Pairing: Yelena Belova x Reader

Characters: Yelena Belova

Warnings: N/A

Request: Anon- I have been sick with COVID . But reading your stories has helped. Wondering if you could write a story about yelenax reader (romantic or platonic) where Yelena is worried as the reader is in the hospital sick.
Thanks! 

Word Count: 444

Author: Charlotte

“You can see her for a second, but she does need to rest.”

The nurse tried to speak calmly to Yelena, but she didn’t listen. All that Yelena cared about was getting into the room to see you, having already threatened to end the life of several medical professionals when they refused to let her see you earlier. She barged into the room rushing over to your hospital bed, not caring for anything that got into her way. 

She leant down towards you, clasping one of your hands in hers making sure to miss the cannula that was taped down to the reverse of that hand. 

“Are you okay?” Yelena asked. “They wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“Have you been causing trouble?” You said with a pained smile causing yourself to cough, sending pain through your body. 

You peered over to the nurse, whose face provided you more than enough information on how your girlfriend had reacted in you time since you’d been admitted to the hospital. 

“They claim I am not family, but they are able to be persuaded,” she frowned. “I wasn’t going to leave you in this place on your own, especially not without knowing what was going on.”

You mustered up as much energy as you could to squeeze Yelena’s hand to try and reassure her. 

“There’s not much to tell yet. They think that it’s to do with my lungs but until I can get in for a scan in the morning, they won’t know. They’ve started running tests so who knows what they’ll find.”

It was annoying to not know what was going on but you already had tubes and wires coming out of everywhere, so you had to trust your doctors and nurses in doing the best for you. 

“You were unconscious,” she huffed. “I thought you died.”

“I’m sorry that I scared you-“

“I wasn’t scared.”

Yelena cut you off to correct you, still not capable of accepting any form of weakness about her. 

“Sorry,” you said. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I don’t know what happened but thank you for getting me to the hospital so quickly.”

Yelena rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t going to just leave you on the floor.

You attempted to shoot Yelena an unimpressed look but the nasal cannula limited your ability to move your nose. 

“Well depending on what it is, I could have died, so I appreciate you saving me and also staying by my side.”

“I’m not going anywhere, no matter what those people say.”

The nurse in the doorway let out a sign, knowing that even if you were an easy patient, Yelena would make things difficult. 

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Characters: Wanda Maximoff

Warnings: N/A

Request:@xxxtwilightaxelxxx​ - Okay heres another one, may I request a Wanda Maximoff one where she comes home from a long mission and when she does it all seems to be quiet which is odd but then she hears her gf yn crying and immediately springs into action ready to defend her gf when it turns out yn is watching something and crying over it, but of course jolts when Wanda appears out of no where, not having received a message. Ends with tired Wanda teasing yn a bit over it while yn gives her all the cuddles she needs and deserves. Please and thank you, hope this is okay

Word Count: 445

Author: Charlotte

Having an avenger as a girlfriend had its highlights and its tribulations. You loved Wanda with all of your heart, but it did mean that she would be away from home often for extended periods of time to go on missions. It was hard to have her gone for so long, often without a certain timeframe along with the dangerous type of job that she did.

You tried your best to make the most of the time that you had alone at home, often getting some extra chores done and some extra reading without distraction. This time you had ended up in a reading block, so settled on a few movies to make your way through. You’d settled done one evening a week or so after Wanda had left and watched a film. You didn’t know what it was about, but it ended up being far sadder than you expected. Tears had tumbled down your face, soaking into the front of your pyjama top as you ugly sobbed throughout the film.

All of your attention had been on the sad scenes on the screen, so intensely that you hadn’t heard Wanda come home, not until she appeared in the living room, red waves extending from her hands as she frantically looked around.

You couldn’t help but scream when she rushed into the room, having not expected to see her that day at all, let alone without hearing her enter the home.

“What’s wrong?” She asked clasping onto your arms. “What happened?”

It took you a second to settle your panicked breathing to figure out what was going on and why she seemed so worried.

“What do you mean?” You questioned.

“Why are you crying?”

Your panic immediately faltered as you giggled at your girlfriend’s expression.

“Nothing’s wrong,” you smiled. “I was watching a sad film.”

The red swirls from her hands disappeared as her eyebrows furrowed whilst she looked down at you.

“I was worried,” she berated. “I don’t see you for a week and come home to hearing you sob; I didn’t know what had happened.”

You opened your arms for her, and she happily obliged, sitting down with you on the sofa in your arms, in a long-missed embrace.

“How was the mission?” You asked, playing with her long reddish-brown hair.

“Tiring,” she sighed. “I am just happy to be home with you.”

She pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek before turning her attention to the film that was still playing on the screen. “What are you watching?”

“It’s almost finished, but we can watch another film together?” You offered.

Wanda nodded her head, settling back into the cuddle on the sofa.

Pairing: Clint Barton x Reader

Characters: Clint Barton

Warnings: N/A

Request: Anon- Hi can I request a Clint Barton x reader romantic relationship
The reader getting hurt during a mission and then find out she’s pregnant?

Word Count: 452

Author: Charlotte

Clint did as he said and got you out of the building in under the five minutes, he had expected it to take. As soon as he got you into the helicopter, he was demanding every ounce of medical assistance that they could offer for you. Even with him being a worrier and a bit of a hindrance to those trying to help you, they had managed to secure the wound until you could get to the hospital. A myriad of tests was run on you to make sure you were okay before the wound was cleaned and fixed up.

He had stayed by your side the whole time. No matter how many times medical professionals suggested that he go to get a drink or something to eat, he was glued to the seat next to you until you were given a clear bill of health.

With your wound bandaged up and ready to heal on its own, you were redressed in something less blood-sodden and waiting sat on the edge of the hospital bed, legs dangling down, for the doctor to return.

“You need to take it easy,” Clint berated, stopping you from reaching for your handbag an arm’s length on the bed. “You aren’t going back into the field for a long time.”

“No, I don’t,” you sighed. “It’s fine. Give me a week and I’ll be good as new.”

Before he could tell you off, your doctor had returned to your room.

“I have your discharge papers,” the doctor smiled.

“So, is everything okay?” You checked.

The doctor nodded. “Everything came back fine, but there was one thing that we didn’t expect. I’m not sure if you are aware but you are pregnant.”

Everything paused. You had discussed starting a family and although it was something you both wanted, you weren’t on a timeframe nor did you have any direct plans, meaning this pregnancy was wanted but certainly not planned.

“I’m pregnant?” You croaked; your mouth instantly dry. “Was everything okay?”

“Yes, you are, everything seems normal, but we suggest you get an appointment with your obstetrician to make sure.”

The doctor wished you well, heading off to their next patient.

You turned your attention to your husband who had a bright smile on his face. He jumped up as soon as the door closed and scooped you up into a hug, doing his best to avoid hurting your bullet wound.

“We’re having a baby,” he grinned.

“I can’t believe it,” you smiled. “I really can’t believe that I’m pregnant.”

“I’m so happy,” he whispered, his joy overwhelming him and forcing tears into his eyes. “But I promise you aren’t going into the field for a very long time.”

Pairing: Clint Barton x Reader

Characters: Clint Barton

Warnings: N/A

Request: Anon- Hi can I request a Clint Barton x reader romantic relationship
The reader getting hurt during a mission and then find out she’s pregnant?

Word Count: 493

Author: Charlotte

You grabbed another arrow from your quiver prepared for your next encounter with anyone. Clint kicked down the next door, leaving you to cover him if any of the HYDRA agents were in the office that you were about to enter. As soon as you saw the HYDRA patch on the uniform, you released your arrow before preparing a second to shoot at the second agent in the room. Both men fell to the floor. You each rushed to one of the agents, taking any weapons, keys or identification from them, knowing that they would likely come in handy.

“See if this works,” you said to your husband, throwing over the key card that you had found in the agent’s shirt pocket.

Clint rushed to the computer whilst you went the opposite way to the door. You closed it, pushing a chair under the handle. It wouldn’t necessarily stop anyone getting in for long, but it would give you enough notice to be able to fight back instead of being caught unawares.

You had originally met Clint when you were training as SHIELD agents, becoming close friends and blossoming a romance. It didn’t take long before you were seasoned agents and married and then became avengers together. He was your partner in life, marriage and work, neither of you doing much without having the other there.

You made your way over to the computer where Clint was working his way to get into it to gain the files that you had been sent for.

“Do we have everything to get in?” You questioned.

“I think so,” he said, half listening but mainly focusing on what he was doing.

For the second you had focused on your husband, you hadn’t paid any attention to the two men that were on the floor. By the time you heard one of them move, you already had a gun pointed at you. You reached for one of the pistols you had taken from them but as you managed to point it back at him and pull the trigger, the bullet had already ripped through your shoulder.

You let out a scream, Clint grabbing hold of you before you could stumble back onto the desk behind you. With you in one arm, he moved to press his communication device.

“Y/N is down,” he shouted. “Medevac now! We’ll be at the west exit in five.”

“No,” you groaned. “I’m fine, we can finish.”

He shook his head. “We’re getting you help, fuck this mission, I’m not losing you.”

You knew that there was no point in arguing with him. You loved Clint dearly, but you knew that he could be stubborn, especially when it came to your wellbeing.

“He had an ankle holster, I didn’t see it,” you grunted. “I’m sorry.”

Clint grabbed anything that he could find before grabbing hold of you to help support you as he would help you get out of the building.

“Don’t apologise.”

Pairing: Carol Danvers x Reader

Characters: Carol Danvers

Warnings: N/A

Request:@xxxtwilightaxelxxx​ - And lastly, a Carol Danvers one where she gets sent a picture of goose wearing a tie and collar from her gf yn and finds it cute, surprised goose let her do it. But when she comes home finds goose now wearing on of those fake lion manes you put over around their heads. Only to find yn has bought various outfits from bowties to booties to full outfits like tuxedos and halloween ones and has been taking pictures and videos of goose to show Carol when she comes back. Of course Carol finding this super cute but even more surprised goose let her do it. Until she assumes that goose really enjoys this and the affection she gets from yn. Okay please and thank you and hope the three ive sent weren’t too long and too detailed lol have a lovely day/evening

Word Count: 467

Author: Charlotte

Having cuddled up with your pet flerken, you had struggled to stay awake, leaving the two of you snuggled up on the sofa and dozing off. With Carol away working somewhere on the other side of the universe, you enjoyed the company of Goose, making the most of the time the two of you got alone. With Carol’s work you rarely knew when she was actually going to come home, her schedule often changing frequently, leaving you pleasantly surprised whenever she did finally return to you.

Today she woke you up. You jumped awake, having fallen asleep with only a flerken in the house, but as soon as you saw Carol’s smile, you realised that it wasn’t someone having broken into your home.

“You’re home,” you lazily smiled, propping yourself up on your elbows, the flerken on your lap stretching out, having also just woken up.

“I finished up early and came home, I should be back for at least the next week,” she stated. “I do have a question though.”

“What?”

Carol looked down at her flerken before looking back up at you. “Why is Goose dressed as a lion?”

Your eyes became wide. You had hoped that Carol wouldn’t have seen the costume that Goose was wearing, normally having it removed before she was even on the same planet as you, but seen as you fell asleep, you hadn’t had a chance to hide it. The orange cat-like creature was contently sat on your lap, a fluffy mane around his face.

“He looks cute,” you smiled innocently. “And I think he likes it.”

“I’m surprised you still have your hands after putting that on him. I can’t believe he let you do that and that he fell asleep in it.”

You moved Goose to the sofa beside you as you made your way around to the side of the sofa.

“I have a little secret to do with what Goose and I get up to when you’re not home.”

You pulled out the box that you had slotted behind the sofa and hidden from your girlfriend since you had been living together. Moving the box onto the arm of the sofa, you opened it, revealing numerous cat-sized costumes and a small stack of photographs. You handed her the pictures.

“I dress him up whenever you’re gone. I didn’t think he’d let me at first, but I think he likes it, or at least he tolerates it,” you shrugged.

Carol flicked through the pictures, looking at Goose dressed up in a variety of different costumes.

“I don’t know whether to be mad that you hid this from me or to be happy at how adorable he is,” she sighed. “But for now you should be relieved that Goose likes you enough to dress him like that.”

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Characters: Bucky Barnes

Warnings: N/A

Request: Anon- Bucky Barnes and “I love you more than anything in this world” pleas❤️

Word Count: 502

Author: Charlotte

Hospitals rooms were almost like a second home for you. Fighting crime and being a general badass led to regular injuries and as long as you could come out of the hospital at some point it seemed like a win. Whenever you went on missions, you were almost certain to get hurt, so you just hoped for minor injuries but this time it wasn’t as you had wanted. You had been distracted in the midst of a fight that you hadn’t noticed a different person with a gun. The bullet had ripped through your abdomen, leaving you in a pool of your own blood. You had luckily not been alone, and Bucky had been able to take them both out before getting you medical assistance, but past him calling for help, you had lost consciousness.

When you had awoken, the bright lights of the hospital room burned your eyes terribly. Next to you sat Bucky, whilst a woman in a nurse’s uniform stood sorting out the machine that you were hooked up to. You tried to sit up, but both of the people rushed to your side to gently push you back into the bed.

