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starsandhughes · 7 months

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Penalty Box Series— Trevor Zegras Edition (Eight)

23-24 Season Masterlist

previous: seven

next: nine

this is so short i’m sorry! i’m still playing catch up

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

yourusername

liked by tterry19, trevorzegras, and 19,723 others

yourusername welcome back to my postgame penalty box update show: my boyfriend might be moving into the penalty box edition!

after sitting for part of leason's penalty in the first (because my mans is the default criminal), trevor got his own penalty bestowed to him for slashing travis dermott in the third! my poor baby didn't even know he did it :( but alas, he did the crime, and he did the time

scared of watching a game loss? never fear! the duckies are here! my boys got their fifth straight win tonight in overtime against the coyotes! the best part about this? MY DAD, TROY TERRY, SCORED HIS SECOND CAREER HAT TRICK TONIGHT! it was completed in overtime where he scored the game winning goal after scoring the first two, and he's the first duck EVER to score a hat trick in overtime! i’m so proud of you, dad! i love you! @/tterry19

AND FRANKIE! FRANKIE TANKIE! THANK YOU FOR FIGHTING! YOU SINGLE HANDEDLY BECAME MY GOD FOR THE NIGHT! MWAH! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! STAY CRAZY!

and to my sweet boy, i'm sorry you've got a pointless drought, but you're playing great! it's the beginning of the season, you'll pop off soon enough! i love you, always🧡

p.s. LEO, MY SON! YOU BROUGHT US INTO OVERTIME AND I'M SO PROUD OF YOU FOR THAT! I LOVE YOU!

tagged trevorzegras and frank_vatrano

view all 133 comments

trevorzegras i love you, forever, my favorite personal cheerleader🧡

yourusername coachy cro doesn't call me the ducks's human mascot for nothing! but i’ll always be your cheerleader first🫶

trevorzegras aww, you sap

yourusername for you? always

trevorzegras that's three times you've said always! that's a love hatty

yourusername i'd call something different a love hatty, but i’ll take it! go me!

trevorzegras you're thinking of a horny hatty

yourusername ah yes, how could i get them confused?

trevorzegras silly girl!

jamie.drysdale oh my god make it stop

yourusername @/jamie.drysdale jealous much?

trevorzegras @/jamie.drysdale green is not a good color on you

jamie.drysdale i quit

yourusername maybe the twins will split into three and we can have a baby hatty!

trevorzegras that's so many babies

yourusername and we would love them all!

trevorzegras yes we would, sweet girl

jamie.drysdale oh so NOW you decide to be cute

yourusername @/jamie.drysdale we have depth

user7 okay but that fight was hot as fuck and suddenly... i’m on my knees for vatrano

user33 DEFAULT CRIMINAL HA

_quinnhughes how does it feel to be below me on the penalty totem pole, zegras?

trevorzegras you're at two games

_quinnhughes and you have 8 penalty minutes 10 games into the season

yourusername laideez, laideez, save the animosity for november 28th!

trevorzegras @/yourusername you have a "we can't fuck with each other" rule

_quinnhughes @/yourusername you're sending mixed signals, sissy

yourusername @/trevorzegras @_quinnhughes trip him

trevorzegras @/yourusername who was that for??

yourusername @/trevorzegras yes

user6 "my poor baby didn't even know he crimed" and it's not even the first time😭

yourusername @/trevorzegras yeah, BABE! don't touch kivi's stick!! and apparently don't do that other thing!!

trevorzegras @/yourusername IT DIDN'T USED TO BE A RULE

yourusername @/trevorzegras SO YOU SHOULD'VE TESTED IT OUT AGAINST NOT THE STARS

trevorzegras @/yourusername you're right, i’m sorry

user39 i need to know what vatrano and durzi were saying to get z's jaw to drop

jamie.drysdale our boy is trying to defenseman that's why he's not rallying up those points obviously

yourusername damn and i thought he was trying to become a goalie

jamie.drysdale you're not very observant, my ex dear

yourusername bite me, my ex husband

yourusername psa to everyone: I'M WITH HIM AND HE ACTUALLY BIT ME

jamie.drysdale psa to everyone: she bit me back and whacked me

yourusername psa to everyone: i also bit mason just for funzies

masonmctavish23 i gotta stop hanging out with you three after games

yourusername @/masonmctavish23 but then you'd be lame

jamie.drysdale @/masonmctavish23 don't be lame

masonmctavish23 is this a cult? it feel like a cult

trevorzegras @/masonmctavish probably

user20 the ducks: ceo of comebacks this season

leocarlssoon i love you, too, mom! i scored just for you!

yourusername you're such a good son🧡

trevorzegras it wasn't for... ya know... the team?

yourusername @/trevorzegras not everything is about you, trevor

leocarlssoon @/trevorzegras shhh what she doesn't know won't hurt her

trevorzegras @/leocarlssoon you really are a good son!

user16 BEAUTIFUL, ANXIETY INDUCING, GAME!

tterry19 thank you! i love you, too

yourusername AHHHHHHH

trevorzegras and she means that

tterry19 you crazy, kids��

jackhughes @/trevorzegras this isn't very sissy's fiancé of you

trevorzegras listen, i'm trying

yourusername he's making passes!! the other guys just aren't scoring either!!

jackhughes @/trevorzegras do you always make your girl fight your battles?

trevorzegras @/jackhughes i’ve seen you jump over the couch screaming because she started lunging at you

jackhughes @/trevorzegras unimportant

lhughes_06 @/jackhughes we used to call her scary sissy

jackhughes @/lhughes_06 also unimportant

yourusername @/jackhughes don't get all cocky just because i’m pregnant and can't jump you. i remember everything. i have other ways to attack you.

jackhughes @/yourusername please don't

trevorzegras @/yourusername that's my girl!

user44 sissy is feeling a lil ratty tonight i see

frank_vatrano your god for tonight?😂 i'll accept that! i love you, too!

yourusername as you should!

trevorzegras @/yourusername i can't believe you're hoeing stromer like this

yourusername @/trevorzegras he's my HERO not my god! i can't believe you think i’d do that to my stromer

frank_vatrano @/yourusername then who's normally your god?

yourusername @/frank_vatrano me

frank_vatrano @/yourusername that's taking god complex to a whole new level

trevorzegras @/frank_vatrano she is next level

yourusername @/trevorzegras SIMP

trevorzegras @/yourusername for you? forever🧡

#penalty box series #trevor zegras #trevor zegras x reader #trevor zegras imagine #trevor zegras fanfic #trevor zegras fic #trevor zegras au #trevor zegras insta edit #quinn hughes #jack hughes #jamie drysdale #luke hughes #nhl imagine #hockey imagine #jamie drysdale imagine #jack hughes imagine #quinn hughes imagine #mason mctavish

156 notes · View notes

thesakuragarnet · 7 months

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PHOENIX: A Pro Hero Toya Todoroki AU (Chapter One)

THIS FIC IS 18+ ONLY!!!!!

Summary: For most of his life, Toya Todoroki was a loner. He was a scrawny, broody kid only known for getting in an explosive fight that led to him being held back. That is...until he met Keigo Takami. Navigating love, his own demons, and the road to becoming a Pro Hero, will Toya Todoroki be able to prove his father wrong?

TL;DR: What if Rei Todoroki saved her eldest child from his accident at Sekoto Peak and he got the Hero Arc he deserved?

Tags for the full fic (which is heavily tagged in the author's notes per chapter on AO3): DabiHawks, Pro Hero Dabi, alternate universe, child ab*se, implied sexual content (including implied consensual sexual content between teenagers), underage drinking, implied/referenced r word, explicit sexual content (between of-age consenting parties), graphic depictions of violence, anxiety disorder and panic attacks, s*ic!dal thoughts, eventual happy ending, fluff, smut, angst, implied/referenced s3lf harm, hurt/comfort, Vigilante League of Villains, Geten is not a Himura, POV TOYA TODOROKI

Word Count: Chapter One, which is posted below, is 3,245 words. The full fic (which will be completed on 11/21/2023) is roughly 270,000 words.

AO3 link to the full fic

Chapter One: MONTAGE (Year: Early 2117)

It’s the first day of my repeated year, and not a single person even looks in my direction. The reputation I built for myself isn’t exactly helping; I’d nearly incinerated another student who was talking shit about my sister last semester. He deserved it; it’s a shame he wasn’t in the ICU after what he said. Nevertheless, every single person in the Private Hero Training Academy avoided me like the plague. I skipped orientation this year, thinking it wasn’t worth it. I’d just be paired with yet another loser who would always find an excuse to not be my roommate and switch out; I didn’t care to make friends anymore.

I sit quietly at the smallest table in the corner of the cafeteria, my hair falling over my eyes as I stare emptily into the bowl of noodles. I shove it to the side; I’m not in the mood to eat anything right now. Tears prick my eyes as I think about what happened when I was home last week.

“IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! IF YOU WEREN’T SO DAMN WEAK HE WOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE IT!” My father bellowed at our mother as Natsuo, Fuyumi, and I struggled to keep Shoto sheltered from the noise of the violent slaps that echoed through the house.

“HE KNOWS NO DISCIPLINE!”

SMACK!

“HE KNOWS NO MANNERS!”

SMACK!

“HE IS A FAILED EXPERIMENT!”

SMACK!

I suddenly break down and put my head on the table, resting my forehead on my arms so no one will see my tears. ‘I wish I didn’t exist anymore.’ I think to myself...

…

...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

A rapping noise echoes on the wooden table.

“Hey, you’re Toya, right?” A sprightly voice calls. I keep my head down, staring at the darkness that I formed in the shelter of my arms. I try to keep my body still so they can’t notice I’m crying, and I struggle to stop.

“Who wants to know?” I gripe, keeping my voice steady.

“Oh, I’m Keigo Takami! I’m your roomie this year! Hey, are you okay? Or just tired? Hope I didn’t wake you up,” Keigo laughs.

“Are you new or something?” I snap, not in the mood to talk.

“How’d you guess?! Yeah! I’m a first-year! Ready to become a hero! Anyway, is it okay if I sit here? I don’t really know anyone yet.” Before I can say anything, I feel him sit down next to me.

“Are you gonna eat your food?”

“Not hungry,” I say flatly. I briefly activate my Quirk on my face so all the tears evaporate, but no one can see it the way I have my head down.

“Then why’d you get it?”

“You ask a lot of damn questions don’t you,” I growl before raising my head to look at him. Keigo Takami’s Quirk is obvious at first glance. The fifteen-year-old sports an elegant pair of feathered, red wings on his back. He returns my glare with a bright smile, and an emotion I’ve never felt before rips through my entire body.

“Are you not scared of me?” I ask, indignantly, but, once again, Takami just returns my venom with warm, caring eyes.

“Why would I be scared of you? Hey, did you know your hair is turning white?” Keigo points to the white streaks that pepper my crimson hair.

“Stress. And my mom’s Quirk.” I mumble, suddenly wishing I had a hood that I could pull up to hide it.

“Oh. That’s cool. I guess. Hey, you sure you don’t wanna eat anything? You can have half of my sandwich!” He extends half of his PB&J to me, but I put my head back down. Keigo shrugs, and, then, his eyes light up.

“OH MY GOD! I ALMOST FORGOT TO ASK! Your last name is Todoroki, right? As in Endeavor’s son? What’s it like having such an awesome Pro Hero as a dad?” He excitedly asks, and my brain fills with screams.

“I WON’T LET YOU SLEEP UNTIL YOU’VE PERFECTED THIS MOVE! GET UP!”

A phantom pain in my stomach forms where I got kicked last week; I’d forced myself to stand and finish the exercise, burning my shoulder in the process. I feel my emotions setting my Quirk into overdrive; I’ve gotta get out of here. Without saying a word, I immediately stand up and walk out of the cafeteria, leaving Keigo alone, worried, and confused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Few Months Later

(Almost the end of the First Semester)

“DAD I DIDN’T MEAN TO HURT SHOTO!” I scream as I wake up from a horrible nightmare...well...a memory. I’m covered in cold sweat, and I’m shaking uncontrollably. A faint blue glow permeates the darkness of the room, and I panic as I realize I’ve set my pillow on fire.

“SHIT SHIT SHIT!” I whisper heatedly as I get up on my knees and struggle to put it out with my trembling hands, burning myself. I bite my lip as I endure the pain to snuff out the flames, leaving a tender red mark in the middle of my palm. When I successfully put it out, my mind flashes with my father’s terrifying, furious gaze; all I hear is my mother and my siblings screaming at me. I continue to shake uncontrollably and begin hyperventilating. I stare at my open, shivering palms...The weapons that I used on my little brother. It was an accident. But that didn’t change the fact that it happened. If Mom hadn’t acted quickly, who knows what could have happened. And it would’ve been all my fault. Tears start streaming down my face, as I start rocking back and forth, desperately trying to calm myself down.

“Toya?” A sleepy voice echoes through the darkness, and a feather whizzes by my head before pulling open the curtains on the window, letting moonlight flood our room.

“Are you okay?” Keigo asks as he rubs his eyes and starts to sit up. I say nothing. Words can’t come out of my mouth; my chest is unbearably tight, and my stomach is in a knot. I feel all the color instantly leave my face.

“Trash can,” I manage to croak out as my dry mouth suddenly fills with saliva. Thankfully, as soon as I heave, a flurry of feathers brings a trash can to sit in front of me on the bed. I grab it quickly and thrust my head into it as I get sick.

“You’re definitely not okay.” Keigo’s worried voice is at my bedside next to me; he must have gotten up. I breathe heavily as I lurch again, and Keigo sits beside me before patting me on the back; I flinch at his touch and retch until there’s nothing left in me.

“I hate everything,” I cough as I try to catch my breath, water leaking out of my eyes. I spit into the bucket to get the horrible taste out of my mouth.

“Even me?” Keigo says in a sing-song voice, and I look up briefly to give him an annoyed glance. He hands me a rag, and I snatch it from him, wiping my mouth before setting the trash can and the rag on the other side of my bed. Just in case.

“Did you have nightmares about your dad again?” Keigo asks, concern in his voice. I shudder and nod, squeezing my eyes shut.

“You should probably be on something for those night terrors and panic attacks. That’s not healthy. You can’t just keep throwing up dinner every other night,” Keigo touches my shoulder, and I shrink away from him.

“My folks wouldn’t care even if they knew,” I mutter as I feel the waves of anxiety and dread flood my body. I start to move to go back to sleep, grappling with the covers, forcing Keigo to get off the bed.

“Do they not know?” He asks.

“There’s a lot they don’t know,” I growl, turning my body away as the tears start flowing down my face again. I pass out from pure exhaustion.

…

...

Two hours later, I wake up screaming again, except this time I can’t move. I’m paralyzed with the fear of my dad’s gaze burning into my very soul; I whimper and shake, hating how pathetic Keigo must think I am.

‘Dad’s right, all I ever do is show weakness.’ I keep my eyes shut, trying to calm my dark thoughts and not jump out the window to end all the pain once and for all. ‘It would be so easy just to hit the ground from how high up we are… the seventh floor….I doubt I’d even feel anything. And then, my family wouldn’t have to bear the burden of me anymore.’ With eerie timing, I feel the paralysis fade away. ‘This is my sign.’ I think to myself as I take a deep breath and prepare to roll out of bed and end my life. Suddenly, I feel a warmth surrounding me, and my body freezes.

“It’s okay, Toya. He’s not here,” I hear the familiar voice whisper as I open my eyes and see a pair of red wings enclosing me in an embrace. I instantly think to push him away so I can finish what I started when a wave of calm washes over me as the feathers brush my face. They’re very soft and comforting...something I don’t feel very often, if ever. My nightmarish thoughts seemingly melt away as I lean into the wing, allowing my senses to fill with something other than physical pain and emotional numbness. Keigo gingerly drapes his arm over my shoulder, limply pulling me toward him.

“If you want me to go away I will. I know you don’t really like hugs. But...You looked like you needed one badly,” Keigo’s voice echoes through the silent room. I roughly shake my head as I bite my lip and let my tears flow. This time, it’s a mixture of emotions that sparks them; the normal ones: fear and anguish, but also: peace. I squeeze my eyes shut and focus on the silky feathers and the sound of Keigo’s breathing, my shaking breath slowly calming down to a smooth even pattern. My chest fills with a warm glow that I’m not used to; whatever it is, I know it isn’t my Quirk because it’s the complete opposite of pain.

“Thank you,” I choke out through my tears as I sleep peacefully for the first time in my entire life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Beginning Of The Third Semester

(First Week of September)

I was planning on going home for the weekend, but my heart told me otherwise. My dad could go to Hell for all I cared. This was gonna be the night I confessed. I’d practiced this for weeks by myself in the bathroom mirror, but my nerves were all over the place. This should be easy considering this was the person that made me realize I swung both ways. But, it’s also the first time I’ve ever felt strong enough to do something about my feelings. I don’t think I could handle rejection though. In fact, Keigo was pretty much all I had to live for lately. I don’t think I’d be able to keep on living in this Hell without him.

