with gentle hands removed a piece of confetti out of your hair.

You ran your hands through your hair before looking up to thank him when you realized how close the both of you were standing. You were pretty sure he could hear how fast your heart was beating.

The both of you stood there staring into each other's eyes until Bucky took a step back, red color creeping up to his cheeks. He rubbed his neck, flustered, before finally speaking, "Um, I should - I should go."

You nodded your head, trying desperately to get your heart to beat normally. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you around."

As Bucky walked away, you couldn't wipe off the smile from your face when suddenly your conversation with your parents hit you again.

God, it was going to be a long month.

✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚

"And if you need anything, you can also ask Jarvis." You explained to your parents with the widest grin on your face.

"God, I can't believe you guys are finally here."

Your parents smiled at you before your mom engulfed you in a hug, 7th in the past 1 hour.

"Okay, guys. You know I love you both so much, but we are going to go in now and meet everybody. Can you please, please be nice?"

Your mom put her hand on her chest with a dramatic expression, "You don't trust us?"

You chuckled at how dramatic your mother could sometimes be. "I do, You know I do. But I also know as a matter of fact that both of you aren't very fond of my friends. And all I am asking is that you give them a chance. They are great people, mom. They are really really great and I care a lot about all of them. So, I just need you to be a little open-minded about them. That's all I am asking. Can you do that for me?" "Of course, we will, princess. We hate these inept superheroes but not as much as we love you."

Your parents then looked at each other a too long, which you didn't think much of, too excited at the prospect of your parents and friends getting along.

You took them inside the compound as they looked around in what you hoped was awe.

"Good morning, J.A.R.V.I.S" You greeted the AI just like you did every day.

"Good morning, Ms l/n"

Your parents looked around in shock trying to figure out where that voice came from when you chuckled. "Mom, dad, I told you, you need anything, just ask J.A.R.V.I.S"

Your dad narrowed his eyes at you. "Where is this JARVIS of yours?"

You giggled before replying, "Everywhere and nowhere." Troubling your parents never got old.

"Stop putting forward riddles, we are not in a fantasy adventure movie." Your mom complained.

"Sorry. Sorry Mom, dad, meet J.A.R.V.I.S. He is an AI that operates the whole tower, literally. If you want to know anything, just ask him. Tony created him. That man is such a genius."

Your dad almost rolled his eyes. "Why couldn't he just hire a human to work for him, just like normal people do?"

You sighed, just hoping that the day goes smoothly.

You couldn't be more wrong.

✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*

"And this room is the briefing room." You opened the door to let your parents in but they just looked around from the doorway.

You had just started showing your parents around the compound, readying yourself for the inevitable. The whole team was pretty excited about meeting your parents and you knew sooner than later that someone will run into you.

The inevitable happened as soon as you stepped into the dining room.

Tony was standing there, getting his morning cup of coffee and his face told you he hadn't slept very well last night. Ever since he picked up the mission to update the compound's security system last month, he had hardly been sleeping. You were worried about him.

"Tony?" You said in a soft voice so as to not startle him.

"Oh, hey, kiddo. Awake a little too early today?" He said with a tired smile on his face, taking a jab at the fact that you were definitely not a morning person.

"Are you okay, Tony?"

"Hmm, yeah. Totally." He then looked at your parents who were standing beside you with a scowl on their faces. "Won't you introduce us?"

"Oh, right." A wide grin spread on your face as you turned towards your parents. "Mom, dad. This is Tony. Kind of the co-leader of the group. Tony, these are my parents."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr and Mrs l/n. You have a great daughter."

Your cheeks turned red until your parents began speaking.

"So, he is the guy who has his head so up his arse that he doesn't care about anyone besides himself?" Your dad with a scowl on his face.

You gasped as Tony's eyes widened. "Dad, what are you talking about?"

"He is Stark, right? That's what you said about him after the first day you worked here."

Your eyes widened as your mouth fell open. What was happening? You hadn't even told your parents about your job for the first 6 months. Why were they -

Your eyes frantically searched for Tony's and you felt a slight pain in your chest when you saw how hard he was trying to feign the hurt in his eyes. You needed to set this right. "Tony - "

"Oh, and could you please stop annoying our daughter with all the science and tech talk? That stuff bores the shit out of her." Your mother interrupted you before you could even say anything.

You looked at Tony, desperately trying to explain to him that it wasn't true. You had told your parents how much you loved listening to Tony rambling about his latest creation. You loved how passionate he was about his work. You couldn't imagine your parents using that against you like this.

Before you could say something, Tony spoke, "Oh, I am sorry, I didn't know me talking about what essentially pays your salary irritated you so much." He said with a snarl in his voice that he had never used with you before. Even though the both of you weren't that apart in age, he was like a dad to you and you would never hurt him.

"Tony, it's not what you think." You said, desperately asking him to give you a chance to explain yourself when some more people walked through the door.

You watched as Nat and Wanda entered the kitchen, engrossed in their talk, smiling when they see you.

"Heya, girl"

You internally panic. You didn't know what your parents were up to but this couldn't be nice. You just wanted to take them away from here.

Tony speaks up before you can do anything, "Her parents are here. And they have something very interesting to say. Turns out our goody two shoes has some very different thoughts about us."

"Tony, no. It's not like that. I don't know why - "

"Hey, let me guess who are these two." Your mother exclaimed, conveniently shutting you up.

Wanda looked between you and Tony in confusion before smiling at your parents. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Y/n talks a lot about you."

Your mom looked her up and down before saying with disdain in her voice, "Redhead. A pretty face. You must be the witch."

Wanda's smile wavered but she didn't let her discomfort show.

"You're the one who is so desperate for love that she is dating a toaster."

Wanda gasped as her smile fell. She looked at you, confused and hurt.

"Mom, what are you - "

"That's what you told us, princess. That she is dating a toaster. What's its name again? Vi - Vis.." "Vision. His name is Vision and he is NOT a toaster." Wanda then looked dead into your eyes. "But it's good to know that that's what you think, y/n."

You shook your head frantically. "No, no, Wan. It's not like that. You know that's not true. I would never say that."

Wanda's eyes didn't waver and dread filled you. Your friends were not trusting you.

"What does she say about me?" Nat spoke up. She asked as if she couldn't care less but being her best friend for almost a year now, you could read it in her eyes that she was almost as afraid of the answer as you were.

"You're the black widow, right?" Your father questioned.

Your mother spoke up without waiting for a reply, "You are the useless one. No, like, really, the three of us always wonder, why are you even a part of the group? There are supersoldiers in here, witches and literal gods, what do you do? Throw some punches? Kicks?"

"Gods. That reminds me, where are the self-proclaimed gods/aliens of yours?" Your dad snickered, amused.

"Which one?" Your mom questioned in reply. "The doofus or the monster which can never be trusted?"

You had had enough. You exclaimed, "Okay, guys. Enough. Stop talking."

Your dad smirked. The audacity. "Come on, princess. Aren't you tired of pretending? Don't you want your friends to know what you actually think about them?"

You opened your mouth to tell them that whatever they were saying was as far from the truth as it could get when everybody in the kitchen heard footsteps approaching.

You heard Steve before you saw him, "Who thinks about what?" He asked, genuinely curious.

