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#the last two years have been just OK I WANNA BE A TECH PERSON BUT i HAVE NO IDEA WHAT *KIND* OF TECH PERSON I WANNA BE
alishasnoidea · 1 year
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oh and i've decided i really wanna be a game designer
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thecluelessdoctor · 8 months
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It's rambling time
*CRAWLS OUTTA WELL WITH A COMEDICALLY LARGE BACKPACK FULL OF NOTES*
I love totk. Don't get me wrong. I love it. But HOLY HELL TO I WANNA STRANGLE WHO EVER THOUGHT 'HEY MAN LETS GET RID OF ALL THE SHEIKAH TECH OTHER THAN LIKE- TWO GUARDIANS' LIKE EXSQUEEZE ME?? MY BABIESSSS/HJ
But on a serious note, I hate the fact how not only Zelda's character development go backwards, it forced a very black and white view on Hyrule. Rauru and kingdom of Hyrule good, Ganondorf bad. Like. What??? EXSQUEEZE ME.
Okz sure, Ganondorf did murder Sonia and steal a secret stone, and attack Hyrule, but like. Let's just- also note this. If the gerudo have a similar story to the sheikah, the kingdom of Hyrule, aka Rauru forced their hand into surrender.
Though I do like the 'keep your loved ones close and your enemies closer' trope (waiting for the ship art/j)
Let me note here, I am rather young, and Botw is what introduced me into LOZ. So. I still have a lot to learn. Anyway! On ward! (Also warning spoilers for TOTK jsndhdbdbdbd)
*sits down on a grassy patch, unpacking bag*
So!! Oh brother where to I start. Let's start with Zelda first because oh my hylia does it hurt.
Ok.
So, Zelda finds out about Zonai and the thing under Hyrule castle, it's understandable that she would be curious! It was established that she was a curious person.
Anyway, she gets yeeted into the past with a TIME power?!? WHAT. I mean it would explain why it took so long for her light power to wake the fuck up, but still?? It feels so random and forced.
Also in BOTW she spends one HUNDRED years keeping a calamity from destroying hyrule, and now suddenly she can't do jack in TOTK?!? EXSQUEEZE ME. WHAT. SHE MAKES A DAGGER GO BACK IN TIME. wOw- link mastered the power in a day- (I'm sorry but I have so many link rambles)
I just MY BRAIN HURTS. also I just- what the fuck happened to the sheikah?!
Yeah we are talking about this now. Like- fuckers are forgotten by EVERYONE- what happened to the shrines?! OR THE GIANT ASS DIVINE BEASTS LIKE WHERE ARE YOU RUDANA- *SOBS* Oh yeah and let's not forget the fact the champions have been forgotten basically. And Sidon moved the statue of his dead sister to make a statue of link riding him. Don't take that out of context. Also how the fuck did they get rid of the lynel up the mountain like?! Even if link killed it for them it would come back every time- endless building there made it so it couldn't come back there-??? Didn't know monsters had manners. I just- UGH.
Ah yes back to the sheikah tech. Everyone, even the sheikah have forgotten it like bruh. Even if it was like- 8 years since BOTW still- they couldn't have suddenly found everything and got rid of the shrines???
Like- the yiga clan (yes fucks I am talking about them) the yiga clan giving up learning about the sheikah for the Zonai makes sense- because the yiga clan has the depth now- and, they didn't have as much *known* access to sheikah tech. But like- PURAH FOR EXAMPLE- WHY WOULD SHE FORGET ABOUT THE TECH SKDNDJHR- IDC HOW HOT YOU ARE IM MAD AT YOU FOR THAT!
Oh and *SIGHS* lemme talk about the sages. No no, not the ones WE know now, I mean the ones of past. I hate them. The only one I like is the one of the gorons because of that one line he says
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Me too buddy, me too/j
Anyway.
I wanna fucking murder these sages. Do they all share the same brain cell??? Other than you Mineru I like you.
Wait hold on that's meme potential. SOMEONE DRAW THE SAGES HAVING THE SAME BRAINCELL/HJ
But I just
I hate them.
So much.
Now let me talk about the best characters in TOTK. Besides kogha.
Farosh, Dinraal, and Naydra.
Dear golly I love these dragons. I vibe with them.
Now it's time for my personal favorite topic
THE YIGA CLAN
I love them. And. Yeah
Though I'm very sad about the missed potential for them. Also is it just me or is almost every yiga a dude..
Idk what to say. Just. I love them. And. Kogha better come back or I will cry/J he always comes back-(I'm sorry)
And the last topic of the evening
Link.
I have
Thoughts
Uhm
Ok less about link I love him but like the fact he's so chill about the fact he doesn't have a arm and now has the arm of a furry might say smt.
But at least in BOTW impa is like 'hey you sure your ready to take on what's next and save hyrule' but now it's like 'fucker go do this this and this and go look at the funny ass paintings on the ground' like. Damn ok. ;-;
I can't tell you how much I stalled playing totk. I had such a hard time finishing regional phenomenon. It just- wasn't fun. I knew what to expect, and what was going to happen. So. Yeah.
But I did really like Rito Village. And gorons town. They basically got addicted to drugs and I am ALL FOR IT (not drugs. Don't do drugs) but the Zora's felt... Boring. I mean they felt boring in botw but it got worse. Personally I thought the gerudo were the most boring in botw which is saying something because I got to sneak through the yiga hide out and Rob Kogha. But the zora felt- basic like. Yeah. At least everything else caused you damage or made things harder- the shroud made navigation hard, snow caused damage, the meat roast made conversion harder
But the zora? The sludge just- made you slower??? Idk man.
And omg. Do Sidon and yona make me mad. YEAH, HATE ME FOR IT SIDON FANS!! like people hate yona bc she's engaged to sidon. Personally I dislike them both. Like- Sidon lost the spark that made him- him! And yona- yona is just annoying. Like fuck off mipha copy.
And oh my hylia the MUCKDROCK- I hate it. No. No I loath it. Like what the fuck are you your fucking shrimp.
And it's fight wasn't even that hard. It was just annoying. Like- colagara in my opinion was the easiest, but it was super fun. But the muchdrock? He sucked.
Also btw- before the wrap up, has anyone found the smoldering coliseum and got zants helm??? Just me? Ok :') apparently it's the ice verison of the thunder helm. Now I think there is a fire one.. hmMmmm
Anyway! That wraps up the ramble!
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mod2amaryllis · 7 months
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I'm waiting for this migraine to die so I'm gonna tell you guys about Marshall, the dog who made me quit. read on if you wanna learn about extended quarantine and why this job sucks sometimes and other times is the most rewarding thing on the planet, often for the same reasons lmao.
in 2021, the weight of covid was kinda crashing down. i heard this was the case for a lot of health workers. we switched into emergency mode throughout 2020 and powered through, then the rest of the world decided to try and "get back to normal" a year later, giving no regard to the people who'd been working like a speeding train with the brakes off all that time. i was losing it!!! add a few more hay bales to my back when we hired a new doc who was the most demanding dude I'd ever met (still is, but we've come to some understanding lol) and who decided to run me as ragged as possible the first day he was left to his own devices.
that was the day Marshall came in.
i didn't talk about this back then because the outcome of the case was uncertain and the details so specific, but here's the run down knowing that 2 years later, Marshall is living his best life. when he was a baby, too young to have received a rabies vaccine, his owners found a rabies positive bat in the house. the state vet will always recommend euthanasia in these situations, OR, if you can somehow find and afford the option, a 6 month quarantine. this was such a tragic situation the owners were willing to try to save him. my clinic happens to have a decent isolation ward that's rarely in use; we use it for infectious patients like parvo puppies, uri's that have to be hospitalized, etc. so my boss agreed to take him for those 6 months. but the owners' caveat was that if he wasn't mentally adjusting to isolation after a couple weeks, they would euthanize so as not to put him through it and leave him with lifelong behavior issues.
that day, when animal control brought Marshall in the middle of an insane rush, we were short staffed and already at the end of our ropes with this new doc. i was the only qualified person who could talk to the officer. i was the only person who could take him back to isolation. the act of putting a 12 week old puppy in a 4 x 4 run where i knew he would either spend 6 months untouched, or never see the outside again, broke me. last straw.
i was a mess, for the rest of that day and the rest of that weekend having to go in and take care of him, when it was too early for him to adjust so i was sure he wouldn't make it. I'd come home sobbing. eventually jose was just like, "this isn't worth it any more," and i sent in a two weeks notice. i'd come close to doing so many times in the previous 6 years but never pulled the trigger. it took a total meltdown. my managers responded with regret, but understanding.
i wish i could've just felt free and done with it but for those two weeks i was just uncertain. this job is so complicated. the benefits for my pets are enormous; it's my main social network; it's income; I'm good at it and it gives me purpose. it's just also hell on earth! with no pressure from anyone else one way or the other, by the end of two weeks I'd decided to instead try going part time. that's where I'm at 2 years later so guess it worked lol.
but! there was still Marshall. shortly after we took him, we also happened to get a call for the same situation on 2 cats, and decided to take them as well. 3 animals on a 6 month quarantine. very new and daunting for all of us.
that first weekend was hard, but slowly, Marshall figured things out. it was the least ideal situation imaginable and i was at rock bottom and so was he, but i had this moment of like.....ok. if he wants to make this work, I'm gonna do as right by him as possible. and of course all us techs were helping him (one of my road dog coworkers always opened so i referred to her as his "morning mom") but i in particular took a special interest in training and enrichment. it became a passion. i was working less, but i volunteered extra weekends so i could see him more.
he was so young he hadn't even done much basic command training, and the fact that i couldn't touch him at all was a challenge. i started with a clicker to signal I'd rolled a treat into his run, since i couldn't give it to him directly. over those months we went through the basics: sit, down, paw, touch, using a back scratcher for a hand. part of the worry was him getting enough exercise; we noticed that when he'd get agitated, he'd jump on the bars non stop. i was like hmm that might be our only option, so i made "up" a command. i'd basically run burpies for exercise, up-sit-down-sit-up. he was a fast learner, very attentive. seeing him keep his wits about him like that was straight up thrilling. he even "potty trained" himself, barking like crazy whenever he'd go to the bathroom so we'd know right away he needed the run cleaned.
in the ward, there are 2 runs and 3 kennels. i trained Marshall to go back and forth between runs so we could clean. we'd have his food waiting for him in the next run over so he could eat while we'd clean; at the midday switch, he'd have a doggie popsicle. he was such a smart dog i knew toys and treats alone weren't cutting it for enrichment, and i couldn't constantly train him when i still had to be doing the rest of my job.
i started having everyone save every single box and paper-packaging that came in. i'd unfold some boxes for "bedding," so he'd at least have something between him and the concrete (he'd chew and eat any blanket we tried giving him). the rest, i turned into puzzles. i put treats inside and closed them up. put big boxes on their side in his run so he could go in and out. crumpled up paper-packaging with treats mixed in for him to dig through. every day i'd turn one run into a box-toy paradise, let him in, clean the other, and by the time i was checking back in on him he was snoozing in a pile of destruction. success. when other techs wouldn't go to the same lengths, i'd stay late pre-making his boxes and telling people to just throw them in dammit. i also queued several ambient sound playlists, birdsong cityscapes etc, to play on the weekend days when he was alone for long periods.
the months went by like this. i learned more about training, enrichment, and most specifically quarantine than i ever had outside of my experiences with my own puppies. we fell into a routine. we straight up loved each other, he was part of my life. he'd been this horrible trigger and pretty much doubled my workload, but he got to live.
then there were the cats! they were a little easier than Marsh just because they were already adults so didn't have all this energy to wrangle. for them, daily cleaning of course, taking turns going into the 1 empty kennel where i'd have treats, catnip, and other "new" smells waiting for them. for enrichment i focused on reconfiguration. every 2-3 days i'd rearrange things in their kennels, with the big pieces being a litter box, a bed, and an upright sturdy box (so they could either be in it or on top of it, giving them one upper level). it was habitat tetris. we'd play with strings and use the back scratcher for pets. then about every week, i'd switch their kennels to slightly change their view AND traded beds to mingle scents. they were from the same household and we were worried there'd be difficulty re-bonding after not being in direct contact for so long. they also did very well by the end of 6 months aside from gaining a lot of weight (oops). i learned just as much from them, and would love to help anyone else who might struggle with needing to quarantine pets.
i've seen people posting for help about similar situations and just wanna scream from the rooftops: the beginning is very daunting and hopeless, but animals aren't like us!!!!!! they do the best with what they got!!!!! if you work hard and keep them clean and develop a routine it'll all work out!!!!! Marshall walked out of there at 6 months a normal happy puppy in desperate need of a haircut.
it's interesting because i've never interacted much with his owners. i don't think they know i'm the one who kept him from losing his mind in there, even though everyone else at the clinic does, and i'm weirdly ok with that. the other day he came in cuz the dummy ate a bunch of meds he wasn't supposed to; the doc brought him to the back and instantly, Marshall rushed right for me. he still remembers me in a good way. there's still love. it's like...one of the few patient relationships i've had that feels truly deeply personal. in retrospect i think he had a bigger hand in healing my relationship with this career and animals in general than i realized at the time.
so thanks for making me quit Marshall. i feel a lot better now.
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(i don't have any pics of him from that time (tragic ssd card accident) but he was an overgrown doodle puppy so he looked like this.)
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Any submitted propaganda under the cut
Raycon - 10
God awful earbuds with 3 times the price of similar quality with the same script every god damn time at least allow creators to do something with it. Not an active scam product but they try so hard to market themselves like one and I don't understand.
1. It's been a while but at it's height, you couldn't get through a video without seeing someone shilling these subpar earbuds. 2. They're literally earbuds bought off of alieexpress with a fancy brand slapped over the top 3. They're garbage earbuds. DankPods did an excellent breakdown of why they're awful 4. Now everyone I know thinks Raycons are great despite them being as expensive or more so than actual established brands that work hard and take pride in their sound quality
I used them for a while actually but they just didn't work out for me so at this point I'm not going to start buying them again and I don't need to hear about it anymore
they’re everywhere. everyone i watch (which is a fairly diverse list) has a sponsorship. i also know zero people in my life who own them.
There are so much better earbuds that are also cheaper. Plus I don't wanna hear YouTubers awkwardly explain and show them being used, it's just dumb.
they wouldn't even stay in my ears plus the look like they go right up against your eardrums. red flags all around plus i hate wireless shit the battery lasts like two shakes at best
Cerebral - 1
Ok sorry this is gonna be an essay with some snark. So for some important background, at last report Cerebral is under investigation by both the DEA and DOJ for essentially being an online pill mill. This tech bro startup took advantage of a temporary measure meant to help patients keep their EXISTING prescriptions during the pandemic -- the usual rule is that controlled substances can only be prescribed after an in-person appointment, to avoid the exact kind of situation I'll describe, but of course when lockdowns made in-person appointments much harder then people who have been taking stimulants or w/e for years shouldn't be left hanging. But then, in comes the Cerebral tech bros who decide to build their new business off prescribing stimulants to NEW patients... to "95%" of new patients, to be exact, because one of them actually admitted "100% would be a pill mill". (Oh yes, 95% is much better, not just a malicious loophole at all /s) Basically, a patient would have a single 30-minute video appointment, take one quiz that's meant to be a SCREENING tool (not a diagnostic tool! if you get a high score that's an indication you need MORE testing to confirm a possible diagnosis!) and then immediately get prescribed stimulants with no physical exam (no EKG, heart rate, or blood pressure, just for starters that any RESPONSIBLE doctor would do) and no further questions asked.—
—That would have been bad enough, but the advertising and shilling. Oh god, the advertising and shilling. Cerebral put out ads deliberately overstretching "signs you may have ADHD" in such a way that would put Tiktok influencers to shame (and we'll fucking get to that.) Like one ad implying that overeating sweets, something that literally everyone does at one point or another, is a sign you should make an appointment with Cerebral to get that sweet sweet Addy! And as for the real treat, the actual sponsorships. They had a fucking AFFILIATE CODE PROGRAM. Tiktokers would be like "use my code to get $30 off your first month!" for PSYCHIATRY. Not only that, but for psychiatry prescribing stimulants which are addictive and can kill you if you're not being carefully monitored for heart problems. Tiktokers and ads would also describe this service as a "life hack" and emphasize how easy it is to get stimulants through this one neat trick! Medical ethics is dead and we killed it. It got to the point that major pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens started refusing to fill prescriptions originating from Cerebral, because if/when a pill mill gets busted, pharmacies that filled the prescriptions can also be held liable. Think of the opioid epidemic for examples of the situation they were trying to avoid. They noticed how suspicious it was that ALL THE SUDDEN there was a huge flood of prescriptions for addictive drugs, ALL originating from the same few healthcare providers (mostly Nurse Practitioners rather than Medical Doctors, because MDs were more likely to call out the ethical/legal violations, but even many of the NPs who worked for Cerebral described feeling pressured by the corporate higher-ups to increase prescriptions and discourage waiting or further testing) Once this all came to a head Cerebral tried damage control by no longer prescribing stimulants to new patients. I haven't heard any updates on the regulatory investigations since then. But you know what I haven't seen that's even more telling? Not one, not a SINGLE one of the content creators who shilled for this company EVER apologized. For all they know they could have contributed to getting someone killed, not to mention life-ruining addictions, all for that sweet corporate sponsorship cash. Even if you argue they might not have known better at the time (to which I say bullshit, it's your responsibility to at least google the company to see if there's any red flags, Cerebral had more than a communist parade) even AFTER all this started making national news, it was just dead silence and moving on to the next corporate sponsor. But hey, if you're struggling with Adderall addiction, I know just the thing to help! Sign up for BetterHelp using code "SHILL" to get $10 off- *dies*
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sarah-dipitous · 5 months
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Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 321
Don’t Go In The Woods/Spyfall: Part One
“Don’t Go In The Woods”
Plot Description: the Winchesters face off against a ravenous monster, while Jack makes a big mistake trying to make some friends of his own
Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: I wouldn’t have to sneak out to the woods at night to make out with a significant other for SEVERAL reasons
They really think someone’s gonna sell Jack beer?? He still very much looks like a teenager
Omg there’s a kid in town watching the Ghostfacers (I hate that this year has caused my phone to AUTOMATICALLY CAPITALIZE the g in Ghostfacers)
Oh, oh baby boy. I hope they don’t make fun of you for your autistic traits. Him lying about his age is…hilarious “well, im two—wenty. I’m twenty…two. I’m twenty- two”
Why would you hike like this at night?
Oh they actually put some effort into this monster
I know he’s going to make a big mistake but I don’t want him to 😭 he’s finally making friends, even if they don’t really understand each other
Why is the sheriff so shady?? I mean…so are Sam and Dean, really, but we trust them because we know them
Oh Jack, you don’t need to be showing off like this. Oh yeah, you’re getting run out of town for SURE, Jack. You needed to stop showing off with the angel blade when they asked you to. Ok you healed her, but you are not getting asked to hang out again
Oh…that’s a really bad way to get rid of the problem you’re having. That tribe should have just killed the last remaining member of the first family of white settlers, I’m sorry. I don’t care that he did a cannibalism and went crazy, you kill him. You don’t curse him to roam the woods you live in, you don’t curse him to always need to feed…why would you do that?
Is this the first time anyone’s ever told them “why don’t you tell people that monsters are real?”
I hope the sheriff’s son makes it out okay. He did, that’s good
Ok sounds like he has at least SOME part of his soul left…maybe. It’s so hard to tell. He doesn’t want to lie by using a fake ID to buy beer but he has no problem lying to the boys about what happened while they were away
“Spyfall: Part One”
Plot Description: when intelligence agents around the world come under attack from alien forces, MI6 turns to the only person who can help, the Doctor
These two episodes better be good because aliens attacking secret agents seems like the plot to a bad movie, but at least they’re up front about two parters now
I miss when companions didn’t have steady jobs: they were students or temps or kissograms or their workplace literally blew up. Easier times
13 should be able to wear the goggles more often
Cars on this show haven’t been this deadly since ATMOS
The companions getting high tech weapons is giving Totally Spies and I mean that as the utmost compliment
Omg I’ve never seen anything get that close to successfully breaking into the TARDIS
“No panicking when you’re not trusting anyone” I could not do espionage
The payoff of this eventual reveal would have been better if I didn’t know O was the Master
Ok the spy toys are cool and fun…
Why is that—why are those beings made purely out of light. They’re terrifying. Look like me first time I wear shorts after a long winter
They wanna take over this whole universe…
Ok, the guy Ryan and Yaz were sent to spy on IS working with (or maybe just for) the aliens
I knew Yaz couldn’t be completely gone even though she got absorbed (?) by the alien and is now in some weird foresty place
I’m nearly CERTAIN that’s not really Yaz OR her dna is being rewritten as I type this. How did she get from (iirc) San Francisco to Australia?!
I love the friendship between Yaz and Ryan
Why is the Master always hot??
I’m just realizing the dude’s company VOR would be pronounced like vore and I don’t know how I feel about it
I NEED to know if this is a situation like during Utopia or if he’s just REALLY GOOD at lying
Omg did she put on 12’s coat again 🥹 plus a bow tie?
I think the Doctor and Castiel should get to have a conversation. I just think the way their blunt way of communicating would mesh….not well but funnily. This is how superwholock was created, wasn’t it?
I wish Doctor Who would remember it’s campy fun and not a blockbuster action movie
Oh he’s so fun already. Of course he controls the aliens they’ve been fighting
Oh, now the Doctor is where Yaz was as her friends are plummeting to their deaths on an exploding plane. What a nice way to end this part one
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letarasstuff · 3 years
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Normal People don't know their IQ
(A/N): Inspired by me, who recently discovered normal people don’t know their IQ, while I was tested two or three times already...
Summary: A certain someone is the only way to get the UnSub. But there’s also something different that makes her special.
Warnings: Angst (fluffy end, I swear), language, mentions of rape and torture, mention of dead people, the usual CM stuff I guess Wordcount: 2.0k
✨Masterlist✨ _________________________________________
“Garcia, I need you to look into high school teachers, who are suspended or fired for inappropriate behavior towards students and live in the area of the kidnappings”, Hotch orders in a stern voice. But you can’t blame him, after all there are currently six dead teenage girls and one missing. One can only hope and work as fast as possible to get her back to her parents alive.
The team is working a case in Sacramento, California. Teenage girls get abducted on their way home from school, are held for exactly a week and are killed by a simple cut to their throat. The torture they have to endure beforehand isn’t as simple. The last two also show signs of rape.
The dumbing sites are different parks all over the city. The placing happens overnight only to have the girls found the next morning by a clueless jogger or stroller.
“Let’s go over the profile again, I feel like we are missing something”, Rossi commands. His gut feeling tells him only that much, he just has to find out what it is.
“It’s a white male in his mid thirties to late forties. He blends in, so he has to be or has been a teacher. Someone who looks like they belong into a school isn’t suspicious”, Spencer counts the facts.
“The victims all look similar, probably resembling an ex-wife or girlfriend”, Morgan adds. Before he can get into the depth of the torture a phone rings.
“My lovely crime fighters, I got an address. Charles Collins. philosophy and history. Got suspended for suggestive talk towards his female students. He is also said to stare at them and certain body parts for way too long and way too obvious. Gross. Annnd that- wait”
“What is it, Garcia?” Hotch asks after a moment of silence, which is unusual for the ever bubbly tech analyst.
“You got your profile wrong. Collins doesn’t take these girls because of an ex flame.”
The team looks at each other in confusion. Garcia always stresses how she isn’t a profiler and can’t judge over people, because she only wants to see the good in them. How is she able to tell that the profile is off?
