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#but hey if we are little guys who are living on planet earth for the first time we shouldn't condemn ourselves to an unrealistic standard-

crescentfool · 5 months

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with the year coming to a close, i hope that anyone who's reflecting about how the year went remembers to be kind and fair to themselves with how you evaluate the year as a whole.

i think there are definitely times when life throws things that are... Not So Great at you. whether if it's some external circumstance that surprised you, or maybe your mentality wasn't at it's best. i wish for anyone who's encountered those kinds of challenges to be able to triumph over them and be able to say that they got through it.

heck, it might still be a work in progress even though you've kept chipping away at it, and that's ok! the results will show themselves eventually as you work through it! and i hope that we can all remember to be patient with ourselves as we go through these processes (learning, healing, etc.), because damn, it can be frustrating when you feel like you're "not there yet."

knowing that life can be rough at times, i think it's unfair to yourself (and others) to discount and downplay any progress you've made this year- whether if it's something that you did for the first time, or maybe you came to a new understanding and insight that you didn't have in the previous year.

it's not to say that you should undermine the validity of your experience with hardship, but to take the time to remind yourself what makes life worth living. to recall what moments were the most satisfying to you- and use it to strengthen your resolve for the next year and beyond. no amount of hardship will ever take away from the fact that you deserve to have hope that things will get better.

i hope that looking back on the year, you don't leave out the things you cherish. that you can remember the good that came this year. whether if the small victories are things like meeting someone new, trying something out for the first time, or making some strides in a long-term project/obligation...!

i wish everyone a happy new year! may it be prosperous, and that your life can move in a direction that's close to what you want out of life. you're all going to do great! remember to congratulate yourself for what you did well! despite everything, you're still here, and that's wonderful. never forget that!

#lizzy speaks #hello everyone. i know that there are *checks calendar* still 20 days left of december and 2023 #but i've had a lot of strong emotions and feelings i've had to sort through as i've been thinking about how 2023 went for me #so a lot of what i've written here comes from the perspective of someone in their early 20s #it's like... a crash and burn from when you were a teenager thinking that you know everything #and realizing how big the world is and how many responsibilities there are #all while a feeling of overwhelm looms over as you try to sift your way through the world and adjust your understanding of it #for me i've definitely had an underlying thought that 'you should have your shit together by now why aren't you there yet'#and it's! not motivating! at all! to think that way. and it's made me more than ever want to be a friend to myself. to extend a patient-#kind voice to myself that reminds me that others are also trying to navigate these feelings and to accept that i'm not going to have an-#instantaneous understanding of how one goes about adulthood. and neither will they. even if they look 'put together.'#like... these people have also undergone similar stresses and along the way figured out how to navigate through that space #and personally i've found peace in knowing that there are people who are older than me. trusting that they've dealt with these things too i #some shape or form and that them living... being here.. is proof that we shall be fine in the end and that we will move past what plagues-#our mind. there's definitely been some... anger i've had this year that. school didnt teach me these things or skills!! i was so mad lol #but hey if we are little guys who are living on planet earth for the first time we shouldn't condemn ourselves to an unrealistic standard-#of going through life and being able to instantly do everything 'correctly' and know how everything works #i'm still working on improving that patience... and also trying to put in the work to understand these things.#in the midst of a very tough week for me i was tempted to say that 'nothing happened this year it was not productive'#but then i was like. that's. objectively not true if you just look at other things. also theres worth in life outside of 'productivity'#...i think i passed 20 tags at this point. but like. my favorite thing about 2023 was meeting so many cool awesome people!#who would've known that funny lil squid game could bring so many connections and friendships i cherish!#thank you so much! for being a part of my life and changing me for the better! for giving me many fond memories!#and i'm very grateful to anyone who supported me and my art this year... for sticking around even though i wished i could do more #it means the world to me knowing that there's proof that i exist and have touched someone's life in a positive way! thank you! truly!#ANYWAY. happy early new year. i hope everyone can nourish a friend in their head that extends acceptance and patience to themselves #as we try and make sense of the world together. there will be things that we don't understand yet! but one day we will! and it'll be like #wow! look how far i came! i'm okay! i'm alive! yipee! thank you for reading this post i made to get my feelings out! have a nice day!

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scuderiahoney · 10 days

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Oscar Piastri x Reader // In Motion Pt. 5

Summary: one plane ride, a little sunburn, and far too many margaritas to count. 6.0k words

Warnings: alcohol, mention of previous sports injury

It’s a lazy Saturday morning. You’d showed up at the house an hour ago and planted yourself on the couch. Charles had been in the overstuffed armchair, and he’d barely batted an eye when you walked in, too engrossed in his TV show. Lando and Max had wandered downstairs eventually, and piled onto the couch with you. One by one, everyone else wakes up and comes downstairs. They have practice in a couple hours, but none of them are in a rush. Instead, they all choose to scatter around the living room. Charles turns on Planet Earth. Everyone’s engrossed by it.

“Hey, my aunt wants to know if we still want the house for spring break,” George says, looking up from his phone as a school of fish swims by on the TV screen.

Lando, whose head was previously buried under a pillow, sits up. “Obviously.”

“The house?” Oscar asks, and when everyone turns to look at him, he deflates. “Sorry, none of my business.”

George’s phone rings, and he answers and wanders off into the kitchen, chattering away. You’re perked up now, blinking around the room. There are smiles on everyone’s faces, now, at the mention of spring break. You’re all in desperate need of some time off.

Max turns to look at Oscar, arms raised above his head in a stretch. “Piastri. D’you have any plans for the break?”

“Not really?” He says, shrugging.

Max nods. “Cool. You do now.”

Max flops back over onto the couch, and so does Lando, effectively burying you once again.

Oscar turns to look at you, brows furrowed. “What did I just sign up for?”

You sit up from underneath Lando and Max, who groan loudly. “George’s aunt has a really nice beach house. We go there for spring break.”

Oscar raises his eyebrows. “Oh. You know, I didn’t mean to invite myself, and you guys-“

“Shut up,” Lando says, face half buried in the arm of the couch. “You’re going. It’s tradition.”

…..

The only thing worse than navigating an airport is doing it early in the morning with 6 hockey players in tow. You’d think they’d be good at travel with all the away games, but they’re not used to having to get themselves places. Lando almost leaves his luggage at the house, Max almost forgets his whole wallet, and you’re sure Alex would’ve been left behind completely if it wasn’t for Lily. Oscar’s the only self sufficient one, likely because he’s been living on his own for so long now. You think of him having to travel to games with his old team, wonder if he wandered around airports alone, and your chest aches. But he’s next to you, smiling brightly, suitcase in hand and clad in a hoodie and sweatpants. Lando’s ordering a beer from the bar. It’s 6am.

Max tries to usher the whole group towards the gate, like he hasn’t been the most scatterbrained person all morning. You let him feel like he’s in charge. It helps his ego. It’s not long before people get distracted- George wants a bagel, Charles wants to look at souvenirs, which is ridiculous considering you haven’t left yet, and Lily wants coffee. Max looks panicked as everyone starts to wander.

You clear your throat. “Okay. Lily, George, and I are going to that coffee shop,” you say, pointing at the one nearest your gate, “to get breakfast and coffee. Charles and Max will go in the shop. The rest of you can join whichever group, or you can wait at the gate. We’ll all be back here in 20 minutes.”

Max looks relieved, even as Charles drags him towards a stand full of license plate magnets with names on them. You head for the coffee shop, and find Oscar’s opted to join, too. Lando and Alex stay at the gate, guarding all the suitcases.

An hour later, you’re all seated on the plane, much to your and Max’s relief. George booked the flights for everyone so he could use his parents’ airline miles, and so you have no idea where you’re sitting until you actually get on the plane. You slip into your window seat, and Oscar stops at your row with a smile. He’s in the middle. George is on his other side. Up ahead, you see Lily, Alex, and Charles, and Max and Lando in front of them. You pity whoever the stranger is that will have to put up with Max and Lando in their row. Oscar helps put your carry on up above, and everyone settles in for the flight.

After takeoff, you push the window shade up. The sun is just barely starting to rise, and you’re already exhausted. Oscar leans close to peer out the window. He hums softly, pointing down below.

“You can see the house from here,” he points out, and you laugh.

He’s right. You can. The house, the ice rink, the soccer fields, they all disappear below. You wave goodbye, and Oscar laughs and does the same. Then you lean over and fall asleep, head resting on his shoulder. He doesn’t seem to mind.

…..

The eight of you descend on the beach house in a flurry of activity. It’s bright and sunny out, and you all wear sunglasses as you haul the luggage into the house. George points everyone to their rooms- you’re glad to learn you have the same one for the third year in a row, up on the second floor, with a nice view of the ocean and a room to yourself. Lando and Oscar are sharing, as are Max and Charles. Lily and Alex get a room, and George gets his own room. Charles offers to take your luggage upstairs for you, and you accept happily.

By the time everyone returns downstairs, you’ve made a grocery list. Max looks at it over your shoulder and nods in approval. There’s a little store within walking distance that should have everything you need. When Max suggests you all go to help carry bags, Lando groans loudly, already complaining about a headache or a sore back or whatever ailment will get him out of it. In the end, it’s you, Max, Charles, and Oscar who head off to the grocery store.

When you get back, you unload things in the kitchen, the four of you moving around each other with ease. Oscar drops the juice and you giggle, Charles hugs the bag of cheese puffs to his chest like a little kid, and Max starts pulling ingredients to make a late lunch.

“M’hungry,” Lando calls out.

“Thought you had a headache,” you call back, smirking as he walks into the kitchen.

“Back ache,” he corrects, smiling sheepishly. “Come on, you know plane seats suck.”

You roll your eyes at him, but you hand him the bottle of painkillers you picked up at the store. He gives you an easy side hug in thanks. Lando offers to help Max make lunch, and you retreat to the back deck for the first time this trip. You breathe in deep as the sun hits your skin, as the sound of the ocean fills your ears. It feels like the whole world is in front of you, stretching on and on.

Oscar walks out behind you, doing basically the same. “Wow.”

Alex and Lily are down near the water, and when he spots the two of you, he waves you over. “Low tide!” He calls out, grinning widely. “There’s starfish!”

You turn to Oscar with a grin, and then the two of you run down the shore to meet them. The stress of the school year starts to slip off your shoulders. For now, it’s just sun and sand and nothing else.

…..

Spring break, as it always does and definitely should, tastes like pineapple and coconut rum and frozen margaritas made in the ancient blender that somehow still works. It smells like sunscreen, the reef safe kind that Oscar insists everyone uses. It feels like sand stuck between your toes, like the crash of the waves against your legs, like the heat of the sun on your skin.

“Why couldn’t you guys be, like, professional surfers?” You ask, face half pressed into the giant beach towel you’re laying on. “This is where I’m supposed to spend all my time, not in an ice box.”

Max laughs and tosses a foam football at you. “You chose the school, too, you know. And you love watching hockey.”

“Max would be shit at surfing,” Charles pipes up, and though his eyes are hidden behind sunglasses you can tell they’re crinkled with amusement. “He is not very good at balance. Like Bambi.”

Max scoffs, picks up the ball he’d thrown at you, and chucks it at Charles’ head. Charles dodges it with a squeak and runs after it in the sand. Max follows, likely afraid of the retaliation that’s coming his way.

“Osc, you’re from Australia,” you say. “Have you surfed?”

Oscar’s laid out next to you, in the shaded portion of the blanket thanks to the umbrella George put up. He burns easily, apparently. You’d told him that you weren’t surprised, based solely on the pale tone of his skin, and he’d glared at you unhappily and then chased you into the waves. Now he lays there, face smashed against the blanket, same as you. It’s mid afternoon. He’s usually a bit sleepy in the afternoons, you’ve found.

He nods, prying one eye open. “Not any good, though.”

You scoff out a laugh. He grins back at you. There’s sand stuck in his eyebrow, and you’re about to reach out and brush it away when a shadow falls over you. You look up and find George standing there. Lily, Lando and Alex are following him up the beach.

“Margarita time?” George asks, grinning happily. You push yourself halfway up, propping up on your elbows, and nod your head. “It’s always margarita time, Georgie.”

Dinner that night is grilled shrimp and veggies and bread warmed up in the oven that all the boys eat too much of, promising not to tell their coaches. Someone asks Oscar to say “throw another shrimp on the Barbie,” which then devolves into bad attempts at Australian accents, which then further devolves into bad attempts at everyone’s accents. You’re left laughing so hard your stomach hurts, the sun setting, the warm ocean air washing over your arms on the back deck.

Oscar’s sitting next to you, and he wipes your tears of laughter away with a napkin and says, “You alright, love?” in what can only be a bad attempt at Lando’s accent.

You snort with laughter. The noise sends Oscar into a fit of giggles, too, and soon the two of you are bent over in your chairs, heads bumping into each others, as Lando tries to insist he doesn’t sound like that and Max assures him that he definitely does. When you finally catch your breath and sit up, they’re moving on to mocking Sebastian’s accent, because they always start making fun of their coach eventually. Lily’s watching you, though, a knowing look in her eyes.

You sit on the beach blanket next to the water after dinner, another margarita in your hand. There’s far too much salt on the rim- courtesy of Alex, who’d coated nearly the whole cup in it- which makes it taste a bit like the ocean. Oscar’s sitting next to you, a cup of his own in his hand. The sun is low in the sky, the horizon turning the lightest shade of purple as it turns to night. Oscar’s bare thigh brushes against yours, and you hold your breath.

The back door to the house slides open, and you turn to look. It’s Charles. “We are going to the store,” he calls out. “Are you coming?”

You wrinkle your nose. “None of you are driving, right?”

Charles shakes his head. “We will walk. We want snacks, and we are out of tequila.”

You nod. “I’ll stay here!”

“Me too,” Oscar adds.

“Okay, I am trusting you two,” Charles teases. “Don’t burn the house down.”

Charles calls out something unintelligible and probably not in English. Inside, you hear Max yell for him, also not in English. The door shuts. Oscar sucks in a sharp breath. There’s tequila in your bloodstream and salt on your lips and the heat of his leg next to yours. You close your eyes, the sea breeze dancing over your skin, and you can still feel his lips on your cheek after that game, weeks ago now. You sit for a while, basking in it.

A few minutes later, present day Oscar’s shoulder bumps against yours. You open your eyes and turn to look at him. His cheeks are rosy pink. You wonder if he’d put enough sunscreen on.

“This is really nice,” he says, softly.

The sand is turning cold beneath your feet. You shiver slightly. He leans into you, warm arm pressed to yours, thigh pressing tighter against your skin. Your heart stutters in your chest.

“Mhm,” you agree, blinking softly at him and biting your lower lip, just to watch and see the way his eyes dart across your face. “George’s aunt is a sweetheart for letting us stay here.”

Oscar hums in agreement, but he shakes his head, hair flopping over his forehead in a soft swoop. “I meant… this.”

He nudges his leg against yours. Your stomach lurches in the best kind of way. He’s leaning back on the heels of his hands and staring at you while the waves crash onto the shore. His thumb brushes against the back of your hand, tiny grains of sand rolling between his skin and yours. You feel the electricity simmer up your arm and zap down your spine.

“Oh. Yeah,” you say, nodding in agreement. “It is.”

You’re not sure whether to laugh or cry or scream. He’s so close you swear you can feel his heartbeat, or maybe it’s just yours, pounding in your chest, going wild over the way he’s staring at you. He lifts his hand from the sand, the one farthest from you, keeps his other arm pressed to yours as he turns just slightly. When his hand comes up to cup your cheek, it feels so familiar. You remember blue paint on his thumb, brushed off on his pants, the poster leaning against the wall and his lips on your cheek. You want it again. You want more. You swear he leans in.

There’s a loud noise from inside the house, and he drops his hand into his lap. Your heart twists in your chest. You can feel the ghost of his fingertips on your skin when the back door opens. George yells something about playing flip cup. You don’t want to play flip cup- you want to stay here with Oscar and let him kiss you like you thought he was going to. But his hand is in his lap now, and he smiles sheepishly and starts to stand up, and you wonder if you imagined all of it.

…..

Two nights later, when everyone has gone to bed, you find yourself still wide awake. You’re buzzing, probably from the afternoon coffee you grabbed with Charles and Oscar at the cafe down the street. Max had said it was a bad idea. Charles is dead asleep upstairs, because caffeine has never really affected him. You’re busy thinking about two nights ago, Oscar’s hand on your face and the way he looked at you. You know it happened. You swear it happened. He’d been about to kiss you. Right? Maybe you're imagining things. Maybe it’s all in your head.

You’re sitting on the couch near the window, the glass of water Max poured you before he went to bed sitting half empty in your hand. You nearly spill it when someone clears their throat. You know without turning to look that it’s Oscar.

You stare out the window at the ocean. “Might go take a walk down by the water,” you suggest, just to see if he takes the bait.

Oscar hums. “I’d better go with. For safety, you know.”

You nod in agreement, not really seeing the need to protest. It’s a silly excuse, but you want him to come with. The two of you head for the doors, slipping in sandals along the way. The night air is cool, and you shiver slightly as you make your way down the beach. The sand is still sun warmed but cooling fast. The crash of the waves against the shore makes you sigh softly.

Oscar’s only a few steps behind you. The moon isn’t out yet, but you catch sight of a few stars in the sky. You stop at the spot where the waves meet the sand, and he walks up next to you. When you turn to look over your shoulder, all the lights in the house are off except the living room light the two of you left on. Oscar looks, too, and then steps closer. You feel like you should hold your breath, but you don’t. The air smells like salt. You wonder if the smell has seeped into Oscar’s hair and skin, or if he still smells like his shampoo and body wash. You hate that you know the scents of both.

“I love the ocean,” Oscar says, not for the first time that day.

You nod. “Me too.”

His fingers brush against yours where your hands hang at your sides. It sends a zap all the way up your arm, straight to your spine. Does he feel it too? That giddy feeling in your chest? The anxious feeling in the back of your brain? The want, deep in your gut, that makes you want to turn and press your lips to his. Does he feel it, too? You’d take a kiss on the forehead. Or another kiss on the cheek. Or just- if he would just move his hand a couple inches, just intertwine your fingers with his-

Like he’s read your mind, he does. He twists his fingers between yours loosely. You nearly choke on your own breath. Get it together. Your heart aches. You need, you want, does he?

