the fruity four as mcr album vibes

eddie - revenge & very specific songs in tbp

steve - the second half of bullets

robin - danger days + zero percent

nancy - tbp and number 5

Eddie hated this and he'd just started.

See, he was so proud when he made it, when he got his first office job. He saw what decades of physical labor did to Wayne's back, his hands, and he wanted to make his uncle proud. So he kept applying and applying and getting ignored and rejected and finally, finally he got a job in a pretty large corporate. Not exactly something prestigious, but hey, it had potential. The experience counted and all that.

He thought maybe workplaces would be different, that the good ol' high school dynamic would fuck off, but no. He was sitting at his desk, trying to fill in paperwork after a taxing phone call, but all he could focus on was whispering from the neighboring cubicle that was ostentatiously loud. He didn't know who sat there yet, the guy had been on vacation for the two weeks Eddie was in the company. From the stuff he was hearing, he was getting introduced anyway and not exactly the way he'd have liked to be.

"Can you believe they actually let him work here?" It was Carol, of course it was, the office gossip and mean girl knockoff. "I mean, he doesn't even look decent! Did you see that hair?" Okay, that hurt. He actually pulled his hair into a neat bun every morning, but you can't please some people. "And he has tattoos, what would our customers think if they actually met him, plus you should have heard the rumors about his past-!"

But just as he was about to slam down the pile of paperwork and either take an extended smoke break or gently ask Carol to go fuck a polar bear, he heard another voice. Bored and wonderfully bitchy.

"That's absolutely fascinating, Carol. Please tell me more, what could this guy possibly have done? It must be something juicy. Did he perhaps fuck his boss during the Christmas party and then lie about it to his boyfriend of five years? Oh wait no. That was you. Silly me."

Eddie had to bite his pencil to stay quiet, but his whole chest hurt by trying to keep the snickering in. And then the offended gasp. "I- you promised you wouldn't-!"

"I didn't promise shit, Carol. You just came to me, cried your eyes out - bad move by the way, invest in some waterproof mascara for god's sake, mascara in wrinkles doesn't good on anyone, and yes, you do have wrinkles - and tried to play the victim. Except I heard your small proposition to the guy before so it didn't really work out. But it's fine, you know," and oooh, the tone was smug, so bored, Eddie loved this guy already, "Tommy saw you as well and had a good time with Nicole to get even. So there's nothing to worry about. Now tell me, what did this horrible Eddie Munson do to summon wrath of such a righteous woman such as yourself?"

Eddie heard a sharp sound as Carol got up from the desk. "Fuck you, Steve Harrington," she spat out and sped past Eddie's seat. He just gave her a small salute.

When the sound of high heels faded, Eddie leaned over the cubicle wall and knocked to draw the guy's attention. And yeah, maybe he was a little bit biased because he'd just obliterated a textbook definition of a shrew, but this Steve was fucking gorgeous, light brown eyes looking at him, a smug smirk tugging at his lips.

"Oh hi," said Steve and offered his hand, shaking Eddie's. "Sorry for that. I'm Steve Harrington and whatever deepest, darkest secrets you're hiding, I don't care, I'm pretty sure I've heard them all. What did you do? Shave your head in school? Join a cult? Cut dolls apart and chant hail Satan?"

That had Eddie laughing again, but he still had an introduction to make. A proper one. "Nice to meet you, Steve. Eddie Munson, and I'm worse than your darkest nightmares. I sometimes wear socks in sandals."

Steve's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, Carol was right, you are a monster!" he muttered. "Speaking of monsters..." His head leaned to the side, towards Carol who was angrily carrying her coffee mug, her mascara running again.

Before he could catch himself, Eddie leaned over the wall and whispered as loudly as he could muster. "Can you believe some people wear dotted dresses with stripes on their stockings? We can't all be born with taste, I guess...tragic."

And again, maybe Eddie was just biased, but Steve's laughter was so pretty that it actually made dealing with Carol's bullshit worth it.

Fine Line (Bucky Barnes Falling Series)

A/N: This is the sequel to Falling. This will be the second installment to my Falling (Bucky Barnes) Series. I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE IT!

PROMPT: Bucky has been distant lately. Y/N doesn’t know why.

WARNING: slight mature content but not in detail, ANGST, SADNESS, fluff

FALLING | FINE LINE | SHE

SERIES MASTERLIST

-

“Nat, I’m begging you,” Bucky pleaded, getting on his knees in front of his teammate. “Tell me where Y/N went.”

Nat pitied him. It hurt to see him so broken, begging for her to tell him where you went, but her loyalty was with you. She promised to you that where you went would stay with her and only her until the grave. “I can’t, Bucky.”

“Nat.” His voice cracked, tears slipping from his eyes. “I don’t know what else to do. Her phone is disconnected. I called everyone she knows. Nobody knows where she is. Nat, please.”

“Get up, Barnes,” She sighed, pulling the soldier by his arms. “Y/N made me promise I wouldn’t say a word. I don’t agree with what she did, running away and leaving you with no trace, but it’s what she wanted. She didn’t want you to all of a sudden start acting like you love her again just because you realized she’s not there anymore.” 

“Again? What do you mean again?” Bucky questioned, rising to his feet. He grabbed the hem of his shirt, using it to wipe his nose and the tears on his cheeks. “I never stopped loving her, Nat.”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it.”

“I can explain.”

Nat’s face paled after Bucky’s explanation, realizing that she needed to bring Bucky to you, even if it was the last thing she did. That’s how he ended up in California on your doorstep, with the most panicked look on his face. 

You heard the first knock over the loud bass of your breakup playlist. You ignored it, remembering that Nat was the only one who knows where you were and she had you memorize a secret knock for your protection. It was a bit over the top to you, but as an Avenger, she wanted to take safety precautions. 

Then a second knock. A third. A fourth. 

You pressed pause on your phone and walked over to the door. You looked through the peephole and saw Bucky. You dropped the phone in your hands, not believing your eyes. What the hell was he doing here?

You debated on even opening the door. Leaving Bucky nearly killed you, you almost didn’t do it. It was a shock, a miracle even, that you had the courage to get up and leave. You knew that you were too vulnerable, too in love and too attached, to be able to walk away from him a second time. All it takes is for those beautiful, blue eyes, that you used to wake up to every morning to take one look at you. All it takes is his voice, rough around the edges but soothing, calm, home. All it takes is one touch to reignite the spark that you convinced yourself has burned out between you. That’s all it takes. 

You started to back away from the door, having gone through enough breakups in your lifetime to know how it goes. You leave. They beg for you to stay. They promise they’ll change. Things are good for a while. Then they remember why they became distant in the first place. Next thing you know, it’s over all over again. You couldn’t lose Bucky a second time. The first time was painful enough. 

“Y/N, please.” His voice croaked out from the other side of the door. “I know you’re in there. Baby please, let me explain.”

You gasped upon hearing his voice. Baby. Your heart broke after hearing how broken he sounded, the way the pet name still rolled off his tongue with such familiarity. it was overwhelming. 

“Look, I get it if you don’t want to see me..” Bucky leaned against the door, mumbling into the wood. “But please listen to me. I know I don’t even deserve that, but please, doll. I’m begging you.”

You stayed silent, pressing your ear against the door. Why are you doing this? A part of you knew that no matter what he said, no matter what excuse, you would open the door and fall apart in his arms. It’s Bucky. It’s your Bucky. 

“Okay,” He sighed. “In the small chance that you are listening to me, I can explain why I’ve been so distant lately. I was scared, doll. I-I’ve been doing these treatments with Tony that’s supposed to reverse what HYDRA did. In hindsight, it was supposed to diminish the effects of the trigger words on me and I could become Bucky. James, the one that I would tell you about.”

“But it didn’t always work..” He trailed off, staring at his metal hand, a reminder of the monster that he became. Even after HYDRA, he was still suffering. He had lost so much because of the Winter Soldier, he’ll be damned if he loses you too. “Some days it would make me worse. It was a lot of trial and error, I knew that going into it. I couldn’t tell anybody, not even Steve.”

“You don’t understand how badly I wanted to tell you. All those talks about our future, marriage, kids, all of that, suddenly started to feel like it could be a reality instead of just my wildest imagination.” Bucky chuckled. “But the treatment was a push and pull sometimes. Sometimes I’d feel like it was working and I’d be so excited to come home to you and kiss you. God, I miss kissing you.”

You wiped the tears from your face, missing the way his lips felt on yours. They were always chapped but the minute your lips touched, none of it mattered. You’d kiss him even after missions, lips busted and bloody. You’d kiss him in his sleep, pull away and watch the smile cover his face as he started to wake up. You’d kiss him when you were making love, incoherent words of love and affirmation as you both reached your release. You miss kissing Bucky, you truly do.