“You need your rest,” the nurse said softly. “You have been given some pretty strong pain medication, so you might feel drowsy or confused. I’ll just go get your doctor to explain everything for you now that you’re awake.”

She shuffled out of the room, leaving you alone with Bucky. He seemed relieved to see you awake, having seen the extent of the damage that the shot had done to you.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

The nurse had been right, your mind seemed like it was in a fog, and you didn’t seem to have any energy to fight off the thoughts that came into your head from escaping out of your mouth.

“I’m glad you’re here,” you smiled, struggling to keep your eyes fully open. “I wouldn’t want anyone else here.”

Bucky didn’t really know what you meant seen as you hadn’t answered his question at all.

“Of course, I wasn’t going to leave you here on your own.”

You lazily held onto his hand, your grip weak and half of your fingers fallen from his palm.

“I love you more than anything in this world,” you whispered.

It had been something you had felt for as long as you had known him but seen as you were unable to control your thoughts, you let yourself say more than you had ever thought you could until you regretted it all when the medication had worn off. Little had you known, he had felt the same, but he couldn’t help but feel disappointed to learn of your feelings now that you weren’t fully there in your mind.

With a pained heart, he gave your hand a tight squeeze. “When you feel better, we can talk about it.”

You nodded your head before your eyelids finally became too heavy for you to fight to keep open.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Characters: Bucky Barnes

Warnings: N/A

Request: Anon- Bucky Barnes and “I put everything on hold for you”

Word Count: 1070

Author: Charlotte

As they saying goes ‘tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. You couldn’t have agreed any less with that status. When you first met James Buchanan Barnes, you fell head over heels and your courtship was completely perfect in your eyes. He had a kind and loving heart, and made you feel good about yourself in ways you hadn’t without him. You couldn’t have imagined life without him, not even when he was to head off to war, you felt unstoppable, and would have sworn that he would come home to you, and you only felt that confirmed when he proposed to you before he got on the train to leave for the army.

By no means were you naïve. You knew the dangers of war, even with the main fight far away from you, you were not blind to the damage it was causing but the fog of young love forbade you from thinking that even war could get in the way of the two of you. How blind you had been. He didn’t return to you and the reality of that never truly set in, such an intense pain could not be felt without destroying you. Steve apologised for losing him, for not having done more but you didn’t blame him, you were just grateful that he was safe.

Your life crumbled from that day. Who you had been as the future Mrs Barnes was lost with your fiancé, and you were just left as a shell of the person you once were. You needed a distraction and Steve introduced you to his friend Peggy who was able to find you a job and once he disappeared, you only went deeper into it.

Once the war ended, the rumours of something continuing to rumble under the surface and as people had once believed the research into super soldiers weren’t put on hold. You had nothing else to live for and put yourself forward for being a guinea pig, not caring about what happened to you. You didn’t die though, you suffered the experiments, but you came out as a new you, still damaged by the pain in your heart, still grieving and anger-filled but now with unknown levels of powers. The scientists had put you through strenuous tests after to see what had happened to you, and as your powers became clearer, you did what your fiancé had always done best, fought for the little guy.

You’d never be Captain America, but you were a hero to New York, able to use your powers for good, keeping your head down in fighting crime, never getting close to another person again. One power they hadn’t anticipated was longevity. It wasn’t clear at first, not until everyone around you had aged a decade, and you looked like not a day had passed. With every year it only became clearer that you were still physically in your mid-twenties whilst everyone else continued to age. Over seven decades later, you could only be grateful for having not made connections as those you had grown up with were mainly passed, whilst you looked like you were still in your prime.

It felt like you would be hero for eternity, keeping to yourself but helping all that you could. One night you returned to your small apartment and flicked on the tv to see that Steve Rogers had exited the ice and all the past came back. You didn’t contact him. You couldn’t but after he was making headlines for a few years, you no longer had a choice as he had heard of the woman with powers in his hometown and investigated. He could have never imagined that it would be you. You reconnected reluctantly but dismissed him whenever he mentioned Bucky, not believing him when he told you he was still alive and not willing to let yourself get hurt again.

Steve knew how much you cared about Bucky and wasn’t going to let you continue to dwell in the pain that had consumed you for nearly a century. He invited you to the Avengers Compound, just for a chat, and you agreed, not realising it was a set up. You sat with him sipping at your coffee when the door behind Steve opened, revealing the man you had mourned for longer than you had been by his side.

“Bucky,” you croaked, the mug from your hand dropping, shattering onto the ground below you.

“Y/N,” he said, a pained smile curling onto his lips.

Every emotion that you had tried to bury deep down within you all that time ago reappeared and you lost all control that you had tried to cling onto. You pushed your chair away from the table, storming over towards the man you had never believed that you would see again.

“I thought you were dead,” you shouted. “I thought that I would never see you again. I put everything on hold for you.”

Bucky and Steve exchanged a look, having not had any idea that you would react like this, not knowing why you would shout at him.

“I have never stopped loving you,” you said, still shouting but tears beginning to fall down your cheek. “I could never stop loving you.”

As the sorrow you had tried to hide for so long surged from within you, Bucky reached out a hand to gently touch your shoulder, forcing you to make eye contact with him, both of you in tears.

“I’ve always loved you, doll,” he smiled tearfully.

You let yourself break, falling into his arms, in a tight, long missed embrace. The two of you stood entwined together for longer than normal, neither of you wanting to let go of the one thing that had been missing from you. The hug stretched on as Bucky guided his hands down your arms to hold onto your own hands, but paused when he felt something on your finger. He looked down at the small stone sitting on a simple band that had not been removed since he had placed it there all those years ago.

“You still have your ring,” he whispered, surprised that you had kept it for so long.

You shrugged your shoulders. “Getting cold feet after all this time, Barnes?”

A small laugh escaped him.

“I still stick by making you my wife even after the longest engagement.”

Description: After Clint takes you back to Avengers tower, the rest of the Avengers realize who you are, and most of them are not very happy with you.  It’s certainly an interesting conversation when you wake up, but slowly, they start to warm up to you.

Tell me if you want a third part, guys!  Part onehere

To@prepareforsomestrangethings @captainam-erika-trash @bxtchboy69​@creation-magician​@viarogers​@queenshadow142003​ @witchxaf I know I’ve said this already, but seriously, I can’t thank you guys enough for everything.  I love you all!

The living room went completely silent at the arrival of the two master assassins, everyone staring at the little bundle in their resident archer’s arms.

“Lady Natasha, Brother Clint, you have returned!” Thor, who had just returned to Earth from Asgard, shouted gleefully as he walked towards them, completely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere that had appeared in the room and asking the question that was on everybody’s minds but which they weren’t quite sure how to go about asking.  “Who is the young maiden in your arms?”

“She tried to rob Clint and then fainted, so we brought her back here,” Natasha stated bluntly.  Clint glared at her in frustration before turning back to the others, who were already on guard.

“The kid was starving,” he attempted to explain.  “I think she passed out from hunger.”  The others in the room glanced at the bundle of coats, still obviously wary, and Clint rolled his eyes.  “For God’s sake, the poor thing weighs next to nothing, and she’s freezing to the touch.  I’m pretty sure the coat is heavier than she is.”

“Lay her down on the coach.  I’ll grab some blankets,” Steve finally piped up.  Clint sighed in relief and brought her over to the very long couch where he gently set her down, resting her head on one of the throw pillows.  He brushed a few strands of hair out of her face, frowning when she still felt colder than a block of ice.

“Let me take a look at her,” Bruce offered.  Clint nodded in thanks and stepped back.  Bruce paused, his eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?” Clint asked, his stomach turning in worry.  Was he too late?  Was she already gone?

“That’s the girl from the library.”  Everyone froze at the words that fell out of Bruce’s mouth.

“No frickin’ way, let me see,” Tony rushed forward, peering over the back of the couch.  “Oh my god, she’s the kid who took my watch!  It really was the same girl!”

“And the one who stole my money,” Steve added, setting the pile of blankets down next to her before moving to start a fire in the nearby fireplace.

“Well, I guess that solves that mystery,” Tony crossed his arms.  “She couldn’t have been actually starving.  There’s no way that watch sells for anything under 2,000.  She lied to you so you wouldn’t turn her in.”

Clint shook his head.  “No, that doesn’t make any sense.  She’d already gotten away when she fainted.”

Tony rolled his eyes.  “Alright, so then she stashed it to sell later so she wouldn’t be caught.”

“If you had a 2,000 dollar watch lying around, why would you ever wear a ratty old coat that obviously doesn’t even keep the cold out?”  Natasha commented thoughtfully, gesturing at the flimsy piece of clothing.

That seemed to knock Bruce from his thoughts.  “She’s soaking wet, we need to get her out of these clothes.  Nat, do you have anything she could wear?”  Natasha nodded and silently left the room to fetch the clothing as Bruce started to peel off the soaked-through layers one by one until she was left in just a t-shirt and sweatpants, both littered with holes and tears and both obviously far too short for her but still loose against her skeletal frame.  Natasha took the job from there, exchanging the old clothing for a pair sweats, which despite being a size small, seemed to drown the girl in fabric before covering her in the blankets and moving her closer to the fire.  

After that, everyone settle down around the living room, each of them seeming to understand the unspoken agreement that they would wait to decide what on what they would do next until after she woke up.  So, that’s how they stayed for the next 2 hours.

– Your POV –

I slowly cracked my eyes open, the light flooding in and immediately giving me a headache.  Huh, I guess I didn’t die.  That’s a good thing, right?

I brought a hand to my forehead as I slowly sat up, my eyes shut tight as I did my best not to throw up.  God, I was so hungry.  At least I wasn’t cold anymore, though.  Maybe it’s just that I’ve gone completely numb… or crazy, because instead of just not being cold, I actually feel pretty warm.

I opened my eyes again and stared down at the blanket covering me and the couch I was sitting on.  Oh geez that can’t be good.  I looked back up and around, doing my best to stay completely silent as my eyes flickered from one person to the next.

The man I had robbed only just a few hours ago sat in a chair right in front of the couch, snoring softly with his head lolled back.  At a table nearby, typing away on a computer, was the man from the library who only had 4 dollars in his wallet.  Sitting at the same table was a very big, very muscular man with long blonde hair who I’d never seen before, but judging by the massive hammer that was placed beside him, I doubted he was good news.  Standing at the kitchen sink was the man who’d stopped me from falling when I was taking his wallet.  Sitting behind a bar, nursing a glass of what looked to be scotch, was Tony freaking Stark, who I had only just stolen a very, very expensive watch from.  Finally, standing by the doorway and leaning against the wall was the red-headed woman who found me out and chased me down with her boyfriend.  And she was making direct eye-contact with me.

“She’s up,” she called, shocking everyone in the room – especially the man in the chair, who must have jumped about a foot in the air as he was startled awake.  I clenched my jaw and frowned.  What is it with this chick and always ratting me out?

Before you could say the word ‘Assemble,’ all six people in the room had gathered around me.  My heart beat wildly in my chest as I stared from one person to the next.  Why were all the people I robbed together in one place?  Did Tony Stark bring them all together so they could get revenge on me?  How did they even find me?  Is that blonde one a bounty hunter or something?  He certainly had the build for it.

“How are you feeling?”  The man from earlier asked me gently.  I frowned and stared back at him.  No way was I going to talk to these people.  I have the right to remain silent, right?  Or is that not a thing with elaborate revenge plots?

The library man stepped forward and placed a hand on my forehead.  Immediately, I flinched away.  “Her fever’s gone down,” he said, stepping back into place, the slight anger he still held towards me clear in his voice.

I glanced around the room, weighing my options.  I had no idea where I was, no idea how to get out of here, and I don’t think I could outrun the redhead and her boyfriend again on solid ground, especially when I can still barely move without another wave of dizziness hitting me.  So, in other words, I’d have to somehow convince them to let me go.

Ok, yeah, I’m definitely gonna die.

“Do you have a name?”  Reflexes guy asked, and my frown deepened.  Maybe I could pretend to have lost my memory.  Library guy said something about a fever, right?  If it was bad enough, it could’ve messed with my brain.  Plus, they have no way of knowing how long I had it.  Alright, that’s my game plan for now.  A pitiful, helpless amnesiac.

Slowly, I shook my head, bringing my knees to my chest as I stared at him with wide eyes.

“How about an age?  Do you know how old you are?”  This time, it was the boyfriend who spoke.  I liked him way better.  He had a kind voice, and he didn’t really seem to be holding too big a grudge against me.  He was probably dragged to this weird revenge party by the redhead.

I shook my head again, allowing my body to shake ever so slightly, tears gathering in my eyes.

“Alright, cut the crap, kid.  Tell me where my watch is,” Stark took a few steps forward.  My eyes went wide, and I scrambled backwards in an attempt to get away from him, my heart going a mile a minute as my breathing got faster and faster.

“Quit it, Stark, you’re scaring her,” the boyfriend snapped.  Stark huffed and rolled his eyes, moving back to his place in the semi-circle with his arms crossed.  Yeah, I definitely like the boyfriend best.

“Do you remember nothing, child?” Blondie boomed.  I flinched at the volume, hiding my face in my arms and sobbing quietly.