“I…” he starts, then stops.

You turn. He’s already looking at you, face half lit up by the light on the back deck of the house. His lips look soft. They were, the one time you’ve felt them, pressed to your cheek in that hallway. His fingers fidget in yours, but he doesn’t pull away. You don’t either. The waves crash onto the shore over and over again. The sleeve of his hoodie brushes against your jaw when he cups the side of your face in his other hand. This time, you’re sure of it. You know what’s coming. He leans in, and you close your eyes.

If a kiss on the cheek sent butterflies wild in your stomach, this sends them through your whole body. Every nerve is on fire when his lips meet yours. Maybe it’s just because you’ve been waiting for so long. He’s warm against you, and his hand leaves your wrist to wrap around your waist and pull you close, and he tastes like rum and salt and smells like sunscreen. You tilt your head and let him deepen the kiss, let him take the lead, let him in. He’s smiling into it, and it makes your heart ache. When you tangle your hands in his hair, you can feel the sand stuck there, can feel the salt that still coats the strands from his swim earlier in the day. His hand slips to the back of your neck to hold you closer, and you melt for him, for the way he holds you so carefully and so surely, the warmth of him burning up your skin. He giggles into the kiss, light and airy and so Oscar it almost hurts, and you can’t help but match it.

He kisses you for what feels like forever. You can’t find it in you to complain.

…..

The rest of spring break tastes like coconut rum and tequila and Oscar. It feels like sun and sand and his hand wrapped up in yours, sneaking away at any chance you get. It smells like sunscreen and his cologne on the hoodie you stole from him, and it sounds like seagulls and his laughter, and the words he whispers into your ears when nobody’s nearby.

He steals you away while you’re in town, wandering the shops with everyone. He’s good at melting away into a crowd- and it is crowded, it’s spring break and everyone’s had the same idea as you. You hide in a souvenir store while you watch your friends disappear, and you don’t even feel guilty about it. You can’t, not when Oscar’s tangling his fingers with yours and pointing at a little beaded bracelet he says would look good on you. When he takes it up to the counter and buys it, and then loops it around your wrist for you, you feel absolutely giddy. You feel it even more when he kisses your temple sweetly. You rejoin the group a while later, just as they’re starting to worry. Nobody notices the bracelet, but you run your fingers over the beads all day.

Later in the week, he suggests a trip to the ice cream shop when everyone’s half asleep, mid afternoon. You’re tired, too, but when he says it, you suddenly feel wide awake. Once the two of your are out of sight of the house, he pulls you under his arm, hand squeezing at your shoulder the whole walk there. He buys you ice cream and shares his with you, too, and when he stops to kiss you on the walk back he tastes sweeter than ever.

There’s a lot of that- kissing. Anytime the two of you are alone. It’s overwhelming in the best way. Like the two of you have been holding back for so long that you can’t quite find it in you to stop. You sneak out of your rooms after everyone has gone to bed and meet on the beach at night, just the sea and the stars bearing witness as it all falls into place. You point out constellations, and Oscar tells you about the night sky in Australia, and how it feels different here. He finds you seashells admiring the way and gives them to you at night, and you start doing the same, each of you building up collections. They cover the empty space on the nightstand in your room.

One afternoon, you walk to the park nearby, all together, with a little picnic. It’s sweet- Max and Lando throw a football back and forth, and you sit in the grass and have cheese and crackers and fruit and watch people pass by. Eventually, George, Alex, and Lily head back to start dinner, and then Max, Lando, and Charles leave to pick up drinks on the way home. You and Oscar linger, though. They make it so easy to sneak away, really. You take the chance to lay on the blanket with him, your bed on his stomach, staring up at puffy white clouds in the big blue sky. His hand draws patterns on your shoulders.

When you finally head for the house, you walk past a set of soccer goals on a patch of grass. It’s easier, now, especially because it’s not the field where you got hurt. Oscar squeezes your hand anyways. It’s sweet. Something makes you slow to a stop. There’s a ball sitting there, in the middle of the field, black and white in stark contrast to the green. You drop his hand, and he makes a mild sound of protest. You walk over to the ball and toe at it gingerly, feeling the way it rolls under your foot.

He just eyes you carefully,

“We’ll take it easy,” you promise, and he nods. “I just…”

You can’t explain it. For years, you’ve never wanted to go near a soccer field or goal or ball. For years, this idea has brought tears to your eyes. But right now, you want to try. Oscar takes a step closer. He’s smiling.

You kick the ball at his feet. He passes it lightly back to you. The two of you exchange a look and take off down the grass together. You zig zag to every corner of the grass, not trying to get anywhere in any sort of hurry. You build up speed as you get closer and close to the goal, passing the ball back and forth with him. It feels good, to move your body and feel the grass beneath your feet. To feel the ball bounce off your shoe, to watch him accept the pass that you’ve placed so perfectly. You’re rusty, stiff, out of practice, but a little part of this still feels like home. There’s an achy feeling in your body that starts to melt away.

You don’t even realize what you’re doing, at first. He passes you the ball, and you’re in range of the net, and- you dart around him, eyes on the prize, now. He laughs, tries to go after you, catching on nearly immediately. But you’re too good at this, too fast- he’s used to blades on his feet and ice beneath him, not tennis shoes and grass and a ball rolling in front of you. You look up, find the goal, see your spot, and kick.

It sails through the air, hits the net, and falls to the ground. Goal. Behind you, Oscar cheers loud enough that when you close your eyes, you can imagine it’s all still there. That you’re really playing soccer, in front of a crowd again, scoring a goal, taking your team to a victory. You soak it in, for just a moment.

When you open your eyes, you’re on your back, staring at the sky, Oscar’s face looking down at you. His brows are furrowed.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” He asks.

You shake your head. You know the tears in your eyes must contradict that. Oscar shifts on his feet for a second and then collapses to the ground next to you, legs kicked out away from yours, his head right next to your shoulder. The two of you form a little v on the grass, staring up at the sky.

“I didn’t realize how much I missed that,” you admit. “The… running, and the chasing, and the… scoring.”

His hand brushes against yours, then comes down to lay flat atop the back of it. His palm is warm and soft. You try to breathe normally. It’s easier said than done.

“You could always try again,” he says, quietly. “Do a club sport, or a league of some sort…”

You shake your head. “Nah, my knee is already starting to hurt.”

You rub your fingers against the ache. He sighs, heavily, and squeezes your hand. You turn your head to look at him. He’s close, closer than you realized. It wouldn’t take much for you to lean in, and nobody else is here, so you do. Just a short kiss, because you’re laying on a soccer field and there are kids and families nearby. But you want him to know how much this means to you. When you pull away, his cheeks are pink, and you think he understands.

Eventually, you know everyone will start to wonder where the two of you are. So when Oscar stands up and offers you a hand, you let him pull you up off the ground. He brushes grass off your back, and when you get back to the house, you head upstairs to change and hope nobody questions the grass stains on your shirt.

One night, after everyone’s in bed, you curl up on the beach on a blanket, your head against his chest. You listen to the waves and stare up at the stars. He draws lazy patterns on your back, his hand against your bare skin under the sweatshirt you stole from him.

“This is a real thing, right?” He says, quietly. “Not just a spring break thing?”

You smile into his chest, your cheeks suddenly warm. “God, I would hope so.”

“Okay, cool,” he says, in a very calm voice, like you can’t hear the thud of his heartbeat. “Cause I‘ve wanted this for a while.”

“Me too,” you murmur back.

Then he kisses you again, hand under your chin to pull your face to his. He’s a little sunburnt, and you can feel the heat of it on his skin when you brush your lips against his cheeks. Then again, maybe he’s just blushing. The way he smiles makes you think that might just be it.

…..

Keeping it from the rest of your friends is sort of… unspoken. It’s easy, like this, just the two of you. Easy to kiss and hold and talk and laugh without the pressure. You try to remind yourself that it’s okay to take it slow. That you have time to figure things out. And it’s easier to figure things out when you don’t have 6 other people’s opinions on it, let alone the whole team’s once they all find out. Whenever someone walks into the room and Oscar pulls his hand from yours, he scans your face, like he’s checking to make sure it’s okay. You always smile in return, and he lets out a little relieved sigh.

The very last night, you all order large amounts of pizza and breadsticks, and you spread out on blankets on the beach for dinner. The sun is low in the sky, and everything is golden. Oscar finds a spot next to you, laid out on the blanket. Max is already talking hockey plays, Lando listening intently while Alex rolls his eyes. George, Charles, and Lily are chatting about starfish. And Oscar is watching you, eyelashes fluttering against pink tinged cheeks. He’s being painfully obvious. When you smile back, you know you are too. For a moment, though, it doesn’t matter. Nobody’s paying attention anyways, as he brushes his fingers against the back of your hand where it lays on the blanket. It’s just you and him, for just a moment.

The next morning, before you head to the airport, you wake up early and find Oscar in the kitchen, cutting up fruit. His hair is a tousled mess, eyelids heavy, but when he sees you, he smiles, bright and warm and sweet. You walk over and slip between him and the counter, wrapping your arms around his waist.

“I was busy, you know,” he mumbles, though he doesn’t pull away when you lean in to kiss him.

“Mm,” you sigh. He tastes sweeter than normal. He’s definitely been sneaking bites of fruit as he goes. “Mango. My favorite.”

His cheeks are flushed. “Thought I was your favorite.”

You shrug and wink. “Close second.”

He swipes a piece off the counter behind you and presses it to your lips. You give him a closed lip smile as you eat it, feeling warm all over. He leans in and kisses you again when you’re done chewing, and you have the sudden, strong urge to pull him close, to press your hips into his, to let him pin you against the counter. But your friends are probably all about to wake up, so instead, you pull away and press a finger into the swell of his cheek. He laughs and kisses the furrow between your brows.

“Heading home today,” he mumbles, smile falling slightly.

You nod. “But it’s not just a spring break thing, remember?”

He nods again, the smile coming back to his lips. “Yeah. Just. Do you think we need to tell them?”

You know what he’s talking about. Or who he’s talking about, really. You tilt your head, chewing on your lower lip. “Do you think we need to?”

He sighs, nose bumping against yours. “They’re your best friends.”

And. Oh. Right. You hadn’t really thought about it like that, that it’s not just his teammates and your friends. It’s Lando and Max. Your chest twists. You like that it’s just you and Oscar, but you think about them, about how you share everything, and you wonder if they’ll be upset. Not even that it’s him, but just that you didn’t tell them. On the other hand, they’re likely to get overprotective and weird when they do find out. Max banned a guy you went on a date with from all parties your sophomore year, until Charles told him off for it, but by then it was too late. The guy was a jerk, which was half the issue, but still.

You blow out a puff of air, and then you have an idea. “I might… tell them I’m seeing someone, to start,” you suggest. “Just not who. Just… someone. Is that okay?” You ask.

“I think that’s a good idea,” he says.

“Okay. Cool. Me too,” you say with a nod.

Oscar giggles. You hear a door open, and footsteps. He groans, and you lean in one last time to press a kiss to his lips before you slip away. You sit down on a barstool just before George walks in, scrubbing sleep from his eyes.

“Morning,” he says, voice scratchy. “Ready to go home?”

“No,” you admit, and Oscar hums in agreement.

When he dishes out the fruit to everyone later, he gives you most of the mango. You grin up at him, wide eyed and feeling so, so happy. When you break his gaze and look across the table, you find Charles staring back at you, a knowing smirk on his face, and you wonder if you’ve been caught. Maybe you just look like a girl with a crush. You still feel like one, really.

You all walk down to the water one last time, dipping your feet into the waves as they crash against the sand. Oscar’s hand brushes against yours as he does the same. You don’t want to ever lose this feeling. The sun on your skin, the water tugging at your feet, and Oscar, next to you, feeling the same way you do.

When you pack the bags into the Uber to head for the airport, you feel a wave of sadness wash over you. You want nothing more than to stay, to never worry about school again, to let Oscar wrap you up in his arms and never leave. You pout, and Max catches you, laughing and pulling you into a loose hug.

“It’s okay, Bunny,” he murmurs, ruffling your hair. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

You don’t say it, but you think it- he and Lando are graduating this year. There’s a good chance they won’t be back next year, too busy with work or real life or whatever comes after college for them. Your heart twists. And Oscar- will he still be yours by then? Not just a spring break thing, you remember, but you have a strong urge to plant your feet in the sand and try to keep them all here. You watch your friends pack bags in the trunk and tease each other and laugh and your chest aches.

“Hey,” Lando says, quietly, sneaking up your other side. “We’ll be back.”

He knows. Max does too, but Lando really knows, because you think he feels it too. Max is trying to play hockey after college, but beyond beer leagues and pickup games, this year will be it for Lando. Senior year is exciting, but it’s a year full of lasts, too.

“Promise?” You ask, quietly.

He links his pinky with yours. “Promise.”

So you climb into the car, and you end up wedged between Oscar and Charles in the row of seats at the back of the car. Max is in the front seat, chatting away to the driver, and Lando’s already leaning his head against the door, half asleep. You press your shoulder into Oscar’s. He spots your hand on the seat between you and reaches out, brushes his fingers against the back of your hand. When you lean your head on his shoulder and let your eyes fall half closed, nobody questions it- you do it to all of them, all the time.

The beach house disappears in the rearview. Oscar presses a kiss to the top of your head when nobody’s looking, and you start to believe everything will really be okay.

bunnyrabb1t

liked by oscarpiastri, maxverstappen33, and 53 others

bunnyrabb1t truly a spring break to remember forever

landonorris still annoyed you and @/oscarpiastri didn’t bring me ice cream back :(

oscarpiastri You were invited & you called our ice cream trip dumb

landonorris doesn’t mean i didn’t want ice cream

lilymhe always a trip to remember with you babe!

bunnyrabb1t ilysm bb 😘

alex_albon hey. back off 🤺

oscarpiastri 🩵☀️🌊⛱️

bunnyrabb1t 🩵🌅🐚🕶️

charles_leclerc 🤨

carlossainz55 charles you are just jealous he is actually on her instagram before you

notes: hiiiiiiii hope this one was worth the wait!! if you are one of the people who told me you were staying up late for this: go to sleep! this is me tucking you in! see ya soon!!

series taglist: @sourskywalker @ivyvlair @gwginnyweasley @annispamz @bearlul @aresriiots @ggaslyp1 @putting-it-into-parc @black-fireproofs @smilinlemon @arieslost @floralkoi @vicurious28 @likedbygaslyy @rorabelle15 @bwormie @treatallwithkindness @fandomnerd11 @adhxmoony @sakuramxchii @insunia @mindflay3r @talking-raw @colmathgames2 @assholeinatrenchcoat @saachiep81 @venusacrossthestars @v1naco @anthonylockwoodandco111 @whalebursoot-main @ellen3101 @k-pevensie28 @ninifee1802 @not-nyasa @pleasecallmeunhinged @andruuu28 @aceofwordsandarrows @dreamsarebig @secretunnels @ginsengi @yayahnaise @f1petra @lovecarsgoingvroom @lalloronaisreal @fangirl125reader @tpwkmera @booksandflowrs @elizanav @lightsoutletsgo @meko-mt @customsbyjcg-blog @bingussthirdtoe @sideboobrry11

(crossed out means i was unable to tag!)

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wthtorke · 5 months

Text

(Re)Home

Yautja and Human Smol read with some witcher stuff cause I was into it back then lmao, no warnings!

The Earth had a capacity for life. Only so many people it could house and nurture safely.

Humanity hit that threshold long before you were born.

The peace treaty between species made it possible to live among the stars. Some races were willing to share their planets, while others offered space in their ships.

'It's almost like exchange students, but for life- you'd become one of them.'

You didn't feel at home on Earth. Ever since your first breath, you had no place on that planet.

So up you went. 'Above and beyond,' or whatever they told you. Usually, humans who wanted to leave had forms filled out and uploaded to the exchange system.

If you had to call it anything, you'd describe it as 'adoption'. You, specifically, were adopted by yautjas. The deadliest species in the treaty.

You packed your bags, taking your 'goodbye pack' the government provided you with. Laptop, tablet, and other human things 'so the adaptation wouldn't be so harsh'. That's what the flyer said.

"We wish you luck and success in your new life among the stars. It's an honor to have an earthling as brave as you out there."

That's what the video said.

You sling your bag over your shoulder and pick up the government packs off the floor, walking toward the hangar in your papers. You and some others behind you get in line for admission.

Seeing yautjas wasn't new. There were videos and pictures of them plastered everywhere, just like the other species of the treaty. But still, your eyes widened from their bored expression when you saw your admits standing in front of the ship, datapads in hand.

You're first in line, walking up to them and presenting your registration. They repeat your name and information, and you confirm everything, waiting patiently.

"Welcome to the clan." One of them says, nodding at you. You nod back and make your way inside. The ship is a transport shuttle, spacious and high-tech. This was happening. It takes you a second to choose a seat and strap yourself.

The information speech you're given during the trip feels warmer and more welcoming than anything you've heard on Earth.

'Maybe this was a good decision.' You think.

"From today on, you'll be part of our society, which means no special treatment. No special conditions. No buts and ifs." He keeps talking. "Just life as a yautja in a mothership. That's all."

You appreciated the clarity and honesty they had. You expected it to be hard but weren't afraid of working for it. Whatever challenge presented itself for you, you'd beat it. You had survived this far. This wouldn't be different.

Your group gets taken to the housing levels, where each human gets assigned a room. Your eyebrows rise up when you see two grown yautjas in yours.

"Get up, Fang. Our partner is here."

Fang and Claw. Two youngsters from the clan you got accepted into. Written in bold letters at the end of your papers. "Hey," you say as they approach you at the door. "Good trip?" The other one, Fang, asks.

"Yeah, good trip," you answer. You had no idea they'd be so big. "Are you guys really my age?"

"Are you 124?"

"Oh man."

Despite their scary looks, Fang and Claw are what they are. Young. And a little stupid. You somehow felt at home with them. It was nice to be treated like a person and not a number for once.

You get installed in your bunk bed, pull out your laptop, and test the 'fastest internet connection in the galaxy' they had on the ship. A direct link to Earth, in case you want to talk to anyone.