Your heart started beating frantically when you realized he wasn't alone. Sam and Bucky had entered the kitchen with him. But unlike the other times, your heart was beating with fear. This couldn't be happening. No, no.

"Y/n's parents are here. They were telling us all the great stuff she says about us to them." Wanda said with pure disgust in her voice. You had never seen her this mad.

"Guys, trust me. It's not - " "Come on, y/n. Let them speak." Sam said before turning towards your parents. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr and Mrs l/n."

Your father rolled his eyes before saying, "You're the one who got kicked out of the Air Force and then kissed Captain America's arse for a job."

Sam's jaw dropped but before he could say anything your mom replied, "No, honey. Y/n told us it was that Ant-man."

Your dad shook his head. "No, no. Antman is the one who went to jail. He is Falcon."

You were seeing red now. You knew that your parents were a little too overprotective of you and hence didn't like you taking this job. But you thought meeting your friends and realizing how caring and nice everybody was would change their minds. You never thought that they would ever do this to you.

You desperately wanted to explain yourself. To tell your friends that this was all a lie but you couldn't. You could see it in their eyes that they already hated you. And with your parents standing right there, you knew it would be impossible to give them. Maybe you could talk to them after your parents left. You just hoped they would give you a chance to explain yourself.

When your dad's eyes landed on Bucky, panic swelled inside you. Nononono.

"Oh, and you must be the winter soldier. That metal arm makes it pretty obvious though." Your dad said as he pointed towards Bucky's left side with pure disgust in his eyes as if it was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen.

Tears welled in your eyes as you saw how Bucky pulled his sleeves to cover more of his arm and blocked it from view.

"Do you have any idea how difficult you make it for people to work in this compound? Y/n complains to us how she has to walk on eggshells around you, scared that anytime you would get back to being the assassin that you have always been." Your mother uttered the words with a permanent frown on her face.

"But can you blame her though? You can not just kill hundreds of people and live freely, pretending to be a hero."

"Enough." You shouted. You couldn't take it anymore and your parents had gone too far.

You looked at Bucky, about to explain to him that none of it was true. That you were never scared of him. Not even for a second. Because you loved him. Since the day you had met him, your heart had held nothing but love for him.

But the look that you saw in his eyes made you stop in your tracks. He wasn't looking at you with hate or anger. No, it was much worse. He looked hurt. As if someone had pulled his heart out of his chest and stomped on it. You couldn't help but notice that his eyes held a little bit of understanding too as if he didn't blame you for thinking that way.

Your chest hurt and you wanted nothing more than to reach out to him.

"Wow. That - that was." Steve broke the silence, but it was the first time you had seen him out of words. "Is that really what you think about us, y/n?"

"No, no, Steve, None of it is true."

"Come on, princess. You don't have to put up a facade anymore. No more pretense."

"Stop it." You shouted at your parents. This was the first time you had ever raised your voice at them, but you couldn't care less. They were ruining everything.

"Guys, you need to trust me. Please." You looked at everybody, begging them with your eyes and words to just trust you.

"I don't understand. Why did you pretend to be our friend for so long? Why pretend to care when that's what you really think?" Wanda spoke, bewildered.

"No, no. That's not - " You spoke, tears at the brim of your eyes. This couldn't be happening.

"For the money, of course. Come on, why would someone live in the most dangerous place on earth if not for a buttload of money?" Your dad said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, no, no, please. You guys have to trust me, please." You looked around at everybody, frantically searching for even a hint that everything was not ever. That they could trust you. But all you got was hurt faces and built-up walls.

"Why are you doing this to me?" You shout at your parents. You were extremely close to sliding on the floor and crying your heart out.

"We are trying to help you, princess. We are freeing you." Your mom said with a smug expression.

"You don't have to do that anymore," Tony spoke and all the eyes in the room looked at him. Hope swelled in your chest.

"You don't have to stay here and pretend to like us. I really really want to fire you but you know too much and your statistical skills are too good to be wasted. So, you will be transferred. Somewhere far from us where we don't ever have to see your face." Tony spoke with a sense of finality in his voice and your heart broke into a hundred pieces.

You looked at your feet and swallowed the lump in your throat before looking at him and whispering, "You don't have to do that." You then turned and looked into the blues of Bucky's eyes which you were so familiar with and all you could do was whisper, "I am sorry."

You didn't wait for anybody's response before walking out and towards your room.

There was nothing that you could do anymore.

You were not going to take that transfer.

This job was never about money to you. You had found a family here, and you loved them with everything you had. But it still wasn't enough for them to trust you.

You cried and cried and cried till you had no more tears to let go before getting up and packing your bag.

You had to leave. You couldn't face them again.

There was only one thing left to do.

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The compound was silent.

It was as if nobody even lived here anymore.

Everybody sat at the dining table staring at the food in front of them, nobody taking a bite.

It was as if a part of them was missing. As if the one thread that had bound them together was somehow suddenly torn apart.

There was an unspoken agreement between them. Nobody would talk about what had happened earlier that day. The wound was too fresh to be confronted.

Nobody knew where you were right now. But everybody just assumed that you were in your room.

Steve was very close to barging into your room and bringing you to the dining table. He couldn't count the number of times he had told you that you shouldn't talk while eating and even after choking on your food twice, you hadn't listened to him and Steve was glad. There was nothing he wouldn't give right now to bring back the lively chatter that had always surrounded the dining table. But he had to remind himself that everything he had thought was a lie, a pretense.

Tony was angry. He was seething. He had cared for you like you were his own daughter and you had thrown all of that into a drain.

Wanda just wanted to know how you were so good at acting. How you could pretend to be her best friend when you hated her all along?

But Bucky just wanted to know one thing - why. He didn't blame you for thinking that way about him. You weren't the only one who did. But he wanted to know why you would pretend to be his friend, to care about him when you thought him to be a monster. Why did you comfort him after all those panic attacks and nightmares telling him it wasn't his fault when you blamed him for every single thing? Why had you let him fall in love with you if you couldn't even stand him? You had to know that it would leave him devastated. He didn't blame you for hating him, but how was he supposed to live without your light now? Especially when he knew it was never for him?

Nat couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't just let everyone swallow themselves in silence for a person who never even cared about them in the first place. She harshly got up before walking towards the living room for a bottle of wine.

She shook her head when the memories of all of you hanging out at the same place plagued her mind.

As she walked past the bookshelf, she noticed something which had never been there before.

She frowned as she walked towards it to realize that it was a pen drive. She slowly picked it up to find a note attached to it which just read, "Sorry".

She was so engrossed that she didn't hear footsteps approaching until a hand took the pen drive from her. She looked up to realize Tony was looking at the drive intently as if scanning it with his eyes.

"What's this?" He asked, confused.

"No idea. Found it on the bookshelf."

Tony read the note and recognized the handwriting almost instantly. "It's y/n's."

✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*

Everybody sat in the living room staring intently at the screen before them.

Tony had assembled everybody and they had all agreed to watch the pen drive once. Maybe it would answer their questions. Maybe it was just an old pen drive and had to do nothing with what had happened today but they had to know.

The system finally finished scanning the drive after what felt like a lifetime and your face flashed on the screen.

Your tears-stained cheeks and red, swollen eyes, told them that the video was indeed today's.

"Hey, guys." You sounded broken and defeated.

