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kallie-den · 4 months

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A Commanding Weakness Ch. 4

Peggy Morgan, the Inyx's dorky science officer, starts confusing fact and fiction when other crew members mysteriously offer to cosplay with her and reenact some of the lewdest scenes from her favorite anime

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Peggy Morgan, the Inyx’s science officer, made sure to offer a proper salute to Captain Vasser as she finished up her duty shift on the bridge and headed into the turbolift that would take her back down to her quarters, in the bowels of the ship. As soon as the doors slid closed with their distinctive hiss, though, she slumped against the wall.

Another awful day.

It just wasn’t getting any easier. Peggy had always hoped that, somehow, once she made it to a senior enough post, she’d be able to fit in. No such luck. Instead, it felt like other members of the crew were constantly laughing at her behind her back, be it because of the way she looked, or the way she talked, or her tendency to get lost in daydreaming and fantasy when during an uneventful shift.

Yes, Peggy was a huge nerd. She understood perfectly well that she was a complete stereotype of a science officer. Peggy was pale and freckled, with long, red hair and huge, round glasses. She couldn’t handle contact lenses or laser correction, and a nervous habit meant that she often stuttered or lisped when she spoke. Thanks to that she usually kept quiet - but when she found her voice, she sometimes got carried away with her scientific explanations.

It wasn’t her fault that the finer points of subquantum physics were so fascinating! Really, other Alliance officers should try to educate themselves. Instead, when Captain Vasser cut her off, they just giggled behind their hands. And why did the captain have to be so short with her anyway? She was an officer! A young one, yes, but she still deserved respect.

Peggy sighed. Hopefully, once they were through with this mission, she could get herself transferred to a ship that suited her better. Until then, there was no use dwelling on it. All she could do was go back to her quarters after every shift and try to take her mind off it all by indulging in her favorite hobby.

Anime.

Yes, being obsessed with twenty-first-century media was often considered cringe. No, it didn’t help with her image as a complete and total dork. But Peggy didn’t care. Anime was her life. There was nothing better than curling up in her bunk with her body pillow and waifu plushes to burn through a few seasons of classic animation.

It was such a shame that Peggy didn’t have anyone to share her passion with. Unfortunately, to most people, anime was just some boring, old-fashioned, dead medium, no different from opera and ballet. Apparently, your average Alliance starship officer didn’t have much interest in classical culture. Oh, Peggy had tried to spread the good word. But just like everything else, it had mostly gotten her ignored and quietly made fun of.

Fine. Whatever. All Peggy needed to do to escape their scorn was make it back to her quarters without running into anyone unpleasant. Then she’d have the evening all to herself.

But it was never that easy. Peggy cursed her luck when she rounded a bulkhead and found herself staring at the Inyx’s chief of security, Samira Carter.

Great.

Chief Carter was one of the worst. Peggy had spent her entire education looking forward to the day she no longer had to deal with abrasive, small-minded, meat-headed jocks. But as it turned out, they had a way of following you wherever you went. Peggy and Chief Carter were never going to be friends. Chief Carter had that loud, swaggering confidence that just grated uncomfortably on Peggy’s nerves. She treated the whole ship, and everything in it like it was her own personal playground - especially the women. It was infuriating that, just because she had a few muscles, she assumed she could have any girl she wanted. It was even more infuriating that she seemed to be right.

Peggy would have disliked Carter even if she’d left the science officer completely alone. She was everything Peggy had learned to resent and avoid. But in typical fashion, she was also the ringleader of all the mockery Peggy had received. She had been the first to make cutting comments about Peggy’s love of anime, and she was always the one who laughed the loudest whenever she tripped over her words or got shut down by Captain Vasser. And since she was such a big presence wherever she went, the rest of the crew had ended up taking their cues from her.

Peggy had tried to give Chief Carter the benefit of the doubt. It wasn’t like the security chief was singling her out in particular. She treated almost everyone this way. Probably, it was her version of being friendly. ‘Harmless banter’, she’d call it. It wasn’t her fault that Peggy was so bad at sticking up for herself, and so easy to make fun of. But at the end of the day, that didn’t matter. She was making Peggy’s life miserable, and Peggy couldn’t forgive her for it.

So, as they walked towards each other, Peggy just fixed her eyes on the floor and silently prayed that Chief Carter didn’t take any notice of her. She couldn’t take one more mean comment. Not today. Hopefully, she was busy. Hopefully, she had something else on her mind. Hopefully, she was-

“Hey, Morgan. How’s it going?”

Her deep, cocksure, sultry voice was like nails on a chalkboard to the science officer. She kept her head down and quickened her pace, hoping against hope that Chief Carter would just let it go.

No such luck.

“Woah! What’s the hurry?”

Peggy felt herself thrown suddenly off balance as something slammed into her shoulder and spun her around. Immediately disoriented, she braced herself to hit the floor before she realized that, instead, something was bearing down on her and keeping her pressed firmly against the nearest bulkhead.

It was Chief Carter. The security chief had slammed her against the wall.

Immediately, Peggy was flinching and panicking. Physical abuse? She hadn’t imagined even Carter would sink quite that low. It was a major escalation. What was Peggy going to do? She could take it to the captain, yes, but that was slim consolation while she was getting her face pounded in by a brute of a security chief. Peggy started bringing her hands up to fend off the blows, shaking furiously.

“Hey,” Chief Carter said, in her very lowest, smokiest, most seductive voice. “Why such a hurry, cute thing? Surely whatever you’re doing tonight can’t be better than spending time with me.”

Peggy barked an awkward, disbelieving laugh. It took her a long moment to process, with disgust, that Chief Carter didn’t want to beat her.

She wanted to screw her.

Scarcely a more appealing proposition.

“G-g-g-get off m-me!” Peggy spluttered. Chief Carter just laughed good-naturedly.

“No need to be afraid, Morgan,” she cooed. “I don’t bite… much.”

Peggy felt like she was going to hurl. This was completely ludicrous.

“L-let me go!” Peggy doubled her efforts to squirm free. “Or I’ll… I’ll…”

To her surprise, Chief Carter actually eased up on her a little - although not enough for her to escape.

“C’mon. Is the prospect of spending an evening hanging out with me really that bad?” Chief Carter’s voice gave Peggy pause. She sounded surprisingly sincere.

“S-save it,” Peggy replied wearily. “You’re just making fun of me anyway.”

“Huh?” Now Chief Carter seemed all but wounded. “No, not at all. Why would you think that?”

“B-because it’s what you always do!” Peggy exploded. “I’m used to it by now, OK? You’re not gonna fool me that easily.”

“Morgan…” Chief Carter’s eyes turned big and deep and sorrowful. She reached down to gently caress Peggy’s cheek with the back of her hand. “I’m so sorry that you were hurting. I never knew. Won’t you let me make it up to you?”

Peggy was almost taken in. She let out a momentary gasp and lost herself briefly in Chief Carter’s eyes, before reality once again reasserted herself. Chief Carter’s charm was formidable, yes. It wasn’t difficult to see how so many girls had been taken in by it. She’d say anything to get a girl into bed. But no matter how charming, she just wasn’t Peggy’s type. Peggy was into girls who were gentle and sweet. Girls she could share her interests with. Not brawny jocks.

“L-look!” Peggy cried as she tried to push Carter away. “I… I’m honestly not sure if you’re joking or not, but I’m really not into you, OK? So, uh… thanks, but no thanks.”

Chief Carter’s whole face fell. She pulled back and withdrew her arm. “You won’t even give me a chance, huh?”

“I-it’s just… a little hard to believe.” Peggy was taking deep breaths to calm herself. She’d never been so eager to get back to her quarters. “I mean… why would you even be interested in me?”

“Maybe I just think you’re cute.” Chief Carter shrugged. She still sounded dead serious. “Look at it this way: we’re a long way from home out here on the Inyx. It’s only natural to take a certain interest in each other. I… really want to learn more about you, Morgan.”

“Oh.” Peggy turned frosty and started turning away. “I see how it is. Y-you’re just bored and looking for another notch on your bedpost, aren’t you?”

She took a few steps away, but Chief Carter’s powerful hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“No, wait!” The huge security chief sounded so ardent and desperate, it made Peggy freeze in her tracks. “Please let me explain!”

At that moment, it dawned on Peggy that this was real. Chief Carter wasn’t playing some kind of trick on her. Nobody was waiting around the corner to burst out and laugh. Somehow, for some reason, Chief Carter genuinely wanted to woo her.

It was a strange realization. It made Peggy grow warm with an unfamiliar, satisfying emotion. It made her feel powerful. She still didn’t reciprocate Carter’s feelings, of course. But she decided to hear her out. If nothing else, maybe a proper, firm rejection would teach her a little humility.

“Fine,” Peggy said firmly, turning back and folding her arms. “But tell me what’s going on. And be quick about it. I have places to be.”

She didn’t, really. Going back to her quarters to watch anime by herself didn’t count. But it sounded good.

“OK, OK.” To Peggy’s surprise, Chief Carter’s face turned a deep red color and she looked around furtively. “I just… I think you’re really cool. Seriously. And I actually think we might have a lot more in common than you realize. Maybe. With certain, uh, interests.”

Peggy frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Chief Carter glanced around again before saying, in a hushed voice: “You like anime, right?”

“H-huh?” Peggy’s heart skipped a beat. “Um, yeah?”

The security chief checked yet again to make sure nobody else was around before she blurted out: “I’m a huge MaMeStaSe fangirl!”

Peggy froze. She stopped breathing. Of all the strange things she’d heard in the past five minutes, this was by far the most unbelievable.

‘MaMeStaSe’ was the preferred fan abbreviation for ‘Magical Maidens Star Sentinels’, a magical girl anime and Peggy’s absolute favorite show of all time. It was a cult classic, and for Peggy, it had everything: incredible animation, brilliant characters, heartwarming themes, and titillating action. She’d rewatched it so many times she’d lost count, she’d plastered posters of it all over her walls, and she even had a body pillow of one of the protagonists. Meeting another fan aboard the Inyx was a dream come true.

But it was a little difficult to believe.

“You are?” Peggy didn’t bother to hide her skepticism.

“Yes!” Chief Carter had a big grin on her face, like she couldn’t contain her excitement. “I swear!”

“Prove it,” Peggy told her flatly. “Do the pose.”

She was absolutely sure that Carter wouldn’t know what she was talking about, which made it all the more surprising when, without hesitation, Chief Carter performed an adorable little pirouette, struck an iconic pose, and, in a voice sparkling with hope and love, recited:

“In the name of the stars, I’ll punish you!”

It was perfect. She was a true fan.

Peggy started bouncing up and down with glee. She couldn’t help herself. She lunged forward and threw her hands around the security chief.

“Ohmigod!” she squealed. “It’s so good, right? It’s soooo good. I mean, the opening? The transformations? Hey, what’s your favorite arc? Have you read the manga? I like it too, don’t get me wrong, but to me, the anime is just so much more-“ Peggy cut herself off and blushed. “Oh no, I’m babbling.”

“No, no, don’t apologize!” Chief Carter exclaimed. She clasped Peggy’s hands and looked every bit as overcome with joy and excitement as Peggy felt. “I can’t wait to talk about everything. But, right now, I had something a little different in mind.”

“Oh?” She had Peggy’s full attention.

“Have you ever thought about recreating one of the episodes?” Chief Carter asked her.

“You mean, like, in the holodeck?” Peggy asked. She had; it was her favorite way to use her holorec time. She loved immersing herself in the fantasy, even if it wore off all too quickly once her time was up.

“No, better,” Chief Carter replied. “In real life!”

Peggy just tilted her head, confused.

“It turns out,” Chief Carter said, “Dr. Hiraga is a fan too! I only found out a little while ago, but she and I have been working on something down in medbay. Costumes, holographic assets - the works. But we need a third person. And you… well, nobody else knows Magical Maidens Star Sentinels the way you do.”

Peggy puffed up a little in pride upon hearing that.

“So, what do you say?” Chief Carter turned bashful again. “I’m… sorry for coming on so strong earlier. It doesn’t have to be, um, a d-date or anything. But I’d really love it if you’d come.”

Peggy couldn’t help but be endeared to this cuter, nerdier version of Chief Carter. Besides, hearing that Dr. Hiraga was an anime fan too was nothing short of breathtaking. Three magical girl fans on one ship? There was no way she could decline.

“Of course I’ll come!” she replied. “We need to save the stars with the power of friendship, right?”

Chief Carter pulled Peggy into a huge bear hug, one that almost lifted her off her feet. Then she took Peggy by the end and started leading her down towards medbay.

Inside medbay, everything was dim. The main ceiling lights had been switched off, and instead the room was illuminated from strange angles by an array of holographic projectors mounted all over the walls. Peggy knew medbay had some holotech to support the emergency medical hologram, but this seemed excessive. Someone had been making some major upgrades.

That was just a stray observation, though. Peggy was far too preoccupied to dwell on it. She was busy wondering what was going to happen next. They’d hurried to medbay so quickly, she hadn’t been able to ask any questions. What did recreating a magical girl anime in real life mean? And wasn’t something missing here?

“Where’s Dr. Hiraga?” Peggy asked quietly.

“Behind there.”

Chief Carter pointed to where a holographic privacy screen had been erected at the far end of the medbay. Peggy frowned.

“She’s… hiding? Why?”

“To help set the scene.”

Peggy’s frown deepened. “What does that mean, Carter?”

Infuriatingly, Chief Carter answered her question with a question. “Season Two. Episode thirty-seven. What happens?”

“Sentinel Green goes to try and save Sentinel Blue from the clutches of the evil Doctor Tomoe,” Peggy recited. “But the doctor makes Blue betray her, and both of them end up brainwashed. It’s one of my favorite episodes!”

For a fan of Peggy’s caliber, the question was trivial.

“Right!” Chief Carter said excitedly. “Isn’t this perfect? Medbay looks just like Doctor Tomoe’s evil lab!”

“It does,” Peggy admitted.

“We can do the whole scene!” Chief Carter exclaimed, overflowing with nerdy glee. “You can be Sentinel Green, I’ll be Sentinel Blue, and our very own ship’s doctor is perfect for the remaining role.”

“Oh, like roleplay!”

When Chief Carter nodded, Peggy was satisfied that she understood what was actually going on. It was still well outside of her comfort zone, though. Peggy adored roleplay. Losing herself in a shared fantasy was rewarding and intoxicating in a way nothing else could match. It was one of her favorite ways to pass time. But she’d never done it in person, only over text. It was easy to get swept away by Chief Carter’s enthusiasm, and by heady thoughts of fangirling together with her and Dr. Hiraga afterward.

“O-OK!” Peggy squeaked nervously. “Um… we all know the scene, right? How do we get started?”

Chief Carter’s dorky grin widened. “We get into costume.”

Peggy blinked, and then turned a deep red. “Y-you have costumes?”

Oh no. She hadn’t expected this. If they were wearing costumes, then this went a step beyond simple roleplay.

It was cosplay.

"U-um,” Peggy squeaked. “Maybe I should… uh… r-rewatch the episode first! And, um, I t-think I had a duty shift to cover later. And-“

“C’mon, Morgan.” Chief Carter gave her shoulder a comradely squeeze. “Don’t be like that. There’s no need to be shy! I’m sure you know the episode like the back of your hand. And everything’s ready right now. Trust me, your costume is perfect.”

Peggy’s blush deepened. She couldn’t bring herself to back out. Not when she was finally getting the chance to be a part of something. She couldn’t face going back to her quarters alone. She had to participate. There was just one problem.

Science Officer Peggy Morgan had a huge cosplay fetish.

She couldn’t explain it. Not really. But there was something special - no, magical - about cosplay. Seeing a character come to life through costume and performance felt like nothing short of a miracle. The holodeck never had the same appeal. Holograms were just light with a little pre-scripted AI running behind them. Cosplay was real. It was transformation. When Peggy saw a cosplayer truly become the character they were cosplaying, it made her feel like anything was possible - even for a mousy nerd like her.

That was her fascination. But, admittedly, her fetish went beyond that. Peggy couldn’t explain why cosplayers turned her on so much. Maybe it was their mannerisms, so fictive and exaggerated. It was almost mesmerizing, seeing a flesh-and-blood person follow a script intended for an animated character. Maybe it was their beauty, so stylized it was almost unreal. Maybe it was what they represented: characters that she was used to seeing as drawings or dolls come to life, but still presenting themselves to be looked at and played with and enjoyed. It just turned her on like nothing else.

And, of course, plenty of cosplays were far from innocent. Erotic cosplay frequently left Peggy drooling. Sometimes, when she was alone in her quarters, she would spend hours scrolling through massive archives of pictures until her own arousal and pleasure grew to be too much. But even regular cosplay excited her to an embarrassing degree. In the past, she’d excused herself from costume parties, just in case they got her a little too worked up.

But now she had to cosplay alongside Chief Carter and Dr. Hiraga.

All without giving herself away.

“Here’s yours.” Chief Carter, oblivious to Peggy’s inner turmoil, picked up a bundle of green clothes from a nearby table and handed it to her. “Try it on! Don’t worry, I pulled your uniform size from the databanks as I replicated it. It should be perfect. I’ve got mine too. Let me give you some privacy.”