You just wanted access to the shows.

"What's that necklace?" Claw asks. "What's in it?" You look up from your screen, then down to your chest. "It's a wolf necklace."

"Your previous clan?"

"They don't have clans, just families," Fang replies. Claw frowns in confusion, "So your previous family?"

"No, not my family-"

"That's a wolf- so Wolf clan,"

"Claw-"

"I like it," he continues. You smile at the sheer absurdity of it, "Cool to wear your symbol like that."

You laugh softly, "It's not my symbol- it's from a show, a story- the Witcher. In the story, the Witcher comes from a school whose banner is the wolf. Their symbol is the wolf," You play with the pendant between your fingers, "I don't really have a family."

They both stop to listen to you explain. Claw shakes his head, "But you wear it, so it's your symbol. Wolf human from the Witcher school. A Witcher," the word sounds weird when translated from them, clearly adapted.

"Wolf human," Fang repeats, "Nice title, sounds strong. You should keep it," he says. You huff in amusement. "Sure, I'll keep it,"

They barely return to their own unpacking before you look up again. "We should watch it," they look back at you, "- the Witcher-, we should watch it-, sometime." You clear your throat awkwardly.

"It's a filmed story? Like the ones in the human culture lessons?"

"It's called a 'movie'. Idiot."

"Shut up."

You put your hands up before any growling appears, "It's a series- actually. Short episodes that make up for one long thing. Good to watch in between, ah-, training? Missions? Whatever you guys do?"

Claw nods, "Wolf-human story with the wolf-human, I'm in." You smile and look at Fang. "Is there blood?"

"Lots of it."

"I'm in."

You watch the first season during your first night at the ship, only pausing to retrieve your food and for general discussion between the yautjas about how accurate (or stupid) the fighting scenes in the show were.

You have to plug your laptop into the adapted port on the wall so you can keep binging with your roommates, smiling ear to ear whenever they'd say something positive about it. When you finally close your laptop down, you look at them again. "So, thoughts?"

"Don't fuck with magic," Fang says. Claw nods. "Never fuck with magic."

You laugh as they each settle down in their bunks. Fang shuts the lights off as you lay in the dark for a bit more.

"Sleep well, wolf-human." Claw says. Fang mumbles something in return. You smile again, bidding them goodnight before closing your eyes to sleep.

Home, sweet home. Finally.

---------

Thanks for reading <3 muah muah

more work like this here

#yautja #predator #alien #the predator #yautja/human #human/yautja #headcanon #alien relationship #predators #yautja boyfriend #alien romance #alien x human #alien boyfriend #alien vs predator #predador #aliens vs predator #yautja x human #reader #gender neutral reader too

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annie115 · 5 months

Text

Now you don´t think so bad of me, huh? CL16

CL16 x Activist!Reader

Summary: You´re an activist who fights for the environment and therefore hates Formula One, when you meet one of the drivers

Authors note: This is the first fanfiction I post here, please let me know how you like it 😊 I love comments and suggestions. I´m not a native in English, sorry for mistakes. No proof read!

I slammed the door to my apartment and threw my sign in the corner. Angrily I stumbled to the counter where I poured myself a glass of white wine. Whoa, this day sucked! I haven’t even introduced myself. Hey, I´m Amy, 25 years old and therefore interested in saving our planet. I will live on this earth for at least 60 more years, hopefully, and I can´t watch humanity to destroy it. That’s why me and my community are protesting. Sometimes just within the weekend, sometimes on environmental demonstrations but mostly at races. Especially, Formula One. Ugh. I hated Formula One. I couldn’t understand why people would be so interested in cars driving around in a circle, pushing each other off and blowing millions of emissions in the air. Formula One is one thing and one thing only: An unnecessary environmentally damaging catastrophe.

And the drivers? I haven’t met one of them, luckily, but don’t they care even a teeny tiny bit? They are responsible for the pollution. And I´m not only talking about the emissions, I´m talking about the resources they need for their stupid cars. And then, in the time lapse of a weekend they destroy it completely. They crash into a wall and create a damage by thousands of dollars! I highly doubt that the pieces of the cars were made out of sustainable resources. In fact, I knew that this wasn’t the case, I was informed of course.

Anyway, I was living in Monaco at the time. Monaco was famous for its race track and the race week was the most special week of the year. Thousands of visitors came to our little place just to celebrate this stupid sport. Starting two days ago me and some other activists were protesting along the track and the entrances to make people aware of what they are supporting.

Please don’t get me wrong. I´m not one of the people who would attack you or scream at you because you attend an event. I´m one of the activists who are stating their point without many words. I have my sign, which I threw in the corner. Nevertheless today a situation escalated a little, when one of my friends attacked a man who told her she should fuck herself, maybe it would relax her. In my opinion it was more than valid of her to attack him but she knew better. We don’t want this kind of attention. I sighed when I thought about tomorrow, when I will be there again. Is it even worth it? Are we really able to change something?

“Save the earth! Save the planet! Don’t blow thousands of microplastic particles in the air just to be the fastest!” My friend yelled when some of the drivers arrived at the entrance we were standing at. I didn’t say anything. As I said, I like to protest without words. It was the first time that I would see the drivers in real life and I had to admit that I was curious what they would look or be like. I imagined them as assholes. Selfish rich men who don’t care about the future because they had enough money to buy a bunker where they could hide. The drivers ignored us while they were passing by until my friend, Emma, yelled again. “You are the reason we will be dead in a couple of years! You are the reason we can´t sleep at night!” she yelled. Now, one driver was turning around. He continued walking backwards while yelling: “If we would really keep you up all night you´d be more relaxed!” He gave her a dirty smirk and I frowned. What the fuck did he just say? That was the second time that some guy would make a sexist comment about us. What was wrong with the people? “Hey! Don´t you dare speak to her like that!” I yelled without thinking about it for a second. The driver stopped walking and eyed me. Only now I noticed how handsome he was. No, that was an understatement. He looked like a fucking god. He was wearing jeans and a red Ferrari T-Shirt. His brown hair was a bit messy and his blue-green eyes were shining in mischief. “No need to be jealous baby, I have enough for all of you”, he said and winked. I rolled my eyes, knowing that there was no sense in talking with him. What an ass. A hot ass, but an ass still.

After one more hour of protesting, I got tired. “Guys, I´m going to take a break”, I said and gave my sign to another girl to get going. I was usually not the type who would leave them standing there, but I was kinda sick of it. We didn’t reach anybody today, nobody was even listening to us. For them we are nothing but a joke. I sighed and entered a coffee shop I passed to get an Iced Coffee. It was hot today, almost 30 degrees. That’s why I was wearing a white summer dress and white sneakers. I braided my black long hair this morning so it won´t be hanging in my neck all sticky. I ordered my drink and sat down at the little table on the window, when the door opened again. I took a peak of who was coming in and recognized the driver from earlier. I frowned. What was he doing here? Don’t they have coffee in their fancy catering areas?

He stood in front of the counter, with his hands in his pockets while eying the menu. “Charles! What can I get you?” the barista asked and I frowned again. Why did she know him? And his name was Charles? “Hey Isabel, I´ll just have the usual. The coffee in the motorhome is terrible”, he chuckled and I scoffed. Now he acted all nice and innocent. I turned to my drink again and looked out the window.

While Charles was waiting for his drink, he looked around. When he saw me he tilted his head a little and stepped forward to my table. “Aren´t you that activist from this morning?” he asked and I looked up. Our eyes locked and for a second I couldn’t breathe. I cleared my throat. “I am in fact. Aren´t you that asshole who insulted me and my friend?” I spitted. He scoffed. “Geez, I was just joking. Maybe you need to relax a little”. “Maybe you need to stop destroying the planet”, I spitted and he rolled his eyes. “Damn Cherie, you need to calm the fuck down. Do you really think we are the problem?” “You´re part of the problem. And don’t you dare call me that!” He raised an eyebrow. “Why not? You´re still blushing, Cherie”, he pronounced every single syllable of the word. The barista called his name and he went to the counter to grab his drink. While I thought that this conversation was finally over, I was wrong. He came back, grabbed a chair and sat down next to me.

“You don’t mind, do you?” he asked without needing an answer. He leaned forward to me until his lips were almost striping my ear. “Oh, and not only the blushing, also the way you press your thighs together just shows me how much you want me to fuck you right in this bathroom.” I looked at him, outraged. But the worst thing was, he was right. I was literally dripping for him. The way his shirt played around his biceps, his eyes were scanning my body like I was a wild animal and he was the hunter. His hands were laying on the table, big and full of tendons and muscles. I wondered what he could do with those hands. The tension between us was so electric that I was afraid somebody could notice, but in fact, nobody was there except for the barista who was currently distracted with cleaning the coffee machine. I looked at Charles again whose right hand was no longer on the table. I felt his fingers striping my naked thigh, pushing my legs apart a little. I was embarrassed, knowing that the inside of my thighs must be wet already. He smirked when he noticed and came close to my ear again. “So wet, and only for me”, he whispered and I inhaled sharply. His finger found the strap of my slip and played with it while I was about to loose control. I wanted him. Desperately. I abruptly stood up and headed to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror, while Charles entered the tiny room.

Before I could take a second thought, his hands were all over me. He grabbed me by the waist and sat me down on the cold sink which made me gasp. “How bad do you need me, huh?” he asked and I moaned. He slapped my thigh, slightly. “Answer me”, he demanded and I threw my head back. “Please”, I gasped when he finally pushed two fingers inside me. “God, you´re so wet, Cherie”, he moaned while moving faster inside and outside me. I moaned loudly, being fully aware that the barista will hear us. “Go ahead, let everybody know that you´re about to get fucked by me”, he said and started kissing my neck down to my collarbone. I couldn’t think straight. My hands played with the button of his jeans, he slapped them away. “Wanting my cock so badly, little slut?” he grin and striped down his jeans with one quick move. He placed his tip on my lust without pushing it inside. “Beg”, he said and I whined. He rubbed his cock through my wet folds, driving me crazy. “Beg me to fuck you”, he whispered and I moaned again. “Please, Charles. Please fuck me”. He slammed himself inside me and I gasped. “Oh fuck you´re so wet”, he moaned and moved a little slower to get used to my pussy. “Such a beautiful little slut”, he said while fucking me harder. My hand were in his hair, pulling it while his hand were placed on the mirror to get a better grip. He was fucking me over the edge and beyond, I wasn’t able to grab one single thought. “Charles, please let me-“ I begged and he grabbed my throat. “Do you want to cum?” he asked his eyes dark of lust. “Yes, please”, I whined and he pushed his thumb on my clit just in the perfect moment. He moaned when I clenched around him, having the most intense orgasm ever. “Fuck”, he gasped as he finished himself, spreading his cum over my legs. Out of breath he grabbed a tissue to clean me up. “I bet you don’t think so badly about me know, huh?” he asked smirking. “Even worse now”, I replied and winked at him.

Don’t be a ghost reader, tell me what you think! :)

#formula 1 #charles leclerc #smut #fanfiction #activist #monaco #female reader

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big-bundle-of-little-mistakes · 2 years

Text

Ok so yeah hey hi I HAVE THOUGHTS-

First off, why is nobody, and I mean NOBODY, talking about the fact that Deckard's entire family just decided "man, nah, frick it, we're coming with you wherever" and stayed on the island while everybody else jumped off? Also, the entire town now has to find somewhere new to live, new houses, new jobs, and that old man and the cats... like... do you think he stayed? Him and his dog, just popping by to see the cats from time to time? We saw the cats and the brother stay on the island. On that note, what happened to all the other animals living on that island, they clearly didn't jump off in time. They all just travel across space too? So, canonically, Bee was once alive, how did she die? She became a robot. What's with the spirit things? I thought they were part of her programming, how do they return to her? Do they? Do they live as their own... beings? So they were ass naked there which means everybody saw Bee naked I guess. I know they were ethereal and jot really.... shaped that way, but, just saying.

Other thoughts- hey remember when spaceman Puppycat SHIT IN THE TOILET AND MADE IT CLEAN? Yeah that was wild.

So Violet had a kid. Why were they all in deep sleep mode anyway? How DID Cardamon wake up? And Bee being awake means... well he always knew her, Puppycat always knew Bee. She got left on Earth... and Puppycat when injured appeared before her, probably in the same way Moully came to see her. I think? I wonder if since Puppycat saw her as a kid and alive, and then later was confused about her fixing her broken robot arm, he was like "huh, what happened, how did she become a robot since I laat saw her?" Also, the fact that in the original, Deckard and Bee seemed to be the ship, but seems that Bee likes Deckard but Deckard thinks of himself as a mother type for her, while also slightly crushing... but in Lazy In Space, when Crispin ran away to join the circus, later he came back at some point to end up living with Bee (likely she found him and knew he was their sibling and convinced him to come home but he wasn't fully ready and she offered to let him stay with her for a while) and it seems they grew close, ir they were dating and he moced in with her but they broke up? And he moved back home? Anyway he still very much likes her, and she doesn't exactly dislike the thought of being with him either, she even dresses up for their date though she seemed reluctant to label it a date at first. So, ok, does Crispin end up dating the pink/red astral projection (likely her "romance" and "love" and "concern for others" aspect of her personality - blue probably sadness, yellow joy, idk, purple intuition and deep thought... white for her morals? Idk just throughts right now) or do they return to her? She is seen smiling later even though her eyes are still glitching, does she... get fixed? Wake back up? It seems she is still semi conscious while in "glitch" mode, as seen by the donut planet episode.

Also, on that note, I really love how their dynamic is, Crispin is definitely a little weird (I'd argue obsessed/ nuerotic more than weird per se) but Bee just embraces it and is ok with it, and she is definitely a little off as well, but he is chill with her level of weird and just goes with it too. "Of course there is" about the food being in the toilet. Just "ok then. I like everything to be clown themed, so sure girl, keep your food in the toilet, who am I to judge," and I just think that is really cute.

So, Deckard's "friend" followed him home, just, weirdly. And Deckard just is like "alright fine guess I have a stalker now I don't know, what am I gonna do about it?" But he seems pretty broken and sad at the end anyway, like cooking school just showed him he isn't good at something he wants to be good at and enjoys. That sucks because Deckard is honestly the sweetest most awkward guy. Second only to his brother Wesley, who cares for fish.

So, now, since Bee and Deckard are not a thing anymore like I thought, because her and Crispin... who thinks Deckard and his friend that followed him home are gonna be a thing? Or he'll start to like and get along with Cas cuz they'll both bond over the shit around them being weird and maybe they'll be a thing? Then again there's that whole weird hate-boner, throuple thing with Toast, her baby daddy, and Cas...

Ok I think that's all my word and thought vomit. Also the sheep thingie guys, wonder what happens to them since they failed. They just, keep chasing these guys all around as they continue to go on adventures for forever?

I loved the open ended weirdness of season 1. But then they gave us plot in season 2, and now I REALLY feel like we need just a short "tie up loose ends" one episode special, or short 3-6 episode season 3. Or I mean this is fine too, just leave well enough alone I guess. I don't know I just love Bee and Puppycat and need more of it.

#bee and puppcat lazy in space #bee and puppycat #crispin wizard #bee and deckard #deckard wizard #cas wizard #bee and puppycat cardamon #bee and puppycat cass

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aroacewxs · 5 months

Note

2 5 and 9 for rui!! bonus points for 5 if its not a pjsk song ksdjhgdfj

sorry this is a bit late!!! was quite busy today.

2) favourite thing about this character

many things come to mind when im asked this question but one of the most personal and touching aspects of rui's character is definitely the unthinkable amounts of love he has. for everything.

how despite it all, he chose to love. despite his suffering, he chose to love. he could never bring himself to have ill intent towards anybody who has ever wronged him. he carries so much love for this planet, for every living thing that breathes. he handles plants with such tender care it makes me want to curl up into a ball and cry a little. even for inanimate objects like his drones and robots, he treats with such gentleness as if they were his own children. his mechanical darlings. you've got to be kidding me

and oh, how deeply he loves his friends, those who have led him through the dark with such tender, firm hands. those who put their trust in him, in him and his eccentric ideas and imagination with no limits. those who gave him a chance, those whose company says "i love you, i love you for who you are and i love being with you" more than words could ever express. those who make him question whether he's living his own life or one of an incredibly fortunate fellow in a stage play.

in the end, rui chooses to love. rui loves deeply and loudly in his own special way. and i think there's something incredibly meaningful about that.

5) first song that comes to mind

okinimesumama by eve :] his alt is my favourite rui alt in the entire game and it's just a very very ruicore song to me. iirc tokishun even said that it's a song that suits him very well BUT i may be wrong. don't quote me on that. I mean:

Waiting for the "1, 2..." signal Holding hands with you is An act of courage for me

Now, we form a circle and start to spin Bit by bit I come to hate it, but I come to like it Hey, hey, I don't even understand the meeting of my selves We steadily close the gap But we remain far apart

There's no meaning to being humble and respectful So bye-bye to my embarrassing dreams From now on, forever, let's get along

We now avert our eyes from each other Bit by bit I come to hate it, but I come to like it Hey, hey, I don't even understand the meeting of my selves I steadily become better But I'm crumbling to pieces Da-dum, you disappear before I can touch you

IT'S HIM!!! IT'S HIM! BUT ALSO i've been thinking my love mine all mine by mitski : )

'Cause my love is mine, all mine I love mine, mine, mine Nothing in the world belongs to me But my love mine, all mine, all mine

My baby, here on earth Showed me what my heart was worth So, when it comes to be my turn Could you shine it down here for her?

9) could you be roommates with this character

Absolutely Not. rui and i have many things in common, and not wanting to clean because we end up making a mess within a day is one of them. i don't think either of us would survive if you put us in an apartment for a month, actually. if you were to put two teenagers with an unbridled, hungry desire to create and the inability to take care of themselves, i do not think it would go all too well

maybe if there was like one other person who's very reliable, I'd consider it, but I'd just feel bad for them

on the other hand, we could really bond. fun times

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE ASK :D i love thinking about this guy

#project sekai #wxs #wonderlands x showtime #kamishiro rui #rui kamishiro

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redroses07 · 20 days

Text

Day Off // Deke Shaw

Deke Shaw x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is stressed out with shield agent life, and Deke encourages her to take a day off and discover earth with him.