‘Keigo. I like you. Let’s go out. Simple enough.’ I think to myself as I splash water on my face. On Friday evenings after class, Keigo and I typically played poker by ourselves. Instead of poker chips, we just used chicken nuggets. I’d put on the only nice outfit that I owned; a black, long-sleeved button-up with black slacks. I kept the top two buttons undone so I didn’t look too serious, and I combed my hair so it didn’t look so spazzy. It had almost turned completely white at this point, and the only trace of red remained at my crown. I take a deep breath and head back to our dorm.

...

I grab the handle and take another deep breath, trying to hype myself up.

‘Alright. You got this, Toya. Be smooth. Be cool. You can be charming… Right? Just don’t make a fool of yourself.’

However, when I open the door, the lights are off, and Keigo sits on his knees on his bed with the chicken nuggets in a fancy-looking tray instead of lying on the bed like they usually are. He has a candle lit on his nightstand, and, when he realizes I’m inside the room, he seems to freeze up and get nervous. I raise my eyebrow and close the door behind me.

“Where’re the cards?” I ask as I walk over to sit across from him cross-legged on the twin bed. That’s when I noticed that I’m not the only one that cleaned up. Keigo’s normally unkempt hair is neatly brushed, and his feathers even look shinier and more orderly than normal. He’s still wearing his normal black and yellow T-shirt, but it looks brighter, almost like it’s brand new.

“Um, I thought we could...just eat the nuggs tonight instead. And. Uh. Talk?” Keigo stammers, and I see his face flush. I blink.

‘There’s no way we had the same idea. There’s no way he actually likes me back.’

“Okay?” I say as I move to grab a chicken nugget, only for him to slap my hand away.

“I need to talk to you first.” He blurts out, his voice wavering. He’s trying to maintain eye contact with me, and his feathers start to ruffle. I can see the sweat on his forehead, and a small smile forms on my face.

‘Oh my God, he DOES like me back!’

“Listen, you’re my best friend. And... And, I hope this doesn’t ruin what we have, but, I-” He stumbles over his words as I slide the tray to the side so nothing stands between us.

‘Fuck it, I’m just gonna go for it.’ I start to close the space between us, but Keigo is oblivious as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to confess.

“What I’m trying to say is: I L-”

I stop his words short as I kiss him, and he makes a surprised noise before completely relaxing. He kisses me back, making my heart flutter, and, for the first time in my life, reciprocated love washes over me. He starts to lean back onto the pillow, and I move with him, positioning myself so I’m looming over top of him. His wings start flapping, and I laugh as I break the kiss, propping myself up on my elbow and looking down at him with a smirk. He stares up at me with huge eyes, and I laugh again.

“Warn me next time you’re gonna do that,” He whispers, his face beet red. I’ve never seen him so flustered before, and it makes me grin even more to realize the kind of power I have over him.

“Okay, here’s your warning,” I say as I lean down and kiss him again. He reaches up and limply puts his hand at the back of my neck, pulling me closer. My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. I’ve never ever felt like this before, but I love it. For once in my entire life, someone cares about me just as much as I care about them. I run my hands through his hair as I breathe him in. He reaches up with his other arm and starts undoing the buttons of my shirt. Before he gets to the last one, I grab his hand tightly and pull away from the kiss.

“We’re not fucking. I want to make that clear,” I say, bluntly. He can’t afford to get too attached to me...just in case. Keigo rolls his eyes and jerks his hands away from my grip before undoing the last button.

“There are other things besides that, hothead,” He whispers as he slides my shirt off. I smirk and lean back down, slipping my tongue in his mouth, making him make another surprised noise; his wings stiffen for a moment. I reach over with my other hand and snuff out the candle, surrounding us in complete darkness. My heart thuds as my tongue dances with his, and I start grinding up against him. The sensation is intoxicating, and I grind rougher as his hands slide up my abs and my chest. My body seems concerned at the random influx of dopamine that is never present, and my entire being is tingly with a warm, positive feeling. I break away from the kiss as we both start breathing heavily; I move to kiss his neck.

“I love you,” I let the new words drift past my lips without even meaning to say them aloud; I don’t even care if it’s too soon to say them. I can’t help how I feel. My heart swells as I hear him echo my words; I leave dark marks on the side of his neck and start to move further down when he pushes himself up with his wings, knocking me backward on the bed. I blink in surprise and start to push myself up.

“Whoa whoa, wait a second, birdbrain. I’m the one on to-” Keigo kisses me before I can finish my sentence and starts taking my pants off. In a panic, I hold my hand up and let a small ember burn as a warning, causing him to break the kiss.

“I said no fucking!” I snap, feeling betrayed.

“Relax, Toya. I said there are other things,” His words hang in the air, and he starts trailing kisses from my neck farther and farther down my body. I fall silent as the night air consumes us...

...

The next morning, I wake up in my boxers with Keigo fast asleep on my chest. I smile down at him before abruptly realizing that last night was the first night in years that I didn’t have a nightmare or a panic attack. I trace his feathered wing lightly with the tip of my finger, causing him to stir awake.

“Good morning,” He yawns, stretching and sitting up. A smile creeps across my face before I can hide it, and I tousle his hair.

“You know we can’t tell anyone about this, right?” I say quietly, and Keigo frowns.

“Well, why not?” He snorts, climbing off of me and getting out of bed to get dressed.

“We just can’t,” I say as I put my finger on the candlewick and ignite it, giving the room a blue hue.

“Too bad. I’m still gonna try to hold your hand, and you can’t stop me.” Keigo laughs. I rub the sleep from my eyes.

“Fine,” I grumble as I climb out of bed. Before I can get my bearings, Keigo hugs me tightly.

“I knew there was something beneath that tough guy act,” He smiles, and my expression softens.

“Come on, we gotta get ready for practice. I reserved the training room for this morning,” Keigo says in his sing-song voice as he flaps his wings, lifting himself off the ground. I smile and get dressed before he opens the window. I raise my eyebrow, and he just grins before holding his hand out to me. I tentatively take it, and I cling to him as he sails out the window into the open orange sky, heading toward the training field.

#dabi x hawks #fanfic #my hero academia fanfiction #ao3 writer #dabi #dabihawks #toukei #pro hero dabi #hotwings #ao3 #hero dabi #smut #fluff #angst #pov dabi #mha mirko #mha hawks #todoroki family #touya todoroki

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theclaravoyant · 7 months

Text

AN ~ Okay, Stede can have a little breakdown. As a treat. For me, to cathart my feelings into because Thursday is going to Kill Me Dead.

Also for @fictober-event’s Fictober 2023 prompt: “I may not get another chance to say this." Masterpost of my Fictober OFMD fics

Heavily inspired by the 2x08 trailers but written before it aired. Contains major S2 spoilers.

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Characters/Relationships: Stede Bonnet, Izzy Hands. Tags: Whump, Hurt/Comfort. Content Warnings for Canon Compatible Everything (ie, violence, self loathing, references to mental illness and suicidal ideation) coz this is the Stede Bonnet Going Thru It Fic, ft. everyone else also going thru it

Also on AO3 (2700wd)

Panic // Pride

Stede tries to swallow the lump in his throat as he looks at himself in the mirror. He tugs at the jacket, but he can’t get it to sit right. Ironically, he thinks to himself, it’s kind of fitting. This is a navy jacket and he is a coward.

It’s my battle jacket, his mind supplies, and he thinks wistfully of his embroidered yellow robe. Another beautiful thing, lost to the ocean; just like the bright hibiscus and bougainvillea of the Pirates’ Republic is now lost; just like the delicate fanlike sails of the Red Flag and her sisters are lost.

Wistfulness abruptly turns to heartbreak. He still remembers the shriek, the wail, the way the utter despair tore its way out of Zheng’s chest. Everything she had built, in ruins, in moments.

History’s Greatest Pirates.

Stede’s hands shake on the buttons of the jacket. He clenches them into fists, trying to discipline them. He doesn’t have time for this now.

Little Baby Bonnet. Are you gonna cry? Baby Bonnet’s gonna cry?

Memories shoot through him like shrapnel through sailcloth.

“You did this to them,” Rick had hissed, holding the dagger to his throat, marching him into captivity. Smoke and gunpowder roiled around them. Part of it had been part of the plan. Part of it had been desperately, desperately, desperately, trying to avoid slipping into this exact spiral. “Gentleman Pirate. Ha. You’re all alike. You’re a snake. You’re a scourge.”

Stede Bonnet is not a human.

A violin splashed into the water, and its owner followed it into the depths. The spiral had started then too, but he’d pushed it down.

You’re a monster.

A plague.

Blood on his face.

He’d pushed it down like he’d pushed Ed against that wall. Drowned it in those big brown eyes who’d nodded and begged and needed just as badly as he did. Who’d whispered sweet nothings and filthy ones too and that was supposed to be beautiful.

You defile beautiful things.

“Last night was a mistake.”

Mary’s wedding dress had been beautiful too, in its way. It probably would have been more so if he’d been as desperately in love with her as he’d hoped, or she with him. God, he hadn’t thought about their wedding night in a while but ever since Ed he’d been thinking about firsts. He’d always expected the first time would be something like a dream. Not like a medical procedure, peeling back from each other only that which was strictly necessary to do what needed doing. She’d laughed with Doug, enjoyed herself. Never with him. It was always cold and quiet with him. He’d never quite shaken the way it had felt like something he’d done to her.

“You and I did this to him,” Izzy had said. “ And we can’t let the crew suffer any more for our mistakes.

The crew. Half abandoned, presumably to starve. Half dragged down with Edward in his damn-near-suicide-attempt and starving anyway. Crowded around the table where they’ve killed the albatross. Not to mention Lucius, who’s sharp around the edges now. He’s getting better but he’ll never be the same. He’ll never get the taste of rat out of his mouth, he’ll never look at a dog the same way again. He’ll probably never scrape another barnacle again and that part he’s probably not all that bothered about but the point is: it’s irreversible, the damage. The plague he’s wrought upon them.

Then there’s Izzy. Izzy Hands, who’d had his heart broken and his leg shot off and festered and cut and shot himself in the temple and somehow, somehow, dragged himself to life again to save the crew Stede had abandoned.

And unabandoned again. On a whim.

Your own family.

“I don’t want your old food.”

He remembers Alma storming off from the table. It cuts through him like a knife. Worse - Louis all but seizing in the night. Screaming and whimpering, caught in a nightmare. Mary sat on the side of his bed, glaring at the book he’d left there, glaring at Stede when he’d come in to try and help. Shielding his own son’s face from him like a mother bear shields her cubs.

“I told you, Stede!” she yelled. “I told you he’s too young for your stupid pirates! Look what you’ve done to him!”

“Who are you, again?”

You used to be a killer.

And here you are. Unscathed.

He can’t breathe. The room spins. His own words echo in his head:

“You’re panicking!”

He’s running through the forest in his nightclothes. He can still taste Ed’s kiss and he can still smell Chauncey’s gunpowder and the combination is sickening. He’s got to find a ship back to Barbados.

“You’re a coward!”

He’s running through a different forest; breath quick, feet not as light as they need to be. They never are. He’s praying he doesn’t fall flat on his face like last time. The boys are throwing things today. He isn’t ready. He’s running away.

He’s running away. Isn’t he always?

You’re a coward.

That’s all you’ll ever be.

Fuck the jacket, fuck the mirror. He’s running away. He’s fallen on his hands and knees and he’s running away to the nearest, smallest, darkest place he can find.

Little Baby Bonnet fucking cries.

–

Izzy flexes his shoulders with a scowl. His posture is perfect, that’s not the problem, but he hates how this thing sits on his shoulders anyway. It reminds him of that asshole’s smug smile when he’d come crawling back to quote-unquote “betray” Bonnet again. It was all part of the plan. Which unfortunately meant he couldn’t stab the fucker in the throat like he wanted to. The whole point of this was for the trap to snap shut around them first. To crawl into the belly of the snake and cut its head off from the inside. But the whole point of traps is that you don’t snap them on purpose. Once you do, you’re playing the hunter’s game. It makes him antsy, and he’s not used to being antsy.

“Are you done, Bonnet?” he hisses through the door.

He gets no response.

“Hurry up, ya twat, it doesn’t fucking matter if your epaulettes are off kilter. They’re only playing dress-ups to make you bow for them anyway.”

Still nothing. Nothing except the clench of the knot in his stomach that warns him something is wrong.

Fuck.

Izzy pushes open the door to the little chamber where Stede’s been getting dressed. His regular clothes are draped over the back of the chair as he’s wont to do - a habit kept from his days of dressing in finery - but it’s the lace cravat that lays abandoned on the floor. Its wearer is nowhere to be seen. But he can be heard, quietly sobbing from the closet in the corner.

“Bonnet?” Izzy calls, and resists the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose so hard he snaps it. “What are you doing in there?”

“I- “ Bonnet chokes, still clearly bawling his eyes out. “I’ll be out in a minute. Just dropped a cuff link.”

Izzy hears a crunch beneath the unicorn’s hoof. He sighs and scoops the offending cuff link into his hand. Part of him wants to throttle the man but he’s too exhausted and scared to make it a convincing walloping. He’s got to save his wolves’ teeth for the English. They never worked all that well on Stede anyway.

“Found it,” he says.

“Oh, okay,” comes Stede’s quivering voice. “Uh. Good.”

He’s still terrified. Still not coming out and probably increasingly giving less of a shit about a pretense for why. Christ. Izzy looks to the ceiling. Calypso be with him; he’s trying something new.

He drops himself to the floor outside the closet with his back against the wall.

“You’re not crazy to be scared, you know,” he says.

Stede sniffles.

“This is big. This is bad. Your learning curve has been, uh. Steep.” He winces. He doesn’t want to imagine this walking slapstick in a real fight either. But here they are. “But you’re a pirate now. This is the life of a pirate. Did you think Oluwande was kidding around about that Chauncey bloke? Life as a pirate is life under the Sword of Damocles, always.”

Stede sniffles again.

“You know about the Sword of Damocles?”

“Course I fucking know about the Sword, Bonnet. You’re not the only one who can read, you prick.” Izzy sneers. It bursts out of him in a rage and he’s trying to remember he needs a gentler hand. He takes a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m a bit of an arse when I’m scared.”

“You’re an arse all the time,” Stede retorts automatically. Ah, there he is.

And now he’s getting it.

And maybe Izzy’s coming to some sort of understanding too. It actually feels kind of nice, to admit he’s fucking petrified and know with deep and abiding certainty, for once, that he’s not going to get his throat slit for it. Not by Bonnet anyway.

He lets the back of his head fall back against the wall.

“What are you scared of, Bonnet?” he asks. “Can’t be the English or you never would have started with this pirate schtick. Contrary to popular belief I don’t think you’re that much of an idiot. So what is it?”

“I’m… scared…” Stede attempts.

“I’m… scared…”

Give the man a chance, Izzy. He clenches his hand into a fist and demands patience.

“I’m scared it’s all my fault.”

“What is?”

“Everything!”

Oh.

“Everything,” Stede repeats. “Ed. Mary. My family. Your leg. It’s all my fault. Even Zheng, I- if I hadn’t left Rick behind with Jackie he never would have-”

“Never would have what?”

“- had his nose cut off and gotten all weird about it and tried to take down all the pirates.”

Izzy blinks.

“Stede.” He’s so shocked he first names the man. He corrects himself. “Captain. With all due respect that is the stupidest shit I have ever heard. Do you hear yourself? You refused to endanger yourself and your crew over some no-name blowhard, Jackie defends her property, Prince Pricky gets a complex about it and that’s your fault?”

“Huh.” Stede thinks on it. “I guess if you put it like that…”

“The fucking English have been trying to kill us all since before you or I were twinkles in our mothers’ eyes. And Edward and I have been on and off trying to kill each other since way before you were a twinkle in his.” Izzy snorted, a pang of pain shooting through him and not just because of his stupid leg. "I meant what I said. You’re good for him. You saved his life, did you know that?”

“Yeah, he told me. I was a mermaid in his coma dream.”

“What? No, I’m talking about before that.”

“Before?”

Izzy sighs. If there wasn’t such a high chance he was about to be Hung By The Neck Until Dead he’d never fucking dare open his mouth about Edward’s business. But Edward isn’t here. Thank God. And they might not be here much longer either. So here goes nothing.

“When we found you. He was… drowning. He was giving up. He had no purpose, no joy. Not a care in the world, not for love or money or his crew or nothing. The only way I knew how to help was to piss him off enough to keep the fire going and try to stop it picking off the rest of us. Then he heard about you. I didn’t get it at first. But I think I do now. He saw what you were doing, leaving a life that was killing you, and he needed that. He needed you in a way that he could never need…” Me. He swallows it. “Anyone else in this world.

“And that goes for the rest of the crew too. Those fucking insufferable clowns have undying love for you for a reason. Even if they don’t know it. You wanna talk about Lucius? How long do you think he would have lasted in a port town before he picked the wrong pocket or sucked the wrong cock? Now he’s got a stable job, a roof over his head and a love of his life. And Jim? On any other ship - any other ship - they’d have been tossed overboard for the sharks the second that beard came off and it wouldn’t have mattered a flying fart what they call themselves. Fuck, and Buttons? The man would have spent his life locked up in Bedlam if you hadn’t vouched for him. Now he’s free as a bird - literally, if Edward is to be believed, and he may be a suicidal maniac but he’s not deluded. Face it, Bonnet. You’re special. You just are. You save people. It’s just what you do.”

