#shuri: you are awfully quiet | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

littlejeanniebean · 4 years

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Why do I even bother? For any mcu character?

Hi sweet, lovely anon, here’s part 1 (which you may have read if you’re the same anon). for anyone who’s confused, this is a normal au where MJ is obviously the vigilante and peter is the concern significant other :)

The strange girl was right, he thought, "Why do I bother?"

He could pretend he was being a good wingman - a good friend - but the fact of the matter was that as soon as Shuri realized she could recite Liz's entire wardrobe from memory, she made sure her not-so-little crush was well on its way to becoming a solid relationship.

So Peter told Shuri he was leaving when Flash finally picked the lock on the booze cabinet. As an excuse, he said he had an appointment with Ned to build a Death Star in Minecraft, which didn't sound like a bad idea at all.

The boy didn't make it three steps from the front door before a quiet squeak came from above the porch, followed by a thud and a scrape.

"Who's there?" he looked up.

"Oh, hi," the girl with the frilly pink dress over her t-shirt and jeans waved, cell phone in hand, "I'm Michelle, but my friends would've been allowed to call me MJ."

Peter had a million questions in his mind and for some reason, the first to be spoken was, "'Would've been?'"

"Yeah," she climbed down the trellis with a little grunt, "You know, if I actually had any."

"Oh…"

MJ picked her bike up off the lawn. At least, Peter assumed it was her bike.

"Hey, you're not, like, a thief or anything, right?"

"No. I'm investigating a thief," she pointed towards the house.

"The Toomes?"

"Adrian Toomes. There are some discrepancies in his construction company's inventory. Daily Beagle got an anonymous tip and apparently, unlike a lot of other crap we get, it checks out."

"Daily Bugle?"

"Ew, no, they're a shame to the journalism community. It's Beagle. Like the dog."

"Because you guys sniff out the truth?"

"Or maybe I'm just rabid for blueberries."

Peter blinked, "Was... that a Fantastic Mr. Fox reference?"

"My entire aesthetic is a Wes Andersen film, so yes."

"So… you're working all alone?"

"Why? Do we have a problem, Jimmy Neutron?" MJ advanced on him so they were toe to toe and she was a good bit taller than he was.

"W-what?"

She pointed at his "Gotta Blast" t-shirt.

"Oh, yeah, I mean, no. No, we don't have a problem. But you could… use a lookout, maybe? Someone to make sure you don't… I don't know, fall off a roof?"

"Eh," she shrugged, rubbing her elbow, "I'm good."

He saw the blood dripping down the length of her arm and proceeded to lecture her on the precise methods of infection on a cellular level until she gave in and let him lead her back into the house for a first aid kit.

"I'm still going after him," said MJ.

"I never suggested you stop," replied Peter, "Liz doesn't have anything to do with it, though, right?"

"No, I've eliminated her and your friend who's sweet on her as suspects."

"Er, thanks, I guess?" he finished bandaging her up.

She hopped off the bathroom counter, all lanky limbs and unbothered shuffling, "What's your name, kid?"

"We're literally the same age, probably."

"I never said I wasn't a kid."

Oh, she was off-beat, alright. But there was something awfully easy about talking to her. So he said, "I'm Peter."

"I could use a good lookout, Peter."

"As long as we're not stealing anything."

MJ made no such assurances.

"Trespassing?"

The girl crossed her spindly arms.

"Anything I wouldn't want my aunt to know about?"

"Oh, please, like she's never gotten up to anything in her day!" MJ wrenched the door open and the bubblegum pop music from the party filled their ears once more.

"She -" actually, May probably had gotten up to everything in her day, "Whatever, let's go before I change my mind."

"Excellent. You're riding on the handle bars."

And so it happened that Peter stood still as a statue outside a trailer office in midtown, plain black hoodie shadowing his pale face.

"Hey, Neutron, you wouldn't happen to go to the fancy STEM high school up the block, would you?" asked MJ from inside said trailer.

"Listen, I would love to get to know you better, but maybe now isn't the time nor the place?"

"It's a simple yes or no question," she hummed.

Peter could hear more file cabinets opening and closing. They'd be there a while. "I used to."

"What happened?"

My uncle died. "I have ADHD."

"Yeah, but what happened?"

The boy shrugged. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" MJ cast the beam of her phone flashlight about the room.

"Yeah. I couldn't do anything." I was there with him and I couldn't stop it.

"The pace wasn't good?"

"Do you go there?"

"Used to," she replied, "Now I'm homeschooled."

"Do you like it?" his question was met with silence, "MJ?" still no answer, "MJ!" he hissed peeking into the trailer.

"He's stealing material from his supplier, Stain Industries, but he puts it towards like… fifteen different pro bono projects. Someone's roof here, another's basement, he re-built a homeless shelter after a fire…"

"Robin Hood, the carpenter, huh?"

"Whoever sent me the tip is onto him too. Most likely, it's someone from Stain Industries," MJ ripped a piece of paper from a notebook, "I'm going to leave him a warning to lay low for a bit or at least cover his tracks better…"

Peter looked out the window of the trailer. The night guard just completed another careless pass. He turned back to his partner in crime. "Is that supposed to be a dog?"

"It's a beagle," she told him pointedly.

"You're a great artist," he deadpanned.

"Like you could do better under pressure."

"I draw chemical models and anatomically correct comics all day, this is nothing," Peter took the ballpoint pen and drew a very convincing beagle, "Now, let's get out of here. You're taking the handle bars this time."

"Suit yourself."

He couldn't see over her head and struggled to ride in a straight line.

"Okay back there?"

Peter sighed in defeat, "I'll take the handle bars."

They switched places and made it back to Queens just shy of midnight.

"Peter, was that a girl, I saw?" in jest, May pointed out the largest window in their apartment, from which she had the perfect view of the street.

"May," he whined.

"What?" she smiled innocently before practically skipping towards him, where he was still shucking off his sneakers at the door, "Tell me, tell me, spare no details!"

"Her name is MJ and she's weird but cool. She can't draw and pedals a bike like a madwoman."

May liked her already.

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#mcu fanfiction #anon #jeannie bean gets asked #jeannie bean writes #spiderman fanfiction #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker x michelle jones #marvel fanfiction #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland x zendaya #liz toomes #laura harrier #flash thompson #shuri black panther

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romancingromanoff · 5 years

Text

I See The Stars (Carol Danvers x femme reader)

Fluffytown trip for when the reader feels insecure about dating Carol when they’re just a normal human.

Congratulations, on behalf of the Admissions Committe we would like to offer you a place-

“YES!” you try to muffle your scream but let yourself at least fist punch the air before standing up to look over your cubicle walls and make sure nobody heard you. Looking at the clock it read 4:37, so you only had a little over twenty minutes before you could get off work and celebrate. And you knew that the first person you were going to tell was your girlfriend.

You half skip-jogged your way out from the elevator and pushed your way past the crowds of New York commuters flooding into the streets at five. Rushing down the subway steps you almost dropped your card you were just shaking with so much excitement and energy. The ride uptown had no unexpected stops or breakdowns, thank God, and you soon made it to your stop at the Wakandan Consulate. Coming up from the ground, a gasp from a nearby crowd caught your attention and you looked up to see what they were watching with a fat grin on your face. Even after six months of dating, you still got butterflies in your stomach watching your girlfriend fly around like a real life fireball. You watched her land on the roof of the consulate where some other people were waiting for her before quickly trying to cross the street to run up there and greet her yourself.

“I like the feel of it,” Carol remarked lifting up her arms and admiring how lightweight yet sturdy the new vibranium made suit she was wearing held up.

“I am glad that you do,” T’Challa smiled obviously pleased with how impressed she was. “We can also customize the colors of course. My sister, Shuri, has already come up with a few different template ideas.”

“Great, I’d love to take a look at them,” she nodded when the sight of a familiar looking little person running towards her caught her eye. “Hey baby!” she exclaimed as you ran into her arms and she lifted you up and spun you around.

You have her a quick peck on the lips before she set you down. “I got in!” you squealed and she immediately spun you around some more making you laugh. “Oof, watch the dress though,” you didn’t want the neckline slipping down anymore than it already was. At least, just not in public.”

“Sorry, but I knew you would! They’d be stupid not to take you!”

“Well, having a girlfriend that’s actually seen a black hole helps out a lot too.” You were an aspiring astro-physicist and now a soon-to-be PhD student at MIT as of thirty minutes ago. Your work primarily centered around black hole research which is why you first bombarded Carol with a load of questions that first day Tony had introduced you two. You were usually super nervous around cute girls but the nerd in you just took over and began rambling once you found out who she was. Eventually, Carol actually got so aggravated by your nonstop talking that she had to shush your lips with her finger and said, “Can you just be quiet for a second so I can get your name and ask you out on a date?” You has been utterly mortified, shocked, and flattered at the same time.

“Can we go grab some milkshakes to celebrate?”

There was a small retro diner that you’d been wanting to go try with your girlfriend. It had everything from the jukebox to the workers in paper hats to the neon lights, and, most importantly it was said to make the biggest milkshakes ever.

“I’m so sorry babe,” Carol frowns sadly. “There’s an emergency on a dwarf planet a couple of light years away from here that I need to go take care of. I won’t be back till the day after tomorrow at the earliest.”

“Oh,” you were trying so hard to hide the disappointment in your voice. “I totally understand, go save the universe sweetie.”

“Cool. I’ll let you know if I spot any black holes along the way,” she offers and you just smile as best as you can. “Oh, and can you help pick out my new suit design for me? You’re the only one I trust, babe.”

And just like that, her entire body glowed gold and she shot up through the sky and beyond the planet’s atmosphere faster than the speed of light. As you continued to watch her till she was nothing but the size of a pushpin, your phone in your pocket vibrated and you pulled it out. Your phone case was one of those clear ones you had just picked up off of a street vendor in China town for about 3 bucks but it never failed to make you smile because behind it with some dried up flower petals from cherry blossom season was your favorite polaroid picture of you and your girlfriend. Looking at it you longed for those days when Carol didn’t have to keep checking the clock or her messages to check for some galaxy wide emergency.

