#my only regret is that i couldn't fit more of the soldier in so that you could tell it was an Empire leftover | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ladyannemarie5 · 7 months

Text

So... Remember my old post of WarLord!Geralt searching for the bard and discovering that Jaskier is Radovid's consort in Redania?

You can see it here

Well, I couldn't stop thinking about that and here's just part of what I've come up with so far.

Caution: Lots and lots of text. Almost 2k words.

-----

Geralt's first formal order as Warlord of the North is to search the continent for the bard Jaskier.

Five years have passed since Geralt last saw Jaskier. Five years since the mountain disaster and the day Geralt made the bard believe that the greatest blessing of his life would be to get rid of him.

Since then, Geralt has found his surprise child, resolved his issues with Yennefer and formed a new empire under his and the other witchers' command. And there hasn't been a single moment when he hasn't regretted pushing his bard away.

That is why, as soon as political things settle down and his mainly non-human subjects begin to form real households, the new warlord sends all available people to search for the man who made him White Wolf.

He knows from Yen, that Jaskier became the Sandpiper, so he has the witchers approach the smuggling network to help the refugees get to his new realm and also to gather as much information as they can about the poet's whereabouts.

They hear rumors and whispers about the famous bard Jaskier singing in taverns and famous courts, but every time they reach the last place where he was seen, it turns out that the bard has already departed. It also seems that 20 years at the side of a witcher have made him very good at running away from them without a trace.

Geralt grows more desperate by the day. He wants to apologize to Jaskier, he wants to tell him how sorry he is and how much he wants him to come back to him, because he is finally ready to stop running away from his feelings. He needs Jaskier by his side, either as his lover or simply as his friend. He just needs to know that the poet is safe and sound.

That's why his heartbeat stops for a moment when new information arrives from the bard. It turns out that Nilfgaard beat him to it and captured Jaskier months ago.

Geralt moves all his people to search for the place where the bard is being held prisoner until they finally find the small fort where their sources say he is. Geralt himself leads the attack.

Everyone is really confused when they break through the entrances and discover that there is no one alive there. There are only remnants that there was once a small army operating in the place but they fled some time ago.

Unfortunately, there are also remnants of torture in one of the fort's dungeons. Geralt feels an immense urge to vomit as he enters the place and the smell of Jaskier's blood reaches his nostrils. His eyes sting with tears of anger and sadness when he finds a piece of blue silk in one of the corners. His anger and grief increase when they find a funeral pyre on the outskirts of the site. Jaskier is gone forever.

Shortly thereafter, the University of Oxenfurt issues a statement mourning the death of its greatest teacher and legend, the bard Jaskier. Apparently, a Redanian convoy was on a reconnaissance mission when they found a fort with remnants of Nilfgaard troops. Upon entering they discovered that the soldiers had already left but had left the body of a man in one of the dungeons. One of the men, apparently a fan of the bard, recognized his belongings and alerted his superiors to the man's identity. Jaskier's body was burned by the Redanians due to the advanced state of decomposition. All that remained was a broken elven lute that was given to the university as proof of the poet's death.

Geralt demands that the lute be given to him. Eskel and Lambert are required to hold it when the dean refuses to give the instrument to the witcher on the grounds that Jaskier himself had left them to them in his will. The document firmly states that all of the bard's possessions were to pass to the university to dispose of as they see fit.

Geralt cries for the first time in years when he finds out. Officially, he has nothing left of his bard.

The Sandpiper network continues to operate as usual, at least for a while since the discovery of the fort, until something incredible happens: Redania enacts a new law saying that all elves, dwarves and other non-humans would no longer be persecuted, and could even choose to be legal citizens of Redania.

Years pass since then. Ciri, Yen, Triss and his brother witchers remain by his side and life on the continent continues almost unchanged as the White Wolf finishes consolidating himself as a monarch of a strong and prosperous territory. The hope that Jaskier will one day appear alive and singing about the Warlord every day fades. They hadn't seen the body and when Yen wanted to use a tracking spell with the lute just to make sure, it led to nothing.

And then politics suffers another attack: King Vizimir of Redania is murdered. Yen says that rumors point to his own brother, Prince Radovid, being the one who murdered him, as he was crowned that very night at the side of his lover, a random nobleman named Julian. Geralt does not doubt it. Humans are cruel and ambitious.

The obligatory mourning passes slowly, one day all the kingdoms (except Nilfgaard) are summoned to celebrate the new king and his consort. To the surprise of everyone in Kaer Morhen, the White Wolf and his entourage are invited to the celebrations. Yen and Triss say that it would be rude not to go, as Redania fully recognizes their kingdom unlike other territories, so it would be beneficial for Geralt to attend and seal ties with a kingdom as powerful as Redania.

Geralt wants nothing more than to stay in Kaer Morhen and continue to evade the outside world. Jaskier is no longer in it so there is nothing interesting out there. But he knows it's inevitable that he will attend the Redania celebrations, and Yen is right, it's a great opportunity. So he and his entourage leave for the kingdom.

They are greeted in a grand manner, just like any other monarch and his entourage. Redania has shown that he wants to form ties with Kaer Morhen, so Geralt decides that he will do his best to make it all go well. It seems that King Radovid himself and his consort will welcome them once they have settled in properly.

Geralt feels all the air leave his lungs, his head feels heavy and in turmoil, and he thinks he will burn Redania to the ground for such an offense. Next to King Radovid, stands a man with blue eyes and brown hair. A man resembling Jaskier stands right there, his arm resting on the king's arm.

He introduces himself as Julian Alfred Pankratz, formerly Viscount of Lettenhove, now royal consort to King Radovid.

Yen cannot help but advance to him with a murderous look. He magically probes him and in an icy voice lets them all know that he really is Jaskier, the bard dead years ago. Julian replies that it's really good to see everyone once again.

The welcome feast begins. Geralt can't take his eyes off Jaskier. The king and his consort act like any normal couple, both conversing with each other, together and very intimate. Geralt feels his stomach churn.

At some point in the night, Julian manages to sneak into Geralt's room. He silently asks the Witcher to verify that no one is listening and that there are no traces of magic around. Geralt confirms that they are alone.

Geralt has many questions, but he can't say any. Not with the man he thought was dead in front of him. But he finally gets something out of his mouth, asking for explanations.

Julian tells the witcher that after the mountain he traveled for a while by himself, but seeing the injustices to the elves and other non-humans made him want to do something. With his contacts in the RSS he became the Sandpiper. He would go back and forth from Oxenfurt to other places on the continent to recruit new people into the network. During his stays in Oxenfurt and thanks to Philippa and Dijkstra, he met Prince Radovid.

Geralt's heart breaks when he hears from the bard how lonely and desperate he felt until Radovid came into his life.

"By the time I realized it, I was lost and hopelessly in love with Radovid," he tells Geralt.

The warlord can't help but mention that the bard fell in love with a king-killer. Julian jumps to his consort's defense and tells Geralt everything.

Philippa and Dijkstra want to take Redania to war against Nilfgaard, they assassinated Queen Hedwig to make Vizimir give in to their advice, however, the king didn't. The two councilors then went to harass Jaskier, threatening his job as the Sandpiper to tell them the location of Geralt and Ciri, so they could use it as political leverage against Nilfgaard. Of course the bard refused.

So Jaskier was kidnapped and tortured by Nilfgaard to find out the location of Geralt and Ciri. Radovid, madly in love and worried about Jaskier, set out to look for him everywhere, until he was finally found dying in the fort. Philippa and her magic saved him.

Radovid, concerned for the bard's safety, proposed to him to fake his death in order to drive away all those who were looking for him, including the man who despised him on a mountain. Jaskier accepted on the condition that he stop pursuing the elves.

As the announcement of Jaskier's death shook the entire continent, he and the prince planned to leave the castle and travel together, away from the intrigues of the court. Vizimir, happy for his brother, immediately agreed to let them both leave as long as they accepted his help and communicated constantly. The night of their departure, Vizimir was assassinated.

Geralt is shaken when Jaskier tells him that Philippa and Dijkstra killed Vizimir so they could manipulate Radovid and take Redania to war. The new king is stalling as long as possible, but there is no denying the influence of both advisors on the king's decisions. Geralt snarls when he learns that the sorceress and spymaster are threatening the former bard's life to make Radovid do as they command.

Jaskier knows that Geralt hates him, that he is not complying with the one thing he has asked of him, but he needs him to get Dijkstra and Philippa out of the picture so he can save Redania and his lover from going to war. And so he lets the witcher know.

------

And well, that's it. At least until now.

I want to clarify that anyone who wants to write this has my absolute permission to do so, just tell me so I can read it because I definitely don't think I'll write it myself. If you want to comment on something, another idea, another point, an insult, change something to this. etc., you are welcome to do so. I don't usually reply much but I really do read everything posted on Tumblr.

Thanks if you read all this verbal vomit and apologies once again for the huge amount of words.

#I really wanted to put my version and give my ideas #a lot of text #feel free to take the idea and write it down #just tell me so I can read it #anything is welcome #you decide who jaskier stays with #but to be honest in my heart he stays with Radovid #jaskier #the witcher #radovid #radskier #geraskier #ao3 fanfic #fanfiction #bunny plot

92 notes · View notes

namorslutfanfiction · 1 year

Note

Definitely need namor with 15 and 16 how couldn’t we

Alright gonna do 15. See here for 16 with Namor

Namor was displeased about this arrangement but he knew it was necessary. He sat in one of the rooms of the Wakandan royal palace as the seamstress took his measurements. He would have preferred to show up to his first UN meeting in full Talokanil regalia, but it was taking place in Norway in the winter. As Princess Shuri had put it, "We can't have your wings freezing off when they have only just grown back."

So now he was being fitted for a custom suit that would combine modern tailor work and Talokanil designs. The seamstress finished her measurements and began draping all manner of fabric on his arms and shoulders, comparing colors and weights. The King eyed her for a moment, feeling as if he recognized her.

"I can give you a picture, it will last longer," she mumbled distractedly before tossing a pile of fabric to the side.

"You look familiar," Namor tilted his head, still raking his mind for a memory.

"I was the one piloting the plane that picked you and Princess Shuri up from the desert," She replied through the pen she had in her mouth.

"The pilot? They why are you doing this? I would think a soldier would be doing something else," The King tried to catch her eye but she shoved him back in place as she compared some embroidery work between the two fabrics that still hung on his body. Namor felt a string from one of the cloths tickling his arm, making him twitch.

"I retired," She said, glaring at him to stop fidgeting.

Namor sighed and returned to facing forward into the mirror. He had to admit the colors of fabric and the type both looked great against his tan skin. She had taste. He eyed his reflection as she settled on an emerald green color that had a nice sheen to it.

"Would you prefer feathers, chains, or pearls?" She asked as she meandered to a table covered in various supplies.

"I will defer to your expertise," Namor replied, his eyes never leaving the woman. The weight of the fabric draped on his shoulder was heavier than what he was used to and it didn't escape him that his normal jewelry may not be the best option.

She turned and approached him again, holding up a few colored plumes as well as bits of gold chain. With a disapproving noise she threw the chains back to the table and started laying the feathers along the fabric. Namor tried once more to catch the artist's eyes but she was stubbornly ignoring him.

Namor was growing bored with the silence, "Do you hate being here with me as much as I hate the idea of wearing such garments?"

Finally she glanced at him, meeting his gaze for a moment, "I do not hate it but I am only here as a favor to the Princess. Your act of terror on Wakandan destroyed my family home. I may dislike you but I will refuse the royal family nothing."

Namor was taken aback by her admittance. His shoulders fell as she continued her work. He could not meet her eyes as he spoke, "I am sorry for taking from you. War is war but that does not mean I do not regret some of what I have done."

He felt her hands pause as she contemplated his words. She sighed and continued her work, speaking softly "I don't have warm words for you or an enthusiastic response but I accept your apology for what it is. Unnecessary but genuine."

Namor couldn't help but chuckle. Her stoicism continued as he tried to engage her in conversation, "I could have my people build you a better house. You can even design it to your heart's content."

She only hmphed in response, concentrating on pinning and draping fabric.

"You're so rigid. That's understandable for a soldier but now that you're retired you should release some tension. We have this plant in Talokan that I feel like you could benefit from." Namor waxed on and on about what he could offer to make up for her loss.

"I think I liked you better when you were on your knees and begging for mercy," she mumbled to herself as she removed the fabric and accessories.

"You spoke again but I missed it. Are you taking up the offer on the plant?" Namor asked as he stepped off the dais.

"Your majesty, please return for your next fitting in a week's time," She responded before ushering him out the door.