Finally, he runs out of words. He might not have ever strung more together at once in his life. It’s exhausting, this emotional vulnerability thing. But apparently, it works.

The closet door swings slowly open.

A somewhat bedraggled Stede walks out. His body moves slowly, but his eyes are surprisingly clear when he looks down at Izzy. He asks:

“And what about you?”

The gold paint on the unicorn leg is speckled by charcoal from all the explosions, but still it gleams. And surely, they both remember him swanning, as much as someone fighting off a panic attack can swan, out onto the deck with a full face of makeup behind none other than The Goddess Calypso. What happened to him was more than pain and rot and cutting out the toxins. It’s change. It’s courage. Any other day, he’d have all but begged Bonnet not to make him say it. But he might not get another chance. And he’s trying something new. So.

“ Your crew,” he says, “on pain of death hauled my sorry stinking behind into your secret passages and cut my leg off to save my life. Then they sat around and told a story about a little wooden boy.”

Sure, they’d bungled it into a story about a demon child who thirsted for blood. Or was it life? But the point had stuck. Fuck, and Archie hadn’t even met the man yet.

Tears fill Bonnet’s eyes again. Gentler ones, this time. In spite of himself, Izzy has to smile.

“Guess that’s me,” he says. “Or maybe you. You’re a real Pirate Captain now, Bonnet. What are you going to do about it?”

Stede holds out an arm, and helps pull Izzy to his feet. The ground feels steadier beneath him now, but he can’t quite shake all of it off. It’s going to take a lot more than being orange and sparkly to save them from the English, and Izzy’d be the first one to remind him of that too.

“Is this you telling me to pull myself up by my bootstraps and get on with it, then?”

“No.” Izzy snorts. “It’s impossible to pull yourself upward by your bootstraps. They’re on your fucking boots. But this is me telling you that for my money, I think you’re ready to put your fucking noose back on and save our hides.”

Or die trying. But they’re on a roll, so he leaves that part unspoken and holds out the fistful of lace.

Stede draws himself up and makes sure his cuffs are done up tighter than any lawman would ever dare. He takes the cravat and fastens it around his own neck like he’s done every day for most of his life. He can tell Izzy Hands, in his own Izzy way, is fucking bursting with pride and he draws from it what strength he can and holds it out against his demons. He’s not used to people being proud of him. It’s nice. It’s powerful.

“Okay,” Izzy breathes, casting an eye upward. “Ready, Captain?”

It’s faint, but up on deck, a roll call of Capt. Stede Bartholemew Bonnet’s list of crimes is commencing. Ha. He has a list now. He’s kind of proud of that, too, actually.

He nods back.

“Let’s go.”

#fictober23 #stede bonnet #stizzy #stede & izzy #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #clara's fic tag

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athousandbyeol · 5 months

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✨2023: A Summary✨

Post your most popular and/or favorite edit/gifset for each month (it’s okay to skip months!)

tagged by @daymork thanks, jessi :) this was really fun.

january

most popular — are you afraid of me? [palmnueng]

favourite(s) — can't i have you him now? [palmnueng]

february

most popular — i can't live without you. i want you to be with me forever. [palmnueng]

favourite(s) — i like your eyes. you... like... my eyes? [heartliming] // you make me feel normal. [heartliming]

march

most popular — (n.) boyfriends — heart and li ming. [heartliming]

favourite (s) — [same as above]

april

most popular — cher. you know what, boss? ever since i knew you, my life has been a big mess. it’s freaking exhausting, you know? i shouldn’t have known you. why did we have to meet? i’m freaking exhausted! cher. please don’t say that. my life has been so messed up. can you just let me go? i shouldn’t have known you! cher, don’t say that. can you just walk out of my life?! please don’t say that. [guncher]

favourite (s) — tun hasn’t told me his real name. you know his name, don’t you? of course. what’s his name? i think… he was trying to tell you. [puentalay] // i’m so happy that i’m scared this happiness will be gone. if your happiness is me, it won’t be gone. right. it won’t be gone. [guncher]

may

most popular — cher, promise me. yes, i promise. promise what? i promise, no matter how tough it is, no matter how hard i try, i will do anything to get back to you, boss. i love you, cher. [guncher]

favourite(s) — i’ll be your latest kiss then. people count their latest kiss too? i mean, your latest kiss and every kiss from now until forever. i’m the only one allowed to kiss you. [guncher] // whether you’re sleeping, awake, eating, or whatever you’re doing, you’ll always see me when you turn this way. how can you be so cute? oh. except when i’m using the bathroom. that’s my personal time. cher, you’re just— [guncher]

june

most popular — you already know it. so? [patpran]

favourite(s) — i didn't create much this month, but the patpran photoset was a favourite of mine :)

july

most popular — even when i knew what to do, i couldn’t do it in time. in the end, i still lost him. [pisaengkawi]

favourite(s) — a photoset inspired by hozier's cherry wine [guncher] // it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. [akktheo]

august

most popular — what are you laughing at, mew? i’m laughing at you. you’re going off-key. are you saying i’m toned deaf? no. you’re cute. why would i care if i’m toned deaf? i’m blinded by the love for you anyway. who would have thought a rich man could come up with this cheesy line? [topmew]

favourite(s) — are you sure? [pisaengkawi] // why do i have to learn about this shit on the day i already love you and gave you everything? [topmew]

september

most popular — if mew doesn’t get back together with me in the end, that’s okay. i just don’t want mew to screw up his life because of me. [topmew]

favourite(s) — that means i’m officially your boyfriend now? that’s not enough to consider it official yet? hey, thank you so much. stop feeling bad about it, my good boy. [kanghansailom] // i love you so much. then, why does the word love from top hurts me so damn much? [topmew]

october

most popular — topmew | hands. [topmew]

favourite(s) — but still, i want to live. will the lingering darkness still within me hurt you again? can i protect our love when i have no power left? [enhypen/kpop]

november

most popular — this is a love story witnessed by the last twilight sky. [morkday]

favourite(s) — people keep saying they understand. but in the end, you will never get how it feels, to look in the mirror and can’t see your old self. [morkday]

december

most popular — do you want it? i’ll buy it for you. it’s okay. even if you do, i can’t see it. let it be with someone with good vision. it should be happier. [morkday]

favourite(s) — same as the above // a ray of sunlight from the next day recreated mee’s shadow. in that split second, mee realised that the only way to break the curse was to keep chasing after the sunlight. [morkday]

tagging @hoppipolla and @forcebookish :) it's ok if you don't do it, though. no pressure hehe.

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froizetta · 5 months

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20 Questions for fic writers!

Tagged by @ginbenci! Thank you! :)

How many works do you have on AO3?

12! All since last August

What’s your total A03 word count? 134,798

What fandoms do you write for?

So far just DCU, but I like a lot of things! I will branch out one day, when the brainrot loosens its grip.

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Padam Padam - superbat, E (7.5k)

Batman's heartbeat keeps speeding up whenever Clark is around. For instance: when Clark greets him, half-naked, on a Gotham rooftop. Or when he uses his superstrength to save a busload of schoolchildren. Or sometimes even just when he smiles. Clearly the poor man is terrified of him.

By far my most popular fic! Probably because it found it's way to tiktok (this still feels wild to me). Despite the fact that borderline crack and I wrote it in about 3 days, it has twice the number of kudos as the fic below in this list. Or perhaps it's because I took the idea from a tumblr post rather than coming up with it myself? Hmmmmm.

2. An Honest Conversation - superbat, E (60k)

“So Bruce’s longtime best friend had suddenly decided to start eye-fucking him at random. So what? Bruce was used to being the object of this kind of attention. It didn’t bother him. It was—should have been fine. The issue was that it was Clark, and Bruce had enough trouble remaining rational about him at the best of times.” or Bruce and Clark go from friends to lovers the long, long, long way round. Featuring a number of revelations, a well-meaning but nosy son (Dick) and, most prominently, two adult men being completely and utterly useless.

My first fic, and the closest one I have right now to a magnum opus! It started off as a silly oneshot and then got surprisingly angsty towards the end (although no less silly tbh, that's apparently just my whole vibe as a writer).

3. Hiding In Plain Sight - superbat, T (3.5k)

Clark Kent, reporter for the Daily Planet, is clearly just Superman wearing glasses. For some reason, no-one but Bruce can see that. There is a distinct possibility that Bruce has lost his mind.

Written for Bruce Wayne Week 2023, as are the rest on this list! Written because...well. He totally is just wearing glasses. I'll happily suspend my disbelief, but I'm still not letting it go, damn it.

4. Holding Onto A Hero - superbat, T (2.5k)

Clark squinted sleep-tired eyes and frowned. “B? Everything okay?” And then Bruce shivered. In a fraction of a second he was beside the bed, and in another he was settling a knee onto the mattress and wrapping his arms around Clark’s waist, cowled face pressed into Clark’s chest. “So,” Clark said conversationally. “I’m gonna go ahead and take that as a no.”

The prompt was cuddle pollen, and it really is just a short-n-sweet, soft, cuddly, getting together fic. Also, I got to insert a little vague allusion to neuroscience, which is always nice (although oxytocin doesn't actually work like that, the effect is sex-specific and increasing it can actually promote aggression in some- okay, okay, I'll shut up).

5. More Fun Than Counting Sheep - superbat, E (5.5k)

When Bruce can't sleep, Clark proposes an unconventional solution. (The solution is sex.)

The prompt I took was sleep-deprived Bruce. Nothing about that suggested it should be smut, and yet here we are. I wrote this because I thought it would be funny to have Clark try to seduce Bruce into sleeping (and for it to work), and honestly? I stand by that.

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm none of them really. Maybe A Stitch In Spacetime (Gen, 4.5k - in which Batman meets a version of himself whose parents never died so he became a surgeon like his dad). But only because the ending is more hopeful than actively happy. Batman has still lost Jason, but he's finally trying to heal; Doctor Bruce still wants kids he doesn't have, but maybe after this that will change. (Also, unrelated but I'm really proud of the title for this one lol. I love a pun, what can I say.)

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Again, they're most all happy, but probably An Honest Conversation? Just because the finale was INCREDIBLY sappy, and there was a lot bullshit preceding it that they had to get through, which certainly made the ending cathartic to write!

Do you get hate on your fic?

Not yet! Apart from a couple of slightly iffy comments, everyone has been lovely. But then, I'm not writing anything particularly controversial lol. Hopefully the trend continues outside of genfic and superbat.

Do you write smut?

Yes, a lot lol, nearly half of my fics are E-rated. Look, if I write a romance in which the pairing solves some kind of relationship issue and grow closer as a result, some part of my brain is always gonna be thinking, "Hm. What if they banged about it?" Also, I love a sex comedy, so there's that too.

Do you write crossovers?

No. I don't think I'm into any fandoms right now that I would WANT to cross over tbh. I've read my fair share, though!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of!

Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, but I'd theoretically be open to it! I think it would be tricky in practise though, unless you an your co-writer are really on the same wavelength. Even writers I really like don't necessarily write in the same style as me, so that could create difficulties.

What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

I mean. Superbat right now for sure. I'm usually a multishipper, but for whatever reason they have a death grip on me. I'm still basically an omnivore though!

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Hmm, this feels like a very defeatist question since I do plan to finish everything I start. Probably the fic I started writing for a friend's birthday based on a premise we discussed nearly a decade ago. It's a wholesome romance between two of the sidest side characters in Haikyuu!! (Tanaka Saeko and Tsukiyama Akiteru, for the curious; they do interact, but barely), because my friend was there with her Charlie Kelly conspiracy board saying, "They're both in uni! They're in the same prefecture! They knew each other in high school! They're both older siblings of main characters on the same team, so they can go watch the matches together! There's so much to work with!!!" This has apparently been her lowkey white whale ever since, but she's never managed to write it, so I offered to have a go. Tragically, them being SUCH side characters means I have to all but invent a personality for one of them, which makes figuring out their dynamic a lot harder lol. But I still want to finish it one day, for her sake!

What’s your writing strengths?

Comedy I think, specifically deriving humour from awkward situations (that I have made up) - and often it's the quiet chuckle kind rather than the knee-slapping kind. But YMMV on whether anything I write is actually funny! I can only hope :')

What’s your writing weakness?

Well, I have lots of things I don't feel good enough to write (e.g. long, dramatic epics that I can't fill with jokes), but I mostly haven't wanted to try so I wouldn't say that's a weakness per se. And I have plenty of little things I feel like I need to work on, but none are an easy-to-identify kryptonite-style Weakness. Probably flow and pacing, as it's something I'm very particular about (especially for comedy, where imo it needs to be correct for it to work) but it doesn't always come naturally to me. I do a lot of rounds of editing trying to tweak things so they flow right. Hopefully that will come easier with experience! I'd be fascinated to know what other people thought my weakness was, though; it's often hard to judge yourself, since you're the audience you're writing for.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

In what sense? As in, for example, writing a French-speaking character in French in an otherwise English-language fic? I think that's appropriate when the POV character doesn't speak French, but perhaps can be avoided if they do, as then the average reader is understanding as much as the POV character is.

As to whether I personally would do it, I only really speak one non-English language at a decent level, and even then it's hard to convey nuance in any language you're not fully fluent in. So only sparsely, only if necessary, probably only if I could get a native speaker to check it.

First fandom you wrote for?

I think it was Free!, the anime about the swimmer boys. Back when I was a teenager in school, probably ~16, I anonymously posted a gen crackfic on the LJ kink meme based on an experience I had with some schoolfriends, where a few of us tried to give a less birds-and-the-bees version of The Talk to a sadly uneducated member of the group during a camping trip. (Our school did actually give proper sex education, with the putting expired condoms on dildos and everything, but didn't go into the specifics of, say, doggy style). ANYWAY, that was the only thing I'd ever posted until this year, but apparently my proclivity for writing sex-related comedy has remained unchanged lol.

Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Man I don't know. I just did a similar tag thingy that asked this, and I wasn't sure then, and it feels boring to put the same answer twice? So I'll pick another that's my favourite for a different reason: Master of All Trades (Bruce & Hal, T, 4.5k). I think of all my fics, it has the highest ratio of good to not-that-deep, if that makes sense? Writing Hal's POV was incredibly fun, and I think it turned out really well! And it's definitely one of the few I can reread without cringing lol (reading your own writing after posting it is just embarrassing somehow).

Tagging: I nominate @burins and @unbreakabledawn, but literally 0 pressure at all!

#my fic

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b0nelessdoodles · 4 months

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Art Summary 2023

shoutout to the one month were i drew fanart and then everything else was just dnd content again lmao (also shoutout to me being late to posting this haaaaa)

2023 wasn't the best year for me personally. between money problems and job searching, health issues, mental health issues, unintentional discomfort at my new job, and the overall issues of the world it just hasn't been great and I felt it heavily in my creativity. I never really had any creative highs this year outside of artfight (and even then i felt like i didn't do well) which only fed into some of the issues I was having.

But looking back I am really happy with most of what I made! Sure I didn't draw much but hey I think I popped off when I did!

So here is to 2024! Already off to a good start in the art department and even if I slow down at least I've had fun so far!

(i was gonna put me gushing about things in tags but its a lot so i'm doing a read more this post is already so damn long lmao i'm sorry)

okay i'm here to gush about two pieces at a time and their contents cause then make me happy to look at so lets get started on that with march and september 'cause hey! look at the relationship development of my little goblin guy!

march was when kk (tic's best friend and now boyfriend) first appeared to the rest of the party outside of just tic talking about him. literally the entire party could see that kk was in love with tic and was just like "oh buddy sorry about that" 'cause tic was a dumbass and romance was just never something he thought about until meeting the party. then we flash forward to september where the two confessed to each other after what really felt like the end of tic's story arc. at least it felt that way to me 'cause he reached his goal of killing groll and becoming the king of goblins but i know he still has shit to do I'M LOOKING AT YOU TRAVELLER AND RIP! but yeah that was the whole reason he left and it was done. he did it! but it almost cost him kk and the two ended up having a really important talk about it. kk chewed tic out and spilled his guts and i still think about it a lot holy shit it was so good omfg but it was in that moment that it clicked for tic. that if he had actually lost kk he had no idea what he would do, that he felt like his whole life would fall apart without him. and just man it was good wholesome content. congrats to the goblins for being the first canon relationship! (even tho they were not the first confession that one goes to rhami!)

now that that block of the text is out of the way we get to more depressing ones, those being january and october with my guy, dr. cecil wilfree.

its just.... man. what do i even say about him. january was probably the last moment before his life went into a full downward spiral, eventually leading into his demise. that piece isn't even anything major but rather something like a reminder going "hey, remember when wilfree had two normal eyes? good times!" and just man (-insert that image of a horse standing on the beach-) compare that to where he's at in october and knowing what happened in those 10 months? january he still had trust and hope, he believed that he was going to get back home and help river out with his plague, maybe even get aster home if she'd let them, maybe find a way to cure himself and help casey. but by the end there was no hope and he found out that he had been used, was nothing more than a tool for someone who he trusted, despite knowing that he really shouldn't have. river was dead and it was his fault (at least in his mind it was), he had failed to protect aster and traumatized both her and willow, and he could do nothing to save an entire population from being wiped off the face of the map. and he caved under the guilt. he gave up. its sad to see him alive and pissy in january and then look at december and see a shell of the same man, no more thoughts in that head as his mind got disconnected from his body and self.

and then for extra sads we've got december which was his birth month, so i drew something from a time before the campaign. back when he was alive and well, no soul curse and unknowing of the horrors yet to come, and receiving a gift from someone whose life he could soon destroy due to his own hubris.

anyway! pay no mind to may! i didn't draw a damn thing that whole month!