“Shoot baby girl, we don’t have much time left”, Derek urges her. He wants nothing more than to have this SOB finally behind bars. The whole team wants that.
“He has a daughter. Technically it’s not his daughter, it’s someone else’s, but he is her foster father. Go and please save both girls!”
Penelope doesn’t have to say it twice. After a brief thank you and goodbye the team is on their way to the given address. As soons as they get there, everyone notices the absence of a car in the driveway. Hotch sends Spencer, Emily and Derek through the back door, the rest goes in from the front.
“FBI! OPEN UP!”
It’s needless to say that nobody opens up. There is no other way than kicking the doors down.
After entering the house and clearing the first floor, Rossi points towards the stairs that leads to the first story. There are only two rooms. A bathroom right hand and a closed door left hand.
Morgan counts quietly down before also kicking this door down and screaming “FBI!” But he seemingly talks with air, because there is no one to be found. Once again the team swarms out to look for evidence or clues.
As Spencer looks through the room they cleared last, he sees various things that make him smile. Several bookshelves are flooded with all kinds of genres, authors and covers. At first he can’t make out in which way they are sorted. But a closer look makes him realize that they are sorted by the author’s birth year. The doctor is kind of impressed, because that means the person knows when they are born in order to find a certain book. He likes the idea, it is a nice little challenge.
While he investigates further a sound makes him stop. He sends a text to Emily and waits for her. When she enters the room Spencer gestures to her to keep it quiet. Then he points to the bed.
They lower themselves down to the floor at the same time on each side of it. A girl, no older than 14 years, lays there shivering in angst. With big doe eyes she looks at Spencer and whispers:
“Please don’t hurt me.”
A while later the team is back at the station with the girl sitting in one of the interrogation rooms. The temperature is already set down, though Hotch feels really bad for it. Still there is another girl out there waiting to be safed.
“Baby girl, what can you give us on her?” Morgan sets his phone in the middle of the table and switches the speaker on.
“Our little girl’s name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N), fourteen years old. Parents were deemed to be unable to look after her since they are both heavy drug addicts and didn’t even register her crying for two hours straight. Since the age of six months she bounces through the system with nobody wanting to keep her longer than two years. They claim she is too smart for them and want somebody to look after her, who can challenge her intellectually.
“Collins took her in one and a half years ago. He got her signed up in several activities after school, like chess and academic decathlon. As of right now she is a junior with an opportunity to graduate next year. Her teachers describe her as incredibly bright with a complicated way of thinking.”
“Complicated way of thinking? Her intelligence was neglected for years, so she gave herself her own challenges. I found her books sorted by the birth year of the authors. She found ways of making things more difficult for herself, that’s why she fabricated strange ways of thinking. This is often found in children with high intelligence, who are not boosted enough by their environment”, Spencer explains, getting more and more furious.
His colleagues feel that this is a sensitive subject for their resident genius. JJ comfortably puts a hand on his shoulder, making the tense go away.
“Emily and Dave, I want both of you to interrogate her. We need to know where he hides the girls. JJ, try to hold the press off for a bit longer. Morgan, Reid, I want you to watch and look for tells or anything else”, Aaron orders.
Everyone works on their given task immediately.
You don’t need to be a profiler to see that (Y/N) is scared out of her mind. She has her feet on her chair and her head lies on her knees. When the two agents enter, she tries to at least fake some kind of composer. But she fails miserably at it.
“Hello (Y/N), may I call you that?” Emily begins in a soft voice. The teenager nods shyly. “Good, (Y/N). My name is Emily Prentiss and this is David Rossi. We are agents from the Behavior Analysis Unit from the FBI. Do you know why you are here?” The teenager shakes her head.
“Ok, let’s cut the chase”, David's voice booms through the small room. “You know exactly why you are here. From what we saw in your room you are an incredibly smart girl. How high is your IQ? 130? 135?”
“147 a-actually”, she nervously corrects the agent, never meeting his eye. The team notices this fairly quickly.
“Even better, normal people don’t know their IQ. So you know what your forster father does. You saw the news, you read the papers, you heard your classmates talk. In addition to that, the girls look alarmingly similar to you. And all of the sudden Charles is more often out than usual. So do us a favor and come clear.” Then he pulls out a picture from a manila folder on the table. Emily tries to intervene.
“Rossi, don’t. She is not the UnSub. (Y/N) is just unfortunate to be at the wrong place.” “She might as well be another UnSub if she doesn’t do anything to help us. Do you know how long you are going to jail for helping hi-”
“I don’t know anything. I- of course I saw what is h-happening. A-and I connected the dots a long time a-ago. You know, Charles lost his job and that’s a stressor. T-then Child Service was investigating him, because of the suspension’s reasons. I-I couldn’t do anything. I had no evidence, the police wouldn’t believe me. I asked him once wh-what he thinks about, you know, what’s happening. He slapped me and told me to not talk about it again. I’m so sorry, I wanna help. The only thing that comes into my mind is an old cabin he once mentioned when I first arrived at his. B-but I don’t know if it helps you. P-please, I don’t want to go to jail or juvenile, I-” Then (Y/N) breaks down into tears.
Emily is in an instant by her side trying to calm her down, while Hotch gives the information to Garcia. As soon as she finds the location, JJ takes a seat next to (Y/N) and the rest of the team flies out.
“You don’t have to be scared of him anymore, Sweetheart. My colleagues will find him and he will be tried and convicted. He will never be a threat to you again”, the blonde tries to comfort her.
“Whenever I leave an abusive home, there will be another one that’s exactly the same. The only difference with Charles was that he seemed to understand me. He helped me. There’s nobody who is willing to do what he did for me”, she admits sadly.
It breaks JJ’s heart, because her words are true. Even though he is a killer, Collins did help her. But she is also determined to show the young girl that he isn’t the only one who can do that. That there are more people out there, who are kind and as helpful if not more.
Not long after this the team brings the man into the station, Morgan guiding him with a deadbolt-like grip.
Rossi spots (Y/N) in a break room with a hot drink in her hands. While making his way over there, Spencer follows him. He wants to talk with her as well.
“(Y/N) I’m sincerely sorry if I hurt you earlier. I didn’t intend to scare you, we just had to act quickly and you were the only source of information available. I also wanted to tell you, that your achievements are astonishing and I guarantee you a bright future, maybe even at the FBI”, he winks at the end of his last sentence.
“I understand, Agent Rossi. But doesn’t everybody know their IQ? I assumed everybody gets at least tested once in their life in some way”, she asks with surprise in her voice.
At that the older man is speechless. Of all things she could accuse him of legitimately, (Y/N) goes with the most innocent question.
“Actually, not everybody gets tested. A reliable test has to be done by a psychologist and most people don’t go to one. Furthermore there has to be a valid reason to do one, that’s why a great part of the population doesn’t know their IQ”, intervenes Spencer. He has to infodump, since the last time was over half an hour ago.
“But you also have to differentiate between the several kinds of intelligence, because intelligence is way more than being good at math. There…”
Rossi stopped listening to the excited interaction between the two geniuses. Instead he watches their body languages and facial expressions. He hasn’t seen both of them more at calm than they are now.
After all there might be a way for (Y/N) to get a little Happy End.
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wiypt-writes · 3 years
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Stark Spangled Rebirth
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Chapter 4: The Star Spangled Man With A Plan
Summary: As the SSR deals with the aftermath of the attempted theft of the serum by Hydra, Steve finds himself side-lined until he’s offered a golden opportunity to help fight the good fight…but it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as he quickly finds out.  
Warnings: Bad Language words.
Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark
Word Count: 7.5k
A/N:  This series is my contribution of sorts to the CATF 10 Year Anniversary Challenge.  As always, some creative liberties taken.
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Star Spangled Rebirth Masterlist  //  Main Masterlist
Chapter 3
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“Absolutely not!” Katie blazed her hands on her hips “That is NOT what Erskine was going to do.”
“Well Erskine isn’t here is he, in case it had escaped your notice.” Phillips bit back “And neither is the serum after the last vial of it was smashed out on Brooklyn Pier.”
Steve sighed, his head bowing a little.
“Erskine said that post the transformation, Steve was supposed to be monitored for twenty-four hours before he did any major physical activity.” Katie continued, “Given that, and what just happened, you seriously want to take his blood?”
“She has a point.” Howard stepped in. “Personally, I’m not sure it’s wise. Private Rogers should be given the rest of the day at least under observation as was the original plan, where we can run the physical tests Abe had been planning to do.”  He took a deep breath and bowed his head slightly.
“We owe it to him to do this right.” Katie spoke again, her voice loaded with emotion as she turned her eyes to the Colonel. Phillips gave a little groan, dragging his hand down his face “We can take the samples tomorrow.”
“Do I get a say in any of this?” Steve spoke, surprising himself with his sudden forthright nature and Katie glanced at him.
“No.” She said simply, turning back to Phillips. Steve’s eyebrows shot up and he turned to look at Howard who was silently chuckling at his sister’s bossy nature. He gave a little shrug of his shoulders, and then his brown eyes turned back to watch as Katie stood looking at Phillips expectantly.
“You know, I’m beginning to rue the day I ever asked you two to join this team.” The Colonel shot, and Steve watched as Katie turned to Howard, smirking. “And wipe that look off of your face right now, Agent.”
“Sir.” She nodded, and then everyone’s attention was taken by Agent Carter as she walked back into the room.
“We have it.” She nodded, “The HYDRA Sub. It’s in the Tech Lab.”
“You wanna wait until tomorrow to work on that too? Perhaps, give that time to recover as well?” Phillips looked at Howard who snorted.
“You know they say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.” He arched an eyebrow as he looked at Phillips, “But I prefer to think of it as a metric for potential. You’ll be a great man someday, Colonel Phillips.”
Katie’s shoulders began to shake and she turned back towards Steve who was watching the scene play out in front of him, utterly perplexed. He still couldn’t get his head round Katie’s blatant disregard for her Commanding Officer’s authority. Howard, well, he could understand that a little more as he wasn’t in the man’s chain of command but Katie was. And she seriously didn’t seem to give a shit.
“Do we have any more intel on Schmidt?” Phillips turned to Peggy who blinked and looked at him.
“No, Sir. Nothing,” she took a deep breath, “but I think after today it’s safe to say that was another thing Dr. Erskine was correct about. Schmidt clearly has ambitions beyond simply being Hitler’s Chief Scientist. I think we should consider the fact that he’s equally, if not more dangerous.”
At that Steve heard Erskine’s words from the previous night as clear and as loud as if the man were speaking them to him in person. Schmidt must become that superior man.
He cleared his throat a little and felt all eyes in the room turn to him. “I think Agent Carter is right, Sir.” Steve took a deep breath “Last night, Dr Erskine was explaining to me about Schmidt. He said that Schmidt is convinced that there is a great power hidden in the Earth, waiting to be found...”
“So he’s bonkers.” Phillips looked at Steve. “Terrific.”
“You know, we have forces out there fighting the Nazis.” Katie pondered for a moment, “Maybe the SSR needs to concentrate on HYDRA.”
Phillips looked at Katie, “You wanna chase HYDRA?”
She shrugged, “it seems logical to me. A lunatic Schmidt might be, but he clearly has a vast amount of followers that buy into the same rhetoric. That makes them dangerous.”
“And let’s not forget, HYDRA is, or was, Hitler’s deep science department. Now, Steve stopped them from getting the vial of Erskine’s completed formula, but who knows what else they have in their grasp.” Peggy added, “I saw a lot of things when I was under, a lot of things that if perfected could be disastrous. We chose to concentrate on Hitler as he had control of HYDRA. But, if Schmidt is going rogue as we suspect, then I’m afraid Sir,that as Agent Stark suggests, he could prove to be far more dangerous.”
“Just what we need,” Howard groaned, “two enemies to be fighting.”
“Oh pur-lease.” Katie looked at him. “Like you’re doing any actual fighting.”
“Shut up.” Howard glared at her, “You know as well as I do that I was plucked out for this instead of going to the front lines, just like you were.”
“The pair of you can take your squabbles outside.” Phillips looked at them, “I’m done. I need to brief Senator Brandt.” With that he turned to Peggy. “Get onto base and tell them they need to get into the President, inform him of our intentions so that he can approve them. You,” he then looked at Howard, “take a look at that sub, see what we’re dealing with from a technology point of view. As for you,” he looked at Katie, then to Steve, then back again. “take Rogers for whatever observations it was Erskine wanted to do. Then I suggest you all get a good night’s sleep. Back here at Zero-Six Hundred.”
With that he swept from the room leaving the four of them behind. Steve turned to Katie, his arms folded.
“You know, I don’t need a load of tests to tell you I’m fine. In fact, I’m more than fine. I feel, well, I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my life.”
“That maybe, but I’d feel better if you went along with it, please.”
“Oh, she’s serious, Rogers,” Howard smirked, “she said the magic word.”
At that Katie turned to glare at her brother, who held her gaze, his expression not faltering in the slightest. She threw him a positively filthy look before she turned back to Steve and he looked at her as she once more began to speak. “Erskine wanted to make sure that everything was okay, monitor the effects properly at least for twenty-four hours. We have no idea if it’s permanent, what it’s actually doing to you, whether the effects and transformation is still ongoing.”
“Okay, okay.” Steve held his hand up, giving her a nod, “Fine, I’ll submit for monitoring. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Could someone please find me something to eat?” He looked around, his stomach giving a huge growl at the perfect moment to emphasise his point, “I’ve never been this hungry in my life, and believe me, I’m no stranger to living with an empty stomach.”
**** It turns out that Steve’s appetite had increased exponentially too, which was to be expected considering his metabolism was working far faster than it ever had before. He wolfed down a huge helping of Potato and Hot Dog salad, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, an assortment of vegetables and a huge helping of apple pie. He had no idea where Katie had managed to conjure it from, and frankly he didn’t care either. All he knew was that in that one sitting he’d consumed more food than he usually ate in a day.
The rest of the day was taken up with him being poked and prodded and attached to all sorts of strange machines. Howard explained what each of them was for, but he wasn’t paying much attention. His mind was whirring, finally processing what had happened in the last couple of hours. He had been so sure about what was going to happen post getting the serum, that he’d be shipped out to help in the fight and now he didn’t have a clue where he was going to go, especially if they were now going to refocus their efforts on HYDRA. That said, it was all helping the war effort wasn’t it? HYDRA was a huge threat, if he was able to help take them down in any way, shape or form, then he was ok with that.
One of the doctors and Howard started explaining to him what the serum had done and at that point he tuned in to some of it, picking out the odd phrase like ‘super strength’, ‘increased stamina’, ‘enhanced metabolism’, ‘fast healing’, ‘super-sharp senses’, ‘memory expansion’, ‘logical improvement’. Howard looked at him and explained that as far as he could see, the transformation was complete, and was as permanent as they could hope. But Erskine had said that the serum wasn’t infallible, therefore how long the effects would last into the future they didn’t know. Forty, maybe fifty years or so. Steve wasn’t particularly bothered about that though, by the time that happened he would be well into his sixties or seventies and would he really care then?
Katie arrived back just as the Doctor who had been dealing with him had instructed the nurse to remove the heart monitor form his chest.
“Hi.” She smiled and Steve turned to face her, fulling intending on greeting her back, but before he could, the Doctor made a little noise of surprise.
“What is it?” Howard asked and Steve hastily turned towards them, wondering what was wrong.
“His heart rate just spiked.”
Steve gulped and hastily looked away from Katie as Howard turned to face him. His eyes flicked from Steve, to his sister who was stood in the doorway, a bashful smile on her face but to her credit she held her brother’s gaze as the man gave a groan.
“Seriously?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She mumbled, stepping into the room. “You done treating him like a guinea pig?”
“Hey, you were the one that insisted on the monitoring!” Howard pointed at her.
“Yes, because it was what Abe wanted,” she shrugged, “and I wanted to make sure everything was okay before you guys started stealing his blood like a pack of starving vampires.”
“Well you needn’t panic.” Howard arched an eyebrow. “The transformation seems to be text book. Your Super Soldier is as ready as can be.”
“Fuck you.” Katie shot back, and Howard gave a chuckle as Steve let out a little groan at the man’s teasing.
“That bad an idea huh, dating my sister?” Howard turned to Steve and he flushed immediately.
“That…no, I didn’t say that, I mean, not that we…”
“Ignore him Steve, he’s being a jerk.” Katie rolled her eyes. “And if he knows what’s good for him he’ll shut up before I knock his teeth out.”
“Threat received and understood, Kiddo.” Howard held his hands up as the Doctor bustled around and handed Steve back his t-shirt.
“You can leave now, Captain Rogers, but we would like you to stay here tonight.”
“Why?” Steve frowned as he pulled the SSR logo t-shirt over his head.
“Because I want to monitor your levels at complete rest.” The Doctor smiled. “Humour me, please.”
Steve shrugged as he swung his legs off the bed. “Sure.” It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to be.
“Your stuff is being brought over from the barracks.” Katie smiled softly. 
“Any idea on where I’ll be going after that?” Steve stood up carefully, taking his time to pull himself up to his new full height.
Katie shrugged. “I suppose it depends on what Colonel Phillips and the President agree. I suspect we’ll head over to London HQ if we’re going after HYDRA in Europe, but we should find out tomorrow morning.”
“So, we have a free evening?” Howard looked at Katie.
“Well, sort of. Unless you want to get a head start on that submarine thing.” She waved her hand at the door.
“I don’t need a head start.” Howard shrugged, somewhat arrogantly, “I’m a genius, I’ll crack it tomorrow.”
Katie rolled her eyes, “You know I really admire your modesty.”
Howard chuckled, “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, what I was suggesting was that if we do have a free few hours, how about a drink? I got a bottle of vintage Macallan stashed in my lab.” He paused and Steve watched as his shoulders slumped a little and he took a deep breath before he looked back up at both Steve then to his sister. “Me and Abe had been saving it for tonight."
Katie took a deep breath before she walked over to her brother who wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, gently kissing the top of her head. Steve looked away for a second, not wanting to intrude on the moment as he watched the doctor and nurse leave the room.
“We should have a toast to him,” Katie spoke, her voice cracking a little as she stepped away from Howard. She turned to Steve and smiled, “he’d have been proud this had worked.”
Steve nodded a little side smile pulling at his mouth as he remembered the banter he and Erskine had shared about the schnapps. With a nod he looked at Katie, the smile spreading further across his face. “He owed me a drink.”
*****
It was a strange night.
The three of them had shared a glass each of the smooth whiskey, which Steve had thoroughly enjoyed. It had tasted so smooth yet crisp. And he wasn’t sure if that was down to the fact it was stupidly expensive and high end, or the fact his taste-buds simply worked better. Howard hadn’t raised the issue of him and Katie again, for which Steve was glad. If he had been asked, he couldn’t say how he would have answered because he wasn’t entirely sure what they were. A casual fling? A hook up? He knew what he wanted it to be, but once again he was brought crashing back to reality. They were in the middle of a war. It was impossible.  
Despite the myriad of thoughts and emotions running through his mind, Steve slept better than he had ever slept in his life. His chest wasn’t bad, he didn’t struggle for breath when he lay down flat meaning that for the first time he could remember he didn’t need to sleep propped up. Yet, on the other hand, he felt like he was waking up every five or ten minutes. The slightest sound or movement made by the various SSR staff nurses and guards milling around the small medical wing of the lab woke him thanks to his now enhanced, fine tuned senses. The Doctors and Howard had assured Steve that whilst it might take a while but once he was used to the heightening of his senses it would start to feel ‘normal’ to him in a way and he would learn to use them and appreciate them.
With a yawn, he cracked his head side to side as he raised it off the pillow. Whilst he didn’t know what time it was thanks to the lack of any natural light in the room, he knew that this time he wasn’t getting back to sleep. He climbed from his bed, stretched and waited for the usual pain to shoot down his back, but nothing. He then stood up, a little too fast and pitched forward before he steadied himself and drew up to his full new height, squaring his now broad shoulders back as he stood tall in his new posture. Again, Howard had told him he would soon learn to adjust his movements to compensate for the fact that he no longer needed to put as much effort into them. No sooner had he done that, a nurse appeared with his breakfast and she was followed by Agent Carter who wished him a good morning and then handed him a formal Army Uniform in his new size. With a soft smile and a thanks, he took it before laying it down on the bed, admiring the green wool and crisp shirt. 
“When you’re ready then we’d like to take the blood samples.” Peggy spoke softly, “but there’s no rush. Take your time.”
“Rather just get it over and done with Ma’am.” Steve said politely and truthfully. The sooner he was done being prodded, poked and stabbed the sooner he could find out what was going on.
With that in mind he ate, washed up, dressed and was ready in half an hour flat. He was led out of the bunk room he’d been sleeping in and down the corridor back to the observation room he’d been in the previous day where he was instructed to roll up his sleeves and lay back as they proceeded to siphon off his blood. When they had one bag full they then hooked him up to another, and then another, the Doctor instructing him to tell them if he felt light headed but Steve had a suspicion that the enhancements to his body would simply enable him to generate more as fast as they took it. That said, by the time the third bag was full he was bored. Peggy seemed to sense it and she turned to the doctor who nodded and instructed everyone that they were done.
“Think you got enough?” Steve asked, somewhat sarcastically.
“Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in your genetic code.” Peggy replied simply, “but without Dr. Erskine, it could take years.”
“He deserved more than this.” Steve replied a little sadly and he meant it. The serum had been Erskine’s life work and now there was nothing to show for it as the last vial of the serum had been smashed on Brooklyn Pier.
“Well, if it could only work once, he’d be proud it was you,” Peggy looked at him.
Steve glanced at her, feeling a little embarrassed at her praise but he didn’t dwell on it and neither did she. Instead, she told him that once he was ready she’d take him down to the main lab were Phillips and Katie were talking to Senator Brandt about the plans for the SSR going forward. Keen to understand, he quickly sorted his shirt out.
He followed Peggy into the lab, his ears picking up the conversation as they entered.
“Speaking modestly, I’m the best mechanical engineer in this country,” Howard shrugged. “But I don’t know what’s inside this thing or how it works.”
“So much for not needing a head start, huh?” Katie teased and Howard glared at her before he turned back to Phillips.
“We’re not even close to this technology.”
“Then who is?” Senator Brandt demanded.
“HYDRA,” Phillips responded simply. “I’m sure you’ve been reading our briefings.”
“I’m on a number of committees, Colonel,” Brandt replied simply, completely unabashed at Phillips tone.
“HYDRA is the Nazi deep science division.” Katie explained
“It’s led by Johann Schmidt,” Peggy picked up, “but he has much bigger ambitions.”
“HYDRA’s practically a cult,” Phillips stated, “they worship Schmidt, they think he’s invincible.”
“So what are you gonna do about it?” Brandt asked and at that point Steve took a deep breath, finally he was about to find out what he was going to be doing.
“Spoke to the President this morning. As of today the SSR is being re-tasked.”
Katie and Peggy exchanged excited glances and Peggy looked back at Phillips, seeking clarification as she asked, “Colonel?”
“We are taking the fight to HYDRA,” Phillips looked at the woman. “Pack your bags Agent Carter. You too, Agent Stark,” he turned to Katie, “you’re flying to London tonight.”
Steve hesitated for a second, but when Phillips didn’t turn to speak to him and inform him where he was going, he hurried forward a little.
“Sir, if you’re going after Schmidt, I want in.”
“You’re an experiment,” Phillips shot back. “You’re going to Alamogordo.”
Steve frowned a little, but then pressed some more, he wasn’t letting this go.
“The serum worked,” his voice rose a little.