Before Peggy could say anything, she headed off to a far corner of the room and activated another holographic privacy screen, hiding her and Peggy from one another. Now that she was, relatively speaking, alone, Peggy took a deep breath and looked down at the clothing in her hands.

It was immaculately designed. Replicators could make anything, of course, but making sure the stitching, fit, and design were all just right could be a labor of love, and Peggy could tell that no effort had been spared here. This was Sentinel Green’s magical outfit, right down to every last detail of the frills and ribbons. There was, at first glance, just one issue.

It was latex.

There was usually a level of interpretation when it came to deciding what materials to use for cosplay. Animation, after all, rarely made it clear precisely what was intended. But shiny, bright, smooth rubber was certainly quite the choice. Thinking about what this was going to look like on her made Peggy shiver with equal parts anxiety and anticipation.

She considered refusing, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She had to. Which meant there was nothing for Peggy to do but try on the cosplay.

Peggy removed her Alliance uniform swiftly and efficiently. She was used to that part. Putting on a magical girl cosplay outfit was something else entirely. But once she experimentally slipped one of her feet into one of the white, embroidered, thigh-high socks, something came over her. It was like she was possessed by something; a feverish enthusiasm that had her limbs moving in a hurried frenzy and putting on the cosplay like it was second nature. Before she knew it, Peggy was wearing the whole thing.

She shivered. It felt amazing.

And it was so, so skimpy.

Once the initial rush wore off, Peggy was stunned by how much air she could feel on her bare skin. Admittedly, the outfits in Magical Maidens Star Sentinels were, according to some, pretty revealing. The term ‘fanservice’ was frequently bandied around. Peggy had always ardently insisted that it was unfair, and that the designs were perfectly tasteful as long as you looked at them in the right light.

She was now reconsidering that stance.

The blouse, while tailored to fit Peggy, was clearly intended to suit the slim proportions of an anime character; as a result, it left the layer of puppy fat on Peggy’s tummy embarrassingly prominent. The same was true for her thick thighs, on two counts: they muffin-topped over the thigh-highs, and threatened to make the pleated, too-short skirt ride up every time she moved. The fact it was all so brightly colored, so shiny and green, made it all the more lurid, and the way everything was styled, with frills and ruffles and sparkling gemstones, took the ensemble to another level.

Peggy had never been more embarrassed, and she had never been more turned on.

“Morgan?” Chief Carter called out, from behind the privacy screen. “Changed?”

“Y-yeah,” Peggy answered without thinking. Then: “W-wait, no, d-don’t come-“

It was too late. Carter flicked off the privacy screen, and the two of them saw each other. For a moment Peggy thought she was going to die from embarrassment - but then that thought, just like all her other thoughts, was obliterated as she lost herself in the sight of Chief Carter in her cosplay.

Her outfit was the same as Peggy’s except in blue instead of green, and yet somehow, it looked completely different. The similarity in design simply brought out the contrast in their physiques. In Chief Carter’s case, the tight-fitting, revealing magical girl outfit seemed to be struggling to contain her proud, sculpted muscles. The result was similar to what was going on with Peggy, where her clothes were threatening to ride up all over, but the effect was totally different. It accentuated the triangular shape of her torso and all the work she put into her abs.

God, her abs. Peggy had never really deigned to notice just how appealing muscular girls could be, but the latex outfit shed Carter’s physique in such a new light, she couldn’t help but stare. It conformed so tightly to her torso, each one of her abs had its own, shiny highlight from medbay’s dim lights. The effect was nothing short of pornographic, and Peggy was enraptured. The best part was how strange it all looked on her. The tall, swaggering security chief would never normally dress in something so bright and attention-grabbing. The way it transformed her was, to Peggy, both erotic and magical.

Chief Carter was Sentinel Blue.

It made Peggy wonder how she seemed. Had she been transformed too? It was such an exciting thought, and Chief Carter’s reaction confirmed it for her immediately.

“Oh my gosh!” she squealed uncharacteristically. “Morgan, I knew it! You’re perfect.”

Heat rose in Peggy’s body. She looked away. “R-really?” she asked bashfully.

“Hell yes!”

The sparkling enthusiasm in Chief Carter’s eyes left no room for doubt. Peggy was beyond euphoric. It was all she could do to keep herself from bouncing up and down. She was cosplaying as a character from her favorite show. It was a wet dream come true.

“But… um… why l-latex?” Peggy ventured. “It’s a little…”

“Oh, that was the doctor’s call,” Carter replied. “Doesn’t it look magical? The way it shines, it’s like it’s glowing!”

Peggy couldn’t disagree with that. She was utterly captivated, and her head was filling with unspeakable fantasies about all the things she suddenly wanted to do with Chief Carter. It was strange; dressed normally, she had no interest in the muscular woman. Dressed like this, she was a fantasy made flesh. She was irresistible.

“So,” Chief Carter said, striking a small pose. She was radiating joyful confidence. “Shall we get started?”

Peggy walked over to her, trembling with nervousness, trying to ignore the way her thighs rubbed together pleasurably with each step.

“S-sure,” Peggy struggled to say. She decided to try looking at the floor. That seemed safest. “So, um… w-what now?”

“Well, we’re all ready!” Chief Carter’s uncharacteristically innocent enthusiasm was an uncannily perfect match for her magical girl cosplay. Peggy tried not to think about that too much. “We all know how the story is supposed to go. So… places! You can start over by the door. And I’ll…”

Chief Carter clambered onto one of medbay’s many examination chairs, which immediately reclined to accept her. Without warning, restraints mounted within the bed snapped shut around her wrists and ankles. The sound made Peggy jump, and she scampered over to the medbay door.

Abruptly, the lights shifted. This was it. The scene was starting.

Immediately, Peggy was struck by the realization that, metaphorically speaking, all eyes were now on her. Sentinel Green was the hero of the scene. It was on her to get the ball rolling. She knew the script practically line by line, but acting it out properly was another matter. Peggy had never done anything like it before. She wasn’t even sure if she could.

But the more she thought about it, the more a strange, nervous excitement started to flood her limbs. It was the same feeling Peggy got when she was standing a little too close to the edge of a high precipice. The urge to take a leap of faith. To throw herself into the role. Her body burned with it and so Peggy let it take her, and stepped forwards.

“Blue!” she called out, her voice sounding, even to her own ears, brighter and clearer. Peggy took a few cautious steps into medbay - no, into Doctor Tomoe’s evil lab. “Sentinel Blue! Blue, I’m here to rescue you!”

"Green?” came the weak, weary reply. It was Chief Carter - no, Sentinel Blue - no, both. “Is that really you?”

Peggy rushed to her side at once. It was strange; now that she was playing a role, it was so much easier to stand taller and feel braver. She was a Star Sentinel. A hero. And she was here to save her comrade.

Looking down at Chief Carter in cosplay, though, made her feel anything but heroic. All of the shameful, secret feelings she’d experienced earlier came surging back - but they were all the stronger now that Chief Carter was like this: prone, helpless, restrained. With her arms trapped at her sides, her body was even more exposed, and the knowledge that she couldn’t resist anything being done to her was dizzyingly titillating.

It was like she was a doll. A toy to be played with. And it made Peggy itch to touch her.

Instead, she stayed on script. “Blue! I’m so glad I found you. Let’s get you out of here. Can you break out of those restraints?”

Chief Carter followed the script perfectly and began to strain against her bonds. Sentinel Blue was strong, but they were stronger. With all her muscles, Peggy wondered if Chief Carter might actually be able to bust out, but it appeared not. Just like in the episode of MaMeStaSe, she eventually gave up and slumped back into the examination chair, flushed and gleaming with sweat from her exertion.

There was, however, one major difference between the Sentinel Blue Peggy was looking at now, and the one from her beloved anime.

This Sentinel Blue was blatantly extremely turned on.

There was no mistaking it. Her cheeks were burning red from more than just strain, and there was a lurid shine to her eyes. She was panting far more than was reasonable, and with her cosplay outfit so absolutely tight around her body, Peggy could see that her nipples were forming two hard little bullets underneath the latex.

The sight was mesmerizing.

“S-Sentinel Blue?” Peggy ventured. She wasn’t sure what to do.

"I-I guess I’m not… s-strong enough,” Chief Carter panted. The confession made her squirm. It was obvious it excited her. “You’ll have to… to set me free.”

She was sticking to the script, at least as far as the dialogue was concerned. Was Peggy supposed to play along, like nothing strange was happening? That seemed absurd, and yet there was something irresistible about it. It was like she’d be living in a work of pornography.

Peggy decided to keep going. If nothing else, she couldn’t help wanting to see Chief Carter squirm even more.

“I’ll look around,” she said in an urgent stage whisper. “We just need to get you out before-“

“Before I return?”

Dr. Hiraga’s voice, coming from behind the holographic privacy screen at the far end of medbay, sent chills down Peggy’s spine. She knew Dr. Hiraga, of course. Everybody on the ship did. But she sounded different now. Her voice was colder and more sinister. She sounded like a villainess.

It was perfect for the role of Doctor Tomoe.

“Doctor Tomoe!” Peggy cried right on cue, dropping into a fighting stance. “But you’re supposed to be on the other side of the city!”

“Did you really think I would fall for that cheap distraction?” Doctor Tomoe cackled. “I sent my minions to take care of it. Your friends are tied up fighting them. Which means you’re here, alone, with me.”

She stepped out from behind the privacy screen and, even though it was true to the script, there was nothing planned or intended about the way Peggy gasped.

Dr. Hiraga was in cosplay too, of course, and her outfit was a perfect match for Doctor Tomoe’s. In MaMeStaSe, the evil scientist wore a long, white lab coat over a sleek, black bodysuit of some kind. And in keeping with the other cosplays, Dr. Hiraga had chosen to render the bodysuit in black latex, polished to a mirror sheen.

In the past, Peggy had never given Dr. Hiraga’s body a second thought. Now, it was impossible to ignore. Every single one of her indulgent, middle-aged curves was highlighted by the way the light glistened off the shining rubber. It was glorious. Peggy forgot how rude it was to stare. Not drooling was the most she could manage. Dr. Hiraga was shining like a dark star. Unlike the magical girl cosplays, hers was suggestive only in its sleekness. It wasn’t revealing or needlessly tight. It made her feel more dignified than Peggy or Chief Carter. It made her powerful.

She had become Doctor Tomoe.

The cognitive dissonance hitting Peggy was hypnotic. It was like she was looking at two people at once. The gentle, caring Dr. Hiraga, and the evil, indomitable Doctor Tomoe. It seemed just as impossible for Dr. Hiraga to be so imposing and sinister as it did for Doctor Tomoe to be here, real, in the flesh. It was a perfect cosplay. She kept instinctively searching for some missing detail, for something out of place, but there was nothing. Even her makeup, thick and sharp and dark, was perfect for the character.

Which was a huge problem, since the character in question had been the source of some of Peggy’s biggest sexual awakenings.

“Surprised?” Dr. Hiraga - no, Doctor Tomoe - no, both - cocked an eyebrow, amused. “You should be. I have you exactly where I want you, Sentinel Green.”

“How dare you!” The scripted words came effortlessly to Peggy’s lips. She couldn’t break the scene, no matter how flustered she was. “In the name of the stars, I’ll bring you to justice!”

“Oh? All on your own?” Dr. Hiraga’s smirk was so perfectly mocking and superior, that Peggy couldn’t believe it was acted. She was utterly convincing. “You’re not so strong without your magical little friends.”

Peggy squirmed at her dripping, molten contempt. A hundred scenarios flashed through her mind, each more perverse and depraved than the last. Her mind, tainted by countless hours of staring adoringly at lewd cosplays, was working overdrive. Peggy couldn’t count how many times she’d blown off steam thinking about Doctor Tomoe. But no matter what, she had to stick to the script.

“I’m not the one who’s alone!” she shot back. Even though she was insanely turned on, her voice sounded heroic and full of innocent conviction. Dr. Hiraga was a perfect Doctor Tomoe, but Peggy was managing a decent Sentinel Green. “You don’t have your minions here. And I have my friend right by my side!”

"She’s a little tied down at the moment,” Dr. Hiraga sneered viciously. “She won’t be any help to you!”

“That’s what you think!” Peggy cried. “But with the power of friendship and justice on our side, we can overcome anything!”

Now she was the one panting and struggling to keep the lust out of her voice. Nevertheless, she reached across Chief Carter to put her hands on one of the metal shackles keeping her trapped against the examination chair. In the episode, Sentinel Green summoned her magic and used it to set Sentinel Blue free. Hopefully, Dr. Hiraga and Chief Carter had set things up so that if she just tugged a little bit, the manacles would release of their own volition.

Sure enough, they did. Even though it was all fake, in that moment, Peggy felt genuinely heroic. She was channeling the emotion of the scene, and that made it easy to plant her hands squarely on her hips as she stared down the villainous Doctor Tomoe.

“There! Now it’s two against one,” Peggy declared. “Surrender now, Doctor Tomoe. Or else.”

Chief Carter rose to her feet to stand beside her, gently nursing her wrists. The two of them made a perfect matching pair as they squared off against the doctor, even if Chief Carter seemed, somehow, a touch disappointed. Thanks to the magic of the moment, her presence made Peggy feel that much stronger and braver. Even though they were both wearing porny latex. Even though she knew exactly what was about to happen.

“Is that so?” Dr. Hiraga purred. “You’re right about one thing, Sentinel Green. It is two against one - just not the way you think.”

Lazily, she raised a hand and snapped her fingers.

Peggy looked round sharply as she sensed Chief Carter abruptly start to sway. Immediately, she froze. She had been expecting, maybe, a convincing performance of being stunned or entranced. Despite the strange reaction she’d had to the restraints, Chief Carter was proving to be a surprisingly skilled performer. What Peggy saw now, though, went far beyond acting.

Chief Carter had spirals in her eyes.

It was impossible. At first Peggy thought it had to be a trick of light, but no. The more she stared, the more it became clear that this was completely and totally real. Chief Carter’s eyes had become spinning, spiraling orbs, each one glowing from within with an unfathomable light. Peggy couldn’t believe how accurate to the anime it was. The way Chief Carter had swayed and sagged as if totally drained of mind and thought was just as perfect.

“W-what have you done to her?” Peggy breathed. It was Sentinel Green’s line, but the question was genuine.

“No one can resist my treatment!” Dr. Hiraga cackled. “Not even the Star Sentinels. Sentinel Blue is mine now. She’s one of my minions. And soon, you will be too.”

“N-no,” Peggy gasped. She was completely caught up in the emotion of the scene. She remembered the sense of dawning shock and horror she’d felt so many times, watching this moment unfold. Now, she was living it.

“Oh yes,” Dr. Hiraga crowed. “You’ll soon see! Minion, seize her!”

Peggy shivered and squirmed as she felt Chief Carter’s powerful hands seize her by the shoulders.

“Blue!” Peggy let her voice become a high-pitched, girly shriek. “What are you doing?”

“She can’t hear you now,” Dr. Hiraga warned. “Minion, strap her to the chair!”

Peggy hadn’t thought this far ahead, and so she wasn’t prepared for the way Chief Carter lifted her bodily off the ground without the slightest hint of real effort. Evidently, when she’d pushed the science officer against the wall earlier, she’d been using a bare fraction of her true strength. When Peggy felt her feet leave the floor, the way she writhed in a frantic bid to squirm free wasn’t acted. It was very, very real.

Fortunately for her, Chief Carter wasted no time in swinging her around and placing her down firmly on the exam chair. An instant later, she was forcing Peggy’s hands into the same manacles she herself had just been freed from. Peggy was too stunned to say anything, and what had stunned her the most was Chief Carter’s complete lack of gentleness. The chief had been so friendly and enthusiastic, but now she was throwing Peggy around like she was nothing more than a sack of meat.

Almost like she was really brainwashed.

It was a silly thought, but Peggy couldn’t seem to shake it. There was just no way Chief Carter was actually this good of an actor. Everything about the way she moved and carried herself was unnatural and rigid. It was too perfect. And then there were her eyes. Peggy had seen plenty of cheap cosplay tricks. Enough to know that they weren’t just a trick. Most alarmingly of all, when she stared into Chief Carter’s eyes for just a little too long, she could feel herself starting to slip under the spirals’ hypnotic influence.

Something strange was happening.

So shouldn’t she say something? Do something? Call the scene to a halt? That would have been the responsible thing to do. But Peggy couldn’t make herself do it. There was a magic to the moment. To the way they were all three of them caught up in the flow of the scene, living out their characters’ actions, feeling all their sensations and feelings.

It was everything Peggy could have ever asked for. She couldn’t give it up.

“Not so strong now, are you?” Dr. Hiraga mocked. She moved to stand over Peggy, and from where the science officer was sitting she seemed more imposing than ever. “You Star Sentinels are so easy to fool.”

Peggy’s mouth was dry, but she forced herself to stick to the script.

“S-Sentinel Blue!” she cried out in a decidedly uneven voice. “You have to listen to me! You have to fight! You can beat this! Resist!”

Chief Carter opened her mouth and for a moment, despite the source material, Peggy found herself hoping she would find the strength to fight off the mind control.

Instead, all she said was: “I obey Doctor Tomoe,” in a droning, monotone voice that was so far away from Chief Carter’s usual, brash tones it made Peggy whimper.

