#and now their brothers are a little more aware (seriously they have only just nicked the tippest bit of iceberg) of how not okay they are | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hogwartsmarvelmommy · 3 years

Text

The lighthouse that guided me H.H ❤️🔥

~Best friends brother

🌼🌸Masterlist🌼🌸

this is 18+ only!

word count: 9.9k

(HarryHollandXReader)

summery: Sam knew you and his brother would hit it off, so he made you promise to not fall in love with his twin... easier said than done.

Warnings: Swearing, miscarriage, blood, smut. (additional warnings under the cut)

Warnings: unprotected sex, oral (F & M receiving) fingering, some dirty talk (But like not really) protected sex.

A/N: ok... i really only planned for this to be like 2-3k words, but i just couldn't stop... hope you like it :)

It was the insistent pounding that woke you up. The first thought in your head was how you were going to kill him for interrupting a perfectly good dream. With a loud, rather dramatic groan you rolled out of bed and flung open your door. Sam looked like he was stressed beyond belief. Pushing past you, he came into the room plopping down onto your bed and groaning before burying his face in his hands. This was not a sight you were used to, usually your best friend was a happy go lucky guy, but right now he seemed to be anything but.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Suddenly all the anger from being awoken so early left you, seeing him in distress was bad enough. You closed your door and went over to him, crouching down in front of him, hoping the boy would talk to you so you could offer some sort of help.

"There coming," he groaned. Who was he talking about? Who was coming? You were about to ask when he spoke up again, "my brothers want to see where I live and go to school, there on a plane now,"

You felt all that worry dissipate instantly. Did he seriously wake you up at the ass crack of dawn because his brothers wanted to come spend some quality time with him on his free week. Why did he always have to be so dramatic?

With a roll of your eyes you let out a chuckle. "Seriously Sammy? That's what's wrong?"

"Y/n, they're going to judge all of this," you looked around your room, there was nothing out of the ordinary really, just a bed, a dresser and some random nick knacks.

"My room?" You asked, confused.

"No, our apartment," he said. You were a bit taken aback. Yes your apartment was rather small and lacked a lot of decor, but for two broke college kids it was what you could do.

“What is wrong with the apartment?” you asked him, verging on offended. You had put in a lot of effort to make the place your own. From the beer bottle wreath on the pantry door to the pong wall of champions. It wasn't much but it was home, and that's what mattered.

“I need to tell you something,” he sighed slightly looking up to you. “I come from a very well off family, and i am nowhere near broke, i just don't want to flaunt the money i have around,” you weren't sure you'd heard him right, the boy you'd lived with for three years, who you considered your closest and best friend was telling you he was in fact not broke? When there had been times you ate microwave noodles for lack of anything else in the house.

“So you have money?” you asked, your confusion was evident in your tone.

“I'm sorry,” he sighed.

“Why would you lie about that?” You wondered. You were taken aback at your best friend's confession. Confused and a little hurt were just the brink of it. Why did he think he had to lie to you? After all this time?

“It was easier. I didn't want to worry about anyone just befriending me because of money,” He explained. You rolled your eyes, not sure if that was an acceptable explanation, but for now it was what you were getting.

“Well where are your brothers staying?” You asked him.

He sighed in relief at the fact that you weren't completely ripping him a new one. “Can they take your room, and you can crash in mine?” He suggested.

“Absolutely not!” You exclaimed.

“Y/N!” he groaned out.

“You give them your room and you take the futon in the living room,” You told him, smacking his cheek lightly.

“You're the worst,” He groaned. “But I need a favor,” he muttered.

“I swear if you ask me-”

“Can you take me to pick them up at the airport?” He interrupted.

“And he asked it,” You sighed walking out of the room.

“Y/N? Is that a yes?” He called out after you.

“Fine Sam, but you owe me big!” You exclaimed before shutting the bathroom door.

You had met Sam your first day at the University, and instantly the two of you had clicked. You oftentimes would say the two of you were half-soulmates, like half of your soul was Sam’s but the other half you hadn't meant quite yet. You understood Sam, and he understood you, and it was easy. You knew he had brothers, but mostly when he'd get time off school he would fly from Scotland back to London to visit them instead of vice versa.

So despite spending most of the last four years together, you had never met them.

You got yourself showered and put together before going to find Sam, who was a mess. “You look like a train hit you,” You told him as you stood in his doorway.

“Y/N, that's not helpful,” He groaned.

“Well let's go get your brothers,” you announced, grabbing your car keys from the counter.

“Wait,” He exclaimed. You turned to look at him, waiting to hear what he had to say. “I need you to promise me something,” He muttered.

“What?”

“My brother, Harry, my twin. I need you to promise you won't fall in love with him,” He told you. You nearly doubled over laughing, you couldn't imagine falling in love with anyone, much less someone related to the Div you called your best friend.

“Yeah I'm sure that won't be a problem,” You chuckled.

“Y/N, i’m serious, the instant you guys meet you're going to click, and if you think me and you have a lot in common, i can promise you, that Harry and you will have more,” He explained. You realized he was completely serious.

“OK Sammy, i'll do my best to not fall in love with your twin brother,” You nodded at him. He took a deep breath before finally walking towards you.

“Let's do this,” He muttered.

The airport was crowded, much like you had expected, but you still found yourself trudging through the packed areas to the waiting area to wait for Sam's brothers. “When is their plane set to land?” you wondered looking up at the screen that had all the flight information.

“They just landed. Tom texted me to let me know,” He told you as he stood waiting impatiently.

“Why are you so nervous? There only your brothers Sammy,” you tried to get him to calm down.

“Look at that mane!” You heard from a group of people that had just entered the waiting area from the landing pad. You saw the color drain from your best friends face as he turned and saw a curly haired boy coming at him. Sam opened his arms as the boy crashed into him, hugging him tight and muttering things back and forth to each other.

“Did you have to leave me?” A man asked as he walked up to the three of you, glancing at you and flashing you a smile before throwing his own arms around the already hugging pair.

The three of them hugging was cute, and it made you wonder why Sam was so nervous in the first place to have them here, since he looked so happy now.

“Ok, Guys this y/n, my best friend and roommate,” Sam told them, turning the two boys' attention over to you.

"Hi," you mumbled, feeling rather shy suddenly.

"You weren't joking when you sai-" Sam smacked Harry in the back of the head before he could finish what he was saying. "I meant hi," he told you, extending his hand out to you.

You took his hand in yours, noting how attractive his hands were. His grip was tight as he shook your hand, staring into your eyes with the most breathtaking brown orbs you had ever seen. You weren't even aware you could think brown eyes were so beautiful. His curls had fallen to his forehead, giving him a boyish look, but dear God did he pull it off. No wonder Sam had asked you to not fall in love with his brother, just looking at him had your stomach in butterflies. You let go of his hand, looking away hoping your best friend wouldn't pick up on how easily you were taken aback by his brother.

The older boy 'Tom' extended his hand as well shaking yours and saying hello, before the four of you headed down to the baggage claim.

Both boys found their bags quickly and then it was off to your car. "Shotgun," Harry yelled as you unlocked the door.

"What? No!" Sam argued.

"You snooze, you lose Sammy, and it looks like you just lost," you laughed as Harry smirked triumphantly, throwing his bag into the trunk before sliding into the front seat. You knew Sam was nervous to get back to the flat. Worried that maybe his brothers would judge you based on the appearance of your place.

You parked the car and led the boys up to your place, unlocking it and slipping inside.

"Wall of champions huh?" Tom asked as he admired the drunk scribbles of the pong wall.

"Me and Sammy boy are undefeated," you announced proudly pointing to the top where your names were scribbled out.

"No," Harry laughed, shaking his head, "there is no way, Sam is awful, and has never won. Ever!"

"Board doesn't lie, red," you told him, shooting Sam a smile.

"Prove it," Harry said.

You looked at Sam who had a mischievous look plastered on his face, neither of you were ones to back down from a challenge. So you spent the early afternoon drinking and Whooping Sam's brothers asses at beer pong. Easily.

"She carries you," Tom told Sam as he dropped himself onto the futon.

"Does not!" Sam argued with a laugh.

"No she does," Harry confirmed.

"Oh piss off," Sam laughed, shoving his way in-between his brothers on the sad excuse for a couch you had. "We need a new couch," he groaned.

"Let's go shopping for one," Tom said randomly.

"We're drunk," you pointed out.

"We can Uber," Tom laughed. You rolled your eyes but reluctantly agreed.

You stood in your living room in your fuzzy pajama pants and tank top staring at the giant couch that was now taking up a majority of the room and the two sleeping boys on it.

"We actually did that?" Sam groaned, walking out of his room in only boxers. "I've never been so drunk in my life,"

"Day drinking for the win," you told him, holding your fist up for him to bump. The prior night consisted of way too much drinking and then shopping at furniture stores, before going to a pub for more drinking. If you were honest with yourself, you didn't even recall getting the sectional into the apartment.

Your head was pounding and you felt like you had been hit by a bus. So you opted to exclude yourself from any activities Sam had planned for him and his brothers, and instead spend the day catching up on your studies.

You found yourself sprawled out on the new couch with books around you as you worked on your laptop. Regardless of the fact it was a drunk purchase, you had to admit the couch was pretty comfortable.

You didn't realize you had fallen asleep until you were woken up by someone moving beside you. You sat up watching as Harry settled in. He glanced over to you and sighed.

"Sorry I was trying to avoid waking you," he said apologetically.

"S'ok, where's Sam and Tom?" You asked.

"Club," he chuckled. You rolled your eyes, before grabbing the books from next to you and setting them onto the table.

"You didn't want to go?" You asked.

"Not in the mood," he said, smiling at you. You felt a tad guilty about being happy Harry had chosen to not go, opting instead to hang out with you. Sam had been right, you and Harry had A LOT in common, so talking and joking with him came almost naturally. He radiated positivity, it was like if he was a color, it was yellow 100%

After a couple hours of talking about everything you could think of, the room fell silent. "Let's go on an adventure," Harry suggested.

"An adventure?" You wondered.

"Why not?" He laughed.

"I'm not very adventurous," you admitted coyly.

"That's ok, we'll figure something out. Let's just drive until inspiration strikes,"he said, standing up and extending his hand for you to take.

Your decision to say yes was probably where everything went wrong, but looking back.. you would do everything the same if you were given a second chance.

You parked your car on the side of the lake. Looking over at Harry with a skeptical look. "You gonna back out?" He asked.

"Harry, it's only like 68° out here," you reminded him. He nodded with a smile before opening the door and getting out of the car. Somehow both of the Holland twins had a way of convincing you to do crazy things.

You got out, feeling the chill of the air make goosebumps raise on your skin. "Harry, I'm not sure about this," you admitted walking towards where he was now standing on the dock.

"Me either, but it's not an adventure without a little hesitation," he told you.

"Who told you that?" You asked, laughing. He thought about it for a minute and shrugged.

"Ok, let's do it," he told you, giving you a nod. You sighed nodding back before slowly peeling your pants down your legs and then your shirt over your head. You took a deep breath before removing your underwear and then unclipping your bra.

You stood completely naked staring out at the ice cold water, not daring to look at the boy beside you, no matter how badly you wanted to. You felt his fingers interlace with yours. “Ready?” He asked.

“Nope. let's do it,” You told him, squeezing his hand. You followed his movements. As soon as his body lunged forward, yours followed, hitting the icy water almost instantly. It felt as if there were pins and needles poking you on every inch of your body, and when you finally came back up to the surface, you gasped trying to catch your breath, your body tensed up from the shock of the temperature.

"Adventures. Are. Dumb." You shuttered. You could see Harry's teeth catering together.

"That. That was stupid," he admitted swimming back to the dock and pulling himself out. He reached out his hand, grabbing yours and hoisting you back onto the dock.

"Remind me to never go on an adventure with you again," you laughed, before realizing something. "We don't have towels,"

Harry's eyes widened, "no we don't," you stood on the dock, completely naked trying to shield your body.

"I have a blanket in my hatch. We can turn on the heater and sit under it until we're dry," you offered.

"That sounds good," he told you before grabbing the clothes from the ground. You rushed to your car, opening the trunk and jumping in. Luckily you had left the keys in the ignition, so all it took was you leaning over the seat to crank on the car. Forgetting about your completely exposed state. Harry pulled the hatch closed as he crawled into the car, tossing the clothes into the back seat and unfolding the blanket. You plopped down beside him, pulling the corner to cover yourself, hoping the heater would warm the two of you up fast.

After a few (awkward) moments, Harry finally spoke up. "You have a nice body," he said quietly. You felt your cheeks heat up at his words.

"Harry, were you looking at my naked body?" You joked, knowing it would have been impossible for him to have not seen you.

"I mean, when I came to crawl in you were bent over the back seat. Like on full display. Would have been hard to not look," he laughed, turning away to hide the blush that was gracing his ears and cheeks. "This trunk is roomy," he said, trying to change the subject.

"Me and Sam had to sleep in here once, hence the blanket," you told him.

"So you two?" Harry wondered.

"No, never. He's like my half-soulmate, like in a friendly way, you know?" You asked.

"Well he's my womb mate so kind of," he admitted. You couldn't help but laugh. "You know, we will probably warm up faster, if we're closer," Harry said shyly. His logic was right, but you were worried about your self control.

"Yeah, ok," you mumbled, scooting closer, until your leg was touching his.

"Can I put my arm around you?" He asked. You nodded quickly. You let out a sigh of relief at his warmth,as you let yourself snuggle into his body, being cautious not to place your hands anywhere questionable.

It was nice. It was strangely intimate as well. "Sam told us you were beautiful, but I can't believe how breathtaking you are," Harry said quietly after a few minutes. You glanced up to his face, his eyes were closed, and it seemed like he was trying to focus on his breathing.

"Are you just saying that because you have seen me naked?" You asked. He laughed, before opening his eyes and looking at you.

His eyes met yours, and it was like you were each seeing something you had been looking for for way too long. You saw his eyes shift down to your lips.

"No, Y/N, you are just breathtaking, clothes and all," he told you, brushing stray hairs from your face.

Your next movements were slow. You glanced down to his lips, and back to his eyes before slowly leaning in, giving him plenty of time to curve your movements, but he didn't. Instead he followed them.

"We shouldn't," you whispered, faces so close you could feel his breath on your lips.

"I know," he told you. You bit your bottom lip, before looking into his eyes. There was something about Harry, something that was throwing all your inhibitions out the window. All you could think about was how his lips would feel on yours. His hand reached up, rubbing his thumb across your face, you closed your eyes and leaned in, closing the distance between your lips.

The second your lips met you felt something ignite in you. He kissed you slowly, not rushing into anything. His lips were soft and warm, and made you melt into him. Turning your body more, your naked chest pressed against his as your fingers laced themselves in the curls on the base of his neck.

As he rested his hand on your waist, squeezing lightly, as he deepened the kiss.

His tongue swiped across your lower lip, looking for access, which you quickly granted. You leaned back as his lips found themselves trailing your jaw and to your neck.

"Sam will kill us," you let out, as you threw your head back giving him more access to your neck.

"Let him," he mumbled into your neck, before continuing his task. You knew you should stop him. This was the first step, in the wrong direction. Harry was someone you could easily fall in love with, and if you stopped now, you could pretend this naked, heated, makeout session had never happened. But then his hand slid down from your waist to your thigh, as he pushed you farther back onto your back.

You pulled his face back to yours, reconnecting your lips with his in a hungry kiss.

You continued the heated kissing for a while, letting yourself lose control, something that did not come easily for you.

"Harry," you moaned into his lips, making him lift his head.

"Tell me what you want darling," he told you, face red from kissing you. You pushed him up and over so he was sitting again.

"Do you want me?" You asked. He nodded quickly, grabbing your waist to pull you over to him. You threw one of your legs over his, and let him get himself situated, grabbing his hard member and lining it up to your entrance. You let yourself sink down slowly onto him, enjoying the initial feeling of him filling you up.

"Christ, y/n, you're so tight," he groaned, as he bottomed out on top of him. you leaned forward resting your head on his shoulder, getting used to the stretch he was giving you, before you started to move slowly. He kept his hands on your hips, helping you with your moviments, but never forcing them, letting you choose the speed of your thrusts.

Harry peppered your neck with kisses as you held onto him, letting little moans and whines escape your mouth as you rode him slowly.

He whispered sweet nothings to you, making you lose it, hearing you were 'perfect' and 'so beautiful,'

"M'So close," you moaned out, as your movements became more rigid.

"I've got you darling," Harry whispered as he took over, and began thrusting up into you, he let his hand slip between your body's, finding your bundle and rubbing it as he thrust into you. "Oh god," you groaned, throwing your head back.

"Let go for me darling," he said as he pressed open mouth kisses to your neck.

As soon as you felt him twitch inside of you, you felt the band in your stomach snap. You felt yourself convulsing around him as his thrusts became sloppy and slowed, having hit his peak with you.

You let your forehead rest against his, both of your breathing heavy. "Wow," you whispered.

"I think I like adventures with you," he chuckled, making you roll your eyes before kissing him again.

Your eyes opened to the light streaming through the window. At first you were confused at the amount of windows surrounding you, and then it hit you.

"Oh god," you groaned, sitting up.

"What?" Harry gasped, sitting straight up.

"We fell asleep," you told him as you rustled around you to find your clothes. "I don't know where my clothes are," you groaned. Harry placed a hand on your check, turning your face to him.

"Back seat darling," he told you, before leaning in and kissing you. He pulled away sooner than you would have liked and reached over the seat grabbing the clothes from last night.

You both dressed quickly, moving to the front of the car. The drive home wasn't a long one, and you were relieved when you arrived home to find that neither Sam or Tom were there.

"So," Harry said as you poured both of you a glass of water.

"What?" You giggled sliding it over to him.

"Last night was incredible for me, and I don't do the sleeping with random people thing," he told you.

"And you think I do?" You asked him.

"What? No!" He told you, nearly spitting out his water. You couldn't help but laugh. "I just mean, that I'd like to do it again, maybe take you out as well, get to know you more," he told you, reaching for your hand. You laced your fingers with his, blushing as a smile spread across your face.

"I'd like that," you whispered. Harry went to move around the counter, but as soon as he got off the stool the front door swung open and a very hungover Sam and an amused Tom came in. Pushing whatever moment you were having to the back burner.

"You let him get pissed?" You asked Tom as you rushed over to your best friend who looked like death.

"To be fair, I tried to stop him multiple times, but he kept telling me 'I'm in college I can handle my booze'" Tom laughed.

"Sammy," you groaned as you pushed him onto the couch.

"Sorry mom," he mumbled as his eyes fluttered shut.

You rolled your eyes at how dumb he could be.

"What did you guys do last night?" Tom asked, walking over to where Harry was in the kitchen.

"Went on a late night adventure," Harry told him, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh yeah? What did you do?" Tom repeated.

"Nothing really," Harry mumbled, trying to avoid Tom. But Tom knew Harry better than anyone.

"Harry?" Tom asked, making the boy look at him.

Tom gasped, looking from Harry over to you and then back. "Tell me you didn't Baz," Tom groaned.

"Didn't want?" You asked, confused.

"You two had sex," tom whisper yelled.

Your eyes grew wide and you could feel your cheeks heating up, "how would you gather that by just looking at him?" You demanded.

"Sex glow," Tom explained.

You snorted before rolling your eyes. "Oh whatever," you told him, not buying it.

"So you didn't then?" Tom asked, looking directly at Harry, who's cheeks immediately reddened. "Jesus you two, Sam is going to be livid," he informed you.

"We're not going to tell him," Harry said quickly, to which you agreed just as quickly.

Tom shook his head, "was it just the one shag? Or are there feelings?" Tom asked. You looked at Harry and bit your lip. He nodded before speaking back up. "Just the one shag, no feelings at all, " he lied.

You sat in the driver's seat of your car, waiting. Memories flooding your mind of that night weeks prior. You glanced down at your phone, checking the time again. You were being impatient, but to be fair you had been waiting for this for a long time, too long. Having had to accept secret calls and texts as enough for the time being. But now it was time, you somehow managed to clear up a weekend, and he happened to be free, and now you were going to sneak away, and not be a secret for just a few days, not have to hide behind a screen, or be a distant voice.

Your phone began to buzz in your lap and you looked down to see the contact name you had changed a few weeks ago “My baz <3”

“You here?” you asked, bringing it up to your ear.

“Just landed. Am I getting my bag and heading out to you?” he wondered.

“Yup. and then we will have two whole days uninterrupted, just us, in a virbo, naked, and sweaty and-” you were cut off by his laughing.

“Someone is clearly eager,” he told you.

“Fuck, i messed you sweetheart” he told you.

“Yes i am, the phone sex and sexting isn't doing it for me, I've literally had the real thing baby. Now I want it again, so hurry up so we can get out of town,” you groaned, as there was a knock on your window. You jumped, and turned to see him standing at your door, red curls crazy from a cat nap he had surly taken on the flight over, and a smile so big you could drown in it. You jumped from the car throwing yourself into his already full arms, making him drop his duffel bag, but he didn't seem to mind. He wrapped his arms around your waist lifting you up in his hug, and burying his face in your neck.

You could have sworn your heart skipped a beat.

"Let's go," you urged him, impatient for what you knew was to come later. You began the hour-long drive to the weekend rental you had gotten for the two of you. Making sure you would be alone, and able to not be bothered by anything. Or so you thought.

"Sam's calling you," Harry said as you turned another corner.

"What, why? He thinks I'm with my dad for the weekend," you told Harry. Looking down at your phone. Harry shrugged.

You answered the phone hoping it was nothing.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I uh, have a problem," Sam sounded worried.

"What?" You asked.

"I wanted to make sure it was okay that I invited Harry to stay with us for the two weeks we have off of school next month, because I already invited him.. and I totally forgot to ask," he muttered. You felt a smile grow on your lips.

"I don't know Sam, I'm not sure me and Harry got on well," you joked, peaking Harry's interest.

"Really?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I just thought he was annoying and I'm pretty sure he didn't like me at all," you told him. Harry started to shake his head and roll his eyes. "I am fine with it Sammy,"

"You sure?" Sam wondered. "Cause I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable by any means,"

"Positive," you confirmed

"How's spending time with your dad?" He asked you.

"Good, hey look we just got somewhere so I gotta go, call you back later. Love you, bye," you hung up the phone before he could continue any conversation, knowing he would keep you on the phone for an hour if you let him.

"You love him?" Harry asked.

"What?"

"You love Sam?" He repeated.

"Course I do," you smiled at him.

"He's lucky to have you, you're a good friend," he told you. Your brows furrowed as you looked over to him.

"Is that what we are? Friends?" You asked. You parked the car in front of the house and turned to look at Harry.

"Do you want to be more?" He Wondered.

"I mean, the way I feel about you, I don't feel about any of my other friends," you whispered.

"And how do you feel?" He asked.

"Well, when I see that you're calling or texting me I get this feeling in my stomach, it's like an insistent fluttering, that never goes away, as long as I'm talking to you, gets me all flustered and nervous. And when you told me you were going to be able to come this weekend, I was so excited, because it meant I could spend even a second with you alone." You smiled at him before biting your lip, "I really like you,"

"I like you too y/n, more than I think I've ever liked anyone," he told you, reaching his hand out to caress your cheek. "And because of that I've had something on my mind,"

"Oh yeah? You asked

"Yeah, I mean I know it won't make much of a difference since we'll still have to keep it a secret, but I'd really like it if you were my girlfriend," he told you, his cheeks flushed red as he watched you closely for a reaction.

You leaned in close, nearly touching his lips with your own, "I would love to be your girlfriend," you whispered before closing the space between you in a kiss.

Everything with Harry was easy, even though the situation was strange, and the secrets and lying were hard, everything felt natural. Every Time you talked to him it felt like home, and you knew you were in over your head. If you had hoped to not fall in love with him, you absolutely would have been let down by yourself. You knew you were going to hell for lying to Sam, but you couldn't change the way you felt, and although you wished you weren't hurting him, you didn't regret anything you had going on with his twin brother.

You entered the little rental house, surprised at how cute and quaint the decor was. It had a very boho chic feel to it, there was a four poster bed in the middle of the room with sheer curtains streaming down. There was a little sectional in the corner with a television in front of it, and a little kitchenette to the right of the room. The owners had left a fresh vase of roses on the little table along with a basket that had chocolates and a few other things inside.

“This is romantic,” Harry said, as he looked around the room.

“The pictures were cute, and it had good reviews, i didn't expect this though,” you admitted.

Harry walked over to the bed, pushing the drape to the side and looking towards you. “Come test it out with me?” He asked. You rolled your eyes at him, but went over, slipping off your shoes and climbing onto the bed (Which felt like a cloud)

“It's nice,” you hummed as you let your body sink into the mattress.

“Be nicer, if i wasn't so constricted by these clothes,” he told you, making you look over to see his smirking face.

“Oh yeah?” you asked, turning to face him.

“Oh yeah,” he repeated, raising his eyebrows at you. He adjusted himself to his side so he was facing you now.

“What are you thinking about?” you whispered.

“That night,” he muttered, “The way you looked, riding me, falling apart on my cock. How tight your pussy was and the way it clenched around me while I whispered sweet nothings in your ear,” your eyes widened in shock at the filth of his words.

“Harry,” you giggled.

“Come on, you know you have been thinking of it. I know I can't get the sound of your moans out of my head, the small whimpers you were letting out with every stroke of my cock on your g spot,” you felt your walls clench around nothing at his words. He knew what he was doing, and he was doing it well. “I just wish we had had more time that night, I could have had you whimpering if I had been given the chance. I would have filled you up good with my fingers, and eaten you like you were my last meal,” he whispered.

You closed your eyes, trying to keep from letting off how unbelievably aroused you were. You had rushed straight to the point the last time you and Harry had been left alone, but now.. There was no rush, no time crunch, you had all night, and all weekend to give into your sexual desires. Lord knows you have already given into your emotional ones.

“Show me,” you challenged, stealing a glance at the way his mouth widened with your words. He pushed himself up onto his knees in between your legs, grabbing your ankles and pulling you down the bed and closer to him. “Harry,” you giggled.

He ran his hands up your clothed legs, and up your body, until he was leaning over you, his face close enough that you could smell his shampoo and feel his breath fanning across your lips. “Want to make you feel good,” he whispered.

“Do it then,” you groaned, arching your back up and into a kiss. His hands found your waist, sliding them under your shirt as he kissed you like his life depended on it. He slowly pushed your shirt up until it was pooled above your breasts and he then pulled the fabric of your bra down, taking your already pebbled nipple between his fingers and rolling it, which made a slight moan escape from your mouth.

“Can I take these off?” he asked. You nodded quickly, sitting slightly up so he could remove the shirt. He reached behind you to unclasp your bra, but not without a little struggle. When he finally managed to get it undone, he slid the straps down your arms tossing it to the side, before dipping his head down, and taking one of your nipples in his mouth. You let out a loud gasp at the sensation, as your hands instinctively found themselves tangled in his auburn curls. He made sure to do the same to the other breast before trailing open mouth kisses down your stomach and stopping at your waistband of your leggings. Glancing up to you for permission, which you nodded, overly eager for him. He hooked his finger in the waistband peeling your leggings and underwear down in one sweep. He could see how wet you already were for him, from the glistening sheen of your cunt.

He ran two fingers through your folds, stopping at your clit and pushing down. “Oh,” you moaned out at the unexpected pressure.

“So wet for me darling,” Harry whispered.

“I have been waiting for this,” you admitted, looking up to see him smirking at you.

“Oh you have?” He asked, pulling his fingers almost all the way out before plunging them back in. He brushed your g spot with the tip of his fingers making you moan out his name and arch your back. “Been waiting for this?” he asked as he continued to finger fuck you.

“Yes, Harry,” you moaned, as you felt a knot forming in the pit of your stomach. Harry moved his thumb, and you almost whined at the loss of stimulation, until you felt his tongue lick up from above his fingers to your nub, wrapping his lips around it as he began to suck slightly. You were done at that point, and you knew it. “So close har,” you warned, but he didn't falter in his actions in the slightest. Instead he sped them up, pushing you over the edge even faster. With a loud moan of his name, your back arched off the mattress and your toes curled, as you felt an explosion of bliss. Harry continued his movements through your orgasm, only slowing and coming to a stop when your legs quit shaking and you seemed to relax.

“Fuck, y/n. You're bloody perfect,” he mumbled, bringing his lips to yours, you could taste yourself on his lips, but you didn't even mind. All you could focus on was the fact that he was way overdressed, for the activities you wanted to partake in. you grabbed at the hem of his shirt, and he broke away from the kiss to allow you to pull the shirt over his head.

You took a second to admire his bare chest, he was muscular, but wasn't overly defined, and he, well he was perfect.

“You're breathtaking, you know?” You told him, making him turn a shade of red.

“Shut up,” he giggled, before reconnecting your lips in another kiss.

You let your nails graze the naked skin on his back making him groan, and rut his hips against yours. His clothed bulge rubbing against your naked sex. “Take em off,” you instructed. He pushed himself up onto his knees, unbuttoning his jeans, but before he could push them down you sat up grabbing his hands to stop him. “Can i?” you asked.

He smiled at you before nodding. You pushed his jeans down as much as you could, you could see the outline of his cock that was straining against his boxers. You leaned forward, placing an open mouthed kiss on the fabric. “Fuck,” harry groaned. You looked up at him through your eyelashes to see him looking down at you.

“Want me to..” you asked.

“Yes, fuck yes. If you want to, I mean,” he stuttered out. You smiled up at him, pushing the fabric of his boxers down until his cock was free of the restraint. You took his length in your hand, pumping it a few times, as you licked your lips and leaned forward, taking him in your mouth. You bobbed your head up and down as you worked what your mouth couldn't take with your hand. Harry held onto your hair loosely, watching as you sucked him off. “M’close,” he warned you. You continued what you were doing, not caring, he had done it for you, the least you could do was return the favor. You felt him begin to twitch against your tongue, as his grip on your hair tightened and his hips rutted forward, nearly making you gag before you felt him release himself the warm liquid slipping down your throat. You pulled your head back letting him out of your mouth with a pop.

Harry pushed you back onto the bed, making you giggle at his eagerness. He let his body fall to yours, lips crashing in a deep kiss. His fingers laced with yours above your head as he moved his kisses down your jaw to your throat, sucking lightly, leaving small marks that would be a reminder for days. “Harry, I need you,” You whined.

He lifted his head smiling, bringing his lips back to yours. His hand slipped between your bodies, lining himself up at your entrance before sinking slowly into you. He slowly thrust into you, setting a slow pace.

“Faster, baby, please,” you moaned out. He grabbed your thigh lifting it lightly as he began to thrust into you harder.

“You're so tight,” he groaned, as he began to quicken his movements. You reached down, rubbing your nub as he pounded into you.

“I'm close,” You told him as you neared your second orgasm.

He reached down, replacing your fingers with his, “Cum all over my cock darling,” he groaned. His fingers circled your clit, and with one particularly deep thrust, you felt yourself clench around him, as you whimpered at the relief. After a few more movements Harry's hips stilled and his body went limp, laying his head onto your chest. “That was incredible, you are incredible,” he told you as he laid there trying to catch his breath.