"I am not even sure that you are going to watch this." You let out a sad chuckle.

"But I just needed to say this 'cause it feels like if I don't, it will swallow me whole. And you guys deserve to know the truth, too."

"I just - I want you all to know that all that you heard today, none of it was true. Not even a single word of it. And I need you guys to know this." You looked directly into the camera as if begging them to trust you and nobody dared to move.

"I - I don't know why my parents did what they did. I have no idea. I can tell myself that they were trying to protect me, but who am I trying to convince? 'Cause, you don't protect someone by taking away the best thing that ever happened to them." You sniffled, rubbing your palms on your face to wipe off the tears.

"And that is what this team was for me. This job, this team, was the best thing that ever happened to me. And it was never because of the money or the luxuries of living in the tower, it was you guys. You were a family I found in a city I knew nothing about. And that was what mattered to me."

Tony wanted to shut the video off, to tell everybody that maybe you were lying here too, pretending, but he knew it wasn't true. Your eyes shone with guilt and desperation and eyes never lie.

The video continued. "And maybe you are not even watching this video. Maybe you will never know how I actually felt and will hate me forever, but if there is even a slight chance that you are watching this, and there is a small part of you that can trust me, I want you to know what I actually think about you.

Tony, you were like a dad to me. You always looked out for me and were so damn concerned about me the whole time and I can't thank you enough. Thank you for always looking out for me and I never for a second got annoyed by you talking about tech, you might not know this but your eyes shine brighter when you are talking about your creations and I would never get tired of that. The only complaint I had for you is that you need to take care of yourself more. Stop sleeping in your lab and eating shawarma all the time in the name of food, it's not healthy. Take care of yourself, Tony, 'cause there are some people who will always need you."

Tony looked away, blinking hard so as to not let the tears roll down his cheeks. All the times when you brought him food in his lab because he hadn't left his spot for hours and then you forced him to finish it all, you didn't do it as a pretense, you did it because you genuinely cared about him.

"Nat, you're the bravest and the most badass person I know. Don't tell anyone, but you are my favorite fighter. I admire you so damn much. Who cares that you can't lift things with your mind or fly? You can kick people's asses without blinking an eye. You inspire me so much."

"Wanda, you and Nat are my best friends and I am so proud of you. After everything you've lost, gathering the courage to love again is the most courageous thing I've ever seen. You and Vis make me believe in love. Hell, I even had a speech ready for your wedding as your bridesmaid." You had a small smile on your face as if remembering something, "Now that I am not going to be there anymore, Nat, I am going to ask you to give a great speech from my side too. I know you are not a very emotion-oriented person, but please try. 'Cause Wanda deserves nothing but the best."

Wanda sniffed audibly and Nat kept a hand on her shoulder.

"Thor, prince of Asgard, Son of Odin." You said in the voice that Thor had taught you to intimate a long time ago and chuckled. "I know you are the one who stole all my pop tarts." As Thor's eyes widened, the video continued, "Don't act surprised. Why do you think I never changed the place of keeping my pop tarts even after they went missing every single week? I am not upset, nope. I don't even like those that much. I just need you to know that I won't be there to keep those tarts there. Ask J.A.R.V.I.S., he knows where I brought them from. He will tell you."

"Sam." Sam looked up from his spot as he heard his name. "I am a little upset with you. You never let me use red wig." You pouted and Sam chuckled. "But you do know that you are the funniest, smartest, and one of the most deserving people to be on the team, right? Hell, bringing you to the team was the best decision Steve ever made."

You stopped for a moment looking down at your feet, when you breathed, "Bucky." Your voice was much softer now as if his name was a prayer.

Bucky looked up into the camera, his heart beating a mile per minute. If this was all a lie too, he didn't want to know what you had to say. Even if it was actually how you felt, he wasn't sure he was ready for what you were going to say.

"I - " You stopped and took a deep breath. You looked vulnerable as if you were apart to lay your soul bare in front of you. "Bucky, I just - Whatever you heard today, it is not true. None of it. Since the day I met you, I have never been scared of you. Not for a single second. You know I don't blame you for anything that Hydra did, you have to know. I don't think you were a monster. I think you are the sweetest, kindest and bravest person I know. I wasn't lying when I told you that I trusted you with my life. I trust you, I care about you, and I - "

Bucky's breath hitched in his throat as you suddenly stopped.

"Well, there is a major chance that you're not even watching this, so .. why not? It's not like I am ever going to get a chance to say it to you. So, here it is -

I love you, Bucky. I am in love with you. I have been for a very long time now. I could tell myself that it was just a small crush and it would go away sooner or later, but who am I kidding? I want to spend every single moment of my day with you. You're the first thought that comes to my mind when I wake up and my last memory before I fall asleep. When you are around, I can't stop looking at you and when you are not, all I want to do is look at you. I know that you might never feel this way about me, especially after today, but I just had to say it once."

You took a deep breath before speaking with finality in your voice, "I just hope that one day you guys will know that it wasn't a pretense. That this team was everything to me. I found a family, a place to call home, I found love. I hope that one day you will be able to forgive me."

The video stopped and everybody bowed their heads down while Bucky just stared at the screen desperately, as if you would walk out of it.

You loved him.

You wanted to be with him and god if that thought alone wasn't the best thing that had ever happened to him. He didn't think you could love him. He had accepted the fact that he was destined to love you from afar, a love that you would never know about.

But you felt the same. He didn't have to watch you fall in love with someone else and get your happily ever after, because you wanted that to be him.

You could be his happily ever after.

Before he could let himself be hopeful, realization struck him and left him breathless.

You had said that you would never get the chance to say it to him personally. The things that you had said, the finality in your voice, it had all sounded like a ... goodbye.

He stood up abruptly, only to realize that all the eyes were on him.

Some were filled with tears, others were trying really hard to keep their emotions in check. No, no, this couldn't be. How was he supposed to live without you now that he knew that you loved him too?

Without muttering a word to anybody, he rushed out of the room, through the corridor, and towards your room. You couldn't have gone yet. No, no, he would beg you to stay, get on his knees and ask you to forgive him.

He stood outside your door for a moment, taking a deep breath, mentally preparing himself.

He brought his hand to knock on your door, only to realize that it wasn't locked.

With bated breath, he pushed the door open.

It was vacant. Everything that you had put in to make it a home, was gone.

You were gone.

✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*

The whole team stood in the living room, waiting.

Bucky walked in, his head shaking and arms trembling.

Nobody uttered a word as they waited for him to give words to the inevitable. He looked up, tears brimming his eyes as he whispered, "She is gone."

Everybody gasped as guilt filled them.

Only if they had trusted you.

"No, no. We cannot give up. We need to find her. I am going to find her. We cannot give up this easily." Bucky said, praying that he was right, that not everything was lost. There was still hope. There had to be.

"He is right. We can't just let her go." Wanda said, tears straining her cheeks. "There has to be a way." Sam agreed.

Tony suddenly lightened up as he took out his tablet. "We can track her. If she hasn't switched off her phone, we can find her exact location." He had enabled a tracking sensor in everyone's phone some time ago. He remembered the way you had pouted and teased him that it was an invasion of privacy, but had finally let him install it nonetheless.