“Other times, I would lose control over my arm and it would just crush everything in sight. They’ve had to confine me in a cubicle until the symptoms wore off.” Bucky looked down, remembering the painful memories. “Being tortured by HYDRA was painful but this... Y/N, this was something else.”

“I was being tortured by my own self.” He paused, flexing his metal arm. The mechanical whirring made him cringe. “I was fully aware of what I was doing. I was Bucky but my arm was being controlled by someone other than me. Doll, I was so scared. I-if I were to come home, I wouldn’t have had control over hurting you.” 

“I couldn’t live with myself, if that happened. If something happened to you, I-” Bucky broke down, voice shaking as he continued his story. “I just couldn’t come home like that.”

You backed away from the door, undoing the locks. You took a deep breath before opening it. Bucky wasn’t expecting it. He fell over once the door he was leaning on, disappeared. 

You tried to hold in the giggle that was threatening to escape your throat when you saw the scene in front of you. Bucky, on his face, a hurt expression on his features. He looked up at you and instantly his demeanor changed. Your Bucky. 

He smiled, his real smile, despite his glossy, red eyes, He scrambled to get up and face you. Once he was on his feet, he tucked his hands in his front pockets, rocking back and forth. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi, Buck.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.”

You couldn’t help it anymore. You wrapped your arms around his torso and buried yourself in his chest. Home. He laughed at the sudden contact, not because of your reaction but because he was genuinely happy. Bucky wrapped his arms around you, picking you up to spin you. 

He kicked the front door closed and put you down, breathless from laughing so much. “I missed you.”

You refused to let go of him, your arms still wrapped around him as you looked up to reply. “I missed you more.”

Bucky leaned down and kissed you. You let out a broken cry when you felt his lips move against yours. It’s been too long. You missed this so much. This felt like Bucky. You guys were back. 

You two only pulled away from some air, goofy smiles plastered on both of your faces when you did. He connected his forehead with yours, eyes closed, cherishing the moment. Bucky would periodically leave pecks on your cheeks and lips, loving the way you giggled each time he did. He missed your laugh. 

“I’m sorry for not listening to your explanation before leaving.” You apologized, genuinely feeling guilty for your actions. 

“I don’t blame you.” He admitted, hands finding yours. He played with your fingers, taking extra care with the one in his metal hand. “I’m just so happy you gave me the chance to explain.”

“Didn’t really give me much choice now, didn’t you?” You teased, pulling him back into an embrace. “You show up on my doorstep, two timezones away from where you were.”

“I guess I didn’t.” Bucky kissed the top of your head, letting the scent of your shampoo overtake his senses. That’s all he wanted. To smell you. To touch you. To see you. To taste you. To hear you. You. That’s all he wanted. “I can’t lose my best girl.”

“Always a charmer, Barnes.” 

You stared at each other for a moment. There was a shift in the air. For months, both of you were deprived from touch. Bucky was never around and you started to distance from him, neither of you were cruel enough to be touched by someone other than each other. You both knew nobody else could fulfill the touch you both so desperately needed. 

Bucky kissed you hungrily, his tongue pushing past your lips. You moaned into his mouth, hands clawing down the front of his body. Your teeth tugged softly at his lips, a weakness of his. He groaned a beautiful sound as you pushed him, ushering him into the bedroom. 

-

You woke up next to Bucky. You almost cried at the sight, not being able to remember the last time you saw this image. 

Bucky was shirtless, a blanket barely covering his body, hair sprawled out on the pillow, and his mouth slightly, agape. He looked peaceful. His arm was under you, pulling you into his gravity. You could feel his heart thumping against his chest, a rhythm you could listen to forever. 

You leaned over to plant a quick kiss to his lips. You meant for it to be quick but his lips attached themselves to yours. You kissed back, smiling through the sweet exchange of love. You squealed as he pulled you closer to him, bare chests pressing against each other. He continued to kiss you for a few more minutes, not wanting to let go. 

“I want to wake up like this everyday.” He muttered, eyes still shut. “Just like this.”

“Your eyes aren’t even open yet so technically you haven’t woken up.”

He opened his eyes slowly, stretching his limbs out in the process. He stared at your face, his smile getting wider when he realizes you’re staring at him. Bucky’s eyes dart down to your exposed chest, a dirty smirk replacing the innocent smile he had on before. “I can wake up like this everyday.”

You smacked him across the chest, laughing at his words. “You dirty man.”

“You’re hot, babe.” He defended, pulling you close to his body again. “Take the compliment.” 

You cooed in adoration, loving the way warmth radiated off of his body. “I love you.”

“I love you.” Bucky replied, not missing a beat. His fingers started to draw shapes on the small of your back, not missing the way you shivered under his touch. You were always so responsive, even in the most innocent way. “I love you, so much. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you.”

“You’re not gonna lose me.” You said, reaching up to cup his face in your hands. You placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. “I’m sorry for leaving without giving you a chance to explain. I just thought I already lost you.”

“Never,” He murmured. “I just wanted to become the best version of me for you. You deserve that.”

“James Buchanan Barnes,” You half-scolded, tilting his head down so he could look into your eyes. “You are the man I fell in love with. I will love you even if it’s the worst version of yourself, you hear me? You are a good man. You will never lose that. I will never lose sight of that.” 

“How did I get so lucky?”

“I ask myself that too.”

You laid there in silence, enjoying the closeness of your bodies. It’s been too long. Bucky looked down at you, head on his chest and wondered if in this lifetime, he’d be able to truly live. Enjoy the love that he watched his parents have. See the world as a tourist with you by his side. Grow old with you and have children and grandchildren and pets, lots of them. He wondered if life would be kind enough to give him the life he’s been yearning for since before the war. He wondered if the void that he’s been trying to fill was in the shape of you. It sure seemed like it.

He laid there frozen, not wanting to disrupt your rest. Your soft snores made Bucky smile. He wasn’t able to sleep without the white noise that he grew to love. The nights he fell asleep without you next to him were some of the worst nights. He wished you were beside him. He wished that even now with you practically laying on top of him. He wanted you closer to him, if that was even possible. 

You began to stir, eyes fluttering open for the second time today. “Let’s make breakfast.”

You untangled yourself from him, instantly regretting it. You already missed Bucky’s body next to yours. You quickly slipped on his t-shirt and tossed his boxers on the bed for him to put on. He slipped it on and ran towards you as you put your hair up in a low ponytail. “You’re gonna have to cook with me on top of you.”

You threw your head back laughing, placing one hand over the arms wrapped around your waist. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Once you guys got to the kitchen, Bucky excused himself to go to the bathroom. You merely nodded, engrossed in the directions behind the box of pancake mix. You started to measure the ingredients, plopping the batter on the pan. You hummed to yourself as you waited for the pancakes to brown around the edges. 

“Y/N..” Bucky called from the doorframe of the kitchen.

“Mhm?” You responded, still focusing on the pancake in front of you. 

“Turn around.”

“What’s up, Buck? I’m making panca-” You turned around, the half cooked pancake on your spatula. “Oh my God.”

The pancake fell off your spatula, a blob of batter staining the kitchen floor. You covered your mouth with your hands. 

“Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N,” Bucky started, raising the velvet box while he was on one knee. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” You nodded furiously, rushing over to him to kiss him. He got up, grabbing your face in his hands to deepen the kiss. You pulled away, the smile returning to your face. Bucky’s hands shook as he tried to put the ring on your finger. You both took turns wiping the tears off of each other’s faces. “It’s perfect.” 

You two stood there, repeating your declarations of love over and over again. The pancake batter was long forgotten. You admired the ring on your finger and the man you would vow to love forever. 

Marrying Bucky seemed too good to be true. The love you two shared was something you swore only existed in the movies. 

It was the vast ocean, deep and unexplored. It was scary, intimidating, and you don’t know if you’ll make it out of it alive. It’s risky and overwhelming.

But your love was also the first chirp of a bird that you hear after a heavy thunderstorm, reminding you that everything will be okay. It’s the love that reminds you of the beauty in the ugly. 

Your love was the moon and the stars, the sun and the clouds, the dew on the blades of grass, the smell of freshly baked cookies. Your love was everything grand. It was the big picture of life, but it was also the details, so simple, so subtle, but it was yours. It’s your love. 

It’s indescribable but it makes sense to the two of you. That’s all that mattered. 

Your serene moment was interrupted by a synchronized knock on the door. Nat. 

You furrowed your eyebrows, motioning Bucky to follow you to open the door. You looked through the peephole to see a distressed Nat. You quickly undid the locks, Bucky right behind you when you opened the door. 

Nat took a look at the two of you, her signature smirk appearing on her face. “Nice to see that you two worked it out.”

“Thanks, Nat.” Bucky said sheepishly, his hand finding your hip bone and giving it a squeeze. “What are you doing here?”

Her smirk dropped from her face, her shoulders falling heavy. “We have a problem.”

“What happened?” You asked, leaning against Bucky.