You smiled as your eyes fluttered closed, sleep taking over your overworked body.

The weekend passed quicker than it had even come, and before you knew it you were kissing Harry goodbye at the airport where you had picked him up two days prior.

“I wish we had more time,” you whispered as you hugged him, your face buried in the crook of his neck.

“I'll be here next month, love. Five weeks and we will be back together, promise,” He whispered into your ear, kissing the top of your head.

“I'll hold you to it,” you told him, kissing his lips one final time before he had to leave.

“I’m counting on it,” he said, before walking away. Just like that, faster than he had arrived in Scotland, he left for London.

The drive to your place was quiet, and the whole time you were fighting the urge to cry. You parked your car, and grabbed your bag, noticing a pink sleeve peeking out. You unzipped it, and saw Harry's pink hoodie, that he had probably shoved into your bag after you had practically lived in it and only it for the weekend. You couldn't help but smile to yourself. You shoved the hoodie farther into your bag, zipping it up and heading up to your flat.

As soon as you opened the door you were hit with the aroma of a home cooked meal. Sam was standing facing the stove, focused on whatever he was stirring.

“Smells good Sammy,” you said, startling him.

“Oh good, your home. Come stir this for me,” he instructed holding a spoon out to you.

"Yes chef," you said, bringing your hand up to your head and saluting him.

"You're an idiot," he groaned at you. You walked over taking the spoon and began to stir the sauce while he cut up garnish for the top. "How was your weekend with your dad?" He asked.

"Uh good, busy, but ok," you lied. Seemed like you were doing a lot of that to Sam recently.

"So you guys worked everything out from that fight?" He asked you. Your eyes grew wide, realizing you had fucked up. You and your dad had gotten into a fight about money, and afterwards he had cut you off, and told you to get your life in order. It had been months since you had spoken.

"No, but we pretended so that my gram wouldn't be upset," you lied again.

"Oh, that makes sense. I was confused when you said you were going to spend the weekend with him, I thought you might have been lying to me, glad that wasn't the case," he said as he drained the pasta.

Guilt. That was the only thing you felt. Guilty for being a bad best friend. Guilty for lying. Guilty for not sticking to a promise you had made. You were going straight to hell.

It had been a few days since yours and Harry's weekend, and he was set to be back in a little over a month. You were sitting on the couch, laptop in your lap when the pain started. At first it was a slight pinching sensation, but soon it became like a stabbing pain, and you nearly doubled over from the intensity. You tried to stand up, but let out a groan as the pain increased. Sam looked up, worried filling his face at the sight of you.

“Y/N? You're bleeding, what's going on?” He asked, as he rushed to your side. You looked down to see a line of blood down both of your legs, and immediately got dizzy.

“Sammy, I'm gonna pass out,” You warned him.

“I’m taking you to the doctor,” he told you as he practically carried your limp body down to your car and drove you to the nearby emergency clinic.

The doctors drew blood and put in an i.v to get fluids into you, all the while Sam never left your side, holding your hand tightly as he knew you hated doctors offices.

“Okay darling, we're going to run some tests and get to the bottom of why you're feeling so bad,” the nurse told you, as she left the room. Sam sat beside you as you laid in the bed, squeezing your hand lightly.

“It's alright, you're okay,” he cooed as he stroked your hair. Just then the door opened and a doctor came into the room.

“Miss, Y/L/N, i have some unfortunate news, it looks like you're experiencing a miscarriage,” your jaw dropped as you heard the words coming from his mouth. You glanced up at Sam who was looking at you with raised eyebrows.

“I- what?” you asked. Clearly not registering what you had just heard.

“The HCG levels in your blood make me think you were maybe around ten weeks pregnant, which would explain the extreme blood loss, and the feeling like you were going to faint. The unfortunate thing is that there is not much medically that we can do, so we will send you home. Try and get some rest, take it easy and if you experience any clotting bigger than a golf ball, come back in. ill have the nurse work up your discharge paperwork,” he turned to exit the room but stopped in the doorway, “I’m sorry guys, i know this must be hard news,” and then he left.

“You were pregnant?” Sam asked.

“I guess so,” you mumbled.

“Who have you slept with? What was ten weeks ago? That was like-” Sams face fell. He looked down at you, “That was our holiday week, ten weeks ago,” He told you. You winced at his insinuation, which in and of itself gave you away. “Tell me you weren't pregnant with my brother's baby y/n?” he sighed.

You weren't sure if it was being caught in a lie, the hormones coursing through your body, or the fact that you had just been told that you had lost a baby you were never even aware of, but you felt a sudden surge of emotions, as your eyes glossed over. Sam noticed this almost instantly.

“Shit y/n honey, please don't cry,” he told you, but it was too late as the tears began to spill from your eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” you nearly wailed. Sam pulled you into his arms as you cried your heart out, mumbling things about how ‘awful of a person you were’ and how you ‘didn't deserve him in your life’.

“Y/N, try and breathe, and tell me what happened,” he whispered as soon as your crying settled slightly. So you tried to explain what had happened, where you had gone wrong, and when your heart had been opened to his brother.

“Are you mad at me?” you asked as Sam tucked you into the couch with your favorite fuzzy blanket. He hadn't said a word to you since you had left the hospital.

“I am,” he sighed, sitting down beside you. “Y/n, what happens if he hurts you? If he breaks your heart into a million pieces? What happens when I'm forced to choose a side? What happens when I have to choose him over you even if I know he was in the wrong?” he asked, voice cracking, and tears prickling his eyes. “What happens if I lose you over something he does? I'd be crushed, your my best friend, the person i turn to when things are hard, the one who knows me inside and out, the one id trust with my life, but he is my brother, my twin brother, you are like a stranger compared to the way i know him,”

“Sam-”

“No, y/n. Just- I can't have this conversation right now, because i want to yell at you, tell you how betrayed i feel, but i can't because this- what your going through, is bigger than what i feel right now,” he stood up pulling his phone from his pocket and walking to the front door. “And that's why I called him,” he said before opening the door.

You felt tears form in your eyes again at the gesture. Your best friend putting his own feelings to the side to make sure you were ok. Harry stepped inside the house, offering a small smile to Sam who just nodded at him, obviously hurt. Harry went straight to you, pulling you into his arms as you started to cry again, this time it was even worse.

Harry held you for what felt like hours as you cried until you fell asleep. He placed your body down gently before walking to the kitchen where Sam was standing.

“Mate-”

“No, you don't get to start. Why her? Out of every person in the world, why her?” Sam demanded.

“It just happened,” Harry said.

“That is not a reason,” Sam argued.

“She's it Sam, I don't know,” Harry said.

“You wouldn't have known that had you left her alone,” Sam was verging on pissed at that point.

“No, Sam, you don't understand. I didn't need to know her, the second I saw her in the airport standing beside you, her hair tied up and in that old pearl jam t-shirt. Everything changed, call it a gut feeling, or me being an idiot, but I swear to god Sam, I fell in love with her before she even spoke a word to me,” Harry explained, hearing the words he said for the first time out loud.

“You're in love with her?” Sam asked.

“Desperately,” he admitted.

“I'll hurt you, if you hurt her,” Sam warned.

“I wouldn't expect anything less,”

“And if she hurts you, well, i cant hurt her but i'll give her an earful,” Sam laughed.

“I know,” Harry laughed.

“God it had to be my best friend?” Sam asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I'm sorry, the heart wants what it wants,” Harry said.

“Who are you? Selena Gomez?” Sam asked, hitting his brother's shoulder. “I’m sorry, about the baby,”

“I didn't even know there was a baby till you called,” He told Sam.

“She didn't know until today. You guys were careful, yeah?” he asked Harry.

“Uhh,”

“Harry! You fucking div! condoms man!” Sam groaned.

“I know it was just-”

“No, no, no. I do not want to hear the specifics of you sleeping with my best friend, just- next time, CONDOMS!” Sam stressed.

“Okay, okay, that's easy enough,” Harry laughed.

“You look nervous,” Sam laughed from the passenger seat of Harry's car.

“I am,” you told him,

“You have met mum before darling,” Harry reminded you.

“Yeah, as Sam's roommate and best friend, Not as your girlfriend,” you explained. Your stomach was in knots the entire drive from the airport to the Hollands family home. This was all new territory, sure you and Harry had been together for eight months, but meeting the family was a big feat, even if you had met them all before your relationship had started.

“I promise you will be fine, love” Harry assured you.

“I'll hold you to that,” You muttered, as he pulled into the driveway of an extremely nice house. You felt your jaw drop, as you glanced around the house, unaware that they had grown up in such a nice place.

Your door opened, and Harry held out his hand for you to take, which you did. Stepping out of the car and smoothing the bottom of your dress down. “Ready?” Harry asked.

You smiled up at him, “Nope. let's do it,” you squeezed his hand lightly as he pulled you along, Sam following closely behind.

The inside of the house was just as nice, pictures of the boys lined the walls from when they were tots until now. You heard the pitter patter of paws on the hardwood and looked over to see a blue staffy running towards you. Sam dropped down hugging the dog.

“Hi Tess, hi darling, oh i missed you too,” You giggled at the sight of the dog smothering Sam in kisses.

“Just in time,” Niki sang as she rounded the corner. “Oh y/n,” she said, pulling you into her arms. “So glad you could join us for the holidays,” she told you, squeezing your shoulders.

“Mum,” Harry said.

“Oh yes, sorry please go ahead,” she giggled while backing up.

“Mum, this is Y/n, my girlfriend,” Harry said, making you shoot him a strange look.

“Oh so nice to meet you,” she gushed with a giggle.

“What-”

“He insisted he re-introduce us with your new title,” she explained. You laughed glancing up to see a blush covering his cheeks.

“You're cute,” you told him, before being whisked away to meet the rest of the Holland crew.

The night ran late, as you got to know everyone. The whole Holland family was easy to get along with, you spent most of the time laughing at embarrassing childhood stories and telling stories of Sam at school.

“Are you ready to go?” Harry whispered in your ear when he noticed you had yawned for the third time. You nodded, eyes feeling heavy from the long day. You went around saying your goodbyes to everyone, Sam opting to just head back later. So you and Harry took off to his flat which he shared with Tom and a few friends.

Once you got to his place, he grabbed your bag, leading you inside, and passed two boys who were occupied in front of a video screen. “You can meet them tomorrow,” He told you as he helped you up the stairs.

His room was nice, quite what you would expect from a boys room, plain bed, empty dresser, there was a shelf full of movies, and a large tv, but nothing extreme.

“Can i have a shirt?” You asked. “To sleep in?”

Harry smiled at you before walking over to the dresser and pulling out an old t-shirt. “This one will look nice on you,” He told you.

“Help me out of these clothes?” you asked. He leaned forward bringing his lips to you as his fingers found the zipper on the back of your dress. He unzipped it slowly, pushing it off your shoulders before it fell to your ankles, revealing the lingerie set you had bought for him.

“Oh god,” he groaned looking at the black and gold lace that lined your body.

“You like it?” You asked with a cheeky smile.

“I'm going to like it even more once it's on my floor,” he told you as he grabbed your bum, lifting you up and carrying you to his bed. He threw you down, and you landed with a giggle as he attacked your neck with kisses, trailing the patterned lace that laid over your breasts with one hand. “The things i want to do to you,” He growled in your ear.

“Do whatever you want baz, i'm all yours,” You said with a wink.

“Whatever I want huh? What if I just want to make sweet love to you all night?” He asked, catching you off guard.

You smiled and brought your thumb up to his mouth tracing his lip and the birthmark right beside it. “Make love to me then,” you whispered.

Harry bit his bottom lip, as he looked into your eyes. “I love you,” He blurted for the first time.

You felt your smile grow even wider, as you leaned up, kissing his lips softly. “I love you,” You mumbled into his lips.

You stayed tangled together, lips clashing, tension burning between you, for a while.

“Harry,” You moaned into his kiss.

“Yeah baby?” He asked.

“Make sweet love to me?” You nearly begged.

He smiled wide, jumping up and walking to his dresser, pulling out a little foil square and tossing it to you before quickly undressing himself. You took the chance to slip out of the lingerie you had on, laying naked and waiting for him.

He crawled onto the bed next to you. “Sit down,” you told him.

“Yeah?” He asked excitedly.

“Yeah,” you told him.

He sat down, back to the pillows, and legs spread open, waiting for you. You ripped open the condom, rolling it over his member slowly in a teasing manner. “Y/N” he groaned, making you laugh.

“Alright,” You laughed, climbing on top of him, and lining him up to your entrance.

“This feels familiar,” He whispered as you sank down onto him.

“Going back to the beginning,” you whispered as you began to move slowly. You wrapped your fingers in his hair as you brought your lips to his, letting all the love flow between the two of you.

“I love you,” Harry mumbled into your lips.

“I'm in love with you,” You told him. He grabbed your bum before flipping you onto your back. “Harry,” You giggled.

“I'm so glad I found you y/n. I feel like I had been lost at sea and you were the lighthouse that guided me home,” he expressed.

“Harry,” You whispered feeling your heart skip a beat.

“I love you so much,” He whispered, before connecting your lips again, and moving his hips, sinking farther and farther into you with each thrust. You continued to kiss him, fingers tangled into his curls as he grinded into you, bringing you both to your breaking points.

“Harry,” You moaned as you reached your climax.

“God Y/n, you look so beautiful falling apart because of my cock,” he groaned as his thrusts became rigid and rough.

“Cum for me, Harry,” You moaned in his ear as he reached his peak finishing into the condom.

He rolled off of you, disposing of the condom in the bin by his bed and turning back to you.

“I love you,” He whispered again.

“I like the sound of that,” You sighed, as you snuggled into his body. “And I love you too,” you whispered.

#harry holland #harry robert holland #harry holland smut #harry holland imagine #harry holland fluff #harry holland x y/n #sam holland #harry holland x you #harry holland x reader #harry holand x female reader #sam holland best friend #harry holland one shot

178 notes · View notes

the-al-chemist · 2 years

Text

Artemis Hexley and the Portrait of the Vault

Chapter 6: Hufflepuff vs Slytherin

A/N: The Hufflepuff Quidditch team play their first match of the season, and Artemis finds a new opponent elsewhere, as well. Chapter features @lifeofkaze’s Lizzie Jameson and @that-scouse-wizard’s David Willlows. Warnings: mentions of sport-related injuries, mentions of death, and angst.

With the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match done and dusted, it was soon time for the second Quidditch match of the season, and Artemis’ first ever time playing for the Hufflepuff team.

The match was to take place at eleven on the following Saturday morning, and at breakfast, there were a fair few visitors to the Hufflepuff table. Tulip Karasu and Andre Egwu both hugged Artemis warmly, with the latter kissing her on both cheeks, before they sauntered back to the Ravenclaw table, and Barnaby Lee wished Artemis luck extremely loudly considering that the match was against his own house. He looked as if he didn’t understand why he was subjected to several dirty looks on his return to the Slytherin table. Finally, Ben Copper and the Weasley brothers came over to bid Artemis luck, all three of them briefly sitting down to engage in conversation with the Hufflepuff girls.

“Are you not feeling nervous?” Ben asked, fidgeting slightly in his seat.

Artemis shrugged, her mouth too full of toast to speak. She did have some butterflies in her stomach, but she was unsure whether those were due to excitement, nerves, or a mixture of both. Ben looked more anxious about the match than she did.

“She doesn’t need to be,” Bill said, ruffling her hair with his hand - the one that wasn’t currently holding Penny’s, their near-argument the week before having been all but forgotten. “She’s been taught by the best, after all.”

He nodded his head in the direction of his brother Charlie, who half-smiled as he poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice, his cheeks slightly pink.

“Look, he’s all shy,” grinned Tonks, and Charlie batted her hand away as she attempted to either pinch his cheek or poke his dimple, they never found out which. “Nah, seriously, last match was epic. The way you caught the Snitch just in the nick of time… Bonkers.”

“Well, I didn’t have much choice,” shrugged Charlie. “Not when Ravenclaw took out our Keeper five minutes into the game.”

“How is your Keeper?” Rowan asked.

“Wood? Yeah, he’s fine now. Nasty, though. Took him a good week to wake up, and it was his first ever game, poor guy. I mean, it’s Quidditch, these things do happen…” Charlie’s sentence tailed off as he became aware of the way Artemis was looking at him, and he cleared his throat before continuing, “Not today, though. Obviously. You’ll be fine.”

Artemis pulled a face at him.

“Nice save,” she said, and Charlie became suddenly very interested in his glass of pumpkin juice. “Maybe you could play Keeper next time.”

Having finished breakfast - Artemis having eaten noticeably less than she normally would - they all made their way down to the Quidditch pitch, where Penny, Tonks and Rowan took their places in the Hufflepuff stands, and Artemis joined the rest of the team in the Hufflepuff tent.

She quickly changed into her Quidditch robes, which were only a little baggy for her. Artemis had always been short and skinny, but the number of hours she had spent practising flying over the past two months had changed her frame slightly. She was still small, but now she was less scrawny, and more wiry, and the robes fit her better than she had expected them to.

Outside the tent, she could hear the crowd gather, and her heart started to beat faster. Suddenly, it all felt very real.

“Dinnae tell me that you’re scared, Hexley,” grinned Skye. “We’re goan tae batter Slytherin, ken? Nae need tae fash yerself.”

Artemis nodded, and Skye’s friend Lizzie gave her a small smile that was clearly meant to be reassuring, but if anything, made her look even more nervous than Artemis herself.

Orion Amari gestured to the team to gather by the entrance to the tent.

“It is almost time for us to face our foes, but before we do, I wish for us to have a moment of vivication,” he said slowly, his fingertips placed lightly together so that his hands formed a small tent in front of his chest. “Slytherin have a very good team, however, success is not dependent on skill alone. We must act together, as well as individually, balancing our own roles with our collective goal to achieve victory.”

Not sure if she entirely saw the point of Orion’s speech, Artemis picked up Tonks’ broom and followed the team out onto the pitch. They were greeted by cheers from three quarters of the stands, and a hissing noise from the rest.

“And playing for Hufflepuff today, we have Amari, Parkin, Jameson, Gwithers, Bean, Willows, and Hexley,” the voice of Murphy McNully boomed across the pitch as the team took their starting positions and Orion shook hands with the Slytherin captain. If Orion was nervous, his face didn’t show it.

As Artemis mounted her broom and rose into the air with the rest of her teammates, she cast a look over her shoulder at the Hufflepuff stands. Straining her eyes, she could just about make out Tonks’ bright pink hair. Below her, Madam Hooch the referee opened a large wooden box, and released the two Bludgers and the Golden Snitch. Artemis glared at the Snitch as it flitted upwards, a tiny glimmer of gold shooting into the the blue sky. She kept her eyes on the little winged ball as it sped away from her, and Madam Hooch blew a whistle from the ground.

“And the Quaffle has been released,” Murphy McNully announced. “The game has begun!”

Artemis didn’t need to be told what to do. She leant forward and pulled upwards, accelerating fast in hot pursuit of the ball she’d been watching fly away from her. As she soared across the pitch, the sound of the wind whistling past her ears drowning out Murphy’s commentary, the other players on the pitch no more than blurs as she flew faster and faster, she drew nearer to the Golden Snitch. Why had everyone made such a fuss about her first match? Quidditch was a piece of cake, she’d be done with the match in-

“ARTEMIS, LOOK OUT!”

At the sound of her name being called out, Artemis’ attention was pulled away from the Snitch, and she noticed in her peripheral vision something flying straight towards her, something round and black, and heavy looking.

She swore loudly, and ducked away from the Bludger, and it soared through the spot in the air where she’d been a fraction of a second later. The crowd gasped loudly.

“Hexley moves out of the way of the Bludger,” Murphy McNully told them. “Not a moment too soon; based on that flight path, I was 98.4% certain of a collision.”

“Are you alright?” David Willows, one of the Hufflepuff Beaters, pulled up towards Artemis, who was scanning the sky once more, the Snitch having disappeared from view in the seconds that she had been distracted.

“I’ve lost it!” she said, frustrated at herself only fractionally less than she was at the Bludger.

“You can say that again.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Artemis turned and looked at Willows, but he was watching the pitch, bat at the ready.

“Well, you were so busy focussing on the Snitch that you didn’t even notice a Bludger heading straight for you. That’s mad, that is.”

“Isn’t it your job to stop the Bludgers heading straight for me?”

“Yeah, but remember what Orion said in his vivification. You can’t just concentrate on what you’re doing, you have to be aware of what’s going on around you,” he replied. “I tried to stop that Bludger, but I couldn’t get there in time. You were flying too fast.”

With that, Willows flew away, towards Orion Amari. Artemis watched as he raised his bat, and used it to hit a Bludger that was also heading in Orion’s direction, sending it towards the Slytherin Seeker instead.

Artemis sighed. David was right. She’d have to find a good vantage point from which she could look out for the Snitch, and keep tabs on the rest of the game.

“Those Bludgers are taking a shine to the Hufflepuff players today,” said Murphy. “Thanks to that quick save, though, Hufflepuff remain in possession, with Amari passing the Quaffle to Jameson, Jameson to Parkin, Parkin to Amari…”

The Chasers were making lots of small passes to one another as they flew across the pitch in formation, a Slytherin Chaser following after them, trying and failing to intercept. As they drew closer, Skye aimed the red ball at one of the three large hoops, but the Slytherin Keeper caught the ball before it could go through the hoop.

“Nyoka makes a very good save, there. The score remains ten-nil to Slytherin,” announced Murphy. Artemis realised with a jolt that she’d missed Slytherin’s goal. “Nyoka passes the Quaffle to the Slytherin Chasers. Slytherin in possession.”

The Slytherin Chasers were fast, though Artemis could see that their technique was very different to that of the Hufflepuffs: the Slytherins kept hold of the Quaffle for as long as possible, passing to a team mate only when they were in danger of having the ball stolen from their grip or being hit by a Bludger. Between them, they carried the Quaffle back across the pitch to the Hufflepuff goalposts, and threw it to the hoops. Just as Alex Gwithers, the Hufflepuff Keeper, went to save the goal, one of the Slytherin Beaters flew towards him, bat at the ready, and swung at a nearby Bludger, sending a second ball in his direction.

“Gwithers dodges the Bludger,” shouted Murphy McNully, as the Slytherins cheered from the stands, “but misses the Quaffle. It’s twenty-nil to Slytherin!”

The Quaffle was picked up by Skye, who passed it to her friend Lizzie. The Hufflepuff Chasers took the Quaffle back to the Slytherin goal, where it was once more saved by Nyoka. Meanwhile, the Beaters of both teams were furiously trying to keep the Bludgers away from their own players and towards their opponents. One Slytherin Chaser dropped a Quaffle after a Bludger nearly struck her in the head, Slytherin got another goal past Gwithers while he was distracted by another, and Bean the Hufflepuff Beater saved Skye from an assault from both Bludgers in quick succession.

“Parkin emerges unscathed, and passes to Amari, Amari passes to Jameson, Jameson shoots, and yes, that’s a goal to Hufflepuff!” Murphy struggled to sound impartial as he announced the goal. In the stands, the Hufflepuffs were cheering and clapping, and Artemis took both hands off her broomstick to applaud the goal. “That takes the score to ten points for Hufflepuff, Slytherin still on thirty! But it looks like Slytherin might be about to win - their Seeker’s got eyes on the Snitch!”

The Snitch! Of course - in her determination to pay attention to the match, Artemis had forgotten all about searching for the little golden ball, and now, the Slytherin Seeker was speeding across the pitch. Artemis surged into action, accelerating hard to catch up. Her eyes following her rival’s flight path, she saw the dancing spot of gold in the distance.

“Come on, come on,” she muttered, willing Tonks’ broomstick to go faster. The gap between her and the Seeker was closing, but she was still too far away to catch up, her opponent was approaching the Snitch, their hand outstretched, and it was too late, they were going to -

“Ouch!” Murphy’s voice echoed across the pitch as the crowd gasped.

Artemis winced: a Bludger had collided at high speed with the Slytherin Seeker’s shoulder, and they had been pushed way off course. The Seeker raised their other arm, and the Slytherin Captain called a time out.

“He’s got tae be out of play,” said Skye, flying to Artemis’ side. “That’s a nasty whack he got there. Just as well, what dae ye think yer playing at, just watching the bloody game? Ye have a Snitch tae catch, ken?”

Artemis pursed her lips, and Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

“It appears that a Bludger from Bean has completely incapacitated the Slytherin Seeker,” Murphy announced. “This means that Slytherin are going to have to increase their lead considerably if they are to have even the smallest chance of winning. This game might be about to get 100% more brutal!”

Murphy wasn’t exaggerating. As soon as the Quaffle was re-released, the Slytherin Beaters started to become even more aggressive, and the Hufflepuff Beaters soon followed suit. Watching for the Snitch was proving incredibly difficult for Artemis, as one Slytherin Beater seemed set on keeping her distracted, while the other targeted the Hufflepuff Chasers. Artemis dodged two Bludgers successfully, and Willows saved her from a third, aiming a Bludger at the Slytherin Keeper, who flew behind a goalpost to dodge it, shouting instructions to the Slytherin Beaters.

Suddenly, two Beaters were flying towards Artemis at once, both bats raised, but when they both swung at the same Bludger simultaneously, it wasn’t her they aimed at. The Bludger flew threw the air like a cannonball, hitting Bean in the side of the ribcage as she raised her bat to defend herself. Artemis heard a crack and a dull thud, and Bean slid sideways off her broomstick, plummeting to the ground.

“Arresto momentum!” Madam Hooch called out, wand raised, and Bean’s falling body slowed down, gently coming to a stop on the grass of the pitch.

“Another time out has been called,” Murphy shouted, “and… yes, that’s another player out of the match.”

Hovering a few feet above the ground, Orion beckoned Artemis and Willows, the remaining Beater, down to join him.

“The Slytherin Beaters are likely to try and prevent Artemis from finding the Snitch whilst they attempt to gain a substantial lead,” he told them. “Willows, you concentrate on keeping the Bludgers away so that Artemis may continue her search without distractions.”

The two of them nodded, and flew back into the air as Madam Hooch threw the Quaffle upwards once more.

Now that she effectively had her own personal bodyguard to watch out for Bludgers, Artemis was able to concentrate better on looking for the elusive Golden Snitch. Blanking out the Chasers and the Keepers, the commentator and the crowds, she focused once more on scanning the pitch for a flash of gold, any flash of gold. Eventually, she saw it, hovering around five metres from the ground near the Gryffindor stands. Keeping her eye on the Snitch, she flew over to the stands as quickly as she could without David Willows falling behind. The Snitch had moved in that time, and was now higher in the air. She smiled. An easier dive, then. She made sure David was still guarding her from the Slytherin Beaters, moved her hands forward on the handle of Tonks’ broomstick handle, and pushed down.

Down she dove, towards the Snitch, flying faster and faster as she approached it, eyes narrowed, weight forward, hand outstretched. She was nearly there now, just another foot or so and then she -

“Yes! She’s done it! Hexley catches the Golden Snitch!”

The rest of Murphy’s spiel was drowned out by the Hufflepuff crowds’s cheers, and the sound of a blue haired girl shouting as she soared towards Artemis, who still held the Snitch tightly in her right fist.

“Ye wee stoater! Ye did it!”

Skye threw her arms around Artemis, who tried not to laugh as the Snitch’s tiny wings tickled her palm.

Triumphant, the team returned to the changing rooms, Orion Amari bringing up the rear. Of all the players, he seemed the least happy about their victory.

“Cheer up, Amari,” Skye said, slapping him on the back. “We won, didn’t we? Mon then, all of yous. Let’s go back tae the Common Room. I fancy celebrating.”

Chatting excitedly, the rest of the team hurried to get changed and made their way to the exit of the tent.

“Aren’t you coming?” Lizzie asked Orion, who was hanging back. He bowed his head slowly.

“I shall be along shortly,” he said. “I would like to take a moment to reflect on the match when the pitch is empty. Hexley, could I have a word while the crowds clear?”

Artemis nodded and stood facing him, her arms crossed in front of her chest as Lizzie picked up her kit and left the tent.

“Nice catch, by the way,” she said to Artemis as she walked past her. Artemis grinned at her.

“Nice goal,” she replied. Turning to Orion, the smile slipped from her face as she saw the look on his. “You think I did a bad job, don’t you?”

“I do not think you did badly,” Orion said gently, his face calm. “However, you need to learn how to direct your focus.”

“I know,” Artemis sighed, “David told me I was concentrating on the Snitch too much, so I started watching everything else and… well, I kind of stopped thinking about the Snitch because I was thinking about that instead.”

“That was clear. Artemis, why do you think I like us to begin every practice by standing on one leg?”

“To work on our core strength?”

“To find balance,” Orion replied. He brought his hands in front of him, fingertips lightly pressed against each other. “Physically, and mentally. Today you were off balance because you were too focused on your quest for the Snitch, and then, when you corrected yourself, you leant too far the other way. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, it does,” Artemis nodded. “Well, I’ll try and find a proper balance next match, I guess.”

“You might want to find yourself a broomstick of your own before the next match, too,” Orion said. “But for now, go and find yourself a drink. I think you’ve earned one.”

Artemis smiled, and left him alone to his reflection.

It seemed that Artemis had a lot she needed to find at the moment; she still hadn’t searched her brother’s research room for anything that might give Madam Rakepick more information on the next Cursed Vault.

To speed things up, she asked Bill to come and help her, to which he agreed, knowing fully well how much Beatrice’s incarceration was affecting Penny. When she arrived on the seventh floor of the castle, she wasn’t the only one. Bill had been accompanied by his brother Charlie, who apparently had wanted to help.

“I guess the more of us who go looking, the more likely we are to find clues quickly,” Artemis reasoned, and Charlie shrugged in response.

Neither of the two Weasleys had been inside Jacob’s room before, and both brothers seemed fascinated by the various objects and scattered rolls of parchment.

“That’s interesting,” said Charlie, more to himself than anything, as he skimmed over a set of hand-written notes, complete with diagrams.

“What’ve you found?” Artemis asked him, leaning in to read over his shoulder.

“Well, this text is all about dragon scales, and the weak points on a dragon’s body. You see, their hide is naturally spell-resistant.”

“Right,” Artemis tilted her head and wrinkled her nose at him. “How is that relevant?”

“I didn’t say it was relevant, I said it was interesting.”

“Tell you what, Charlie,” Artemis said, a grin spreading across her face, “you keep looking for something useful, and if you find anything about dragons you can keep it and read it later. Deal?”

“Deal,” said Charlie, half-returning Artemis’ smile. The two of them shook hands, and he pocketed the parchment about dragon hide. “Exactly what are we classifying as useful, anyway?”

“If it mentions the Vaults, or curses, or portraits, that’s a good place to start,” Artemis said, picking up a notebook and flipping through the pages. “Oh, and keep an eye out for black quills. Sometimes Jacob used to transfigure his notes into them.”

“Why didn’t you say that before?” Charlie asked, lifting up the parchments he’d been skimming through, and picking up a black quill. “This was on top of the dragon scroll. I just assumed that was what Jacob had been using to write it with…”

He held out the quill to Artemis, who grabbed it and pointed her wand at it.

“Reparifarge!”