#art summary #art summary 2023 #i was trying not to go off in the main comment but i did anyway oops #the read more is actually just what i was going to put into tags but yeah no i wasn't gonna do that #it would be way too damn long!#if you do read it all and then still read my tags afterwards thank you!#i have a lot of words to say all the time i'm so sorry

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museywrites · 8 months

Text

Xiantober 2023 - Day 11: Courting!Xian

Word Count: 844 Pairing: Wangxian Tags: MMO, Give Wei Ying those romance scenes damn it, pickup lines

Wei Ying heaved a sigh as he meandered around the vast open-world of Avelian: World of Secrets, the newest MMO that had been occupying his life. While he loved the game, for all of its amazing qualities - character customization, hot mic, battle system, graphics, and story line, there was one major flaw.

There were so few players that the world felt so empty!! He hadn't met anyone worthy of a friend request, and he certainly had found a guild to join either.

So for the most part, he plowed through the story line until he found himself in one of the most beautiful areas of the game, Wisteria Falls.

Wei Ying was absolutely floored by the gorgeous scenery in this area, he certainly wished they had a place like this IRL. But for now, he'd enjoy the view. He watched a few players flit about, but most of them were gone as quick as he saw them. That's fine, the NPCs here seemed interesting enough.

He walked amongst the regal looking 'towns folk' until he came across the most striking avatar he had ever seen. He remembered somewhere back in the tutorial that it mentioned that almost all NPCs were marriageable with special scenes with a few select NPCs who were meant to be marriage candidates had extra romance scenes and after wedding scenes.

This game really appealed to his every interest and he couldn't fathom how it wasn't more popular.

Wei Ying sauntered up to the beautiful looking NPC who was sitting on a bench under a Wisteria tree reading a book. He had never seen this emote before, so there was no reason to believe that this gorgeous elf with the most stunning outfit, was anything but an NPC.

Surely, with such beautiful looks this NPC was one of the fabled "true romance NPCs". They mentioned these guys had super advanced AI right? So maybe a little flirting would work?

"I'd rather ride you than Yoshi any day~"

No response.

"Mm.. yeah, maybe that was too strong right out the gate." Wei Ying nodded solemnly.

"I choose you! ...That line isn't gonna get me copyrighted, right?" He thought over his plethora of nerdy pickup lines before deciding on his next.

"You must know Tail Whip because your beauty leaves me defenseless.... no, too corny."

"It's dangerous to go alone. Take me!" He groaned. "He's an NPC, he isn't going anywhere...." He huffed, clearly disappointed in himself.

He'd get a reaction out of this NPC and woo him if it was the last thing he did!

"I've only got one heart left, and it's beating for you."

"Will you be my final fantasy?"

"I would love to go phoenix down on you."

"Do you play World of Warcraft? Because you make me say WoW!"

"Is that a keyblade in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

"If I had more skill points, I'd put them on "pickpocket" so I'd be able to steal your heart."

Finally, the NPC put away his book and looked at Wei Ying, causing the other to light up. "Ahha!! Finally, man, you're one tough NPC to romance. I used one of those on an NPC in the first city and couldn't get her to stop following me for days!" He laughed.

"...I'm sorry?"

"Mmm okay, one more!" He cheered, finally relieved to have made some headway. "I need some experience points in love-making, will you help me?"

"I believe you should treat me to dinner before offering such a thing."

Wei Ying blinked, looking at him for a moment, taking in the way he was watching him. Advanced AI or not... this NPC was moving like a player... their body adjusting with the VR gear.

Wei Ying's face slowly went a bright red. "Oh my god you're not a marriage NPC!!"

"....you were courting an NPC?"

Wei Ying whined. "I wanted the marriage scenes!!!" He shook his head. "Oh my god how long have you been there?? Were you just AFK?! I've never seen another player sit and read so I thought--"

"It is a special emote for DEVs."

"Oh my god you're a dev? Okay. You can delete my account now.. I'm gonna go die on my bed or something."

The pretty elf raised an eyebrow. "All that flirting and no follow through?"

Wei Ying choked a little. "Y-you.... follow through?"

"Mn."

"I-I mean... I... hnng... I guess I should introduce m-myself? I'm Wei Ying."

"Mn. It is nice to meet you, Wei Ying. If you're interested in a virtual date, I'd love to hear more about this courting method of yours."

"Oh my God I'm going to unalive right here." He fully intended to pull up his lot out screen, but a pop up window with a friend request caused him to hesitate.

Friend Request Received: Player: Hanguang-Jun Level: 99 Message: "You must be wearing a ring of power, because I think you're precious."

Wei Ying squeaked, his face going red.

Yeah... maybe buying this game was the best decision of his life.

#xiantober2023 #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #museywrites

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magicalara · 1 year

Text

So...2022 huh

It's time for Em's yearly letter to the blog where I talk about it since the new year's coming in about an hour and a half in my timezone. Prefacing this with a tw for talks of depression, anxiety, horrible friends, and no proof reading. Here is my word vomit and if you don't get to the end, happy new year everyone.

So 2022 was one of, if not the, worst year in my 19 years of living. It started off with the pressure of a class which if I didn't pass, would essentially mean I couldn't go to college, and is ending with me having to walk on eggshells around people and feeling just...so anxious and depressed. Before I get into that, however, in order to save the people I want to specifically call out from having to hear about my depressing word vomit, I'm gonna mention them first.

So I can't make a new year's post without tagging my girl @pinktea99 who has been around for what feels like ever. I think it'll actually be two years of our friendship early next year I don't remember for sure, it might be three...time is fake it doesn't matter anyways. Between the amazing fanfictions you used to make that I still go back to every now and then and now just tagging me in posts you think I'd like, Mo you've been the biggest supporter I've had since I practically started posting real shit on this hellsite and I could not be more grateful. You're on of my biggest inspirations and I love and adore you so much. Let's go into 2023 with just as much happiness as you've given me in 2022 and even more. I love you so much, my dear 💜💚

Next up (and honestly the only other person I have to tag oops 💀) @docmartensanddietcoke my beloved. We've only been friends for a few months now but hot damn do I feel like we've known each other for years. We clicked so quickly and it kinda scared me at first but in such a good way??? Idk but you're amazing and so sweet and passionate and I just love talking to you so much. You've made me so excited about writing again after so long of being stuck in an endless loop of writer's block and just general insecurity that led to me not posting. I'm so happy I met you and I can't wait to see what 2023 brings us. Much love to you and thank you for showing me the pleasures (nudge nudge wink wink) of the pairing that is William T Spears and Mey-Rin 💜♥️💜

Okay so now the other stuff lol. So if you're one of the 20-30 some-odd people who started following me from seeing all the black butler bullshit I post, you wouldn't know but I used to be a kpop blog. I'm like 99% certain that I privated/deleted all of those posts though so yk hopefully y'all don't see that. I still reblog my nct loves because they are my ult group and I love them very much but I used to like only post about kpop. I had to switch because I just wasn't happy with it anymore. I had always envisioned myself as having a blog full of things I loved but after coming back from a break where I saw the fandoms I loved to interact with having gone to shit, I couldn't do it anymore. So I got rid of it all and rebranded 😃 It was honestly a really good decision though and I'm glad I did it because it reminded me of the reasons I started a tumblr account in the first place: to be happy.

For as creepy as certain sides of the black butler fandom may be, I've never felt so supported. Y'all are amazing and I still can't believe any of my posts got passed 50 notes let alone my top three all being just shy of or completely pass 100. All of the interaction is so appreciated and I can't wait to interact with you all more in the new year <33

With the good, though, comes the bad. So much of the last half of my senior year was full on unnecessary bullshit and drama and breakdowns. From the feeling of being stabbed in the back by people I thought I could trust, to being almost taken advantage of in my first wlw relationship, it just was not a great time. This really sucked, though, because my greatest hope was for my senior year in high school to be something worth remembering as I wasn't able to do anything the previous two years since covid put a downer on all of that. But whatever, I graduated and kept the people I wanted to and dropped those I didn't. It's still a work in progress in dropping some of those people, but in getting there lol

I got my first job, which I still have now, and I love working there. There are better days and worse days (I work in public service so there are always those karen's who will come in) but I love the people I work with and am glad that I decided to take the offer to work there when I did. I have some good memories there that definitely are core memories

I can't do this without mentioning the passing of Technoblade. If you didn't know who he was, Technoblade was a minecraft youtuber and streamer who helped so many people with his amazing and funny videos and his stories that he created on the Dream SMP. He unfortunately passed in June this year due to cancer. When I watched the video his dad made announcing it, the world went silent. I spent that whole night and much of the day after crying my eyes out. I couldn't imagine someone who had brought me so much comfort being gone. Hell I'm still not over it, and I don't think I ever will be. Techno was a huge influence, inspiration, and comfort for me and always will be. Fuck cancer.

I had many family problems throughout the year that I won't get into because that's a little more personal than I'd like to get to on such a public place lol. Just know that to all of you who are celebrating alone this year, I feel you, and my heart goes out to you. We aren't alone if we're all together

The one huge positive that I do have to mention is my starting to watch anime. I decided to take the plunge and watch ouran highschool host club because of a cosplay I saw of hikaru and kaoru on tiktok that made me go "oh what the fuck I'll give". I went in not expecting to finish even episode one and came out with new comfort characters and a world I couldn't leave behind. After ouran, I found kuroshitsuji and we'll...here we are lol

On top of the comfort I found in ouran, I found a series that was so much darker but had such good characters that I started to connect with and love. Grelle has been such a huge comfort for me and I can't imagine myself leaving her (or the series) behind at any point for next long while. Seeing such an empowering transgender woman really did it for me and I'm so happy I decided to watch this show and subsequently binge read the manga. I can't wait to see all the kuro content this next year brings

I've lost people this year, I've gained people this year. I've cried so many tears of sadness and absolutely no tears of joy. I've spent way more money than I should on genshin impact and food. Most importantly, I've found a place where I think I can start to build myself up again. Good fucking bye 2022, I'm gonna do my best to make 2023 my bitch and I think that y'all should join me. Thank you all for being here, and I wish you all a happy, healthy new year

If you've made it this far, new chapter of forever forgiveness comes out in two weeks ;)

#happy new year from em #i hope that readmore worked im doing this all on mobile 💀#putting kuro oruan nct and techno tags bc i can #kuroshitsuji #black butler #nct #ouran highschool host club #technoblade #love you guys and thanks for making 2022 that much more tolerable #💜💜💜

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optimistic-dinosaur-nacho · 4 years

Text

Count The Stars

Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Language Summary: Tony was not the only one who was a father for five years after the snap. Y/N and Steve both had a disagreement seven years ago. She leaves Steve and he’s never heard her since the snap. Not till five years later, she returns. With something she kept under a lie.

Author’s Note: The summary sucks but the story is good.

~~~

2016

Natasha and Tony had been at the building after Bucky’s escape in Berlin. They were trying to find ways how to deal with Steve and his problem with these Accords and Bucky.

“This just sucks,” Tony says, Natasha looks over to him. He shakes his head, “Whatever he’s doing it’s gonna tear his damn relationship and the team.” Natasha needed to tell him the thing that’s been hiding around the team for a while.

Not even in front of Steve at this time.

Y/N walks in and sighs, “What the hell is going on with him?” She asked.Tony shrugs. Y/N halts before she takes a seat, Natasha looks at her, “Hey, you okay?”

Y/N nods, “I’m... fine...” Tony glances at her. “You don’t look fine... you’re...” He points to his face, “You’re getting red in the face and you’re sweating-”

“I’m pregnant.”

Tony stops. He tilts his head and looks at Natasha who doesn’t answer. He looks back at her, “I’m sorry,” He tweaks his finger into his ear, “Did I just hear you correctly? Did you just confirm Steve is a father-?”

“Yes, Tony. I’m pregnant. I’ve missed my cycle two weeks ago. And, no, Steve doesn’t know...” Y/N said. Tony’s mouth gapes, “He should know.”

“No, Tony. It’ll only get worse.”

“Oh, it’s already getting worse, Mrs. Rogers. Your husband, your Captain, is a world-criminal and he’s gonna get himself killed if he continues to do what he thinks is right.”

“I can’t do anything about that, Tony. It’s best to have no answer what he thinks when you tell him. Would he give up on his best friend for a baby? Or give up the baby for his best friend? I don’t want that question to be answered.”

Tony sighs. Natasha had her arms crossed as they had to think of some plan to do something about this team. Y/N was out of it. Tony had to do something and quick.

Siberia

Tony found out the truth about the winter soldiers and now he understood everything. He found Steve and Bucky just at the elevator. He got them to put their gun and shields down.

“You two seem a little defensive,” Tony said.

Steve walks up, “It’s been a long day.” Tony nods and sighs. “You know you seem to piss off someone who just got off the team.”

Steve didn’t understand who he was talking about. “Congratulations, Cap.” Steve knew who he was referring to. “How is she?” He asked. Tony pierced his lips, “Little light-headed. Needed a few cups of water in Berlin. She needs a new place to grow a new start.”

Steve went to conclusions. Is she moving on from him? He knew he screwed up bad. He can’t go to her now. “She’s pregnant, Cap,” Tony says, “She told me not to tell you but I just know a father should know.” Steve’s shoulders drop. He really screwed up.

If he knew before maybe he would’ve done something to take her with him after this was done. But she had already hated him since the beginning of their first conversation in the Accords.

He doesn’t know what to do.

2018

2 years had passed and he hadn’t seen her since. He grown worried. The first attack in New York and then his first attack in Switzerland. He had brought back Vision and Wanda back to the Avengers compound. He needed to find Y/N but everything he tried it seemed like she didn’t want to be found.

Natasha and James were talking in the other room about something as Steve sat in the other room with Wanda and Vision.

Steve turns to the couple, “Have you two heard about her?” Wanda looks and shakes her head. “Ever since the fight, she hadn’t really contacted anyone but Natasha, I’m pretty sure.”

Steve looks over to Natasha. Right. She could lie to him anytime and anywhere. Nat was good at keeping secrets. Natasha did contact Y/N a lot. Steve hadn’t seen Natasha contact her in front of him. Maybe Natasha didn’t contact her or she’s keeping the phone away from him.

“I heard about Y/N’s pregnancy,” Vision spoke, Steve looks over. He tried to grin even though Steve hadn’t even seen his kid, yet. “I didn’t want to say it if it brought you discomfort.”

Steve nods. He respected that.

After that talk, they thought to rest for a little bit before they head to Wakanda to get rid of that stone Vision had.

Natasha and Steve were sitting at the table. Her fingers playing with the coffee mug in front of her. “There’s something I need to tell you, Steve...” She looks up to him.

His arms were crossed over his chest as he looks up to her. She diverts her eyes back at her mug, “A year ago... Y/N called.” Steve sits up straighter as Natasha kept her eyes to her cup.

She seemed afraid. The look of regret. “What did she say?”

Natasha looks up at him. “She called me in the middle of the night, crying that there was blood...” Steve froze, what did she mean by blood?

Did Y/N die?

“She had a miscarriage, Steve...”

He didn’t need further information. He stood up, turning away and walked out of the room. All Natasha did was lift her hand up to her forehead. Steve stopped in another room and inhaled sharply. His sobs filled the quiet air as he takes a seat on one of the leather seats and leans on his knees.

He needed to be strong. Y/N would’ve told him the things over and over. During his days of countless nightmares, she would rub his back whispering those words in his ear.

“Stay strong, Steve.”

His dark long strands falling out of their places, he lifts up his head from his hands and looks at the ceiling to at least stop those next tears from collapsing down his cheeks.

He can’t stop now. If this Titan could kill millions of people, he still has a family to defend. He still has Y/N to protect.

That’s his remaining family along with the Avengers. They needed him.

2023

5 years later after the snap. Half the universe was gone. Steve had searched the whole city for Y/N. He needed to know if she was alive. He already lost Bucky. He lost his child. And now he didn’t want to know Y/N was gone.

He needed to hold her. Her words saying to be strong even though it was the worst time to say but he needed it. Some feeling of her arms around him. Steve was more broken. Tony, five years ago had his child. Steve was the only person who didn’t have his.

Steve needed to find Y/N, he saw his teammates years ago that were wiped out. But without Y/N’s status, he didn’t see her appear on the screens. He had just finished a small conversation between people who had lost their friends or family.

He came back to the compound and noticed once he parked his bike. He saw a dark SUV parked outside. He turns off his bike and walks into the compound. Finding Natasha on one of the floors by her desk.

She seemed fine. “You’re back,” She says. Steve leans on the shelf and sighs, “Finished a bit early.” He fiddles with the keys in his hands and looks up to her again. “Who’s car is that out there in the front?”

Natasha puts her feet up on the desk. “I may have made a call. After all you seem pretty miserable already.”

He hears someone walk behind him and he turns to see her.

He mouth gapes as he sees her, her mouth was opened to have something come out but nothing did. Y/N was alive. She slightly grins, “Steve...” He doesn’t say anything and quickly goes up to her.

He pulls her into a hug, the strongest one yet. He lets out a soft huff trying to keep those tears away from reaching his eyes as he held her close. His nervousness went away when she hugs back.

Y/N pulls away and she cups his cheeks, the tears had already betrayed him when she looks into his glossy eyes. Y/N gently smiles, “It’s okay...” She says softly. He leans down and kisses her.

God, how he missed this.

His hands grip the shirt she wore, not wanting her to leave as she pulls away. “I’m so sorry, Y/N...” He whispers, she looks at him, he shakes his head, “I should’ve been there for you.”

Y/N knew what he meant. She couldn’t bare to keep it, not anymore now. “Steve-” Before she could someone spoke behind her.

“Mommy?” Steve looks over to see a small child behind him. Y/N inhales sharply as Steve turns back to look at her in shock. “I had to do what was best...” She says.

He turns to the kid as Y/N comes around and takes the kids hand, guiding them over to Steve. Steve looks at the kid with a look of slight nervousness. What if his child didn’t like him? Y/N kneels down to the kid’s height. “This is your dad. He’s your favorite superhero, remember?” Y/N says to the shy child. Steve felt relieved, at least his kid liked him as a hero. But he wasn’t there to be one for him.

Steve looks at his grown kid in front of him. He felt more guilt that he wasn’t there to see his child grow. He kneels down and gently smiles, “Hey...” He says. The seven year old slightly tugs on Y/N’s shirt, shyly. She looks at them with a grin, “It’s okay.”

The small little soldier walks up to Steve, Y/N reaches for his hand and holds it out. Steve kept his palm up to the kid as the small boy/girl reaches for his. Steve smiles as he watched their fingers drag along his palm. Then the smile appeared on his kid’s face.

Steve looks at Y/N with a smile.

“We always count the stars for you, Steve. We knew you always looked at them every night.” Steve smiles at her as they reached out to hold their hands, both looking at their fingers. The golden bands around their ring fingers, the ones they never took off from the beginning.

Steve finally found his home.

His family.