“It’s no use,” Dr. Hiraga sneered. “She’s completely under my control. And soon, you’ll be just like her.”

“N-never!” Peggy tried to sound defiant, just like Sentinel Green. Instead, she sounded like she was moaning. It was like she was a porn parody of the real thing - a thought that drove her wild with need.

“Ridiculous!” Dr. Hiraga threw back her head and laughed. “You’re powerless, Sentinel Green! Look, you can’t even brush my hand away.”

Peggy went very, very still as Dr. Hiraga reached down and rested a latex-gloved hand on her thigh, up under the hem of her skirt.

This was it. It was an infamous moment in the anime, depicted in a thousand less-than-savory fanworks - especially ones by lesbian fans. Peggy had always steadfastly maintained that it was a simple illustration of Doctor Tomoe’s lack of respect for others, but it was hard to deny that there was something titillating about it.

Peggy, turned on as she was, had mostly been hoping she wouldn’t do something embarrassing like squirm or moan. She had been sure Dr. Hiraga would barely even touch her. It was just roleplay, right?

Instead, Dr. Hiraga started openly groping her.

At first, when Peggy first felt the doctor’s fingers pressing roughly and insistently into the flesh of her pale, exposed, sensitive thighs, she couldn’t believe what was happening. Surely it was just a mistake. Surely Dr. Hiraga was just about to break character and apologize. But no - she just kept going, and with each passing moment, her grin widened and her fingers reached further up Peggy’s hips.

The look in the doctor’s eyes was the most shocking part of it. They were shining with glee and malice, like she was drunk on the pleasure of violating Peggy’s body. It was completely authentic and sincere, and completely unlike Dr. Hiraga.

But perfect for Doctor Tomoe.

Before Peggy could dwell on that, the sensations filling her body overtook her shock. Her back arched, and she was forced to gasp and pant for each breath. Her cheeks turned the deepest red as she was drowned in overwhelming embarrassment and shame over how she was reacting. But she couldn’t help it. Being touched like this felt amazing, even though she wasn’t sure why.

Maybe it was because she’d watched this scene in the anime hundreds of times, fascinated by how it looked, imagining how it might feel, wondering what it would be like to look up helplessly at Doctor Tomoe. And now she was living it. She was living her fantasy, and her whole body was electric with the thrill.

“You see?” Dr. Hiraga mocked. “Helpless.”

Her hand reached further, pushing up her tiny latex skirt and beginning to touch at the hem of her panties. Peggy couldn’t help but moan, but even as she did she was wracked with confusion. Had Doctor Tomoe gone quite this far in the anime? Wasn’t this a little too much? She couldn’t exactly remember. It was getting so hard to think clearly.

“G-g-get off me!” Peggy whined. She sounded unconvincing - but then again, so had Sentinel Green in a few moments. “Y-you’ll pay for this!”

“We’ll see about that,” Dr. Hiraga purred. She brought her other hand to Peggy’s chest and started groping her there, too. There was something magical about the sensation of latex on latex. “Soon enough, you’ll accept me eagerly. You’ll profess your undying devotion and obedience. You’ll beg for me.”

“N-n-never!” Peggy moaned as Dr. Hiraga squeezed her tits and stroked the lips of her cunt.

They were off-script now, she was sure of it. Doctor Tomoe had never touched Sentinel Green like this. So… she should put a stop to this, right? That thought nagged at her again. Wouldn’t that be the right thing to do? Young though Peggy was, she was still an officer. Things like this weren’t supposed to happen on a military vessel. But in the moment, she was struggling to think about that.

She was too busy thinking about how wet she was. Too busy struggling to figure out if she wanted Dr. Hiraga to notice or not.

The fantasy was too powerful. She couldn’t sacrifice it. She wanted - she needed - to immerse herself deeper, no matter how twisted it was getting. Where was she ever going to find this feeling again?

All she needed to do was stop thinking and lose herself to the wet dream. She was being groped by Doctor Tomoe. By the hottest villainess in all of fiction. It was amazing.

It was so amazing, she whined in disappointment when Dr. Hiraga finally pulled away. The doctor noticed, and the look of scorn that flashed through her eyes made Peggy’s cunt clench.

“I can’t wait to brainwash you to our cause,” Doctor Tomoe declared. “But the pleasure won’t be all mine. My dark mistress wishes to see you fall.”

Peggy’s eyes flew wide. She’d almost forgotten. The big twist of this arc of Magical Maidens Star Sentinels was that Doctor Tomoe was, herself, brainwashed - by the true villain, Queen Betalia. What did that mean? What was going to happen? When Queen Betalia showed up, she was more of a looming, shadowy presence than a real character. A hologram, perhaps?

“Queen Betalia!” Dr. Hiraga cried out theatrically. “We beseech you! Appear before us!”

There was a distinctive hum as holographic projectors concealed around medbay flickered into life. Peggy wasn’t sure what she had been expecting to see, but the very last thing she’d anticipated was an ominous, familiar figure with dyed hair, wild eyes, and dozens of visible tattoos and piercings.

It was Wasp. The vandal-hacker the Inyx was hunting.

As science officer, Peggy wasn’t as motivated as some of the other crew members by the thought of catching her. She was in it for the experience, and to study any anomalies they came across. But she’d still been in all the briefings. She knew exactly who this woman was, even if she couldn’t begin to fathom what exactly her presence here meant.

Wasp, unlike the rest of them, wasn’t wearing any kind of cosplay. She was dressed in what Peggy understood to be her typical attire: leggings, a big, punk battle jacket, and a sports bra. But if that wasn’t enough to set her apart from the role-players, the way she leered at Peggy and cackled certainly was.

"You know, you’re really a girl after my own heart,” Wasp said to Peggy in an absurdly conversational voice. “I mean, I’m a hacker, right? Deep down I’m a huge nerd. Not that I’ve ever taken it as far as you. That’s one hell of a hentai collection buried in your personal computer files.”

Peggy craned her head to look at Chief Carter and Dr. Hiraga. Chillingly, neither one of them had reacted to Wasp’s holographic presence in any way. Both of them were just standing there like statues. Like dolls who had been momentarily set aside.

This was really bad.

“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Wasp told her. “In fact…”

She snapped her fingers in Dr. Hiraga’s face. An instant later, Dr. Hiraga’s eyes turned into glowing, spinning spirals. The exact same spirals that Peggy could see in Chief Carter’s.

This was really, really bad.

Peggy’s mind, still sluggish from arousal and fantasy, was struggling to parse what this meant. Were they still roleplaying? It seemed unlikely. If Wasp was meant to be Queen Betalia, she wasn’t in character, or even in cosplay. Why would it be her? And if she was just a hologram, why was she veering off script and breaking the fourth wall?

But what was the alternative? That Wasp, a hacker, had infiltrated the Inyx’s systems and somehow brainwashed senior members of the crew? That was even more difficult to face up to.

“Hey, hey, relax,” Wasp added when she noticed Peggy’s growing distress. “Just think of me as part of your little roleplay. Just an unexpected little twist. That’s how this is supposed to go, right? The big bad shows up, trances the doc, and then the magical girl gets brainwashed. Trust me, I’m not going to ruin your fun on that count. That’s the very last thing I’d want.”

Peggy just kept glancing nervously between Chief Carter and Dr. Hiraga for clarification. She wasn’t sure what to believe. She tugged against her restraints again, hoping against hope that they might come loose.

“L-let me go,” Peggy protested weakly. “You’ll pay for this!”

They were just the words that popped into her head. They felt right. But they were also Sentinel Green’s words.

Wasp seemed to pick up on that. “That’s right,” she urged. “Just lie back, magical girl. Enjoy the ride. Hell, enjoy the view.”

“B-but…” Peggy spluttered uncertainly, once again half-consciously echoing her character, “But… but…”

“Just look at them.” Wasp gestured towards Chief Carter and Dr. Hiraga, drawing Peggys’ eye. “Aren’t they perfect? Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”

Once Peggy looked, she couldn’t look away. There was something spellbinding about seeing her fellow officers like this. The cosplay, of course, sent forbidden thrills of pleasure running down Peggy’s spine, but so did the way they were just standing there, devoid of emotion or personality. They looked so empty. They were like toys, waiting to be played with. Like figurines, waiting to be posed.

“Or… maybe you’d prefer it like this.”

Wasp made a show of snapping her fingers again. As she did, Chief Carter and Dr. Hiraga shuddered back to life, although their eyes didn’t return to normal. Instead, their spirals shifted color to a deep, pink tint. They didn’t react to Peggy or Wasp either. Without warning, the two women stared intently at each other and then rushed into one another’s arms.

“Oh, Sentinel Blue!” Dr. Hiraga cried, in a voice uncharacteristically thick with unrestrained emotion. “I can’t pretend anymore! It was always you.”

“I know!” Sentinel Blue wailed. “The truth is, I never cared about Sentinel Yellow. I never cared about justice or vanquishing evil. I don’t think I ever cared about anything but you. I love you!”

The two of them started mashing their faces together in a deep, clumsy, passionate kiss. The little scene playing out between them was so strange and melodramatic it was almost comical, but Peggy wasn’t laughing. She was enthralled. She recognized this - their words, their kissing.

It was from a work of fanfiction. A work of fanfiction she’d written, years ago.

As the two brainwashed officers kept kissing and grabbing at each other in their overenthusiastic display of affection, Peggy couldn’t dream of looking away. She couldn’t even bring herself to feel guilty about staring. After all, this was yet another of her fantasies come to life. They were literally following her script. Wasn’t she meant to look? Weren’t these two supposed to be looked at?

That’s what cosplay was all about.

The sheer, blatant, fetishistic nature of their latex outfits only accentuated that further. Ogling them for Peggy’s enjoyment just seemed right. They were dolls. Dolls were meant to be played with. That was obvious.

Her anguish over her situation was starting to abate, and her cunt was starting to drip down onto the examination chair beneath her.

“Or,” Wasp added, “it could be like this.”

The hacker snapped her fingers yet again, and Dr. Hiraga and Chief Carter’s eyes changed color once more. Without any hesitation, they broke off from kissing. All of the overflowing, ardent longing they had been expressing drained away into nothing. Moving in eerie synchronization, they knelt next to the examination chair Peggy was restrained in, one on each side of her.

“Sentinel Green,” Chief Carter whispered, in a low, breathy, seductive voice that made Peggy’s whole body tingle. “We’re all yours. We’re here to service you.”

Peggy whimpered as raw need washed over her.

“We’ll do anything,” came Dr. Hiraga’s voice from her other side. Hearing Doctor Tomoe talk like this was driving Peggy crazy. She sounded like an actress from a cheap porno. “We just want to make you feel good.”

As one, they lowered their mouths to her body and started kissing, licking, sucking across her bare skin, all along her legs and arms. Peggy couldn’t keep herself from squirming wildly, but with the restraints keeping her limbs trapped, there was no escape. She couldn’t believe how sensitive her body had become.

It was the cosplay and the roleplay. Layers upon layers of fantasy and fiction, each one heightening the fetishistic appeal even more. The way Chief Carter and Dr. Hiraga were behaving now was unmistakably pornographic, and that was the hottest thing of all for Peggy. She was watching them debase her favorite characters, all for her titillation and her pleasure.

“Do you know the best part?” Wasp commented, grinning wickedly. “They’re not acting. Not pretending. Oh no. I made them believe. To them, you’re really Sentinel Green.”

Peggy flushed and shivered. God, that was so hot.

“And in a way, they’re not wrong,” Wasp mused. “Just look at yourself. You’re just like them. You fit in perfectly. The costumes really are perfect. It suits you.”

Peggy wasn’t sure why being complimented by a villain and a criminal made her body throb with fresh pleasure - but it did. This was all she wanted. To be Sentinel Green. To submerge into the character. To look good and hot in her cosplay. Nothing could be more arousing.

“You know,” Wasp added leadingly, “if anyone walked in here right now, they wouldn’t be able to see the difference between you and them. I’m not sure I can.”

That comment lit a fire in Peggy’s mind. No difference. It made sense, when she looked down at herself. She was dressed just as provocatively. She was acting just as pornographically.

Just like them, she was a doll.

Something to be posed. Something to be played with.

As Peggy continued to moan and squirm, Wasp bent down and put her lips to Peggy’s ear.

“And,” she whispered, “in just a moment, I’m going to make you exactly like them. I’m going to make you mine.”

Peggy froze. She’d been getting lost in the fantasy. But as much as she wanted to be Sentinel Green, she was Peggy Morgan too. She was the Inyx’s science officer. She had a responsibility to the crew.

And yet…

“Don’t get me wrong,” Wasp added, straightening. “You don’t have any choice about it. I’m sure you’re already plenty wound up. There’s no way you can resist. I’m just saying, it’s up to you how you want to feel about it.”

“W… what…?” Peggy managed, desperately confused.

“I’m just saying.” Wasp shrugged. “Who needs boring old reality, when you can live a fantasy like this. Am I right?”

Peggy’s back suddenly arched as Dr. Hiraga planted a kiss dangerously close to her needy, throbbing cunt. Clear thought was a distant memory. What Wasp was suggesting should have horrified her - but it didn’t. Instead, one single, powerful observation was at the forefront of her mind.

In all the time she’d spent on the Inyx, this was the best she’d ever felt.

Something inside the nerdy science officer snapped. She made her voice.

“Y-you can’t!” she cried out desperately. “I’ll never betray my comrades! You c-can’t make me!”

It should have been a cry of defiance, but the words weren’t hers.

They were Sentinel Green’s.

“Atta girl.” Wasp laughed. “I won’t sugarcoat it, though. You’re totally gonna betray everyone. I’m gonna use your smarts to perfect this little implant-brainwashing procedure the doc and I have been working on. No more breaking down resistance. One little zap is all it’ll take. Soon enough, everyone on this fucking ship is gonna be under my spell.”

Peggy just moaned. It felt so right. Sentinel Green, brainwashed to betray her allies. That was how the story was supposed to go.

“But you’ll have fun,” Wasp told her. “I can promise you that. I can have endless fun with you. And with the chief, and the doctor. And, who knows? Maybe once I’ve got the whole ship, we can put the rest of the Star Sentinels together.”

For just one single word, Peggy let herself break from the script and say something Sentinel Green never would have said.

“P-please!”

Wasp laughed again, and snapped her fingers. Chief Carter and Dr. Hiraga rose to their feet and backed away. Wasp drew herself up theatrically.

“Y’know, I’m glad you asked so nicely. I may have gone a little overboard when I was planning this out. It took a little time to get the hardlight holograms to look and work just right. But I don’t regret the effort. I figure you’ll appreciate the fanservice.”

She extended a hand down towards Peggy, and there was a loud hum as the medbay’s holographic projectors kicked into overdrive. An instant later, two tendrils made of something shiny and black erupted from Wasp’s hand. They were fake, of course - they had to be - but they were as real as Wasp, and she’d already proven how dangerous she could be.

And more importantly, within the fantasy Peggy had surrendered to, they were all-powerful. Shadowy conduits of Queen Betalia’s will.

The tendrils looked like they were made of the same kind of latex as the cosplays, shiny and alluring, but they moved like living creatures, snaking towards Peggy before pouncing on her, one on each side of her head, and burrowing deep into her ears.

Peggy shuddered for a moment as she felt something cold and malevolent touch something deep inside her, implanting something there, behind her eyes.

And then, as the holo-stimulant implant came to life, her eyes were drowned in glowing spirals, and she thought about nothing at all.

As she peeked through a tiny crack in the door to medbay and beheld the debauchery unfolding within, Crewman Lori Delaney tried her hardest to keep perfectly still and quiet. She’d come down here after, as usual, feigning sickness to get off her duty shift. Dr. Hiraga was a soft touch; it was usually easy to convince her to provide a doctor’s note and let Delaney rest for a few hours instead of working. Other officers would usually catch on and chew her out, though, so she’d developed the habit of opening the door a crack so she could peek through and make sure nobody annoying was around.

Starship doors weren’t supposed to open like that. Especially not when they were locked. But with a little hotwiring, anything was possible.

Today, she’d found far more than she’d been expecting. Something truly weird was happening in medbay - and clearly, it involved Wasp. Delaney didn’t care about the Inyx’s duty to catch her even a little bit. In fact, she was tired of their uptight bitch of a captain’s constant lectures about it. But that didn’t mean she had any sympathy for a preening, attention-grabbing asshole like Wasp. And given that she clearly already had several members of the crew under her control, there was really only one thing Lori Delaney could do.

She rose silently to her feet and ran off to find Captain Vasser.

---

I would like to express my gratitude for the generosity of all those who support me on Patreon, and to give a special thanks to the following patrons in particular for their exceptional support:

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#story #commandingweakness

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tonystarkbingo · 6 months

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TSB Round 7 - Weeks 17, 18, 19

We have a few weeks in one this roundup, which means extra fills for you to read!

And with a new month we have a new block party theme! The theme for November is Family, and while family can mean whatever you want it to, we also have some prompts to get you started:

Kid fic Family dinner Holiday/party Bedtime routine Outing

Happy creating!