It was quiet for a little bit, and I smiled.  They must’ve felt guilty, which meant they believed me.  Maybe I could pull this off after all.

“Alright, kid, that’s enough.  Stop messing with them.”

“What?  Nat, what are you–”

“Seriously, you’ve had your fun, now stop it with the crocodile tears and tell us your name.”  I slowly peaked up to find the redhead – Nat, apparently – smirking back down at me, her right hip jutted out as she rested her weight on it and her arms crossed.  She merely lifted an eyebrow at me, her smirk widening ever so slightly.

I sighed and lifted my head.  “How did you know?” I asked softly.  The men in the room gaped at me in surprise, while she only chuckled a bit.

“I lie all the time, kid, it’s part of my job.  I know another good liar when I see one,” she answered with a slight shrug of her shoulders.  “Now are you gonna tell us your name or not?”

I frowned and hugged my knees tighter.  “It wasn’t all a lie.  I really was scared,” I muttered, staring down at my lap.  “It’s not exactly fun to wake up in a place you don’t know and immediately have people coming at you or yelling really, really loud.”

Stark glanced away guiltily while Blondie just sent me a wide, toothy grin.  “My apologies, child.  I have yet to truly understand this ‘indoor voice’ that you mortals are so fascinated by!”  I flinched slightly at the still very loud voice, but at least it wasn’t quite as loud as before.

“Name, kid,” Nat stated simply, immediately seeing through my attempt at changing the subject to try and make them feel guilty again.

I sighed.  “My name is (Y/N),” I finally muttered.

“Have you got a last name, (Y/N)?” Reflexes asked again.

“Not any that concerns you,” I immediately snapped back defensively.

Reflexes frowned and rubbed his face a bit.  “Fine, we’ll go back to that later.  How old are you?”

“18,” the lie came quickly and easily.  I had said it so many times that by that point, it was starting to feel more natural than the truth.

“Try again,” Nat said.

I grit my teeth and glared at her.  “You really need to stop ratting me out.”  She just smirked and shrugged again.  “Fine.  I’m 12.”

Silence as five pairs of shocked eyes turned to Nat for confirmation.  Slowly, she nodded, almost seeming a little shocked herself.  My words took a minute to settle in, and I frowned, staring back down at my lap.  At least now they probably couldn’t kill me.  Although, I’d probably prefer that to going back to that hellhole of a foster home.

“Nope, sorry, I call bs,” Stark was the one to break the silence.  “No chance a twelve-year-old reads nuclear physics, and more importantly, there’s not a single chance a twelve-year-old outsmarts me.”

“Yeah, that’s what every grown-up says,” I rolled my eyes.  “The fact is, you got completely fooled by a twelve-year-old kid, and you need to learn how to deal with it.”

“Alright, so where’s my watch?” Stark grit his teeth, fuming in annoyance at my attitude.

I rolled my eyes again.  “I sold it,” I answered simply.

“Ok, so why did you lie to Clint?  That watch was expensive.  There’s no way you would be starving only a month after you sold it,” Stark smirked triumphantly, as though he had just unearthed some massive conspiracy.

“I didn’t keep the money.”

“…I’m sorry, what?” Stark asked.

“I said, I didn’t keep the money,” I repeated.

“Then where the hell did it go?” he frowned.  He obviously didn’t believe me.

“Language, Stark,” Reflexes cut in.  “She’s just a kid.”

“Please, I’ve heard the word ‘hell’ before.  What street did you think I was living on, Candycane Lane?”  I scoffed before suddenly realizing my mistake.

“You live on the streets?” Library guy asked softly, looking more and more guilty with every passing minute.

“Of course not,” I responded quickly, trying to backpedal on what I’d accidentally let slip.  “I just hate my parents so much it feels like it.  I only steal so that I can rebel against them.”

“That lie was just bad,” Nat shook her head almost in disappointment.

“(Y/N), what happened to the money from Stark’s watch?” the boyfriend – What did Stark say his name was?  Clint? – spoke calmly and gently.

“I used it to buy toys and canned foods,” I answered rather quickly.  He was nice.  I felt comfortable around him.

“You were starving, and you bought toys?” Stark scoffed.

“Not for me, dipshit,” I rolled my eyes again.  I feel like I do that every time Stark opens his mouth.

“Language!” Reflexes gasped.

“Why did you buy toys?”  Clint continued to speak gently, taking my attention away from my annoyance at Stark.

I frowned.  “I bought them for the kids at the orphanage.”  Clint just nodded, encouraging me to continue.  “Every year I scrape together what money I don’t use on food to buy them toys, but they usually end up being really crummy ones that they all have to share.  This year, I was finally able to buy them all really good ones.”  I paused for a moment before adding, “Christmas can be really sad there, and there never used to be any toys.  I don’t want the other kids to have a sad Christmas anymore.”

“You used to live in an orphanage?” Clint asked.  I winced at the question, digging my nails into my palms.  I didn’t mean to tell them that.  I sighed in defeat and nodded slightly, avoiding their eyes.

“My mommy died when I was one, and my daddy didn’t want me anymore,” I paused a moment, trying and failing to swallow the lump in my throat.  Quickly, I moved myself as far away from the topic as possible.  “I used the money I didn’t spend on toys to buy groceries for the homeless shelter.  They need it more than I do anyways.”

There was another heavy pause before Clint spoke again.  “How long has it been since you’ve eaten anything?”

“Counting today?” They all nodded.  “About five days.”

Reflexes immediately walked away, and I ducked my head further.  He was probably going to call the cops or maybe the orphanage.  Either way I’d have to go back.

“(Y/N)?” Library guy’s voice brought me back to reality.

My cheeks were wet.  I was crying.  I didn’t mean to do that – it doesn’t work on Nat, so why even bother?  Still, I couldn’t stop.  “A-are you g-gonna send m-me b-back n-now?” I whispered, my voice thick as I gasped between every other word.  I squeezed my knees tight to my chest and let out a sob that I was trying desperately to hold back.  “P-please… I don’t… I don’t wanna go back!” I broke down sobbing, my face buried in my arms and my breaths coming shorter and shorter as my heart pounded frantically against my ribs.

I couldn’t breathe.

I felt like I was under water, each breath coming in harsher and more labored than the last, the air growing thicker by the second as I struggled to take it in.  I could hardly feel the tears on my cheeks as my brain begged me to take a solid breath, screaming at me that I was dying – that I needed to stop this right now, or I would die, which of course only made me panic even more.

I felt a pair of arms gently wrap around me and slowly looked up, hiccupping softly, my entire body shaking like a leaf.  I stared at Tony Stark from where he sat beside me.  “Calm down, purse snatcher, no one’s sending you anywhere,” he said, rubbing my back comfortingly.  “I need you to focus on me.  Try and match my breaths, ok?”

“P-promise me you’re not lying,” I mumbled from my still mostly curled up position.  “Promise I won’t have to go back.”

“I promise I will never lie to you,” he responded immediately.  I sniffled, my bottom lip trembling as I stared at him, searching for any signs of a lie.  When I found none, I launched forward into his lap and buried my face in his chest, sobbing pathetically.  “Easy, kid.  You’re ok.  In and out, just like me, ok?  In… and out,”  Tony soothed, gently patting my back as I cried.  His arms were warm.  It was surprising, but still, it was really, really nice.  Slowly, I came back down to reality, each breath shaking violently but still managing to keep time with his.  Finally, after a few minutes, I’d managed to calm myself down.

A very large hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked over, my body still shaking a bit as I clung to Tony like a lifeline.  Reflexes was standing there, holding a plate full of steaming hot pizza.

“You need to eat,” he said, moving the plate closer to me.  I nodded and took it, my hands still shaking slightly.

“Thank you, Reflexes,” I said softly.

“Reflexes?” he tilted his head a bit.

“O-oh, um… When I met you, you managed to catch me after I bumped into you, even though I was trying to fall, so I’ve kind of been calling you Reflexes in my head ever since…” I muttered, my face getting red.

Reflexes stared at me for a moment.  I could feel Tony laughing behind me as the others struggled not to laugh out loud.  “You can just call me Steve,” he sighed.

“That’s right, you don’t know our names yet, do you?” Tony grinned.  I turned to look at him, only just then realizing that I was still sitting on his lap.  

I blushed harder and scooted off his lap, muttering a quick, “Sorry.”

Tony smiled back in reassurance, although he looked a little… disappointed?  No, wait, that’s stupid.  Of course he wasn’t disappointed; he’s Tony Stark.  That look was probably just the leftover annoyance at having some dumb kid crying in his lap.  “Don’t mention it, kid, but you gotta tell me what you’ve been calling the rest of us in that little head of yours.”

“U-um… well, I called Steve ‘Reflexes,’ and, um, Nat was ‘Redhead’.  Clint was ‘Boyfriend’…” Clint choked on thin air, and Tony bursted out laughing again, not even making an attempt to hide it this time.

“W-why ‘Boyfriend’?!” Clint yelped.

“Because you were on a date with your girlfriend, um, Nat, when we met?”  I said it almost like a question.  Was there something wrong with that?

“She’s not my girlfriend, kid,” Clint sighed, shaking his head.  He didn’t seem quite as bothered anymore, though.  Was there really something wrong with me calling him ‘Boyfriend’?

“Ok, now tell me the rest,” Tony said excitedly, leaning forward.

I leaned back a bit but nodded.  “Ok, well the guy with the glasses–”

“Call me Bruce,” he interrupted.

“Um, Bruce then.  He was ‘Library Guy.’”

“Oh, that’s right, you recommended he read his own paper,” Tony grinned.

“Yeah exactly,”  I smiled softly before, slowly, my smile dropped and my eyes grew about 3 sizes.  “Wait, you don’t mean…” I turned to face Bruce in disbelief.  “You aren’t that Bruce.  As in, Bruce Banner?  The nuclear physicist?”

Bruce chuckled a bit and rubbed the nape of his neck.  “Yeah, that’s me.  Nice to meet you.”

I gaped, my mouth opening and closing like a fish.  “I’m such a big fan,” I whispered softly.

“Wait, so you mean you actually understood those papers?  That wasn’t just another lie?” Bruce frowned slightly.

“I would never lie about that,” I shook my head frantically.  “Your work is absolutely incredible.  I used to get lashed all the time cause I’d stay up all night reading your papers.”

A flash of pity crossed his face.  I frowned and cleared my throat.  “I, um, I always really like learning new things,” I muttered awkwardly.  “When I was little, I would spend hours in that library every day.  My caretaker didn’t believe I actually understood it, either.  She even got me tested to prove I was lying.”

“And?” Tony prompted.

“Turns out I have an IQ of about 278,” I shrugged.  Tony’s jaw dropped, staring at me with eyes wide as saucers.

“Isn’t yours 273?” Bruce asked, trying to hide the chuckle threatening to seep through his voice.

“I-I… Well… Just tell us the rest of the nicknames, would ya, kid?” Tony stuttered, avoiding Bruce’s eyes.

“Oh, um, sure,” I smiled a bit.  It felt like my chest filled up a bit, a soft warmth spreading through my heart.  They looked like a family.  It must be so nice.  “The super buff blonde guy–”

“Thor,” Tony provided.

I blinked in shock at that.  “Wow, your parents must’ve been real confident to name you after one of the Norse gods,” I muttered.  “Well, Thor’s name was just ‘Blondie.’”

Tony snickered at my comment, and I frowned.  Were these nicknames really funny?  I didn’t think they were.

“Child, I was not named after anyone.  I am Thor of Asgard.  It is a pleasure to meet you,” he smiled, taking a knee before me.  I lifted an eyebrow and leaned over to Tony.

“Is he crazy..?” I asked softly.

Tony chuckled.  “No, he’s not.  Haven’t you ever heard of the Avengers?”  I shook my head.  “Woah, seriously?  Ok, well, long story short, he is the actual Norse god, Thor, and he lives on the planet Asgard.”

I looked at him curiously before nodding.  “Alright.”

“Seriously?  You believe me just like that?” Tony asked, a small, if slightly confused, smile on his face.

“You promised me you’d never lie to me,” I answered simply.  “Of course I believe you.”  

Tony opened his mouth and closed it again, a look I’d never seen decorating his features.  I shook my head just a bit to clear it and grabbed the piece of pizza on top before immediately shoving it in my face, managing to scarf it down in under 10 seconds before moving onto the next.  The six adults stared at me as I finished piece after piece until the plate was empty only 2 minutes later.  I glanced up and smiled slightly.  “Thank you for the food,” I mumbled through the last mouthful of pizza.

“Wow, ok, I’m not gonna lie, kid, that was pretty impressive,” Tony chuckled.  “I don’t even think bird brain over here could eat that fast.”

“How do you keep people from stealing your food, then?” I asked, tilting my head slightly to the side.  The room fell silent again, the adults sending me worried glances.  I frowned and ducked my head again, trying to avoid their searing gazes.  I must’ve said something wrong again.

“Honestly, we don’t.  How do you think Thor got so big?” Tony grinned, clearly just trying to diffuse the tension.  I smiled up at him gratefully.  

“Alright, I think that’s enough excitement for today,” Tony said, standing up.  “Sorry, kid, but it’s way past your bedtime.”  I tensed up a bit at the sudden movement, and he sent me a reassuring smile.  “Don’t worry, I’m just taking you to a guest room.”