~~~

I’m afraid to right explicit content cause I feel like I’ll be very bad.

Should I try?

TAGS!

@jtargaryen18 @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @chrisevans-imagines @elliee1497 @navispalace @princess-evans-addict @ifuseekamyevans @rororo06

#chris evans x reader #chris evans #cevans #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #captain america #avengers #captain america x reader #avengers endgame #captain america civil war

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jaskiers-sweetkiss · 4 years

Text

Out of Time

Pairings: Avengers!Reader x Daniel Sousa, Steve x Bucky (briefly mentioned)

Summary: Just when you were starting to enjoy your time in 1949 everything falls apart. SEQUEL TO Not So Bad

Word Count: 2.6K

Warnings: some swearing, panic attack, mention of ptsd and war, some angst

A/N: @bookish-bucky @drinkerofcoffeewriterofwords and @mydoctorwho13 asked for a part 2 to Not So Bad so here it is! (I hope y’all don’t mind that I tagged you/lmk if you want me to untag you/idk why it didn’t let me tag all of you). More notes at the bottom!

___

The cat was out of the bag.

Well, really just one cat was out of its bag.

Basically your secret was out and it was entirely your fault.

You were at Howard’s lab for the third time for even more tests. All of the previous tests had been inconclusive, though that came as no surprise to you. You had engineered them to be that way, pretending to suddenly and uncontrollably levitate in response to random tests, doing your best to ensure that Howard would be unable to make any connections.

But today you were a bit distracted.

You couldn’t help it, you were only human after all. And when Daniel Sousa is flashing an award-winning grin while Howard tried his most bizarre test ever (repeatedly trying to scare you in hopes it would spark a levitation reaction), well, any woman in your position would’ve done the same.

You jumped. No, you did more than just jump.

Howard Stark snuck up behind you and yelled while shaking your shoulders and you flew. Shot straight up in the air like a rocket, feeling entirely like your teenage self with absolutely no control of your abilities.

And then, to make matters worse, you disappeared.

You assumed it must’ve been the embarrassment of smacking your head on the ceiling that caused the sudden invisibility though the ‘why’ didn’t really matter anymore. What mattered was you were invisible and Daniel and Howard were shouting your name.

Except, no, that didn’t matter right now either. All you could focus on was the sudden tightening in your chest and the fact that you were finding it harder to breathe. The shouting faded to the background as you began to feel trapped in your own skin.

I have to get out of here.

So you ran.

You didn’t even think as you flew out of Howard’s lab, racing down the hall. You didn’t stop until you were in the bathroom, door locked behind you. You slid down to the floor, knees pulled tight against your chest as you leaned against the door.

Briefly, you noticed that you were still invisible, though the thought left as soon as it came. You also vaguely noticed the tears streaming down your face, though you were unaware of when they had begun. Your thoughts zipped back to the lab and the concern lacing Daniel and Howard’s voices as they called out to you and for a moment you felt bad for running away but that too was pulled away in the hurricane of your mind. Your whole body felt abuzz and you couldn’t think or breathe as a feeling of utter helplessness settled into your bones.

You tried to remember what Tony had told you to do- something about box breathing exercises and the five senses- but you weren’t sure that you were in control of your mind anymore.

“Y/N, if you can hear me name four street names from where you grew up.” Daniel’s voice rang through the bathroom door. Before you could even consider how he had found you or why he needed to know you answered,

“Main Street, Birch Street, Higgins Drive, Cobalt Lane.” The words were stuttered and separated by harsh inhales and exhales.

“Name your five favorite movies.”

“La La Land, Ferris Bueller, Beauty and the Beast, Spirited Away, Inception.” The words were smoother this time, though tears still streamed down your face and your bones still felt heavy and your skin restrictive.

“Okay, name ten presidents.”

“Uh, Ellis, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR… Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower… Reagan, Nixon… Kennedy.” Your voice was steady as you spoke, your chest no longer heaving with sobs and shaking breaths.

“Good. Now name seven state capitals.”

“Albany, Trenton, Tallahassee, Nashville, Lansing, Richmond, Raleigh.” When you opened your eyes you noticed you were visible again, though when it had happened you weren’t sure.

“Are you okay?” Daniel’s voice came through the door, soothing you more than you realized.

“Yeah.” You answered quietly, your voice raw.

“If you’re comfortable with it, will you open the door?”

Your soul turned to mush at his words, Daniel Sousa- ever the gentleman. You felt an immense amount of comfort in the man despite only knowing him a few days but you were scared. You had just fully exposed your powers and had a panic attack, you hadn’t been this vulnerable to another person in years.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to, I just want to make sure you’re okay,” Daniel spoke again, no judgment lacing his voice, only kindness, compassion, and caring.

You stood slowly, your muscles aching as you stretched them from their tensed position, and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal Daniel. Your eyes immediately jumped to his face, his expression almost pained though it changed as soon as he saw you, morphing into relief and something else you couldn’t quite place.

“How did you know how to do that?” You blurted out, though you had really wanted the first thing you said to him to be “thank you” or “I’m sorry.”

Instead, apparently your brain was preoccupied with how the man before you had walked you through your panic attack.

“Oh, uh…” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Well after the war… ptsd and all, I’m no stranger to panic attacks.”

You softened at his confession, forgetting, despite his limp and his cane, that the man before you had gone through a war and had not come out unscathed. Before you even knew what you were doing you were hugging him. He let out a small “oof” as you wrapped your arms around his middle, squeezing slightly.

Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around you in return.

“Thank you,” you finally mumbled into his suit jacket. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Daniel asked, confusion etched into his features as he pulled away from your embrace.

“I-I disappeared and I ran and I panicked and you had to come get me and deal with all that.” You gestured wildly as you spoke, words fumbling together in your rush to get it all out.

“Y/N, helping you isn’t a burden to me,” Daniel spoke softly, tilting your chin up so you could see the sincerity in his eyes. “And what you just went through- what you’ve been going through with these... strange abilities, your reaction was completely justified.”

Your heart clenched at his words. He was speaking to you with such honesty and openness but you were lying to him. You sighed, taking a step back, his arms falling away from your waist and you suddenly felt cold without the heat of his embrace.

“I-” You faltered, needing to take a breath before you could continue. “I need to tell you and Howard something.”

___

“What exactly were you hoping to accomplish with this lie, Miss Y/L/N?” You winced at the use of your last name. Daniel hadn’t used it since that first night in his house.

You tried to shrink into yourself, considering going invisible once again to escape the look of betrayal Daniel was fixing you with.

“Are you a spy?” He was angry and betrayed and you could see him trying to reason this out to himself, but you knew he’d never even fathom the truth. “Was this an attempt to infiltrate SHIELD? Who do you work for?”

“Daniel,” you whispered, and the stern look you were fixed with told you everything you needed to know. The only way out of this was the full truth, timeline be damned.

“I work with a team of powered people called The Avengers.” You sighed. “About two weeks ago, two of our members stole the Tesseract from Camp Lehigh in order to save the world from an alien who wiped out fifty percent of the universe. After we succeeded, I was tasked with returning the Tesseract but due to a malfunction I’m stuck here.”

“I’m pretty sure we would’ve noticed the Tesseract being stolen and the destruction of half of the world,” Daniel said crossly, clearly not believing you though you didn’t blame him.

“You wouldn’t have because for you none of that has happened yet and I returned the Tesseract immediately after it was taken.”

“You mean this happened in the future?” Howard finally spoke, looking at you with a newfound curiosity.

You nodded. “In the year 2023.”

Howard let out a low whistle at the date but there was a gleam in his eyes like a kid in a candy store.

“I have so many questions.”

You smiled sadly, “Surely you understand that I can’t tell you what happens without destroying the timeline.”

“No, we don’t understand.” Daniel snapped, “Because time travel doesn’t exist.”

“Daniel I can’t make you believe me, I literally have no way to prove this to you,” you sighed, not wanting to argue with the man. “I didn’t even mean to drag you into this, I came here for Howard’s help fixing my device so I could go back.”

“If it makes you feel any better, if I was a spy, I’d have absolutely nothing to report. I didn’t get anywhere near SHIELD or any of Howard’s projects.” You tried to smile, though you felt like crying. “You’re a good agent and a good leader, Daniel Sousa, but most importantly you’re a good man and I am not deserving of your help or your trust.”

Daniel’s eyes softened at your words, though he still held a defensive stance. The lab remained silent for a few minutes but your eyes never left Daniel’s face, observing the flurry of emotions that resided there.

“Time travel would explain those movies and presidents I’ve never heard of.”

You cringed slightly, not realizing you had potentially blown the timeline during your panic attack.

“Yeah, those won’t come out for another few decades,” you rubbed the back of your neck embarrassedly, “And I suppose I ruined a few elections for you.”

“I’ll live,” Daniel responded with a shrug before his eyes widened in realization, “I will live right?”

“Honestly? I have no idea what your life looks like. I didn’t pay a lot of attention in school.” You answered sheepishly, a small smile gracing your features at the forgiveness, however small, that came with Daniel’s statement.

“I’m not even going to ask because I already know that I must be remembered for my genius because you came to me for help,” Howard smirked cockily, “Now, let’s get your time machine fixed and get you home.”

“Oh hell, you did not need that ego boost,” you groaned.

Howard had the audacity to wink.

___

The next week was difficult. You were still staying with Daniel but the dynamic between the two of you had changed entirely. There were no more soft, shared glances, or meaningful looks, or chats over coffee in the morning. In fact, Daniel seemed to be avoiding looking at you at all, only doing so when absolutely necessary. He had thrown all his energy into getting you back to your time.

It broke your heart a bit, though you’d never admit it. You’d known the man for a little over a week, you couldn’t be getting all teary-eyed because he wasn’t looking at you anymore. Plus, wasn’t he doing exactly what you wanted by helping you get back? Still, it felt a little as though he was trying to get rid of you.

That week had felt like torture. A constant turmoil of indecipherable emotions swirling inside you and you had no idea what to do with it all. So you pushed on. Pushed all the way to the day Howard fixed your time travel watch.

“I think I’ve finally got it!” He exclaimed, gleefully. “I’ve invented time travel!”

“Not so fast, Stark.” You chided, “My team invented time travel, you’ve just fixed it.”

Howard merely rolled his eyes, muttering something about “no fun” and brought you the device. Daniel was standing off to the side, eyes refusing to meet yours, consistent with the past week. You sighed, accepting the watch and sliding it onto your wrist.

“Well, we’ve only got one shot,” you may have been stalling, though you wouldn’t admit it to yourself. “Are you sure it’s right, Howard?”

“Honestly? No. But I’m sure that I have no other solutions than what I’ve already done.”

“Is this a good idea?” You asked aloud, to no one in particular.

“Y/N, you need to get back.” Daniel sighed, lifting his eyes to meet yours and you thought you saw grief in them. “Your team is probably worried about you.”

“If this works how it’s supposed to, I’ll be back just seconds after I left,” you shook your head sadly, “Just in time for retirement cake.”

“Retirement?” His head was cocked to the side like a confused puppy and your heart leapt into your throat at the first unprofessional conversation you’ve shared in a week.

You nodded, “One of my teammates is stepping away to settle down with his boyfriend.”

“His boyfriend?” Daniel questioned skeptically and you forgot what time you had been stuck in. You knew from Steve and Bucky’s stories that the 30s and 40s were not a good time to be lgbt but you could tell by the way that he had spoken that Daniel didn’t hold any of those biases. It was just one more thing about the future to be confused about.

“You’d love them,” you whispered honestly.

He probably would, the three of them have so much in common between the war and SHIELD and Peggy Carter and Howard Stark. For a moment you let yourself imagine a world in which you had been born in this era, in which Bucky had never been captured and Steve never frozen. A world where you could fall in love with Daniel Sousa and live happily ever after surrounded by friends.

You shook yourself out of it. There was no future for you here and there was a team waiting for you in the future. You sighed, punching the date and time into your watch. You were out of time.

“What if I didn’t go?” You blurted out, unable to contain the question any longer.

“Y/N, your team-” Daniel started.

“Doesn’t need me. They all have lives and happiness and fulfillment and-“ you shuddered as you released this word vomit of feelings you didn’t even realize you had before you whispered, “And maybe I deserve some of that myself.”

Daniel Sousa made you feel cared for and appreciated in a way nobody ever had in the 21st century and you’d be damned if you gave that up without a fight.

“What about the timeline?”

“Fuck the timeline!” You exclaimed and Howard giggled and your cursing.

“Daniel,” you sighed. “You make me feel things I’ve never felt before and I don’t wanna put too much pressure on this, but I think meeting you might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But if you don’t feel the same way tell me now and I’ll go back.”

You were standing right in front of him now, having closed the distance during your speech.

“Y/N,” he sighed, his eyes swimming with emotions you couldn’t read though he looked at you with such tenderness that you thought you might melt right there as he reached up a hand to cup your cheek.

You weren’t entirely sure, but you thought you might’ve muttered “kiss me” before his lips were on yours, soft and warm and you felt like fireworks were erupting in your stomach. It was a short kiss, no more than a few seconds, but it confirmed a number of things for you. The most significant thing being that you were never going back to 2023.

___

A/N: A few things: 1. the street names listed while Y/N is having a panic attack are actually copied directly from Jessica Jones. 2. The listing miscellaneous things (street names, movies, presidents, etc.) is something my friend has had me do when I’ve had panic attacks. Idk if that works for everyone, but it certainly has helped me in the past and I can really only write from my own experiences. 3. I lowkey wanna write a oneshot for the fantasy Y/N has towards the end where she’s born during the same time period as Stucky, Peggy, Howard, and Sousa and she probably joins SHIELD which is how she meets Sousa (Edit: this exists now and you can find it here!). Idk, let me know what you think!