Collaborator: hereandnowwearealive Card Number: 7036 Square Filled: R2 - Metallurgy Title: Metallurgy Link: Tumblr Pairings: n/a Word Count: n/a Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: art fill Summary: an image of Tony under a stream of molten metal

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Collaborator: endlesstwanted Card Number: 7010 Square Filled: Adopted - New team Title: Of Darkness And Solace Link: AO3 Pairings: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov/Tony Stark Word Count: 991 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: Afterlife, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Angst and Feels Summary: A year after the events of Endgame, old and new friends gather to visit Natasha’s grave. Tony, Steve and her are happy to see them again.

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Collaborator: rebelmeg Card Number: 7001 Square Filled: T4 - shared trauma Title: I Want You Back Link: Tumblr Pairings: Pepperony Word Count: 2692 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: whump, hurt/comfort, working on their relationship, meeting each other halfway, post-cacw Summary: Pepper asked for the separation when Tony couldn't let go of Iron Man. Then, when she got what she asked for, she realized just how much she was giving up. And found a way to own up to her own shortcomings, and meet the love of her life halfway.

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Collaborator: deehellcat Card Number: 7014 Square Filled: K3 - ironstrange Title: Broken Shadows Link: AO3 Pairings: pre-ironstrange Word Count: 5663 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: Chose not to warn, AU-Horror, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Autopsies Summary: The new Sorcerer Supreme and his right hand move into their new Sanctum only to find it might already be occupied…by the ghost of one Anthony Stark.

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Collaborator: tinystark616 Card Number: 7008 Square Filled: R3 - Angst Title: Repeat Until Death Link: AO3 Pairings: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark Word Count: 3474 Rating: Explicit Major Tags/Triggers: Angst, unhappy ending, frottage, iron man/captain america: casualties of war (2006) Summary: In the midst of Civil War, Steve and Tony meet in the Avengers Mansion to talk, because Tony hopes he can change Steve's mind. As it turns out, there isn't a lot of talking.

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Collaborator: hereandnowwearealive Card Number: 7036 Square Filled: K5 - AU: wings Title: A Deal with the Devil Link: Tumblr Pairings: Morgan Stark & Tony Stark Word Count: n/a Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: art fill Summary: Morgan, dressed as an angel, trick-or-treating and asking Tony, dressed as a demon, for candy

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Collaborator: CaptainJimothyCarter Card Number: 1058 Square Filled: K2 - Peggy Carter Title: A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow: Ch 5: A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow Link: Tumblr Pairings: Peggy Carter & Tony Stark Word Count: 2k Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: None Summary: Tony rides a giant teacup.

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Collaborator: Faustess Card Number: 7022 Square Filled: S5 - Science Boyfriends Title: Tony Stark Bingo Mark VII - September Round Robin Link: AO3 Pairings: Bruce Banner/Tony Stark Word Count: 1913 total, my part was about 300 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: No Archive Warnings Apply, Avengers Tower, Only One Bed, Cuddling & Snuggling Summary: Bruce comes back to New York City to stay at Avengers Tower -- and keep his new teammate company.

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Collaborator: Faustess Card Number: 7022 Square Filled: T3 - Anticipation Title: Tony Stark Bingo Mark VII - August Round Robin Link: AO3 Pairings: Avengers Team Members & Tony Stark Word Count: 400+ , 1860 total Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: No Archive Warnings Apply, Wedding Planning, Tony Stark-centric, Surprise Party, Crushes Summary: Tony's been holed up in his workshop... planning a wedding for his friend... the President of the United States. He knows from personal experience that the planning is officially the worst part of any wedding and he doesn't want to inflict that on his friends. There's only one detail left... getting a date with his crush.

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Collaborator: Faustess Card Number: 7022 Square Filled: T5 - Psychological Torture Title: You Gotta Pay the Troll Toll Link: AO3 Pairings: Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes Word Count: 5883 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: No Archive Warnings Apply, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Fanfiction Writer Bucky Barnes, Protective Tony Stark, Fanfiction Writer Tony Stark, Mutual Pining, Getting Together Summary: Bucky Barnes writes stories about his life with the Howlies, some before the war, and others about his life after he'd escaped from Hydra. He publishes them under a fan fic site alias and makes a few friends online. Then the trolls come for him. It doesn't feel better to him than it does for anyone else. Fortunately, like the rest of us, his friends rally around him to boost his spirits and come to his defense. And maybe - at least in this case - all that (and the help of some giant slugs - Thanks AIM!) leads to something a little bit more.

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Collaborator: Faustess Card Number: 7022 Square Filled: R5 - "Wake up!" Title: Too Good to Be True (Chapter 25) Link: AO3 Pairings: Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Word Count: chapter: 4716; 62,982 total Rating: Mature Major Tags/Triggers: No Archive Warnings Apply, Dreams vs. Reality, Domestic Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Pancakes, Slow Romance, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Communication Summary: Chapter Summary: A few more years have gone by and it's college graduation season! James has another of his recurring dreams and then grudgingly wakes up to spend the day with the family he and Tony have found together.

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Collaborator: illogicalkat Card Number: 7009 Square Filled: K1 - image of Tony Stark with speech bubble, "I'm off the market" Title: You, Me, and Bucky makes 3 (chapter 1) Link: AO3 Pairings: Emma Frost/Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes/Emma Frost/Tony Stark Word Count: 1555 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: Relationship negotiations Summary: The very last thing Tony expected on his honeymoon was a run-in with Revolution

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Collaborator: illogicalkat Card Number: 7009 Square Filled: S3 - Canon: Marvel 616 Title: You, Me, and Bucky makes 3 (chapter 2) Link: AO3 Pairings: Emma Frost/Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes/Emma Frost/Tony Stark Word Count: 1062 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: relationship negotiations Summary: The last thing Tony expected on his honeymoon was a run-in with Revolution

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Collaborator: deehellcat Card Number: 7014 Square Filled: R1 - abducted Title: All eyes on you, my magician (all eyes on us) Link: AO3 Pairings: DrPepperony (Tony/Pepper/Strange) Word Count: 4730 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: Kidnapping, Magic, Polycule, Bisexual Tony Stark, Bisexual Stephen Strange, BAMF Pepper Potts, Tony Stark Is Not Iron Man, (well not yet), AU—Canon Divergence Summary: Stephen Strange discovers Pepper Potts has a knack for magic, and takes on the task of training her, while pining for both her and her boyfriend Tony Stark.

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Collaborator: rebelmeg Card Number: 7001 Square Filled: A3 - free space Title: Tony's New Cars Link: Tumblr Pairings: Pepperony Word Count: 1900 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: the makeup after the breakup, whump, hurt/comfort, happy ending, Tony handles his emotional issues by throwing money at them Summary: Tony seems to have replaced all his cars. Pepper finds out why.

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Collaborator: rebelmeg Card Number: 7001 Square Filled: T1 - diner/restaurant Title: Wingmen and Airmen, Flirting and Flying - Chapter 1: Two Drink Limit (Limits Were Made To Be Tested) Link: Tumblr Pairings: Tony & Rhodey, Carol & Maria, Rhodey/Carol, Tony/Maria Word Count: 1752 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: first meeting, flirting Summary: Rhodey lays down the law, Tony scoffs at the very idea, Carol is considering hijinks, and Maria is up for the challenge.

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Collaborator: rebelmeg Card Number: 7001 Square Filled: A5 - charming Title: Wingmen and Airmen, Flirting and Flying - Chapter 2: Darts and Tequila and Pairing Up Link: Tumblr Pairings: MIT Bros, Carol & Maria, Rhodey/Carol, Tony/Maria Rambeau Word Count: 2093 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: flirting, drunken shenanigans, kissing Summary: Rhodey braces himself to make his move, Tony makes his, and last call comes as a surprise to everyone.

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Collaborator: rebelmeg Card Number: 7001 Square Filled: K4 - dares/bets Title: Wingmen and Airmen, Flirting and Flying - Chapter 3: I'll See Your Hangover, and Raise You Another Link: Tumblr Pairings: Rhodey/Carol, Tony/Maria Rambeau, MIT Bros, Carol & Maria Word Count: 2068 Rating: Teen Major Tags/Triggers: hangovers, slightly secret identities revealed, embarrassment, plans for a second date Summary: The boys are having just as miserable a morning as could be expected after their night out, but when they finally do show up at the demonstration, a couple of familiar faces are there to greet them.

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Collaborator: deehellcat Card Number: 7014 Square Filled: R4 - new team Title: Esprit de Corps Link: AO3 Pairings: pre-ironstrange Word Count: 1258 Rating: Gen Major Tags/Triggers: PTSD, Misuse of Magic, Grumpy Stephen Strange, Canon Divergence—post CACW, New Team Summary: Strange isn’t sold on this whole ‘new Avengers’ thing he’s gotten sucked into, and especially not on the idea of having to work with the most annoying person on this plane of existence, Tony Stark.

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#tony stark bingo round 7 #tsb 7 #tsb weekly roundup #tsb week 17 #tsb week 18 #tsb week 19

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marvelrarepairbingo · 6 months

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We're getting closer to the next round as the days get colder and the nights grow longer in the upcoming season. However, in the spirit of the bingo, we've got some great stories to share with everyone under the cut below! Thanks to everyone who has been coming along with us for the ride on this bingo :)

Title: Beside my bed I keep a bottle of dreams Author/Artist: Chaoticgardenbread Card #: MRP-029 Square Filled: I5: in the back of a police car Pairing: Logan/Pietro Maximoff Rating: Teen Warnings: N/A Summary: Basically how Quicksilver and Wolverine might’ve met in an alternate universe. Word Count: 3933 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49855192

Title: The Valentine's Viking Author: Blizzard_Fire Card #: MRP-032 Square Filled: I5: Spilling His Drink on His Crush Pairing: Bruce Banner/Thor Rating: Mature Warnings: No powers au, humour, fainting, alcohol, brief stripping scene Summary: At Jen's Galentine's party, Bruce has a close encounter with a Viking stripper. Word Count: 2920 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49408279

Title: A day in the life Author: sadbi-hours Card #: MRP-035 Square Filled: Free Square Pairing: Steve Rogers/ Darcy Lewis/ Bucky Barnes Rating: Gen Warnings: N/A Summary: N/A Word Count: N/A Link: https://www.tumblr.com/sadbi-hours/727398248455782400/title-a-day-in-the-life-pairing-steve-rogers?source=share

Title: Fall Traditions Author: 42donotpanic Card #: MRP-038 Square Filled: N4: Hedge Maze Pairing: Clint Barton/Matt Murdock Rating: Gen Warnings: n/a Summary: Kate and Yelena have invited their friends to go on a day-trip with them. Clint doesn't quite understand how a mace made out of corn is supposed to work. Word Count: 830 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50617384

Title: The Heart Of The Mountain Squares Filled: Marvel Rare Pair Bingo (MRP-051): I1, Glitter/Sparkles Author: ibelieveinturtles Fandom: MCU Pairing: James "Bucky" Barnes/Brock Rumlow, Darcy Lewis/Brock Rumlow, James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis/Brock Rumlow Rating: T Tags/Warnings: Dragons, Pirates Summary: Bucky slowly shifts to meet Brock's worried gaze. "Do you ever feel like-" he pauses, then starts again. "It's like I've been homesick my whole life, but I didn't even know it." "There's a reason for that," Brock says, "and I promise to explain everything, but we gotta take care of the eggs first." Word Count: 2047 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27076348/chapters/126206494

Title: Thoughts On Soulmates (Soulmate For The New Year, Ch 2) Squares Filled: Marvel Rare Pair Bingo (MRP-051): G2, Emotional Vulnerability AU Author: ibelieveinturtles Fandom: MCU Pairings: James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis, Steve Rogers/Peggy Carter, Jane Foster/Thor Rating: G Tags/Warnings: Soulmate AU, Soultember, No powers AU Summary: While Darcy starts the long journey home, Peggy is enjoying a quiet evening at home with friends, both old and new. Word Count: 2327 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49880440/chapters/126623965 Title: Affectionate gesture Author: Annie Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: B2: “Weird Affectionate Gesture” Pairing: Brock Rumlow X Sinthea Schmidt (Love) Rating: Teen Warnings: Weird present, guns, Brock tries to being romantic Summary: Brock wants to show Sinthea how much he loves her. Word Count: 636 words Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/725628464562126848/affectionate-gesture

Title: Opening the heart. Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: B3: “Zombie Apocalypse AU” Pairing: Wanda Maximoff X Victor von Doom (Love) Rating: Teen Warnings: Mention of characters’ death, zombie apocalypse Summary: Wanda and Victor talk about some stuff that happened at the beginning of the apocalypse. Word Count: 736 words Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/725809040160178176/fic

Title: A (not) good cake slice. Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: B4: “Sharing a really decadent piece of cake” Pairing: Wanda Maximoff & Steve Rogers (Friendship) Rating: Teen Warnings: horrible piece of cake, refuse the service in a cafeteria Summary: Wanda and Steve wanted to talk and enjoy a slice of cake. Word Count: 632 words Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/726262042202357760/a-not-good-cake-slice

Title: “Are we friends?” ”I don’t think so” Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: B5: “Roommates” Pairing: Ororo Munroe & Lorna Dane (Friendship) Rating: Teen Warnings: Arguing, the school was damage, sharing a bedroom Summary: Lorna and Ororo have to share Ororo’s bedroom, what could be the problem? Word Count: 562 words Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/726443248754819072/are-we-friends-i-dont-think-so-title-are

Title: “Stuffed animals” Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: I1: “Favorite stuffed animal” Pairing: The divine pairing (Love) Rating: Teen Warnings: Stuffed animals, fluff Summary: Tandy and Tyrone talk about childhood memories. Word Count: 532 Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/729432911017836544/stuffed-animals

Title: Bewitched crossroads Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: I2: Blue collar warlock Pairing: Morgan le Fay X Stephen Strange (Love) Rating: Teen Warnings: Summary: Sad ending, forbidden love Word Count: 502 Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/729614115112435712/bewitched-crossroads

Title: Stargazing love Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: I3: “Lying in a field stargazing” Pairing: Crystal Amaquelin X Pietro Maximoff (Love). Rating: Teen Warnings: Stargazing, walking in the woods, love declaration, fluff. Summary: A special starry night for Pietro and Crystal. Word Count: 542 Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/729795302492717056/stargazing-love

Title: “Against the ghost” Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: Ghostbusters AU Pairing: Reed Strucker X Caitlin Strucker (Love). Rating: Teen Warnings: Ghost, ghostbusters. Summary: Reed and Caitlin will save their children, no matters what. Word Count: 551 Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/730248306131976192/against-the-ghost

Title: “Trapped in the unknown” Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: I5: “Scary encounter: someone with creepy long arms than can reach you anywhere” Pairing: Sue Storm X Victor von Doom (Love). Rating: Teen Warnings: Scary encounter, horror. Summary: Sue and Victor found a very scary being. Word Count: 618 Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/730429488689709056/trapped-in-the-unknown

Title: Staff unveiled Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: N1: “Tarot: the high priestess” Pairing: Tina Minoru X Robert Minoru (Love). Rating: Teen Warnings: Argue, decisions. Summary: Tina and Robert make an important decision. Word Count: 528 Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/730610684804628480/staff-unveiled

Title: Old pets Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: N2: “Pets” Pairing: Anna Marie D’Ancanto & James Howlett (Friendship). Rating: Teen Warnings: Pets, little sad maybe. Summary: Rogue and Logan talked about their pets. Word Count: 549 Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/730705047839817728/old-pe

Title: “Soul enemies” Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: Free Square Pairing: Brock Rumlow X Sinthea Schmidt (Love). Rating: Teen Warnings: Pets Summary: Is Brock against his number one enemy. Word Count: 564 Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/730883460012621824/soul-enemies

Title: “Temple in the forest” Author: Annie/nekoannie-chan Card #: MRP-066 Square Filled: N4: Into the forest Pairing: Lorna Dane & Steve Rogers (Friendship). Rating: Teen Warnings: Enchanted forest, magic Summary: There’s something strange in the forest. Word Count: 681 Link: https://nekoannie-chan.tumblr.com/post/731063656962506752/temple-in-the-forest

Title: daydreaming, and little falls Author: Xenomorphic Card #: MRP-086 Square Filled: G1: Getting lost in the woods Pairing: Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanoff Rating: Teen Warnings: None Summary: Sharon and Natasha become separated from the others after a fight. Word Count: 820 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49983418

Title: cotton candy pink and a hint of mint Author: Xenomorphic Card #: MRP-086 Square Filled: B3: Wildly dyed hair Pairing: Yelena Belova/Wanda Maximoff Rating: Teen Warnings: None Summary: Wanda stops short by the empty door frame that leads from the hallway to the receiver just as she spots Yelena, dressed in her usual casual chic as if there wasn’t a snowstorm picking up outside, and stares, suddenly speechless. Word Count: 1300 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50805199

Title: The Journey to Love Author: scottxlogan Card #: MRP-131 Square Filled: O3: Cock Warming Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating: Explicit Warnings/Tags: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Honeymoon, Self-Reflection, Cock Warming, Sexual Content, Romance, Tony Stark-centric, Enemies to Lovers, Romantic Fluff Summary: Tony reflects on the chemistry between him and Bucky and how in that journey Tony and Bucky took to finding each other and falling into love. Word Count: 1849 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50042902

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saiilorstars · 6 months

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Love, Ours: Ch. 5 Reaching Through the Stars

Fandom: MCU

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC

Story Summary: One-Shots/AU collection of Seren and Steve outside of their fics (Darkest Before Dawn, Alignment, etc.).