I nodded and took his hand, standing up slowly.  I held the loose clothing tightly so that it didn’t drop, trying to ignore the many worried eyes that looked over my still ever so slightly shaking, thin figure that couldn’t even hold up the small pair of sweatpants.  I followed him down one of the many hallways of the tower, gripping his hand as tightly as I could.  

Finally, we reached a large room, a neatly made bed stationed in the middle of it.  I tried to climb into the bed, but Tony ended up having to boost me up, his hands lifting me gently by my underarms so that I could get on top of the unreasonably tall mattress before tucking me in under the thick blankets.

He took a step back, and my heart immediately leapt into my throat, my hand darting out to grab his wrist.  “It’s ok, I’m just turning out the lights,” he answered the question without me even having to ask.  As soon as he had flicked the switch off, he came back and sat down in a large chair by the bed.  It was silent for a moment, and I stared up at the dark ceiling, thinking over everything that happened in the past few hours.  It didn’t make any sense.  Why would he do all of this?  What did he have to gain from giving me food and a place to sleep?

“Why are you being so nice to me?” I heard my own voice rise up through the darkness.  I’m not quite sure why I asked that.  Still, I wanted nothing more than to hear the answer.

“You remind me of myself,” Tony said slowly, the careful thoughtfulness clear in his voice.  “You’re a good kid.  You deserve a little bit of help.”

It was silent for another few minutes.

“Would you… would you please hold me hand?” I asked softly.  I’d barely even finished speaking before my right hand was engulfed my another, much larger one.  I could feel myself smile just a bit, my eyes fluttering closed.  I squeezed it slightly, and before long, I had fallen asleep to the sound of Tony’s breathing.

Description: You have been living on the streets for years, and over these years, you have become incredibly good at pickpocketing.  Unfortunately for you, though, you picked the wrong target one too many times.

Part 2 if you guys want it, just let me know!

Chin up, shoulders back, even steps.  My heart is calm, my breaths slow and measured, and every muscle in my body is relaxed.  In other words, every last inch of me screams that I am a confident, kind young lady without a care in the world.

No matter what anybody says, looks really are everything.  Every time you meet someone new or even just pass by them on the street, your mind makes a snap judgement about them.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that everyone you meet is prejudiced or anything of the sort.  Those snap judgements can easily be changed with an open-minded person, sometimes without even needing a whole conversation.  Still, that doesn’t change the fact that when you see a well-groomed person in a suit, your mind automatically thinks they are successful, and when you see someone coming at you with a hoodie covering their face and their hands in their pockets, you automatically tense up.  None of that is your fault, and actually it’s probably a good thing that you would be wary of people who are acting rather suspicious.  Really, the only issue with these immediate ideas of every person you see is the fact that it makes people like me – people who understand how these momentary impressions work – able to take advantage of them.

It didn’t take long to realize I had a talent for it.  I already looked the part, – a helpless, adorable little girl – I had a surprising knack for staying calm under pressure, and as much as I hated the old bitch, my caretaker had given me all the tools I needed.  She was a stickler for proper manners, so I learned how to speak, sit, and walk like a “proper young lady.”  Plus, her insane rules about tiny meal portions and too-early curfews taught me to be light on my feet as I often sneaked downstairs to grab a roll of bread at night.  Yes, I had everything I needed.  The only real hurdle was actually deciding to do it.  I never really wanted to be a bad person.  But the world is a heartless place, the city even more so, and by the end of my first week, I knew what I had to do if I was ever going to survive.

So, I started working – oh, and by the way, no matter what you think, it is still a job.  I put my time and effort into a certain task, and I obtain money because of it.  I don’t know about you, but that certainly sounds like a job to me.  And it was easier than I thought it would be.  Within about a day, I realized that people saw me as sweet, innocent, and harmless – no, more than that, they wanted to see me as harmless.  Because if I wasn’t harmless, then that meant their world was even more screwed up than they thought.  I learned quick, and by the end of the year, I had perfected my technique.  It was simple: avoid all conversation if possible, and if absolutely necessary, smile and point out the farthest adult man within reason as my dad before weaving through the small gaps in the crowd, preferably around taller people, so they couldn’t see or follow me.  I only got caught once or twice, but I’m grateful that I did.  It forced me to learn perspective, that I needed to know more than just how to talk well.  So, I learned how to run through a city.  And now, I’m practically unstoppable.  

As I take my even, not-too-fast-but-not-too-slow stroll down the sidewalk, a small, ambiguous smile decorating my lips, I can see it in each person’s eyes as they walk past that I have completely embodied my character.  My arms swung with a practiced nonchalance as my eyes flickered from one person to the next, each time going through a mental list as I weighed the chances I had of succeeding on them versus how likely they were to catch on and calculated the amount of time that both of these events would likely take to happen.  Finally, after a few minutes of this practice, one of them caught my eye.

He was larger, more muscular.  Guys like him were  a gamble.  Often, a man of his appearance simply cared a bit too much about his appearance.  Still, every now and then, they look like that because they been trained, and while past training usually meant they had no practice running in a city, it also meant that he would be much more jumpy and alert to his surroundings.  However, his deep, loose pockets with the corner of his wallet just barely sticking out and the thoughtful gaze as he surveyed the buildings tipped the scales further and further in my favor.  The wonder in his eyes just screamed tourist.

I gazed forward with an absentminded look in my eye that I’d spent months perfecting in the mirror while keeping him clearly in my periphery before bumping into him.  As I hit him, two of my fingers simultaneously dipped into his pocket, where my knee bumped against his leg to jolt his wallet up and out.  The moment the warm leather was in my grasp, I forced myself to fall backwards.  Before I could hit the ground, though, I felt one of those strong, muscular arms had wrapped itself around my waist and was helping me back up.  

My jaw clenched for half a second.  This wasn’t good.  His reflexes were too quick to have just worked out at some random gym, which meant my hunch was right: he had been trained.  And that meant that I needed to get out of there fast.  I wouldn’t be able to slip the wallet back in his pocket without bumping into him again, and that would only make me look even more suspicious, so I quickly emptied it of all of the cash behind his back and slipped the bills into my sleeve before tossing the piece of leather on the ground a few feet away.

“Are you alright?” he asked, concern evident in his eyes, and immediately I decided on my personality for the day – bright and bubbly but proper.  Gently, he released his arm from its position on my waist once he knew I had regained my footing.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” I quickly apologized, my left hand shooting up to cover my mouth in fake shock while my right hand carefully dropped the money in one of my own pockets, all the while watching every last one of his movements for any sign of suspicion.  “It was all my fault.  I wasn’t paying attention where I was going.”

“It’s ok, really.”  He scratched the back of his neck.  “I wasn’t really looking where I was going either, so it was partially my fault, too.”

“Well, thank you for catching me, sir, but I really have to go,” I smiled at him apologetically.  “I’m supposed to meet back up with my dad in about five minutes.”

“Oh, no worries,” he responded kindly before sneaking a glance at my old, slightly ripped clothes, the concern still dancing in his eyes.  “You’re sure you’re alright, though?”

“Absolutely!”  I dismissed.  “Thank you again!”

“Um, yeah, no problem.”  We both started to walk away.

I waited patiently as I listened to his retreating steps.  1… 2… 3… 4… and then– “Hey, mister!” I called, bending down and grabbing the piece of leather from where I had tossed it earlier.  “I think you might’ve dropped your wallet!”

The man turned back, shocked, before jogging back towards me.  “I didn’t even notice,” he mumbled to himself.  “Hey, thanks, kid.”

“My pleasure!” I chirped.  “Now, sorry, but I really have to get going.  See you around, sir!”  I quickly jogged off, allowing myself to get lost in the crowd before he could even have a minute to fully understand what happened.

– 3rd Person POV –

“I told you guys the world wasn’t such a bad place!” Steve called as he entered the living room of Stark Tower.  The rest of the Avengers looked up in surprise.  They had been having this argument for the past three days, with Steve insisting that there were still people who put others first living in New York while the entire rest of the team tried to convince him otherwise.

“Alright, show your work,” Tony leaned back against the wall, watching the captain with curiosity.

“I met a kid today who couldn’t have been older than 16.  I was trying to remember what the city looked like before I went in the ice, and I accidentally bumped into her.  She then spent the next few minutes constantly apologizing and saying it was all her fault.  And the best part is, after we’d already walked away, she found and returned my wallet.  I hadn’t even realized I had dropped it!”  The 96-year-old man finished with a triumphant grin, leaving the rest of the team silent for a moment.  That is, until Tony busted out laughing.  Steve frowned.  “…What?”

“Steve, honey, check inside of your wallet,” Natasha sighed as she turned back to the tv to watch whatever was on.

Steve frowned, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his wallet.  “I don’t understand; why do you want me to….” He trailed off as he stared at the now empty pocket that only just earlier that day held around 65 dollars in cash.  “She… but how did she…”

Tony slapped a heavy hand on Steve’s shoulder, wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye.  “She scammed you, bro.  And you fell for it hook, line, and sinker,” he grinned before walking back to his room, still chuckling softly to himself at his friend’s misfortune.

——- Time Skip ——-

About two weeks had passed since that godsend of a man and I crossed paths.  I can’t remember the last time I had managed to lift 65 dollars off anyone.  That kind of cash can last someone like me a really long time.  But sadly, all good things must come to an end, and after buying myself the first decent meal I’d had in weeks plus a ton of canned foods and non-perishables that I dropped off at the nearest homeless shelter, that good thing ended ended all too quickly.  Which meant it was time I went back to work.

I stepped into the public library, that same ambiguous smile painted ever so gently across my face.  There weren’t a whole lot of people here and there were almost never any big scores, but working here was a lot less guess-work, and more often than not, the target was too engrossed in their book to even notice what I was doing, so there was also much less risk of being caught.

After a quick scan of the quiet room, my eyes landed on the man sitting at one of the long tables, his bag haphazardly laying next to him on the table.  It should be easy enough to grab something from in there, and he seemed invested enough to have his guard down.  He should make for a good target.

I walked into the science section and grabbed a few scientific papers, most of which were generally about to nuclear physics, before walking back to his table and sitting down right across from him.  Scientific papers are the best way to make sure no one has the confidence to talk to you.  I opened the paper that I had read a hundred times and started pretending to read it once more, my left hand resting on my cheek as my right hand slowly made its way towards the bag.

“Excuse me.” I glanced up, pausing my movement towards his back but still being careful not to react too quickly and retract my hand.  I didn’t want to draw his attention to what I was doing, and if at all possible, I would still like to come out of this with something to show for it.  As I met the glasses-clad, clearly intelligent eyes of the man in front of me, it was easy to figure out what my personality should be – shy, smart, and above all else, kind.  “Is that Schippers’s work?”

I blinked in surprise and allowed a soft smile to spread across my lips.  “You know Stefan Schippers?”

“Yeah, his work in antimatter is amazing,” he grinned fully now, his eyes lighting up and making him almost look like a completely different person.  “Particularly regarding his research in collisions.”

I grinned back, taking note of how his eyes were now trained on mine, instead of glancing around like before.  Maybe I should’ve started a conversation before – clearly it was a good distraction for him.  Well, either way, it’s going to be easier to lift something off of him now, so I guess I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.  “I completely agree.  His work is amazing,” I giggled softly, glancing down at the table before looking back up at him, a slight red hue now painting the apples of my cheeks as my hand slipped inside of his bag.

“I was honestly surprised to see you reading that paper, actually,” he chuckled nervously.  “I’ve read it at least 20 times, but I figured I was the only one.”  I laughed lightly, slipping what felt like a wallet out of the bag and tucking it under my arm.

“Trust me, I’ve read this so many times, I’m afraid the library is going to have to replace it because I’ve worn it out so much.  You know, if you’re interested in Schippers, you should read some of Dr. Banner’s papers,” I laid my left hand on his arm gently while my right arm swung back over to me, pushing the wallet into my lap.  “As much as I love Schippers, Dr. Banner’s work is unparalleled.”

The man chuckled nervously again, ducking his head a bit.  “You really think so, huh?  How old are you anyways?  I don’t see a whole lot of kids brushing up on nuclear physics.”

“I’m older than I look,” I casually brushed off the question.  I was not about to give up any personal information, fellow science geek or not.  “Oh, by the way, do you have the time?”

The man glanced at his watch.  “About 6:00.”

My eyes widened in shock.  “You’re kidding, it got that late?!  My dad’s gonna kill me!”  I gasped and quickly stood up, catching the wallet in my left hand and slipping it into my pocket.  “It was really nice meeting you, sir, but I have to go home.  I really liked talking to you, though!  I hope we can meet again!”  I hurriedly gathered the papers and rushed off, waving with a broad smile.

“Oh, uh nice meeting you… too…” he tried to respond, but she was already well out of sight.

– 3rd Person POV – 

“What the hell?” Bruce mumbled, digging through his bag.  The pizza had just arrived, and he needed to pay his share.

“What’s wrong?” Natasha glanced at him, an eyebrow raised.

“I could’ve sworn I put my wallet in here, but now I can’t find it,” he frowned, continuing to search every last nook and cranny of the old bag.