W/C: 2k

Warnings: Kissing, violence, end of the world, yk just basic stuff.

A/N: Hey guys!! This took much longer to write than anticipated, my apologies I've been insanely busy recently. I've really been wanting to write for Deke though because there is a LACK of fics for him on this app. Anyways, I really hope y'all enjoy, love you guys! ₊˚⊹♡

You and your Shield team had finally arrived back from the future, and you were relieved to say the least.

Being trapped in an unfamiliar place was horrifying, not that you and your team hadn't been through worse.

Just because you were back didn't mean you were in the clear, and discovering Daisy was the one who was going to cause the destruction of planet earth only made things more distressing.

Even though Daisy didn't currently have her powers you could see the fear in her eyes. You were worried for her, and so was the rest of your team. You had all been working tirelessly to stop the end of the world, and as important as it was the exhaustion was beginning to catch up to you.

Right now you were heading down the hall to meet with your team about the ever concerning anomalies that had been appearing in the lighthouse.

As you rounded the corner you felt yourself slam into something...or rather someone.

"You okay darling?" The all too familiar voice mused from above you.

Deke, the boy from the future. With his gray eyes and rugged features, who you had somehow managed to fall for. You knew he felt the same, but between the plethora of near death experiences the two of you hadn't had time to address your feelings.

"Shit! Deke, I'm sorry." You jumped back, examining where you had slammed into him.

Thankfully there was no noticeable damage.

You ran your hands through your hair, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Hey, it's okay! It barely hurt!" Deke spun around quickly, and did a silly little dance.

"See, I'm in tip top shape." He put on a goofy smile, causing you to give him one in return.

"Where are you off to?" Deke asked, you forgot that the team didn't always include him in their meetings.

"Oh, just, uh, meeting Daisy and everyone,"

"But I honestly just need a break, I'm so tired of running around all the time."

You leaned against the wall, the stress you were under feeling heavier than the weight of the world.

Deke gave you a sympathetic smile and lightly squeezed your hand.

You began to lean into him, and you began to feel as if you were handing him some of the stress you were carrying.

"Hey I have an idea." Deke exclaimed, taking your hands and turning you to face him.

"You should spend the day with me!" He suggested, his face just beaming with excitement.

"Deke...I don't know, they're expecting me-"

"Please! If they ask, just tell them you got sick or something." Deke pleaded, giving you the saddest puppy dog eyes you had ever seen.

You thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of your decision. Yes, you would waste the day having fun when you could be helping your teammates. Although, you would be getting a much needed recharge, and with your favorite person at that. And by the way, how could you say no to that face?

"Okay fineee." You gave in.

Deke pumped his fist in the air with excitement, earning a laugh from you.

"Oh my god, you can show me all of the cool earth things I've been wanting to try! Like every flavor of ice cream, and football! You know, since I only got here like a week ago.."

You truly didn't understand why he got on everyone's nerves so much. He was just excited to have a chance at living the life he always dreamed of in the future, and there was honestly something so refreshing about that. Deke didn't take advantage of anything, because he knew what it was like to have nothing.

"Of course, let me get dressed and then we can go. We've gotta be sneaky about it though."

"You've got it babe." Deke replied, shooting your finger guns and a wink. You rolled your eyes and walked off.

Once you got changed out of your casual clothes, and packed a small bag you hurried to meet Deke outside. You were sure to dodge any Shield Agents that were coming your way.

When you arrived at the exit, Deke was already waiting. When He saw you he excitedly pulled out a notebook and flipped to a specific page.

"I made a list of everything I want to do today! I know we might not be able to do it all but i put little stars next to my favorites." Deke pointed to the tiny stars he had drawn next to several items on his, not so short to do list.

"You make me laugh you know that?" You said, snatching the notebook from his hands to look over it.

"Is it too much?"

"No, It's perfect." you looked up to him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, causing his cheeks to turn a bright pink shade.

"Okay lets go!" You pulled him behind you as you headed toward your car that was parked in the nearby parking garage.

"I think this is my first time in one of these." Deke exclaimed as you drove towards your first destination.

"Well, is it everything you dreamed it would be?"

"Honestly, it's kinda underwhelming."

You let out a laugh, quickly turning to the side to make eye contact with Deke who was also laughing.

"I totally agree."

When you arrived at your first stop, Deke was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"You brought me to the beach?"

"I noticed that one had two stars next to it." you replied, pointing to the notebook laying on your console.

"I know it's not warm enough to get into the water, but we can at least walk on the sand and put our feet in."

"Are you kidding? This is amazing." Deke reached over into the driver's seat and hugged you tightly.

He quickly jumped out of the car and started racing towards the shore.

"Be careful! It's easy to fall on sand." You called, remembering how you had to get used to the way your feet sunk into the sand when you were a child.

Just as the words escaped your lips Deke fell face first into the sand.

Your heart raced worriedly as you rushed over to see if he was okay.

"Oh my god! I told you to be careful!" You snapped, leaning down to examine Deke who was still laying flat in the sand.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Deke rolled over, spitting sand out of his mouth.

You reached out your hand and helped him up, rolling your eyes as you did.

"Please watch yourself from now on." You said, refusing to loosen your grip on his hand.

After that care, not that the two of you hadn't gone through worse, you kept Deke close.

Were you really concerned, or were you using it as an excuse? That wasn't a question that needed to be answered.

As the two of you strolled towards the sore, hand in hand, you couldn't help but let your mind wander. Wander back to the unspoken feelings between the two of you. It's not as if nothing physical had ever happened between the two of you, holding hands and cuddling wasn't uncommon and you had even shared a kiss a few times, but nothing was ever really discussed.

Now was your long awaited chance, just the two of you, without impending doom hanging over your heads.

Well for the moment at least.

"Hey Deke..."

"mhm?" Deke stopped and looked up at you, tracing his thumb over your palm as he did.

"You know how I feel about you right?"

"What?"

"Everything that's happened, it's not just nothing. I really like you, just between the end of the world and time traveling I don't think I've remembered to tell you." You said all this without taking your eyes off Deke's.

You loved the way he looked at you, with such adoration.

For once, Deke didn't respond with his words but rather his actions. Without hesitation, he cupped your face and pressed many kisses to your lips, cheeks, and forehead.

He stopped to look at you, a giddy look on his face.

"Wait? So are we like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?" Deke said half jokingly.

"Only if you want to be." You got your answer when Deke kissed you again, this time with much more force. It was unlike any of the other kisses you two had shared, there was a sense of raw emotion behind it that hadn't been there before.

On your walk back to the car you leaned comfortably into Deke, no longer needing to worry about if it was 'too much'.

You began driving to your next activity, something that was a favorite of yours that you hoped he would really enjoy.

You pulled into the parking lot of your favorite dockside diner, and you could already smell the greasy french fries, and sizzling burgers. You watched as couples and groups of teens strolled down the dock, holding ice cream cones from the shop nearby.

Once you and Deke walked inside you found a waiter to get you a seat. You were seated quickly, and ordered drinks.

"So, is this somewhere you come a lot?"

"Yes, this is my favorite restaurant, and you haven't lived if you haven't had greasy American diner food."

Deke looked around at the place, excitedly examining everything. Once it came time to order, Deke couldn't decide between a bacon cheeseburger or chicken and waffles, so you agreed to get both and have half each.

Once your food arrived, you both ate quickly. Deke continuously snatched fries from your plate, stating each time that it was his last one. You ended up having to swat his hand away, claiming the rest of the fries.

Once you were finished you paid the bill and led Deke out to the dock.

You noticed him eyeing the ice cream parlor, so you asked him if he was up for dessert.

He happily agreed and ordered as many flavors of ice cream as they could fit on the cone. You doubted all those flavors would even taste good mixed together but as long as it made Deke happy.

You walked slowly down the dock, ice cream in one hand, and Deke's hand in the other.

At this point in the day the sun was beginning to sink below the clouds, and the temperature had dipped even lower. You realized you had forgotten to bring a jacket, as you had not planned to be out this late.

You began to shiver, and Deke took notice quickly. He pulled off his jacket, the one he wore nearly every day and offered it to you.

"Well won't you be cold?" you protested.

"Nah, temperatures were crazy in space, a little wind doesn't bother me."

You gave him a sympathetic smile and allowed him to wrap the jacket around your shoulders.

You decided to end your day sitting at the end of the dock and watching the sun sink between the clouds. Deke slipped his hand around your waist as the stars began to fade into view.

"It's so beautiful here, there weren't many beautiful things to look at where I used to live."

This filled you with sadness, and reminded you of the suffering Deke experienced his whole life.

"Deke, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve to live a life like that." You whispered softly, nuzzling your nose into his neck.

"Well it may have sucked, but you know what? It led me to you."

You looked up to make eye contact with your boyfriend. He tucked a few loose pieces of hair behind your ears, and kissed you on the forehead.

"And you are more beautiful than all the stars in the sky combined."

Taglist: @nikki-is-a-nerd @somestardeww

#agents of shield fanfic #agents of shield fanfiction #agents of shield #agents of s.h.i.e.l.d.#aos #aos fic #deke aos #deke shaw x reader #deke shaw #deke shaw fanfic #daisy johnson #marvel #aos fanfic #aos fandom #jemma simmons #leo fitz #agent coulson #phil coulson

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imaginaryari · 6 months

Text

squick haley come get y’all’s juice

It’s late, just after sunset when he decides to approach the tourists. “Mind if I join you guys?” Zhonglin asks them at their illegal little campfire. It’s two men probably close in age to Zhonglin but looked much older. One had light blue eyes and blond hair peeking out from his bucket hat, the other had his hair dyed a violently orange color and pale green eyes.

“Sure,” the blond says, “Want a kebab?”

“I’m good thanks.” Zhonglin takes a seat on the ground across from them. He’s brought nothing but a huge metal water bottle. “Where are you two from? Infernal? Trident?” Zhonglin guesses.

“We’re actually from the Ring Satellite.” The blond says.

“Oh, off planet,” Zhonglin says, unimpressed. “What brings you to Earth?”

“It’s this trend. They tell us Earth is not able to sustain life anymore but through the grapevine we’ll hear about cities like Solace and Infernal and Expanse and how everyone lives off the stuff the Earth makes. We thought it was a myth, so we liberated one of those supply pods to come down here.” The one with the fiery hair brags.

Zhonglin nods in understanding. These two have always broken laws and been inconsiderate, not just in his city. To further prove this, the blond pulls out a vape from his cargo pants.

“How did you get that past the watchmen?” Zhonglin asks.

He blows out unidentifiable fruit scented smoke. “What are you a cop?”

“We have no cops here, and no I’m not a watchman.” Zhonglin says with a shrug.

“Well, your ‘watchman’ or whatever didn’t know what it was.”

Sounds about right. “Well, smoking is banned here.”

“How,” fiery hair speaks up, “You just said there were no cops?”

“Right, so you entered through the city limits, because you saw a watchman, who definitely explained to you what is and isn’t allowed here and handed you one of handbooks explaining our laws,” Zhonglin stands up and dusts himself off. “Smoking is banned because it’s bad for the air. Bad for your lungs too but honestly, I don’t care about that. This campfire is also illegal the smoke will bother the people here as well as the wildlife. Stealing is also not allowed, I know we have no currency here and you think so lowly of us, but I did see you,” He points to the fiery haired one, “Take something from a friend of mine today. You’re both very inconsiderate of the people here it’s shocking.”

The pair look at each other and the blond scoffs. “Dude, relax.”

“Hey, I didn’t steal anything. She dropped it. What, you want it back?” Orange hair says as if he’s challenging Zhonglin.

“No, she already told me she didn’t need it. I came of my own accord, to just warn you.

“Warn us? About what?” The blond asks.

“The wildlife here is used to us and we are used to them. If you had read that handbook, you would know just how dangerous this location is. See my friends think I’m cruel, so I came over here to prove I wasn’t. There’s a jaguar in this area very territorial.” Zhonglin twists the top off his water bottle and takes a sip. “To be honest everyone was just going to leave you out here, on account of you being the hardheaded tools that you are.”

“Screw you, you’re lying! You wouldn’t be out here if it was true!” Orange hair yells.

Zhonglin sighs and shakes his head. He tried. “Alright then.” He drowns their campfire this his water bottle leaving all three of them in complete darkness.

“What the hell?!”

“I wouldn’t linger too long out here.” Zhonglin’s voice calls from an indeterminable location.

#solace #they have no names bcuz ZL didn’t bother to learn them #also because they died. that night.#jaguar attacks are rare but not unheard of

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fatecantstopme · 2 years

Text

Life Finds A Way

Pairing: Mafia!Bucky Barnes x reader

Summary: You start dating a handsome stranger who’s new to town. Bucky is concerned about anyone you date, so he has his right hand man, Steve, do some digging on the new guy. Turns out he’s not who he says he is.

Warnings: violence, torture, swearing, mafia themes. Sweet beautiful angst and fluff.

“James, have you ever considered just settling down with a nice girl?” you asked from across the room.

He looked up from the other side of his massive mahogany desk with a smirk. “Sure, doll. I think about it all the time. Problem is, there aren’t any nice girls left in all of New York.”

You turned back to him with a grin. “Because you’ve ruined every last one of them.”

Not you. He leaned back in his chair, strong arms settling into place behind his head. “Besides, what kind of fun would I be having with a nice girl?”

You laughed and plopped into the leather chair in front of his desk, Jean clad legs resting on the arm of the chair. “Absolutely none at all. That’s the point. You’d maybe stay out of trouble for once in your life.”

“Nah. I happen to like living life on the wild side.”

You raised your eyebrow but didn’t say anything. You knew he was so much more than the mafia boss the rest of NYC knew. He was kind, funny, gentle, a little goofy, and oh so protective. Not to mention, there wasn’t a single soul on god's green earth that was as attractive as the suited man in front of you. You loved him. Always had. And he loved you too…just not in the same way.

“Alright, doll. You better get moving or you’re gonna be late,” he said, interrupting your thoughts.

You groaned. “Do I have to? I hate meeting new clients.”

He laughed. “How are you supposed to get new clients if you never meet anyone?”

“You can bankroll my very cheap lifestyle so I never have to work again," you teased.

“Doll, if I bankrolled your lifestyle, it would be anything but cheap. And for the record, I’ve offered more than once, but you always say the same thing.”

“We don’t take handouts," you both said at the same time.

You sighed. “We may have grown up poor, but we never begged.”

He nodded. “I get it, doll. But if there ever comes a time when you want to give up practicing law…”

“Only every minute of every day, Buck," you joke as you grab your purse and head to the door.

As you step out into the hall, your path is blocked by a very handsome blond haired man. The man shoots you a grin, which you return in kind. “Hey Stevie. Boss is feeling kinda moody this morning. Apparently Sofia dumped him.”

“Her name is Sasha and I dumped her.” Bucky yelled from inside the office.

You winked at Steve and he laughed. “I’ve gotta get going. Keep him company for me, will you?”

“You’ve got it, (Y/N/N). I’ll see you tonight,” Steve replied.

You flounced off to your meeting and Steve entered the office, shutting the door behind him.

“You’ve got that look on your face. What’s up?” Bucky asked.

“When you gonna tell her?”

Bucky groaned. “Never. We’ve talked about this.”

Steve wanted to say more…hell, he always wanted to say more, but he knew it was a useless battle that he’d never win. The two most stubborn people on this planet also happened to be his childhood best friends. One had just walked out the door and the other was his boss, sitting on the other side of the desk. “Fine,” he said as he sat down in one of the leather chairs.

“Don’t we have some sort of business to discuss anyway?”

“Not really.”

“Make something up.”

Steve laughed. “Seriously, boss, nothing is happening. It’s been pretty quiet lately. Everyone has been cooperating and getting along. It’s almost peaceful.”

Bucky winced. “Damnit, Steve. You know better than to say that word. Now something bad is gonna happen.”

“You’re superstitious, Bucky. Everything is good.”

Bucky gave him a cold look, but didn’t say anything. Something in his gut told him that everything was not, in fact, good.

************

You walked into your office 10 minutes later than you’d intended to, but thankfully your new client wasn’t there yet. You looked down at the jeans and t-shirt you were wearing and sighed in annoyance as you locked the door to your office before changing into a dress with heels. You hated wearing dress clothes. It always made you feel like you were trying to be someone you weren’t. Like you thought you were better than everyone else.

You sat down at your desk and started to log into your computer when there was a knock at your door. "Come in," you called.

When the door opened, a young brunette man peeked into the office. "I'm looking for Miss (Y/L/N)," he said hesitantly.

"You've found her," you said as you stood up to greet him. You stepped around your desk and shook his hand before gesturing for him to have a seat on the other side of the desk. When you sat back down, you subtly slid your heels off to let your feet breathe. "What can I do for you, Mr. Reynolds?"

"I'm new to the area and I heard you were the best in the business, so I figured I'd want to become acquainted with you. My sources didn't mention how beautiful you were, though."

You were slightly taken aback by his forwardness. Sure, you knew you weren't ugly, but you weren't used to men looking at you the way this man was. You stared him up and down, trying to make your own assessment. Objectively, he was incredibly handsome. Strong jaw, green eyes, tall, a bit of a beard, and he clearly worked out. But there was something about him that made you wary. Or perhaps it was the 'best in the business' line that gave you pause. "What business are you in, exactly?" you asked, ignoring his compliment.

He smiled and you would be a liar if you said it didn't make your heart beat just a little faster. "Well, Miss (Y/L/N), I'm in a very private business." He shot you a wink, which once again made you wary.

"You can call me (Y/N). I appreciate the desire to maintain privacy, but everything you say here is completely confidential."

He nodded and smiled again. "A gentleman by the name of Carter recommended you."

The spark of recognition lit up your face. You knew Carter very well...he was actually one of Bucky's employees. "Ahh, I see. Well I understand your desire for privacy, then. What do you need from me, though?"

"I simply wanted to meet the attorney who came so highly recommended...should I need one in the future."