“Thanos.” She stated, nervousness evident in her voice. “Thanos is coming.”

-

“Y/N, something happened.” 

You looked at Steve, dumbfounded. “Is he hurt?”

“When Thanos snapped his fingers, half of all living creatures vanished,” He started, looking down at his feet. “Bucky... Bucky was one of them.”

You shook your head, not believing his words. You repeated the words, “No, that’s not true. “Steve, where is he?” “How do we get him back?” You sobbed violently, Nat having to wrap her arms around you to muffle your cries. 

Your head was propped up on Nat’s shoulder, giving you the perfect view of the dimly lit bathroom where you were before Nat and Steve arrived. Your mind thought back to the two small lines you saw on the test. Positive.

You fell apart in her embrace, still not coming to terms with the information they delivered. 

Bucky’s not around anymore. 

-

MAIN MASTERLIST

TAGS:

I wasn’t sure if you guys wanted to be tagged for the second part, let me know if you guys want to be removed from the taglist for the final part! :)

@hurricane-abigail | @youaremyfiveever | @multi-fan-lover | @ladyofhellhounds | @readsreblogsfics | @heda-mikaelson | @winterseba-ficrec | @learisa | @iheartsebastianstan | @5sossebby | @stainedsouvenirfavs | @jessyballet | @vintagemichelle91 | @wxntersoldiers | @tfandtws | @chelsey-3922 | 

Searching For Forever ~ Part 1 (Peter Parker x Stark!FemReader)

Warnings: Swearing,, mediocre writing, uh angst ig??

Summary: When everything seems almost too perfect, your family is starting to fall to pieces. Your father chooses his path, and Steve chooses the opposite, and you’re in the middle of it all. Only confiding in your best friend who just so happens to be everyones favorite Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and the one you fall for.

Part 2 is here

A/N: Hi!! Part 1 is here!! I hope you all love it as much as I do, thank you for reading. I am going to hopefully have part 2 up sometime next week. I will let you all know the night before I post it. Enjoy! Love you all,, xx ~ Devyn <3

Civil War Part 1 -

“Miss Stark?” FRIDAY’s voice rang through your ears. You lay disheveled on your floor. Hair up in a messy bun, and stains covering your clothes of chemicals, food, and water.

“Yes, Friday?” You called back as you jotted down another equation into your notebook for later solving. School was most certainly your least favorite thing, well, that and your dad being mad at you. Your father, Tony Stark a world-famous billionaire and genius, and he loved to add onto that with ‘playboy and philanthropist.’ While the last part was true he had now had a steady relationship going with Pepper Potts. When you were dropped off at your father’s house at the age of three, by your mother, Pepper had been the one to whip Tony into shape and made him realize he had a responsibility now. You.

“Your father is asking if you could join him for something to eat.”

“Eat? It’s only three…”

“Miss, it’s seven o’clock. He said dinner is ready and he needs to discuss some things with you.” You pushed yourself up off the floor and closed the notebook, making sure to mark your place with a pencil.

“I swear if this is about me stealing all of Caps sweatshirts again…” You grumbled and walked out of your room after putting on a clean shirt. You feet collided with the cool marble flooring, a soft pitter-patter echoing off the walls of the tower. As the elevator whirred and took you down to the dining area, you picked at your cubicles, a nervous tick you had picked up since you had found out your dad was Iron Man. You had snuck into his lab one night when you were seven. Trouble sleeping and lack of comfort from him led you to where you were standing in the lab. Your jaw hits the floor, the teddy bear in your hand, -who you ironically named snuffles because really what kid didn’t have a weird name for their stuffed bears- had hit the floor with a gentle thud. Right in front of your eyes was your father testing out his new suit, DUM-E right by his side holding up a fire extinguisher.

~

“YOU'RE IRON MAN?!” Your voice filled the lab, and Tony jumped slightly, one of his arms getting knocked loose from the suit.

“(Y/N)!” He hissed, “What the hel-heck are you doing in here! You should be asleep!” Tony yelled, his face turning red from anger or embarrassment, you couldn’t really tell. You bent down and picked up snuffles drawing him into your chest as you held him close.

“I-I couldn’t s-sleep and Miss Potts isn’t here so…” You shrugged and Tony sighed, a greasy hand running through his hair as he climbed out of the suit. He sat down on a stool and motioned for you to walk over. A small smile graced your features as you happily walked up towards him, hair bobbing around as you jumped with every step. Tony let out a small chuckle as he wiped his hands with a rag and reached out for you. He lifted you up and sat you on his knee.

“Listen pumpkin, you can’t tell anyone about this. This is our little secret… okay?”

“Okay!” You cheered nodding at him and holding up your pinkie. He laughed and linked his with yours.

“You can’t tell anyone, not Miss Potts, Happy, your uncle Rhodey… no one. This is dangerous and I don’t want anyone to know.”

“But why not?” You asked moving your attention from the bear in your arms up to his face. Your big (y/e/c) doe eyes made his heart warm at the sight.

“Because pumpkin, you could all get hurt. And I can’t let that happen. Especially not to you.”

“I’ll be fine daddy, you’re iron man!” You giggled and he shook his head a small laugh escaping past his lips. You were so young and had yet to figure out the dangers of this world. Tony wanted to keep it from you for as long as possible, he was going to protect you no matter the cost. His hand cupped the back of your small head as he gently pulled you closer to his chest.

“I love you.” He whispered and placed a gentle kiss to the top of your head. You smiled warmly and looked up at him.

“I love you too Papa.” You hummed and rested your head against his chest again, your eyes scanning the room around you as you asked, “Does this mean I get my own suit now?”

“No.” He stated, before laughing softly. “You’re too young, and-”

“Then can I try on your suit?!” You cried out, raising your head from his chest and giving him a goofy grin. He let out a defeated sigh and shook his head.

“Not tonight pumpkin, it’s time for bed.”

~

“(Y/n)!” Your father’s cheery voice filled your ears as the elevator doors slid open.

“Hey Old Man, Miss Potts.” You greeted the pair as you walked up to the kitchen island and climbed up onto one of the obnoxiously high stools.

“(y/n/n), sweetie how many times have I told you to call me Pepper?” Pepper said, looking over at you with a teasing smile. You chuckled nervously and shrugged.

“Heh, sorry force of habit I guess… Anyways uh what’s for dinner?”

“Cheeseburgers and I made them.” Tony grinned and you sighed shaking your head.

“Well, Pepper guess we had better start apartment searching.” You said nudging the blonde woman's arm. She laughed and nodded in agreement.

“I’ll call the relators now.”

“No no no! There is no need for that. I didn’t even burn the kitchen down!”

“Yeah, this time! Besides for all we know this could be an illusion Old Man.”

“Oh, can it. I know what I’m doing.” He grumbled turning away from the both of you and grabbing the plates. He handed them out before sitting down across from you. You looked down at the burger and fries sitting beside it. You tossed a fry into your mouth and chewed, before picking up the burger. Your eyes flickered from the burger to Pepper who was looking over at you as well. A soft sigh escaped your lips as you bite into it.

You placed it down again and nodded, your eyes meeting the cheerful face of your father.

“It’s… really good. Nice job Dad.” You said with a smile as he gave you a goofy grin and cheered.

“I knew it! Now next time you underestimate my cooking you’ll be eating rats.”

“Dad!” you screeched, “Tony!” Pepper and you called at the same time making you chuckle a bit.

“Oh whatever anyways, what I needed to talk about Uhm…” Tony cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “Do you remember a few days ago your Uncle Steve and crew went to Lagos.”

“Yeah…”

“Well, Wanda… she uh. She basically contained the blast but she threw it upward near a building, which was full of Wakandan humanitarian workers.”

“Wait wait so, Rumlow the guy I told you looked like a bad guy, tried to steal that staff thing or whatever it was, and then blew himself up, causing Wanda to hurt Wakandans?”

“Yes, now we have some of it under control. We are getting word to Wakanda and they will be handling everything with the families but, Secretary Ross-”

“I hate that guy…” You grumbled taking another bite of food.

“So do I pumpkin, but he informed all of us that we need to have a meeting about what happened. So the rest of the team is coming back soon, and we will have a meeting tomorrow night.” Tony said as he took the last bite of his burger and sighed. “So just be prepared for anything to happen.”

“Already am Dad.” You said with a reassuring smile as you stood up and put your plate in the sink. “Besides you guys will work it out and come up with a solution together, you always do.” You said walking back over to him and placing a small kiss to his cheek. He smiled and hugged you before standing up. “I’m gonna get back to work… I’ll see you two in the morning, night Pepper, night Dad.”

“Goodnight (y/n), sleep well.” Pepper said as she poured herself a cup of tea. You smiled at her and waved before walking over to the elevator.

“Night Pumpkin!” Tony called off as you walked into the elevator. A small smile curled on your lips as the doors slid shut. You hit the button for your floor and up went the elevator with a quiet whir.