“Don’t worry about it, buddy, I can cover you if you’re short,” Tony shrugged.

“That’s not the issue,” Bruce frowned, finally giving up and tossing his bag to the side in frustration.  “That had my credit card, my driver’s license, and my ID for Stark Tower.  If it’s lost somewhere, it could be a real problem.”

“When was the last time you remember having it?”  Clint mumbled through a full mouth of the piece of pizza that he’d already shoved in his face.  Natasha rolled her eyes and wiped off the bit of spit he’d gotten on her in disgust.

“I was at the library.  I used my library card to check out some books,” he responded confidently.

“Again?” Clint asked, once again through a mouthful of cheese and marinara sauce.  “What, do you live there or something?”

“Ok, now walk us through exactly what happened after you checked out those books,” Natasha suggested, doing her best to ignore her best friend.

Bruce sighed and nodded, sitting down.  “I checked out my books, then walked over to one of the tables to start reading.  Then I talked to that teenager for a little while about some of Schippers’s theories before she ran off–”

“You talked to a teenager about Schippers?  And she actually understood?”  Tony asked, lifting a brow in surprise.

“Yeah, she even recommended I read Dr. Banner’s work in the same field,” Bruce chuckled.  “I thought it better not to tell her who I was, but according to her, Banner’s work is ‘unparalleled’.”

“Damn, the kid knows her stuff,” Tony nodded, impressed.  “Did she say anything about–”

“Boys,” Natasha cut in.  “The wallet.”

“Ah, right,” Bruce mumbled apologetically.  “Anyways, after she ran off, I kept reading for a few minutes before leaving, too.  Then I came back to the tower and got up here just in time to decide on ordering pizza with you guys.”

“Did you use the subway?” Natasha asked.

Bruce shook his head.  “No.  I figured since it was such a nice day out, I would just walk home.”

“How did you enter the building?”

“I ran into Steve downstairs, and we came in together.”

Steve, who had been silent up until this point, finally spoke up.  “This teenager… Was she about 16?  With (H/C) hair?”

“What, you think it’s the same girl who totally scammed you the other–” Tony started, getting ready to take part in his favorite pastime of making fun of Steve.

“Actually, yeah, she was,” Bruce answered, his eyes wide in realization.

Before anyone could say anything, Tony’s incredibly loud laughter filled the room.  “Holy shit, you guys both got scammed by the same teenager!  How does that even happen?!” He wheezed, laughing so hard he could hardly breath.

“Hey she seemed like a nice girl!” Bruce defended.  “How was I supposed to know she was robbing me?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be a genius or something?” Tony asked, tears streaming down his face now.  Bruce opened his mouth, trying to come up with something but came up blank.  A heavy hand landing on his shoulder knocked him out of his stupor.

“Just let it happen,” Steve sighed, his eyes cast down as he shook his head in sympathy.

——- Time Skip ——-

It had been a week since I had spoken to that science nerd in the library, and I was still pissed.  Seriously, what kind of grown man only carries around 4 dollars and 36 cents?  Well, apparently, that weirdo did.  I had thrown out all the cards and IDs to at least sell the what looked to be leather wallet to a pawn shop, but apparently the thing wasn’t even leather!  All of that time, wasted for a measly 12 bucks.  I’ll say it again: I was pissed.

So, now I was back out working again, because the money I’d made was barely enough to buy a few snacks that I had to portion out over the course of the past week.

As I walked down the sidewalk, still grumbling softly to myself about what had happened, I saw him.  

Tony freaking Stark.

I grinned.  Maybe my luck was getting better after all.  I mean, a billionaire who’s famous for having, shall we say, questionable morals?  After all, it’s not exactly nice to sleep with as many women as humanly possible before tossing them away like they’re nothing.  I mean, sure there’s the whole iron man thing, but he’s still kind of a dick, let’s be honest.  And while I usually tried to refrain from taking anything major in case my target doesn’t have a whole lot of money or the object is sentimental, billionaire jerks are fair game.  And the best part was, I didn’t even have to read him to know the part I was going to play.  Tony Stark would only ever fall for one personality: sarcastic, quick-witted, and strong.

His head was down, buried in his phone, so I casually walked towards him, picking up an old cup of coffee from one of a nearby cafe’s outdoor tables, before smacking into him head-first, spilling the coffee everywhere.

“What the hell?!”

“Oh my god!” We both yelled at the same time.

“Oh c’mon, kid, this is silk!” Tony continued to shout, staring down at the coffee covering his chest.

“Hey, I’m not the one with my head buried in my phone while walking through one of the busiest cities in the world,” I snapped back.  “And you’re not the only one whose clothes got ruined.  This is cashmere!” I lied through my teeth.  It was a ratty old sweater that I’d bought for about 3 dollars at a thrift store.

Stark scoffed.  “Do you have any idea who I am?”

“Yeah, you’re Tony Stark.  That doesn’t change the fact that my parents are gonna be pissed about me ruining a hundred dollar sweater,” I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms defiantly.

That was when he finally glanced at me and my coffee-stained outfit.  Stark sighed and put his fingers to the bridge of his nose.  “Alright, I’m sorry.” Wait, what?  Since when does the great Tony Stark ever apologize for anything?  “I’ll pay for the dry-cleaning, ok?  Just give me your parents’ numbers.”

Shit, that’s not how this is supposed to go.  Ok, new strategy.  A sassy front but a kind interior.

I sighed and shook my head.  “No, it’s not entirely your fault.  I guess I could’ve tried to avoid you better.  Anyways, you got a pen and paper?”

Stark nodded slightly and reached into his inner pocket, pulling out a tiny pad and a fancy looking pen.  I quickly jotted down the phone number and handed it back to him.  Shoot, he looked like he was about to walk away.  I had to act quick or lose my chance.  Time to add one more very important characteristic to my identity: pitiable.  “Hey, I really am sorry.  I kind of overreacted.  It wasn’t cool.  I guess I just got a little nervous.  My dad likes things to be clean, and he can get pretty mad when I don’t follow that rule…” I trailed off a bit, glancing down at my feet.  I shook my head quickly and met the billionaire’s gaze, now filled with concern, again.  “Sorry, didn’t mean to dump that on you.  I just wanted to say thanks.”  I held out my right hand, praying that I’d guessed which hand to use correctly.  As Stark grabbed my hand, I had to hold back a sigh of relief when I saw the watch casually placed on his wrist.

“It was really nice meeting you, Mr. Stark,” I smiled a bit, with my left hand closing over his wrist while three of my fingers on my right hand undid the clasp on his watch.  Then I pressed down one the buttons on either side of the clasp with my middle finger on my right hand and my thumb on my left hand, making sure to hold the watch in place.  “If you’d like, I’d be happy to buy you a coffee to make up for it.  There’s a really nice café right over there.”  I squeezed the watch tightly with my left hand and jerked my chin towards the store just behind him.  He turned his head and looked, pulling his hand back slightly as he did so, which allowed me to slip the watch off his wrist.  Immediately, I dropped it in my pocket before he had a chance to turn back around.

“Thanks, kid, but I’m good.  I’ll give your parents a call when I get home, ok?”  He said before awkwardly giving me a pat on the shoulder.  “Now go run off and play with some dolls or whatever.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Thanks, but my collection can’t be nearly as big as yours,” I bit back with a slight, good-natured smirk.  “Anyways, I gotta go home and get yelled at by my parents.  Nice meeting you, Mr. Stark,” I called, waving to him as I was already leaving.

Stark shook his head with a small smile.  “Yeah, you too, kid.”

– 3rd Person POV –

“What, no watch today?” Tony furrowed his brows at Bruce’s question.

“Of course I have a watch today.  I have a watch for every day of the week,” he scoffed, lifting his wrist to show off the rather expensive Rolex.

“Umm dude…?” Clint started.

“Yeah, I know it’s awesome, and no, you cannot try it on,” Tony smirked.  “I have a very strict look don’t touch policy.  These bad boys cost quite the pretty penny, and I wouldn’t want any of you trying to take it from me.”  Clint just shrugged in defeat and unpaused his video game – it wasn’t his fault his friend interrupted him trying to help.

“Tony, look at your wrist,” Steve rolled his eyes at the pompous man’s antics.

“What, just so I can admire it–” he cut himself off as his eyes landed on the bare skin of his wrist.  “…Where the hell is my watch?”

“Maybe you forgot to put one on today?” Bruce shrugged, going back to his computer as he continued to work.

“No, I didn’t forget; I never forget,” Tony snapped.  “It was there this morning, and now it’s gone.”   He yanked up his sleeve to search in vain for the incredibly expensive missing item.

“Hey, maybe Tony was pick-pocketed, too,” Clint joked absentmindedly before cursing at some ‘dumbass little camping noob’ who kept killing him.

Tony’s eyes widened in realization.  “Holy shit, it was the kid.”

“What?” Steve frowned.

“The kid!  The kid who spilled coffee on me today!”  He shouted.  “I had my watch, then she shook my hand, and now the watch is gone.  She totally took it!”

Clint paused the game again.  “Wait, so basically some kid took your custom watch, which is worth thousands of dollars, right off your wrist, and you didn’t even notice?”  Tony bobbed his head up and down frantically.  “Hold on… You don’t think…” Clint glanced between the three other men in the room.

“(H/C) hair?” Steve asked.

“(E/C) eyes?” Bruce called, suddenly no longer able to focus on his work.

Tony nodded slowly with wide eyes.  Reality crashed down on all three of them.

A wide smile slowly took over Clint’s face.  “So you mean to tell me that three of the Avengers, the Earth’s greatest defenders, got scammed by the same teenage girl in less than a month?”  The three men were silent, each of them staring at the ground as they started to question how smart they actually were.

About 30 seconds later, the silence was broken.  “Nat, you’ll never believe what just happened.  I can’t believe you weren’t home for this,” Clint talked excitedly into the phone while his teammates all slowly left the room to sulk alone.

——- Time Skip ——-

It had been a whole month since I had gotten the watch off Tony Stark.  I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the amount of zeros on the offer the pawn shop had given me.  It was probably one of the best days of my life.  Immediately, I had gone out and bought myself a meal at an actual restaurant, and let me tell you, they weren’t kidding when they said restaurant food is delicious.  Every protein bar and bag of chips in the world couldn’t live up to the food I ate that day.  And with that kind of money, I could be eating like that for maybe even a year!  Still, I knew what I had to do.  

It was almost Christmas.  With the money I’d just gotten, I could afford to buy each and every kid at the orphanage actual brand new presents that year, instead of the crummy second-hand stuff that had to be shared between three or four kids that I usually brought.  So, I went out and blew a good three quarters of my new budget on toys, and not the kind from thrift shops or even the ones from the big department stores.  I could finally get them toys from one of the fancy stores that had display windows.  And it was worth it, too, seeing the pure amazement that lit up those kids’ eyes when they saw there was enough for all of them.  I then spent another quarter of the money on nonperishable foods that I donated to the homeless shelter plus one massive turkey for their Christmas feast. 

After all of that, I was left with around 20 dollars for myself.  Usually I can make money like that last with just a few extra marks, but as the month dragged on and less and less people were out on the streets at night, my budget ran thin.  Eventually, I reached my breaking point.  I’d gone I think four days now without any food.  My stomach growled loudly, begging me to give it something, anything.  I just sighed and receded further into the fabric of my thin, worn down coat that I’d found a few days back by a dumpster – the coat I used to wear long traded in for a couple spare dollars.  Sure, the wind cut through it like a knife, but hell, it was better than nothing.

I glanced up as I heard the crunching of footsteps in the snow, my heard immediately leaping into my throat at the prospect of there being people out.  I frowned when I saw who they were.  A couple walking together, chatting away about something or another.  Normally, I would never choose a couple to target – it was too easy for one of them to spot what I was doing to the other – but I had gotten desperate.  I was freezing cold, and I needed food now.

So, I walked directly towards them and crashed my shoulder into the guy’s, my hand slipping into his pocket.  I thanked whatever higher power was watching over me when my hand came into contact with a money clip.

“Sorry,” I mumbled and slipped my hand back out before continuing to walk at a casual pace away from the two, tucking the clip into my pocket.

– 3rd Person POV –

“Well that was rude,” Clint huffed, dusting himself off.

Natasha stared at the back of the young girl who continued to walk away like nothing had happened.  “Hey, Clint,” she muttered.

“Yeah?”

“Where’s your wallet?”

“I put it back in my… pocket….” Clint froze when he realized he couldn’t feel the familiar clip in his jacket pocket.  He whirled around to look at the girl, who was already a ways away.  “Hey!  Get back here!”  He screamed, breaking into a run, Natasha quickly following suit.

– Your POV –

“Hey!  Get back here!”  I glanced back with wide eyes, my heart leaping into my throat before immediately sprinting.

I ran through the snow, turning right and left through back alleys and narrow shortcuts, thanking my past self for never eating well, as my skinny form was able to stay on top of the snow for the most part.  Still, somehow I hadn’t lost the two adults chasing me yet.  They had barely fallen a foot or two behind over the last eight blocks.  My stamina was quickly running out, the malnourishment over the past week finally catching up to me.  I felt dizzy, and my chest burned as I focused on continuing to put one foot in front of the other.  I turned down an alleyway with a brick wall at the end.