He let out a sigh of relief when he realized he could still check the location of his phone. "She is heading towards the airport."

Dread filled everybody as Tony's words sank in. You were leaving. Forever.

"She is in a cab right now. I can figure out its number, but it might be too late."

"I have to go," Bucky exclaimed. "I am not going to let her go. No. I need to find her." He looked around, ready to fight anyone who came in his way.

But everybody just gave him a reassuring look as Steve whispered, "Go, get the girl, Buck."

✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧✧༝┉˚*

You looked through the window as the city lights bristled by.

Your cheeks were still stained with tears as you left behind the place you had called home.

But there was no other option. Your parents had left you with no other choice.

It hurt that they had actually been successful in their mind games, but there was nothing you could do. Your parents had taken from you, the best part of your life.

You were going to miss the city, the team, and your friends, but there was one person you were going to miss the most.

Leaving him was like leaving a part of your behind and you knew that Bucky Barnes was always going to have a piece of your heart, even if he didn't know about it.

You swallowed the lump in your throat as the cab came to an abrupt, sudden stop.

The cab driver looked back at you before asking, "Ma'am, are you okay."

You nodded your head before asking, "Are you?" After he nodded, you continued, "What happened?" "A man just rushed his bike past us, way beyond the speeding limit, and then stopped it right before us, in the middle of the bridge."

You frowned as you looked in front of the cab.

Your breath hitched in your throat as you recognized the bike and the man getting down from it.

"Bucky." You breathed before opening the cab door, against the driver's protests, your legs on autopilot.

When your eyes met Bucky's, you could see him visibly relaxing with relief.

"Bucky, what are you - " You exclaimed against the sound of the wind.

He got down from his bike and started walking towards you quickly. "Doll, how could you?"

Your heart skipped a beat at the nickname before you lowered your head. Of course, he hated you after what had happened. He didn't trust you.

You looked up to realize that he was a couple of feet distance from you now. You opened your mouth, apologies about to come tumbling from your lips when you were cut off by him.

You gasped in shock as Bucky closed the little distance between the both of you, pressing his lips to yours, in a gentle, yet desperate kiss, as if he was drowning and only the feeling of your lips could bring him back to the shore.

When the surprise finally washed off, you brought your hands to his chest as his led down to your waist, and you kissed him back. You didn't understand what was happening. But if it was goodbye, you wanted it to last forever.

When the necessity to breathe arose, Bucky pulled back but stood close.

He leaned in and touched your forehead with his before closing his eyes.

You breathed him in. He smelled of fresh coffee and pine. He smelled like home.

"How could you leave me, doll? Without even saying anything. Not even a goodbye?" He tried to be upset with you. But who was he kidding? You could stab him through his chest and he would still thank you.

Tears brimmed your eyes as you took in a deep breath, you wanted to savor this moment. "Buck, I - I am sorry. Whatever my parents said today, it was a lie. A huge lie. I wanted to tell you, but - "

"It's okay, doll. I trust you. But, I - I need to ask you something." He took a deep breath, already dreading your answer to the question he was about to ask. "Did you mean it?"

"Of course, I didn't. None of it. I don't blame you for anything, Bucky. I am not scared of you. I have never been."

"That's not." Bucky closed his eyes shut, praying that he could word his feelings correctly. "We - we saw the video."

Your eyes widened as realization struck you. He knew.

You had stupidly confessed all your feelings on a video. What were you thinking? He would be so embarrassed right now but you couldn't back out now.

"Buck, I - I do love you. That is the truth. But you don't have to say anything. I understand if you don't - "

Before you could finish your sentence, Bucky brought his fingers under your chin to make you look up at him before leaning in to press his lips against yours once again.

Hope swelled in your chest as you brought your arms to encircle his neck and kissed him back.

He pulled away a little too quickly to look up at you with a small smile on his face. The look in his eyes made butterflies erupt in your tummy with a ferocity you had never felt before.

"I love you too, doll. I do. With everything that I have. I love you and I am so so sorry that I didn't give you a chance to explain. I am so sorry that I didn't trust you.

I never told you this because I - I am not good enough for you, doll. I don't deserve you."

You shook your head, about to correct him, when he continued, "And I think I still don't. Being with you puts you in so much danger too, maybe I shouldn't even be with you. But I am tired of pretending that I don't want to. I am tired of pretending like I don't want to spend every single moment for the rest of my life with you. So, if you'll allow me, doll, I'll spend the rest of my life, trying to be the man you can proudly call yours 'cause I love you so damn much."

Tears were now flowing down your cheeks for a completely different reason. You leaned in to kiss him again when the both of you were interrupted by the cab driver shouting from the cab, growing impatient, "Madam, do you want to go or not?"

Bucky looked at you with hopeful eyes and you turned back to yell to the driver, "Never"

932 notes · View notes

theemissuniverse · 6 months

Text

“COMFORT” RAIDEN X COMEDIC RELIEF FEM!READER

SUMMARY : You have problems and you need to let your best friend Raiden know at 3 in the morning. (Takes place before MK1 story mode)

WARNINGS : mentions of abuse and talk of Raiden’s dick

A/N : Something short. I don’t have the luxury to do something big rn

MASTERLIST 1 , MASTERLIST 2

Today was a terrible night for you. A very terrible one. So many things had gone wrong so you went to the only person’s house you could go to. Your best friend Raiden.

It was 3 in the morning. You never used the door. Never. So you did what you always did. You went to Raiden’s bedroom window and opened it.

You slid in but it was dark. You ended up falling on your face in the process.

Raiden woke up like it was the end of his life. He gasped awake and rubbed his sleepy eyes. When he had seen you on the floor, he sighed. “(Y/N). It’s…” He looked over to his alarm. “3 in the morning.”

“I know how to tell time, Raiden!” You said, still not getting up from the ground.

Raiden got out of the bed. He was only in his boxers. He went to help you to your feet and shut the window. “If this is about how to make Ramen noodles again then-“

“No! Jesus Raiden. Not everything is about the glorious taste of Ramen noodles.” You said irritated at him. “I’ve had a terrible day.”

Raiden gave you a look. “Terrible day? We just started the day!”

You took the liberty to flick his forehead. Raiden mumbled a grunt as he felt it. “You know what I meant you bafoon!” You took in a deep breath before starting to tell the story. “So basically-“ You had stopped in mid sentence, admiring Raiden.

Raiden was always an attractive guy to you. (You had the smallest crush on him but that wasn’t the point.) You were used to seeing him shirtless but you had now seen Raiden’s dick print and it was very obvious. “Put some pants on. You’re turning me on a little.”

He shook his head and went to the dresser. He grabbed some pants to put on before turning to look at you. “(Y/N). I love you but I am very tired so please just tell me why today is the end of your life.”

You watched as Raiden started to put the pants on with a sigh. “Fine. Grouchy aren’t we? So, my mom is trying to get me engaged to Eric.”

Raiden’s eyes widen. “Eric?!”

Eric was your abusive ex boyfriend and the only reason why the abuse stopped was because Raiden had physically stopped him. (As Raiden was skilled in fighting and Eric barely knew how to throw a punch.)

He could not believe your mother would do this.

It also stung a little because well, Raiden did have feelings for you. How could he not? You, (besides Kung Lao) were his longest friend he knew.