The black quill disappeared, and in its place on top of Artemis’ outstretched palm lay a folded sheet of parchment. Artemis unfolded the parchment to reveal a series of runic markings.

“Bill,” she said, beckoning him over, “can you translate these for me?”

Bill frowned at the parchment for a few moments, before nodding his head slowly.

“I says something about a picture.”

“A portrait!”

“It definitely could be. It also says something about an entrance, a hunt - or a search, maybe - and a friend. So, a friend is looking for a way into a portrait, perhaps,” Bill pointed at the final symbol. “Not sure how that one fits, though.”

“That one means something to do with fire, doesn’t it?” Artemis asked. She was sure that she had seen a similar rune before in Ancient Runes class.

“Yeah, it means ash or ashes.”

“Maybe he’s talking about his friend Duncan,” Artemis suggested. “I’m sure Duncan’s surname was Ashe.”

“Duncan Ashe,” Bill pistols up straight and frowned slightly. “I’m sure I’ve heard that name before.”

“He was my brother’s friend that died,” Artemis told him, and at the same time, Charlie said:

“He’s the ghost that haunts the prefects’ bathroom.”

“What?” Artemis stared at Charlie in disbelief, and Bill nodded his head in recognition. “Since when?”

“Since he died, I guess,” shrugged Charlie. “He’s alright, actually, once you get over the fact that he’s haunting you while you take a bath…”

“You’ve talked to him before, then?”

“A bit.”

“Can you introduce me to him?” Artemis asked. “He might well know more about the portrait curse, or about this entrance into the portrait.”

“And he was friends with your brother,” Bill agreed. “Even if he wasn’t looking for this entrance himself, he might have an idea what Jacob was doing.”

“Exactly. We need to find out what he knows.”

The three of them went straight to the Prefects’ bathroom. Despite having been a prefect for over two months now, Artemis had not yet used her exclusive bathroom privileges. It was a long way from the Hufflepuff dormitories in the basement to the fifth floor of the castle, and besides, she was still conscious of upsetting Rowan over her prefecture. Surely, no bathroom could be worth the inconvenience or fuss?

She immediately reconsidered that final thought the second she stepped foot in the prefects’ bathroom. The bathroom was easily three times the size of any of the others in the castle, with a beautiful stained glass window depicting a mermaid, bright dots of light cast on the white marble by the sun streaming through the coloured glass as she flicked her hair and tail. Much of the floor was taken up by a bath that was more like a small swimming pool, with multitudes of golden taps lining its edges.

Bill and Charlie led Artemis, still taking in her surroundings with her mouth agape, to a set of toilet cubicles at the far end of the room.

“Duncan,” Bill said, knocking on the door to the cubicle furthest from the bathtub, “are you there? We want to have a chat.”

A translucent face appeared over the top of the cubicle door. Wide eyes were set in a chiselled, pointed frame, a mop of straight hair threatening to fall in front in front of the visage, hiding it from view entirely. The face was familiar to Artemis, she’d seen it before in the photos Jacob had shown her when he returned from school for the holidays, and had stuck to the wall of his bedroom in their house in London. It was Duncan.

Duncan looked at the three of them warily over the top of the cubicle door.

“What do you want to talk to me for?” he asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“We wanted to ask you about the Cursed Vaults,” said Bill. “It’s my understanding that you might have been helping Jacob Hexley look for something to break one of the curses.”

“What’s it to you if I was?”

“Well, Jacob was Artemis here’s brother and-”

“You,” said Duncan, interrupting Bill and turning his attention to Artemis. “You’re Jacob’s sister.”

“I am, yeah.”

Artemis hadn’t been sure what reaction she would get from Duncan when he learned about their relationship to Jacob, but it definitely wasn’t the one she got.

Duncan’s eyes met hers, and the look in them grew dark and angry. A moment passed in silence, before he flew straight through the cubicle door and descended on her.

“This is all your fault!” he shouted in her face, his own contorted with fury, “How dare you come here and talk to me about Jacob, after what he did to me? After what both of you did to me? I ought to kill you!”

“Woah, steady on!” Bill stepped up in between Artemis and Duncan. He tried to put his hand on Duncan’s shoulder to pull him away, but it went straight through the ghost’s chest, and Duncan flinched slightly.

Artemis frowned as she watched Bill’s arm slip through the ghost as if he weren’t even there.

“How are you going to kill me if you can’t touch me?” she asked. Bill and Duncan both turned to look at her. “What? You can’t, can you? Can he?”

Bill and Duncan didn’t say anything, but when she looked over her shoulder at Charlie, he shook his head.

“Why do you want to kill Artemis, Duncan?” he asked, almost conversationally. Bill gave him an incredulous look, which he ignored, continuing to look at Duncan with an expression of mild curiosity.

“Because if it wasn’t for her, I’d still be alive,” replied Duncan, still glaring at Artemis, his face inches away from her own. “Her and her brother. Jacob” - he almost spat out the name - “was a nasty piece of work. He was a liar, and a thief, and an evil piece of-”

“Shut up!” Artemis had heard enough. She squared up to Duncan and shouted back at him. “My brother was none of those things. He was a good person. He is a good person.”

“Your brother killed me!”

Duncan’s words echoed through the prefects’ bathroom, bouncing off the white marble walls and ringing in Artemis’ ears. She lowered her gaze, stared blankly at the Slytherin prefect badge on the front of Duncan’s translucent chest, and shook her head.

“No,” she whispered. “That’s not true. It can’t be… Jacob would never kill anyone.”

“You don’t know Jacob like I knew Jacob,” said Duncan, menacingly. “He’d have done anything to get into those Vaults. He betrayed me,” he turned his attention to the Weasleys, and added, “and if you two know what’s good for you, you’ll get as far away from her as possible before she does the same to you.”

“That’s not going to happen,” said Charlie, shortly, “but thanks for the advice. What about this entrance into the portrait Jacob mentioned you were searching for?”

“Why should I tell any of you anything about what I was searching for?”

“Because, Duncan, there’s an eleven-year-old girl stuck in a portrait right now,” said Bill, his arms folded across his chest and an expression on his face that was nowhere near as calm as Charlie’s. “Maybe you’d like to help us get her out instead of having a go at Artemis for things that aren’t her fault.”

“We’re just trying to free Beatrice,” Charlie said, as Duncan opened his mouth to snap back at Bill. “What you know could really help us do that.”

Duncan glared at Bill and Artemis, before giving Charlie a curt nod of his head, his hair flopping forward and back again as he did so.

“Fine,” he muttered, “but I’m not doing this for her sake.”

He gestured at Artemis again, and she made to argue, but Charlie made eye contact with her and blinked. She shut her mouth and held held her tongue, her chin jutting forward in silent protest as Charlie continued to talk to Duncan.

“Thank you. You were looking for an entrance into a portrait, is that right?”

“No,” said Duncan, shaking his head. “The entrance wasn’t to get into a portrait, the entrance was a portrait.”

“What do you mean by that?” Bill asked, his eyebrows furrowing. Duncan sighed.

“What I said. The portrait was the entrance to get into the next Cursed Vault. I was looking for the portrait so we could get inside.”

“Did you find it?” Artemis asked, before she could stop herself.

“No, your brother saw to that.”

“So you have no idea where it is now?”

“Didn’t say that. I didn’t find it, but I found someone who did. They’d already sold it on, though.”

“Who to?”

“Some trader. Black market chap. Name of Fletcher,” said Duncan. “Mundungus Fletcher. No idea where it is now, though.”

“That’s helpful as it is, Duncan,” said Charlie. “If we find anything else we need help with, we’ll come back, alright?”

“It’s alright if you come back,” Duncan said. “Not her though.”

“Fine. I don’t want to come back and talk to you, anyway,” Artemis muttered, glowering at Duncan, who returned her sullen stare.

“I meant what I said,” he told Bill and Charlie, not taking his eyes off Artemis. “Don’t trust her. It’s all her fault.”

With that, he flew over their heads into the bathtub, and down the plug hole, without explaining himself further.

#artemis hexley #hogwarts mystery #hphm fic #hphm #bill weasley #charlie weasley #duncan ashe #orion amari #skye parkin #murphy mcnully #lizzie jameson #david willows

30 notes · View notes

sebstanseabass · 3 years

Text

Afterglow (A Bucky Barnes AU fan fiction) - Chapter 1

Afterglow chapters

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Story Description:

❝It's like an afterglow.❞

❝Yes, like an afterglow. If seeing something so beautiful makes you feel good then the after of it all must be... more pleasurable.❞

❝A lot of people tend to miss that detail after sunset. But not you. You're a photographer, y/n. The details in nature, in people, are some things you can never miss.❞

But there's one little detail you had missed, that you both missed: that you've already met years earlier.

You're a 25-year old photographer and part-time bartender, and has heard countless stories about the adventures of your roommate's stepbrother, Bucky Barnes -- a clumsy, party-driven 38-year old businessman. One day, you stumble upon Bucky inside your apartment on a Saturday night that would change both of your lives forever as you both take pleasure in the afterglow.

A/N: I already have this on Wattpad but with a female OC. This is my first ever Bucky Barnes fan fic and I hope you guys like it :)

CHAPTER ONE

"Hey, y/n. I think Nick wants to ask you out on a date." Peter Parker, your roommate, brought his beer bottle towards his mouth. His eyes were fixated somewhere while you were wiping droplets of beer on the countertop. You looked at his face features illuminated by the light from his laptop. "You should really put coasters here, y'know." he added.

"Shut it, Parker," You rolled your eyes at him, "or no more free drinks for you."

"He's into you." He sang and averted his eyes somewhere. You followed his gaze which was on Nick Miller who was talking to some loud blondes on the booth, taking their orders.

"I'm not talking to you anymore." You put your hand up, blocking Peter's face and walked away. You greeted some customers approaching the bar counter. "Good evening, gentlemen, what would you like to drink?"

"Shots of tequila," one replied, "and keep 'em coming, doll!" The other three cheered which you knew annoyed Peter.

The bar was packed tonight. Saturdays were the only days New Yorkers were almost free for a chill drink hangout. College boys hang by the billiards table on the corner, office girls sip their margaritas on one of the booths, thirty-year old women shoot darts on the dartboard as if the board were their husbands, thirty-year old dads with their caps on drinking hard beer on one of the tables, kids who just turned twenty-one ordering their first drink legally, lonely people by the jukebox or on the bar counter telling their sad tales to the bartender and Peter Parker casually drinking beer with a laptop in front of him.

"You really should stop doing your work here on the bar." You approached Peter once more. "You're bumming people out."

Peter raised an eyebrow, his eyes glued on the laptop. "You're bumming me out."

"Seriously, do your business work elsewhere. Go to a coffee place or something. Starbucks isn't that far."

"You know I work better with beer"

"How can I forget?"

You and Peter go way back. You two had met in business school and had been roommates ever since. While you would pull an all-nighter in your shared apartment, Peter would struggle to open the front door, dance around in the living room like he had left feet and threw his final papers on the floor. He'd end up waking up your other roommates, Mickey and Pablo (who would usually join him by the way), leaving poor you cleaning up their mess the next morning. You'd put Peter to bed, seeing as the other morons were incapable of doing so. The next day, Peter's bed would reek of the pungent smell of beer and cigarettes. Though he didn't smoke ("and I never will!"), cigarette smoke disgustingly clung to his clothes and skin, which you found rather unpleasant. Even with all the alcohol in his system, Peter managed to pass all his exams and graduate with flying colors. You hated that.

"I don't get why you drink so much during exam week." You sighed, handing Peter a glass of water. He wasn't an alcoholic but he did turn into one right before midterms and finals start. It was somehow seasonal. According to Peter, it helped him focus. "You're not supposed to drink before a big exam, y'know."

"Hemingway drinks. He writes better when he drinks."

"You're a business major. Not a writer. You don't even read literature."

"Look at you now cleaning other people's messes." Peter chuckled, closing his laptop. You sighed and wiped the counter with much vigor. The four gentlemen from earlier left a pretty big mess toasting shots before they went towards the billiards table.

"Please, this is not the kind of bar you used to go to." You responded, making a gin and tonic. "This is a smoke-free, grope-free, friendly bar. No dancing, no loud stereo music -- just your regular bar where you can relax with your friends after a long day at work."

Peter turned around and tilted his head towards the jukebox. "There's someone dancing right now beside the jukebox."

"Not that kind of dancing." A 20-something year old man was breakdancing to some old beat you've never even heard of.

"Y'know it's really ironic you're working at a bar now. Oh, how you used to hate them."

"It's the only job I can do." You shrugged. "Besides photography, of course. And again, this is not that kind of bar. Think of it like a MacLaren's Pub from that tv show. Kind of funny how it's also just below our apartment building. If only we lived in this building in college, I would've enjoyed bars more."

You once went to one party at a crowded bar where Peter had surprisingly invited you. Writhing bodies pressed up against each other. Body shots from strangers. Toilets that reeked of beer vomit and pee. An "accidental" kiss between you and Peter in the bar that lead into a steamy makeout session as soon as you got in the apartment you both shared. Up to this day, neither of you spoke of that night and perhaps that day wouldn't come -- You really hoped it didn't. Wouldn't want to open a can of worms from the past.

"You're a boring old hag." Peter snorted.

"Hmm, I'd like to disagree. I can make drinks and you can't."

"Oh, you know who can make drinks, though? My stepbrother!"

Ah, yes. His stepbrother. The infamous Bucky Barnes. Born in the upper east side of New York and sadly, out of wedlock. Orphaned at a young age and adopted by a man named Tony Stark who then married Peter's mother. A successful hotel business owner (but not really famous), and the star of Peter's countless stories. Been arrested once for streaking. Got Peter out of detention in high school. Trespassed school premises. TP'd a house during Valentine's Day. Caught naked by a newly-wed in a hotel room. That was just the tip of the iceberg.

"I know. He makes the best bloody drinks of all time." You mimicked Peter the way he would -- insulting and proud -- which he didn't like as he shot dagger-like eyes at you. His expressions changed in a snap.

"Oh, that reminds me. He's in town!"

"I thought he was in Monaco?"

"Yeah, no. He travels a lot."

"Does that mean I now get to meet this famous stepbrother of yours?" You smirked, pulling out shot glasses from one of the cabinets.

"I'm not sure he would want to meet you. You're not exactly in his league."

"You mean snobby and rich?" You laughed while fixing the shot glasses on the counter. "I'm aware."

"I mean classy." He adjusted his tie.

You snickered. "Yeah, all those stories were real classy, Parker. Top-notch."

"You know what I mean, y/n - suits, money, stuff like that. Bucky's changed." One big sip of beer. "I think."

"Ya think?" You scoffed.

"Maybe, I don't know. Haven't spoken to him in a while. He's always traveling and stuff. Hard to keep track of him."

"Sounds to me like he's on a run from the bad guys." You joked which Peter didn't find funny.

"What do you mean?"

Peter idolized Bucky. He was the sole reason why he got into business in the first place -- no, they didn't spend late nights talking in their backyard basketball court about how fulfilling business is and all that crap like brothers would do. Peter just wanted to be like Bucky. To be in the world of money, booze, and then more money. That kind of crap. "It was a joke, Parker. This Bucky sounds like he may have done some stupid stuff but I doubt he's into something illegal or what."

"Yeah, he's a good guy." But even Peter didn't sound convinced of himself. He took a big gulp of his beer.

Nick approached the counter, avoiding your eyes but a smile landed on his lips as soon as he neared you. You could hear Peter chuckling. "Hey, Nick."

Nick acknowledged him by saying a small hello and started preparing a bunch of Bloody Marys for the blonde girls by the booth. Peter watched him, finishing his beer. You gave him a look before walking away to serve some drinks -- which he just mocked in return. With a tray of beer in your right hand, you approached the four gentlemen from before at the billiards table and gave them their drinks. Seeing a couple of girls slide out of one of the booths, you grabbed a washcloth and a bottle spray on the cleaning station and headed to clean the girls' mess. The table reeked of Gin and tonic, Margaritas, Grasshopper, a couple of beers and Long Island Iced Tea. Well, that's a weirdly wild group of friends.

While cleaning up the booth, you glanced up at the printed photographs on the walls which were yours. Black and white portraits of strangers. Flashes of red and blue lights on the streets. Giant buildings. Random people on Central Park and New York streets. Peter drinking beer at the booth with his co-workers. And the owner of the bar who was always cooped up inside his small office. Photos that didn't sell in your exhibit always went to the bar, in hopes that someone might find them somewhat good -- good enough to take home. But that wasn't the case. To them, the photos were just mere decorations at the bar; they just wanted to have a good time and couldn't be bothered to even take one shy glance at the bartender's photos. You wanted to think they just had zero taste when it comes to photography to make yourself feel better but you were wrong. It just made you feel worse.

Just when you were about to turn around, Peter slid into the booth. You almost dropped the things you were holding. "Jesus, Parker."

He looked up at the photos. "Told ya your photos won't sell here."

"That's not what I was thinking." Lie. You walked towards the bar counter with Peter on your tail. He sat once more on the high stool and immensely watched as you placed some glasses on the counter.

"Come work for our company. We could really use your skills for our products." He leaned in, trying to get your attention. It wasn't the first time he tried to convince you to go work for his company.

"For the nth time, I'm no corporate slave."

"You're working at a bar. You make drinks and serve people. Some of these fuckers have corporate jobs as well - like me! If you think about it," he crossed his arms, placing them on top of the counter, "it's kind of like serving these corporations you hate."

With a frown, you asked, "What kind of logic is that?"

"A businessman's logic."

"If that's the case, the corporate world is dead." You smirked, washing the glasses. Peter was no businessman. He was just a part of a sales team, making marketing pitch presentations every week or so. Honestly, you couldn't keep up with his presentations. "I'd be happy to join then."

"Come on, Aria. You can't be juggling two jobs for the rest of your life. You can get one big job at our company and you'll get paid big time. Plus," he leaned in further, almost getting up from the stool, "we'll be working together. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"I'm honestly getting tired of you." You chuckled, sprinkling some water on Peter's face. "And my answer is still no. I don't want to work for your company. I like freelancing and bartending." That wasn't a lie. Despite graduating from business school, you decided to pursue your passion in photography even if the pay couldn't cover your half of the rent. So, you decided to take a waitressing job at the bar just below your apartment, and then started bartending. Out of all the establishments you could've gone to, you chose this very bar because it was the most convenient option of all -- it was just below the apartment. Being a photographer and a part-time bartender weren't exactly the dream you had for yourself but you liked them; nothing gave you more pleasure than taking product photos for small businesses and making drinks for strangers who happen to stumble upon one of the best bars in the Upper West Side.

Peter sighed. "I'm never giving up on you. I'm not a quitter."

"Whatever you say, big guy." Peter had been at it for a few years.

"I hate you." Peter groaned.

"Aren't you the sweetest?"

Peter rolled his eyes and caught a quick glance at the wall clock. "Hey, your shift's almost over. Better hurry up."

"Right. Thanks, Parker." You began placing back the shot glasses on one of the cabinets then hurriedly walked into a small door on the back. You greeted your boss who was just doing some paperworks.

"Hey, Steve. I'm heading out."

"Right, right." Steve looked up from his laptop and removed his specs, placing them on the table.

You gave him a smile and turned to leave but before you could even close the door, Steve called you.

"Yeah?"

"Nick's not gonna be here tomorrow afternoon and I'm gonna be in Long Island for some family reunion. Would you mind checking all the deliveries for tomorrow?"

"Well, what about the others?"

"Ah, they're no good." Steve sighed. "I only trust you and Nick."

You raised an eyebrow. "Nick? Really?" You wouldn't trust Nick with anything -- not even with some dumb, silly secret.

Steve shrugged. "He's a good kid. He and I get along. So, do I get a yes?"

"Yeah, sure. I got nothing going on tomorrow."

"No photography thingy?"

You pursed your lips. "Not unless you want me to take photos for your family reunion."

"No way in hell am I gonna let you meet my family."

"Aw, you said you trust me."

He chuckled and leaned back on his office chair. "Go home, y/n."

You sent him a smile before heading back to the counter to meet Peter who was mindlessly scrolling on his phone. "Let's go, Parker."

You two walked up the steps towards your apartment building, shoulders bumping from time to time. You and Peter lived on the fifth floor. You would've gotten your own place but your parents cut you off since you refused to work for the family supermarket your family owned in Hoboken, New Jersey. The last time you spoke to your parents was almost three years ago, when you threw a huge tantrum like a damn baby at your graduation party. "There's nothing for me here in New Jersey! It's as boring as these two old couples next door. (No offense). I hated business school. I want to pursue photography whether you like it or not. I'm not staying in this hellhole forever."

"You walk out that door, you're out of here forever."

And out you went with only a couple of clothes and some leftover college money. The only sliver of hope you had was Peter.

"Hey, y/n?" Peter asked as soon as you got inside the elevator. "Hypothetically, if Nick asked you out on a date, would you say yes?"

You gave him a weird look after the elevator doors closed before you. "I don't know, man. Never dip the pen in company ink, right?" You fished for your apartment key on your purse. "How are you so sure he's gonna ask me out?"

"He flat out told me that's how." He replied. "Yesterday night. So, if he does ask you..."

"Why are you so invested in my dating life?"

"You have no dating life." He retorted.

Peter was one to talk. He also didn't have one.

"You know what I mean, idiot."

He shrugged. "Just curious."

The elevator doors opened and you both headed towards your apartment unit, with Peter still yapping about Nick this and Nick that. You groaned, getting ultimately tired of hearing Nick's name and the possibility of you and him dating. "Maybe you should date him, Parker."

"You date him."

You gave him a confused look. "Shut up, Parker."

"Wait, you know what? Don't date him. I don't like him for you. He's weird and -- "

"No, I mean it. Shut. Up." You hissed, stopping on your tracks and grabbing Peter by his arm. You were right outside your apartment unit. There was a small gap between the door and the door frame. It seemed like someone broke in..

"What do we do? What do we do?" Peter half-yelled, half-whispered.

"Have the cops on speed dial. If it really is a robbery, call them. Got it?"

"What if they have guns?"

"I'll tell them to shoot you first."

"Gee, thanks for looking after me. Appreciate it."

You smirked, your hands already on the door. Slowly, you pushed it away from your body, failing to make it as quiet as possible as the door creaked against the floorboards. You gently looked around the dark living room, seeing no sign of someone inside -- until your eyes caught something moving on the couch. Your eyes went wide. You went back in the hallway where Peter was standing with his phone in his hand, ready to press the call button.

"Well?" He was waiting for an answer.

"I think someone's crashing on our couch?" Even you looked confused.

"What? Are you sure?"

"Either that or a large animal just broke into our apartment. Come on, let's go see." You whispered, trying not to wake up the uninvited guest.

"I'm not going in there!"

"Fine, I'll wake the bastard up." You groaned. "Pussy."

"Dick." He snickered but zipped his mouth shut as soon as you sent him a glare.

Without a noise, you managed to get closer, using the light from your phone as a guide. On the couch was a huge blanket sprawled across and under that was the rhythmic sound of someone breathing. Your hand lightly trembled, reaching for the blanket to unveil whoever was under it; but before you could even touch a single thread, the person jumped out of the couch, and so did your heart. You let out a scream, falling backwards and hitting your head on one of the small tables beside the couch. The unknown person stood on the couch, and awfully joined your screams. The lights suddenly turned on, with Peter standing by the door.

"Oh my god!" You yelped as soon as you realized the man in front of you was naked. No clothes, no nothing, just bare skin against the cold breeze. Your hands immediately flew to your eyes. "Who the hell are you?" Your screamed at him.

He urged you to remove your hand from your eyes, telling you he was wrapping the blanket around his waist. Thankfully, he wasn't lying.

"Bucky?" Peter breathed, approaching the scene.

"This is Bucky?" You asked in disbelief.

Bucky smiled and jumped off the couch, offering his hand. "Hi, I'm Bucky."

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes story #bucky x you #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes fanfic #fan fic #fan fiction

133 notes · View notes

luci-in-trenchcoats · 3 years

Text

By My Side (Part 7)

Summary: Jensen hires a team to help watch over the reader after the events of the night before but his suspicions are high and that might not have been the smartest move on his part...

Masterlist

Pairing: Bodyguard!Jensen x reader

Word Count: 3,700ish

Warnings: language, angst, minor violence

A/N: Enjoy!

_________

Four Hours Later

“Hi,” you said, sat on the end of your bed as Jensen quietly walked inside and closed the door after himself. “Is your shoulder-”

“I gave you a direct order. I know you heard me. I know you purposefully ignored me. I-”

“You were losing.”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m losing the fight, if I’m winning it, you get your ass away from the fight.”

“I was okay though. I-”

“Damnit Y/N!” he shouted. You went quiet, Jensen’s chest puffed out, his hands on his hips. “You promised you would listen to me. You promised.”

“I did listen. I-”

“If I can’t trust you to listen to me, then you’re a risk to the both of us. I will stay on as your bodyguard until I can find a suitable replacement.”

“What?”

“I’m giving my notice. We’re done.”

You stared at him and he narrowed his eyes.

“Oh don’t you-”

“I saved your fucking life!” you said, standing and poking him in the chest.

“I told you to run!” he shouted. You got in his face, brushing your nose against his. “You little...I told-”

“He wasn’t after me,” you said. You backed off as you rubbed the back of your head. “Me he wanted out of the way. He wanted you, didn’t he.”

Jensen bit his bottom lip and looked away but you grabbed his jaw and forced him to look at you.

“Why?”

“Word is out about your bodyguard boyfriend. You have money. I’m ransom money to some people.”

“You’re a shitty liar yourself, Jensen,” you said. You walked away from him and went out to your private balcony overlooking the pool. The door opened after a moment and you crossed your arms, leaning against the railing. A hand ran over your head and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. “You can’t quit. Why did that person want you?”

“Truthfully, they probably wanted the both of us. I was the bigger threat so the guy went after me first. Next time it won’t just be one guy. Whoever is behind all of this will fork over more money for a team. You need your own team to stop that.”

“Why both of us?”

“I’m a soft spot of yours. Next time though they won’t try to take me probably. They’ll kill me outright. I’m too much hassle to try and deal with.”

“Someone wants to hurt me then?”

“I think a few things but I can’t know for sure. I think your life isn’t in danger. Your safety and the circumstances in which you live the rest of your life are but no, this person doesn’t want you dead. The gun didn’t come into play until you were clear of it. This person very much wants to be in my position.”

“My boyfriend?”

“Your protector. I’ll hire a team tomorrow. I know a guy that would be a good fit for your personal guard.”

“I thought I told you that you couldn’t quit.”

“I told you that when I say run, you run. You didn’t listen to me.”

“I’d make the same decision again.”

“Why?”

“Because he was hurting you and I’ve never been that angry in my life. Even the man that killed my father...maybe it’s because this was right in front of me but as long as I had the chance to help, I was going to help. Any bodyguard of mine is going to deal with that so get used to it.”

He leaned back against the railing, staring into the bedroom. He took a deep breath and rubbed his cut shoulder, sliding his hand over to your arm. He unfolded it and took your hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

“I would have liked to have met your father. It sounds like he raised an incredibly brave person like himself.”

“I run if you run too. I hide if you hide,” you said, turning your head. “New rules.”

“Alright. I still want a team. I have a feeling tomorrow night is going to be bad again.”

“I’m supposed to go to Gen’s baby shower,” you said.

“Do you want gun’s around your pregnant best friend?” he asked. You shook your head and he nodded. “They’ll need to reschedule anyways.”

“Why?”

“I need Jared on this with me and he won’t leave his wife and child. They-”

“Jensen. Leave them be. Jared needs to take care of his family. You’ll find a good team. We’ll just...take it one day at a time,” you said.

“You should get some sleep.” He pulled you gently backwards until you spun around and followed him inside. You crawled under the covers, Jensen dragging a chair you had over to your small desk.

“You’re not sleeping?”

“I need to work. I’ll sleep in the morning once I have a hire here to take over for me. You go ahead. I’ll keep an eye out.”

“Jensen,” you said as you lay down. He hummed and stopped the side of the bed before going off to get his laptop you assumed. “Make sure whoever you hires knows to keep an eye out for you too.”

“Yes mam,” he said softly. “Get some rest, honey.”

You woke up late the next day, Jensen passed out in his room when you trodded down the hall. There were five guys and a woman sitting at your dining room table, one of them standing as you gave a wave to them.

“Ms. Y/L/N. Good morning. I’m Brock Finley. I am your second in command and this is my team,” he said.

“I have two rules. Don’t drink all of my coffee and dudes, don’t leave the seat up and clean up after yourselves.”

“Yes, Mr. Ackles did go over your...requests earlier this morning,” said Brock.

“Walk with me, Mr. Finely,” you said, curling a finger. You walked him over to the kitchen, Brock reminding you a bit like Jensen when you first met him. “How do you know Jensen?”

“We served at the same time. I was injured on an operation with him, we recovered in the medical hospital in the same ward and grew to know one another.”

“Keep him safe,” you said. “As safe as me. I’m scared for him.”

“Mr. Ackles is in charge of-”

“I know. But keep him safe. Please.”

“We’ll do our best. The team’s been investigating possible leads and working with your manager to comb through any threats you may have received that seemed minor or even infatuations with you. I think Mr. Ackles is onto something with that track.”

“I honestly have no idea what’s going on anymore,” you laughed. “If you need anything from me, let me know. I plan on staying home today. My step-brother will dropping by shortly.”

“In the future please let us know in advance when guests will be…” he said as he saw the look on your face. “I’m going to return to work. There’s a team of eighteen on the premise, nineteen including Mr. Ackles. Don’t be alarmed if you see people outside.”

“Good to know,” you said, shaking your head as he left. “Eighteen? Really Jensen? I’m barely a B list actor on a good day.”

The doorbell rang and you caught the clock, nearly noon as you groaned. You rushed over and pulled it open, Nick standing there with a very confused look on his face and backpack over his shoulders.

“Hey,” you said as you let him inside.

“Nice SWAT team. Something going on?” he asked.

“Let’s go swimming. Better to talk there.”

“Wow,” said Nick twenty minutes later after you’d told him everything that had happened recently.

“Yup. I didn’t call you to come over cause of that though. I was...I’m nervous that with everyone moving out here you’re gonna be alone back home and it...scares me when...Jensen said something about us loving each other even if we don’t like one another and I think he had a point. I don’t want you to go to a dark place again Nick.”

“Y/N, could you slow down for a second? I know you move at a faster pace than most of us but I’m still on the fact you shot a gun last night. The chick that cried that time she thought she hit a squirrel in the road and she didn’t.”

“Oh. Sorry,” you said. You sat on the steps in the shallow end, Nick wading over and joining you. He sat back and played with the water in front of him for a moment before he let out a deep sigh.

“I like you, Y/N. Michael and I both do. We love you.”

“Why are you two so mean all the time then? It’s not teasing. It’s mean.”

“Cause you’re dad’s favorite. We know it. He never hid it from us. When we needed him, he was always with you and your mom. We think of her as our mom now and you our little sister but god we needed him and we were left on our own. You were an easy target to make us feel more in control. Instead of bonding with you, someone who understood exactly what we felt, we took advantage and we never bothered to stop. You were tough and could take it and we’re assholes. I’m sorry. The only reason I’m alive is because of you. You got me help. You still pay for my therapy. Shit I call you in the middle of the night and you pick up every time and just listen to me. You’re always going to be a better person than I am, Y/N. I suck at saying it but I’ve always been grateful to have you as my sister.”