Your best friend had texted you asking about your admissions decision. But aside from the one message, the rest of your evening was pretty uneventful which left you and your thoughts all alone for some serious over-thinking time. You decided to walk back home most of the way since you had nothing better to do and when you got to your apartment you mechanically heated up some leftovers, sat on your couch and browsed through shows on Netflix before finally settling on the one you just rewatch over and over, then eventually passed out some time in the early morning. So when you woke up the next day, not only were your eyes extremely groggy but you also smacked your tongue at that familiar taste of overnight breath. In the bathroom you accidentally dropped your toothbrush so you ran out to a drugstore on your block to buy a new one. You really only needed one, but if you bought four in a pack then it would save you money in the long-term and you just couldn’t decide between those two options.

“Hey! I don’t got all day, lady!” a grouchy old man barked at you to make a decision and stop blocking the aisle.

“Sorry,” you mumbled still half-awake just grabbing for the one toothbrush. As you paid for it and began to walk back to your apartment a really terrible thought dawned upon you. Was this your actual life? How was it that your girlfriend was out single-handedly saving different planets while the most impactful thing you had done today was piss off a cranky old dude? You just felt so useless compared to Carol; the idea of being so painfully normal made you question why she had even been interested in you in the first place.

“Shit,” you said opening your bag and realizing that you’d actually grabbed a children’s toothbrush. It was purple and had Skye on it from Paw Patrol but at this point you couldn’t care less. The stupid toothbrush had just helped you get through the greatest obstacle you’d had in the past two weeks. It was absolutely humiliating imagining how stupid and insignificant your problems were compared to your girlfriend’s. You just couldn’t see how she took you seriously with your lowly, mundane problems.

“Babe, you would not believe the size of the army I just fought. One blast and I vaporized an entire ship!” Carol said entering your shared apartment to find you with your arms crossed on the kitchen table. In front of you was a bunch of scrapbooks you had been staring at all night. But what she noticed was weird was that while you were looking at all of the cut out newspaper headlines and epic shots of her that had made the news there was only one picture of yourself up there. It was a polaroid that had been taken of you when you won $1000 from a scratch ticket. In the picture you were holding it up all excited and Carol personally loved how cute you looked in it.

“What’s wrong, babe?” she could tell something was up. Her girlfriend was just not in her usual chipper mood and she seemed awfully down wearing her grey sweatpants that matched the dark circles under her eyes.

Carol rests her hand on your shoulder but turn and walk away not brave enough to face her. “You do all of this amazing stuff everyday like it’s no big deal. You have powers and have been to places that I probably can’t even dream about they’re so complicated. I just don’t understand why you’d be interested in me - just a normal human. I mean, it’s not even like I have special powers like your other friends and could ever keep up with you.”

“Y/N, that’s not important to me.”

“No, Carol, you don’t understand. I can’t even let you pick me up and fly me around with you because I have freaking asthma. I just feel like you’re always grounded because of me and I just hold you down when you could be doing so much more with anyone else.”

“Listen to me,” the blonde kneeled down next to your seat and took your hands into hers with a fierceness and look of determination in her eyes. She wanted you to take her words very seriously. “I love you for you. There’s nothing that you have to prove to me because I already fell in love with the girl who’s extremely smart when, frankly, I rush into bad decisions; the girl who’s patient with me when I’m quick-tempered; the girl who’s selfless when I’m arrogant; and the girl who also loves me for more than just being able to shoot fire out of my fists. You hate thinking that you keep me grounded? Y/N, you’re the only one that keeps me sane most of the time! Before I met you I was so lost and had no idea where my place was in the universe, but you brought me back down to Earth and reminded of where I belong and who I am. Nobody else can do that.”

You sniffle because even though you’ve been telling yourself for the past few days that you’re not special at all, only Carol can make you feel this way. Only she can make you feel like you’re the only person in the universe that matters.

“I need you, you dork,” she snorts playfully pulling on your hands. “Without you I’m just Captain Marvel to everyone else and to myself. You helped bring back the girl that I’ve always been: Carol. She wouldn’t be here without you. I wouldn’t be here without you,” she gently cups your cheek in her hand and you notice its still a bit warm and cooling down, but that just shows you how intensely she’s feeling these feelings for you.

She moves her lips up to plant a small kiss on your forehead (which have always been a favorite of yours and hers) before moving down to take your lips into her own with a gentleness she rarely shows to other people. This softer side of her is just reserved for you; only you can tame her when her flame gets to be too wild and you cry into the kiss just thinking about what she’s trying to show you with her light, considerate touches. But she’s also more than welcome to deepen it when you start letting your own feelings of passion take over and you speed up the pace. There really is a beautiful balance between the two of you that you don’t plan on messing up ever.

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aurumacadicus · 6 years

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#98 for quill/tony ?? if not then buck/tony ? whatever you feel comfortable with !! thank you !!

98. “I can’t watch you with someone else. It’s tearing me apart.”

Bucky’s rehabilitation was going along splendidly. Shuri had done the truly hard part, of course, removing all of the trigger words from deep in Bucky’s psyche, making him a new arm, helping him see that just because he remembered everything now, didn’t make him a monster for doing the things he remembered. Tony’s job was, by far, the easier one–He’d been glad-handing politicians since he was five when the politicians’ wives were cooing over his adorably tiny suit. Going over General Ross to get the Accords fixed was easy.

And okay, yeah, meeting with Bucky was… not as easy. Sure, Tony had put on a good show, but he’d known he couldn’t stop the trembling of his hand as he reached out for Bucky’s to shake it. The look Bucky had given him had been sad, but also understanding. Tony had honestly had a much more difficult time shaking Steve’s hand. He’d come to terms with the fact that Bucky hadn’t had a choice when it came to killing his parents, but… Steve had had a choice to tell him about it.

Things were okay now, though. Tony had worked with his therapist for an awfully long time coming to accept his feelings, and sometimes it was hard, but Bucky accepted his apologies readily when Tony had bad days and was snappish and jittery. Hell, Bucky had even come to some counseling sessions with him and they’d hashed some things out with help. Bucky had even asked Tony to help him integrate back into society.

And therein lied the rub.

Bucky was… he was handsome. Tony could admit that. And after his time in Wakanda, Bucky was… quiet. Pensive. But not in a bad way. It just made what he did say seem more poignant, more important–made his jokes all the more funny, because no one expected it. He wasn’t the lady’s man that Howard had described all those years ago, but he still had a charming smile, a quick wit when engaged. He was attentive and kind to the ladies he danced with at galas, the politicians wives and bored heiresses and sympathetic journalists.

Then Bucky had said, “You don’t have to set me up with just dames, you know? I’ll dance with fellas, too,” and Tony’s whole world came crashing down around his ears, because it was one thing to know that someone just wasn’t attracted to your gender, and quite another to know someone was, just… not into you specifically.

Of course, Tony understood. Bucky probably still had nightmares about Tony blasting his arm off. Tony had been angry, and Bucky had said he’d been right to be angry, but… Tony had never committed cold-blooded murder in his life, only killed in self-defense. He was ashamed of trying to kill Bucky, no matter how much his therapist and Bucky himself tried to convince him that his feelings and desires at the time were valid, even if his actions hadn’t necessarily been.

Still. Watching Bucky allow himself to be led out of the gala by a pretty blonde, or a handsome redhead, or a sultry brunet, it… it hurt. More than a little. Especially when he was the one who had set Bucky up to begin with. And now the other Avengers had cottoned on and gave him sad, sympathetic eyes whenever it happened. God. Even Wanda had offered to ease his pain. How bad must he have looked for that? What was worse, was that he had no choice but to stay at the galas as the other Avengers peeled off; as the host, he was expected to stay to some ungodly hour trying to get donations, villains permitting. So he didn’t even have the solace of going home and sulking into a bottle after watching Bucky and his date leave.

It was starting to affect him personally now. He was getting waspish and snappy and mean. Even Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey weren’t safe, on the receiving ends of snarls and bitching and maudlin, drunken phone calls.

So when Bucky came up to him at the next gala, asking who his date for the night was, Tony laughed a little too loudly and said, “Oh my God, Bucky, I totally forgot! I’m so sorry!”

Bucky looked surprised, and totally confused, and perhaps even a little hurt. “Oh. Okay. I guess I’ll just… stick to Steve tonight…”

“You can dance with me,” Natasha offered, but it sounded more like an order.

Tony watched as Bucky obediently took her arm and led her onto the dance floor. He understood that, though. Natasha was… terrifying.

“You can’t keep doing this, Tony,” Steve said softly.

Tony whipped back toward him, scowling, ready to tell Steve where he could stuff it because Bucky might be his best friend but–

“This isn’t fair to you,” Steve added before he could say anything at all, and he deflated immediately. “I appreciate you helping Bucky, Tony. I do. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to convey how grateful I am. But you shouldn’t help at your own expense. You shouldn’t have to keep hurting like this.”

“Shut up,” Tony answered immediately, because he knew Steve was right but he didn’t want to acknowledge that. “I’m going to eat all of the little smokies before you can get to them.”

Steve gasped, hurt, and then rolled his eyes in amusement. It was… almost like before. That hurt too, so Tony skittered away, and avoided the rest of the Avengers for the rest of the night, except for one dance with Wanda where she just looked at him as if she was observing a science experiment, and then mentioned calling Mantis and asking if she’d ever sensed such pain in a single person before. Tony resolved to avoid her for the rest of his life. Having her… worry about him was… weird.

So he shouldn’t have been too surprised when Bucky came to find him to say goodbye. He’d done that before Tony had started finding dates for him. Tony had always thought it was nice. Now he wished Bucky would just leave him alone.

“Hey,” Bucky said gently, hands curling around the balcony rail as he came to a stop beside him. “Thor and I are going to head out.”

“Yep, mm hmm. Good,” Tony added belatedly when Bucky turned to frown at him in concern. “I know you guys hate these things. Sorry again about forgetting about your date.”

“Wanda… told me not to expect anymore dates in the future,” Bucky said slowly, testing.