"I will bring it next time, just in case," Namor said just as the door was slammed in his face.

~~~~

Thank you for playing.

#ask #ask game #namor #namor of talokan #namor x reader #tenoch huerta #tenoch huerta mejia #namor fanfic #blurb

52 notes · View notes

smartycvnt · 3 months

Text

Hero

Title: Hero

Pairing: Ada Wong x Reader

Word Count:

Covert operations were not Ash's strong suit. The woman attracted attention like nobody else that Ada had ever met. That was why Ada was so against calling Ash in to help. Ada was prepared to wait until the last possible second. She would have turned to Leon or anybody else first, but Ash was closer.

Ash arrived in her typical fashion, almost too late. Ada wanted to wring her neck out, but she couldn't. Touching Ash like that would lead to something that Ada wasn't prepared for. They had to keep their distance for the sake of Ada's mental health.

"That was fun." The silence had been driving Ash crazy, so she had to break it. Ada was always so content to sit in silence, but Ash could never. She needed noise or something to distract her. Ash felt like she couldn't be alone with her thoughts, especially around ADa.

"If you were a second later, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Ada hissed. Ash clenched her jaw as she sat forward. Ada could smell the subtle hints of Ash's body wash when the woman leaned in. Somehow, she could run through a battlefield and still come out smelling like that stupid soap she'd been using since her military days.

"It's a good thing I've got great timing then, isn't it?" Ash joked. Ada wanted to reach out and punch her, but she didn't. Ada had called, and Ash answere dthe call, even if she was currently being infuriating.

"You've got something, that's for sure," Ada muttered. Ash sighed as she stood up. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere, we're stuck here until actual rescue comes. I'm just stretching my legs, putting some distance between us," Ash said. Ada felt a little bad about hurting Ash's feelings.

"Thank you for saving me." It took a lot for Ada to swallow her pride and thank Ash. Ash knew that it was no small thing. Ada could do a lot to rationalize all the reasons why Ash didn't deserve her gratitude. Ash could think of a few herself, but this was too good of a sign for Ash to let herself sink into a hole that deep.

"You're welcome. I meant it when I told you that I'd always answer."

"I know," Ada whispered. Ash leaned against the wall with her back turned towards Ada. She looked uncomfortable in her tactical gear, but Ada would have been lying if she said it didn't look good. Ash was a soldier, through and through. Despite working essentially for herself, Ash had kept the same gear style that she had working covert ops for the Pentagon. The only difference was that Ash's new gear was a little more form fitting and allowed for more agile movements.

Ash was only getting better. Ada knew that it was the field experience, but a part of her was afraid that Ash was working for the wrong people in her spare time. It hadn't been Umbrella, but Ash had a lot of bad people signing some of her checks. Ada remembered their last fight, the one that had finally driven Ash away from her after so many years of going back and forth. Ada regretted accusing Ash of accepting forms of payment other than money, but Ash had been acting so different. It never occured to Ada that the guilt was weighing her down.

"You look good," Ada said to break the silence. Ada could see Ash's leg bouncing as she stood there. Ash stopped moving and turned around on her heel to face Ada. "I don't know what I expected when I called you."

"We both know what you expected. I told you that I wasn't letting anybody inject me with supersoldier serum. Not anymore, not when I can help it," Ash said. Ada could see the far away look in Ash's eyes as the thousand yard stare started to settle in. Six years of Ash's military career were classified, and even if someone had clearance, 95% of it was still blacked out. Ada didn't have to be a genius to know what that meant. Especially with the grants from Umbrella and some of its fronts.

"Well, some super soldier you are," Ada joked. She got up and placed her hand on Ash's arm, right over where she knew a bullet hole was. Ash brushed Ada's arm away, but grabbed her hand as it fell.

"When we get out of here, I don't want us to just go our separate ways," Ash said. She stared down at Ada with a look of pure sincerity. Ash had always wanted more than what Ada could give, but this was an easy enough wish to be granted. "I want you to call me for more than just this sort of thing."

"I'd like that," Ada agreed.

#one shot #my writing #ada wong x reader #ada wong #resident evil x reader #resident evil

17 notes · View notes

aikaterini-drag · 5 months

Text

Chapter 13 Aching

Kofi 🧡 AO3

Summary: Bucky is devastated at the way he treated Grace. While she, deals with his decision to hide his true intentions from her and leave her behind.

Warnings (this chapter): regrets, emotional Bucky, separation feelings, Tony Stark sass is here to make up for the sadness.

Find more chapters of the "Fading Scars" Series here ♡

Three hours had passed. Three excruciating hours since James had deceived and forsaken Grace. Three hours in which he couldn't rest nor free himself of his rueful conscience. Guilt was ripping him apart from the inside out. A boulder thrown at his face would have been better than the mental anguish he was experiencing.

Restless and consumed by anger, he raked his hands across his face in a futile attempt to erase the traces of his torment. He shook his head vigorously as if by sheer force he could expel the haunting memories that clung to him. Clasping his hands together, he concentrated on the mission ahead of him, the only welcome substitute for his broken reality.

"You shouldn't have left her behind," Steve's voice broke through the silence as he approached. Clad in his signature navy blue suit, shield slung across his back, he settled beside Bucky, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Couldn't agree more. You made her cry," Sam added, joining the conversation.

"I didn't want to hurt her," Bucky said and swallowed heavily.

"Last time I checked, lying to someone is the main cause of pain," Sam said despite Cap's gentle nods to keep it low.

Bucky breathed out and looked at him. "Simply staying quiet would have sufficed, Sam."

"I'm not one to stay silent," Sam quipped, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Remind me, why exactly are you helping me?" Bucky addressed him and set his mouth into a thin line.

"Ask him," Sam said, pointing at the Captain. "He believes in you. And if Steve believes in you, then I support you too."

"Sam..." Steve said, curving his lips in a proud smile. "Now can you two stop bickering?"

Bucky just sighed. "I'll stop. Hydra is my primary concern."

A brief silence hung in the air until Sam spoke up again. "So, how do we track down Silas? We're navigating without a compass, flying blind."

"We can start attacking every Hydra base I know. There are at least six potential facilities," Bucky suggested.

"What makes you think this is worth our efforts?" Sam said with skepticism.

"Silas needs a base suitable for his dirty work," Bucky said. "He needs fortified facilities, medical rooms, torture chambers..."

"Do you think he has injected the serum by himself?" Steve asked, not excited at the idea of fighting against another super soldier.

"No. He won't risk it." Bucky exhaled. "He won't hesitate to use other test subjects, though. That serum is unlike any other serum ever created. It's impossibly strong, wicked even, formulated to poison the human body and mind. There's a high possibility that the person will lose his sanity after taking it. No human is strong enough to bear its power."

Sam's brows knitted. "And where does Grace fit in all this?"

"They're family, hence Silas wants to test it on her and analyze its side effects. That monster wants to sacrifice his daughter for the sake of a stupid experiment!" Bucky said with a sick, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Steve ground his jaw. "We'll get him. Let's start by infiltrating some of the possible Hydra facilities."

"I agree. I'm sure we'll eventually find some clues," Sam said. "What's our first location?"

Bucky cleared his throat before saying, "Hydra's Laboratories in North America.

▪️▪️▪️

Grace gazed outside the airplane window, her thoughts distant, lost in the vast expanse beyond the glass. Sunlight filtered through puffy clouds, casting a warm and inviting glow on the landscape below. Rolling hills and lush valleys passed by, a vibrant tapestry of nature's splendor. But her eyes remained vacant, her mind consumed by a storm of emotions that no view could dispel.

She groaned and shifted on her seat, evading the intruding sunlight that hit her eyes. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes but she wiped them away and curled up in her seat with a heavy feeling in her chest. She should have known better. James was trained in the art of misleading people. And she was such a fool, melting into his arms, completely disregarding the signs until it was too late.

It irritated her that he had taken a personal risk so he could keep her safe.

Alarms were ringing in her mind because, despite his actions, she was worried about him. What if Hydra recaptured him? What if they tortured him beyond saving? What if she never saw him again? The fear of his absence, of never setting eyes on him again, clutched at her heart, refusing to loosen its grip. She attempted to push these thoughts aside, but they clung to her consciousness relentlessly.

The soft sound of boots clacking against the floor brought her back from her silent thoughts, followed by a soft hand cupping her shoulder. Grace cringed at the sudden touch and readjusted her position at the sudden disturbance. Her gaze met that of a woman draped in a tactical ensemble, vibrant crimson hair framing her face like a fierce halo. The piercing green of her eyes held a hint of mischief, and her lips were painted a deep red.

"Natasha?" Grace uttered, her eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

"Grace Landon, I was hoping our paths would cross again," Natasha replied, her lips curling into a warm smile.

"How long has it been?!"

Grace exclaimed, springing from her seat to embrace her in a swift, heartfelt hug. Natasha had been a constant presence in her life during the time when she was tasked with guarding her and her mother against Silas. They had grown close and turned into good friends.

"Over four years," Natasha answered, her tone carrying a sense of both nostalgia and regret. "Grace... I'm so sorry about your mother. I—I failed—"

"Natasha, don't blame yourself for my mother. You did everything you could to keep us safe."

"I wish I could have done more." Natasha didn't have the heart to meet her eyes. She felt sorry for not being able to protect Grace's mother and for going on with her life when the poor girl had gone through so much on her own.

"I've never forgotten you all these years," Grace confessed, her voice a brew of gratitude and affection.

Natasha's eyes met hers, her demeanor softening. "Is that why you disappeared without a trace?"

"I'm sorry..."

Natasha sighed. "I thought you were dead ..."

"As you can see I'm still... I'm still out of power. What about you?"

"I've been following orders, going on missions."

Grace smiled. "I'm proud of you. You joined the Avengers. You seem to have found your place. And I'm sorry again. I should have kept contact with you."

"I understand," Natasha said. "It's all in the past now."

"James put you up to this, didn't he?" Grace said, a harsh breath escaping her. "Ah... even saying his name makes me angry."

"Barnes did this to protect you," Natasha said after pondering for a few seconds. "He's a good man."

Grace's frustration resurfaced. "I don't care. He shouldn't have agreed to this plan. Turn this jet around. I want to see him."

Natasha's tone was gentle but firm. "I can't do that."

Grace let out a bitter laugh. "This isn't fair. I'm being dragged along against my will."

"Bear with it for a little while." Natasha peered at the way her face had paled and for a moment there, she was vexed. Damn it, Barnes. The young spy was insecure about all this, but Steve had also agreed, so she had to follow the plan.

Grace rubbed her throbbing temples and asked, "Where are you taking me?"

"I'll let you know soon."

"That's not an answer."

"Grace, please try to be patient."

"I can't be patient. I've been manipulated into something I don't want."

Natasha's resolve wavered. "Alright. We're headed to the Stark Tower. New York."

"The Stark Tower?"

"Yes, you're to stay there until further notice." Natasha hesitated but continued, "I'll be there with you, providing whatever assistance you need."

Grace forced down the sickening feeling in her gut and exhaled. The Stark Tower represented safety and luxury, yet its walls felt like a gilded cage, confining her freedom. And Natasha wasn't staying with her just to make friends. She was there to guard her in case something went wrong.

"Will he ever return?" Grace muttered, her throat tightening.

Natasha didn't reply and that was answer enough.

10 notes · View notes

pangolinheart · 8 months

Text

FFXIVWrite 2023 DAY 15 - PORTENTOUS

Haurchefant is plagued by a strange dream.

(You have no idea how livid I was when I realized I'd already used the "Sid has a dream about Rhiki dying" thing for Monday's prompt. I wanted to do a continuation of that, but couldn't think of a way to do it without being repetitive I'm not 100% sold on Rhiki and Haurchefant being this close in "canon", since she's already the most stereotypical WoL to ever exist, but this was the only thing I could think of on short notice! Feel free to imagine your WoL in her place if it helps!)

Rating: General Genre: Angst Characters: Haurchefant Greystone, Z'rhiki Irhi (Warrior of Light) Relationships: Haurchefant/Warrior of Light (kind of, if you squint) Word Count: 862 Content Warnings: Mentions of character death

They were just seconds too late. For what, he knew not, but the frantic clanking of their sabatons against tile and the blood pounding in his ears assured him that they had been rushing towards something. The shrinking shadow of something taking flight – a dragon? – and the bloody, fevered sunset was all that welcomed them as they burst through the last archway onto the landing. Too late.

Z’rhiki lunged forward, lance in hand, but even her prodigious leap could not carry her anywhere but the cobblestone streets far below. She cursed loudly, voice hoarse from exertion. He sighed, regret and exhaustion chasing the remaining adrenaline from his body.

But then, something glinted in the fading light as it sung through the air, restarting the frantic pounding of his heart. He cried out Rhiki’s name and charged forward, shield raised.

And once again, was but seconds too late.

The bolt of sizzling energy slammed into the Warrior of Light’s chest with enough force to knock her from her feet, and he arrived only in time to catch her before she could hit the stone floor.

“Rhiki!” He called again, breathlessly, as he came to kneel on the tiles with her in his arms. Even hampered by the glaring sunset and the matte black leather of her armor, his eyes found the ragged wound almost immediately, and his heart sank. He was a knight, a soldier. He knew a fatal wound when he saw one.

He forced himself to believe that there was still a chance. One gloved hand pressed against what it could cover of the wound, and he felt as much as heard her shuddering gasp. “Alphinaud! Lucia!” He yelled the names of anyone he could think of, only to find Alphinaud already crouching beside him and Lucia, one of Aymeric’s arms slung over her shoulder, hovering over him.

The look of shock had faded from Rhiki’s eyes, and she winced feebly in pain. She lapsed into a fit of coughing, and he could hear the blood garbling the sound, just as he felt its wetness seeping through his glove. When she recovered she looked up at him with those large, expressive eyes he so often found himself drawn to. She smiled weakly.