-

“(Y/N)?! Hellooooo?” Ned snapped his fingers in your face making you jump. You brought the palms of your hands up to your eyes and rubbed them gently before looking up across the table at him and Peter with an apologetic grin.

“Sorry Ned, uh what was that?” You asked bringing your pencil up to your face and tapping it against your lip.

Last night all seemed like one big blur. You had gone back up to your room and sat down in front of your Ap Physics homework, the equations jumbled together in your head, mixing with thoughts of how the meeting tomorrow would play out. Everything was a mess. You tried calling Steve but he sent you straight to voicemail. You assumed it was because technology was never his strong suit, but when you had called Nat she told you he was sitting alone on the jet by himself and refusing to speak. Which was never a good time in anyone’s case. And it didn’t help the fact that Wanda refused to talk to anyone either, leaving Sam and Nat to chat amongst themselves or sleep. Which Nat had problems with in the first place. So the two of you remained talking for most of the night, she explained what happened during the mission, and how she took down some of his men after chasing them through the crowded village streets. A real mess, the mission actually turned out to be, even if they did stop Rumlow… sort of. You knew this whole thing was going to be one huge lawsuit, and mess to clean up. Nat had urged you to sleep after talking until three am, and when you argued she hung up, leaving you to sit and ponder for a while until your alarm blared twenty minutes after you fell asleep. You had no clue you were awake that long, figuring you were dreaming when in reality you sat alone with your clouded and messy thoughts. They ran a mile a minute and nothing made sense. Not then, and certainly not now as you sat across from a rambling Ned and Peter in study hall.

“I asked if later tonight you wanted to come over to Peters with us and watch Star Wars? Right, Pete.” Ned asked, giving the blushing boy beside him a knowing glance before turning back to you.

“Oh uh yeah, yep. We were gonna grab sandwiches from Delmars on the way back along with some snacks and just hang out like we used to before…” He gulped and faked winced. “SAT’s.” You chuckled softly at his dramatic performance and leaned back in your chair, a yawn escaping past your somewhat chapped lips, after licking them nervously all day long.

“I would love to!” The boys perked up at that sentence, “But I can’t… I need to be at home. My father has a meeting tonight.” The boys frowned in sync before Peter’s face seemed to light up and a glimmer of hope shown in his eyes.

“Wait do you have to be there? Like will the world end if you’re not?”

“Dude, she said no. Her dad is Tony Stark I mean I don’t think she’d be able to get out of it anyways.” Ned’s disappointment was seemingly making you and Peter upset, but Peter did have a good point.

“Actually, Pete’s right. I can just call and ask him. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, as long as I’m home by ten. Which won’t be a problem with Happy.” They nodded their heads eagerly and you shook your head with a small chuckle, opting to call your father later and going back to your studies.

“‘Sup Losers.” Mj stated as she dropped her sketchbook on the table open to a freshly drawn image of you. As your brow raised in confusion, you reached over and picked up the book, your eyes skimming over the charcoal drawing and chuckling softly to yourself before handing it back to her.  

“Hey Michelle, I guess I was another one of your ‘muses’ again? What was it this time, me being dead tired, or over-stressed?”

“A bit of both, Stark. You always have an interesting expression. Hard to read but not impossible.” She said before closing her book and slinking back in her chair as her gaze fixated on Ned and Peter. “I think your nerds are broken, (Y/N/N).” You looked up and rolled your eyes realizing Peter and Ned’s mouths were agape, and they had confused looks on their faces.

“Ahem, Peter… Ned, this is Michelle. She’s in my art appreciation class.”

“My friends call me MJ.” She said pushing a stray strand of hair from her face.

“So… why doesn’t (Y/N) call you MJ?” Peter asked, raising a brow as he looked between the both of you. MJ let out an annoyed huff while you chuckled.

“Well, I forget sometimes.”

“No, it’s because you’re a loser like them and do it to annoy me.” MJ chimed in with a small smirk as she pulled out her notebook.

“Hey! We are not losers!” Peter squeaked making you laugh, and shrug.

“Yes you are, we all are. Right MJ?” You said looking over at her with a playful smirk.

“Nah (Y/N/N) you are because you hang out with them.”

“What’re you doing right now?” You asked leaning forward in your chair to reach for a pretzel from Peter’s snack bag.

“Touche Stark, Touche… Anyways going back to art, did you finish your assignment yet?” MJ spoke up as she began jotting down notes in her book.

“Haha no. I don’t know how I’ll get any photos of Spider-Man for the school paper. One no one reads that and two, I’m not even allowed out into the city!” You cried, wincing as people around your table shushed you. You shot them an apologetic smile before continuing. “I mean I live with the Avengers for god’s sake and I haven’t even met him. My dad talks about him and his work all the time. Although, he’s never actually met him… that much I know.” Your gaze flickered up to Peter for a moment as he shifted somewhat uncomfortably in his seat, before focusing on Ned as he spoke up.

“You know the only reason they want those photos is because for whatever, stupid… very stupid reason, Flash runs it and he wants those photos, and he thinks people will read it.”

“I swear he’s so gay for Spider-Man.” You joked as Peter let out an obnoxiously loud laugh. The three of you turned to look at him and waited for him to explain what the hell it was about.

“Uh… ahem, sorry I was thinking about a cat video on youtube… yeah…”

“Okay…? Well, I’ll leave you weirdos to it.” MJ said, standing up and gathering her things.

“What so were just weirdos now?”

“Yeah gotta keep you on your toes Stark. Now, are you coming with me to grab an early lunch or are you just gonna starve till third?”

“Nope, on my way. Bye, Ned and Peter! I’ll see you after school, yeah?” You asked pushing your chair in and walking off towards MJ as they called back.

“Yeah bye (Y/N)!” Ned called.

“B-bye (Y/N/N)!” Peter called before immediately looking down towards his notes. Ned rolled his eyes and elbowed him, hard. “Dude!” Peter hissed, looking towards his best friend.

“When are you going to tell her that you like her? We have known her since middle school, and you’ve had the biggest crush on her since then.”

“I have not!” Peter retorted before messily scribbling down the last of his homework.

“Yes, you have. Just tell her!”

“No, Ned! She can’t know, one her dad would track me down and kill me if I ever hurt her, and I really don’t need any avengers coming for my ass, and two she’s out of my league!”

“Peter if she’s out of your league then so am I. I mean come on, she chooses to hang out with us, she doesn’t have to. Hell when you dropped your orange juice all over her on the first day of sixth grade she could have hated you and had her dad kill you then for ruining her converse and she didn’t, she smiled and helped you clean it up. You were so frazzled you couldn’t even figure out how to wipe up a liquid.”

“Yeah because she was so sweet about it and ask if I was okay. I should have been asking her that.”

“Exactly! So tell her, or I will.” Ned joked before closing his textbook and standing up, as Peter stuffed his books into his bag.

“Ned, no. God, it’s just… complicated, look I’ll talk to you later I gotta get to class.” Peter muttered before rushing off down the hallway.

“Look (Y/N/N), all I’m saying is you could avoid getting yelled at by Miss Henderson if you didn’t question her teaching methods all the time.” MJ said as she closed her locker and looked over at you with crossed arms.

“Well it’s not my fault she barely knows the difference between oil paintbrushes and acrylic.”

“There is little to no difference!”

“But there is still a difference!”

“A difference in what?” Ned asked as him and Peter approached you. A soft groan fell from your lips as you pushed yourself up from your locker.

“It’s nothing, uh I’m basically ready to leave just have to ask my dad. I’ll see ya later MJ?” You asked raising a brow up at your dark-haired friend. She nodded, saluting you playfully before walking off.

“Sounds good, we'll meet you out front yeah?” Peter asked shooting you a small smile. You nodded and pulled out your phone when they walked off. You scrolled through your contacts and clicked on Tonys, it rang a few times before he picked up.

“Hey pumpkin, everything alright?”

“Hey Dad, yeah I’m fine. How’re things over there?” You asked biting at your nails from nervousness. He was silent for a few minutes before letting out a small sigh.

“Messy… uh I mean everyone is resting right now. We were shown something called the Sokovia Accords that the UN wants to pass.”

“What do they have to do with you guys?” You asked, walking towards the front doors that led outside.

“It’s a lot actually… I Uhm, they want to oversee us. The world sees us as a threat more than saviors. Which is understandable but they are hosting a meeting in Vienna and I need you to go with Nat, I can’t attend and neither can Pepper.”

“Wait but dad I-I have school?!”

“Not like you haven’t missed it before kid. You’ll be fine. But you leave tomorrow morning.”

“Fine, but if I miss any big tests and fail I am blaming you. But I was actually calling to ask about tonight. Can I go over to Peter’s? Ned and him want to watch Star Wars and study.”

“Wow, how entertaining…”

“Dad, I can hear the sarcasm dripping from your voice.”

