#well the first other than the staff accounts that seem to just follow whoever

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch21: Shards Of A Broken Soul

Summary: Katie is finally reunited with Steve, Tony and the rest of the Avengers, and the extent of her injuries become clear. Can Steve push his own feelings of anger and inadequacy to one side enough to help her focus on getting better?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Bad language, injuries, mentions of rape. Avoid if these upset you. Smut (NSFW) 18+

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

A/N: @angrybirdcr​ you are the best image provider EVER!!!

Chapter 20

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Both Tony and Steve were anxious, Bruce could tell. He also noticed the Soldier’s knuckles were angry and bleeding. Standing up, he headed to the back of the jet to check the medical equipment. It was fully stocked as much as could be, and picking up an ice pack and some gauze he headed over to Steve and tapped his shoulder.

“Thanks.” Steve took the gauze and wiping at his split knuckles before applying the ice pack “Be fine in a coupla hours”

“Tony, you wanna switch out?” Bruce asked, “I can fly if you…” “No, I got it, besides…” he said turning his seat and gesturing to the ‘Jarvis is my co-pilot’ sticker that Katie had gotten him a while back as a joke, which was stuck to the control panel “As the sign says, its JARVIS doing it really not me…I’m just supervising.” “So, I hate to ask…” Bruce said.

“Then don’t” Tony looked at him fiercely and Steve sighed.

“None of us want to hear it Tony but…” he took a deep breath “we need to be prepared…did they say how she was hurt or…” Tony ran his hand over his face, stroking his less-groomed than normal goatee “They said she was bruised, quite severely, her left hand is in a bad way…” Steve let out a low growl at that, and his right hand flew to his sweat pants pockets, which he unzipped and ran his hands across the smooth metal and stones. Her rings had been with him ever since they’d been returned by Coulson “…and she’s in and out of consciousness, has a nasty cough, but other than that…” Tony trailed off. “Ok.” Bruce stood up, “I’ll prep what I can to make her comfy until we get her home.”

The 2 hour flight to the airfield seemed to take an eternity, but finally JARVIS announced they were approaching and shortly after they touched down. Steve was out of his seat before the plane had landed, and half jumped off the ramp before it was fully down and Tony wasn’t far behind. Bruce opted to stay behind with the jet and Steve knew it was because the gentle man didn’t want to intrude on what was going to be an emotional reunion. 

The man waiting was a huge guy. Huge. Taller than Steve and equally as wide, but with the figure of a once welt built man that had slightly gone to seed. His eyes were a warm hazel and he gave of a friendly aura.

“Captain Rogers, Mr Stark.” The man greet them on the tarmac of the airfield as the various ATC staff bustled around, heading to the jet where they were greeted by Bruce.

“Sergeant Matkinson?” Tony asked, shaking the large hand extended to him in greeting.

“No, sorry Matkinson is the one who called you. I’m Dave Bellamy, the Duty Inspector.”

He turned as Steve and Tony followed him towards the waiting car. “I gotta admit, this wasn’t what I expected when I came in today.” “Has she said anything about…” Steve began as they approached the car, but the man shook his head.

“Other than asking for you and refusing to go to Hospital she hasn’t said much at all.” he said, stopping to open the driver’s side door. Steve climbed in next to him and Tony settled in the back. “The on duty medic has cleaned her up as best she could, but she got a bit hysterical at one point when she woke up. She calmed down as soon as she realised she was safe. She did mutter something about the leather jacket we found her with and her needing to keep it as it belonged to a friend but other than that she hasn’t said much at all.” Steve frowned and looked at Tony, the pair of them exchanging a puzzled look. “A friend?” Steve turned to the officer who fired up the sirens and pulled off with a screech of tires.

“Yeah.” Bellamy nodded “We figured that whoever broke her out gave it to her, on account of her having nothing else to keep her warm but all we know is that car was taken in Collorado. And someone drove it up here and dumped it with her in the back. Whoever it was, wanted her found and safe.”

No one spoke for a while until Bellamy chipped in again. “We tried to give her some food and a warm drink but she just stared at it, like it was going to poison her or something. She looks a lot better than she did when we found her on account of her being cleaned up but she’s still…” he shrugged “Well, the sooner you can call get her some proper medical attention the better.

"And you didn’t call a doctor?” Tony bit out.

“Of course we did Mr Stark.” Bellamy sighed, his tone a little annoyed “We called an ambulance but when the paramedics arrived she went crazy. And I mean, crazy. In the end we sent them away. Like I say, she let our medic, Sarah, look at her but…” he trailed off and once more the car felt silent.

With the sirens going it didn’t take them long to arrive. Steve walked into the station through the rear entrance with a lump in his throat, which got bigger every time he thought about what state his girl was going to be in. But she was there. In this building. Ignoring the obvious looks that Captain America and Tony Stark attracted in the busy corridors of the small station, he followed the large Inspector to a room and the Inspector nodded, opening the door. 

“She said the light hurt her eyes.” The Inspector said by way of explanation as Steve and Tony stepped into the room. It smelt clean, slightly clinical and was dimly lit. Steve blinked, his vision adjusting to the lower level of lighting and saw Katie was led on the little medical bench. At the sound of voices she raised her head to look at the door.

“Oh Jesus…” Tony muttered, his hand flying to his mouth, turning away clearly unable to look at her battered form any longer than he had to. But Steve remained still, his chest heaving as his eyes focussed on her face as she looked at him, almost as if she couldn’t see him. He swallowed as nothing but utter relief washed over him, drowning out the initial flicker of anger he’d seen at the state she was in. The medic may have cleaned her face but her hair was a tangle of dirt and dried blood. The entire left side of her gaunt face was a mass of bruises, some faded and yellow, some new and angry. There was a raised line of pink to the left side of her mouth where a cut had healed, another large one down the side of her right temple, a deep slash over the bridge of her nose which looked to be on its way to healing and Steve’s eyes then flew to her hand which was bent out of shape so badly. 

As Katie blinked, the two men came into focus. She noticed her brother, his face was utterly broken and then she looked at her soldier, and the first thing she saw was the growth of stubble on his handsome face that was well on its way to being a beard. His eyes, his brilliant ocean blues were dull with pain, worry, fright but there was nothing on his face but relief. 

They were both there, the two most important men in her life, the men that had always made her feel safe and loved, and the emotion crashed over her in a huge surge. Katie felt her face crumple up as she spoke softly “Stevie…” “Oh, Doll.” his voice cracked as he crossed the room, dropping onto the bench besides her and pulling her into his arms. His touch was familiar and comforting, she couldn’t remember how long it has been since he held her. She wound her arms around his waist, her face pushing into his chest as she began to cry.

He held her tight as he pressed his face into her hair. It was dirty but he didn’t care. “Sweetheart, I missed you so much. I’m so sorry we didn’t…we didn’t…” his words trailed off as they were replaced by a choking sob as his tears began to fall whilst he simply sat there, his arms around her. She felt small, much smaller than normal, and as his hands gently rubbed up her back and he gave a horrified swallow as he realised he could feel her spine. He took a shaky breath and loosened his grip ever so slightly and he looked up as Tony crossed the room, wiping the tears from his face as he sat on the other side of the bed and gently sat next to her. She pushed away from Steve slightly to look up at her brother.

“Hey Kiddo.” he croaked out “Place has gone to shit without you.” She let out a little jerk of a laugh as he reached out and tenderly cupped her face.

“Take me home.” she said, the tears pricking into her eyes as she pressed her face once more into Steve’s chest, his warm, familiar, comforting chest.

“Of course doll,” he choked out, looking up at Tony who wiped at his face again. “Of course.”

******

“Hi Bruce…” Katie managed to stutter when Steve carried her onto the jet, Tony doing the thankyous to the officer who had driven them back, handing Tony the leather jacket that Katie had made a huge fuss about not leaving without for some reason, but there was plenty of time to dig into that later.

“Hey Nova.” he smiled softly, as Steve set her down on the medical bench at the back. He kept her right hand in his, gently kissing her knuckles as Bruce took her in. He looked up at Steve who swallowed and nodded, understanding and the Doctor looked at Katie. “I’m just gonna take a look at you, that ok?” Katie had to stop herself from laughing “It aint gonna be pretty” she said, before she started coughing again, scrunching herself up at the pain and Steve’s hand gently dropped to her head as he crouched besides her.

“She’s running a temp.” he looked at Bruce who nodded.

“Probably an infection.” he surmised “Don’t worry sweetie, we’ll get you patched up and back to normal in no time.” he said as he gently hiked up the hoody they’d given her at the station.

“Told you.” she said, clocking the look on his face as he tried, but failed, to hide the gasp of shock and horror. Steve glanced over and his face paled at the mass of bruising on her sides. He could see her ribs, her hips. He knew she’d lost weight but this…

“I dunno when I last ate. Didn’t trust them.” She muttered as she lay back. Steve dropped a kiss to her forehead as Tony joined them.

“Well, on top of the obvious you’re probably a little malnourished.” Bruce sighed, as he leant to listen to her breathing with a stethoscope before letting out a small hum and a nod “Yeah, you have a nasty chest infection…and that hand is gonna need looking at.” “She gonna be ok?” Tony demanded as Bruce moved him out of the way to gather up some supplies. The jet was kitted out for quick missions, nothing like this, but he found what he was looking for.

“She is here.” Katie mumbled and Tony arched an eyebrow.

“Brat.” She let out a small smile and Steve dropped a kiss to her forehead, allowing himself a little chuckle at the fact her sassiness hadn’t been beaten out of her.

Beaten out of her. Jesus.

He straightened up, once more the tears stinging his eyes and looked away, composing himself. 

“Once we’re home I can start you on some IV anti-biotics and glucose.” Bruce said, drawing something into a syringe. “But right now I’m going to give you something for the pain, which should help you sleep too.”

She nodded as Bruce gently rolled up the sleeve on her top, Steve letting out an angry growl at the finger marks there along with the marks on her wrists from restraints, and Bruce pushed the needle into her arm. Once he was done, Bruce readjusted her hoody for her and Tony gently placed a blanket over her, smoothing a hand over her head. 

“I’ll get us in the air.”  he said, and Bruce nodded.

“Sooner we get home the better.”

It wasn’t long before Katie felt her eyes drooping.

“Stevie, I’m so tired.” she mumbled and he leaned over, kissing her head.

“Then sleep.” he said gently, his hand stroking her dirty hair “I’ll be right here.”

And this time, as she drifted off into the darkness, the last thing she saw were those blue eyes, and the last thing she felt was her man’s hand gently caressing her hair in the way that always soothed her.

*****

Katie was still out of it when they arrived back, Steve not once moving from her side the entire flight back and as soon as the jet had landed, they were greeted by the rest of the Avengers plus Sam, Rhodey and Pepper. As Banner wheeled the gurney down the ramp, Steve walking along side it, holding her hand, Thor’s face contorted in rage at the sight of his friend and there was loud clap of thunder which made them all jump. Clint gently patted his back as he swallowed.

“She gonna be ok?” It was Rhodey who spoke first as they wheeled her past, the sight of the little girl who he’d seen grown up looking so badly beaten and frail made him sick as Banner wheeled her past, Steve not even acknowledging the rest of the team as they passed.

“She’s not in a great way but…” Tony sighed as Pepper strolled over to give him a hug, her eyes brimming with tears “Bruce thinks she’ll recover physically, it’s the mental trauma I’m worried about.”

“She’s strong.” Natasha said, wrapping her arms around herself. “A lot stronger than we give her credit for.” Clint gently rubbed at her back as she turned to him, blinking back tears. He pulled her in for a hug which she took, pressing her face into her best friend’s shoulder. 

“Any idea on how she escaped?” Sam asked.

“No.” Tony looked at him “Not that it matters, main thing is she’s here.” he turned to Nat and Clint as the red head stepped back and turned to face him. “Cap was on about someone going back to check out where she was held…you wanna get on it?”

Clint nodded but Nat hesitated slightly. She was unnerved by the emotion she had felt upon seeing Katie and didn’t want to leave her. Sam instantly picked up on it and he turned to Clint. “I’ll come.” “And me.” Thor growled, the vein in his temple twitched slightly.

Clint nodded at the two men and Tony inclined his head to the jet. “JARVIS has the co-ords.”

With that he turned and the arm that wasn’t around Pepper gently draped over Natasha’s shoulder, giving her a quick squeeze before they headed inside, followed by Rhodey.

******

It was a good few hours before Katie came round again. When she did she sat bolt upright, panic flooding her system, a loud scream bubbling from her throat.

“Hey, hey…” she heard a voice and a gentle hand round hers and she took a panicked breath, instantly scrambling away across the bed as she felt it dip besides her. “Sweetheart, it’s ok…” 

That voice. It was Steve. Her soldier.

At that realisation she instantly calmed, as she turned to face him.

“You’re safe, you’re home…” he smiled softly, his hand gently cupping her battered face as she looked at him, swallowing.

“Sorry, I was a little out of it, thought I was still…” she trailed off, looking down at the warm, clean, comfortable sheets and blankets she was wrapped in. “You’ve nothing to apologise for.” Steve sighed, “If anything I’m sorry…sorry we didn’t find you sooner. We tried…” he hung his head slightly “God did we try…” “Stop it, you idiot.” She squeezed his hand “This is not on you. It isn’t on anyone other than Hydra…” “Huh…” Tony spoke as he walked into the room “Not what Cap was saying when he broke Fury’s nose.” “You didn’t?” Katie looked at him as Steve gave a small groan.

“Oh he did.” Tony said, pulling up a chair at side of the bed next to where Steve was sat by Katie, and turning it round so he was perched straddling the seat, his arms crossing over the back as he leant forward “Made a terrific noise.” “Did J record it?” She asked and Steve groaned again.

“Oh you bet he did.” Tony smirked “I’m intending on using it as a warning to everyone about what happens when Spangles loses his shit. Not to mention the amount of punchbags, doors, walls and windows we’ve had to replace or repair…”

“Is this really necessary?” Steve sighed and Katie grinned.

“It’s very necessary.” she said seriously and Steve snorted, shaking his head. “What did you punch Fury for?” Steve ran his hand over his face and scratched his chin, he really did need a shave. “Because he was lying to us again. SHIELD knew that Sceptre had gone missing and if they had warned us then Hydra might not have targeted you specifically.” “You mean they would have taken someone else?” She narrowed her eyes at him. He fell silent.

“I tried.” Tony said softly, I tried to get them to take me, but they…” “Ok, enough.” she said, a little louder and both men looked at her. “This stops, right now, the pair of you. I can’t cope with the display of masculine self-pity.”

“It’s not self-pity…” Tony started, somewhat indignantly and she cut him off.

“I don’t care what you want to call it. But we stop now with the blame, ok? This was no-ones fault, no one but those motherfuckers who took me. And if I hear the word sorry come out of either of your mouths again in relation to this, as soon as I’m well enough to I’m going to kick both your assess…”

At that point Bruce swept back into the room, smiling softly at her. “Can I take it from the threats you’re issuing that you’re feeling a little better?” “A bit” she nodded. “Still, not great but I don’t feel as faint anymore, and my head doesn’t feel as full of cotton wool.” “Your blood sugar levels will be picking up.” Bruce smiled as he nodded to the needle in the crook of her arm which she hadn’t noticed and began to explain to her “I’ve started you on a low dose of glucose and some antibiotics to fight that chest infection, which was my first concern. You’re malnourished but I’m afraid there’s no actual food for a while, couple of days we can look at introducing nutrients orally by liquids.”

Katie looked at Steve and smiled “Know what I need?” He smiled back “Ma’s Chicken soup?” “Damned right.” she grinned “That stuff was magic when I had a cold” “I’ll make you all the soup you want.” he said, gently, his hand running over her forehead. No one stated the obvious, that she had much more than a fucking cold going on.

“And then when I can I’m gonna eat the biggest portion of Mac and Cheese I can manage” she sighed “And a cheeseburger…” “Extra pickle, chilli fries, vanilla milkshake and a slice of apple pie” Steve and Tony recited her order perfectly and she grinned.

“Preferably all from the Diner round the corner.” she said with a decisive nod.

“Well, as soon as Bruce says its ok that’s what you can have” Tony said gently “For now let’s just concentrate on getting you healthy again.” “I hate to beak this up, I really do…” Bruce said, and he did. Seeing them reunited warmed his soul, but he needed to dig into what was going on. “But now you’re awake I need to run some tests, do a few scans. I can’t see any signs of internal bleeding or anything but I want to be 100% what’s going on.”

Katie nodded “Other than my ribs and my hand…” she trailed off and looked down at her left hand which was misshapen but wasn’t as sore as it had been on account of the fact Bruce had expertly bound it to give it some support. “They took my rings…” she said softly, before looking at her right hand this time “They broke my fingers, and took my fucking rings, bastards…” The thought of anyone breaking any bone in her body alighted a fire of anger in Steve’s chest, but he gave a small smile as he shook his head “Coulson found them.” he said, reaching into his pocket. He held them out to her and her eyes started to water.

“I thought I’d lost them…” “Baby they’re not important.” Steve shook his head “Lumps of metal and stone…but you…” he swallowed “Anyway, doesn’t matter, they’re here.”

“Gonna be a while before I can wear it again huh?” she gently ran her hand over the shape of her engagement ring which lay in Steve’s palm before she looked up at Bruce who gave her a sad nod.

“’Fraid so.”

“Not this one.” Steve held up her emerald and she grinned, gleefully holding out her right hand for him to slip it back on her finger before placing a kiss just above it.

“I’ll keep the other one safe, promise.” Steve smiled.

She nodded, and held up her right hand looking at her emerald before she sighed, somewhat happily, and then she frowned.

“Hang on, how did Coulson find them?” she looked at Steve. “They were in the first place you were held.” Tony said “It’s a long story but SHIELD got a tip off about an abandoned base being back in use and they raided it, but they were too late. You’d gone.” “I don’t even remember them moving me.” she sighed, and Bruce shook his head.

“Amnesia is common when you’ve been through some kind of trauma.” he said “Your mind’s way of coping.” Katie lay her head back on the pillow. “Pity I remember everything else they did. Well, mostly…”

Steve shook his head “Don’t think on any of that. You’re safe now, and I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” “Well that’s gonna be awkward when I need the bathroom.” she looked at him and he played along, pausing as if he was pondering something.

“Ok, well maybe I’ll just wait outside and listen to you pee instead.” “Kinky fucker.” she shot back causing him to snort a laugh. Thankfully the scans and tests showed nothing more serious than 6 broken ribs, 3 of which were well on their way to healing, a slight tear in the intercostal muscle between two and a small tear in her spleen which again, Bruce was pleased to see was also repairing.

“You’re normally fit and healthy.” he explained “So your body shouldn’t have an issue repairing itself, granted not as fast as Cap’s but…”

“Well we can’t all be Super Soldiers.” she shrugged.

“What is slightly more concerning is that hand.” Bruce said. “the bones have started to set, and they’re not realigned correctly and I’m worried about long term damage. So I’ve made a call to Helen Cho, the geneticist I told you all about that I met at the Convention a few months back. She’s going to fly in with an old colleague of hers, a Dr Wang Xui Ying…” Katie and Tony both snorted, because Wang, exchanging a gleeful look and Steve rolled his eyes at their blatant childishness, but he wasn’t really bothered. It was good to see.

“Yeah yeah…” Bruce shook his head, a smirk dancing on his face “For obvious reasons he goes by his middle name in the Western world…anyway, he’s a leading Orthopaedic surgeon. I’ve sent him your X-Ray results and he says he can fix it, but it’s going to need an operation. And I don’t want to put you under any form of anaesthetic until you’re stronger.” “How long?” Steve asked and Katie bit back a smile at his demanding nature.

“If you’re vitals keep improving then maybe 5 to 7 days.” Bruce said. “We’ll see how things go. They’re going to arrive over the weekend.” “I’ve wanted to meet this Dr Cho for a while, she sounds intriguing.” Tony nodded. “I’ll make sure he guest rooms are prepped.” Katie spent the rest of the day greeting her various visitors and flitting in and out of sleep, which was perfectly normal, so Bruce said. She woke later in the evening to Steve talking in a hushed voice to Clint, Sam and Thor, whilst Natasha, Bruce and Tony listened in, Rhodey who had to get back to work had left a few hours ago after popping in to see how Katie was doing the last time she had been awake.

“No idea.” Clint said as he finished giving Steve a debrief on what they had found, the Captain insisting they did it in the medical room, not wanting to leave Katie for a second if he could help it “Place was littered with bodies. Mostly gun shots, bar Jones, who we found in the cell they kept Nova in.”

“Yeah, he hadn’t been shot.” Sam said and he looked at Steve significantly “His neck was snapped, and when I say snapped, I mean crushed.”

“Good.” Natasha spat, and Steve had to say he was inclined to agree. He hoped the fucker had suffered, his only regret was he wouldn’t get to do it himself. And then the significance of what Sam had said hit him.

“Hang on, you say crushed?” Bruce asked and Clint nodded.

“Never seen anything like it Doc.” he shrugged “It was like someone had put him in a vice”

Sam looked at Steve whose eyes widened as his memory flicked back to the first HYDRA base they’d raided back in DC. 

No, it couldn’t be…

“There was one man.” Thor continued and Steve looked at him “He was in the laboratory area. His death was an execution.” “Bullet, straight between the eyes.” Sam levelled Steve with another look. “It was just like in DC…” he made a gun shape with his fingers and held it at the top of his nose, miming the action.

“Do you think…” Steve started to ask and then a soft voice cut him off

“You know you could just ask me.” Katie spoke as she suddenly realised that no one had asked how she had escaped yet. The group all looked at her, breaking up their huddle to move towards her. Thor, Clint and Sam, who hadn’t seen her since she had woken up all came over to drop kisses onto her cheeks, her head and Clint gently brushed her head with his hand.

“Good to have you back Nova.” He smiled and she looked at him, his face soft with emotion.

“Good to be back.” she said before she sighed “So I suppose you all want to know how I got out?” “It’s been puzzling us a little.” Nat smirked.

She looked at Steve who took a seat back by her bed and then she told him just what he had suspected “It was Bucky.” Steve swallowed, and looked up at Sam.

“How?” Tony frowned, “And I mean I’m beyond glad he did Kiddo but what we he doing there? It makes no sense.”

“Yes it does.” Steve said, looking up “When we were tracking him we found the same thing in DC. Bodies all over the place, windpipes crushed, but one had been shot straight between the eyes. When we found the footage he was one of the men strapping him into the chair before they…” he trailed off, taking a deep breath, it still hurt to talk about it.

“We think Ol’ Frosty was on some kind of revenge rampage.” Sam shrugged “I expect if we run that Doctor we found in La Ronge through the system, we’ll find he was connected to the Winter Soldier programme in some way too.” “And Jones?” Clint asked “Think he might have been too?” Katie gave a snort “No, he was trying to make a run for it and was dragging me with him, but I’d heard the shots and knew whoever it was wasn’t HYDRA. I thought it might have been you guys so I was screaming, Bucky must have heard…he snapped his neck like it was a twig. Then he gave me his jacket and carried me out.” “So that’s why you were making such a fuss about it.” Steve looked at her. She shrugged.

“He saved my life. Figured the least I could do was save his jacket, in case we ever do find him again.”

Steve’s mind was whirring. He wanted to ask her so many more questions, had he said anything to her, had he recognised her, but he knew now that wasn’t important. Instead, he’d save it for later, when she was stronger. And he added it to the huge long list of times Bucky had bailed him out. Only this sat right at the top of things his best friend had done for him. 

Right at the top.   He felt her hand on his and he gave her a small smile, gently reaching over to kiss the top of her head and she smiled, looking around at the assembled crowd in the room.

“You know, they threatened to kill you all unless I told them what they thought I knew. And I laughed.” she said, shaking her head.“I mean, I’d have loved that. Them to meet you lot…”

Thor made a noise that was halfway between a snort and a growl “I would very much like to meet them too. So would my hammer.”

“Told you that you should have let me put an arrow through Ward’s head.” Clint crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Oh no.” She spat fiercely, and Steve was pleased to see there was a fire in her eyes “If anyone is putting a bullet between that fucker’s eyes it’s me. And I want him to see me when I do it.”

“Someone’s clearly feeling better.” Natasha smirked and Katie winked at her friend.

“Loads, thank God.”  “You’re welcome.” Thor grinned and there were various chuckles around the room. Katie broke into a laugh which hastily descended into a coughing fit. As she took a sip of the water Steve offered her through the straw she glanced around, her eyes shining with humour.

“I love you guys!”

 *******

Steve camped on the couch in the corner of the medical room for the next 2 nights, refusing to leave. He made sure Katie fell asleep in his arms as he curled up behind her whilst the sedative Bruce gave her to help her rest went to work, and she always woke up in his arms, but the pillow and the blanket on the couch were tell-tale signs that he camped there when he was satisfied she was in a dreamless sleep. Steve knew the nightmares were going to come at some point when the sedation was no longer being used, but they’d cross that bridge when they got there. 

He’d finally been forced into going back to their floor for a shower, but first he decided to have a shave. He was glad to see his face looked a lot less tired, he certainly felt a lot less tired, having had the first two decent night’s sleep in weeks over the last 48 hours. Katie had told him all about Bucky, what he had said, how he had recognised her, carried her out and taken her to car, how she had tried to convince him to come back but he had refused, and she didn’t remember anything until waking up at the station in the back of the car. There wasn’t much to go on but Sam had departed at lunchtime the day before to follow up the leads. But as Katie had said, she didn’t think they’d see him for a while. Especially when Nat, who had been doing some digging, confirmed that all the men they had seen on the video strapping Bucky to the chair had been found, bullets between the eyes. With a sigh Steve wiped his face clear before turning on the shower. He was grateful to Bucky, he really was, but he couldn’t shake this horrible, hollow feeling of inadequacy that was balling in the pit of his stomach. He should have been the one rescuing his girl, and he’d failed. That said, as he stepped under the stream of scalding hot water he reminded himself that it didn’t matter. What did matter was the fact she was home, safe, and improving as each hour went by.

Katie could feel that she was improving too, although as she forced the last of the awful green concoction Bruce had given her to drink, she was seriously considering asking for her IV to go back in. The drink or smoothie or whatever it was, was fucking vile, but he’d assured her if she could manage it and her system didn’t reject it, then she could slowly start introducing different liquids into her system, starting with different nutrient packed juices and maybe, some soup. The thought of soup had never excited her as much in her life, but to be fair, Steve’s chicken soup was pretty damned tasty.

What was worse though, was the sheer boredom. At some point, whilst she was asleep, a huge flat screen TV had appeared on the wall, thanks to Tony as he had pointed out when he came to see her, and last night she’d curled up with Steve to watch the Wizard of Oz, but she was already going crazy led in the bed and she was desperate to get clean. She could still feel the dirt, and grime and them on her body. Steve had said he’d help her clean up when Bruce gave her the go ahead but she didn’t want him to. There was bound to be bruises on her thighs and she wasn’t ready for him to know about the fact they’d raped her. Not yet anyway. 

As Natasha was sat with her, popping in as she did a lot during the day, she decided to take her chance whilst Steve was in their apartment.

“Bruce, I need a bath or something!” She whined “it’s been 48 hours… Look, I drank all that disgusting green shit you gave me…and I feel much better…”

Bruce groaned. “Look, I’m not sure…” “My hair and…” Katie sighed leaning back, tears pricking her eyes “please…” “Alright, but someone needs to be with you. The temperature change might cause your blood pressure to drop and you could pass out.” “Rogers can take her.” Nat nodded but Katie shook her head and looked at Nat. 

“Can you?” “Me?” Nat frowned. She nodded and gave her a significant look, one Natasha could read instantly. There was something she wasn’t telling them. And as she looked into her friends eyes she had a horrible feeling she knew what. “Your hair?” She said, locking eyes with the brunette giving her an excuse and Katie nodded. “Alright. Bruce that ok with you? He sighed "fine. But not too hot, and you use the bathroom here on the medical floor.” Katie nodded and Steve chose that moment to walk back into the room.

“Hey handsome” she smiled and he dropped a kiss to her cheek as she pouted “You shaved.” “I told you, Captain America doesn’t have a beard” he chuckled. “You killed it. Murderer” He rolled his eyes. “Brucey says I can have a bath!” She said, almost excitedly “Can you go grab me some stuff? Toiletries, pyjamas, robe, towel?” Steve looked at her, then to Bruce "is that…” Bruce sighed. “It’s ok, yes. But just a short one and try not to get the bandages on that hand wet. They were fresh on this morning.” “Nat’s gonna help me” Katie said, looking at Steve. He frowned for a moment.

“I can do it.” he said, almost sullenly. She reached out with her good hand to squeeze his “It’s my hair. She can sort the tangles and braid it out of the way until I can get it cut…I think some of it might be beyond saving”

Steve looked at her, before he let out a sigh. "Alright. But at least let me help you to and from the bathroom?” She nodded and he looked at Nat who simply gazed back, her face passive.

As Steve gathered her things in their apartment, he tried not to take in personally that she didn’t want his help, he really did. It wasn’t like he knew how to braid her hair but she could always have done that once she was back in bed. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was pushing him away because she blamed him in some way. Blamed him for not finding her, for not being the one to help her. He grabbed her favourite pair of pyjamas, not just because they were her favourite, but because they were button up so would be easier for her to get on, and everything else she had asked for and headed back to the lab, and his worries temporarily flew from his mind when she smiled at him and held out her arms.

“Wanna carry me, Soldier?” Laughing he handed the items to Natasha and scooped her up easily into his arms as she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

“I love you.” she said softly and he smiled.

“Love you too, so damned much.” He said, deliberately exaggerating his Brooklyn drawl making her giggle, the sound music to his ears.

Natasha didn’t comment on the finger shaped bruising in between her legs and on the outside of her thighs when she helped her undress. Instead she’d handed Katie the wash cloth and soap so she could clean herself as best she could, and helped her reach the areas she couldn’t easily do like anything where she had to raise her arms too high. She’d washed her hair for her with infinite tenderness, telling her that she would get Pepper have a stylist to come and give it a cut soon. As instructed, Katie didn’t stay in the bath too long, the water was filthy so Natasha drained it and took the small shower attachment off the wall and carefully rinsed her off before helping her stand and wrapping her in a robe. Guiding her over to the small changing room off the side she gently sat on the bench in the middle as Nat carefully dried her hair. It was mass of split ends, brittle from the malnutrition and a fair bit of it fell out as Nat gently brushed it, but at least it was clean. "I want you to ask Pepper to call Dr Kellet my ob gyn.” Katie said gently, for the first time raising the issue “Tell her it’s just for a routine check- up after my less than adequate diet or something.”

Nat nodded. “Ok but you really should tell Steve”

“Not yet” Katie swallowed. “I can’t deal with more pity and sympathy. I don’t want anyone knowing. Not until…” she trailed off, tears forming in her eyes as Natasha gently braided her damp hair “Let me get some shred of dignity back please.”

Nat kissed the top of head in a rare display of affection and nodded before grabbing the pyjamas Steve had brought down for her, laughing as she looked at them “Tigger” “I’m a sucker for Disney”

“You wear these to bed? No wonder Rogers can’t keep his hands off you”

“I don’t wear much to bed.” She grinned back, wincing slightly as Natasha gently guided the top over her arms before buttoning it up, thankful to Steve for being so thoughtful to find ones she didn’t need to pull over her head. “Pyjamas serve as lounge wear” After cleaning her teeth she was pleased to report she felt fully human again. Natasha went to find Steve and he returned, smiling at the sight of his girl who looked a whole heap better. The only thing was that now her hair was out of her face, the injuries she’d sustained were far more noticeable but he tried not to dwell on it. Instead, he focussed on the relief in her face at finally getting clean. “Feel better?” He asked, gently grazing his fingers over the side of her neck. She nodded. “So much” she said and then shook her head as he went to pick her up “Let me walk.” "Katie…” he began but she shook her head

“Please.”

He looked at Natasha who took a deep breath “He’s right Katie, Bruce will go mad…”

“Like Hulk out mad or…” Neither of them laughed, instead Steve sighed “Please sweetheart, just…” he trailed off and she rolled her eyes.

“Fine.”

He swept her up, breathing in her once again familiar just showered smell, the vanilla of her shower gel and the oatmeal in her shampoo was like a tonic to his soul and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

All in all things seemed positive. That was until the next morning when Tony picked up a message which was meant for Pepper, saying that Dr Kellet would be arriving at Lunch. Unfortunately, her being Pepper’s Ob-Gyn too meant Tony knew who she was. And even more unfortunate was that her brother’s suspicious nature had led him to grilling Bruce about why she was needed, and of course Bruce knew nothing about it. And even worse than that, was that Bruce had asked why she was calling in another doctor without telling him, and it was the absolute worst thing ever, that Steve, with his impeccable timing skills, had walked back into the room at that point, clutching the flask of soup that Bruce had cleared her to eat and asked instantly what on earth another doctor was needed for.

She had tried to explain to them all that she just wanted some goddamned control in all of this, and that frankly calling her Ob Gyn was surely the right thing to do just to be on the safe-side after spending so long being practically starved, but their demeanour and reaction had guilt tripped her big time, even if he didn’t mean to. Bruce was hurt she hadn’t told him she was concerned, Tony was pissed that she hadn’t simply just asked him to call the Ob-Gyn instead of getting Nat to ask Pepper forcing her to go behind his back, and Steve was just upset she hadn’t told him she was worried in general. As they pushed her to the brink she snapped, and the tears flooded out of her, wracking her in hysterical sobs that she had tried and tried to stop and all 3 men had been absolutely devastated.

She slapped Steve hard when he tried to pull her into his arms, screamed at them all to leave her alone and a shocked Steve had called Natasha, his own tears clouding his eyes at the sight of his beautiful, strong girl breaking in front of him. Natasha had swept into the room, ordering them all out and sat on the bed, wrapping her arms round her friend, soothing her as she let everything out. 

But Steve was frightened. Frightened as to why she needed an ob-gyn and frightened as to why she hadn’t told him.

And then he pieced it together. The secrecy, why she’d wanted Natasha to help her clean up…

“Oh God.” His voice was nothing but a choked whispter as the corridor swam around him, his legs giving way. He slumped to the floor, back to the wall, praying he was wrong. “No…please no…”

Natasha stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her and she looked at Steve, he raised his head and she instantly knew he’d figured it out.

“You knew?” He spat, shaking his head “And didn’t tell me? You FUCKING KNEW?”

“Rogers she asked me not to say anything…” “Anything about what?” Tony asked as Bruce gave a small moan, the pieces slotting into place in his head too.

“You should have told me!” Steve roared as he got to his feet, his legs still shaky “That’s…she’s my fiancée…”

“Told him what?” Tony pressed as he looked between the two of them, Steve’s face contorted in rage as he glared at Natasha.  “I know, I told her to tell you but…don’t you think she’s owed this? To have some dignity and some control?”

“For fucks sake…” Tony began but he was cut off as Steve turned to him.

“She was raped, Tony.” Steve’s voice cracked as he spoke that word “Those bastards…” And with that he put his fist straight through the stud wall to his right. “They raped her…”

*****

Steve headed off to take his frustrations out on a punch bag, he felt sick. But knew it was nothing compare to how she must have felt when… he didn’t even want to think about it. But it all added to the fact that he hadn’t kept her safe. He had failed to do the one basic thing a man should be able to do for his woman. Especially when that man is a fucking Super Soldier. But the fact she hadn’t told him was what killed him the most. The tears poured down his face as he continued to pound the bag in front of him wishing he could take all this away from her.