“Sorry, Haurchefant…” She said. Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

He shook his head fiercely. “You’ve nothing to be sorry for, my friend,” he insisted, his voice cracking. Alphinaud had pushed his blood-soaked hand away from the gash, and he instead tangled it in one of hers.

Her smile became tinged with knowing. With what little strength she had left she squeezed his hand.

“Oh no,” he heard Alphinaud breathe.

“C’mon, don’t cry,” she murmured. “You know I hate seeing people cry.” Her other hand reached up as if to wipe away tears, though faltering long before it reached his face, and it was only then that he realized his cheeks were wet with them.

He wanted nothing more than to scream until his throat bled, but he forced himself to smile back down at her, and her own smile broadened, just a fraction. A last, quaking breath left her, and he slowly felt her body go limp in his arms.

“No! No, no, no!” His tears were falling in earnest now, and he buried his face in her soft hair to muffle the sound of his cries. His arms tightened around her. With no one left to comfort, he let himself fall to pieces.

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

Haurchefant woke with a gasp, eyes opening to find himself twisted in sweat-soaked sheets. His eyes darted wildly about the room until his mind caught up to his body in waking. A dream. Just a dream. He pushed himself up and groped at the sheets next to him, but she wasn’t there.

Of course not. He shouldn’t have expected her to be. She was somewhere in Dravania with Lady Iceheart and the Azure Dragoon – a journey fraught with peril, to be sure, but at least not a stone landing somewhere above Ishgard.

He heaved a few shaky breaths and climbed out of bed, already beginning to reach for his clothing. He felt energized, if no less exhausted. He had spent the past few days on his feet, constantly on the move, shouting orders and joining his troops in their preparations for the oncoming onslaught. He did all that they did, and slept only when the last of them did. He owed them no less. Only when fatigue rendered him entirely useless did he resign himself to bed.

As he dressed, he told himself that the dream had been the product of stress, worry, and sleep-depravation. Perhaps even the strange accommodations played a part – over the years he had become unaccustomed to sleeping in his father’s house, within the walls of the city. He assured himself that his own efforts would be rendered unnecessary when Rhiki breezed back through the city gates, hale and whole, having once again averted their demise. He willed himself to believe that the dream was portentous of nothing but the awkward conversation he was planning on having with the woman upon her return.

He wouldn’t let it be.

#ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2023 #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #haurchefant greystone #haurchefant #wolchefant #harchewol #like i said #if you squint #heavensward spoilers #heavensward 3.0 spoilers #auggie writes #rhiki tag #disclaimer: i don't know if I actuually want their relationship to be this close in canon #but i was really on a time crunch and this was literally the only thing i could think of

11 notes · View notes

ziegenkind094 · 2 years

Note

do you have any books to recommend? mainly found family and queer 🥇

Okay, the only book I've read recently that fits both criteria is this one:

Other recent queer books I really liked:

These Violent Delights tells the story of Paul and Julian and their growing obsession with each other. Fucked up and delicious, quite different from what I expected but it was a nice surprise. Reminded me a bit of the Wicker King.

The Absolutist is about two soldiers that serve in WW1 together. It's a a really sad story about love, friendship and fear that keeps you on your toes with some nice twists and turns and eventually leaves you staring at a wall in disbelieve (at least that's how it was for me haha). The writing is so beautiful that it became one of my all-time favorite books despite the sad topic of war, which I find hard to digest.

The Faerie Hounds of York takes a dark twist on faeries (which are more like magical monsters in the best and creepiest way, loved that so much about the book bc I usually hate anything faerie) and is unapologetically gay. It's only 200 pages and the story progresses fast, but it didn't feel rushed imo? Idk, I liked it, I had fun, the smut was unexpected but I'm not complaining lol.

Giovanni's Room is a classic I wasn't sure I would like, but I gave it a try (and the cover is gorgeous, ngl) and I don't regret it. The book is pretty clear about it's ending right from the start, so there are no bad surprises here. It's a short read and definitely worth a try if you wanna dip your toes into some older books. It's not a happy story, but an interesting one. It also had some pretty banger lines!

Honorary mentions:

I read all 500 pages in one day bc I couldn't put the book down. It's pure chaos but, oh, so much fun. Also gay. really, really gay.

This book is really old but the gayest thing you'll ever read. You know what's even better? The author gets soooo angry if you call this book gay, so there's even more reason to read it and realize HOW gay all these characters are. It's a bit hard to get into at first, but it's worth it.

--------

And bc it's my birthday today I'd like to ask for some book recommendations in return. <3 So if anyone has a book they think I might like then pls tell me, I'm always looking for a new read. 🙇‍♀️

#book recommendations #books #genre doesn't matter as long as it doesn't have straight romance as the main romance #i die if i have to read about straight ppl falling in love or even worse: getting it on <3 #i'm reading the ninth house rn and i already groaned SO MANY times just from the mere hint of alex and darlington getting it on #i'm also fine with no romance at all!#i just wanna read cool books

85 notes · View notes

ikeromantic · 1 year

Note

Sending in request and lots of love ❤️ I rlly like you're writing and all those fics you've written!

Recently, I've just moved and are now starting a new fresh. The problem is, I'm leaving behind my friends whom i just started bonding for like, 5 months, but they've become more than my family. I still can't overcome the feeling of missing them and regretting my choice and I haven't told anyone abt these. So I've started doing some extra activities that reminds me of my old days with them, including the good memories and the bad ones. I have the confidence in overcoming my feelings, but I still couldn't shake off this feeling of anxiety, depression and loneliness. Like, everything I'm doing felt wrong. I'm still not sure who to vent to, and this could calm me a little.

I was hoping if your could do an Ikesen fic of how he would comfort me, bc the only time I could distract myself is when I'm reading abt my fav suitors. I'll understand if you won't write this, so pls don't get pressure.

Oh, and my comfort character is Kanetsugu btw. Mitsuhide is my husbando ^^

Awww! I hope you are doing ok. That's a lot to go through, especially this time of year. *hugs* I would love to write Kanetsugu for you but I don’t know him well enough yet. So I hope Mitsuhide will make you smile ^_^ Approx. 800 words

Mitsuhide looked over the wagons with interest. Everything they would need from his manor in Azuchi was packed now, along with the supplies they would need for their journey. It felt strange to know his life could fit into these wagons so neatly, as if he’d never been here.

The only thing missing was his little mouse. She wasn’t near the wagons or anywhere in sight.

He walked through the halls and rooms slowly, an odd sense of disconnection welling unexpectedly in his chest. There was nothing of him left here. Nothing of the life he now shared with the chatelaine. It was as if he’d never existed, as if his memories were mere wishful fictions.

The intensity of the feeling surprised him. He had not thought to miss this place.

As Mitsuhide turned a corner, he spotted his little one. She stood on a balcony overlooking the Azuchi castle courtyard. There were people moving around below. He spotted Masamune and Keiji joking with some soldiers. Mitsunari hurrying along with an armful of books. Hideyoshi helping a made carry kitchen supplies.

She was watching them so intently that she didn’t notice Mitsuhide come up behind her. Tears slid down her cheeks, catching the afternoon sunlight. Her lips were pressed to a thin line, holding back any sound.

It hurt him to see her like this. Not because she was sad, but that she tried to hide it from him. Refusing to share the burden. He knew it was one of the ways she tried to protect him - to guard his heart - but he wanted to be the one she could share anything with. Good and bad and all that lay between.

Mitsuhide put his arm around her as he came up to stand at her side.

She didn’t say anything at first, just leaned against him. They stood like that for several moments more. Just watching the life below.

“I’m going to miss them all so much.” The words quietly punctured the silence, barely louder than a sigh.

“I will as well.” It surprised him to find that this was true. He’d always told himself the other warlords were co-workers. Tools to reach toward his ideals. Pawns. But . . . they were friends. People that had laid their marks across his heart. And he would miss seeing them each day.

She wrapped her arms around him, turning from the view to bury her face into the folds of his kimono. “I-it’s stupid to cry about it. I know.”

He held her tightly. “It is not.”

“B-but they are all going to be ok. W-we can visit. Write.”

“We can.”

“But it isn’t the same.” She wiped her at her face.

Mitsuhide pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It won’t be.”

She sniffed. “That’s not very comforting.”

“Isn’t it?” He smiled as gently as he knew how. “Everything changes, little one.”

“Well. I don’t want it to.” She sighed. “What if we could just stay? Nobunaga would let us.”

Mitsuhide nodded. “He would. But then the life we could live together in Fukuchiyama will never happen.” He kissed her temple. “We can stay, if that is what you really want.”

“I . . . no . . . we already packed and - and everyone expects us to go.”

“None of that matters to me as much as you do.”

She looked up again, meeting his eyes.

He could see her emotions, the fear and anxiety, sadness for parting, excitement for new possibilities . . . this and more churned in the confines of her spirit. Mitsuhide held her tightly, knowing that she would take comfort from his touch more than his words.

“Sometimes I wish you would just tell me what I have to do.” She sighed. “But I’m glad, I guess, to have a say.”

“What will it be, little one? Shall we stay? Or are we going?”

His little mouse took a breath. “We should go. I know I will miss everyone here. All the friends I’ve made. The life we built in Azuchi. But . . . there will be good things in Fukuchiyama too. I hope.”

“And we will have each other, wherever we are.” Mitsuhide lifted her just enough to kiss her. A gentle, slow kiss that held all the love he had to give her.

As the wagons left behind, Mitsuhide held tight to his lover’s hand. There would be sorrow, where they were going. But there would also be joy. They would face whatever came next together.

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen mitsuhide #mitushide akechi #fanfic #fanfiction #otome guys #otome #hurt and comfort

30 notes · View notes

hunkydorkling · 2 years

Text

May 9, 2022, Monday

(a.k.a. a very emotional and anxious long post)

I voted for the first time today after skipping two elections.

I'm riddled with so much anxiety as I type this, but as I formulate the words in real-time, I want to shed a little light behind the months that led to this photo—stuff that could only brush the surface from just one perspective that clearly doesn't represent the whole of the Filipino people right now.

I was already of legal age to vote back in 2015-2016, but like most people during that year—apathetic, apolitical, and uninformed—I couldn't bother being interested in Philippine politics, much more proactive in voting. "One vote doesn't change anything, we're still going to suffer" was the standard narrative, like any sliver of hope could be taken away from us any second. I was terrifyingly fine with not having to register as a voter. What's one vote worth, anyway?

Then Duterte won. That's when I felt like I had a chance taken away from me by my own self, because I know I wouldn't have probably voted for someone who killed people just for disobeying his orders for the peace he could control. That sounded awfully synonymous to a dictator called Ferdinand Marcos who ran the country for 30 years.

I knew the kind of history the country didn't want, and it was in my human right to vote, but I formed my biggest regret that day.

The Philippine pandemic response under Duterte, amongst other things like extra-judicial killings and mysteriously unreported tax allocations, opened a lot of eyes to the unjust and fatal ruling of this administration, and only then did that fear turn into crying fits every night, every other day, for the rest of the year. It was what seemed to be an endless cycle of Hell disguised as anguish for those that have been wrongfully killed for speaking in the name of free speech and democracy.

When different government aspirants filed their certificate of candidacy (some seasoned and some for the first time), contacts from within my immediate bubble were hoping that our current Vice President and Human Rights Lawyer, Leni Robredo, would be one out of ten candidates to try her hand at securing the position. The only woman in a sea of incompetent, tyrannical men. Her track record was described as fine and ideal of any political candidate by most (if not all) news outlets, garnering no smidge of corruption in her 30+ years of serving the masses as a Lawyer and a District Representative of a province in the far south. She served 6 years trying to make do with the limited annual budget given to her. Coupled with the fact that Duterte kept spewing shit at her for literally no reason at all, she graced through all of that and let her actions do most of the talking.

The Philippine elections period brought out a whirlwind of emotions out of people; they've divided families who'd rather cling on to their pride for what was lost, and what they regarded as the Golden Era with rose-colored glasses. Nothing changed the fact that corruption was still abound, with Marcos Jr. soldiering on as if their family hasn't embezzled millions, enough to be included in the Guinness World Records as the greatest robbery. (Side note: the entry for that has now suddenly become inaccessible, but according to this article by Rappler, Wayback Machine clearly still has its caches to tell you that it's a real thing.)

That wasn't the case with Leni Robredo. One of her worries was the fact that she couldn't spend hefty money for a campaign that would last for an entire year. But because of her role as a Vice President, and the simple things she's done to show the people that she actually gives a fuck about people from impoverished areas, the support started trickling little by little. Campaign materials were done by volunteers: Need ads? Film workers can do that. Need pubmats? A band of creative people will lend their talents and go as far as make her illustrations. Print services were provided almost for free or at a discounted price, something that's otherwise paid for in full by many only to end up getting wasted.

I've never seen millions (literal millions) of people band together the way they did for Leni. Every single one who's explicitly said they support her have this certain glint in their eyes, that they know the potential for a clean government could be possible without having anyone killed without due process, or expect transparency and just accountability for what goes on in the country. They'll say it's impossible, but it's impossible because not a lot of people try to see the options that are clearly better. She is the best choice for all of us right now, and no one can convince me otherwise.