“That’s the point, but I suppose just be back bef-”

“Before ten, yeah yeah I know the drill. Bye Tin Can love you!”

“Love you too, be safe,” Tony said before hanging up. You sighed and pocketed your phone before walking outside.

What in the hell could the Sokovia Accords even mean? And why do Nat and I have to go to a conference in Vienna?! And if we live here why the fuck does the UN want to try and control us… All these thoughts flooded your mind. I mean really what the hell could the United Nations do? Your entire family did save New York and the rest of the world from impending doom from Loki, and you even helped. Sure you weren’t out there with the rest of the action but you helped back at the tower. You kept tabs on everyone, checked their vitals out in the field all while in the comfort of your fathers' lab. Sure you didn’t fly into space and destroy the entryway like your father had, but you did what you could, and it was enough.

“He said it was cool, you ready to head out?” You asked, walking up to Peter and Ned as they chatted away about legos. You let a small chuckle slip past your lips as they turned and gave you a horrified look. “Relax nerds, I won’t tell Flash about your lego escapades. Now let’s get those sandwiches I am starving.” Peter let out a nervous chuckle before nodding.

“You’re telling me… I woke up late and didn’t eat breakfast.” Peter admitted as you all began to walk towards the infamous sandwich shop.

“Pete, you know May hates that.” Ned said with a small laugh as he walked turned onto the street leading away from Midtown.

“I’m surprised she didn’t ground you. I mean I remember that one time she found out when we were over at Neds and she made you go back home immediately.” You added nudging Ned slightly who broke out into a fit of laughter at the memory.

“Yeah yeah, I remember you were in such a rush your glasses fell off your face and you stepped on them.”

“Yeah which May was only more mad about. But I mean she knows this time she just isn’t happy about it.” Peter grumbled kicking at a stone on the sidewalk. You chuckled and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Well, we can make up for it with subs and junk food.” You said with a content sigh, as you all walked off towards the shop. Conversations ensued about many things, homework, what classes were really bothering you, Flash’s shitty teasing, and whether or not Mr. Harrington and his wife were going to last. It seemed like every class the poor guy had a new sob story about something shitty she ended up doing.

“Listen, all I’m saying is if she doesn’t love him anymore leave don’t lie to the poor man,” Peter said as he held the door open and let Ned and yourself walk in. You took in the smell of fresh bread and deli meats, a gentle hum of delight escaping your lips

“Peter it’s way more complicated than that.” Ned said as you walked up to the counter to pet the cat.

“He does have a point, Peter, I mean there’s divorce papers, lawyers, court, and who even knows if they signed a prenup. Probably not with how she treats the poor dude.”

“How who treats who?” Mr. Delmar’s voice rang through your ears, and a smile perked at the sides of your mouth.

“Delmar! My man, what's up?” You said scratching behind the cats' ears once more before walking over to the main counter, Ned and Peter following beside you.

“Eh working, sick of teenagers, what else is new. I see you’re still hanging with my least favorite customers.” He teased motioning towards Peter and Ned. You laughed and shrugged as they let out fake gasps.

“Mr. Delmar, I will have you know if it weren’t for Ned and I’s reviews on Yelp you wouldn't be named the best sandwich shop in Queens!” Peter said grinning and resting his arm on your shoulder. A small blush crept up your neck and onto your cheeks, looking anywhere but Peter’s chocolate brown eyes. Taking a deep breath, you compose yourself and rolled your eyes, scoffing slightly at his comment.

“Yeah okay Pete, anyways the usual please!” You said with a small grin as Mr. Delmar chuckled and got to work.

“I’m smashing down all of them real flat… correct?”

“Yes.” You all said in unison. Ned simply shrugged before taking out his phone and typing away. Peter grabbed a bag of Doritos, and some gummy worms to eat for later, and Ned grabbed a pack of starbursts and lays. You pondered the choices for a moment before grabbing a bag of Fritos and gummy bears, along with some chips for Sam, who always complained when you never got him any.

After Mr. Delmar handed you the sandwiches, you took them with a warm smile and said goodbye before heading out and walking off to Peters. Once at Peters, the TV was switched on to Star Wars A New Hope, and you all studied away, ate snacks, and joked. Occasionally your eyes would flicker to the movie, and then back to your paper in front of you.

You jumped slightly when your phone buzzed on the coffee table beside you. You huffed slightly noticing it was 9 o’clock meaning Happy was here. You brought the phone up to your ear and spoke up.

“Hey, Hap.”

“You’re late.”

“No you’re early the drive from Peter’s to the Tower is half an hour tops.”

“Oh whatever kid, your dad wanted me to get you so let's get a move on. I have your favorite waiting for you.”

“(Y/F/F)! Okay, I’ll be right down. Bye Hap!” You called into the phone before shoving it into the pocket of your jeans. You looked up at Ned and Peter who sat noses buried in books. A small chuckle fell past your lips as you grabbed your books and shoved them into your backpack. “Bye dorks see ya later.” You said slinging your bag over your shoulder. You laughed when they just gave you simple grunts as a response. “Bye May! Thank you for letting me over!” You called off as you walked up to the door and opened it.

“Bye (Y/N)! Come by any time!” May called from the kitchen. You smiled to yourself and shut the door behind you and raced down the steps of his apartment building.

You threw the door open to the car and Happy dropped his phone from his hands and turned to you, his face slightly pale as he looked at you like you had three heads.

“Jeez Hap, head of security getting scared by a teenage girl? Dad should know about this don’t ya think?” You chuckled and tossed your bag into the back seat, and climbed into the passenger's seat. He scoffed and handed you your food.

“Please, Tony wouldn’t know his ass from his head if I wasn’t around.”

“I think you’re confusing yourself with Pepper… but true. I mean I know I would be okay but my dad? Ha, no.” You said as you took a bite from the food and looked over at him. Happy pulled out of the parking space and began driving down the main roads back to the tower.

“Please kid, I remember you called me sobbing because you killed a bird with Clint’s arrows, after stealing them, and you thought it was a person. Then when I told you it wasn’t a person you made me plan a funeral.”

“Oh so what you’re saying is I can’t plan a funeral for a bird on my own?” You joked with a small laugh as Happy simply shook his head and chuckled softly before merging onto the highway. You let out a small sigh as you finish off the meal and leaned back in your seat.

“So, do you know anything about this trip to Vienna?”

“Not much, your dad told me it was basically about the accords, and you’re going to represent him and Stark Industries there tomorrow since he can’t go. I think he wants you and Nat to sign them? I don’t know for sure but all I know is Cap is completely against it. Thinks you should all have free will to take down threats.” Happy said as he turned down the main road of the tower and pulled into the garage.

“So Steve…?” You raised a brow and looked over at him as he let out a small sigh.

“Him and your dad never… got along well, but I think this is going to be worse than any threat we will face in the future.” You gulped at his words and nervously began to pick at your nails. ‘What the hell did Ross do?’ You thought to yourself. The Avengers as a group always just kind of… clicked. Sure your father and Steve did butt heads about a lot. You were the one to originally bring Steve to your fathers' attention, the super-soldier, frozen in the ice for years. I mean, why wouldn’t that be interesting? But according to your dad, it just meant bad things. You had grown up around those ‘bad things’ and sure your life wasn’t perfect, but no one’s was. But when you met Steve he didn’t come off as a threat. Sure he needed a little help around the edges of figuring out the new era he was suddenly thrown into, especially with wardrobe and hair cuts… But you and Steve always remained close, you would show him around New York, show him old movies and all the new memes. Although he didn’t understand it meant a lot to you that he tried and cared enough to do so. Steve was like another father to you, an uncle. He wasn’t some stranger who worked with your father, he was family. All of the Avengers are your family… and Ross will be damned if he thinks he can split it apart.

Taglist: if there is a line through your URL it means it wouldn’t let me tag u,, I’m sorry abt that I will try and figure out how to fix it <3

@inmydefenseyouletmedoit @thatwhitemutant @fangirlingisajob @parknochuism @holymotherofchickennoodlesoup @pnkthunder @rororo06 @darlingtholland

Excerpts From Unfinished Novels #10: The Seven Minute Duties of Reaper #357

Genre: fantasy, slice-of-life

Warnings: depressing thoughts about life and existence, existential crisis, implication of animal abuse (it’s not described), some strong language

Word Count: 4,228

Summary: After years of guiding human souls through their final seven minutes, Charlie – Reaper #357 – has become incredibly cynical about their job and life itself. Something needs to change for them or they might just lose their mind.

Excerpt is from the start of the novel

“Wha…what happened?” the young man asked groggily, pressing a hand to his head. He blinked and winced at the bright light around him, and looked around himself. “I was in my car, there was a crash…am I…am I in heaven? Are…are you an angel?”

“Not exactly,” Charlie replied, the boredom already evident in their tone.