Back in the medical wing, Dr Kellet was as sensitive as always. She softly examined Katie as Natasha stayed with her, and thankfully confirmed there was no lasting damage. She took swabs for tests and when Katie fearfully mentioned that she couldn’t remember her cycle coming in she’d smiled and shaken her head.

“You’re not pregnant.” She assured her, gently. “It’s perfectly normal in stressful circumstances, especially if you’re not in the best health too.”

It was a few hours later when tempers had calmed somewhat before Katie let Tony or Steve in the room. She hadn’t minded Bruce so much, but hearing Tony and Steve off loading at Nat out in the corridor before had pissed her off. The fact that they thought they had the right to know anything was annoying enough, but taking it out on Nat had made her even angrier. As Katie conceded they could come back in, Natasha stood up to leave and Steve shot her a positively filthy look as she left, before he turned back to his girl on the bed, unsure of how to even approach the subject, and slightly surprised to find her shooting daggers at the pair of them. Bruce left to give them some space and as her brother and fiancée both pulled up a chair, she didn’t even wait until they sat down before she spoke.

“You better apologise to Nat or so help me God Rogers, we’re gonna fall out big time.” She finished and turned to Tony. “You too,”

“She should have told us.” Steve sniffed quietly and Katie shook her head

“No, she shouldn’t because I asked her not to.” she said, “And the way you’re looking at me now is exactly why I didn’t want you to know.” “Looking at you like what?” Tony said.

“Like you feel sorry for me.” 

Steve wiped at his face “So what did…Dr Kellet say?”

“That I’m fine.” she said “no lasting damage, just like the rest of my injuries.” She took his hand and looked at him, then to her brother and spoke clearly to them both. “Now, I’m gonna say this, and it’s the last anyone speaks on the subject. I don’t want pity or sympathy or treating like I’m made of glass. I’m not gonna shatter. Those bastards tried to break me in there and I didn’t let them and I’m not gonna let them now, ok?”

Steve looked at his girl, and the fierce look in her eyes and despite himself he felt a glimmer of pride. Pride at how strong she was but he knew that despite her protestations she was going to be broken inside. That was inevitable. And it suddenly dawned on him that it didn’t fucking matter that he hadn’t been the one to save her, or that he hadn’t been able to stop it. What mattered was that he was there now to help her piece herself together.

He gave her a nod and as her tears started again, he looked at Tony before the scientist stood up and sat on the edge of the bed to wrap her in his arms. He dropped a kiss to her head, before he stood up.

“I’m going to find Natasha.” He sighed, before grimacing. “If I don’t survive, say nice things at my funeral.” Katie let out a chuckle as he tenderly placed a hand on her head and left.

Once he was gone Katie looked at Steve and he swallowed, before she gave him a soft smile and patted the side of her bed. He returned her smile and stood up, kicking off his sneakers.

“I’m sorry I upset you.” He gently sat on the bed, swinging his legs up so he was led besides her.  Katie lay her head on his chest and he gently carded his hand through her hair.

“This isn’t getting you out of apologising to Nat.” She sniffed “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It isn’t because I don’t trust you, because I do. With my life. I was scared, I supposed.”

“Scared, what of?”

“That all the sympathy would break me.” She shrugged, a tear escaping her eye. “And that you’d…”

“That I’d what?”

“Look at me differently, like…I dunno, like I was broken or something dirty or..”

“Woah, woah…no.” Steve moved a little, looking down at her, his hands cupping her face. “This was not your fault, okay? Nothing about any of this is your fault. And as for looking at you like that, no way. Fuck, baby I love you, I love you so much. None of this, what they did, nothing is gonna change that. You hear me?” His own tears gently trickled down his face as she gave a little nod, taking a deep breath as he pressed a kiss to her head. “Please don’t worry about that, Doll.”

He wrapped his arms round her, pulling her close as she pressed her face into his chest, gently crying. Steve held her for a while, his heart breaking at how she could possibly thing he’d feel like that towards her, nothing could be further from the truth. Eventually, he felt her shift a little in his arms and she looked up at him.

“Stevie, can you do something for me?”

“Anything, Sweetheart.” “Will you kiss me? I ain’t had one in a while.” Her lips curled up into a small, hopeful smile and Steve let out a soft chuckle and dipped his head, his nose brushing hers slightly.

“Think I can manage that.” His lips met hers in a gentle peck at first before it became slightly deeper, one arm round her shoulders, the other hand cupping her face gently as hers fisted in his shirt, ignoring the dull pain in her left hand. It was soft, gentle, both of them simply enjoying the first kiss they’d shared since the quick goodbye peck six weeks ago.

“I love you.” He pulled away, pressing his forehead to hers. “Tilt e end of the line.” “Good job.” She smiled, as he wiped away the tears that had trickled down her face. “Seeing as I’m marrying you aint I?”

“Yeah, yeah you are.” Steve’s own face broke into a smile as he lay back and she once more rest her head on his chest, settling herself in his warm embrace.

***** December 2014.

Katie and Steve still took their planned trip to Europe. They’d had to rejig their original schedule slightly as Katie had only been given the all clear with her hand on the 5th December to fly, meaning they had to miss the first week of . But they didn’t care, there was plenty of time to go another time. What they did care about was the fact that they got the time to themselves. Once things had settled down at the tower they’d stepped up the search for the Sceptre, jointly deciding that was their priority. But after the events of the last few months all the Avengers had decided to take down time over the holidays, and post a large, raucous thanksgiving, they’d gone their separate ways for the holidays. Thor heading to be with Jayne, Clint and Natasha to Clint’s family (although only Katie and Steve by-proxy knew that) Bruce had gone to Seoul for a few weeks to help Dr Cho with some research and Tony had whisked Pepper off to the Maldives. Each one of them taking the chance to recover in a sense if you will, from what had been the hardest time they’d had to face as a team so far.

Katie’s hand was still a little stiff but with the physio she was getting there, and was on track to make a full recovery. And the best bit was her big fuck off Tiffany Diamond was back where it belonged. Her bruises were well gone, she had put on most of the weight she had lost (she was still a little too slim for Steve’s liking so he made it his job to feed her as much as possible) and today had been no exception. They arrived early on the Wednesday morning into Bruges, and had wasted no time in dumping their bags and heading out to explore. Their day had been full of snow, hand holding, Christmas treats, beer, long kisses stolen in the large square as they were bundled up in coats, hats and scarves. It was just so fucking normal. 

And they’d never been so grateful for normal before.

Eventually, after a huge meal in a beautiful restaurant tucked away by the side of a canal, they’d headed back to the hotel. And they had every intention of just having one last drink from the mini-bar, led on the bed but things had started to get a little heated. It was the first time that either of them had pushed anything further than kissing since the incident they didn’t talk about, but whether it was the change of scenery or just the romance of being in a hotel room in Europe, surrounded by snow, they had no idea but it felt right, and they both just ran with it.

They undressed each other tenderly and Steve laid Kati down on the bed, and just took his time, making sure he worshiped every single inch of her body he could get his hands on. His fingers traced her slowly re-establishing curves, up her hips to her ribs which were no longer protruding, down to her no longer bruised thighs and across her belly, his lips simply brushing her skin just under her collar bone. He was gentle, and to some it would surprise them how a soldier made during a war to fight could be so soft and tender but Katie knew the man underneath it all and she wasn’t surprised in the slightest at how delicate he was being. He was never anything else when it came to her. What did surprise her however, was that whilst his touch was feather light and barely there she could feel it more than she ever had. It sent red hot fire spiking through her belly, and her heart swelled to the point she thought it would burst. She loved him, loved the way he touched her and felt and yet, underneath the fire there came something else. A sharp stab of fear. Fear, not of him, but fear that when it came to it, her body was going to betray her and do something stupid, involuntary, like make her freeze or lash out, or that it would feel different for either or both of them. Steve paused, his right hand gently hovering by her naval where it had been steadily making its way downwards. She was trembling. Shit. He frowned slightly and looked up to see her watching him, her green eyes shining in the soft, dim light of the room. "Sweetheart,” he said, his voice thick in his throat “if this is too much…” “No.” She replied quickly, “it’s not…” “You’re shaking” he said softly, his hand moving up to softly cup her face as his frown deepened. Was she scared of him? The thought of that was enough to destroy him and just as he was about to say something she laid her hand over his and moved her face softly to the side so she could place a kiss to his palm. And when she spoke, he was once again convinced she could read his damned mind. “These hands would never hurt me."  Not could not, but would not. And she wanted him to understand she knew the difference. "I’m not scared of you Steve. I could never be scared of you…” she swallowed “I’m scared of me.”

His brow creased, he was confused. “I don’t understand.” “I don’t know what my body is gonna do, I’m worried I’m going to react differently to how it used and that it’ll feel different…I can’t explain.” His face softened and he looked at her, pressing his forehead to hers he tried to offer her some reassurance. “I love you.” He drew back to press a kiss to the bridge of her nose “And we’ll take it slow, that is if you still want to.” his nose gently brushed hers as he looked at her “If you don’t then that’s fine, I can wait…we can wait.” “No, I do, I don’t wanna wait.” She shook her head, her lips sweeping across his, drawing a moan from him. “I missed this, being close to you, being with you.” He looked at her again before their lips connected in a soft kiss that grew more urgent, but still stayed tender as they both poured their souls into one another. Steve’s hand gently gripped her hip and she let out a soft moan into his mouth making him pull back slightly, and press his forehead to hers. “I got you, Sweetheart.” He said softly, “I got you…” “I know.” She replied, voice barely a whisper. “You always do.”

His hand gently slid down to her folds, and as his fingers gently began to play she let out a soft gasp at his touch, it felt right, so damned right. He was gently, took his time, watching her carefully as she softly writhed at his touch, and when she begged for him, to feel him, he adjusted himself between her legs and slowly pushed into her. Katie sighed in pleasure, and relief too because it felt like it always had done. 

Steve kept his movements slow, not thrusting but rolling, rocking softly into her over and over again, soft moans and whispers filling the room as her hands gripped round his biceps, his weight gently pressed on top of her, both of them needing to feel the other as they reconnected in the most intimate of ways possible. Katie gently moved her hands, dancing over his broad back, tracing between his shoulder blades feeling each twitch and flex in his muscles as he moved, the familiarity of it was so damned comforting. Steve’s large hands cupped her face as he kissed her, their tongues tangling together and even when he broke the kiss to let out a soft groan he kept his lips on hers, feather light in their touch.

“Katie…” Steve panted into her mouth, his hips continuing their gentle, deep roll into her “I’m not sure how much longer… are you close, baby girl?” She didn’t answer with words, instead he felt her tightening around him, her reactions the same as they always had been, and he gave another groan as she let out a soft whimper. Then, he heard it. The most beautiful sound ever to hit his ears, a sound he had heard so many times before but right there in that opulent hotel room in Belgium, the lights of the city bright and bouncing off the snow through the slight crack in the heavy, deep blue curtains, it sounded so much more sweeter, more significant almost than the first time she had said it.

"Stevie…” his name tumbled from her lips in a whisper and he felt the tears sting his eyes as he nudged her nose with his, making her look at him. She gave another soft moan before she tilted her head back and let out a gentle cry as her back arched and she came, her eyes fluttering shut. It was enough to make him tumble, gently rutting up into her he felt himself go and his movements became disjointed until he collapsed forwards, utterly blissed and consumed by her.

They both took a moment before Steve raised his head to look at her, and saw the gentle shine of a tear fall down her cheek. 

“Are you ok?” He asked, wiping at her face with his thumbs. For one horrible moment he was petrified he had hurt her until he realised she was smiling and nodding. But this wasn’t her usual post orgasm grin, this was a pure, unadulterated happy smile. And then Steve understood, they were tears of joy. “Well I’ve never made anyone cry after sex before.” He quipped, his voice thick with emotion and she spluttered a giggle, sniffing a little as his nose bumped hers before his lips gently mopped up the few stray tears that fell from her sparkling emerald eyes. “I just…” she started to talk but stopped. She couldn’t find the words to explain. Explain how that last 20 minutes or so of him lavishing attention on her, right from that first kiss to taking her to the edge of ecstasy and back had fixed that final part of her that was broken. He had taken the last shards of the fragmented, shitty mess that Hydra left and slotted them back into place. "I’m ok.” She finished, unable to word it any better. "I’m ok.” He gently placed his lips on hers and drew her into a long, gentle kiss, his own tears threatening to fall at those 2 simple words. Ok was lame, she hated it, said it was just a “shit phrase and you should never just be ok” but here he knew what it meant for her to be just be ok. Without a word he rolled off her and took her with him, pulling her so she was led straight on top of him, like they would do on the couch, in front of the TV and she gave a laugh. He pulled the covers up over them and she lay her head on his chest, his fingers lightly dancing up her spine “I love you, Sweetheart.” He said as she gave a hum of contentment “More than apple pie?” She asked and he gave a chuckle, he really had missed this. Their playful banter that came before, during and after the act. “Infinitely” “More than mac and cheese?” He hesitated on purpose and she gave a loud scoff and hit him on the chest. He laughed, rubbing at the spot even though she hasn’t hurt him, giving a soft “ow” as she levelled him with a playful glare. “Is it your mac and cheese?” He asked “because we all know it’s the best damned mac and cheese in the world” “Flattery will get you nowhere, Soldier.” she teased and he chuckled again, as she lay her head back down. “But seeing as I’m in a good mood how about when I get back I make us apple pie AND mac and cheese… and then we can have more sex and you can decide which one is better?” “That sounds like the best idea you have ever had Miss Stark…” They lay there in silence and it wasn’t long before he felt her melt into him, her breathing evened out and he gently glanced down and saw her eyes were shut, her lashes fluttering slightly as she slept. He thought about moving her, setting her down beside him but as her chest rose and fell, pressing into him he decided better of it. 

She could move herself when, or if she wanted to.

And if she didn’t, then that was totally fine by him.

**** Chapter 22

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #captain america #mcu #mcu fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

[krreader]

BTS scenario → you as TXT’s older sister.

pairing: bts x reader ; txt x sister!reader fandom: bts ; txt warnings: language  genre: fluff ; crack word count: 1.7k+

a/n: suuuuch a guilty pleasure of mine to write stuff like that so thank you for requesting it bb! I hope you like it ♥

kim seokjin

Jin didn't have a lot of time for going out with friends anymore, unfortunately.

Even dinner was nowadays a luxury he could rarely afford, that's how little time he had on his hands.

But with TXT having debuted, Jin found himself more often than not spending a few hours with them at dinner, even if it was just a snack bar close by. What mattered the most was that he didn’t have to eat alone.

Soobin and him had formed quite a friendship over the last weeks. And tonight, the topic of siblings finally came up.

“My oldest sister is really talented. She's such a good dancer, you know? I used to train with her a lot before I auditioned.”

“Ah, really? You should introduce her to me, I could learn a few things from her,” Jin had chuckled.

The conversation had gone into such depths that Soobin actually really ended up giving Jin your number and Jin, after having had a few drinks too many, ended up texting you.

And the look on his face when he walked into the dance practice room three days later and found you standing there with a big smile on your face, because he had completely forgotten that he had invited you over to help him with his dancing.

“So.. are you ready, Kim Seokjin?”

He gulped down hard. 

That should be answer enough.

min yoongi

Yoongi was on his way up to the boss, currently scrolling through some app on his phone when you entered the elevator.

He immediately stood up straighter, something about you intimidated him greatly. And that wasn’t something that he could admit often.

Maybe it was your angry look or the fact that you looked hot as fuck, but whatever it was, he wasn't so cool anymore.

“You look angry,” he remarked.

“I am angry,” you replied, not pressing any other floor. Oh boy, Bang PD had a big storm coming, “People in this industry think they can use young artists for their own benefit. It's disgusting.”

“It's the idol industry, love.”

But calling you ‘love’ wasn't a good move. Not when you were already on the edge of smacking someone. 

You turned around and killed him with one look only, Yoongi quickly bowing a little as an apology.

“My brother worked so hard for this,” you said once you had turned around again, your voice now a little less audible, “He shouldn't be treated like this.”

Right! Yoongi thought he had seen you somewhere before, you were the sister of one of the TXT members! He didn't remember whose sister, but he knew you were a family member!

“Are you.. a lawyer then?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a card or something? You seem like you know what you're doing and I could use a lawyer like you.”

Smooth, Min Yoongi. Fucking smooth. Because you gave him that card, thinking he was only interested in your abilities, when the reality was that he was interested in much more than that.

jung hoseok

Hoseok had only recently started following TXT's private Instagram accounts.

Now, as he was on set and waiting for his make-up and hair to be done, he decided to look through who they were following, just out of curiosity.

And that's when he stumbled across your account.

The childhood pictures made him assume that you were the sister.. the older sister. The sister that grew up to be very very pretty and, from the looks of it, quite successful on her own.

“Do you think I'm too old to just randomly message a girl on Instagram?” Hoseok asked Jimin, who just snorted.

“Hyung.. you're Jung Hoseok. It doesn't matter what age you are, whoever it is that you're messaging will be over the moon.”

Maybe Jimin had over exaggerated a little, because you didn't respond to his message for an entire week.

Hoseok completely forgot that he even messaged you in the first place when you finally replied: “Hey, sorry. I wasn't sure if you were a fake account, so I had to ask my brother first. But how are you?”

Ah.. so that's why the TXT members weren't looking so fondly at him anymore. He wasn't sure if he'd be too happy if one of them messaged his older sister either.

kim namjoon

Namjoon would never purposefully listen in on a private conversation, but even though Kai was trying his hardest to talk quietly, Namjoon could still hear every word.

“I don't care, (Y/N), I don't care that you're my older sister, there is no way I'm going to walk up to my senior and ask him for his number just so I can give it to you! Do you know how embarrassing that is?!”

That made Namjoon chuckle and press himself closer against the wall. Now he wanted to know who you two were talking about.

“No, no, no! Don't tell mom, I'm..- ugh, you're so mean, this is exactly why Lea is my favorite sister and not you.”

Namjoon thought this was a funny and normal conversation that siblings had with each other, he didn't think anything more of it.

But oh boy, his face when Kai walked up to him that same day and told him about you and showed him pictures of you, Namjoon slowly started to realize that this conversation from before had actually been about him.

And he was flattered.

“Sure. Give it to her. I'd love to get to know her.”

From what he heard from before, you sure as hell were an interesting persona and he was so down for anyone that didn't fake their personality because they were famous.

park jimin

Jimin and you had been friends ever since Beomgyu had gotten accepted into BigHit and he had run into you at an office party a few years back.

But that was initially all it was.

Friendship.

It was only recently that things started to get a little out of hand.

One drink was all it took for you two to play truth or dare and well, the next thing you knew was that you woke up in his bed the next morning.

And instead of keeping it a secret, Jimin had decided to come clean to Beomgyu, who, of course, wasn't angry at his senior, but at you.

“Do you know what this looks like? You sleeping with him? It's as if you're doing this for my sake!”

“I'm sorry to disappoint you, little brother, but not everything is about you. I like Jimin. It's as simple as that,” you shrugged.

And it's not like he could do anything to change that.

You were your own person and so was Jimin.

All he could do was stand there and watch as you two grew closer and closer.

And he didn't like it one bit.

kim taehyung

You usually stayed as far away from the industry as you possibly could.

Just because Yeonjun was now an idol, didn't mean you had to be in the spotlight too. He didn't even want you to be, he wanted to protect you from that, despite you being the older one.

Nevertheless, this was an important award show for him and while it was usually your parents being there to support him, they couldn't make it today. The thought alone that all of your brother's members would be cheered on by family except for Yeonjun was ultimately the reason that you decided to take the plunge and join him.

They were currently getting ready and you had come late, so you had missed the rest of the family members.

Not knowing where to go, you just decided to hang out in front of their green room and wait for your brother, especially because you still had to wish him good luck for his upcoming performance.

You were so focused on your phone that you didn't notice someone suddenly leaning against the wall next to you.

“Bang PD didn't say anything about a new intern.”

“That's because I'm not a new intern,” you said, still not looking up from your phone, “I'm also not a crazy fan, in case you were afraid of that. I'm Yeonjun's sister.”

“Ah.. I get why he's so secretive about you.”

When you looked up, you didn't flinch because of who it was. You just smiled a little as you noticed him biting down on his lip, his eyes traveling down to your own lips, “Are you flirting with me?”

“I'm trying, but it's not working, I think,” Taehyung chuckled.

“Ah, you're here!” Yeonjun said with a big smile, then bowed when he saw Taehyung, “Hyung?”

“Your 'hyung' is currently trying to ask me out,” you smirked.

“No, wait, I wasn't..-” but what was more offensive to Yeonjun? The fact that he was, or that he maybe wasn't, because why wouldn't he? You were pretty, intelligent and funny, “Okay, I was.”

“Uh.. well, I..-” your brother rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable about this situation, but you took pity on the poor guy and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“Come on. Let's go to the stage together.”

Taehyung was a little disappointed then, but not for long. Because a day later, he got a message from Yeonjun with a phone number and: “I don't like this one bit, but she's my older sister so I have to do whatever she says. Please don't hurt her, hyung.”

Ah, so you were interested after all.

jeon jeongguk

It was so freaking early, nobody in their right state of mind should be up and working at this point.

But Jeongguk was walking, not quite awake yet, into the practice room and threw down his gym bag.

They had just started working on their newest choreography and he wanted to be one of the first to nail it.

He was just about to put on the song when someone walked in with two cups of coffee.

Someone he didn’t know.

“Here, drink this, it'll..- Oh!” your eyes widened, quickly bowing, “Sorry, wrong room.”

“Who are you?” Jeongguk narrowed his eyes at you, “Staff usually isn't working this early.”

“I'm.. not staff. I'm Taehyun's sister. He's practicing and I'm worried about him, so I stopped by before I have to go to work.”

Jeongguk looked at you for a moment, then he let out a laugh, “Boy, he's lucky to have you as his sister. I don't have anyone bringing me drinks and snacks in the morning because they're worried about me.”

The conversation didn't last any longer than that, you quickly made your way into the next practice room you could find where your brother was already dancing.

Jeongguk continued on with his day like he usually did.

The next morning, however, he was surprised to find a smoothie and a sandwich in front of the mirror with a piece of paper saying: “Eat and drink this. You'll need strength :)”

And he could have sworn that he had fallen in love right there and then.

#bts imagine #bts reactions #bts x reader #bts #bangtan #bangtan reaction #bangtan boys #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop reactions #bangtan sonyeondan #reader #bangtan x reader #bangtan boys x reader #txt x reader #txt imagine #txt scenario #requests

[firelordzukohere]

Interior Decor

Hello! I started this blog because I wrote a Zuko x Reader fanfiction and I wanted somewhere to post it that wasn’t my main blog. 

I came up with the idea for this fic randomly one day and I thought I’d write it down and share it with you all. It’s going to be 4 parts with a possible epilogue, but I’m not sure yet. Please let me know what you think!!

I’ll be updating every Sunday with a new chapter! Hopefully you guys really like this and keep reading!!

I’ve also posted it to AO3 if you’d prefer to read it there

Thanks!

Zuko X Fem!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Slight Aangst(heh), and some implications

Word Count: Almost 3k

Summary: Iroh felt it was time for the Palace to reflect the time of Peace and Love that Zuko promised five years earlier at his coronation. He takes it upon himself to hire an interior decorator to help his nephew out and work together. What he didn’t expect was for Zuko to possibly find his own peace and love in the process. 

Chapter 1: Feng Shui >> Chapter 2: Tchotchke 

Walking into the grand entrance of the Fire Nation Palace, (Y/N) couldn't help but stop and begin mentally jotting down the changes she would make to the décor. It was very dingy, dark, and drab, as though the Palace had been sitting in it's own dusty iceberg for a hundred years, keeping it's hatred preserved with each speck of dirt. The windows were covered in black-out fabric, the walls had pictures of past Fire Lords glaring down at those who dared to enter their sacred home of destruction, plants wilted and dead, no life left within them, and the carpet looked as though it had seen millions upon millions of feet within its lifetime.

Now, (Y/N) wasn't trying to be rude, but it was her job to notice these things. She had been hired by General Iroh to redo the interior of the Fire Nation Palace. This meant every single room from the throne room to the dining hall, the ballroom to the Fire Lord's private quarters, everything needed a refresh. She expected this kind of thing to be done back when the Fire Lord had first taken over, however, her services weren't requested until five years after his coronation.

Which is why she stood at the entrance, questioning why it took them so long to get someone in here. The poor Palace staff and the Fire Lord must be drowning in darkness and discomfort. Not to mention cowering in fear at Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai's deep glares within several portraits throughout.

She was busy having a staring contest with Ozai, which she was undoubtedly losing because he was terrifying to look at, when Iroh walked up and greeted her with a warm smile. The look immediately lit the room up, sending a comforting feeling from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes as if she had just dipped herself into the warm ocean to cool off.

"Ah! Miss (Y/N), thank you for your patience," he bowed causing her to return the sign of respect back, "I was just making sure my nephew was ready for our meeting today as well. He's just finishing up with the council, so we'll go on ahead without him and he can catch up," the older man winked before guiding her further into the Palace, "Please, tell me what you think so far, first impressions may not always be accurate, but they do tell quite a lot, especially when it comes to decoration," Iroh said as they walked.

Clearing her throat, (Y/N) tuned into her interior decorator mode. "I feel like I'm living in the Fire Palace from Sozin's time," she said, bluntly, however still with a hint of hope. "I feel like this Palace has most likely been causing the Fire Lord nothing but stress, as though it's a dark cloud looming over his head, watching his every move, almost like Ozai never left." Her voice calm and diplomatic, she had dealt with several Fire Nation officials before and no matter how often she tried to soften the blow, she was usually always dealt with backlash and anger over her honest opinion of the look.

Iroh, however, surprised her, and laughed with his whole body, resting his hands on his stomach for a moment, stopping their stride. "My dear, you are spot on!" This immediately caused (Y/N) to smile brightly, grateful that she was with a client who didn't seem to want to fight her every move. "Even when Ozai and I were boys growing up in the Palace here, we always felt as though we were living during Sozin's reign. Not that we believed that to be a bad thing at the time," he chuckled before continuing on down the hall.

The hallway led into the throne room, which was one of the biggest rooms in the Palace according to the layout that Iroh had given her during her interview with him. The only other room that was as large was the ballroom followed closely by the dining hall.

"This is where my nephew holds council with everyone in all four nations, whoever wants a seat with him. My brother, father, and grandfather stopped using it for that purpose and just became a place to dish out their royal decrees, banishing visitors that were not worthy." (Y/N) frowned listening to the history of this room. "My nephew likes this room to be where he listens and does very little talking, which I think is a wonderful sentiment to have." She nodded and began jotting down notes on her parchment.

There needed to be more light, some greenery added to liven up the place, possibly a little less fire around the throne itself, to seem more welcoming. Overall, the layout of the room was beautiful, it just needed some acceptance instead of deterrence.

Iroh led her toward the next room which appeared to be the ballroom. It was gorgeous, high ceilings with chandeliers, ready for their candles to be lit and make the glass sparkle, tall windows that went nearly from the floor to the ceiling providing a glorious view of the garden outside. Other than a couple of touch ups here and there, this room was incredible. However, it looked like it hadn't been used in centuries. Webs and dust littered the vast room, sheets covered small tables and seating areas and were yellowed with age.

"When my father took power, dancing and parties became nonexistent. He loathed people enjoying themselves, obviously because he did not. My nephew would like to throw a celebration after this redecoration, allowing all nations to come together and dance." Iroh smiled.

"Obviously it was more of a strong suggestion by the Dragon of the West, who rumor has it, excelled in dancing due to his bond with the dragons," a husky voice behind them added, causing the two to turn and find the Fire Lord standing behind them in his royal attire, with a small smirk on his face.

(Y/N) had seen beautiful interiors, gorgeous landscapes, sunsets, flowers, paintings, structures, and everything in between, however, her breath left her body the moment her eyes landed on the Fire Lord in person. He was a very handsome man, defined features and golden eyes that pierced any girl's heart.

This admiration, unfortunately, caused her to stare at him longer than normal, creating an awkward tension within the room. Beside her, Iroh cleared his throat, waking the girl from her trance on his nephew. She blushed furiously and bowed properly to the Fire Lord.

"Your Highness, my apologies, I wasn't expecting you this early," she whispered quickly attempting to cover her ogling with a valid reason, "I'm grateful that you have allowed me the opportunity to work on your home and make it something that you'll enjoy living within and celebrating for years to come." He smiled at her before turning to Iroh.

"It wasn't exactly my plan, as I said, the Dragon of the West is a very convincing man and deemed it necessary that since I was bringing a time of new, the Palace should reflect that." Iroh smirked.

"Please Fire Lord Zuko," Iroh said with a hint of snark in his voice, "I just couldn't bear to see you glare at the paintings of your father strewn everywhere and decided it was a time for change." Zuko blushed and sent a small glare at Iroh. "Plus, you're never going to woo any ladies with a Palace looking like this!" His statement caused (Y/N) to cover her mouth quickly and let out a giggle. Hearing the noise from her, Zuko's face burned darker, matching the Fire Nation red of his robes. "Anyway, my dear nephew, I must leave you at this time, you see it's nearly noon and I have a Pai Sho game to play with an old friend," he stepped back and bowed to both his nephew and (Y/N). "I'm sure you can take care of the rest of the tour and inform her on any changes you'd like. She's brilliant and really knows what she's doing so take everything she has to offer into account."

"Wait, you're not staying?" (Y/N) stopped him, nervously. Iroh smiled and shook his head.

"This isn't my home, it's his, he should be first hand in working with you. You're both smart and will definitely come up with something great together." Zuko's eyes were daggers as he looked at his Uncle. Iroh merely smirked before stepping away and back down the hallway she had originally met him in.

"I apologize for my Uncle, he's… eccentric, to say the least," the Fire Lord said with a frown. "I guess we should move on with the tour," he mumbled awkwardly before shuffling toward the room after the ballroom. The dining hall.

They traveled through the dining hall, the council chambers-as Zuko refused to call it the war room anymore, the spa rooms, a few bedrooms though they all looked the same according to the Fire Lord, several various hallways, where they finally ended, his bedroom.

(Y/N) had filled several parchments with notes and ideas for the Palace. She was already growing excited about the new plans and was ready to bring some life back into the Fire Nation's symbolic building.

"Not much needs to be done in here, to be honest, I don't use it for anything other than a place to sleep," he grumbled as he had essentially the entire tour. After Iroh had left, Zuko seemed unenthusiastic about showing her around and even less excited about her decorating anything.

"With all do respect, your Highness," she started, unable to bite her tongue this time, as she had the previous dozen times he said that he didn't need much done to the room, "that's a problem. Your bedroom should be a safe haven where you go to escape, especially with your job," her (Y/E/C) eyes narrowed in his direction, attempting to convey her seriousness about the situation. "This room is a comfort to you, not a grave to your father's previous sins." His single eyebrow cocked.

"With all do respect Miss…" it was then he realized he didn't know her name. Iroh had handled all the details, Zuko simply nodded his head and did as his uncle said.

"(Y/N)," she whispered somewhat defensively, ready for his retort.

"(Y/N)…" he repeated, "I have an escape in the Palace, though it may not be my bedroom like it seems to be for several of your clients, I can assure you, I'm not like them." He began to walk out of the bedroom, stopping only to turn back at her and nudge his head, signaling her to follow.

Confused, the decorator followed him back toward the ballroom and out into the garden. This view had caught her eye earlier when she was first in the ballroom with Iroh and now, finally getting a thorough look, she couldn't help but stare at the area in awe.

A large tree sat in the center of the zen place, a tiny pond full of quacking turtle ducks swimming happily within. Several other trees and flower bushes littered the area, with small fountains and statues around. It was serene and tranquil, calm seemed to wash over her instantly as she took in her surroundings, admiring the wonderful atmosphere that the garden provided.

Zuko led her toward the pond where he crouched down to rub the head of one of the turtle ducks with the back of his index finger. The duckling quacked and nuzzled closer to his touch instinctively. As the other turtle ducks saw this, they began swimming toward, looking for their own affection from the Fire Lord as well.

(Y/N) couldn't help but stare at the interaction before her, amazed at how the Fire Lord's demeanor changed rapidly. He seemed at peace and happy in this moment just spending time with ducklings in the garden.

"You see, miss (Y/N), while others escape to their bedrooms, I find myself coming here where I can be calm with my thoughts," he smirked up at her as he pat the last turtle duck on the head and then straightened up. With a sigh, she nodded her head, understanding what he meant now. "I do, however, agree, that my room needs more of a makeover than I initially suggested. You're welcome to do with it as you will, just make sure my belongings are taken care of properly." She looked up at him hopeful that he was okay with her being there.

Smiling, she moved toward the tree next to the pond and plopped down. It wasn't quite as ladylike as Zuko expected, like he had witnessed his mother, Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee do, but he couldn't help but smile and follow her lead, sitting down beside her. As she began handing him papers with notes, he watched as she animatedly talked about what she was going to do with each room and how it was supposed to make him feel more comfortable.

"For a Nation about light and the sun, your Palace has very little of it," she started, pointing at sketches she had apparently made as they walked of the different rooms, "I think removing the coverings on the windows and allowing more light to come in will be great. Plus, the sun makes Firebenders feel better, so why wouldn't they want more of it?" Zuko nodded, realizing that it made a lot of sense. "Then your people will be able to see you better instead of the dark shadow that Ozai assumingly was previous." Her casual use of his father's name seemed to shock him, but he didn't say anything and continued to listen. "If they see your face, they'll feel they can trust you more, you're not a bad man to look at either and that could possibly help you in the department General Iroh was requesting which was a new lady friend." She rushed through quickly.

Zuko held up his hand to stop her, "Contrary to what my uncle says, I don't need a woman to make me happy." He said, "I'm doing just fine all on my own." This caused her to stare at him for a few moments in deep thought and Zuko couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head. She seemed to be lost in herself for a moment before her vision returned and she realized she had been staring intently at the Fire Lord.

With a small shake of her head, she focused normally back on him, "I'm sorry, um… yes you're right, you don't need a woman, I was just trying to help." She mumbled before looking down at her papers awkwardly. Zuko handed her back the ones that he had been given and smiled.

"These look great (Y/N), why don't we start tomorrow on it? I will approve anything you want to do," he said trying to reassure the girl who had what felt like an emotional moment from his words.

"No, let me do this right, especially with the Palace. I will return with better sketches tomorrow and then if everything is approved I can bring in a team to start clearing out rooms. We'll do them one by one so you're not without the entire Palace for a couple of weeks," she said, watching as he stood up and held out his hand for her to take. Gently she pressed her palm to his and goosebumps ran up her arm at the shockingly warm contact. He smiled as he helped her to her feet, waiting several moments before leading her hand back to her side and slipping it from his grasp. "Thank you for this opportunity your Highness, you have no idea how excited I am to be able to help you feel like this is your home," she repeated her earlier sentiment with a long bow.

"Zuko," he said bluntly, causing her to look up at him from her bow. Her eyebrow cocked slightly and he couldn't help but smirk at the emotion written across her face. "Call me Zuko, none of this your Highness formality."

With reddened cheeks she smiled and nodded her head. He led her back into the ballroom and toward the entrance to the Palace. "Tomorrow then?" she asked as they reached the grand doorway.

"Tomorrow," he said, looking at her intently. "I'm interested to see what you bring me (Y/N)," he bowed to her.

She returned the bow with one final word for farewell, "Zuko." Her lips formed a smirk that Zuko couldn't stop his eyes from studying for as long as he could before she turned and made her way down the steps, internally wondering why this job made her feel all fuzzy inside.