#daniel sousa x reader #avengers!reader #endgame #agent carter #shield #howard stark #daniel sousa #steve rogers #bucky barnes #slight stucky #time travel #avengers #mcu #marvel #post endgame #1940s

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dreamingformuses · 5 years

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my iron dad bingo! i requested it before i saw endgame, so the original one was really whumpy, so i changed some of the prompts myself ;) @irondadbingo i hope thats alright! my first prompt is ‘nightmares’  read on ao3 @penis-parkerrr @ur-a-lizard-hairy @agib-2002 let me know if you like to be added to the tag list! (if i forgot you, i’m very sorry)  to set the stage: this is set post-endgame, but when tony did his thanos-killing snap, carol came in to help him because she is Super Powerful, and they kinda had a moment like in gotg 1. neither of them died, and all the dusted characters are back. “Hey, Peter?” Tony called. He could see him hunched over whatever he was working on across the table.  “Hmm?” Peter answered, not even bothering to lift his head.  “It’s getting late. And it’s a Friday, so if you want, you’re welcome to stay here for the night. As long as Aunt Hottie’s okay with it, of course.”  “I thought we promised never to use Aunt Hottie again.” Peter put down his pencil and raised his eyebrow. “And where are Pepper and Morgan?”  “Whatever. But text her, will you?” Tony said, and mimed typing on a phone. “There’s no rush to get to bed, of course. You know I’ll be here until at least two or three. And the lovely ladies are out of town, visiting Pep’s parents. So you don’t have to worry about wrangling Morgan to bed again.” Peter laughed ruefully. That was an experience he’d not soon forget. He then whipped out his phone and sent a quick message to May. She replied not long after.  “She said yeah!” Peter shouted over the whirr of Tony’s drill. Tony flashed the okay sign, and they both continued on their projects. The webshooters’ release mechanism had gotten clogged up, so Peter was hard at work on a new formula that hopefully wouldn’t harden while it was still sitting in the holding chamber. Tony was busy banging out sheets of titanium alloy for his new and improved rocket boots.  They stayed in the lab until well past the sun had set. FRIDAY had spoken up at around eleven, reminding Peter that it might be in his best interests to get to bed sooner rather than later. Peter just laughed, and said that he was too far into his equations to back out now. Nobody argued with him. It wasn’t until half past twelve that Peter had actually fallen asleep with his cheek on the lab table. Tony made the executive decision to carry him to bed, rather than have to listen to Peter complaining about how sore his neck was tomorrow. When they got into the elevator, Peter went from completely dead to the world, to consciousness enough to stumble the rest of the way to his room.  Tony helped Peter maneuver his way onto his bed, and pulled the covers over him as he fell asleep again. “Buona notte, Peter.” he whispered, and shut the door behind him. Now that Peter was in bed, he didn’t particularly feel like going back down to the lab again. Maybe he’d actually read the thousands of emails forwarded to him. Might as well make Pepper proud. He grabbed a StarkPad and flopped onto the couch. He turned on the fireplace, and propped a pillow under his feet. There would be no reason to leave, and if it came to it, it would be a pretty okay place to sleep.  There were emails from the Board of Directors. There were emails from the President. There were emails from Pepper. A lot of emails from Pepper, actually. He trashed the unimportant ones, responded to pressing matters, and arranged meetings, all in the wee hours of the morning. It was the first time he’d felt like an actual business owner in a while. Take that, Pepper. You see, I can be productive on things that actually matter. Tony asked FRIDAY to put on some music. Something quiet, though, so he could relax and Peter could sleep. It ended up being Erik Satie, which surprised Tony. He never thought he’d like ambient piano music, but, there he was.  On the same point, however, he never thought he would be putting a teenager to bed, either. Guess it was a night of firsts all around. He glanced at the clock in the upper right hand corner of the tablet. 2:23. It was probably time to pack it up and hit the hay. He put the tablet on the coffee table, and moved the pillow from under his feet to under his head. He closed his eyes, and tried to let himself drift off. It was hard. Whenever one of his waking moments wasn’t being occupied by some sort of task, his thoughts would always circle around to the same horrible thoughts.  The first Snap.  The Snap that brought everyone back.  Seeing Peter again for the first time in five years.  His Snap.  Almost dying in front of the son he just got back.  Almost dying in front of his wife.  Almost not being able to make it home to his daughter.   Tony was able to push those thoughts aside, though. Unfortunately, Peter wasn’t as lucky. Tony woke up to the sound of FRIDAY’s voice, not even an hour later. It was at a much higher volume than normal, almost like FRIDAY was trying to shout at him.  “Boss! Boss! Please, wake up. Peter needs help.” FRIDAY said.  “Wha-” Tony rubbed his bleary eyes open.  “Peter needs help.” FRIDAY repeated. Tony shot up from the couch, and activated his watch gauntlet. It was definitely paranoid that he wore it all the time, but damn if it didn’t come in handy sometimes. He sprinted barefoot down the hallway, and fumbled to get the door handle open. He stormed in, gauntlet extended, and repulsor fully charged. There was nobody else in the room. Just Peter, curled up in a ball on the bed, and… was he shaking? Upon closer inspection, he definitely was. He was sweaty, and his fists were balled tightly around the sheets. It was a nightmare. Tony was sure of it. He’d done the exact same thing just one too many times before.  Tony pulled the gauntlet back into his watch face, and rushed over to the side of Peter’s bed. He placed a tentative hand on Peter’s shoulder, and squatted down so they were at the same eye level. Peter was breathing hard, and Tony could see the faint glisten of drying tear tracks on his cheeks. “Hey, Pete?” Tony asked softly, his voice thick with emotion. “You’ve gotta wake up. You’re safe, here, in the tower, not… wherever you are.” He brushed the damp curls out of Peter’s face. “Come on, buddy. You gotta get up.”  Peter was trembling even harder. He was whimpering. They were little keening sounds like an animal in pain. Tony tried to shake Peter gently. “Peter, come on. Get up, kid. You’ve gotta-” Tony shook him a little bit harder, trying to coax him out of his fitful sleep. He moved his hand in soothing circles on Peter’s back. “Get up. Come on, Peter get up-”  Peter woke up. He flew into a sitting position, and started to sob. He looked around blindly, and reached out, not expecting to touch anything. He groped for Tony’s arm, and as soon as he found it, held onto it like it was a lifeline. Peter’s eyes were wide open, but judging by the glassiness of them, Tony was sure he wasn’t really registering anything.  “Mister- Mr. Stark… Mr. Stark-” Peter panted, and tried to scoot closer. Tony pulled him the rest of the way and into a tight hug.  ‘Hey… I’ve got you. You’re here, with me, and you’re safe. You’re not hurt- nobody’s gonna hurt you. You’re okay, I’m okay, we’re safe. You’re in the Tower, it’s nighttime, and it’s 2023.”  Peter looked up at Tony, his eyes wide and wet. “I- I’m okay?” he asked carefully. “You’re not dead?” he flinched.  “It was just a dream.” Tony said soothingly.  “It didn’t feel like just a dream. It- it was so real.”  “You promise? You were…” Peter’s breathing got faster, harder. “No, no… no. You can’t- you can’t be here. You were dead, and just… you can’t.” Peter ran a hand through his hair and used it to pull his chin closer to his chest. Tony reached out for Peter’s other hand.  “I know, bambino. I know it feels real, but I promise, it’s not. Another promise? I’m here. I’m warm and alive and breathing.” Peter shifted himself to be able to look more at Tony’s face. He tentatively reached up and brushed the side of Tony’s cheek with his fingertips.  “You’re here?”  “I’m here.” Tony reassured.  “We- were on Titan.” Peter managed to get out between sobs. “I was gone- and then I came back… just in time…” he took a deep, shuddering breath. “Just in time to watch you die. You were gone, and I- nobody knew what to do. I didn’t know what to do.”  “It’s okay. I’m here, I’m safe, I’m alive. I’m here with you. Pepper and Morgan are safe. You’re safe. Thanos is gone. It’s- It’s all okay.” Tony pressed a small kiss into the crown of Peter’s head.  Tony shifted a bit, so he was fully sitting on the bed. Peter’s head shot up, his eyes wide and pleading. ‘No! Please- please don’t leave me. Not again.”  “I’m not leaving. Just getting a bit more comfortable. My old man body wouldn’t last much longer with only one cheek on the mattress.” Tony shushed, and managed to get a small laugh from Peter.  “You are kinda old.” Peter mumbled.  “So you must be feeling a bit better.”  “Better now that you’re here.” Peter said sheepishly, and untangled himself from his position against Tony’s chest. “FRIDAY? Lights to thirty percent.” The room was filled with a dim light. Tony could see the dark bags under Peter’s eyes.  “Have you been sleeping? I mean- is this a common occurrence? The whole nightmare thing?” Tony asked.  “Uh… kinda. Kinda sleeping, but it’s hard. After… everything. I get these dreams a lot, but there not usually this bad.”  “Me too.” They sat in a comfortable silence for a minute. “Do you want to…” Tony continued. “I don’t know, come sit with me? Before you woke me up, I was just answering emails. You can come sit on the couch with me, and I’ll get you some hot chocolate or something, and you can watch your dumb show.”  “Catching up on five years of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that I’ve missed is not dumb.”  “If you insist. Are you coming?” Tony got up, and offered a hand to Peter to help him off the bed. Peter took it gratefully, and followed Tony down to the kitchen.

#irondad #irondad and spiderson #irondad bingo #tw: nightmares #nightmares #irondad angst #irondad whump #irondad fic #irondad fanfiction #my fic #my fanfiction #irondad fanfic #endgame #morgan stark

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takadasaiko · 5 years

Text

Second Chances: Chapter Eight

FFN II AO3

Summary: Steve has every intention of returning the Infinity Stones to their correct place in the timeline and heading back to his own. His problems start when he makes an impulse decision to jump over to 1946 and Peggy decides to go back home with him. It only gets more complicated from there when Howard tags along with them to 2023. Tony lives fix-it fic. Pepperony.

Chapter Summary: Things don't go as planned when Tony and Steve visit Hank Pym.

Chapter Eight

She'd missed his call while in one of the five back-to-back meetings she had set up for the day, and when Pepper managed to find two minutes to call him back she heard jet engines in the background. Well, that hadn't been what she expected. Of course, neither was the fact that Steve Rogers had brought Tony's father into their time from 1946. No, she was pretty sure that there had been no way to prepare for that one.

"So why are you getting on a plane?" she asked, motioning at the impatient board members that she would only be a moment more.

"Because Cap used the last of the Pym Particles up getting them here," Tony answered, sounding tired.

"Howard coming was not intentional," she heard Steve argue and the smallest of smiles perked her lips.

"Tell Steve welcome home. Are you going to San Francisco then?"

"Yeah. Might be late for dinner."

"Just a little."

"We should have it all wrapped up by tonight though."

"Don't go jinxing yourself."

"Ha."

She adjusted the phone in her hand, risking a glance at the men waiting on her. "How are you doing with it?"

"I feel fine, Pep. Promise, I —"

"I mean with Howard," she clarified, her voice barely above a whisper. He'd struggled so much with the ghost of his father over the years. Every time she thought he had finally been able to put it to rest something came along to reopen old wounds. This last time, when they'd traveled to find the Infinity Stone, it had seemed to help heal them just a little more. She hoped that this wouldn't undo the closure he'd gotten.

She heard a small sound of acknowledgement. "Get back to you on that?"

"I'll hold you to it."

"Listen, hon, we're about to take off. I'll grab a car here when I'm done, so don't worry about me getting home. Could you…. when you're done with everything, could you send Pete over to Cap's place?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Uhh… just left Howard there and he —"

"He doesn't trust Bucky with him," Steve's voice filtered through. "What? You thought you were keeping that a secret?"

"Play nice, boys," she chided softly. "And yes. I'll make sure the kid stops by after I release him from Morgan duty."

"Thanks, Pep. What would I do without you?"

"Oh we've seen it. There tends to be a lot of wallowing. Pretty sure you still don't know your full social."

"I love you."

"You too. Be safe." She ended the call and loosed a long breath. One more meeting, then she had to handle Tony's father. Things were never dull around the man she loved.

___________

Steve had spent over a week just trying to navigate through the web that made up Pym Technologies to get to Hank Pym. He'd even tried to reach his daughter a couple of times, but he'd been blocked at every attempt. That was when he had sent Sam out to find Scott, but even that was turning up empty.

Tony, on the other hand, had them on a private plane, flown across the country, and walking through the front doors all in the same day that he'd discovered the problem. As Steve followed behind he was reminded that he'd taken a step into a world Tony navigated well. He should have just told him. It would have saved them both a lot of headache.

"Hey?" he called out. The younger man paused mid-step through the lobby, but it took a long moment before he turned. Steve shook his head. At least some things never changed. Tony did love making a show of things. "This is my fault. I know you and Pym don't exactly see eye to eye, so I'll—"

"I have literally never met the man."

"Really?"

"Rea…. no wait. No. There was one time when I was really young. Like… four. I don't know. It was before I went off to boarding school. It's fine." He stopped as if he were trying to recall a specific memory. "Mostly fine. I'm sure he's over it."

Steve wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. Even if he did, Tony didn't seem to be interested in telling him. Instead he barreled forward again and Steve had to quicken his pace to catch up.

The security guard at the elevator stopped them until Tony removed his sunglasses and flashed a smile, leaving the guard sputtering and apologizing. He hadn't recognized him. "Hank still up on the top floor?"

"Yessir. He didn't mention —"

"Okay, thanks."

"Mr Stark, you'll need a key card to get up there," the guard managed as Steve passed by.

"No I won't."

He was already pulling his phone from his pocket as Steve followed him into the elevator and the doors snapped shut. Tony pried open the pannel and he was in the system faster than Steve could follow his fingers flying across the clear screen of his Stark phone. "Well, this probably isn't going to garner any good will."

Dark eyes flickered up from the screen and over to him. "I'm sorry, how long did you wait on hold with his secretary?"

"I didn't make it to his secretary," Steve admitted quietly.

"My point exactly." The chime sounded as they reached the top floor. "And if he used Stark Industry security, nobody'd be able to do this."

Steve quirked an eyebrow. "Not even you?"

"Oh, I always can. He just made this too easy." He looked over to the approaching, frenzied secretary. "You use Hammer Tech for your security, don't you? Explains a lot."

"I'm sorry, Mr Stark, but Dr Pym is very busy. You don't have an appointment."

"Don't need one."

"I'm afraid you do."

Tony snorted, amused. "Why don't you ask Dr Pym what it was like to be snapped out of existence one second and back in five years later? Oh yeah. He can tell you because we got him back. I think he can spare ten minutes."

The woman stared at him, and she was at a loss for a response even as the large office doors behind her opened and Hank Pym stepped out, chuckling the whole way. "It's okay, Vicky. This won't take long. Tell Bryan I'll be on the call in ten."

She nodded and Pym motioned for them to follow.

Tony moved immediately, and Steve found himself eyeing every corner of the large, expensively decorated office. It was different than the ones at Stark Industries or even at SHIELD. His attention immediately snapped back to Pym as he spoke, dark blue eyes fixed on Tony.

"You do know how to make a stir. You always have." Pym turned to Steve. "Pleasure to finally meet you in person, Captain. I hear you've been trying to get ahold of me."

"For over a week now," the blond confirmed. He knew he'd been reaching out but hadn't bothered to answer. That didn't look good.

"Listen, Hank. We won't take up too much of your time," Tony started in as Pym circled around his ornate desk and took a seat in the chair, steeping his fingers.

"Or any of it, really. I'm sorry you came all the way across the country to leave empty handed, but you're not getting what you came for."

"You know what we're here for?" Tony asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well I know your patriotic friend there isn't here to return the Pym Particles I loaned him to make sure he got home in one piece. I hear he wants more. Or you do."

Steve's expression hardened a little watching the CEO who looked like he thought he was sitting on a throne rather than in a desk chair.

"Alright. You know what we want. You know why?" Tony asked after a long moment.

"Why doesn't matter," Pym huffed. "Listen, I appreciate what you kids did. I know you… sacrificed to bring us all back. To beat Thanos." His gaze flickered to the visible scars that the Infinity Stones had left Tony with. "But I'll be damned if I let my tech, my life's work, fall into the hands of a Stark."

The two men were locked in a silent battle of wills that Steve could only watch. He had known that Pym hated Howard and likely held a grudge against Tony for it as well. They had both hoped for a better reception than this. Granted, neither of them had known what Pym knew until that moment. If they had, they might have taken a different approach.

If they had known, it could have changed their minds. He pulled in a breath. "You hate Howard Stark that much -"

"He and SHIELD tried to steal my research."

"Then you're going to want to lend us a vile."

Tony turned to look at him, a warning silent but clear. Steve ignored it. He knew Tony would want to keep the number of people that knew his father had jumped into their time as limited as possible, but this was the only way Steve could see winning Pym over. "I went back to 1946. Howard Stark hopper a ride back with me."

The room fell silent and Pym sat back. He hadn't known that piece of the puzzle. Good. Maybe the gamble would pay off.

"Pre-SHIELD Stark?" Pym confirmed, his voice thin.

"Yes."

"We just want to send him home," Tony added quietly. "We don't want to steal your tech, Hank. We just want to set things straight."

"Maybe you already have."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked carefully.

"He's here. He can't start SHIELD. Can't add his influence to it."

Tony sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose in the first real sign of stress Steve had seen since they'd entered the building. "You're not going to change your past. That's not how —"

"You think I don't know that?" Pym snapped. "But Rogers here opened up a branch timeline. There's another me out there that will never have worked for SHIELD, never have to deal with your father. From the look you gave him, you're trying to keep him underwraps. I can live in a world with him hidden half a country away if it gives another me that chance."

"You've got to be kidding me," Steve managed.

Tony took a step forward, leaning against the desk, his fingers curling around the outer edge. "You're taking petty to a dangerous level here, Pym. The intention was never to bring my dad forward. Having him here—"

"What were you doing in '46?" Pym asked Steve with an irritating smirk. "I mean, that wasn't one of the stop off points, was it?"

"So you're not willing to help us?" Steve asked tightly.

"Nearly anything else, gentlemen, but not this. Security will see you out."