As of writing, it is less than 4 hours until voting ends. There's pent up anxiety shared among every person who voted for Leni. It could always go both ways, but we'd strongly refuse to let another Marcos have a seat at the Presidential throne. Blatant cheating can be seen in every corner, and somewhere out there is a pollwatcher whose lives are being threatened and killed to prevent a vote for the best choice. I couldn't get any sleep after our 6am journey to the voting precincts, because I keep thinking and worrying: what if Leni loses? Will I have to leave the country? Is all hope lost?

There's at least ten days to go before we receive the final result, but I know I'll be starving for great news in the next few days.

Until then, I'm sharing a mixture of international and local articles to introduce to you the kind of leader I want for the country.

#halalan 2022 #ph elections #corny talks philippine presidential elections #i was supposed to take a nap after typing this but all i could do was scroll through my timelines #i am petrified at the amount of fake news circulating every other post #everyone's being extra vigilant for the very alarming instances of cheating #posting more about this developing story in the next few days #personal #very personal

14 notes · View notes

randomnameless · 2 years

Note

oh boy, I just saw the post about dragons in FE are inherintly bad and I'm gonna weigh in about Jugdral cause that's where my braincells are.

as already pointed out, the evil dragon Loptous became a problem after Galle/Gair/whatever his localised name is went out of his way to travel to Archanea in search of power and found it in the form of a bloodpact with Loptous. Also nobody said Loptous is innocent whatsoever, so no idea where that came from?? (And yes, Loptous resided in the tome and descends into anyone with the fitting Holy Blood. Only at the end he's released after Julius is defeated.) Anyways, Galle returns, establish his funky new empire and everything starts going awry for several years. "When it came to that, the other group of dragons who were then living in secret came to discuss what they ought to do. So, in the middle of that discussion, their leader proposed tentatively trusting the humans and intervening, and they distributed their power to the soldiers who remained until the end--that's a summary of the event that we call The Miracle at Darna Fortress. [...] Afterward, humanity preserved the teachings of the gods AKA dragons, and for several decades, continued the era of peace. However…… as time passed, the teachings of the gods were slowly forgotten, and humanity became arrogant." - Kaga [Source]

And that's quite literally the theme of FE4! Humanity's hubris once someone gains an inch of power. In the span of barely 100 years the people went from waging war against Loptous to waging war against one another because everyone believes themselves to be in the right. (Importance of the word "seisen" and the implications it has in Japan) "Seeing this, the dragons from whom the Twelve Crusaders drew their power regretted aiding the humans, and agreed never to intervene in the human world again."

That is until Forseti/Lewyn, who helped out a little. He only sheltered Julia for several years, taught Arthur wind magic, helped out in Leonster, watched over Lene (if he's her father) and basically provided guidance for the new generation. So yeah, I guees he helped out "a little". He also delivered this banger of a quote: "Yeah... Consider this a lesson, Seliph. Good and evil can't be easily reduced to such simple, black-and-white ideals. If you must hate, hate the evil which lurks in us all, not the individual. Never forget this."

In short, FE4 is not a game about "dragons bad". Yes, there is a dragon, who is bad but overall the shittiness in Jugdral stems from people being greedy and arrogant. Galle also would have established his empire if the power came from a freaking salmon, it's all about power and what it does to people! And Julius in the end is just a vicitm of circumstances.

Oh damn, this is long but I couldn't just let this be, sorry for that. Also I wouldn't think too hard about Ced/Sety being named after the crusader. I think this is more of a case of Kaga not being subtle/being biased towards Lewyn x Erin, why else would she name her son after an crusader even if Lewyn isn't her husband. Of course, there can be an analysis in that direction but Kaga had his clear biases and I think this is one of them.

Nah, don't worry!

I'm not posting as much about Jugdral as I used to be, but I welcome any kind of discussion about the verse!

I don't know what was wrong with that person, but they apparently didn't want to talk, because if you rebuked them or disagreed, you were apparently a terf and whatnot, and then they brought their degree and I nope'd out of it because it just isn't worth it - like, seriously, I do not understand how you can brag about academics when we're talking about video games, but the more you know...

Imagine if everytime someone criticised Thatcher and some people would immediately jump on you affirming you said she was "stupid because she has ovaries" - no mate, I've never talked about ovaries, and quite frankly I don't really want to.

Anyways, I agree with everything you said!

Jugdral is the verse where we don't see manaketes and physical dragons ruining things - Jugdral is the verse where humans abuse power, let it come from a dragon or a jack'o'latern, to do cruel, petty or stupid things because Jugdralians are shitty people.

But for every Raydrick out there, we also have an Amalda, an Eyvel or a Siggy.

Dragons left, Forseti tries to help and guide... it doesn't always work - and the world would have been doomed if Manfroy wasn't a petty bastard - but his MO is to let humans deal with their own mess, he is just here to give directions.

IDK about Ced/Sety, but I thought it was maybe just a callback to the OG Crusader and founder of Silesse - since Erinys becomes Queen, maybe she would have found it nice for her child to be named after the previous Hero and founder of Silesse?

And this is mainly why I really do not want a remake for Jugdral to be announced, I know some people like that person did would, not misunderstand, but refuse even to listen or to consider what the game wanted to tell, if it can be used to prop, usually, Supreme Leader and her nauseabond take that people with scales are the reason why humans suffer.

There can be no discussion with someone who refuses to engage, and I've seen it in real life, it becomes quickly tiresome.

In real life, I cannot block those people but in the fandom?

I can cure my own experience, and yet, as we saw with FE16, it will spread around like an unattended chamber pot. At first I thought Serenes might be the last bastion of common sense, since people who played and talked about past games, who (used?) are open to discussion could kindly rebuke them, and if it ever escalated mods are here to remove their access to debating spaces if it becomes clear they do not want to engage in any discussion and are just here to troll...

But Serenes let Beta ruin the FE16 subforum for several months, with the famous "one day one bad take" and everyone who disagreed would either be harshly rebuked or straight out ignored, so...

So I don't know if it counts as gatekeeping, I hope not, but even being worried about the question raises an issue about the current state of the fandom, are you really gatekeeping when you just ask of someone who wants to debate/talk/engage to play the game or read the script? When you ask them to answer and reply with canon material, and not their latest recipe on how to make egg-less mayo?

#tomeofthoron #jugdral stuff #to this day I'm still baffled at how you can use Jugdral to say dragon bads when Jugdral is the land where McBeth sucks bcs he is McBeth #what even counts as gatekeeping in a fandom?#back in my days people said if you're asking of someone to play the older games you were an elitist #but how can you talk about something you never played/watched/read?#and how can you miss the 'humans suck' message from jugdral and put everything on lizards?#does it come back to the general death of the author circle - i'll use X to say whatever I want despite X's meaning and themes?#back to jugdral thoughts #I found it nice how in FE4 Erinys is Queen in her own right and not only as the wife of #maybe in the FE4 canon Kaga thought Erinys would need to name her son after the Crusader to gain some legitimacy despite his lack of HB #if his dad isn't Lewyn?#idk

7 notes · View notes

theherosreturn · 11 months

Note

Athena: Though only a few truly shunned me due to knowing my full goals…that matters not. I feel we could make an…agreement with this partnership and deal.

(As she started manifesting a physical form once more, a result of Sam granting her such a form, she let her powers get to work…and called forth the beasts of Pandaemonium. The Hippokampos, the Phoinix, the Proto Carbuncle, the Kokytos, and even a manifestation of Pandaemonium itself, once again like a massive spider with a mechanical, human-like face…Sam was probably grinning with anticipation thanks to these mythic creations)

Athena: As such, so long as I can act under my own power more than the other vessels, I accept this deal. Worry not about me going renegade as well…I do like what you have in mind for the end goals, in all honesty.

(Being a god and spreading that influence throughout all of creation was already what Athena wanted…this was just a new way to really do it)

Cosmic Sam: So it shall be done~...Welcome to The Crystallized Horde...You're going to fit right in~...*The many cultists and servants of Cosmic Sam that guarded this castle with their very existence had started chanting "Hail Sam"*

Cosmic Sam: Kadachi...I will make sure that you regret ever stepping back into "My" kingdom~!...That is my guarantee~...

(Meanwhile with The heroes)

Ross, being the first to report what happened during and after the big fight: Good news! We got rid of all the Zombots and Grunt bots!...Bad news is that we couldn't find the one responsible for hacking everything...Worse news...Everything related to the city being capable of flight has become 100% FUBAR (F****d up beyond repair).

Uzi: Basically, the city won't be flying for awhile. (Winter: And what of the soldiers that were turned into those...Things.) That's a difficult question because there are very rare instances where the person can actually be freed from the control of the Zombot virus...But the common thing that happens is that they just melt into slag.

Jackrow, after feeling a disturbance within the natural order: I fear that something big will happen soon...(Irida: You mean like another invasion?) No...I think Samuel has gained a new vessel...

#Multiversal Fusion #cosmicverse #adventureverse #adventureverse: cosmicverse #Chaos-verse

0 notes

sepheroth · 2 years

Note

💋 (coughs)

Send 💋 to shut my muse up with a kiss Were Sephiroth to arrive earlier moments before Aerith was ready and prepared for their little journey then he would have seen her very thoughtful, perhaps even pondering if either it was she should have played the small role of a tailor, hire one or head straight for the mall. She'd roll with the later and final options as he wanted instant results. With the appropriate amount of gil, of course. But it wasn't as though he'd not known of her intentions. But the keyword being specifics. Meaning, more than what she first said were in waiting in store for him. Thinking back on it made her smile. Gladly enough on what felt like endless hours of pondering what to wear, the worrying was all for nothing. After arriving to the desired department store with Aerith, he obviously had not known exactly what to feel about the situation, nor had he had any idea of how to process it. When the topic of shopping was handed to him, he was first lead under the impression that this was only for a few things for her, and that they were only going to be there for a few moments. He hadn't counted on it being for the both of them. Though, then again, now that he'd only just now started to read into the later details of it, she seemed dressed up just, well...Just for that....For a mall. He couldn't grasp. Even if he tried, he unmistakably failed. He hadn't known if this was a thing that only women did, but he found it interesting...And strange. He hadn't known if he wanted to ask. At least it was nothing to flashy or showy. Good thing he remembered not wear his SOLDIER uniform since usually, that was what he wore a majority of the time he'd been seen. By anyone, really.

So after questioning, noting and jotting down his measurements. Naturally, Aerith would have him to tag along. And whenever one tote bag was full, she'd hand it over to him for him and he figured out the rest. Though Sephiroth had not said much and was only ever able to offer monosyllables, he began to increasing feel that he'd he come to immediately regret his decision on agreeing to do so much as shopping with her. One thing though, for certain, he was mentally thankful to whatever else god known to existence that he wasn't the only one who'd be paying. (He knew better immediately that cash would be coming out of his pockets, too.) Depending on how generous he had been feeling at that particular moment. To challenge herself, she wanted to see if she find something for him that had not been the colors he's already wearing. Finally, satisfied on her third tote bag, with her once unoccupied hand, she'd grip his and steered him down a path until they reached a fitting room. And then he had to play the waiting game. Sephiroth reached a point where he wanted to actually form along a full range of wording. Actual sentences. But this happened after everything else he tolerated all this time without complaints.

"This is a little..." halted by the sight in front after she had only tried on one dress. Sephiroth's head most definitely turned. If he had tried to even start by denying it, he would unable to deny the fact that he liked it. All the difference that clothing made. Taking in his reaction and letting it all soak in, she pretended to not notice. While he was spellbound by awe, this was the perfect opportunity to distract him further. A bright and delightful smile came up upon her lips, lifting a hand and placing a finger to his lips to shush him before he uttered another word. "Are you still brooding? Don't you ever get tired of being lost inside that head of yours? No wonder you hardly ever budge! Geez, I mean, I did the hardest part. You don't want to know how difficult it was to find something this nice. The leas you could do is thank me!" Now he seems less and less intimidating. No matter what his towering height was. Once he snapped to he'd jolt himself into resuming his former thought in which he left off from. "....This is more than I bargained for. Where are you intending to go...?" He didn't want to include the word 'we', for fear he might've given her more ideas. "I thought you'd change your attitude by now. Hm, guess I was wrong. Anyway, don't just stand there. Now, go on." Turning him around, she placed him toward the dressing room and made certain to shove the tote bag onto him. She made certain he wouldn't abandon it. Hadn't taken him entirely too long for him to get changed into the outfit she had for picked out for him. Now, it'd appear the both of them rendered one another to silences. The difference between them being, Aerith was a little more subtle about it. If anything, Sephiroth felt...Different. He should be used to dressing up in suits like this. But maybe it was because this was a new pair of eyes that'd seen him in a different atmosphere. "Will you answer me now?" Sephiroth felt that he was now at least a little deserving of the right to continue complaining. "...If this is another surprise then, just say it. I'd rather not be wasting time here any longer than I have to, or what's longer than needed." He also liked to scoff and drag a hand down across his face between his sigh. "If we're done, I'd like to get..." finishing those words were rather futile on his end. Boosting herself up upon her tip toes once she could manage footing and had taken off her heels, she then place a kiss onto his lips. It was gentle at first. Not long before she gave it a little more effort. That all said and done, Sephiroth first wrapped his arms from around waist and he latched further into kiss. Sure, after it was broken, he was surprised. He was even more surprised that he returned it. And even more than that, he felt he should be concerned if whether or not this would cost him something later own and down the road. After whatever else she had in store for him...He started secretly wondering what all this bother was for.