They genuinely considered making up some sort of elaborate story about what they were, about the afterlife, forgiveness, nirvana, a higher plane of existence, but ultimately dismissed the notion. Management would not be pleased.

“I am a reaper; number 357 to be exact, and I am here to take you through your life.”

“My life?” The man paused and stared in to space for a moment, realisation slowly dawning over his face, his eyes widening in response. “Oh God…I’m actually dead aren’t I?”

“Almost.”

“What does that mean?”

“Your body is dead…and your mind is following. You have seven minutes left, and in those seven minutes I will take you back through your life so that your soul will be cleansed and ready for whatever comes next.”

*

“Whatever comes next?” the woman asked nonplussed. “What do you mean?”

“Well whatever happens once you die.”

“What will happen?” the woman asked, her voice filling with fear.

Charlie shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. I think it’s whatever you want to happen; heaven, reincarnation, nothing. Anyway,” they said, clapping their hands together, “we need to get started. Chop chop!”

*

“I…I can’t believe I forgot about Steve,” another woman said hollowly as she watched the memories from her early twenties play out in front of her. “He was my best friend and I…I just forgot about him…How did I forget about him?”

“You grew apart, different paths, you met a woman, he met another woman, relationships took over, etcetera etcetera,” Charlie sighed. “It happens.”

“I just didn’t think it would happen to me…”

*

The man cried as he watched his younger self, stupefied from alcohol, throwing up in the middle of the living room before engaging in a verbal screaming match with his partner.

“I was such a shit,” he sobbed. “I can’t believe I put Jamie through that…they were so good to me and I…Oh God!” He completely broke down and reached out blindly to Charlie, burying his face against their chest.

Charlie sighed a long-suffering sigh, and patted his back murmuring, “There there.”

*

The woman’s life finished, showing her lying in bed with her children and grandchildren around her. As it faded to black, she fell to her knees, and Charlie smiled in anticipation of the happy tears that would surely follow. It had been a good life, one that was quiet and full of love and family. One that so many of their previous cases had been missing.

“I…God there are so many things I would do differently,” the woman whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

Charlie’s face fell and they uttered a flat, “What.”

“Did you see my life?”

“Yes; what was wrong with it?”

“It was so boring! I didn’t get to travel, I gave up on my dreams of art school, I never had a passionate love affair, I didn’t do anything! Well I can tell you, it’ll be different the next time around,” she said, her eyes manic. “I’m going to make sure I do all the thi-“

The woman’s voice cut off as Charlie waved a hand through her, and she faded silently into mist, the colour draining from her as she did. When she had completely disappeared Charlie sighed and muttered, “That’s what everyone says.”

They finished everything up, resetting the room back to its usual appearance; blank walls with only a simple table and chair in the corner. They sat down at the desk, opened the file on it and documented the seven minutes as they had occurred, along with the reactions of the client. Charlie ended the report with their recommendation.

‘Through the expression of their regret the client has demonstrated that although they have failed to grasp the beauty of the life they lead, they have in fact cleansed their soul by understanding what it would take for them to truly appreciate the life they are given. My recommendation (pending the beliefs of the client) is reincarnation.’

Charlie rolled their eyes as they wrote their recommendation; if they were allowed to be completely honest they would recommend that every person who expressed regret with a perfectly decent life lead be sent on to the next stage and not be given another chance. However, it was policy; if a being expressed genuine regret and remorse over their actions they would be allowed another chance.

Another chance to mess it up and regret their every decision yet again.

Report done, Charlie signed the document, closed the file and took it out of the room to hand over to the filing clerk. That done, they made their way to the lunch room for a well-deserved break. That woman had been their twentieth “seven minutes” that day and they were feeling completely drained from the repetitive cycle.

*

“Hey Charlie, what’s up?” one of his co-workers Dylan called out as they entered the room, waving them over.

“Nothing much, just had yet another client who had lead a perfectly lovely life which they then expressed all sorts of remorse and regret over every decision they’d ever made,” Charlie replied in an irritated voice.

“I feel you,” Bridget, who was sitting beside Dylan, said sympathetically as she poked at her jelly. “I had to recommend reincarnation for every single one of my clients today. Still,” she added brightly, “it’s worth it when you get someone who’s truly happy and at peace with their life and is ready to move on.”

“Oh yeah because that happens all the time,” Charlie snorted in reply.

“It does happen.”

“How many times has it happened with you? Because I can tell you that out of the thousands of clients I have had, only ten of them, TEN, have been ready to move on. Humans,” they declared decisively, “are compulsive moaners and begrudgers – nothing’s ever good enough, and even when they’ve had a brilliant life all they can focus on is how much better it could have been. And it doesn’t matter how many lifetimes they’re given, they will never change.”

“Wow, cynical much?” Dylan deadpanned.

“You would be too if you worked with humans.”

“Maybe; I guess we’ll never know,” Dylan replied with a lazy grin.

“I’m going to get some food,” Charlie huffed, turning and walking away.

By the time they returned to the table Sam was sitting with Dylan and Bridget, chatting animatedly with them, a cup of tea in one hand and a sandwich in the other.

“Hey Sam,” they said as they took a seat. “What pronouns are you using today?”

“Hey Charlie, it’s she/her today,” Sam replied with a smile. “How’s your morning been?”

“The usual; yours?”

“It was okay. I had a seven-year-old who died from lukemia, and a toddler with a brain tumour. Mainly happy memories though, and they were very peaceful in the end after our chat,” she told them, a sad smile on her face.

“I would take a thousand moany adults over guiding one child through their life,” Bridget said, and Charlie nodded in agreement.

Like many other reapers, they had applied to work in the paediatric section of the Seven Minute department; the case-load was smaller and you got to spend more one-on-one time with the clients making sure they were fully cleansed and at peace before being sent on. However, they had been rejected and sent to work in the adult section, the reason being that they had overly-sympathetic tendencies when confronted by emotional scenes, while at the same time lacked the ability to effectively communicate with younger clients. It was probably for the best; Sam had told them about some of her more difficult cases when they’d gone for drinks together after work, and all it had taken was the word ‘neglect’ for Charlie to start tearing up.

“I wouldn’t; guiding a young person through their final stage is an incredible privilege and an honour,” Sam replied, ��even more so when they’ve had a difficult life. That’s when they need you most.”

“Well fair play to you because I couldn’t do it,” Bridget said, and finally started to eat her jelly.

Charlie quickly finished eating and stood up. “I have a few follow-up reports to catch up on, I’ll see you guys later.”

“We still have half an hour left before lunch ends; come on, stay and chat with us,” Dylan protested.

“Sorry guys, I want to try and get out of here on time for once.”

“You know there’s more to life than reports.”

Charlie laughed, a single snarky ‘ha!’ and replied, “Not in our line of work there’s not.”

“We’re still up for drinks later right?” Sam asked them as they stepped away from the table.

“Sure thing; swing by my office when you’re done.”

Charlie waved and walked off, dumping their empty tray by the bin as they exited the room. They grabbed a coffee, headed to their cubicle, put on their headphones and let the dulcet tones of Einaudi wash over them as they tackled the pile of follow-up reports they had let build up over the week. Ten minutes before lunch ended, they grabbed the files for their afternoon clients and quickly flicked through them. The majority of them were older, in their sixties, seventies, and eighties, but there was one person who had died in their twenties, and one in their forties. They were most definitely not going to be easy. A bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch break and announcing the five-minute warning for all reapers to get to their rooms to meet their first clients.

*

“Why did you decide to be a reaper?” Charlie asked Sam when they were half-way through their third drink of the evening.

Sam stared thoughtfully into the distance for a few moments before finally replying, “I’d just watched my life, and it was fine, nothing special, but I’d had a family and a dog and I’d volunteered in my community working with teenagers, showing them that you can be black and be successful and that education is important. I remember that, once the memories of my life had ended, I just thought that I didn’t know if there was any point in me living another life. Not in a depressed or apathetic way, just in a, ‘I’ve already had a good one, why push my luck? Why run the risk of being reborn as a terrible person?’ Which is probably really selfish; I’d done some good work in that life, and I probably should have gone back and hoped that I would do more good work, but I was afraid of all the ways I might mess things up, all the potential regrets I might have. And I didn’t want it to end either, I just…I wanted something different. So I asked my reaper about what they did and when I heard about the programme I volunteered straight away.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Not in the slightest. Yes, I’ve seen some horrible things, and yes there are nights I cry myself to sleep over the lives some of those poor young people have had to endure, but I know I’m helping them to find peace. Do you regret becoming a reaper?”