I hope you guys liked it! Please let me know!  Thanks!

Master List

#zuko x reader #zuko x fem!reader #zuko #Fire Lord Zuko #zuko fanfic #avatar the last airbender #avatar #atla #atla fanfiction #avatar fanfiction #Iroh #x reader #after the war #interiordecor #fanfiction #fic #fan fiction #writing #zuko x y/n #zuko x you #atla x reader #atla fluff #zuko fluff #x y/n #firelordzukohere #general iroh

[myhockeyworld87]

Bubble Wrapped - Part 2

Word Count: 4,247

POV: Reader

Warnings: Language, NSFW, Smut, Please read the note in the Masterlist

Teams: Bruins, Caps, Flyers, Lightning and Pens

Notes:  Ok so here we go with Part 2. I hope you guys enjoy this. I’m trying to add some of the suggestions that I’ve gotten in. Please feel free to send me an idea if you have it and I will try and work it in. Also I would love your feedback on this, as well as tell me what players you want to see. With that Happy Reading!!!

As you made your way down the long hallway to Conference Room three, you realized that you didn’t pack enough flats for these next several weeks. If things were going to happen this fast you definitely needed to ditch the heels for a pair of running shoes instead. You couldn’t imagine what had gone wrong in this short amount of time. By your calculations, the Capitals should be in there now having dinner. The Pens were Conference Room one, two was being cleaned from when the Flyers were in there and then the Lightning would go in, and the Bruins should’ve been long out of three before the Caps even went in. Even though you had everything timed out to the minute with ample time in between, you knew things were bound to go wrong, but you didn’t expect to see your conference room in complete shambles.

“What the hell is going on?” you asked Alexis as you took in the room. Food was thrown everywhere. It was on the walls, on the floor, and on the plexiglass where your servers stood; it was even on the players, even though there were only a few of them in the room itself at the moment.

“Well, you see those guys there,” Alexis pointed to a table where David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Charlie Coyle all sat. “They were still eating and I had the room cleaned just like you said, but let them go because the plane was late. I totally thought they’d be done before these guys showed up.” You looked over to where Tom Wilson, TJ Oshie, and Jakub Vrana sat, some green vegetable hanging off the shirt of Oshie. “They said it wouldn’t be a problem and I only left for a second, when I came back they were already throwing food at each other.”

“Where’s the rest of the team?”

“I sent them over to Conference Room one since it’d already been cleared out.”

“Alright, go make sure everything is fine with everyone else and I’ll handle this.” Alexis scurried out of the room, as you surveyed the damage. “Alright which one of you guys started this?” They all acted like you hadn’t said a word. It was seriously like dealing with a bunch of kindergarteners. You walked over to the Bruins table first. “It’s a little ironic is it not, that they call you Pasta?” you said picking noodles off of David Pastrnak, his shoulders shook as he tried to contain his laughter. Maybe you’d have luck with the Caps players. “What about you? You guys have anything to say?” When no one said anything, you had no choice but to say. “Look you know I can go to the league with this and you guys can be sent home.” While it was true that you could do this, you doubted a little good fight was going to get anyone sent back. “But I don’t want to do this, we’re only a few hours into this...guys, can’t we try and make this work?” They seemed to mull this over yet still no one said a word. “Fine, you and you,” you said pointing the Wilson and Pastrnak. “Come with me. The rest of you have five minutes to get to your rooms.”

“Why us?” Pasta asked.

“It’s obvious, you two started it.” They both seemed taken back by the statement, so you explained further. “You both have more food on you than anyone else.”

“Well, she’s not wrong,” Oshie muttered and you were barely able to contain the laughter that bubbled inside you.

“Now, I suggest you get going as your down to four minutes.”

“But I haven’t even got to eat yet,” Vrana whined.

“Call room service.” You then told a few of the staff to clean up the mess and close off the conference room until the morning, then turned to the two culprits that were picking food off themselves to the side. “Come with me.” They turned and followed you up to your suite, which had basically become your makeshift office. Once you were inside, you turned to both of them. “Now, tell me what this is about?”

“No way you have a pool table,” Wilson stated. God, men could be so simple-minded at times. They got so easily distracted.

“Yes, Tom, it’s a pool table. Now can we focus on the matter at hand?”

“I’ll play you? Whoever wins has to follow through with the bet.” Pasta immediately said, as if you weren’t even in the room.

You stuck your thumb and index finger in your mouth, squealing out a high-pitched whistle for the boys’ attention. They both turned in your direction then. “Now that I have your attention. You’re not here to play pool. You’re here to tell me what the hell happened in my conference room and how it will never happen again.”

“You know you’re even hotter when you’re angry.” All you could do was roll your eyes and cross your arms, at Wilson’s comment. He must have noticed your impatience, for he finally added. “Look it’s a stupid bet we had last season, that he didn’t follow through on when he lost, that’s what started the food fight.”

“I didn’t lose.” Pasta insisted. “I won, and you know it.”

“You did not.”

“Woah, stop!” You hollered as the two started to bicker back and forth. “Are you saying this can all be settled with a game of pool?”

“Yeah!” They both answered simultaneously.

“Perfect, then have at it.” You motioned to the pool table and Pasta headed in the direction only to be stopped by Tom’s arm.

“So, what’s in it for us?” He asked.

“I’m sorry what? I’m giving you the opportunity to solve your damn problem.” You fairly spat the words at him.

“Yeah, but you’re also getting something out of this. I’m just thinking that we could all get a little something out of this.” He looked over at Pasta, who seemed to catch on to his meaning.

“What exactly do you want? It’s not like I have a ton to offer, and don’t forget I can still turn you both into the league.”

“Nothing major, just a little kiss.” Why you were surprised when Tom suggested that, you weren’t entirely sure. Let’s face it, you knew they were stuck in this bubble without female companionship. Hell, you were in the same situation, well maybe not the same since you were surrounded by a bunch of hot NHLers. You just didn’t expect this so early in their quarantine here.

“Fine, but after this stupid bet is settled.” They nodded their agreement, then headed over to the pool table. You barely paid attention to the game, texting Alexis to make sure everything was running smoothly downstairs; which it was. It seemed that Pasta was stripes and Wilson was solids, and it definitely seemed like Pasta had the upper hand. When you finally gave your full attention over to the game, you couldn’t help but notice when Tom leaned over the table how nice his ass was. Both men were well-toned and muscular in all the right places and you knew it wouldn’t be a hardship kissing either of them or anything else for that matter. When David stretched out to make a shot, you noticed his tattoos and your fingers itched to trace them. To say you were getting hot and bothered by these two men was an understatement.

The game started to get intense as fewer and fewer balls were on the table. Pasta missed his shot, turning it over to Tom; who literally started to run the table. It was as if he couldn’t miss. Finally, he was down to just the eight ball. If he made the shot, he would win and the game would be over. He took a deep breath, the action making you take notice of how his shirt strained against the muscles of his chest. Lining the cue up, he took the shot, and the black ball sunk into the pocket just like he had called. A bark of laughter left Tom’s lips. “I told you I was the winner before. Pay up Pasta.”

You had to admit, you were curious how much money was on the line that would cause all this trouble. David, for his part, just shook his head and pulled out his phone. It must be a huge sum if he had to transfer it from his bank account. “What do you want me to tweet?”

“I’m sorry did you just say tweet, as in Twitter?”

“Yeah,” Tom said looking at you as if you were the one that was out of your mind and not him. This whole damn mess was over a stupid Twitter message. You literally wanted to scream, but instead, you just listened as Tom told David what to say. “All it has to say is, ‘In my opinion, Tom Wilson is the best goal scorer in the league.’”

“Done,” Pasta announced shoving the phone in Wilson’s face. You had to lean over Tom’s shoulder so that you could see it as well, for you still couldn’t believe your entire conference room was in shambles over something so juvenile.

“Well, now that, that’s settled boys, I assume I won’t have any more problems from the two of you in my hotel.”

“Oh, you still have your part of this bargain,” Tom said, gliding the back of his finger down your arm. You suppressed the shiver the sensation gave you.

“Alright, who’s first then.” You were never one to back down from a bet and this was no exception.

“By all means,” Tom motioned for Pasta to go first.

David took a step toward you, wrapping a strong arm around your waist as he pulled you close to him. Your hand pressed against the rock-hard muscles of his chest before making its way to the back of his neck. He brushed a lock of hair from your face, then placed his hand gently on your cheek to caress it before his lips came down on yours. The kiss was gentle, yet firm at the same time and you opened tentatively so that he could slide his tongue into your mouth. His hand which rested at your back pulled you in closer and you went willingly. You had a feeling if Tom wasn’t watching this would turn into something more than just a kiss. But Tom was watching and waiting, and you weren’t willing to give David anything more with an audience. So you gently broke away, allowing him to chase your lips with a few last kisses.

“You may have won the little pool match Wilson, but I doubt you’ll win anything more with this one here.” Why did everything have to be a competition?

You turned toward Tom, fully expecting him to take you in his arms and kiss you senseless. Instead, he grabbed you around the waist only to whisper low in your ear. “Another time princess, maybe when we don’t have eyes on us.” He released you then but then turned back. “I will be back for that kiss you owe me.”  With that the two left your suite, leaving you a bit dazed and breathless, and longing for that kiss as well.

Shaking yourself, you brought yourself back to the present and what needed to be done at the hotel, instead of daydreaming of what kissing Tom Wilson would be like. A quick call to Alexis told you that all the players had eaten but there were still a few milling about in each of their designated workout areas. You slipped out of your business attire and opted for a comfy pair of leggings with an oversized shirt to make one more round through the hotel before calling it a night.

You ran into Carly in the lobby. “So how’d everything go on your end? Any outlandish requests for something to be brought in?”

“Not so far. I think the Pens want some extra gym equipment, but I’ve got it covered.”

“I knew I put the right woman in charge.”

“Speaking of being in charge? What the hell happened with Conference Room 3?” You rolled your eyes.

“Food fight.”

“Oh, I heard that. I also heard you took two of them to your room?” she wiggled her eyebrows at you suggestively before elbowing you in the ribs.

“Had to get everything straightened out.”

“And…”

“And maybe, I might have kissed one of them.” She gave you a mocked look of shock.

“Nothing else?”

“Not at the moment, though I do owe the other one something, and let me tell you I won’t mind paying off that debt at all.” Just the thought of Tom holding you had you hot and bothered. “And on that note, I’m going to finish up down here before calling it a night. I think Tim has the night shift tonight if anyone needs anything.”

“Yeah, he does. He’s back in the office, making sure things are ready for breakfast. I just told him I was done for the night. I’m heading off to bed, don’t have too much fun down here.”

“Me, what about you, Car? There’s not some hot NHLer waiting in your room?” She headed for the elevators but turned back to answer you.

“Not tonight, but tomorrow could be a whole other story.” With that, she was gone as the elevator doors slid open and shut again.

You headed off to make sure the conference rooms were fine. When you noted that everything was in place, you went to check on the workout rooms. They were supposed to be cleaned periodically throughout the day, but with being open twenty-four seven; you wanted to make sure housekeeping wasn’t slacking. A quick walk past the Capitals and Pens rooms showed that no one was in there and they were spotless. As you went into the Flyers' workout facility, you could see someone inside. You tried to cough discreetly as to not scare them, but they didn’t hear you. The room had a few mirrors around it, but he happened to not be looking in any of them as he was doing squats with some free weights. He had his shirt off and a tight pair of shorts on, that let you see every muscle as he crouched down working on his quads and other various leg muscles. A few droplets of sweat had formed on his body and you itched to dry them off for him. Your mouth went dry the longer you stared at him as you were trying to make out the tattoo on his arm. It was at that moment that he caught you staring, a knowing smiling crossing his face. “Sorry…” you stuttered out after being caught red-handed.

“I’m not.” He dropped the weight down on the bench beside where he was working out before grabbing a towel and wiping off the sweat on his body. “Did you come to use the equipment or did something else bring you here?”

“Something else,” you realized the mistake as soon as the words left your mouth. “I mean…I was…” In a few short steps, he was standing in front of you and suddenly you couldn’t quite remember why you were there.

“Something else works for me.” He leaned his hand against the wall behind your head; his body so close you could feel the heat coming off of it.

Taking a deep breath, you tried to compose yourself, as you didn’t need this man to get under your skin as much as he was. “I was just making sure everything was fine in this room. I didn’t mean to disrupt your workout. I’ll let you get back to it.”

You made a move to back out the door when he grabbed your hand. There was an electricity in his touch and had you both looking down to where his hand touched your body. “Don’t go…I mean, I was done…” It was nice to see he was just as flustered as you were for a moment. It put you both on an even playing ground after you’d been caught staring at him. “I’m Travis by the way, most people call me TK.”

“I know.” You replied, before adding. “Konecny from the Flyers.”

“Well, now you have me at a disadvantage.”

“I’m (Y/N). I manage the hotel.” You said almost extending your hand to shake his and then realizing that wasn’t acceptable at the moment.

“Oh, so you’re the one in my little handbook to call if I have any problems.”

“That’s me. Here to help you in any way I can.” You let the innuendo hang in the air a bit and you saw its meaning wasn’t lost on him.

“So if I told you there was a problem in my room, would you send maintenance to come look at it or would you do a thorough inspection yourself?” Oh, he was smooth, you had to admit that.

“Well, it wouldn’t make sense to call maintenance when I’m right here, now would it?”

A raise of his eyebrows was your answer back before he went over and grabbed his shirt and belongings. “Then I think we should definitely go check out that problem.” His hand went to the small of your back as he led you out of the room and to the elevators. “I’m in room…”

“Five-twenty,” you supplied.

“Should I feel special that you know that?”

“Do you want the honest answer?” He shook his head yes. “No, it’s my job to know who’s in what room. In case you haven’t noticed this whole thing is kind of a big deal. I have all my I’s dotted and my T’s crossed.”

“So you know every guys' room number here?”

“It sounds a little pathetic when you put it that way.” Maybe pathetic wasn’t the right word, but desperate was one you didn’t want to use.

“No, I’m actually impressed.” He tilted his head looking over at you as you pressed the number five in the elevator. “So if I asked you what room Brad Marchand was in you’d say?”

“That I can’t tell you that, but it’s in the teens and about three floors up from you.” He chuckled softly and you realized you liked the sound of his laugh.

The two of you walked in silence the rest of the way to his room. Thankfully, there weren’t any players milling about in the hallway. “This me.” He said when you were in front of his door. He fumbled with the key, then opened it.

“What seems to be the problem? TV not working? View not to your liking?” You teased and he caught on quickly.

“Actually, it’s the mattress. I swore I heard it squeak earlier.” He tossed his t-shirt and keys on the dresser.

You moved to the bed, pressing on the mattress. “Hmm, seems fine now.”

He grabbed at your waist then, pressing you close to his body. “But see, I’m a very active sleeper. You can’t get the full effect unless you’re on the bed.” He tossed you back onto the mattress and a giggle escaped your lips. Travis crawled on the mattress then, stalking his way up your body. “Didn’t seem to do it then either. I think we’re going to have to give it a thorough workout.”

“But of course, I mean I want you to be completely satisfied with our hotel service.” A half-smile appeared on his face for a split second before his lips were crashing down on yours. His lips were soft yet sure, and you opened immediately for him; his tongue sweeping inside to tangle with yours. He was a good kisser, that was your first thought, and you wouldn’t mind just doing this all night. But then he was pressing his hips into your body and realized you wanted more. Your hands glided up his back, feeling his slightly damp skin from his workout.

He finally broke the kiss, both of you needing air. His hands gathered your shirt, but then he stopped himself. “Can I?” You moaned out a yes, wanting as little clothing between your bodies as possible and he hauled you up so he could take the oversized shirt off. “This is pretty.” He commented, while lightly tracing the lace of your bra. “I think I’d like it better off though.” Travis hands worked around to your back unclasping your bra and toss it to the side. “Fuck, these are perfect,” he breathed out as he drank in the sight of your breasts. His mouth was on them then, taking a peaked nipple in his mouth and swirling his tongue around it. A moan left your mouth and you could feel yourself growing wet as he continued to lavish your breasts.

Snaking your hands around his neck, you drew him back down onto the mattress with you. He rolled you both onto your sides, his mouth coming back to yours so he could kiss you again. Neither of you was in a rush, as your hands ghosted along his chest and his played with your nipples. Time sort of stood still, as the two of you just laid there kissing slow and sensually. After a while, Travis pushed you back against the mattress, your legs on either side of his waist. He flexed his hips into your clothed core and you felt a rush of wetness between your spread legs. He continued to roll his hips into you, as his mouth alternated between your breasts. You lay there panting and moaning with each flex. “TK…” you finally breathed out. “Stop teasing.”

“Oh baby, you haven’t seen me tease yet.” As if to prove his words, he sat back on his legs and started to remove your leggings. He only rolled them halfway past your hips, then brought the waistband up before snapping it back down on your core. Heated flooded you there and the moan that left your mouth was almost obscene. “You like that?” and he repeated it one more time before stripping of you of both your panties and legging. “Fuck yeah you do. You’re soaking.” He didn’t have to even touch you to see how wet you were. He wasted no time, inserting two of his fingers in you as his mouth sucked on your clit. You about came off the bed. He continued to work his fingers in and out of your body as his tongue made kitten licks on your nub. You could feel your body tingle as the orgasm started to build. It hovered there, just beyond your reach and you threaded your hands in TK’s hair urging him on; only to have him stop.

“Travis…” you whined out.

His eyebrows shot up. “That’s teasing babe.”  You groaned in frustration as his fingers left your pussy. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it better in a sec.” He pushed his shorts down his hips, then kicked them off. His mouth coming up to cover yours and you could taste yourself on his lips. With one smooth glide forward, his cock pushed into you; your hips rising up to meet him. “Fuck you feel good.” He moaned out, then started to pump in and out of your body. It was a slow pace at first as he was building up a rhythm for the both of you to follow. “Yeah babe, that’s it.” He praised as you met each of his thrusts. The combination of his teasing beforehand and steady pace, had you back on the edge in no time. Travis leaned in close to your body, your faces merely inches away. “Come on baby…I know you’re close….” He sped up then, his cock hitting that sweet spot perfectly. “That’s it.” You went to scream as a wave of pleasure washed over your body, but he captured your mouth swallowing the sound down as he came with you. He pumped inside you a few times, just reveling in the feel of your pussy clenching around him, before breaking the kiss so you both could breathe. When he was finally spent, he collapsed onto his side, rolling you with him. “That was…”

“Mmm, I agree.” You whispered back. “Though I don’t think your mattress has any problems.”

He laughed and you felt the vibrations in your body, as he held you close to him. “Who could tell with all your moaning.” He teased back then flicked your nose.

“Me? I wasn’t the only one.”

He shrugged a shoulder as if he didn’t want to admit he was just as loud as you. “Hope the walls are thick here.”

“They’re decent, just don’t give me away if Hart asks you any questions in the morning.”

He laughed out a, “never.” You pecked him on the lips, then started to get out of bed. “Where are you going?”

“I’ve got things to do.”

“Things or other people?” You couldn’t quite tell if he was teasing or jealous.

“Things… but you have my number if the mattress suddenly starts squeaking again.” You gave him a wink as you shimmied on your leggings and threw on your shirt.

He grabbed your hand and brought you down so your face was inches from him. “I have a feeling it may act up again.” His lips were on yours kissing you hard and fast.

“I’ll be waiting for your call.” With that you headed out the door, quietly shutting it before walking down to the elevator. Well, day one was definitely interesting. You couldn’t wait to see what day number two would bring.

#bubble wrapped series #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #nhl fanfic #nhl smut #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction #hockey smut #David pastrnak imagine #tom wilson imagine #travis konecny imagine #Pittsburgh Penguins fanfiction #Pittsburgh Penguins imagine #Pittsburgh Penguins imagines #Washington Capitals imagines #washington capitals imagine #Boston Bruins Imagine #Boston Bruins Imagines #Philadephia Flyers imagine #Philadephia Flyers imagines #Tampa Bay Lightning imagine #Tampa Bay Lightning imagines

[masterjedilenawrites]

Blueberries and Cowboys: Chapter 1

A choose-your-own-adventure style fic. First, 2 platonic chapters for set-up/build-up. And then, the story will split into 2 paths depending on your romantic pairing preference: You and Thrawn, or You and Eli.

Set Up: You are an outcast at the Imperial Academy, which means your only options for friends are the tall and stoic Chiss Mitth'raw'nuruodo and his translator from Wild Space Eli Vanto. The three of you get along, for the most part... Thrawn is obsessed with acing all the exams, Eli is desperate to show up his classmates, and you... well, you just want to feel like you belong somewhere. And hiding beneath it all are your unspoken feelings, longing to be realized, but fearful of ruining the balance of your trio's friendship....

Chapter Masterlist

Chapter 1: The Problem

Pairing: None yet, just a nice friendship trio

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of bullying

Length: 2k

AO3 Link (In case you like it better over there, it’s okay, no judgement)

You wound down the hallways of the building with a scowl on your face. You would never grow used to this ridiculously long walk, from your first class of the day to the next, so conveniently located on complete opposite sides of the facility. Whoever had designed your schedule this year was either an utter imbecile or had done so on purpose, just to tick you off. At this point in your education here at the Imperial Academy, you knew either scenario was equally likely. You weren't exactly liked by the staff or your peers, and there were plenty of idiots to go around.

The one saving grace of your journey was that you would eventually cross paths with the only two friends you had managed to make in this elitist hell-hole: Eli Vanto and Mitth'raw'nuruodo.

Eli would be the first, his class letting out just a few corridors away from yours. He was leaning against an alcove in the wall just out of the way of passing traffic, his usual spot. When you rounded the corner, he pushed off and fell into step beside you.

"What happened?" you asked, having noticed he was scowling as well. His resting face usually made him look like a sad puppy, so for him to have such a prominent frown this early in the morning, something really upsetting must have happened.

"Lost the debate," he grumbled.

Ah, you'd forgotten he had that today. You and Thrawn had helped him practice for weeks, covering every possible argument and rebuttal from his opponent on the assigned topic. He had it in the bag, or so you'd all thought.

"What? How? Don't tell me you got stage-fright."

He glared over at you. "No, I wasn't nervous or anything. I did everything perfect. But all Arden had to do was throw in a few snide remarks about my accent and that got the whole class turned in his favor."

Eli started biting down on one of his nails in frustration. You frowned along with him. That was a variable none of you had accounted for while practicing.

"Is Arden the pimply-faced guy?"

"Yeah."

"Hate him," you muttered.

"Yeah."

The two of you paused at the doors of a lift, waiting for the previous occupants to exit before filing in yourselves and punching the button for the next level up. Eli was still chewing on his nails.

"Stop," you exclaimed, swatting his hand away from his mouth. "I told you that's a bad habit."

"Oh yeah, what's this then?" He grabbed one of your hands and twisted it around so you could see the splotches of chipped polish on your nails.

You jerked your hand away and held it defensively against your chest. "There's only so much I can do with this insane caseload, okay? I haven't had time to think about my nails."

"Then why'd you paint 'em in the first place?" he said with a bit of a laugh. Well, at least his mood was improving, even if it was at your expense. 

You swatted at him just as the lift doors opened. "Maybe I want to try feeling pretty sometimes, not like some zombie student."

You both were keenly aware that the cadets waiting to board the lift had backed up significantly as you passed, despite not having been in your way at all. They were all whispering too, and by the tone, it was probably not about very nice things. It was always like that, wherever you went. Even if they didn't know your reputations of being from wild, "backwater" planets, they need only hear one of you speak to know you were different. And in these Core worlds, different was inferior.

"You know you don't have to follow our course map, right?" Eli spoke up again, once you'd put some distance between the lift of sneering cadets. "Me, I don't have a choice. Thrawn's determined to graduate in as little time as possible, and I'm the sorry sucker who has to follow 'im. I'd run far away from the guy if I were you. Enjoy your freedom."

Eli complained about the last member of your trio, Thrawn, at least six times a day. And half of those complaints ended with him telling you to make a break for it. You knew he didn't mean any of it; the two of you had spent the last holiday break at a bar, and in his drunkenness, Eli had confessed to being secretly grateful for having met the Chiss. He only complained to cope with the stress.

And you... well, you weren't really sure why they let you hang around. They'd both easily become your closest friends, but you weren't always sure where you stood with them. Maybe they did like your company. Or maybe they just felt sorry for you. They were both friendly enough, allowing you to join them on Thrawn's "fast track" out of the Academy. But you had a feeling that as soon as you all graduated, they'd leave you behind and move on to whatever mission the Emperor had planned for Thrawn in the Navy.

You tried not to think about it too much.

Speaking of your friend, Mitth'raw'nuruodo emerged from a classroom doorway just a few paces ahead. Right on time, as always. His specialized "tactical statistics" class ended several minutes ago, but he had learned to carefully time your path so he wouldn't have to stand awkwardly in the hall waiting. It was for the best; you and Eli may sometimes draw unwanted attention, but poor Thrawn always stood out like a very big, very blue sore thumb.

"We have a problem," he stated, coming up on your other side. You never had to ask Thrawn what was wrong; if he had a problem worth sharing, you would hear about it.

"Hallway problem or 'fresher problem?" asked Eli.

You'd all agreed long ago there were some topics of conversation best had out of earshot from any passerby. And since most scurried out of the refresher whenever Thrawn went in, that became the only suitable place for such conversations, if it couldn't wait until your dorms at the end of the day.

"Refresher," Thrawn said. He looked down at you. "You'll be late for your class."

You shrugged. "If it's important...."

"It is."

You trusted him; he wasn't the type to make up drama or blow things out of proportion. The three of you picked up the pace, turning right instead of the usual left, and slipping into the men's bathroom. Thankfully it was already empty. Eli turned the lock just in case.

Thrawn wasted no time diving into the particulars. "I have come to learn our flight instructor, Commander Burdick, intends to sabotage my simulation tests next month. He is acquainted with Admissions Supervisor Aberdeen and understands that a failing mark will require a remedial course before being allowed back into the program. This would set my graduation back several months."

That was a problem. The flight course was one of the longer ones, and mandatory, and you were all so close to finally being through with it. Just one more round of simulation tests and then an actual flight around Coruscant.

Eli was groaning by the door. "You've gotta be kidding."

"I am not," said Thrawn in a measured voice. He knew it was just an expression, but you knew it was one of his pet peeves.

Eli wasn't listening, instead kicking at the tiled floor and mumbling about how this was so typical and why can't we just be left alone.

You turned to Thrawn. "Just you?"

"The ill will seems to be mostly directed toward me. Supervisor Aberdeen does not appreciate the special provisions that have been afforded me on behalf of the Emperor, and has coerced Commander Burdick to indulge in his spitefulness. However, I would not put it past them to also have plans for either of you, as well. They are aware of our... connection."

You were certain he was about to say friendship but changed his mind. Did he not know the word for it? Was he too embarrassed to admit it? Or did he truly not see you or Eli as anything more than connections?

"Okay, but..." Eli was still processing things. "How? What's their plan?"

"I purposefully said the Commander intended to sabotage the tests. He does not yet have a plan."

"So... we stop 'im," said Eli.

"Or," you countered, a mischievous smirk playing about your lips. "We don't."

Eli merely blinked at you, but Thrawn was very interested. "Go on," he encouraged.

"If we learn what the plan is, or maybe even give him a plan of our own, then we can let it play out and ensure he gets in trouble for it."

Thrawn rubbed his chin as he considered. You knew he'd soon slip into his usual routine of pacing and muttering in unknown languages, which could take a while and make you even later for your class. You cleared your throat, drawing his two red eyes back to yours.

"Surely a Commanding Officer wouldn't dare do anything to sabotage you directly," you offered. "He'll either look for some help or pin it on someone else, in case there's an investigation."

Thrawn rubbed his chin again. "You think we should influence the Commander on who to pick to be his... what do you call it, ensipki?"

"Scapegoat," Eli said quickly. It was becoming second nature for him to translate what was left of the holes in Thrawn's understanding of Basic.

"Right, and then we can expose the deception just before the tests," you said. "Before there's time to come up with another plan."

Thrawn's eyes narrowed in thought. "A decent idea, but it would require the education of one of our fellow cadets to be jeopardized. It should not be our first plan."

"But if he's going to use one of them anyway..." you started to protest.

"Then we should seek to expose his connection to that person as well. This is an instructor who is not serving the best interest of several of his students. He should be the only one blamed."

You weren't going to let his logic win this time. As far as you could tell, this was a perfect opportunity to get revenge on your obnoxious classmates. "It's going to be a lot easier to take issue up with the Board against a student than an instructor. We can try to expose both people, but if we can't, then at least we can nail one of them. It's called a scapegoat for a reason."

Eli spoke up before Thrawn could respond, throwing you a meaningful look. "Arden's in his class. Different time, same instructor."

"Who is this Arden?" asked Thrawn.

"The racist asshole who unfairly stole Eli's grade on the debate today," you said. You'd picked your words deliberately, and it did the trick.

"Very well. We have our scapegoat," said Thrawn.

You winked at Eli and he hid a smile.

"So," Thrawn continued, fully invested now. "We will need to push Arden toward the Commander as a viable accomplice. We will need to gain insight into the details of their plan. And then we will need to ensure those details are brought to light at the right moment."

The three of you looked among each other. This was probably the tenth plan this year alone that you'd all devised to take care of some kind of "problem." Just last week Thrawn  had discovered misinformation in one of your textbooks that took the three of you on a field trip to the lower levels of Coruscant to find a con-artist who'd sold a quarter-hundred counterfeit materials to the Academy library. You'd only had the weekend to catch up on all the rest of your homework, and here you all were again, ready to jump into another scheme.

You had suggested the idea, so you were already grinning and ready to go. Thrawn had just put together a to-do list, and you could almost see the gears in his head continuing to spin as he determined more points to the plan.

The deciding vote was Eli. Though he often complained about not having a choice, you and Thrawn rarely forced him to do anything and were always respectful if he had a differing opinion. This time, you had a feeling he'd be on board.

He set his hands on his hips and smirked. "Disgracing a shitty classmate and a shitty teacher in order to save our grades? Let's do it."

Next Chapter: The Plan >

#star wars #thrawn #eli vanto #thrawn x reader #eli vanto x reader #choose your own adventure #friendship #romance #mitth'raw'nuruodo

[agreatbigworldn]

She is the center of reference of the League and its good role as Barça has made it indisputable for Lluís Cortés. María Pilar León, Mapi (Zaragoza, 1995), will be reunited with her former team, Atlético de Madrid, in the league classic this Wednesday (7pm, BarçaTV). She can't stand losing. "I'm not doing well," he says. With all the games won this season and a great football display, Barça are the favorites.

How are you managing to make everything so different this year?

What I have to do, like the rest of my teammates, is adapt. In the end whoever adapts faster to this situation will not succeed more but will be the one who will have the best chance of doing so. In the end it’s not up to us, and as much as it may bother you to change all the plans, that’s what it is. It’s best to accept it, not get angry and focus on the next game.

Barça arrives at the match against Atlético de Madrid with a week off after the postponement of the previous two matches. Is it feasible for the competition to propose the matches taking into account how the schedule is?

I do not think so. It doesn't make much sense to me that every time there is a positive case in a team, the game is postponed. It's just that we still won't play all year. I think in the end it should be like the male: that there are two who have tested positive, because those two are isolated and the rest to play. Obviously there is risk, as in everything, but if some tests are done and a positive one comes out and the match is suspended, we will still continue with this League in three years.

You played for Atlético de Madrid for three seasons. That’s when you reconverted to central.

It changes a lot. When you're used to being hooked on the band ... there you know there's nothing else. You have fewer open fronts because you have the band there, and that’s people who can’t come from behind, but it’s also true that you’re more cornered. What I did is adapt as best I could and immediately take profile, and position automatisms, practice them more. And stay tuned. Responsibility on the field also changes from a midfield player to a winger.

The transfer of Atlético de Madrid to Barça was bitter. Has this perception changed over time?

No, every time I remember the signing, it remains bitter. That won’t change, because when it happened it was like that. Obviously I’m very happy to be here, one thing doesn’t take away from the other. But the change itself, as I lived those months with everything I had to endure… I’m not saying it was all their fault, in the end I had a year left on my contract and it’s normal, because it was a process, but I think it could have been made a lot easier.

This will be your fourth season as a Barça player. Is it the Barça style, the Mapi style?

Yes, totally [laughs]. I love playing Barça style, really. It represents me a lot, I am very happy playing like this. Now it would cost me to play another style. If I were asked to do long balls now I would say "Ugh!" Obviously this has to be done at some point, especially depending on how you play, that's for sure. What happens is that you have to decide well when to play short and when to play long.

You are always seen laughing, joking… but when you enter the field that changes.

It’s not that I change it because I want to, it’s that it comes naturally to me. I am a very competitive person. It changes me on its own: it’s competition and I hate losing… I don’t get along very well. Obviously there are always times for some joke, especially depending on how the match goes. But if it goes wrong or regulates the match, you won’t see me laugh. I hate losing with all my might [laughs]. By my noses, I will do everything in my hands or feet to bring the most to the team and to help my teammates.

In recent years you have made a great qualitative leap. Does this way of playing also give you more peace of mind when facing matches?

Yes, yes, of course. The Champions League final match was a turning point. We said, "This is the level we want and we have to work hard to get there." From that day on, the team, both the staff and the players, set out to work hard every day to, little by little, get the rhythm and physique that we could sometimes miss. From there we decided to work and obviously now, after all the work done, we do feel much better physically.

Do you notice much physical difference between the teams of the Champions and the Iberdrola League?

In the Spanish league they may not be such physical teams. You know that even if the other team starts the game very strong, as the minutes go by everyone gets more and more tired. And more if we play a good game and have possession of the ball. My position requires me to be attentive and smarter than my front and read the game better. In the end, if I have to react at the same time as her, she will surely win me over; they are usually faster.

Do you think that the rivalry with Atlético has attenuated with the arrival of Real  Madrid in the League?

To me he is a partisan; we have had many years of rivalry. Even when I was at Atlético and it started to grow, it was already a big rivalry. It is a match in which even if the opposing team does not go through its best moment, you are aware that it will be different. Even if they lead two regular games, you know they will fight to the death and even with a plus.

Keep some spectacular records this early in the season. You have won all matches with a minimum of 4 goals difference and you have not conceded a goal. How is this done?

Up in the field they are coming in and behind us we are very solid, which is what we have to do. We have to be attentive every game because many teams want to play against us and catch us in the transitions. Our pressure always starts after the loss, if after losing the ball you have players upstairs who are already biting you to get the ball back… That, in the end, when we train we suffer, and you say, "Come on, other blow to retrieve the ball ". Psychologically you are running out.

The defense plays a major role in this 21-0 run in goals this season. In the match against Atlético you can break the record of 9 games without fitting. Is it feasible?

We need to make a good match and worry about ourselves. We know that Atletico Madrid is very dangerous against. He has very fast players and we will have to be super attentive and help each other a lot. That can break us, of course. They are a very good team, and they have players who will give you chances. It will depend on small details, that we are very attentive. In the end the teams also play and it’s not that you say “They won’t score”. Oysters, I hope they don’t score. That we will work so that it does not happen or happens as little as possible, yes. Now, there are times when it not only depends on us exclusively, they also have successes.

In all the time you’ve been in Primera, have you seen the League improve?

I started in Primera in Zaragoza, imagine if it rained. I think things could be done much better, but we are on the way. What we have to do is train, work and show that we are worthwhile and that we know how to play. Which I think has already become clear.