“I asked for an army and all I got was you. You are not enough.”
Katie wheeled round to look at Phillips, her face angry, “Oh, come on Sir, that’s-”
“I have put up with your insubordination for long enough. I don’t give a shit what you think, Agent Stark.” Philips snarled, “keep pushing me and so help me God, I will have you taken straight outta this unit and you’ll be back home typing up the Letters of Condolence.”
“But-”
“Enough!” Phillips snapped. “Now I suggest you disappear and pack.”
Katie took a deep breath, an angry noise escaping her throat as she turned and stormed away. Steve watched her go before he opened his mouth to argue some more with Phillips, but the man had already moved away.
They wanted to send him to a fucking research plant? Seriously? This was ridiculous.
“With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point,” Senator Brandt spoke to Steve and he turned to face the man. “I’ve seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country’s seen it.” Brandt turned to his aide. “Paper.” His aide obeyed, showing them the paper in his hand. It was today’s copy of the ‘The New York Examiner’ which bore the headline "Nazis in New York - Mystery Man Saves Child" along with a picture of Steve holding the car door in front of him.
“The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands," Brandt smiled at Steve. “You don’t take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab.” Steve felt a surge of hope flood his system as the Senator continued. “Son, do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?”
“Sir, that’s all I want,” Steve replied honestly.
“Then, congratulations,” The Senator held his hand out for Steve to shake. “You just got promoted.”
**** Steve’s hopes were short lived when Brandt explained what he had in mind - using Steve to boost recruitment and bond sales. But he knew he was getting nowhere with Phillips, so he decided to take the role and could only hope that it would lead to something else. Besides, it was important to gather support. The Forces needed all the financial and recruitment help they could get, and he could play a key part in that.
So Brandt said.
“Hey…”
Steve looked up from where he was packing the few items he’d unpacked from his trunk and looked at Katie.
“Oh, hi.” He said, turning back to his packing.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” she continued and Steve took a deep breath, straightening up.
“Who told you?”
“Good news travel fast, Captain.” She stressed the last word and Steve had to actively stop himself from rolling his eyes. “That’s a pretty good promotion considering you’ve been a soldier all of a week.”
“Yeah, well, it was too good an opportunity to turn down. In fact, it was the only opportunity to turn down.” He watched her as she took a deep breath, opened her mouth, before closing it again. And then Steve really did roll his eyes, “if you’ve got something to say, spit it out, Katie.”
“Hey, don’t get pissy with me,” she snapped back.
“I’m not being-”
“Yes, you are,” she folded her arms. “It’s not my fault Phillips won’t let you in on this. I’ve tried, believe me, but for whatever reason he’s not moving.”
“He’s not moving because he doesn’t like me.” Steve replied simply.
“Well, that’s his loss," Katie countered. “And what’s with the sudden display of self-pity?”
“What?”
“This, moping around, acting all deflated.”
“It’s easy for you to say.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well you’re off, over there. Fighting the fight but me, well, looks like I’m gonna have to play ball with Senators doesn’t it?”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
“Yes, I do!” Steve’s voice rose and Katie blinked a little, but besides that she showed no signs of having registered his angry tone. “What choice do I have?”
“There’s always a choice, Steve.”
“Oh, yeah?” He snorted. “And my choice here is what? Go to the damned White Sands Proving Ground where they can run more tests on me? Keep me locked up like some kind of lab rat?”
“I didn’t say they were always good choices.”
“Well what do you think I should do huh?”
“That’s not for me to say.” Katie shook her head. “But I can tell you one thing....”
“What?”
“That I have faith in you to do what you feel is right, and continue to be the good man I know you are.” Her words were soft but they hit Steve like a freight train and he swallowed, suddenly aware of how down right shitty he’d been. “And if you’re telling me that it feels right that you go where Brandt wants you to go then…” she shrugged. 
“I have to try.” Steve replied.
“Well, in that case, I’ll say what I came to say in the first place," she gave him a soft smile, “good luck.”
Steve took a deep breath and sighed, “Thanks. Look, I’m sorry I snapped. I just, well, truth be told I’m a little jealous.”
“Jealous?”
“Yeah, all I ever wanted was to be a soldier and to fight on the front lines. Like my dad did, and Bucky.” He sat down on the side of the bed, “And I agreed to this procedure because I thought it was my ticket there, ya know?”
“I get it,” Katie nodded, crossing the room to sit beside him. “And I understand how frustrated you feel, believe me.” He turned to look at her to see her glancing down at her hands before she looked up at a spot on the wall opposite them. “I just can’t say anything to make it better, other than repeat what I said before. I have absolute faith and belief that you’ll do what you think is right. And that’s all any of us can do.”
Steve looked straight in her eyes as they flickered across both of his and he took a deep breath, her words echoing round his mind. Throughout this, she and Erskine had been the two people who had utterly believed he was the best man for the job so to speak. Now Erskine was gone, and he was about to be separated from her as well. And it pained him to think about it, as he realised that he was going to miss her, for more than the simple reason that she’d been a friend to him. 
“You know I’m sorry we met the way we did,” his thoughts blurted out of his mouth before he could stop them.
Katie frowned, “what?”
“No, I err…” Steve sighed and then gave a snort. “Guess the serum didn’t enhance my ability to talk to a dame without completely making a total screw up of it.”
“Oh I don’t know,” Katie smiled, “you do a decent job most of the time.” She paused as Steve gave a little huff of laughter before she turned her body a little more towards him, “what’s on your mind, Soldier?”
“I meant, I’m sorry that we met when we did. And, you know, not sooner.” He shrugged, looking down at his hands, “or maybe even later, when all this is over.”
“If it ever is,” Katie sighed and Steve raised his eyes to hers as she licked her lips a little. “Steve, I’m not sad I met you when I did. Quite the opposite actually. It’s been…” she paused for a moment before she smiled “…a little ray of hope in an otherwise very gloomy world.”
“Hope?”
“Yeah,” she shrugged, “you know, a reminder that no matter how ugly the world seems or how much it changes, it’s still a beautiful place.”
Steve thought on her words for a second, a soft smile spreading across his face.
“What?” She asked as she noted his expression.
“You just remind me of my mom,” he smiled. “She was always a 'look on the bright side' kind of woman. No matter what life threw at us, she was always reminding me there were people far worse off.”
“She sounds like a smart lady.”
“She was,” Steve smiled with a short nod. “kind, compassionate. Just more ways you remind me of her.”
He didn’t miss the faint flush on Katie’s cheeks as she looked down at her hands and then raised her eyes to look at him, “I’m honoured.”
Steve took a deep breath, “I meant what I said the other night before we, you know.” He swallowed thickly, the lump in his throat felt like a tennis ball. “I like you, more than like you in fact.”
“Kinda sucks we’re about to be separated doesn’t it?” Katie looked at him, her eyes sad and he nodded.
“Yeah.”
“But, I’m a firm believer that if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.” Katie shrugged and at that Steve gave a scoff. She turned to him, a playful look on her face. “What, you don’t believe in fate?”
“Nope,” he shook his head, “you make your own luck.”
“Right.” A little side smile broke on her mouth, “you did a good job with that when you happened to be at the Expo the same time Erskine was.”
“Lucky coincidence.”
“And what was me getting accosted by a load of rapscallions in Brooklyn?”
“A not-so-lucky for you coincidence.” Steve shrugged.
“You know what the definition of the word coincidence is?”
“Not word for word, but I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.”
“Sass bag.” Katie nudged him with her elbow and he chuckled, “but you’re right, I am. It’s a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent casual connection.”
“And?”
“Fate is the development of events outside a person’s control.” Katie looked at him, her eyebrow arched, “just as a coincidence is beyond a person’s control. And if fate is what’s gonna happen to you no matter what you do, and coincidence is merely a matter of being in the right place at the right time, then what if you’re in the right place at the right time because it’s simply meant to be.”
Steve looked at her, utterly sideswiped at her sentiment. Whilst he wasn’t sure he agreed, the logic was surely there and the fact she’d laid it so bare, been so open with him knocked him for six. He saw her eyes flicker to his mouth again, and in a sudden surge of confidence he gently moved, taking her face in his hands and pulling her to meet him in a soft, gentle kiss that was loaded with meaning.
“Yup,” she sniffed a little as she pulled away and Steve was both surprised and horrified to see the tears in her eyes as she pressed her forehead to his, their noses bumping a little, “this definitely sucks.”
“Write to me,” he whispered, his thumbs swiping away her tears and she smiled, nodding, before she caught his lips again, this time the kiss was deeper, and Steve had to fight back the groan that was bubbling in his throat as he felt her tongue slide against his. They were interrupted by a loud noise outside and Katie pulled away, dropping her gaze a little before she sighed and stood up.
“Stay safe, Soldier,” she smiled, her hand gently cupping his cheek. “I’d hate for you to come back horrifically disfigured.”
At that Steve snorted, “would it put you off?” He teased, “I didn’t think you were that shallow.”
“I’m not,” she smiled as she made her way to the door. “It’d just be a helluva waste, a face like that.”
With that she was gone and Steve felt his smile fade, the warmth in his chest replaced by a hollow feeling which engulfed his entire body, as the realisation spread across him that he had no idea when he would see her again.
If indeed, at all.
****
November 1943.
 “I already volunteered, how do you think I got here?”
“Nice boots, Tinkerbell…”
“Hey, Captain! Sign this”
The heckling from the assembled crowd rang through Steve’s mind as he sat dejectedly on the side of the stage, the miserable, cold rain matching his mood. His hand moved absentmindedly, shading in the drawing he’d sketched in his book. A very apt sketch of a Circus Monkey on a Unicycle clutching the damned shield he’d been given as part of his costume. It turns out the “battlefield” that Senator Brandt had been referring to was nothing more than a grotesque road show across the US and various other places on the Allied Map encouraging people to buy war bonds.
“The Senator's got a lot of pull up on the hill. You play ball with us, you’ll be leading your own platoon in no time.”
Yeah, a "platoon" of chorus girls and confetti cannons, complete with ‘Adolph’ himself. Steve had knocked him out countless times, and was still no closer to getting in on the real action.
He’d travelled all over the place during the last four months, the tour had been successful, and there was no denying that it was helping the effort in a way. “Bonds buy bullets, bullets kill Nazi’s bing bang boom.” But this wasn’t what he had signed up for. Nor did he believe for one second that this was what Dr. Erskine had in mind for how his serum would be put into use.
He’d made a few propaganda films, all part of the course according to Brandt who had then had the bright idea to send Captain America on the USO tour, to attempt to lift spirits. So here he was in Italy, five miles from the front line, having finally made it overseas as a soldier, only to be stood on a stage in front of the men he should have been fighting alongside, being pelted by rotten fruit and vegetables instead of bullets.
It didn’t help that he knew the SSR were fast ramping up their efforts on HYDRA, having been reassigned to somewhere in mainland Europe, not unlike himself at that point in time. He’d had a few letters from Katie, but he had no idea where she was. She didn’t go into details, which was to be expected, she couldn’t and her mail always reached him through the usual military channels. He’d tried to remain positive in his letters back to her, focussing on nights where had a particularly good show, meeting and greeting his ‘fans’ afterwards, carefully omitting details about the women that now seemed to be throwing themselves at him. Be it in bars, back stage or simply as he emerged from the venues; there was no shortage of ladies vying for his attention. And had he been that way inclined, he could have taken any number of them dancing and then back to wherever he was staying that night, but the fact was he didn’t want to.
Because no matter how pretty or forthcoming the girls were, his mind and heart remained with a certain green eyed agent.
It was ironic, when he thought about it. The Star Spangled Man with a Plan, the song dubbed him, yet Steve felt as if he had never had less of a plan in his life.
“Hello, Steve," a familiar voice spoke in his ear and Steve jerked his head up in surprise and turned, doing a little double take as he looked up at Katie.
“Hi,” he instantly felt his heart rate pick up dramatically in her presence, like it normally did as his eyes laid upon her. She was dressed in standard Army green wool pants that were tailored for a man with wide legs and long length that she tucked in to her well-worn mid-calf boots which were brown leather with lace protection straps and looked as if they had happily trudged through mud and been beaten until they broke in and needed new soles. Her unit issued jacket was the same colour green as her pants, but the harsh canvas material gave a weighted appearance across her shoulders as it was buttoned and zipped it up.  Beneath it, she wore her wool tie and collared shirt, no doubt tucked into her trousers for a crisp clean look.
Steve noted how it was a stark (pun intended) difference to the previous smart pencil skirt and jacketed uniform he had seen her in at the SSR base which Peggy, who stood to her left, was still sporting. But then again, the two women were very different, and knowing Katie as he did, she wasn't one to conform and who knew what she had been up to whilst on the front line.
All it did was serve to make Steve feel even more self-conscious and ridiculous in his own outfit, designed for dancing and prancing around not active combat. 
“What are you doin’ here?” He asked, his eyes flicking to Peggy before they returned to Katie again.
“Officially we’re not here at all,” Peggy smiled. “That was quite a performance.”
Great, they’d seen it. His shoulders slumped at little as he turned away.
“Yeah. Uh… I had to improvise a little bit. Crowds I’m used to are usually more uh, twelve.”
“Probably less full of jerks as well,” Katie snorted and Steve looked at her, his mouth curling into a slight smile as Peggy let out a sigh.
“You know what soldiers are like. Present company excepted of course,” Peggy quickly corrected herself as Steve had cocked any eyebrow at her sweeping assumption, before she turned to the other agent. “I warned you-“
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Katie replied with a roll of her eyes.
Peggy took a deep breath, before she turned back to Steve, swiftly changing the subject. “I understand you’re "America’s New Hope"?
“Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit,” Steve chanted off, the words flowing out of him the same way they did whenever he spoke to someone about the Roadshow and he grimaced as he realised just what a damned puppet he had become.
“Is that Senator Brandt I hear?” Katie teased and Steve took a deep breath.
“At least he’s got me doin’ this,” Steve felt a sudden need to defend his decision to take the role in the first place, especially after their conversation before he had left. “Phillips would have had me stuck in a lab.”
“And these are your only two options?” Peggy looked at him, nodding to his sketch book which was still open in his lap. “A lab rat or a dancing monkey?”
“You were meant for more than this, you know?” Katie added gently, and Steve looked at her, hesitating as his sarcastic reply died in his throat. Instead he looked away, a little dejected. She was right, he had been meant for more that was the whole point of him taking the serum. But even after he’d been turned into this Super Soldier, been given such power and capability, he still wasn’t enough.
“What?” Katie pressed gently, having noticed his hesitation.
“You know for the longest time I dreamed about coming overseas and being on the front lines. Serving my country. I finally get everything I wanted, and I’m wearing tights.”
Before either of the women could respond there was the sound of a horn honking which diverted their attention. Steve turned to watch as an ambulance pulled to a halt outside the medical tent. The back doors were flung open and several injured soldiers were pulled out of the back on stretches, nurses and medical staff rushing to help as they disappeared through the drapes of the tents, the walking wounded being helped down and aided as they limped behind.
“They look like they’ve been through hell,” Steve commented, a deep feeling of sadness at the sight of the injured men flooded his chest.
“These men more than most,” Peggy commented and Steve turned to look at her, a little confused as to what she meant.
“Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano,” Katie explained. “Two hundred men went up against him and less than fifty returned. Your audience contained what was left of the one-oh-seventh. The rest were killed or captured.”
Steve felt his chest tighten, as if someone had trapped it in a vice and his head momentarily span as the meaning of her words sank in.
“The one-oh-seventh?” He breathed out, begging it to be wrong. But Katie simply frowned as she gave a nod.
“What?”
Steve swallowed and looked around before he rose to his feet. “That was Bucky’s unit.” He turned to face her, his voice sounded alien as he almost choked on his words. Katie’s face slid into a look of recognition, her mouth falling open.
“Barnes?” She asked and Steve nodded, as he ran a hand down his face, once more glancing round desperately hoping for Bucky to appear and rip into him for his ridiculous outfit. But he knew that if Bucky had been in that audience, he would have already found him. Which meant that he was either amongst the injured soldiers in the tent or…
“Who’s Barnes?” Peggy asked form behind him.
“Steve’s friend from home,” Katie replied gently as Steve turned back to look at the women.
“I need to check if he’s there,” Steve nodded towards the medical tent.
“Not a good idea,” Peggy cut him off. “You saw their reaction to you before. If you go waltzing in you’re going to upset them.”
“I don’t really care,” Steve spluttered
“Well you should,” Peggy looked at him sternly.
“I have to know if he survived!”
“Okay, look…” Katie took a deep breath, and he tore his eyes away from Peggy who was still glaring at him to look instead at the other woman. “Phillips will have the list of the-“ she hesitated, clearly searching for the best word “-casualties. We can ask him.”
“Phillips is here too?” Steve frowned, although he wasn’t sure why that had surprised him. Decision made, he turned and started running across the camp shooting a, “come on,” over his shoulder as the heavy rain pelted down onto them all.
He busted into the tent, “Colonel Phillips,” and the man looked up, a disgruntled expression spread across his face before he took a deep breath and looked back down at the papers on his desk as Steve strode purposefully towards him.
“Well, if it isn’t the Star-Spangled Man with a plan, and what is your plan today?” Phillip’s voice was laced with sarcasm but Steve didn’t care. At the moment he had one thing on his mind, and that was Bucky.
“I need the casualty list from Azzano.”
“You don’t get to give me orders, son.” Phillips snapped, looking up at him once more and Steve ignored his angry tone, his stubbornness showing through as he continued to pres.
“I just need one name. Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th.”
“You two and I are gonna have a conversation later that you won’t enjoy,” Phillips pointed to both Agent Carter and Katie in turn.
“Can’t wait," Katie sassed back and Phillips’ head shot up to look at her as he once more fixed her with a stare that could freeze over hell, but Steve didn’t have time for this.
“Please tell me if he’s alive, Sir. B-A-R…”
“I can spell,” the Colonel stated harshly as he tore his eyes from Katie. He looked at the papers in his hand and with a sigh dropped them to his desk and when he spoke his voice was a little softer. "I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I’m sorry." 
Steve swallowed, a feeling of cold washing over his body as the Colonel's words sank in. It might sound familiar but there was a chance it could be another Barnes. It was a common name, after all, and even if it was Bucky’s name on the letter, he could be missing assumed dead, not actually confirmed dead. Peggy and Katie had told him before that there were still men from the unit trapped behind lines. 
"What about the others? Are you planning a rescue mission?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he’d really had time to consider them properly.
“Yeah! It’s called winning the war.”
Steve frowned, “but if you know where they are, why not at least…?"
Colonel Phillips stood up, the expression on his face belonged to a man who had just lost his final bit of patience. "They're thirty miles behind the lines, through the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We'd lose more men than we'd save." He moved around the desk to stand in front of Steve, his hands falling to his hips as fixed him with a stern and challenging glare. "But I don't expect you to understand that, because you're a chorus girl."
Steve took a breath, the anger coursing inside him at the dig that Phillips had just made, but before he could say anything, he heard Katie scoff besides him. 
“And who’s fault is that?”
Phillips turned to Katie, his face contorted in anger “You are this close…” he held his thumb and forefinger up a fraction of an inch apart.
Katie’s jaw clenched and her chin tipped up defiantly as she glared back at the man. Steve, having had chance to compose himself slightly now the spoke in an attempt to draw the attention back away from her and onto himself.
“I think I understand just fine.”
“Well then understand it somewhere else.” Phillips turned away. “If I read the posters correctly, you got some place to be in thirty minutes”
As he spoke the last words, Steve took note of the map which lay on the table and he noticed a flag marked with an H which caught his attention. And then, he made his decision.
The Star Spangled Man finally had a plan.
“Yes, sir. I do.”
***** Chapter 5
81 notes · View notes
santigarcia · 3 years
Text
Electric Plug 🔌
Human Touch Part Seven
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six
word count: 4.5k
rating: M for smut, dirty talk, slight mentions of violence and cheating (pls don’t read unless ur 18+!)
summary: You go see Nathan after his accident, and an old flame rekindles. 
a/n: thank you all so much for reading this series! let me know what yall think! thank you to @punkpascal​ and @sergeantkane​​ as always!!
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You call the hospital, pleading with them to give you information if he’s ok. But all you hear is a loud click. This is the only time that Nathan’s fame bothers you. It makes you sick to think that people want to know if he’s ok for their gossip mags. You feel guilt, and that gnawing raw feeling deep in your gut that only he gave you.
For the next few weeks, you keep tabs on him. Your wedding is in less than a month, and you’ve spent more time stalking the internet for info on your ex than you have with your own wedding. But all the work is being done for you. Jack seems to be more involved in it than you.
All you can think about is Nathan. You suppose that’s a bad thing, right before your wedding. But you want to know he’s alright. He could have died thinking you hate him. And while you did for some time, you don’t anymore. If you’re being totally honest you kind of hated him even when you were together. He drove you insane sometimes, but you miss that.
As soon as you get the word Nathan has been sent home, you call your cousin up.
“Aren’t you getting married in a week?”
Yes, yes you are. But you need to see him. You tell her that you need to get a way for just a day or two, that the stress of the wedding is too much. She agrees to let you come up, and you plan to fly back to the states together.
It’s been so long since you got lost and showed up soaking wet at Nathan’s door. This time, you dress for the occasion. Your best little black dress. Sleek heels. You do your hair, makeup, and wear the perfume that used to drive him wild. You’re not entirely sure why you do this, but deep down you know. You just won’t admit it. You want him to admit he fucked up. You want him to want you back.
So, when you knock on his door, you yourself feel a little thrill. But the nerves hit. You haven’t spoken to him in at least two years, and neither of you got closure from the situation. You’re about to reopen a wound that’s barely healed.
Or maybe not – he’s not answering the door.
You start to bang on it, you know he’s home. The lights are on.
“Nathan! Open up!”
When the door finally opens, you’re greeted with Nathan, his face one of surprise, but it quickly turns to a scowl.
”I know I am the last person you want to see right now but-“
“What? What do you want?” he cuts you off. You think of all the things you want to tell him. To ask him. You want to apologize; you want him to apologize. You want to know if he’s ok. But that’s not what comes out.
“Ok I know things ended badly, but I'm getting married next week and-“ you grab him and kiss him deeply. Your tongue delves into his mouth, and he quickly deepens the kiss himself. “I need you.” You tell him, you’re breathless.
“You’re gonna regret this, baby,” he grabs your ass and pulls you to him, and somehow manages to close the door behind you both.
“Make me regret it,” you moan into him. Damn, you’ve missed this. This is the raw passion you’ve been missing. His strong arms hold you tight and he backs you into a wall. His hands are on your dress, already quick to hike it up over your hips.
With the quirk of a brow, he looks at you when he sees you’re without underwear. Ok, maybe this is what you wanted.
“I’m gonna fuckin’ ruin you, baby.” He sucks on your neck as he wraps your legs around his waist. His teeth almost hurt, but it’s a good pain, you wouldn’t trade it for anything. “You shouldn’t even be near here. Near me.”
“Please, I’m begging you,” you whine. You didn’t mean to sound this desperate but now that his hands and mouth are on you it just comes out. You claw at his shirt, wanting him to take it off. You need his skin on yours. He pulls back to tug it off, and in the process, he rips your dress open. This frees your bare chest, and he grabs your tits with a fiery aggression. He squeezes them and bites on your shoulder.
His chest is heaving, and the truth spills out.
“I missed you so fuckin’ much, you know that? No one takes my cock quite as well as you do.”
You hate that he’s right, and it only makes you wetter for him.