You offered him a small smile. You had no desire to be involved with any other mobs or mafia or whatever criminal group this man was a part of, but it's still sometimes hard for you to say no. Especially when someone comes on the recommendation of a friend. "Well, I'm happy to assist you should you need it. Don't hesitate to give me a call, Mr. Reynolds." You stood up and extended your hand.

He mirrored your actions and smiled as he shook your hand. "I appreciate that, (Y/N), and please, call me Charlie."

You inclined your head slightly and replied, "Have a good rest of your day, Charlie."

"Thank you. You too, (Y/N)." He turned and left your office without another word.

Once he was gone, you sat back down at your desk and went over the meeting again in your head. He seemed nice enough and he wasn't creepy or off-putting, which was a nice change of pace from some of the clients you'd had in recent months. You debated calling Bucky and asking him to look into Charlie for you, but you decided that would be a bit extreme. Besides, if Carter recommended this guy, he had to be a good one, right?

You pushed any lingering doubts from your mind and decided to move along with your day. Charlie hadn't asked anything of you and he really was very polite. You felt comfortable with him, even if your initial instinct was wariness. That was something years of being friends with New York's top mafia boss would do to you.

You finally signed into your computer and started going through your emails. Once you finished that, you moved on to some paperwork that had been piling up. A couple hours had passed when your cell phone started ringing. You didn't recognize the number, but sometimes clients called you from unknown numbers, so you answered. "This is (Y/N) (Y/L/N)."

"Hi, (Y/N)," the deep voice on the other end of the line said.

Your eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't expect to hear from you so soon, Charlie."

You could practically hear his smile as he replied, "Well you did say to call if I needed anything."

You laughed lightly. "I didn't expect you to need me so soon."

He laughed warmly. "I was hoping you would have dinner with me tonight."

You inhaled sharply, surprised by his request. "Dinner?"

"Yes. It's something people do when they're attracted to each other."

You paused.

"I apologize if I was too forward, (Y/N). I'd been debating on asking you since the moment I walked into your office this morning."

"Oh." Your surprise was evident in your tone.

He quickly backed off, sensing your disinterest. "We can absolutely forget that this conversation ever happened, if you'd prefer."

"That won't be necessary," you said quickly. "I would love to have dinner with you. It's just that I already have plans with some friends tonight...but I suppose I could cancel those."

"Oh no, please don't cancel your plans on my account. We can have dinner a different night."

"It's not really a big deal. We just get together every Tuesday night for drinks and gossip. I'm quite certain I can miss one." I don't think they'll be upset with me.

"Well, I wouldn't want your friends to hate me before I've even met them."

"Pretty presumptuous of you to think you'll ever meet them."

He laughed. "A man can dream, can't he?"

You smiled. "I suppose I'll allow it," your tone was light and teasing and he chuckled in response. "So tonight, then?" you asked.

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure."

"Alright then. Would you like me to pick you up or meet at the restaurant?"

"Quite the gentleman. Since we've already met, I'm okay with you picking me up at my office."

He chuckled. "Alright, sounds good. I'll pick you up at 7."

"Looking forward to it."

"Oh, and (Y/N)?"

"Hmm?"

"Wear something nice." He hung up without saying goodbye.

If you hadn't heard the warmth in his tone, you may have been offended by that last statement. While you weren't exactly one to dress up and go out, you owned plenty of options ranging from leisure to black tie. You bit your lip as you thought about what you were going to wear that evening, images of the different dresses you had stashed in the back of your closet traipsing across your mind. One of the options you thought of was a beautiful black dress that made you feel like a million dollars. Honestly, it should because Bucky had it made for you. God only knows how much it had cost him. You'd needed a dress for a black tie event he was dragging you to and he'd had it delivered to you the day of.

Thinking about the dress of course made you think about Bucky, which instantly made you feel guilty. Your plans tonight had been with Bucky, Steve, and a few of your other close friends. You debated on whether to call Steve or Bucky...a debate which lasted less than a second. You picked up your phone, clicked on your favorites, and selected the second name on the list.

"Hey (Y/N/N)," a warm voice said.

"Hey Steve," you replied.

"Uh-oh. What's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've got that 'I did something I shouldn't have' tone."

You sighed. "Sometimes it's a pain in the ass having known you since birth."

He laughed in response. "Come on, spill."

"So I can't make it tonight."

"Aww come on, (Y/N/N). It's Tuesday."

"I know, I know. I um...I have a date."

Steve paused for a few moments before responding. "With whom?"

"A potential client."

"(Y/N)!"

"Oh what? He's not an actual client, so it's fine. Besides, he apparently knows Carter."

"Hmm." Charlie's supposed knowledge of Carter seemed to appease Steve...at least for the moment. "Can I assume you want me to tell Bucky?"

"Please," you mumbled. "Maybe don't tell him everything, though?"

"You want me to lie to him?"

"No...just don't tell him the whole truth."

"So leave out the part about you having a date."

"You know how he gets! He's made it virtually impossible to date any eligible man in the entire city! He always scares them away from me."

Steve sighed. "You know he doesn't do that on purpose. He worries about you."

You sighed. "I can take care of myself, you know. I'm almost a legit full-functioning adult."

Steve laughed. "Almost." He paused. "Alright, fine. I'll tell him you're not coming tonight, but if he asks me why, you know I can't lie to him."

"At least fight him off a little...maybe he'll back off."

"We both know that will never happen, but I'll do my best. I'll see you tomorrow, (Y/N/N). Have fun and stay safe. Call me if he gets annoying or creepy."

"I will. Thanks, Stevie."

The two of you hang up and you sigh in relief. You knew Steve wouldn't freak out on you like Bucky would have, so you played it safe by telling him instead. You knew Bucky would likely be calling you later tonight to grill you about this new guy, but for now you opted to focus on simple things, like what you were going to wear and how you were going to style your hair. You might not have loved getting dressed up and doing your hair and makeup, but that didn't mean you didn't know how to look amazing.

You decided to finish up your work before heading home to get ready for the first date you'd had in what felt like years.

**********

"What do you mean she's not coming?" Bucky asked.

"She's busy."

"Busy? It's Tuesday. We always get together on Tuesdays."

"I know, but she's got other things going on tonight, Buck."

"What kinds of things, Steve?"

"I don't know. It's not my business."

Bucky glared at his best friend and right-hand man, nearly burning a hole right through him. "I find it hard to believe you didn't ask."

Steve sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "She asked me not to say."

Bucky took a step towards him, and even though he was slightly shorter than Steve, Steve still felt intimidated. Out of everyone on the planet, no one knew what Bucky was capable of better than Steve did. Steve took a deep breath. "She's uh...she's got a date."

Bucky looked surprised. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"(Y/N) has a date," Steve repeated.

"With?"

"The client she met with this morning."

Bucky blinked slowly. "Did you get his name?"

Steve shook his head.

"One job, Steve. Literally one job."

"Technically, my job is to protect you and your interests."

"Which extends to (Y/N). It always has and it always will."

Steve sighed. "I'll find out."

"Good. I want you to find out everything about this guy. I don't want some random guy hanging out with her if I don't know him."

"Have you considered that she's old enough and smart enough to take care of herself?"

"Have you considered that I don't care? She means the world to me and I will do anything I can to keep her safe. Anything."

Steve sighed again, but nodded. "I know, Buck. So will I."

"Good. Now get to work."

Steve nodded and backed out of the room. "You've got it, boss."

Once Steve had left, Bucky leaned back in his chair, reflecting on the information he'd just learned, as well as all the years he'd spent keeping you safe. That was all he ever wanted to do...protect you. You were the reason he got out of bed in the morning, his guiding light, his hope, his reason for being. He lived for you. It had been that way since you were kids. Bucky was only a year older, but he'd always been extremely protective of you. He didn't realize until he was in his early 20s that it wasn't just because you were practically family. You held his heart in the palm of your hand and you didn't even know it. If it came down to it, Bucky would gladly give his life for yours. There would never be a price too high for your protection and happiness. There were times he had done things and made choices that were for your own good that upset you or even hurt you. He didn't care if you hated him, as long as you were safe.

He hadn't grown up hoping to become a mafia boss, let alone the most well-known and respected mafia boss in all of New York state. He'd had bigger (and more legal) aspirations, but sometimes life takes its own turns. When he found himself in a position of power, he realized how much danger it put the people he loved in, especially you. If anyone knew how much he cared about you, you'd be a pawn in this dangerous game he played. He couldn't let that happen, so he always kept you at arms length. Everyone knew Bucky Barnes looked out for you, but everyone saw it as a friendly, or even brotherly, relationship. He made it clear that if anyone so much as looked at you wrong, he would drop them into the bottom of the Hudson without a second thought. People kept their distance from you out of self-preservation. He knew it had hurt you over the years, especially in the dating realm, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't stop protecting you, he couldn't stop caring, and he certainly couldn't stop loving you. The fact that he regularly scared off potential suitors was simply a bonus for him. He wanted you to be happy so desperately, but he also couldn't bear to see you with someone else.

Bucky sighed and pulled himself together. These kinds of thoughts could ruin a weaker man. He shook off the heavy emotions and started reviewing the paperwork you had dropped off for him earlier that day.

**********

7:00pm came around all too quickly. You'd been ready for almost an hour, your nerves forcing you to make sure you had plenty of time to prepare. It had been quite sometime since you'd been on a real date.

While you were waiting for Charlie's arrival, your phone pinged, letting you know you'd received a text message. When you looked down at it, you saw Steve's name flash across the screen.

S: Hey, (Y/N/N), I'm on my way to Bucky's but I just wanted to check in and see how your date is going.

Y: I'm actually waiting for him to pick me up now.

S: Wait, you've met this guy right? He's not coming to your house?

Y: Stevie, chill. I'm not stupid. I met him this morning and he's picking me up from my office.

S: Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. I worry sometimes.

Y: I know and I love you for it. I promise I'll call you if I get into trouble or anything.

S: Alright. Just be safe.

S: BTW, what's this guy's name? I wanna know who's name to put on the headstone should he so much as lay a finger on you.

You laughed out loud before responding.

Y: God, you sound like Bucky. His name is Charlie Reynolds. Happy?

S: Thanks, (Y/N/N). If you go missing, I'll track his ass down.

You laughed again. You appreciated Steve's protective nature, but you also thought he was overdoing it. He was a lot like Bucky in that way. You started to type your response when a beautiful black Cadillac pulled up to the curb and a beeped at you. A man got out of the driver's seat, came around to the passenger side, and opened the rear door.

Charlie leaned out of the vehicle slightly so you could see him. "Hey (Y/N)."

You blushed slightly, having never been picked up in style like this before. You sent a quick text to Steve to let him know your date had begun before sliding into the spacious backseat. "Well this is luxurious," you commented.

Charlie smiled. "I intend to make the best impression possible this evening."

"I would have been okay if you'd picked me up in an old Toyota Corolla."

He laughed. "You deserve much better than that."

You smiled. "But you don't even know me. How could you possibly know what I deserve?"

"I have excellent instincts for this sort of thing."

"And apparently a wit to match."

He grinned. "Oh I'm glad you noticed."

You playfully rolled your eyes. "It's impossible not to. So...where are we going?"

"Madame, please. Be patient."

"You'll learn quite quickly that patience is not one of my strong suits."

"Patience has great rewards, my dear. You'll see."

You weren't quite sure how you felt about Charlie using terms of endearment this soon, but at least he hadn't called you 'baby' or something more personal. Not that you had an issue with pet names...just not 10 minutes after you meet someone.

A few minutes later and you arrived at your destination. When the drive opened the door to help you out, you were surprised to find yourself in front of one of the fanciest restaurants in the entire city. Only problem? It was owned by Bucky's rival...or former rival, would be more accurate. Keenan Mulligan had been found dead in the Hudson river a little over a month ago.

"Are you alright?" Charlie asked as he stepped out behind you.

"Of course. I'm just a little surprised that you choose this particular place. I didn't even know it was still open."

Charlie looked at you in confusion. "Why would it be closed?"

"Well...umm...the owner was murdered not that long ago. Most of his businesses have shut down." Including his very illegal ones.

"Hmm. I didn't know. My apologies, we can absolutely go somewhere else--"

"Oh that won't be necessary. I didn't know him or anything. I was simply surprised."

Charlie nodded. "Alright."

You started to walk towards the door, but Charlie stopped you and turned you towards him.

"May I just say, you look absolutely stunning this evening. Like a vision."

You blushed. "Thank you. You don't look so bad either."

He laughed. In truth, the man was quite attractive in his fitted suit. Everything about him radiated wealth...and in this moment, so did you.

Charlie guided you into the restaurant and you were greeted at the hostess stand by a beautiful young woman.

"Mr. Reynolds, it's a pleasure to see you again sir. Would you like your usual table?" the hostess asked.

"That would be lovely."

You followed Charlie to his 'usual table' in a quiet corner near the rear of the establishment. He helped you into your chair before taking a seat across from you. The hostess placed the menus on the table and bid you both a good evening.

"So...you come here often?" you joked lightly.

Charlie laughed. "You could say that. My brother loved this place. He used to drag me here any time I was in town."

"Used to? Did he move away?"

"He died," Charlie said, sadness, and perhaps a bit of anger, filled his voice.

"Oh," you paused. "I'm so sorry."

Charlie waved you off. "It's quite alright. You couldn't have known. Besides I've had plenty of time to cope. But his death is actually the reason I moved to New York. The city reminds me of him...his memory is infused within every inch of it."

"That's actually quite beautiful," you said softly.

Charlie smiled softly. "Well enough of that. Onto happier matters."

And with that, the conversation flowed as easily as water. Charlie struck you as a kind and gentle man. He was very sweet, an excellent conversationalist, and very intelligent. He also seemed to know most of the staff at the restaurant, as well as several of the patrons. All around, he seemed like an incredible man. By the end of the night, you were smitten.

**********

"Yo, Steve. What's with Buck?"

Steve sighed. "You know how he gets, Sam. Always up in his head about something."

"He seems worse tonight..." Carter commented.

"Well don't let him hear you say that. It'll probably only piss him off more."

"Is it about that chick...what the heck was her name? Savannah?" Sam asked.

Steve chuckled. "Sasha. Bucky said he broke up with her yesterday."

"It's not like he was that into her anyway," Carter interjected.

"Well...we all know why that is, don't we?" Sam asked lightly.

"Oh really? Well why don't you enlighten us then, Samuel?" Bucky said as he entered the living room.

All three men were quiet as they waited for Bucky to just let it go and continue with the evening. Bucky, as always, had other plans. "Well? Go on, then."

Sam sighed. "You never really like the women you date. At least not the way most people do."

Steve winced and Bucky raised his eyebrows. "Oh please continue," Bucky said.

"I'm just saying...we get it, ya know? No one else is ever going to compare."

Steve closed his eyes and Carter let out a whispered, "Ooo."

"Compare to...?" Bucky asked, clearly daring Sam to continue.

"(Y/N)," Sam stated, refusing to back down.

Steve and Carter made eye contact and started to rise from their seats, eager to leave the room while Bucky tore Sam a new one. But they weren't fast enough.

"Sit down," Bucky ordered.

The men immediately complied and waited to hear what would come next. To their surprise, it wasn't a verbal beating, but a pained acknowledgment.

"I wish I could say you were wrong. But my very small world revolves around one single human being and there are days when my soul aches with loneliness. I wish I could change the way things are. I wish I could forget her just as much as I wish I could be hers. But every decision I have made, every choice...they were mine alone. I created a barrier I can't remove, and for that, I will suffer eternally." Bucky sat down with a sigh and took a long swig of his bourbon.

The other three men looked at each other in utter shock. This was the first time Bucky had ever "publicly" acknowledged how he felt about (Y/N). Even in private, he was very careful about what he said to anyone other than Steve. Apparently, Bucky'd had more to drink that evening than any of them thought.

Bucky seemed, at least for a moment, to regain his composure. "If any of you breathe a single word of this to (Y/N), you will not live to see the next sunrise."

In any other situation between friends, they'd likely laugh it off...but with James Buchanan Barnes, murder was not something to be regarded as a joke. Not only was he perfectly capable of killing, he was more than willing if it was required.

**********

The next morning, Steve began his research into Charlie Reynolds. He had contacts all over the city and most of them owed him at least one favor. The first couple people he asked had no idea who "Charlie Reynolds" was, but were able to refer him to other people that may have information.

By lunchtime, Steve was starting to get discouraged. Not a single person he'd spoken to all morning had ever even heard the name, let alone have any dirt.

It wasn't until later in the evening that Steve received a call from a friend of a friend's brother, claiming he had Information on Reynolds.

"Mr. Rogers, I understand you're looking for information on Charlie Reynolds."

"That would be correct. Do you know him?"

"Not personally, but I know of him. He's a businessman from California."

"California? Do you know why he's come to New York?"

"I've heard some rumors that he's expanding his business here."

"Interesting. And what business would that be exactly?"

The man sighed. "I honestly don't know. However, my cousin's best friend lives out in California and apparently knows Reynolds personally."

"Does this cousin's best friend have a phone number?"

Two minutes later, Steve was dialing the number the caller had given him.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mr. Collins. My name is Steve Rogers. I got your information from a friend. I'm looking for information on a Charlie Reynolds. He's apparently a businessman in California."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Then Collins responded hesitantly, "What sort of information?"

"Anything you know would be very helpful."

"May I ask what this is regarding?"

"I'm a private investigator and I've been hired on a very sensitive matter involving Mr. Reynolds," Steve lied smoothly.

"I see. Well, I can at least confirm that he is, in fact, a businessman here in LA."

"Excellent. And what is his business?"

Collins paused. "Well he's very private about it."

"I understand. I can be very discreet. It's what I'm paid to do." At least that part was true.

"Okay, well...just don't mention where you got any of this information, okay? If it comes back to me, it's my head."

Steve thought the man might be a bit dramatic, but he indulged him for the time being. "You have my word."

"Reynolds is in the underground world. Drugs, guns, money, sex trafficking, the works. If it's illegal, Reynolds knows how to procure it. He's the go-to guy for pretty much anything in Southern California."

"Interesting," Steve said. "Is it just him running this or is he part of some sort of organization?"

Collins laughed harshly. "Part of? Hell no, man. Reynolds runs the damn thing. He's the kingpin. There's not a person in this city who isn't afraid of him."