Irene Lozano, president of the Superior Sports Council, stated that next year the First Iberdrola will be a professional league. Do you see it feasible?

If she said that I guess it must be for something. I'd rather be told, "Girl, I don't see it, you won't be a professional," than they should be told, "Yes, yes, next year you'll be a professional," and not. I'd rather you tell me the truth, like it or not. I guess if she said it, it must be true. In the end she said it publicly, now let’s see. I hope she comply.

In the end you have shown a level and you need to be recognized.

Totally. This is the same as what is happening now with covid. Why don't they follow the same protocols? Why do the rules seem to change every day? This should be better regulated. The same does not apply to men's football as to women's football. Because? What's the difference?

#primera iberdrola #mapi leon #FCB #FC Barcelona #fcb femeni #fcbworld #fcbfemeni #fcb femini #Atletico de Madrid #Club Atletico de Madrid #Maria Leon

[quicksiluers]

the silly story of grant being over everyone (rawlins) trying to mother hen him but sherman being like “yeah but i can annoy you enough to let me help you out” .........enjoy?

The Mississippi sun was sweltering. Sherman took off his hat, wiping the sweat from his forehead that had been building up throughout his ride. Whoever decided on the dark blue uniforms they had to wear didn’t seem to account for the strong summer sun that they were all suffering through.

They were 20 days into this siege around Vicksburg and he wouldn’t admit it out loud, but it was exhausting. They had tried to attack the fortifications twice but each time they were repulsed. It cut deeply at him that they couldn’t breakthrough. It irked him even more that there were rumors that McClernard tried to take credit for some kind of breakthrough down on his portion of the ground. He’d string up the politician if he could, but he knew better. 

The man was still a snake as far as Sherman was concerned. 

A group of tents appeared over the small ridge his horse trotted up, soldiers and orderlies walking by him or saluting. Grant’s camp was always busy. One of the perks of being a corps commander was not having to deal with all the extra nonsense. Between the reporters, Washington, and all the other nuisances, he didn’t know how it all didn’t drive the younger general crazy.

Then again, this was Grant he was talking about. An artillery shell could explode next to him and the man wasn’t phased. 

An orderly came up and grabbed the reins of Sherman’s horse, who climbed off and pulled a cigar from his breast pocket. He worked lighting the cigar as he glanced around. The familiar head of brown hair wasn’t too hard to spot for when he was looking for Rawlins. Where Rawlins was, Grant wasn’t usually far behind. The men were almost attached at the hip. 

Yet he heard nothing from Grant’s tent, didn’t even hear the familiar string of curses that seemed to follow Rawlins as he paced around. He turned around, puffing on his cigar, and spotted a small group standing around a table. And he recognized one of them

Comstock. Perfect.

“Comstock!” Sherman started over to the group, the younger man turning to him. A hint of annoyance flashed on his face which made Sherman smirk. The guy was new but he was all business. It was something he appreciated. 

“General Sherman, what can I help you with?” 

“I was looking for General Grant...or Rawlins, either of them really.”

“They’re just finishing up looking over some of the fortifications over at McPherson’s front, we actually just arrived back there a short while ago,” Comstock shrugged, “I would expect them back any minute.”

“They still working on those mines?”

“Yes sir,” the young man smirked, an eyebrow raised, “General Grant is working on making sure that Captain Hickenlooper doesn’t get himself blown up on the process.”

A cloud of dust and hooves pounding against the dirt road caught his and Comstock’s attention. Sherman chewed on his cigar as he watched a group of cavalry officers slow down and trot into camp. He couldn’t help the smile that crept on his lips as he watched Grant ride up behind them, Rawlins right beside him. And the younger man didn’t seem to be pleased. 

As he walked closer to the pair, he watched Grant graceful unmount his horse with ease. Rawlins, in his excited state, had a bit more trouble, his boots landing on the ground with a bit more force than needed. 

It wasn’t hard hearing their one-sided conversation. “Sir you can’t just…be that close to the line! You’ve been doing i-”

Grant turned his head and fixed Rawlins with a hard stare, “I know where and where not to be on the line, John.”

Rawlins tensed up, his face flushing, but his eye caught Sherman as he approached. He deflated, “Of course sir.”

“Go down to McClernard’s line and see if Wilson has any updates,” Grant ordered, passing the reins to a waiting orderly, “bring him back up here. He doesn’t need to be down there the entire day.”

Rawlins stared at Grant for a long moment, his jaw tense, before he reluctantly nodded, “Yes sir.”

Sherman hung back, fidgeting around with his cigar. Rawlins shot one last look at Grant, then Sherman briefly, before he climbed back on his horse. He knew better than to step in between those two when there was something going on. Being on the other end of John Rawlins’ wrath was a place he didn’t like to be in. 

Grant turned, a startled look in his eyes before he schooled his expression, “Sherman...have you been here long?”

“No, I just arrived before you got here,” Sherman waved his hand, wafting the smoke from his face, “If I knew you had been gone…”

“It’s fine. Let’s get out of this sun.”

Walking together to his tent, Sherman was quick to notice the younger man’s face pinch slightly. There was also a small scratch on his cheek, a little swipe of blood staining it. He brushed off the concern. It wasn’t as if it could kill him.  

“McPherson’s still working on that mine...,” Grant advised, passing through the tent opening and into the shaded area, “I haven’t set a date yet...they’re still working on how far they can dig toward the rebels line.”

“Would it just be in one area?”

“Yes, but I think we’ll have artillery going on along your and McClernard’s fronts at the same time.” The commanding general took off his hat, that pinched expression flashing on his face again. Sherman noted that he placed the hat rather gingerly down on the table. 

He raised an eyebrow at that, pulling the cigar from his mouth. “How was Mac’s line? Anything pestering him down there?”

“No...just sharpshooters, per usual.”

Grant sunk into his chair, lightly cradling his right wrist. It was a subtle motion but having been around him for so long, Sherman was able to pick it up. The Rawlins argument clicked in his head. 

“You didn’t happen to...by chance...get shot at by one of these sharpshooters did you?”

The glare Grant’s blue eyes leveled at him would have thrown off anyone else. Hell, the first time he had gotten it, it had thrown him off. It wasn’t a look that Sherman often saw except for when Grant was reaching his tipping point. And the tipping point was not somewhere he normally wanted to be. 

But he was never one to back down from a challenge, “You’re too valuable to be in that kind of dan-”

“I know what I am General.”

Oh boy. Well. This wasn’t going well. 

“I know you know sir.”

Grant bristled up on his chair, unconsciously rubbing his wrist, “Then there is no need to talk about it.”

A wave of annoyance washed over him. Grant had told him to be careful just over a week ago and now he didn’t want to take the same advice? Sherman took in Grant’s appearance, looking beyond the cradled wrist and scratched face. His hands had white bandages wrapped around them. The circles under his eyes seemed darker as well. Was he taking care of himself? It seemed beyond Sherman that Rawlins, who practically watched every move the general made, would let that happen. 

But then Rawlins’ frustrated face came to his mind. The curt reply, the ease in which he seemed to give up his fight with Grant. Maybe he had been trying to take care of Grant and the man just wasn’t letting him do it. He was stubborn as a mule at times. 

It was something he was sure that Ellen could relate to when it came to dealing with him.

“With all due respect....sir,” Sherman pressed, taking a step forward, “I hate to be so blunt but you look like absolute shit.”

The two generals stared at each other, the silence growing tense. Maybe he overstepped his bounds. Grant was still his superior officer, even though they were close. But dammit he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. They couldn’t have Grant acting like this. He was the rock of this army. And if something were to happen, McClernard would be the highest-ranking out of the three corps commanders and Sherman would rather roll over dead than take orders from that weasel.

A light laugh broke up his spiraling thoughts. Grant’s stern expression was gone, his shoulders slumping back into the chair, “I can’t argue with that…”

Sherman perked up, “I mean you could…”

“Would you like me to?”

The redhead shrugged, “It’s up to you, sir.”

Grant rolled his eyes, “You can be exhausting.”

“But that’s why you love me,” he stated matter of factly, walking over to the table. He grabbed the opposite chair and sat back in it, grinning more with Grant’s second eye roll.

“Don’t push your luck.”

They both laughed, Sherman’s overpowering Grant’s. This was more like it. The younger man seemed more at ease now, flexing his fingers ever so often. That small wall he seemed to always have up was lowered a bit. Sherman took small pride in that. Grant was a hard man to read, even for him. But there were times that he could see through...and see someone who was as stressed and tired as he was.

“Rawlins...he means well. And I appreciate that. But he can be…,” Grant paused, waving his hand absentmindedly. 

“Overbearing? Like a mother hen?”

“Do you say those things behind his back?” the younger general asked with a raised eyebrow. Sherman shrugged again, “I just say what I see.”

Grant chuckled softly, resting his arm on the table. “We were down along the lines...there was more activity than I think he liked. A few shots went off close to us and he just...tackled me to the ground.”

Sherman stared at him for a long moment, processing. “He...tackled you to the ground?”

The commanding general nodded.

He snorted, covering his mouth to muffle his laughter. The image was almost too comical. 

“He meant well, but I don’t need my chief of staff throwing me to the ground and sitting on top of me.”

Sherman snorted again, leaning forward and hiding his face. He wouldn’t mind being on top of Grant. 

Wait. 

No. 

Brush that thought away immediately. 

Calming himself, were his cheeks flushed?, he sat back up and looked over at Grant. The younger man was looking at him expectantly, a hint of a smile on his lips. 

“I assume,” Sherman remarked, tapping his hand on the table near Grant’s arm, “That’s how your arm or wrist started to bother you?”

The general drummed his fingers lightly on the desk, the small pinch back on his face briefly. He would take that as a yes.

“I fell on it awkwardly...scratched my palms a bit,” he moved his hand, the bandages shifting, “Rawlins tried to make up for it, but I didn’t mention my wrist.”

“Why not?”

“He’d have probably thrown me in an ambulance cart and I wasn’t about to let that happen.”

“True,” Sherman nodded, turning in the chair. He held out his hand across the table, “You should probably get it looked at though.”

Grant tilted his head slightly, “By you?”

“Well if you don’t want Rawlins to find out.”

Grant pulled up his coat and shirt sleeve up to his elbow. The bandages around his hand were haphazard at best and Sherman got to work unwrapping them first. The cuts couldn’t be that bad. He placed the bandages to the side and gently tugged Grant’s hand closer to him, looking over the palm and up to the wrist. There were hints of black and blue already forming around the area. 

“Well, you definitely hurt it.”

“Next thing you’ll tell me the sky is blue.”

Sherman huffed, turning his wrist gently over in his hand, “I am older, so I do happen to be wiser.”

Grant hummed, carefully flexing his fingers. That was good at least. Maybe it was just bruising, a possible sprain. 

“I can make you a splint, so you can at least keep it from getting worse,” he reassured, “I don’t think it’s hurt too much, more of a nuisance than anything else.”

Sherman got up, busying himself with looking around the tent for supplies. Bandages, check. Something that looked like a split, sure. He tried to think what else he would need, thought back to when he was younger, and would...accidentally fall out of a tree or do something else dumb to hurt himself. Most times Ellen or John were there, scolding him. The memory made him chuckle.

It took him a moment to realize that Grant had all this stuff at the ready, lying around his tent. Why visit the medical area when all of it is available at your fingertips? He glanced back quickly at the other man, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be sinking down lower in his chair. 

When was the last time he got some proper sleep?

“You’re in luck, for I happen to be a master at this sort of thing,” Sherman proclaimed, sitting back down at the table. Grant blinked, a little groggy at first before his gaze fell back on the other man. 

“Should I be surprised?”

“A bit more grateful perhaps,” he unraveled some of the bandages, working to find one of the right lengths, “I am helping you from feeling the wrath of your chief of staff.”

Grant outstretched his hand again and stayed silent as Sherman wrapped the bandages around his palm and then his wrist. The trick was making it tight enough to keep anything from moving but not making it uncomfortable or bothersome. John had wrapped his ankle once and it lasted all of five seconds before Sherman tore the thing off because it was too tight.

His leg bounced up and down at he worked. The silence was killing him. Grant had a tendency to just sit quietly, sometimes for long periods of time, which Sherman just couldn’t comprehend. How did his mind not race with every outcome that could happen at their next turn? He couldn’t understand it, the sheer idea of being with his own thoughts scared him half to death at times. It’s one of the reasons he never shut up. 

“Was there a reason you came by today?”

Sherman glanced up from the splint, “I’m sorry?”

“You obviously came to my headquarters to talk about something,” Grant stated matter of factly, his eyebrow risen slightly, “Was there a specific thing that you needed to speak with me about?”

His hands paused, slightly stunned from the question. Why had he come to headquarters?

Nothing sprung to mind. Shit. 

“I just wanted to come and check-in with how things were,” he replied nonchalantly, working to keep the splint in place, “I thought it would be better to discuss it in person.”

No reply came from the younger general and Sherman focused back on his work. It wasn’t technically a lie, a bit of a half-truth really. He had been getting updates through courier messages the past week which was fine. But even though their bases weren’t that far away, he hadn’t seen Grant in much of that time. 

It’s not like it bothered him.

That would be ridiculous. 

He pulled the end of the cloth through the knot, finishing off the work. “That should do it. Doesn’t look too bad if I do say so myself.”

Grant flexed his fingers, eyeing up the bandages. “Don’t flatter yourself too much,” he replied dully, working to suppress a smirk, “Thank you. I do appreciate it.”

“Of course,” Sherman dug into his breast pocket, pulling out two cigars. He offered one to Grant, who happily accepted. The smoked filtered through the air, the calming feeling slowly coming over him. There were few things that matched up to a good southern cigar. Those assholes were good for at least this one thing.

Grant blew out the smoke carefully, fiddling with the cigar. “There was something I wanted to discuss with you.”

Sherman perked up at that, sitting up a bit straighter in his chair, “What about?”

“Joe Johnston is still out by Jackson somewhere...we’ve gotten a few reports that he’s gathering up more soldiers,” he paused, tilting his head toward Sherman, “Halleck is sending the IX corps to help support the siege. I was planning on sending them to guard the Big Black River, so we have a force between ourselves and him. And I was thinking that you,” he tapped his fingers on the table for emphasis, “would take over that core and keep an eye on him.”

Silence hung in the room, the two men staring at each other. Sherman had to fight back the disappointment. He was being sent off again? “When are they expected?”

“Halleck said to expect them in the next week or so...depends on the rails, weather…” Grant trailed off, pulling the cigar from his mouth, “I know you would be able to handle them. They’re from the east, it’s a bit different out here. And I know you can keep Johnston busy if he does try anything.”

He knew he should take the compliments in stride. Grant was putting his faith in him, knew that Sherman could complete the task. But that didn’t stop the dread he felt. He wanted to be here when the city fell, not back at the Big Black River. He wanted to ride in at Grant’s side when they took Vicksburg, to prove those damn newspapers and critics wrong. Here he was, the supposed “insane” man riding in victorious, taking the Gibraltar of the Confederacy.  

It was selfish. But dammit couldn’t he be selfish?

Grant tossed the butt of his cigar onto the ground, crushing it with the heel of his boot. “It wouldn’t be for another week. We’ll have time to go over plans of how to keep him back. Pemberton can’t stay cooped up in that city for much longer...we just have to outlast him.” 

Sherman nodded, working the cigar in his mouth. He would do it, but dammit he wouldn’t be happy about it. Not that he would let Grant know that. 

They sat in silence, the smoke from his cigar coming out faster. He chewed at the end, grinding his teeth to mask the disappointment. 

Rising from his chair, Grant carefully rolled down his blouse sleeve then coat sleeve to cover the splint. Sherman caught a little hint of red on the palm. Maybe he should have taken a closer look at those scratches. 

“Thank you for help with the splint, you didn’t need to,” Grant glanced up at him, shoving his good hand into his pocket, “I know that you can keep Johnston back. I wouldn’t have asked anyone else.”

“Of course,” he tossed his cigar to the side and rose up, hands resting on his hips, “The man didn’t put up much a fight when we took Jackson. I don’t expect we’ll see much more from whatever he’s trying to plan back there.”

“It’s best just to be alert.”

“Are you that worried about him?” Sherman asked, slightly surprised. 

Grant frowned, as if the question bothered him, “I just want to be prepared. We can’t have any surprises. Now when we’re right at their door.”

The scourge of reporters that filtered around camp popped in Sherman’s mind. Not only them but that little spy Charles Dana. They all knew what he was here for, though it was never said out loud. One false move from Grant could send Dana running to the telegram and sending God knows what back to Washington. 

Snakes, all of them really. He’d like to throw them and McClernard into the river. See how they dealt with that.

Grant took his hand from his pocket, gently rubbing his eyes, “Sieges just take time…,” he paused, catching himself mid-yawn. He ran his hand through his hair a few times, tugging on the ends. An odd tick that Sherman noticed when he tried to keep himself alert, “You have to account for everything.”

The drowsy expression that came over the younger man’s face almost made Sherman laugh. With his hair a bit messed up, Grant looked pretty cute. 

Stop. 

Not this again.

“Have you accounted for maybe taking a nap?” Sherman asked, pushing his thoughts to the farthest corners of his mind. 

“Now you do sound like Rawlins,” Grant muttered, the frown looking more like a pout. 

“I could start cursing, really bring that energy.”

“Funny,” Grant waved him off and walk to the other side of the tent, looking over some papers left on a different desk, “I have other things to do…being commander of an army doesn’t really allow for naps.”

There was that stubbornness again. It was almost like trying to argue with a wall. And Sherman had tried it a few times, much to his own dismay. 

But what the hell. Grant looked like he was five steps away from falling face-first into the ground. Better to force a nap on him than have all those reporters think he was drunk.

He would make heads roll the moment he saw them trying to scratch that ridiculous story in their dumb little journals. 

Sherman followed him across the room, Grant’s gaze down on a worn-out letter. There was a handful of papers like it down on the desk, strewn around in a somewhat disorganized manner. 

“Why don’t you have Rawlins or Wilson go through these while you try to take a nap?” Sherman asked, taking a few papers in his hand, “I’m sure they can take care of something this small.”

Blue eyes flickered up to him, eyebrows pinched together, “Rawlins and Wilson aren’t currently here. And I can take care of my personal mail.”

Personal mail…shit.

The letters found their way gently back to the desk, Sherman recalculating his strategy. “I’m sure Mrs. Grant would feel better knowing that you were getting enough sleep during the day.”

Now Grant looked annoyed, his focus squarely on Sherman, “Mrs. Grant knows that her husband is a very busy man and can only get so much sleep. And it’s perfectly fine with her.”

“Is it?”

His eye twitched and Sherman held up his hands, knowing when he was defeated, “Fine. Fine, sorry I asked.”

Grant brushed the letters over with his bad hand, stacking them in a somewhat neat pile. He sighed, his fingers tapping the desk lightly. His mouth was pulled down into a frown, his eyes passing between the letters and the canvas of the tent off to the side. 

Sherman hung back, watching him. He’d pushed his luck. Should have known better honestly. But Grant needed to hear it from someone other than Rawlins. Overbearing as the younger man was, he did always have the commanding general’s health in mind. 

“I’ll…find some time to sleep a little more today,” the young general muttered, “There are things I have to do first.”

Score one for being annoyingly persistent. Sherman kept his face schooled, nodding, “Of course.”

“I’m sure you have better things to do than hang around here.”

He knew when he overstayed his welcome. “Just let me know if that splint comes undone…I can make a house call.”

Grant scoffed, shaking his head, “I’m sure.”

Sherman gave a playful salute and turned, grabbing his hat from the other table. There a small pep in his step, though he tried not to show it. Sherman – 2, Rawlins – 0. He’d have to tease the young chief of staff about it later. 

“Sherman.”

He stopped mid-step, turning back to Grant. 

The other man stared at him for a moment, silent as he could usually be. There was a bit of softness in the normally stern blue eyes, a faint smile on his lips. “Thank you.”

Sherman stood up a bit straighter, a bit of pride swelling up in him. He played it cool, nodding to the general and placed the hat on his head. Before he could say anything ridiculous, which he was bound to do, he passed through the flaps of the tent into the sweltering Mississippi air.

He added another victory into his already growing pile. Rawlins wouldn’t know what hit him. 

#this....is way too long and kinda silly #but i had fun lol #grant is like 'just leave me aloneee i don't need a NAP' #also sherman is lowkey like 'stop thinking grant is cute...you sound needy' #my fic #my ramblings

[sophfic27]

The Mysterious Watch (You know the one)

Read on AO3

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Chapter 5: Finally, a Result

Word Count: 2,040

They had been out and about for hours already. Jo and Yaz went for breakfast together and made it out to their second warehouse to similar results as their first one. Their lease had read “shipping for online shop,” which had turned out to be a small customized t-shirt shop. There were screen printing machines set up along the walls and boxes of t-shirts. Overall, innocuous enough. Now they were pulling up to so far the largest warehouse on the list. As opposed to the two previous ones which only had one room, each about the size of a hockey rink. This building appeared much larger, and also had what looked like a complex of smaller rooms like offices wrapped around the front and the side of the bulk of the warehouse.

Jo sauntered towards the entrance, a pair of glass doors that entered a hallway with a desk, most likely for a secretary or receptionist. The hallway extended to their right, with doors leading to other rooms, and turned the corner to left. The desk sat empty. Yaz questioned aloud what operation could require a space with a receptionist’s desk, but not an actual receptionist. Jo studied the desk as well and muttered a quiet acknowledgment of the question. Before she could properly reply, a door swung open in front of them. Yaz only caught a small glimpse through the door before it swung closed again, but she could tell that it was a direct entrance into the main space of the warehouse. Through the door stepped a tall man dressed in a suit. He frowned at the sight of them but didn’t seem surprised by their presence there.

Jo stepped up to greet him as Yaz cast a glance around the entrance hall, catching sight of a single surveillance camera over the receptionist desk. So he had seen them coming. She looked around and down the hall, but didn’t see anymore. She didn’t remember seeing one outside the entrance but would have to check to be sure.

Yaz zoned back in when she heard Jo introduce her, giving the same bogus explanation for their arrival as she had at the previous locations they had seen. Jo extended a hand for the man to shake. He stared down at it, and back at Jo, the look on his face grumpy, and possibly hostile.

After a few awkward moments during which Yaz swore Jo was having a staring contest with the stranger, he shook her hand. “I’m Al Armet,” he said in an American accent. Yaz scrutinized the man warily. He released Jo’s hand. “I signed the lease. I’m sorry you had to come all this way for nothing, but I can assure you, everything here is totally up to code.”

Jo nodded, disbelieving, and shared a quick look with Yaz. “I’m sure it is, Mr. Armet, if we could just take a quick look around-”

“No, no,” he interrupted hastily, “I’m sorry, but I’m just too busy for this.” Jo cocked her head slightly, and he rushed to continue, “if you come back in, say, three days, I’d be happy to give you a tour then, but I have to get back to work.” He moved toward the pair, clearly intending to push them back toward the door.

Jo stood her ground for a minute, thinking, before finally saying, “okay, sure. Three days then. Yaz?” she turned toward her as if confirming the plan. Yaz nodded uncertainly, and Jo grinned back at her. “Great, we will see you then.”

Mr. Armet gave a half-smile, and Jo turned to head out the front door. Yaz watched as Mr. Armet retreated into the warehouse, and followed Jo out. She stopped just outside the door to scan the entryway quickly and jogged to catch up with Jo, who was now leaning against the car.

“We’re not actually leaving, are we?” Yaz said.

“Course not, he’s obviously hiding something,” Jo replied with a chuckle. She nodded toward the door before asking, “what were you looking at?”

“Inside, he came to intercept us in the entryway, but we didn’t do anything to alert him. So I noticed that there was a security camera mounted on the ceiling above the receptionist’s desk.”

Jo nodded, “but there wasn’t one outside the front door?”

“No,” Yaz confirmed, “I think the one in the entrance hall is the only one.”

Jo furrowed her eyebrows, “how can you be so sure?”

Yaz smirked, “it wasn’t built into the ceiling, it was just a small one screwed in and plugged into an outlet up there. It was more like a nanny cam. They usually stream live to one account over the WiFi, and there aren’t usually more than one of them.” Jo nodded, impressed. “Since it’s a short-term rental, and they don’t seem to have much staff, they probably don’t have much of a security system, just that camera.”

Jo grinned at Yaz, “very good point, officer,” she winked playfully. “That’ll make it easy enough to break in, then,” she added as she started toward the right side of the building.

“We’re breaking in? How?” Yaz walked quickly to catch up to Jo and walk by her side.

“Well, it’s a big enough building,” Jo said making a wide turn around the corner, “there’s bound to be another entrance.”

Sure enough, in the middle of the right side of the building, there was a plain door. Jo smirked again and made a bee-line for the door. The wall was also lined with windows, through which Yaz saw unused office spaces and empty rooms full of folded up chairs, some of them also containing tables. The warehouse was huge, clearly intended for some large business to use the large warehouse as well as multiple offices and conference rooms, but the whole place seemed deserted outside of whoever hid within the main room. She came up alongside Jo, who was working to pick the lock. Yaz thought about the Sonic Screwdriver. That always seemed to do the job, and she wondered where the Doctor had left it.

After a few minutes of work, Jo got the door open. She winked at Yaz and put a finger to her lips. She tugged the door open quietly. They were greeted by a darkened hallway and not a soul in sight. Jo and Yaz made their way into the building, looking up and down the hall. On one side, the hall was lined with doors into the office spaces she had seen from the outside, a small amount of sunlight streaming in through the windows on the doors. On the opposite side of the hall, she could only see one door, a few meters to their right. There were some distant sounds coming from the door, and Jo and Yaz made their way to it. Through a small window on that door, Yaz noticed that the view of the room was obstructed by a large stack of crates. Yaz and Jo exchanged a look, and together, they pushed into the main warehouse. They peered around the crates at the space. It was much larger than the others they had been to, the ceiling checkered with lighting fixtures and skylights, and covered with latticework. Yaz noticed a metal balcony toward the back of the warehouse. She tried to visualize how to get onto it, guessing that the staircase to reach it was at the end of the hallway they had entered from. She then turned her focus to the five massive machines standing scattered across the floor of the warehouse. She noticed that Jo was studying them closely, her forehead creased in concentration. Yaz looked at them as well, taking in their massive shape. They were rounded on the tops with three long antennae mounted on top. They were made up of sheets of metal, held together by rickets. On one of them, she saw that there was an open face, hundreds of wires and cords exposed. Lying nearby was a panel she supposed would eventually be installed onto the machine to act as controls. Yaz opened her mouth to ask Jo about the machines, but before she could, she heard voices come from somewhere past the machines.

Jo heard them, too, and the two of them squatted down against the crates, getting out of sight. One of the voices she recognized as Mr. Armet’s, but the other one was almost exactly the same as him. Jo turned to look around the crates. The men apparently did not notice her, so Yaz leaned over to peer around as well. She saw Mr. Armet and… a second Mr. Armet. Twins perhaps? She tuned in, straining to hear their conversation.

“As you can see they are almost all complete. Even the ones that haven’t been fully assembled are completely tamper-proof,” one of the Mr. Armets explained.

The second Mr. Armet surveyed the incomplete machine. “How long before they’re ready?” he asked.

“Three days, I predict,” he responded, “and we are undiscovered?”

“There were some inspectors by, but we chased them off for a few days,” the other one replied.

“Good, then let’s get back to work.” The two Mr. Armets nodded at each other and split up, walking off in two different directions.

When they were out of sight, Jo tried to turn to talk to Yaz, only to find her leaning over her, now only a couple inches from her face.

Yaz and Jo looked at each other, startled. Yaz hadn’t realized just how close she had been to Jo, and she pulled back, blushing awkwardly. Jo raised an eyebrow at her before saying, “we’ve found our place, now we have to destroy these things.”

Yaz stared at her for a second, “destroy?” she repeated, feeling a little dumb, but still a little flustered, and vaguely distressed by Jo’s general casualness about the situation.

Jo nodded, “Mr. Armet said they’re tamper-proof, so we destroy them, and see to it these things don’t come back.” Yaz nodded thoughtfully. “Now shall we go. Or we could just stay here while I watch you get all cute and blushy again,” she winked at Yaz, smirking mischievously.

Yaz felt her face burn even more, as Jo just chuckled and stood, making her way back to the door. Yaz stared after her for a moment, completely at a loss. She followed Jo helplessly back to the car.

Once back on the road, the pair sat in quiet for several minutes. Yaz considered asking about the machines but was still struggling with how to say anything to the women. She glanced at the woman to her left. Jo was looking out the window with an unfamiliar look of anxiety. Well, unfamiliar for Jo, Yaz mused. She actually seemed to look more like the Doctor at the moment. Less cool and certain, more brooding. And maybe a little nervous, although that didn’t seem as much like the Doctor.

Before Yaz could manage to speak, Jo did. “Sorry… If I made you uncomfortable. I was joking,” Yaz saw her glance at her quickly, “mostly.”

Yaz was quiet for a minute. She couldn’t tell if Jo was expecting a response or not, she was staring back out the window. “It’s fine, I was just… surprised is all.” She looked over and caught Jo’s eyes for a second. Jo nodded hesitantly. Yaz weighed her next words in her mind, debating whether or not she should say them. “I think you’re cute, too,” she said finally. She bit her lip nervously and kept her eyes trained on the road ahead, though she could see Jo’s head snap toward her in surprise out of the corner of her eye. Yaz panicked slightly, suddenly worried that she had said the wrong thing.

Then she noticed Jo grin. Jo looked pleased. Yaz cast a quick look at her, noting the tint to her cheeks.

“Right,” said Jo after a second, giving a satisfied nod, “good.”

Yaz smiled slightly, but she felt it drop a few moments later. She probably shouldn’t have done that. What would the Doctor think? Would she even remember this? And what did it mean that Jo seemed to like her? Did it mean that the Doctor…

(A/N: I mentioned this in the notes on AO3, but I’ll put it here, too. I know this chapter is a bit late, and I’m going to try a Monday/Thursday or Friday schedule form here on out because those are usually the days I have the least amount of homework. Bear in mind, based on my pattern, that probably means after midnight Mountain Time, so uh. Look for it the day after what I said I guess. Thanks for reading!)

#13th Doctor #doctor who #Doctor Who fanfic #doctor who fandom #Human!Doctor #thirteen #Thirteenth Doctor #thirteen x yaz #thasmin fanfic #yaz x thirteen #yaz x 13 #doctor who yaz #13 x yaz #yaz doctor who #human!13 #Chameleon Arch #thasmin #yasmin khan #My writing

[occasionalfics]

touch every star (6)

main masterlist | thor masterlist | ao3 | previous 

Pairing: Thor X Cinderella!Reader AU

A/N: This is it! It’s sort of a miniseries but yup, this is the final chapter! Thank y’all so much for reading! Let me know what you think 💖💖💖

Warnings: Lots of angst, a really, really shitty boss, but overall this is probably the most pure fic I’ve ever written? Borderline 18+ at the very end but it’s mild as hell and mostly fluffy 😎

Words: 3,908

//

Always patient and responsible, Y/N decided she would give her two weeks at the end of the next day. She’d say nothing of Sitwell’s behavior, just move on quietly and hope something better came along.

She’d already looked at open listings on the company’s portal. There were so many jobs she could do, some she wasn’t exactly qualified for but seemed straightforward enough, and a few she probably wouldn’t even try to apply for, given her resumè and experience. Those were the ones that made Sitwll’s voice ring in her head over and over again about how she was nothing, she was just a clerical whore.

Y/N sighed and shook her head to clear the voice away.

She forced herself to think of her friends, of their faith in her. They made her believe in herself. But knew she wasn’t a firestarter, even if Nat’s suggestion was to burn the Accounting office to the ground along with Sitwell. Y/N was worthy and reliable, yes, she was sure of that now thanks to Nat and Wanda, but she was still someone who went quietly, but on her own terms. She could do both, and she was happy to do it that way.

But just before lunch, Tony Stark himself burst into the Accounting office. Everyone stirred, including Y/N, who watched incredulously as the CEO himself headed straight for her. She stood, and was just about to ask him what she could do for him when he asked, in a soft and careful tone that absolutely did not match the fire in his eyes, “Are you Y/N?”

She balked for a second, but nodded in the end.

“Follow me, please,” he said, hushed and hurried. And then he went right around her desk and into Sitwell’s office without knocking or any kind of acknowledgment.

“Mr. Stark,” Sitwell started. “What can I do for-”

“Stuff it, Jasper,” Tony interrupted. He turned to make sure Y/N was behind him, then held an arm out as a gesture for her to stand next to him. 

She looked between her boss and her boss’s boss, then hurried to do as the former said.

“You really took the piss this time, Sitwell,” Tony said.

Sitwell looked at them both, at Y/N who was trying not to cower beside the Boss To End All Bosses, and at Tony Stark, who’s eyes blazed with fury.

“I can assure you that whatever you’ve heard is a lie,” Sitwell said, eyes now stuck on Y/N. He glared at her like he had never been angrier in his entire life.

“Oh really?” Tony shoved his hands in his pockets and took a large step toward the desk. “You must have me confused with some idiot CEO, Sitwell. You think I don’t have this place surveilled? On the same floor as my security team, really?” He went forward and leaned on Sitwell’s desk like Sitwell had done to Y/N the other day. Only this time, Y/N watched in awe instead of fear. 

“You think I don’t have hours of footage of you verbally abusing this poor girl, forcing her to work so late she’s the last one in the building besides the nightly cleaning crew? Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Mr. Stark-” Y/N tried, to no avail.

He looked at her over his shoulder quickly. “No, Y/N. This’s been a long time coming.” And then, advancing once again on Sitwell, he lowered his voice. “Just because I’m a busy man doesn’t mean I won’t make the time to go back and watch every excruciating thing you’ve made this girl and the rest of your staff do and turn it back on you tenfold. Since my Director of Security is also on my board, I have that ability.”

“Yes, of course, Mr. Stark-” Sitwell tried.

“No, you shut the fuck up!” Tony said in an even tone, almost refusing to yell. Y/N was glad for it, at least. “All you’re hearing is me saying that this is a mark on your record, that once I leave this office, you might face a few small consequences but soon, everything will be back to normal. But I want to be crystal clear, no room for misunderstanding. You’re. Fired. Sitwell. And the second my team and I are done reviewing your tapes, expect to be served. Get your shit and get the fuck out of my building.”

Tony turned on his impeccable heel and marched out of the room. Y/N didn’t move for a split second, but then decided that following Tony Stark was a better idea than hanging out in a soon-to-be-emptied office with a man she hated. A man that had tried to knock her down every chance he’d gotten and was currently glaring at her, sweat dripping down from his bald head and around his nose.

A man who was no longer her problem.

She knew Nat was at the core of this altercation. She’d said something to Bucky, who’d said something to someone or maybe just went straight to Tony himself. She’d never be able to thank her friend enough for saving her, even if she’d asked not to be saved the night before.

Because, when she thought about it, Nat and Bucky or whoever caused this wasn’t just saving her. If Jasper Sitwell was fired - and he was - then he could never do what he’d done to her to anyone else.

When they came back to her desk, Tony closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then he looked at her in a completely different way from the glare he’d given Sitwell.

She could’ve sworn she saw kindness and empathy in that look. Maybe a hint of regret, too.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re done in this office,” he said quietly.

For a beat, her heart stopped as she thought that Tony Stark, the Boss To End All Bosses, was firing her, too.