God damn it, Wanda. He was going to get Pepper to figure that out for him. Bucky had looked sad when Tony had forgotten. He was trying to avoid that. (He did not think about how she probably thought she was helping him, and how wretched he must have looked for her to want to do that. It was probably better that way.)

“I can–figure something out,” Tony said after some thought. He would. It would just take a little extra time.

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to,” Bucky told him softly. “It’s okay. I think I can find my own dates now.”

“That would be even worse,” Tony answered immediately, staring out into the gardens.

Bucky stared at him, brows furrowing together. “What-? What the hell does that even mean?!”

“I think it’s best you go in the car with the others instead of with me and Steve from now on,” Tony said, studiously not looking at him.

“Wha–why!? That’s not fair!” Bucky exclaimed angrily. “You’ve never had a problem with it before! Why now? I thought we were okay!”

“We are okay,” Tony tried to insist, but even he knew it fell flat.

“Clearly we’re not,” Bucky said darkly. “Tell me why.”

Tony thought about staying silent, but Bucky had proved himself just as stubborn as Steve. He’d just stay until he got an answer, or until someone inevitably attacked New York. The odds of an attack were slim since they’d recently had a visit from Loki, and most human villains were reluctant to attack because one time Loki had turned Natasha into an octo-mermaid and she’d been able to hold eight more guns, which even Tony could admit was terrifying.

So he finally turned to Bucky and said, “I can’t watch you with someone else. I tried so hard, but I can’t do it anymore. It’s tearing me apart.”

Bucky opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Tony offered him a smile, but he couldn’t keep it up for long, so he looked away, arms curling around himself protectively. “I–I need to go see to my guests. Have a good night.”

Bucky didn’t call him back. Tony didn’t know why he’d hoped he would. He continued back into the gala. He figured he’d tell Pepper he was sad and she’d let him mope on her for the rest of the night. (He was right. She gave him sad eyes and said ‘I’m proud of you for telling him’ and then they swayed back and forth on the dance floor for a few hours after finishing off a bottle of champagne by themselves. That was nice.)

So when he stumbled back to the tower after the gala, he was very surprised when Bucky grabbed him by the collar as soon as he stepped off the elevator and dragged him into the common room. “Ack!”

“You don’t get to just tell me that you can’t set me up on dates with people because it’s tearing you apart and then leave,” Bucky hissed. “So, what, if I started dating someone of my own volition, you’d just ignore me?”

“I’m allowed to protect my heart,” Tony answered shakily, repeating what his therapist had been telling him for ages, but it almost came out as a question. “I wouldn’t ignore you, I… I’d just… avoid you entirely. Until it didn’t hurt so much.”

Something twisted in Bucky’s expression for a moment before his face went back to a stern mask. “And if it never stopped hurting?”

Tony looked down at the floor, wishing it would swallow him up. It didn’t. “It wouldn’t,” he whispered, shoulders sagging. “It wouldn’t stop hurting. But Iron Man was born out of a broken heart. It would be okay. I would be okay. Eventually, anyway.”

Bucky stared at him for a long time before very slowly asking, “You’d be in pain, but you’d be okay?”

“It’s kind of how my entire life has gone,” Tony explained, offering him a self-deprecating smile. “I just want you to be happy. And if it takes someone else to do that… that’s fine.”

“That’s crazy. I could never do that,” Bucky told him seriously.

Tony shrugged. Yeah. A lot of people had said that. “You deserve to be a little greedy after all you’ve been through.”

Bucky tilted his head. “Is that permission?”

Tony nearly blanched. He didn’t want Bucky to think he needed his permission to date. But sometimes he did need permission, for the weirdest things. Hydra had twisted him up inside. It wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t untwist everything they’d done. So Tony nodded. “Yeah. Of course.”

“Then I’m going to be as greedy as I want,” Bucky said.

Tony didn’t have a chance to do more than yelp when Bucky used the grip on his collar to haul him in for a kiss. He squirmed at first, but Bucky’s kiss was hard, and demanding, and warm, and Tony was tired, so all he could do was sink against him, letting out needy mewls as the other man wrapped his arms around him as if he feared Tony would try to escape.

Tony wouldn’t, though. He’d never really had any sense of self-preservation, anyway.

#aurumacadicus answers #aurumacadicus writes #writing meme #winteriron #lordmyeon

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frostironstrange · 6 years

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What if they all went out to dinner eith their son who's peter, and since they're four heroes, something has to go wrong and peter gets kidnapped. And so ensues three angry dads plus superfamily. But when they find peter he's already set himself free, he just couldnt find his way out of the complex. -That one anon who's socially awkward and doesnr know how to prompt

Anon your prompts are my favorite you are wonderful at prompting.

Also, advertisement for the FrostIronStrange Discord!

In this AU, Peter is 16 and his parents died when he was 12. Aunt May wasn’t able to take care of Peter and so it went to the second in line which just so happened to be Tony since Tony knew Peter’s father and since Tony loved baby Peter so much when he got brought into work Peter had jokingly told his attorney that Peter should go to Tony if May couldn’t take him.

It was meant to have been a good day.

There had no been no villain attacks for a week. No demons had rising, and things were quiet on Asgard. Stephen had proposed they all go out for a nice dinner and everyone had agreed happily. Loki had picked the theme (Chinese), Stephen had picked the restaurant (high end enough that they wouldn’t be bothered by Staff, but nothing snobby), and Tony had arranged the reservation. Peter and Tony then planned out a fun evening for after dinner of messing with the media that still refused to believe Tony Stark was bisexual, let alone currently dating two men that happened to be a god and a wizard. They also still refused to admit Peter was his son despite the legal papers that said so. So whenever they went out in public together the tabloids flared up trying to come up with excuses for what was happening (and Queer New York magazine would run a small blurb noting their relationship for what it was and critiquing their outfits. They were Tony’s favorite magazine and he might be a anonymous major funding source for them) and this time they were going to have fun with it.

Or that had been the plan anyways. A plan that got busted up when Peter excused himself halfway through their meal to use the restroom. At first, the adults had paid no mind and continued on the heated debate about magical law and whether a bloodline curse could be engineered to include adopted children. It was five minutes before Loki paused in his argument to glance towards the back of the house. His eyes narrowed, worry covering his features even as he tried to suppress it.

“Peter’s been gone an awfully long time.”

It wasn’t good that Loki was the first one to notice Peter’s absence. Tony was usually the one that kept careful track of where Peter was. Loki was the one with the eye for danger. Stephen and Tony both looked uneasy. Loki glanced at the two of them, and silently the choice was made. Getting up, Loki made his way over to the restrooms to check what was keeping Peter.

He wasn’t expecting to find blood. So much blood. A shout alerted Stephen and Tony that something was wrong and by the time they had scrambled over to him, Tony suiting up as he went, Loki had already run scanning spells and reassured himself that very little of the blood was Peter’s. He’d also identified who it was that had taken Peter with a quick spell. Stephen looked at his lover cautiously,

“HYDRA” Loki spat out, and that was all Stephen needed to know to summon his portal and the three of them were through it an instant to find their son.

It took searching three complexes before they found him. By this point, Loki’s knives were stained with blood, Stephen had ignored his own distaste for such spells and used forms of mind control twice and Tony had straight up wrecked four different buildings now by smashing through walls. The other avengers had been called into action but were now exploring a fourth complex that also had potential. T’Challa and Shuri had joined the three of them for “damage control” and because there was no way Shuri was allowing herself to be left out of the search for her best friend.

Everyone was on edge as they entered the third complex, Shuri was kept towards the center of their group despite her protests, but it seemed that precaution may not have been sereneness. The whole base seem abandoned. The few times they stumbled upon a HYDRA agent, they were already unconscious and stuffed into a closet. It was setting everyone on edge.

Then they found the blood.

A spell told them it was Peter’s. Loki broke two walls just with the power of his magic. Stephen had to reach out to calm him before the whole building came down around them, and he was planning to offer words of reassurance when all of the sudden, one of the many machines Shuri was holding beeped loudly. Shuri glanced at the reading, her eyes going wide before she as pushing her way past T’Challa and Tony on her right despite their spluttered protests and hurdling through the left door (thankfully not on one of the demolished walls.

“Peter!” She shouted, torn between joyful and downright pissed.

There, in the hallway with three HYDRA goons unconscious behind him, stood Peter. He was unharmed, with his hair in disarray, and he looked sheepish. Shuri was upon him in a moment, scolding her best friend and checking him for any injuries despite his instance that he was fine. He then had to endure checks from Tony, Stephen and Loki individually all while trying to convince them that he was okay.

It was T’Challa who finally brought reason to the situation,

“Peter, it is good to see you are unharmed. Did HYRDA manage to get any information from you or take any samples of your blood?”

Peter gave a smile to T’Challa and wiggled his way out of Tony’s hold to answer, “Nope! I got away almost immediately once we got here. I would’ve gotten out earlier but I could hear we were on busy roads and I didn’t want to risk a crash.”

T’Challa nodded, and then Loki spoke up, “Peter, that was almost four hours ago. Why didn’t you contact us so we knew you were okay? Or leave the facility?” his tone was even, not accusing or unkind.

Rubbing the back of his head Peter mumbled out an answer, repeating it louder when Loki quirked an eyebrow at him, “Uh, I well they got my cell phone so I couldn’t call, and I may have uh, gotten lost just a little?”

Tony looked his son in the eye and then broke down into a manic laughter. It wasn’t funny. It really wasn’t. But all the emotions were hitting Tony all at once, and laughing at the ridiculous of his son who could take down a HYRDA base but not find his way out of it was the only outlet Tony had. Stephen rolled his eyes and smiled at Peter,

“We’ll get you a wayfinding runestone for the future, but for now, let’s go home.”

Peter had never heard sweeter words, and so surrounded by his family (and with a portal to go through so nobody could get lost), he went home.