The chemistry the two of you had was immaculate but Raiden would not ruin a friendship for the sake of a relationship.

“Absolutely not. Why would she even say that?”

“Because Eric has been coming to her house and is telling her a completely different story. He’s trying to say that he was never abusive to me and that you and I are lying about everything.”

Raiden was actually enraged and it took a lot for Raiden to get mad. A lot. “He’s not going to get away with this.”

You saw Raiden about to leave the room but you grabbed onto the hem of his pants and pulled him towards you. “Freeze Radar.” You made him face to you. “Number one…you don’t have a shirt on. Number two…beating him up like you did last time isn’t going to change anything. He won’t leave me alone either.”

You face palmed at the last thing that came out your mouth. You didn’t mean for that to happen.

When you said that, Raiden turned to give you a look. “What do you mean by he won’t leave you alone?” You didn’t speak and Raiden gently grabbed your arm. “(Y/N), I thought we told each other everything.”

You sighed. “We do. I just didn’t want you to worry.” You looked down, not meeting his eyes. “He won’t stop coming by my house. And he’s breaking in all the time.”

Raiden could not believe you could keep something like that from him. “You shouldn’t have kept that from me. You’re not going back there.” Raiden sat on the bed and brought you to sit down next to him. “You can stay here.”

“I can’t just uproot your life just because mine is suckish.”

“Well, I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“What about The Great Kung Lao.” You said dramatically with your hands in the air.

Kung Lao was Raiden’s best friend and roommate but he was sure that he wouldn’t care that you would stay with them. (In all honesty, he might even encourage it.) “It will be fine. Trust me.” You had an unsure look on your face. Raiden placed his hand on your thigh. “Hey. Name a single time that I let you down.”

It was true. Raiden never let you down. Not once, not ever. So, you sighed. “My cat is coming with me I hope you know.”

“Of course I know.”

Raiden kissed your cheek. His eyes met yours and he stared at them with what felt like hours. You did the same. It was like the two of you both had a mutual understanding.

His left hand cupped your cheek while your right hand cupped his. The two of you just kept getting lost in each others eyes.

“Raiden?”

“Yeah, (Y/N)?”

“Put a shirt on. You’re turning me on.”

Raiden chuckled a little. His lips gently grazed yours but he did not kiss you. “I turn you on all the time, pretty.”

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat x reader #mortal kombat 1 #mk #mk1 #mk 1 #raiden #raiden x reader #kung lao #mk raiden #mk x reader #mk x you #mk x y/n #mk1 x reader #mk 1 x reader

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munsonfamilyband · 1 year

Text

I love nothing more than all the adults just deciding to adopt Steve - add to that the moms all adoring Eddie and you have my favorite shit. (TW mentions of child abuse)

You would think Claudia Henderson was the first mother to fall for Steve Harrington’s charm but it isn’t. It isn’t even Karen Wheeler, who met him while he was dating Nancy. No, it’s Joyce Byers. She met Steve when he was young, still in elementary school, and he had come into Melvald’s to get groceries when his parents had left him home alone. After seeing him come in multiple times without a parent in sight she started slowly taking care of him; she knew that she couldn’t push herself into his life, he was clearly uncomfortable with talking about his home life. Over time she was able to sneak food into his bags of purchases and then she would gift him “hand-me-downs” from “Jonathan” in the winter so he wouldn’t freeze.

Hopper was next. Steve was in 8th grade by the time they met. Steve had been friends with Tommy Hagan for a few years by then, but Tommy had finally convinced him to throw a party and the party very quickly got out of hand. Hop was called to the Harrington house for a noise complaint and he broke up the party. He did notice that Steve got visibly uncomfortable when he said he had to call his parents but procedure was procedure. He threw out procedure when a few days later he saw Steve in town with a black eye and a bruise around his wrist. From then on out he would always answer calls to the Harrington’s and he never called his parents again, he would stick around and make sure Steve was okay and had medicine for the hangover he was sure to have. He couldn’t do much, wouldn’t do much with the pain of Sarah still so raw, but he did what he could.

Karen Wheeler came next, endlessly endeared to Steve when he showed up to take Nancy on a date. Ted hated him, and she could agree that Steve appears self centered but she witnessed small moments that made her realize he wasn’t completely who he tried to appear to be. She would notice him flinch minutely when Ted snapped at the kids, or the well covered bruises when she heard his parents were in town. He was also kind and doting to Nancy which made her like him more. Karen was sad when she heard they broke up but Steve never stopped coming around, just this time he was there for Mike instead.

Claudia Henderson was suspicious of Steve at first. Her Dusty was different than other kids, she never had the money to get him seen by a professional and get a name for what was so different in his brain, but she knew that children were mean to him for it - she hated that he was bullied because he was such a wonderful kid with so much brain it made her head spin. Steve was 5 years older and had a reputation around town but the first time Dustin invited him over for dinner was the day she decided that she had two sons. Steve was polite and kind, he brought flowers to thank her for letting him stay and eat her food, and he and Dustin bickered but Steve so clearly cared about her son. Then Steve showed up at her house with a bloody nose and a split lip and a distinctly hand shaped mark on his cheek and asked to spend the night and he was solidified as one of her kids forever, even if he and Dustin stop being as close as they are.

The Sinclair’s don’t know Steve as well, but they hear about him constantly, first from Lucas and then from Lucas AND Erica. They figure if Erica likes him then he’s an okay kid, and he’s never been anything but kind when they have met him.

Wayne Munson is the last to meet Steve, and it takes him the longest to warm up to Steve. He had spent years listening to Eddie complain about people like Steve, and even Steve himself, so when he started showing up at his trailer all the time, Wayne was suspicious to say the least. Eddie kept telling him that he wasn’t who he was in high school, he even went on a tangent at one point about how Steve was just trying to survive the only way he knew how, but Wayne didn’t buy it; he knew Steve’s parents, and he figured that Steve had to be like them. Even when he saw how kind Steve was to Eddie, to the kids, to that Robin girl he’s always with, he still didn’t trust him. Funny enough, the moment that changed that for him wasn’t in his trailer, where Steve practically lived by then. No, it was at Family Video. Wayne had stopped by to get a movie for he and Eddie while Eddie was at work, and he didn’t see anyone at the desk when he walked in but he heard voices in the back room that he recognized as the Robin girl and Steve. She was clearly upset with him for something but it took him a moment to gather what.

“You can’t hide this stuff from us- from me! You and me, Steve, we do not hide things.”

“I know, Rob, I just- I didn’t want to burden anyone, okay? You weren’t supposed to find out, especially like this- ow, be gentle! My nose was broken a week ago, you could clean it softly, you know.”

“I am so mad at you right now, Steve, do not push me. You’ve been living out of your car for the past week-“ Wayne was definitely surprised at this point because he knows that the Harrington’s have a big house, “-and your dad gave you a concussion. What is this, number 5?”

“Okay, fine, yeah that part was stupid. I should have said something about the concussion. But what was I supposed to do? I don’t even know who told them about me and Eddie-“ He and Eddie? What about them, that they’re friends? It made sense in some way, to Wayne at least, that the Harrington’s would be upset about their son hanging out with Eddie but living in his car seems extreme. “-and the things he was saying…. I couldn’t listen to it, I had to say something. Even if it meant that I got kicked out and disowned.”