"I see." Steve took a breath to ensure his tone remained level. "My understanding is that you may know Reynolds on a more personal level."

Collins was silent for several seconds. "I actually met him in college. Back before he decided to return to the family business."

"Family business?"

"Apparently his dad and older brother were mafiosos back in New York."

Steve's breath caught in his chest. He'd never heard of a Reynolds family being a part of the underground network in New York.

"After his dad died, Charlie changed. It was like his entire personality had turned dark. He quickly amassed followers to do his bidding. He pretty much took over the underground market in LA before he was even 25," Collins continued.

"I don't know of any Reynolds families in the mafia scene in New York," Steve commented.

"Oh, well that's because he changed his name when he moved to California. His real name is Charlie Mulligan."

Steve's heart stopped in his chest. The pieces of the puzzle began to click into place. "He's Kevin Mulligan's kid?"

"Yeah, I think that was his dad's name. Brother's name is Keenan."

Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I appreciate all the information you've given me. No one will know we've spoken."

"Good. I appreciate that."

"Of course. Goodbye."

"Bye."

When Steve hung up the phone he stood in the middle of his living room in stunned silence. Charlie's unexpected return to New York only a month after his brother's murder could only mean one thing...he was looking for answers.

Steve immediately dialed his phone. The second it connected, he spoke, "Buck? We need to talk. It's urgent."

"What's wrong?"

"It's about Charlie Reynolds."

"Who?"

"The guy (Y/N)'s been seeing."

"I'm home. Come now."

Steve was out the door before he'd even hung up the phone.

**********

Bucky's front door flew open before Steve could even knock. Bucky gestured for him to come in and quickly shut the door behind him.

"What did you find out?"

"You may want to sit down," Steve advised.

Bucky raised his eyebrows, but took a seat in the front room, gesturing for Steve to sit in the chair across from him.

"Everyone I spoke to had never heard of Charlie Reynolds," Steve began.

"Then what's the urgency for?"

"Because after talking to people all day, I finally spoke to someone who knew his name."

"Go on."

"Reynolds is a business man from California."

"What kind of business?"

"Our kind," Steve said simply. "Except worse."

Bucky paled. "Why is he here?"

"According to someone I spoke to in California, Reynolds essentially owns the underground market in LA. Anything illegal goes through him. He can get you anything you want. Drugs, money, guns, women. Anything."

"Why is he here?" Bucky asked again, clearly impatient.

"He's from here."

"I don't remember any mafia Reynolds families."

Steve took a deep breath. "That's because he changed his name. His real name is Mulligan."

Bucky's eyes darkened and his skin paled even farther. "Mulligan."

Steve nodded. "Keenan was his older brother."

Bucky's breathing quickened. "He knows who I am?"

"I think we should assume so."

"So he knows who (Y/N) is."

Steve nodded again. "It seems likely."

Bucky immediately stood up and walked into another room, emerging moments later with his phone. He tapped the first favorite in his contacts and the phone began to ring. After several rings, it went to voicemail. Bucky called it three more times and each time it went to voicemail. "She's not answering."

Steve's eyes widened. "You don't think--?"

"We need to find her. Now."

Steve immediately sent out the call to the most trusted guys. He sent each of them out to scour the town for (Y/N) with strict instructions to call him the moment they found her.

Bucky was pacing, clearly emotional.

"We'll find her, Buck."

Bucky stopped and looked at his friend. "What if we don't?"

"We will."

Bucky took a deep breath. "We can't just stand around. We need to go out and look for her."

"I've got 10 guys out looking now. Sam and Carter are on the way to her house. Someone will find her."

Bucky didn't look convinced. "How much do you think he knows?"

"Reynolds?"

Bucky nodded.

"I think we should assume he knows everything and work from there."

Bucky began to pace again, deep in thought. It was several minutes before he stoped. "I think I know where we need to go."

Steve waited for him to elaborate, but he simply walked to the front door and stepped outside. Steve quickly followed him, not wanting Bucky to go anywhere alone. "Where are we going?"

"Just get in the car. I'll drive."

Steve looked surprised, but he didn't argue. He knew better than that.

Twenty five minutes later, it became evident where they were headed. The warehouse district. Steve looked over at Bucky, but his focus was on the road ahead.

"Do you want me to call for backup?"

"No. Not until we're sure."

Five minutes later, they pulled up next to an old abandoned warehouse. A warehouse which happened to be situated right next door to one Bucky owned. From where they were parked, they could clearly see three dark Suburbans parked by a side door into the warehouse.

"Sometimes, I hate being right," Bucky muttered. "Call the guys. Meet them here."

Steve nodded and Bucky got out of the car. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Inside," Bucky responded as he shrugged his suit jacket back on.

"Are you insane? You're not going in without backup."

Bucky leveled a glare at Steve that could easily make a grown man whimper in fear. "Do not follow me until the others arrive."

"Bucky, that could be 30 minutes from now!"

"You think I don't know that? I'm not waiting 30 minutes. I can't just stand out here while that asshole is in there doing god knows what to her! I can't watch her die!" Bucky exclaimed emotionally. He took a deep breath and said in a more even tone, "And I'm sure as hell not leading you to the slaughter either."

Steve sighed, but he nodded. "Just make sure you come back alive, okay?"

Bucky smiled and walked across the dark alley to one of the more hidden entrances. Bucky may have the home court advantage, but Reynolds still had the upper hand.

**********

*Earlier*

"Charlie, where in the world are we going?" You asked.

"Patience, my dear. You'll see."

You sighed. You knew better than to ask him again. He seemed to love surprises. He'd showed up at your office with lunch from your favorite Thai place. Then he'd begged you to let him take you out to dinner again, and you just couldn't say no. He was so sweet and caring. It was quite endearing.

It wasn't until you started seeing areas of town you didn't recognize that you got concerned. "Umm, Charlie? What are we doing in the warehouse district?"

Charlie shot you a grin. "It's a surprise."

There was something about the grin that made you shudder. You tried to brush it off, but there was a nagging feeling in your mind that you couldn't erase. You started to think maybe you shouldn't ignore it...how well did you really know this man anyway? You'd only known him for a little over 24 hours. The only reason you'd let your guard down was because Carter had recommended him...only you'd never asked Carter about it. Which now you realized may have been a fatal mistake. "Stop the car," you demanded.

Charlie simply ignored you and picked up speed.

"Stop. The. Car. Now."

Charlie laughed, and it sent chills down your spine.

"I'm not kidding, Charlie. Let me out."

"That's not going to happen. You see, I have plans for tonight...and I need you for those plans. It's easier if you're a willing participant, but you certainly don't have to be. In fact, it might be more fun that way."

Your heart began to race and your blood went cold. You knew how to defend yourself, but you'd had several glasses of wine with dinner, all at Charlie's insistence of course, and you were feeling quite tipsy. Your brain felt foggy and you were struggling to figure out a way out of the mess you'd managed to get yourself into.

Charlie pulled into the parking lot of a warehouse you vaguely recognized as one of the several Bucky owned throughout the city. "Why are we here?" You couldn't quite keep the fear out of your voice and it only served to anger you.

Charlie smiled coldly. "You'll see."

The moment he turned to get himself out of the car, you flung the passenger side door open and leapt out, running towards civilization. You didn't get more than a few feet before large arms picked you up and began to carry you back towards the ominous building. You screamed, kicked, and punched as best you could, but it seemed to make no difference.

You looked up at the man who had restrained you and gulped. He was a very large man. Maybe 6'5", 280lbs of pure muscle. You weren't getting away, no matter how hard you tried. The realization brought tears to your eyes. I'm going to die tonight.

"Where do you want her, boss?" the big man asked.

"Follow me."

Charlie led the way into the building, the man carrying you and three others followed after him.

Eventually, you reached an inner room that you'd never seen before. There was plastic tarp on the walls and floors and a single chair in the middle of the room. "Please," you whimpered.

Charlie laughed again. "Oh I do like it when you beg." He gestured to the man holding you. "Sit her there and zip tie her to the chair. Make sure it's tight."

You struggled the entire way, but the big man easily maneuvered you. With some help from one of the other men, they made quick work of securing your arms and legs to the chair. The zip ties dug into your skin and the more you moved, the more painful it became...which was probably the point.

Charlie grabbed a chair from the far corner of the room and sat it directly in front of yours. He sat down on it and leaned forward to look at you closely. "Do you know why you're here, (Y/N)?"

"No."

"Hmm," he leaned back. "Well, do you know where we are?"

"Yes."

"And where would that be?"

"In a warehouse."

"Do you really wish to make this difficult?" he asked menacingly.

"Not particularly, but it certainly isn't simple."

Charlie chuckled. "You know, under different circumstances, I really do think we'd make quite a power couple."

"I think I'll stick with being alone, thanks."

He laughed. "You're no weak woman. I like that. Stubborn too."

You didn't say anything, but your eyes never left his.

Charlie sighed. "Perhaps I should reword the question. Do you know who owns this warehouse?"

"Yes."

"And that would be?"

"James Barnes," you said reluctantly.

The mention of his name seemed to anger Charlie and it made you worry that you'd said the wrong thing.

"That's correct." Charlie stood and began to pace around the room. "James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky to his friends, yes? I've learned quite a lot about this 'Bucky' in the last month or so. Quite a lot."

"Don't call him that," you snapped.

"Ohh, did I touch a nerve, sweetheart?" he asked as he caressed your cheek from behind you.

You jerked your head away from him. "Only people he cares about can call him that."

"Ahh, so only the people he loves then?" he whispered in your ear.

You didn't respond. There was no point.

"Do you know what it is Mr. Barnes does for a living, (Y/N)?"

"I'm his attorney, which I assume you already know."

"Quite right. And as his attorney, you handle his affairs?"

"Some of them, yes."

"Well are you aware what happens in this very room?"

You shook your head. "He's not obligated to tell me all of his activities."

"Perhaps not, but I'm sure he does. At least most of them, yes?"

"I think that's quite unlikely."

He laughed. "Odd, seeing as how the two of you were childhood friends."

You inhaled sharply.

"Oh yes, I know about that. I know about your little friend, Steve Rogers as well. I know quite a lot about all of you, in fact."

"Then what do you need me for? Since you already know everything."

He smiled and leaned forward, placing one hand on each of the chair arms. "I like hearing you admit to everything. Besides, I want to see how much you really know. So if you could just be honest for me, dearest, that would be so helpful." He paused. "I don't want to have to hurt you." He ran a finger across your cheek and down your neck.

You tried to pull away from him, but there was no where to go. "I don't want to help you."

"It doesn't matter what you want. You're going to help me willingly, or I'll force you to help me. The choice is entirely yours."

You glared at him, but remained silent.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw one of the other men step forward with a small pouch in his hand. He handed it to Charlie, who took it gratefully. He laid it on the chair beside him and began to unroll it. He took out each item and examined them carefully under the light, making sure you had a good view of each one.

The first item he took out appeared to be a rasp, like the ones ferriers use to trim a horse's hoof. The second was a very sharp, very long blade. You couldn't quite make out the third, but it was small and shiny. The fourth was a pair of pliers. Each item he pulled out was clearly used for torture. You were no fool. You knew they were meant for you.

“So that’s your plan then? Torture me?”

Charlie smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll only hurt you if I have to.”

“What exactly do you want, Charlie?”

He seemed to be annoyed at your use of his first name, but he didn’t correct you. “I want Barnes.”

You gave him an odd look and waited for him to continue.

“I want to watch him squirm. I want to see him in pain. I want him to sob and beg for mercy as I take everything from him.” Charlie sighed. “And then I want to slit his throat.”

“Why exactly do you hate him so much?”

“Because he’s a murderer!” He yelled.

You were taken aback by the hostility in his voice. “And you’re not?” You asked softly.

“I am when I have to be.”

“But he’s just a monster? How is that not hypocritical?”

Charlie walked over to you, knife in hand. He leaned forward menacingly and touched the edge of the blade to your cheek. “He killed my brother, (Y/N). He deserves to die.”

This was news to you. You weren’t stupid. You knew who Bucky was…what he was. People around him had the habit of disappearing or dying under mysterious circumstances. But in your experience, none of those people had been innocents. None had been good people. “Who was your brother?”

Charlie slid the blade down, nicking your skin just enough to draw blood. “When I was 18, I decided to change my last name. Distance myself from my family and the blood on their hands. But life has a way of pulling you back in…I suppose you could say I was born for it.” He paused. “My last name was Mulligan.”

Your eyes widened and you let out a slight gasp. “Keenan,” you whispered.

“That’s right, (Y/N). I’m Keenan’s younger brother.”

“I’m sorry.”

Charlie looked surprised. “You’re what?”

“I’m sorry your brother is dead. I can’t imagine how difficult that must be for you.”

For some reason, your sympathy only made him angrier. “I don’t need your sympathy. What I need is answers!”

“I can’t give you any. I don’t know anything about his death.” It’s true. You didn’t know anything.

“Liar.” Charlie picked up the rasp and moved towards you again. “Tell me what you know.”

“I don’t know anything.”

He laid the rasp on your arm. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying.”

He slowly ran the rasp across your arm, placing pressure on it as he went. You cried out in pain as the skin on your arm was sliced by dozens of tiny metal pieces.

“Tell me what you know.”

“I don’t know anything!” You yelled.

“Give me Barnes!” He yelled back.

You paled, realizing what he was really asking for. “It doesn’t matter what you do to me. I will never betray him. Never.”

“So be it.”

The sounds of your screams echoed through the empty building…

*Now*

When Bucky entered the warehouse, it was completely silent. Normally that might not bother him, but in this moment it was more terrifying than he could have imagined. He made his way deeper into the warehouse, knowing there were only one or two places Reynolds was likely to take you.

He was about 50 feet away from the first room when he heard your scream.

Without thinking, he drew his gun and raced into the room. It took him mere moments to assess the situation. He saw you tied to a chair in the center of the room, beaten and bloody. Reynolds was standing behind you. The moment Bucky entered the room, Reynolds put a knife to your throat.

His henchmen each pointed a gun at Bucky, making him severely out numbered and out gunned.

“Let her go,” Bucky stated.

Reynolds laughed and tightened his grip on the knife, bringing tears to your eyes as the blade bit into your skin. “Barnes! Welcome. Welcome. Make yourself at home.”

Bucky stared at Reynolds like he’d grown a second head. “I said, let her go.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen. So go ahead and put your gun down before I slit her throat.”

Bucky looked at you then. Really, truly looked at you…and felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. Your face was bloody and he could already see black and blue marks developing on your skin. Your arms and legs were even bloodier and it was clear you were in a lot of pain. “(Y/N/N),” he whispered.

“I’m okay,” you murmured.

Bucky looked back up at Reynolds. “Why are you doing this? She’s an innocent.”

“Oh please, Barnes. She’s your attorney. She’s far from innocent.”

“She doesn’t deserve this.”

Reynolds shrugged. “I’ll be the judge of that. Now, please, be a good boy and drop the gun.” He emphasized his statement by digging the knife into your throat a little more, blood trickling down your neck.

“Don’t hurt her,” Bucky begged. “I’ll put it down.” He started to bend down to drop the gun, but paused when he heard you speak.

“No, Bucky. Don’t.” Your voice was barely audible. The knife against your throat making it difficult to speak. “He’ll kill you.”

Bucky sat the gun on the ground. “Better me than you.”

“No…” you whispered.

Reynolds laughed and nodded to his men, one of which picked up Bucky’s gun and forced him to his knees. “Now…where were we?”

Your eyes searched for Bucky’s and when his gaze met yours, you could see the anger in his blue eyes. But what scared you, downright terrified you, was the fear you saw. Bucky was never afraid of anything. It was a defining feature of his personality. But right now, in this moment, Bucky Barnes was afraid.

Reynolds removed the knife from your throat and you breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright Barnes. Here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna ask a question, you’re gonna answer it honestly. Lie to me, I hurt her. Refuse to answer, I hurt her. Piss me off, I hurt her. Got it?”

Bucky nodded.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

“I understand,” Bucky said, annoyance evident in his tone.

“Wonderful. First question. Do you know who I am?”

“Charles Mulligan. Goes by Charlie Reynolds these days.”

“Very good. Someone did their homework.” He leaned forward to stage whisper in your ear conspiratorially, “I’m guessing it was Steve.”

You didn’t respond, but that didn’t deter Reynolds. “Second question. Do you know why I’m here?”

“I’m assuming it has something to do with your brother’s death.”

“Right again. Question three. Did you murder my brother?”

Bucky responded instantly and firmly, “No, I did not.”

Reynolds sighed. “Wrong answer,” he said as he stabbed a smaller blade directly into your exposed thigh, eliciting a cry of pain from you.

“Please! Don’t hurt her,” Bucky yelled, struggling against the man who held him in place. “I didn’t kill your brother.”

Reynolds looked angry. “Don’t lie to me, James. I’ll kill her without a second thought.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Then let me rephrase the question. Did you have my brother murdered?”

Bucky was silent for a moment, seemingly weighing his options. He decided the truth was the safer bet, especially with your life on the line. “Yes, I did.”

You inhaled sharply and Bucky kept his eyes from meeting yours. He didn’t want to see the disgust on your face.

“See? I told you he killed him,” Reynolds said to you.

“Technically he didn’t,” you mumbled.

“Why do you still defend him?” He yelled.

You remained silent. There was no need to voice your reasoning. Reynolds didn’t really care anyway.

“You’re pathetic,” he murmured before turning his attention back to Bucky. “You had my brother killed right here in this very room, didn’t you?”

Bucky closed his eyes. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because he was making too many mistakes. Bringing too much heat to the city. People were starting to take notice and it was bad for business.”

“You could have talked to him.”

“I did. Several times, actually. He refused to get his shit together. So I did what I had to do to protect my own.”

Reynolds didn’t look pleased with this response. “You didn’t even have the decency to do it yourself. Too good to get your hands dirty?”

“I can’t run a business like this if I don’t delegate.”

“Delegate.” Reynolds huffed loudly. “You see that’s where we differ. I like to do things myself. I’m very hands on.” He slid the longer blade across your upper arm, slicing the skin.

“I didn’t lie!” Bucky insisted.

Reynolds shrugged. “I was proving a point.”