“No one gives it like you do,” you tell him, moaning trying to get him to push himself inside. You’re desperate, aching.
“Damn right.” He lightly smacks your clit, and you cry out. “I’m the only one who fucks this pussy right.”
“Please!” you buck your hips trying to urge him on. “I need you!”
He finally gives you what you want and thrusts into you hard. He fills you so well, and you choke out a gasp. He’s so proud of himself, he can’t let this moment slip by.
“Oh, you always take me so well kitten,” he grunts shifting his position and hitting you deeper. “This is my pussy, isn’t it? You love it when I fuck this tight pussy? Say it.”
“Nathan!” you dig your nails into his back, and he buries his face into your neck.
“Say it.”
“I love it when you fuck this tight pussy!” you scream as he rubs his thumb over your clit. He’s giving it hard, but you need it. You need all of him. And he fuckin’ knows it.
“Yeah, I can tell how much you love it,” he growls. “You love having my big cock inside you, don’t you? I bet your little fuck toy fiancé can’t fill you nearly as well as I do, does he?”
“No,” you gasp, “only you. I belong to you.”
“Good girl, fuck!” his head falls on your shoulder, he rubs your clit harder to match his heavy thrusts. “I want you to come for me and show me just how good you can be. Okay kitten?”
You whine and claw at him, “I’m so close, please! Let me come!”
“Do it. Come all over my fucking cock.”
With the sound of his voice and the press of his thumb, you find your release. It’s white hot and intense, and your lower back cramps from the intensity of your squeezing around him. You gasp for air and grunt while he still pushes into you. He’s chasing his high and you want him to hit it.
“FUCK! Fuck, can I come inside you?” his voice is full of need, he’s not above begging to fill you up.
“Do it,” you say back to him. “I want all of you.” And that’s the truth.
“Fuck, fuck. That’s it. Oohhh. Oh shit, you take my cum so well,” he chuckles and kisses your cheek. Your bodies still but your chests heave together.
“He doesn't - not like this.” In fact, he’s never given you such pleasure. It’s only ever about him.
“Poor baby, you’ve been neglected, haven’t you?” He smirks kissing you again. “Your thin dick fiancé can’t take care of you properly, hmm?”
“Nathan you wouldn't believe, he- he just doesn't- You know exactly what to do to get me soaked,” you sigh and flutter around him when he pulls out.
“I know you. More than just sexually.”
You nod, he truly does.
“Fuck we made a mess,” he grins and sets you down on the floor. Your knees tremble and your dress is torn around your waist. Nathan’s slick is sliding down your thighs. “Come on,” he hands you his shirt off the floor, and he pulls your torn-to-shreds dress off your body.
You follow him down the familiar maze of his home into your bedroom. You sit down on the bed and he disappears into the bathroom. He returns with a rag to clean you up, and when he’s finished, he lays down beside you. He curls up close to you and kisses your neck before he gets settled.
It’s quiet for a while. You just hold each other in silence. It’s nice. A still moment with him is what you’ve been missing.
He breaks the silence with a sigh, then comes the question you’ve been waiting for.
”Do… do you love him?”
Tears well up in your eyes, and you feel your chest tighten. Nathan’s calm, but you know he’s dying for an answer.
“I- I don't know anymore. I started dating him after we broke up because well, he wasn't you. And now that's- that's the problem. He's safe.  But he’s boring. And he only cares about himself.”
It’s as if you’re just now realizing what you’ve known all along.
“Don’t marry him.” It’s not a plea, it’s not a demand. It’s a casual statement. But when he buries his face in your neck that tells you how he really feels. “I know we didn’t part on the best of terms, but… fuck, I’ve missed you.”
“Really? I- I mean I know we just angry fucked – But I thought you would never wanna see me again. Especially after what I did to you. We both did stupid things.”
“Baby I missed you the whole time. Didn’t you know? I was angry and scared because I was in love with you and it just seemed better to let you go then to end up hurting you.” He sighs pulling you in closer, his lips press softly into your skin. “But then cuz I was an asshole I hurt you and pushed you out.”
“I know, I think I always knew.”
“And he’s cheating on you anyways.”
“What?”
“Oh shit, that’s right. You never saw the texts. I told you everything.”
You sit up and look down at him laying in the bed. He’s so gorgeous, it’s as if you’ve forgotten. You’re still that girl with a crush on him.
“I ignored the texts cuz I was mad at you over the AI. He’s really cheating on me?”
“I know,” he smiles sadly. “I’m onto new tech now though. Smart Home Devices. But yeah, shit baby, I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you. I stalked him online,” he clears his throat. “You know-“
“Cuz you were jealous,” you giggle and lean down to kiss the grey spot on his head.
“Ok, yeah fuck it I was. I wanted to see who I lost you to. But then it was pretty obvious he was cheating, and I tried to let you know, but you never answered.”
“I’m sorry about that, by the way. For not answering.”
“I’m sorry I did all that behind your back.”
“It’s just- if I had been here,” you start to sniffle. You look down at the scar on his chest, and it makes your heart pound. “What if something had happened, and I never got to tell you…” you wipe your tears on your sleeve. “Are you okay?” You reach out and touch the scar on his chest. His skin chills from your touch, but he’s still, he lets you touch him.
“I’m not okay without you. But yeah, I’m fine. Couple scars.”
“And what did you mean earlier? When you said you were in love with me? Was? Does this mean you aren't in love with me anymore? What am I even doing here? I don't know what to do anymore. Everyone has been making decisions for me. No one cares about what I want.”
“Hey, easy kitten.” That familiar nickname. “No, I… I’m still in love with you.” He sits up to cup your face, forcing you to look at him. “I want you to choose. if you want to stay… I want to be better for you. But I want you to make the choice yourself.”
“Nathan, I- the fact that you want me to choose is making me want to stay.”
“Then stay,” he strokes your cheek with his thumb. “But only if it’s what you think is best for you.”
“You're what's best for me, no one has cared for me like you do. And no one gets under my skin like you do either,” you lean up to kiss his lips. “Listen to me right now Nathan. If I do this, if I call off that wedding, you have to promise me right now some changes will be made around here. For both of us.”
“I promise. I swear. Name it and it’s done.”
“I'm not telling you to stop drinking, but go easy ok? You scare me sometimes when you overdo it.”
“Done. Truth be told, if I have you, I won’t really need to drink. Being with you… it quiets my mind. What else?”
“I wanna be the only one. If you need to, I don't know, fuck one of the AI’s for some science thing that's fine, just tell me about it and don’t lie to me. But if it's for you to blow off steam? Come get me. Ok?”
“You’re the only pussy I want, I promise. And I’m done with them. Could never get them wet and warm like you,” he winks and pulls you into his arms. “You’re all I need.”
“And last thing….I need you to help me think of a way to tell my family and my fiancé this whole thing is off,” you wince at the thought. Either way you’re breaking it off with Jack because he’s cheating but bringing Nathan back after having just slept with him means you cheated too. “Because I technically cheated on him with you,” you say aloud.
“Nah, kitten. You decided it was over with him the moment you came out here. Fuck having cold feet, you were done.”
“You’re right,” you sigh, you couldn’t admit it to yourself, but he sees right through you. He always has.
“I know,” he grins.
“Ugh you ass,” you shove his chest.
“Ow, my scar!” he flops back dramatically on the bed. You play along and kiss all over his face.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
“I’m not. What if you had gotten hurt? I’d never forgive myself. I was already a damn mess after you left.”
You can’t curl into him any closer, but it doesn’t stop you from trying. His warmth is so comforting. The smell of his soap on his skin. The expensive beard oil. You’ve missed rubbing that into his beard. Everything about being close to him reminds you that this is right, this is what you want. He is who you want.
“What about the wedding? It’s next week,” you sigh. The thought fills you with dread having to cancel everything.
“What if you went through with it? And then I come in and crash the wedding,” he chuckles. “Always wanted to crash a wedding.”
“Wait, that’s not a bad idea,” you giggle.
“We can do anything you want, baby. Hell, I’ll crash your wedding and be your groom if you want.”
“Did you- did you just say what I thought you said?” you sit up to look at him, you want to read the expression on his face. His eyes are serious, but there’s a slight smile on his lips, he nibbles on his lip.
“If you wanted. I know we’ve never talked about that, but… I’d like to. I wouldn’t mind getting hitched,” he shrugs, but you know he means it.
“I thought you didn’t believe in marriage,” you feel tears welling up in your eyes. This changes everything.
“People assume that,” he chuckles sitting up, his hands rub your thighs. “I’m not opposed. And if it would make you happy, then why the hell not?”
“I want that more than anything!” you lean forward to kiss him, and he leans back pulling you with him. His thumb strokes your back while you kiss his cheeks and lips.
“Then let’s get married. I wanna make you Mrs. Bateman,” he hums kissing you and he squeezes your hip.
“You’re gonna hate Jack,” you laugh realizing they’ll have to meet at some point.
“He’ll hate me when he realizes I’m stealing his fiancé.”
“I can’t believe I was going to marry him. I felt like I had to. I was mad at you, and I thought that would be my way to get back at you by saying yes, even though I felt pressured. I don't know what made me come back here to you, but I'll spend the rest of my life glad I did.”
“You came back because I’m irresistible,” he gives you a playful look. “I’m glad you came. I’m so glad you’re back. I want you to make your own decisions, so… I really hope you don’t feel like you have to marry me.”
“No, I want to. I want to marry you. I want you in my life. You respect me enough to make my own decisions. And you know where my g-spot is.”
He snorts out a laugh, “Ahhh, yes, my primary function as your future husband. Honestly wouldn’t mind if you just used me like a glorified sex toy. That’d probably be hot.”
You smile and kiss him again. You can’t seem to stop, and you don’t want to. He wraps his arms around you and your legs tangle between the sheets. He pushes into you slowly, your bodies mold together and it’s everything you could want.
“I can’t wait to crash your wedding,” he muses. You laugh imaging the chaos.
“You can’t wait to make a scene, can you?”
“Kitten, I am the scene.”
“What am I getting myself into?” you laugh.
You fall asleep in his arms that night and leaving his warmth the next morning is one of the hardest things you do.
“It’s just a few more days kitten,” he reassures you. And you know that but having him and then leaving is worse than you could have imagined.
Now you have to go back and pretend you’re excited to marry Jack. The excitement part is easy, you are excited about getting married, just not to Jack. You almost feel guilty, living this lie. But then you remember Jack has been cheating on you this entire time.
You went back and read the texts Nathan sent you on your flight home. Some of them broke your heart. Some of them were genuinely funny and he was trying to make you laugh. Anger burned in you when you found the texts about Jack. It was plain as day and you felt stupid, you’d missed it. You know all these women and it makes so much sense. There’d be nights when he was gone and had no excuse to be out of the house.
You don’t blame Nathan for fucking one of his AI’s. He was stressed and overwhelmed with love for you he panicked. Sure, it was a dick move, and he wasn’t thinking straight. But he knew it was wrong and apologized for it. Over and over. He’d tell you later that after you left, he couldn’t get off like he could when he was with you. The AI fucking was over, and after one almost killed him, he gave it up.
But Jack is flat out cheating on you and has been lying about it for years. He had the nerve to propose to you while he had women on the side. You feel so stupid.
You’re out of it during the rehearsal dinner. You pay attention to nothing during the actual rehearsal. Nathan is going to be there tomorrow and break it all up. You feel those butterflies thinking about him coming to save you.
He’s nervous. He’s barely talked to you, but you know why. This is a big change for him, but one he’s ready to embrace. He’s not one to back down from a challenge.
You wake up the day of your wedding with a text from Nathan. All it says is “good morning.”
If there was any doubt he wouldn’t show up, this blew them all away. He’ll be there.
You just don’t know when.
It changes everything. When you put on your dress, all your bridesmaids and family comment on how you’re glowing and radiant. You got this dress with Nathan in mind, you can’t wait for him to see you in it.
There’s a tremble in your step as you’re escorted down the aisle. No one knows the secret you’re hiding.
It’s at this moment you start to get anxious. You don’t know when he’ll interrupt. What if he backs out and you have to leave Jack in the middle of the ceremony?
Jack takes your hands; your heartbeat is rapid and sweat is on your palms. This isn’t the man you want, and it’s taking all of your willpower to not turn and look for Nathan.
The minister opens his mouth to speak when you hear a loud “STOP.”
Everyone else turns with shock to see Nathan at the end of the aisle, but you- you’re beaming, and tears fall down your cheeks.
His expression is soft, his eyes look like they’re about to spill over with tears. You’ve never seen him look so handsome. His beard is trimmed, he’s in tight grey slacks and a crisp white dress shirt. The sleeves are rolled up on his forearms, and you want to eat him alive he looks so good.
You waste no time running down the aisle to him. His arms open ready to catch you in a hug when you leap for him. He chuckles when your bodies touch- the air knocked out of him.
“Hey gorgeous,” he kisses your cheek. “You ready?” he asks stroking your cheek softly.
You nod and he takes your hand.
“Don’t look back.”
You take his hand; he squeezes it tight and you walk out front where a sleek black car is waiting for you. It takes you into town to the justice of the peace. The two of you thought this was simpler – and more appropriate than crashing a wedding and taking it over for your own. And as much as Nathan likes to make a scene, a smaller ceremony is more his speed.
“You look beautiful,” he tells you as you walk inside. He can’t take his eyes off you.
“Just don’t rip this one in half,” you snort out a laugh taking his arm.
“Baby, I’ll buy you a new one,” he pretends to pout.
When you reach the office, you gasp to see a handful of your immediate family standing there waiting for you.
“How did you-“ you gape looking around at them all.
“Called your family ahead of time,” Nathan shrugs. “Consider it one of my many wedding gifts to you baby.”
You marry him there in that little office. His warm hands cup your cheeks when he pulls you in for a kiss. He cries. It’s exactly the kind of wedding you pictured with him. No mess. No fuss.
But you take full advantage of the reception. Everyone else is there and is happy to welcome you. You’re glad for it because you finally get some good quality pictures of you and Nathan together.
He indulges you in all the little wedding reception traditions. He feeds you a bite of cake, and maybe kisses you a little too dirty for that crowd, but you can’t be bothered to care.
The best surprise of the night is when he pulls you on the dancefloor. His arms wrapped tight around you as you sway together.
“Where do you want to go on our honeymoon?” he asks you. “Anywhere you want to go. Name it.”
“Anywhere there’s a bed,” you giggle. You lay your head on his shoulder and breathe deeply. This is where you’re meant to be.
Your dance ends when the DJ starts to play a funky disco song. And it’s all Nathan can do not to start dancing right away. You burst out laughing and let him go. He dances all around you while tears of laughter stream down your face. A little crowd has gathered around watching him and he doesn’t even see them, only you.
He takes a bow when that song ends, and you can’t remember the last time you’ve laughed that hard.
The moment turns when a very drunk Jack walks in.
“Oh no,” you grab Nathan’s arm. He pushes you behind him when Jack makes his way towards the two of you. His speech is slurred, and his hair is a mess.
“So, this is who you left me for?” he looks Nathan up and down. Nathan’s jaw is ticked in anger, but he doesn’t want to waste his time on him.
“You were cheating on me, anyway, why do you care?” you shake your head. You’re still so angry at him.
“So? Didn’t you say he was too?” he jabbed a finger onto Nathan’s chest. He brushed him off and breathed out his nose like an angry bull ready to charge.
“It was a mistake dude, and I regret it every fuckin’ day.”
“Did she tell you? She called me Nathan in bed? How I had to live with the reminder of you?”
“Oh, so cheating makes it better?” Nathan’s blood pressure was beginning to rise.
“Well, I needed to get pussy from somewhere, since she wasn’t putting out-“ Jack could barely finish his sentence before Nathan’s fist collided with his nose – breaking it.
Jack leaned back holding his bloody nose as Nathan grabbed him by his shirt collar.
“Don’t you ever insult my wife like that again.”
Jack wanted to swing back and attempted. But Nathan caught his fist, and punched Jack in the stomach. Shame more than anything else sent Jack on his way.
Nathan turned to you to apologize for making a scene, but you’ve never been so attracted to him as you have in this moment. Your new husband just defended your honor.
“Take me home,” you wrap your arms around him.
“You wanna join the-mile-high club? Or can we go fuck in your childhood bedroom since your house isn’t far from here? Do you have any posters of me on your wall?”
You shake your head with a laugh and playfully smack his arm. You pull away from him and greet a family member, and Nathan chases after you.
“That’s not an answer. Babe! Do you have one?”
“Would it make a difference if I said yes?” you grin turning back to him. You loop your hands around his neck, and he puts his hands on your hips.
“Fuck. Fuck, it would make a huge fuckin’ difference. Can we spend the honeymoon in your room?”
“So, you can look at a poster of yourself while you have sex with your new wife?” your smile gets bigger and bigger.
“Fuck. What picture is it?”
“Nathan!”
“Just kidding,” he smiles kissing your lips. “I booked us a nice hotel for our first night.”
“No posters in there,” you giggle.
“I’ll buy one,” he kisses you deeper. “Do you really have one of me in your room-“
He’ll find out soon enough, but you’re not going to tell him that you don’t just have one – but two.
 xx
  tagging: @pascal-isaac​​, @wasicskosgirl​​, @velvetmel0n​​, @huliabitch​​, @shadow-assassin-blix​​, @writefightandflightclub​​, @aellynera​​, @softboywriting​​, @veuliee2​​, @spider-starry​​, @mylifeliterally​​, @millllenniawrites​​, @ntlmundy​​, @foxilayde, @writingletterstothefire​​, @mandoplease​​, @anetteaneta​​, @feelmyroarrrr​​, @artsymaddie​​, @shakespeareanwannabe​​, @poedameronsbeard​​, @deanfanatic67​​​, @magicsuperheroes​​​, @phoenixhalliwell​​​, @that-one-weird-one​​​, @mariesackler, @yourbucky084​​​, @woakiees​
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write-orflight · 4 years
Text
Like Real People Do. Chapter 3
Tumblr media
*Gif not mine*
Prologue  Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Rating: M, eventually will be smut.
Words: 2.5k
Warnings: Sexual themes, talk about sex (not NSFW though), 
Request: OPEN/CLOSED
A.N Y’all are really benefiting from my insomnia rn. I do have a plan to go back to my regular posting schedule but for right now enjoy the things starting to happen. Much love, Cia
       Chapter 3: The bugs and the dirt  
You’ve been on the team for about 6 months now, and you were loving it. Sure it was long hours, constant danger, and mounds of paperwork but you couldn’t be happier. You felt like you were doing what you were meant to do. The team had fully accepted you in the family around month 2. You and Morgan had become close after your “personal day” in October. He expressed that he knew what it was like to lose a parent and though he’d never understand losing both so quickly he offered you condolences and free drinks with him and Prentiss that night. Since then, the 3 of you have become good friends. 
There was always the occasional girls night with Emily, JJ, and Garcia, Dinner at Rossi’s and afternoon picnics with Hotch and Jack(which eventually just turned into you babysitting Jack while Aaron took a deserved nap). Your favorite however, was Saturday’s with Spencer. 
The two of you had fallen asleep that Friday night him and Garcia came over to watch Doctor Who. You woke up laid on top of him, legs tangled while your head was resting on his chest tucked under his chin. His arms were wrapped around you, hand resting heavily on the small of your back. You try to get up without waking him but of course you do, he startles awake in turn startling you causing you to fall off the couch. 
“Oh, Y/N,I’m so sorry--” He starts, immediately flushing. He stands to immediately help you up.
“No worries, Spen. Not made of glass.” You laugh. 
He blushes more at the new nickname. “Spen?” he asks. 
“Uh, yea.” You say. “Do you not like it?” 
“No-no, I like it.” He says. 
“Ok then.” You smile. “Do you have plans today?” He shakes his head. “Well, Saturday’s when I usually get coffee and work on homework at a cafe down the street, do you maybe wanna tag along?” you ask. He nods furiously. 
And every Saturday you guys had free since Spencer would meet you in the small cafe near your apartment. He would order an Americano with an ungodly amount of sugar and you would get a cold brew, despite it being winter still and you would sit and talk while you did work. Often he would help you with your thesis, telling you things you should add or consider. Sometimes you would just sit and talk about books you’ve both read or often you would explain the plots to various reality shows you know Spencer would never watch but he would sit and listen intently just like he did with everything you said. He treated every word that came out of your mouth like it was the most important thing in the world, treated every minuscule fact he learned about you, like it was treasured information to solving the mystery in front of him. You had become his personal cryptid. 
Of course the rest of the team had caught on to your Saturdays together, you worked with profilers and a very gossipy tech analyst. The amount of times you two had walked in together from being called in for a case last minute was enough to give you away. You thought back to a very uncomfortable conversation you had with Hotch one morning. You had come to drop off files JJ just pawned off to you to take upstairs. You held up your hand in a small wave walking into the office door. You put the files on his desk, starting to walk out when he stops you. 
“Y/N, we need to talk for a second. Close the door.” Hotch says. You nodded closing the door. You immediately tried to rattle off everything you’d done wrong to Hotch that could possibly warrant a talk. I forgot his coffee order that one time it was my turn, I missed Jack’s birthday once, I took a nap in the file room. You thought, all weren’t good but none warranted a closed door talk. 
“Yes, sir?” you ask, he gives you a weird look before it dissipates into his usual scowl,  neither of you used to the professional formalities still. 
“I’m sure you’re aware of the FBI’s fraternization policy.” He says. 
“Yes, sir…?” You say, not knowing where he was going with this. You weren’t fraternizing with anyone and no one knew that more than you except maybe your right hand. 
“Now there’s things I’d be willing to overlook as long as you don’t let it affect your work. But you would have to tell me and you would have to fill out an office relationship form--” 
“Whoa-wait a second.” you say. “What’re we talking about?” 
“If there’s something going on between you and Spencer you would have--”
“Hotch! There’s nothing going on between me an--What?” You say, you knew you had to be beet red right now. God this is humiliating. You thought.
“Really?” he said. 
“Yes! There’s nothing going on.” 
“But you guys have been together every week--” 
God, how did he even know that. ���He’s helping me with my thesis, Hotch!” you exclaim, if this conversation continued you were going to be the same shade of red as the shirt you were wearing. “Why do you even know about that?” 
“Garcia.” he says, matter-of-factly. 
Of course, Garcia. 
 “Well, there’s nothing going on so now you can save the fraternization speech for someone else.” You move to stand. 
“You want there to be.” He points out. “Something going on, I mean.” 
“Oh my god. Aaron, I have a deep amount of respect for you and I revere you very much as a role model.” you say. “That being said, I will not be discussing my nonexistent love life with my boss! Jesus!” You exclaim. You see the smile ghosting his lips. He always enjoyed embarrassing you. “Can I leave now?” you asked. 
He nodded, waving his hand to dismiss you. You walk out of the office back to your desk, conveniently across from Spencer’s. 
“What did Hotch need?” He asked you. 
“Nothing!” You say instantly. Spencer just shrugged, returning to the file he had been reading.
---------------------------------------
Now you were here in the present, at a bar with the team celebrating the final results you had gotten back on your doctoral thesis. The Diploma hasn't come in the mail yet but it was official, you were officially Dr. Y/N Y/L/N. 
“To Dr. Y/N.” Garcia said, raising the shots Prentiss had just handed to you, Morgan and JJ. Rossi and Hotch raised their beers and Spencer clinked his water he’d been nursing to your shot glass. You smiled at her, before taking the shot quickly grimacing at the harshness of the alcohol. 
“Thanks, you guys.” You say, smiling widely. Your plan before to celebrate your doctorate had been to draw a bubble bath and try not to think of the student loans you’d accumulated. But of course Garcia being the genius and snoop that she was found out your results and insisted on a night out. 