#Anonymous #frostironstrange #frostiron #ironstrange #tony stark #loki #stephen strange #dr. strange #marvel #mcu #original fanfiction #shorts

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adarafaelbarba · 6 years

Text

Tell Everett, I love him

warnings: major Infinity War Spoilers (maybe not, but better safe than sorry)

pairing: Agent Everett Ross x Agent!Reader (also platonic Steve Rogers + Reader/T’Challa + Reader/Okoye + Reader/Shuri x Reader, and siblings Bucky Barnes + Reader)

synopsis: All around the world people were disappearing, (Y/N) Barnes, or Agent (Y/N) Stevens as everyone at Shield and CIA knew her as, tried frantically to reach her brother Bucky, but to no avail. She manages, however, to reach Steve Rogers aka Captain America who delivers the news that her brother is gone …….

~ (Y/N)’s POV~

All that I knew was that the world was ending. The world was ending and people were disappearing left right and center. Everett were nowhere to be found, my brother was on another continent, I was alone, and the world is ending.

Picking up my phone I dialed the number to the disposable phone Shuri had gotten my brother Bucky as a way of communicating while he was in Wakanda and I was in the U.S.. Nothing. I tried again, still nothing. Getting worried I tried yet another time, frantically dialing the numbers into my ‘smart’ phone, «Come on Bucky!» I paced the floor, nothing. Groaning loudly I dialed Steve’s number. He answered on the second ring, «(Y/N)?! Oh thank God you’re alright!» he said in a sigh of relief. «Of course I am, well no, I’m not? I don’t know what is going on, people seems to be evaporating left right and center! Steve, where’s Bucky? Why won’t he answer his phone? Please tell me it got damaged and that he’s alright— Steve please!» I pleaded, he was too quiet. «I’m sorry (Y/N), Bucky is gone. He evaporated too», Steve said, chocking up on his words.

«What about Shuri? Okoye? …. T’Challa?» trying to cling onto some of the people closest to me. «No one knows what happened to Shuri, I’ve not seen either Okoye or T’Challa since the battle. Wait, there’s Okoye! Where is he?!» he said, saying the last part to the Dora Milaje General. «I’m sorry (Y/N), T’Challa is gone too», he said, but my mind was elsewhere as I notice the tips of my fingers on my free hand turning to dust. «Steve? I don’t feel so good», I gasped, looking in shock and amazement as my body started to evaporate. «(Y/N)!! NO, NO! PLEASE! Not you too! I can’t lose you too!» Steve shouted. «It’s okay Steve, it’s my time. Will you do something for me though? Will you tell Agent Everett Ross that I love him? And tell him who I am, he deserves to know», I said, my breath calming down as the rest of my body evaporated. «Please (Y/N) don’t leave me!» he cried, but it was too late.

~Steve’s POV~

«(Y/N)!!!» nothing, she was gone. «(Y/N)? I’m home? Honey? Are you here?» that must be Agent Ross! «(Y/N)?!» he tried again. «Agent Ross!!!» I shouted into the phone, hoping, praying that he would hear me, I was risking a lot, he could be arresting me for all I knew, all I cared, I had no one anymore, they could arrest me for all I cared. «Hello? Who’s here?» Agent Ross asked. «Down here! In the phone!» I called out, «Hello? Who’s this?» he was much cleared now as he had probably picked up the phone. «Agent Ross, this is Captain Steve Rogers, I’m calling from Wakanda», Captain Rogers?! What’s going on? Where’s (Y/N)?!» he asked, sounding distressed. «She evaporated, just a few short minutes ago. She told me to tell you, that she loves you», I explained, hearing him burst out crying. «No, NO, this can’t be! She wasn’t supposed to be one of them, she was supposed to be here when I got home, we would have dinner, and a glass of wine. We were talking about starting a family! Please tell me you’re lying! (Y/N) is coming home!» he shouted into the phone. «I’m sorry Agent Ross. She wanted me to tell you the truth about her», he needed to know, she wanted him to know. «The truth? What do you mean? She’s Agent (Y/N) Stevens? She’s my girlfriend, why would she keep secrets?» he huffed, I could hear him pacing back and forth on the hardwood floor. «Her real name is (Y/N) Barnes. She was born in New York in 1920, she’s the sister of Sergeant James Buchanan «Bucky Barnes, or as you all know him, the winter soldier», I explained. «How? How is that possible? I mean, I know how, but why?» he stumbled over his words. «She was mistakenly frozen in ice, a project fueled by the late Howard Stark to see if preserving a human body in ice was possible, she was never meant to go into the ice, but she wanted to, stubborn as she was. They kept her in the ice for many years, hoping that when they found me they would be successful in unfreezing the two of us», he went awfully quiet, and for a moment I was afraid he had evaporated too, until he coughed. «I know it’s a lot to take in, but she wanted you to know sir», he coughed again, «Thank you for telling me Steve, I just wish she could have told me before, and I wish I had texted her to tell her I love her just so—» «She knew, she always talked about you, she knew that you loved her, and she loved you too, more than she has ever loved anybody.»

#Everett Ross #Agent Ross #Agent Everett Ross #Captain America #Captain Steve Rogers #Steve Rogers #Winter Soldier #James Buchanan Barnes #james bucky barnes #Bucky Barnes #Everett Ross x Reader #Steve Rogers x Reader #Shuri #Okoye #T'Challa #INFINITY WAR SPOILERS #iw spoilers

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naferty · 6 years

Text

Part 7 is here!!

One thing Tony hadn’t considered when he accepted the help of the prince was the method in which the prince was going to lather him with the disenfectives. Paws weren’t exactly ideal, not when claws could accidentally cause more damage or the salve wouldn’t be placed properly.

As a panther it would’ve been difficult for T’Challa to work on four legs. Opposable thumbs was a luxury and proved to be a necessity on more than one occasion and now suddenly the blanket T’Challa brought with him made more sense.

Tony tried his hardest not to allow his eyes to glance over to the form of the prince kneeling next to him with only a blanket to cover his nakedness to the world. Instead he focused on the feeling of fingers trailing through his fur and caressing his skin. The medicine soothing the burn of his fresh wounds and the soft fingers relaxing his muscles.

The sensation had him nearly falling asleep and his weakness to touch had him going soft and pliant. If he had the capability he was sure he’d be purring right then. As it happened, he might or might not have been slowly melting under the prince’s hands.

He had a weakness. Living as a solitary tiger had its pros, less worry, no responsibilities to others, no other mouths to feed, but above all else solitary had its cons. No physical contact. No affection. No grooming. No gentle touches. No bonds. No pride strength. He was alone and the feeling of loneliness in moments of weakness hurt more than any wound he could ever receive.

He didn’t believe himself as someone to easily grow affection for another simply because he ran fingers through his fur, but as T’Challa gently lathered around his wrists with a care of easily breakable glass Tony could feel the affection bloom in his chest. It said something for a tiger to allow the fragile treatment, but Tony had been so starved of anything related to gentle treatment after being captured he couldn’t be faulted.

He wondered if T’Challa understood or even noted the importance of it.

The more the panther tended to his wounds the more Tony inched closer to falling asleep. Then T’Challa moved his hands to his flank and back and Tony was in pure bliss.

“You sustained more injuries than I have salve to use.”

Tony twitched his ear at the sudden sound disrupting his elation. He made the mistake of looking to T’Challa and got a trail of skin visible between the the blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a well-toned chest for his troubles. Mouth suddenly dried he put a lot more effort than necessary to move his gaze to T’Challa’s face.

“As long as the big ones are taken care of. Don’t go using all your stock on me.”

T’Challa’s hand suddenly moved to lather on his neck. Tony prevented himself from flinching but gave himself away when his ears went flat down. He moved his head according to T’Challa’s movements to accommodate. At one point T’Challa had to use both hands to adjust and held his chin as he put pressure in order to pass through the fur. Tony stared at his face as he did so. The tongue sticking out slightly as he focused. The thought of grooming strong on his mind after seeing that.

The panther’s fingers ran over the fur of his cheeks and as if belatedly realizing what he’d been doing T’Challa finally met his eyes. For a brief moment time stopped and Tony wondered what the prince’s next move would have been had the sound of twigs snapping didn’t make them nearly jump apart. T’Challa retracted his hand and both of them faced the panther cub and wolf pup trying and failing to hide under bushes. The youngsters looking far too interested at what they were doing.

T’Challa wrapped the blanket tighter against himself and Tony did the sensible thing and stood to move his body in front of the panther, blocking the view. He gave the young pair an unimpressed look.

“How long have you both been hiding there?”

The panther princess peeked her head through the green and piped up. “Long enough.” The feline grin she had didn’t leave room not to worry.

Peter followed her and stuck his nose up, tongue hanging lazily out of his mouth. “We didn’t want to disturb you, Mr Stark. Looked like you were having a moment.”

If looks could scare.

“Mind coming out from there?”

“Since you asked so nicely,” Shuri slithered out and stood tall. Her fur shining under the light of the sun. Peter didn’t slither but he gave a good attempt at it. His fur wasn’t as shiny but considering what they had gone through months prior it was practically sparkling compared to his fur’s previous state. He looked healthy and energetic and Tony sighed fondly at him. Carefree for the first time in so long. He couldn’t take that away from him.

“Did you both need something?” There had to be a reason why the two sought them out.

“No, we wanted to check you both weren’t dead. You were awfully silent.”

“What, were you expecting us to fight? Pretty sure your guards would be against me hurting a prince.”

“No, but plenty of other reasons to be quiet.”

T’Challa, now in his panther form, walked around Tony. “Such as?”

“I can’t possibly say.” Shuri made a show of looking around paranoid. “Far too many ears around us.”

T’Challa shook his head, ready to respond, but it seemed Shuri was not going to stick around for it. She jumped on her four legs and to Peter she said, “Race you to the top of the hill.”

Peter crouched down before taking off. “You’re on!”

And just like that they were both gone, leaving tiger and panther alone to wonder what all that was about.

“The energy of youth,” T’Challa said with fondness.

Tony raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you calling me old?” Which, rude.

“N-no! Of course not. I hadn’t meant to offend by it.”

The wide eyes and the taken back stance made Tony internally chuckle. A prince that stuttered. He never thought he’d ever see it in his life. Then, as if stuttering wasn’t enough, the prince actually froze and blinked at him. As if his mind was attempting to reboot.

Tony grinned. “No offence taken. I wouldn’t even know what to do with all that energy. I’m old and grumpy.”