#whiitemateria #also i was brain storming ideas #oddly enough me playing y.azuka 0 helped me out #Bow your head if you wish to keep it: IC asks #i tried to find her voice and write from her view and perspective

1 note · View note

helloalycia · 3 years

Text

secret relationship // wanda maximoff

summary: you're the daughter of the famous Black Widow, which comes with its own set of hurdles such as revealing to her that you're dating the newest Avenger that she also happens to be mentoring – Wanda Maximoff. What could go wrong?

warning/s: minor (implied) violence and injury

author's note: okay so the request was the reader is Natasha's daughter and is struggling to tell Natasha that she's dating Wanda. All I know is I got excited (as usual) and this happened so yeah, enjoy! Also, Wanda’s age is always a mystery to me since it’s interpreted differently with everyone, so I tried my best to explain the age gap between you and natasha so things made sense.

masterlist | wattpad

"Did you know red onion and red cabbage is called 'red' instead of 'purple' because back in the old days, they didn't have enough words for colours so anything purple was defined as red?"

"The mission, Y/N," my mum, Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow, scolded.

I sighed, my attention still focused on my surroundings and my gun directed ahead. "I know, I know. But did you know that the most common internet password is '123456'?"

"Y/N," Wanda, my girlfriend and teammate said with a laugh. "Stop it."

"Yeah, please, quit it," my mum added with an eye roll.

I smiled at Wanda, admiring how beautiful she looked when she hid her laugh. My mum wasn't aware we were dating, so I settled for sending her a playful wink before looking ahead.

I knew I had to focus on the mission – scouting out this abandoned HYDRA den – but it was boring. And it was obviously empty of any threats, so talking was my only pastime.

"Did you know the inventor of Pringles is buried in a Pringles can?" I said after a moment of silence, making my mum stop walking abruptly.

"Okay, you know what? New plan," she said, looking between Wanda and I. "Everyone split up. Take a look around. Stay alert. Keep in contact. Sound good?"

I quirked a brow. "You trying to get rid of me?"

She narrowed her eyes my way. "Yes."

I frowned, making Wanda crack a smile and nudge me in the shoulder.

"You need to learn to have an off button sometimes," she joked, her Sokovian accent shining through despite the voice lessons my mum was giving her. Honestly, I preferred her Sokovian accent to her American one.

"You love it," I teased, giving her a knowing smile, my mother completely unaware of the double meaning.

"Just do as I said," my mum said, already shooing me away. "Wanda, you know what to do. If you see or hear anything suspicious, use your comms."

"Yes, Miss Romanoff," Wanda said obediently, and I tried so hard to hold in laughter at her seriousness. I mean, it was great that she was respectful of my mother and her mentor, but God it was funny to witness.

"Once again, Wanda, you can just call me Nat," my mum said with a wince, trying to be polite. "Go on."

Wanda nodded and walked off, her gun raised as she'd practiced. I grinned at my mum, noticing the way she massaged her temple with mild agitation before her gaze fell to mine.

"Go. Now." She pointed behind me, and I stifled a laugh.

"Bet you love babysitting duty," I joked.

"It's not babysitting if I'm your mother," she pointed out. "Though sometimes, you make me regret not picking the baby instead of you."

"That baby would have been six years old now," I informed her. "If anything, I spared you the whole diaper thing and the outgrowing clothes thing and the– oh yeah! Not being able to speak thing!"

"At least they wouldn't be annoying me with stupid facts," she retorted, hand on her hip. "Now be a good agent and do your job."

I rolled my eyes playfully, knowing she was kidding. Whenever I annoyed her, she'd bring up the story of how it was between twelve year old me and a six-month old baby at the adoption centre. She was worried I'd view her as an older sister or something, hence her choice of adopting the baby instead. But I never did, as she was always way more mature than any twenty-seven year old I'd met or seen at the time. And maybe, I guess, I was really desperate to have a motherly figure, and she just happened to fit the bill.

"Aye, aye, Miss Romanoff," I saluted, making her raise an eyebrow threateningly. "Okay, geez, I'm going."

I wandered off, exploring the dishevelled HYDRA den with full focus. The brief clearly stated it was an abandoned site, but I stayed on alert anyway in case there were stragglers. As usual, I only got given half the facts because of my clearance level, so I knew we were looking for a hard drive, but I had no idea what was on it.

Being a seventeen year old working in S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't exactly how I saw my life going when I grew up in an orphanage. I honestly never thought I'd get adopted, as rumours spread quite quickly through the orphanage that once you hit double digits, nobody wanted you. So, when the beautiful, red-headed Natasha Romanoff came in, looking for an addition to her family, I felt like the luckiest kid in the world because she chose me of all the kids there.

I definitely didn't expect her to be the Black Widow, nor to teach me everything she knew about espionage, stealth, hand-to-hand combat and much more. She ensured I was multi-lingual like her, preparing me for the many S.H.I.E.L.D. missions I would have to go on. There were times when I absolutely despised her, particularly when she overtrained me or stopped me from seeing my friends. And there were times when I wished she'd never adopted me, hating that I couldn't have a normal teenage experience.

But when it came down to it, I knew I couldn't have asked for a more caring, considerate and compassionate mother. I learnt early on into our relationship that she was unable to have kids of her own, hence her interest in adoption. And honestly speaking? That was probably the worst thing in the world because if anybody deserved a child of their own, it was Natasha Romanoff. I guess, in that sense, I was lucky to have all of her love to myself.

Now that I was older, I came to appreciate how awesome she was, especially when we got to go on missions together and I saw her awesomeness upfront. The only thing was, she was extremely overprotective, so it was difficult to get sent on the dangerous missions. Though, I guess, whenever I did, she was always there to have my back and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Her overprotectiveness was also a reason why she didn't know about Wanda and I's relationship. Wanda had joined the Avengers a year ago after losing her brother in the battle against Ultron. She was a year older than me, so naturally we were drawn to each other, and before I knew it, our friendship became more. But of course, my mother could never know that. At least not yet.

"Empty here," I mumbled, rounding a corner into an empty room. As I looked through the rubbish on the desk, I continued, "Empty here... and here... and oh, look, here, too. What a surprise!"

"Y/N, I love you, but God help me I will kill you if you don't turn your damn mic off," my mother's voice came through my comms piece in my ear.

For once, I wasn't trying to piss her off, so I smiled sheepishly to myself and replied, "Sorry. Love you."

I could imagine the eye roll she was giving me in response, so continued to look around for the hard drive I saw on the brief. Still, there was nothing here.

My searching was interrupted when I heard a loud crash from a nearby room, like the sound of bricks tumbling against one another. I spun around, eyes widening with concern.

"Y/N? Wanda? What happened?" my mum's voice came through my ear, slightly reassuring me as it wasn't her who was caught up in anything. But then that meant–

"Wanda! What happened?" I replied worriedly, already rushing out of the room and to the source of the sound.

"I'm okay," Wanda's shaky voice came through my ear, which did nothing to ease my concern.

I found the room Wanda was in quite quickly, seeing her sat on the floor as if she'd been pushed. She had a deep cut on her forehead and looked visibly distressed. Running to her side, I kneeled down beside her and cupped her face, studying her head.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" The words tumbled from my mouth so quickly I wasn't sure if it was understandable.

She nodded slowly, accepting my hand and holding it for reassurance. I followed her gaze, seeing a hole in the wall ahead, bricks crumbling and dust beginning to settle. Laying on the floor through the hole and into the next room was a HYDRA soldier, clearly dead from the impact of hitting the bricks.

Wanda's power was magnificent, but hard to control. A year later and she was still learning its limits, but sometimes slip-ups like this happened. I was, admittedly, in awe of her actions.

"I'm sorry, I should have kept him alive like Miss Ro– Nat said," Wanda apologised suddenly, and I looked back at her to see her shaking her head. "He just– he startled me and I didn't know what I was doing until it happened. I thought–"

"Don't apologise," I cut her off, squeezing her hand gently, before looking back to the cut on her forehead. "I'm just glad you're okay. You did good."

Despite my words, I bit my lower lip to contain a frown, worried about her cut.

"Damn."

Wanda and I both turned to the doorway to see my mum, who stopped and took in the sight of the hole in the wall with partial surprise and partial amazement.

"Mum, we need to get her back to the quinjet," I said, pulling her attention away from the wall. She approached me as I said, "She needs medical assistance."

I didn't let go of Wanda's hand as I moved to the side for my mum to take a look. Gently guiding Wanda's chin to the side, she took a closer look at the gash on her forehead, expression showing nothing as usual.

"You'll be okay, honey," she reassured, letting go. Her eyes drifted to our connected hands briefly, but I figured she wouldn't piece anything together, so I didn't let go. She continued, "Let's get out of here. There's no hard drive anyway."

Wanda nodded and my mum and I helped her to stand up, me still not letting go of her hand.

"The hard drive is on him," Wanda spoke suddenly, nodding to the dead HYDRA agent. "I heard his thoughts before I– yeah."

My mum raised her brows with surprise. "Oh. Perfect. Y/N get the drive and let's go."

I pursed my lips, glancing at Wanda with concerned eyes. She gave me a small, reassuring smile, squeezing my hand subtly before letting go.

"Right, yeah," I said, swallowing hard.

I looked back to my mum, who seemed to be studying my expression, so I cleared my throat and left to get the drive. When I retrieved it, I jogged after Wanda and my mum, checking in on her with a small smile, before leading the way to the quinjet.

When we boarded the plane, I hung around Wanda and my mum as she helped the brunette to take a seat in the back. I noticed Wanda's momentary dizziness as she sat down and felt my chest tighten.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, kneeling before her as my mum got the first aid kit.

Wanda gave me an endearing smile as I swiped at the blood dripping down her forehead.

"I'll be alright," she said, holding my gaze with comforting green eyes before they flickered to behind me.

"Okay, Y/N, stop hanging about and start the plane whilst I stitch Wanda up," my mum said, appearing from behind me and kneeling beside me.

I nodded, glancing between the needle, thread and disinfectant in her hands and Wanda's head. Reluctantly, I got up and left them both to it as I started up the plane and got us in the air. Once we were in the clear, I flicked on autopilot before heading back to Wanda and my mum to see how things were going.

"We'll have someone look at it properly when we get back to the tower," my mum was saying to Wanda, who was now stitched up and wearing a small bandage, "but it'll hold up for now." With a playful smile, she added, "You're not dying on me just yet."

Wanda cracked a smile and whilst I appreciated how lovely it was to see their closeness in a way I never usually saw, I was still troubled by her injury. Logically, I knew she'd be okay, but it never felt good to see her injured.

"Plane is on autopilot," I announced, making my presence known. My eyes never left Wanda's bandage as I asked, "Everything okay here?"

"You need to calm down," my mum joked, making me look her way. "It's not that serious. Just some stitches."

I smiled awkwardly, but I knew it was much more than that.

"Yeah, relax, it's not a big deal," Wanda added playfully.

Her eyes met mine and I knew she was communicating the same thing through her gaze, holding a seriousness that wasn't able to be shared verbally because of my mum's presence. I tilted my head, giving her a knowing look; she knew I was aware of how big a deal it was. All I wanted to do was give her a hug and kiss and not leave her side until she felt better. And she knew that.

"I'm gonna go fly the plane," my mum said suddenly, and I almost forgot she was standing there until she spoke up. "We'll get back to base quicker..."

I glanced at her, mildly confused at her sudden change of expression. She headed to the front of the quinjet, leaving Wanda and I alone.

"Seriously though, you should relax," Wanda said, sounding like she did when it was just her and I and nobody else. She had an amused smile on her lips as she watched me worry. "I'm fine. All stitched up."

I licked my lips, sulking, as I dragged myself over to the seat beside her. She laced our fingers together, pressing a kiss to the top of my hand before facing me with an easygoing smile.

"I'm fine," she repeated gently, lovingly, sweetly.

I offered her a small smile, before leaning forward to press a kiss to her bandage. "I know. Just don't worry me like that. Especially in front of my mum. I can't take it."

"It's cute," she noted, amusement returning. "It means a lot to know someone cares."

My shoulders relaxed. "I care too much. So, please don't test that."

She laughed and I felt my heart flutter in my chest, never getting used to the sound.

"I promise not to," she said, looking up at me through her lashes.

I leaned my head on her shoulder and kept ahold of her hand, staying with her until we arrived back at base. My mum flew us the whole way back, only coming to get us once we landed. I knew I should have left Wanda's side as to not raise suspicion with my mum, but I couldn't find it in myself to do so. I just hoped she would interpret it as two concerned friends rather than her daughter having a secret girlfriend.

"You should head to the medical wing to get checked out properly," my mum said once we were back at the tower, looking to Wanda.

"Yeah," I agreed a little too eagerly. "I'll go with you."

My mum gave me a curious look. "I mean, that's not necessary."

Wanda must have sensed my eagerness, as she said, "I'd appreciate the company, actually. I don't mind."

She shot me a subtle smile, eyes bright with reassurance.