“Look. Your issue is clearly with me. Just let her go and you can do whatever you want to me.”

“While that sounds like an enticing offer, I’m going to have to decline. You see, I hold all the cards. I don’t need to make a deal with you.” He walked forward and leaned down so his face was mere inches from Bucky’s. “You took someone I love from me and now you have to pay for it. I’m going to kill the person you love most while you watch, completely helpless.”

You barked out a loud laugh from across the room. All eyes were on you as you continued to laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry,” you choked out between giggles. “It’s just…you picked the wrong girl.” You laughed some more. “He doesn’t love me. Not like that.”

Reynolds stared at you for a moment, contemplating your statement. He turned his attention back to Bucky. “She’s your lover, yes?”

Bucky shook his head. “Best friend, actually.”

Now it was Reynolds’ turn to laugh. “Oh is that all? I think not, Mr. Barnes. You would not lay down your life for a mere friend. Not if you are even half as ruthless as people say you are.”

You were slightly surprised by the exchange. You knew very well you were nothing more than a friend to Bucky. It had always been that way and you’d learned to be okay with it. To accept it. “Tell him, Bucky. Tell him you don’t love me like that.”

Bucky looked up at you and you were surprised to see pain in his eyes.

Reynolds leaned forward, “Now remember…don’t lie.”

Bucky looked from you to Reynolds and then back to you again. “I can’t tell him that, (Y/N).”

Reynolds grinned. “Oh excellent. This is better than a movie.” He stepped back to watch the exchange with a giddy expression on his face. He was clearly enjoying the agony both you and Bucky were in.

“Why not, Bucky?” You asked softly.

“I cannot lie.”

Those three words rocked your world. You sat there in stunned silence, letting the meaning of his statement sink in.

"Aren't you going to respond, (Y/N)?" Reynolds prodded.

You turned to glare at him. "No. Our lives, our feelings, and our pain are not for your amusement. We aren't playthings. We're real people."

Reynolds rolled his eyes. "Boring." He walked back towards you, knife pointed in your direction. "As much as I would enjoy digging into this all night, I do have a schedule to keep." He spoke as if you hadn't just completely shut him down. "I think now the question is, how should I kill you? Long, slow, and torturous, so as to prolong his pain? Or perhaps nice and quick, so I can enjoy his agony for longer?"

You leaned forward as far as you could. "It doesn't matter which one you choose. Either way, your life is over the moment I die."

Reynolds looked surprised. "How do you figure?"

"They will never stop hunting you. There is no where on this earth you can go where they won't find you. You will spend every second of your life scared and on the run, until you suddenly find yourself in a situation not so different from this one, except you'll be the one in the chair."

Reynolds laughed loudly. "Who's going to hunt me down little girl? Once you're dead, I'm going to kill him," he said gesturing to Bucky. "No one will be the wiser. The only witnesses are in this room."

You smiled coldly. "I know. The one person who would without a doubt avenge my death is Bucky. But his death?" you chuckled and shook your head. "There are hundreds of people who will avenge him. Every single person in his organization, every family member, the best hitmen money can buy...they'll all be looking for you."

For the first time that night, Reynolds looked worried. The color had drained from his face and he seemed to be troubled by your words. He cleared his throat and attempted to collect himself. "That's nonsense."

"She's right," Bucky stated. "Everyone will want you dead, but not just if you kill me. You've already done enough to her to earn you a life as a fugitive. There has always been one rule in my organization that comes before all others. Just one. 'Any act of violence towards (Y/N), whether it be verbal or physical, is an act of war against us all.' You just signed your own death sentence."

Your eyes widened and your lips parted in surprise. You'd never heard such a rule before. In fact, you had no idea that Bucky made his entire organization protect you. You thought it was just him and Steve...like it had always been. Perhaps that was naive of you.

"That's an actual rule?" Reynolds asked in shock.

"It was the first rule I ever made. And every single one of my men knows it. They will abide by it, as they always have."

"What about your life?" you asked quietly.

Bucky looked at you in surprise. "My life?"

"Yes. You're their leader. What about your life?"

Bucky shook his head. "I'm nothing without you."

Reynolds watched the exchange in silence. He was quite surprised by the depth of emotion Barnes clearly had for (Y/N). He had assumed that the infamous mafia boss was much like himself, cruel and incapable of real love. Even he had to admit it was endearing...just not enough to make him change his mind. "Enough of this sappy nonsense. I'm not afraid of anyone or anything." He looked at Bucky. "I decided you had to pay for my brother's death, so pay you will." He turned to look at you. "And I'm sorry, but you're the price he has to pay." With that, he made his way towards you and knelt down in front of you.

Bucky desperately tried to get up, to get to you, to do something, but he was quickly pinned to the ground by two of the henchmen.

You saw him struggling and tears streamed down your cheeks. You knew this was it. You were going to die. For the first time in your life, Bucky Barnes was not going to save you.

You felt the tip of the blade against your stomach and you looked down towards the man kneeling in front of you. He looked up at you and smirked slightly before sliding the knife directly into your stomach. You gasped in pain and you watched as blood began to seep from the wound. You vaguely heard the sound of Bucky yelling, but your mind was in a daze.

Reynolds stood up, leaving the knife buried in your gut. He walked over towards Bucky and knelt beside him on the ground...and just watched.

Bucky's struggling only increased and you could hear him calling your name. You slowly looked across the room, making eye contact with the man you had loved your entire life. Agony was etched into his handsome features and it broke your heart. You were the one dying, and yet somehow he was the one you felt sorry for.

"I should have told you before," you said softly.

Bucky stopped struggling so he could hear what you were saying.

"My whole life, you protected me. Maybe I sometimes resented it." you paused to take a few breaths. "You were my best friend, my confidant, my home." Another shaky inhale. "I have loved you my whole life, James. And I will love you long after I'm gone." Your breathing was much more labored now and your head began to droop. You could feel your body becoming weaker as you lost more blood.

"(Y/N/N), (Y/N/N), please. Stay with me," Bucky pleaded.

There was a sudden loud noise and you heard yelling. Your eyes were struggling to stay open and you couldn't focus on anything. You heard what sounded like gunfire, followed by more yelling. Everything was a blur and your ears were ringing.

There were hands on yours and you felt the zip ties that had been cutting into your skin break. You didn't understand what was happening, but you could hear muffled voices...were they speaking to you? "Bucky..." you muttered.

You felt your body being lifted up and then laid on something flat. You were starting to drift towards unconsciousness and your mind was unable to focus. You felt hands on your stomach and an intense pressure that you didn't understand. What is happening?

"(Y/N)? (Y/N), can you hear me?" a voice asked, breaking through the haze. I know that voice, you thought.

"Bu...ck...y," you breathed out slowly.

"It's me. I'm here. I'm right here. You're gonna be okay. Just stay with me baby. Stay with me."

Those were the last words you heard before the darkness overtook you, and then there was nothing.

**********

You woke up to the sound of rhythmic beeping. At first you thought it was your alarm clock, but then you realized it didn't sound quite right. You tried to open your eyes, but you found your eyelids to be almost too heavy to open.

You tried to shift your body, but a sharp pain in your abdomen kept you in place. Where am I?

The beeping continued, but as you started to wake up more, your brain realized what the beeping was...a heart monitor. Am I in a hospital?

Your eyelids finally cooperated and your retinas were assaulted by the suddenly bright lights. You groaned audibly as your eyes fluttered shut again.

You heard rustling beside you. "(Y/N)?" The voice was soft and familiar. So very familiar. Why is it so familiar?

You sighed and turned your head towards the voice, forcing your eyelids open again. The lights were still too bright, but this time you could see a man sitting beside your bed. He was blurry and out of focus, but you were absolutely certain you knew him.

The man leaned forward and said your name a second time. "(Y/N)?" He grabbed your hand and gave it a squeeze.

And then you knew. "Bucky," you croaked, your voice coming out hoarse and low.

Bucky jumped up. "Let me get you some water."

He returned moments later with a small cup of water and a straw, which he helped you drink. The liquid soothed your achy throat and you smiled gratefully. "Thanks," you whispered.

"Of course, doll." He sat back down beside you. "How are you feeling?"

You shrugged slightly. "I don't know...I--how did I get here? What happened?"

Bucky's face paled. "You don't remember?"

You shook your head and tried to sit up, but that same pain in your stomach made it impossible. It was such a sharp pain that you winced and inhaled sharply.

"Hey, easy there. Don't try to move."

"It hurts," you said softly. "So sharp. Almost like--like a stabbing pain." The moment the words left your mouth, you remembered. The memories slammed into your brain, drowning you in pain. You touched your forehead and felt bandages there. You blinked rapidly to get your eyes to adjust. When everything came into focus, you saw that your arms and hands were bandaged in various places. Your hands began to shake and Bucky immediately stood up and took your hands in his.

"Hey, it's okay, doll. You're safe."

You looked up at him and tears filled your eyes. "I thought I was going to die."

Bucky's eyes were sad and you could see just how exhausted he was. "So did I."

"I'm sorry, Bucky," you whispered.

He looked surprised. "For what? You didn't do anything wrong."

You shook your head. "I let my guard down too soon. He just...he seemed so nice and I thought--" tears streamed down your cheeks.

Bucky immediately brushed them away. "None of it was your fault, doll. It's my job to protect you and I failed. So if anyone is to blame, it's me."

"You didn't do anything wrong."

Bucky laughed. "God you're stubborn."

You smiled slightly.

Bucky sat back down beside you and sighed softly.

"Buck?"

"Yeah, sweets?"

"What happened after--after I got stabbed?"

Bucky closed his eyes for a moment, pain ghosting across his features as he remembered that very moment. "Steve came to the rescue."

"Steve? By himself?"

Bucky shook his head. "Steve and pretty much every NYPD officer in all of Brooklyn."

"What?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too. Turns out, Reynolds was a bigger fish...or maybe just a good way for the NYPD to one-up the LAPD. They got him on 2 counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, and torture. Plus a couple drug and gun charges. Oh and aggravated assault of a police officer."

"Apparently I missed a lot."

"Oh yeah. Thankfully, EMS was there too, so they were able to help you right away."

"They didn't try to arrest you?"

Bucky shrugged. "For what? Getting kidnapped? Trying to save the love of my life? Almost getting killed? They didn't exactly have anything to hold me on."

While you were glad Bucky was alive, seemingly okay, and not on his way to prison, your focus shifted almost entirely to one part of his statement. "The love of your life?" you asked softly.

He blushed. "I know some of last night might be a blur to you...but you did confess your undying love for me, so..." he grinned.

You laughed. Truly laughed. For the first time since you woke up. It made your stomach ache, but you didn't care. "Don't make me laugh. It hurts," you said lightly. "I do remember saying something to that effect."

Bucky smiled and gently touched your face. "And if you recall, I confessed mine. Just perhaps, not in as many words."

"Hmm, I can't quite remember what you said. Maybe you could remind me?" you teased.

He chuckled. "I think it was something like, '(Y/N) (Y/L/N), you are the greatest thing that's ever happened to me and I can't imagine life without you. I have loved you my entire life...long before I even knew what love was. I'm going to love you every single day of my life and for the rest of eternity after that. I know I will never be worthy of your love, but I'm going to spend every single day trying to earn it."

You let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding. "Bucky..." you whispered. "I don't think you said it quite like that."

He laughed heartily. "You're a dork."

You grinned. "You love it."

"I do indeed. Our banter has suddenly taken on new meaning."

You smiled and touched his hand. "I think the meaning was always there. We just pretended it wasn't."

"Touche." He leaned down and kissed your hand.

"Really? I almost died and that's all I get?"

Bucky rolled his eyes playfully. He stood up and leaned over you, placing a warm, gentle kiss to your lips. You kissed him back and you felt a warmth spread throughout your entire body.

When he broke the kiss, he whispered, "Better?"

You giggled. "Much better." You paused. "So...what's the plan?"

"Plan?" he asked in confusion.

"Ya know...us."

Understanding lit up his face. "Ahh. Well. I was thinking I would take you out to dinner."

"Dinner? Hmm."

"Yes." Bucky said warmly. "Every day for the rest of our lives."

Your face lit up. "I'd be okay if you cooked occasionally."

He laughed. "You're not allowed in my kitchen."

You smacked him affectionately. "It was one time!"

"You almost burned half the house down!"

You were both laughing like idiots when Steve walked into the room. "Glad to see you're awake and in such good spirits."

"Stevie!" you said with a smile.

He walked over to you and leaned down to give you a hug. "How you feeling, (Y/N/N)?"

"Like I got hit by a train and stabbed in the stomach, but otherwise just peachy. You?"

Steve winced.

"Hey," you said softly. "I'm okay. Really."

He offered you a small smile. "I knew you would be. You're tougher than all of us put together."

"That's true," Bucky agreed.

"You're both full of it," you said with a smile. "But I'm glad to see you're okay too, Steve."

"I'm resilient."

"They say that about cockroaches too," you teased.

"Damn, girl. I'm gonna blame that on the plethora of drugs you're on."

You grinned. "Nah, that was 100% me."

Steve smiled and Bucky chuckled.

You looked between the two men and sighed, grabbing each of their hands. "Thank you," you said sincerely.

"You never have to thank us. It's just what we do," Steve said.

"Speaking of," you began. "Steve, what's Bucky's number one rule?"

"You mean for life or for the organization?"

"The organization."

"Oh, this is really not important," Bucky began, but a look from you silenced him instantly.

Steve looked back and forth between you two and finally answered when Bucky shrugged and put his hands in the air. "It's a simple rule and it's been that way pretty much our whole lives. When we were kids it was 'you mess with (Y/N), you deal with us.' When we grew up and things changed, the rule grew up too. 'Any act of violence towards (Y/N), whether it be verbal or physical, is an act of war against us all.'"

You looked at Bucky. "You weren't making that up."

Bucky shook his head. "You've always been my number one priority."

You smiled, a soft blush creeping into your cheeks. "Is this written down in some kind of handbook?"

The two men laughed. "Yes, we have a 'rules for the mafia' handbook," Bucky joked.

"I knew it." You grinned.

Bucky just shook his head and smiled at you. "I love you, you weirdo."

"I love you too," you said softly.

Steve looked at you, then at Bucky, then back at you again. "I guess I missed a lot."

Bucky shrugged. "I've spent far too long hiding my feelings. Life's too short."

You squeezed Bucky's hand. "There's no one I'd rather spend it with."

"Fucking, finally!" Steve said proudly.

The three of you laughed. You couldn't have imagined being this happy, especially given the events of the last 24 hours, but here you were...alive and with the man you loved. Perhaps life really does find a way after all.

#james buchanan barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #mafia!bucky #mafia!bucky barnes x reader #mafia!bucky barnes #marvel fic

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2darklymelanatedstories · 1 year

Text

Secret Club : Part 2

(ft Whis&Vegeta&Piccolo)

Special guest : Vados

Welcome to the club

Where we like our tea a bit salty...if you know what I'm sayin'

"What the fxck is she doing here!!",Vegeta shouted as he pointed at the angel sitting at the antique table, holding a cup of tea with a smirk on her face.

"Can't a lady just come over to enjoy some tea?"

Vegeta turned to Piccolo angrily.

"I blame you for this Namek!"

Piccolo's eyes widened. "What for?!"

"It was your idea to move this outside. Now look, Champa's servant found us. I wonder who else is coming!"

Vados sighed. "Relax Saiyan. I was merely invited by my dear brother. No reason to yell at the Namek for suggesting to have some fresh air. You clearly could use it."

Piccolo smirked. "She's only been here a few minutes and is already better company than you, Vegeta."

Vegeta crossed his arms and scoffed.

"Ah, gentlemen. I see you've noticed we have a guest."

All eyes were on the male angel as he descended from the sky.

"And don't worry, Vegeta. We're in a secluded area. No one will know you like to drink tea and gossip with us every month."

Piccolo stepped in before Vegeta could say anything else. "So why is she here?"

"Isn't it obvious? To vent and eat free food just like you gentlemen do. I mean who can resist Earth food."

"Didn't Beerus wish you guys a planet with the super Dragonballs?",Vegeta questioned.

"Well, their food isn't as good and besides I missed my little brother.",she said with a pout.

"Great, now it's like we're on a female talk show.", Vegeta sighed as he sat down, still not happy with Vados joining them.

Whis huffed. "There's literally three men and one woman, Vegeta. Calm down."

Vegeta gave a harsh chuckle. "No, there's one gay, one woman, one green freak of nature and a powerful prince.",he said earning annoyed glares from everyone else.

"And I thought Champa was an annoying, delusional egotist.",Vados muttered.

"Nope. That goes to Vegeta.",Piccolo said before taking a bite of a muffin.

"Hey! I'm the prince of saiyans. I've killed so many of my enemies that it should be written in the history books!

Piccolo chuckled. "Yeah, it'd be called Psycho Prince, destroyer of lives. Still never managed to kill Goku."

"Come to think of it. Wasn't Piccolo the only person that could kill Goku?",Whis wondered.

Vegeta scoffed. "Pssh, that's not a big accomplishment."

"Seemed really important to you not so long ago.",Piccolo said.

Vegeta slammed the table angrily, surprising everyone that it didn't break.

"Oh shut up, Namek. Acting like you're all that. Like you didn't go fuck Kakarot's wife after you killed him!"

That caused everyone to almost choke on what they were eating or drinking. Whis holding in the tea he was about to spit out.

"NOW HOLD ON A DAMN MINUTE!! I NEVER DID ANY OF THAT!" Piccolo stood up, looming over Vegeta in a intimidating manner. Vegeta just standing up as well, though unable to match to Piccolo's height. "And how would you know?! You weren't even there!"

Vados couldn't help but laugh at the scene. "I thought you all came together to talk shit about everyone else, not to kill each other."

Whis gave his sister a smirk. "We have fun."

Soon after, Vegeta and Piccolo sat back down, acting as if they weren't about to kill each other not so long ago.

Vados returned the smirk. "Well, I'm going to like this club."