“Y/N.” Emily said, getting your attention. “I think you should get the next round of drinks because that guy at the bar has been staring at you all night.” She said, leaning close to you to point at him. You look up to see a fairly built, tan man, with brown eyes and a well-maintenanced beard. Due to the amount of drinks you had and your inhibitions lowered, you smile at him automatically. He smiles back, lifting his drink to his mouth still looking at you. You look back down. 
“I don’t know, Emily.” You say, looking down at your mixed drink. 
“Come on, Y/N. We both know it’s been a while and you said you weren’t going to focus on that until you finished your doctorate.” Emily smirks, nudging you. “Now you’re finished so, come on, write him a prescription, Doc.” She laughs, inducing a few giggles from the rest of the group. Except for Rossi and Hotch who weren’t paying attention and Spencer, who seemed bothered but you didn’t know by what. 
“Hold on, mama, I have to know what a while means.” Derek says, laughing. 
“It means a while~”  Emily says, exaggerating the last word so that it was extra long. 
“Yea, a long~ while.” Garcia says, joining in, giggling all the while. 
“Ok, didn’t know you guys were moonlighting as comedians.” You say sarcastically, rolling your eyes. You turn towards Derek, the alcohol clearly lowered your inhibitions enough to answer his question. “I mean, I went through the phase everyone went through in the first couple years of college. Partying, drinking, and unfortunately ending up in a frat guys bed, but after a while I realized that I had different goals then most of my peers so I put all my focus on getting my degrees. I’d say that was when I was what? 19?” You said, recalling. 
Morgan almost did a spit take, “6 years?” 
“Don’t make it sound so incredulous!” You say, drinking your mixed drink. “I was busy!” 
“Sounds like you and Pretty boy can start your own celibacy club!” Morgan says, patting Spencer back, laughing. 
“I’m not celibate, Morgan.” Reid says, rolling his eyes. 
“Pfft,” you blow a raspberry, incredulously. “When’s the last time you’ve gotten any?” Whoa, you had to have been drunk because you never would’ve asked anything like that sober. 
“It certainly hasn’t been 6 years.” He says back to you, smirking over his glass of water. 
“Whatever.” You roll your eyes. “Seriously, When?” 
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” 
You would. 
You would very much like to know. 
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter because I’ll still be the last one after I go get that guy’s number.” You say, downing your drink for liquid courage before standing to go to the bar, towards the guy who had been looking at you before. Sure, your game was a little rusty but you were a profiler and now a doctor of psychology, men were...simple. 
Reid watched  you go, your hips swaying way more as they usually do as you sauntered towards the man her and Prentiss had been talking about before. He saw you smiling at the guy who had just purchased you another drink. You trailed a hand down the man’s chest, as he moved closer into your space. Spencer looked away, he was going to be sick if he kept watching that. 
“Hey, Emily, do you see that?” Garcia said.
“No, Penelope what is it?” She said indulging her. 
“It’s our friend, slowly turning into the green eyed monster.” Garcia said looking back to Reid, the table erupting in laughter. 
Reid leaned back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 
“Sure, you don’t.” Emily says, rolling her eyes. “Look Spence, If you like her you should say something and if you don’t, you can’t get upset about her looking for something else out there.” Spencer didn’t say anything to that, opting to turn his attention back to you. He watched you laugh at something the guy had said and a smile crossed his face. That wasn’t your laugh, he knew your laugh. Your real laugh, and thanks to his eidetic memory he could (and did) replay it whenever he wanted. He knew your laugh and that wasn’t it. 
He watched as you sauntered back up to the group. He already had trouble focusing on anything that wasn’t your body most of the time and the dress you wore tonight didn’t make it any better. A simple, deep blue dress that held your curves perfectly with a large slit up the leg that was probably to make it easier to walk in though right now all it was doing was distracting Spencer. You slid into the both back next to Prentiss. 
“So…” Emily said, smiling. “How’d it go?”
“Oh, I got his number.” You say, nonchalantly. You knew you would, it’s not like regular men were a challenge to you. Every man wanted 2 things; to think they’re funny and to think they’re smart. 
“Nice!” She says, holding her hand out you instantly slap it with your own. “Are you going to call him?” 
“Probably not.” You shrug. “We’ll see if I get bored this week.” 
That causes all the girls in the group to giggle. The night continued, more drinks being put in your system by your friends who want you to truly celebrate. Eventually Rossi and Hotch leave, both hugging you tightly, Hotch whispering a quick “I’m proud of you” in your ear. You smile brightly back at him.
Towards closing time you all leave, you’re a little more sober than before but you’re definitely still tipsy. You all say your goodbyes, promises to see each other at work then Spencer stretches an arm around your waist, ushering you to his car as he agreed to be your DD before.    
He slides you into the seat before climbing in on the drivers side. 
“Thanks Spen, I know you hate driving.” You say, patting Spencer on the leg. 
“No problem, Y/N” He smiles back at you, before turning his attention back to the road. You notice your hands still on his leg. He hasn’t tried to move it or move away from it so the alcohol in your system decides to take a risk and inch your hand up his thigh. One of his hands leaves the steering wheel immediately grasping your hand. 
“Stop.” He says, not sounding entirely convinced that’s what he wants himself. So you ask. 
“Do you want me to stop?” You say, innocently. 
“Obviously, I don’t want you to stop but you’re not sober so you have to.” He says, moving your hand back to your own lap. You decide it’s probably best to concede and lean your head against the cool glass of the window as street lamps roll by. 
Eventually, you make it back to your house. You sigh before turning to Spencer. 
 “Thanks again, Spen.” You say, moving to grab  your bag and the door handle. “I’ll see you at work.” Before you can move fully, Long fingers are circling your wrist. 
“You shouldn’t call him.” He says. 
“What?” You say, dazed by the close contact between you two. 
“The guy from the bar. You shouldn’t call him.” He says. 
“Why not?” You ask. You know the answer, or you think you know the answer but you have to hear him say it. You need to hear him say it. 
“Because I-” He cuts himself off. “I don’t know.” he says, looking down very dejected. 
“Well…” You say. You lean close to him. You guys are close, so close if you wanted you could kiss him and you know he would let you by the way his eyes flutter, pupils dilating instantly when you do. “Will you tell me when you figure it out?” You ask. 
He nods, letting go of the wrist you forgot he was holding. 
“Well then.” You say, getting out of the car and leaning through the open window. “Goodnight, Dr. Reid.” You smile. 
“Goodnight, Dr. Y/L/N.” He smiles back, before driving into the night.
Taglist: @haylaansmi​     @yoruebeautiful​ @kianagilder-blog​ @l0ve-0f-my-life​ @bihoeofmanyfandoms @dreamer7black​ @baby-banana​ @drreidshands​
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knullanon · 3 years
Note
Lex Luthor with 33?
before writing- oof vibes are only angst but i do have an idea (also yes im using Kit if u remember him then u deserve a veterans award for remembering my useless bitches i create while writing)
after writing- using my dads quotes that he told me at a young age is really making me cry but its for the plot. also poor kit. f in the chat everybody also got too invested in this so yes theres a bonus
ilomilo - billie eilish
the gala was the longest one you had been to yet. you were almost glad, however. it gave you more time to talk to kit.
kit was the nicest boy you’ve ever met. he was the one to give you a view on the outside world. he was the one to help you make new friends in your situations. he was the one to treat you like an actual human being.
and here he was, sitting with you and laughing on your phones about some meme you’ve seen. he was the one who you liked: like, really liked. had a crush on kind of liked.
it felt stupid. it even felt childish. you didn’t want to have these feelings. it made you feel like a child. you didn’t want to have these feelings so you wouldn’t be hurt. even if you knew most of his words weren’t true, lex had always warned you about boys at a young age. how did he put it?
“the only thing they will think about when they look at you is how they can improve their status or how they can manipulate you. do you understand me?”
he always made you promise that no, you weren’t going to get a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, for that matter. he said that the only thing that you would end up with is a broken heart and a messed up sense of trust. he said you would just be running from one person to another trying to gain love only to be dropped after they got what was needed out of you.
and even if you knew that his words were just to keep you with him, that doesn’t mean they just went out of your head. after you hear things for a while, they start to become real. you didn’t want to have lex tell you something along the lines of “i told you so”
however, whenever you were with kit, it felt like those worries weren’t even there. even if there was a nagging feeling about trusting him, you ignored it because of what kit gave you: freedom. 
he wouldn’t only talk to you because you were _____ luthor, he wouldn’t only talk to you just because he wanted your money, or power, he wanted to talk to you because of you. he liked who you were as a person, not who you were as a child of a celebrity.
maybe that’s why you gained a crush on him. because he reminded you of before you met lex. maybe you just liked him as a person, like he did you.
“_____, did you see what happened last night?” kit had asked, still snickering from the news article he showed you. you laughed. 
“oh, wow, what party did you attend to this time?”
“none, at all actually: the entire city was on lockdown.”
“really?” you asked, turning to him. “which villain caused a mass murder this time, then?”
kit shrugged. “not really a mass murder, more of a... robbery.”
you rolled your eyes. “really? a city lockdown because of a small robbery?”
“a small robbery from one of lexcorp’s own warehouses.” 
that got your attention. “how much?”
“a small multi-million dollar heist-”
“oh, stop making fun of me, I didn’t know!”
“it was a small price to pay, apparently-”
“stop!” you playfully shoved him out of his seat, and he fell right on his ass. you gasped and when you saw that he wasn’t moving, you quickly got up and bent down to where he was sitting. “kit? goddamnit, kit-”
when he jumped up from the ground, his hands acting like they were going to grab you, you jumped back. stumbling, the back of you knee caught the seat you were sitting on, so instead of falling on your own ass, you fell into the seat.
as he laughed, you whispered, “kit, you ass!” he sat back into his chair, before saying (between laughs), “sorry, sorry. it was too much of a good opportunity to miss.” you huffed and went on the phone he had given you. you looked at the news, and sure enough, there was a robbery on one of the lexcorp warehouses, and yes, the things that were stolen were at least millions of dollars in profit.
“now that i’m looking at it, maybe that’s why my dad was all talking last night.”
“of course he would be, ______, there was millions of dollar worth of tech stolen-”
“oh, i know, kit, don’t be a bitch!”
it was silent for a little while, besides showing each other memes and laughing. it felt nice. it wasn’t awkward, in fact it was nice. just showing your friend funny photos that made you laugh was enough for you.
1:10. this was the latest you’ve ever been at a gala. it was supposed to last until 4, so you could understand why, but it still felt weird. it was like... going to school at night. you recognize the place, but it felt so weird.
“hey, _____.” you turned towards kit, who was now looking at a blank screen.
“yeah, what’s up?”
“you said that... you said that you’re never allowed to go anywhere, right? that you don’t even know where your real family is?”
you shifted uncomfortably. “well, yes, but why are you asking me this?”
his fingers turned white from the pressure on his phone. “well... you don’t seem happy whenever you’re with him, I guess. it feels like you don’t want to be there. 
you could say that again.
“and... and you’ve been my friend for months, now... I don’t want to see you hurt because of someone else’s actions... so... I was wondering if... you wanted to live with me?”
the last bit came out rushed, and yet, it still made you wonder. what if you could leave? what if you could live with your friend, your only friend, instead of your over protective father?
“I know its stupid, I shouldn’t have asked that. it’s fine.” he continued. 
“no, it’s... comforting.” you looked at him straight in the eyes. “I’m glad that you like me so much you would risk me being in your house. of course, I’m going to have to say no, but I still... I still appreciate that you would ask that.”
he gave you a small smile, and asked, “are you sure you’re going to be ok?”
you smiled at him. “maybe. I don’t know. if I don’t, then I could always take up your offer.”
you both sat in silence for a while, before his phone buzzed. looking at your phone, you saw it was at least 1:40. almost time to go. and you didn’t want mercy, or pray to god, lex to find you with him.
looking at kit, you asked, “you wanna head back?”
he smiled. “yeah. lets go back before we both fall on our asses.” 
~~~~~
walking down the large corridor felt strange. it was like something was going to happen soon. you didn’t know what, but something.
“so then, I asked him why he was being such an asshole, and he told me-”
“______.”
turning around, you saw mercy standing just a few meters away from you both. you quickly set some distance in between the two of you, to make sure that you were following the rules, but she didn’t seemed focused on you. instead, she was focused on kit.
she gave a small nod of acknowledgement to him. “kit is your name, right?”
he gave a shaky nod. “where were you last night?”
“excuse me-”
“where were you. last night.” every word seemed to be gritted out of her teeth.
“well, I was in my home. with my father. why?”
“really? at home with your father? and not at my warehouse, stealing my technology?”
you almost didn’t want lex to be here, but you also wanted to know why mercy hadn’t shot out kit’s brains yet.
“wh- excuse me?”
lex rolled his eyes. “I don’t need to hear excuses from you, boy, what I want to know is why you were stealing my tech, and why you used my daughter as your way to get this tech.”
wait, what?
“you’ve been using me for what?”
kit seemed to be panicking. did he- was he really using you for that?
“oh, you think I wouldn’t have found out? giving my daughter a phone so you could get into my systems and find out the codes for the doors? that you’ve been using my money for months without my knowledge? that you’ve been using my daughter for you own gain? for your own families gain?”
turning to him, you saw him try to make up some excuse about whatever he had done, but it was too late.
“freeze! put your hands in the air!”
you didn’t even see the police in the hallway, only mercy dragging you out towards the exit of the gala. 
when you turned back to kit, you felt like a child. did you really trust him? did you trust him this much for it to be that he was only using you? you didn’t want to think about it. the only thing you wanted was to go home.
________________
BONUS:
“did you really think you could take my daughter away from me?”
looking up from his seat, kit saw lex sitting across from him. currently, they were in a courthouse. waiting for his trial.
“... it’s not right to keep her inside like a pet.”
he knew he pissed off lex now, but he didn’t care. his life was ruined now. it shouldn’t matter.
lex got out of his chair and said, “you know, I was thinking of letting you off on a plea deal, but honestly, now, I’m thinking of giving you a worse fate than your father.”
a plea deal? kit froze. did he just throw out any chance to see you again?
“if you’re thinking you just threw out a chance to see my daughter again, you’re right, but lets be real here:”
lex put his hands on the table and got close to kits face, barely inches away.
“she will never look at you the same way after you go to prison for 58 years.”
and with that, lex left kit to rot in his own depression, happy to give the boy more pain than ever.
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Stark Spangled Rebirth
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Chapter 4: The Star Spangled Man With A Plan
Summary: As the SSR deals with the aftermath of the attempted theft of the serum by Hydra, Steve finds himself side-lined until he’s offered a golden opportunity to help fight the good fight…but it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as he quickly finds out.  
Warnings: Bad Language words.
Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark
A/N:  Once again, huge thanks to my beta readers and plugger of mind gaps where I was blocked… @southerngracela and @icanfeelastormbrewing
Any mistakes are my own. I’ll probably spot them once posted but, whatever!
SSR Masterlist //  WIYPT Masterlist 
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“Absolutely not!” Katie blazed her hands on her hips “That is NOT what Erskine was going to do.”
“Well Erskine isn’t here is he, in case it had escaped your notice.” Phillips bit back “And neither is the serum after the last vial of it was smashed out on Brooklyn Pier.”
Steve sighed, his head bowing a little.
“Erskine said that post the transformation he was supposed to be monitored for twenty-four hours before he did any major physical activity.” Katie continued, “Given that, and what just happened, you seriously want to take his blood?”
“She has a point.” Howard stepped in. “Personally I’m not sure it’s wise. Private Rogers should be given the rest of the day at least under observation as was the original plan, where we can run the physical tests Abe had been planning to do.”  He took a deep breath and bowed his head slightly.
“We owe it to him to do this right.” Katie spoke again, her voice loaded with emotion as she turned her eyes to the Colonel. He gave a little groan, dragging his hand down his face “We can take the samples tomorrow.”
“Do I get a say in any of this?” Steve spoke, surprising himself with his sudden forthright nature and Katie turned to him.
“No.” She said simply, turning back to Phillips. Steve’s eyebrows shot up and he turned to look at Howard who was silently chuckling at his sister’s bossy nature. He gave a little shrug of his shoulders, and then his brown eyes turned back to watch as Katie stood looking at Phillips expectantly.
“You know, I’m beginning to rue the day I ever asked you two to join this team.” The Colonel shot and Steve watched as Katie turned to Howard, smirking. “And wipe that look off of your face right now Agent.”
“Sir.” She nodded, and then everyone’s attention was taken by Agent Carter as she walked back into the room.
“We have it sir.” She nodded, “The Hydra Sub. It’s in the Tech Lab.”
“You wanna wait until tomorrow to work on that too, you know, give that time to recover as well or…”
“You know they say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.” Howard arched an eyebrow as he looked at Phillips, “But I prefer to think of it as a metric for potential. You’ll be a great man someday, Colonel Phillips.”
Katie’s shoulders began to shake and she turned back towards Steve who was watching the scene play out in front of him, utterly perplexed. He still couldn’t get his head round her blatant disregard for her Commanding Officer’s authority. Howard, well, he could understand that a little more as he wasn’t in the man’s chain of command but Katie was. And she seriously didn’t seem to give a shit.
“Do we have any more intel on Schmidt?” Phillips turned to Peggy who blinked and looked at him.
“No, Sir. Nothing.” She took a deep breath, “But I think after today it’s safe to say that was another thing Dr. Erskine was correct about. Schmidt clearly has ambitions beyond simply being Hitler’s Chief Scientist. I think we should consider the fact that he’s equally, if not more dangerous.”
At that Steve heard Erskine’s words from the previous night as clear and as loud as if the man were speaking them to him in person. “Schmidt must become that superior man.” He cleared his throat a little and felt all eyes in the room turn to him.
“I think Agent Carter is right, Sir.” Steve took a deep breath “Last night, Dr Erskine was explaining to me about Schmidt. He said that Schmidt is convinced that there is a great power hidden in the Earth, waiting to be found...”
“So he’s bonkers.” Phillips looked at Steve “Terrific.”
“You know, we have forces out there fighting the Nazis.” Katie pondered for a moment, “Maybe the SSR needs to concentrate on Hydra.”
Phillips looked at Katie, “You wanna chase Hydra?”
She shrugged, “It seems logical to me. A lunatic he maybe, but he clearly has a vast amount of followers that buy into the same Rhetoric. That makes them dangerous.”
“And let’s not forget, Hydra is, or was, Hitler’s deep science department. Now, Steve stopped them from getting the vial of Erskine’s completed formula, but who knows what else they have in their grasp.” Peggy added, “I saw a lot of things when I was under, a lot of things that if perfected could be disastrous. We chose to concentrate on Hitler as he had control of Hydra. But, if Schmidt is going rogue as we suspect, then I’m afraid Sir, that as Agent Stark suggests,  he could prove to be far more dangerous.”
“Just what we need.” Howard groaned, “Two enemies to be fighting.”
“Oh pur-lease.” Katie looked at him. “Like you’re doing any actual fighting.”
“Shut up.” Howard glared at her, “You know as well as I do that I was plucked out for this instead of going to the front lines, just like you were.”
“The pair of you can take your squabbles outside.” Phillips looked at them, “I’m done. I need to brief Senator Brandt.” With that he turned to Peggy “Get onto base and tell them they need to get into the President, inform him of our intentions so that he can approve them. You…” he then looked at Howard, “Take a look at that sub, see what we’re dealing with from a technology point of view. And you…” he looked at Katie, then to Steve, then back again. “Take Rogers for whatever observations it was Erskine had set up. Then I suggest you all get a good night’s sleep. Back here at Zero-Six Hundred.”
With that he swept from the room leaving the four of them. Steve turned to Katie, his arms folded.
“You know, I don’t need a load of tests to tell you I’m fine.” He looked at her, “In fact, I’m more than fine. I feel…well, I feel better than I’ve ever felt in my life.”
“That maybe but, well, I’d feel better if you went along with it, please.”
“Oh, she’s serious Rogers.” Howard smirked, “She said the magic word.”
At that Katie turned to glare at her brother, who held her gaze, his expression not faltering in the slightest. She threw him a positively filthy look before she turned back to Steve and he looked at her as she once more began to speak. “Erskine wanted to make sure that everything was okay, monitor the effects properly at least for twenty-four hours. We have no idea if it’s permanent, what it’s actually doing to you, whether the effects and transformation is still on going…”
“Okay, okay.” Steve held his hand up, giving her a nod, “Fine, I’ll submit for monitoring. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Could someone please find me something to eat?” He looked around, his stomach giving a huge growl at the perfect moment to emphasise his point, “I’ve never been this hungry in my life, and believe me, I’m no stranger to living with an empty stomach.”
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It turns out that Steve’s appetite had increased exponentially too, which was to be expected considering his metabolism was working far faster than it ever had before. He wolfed down a huge helping of Potato and Hot Dog salad, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, an assortment of vegetables and a huge helping of apple pie. He had no idea where Katie had managed to conjure it from, and frankly he didn’t care either. All he knew was that in that one sitting he’d consumed more food than he usually ate in a day.
The rest of the day was taken up with him being poked and prodded and attached to all sorts of strange machines. Howard explained what each of them was for, but he wasn’t paying much attention. His mind was whirring, finally processing what had happened in the last couple of hours. He had been so sure about what was going to happen post getting the serum that he’d be shipped out to help in the fight and now he didn’t have a clue where he was going to go, especially if they were now going to refocus their efforts on Hydra. That said, it was all helping the war effort wasn’t it? Hydra was a huge threat, if he was able to help take them down in any way, shape or form, then he was ok with that.
One of the doctors and Howard started explaining to him what the serum had done and at that point he tuned in to some of it, picking out the odd phrase like “super strength”, “increased stamina”, “enhanced metabolism”, “fast healing”, “super-sharp senses”,  “memory expansion”, “logical improvement”. Howard looked at him and explained that as far as he could see, the transformation was complete, and was as permanent as they could hope. But Erskine had said that the serum wasn’t infallible, therefore how long the effects would last into the future they didn’t know. Forty, maybe fifty years or so. Steve wasn’t particularly bothered about that though, by the time that happened he would be well into his sixties or seventies and would he really care then?
Katie arrived back just as the Doctor who had been dealing with him had instructed the nurse to remove the heart monitor form his chest.
“Hi.” She smiled and Steve turned to face her, fulling intending on greeting her back, but before he could, the doctor made a little noise of surprise.
“What is it?” Howard asked and Steve hastily turned towards them, wondering what was wrong.
“His heart rate just spiked.”
Steve gulped and hastily looked away from Katie as Howard turned to face him. His eyes flicked from Steve, to his sister who was stood in the doorway, a bashful smile on her face but to her credit she held her brother’s gaze as the man gave a groan.
“Seriously?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She mumbled, stepping into the room. “You done treating him like a guinea pig?”
“Hey, you were the one that insisted on the monitoring!” Howard pointed at her.
“Yes, because it was what Abe wanted.” She shrugged, “And I wanted to make sure everything was okay before you guys started stealing his blood like a pack of starving vampires.”
“Well you needn’t panic.” Howard arched an eyebrow, “The transformation seems to be text book. Your Super Soldier is as ready as can be.”
“Fuck you.” Katie shot back, and Howard gave a chuckle as Steve let out a little groan at the man’s teasing.
“That bad an idea huh, dating my sister?” Howard turned to Steve and he flushed immediately.
“That…no, I didn’t…say that, I mean, not that we…”
“Ignore him Steve, he’s being a jerk.” Katie rolled her eyes. “And if he knows what’s good for him he’ll shut up before I knock his teeth out.”