Story Masterlist ○ Seren’s Masterlist ○

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @averyhotchner@foxesandmagic @kmc1989

[If you’d like to be a part of any OC’s works/edits, let me know!]

77 years later

Year 2018

He brought his arms around Seren's back, though he moved one hand down to smooth out a part of her dress that had ridden up a bit. He let Seren continue to sleep peacefully. He had no idea what time it was and didn't personally care. That moment right there was the tranquility he needed in his life right now. He was grateful that the moment lasted for a long while. He began to feel Seren waking up but even then he didn't make a move to get up. Maybe he wanted to see what she would do…

Steve's eyes snapped open and was immediately met with his dark ceiling. He passed a hand over his forehead, staying still for a few minutes as he once again accepted it had just been a dream — a memory. Just another memory. Whether he was sleeping or wide awake, his mind always found a way — and the time — to think about the past. Sometimes—or very often—he wondered if escaping death had been more or less of his own personal hell. He woke up from a long, long sleep and found himself in a brand new world with new people and new threats. Try as he did, Steve couldn't "normalize" to the new world. At every corner, he thought about what he left behind. It was only after the first year or so after waking up, that he felt the first real spark of motivation in him to do something about it.

After 70 years, Peggy Carter was an elderly woman living in a retirement home with beginning Alzheimers. She was also the only one who was still alive. Everyone else was gone. Steve was fortunate that she recognized him and understood what had happened to him.

"I've lived a good life," she had said with a smile to match her sincerity the first time Steve showed up. "We all did. Have no worry about that." Truthfully, it did help Steve a little to know that his friends had gone on to live well after the hell they were put through. "Now ask me what you really want to ask," Peggy said only a few minutes into their silence.

Steve had been trying to find the right words and the right moment all while making it seem like it wasn't burning him from the inside to know what had happened with—

"Is Seren still alive?" Only after asking that did he start to wonder if Peggy even remembered her. His concerns waned when Peggy began to muse about their mutual friend.

"Ah, I haven't seen her for decades."

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for but it was a start.

"So…so she was okay after…after—?"

"After you had apparently died?" Peggy nodded. "It took a while but she was. She went back to New York with Howard. With her mother."

Steve's eyes widened. "Her mother?"

"Mhm, and they met with her dad. I forget his name—"

"Brooks," Steve said immediately. "His name was Brooks Soul. Did they — did it work out?"

Peggy nodded again. Steve felt another wave of relief.

"Seren spent a couple years with her parents right here in New York. Her siblings — she loved them. Fortunately, they accepted her exactly for who she was."

"She found a family…" The news brought a smile out of Steve, along with many other warm feelings. He could only imagine how happy Seren must have been with her new family. His only lament was that he wasn't there to see it.

"You said decades…" He murmured, Peggy's words hitting him like a brick. "What do you…? How would that…? Is she alive right now?"

"I…I would hope she is," Peggy answered truthfully. "After the war, the SSR offered Seren an official place with us but she refused. She never did get over the fact that we had kept Zola and I couldn't blame her. Being who she was and turning down a national job, the states and many world leaders began to grow wary of her."

"Wary of her?" Steve was not liking where the conversation was turning to.

Peggy nodded. "National security. Seren felt like she was being watched all the time and more importantly, she felt like she was putting her family in danger. She left, Steve."

And just like that, Steve's heart sunk to his stomach. "She's gone?"

"She kept in touch with us — between her and Howard, they set up this communication line. Nobody except for us knew."

"But — and her family?" Steve didn't want to imagine Seren being left on her own, or worse — with her grandmother of all people.

"Her mother followed soon after that, and she brought Seren's father too. Seren stayed away for many, many years. She popped in a couple times to see her siblings. She looked almost the same both times," Peggy chuckled.

Time works differently the further in space you are, Steve remembered Seren's words. "It was probably a shorter time for her."

"Mhm," Peggy said, "She said the same thing. She came for her siblings' funerals. Haven't seen her since."

Steve listened and replayed all of Peggy's words in his head multiple times until he came to a very specific conclusion. Peggy didn't expect anything less from him.

"So…she could still…she could still be alive…" He said, swallowing hard with nerves, "She could still be alive somewhere…up there…" His eyes flickered up above. Although the ceiling was there, he knew space was much, much bigger than what he thought.

That's the thought that kept him going in the new world. Seren was alive somewhere up in the sky, amongst the stars. For a while after the news, all Steve could do was just wish that she was doing fine and that she was, above all, happy. The more time he spent in the new world, the more he began to learn about her history before leaving.

For starters, although unofficially part of the SSR, SHIELD actually had a file opened on her. He found that out through, ironically, Howard Stark's son, Tony. During a mission — Steve's first mission after coming out of the ice — Tony snooped through SHIELD's files and came up with some interesting results. It was there that Steve learned that Tony was also familiar with the girl from the stars. Apparently, Howard had passed down the story.

"She's basically a Twinkle Star nursery rhyme," Tony said cooly the day after their mission together. "You know 'twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are'?"

Even the Asgardian Thor Odinson had once heard about the deal his own father had made with the Celessians. He promised Steve that he would look into the matter. After all, the Asgardians now owned the Tesseract again, the very thing that brought Seren to Earth in the first place. Unfortunately, that search never led to anything. The only thing that they knew of was that many years ago, the Dade family had cut all ties with the Asgardians, more specifically the youngest Dade had. Apparently, no one had ever told off the Asgardian King but Seren had, and furiously so.

Although Steve didn't quite care for Tony's attitude, he knew where his best chances for his crazy idea to succeed were. Surprisingly, Tony didn't put up a fuss when Steve shared what he had in mind. He was actually interested in it as well. Ironically, Steve saw a lot of Howard in Tony when he agreed to the impossible and created another transmission device that would hopefully reach Seren wherever she was.

The modern world had a lot more than Steve could have ever imagined, and he saw most of it in Tony's lab. Tony worked just like Howard on big and little trinkets, and more importantly on the craziest of things. Tony knew exactly what his father had once built for Seren in the 40s and merely copied the idea with his more modern tech. He was sure that it would work. The only thing he wasn't sure is if the famous Seren Dade would hear it, recognize it, and respond. But it was a risk that Steve knew and willingly took.

The transmission started in 2012, and for years it kept running without a response.

Tony lost interest in the thing only a few years later, but he kept it running for Steve. He was always checking in with Tony to see how it was doing and when the Avengers came to live together, Steve was almost always in the lab where the transmission was running. Try as he might, he just couldn't move on when the spark of hope was sitting on a table right where he lived. Even when they had one battle after the other, Steve kept a close eye on the transmission. It was essentially his life.

So when he was forced to go on the run as a fugitive of the law and he had to leave the transmission behind, he felt like he'd lost Seren all over again. He couldn't check on it like he used to, he couldn't ask Tony how it was doing — he wasn't even sure that Tony kept the transmission alive. He had to effectively abandon the idea that he would ever see Seren again. He had to stop wondering if she was alive, although that one was a lot more difficult and almost impossible to do.

There was supposed to have been a break from all that. A real break between his crazy dreams and the actual real word, but all Steve ever saw was a pause before the next battle and his next memory. It was on repeat, even for his biggest battle against, ironically, another alien. Even when this current one was lost, somehow there was still a battle within it.

One moment, the pager once belonging to Nick Fury that he and the remaining Avengers found, had stopped transmitting their signal and the next, they had come face to face with an unknown blonde woman hellbent on getting answers by any means necessary.

"Hey, hey, hey, HEY!" Steve managed to cut in between the blonde woman and Natasha before they went head to head with each other.

Banner was on the other side, trying to pull Natasha back with him while Rhodey tried pulling on the blonde woman's arm in vain. The moment she felt his hand around her arm, she shoved him back. Steve only just caught him before he fell and with his assisting tech around his legs, it would not bode well to have another injury.

"Alright everyone ENOUGH!" Steve yelled over the entire room, freezing the group in their tracks.

The blonde woman shook off Banner's hand and stepped towards Steve, repeating her question again. "Where's Fury?"

"Hard to answer," Steve replied in the same cold tone. "But it'd be a lot easier if you stopped with the hostility."

The woman scowled at him and the others. "That" — she pointed back at the pager — "is the pager I gave to Fury for emergencies. It went off all of a sudden and we raced back here and he's not here. So," she strode up to Steve, leaving them face to face, "where is he?"

Steve didn't appreciate the accusation in her voice. He didn't understand why this woman was on the receiving end of that pager except that Fury had to have a reason for it. Plus, it was their only other option right now. If it wasn't the pager, then they had nothing left to fight against Thanos. Bearing that in mind, he relaxed his voice and started again.

"Something's happened to Fury and we found this pager with no idea who was on the other side," he explained slowly, "We didn't know it was you."

"Who are you?" Natasha beat him to the punch.

The woman flipped her head back, glaring at Natasha. "I'm Carol Danvers, who the hell are you?"

"Hey," Steve called and got her attention again. "We're on the same side."

"Mm, I don't know you," Carol countered. "So who the hell are you?" she punctured her words sharply.

"Fair enough," Steve nodded, "We are on the same side. My name's St—"

"Steve?"

Steve froze in his spot. This wouldn't be the first time he imagined that sweet voice calling to him and during these hard times, it wouldn't be surprising if he imagined it to ease his nerves. But this time it was different. This time, Carol Danvers in front of him looked around, her lips curling into a frown as she muttered 'you were supposed to do a reconnaissance'.

But her partner seemed to ignore it in favor of walking a few steps, at least that's what Steve heard before he finally turned around and got the wind knocked out of him. She couldn't be a figment of his imagination this time, she couldn't be…

"Seren?"

There stood the woman he'd dreamed about for almost every night since he got out of the ice. She looked different now, he saw that in her eyes that seemed to hold a lot more emotion, more life in them. Her once long brown hair was now a ginger color and in a pixie cut with long side-swept bangs to the right of her head. And she wore a much more sophisticated suit than the one Howard Stark once made her.

Finally, the silence was too much and Carol cut in. "You two know each other?" She pointed a finger between Steve and Seren.

They had not stopped staring at each other until then, and even then Seren answered without taking her eyes off Steve. "Once…a long time ago…" She seemed to want to reach towards him but Carol moved and suddenly, Seren was dropping her arms on either side of her.

"We agreed that we would—"

"I know, but I didn't find anything," Seren shushed Carol. "The place is empty…much like everything else around here…" She met Steve's gaze again. "I…believe you rang?" Even her voice was filled with nothing but confusion and sheer shock. She had yet to be able to wipe the shock off her face and she honestly doubted she would be able to anytime soon.

Luckily for her, and for Steve, there were other people in the room and they had not forgotten why they were there.

Natasha was quick to introduce herself and the rest, though she like everyone noted that Steve had not stopped staring at the ginger who introduced herself as Seren. The name was special and they both knew it.

"You turned the pager on?" Carol made a nod towards the now inactive page on display behind the group. "How'd you even get it?"

"It was found near Fury's car," Rhodey explained. "It was already on. We've just kept it running. We were curious who was on the other end."

"He wanted you to get it," Seren whispered to Carol who agreed. She then cast a look on the humans and with a strange, yet not entirely unfamiliar authoritative tone, addressed them. "What physically happened? Because one moment, Carol and I were on galaxies away, and then suddenly people started turning into dust."

"It's happening all around the world then," Banner remarked thoughtfully. "That's what Thanos said he would do."

"Thanos?" Carol made a face.

"Who the hell is that?" Seren practically demanded. She happened to look in Steve's direction and sort of shrunk back. She couldn't ignore the way her heart raced. It hadn't happened in ages…

The remaining Avengers described their last battle against the alien Thanos and what his plan entailed with the 6 infinity stones. It was all going well until Seren heard Banner's side of the explanation.

"Wait," the ginger raised her hands in front of her, "the Tesseract was on Asgard? Again?" Nothing but hatred filled Seren's colored eyes and if looks could kill, she would've. She shot an accusing glance at Carol. "You told me that it was—"

"I left it with Fury in the 90s," Carol argued.

"We gave it to Thor," Steve finally spoke, instantly drawing Seren's attention. "We know more about Asgard now."

Seren visibly swallowed hard. "Then we have a problem…" We have many problems, she thought. "I was on my way to Asgard — I heard something was going on with the planet —"

"Thanos," Banner said immediately, "And Hella, Thor's older sister." Steve, Natasha and Rhodey all looked at him then. "Yes, Thor has — had — a sister. She was mean, basically. He would explain it better than me but he's currently, uh...dealing with some stuff in another room."

Seren wasn't sure what to do with that information so she moved past it to get to her point. "I was on my way but when I got there, there was no Asgard anymore. The whole planet had been destroyed."

"That was Hella," Banner pointed. "But Thor…he had all the Asgardians on a ship and that's where we stumbled into Thanos. He took the Tesseract from Loki—"

"Loki?" Steve threw a hard look at Banner.

"Again, yes," Banner nodded, "He took the Tesseract off Asgard and Thanos stole it from us, after killing Loki."

"The point here is that we need to do something," Natasha said sternly. "Thanos is out there."

"Along with Tony Stark," Steve said, meaningfully glancing at Seren. He saw the reaction he hoped for.

"Stark?" She whispered, and he nodded.

"Howard's son."

Seren's expression softened.

Once again, the others in the room noted the familiarity between the two.

Seren was the first to snap out and cleared her throat, flushing at her lingering attention. "Well, if there's a chance that Howard's son is alive in space, I'm gonna find him."

"We have someone trying to track the ship," Steve said, seeing Seren begin to move. It was stupid but he didn't want her to walk out just yet.

"Oh, okay," she nodded, "Let me talk to them and then we can go from there."

"I can—"

"We'll lead the way," Banner said over Steve without noticing, "Gotta check the scans anyways."

"Oh, okay…" Seren's eyes shifted to Carol as she backtracked, "I will be back. Please do not fight anyone while I'm gone." While Carol pretended that she hadn't heard, Seren stopped on her feet and called her again. "Carol."

Carol rolled her eyes and mocked a salute. "Aye-aye Captain."

Seren's eyes widened, gaze briefly landing on Steve then reprimanding Carol. "Not funny!" Carol's smirk said the opposite. "Watch her!" Seren basically told the others in the room then followed Banner out.

"Yeah, no way..." Carol's smirk was wider as ever and after a few seconds, she backtracked out of the room as well.

Not a second later, Natasha was turning Steve around, demanding for him to explain.

"Explain what?" He said, only for Natasha and Rhodey to deadpan him.

"You know that woman," Natasha pointed in the direction that Seren went in. "How do you know someone from space? Besides Thor!"

"It's…it's a long story…" And Steve wasn't quite sure he wanted to say it just yet, at least not to them. "I have to go find Chloe..." he murmured and walked off.

~0~

Seren was working hard in the lab when she heard footsteps coming into the room. "Weren't you supposed to be not here, not fighting anyone?" Seren didn't bother looking up from her screen, knowing Carol's steps all too well.

Carol passed her fingers along a few trinkets on the table behind Seren. "One out of two isn't half bad."

Seren rolled her eyes. She switched the holograms out to expand her scan. "According to Rocket — that's the guy — racoon — who had the info on the spaceship — the ship has a detectable signature we should be able to track. He's also given up the information on the bioscan of his crew."

"What if they're all snapped?"

"Then we'll find an empty ship."

"You're going to make us go on a trip that might be for nothing?"

"We have to. These are important people to, uh…these people."

Carol dropped what she was tinkering with and looked at Seren. Despite not glancing back, Seren felt the burning eyes on the back of her head.

"You said that you had no one left on earth," Carol began.

"That's not exactly what I said…"

Carol walked a few steps towards Seren's table, able to side-glance her as she moved to the opposite side of the table. "What are you not telling me?"

"What is there to tell?" Seren said as focused her eyes solely on the holograms despite Carol's burning stare again.

"You're being evasive."

"I'm being what now?" Seren moved a few steps down the table. The scan was finally going to start again with her new additions.

Carol narrowed her eyes. "You're only evasive when you're nervous. What are you nervous about?"

"I'm not nervous." Seren occupied herself with the computer.

"You're nervous about that guy, right? You couldn't stop staring at him. You almost drooled." Magic words were said.

Seren looked up from the computer, completely affronted, and slammed a hand down on the table. "I was not drooling!"

Carol's lips spread into a smirk. "Gotcha."

Seren's nose scrunched. "Shit," she muttered on the side.

Carol snorted. "Tell me already! What's the deal and how can I make it better?"

"You mean worse?"

"Seren."

Seren let put a breath and walked back to the other end of the table, standing opposite from Carol. "You remember what I told you about the first time I went to Earth?"

"In the 1940s, yeah," nodded Carol. "That's where all the shit went down and you lost your boyfriend."

"He wasn't my boyfriend and he's still alive!" Seren flapped a hand behind her.

Carol's eyes widened. "Wait — that was the guy?"

"Yes! That was Steve!"

"The one who—" Carol made a drowning motion that Seren wasn't very amused with.

"Yes — and stop that! That's so rude!"

Carol dropped her hands on the table and leaned forward on them. Once again, her lips curved into a smirk. "Talk about luck. Your old flame is alive and looking good."