The panther seemed to snap out of whatever notion he got himself in. “There is plenty to do with that much energy. You just need creativity.”

Now it was Tony’s turn to blink. If he didn’t know any better he’d assume the prince was flirting with him, and his eyes seemed to be half lidded.

It was a good thing he knew better. The prince was his owner and most likely didn’t have time to flirt with his property. Even if he did nothing would come out of it. Not unless the prince wanted a warm body for the night and Tony had no choice but to say yes.

Tony hummed and refused to respond. If he didn’t acknowledge it perhaps the prince would drop it. Instead he turned and got comfortable back on the ground.

Shuri ended up winning the race up the hill by using the branches and jumping to her advantage while Peter was stuck running on the ground. While he may have lost he hadn’t been upset by it. Not when he could finally run after being locked up for so long. To feel his legs burning from exertion and breathing heavily.

He flopped down on the ground when he finally reached her perched on the hill. “Next win is going to be mine.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” She wasn’t winded and she didn’t look even close to as tired as he was.

“Five minutes.”

“I’ll give you ten.”

“Thanks.” Peter breathed deeply during the time, trying to calm his heart, all the while Shuri sat upright for a moment before pacing in a circle around him.

“So,” she started casually, “my brother and Mr Stark.”

Peter grinned. “Do you think they know?”

“If they don’t they’re about to. The way they were gazing at each other. It reminded me of that lion film and the love song it played. They’re practically begging for it to be their song.”

“Lion film?” Peter perked up.

“Have you not watched it?” the panther tilted her head.

“I live with my pack hidden in the forest away from humans. I’ve seen a few films from what we manage to get, but they’re usually not priority. My uncle tells me to focus on staying hidden.”

“I see. Sounds sad.”

Peter shrugged. “Plenty to do with the pack every day. Not that it’s always fun, but we survive.”

Shuri circled one more time before curling up next to him. “Is that how all shifters live where you are from?”

“Not all. Only those who live as their animal form. It’s easier to live hidden like that and have humans keep walking. There’s some who try to live as both and even manage to make small villages deep within forests. They have electricity and technology and everything.”

“Do you live as your animal only?”

“Yeah. Electricity makes it easier for humans to track us so we try to avoid that.”

“Is that why you don’t shift even now? You and Mr Stark?” It was a sad thought, and made sense now that Shuri thought about it.

Peter nodded. “We live in a forest. Mr Stark on his own but he’s a friend of my pack. He helped me when I got seperated from my aunt and uncle one day, and tried to stop the poachers from taking me. They got us both instead.”

“How long ago was this?” How long were you captured.

“What day is it?”

“Seventeen of September.”

Visible sorrow appeared in Peter’s eyes. “More than half a year ago. Aunt May and Uncle Ben must be worried sick.”

“You’ll return to them,” Shuri said with utmost certainty. “I meant what I said. We wish to help and that means returning you to your home. Wherever that is.”

“Thank you.”

Shuri made a quick move to bump her head against Peter’s in affection before pulling away and standing again. “Now. I can’t believe you haven’t watched that lion film. Tomorrow I’m bringing a whole set up and we’re going to sit and watch it and when that scene comes out you’re going to help me play it out for my brother and Mr Stark.”

Peter hopped to his feet as well. “I can’t wait.”

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part8)

@xissa-chanx @bornwithgasolineheart @societyslostone @aliceinawesomeland @seven-oomen @not-the-cavalry @gabriel-r3ap3r-reyes @msmynx @sodoyoufondueme @damej @gentlemanspygalahad @lighthearted-liv @meghatron12337 @the-ice-goddess @fullheartedlyprovocative @breyito @llaladonna @caped-ace @can-i-be-your-alice @writingstealer @batfamily-stark @harryrockz777 @larissaloki @ninacloverfield @wateriiterro @avengingphoenix @hurricanesass @kaci1ynn @arellaroth @inkblackfingers @hestia-sama @caffinatedtrashcompacter @itsall-taken @olevereidna @im-an-indoor-person @0dannyphantom0 @zessagirl @drarrydarling @beautiful-rave

#text post #long text post #ironpanther shifter au #lost and found au #ironpanther #tiger tony stark #panther t'challa #panther shuri #wolf peter #what better way to promote birthday fic than posting it on the main character's actor's birthday #happy birthday to all!!#naferty writes #peter and shuri

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avengers-nextgen · 6 years

Text

The Year Between IX

Siyanda was stuck in a meeting, a meeting regarding the smuggling problem that had grown into a full blown market. She’d spent months taking down group after group, but everyone she destroyed sprouted two others. They were like hydras.

“We must find out what they want with our vibranium.” Kingsley stood with his chin jutting out to accentuate his power play. “It is the only way to cut out the roots.”

“The issue isn’t what they want to do with it.” Siyanda insisted. “The issue is that we’re unable to stop them from acquiring it. If they do not get it? They have nothing to do with it.”

“With all do respect, all that you have proposed has failed,” Kingsley’s brow furrowed. “Why not try another method?”

“We are learning,” Siyanda frowned, “just as they are. Why send everyone into a hiding hole? Onto their territory? Will we not be rabbits on their hunting ground?”

A few murmurs of agreement resounded from around the war counsel. Siyanda briefly locked eyes with her father who had remained silent. He was observing, watching his daughter closely, assessing her prowess, but he gave nothing away with his expression.

“You have become timid.” Kingsley shook his head. “You have lost your fire.”

“I have become cautious, perhaps that’s true, but I have become cautious with reason.” Siyanda’s eyes narrowed. Kingsley has been appointed the new war advisor. He had big shoes to fill and he was failing. Siyanda was biased, she knew that, but she wanted to make sure anyone that was replacing Acacia was worthy of the position.

“Do not let tragedy cloud your judgment, don’t let them take what is ours.”

“My impulsive nature is what killed your predecessor.” Siyanda tilted her head slightly, the room went quiet, and T’Challa was reminded how much his daughter was like her mother. “As far as I’m concerned you’d be wise not to encourage my old behavior. Of course, that is unless you want to perish too?”

“Of course not your highness,” Kingsley stammered and bowed his head.

“If my dear friend were here what would she say?” Siyanda arched a brow. “Yes, Zita.”

“The wisest tactic to deploy is the tactic of familiarity.” Zita smiled, “Everyone expects the unexpected.”

“Exactly, which is why we will continue to deploy our efforts as we have been,” Siyanda smiled kindly at the young rising general, before a mischievous glint caught in her eye, “no one expects the expected.”

“I beg your pardon-“

“We will attack solely from the front. No flanking, no maneuvers. One straight shot.” Siyanda drummed her fingers lightly on the table. “But, we will be as high as we are low.”

“I don’t understand-“

“Father, is Aunt Shuri finished?” T’Challa smiled coyly at his daughter.

“Indeed.”

— — —

“A giant drill?!” Kingsley scoffed, as the machine moved smoothly below the crust of the earth.

“Mhm,” Shuri smiled proudly. Her lithe fingers skimmed across the controls with ease. “Nothing like a worm.”

“More of a snake if you ask me,” Zita giggled making fangs with her fingers and wiggling them.

“What exaclty is the purpose of this?” Kingsley sneered.

“By my calculations, which are accurate you sniveling bafoon, we just need to drill right into the main structure.” Shuri hummed pulling up a holographic map. “Once that’s been drilled out all of the mine systems will collapse. Everything leads back to the main chamber. Anyone inside dies, and everyone else has no where to hide.”

“I’m so excited!” Zita bounced up and down clapping, “Can I try driving?”

“Absolutely not!” Kingsley squeaked.

“Eh, sure.” Shuri leaned back in her seat and let Zita take over.

— — —

“Not yet,” Siyanda held her hand up. The group of warriors were anxious to strike. “We must wait.”

“But they’re right their!” Mougley protested. The young warrior was eager to prove himself on the battlefield.

“Shh,” Siyanda’s eyes scanned the open terrain ahead from where they lurked in the edge of the tree line.

“What does the signal look like?” Mougley asked.

“Believe me, you’ll know what it is.” Siyanda promised.

“Are you sure? Seems awfully qui-“

The ground rumbled with a mighty roar. All work paused in the mining process. The dry husk of the earth began to crack as fissures carved their way through. With another violent shudder the main chamber tumbled inwards.

Dirt exploded up like geysers all around the open desert as tunnels collapsed. When nothing else happened a long moment of silence remained before the mercenaries panicked.

“Now, that’s the signal.” Siyanda smiled, tugging her mask down. Mougley stood astounded but soon blinked away his disbelief as Siyanda lead the charge.

Guns crackled in the air as mercs clashed with warriors. All around the clanging of armor and weapons filled the air. Shuri had pulled off the plan without a hitch, and Siyanda was more than willing to take her home back.

Leaping she landed atop the shoulders of a large thug. With a twist he fell dead from a snapped neck. Siyanda was seemingly everywhere, running, leaping, flipping, diving, and rolling across the battle field. Her moves were efficient and fast. Not a single motion resulted in wasted energy.

The butt of a rifle slammed into her shoulder. Reacting swiftly, the metal claws tucked in her gloves unsheathed, and the rifle was dismembered as was its owner. Under normal circumstances she wouldn’t have relished in such a massacre, but these people had ravaged her land, and they needed to pay.

— — —

The fighting went well into the night. Siyanda’s forces were on the hunt. She was determined to finish off every straggler even if it took days.

Only the moon’s light guided her in the pursuit of prey. Leaping from a thick tree branch she latched onto another trunk before pouncing downwards onto a young mercenary. Nearby leaves crunched and she was back on the chase in seconds.

Heart thrumming, pulse hammering, and senses alert she failed to pause at the second regrouping. Mougley tried to pause the heir of Wakanda, but she dismissed him. This was the last one.

Crackling twigs offered the only form of tracking and this individual seemed quicker than the others. Batting aside a hanging branch Siyanda leapt atop a mountain of rocks. Crouching she prowled back and forth in the shadows.

The trail had ended but the runner was no where to be seen. Her ears strained to identify a source of sound but there was nothing.