“Ha!  We’ve finally caught you!”  The man behind me panted.  I completely ignored him, not pausing a single step as I sprinted towards the wall.

“Uhh, hey, kid?  Rock beats teenager…” He called warily.  I continued to ignore him.  I was only five feet away.  “Stop, you’re gonna hurt yourself!” he shouted just before I jumped, pressing my feet into the bricks to launch my further and further up.  I reached as high as I could and just barely caught the edge of the wall with my fingertips.  I swung my other arm up and forced my arms to pull myself to the top.

I panted as I gazed down from the top of the wall, the couple staring back up at me.  “Holy shit,” the man muttered, to which the woman immediately smacked him in the arm.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly.  “I was hungry.”  I wasn’t really sure why I was apologizing.  Granted, I knew what I was doing wasn’t very nice, but I don’t recall ever apologizing before.  Maybe it’s because they reminded me of my parents – or, at least, what I imagined my parents to be like.  Maybe it’s because I was so dizzy that I couldn’t really think straight.  I nodded slightly to the two before turning around, preparing myself to jump down the other side.

Suddenly, a massive wave of dizziness and nausea smacked me in the face.  I groaned slightly and put my hand to my forehead, trying to get a hold of myself.  Evidently, that didn’t work, because the next thing I knew, I was falling.

Time seemed to slow as I fell through the air.  I probably shouldn’t pass out right now, the surprisingly calm thought entered my mind.  If I do, I’ll most likely just freeze to death.  Then again, passing out would save me a lot of pain from falling.  Alright, I guess that’s it then.  I’ll pass out now and hope I wake up in time to not die.  My eyes fluttered closed just before I hit the ground, the fog in my brain thickening as I finally allowed myself to just give in to it.

– 3rd Person POV –

Clint grunted as he caught the girl.  He was expecting to fall to the ground with her, only really serving to break her fall, but was surprised to find that she wasn’t even heavy enough to knock him down.  Natasha made her way over to his side, looking down at the little thief in her friend’s arms.

“She’s light as a feather,” Clint murmured with a frown on his face, “and freezing to the touch.”

“She said she was hungry,” Natasha muttered thoughtfully.

Clint grit his teeth and nodded, determined.  “Alright, that settles it.  We’re taking her back to the tower.”

Natasha glanced at him warily.  “You sure?  The others might not be so accepting.”

“They’re gonna have to be,” he stated, already walking back, holding the girl as close as he could in an attempt to warm her up.

AVENGERS

- One-shots/Imagines

  –You’re in love:   

              –  Tony Stark x Reader.  Songfic based off the song ‘You’re in Love’ by Taylor Swift.  Tony realizes that he’s in love with a much younger reader.

   – Would You Like to Dance?:

              –  Tony Stark x Reader.   You’re the head of a major company, and you’ve reached out to Tony for help on a major project. He says yes before he really knows what he’s getting himself into, and he ends up falling for you because of it.

   – Fight me:  

              –  Clint Barton x Reader.  You and Clint had been enemy assassins for years until one day he gets the jump on you, hitting you right in the stomach and leaving you barely able to move due to injury.  When he sees the collar that branded you as a slave of the Agency, he decides to take it on himself to help you recover, rather than turning you over to SHIELD.  Over the next few weeks, you start to bond.

   – Tony-Stark’s-Son:  

              –  Peter Parker x Reader.   For years you have been locked in a sniping war over eBay with the same account. Today, you finally meet the face behind the computer.

   –  Happy Birthday:

              –  Peter Parker x Reader.  You were Peter’s girlfriend of about one year, and you were left alone when the great snap happened. Now, you’re celebrating the occasion just like you’d promised.

   –  I Don’t Want to Go: 

              –  Peter Parker x Reader.   The battle against Thanos was over, and the team was just starting to recover, when he snaps his fingers.

   – I Want You to Stay:

              –  Bucky Barnes x Reader.   You’re a teacher in Romania. You meet Bucky after you get into some trouble and he helps you out. In the middle of the night, though, he has a nightmare.

- Series

   – Evil is Subjective:  Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5Part 6Part 7Part 8 Part 9

              –  An ongoing series about the Steve Rogers going up against a villain reader, as he slowly realizes that there’s more to her than meets the eye.

  – Lucky:  Lucky, I Can’t Forget You,The Best Day

             –  Tony Stark x Reader / slight Steve Rogers x Reader.  Three songfics for “I Got the Boy” by Jana Kramer, “Molly” by Lil Dicky, and “You Had Me From Hello” by Kenny Chesney about Tony and Steve both looking back on their time with the Reader, one with joy and one with regret.

   – Sunshine: Sunshine,I’m Still Your Sunshine

              –  A two part series about Tony and the reader, his daughter, as they both express how much they love each other through the song “You are my Sunshine.”

–Pickpocket:Part 1Part 2

              –  A two part series where you are a child that has been living on the streets for years, and over these years, you have become incredibly good at pickpocketing.  Unfortunately for you, though, you picked the wrong target one too many times.

AVENGERS CAST

- Series

   –The Interviews: The Interview,To Share an Armchair

              –  Tom Holland x Reader.  A two part series where you’re Tom Holland’s costar in the Marvel movies.  These interviews are both monumental stepping stones in your relationship.

GAME OF THRONES

- One-shots/Imagines

   –Confessions:  

              –  Jon Snow x Trueborn Baratheon!Reader. Reader was previously married to Robb, though she has always loved Jon.  She quietly admits her feelings for him on his deathbed at the wall.

   – You Are Mine Now:

              –   Sansa x fem!reader.  Reader is a wolf shape-shifter from a powerful royal house that has helped the Starks for centuries.  They fell in love at first sight, but couldn’t be married.  Now Sansa is to marry Ramsay Bolton.  But one day, the reader comes back.

   –  The Singer:

              –  Robb Stark x Reader.   Robb hears you singing to the wounded men after a fierce battle and immediately falls for you.

- Series

   –Letters: New Friends, Letters

              –   Jon Snow x Reader.  You’re the first daughter and second child of the royal family. When you visit Winterfell, you quickly find yourself making friends with the Starks and one Snow. Despite knowing you two could never be together, you’re quickly catching feelings for one another.

   – The Lion and the Fox:  Part 1,Part 2,Part 3

              –  Jaime Lannister x Reader.  Lady (Y/N) (L/N) is feared by many. She is capable of using any form of weapon against her oponent, though she favors two short swords. She is cunning and will do anything to get ahead in life. Deception is second nature to her. She is easily one of the most dangerous women to have ever set foot in Westeros. Now she’s found a new toy.

SUPERNATURAL

- One-shots/Imagines

   –You are my Density: 

              –  Sam Winchester x Reader.  Sam has finally decided to make his move and ask you to marry him.  The only problem?  He has absolutely no idea how to do it.  When Dean catches him practicing possible speeches, he decides to take matters into his own hands with the help of Jody and Donna.

   – Come with Us:

              –  Teen!Dean Winchester x Teen!Reader.  You are trying to do some research on a werewolf case when two idiots a table over start being unbelievably annoying as they play the “Penis” Game.

   – I Hate You:

              –   Dean Winchester x Reader.  Dean is trying to convince Sam and himself that he hates you. Unfortunately, you end up overhearing the conversation and have a few choice words for him, too.

A Wedding

It had been a crazy day. You’d agreed to be the personal attendant for your friend’s wedding and honestly were regretting it.

The morning had started off with you dropping your can of Diet Coke and having it roll under your roommate’s car. Then when you tried to stop for one the place you went was out, so on your third try you’d finally been able to get your caffeine fix.

You’d arrived at the venue with a minute to spare then when it was time to do your hair you’d been told you needed to know what you wanted done. Which, was a complete surprise to you, and the hair stylist was little help.

Then you’d changed, followed the bride around during her four hour photo session with her family, wedding party, and fiancé.

“Oh shit, this is the wrong thing!” One of the groomsmen says looking down at the corsage pinned to his lapel. “Can you go get me the right one?” He asks and you nod biting back a groan at the nearly half mile walk back to the clubhouse.

You start for the clubhouse when a shout stops you.

Steve and Bucky like to spend Saturday’s on the golf course. And Sunday’s, and pretty much any other time that they can when the golf course is open in the summer.

Sometimes there are weddings at the clubhouse, the members know it’s a possibility but honestly it’s so nice when they do because less people come out and play so he and Bucky can take their time.

“Wanna start on the back nine?” Bucky asks as he throws his bag onto the back of the golf cart.

“Why the hell not?” Steve says adding his bag to his own cart. Then he climbs onto the cart and takes off, Bucky following closely behind him. They get to the tenth hole and that’s when Steve sees you. You’re in a navy blue dress, it’s higher in the front and lower in the back just barely above the ground. You’ve got sandal heels on and you’re on your way back toward the clubhouse. He doesn’t know what causes him to do it but he calls out,

“Hey!” You look up and his heart stops.

“Oh, sorry.” You tell him stopping before you cross the path.

“You wanna ride?”

“What?”

“A ride. To the clubhouse?” You blink at him for a moment then your face breaks into a smile.

“I would love that.” You climb onto the cart and Steve waves Bucky by. His friend gives him a strange look but you don’t seem to notice.

“Here for the wedding I assume?” He asks and you nod.

“Personal servant. I mean attendant.” You amend and he laughs. “I’m being kinda bitchy about it, sorry.”

“Long day?” You nod,

“Yea, we started at seven and clean up is at 11:45 so we’ve got a way to go.”

“Damn.” He mutters and you laugh, he grins over at you.

“Yea, this is the fourth time I’ve been up to the clubhouse.”

“Wow.”

“Yea. Thank you for the rescue, um, sorry I didn’t get your name.”

“Steve.” You tell him your name in return.

“Thank you for the rescue Steve.”

“I’ll be here when you’re done getting whatever it is you need.”

“Oh, you don’t have to.”

“Darlin’ I’m not doing a half assed rescue.” He says quirking up one side of his mouth, you give him a grateful smile then hurry inside to find the right flower for the groomsman. When you hurry back out you’re pleased to see Steve waiting, he’s standing next to the golf cart and he offers you a hand,

“M’lady.” You laugh and allow him to mock help you onto the golf cart. He drives you back and when he stops he stops you with a gentle hand on yours. “Could I get your number?” You’d normally say no but he’s drop dead gorgeous and seems really sweet so you nod and give it to him.

“Thank you again for the ride Steve. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, oh and you look real pretty.” You give him a soft smile.

“Maybe, before you leave you could join me for a drink later?” You ask and he gives you that little half smile.

“I’ll text ya.”

“Sounds great.” You head back to the wedding party and the bride is grinning at you.

“Make a new friend?” She teases and when you glance back at Steve you see him smile and give you a wave before driving off.

“God I hope that’s not all he is.” You tell her and she laughs loudly. You give her a grin then go pin the correct flower on the groomsman and the show continues.

Four hours later you’re sitting at the back of the ceremony, you wanted to be able to pick your seat and since you’re alone you’re not willing to take a front seat. The ceremony finishes, it’s beautiful and your friend can’t stop smiling. You’re just about to follow the crowd out of the space when a shadow blocks the sun. You glance up and smile widely when you see Steve.

“You free for that drink?” He asks and you nod,

“I’ve got at least fifteen minutes before I’m needed to bustle the bride’s dress.”

“I’ll take it.” He offers you his arm and you take it as he leads you to the downstairs of the clubhouse, the door says members only.

“You’re not going to get into trouble for having a nonmember down here right?”

“As long as you’re with a member you’re okay.” He tells you pulling open the door and ushering you inside, he guides you with a hand on the small of your back to a bar where he gets himself a captain and coke. You order a Diet Coke, and then Steve brings you to the most plush looking couch you’ve ever seen.

“This alright?”

“I could sleep on this couch.” You tell him and he laughs softly.

“Understandable. Is there anything I can do?”

“This, this little break is so so nice. I can’t thank you enough.”

“If you wanna get away for a while feel free to text me, I live about five minutes from here.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“I live about twenty. I’d hate to get to know an amazing guy and then have to just text all the time.” You say your heart in your throat.

“Oh, right. Very good point.” He says with a little smile at you. “I’d hate to not see you again.” He takes your hand and you smile at him before relaxing back into the couch with a soft sigh. “How late will you be here?”

“Probably about one. Last dance is at midnight then I need to help clean up.”

“I’ll stay awake then, until you’re home safe.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know.” He says with a small smile. “I think it’d be fun.”

“Come join the party? A wedding crasher? Is that your thing?”

“Only when the personal attendants are as pretty as the bride.” He flirts and you let out a surprised laugh. You glance down at your watch,

“I have a few minutes.” You tell him, “then I have to go bustle the dress so things can keep moving.” When you stand he stands too, god he’s tall and handsome and you’re so glad your friend decided to get married here.

Steve walks you to the bottom of the stairs when you linger there he gives you a soft smile. “Thank you for the drink. And the break.” You tell him giving his hand a gentle squeeze. He presses a quick kiss to your cheek and you smile up at him before heading up the stairs.

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It’s Family (Avengers x Reader)

WARNINGS:signs of depression, severe anxiety disorder, SUICIDE

A/N: Please contact me if you have any kind of problems or need help.