"Shut up!" Seren exclaimed, her cheeks a bright red.

Carol opened her arms and shrugged. "What? It's true and because this is all true, what are you doing here?"

"What?"

Carol suddenly reached over the table and flicked Seren on the head.

"Ow!"

"Hello! You just found out that the guy you loved is actually still alive and you're here playing with a stupid hologram?" Carol made a face as she heard her own words. "That's ridiculous! You're ridiculous! Get to it, Seren!" She snapped her fingers.

"Get to what?" Seren shook her head. "That was…that was a long time ago. Ten years for me. I can only imagine what it's been for Steve. A lot could've happened in-between. He could've moved on. Wouldn't be surprised if he did."

"Yeah, I doubt that," Carol crossed her arms. "He couldn't take his eyes off you."

Seren continued shaking her head. She pretended to focus on the hologram again. "I have to get back to work. Get ready to leave at any moment."

"Sure…" Carol noticed a shadow drawing closer to the room. "Let me go do that while you talk to your old flame!"

"Stop saying that!" Seren shushed her and even more when she saw Steve walking into the room. "Carol—"

"I will be out there…" Carol made sure to say loud enough for Steve to hear her. She backtracked, truly enjoying Seren's distressed face behind Steve.

"Carol!" The ginger practically hissed.

"Byyye," Carol wiggled her fingers and finally left the room.

I'm going to kill her, Seren concluded. She rued the day she met Carol Danvers.

Seren forgot all her murderous thoughts when Steve turned around and they came face to face. She almost forgot how to breathe. She just couldn't help it. He was alive. She spent countless nights, countless years, with the same heartache that nothing could fix. He was right there with her, looking almost the same as the last time they were together. She wasn't a fool, there was no way either of them could look and be the same people they once were. He was still handsome as ever with charming eyes, longer hair and a beard. He seemed a lot more sure of himself, firm. Although charming, his eyes were older, experienced, and she dared to believe that it wasn't the good experience he deserved.

She didn't realize at what point her breath shook and tears crept into her eyes, but they did.

"Seren, don't cr—" Steve barely got the words out when Seren threw her arms around him. Not a second later, Steve hugged her back. He wrapped his arms around her as tight as possible as if she would slip away again if he loosened his grip even a bit. All the familiar things about her that he'd forgotten about came rushing back. Her sweet smell, her small figure, and her incredible strength.

Neither one knew how long they stayed in their position. There was a long time to make up for it and one hug just wouldn't be enough.

The only reason Steve dared to break it up was because he'd felt her body trembling with her tears. He needed to wipe them off her face. Seren's eyes fell shut as his fingers touched her cheeks. She dreamed of his touch way too many times to count. Steve could've stayed like that for hours. All the things he thought were lost turned out to be right. in. front. of. him. Seren was right in front of him again, after all this time. He felt himself leaning forwards, albeit slowly. The logical part of his brain wasn't functioning and that's what he would blame it on later.

Feeling his proximity, Seren opened her eyes and her breath caught in her throat seeing Steve nearing her. She could move away — the option was always there — but she was frozen, and in some kind of trance. And not the torturous kind either. Steve pressed her back against the table, fingers coming down to her jaw. He had just neared her lips when they heard a call from the hallway.

"Steve — hey!" It was a young woman who burst into the room and forced the two apart on instinct.

Seren turned to the table, taking a moment to ease her hot face, while the other woman rushed up to Steve.

"Natasha — she told me — is it true there's aliens here? More?" The woman was nearly as tall as Steve, and had long curly blonde hair that bounced each time she moved.

"Aliens?" Seren frowned at the woman, and Steve noted the offense in her voice…as well as in her expression.

"Oh!" The woman blinked at her. "You must be one of them!"

"Excuse me?"

"Uuh, Chloe, let's backtrack for a moment!" Steve cut in and grabbed the blonde woman's arm.

"Please." Seren's frown went deeper. "While you do that, maybe I'll go find Carol. It doesn't end well when she's unsupervised."

"Seren, wait a mo—" Steve stopped when Seren practically stormed out of the room. "Chloe," he turner on the blonde woman not a second later.

There stood Chloe cluelessly. "What?" Her eyes flickered past Steve. "Who was that?"

"You said it yourself, although very rudely."

"I didn't say it rudely!" Chloe rolled her eyes. "Natasha was telling me and then the Hive Mind popped into my head and told me there was an alien here — not Thor. Or the racoon."

"Her name is Seren and you sort of—"

"Seren?" Chloe's nose scrunched. "Why does that sound —" And suddenly she let out an ungodly gasp, clapping her hand over her mouth. "No. Is that — is she the—?" Steve had no idea what warranted her smacks on his chest but he yelled at her to stop and calm down. "You didn't tell me that was her!" Chloe still smacked his arm a couple times. "Star girl?" she pointed up above. "The one you built that thing for with Stark?"

"...yes," Steve answered very quietly, because he knew Chloe and how dramatic she tended to be when reacting to some things.

"Oh my goodness!" Chloe squealed, throwing her arms around him. "Talk about timing!"

But just how dramatically she reacted, Steve also knew that her heart was always in the right place, so he hugged her back. It was that which Seren saw when returned to the room. Disheartened, and dead silent, she turned to leave again.

~0~

Carol knew something was up the moment Seren returned and "got back to work". There was no working of any kind, but not for a lack of trying. Seren worked the other computers the team had in the room. They were still recording the people who had disappeared thanks to the snap. Carol decided to step in after Seren crushed a keyboard with her bare hands and made an enemy out of Natasha for temporarily interrupting the census scan. She grabbed Seren's arm and led her into one of the other rooms in the building, a kitchen by the looks of it.

"Usually I'm the hothead around here so I'm gonna be a little rusty at this." Carol turned on Seren the moment they were alone. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Nothing." Seren moved past Carol, taking in the room they were now in. It was a kitchen that could've used a repaint and a good cleaning. It was a hot mess.

Carol turned on her heels, raising one eyebrow at Seren. "I've known you for a long time now and it's honestly not that hard to learn how to read you. What'd the idiot do?"

"He's not an idiot," Seren mumbled, slowly turning back to Carol. "And…I saw him with someone."

Now both Carol's eyebrows were raising. "He's dating someone?"

Seren shrugged slowly. "I don't know, I just saw him — there was this woman. Steve and I, we were, uh…" Her face flushed thinking back to what had almost happened between her and Steve before that woman showed up.

Carol watched the red tint on Seren's cheeks spread. "You were doing what?"

Seren cleared her throat and mumbled something about talking, but she was unable to meet Carol's eye for a few minutes after that.

"And?" Carol was nothing if not persistent. This, Seren learned very quickly after meeting and it was both a gift and a curse.

"Nothing! This woman showed up, calling him and I…I just left! But then I came back and…well, they were hugging. They both seemed happy."

"That's it?" Carol was finding it real hard not to deadpan Seren right now. "Did they kiss?"

"No, I…I left before I saw something I shouldn't have."

"You know friends hug, right? We do it all the time!"

"No you don't," Seren made a face. "And this isn't really a conversation I want to have! I was stupid, let's just leave it at that and move on, okay?" She decided to go search through the kitchen for something edible.

Carol trailed after her, stopping on the side of the aisle. "Seren, when we first met, I'm not going to lie, you were kind of annoying."

Seren slammed a cabinet shut and threw a sharp look at Carol. "And this is supposed to help me how?"

"You didn't let me finish," Carol shrugged, basically implying it was Seren's own fault for being offended. "There were many people who thought that the Skrulls were evil and you were the only one who believed me when I said what was really going on with the Kree. Your judge in character has never been wrong, even when everyone else thought the opposite. So maybe don't start judging before you actually know what's going on?"

"Carol, it's not…it's not a matter of judging people. I have no right to discuss this with Steve. I thought he was dead, and he probably assumed that about me too. He has every right to move and you know what? I'm happy if he did—"

Carol snorted. "Yeah, because you're so cheery."

"—because I would never want him to stop living because he was holding onto me and my memory." And Seren would stand firmly on that stance because it was nothing but the truth. As much as it pained her, and it did, she would be in much worse pain knowing Steve had not lived this new opportunity because of her.

"You're a good person, Seren," Carol nodded. Seren rolled her eyes and turned her back on Carol as she started going through more of the cabinets. "Unfortunately, I'm not one all the time…"

Seren had heard Carol mutter and turned to warn her that the conversation was over when she saw the same blonde woman from before had walked into the room. Immediately, Seren looked at Carol with an expression of 'you better not' but of course, that never worked on Carol.

"Well, I should probably go check on those scans again!" Carol said, giving Seren two thumbs up as she walked out of the room.

I have got to get better friends, Seren bitterly thought. Whatever else was running through her head, Chloe interrupted when she greeted Seren again.

"I'm…I'm Chloe Winters, and…I think we got off on the wrong foot." To her credit, Chloe did have a genuine look on her face when she held a hand out to shake with Seren. "I tend to get wrapped up in my things and not realize how I come off. I'm sorry." Seren's lips parted, but unfortunately she didn't know what to say. Chloe still smiled as she pulled her hand back. "Anyways, can I show you something?"

Seren nodded silently.

"C'mon," Chloe motioned Seren to follow her. They left the kitchen, though Chloe promised that they would find something to eat soon enough. "This isn't our place — least not anymore. We left it behind 2 years ago when we ran."

"Ran?" Seren repeated, confused.

"Mhm," nodded Chloe. "Steve, me, Natasha, Sam and Wanda. It was, uh — basically, we were fugitives."

"Fugitives?" For a moment, Seren was going to think that the idea that Steve was a fugitive of the law was completely wrong…but a few minutes later, she realized it wasn't that far of a stretch. "Who did Steve disagree with and how wrong were they?"

The question made Chloe laugh. "Wow, guess you do know him very well." Seren ducked her head as she flushed. "Truth be told, I still think Steve was right. The Government wanted us to sign over our freedom to them and work for them. Steve didn't think it was a good idea because then we wouldn't be able to help the people we wanted to, just the people the government would want us to." Chloe led Seren into the room where the scans were still ongoing.

"If that's the case, then I agree with you," Seren admitted. "I know a thing or two about working for others and not getting a say about said work. It's nice to do some freelancing."

Chloe chuckled. "Yeah." She came around the table where the scans were. "So then, according to your friend over there, the snap happened all over the place."

Seren nodded, mumbling a 'yeah' under her breath. Her eyes watched the census keep going. The number was insanely high. "Thanos…did all this?"

"We only learned about him a few days ago," Chloe said, leaning her hands on the table. She too watched the number of snapped people go higher and higher. "Had no idea what we were going up against."

"You all could've been slaughtered," Seren whispered. She felt a special ache of fear for one specific person.

"Mm, nothing new to us," Chloe said, leaning around the scan hologram to meet Seren's face. "We're the Avengers. Fighting is what we do. I just never pictured losing this badly. Tony's hopefully still alive and if he is, that means he's stranded up in space somewhere—"

"We'll find him," Seren said firmly. "If there's even a small trace of an alert from that ship, Carol and I will get him."

"You'd go that far for a stranger?"

"For anyone in need."

Chloe's lips spread in a long smile. "You and Steve are very alike. Now I know why he likes you so much." Seren looked away from the scan as pink dusted her cheeks. "And I say this confidently because I know how much Steve worked to find you after coming out of the ice."

Chloe's words were much too interesting to ignore. Seren's eyes flickered back to the woman. "What was he working — wait, ice?"

"There's a lot you don't know about these past years," Chloe said. "It was 2011 when we found him. Our best bet as to how Steve survived that plane crash is because of the serum and the ice mixed together. I don't know, I'm no scientist. SHIELD, previously known as the SSR, got word that a man had been discovered under ice somewhere in the ocean near Russia."

"That was…?"

Chloe nodded. "It was Steve. For him, he was asleep."

"Frozen," Seren corrected with an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Almost 70 years spent in darkness, frozen, cold…I should have been there." She shook her head and started to pace. "I should have gone after that damn plane — I told him I would but he—"

"Said no?" Chloe's seemingly deep knowledge of the story stopped Seren mid-pace. "He told you to stay away. Told you to live your life."

Seren let out a breath, unsure how comfortable she was with those special moments of hers — theirs — being common knowledge to this woman. "What else did he tell you?"

Chloe sensed the double meaning behind the question and wagged a finger. "It's not what you think. It's far from that. I used to work for SHIELD. I was there when Steve woke up. We've been friends ever since. He's told me all about his life before and the one thing he struggled most to talk about was about a girl he left behind. A girl who, if there was any justice in the world, would still be alive somewhere up in the stars. You."

"If I had known—" Seren had started with a voice filled with guilt because truthfully, that was all she felt right now. She had left Earth, left him, and he was deep under the ocean the whole time?

"He doesn't blame you, far from that," Chloe said gently. "You don't know it, but the first thing that Steve did, after dealing with all that, is learn what happened to you. He visited Peggy Carter."

"Peggy…" Seren whispered, glancing at the year marked on the scan. By this point, she must have already been—

"And after that, he knew you were most likely still alive…so he and Tony worked to build some kind of transmission device…like the one you made for your mother?"

"He did that?" Seren's throat felt pretty dry, and she felt a familiar sting in her eyes.

"Yeah, didn't you ever get it?"

The look on Seren's face said it all. "N-o," her voice cracked. "I was….I was deep in some…I was on other planets, galaxies away — I was always going from one place to another and all this time he's been trying to reach me?" If she felt bad before, she felt completely horrible now.

"Shit, if you cry, I'm in trouble!" Chloe was in full blown panic-mode and hurried around the table to comfort Seren.

"I'm not — of course I'm not crying," Seren sniffled, quickly wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. She tried to calm herself starting with her shaky breathing but she started thinking about her time in the HYDRA base. It always happened like this, once she started thinking about that awful year — no matter how long ago it was — she spiraled.

"Good, because I'm sure Steve would kill me and this time, to my misfortune, Bucky's not around to help me." Chloe was just reaching for Seren's arms to bring them down when Seren froze, eyes wide.

"What?" Seren's mind flashed to the old sergeant she spent a lot of traumatic time with.

"What?" Chloe soon found her wrists being seized by Seren.

"What did you just say!?" the ginger exclaimed.

"What—?"

"About Bucky? Bucky Barnes?"

"Y-yeah," nodded Chloe slowly, "He's — he was—"

"Alive!?" Seren practically shouted. "He was alive too!? And I didn't know it!?" She let Chloe and ran her hands through her hair (or rather pulled at it).

'Bucky, you and I both know that there was a reason Zola used you a lot. There's a reason we were in the same room so many times.'

Vivid moments of Zola pumping out blood from her filled Seren's head. She could feel her skin being prodded, her life dangerously fleeting…

And then she heard Bucky's screams in the same room.

"They were both alive and I just — I just left them!? I abandoned them!?" Seren fell back against the table, completely in shock and now more than ever wanting to crawl into some hole where she could just…disappear.

Chloe went back to panicking the more Seren spiraled. Finally, when it looked like Seren was close to hyperventilating, Chloe had no other choice (nor idea) but to go get help. In no less than five minutes, Steve was running into the room with Chloe trailing behind him.

"Seren! Seren!" He went directly to the woman supporting herself by the table. He had very little context from Chloe except for the part where she said that Seren wasn't well. He pulled Seren from the table and held on to her so she wouldn't fall. "Seren? Hey, hey, what's the matter?"

Seren was breathing hard, yet it sounded like it wasn't enough for her. Her eyes were glossy when they met Steve's. He noticed familiar star power around her fingers switching on and off like a power switch. Through her state, she heard Chloe's small gasp and she swore that the woman's eyes had flashed blue.

Steve heard it as well and glanced back at Chloe. He knew what the blue eyes meant. The Hive Mind had tapped in to give her some insight. Sure enough, Chloe soon came out with the answer.

"She's having a panic attack!"

"What?" It wasn't that Steve wouldn't believe it but last time he remembered, Seren didn't have that kind of stuff. Bucky had it, he remembered. They were both in the same ward, undergoing similar procedures and it was common knowledge that Seren took the worst hit in those days. He himself had some PTSD he dealt with on occasion.

Maybe it was something she picked up after everything, he realized with a heavy ache in his heart. He hadn't been able to help her this whole time…

Well, not anymore. He grabbed Seren's hands, pushing down the terrible sting of her powers burning against his palms. "Seren, breathe with me. C'mon, do it with me. Breathe in…breathe out…" He mimicked the act until she started following.

"Steve, we should get her somewhere more quiet," Chloe said gently. She and Steve looked out to the room and agreed that the ongoing beeps from the scans and computers probably weren't helping. "Maybe the med-room."

No sooner had she said those words than Seren threw a strangled cry. She tried pushing Steve away from her, and Chloe, all while fervently shaking her head.

Chloe's eyes widened. "Sorry — what did—"

Steve ignored her initially as he tried to win Seren's trust again. He reached for her swatting hands, trying to catch them before she decided to throw star matter at them. "Seren, it's okay, I'm not taking you there! I promise! You — you remember me, right? I don't lie to you. Ever."