“Sometimes. A little,” Charlie admitted, staring down into their drink. “I wasn’t a bad person when I was a human, but I wasn’t a good person either. I left India as soon as I could to find a better life in England, and I got a job and a house and a dog who I loved, and I had friends who I loved and I let myself be sucked into the whole middle class bubble of ignorance. I let people think I was a player because I couldn’t face trying to explain to them that I’m aromantic, I never corrected anyone on my pronouns even though it made my skin crawl every time I heard the words ‘he’ and ‘him’ and I never once gave a thought to doing anything to support the community I knew I was a part of. I just thought, ‘what was the point of me? Why should I be allowed another life?’ So I said I didn’t want to be reincarnated, but that the idea of everything just ending terrified me, so my reaper told me that if I wanted to, I could become a reaper. It sounded like a good idea at the time; I’d have a job, something to do for as long as I wanted, and I’d keep my memories so I could finally work up the courage to start being myself. It was great at the time, really brilliant, and I got to change my name and tell other reapers about myself, meet everyone in work and make friends and finally be comfortable with myself…but now… I was always a bit cynical about life; what was the point in doing anything because nothing ever changes, blah, blah, blah. It was one of the things I wanted to change about myself, and I thought that it would, I thought I’d get to see all these different lives and help all these different people and it would be so clear that things do change, only they don’t! They don’t change – everyone makes the same mistakes and has the same regrets, and I don’t…I don’t know if I can be a reaper for much longer,” they finally confessed, their voice full of anger and misery.

Sam had listened attentively as they spoke, humming along and throwing out the occasional, ‘yeah.’ When they had finished speaking she sighed and said, “Oh Charlie,” and Charlie absolutely refused to look at the sympathetic look they knew was on her face, or listen to the pity in her voice. Instead they gulped down the rest of their drink and then stalked over to the bar to get more.

“Have you thought about going to a different section of the department?” Sam asked once they had returned with another round of drinks.

“I can’t go to any of the other sections; I’m not suitable,” Charlie replied bitterly. “I’ve thought about going to a different department, maybe just doing intake processing or dealing with recommendations…but the idea of that makes me feel even more miserable. I need…I need something different. Like something outside of work. Something to give some sort of meaning to my existence.”

“Have you thought about dating? Not like, romantically, but maybe something like a queer-platonic relationship?”

“No, I have literally no interest in that sort of thing,” Charlie replied, shaking their head. “Maybe I need like a hobby or something; I don’t really do much outside of work.”

“That’s probably a good idea; there’s lots of stuff that you can do,” Sam said eagerly. “You could come with me to kickboxing.”

“No thanks,” Charlie replied with a grimace, and then quirked their lips and added, “I was thinking more along the lines of knitting.”

“Whatever helps you out.” Sam shrugged, and then held up her drink. “To finding meaning.”

*

“What do you mean I’m dead?!” the man yelled at Charlie as the end of his life played out before the two of them. “I thought I was in a coma, I thought this was some sort of ‘Christmas Carol’ thing, I thought I’d have another chance!”

“I told you from the start, I’m a reaper and I’m here to guide you through your life.”

“You didn’t explain it properly,” the man argued, tears streaming down his face.

“I did; you didn’t want to hear what I was saying,” they replied firmly. “I’m sorry Mr. Parsons, but you are dead.”

“So that’s it? That’s it?!”

“It depends. You may be born again into another life, or yes, this may indeed be it.”

“I need to be born again, please, I’ll do anything, I need another chance,” the man begged as he fell to his knees. He grabbed Charlie’s trousers and clutched them as he continued to speak through his tears. “This can’t be it; I made so many mistakes. I promise I will do better, I promise I will learn from this, I promise I will -”

The man disappeared in a haze of mist and Charlie continued to stare at the spot where he had been only moments before. A drop of water hit the ground as the room around him went blurry, and Charlie suddenly blinked in surprise as they registered the tears that were welling up in their eyes. They quickly wiped them away, sniffed, and then set the room back in order before sitting down to finish the report.

‘I would strongly recommend reincarnation for the client; he clearly has learned much that will assist him in his next lifetime. This should ensure that he is fully satisfied the next time he enters the Seven Minute department.’

The last report of the day done, Charlie quickly sent it to filing and gathered their things. They had found a notice for a beginner knitting class that met Wednesday evenings and wanted to give themself plenty of time to get to the yarn shop where it was held. Charlie made sure they had their supplies, took a moment to panic over whether or not this was a good idea, reassured themself that it would be fun, and then walked to the exit.

“Charlie! Oh brilliant, I’m glad I found you!”

Charlie groaned and turned to see Dylan running towards him, a file in his hand. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah um, could you do me a favour? I would have asked Sam because she has clearance but she’s already left. I’ve got a date that’s supposed to start in half an hour and I’ve ended up running really late with my clients – there was a parakeet this morning that was being really difficult. Anyway, I have one more left but if I start I’ll be late for my date and I really really like this girl and I want to make a good impression, so could you please take this client for me? Please?”

“What? Dylan, I’m not qualified to work with animals, I’m not cleared for it.”

“No it’s fine, I’ll give you my pass card, and I’ve got the file here. Look it’s a dog, a family pet, died at ten so it must have had a pretty good life. It will be fine, you just sit with the dog, watch the memories, give it a cuddle afterwards and then write the report like you would for any other client. When you finish the report leave it on the desk and I’ll write up my recommendation and hand it in for filing tomorrow. It’ll be easy and you would be really helping me out if you did this.”

Dylan sent Charlie his best puppy dog eyes and Charlie felt their resolve immediately crumble.

“Ugh, okay fine,” they snapped. “Just this once though, and if it gets out you’re taking full responsibility.”

“Yes yes, great, thank you so much,” Dylan cheered, pulling Charlie in to a hug, which the other reaper half-heartedly returned.

He pulled back and handed Charlie the file and his pass card. “You’re a star; I will buy you many many drinks next time we’re out.”

“And chips and curry sauce afterwards.”

“You got it.” Dylan threw them a wink and then rushed off to grab his things and leave.

Charlie waved him off, sighed, returned their things to their cubicle and then headed off to Dylan’s office. They knew that this was a really bad idea, that they and Dylan could get in so much trouble if anyone found out, but it would just be this one time, and Dylan had assured them that it would be easy. Besides, Charlie hadn’t actually been around a dog since they’d been alive themself; it would be nice to get to cuddle up to one for a few minutes. That thought firmly in place, Charlie let themself into Dylan’s office, set the file on the table, checked the name of the dog – ‘George’ – and put the pass card into the slot.

The dog slowly materialised in front of them, his form starting off wispy and in shades of grey, before becoming more defined and solid, colour flooding over his body until he stood in front of them, his tail wagging. He let out a small bark and cocked his head to the side, and Charlie stared at him in slight confusion. George was a small black-and-white dog, looking like a cross between a collie and a terrier, and he was smiling that goofy lopsided smile that Charlie had seen on other dogs. However, he only had one eye, half an ear was missing, and he was painfully thin. He didn’t look like a family pet…Charlie double checked the file and saw that George had been owned by a family, the Smiths, up until he died. Maybe he was a rescue dog?

“Hey there buddy,” Charlie said softly as they crouched down and extended a hand out to the small dog.

George flinched and backed away. Charlie sat cross-legged on the ground, keeping their arm out and waited patiently while George stared at him curiously. Eventually the little dog moved forward and sniffed at Charlie’s hand, moving forward until he was nuzzling Charlie’s chest while Charlie petted his head and scratched behind his ears. When they felt confident that the dog felt comfortable with them, they scooped him up into their arms and stood up.

“Right then boy, let’s have a look at your life eh?”

George yipped and licked Charlie’s face. Charlie laughed and pushed a button on the wall. The room darkened and then suddenly expanded outwards in a burst of life as a room came into view where a mother was laying with her tiny pups. Charlie watched as George was taken from his mother far too early, and passed in to the eager eyes of a smiling child who hugged him close all the way home. They smiled as they watched George and the girl grow up together, practically inseparable as the years went by. The smile started to fade when the girl and her mother died, and George was left alone with the father. By the time George’s life came to an end, showing the thin, battered body lying in a heap on the ground, Charlie was sobbing their heart out and clutching George to their chest while the little dog whined and licked their face.

“You poor thing,” Charlie sobbed, cuddling the little body. “You poor, poor thing. How could he have done that to you? How could you endure it for so many years? Oh it’s not right, it’s not fair!”

They cried and cried until they had nothing left to give, and slumped in a heap on the ground as the room returned to normal, feeling physically and emotionally drained. The sobs slowly faded away and Charlie continued to hug George close as he licked their tears away. Eventually Charlie pulled away and looked down at the little dog, who stared back up at them, wagging his tail and grinning with his tongue lolling out. He barked and butted Charlie’s chest with his head, and Charlie laughed and ruffled the fur around his ears and neck.

“How could anyone mistreat you so you precious little thing. I promise you,” they said, leaning down so their forehead was pressed against George’s, “if he gets assigned to me, I’ll be recommending him for nothingness, rules be damned.”