"I'm happy to accompany you, Wanda," my mum offered, and I felt my mouth go dry.

"It's okay, mum," I said suddenly, making her look to me with pursed lips. "You can go debrief and I'll make sure Wanda is cool with everything."

Glancing between us, my mum finally nodded. "I see. I guess I'll see you both later then." She paused, looking between us once more, before adding, "You did good today. Both of you."

I looked down to my shoes as Wanda shot her a grateful smile. She walked away, leaving us be, and I immediately intertwined my fingers with Wanda's as the two of us headed to the medical wing.

"You may as well write desperate on your forehead," she teased with a beautiful smile.

"So funny," I said sarcastically, though a smile of my own was present. "Let's just get you checked out."

"If it means you'll stop pouting, then sure."

"Real jokester you are. Hilarious, honestly."

Her laughter surrounded me like a warm hug and I could have listened to it forever.

—

Since our mission together, I noticed the distance my mum was putting between her and I, and I had no idea why. I thought I was overthinking it and seeing things that weren't there, so I didn't follow up with it until one evening.

It was a rare occurrence for all of the Avengers to be at the tower at once, so when they were, we'd all have a 'family' dinner for some normalcy. Only, this time, I noticed how strange my mum was acting whenever I spoke to her. She'd either act super dismissive or give one word answers to my questions – once again, I wasn't sure if I was seeing things.

After dinner, everyone went their separate ways and Wanda and I stayed in the living-area to watch some TV. Though it was playing, the volume was lowered and neither of us were watching it. We were just talking about random stuff and enjoying each other's company.

"Okay, how about this one?" I said to Wanda, turning so I was facing her, a grin on my lips. "What did the clock do when it was hungry?"

As with all of my other attempts at making Wanda laugh, she stared at me with an amused smile and a quirked brow.

"Say it...," I encouraged, motioning for her to speak with my hand.

She sighed. "Okay, what did the clock do when it was hungry?" Mumbling, she added, "Even though clocks don't eat..."

I slapped her leg playfully. "Sshhh, you'll ruin the joke. And the answer is, they go back four seconds!"

Wanda didn't laugh, but she seemed entertained as she hid a smile. "Seriously?"

"Because of the number 'four' and the word 'for'," I explained. "C'mon, that's a good one!"

"D'you think you're funny?" she asked, eyeing me playfully. "Because you're not."

I shrugged, playing it off like I wasn't fussed. "I mean, I don't know about that... how about now?"

Before she could question me, I moved forward and began to tickle her sides, watching as she squirmed with laughter.

"Stop it!" she shouted, but her smile was as wide as ever as she was unable to stifle her laughter. "P-please! Y/N!"

"But you said I wasn't funny!" I retorted with a grin, practically straddling her as she attempted to push me off her. "I'm just checking if you still think that!"

Wanda was crying now, tears escaping the corners of her eyes as she continued to laugh. "I'm s-sorry! Y/N, stop!"

Before I could think how to respond, the doors to the living-area opened and in walked Steve Rogers AKA Captain America, a confused expression on his face as he saw me sat on Wanda.

"Hey, ladies," he greeted, raising an eyebrow. "You both good?"

I pulled my hands away from Wanda and breathed out, still smiling as I glanced down at her. She blew a strand of hair from her eyes and glared at me playfully.

"Yeah, just talking," I answered Steve, before being thrown off Wanda and to the floor with a thud.

"Just Y/N harassing me as usual," Wanda corrected, and I sat up to see her sitting up, too, fixing her hair.

Steve chuckled as he headed to the fridge in the connected kitchen. Wanda helped me back onto the couch, nudging me in the side as a response to the tickle fest, before leaning on me and stretching her legs across the couch.

"So, hey, what's up with you and your mum?" Steve asked as I continued to annoy Wanda by flicking her face.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not looking up as I grinned down at Wanda, watching as her eyes glowed red threateningly.

"Don't make me hurt you," she said teasingly, lifting a hand and summoning her powers, red wisps of energy becoming present.

I stopped flicking her and intertwined her hand in mine, watching as her eyes faded to its usual colour.

"She just seemed distant at dinner," Steve continued.

I looked up and saw he was leaning against the counter with a water bottle in his hand. Wanda continued to stretch, practically on top of me, probably to annoy me as I had been doing with her. I moved her hands out of my face as I nodded to Steve.

"So, you saw it too? She was being off, right?" I asked him, glad I wasn't just imagining things.

He nodded, gulping his water, before saying casually, "Definitely. What did you do? Finally tell her about you and Wanda?"

It took me a second to realise what he'd said, but when I did, my eyes widened and I spluttered out a terrible response. "What– what about Wanda and I?"

I glanced at Wanda as she began to sit up properly. She looked more confused than panicked.

"You know, that you're together," Steve said like it was obvious.

I cleared my throat. "What? Why would you think that?"

Steve smiled with confusion. "Wait, so you're not? But I thought–" He paused, pulling a face. "No, you are! Everybody thinks you are!"

I shrugged it off, though inside I was panicking. "I mean, even if that was the case, why do you think my mum knows?"

Steve nodded knowingly. "She's been off with you all night. And then I caught up with her after dinner and she wasn't in a very talkative mood. Just mumbled something like 'new girl, her age, pretty, nice, should have seen it coming'. I assumed she was talking about Wanda."

Heat crept up my neck with embarrassment and when I looked to Wanda, I saw her cheeks dusting a red colour, similar to the energy she could summon. She looked as flustered as I felt.

"Has your mum been okay with you before today?" Steve asked, trying to be helpful.

I chewed on my lower lip and shook my head. "Not since we got back from our last mission..."

Steve scrunched his face with sympathy. "Oof. You should probably talk to her then. You know how much she hates secrets."

I groaned internally. "Thanks for the reminder."

He saluted playfully, his stupid smile on his stupid face, before leaving Wanda and I alone again.

"Well, looks like she knows," I said to Wanda, sinking into the couch with hopes it would swallow me forever.

"She might not," Wanda tried to make me feel better, resting a hand on my leg. "It could be something else."

I gave her a knowing look. "She has to know. It's the only thing that makes sense. You heard Steve."

Wanda sighed, sinking into the couch beside me. "Yeah..." She glanced at me and I looked at her as she said, "I did tell you to tell her."

I forced a smile. "Gee, Wanda, that was helpful. Thanks."

Wanda rolled her eyes before leaning her head on my shoulder. "Sorry..."

I rested my hand on hers. "It's okay, sorry. I just– she's gonna be really mad that I kept this from her."

"Yeah, why did you do that again?" Wanda asked questioningly.

I massaged the tension between my eyebrows. "Because she's too overprotective. It gets too much to handle sometimes... Take my last boyfriend for example. He was some tool that cheated on me and, oh boy, my mum wanted to kill him. I had to physically restrain her from doing so."

"I don't blame her," Wanda quipped, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

I smiled a little, squeezing her hand. "I know... she ended up slashing his tyres and egging his car without telling me. But instead of egging the outside, she broke into it and egged the inside. A thoughtful take on a classic, I must admit."

Wanda laughed, her whole body shaking with pure amusement as she listened to the story. I couldn't help but smile myself, remembering it like it was yesterday. Definitely a fun time.

"I appreciated it, don't get me wrong," I added, smile fading. "I just didn't want that to happen again. I wanted to enjoy our relationship without anyone spying on us, y'know? But now she's gonna be super angry."

Wanda let go of my hand and rolled on top of me, leaning down on my chest so she could look me in the eyes. I wrapped my arms loosely around her to keep her steady.

"She only wants the best for you," Wanda told me gently. "You have to tell her you're sorry. Explain why you did what you did, but hear her out, too. She's your mum. Caring too much isn't a bad thing."

I groaned, knowing she was right. She smiled reassuringly, patting my chest.

"You get the caring too much thing from her by the way," she added, before leaning forward and pressing a haste kiss to my lips. "It's okay though because I love it."

I smiled, never really seeing it like that. Raising my hand, I brushed my thumb over the small bandage on her head; her injury was still healing, but she didn't let it bother her. Very Wanda-like.

"Thanks," I mumbled, meeting her gaze. "You always say the right thing."

"Which is why I'm going to tell you to get up and go to your mum," she ordered playfully, pushing herself off me and holding out her hand.

I let her pull me up before straightening up and taking a deep breath. Wanda was right. I just needed to be open and explain my piece. It would be fine.

—

So, it wasn't fine.

When I entered my mum's living quarters, she wasn't the happiest to see me. In fact, she actively turned her body to face her TV when I came through the door.

"Hey," I started with a small smile, fighting the nerves in my stomach. "Can we, er, can we talk?"

She grabbed the cushion on the couch next to her, hugging it to her chest. Her eyes didn't leave the TV, but the space next to her was free, so I took that as an opportunity to close the door and sit beside her.

The news was playing on the TV – headlines, I think – and they were talking about a new elected congressman in New York.

"Seriously? The news? Even in your free time?" I asked playfully, hoping it would lighten the mood.

She didn't even glance my way as she muttered, "I like to know what's happening in the world."

Losing my smile, I straightened up and cleared my throat. "Right, right..."

It went quiet as the TV played in the background and my mum said absolutely nothing. I grabbed the other cushion on the couch and hugged it to my chest, similar to her. It was a nervous habit that I picked up from, well, from her.

"You said you wanted to talk?" she reminded me. "So, talk."

Having the Black Widow as your mother wasn't something anyone could get used to. She could be the most caring, loving, protective person in the world, but she could also appear quiet, intimidating and ruthless like the trained assassin she was. Not the greatest combination when trying to open up to her.

"I think I know what you're thinking," I started, pinching my hand to distract from my growing anxiety.

Without hesitation, she bent forward to grab the TV remote and turned it off before turning to me with sad eyes.

"That's where you're wrong," she said calmly, and it was way worse than her yelling. I would have preferred her yelling to be honest. The disappointment in her voice was much worse. "You always assume you know what I'm thinking. What I'm going to say or do."

I avoided her eyes guiltily. "Mum, look, I know that I should have told you the truth. And I know how angry you are, but–"

"I'm not angry, Y/N!" she shouted, finally, standing up off the couch and creating space between us.

I winced. "You sound angry."

She put her hands on her hips, looking down to her feet and taking a breath. Her voice at normal volume, she said, "I'm upset. You– you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth. Instead, I had to put it together when you acted how you did with Wanda after that mission and..." She paused, sighing. "Forget it."

"No, keep going," I pleaded, the guilt piercing through me sharply. "You're right."

She swallowed hard, glancing at me with glassy eyes. "I wouldn't have done anything. I know I have in the past, but this is Wanda we're talking about. I've been her mentor for a year. I care about her and– and– she's good. And she's good for you."

Okay, I definitely misread this whole thing because now my mum was upset, on the verge of tears, and I was the arsehole responsible for it.

"I'm so sorry," I said, standing up and moving forward to hold her arms. "I should have trusted you. I mean, it wasn't even about trust. I was just scared you'd react badly. But it wrong of me to assume that."

She frowned, looking down to her shoes. "I know I can be tough sometimes, but it's only because I care."

I thought back to Wanda's words and gave her a small smile. "I know. I get it from you."

"I am happy for you, you know," she said, glancing at me petulantly.

My expression softened. "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you."

Without another word, she pulled me in for a motherly hug, making me close my eyes and relax in her arms. I still felt horrible for making her feel like I couldn't trust her when it was anything but that.

"I'm sorry," I repeated quietly into her shoulder.

"I forgive you," she said, before pulling away and giving me a small smile. "Now tell me. You're happy?"

The thought of being with Wanda gave me butterflies and I couldn't help but smile in response. With a nod, I said, "I am."

She nodded, squeezing my shoulders gently before fully letting go. "Good. I'm glad you've got her... I know you can take care of yourself, but she's strong, too. She can look out for you when I'm not around anymore."

I shoved her in the shoulder. "Don't joke about that. She isn't replacing you and you're not going anywhere, you hear me?"

She laughed, nodding. "Not yet anyway. But sure, okay."

I relaxed and gave her a nervous smile. "So, you wanna meet Wanda? Like, as my girlfriend and not your student?"

She rolled her eyes playfully. "If I must."

I smiled widely, grabbing her hand and leading her to the door. "She loves you a lot, y'know. She wanted me to tell you about us as soon as we got together. She hated lying to you."

"Yeah because she knows that lying is wrong," she teased me, making me groan loudly. With a chuckle, she added, "I love her, too. She's definitely something."

"Hell yeah she is," I said in agreement, grinning to my mum as I dragged her to the living-area where I last left Wanda.

On the way, we passed Steve in the hall, who took notice of the smiles on our faces and nodded knowingly.

"Glad to see you worked it out," he said supportively.

"Thanks for the heads up," I told him gratefully as we passed him.

When we reached the living-area, I saw Wanda sat on the couch watching TV. When she saw who entered, she straightened up instantly, moving to stand and unsure what else to say or do. It was cute, the respect she had for my mum.

"Did you– I– She told you?" she stumbled over her words, starting to speak to me but eventually looking to my mum.

My mum glanced at me before meeting Wanda's nervous eyes. "She did."

Wanda licked her lips anxiously. "And you're okay with it...? Angry...? Wanna kill me...?"

I watched my mum, nodding encouragingly to her. She sighed before giving Wanda a small smile.

"No killing will be necessary," she reassured my girlfriend. "Unless, of course, you break my daughter's heart. Then in which case, I may have to find you when you're sleeping."

"Mum!" I complained, face falling into my hands with embarrassment.

"I'm just being truthful," my mum said with seriousness, before looking to Wanda expectantly.

Wanda surprisingly took it well, probably used to my mum's personality after training with her for a year. "I understand completely, Nat and I'll hold you to that. I have no intention of breaking Y/N's heart."

A rare, genuine smile appeared on my mother's lips. "I know you don't. Just–" She paused, glancing at me. "Keep her safe, yeah? She's a bit stupid sometimes."