An iron grip latched onto the back of her neck sending her brain into hyper drive. Thrashing, Siyanda planted a swift kick to the attacker. Having been released she skittered backwards.

“Hmm,” Siyanda’s eyes widened at the glistening individual. His armor was bronze and silver, a mask adorned his face, and his eyes glinted a vibrant unearthly glow. “So you’re responsible for this.”

“Who are you?” Siyanda demanded, eyes glancing about to identify routes of escape.

“That’s unimportant my dear.” The man’s voice seemed to echo through the trees. “You’ve struck too late. I have what I need.”

Siyanda attempted to lunge at him, but he was no longer standing where she fell. An amused laugh vibrated through her head. “You sent those people to kill us didn’t you?”

“No, not kill.” The man tilted his head, his smirking mask sending a chill down Siyanda’s spine. “Test.”

Once more Siyanda tried to catch him off guard, but a hand clamped around her neck. Her feet left the ground, and soon she was writhing in the air staring down at those golden eyes. “You...son of-“

“Careful,” the man crowed, “that tongue will get you into trouble. I’m not here to kill you. I’m only here to send a message.”

His grip released sending Siyanda onto her knees choking and gasping for air. “What message?”

“History repeats itself.” Stooping down his cool silver hand gripped Siyanda’s chin. “I intend to correct that through this natural cycle. An era of unity will begin. It’s foolish to try and stop me.”

“Who are you?” Siyanda asked again.

The man straightened with a smug look. “I am a titan. Ages old, child. What you must ask yourself is, who’s side are you willing to be on?”

Siyanda’s eyes widened as the man was absorbed by the earth and disappeared from sight. Snapping branches startled the princess and she turned to see her father. He tugged his mask off in an instant and she felt guilty for the look of worry on his face. “Are you alight?”

“Yes,” Siyanda nodded, taking her father’s hand. “But I’m not so sure I will be for long.”

— — —

“Then it’s time,” Nikia decided that night at dinner, “you’ve done your duty here. If what you say is true there’s no hesitation.”

“I worry about sending her off,” T’Challa sighed.

“I’ll be fine,” Siyanda insisted, “if anyone can help it’s them. We did it once before we can do it again.”

“Maybe,” T’Challa nodded, “but I also fear for the kingdom.”

“We can take them,” Shuri set her jaw in determination, “besides, Siyanda has to take the mantel eventually. It’s her fight-not ours.”

“So be it.” T’Challa swallowed hard. “You may go.”

Siyanda ran through the conversation once more as she borded the jet with a back pack strapped on. The ramp began to close and she locked eyes with her father for a brief moment. He said nothing, he only gave a steady nod.

Siyanda straightened her shoulders.

“Assemble the Avengers.”

The End

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tabihe · 6 years

Note

Okay but it isn't a real au till the angst comes : Shiri finding out about the reach invasion and what happend

Hmmm…

It’s still hard to believe it sometimes. That he’s really there, that the grass beneath his bare feet isn’t some delusion. Wally can’t help but dig his toes into the cool earth beneath him. It grounds him as the lingering memories of the invaders and the horror of it all.

“Awfully late to be out, Speed Demon,” Shuri mentions, a loose, thin blanket draped around her shoulders. It’s undeniably late, and the night here is so dark, so open and beautiful, yet she looks too awake to have been asleep.

“Needed some air,” Wally shrugs.

She sees through him. She’s too smart to not see that something’s bothering him, and too stubborn to let it go. “What troubles you?” Shuri gently questions.

“Is that a trick question? It sounds like a trick question to me,” Wally teases, half-heartedly.

Shuri doesn’t fall for it. “Wally,” she says, “you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but.. we are friends, and as your friend, I am here for you.”

She doesn’t speak, just stands there by his side under the light of the star filled sky.

“It happened not long ago,” Wally finally begins. And once he begins telling her about it, he can’t stop. It’s like the dam has burst and there’s not holding it back. He tells her about the REACH, about their plans, about everyone they hurt…. About his death.

Somewhere in the tale, she slips her hand in his and squeezes it. There is so much running through her mind, so many questions, but the most important thing, is Wally. She holds his hand as his voice stutters through his ‘death’. It hurts, and she’s afraid. Not for herself, but for him.

After Wally’s finished, they go back to the quiet. This time there’s too much in the air to pretend like neither of them are okay.

“..I am sorry for what you went through, but Wally, you must remember that this is the present,” Shuri reminds him gently. “You survived it. You fought back and made it through.” She leans against his shoulder. “You made the world safe again.”

Shuri leans back and bumps his shoulder. “I cannot change the past, but I can tell you that I and the whole of Wakanda will be by your side should such an event happen again. You’re not alone.”

Wally squeezes her hand a little and bumps back, tearing up. He’s grateful it’s dark enough to hide his tears. “Thanks, Shuri.”

“What are friends for?”

Wally smiles with a small chuckle.

“…So, aliens, huh?”

“Yup, aliens.”

They both sigh at the insanity before giggling at the fact that this is literally their lives. Seriously, wtf.

#shuri #wally west #yj #black panther #shortfic #fanfic #anon

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sunflowerspectre · 4 years

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Backwash | Commission Piece

This is a commission piece for anon, who commissioned a sequel to The Backwaters.

Commission Info | Buy Me A Coffee | Twitter

Title: Backwash | Sequel to The Backwaters Summary: Five years after the Backwaters Incident, a reformed Bucky comes back to Shuri with the hopes that they can turn over a new leaf and start something new together. Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha!Bucky, Omega!Shuri, AU

Read Backwash on A03 | Read the Backwaters on Tumblr | A03

<< Previous Chapter | Read From The Start >>

Backwash | Chapter Four | Word Count: 5605

Present

The first thing that Bucky did when he had gotten up was draw the curtains to let the sunlight stream in. He thought that it would help wake them up. Shuri, however, shifts with a happy, content sigh and a smile as she lays on the bed, peacefully soaking up the morning sun as it beats on her skin.

She can hear Bucky going through the closet for his clothes as he gets ready for the day, a lead that she supposes she has to follow if she wants to be ready for work herself. But she is glad to take her time, closing her eyes and just listens. She can start to hear the morning birds outside the window - it won’t be too much longer until she’ll be able to spot nests in the trees by their window either. The sun feels comforting, warm. Familiar.

She doesn’t regret quitting SHIELD, not on mornings like this. Not in the mornings where she can breathe and relax. Not when she can feel her body’s softness and easiness. Her joints don’t crack anymore and her muscles are sore. She doesn’t have to worry about fishing out bullets over a gas station sink either. She can still pack a good punch, pregnant or otherwise.

She doesn’t regret moving out of her apartment either - not when she can feel the sun beat on her face through open windows. She found out that the smell of pine and morning dew is much better than the smell of second smoke on a subway. She likes hearing the birds again, it’s become one of her favorite sounds to hear in the morning. In a few months, she thinks that the sound of a baby’s soft coos will become her favorite thing to hear. But she still has a while to go - for now at least.

“You’re being awfully quiet this morning. You alright, darling?”

Bucky eyes her with a mix of love and concern as he adjusts the hemline of his shirt and pulls up the zipper to his jeans.

“I’m alright. Just happy, I suppose,” Shuri muses, adjusting herself on the bed to look at him with wide, sparkling eyes. He gives her a smile and presses a quick kiss on her lips before working on pulling on his boots.

“Our morning session got me running a bit late for work. I can still drop you off at the schoolyard if you hurry, but maybe it’s best for you to take the day off.”

He eyes her belly and her eyes crease with laughter as she starts to stretch to get ready.

“No way are you putting me on bed rest this early. I still have a while to go before I take my maternity leave. I plan on waiting as long as I can, you know.”

A wistful look passes over her eyes, a hand pressing gently to her stomach, “I want to spend as much time as I possibly can with our baby when they’re born. I don’t want to give birth and then just rush off again to work.”

She takes the clothes that Bucky hands her, taking a moment before pulling on the long skirt and loose shirt - something comfortable seems suiting today. Nothing too straining or restricting.

“You don’t have to work after our child is here, darling,” Bucky presses gently as Shuri brushes past him to finish getting ready. She has no plans to go to work with a bedhead and smelling of morning sex. She would’ve preferred a shower, but settles for perfume and a roll of deodorant.

“I know that I don’t have to,” Shuri retorts, running her hair cream through with a wince. She makes a note to pack her comb and some minor products in her purse today. “But maternity leave will give me plenty of time to hold our baby until they’re old enough for daycare. Then it won’t be too long before they’re in the school with me.”

She stops at that realization, pausing with a strained expression that doesn’t go unnoticed. Bucky reaches out to her and brings her in close to him. A mix of emotions stir in her as she realizes how fast the time will pass with her child and that it will be time that her other child didn’t get a chance to have.

“I know that we’ll enjoy every moment with them, sweetheart,” Bucky presses a quick kiss to the side of her lips, “Don’t matter how long we get as long as we do our best.”

_________________________________________

Shuri decides that she loves their house. She’s always liked it, of course, having picked it out with Bucky a while ago; it’s the perfect distance from town to give them privacy without being so far that it’s isolating. Bucky had wanted a small town again - she got affirmation from his therapist that it would be okay. He just wanted their child to grow up with mud under their toes that gets washed away by a summer’s creek. To be surrounded by a whole town that becomes their family.

The idea had been appealing. The prospect of extending their family to a whole town, having a sense of community in a way that’s always been lost to her. She drew the line when Bucky had wanted a cabin, so while wooden panels are under her feet, the house itself is modern, but modest.

So she has always liked the house, but now she loves it. She decides this when they’re working in the nursery. She decides that the windows let in the sun that lights up the cradle in such a perfect manner. When she looks outside, she can see their large yard stretched out before it. There’s enough space that she can picture it now. A garden that can be trampled by little feet, grass stains from the tumbling first walk and a dog house for their first friend. The limbs of strong trees beckon to be climbed and built on. She wonders if Bucky will struggle with the idea of a tree house.