Feel free to let me know if there's anything else you'd like them to fight...I mean talk about. Also if I should add other special guests

#vados #whis #Vegeta #piccolo #dragonball super #dragonball #dbs #db super #goku #restoring my old stories to this blog

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boypussydilf · 1 year

Note

can i ask for your thoughts on keron society? i cannot stop thinking about this little nightmare planet

NIGHTMARE PLANET FOR REAL!!!!!! GOD!!!!!!!!

i work best with guiding/prompting questions so in the absence of those i will just ramble about shit until i cant recall any more of my thoughts so this might be strange and disjointed 👍

im obsessed w keron society so i keep an eye out for canon indications of What It’s Like so here’s my list of canon keron society trivia i remember off the top of my head: they have military training schools for elementary school age children. more specifically, they seem to have almost exclusively if not actually exclusively military training schools, i.e., i dont know if theres any mention of non-military schools of any kind and the way characters talk about it indicates that Military Training Schools are the schools everyone goes to by Default. In fact! overall! keron society seems to be built on the military, run by the military, and almost entirely comprised of the military. It’s not necessarily unusual for most of the keronians we meet to be part of the army since all of our Main Characters are part of the army and we’re therefore seeing the world From Their Perspective but uh. I think “join the army” is straight up the default, expected life path on keron and anything else is a noteworthy Deviation. My evidence: when putata first shows up giroro immediately assumes that he’s part of the army and asks for his rank even though like,. “being a keronian on earth” really does NOT automatically correlate to being there as part of the military, by that point we’ve at least met… Well, by that point i’m pretty sure we’ve at least met dororo’s mom, who as far as I can tell isn’t part of the keron army at least anymore, so you know………. Point IS: all signs I’ve noticed point to: Keron is founded on its military. The majority of its population is part of its military. It’s a military society. Fucked up right?

SPEAKING OF THE SHURARA CORPS. *GESTURES TO GIRURU AND DOKUKU* FUCKED UP RIGHT ??????????? I’ve already kind of forgotten the EXACT details as they go over them in the dokuku episode but context if any of my non-keroro followers are reading this heres how i remember it: (*resists the urge to go rewatch that part of the episode to double check*) giruru and dokuku are brothers, they were experimented on by, i believe, the fucking military again, and turned into A Liquid and A Gas respectively, and this is explicitly framed as “wow! fucked up! both of their lives were literally RUINED and they DO NOT WANT THIS”. HUH? Also what’s with dokuku being specifically called like the first gas keronian THEY MADE MORE? LIKE OF COURSE THEY MADE MORE BUT ??? UNETHICAL KERONIAN EXPERIMENTATION CANON.

SPEAKING OF THAT HEY WHATS UP WITH THE CLONING THING. No literally, what’s up with the cloning thing. The garuru platoon arc in the manga explains it pretty concisely, platoon commanders get their fucking DNA saved so that if they’re ever deemed unfit for command in any way by the Keron army they can be REPLACED WITH A CLONE OF THEMSELF and then DE-AGED TO A POINT IN THEIR LIFE LONG BEFORE THEY WERE CONSIDERED UNFIT TO COMMAND AND THE ORIGINAL IS PUT ASIDE AS PART OF THE RESERVE FORCES. The manga also says somewhere that keroro is the 315th. THE THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH K66 TYPE KERONIAN. HEY WHAT? GUYS ARE YOU GONNA ELABORATE ON THAT? NO? NO? I mean, maybe they do in some way. But probably not. I don’t know.

*falls to my knees and punches the floor* keron society is incredibly fucked up. I think literally everyone on that planet needs therapy. I also get the feeling that Planet “Every Single Person Born Here Is Going To Join Our Military While Still A Literal Child, Correct? Awesome!” does not have great resources for coping with any trauma or anything else induced by their military. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s FASCINATING. Studying the nightmare planet as a means to study the main characters. Studying the nightmare planet and desperately wishing we had more information about it. I want to watch this shitshow up close and in action. It’s bad. It is bad. Fucked up planet from hell. Dear God.

anyway this post is already long and i have to go soon but here’s a lightning round list of theories vaguely related to “the keroro of “back then”” and the question of how the Fuck sergeant procrastination-and-french-fries has been genuinely trusted with an entire platoon and the invasion of an entire planet

keroro puts his energy towards things he finds Fun and at one point he found being part of the army Fun enough to give it his full and genuine attention and earn a reputation as someone competent and capable before he stopped finding it particularly Fun and stopped really giving a shit or trying very hard. (aka, Keroro is Space Neurodivergent, which is true anyway)

there’s an episode of the anime where keroro’s dad saves the whole platoon, completely unknowingly, by complete accident, while also drunk off his ass. What if he’s always like that. Competent on accident. What if Keroro is also like that. He did a bunch of cool shit, but like, just kind of stumbled into it without meaning to or really realizing what he was doing.

Nepotism

I’m out of time. I should probably put this post under a readmore but i. won’t <3

#THANK YOUUUUUUJUU OMGGGGGGGG.#FEEL FREE TO ASK MORE QUESTIONS.#IM HAUNTED BY FREAK PLANET AND THE FREAKS IT PRODUCED #basilask #this is where if this was a p5 or dgs post id use one of my headcanons/theories/meta tags #but i dont have a tag for that kinda stuff for sgt frog yet ……#sad!#ok i made a tag to save meta/hcs/lore from my brain/etc #keron wa uchuu ichi… tabun #< based on sum1s tags on this post yay <3 #except using the japanese lyric bc ill remember the exact phrasing of that better than ill remember a translation #i love having super specific gimmicky organizational tags that half the time might just end up confusing people who aren’t me

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dballzposting · 2 years

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How much do you think Trunks missed Goten during GT?

He was up there in space and he didnt want to be a downer so he never said it outloud but occasionally while he was steering the ship for long periods of time in complete solitude he would think about how if they failed then the earth and the whole universe would be fucked and before their imminent demise he would have to live with Goku and Pan on some planet somewhere, or die early trying to fight whatever beast was inevitably coming their way. And well that thought just sort of sucked.

He missed everybody and everything but he missed Goten specifically in the way that cool shit would happen and he had nobody to tell it to :( he couldnt just pull out his phone and be like "Hey Goten. Youre never gonna believe this. There was this frog guy and he tried to marry me. Yeah MARRY ME. Yeah I had to dress up as a bride but it was okay because it spared a real woman from an arranged marriage with that big green thing. Yeah it was righteous of me. Yeah and then we got a dragon ball and then this OTHER GUY SHOWED UP and STOLE IT. Yeah and now we're chasing those guys. Yeah uh huh. yeah I'll let them know you said that. Yeah for sure. Okay. Take care. Bye man."

Again he didnt want to be a downer but he really missed the little things about home .... all the room to walk around in .... the nice meals ..... the sound of his mother tinkering in one of the many garages .... the sound of his father fucking shit up in the gravity chamber ..... the peace of his office (which he normally hated).... his sister's stupid Nintendogs game that she always played at full volume .....the way that he could exist without being subjected to a gas leak all day..... The sound of Goten pissing really hard in the urinal next to him (with his pants on the floor ass fully bare) and he would piss so hard that it was to the point where Trunks would often take the next urinal down becasue he was afraid of splashback .... sighhhhh.

Anyway he makes a best friend out of Giru so it's not a big deal. He comes home and is like "Hey Goten meet my new best friend" and Goten is like "haha you mean like your SPACE Best Friend right? Like the guy who is your best friend when youre space traveling but not all the time right....Your spaceship buddy right" and Trunks is like "Nope. This is my new best friend Giru :D" and then he kisses the robot deeply and with passion on its glass face and Goten is flooded with a toxic amount of jealousy so fast that his muscles and bones begin to melt and he starts shaking and he goes "haha well gimme a minute i gotta go blast ass real quick...i'll be back..." and then he runs to the bathroom and pukes his guts out.

Later he assumes that it was all a misunderstanding so he goes to talk to Trunks again and he overhears him talking to the robot and Trunks says "Youre a much better best friend than Goten. You dont pee or spit at me and you never smell like dog food. You only smell like metal and burning wires and sometimes chrome polish, and I'm into it. And you're quiet when you sleep and you actually listen to me when I talk. Also, you've forgiven me for when I had space madness and I kept trying to breastfeed you. If that were Goten instead he never would have let me live it down. He would probably keep trying to get me to do it again honestly. And honestly Giru, I would do that again for you because I have fond memories. And I love that you eat the spare nuts and screws and wires that end up at the bottom of my bags and on my floors because I dont know what to do with them otherwise. You're a real friend Giru. I love you" and again Goten has to run and limp and fall down the hall to throw up in the Capsule Corp shitters.

and idk maybe they make up. Maybe Trunks is like “Im sorry Goten I was wrong. I miss you and all of your weird smells. I miss how your flesh is fleshy and notably not metallic and how it’s wet but sometimes it’s dry instead. And I miss how you would make me do fun things with you rather than let me work on machines all day. You know Giru really just sat on my desk and watched me file papers all of Thursday and I hated it. And I miss peeing at the urinal with you. Giru doesnt pee. GIRU DOESNT PEE ! I miss you man. I’m sorry”

um this isnt what you were asking about...

#dballz posting #dballz asks #Goten & Trunkz

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rutschsblog · 1 year

Text

LOVE AND WAR CHAPTER 1

goodnight robicheaux x oc

summary: addie and goody haven’t seen each other for years. what will happen when they see each other again? will their love re-kindle?

The second I heard a knock at my door I had a bad feeling in my stomach. I don’t know why, but I did.

“Who is it?” I called out as my hand grazed my pistol that was sitting on my bedside table.

“The name’s Faraday. Joshua Faraday. Sam Chisolm sent me.”

“God damn,” I laughed to myself in pure shock. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Sam. I walked over to open up the door. The man was a little under 6ft, he was probably give or take 4 years older than I was. I gave him a small smile as I held my hand out to shake his. He responded and tipped his hat to me.

“So how did you meet Chisolm? You seem to be a hell of a lot younger than he is.” Faraday asked as we trotted our horses to the “meeting spot”.

“For the record I’m 32 so not that much younger if you ask me. About seven or so years ago I knew a fella named Goodnight. Him and Sam were friends so I knew him.”

“Goodnight Robicheaux?” He asked in disbelief.

“Yes sir, we were um… good friends but my Daddy wasn’t a huge fan of me and him being together if you know what I mean.” It was true, I was in love with Goody but my Daddy hated him so much he made us move states. But he’s been dead for five years now and I live on my own. I wish I could go back and tell him I wasn’t leaving. Faraday didn’t respond, all he did was let out a little chuckle as we stopped at this huge tree. There were a few people scattered around the tree. I hopped off my horse as I ran up to Sam and gave him a hug. He groaned as our bodies collided and held me tight.

“Goody’s here,” he whispered in my ear as he pulled away from me. I saw him. He was leaning up against the tree, cigarette in hand.

“Who’s the lady?” I asked as I tried to forget Goody was a yard away from me.

“That’s Emma. We work for her,”

I smiled kindly as I walked over and shook her hand.

“How are you?” I asked.

“Glad to see another woman,” She laughed in content as we shook hands. I let go of her hand and walked up to Goody.

“Hey,” I greeted quietly. His head shot up so fast you’d think he’d heard a ghost. I couldn’t quite read his facial expression as he took a long draw of his cigarette, never breaking eye contact with me. I was horrified, I know that sounds stupid. I didn’t have a reason to be horrified of him, when I told him I had to leave he was nothing but kind and understanding. I’ll never forget what he said to me that day. “maybe someday we’ll see each other again and we can start over,”. I still loved him, I never touched any other man since him. It sounds pathetic but I couldn’t. I guess I held onto the hope that someday we’d see each other again.

“How’s your Daddy?” Goodnight asked in a smart-ass tone.

“Dead, heart attack,” I responded with a light laugh. Sure I liked my father but I’m not the most forgiving person on planet earth. I certainly wasn’t gonna forgive him for taking love away from me. Goody stood up tall and started walking towards his horse as he walked by he made sure to get as close to me as possible. I could feel his breath on my face as he spoke.

“It’s good to see you Addie,” He smiled as he put a kind hand on my shoulder before he continued to make his way over to his horse. I sighed as I wiped the sweat that gathered onto my forehead. This was gonna be a long trip.

“Who’s that?” I called out as I pointed in the general direction of a man I’ve never seen before.

“Billy Rocks he’s with me,” Goody responded as he put his hat back on his head. I walked up to Faraday as he was having a conversation with Sam.

“Oh good we gotta mexican,” Faraday said sarcastically as he walked up to the poor guy.

“Ole muchacho,”

“Faraday stop being an ass,” I criticized as I walked past him, grabbing the hat off of his head in the process.

“What a merry band we are.” Goody commented as we trotted on our horses down a dusty path. He went on to give everyone a stereotype such as a “texican” and so on. But there’s one thing he said that stuck with me.

“This is not gonna end well.”

#goodnight robicheaux x oc #goodnight robicheaux #the magnificent seven #billy rocks #sam chisolm #joshua faraday #ethan hawke #chris pratt #denzel washington #fanfic

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tsuki-sennin · 8 months

Text

Two years have past since the end of the war with the Bugnarok Empire. Under the guidance of its new King, Jeremy Brasieri, the Bugnarok are now recognied by the other five kings as their own sovereign nation. However... centuries of pain cannot be undone so soon. Not when the world faces ever greater peril.

And... after that... Freaky Friday x 3.

Spoilers, I guess...

-Oh.

-He dead.

-Kamejim's an alien, huh?

-Ohhhhhhhh, that's a lot of bugs.

-Well, his majesty King Gira certainly looks older.

-Everybody seems to be resting on their laurels.

-Rita would be ashamed.

-"Oh... I see... Well, that's not the least bit surprising."

-What the hell happened to our worldwide government?

-"Please stop crying, it's not your fault! D:"

-The aliens are coming! We've been compromised!

-"I do, yeah!"

-Dugden Dujardin...

-"Right, here's the deal. You're all gonna hand your planet over to me.

-THEY THREW THEM IN JAIL?

-WHY THO

-RITA YOU RUN THE JAILS HOW-

-"Hey buddy, you lied to me, y'know?"

-Ohhhhhhhhh

-Holy shit

-This guy is just Bug-type Evolt.

-Oh my God.

-Y'know, I can't say I expected intergalactic genocide from this show.

-"Wow, you're right! I am mocking you."

-I have to say, the green screen halos add a lot to how surreal and terrifying he is.

-Hey, wait a fucking second, that's America on that earth model!

-All that with a flick.

-He nearly destroyed all of America.

-Racules you motherfucker

-Gira says "Up yours, Dugdump."

-Whoaaaaaaaa, who is that?

-J

-Jesters.

-Gorma...

-Man's got his own roster.

-Jimmy, of course, was here the whole time.

-I suppose God's sitting this one out.

-The Tyrant King returns.

-Ohsama Sentai! King-Ohger!

-Lovin' the new hair, Yanma.

-Kaguragi seems just about the same as he always is.

-Ran, on the other hand... Absolutely serving.

-Oh, short hair Rita. Love it.

-Rita's one gray eye...

-We are so back. ...even though really it hasn't been that long.

-"Freeze, stinkbug."

-Oh great, Jimmy slipped away.

-Oh

-Oh my god.

-What kind of fucking PC needs global power siphoning?

-HIMENO CAUSED A WILD FIRE

-KAGURAGI CREATED A FARM TANK

-RITA WOULDN'T FUCKING TAKE A VACATION

-Yes, kings are back, I saw last episode.

-Intergalactic clown bugs.

-We traded Dezzy for this jhkhkl

-Gorma's already come up with a perfect scheme~!

-Kaguragi's a flasher I see.

-Oh wait, no Himeno???

-Goddamn, Kaguragi's living it up.

-Yanma, you're in the middle of a tundra, why the hell did you take Rita's shoes off?

-There is literally no episode premise better for an ensemble cast like this than a Freaky Friday plot.

-Ohhhhh, I noticed that Rita covered Yanma's eye. It must be blind.

-The actors are absolutely nailing each other's mannerisms, holy crap.

-I'm glad Kaguragi and Jeremy are enjoying themselves :)

-Himeno's still absolutely serving in Kaguragi's body.

-"Yanma... please... hurry up, I need it."

-"Dude, c'mon, you're already making yourself home in my body, at least-"

-"GIVE!"

-My current theory as to why Rita covers their mouth so much is because they have an oral stim they view as particularly embarassing. I imagine it must've hurt a lot when Gira laughed so hard.

-It is so weird hearing Rita's voice speaking so casually.

-Apparently Ran's not built enough for Kaguragi's liking.

-"Oh, trust me, Mantis Lady! You gotta knead your dough and feel the burn to make a nice, extra crispy bread."

-Gorma Jumpscare.

-Gorma Rosalia...

-Ninpo! Body Swap Art!

-"Beat me, and you'll be heading right home."

-Ohgai Busou!

-Oh, right, just because the minds switch around doesn't mean the authorization does.

-Nin!

-Oh, Rita smiled, that's nice :)

-"Jeremy, you're thinking a little too generously..."

-And this is Gira saying this, so you know this is gonna be a geopolitical nightmare.

-Jesus Christ Himeno jkjhjkmnhl

-Well at least Kaguragi's employing a bit of aid.

-SEBAS WHAT

-"No fighting."

-C

-Cross-brained fox.

-"I'm arresting each and every last one of you bastards!"

-Yanma, Yanma, Yanma, Yanma!

-Aw, Jeremy :)

-Not the least bit surprising that Gira and Jeremy are taking this the best.

-"Whaaaaaaaat? Nooooo, nooooooo, I don't think the Bugnarok are responsible for this, nooooooo!"

-Huh

-I have to disagree Jeremy, that was insanely quick, considering.

-Heat stroked out.

-Having a bit of a wild day.

-"Suppose we've spent a bit too much money on healthcare..."

-There's a certain elegance in Kaguragi's interpretation of Kamakiri Ohger.

-That's a really cool way of tying the body swaps into the fight scene though, I won't lie.

-They mad.

-Bang!

-That's our Jeremy.

-We won! Technically!

-Now to remove the Ninja

-OH FUCK

-Ohhhhhhh, you're one tricky son of a bitch, aren't you Gorma?

-Oh man, shit's getting real now.

#Rejoice O Swarming Evil! You're My King!#ohsama sentai kingohger #king ohger #kingohger #ohsama sentai king ohger #king ohger spoilers

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