But then he said, “I looked into your background a little. There’s a job in P.R. opening that a mutual friend of a friend - and your resumè - says you might be perfect for. It’s creative, in a much nicer office, and all yours if you want it. There’s a sign-on bonus and a raise involved, too.”

Of course she wanted the job. Being a secretary wasn’t her life-long dream, just the only job she’d thought she was worthy of, despite her degree. Until recently, that is.

Something still held her back, though.

“Mr. Stark, I-”

“Tony.”

“I can’t just walk into a job I didn’t earn, sir. Or even apply for.”

“Please, call me Tony. And our mutual friends’ word is reliable.”

Since she didn’t know exactly what “mutual friend” he might be talking about, and since she  was determined now to prove her worth, she pushed back. “You have no idea if I can even do the job. You haven’t interviewed me or anything!”

He sighed, and everyone listening to this conversation had to have seen the gears turning in his head. Tony Stark hadn’t kept his father’s company running the way he had by being bad at business, after all. Even if he was a genius scientist, he was still a genuinely talented CEO.

And one that cared, apparently. A busy man, like he’d said, but one that still came down to the Accounting office to take care of some little thing - comparatively, or at least that’s how Y/N would see it for a time.

“Fine. You’re right,” he conceded. “Take the rest of the day off, with full pay, and come in tomorrow for an interview. I’ll have my assistant email you the best times, so keep an eye out for that. Be prepared to present in front of me and my head of P.R. Clear?”

She nodded, and for the first time that day, smiled. “Yes. Yes, thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“You’re not gonna get the job if you don’t call me Tony. ‘S just the rules.” He shrugged as he backed up, turning quickly to the door, though not so quick that Y/N missed his smirk.

She saw it. She reveled in it.

And then she looked back at Jasper Sitwell through the glass office walls and gave him the most genuine, biggest smile she’d ever smiled.

---

“So,” Bucky said as he strode right into Thor’s office, no questions asked. Not even by Val, who gave everyone a hard time. “Did you hear about Accounting?”

Thor nodded. “I think everyone heard about it.”

“Right.” Bucky took a seat across from Thor, but didn’t look settled. His thumbs ran in circles over one another, and his foot bounced on the opposite bent knee. “I heard Sitwell’s secretary was offered a promotion, point-blank.”

“Where’d you hear that?” Thor finished up what he was doing on his computer, then sat back to really see his friend. His body language read all wrong, but Thor couldn’t decide what, exactly, was off.

“Tony.” Bucky shrugged. “Said she refused the offer without an interview. Something about earning her way and proving herself or somethin’ like that.”

“Sounds like a smart woman,” Thor said, completely oblivious. He wasn’t even subliminally wondering why Bucky was talking about some random secretary, just reacting to whatever the man said. “Tony can be impulsive when he’s emotional.”

“Oh my god,” Bucky whispered. Clearly, he knew something, but it only hit Thor when he asked, “You really don’t know, do you?”

Thor stared. “Know what?”

It took Bucky a second to respond. He kept a close eye on Thor, but he breathed heavily and fiddled with his left arm - muscle tears and scar tissue beneath his jacket sleeve that would be with him til the end of his days. Messing with the arm was another one of Bucky’s tells, one that Thor was confident enough in their friendship to read well.

“What’s going on, Barnes?”

Bucky sighed. “I probably shouldn’t be the one to tell you this. Nat said she wanted to do it herself, but the line out your office the other day scared her off and-”

“Who?” Thor interrupted. “What’s this about?”

“You remember Natasha, right? The drop dead gorgeous model I’m seeing?”

Thor nodded. “‘Course. Glad to hear it’s going well.”

“Well, her roommate was Sitwell’s secretary.” Bucky’s eyebrows rose, and Thor could just tell he expected Thor to know where this was going.

But he truly didn’t. He had no clue. Not even an inkling.

“‘Are you really that dense? What- she had to be, like, the only woman on the floor - maybe the whole god damn building - that didn’t come crawling up here for the chance of getting you to notice her.” Bucky shook his head, dropped his leg so both feet were flat on the floor, and leaned forward. “Thor, c’mon, man. Get with it, I mean this is so obvious! I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you-”

“And yet,” Thor interrupted again, “I’d like for you to get to the point anyway, James.”

That name was only used, in reference to Bucky, when his friends were tired of games. Thor wasn’t so much tired as he was perplexed and a little frustrated, but it was enough. The effect was the same.

“The girl with the interview - the only woman that didn’t come to claim the mask - is the one you’re looking for, dude. Nat’s roommate was Sitwell’s secretary, who was the only other person left on the floor the night you got on the elevator with a woman you didn’t know. I know for a fact she’s the girl you danced with at the gala, despite never having seen her, because their other roommate needed the dress she was wearing at the gala. Nat’s told me everything. Made me swear I wouldn’t say anything unless it was absolutely necessary but, my god, was it necessary.” He finished it all off with a laughing flourish, shaking his head in disbelief.

Thor sat straighter in his chair and, once more, just stared. He processed what he’d heard, tried to make sense of it all, and wondered why he hadn’t put it all together himself first. But he knew, with how little information he had on his Elevator Crush, he couldn’t have done it anyway.

Bucky’s girl was, apparently, the key. But he had to be sure.

“Bucky, did Natasha say how she knows all of this?” he asked.

“I assume Y/N told her.”

Y/N. Well, he finally had a name. He’d deal with the fact that he’d gotten it from Bucky before he’d gotten it from her later.

“But she… She never came. She didn’t even email me back about the mask, not even to say she didn’t want it.”

“Again, probably shouldn’t be saying anything but Nat thinks she’s scared.” Bucky picked up a pen off Thor’s desk, just to tap it against the nameplate that faced him. “Tony gave her the rest of the day off, so she’s gone home by now.” He smirked, tapped the pen once more, then put it down again. “But lucky for you, I happen to know her roommate pretty well.”

---

She was in her room organizing the things she’d brought home from her former desk when someone knocked on the door. Too engrossed in her work to get it herself, she yelled out for Nat since she knew at least one of her two roommates was home.

The day didn’t feel real. She’d had every intention of going into work with a job and coming out as a quitter, had never even fathomed that what had happened today was possible.

An interview? With Mr. Stark - Tony - himself? For a job he was ready to give her on sight, no questions asked?

She never would have accepted the position without a proper interview, but she did at least appreciate the thought. She’d appreciate it more when she had the chance to prove that she was worthy, when she could put herself on display for her new potential bosses and earn their respect with just her own two hands and intellect.

Which meant she had a lot to prepare for the next morning. She’d picked the earliest interview possible, so she might have the rest of the day for training or a celebratory walk through Central Park. It’d been so long since she’d had time and energy to explore the park, and even though it was starting to get cold out, she nearly convinced herself to go see it now.

But Nat called her name, which meant the park would have to wait. She wondered if her roommate had ordered lunch and forgot cash for a tip or something, so she picked up her purse to fish her wallet out before heading down the short hallway into the living room.

The whole world stopped then. Or at least it felt like it did.

Two men stood by the door - one of them had to be Bucky, if Y/N was guessing by the way he held Nat close to him. He smiled vaguely at her and sent a polite nod in her direction.

It was really the other man that made her stop, though. Tall and handsome, broad shouldered and bright eyed. Just like she remembered him. She couldn’t remember how long it’d been since she’d seen him in person, especially not with the way he was looking at her.

Like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

She just barely heard Nat clear her throat and announce that she and Bucky were leaving before they did. And then she and Thor were left alone.

Before she knew what she was saying, she let out, “You-you’re here.”

That seemed to break some of the tension between them. Thor went to step further into the apartment before he realized it wasn’t his space, so he backtracked. Y/N hardly noticed, since her eyes were glued to his face.

“I, uh, came to return this,” he said. One hand dipped into the inside pocket of his blazer, but Y/N didn’t look until he pulled something out.

Her mask. She’d all but forgotten about the thing by then, even though she’d gotten in that line the other day in an attempt to retrieve it. The mask had never been important, not even when she’d looked at that line, despite what she’d told herself.

In that moment, she knew she’d gotten in that line just to talk to him. To find out who he really was, even though Nat and Thor himself had already told her. She should have stayed, but she didn’t know it until this moment.

A moment where the past didn’t really matter anyway because there he was, standing in her living room. He was there for her, and she just knew it.

She approached him, accepting the mask even though it wasn’t important. “Thank you,” she whispered, surprising herself as her nerves kicked in. The only time she’d been nervous around him before was on that elevator. Now seemed a rather arbitrary time to feel that way again.

He didn’t move. Neither did she. They looked at one another and, clearly, could see the same battle in the other’s eyes. They each fought for what to say next, what to do next. This situation was unprecedented for them both.

Thor pushed through a lump in his throat and said, “Actually, that’s not why I came.” He made sure to keep eye contact strong, but not intimidating. Honestly, he liked looking at her more than anything, and he wanted to read her reaction to what he said next. “I’m Thor, and I didn’t really know how else to find you. This was Bucky’s idea, really. Well, no, the mask was my mother’s idea- and now that I say it, I realize how embarrassing that is.”

She laughed and shook her head. “No, no. That’s...cute.”

His smile widened at her approval. His fingers rested just beneath hers, because as much as he was confident in what he was saying, he was still cautious. After all, she had run away from him twice now.

“But I needed to know, one way or another, who you were. Why I kept being pushed toward you. And you didn’t even answer my email so I’d all but given up, and then in storms Bucky looking like he knows every secret about you and-” He sighed. Bucky clearly hadn’t known that much about Y/N, but that didn’t stop him from feeling...well. Jealous. “I had to know.”

Her mind immediately screams I’m no one.

Jasper Sitwell had not been the first person in her life to say so. Her stepmother had done just as much damage, usually when her father hadn’t been around to protect her. 

But she had removed herself from her stepmother’s clutches, and she’d proved to be a bigger person than Jasper Sitwell. She’d gotten herself an interview for a better job and suddenly had the opportunity to make something of herself-

So no. She was not no one, not nothing. Thor being in her apartment only made her think he saw something like that, too.

“I’m Y/N,” she said, placing the mask on one of the end tables with her equally useless wallet. “And up until recently, I didn’t think that meant anything. But I was wrong.” A surge of confidence boosted her, and she grabbed one of Thor’s hands between hers. “I don’t know you well, Thor, but I’m pretty sure you’ve gotten this far by thinking I was worth something. I’d really like to thank you for that.”

---

SIX MONTHS LATER

The town car was parked at the end of the row, with only a handful of empty cars that were situated at least seven spots away. The party had already started, which meant they were not likely to be disturbed, at least not for a little while.

That was the thought process Thor had used to seduce Y/N into the back of the car - the rented car - where he now pinned her body to the seat with his own. There was barely space enough to breathe, especially given how electric their kiss was. And how sweltering the New York summer was around them. But neither had power over the connection, so they succumbed to it, drank in the energy and tension and let it wash all thoughts of a posh and somewhat unnecessary summer solstice party away.

Thor knew that, eventually, they would have to go back in. This was his mother’s party, one she threw every year. It was the first time he was bringing Y/N to an official family function, and he was...nervous. Actually, really nervous. She’d already met his parents but Hela and Loki were in that building, and they’d somehow evaded them both before sneaking back out to the car.

His solution to those nerves was to keep her to himself for as long as he could. She calmed him down while simultaneously riling him up. She kept him grounded even when he felt like he was flying.

It’d only been 6 months since they’d finally, officially started seeing each other but he was sure he loved her. It wasn’t so much that knowledge that put him on edge, but the idea that showing up together tonight meant that everyone else would know how important she was to him. Even his siblings.

But when he really thought about that, the nerves melted. Some totally normal feeling settled, and he felt...content.

One of his hands attempted to run up one of her legs beneath her heavy, pale blue velvet gown, but she stopped him and pulled her lips back from his. The look in her eyes was playful, but she shook her head.

“We’ll spoil the whole evening like that,” she whispered, chest rising to meet his quickly as she tried to reign in her breathing.

“Screw the evening,” he retorted, attempting to dive back into the kiss.

Her free hand stopped him by his shoulder. “I did not fight with the zipper on this dress and spend two hours doing my makeup and hair to have you mess it all up in the back of this car, Thor Odinson.” She tapped his shoulder, disguised as a meaningless slap, and he relented.

“Fiiine,” he whined, head slumping against her shoulder. “But the second either of us is bored, we’re out. Deal?”

She giggled and ran her fingers through his freshly cut hair. “I’d say that’s fair. Deal.”

“In the meantime,” he murmured, kissing up her neck and along her jawline, “if I keep my hands here,” as he pressed his fingers into her waist above the velvet dress, “can we stay like this for...five more minutes?”

Their eyes met just as she was rolling hers. He kissed her, knowing he’d gotten his way.

“Five minutes, no more.”

He kissed her quickly.

“You’re incorrigible.”

“Not my fault you’re irresistible.” A quick peck. “Absolutely ravishing in this dress.” A longer, more meaningful kiss this time. 

“Hey Jarvis,” she called out into the empty cab of the car. When the familiar voice responded, she told it, “Set an alarm for five minutes, and lock the doors until it goes off.”

Thor shook his head, ignored Jarvis’s response, and went right back into the kiss.

#thor fanfic #Thor Odinson #thor odinson x reader #thor x reader #touch every star fic #touch every star #cinderella au #thor fic

[lokimostly]

Polaris (Ch.11/?)

Loki x Reader, Pirate!AU Word Count: 3,163 Warnings: none! Summary: Your life has always been set in stone. Born to a wealthy merchant family in the Caribbean, you’ve spent your years as an heiress in the daytime, escaping at night to wander the streets of St. Thomas. Now, on the eve before your life settles into mundanity for good, you discover someone who could change everything– if you choose to trust him, that is.

A/N: Thanks for being so patient, I needed to rework some future plot elements. Everything is lined up nicely now. Enjoy ;) 

Chapter One ~ Chapter Two ~ Chapter Three ~ Chapter Four ~ Chapter Five ~ Chapter Six ~ Chapter Seven ~ Chapter Eight ~ Chapter Nine ~ Chapter Ten ~ Chapter Twelve ~ Chapter Thirteen ~ Chapter Fourteen

You woke up suddenly. The sand-covered stone was hard beneath you. Light filtered through the palms, shining from the curved entrance of the rocky overhand and baking the stone floor in its warmth. Rainwater dripped from the ceiling, but there were no outward signs of the storm: no howling wind or flashing lightning to assault your tired vision.

You sat up and gasped in pain- your hands reached for your back, but stalled a bit. Moving your arms hurt. Every inch of your skin ached with soreness. You felt like your muscles had unravelled into string. You gingerly rubbed at your shoulders, finding them sensitive to the touch, and let out an echoing sigh. You couldn’t imagine the state Loki’s body was in.

Loki. Where was he?

You looked around the cave. He was nowhere to be seen.

Despite the protest of your aching limbs, you stood, dusting the sand off of your chemise and pushing up the frilled sleeves. This was now your only piece of clothing to wear, and it was completely indecent. More than that, you had no doubt that the white color would turn sheer when wet.

Lovely, you thought.

Your hair felt stiff from the saltwater. You stepped out onto the long grass and took a deep breath of warm, salty air. The breeze was fine, teasing at your clothing and spinning it round your legs. The palm trees were much smaller and less frightening in the light of day than they had been last night, leaning lazily from side to side and hiding clusters of fruit at the bases of their leaves. Were it not for the fact that you were stuck here, you might have called it paradise.

You followed the path out of the grove of trees, trusting your intuition and walking until the grass turned to sand. The sea unfurled like a map before you: aqua blue, completely flat and sparkling in the sunlight. The storm clouds on the edge of the horizon, black with anger and growing smaller with every passing minute, were the only sign that the storm had existed at all. Everything else about it was warm, windy, and perfect.

Loki stood in the shallows. The water was up to his knees, a sharpened staff in one hand. He stood perfectly still, staring down at the water with intense focus, his wavy hair tied half-back. You watched as the wind teased his hair, pulling at the edges of his billowing shirt, but he did not budge.

Finally you relented to curiosity and called out. “What are you doing?”

Your voice didn’t startle him. “Fishing,” he said shortly. His voice was still ragged from yesterday’s trials, and much deeper than you expected. A pang of guilt twinged inside your chest. You were to blame for that.

“Caught anything?” You asked hopefully.

You watched Loki press his lips together and took that for an answer- he didn’t seem to be in much of a talkative mood. You stood on the water’s edge, unsure what to do. The waves lapped up at the sand, turning it a shade darker before receding. A crab scuttled across the shore. You watched it disappear with bemused curiosity.

Finally, Loki seemed to accept the fact that the universe was not currently handing out fish and lifted his makeshift staff, walking up to the shore. As he came closer, you realized not only that he was limping, but also that his lithe body was covered in bruises. There were the marks along his side from falling to the deck, and new ones you didn’t recognize: miscellaneous scrapes and dark spots, most namely a huge bruise spanning a hand’s length in the middle of his chest. Normally, seeing him unclothed would be a reason to avert your eyes, but clinging to him for dear life– for hours on end, no less – had rather worn off the novelty.

“Did I do that?” You asked, a bit horrified.

Loki’s eyebrows pulled together and he looked down at the bruise you were referring to. He chuckled dryly. “You were determined to kill me, if I were a fish.”

You pressed a hand to your mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head dismissively, reaching up and unravelling the knot that held back his hair. “Don’t be.” Loki let out a noisy sigh and sat down, wincing. He unwrapped a poorly done bandage covering a long cut on the side of his foot. The saltwater had helped, but it still looked raw, and the skin around it was red with agitation. He flipped over the bandage.

You reached forward quickly, catching his wrist. “No, let me.” His blue-green eyes snapped upwards, looking dangerously sharp-edged, but he let go, allowing you to tear a clean piece of cloth from the hem of your chemise and hand it to him.

He raised an eyebrow. The ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. “Are you not naked enough?”

Your face flushed, but you continued to hold it out stubbornly. “Unless you want to trade clothes, there’s not much I can do about it.”

Loki hummed. His expression was a cross between amused and thoughtful, and it agitated you. He still hadn’t taken the bandage. “What is it?” You snapped finally, emphasizing the cloth in your hand. “I don’t have the plague. Take it.”

He laughed, raising an eyebrow and shaking his head. He took the bandage from you, his hand brushing over yours. “You were easier to embarrass when you were fully clothed.”

Your face flushed. You crossed your arms and said nothing for a moment, watching him re-wrap his foot. Your rebuttal almost came to you too late. “Good to know I’m growing some spine, then.” You turned away, finding distraction in the flat horizon. There’s nothing out there: no land, no ships to speak of, only the sandbars that eventually disappear beneath the blue. Nothing, and no one for uncounted miles.

You felt the familiar ache of despair squeeze your chest. “What are we going do?” You asked quietly, not to Loki, or anyone in particular.

But it was him who answered, one hand on the small of your back. Its presence there wasn’t surprising, and the fact itself shocked you. “Well,” he sighed, with a raise of one dark eyebrow. “We take a look around, for a start.”

~

Together, you and Loki mapped out the island over the course of the morning. You discovered several things: firstly, that the island was probably three miles long and half as wide, made up of two large hills surrounded by a ring of trees. Your cave was nestled inside the larger of these two mounds of earth and stone. A spring was hidden in the valley between them, bubbling above the ground before it disappeared back into the earth. There were no other caves on the island’s surface, or notable landmarks to speak of.

Secondly, there was food here. Some of the trees were fruit bearing: small, wild mangos, larger than your palm and half bitter. They probably weren’t ripe when you and Loki picked them, but their skin broke beneath your teeth and the nectar was sweet enough to lift your spirits. There were probably other fruits and nuts to be found. You didn’t look hard: Loki’s limp could not be disguised from you, and you adamantly strayed away from any difficult terrain. He had suffered enough on your account.

Thirdly: you were not the first ones here.

“Stop,” Loki said suddenly, making you halt between the wide trees. The sun was nearing its peak, so you had decided to travel back to your hideout in the cover of shade. The heat, though somewhat diluted by the ocean breeze, made you grateful that your clothes were light– even if they were grossly immodest.

Loki set his foot down harshly, and was rewarded with a hollow sound. The two of you shared a similar, conspiring look. You got down on your knees and began pushing away at the sand and loose grass attempting to grow over wooden planks. Loki helped, grunting as he wedged his fingers between one of the boards and pried it loose. A cloud of dust came up and he coughed, looking down. “I can’t see inside.”

“Pull another board,” you suggested, uncovering more planks. They looked half-rotten, and the second one snapped under Loki’s grasp instead of coming out clean. He shrugged, dusting off his hands and setting them on his knees, taking another look. “It’s not deep. A few feet.”

Without waiting for him to make more observations, you swung your legs over and dropped. A shout of protest escaped his lips, but your feet hit the packed ground before he could reach for you, or do anything to stop your descent.

The hole was just deeper than you – that is to say that you could walk beneath the boards without having to duck your head. The light came down in a dusty pillar, and you blinked as you adjusted to the light, coughing at the upheaval of dust that filled your lungs. Then you sucked in a gasp.

“Loki, come down here.”

“Alright, alright,” came his exasperated reply, and the sound of feet on hard earth told you he had landed behind you. He caught your shoulder for balance, removing it just as quickly so as not to offend. You were too distracted by your newfound boon to notice.

Barrels. Barrels and crates and clothes. Or some kind of fabric, anyway. Whoever was here decided to make a stash of their excess supply – from the looks of it, they had either forgotten to return or taken a long trip around.

“Bloody hell,” Loki swore quietly, twisting one of the barrel caps open and looking down at the contents. “There’s salt here.”

“Never mind that,” you said, unfolding a large piece of thick cotton. You swung it over your shoulders and displayed it to him the same way you might show off a dress, half-twirling with a giddy smile. “Now we won’t freeze to death at night.”

Loki chuckled, watching with something like amusement. “Your faith in me to take care of you was that little?”

“No,” you conceded, smirking, “but this helps.” You turned back and continued to rifle through the contents of your findings. There was grain, tightly packed to avoid going bad from the damp, and more textiles: homespun tunics, even a pair of trousers that you silently claimed as your own.

“Pity,” Loki commented over your shoulder, startling you. “I was looking forward to our mutual lack of clothing.”

Your jaw dropped as your face turned red. “Really? You haven’t yet had your fill?”

You were met with that infuriating, wolfish grin and an unabashed shrug. “The threat of death tends to steal away one’s focus.”

You scowled. “I meant of your jesting, not the--” you waved your hand in an inarticulate gesture, earning a laugh on his part.

“That, too.”

You groaned and pulled one of the tunics over your head, ignoring the slightly musty smell. It had clearly been made with someone larger in mind, and almost replaced your chemise in function. Still, with this company, an extra layer couldn’t hurt.

Your face burned like a lamp in the dark. The threat of death, and then relief, and then focus on staying alive had precluded you from spending any time dwelling on your dreams or feelings. Now they were coming back with full, brunt force. You felt the absence of the ring from your finger more than ever, touching the bare skin.

You heard shuffling behind you and turned around to watch Loki lift himself out and offer his hand so you could do the same. You handed him a bundle of clothes first, taking his hand once he set your bounty aside. Despite his soreness Loki lifted you out easily, helping you stand in the grove of trees. He was close, you noticed. You could feel the heat of his bare chest, smell that faint scent of leather and rose that seemed to accompany him no matter his state of undress.

He looked down at you, watched your eyes flicker before you pulled away and gathered the textiles. He shifted his jaw, catching his tongue between his teeth; partly in silent annoyance, and partly to keep himself from making another insufferable comment. Even you had your limits.

He knew how your body felt, clinging to him in the water for hours. For the sake of saving your life Loki had been allowed the discovery of how soft you were against his calloused hands, the way your breath came out and made your chest shudder. He hadn’t sought out the knowledge of you on purpose, but it was his nonetheless. Now he itched for the feel of you in his hands. Like anything Loki had ever sampled, and liked, one taste wasn’t enough– he longed to swallow you whole, to know you inside and out. To make your breath hitch and your heart pound.

And the universe had rewarded him with your company, alone, on a desert island. He was convinced that some part of you shared that mutual desire, even if you refused to admit it. What Loki needed was patience, and time, and enough self-control not to push you into hating him through his own snide remarks. The last one hadn’t even been clever.

His mind didn’t register that you were halfway through the grove and nearly out of sight until you stopped, turning around with a frown. “Are you coming?”

He snapped out of his thoughts of you and met with the reality: waiting expectantly under the dappled light, sun-dried hair pulled by the breeze. An open sky full of air, and the sight of you made it a struggle to breathe.

He raised his eyebrows and smirked. “Don’t wait for me.”

~

The sky was turning muted purple as the sun dipped below the horizon. You finished adjusting your new clothes– the trousers had to be cuffed, of course, and the tunic was sinfully low-cut, with no tassels to make adjustments – but it was better than your chemise, which you had neatly folded next to the other unused garments, now in service as cushions to soften the cave’s unforgiving floor.

You stepped out and walked through the grove to the beach, finding Loki there with a meager fire before him. He was coaxing it to life, encouraging it to take hold of your collected driftwood. You sat down in the sand and pulled the cotton cloth over your shoulders, watching in silence until the fire was crackling happily on its own.

Loki handed you a speared fish to cook over the fire. The afternoon had finally proved fruitful in his attempts to catch something. You took it. The two of you sat in silence, turning over your dinner to brown the sides and eating in silence. The fish was salty, but it was your first real meal in god knew how long.

The stars were coming out. You leaned back on your elbows to watch them appear, silently counting until they became innumerable, blinking in the twilight. You thought back to the book in Loki’s cabin, feeling a pang of regret that it wasn’t with you now. You wished you knew their names.

Loki made a sudden noise, startling you from your thoughts. You turned to find his seaglass eyes skyward, too. “What is it?”

He leaned closer to you and lifted his arm, pointing out a bright light amongst the canopy of stars. “The north star.”

You opened your mouth in silent acknowledgement. Its name was on the tip of your tongue. “Why that one?”

Loki’s brow furrowed gently. “Because it shines the brightest, I suppose.” He sighed, falling back and putting his hands behind his head, reciting the wisdom from memory. “If you can find Polaris, you know your way home.”

Polaris. You savored the name silently on your tongue. “Do you?” You asked, turning away from the stars to look at his face. The starlight and shadow of the fire softened the sharp edges of his features. Loki’s brow furrowed again, and he turned to look at you. “Do I what?”

“Know the way home.”

He hummed in his chest and looked back at the sky with a critical gaze, studying it. He held up one large hand, and after some consideration, pointed to your left. “That way.”

You were surprised at the laugh that escaped your lips, throwing back your head. “How helpful you are. I see now why I should keep you around.”

Loki chuckled in his chest. “I am ever at your service, little one.”

The familiar nickname made your stomach flutter. You dropped from your elbows onto your back, setting your hands on your stomach and doing your best to ignore the fact that his shoulder was pressed against yours.

The fire crackled and sparked, sending embers up into the dark sky where both your gazes were fixed. Loki shifted his jaw and tried to focus: on the warmth of the fire lightly burning against his skin, on the chill of the night breeze and the smell of salt. Anything but the warmth of your skin beneath the fabric that separated you.

A streak of light graced the darkness. He made a wish.

“Well, then,” you sighed, nestling further into the makeshift blanket and letting your eyes fall closed. “What do you think we should do with our time, stuck here for the foreseeable future?”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “I have a few ideas.”

You hummed. “Tell me.”

His chest expanded with an inhale. “You need to learn to swim, to begin with.”

Your eyes snapped open and you sat up, leaning on your elbow to look over him with a stony expression. “Absolutely not.”

“Your ardent refusal is the first reason why.”

“Loki, I was in mortal danger of drowning less than a day ago.”

“That is exactly my point,” he argued evenly, staring up at you with a mild expression. The firelight cast you in a warm, angelic glow that turned his cheeks red to notice. He continued his statement with averted eyes. “You cannot expect to live on a desert island without knowing how to swim.”

“Can’t I?” You challenged, more for the sake of egging him on. Loki wasn’t having it, and growled in his chest as he closed his eyes.  “I am too tired for your antics.”

You quieted, staring at his face for a moment longer before dropping onto your back again. The wind picked up, dimming the fire and making you shiver through your cotton wrap. You turned closer to Loki, setting your forehead against his arm. If he noticed, he did nothing in return. You had a suspicion that he was close to falling asleep.

“You had better be a good teacher,” you murmured. You felt him shift beside you, roused by your statement. Then he chuckled softly. “Do you doubt my ability to take care of you?” He asked, his voice low and thick with exhaustion. Your face flushed. The one time you suspected that he didn’t mean it as a double entendre, but you had taken it that way.

In either instance, your answer was the same.

“No. I trust you.”

“Smart girl.”

- - - 

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#loki #marvel #loki fanfic #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x oc #loki x reader fanfic #loki imagine #pirate!au #loki angst #loki fluff #loki smut #loki x reader insert #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston x you #marvel fanfic

[talldarkandroguesome]

4th of First Seed, Turdas

I feel like I should be honored by the mass of assassins clambering to take my life. 

If there is someone to blame, other than those sending these poor souls after me, I suppose it should be me for wishing that better assassins were sent. For now they have been. And it is starting to become rather an annoyance. 

One or two in a day is more than enough. But six attempts? Why are they wasting all their coin?

First, my morning brandy. Which was not so much of a problem, since I was planning to put a bit of poison in it anyhow, to keep up my immunity. But really, can a fellow not start his day with a stiff drink before people try to wrestle his life from him anymore?

The Ordinators immediately began to question the staff to find out who might be responsible. To see if it was someone who had snuck in and put the poison into the bottle or if it was on delivery or in the kitchen or any other number of places.

Then as I was busy with my paperwork in my study, there was a shattering of glass and a scream. One of the servants, who has hair not too dissimilar from myself had an arrow through his throat, the poor mer. I could hear him struggling as the Ordinators rushed him off to try and save his life.

One of the Ordinators asked me to follow him to a safe room while they did a full sweep of the area to try and discover the person responsible. I did. We went to one of the interior rooms with no windows.

He shut and locked the door behind him and said that he would see to it that I was kept safe. I thanked him, but told him that it was wholly unnecessary. He shook his head and told me that it was his job and he would ensure that no harm came to me from whoever was outside.

There was something in his wording or tone, but I was unsure about this Ordinator. He had not communicated to the others when we came out of my study. He did not ask any others to come along to guard outside the door. I knew it might have been paranoia, or it might be that another attempt was forthcoming.

We sat in tense silence and I made sure that I had my fingers sitting lightly over hidden blades, in case I came to need them.

After about an hour or so, he unlocked the door and told me to wait and that he would be back once he made sure that no one else was coming. And soon enough he was telling me things were safe. He also instructed me that, should any other attempts occur, to head directly to this room so that he or one of the other Ordinators could ensure my safety.

I thanked him and went back to my room. When I had a moment alone, I made sure to sneak invisibly, in my own home, I understand how embarrassing that is, to one of my weapons caches and then to this new safe room. I carefully slid blades into various pieces of furniture. There was no sense being unarmed in that room, lest someone plan on coming to the room with myself inside. One guard, even two, is no match for a truly skilled assassin set with the task of ending their target’s life.

The next attempt was made when I went for a brief walk in my garden. I wanted the peace of the moving meditation that comes with the Tribunal stroll garden. It is meant to be a contemplation on the divine. Between the stops intended for Almalexia and Vivec, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. Not that of a moving branch or a leaf blowing in the wind. This was the movement of something invisible, a very slight shift that had I not been so alert from the early attempts, I may have missed.

There is a lovely large boulder imported from Red Mountain that is along the path that I climbed up to the top of and laid down on. My back flat on the rock, the rest of me was fully exposed. But being at a height and the sun well overhead, it meant that anyone who wished to attack would have to climb up onto the top of the rock with me. It would seem that I was unaware and an easy target, but I would be able to see the cast shadow as soon as they reached the top.

And so it was, that about 5 minutes later, a shadow fell across my chest, that of a person with a dagger. It was easy enough to disarm them, for they were at ease in their advantage over me. We wrestled for a bit on the rock, them trying to keep my body pinned below them, to try and choke me. I simply wrapped my arms and legs around them and summoned a flame cloak. They leapt backwards, writhing froming my grasp to get away. I teleported to the ground below them and made sure they fell onto their blade. It was easy enough to place a small flint and tinder and a cheap bow and arrow up atop the rock for someone to discover later. 

The following two attempts were during meals. Poison. Both times!

When will they learn that poison is the most difficult way to kill me? Do they think that I do not have tolerance to many and potions of curing to deal with the rest? Foolishness. Even when I am at a function, I am going to have cures on my person.

The best attempt was during the feast, I found myself cornered by a very beautiful mer with the most beautiful, silver eyes. She shoved me into a wall and when I went to ask her if something were the matter, she pushed my shoulders flat against the wall and told me that I was going to give her something or else something would be the matter.

I went along with her aggressive shifting of my clothing, stroking me in very intimate places, and forcing herself upon me. It seemed odd to me that it was so out of nothing, not even so much as a conversation nor an introduction.

So when she summoned a blade out of the air, our bodies intimately entangled, I was only disappointed that we would be unable to finish, on account of her trying to take my life.

I had to beat her hand against the wall until she dropped the weapon, then managed to get her off of me just enough to teleport into a position where I could get and arm around her throat. I pressed just enough to cut off air until she lost consciousness. Then I lowered her slowly to the ground. I redressed, now in rather a randy mood, and went to find Nabine.

She knew without my asking what it was I desired and so she urged me to take a garden stroll to admire the grounds at our host’s. We ducked behind some large topiaries and Nabine helped me find release. In return, I agreed to let her try out some new ideas she had which she knew I was less than fond of. We shall find out tonight exactly what those look like.

All in all, a tiring day. The bed felt so much better than it had need to be. I do not want to leave it now. I just want to stay with Nabine in bed the rest of the morning. The children will no doubt come running in soon. Let me savor the peace and tranquility of this moment.

#ESO #TES #RP #Dunmer #Elder Scrolls Online #The Elder Scrolls

[ourkarlanicoleuniverse]

Sweet Nothing (MHA Staff AU Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

Warnings: sfw, some angst, slight spoilers to MHA

Lily and I were getting ready for our meeting while Aizawa and Vlad were talking about how they were splitting the USJ for today. Lily and I spent the whole week preparing to discuss our concerns about how the school really handled the students and really wanted to vocalize how all the staff has to be held accountable if anything occurs with the students. It wouldn't matter if it were an on-campus or off-campus issue. So far, the Pro Hero Hound Dog, Ryo Inu, the head of the UA's counseling department, seemed very behind our school plans. We just needed to discuss it with the rest of the counseling staff and Nezu.

"I'm sure they'll agree with it. I mean, they agreed to your idea about a counselor per class instead of one counselor per year." Lily patted my back while I mumbled over my speech. It was a bad habit I gained from All Might, and I'm guessing Midoriya got the hang of it when I hung out with the class yesterday. Love that.

"I know it seems like I have Nezu wrapped around my finger, but I am literally going to go up to my boss, and ex-principal, who practically raised me, and tell him that I think he sucks at his job when it comes to students' mental health." I scratched the back of my head. Maybe I should've opted to wear my hair up instead of curling it for this meeting. On the other hand, Lily was wearing a creme pants suit with her hair wrapped in her signature bun. "I feel like I am being ungrateful and a huge hypocrite." I pushed my hair back and wiped my palms on the shorts of my suit.

Lily looked more concerned about the other staff members watching us, "Okay, I know I'm a counselor but please pull yourself together. Aizawa and Vlad look like they're about to run and get you water and a ventilator." I spinned in my seat towards the two men to see them staring at me. Welp this is embarrassing. I simply waved awkwardly and turned back to Lily, "We're not talking about you, we are talking about the current students. Nezu will understand that. And you can always use your time in the U.S. as a way to back up our argument and not have to bring up your time living at U.A. It is as simple as apple pie."