“Could have just said that in the first place,” you said, wiping your face with the back of your hand for a second. “Come out here, Nick. You’d put my mind at rest.”

“I was never coming,” he said with a smile. “I sort of have a place already lined up back home with a roommate.”

“Yeah but I’m sure…” you said, catching the look on his face. “Oh. A roommate. Oh. Oh.”

“Yeah, hi, I’m bi in case you weren’t aware,” he chuckled. “Michael’s known since we were teenagers but I swore him to secrecy.”

“If we’re gonna have secrets, can we at least just keep them from the parents from now on?” you asked.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” said Nick. “Seriously don’t know you how didn’t catch on that I hang out with my best friend like all the time. Like all the time. And I sleep at his apartment all the-”

“I get it,” you said, Nick smiling. “He good to you?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to worry so much. You’re not the only one watching out for me,” he said. “But you though...what are you involved in?”

“I don’t know,” you said. “Last night got way too close for...say that again.”

“What are you involved in?” he asked.

“Nick, can you do me a favor, like a monumentally huge favor and not tell anyone else about what I said. This is gonna be over tonight anyways.”

“What’s going on?” he asked as you stood.

“I know who wants to kidnap me.”

“Who?”

“My old manager of course. Can you keep everybody away from here the rest of the day? I have a feeling this is going to be messy.”

“She has a point,” said Jensen, half dressed ten minutes later as you spoke to him and Brock, the floor still a bit wet from where Nick had walked out the front door to head back to the hotel. “She did ruin his career.”

“But why escalate?”

“He wants money and his career back...and she is smarter than both of us put together,” said Jensen as it clicked for him.

“You got it?” you asked as he nodded.

“Involved Inn. It’s the firm your manager used to work with. It’s the firm your current manager works with.”

“Inside man,” said Brock. “How’d he know you’d hire him?”

“He knows the kind of person I like to work with and he was smart enough to research Jensen and know that a military background wouldn’t hurt.”

“Oh fuck,” said Jensen, his face going white.

“What?” you asked. He swallowed as he looked around, putting his hand on his holster and pulling out his gun. He undid the clip and showed you that it was empty. “Don’t you need bullets in that?”

“There were bullets,” said Jensen, grabbing your hand and pulling you away from Brock. “Finely Associates. They’re hooked up with Involved Inn. Very, very closely involved.”

“You chose the absolute worst possible group of people to hire you know,” said Brock. Jensen walked backwards with you into the living area, the both of you catching sight of the various guards around. “Two against eighteen is not very good odds.”

“Let me talk to your boss, we can-” you said.

“Kid was unknowingly in on it. Didn’t think his old mentor would screw him over like that,” said Brock. “So here’s how it goes. We-“

“This doesn’t add up. People don’t admit to shit in real life like that. No one’s forcing you to say a thing. This is a paycheck for you. No, something else is going on. You just want us to think it was my old manager, don’t you?” you said. Brock tilted his chin up and you crossed your arms. “You knew Jensen would hire your team and we’d make a connection. So here’s how it really goes. I guarantee I got more money than whatever you’re being paid. You drop this little charade, I pay you, and we get down to the issue of who hired you.”

“Mr. Ackles hired us.”

“You know what I mean. Who-”

“Mr. Ack-”

“I didn’t hire you to do this,” said Jensen. “I said...you got a second phone call, didn’t you. One saying you wanted to perform a live test, didn’t you.”

Brock was silent and Jensen made a face.

“Tell me the truth or you’re all fired and being brought up on charges immediately,” said Jensen. Brock looked nervous for the first time and you pouted.

“You said-”

“Dammit, Finley. You’re all fired. Leave. Now.”

“But sir you said-”

“I hired you to protect her, not play games. All of you, get the fuck out.”

Brock nodded and the team all left, Jensen getting in Brock’s face.

“You are always so gullible. Always. It’s what landed your ass in that hospital. You never verify information. Just go in head first. I-” said Jensen, Brock’s jaw clenching.

“At least my whole unit wasn’t corrupt behind my back! At least I didn’t wind up living in a hole in the ground for weeks because I was too stupid to see-”

“Get the fuck out of my house.” Jensen’s whole body was tense as Brock left, his hands clenched by his sides. The house was eerily still, the only sound was Jensen’s harsh breathing.

After a moment he calmed and turned around, looking you up and down.

“I’m sorry. I thought Brock was smarter than falling for a fake phone call.”

“What exactly just happened?” you asked.

“Whoever wants you set up a fake drill, a test of sorts. Normally we would run one with the participants knowledge or give them a heads up in order to find vulnerabilities in a protection detail. What just happened was to mess with you and for this guy to say he’s smarter than us. It scares me because he probably is and he’s miles ahead of us. I don’t know how to keep you safe by myself, Y/N and I sure as shit don’t know who I can trust.”

“Your old unit, the good ones, call them. They’ll help you.”

“They’re all over the country.”

“You call them and I will get them out here. I will give them whatever they want. Private jets are a thing you know.”

“Y/N-”

“We need help. Let’s get help.”

“I’m sorry I’m so horrible at my job.”

“If you were horrible at your job I’d be in some basement right now. We’ll get through this and then just you and me can go on a trip away, just the two of us,” you said. He looked down and you padded over, taking his hand. “Okay?”

“I can’t stop everything,” he said. “This guy is smarter than anyone I’ve dealt with before, way smarter.”

“Then we call in for backup. We got this. I promise.”

Later That Evening

“Jared,” you said as he walked in the front door with a hum. “Jared Padalecki. What the hell are you-”

“Don’t even start with me,” he said, shutting the door after himself. You opened your mouth but he simply adjusted the bag over his shoulder. “Gen and Tom are safe and you need all hands on deck and frankly I was coming whether you liked it or not.”

“Jared-” you said as he walked past and into the living room.

“I’m here. Get over it,” he said before putting on a smile. “Hey guys. I swear you got uglier, Benny.”

“Must be from looking at you,” said Benny before he stood and gave Jared a hug. You hung back at the kitchen island, quietly listening to the eight of them talk and catch up before Jensen was standing and going over what had happened lately. You got a bit lost once they started talking in technical terms but suddenly they were breaking and everybody was grabbing their bags.

“How you holding up?” asked Jensen when he took a seat beside you.

“Nervous,” you said. “Tonight’s gonna be bad, isn’t it.”

“Hopefully not,” said Jensen as a redheaded woman went over to your fridge and grabbed a can of beer. “Y/N, this is Charlie. She was in charge of tech and surveillance for us back in the day. She works for google now, right?”

“That’s so three jobs ago,” she said with a smile. “She’s cute.”

“Thanks,” you said, Jensen rolling his eyes. “Oh, you’re…”

“Jensen ever bores you, give me a call,” she said with a wink. You swallowed and she laughed, Jensen chuckling to himself. “I’m joking. If I were into dudes I probably would be all over that myself.”

“You are not what I was expecting,” you said.

“Oh just cause we did secret stuff didn’t mean we were all sir yes sir.”

“Charlie was picked straight out of college for her...unique compter skills we’ll call it. If I could train this flailing hot mess, you’ll be just fine, honey. Charlie’s going to stay here with Ash as an attempted diversion. She’ll wear your clothes, Ash’ll wear mine. They’ll put on some wigs, we’ll see how that goes tonight.”

“Where are we going?”

“So this is an interesting hiding spot,” you said, squatted down in your next door neighbors kitchen twenty minutes later. “Thanks again Doug, I really appreciate it, even if I don’t get what’s going on yet.”

“It’s no problem, kid. The girls are on the road with their mother for the week so perfect timing,” he said. Jensen paced back and forth by the window in the dark house, not that you had much of a view of your own from over there. “Mind if I ask why you two trust me of all people?”

“Because you were halfway through kicking that paparazzi’s ass by the time I even showed up,” said Jensen, glancing over his shoulder. “You don’t want someone hurting your kids. It’s not a big leap to you keeping a watchful eye on your young neighbor just in case.”

“What are you expecting to learn from all this though. Aren’t you just going to get the team at best and not the guy?” asked Doug.

“Team could lead us to answers.”

“You know that won’t work. You’re trying to keep your head above water at this point, aren’t you,” he said.

“Yeah, Doug, I am,” said Jensen, snapping back quickly. “You have any genius ideas I’d love to hear them.”

“Y/N, when your show starts back up, would you mind letting the girls have a tour of set? They love it,” said Doug.

“Of course. If I’m still around that is,” you said. He smiled and glanced at his computer. “What?”

“I’m about to use up a huge favor that’s owed me. Glad I held onto it all these years,” he said. He took a seat behind his laptop and took out his phone.

“What are you doing?” asked Jensen.

“I’m going to ask for surveillance from last night, see if we can’t backtrack where that intruder originally came from.”

“You can do that?” you asked.

“It’s not easy but yeah, I can do that. I still have a few friends in the business. Let’s see if we can get you kids a break.”

_______

A/N: Read Part 8 here!

#spn #supernatural #jensen ackles #jensen ackles au #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles x you #au #bodyguard!AU #bodyguard!jensen #bodyguard!jensen x reader #spn fanfic #supernatural fanfiction

329 notes · View notes

thestarminstrel · 3 years

Note

as requested, i am now considering figure skater au. would love to hear more thoughts on said au 👀

ohohoho 👀 let me absolutely indulge you on my nonsense

so i do have a sketch page with this au but i'll briefly summarize it here:

(also! if anyone wants to borrow this au plotline or concept, please feel free to :D just credit me and send me what you make!)

- nick is a hockey player for kingston lions and seiji is an olympic level figure skater

- they both use the same rink at kingston, and this ofc is where our conflict arises

- seiji frankly believes that nick's team is terrible since they have won 0 championships and calls nick "zero". because of this, he often begins his own practice early or lets it run late -- cutting into the hockey team's time reservation

- nick has tried numerous times to get the staff to do something but like, tf are they gonna do? seiji is olympic level and they don't wanna be the idiots who denied seiji his practice space and loose revenue (tho it should be noted that seiji is competing for the grand prix in this one -- not the olympics). so nick begins calling seiji "princess" since he's a giant brat :)

- the two don't get along at all -- and i mean at all. they're livid whenever they run into each other and are at each other's throats

- however, coach williams thinks she can get the boys to the connecticut state championships. since nick is the center (position that plays both offensive and defensive), she calls in a favor with dmytro and asks him to work with nick on his form so he can be extra speedy fast.

- guess who dmytro also coaches? that's right. seiji :)))

- they both find this out when dmytro introduces the two and says he doesn't have time to be coaching them separately. they are pissed to say the least (when nick complains to williams, she makes him do suicides which stops him from complaining anymore).

- couple weeks pass, seiji and nick are still not happy but they just barely manage to exist on the same ice. the kingston lions have their first game soon and seiji has first set of qualifying competitions to get through. the hockey team is getting their full practices in, and seiji just goes for some extra practice after they finish up -- despite the ice not being smooth enough for his liking.

- one evening, nick stayed later to sharpen his skates using the rink's equipment. as he exits the locker room though, he hears the sound of skates against ice and assumes that it can only be seiji, so he decides to sneak a peek. he's only seen portions of seiji's routine since he's super secretive about it.

- and his routine is absolutely gorgeous. nick's jaw hangs open the whole time, and he can't deny that seiji really is a talented skater. like he's never really given a shit about the sport, but he can see seiji's passion for it with every turn and contouring of his body. his face too, usually scrunched up in one of displeasure or superiority, was lax and blissful.

- nick disappears quietly, seiji being none the wiser, and he goes home haunted by the images of seiji dancing and realizing that this giant prick is actually kind of beautiful.

- fast forward a week and nick has his first game. seiji is pissy bc it means that he won't get his evening practice, and nick makes the snap decision to invite seiji to his game. they're both surprised by it -- perhaps even more so when seiji accepts with a sneer. if only to prove his point that the lions are terrible.

- few hours later and seiji is in the stands: displeased at being jostled around so much by so many fans (which he is surprised that the kingston lions even have), but settles in to watch the game.

- nick is a speed monster on the ice, dmytro's coaching clearly having paid off, and the lions take home a 6-2 victory. and seiji isn't sure why, but for some odd reason, zero looks almost handome (in a rugged way) under the stadium lights with his wide smile and excited cheering with his teammates.

- he also goes home thinking of someone he was sure he would only think thoughts of malice of.

- another week passes by and seiji's first competition comes up. by some stroke of uncharacteristic brashness, he invites nick to come watch it. he fully accepts nick to reject the invitation, but surprisingly nick does accept it.

- seiji competes, places first, and nick sees the whole thing. even got seiji a bouquet of congratulatory roses and daphnes ("figured you'd win, princess. after all, there has to be some talent underneath that bratty and stuck-up personality of yours.").

- seiji immediately puts the flowers in water when he gets home -- if only to not let a gorgeous gift go to waste (he absolutely does not press a rose and a few daphnes when they start to wilt, not at all).

- more time goes on, the lions make it to the playoffs and seiji is preparing for the first competition of the grand prix series. the two of them are sort of warmed up to each other? def not best buddies, but they're not trying to tear each other's throats out with their skates. nick has been sneaking glances at seiji skating during that time -- his favorite time is during the evening when it seems that seiji skates for himself. seiji on the other hand, has gone to almost to every single one of nick's games without nick being aware of it.

- however, the plot must to go on, and seiji catches nick during one of those evenings nick stayed behind to watch seiji. nick fully expects seiji to blow up at him -- and for them to loose what tedious progress they had made -- but instead he gets an extremely rare blush out of the skater.

- for the sake of time, seiji is skating a different routine after hours and after being pressed about it, he reveals it is about a certain someone who he definitely likes a little more than just an acquaintance. and it's a routine he choreographed himself.

- nick's a bit "woah holy crap" with this information and it does pester his mind for a bit, wondering who tf this person is. but he does say that it's prob his fav routine of seiji's to watch (which proceeds to pester seiji's brain).

- then we get to the playoffs. the score is 7-7 and there's two minutes left on the clock. nick makes a final push through his stamina and get the last goal right before the clock strikes 0 -- making the score 8-7. however, nick falls on his arm, hard.

- nick breaks his arm, and he's out for the rest of the season. nick is obviously very, very upset about it.

- seiji does visit nick in the hospital before he hops on a plane to the grand prix final (since he made it there whee), and explains he saw what happened since he was there. nick interprets the visit as an act of petty charity and lashes out, taking out his anger and frustration on seiji.

- seiji lashes right back, and the two exchange some pretty hurtful blows. the thing that's important to take away is that nick essentially says that seiji's success as a skater only rests on the choreography of dmytro and his coaching. seiji storms out in a rage, and nick is left feeling like shit.

- a few days later, nick realizes that it's the free skate day of the finals and turns on the tv to the channel -- accepting that the reason he feels like shit is bc he misses seiji's skating.

- however, seiji's free skate is apparently very different from what was expected of him according to the announcers -- but nick recognizes it. it's the same routine that seiji does in his evening practices.

- seiji does place first and wins the grand prix finals (which he previously lost bc of a certain blond skater but that's a plot line for another time). nick realizes that he has to apologize, even if seiji said some nasty things, but what he said was seriously a d*ck thing to say.

- few days later, nick is discharged, and he spends every evening in the rink, waiting on the benches for seiji. who does eventually come after the grand prix final celebrations and resting for a few days. he decides to go for a quick evening skate to clear his mind of a certain hockey player.

- upon seeing nick, seiji is filled with rage and he gives nick the cold shoulder. whenever nick calls for him from across the rink, seiji pretends not to hear him. until eventually, nick decides to take matters in his own hands and make his way across the ice in his sneakers.

- obviously, this idea goes terribly, and he does fall a few feet away from seiji, who finally stops to give him the attention he's been asking for -- fully expecting an argument.

- nick apologizes for what he said and how wrong he was for saying it. he also mentions how lucky the person the routine is for must be. seiji is flabbergasted, not expecting this at all, and reveals that the routine was for nick, all this time. now it's nick's turn to be flabbergasted af :)

- nick starts laughing, which makes seiji extremely confused bc why tf is nick laughing since he was expecting rejection. but nick merely coaxes seiji down and kisses him softly -- and seiji understands.

- the lions do withdraw from the championship since nick is out of commission. they return the next season and do win first in a complete underdog fashion in case anyone is curious. seiji places first in the olympic figure skating event because he's seiji.

and just some other silly notes:

- eugesse is something that happens in this (much to nick's dismay)

- jesse and nick are half-brothers but they find that out down the line

- the lions are composited of the weight lifting bros and the one friend from nick's junior high who remains unnamed

#anyway yea! that's my nonsense for this au lmao. it's def one of my favs <3 #thank you for letting me talk about this au LMAO #always looking for excuses to do so #fence comic #fence skating au #nichoji #nicholas cox #seiji katayama

33 notes · View notes

youngbounty · 3 years

Text

The Problem with Apollo’s Backstories

It’s very rare I see this. So far, I’ve only seen two posts on Tumblr about this, but I’ve noticed a few posts that make mention about Phoenix Wright having no backstory. Now, whether they were made as a joke to not be taken seriously or not is something I cannot confirm. That being said, it did bring up something that does come up often: the problem with Apollo Justice having too many backstories. The thing is, Phoenix Wright has just as many backstories as Apollo, yet no one seems to make mention of it or perhaps are not aware. It made me question how this is possible. Certainly, if Apollo’s three backstories stick out like a sore thumb, wouldn’t Phoenix Wright’s three backstories stick out too? Shouldn’t Phoenix also have the same amount of complainers about having too many backstories?

I am a true believer that there is no such thing as a bad idea, but bad execution. I think Phoenix’s backstories are an example of Apollo’s backstories done correctly. To understand this, I’m going to go over each of Apollo’s and Phoenix’s three backstories, and explain where Phoenix got it right where Apollo did not.

With Apollo’s first backstory in the game Apollo Justice, where Apollo is introduced as the main protagonist of this game, we find out that he used to work for Kristoph Gavin at the Gavin Law Offices before finding out he murdered Shadi Smith. Later on, we find out his bracelet matches Thalassa Gramarye’s in her picture, proving that they are mother and son. Through Zak, we find out that Thalassa was once married to a different man before he passed away, believing that her first born had died with him. This draws the connection between Apollo Justice and Trucy Wright as being half brother and sister. And… that’s it. This information does not effect Apollo, since we don’t know his life outside of this during the time of the game’s release, and he does not know that Trucy is his half sister. This backstory does draw a connection between the two long lost siblings, but without any knowledge to create a reaction, it feels empty and shallow. It wasn’t until the two follow-up games that we get more of Apollo’s character and development that fans of the game began to care enough to demand the two half siblings discover their long lost relationship they are not aware of.

For Phoenix Wright, his backstory is the all-knowing class trial back in his elementary school. On one school day, Phoenix Wright was accused of stealing lunch money from a student, due to being sick and being dismissed from school that day, leaving him without an alibi. This lead to a class trial where everyone, including the teachers, shamed him, even though Phoenix claimed it wasn’t him, then crying over the humiliation and shaming. Just when Phoenix was about to forcibly apologize to this student, the student stands up and makes the claim that, since no proof was given that Phoenix had taken the money, he is innocent until proven guilty. A second student also defends him, leading to the teacher deciding to pay for the lunch money that was stolen. From that moment on, Phoenix became friends with the two students that stood up for him: Miles Edgeworth whose money was stolen and Larry Butz who was the second student to stand up for him.

The first thing that makes Phoenix’s backstory different is it creates a motivation and relatability. This backstory tells the story of what motivated Phoenix Wright to become a Defense Attorney. He had befriended the two boys that stood up for him when he was accused of theft at school. One of those friends grew up to become the Demon Prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth, who is known for falsifying and withholding evidence. When Phoenix tried to contact him, he would not answer. So, Phoenix Wright became a Defense Attorney both to meet with him and save him. With this, comes with relatability. Phoenix is someone longing for the friend he once lost, something most of us can relate to – if you’ve ever had a childhood friend, whose friendship broke apart over time. This creates motivation for Phoenix and the players to wish for Miles Edgeworth to return back to being Phoenix’s friend again. With Apollo, on the other hand, his first backstory doesn’t give us anything to relate or motivate us to want him and Trucy to discover their real mother or relation. The mention about Apollo’s biological father does come up, but not until Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, which I will get into later. Because of how shallow and empty this backstory feels, it’s no longer Apollo was called a Gary-Sue when the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney first came out.

The second backstory for Apollo finally gives us something concrete. In this second backstory, Apollo had grown up with Clay Terran in a boarding school. We get a flashback of Clay crying because someone in his family died (I can’t remember who. Comment if you know). Apollo cheers him up with his “I’M FINE!” speech. This became a motto for him and Clay. From this backstory, we finally find out that Apollo had grown in a boarding school during his youth with Clay. We finally get a motivation and relatability from Apollo Justice to make us care and cheer for him. There’s just one problem… what does this have anything to do with Apollo’s connection to the Gramarye and his relation to Trucy? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That’s where Phoenix’s second backstory differs.

For Phoenix Wright, his second backstory tells that he began studying at Ivy University to study on law and art. From there, he met a beautiful lady named Dahlia Hawthorn at the library inside the courthouse. She gave him a heart-shaped bottle as a token of their love and they hit it off. Having dated Dahlia for nine months, he began showing off his little gift to all his friends at the university, even when Dahlia asked him to give it back. Just then, Phoenix came across Dahlia’s ex boyfriend named Doug Swallow, who met with him to warn him that Dahlia was not who he thinks she is. Angry, Phoenix pushes him, then finds him dead not long afterwards. He is arrested for murder, defended by Mia Fey – who is an already established character, in the tutorial first case of the third game of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Through Mia’s defense, Phoenix realized that not only did Dahlia’s gift turn out to be evidence used to poison Mia’s boyfriend, but Dahlia had also tried to poison him with his cold medication and was the one responsible for Doug’s murder.

Just like with Apollo’s second backstory and Phoenix’s first, this creates relatability and motivation. It creates a motivation for why Phoenix was angry at Miles Edgeworth during the second game, why he trusts Mia so strongly and why he would go to Hazakura Temple, once he sees someone that looks like Dahlia. This also reveals one of Phoenix’s major flaws as someone that considers betrayal and murder by poison inexcusable actions, much like how Apollo’s second backstory reveals how and why Clay’s death pushes him to distrust his colleagues. Unfortunately, what Apollo’s second backstory does not show is any connection to the first. With Phoenix’s second backstory, it connects back to the first and second game. It explains how Phoenix met an already established character, explains why Phoenix was cross with Edgeworth in the second game and follows where the first backstory left off with wanting to become a Defense Attorney to meet with Miles Edgeworth. Aside from Apollo growing up in a Boarding School, confirming that he is an orphan, and why he always shouts “I’M FINE!” we get no connection or follow-up from the first backstory. There’s no connection to his former boss, Trucy or the Gramarye’s. Thus, Apollo’s second backstory feels like a separate story from the first, whereas Phoenix’s second backstory feels like a follow-up to the first.

Apollo’s third backstory is that Apollo’s father, Jove Justice, came to the Kingdom of Khura’in to play music inside Durke’s home. One day, a fire arose and Jove Justice was assumingly murdered. Dhurke had miraculously saved Jove’s infant son in the nick of time before the rest of his residence was burned, hiding in the mountains with his eldest son, Nahyuta. From there, Dhurke had raised Nahyuta and Apollo in the mountain as their father, watching them grow up. Unfortunately, because of the laws in the kingdom where Defense Attorneys were prisoned with any client declared Guilty and Dhurke being an outlaw, he sent Apollo to the United States. From there, Apollo never saw or heard from Dhurke or Nahyuta again, believing all his life that Dhurke had abandoned him.

Again, like the second backstory, this gives us relatability and motivation. Leaving any family is something all of us feel saddened about. It also follows up with the relatability of Phoenix’s first backstory of being close with someone, only to grow apart from them with age. But, again, there is no connection between this backstory or the other two. What does this backstory have anything to do with Apollo’s connection with the Gramarye, relation to Trucy, friendship with Clay, growing up in a boarding school as a youth or his reasons for saying “I’M FINE!” all the time? NOTHING! There’s not a single callback to any of these, not even to reoccurring characters from the fourth or fifth game. Nothing on Kristoph Gavin, the Space Center, nothing. There is mention of Jove Justice being Apollo’s biological father, but do we get anything on Thalassa or the Gramarye’s? Even a tiny bit? Nope! Any connection with Jove Justice and the Gramarye’s to explain how he may’ve met the daughter of the famous Magnify Gramarye and they may’ve fallen in love? Nope! Again, I get nothing. It’s sad, because the story could’ve also added Thalassa into the mix as being Jove’s singing partner, a subtle picture of her and explaining why she might be so talented in singing. The fact that the second case does involve the Gramarye, I think, is a missed opportunity to draw a connection to Apollo’s third and first backstory.

For Phoenix Wright, his third backstory is in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, believe it or not. This backstory takes place during the seven years between the third and fourth game. Phoenix Wright was defending Zak Gramarye for the murder of Magnify Gramarye. During this trial, he presents forged evidence unknowingly, which Klavier Gavin reveals to be forged via the surprising Witness. From there, Phoenix is disbarred from law and his client Zak disappears from site. Trucy, who is Zak’s daughter, is left behind and Phoenix cannot find any living relatives, thus decides to adopt her as his own daughter. From here, he turns his law offices into a Talent Agency for his new daughter and takes the job as a piano/poker player. He befriends the only Bar Associate that voted him to be innocent, Kristoph Gavin, who had used his friendship to stalk and watch him.

Again, this creates relatability and motivation as someone losing their job for unfair reasons, entering fatherhood and being manipulated by fake friends. This also is a great follow-up to the trilogy itself and confirming everything that’s already established canon such as Phoenix considering poison and betrayal to be inexcusable, which is what Kristoph does. It establishes the relationship and connection with Trucy and even Apollo. Even as weak as Apollo’s backstory is, it is enough to give Phoenix a strong motivation to take him in as a student. With how strong this third backstory to Phoenix is and its connection to the trilogy as a whole, it makes me wonder why he wasn’t the protagonist of this story. Though, it does conclude what this third backstory does so well that all of Apollo’s backstories do not do: continue where the previous left off.

With every backstory Phoenix gets, it always continues where the previous left off. They connect well like a puzzle. Each piece matches well and never feels separate. With each new backstory, it continues where the previous left off. The second backstory continues where the first and second game left off and the third backstory continues where the trilogy left off. With Apollo’s three backstory, they feel so disconnected, it’s like trying to fit three unmatching pieces together, while ignoring the rest of the 197 puzzle pieces. Sure, the third backstory might’ve mentioned Jove Justice as Apollo’s biological father, but we don’t know anything about Jove or Thalassa, their relationship, how they met or anything. Was Thalassa the lead singer when Jove played, like she is as Lamoure? I don’t know. Even Apollo growing up at a Boarding School or how he went there is never explained in the third backstory. Did Dhurke send Apollo there and pay for his classes? I don’t know.

In conclusion, Apollo’s problem with his backstories are not that there are too many, but that they do not connect. Backstories must fit together in order to work. There has to be a cause and effect. Phoenix Wright has full backstories that have always connected perfectly like puzzle pieces. He has one of the strongest established backstories in Ace Attorney, alongside Miles Edgeworth, who technically has four backstories. That just goes to show you can’t have too many backstories. Although, you can have botched up backstories that do not match up that makes it feel like there are too many backstories.

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to comment, whether you agree or disagree. I might make a follow-up to this to explain how Apollo’s three backstories could be fixed to where they feel complete. It really depends.

#ace attorney #phoenix wright #apollo justice #apollo justice's backstories #too many backstories

113 notes · View notes

milk-addicc · 4 years

Note

I really liked that post you made about how Capcom feels about Narumitsu. And I'm wondering how do you think they feel about Narumayo? Personally to me it feels like they throw more hints at Narumitsu since with the other one if Takami wanted it to be canon he would of done it at the end of T&T. I also think the team could of made it more obvious in SoJ with Maya's big return but I never really saw the hints but I know I'm biased lol.

oh i’m glad you like my rambles haha;;

ahh... that ship,

well first, about the whole Takumi “wanting narumitsu to be canon” thing, its not exactly making them canon but have more fanservice leaning heavy towards narumitsu (which was declined by the director(?) who claimed, i sorta agree with, that the game did well even without the narumitsu hinting since in the first game they didn’t have that intention and it was pure coincidence that their relationship was just THAT deep and meaningful which is incredible lmao, Takumi and co managed to slip his warning and still put at least some of the hints in TT tho hhh-). so even then, i doubt the crew actually want the endgame to come so soon hh.

okay, back on topic. what i think about naru//mayo? yea, i’m not keen on that ship personally at all, actually i despise it. like, they first met in the office, in front of their dead loved one, Mia. Maya was 17, Phoenix was 24. you have Maya, who’s supposedly still in HIGH SCHOOL and Phoenix, who has GRADUATED COLLEGE, has a JOB, and most likely has PAID HIS OWN BILLS. from that point alone, it should already feel weird.

Maya’s an adolescence, a teenager, she just lost her sister and barely grew up, in a way she’s still innocent, notice how she tend to ask random questions and or say things that she thinks makes sense or amusing, she tends to be naive too. its kinda like.. a child.

and Phoenix on the other hand, is a grown man. heck even Maya says he’s an “old fart”, they’re legit aware of their own age gap in game and outright say it. if anything, they both act like self-aware best friends/brother-sister than romantically. even Maya said it herself, she wants to be a good big sister for Pearl and Nick.

now how about we ignore this obvious fact just for a little while and try to see it from only their interactions in-franchise. heres the kicker, you may not see it in game since they only lightly nudges about this ship (usually with Pearl, and was dismissed by Maya right after.), but in some of AA spin off mangas (and from what i heard, one of the stage shows), for some reason, this ship has their own hints despite being completely aware that Maya is a teenager.

but its okay now don’t hold your breaths,

their “hints” are more of a one-off ish thing, most of the time a gag and not taken seriously, and unlike other ship per say narumitsu, where it actually affects their lives and changed it forever IN-GAME. “i care about Maya and understands her” and “i became an attorney because of you, Edgeworth and i don’t have any regrets” are both literally incomparable, especially given Phoenix and Edgeworth’s history together in-game canon.

anyway, here’s some common arguments i’ve encountered about this particular ship :

“but Phoenix cares about Maya a lot! he literally went through a trial against a hitman and run through a burning bridge for her!”

“Phoenix blushed and goes red when Pearl says he’s Maya’s special someone and he stutters!”

“Well my parents had a huge age gap!"