Steve looked to Tony who gave the smallest shake of his head. Not until they were out. They remained quiet as they were escorted downstairs and out the front door. It wasn't until they were halfway down the street to where they had left the car that Tony reached up to his glasses. "FRIDAY, be a dear and activate the decryption program from the little present I left in Pym's office."

If the AI system acknowledged him, Steve couldn't hear it, but if the amused look on Tony's face was anything to go by, she was doing just as he asked. "So what? He doesn't give it to us and you'll just take it?"

Tony shrugged. "I'd rather not, but we need his tech to get Howard back. Don't look at me like that. I have no interest in keeping his formula. I'll crack the code, cook up a vile, and send him on his way. Everybody's happy."

"You're not a chemist."

"But I am a genius. I catch on, and for what I can't, the kid can help. He's got a knack for this sort of thing."

Steve watched him for a long moment before finally nodding. If Tony thought he could safely recreate the Pym Particles, he'd trust him on it. He'd have to.

___________

Peter liked to think he took things in stride. Sort of. Kind of. Most of the time. It was really all about perspective. Compared to hopping onto an alien spacecraft and flying to some other galaxy to fight a big purple dude who snapped him out of existence for five years, he couldn't think of much that should be hard to wrap his mind around. Even Captain Roger's sudden appearance back, while surprising, had to have some sort of explanation that made sense. He just hadn't thought that explanation would include two other people from the past coming back with him and Mr Stark on a plane with Cap flying cross-country.

"I, uh…. so is there anything I should know about his…. dad?"

Pepper - who had called Happy to watch Morgan so that she could go with him to Brooklyn - glanced over from the driver's seat. "Tony was worried about his safety."

"Because of Bucky?" Peter tried, and at the look he received for it he shrugged. "I mean, I know that he and Cap got into it over something having to do with his parents' death and Sam said Bucky had moved into the spare bedroom in the apartment that he went back to so…. Am I right?"

"Yes," she admitted softly, the car hitting the slight bump that signalled the end of the bridge.

"But Captain Rogers said he's not brainwashed anymore, so he wouldn't hurt him, right?"

"It's really just to give Tony some peace of mind."

"He wouldn't want you there if he thought it was going to get dangerous."

"Probably not, but I doubt it will."

Okay. So Mr Stark wasn't sending his wife to babysit him. Good. That was good. Peter pursed his lips, struggling to find the right way to ask without it coming across as rude. "So, uh… why are you going?"

"For my peace of mind," his mentor's wife answered tightly, and that focused look she wore left him fairly certain that he shouldn't push any further on it.

He didn't know a lot about Howard Stark. He and Tony had had a strained relationship when the older man had been alive, but Tony seemed to care about him even if it was complicated. There was a painting in the lobby of the Stark Industries building they were just coming from and apparently he'd been the one to start the company from scratch right around World War Two. He'd known Captain Rogers and had been killed by a brainwashed Bucky Barnes. That was it. All the knowledge the teen had on his mentor's father, but that was still more than the man himself would have, from what he heard. Cap had pulled in from the 1940's.

"So, uh…. did you ever meet him?"

"He was gone by the time Tony and I met," Pepper said as she pulled the car over and allowed it to parallel park for her.

Peter stepped out and looked up at the building. "This place must cost Captain Rogers a fortune."

"Not too much. His landlord has a soft spot for him, no matter how angry they get at each other," Pepper said, amusement lining her voice.

"Mr Stark owns the building?"

"Don't tell Steve. Tony'd never forgive us."

Peter flashed her a grin and followed her up. She seemed to know just where to go, but if he were honest he couldn't recall a time when Pepper Potts had been anything but prepared. They stopped at the door and she squared her shoulders back, pulling in a deep breath. She didn't knock though.

"Are you nervous?" he asked quietly and she turned to look at him, her expression softening a little.

"No, more worried."

"About what?"

"Tony," she answered and tapped her knuckles against the door without further explanation.

There was a beat. Then another. Finally Peter heard the sound of locks being undone and a woman he didn't recognize opened the door. "Yes?" she greeted them in a British accent.

"You must be Peggy Carter. I'm Pepper. Tony's wife."

The woman looked her up and down as if she weren't immediately ready to believe her. Finally her expression softened a bit. "Steve mentioned the boy."

"I'm Peter. And, uh, I'm fifteen."

Those soft brown eyes came to rest on him. "Are you now? I'd have wagered younger."

The teen gaped as Peggy Carter stepped aside. "Won't you come in?"

Peter scurried after Pepper, feeling more than a little intimidated by the woman that stood only a couple of inches shorter than Pepper, both taller than him in their heels.

"I wanted to drop by. See how things were going," Pepper offered, her voice pleasant.

"Sergeant Barnes isn't here," Ms Carter said stiffly. "Steve hasn't told the full story yet, but I got the distinction impression your husband isn't fond of him."

"The disagreement over him landed Tony with several cracked ribs and a fractured arm. Not to mention a rift between him and a good friend that had only just started to heal when he went away."

Peter blinked hard. Pepper's voice was ice cold, almost dangerous. Maybe there was more to the whole fallout than he knew. Probably. He hadn't known that Cap - or maybe Bucky? - had hurt Tony during the fight. Maybe it was after he'd been delivered back to Queens. It wasn't like Mr Stark had given him a followup on everything that happened.

"A valid reason then," Ms Carter acknowledged and Pepper backed down ever so slightly.

"Howard Stark…"

"Tinkering with something in the back room over there. There's no pulling him away when he's fixated. He'll come out eventually."

"Like father, like son."

A small smile tilted the British woman's lips. "From the brief few moments in which I met him, I'd say so."

Pepper's gaze swept the apartment. "I know Sam and Bucky were staying here…"

"It's been a full house," the other woman acknowledged. "I had my share of tents and close quarters in the war, as everyone in this flat has. I suppose if they're successful, though, we'll be down an occupant."

The sound of a door opening drew their attention and a dark haired man sauntered out. He looked a lot like Mr Stark, but somehow less like his older self that Peter had seen by way of photos and the painting. That man was stiff and stern, while this one bounced a little when he walked, a curious look at everything his gaze touched. His smile broadened when he caught sight of Pepper. "Well hello."

"Howard, this is Tony's wife," Ms Carter said pointedly.

The smile didn't falter, even if it turned a little sheepish. "Ah. My future-present daughter-in-law. Pleased to meet ya. Howard Stark, but I'm sure you know that."

"I do," Pepper said, reaching out to take his offered hand.

Instead of shaking it, he pulled it to his lips. "My son has great taste."

Pepper looked like she was trying to talk herself out of popping him upside the head. "Howard — If I may?"

"I insist."

" — this is Peter. Tony's been mentoring him."

"Are you as clever as my boy?" Howard Stark asked, and Peter couldn't help but think he looked genuinely proud at the statement, absurd as it was that a man that he was certain couldn't have been as old as Mr Stark - and from everything he was hearing had come from a time long before he'd been born - was owning any sort of influence over the man Mr Stark had become.

"No sir, but I'm learning a lot from him." There, that seemed like a safe answer.

And apparently one that Howard like. He cuffed Peter in the arm. "Ha! Good kid." He turned back to Pepper. "So, you two here to make sure I don't go running off, because you don't have to worry about that. Peg's been keeping me on lockdown."

"We just wanted to stop by and see how things are going," Pepper answered diplomatically.

"Ah. Well, better if I could leave this tiny little place. Stuff five people into a two bedroom apartment. Who does that?"

"Plenty of people," Ms Carter answered sharply.

Pepper's cell phone rang and she offered a quick excuse meas she stepped away. Those dark brown eyes that looked like carbon copies of Mr Stark's latched onto Peter. "So, kid, how'd you get wrapped into this? You seem a little young to be in the super hero biz. Even in our day you're s'pose to be eighteen to serve your country."

"Oh, I, uh…. intern for Mr Stark. I'm just learning from him."

"So no fancy costume for you, huh?"

"Well….." He swallowed hard, turning back to Ms Carter. "How are you liking New York?"

"I've actually been in New York for a while. It's the twenty-first century I'm getting used to."

"I busted her trip," Howard chuckled. He looked like he thought it was all a joke, while Ms Carter thought it was anything but that.

"So are you on your way back?" Pepper asked, cradling the phone to her ear. "I can…. oh. Should I let the lawyers know or not? Okay. I know nothing. Fly safe. I'll see you when you get here." She ended the call. "The boys are on their way home."

"How did it go?" Ms Carter asked.

"They didn't get what they wanted in the way that they wanted it, but Tony is nothing if not creative. It'll just take a little longer this way."

It didn't take Peter's Spidey Sense to catch the wave of disappointment wafting off Ms Carter, nor the pure excitement radiating from Howard Stark. Pepper didn't seem to miss the former either. "You know, it's awfully crowded here, and we have a spare room at our place. It's a couple hours out of the city, but I know it'd help Tony not to worry if he knew Howard was safe and —"

"We couldn't impose," Ms Carter said quickly.

"You think he'd be alright with me coming out to your place?" Howard asked, his tone more hesitant than Peter would have thought he had in him.

"I think it might be the best solution we have with the hand we've been dealt," Pepper answered. "What do you say?"

"Sounds perfect."

"Howard," Ms Carter warned softly.

"Peg," he said, his voice so quiet that only Peter's advance hearing picked it up, "please. Give me a chance to make this right before I gotta go?"

She shot him a conflicted look, but finally caved. "It would open up some space here."

"Then it's settled," Pepper said firmly. "Howard will come home with us."

___________

Tony had known something was wrong - or at the very least not going the way he would have liked it to - the moment that Pepper met them on the tarmac, and it hadn't taken her long to let him in on what that was. He listened, holding his tongue and his potentially hasty feelings of betrayal as in check as he was capable, as she walked him through her thought process. Barnes was living at that apartment. That was his home, and they were overcrowded as it was. Taking Howard outside the city would limit his exposure and keep Tony from hiking in and out until this was resolved. He could work from home - less likely to alert Pym to what he was doing - and they could keep an eye on Howard. She knew it wasn't ideal. This whole fiasco was anything but ideal. From where she stood it did appear to be the -

"Okay."

Those beautiful blue eyes turned on him. "I thought you'd fight this harder."

"I don't have to like it for it to make sense. We should probably get straight what we're telling Morgan though."

"She'll be sound asleep by the time we get home."

"Right." He was exhausted, the day weighing on him. Well, at least he got to go home to his own bed. That was something.

Pepper reached up, her fingers against his cheek. "You're not facing this alone, you know that, right?"

A small smile tugged at his lips and he leaned in, feeling her meet him halfway. "I know."

She nodded, offering him a smile of her own and he wrapped an arm around the small of her back to walk with her. "Hey, Cap? You need a lift?"

"Wrong way, isn't it?" Steve asked. "Hi, Pepper."

"We're taking Howard with us. So says the missus."

Pepper rolled her eyes at the teasing tone and popped him lightly on the shoulder. "We thought we'd open up some space at your place."

Steve caught Tony's gaze as if he were searching for some indication that this was alright. Tony shrugged. "When have you ever seen me do something I wasn't willing to do?"

"Fair," Steve chuckled. "I'll take that ride as long as Pepper drives."

"What are you trying to say, Rogers?" Tony groused as they started for the car.

"I'm trying to say that I've faced the worst of the worst and your driving terrifies me more."

Pepper snorted a laugh as she released her hold on him to aim for the driver's seat. Tony shot her a look of pure indignation. "Traitor."

"I can't help it if Steve's right."

He gave them both a melodramatic groan as he circled around to the passenger's seat, pausing as Steve pulled open the door behind him. "Hey." He waited for the older man to look over. "Good to have you back…. even if you brought the chaos with you."

"That's not going away anytime soon, is it?"

"Nope," Tony answered cheerfully and hopped in the car. The trip hadn't gone as planned, but nothing had that day. They'd take Howard home with them and regroup in the morning. The sooner he could get what he needed from his decryption programs, the sooner he and the kid could start synthesising what they needed to send Howard home. He just had to be patient and this would all be over soon.

___________

TBC

Notes: I feel like these chapters are getting longer.... Originally I was planning to keep them around 2K or so to write quickly. This one is over 4K. Ah well. The chapter wants what it wants. Who wants to start placing bets on if Hank is going to figure out that Tony's in his systems? :P

Next Time: Howard tries to gather some information while Tony struggles to focus on the task at hand.

#Endgame fix it fic #Tony Stark #Steve Rogers #Pepper Potts #Peter Parker #Howard Stark #Peggy Carter #Hank Pym

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geek-gem · 7 years

Text

The thing about Michael

Major spoilers for Sister Location and I’m gonna tag this in case mates

I’m gonna be talking about the theories and other things concerning the character of Michael Afton who was revealed to be the character we play as in Sister Location.

I do like the idea of him being Springtrap and the brother from FNAF4 yet I do understand the reasons behind why people don’t think that. I’m mainly thinking about one person who I follow but doesn’t go with the ideas that Michael is not Springtrap or the brother.

Such as he does not have the same hair color or skin yet it could change over time maybe. But also just it’s mainly about the Springtrap thing. Such as why would he still be bleeding unless their was still blood in there. Yet including just….other things like how Springtrap acts.

I’ve been wanting to talk about this. With the idea or theory Michael may be Springtrap changes of who Springtrap is. It’s ether William Afton the actual purple guy or whatever but the child murder becoming Springtrap now it could be Michael his son.

Seriously the idea of the FNAF story being also about a young man who wants to help his family however he can and it results in his death. After all legit throwing up Ennard into the sewers and Circus Baby I think brings him back to life. My mindset is that okay had to put a instead of s in front of young man. But my mindset is that Michael finally snapped and thought, “You know what my dad is the reason all of this shit happened. You know what I’m gonna do what no one else decided to do, I’M GONNA KILL HIM but first I’m gonna free some children from their animatronic graves”

Which results in his violently destroying the animatronics what seems to be the original pizzeria from the first game. Also I think mostly Sister Location takes place after the first game. But when the ghosts mistake him for his father he’s not in a right mindset such as even if he knew a spring suit was dangerous he hid in it anyway. Yet his body also the rain also messed it up.

With the idea of him being Springtrap he’s maybe just confused and just enraged yet also maybe freaking out a bit of where he is now. Yet okay yeah that sounds kind of stupid.

Honestly the theory that Michael is Springtrap is something I like despite its quite flawed and I even mentioned it in my fake movie meme of Sister Location excuse me small burp.

Mainly also the idea I keep thinking just that the next FNAF game is gonna be about damn my bro made a weird whistling sound. But I’m seriously expecting the next FNAF game to be about Michael as Springtrap and his siblings and all the other murdered kids just trying to find William and finally killing him mainly Michael trying to kill him.

With also over the top stuff like Springtrap and William fighting to the death and William uses an ax to defend himself and it’s in a Afton Robotics building. I watch some one on DeviantArt who’s a PlayStation and FNAF fan and he believes the Michael is Springtrap theory and has made some cool art like a prediction for the next game

Also I keep thinking Michael is all like monologuing and shit talking about, “DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT TO YOUR FAMILY AGAIN TREAT EACH OTHER RIGHT OR YOUR FAMILY WILL BECOME LIKE MY MINE MY DAD’S A CHILD MURDERER, ALMOST OR ALL MY SIBLINGS ARE DEAD, I’M A GOD DAMN ANIMATRONIC NOW DO YOU WANNA BE THIS DO YOU”

In a way his message to anyone who is kind of like his family or even the Loud family or even the Crystal Gems he would be harsh with you that you should never end up like his family did. Jesus not even Charlie and her dad Henry or all of their family in FNAF The Silver Eyes didn’t have it this bad if we theorise it like this lol.

You know no offense I kind of wished Scott planned things a bit carefully. Such as stuff like, “Bite Of 87” and some of the story being in the 80’s yet it’s fun Scott has got me thinking the 80’s are full of that, the case with FNAF 4, the 30 years oh god almost left 39 but the huge time gap between the other games and FNAF 3 where people theorise it’s in 2017 or further and my god that bothers me. I keep thinking rather in 2017 almost put 21 and the year 2023 bothers me now lol couldn’t we have it in the 2010’s. Also I wanna say this is also a problem I have with the Killzone series with Shadow Fall where it’s 30 years years after the original trilogy lol.

In fact no wonder okay I smile a lot but no wonder I seem to make some random version of my own thing of the timeline my own version where stuff first happened in the 2000’s and stuffs happening later in the 2010’s.

We kind of got off topic of Michael lol I was listening to Linkin Park’s, “From The Inside” a lyrics video and it got me thinking I wanna make this now including yesterday I asked that person I mentioned in the first few parts of more reasons why she thinks Michael isn’t Springtrap.

Well hey we all have our ideas and I need to think more man lol more um. Honestly I hope I’ve been spelling Michael right well yeah my phone says it’s right. Many the wiki says some times people spell his name like e behind a lol not d.

I should just almost put lost but I gonna just act normal oh stomach lol oh again meh fine…..I’ll just post this some what sorry lol mates I have not stall more even more. Also sorry please don’t get angry at me just this is awkward I wanted to make this….yeah damn smile a lot during typing.