They’re not the best artists, but they both decided on a sort of farm theme for the nursery. Bucky still makes comments about themes being silly, that a nursery is a nursery, but he is the one who ended up on the idea of a farm theme. She can still see the way that he smiles when he paints the fluffy clouds around the top of the room. She makes busy work of painting yellow sunflowers and tall grass.

She feels her gut turn every time that a new can of paint is opened and for each paint can that they empty. She can’t quite explain that fear that bubbles in her chest with grief that she had thought that she had moved through, even if she had never forgotten it. She glances to the cradle - the bed that’s been boxed away in a closet for too long. Her heart feels heavy with an odd sense of betrayal.

“Do - do you think that we’re painting it too early,” Shuri hesitantly asks, her voice shaking, her nerves shot as she tries to focus on her lazy sunflower.

Bucky’s smile is a sad, but understanding one. He steps down from his ladder to get down to her level, he doesn’t comment on the way that she paints over the same spot absently. He knows the look in her eyes - he’s seen in the mirror for a while now since he found out that she was pregnant.

When he hugs her, pressing a kiss to her cheek, she collapses against him in hiccuping sobs that rock her chest and stain his shirt.

“I think it’s just about the right time, don’t you?”

She heaves, hiccuping before she can catch her breath. She wipes at the tears that stream down her cheeks with the back of her hand. Hesitantly, she nods. As she gains more confidence, her nods become more firm and definite.

“Yes. Yes, it’s time.”

______________________________________

Personally, Shuri thought that four months is too early for a baby shower. She thinks that it would at least be best to wait until they can tell the gender of the baby, but the doctor says that it’s just a few weeks shy of being distinct enough to tell; to be honest, she sometimes isn’t sure if she wants to know the gender or be surprised. Bucky and her have already decided on names for any possible gender, so it’s not as if they would struggle to think of a name at the moment of delivery.

But still - a baby shower. It wasn’t exactly her choice, having walked in on it after a short school day. She wished that she knew - at the very least, she could have worn something better and maybe had the chance to shower to get the smell of school off of her. Confetti had been tossed, streamers blown at a wide-eyed, confused Shuri in the doorway, the word surprise ringing in her ears as she processed what was going on and eyes the minor decor and the people that were sprinkled through her living room. She has to admit though, after working all day, the snacks lining up a table against the wall look very appetizing; her mouth practically drools at the idea of devouring all of it.

Though there are modest decorations and a small party, Shuri can feel the love that was put into it. She has clearly underrated Nat’s excitement about being an aunt again - Bucky had warned her that Nat may try to do this, but she figured with Nat still working at SHIELD that the odds for her to find the time for it were slim.

“What do you think,” Nat asks, casually, her voice even though her eyes are dancing as she nudges Shuri lightly, “I even got ol’ Buck to stay at his buddies house tonight so we can have this.”

That explains the lack of Bucky. Shuri eyes the rest of the room, eyeing everything closely. The more attention that she pays to each item, the more she can see just how lovely it all looks. She thinks the white flowers and golden streamers are a good color combination given that, so far, the baby has a more neutral gender. She spots a few teachers that she recognizes from school, giving them bright smiles as they beam at her with friendly waves and smiles. She wonders how they got there so fast - but remembers that she didn’t exactly hurry home either, having stopped by Bucky’s auto shop for a visit.

Her eyes, however, fall on a slightly more solemn Wanda whose downcast eyes don’t match the party hat that’s strapped onto her chin. She looks stronger - muscled and lean - but her eyes have that vulnerable gleam to them. Shuri hates that gleam.

Wanda spots Shuri’s glance and gives her a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. The tension never leaves her shoulders as she huddles into herself. Most of the teachers don’t even notice her huddled on the couch, either ignoring her, or realizing that when she doesn’t want to really talk, leaving her in her space.

Shuri’s eyes glisten as Nat winces.

“Wanda is still taking in all the news,” Nat comments gently and carefully. “She wants to be happy for you, I know that she does, but all of this is -”

“-It’s a lot for her to take in,” Shuri summarizes, “I’d be surprised if it wasn’t given her history and what happened. Was she mad when you told her?”

“A bit,” Nat leans up against the wall beside Shuri, “I think she was more upset that you didn’t tell her yourself.”

“-I told her about the pregnancy,” Shuri points out, but it’s a weak argument. She winces. “- I told her that I was sorry too.”

Leaving Nat to break the news of her relationship to Bucky was admittedly selfish and cowardly. At the time, however, she knew that Wanda had to know, but she had too much difficulty being the one to do it. Every time that she tried, her mind flashed back to an old West Virginian town that had wrapped its chains around its women and children. She still saw brokenness in Wanda’s eyes, as much as she tried to hide it. A brokenness that Shuri can’t help but feel a bit responsible for - her relationship with Bucky didn’t exactly do anything to help pick up any broken shards. She feels like she broke Wanda’s trust - broke her heart - by being with Bucky. At the time she couldn’t face the consequences for that. She still can’t.

But she can’t apologize for being with him either - not when she’s happy. Not when she’s pregnant now.

“She’ll come around in time,” Nat’s voice is soft as they watch Wanda stir, their conversation coming to an end as Wanda makes her way toward them.

Shuri accepts the hug from Wanda, hugging her tightly with a whispered apology that makes Wanda wince. When they pull away, her smile is forced, strained and stretched across her face like a mask.

“I’m going outside for a joint, but please don’t wait on me to enjoy your party. Nat did a great job with the catering and there’s a lot of baby gifts in there just screaming your name.”

As Wanda brushes past them, Shuri can’t help the sinking feeling that she won’t be coming back. By the time that Shuri has eaten half of the snacks herself and the time for presents draws closer, she realizes that she is right.

“Alright, we’ll break into the cake and then tear apart the presents,” one the teacher instructs with a large grin as she carries the cake onto the coffee table, a cake knife shoved in between the cake and her palm.

The cake tastes like vanilla and strawberries. Shuri tries her best to enjoy it, but even as the presents start to get handed to her, the smile on her face is hollow. But at least she can gorge herself on the leftover cake and snakes after everyone’s gone home - deciding that picking up after the party can wait until tomorrow.

_____________________________________

Shuri huffs and puffs as she struggles to pull up her leggings before sliding them off and grabbing a dress from her closet. Wet hair clings to the back of her neck, but she decides that she’d be better off getting dressed before handling that mess. The weight of her now very-much-pregnant belly is starting to get heavy, weighing her down as she wobbles and sways to get dressed. At five months, her belly is starting to round out and become more noticeable. But she had hoped that she was still small enough to fit into her normal leggings - but alas, even with the stretchy material, it just wasn’t meant to be.

“I thought you wanted to wear your leggings today,” Bucky comments lightly, his eyes dancing in amusement as he places a kiss at her bare shoulder. One hand lightly touches her waist while the other holds up the towel around his own. She spares him a glance, appreciating his fresh out of the shower look and bare chest with a hum.

“Yes, well, unfortunately, I lost that fight.” At her glance, he spots the pair of discarded pants on the floor as she continues, “Besides it’ll be good weather in Florida anyway and I think a dress will make a better impression.”

Bucky starts to pull on his own clothes, stopping after he gets on his pants when he spots the open zipper on her dress. He helps her pull it on, zipping her up and eyeing the way it flatters her pregnant figure. Despite the zipper, the fabric is loose and flowy. He wonders when she will have to wear clothing that supports the weight of her belly.

“My parents will be happy to see ya, leggings, dress or otherwise, sweetheart.” Bucky wraps his arms around her, placing gentle kisses along her neck. “Ya look beautiful in anything, anyhow.”

Shuri laughs, “You flatter. Shoo, I’m going to finish my hair and makeup before I get too winded from changing.”

She’s still laughing as she wobbles her way to the bathroom to fix herself. Bucky watches her in amusement before he finishes getting his clothes together. He puts the discarded leggings up for her, knowing that she would have a difficult time bending down to do so herself.

_____________________________________

Florida is beautiful, even more so considering her in-laws’ house is situated on their own private beach, leaving it pristine and free of debris. Their house is smaller than what they had in West Virginia - a small detail that Shuri can’t help but make note of. But it is beautiful all the same, rustic and homey with plenty of room for everyone. The trees around it are lush, the water is clear and it looks like something out of a brochure. It takes a moment for Shuri to realize that this is all real - that she is here.

“I’m surprised that you were allowed on the plane,” Bucky sourly comments as he starts to get out their luggage from their rental. “I thought when ya were pregnant, you couldn’t fly.”

“Not past a certain point, no,” Shuri agrees, “But we have a bit of time left before I get that big. Plenty of time to visit your family and then make it back home.”

“Maybe,” Bucky snorts, “Ma really wants us to stay until the baby is here, but I told her that I’m not sure if we can do that. I don’t think she realizes that all our baby stuff is set up at home.”

Shuri’s laugh lights up her whole face, “Yes, I couldn’t imagine packing all the baby bottles on top of everything else!”

Bucky gets out the last bag of their luggage, shutting the trunk of the car as he thinks about if he should try to take it all in one trip or not. He gets his answer when he spots familiar faces already coming up behind Shuri with large, familiar smiles.

“A grandmother can dream, you know,” his mother playfully scolds as she swoops Shuri in for a large hug, “Look at you, you’re hardly even showing! We got to put more food on you!”

Shuri laughs, returning the hug happily. Bucky’s dad gives her a brief, friendly greeting before giving the women some space to help his son with the luggage. Bucky shares a tight handshake and a brief somewhat hug where they pat each other’s backs before they part. He hasn’t seen his dad since the wedding and while they’ve already touched base on some subjects that needed to be addressed, the slight lingering awkwardness lingers in the gap between them.

“Need a hand?”

Bucky takes up the offer with a large grin, eagerly letting his father take some of the load. “Always, didn’t think that we need so many bags -”

His dad laughs, the tension between them fading with each smile that they give, “-Then there’s still a lot you need to learn about married life, let me tell you - when Ida and I went out on vacation, you would’ve thought that she packed the whole house!”

Ida tsk’s lightly, their teasing easily reaching her ears as she parts from Shuri to wave her finger at her husband, her eyes dancing, “The ability to never forget anything while packing came in handy when we moved, didn’t it, Henry? I may have packed more than necessary, but you bet your butt that I packed anything that we may need.”