She tried to take deep breaths, holding onto the wall, trying to stop her hands from shaking. It was one of those moments where she stopped pretending, she wasn’t who she was portraying; a hero; a powerful member of the Avengers who always stood strong.

She was used to bad days. She knew loss, grief, dark days; she used to think she could overcome it all, it would all be okay with time. Time had been the cure for every single disappointment, or a sadness she had in her life. She had learned to heal, and to be strong with time. But she also learned that some days could be unbearable by the hard way.

Those days, were now more than just ‘bad days’. They had became her weeks, months…now her whole life.

Pain changed people and now, she was not who she used to be. She had started to realize that she couldn’t take what it takes to be a hero. All her friends, her family were heroes. They were strong. They knew how to live with pain, regret, sarrow, grief, loss…She felt like the weakest one in the team, she knew would make mistakes others had to pick up after her. She thought that she was a burden, everyone’s lives would be better off without her. And living with that thought, made her life unbearable. She had started to wake up every morning trying so hard to make it out of bed, and sometimes she didn’t.

She didn’t want anyone to know how she felt, because she was ashamed. So she always put on a mask, did her best to look as happy as she never could be.

When she felt like she couldn’t breathe, she stumbled into the terrace. She could feel her knees shaking, she just sat down on the floor, trying to stop her whole body from shaking.

What is wrong with me?

At first,it got harder to breath but she tried to stay calm, then she felt the air in her lungs, relaxing her in each breath.

Okay, there you go, you’re fine, you’re fine, you’re fine….

It was not her first time experiencing a severe anxiety attack. She got up slowly, walking around the terrace, trying to make herself forget about the pain by watching the beautiful view of the city from the tower. She unconsciously walked over to the edge, just to look down. It was too high, she had trouble seeing the street. She thought that it would be impossible to survive if she fell. She had thought about death before, but not like this. She had gotten to the point where she started considering it. She stepped up on the edge, feeling the wind, looking down; trying to see the ground clearly.

It would make things easier, for everybody. She thought.

“Sir, I think you would want to see this.” FRIDAY spoke to Tony as he was down his lab, buried deep in work.

“No just-“ When Tony looked up on the screen, he was shocked; paralyzed. It was (Y/N), standing by the edge, looking down on the ground. His brain froze for a moment, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Was she…considering to take her life?

He immediately ran out of his lab, straight up to the terrace. When the others saw him rushing outside, they ran after him, figuring out that something was wrong.

“Oh my god.” Natasha breathed out in shock when she saw her.

“(Y/N)!” Steve called out for her, they walked towards her until she turned to face them.

“DON’T!” She shouted, and they all froze in their places in panic.

“(Y/N)-“ Tony tried to speak, taking a step closer but she wouldn’t allow him.

“D-don’t move!”

“Okay- hey, let’s just calm down for a moment, okay?” Natasha said with a low, calm voice.

(Y/N) was now in tears, she didn’t even know when she did start crying.

Steve got so scared he didn’t know what to say, he tried pulling himself together, “J-just hear us out, okay?”

“Whatever is it that you’re going through, we can do it together…” Tony said, speaking too fast because (Y/N) was still looking down on the ground, scaring the hell out of him.

“Sweetheart,” Clint called out to her, adding; “This is not, this can not be the option.”

“You can’t leave us like this.” Wanda said, followed by Natasha: “You wouldn’t be the only one taking the hit, you know?”

“And you don’t have fight whatever it is, alone. We’re here-“

“You-you can’t fix this! Okay? There is n-nothing to stop it, I-I can’t keep waking every morning, feeling like a burden to all of you!”

“W-what? A burden? Do you have any idea, how fucking lost we would be without you?” Tony asked, raising his voice.

(Y/N) was like the glue holding the group together. She saw the good in everyone and brought out the best of them. She taught them how to be friends, family. She used to be a cheerful, hopeful girl filled with laughter, joy.

But it wasn’t the same anymore.

“Tony-“

“If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be living together at all.” Steve said.

“You are the reason we stand together, more than a team.” Wanda added, taking a step closer.

“A family.” Thor said, he had realized how important each member of the team got for him lately, they had became something else.

“And you need a reason to live? It’s family.” Tony said, even stepping closer.

She took a step closer to them to, even though she still was crying, and shaking in panic. Steve noticed her getting farther off the edge, so he took it as an advantage, and moved fast to grab her by the arm. Steve’s sudden move made her stumble backwards in fear, when she almost lost her balance, she tried to stand still by opening her arms; but it was too late. Her heel slipped, it all happend so fast she couldn’t function it. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she fell backwards into the darkness; Steve tried so hard to hold her hand, but only their fingertips met lightly.

Without any hesitation, Tony ran to the edge and jumped after her, everyone was so scared they ran up to the edge to see them.

Tony didn’t have his suit when he jumped, but he had to risk his suit not being fast enough. It was (Y/N). She was worth all the risks, he didn’t want to think how his life would be without her.

Tony’s suit met his body part by part in the air, when he was suited up fully, he flew faster to grab (Y/N). When they almost hit the ground, Tony held her in his arms in the last second before rising up high in the sky, landing back on the rooftop.

He kneeled down on the ground as he layed her down, checking for injuries. Everyone gathered around them, sitting down in a circle. (Y/N) was terrified; shaking so bad and hardly breathing.

“Hey, hey it’s alright. You’re safe.”

“Just breathe, (Y/N)- breathe…” They calmed her down slowly, than took her inside to get her a blanket and warm her up.

They sat by her, trying to talk to her, holding her until she stopped shaking. After a while her body shut down from that much stress and pain, she fell asleep on the couch and Steve carried her up to her room. They decided that they weren’t going to leave her alone, so they took turns. In the first night, Steve slept on her floor. The next night, it was Natasha who fell asleep right next to her. It went on and on no matter how bad she protested they didn’t have to. They talked to her, helped her, make her feel loved, safe.

It was hard; beating depression, believing life was worth living again. But being with them, it got easier. She started thinking time wasn’t the solution, or the cure. It’s family, she thought.

It took weeks, maybe months but she was better each day. They started to notice that she was smiling, laughing. She had good days, even though her bad ones. Time passed, and none of them left her side until she got through it all.

One morning, when they were walking towards the kitchen to have breakfast, Natasha heard her. She was cooking again, mumbling lyrics to some old rock song.

“Sssh!”

“Ssh what?” Steve whispered.

They all stood silent to hear her.

“She is singing again.” Tony smiled.

It used to be their tradition, (Y/N) would cook pancakes on sunday mornings. She loved to sing while doing so, they all remembered it.

They gave each other looks and small smiles, she was okay. She was better, and that was all that mattered; things could go back to the way it used to be.

They walked into the kitchen.

“Smells good in here!”

“You have no idea how much I missed your pancakes!”

(Y/N) watched them messing around, laughing as they started to help her make breakfast. It was that moment she knew; I’m okay…I’m home.

••••

a/n:please tell me what you think, I would love to hear them

need to tell you guys something! please read and tell me what you think

so a lot has changed in the mcu, as you all know the fanfic world was about all the avengers living in the tower together, it was all fun and games, pietro was alive, bucky was back with Steve also living in the tower…you remember the good days, right? I just saw a post about this and I realized maybe I shouldn’t write my stories the way I do? I mean, the way I write them they’re all living in the tower together -it’s like pietro is alive, clint is not married, civil war hasn’t happend, bucky is not in the ice. Is it wrong? Please tell me your opinion guys, would it be better if I stick to the mcu or just keep doing it my way?

Days Like This (Avengers+Bucky x Reader)

I skipped to another song as I layed back down on my sunbed, enjoying the sun warming my skin. It was a good day. We rarely had good days.

Tony had bought a yacht and he convinced us that we all should take a break to go on a little vacation. Everyone agreed, and I hadn’t seen any of them this happy in months.

Steve, Bucky, Sam, Peter and Thor were racing to see who could swim the fastest, Tony, Rhodey, Natasha, Clint and Bruce were at the bar preparing cocktails, Wanda and Vision were in the back of the yacht, watching the view. I was being me, laziest person in the team, laying down sunbathing with my earpods in.

“Thanks.” I said to Tony as he brought me a drink.

“You’re welcome,” He said as he threw himself on the sunbed next to mine.

“This is amazing.” I said as I took another sip from my drink.

I chatted with Tony for a while until Natasha called us to the water.

“Come on.” Tony said as he got up, everyone was now in the water, waiting for us to join.

“No-uh, I think I’ll stay here. I am getting really tan.”

“Come on (Y/N)!” Natasha shouted for me from the water.

“You can work on your tan after a swim, just get up.”

The reason I didn’t go in the water was that I actually didn’t know how to swim. When I was a little girl I had fallen into the neighbor’s pool and ever since that I would never go into a pool where my feet didn’t touch the ground and that I couldn’t see the bottom of. I knew it would sound ridiculous, I was a member of The Earth’s Mightiest Heroes but I couldn’t swim.

Tony kept insisting, “Tony…I- I don’t know how to swim.” I said quietly.

“What?” This is embarrassing.

“I-I am scared. It’s just that I almost drowned when I was a kid so-“

“That’s okay! This is the best chance you get to learn! We’ll teach you and you can overcome your fear. A good thing to cross off your bucket list.”

“I am good here. Thanks though.”

“Alright, no pressure.” He left and joined the others.

I put my earpods back in, laying down again. I closed my eyes, trying to relax, Just when I was about to fall asleep, I felt someone standing above me, blocking the sun.

I opened my eyes to see Bucky. He had just gotten out of the water.

“Hi honey-“ I noticed he had a evil smile on his face, and the others were silent, watching us. They looked like they were trying not to laugh.

Fuck. He was going to grab me and bring me to the water. I knew it.

I jumped up screaming, “No! Don’t you dare- Bucky I SWEAR TO GOD NO!” I tried to run from him but he caught me by my waist, wrapping his arms around me and picking me up. As he walked towards the edge of the yacht, I kept screaming and asking for others to help. He held me down and jumped inside the water, with me in his arms.

Luckily, I managed to inhale before we hit the water and hold my breath, but I was still terrified as fuck when the cold water hit my warm skin. When we got on surface again, I wrapped my legs around his torso and hugged his head, not knowing what to do. I started freaking out, there were even fish and all.

“Oh god-OH GOD! GET ME OUT, I-“ moved around in panick, splashing water all around me including his eyes. He tried to hold me steady, “Calm down babe, hey,” He held me gently and I just hugged him, I felt like my heart was about to pound out of my chest.

“I would do this sooner if I knew you would be all around me like this,” He said with a smirk.

“Now is no time to joke Barnes! I hate all of you.”

Everyone tried to calm me down and saying it was okay. They insisted that they could teach me how to swim, I really just wanted to go back to safety in my sunbed. But they wouldn’t let it go, so I had to say yes.

Natasha and Sam showed me how to move my legs and arms, I listened like a little kid.

“Okay, now try it. I am letting go.” Bucky said but I panicked, hugging him tighter, “NO!”

“Ssh it’s okay. I am holding you-fine.” He put his hand on each of my body, and I practised how to move my body.

“You’re ready. Just try to swim towards Steve, I’ll get you if something is wrong.” Bucky said after a while of me practicing.

Everyone cheered for me as I tried to encourage myself. Steve opened his arms, he wasn’t even that far but in my eyes it was really scary.

“Okay, here I go.” I said and Bucky let go. I moved my arms and legs fastly in panick, trying my best to swim towards Bucky.

Sam, Natasha, Clint, Tony and Thor clapped for me as I did my best to swim as fast as I could -I was ridiculously slow-.

When I finally reached Steve he let me hold onto him, I was out of my breath and my heart was pounding. After I rested for a minute.

“Okay now, swim towards me!” Natasha said and I did, hugging her.

I swam towards everyone so I could practise.

“You’re doing great!” Wanda stated when she let go of me and I swam back towards Bucky.

I had gotten tired and he must have realized, he swam towards me too and pulled me in his arms.

“Thanks guys, this is not so bad, I guess.”

We hanged out for a while in the water, then everyone except me and Bucky went back in the yacht.

He swam a little further from the yatch, to a spot no one could see us.

“You trying to take advantage of me, Mr. Barnes?” I asked playfully before resting my forehead against his.

“You caught me.” He said with a smirk before locking his lips with mine.

It was a slow, passionate kiss, I ran my hands through his wet hair as his hands rested on the back of my thighs.

We were really enjoying that moment before our team mates, the actual 5 year olds decided to splash cold water at us from the yacht with a big water gun.

I screamed after we pulled away, “TONY I SWEAR TO GUN I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU WHEN I GET BACK UP THERE!”

After that, the water fight began, and it lasted pretty much our entire vacation. It was a huge mess, but we all loved it. Those couple of days were the kind of days I would just look around and think to myself; I am happy. I love this family, I am happy with my life. Our lives always had been tough, but dayslikethis lighted it up.

~ karaoke night ~

carol danvers + letter I from the fanfic alphabet for @fangirlsarah16

• pairing:carol danvers x reader
• theme:intoxication/drunken confession
• warnings:drinking
• fandom:marvel

It wasn’t uncommon for you, Maria, and Carol to go out for drinks. In fact you did this whenever you got time off the airbase and Maria managed to find someone to babysit Monica. Tonight was karaoke night at your favourite bar and naturally the three of you took advantage.