I just blinked at her. "You did not just use, 'It is as simple as apple pie.'" I motioned my fingers as air quotes and made a high pitched North Carolina accent to emphasize the phrase. She simply nudged me and laughed. "I hate baking. Whoever thought baking was easy needs to reevaluate everything." I shook my head, my nerves finally dissipating once the topic switched over.

I checked the clock to see if I still had time to spare. Sadly I didn't so I packed up my stuff and told Lily to start walking over to the meeting room. I passed by the two teachers, Vlad gave us two thumbs up and Aizawa just nodded. "So, explain to me why all the male staff at U.A. are so attentive to you." She smirked.

"It's mainly Present Mic. But since you asked, most of them we're U.A. students at the same time I was. So they knew me before I became the self-confident pro you see before you today, that is still afraid of their mouse principal that is like two feet shorter than her." I gave a fake chipper tone.

"Why are you so intimidated by Nezu anyways?" Lily's honey brown eyebrows scrunched creating a crease between them.

"Simple answer. He took me in when my mom couldn't take care of me. The real answer, he thought it was funny to be the staff member in charge of my final exam in my first year at U.A. and it wasn't fun." I visibly shook in my suit.

"Wait, is it that time where you thought you and Iris were up against robots but instead it was..."

"YES! And I don't want to talk about it." I looked over at her with pleading eyes. "I mean it. I can talk about a lot of things, that is not one of them."

"But it's not even the worst thing to..."

"Doesn't matter, I don't like talking about it." Lily just shrugged and kept walking without pressing me further. She's right, it isn't the worst thing to happen to me; it's more just an embarrassing story that I don't like because I seriously underestimated Nezu that day. I really hope he hasn't done that to any other students after that. Once we hit the door to the meeting room, we were met with Hound Dog and no Nezu.

"Where's Principal Nezu?" Lily asked as she opened the door for us.

"He's giving All Might a lecture about how a teacher needs to prioritize his students." Ryo rubbed his eyebrows, "So, the meeting has to go without him."

I raised my eyebrow, "Wasn't the point of the meeting for him to not be here? What did All Might do?"

Ryo looked just as annoyed as we did, "He went around saving people this morning so he ran out of time and needed to recharge. So Nezu wanted to talk to him because he felt that it was more important."

I smirked a little despite being annoyed at the slight hypocrisy, "I can see it now, All Might on the couch at the teacher's lounge while Nezu brings out the tea and starts talking about the meaning of being a hero and a teacher." I did a slight impression of Nezu's mannerism causing them to laugh along. "If anything, he could've just passive aggressively brought All Might along to the meeting so he can hear us lecturing." Then it hit me. Aizawa asked me and Thirteen is we wanted to join him in training the students at the USJ tomorrow. "Shit. Aizawa is going to piss when Toshi isn't in class. Let me text him really quick since no one else is here yet." They simply motioned me to do so while they got seated. Lily even grabbed my bag with my laptop and tablet for me.

Hey, Aizawa.

Toshinori went out using his quirk this morning and wasted his energy again. He might not be able to come in for the beginning portion of class. I'm sorry, I barely found out because Nezu is with him and not at the meeting. Tell the kids I said, "Hi." and that I wish them a good day! Please don't be mad at the big guy okay, I'm sure he feels really bad :)

Message not delivered

That's weird. Maybe he has his phone off or something. Oh well, Thirteen will probably catch him up to speed about Toshinori. I noticed the other counselors were showing up so I made my way inside quickly and let the meeting start.

Things were going smoothly until all of a sudden the internet connection stopped working and Lily's powerpoint froze up on the screen. Ryo and I were struggling to fix it when all of a sudden, Iida ran into the meeting room gasping and slightly heaving. "Iida? What are you doing here, this is strictly for U.A staff..."

"There are villains attacking the USJ! I ran into All Might and he told me to go and alert as many heroes as possible." The tall boy flailed his arms in chopping movements despite needing to catch his breath. "I am sorry for the interruption but I am assured that you understand the importance."

Hound Dog stood up and ordered everyone to head to different school areas to make sure it was just the USJ that was infiltrated. I put my hands on the boy's armored shoulders, "Hey, hey, its going to be okay, take deep breaths. Did you tell other staff?"

He nodded finally catching his breath, "I told Nezu and some of the teachers, they are heading there as we speak."

I nodded with him, "Okay, relax; we're a school full of pros; we'll make sure everything turns out fine." I pulled off my blue blazer and my heels.

"What are you doing, Ms. Montoya?" The boy looked bewildered.

"I'm heading to the USJ and I can't really run in heels." I smiled and held my shoes up and then started rushing over there with Iida following close behind.

"But what about your suspension?"

"To hell with it, you students are more important." I kept straight ahead when all of a sudden I was lifted off the ground, "Um, Iida what are you doing?"

"Sorry, Ms. Montoya, I am not trying to be inappropriate, it's just that I'm faster and they're attacking my classmates and my teacher." If it weren't a dire situation I would've told him to put me down but this boy was running on pure adrenaline so he probably was going to be a lot faster anyways.

I simply nodded, "I admire your determination about helping but once we're at the USJ I want you to just get as many of the students out without running into any villains. Your safety is most important." I honestly don't think the fifteen year old heard me while he was running.

We finally met with the other staff with Nezu at the USJ. The bright relieved faces on Class 1-A's face made my heart sink. "Sorry we were late students." Nezu spoke up. I turned to Iida and the boy looked so proud of himself that he was able to help get us here. I observed the whole place and saw every inch of it in shambles. I couldn't really see where Toshinori was, but I guess it was where the smoke was located. Great that means he's running out of time. Sero and Sato were holding up an injured Thirteen. I looked down to see Asui and Mineta carrying a broken Aizawa. Fuck. I turned to Mic, and he looked almost as furious as I was feeling. Directions were given to the student while the teachers began to fight. First to step up was Snipe shooting all the way to where All Might was. Guessing he was shooting a villain that was fighting him. After that it was Mic with his voice quirk. The villains didn't know what they had coming in for them. I went down as fast as I could to the kids and Aizawa as the rest of the staff followed in suit of Snipe and Mic. I grabbed Aizawa out of their arms and laid him down for a second to analyze him. His face busted in, and his arms and legs were broken. How are you going to recover from this one, Sho? I looked up and the students, "Shoji, you think you can carry Mr. Aizawa out of here?" He nodded and moved his six arms to situate Aizawa comfortably on him. "Okay, all of you start heading up now into safety, okay? Is anyone else injured?" For the students that were with me they all seemed fine. "Okay, good. I am going to help the other staff and find the rest of the class. Please get out of here and try to be safe. You guys did phenomenally, and I'm extremely proud at how well you are handling this situation." I smiled and gave them a quick nod before following in after the chaos. I have to go find Toshinori before he loses his time.

I shouldn't be using my quirk, but I don't really care right now. I decided to channel some of my energy into my legs and make a huge leap into the middle of the USJ in between All Might and some blue haired villain with hands all over his body. There was a purple ghostly figure behind him with glowing gold eyes. I pushed Midoriya out of the way while I noticed that Kirishima, Bakugo, and Todoroki were all a few feet away from the scene. "Who are you? You don't look like a pro? You don't even have a suit." The blue haired villain croaked out, he was bleeding from Snipe's shot.

I gave him a simple smirk once I started hearing more bullets flying through the air, "You don't need to know." I used an old quirk I gained years ago that I had so much trouble wanting to use it. I created a large amount of clouds to hide All Might, Midoriya, and I while the villain was failing to dodge the bullets coming at him. The clouds were dense enough to protect all of us from any last minute chances of an attack. The ghostly figure wrapped around the boy as he fell to ground, I tried my best to come after it but I just flew threw while they both disappeared. So much for being useful. I groaned as I watched the borrowed cloud quirk start to fade as well as All Might's muscular form. He was telling Midoriya that he saved him and kind of praised him for nearly getting himself killed which I didn't really appreciate but I couldn't really say anything about at the moment.

"Midoriya!" We all turned in the direction of the sound, it was Kirshima in his Red Riot suit running towards us. "Are you okay?"

I was getting ready to use the cloud quirk again when Cementoss came to the rescue and blocked the redhead for me with his cement quirk, telling him that everything was okay and that to go with the other students. I admire the compassion the student had to go check on his classmate, and I was able to tell that Toshinori was impressed by it as well. I sighed, "You really need to just let me and the other heroes handle things, Toshinori."

Midoriya looked stunned. "AAAAhh... IIIIII... ahhhh?"

I walked up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder, "News flash kid, all of us teachers know about All Might's situation. I actually knew for the whole ten years. I also know you have One For All. Congratulations and my condolences, because that quirk is going to be hell to learn." I chuckled, "It's okay, though; you'll have me to help you with it though. Now I am going to go help other students get escorted out of here, you want to help while Cementoss sneaks Toshi out of here?" I raised my eyebrow. The boy still stunned with his mouth hanging just simply nodded and followed my lead.

We managed to grab the rest of the students and I was about to escort them out when Kayama stopped me. "I'll get them out, you need to go to the hospital with Aizawa."

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean I have to go?"

"Nezu lied and said that you two were engaged so that way you can have access to his room and keep the students updated with his condition while he's recovering."

I blinked. He couldn't have just said that I was a colleague from the same agency as Eraserhead? I just nodded and she pointed me in the direction of the ambulance. "Please make sure my kids are okay while I'm gone."

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

Beep. Beep. Beep. Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. Sitting in the hospital room with a just barely stabled man laying unconscious in bed was starting to eat away at me. I had to stay in the waiting room as both Aizawa and Thirteen were in the ER undergoing surgery. Thirteen was out first and was conscious, so I was able to talk to them and check on them while waiting for news on Aizawa. All I had to do was tell them that I was from U.A. and show them my hero license and school I.D. and they let me in. I don't understand why Nezu had to lie about my relationship to AIzawa. Toshinori's friend Detective Tskauchi had a partner of his come in and watch over the both of us and another cop to look over Thirteen. "Yeah, no they're both stable, the students have nothing to worry about. Hey, you want to say 'Hi' to your counselor while you guys have me on the phone?"

I gave a short hello and told them everything was fine and explained that I was made Aizawa's emergency contact since we're partners at the school and how I would keep them updated. Afterwards, the detective left the room to continue talking to Tskauchi about the case. I just stayed sitting beside Aizawa's left. The poor guy was practically mummified. The doctor told me that his quirk might have been affected by the attack. But aside from that the rest of him should be perfectly fine after a period of resting and healing. I'm just relieved that he's alive. I had to go straight to the hospital, I didn't even know I left my phone in my blazer back at the meeting room. Given that Lily doesn't actually fight as a pro and is only allowed to use quirk due to her counseling job, I'm hoping that she got my stuff while she was calling the police and ambulance. I chuckled. Really that's what I'm worried about right now?

I never really felt comfortable in hospitals. Just never had a good memory with them. Which is ironic considering my mom is a doctor. Hospitals reminded me of all the times I thought I was going to die. And now, I'm here seeing one of my first friends ever almost die. My grandfather must be laughing in his grave watching me right now. Heck, I'm laughing at myself right now. I tried hard to be a symbol of hope for people, and I'm not even doing that because of my stupid suspension and I'm holding back on my quirk. If I was... no. Nope. I will not be blaming this on myself. I was having a normal day, I couldn't have expected this. Scanning over Aizawa, I kept following how his chest rose and fell and matched my breathing to that to calm my thoughts. You would think you would be over all that, Mai? I am over it. Today was just a setback.

What would happen if Aizawa couldn't use his quirk anymore? Would he even be upset? When he was a kid he was always insecure about his ability to be hero because his quirk was a combat based quirk. But even so, his quirk gave him an advantage against villains because he could stop their quirk and be able to make it an equal fight. So without his quirk... would he go back to that insecure kid, or would he just make his peace with it?

I didn't know I was crying until the detective came back and gave me the tissue box from the table next to the window and I felt the tears repeatedly hit my hands in my lap. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry about your fiance. At least he's alive though." I simply nodded. At least he's alive. "Do you need to use my phone to call someone for you? In case you need clothing or anything?"

I shook my head and sniffed, "Detective Tsukauchi is a friend of mine. I'm sure he'll grab some stuff before he comes to the hospital to talk to you in person. But thank you."

———————————————————————

My master list 😊

Tag list:

@inumorph @thatgirlwithcamera @mel-sanch

#bnha oc #mha fanfiction #mha oc #oc x aizawa #oc x bnha #ua staff au #original character #bnha fanfic #oc x mha #mha #mha aizawa #bnha #bnha fanfiction #my hero fanfic #boku no hero fanfic #bnha aizawa

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Banner Ch21: Shards Of A Broken Soul

Summary: Katie is finally reunited with Steve, Tony and the rest of the Avengers, and the extent of her injuries become clear. Can Steve push his own feelings of anger and inadequacy to one side enough to help her focus on getting better?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Bad language, injuries, mentions of rape. Avoid if these upset you. Smut (NSFW)

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist

Both Tony and Steve were anxious, Bruce could tell. He also noticed the Soldier’s knuckles were angry and bleeding. Standing up, he headed to the back of the jet to check the medical equipment. It was fully stocked as much as could be, and picking up an ice pack and some gauze he headed over to Steve and tapped his shoulder.

“Thanks.” Steve said, taking the gauze and wiping at his split knuckles before applying the ice pack “Be fine in a coupla hours”

“Tony, you wanna switch out?” Bruce asked, “I can fly if you…” “No, I got it, besides…” he said turning his seat and gesturing to the ‘Jarvis is my co-pilot’ sticker that Katie had gotten him a while back as a joke, which was stuck to the control panel “As the sign says, its JARVIS doing it really not me…I’m just supervising.” “So, I hate to ask…” Bruce said.

“Then don’t” Tony looked at him fiercely and Steve sighed.

“None of us want to hear it Tony but…” he took a deep breath “we need to be prepared…did they say how she was hurt or…” Tony ran his hand over his face, stroking his less-groomed than normal goatee “They said she was bruised, quite severely, her left hand is in a bad way…” Steve let out a low growl at that, and his right hand flew to his sweat pants pockets, which he unzipped and ran his hands across the smooth metal and stones. Her rings had been with him ever since they’d been returned by Coulson “…and she’s in and out of consciousness, has a nasty cough, but other than that…” Tony trailed off. “Ok.” Bruce stood up, “I’ll prep what I can to make her comfy until we get her home.”

The 2 hour flight to the airfield seemed to take an eternity, but finally JARVIS announced they were approaching and shortly after they touched down. Steve was out of his seat before the plane had landed, and half jumped off the ramp before it was fully down and Tony wasn’t far behind. Bruce opted to stay behind with the jet and Steve knew it was because the gentle man didn’t want to intrude on what was going to be an emotional reunion. 

The man waiting was a huge guy. Huge. Taller than Steve and equally as wide, but with the figure of a once welt built man that had slightly gone to seed. His eyes were a warm hazel and he gave of a friendly aura.

“Captain Rogers, Mr Stark…” The man greet them on the tarmac of the airfield as the various ATC staff bustled around, heading to the jet where they were greeted by Bruce.

“Sergeant Matkinson?” Tony asked, shaking the large hand extended to him in greeting.

“No, sorry Matkinson is the one who called you.” he said “I’m Dave Bellamy, the Duty Inspector.”

He turned as Steve and Tony followed him towards the waiting car. “I gotta admit, this wasn’t what I expected when I came in today.” “Has she said anything about…” Steve began as they approached the car, but the man shook his head.

“Other than asking for you and refusing to go to Hospital she hasn’t said much at all.” he said, stopping to open the driver’s side door. Steve climbed in next to him and Tony settled in the back. “The on duty medic has cleaned her up as best she could, but she got a bit hysterical at one point when she woke up. She calmed down as soon as she realised she was safe. She did mutter something about the leather jacket we found her with and her needing to keep it as it belonged to a friend but other than that she hasn’t said much at all.” Steve frowned and looked at Tony, the pair of them exchanging a puzzled look. “A friend?” Steve turned to the officer who fired up the sirens and pulled off with a screech of tires.

"Yeah.” Bellamy nodded “We figured that whoever broke her out gave it to her, on account of her having nothing else to keep her warm but all we know is that car was taken in Collorado. And someone drove it up here and dumped it with her in the back. Whoever it was, wanted her found and safe.”

No one spoke for a while until Bellamy chipped in again. “We tried to give her some food and a warm drink but she just stared at it, like it was going to poison her or something. She looks a lot better than she did when we found her on account of her being cleaned up but she’s still…” he shrugged “Well, the sooner you can call get her some proper medical attention the better.

"And you didn't call a doctor?" Tony bit out.

“Of course we did Mr Stark.” Bellamy sighed, his tone a little annoyed “We called an ambulance but when the paramedics arrived she went crazy. And I mean, crazy. In the end we sent them away. Like I say, she let our medic, Sarah, look at her but…” he trailed off and once more the car felt silent.

With the sirens going it didn’t take them long to arrive. Steve walked into the station through the rear entrance with a lump in his throat, which got bigger every time he thought about what state his girl was going to be in. But she was there. In this building. Ignoring the obvious looks that Captain America and Tony Stark attracted in the busy corridors of the small station, he followed the large Inspector to a room and the Inspector nodded, opening the door. 

“She said the light hurt her eyes.” The Inspector said by way of explanation as Steve and Tony stepped into the room. It smelt clean, slightly clinical and was dimly lit. Steve blinked, his vision adjusting to the lower level of lighting and saw Katie was led on the little medical bench. At the sound of voices she raised her head to look at the door.

“Oh Jesus…” Tony muttered, his hand flying to his mouth, turning away clearly unable to look at her battered form any longer than he had to. But Steve remained still, his chest heaving as his eyes focussed on her face as she looked at him, almost as if she couldn’t see him. He swallowed as nothing but utter relief washed over him, drowning out the initial flicker of anger he’d seen at the state she was in. The medic may have cleaned her face but her hair was a tangle of dirt and dried blood. The entire left side of her gaunt face was a mass of bruises, some faded and yellow, some new and angry. There was a raised line of pink to the left side of her mouth where a cut had healed, another large one down the side of her right temple, a deep slash over the bridge of her nose which looked to be on its way to healing and Steve’s eyes then flew to her hand which was bent out of shape so badly. 

As Katie blinked, the two men came into focus. She noticed her brother, his face was utterly broken and then she looked at her soldier, and the first thing she saw was the growth of stubble on his handsome face that was well on its way to being a beard. His eyes, his brilliant ocean blues were dull with pain, worry, fright but there was nothing on his face but relief. 

They were both there, the two most important men in her life, the men that had always made her feel safe and loved, and the emotion crashed over her in a huge surge. Katie felt her face crumple up as she spoke softly “Stevie…” “Oh Doll…” his voice cracked as he crossed the room, dropping onto the bench besides her and pulling her into his arms. His touch was familiar and comforting, she couldn’t remember how long it has been since he held her. She wound her arms around his waist, her face pushing into his chest as she began to cry.

He held her tight as he pressed his face into her hair. It was dirty but he didn’t care. “Sweetheart, I missed you so much. I’m so sorry we didn’t…we didn’t…” his words trailed off as they were replaced by a choking sob as his tears began to fall whilst he simply sat there, his arms around her. She felt small, much smaller than normal, and as  his hands gently rubbing up her back and he gave a horrified swallow as he realised he could feel her spine. He took a shaky breath and loosened his grip ever so slightly and he looked up as Tony crossed the room, wiping the tears from his face as he sat on the other side of the bed and gently sat next to her. She pushed away from Steve slightly to look up at her brother.

“Hey Kiddo.” he croaked out “Place has gone to shit without you.” She let out a little jerk of a laugh as he reached out and tenderly cupped her face.

"Take me home." she said, the tears pricking into her eyes as she pressed her face once more into Steve’s chest, his warm, familiar, comforting chest.

"Of course doll," he choked out, looking up at Tony who wiped at his face again. "Of course."

******

“Hi Bruce…” Katie managed to stutter when Steve carried her onto the jet, Tony doing the thankyous to the officer who had driven them back, handing Tony the leather jacket that Katie had made a huge fuss about not leaving without for some reason, but there was plenty of time to dig into that later.

“Hey Nova.” he smiled softly, as Steve set her down on the medical bench at the back. He kept her right hand in his, gently kissing her knuckles as Bruce took her in. He looked up at Steve who swallowed and nodded, understanding and the Doctor looked at Katie. “I’m just gonna take a look at you, that ok?” Katie had to stop herself from laughing “It aint gonna be pretty” she said, before she started coughing again, scrunching herself up at the pain and Steve’s hand gently dropped to her head as he crouched besides her.

“She’s running a temp.” he looked at Bruce who nodded.

“Probably an infection.” he surmised “Don’t worry sweetie, we’ll get you patched up and back to normal in no time.” he said as he gently hiked up the hoody they’d given her at the station.

“Told you.” she said, clocking the look on his face as he tried, but failed, to hide the gasp of shock and horror. Steve glanced over and his face paled at the mass of bruising on her sides. He could see her ribs, her hips. He knew she’d lost weight but this…

“I dunno when I last ate.” she said, laying her head back, “Didn’t trust them.” Steve dropped a kiss to her forehead as Tony joined them.

“Well, on top of the obvious you’re probably a little malnourished.” Bruce sighed, as he leant to listen to her breathing with a stethoscope before letting out a small hum and a nod “Yeah, as suspected…you have a nasty chest infection…and that hand…” “She gonna be ok?” Tony demanded as Bruce moved him out of the way to gather up some supplies. The jet was kitted out for quick missions, nothing like this, but he found what he was looking for.

“She is here…” Katie mumbled and Tony arched an eyebrow.

“Brat.” She let out a small smile and Steve dropped a kiss to her forehead, allowing himself a little chuckle a the fact her sassiness hadn’t been beaten out of her.

Beaten out of her. Jesus.

He straightened up, once more the tears stinging his eyes and looked away, composing himself. 

“Once we’re home I can start you on some IV anti-biotics and glucose.” Bruce said, drawing something into a syringe. “But right now I’m going to give you something for the pain, which should help you sleep too.”

She nodded as Bruce gently rolled up the sleeve on her top, Steve letting out an angry growl at the finger marks there along with the marks on her wrists from restraints, and Bruce pushed the needle into her arm. Once he was done, Bruce readjusted her hoody for her and Tony gently placed a blanket over her, smoothing a hand over her head. 

“I’ll get us in the air.”  he said, and Bruce nodded.

“Sooner we get home the better.”

It wasn’t long before Katie felt her eyes drooping.

“Stevie, I’m so tired.” she mumbled and he leaned over, kissing her head.

“Then sleep.” he said gently, his hand stroking her dirty hair “I’ll be right here.”

And this time, as she drifted off into the darkness, the last thing she saw were those blue eyes, and the last thing she felt was her man’s hand gently caressing her hair in the way that always soothed her.

*****

Katie was still out of it when they arrived back, Steve not once moving from her side the entire flight back and as soon as the jet had landed, they were greeted by the rest of the Avengers plus Sam, Rhodey and Pepper. As Banner wheeled the gurney down the ramp, Steve walking along side it, holding her hand, Thor’s face contorted in rage at the sight of his friend and there was loud clap of thunder which made them all jump. Clint gently patted his back as he swallowed.

“She gonna be ok?” It was Rhodey who spoke first as they wheeled her past, the sight of the little girl who he’d seen grown up looking so badly beaten and frail made him sick as Banner wheeled her past, Steve not even acknowledging the rest of the team as they passed.

“She’s not in a great way but…” Tony sighed as Pepper strolled over to give him a hug, her eyes brimming with tears “Bruce thinks she’ll recover physically, it’s the mental trauma I’m worried about.”

“She’s strong.” Natasha said, wrapping her arms around herself. “A lot stronger than we give her credit for.” Clint gently rubbed at her back as she turned to him, blinking back tears. He pulled her in for a hug which she took, pressing her face into her best friend’s shoulder. 

“Any idea on how she escaped?” Sam asked.

“No.” Tony said, looking at him “Not that it matters, main thing is she’s here.” he turned to Nat and Clint as the red head stepped back and turned to face him. “Cap was on about someone going back to check out where she was held…you wanna get on it?”

Clint nodded but Nat hesitated slightly. She was unnerved by the emotion she had felt upon seeing Katie and didn’t want to leave her. Sam instantly picked up on it and he turned to Clint. “I’ll come.” “And me.” Thor said, the vein in his temple twitched slightly.

Clint nodded at the two men and Tony inclined his head to the jet. “JARVIS has the co-ords.”

With that he turned and the arm that wasn’t around Pepper gently draped over Natasha’s shoulder, giving her a quick squeeze before they headed inside, followed by Rhodey.

******

It was a good few hours before Katie came round again. When she did she sat bolt upright, panic flooding her system, a loud scream bubbling from her throat.

“Hey, hey...” she heard a voice and a gentle hand round hers and she took a panicked breath, instantly scrambling away across the bed as she felt it dip besides her. “Sweetheart, it’s ok…” 

That voice. It was Steve. Her soldier.

At that realisation she instantly calmed, as she turned to face him.

“You’re safe, you’re home…” he smiled softly, his hand gently cupping her battered face as she looked at him, swallowing.

“Sorry…” she said, “I was a little out of it, thought I was still…” she trailed off, looking down at the warm, clean, comfortable sheets and blankets she was wrapped in. “You’ve nothing to apologise for.” Steve sighed, “If anything I’m sorry…sorry we didn’t find you sooner. We tried...” he hung his head slightly “God did we try…” “Stop it, you idiot.” she said, squeezing his hand “This is not on you. It isn’t on anyone other than Hydra…” “Huh…” Tony spoke as he walked into the room “Not what Cap was saying when he broke Fury’s nose.” “You didn’t?” Katie looked at him as Steve gave a small groan.

“Oh he did.” Tony said, pulling up a chair at side of the bed next to where Steve was sat by Katie, and turning it round so he was perched straddling the seat, his arms crossing over the back as he leant forward “Made a terrific noise.” “Did J record it?” She asked and Steve groaned again.

“Oh you bet he did.” Tony smirked “I’m intending on using it as a warning to everyone about what happens when Spangles loses his shit. Not to mention the amount of punchbags, doors, walls and windows we’ve had to replace or repair...”

“Is this really necessary?” Steve sighed and Katie grinned.

“It’s very necessary.” she said seriously and Steve snorted, shaking his head. “What did you punch Fury for?” Steve ran his hand over his face and scratched his chin, he really did need a shave. “Because he was lying to us again. SHIELD knew that Sceptre had gone missing and if they had warned us then Hydra might not have targeted you specifically.” “You mean they would have taken someone else?” She narrowed her eyes at him. He fell silent.

“I tried.” Tony said softly, I tried to get them to take me, but they…” “Ok, enough.” she said, a little louder and both men looked at her. “This stops, right now, the pair of you. I can’t cope with the display of masculine self-pity.”

“It’s not self-pity…” Tony started, somewhat indignantly and she cut him off.

“I don’t care what you want to call it. But we stop now with the blame, ok? This was no-ones fault, no one but those motherfuckers who took me. And if I hear the word sorry come out of either of your mouths again in relation to this, as soon as I’m well enough to I’m going to kick both your assess…”

At that point Bruce swept back into the room, smiling softly at her. “Can I take it from the threats you’re issuing that you’re feeling a little better?” “A bit” she nodded. “Still, not great but I don’t feel as faint anymore, and my head doesn’t feel as full of cotton wool.” “Your blood sugar levels will be picking up.” Bruce smiled as he nodded to the needle in the crook of her arm which she hadn’t noticed and began to explain to her “I’ve started you on a low dose of glucose and some antibiotics to fight that chest infection, which was my first concern. You’re malnourished but I’m afraid there’s no actual food for a while, couple of days we can look at introducing nutrients orally by liquids.”

Katie looked at Steve and smiled “Know what I need?” He smiled back “Ma’s Chicken soup?” “Damned right.” she grinned “That stuff was magic when I had a cold” “I’ll make you all the soup you want.” he said, gently, his hand running over her forehead. No one stated the obvious, that she had much more than a fucking cold going on.

“And then when I can I’m gonna eat the biggest portion of Mac and Cheese I can manage” she sighed “And a cheeseburger…” “Extra pickle, chilli fries, vanilla milkshake and a slice of apple pie” Steve and Tony recited her order perfectly and she grinned.

“Preferably all from the Diner round the corner.” she said with a decisive nod.

“Well, as soon as Bruce says its ok that’s what you can have” Tony said gently “For now let’s just concentrate on getting you healthy again.” “I hate to beak this up, I really do…” Bruce said, and he did. Seeing them reunited warmed his soul, but he needed to dig into what was going on. “But now you’re awake I need to run some tests, do a few scans. I can’t see any signs of internal bleeding or anything but I want to be 100% what’s going on.”

Katie nodded “Other than my ribs and my hand…” she trailed off and looked down at her left hand which was misshapen but wasn’t as sore as it had been on account of the fact Bruce had expertly bound it to give it some support. “They took my rings…” she said softly, before looking at her right hand this time “They broke my fingers, and took my fucking rings, bastards…” The thought of anyone breaking any bone in her body alighted a fire of anger in Steve’s chest, but he gave a small smile as he shook his head “Coulson found them.” he said, reaching into his pocket. He held them out to her and her eyes started to water.

“I thought I’d lost them...” “Baby they’re not important.” Steve shook his head “Lumps of metal and stone...but you...” he swallowed “Anyway, doesn’t matter, they’re here.”

“Gonna be a while before I can wear it again huh?” she gently ran her hand over the shape of her engagement ring which lay in Steve’s palm before she looked up at Bruce who gave her a sad nod.

“’Fraid so.”

“Not this one.” Steve said, holding up her emerald and she grinned, gleefully holding out her right hand for him to slip it back on her finger before placing a kiss just above it.

“I’ll keep the other one safe, promise.” Steve smiled.

She nodded, and held up her right hand looking at her emerald before she sighed, somewhat happily, and then she frowned.

“Hang on, how did Coulson find them?” she looked at Steve. “They were in the first place you were held.” Tony said “It’s a long story but SHIELD got a tip off about an abandoned base being back in use and they raided it, but they were too late. You’d gone.” “I don’t even remember them moving me.” she sighed, and Bruce shook his head.

“Amnesia is common when you’ve been through some kind of trauma.” he said “Your mind’s way of coping.” Katie lay her head back on the pillow. “Pity I remember everything else they did. Well, mostly…”

Steve shook his head “Don’t think on any of that. You’re safe now, and I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” “Well that’s gonna be awkward when I need the bathroom.” she looked at him and he played along, pausing as if he was pondering something.

“Ok, well maybe I’ll just wait outside and listen to you pee instead.” “Kinky fucker.” she shot back causing him to snort a laugh. Thankfully the scans and tests showed nothing more serious than 6 broken ribs, 3 of which were well on their way to healing, a slight tear in the intercostal muscle between two and a small tear in her spleen which again, Bruce was pleased to see was also repairing.

“You’re fit and healthy” he explained “Your body shouldn’t have an issue repairing itself, granted not as fast as Cap’s but…”

“Well we can’t all be Super Soldiers.” she shrugged.

“What is slightly more concerning is that hand.” Bruce said. “the bones have started to set, and they’re not realigned correctly and I’m worried about long term damage. So I’ve made a call to Helen Cho, the geneticist I told you all about that I met at the Convention a few months back. She’s going to fly in with an old colleague of hers, a Dr Wang Xui Ying…” Katie and Tony both snorted, because Wang, exchanging a gleeful look and Steve rolled his eyes at their blatant childishness, but he wasn’t really bothered. It was good to see.

“Yeah yeah…” Bruce shook his head, a smirk dancing on his face “For obvious reasons he goes by his middle name in the Western world…anyway, he’s a leading Orthopaedic surgeon. I’ve sent him your X-Ray results and he says he can fix it, but it’s going to need an operation. And I don’t want to put you under any form of anaesthetic until you’re stronger.” “How long?” Steve asked and Katie bit back a smile at his demanding nature.

“If you’re vitals keep improving then maybe 5 to 7 days.” Bruce said. “We’ll see how things go. They’re going to arrive over the weekend.” “I’ve wanted to meet this Dr Cho for a while, she sounds intriguing.” Tony nodded. “I’ll make sure he guest rooms are prepped.” Katie spent the rest of the day greeting her various visitors and flitting in and out of sleep, which was perfectly normal, so Bruce said. She woke later in the evening to Steve talking in a hushed voice to Clint, Sam and Thor, whilst Natasha, Bruce and Tony listened in, Rhodey who had to get back to work had left a few hours ago after popping in to see how Katie was doing the last time she had been awake.

“No idea.” Clint said as he finished giving Steve a debrief on what they had found, the Captain insisting they did it in the medical room, not wanting to leave Katie for a second if he could help it “Place was littered with bodies. Mostly gun shots, bar Jones, who we found in the cell they kept Nova in.”

“Yeah, he hadn’t been shot.” Sam said and he looked at Steve significantly “His neck was snapped, and when I say snapped, I mean crushed.”

“Good.” Natasha spat, and Steve had to say he was inclined to agree. He hoped the fucker had suffered, his only regret was he wouldn’t get to do it himself. And then the significance of what Sam had said hit him.

“Hang on, you say crushed?” Bruce asked and Clint nodded.

“Never seen anything like it Doc.” he shrugged “It was like someone had put him in a vice”

Sam looked at Steve who’s eyes widened as his memory flicked back to the first Hydra base they’d raided back in DC. 

No, it couldn’t be...

“There was one man.” Thor continued and Steve looked at him “He was in the laboratory area. His death was an execution.” “Bullet, straight between the eyes. “Sam levelled Steve with another look. “It was just like in DC…” he made a gun shape with his fingers and held it at the top of his nose, miming the action.

“Do you think...” Steve started to ask and then a soft voice cut him off

“You know you could just ask me.” Katie spoke as she suddenly realised that no one had asked how she had escaped yet. The group all looked at her, breaking up their huddle to move towards her. Thor, Clint and Sam, who hadn’t seen her since she had woken up all came over to drop kisses onto her cheeks, her head and Clint gently brushed her head with his hand.

“Good to have you back Nova.” he smiled and she looked at him, his face soft with emotion.

“Good to be back.” she said before she sighed “So I suppose you all want to know how I got out?” “It’s been puzzling us a little.” Nat smirked.

She looked at Steve who took a seat back by her bed and then she told him just what he had suspected “It was Bucky.” Steve swallowed, and looked up at Sam.

“How?” Tony frowned, “And I mean I’m beyond glad he did Kiddo but what we he doing there? It makes no sense.”

“Yes it does.” Steve said, looking up “When we were tracking him we found the same thing in DC. Bodies all over the place, windpipes crushed, but one had been shot straight between the eyes. When we found the footage he was one of the men strapping him into the chair before they…” he trailed off, taking a deep breath, it still hurt to talk about it.

“We think Ol’ Frosty was on some kind of revenge rampage.” Sam shrugged “I expect if we run that Doctor we found in La Ronge through the system, we’ll find he was connected to the Winter Soldier programme in some way too.” “And Jones?” Clint asked “Think he might have been too?” Katie gave a snort “No, he was trying to make a run for it and was dragging me with him, but I’d heard the shots and knew whoever it was wasn’t Hydra. I thought it might have been you guys so I was screaming, Bucky must have heard…he snapped his neck like it was a twig. Then he gave me his jacket and carried me out.” “So that’s why you were making such a fuss about it.” Steve said, looking at her. She shrugged.