He finally caught her hands and to his relief, she didn't fight him anymore. He took the opportunity and swept her off her feet and carried her into the hallway. Chloe was right behind him and offered to get Seren something to calm down. Steve barely heard her and when she left; his entire focus was on Seren and helping her. He brought her into the first open room he came across and sat her down on the foot of the bed. He moved and sat down beside her, still instructing her to breathe with him.

"I know what this is, I know it feels like everything is shrinking around you…" Steve took hold of her hands and gave them a gentle grip. "Breathe, Seren. Just focus on this. We are here. You're not…where you think you are."

Even through her frantic state, Seren managed to get startled. He knew where her mind had gone to?

"You're here now," Steve went on, "You're safe. They're not here. Breathe…" He mimicked the act until slowly, but gradually, Seren managed to get control again. "There we go. You did good, very good." He squeezed her hands affectionately. "Now, can I do something else to help you? Is there — is there something you need?"

Seren shook her head as her throat just wasn't quite ready to let her speak yet. It usually took her longer to come out of these things. Still, her silence didn't deter Steve's urge to help her. Not knowing what she needed at the moment, he scooted closer to her and kept hold of her hand. Sometimes, a comfortable silence was the best kind of help in these situations when the person didn't have an idea of what they needed in the moment.

Seren drew strength in those few minutes of silence to put herself back together and to realize that her world wasn't as small as it felt moments ago. She was just about to say her first words when Chloe walked in.

"I brought—" she stopped herself upon hearing her loud volume and adjusted it to a much quieter one for Seren's sake. "I brought something that might help," she motioned to the mug in her hands. "Surprisingly, they were stocked up on chamomile tea around here. Go figure."

Seren couldn't really look at Chloe when she offered her the tea. She couldn't look at Steve either. Of all the things to do…She sighed.

Chloe and Steve sensed her embarrassment. Chloe handed the mug to Steve, telling him that she would be in the lab overseeing the scans if they needed her for anything else. Seren heard the door close and the bed shift as Steve turned to face her.

"Trust me, it helps," he said as he once again offered her the mug. "Plus, I'm sure you might be a little hungry too…not that this could really fill you up." The moment Seren turned her head on him, Steve stammered. "I meant — not that — I didn't mean to say — you eat what's considered to be norm—"

The chuckle that left Seren's lips was small yet it brought such a summer warmth to Steve's heart. "You haven't changed a single bit," she murmured and reached for the mug he held.

Steve felt her fingers gently brush against his when she took the mug from him. He hated that he forgot how soft her skin was. His dreams didn't compare to real life.

Seren took a sip of the tea and breathed. With each second that ticked by, things felt more normal to her again. Now that her mind was pieced together, she glanced at Steve again, but with flushed cheeks. "I'm sorry."

It took Steve a few seconds to understand what her apology was for. His eyebrows shot up as he shook his head. "N–n-n-n-no, this isn't something you have to be sorry about. It happens. It happens to all of us."

"You mean humans. It happens to humans," Seren said quietly as she brought her mug up to her lips. "Not Celessians."

Once again, it took Steve a moment to figure out what she meant. She was half Celessian, half human. Celessians didn't get—

"Apparently, panic attacks are common in humans…" Seren said, lowering her mug with a sigh. "My father told me that the first time it happened." She looked at Steve from under her lashes, her voice falling into a whisper. "That was a few weeks after, um, my last mission for the SSR."

Translation: after you went under the ice. Steve felt horrible.

"I didn't really know what it was or what was happening…" Seren continued, "One moment I was with my parents in this open market and then the next…I was back in the room with Zola…" She shuddered and took another drink from her tea. "I remember I heard something…it sounded like when…"

"Something triggered your memories," Steve said, sounding like he knew exactly what she was talking about. Seren nodded silently. She looked at him again, studying the way he was so confident about his words. "And it's the stupidest thing but it can bring back so much. And in such a short amount of time too." His eyes flickered and met Seren's. "And it is nothing to be embarrassed about."

Seren swallowed hard. "I—" she ducked her head. "I've tried my hardest to get past it but no matter how much time passes, sometimes…"

"The past just creeps up on you," Steve finished the thought for her.

For a moment, they stared at each other, their mutual understanding rendering them both silent. Then, it was like a waterfall of emotions falling down.

"If I had known that you survived, that Bucky survived, I would've never left," Seren said, her voice strained with feelings.

"Seren—"

"I wouldn't have gone back to New York and I definitely wouldn't have left the whole planet! I would have stayed and I would have searched for you through every single part of that ocean!" Tears had rolled down Seren's cheeks and in her ramble, she had spilled some of the hot tea on her lap. It didn't phase her. "I would've looked for Bucky through those mountains! I would have never left, I swear, I swear…"

Steve took the mug out of her hand before the whole thing fell on her. He set it on the ground behind him and then took Seren's hands. She squeezed his before he got the chance, still apologizing to him.

"Seren, it's okay! It's not your fault!" He managed to cut in. "I didn't even know I had survived, okay? The last thing I remembered was telling you that I…well…I remember talking to you and then…suddenly, I was in some room in New York."

At her confusion, he explained how his awakening with SHIELD had gone like. Her heart ached imagining what he must have felt waking up in a brand new world.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Seren said, bringing her hands to his face. As she did, there was a sort of awed look in her eyes, like she couldn't believe that she was able to do that again.

It was the same for Steve. His eyes followed her fingers along his face until her touch became too much and he closed his eyes to truly relish this privilege. All the times he tortured himself thinking about a moment like this and now it was reality. He leaned his forehead against hers and stayed like that for several minutes.

"I never forgot you," Seren whispered. "I spent a couple years in New York getting to know my dad, my siblings trying to be happy but I kept thinking about you. I…even when I left…I couldn't do it. I've been to so many planets, galaxies…and you were always right here…" She took one of his hands and placed it over her heart. "And I swear if I had known you were trying to send me a message, I would've come back."

Steve leaned back from her, eyes wide. "You know about that?"

"Your friend Chloe told me about it. I'm sorry, ever since the government turned on me, I haven't trusted any transmissions directed to me from this planet. When my siblings passed, I had no reason to believe anyone would try to contact me. My parents…" Seren smiled, "When Howard passed, and Peggy retired, there was no one else. My parents are offshore as well, you see. We have our own line of communication."

"Aah," Steve nodded, "I'm glad they got to travel together then."

Seren chuckled. "All thanks to you. I did what you said…I went back to New York and I met him. And it was wonderful." When the tears welled in her eyes, they were of gratitude and nostalgia. "My brother and my sister…they were amazing. I even became an aunt. I had a family. Thank you for that." Without really thinking about it, her hands came to Steve's face and she kissed him. It wasn't a proper kiss by any means but it was the first domino that knocked rest. Because after so many years of being apart, it really only took the smallest move to light the fire.

Steve slid a hand around Seren's neck until it rested on her nape and brought her body flush against his. Their second kiss was much longer, and passionate. Seren wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. There were so many different emotions to convey in one kiss that it was virtually impossible, but they still tried.

Seren didn't know at what point she came to be on Steve's lap until she leaned back and almost lost her balance. Steve's hands grabbed her by the waist to keep her in place.

"This is—this is probably coming late…" Seren panted, her face flushed, "but are you seeing anyone right now?"

Steve laughed. "No, absolutely not." He passed a hand through her short hair, picking at some of the longer strands on the side of her face. It suddenly felt like they were back in the 40s, sitting on the couch of his old ruddy apartment.

"So you and, um, your friend Chloe…you're not…?" Seren trailed off as Steve began to look at her with a teasing glint in his eyes. Her cheeks grew warmer.

"Chloe's just a friend, Seren. Actually, she's more like a sister," Steve explained, holding back the teasing he wanted to do. "And actually, if you must know—"

"N-no," Seren shook her head immediately, "I don't—I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry. I had no right…"

Steve chuckled at her. "It's okay, sweetheart."

Seren's heart fluttered at his pet name. She heard it a dozen times during her travels and it never sounded anything like Steve's way.

"Chloe and Bucky sort of, uh, had a…" Steve purposely stopped to watch Seren's reaction and it didn't fail to make him laugh again.

"No way! Seriously?" Seren brought a hand to her mouth in shock.

"They never said it explicitly but I picked up on a few things here and there," Steve said, sounding mighty proud of himself.

Seren lowered her hand and giggled. "You picked up on a few things about women? Yeah, that one I'm not exactly buying."

"Hey now," Steve frowned for a moment until Seren started giggling again. Steve would take the moment in a heartbeat. Suddenly, all the things he had once thought about doing with Seren were rushing back. They seemed a lot closer now, perhaps at his fingertips…

"So, um, listen…I know the world's basically in disaster mode right now…" Seren brought her arms over Steve's shoulders, "And I imagine there's going to be a lot of fighting against common enemies in the future but, um…"

"I owe you a date," Steve said bluntly and before Seren would say something about not wanting to force him, he gave her a short kiss on the lips. "And you have no idea how much I dreamt about it these past years. Seventy-seven years to be exact."

Seren cupped his face and set a kiss on his nose. "Long time," she agreed. "Ten for me. Space, it's a gift and a curse."

"I wouldn't want you to suffer seventy-seven years," Steve said, "But if you let me, I'd like to pick up where we left off."

"Me too," Seren couldn't grin any wider. She kissed him again, winding her arms around his neck. "On the plane," she murmured against his lips, "the last thing you were saying…"

"That I love you?" Steve of course remembered those last minutes before he went under. It was all he had. But now he had so much more. "I do. I loved you then, and I love you now."

"I do too," Seren promised him. "I've been…I've been to so many places, Steve. I-I left Celessia almost immediately after returning there from Earth. I kept thinking about what you and I were supposed to do and I did that…just offshore. I told my grandmother everything, and I told her I was done working for her and our stupid matriarch and I just…left. I traveled, I saw so many new things, new people…and I, um, I tried to-to move on…" Her voice shook slightly and Steve knew why, which was why he told her that it was all fine. "But I couldn't do it," Seren reiterated, "I kept thinking about you. Those two years of war and HYDRA and constant fighting were also the years that I grew the most and a lot of it was because of you. I have loved you since then and that is the truth. And if we have to fight Thanos and his minions then I'm gonna do it, but whatever happens after that — whether good or not — I'm staying here, with you."

"I'd want nothing more than that but what about…what about your friend…?" Steve said, "Your…your travels…? Your parents? Aren't they—"

"My travels can continue with you, here. On earth. Or anywhere, really, I don't care. And truthfully, I'm almost positive that both of my parents were snapped," Seren ducked her head. "My mother always communicates with me every day to check up on me. She's done it ever since I left earth but a few days ago, that stopped. My father, he learned how to use our tech…" She sighed. "He hasn't called me either. I'm alone again."

"No," Steve said, hooking his fingers under her chin to lift her gaze up to his. "You're not. I'm here. And Carol — you two seem close — she's here too. Plus, I know your father's children had children and they're still here."

"How did you—?"

"I've kept my eye on them ever since I tracked them down," Steve admitted sheepishly. "I've never gone up to them. I didn't want to freak them out but I...I wanted to make sure that they were safe."

Seren's face softened with his confession. "Thank you," she whispered. "I...I haven't seen them in a long time now. I don't even know if they're still here or...if they were snapped."

"We can find that out together," Steve promised her. "Seren Dade, you and I can do so much here."

"It's, uh, actually Seren Soul now. Has been for the past 10 years," Seren said with a sheepish smile. Steve smiled with her. Seren leaned her forehead against his, taking a moment to really grasp their situation. Truthfully, she couldn't believe it. Time did all sorts of things but she never really saw it doing anything good for her after the 40s.

"Seren Soul, I have no idea what's going to happen but it won't be that bad if you stay with me…" Steve said, matching Seren's smile again. She absolutely agreed with him and went in for another kiss. Whether she intended on it being a short kiss remained unclear as Steve did not let her go for a while after that.

A/N:

Part 5 of 5, we're done! Now onto some spooky season writings even though I have no idea what to do. " and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow

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ibelieveinturtles · 7 months

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All Caps Bingo 2023 Masterpost

'The Hell I Can't, I'm a Captain' Badge Fill (One Fill, One Bingo):

The Oracle Club - Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Darcy Lewis/Brock Rumlow - T - Fic

G1: Brock Rumlow

G2: SS: Pastfic

G3: Time Travel

G4: First

G5: Adopted: Lucky Star

Nexus - Darcy Lewis/Bucky Barnes - T - Fic

B2: Darcy Lewis - Wormhole Theory (Nexus Ch 3)

N3: Free Space - The Slushy Incident (Nexus Ch 4)

B3: Music - The Worst Brother in the World (Nexus Ch 6)

Soulmate For The New Year - James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis, Steve Rogers/Peggy Carter, Jane Foster/Thor - G

I3: Jane Foster - Thoughts On Soulmates (Soulmate For The New Year Ch 2)

I1: Adopted: Birthday Surprise - The Importance Of Friends (Soulmate For The New Year Ch 3)

I5: AU: Medieval/Fantasy - A Whisper of Wolves - Darcy Lewis & Bucky Barnes - T - Fic

O2: Crossover - This Kind of Thing Ch 4 - Contact II - James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, Darcy Lewis & Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes & Jane Foster - T - Fic

O3: Polyamory/Open Relationship - The Heart Of The Mountain (Treasure Hunt Ch 2) - James "Bucky" Barnes/Brock Rumlow, Darcy Lewis/Brock Rumlow, James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis/Brock Rumlow - T - Fic

O4: AU: Hydra Won - In The Bad Timeline Ch 4 - James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis, Darcy Lewis/Brock Rumlow, James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis/Brock Rumlow, James "Bucky" Barnes/Brock Rumlow - T - Fic

@allcapsbingo thanks for running this bingo!

#all caps bingo 2023 #bucky barnes #steve rogers #sam wilson #captain america #bingo masterpost

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3pirouette · 2 years

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Fic: The Captain and the Missus (2/?)

Title: The Captain and The Missus

By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette

Spoilers: AU of CA:TFA

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Distribution: AO3 Anyone else please ask first :)

Story Summary: Instead of wanting to recreate the serum, Schmidt wants every trace of it wiped from existence so he can be the sole one to benefit from it. This means that Steve’s life is in danger, and Peggy’s new job is to keep him alive as he travels in hiding with the USO tour.

Story A/N: AU of CA: TFA, based on @roboticonography’s idea of having Peggy go on tour with Steve as “Mrs. America” This will satisfy both Steggy Week Day 1: Favorite Era (I love writing them in the 40’s even though I have to do massive amounts of research) and my Steggy Bingo Bash category “Slow Burn.”

(Robot’s post HERE)

Hold on to your butts. I feel like this might take a while.

Chapter 2: Planning and Packing

READ PROLOGUE/CH 1 HERE

Chapter Summary: Peggy tries to figure out how they're going to move forward as they get ready to leave the base as man and wife.

A/N: So, apparently, it’s been a year? There’s about 17k of this story and it’s barely started. I love it and it will get finished, it’s just going to take a while. Not sure if I’ll continue to post as a WIP or if I’ll wait until it’s eventually finished. Slow Burn INDEED. Please enjoy this next chapter.

Here it is, chapter 2 for Steggy Week ’22 Day 2: Favorite Era

~*~

Peggy spent the next day with her own contingent of privates that followed her around base, packing two very large, very non-descript looking trunks while Howard had Steve for one last day of testing. Good to her word, she packed everything they might need and more from the base. Keeping busy kept her mind from racing.

She was now officially married, like it or not, to the man she was having outrageously inappropriate feelings for given their current situation. She’d spent a sleepless night last night staring at the ceiling, thinking of all the things that could go wrong and all the things that could go right, neither of which brought her much peace.

Thinking of his lips kissing hers, of his arms wrapped around her, led to thoughts of her holding him, bleeding, after a sniper caught him on stage. Thoughts of them holding hands, taking long, slow walks along the waterfront led to thoughts of his hand reaching for hers as Hydra agents pulled them apart. Fantasies of what it would be like to feel him on top of her, her legs wrapped around his hips, dissolved into scenes of them being overwhelmed by Hydra forces, the two of them fighting until their deaths.

Needless to say, she hadn’t slept.

The bouncing back and forth of her emotions, from soft and happy and fantasizing to dark and scary and reliving the trauma of his blood literally pouring through her fingers, gave her quite the sense of whiplash as she moved through the halls. Having a task to focus on was her only saving grace as she led the privates from armory to storage and back again, checking items off her list as they went: firearms of all sizes, ammunition, spy cameras, bugs, decrypting machines, radios, and more. She filled the trunks efficiently, only starting to feel the anxiety creep in again as the trunks were filled and locked and sent on their way with the soldiers.

Peggy set her shoulders back, walking to Stark’s lab, her mind running through the list she’d completed just one more time. She couldn’t think of a single thing more they might need, but that didn’t mean needs wouldn’t arise in the field, that things couldn’t change on a dime still, and it didn’t escape her notice that instead of the rush of adrenaline she usually got with the thrill of an upcoming mission, she only felt cold fingers of fear wrapping around her spine.

She tried to shake it off with a deep breath as she pushed open the door to Stark’s lab, setting a smile on her face.

“Agent Carter! Perfect timing!” Howard looked up at her, giddy as a school boy. She guessed it was whatever he and Steve had been discussing, as Steve looked quite happy, as well.

She didn’t dare imagine that it was her arrival that put that smile on his face.