“well, Maya is 18 in AA2″

“considering Maya is a christmas cake now, Nick better tap that”

“she’s an adult in AA6 tho”

now lets dissect each of these,

yes, Phoenix cares about Maya a lot he literally did cross a burning bridge for her but people seem to forget that this is the same man who turned his life around, abandon his dreams, study law for four years, and became an attorney to meet one man and willing to defend a girl who looks like his psychotic ex that nearly poisoned him in court. he literally would believe in his clients’s innocence no matter what, he’s by nature would sacrifice anything and even his life for someone. so its normal that he cares about Maya, but is it romantic? i doubt it, he cares about her safety and well being but does it have to be a romantic hint? no, of course not, he’s just very selfless for the people he cares about and Maya has no one to help her but Nick when she’s in trouble, he’s one of few adults she can trust and will help her out.

oh so blushing and stuttering due to embarrassment means having feelings now? and about the stuttering, he literally stutters around Edgeworth a lot lol. i’m starting to feel like people ships naru//mayo not because of their depth but because Pearl said so. Pearl finds them should be together and keep shoving the audience with Nick being “Mystic Maya’s special someone”, well if thats the case, they also explained why this happened, in-game. Pearl grew up very sheltered and among unhealthy marriages she just assumes a girl and a boy together means they’re dating and being “special someones”. she most likely just wants her cousin to be in a happy relationship unlike her parents where her father left both her and her mother but didn’t know any better because she was eight years old.

https://youtu.be/FGAqQkMEKNs?start=674&end=776

now about the parent thing and taking it personal, well my parents too had a huge age-gap of 7 years. but how come is it okay? its because they met when my mum was already a career woman at 26. she’s already an adult when my dad met her. what does this mean? it means my parents were both adults when they’re together, this is why i still like GumMaggey despite their age gap so wide, they first met when Maggey has already had a career, supposedly in her 20′s, she’s a young adult, she can buy alcohol by herself, already knows whats right and wrong and has live life independently, not a still hormonal teenager who depends on one adult figure. did your parents date when your mum is in highschool while your dad is like in his mid 20′s? sorry to hear that.

as for the last three arguments, i don’t even want to touch any of them with a five-foot pole. are you listening to yourself? do you not feel like you’re a creep typing that?

let me give you a benefit of the doubt. yes she’s older and legally an adult, but are you really discrediting the fact they met when Maya was still in highschool? they met and became friends when she’s 17 and he’s 24. sure they barely met during disbarment era, but should that change anything? why should it? how should it? like this?

“Oh this is Maya, i haven’t met her in years but boy she sure has grown up can’t wait to date her since she’s legal now.”

because thats what that argument sounds like, YIKES.

you know? if they met under a different circumstance and Maya was like 19, i’d let it go. but they didn’t, they met because of a horrible loss, Maya, still in training, 17 lost her big sister and Phoenix, a rookie, at 24 lost his mentor.

in conclusion, i don’t like naru//mayo at all

pairing them feels like pairing Edgeworth with Kay or Phoenix with Ema, just because they partnered in investigations, make playful jabs at each other, and saved each others’s lives before, people just think they like each other romantically despite their age-gap in first meetings (not to mention Kay sees Edgeworth as somewhat of a father figure, and she’s nearly 18 while Edgeworth is the same age as Phoenix). especially with how Maya, being a zoomer, calls Phoenix an “old fart” and just makes jokes about how so out-of-touch Phoenix is with the modern entertainment.

from observations, i have a huge hunch that almost all of them pair these two because :

1. Maya’s a girl protagonist so its a male protagonist x female protagonist type of deal and despise narumitsu because “yaoi”

2. AA6 she’s an adult so she’s legal which is damn creepy on its own, or last

3. because of Pearl shipping them in game despite being an eight year old and was so sheltered she thought a man and a woman being next to each other means they’re special someones.

either way, i only see them as best friends, sibling-like relationship with self awareness here and there since they tease the audience a lot with their gag “hints” in spin-off mangas and game.

not only that, it kinda showcase how all male/female bond don’t have to be romantic, they can be just friends or familial and still hang together. another plus for the franchise right after encouraging moving on from ex partners. *glancing at Phoenix//Iris*

and as to the people who pairs this for some odd reasons, sometimes i just want to ask these questions,

“how would you feel if you’re in Phoenix’s shoes? met your mentor’s little sister at age 17 while you’re 24, would you feel romantically interested in this high schooler?” because i don’t, to me anyone 3 years younger than me is like a baby, how would Phoenix feel when Maya’s 7 years younger?

“also... why even? narumitsu and other less questionable pairings are RIGHT THERE in the open!”

but oh well people can like and pair whatever hhh,

and there you have it, my even longer rambling hahaha sorry;;

Edit : To add the final nail to the coffin, Phoenix outright has said that Maya’s like his kid, like a niece.

Edit 2 : remember that this is simply my personal take, you can somewhat use this to make yourself feel better about your pair nor simply just to hate on the ship itself but do not use this to dictate actual people what to ship and not to ship.

please don’t be destructive towards others.

#NOT n*rumayo #notp #naru//mayo #can't ship them sorry #im almost 20 and everyone 3 years younger feels like a child #imagine being phoenix and knowing maya is like 7 years younger jfc #slight #narumitsu #encouragement lol #dont harrass the shippers of it please

596 notes · View notes

diaryofabeautyfiend · 3 years

Text

This is a WIP. I love Marvel’s Witches and doing some writing exercises to hopefully create a series. My bags are packed on this one and I’m ready to go. Just trying to fill in the middle. I hope you enjoy. Feedback is encouraged. Sharing is caring. Please don’t try to pass off my work as your own.(for real it’s not that great)

Small Time Witch

Nick Fury likes secret weapons. He hid them all over SHIELD for a rainy day. Some were physical weapons like the Glock 43 he kept under his desk or the switchblade he kept holstered to his thigh. He also liked to keep people with special abilities hidden in the secretarial pool, IT, accounting.

One of those people was you. You worked in accounting. You were good with numbers and a quick learner. You handled payroll for the Avengers. That was Fury’s way of keeping you familiar with the team so it would be easy to install you once your abilities were needed.

When SHIELD acquired you, you were living in the Catskills with your coven. It was peaceful. You all possessed great power but your ability to disrupt electrical equipment was particularly interesting to him. There wasn’t a security system or electrical grid that you couldn’t dismantle.

Fury did not fully understand the breadth of your powers. He didn’t know you were an empath who could also control emotions. Your coven hated that power. They always felt manipulated. Sometimes you weren’t even aware you were doing it. Before they were all killed, you and your mother were working on controlling it. Since that day, you were having a really hard time. You had nightmares every time you closed your eyes.

A very powerful family, the Kales got wind that your coven was growing more and more powerful. Fearing they would be overtaken, they unleashed a demon onto the grounds. Your whole coven was obliterated. You managed to cloak yourself inside of a warded safe room. You tried to pull your mother inside when she heard the demon screeching through the halls. She pushed you in, pressed the shut down button and you never saw her again. Once everything felt clear, you emerged furious and afraid. You found their bodies with their eyes still open. Even in death they looked terrified. You worked a spell your mother had given you in case of a tragedy such as this. The spell allowed you to absorb all of their powers. Once they all converged a blast emanated through you leveling the grounds and turning their bodies to piles of ash. The blast was felt for miles alerting SHIELD. That’s how Fury found you.

He offered you a home, a job and a seat at his very secret table. You knew there were others like you but he kept their names to himself.

You were happy in your office running payroll. No one bothered you. You didn’t have to feel anything. Even when you secretly went on missions, you were miles away. At times, though, there was no amount of distance you could put in between you and the tension of a fight.

You would feel it all. Fear. Hate. Pain. So much pain. You thought sometimes the heroes forgot the bad guys were capable of feeling anything. You could feel the pain when they watched their friends die in front of them. The pain they felt taking their final breaths wishing they could say goodbye to their loved ones. So much pain. It was blinding for you. Fury could see some times were far too intense for you though he wasn’t sure why. He thought maybe introducing you to some other witches would be helpful.

He first introduced you to Wanda. She was warm and thoughtful. You felt calm around her. She helped you as much as she could but was still learning herself. Next he introduced you to Loki. When Fury suggested you two meet, he said you would have to keep it to yourself. He was not always wanted by the Avengers after his attack on New York. They solicited his help when absolutely necessary. Loki, however, was one of the secret weapons he liked to keep around...for a rainy day.

Wanda went with you to the training facility. You asked that she come as back up. From what you knew of Loki he could be temperamental. You could feel her nerves which made you more nervous. This was one of those times you wished you had control at least over yourself.

He was waiting perched precariously on a chair regarding you both with silent amusement. You and Wanda were holding hands. You may as well have been clutching one another like scared children. The tension was palpable. He stood to greet you. Each movement was graceful and cool as hell. That’s how you would always describe him. Cool as hell.

He was dressed in, what you thought, was as close to casual as Loki would wear. He wore a sweater in his signature deep emerald, black slacks and shiny black dress shoes. A simple gold watch peaked out of the cuff on his left wrist.

He held out a hand long fingers caressing your palms snaking around you. With a firm grip he shook it gently. “Pleasure to meet you. You must be Y/N. Director Fury has told me precious little about you. But, if you are here with me, you must have something he wants desperately.”

You started to calm down. He didn’t seem like he was as bad as everyone made him out to be. Wanda was still on guard. “Nice to meet you too.” You said. It came out more confident than you intended.

He smiled at Wanda who perked up a little. They had a few run ins in the past. Most of them pleasant. They were not really friends but understood one another.

When Loki was in the compound he was very much an outsider. Mortals apparently held grudges. It’s not like he destroyed the entire planet....only Midtown Manhattan. After all, he was burdened with a glorious purpose to destroy anything his brother loved. Even still, the Avengers used him on certain missions and called upon him when they needed intel on every manner of intergalactic evil. Wanda Maximoff was the only one of them who did not treat him like he was evil incarnate. She was treated like she was part of the family but they feared her abilities. None of them wanted to admit that she was stronger than all of them.

“So” Loki said clapping his hands, “Would you like to show me?”

“Show you what exactly?” You were being coy. You wiggled your fingers and all of the lights went out.

He scoffed, “Come on, darling. Don’t hold back. I can feel your power surging.” You cocked an eyebrow, closed your eyes and every light bulb shattered. Sparks and glass rained down. Wanda held her hands up releasing a shield to stop the three of you from being shredded.

“Not bad. Not bad at all. What else can you do?” Feeling over confident you took his hand. Closing your eyes once more you felt a strong vibration roll through your body into Loki. When you opened your eyes he was openly sobbing.

“Stop it!” he begged. “You stop this now, mortal.” You let him go both of you breathing hard. Loki regained his composure looking on to Wanda who was smiling.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to...it was too much.”

“Y/N, don’t apologize. He asked you to show him.” Wanda was running her hand over your shoulders.

“She’s right, pet. Never apologize. I don’t think you even have a full understanding of your powers. I feel more in you than you might be aware of.”

“I don’t know how to control it. It’s too much to feel everything all the time.”

He gave you a knowing smile. Fury was right, you were hiding something. Loki wasn’t ready to share with him. Not just yet. He liked puzzles and you were an interesting one. “I can help you. I’ve had centuries of practice. I can help you both.”

Wanda was a little uneasy again. You could tell she was seriously mulling it over in her head. “I shouldn’t. Steve and Nat wouldn’t approve.”

Loki’s eyes narrowed “Ah yes. I forget. Tell me, Miss Maximoff, do you ever get tired of being caged like you are? First with Hydra now the Avengers. Never truly living up to your fullest potential. It must be exhausting controlling all of that power when, with a flick of your wrist, you could end them all.”

“Control is truly my super power. It’s what makes me strong.” Wanda was clenching her fists. Red sparks fell from her hands. Her eyes glowed as she inched closer to Loki. All of this was terribly amusing to him. “What would happen if you really unleashed what was inside of you?”

Wanda smiled and cocked her head to the side. For a moment you thought they were going to kiss. “This planet would turn to ash. That’s why I vow to defend it. I straddle a fine line between total annihilation and world peace. I guess it just depends on my mood.”

“What a pair we’d make.” The tension was palpable. You watched as they stared each other down. You thought of trying to lighten the mood but, in the state you were in, it wouldn’t likely work. Luckily Wanda relented first. “It’s always good to see you Loki.” she said with a sweet smile.

“The feeling is quite mutual, Miss Maximoff.” His smile was warm and sincere.

“Ready to go, Y/N?”

“Uh. Yeah I guess.”

Loki kissed your knuckles, “Until we meet again, darling.” And with that he vanished.

Wanda was quiet on the ride back to the compound. When you pulled in she let out a heavy sigh. She was aching to ask you something but wasn’t brave enough to get out the words. It was rare that she was put in charge of anything much less a new recruit. “Just say what you want to say, Wanda. You’ll feel better.”

“Damn it. Ok. Fury asked me to invite you in for dinner. He wants you to meet the rest of the team. Also, not a word of this Loki business to anyone. Understand?”

“And if I say no to dinner?”

Her eyes locked on yours. “Not really a request.”

“Noted.” You took a deep breath “It might be nice to meet everyone. Maybe. I need a damned helmet or something to block it all out.”

“Don’t stress. You’ll get there. If it’s too much say so and I’ll come up with an excuse to walk you out. Deal?”

“Deal.”

You held her hand as you entered the front door. You were trying to feed off of her. You did relax a little. When you saw the crew your anxiety got the best of you. “Don’t worry,” she said squeezing your fingers “you’ll be great.”

The first person you met was Steve. His smile lit up his whole face. He extended his hand to you. You all but leapt into his arms. “Y/N welcome aboard. We’re all friends here. I’m sure you’re nervous but you have no reason to be.”

“Captain Rogers, it’s great to finally meet you.”

He waved you off. “Please. Call me Steve. Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the group.”

You never let go of Wanda’s hand. It was like she was tethering you to the ground. You were so overwhelmed you thought you might cry. You gave her a taste of what you were feeling. She squeezed your hand tighter. “I have you ok? Just say the word.” You nodded and followed him into the dining area. Everyone was very nice. Some of them looked a bit confused. You said hello as Steve introduced you around. You got little waves and smiles. Thor was already stuffing his face. He said hello with a mouth full of mashed potatoes. You giggled to yourself. Slowly you were letting Wanda go moving ever so closer to Steve. Honestly the man felt like a warm summer day.

You were just about to relax when you heard the syrupy smooth baritone voice intrude your space. “Honestly, brother. You are a king. Show some decorum.” Loki took your hand and leaned in to speak so only you could hear him, “I thought this might be a good place for our first lesson.” You shrank a little at his touch. Wanda raised her hands ready to let him have it when he winked at her. You gave her a look letting her know you were ok. You really felt more at ease with him there.

“What’s my lesson?” You whispered back. “Control, pet. You’re practically swooning over the Captain. Everyone can feel it. Deep breaths. Reign it in.” You blushed and did as he said. You let your heart rate slow and calmed yourself. You focused on Loki and Wanda who helped you ground yourself. The three of you seemed almost plugged in to one another. This is the first time you’ve felt yourself since you were last with your coven.

“Oh who invited Elsa?” Tony groaned

“I did” Thor chimed in “I want to keep an eye on him.”

“No tricks tonight, Loki. I mean it.” Steve said through a clenched jaw. Loki morphed into a clone of Steve. “I mean it” he mocked wagging his finger at everyone “I just do not understand how you fit through the door. Your head is so big full of self righteousness.”

“Hey! Jack Frost! Thin ice, buddy.” Steve said as he planted his hands on his hips.

“Loki behave” Thor pleaded.

He was showing off for you. It was kind of cute. Loki laughed holding his hands in surrender, “No more tricks. Just here to have dinner and chat with the lovely new recruit.”

He pulled out your chair when you came back with your plate. Your hands trembled a bit. He placed his hand on your knee and squeezed. “You ok, darling?”

“I think so. Steve does not like you.” You giggled to yourself.

“I don’t think you need special abilities to see that, dear.” Wanda laughed too. She was across the table but could hear what you were saying.

Steve sat next to Wanda so he could get to know you better. “So, Y/N. Accounting. That must be fun.”

“Actually it is. I like numbers. They are predictable when the rest of the world isn’t.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” Tony added.

“Director Fury tells us that’s not your only talent.” Your cheeks warmed. Wanda tuned into your conversation in case you needed a quick interruption. You pressed your leg against Loki’s looking for your tether again. He reciprocated.

“I’m not sure exactly what Fury told you...”

“That you can knock out power grids and security systems. Saves us a lot of trouble” Natasha said before she took a gulp of wine.

“Oh. That. Yes. I do possess the power of Electrokinesis.”

“So you’re like Wanda and Loki but with a back up plan.” Rhodey added

“I suppose that’s true.” You cleared your throat noticing the side conversations stopped and more eyes were on you. They all had so many questions. Some of them, including Steve, were wondering just how powerful you were. “Can someone show me to the rest room?” Steve stood up but Wanda jumped up too. “Sit down, Steve. I’ll show her.”

You were holding your breath. “You ok?”

“Yeah. I just needed to get out of there for a minute. You splashed cold water on your face and took some deep breaths “I feel like I’m being interrogated.” Wanda rubbed your back and shoulders. “Want to go?”

“No. I’m ok. Will the two of you stay close?” By two you meant her and Loki.

“I can but Loki shouldn’t. They’ll think he’s up to something. I’m sure he won’t be far though.” You nodded, took one more deep breath and geared up for round two of more questions. When you turned the corner Steve was leaning against the door waiting for you.

“Hey. Are you ok? We can be a lot.” Steve was genuinely concerned which made you feel better. “Wanda can you give us a minute?” He asked.

“Y/N, I won’t be far.” She gave your hand a final squeeze and went back into the dining room. You looked down at your shoes and picked at your nails. You had butterflies in your stomach and a lump forming in your throat.

“I just thought you could talk to me for a little while without anyone else chiming in.”

“Sure. What do you want to know?”

“How much are you like Wanda?”

“You mean how how powerful am I?” Steve blushed at the question. “I’m powerful enough, Captain Rogers. Please, make no mistake, I am not part of this team. As far as you are all concerned, I print your paychecks.” You didn’t know where this new found confidence was coming from but you decided to ride it out.

“Wait. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just like to know who I’m getting into bed with. I’ve been burned in the past.”

You gave him a weak smile before walking away. “Haven’t we all?”

You could feel his eyes on you as you walked away. You found Wanda and let her know you were leaving. She hugged you goodbye. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah. Can you say goodbye to everyone else for me? I’m just overwhelmed.”

“Of course. Text me when you get home.”

You hurried out of the compound to the garage when you felt a presence. You smiled. “Loki it’s not nice to sneak up on people.”

“Sorry, pet. I hope you weren’t going leave without saying goodbye.” He pouted.

“I assumed I’d see you soon since we’re ’training’ now.” He moved closer to you. Your breath caught in your chest and you stammered, “Do you need a ride?”

“No. Thank you. I am staying with Thor tonight. I know all of this is a lot. My mother was like you. An Empath. She felt everything. She learned to not let it consume her. I hope I can help you to do the same. It won’t be easy. I’ll push you and you’ll hate me for it. But, I will help you to take control.” You didn’t know why but you trusted him.

“Thank you. I appreciate you doing this. I’m sure you have better things to do with your time.” He smiled at you making you feel warm.

“Nothing I’d honestly rather do than help you.” You hugged him. At first his whole body was stiff but then he relaxed and wrapped his arms around you. Without another word you got into your car and drove away.

Back at work the next morning you were happy to slip back into your isolated routine. You popped in your earbuds and turned on your computer. A message popped up from Fury’s office simply stating “Training room B 30 minutes”. You let out a deep sigh took a swig of your too hot coffee and kissed your life of solitude goodbye.

#mcu x reader #loki x reader #loki of asgard #mcu witches #captain america x reader #steve rogers fanfic #mcu fanfiction

109 notes · View notes

wiypt-writes · 3 years

Text

Stark Spangled Destiny

Ch 3- Fuck You, Mr Stark.

Chapter Summary: Katie’s whacked out journey through her subconscious continues and she’s taken back to a time full of Hammer Drones, Senate Hearings and a Pirate Goth…

hapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: So these chapters contain flashbacks of sorts- but they’re not flashbacks as Katie is watching the events unfold in front of her-a “Time heist” of sorts. However, to keep it clear and hopefully not confusing, the events she is watching are depicted in itallics instead of me trying to keep calling her 2010 v 2030 Katie…

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.

Stark Spangled Destiny Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“Oh come on Kiddo!” Tony sighed as Katie got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. “You hardly spoke two words to me over dinner. I thought by taking you for your favourite double cheese and chilli fries you might have calmed down by now.”

“Well you thought wrong.” She seethed as she turned to look at him. “What the hell were you thinking? Why didn’t you just stick to the cover that Coulson gave you?”

“Why should I?” Tony looked at her “It’s my suit. I made it, I own it.”

“God, you are so fucking arrogant.” She glared at him, storming up to the door of the mansion. “Look, will you just chill out!” Tony followed behind her “You saw the reaction, everyone loved it.” “Oh get your head out of your ass, Tony!” She wheeled around, blazing as she pressed her hand to the entry pad to the side of the door “You just painted a huge Target on our heads!”

“On my head…” “Yeah, and by proxy that includes ME!” She stalked into the house as the door clicked open. “Jesus Fucking Christ.”

She stepped into the entrance hall, Tony following her. “JARVIS.” He called.

“Welcome home Sirrrrr.” JARVIS’ voice distorted and trailed off. Tony paused and looked at Katie, the two of them standing side by side as they glanced around the room. Tony stilled, his arm going out to the side in front of Katie to stop her walking any further into the room as they both spotted someone stood in the dark behind the couch, looking out of the large glass windows over the ocean.

“I am Iron Man.” The person spoke, not moving. “You think you’re the only Superhero in the world.” The man, dressed in a long black trench coat turned and began to walk forward a little as Tony did the same, Katie following. “Mr Stark, you just became part of a bigger universe, you just don’t know it yet.” Tony looked at his sister, then to the mystery man, frowning. “Who the hell are you?” The man walked forward into the light of the lamp by the sofa and Katie looked at him. He was tall, black and bald, an eyepatch covering his left eye “Nick Fury, director of SHIELD.”

“Oh.” Tony replied.

“I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.”

“The what?” Katie asked.

“An initiative that SHIELD has.” Fury looked at her “An idea, to bring together a group of people with powers and abilities to keep the world safe.” “Powers and abilities?” She dead panned, arching an eyebrow. “What, like Superman?”

“No, he doesn’t exist.” Fury shook his head simply, unperturbed by her blatant sarcasm. “I’m thinking more along the lines of extraordinary people, if you get my drift.”

“Like who?” Tony asked, his tone clearly disbelieving.

“Two of my agents, the best I have” Fury turned to him. “And I am considering you and Dr Bruce Banner. If we can track him down that is.”

“Banner?” Katie frowned. “Who’s that?”

“He’s a scientist.” Tony replied his eyes not moving from Fury “He injected himself with some version of the serum the SSR used on Steve Rogers back in the day but it gave him a few side effects.”

“And unlike the ones Captain Rogers got they’re not permanent.” Fury finished.

“What do you mean?” Katie asked.

“Nine times outta ten he’s Dr Bruce Banner.” Fury continued “But when the Hulk as they call him takes over, well he’s big, green, and he struggles to control himself.”

“And you clearly have no idea where he is.” Tony spoke. “Which isn’t surprising.” He turned to Katie “The story I heard is that he found out the army wanted to use him as a weapon so he went underground.”

“Right.” She nodded, turning to Fury “And now you guys at SHIELD want him as a weapon? Along with Tony and these two other agents?”

“Not weapons, no.” Fury shook his head. “As a last line of defence.”

“Defence from what?” Tony looked back at Fury.

“Threats you couldn’t even begin to understand.”

“I’m pretty good at understanding most things, being a genius and all so try me.” Tony demanded.

“I’m well aware this all sounds a little crazy, Mr Stark but believe me when I say you simply have to trust me on this.”

“Erm, you break through my security, which I’m kinda disturbed about, then sit there like some kind of…” he waved his hand up and down, gesturing to Fury’s appearance “…spooky goth pirate and you want me to simply trust you?” Tony held Fury’s gaze and shook his head. “Sorry, no can do.”

Katie looked down at the floor, biting her lip at Tony’s summary of Fury’s appearance before she raised her head to see the Director was looking at her brother, an almost amused expression on his face.

“Alright.” He shrugged, and with that he walked towards the pair of them, pausing as he reached their side. “Just give it some thought.”

“I won’t.” Tony said simply.

Fury sighed and turned his attention to Katie. “Agent Coulson was impressed with you yesterday. SHIELD could use someone of your calibre.”

“Me?” Katie frowned. “For what? I don’t have a suit.” “Not all superheroes wear fancy outfits,” Fury stated as he shrugged a little, “and not all heroes are super.” Katie blinked. “Like I said, give it some thought. You have Agent Coulson’s number.

And with that he turned and headed through the door, leaving the siblings looking at one another in stunned silence.

Katie turned to Tony. “Goth pirate…man, the first time you said that I nearly died. Did you see my face?”

Tony grinned and Natasha smiled. “You know, it was actually one of his favourite nicknames.” “No kiddin’?” Tony turned to look at her. Natasha nodded and Katie snorted at her brother who simply gave a huff of laughter. The three of them left past Tony and Katie who were furiously in discussion about their encounter with the Director and the door shut behind them as they strode into the dark Malibu night.

“Ok, so where’s next on this whacked out, fucked up dream trip?” Katie asked as Tony pulled the car out of the gate and onto the freeway.

Tony looked at Natasha in the rear view mirror, simply winking and Katie rolled her eyes. Again, she blinked and found herself looking up at Capitol Hill, in the daylight. Tony once more pulled the car to a stop, abandoning it basically in the middle of the road and they strode out, heading straight past the security guards at the gate as if they didn’t exist.

Which, Katie had to remind herself, they didn’t.

She followed Tony, taking in the familiar décor of the inside of the building, before she stopped as she looked at the large set of double doors at the end.

“Oh my God…please tell me this is the Senate Armed Services Committee meeting?” she turned to her brother, a smile on her face.

“Yup, welcome to the Weaponized Suit Defense Program Hearings…” Tony grinned as he yanked open the doors and they walked into the large senate room. She spotted herself and Tony sitting on the rows of benches at the front, the row of 8 senators all raised slightly higher at the front of the room, Stern perched in the middle.

“You know what…this has to be one of my favourite Tony Stark moments ever!” Katie turned to look at her brother.

Tony looked at her, smiling “Yeah, you’ve said that once or twice.”

“Mr and Miss Stark, could we pick up now where we left off?” Senator Stern spoke, banging his gavel down and Katie nodded at him, but Tony wasn’t paying attention. He was facing the opposite way, trying to speak to Pepper who was simply giving him a furious look telling him to turn around. There was more banging and Stern spoke again. “Mr Stark. Please.”

Katie elbowed Tony and he turned around. “Yes dear?”

“Can I have your attention?” Stern asked.

“Absolutely.”

“Do you or do you not possess a specialised weapon?” Stern looked.

“He does not.” Katie shook her head, looking at the Senator who was trying to keep his face straight at the fact she was answering, not Tony. As part owner of Stark Industries she was also under scrutiny too, but she was both legally and commercially trained, and Stern knew this. He was going after Tony, because he was known to be the flashy, flamboyant one, the one that in their opinion would slip up. But Katie knew Tony. Well. Better than anyone. And for that fact she knew that Stern was seriously underestimating him.

This was going to be fun.

“You do not?” Stern looked at her.

“We do not.” She repeated.

“Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon.” Tony added. Katie turned her head to look at her brother, narrowing her eyes as the cameras from the various press members in front of them continued to flash.

“The Iron Man weapon.”

“No, my sister is right. My device does not fit that description.” Tony shook his head.

“Well… how would you describe it?” Stern asked, leaning forward.

“I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator.”

“As?”

“It’s a err, it’s a high-tech prosthesis.” Tony said. The people in the room laughed and Tony looked around before turning back to look at the Senate “That is… That is… That’s actually the most apt description I can make of it” Tony said, looking at Katie as he placed both hands on the table in front of him.

“It’s a weapon. It’s a weapon, Mr Stark. And we’re here today to...”

“Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen…”

“My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America.” Stern spoke simply, looking at Tony.

“Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man.”

“The suit and Tony are one.” Katie shrugged “To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over Tony.” “Which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you’re in.” Tony shrugged as more laughter rang out

“You can’t have it.” Katie shrugged.

“Look, I’m no expert…” Stern began but Tony cut him off.

“In prostitution? Of course not. You’re a senator. Come on.” He slapped the desk and turned round, holding his hand up waving as the room laughed. Katie looked at him, then to Pepper exasperatedly. Pepper was glaring at Tony. He mouthed “no?” and she shook her head slowly, with the manner of a mother telling off a small child.

“I’m no expert in weapons. But, we have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I’d now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor.”

Katie looked at Tony who raised an eyebrow and leaned forward to the microphone as Justin took a seat at the end of the bench. “Let the record reflect that I observed Mr Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance.”

The room let out a little ooooh and Katie fought back a chuckle and looked at Tony as he shot her a small wink. Stern hammered on the desk once more as Hammer raised his glass of water to Tony, smiling a little as he took a sip before he laughed as he pulled the microphone towards him

“Absolutely. I’m no expert. I defer to you, Anthony.” Hammer looked at Tony, gesturing to him with his hand “You’re the wonder boy.”

Tony arched an eyebrow a Hammer continued.

“Senator, if I may…” He stood up. “I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad. Howard Stark.” He looked at Katie and Tony. “Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age. Let’s just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion.”

Tony took a deep breath and Katie gently dropped her hand onto his, giving it a discrete squeeze as Tony looked up at Stern, before his eyes flickered back to Hammer.

“We all know why we’re here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet, he insists it’s a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I’d love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain’t Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr Stark will not always be able to foresee.”

At that Katie rolled her eyes as Hammer moved to take a seat.

“Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America.”

There was muted applause, the most of it coming from the Senators and Stern leaned forward again

“That is well said Mr Hammer. The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber.”

“Rhodey?” Katie frowned, looking at Tony who was also frowning.

“What?”

The cameras started flashing again and they both turned to see Rhodey walking towards the front. Tony got up and headed down the aisle a little to greet him, shaking his hand.

“Hey, buddy. I didn’t expect to see you here”

“Look, it’s me, I’m here. Deal with it. Let’s move on.”

“I just…”

“Drop it.” Rhodey instructed as they walked towards the bench.

“All right, I’ll drop it.” Tony conceded.

Rhodey made his way behind Katie, squeezing her shoulder and she smiled at him

“Hey Kiddo.” He greeted her as he took a seat between her and Hammer.

There was a little introduction to the room about Rhodey being the USAF Weapons Procurement Liaison, before Stern finally got to the exact reason he’d called Rhodey to the hearing.

“I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, complied by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?”

Katie felt herself grow cold as she glanced at Rhodey who was frowning.

“You’re requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?”

“Yes, sir.”

“It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner.” Rhodey stated calmly.

“I understand. A lot of things have changed today.”

“I bet they have.” Katie shot out, loudly. Stern turned to glare at her and she folded her arms, her gaze never faltering. Eventually he turned away and looked at Rhodey.

“So if you could just read…”

“You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my final…”

“Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you.”

“Very well.” Rhodey opened his report to the relevant page and took a breath “As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests.”

He glanced then to Katie, the pair of them looking at Tony as he was lounging back in the chair, his face devoid of any humour as Rhodey started to talk again.

“I did however, go on to summarise that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh three liabilities and that it would be in our interest…”

“That’s enough Colonel” Stern but in but Rhodey continued.