“Threat received and understood.” Howard held his hands up as the doctor bustled around and handed Steve back his t-shirt.
“You can leave now, Captain Rogers, but we would like you to stay here tonight.”
“Why?” Steve frowned as he pulled the SSR logo t-shirt over his head.
“Because I want to monitor your levels at complete rest.” The doctor smiled, “Humour me, please.”
Steve shrugged as he swung his legs off the bed. “Sure.” It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to be.
“Your stuff is being brought over from the barracks.” Katie smiled softly. 
“Any idea on where I’ll be going after that?” Steve stood up carefully, taking his time to pull himself up to his new full height.
“Nope.” She shrugged, “I suppose it depends on what Colonel Phillips and the President agree. I suspect we’ll head over to London HQ if we’re going after Hydra in Europe, but we should find out tomorrow morning.”
“So, we have a free evening?” Howard looked at Katie.
“Well, sort of. Unless you want to get a head start on that Hydra submarine thing.” She waved her hand at the door.
“I don’t need a head start.” Howard shrugged, somewhat arrogantly, “I’m a genius, I’ll crack it tomorrow.”
Katie rolled her eyes, “You know I really admire your modesty.”
Howard chuckled, “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, what I was suggesting was that if we do have a free few hours, how about a drink? I got a bottle of vintage Macallan stashed in my lab.” He paused and Steve watched as his shoulders slumped a little and he took a deep breath before he looked back up at both Steve then to his sister. “Me and Abe had been saving it for tonight."
Katie took a deep breath before she walked over to her brother who wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, gently kissing the top of her head. Steve looked away for a second, not wanting to intrude on the moment as he watched the doctor and nurse leave the room.
“We should have a toast to him,” Katie spoke, her voice cracking a little as she stepped away from Howard. She turned to Steve and smiled, “He’d have been proud this had worked.”
Steve nodded a little side smile pulling at his mouth as he remembered the banter he and Erskine had shared about the schnapps. With a nod he looked at Katie, the smile spreading further across his face, “He owed me a drink.”
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 It was a strange night.
The three of them had shared a glass each of the smooth whiskey, which Steve had thoroughly enjoyed. It had tasted so smooth yet crisp. And he wasn’t sure if that was down to the fact it was stupidly expensive and high end, or the fact his taste-buds simply worked better. Howard hadn’t raised the issue of he and Katie again, for which Steve was glad. If he had been asked, he couldn’t say how he would have answered because he wasn’t entirely sure what they were. A casual fling? A hook up? He knew what he wanted it to be, but once again he was brought crashing back to reality. They were in the middle of a war. It was impossible.  
Despite the myriad of thoughts and emotions running through his mind, Steve slept better than he had ever slept in his life. His chest wasn’t bad, he didn’t struggle for breath when he lay down flat meaning that for the first time he could remember he didn’t need to sleep propped up. Yet, on the other hand, he felt like he was waking up every five or ten minutes. The slightest sound or movement made by the various SSR staff nurses and guards milling around the small medical wing of the lab woke him thanks to his now enhanced, fine tuned senses. The doctors and Howard had assured Steve that whilst it might take a while but once he was used to the heightening of his senses it would start to feel ‘normal’ to him in a way and he would learn to use them and appreciate them.
With a yawn, he cracked his head side to side as he raised it off the pillow. Whilst he didn’t know what time it was thanks to the lack of any natural light in the room, he knew that this time he wasn’t getting back to sleep. He climbed from his bed, stretched and waited for the usual pain to shoot down his back, but nothing. He then stood up, a little too fast and pitched forward before he steadied himself and drew up to his full new height, squaring his now broad shoulders back as he stood tall in his new posture. Again, Howard had told him he would soon learn to adjust his movements to compensate for the fact that he no longer needed to put as much effort into them. No sooner had he done that, a nurse appeared with his breakfast and she was followed by Agent Carter who wished him a good morning and then handed him a formal Army Uniform in his new size. With a soft smile and a thanks, he took it before laying it down on the bed, admiring the green wool and crisp shirt. 
“When you’re ready then we’d like to take the blood samples.” Peggy spoke softly, “But there’s no rush. Take your time.”
“Rather just get it over and done with Ma’am.” Steve said politely and truthfully. The sooner he was done being prodded, poked and stabbed the sooner he could find out what was going on.
With that in mind he ate, washed up, dressed and was ready in half an hour flat. He was led out of the bunk room he’d been sleeping in and down the corridor back to the observation room he’d been in the previous day where he was instructed to roll up his sleeves and lay back as they proceeded to siphon off his blood. When they had one bag full they then hooked him up to another, and then another, the doctor instructing him to tell them if he felt light headed but Steve had a suspicion that the enhancements to his body would simply enable him to generate more as fast as they took it. That said, by the time the third bag was full he was bored. Peggy seemed to sense it and she turned to the doctor who nodded and instructed everyone that they were done.
“Think you got enough?” Steve asked, somewhat sarcastically.
“Any hope of reproducing the program is locked in your genetic code.” Peggy replied simply, “But without Dr. Erskine, it could take years.”
“He deserved more than this.” Steve replied a little sadly and he meant it. The serum had been Erskine’s life work and now there was nothing to show for it as the last vial of the serum had been smashed on Brooklyn Pier.
“Well, if it could only work once, he’d be proud it was you,” Peggy looked at him.
Steve glanced at her, feeling a little embarrassed at her praise but he didn’t dwell on it and neither did she. Instead, she told him that once he was ready she’d take him down to the main lab were Phillips and Katie were talking to Senator Brandt about the plans for the SSR going forward. Keen to understand, he quickly sorted his shirt out.
“Speaking modestly, I’m the best mechanical engineer in this country,” Howard shrugged. “But I don’t know what’s inside this thing or how it works.”
“So much for not needing a head start, huh?” Katie teased and Howard glared at her.
“We’re not even close to this technology,” he finished by means of an explanation.
“Then who is?” Senator Brandt demanded.
“HYDRA,” Phillips responded SIMPLY. “I’m sure you’ve been reading our briefings.”
“I’m on a number of committees, Colonel,” Brandt replied simply, completely unabashed at Phillips tone.
“HYDRA is the Nazi deep science division,” Katie explained
“It’s led by Johann Schmidt,” Peggy picked up. “But he has much bigger ambitions.”
“HYDRA’s practically a cult,” Phillips stated. “They worship Schmidt, they think he’s invincible.”
“So what are you gonna do about it?” Brandt asked and at that point Steve took a deep breath, finally he was about to find out what he was going to be doing.
“Spoke to the President this morning. As of today the SSR is being retasked.”
Katie and Peggy exchanged excited glances and Peggy looked back at Phillips, seeking clarification as she asked, “Colonel?”
“We are taking the fight to HYDRA,” Phillips looked at the woman. “Pack your bags Agent Carter. You too, Agent Stark,” he turned to Katie, “you’re flying to London tonight.”
Steve hesitated for a second, but when Phillips didn’t turn to speak to him and inform him where he was going, he hurried forward a little.
“Sir, if you’re going after Schmidt, I want in.”
“You’re an experiment,” Phillips shot back. “You’re going to Alamogordo.”
Steve frowned a little, but then pressed some more, he wasn’t letting this go.
“The serum worked,” his voice rose a little.
“I asked for an army and all I got was you. You...are not enough.”
Katie wheeled round to look at Phillips, her face angry, “Oh, come on Sir, that’s…”
“I have put up with your insubordination for long enough. I don’t give a shit what you think, Agent Stark.” Philips snarled, “Keep pushing me and so help me God, I will have you taken straight outta this unit and you’ll be back home typing up the Letters of Condolence.”
“But…”
“Enough!” Phillips snapped. “Now I suggest you disappear and pack just like Agent Carter did when I told her to.”
Katie took a deep breath, an angry noise escaping her throat before she turned and stormed away. Steve watched her go before he turned back to argue some more with Phillips, but the man had already moved away.
They wanted to send him to a fucking research plant? Seriously? This was ridiculous.
“With all due respect to the Colonel, I think we may be missing the point,” Senator Brandt spoke to Steve and he turned to face the man. “I’ve seen you in action, Steve. More importantly, the country’s seen it.” Brandt turned to his aide. “Paper.” His aide obeyed, showing them the paper in his hand. It was today’s copy of the ‘The New York Examiner’ which bore the headline "Nazis in New York - Mystery Man Saves Child" along with a picture of Steve holding the car door in front of him.
“The enlistment lines have been around the block since your picture hit the newsstands," Brandt smiled at Steve. “You don’t take a soldier, a symbol like that, and hide him in a lab.” Steve felt a surge of hope flood his system as the Senator continued. “Son, do you want to serve your country on the most important battlefield of the war?”
“Sir, that’s all I want,” Steve replied honestly.
“Then, congratulations,” The Senator held his hand out for Steve to shake. “You just got promoted.”
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Steve’s hopes were short lived when Brandt explained what he had in mind - using Steve to boost recruitment and bond sales. But he knew he was getting nowhere with Phillips, so he decided to take the role and could only hope that it would lead to something else. Besides, it was important to gather support. The Forces needed all the financial and recruitment help they could get, and he could play a key part in that.
So Brandt said.
“Hey…”
Steve looked up from where he was packing the few items he’d unpacked from his trunk and looked at Katie.
“Oh, hi.” He said, turning back to his packing.
“I hear congratulations are in order,” she continued and Steve took a deep breath, straightening up.
“Who told you?”
“Good news travel fast, Captain.” She stressed the last word and Steve had to actively stop himself from rolling his eyes.  “That’s a pretty good promotion considering you’ve been a soldier all of a week.”
“Yeah, well, it was too good an opportunity to turn down. In fact, it was the only opportunity to turn down.” He watched her as she took a deep breath, opened her mouth, before closing it again. And then Steve really did roll his eyes, “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out Katie.”
“Hey, don’t get pissy with me,” she snapped back.
“I’m not being…”
“Yes, you are,” she folded her arms. “It’s not my fault Phillips won’t let you in on this. I’ve tried, believe me, but for whatever reason he’s not moving.”
“He’s not moving because he doesn’t like me,” Steve replied simply.
“Well, that’s his loss," Katie countered. “And what’s with the sudden display of self-pity?”
“What?”
“This, moping around, acting all deflated.”
“It’s easy for you to say.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well you’re off, over there. Fighting the fight…me, well, looks like I’m gonna have to play ball with Senators doesn’t it?”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
“Yes, I do!” Steve’s voice rose and Katie blinked a little, but besides that she showed no signs of having registered his angry tone. “What choice do I have?”
“There’s always a choice, Steve.”
“Oh, yeah?” He snorted. “And my choice here is what? Go to the damned White Sands Proving Ground where they can run more tests on me? Keep me locked up like some kind of lab rat?”
“I didn’t say they were always good choices.”
“Well what do you think I should do huh?”
“That’s not for me to say.” Katie shook her head. “But I can tell you one thing....”
“What?”
“That I have faith in you to do what you feel is right, and continue to be the good man I know you are.” Her words were soft but they hit Steve like a freight train and he swallowed, suddenly aware of how down right shitty he’d been. “And if you’re telling me that it feels right that you go where Brandt wants you to go then…” she shrugged. 
“I have to try.” Steve replied.
“Well, in that case, I’ll say what I came to say in the first place," she gave him a soft smile, “Good luck.”
Steve took a deep breath and sighed, “Thanks. Look, I’m sorry I snapped. I just, well, truth be told I’m a little jealous.”
“Jealous?”
“Yeah, all I ever wanted was to be a soldier and to fight on the front lines. Like my dad did, and Bucky.” He sat down on the side of the bed, “And I agreed to this procedure because I thought it was my ticket there, ya know?”
“I get it,” Katie nodded, crossing the room to sit besides him. “And I can understand how frustrated you feel, believe me I can.” He turned to look at her to see her glancing down at her hands before she looked up at a spot on the wall opposite them. “I just can’t say anything to make it better, other than repeat what I said before. I have absolute faith and belief that you’ll do what you think is right. And that’s all any of us can do.”
Steve looked straight in her eyes as they flickered across both of his and he took a deep breath, her words echoing round his mind. Throughout this, she and Erskine had been the two people who had utterly believed he was the best man for the job so to speak. Now Erskine was gone, and he was about to be separated from her as well. And it pained him to think about it, as he realised that he was going to miss her, for more than the simple reason that she’d been a friend to him. 
“You know I’m sorry we met the way we did,” his thoughts blurted out of his mouth before he could stop them.
Katie frowned, “What?”
“No, I err…” Steve sighed and then gave a snort. “Guess the serum didn’t enhance my ability to talk to a dame without completely making a total screw up of it.”
“Oh I don’t know,” Katie smiled, “you do a decent job most of the time.” She paused as Steve gave a little huff of laughter before she turned her body a little more towards him, “What’s on your mind, Soldier?”
“I mean, I’m sorry that we met when we did. And, you know, not sooner.” He shrugged, looking down at his hands, “Or maybe even later, when all this is over.”
“If it ever is,” Katie sighed and Steve raised his eyes to hers as she licked her lips a little. “Steve, I’m not sad I met you when I did. Quite the opposite actually. It’s been…” she paused for a moment before she smiled “…a little ray of hope in an otherwise very gloomy world.”
“Hope?”
“Yeah…” she shrugged. “You know, a reminder that no matter how ugly the world seems or how much it changes, it’s still a beautiful place.”
Steve thought on her words for a second, a soft smile spreading across his face.
“What?” She asked as she noted his expression.
“You just remind me of my mom,” he smiled. “She was always a 'look on the bright side' kind of woman. No matter what life threw at us, she was always reminding me there were people far worse off.”
“She sounds like a smart lady.”
“She was, ” Steve smiled with a short nod. “Kind, compassionate…just more ways you remind me of her.”
He didn’t miss the faint flush on Katie’s cheeks as she looked down at her hands and then raised her eyes to look at him, “I’m honoured.”
Steve took a deep breath, “I meant what I said you know, the other night before we…you know.” He swallowed thickly, the lump in his throat felt like a tennis ball. “I like you, more than like you in fact.”
“Kinda sucks we’re about to be separated doesn’t it?” Katie looked at him, her eyes sad and he nodded.
“Yeah.”
“But, I’m a firm believer that if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.” Katie shrugged and at that Steve gave a scoff. She turned to him, a playful look on her face. “What, you don’t believe in fate?”
“Nope,” he shook his head, “you make your own luck.”
“Right.” A little side smile broke on her mouth, “you did a good job with that when you happened to be at the Expo the same time Erskine was.”
“Lucky coincidence.”
“And what was me getting accosted by a load of rapscallions in Brooklyn?”
“A not so lucky for you coincidence.” Steve shrugged.
“You know what the definition of the word coincidence is?”
“Not word for word, but I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.”
“Sass bag.” Katie nudged him with her elbow and he chuckled, “but you’re right, I am. It’s a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent casual connection.”
“And?”
“Fate is the development of events outside a person’s control.” Katie looked at him, her eyebrow arched, “Coincidence is beyond a person’s control. And if fate is what’s meant to be no matter what you do, and coincidence is merely a matter of right place, right time, then what if you’re in the right place at the right time because it’s simply meant to be.”
Steve looked at her, utterly sideswiped at her sentiment. Whilst he wasn’t sure he agreed, the logic was surely there and the fact she’d laid it so bare, been so open with him knocked him for six. He saw her eyes flicker to his mouth again, and in a sudden surge of confidence he gently moved, taking her face in his hands and pulling her to meet him in a soft, gentle kiss that was loaded with meaning.
“Yup…” she sniffed a little as she pulled away and Steve was both surprised and horrified to see the tears in her eyes as she pressed her forehead to his, their noses bumping a little “it definitely sucks.”
“Write to me,” he whispered, his thumbs swiping away her tears and she smiled, nodding, before she caught his lips again, this time the kiss was deeper, and Steve had to fight back the groan that was bubbling in his throat as he felt her tongue slide against his. They were interrupted by a loud noise outside and Katie pulled away, dropping her gaze a little before she sighed and stood up.
“Stay safe soldier,” she smiled, her hand gently cupping his cheek. “I’d hate for you to come back horrifically disfigured.”
At that Steve snorted, “Would it put you off?” He teased, “I didn’t think you were that shallow.”
“I’m not,” she smiled as she made her way to the door. “It’d just be a helluva waste, a face like that.”
With that she was gone and Steve felt the smile fade from his face to be replaced by a hollow feeling which engulfed his entire body, as the realisation spread across him that he had no idea when he would see her again.
If indeed, at all.
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November 1943.
 “I already volunteered, how do you think I got here?”
“Nice boots, Tinkerbell…”
“Hey, Captain! Sign this”
The heckling from the assembled crowd rang through Steve’s mind as he sat dejectedly on the side of the stage, the miserable and cold rain matching his mood. His hand moved absentmindedly, shading in the drawing he’d sketched in his book. A very apt drawing of a Circus Monkey on a Unicycle clutching the damned shield he’d been given as part of his costume. It turns out the “battlefield” that Senator Brandt had been referring to was nothing more than a grotesque road show across the US and various other places on the Allied Map encouraging people to buy war bonds.
“The Senator's got a lot of pull up on the hill. You play ball with us, you’ll be leading your own platoon in no time.”
Yeah, a "platoon" of chorus girls and confetti cannons, complete with Adolph himself. And he was no closer to getting in on the real action.
He’d travelled all over the place during the last four months, the tour had been successful, and there was no denying that it was helping the effort in a way. “Bonds buy bullets, bullets kill Nazi’s bing bang boom.” But this wasn’t what he had signed up for. Nor did he believe for one second that this was what Dr. Erskine had in mind for how his serum would be put into use.
He’d made a few propaganda films, all part of the course according to Brandt who had then had the the bright idea to send Captain America on the USO tour, to attempt to lift spirits. So here he was in Italy, five miles from the front line, having finally made it overseas as a soldier only to be stood on a stage in front of the men he should have been fighting alongside, being pelted by rotten fruit and vegetables instead of bullets.
It didn’t help that he knew the SSR were fast ramping up their efforts on HYDRA, having been reassigned to somewhere in mainland Europe, not unlike himself at that point in time. He’d had a few letters from Katie, but he had no idea where she was. She didn’t go into details, which was to be expected, she couldn’t and her mail always reached him through the usual military channels. He’d tried to remain positive in his letters back to her, focussing on nights where had a particularly good show, meeting and greeting his ‘fans’ afterwards, carefully omitting details about the women that now seemed to be throwing themselves at him. Be it in bars, back stage or simply as he emerged from the venues; there was no shortage of ladies vying for his attention. And had he been that way inclined, he could have taken any number of them dancing and then back to wherever he was staying that night but the fact was he didn’t want to. Because no matter how pretty or forthcoming the girls were, his mind and heart were with a certain green eyed agent.
The Star Spangled Man with a Plan, the song had dubbed him, yet Steve felt as if he had never had less of a plan in his life.
“Hello, Steve," a familiar voice spoke in his ear and Steve jerked his head up in surprise and turned, doing a little double take as he looked up at Katie.
“Hi,” he instantly felt his heart rate pick up dramatically in her presence, like it normally did as his eyes laid upon her. She was dressed in standard Army green wool pants that were tailored for a man with wide legs and long length that she tucked in to her well-worn mid-calf boots which were brown leather with lace protection straps and had no doubt been happily trudged through the mud and beaten until they broke in and needed new soles. Her unit issued jacket was the same colour green as her pants, but the harsh canvas material gave a weighted appearance across her shoulders as it was buttoned and zipped it up.  Beneath it, she wore her wool tie and collared shirt, no doubt tucked into her trousers for a crisp clean look.
Steve noted how it was a stark (pun intended) difference to the previous smart pencil skirt and jacketed uniform he had seen her in at the SSR base which Peggy, who stood to her left, was still sporting. But then again, the two women were very different, and knowing Katie as he did she wasn't one to conform and who knew what she had been up to whilst on the front line.
All it did was serve to make Steve feel even more self-conscious and ridiculous in his own outfit, designed for dancing and prancing around not active combat. 
“What are you doin’ here?” He asked, his eyes flicking to Peggy before they returned to Katie again.
“Officially we’re not here at all,” Peggy smiled. “That was quite a performance.”
Great, they’d seen it. His shoulders slumped at little as he turned away.
“Yeah. Uh… I had to improvise a little bit. Crowds I’m used to are usually more uh… twelve.”
“Probably less full of jerks as well,” Katie snorted and Steve looked at her, his mouth curling into a slight smile as Peggy let out a sigh.
“You know what soldiers are like. Present company excepted of course,” Peggy quickly corrected herself as Steve had cocked any eyebrow at her sweeping assumption, before she turned to the other agent. “I warned you-“
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Katie replied with a roll of her eyes.
Peggy took a deep breath, before she turned back to Steve, swiftly changing the subject. “I understand you’re "America’s New Hope"?
“Bond sales take a ten percent bump in every state I visit,” Steve chanted off, the words flowing out of him the same way they did whenever he spoke to someone about the Roadshow and he grimaced as he realised just what a damned puppet he had become.
“Is that Senator Brandt I hear?” Katie teased and Steve took a deep breath.
“At least he’s got me doin’ this,” Steve felt a sudden need to defend not only the Senator a little but also his decision to take the role in the first place, especially after their conversation before he had left. “Phillips would have had me stuck in a lab.”
“And these are your only two options?” Peggy looked at him, nodding to his sketch book which was still open in his lap. “A lab rat or a dancing monkey?”
“You were meant for more than this, you know?” Katie added gently, and Steve looked at her, hesitating as his sarcastic reply died in his throat. Instead he looked away, a little dejected. She was right, he had been meant for more that was the whole point of him taking the serum. But even after he’d been turned into this Super Soldier, been given such power and capability, he still wasn’t enough.
“What?” Katie pressed gently, having noticed his hesitation.
“You know for the longest time I dreamed about coming overseas and being on the front lines. Serving my country. I finally get everything I wanted, and I’m wearing tights.”
Before either of the women could respond there was the sound of a horn honking which diverted their attention. Steve turned to watch as an ambulance pulled to a halt outside the medical tent. The back doors were flung open and several injured soldiers were pulled out of the back on stretches, nurses and medical staff rushing to help as they disappeared through the drapes of the tents, the walking wounded being helped down and aided as they limped behind.
“They look like they’ve been through hell,” Steve commented, a deep feeling of sadness at the sight of the injured men flooded his chest.
“These men more than most,” Peggy commented and Steve turned to look at her, a little confused as to what she meant.
“Schmidt sent out a force to Azzano,” Katie explained. “Two hundred men went up against him and less than fifty returned. Your audience contained what was left of the one-oh-seventh. The rest were killed or captured.”
Steve felt his chest tighten, as if someone had trapped it in a vice and his head momentarily span as the meaning of her words sank in.
“The one-oh-seventh?” He breathed out, begging it to be wrong. But Katie simply frowned as she gave a nod.
“What?”
Steve swallowed and looked around before he rose to his feet. “That was Bucky’s unit.” He turned to face her, his voice sounded alien as he almost choked on his words. Katie’s face slid into a look of recognition, her mouth falling open.
“Barnes?” She asked and Steve nodded, as he ran a hand down his face, once more glancing round desperately hoping for Bucky to appear and rip into him for his ridiculous outfit. But he knew that if Bucky had been in that audience, he would have already found him. Which meant that he was either amongst the injured soldiers in the tent or…
“Who’s Barnes?” Peggy asked form behind him.
“Steve’s friend from home,” Katie replied gently as Steve turned back to look at the women.