Henry laughs, “That it did! I never said that your packing was a bad thing, darling. Fact is, it’s saved my ass more than once because this old fool always forgets at least one thing.”

He gently nudges Shuri, playfully and she bubbles up with laughter as they start their walk toward the house. Despite lugging a majority of the luggage - his dad making an offhand comment about Bucky being young enough to carry the big stuff - Bucky still finds one of his hands free to grasp Shuri’s fingers as they walk. She watches the luggage on his back and under his arm with worry, but he just squeezes her hand and she lets it go.

The inside of their home is even more beautiful - rustic with knick knacks on every shelf, but not as crowded as she remembers their cabin. She only has a vague memory of the things that they had in the cabin, but most of the things throughout the house look new. She doubts that they wanted many memories off too much lingering around.

The bedroom that they’re given is on the second floor and she likes the view it gives her of the ocean. The stairs give her a bit of a rough time, winding her more than she thinks it should have, but Bucky is quick to put down the luggage at the base of the stairs to sweep her up and carry her the moment that he sees her struggling. He had set her on the bed while he brought up their luggage, his father not too far behind him.

“We use it as a guest bedroom,” Henry explains, “But you kids can use it as long as you want to stay with us.”

He starts to leave, only to stop in the doorway with a pregnant pause, his eyes going soft and dark, “I - I’m sorry for everything that happened back then, miss Shuri, I hope you know that. Even if you can’t forgive me, I hope that you can at least forgive Ida. That young buckster had been single for so long that she had given up the hope for grand kids before ya came into the picture. She’s really looking forward to having a daughter in the house and her heart may be old, but it is very big. She’d do anything for you and any kids that come around.”

Shuri takes a step forward, but anything she could have said dies in her throat. She settles for a smile and a content nod that Henry returns with thanks. She can feel how tense Bucky is beside her, but he gives her a smile.

“He is right, you know? Ma’s got a big heart, she’s always tried her best to help everyone.” He swallows thickly, “-Even with ‘em that got busted up by their husband- captives. She would always fix ‘em up when she saw ‘em, give him some warm food. She used to tell a few of the boys off if they banged up ‘em girls too bad.”

He takes a deep breath and Shuri sees that he looks like he is either going to collapse or cry. But he stands his ground firmly, hardly looking at her in the eyes as he speaks.

“She hated ol’ Stevie when he started getting interested in girls - she used to joke that any girl of ‘is would have to be held captive. It - looking back, I suppose that joke is in real poor taste, isn’t it?”

Bucky’s lips thin as he smacks them lightly, his tongue darting out nervously. She takes his hand and squeezes it comfortably, giving him a bit of comfort.

“She got real excited to meet you, ya know? Even if the circumstances weren’t the best, even if she hated that what I was doin’ to get ya, she loved you.”

Shuri’s mouth runs a bit dry, but Bucky doesn’t give her a moment to say anything.

“-She got therapy too, ya know? Nowadays, I think the both of ‘em are still in some sort of couple’s therapy every so often, just to make sure that they’re doin’ as good as they can be.”

Bucky takes a deep breath, grounding himself to reality as he gives Shuri a quick, fleeting kiss on the lips before declaring that he needs to excuse himself. Shuri doesn’t question why - she doesn’t need to. Sometimes they all need a moment to themselves.

________________________________________

When she wakes up in the middle of the night, she slowly pulls herself up to go look for him. She half expects to find him in the nearby bathroom, maybe sneaking off to the kitchen. Instead, under the low beam of the stairway’s light, Bucky stands half-way down the stairs, leaning against the rail as he stares at the photos that are scattered across the blank space of the wall.

She goes to join him. She’s his wife and she knows the look in his eyes, but even feeling the grief that rolls over him, she looks at the photos adorning the wall and can’t help but find them sweet. The photos have to be one of the few things that his mother did bring from the cabin. She doesn’t spot Steve in any of the photos, deep down she knows why. The photos are all of Bucky. Nat. His mother. His father.

It feels like family. A small smile graced her lips and she glances up when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Bucky’s eyes are distant, almost pained, as he looks over some of the photos. She wonders how much it’s affecting him that he can’t see Steve or anyone else in any of them. It’s debatable if the memories that are coming back from the photos are happy or otherwise.

She places her hand over his and the contact snaps his attention to her.

“I didn’t have a family you know,” her voice soft, “SHIELD was the closest thing I had to one, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t as if I had every holiday with Fury or have photo books of every mission and agent. But when I met Nat - and Wanda - I think I found one. Nat had taken me, I think, Wanda too.”

“-But then you came back,” her grip on him gets tighter for a moment, “You brought your parents with you and now I’m getting my picture taken every second by your mom and your dad keeps insisting that he’s going to teach our baby how to fish the second that they’re old enough.”

Shuri glances back to the photos. She focuses on the awkward prom photos, the matching Christmas sweater holiday frames and the smiles that are always on everyone’s faces.

“-I don’t know what you see when you see these photos,” Shuri continues, “But I can tell you that I see a happy young man with a family who loved him.”

Bucky’s eyes are on the photos, not on her, and his brows are furrowed while his eyes become hooded. “He was young and stupid, too misguided and made too many mistakes that he almost didn’t bounce back from.”

Shuri leans and rests her head on his shoulder as his hand falls to her waist. She hums thoughtfully before she speaks.

“You know, we’ve all made mistakes,” she admits, “We were all young and stupid and misguided at some point. I’ve almost not bounced back from some of my own failings. But the thing is, sometimes kids and teenagers are dicks -”

The curse makes him flinch, despite the mild amusement that it gives him. Shuri’s grin is large and infectious, making his features soften.

“-but what’s so wrong about that? The important thing is, we can have happy memories from that time, while still admitting that we used to be a bad person. We refuse to make excuses for it. Because we all grow up at some point, some later than others, I’ll admit. When we do, we realize that we did bad and didn’t handle things the way that we should’ve. We can either accept that, apologize for it, never do it again, and move on from it, or some people give up and think that that’s all they’re going to be so they don’t ever make an effort to change.”

Shuri’s voice grows softer, her eyes glistening, “Sometimes, if we think we were bad enough, we think that no matter how good we are nowadays that it won’t make up for it. But I think the important thing is to at least try, isn’t that right?”

Bucky places a kiss on her forehead, his hand gripping her waist tightly.

“Yeah, you’re right, sweetheart.”

______________________________________

They stayed a bit longer than either of them planned, but their stay was welcomed and enjoyed. Still, if they had hopes of Shuri being able to fly back home while she still could, they eventually did have to hop on the flight back where they went back to their normal schedule, their normal routine.

Then Shuri got bigger - and bigger - and bigger. To the point where she couldn’t put on her own shoes. Stairs were definitely harder and she avoided them when she could since Bucky wasn’t able to carry her as well as he could earlier in her pregnancy. He still did everything he could to help her, going out of his way to take care of everything so she didn’t have to do anything. It was endearing at first, but then she had to snap when he insisted on opening up a carton of milk for her.

The teachers gave her heartfelt congrats and good luck with large hugs on her last day before her maternity leave officially started. She was about as big as a balloon and she was beginning to really feel like one too.

As time went on into her maternity leave, Shuri wondered just if the baby was ever going to come. Then she tried everything she could that would ‘induce labor.’ Then she begged the higher powers to get it out of her before she exploded. Just when she thought that she couldn’t take it anymore, she felt something flow from her.

She breathed in relief when the color lacked red tones and barked at Bucky that her time is up - the baby is coming now.

______________________________________

Most of it is a blur - a painful, loud, screaming blur of white hospital lights and long needles of pain medication. It all happened so fast - thankfully. At least it feels like it went by so fast. It feels like she is in a daze, processing everything that just happened between sharp pains and screams with her legs spread on a hospital bed. She doesn’t process anything the doctors are saying, their words blurring and spinning together as her grip on reality struggles to come back.

Before she knows it, she’s blinking against soft hospital lights as a baby cries in the background. Hearing the cry makes her relieved in more ways than she would ever be able to explain - it makes her slouch against the bed in exhaustion, her body giving up under her. She feels someone grab their hand and with tired eyes, she glances up to see Bucky looking down at her with a happy smile. She can see the hints of tears in the corners of his eyes that he struggles to keep in. Her grip on his hand is weak, but she does her best to give his hand as much of a squeeze as she can. It’s only when he winces does she remember that she spent the whole time in labor squeezing all the life from his hand.

“They said it’s a boy,” Bucky whispers to her as he presses a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Her chest heaves as she glances around as much as she can before her eyes fall on the nurse cleaning off the blood and icky stuff off of a new babe that wiggles and cries in her grasp. The nurse gives her a soft smile when she hands her new son over to her, carefully and gently, wrapped all nicely in a little blanket. It takes Shuri a moment to adjust herself to hold him and he calms instantly in his mother’s arms, his head resting on her chest with slow, calm breaths.

Under the encouragement of the nurse and with help, Shuri’s swollen breasts are exposed to the cold hospital room air. They tell her, through soft understanding instructions, to simply let her son feed when he shows that he’s ready - that some eat immediately after birth, some take a little more time, but it always helps to encourage it as much as possible.

She doesn’t even look at her husband, her eyes are too focused on taking in her son’s features - the roundness of his nose and plump cheeks that are flushed with life. She’s not sure when she starts crying - she can start to feel tears just stream down her cheeks - but she reckons that it starts about the same time that his mouth finally finds her nipple and latches on.

“He’s here, Bucky,” she says softly and she brings her baby close to her chest, “He’s here.”

And he’s warm, she sobs. He’s warm and crying and his weight is in her arms, his mouth on her breast. He only feels her skin and he leans into her, he knows that she is his mother just like he will always be hers. He doesn’t know about a lost sibling or past broken grief. He’s here. No more worrying over every cramp during pregnancy or waiting for the ball to drop. He is here and she is ready.

“Do you have a name ready,” one of the nurses finally asked.

Shuri sniffles before she shares a look with Bucky and together, they let the nurse know who just came into the world.

“His name is Steve Buchanan Barnes.”

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