“ …to fold Mr Stark…”

“That’s enough”

“…into the existing chain of command, Senator.”

Katie glanced at Rhodey who looked at Stern, his face passive. She smiled, loyal to a fault, her brother’s best friend had done his best to ensure the full picture was seen, trying to curtail the attempted hatchet job from Stern.

“I’m not a joiner, but I’ll consider Secretary of Defence, if you ask nice.” Tony nodded, to laughter form the crowd. “We can amend the hours a little bit.”

Besides her Rhodey sighed, reaching for his glass of water, taking a sip

“I’d like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that’s connected to your report.” Stern ignored Tony and looked a Rhodey.

“Imagery?” Katie asked, as Rhodey shook his head.

“I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time.”

“With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you could just narrate those for us, we’d be very grateful”

Rhodey shrugged, defeated and waved his hand at the screen to their left “Let’s have the images.”

“Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr Stark’s suit….”

Katie kept one eye on the images and then noticed Tony lounge in his chair as he pulled out his StarkPhone as Rhodey continued.

“This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground…indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational.”

“Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here.” Tony leaned forward, holding his device in front of him, tapping at it. As he did so, a separate box on the screen full of small lines of code, and the words “Welcome Mr Stark popped up. “Boy, I’m good. I commandeered your screens.” Tony informed the room as voices began to chatter. He turned to the right and did the same to the screen at that side. “I need them. Time for a little transparency.”

He leaned back in his chair, still looking at his device as he lay it flat on the desk. “Now, let’s see what’s really going on.”

“What is he doing?” Stern asked.

“Adding a little objectivity.” Katie smirked as Tony took a breath

“If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that’s North Korea.”

Tony tapped a few times and a video of a crude suit began to play. The suit didn’t work very well at all and fell over, its guns cracking the camera screen.

“Can you turn that off? Take it off.” Stern said loudly as talking broke out behind them, and Justin Hammer stood up.

“Iran…” Tony switched the footage to show another suit, this one could fly…for all of five seconds before crashing, judging by the smoke, probably on fire. “No graved threat here…” Tony mused and Katie nodded at the screen which was now showing a familiar face.

“Is that Justin Hammer?” She grinned, because it was clear it was, compounded by the small Hammer Advanced Weapons Systems logo in the bottom left hand corner. “How did Hammer get in the game?”

Tony grinned as the room started to mumble as the footage of Hammer, with a suit that didn’t really work played. “Justin, you’re on TV. Focus up.” Tony said as he looked at Katie, giving her a wink before the pair of them turning to Rhodey, almost identical smirks on their faces. Rhodey hastily hid his own smile behind his hand, rubbing at his top lip with his index finger.

“Okay, give me a left twist. Left’s good.” Hammer’s voice sounded from the TV “Turn to the right. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.”

“Language Justin.” Katie grinned as Hammer found the plug and the screen went dark.

“Wow. Yeah, I’d say most countries, five, ten years away.” Tony nodded “Hammer Industries, twenty” “I’d like to point out that that test pilot survived.” Hammer hastily clarified into his mic as he sat down.

“I think we’re done is the point that he’s making.” Stern spoke as he stood up “I don’t think there’s any reason…”

“The point is, you’re welcome, I guess.” Tony drawled lazily, waving his hand.

“For what?”

“Because I’m your nuclear deterrent. It’s working. We’re safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can’t have it.” Tony’s last few words were punctuated by his hand slapping the desk. “But I did you a big favour,” at that he stood up and Katie looked at him, grimacing as he smirked, “I’ve successfully privatised world peace.”

Both his hands made the peace signs and everyone in the room stood up, all talking at once and applauding. Katie looked at Pepper who was shaking her head, her face stony.

“What more do you want? For now!” Tony clapped as he turned around, gesturing to the members of the committee “I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns.”

Katie groaned and then her head whipped to Stern as he sat down and spoke into the mic, his professional front completely gone.

“Fuck you, Mr Stark. Fuck you, buddy.” He seethed. Tony cupped his hand round his ear, mockingly as he smirked and picked up his sunglasses. “We’re adjourned. We’re adjourned for today.”

Tony put on the glasses and grinned at Stern “Okay.” he gave Stern the thumbs up.

“You’ve been a delight.” Stern snarked as Tony began to blow him kisses.

Present day Katie was doubled over, tears pouring from her eyes as she watched Tony flounce down the aisle in the courtroom towards the doors at the back. Her eyes strayed to her past self who was sat, looking at Rhodey, biting her lip trying hard not to laugh. She remembered thinking at the time how she should be as pissed, as Rhodey and Pepper where, at the fact Tony never took serious things seriously but this had been a hatchet job from the start. And Tony had outwitted them all, as usual.

“Fuck you, Mr Stark…oh, it’s a classic.” She wiped her eyes, turning back to her brother.

Tony grinned, before he sighed, looping an arm round he shoulder. “It was fun, huh?”

“Fun might not be the word I would use but, well, it was certainly entertaining.”

“Which is why I thought we could see it again.” Tony grinned. “A little reminder of just how you were by my side, once again.”

“I hate to break it to you but this next bit isn’t quite so hilarious.” Natasha said, moving forward so she was at the side of Katie.

“That’s because it doesn’t involve me.” Tony quipped and Natasha rolled her eyes as they walked out of the courtroom and made their way to the car. As they drove, Katie waited as long as she could before she blinked and then, to no surprise, their surroundings had changed again and she felt a pang of nostalgia wash over her as they drove over the bridge towards the Triskellion. She turned to Natasha who flashed her a smile.

“Good times.” “Yeah, not so bad. Until we brought it all crashing down.” Katie sighed, peering up at the place she had once-upon-a-time worked.

Natasha gave a huff of laughter as Tony drove through the magically opened barrier at the end of the avenue and into the car park.

“I’m sitting this one out.” Tony shrugged, looking around “Hmm, maybe I’ll take a walk, try and find a cheeseburger. Man I miss those.”

Katie looked at him, snorting as Natasha nudged her, signalling for her to follow. They headed into the familiar building and over to the elevator, the same one Steve had some sixteen years previously catapulted them out of.

“Least I’m going up, not out the side and down…” She mused.

They exited on the floor where Fury’s office was located and headed inside. The director was sat at his desk, Coulson and Natasha stood opposite him. Natasha’s hair was long and curly, just as it had been the first time Katie had met her.

“Natalie Rushman…” she quipped and Natasha looked at her, her eyebrows raised, smiling slightly.

“Stark is drawing un wanted attention to himself, as the Senate Hearing last week proved.” Coulson stated. “I don’t think that’s the last we’ve heard of that particular issue either.” “Yeah, well, I don’t trust Stern, as you know. There’s something about him.” Fury took a breath and stood up. “Okay, Romanoff, I want you in Stark Industries so you can get me a detailed appraisal of both the Stark siblings and let’s see how far this illness Tony is suffering from goes.”

“Both of them?” Natasha looked at Fury who nodded.

“Coulson likes the girl.” Fury stated and Coulson turned to Natasha, handing her a manila file with Katie’s photo on the front. “She’s smart. Brave too as I saw a few months ago.”

“What’s her background?” Natasha asked, taking the file and opening it.

“It’s all in there, but the quick version is she’s been working in the UK since graduating from Oxbridge in 2006 with a first in English literature and mythology. She published a number of papers on Greek and Norse mythology and from what I’ve seen she has good analytical skills, she can read people.”

“Useful.” Natasha mused and Coulson nodded.

“She currently heads up the Legal and Commercial team for Stark Industries International. She’s not a bad shot with a gun either, she hit a water pipe straight where she aimed at from almost 200 yards out.” Coulson shrugged. “With a bit of training, I think she’d be a real asset.”

“You got forty-eight hours to come up with a plan on how to get in and a cover.” Fury spoke to Romanoff and Natasha nodded. Fury then looked at Coulson. “Is the fact Miss Stark seems to be, err, romantically involved with Agent Ward going to be a problem with this?”

Coulson shook his head. “Ward has no idea that we’re even considering recruiting her. And I’ll ensure its kept that way.”

“Ward’s sharp enough to recognise that if he does encounter me whilst I’m in position he won’t blow my cover.” Natasha nodded. “He knows the script.”

“Good because that is a complication we do not need.” Fury levelled her with a look and Natasha smirked, as she glanced down at a page in the file.

“From Jonny Storm to Grant Ward.” She closed the file. “Bit of a difference.” She grinned. “Suppose you can’t blame a girl for wanting something a little hot every now and then.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.” Fury looked at Natasha who shook her head.

“He’s not my type.

“Which one, Storm or Ward?” Coulson asked.

Natasha shrugged “Either.”

Coulson smiled, his eye twinkling as Fury looked at Natasha before he met Coulson’s gaze, shrugging.

“By the way, have we any idea on the whereabouts of Dr Banner?”

“Not yet.” Coulson shook his head. “But we’ll keep looking.”

Natasha turned to Katie. “I wanted you to see, that even before that little business with the Hammer drones we were thinking of recruiting you. Coulson saw something in you. Something special, that I saw too. Despite your constant protests to the contrary.”

Katie blinked, her eyes filling a little with tears as she shook her head.“I was nothing special, SHIELD made me what I was.” “Bullshit.” Natasha shook her head, gently squeezing Katie’s arm as they watched Fury dismiss Coulson and past Natasha. “You were our Supernova from the start.” Katie looked at her, sniffing a little as Natasha pulled her in for a hug “And you’re still a goddamned superhero, suit or not.”

***** Katie sighed as she entered her hotel room, reaching for the lights. That had been a fucking nightmare. Once Tony had effectively blown a hole in their home after a showdown with Rhodey he had taken off. She’d then, along with Natalie and Pepper spent fuck knows how long dealing with the emergency services. She had no idea where the hell her brother was, and at that particular point in time she didn’t care. He’d behaved like a prize prick.

She walked through to the main living are of the suite and gave a little yell of surprise as Natalie was sat on the couch, along with a familiar face.

“What the…” Her mouth dropped open, looking at Fury as he stood up. “Natalie…what…” And then it dawned on her and she let out a groan. “You’re one of them? You’re SHIELD?” “Miss Stark, allow me to introduce Agent Natasha Romanoff. One of the two I was telling you about.”

“Well,” Katie blew out her breath, “fuck me.” “Yeah, it was kind of a shock.” Katie looked at Natasha as they watched the scene in front of them evolving as it changed again to reveal Agents now moving around her Malibu home in the daylight which was a little bit broken from the events of the party. “But at that point I was kind of past the point of disbelieving anything. Especially after Monaco.” “In my defence,” Tony piped up as he appeared besides Katie, “I was dying.”

“Yeah, which is why we found you inside a huge Randy’s Donut sign, eating a real donut without a fucking care in the world.” Natasha looked at Tony as Katie sniggered.

“Sir! I’m gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut.” She mimicked Fury’s voice. “You still wouldn’t come down, it took me threatening to climb up there myself for you to listen.”

Tony shrugged “I’d already told him, I didn’t want to join his super-secret boy band.”

“Lucky for you we ignored you.” Natasha shrugged “Well, I say ignored, it was quite the opposite actually. You’d become a pain in our ass.”

“Yeah, yeah, you had bigger problems in the Southwest, I remember.” Tony examined the cuff of his sleeve. “Namely Point Break.”

“If they hadn’t given you that lithium dioxide you’d have been a nightmare.” Katie looked at him. Tony eyed her for a moment, then nodded to the scene in front of them, Tony, Katie and Fury sat in their home, the wall completely blown away whilst two agents stood on the balcony looking out through binoculars.

“What do you remember about your dad?” Fury asked and Katie took in a deep breath and looked at Tony.

“He was cold, he was calculating. He never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me…”

“Tony…” Katie started to protest but he ignored her.

“…so it’s a little tough for me to digest when you’re telling me he said the whole future was riding on me and he’s passing it down. I don’t get that. You’re talking about a guy whose happiest day was when he shipped me off to boarding school.”

“That’s not true.” Katie sighed, and Fury pointed at her

“She’s right. It’s not.”

“Well, then, clearly you both knew dad better than I did” Tony leaned back in his chair and Katie’s attention was drawn to two Agents who walked behind Fury, carrying a silver, metal box of sorts.

“As a matter of fact, I did.” Fury placed his glass down and glanced at his watch “He was one of the founding members of SHIELD.”

Katie blinked and looked at Agent Romanoff who had appeared behind her

“What?” Tony sat up straight.

“I still don’t know why he never told us.” Katie looked at Tony as they watched their past selves bombarding Fury with questions which he deflected.

“Beats me.” Tony shrugged “But he was a man of many mysteries, as this proves.”

Katie’s eyes tracked Fury as he left before she turned back to look at herself, her brother and Agent Coulson.

“I’ve been authorised by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on premises.” Coulson looked at Tony “If you attempt to leave or play any games, I will tase you and watch Supernanny while you drool into the carpet. Okay?”

“I think I got it, yeah.”

“Wait, do I need to stay here too?” Katie looked at Coulson. “Because just to warn you, I’ll likely end up killing him before any blood poisoning does.” “Err, I can hear you.” Tony glared at her

“Good”

Coulson shrugged. “That’s up to you Miss Stark,” he then turned to Tony, “enjoy your evening’s entertainment.” He nodded to the box as he left.

Katie let out a sigh and sank into a chair, running her hands over her tired eyes.

“You heard what he just said. You can go.” Tony looked at her. “Yeah, well, as much as I would love to jump on a plane and head to New York right now, I can’t leave you like this, Tone.” Katie shook her head as her face reappeared from behind her hands. “What kind of sister would that make me?” Tony looked at her taking a deep breath before he glanced at the box again and grimaced. “Think I might burn that.” “Don’t.”

“Why not? I don’t care much to see what dearest Daddy left for us.” “For you.” Katie looked at him. “What he left for you.” “You know, that was the only reason I opened that damned box.” Tony said softly and Katie turned to look at him. “Like I said, I didn’t care and I didn’t believe a word Fury was saying but you, that simple phrase, reminding me that he left it for me specifically spurred me to do it.”

“Without that you would have died.” Katie stated simply.

“I did.”

“I mean then, dick.” Katie glared at him. “Man I was so angry at you when I found out the palladium was poisoning you and you hadn’t told me.”

“I didn’t want to worry you.” He shrugged, watching as their past selves both took a hold of a handle of the box each and picked it up. “Looking back on it, now I realise I was doing that anyway with my erratic behaviour.”

“Are you getting it yet?” Natasha asked gently and Katie looked at her. “All these seemingly small decisions you made and these apparent innocuous little statements, they all formed something so much bigger than you could ever have dreamed of.”

Katie looked down at her feet and swallowed.

“It isn’t about being Supernova, or an Avenger, or a perfect human.” Tony smiled “It’s about being Katie Stark, the person you are.” “That said, hold that thought because this next memory we’re gonna visit,” Natasha smiled, “this one was kind of a big decision.”

****

“So she’s worth a shot?” Fury lounged in his chair, looking at Natasha as she sat opposite him. The pair were sat in an abandoned warehouse that appeared to be serving as some kind of temporary housing facility for SHIELD. There were three large displays in front of them, all being projected from the same type of metal box Fury had left at the mansion, and nothing else in the room bar a desk and a few chairs.

“I believe so. But, the thing is, I don’t think you’ll get one without the other, and my assessment of Tony isn’t quite as favourable.”

“Then we’ll just have to pique her interest.” Fury shrugged.

Natasha frowned. “New Mexico?” and Fury gave a little smirk, causing Nat to snort, “good luck with that.”

“You make your own luck.” Fury said simply. “In the meantime, I have another assignment for you. I need you to trail Dr Banner. If this item in New Mexico is what we think, then things are starting to get a little…weird shall we say.”

Natasha nodded, “I’ll get right on it” and with that she stood up, nodding to the files on the desk. “Let me know how you get on.” “When do I ever need to tell you anything?” Fury looked at her. “You know more than me half the time.” Natasha laughed. “Now we know that isn’t true, don’t we Nick?”

“You absolute shits!” Katie looked at Natasha, tearing her eyes from the past version of the red head who was leaving Fury’s office. “That whole thing with Thor’s hammer, it was a ruse to get me into SHIELD.”

Natasha shrugged.

“I always thought it was because of what I did in New Mexico that I got offered a position but it was you all along!”

Natasha smiled. “Well, Coulson stuck you on the radar, but it was my decision to put you forward. A decision I’m proud of and would make a hundred times over.” “It was a shit decision.” Tony sniffed. “You knocked me back.”

“That was more of an ego check than anything.” Natasha shrugged. “I think deep down Fury always knew the way it would go.” She looked back at Katie. “You proved me, and Coulson for that matter, right with your actions in New Mexico. Showed the exact level of compassion, bravery and initiative that we expected.”

Katie blinked and shook her head. “I was just a normal person.” “You were, are a Stark.” Nat said simply. “And SHIELD was all the better for it. It was your dad’s legacy after all.”

The scene in front of them faded and then, in the same offices, Katie saw herself and Tony sat at a desk.

“Should you be looking at that?” Katie asked as she sat next to Tony who had picked up the manila file which was emblazoned with the words “AVENGERS INIAITIVE PRELIMINARY REPORT. Before Tony could reply, a hand pinned the report down and they both looked up at Fury who was leaning slightly over the desk.

“I don’t think I want you looking at that.” He levelled Tony with a look as he sat down opposite them at the other side of the desk. “I’m not sure it pertains to you anymore. Now this on the other hand,” he picked up another file off the desk, “is Agent Romanoff’s assessment of you. Read it.” He instructed, handing Tony the file.

“Errr,” Tony scanned the page, “personality overview. Mr Stark displays compulsive behaviour…’”

Katie snorted and Tony looked at Fury. “In my own defence that was last week”

Fury looked at him and Tony gave a small sigh and continued. “’Prone to self-destructive tendencies.’ I was dying. I mean, please. Aren’t we all? ‘Textbook narcissism’?”

“Agreed.” Katie jumped in and Tony turned to look at her as she shrugged. He arched an eyebrow, holding her gaze for a moment before he looked back at the report.

“Okay, here it is. ‘Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes.’ I gotta think about it.”

“Read on.” Fury replied.

“ ‘Tony Stark not… not recommended”? That doesn’t make any sense.” He dropped the file to the desk. “How can you approve me but not approve me?” Katie’s eyes tracked Fury as he got up out of his chair with a heavy sigh as Tony continued. “I got a new ticker. I’m trying to do right by Pepper. I’m in a stable-ish relationship.”

Fury perched on the edge of the desk by Katie and looked at Tony. “Which leads us to believe at this juncture we’d only like to use you as a consultant.”

Katie knew that despite her brother declaring he wanted nothing to do with this initiative, that was going to be a blow to his ego and sure enough, Tony simply took a breath, stood up and offered Fury his hand to shake. Fury obliged, and Tony clasped his other hand on top of Fury’s. “You can’t afford me.”

At that he turned to leave. Katie made to follow but Fury signalled for her to stay in her seat.

“Then again,” Tony turned back round, “I will waive my customary retainer in exchange for a small favour. Rhodey and I are being honoured in Washington and we need a presenter.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Fury said simply. “Now, if you would be so kind, I’d like five minutes with your sister.”

Tony looked at Katie who nodded. “I’ll be in the car, Kiddo.”

Once he was gone, Fury turned to her “Miss Stark, like I said to you six months ago, SHIELD could use someone of your calibre.” Katie smiled and shook her head. “I’m sorry Sir. I’m flattered, I really am but,” she took a deep breath, “this, well it really isn’t for me.”

Fury sighed, “I thought you might say that. In that case, would you, perhaps, consider also joining us as a consultant?”

“Consulting on what?”

“You’re fairly knowledgeable on Mythology, am I right?” “I did a degree and had a few papers published.” She frowned “Why?”

“This pressing issue in the South West.” Fury walked to one of the screens and pressing a button. “I’d like your take on it.”

Katie’s eyes fell open as she glanced at a picture of a huge crater, and inside it looked like…

“No,no way.” She mumbled, standing up. “That’s…no, I mean…what the hell is that?”

“The official story is its part of a satellite.” Fury shrugged. “Does it look like a satellite to you?”

“No, it looks like Mjolnir, the fabled hammer of Thor.” She frowned, before she scoffed, shaking her head. “This is a plant. A fake, a hoax.” She looked at Fury. “There has to be some kind of explanation.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Fury shrugged. “But the thing is, when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how utterly ludicrous, has to be the truth, and, well, we’re running out of impossible to eliminate”

Katie looked back at the photo, shaking her head “No, no way.” “Miss Stark, when I said I’d seen things you couldn’t even begin to imagine I meant it.” He looked at her, and Katie swallowed as she stared back at him. “Now. I’d very much like for you to take a look and confirm that I’m crazy.”

“Where is it?” She asked after a short pause.

“New Mexico, about thirty miles South of Santa Fe.” “There’s a professor I know, based in Seville” Katie looked at Fury “He’s an expert I consulted a few times over my degree. Elliot Randal his name is. It’s probably worth giving him a call.”

“I’ll get onto it.” Fury nodded. “And as for you, well, I can have a jet ready to fly you out there within the hour.”

Katie glanced at the photo, everything inside of her was screaming that his was ridiculous, farfetched, down right ludicrous, but there was just that small part of her brain that was niggling. If it was what she thought it was, then she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be part of the team that identified it.

Imagine what that would mean for man-kind going forward.

She inhaled, letting the breath out of her nose before she gave Fury a curt nod. “Okay. I’ll go.” “Really?” Tony scoffed as Katie watched herself, shaking hands with Fury. “It was that easy?”

“I was curious.” Katie shrugged. “And I’m glad I was. That decision to go to New Mexico, without it, I would never have joined SHIELD. Might never have met Steve. I’m guessing that’s what this little flashback is about?”

“Hmmm, possibly not but one thing is for sure, you wouldn’t have been the one sent to that Boxing Gym. And whether or not Steve has ever told you this, you were the reason he took that mission inadvertently.” “He would have done it anyway given the Tesseract…” “But he trusted you right from the start, and that swayed him.” Natasha pressed. “And when you fought alongside him in Stuttgart, captured Loki, then the battle in New York, all of that just solidified the fact in his mind you were a good person. It might not have been love at first sight but he trusted you, confided in you. You worked side by side, grew close both in and out of work, and he fell in love with you. You understood him, could cope with his lifestyle because you lived it.”

Katie blinked as what Natasha was saying began to sink in. “So this,” she waved her hand, “me seeing this now, isn’t simply a reminder of me making a decision that in the end led to me becoming an Avenger. It’s about me making a decision that meant Steve and I made it?”

Natasha nodded.

“Because we never would have done if I didn’t understand what SHIELD and the Avengers were about on a simple day-to-day basis.” Kate finished.

Natasha beamed, “You made it easy for him to love you and possible for him to envisage a future with you because you lived the life he was all about. Shared life experience, so to speak.”

“And all that stems from that simple decision to get on a plane to New Mexico because you were curious.” Tony smiled and Katie looked at him, once more the tears stinging her eyes “Actions have consequences Kiddo and nine times outta ten it’s the consequences we don’t ever dream of at the point of acting which are the ones that shape our lives.”

**Original Posting**

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

22 notes · View notes

hadesglance · 4 years

Text

All hail the new Queen... - 31 (Hades Original Story) End Book 1

You fought your way through the maze of the underworld to make a deal with the King…intrigued the lonely king listens…

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten Part Eleven Part Twelve Part Thirteen Part Fourteen Part Fifteen Part Sixteen Part Seventeen Part Eighteen Part Nineteen Part Twenty Part Twenty-One Part Twenty-Two Part Twenty-Three Part Twenty-Four Part Twenty-Five Part Twenty-Six Part Twenty-Seven Part Twenty-Eight Part Twenty-Nine Part -Thirty

Hades sat on the bench looking down into the book turning a page. He didn’t need to read it…he lived it, but it looked better to turn a page every once in a while when one lingered in the mortal realm. He sighed as he felt the air shift next to him, “Zeus…what are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” His younger brother looked around the area taking in the green forest behind them as people milled about selecting picnic tables for lunch, “This is a cheery spot…no wonder they built the hospital next to this forest. It’s beautiful. Probably why it does so well too. Demeter always says nature is a natural healer.”

“Zeus…” Hades looked at him with a glare.

Zeus sighed before looking at the old god, “I came…because I’m worried about you. You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

“I’m still keeping everything in check…you don’t have to worry…” Hades looked back to the book for once focusing on the words to try and drown out what was about to be said.

“I’m not worried about your duties…” Zeus frowned, “I’m worried about my brother who won’t stop torturing himself over a woman who can’t remember him. It’s been a year…”

Hades took in a deep breath licking his lips before he spoke, “I promised her father…a mortal man, who had the ability to see through all my bullshit and accept me as a broken child…and treat me like a son…that I would protect her. I don’t break my promises or my deals…”

“That doesn’t mean you have to come here every week to see her.” Zeus sat up turning to him with a frown, “Hades…Y/N is fine. She’s thriving. She’s passed all her courses, the MCAT, and has made it into medical school…”

“For someone who doesn’t want me to have anything to do with her, you know an awful lot about her situation.” Hades shut the book looking at him finally.

Zeus looked away smiling a little, “…well…she is family…it would be wrong for me not to know what’s going on with her…but she doesn’t need us anymore, brother.”

Hades stared at him for a long time before looking toward the hospital. He felt his cheek twitch as he saw you rolling out a patient. You had started volunteering here once a week on an off day. You just sat with patients who didn’t have anyone or had been there a long time. Always giving your time to those who felt alone and needed hope.

He had only come to see you for a moment, and it had turned into something more of a habit. You had run right into him as you left a room at one point. Of course, you apologized profusely to which he simple shook his head telling you it was his fault. He had been in a memory forgetting where he was. You smiled at him and asked if he was lost…he fumbled through and told you he was just leaving. He apologized again and ran out of the place.

Ever since he took off, he’d been drawn back there, painfully aware of what he was doing to himself…but he didn’t care. His heart belonged to you even when you didn’t know you had it, “In some way…she’ll always need us. She still believes.”

“But not like she did.” Hades frowned at his brother’s words. Zeus looked at him before shaking his head, “Fine…do what you want, but seriously…if you must be here...maybe you should try to find her again instead of sitting by. Engage her…”

“She’s safer…” Hades opened his book again as he spoke.

“Yes, yes…that same old argument…” Zeus rolled his eyes, “I don’t care. You love her, more then you’ve loved anyone or anything…I only wish to see you happy, brother.”

Hades sighed before raising his head looking at him, “I know. In a way, I am happy. It’s just bittersweet, knowing she is safe, happy, and healthy…reaching her goals and dreams…”

Zeus stood up looking down at him, “Fair enough…I’m off, world to run you know?”

Hades watched him walk away surprised. It wasn’t like Zeus to give up so easily. Perhaps maturity had finally reached him, now that he had a mission to deal with. Finding their father was certainly more important than his love life.

“He’s not listening to me!” Zeus groaned as he fell onto the couch, arm draping over his face dramatically, “He’s just so…so…”

“Righteous?” Hera offered as she wrote notes at her desk.

“Yes!” He flipped over watching her and muttered into his arms, “Help me…”

“Excuse me?” Her hand stopped mid-sentence as she looked up to him, “Could you repeat that?”

“Ugh…” He sat up before putting his hands together in a pleading motion, “My dearest…beautiful…most intelligent wife…please help me save my brother’s marriage from the shambles our father left it in.”

Hera smirked before looking down to her work finishing her prior thought then put the pen down, “Alright, but we do it my way. Do you understand?”

Zeus was regretting agreeing to do it her way…it was…slow…

“Stop tapping your leg.” Hera looked at him across the table, “You said you’d do it my way…”

“I…did…” He stopped his leg watching her unwrap the hospital sandwich, “I just didn’t think it’d take weeks.”

“Love takes time dear, and there’s no guarantee what we’re about to attempt is going to work.” She sighed, “It took so long because I had to find a good distraction for Hades. We don’t need to him appearing and trying to stop us.”

“Oh, and what distraction did you give him?” Zeus finally began opening up the sandwich.

Hera smirked, “Poseidon. I told him what we were attempting to do, and he told me not to worry…he would handle it. Natural disaster was due to happen apparently…”

Zeus laughed a little his eyes glancing past her he cleared his throat, “She’s coming…”

“Just follow my lead.” Hera whispered to him glancing over as you took a seat at a nearby table, “You can’t be serious…”

He made a face before clearing his throat, “No…No I’m quite serious.”

“It’s been a year and it’s he still loves her…” Hera looked away from him shaking her head, “Why doesn’t he just talk to her?”

“Heh…I’ve asked him…” Zeus leaned back in his seat, “He’s says he’s protecting her. The distance is supposed to help her. He’s afraid he’ll hurt her again.”

“What a load of rubbish…” He glanced over seeing you looking at them quickly looking away as Hera began to speak, “It doesn’t make sense…they seemed so happy. I mean the first time he brought her over. She was so alive, and right away I could see her being a part of the family. It was just an accident…he had no control over any of it and he certainly didn’t mean for it to happen…”

“Yeah…he knows, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting to protect her…” He leaned forward reaching for Hera’s hand before he smiled, “Do you remember when they got stuck in the rain?”

“I don’t recall that…” Hera shook her head smiling at him.

“Ah you know big brother Nick…” He looked down, “She came to see me with some concerns…rode her bike to the park we met at. I guess on the way back it started to storm, and her bike broke down…it was a series of events one after another…he freaked out when he couldn’t get a hold of her. “

“So, he goes out and finds her stranded under a bridge. It’s pouring by this point…he’s in that once suit he wears all the time…” Zeus rolled his eyes.

“Oh, the black one, blue shirt…” Hera rattled off.

“That’s the one.” He nodded.

“I bought him that.” She smirked a little.

“Anyways… so they’re there…wet…cars are going by not helping and you know Nick...” He smiled laughing a little, “He’s gotta be so gallant, so he gives her his coat and they then I guess he looked into her eyes…and it was magic.”

“He said that.” Hera leaned forward leaning on her hand when he let go of hers, “What was so magically about it?”

“He said it was the first time, that he saw how much she cared about him. Living together for months, but he was so scared to see it…” Zeus looked down at his hands, “You know how much he went through after the war…how closed off he was. She could see all of it and she didn’t run away. Every scar…every dark spot… She never ran away from him…”

“To find someone who understands that…then to lose her…” Hera frowned reaching over taking Zeus’ hand in hers again, “I can’t imagine that pain. Isn’t there a way…to bring them back together?”

“I’ve tried…it’s something she has to do on her own…I thought he’d run after her, but he’s resigned himself to watching her from afar.” Zeus told her shaking his head.

“But he loves her, right? Love like that doesn’t just fade away, it leaves a mark…like a handprint…it lingers…” Hera glanced over to you sitting there. It was obvious that you’d been listening to bits of their conversation.

“I would hope so…even if their relationship started out as just some ridiculous deal…it grew into so much more.” He sighed heavily, “I know she’s left her mark on him and it won’t fade any time soon…”

“That’s right…she asked him for help, and he said he would if she would go with him…” Hera shook her head, “She was so brave. She didn’t even know him.”