“Yes, well, I do tend to keep my appointments.” She stepped up to Steve’s side, giving him her own smile. “Rogers.”

Howard laughed and turned away from the table, sticking his arms into a closet and coming back out with a large box stacked on top of a smaller one. “Better start picking pet names, kids. No one’s gonna believe you’re married if you’re calling him Rogers.”

“Ah, yes, sorry,” she rolled her eyes at him, and caught Steve hiding his own smile. “Hello, cupcake.”

Steve did laugh at that as Howard dropped the boxes he’d been holding in his arms on the table. He set his hands on his hips and shook his head at her. “No. That’s just doesn’t sound right coming from you.”

“What? Calling Steve ‘cupcake’?” Peggy allowed herself the moment of levity, and even felt a warmth flood through her at Steve’s smile in her direction.

He shrugged, his neck just a little red. “I mean, it’s not the worst thing I’ve been called.”

Howard’s expression soured. “Look, it’s fun and games now, but I’m serious. You two are going to be out there, all alone, with only each other. We don’t know how far Hydra is willing to go on this, and how well you sell this cover is going to determine how much danger you’re in.”

Peggy sighed. She just couldn’t manage to get away from the truth of it, and the heaviness of his words settled deep in her stomach. “Howard, believe me, I know.” She looked between them both, unsettled that Steve seemed unsure and chastised at Stark’s words. “When the time comes, you’ll believe us.” She moved closer to Steve, leaning into his side and wrapping her arm around his waist. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, looking down at her as she looked up at him. “Won’t they, darling?”

She wasn’t sure why she chose that endearment, but it felt right in that moment. It felt easy and natural, slipping from her lips as he looked down at her.

She felt him tense for just a moment before he relaxed, his eyes saying that he trusted her more than anything. “Absolutey, dearest.”

Peggy didn’t realize they’d been staring at each other until Howard cleared his throat. She pulled away from Steve slowly, like she was being pulled from a trance.

“Ok, maybe I’m wrong about that,” Howard mumbled, his eyebrows raising and falling, “but I’m not wrong about you two needing a little something extra out in the field. Ta-da!” He pulled the top off the top box and displayed what appeared to be an elaborate red, white, and blue costume in the style of a tactical suit.

“That’s… something.” Steve tried to hold back his disbelief.

Peggy did no such thing. “Howard, you did everything but paint a target on it!” Peggy pointed at the red and white striped mid-section.

“It’s a costume. I asked Brant’s guy to get me what his costume was going to look like. It’s reinforced, just like you’d get out in the field.” Howard pulled it out and showed them how thick it was. “Might be a little warm under the lights, but a knife ain’t getting through, it’ll stop most corrosives, and I reinforced across the chest with a metal plate, so it’ll stop at least a chest shot from a bullet.” He shrugged, handing Steve the top. “Putting that all over would be too heavy, for sure, but we know most of the Hydra guys are trained for the shot to the heart, so…”

Steve ran his hands over it, then shoved his arm through a sleeve. “And this is what Brandt wants me to wear?”

“It’s what some yokel costume designer wants you to wear.” Howard pulled out the pants and thick red boots. “I made some modifications. Tights were originally involved.”

Peggy fought hard to hold back her laugh at Steve’s face when Howard mentioned tights, and instead focused on the helmet in the box. “And that?”

Howard lifted it and juggled it in his hands for a second before he punched it, trying to prove its invincibility. “Enough to stop a headshot from a few meters away, but not point-blank range.”

“If someone’s made it to point blank range then we’re already in big trouble,” Peggy mumbled, pulling it from his hands. “Lightweight. Surprisingly. What’s the ‘A’ for?”

“America, naturally!” Howards false bravado fell flat. “I’m telling you, whoever designed this costume was out of his mind. They wanted a little fabric hood with wings on the side. Wings!”

Steve took the helmet from Peggy and set it on his head, moving around to see how it felt. “Well, this is a considerable upgrade from that. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Howard pushed the box forward, letting Steve slide his costume back in.

“So, what’s in the smaller box?” Steve asked, folding the top of his costume.

Howard didn’t say anything, but slid the box over in front of Peggy. She was nervous, knowing she’d have a costume and a role of her own to play. She wasn’t sure how much of that miracle reinforced fabric he could get in such a thin box, but she’d be grateful for anything she could get. She lifted the lid, peering in, and then gently put the lid to the side as what it was dawned on her. With two fingers, and a lot of annoyance, she pulled the black slip from the box. “Howard, is this women’s underwear?”

Steve coughed and looked away out of embarrassment, and Howard held his hands up. “I can explain.”

Peggy set the slip down and dug through the other pieces in there, lips pressed tight. “Please do.”

“You’ve got a lot more costumes!” Howard shrugged, slowly taking a step back. “I’m no Christian Dior here! They sent me drawings of five different dresses- we don’t have the time or the resources to set you up with five different dresses.”

“So, this is a joke?” Peggy pulled out a black thigh high stocking and waved it in his face? “Hum? Your idea of a joke? Steve gets full body armor and I get lingerie?”

“What?” Howard looked shocked. “You think that of me? No!” Howard rushed forward, pulling out the slip and handing it to her. “Feel that.”

“Rough and thick, not even good quality.” She rolled her eyes, almost completely forgetting Steve was standing next to her, turning a bright shade of red as she argued with Howard. “Least you could do for a newlywed woman is get her something nice!”

Howard huffed. “Jesus, woman, let me explain!” He pulled a pocket knife from his pants and flipped it open. “We’ve been working on this for two years. We had barely enough for a prototype for you, ok?” He took the slip from her and wound it over his hand before plunging the knife at his palm.

Steve and Peggy both jumped, but leaned forward as Howard showed them where the fabric had stopped the knife. “What is that?” Peggy asked, amazed.

“It’s a new fabric we’ve been developing. Inspired by the strength of spider silk and the concept of chainmail.” He pulled the knife away, revealing the unmarred fabric, and then showed his palm, where there was a small mark, but no bruise and no blood. “It’s still in prototype phase, and it won’t stop a bullet, from any distance, but it’ll give you some protection.”

“Why lingerie?” Steve asked, picking up the side of the slip and running his fingers over it.

“What the hell else were we supposed to do? She can’t be your ‘home-front missus’ running around in tactical gear, and they’ve got her changing dresses every five minutes.” He shook his head, looking at Peggy as she pulled the stockings out, examining them. “I know it ain’t much compared to what we were able to do for Steve, but this gives you at least a little protection in a one-on-one situation.”

Peggy softened as she looked through the box. A set of black and a set of nude stockings and matching slips. At the bottom, she dug out a single, white brassiere that was the most boxy, full coverage shape she’d ever seen. “Howard, this is atrocious.”

“I know,” he groused. “It’s an abomination and should never see the light of day, never mind be worn by a beautiful woman such as yourself.” He pulled it from her fingers and pressed against the cup, which didn’t fold as he pushed. “But it was the only way we could give you some body armor. Won’t be comfortable, but it’s the only thing we could make with anything near a chest plate in it… even if it’s a fashion crime.”

Peggy took the brassiere back and held it in her hands, pressing against the molded metal. “Well, then, I do appreciate it, Howard, though I’m not going to ask how you seemed to know my measurements.”

He let a cheeky smile split his face. “I estimated. I’m pretty good at that- lots of experience.” He sobered quickly when she didn’t laugh. “Like I said, best we can do.” He shrugged. “I’m shipping back out with Phillips, but if you guys think of anything else you need, I can get it to you in a few days, or whenever the next transport goes out. However,” Howard held up his pointer fingers and backed away, heading back to the closet, “there’s one more thing.” He came back with a small box this time, and opened it to reveal three rings.

Steve leaned forward, whistling. “Gonna be a hard sell that I could afford that on a soldier’s salary,” he looked at the sparkling diamond that was a size he only ever heard about.

Peggy huffed a laugh. “I’ll barely be able to hold my hand up! Howard, that’s excessive.”

“It needs to stand out, in real life and on stage,” he pulled the diamond engagement ring out and showed her the far edge. “It also had to be big enough for us to cut it right. This edge here will cut through glass and most thin steals. Should be flat enough that when you’re wearing it that it’s not dangerous, but when you take it off,” he turned it at an angle and pressed it to the steel work table, “Forty five to fifty five degree angle and a little bit of pressure,” he pulled it across the table for an inch and smiled when he left a thin gash behind, “and you’ve got a lot of options.”

“Genius!” Peggy pulled it from him, examining the edge and running her finger over it, excited about the possibilities.

“It’s also big enough that if you punch a guy in the eye with it, it should do some damage.” Howard shrugged. “Now, the wedding bands have their own advantages.” He pulled the larger one out and showed them the bevel cut edge. “Looks like a decorative pattern, right?”

“Right…” Steve replied, eyeing it carefully.

“Find the catch at the bottom and… voila!” Howard pulled at the edge and unwound a thin wire from inside the ring, “Hidden garrote wire!”

Steve reached out, plucking it until it vibrated in Howard’s hands. “And that’s for…”

“Strangling, disabling, slicing off fingers… it’s conductive and can be welded if you find yourself in need of some light tampering with electronics.” Howard gave a tiny tug and the wire wound itself back up into the ring, hiding from view. “Also good at cutting bread and cheese.” He pulled at the latch once again, this time just pressing it so it stood out like a needle from the edge of the ring. “Can also be used as a puncture needle. Dip it in poison, knock out drops, or just to annoy your friends.” He snapped it back into place and twirled what now looked like any other ring between his fingers.

“That is impressive,” Peggy mused, reaching out to take her ring from the box. Steve’s hand snatched it away first, though. She looked up at him, but he held out his other hand, waiting for her to put the engagement ring in his palm.

“I think that’s my job, don’t you?” he asked, more confident than she knew he felt based on the sweat on his palm when she placed the ring in.

“Alright then,” she held her left hand out, hoping that her own sudden nervousness didn’t show. “Go ahead, Mr. Rogers.”

He licked his lips, and she could feel his hands shaking just a bit as he took hers, slipping the wedding band on her ring finger, followed by the faux diamond. “There you go, Mrs. Rogers.” He held her hand loosely, getting bolder by the second when she didn’t pull away.

She was only marginally aware of Howard as he held Steve’s ring out to her, taking it in her hand without looking at the scientist, and slipping it on Steve’s finger. “There you go, darling,” she whispered, entranced by his eyes and the feeling of their hands together, the metal of the rings slipping against their skin, not quite warm yet, not quite familiar, but feeling somehow so totally right that she could hardly breathe.

“Oh, no. No. Continue. Just pretend I’m not here,” Howard’s voice broke them apart, pulling their eyes to him where he was sitting on a stool a few feet away, smiling like the cat that ate the canary.

Peggy dropped Steve’s hand, but didn’t stop fidgeting with her rings. “Have you anything else for us, Howard?” She forced a strong tone, and thought she managed pretty well.

Howard, however, saw right through her. “Nah. Not for you, anyway. Steve and I have to go through some more testing before I give him up, and that’s a lot to fit in only a day.”

Peggy looked over at Steve, who seemed a mess of emotions all written on his face plain as day: confused, frustrated, embarrassed, tired… she ached for his plight. “You’re alright with that?”

“I have to be.” Peggy saw the exact moment he bucked up and shoved the emotions away in favor of duty. Her emotions must have shown on her face more than she wanted them to, because he smirked and shrugged, trying to placate her further. “Besides, we’re finding out some pretty neat things about what I can do.”

“Neat?” Howard nearly choked, “Buddy, if you call this neat, we seriously have to work on your vocabulary.” Howard looked at Peggy, dead serious. “He can bench press a tank.”

She was stunned at that. She knew he’d be strong, but that was far exceeding what even Erskine had predicted. In her surprise, she could say only one thing, “Neat.”

~*~

Peggy spent the next morning in her room, packing things in her trunk carefully. She didn’t have much since she couldn’t take her uniforms with her. She packed the handful of dresses she had, and the one good woolen coat that wasn’t army-issued. She packed every stocking she had with care, looking over them for runs and holes and even mending one before settling them down amongst her packed clothes. She layered things by usefulness, and carefully packed away the little make up and nail varnish she had left. She set her paperbacks on top, knowing she hadn’t managed more than a page or two over the course of the war and it was hope more than any real belief that she would read them that made her pack them.

She’d had another sleepless night, and wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through all of this if she couldn’t get a decent night’s rest.

Peggy was sure the fact that she’d already experienced leaning over his bloodied body, thinking he was dying, was the very thing fueling her dread.

She packed methodically, taking everything except the army-issue clothes. She even packed canteens and belts, knowing she could get away with fibbing some of them were Steve’s.

Anything she couldn’t take she packed in a duffel. Phillips said it would be stored for her, but she knew she was unlikely to ever see those things again, no matter if things went right or wrong. She ran her thumb over her SSR pin, shining bright on the last jacket as she packed it away.

Peggy wished she understood this swirl of emotion. She was used to the rush of excitement, the fear of the unknown that each new case brought, not this complicated mess of uncertainty.

She zipped the bag and left it on the bed, now stripped down to a bare mattress, with her sheets folded at the corner.

Some other woman would be taking her room now, some other agent or secretary would move in with a handful of crisp, fresh army linens and the relief of having her own room instead of a bunk in the barracks.

Peggy closed her trunk with a sigh and turned to the mirror one more time. She hadn’t put on this dress in months, and her pumps felt so high after so long in just the little army issue shoes that barely had any heel. She supposed she looked good enough for war time, though in her mind her mother was scolding her for even thinking of going out traveling without a hat and gloves.

Gloves, she thought, would be a travesty. She rubbed her thumb over her rings, smiling. She’d gotten used to them quickly, and even though she shared Steve’s assertion that the diamond was a touch big, something about them felt reassuring.

She was pulled from her musing by a knock at her door. “Yes?”

“Peg?”

She smiled, despite herself. Steve’s voice was warm and welcome.

“Perfect timing,” She called, moving the few feet to open the door. She smiled at him, dressed back in a full drab green dress uniform, though without all the valor pinned to his chest. “Still looks good on you.”

He blushed and dropped his head, shrugging. She nearly chuckled at how much of him he still was, and then felt a warm surge of happiness as she watched how he twirled his ring with his other hand, spinning it over and over on his finger. He finally lifted his eyes back up, one half of his mouth lifted and eyes bright. “You look beautiful. I’m not used to seeing you out of uniform.”

“Well, get used to it,” she stepped back and let him in. “I’ve had to leave behind all the regulation clothes except for a few blouses and odds and ends that might be useful. No more Army green for me.”

“You look better in red, anyway.” His voice was so quiet she might have missed it if she hadn’t been looking right at him as he said it. She couldn’t help but smile, and she could tell he struggled to find what to say next. He finally broke the silence by pointing at her trunk. “All packed?” he asked, full of bravado and reassured by the banality of the task.

“Yes, quite.” She felt an awkwardness settle about them that she had to make sure they moved past it. They knew each other so little, but in a just a few hours, no matter what this spark was that was lighting between them, they had to convince the world they were married. “I’ve packed it pretty tightly, so do be careful.”

Steve smiled, reaching down and lifting it easily. “It’s a little lighter than a tank, so I think I’ll manage.”

She rolled her eyes, teasing back. “Wires, I suspect. Can’t lift more than an ant without them.”

“Or so I’ve been told,” he retorted, showing off and holding it up with only one hand. “Come on,” He stepped forward, moving to the door. “There’s a car waiting for us, has the two trunks you filled yesterday and mine on it already. We’ll strap this on then get going for the train station.”

Peggy followed him out, looking over her little room one last time and grabbing her purse, closing the door swiftly and trying to imagine she’d locked up all her confused feelings about everything back in that room. “You know,” she began as they moved down the hall, “I’m not a very vain person, but the idea that people will believe I’m toting around three trunks of my own things when people are struggling with so little now does sting a little.”

She moved quickly to get in front of him and held open the door for him, following as he directed her to the car. “You know,” he started, gently setting down the trunk in the back of the jeep and making sure it wasn’t moving before he pushed the tailgate up, “my wife’s allowed to bring as much stuff with her as she wants.” He smiled, hands on his hips. “Anyone else be damned.”

Peggy managed to clock that the jeep and the driver were not from their camp or their regiment, and though she’d counted on the time during the drive to set some things about their past together straight, she realized they were out of time, and the charade began now. She took a few long strides and wound her arms around his neck. “How simply wonderful of you to say, darling.” She felt a shiver go up her spine when his hands lightly wrapped around her hips. She smiled to reassure him, and his grip tightened. “Especially considering you’re the one that has to carry them.”

She could tell Steve was struggling with what he wanted to do next. She could see indecision in his eyes: there was something he wanted to do, but he didn’t think he should.

If he was thinking the same thing she was, making out in the middle of the base was both a fabulous idea to keep up their cover and a horrible idea considering she could see Phillips and Stark watching them from across the camp. She pulled back, taking the choice from him. “Come along, darling. The train won’t wait for us!”

She pulled his hand along to the side of the jeep, letting him boost her up and then scooting over so he could sit next to her.

“Ready, sir?” The private in front asked.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Steve replied, and the jeep rumbled to life, driving them away from Lehigh and down to the train station.

#steggyweek22 #Steggy #3p's fic #AU #WIP #steggy fic

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