“He saved my life.” she looked at him “Figured the least I could do was save his jacket, in case we ever do find him again.”

Steve’s mind was whirring. He wanted to ask her so many more questions, had he said anything to her, had he recognised her, but he knew now that wasn’t important. Instead, he’d save it for later, when she was stronger. And he added it to the huge long list of times Bucky had bailed him out. Only this sat right at the top of things his best friend had done for him. 

Right at the top.   He felt her hand on his and he gave her a small smile, gently reaching over to kiss the top of her head and she smiled, looking around at the assembled crowd in the room.

“You know, they threatened to kill you all unless I told them what they thought I knew. And I laughed.” she said, shaking her head  “I mean, I’d have loved that. Them to meet you lot...”

Thor made a noise that was halfway between a snort and a growl “I would very much like to meet them too. So would my hammer.”

“Told you that you should have let me put an arrow through Ward’s head.” Clint said, crossing his arms.

“Oh no.” she said fiercely, and Steve was pleased to see there was a fire in her eyes “If anyone is putting a bullet between that fucker’s eyes it’s me. And I want him to see me when I do it.”

“Someone’s clearly feeling better.” Natasha smirked and Katie winked at her friend.

“Loads.” she sighed, “thank God.”  “You’re welcome.” Thor said, grinning and there were various chuckles around the room. Katie broke into a laugh which hastily descended into a coughing fit. As she took a sip of the water Steve offered her through the straw she glanced up at the god, her eyes shining with humour.

“Good one Thor…”

 *******

Steve camped on the couch in the corner of the medical room for the next 2 nights, refusing to leave. He made sure Katie fell asleep in his arms as he curled up behind her whilst the sedative Bruce gave her to help her rest went to work, and she always woke up in his arms, but the pillow and the blanket on the couch were tell-tale signs that he camped there when he was satisfied she was in a dreamless sleep. Steve knew the nightmares were going to come at some point when the sedation was no longer being used, but they’d cross that bridge when they got there. 

He’d finally been forced into going back to their floor for a shower, but first he decided to have a shave. He was glad to see his face looked a lot less tired, he certainly felt a lot less tired, having had the first two decent night’s sleep in weeks over the last 48 hours. Katie had told him all about Bucky, what he had said, how he had recognised her, carried her out and taken her to car, how she had tried to convince him to come back but he had refused, and she didn’t remember anything until waking up at the station in the back of the car. There wasn’t much to go on but Sam had departed at lunchtime the day before to follow up the leads. But as Katie had said, she didn’t think they’d see him for a while. Especially when Nat, who had been doing some digging, confirmed that all the men they had seen on the video strapping Bucky to the chair had been found, bullets between the eyes. With a sigh Steve wiped his face clear before turning on the shower. He was grateful to Bucky, he really was, but he couldn’t shake this horrible, hollow feeling of inadequacy that was balling in the pit of his stomach. He should have been the one rescuing his girl, and he’d failed. That said, as he stepped under the stream of scalding hot water he reminded himself that it didn’t matter. What did matter was the fact she was home, safe, and improving as each hour went by.

Katie could feel that she was improving too, although as she forced the last of the awful green concoction Bruce had given her to drink, she was seriously considering asking for her IV to go back in. The drink or smoothie or whatever it was, was fucking vile, but he’d assured her if she could manage it and her system didn’t reject it, then she could slowly start introducing different liquids into her system, starting with different nutrient packed juices and maybe, some soup. The thought of soup had never excited her as much in her life, but to be fair, Steve’s chicken soup was pretty damned tasty.

What was worse though, was the sheer boredom. At some point whilst she was asleep, a huge flat screen TV had appeared on the wall, thanks to Tony as he had pointed out when he came to see her, and last night she’d curled up with Steve to watch the Wizard of Oz, but she was already going crazy led in the bed and she was desperate to get clean. She could still feel the dirt, and grime and them on her body. Steve had said he’d help her clean up when Bruce gave her the go ahead but she didn’t want him to. There was bound to be bruises on her thighs and she wasn’t ready for him to know about the fact they’d raped her. Not yet anyway. 

As Natasha was sat with her, popping in as she did a lot during the day, she decided to take her chance whilst Steve was in their apartment.

"Bruce, I need a bath or something!" She whined "it's been 48 hours... Look, I drank all that disgusting green shit you gave me…and I feel much better..."

Bruce groaned. "Look, I'm not sure..." "My hair and..." Katie sighed leaning back, tears pricking her eyes "please..." "Alright, but someone needs to be with you. The temperature change might cause your blood pressure to drop and you could pass out." "Rogers can take her." Nat nodded but Katie shook her head and looked at Nat. 

"Can you?" "Me?" Nat frowned. She nodded and gave her a significant look, one Natasha could read instantly. There was something she wasn’t telling them. And as she looked into her friends eyes she had a horrible feeling she knew what. "Your hair?" She said, locking eyes with the brunette giving her an excuse and Katie nodded. "Alright. Bruce that ok with you? He sighed "fine. But not too hot, and you use the bathroom here on the medical floor." Katie nodded and Steve chose that moment to walk back into the room.

"Hey handsome" she smiled and he dropped a kiss to her cheek as she pouted "You shaved." "I told you, Captain America doesn't have a beard" he chuckled. "You killed it. Murderer" He rolled his eyes. "Brucey says I can have a bath!" She said, almost excitedly "Can you go grab me some stuff? Toiletries, pyjamas, robe, towel?” Steve looked at her, then to Bruce "is that..." Bruce sighed. "It’s ok, yes. But just a short one and try not to get the bandages on that hand wet. They were fresh on this morning." "Nat’s gonna help me" Katie said, looking at Steve. He frowned for a moment.

“I can do it.” he said, almost sullenly. She reached out with her good hand to squeeze his "It’s my hair. She can sort the tangles and braid it out of the way until I can get it cut...I think some of it might be beyond saving"

Steve looked at her, before he let out a sigh. "Alright. But at least let me help you to and from the bathroom?" She nodded and he looked at Nat who simply gazed back, her face passive.

As Steve gathered her things in their apartment, he tried not to take in personally that she didn’t want his help, he really did. It wasn’t like he knew how to braid her hair but she could always have done that once she was back in bed. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was pushing him away because she blamed him in some way. Blamed him for not  finding her, for not being the one to help her. He grabbed her favourite pair of pyjamas, not just because they were her favourite, but because they were button up so would be easier for her to get on, and everything else she had asked for and headed back to the lab, and his worries temporarily flew from his mind when she smiled at him and held out her arms.

“Wanna carry me Soldier?” Laughing he handed the items to Natasha and scooped her up easily into his arms as she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

“I love you.” she said softly and he smiled.

“Love you too, so damned much.” he said, exaggerating his Brooklyn drawl making her giggle, the sound music to his ears.

Natasha didn’t comment on the finger shaped bruising in between her legs and on the outside of her thighs when she helped her undress. Instead she’d handed Katie the wash cloth and soap so she could clean herself as best she could, and helped her reach the areas she couldn’t easily do like anything where she had to raise her arms too high. She’d washed her hair for her with infinite tenderness, telling her that she would get Pepper have a stylist to come and give it a cut soon. As instructed, Katie didn’t stay in the bath too long, the water was filthy so Natasha drained it and took the small shower attachment off the wall and carefully rinsed her off before helping her stand and wrapping her in a robe. Guiding her over to the small changing room off the side she gently sat on the bench in the middle as Nat carefully dried her hair. It was mass of split ends, brittle from the malnutrition and a fair bit of it fell out as Nat gently brushed it, but at least it was clean. "I want you to ask Pepper to call Dr Kellet my ob gyn." Katie said gently, for the first time raising the issue "Tell her it's just for a routine check- up after my less than adequate diet or something."

Nat nodded. "Ok but you really should tell Steve"

"Not yet" Katie swallowed. "I can't deal with more pity and sympathy. I don’t want anyone knowing. Not until..." she trailed off, tears forming in her eyes as Natasha gently braided her damp hair "Let me get some shred of dignity back please."

Nat kissed the top of head in a rare display of affection and nodded before grabbing the pyjamas Steve had brought down for her, laughing as she looked at them "Tigger" "I'm a sucker for Disney"

"You wear these to bed? No wonder Rogers can’t keep his hands off you"

"I don’t wear much to bed." She grinned back, wincing slightly as Natasha gently guided the top over her arms before buttoning it up, thankful to Steve for being so thoughtful to find ones she didn’t need to pull over her head. "Pyjamas serve as lounge wear" After cleaning her teeth she was pleased to report she felt fully human again. Natasha went to find Steve and he returned, smiling at the sight of his girl who looked a whole heap better. The only thing was that now her hair was out of her face, the injuries she’d sustained were far more noticeable but he tried not to dwell on it. Instead, he focussed on the relief in her face at finally getting clean. "Feel better?" He asked, gently grazing his fingers over the side of her neck. She nodded. "So much" she said and then shook her head as he went to pick her up "Let me walk.” "Katie..." he began but she shook her head

"Please."

He looked at Natasha who took a deep breath “He’s right Katie, Bruce will go mad…”

“Like Hulk out mad or…” Neither of them laughed, instead Steve sighed “Please sweetheart, just…” he trailed off and she rolled her eyes.

“Fine.”

He swept her up, breathing in her once again familiar just showered smell, the vanilla of her shower gel and the oatmeal in her shampoo was like a tonic to his soul and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

All in all things seemed positive. That was until the next morning when Tony picked up a message which was meant for Pepper, saying that Dr Kellet would be arriving at Lunch. Unfortunately, her being Pepper’s Ob-Gyn too meant Tony knew who she was. And even more unfortunate was that her brother’s suspicious nature had led him to grilling Bruce about why she was needed, and of course Bruce knew nothing about it. And even worse than that, was that Bruce had asked why she was calling in another doctor without telling him, and it was the absolute worst thing ever, that Steve, with his impeccable timing skills, had walked back into the room at that point, clutching the flask of soup that Bruce had cleared her to eat and asked instantly what on earth another doctor was needed for.

She had tried to explain to them all that she just wanted some goddamned control in all of this, and that frankly calling her Ob Gyn was surely the right thing to do just to be on the safe-side after spending so long being practically starved, but their demeanour and reaction had guilt tripped her big time, even if he didn’t mean to. Bruce was hurt she hadn’t told him she was concerned, Tony was pissed that she hadn’t simply just asked him to call the Ob-Gyn instead of getting Nat to ask Pepper forcing her to go behind his back, and Steve was just upset she hadn’t told him she was worried in general. As they pushed her to the brink she snapped, and the tears flooded out of her, wracking her in hysterical sobs that she had tried and tried to stop and all 3 men had been absolutely devastated.

She slapped Steve hard when he tried to pull her into his arms, screamed at them all to leave her alone and a shocked Steve had called Natasha, his own tears clouding his eyes at the sight of her, breaking in front of him. Natasha had swept into the room, ordering them all out and sat on the bed, wrapping her arms round her friend, soothing her as she let everything out. 

But Steve was frightened now, frightened as to why she needed an ob-gyn and frightened as to why she hadn’t told him.

And then he pieced it together. The secrecy, the ob-gyn, why she’d wanted Natasha to help her clean up…

“Oh God…” he said as the corridor swam around him, his legs giving way. He slumped to the floor, back to the wall, praying he was wrong. “No…please no…”

Natasha stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her and she looked at Steve, he raised his head and she instantly knew he’d figured it out.

“You knew?” he spat, shaking his head “And didn’t tell me? You FUCKING KNEW?”

“Rogers she asked me not to say anything…” “Anything about what?” Tony asked as Bruce gave a small moan, the pieces slotting into place in his head too.

“You should have told me!” Steve roared as he got to his feet, his legs still shaky “That’s…she’s my fiancée…”

“Told him what?” Tony pressed as he looked between the two of them, Steve’s face contorted in rage as he glared at Natasha.  “I know, I told her to tell you but…don’t you think she’s owed this? To have some dignity and some control?”

“For fucks sake…” Tony began but he was cut off as Steve turned to him.

“She was raped Tony…” Steve’s voice cracked as he spoke that word “Those bastards…” And with that he put his fist straight through the stud wall to his right. “They raped her…”

*****

Steve headed off to take his frustrations out on a punch bag, he felt sick. But knew it was nothing compare to how she must have felt when… he didn’t even want to think about it. But it all added to the fact that he hadn’t kept her safe. He had failed to do the one basic thing a man should be able to do for his woman. Especially when that man is a fucking Super Soldier. But the fact she hadn’t told him was what killed him the most. The tears poured down his face as he continued to pound the bag in front of him wishing he could take all this away from her.

Back in the medical wing, Dr Kellet was as sensitive as always. She softly examined Katie as Natasha stayed with her, and thankfully confirmed there was no lasting damage. She took swabs for tests and when Katie fearfully mentioned that she couldn’t remember her cycle coming in she’d smiled and shaken her head.

“You’re not pregnant.” she said gently “It’s perfectly normal in stressful circumstances, especially if you’re not in the best health too.”

It was a few hours later when tempers had calmed somewhat before Katie let Tony or Steve in the room. She hadn’t minded Bruce so much, but hearing Tony and Steve off loading at Nat out in the corridor before had pissed her off. The fact that they thought they had the right to know anything was annoying enough, but taking it out on Nat had made her even angrier. As Katie conceded they could come back in, Natasha stood up to leave and Steve shot her a positively filthy look as she left, before he turned back to his girl on the bed, unsure of how to even approach the subject, and slightly surprised to find her shooting daggers at the pair of them. Bruce left to give them some space and as her brother and fiancée both pulled up a chair, she didn’t even wait until they sat down before she spoke.

“You better apologise to Nat or so help me God Rogers, we're gonna fall out big time..." she finished and turned to Tony “You too,”

“She should have told us.” Steve said quietly and Katie shook her head

“No, she shouldn’t because I asked her not to.” she said, “And the way you’re looking at me now is exactly why I didn’t want you to know.” “Looking at you like what?” Tony said.

“Like you feel sorry for me.” 

Steve wiped at his face “So what did…Dr Kellet say?”

“That I’m fine.” she said “no lasting damage, just like the rest of my injuries.” She took his hand and looked at him, then to her brother and spoke clearly to them both. “Now, I'm gonna say this, and it’s the last anyone speaks on the subject. I don’t want pity or sympathy or treating like I’m made of glass. I’m not gonna shatter. Those bastards tried to break me in there and I didn’t let them and I'm not gonna let them now, ok?”

Steve looked at his girl, and the fierce look in her eyes and despite himself he felt a glimmer of pride. Pride at how strong she was but he knew that despite her protestations she was going to be broken inside. That was inevitable. And it suddenly dawned on him that it didn’t fucking matter that he hadn’t been the one to save her, or that he hadn’t been able to stop it. What mattered was that he was there now to help her piece herself together.

He gave her a nod and as her tears started again, he looked at Tony before  the scientist stood up and sat on the edge of the bed to wrap her in his arms. He dropped a kiss to her head, before he stood up.

“I’m going to find Natasha” he sighed, before grimacing. “If I don’t survive, say nice things at my funeral.” Katie let out a chuckle as he tenderly placed a hand on her head and left.

Once he was gone Katie looked at Steve and he swallowed, before she gave him a soft smile and patted the side of her bed. He returned her smile and stood up, kicking off his sneakers.

“I’m sorry I upset you.” he said gently, sitting on the bed and swinging his legs up so he was led besides her.  Katie lay her head on his chest and he gently carded his hand through her hair.

“This isn’t getting you out of apologising to Nat.” she sniffed “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It isn’t because I don’t trust you, because I do. With my life.”

He shifted slightly and she sat up to look at him, “Can you do something for me?”

“Anything sweetheart.” “Give me a kiss? I ain’t had one in a while.” He let out a soft chuckle and dipped his head, his nose brushing hers slightly “think I can manage that.” His lips met hers in a gentle peck at first before it became slightly deeper, one arm round her shoulders, the other hand cupping her face gently as hers fisted in his shirt, ignoring the dull pain in her left hand. It was soft, gentle, both of them simply enjoying the first kiss they’d shared since the quick goodbye peck 6 weeks ago.

“I love you.” he said, pulling way and pressing his forehead to hers “You know that, right?” “Course I do you idiot.” she snorted, as he wiped away the tears that had trickled down her face “I’m marrying you aint I?”

“Yeah, yeah you are.” he smiled, as he lay back and she once more rest her head on his chest, settling herself in his warm embrace.

***** December 2014.

Katie and Steve still took their planned trip to Europe. They’d had to rejig their original schedule slightly as Katie had only been given the all clear with her hand on the 5th December to fly, meaning they had to miss the first week of . But they didn’t care, there was plenty of time to go another time. What they did care about was the fact that they got the time to themselves. Once things had settled down at the tower they’d stepped up the search for the Sceptre, jointly deciding that was their priority. But after the events of the last few months all the Avengers had decided to take down time over the holidays, and post a large, raucous thanksgiving, they’d gone their separate ways for the holidays. Thor heading to be with Jayne, Clint and Natasha to Clint’s family (although only Katie and Steve by-proxy knew that) Bruce had gone to Seoul for a few weeks to help Dr Cho with some research and Tony had whisked Pepper off to the Maldives. Each one of them taking the chance to recover in a sense if you will, from what had been the hardest time they’d had to face as a team so far.

Katie’s hand was still a little stiff but with the physio she was getting there, and was on track to make a full recovery. And the best bit was her big fuck off Tiffany Diamond was back where it belonged. Her bruises were well gone, she had put on most of the weight she had lost (she was still a little too slim for Steve’s liking so he made it his job to feed her as much as possible) and today had been no exception. They arrived early on the Wednesday morning into Bruges, and had wasted no time in dumping their bags and heading out to explore. Their day had been full of snow, hand holding, Christmas treats, beer, long kisses stolen in the large square as they were bundled up in coats, hats and scarves. It was just so fucking normal. 

And they’d never been so grateful for normal before.

Eventually after a huge meal in a beautiful restaurant tucked away by the side of the canal, they’d headed back to the hotel. And they had every intention of just having one last drink from the mini-bar, led on the bed but things had started to get a little heated. It was the first time that either of them had pushed anything further than kissing since the incident they didn’t talk about, but whether it was the change of scenery or just the romance of being in a hotel room in Europe, surrounded by snow, they had no idea but it felt right, and they both just ran with it.

They undressed each other tenderly and Steve laid Kati down on the bed, and just took his time, making sure he worshiped every single inch of her body he could get his hands on. His fingers traced her slowly re-establishing curves, up her hips to her ribs which were no longer protruding, down to her no longer bruised thighs and across her belly, his lips simply brushing her skin just under her collar bone. He was gentle, and to some it would surprise them how a soldier made during a war to fight could be so soft and tender but Katie knew the man underneath it all and she wasn’t surprised in the slightest at how delicate he was being. He was never anything else when it came to her. What did surprise her however, was that whilst his touch was feather light and barely there she could feel it more than she ever had. It sent red hot fire spiking through her belly, and her heart swelled to the point she thought it would burst. She loved him, loved the way he touched her and felt and yet,  underneath the fire there came something else. A sharp stab of fear. Fear, not of him, but fear that when it came to it, her body was going to betray her and do something stupid, involuntary, like make her freeze or lash out. And she didn’t want him to think that was his fault. Steve paused, his right hand gently hovering by her naval where it had been steadily making its way downwards. She was trembling. Shit. He frowned slightly and looked up to see her watching him, her green eyes shining in the soft, dim light of the room. "Sweetheart," he said, his voice thick in his throat "if this is too much..." "No." She said quickly, "it's not..." "You're shaking" he said softly, his hand moving up to softly cup her face as his frown deepened. Was she scared of him? The thought of that was enough to destroy him and just as he was about to say something she laid her hand over his and moved her face softly to the side so she could place a kiss to his palm. And when she spoke, he was once again convinced she could read his damned mind. "These hands would never hurt me."  Not could not, but would not. And she wanted him to understand she knew the difference. "I'm not scared of you Steve. I could never be scared of you..." she swallowed "I’m scared of me."

His brow creased, he was confused. "I don’t understand." "I don't know what my body is gonna do, I'm worried I’m going to react differently to how it used to and it’ll feel different...I can't explain it but please, don’t think for a second it’s you." His face softened and he looked at her, pressing his forehead to hers he tried to offer her some reassurance. "I love you." He said softly, drawing back to press a kiss to the bridge of her nose "And we'll take it slow, that is if you still want to." his nose gently brushed hers as he looked at her "If you don’t then that's fine, I can wait...we can wait." "No, I do, I don't wanna wait." She nodded, her lips sweeping across his, drawing a moan from him. "I missed this, being close to you, being with you." He looked at her again before their lips connected in a soft kiss that grew more urgent, but still stayed tender as they both poured their souls into one another. Steve's hand gently gripped her hip and she let out a soft moan into his mouth making him pull back slightly, and press his forehead to hers. "I got you baby..." he said softly, "I got you..." "I know." She replied, voice barely a whisper. “You always do.”

His fingers gently slid down to her folds, and as his fingers gently began to play she let out a soft gasp at his touch, it felt right, so damned right. He was gently, took his time, watching her carefully as she softly writhed at his touch, and when she begged for him, to feel him, he adjusted himself between her legs and slowly pushed into her. Katie sighed in pleasure, and relief too because it felt like it always had done. 

Steve kept his movements slow, not thrusting but rolling, rocking softly into her over and over again, soft moans and whispers filling the room as her hands gripped round his biceps, his weight gently pressed on top of her, both of them needing to feel the other as they reconnected in the most intimate of ways possible. Katie gently moved her hands, dancing over his broad back, tracing between his shoulder blades feeling each twitch and flex in his muscles as he moved, the familiarity of it was so damned comforting. Steve’s large hands cupped her face as he kissed her, their tongues tangling together and even when he broke the kiss to let out a soft groan he kept his lips on hers, featherlight in their touch.

"Katie..." Steve panted into her mouth, his hips continuing their gentle, deep roll into her "I'm not sure how much longer... are you close baby girl?” She didn't answer with words, instead he felt her tightening around him, her reactions the same as they always had been, and he gave another groan as she let out a soft whimper. Then, he heard it. The most beautiful sound ever to hit his ears, a sound he had heard so many times before but right there in that opulent hotel room in Belgium, the lights of the city bright and bouncing off the snow through the slight crack in the heavy, deep blue curtains, it sounded so much more sweeter, more significant almost than the first time she had said it.

"Stevie..." hiss name tumbled from her lips in a whisper and he felt the tears sting his eyes as he nudged her nose with his, making her look at him. She gave another soft moan before she tilted her head back and let out a gentle cry as her back arched and she came, her eyes fluttering shut. It was enough to make him tumble, gently rutting up into her he felt himself go and his movements became disjointed until he collapsed forwards, utterly blissed and consumed by her.

They both took a moment before Steve raised his head to look at her, and saw the gentle shine of a tear fall down her cheek. 

"Are you ok?" he said, wiping at her face with his thumbs. For one horrible moment he was petrified he had hurt her until he realised she was smiling and nodding. But this wasn’t her usual post orgasm grin, this was a pure, unadulterated happy smile. And then Steve understood, they were tears of joy. "Well I've never made anyone cry after sex before..." he quipped, his voice thick with emotion and she spluttered a giggle, sniffing a little as his nose bumped hers before his lips gently mopped up the few stray tears that fell from her sparkling emerald eyes. "I just..." she started to talk but stopped. She couldn't find the words to explain. Explain how that last 20 minutes or so of him lavishing attention on her, right from that first kiss to taking her to the edge of ecstasy and back had fixed that final part of her that was broken. He had taken the last shards of the fragmented, shitty mess that Hydra left and slotted them back into place. "I'm ok." She finished, unable to word it any better. "I'm ok." He gently placed his lips on hers and drew her into a long, gentle kiss, his own tears threatening to fall at those 2 simple words. Ok was lame, she hated it, said it was just a "shit phrase and you should never just be ok" but here he knew what it meant for her to be just be ok. Without a word he rolled off her and took her with him, pulling her so she was led straight on top of him, like they would do on the couch, in front of the TV and she gave a laugh. He pulled the covers up over them and she lay her head on his chest, his fingers lightly dancing up her spine "I love you sweetheart." He said as she gave a hum of contentment "More than apple pie?" She asked and he gave a chuckle, he really had missed this. Their playful banter that came before, during and after the act. "Infinitely" "More than mac and cheese?" He hesitated on purpose and she gave a loud scoff and hit him on the chest. He laughed, rubbing at the spot even though she hasn’t hurt him, giving a soft "ow" as she levelled him with a playful glare. "Is it your mac and cheese?" He asked "because we all know it’s the best damned mac and cheese in the world" "Flattery will get you nowhere Captain Rogers." she teased and he chuckled again, as she lay her head back down. "But seeing as I'm in a good mood how about when I get back I make us apple pie AND mac and cheese... and then we can have more sex and you can decide which one is better?" "That sounds like the best idea you have ever had Miss Stark..." They lay there in silence and it wasn’t long before he felt her melt into him, her breathing evened out and he gently glanced down and saw her eyes were shut, her lashes fluttering slightly as she slept. He thought about moving her, setting her down beside him but as her chest rose and fell, pressing into him he decided better of it. 

She could move herself when, or if she wanted to.

And if she didn't, then that was totally fine by him. Tags

@the-omni-princess​

@momobaby227​

@geekofmanythings16​

@angelofhell-666​

@thewackywriter​

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[jane-fucking-seymour]

Legend of the Six

Chapter 19: Wildfire

Words: 5678

AO3 link

Catherine of Aragon understood a few things.

One, that leading people meant having empathy, and that empathy was particularly hard to come by nowadays.

Two, reports of Blesseds being absolutely unheard of in this part of the Realm (and in the upcoming part of Holbein) seemed to be accurate, with absolutely none responding for her calls for aide.

And three, if her luck continued, she might have to return to the so-called “Six” empty-handed.

The first place Catherine had gone was to a small town on the border of the Realm and Holbein, a place that often served as a Blessed training ground. 

The usually lively city of Nacht was, from what she remembered, one of the most beautiful cities in the region, and often the center of public festivals and charity work. If you needed help - of any kind, really - you could go to Nacht and have your fill. The city served as a place for the sick, the weary, the injured and the unwell to be able to be healed up by Blesseds in training, as well as where the annual Squire Selections took place. Every year, new Blesseds would arrive to Nacht and the Light would lead them to their partners, their assistants, their closest confidants that would help them on their Blessed journey.

In truth, Catherine hadn’t overly believed in the Blessed’s cause before she became one herself - why would she, when the only time she heard about what they could do was through myths and showcases that were more about the powers than their duty? But then she protected that woman, unlocked her Blessed powers, and trained with two of the best Blesseds the Realm had - only the best for the then-queen.

For months, she had studied the more active powers that Blesseds had - mainly, warfare and various aggressive techniques. It would be a bit later, when Mary came about, where she’d dedicate her studies to more passive and healing techniques, but before then Catherine was considered one of the best swordsmen the world had ever seen.

The second best was still considered to be Anna, but the third was a hot topic for the world. It mainly came down to two people who performed consistently well in inter-kingdom tournaments - mainly, Avril and Maria.

It brought Anna and Catherine closer as rivals, and dare they even say friends.

Regardless, Maria and Avril would always go back and forth on third and fourth place finishes. At last count, they were tied in record, though Avril had won their last bout.

It happened on the same day that the new Blesseds would find their own Squires, part of the opening ceremonies for that year’s Squire Selection, and Catherine can’t help but remember with a fond smile how hers went every time she thinks of it.

Catherine knew her selection within the month of becoming a Blessed; after all, Maria had instantly helped her when she was struck by Henry’s men for protecting the scared, vulnerable woman they had chosen to attack. The two had always been close, and it just made sense to her for them to grow even closer.

When she arrived at the ceremony that year, she had been with Maria, having travelled by foot to the Capitol to get to Nacht. She remembers the day fondly, as vividly as her most precious memories:

“Do you think Henry will make an appearance?” Maria had asked. “He said he would, right?”

“He did,” Catherine agreed, “but doesn’t mean he will. I’d be surprised to find him here, he never did think much of Blesseds.”

“He thought they weren’t powerful or something?” Maria asked.

“No, he just thinks they are useless in battle.” Catherine shrugged. “Called Blesseds unremarkable and flimsy.”

“But Blesseds fight for good,” Maria pressed. “Why would he think that?”

Catherine didn’t answer as they moved through the gates of the city.

They arrived just in time for the opening ceremonies, where all of the new Blesseds would formally be recognized by the rest of the group. 

Maria cheered the loudest when Catherine was announced.

Then came the tournament, where the new Blesseds would fight each other, one versus one, in an attempt to showcase the strength of the new class.

Catherine had, by all accounts, won the tournament handsomely. 

There were a few other things - things that were done behind closed doors, open only to the Blesseds themselves - before the final, big event occured: the Bathing of Light and Squire Selection.

Two things happened at that time: first, the new Blesseds formally take the Oath that they took when they first got their powers in front of the rest of the Blesseds in the area, formally recognizing their status and leaving their old, civilian ways behind. They were then bathed in the light of an alter set up in the middle of Nacht, where they would be “transformed” (showcase a bit of their power) and set on the Path of Light. It was more of a formality, a publicized ritual that occurred for centuries before them and would (hopefully) happen for melinia after them.

The second, however, would happen immediately after that ended.

The new Blessed would raise their weapon of choice - their sword, their staff, their hand, whatever they would prefer to use - and it would glow with a brilliant light before a ray of that power would shoot out and touch someone else. That person would glow with light and, if accepted, would be formally recognized as the Blessed’s Squire, their assistant and partner throughout all of their time as a Blessed.

For some, their Squire trained with them from the start and it would just be assumed that that person would eventually become their full-fledged Squire. However, that was not always the case; the Squire is chosen is one of the greatest mysteries of the Realm, and Blesseds say that it’s up to the Light itself to make the decision.

Catherine was the last to make the Selection, as customary for the victor of the tournament preceding the event. She held up her sword and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she felt something in her heart and soul stir, shoot up into her arm and into her sword, then immediately splinter off…

… and right to Maria.

Maria’s eyes widened as she started to glow, looking down at her hands before she looked up at Catherine excitedly. She took the Oath and became a Squire only a few moments later, ending the ritual in a hug with her Blessed.

At the end, Catherine couldn’t help but ask:

“Did you expect that? You made it look like you weren’t, is all. I couldn’t think of anyone better, and I’m glad the Light agreed.”

Maria chuckled.

“Not really, I never thought I’d be in contention because we never talked about it,” Maria shrugged. “I expected to be jealous of whoever was, if I’m being honest.” Maria winked then, downing her drink. “Guess I don’t have to be.”

Catherine chuckled. 

“No,” she says, holding up her drink. “You really don’t have to be.”

The memory fades from Catherine’s mind just in time for her to see Nacht in it’s current state: burned to the ground, destroyed, looted.

Gone.

Blessed tapestries and banners were burned by the looks of it. To Catherine’s horror, she saw what looks like piles of ashe littering the area.

All Blesseds.

All gone.

She was just about to leave before she heard someone in one of the very few still-standing buildings. With a frown, she followed in, only to find a young girl looking for food.

“Hello?” Catherine asks, and it spooks the girl so bad she screams. “No! It’s okay, little one, it’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Catherine softly glows with golden, warm energy, and the Blessed’s magick pays off: the girl starts to calm down a bit.

“Do you know what happened here, little one?” Catherine asks.

“To Nacht? It’s been destroyed for months now,” the girl says, frowning. She’s tense, but she’s not screaming; a better condition, if you asked Catherine.

“Do you know who did it?”

“The Realm. Shortly after the face stealers were revealed.”

Catherine nods. “Thank you. Do you want some coin?”

The girl looks nervous. “Who… are you? You’re a Blessed, I know, but… who are you?”

Catherine tilts her head. “Do you not recognize me?”

“Should I?”

Catherine takes a moment before she shrugs; guess Henry’s pulled her out of the history books or something.

No matter, she’ll get it back once it’s all settled.

“I’m a friend,” Catherine replies, taking out her bag and putting four gold pieces on the ground. “You look hungry. This should help.”

The girl doesn’t move, so Catherine backs up and leaves instead.

She continues walking, looking around the area, trying to figure out if this mission was even salvageable at this point. She didn’t expect Henry to attack Blessed facilities - why would he, when he had deemed them unnecessary? - and now she was afraid that her decision with the Final Mercy were all in vain. If this continued, they’d really be stuck, and Catherine may have dealt the deciding blow…

… but then again, she doesn’t feel like she’s alone. She feels like she’s going to be okay, that this will work out. And Catherine of Aragon is not one to abandon her better judgement, unlike someone she knew.

Someone that, with a chuckle, Catherine immediately sensed.

“Come to say hi, Maria?”

Immediately, she moves to her right as an arrow flies past her head. She looks behind her with a bigger grin at the sight of Lyrena herself.

“That’s not my name,” Lyrena replies, “and you’d be wise to yield.”

“Why would I?” Catherine asks, a bit of pep in her step as she looks back at her former Squire. “You’re not going to do anything.”

“I’m actively trying to kill you,” Lyrena replies.

“Try’s the keyword here, babes.” Catherine quips… right before she pulses away.

“Hey!” Lyrena yells, giving chase.

The two pulse through the area, dodging trees and wildlife and various other hazards as Catherine leads them exactly where they needed to go - exactly where her plan was leading, and where Catherine hoped she wasn’t too late.

All the while, Lyrena is attacking, but Catherine is able to dodge. Not once does she ever raise a weapon against her misguided friend.

When Catherine finally stops, she can’t help but sigh in relief.

“Finally given up?” Lyrena says as she touches down near Catherine.

“Hm? Oh, no,” Catherine says, waving a hand dismissively. “I’m just happy it’s here.”

She makes a gesture towards the thing before them.

“The Sanctuary of Holbein.”

The Sanctuary was a small village that surrounded a series of golden platforms, on top of which was an altar. Though the Sanctuary in the Realm had been destroyed, this one seemed to be in prime condition.

A stroke of luck, just in time.

“Why are you even coming here, face-stealer?” Lyrena growled out. “Only Blesseds are allowed on this sacred ground.”

“Usually, yes, but today is a very important, very needed day,” Catherine replies. “Besides, I’m not a face-stealer, and you know this.”

Lyrena narrows her eyes. Catherine continues.

“You know it, I know you do. You’re just not saying it for some reason. Do you even know why?”

Lyrena takes out her blade. It does not deter Catherine.

“I don’t know, not yet, but I imagine we’ll figure it out when you start swinging that thing at me. I, however, won’t be raising my own weapon. I won’t need it.”

Lyrena rolls her eyes. “Cheeky.”

Catherine smiles. “Only for you.”

And with that, the one-sided fight begins.

Lyrena strikes, Catherine dodges. 

Lyrena strikes again, Catherine simply moves out of the hit.

Lyrena continues to strike, continues her attack… but she just can’t do it. She just can’t catch her former Blessed.

And as the attacks continue, Catherine gets the impression that she doesn’t really want to.

Eventually, Lyrena, tired out for the moment, stops and stares at Catherine. Catherine stands, sword still in its sheath.

Lyrena practically growls in frustration.

“Use it.”

Catherine simply shakes her head, and Lyrena goes for another attack. Again, Catherine dodges. Lyrena is getting more upset now.

“USE IT!”

Again and again, Lyrena attacks, and again and again, Catherine dodges. Eventually, however, Lyrena manages to adjust, hitting Catherine in the shoulder.