“Yeah, he said the same thing. So human…” Zeus told her stopping as he felt a rumble under his feet.

“Dear…” Hera looked at him tilted her head with concern.

“I don’t know…” He looked around as everyone began to stand up. The rumbling intensified, “Hera…”

He stood up with her ready to whisk them away to safety, but she smiled looking toward you, “Something rises…”

Zeus followed her gaze looking at you as you sat there a soft aura beginning to move around you. A glow he recognized instantly, “Hera…”

“Everyone assumed it was about Cronus rising…” Hera smiled proudly at you, “But it was her sacrifices. It was her belief in us…in Hades…yes Cronus is out there, and he doesn’t need belief to use his powers…but Y/N…she never gave up hope for any of us…she was our hope. She is hope.”

“…hope…” Zeus smiled as you stood up looking over at them recognition evident in your eyes, “Y/N…”

“Where is he?” Tears streamed down you face as you looked at them, “Where is Hades?”

“Home…he’s at home.” Hera told you stepping forward pulling you into a hug, “You only need to think of him and I’m sure you’ll get there.”

Zeus stepped next to his wife as her arms fell to her sides, “My wife…so smart…catching all the details and knowing exactly how to bring out everything…”

“I like to pride myself in knowing a thing or two about true love.” She turned to Zeus giving him a kiss on the cheek, “Come…there’s much to plan for now…”

Hades stood in the tower looking out over the Styx’s shaking his head as he watched the souls move about. Why did his brothers always provide him with so much work? At least Poseidon had the courtesy to warn him this time…and he couldn’t blame him either…

Poseidon’s realm was the oceans themselves and humanity was slowly destroying it. So, every once in a great while he would bring forth a natural disaster to try and bring balance…it normally cost a great deal of life.

Maybe Zeus was right…he had not been prepared for this and he should have been. Building the Underworld was a massive undertaking at times. Souls needed a place to rest and the beaches were already so full from the wars humanity brought on themselves…

He looked up as his realm shook. Whatever quaked his realm was enough to send pieces of it flying…What was that? He moved to the other side of the tower to see if he could see what would cause such a disturbance.

His eyes scanned the rivers for any damage, but none could be found. He stood there watching souls of different colors moving toward Elysium getting lost in their peace. What would it be like to drift away to someplace eternal like that?

He tensed when he heard the door creak open. He quickly pushed himself out of sight behind a pillar. No one could come here without his knowledge and yet he didn’t feel anyone in his realm that shouldn’t be there.

He summoned his bident taking in a few deep breaths as he heard the person’s footsteps echo against the walls. Finally, they stopped and spoke making his heart thump hard against his chest, “Hades?”

He stepped out wincing a little as light blinded him. Slowly his eyes adjusted, and he saw you standing there in the center of the room. The bident dropped from his hand as he stepped out, he had to be dreaming, “Y/N….”

You turned quickly smile on your face. It was you…and it was more…He didn’t understand it and he didn’t care as you ran forward jumping into his arms giving him a kiss. Warmth spread through him like never before as your lips moved against his.

In a single moment, his world fell back into place. Tears fell from his eyes as he began to hold you. He could feel you…touch you…taste you. Finally, he pulled away to look at your face, “How? How is this possible?”

“I don’t know.” You whispered as his hands took hold of your face staring at you in awe and disbelief, “I don’t know…”

“This…shouldn’t…” He shook his head as he wiped away one f your tears. As it touched his thumb it seemed to glitter and glow into his skin sending warmth up his arm. His eyes widened as he felt your power surge into him as the words spilled from his mouth, “You’ve become a goddess…”

You shook your head before pushing up on your toes kissing him again. His arms slinked around your waist pulling your closer. Every touch seemed twice as sensitive than it used to be. He moaned against your mouth as you pulled away you nudged his nose with his, “How can I remember everything…I shouldn’t be able to…Cronus…”

His hands found your face again as he pressed his forehead against yours shaking his head, “I don’t know…I don’t care…you’re here…You’re here and I’m never letting you go again.”

“I’m home.” You whispered against his lips as he captured yours again. Gods it was better then before. Unable to control himself any longer he scooped you up before pushing your back up against one of the pillars.

Year long desires began to unfold from him, and you didn’t seem in any hurry to stop him. The dance was sensual and needy as his fingers traced your skin removing each article of clothing that kept you from him. He expected with each blink for you to disappear, but you never did.

Instead, you gave him constant reassurance as your own fingers danced across his scarred body. Clinging to him as his lips met with your skin burning his love to you in every way. When your lips met his skin sensations burst forth tingling like electric currents…what was it? Then I slowly came to him as you called out his name against his throat.

Love…he felt loved…every movement…every touch…every moan was unabated love for him.

You sat on top of him afterwards tracing his scars on his chest as he stared up at you. He reached up cupping your face and you smiled leaning into his touch. You looked so at peace and it made his heart soar. His hand trailed up your arm stopping over the mark he’d given you so long ago…it burned brightly still.

“I love you.” He whispered watching your eyes twinkle at his words, “So much…”

“And I love you.” You leaned forward kissing him before you spoke again. Your eyes were filled with such pain and saddness, “I’m so sorry…I had to get you away from him…”

He shook his head wrapping his arms around you as he sat up, “Never apologize for that…you did nothing wrong…except love a fool…”

“Hades…” You took his face in your hands caressing his cheek with your thumbs before he kissed your palms, “None of us knew what he had planned…”

“And we still don’t.” He sighed before pulling you closer, resting his head in the crook of his neck. He still couldn’t fathom that you were here with him. As a goddess no less, “How do you feel?”

“You didn’t hurt me…if that’s what you’re worried about…” You ran a hand through his hair getting him to shiver.

“I didn’t mean that…” He raised his head a little kissing your neck feeling your body tense instinctively to his touch, “I meant your powers…it has to feel strange…”

“I…” You looked down at him searching his face, “I don’t know…I mean…should I feel different?”

“I don’t know…I have never been human then a god before.” He smiled a little brushing your hair from your face, “But I imagine things are about to get very weird…for all of us.”

“What do you mean?” You mean you bit your bottom lip as your forehead rested against his.

“It’s been over a hundred years since we’ve had the birth of a new god…” He absently let his fingers trail up and down your thigh, “And Gy was just there…you… you however have become a goddess. Not just immortal…but as far as I can tell you are everything. You have belief…”

You stared into his eyes, “I don’t know what that means…”

He let out a sigh nodding before leaning up kissing you. As much as he desired to stay here with only you, it was time to find some answers. He pulled away nodding, “It’s time to find your answers…we need to go to Olympus…”

Standing with you he snapped his fingers dressing you both. You looked down at yourself wearing somewhat of matching clothes of his, but in your fashion, “Why do I get the feeling there is a lot more to it than just…hello…I’m goddess now…”

“As with anything to do with the gods…” He stepped to you before pulling you to his side smirking, “We must make a show of it…a coming out party if you will, but…”

“But…always a but…” You sighed hanging you head a little.

He lifted your chin meeting your eyes with his seeing such power behind them now, “But…I fear there may be a bigger concern. You have your memories back. It is likely Cronus knows and he will retaliate…”

You took in a deep breath nodding before you reached up touching his concerned face, “Then we’ll fight him together.”

Thank you my lovelies! It has been a wild ride hasn’t it! I have every intention beginning book two soon! I just want to start editing this book one first for a bit!(Thinking about sending it in and getting serious about it...we’ll see *shrugs*)

Too each and every single one of you I cannot express how much it means to me that you followed me along and I hope you continue to do so! Bigger and better things await our dear Hades as he goes up against Cronus and whoever else he broke out of jail...questions still need answering *eyebrow wiggle*

If you have questions please ask away! As I’m starting to edit it again, I’d love to hear from you about things that didn’t make sense. Things that maybe should have more emphasis, etc... I appreciate it advance!

Love you!

#ALL HAIL THE NEW QUEEN #all hail the new queen...#Hades #hades greek mythology #hades imagine #hades x reader #hades reader #hades/reader #zeus #hera #cronus #Greek #Greek Mythology #greek gods #Original Work #hades original work

306 notes · View notes

wangxiandecoded · 4 years

Text

Episode 5

Previous Episode | Next Episode

(Spoilers for the whole show ahead!)

Episode 5 is chock full of moments and fun romantic tropes that make it hard to believe this show passed the censorship.

Wei Ying has already taken Lan Zhan as his soulmate of many lifetimes and started confiding secrets in him. He gets dragged away to copy all the rules he broke but it’s ok Wei Ying, Lan Zhan has to notice the undeniable chemistry you share at some point.

The Yiling Patriarch Invented Gay Pining

The sheer amount of pining in this scene.. How did he not burn a hole through the library?

Guy takes a break from admiring the beauty of his crush, starts admiring his calligraphy instead.

The Many Names Wei Ying Calls Him

Calling your beloved by his every name to get his attention. Success! He responds to the name with intimate connotations. But oh no! He actually looked at you! What do you do now? Head empty. Quick! Ask him why he’s ignoring you and subtly remind him that he has the right to express his anger by using your formal name for completely logical reasons.

I understand Wei Ying's feelings, it must be maddening to meet the love of your life and want to skip to the domestic stages of romance, when he still considers you an unruly stranger who has no business with him.

Can we take a second to appreciate what a pure soul Wei Ying is for wanting to constantly do better and learn what he did for Lan Zhan to hate him so much? He apologizes not once but repeatedly for breaking the rules and assures Lan Zhan he would never attack him with the intention to harm. (Wei Ying sweetie, you did nothing wrong, he just isn't ready to admit you're melting his heart.)

All he wants is your attention. Just spare him some him, Lan Zhan! I have no clue how someone can say no to Wei Ying when he’s being this cute. Lan Zhan’s self-restraint must really be something else.

This line and Wei Ying's gay ass smile is so damning. I do not know how some Chinese censor officials did not have conniptions over this.. were they too blinded by heteronormativity, perhaps? Even Lan Zhan has had enough and charms him into silence.

Looking At Him When He’s Not Looking

Looking at your bro when you think he isn't aware you're looking at him, but he's actually painting a portrait of you when you aren't looking at him. I’m done with these idiots.

Wei Ying's heartfelt apology is obvious to us but Lan Zhan's definition of sincerity is abiding by the rules, which Wei Ying gives into for him, with a lot of effort. If that’s not love, what is?

More pining. Wei Ying makes one last attempt at wooing Lan Zhan for the day by giving him a parting gift. (For what exactly? Monitoring him while he carried out his punishment? Love is so irrational, y’all.)

The last touch he gives to Lan Zhan's portrait is adding a flower to his forehead ribbon. This is how Wei Ying really sees Lan Zhan - not as the intimidating Lan Wangji from Gusu Lan clan, but the guy he finds cute when he's lost in concentration. It pains me to see Wei Ying do so much to win his heart.

Lan Zhan Thinks Everything Wei Ying Does Is “Boring”

Wei Ying asks him to say something other than “boring” for a change and this is his reply. What makes their relationship so captivating is their contrasting personalities. Every time Lan Zhan thinks Wei Ying is being ridiculous and goes, “Boring,” I think he actually finds Wei Ying kind of amazing and that’s annoying because it is nothing but a hindrance to the way of life expected from him. It is boring and ridiculous to Lan Zhan that he is starting to get used to Wei Ying’s presence in his life. It is boring that he’s beginning to notice and personally care for a single person instead of the world. It is boring how someone is breaking the seamless silence Lan Zhan has spent most his life wrapped up in and suddenly making it overflow with words - words he does not vocalize but Wei Ying hears anyway. That’s what finding the right person feels like, after all. So it is boring that Wei Ying, with his stupid grin, is so close to coming into his life, throwing out the worldly matters Lan Zhan is supposed to be devoted to and asking him, “Lan Zhan, isn’t it funny that I’m your worldly matter now?”

I guess Wei Ying does get his wish in the end. Lan Zhan erupts and calls him "Wei Ying" for the first time ever because he made him open an erotic book, more specifically one that features explicit gay art. The production team is so slick, I felt giddy the first time I saw this. But still, I don’t think Lan Zhan was being fair, I’m sure he broke a rule that said it’s a great offense to reject someone’s gift.

Lan Zhan strikes me as a closeted baby gay raised on ascetic principles, and Wei Ying’s confident chaotic bi energy is predictably sending his poor world for a toss. No wonder he was ready to duel it out with him. What are the implications of this, Wei Ying? You showed a Lan clan member gay erotic art and assured him there is absolutely nothing wrong in enjoying it. Do you want to kill him?

And remember Wei Ying got this book from Nie Huaisang who has also been queer-coded. After a point, you lose sight of how many characters seem hella gay on this show.

Nonetheless, it is impressive that there is someone who can make the disciplined, detached Hanguang-Jun lose his calm and even get him to swear. Of course it ends up being something for Wei Ying to brag about later. It is indeed an accomplishment that few people can claim as their own.

Can We Buy An Island For Our President Zewu Jun?

Zewu Jun is not even being subtle here. Why is he smiling? Seriously, why?! The fact that his brother called this guy by his formal name which can be used only by people you're close to? The fact that he followed Wei Ying to the secluded part of the Cloud Recesses? Or because he was unable to find the real person since he's fixated on Wei Ying? Knowing our President, it's probably all of the above.

The show's clever usage of Zewu Jun as the emotional compass who points precisely to what Lan Zhan feels is definitely one of my favorite things. We see that Lan Zhan often says one thing about Wei Ying but means another and Zewu Jun is the stand-in for the audience who knows the truth.

We can see the contrast of a speechless Lan Zhan when Zewu Jun confronts him about wanting Wei Ying's company versus the facade he puts on when actually in Wei Ying's company. That's it for today's analysis, folks.

The Aqua Demon Hunt Is The First Testament To Their Chemistry

Wangxian end up sharing a room. (Do we have the President to thank for that?) Lan Zhan being all "Time for me to go meditate in solitude" and Wei Ying being ".... about how we belong together!"

Rewatching these scenes is definitely bad for my heart. The unconcealed disappointment on Wei Ying's face when Lan Zhan turns down his bet to prove their like-mindedness really sends. (Is this the ancient equivalent of a love calculator, Wei Ying? How did the Yiling Patriarch never invent a device like that, I wonder.)

Lan Zhan, did he really deserve this? He just wants to show you what an incredible, unmatchable team you both will make! And he is so good at reading your mind.

Just smiling at the fact that your bro exists for no apparent reason in middle of a hunt. Wei Ying sure has his priorities straight, even if nothing else in his life is.

Wangxian Are The Dream Team

Wei Ying distracting the water ghost and saving Lan Zhan at the same time so effortlessly? A stroke of admirable genius! I probably need to start a separate post to keep track of all the times Wangxian's teamwork puts everyone else to shame. Notice how every time Lan Zhan said "boring" in this episode, it was directed only at Wei Ying’s romantic gestures.

It's that little shoulder bump that screams "I'm sorry I splashed water at you, I did out of my love for you, okay?"

I'm sorry Wei Ying, he just needs more time to process the fact that you are the unrivalled candidate for a cultivation partner he has ever come across. And if you ever get confused why Zewu Jun is mysteriously smiling at various points in the show, it's probably a "My brother is falling in love, good for him, good for him" smile.

Wei Ying’s little head tilt after they both defeat the water ghost that came for their boat that says, “See? We belong together.”

When Lan Zhan learns why Suibian is called so and thinks, "My crush is a fucking idiot, love that for me.“

Wei Ying always understands what Lan Zhan is thinking or wants to say without him having said a word. Soulmates.

Thank you water ghosts for ensuring they both end up on the same boat and giving them the chance to display their spectacular synchronization. Maybe it’ll help Lan Zhan wake up.

I rejoice every time there is a juxtaposition of Wangxian with the straight couples because it proves our main characters are travelling the same romantic arc the others are.

Saving Him For The First Time

Lan Zhan rescues Wei Ying in the nick of time! Sure, that’s the Right Thing to do but do you see his expression? That’s unbridled shock that Wei Ying is going to die. And the matter of utmost importance to Wei Ying in this life-or-death situation is the fact that Lan Zhan isn't holding his hand after the "intimate" experiences they’ve shared. I cannot.

Ok Lan Zhan.. You don't touch people.. Let’s see who the exception is. But honestly we get it, just swooping in to save him was a lot to handle, holding his hand would have been a gay apocalypse on your heart.

Wei Ying Is Growing On Lan Zhan

Lan Zhan finally admits Wei Ying could be right, because annoying as he is, his deductions are brilliant.

We learn Lan Zhan is secretly craving loqauts but throws it back when Wei Ying gives him one. Zewu Jun offers to buy loquats for Lan Zhan, again hinting at his repressed feelings for Wei Ying.

When we hear a vendor selling Emperor's Smile, do we see Lan Zhan's anti-Wei Ying persona begin to crack or am I seeing things?

The episode ends with someone (Wei Ying) taking two bottles of Emperor's Smile and paying for it. Whatever happens, Wei Ying is going to sneak his misconduct into the Cloud Recesses and his way into Lan Zhan’s unfaltering heart.

All in all, this was an episode that opened the possibility of Lan Zhan maybe starting to accept that Wei Ying is a nuisance he likes having around. At the very least, he wants to live in a world where Wei Ying is alive and being his unbelievable self. He’s a man of few words and many micro expressions so that’s why it’s so golden on the rare occasions he does slip up and show that he cares about Wei Ying, like saving him in this episode. His actions speak louder than his words, and they ring louder still as show progresses and he becomes the main line of defense between Wei Ying and anyone who so much as thinks about harming him.

Episode 5 drives it home that Wangxian have chemistry that is to be envied and worth investing in. We get the sense that these two are going to be together for a long ass time.

123 notes · View notes

what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

Text

Stark Spangled Destiny

Ch 3: F**K You, Mr Stark...

Chapter Summary: Katie’s whacked out journey through her subconscious continues and she’s taken back to a time full of Hammer Drones, Senate Hearings and a Pirate Goth…

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Please let me know what you think- comments and re-blogs muchly appreciated.

“Oh come on Kiddo…” Tony sighed as Katie got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. “You hardly spoke two words to me over dinner. I thought by taking you for your favourite double cheese and chilli fries you might have calmed down by now.”

“Well you thought wrong.” She seethed as she turned to look at him. “What the hell were you thinking? Why didn’t you just stick to the cover that Coulson gave you?”

“Why should I?” Tony looked at her “It’s my suit. I made it, I own it…”

“God, you are so fucking arrogant.” she glared at him, storming up to the door of the mansion. “Look, will you just chill out!” Tony followed behind her “You saw the reaction, everyone loved it.” “Oh get your head out of your ass Tony!” she wheeled around, blazing as she pressed her hand to the entry pad to the side of the door “You just painted a huge Target on our heads!”

“On my head…” “Yeah, and by proxy that includes ME!” she shook her head, walking into the house as the door clicked open “Jesus Fucking Christ.”

She stepped into the entrance hall, Tony following her. “JARVIS.” he called.

“I am Iron Man.” The person spoke, not moving “You think you’re the only Superhero in the world.” The man, dressed in a long black trench coat turned and began to walk forward a little as Tony did the same, Katie following. “Mr Stark you just became part of a bigger universe, you just don’t know it yet.” Tony looked at his sister, then to the mystery man, frowning “Who the hell are you?” The man walked forward into the light of the lamp by the sofa and Katie looked at him. He was tall, black and bald, an eyepatch covering his left eye “Nick Fury, director of SHIELD.” He said simply.

“Oh.” Tony replied as if someone breaking in to their home was a regular, every day occurance.

“I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.”

“The what?” Katie asked.

“An initiative that SHIELD has.” Fury looked at her “An idea, to bring together a group of people with powers and abilities to keep the world safe.” “Powers and abilities?” she dead panned, arching an eyebrow. “What, like…Superman?”

“No, he doesn’t exist.” Fury shook his head simply, unperturbed by her blatant sarcasm “I’m thinking more along the lines of extraordinary people, if you get my drift.”

“Like who?” Tony asked, his tone clearly disbelieving.

“2 of my agents, the best I have” Fury said “And I am considering you and Dr Bruce Banner. If we can track him down that is.”

“Banner?” Katie frowned “Who’s that?”

“And unlike the ones Captain Rogers got they’re not permanent.” Fury finished

“What do you mean?” Katie asked.

“9 times outta ten he’s Dr Bruce Banner.” Fury continued “But when the Hulk as they call him takes over…well he’s big, green, and he struggles to control himself.”

“And you clearly have no idea where he is.” Tony spoke “Which isn’t surprising” he turned to Katie “The story I heard is that he found out the army wanted to use him as a weapon so he went underground.”

“Right.” She nodded, turning to Fury “And now you guys at SHIELD want him as a weapon? Along with tony and these 2 other agents?”

“Not weapons, no.” Fury shook his head “As a last line of defence.”

“Defence from what?” Tony looked back at Fury.

“Threats you couldn’t even begin to understand.” Fury said simply

“I’m pretty good at understanding most things, being a genius and all so try me.” Tony demanded.

“I’m well aware this all sounds a little crazy, Mr Stark but believe me when I say you simply have to trust me on this.”

“Alright.” He shrugged, and with that he walked towards the pair of them, pausing as he reached their side. “Just give it some thought.”

“I won’t.” Tony said simply.

Fury sighed and turned his attention to Katie “Agent Coulson was impressed with you yesterday. SHIELD could use someone of your calibre.”

“Me?” Katie frowned “For what? I don’t have a suit…” “Not all superheroes wear fancy outfits” Fury said simply, “And not all heroes are super.” Katie blinked “Like I said, give it some thought. You have Agent Coulson’s number.

And with that he turned and headed through the door, leaving the siblings looking at one another in stunned silence.

Katie turned to Tony “Goth pirate…man, the first time you said that I nearly died. Did you see my face?”

Tony grinned and Natasha smiled “You know, it was actually one of his favourite nicknames.” “No kiddin’?” Tony turned to look at her. Natasha nodded and Katie snorted at her brother who simply gave a huff of laughter. The three of them left past Tony and Katie who were furiously in discussion about their encounter with the Director and the door shut behind them as they strode into the dark Malibu night.

“Ok, so where’s next on this whacked out, fucked up dream trip?” Katie asked as Tony pulled the car out of the gate and onto the freeway.

Which, Katie had to remind herself, they didn’t.

She followed Tony, taking in the familiar décor of the inside of the building, before she stopped as she looked at the large set of double doors at the end.

“Oh my God…please tell me this is the Senate Armed Services Committee meeting?” she turned to her brother, a smile on her face.

“You know what…this has to be one of my favourite Tony Stark moments ever!” Katie turned to look at her brother.

Tony looked at her, smiling “Yeah, you’ve said that once or twice.”

Katie elbowed Tony and he turned around “Yes dear?”

“Can I have your attention?” Stern asked.

“Absolutely.”

“Do you or do you not possess a specialised weapon?” Stern looked.

“He does not.” Katie shook her head, looking at the Senator who was trying to keep his face straight at the fact she was answering, not Tony. As part owner of Stark Industries she was also under scrutiny too, but she was both Legally and Commercially trained, and Stern knew his. He was going after Tony, because he was known to be the flashy, flamboyant one, the one that in their opinion would slip up. But she knew Tony. Well. Better than anyone. And for that fact she knew that Stern was seriously underestimating him.

This was going to be fun.

“You do not?” Stern looked at her.

“We do not.” She shook her head.

“The Iron Man weapon.”

“No, my sister is right. My device does not fit that description.” Tony shook his head.

“Well… how would you describe it?” Stern asked, leaning forward.

“I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator.”

“As?”

“It’s a weapon. It’s a weapon, Mr Stark. And we’re here today to...”

“Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen…”

“My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America.” Stern spoke simply, looking at Tony.

“Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man.”

“The suit and Tony are one.” Katie shrugged “To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over Tony.” “Which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending or what state you’re in.” Tony shrugged as more laughter rang out

“You can’t have it.” Katie shrugged.

“Look, I’m no expert…” Stern began but Tony cut him off.

“I’m no expert in weapons. But, we have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I’d now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor.”

“Absolutely. I’m no expert. I defer to you, Anthony.” Hammer looked at Tony, gesturing to him with his hand “You’re the wonder boy.”

Tony arched an eyebrow a Hammer continued.

“Senator, if I may…” the man stood up. “I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad. Howard Stark.” He looked at Katie and Tony. “Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age. Let’s just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion.”

Tony took a deep breath and Katie gently dropped her hand onto his, giving it a discrete squeeze as Tony looked up at Stern, before his eyes flickered back to Hammer.

At that Katie rolled her eyes as Hammer moved to take a seat.

“Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America.”

There was muted applause, the most of it coming from the Senators and Stern leaned forward again

“That is well said Mr Hammer. The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber.”

“Rhodey?” Katie frowned, looking at Tony who was also frowning.

“What?”

The cameras started flashing again and they both turned to see Rhodey walking towards the front. Tony got up and headed down the aisle a little to greet him, shaking his hand.

“Hey, buddy. I didn’t expect to see you here”

“Katie didn’t catch the rest of their hushed conversation, but she watched as Tony and Rhodey approached the bench, Rhodey smiling softly at her.

“Hey Kiddo.” He greeted as he took a seat between her and Hammer.

There was a little introduction to the room about Rhodey being the USAF Weapons Procurement Liaison, before Stern finally got to the exact reason he’d called Rhodey to the hearing.

“I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, complied by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?”

Katie felt herself grow cold as she glanced at Rhodey who was frowning.

“You’re requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?”

“Yes, sir.”

“It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner” Rhodey said calmly.

“I understand. A lot of things have changed today.”

“I bet they have.” Katie said loudly. Stern turned to glare at her and she folder her arms, her gaze never faltering. Eventually he turned away and looked at Rhodey.

“So if you could just read…”

“You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my final…”

“Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you.”

“Very well” Rhodey opened his report to the relevant page and took a breath “As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests.”

He glanced then to Katie, the pair of them looking at Tony as he was lounging back in the chair, his face devoid of any humour as Rhodey started to talk again.

“I did however, go on to summarise that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh three liabilities and that it would be in our interest…”

“That’s enough Colonel” Stern but in but Rhodey continued.

“ …to fold Mr Stark…”

“That’s enough”

“…into the existing chain of command, Senator.”

“I’m not a joiner, but I’ll consider Secretary of Defence, if you ask nice.” Tony said, to laughter form the crowd. “We can amend the hours a little bit.”

Besides her Rhodey sighed, reaching for his glass of water, taking a sip

“I’d like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that’s connected to your report.” Stern ignored Tony and looked a Rhodey.

“Imagery?” Katie asked, as Rhodey shook his head.

“I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time.”

“With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you could just narrate those for us, we’d be very grateful”

Rhodey shrugged, defeated and waved his hand at the screen to their left “Let’s have the images.”

“Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr Stark’s suit….”

Katie kept one eye on the images and then noticed Tony lounge in his chair as he pulled out his StarkPhone as Rhodey continued.

“This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground…indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational.”

“Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here.” Tony said, leaning forward and holding his device in front of him, tapping at it. As he did so, a separate box on the screen full of small lines of code, and the words “Welcome Mr Stark popped up. “Boy, I’m good. I commandeered your screens.” Tony said as voices began to chatter. He turned to the right and did the same to the screen at that side. “I need them. Time for a little transparency.”

He leaned back in his chair, still looking at his device as he lay it flat on the desk. “Now, let’s see what’s really going on.”

“What is he doing?” Stern asked.

“Adding a little objectivity.” Katie smirked as Tony took a breath.

“If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that’s North Korea.”

Tony tapped a few times and a video of a crude suit began to play. The suit didn’t work very well at all and fell over, its guns cracking the camera screen.

“Can you turn that off? Take it off.” Stern said loudly as talking broke out behind them, and Justin Hammer stood up.

“Is that Justin Hammer?” she said, grinning, because it was clear it was, compounded by the small Hammer Advanced Weapons Systems logo in the bottom left hand corner. “How did Hammer get in the game?”

“Okay, give me a left twist. Left’s good.” Hammer’s voice sounded from the TV “Turn to the right. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.”

“Language Justin.” Katie grinned as Hammer found the plug and the screen went dark.

“I think we’re done is the point that he’s making.” Stern spoke as he stood up “I don’t think there’s any reason…”

“The point is, you’re welcome, I guess” Tony said lazily, waving his hand.

“For what?”

“Because I’m your nuclear deterrent. It’s working. We’re safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can’t have it.” Tony said, his last few words punctuated by his hand slapping the desk. “But I did you a big favour.” At that he stood up and Katie looked at him, grimacing as he smirked “I’ve successfully privatised world peace.”

Both his hands made the peace signs and everyone in the room stood up, all talking at once and applauding. Katie looked at Pepper who was shaking her head, her face stony.

“What more do you want? For now!” Tony clapped as he turned around, gesturing to the members of the committee “I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns.”

Katie groaned and then her head whipped to Stern as he sat down and spoke into the mic, his professional front completely gone.

“Fuck you, Mr Stark. Fuck you, buddy.” He seethed. Tony cupped his hand round his ear, mockingly as he smirked and picked up his sunglasses. “We’re adjourned. We’re adjourned for today.”

Tony put on the glasses and grinned at Stern “Okay.” he gave Stern the thumbs up.

“You’ve been a delight.” Stern snarked as Tony began to blow him kisses.

“Fuck you, Mr Stark…oh, it’s a classic.” She wiped her eyes, turning back to her brother.

Tony grinned, before he sighed, looping an arm round he shoulder. “Fun times huh…”

“Fun might not be the word I would use but…it was certainly entertaining.”

“Which is why I thought we could see it again.” Tony grinned “A little reminder of just how you were by my side, once again.”

“I hate to break it to you but this next bit isn’t quite so hilarious.” Natasha said, moving forward so she was at the side of Katie.

“We had some good times” “Yeah, until we brought it all crashing down.” Katie said, peering up at the place she had once-upon-a-time worked.

Natasha gave a huff of laughter as Tony drove through the magically opened barrier at the end of the avenue and into the car park.

“I’m sitting this one out.” Tony shrugged, looking around “Hmm, maybe I’ll take a walk, try and find a cheeseburger. Man I miss those.”

Katie looked at him, snorting as Natasha nudged her, signalling for her to follow. They headed into the familiar building and over to the elevator, the same one Steve had some 16 years previously catapulted them out of.

“Least I’m going up, not out the side and down…” She mused.

“Natalie Rushman…” she quipped and Natasha looked at her, her eyebrows raised, smiling slightly.

“Stark is drawing un wanted attention to himself. As the Senate Hearing last week proved.” Coulson stated “I don’t think that’s the last we’ve heard of that particular issue either.” “Yeah, well, I don’t trust Stern, as you know. There’s something about him…” Fury took a breath and stood up. “Ok. Romanoff, I want you in Stark Industries so you can get me a detailed appraisal of both the Stark siblings and let’s see how far this illness Tony is suffering goes.”

“Both of them?” Natasha looked at Fury who nodded.

“Coulson likes the girl.” Fury stated and Coulson turned to Natasha, handing her a manilla file with Katie’s photo on the front. “She’s smart, brave too as I saw a few months ago.”

“What’s her background?” Natasha asked, taking the file and opening it.

“Useful.” Natasha mused and Coulson nodded.