Wanda laughed as my mum smiled with amusement, like it was an inside joke.

"Right here, you know," I reminded them with a wave of my hand.

They only rolled their eyes.

"I will," Wanda promised my mum. "Thank you for being okay with this."

My mum nodded, giving us both a final smile and once over, before saying, "I'll leave you to it. Goodnight."

Wanda and I bid our goodnights, watching her leave before a giant sigh of relief escaped our lips.

"You feel better?" Wanda asked me, grabbing my hand and tugging me to the couch.

She let me fall on her chest easily, snuggling up to her as she wrapped an arm around me and held me close. I inhaled her perfume, a familiar and comforting scent, as my head rested in the crook of her neck.

"I feel better," I answered, closing my eyes and letting her intertwine our fingers.

"I believe this is the part where you say I was right," she prompted, a hint of amusement in her words.

"Don't make me hurt you," I mumbled, making her laugh quietly beneath me.

"You're lucky I love you," she said, kissing the top of my head. "I guess opposites do attract. You're the stupid one and I'm the clever one."

"Wanda?"

"Yeah?"

"Fuck off."

She laughed again, and even though it was at me, I couldn't help the content smile from spreading on my lips.

#wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maximoff #marvel imagine #mcu imagine #marvel #mcu #scarlet witch #elizabeth olsen

702 notes · View notes

dreeamscapeee · 2 years

Text

His best girl

Summary: Steve gets to talk to the love of his life for the last time

Steve Rogers x Fem!reader

Warning:

A/N- reader takes Peggy’s place

Steve can still vividly remember all the times he got sick as a child. It was many times but he still remembered all of them, he can remember feeling hopeless and wondering why he could be a normal child who only got a common cold once a year, not the boy who had almost every illness known to man, and nurses who knew his name, But Steve is pretty sure that this has to be the most hopeless he has ever been.

After the serum, the brunette man had hoped he would never have to be in a hospital again, not for himself, not for his kids, and most definitely not for y/n

Y/n the one woman Steve felt truly knew him. The woman he wanted to build a life with. The woman that he would die for over and over again

Steve could remember her face and every detail with his eyes closed, the e/c eyes, the h/c with her h/l that always smelled like f/s.

So when he finally found time to see her he almost didn’t want to go into the building. He never wanted y/n to have to feel what he felt all those years ago. Hopeless

Laying on the hospital bed was the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his 100 years of 'living'.

As Steve sat next to y/n looking at the pictures of her family he could only wish to have with her he uttered,'' You should be proud of yourself y/n''.

The woman looked glanced at the picture that Steve was looking at before turning her gaze back on the soldier.

With a small smile, she responded,'' I have lived a life'' After a second she added,'' My only regret is that you didn't get to live yours''

Steve looked down as if trying to hold back tears that so desperately wanted to come out.

''What is it?'' Y/n croaked out. Steve looked around for a moment before looking at y/n.

''For as long as I can remember I just wanted to do what was right.'' The brunette man gave a soft smile and breathed out ''I guess I'm not quite sure what that is any more''

Taking a breath Steve added,'' And I thought I could throw myself back in. Take orders. Serve.''

Frowning as he shook his head he continued,'' It's just not the same.''

Y/n huffed out a laugh,'' Your always so dramatic''

Taking steves hand in her, y/n griped it best she could and carried on,'' Look, you saved the world. We rather mucked it up''

Without missing a beat Steve retaliated with 'You didn't. You know, knowing that you founded shield is half the reason I stay.''

Y/n looked down, grabbed Steves hand even closer to her heart, and told him, ''The world has changed, but none of us can come back. All we can do is our best, and sometimes our best that we can do is start over-'' before she could finish her sentence, y/n was interrupted by a coughing fit

As Steve looked around for something to help her, he saw a glass of water, and as he stood up he couldn't help but think that the most fearless woman he had ever seen (besides Natasha) was on a hospital bed feeling pain and he couldn't help but think that he felt like little Steve that got beat up in alleyways, He felt hopeless again.

As the super solider turned back around to hand y/n the glass of water he saw y/n with big eyes looking as if she had just seen a ghost

Y/n gasped,'' Steve?'' she said astonished

Defeated Steve muttered out a 'yeah'

''Yo- You're alive? you- You came back? It's been so long" Y/n studdered out.

Steve gave her a sad smile, and voiced out,'' Well I couldn't leave my best girl. Not when she owes me a dance''

(Not edited)

#steve rogers x you #steve rogers x reader #captain america x reader #captain america

24 notes · View notes

astro-rain · 3 years

Text

delicate; b.barnes

chapter seventeen - “wouldn’t dream of it”

delicate masterlist

word count: 4.7k

synopsis: reader has a strange dream that ends up bringing on a cascade of various events and feelings.

pairings: bucky barnes x fem!reader

A/N: feel free to drop any opinions/thoughts/predictions below (or in my asks if u wanna be anonymous!!)

She would have woken up from a night's sleep saturated with regret... if she had slept a wink. She spent the night tossing and turning, and at about five in the morning, the pursuit of rest was abandoned.

Forcefully and exasperatedly, she sat straight up, glaring at the clock and letting the blanket pool around her waist. Y/N had her weekly meeting with Shuri at nine o'clock... that meant four hours to kill. More like four more hours of trudging through thoughts, memories, questions, and fears surrounding the previous day. Four more hours of ruminating over Bucky Barnes. This seemed to become a reoccurring activity her life.

She stared at the wall, thinking about how before, there was at least the excuse of being drunk: maybe not completely knowing what she was doing, maybe not remembering something correctly. But they were sober this time... she was sober. And what struck her was that, when it happened, when he kissed her, there was no moment of initial startle. There was no surprise jerk back or woah-what-are-you-doing response. Their bodies just fell into form. She just fell into form. Like it was an instinct. Like they were both used to it, and had done it a number of times before.

She wasn't sure what shocked her more: the fact that he kissed her or the fact that she kissed him back. Was he being bold? Or did she lead him on? Had she been leading him on? He wouldn't have done it on his own account, right? She had a degree of difficulty in believing she was wanted. Truly.

She could've sworn that she wasn't this emotionally invested. She could've sworn that if she couldn't control what she was feeling, she could at least control what she was doing. She rubbed her eyes, wondering where she went so wrong. It probably happened at some point during the isolated time she had been spending with Bucky in a secret corner of the world, not minding the least bit that she had been away from home and work for months whilst working on a project hardly anyone else was even aware of.

Even with all this in mind, she didn't seem to care. She didn't really mind that she hadn't been home in ages, it didn't really bother her that she might be in trouble when she gets back for helping enemy of the state Sharon Carter, runaway fugitive Steve Rogers, or war criminal James Buchanan Barnes. Because every time she thought about the consequences, it just didn't seem to matter more than what was keeping her in Wakanda... Besides, she guessed Bucky would probably be pardoned and after everything settled down, who would pay any attention to her? It's not like she mattered in the grand scheme.

As soon as that very thought arose, she could hear Bucky's voice scolding her in the back of her head. Why was he always there?

Frustrated, she groaned into the air in front of her. Her feelings were so confusing, she wasn't even sure what exactly it was she felt towards Bucky. On one hand, she felt fiercely protective over him: she'd go down fighting before she'd let anyone lay a hand on him, prepared to stay in his corner forever, ready on defense.

But at the same time, she felt this ineffable sense of warmth for him. Like one look at the way his eyes crinkle when he smiled, and she'd turn soft as water. Like being in his vicinity smoothed out the rough around her edges.

And if all this wasn't enough, now she had been touched by him, she had felt his lips and the gentleness in his skin. This brought a cascade of new feelings, ones she knew she had to hide. It... was definitely a problem. She knew, don't get her wrong, she knew it was a problem. As much as she understood this irrefutable fact, the numbness in her lips just wouldn't go away. He had remained with her even hours later. She couldn't get rid of his heartbeat; it was still in her hand. She could still feel him.

Basically, she knew this most recent development was an issue. She knew it was bad, wrong, worrisome, and whatever else. And knowing this, recognizing the very hot water she was in, the only thing she could focus on was trying to ignore the recurrent desire to be near him, to find him and be close to him.

"Fuck."

She plopped back down on her back and elected to cast a burning glare at the ceiling until she had to get ready for her meeting.

—

"I think it might be too hot for this," she complained with a smile on her face.

"It was your idea," he said, a few steps ahead of her, "and we're almost there, so buck up."

She laughed. He smiled at the sound.

"What?" he asked.

"You said buck up. Like Buck... Bucky. Like you."

He just looked at her, amused. Sun kissed and happy.

"It's fitting," she shrugged, grinning.

"Guess so. Hurry up, slow poke. You're gonna fall behind."

"I'm already behind," she huffed . "Your super soldier legs are too fast for me."

"Well," he stopped short and she finally caught up, standing right beside him, "we're here. So worry not."

He looked over at her to find her already looking at him. Funny how their eyes always found each other like that.

"What?" he asked again, not able to help how the corners of his mouth turned up just slightly.

"Nothin.’ Everything," she shrugged. "You."

Perhaps she just liked looking at him. Him and his long hair and light eyes. Was that such a crime? His skin looked caramelized under the sun. She wanted to reach out and touch him.

"You're a real peach, y'know that?" he smirked.

She looked away, pretending to find the grass around them spectacularly interesting while hiding a dopey smile at his compliment.

"Hey, doll face. I'm a lot more fun than the grass, I swear," he teased. "Lemme see my favorite face."

"Hold on." She got an idea.

She reached down beside her and plucked a flower from the soil.

"A little hibiscus," she smiled, tucking the small flower behind his ear. God, he was just so pretty.

She stood back, satisfied with her decor. She sighed, content. How couldn't she be? She was looking at two of the most beautiful things. Flowers and Bucky.

As soon as it was securely in place, Bucky bent down to pick the hibiscus that sat right next to the one Y/N chose. Mirroring her actions, he placed it behind her ear.

"A little hibiscus," he repeated fondly, "for a real peach!"

She didn't dare try to hide the next dopey grin while taking in the sight before her, of Bucky beaming in the sunlight with a flower in his hair. Looking at this, she understood why mankind began to paint. Why there needed to be someway to capture something as precious as this, some method of preserving something so idyllic and beautiful and pure and perfect.

Perfect like the cool, fresh water of the lake. Their lake. Their place. The flowing, breathing water she felt around her waist. They floated around, her and Bucky, as light as air in that lake.

The two were weightless, adoration suspended in animation. The water preserved the feeling of feather light kisses and chests pressed together and hands beginning to roam. If only she could be closer to him. Her fingers in his hair and his palms on either side of her face wasn't enough. She needed more. More, more, more of him.

Skin is so soft and the sun is so warm and soon enough, the water was up to her shoulders as his arms ran up her back. Arms plural, she noticed. He held her with both, protectively enclosing the longing feeling between them.

"Oh, fucking hell!" Y/N sprang up, throwing the blanket off of her.

She must've fallen asleep... and began to dream... She could imagine if her brain was a person, it'd be laughing at her for that.

Why? Why? What was the reason for this? There was no point! How frustrating! How embarrassing that her mind betrayed her with dreams of him.

"God damn it," she swore under her breath.

She wanted to angrily shake her fist in the air like vengeful cartoon character, as she got out of bed and headed towards her wardrobe.

It was 8 a.m. One hour until her meeting with Shuri. She would spend the time changing her outfit until it was distracting enough to draw her attention away from thoughts of that damn lake... and his damn hands...

—

"My friend!" Shuri greeted in her usual upbeat manner. "How are you? How are things?"

There was absolutely no way to answer this honestly.

"I'm doin' well. Same old, same old. How 'bout you?"

"Good as always," she smiled. "Thank you."

Y/N took a seat at one of the tables in Shuri's lab. "So how is T'Challa doing with Nakia?"

"Oh, who knows these days! He is so awkward, I have no idea!"

They both laughed. Y/N was glad she and Shuri were able to talk like this. They weren't just robotic colleagues who only communicated when they needed to. They were partners, and they worked well together.

The meeting commenced like it did every other week. Updates on Bucky's progress, new ideas or adjustments to treatment or planning, going over scans or data, you name it. But this time, she had something else in mind. Something that a dream reminded her of. She had mentioned maybe getting her hands on a prosthetic for Bucky. She wasn’t familiar with the prosthetics industry in Wakanda, but they could probably make something work.

Was that too much? Did she care too much? Was she showing too much regard for him? Was this too much to ask of her?

"Hey, remember a couple weeks ago when I talked about prosthetics?"

"Of course," Shuri smiled. She genuinely enjoyed her partner - her partner who was intelligent, confident, and articulate but still sometimes sounded shy. "You wanna see what I've been working on?"

"You... you ordered one? I didn't-"

"Oh, no. Not ordered. Just you wait," she said, pulling out a drawer to dig amongst papers. "I've been workin' my magic."

Shuri pulled out a manilla folder that had W.W. - Proj. 1 printed on it.

She dropped the folder in front of the psychologist who sat across from her, gesturing for her to look through it. Y/N opened it to see several pages of prosthetics research, information on cybernetics and various designs for a bionic arm.

"Oh... wow." Y/N marveled.

"What do you think?"

"It's incredible," Y/N shook her head. "I didn't- ... I thought you meant you bought one or something. I didn't know you designed one"

"I didn't just design it. I made it."

"You- what?"

"Yep. First model ready for use. Do you want to see it?"

"I'd love to."

Shuri walked her over to a large, rectangular case in the side of the lab.

"Holy shit," she let slip.

The arm was astounding: a glossy black with ridges etched in a shiny gold. It glimmered, sitting in its casing.

Shuri laughed. Thank you."

"Sorry. Excuse my French. This is... remarkable. Can I give it to him?"

"I suppose so. It hasn't got much use just sitting in my lab."