“Have you even told Eddie?”

“Absolutely not, he would blame himself and then offer to let me stay and I know Wayne barely tolerates me - not that I blame him, but it still sucks, I want him to like me. Me and Eddie… I feel like forever with him and if Wayne doesn’t even like me now, how would he respond to finding out the rest of it?” Everything seemed to click together for Wayne and he heard a sniff from the backroom like someone was trying not to cry. He himself felt like crying, because this boy had clearly been through a lot and someone had apparently outed him to his parents who beat him and kicked him out. Before Wayne could even recover from that bombshell the backroom door was swinging open and he was making eye contact with Steve Harrington. “Wayne-! I didn’t-Hi, uh, how long have you been in the store?”

“Long enough. Come by the trailer tonight and we’ll figure out where your stuff can go. You should probably call Ed though and let him know.” Wayne nodded his head and started to leave, very uncomfortable with the tension in the store, but he stopped to say one last thing as he was leaving. “As long as you and my boy take care of each other, you and I are gonna get along fine.”

Steve ended up moving into the trailer that night and Wayne gained a new perspective on him. They began watching sports together and he got to see the love his nephew had for Steve and vice versa clearly.

For Eddie, Joyce was also the first (she seemed to just collect sad kids). He had moved to Hawkins to live with Wayne only a few weeks before and he wandered into Melvald’s for some snacks. His hair was just starting to grow again and it was all sitting awkwardly on top of his head, his curls making strange shapes. Joyce took one look at him and was brought back to how Steve had looked all those years ago, how she and her kids were before Lonnie left, and she decided to step in again. She started by giving him some tips for his hair and then, just like with Steve, she started sneaking him little things over time. When she came back from California after Vecna they met again and she was so glad to see him, so happy that he seemed to fit in his own skin.

Claudia came next, unsurprisingly. The loud music and the distinct skunk-like odor that stuck to him (Claudia wasn’t stupid, she knew what that was) made her nervous. But after having known Steve for a couple years by then, she knew better than to judge from appearances and she was correct. Eddie was like another brother for Dustin, but while Steve complimented Dustin’s quirks and nerdy interests, Eddie shared them all and they seemed to feed off of each other’s energy. He was energetic and kind to her Dusty, and that is all she could ask for him to have in life.

The Sinclairs came to like Eddie after that, mostly for the same reasons that they liked Steve, but also because they had been told that Eddie nearly died to protect their kids.

Karen Wheeler always struggled being around Eddie despite how nice he was to her and to her kids - he reminded her of a mistake she once almost made with another boy who liked his music loud and angry. She did appreciate how Eddie managed to calm Mike’s angry outbursts, he pushed Nancy out of her comfort zone, he even let Holly braid his hair a couple times. Her favorite thing about him was how happy he made Steve (her soft spot for Steve hadn’t faded with time and seeing him so happy was a joy).

Hopper was the last to warm up to Eddie, not for lack of trying. Hopper knew that he should be more understanding, but since he had become a father again his paternal instincts had gotten worse. He hadn’t even realized that he saw Steve like that until Joyce made a comment about Steve and Eddie being close and he felt something oddly similar to what he experienced with Mike and El. He knew about Steve’s history with abandonment and alcohol and drugs, he also knew about Eddie’s tendency to run and his “job” in the woods. Hopper tried to remember that Joyce knew the kid, had said that he wouldn’t hurt a fly, but his instincts were telling him that Eddie was a bad influence. That didn’t change completely until he found out that Steve had apparently been kicked out because someone told his parents that he was dating Eddie and he had been living in his car for a week. He then found out that as soon as they found out, the Munsons had taken Steve in without hesitation - and Eddie had even slashed a couple tires at the Harrington house (Hopper pretended that he didn’t know that because he refused to press charges on the Harrington’s behalf). Hearing that Eddie had taken care of Steve when Hop hadn’t even known he needed it settled his nerves and put Eddie into his heart.

#stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #platonic stobin #this is long but oh well #this was in my drafts and i decided to finish it and post it #i just need eddie and steve to have a big parental network

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bedsyandco · 7 months

Text

frozen four

note: it's time for luke to leave for Jersey so it's time to say goodbye

Luke was devastated after the frozen four loss. All the guys were, but Luke especially because everything was about to change. Luke had said goodbye to all the guys already, being set to leave the arena. The only person he still had to see was Violet. Nothing could’ve prepared Luke for how much this would hurt. Even though he knows he’s not saying goodbye forever, the idea of going to live in another state while he leaves her in Michigan, just feels wrong.

He takes a moment to just observe her where she was standing and talking to his mom. Brown waves hanging down her back and he smiles at the sleeves of his jersey rolled up about five times around her wrists.

“Hey you,” she says when he wraps his arms around her waist from behind, burying his face in her neck and tightening his arms around her, squeezing tight.

“Mom you mind giving us a moment?” Luke asks and Ellen simply sends Violet a small, sad smile kissing both of them on the head before giving them some space.

"Do you remember the summer of freshman year? We had talked about you coming to the lake house but then your parents surprised you with a trip to Italy. I was so sad," Luke says, and Violet loops her arms around his neck and she turns around to look at him.

"So was I. I remember I asked my mom if we could leave Daxton at home and take you instead. She wasn't very impressed by that suggestion." Violet says and she smiles when she sees him laugh.

"Those three weeks were the longest we've ever been apart. Even in the summers after that, we've never been apart longer than 21 days. I don't know how I'm gonna survive not having you there with me," Luke says, and she presses a kiss over his heart, resting her chin on his chest and looking at him.

"It's only gonna be a little while, and then you'll be back in Michigan for the summer. I'm so proud of you, Luke. Everything you've accomplished at the program and at Michigan and everything you're gonna accomplish in Jersey. My little superstar. You inspire me every day," she says softly, and Luke can't speak, his throat tight with emotion, so he just kisses her forehead.

Luke doesn’t say anything for a minute, just tracing the “L” against her collarbone before asking, "You wanna get in my suitcase?"

"I totally would but I just finished packing it and there's no way I'm unpacking all of that,"

"You're gonna watch when I play my first game right?" Luke asks

"Is that even a question…I'm your number 1 fan Lukey, of course I'm gonna watch."

"You know that I love you right?" Luke asks and her heart beats a little faster.

"You're the most important woman in my life, the most important person really, tied with my mom of course," he continues and her eyes tear up.

"I love you too, more than you know." she says, a lot more than he knows.

"Don't cry baby," he says, kissing her tears away but that just makes her cry harder.

"I'm gonna miss you," violet says, and he cups both her cheeks gently, laying a little kiss on her red nose.

"I already miss you, but I'm gonna see you soon, okay? I'm gonna be back in a few weeks and it'll be like I never left," Luke says, pulling her into a big hug.

"We have to go Luke," Ellen says from a few feet away, not wanting to interrupt but knowing there wasn't any more time to give you.

“You sure you don’t want me to come with you to the airport?” violet asks and luke nods

“I won’t be able to leave if you come with me. Having you there would just make it harder to leave. Which is crazy, because I can’t imagine it getting any harder to leave than it is right now,” luke says, letting out a shuddering breath and violet wipes her tears. it’s to no use though because as soon as she wipes them, new ones just replace them.