“She currently heads up the Legal and Commercial team for Stark Industries International. She’s not a bad shot with a gun either, she hit a water pipe straight where she aimed at from almost 200 yards out” Coulson shrugged “With a bit of training, I think she’d be a real asset.”

“You got 48 hours to come up with a plan on how to get in and a cover.” Fury spoke to Romanoff and Natasha nodded. Fury then looked at Coulson “Is the fact Miss Stark seems to be, err, romantically involved with Ward going to be a problem with this?”

Coulson shook his head “Ward has no idea that we’re even considering recruiting her. And I’ll ensure its kept that way.”

“Ward’s sharp enough to recognise that if he does encounter me whilst I’m in position he won’t blow my cover.” Natasha nodded “He knows the script.”

“Good because that is a complication we do not need…” Fury levelled her with a look and Natasha smirked, as she glanced down at a page in the file.

“From Jonny Storm to Grant Ward…” she closed the file “bit of a difference.” She grinned “Suppose you can’t blame a girl for wanting something a little hot every now and then.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.” Fury looked at Natasha who shook her head.

“He’s not my type.”

“Which one, Storm or Ward?” Coulson asked.

Natasha shrugged “Either.”

Coulson smiled, his eye twinkling as Fury looked at Natasha before he met Coulson’s gaze, shrugging.

“By the way, have we any idea on the whereabouts of Dr Banner?”

“Not yet.” Coulson shook his head “But we’ll keep looking.”

Natasha turned to Katie “I wanted you to see, that even before that little business with the Hammer drones we were thinking of recruiting you. Coulson saw something in you. Something special, that I saw too. Despite your constant protests to the contrary.”

Katie blinked, her eyes filling a little with tears as she shook her head “I was nothing special, SHIELD made me what I was.” “Bullshit.” Natasha shook her head, gently squeezing Katie’s arm as they watched Fury dismiss Coulson and Past Natasha. “You were our Supernova from the start.” Katie looked at her, sniffing a little as Natasha pulled her in for a hug “And you’re still a goddamned superhero, suit or not.”

She walked through to the main living room and gave a little yell of surprise as Natalie was sat on the couch, along with a familiar face.

“What the…” she looked at Fury as he stood up. “Natalie…what…” And then it dawned on her… “You’re one of them? You’re SHIELD?” “Miss Stark, allow me to introduce Agent Natasha Romanoff. One of the 2 I was telling you about”

“Well...” Katie blew out her breath “Fuck me.” “Yeah, it was kind of a shock.” Katie looked at Natasha as they watched the scene in front of them evolving as it changed again to reveal Agents now moving around their Malibu home in the daylight which was a little bit broken from the events of the party. “But at that point I was kind of past the point of disbelieving anything. Especially after Monaco.” “In my defence…” Tony piped up as he appeared besides Katie. “I was dying.”

“Yeah…which is why we found you inside a huge Randy’s Donut sign, eating a real donut without a fucking care in the world.” Natasha looked at Tony as Katie sniggered.

“Sir! I’m gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut.” She mimicked Fury’s voice “Man...you still wouldn’t come down, it took me threatening to climb up there myself for you to listen”

Tony shrugged “I’d already told him, I didn’t want to join his super-secret boy band.”

“Lucky for you we ignored you.” Natasha shrugged “Well, I say ignored…it was quite the opposite actually. You’d become a pain in our ass.”

“Yeah, yeah, you had bigger problems in the southwest, I remember.” Tony said “Namely Point Break.”

“You told Tony that he hadn’t tried everything.” Katie looked at Fury “What do you mean he hasn’t tried everything? What hasn’t he tried?”

“He said that Tony was the only person with the means and knowledge to finish what he started.” Fury looked at her, then to her brother as he took a sip of his water.

“He said that?” Tony raised his eyebrows, clearly not believing a word Fury was saying.

“Are you that guy? Are you? ‘Cause if you are, then you can solve the riddle of your heart.”

Katie looked at Tony as she shook his head. “I don’t know where you get your information, but he wasn’t my biggest fan.”

“What do you remember about your dad?” Fury asked and Katie took in a deep breath and looked at Tony.

“He was cold, he was calculating. He never told me he loved me. He never even told me he liked me…”

“Tony…” Katie started to protest but he ignored her.

“That’s not true.” Katie sighed, and Fury pointed at her

“She’s right. It’s not.”

“As a matter of fact, I did.” Fury placed his glass down and glanced at his watch “He was one of the founding members of SHIELD.”

Katie blinked and looked at Agent Romanoff who had appeared behind her

“What?” Tony sat up straight.

“I still don’t know why he never told us…” Katie looked at Tony as they watched their past selves bombarding Fury with questions which he deflected.

“Beats me…” Tony shrugged “But he was a man of many mysteries, as this proves…”

Katie’s eyes tracked Fury as he left before she turned back to look at herself, her brother and Agent Coulson.

“I think I got it, yeah.”

“Wait, do I need to stay here too? Katie looked at Coulson “Because just to warn you, I’ll likely end up killing him before any blood poisoning does.” “Err, I can hear you.” Tony glared at her

“Good”

Coulson shrugged “That’s up to you Miss Stark” he then turned to Tony “Enjoy your evening’s entertainment.” He nodded to the box as he left.

Katie let out a sigh and sank into a chair.

“You heard what he just said. You can go.” Tony looked at her. “Yeah, well, as much as I would love to jump on a plane and head to New York right now, I can’t leave you like this Tone.” Katie ran her hands over her face “What kind of sister would that make me?” Tony looked at her taking a deep breath before he glanced at the box again and grimaced. “Think I might burn that.” “Don’t.” Katie said gently.

“Why not? I don’t care much to see what dearest daddy left for us.” “For you.” Katie looked at him. “What he left for you…” “You know, that was the only reason I opened that damned box.” Tony said softly and Katie turned to look at him “Like I said, I didn’t care and I didn’t believe a word Fury was saying but you, that simple phrase, reminding me that he left it for me specifically spurred me to do it.”

“Without that you would have died.” Katie said gently

“I did.” He grinned, shrugging.

“I mean then” Katie glared at him “Man I was so angry at you when I found out the palladium was poisoning you and you hadn’t told me.”

“I didn’t want to worry you.” He shrugged, watching as their past selves both took a hold of a handle of the box each and picked it up “Looking back on it, now I realise I was doing that anyway with my erratic behaviour.”

“Are you getting it yet?” Natasha said gently and Katie looked at her “All these seemingly small decisions you made and these apparent innocuous little statements…they all formed something so much bigger than you could ever have dreamed of.”

Katie looked down at her feet and swallowed.

“It isn’t about being Supernova, or an Avenger, or a perfect human.” Tony smiled “It’s about being Katie Stark, the person you are.” “Yeah, hold that thought because this next memory we’re gonna visit…” Natasha smiled “This one was kind of a big decision…”

****

“So she’s worth a shot?” Fury lounged in his chair, looking at Natasha as she sat opposite him. The pair were sat in an abandoned warehouse that appeared to be serving as some kind of temporary housing facility for SHIELD. There were 3 large displays in front of them, all being projected from the same type of metal box Fury had left at the mansion, and nothing else in the room bar a desk and a few chairs.

“I believe so. But, the thing is, I don’t think you’ll get one without the other…and my assessment of Tony isn’t quite as favourable.”

“Then we’ll just have to pique her interest so to speak…” Fury shrugged.

Natasha frowned “New Mexico?” and Fury gave a little smirk, causing Nat to snort “Good luck with that.”

“You make your own luck.” Fury said simply “In the meantime, I have another assignment for you. I need you to trail Dr Banner. If this item in New Mexico is what we think, then things are starting to get a little…weird shall we say.”

Natasha nodded “I’ll get right on it” and with that she stood up, nodding to the files on the desk. “Let me know how you get on.” “When do I ever need to let you know anything?” Fury looked at her “You know more than me half the time.” Natasha laughed “Now we know that isn’t true, don’t we Nick?”

“You absolute shits!” Katie looked at Natasha, tearing her eyes from the past version of the red head who was leaving Fury’s office. “That whole thing with Thor’s hammer…it was a ruse to get me into SHIELD.”

Natasha shrugged.

“I always thought it was because of what I did in New Mexico that I got offered a position but it was you all along, not Coulson like I thought!”

Natasha smiled “Coulson stuck you on the radar, but it was my decision to put you forward. A decision I’m proud of and would make a hundred times over.” “It was a shit decision.” Tony sniffed “You knocked me back.”

“That was more of an ego check than anything.” Natasha shrugged “I think deep down Fury always knew the way it would go.” She looked back at Katie “You proved me, and Coulson for that matter, right with your actions in New Mexico. Showed the exact level of compassion, bravery and initiative that we expected.”

Katie blinked and shook her head “I was just a normal person.” “You were, are a Stark.” Nat said simply “And SHIELD was all the better for it. It was your dad’s legacy after all.”

The scene in front of them faded and then, in the same offices, Katie saw herself and Tony sat at a desk.

“Should you be looking at that?” Katie asked as she sat next to Tony who had picked up the manilla file which was emblazoned with the words “AVENGERS INIAITIVE PRELIMINARY REPORT. Before Tony could reply a hand pinned the report down and they both looked up at Fury who was leaning slightly over the desk.

“I don’t think I want you looking at that.” He levelled Tony with a look as he sat down opposite them at the other side of the desk. “I’m not sure it pertains to you anymore. Now this on the other hand…” he said, picking up another file off the desk “…is Agent Romanoff’s assessment of you. Read it.” He instructed, handing Tony the file.

“Errr….” Tony scanned the page “’Personality overview. Mr Stark displays compulsive behaviour…’”

Katie snorted and Tony looked at Fury “In my own defence that was last week”

Fury looked at him and Tony gave a small sigh and continued “’Prone to self-destructive tendencies.’ I was dying. I mean, please. Aren’t we all? ‘Textbook narcissism’?”

“Agreed.” Katie jumped in and Tony turned to look at her as she shrugged. He arched an eyebrow, holding her gaze for a moment before he looked back at the report.

“Okay, here it is. ‘Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes.’ I gotta think about it.”

“Read on.” Fury replied.

“ ‘Tony Stark not… Not recommended”? That doesn’t make any sense.” He dropped the file to the desk. “How can you approve me but not approve me?”

Katie’s eyes tracked Fury as he got up out of his chair with a heavy sigh as Tony continued.

“I got a new ticker. I’m trying to do right by Pepper. I’m in a stable-ish relationship.”

Fury perched on the edge of the desk by Katie and looked at Tony. “Which leads us to believe at this juncture we’d only like to use you as a consultant.”

At that he turned to leave. Katie made to follow but Fury signalled for her to stay in her seat.

“Then again…” Tony turned back round “I will waive my customary retainer in exchange for a small favour. Rhodey and I are being honoured in Washington and we need a presenter.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Fury said simply “Now, if you would be so kind, I’d like 5 minutes with your sister.”

Tony looked at Katie who nodded. “I’ll be in the car, Kiddo.”

Once he was gone, Fury turned to her “Miss Stark, like I said to you 6 months ago, SHIELD could use someone of your calibre.” Katie smiled and shook her head “I’m sorry Sir. I’m flattered, I really am but…” she took a deep breath “This, well it really isn’t for me.”

Fury sighed, “I thought you might say that. In that case, would you, perhaps, consider also joining us as a consultant?”

“Consulting on what?”

“You’re fairly knowledgeable on Mythology, am I right?” “I did a degree and had a few papers published.” She frowned “Why?”

“This pressing issue in the South West.” Fury said, walking to one of the screens and pressing a button. “I’d like your take on it.”

Katie’s eyes fell open as she glanced at a picture of a huge crater, and inside it looked like…

“No…no way.” She mumbled, standing up. “That’s…no, I mean…what the hell is that?”

“The official story is its part of a satellite.” Fury shrugged “Does it look like a satellite to you?”

“No, it looks like Mjolnir, the fabled hammer of Thor…” she said, before she scoffed, shaking her head “This is a plant. A fake, a hoax…” she looked at Fury “There has to be some kind of explanation.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Fury shrugged “But the thing is, when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how utterly ludicrous, has to be the truth…and, well, we’re running out of impossible to eliminate”

Katie looked back at the photo, shaking her head “No, no way…” “Miss Stark, when I said I’d seen things you couldn’t even begin to imagine I meant it.” He looked at her, and Katie swallowed as she stared back at him. “Now. I’d very much like for you to take a look and confirm that I’m crazy.”

“Where is it?” she asked after a short pause.

“New Mexico, about 30 miles South of Santa Fe.” “There’s a professor I know, based in Seville” Katie looked at Fury “He’s an expert I consulted a few times over my degree. Elliot Randal his name is. It’s probably worth giving him a call.”

“I’ll get onto it.” Fury nodded “And as for you, well, I can have a jet ready to fly you out there within the hour.”

Katie glanced at the photo, everything inside of her was screaming that his was ridiculous, farfetched, down right ludicrous…but there was just that small part of her brain that was niggling. If it was what she thought it was, then she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be part of the team that identified it. Imagine what that would mean for man-kind going forward.

She inhaled, letting the breath out of her nose before she gave Fury a curt nod. “Ok. I’ll go.” “Really?” Tony scoffed as Katie watched herself, shaking hands with Fury “It was that easy?”

“I was curious.” Katie shrugged. “And I’m glad I was. That decision to go to New Mexico…without it, I would never have joined SHIELD. Might never have met Steve….I’m guessing that’s what this little flashback is about?”

“Hmmm, possibly not but one thing is for sure, you wouldn’t have been the one sent to that Boxing Gym. And whether or not Steve has ever told you this, you were the reason he took that mission inadvertently.” “He would have done it anyway given the Tesseract…” “But he trusted you right from the start, and that swayed him.” Natasha pressed. “And then when you fought alongside him in Stuttgart, captured Loki, then the battle in New York...all of that just solidified the fact in his mind you were a good person. It might not have been love at first sight but he trusted you, confided in you. You worked side by side, grew close both in and out of work, and he fell in love with you. You understood him, could cope with his lifestyle because you lived it.”

Katie blinked as what Natasha was saying began to sink in. “So this…” she waved her hand “Me seeing this now, isn’t simply a reminder of me making a decision that in the end led to me becoming an Avenger. It’s about me making a decision that meant Steve and I made it.?”

Natasha nodded.

“Because we never would have done if I didn’t understand what SHIELD and the Avengers were about on a simple day-to-day basis.” Kate finished.

Natasha beamed, “You made it easy for him to love you and possible for him to envisage a future with you because you lived the life he was all about. Shared life experience, so to speak.”

#stark spangled destiny #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers #katie stark #tony stark #natasha romanoff

53 notes · View notes

onlyfireandphoenix · 4 years

Text

The Golden Rules (from the Golden Boy Himself)

Summary: Dick tries to teach Tim how to be a good brother (as well as a semi-normal human) through love and affection

Dick had called an emergency meeting of Robins, which meant that it was just him and Tim sitting in the living room with a tray of Alfred’s cookies.

“Tim, we need to talk,” Dick was surprisingly serious, which was not comforting coming from the person who never learned to be serious outside of his masked life. Tim knew that something bad must have happened. What had he done this time? Was he going to get kicked out of the Robin mantle?

Dick looked at him, and frowned, “Tim we have a problem.” Oh no, he knew it. He was getting kicked out of the mantle and he didn’t even know what he did. “You are way too serious.” Wait… what? Tim glanced at Dick trying to puzzle out what he heard. Surely he must have heard wrong.

“Tim, you are like what? Ten?”

“Twelve,” Tim said indignantly.

Dick plowed right through like he hadn’t heard. “No ten year old should be as serious or reserved as you. It’s not healthy.”

Sooo…. Tim wasn’t getting kicked out? This was only an intervention! He couldn’t believe that Dick would call an emergency meeting to tell him that he needed to be less serious.

“So, I thought that I will teach you how to be less serious.” Because he was the perfect example of less serious of course. Still out of respect for Dick and not wanting to hurt his feelings, Tim stayed.

“Great! Now, lesson number is one everyone always needs a hug. You can never give too many hugs.”

Tim frowned at Dick. He knew that Boy Wonder was much more knowledgeable in the area of physical contact, but he clearly remembered Batman’s face last time Dick tried to hug him. “Are you sure about this? Bruce never seems to like it when you hug him.”

Dick pouted at Tim. “Tim… you don’t trust me?”

And there were those stupid puppy dog eyes. Why did Dick always pull those puppy dog eyes on him? Any why did they work every single time? Tim sighed, and Dick gave a gleeful squeal and hugged Tim as if to prove his point.

After few weeks of not so subtly drilling this lesson into Tim’s head, Dick watched from a distance as after a long patrol, a exhausted Tim Drake shuffled over to where Batman was sitting in the cave and gave him a hug that might have been more of a collapse than a hug, but still, it was progress.

The first time Tim had tried Dick’s advice, Dick remembered watching Bruce stiffen like a board under the tiny boy’s embrace. It took a week and much encouragement from Dick for Tim to try it again. Dick might or might not have given many lectures to an emotionally constipated bat behind the scenes, but Tim did try again, and this time Batman did not stiffen. From then on it was smoother sailing. And Tim had begun hugging people on a much regular basis. Now even the emotionally constipated bat was getting use to the idea that it was not only Dick that gave hugs and that maybe normal people hugged each other more than just on their birthdays.

Now that stage one was completed, Dick decided that it was time to move on to step two.

Tim sighed as Dick called another emergency meeting. He wondered if this one was an actually emergency. Knowing Dick he doubted it, but he still went anyway, if only to humor Dick.

“It is time for lesson two,” Dick said in all seriousness. So no, it was not an actual emergency. Figures. “You need to know how to cuddle.” Was he serious? But knowing Dick, yes, unfortunately he was completely serious. “Cuddling on the couch is important in everyone’s life, so you need to get acquainted with it.” Dick decided to work on cuddling while watching Lilo and Stitch, which if Tim was honest, he wasn’t opposed to.

Dick felt a surge on glee as one night after he had convinced Tim to watch another movie with him, Tim plopped right down next to him and curled up like a kitten next to Dick. The child was finally learning!

Soon even Batman started noticing that Tim was becoming more like Dick, but at first he saw nothing wrong with it. The problems started when he found Tim dangling from a light fixture eating a bowl of cereal. That is when he called in Dick to reign in these ‘lessons’.

“Oh come on B, don’t you like having a more friendly, slightly more normal child around instead on a miniature version of you?”

“I do not mind that you are teaching Tim to be more socially interactive, but I do not want to see you teaching him your unhealthy addiction to cereal or to risk his neck my dangling from places that are not meant to be dangled from.” Dick sensing that he was not going to get anywhere by arguing, agreed. However, Bruce never said anything about discontinuing the lessons…

That is how Bruce got stuck with another, smaller Dick Grayson.

Tim had heard that Jason was back. He had heard that something was very wrong inside his head, but he still hoped that maybe now, he could finally meet his predecessor, and brother that he never had. Of course he had been warned to stay away, and he would never break Batman’s order, so he didn’t try to go hunting for Jason, but if he happened to patrol a little later than normal or stray closer to Crime Alley than he did before, who could stop him?

This strategy of ‘avoiding’ Jason finally paid off when three shots came whizzing past Robin on one of his slightly longer patrols.

“Greetings from the dead, Replacement!” IT WAS JASON! Tim would recognize that voice anywhere, even though it was slightly distorted through the red mask Jason was wearing.

“JASON!” Tim squealed before launching himself at the vigilante. Jason who was not expecting this, took a moment to shake off the child that was… hugging...him?

“Get off me, you rat!” Tim only clung on harder and climbed further onto him with Dick-like agility.

“Ican’tbelieveitisreallyyou!” The miniature Dick rambled. “I have wanted to meet you since forever, and now you are here, and alive, and RIGHT HERE! I can’t wait until you get to go back to being Robin! You will kick so much bad guy derriere!” Who was this kid, and what had Dick done to him? This kid should not be allowed next to any sugar. Jason would make sure to warn Alfred, but knowing Alfred, he already knew and had locked all of the sugar in a bat-proof safe.

“Look Replacement, I don’t do all of the hugging and touchy feely things, okay?” He peeled the kid off of him and pinned the boy’s cape to a nearby wall.”

“Nightwing says that everyone always needs a hug. It is rule number one.” Even behind his domino mask, Jason could tell the kid’s eyes were unnaturally bright. And of course it was Dick’s number one rule. Jason would make him pay for corrupting this child.

The child suddenly changed the subject. “Are you aware of the breakout at Arkham?” And before waiting for a reply, he plowed on. “There were no major ones that escaped but a few of the lower ones did and I am trying to track them. I was wondering if you could help me?”

Jason knew exactly what the little vermin was doing. Nightwing had already tried this tactic on him MULTIPLE times. “Why isn’t the big old bat helping you?”

“I think that he is away in a JL mission and Nightwing is away at Bludhaven.”

“So they left you here to deal with it alone?” Jason couldn’t tell if he was impressed by the kid’s guts or furious at the bats for abandoning one of their own? Maybe a little of both? But no, he was not going to be roped into helping any of the bats.

Then the rat delivered his final blow. “Okay that is fine. But could you get me another cup of coffee? I haven’t been able to get enough sleep since the breakout.”

He would strangle Dick if he ever got his hands on him again. No remorse. In fact he was thrilled about the fact. Him and his manipulative little clone.

“Replacement,” Jason growled in warning. He was not going to be manipulated into helping this accursed family. “Go home.”

“I really shouldn’t. Who knows what these villains might do while they are loose?” He gave a tired smile and was about to leap away, when Jason grabbed his arm.

“Fine, Replacement, I will help! But don’t think I don’t know what you are doing!” The little rat would be the death of him.

Tim grinned as he watched his predecessor kick some bad guy derriere. It was nice to have Jason back home, and Tim would make sure that he comes home permanently. Maybe then Dick would have someone else besides him to teach his rules.

Jason had finished with the bad guys now, and with a sidelong look at Tim, he silently agreed to just truss them up for the police to handle.

“Now Replacement, go get some sleep and leave me alone.” Tim grinned again and let himself sag to the floor. He really was tired and Jason had never brought him that coffee. “Aww, I didn’t mean here!” Jason said plucking Tim up from the ground, but Tim was already on his way to dreamland. The thought of maybe this is what Dick’s rules were really supposed to be used for, flitted through his head before the sleep took over. The last thing he heard was Jason grumbling about having to drop him off, and with one last smirk, he was asleep.

He woke up a few hours later back inside the mansion with a slightly puzzled Dick hovering over him. “What happened out there last night?”

Tim smiled up at his big brother and replied, “I used rule number one.” Then he scooted off the makeshift bed and walked out of the room, leaving a still very confused Dick behind.

It wasn’t like Jason came over any more than normal, but if the bats got into some trouble, there was always someone who would miraculously save their bacon right in the nick of time. Now who this guardian angel was, who could guess….

……….

Then along came Damian, the demon spawn. He was the one that really challenged Dick’s rules. Maybe this was the one person that truly did not like being hugged. But that couldn’t be true because he let Dick hug him. What was up with that? Tim frowned at his little brother who was sitting across the cave. If the rules worked for Jason, surely they would work for this child, so with a deep breath, he walked towards the demon child.

“What are you doing, Drake?”

“Just coming to say hi, you know like a good brother would do.”

“We are not brothers, Drake,” the little brat was sure not making it easy.

“Okay, but will you be willing to come watch a movie with Dick and I?” Tim felt sure he could rope Dick into watching a movie. He loved stuff like that.

“Tt, I assume Dick is going to force me to do it if I refuse.”

Knowing Dick, he probably would. “Yes…”

“Fine, Drake, I will meet you up there.” Tim looked at Damian warily. Well that just happened. Tim assumed that it had been a victory for him, but one could never tell with Damian. After all, the assassin child could be plotting his murder at that moment. After a moment’s hesitation, Tim retreated to find Dick.

…

“Hey Dick,” Tim poked his head into Dick’s room. “Would you mind watching a movie with Damian and I?”

“Oh sorry Timmy, you know how much I would love to, but B has me working on this case, and I don’t think I can take any time off. You know how he is.” Dick did look apologetic, but all Tim could think of was how dead he was going to be once Damian found out. This time there would be no stopping it. He was going to die, and knowing Damian, it would not be pleasant. But maybe he could turn this situation in his favor. Yes, he had been meaning to get some sleep sometime, and dying in your sleep was always better than being tortured. And if he didn’t die, there was always the benefit of getting more than two hours of sleep at one time. Maybe Dick’s rules could come in handy after all...

...

When Damian showed up to watch the movie with Grayson and Drake, he found Drake sitting all alone on the couch. Of course Damian knew right away that this meant that Grayson could not have come to this ‘bonding’ session, but for some reason that completely escaped him, he walked over and sat down anyway.

After a long moment of silence, Damian broke the silence. Just out of curiosity of what Drake would say he asked, “When is Grayson arriving?”

Drake visibly gulped and replied without looking, “Soon, but let us go ahead and start the movie.” It was said way too quickly. Drake might be an expert at lying when he was under the mask, but in familial situations like this he was less than competent. Still, Grayson would prefer it if Damian participated in this ‘brotherly bonding’, so he pretended to be blind to Drake’s obvious lie.

“Do you want to watch Star Wars?” Tim asked as he held out the whole collection with a pride that was something to be ashamed of.

“What would Grayson want to watch?” Damian couldn’t help himself. It was quite amusing to watch Drake squirm as he tried to figure out a way to justify a decision that Grayson would clearly dislike.

“Well…… he isn’t here right now, and I would prefer to have a movie marathon right now.”

Damian didn’t care one way or another what they watched, so he gave his consent. Though he did vaguely wonder why Drake would want to watch a marathon. Usually he did not want to hang out with Damian if he could help it.

However, it did not take him long to figure out why Drake was so keen on the marathon because not even five minutes into the film, he was sound asleep. Wrapped around a very stiff Damian.

That sly little manipulator, Damian could almost not help but be impressed with Drake’s skill at masterminding this entire scenario just so he could get some sleep. Drake must know that Grayson would never allow Father to take Drake away from a “bonding” experience with his brother. He also knew that Grayson would never forgive Damian for waking Drake once he was finally getting some sleep, so Damian was stuck with an unconscious brother for 9 hours.

Drake would pay for this later, but Damian admitted that he needed the sleep, so he waited out the movie.

When Dick finally managed to take a break from the case, he was surprised to still hear noise coming from the living room. He quietly peeked his head and and laid eyes of something that he had only dared wish for in dreams. Not only was Timmy finally asleep, but he was asleep on Damian. And Damian wasn’t trying to kill him! The worst thing about this scene was Damian’s scowl, but there was not blood or knives, so Dick didn’t worry too much.

There was no way he was going to interrupt this progress, so he quietly stole some of Alfred’s cookies and headed back to the cave.

Tim awoke to find that he wasn’t dead. That was good at least. Damian was no longer in the room, but Dick sat on edge of the couch.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” he grinned. Catching Tim’s questioning look around, he said, “Damian had to go to school. You know, we have to keep up the appearance of a semi-normal family.” Tim gave a small, sleepy nod, and rolled out of bed.

“I am really glad you taught me those rules.” Dick didn’t bother to think about Tim’s sleepy ramblings, so he just grinned and caught Tim when he tripped over a stray blanket.

……….

This time Tim didn’t even mean to use the rules. It wasn’t even his fault. He was just tired and had a bit too much work to do. The rest of his family shouldn’t have even noticed, but somehow they managed to catch wind of his perpetual exhaustion decided to do something about it.

Dick suggested that they hold an intervention because those had worked in the past. Jason suggested they knocked him over the head and carry him to bed. Bruce wasn’t there as usual. No one would let Damian give his suggestion because no one wanted another dead Robin (except Jason at times, but those were becoming more rare).

This meant that the bat brothers spent the afternoon arguing about whose idea was better.

Damian rolled his eyes at Grayson and Todd. Sometimes his predecessors were fools. If Damian wanted Drake dead, the whole world would know, and that mechanical fraud would already be dead by now. However, Drake was an asset to the team, as long as he didn’t kill himself through exhaustion.

His brothers were obviously incompetent to handle the situation, he snuck out of the room to handle it himself.

Now where would a sleep deprived Drake be? He wouldn’t be in the cave because Father had banned him after Drake had collapsed mid lecture from Batman for lack of personal care. Probably then Drake would be holed up in his room. Sure enough, Damian could hear low moans coming from said room that could possibly resemble some form of language. The locked door was only a small inconvenience, and within seconds, Damian had the door opened.

“Demon Spawn?” a slurred voice asked hidden under a canopy of covers. “What ‘re you doin’ ‘ere?”

Damian pulled the covers away to find a haggard Drake surrounded by piles of papers. “Tt Drake, I am here to make sure you survive the next few hours.”

“I’m survivin’ great,” the slurred, slightly delirious voice responded.

“Grayson says that we need to have some ‘brotherly bonding’ time. He says that we need to watch a movie called The Guardians, and he has sacrificed some of his favorite chocolate milk for this.”

“But… I need to finish this for Bruce…” Drake stared blankly at the papers surrounding him.

Curse Drake and his stupid lack of self preservation instincts. But Damian needed to convince Drake to go along with this, not force him because Drake would only dig his heels in if he thought this might be some kind of trick. “Do you want to disappoint Grayson, Drake?”

“Well...no…”

“Then we need to have this ‘brotherly bonding’.”

Drake looked suspiciously at Damian. “Why ‘re you insistin’ on this? ‘Re you gonna kill me again?”

Damian replied as gently as a former assassin could. “No, I just want to assuage Grayson’s constant naggings.” Apparently that was enough to convince the sleep deprived Drake of his sincerity because Drake shoved some of his papers aside to make room for Damian on the bed. Damian quickly set up the movie and moved nest to Drake on the bed. “Here is Grayson’s chocolate milk.” He handed Drake a mug of the milk he had swiped for this occasion. Grayson would not mind his donation once he found out what it was for.

Drake clung to the milk and gulped it all down in only a few seconds. Damian was almost impressed with how he didn’t choke. Once the movie had started, Tim curled up against Damian, and within five minutes he was sound asleep.

Damian quickly scooted off the bed and collected the stray papers. He then gathered the discarded mug and made his escape.

Damian then went down to where his predecessors were still arguing. “The matter has been dealt with.” He said matter of factly as he interrupted their heated discussion. The both turned towards him with identical looks of horification. “I did not kill him, if that is what you are thinking.” Again, both faces sagged with relief.

“Then, what did you do?” Grayson asked hesitantly.

“I tampered with his chocolate milk.”

“Chocolate milk!” Grayson exclaimed. “My chocolate milk?!?” Todd promptly hit him in the head for being an idiot. “Okay fine, I guess that is okay.” Grayson grumbled.

“Drake will be asleep for at least 24 hours,” Damian reported.

“Good work,” Todd said, almost sounding surprised and possibly a bit relieved.

“Tt, of course, Todd. Unlike you two, I was able to get the job accomplished.” Damian took that opportunity to escape before things could get sentimental.

#Tim Drake #Dick Grayson #Damian Wayne #Jason Todd #Fix-it #Small Tim Drake #Jason Comes Home #damian needs a hug #Tim needs sleep #Protective Tim Drake #Protective Damian Wayne

58 notes · View notes