Charlie hugged George one more time, then placed him on the ground and stood up. This was when they were supposed to send Charlie on, write the report and leave it for Dylan to deal with tomorrow. This was when they were supposed to put what they had seen behind them and head out for their knitting club, when they were supposed to get out and try and find something just for them.

They couldn’t do it.

George cocked his head to the side, and any resolve Charlie had managed to build up immediately vanished.

They sighed miserably, said, “Oh fuck it,” and scooped George up in their arms. They placed a hand against the dog’s forehead and transferred just enough life essence to him so that he could remain corporeal and stable. They placed the dog on the table, opened the report and quickly filled it in, finishing at the point when George’s life had ended. What they were supposed to write next Charlie had no idea, so they left it as it was and closed the file. They grabbed the pass card and file in one hand, scooped George up in the other and left the office. Charlie sprinted to Dylan’s desk, dropped his things on the table, and then made their way to their own desk.

“Be quiet,” they pleaded with George as they threw their coat over him in a poor attempt to hide him from any late workers.

They grabbed their bag, looked around, and then walked as quickly as they could out of the building.

Thanks for reading excerpt #10 from the Unfinished Novels! If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read, please show your support by liking and reblogging, I really appreciate it all! If you have any comments or questions I’d love to hear from you!

Slán!

C.x

Fun 4G DUBBED | comedy and funny scenes

Now this can be positively a tricky one. i actually do not even apprehend why i'm making an attempt this in the least however i believe it must be done. There are such a big amount of astonishingly, funny scenes and that i assume i might be derelict if I a minimum of did not attempt to American statention those that created me laugh the toughest throughout my time period. i might additionally prefer to add that simply because i could love a scene in a very moving picture, does not preclude that i might place the moving picture itself in my prime ten list of all time. So, i will be able to simply mention a number of the numerous scenes that I even have preferred then attempt to place them in my order of preference. want American state luck!! The family have had such a big amount of scenes that have cracked American state up over the years and still do until at the present time. The known cabin scene from mischievousness that occurred on a ship was a visible delight. They were stowaways on the ship in order that they could not let the folks to blame apprehend they were there. they'd repairmen, maids, food service and everybody else you'll consider within the area at an equivalent time. By the top of the scene there had to be a minimum of twenty or a lot of folks all squeezed into that little area and it had been one in every of the classic scenes in any comedy moving picture. Then you had the contract scene in a very Night At The Opera that was bright written and delivered by Julius Marx and Chico. "You cannot fool American state, there ain't no saneness clause". each day At The Races had a number of of my favorite family scenes in it. The race itself at the top, the examination of Margaret Dumont's character by Doctor Hackenbush and therefore the boys and therefore the phone scene with Julius Marx driving Mr. Whitmore crazy by victimization misdirection.

In the moving picture Bruce Almighty there's a scene within which Jim Carrey is creating Steve Carell, United Nations agency got the duty as television reporter that he needed, screw up throughout the news. He uses his new found powers to create him babble for what appeared regarding five minutes. after I saw that scene within the movies I laughed thus onerous that I virtually fell out of my seat. i used to be dying. In the moving picture it is a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World there have been associate endless quantity of terrific scenes however the one that killed American state the foremost was the scene within which eating apple Winters destroys the filling station. the explanation being, the 2 attendants had tied him up with adhesive tape as a result of Phil Silvers had convinced them that he was crazy and it'd be for his or her own protection. the reality was he needed Winter's character out of the approach whereas he went for the money that everybody was finding out within the moving picture. one in every of the most effective comedies of all time. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and expire or rent it then watch it. you may laugh your fool leave. i do know that I did and still do whenever I see it. and the forged of comedy stars within the moving picture were an inventory of United Nations agency's who within the comedy business. If you were not within the moving picture in the past, then you were not thought of relevant within the comedy world. My favorite scene within the moving picture there is one thing regarding Jewess was the scene with the dog and Matt Dillon. He accidentally killed the dog and tries to bring him back to life by victimization the lamp electrical chord and jump beginning him. That was hysterical and that i laughed till I hurt at that one. The moving picture was terribly funny and had several, several funny scenes. I still cringe whenever I watch the scene wherever mountain gets his private parts stuck in his zipper...OUCH!! an excellent mountain Stiller vehicle that i assumed was additionally distinctive. The dinner scene within the remake of The Nutty academic with Eddie Irish potato was humorous . He compete four completely different characters therein scene and therefore the result was excellent. a really nice acting accomplishment and fantastic makeup for the characters. If you did not apprehend beforehand that they were all Eddie, you ne'er would have suspected it. "Hercules, Hercules, Hercules!" In Monty Python's, The grail, the arm fight scene with the Black Knight and Sir Arthur at the bridge (None Shall Pass) was positively funny. He slowly cuts off the limbs one by one in every of the Black Knight however it does not appear to unnerve him in the least. Instead he challenges him even a lot of and keeps egging Sir Arthur on. "It's simply a injury. return here and i am going to bite your kneecap off". The guild party scene in Caddyshack was funny, particularly if you were a Rodney Dangerfield fan. He had such a big amount of funny one liners and would not stop taunting Ted Knight's character. That moving picture gave Rodney a full second career and a brand new generation of fans. "Hey, United Nations agency stepped on a duck?" In Kraut Lewis's moving picture the large Mouth, there's a scene within which Charlie Callas is in a very cubicle talking together with his boss and he sees Kraut Lewis' character, whom he tho' he killed, travel by him and he snaps throughout the decision. His facial expressions were thus rubbery and therefore the thusunds effects that came out of his mouth were so unambiguously funny. nobody else would ever be able to try this with such ease. Peter Sellers was an excellent comedic actor and that i merely preferred his Inspector Clouseau character because the butterfingered detective that perpetually appeared to land on his feet and solve the case. The scene reciprocally Of the Pink Panther wherever he disguises himself as a dental practitioner so he will spy on Inspector Alfred Dreyfus at the castle is hysterical. He administers inhalation anesthetic to Herbert Lom's character and that they each get into a happy match as Clouseau tries to drag his dangerous tooth. As a viewer, it's extremely contagious to look at while not happy aloud yourself. and his disguise is melting throughout the scene. Funny, funny, funny. My favorite comedy moving picture of all time was Mel Brook's The Producers and therefore the scene I preferred the foremost in it had been throughout the Broadway play of 'Springtime for Hitler'. Kenneth Mars' character of the writer German soldier, Franz, gets extremely upset that everybody is happy at a play he wrote as a tribute for Nazi. He goes informed stage and starts to inform everybody to prevent happy. As he starts you hear somebody clunk him on the pinnacle from behind the curtain and you hear a loud clang as a result of he was still sporting his helmet. that does not stop him. He carries on together with his proclamation. "What is that this baby. The Fuhrer ne'er aforesaid baby. The Fuhrer was kind. The Fuhrer was nice and delicate. again and again the Fuhrer would inform American state, Franz...OW!" he collapses and that they drag him removed from underneath the curtain. The delayed reaction of being hit on the pinnacle and him locution Ow is funny as hell. i really like that moving picture most and Mr. Brooks won associate laurels for Best book for that one. Woody Allen has had such a big amount of masterpiece comedies throughout his illustrious career however one in every of my favorite scenes was in one in every of his earliest endeavors, Sleeper. His character had been frozen cryogenically for several years and is thawed out someday within the future however he's still not acclimated to the new setting nonetheless and remains quite out of it, thus to talk. he's in a very chair and is rolling round the science lab with a funny face thereon is valuable to look at and rolling over people's feet and banging into things. additionally the scene within the same moving picture wherever he disguises himself as a automaton and at a celebration the folks area unit feeling this orb, that gets you high, and he's handing it around for them and obtaining high himself. that's terrific. A somewhat recent moving picture, Borat, had a scene that I laughed at terribly onerous after I saw it. The scene once he's fighting and wrestling, whereas naked, with this man, and that they find yourself within the conference house of the building wherever a convention is being command. Oh my God, that was thus hysterical to ascertain. observation the folks at the convention's faces because the fight ensued was thus nice. terribly funny moving picture and extremely completely different than the other comedy before it. Another distinctive comedy moving picture. Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor were thus nice along and had nice chemistry. within the moving picture Stir Crazy, all the scenes within the jail were terribly funny. The warder is attempting to interrupt them and puts them in awful things to do and persuade Wilder to ride for him at the rodeo competition between his jail and his friend's jail. once he puts them in a very little cell with an enormous manslayer, I laughed till I cried observation their reaction to their quandary. In Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, the scene within the castle wherever Dracula, Frankenstein and therefore the lycanthrope area unit all chasing them from area to area was one in every of my favorite funny scenes after I was a child. to look at the monsters that accustomed scare U.S. all as youngsters, act in a very comedy with the funny comedy team, was thus nice and thrilling at an equivalent time. I may solely imagine the blast they have to have had creating that moving picture.