But I don’t know who Michael is at times mates I’ll try to chill out

edit I’m awkward as fuck dude even right now man and I need to stop that tried doing a 2nd edit messed up title but yeah I wanted to talk about this and just need to chill the fuck out mate

#five nights at freddy's #fnaf #sister location #michael afton #springtrap

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takadasaiko · 5 years

Text

Second Chances: Chapter Six

FFN II AO3

Chapter Summary: Steve tries to figure out how to best handle the situation without admitting to Tony that he's brought not one but two people from the past into 2024.

Chapter Six

Howard had always liked a good challenge, and convincing Steve and Peggy that he had reluctantly given up on the idea of going with them had certainly been one. Peg lived in a state of suspicion with him - especially after his fib over the vile a few weeks before - and Steve had called him on his tendency to misdirect and straight out lie more than once during the War. He had been questioning when the ruse would be up, but now the question seemed to be which one of them would take a swing first. Howard lifted his hands in defense. "It's not nearly as bad as you're thinking it is."

"No, it's worse," Steve snapped.

"How? You talk to your buddy - Tony, right? The one that set you up with that suit - and he'll be able to send me back to the same day I left. No biggie. I'll even get to deliver Peg's letter."

He glanced over to find Peggy massaging the bridge of her nose, all of the earlier joy and excitement completely washed out of her. "That's never been the issue Howard. I'm staying, but if you go back seeing all of the advancements, everything that could suddenly have Starkon it rather than whatever name should have been attached —"

"Ouch, Peg. You think I'm here to, what? Steal technology? Like I can't come up with my own?"

"You don't have to steal anything to alter your own timeline in ways that can't-"

"Like taking Peggy from it?" Howard cut Steve off, the amusement no longer lining his voice. He'd expected pushback and plenty of eye rolling, maybe even a swing in his direction, but this was rich coming from them. "Yeah, neither of you have a lot of wiggle room on that one. I'm not going to destroy time and space by being here. Not how it works. Hell, I could meet myself and three generations after me and all it'd do is make for a potentially awkward situation." He pulled in a breath, trying to reel in the burst of temper along with it. "I just want to see it. Walk through Manhattan and then I'll go home like I was never here at all. You've seen it, Peg gets to see it…. All I'm doin' is asking for a chance to peek through the curtain. That's it. No harm done, I swear."

The breeze pushing at the trees overhead was the only sound for a long moment as both Cap and Peggy stared at him. Finally Steve loosed a breath. "We'll have to get ahold of a couple of people to make it happen."

"See, not so bad," Howard responded, his tone light again.

Cap didn't look entirely convinced as he pushed forward. "C'mon."

Peggy followed immediately, falling into lockstep with him. Howard waited half a beat before hurrying to join them. Well, it hadn't been smooth, but at least he'd made it.

___________

The first thing he did was grab a newspaper. June 2024. Okay. That wasn't…. terrible. Not great, but not terrible. He'd been gone just a little under a year then, even though it had only been a couple of weeks for him. That added complications, sure, but at least it wasn't decades this time.

Steve had no idea if his apartment would have been leased to someone else, but that was his second stop. If he were lucky - really lucky - the key would be….. there.

"Checkin' to see if the maid cleaned while you were away?" Howard popped off behind him as Steve ran his fingers along the top of the trimming around the door. He held up the key that he found there and Howard chuckled, lifting his hands in defeat.

Steve fit the key into the lock and turned, hearing the mechanisms shift and the lock slide out of place. He turned the knob and pushed inward. He was met immediately by the muted sound of the television. He was sure he didn't leave one on. Mostly because he didn't even own one when he'd left.

"Someone kept it up," Peggy said cautiously and Steve made a small sound of acknowledgement.

He was halfway to telling Howard to wait outside when the creek of the old, pre-war apartment's floor sounded a warning and Peggy shouted as Steve spun, meeting his attacker to block the blow aimed at him. Both men froze and he found a set of dark eyes on him. "I'll be damned," Sam Wilson managed. "Cap. You're back."

His lips tilted at the corners and he lowered his defenses. "Yeah, Sam. I'm back."

"With friends," the other man said uncertainly, motioning to Peggy and Howard.

Steve cleared his throat. "Yeah…. Sam, this is Peggy Carter and Howard….. Stark."

The younger man's expression inched towards amusement. "Hell, Cap. He's gonna kill you."

Steve didn't even have to ask who he was. He was well aware. "Yeah, I know. I, uh…. We're going to fix it. I'd rather let him know after we get Howard back to the past."

Sam lifted an eyebrow. "So…. she's staying?"

"She is," Peggy grumbled, obviously irritated at being talked about without being included.

"But he's not?"

Steve could feel the tension building in the room between the questions and the lack of names and the overall vagueness that wouldn't set well with anyone. Peggy had squared her shoulders next to him and Howard…. okay apparently the tension was all Peggy. Howard was halfway into the apartment. His fingers drifted over the TV that Sam must have brought with him when he'd taken over Steve's lease, dark eyes wide as he explored every inch.

The inventor crouched down in front of the entertainment center, fixated. "Is this a television?" he managed, and Steve was sure he'd never heard his old friend impressed until that moment. Great. The twenty-first century was going to give Tony's father an aneurysm and there'd be no sending him back. That'd be about the way things played out.

"Yeah…" Sam answered uncertainly.

"And these?" Howard asked, pointing at a collection of various boxes below the TV.

"Uhh… Blu Ray player and gaming systems." He turned to look directly at Steve. "Am I allowed to tell him that?"

"I'm not sure he'd give up until you did," Steve huffed and kept a wary eye on Howard as he continued to explore like a child on Christmas morning shaking gifts under the tree.

"So," Peggy cut in. "Sam, was it?"

"Wilson," Sam acknowledged, reaching a hand out to shake her. "And you are the Peggy Carter. Co-founder of SHIELD."

"Not anymore," she said tensely.

"In our timeline you are. Still makes you damn impressive. Ma'am."

She cracked a small smile at that and Steve found his friend's gaze back in him. "We thought you were gone."

"I took a detour."

"I can see that."

"And you moved into my place."

Sam looked sheepish. "We knew how long it took you to secure a place in Brooklyn that wasn't crazy expensive, and it just…. we couldn't let just anybody take it."

"We?" Steve echoed.

"You've missed a lot in the last few months."

A loud crash sounded off from the kitchen and the three vets jumped, all ready for a fight. Howard peeked around the corner from the kitchen. "Everything's good. It's fine. No irreparable harm done. You weren't attached to those big red bowls, were you, Sammy?"

Sam paled slightly. "You broke my popcorn bowl?!"

___________

There was a shrill squeal that accompanied the five-year-old piling into the middle of the bed. Tony was halfway to sitting before his sleep-addled mind pieced together what was happening. He heard Pepper groan at his side and he reached up blindly, catching Morgan's around the shoulders with his arm and dragging her down into a hug she couldn't pull out of. Morgan squirmed and giggled, but her daddy had her locked into the bear hug, a smile tilting his lips even though his eyes were still closed

"Daddy! Let goooooo."

"Nope. I'm sleeping."

"No you're not!"

"Uh-huh."

"Nu-uh!"

"How did I end up with two kids?" Pepper groaned, and before Tony knew it there was a pillow being awkwardly smacked in their general direction.

"Pillow fight!" Morgan announced.

"Tony, I swear if you let her up —" his wife warned, but he was already loosing his grip.

"What can I say, hon? She's just too good. Regular contortionist. There's no holding her."

Morgan went after her mom first, Pepper laughing as she shielded her face. It wasn't long until she turned on her father too, and the Stark household dissolved into giggly chaos. By the end up it Tony was standing on the bed, feet sinking into the memory foam mattress, and in a standoff with his daughter.

"Drop your weapon or face Iron Girl!" Morgan announced in all seriousness and Tony had to swallow the burst of laughter.

"I thought you'd be at least thirteen before I became the villain. What'd I do?"

"Jumped on the bed and taught our daughter terrible habits," Pepper deadpanned from the bathroom that she had retreated to in order to stay as far away from the waging war as possible.

"You tried to blow up the world," Morgan told him matter-of-factly.

"Wow. I am bad. You're right," he said with a grin.

"I'm gonna beat you!" Morgan announced and threw the pillow, adding sound effects that sounded at least vaguely like the energy beams from the Iron Man suit.

The cube of fluff hit his shins and Tony made a show of going down, bouncing against the bed and flopping out. He felt Morgan creep closer and he cracked an eye open. "You saved the world. Good job, kiddo."

She grinned, showing off her newly missing tooth. "Can I have cinnamon toast for breakfast?"

"Definitely." He scooped her up on his way to rolling off the bed. "Pep, you want an omelet?"

"Just a smoothie. Do we have spinach?" she called from the bathroom.

"We do."

"With banana, please."

"I think I can manage that."

"No strawberries!"

"I know!" he chuckled as he slipped his feet into his slippers, flexing the fingers of his right hand. Stiff and a little slow, they still moved on command, even without the brace. It had been a full week since he'd had to use it, Peter's altered formula for Extremis proving to do the job without leaving his brain itching for more. The kid was good, he had to give him that. The real test would come when the nerve damage was fully repaired and he completely cut himself off from the localized doses. All he would have to rely on was the glowing ARC reactor in his chest to keep his heart beating, but that was hardly abnormal. Strangely enough it had almost been like welcoming back an old friend.

"Boss, Peter Parker is calling in," FRIDAY's voice echoed as Tony and Morgan made it down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"What's the kid doing up at this hour?"

"Fighting bad guys?" Morgan offered.

"Maybe. If so, he missed curfew and his aunt's gonna kill him."

"What's curfew?"

Tony glanced down, finding a big pair of brown eyes latched curiously on him. The questions never ended and he loved it. "When you need to be home," he explained to his daughter. "FRIDAY, put him through."

There was a click of the call connecting as Tony grabbed for the ingredients he needed, Morgan hopping from a stool to the table top and sitting there. She started to cross her legs on the table, but one look from her dad stopped that in its tracks. She gave him the most innocent grin he was sure he'd ever seen. He shot her a look. "Halo's a little crooked there, missy."

"Mr Stark?" Peter's uncertain voice echoed over the speakers.

"Good morning, Pete. You're up early."

"You too."

"If I told you I wasn't would you feel guilty?"

There was a long pause on the other end. "But FRIDAY wouldn't have…. you're joking aren't you?"

"Yup." Tony started sprinkling sugar and cinnamon on the bread. "What's up, kid?"

"Oh, uh…. hows's the new dose working out? Still lasting?"

"So far so good, but I doubt you called me at six in the morning to find that out."

"Daddy, more cinnamon," Morgan instructed and be quirked an eyebrow before dumping more on. She gave a nod of approval.

"Not that I don't like hearing from you, kid, but —"

"CaptainRogersisback."

It took a long moment for his pre-caffeinated brain to work through the run-together words, and even as he did he had trouble believing them. His hands stilled, his eyes unblinking. "What?"

"Captain Rogers is back," Peter said again, slower this time.

"Back?"

"Yeah."

"How…? And how long?"

"I don't know the details. I shouldn't even be telling you…."

"Like hell you shouldn't," Tony growled. "Where'd you hear it?"

"Uhhh….. through the Avengers grapevine."

Avengers grapevine? What did that even mean? Tony hadn't been thatfar out of the loop. "Where is he?"

"His place. In Brooklyn. From what I heard," Peter said, his voice entirely uncertain.

Tony pulled in a steadying breath. "Okay. I'll get to the bottom of it. Just…." He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Peter didn't need any other pressure on him right then. "Thanks, kid. You did good."

"Really? I didn't break some kind of code or something, did I?"

"Probably, but you kept the one that mattered. I'll be in the city today. I'll drop by and we can talk after you're out of school."

"I'm… on summer break?"

"Right. Okay. Good. After I get done one Brooklyn."

"Do you need the address?"

"No, I've got it." He glanced up at the speaker. "End call."

"Is Uncle Steve in trouble?" Morgan asked from the table.

"He's got some explaining to do," her father grumbled.

"Can he explain after you make cinnamon toast?"

Tony blinked at the half put together breakfast he'd promised his daughter. "Yeah, sweetie. Uncle Steve can wait."

___________

It was one delay after another. First breakfast, then Pepper decided she needed to go into the city that day too, so instead of hopping in the car and going, Tony was waiting on his wife and daughter to get ready. She could tell him all day long that she needed to go into the office for this or that, but she hadn't let him drive the two hours from their cabin into the city alone since they had moved back out. He had the OK from every doctor that mattered saying that he could drive again, but that didn't seem to satisfy her. What if something happened? It was a lingering, albeit unspoken fear, and as much as he would like to he couldn't quite hold it against her. Or tell her no. It was one less thing she had to worry about, even if he knew he was doing better than he had been in a long time.

"Do we get to see Pete?" Morgan asked as she bounded down the stairs, fully dressed and ready to go.

"Yep. After I talk to Uncle Steve."

"Can I see Uncle Steve too?"

"Why don't we let your daddy talk to him first? You can help me at the office," Pepper offered and she looked ready for a board meeting. Maybe she really had been planning to go in that day.

Morgan made a face at the idea and Tony reached out to ruffle her hair. "I won't be long."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"You ready?" Pepper asked as she grabbed the key fob from the ring by the door.

"Any chance you'll let me drive?"

Surprisingly enough she tossed the key his way and he reached up, thankful that his fingers chose to wrap around it rather than let it clatter to the floor. If it was a test or not really didn't matter. He felt like he'd won something in that. One more small step forward.

The trip was filled with Morgan's chatter in and around Pepper filling him in on the meetings she had scheduled for that day. Happy would meet her there and make sure Morgan wouldn't be too bored. Tony was sure that their head of security just lovedthe idea of being put on babysitting duty.

By the time he dropped them off at their New York headquarters plans had changed five times before finally settling on calling Peter to come keep her occupied. He left the situation in the best of hands before turning the Audii towards Brooklyn, his mind racing in the fresh silence. They had told him that Cap hadn't made it back, which they had all taken to mean that something had happened to him. What, they couldn't be sure, but popping back up nearly a year later didn't make any sense. Not telling Tony that he was back made even less. He had thought that, after everything, they were good. When he had left they had been good.

Tony pulled the car up to an apartment building that he'd never seen in person. It was old. Pre-war. Just the type Cap would have gone for. Sam Wilson had moved into it when Cap hadn't come back, so he must know that Steve was home. Who was next in the so-called Avengers grapevine was anybody's best guess. He still wasn't sure how Peter had found out, and he'd been too surprised that morning to press the kid on it.

A tap came at his window and Tony jumped in his seat, turning to find a patrol cop leaned down. "You lost, buddy?" he asked, but as Tony rolled the window down he watched surprise take hold.

"Nah, I'm good. Just here to see a friend."

"Holy crap. You're Iron Man."

"Used to be."

"I heard what you did…. everybody did. Are those —"

He was motioning to the scars that lined the right side of Tony's face and the former Avenger immediately opened the door. "'Scuse me, but I'm already late. You mind?"

"Oh yeah. Yeah, sure. Listen, if it's not too much trouble, my son is a huge fan of yours."

Tony offered a thin smile. "Sure, what's his name?"

A scrawled signature and photo later Tony was on his way up the flights of stairs, feeling it by the time he reached Cap's floor.

He stopped at the door, pulling in a shaky breath and steadying himself. It was fine. He'd get answers and that irritating, nagging feeling of being purposefully left in the dark would dissipate. Cap was always annoyingly consistent in having his reasons for doing things. He reached up, ready to tap against the door as it pulled open from the inside.

Suddenly Steve Rogers was standing right in front of him, a look of surprise plastered on his face. "Tony," he breathed, a little guilt around the edges of his name.

"Knew you were forgetting to tell someone something, huh?" Tony tried for a quip.

"Steve, is really like to see —" The woman who owned the voice rounded the corner and slammed to a stop. "Oh. Hello."

Steve sucked in a breath. "Tony, this is —"

"Peggy Carter," Tony finished for him, the first real smile touching his lips since that morning. "This is all making a lot more sense."

"You're not mad?"

The question sounded too small to be coming out of Captain America's mouth and Tony cracked a grin as he stepped into the apartment. "Well, you're not gonna shatter time and space, I don't think. I'm sure her new timeline will find a way to compensate." He turned to meet his friend's eyes. "You deserve a little happiness after everything. I get it, Cap."

A rush of air left the older man. "You don't know how good it is to hear you say that."

"That doesn't mean I'm not gonna hold this over your head until one of us finally bites the dust."

"Cap, did you say Tony? Your inventor friend?" a voice called out and Tony looked over. That voice sounded like —

"Holy shit," Tony breathed as Howard Stark rounded the corner.

___________

TBC

Notes: And to think I thought this chapter was going to be on the short side... I had a lot of fun with this one. Pepperony fluff, Iron Fam, and Tony realizing that Steve not only brought one person back from the 40's, but two... the other being his dad. I've been looking forward to this chapter for a long time lol Even more so the next chapter.

Next Time: Tony tries to process what's going on and Steve asks for help.

#Endgame fix it fic #Steve Rogers #Peggy Carter #Howard Stark #Tony Stark #Pepper Potts #Morgan Stark #Peter Parker

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