“You’re killing me here Vi. Gonna need you to stop crying or I won’t be able to walk away,” Luke says and Violet tilts her head back, letting out a deep breath

“I’m so happy for you Luke,” she says, failing at stopping her tears

“Yeah, I’ve never seen you happier,” Luke replies dryly and she giggles

“We have to go Luke,” Ellen says softly and Luke nods, ever so gently wiping violet’s tears with his thumbs and pecking her face all over.

“I love you,” violet says again softly and luke rests his forehead on hers, wanting to hear the words again. to feel them. to taste them.

“I love you,” Luke replies, gently touching his nose to hers and she smiles slightly which is a huge win in luke’s book

all around them people are watching, even some of the guys that came out of the locker room

“man this is depressing,” ethan says and dylan nods, agreeing

“I’ve never seen Violet cry this much,” dylan says

“I’ve never seen Violet at all. it’s kinda scary actually,” Mark says

violet detaches herself from Luke and walks over to dylan’s side, resting her head on his shoulder as they watch luke walk out of the arena.

violet doesn’t wanna be alone, so she sneaks into Dylan’s hotel room that night, and they watch secretariat together, unable to recount the hundreds of time they’ve watched this movie with luke.

later when violet has cried so much her eyes has swollen shut, Dylan's phone vibrates, and he picks it up seeing a text from Luke.

"Take care of my girl. Love you guys."

#⋆ ˚｡⋆୨ violet + luke ୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

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five-rivers · 23 days

Text

Pretty in Pink (and Other Colors)

For @jadenoryuu!

A ghost watched Amity Park. Specifically, he watched a group of five teenagers walk down a street. He watched not from up close, not from down the street, or from one of the buildings lining it, but from far, far away, through a ghost-powered device that could see through both space and time, and which could even allow a properly-prepared traveler to pass through it to the place and time it showed.

In his right hand, the ghost carried a staff. In his left, he held a wrinkled and creased hundred dollar bill. He drummed his fingers on the haft of his staff, but was otherwise still. Watching. Waiting.

Then, when the teenagers had reached a position remarkable only to the ghost, he reached out and dropped the bill. It fell through the time screen and drifted gently to the ground in front of the teenagers.

The tallest teen, a blonde, noticed it and stooped to pick it up, grinning at his companions all the while. In the ghost’s lair, other time screens turned to static, flickered, and then turned back on, showing very different scenes.

The ghost smiled. “Perhaps this is not the way it was meant to be,” he said, tilting his head to look at the other screens, “but it will be amusing, nonetheless.”

“... was bright pink. And that's why my allowance was cut off, so I can't bring my usual to the party,” explained Dash. His usual was beer, obtained through an acquaintance who didn’t care much about the legalities involved. And who, admittedly, thought Dash was two years older than he actually was.

“Lame,” said Valerie.

“Extremely lame,” agreed Star.

“Next level is actively pathetic, Dash, and you don’t want to go there,” said Paulina. “Don’t promise what you can’t deliver.”

“Well, I should have been able to deliver, it’s not my fault.” He kicked at the sidewalk, then paused, spotting something on the ground. “Oh, nice!” He picked a bill up off the ground and waved it over his head. “The party is back on!”

“The party was never off,” said Valerie, rolling her eyes. “Just the drinking part, which I can’t do, anyway.”

“Aw,” said Paulina, jostling Valerie playfully. “Why not? Did you become Mormon or something? Ultra-orthodox super-protestant Christian something or other?”

“Ew, no,” said Valerie. “But my dad wants me home at a ‘reasonable time,’ he will be sitting up waiting for me, and he has a breathalyzer.”

“Why does he even have one of those?” asked Kwan. “I mean, I know the school has one for prom and stuff.”

“He used it for work, back when he was just building up the company. There was an incident where some of his guys showed up drunk for work. That just makes it grosser, though. It’s used.”

“Bleh,” said Star and Paulina simultaneously, before breaking out into giggles.

“Bet it’s still, like, full of spit. Old guy spit,” said Paulina.

“Ewww,” said Star. “That’s so gross.”

“Laugh all you want, but I’ll be the only one who can ride my bike in a straight line by the end of the night.”

“Hey, I can just walk home,” said Dash.

“Sleepover time,” sang Paulina, throwing an arm around Star’s shoulders.

“Yeah! We can have a guys sleepover, too, right, Kwan?”

“Uhhh,” said Kwan. “I’ve actually gotta go home, too.”

“What,” said Dash, “now?”

“No, like, I mean, I have to go home early. Mom wants me to take school seriously now that I’m in high school, which means, uh, sleep schedules. You know.”

“Oh, bummer,” said Dash. “Hope she lightens up. It’s not like we’re seniors.”

“Yeah, man, me too.”

They continued down the street for a while longer, until Dash and Kwan split off to meet up with Dash’s ‘buddy’ and the girls went shopping for somewhat less illegal things, like makeup.

They met up again at Paulina’s house. Of course, they weren’t the only ones coming to the party. All the cool kids were. But, even as freshmen, Paulina, Dash, Valerie, Star, and Kwan were the coolest of the cool.

And, as such, they were there the longest, long after other guests had left, and got the best perks. Like Dash’s haul. And the no-holds-barred truth or dare game.

Dash climbed out of the pool and clambered over to where his friends were lounging. “See? I told you wusses that I could make it in from the roof.” He sat back down and spun the bottle sitting on its side between them.

The bottle spun and spun, and eventually stopped pointing at Paulina. “Ooh,” said Paulina. “My turn, my turn. So, Valerie, truth or dare?”

“Mhm,” said Valerie, looking at her watch. “Make it dare and make it quick. I’ve got to go, soon.”

“Okay, so.” Paulina squared her shoulders and leaned towards Valerie. “I dare you to… take a shot.”

“Uh, no,” said Valerie. She stood up. And with that, it’s time for me to go.”

“Nooo, Val, that’s so lame!” said Star. “So super lame.”

“Very lame, Val. You can’t break the sacred bond of truth and dare.”

“The sacred bond was broken as soon as you asked me to do something that would get me grounded literally forever. So. Hey, Kwan. Kwan.” She nudged Kwan with her foot.

“Let a guy sleep,” said Dash.

“He said he wanted to go early.”

“If he tried to bike home now, he’d crash,” said Star. “Like, look at him. Dead to the world. Totally out of it.”

“He can stay, my dad isn’t back until the day after tomorrow. What he doesn’t know, he won’t care about. Probably safer that way.”

“Guess you can explain that to Kean when he gets grounded forever,” said Valerie. “Later guys. Call me if you need help with clean-up. I know the name of a service that works fast.” She took one last look around the back yard, and walked out.

“Later, girl!” called Paulina. “So, Star, truth or dare?”

“Hey, wait, you already went,” said Dash.

“And the one I picked bailed. I deserve another shot.”

“Let’s just spin the bottle again,” said Star. “It’ll probably just land on you again anyway, right? There’s three of us, so that’s, like, three halves. Two thirds? Ugh, geez, I can’t do math while I’m duck. Drunk. God. Just spin it, Pauli.”

“Whatever,” said Paulina. Pouting, she spun the bottle. It went around and around and around… And landed on her again. “Okay, so, Star. Truth or dare?”