“I need to check if he’s there,” Steve nodded towards the medical tent.
“Not a good idea,” Peggy cut him off. “You saw their reaction to you before. If you go waltzing in you’re going to upset them.”
“I don’t really care,” Steve spluttered
“Well you should,” Peggy looked at him sternly.
“I have to know if he survived!”
“Okay, look…” Katie took a deep breath, and he tore his eyes away from Peggy who was still glaring at him to look instead at the other woman. “Phillips will have the list of the-“ she hesitated, clearly searching for the best word “-casualties. We can ask him.”
“Phillips is here too?” Steve frowned, although he wasn’t sure why that had surprised him. Decision made, he turned and started running across the camp shooting a, “come on,” over his shoulder as the heavy rain pelted down onto them all.
He busted into the tent, “Colonel Phillips,” and the man looked up, a disgruntled expression spread across his face before he took a deep breath and looked back down at the papers on his desk as Steve strode purposefully towards him.
“Well, if it isn’t the Star-Spangled Man With A Plan. And what is your plan today?” Phillip’s voice was laced with sarcasm but Steve didn’t care. At the moment he had one thing on his mind, and that was Bucky.
“I need the casualty list from Azzano.”
“You don’t get to give me orders, son.” Phillips snapped, looking up at him once more and Steve ignored his angry tone, his stubbornness showing through as he continued to pres.
“I just need one name. Sergeant James Barnes from the 107th.”
“You two and I are gonna have a conversation later that you won’t enjoy,” Phillips pointed to both Agent Carter and Katie in turn.
“Can’t wait," Katie sassed back and Phillips’ head shot up to look at her as he once more fixed her with a stare that could freeze over hell, but Steve didn’t have time for this.
“ Please tell me if he’s alive, Sir. B-A-R…”
“I can spell,” the Colonel stated harshly as he tore his eyes from Katie. He looked at the papers in his hand and with a sigh dropped them to his desk and when he spoke his voice was a little softer. "I have signed more of these condolence letters today than I would care to count. But the name does sound familiar. I’m sorry." 
Steve swallowed, a feeling of cold washing over his body as the Colonel's words sank in. It sounded familiar…so, maybe there was a chance it could be another Barnes, maybe? It was a common name, after all…and even if it was Bucky’s name on the letter, he could be missing assumed dead, not actually confirmed dead. Peggy and Katie had told him before that there were still men from the unit trapped behind lines. 
"What about the others? Are you planning a rescue mission?" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he’d really had time to consider them properly.
“Yeah! It’s called winning the war.”
Steve frowned, “But if you know where they are, why not at least…?"
Colonel Phillips stood up, the expression on his face belonged to a man who had just lost his final bit of patience. "They're thirty miles behind the lines. Through the most heavily fortified territory in Europe. We'd lose more men than we'd save." He moved around the desk to stand in front of Steve, his hands falling to his hips as fixed him with a stern and challenging glare. "But I don't expect you to understand that, because you're a chorus girl."
Steve took a breath, the anger coursing inside him at the dig that Phillips had just made, but before he could say anything, he heard Katie scoff besides him. 
“And who’s fault is that?”
Phillips turned to Katie, his face contorted in anger “You are this close…” he held his thumb and forefinger up a fraction of an inch apart.
Katie’s jaw clenched and her chin tipped up defiantly as she glared back at the man. Steve, having had chance to compose himself slightly now the spoke in an attempt to draw the attention back away from her and onto himself.
“I might just be a chorus girl, but I think I understand just fine.”
“Well then understand it somewhere else.” Phillips turned away… “If I read the posters correctly, you got some place to be in thirty minutes”
As he spoke the last words, Steve took note of the map which lay on the table and he noticed a flag marked with an H which caught his attention. And then, he made his decision.
The Star Spangled Man finally had a plan.
“Yes, sir. I do.”
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My sister's college's theater group decided to FILM their musical one person at a time and edit it together(!!) and I'm in engineering grad school, and am aware that art school is a v v different experience but this made me think: how are you guys doing this? Are you ok? How do you learn to direct if there can't be two people on screen together? Is it like the Tom Holland thing where he didnt know who was in scenes with him? Are the editing students happy about this? If you dont want to answer I totally get it but I'm asking because engineering not in person kills me so I just. Can't fathom what you're doing. I wish you the best 💙
HEY omg yeah it’s a mess. It’s been a mess since this all started and I think it will continue to be a mess for the rest of this year. 
Rest of post under the cut cause I’m just ranting.
So when everything first hit, all filmmaking was stopped completely, which for me as a screenwriter was fine because I am not required to be on set unless I wrote the script (or have been bamboozled into script supervising ugh) anyway. But I know it hurt literally every other discipline, especially cinematographers because they need to touch cameras in order to learn and the school provides all their tech. 
Towards the end of last year, the school started back up with productions, making it mandatory for all the films to be shot on our big sound stages (usually we have free rein of all of LA and a little outside it in shoot in) and to include a COVID safety supervisor. Our sound stages were upgraded with new air ventilation systems and the school also rented out other stages to accommodate the huge number of shorts that needed to be shot. 
In order to be on set you had to have proof of a negative COVID test and have isolated in your home for two weeks before shooting. On set was a big production of face shields and masks and sanitizer and staying six feet away from each other---except for the actors. The actors could be in scenes together, provided they did all the steps above and agreed to be close to someone in a scene.
No one is happy lmao. It’s pushed back thesis schedule SO MUCH, that lots of people in my class will still be having to shoot and finish thesis after we technically graduate this year. Technically, I’m still responsible for writing a script for a project that was cancelled and removed from the “you need to do this to graduate” list. It’s been rescheduled to shoot in August when I will be rigorously prepping for the huge event where I pitch all my project to industry execs. I don’t wanna do it, but my whole team still wants to so ya know 🤷🏼‍♂️
I have no clue how the fuck the production designers are functioning. I hope they’re still able to go to the school to access the building stations and literally all their materials. Editors have to go into the school to do their work because AVID costs so much money and no one is gonna buy it personally and that’s what they edit on! Directors are being dramatic as usual (lol I love some of them but goooood the shit they’ve put writers through y’all). 
Basically, it’s all around absolutely NOT what we signed up for to earn our masters. This school’s big selling point is hands on, collaborative work, and it’s really tough to do that now. Writers have less to deal with, but what I wouldn’t give to be sitting in workshop, giving notes to people in conversation form, rather than trying to have a natural dialogue over zoom. It sucks! And I miss my friends. 
There was this beautiful room on campus, that was a “no talking zone” in the library, that I used to work in every day. It was a room full of screenplays--like stacked shelves top to bottom of bound screenplays, some original behind glass doors, some signed by writers. It was really good place for me to focus on what I came here to do. I really really miss it. It made me feel a part of something! I have barely left my house for a year and now all the words I’ve written are trapping in our one bedroom apartment and it’s so stifling. The stories are blending together and GOD I can’t wait to get a break. 
I’m burnt out and tired of the one thing I know how to do. 
But I’m going to end this on a bright note! Mike and I are getting our second shot soon, we’re working on a film project right now, I’m finishing drafts of stories I’ve been working on for so long. If everything was the way it was before all this, the things I’m accomplishing would feel so small and not impressive. But now I’m realizing just how hard they really are to finish, and I should be less hard on myself in the future! 
Anyway, thanks for asking! Hope engineering grad school is going well. I’m sure it’s hard with all this going on too! Wishing you the best 💚 
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rachaelswrites · 4 years
Text
Mission:AU
Prologue
Peter Parker x Barnes!reader
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 Ever since Thanos happened, your life changed forever. Two of the people you most admired left you. Natasha sacrificed herself and Steve left for Peggy. You were heartbroken but grateful you had your dad back. Fury didn’t let you have much time for grief before he tried to make you and Peter (who was grieving Tony still) the new Avengers. Bucky chewed Fury out for trying to get you back to missions. He gave you a month and then you were back in a briefing room; Sitting across from Peter. You always had taken a liking to him and not just because he was your age. You admired how he protected the people he loved and stood up for himself. You wished you were closer friends instead of co-workers. You would actually prefer if you were dating, but you kept that a secret. 
Fury announced that you and Peter would be going on a mission together. Your goal was to stop a tech dealer and his was to intercept the delivery. You were leaving the next day so you decided to visit Steve before you left. He was the only person who knew about your crush on Peter. He swore to not tell anyone. Not even Bucky. You went to Steve a lot for either asking advice or just talking. You told him everything that you didn’t tell Bucky. He was one of the only people you trusted. 
You knocked on the door to his apartment and he greeted you with a smile and a hug. You set your school bag down on the couch and went into the kitchen. You grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down at the table. 
“Steve. You’ll never guess what happened!” you exclaimed. 
Steve looked up from his newspaper he was reading, "What happened Y/n?” he hummed. 
You took a swig of water and slammed it back down on the table, startling him. 
“Fury assigned me and Peter on this mission. But it’s just us. Number one, I’m surprised that my dad didn't object to that and number two, what am I supposed to do Steve. You know. Because of the… you know.” you rambled. 
Steve put his paper down and looked you in the eyes, "You’ve been able to hide it for so long. Why can’t you hide it for another few days?”
“It’s different this time,” you explained, “this time it’s just us and no one else. It’s awkward.” 
“You know, I had my first kiss with Peggy on a mission. You never know what’s going to happen,” he shrugged. 
“Eww. I didn’t need or want to hear that,” you checked the time and realized you should get home to your dad, “I gotta go Steve. I’ll be sure to keep you up to date.”
Steve nodded and you got your bag and left. 
The next morning your dad went into your room and woke you up. 
“Y/n doll, Peter’s here. You gotta leave in 10 minutes,” he said, shaking you softly. 
You opened your eyes and rolled over. Your dad smiled at you and your eyes moved to the door. You shot up, when you saw Peter looking at you sheepishly. You looked at your alarm clock and saw that you overslept by an hour. 
“Can you two leave so I can get dressed or do you wanna stay?” you asked. 
Both of them nodded and left, Bucky closed the door behind him. You quickly got changed and grabbed the duffle bag you packed the night before. “Thank God I packed it last night” you thought. In the kitchen, Bucky was drinking coffee and talking to Peter. 
You grabbed a package of pop tarts and turned to Peter, “Are you ready?” 
Peter looked to you and then to Bucky, who had his eyebrows raised. Concerned for your poor choice of breakfast.
 “Do you want to eat something else? We still have some time to spare,” Peter asked. 
You shook your head and walked to Bucky. You gave him a hug and told him goodbye. Peter followed you out the door and into the hallway and down that stairs. 
“Sorry I overslept. Normally I’m very punctual,” you explained. 
“It’s fine Y/n. I don’t mind,” he said. 
The rest of the way to HQ was silent and awkward. Every other time you were with him, there were other people around so no pressure on you to hold conversation. Peter had just gotten rejected by MJ, so asking him out now wouldn’t work. At some point you would have to confess before it all got too much for you. Your Hydra training helped you keep in your emotions and not show anything. Until you got to Wakanda that strategy worked well. Part of your recovery was to get in check with your emotions. You used journals, like your dad to write feelings and memories from your life. You kept them all in a small box under your bed. Bucky knew about the journals and their location but didn’t dare read them. He knew you were still dealing with your past. While under Hydra’s control, you didn’t have the option to be mind wiped so everything that happened was still fresh in your mind. Nobody outside of the doctors in Wakanda asked about your past; too afraid that you would get upset or angry with them. It was quite the opposite. You wanted to tell someone, but didn’t know how. You just hoped and prayed that someone else would break the ice for you. 
You and Peter arrived at the hangar where the jet you would take was parked. A guard took both of your bags and set them onboard. Another guard walked up to Peter and handed him a folder, most likely containing info on the mission. You stood on your tiptoes and peered over his shoulder. (you were a bit short for your age). He noticed you hovering and lowered the folder to your eye level. You shot him a smile and continued to read it. You learned that the piece of tech was some sort of machine that could alter space/time. You internally groaned. You had enough of weird sciencey stuff. You wish it was just normal, base infiltration like some of your older missions. 
“Times are changing doll,” is what your dad always told you. 
Both of you got on the jet and sat across from each other. Peter wanted to be your friend, it was just that he was intimidated by you. The first time he met you, you were only nine and you nearly kicked his butt in Germany. He would've tried to talk to you later, but Thanos happened. 
“So uh. Are you excited to get back out there?” Peter asked you. 
You looked up and shrugged your shoulders, "I dunno. I guess. I’m glad it’s not with my dad and Sam. I’m tired of hearing them bicker,” you said. 
Peter chuckled and you made small talk the rest of the way. 
Once you touched down, you took a cab and checked into the hotel. There was only one room booked for you two. Luckily enough there were two beds. You set your things on the bed while Peter went into the bathroom. You unzipped your bag and pulled out one of your journals. You always kept one with you. Just in case. You pulled the sheet off of the corner of the bed and placed the journal there. You placed one of the pillows over it to hide it. You grabbed a change of clothes and put it on the edge of the bed. You walked over to the window and drew the curtains open. You looked out into the night sky. You were only on the second floor, but the view was still breathtaking for you. You were on the edge of the city. You saw the silhouettes of all the buildings and looked up into the sky. You saw only a few stars because of the light pollution. You loved the stars and the night sky. One of your favorite things in Wakanda was the planetarium. Once Bucky was out of cryo-freeze, he would take you there every chance he could. 
Peter walked out of the bathroom wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. You moved from the window and grabbed your clothes and went into the bathroom. You took a quick shower and changed. You walked out and saw Peter sitting crisscross on his bed, doing some school work. 
“Even on missions, you still do school work. That’s what I call dedication,” you teased. 
He looked up from his textbook and smiled. 
“School’s a bit different than it was in the forties,” he joked back. 
You grabbed your hair brush and brushed through your wet hair. 
Peter watched you intently, “Do you wanna join me?” he asked, patting the spot in front of him. 
You set the brush down and jumped on the bed. You were now sitting across from each other. Every time Peter looked down at his book, you managed to study his face. You saw the way his eyebrows furrowed when something confused him and you saw the way his whole face relaxed when he got through something quickly. You quickly snapped out of your daydream when your phone started ringing. You got up from Peter's bed and checked it. It was your dad. You excused yourself from the room and his gaze followed you out the door. 
“Hey dad what’s up?” you asked.
 Bucky was sitting on the couch with his phone propped on the table. You heard Sam yelling something in the background. 
“I’m doing good. I just wanted to make sure you got there ok. I already miss you,” he said. 
“I miss you too and it’s only been less than a day.”
Bucky chuckled. “I just wanted to remind you to get a goodnight sleep. And to tell Parker to keep his hands to himself.”
“Daddd,” you groaned, “we have more important things to focus on than that,” You said goodbye and hung up. 
You went back into the room, Peter was now flipping through channels on the tv. “Hey y/n do you wanna watch a movie?” 
You really wanted to but, you knew that something was going to happen. Just like in the movies Shuri made you watch.
 “I probably shouldn’t. We have a long day tomorrow. I’m going to go to bed but feel free to watch one,” you tried to sound sincere and it must’ve worked. 
Peter turned the lamp off and you crawled into bed. You fell asleep within minutes. 
You woke up early the next morning before Peter. He must’ve been up late, since the TV was still on from whatever he was watching. You quietly grabbed the journal and jotted down a few notes from a dream you had last night.
 It was you, Bucky, and Steve at the beach. Right before they both decided to enlist. You remember the smell of the salty air and the breeze brushing on your skin. Your dad had wrapped you in a blanket, making sure you wouldn’t get sick. You watched as Bucky and Steve played a short game of toss. Keeping your three year old self entertained. 
You finished writing and put it back in it’s hiding place. You got out of bed and rummaged through your bag to find your suit. You tiptoed past Peter’s sleeping form and into the bathroom to get ready. 
After about another hour you had to wake Peter up. You shook his shoulder gently, “Hey Peter we gotta go or else we’re gonna miss it.” 
Peter slowly opened his eyes. You moved away and started to gather up your things. Peter made his way into the bathroom and came back out in his suit. You always thought he looked good in it. You did think about confessing your feelings but were unsure of how he would react. You were technically way older than him, since your birthday was in 1939 but when you first saw each other, you were nine and he was fifteen. Then he got snapped two years later and you aged five years, which now made you only about a year apart. Did he still view you as the little girl at the airport or did he see you as the girl who fought Thanos twice? You didn’t know. 
You both threw on jackets and headed back down to the lobby. Outside, you waited for a cab. Peter was still too sleepy to talk on the ride over but woke up as soon as you had to walk a block in the cold morning air. 
“How’d you sleep?” he asked. 
“I slept like a baby. I had a really good dream too so that helped,” you said. 
You guys reached the warehouse and Peter went inside and hid in the rafters. You ducked behind a huge storage unit and waited for the dealer to arrive. After a few hours, a black car pulled up to the door of the warehouse. You shifted to a position you could quickly spring up from. A tall man stepped out of the car and opened the trunk. He pulled out what you assumed was the space/time machine thingy Peter was supposed to take. You inched along the container, trying to get closer. The man set up the machine right outside the door. You realized the deal was taking place outside and Peter would have to join you here.
 “Hey Peter,” you whispered in the comms, “The deal is out here. I have to distract him for you.” 
Before he could answer you pulled one of the knives you had and used the handle to create a loud noise. The man turned his attention away from the doorway and in your direction. It was only enough time for Peter to web the door and pull it open from the rafters. The man was startled and looked around for any signs of other people. You had to step up your game. You took a deep breath and stood up. You dragged the handle of the knife along the edge of the container while walking into plain view. The man looked at you and smirked. 
“What are you doing here little girl?” he sneered. 
You looked offended before responding. “Do I really look young enough to be called a little girl? I’m shocked.” 
Peter took this as his cue to swing down and try and take the weapon. The man was faster and zapped Peter with it. Peter fell to the ground and you shrieked.
 “Peter!” you tried to run to his side but you found yourself on the ground and blacked out. 
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staywritten · 4 years
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A Love That Lasts│Epilogue
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A Love That Lasts │ Epilogue
Synopsis: You’ve spent the last two years, helping your very handsome next door neighbor raise his adorable daughter. The two of you fell into a routine before you knew it. And now you had this little family. You couldn’t help but fall for him.
Genre: Parent!Au, Dad!Bang Chan, Fluff, Nonidol!Au, Smut
Word Count: 3044
Part I │Part II │Part III │Part IV │Part V
A Love That Lasts Masterlist
Masterlist. AO3
“Today’s the day! Today’s the day! Today’s the day!” Minseo jumped up and down on her father’s bed, waking him up with a belly flop. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around his daughter, kissing her hair softly and pulling her back into bed.
“Why are you so full of energy?” he smiled into her fluffy hair. “I’m the one getting married”
“Because after today I have a Mom!” she chimed. 
He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes to look at his daughter. “You’re really happy about this aren’t you?”
“The happiest!” she beamed. “This is gonna be so cool! I get a Mom, and two new grandparents and it’s the best” She hugged him as tight as she could “And grandmas helped me pick out a dress and it’s so pretty!”
“Baby a lot is gonna change, I want you to let me know if it gets overwhelming.” he looked down at her sincerely.
“I’m fine!”
“You’re getting a mom… I’m getting a wife...we’re moving into a new house...our family is getting bigger- wow in laws… in laws that probably hate me...” he mumbled to himself, a frown forming as it finally all sank in just how much his life was gonna change in the matter of a few hours.
 “You ok Daddy?” you pouted pressing the furrow between his brows.
“I think I’m getting cold feet…” he sighed, running his hand through his hair.
“I’ll get you socks!” she chimed, wiggling out of his arms.
You were prepared for a stressful wedding. The planning process proved to be more challenging than all your years of med school and your residence. Dealing with not only your overbearing mother, but also Chan’s. Every decision you made followed by another five. You were happy to get this wedding over with.
You wanted nothing more than to just legally call Chan your husband and Minseo your daughter. “Just a few more hours” you sighed. 
You frowned looking down at your phone while getting your hair done. The last time you saw him was yesterday afternoon since your mom was so superstitious. She made you stay in your childhood, not wanting Chan to see you until your wedding. You texted him the moment you woke up but he hadn’t said anything back. You know he read the message, it was so unlike him to not reply but it was your wedding day perhaps he was just overwhelmed getting ready. 
Minseo ran inside the hair salon with your mom trailing behind her. “Today’s the day!” she cheered running into your arms. 
A smile instantly appeared on your face as you kissed her cheek. “Today is the day!” you grinned, nuzzling her nose. “You ready to get your hair and nails done?”
She nodded “Can I have matching nails with you?” 
“Of course you can Baby” your eyes softened, squishing her face. “I missed you, did you sleep well?”
“Mhmm! But I wish you were home”
“Me too” you pouted “How did your Dad sleep? Was he ok this morning?”
“He slept well~ But he has cold feet! I gave him extra socks before I left”
You frowned “Cold feet huh?” she smiled, shaking her head. “Well you were super smart to give him extra socks” you touched her nose. “Thank you”
“Minseo, let’s get your nails started” your mom called out to her walking her over to the nail tech, to sit with Chan’s mom. 
You sighed when your mom walked over to you, crossing her arms over her chest. “Mom please don’t start” you knew exactly where this conversation was going. 
“The boy has cold feet, what are the chances you think he’s actually going to show up?” she whispered to you not wanting to make a scene. 
“Here we go again” you rolled your eyes “Mom it’s a wedding, everyone gets nervous. Stop making this into a direct attack on Chris”
“Maybe you’re rushing into things”
“And there it is”  you looked to your mom and shook your head. 
You introduced Chan and Minseo to your parents not too long after you started dating. They always knew about them since you talked so fondly of your neighbors but they weren’t too surprised you started dating. Your mother just wasn’t too fond of you dating a man that had a child. She instantly fell in love with Minseo the moment they met, who couldn’t? She was a bundle of joy. But she always looked at Chan like he wasn’t good enough. Both your parents were Doctors, you were their only daughter and sure, your relationship with Chan wasn’t conventional, but it never was. You knew she looked down on him, even if she didn’t explicitly say it. 
“Mom I’m not having this conversation again, especially not on my wedding day.” You glanced down the salon and looked at Minseo animatedly speaking to her grandma and smiled. “I love Chris and Minseo so much…And I know it’s not what you wanted. I know that you would rather me marry some doctor with no kids and that we started a family once we got married but I chose this. I fought this feeling I had for him for years and I’m tired...I just want to be with the man I love. Chris has been my family long before this wedding”
“Look, I understand that you have feelings for Chris, he’s a nice young man, but-”
“No buts. No more buts.”
“What about the girl's mother? Is she really out of the picture? Who abandons their daughter?”
“The girl has a name. And Minseo is my daughter now. As for her mother, Chris will tell me when he’s ready I’m not pushing him on this.”
“But”
“No. Who I marry is a nonnegotiable.” you stood up, moving over to the makeup artist table. 
Bickering with your mom was nothing new, especially when she got a little too pushy, But you did wish that Chan would at least respond to your text to ease your mind. 
After a few hours of hair and makeup, you stared at yourself in the mirror, a little speechless. You were really doing this, you were gonna be married. You smoothed down the dress, running your hand over the embroidered lace. You had that ah-ha moment when you were dress shopping but there was something about seeing it all put together. 
Hearing the little chime of your ringtone you frowned. There was no reason that Felix should be calling you a few minutes before the wedding. Taking a deep breath you answered. “Hey?”
“Hey~” his tone a little too casual given the timing. “Um… so you must be wondering why I’m calling”
You sighed heavily “Felix what is it?”