Excitement grew in her chest. Bucky would be able to have an arm he was in control of, one that wasn't forcefully attached to him and used as a weapon. In a way, he would be gaining a sense of autonomy. God, she wanted to see him right away and tell him the news. She was happy to make Bucky happy.

"Oh," Shuri perked her head up. "And there was something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You're aware of the trigger words, correct?"

"Of course."

"I'm close to fully deconstructing the mind control, but there's no way to know for sure unless we test it out..."

Oh. The excitement dissipated and her stomach dropped. She didn't mean...

"You don't mean..."

"The effect and response of the words needs to be tested on him."

Oh God. There was no way this would be easy.

"And you need to be the one to do it."

Fuck.

"Me?" she tried to hide her shock, her worry, her now overwhelming urge to protect him. "How come?"

"It seems like he trusts you most out of everyone here. I consulted with the Doras about safety and we think that if something were to go wrong, it'd be safest to happen with you. Of course they'll be nearby, but you'd be the one mostly likely to be able to control him in that state."

Her mouth went dry. Control him? She could never. She would never. She knew, in depth, the anguish he carried in his bones as a result of being trapped as a weapon wielded by other people. The thought of her controlling him made her skin crawl.

She knew how much he feared the Winter Soldier and how he would hate losing touch with himself again. He's been free from this kind of violation for a while now; she had very much rather not take that freedom away.

At the same time, she understood how this test was necessary for a full recovery and rehabilitation. And who knows if the words will even work? Maybe she'll say them and nothing will even happen.

He would have to get over this obstacle in order to make it to the other side clean. She could only imagine how scary this would be for him. But she'd be damned if she wasn't going to be right there with him.

"Okay," she said dryly. "When... when are we gonna do this?"

"Not yet but soon. I'll keep you updated."

The rest of the meeting carried on as usual, but Y/N might as well have not even been there. Her mind was off. Off somewhere trying to think of how to tell Bucky the news. The very last thing in the world she wanted to do was hurt him. She'd take his place if she could.

—

As soon as she was free from the calm, professional facade she had going with Shuri, she found herself speed walking back to where Bucky was. She needed to get to him. Now.

When his hut was in sight, she was nervous. She was nervous before, she supposed. She just wanted everything to be okay.

"Buck," she called, a few steps away from the entryway. "I need to talk to you!"

When she stepped inside she froze in place, staring blankly at the two super soldiers in front of her instead of the one she expected. Two as in Bucky and Steve.

"Y/N," Bucky stood up. He sounded surprised.

"Oh-uh," she stuttered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I can come back later."

"That's okay," Steve's voice was gentle. "I'll leave you... to it."

Steve threw Bucky a look she couldn't quite decipher before he left. Bucky just looked panicked.

And soon enough they were alone. They stood directly in front of each other, but with a noticeably awkward amount of space between them. The tiny part of her brain that was still mulling over the dream wanted him closer.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey..."

"You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "It's uh... there's kind of a lot."

"Look, about yesterday, I-"

Oh. She completely forgot about that. Well, not completely. There was no way she could forget that. But, at the moment there were more pressing matters on her mind.

"It's not about yesterday."

"It's...not?"

"No. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Uh... bad news?"

She took a steady breath in. She wasn't sure exactly how to tell him, she just knew he needed to know. He deserved nothing but the truth.

"So, I was just with Shuri and we discussed the next step in your treatment..."

He said nothing, waiting for the aforementioned "bad news." She continued.

"Apparently, we have to test the trigger words on you..."

His expression dropped and she watched all the color drain from his face.

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't wanna do it, but we have to do it to see if it's really outta your head."

"Yeah, that's the problem," he finally spoke. "What if it's not? Then I hurt someone - or multiple people. There's gotta be some other way to test it."

"You're not going to hurt anyone. Or multiple people."

"How can you say that?"

"It's just gonna be the two of us."

"What?!"

"Shuri thought the safest way of doing this was for me to conduct the test. That way, if things ever got out of hand, which is very unlikely to happen, I'd be the best bet at... handling... that situation. Since you know me the best."

"No way. There's no way. I thought you meant they were gonna strap me down and have some lab tech read them. This is way too unsafe-"

"Strap you down? Bucky, no-"

He still saw himself as an animal that needed to be contained. Muzzled.

"What if I hurt you?" his voice shook just a little.

The fear in his eyes was potent. It made her angry. Angry at Hydra and whoever the fuck else had a hand in this sin against the kind and gentle man who stood before her. The man who was genuinely scared of himself. How dare they make him feel so unsafe within his own mind, within his own body. All she wanted to do was make it better, and suddenly, she could no longer stand for the distance between them. She stepped forward and grasped his hand between both of hers.

"I trust you, Buck," she smiled a small but earnest smile, letting him know that she truly was here for him. "Entirely. I promise. Okay?"

He nodded, still reluctant and entirely scared.

"Do you trust me?" she asked.

"I do. I trust you, I do," he cast his glance downwards, almost in shame. "It's myself I don't trust."

Her chest twisted with an emotion difficult to place. Mostly, it was the desire to take every ounce of pain away. She wished she could just snap her fingers and make it fade into nothing.

"That's okay," she said.

He looked back up at her, confused.

"You don't have to trust yourself. That's hard enough as it is and Hydra didn't make it any easier. You just trust me, alright? I'm the one reading the words, so, even though I'd hate it, if you were to be... activated... you'd be listening to me not trying to fight me," she squeezed his hand. "And I will not let anything happen to you."

"I'm not worried about me..."

She knew. She was not stupid; she knew that Bucky was separate from the Winter Soldier and that theoretically, the Winter Soldier - and only the Winter Soldier - had the potential to hurt her. She wasn't blind to the dangers, but she also wasn't blind to the fact that there was no exact science to brainwashing. Whos to say nothing could ever seep through the programming? She knew what happened with Bucky when he was forced to fight Steve for the first time. How it changed him.

Even though the Winter Soldier was in there, there was more of Bucky. She knew that for sure. And she needed to make sure he knew one thing: even if the Winter Soldier was trying to claw his way back and entire world was against him, she saw Bucky and trusted Bucky and believed in Bucky. She was a constant. And she wouldn’t give up on him.

"What, you're worried about me?" she joked, lightheartedly. She took the hand she was holding and pressed it against her cheek. "This wouldn't hurt me, James Buchanan."

He sighed, feeling the warmth from her face. He did not deserve this kindness and he definitely did not trust himself despite her trust in him. Of course Bucky would never hurt her. But Bucky wasn't the Winter Soldier. And he didn't have the heart to tell her what the Winter Soldier could or would do. He didn't have the stomach to even think about what would happen if the Winter Soldier actually did something.

But there was something about the way she believed in him, the way her conviction was so strong. It made him almost start to doubt these feelings. He could never be sure of everything being okay, but at least he could be sure of her.

"Okay," he whispered.

"Okay?"

"I'll do it."

"Alright," she smiled.

She removed his hand from her face, but still held onto it.

"And even if you did try to fight me, I think I could go a couple rounds in the ring with the Winter Soldier. I'm big and tough."

They both laughed knowing she had very minimal fight training.

"You'd definitely kick my ass," Bucky chuckled.

She just smiled. And then her eyes grew wide.

"Oh! You wanna know the good news?"

"F'course."

Bucky watched her briefly disappear through the entryway before returning with a big, rectangular case. He raised an eyebrow.

"That's good news? What is it, a bomb?"

"I don't do bombs... arson only."

The look on his face made her wonder if he actually questioned whether or not she was serious. She fought laughter as she opened the case. It was silent for a moment. Y/N looked at him, waiting for a reaction.

"Is that... for me?"

"All yours, Buck. A favor I asked of Shuri."

She told him about the arm. Told him about Shuri's design, and the features and functionality. She didn't mention what made her think to ask Shuri, but that surely wasn't important.

"It's really cool, and like super sleek and badass. But more importantly, it will make you feel more... I don't wanna say regular 'cause nothing about you is regular," a shy smile slipped. "But more... how you're used to having your body feel and function."

"That's..." he shook his head before looking up and making dauntingly deliberate eye contact. "Thank you. For thinkin' of me. I mean it. I hope it wasn't too much trouble for her to make it."

"Nothin's too much trouble, Bucky. You're worth it."

"You're a real peach, y’know that?"

Suddenly she looked abashed. Did he say something wrong?

"Sorry- I didn't-"

"No, it's okay. I just got a weird sense of déjà vu. Don't worry about it."

He looked at her like he didn't quite believe her, but she tried not to think too hard about it.

"So..." Bucky gestured towards the arm. "...what do we do with this?"

"You wanna try it on?"

His brows shot up. "Oh! I mean- sure- I guess so, yeah."

She tried to pick it up and nearly threw her back out. "Jesus!"

"Woah there, tiger," he withheld a laugh, putting a hand under the vibranium arm to hold most of its weight.

"Okay, sit down," she ordered, both of them fumbling to hold onto the arm. "Shuri told me how to get the arm on. There's some... magnetic thing. I don't even know - it was some complex engineering lingo. Not my field."

After a couple minutes, clumsy hands attempting awkward assembly, and several curse words later... the arm was attached. They both stood as Bucky stuck out the bionic arm, admiring it and Y/N leaned back, admiring him. Wow.

Bucky smiled, holding both his forearms out - palms facing up - to see how they moved. "This is incredible."

He turned to her. "You're incredible. Thank you."

"No problem at all," she stepped forward. "How does it feel?"

Her hands found their way below his, cupping the underneath of them with a feather light touch. "How do you feel?"

"More... balanced," he laughed. "Coordinated?"

"Steady?"

"Absolutely."

"Stronger?"

"Definitely."

She looked up at him. "Confident? More comfortable in your own skin? That's what's most important."

He gripped her hands. "For sure. Thanks to you."

"Glad I could help. Just wanna make you feel more like yourself, you know?"

"I feel the most like myself when I'm with you," he nearly whispered.

He smiled, and then did something... unexpected. He let go of one of her hands and with the other, he twirled her around as if they were dancing. She went along with the movement, body falling in sync it even though she was confused.

"You make me wanna dance again."

With his voice so endearing, and his heart so spirited, the world around them fell quiet. She stepped forward and rested her hand on his shoulder. Then she placed one of his hands on her waist, and held the other out to the side, fingers intertwined with hers. And oh, the feeling of his hands on her; it was nearly overwhelming.

"Then dance."

And they swayed. They swayed to nothing, to the sweet sound of finding comfort in another person. She let her eyes flutter shut, allowed her guard to come down for just a moment. Just this moment. With him.

Bucky broke the silence with a shy question. "So yesterday... what does that mean for-"

"Let's just keep it between us."

"What do you mean?"

"It was a moment - like this one. I think I think too much, and I may have overreacted before. It doesn't have to be some cumbersome ordeal. It's just us."

"We're good then?"

"We're good."

"Good. 'Cause I like this."

She inhaled and smiled at the feeling of him inside her lungs. They continued swaying as they continued talking.

"You were in my dream you know?"

"Was I?"

"You were."

"Could I fly?"

"No," she laughed. "You were - well we, actually, were walking to that lake."

"To swim?"

Not exactly...

"I don't know. It's kinda foggy and didn't make much sense since it was a dream but we were definitely there."

"Did I say anything existentially insightful?" he joked.

"I don't remember much of what we said, but I remember how it felt."

"How... how did it feel?"

There she went again. She could feel herself slipping, but found it hard to care. She closed her eyes, thinking back to hibiscuses and Bucky's arms.

"The water and sun on my skin felt kind of like this," her hands ran up his sides dangerously slow and settled behind his neck, finger tips tangling into the ends of his hair.

His breath faltered. "Is that so?"

Unconsciously, his other hand found her waist and somehow the little space between them grew even smaller.

"Mhm," she hummed. "and the sight of a flower in your hair felt kind of like this."

Her hands moved to cup his face, the soft skin of her palm settling on his jawline.

"It was so pretty," she sighed.

"Yeah... pretty," he agreed. But he wasn't talking about the dream or the flower.

"And... your arms and your hands... felt kind of like this."

Gently, she pulled his face down to hers, though he needed no guidance or encouragement. When their lips met, that feelings of incompletion and longing, which had been prickling the back of her mind since the previous day, finally went away. They dissolved into fingers pressing into her hips, soft stubble tickling her cheek, and the delightfully encompassing presence of him.

She wasn't sure how long it was until they separated and words were spoken again. All she really recognized what that she was out of breath.

"And to think I was going to apologize for yesterday," Bucky smirked.

"I had to return the favor."

"And I gotta make up for lost time"

"Well, please don't let me stop you."

And he didn't. They continued right where they left off, except this time, it felt much too similar to something she had felt before. Hands began to roam just like they did in her dream.

The only thing was, her dream was cut short. She had no idea how it ended. But his hands were everywhere and it was all her senses could register. He was everywhere: her lips, her neck, her collar bones. She was burning.

The air ran out of her chest, and her voice was barely a breathy sigh. "Don't stop."

She could feel his smile on her skin. "Wouldn't dream of it."

The next morning, she awoke entwined in his arms - both of them.

delicate taglist: @bakugouswh0r3 @thefridgeismybestie @strivingforelegance @ilovespideyyy @xpurpleglitter @bluelakeee @darkacademic2 @nickkie1129 @eclipsedplanet @paradisedixon @crazy-beautiful @coffee--writes @lilithknight1111 @buckybarnesishot310 @softladyhours @alwayssandy @those-sea-green-eyes @hero-ically @devilswaldorf @cc13723things @small-death-and-codeine @avengersgirllorianna @cataves @thatbitchsposts @talktomeaboutthestars @surrealpsycho @headheartbellarke @bubbly-moonwarrior @bluemoon-icecream @buckeyecreates @augustbucky @itsthemaree

114 notes · View notes