“Ughh,” said Star. “Truth, I guess.”

“You’ve done truth every time,” complained Dash. “Pick something new. Pick dare.”

“No,” said Star.

“Dare, dare, dare, dare, dare,” chanted Paulina.

“You’re awful. I don’t know why I’m friend of you. With you. Whatever. God. Fine. Dare.”

“Okay, so… I dare you to… lick Kwan.”

“Oh, gross. Oh my God. You’re disgusting.”

“Do it!”

“It’s not like your tongue’s never been on him.”

“Ewwww. Don’t say that. You’re such a weirdo.” Still, she got up on her knees and crawled over to Kwan. “Such a weirdo. Weirdest weirdo. How do you even think of this?” She leaned down and just barely touched her tongue to his forehead. “Ew, ew, ew, totally gross. He’s all sweaty. Stop laughing, you weirdos.”

“Hey, hey,” said Dash. “I obj- obje– I don’t like that. Don’t say we’re the weirdest weirdos. There’s like. So many weirdos out there.”

“Yeah, name one,” said Star. “Just one weirder weirdo than you, weirdo. Weirdo. That’s such a weird word.”

“Fine. Fenderbender.”

“Who?” asked Star, squinting.

“Fenderbender. Fentanyl. Fentonail. Fentina. Fentodor. Fentertainment.”

“Wait, Fenton? Way to go for the low hanging fruit.”

“You calli-calling me a fruit?”

“You did say just one, Starlight,” said Paulina. “He is weird. His whole family is weird. And he looks at me funny.”

“He looks at you like he has a crush on you, Pauli. Like, every boy looks at you like that.”

“Yeah, but he’s super creepy about it. He’s all scrawny and greasy, and he’s always got, like, green slime on him, and his shouty parents and his annoying sister. What’s their deal anyway?”

“Ghosts,” said Dash. “They’re like, freaking ghosts. Ghost hunters.”

“Well, yeah, but beyond that, even. Ghosts could be cool. Those programs make cash, y’know? But they’re, like, super crazy, and they have a super weird basement or whatever. Spin already, Star.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it, Pauli.” She spun the bottle around. “Ooh, Dash, you go.”

“Okay, okay. So, weirdos. Pauli. Whatcha gonna pick?”

Paulina took another swig of beer. “Dare,” she said.

“Dare. I’ve got a great one. I dare you. Paulina Sanchez. To break into the Fenton’s house.”

“Oh my God, Dash. For real. You can’t ask Pauli to do something illegal.”

“Well, you could always wimp out like freaking– Like Val. You gonna wimp, Pauli?”

Paulina glared at him. “Who do you think I am? I’m not going to fall for some peer– peer pressure, like, you know, the after school special. You think I’m going to fall for that?”

“So, you’re gonna wimp?”

Star giggled. “I gotta say, I’m curious.”

“Stop saying that. You’re such losers.” She took another drink. “Okay, okay, I’ll do it.”

Dash cheered raucously.

“I’ll do it,” said Paulina. “But you’ve– you’ve got to come with me. Like, to witness.”

“But we’ve– we’ve gotta get there first,” said Star. “It’s, like, hours away.”

“It’s thirty minutes tops,” said Paulina. “And we can get a cab.”

“Not if we’re breaking in. That’s like, criminal one-oh-one, Pauli. No witnesses.”

Fine,” said Paulina. “We walk. Whatever. The freaking- The things I do for you. Wow. Incredible.” She got to her feet. “Okay. Onward! To the weird ghost hunter basement raid.”

The three teens made their stumbling way out of the house and down the street.

“Are you sure this is the way?” asked Star, squinting at one of the signs.

“Absolutely,” said Dash. “Followed Fenfreak enough.”

“This is way more than half an hour,” said Star. “This is boring.”

“But it’ll be so exciting at the end,” said Paulina. “Like, we’ll be spies.”

“This street,” said Dash. “Totally. This street.”

“Oh, wow,” said Paulina, after they turned the corner. “Don’t know how we missed that. Jesus.”

“Is that a freaking spaceship?” asked Star. “Or, no. Hell. It’s a- a– What do you call it? Broadcast tower. Freaking hell.”

“Yeah, wow,” said Paulina.

“Hey, who wants to be the whack jobs don’t lock their front door?” asked Dash. He ran up to the door, yanked on the handle, and… it opened.

“Wild,” said Star, slinking closer. “I’d’ve thought there was, like, a trap or something.”

Paulina stayed on the sidewalk. Now that they were here, it all seemed… Bigger. Scarier. They were breaking into someone’s house. They could get into serious trouble for this.

But Dash was already going in. Paulina steeled herself and followed. Star clung to her side.

The Fentons’ house felt… small. Dark. Dirty. And there were weird sounds everywhere. Like, snoring and boards squeaking, and was that awful drone their fridge? She halfway felt as if every move she made would set off something.

“Hey,” whispered Dash, loudly. “I think I found the basement!”

He had. There was a creepy metal door in the kitchen, and when they opened it, it led to stairs, going down to a faintly green darkness.

“Do we really need to go down there?” asked Star.

“Well, yeah, duh,” said Dash. “Duh.”

“You didn’t need to say it twice, Dash. That’s lame.” Paulina stalked downstairs with as much dignity as she could muster. She was maybe a bit tipsy. Then almost had a heart attack when Dash turned on the light. “What the hell, Dash?”

“They’re not down here, they’re not going to see.”

“Whatever,” said Paulina, flipping her hair. She looked around. “Wow, they went super mad scientist down here.” There were steel lab tables and bubbling vials. There were computers and wires. There were hot plates and bits of disassembled household appliances. There were things Paulina couldn’t even begin to identify.

And it was all incredibly gross. And messy. There was goo.

“Y’know,” said Star, “some of this stuff is actually, like, high-end. Like, serious money. Do you think Fenton’s actually rich?”

“Not a chance,” said Paulina. “Even if he were, it wouldn’t matter. He’d still suck. Him and his catty little nerd friends.”

“Hey, where d’you think this tunnel goes?” asked Dash. “Like, are these freaks holding– Not holding. Drilling? Drilling to China? Freaks.” He laughed to himself. “Freaking freaks.”

“Wow, you are plastered if you think that’s funny,” said Star.

“Whatever, shut up. Hey, Pauli! Dare you to go down here’n’ see what’s on the other end!”

Paulina walked over to look down the dark and foreboding tunnel. It was full of electrical wire and metal hoops. “Maybe they’re skimming off the grid or something,” she said. “Or trading drugs. That’d be a break in the cliches. A Mexican finding the nice, eccentric white nuclear family is dealing drugs.” She looked over at Dash. “After this, we go. Quietly.”

“Yeah, yeah, just go on in, for this win. You’ve got to do more than us, yeah? You’re the one who got the dare.”

“Whatever, Dash.” She walked up to the threshold and looked around in distaste. “God, they’re so freaking weird.” She stepped over and started walking back, picking her way through the tangled wires.

She shouldn’t have worn heels, but she’d wanted to look cute. Maybe that shouldn’t have been her first priority when sneaking into someone’s house, but, like, what else was she supposed to do? She was just naturally cute. Like, for real.

Whatever.

She slipped.

And the world came apart.

#danny phantom #phic phight #fic

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