“Ok, don’t be mad but-”
“Don’t start with don’t be mad!”
“See now you already sound mad and I’m too scared to tell ya”
“Felix!”
“I may have misplaced something…”
“You’re the best man Felix! Did you lose the wedding rings?”
“I’m offended! Those rings cost more than the down payment on my car” he scoffed. “They are safely tucked away in my blazer”
“Then what did you lose? Oh no, was it Chris’s tux?”
“Nah, I lost Chris”
“You what?! What do you mean! Felix!”
“See I asked you not to get mad, and yelling sounds a lot like being mad”
“How the hell did you lose a person?”
“I don’t need the attitude, he’s a lot faster than Minseo and can cover a lot more ground, I didn’t know he was a flight risk” he sighed “Look Jisung is calling him, and I’m checking around the venue, I’ll keep you updated”
“Please do…” you shook your head, hanging up. 
Well this was a turn of events. Your wedding planner made sure you had at least three back up plans for any other decision you made but there was no plan for a run away groom. You looked at the time, there was still thirty minutes before you had to be in the wedding hall, so you figured you’d look for your fiance. You needed to make sure he was ok, especially since he never shut you out before. You switched out of your strappy heels and into a pair of sneakers, hiking up your dress so that you could see your feet. 
There was a small knock at the door before it cracked open. You looked up and your eyes met a very tired Chan. He chuckled seeing you slip on your sneakers. “Runaway bride?” he grinned leaning on the door frame. 
You released a relieved sigh. “I’m not the runaway! Your groomsmen said you left?”
He laughed before walking inside and closing the door behind him. “I literally told Changbin that I was going to the venue first because I needed to talk to you” He took your hands into his rubbing his thumbs over your skin. “You look so beautiful…” his dark brown eyes practically twinkling as he looked at you. “Wow…” his cheek dimpled as his smile widened, he spun you in his hands as he took you in. 
You shyly looked at him, the warm way he stared at you making you more embarrassed than ever. “Should I be concerned that you wanted to talk to me before the wedding?” you frowned a bit “You’ve been ghosting me all day”
He gave you a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry...I just needed some time” 
“To think about us…?”
“No, not us” he smiled “We’re solid. I love you...but” he brought your fingers to his lips. “I just...I felt a little guilty. I wanna give you all of me...but I just..I’m a little worried that all of me isn’t enough...”
“Chris…” you frowned, taking his hand and bringing him over to the couch to sit with you. “You’re more than enough...if you didn’t know that then I’m...I’m not showing you how much I love everything about you…”
“I have a ways to go...but I always try my hardest...I’m not there yet but I’m trying-”
“You are perfect.” your tone, absolute. There was not a single thought in your mind of how perfect he was for you. 
“Your parents must hate me...They raise a beautiful, independent kind doctor and she settles for a single parent who make music-”
“Hey, that’s my soon to be husband you’re talking about. I’m not gonna let anyone trash talk you Chris, including you.” you squeezed his hand “And that last time I checked, I was the one marrying you not my parents.”
“But-”
“No buts. Yes you’re a parent. A parent of the literal light of my life, I can’t imagine my life without Minseo...I love her so much and you being her father will never be a negative...and yes you make music, you pour your heart into your passion and I love watching how you light up when you talk about it…. Chris I’m not settling for you in any capacity. I chose you to be my partner, my best friend, my soulmate, and my husband”
He let out that shy sweet giggle he had that you loved so much, his shoulders shrugging along with it. “I still don’t think I’m good enough but I’ll try to be…”
“Then I’ll spend the rest of my life as your partner, showing you that you are more than enough” you leaned in pressing a sweet kiss against his lips.
“I love you...and I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure that you always think I’m enough.. I’m really happy you’re gonna be my wife” he grinned at you pressing his forehead against yours. 
“Any more concerns? I want to rid you of your worries” you smiled lovingly at him. 
“I want to give you the world…”
“Chris you already have… You and Minseo are my whole world”
He pulled back, lacing his fingers with yours. There was something else that’s been weighing in the back of his mind, he always pushed it away because there was never a proper time to bring it up. He wanted to get married once, and to be fair to you he figured he should finally come clean about his life. “I wasn’t planning on telling you this minutes before we got married but...About Minseo’s mom…”
“Chris you don’t have to” you were always curious, but there was just something about his eyes that made you not push further. 
“But I want you to, I want to be fair to you...To know me” he took your hand placing it over his heart. “Know all of me…”
“Then, I’m here for you”
And for the first time in five years he opened up to someone. Felix and his parents were the only people who really knew the details. But there was something about coming clean to you that made him feel like a huge weight was lifted. He told you about his first love. The first person he gave his heart to, and the first time he dealt with heartbreak. She was stubborn, strong, independent, and dedicated to her job. Everything that he loved her for became the reason they broke up. 
“We didn’t plan for Minseo, but we did everything to prepare for her. To make sure she was loved. I was surprised at first but the moment I heard her heartbeat I knew I was going to do everything I could to protect her….As I got more invested in all of the prenatal care, my girlfriend seemed to lose a part of herself… It was like she powered through it… She was never the type to want to be a mom but I thought she changed her mind...But as soon as Minseo was born she left. Gave me full custody and a goodbye letter.”
Your eyes watered hearing his story, seeing the pain in his eyes. You pulled him into a tight hug, rubbing his back softly. 
“Despite that… I don’t hate her... Because in the end, it was just so her...She couldn’t be tied down and I used to love her for that… And I thought I could change her... that maybe she’d pick me and our child and stay with us” he let out a broken and bitter laugh. “But if she stayed we would have been miserable...She would have resented me...Minseo wouldn’t have had a happy home, and for that I have no regrets” he looked up at you sheepishly, giving you such a sad smile. “If you’ll still have me… I’m all yours.”
There were no words of comfort you could offer him. Because this was a wound that he’s already healed. It was just one that he’s kept hidden. There was nothing more you could do to heal it, but you could show him that you love him, and everything he came with. “Christopher, I’ve told you before… I'm your partner, I’m not going anywhere”
“Promise?” and there was something about how he looked up to you with his big, warm, brown eyes. The vulnerable look of hope as he held his pinky out. You couldn’t help but smile at how similar he was to Minseo. 
“Promise” you wrapped your pinky around his, pressing your thumbs together, sealing the promise. “You ready to get married?”
“Absolutely” 
“I’m gonna go wait for you down the aisle” he pecked your lips again before heading out. 
You couldn’t help but smile, practically beaming and watching him leave. It was go-time. You changed back into your heels and took a deep breath. One final longing look at yourself before your father came in. “You ready?” Your dad watched you warmly, a smile never leaving his face. “You look so beautiful” he pulled you into the biggest warmest hug. “I can’t believe I have to give you away”
You laughed leaning into your dad as he walked you toward the hall. “You and mom both”
“Your mom means well...You know how she is?”
“I do but I just wished she wasn’t so hard on Chris...He works hard, he does what he loves and makes sure that his daughter wants for nothing. I appreciate him...I fell in love with his kindness first...Dad, he’s my home”
“I’m gonna be honest I thought he was an opportunist, and I didn’t see what he offered you at first but...the way you look at him… the way you stand up to your mother...how you are with Minseo. I see it.” he smiled, rubbing your back softly. “You chose your home and I’ll love and respect you for it.”
“Thanks Dad…”
He kissed your forehead as you reached the wedding hall, the music from the piano chiming as they anticipated you. “You will always be my Baby… but you’re gonna be that man’s wife, and that sweet little girl's mom.. You ready for that responsibility?”
“I am” the sureness in warmness in your voice was all the reassurance he needed. Your mom would come around eventually, but for now having your father's support and the love of your new family gave you the strength to support Chris.
As the doors swung open your eyes instantly went to your fiance standing by the altar, Minseo in his arms, eyes practically sparkling as she happily whispered to him, pointing at you. Even Though he’d spent the past twenty minutes by your side with you in your wedding dress, it really didn’t hit him until this moment that you were going to be his wife. 
The nerves finally hit you as you walked down the aisle. It wasn’t that you were anxious, you were just excited to finally start this part of your life. Your new family was waiting for you. 
And although you knew that you guys weren’t perfect, and there will be obstacles in your way. You were sure that with Chan you two could overcome anything. 
End.
Thank you for sticking with me all this time, we’re finally saying goodbye to this series. I’m sure I’ll make a oneshot for it here and there, just because I really like writing Minseo.
And *cough* I’m also *cough* maybe working on a short series/one shot for Minseo’s mom as the reader >.>
∘Tags List:
@skzsprinkles @tophuphu @hugs4chan @channieboyo  @cobbiebaexqueen @minnieskz  @em0cleo  @chwrryeols​ @binki-g @mythicalamphitrite
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pizzahutchan124 · 3 years
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Do you see this pic? I Took it on the 3rd of April to show that I've been saving money since last year. I only recently cashed that in two weeks from today. It came out to $106 subtotal.
I would've updated abour this earlier but.... truth be told I'm dipping my toes into plenty of lakes, rivers, ponds and oceans with seemingly little to show for it at the moment. I'm running an art blog now, and I'm building both a financial and artistic portfolio. I'm getting tons of leads on job opportunities in both social services and backstage tech work, which means I gotta revise my resume to fit the position titles as well as follow up with the respective hiring staff. My extended family is always checking up on me, making sure me and the folks I live with are ok (they're all sweet like that.) Ultimately I would like to craft and create more art, whether that be in writing, yarn crafting, sewing, woodworking or experimenting with traditional and digital drawing. Of course, that means I have to renovate my space so that it flows with a creative and productive atmosphere while maintaining a cozy yet friendly living environment for me and my loved ones.
You dunno what that means? Yea, neither do I. I'm figuring it out as I go, but it gets hard when the people closest to you want results NOW. NOW NOW NOW. Otherwise you're a fookin lazy good-fer-nothing, haha. I got so many irons on the fire right now it's not even funny....
On top of all of that, I dont know what to do with this blog. Ive been doing research here & there and the people in the big leagues say that you gotta stick with ONE topic and/or interest so that not only your blog remains consistent, but your followers know what to expect from you thus remaining engaged on your platform. That's some quality advice for growing a wider audience, but heres the thing- I can't be asked to just dwindle down my posts towards a single topic. Maybe that worked for my ancestors in the past but I'm lucky enough to live in a First world country that encourages free thinking provided that it doesnt limit anyone elses liberties. This is a space where I can explore multiple options, opinions, pathways and idealogies, even the shitty ones if I were as bold as I used to be. In short .....
I AM A MULTI-FACETED HUMAN BEEEEEEEAN.
I used to be a self proclaimed potato; however, things change with time. So do people- we become remixes of what we used to be. Sometimes we become better people for it. Sometimes we don't. And that's ok, so long as we're honest with ourselves about what we're doing to hinder our progress in this lifetime. I think I'm making strides in being more reflective and introspective in that aspect.
Im not sure what this means for the long term future of this blog. I originally made this during a time in my life when the internet was filled with opportunity and promises of a better life. Since then I've become more aware of how the world works and thereby more cynical to the beliefs I once held as a 16 y/o 𝓭𝓲𝓼𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼𝓮 𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓪𝓼𝓽. I'll just continue to post things that are informative to my needs and likes and hope that it'll reach the people it's meant for. Unfortunately that means I gotta work on trimming the fat on this blog. I've made side blogs for this reason, but havent gotten around to utilizing them. That's gonna be a big project for me at some point down the line. Only God knows when I'll get around to it.
Here they are if you wanna browse through them-
a Blog filled with master posts, references and tutorials on stuff
another blog filled with fanart from some amazing folks
Based on the actions I'm currently taking, I can see myself absolutely vibing within the next 5 years.
You can expect me to reblog posts on my main fandoms (mainly yugioh, pokémon and hazbin hotel/helluva boss), commentary on our society at large (uh oh, OPINIONS 😱 so scary), theories and lore based on the fandom(s) I'm in. Ngl I also become enamored with 2d characters from time to time so perhaps I'll get around to making character analysis posts. That's a big MAYBE tho. I'll also post about Cooking, economics, Psychology, personality archetypes and certain spiritual concepts like feng shui, the different kinds of astrology, mythos from different religions (Buddhism, Catholicism, etc), productivity and/or life hacks. I'm also a slut for tropes, Hence the #Tropes tag I made 😁
And finally, I will be making more original content irregularly from when "the motivation strikes me" to "when I feel my ideas/drawing/writings/musings aren't complete hot dog water."
See you in the next post maybe
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simsadventures · 5 years
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Better Like This: Chapter 2: I Need Answers
Chapter Summary: You can’t wrap your head around the actions of what you think is your mate, so you try to distract yourself by diving into your first case with the SVU. You are, however, not willing to let go and you need your answers. Will Bucky talk to you, or is he going to try to stay clear from you as long as possible? And why is he acting like such a jerk?
Warnings: mentions of rape, a/b/o dynamics,, Alpha!Bucky, Omega!reader swearing, rejected mate, angst (I guess), fluffy Scott, sad reader
Word Count: 2474
A/N: I just wanted to thank you guys for the kind words after publishing the first part. You are the best. I can always take suggestions, so if you want something to happen, let me know and I’ll see what I can do with that :) xx
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Series Masterlist __ Masterlist 
< Previous Chapter
You stood there, staring at the closed doors, your brain void of any thoughts. You wanted to think something, really, but your brain just stopped working the second the Alpha ran out of the door. 
You also didn’t hear the way the team shut up, trying to figure out what the hell just happened, and why did one of their own just bolt seeing you, as if the electricity went through his body. 
The first one to speak up was Tony. “Well, that was weird and awkward. That was Sargent Barnes, and the guy not running away from here is detective Sam Wilson.” Sam nodded your way and shrugged his shoulders apologetically, not really knowing how to explain his partner’s behaviour. 
You shook your head, trying to get rid of all the negative thoughts creeping into your mind once again and looked at the Captain, silently begging him to talk about something, anything really. 
He obviously took the hint as he spoke as soon as he looked your way. “Ok, that is almost our whole team, you’ll meet Clint, our tech guy later. So, to get to the work, before detective Y/L/N came in, I got a call from 76th precinct. They believe they have one of our cases. An Omega was raped and almost strangled to death in her home by what they believe was some young Alpha, but that is as far as they got. They would like us to take it from there, so, Y/L/N, Lang, you go to the hospital and talk to our victim, make sure they are treating her right. Wilson, go find Barnes, and you guys go the crime scene. And make sure Bucky calls me, he’s got things to explain. Stark, to the 76th precinct, get all the files they made for this case and debrief the detectives working on the case, the more information, the better. You know the drill guys, let’s get to work. Dismissed.” 
With that, he turned around and strode to his office. Scott jabbed you lightly to your ribs and pretty much dragged you out fo the place, for you were still very much frozen by Bucky’s (or whatever) actions. 
“C’mon dude, let’s go help some people. And you can tell me what that was all about in the car.” He smirked at you. 
“I wish I fucking knew, Scott. I-I-“you stuttered. You didn’t really feel the need to tell him how you thought Bucky was your true mate. You did know him for about 15 minutes. “I’ve never met this guy before, you know? No idea what’s his problem.” You shrugged, deciding that not telling the whole truth was just safer. For now. At least you thought so.
“I do believe you, dude, it was the little whine that’s making me question shit.” Fuck! “No idea what you’re talking about,” you shrugged, trying to sound as convincing as you possibly could. “I’m that kind of person who just wants to get along with everyone, so you just probably heard my disappointment when I saw someone obviously not liking me from the very first second,” you concluded. 
It wasn’t a lie entirely, you did want to get along with everyone, but you would never whine just like that, had you not had your reasons. Scott just hummed in response and the rest of the drive to the hospital was in comfortable silence. 
Meanwhile, in front of Sam’s car, the situation looked a bit different. He yelled at Bucky for bolting like this, wanting to know the reason. “What’s gotten into you, man? Do you like know her or something? Have you knotted her during your rut and never called her again, or what? Talk to me, man.” 
“I don’t know her, and I don’t want to know her, there’s that. Not that it would be any of your business, or anything.” Bucky almost growled. Sam just raised his eyebrow and sarcastically rolled his eyes. Bucky’s been his partner for the last 5 years, and one of his best friends for about the same amount of time. He knew when his friend was full of shit, but also knew when he should actually shut up if he didn’t want to experience the wrath of the Metal Arm. Bucky didn’t get this one of his nicknames coincidentally, and Sam was unfortunate enough to have been on the receiving end of the wrath far too many times. Bucky was a good guy, it was just that his temper got the best of him sometimes. 
“Yeah, before I forget, Steve wanted you to call him and explain yourself to him.” 
“I don’t need to explain anything, I went out, end of the story, now get in the car so we can actually start working, you ass.” 
“I’m the ass here, huh? Have you looked in the mirror today, Barnes? ‘Cause you’re the only one looking like a pile of shit.” Sam almost didn’t get to finish his sentence as Bucky punched his shoulder, but Sam was too used to it now. He just laughed and made a mental note to keep a good eye on his friend.
The talk with the victim was very short because her throat was so damaged, the only thing she was able to do (and even that she did barely) was nodding or shaking her answering your and Scott’s questions. All you got from her, was that she woke up in the middle of the night, feeling a certain uneasiness in her bones. This sixth sense of hers was true for right in front of her bed stood a tall man, an Alpha, with a mask on his face. You didn’t want to go in too much detail, and you really couldn’t because of her injury. 
You were actually lucky to have any kind of conversation with her because about 10 minutes into your “dialogue” she started to lose consciousness and they had to rush into the OR. 
But what you did get from the visit to the hospital, was the conversation you had with one of the victim’s doctors. She told you that the victim had what looked like bruises made by fingers, even showing you and Scott some photos they took so you could have a closer look. 
“Can we have those?” you asked, full-on detective by now. “Of course, we have one copy here for later examination and to contrast the healing, but these were made specifically for you.” You smiled thankfully at her and bid your goodbyes before heading towards Scott’s car (you guess as he was your partner that it would be ok to call the car yours too). 
“So what do you think we’re dealing with here?” Scott asked you once you were seated and on your way towards the headquarters. “I have no idea yet, but probably some sick bastard who can’t even show his face while attacking an innocent and helpless Omega.” Scott just hummed in agreement, and the rest of the ride was spent by talking about his Omega, Hope, who was a scientist and a hell of a one, from what Scott was saying. He was so in love, you couldn’t help but let your mind drift back to your mate, the one abandoning you in front of the whole team without as much as an acknowledgement. 
Once you came to the headquarters, you immediately smelt the most delicious thing, once again, your Alpha. Or rather, the Alpha you felt like should be yours but was far from it. 
He looked up too, only to shake his head as if in disapproval and continued his talk with Sam and Natasha. You wanted to do something, your mind was picking between breaking into a sobbing mess and smacking the Alpha across his face with the closest object you could find.
Before you could do any of the two (and you were suddenly more inclined to hurt the asshole), your Captain came in the view. “So, what’s the status? What did we find, team?” The room fell silent and everyone grouped into a half-circle so that everyone could see everyone. Yay, just what you needed!
“The detectives from the 76th didn’t really know anything, they spoke to some people who thought they heard some noises, but most of them were seniors who couldn’t really remember what day it was so there’s that. One guy, though, said that he saw a tall Alpha running by him, around 2.30 AM, which seems like the time the guy left our victim. But it was dark, and the guy couldn’t see much, so I’m not sure if we can get anything out of it. He’s in one of the conference rooms, and I’ll go talk to him and try and get more information, but I don’t think there will be much, Cap.” Tony concluded his findings. 
“The crime scene was a mess, Steve,” your Alpha (you had to remind yourself that he wasn’t your freaking Alpha) Bucky said. “We were able to get a picture of what happened and how it happened, but the techs were already there, so if he left something there, they would’ve found it. What we could tell, was that he got there from the window, motherfucker must have climbed the fire-stairs, unhooked the window and was it and the poor Omega didn’t stand a chance.” He shrugged and you could have sworn it was the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen. God, you were pathetic!
It was now your turn to speak up, and you could feel all the eyes on you. All of them except the ones you actually wanted to feel. You shook off the disappointment and told the team about your findings. Captain nodded after you concluded your little speech and dismissed all of you, letting you work on your own. 
You saw Bucky turning around and starting to leave the circle, and you decided to follow him. You needed your answers, and you needed them now!
“Hey, Barnes, can I have a word?” you whisper-yelled at him. He looked taken aback by your approach but shook off any emotion from his face before speaking up. 
“I don’t really wanna talk to you, so if I can choose, then no, you can’t have a word with me.” And with that he turned around and started to walk away once again. He had the nerve to walk away from you just like that! Naah, you weren’t having it, not this time!
“I would appreciate it if we could have a conversation, and somewhere private, preferably.” 
You didn’t even realise it, but he was not standing right in front of you, towering over you and silently growling. “We aren’t going anywhere together. Look, I don’t know what you think you feel but don’t. I’m not looking for an Omega, never wanted one, never will want one, so deal with it. You are all the same, and I want no part in that,” he growled the whole time and finally turned around and walked towards Sam, who was watching the interaction and silently waiting for Bucky to join him. 
Didn’t want an Omega? All the same? What? WHAT? You had no clue what was happening, and if it were up to you, you would’ve crawled under some table and just cry and pity yourself, because your true mate just basically rejected you. 
But, and for the first time today, you had Scott behind your ass the whole time, and you were really thankful for it, who now grabbed your elbow and dragged you out of the place. You looked towards the table which was shared by Sam and Bucky. Scott didn’t miss your tilted head, nor did he miss the very silent, but very present whine that escaped your throat. He looked towards that table too and put a protective arm around your shoulders to lead you out of there. 
“You don’t need to speak about it, but let me tell you one thing. Bucky- he is a strange guy. He is one hell of a detective, hell, he’s solved more cases than me, Natasha and Tony combined. But he is also very closed off, I mean, the first three months with the unit, he wouldn’t even acknowledge my presence, he would always look through me, or something. Only after I “proved” to him that I was worth his time would he start talking to me.
Look, I don’t know what his problem is, the Cap just told me he had it rough. All I know is that he was in a war and that it probably scarred him for life. I don’t know if he’s your true mate or what, but just… Give it time, let him see what I see the first second after meeting you and what I hope I’ll get to know more from now on. You are a fantastic detective, we all know that, and believe me, when I say it, you are an amazing person too. I can just smell that, call it a sixth sense, or something. So, just give him time, and if he doesn’t pull his head out of his ass, I’ll be the first one to beat the shit out of him.” 
You were now sitting in a local pub, each of you nursing a bear. You couldn’t help but wonder what did you do to deserve a partner like Scott, who after spending just one day with you, an Omega, for God’s sake, was willing to beat someone up because they were hurting you.
You smiled at him. “Thank you, Scott, you can’t even imagine how much this means to me. But trust me, if he doesn’t give up that attitude of his, I’ll be the first one breaking a chair on his back. You can beat him up after that.” 
Scott laughed at your little outburst and shook his head. “You’re something else, Y/N. But deal!” 
But while you were leaving with Scott, too busy with your own thoughts, Bucky was having some thoughts on his own. He had to stifle a growl threatening to escape his chest when he saw Scott protectively putting an arm around you, his Omega. NO! He had to stop himself from thinking about you like that. 
Of course, he knew you were supposed to be his from the very second he stepped into the office. He buzzed all morning, knew something was up, but never expected to meet his true mate. But he couldn’t let you in. Just couldn’t. His heart wouldn’t take another heartbreak, and that’s why he tried so hard to stay away from you, even though his Alpha side was screaming for you. Luckily, he had enough self-control to never let this side win.
At least he hoped so. 
 / Next Chapter >
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