Catherine yelps, falls to a knee, holding the shoulder that she just hit. It only hit the woman’s armor, not going any further, but the impact still hurt.

Catherine smirks. 

“Remembering me, are you? My movements, how I dodge? It’s been forever, but I figured you’d adapt relatively quickly.” She smiles. “You know it’s me, yet you’re still attacking. Why?”

Lyrena yells out in anger and goes for the girl again, attacking over and over and over. Catherine, once again, either dodges or takes the hit.

By the end, Catherine ends up on the ground, Lyrena on top of her, blade at the ready to strike a devastating blow.

Catherine just watches.

Lyrena is furious.

“DO SOMETHING!”

“I swore to you, all those years ago, that I would not strike you down unless it’s necessary or in practice,” Catherine says. “And I don’t need to here.”

“I’m literally about to kill you.”

“You won’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“Because you know who I am.”

“You’re a face-stealer-”

“Liar.”

Lyrena narrows her eyes. Catherine tilts her head.

“Maria-”

“Don’t call me that!”

Catherine blinks.

“Oh, right, I get it, you’re not Maria right now because Maria’s not a coward, hm? Lyrena’s the coward? Nice compartmentalizing.” 

Lyrena freezes at the question, so Catherine continues.

“You were lost in your grief, so you believed anything. I get it. It’s human of you to do that. But I would have…” Catherine’s got tears in her eyes now. “I expected you to know better eventually. I expected you to be able to overcome the lies. I think you did, but you never acted on it.” She shrugs. “It’s why you haven’t killed me yet, right?”

Lyrena says nothing, so Catherine slowly sits up. Lyrena is still on top of her, but only on her legs; Catherine’s propped up on her elbows as she watches Lyrena fight with herself.

“I know you know I’m real, I know you knew that since before Katherine was stabbed in the palace. What I don’t know is… why didn’t you say anything about it? Why didn’t you do anything?” Catherine frowns. “What happened to Maria de Salinas, the best Squire in Blessed history?”

Lyrena is shaking, blade at the ready… before it drops harmlessly to the side. Lyrena sags a bit, sitting on Catherine’s legs as she looks down, defeated.

“She lost her faith, Catherine.”

Lyrena shakes her head. 

“Your death… it didn’t feel real from the start. I knew something was wrong. But everyone else was convinced and I… I’m not strong enough, Catherine. I lost you - I had already given into that face. And I just… I wanted to do what you always made me promise I’d do if you were gone.”

Catherine nods. “Take care of Mary.”

Lyrena nods back. “I had absolutely no way to track you. Nothing I used worked. Blessed energy faded. By all accounts… you were dead.”

“Except in the account where you knew I wasn’t,” Catherine says softly. Lyrena shook her head.

“But I had nothing to prove it. Just a gut feeling. So I figured it was wrong, and I took care of Mary instead.”

“And she led you into the Darkness, it seems,” Catherine says. “I can’t help but be disappointed in you, Lyrena.”

Lyrena looks absolutely broken by the statement.

She shakes her head, head down, and all Catherine does is watch her closely.

“I… I’m sorry, Catherine-” Lyrena starts, but Catherine continues.

“Did you kill anyone?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Soldiers. In war.”

“That happens all the time.”

“They were on the right side. They were the defenders.”

“During the different wars that Henry put you through, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever use banned magicks?”

Lyrena looks shocked at the question, snapping her head up to look at Catherine.

“What? No! I would never-”

“Did you ever aide in the magicks being casted?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Then I think you’re still good, in all honesty.”

Lyrena blinks, then tilts her head.

“Why did you come here, Catherine?

Catherine sighs. “I came back for her.”

Lyrena tilts her head. “For Mary?”

“For Katherine.”

Lyrena says nothing as Catherine gets up and moves forward, towards the flame. It’s dawn now, and the flame seems to have gotten brighter throughout the night. Now, as the sun peeks over the mountains, the flame is almost blinding.

Lyrena moves with Catherine, only a step behind her, as they approach. Catherine steps up to the pedestal, watching the flame dance with life and renewed energy.

“And I imagine you’ll take the Blessed Oath once more?” Lyrena asks.

Catherine nods.

“I owe her that much.” She looks back, a soft smile on her face. “And with you as my Squire, how could she ever go off the Path of Light?”

Lyrena raises an eyebrow. “And you think I’ll just… go back to that? After everything I’ve done-”

“After everything Lyrena has done,” Catherine is quick to reply. “Take up Maria again. I miss her, and I think you do too. Let Lyrena go… or build off of her, one of the two. Take Lyrena’s crimes and redeem yourself through Maria.”

Lyrena watches Catherine carefully, clearly struggling with what Catherine was suggesting. 

“I killed people for her, Catherine. I killed and destroyed for Mary - and for Henry.”

“And I’m not saying just completely forget what happened,” Catherine says, tone neutral. “But I think you can grow from it and I know you want to make amends. I see it in your eyes, Maria.”

Lyrena shakes her head. “Please don’t call me that.”

“I’m calling you that because that’s your name. Your actual name. You’re from the light, you’re just, you were just… misguided. Swayed by grief into the dark.”

Catherine offers her hand.

“Let me help you come back to the Light.”

Lyrena takes a deep breath, watching the hand for a moment. It glows softly with Radiant energy. 

For a moment, Catherine really thought her oldest friend would walk out of the Sanctuary right then and there.

Instead, Lyrena nods.

“Okay.”

She takes Catherine’s hand, eyes squeezing shut as she feels Blessed energy pulses through Catherine’s hand and into her body again. Her armor returns to the pristine, gold-tinted form it was back then, and she can feel her eyes pulse with Radiant energy again.

Maria stands tall, once again a full-fledged Squire of a Blessed.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Catherine asks, smile growing as she watches Maria take it all in.

Maria nods in awe, looking down at her hands. “I forgot what it really felt like, to be able to wield this…” she squeezes her hands shut. “The amount of good we can do… maybe it’ll be enough.”

Catherine pulls her Squire into a hug, which Maria happily returns with as much force.

“I missed you,” Maria mumbled.

“I missed you too, love,” Catherine replies, sighing with relief that this worked out as well as it did.

They’re silent for a moment, enjoying the hug, before Catherine pulls back. “We have work to do, no?”

Maria’s smile falls. “What about Mary-”

“She will never walk the Path of Light again,” Catherine interrupts, “but she can still be saved. If anything, her not having her powers now should help save the lives she swore to protect.” Catherine looks into the flame. “We have a plan, so let’s stick to it.”

Maria thinks about it for a moment before she nods, a hand on Catherine’s shoulder. 

Maria nods. “Let’s get to it then-”

Suddenly, faster than what Maria can react to, a woman with wings tackles her. With great speed, Maria is bashed into a nearby wall, leaving Catherine alone where they were just standing a moment ago.

Their attacker pulses towards Maria again, but Catherine defends her Squire.

“Easy now,” Catherine says, shield up as the attack hits it. She raises an eyebrow. “Since when do you have wings, Anna?”

Anna immediately stops, yielding, and smirks. “You like?” She shows off the wings. “It’s those gauntlets I told you I’d get made.”

“They… make you have wings?”

“It’s Peleazar’s wings.”

“The dragon?”

“The dragon.”

“And why do you have those wings?”

“Because he’s in my head now.”

“Your-”

“Yeah. It’s a thing.”

After a moment of silence, Catherine shrugs then turns to Maria. “She’s good now,” Catherine says to Anna, moving to help her Squire up. “She’s with us.”

“That so?” Anna asks, walking towards them.

Maria huffs. “I told you I was going to talk to her,” Maria mumbles, straightening herself out.

“Yeah, well, call it payback for the past few months,” Anna replies, wings now gone. “I’m glad Catherine trusts you again.”

Maria smiles and nods, right before Catherine moves past them and to the alter.

“Alright. Here we go.”

Anna steps back and Maria steps forward as the Blessed and her Squire approach the alter.

Anna keeps watch, looking around to see if there were any unwanted visitors.

As she does, both Catherine and Maria stand at the alter and, together, put their hands into the flame. It grows ten times as big and, with a few words that Anna doesn’t recognize, they set off the start of the Blessed magicks.

It’s a weird feeling, but for Anna, it’s almost like… the souls of past, present, and future Blesseds swirl around them with a warm, wonderful surge. Thousands - millions? - of flames surround them, all slowly but surely turning into an inferno of light.

Anna is in awe, but Maria and Catherine continue the ritual. With a final declaration, Catherine summons a ball of light into her hand and thrusts it into the flame.

The explosion it creates blinds them all for a few moments, but when the flare dies down, they are all at the foot of the alter, staring up at it.

And there, at the top of the altar, is none other than Katherine Howard.

Her clothing has a gold trim to it now, staff next to her apparently made of pure sunlight. She’s levitating off the ground, shimmering wings of what seems to be Blessed energy attached to her back as she slowly comes to.

The girl looks up, then around, then at the wings, then at the people below her. They’re bowing, and it’s confusing.

Gently, oh so gently, the Druid is brought to the ground.

“Are you alright?” Anna is the first to speak, closing the distance between them to help Katherine steady herself. The wings burst into light and fade off.

Katherine blinks, a hand to her head. She frowns, deep in thought, until a hand comes into view. She looks up to find Catherine of Aragon there, smiling gently. Lyrena - Maria? - is next to her. On Katherine’s left is Anna, looking as relieved as she is in awe.

Katherine takes the hand that Aragon offers, tilting her head curiously. “What’s happened?”

“You’ve been reborn,” Catherine replies. “These powers travel from one person to the next… I imagine you got my Mary’s when she broke her Oath.” Then, with an even bigger smile:

“Welcome back, Blessed Howard.”

Katherine’s eyes go wide before she nods, looking down at her hands again before she looks back up. Her eyes glow gold for a moment before she hurries down the stairs, quickly moving to their side.

“They’re coming.”

Anna frowns. “Who?”

“Realmmen. About 500 of them.” Katherine tilts her head, as if listening to something the others can’t hear. “The trees are talking about them… more than they’ve ever spoken to me before.”

“Blessed Druids are fairly powerful usually, and Life itself can strengthen its voice through them,” Maria replies. “It’s not surprising that they’re chatty right now.”

Katherine moves forward, extending her hand. Her staff returns to her - filled with pure Radiant energy, more powerful than it ever was - and she stands tall as the Realmmen arrive.

Catherine stands to her left, Anna to her right, Maria immediately next to Catherine.

“500 vs four is a bit touchy odds,” Anna says, getting her sword ready.

Catherine watches the men for a moment before she takes a step back. “We’re not ready for this.”

“We’ll lose the Sanctuary,” Maria warns, but she’s already caught on to what Catherine was going to do and quickly grabs the stone Catherine offers, opening the portal.

“We don’t have a choice, not when Katherine’s only just returned,” Catherine replies. They all escape safely.

They end up rushing through the living room, Katherine falling to her knees.

“Easy there,” Catherine says quietly, kneeling to gently hold Katherine’s shoulder. “You only just came back, it’ll take some time-”

“What’s going on?”

The four look up to find Cathy and Anne standing there. Anne is absolutely frozen in shock.

“Katherine?”

Kat gives a soft smile and, shakily stands up. 

“I… I don’t know what’s really happened,” Katherine mumbles tiredly. “But I’m back, yeah. It’s me, Annie-”

Instantly, she’s pulled into a very, very tight hug by her cousin.

Katherine hugs back with everything she has, smiling brightly as Anne hugs her even tighter.

Cathy looks over at Catherine. “Was this your plan?”

Catherine nods. “The Final Mercy was to bring her back as a Blessed, yes.”

Anna continues. “We knew she had Blessed powers because of Avril’s detecting us that one night. The three of us talked it over for a few minutes and came to the conclusion rather quickly- well, that and her saving me from a dragon. That helped the argument, too.”

“All Blesseds are required to be reborn to unlock their full potential,” Catherine continues. “So when she was injured beyond repair… well, Jane made the decision for us, really.”

Cathy hums, leaning back a bit in thought. “Do you think Jane knew about that? We both knew she was something special, but she researched Blesseds far more than I did…”

“We’ll get the chance to ask her when we storm the castle,” Catherine replies, but her next sentence is cut off when another woman arrives in the room. “Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth stands tall with a soft smile on her face. “Hello, Catherine. It’s wonderful to see you again.” She looks over at the cousin’s reunion with a smile before tapping Katherine on the shoulder. When Kat sees her, she squeals with delight and hugs the woman tightly. 

“It’s great to see you all back, safe and sound,” Elizabeth says with a soft sight, keeping Katherine close. “Even you, Lyrena.”

“It’s Maria now,” Maria replies. “Finally decided to just… do it.”

It makes Liz smile even wider.

“So,” Catherine says, sitting back against the windowsill. She motions to Katherine, who immediately goes to hug her with a grin. “I take it everyone’s work was a success?”

“Mostly,” Anna replies. “Holbein is holding off what they can, but the mind magicks usage means the Realm has the upper hand by a wide margin. It won’t be long until Holbein falls, but Avril and Bessie are both ready to go and lead Holbein to victory when we are. Oh, and when we’re done here, Anne, I have some gauntlets I need to show you.”

Catherine nods, then turns to her daughter. “How’s Weston?”

“The Revolution is well under way,” Cathy says, “and they’re willing to help us. I have my sister on standby for further orders. They’re not warriors by any means, but a mob’s a mob and they did fight off a full team of Realm soldiers.”

“Maggie’s in the other room, she’s resting after what happened,” Anne says. “She’s a bit out of it, it’s been years since she was conscious, but she’s handling it as well as she can - maybe Catherine can help her further with some Blessed healing or something. Oh, and uh, I got Elizabeth, too, in case you didn’t notice, so… wasn’t too bad of a solo mission, if I do say so myself.”

“Good. And now Katherine is back, and Jane can be handled later,” Catherine says. “This is as good of a shape as we’re going to get. If we want to attack, now’s probably the best time.”

Cathy tilts her head. “Do you have a plan?”

“Nothing concrete, but I think we can figure it out on the way.” Catherine says, moving towards the portal. Maria loyally follows, but Anne can’t help but ask:

“On the way to where?”

Catherine smirks.

“You know the Moonlight Festival that’s upcoming, right?” Catherine asks. When Anne nods, she continues. “It’s the only time where the guards are a bit more scattered than normal. I expect them to be a bit more strained because of the Holbein issue, too, so-”

“Perfect time to strike,” Anne says.

“Well, not like we could wait for much longer, either,” Anna says. “Alright then. Some of us can stay here while the others travel. If we’re fast, we can be well on our way by first light.”

“Katherine should stay here to rest,” Catherine says. “Cathy can tend to the others. Elizabeth might be useful in that regard as well, no?”

“I’ll head on out with you, Maria and Anna, then,” Anne says. “Scout a bit to make sure we’re safe, too.”

“We’ll figure out a place to base ourselves and then move forward with coming up with a plan,” Catherine says. “For the moment, we need to set ourselves up closer to Henry. Once we do that, we’ll be ready.”

With a nod, the group disperses.

As soon as they’re out of the portal, Anna, Catherine, Maria and Anne head towards the Capitol, one step at a time.

As they walk, Anne can’t help but say it:

“Really couldn’t have let me in on the whole make-Kat-a-Blessed thing, hm?”

Catherine winces at that. “... we didn’t know if it would truly work because we didn’t know if any Sanctuaries were left, so-”

“I’m okay with it because it worked,” Anne interrupts. “And Kat’s safe and sound back at base. I guess… giving me false hope would have been worse, hm?”

Catherine nods. “Exactly what we were trying to avoid, yeah.”

Anne nods. “I get it. Just… I dunno, do it faster next time? Feels like years since I last saw her.”

Catherine chuckles. “If I have to resurrect a loved one of yours using ancient magicks again, I’ll be sure to hasten the very strict and formal ritual, yes.”

Anne winks. “Good, we’re at an understanding, then.”

A few hours in, Anne and Maria had gone ahead to scout, and Anna can’t help but ask Catherine:

“Do you think Jane knew this would happen?”

Catherine raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well… she did some research on Blesseds, right? And it wasn’t hard to figure out that Katherine would be the next one. Do you think… maybe… she helped us on this?”

Catherine stops. 

“Do you think she did?”

“I think she’s smart and witty and not entirely on Henry’s side,” Anna replies. “I don’t think she’s a good person. But I don’t think she’s against us, either.”

Catherine watches Anna for a moment before she continues to walk. “I don’t know, in all honesty,” Catherine says as Anna catches up, “but I wouldn’t put it past her. We’ll have to ask her when we get to her.”

“If Anne will even let us have a chance to speak to her before she kills her, you mean,” Anna says with a frown, and Catherine sighs.

“It’s my duty as a Blessed to make sure there are no needless casualties,” Catherine rattles off part of the Oath almost mindlessly. “So she’s probably safe from Anne’s blade.”

“Only probably?” Anna asks, but they’re cut off by Maria and Anne returning.

“Find anything?” Catherine asks.

“Only a few smaller squads in the area,” Maria says. “Nothing too major. We’ve found a path that’ll steer us clear of them but still fairly direct to the Capitol.”

“The longer we go, the harder it’ll be to feign detection through normal means,” Anne warns. “We should have Cathy get potions ready.”

“She’s already on it. Now that she has a bit more time with Elizabeth back, she’s been getting to prep things more,” Catherine explains. “We’ll be ready.”

“Once we’re there, I’m sure a few old buddies of mine can help with finding us some good places to lay low,” Anne says as they continue to walk. “Maybe even find us some food and the like, should help with the others’ recoveries.”

“I’ve still got a few friends that can help keep us safe and get us some potions and the like. We can really stock up on what we need for this final push.”

“And I know some guards that owe me a few favors,” Maria says. “They’ll look the other way on a few things. Shouldn’t be an issue.

“See? We’re practically overpowered with how much good stuff we’ve got going for us now,” Anne says with a grin. “I’ll go tell the others that, make sure they know this is in the bag.”

“I don’t think-” Catherine starts, but Anne is quickly portaled back to base.

Anna chuckles. “I think she just wanted to see everyone in the portal again,” Anna quips. “Probably not letting either of them out of her sight ever again.”

“Poor Kat and Mags, they’re going to have to get used to it,” Maria quips.

Catherine chuckles. “She deserves some good news after the hell she just went through. And until we get to the Capitol, she’s more than welcome to do whatever she wants to lift her spirits a bit more.” Catherine sobers up then. “With what’s about to happen… it might never be as happy for her again.”

They’re silent, deep in thought, as they continue their walk.

#six the musical fanfiction #six the musical fanfic #six fanfic #six fanfiction #sixfic #six the musical #catherine of aragon #catherine parr #anne boleyn #katherine howard #maria #maria liw #jane seymour #maggie #maggie liw

[feotakahari]

The Void and the Shadow: The Prophecy

Setting up the plot.

It didn’t take long to gather up the rest of the Church. We were isolated, but we did have Internet. Many of us had already seen the accounts of towns and districts cut off from the world, visible but somehow unreachable, while half-rotting figures killed everyone inside. We were all desperate for an explanation.

The Void is our mother, Tuwotahl began. She is nothing. She birthed almost everything. She loves all that is not her.

The Shadow is strange. The Void didn’t birth it. It appeared. It hates complexity. It prefers identical people to people who are different. It prefers no life at all to identical people. In the end it wants no worlds. No stars. No Void. Nothing at all but Shadow.

We fought it with this. She held up the shard. We trapped it. The Seventh Legion had a prophecy that said it would escape. A Savior would come and destroy it forever.

“What if I’m not your Savior?” Allie interrupted.

Then your world will die.

Images flashed through my mind, brief glimpses of blue-haired women fighting blue-haired zombies.

The Seventh Legion had several candidates. They were ready to fight the Shadow. They died. We looked for Saviors on other worlds. Those Saviors died. Our world died with them.

They said I was too young to fight or search. I stayed until the Shadow tore down our shelter. I followed its army through a portal here. I may be the last one who knows the prophecy.

Maybe the Savior won’t know the prophecy. Maybe she’s on a world I’ve never seen. But I’m alive. I’ll fight the shadow. Whether I win or die is up to fate. What’s your fate?

“Fuck, I’ll do it,” Allie said. “I don’t care about your prophecy, but those things were hurting people. When I stopped them, it felt good, like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing my whole life. Just give me a real weapon and tell me who to hit with it.”

Tuwotahl opened up a portal with the shard. Follow.

“Not alone,” I said before I could stop myself.

Tuwotahl made a wordless exclamation of confusion, and the portal vanished.

“Not alone,” I repeated, forging ahead as if I knew what I was doing. “You’re fighting the literal Devil and his army of zombies, and you’re doing it with two people? Why not three? Or four, or five, or all of us? I’m not your Savior, but I’m here to help. Who’s with me?”

The first to step up was Nina, another girl from the Church. We didn’t have much in common, but I knew her casually just from proximity. “I--I’ll go,” she said. “I want to do this.”

The next was Mr. Pritchard, one of the history teachers from the school. “You need some adults on this.”

“I don’t think I can fight,” Father Hayes said, gesturing with his cane. “But if there’s anything else you need me for, I’ll do my best. If nothing else, I can offer you food and a spare room whenever you come back.”

More and more people volunteered, and Tuwotahl just smiled at us. I understand. Perhaps this is your fate too.

If I’d thought harder then, I might have realized what the Savior really was.

The Armory

On the other side of Tuwotahl’s portal, there was a windowless concrete room filled wall-to-wall with weapons. The floor was dusty, but the weapons themselves looked recently polished.

“Huh,” Allie commented. “Not a lot of guns.”

The Shadow won’t run from a gunshot, Tuwotahl explained. The noise draws more and more. Save your shots for an emergency. Then run for your life.

“Fair enough,” Allie said. She wandered off to the side, investigating a staff with blades at either end.

I took more of an interest in what wasn’t there. Over here, an empty space among a set of absurdly large swords. Over there, a missing warhammer, one of the smaller ones. (Tuwotahl’s? It did look small compared to these massive hunks of metal.) Which of these spaces were empty by design, and which had been claimed by failed Saviors? 

The Savior candidates’ weapons are on display in the shelter, Tuwotahl told me. A memorial for the fallen. It’s very far from here. The Shadow already found it.

“Did you just read my mind?” I asked.

She chuckled. Have no fear. I can’t receive unless you send. I followed where your eyes looked. She hefted her warhammer one-handed, like it was just a tiny stick rather than a massive metal implement. I took this from the display when the Shadow attacked. I knew the woman who used it. She was kind. She deserved better. All of them did.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I couldn’t think of what else to say.

It was fate, she said simply. I try not to get angry about it. Sometimes I fail.

In the background, I could hear Allie and Nina arguing over who would get the bladed staff. It sounded like Nina was winning. To avoid both the noise and the uncomfortable discussion, I wandered over to the projectile weapons, and Tuwotahl followed. Past the guns and the longbows, just before some kind of throwing blades, I found the other love of my life: an incredibly tiny crossbow.

“How would you even kill a zombie with this?” I asked out loud.

Poison, Tuwotahl said. Fast-acting. One shot makes them unable to move. Two or three may stop a heart.

“You can poison a zombie?” I asked.

They’re alive in a sense. Their hearts still beat. But it’s simpler to crush their skulls.

Mr. Pritchard was nearby, carefully examining a long-barreled rifle. Tuwotahl turned to say something to him, but I interrupted. “What kind of poison is it? Is it a painkiller, or something more like curare, where you’re immobile but you still feel pain? And how do you make it?”

I’ve seen the plant it’s made from, Tuwotahl told me. I could show it to you. But why would you want this tiny toy?

“It’s quiet, it’s ranged, it’s lightweight, and you said one shot can stop a zombie,” I told her. “The bolts look simple enough to make, too. I just need a ready supply of poison to make it practical. And maybe a dosage guide. Though if the goal is to kill zombies, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a high dosage . . .”

Tuwotahl was staring at me. So were Allie and Mr. Pritchard. The Church members weren’t bothered, though. They were used to me by now.

You have to understand the way I worshiped. The way to understand Rembrandt is to look at Rembrandt’s paintings. The way to understand God is to look at the world. But the world’s awfully big, and you’d have to be God yourself to understand everything in it. So I focused in on the biological and chemical actions that make living things function. And in biochemistry, I particularly loved to learn about medicine, and what substances could make you sick or repair your injuries.

This was why I wasn’t homeschooled like everyone else in the church. Father Hayes decided early on that I needed better instruction than they could provide.

You keep surprising me, Tuwotahl finally said. I’ll bring you a book of herbology. I’ll need to translate it for you.

“Thank you, Miss Tuwotahl,” I told her. I held up the crossbow. “In the meantime, is there anywhere I can practice firing this thing?”

The First Mission

We couldn’t delay long to learn how to use our weapons. Many of the school survivors had family or friends in one of the areas under attack by the zombies. One called his family, but couldn’t get an answer. Another refused to call--“What if the zombies hear it ring?” Tuwotahl was worried for our safety, of course, but Allie was determined to help, and in the early days, Tuwotahl rarely overruled her.

We chose one girl at random. I didn’t know her well, and I’ve forgotten her name. Tuwotahl let her use the shard to make a portal to her home.

Stay nearby, Tuwotahl reminded us. I can portal us out. Then she led us through the portal, and we followed.

We exited into a suburban dining room, split almost down the middle. The side we were on was torn and ransacked. There was a chair split on the floor, stained with thick black blood across the back. But the far side of the room was untouched. Whoever had fought here, there was a line they’d avoided crossing.

Allie tried to walk across the line. I didn’t understand what happened, but somehow she was turned around, walking back towards us. She turned and tried to cross again, and was turned back again. She paused for a few seconds, then slowly, slowly backstepped towards the line, and suddenly she was backstepping away from it.

No one can leave without a portal, Tuwotahl told her. Not until we kill the Shadowtouched.

Allie started to say something, but she was interrupted by a sound I’d never heard before, a sort of panting screech, like someone was trying to scream at the same time they were sobbing.

I followed it into the living room. It came from the girl who lived in the house. She was staring at the blood on the floor. Some black, most red, all dried. There was an awful lot of it. How much blood had been lost here? I didn’t think a single person could bleed this much and still live. But if there were two people, maybe both . . . no, maybe one . . . No, I was lying to myself. The girl already knew what had happened here. That’s why she was making that sound.

Most of the time, I’m good at not caring. I can remember the blood and the pain like it wasn’t real or didn’t matter. But on the bad nights, sometimes I hear that sound.

Someone else heard it, too, because through the living room window, I heard a voice begin to sing. It was low and rich, and I couldn’t understand the words. It seemed to harmonize with the girl’s sobbing.

Then it turned into a shriek of undiluted rage, and my knees buckled.

Portal! Now! Tuwotahl called.

The voice from outside was still shrieking, and the girl was shrieking with it. She’d fallen just like me, but unlike me, she wasn’t getting up. Somehow, I knew she wasn’t going to. The voice had found a pain as great as its own. It was never going to let her go.

I stumbled to the window and forced it open. There were innumerable figures standing on the grass and in the street. Most of them were rotting, bloody, or both. But my blurring vision and pounding ears could still tell there was one they were centered around, leading this demented composition.

I aimed the pocket crossbow, and I took the shot.

I meant to hit it in the chest, but I aimed too high. The bolt pierced through its throat and silenced it forever.

Tuwotahl had to carry me back to the portal. Allie carried the other girl. I wasn’t unconscious. I couldn’t process what I’d just seen and done.

The other girl stayed at the church from then on. She never went out to hunt zombies again. As for me, I was out hunting again two days later. The creatures--the people--that had done this had to be fought. Not fear nor sorrow nor the Sixth Commandment would stand in my way.

#the void and the shadow

[phroyd]

Sending the U.S. military to use force is among the most consequential decisions presidents can make. Matters may get out of control even with the most careful and deliberate planning. Skipping such steps shows callous disregard for American lives and interests. And there is overwhelming evidence in the past week that President Trump instigated an escalation cycle with an American enemy without such consideration. According to multiple news reports, policymakers gave Trump the option of killing Qasem Soleimani as one of several choices, perhaps hoping that including such a dramatic measure would push him toward a middle course; instead, he went for it, reportedly with little forethought or preparation. Our national security system is not meant to function that way.

Instead of holding a tightly managed, inclusive debate in the Situation Room, Trump made one of the most dangerous choices of his presidency among a tiny group at Mar-a-Lago. Such decisive moments are usually preceded by hundreds of people spending countless hours in dingy government offices and conference rooms, building PowerPoint slides and questioning lawyers. These individuals create the parameters and permutations of what the decision-makers consider. They identify the possible options, vetting their likely operational, diplomatic, economic and other effects. That work enables the commander in chief to make wrenching decisions about his military options wisely.

At least, that is how decisions are supposed to be made, and how we helped leaders make them when we worked in government. Bad options, considered with little serious deliberation on an unnecessarily rapid timeline, should never get to the president in the first place.

Like the broader system of government, which is designed around cumbersome checks and balances to prevent impulsive action, the traditional decision-making process for employing military force is ponderous. These steps frustrate some who view military advice as best when it’s direct and unadulterated, but they are supposed to ensure that the president chooses only from options that have been examined thoughtfully by experts in a variety of relevant areas. And the process is meant to consider all possible reactions with due preparation. To do otherwise may come at a toll of blood and treasure, credibility and certainty.

Since Soleimani’s death, many foreseeable consequences have unfolded. Iran threatened retaliation and took at least two such actions, first announcing the death of the 2015 nuclear agreement, then launching a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases where U.S. forces are deployed. The Iranian public — probably under some pressure — rallied around its government, expressing anger in massive street demonstrations. Elements of the Iraqi government also signaled that the U.S. strike has imperiled that bilateral relationship, with the parliament voting to expel American forces from the country. In his first public address on the crisis Wednesday, Trump suggested that he will pause further military action, but the American position in the Middle East is almost certainly worse now, with little benefit to show for the strike.

We have no idea what we’re doing in Iraq. We didn’t before we killed Soleimani.

Soleimani and his campaign of violence were provocative and merited an American response. But killing him, and doing it in Iraq, needlessly escalated the situation. Any standard Defense Department and interagency process of vetting options would have seen the threats, counterthreats and missile launches coming and recommended against it — which we know because two very different administrations rejected targeting the general. But many press accounts say no such process was followed under Trump.

In our combined 25-plus years in the Pentagon and the White House, use-of-force and even show-of-force decisions created some of the tensest moments between civilian and military leaders, revealing differences in approaches and assumptions. We saw controversies over the U.S. naval presence in the South China Sea, counterterrorist strikes in areas outside active hostilities across the Middle East and Africa, and troop deployments in Afghanistan. Interactions can be so fraught, and secrecy so important, it was often tempting for both sides to limit the number of people involved or go directly to those with decision-making authority. With Soleimani’s death, we don’t know whether civilians cut out military planners or if military officials took shortcuts in the process. Regardless, whatever truncated steps led to the choice to kill him had alarming results.

In our experience, any serious process to consider military force should include six key criteria.

First, the use of force must be consistent with international and domestic law. Deliberately targeting civilians or cultural sites, for example, should be off the table — and the Pentagon ruled those options out after Trump suggested them this past week.

Possible courses of action should be aligned to the broadest strategic objectives. The Soleimani strike was a tactical success, but it damaged the goals of countering the Islamic State, stabilizing Iraq and getting Iran to the negotiating table; it also put U.S. personnel across the region at risk. Before the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, planners considered many parallel matters: the risk to U.S. service members; the possibility of civilian casualties; the likely diplomatic fallout with Pakistan and what that might mean for the war in Afghanistan; the legal authorities and implications; the domestic political cost if the raid resulted in American casualties, failed or both; and how Congress would react to all of those considerations.

Operations must be proportional to the security context. Killing one of the most senior Iranian military leaders, even with his lengthy list of despicable crimes and ostensible involvement in imminent threats, was an extreme response to the staged protests against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and the rocket attack on an Iraqi base that killed one American. Killing Soleimani in response to these acts — particularly without providing any public evidence of an impending attack against Americans (though the administration has repeatedly insisted that this is what it was trying to prevent) — skipped tens of rungs on the escalation ladder.

Military actions must also be operationally feasible. Political leaders may ask for proposals that belie the laws of space and time because of a well-intentioned but fundamental misunderstanding of military capability. The U.S. military cannot simply find and kill a target anywhere in the world at any time using drones, a demand sometimes made by policymakers. Research by one of us found that many senior officials involved in drone policy underestimate the cost and logistics and overestimate drones’ availability, capabilities and range.

Options for strikes should be real options. Reportedly, whoever drafted the president’s briefing slides used the Goldilocks paradigm — presenting options that were too mild, too extreme and one that was just right. In such frameworks, most of the options are meant to be throwaways; these typically receive much less attention and planning than the preferred option does. Such frameworks are deceptive and dangerous: The Soleimani strike was never meant to seem best.

President Barack Obama faced this paradigm during the Afghanistan strategic review in 2010, when the military leadership offered widely varying recommendations for troop levels. During the George W. Bush administration, former senior Pentagon official Peter Rodman lamented how difficult it was to get the military to tee up meaningful and discrete options besides “do nothing and thermonuclear war.” This kind of advice presumes that the decision-makers are in on the gag; they aren’t always.

Finally, options must be politically informed. Obama’s unwillingness to intervene in Syria, for example, was rooted in his belief that the public wouldn’t support it. When Congress signaled its resistance as well, his view was solidified.

Inside the Pentagon, by statute, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is responsible for the development of military analysis, options and plans to share with the defense secretary and the president as he sees fit. In reality, military advice is not just one individual’s best ideas but a massive and complex process that engages hundreds of military and civilian experts. Those people generate and vet the options and flag political considerations, calculating how to best mitigate risk and coordinate with allies.

Yet it appears that the tight circle at Mar-a-Lago involved in making the decision to kill Soleimani — mainly the secretaries of defense and state — neglected many of these key elements, as the convoluted messaging, lack of preemptive mitigating actions and failure to inform close U.S. allies, let alone members of Congress, demonstrate.

It seems that the national security apparatus skipped crucial steps while deferring to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s advocacy. For example, consulting the Commerce Department might have flagged potential oil market impacts; Treasury could have noted the likely market fluctuations; the intelligence community could have offered real-time analysis on threats to U.S. personnel before and after the strike; and the State Department may have requested noncombatant evacuations of Americans from various Middle Eastern hotspots, highlighted the diplomatic fracas with European allies and underscored the need for deft diplomacy to repair the inevitable U.S.-Iraqi government crisis so that killing Soleimani did not cause a rupture.

Instead, Trump reportedly relied on a few advisers for what may be the most consequential foreign policy decision of his presidency. Small-group decision-making limits the imagination and thwarts checks and balances — and it can be dominated by impassioned advocates. The resulting decisions tend to be more about the president’s preferences than about national security interests. Now Trump needs to hear from a broad range of advisers about what might come next.

Of course, with this chaotic administration, lecturing on procedural deliberation from the outside may seem like wishcasting, at best. What, then, can responsible defense and military officials do when the president demands risky options, when the secretary of state inserts himself in the chain of command or the commander in chief publicly threatens war crimes? The answer is not to make post-hoc justifications or to pray that our system survives. The muscles of deliberation have to be exercised. Engaging Congress, which established the authorities that create good military options; reiterating to the troops and the world that the U.S. military follows the rule of law; telling senior commanders that they should not be tempted by those seeking private advice; promoting the secretary of defense as the face of the defense apparatus — these are all useful near-term steps.

No matter the president, bad military options should not land on his desk. We may have been lucky to ratchet down tensions with Iran. We shouldn’t have to rely on luck next time.

Phroyd

#trump #iran #assassination