You had had a couple drinks but nothing too crazy. Carol on the other hand was plastered. You couldn’t really blame her. She had just gotten a huge promotion and now she was celebrating. So you let your friend do her thing.

At this point Carol was so drunk that she was now volunteering to sing for the crowd. You had to slap a hand over your mouth to contain your giggles as you watched Carol climb to the stage. Maria is also shaking her head with an amused smile on her lips. “Oh here we go”.

“Hello everyone!” Carol slurs into the microphone once it’s handed to her. This was definitely going to be an interesting show. “I’m dedicating this song to the love of my life, [Y/N]”.

That last part takes you off guard. Your eyes are still wide in surprise when Queen’s “I Was Born To Love You” starts playing and Carol begins singing alone. What did she mean by the love of her life? You and Carol were friends, not dating or anything. Was this a joke? Because you seriously weren’t laughing.

Confused, you turn to Maria who’s wincing at Carol’s mistake. “Um, I don’t think this is how she wanted to tell you that she’s fallen for you” Maria laughs awkwardly. “Let’s both agree not to ask her about this until she’s sobered up. Then she’ll be able to confess to you properly”.

Meanwhile Carol is still shouting the heartfelt lyrics in the background. “I was born to love you. With every single beat of my heart. Yes, I was born to take care of you, honey. Every single day of my life”.

masterlist|buy the author a coffee

tags:@sheridans-dynamos/@shadowcatgirl09/@locke-writes/@gruffle1/@randomfandomimagine/@curlyhairedblueeyedangel/@thingsforimagination/@lucillethings/@scarletsoldierrr/@kaetastic/@thebookwormlife/@natasha-danvers/@moonlit-imagines/@bored-green/@lozzypoz321/@captainshazamerica/@xxxtwilightaxelxxx/@johnmurphyisqueer/@frenchgirlinlondon/@xspideyboyx/@simonsbluee/@brithedemonspawn/@ravenmoore14/@rabeccablake/@big-galaxy-chaos/@thedarklordapproves/@parkerlovebot/@czarinera/@goldenhoney-cas/@crapimahuman/@swanimagines/@snuggly-the-crow/@mangoessassafras/@akuri-shinsou/@lost-girl-of-onceuponatime/@rqmanoff/@augustvandyne/@peppers-analytics/@useless-wlw-fangirl/@evilcr0ne/@venusdelaroix/@blackiegal/@gallysonegoodlung/@kaissimpparks/@inu1gf/@godless-void/@beth-gallagher22/@captainkjones/@kenzi-woycehoski

Type: Series

Warnings: Swearing

AN: I know this is literally the shortest thing ever but I wanted to get SOMETHING posted for you guys.  More is coming! 

MASTERLIST 

Jo looked out the window as another car drove away from the gas station.  Sam and Steve, were inside grabbing drinks since they still had a bit to go before making it to the place they were meeting Sharon.  

“Has it been weird for you? Living in hiding?” Jo asked breaking the silence.  She looked over at Bucky who was looking down at his hands. She didn’t expect an answer to be honest.

“It was nice actually,” His voice was deeper than she expected it to be.  “No one was looking for Bucky Barnes.  I was just another face on the street.  I got to go to a grocery store.  I can’t remember the last time I got to do something so…”

“Normal.” Jo finished.

“Do you miss living in hiding?”

Jo looked at Bucky slightly surprised.  He shrugged.

“I did my research on you too.”

Jo sighed, “Sometimes, I think.  I think I miss working in the shadows, the simplicity of it.  Just being another face in the crowd.”

Bucky nodded in understanding.  “Guess normal isn’t really in the cards for us, huh?”

“I think having a metal arm and being a sixteen-year-old who doesn’t age sort of killed that chance,”  Jo answered.  She looked over at Bucky and slightly smiled.  He smiled back.  

The car door slammed behind Steve as he walked over to Sharon.  Jo sat in the back seat beside Bucky while Sam was in the passenger seat.

“Who’s she?”

“His girlfriend.”

“No, she’s not!” Jo growled. Sam glanced back at her and smirked.  

“But he does like her, right?”

“Hmm, it’s a bit more than like her.”

“She’s my cousin.” Jo spat.

“Doesn’t that kind of make him her uncle?”

“That’s what I said!” Jo exclaimed turning to Bucky.  

“That’s just gross.”

“I’m starting to like you.”

“Uh, Jo!” Sam called out.

Jo turned to see Steve take a step closer to Sharon and….

BANG!

Sharon and Steve jumped apart before their lips even touched and turned to see Jo with half her body hanging out the opened window, holding a gun.

“Oh! My bad! Thought I saw Tony flying towards you!” Jo apologized as she climbed back into the car. “Stop giggling like school girls,” Jo muttered only making Bucky and Sam laugh harder.  

A few minutes later Steve had put the equipment in the trunk and climbed back into the driver’s seat.

“Was it necessary to take out her taillight?”

“It looked like Tony’s face.”

Steve turned around in his seat, so he was facing his daughter.  “Is that what you keep saying no to? Her and I dating?”

“You are technically her uncle.”

“Thank you!” Jo exclaimed smiling at Bucky.  

“So, you don’t want me to date?”

“You can date, just don’t date her.”

“Who do you approve of?” Steve asked with a slight smirk.

“Currently? Bucky.”

Bucky let out the loudest laugh Jo had ever heard.  Steve noticed it was the first time he had heard Bucky’s laugh in over seventy years. He smiled.

Tag List:

@topthis808@capsicle-steve-rogers@jameszbarnes@wayward-marvel-sommer1196@shadoassassin@nadtandy@iamwarrenspeace@evansstanpine@supermarvel-ous@lara-ludbey@capsicletho@geeksareunique@in-winchester-we-trust@buckyappreciationsociety@ek823@letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @chloe-skywalker

@webslingerholland and I are happy to announce we have picked our winner for this years writing contest! 

We would first like to thank everyone who has participated.  The decision was hard, seeing as we had so many great entries, but a winner had to be chosen! 

And finally, it’s time for what you have all been waiting for, our winner is…

@letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked 

Congratulations!!!!! You have won: 

1. A follow from both of us
   
2. A request for a one-shot of your choice from each of us
   
3. 3 shout outs that can be used at any time

Thank you again to all who entered! You can go read the winning story here

Merry Christmas everyone! 

Soulmate AU: Your vision is in black and white until you meet your soulmate. You and your boyfriend, Steve Rogers, aren’t each others soulmates but you love each other. He introduces you to his friends, the Avengers, and a very odd thing happens.

Characters: Steve Rogers x Plus Size Female Reader, Bucky Barnes x Plus Size Female Reader

Note;this is 10,000 words long! Hope you like it!

Warnings; Reader experiences self-consciousness in changing room, talks about self in a negative light, Reader has what resembles a panic attack, mentions of anxiety/stress, angst, swearing

Taglist:  @domainoflostsouls​  forgetthisbull handon-h-art yourspecialcrush giulsgotmusic mrsbarnes-rogers luosymekawa linzeyzarcone forgetthisbull calamityreads talgra marina-darling btsforlif lamoursansfin classic1985 lovesicksofi fandomsfallnomore thebivirgin classygladiatorcupcake lowlyapprentice mishafaye cececolbert trenchcoatedwhiskers janetgenea scoobertdoobert2 vivalakatee buckybeefybarnes@distinguishedgardenroadbonk

1. PART ONE
2. PART TWO
3. PART THREE
4. PART FOUR
5. PART FIVE
6. PART SIX
7. PART SEVEN
8. PART EIGHT
9. PART NINE
10. PART TEN

The next morning, Natasha woke you up with coffee at around 10am. “Oh, it’s late,” you realised as you sipped at the coffee as she perched on the edge of your bed. Usually you’d be awake earlier than this but today was different.

“Yeah, I thought I’d let you sleep since you’ve had an emotional couple of days,” Nat said with a shrug, “Plus I heard you having a late night phone call…” She eyed you curiously. You didn’t know why you think you hide these things from her, she was Natasha bloody Romanoff; of course she would find out! She nudged your knee with her elbow, “Who was it?”

“Who do you think it was?”

“Bucky?”

“Steve.”

Her eyebrows rose. She really hadn’t been expecting that answer, “Go on.” You relayed the conversation from last night back to Natasha. If her eyebrows could be raised more, they’d be hitting the ceiling by now, “He wants you to talk to Bucky?!”

“That was my reaction!”

“Wow, he’s either really confident in your relationship or really fucking stupid… Are you gonna call Barnes?”

After thinking about it last night, you decided that you were going to give yourself some breathing room for a couple of days, just to process everything and to breathe. The last four weeks had been extremely intense and my god, all you wanted was to pretend things were normal again, at least for a few hours, “Not right away,” you shook your head, “I just need some time to breathe, Nat, you know?”

Nat knew how overwhelming this situation had been for you and she knew exactly what would help. She grinned behind her mug and you immediately knew that she had a plan, “Finish your coffee and then put a cute outfit on. We’re going shopping.”

“Fury told me to keep a low profile,” you said with a shake of your head.

She rolled her eyes, “So? I’m not scared of him. Hurry up.” She scampered off, probably to get dressed. Honestly a shopping trip with Nat sounded exactly like what you needed right now. Some retail therapy with your best friend sounded perfect so you did exactly as she told you to, you finished your coffee and put on a cute outfit.

Getting past what seemed like a million SHIELD agents was difficult, they asked so many questions and tried to keep sending an agent with you but with Natasha there to bullshit some excuse and to put them in their place, you were granted permission to leave your apartment complex. The fresh air on your face as you left the building gave you new life, it twirled into your hair and breathed cold in your lungs. You ignored Nat’s comment of ‘jeez, it’s like you’ve never been outside before’. It just felt good to be out, to not be reminded of Steve or Bucky every two seconds.

Nat let you pick the music and of course, of course, you had to put on some cheesy songs. The redhead couldn’t help but laugh as the Backstreet Boy’s ‘Everybody’ boomed through the speakers of her car, “Everybody, yeah, rock your body, yeah!” The two of you sang loudly without a care in the world. There’s something special in moments like this; being free with people you love, being free with your favourite people in the world. The two of you sang the whole way to the mall, singing loud and completely out of tune but laughing all the while. You’d probably always remember this moment, as you glanced over at her as she hit a high note, relishing in the way she smiled and the way she laughed. She was incredible.

“Nat,” you said turning the music down all of a sudden as she pulled into a parking space, “Thank you.” You couldn’t really find the words you wanted to say. You’d wanted to tell her so much, express so much gratitude towards her but all you could manage were those two words.

Nat knew. It was the same two words uttered in that very same tone when she thanked Clint for helping her out instead of killing her; it was the words of someone who was stuck being pulled out and helped along by a friend. She smiled, “You can thank me by buying me breakfast.”

The mall was pretty quiet which you appreciated, you couldn’t have coped had it been busy, you preferred it quiet. You let Nat lead you into a shop and immediately, you were just ambushed with colour, “Holy shit,” you whispered. Nat looked at you curiously, “I’ve been so wrapped up in everything that I forgot about colours,” you beamed, “They’re so bright and colourful!” You ran your hand over a rack of brightly coloured t-shirts, “I can’t even tell you what half of these colours even are!”

Natasha laughed at how excited you were getting. She could see you falling back into yourself; turning back into the old you, you from four weeks ago, “Colours are pretty incredible, aren’t they? Now you don’t have to message everyone asking if an outfit goes together!”

You couldn’t help but laugh as you pulled things off the racks and into your arms, “I feel one million times better already.” Nat smiled, “What’s your favourite colour?”

Natasha thought for a moment before answering, “This colour,” she said, pulling out a deep red dress, “Red.” You asked why, “I feel like I love it and hate it. It’s the colour of blood, reminding me of the people I killed, it’s also the colour of love; it reminds me of my mistakes and my weaknesses but reminds me of my heart and my kindness… Also it helps that red looks fucking great on me.”

“True.”

“What’s yours?”

“I like red too,” you said as your hands fell on a long sleeved blue t-shirt that resembled the first colour you saw, “but blue is my favourite.” Deepblue.Bucky’s blue. You didn’t tell her that though, you just left it at ‘blue’.

Nat picked out a couple of items for you, things that you didn’t think would be that flattering on you, but all she had to do was smile at you and you’d cave to her demands. She’d picked out a brown leather skirt for you that clung to your curves and a slightly oversized cardigan to wear with it. You stood in the changing room staring into the mirror, hands on your stomach trying to pull the fat up and out the way, trying to morph your appearance to look like the models… No use. You had a stomach which hung over and protruded. You sighed heavily. Being plus size was something you’d come to terms with, you liked it and you liked your body but there was something about standing in a changing room after thinking an outfit would look different on you and you try it on and you notice your bumps, lumps and rolls and you just feel… disappointed? In your childhood years of growing up plus size and thinking something would fit you different would usually end up with you crying in the changing rooms, something that you refused to do today but it didn’t mean you felt confident in everything you wore. You felt bad for feeling badly about yourself but insecurities crept up on you like that. You liked the outfit that Nat picked but you just wished that you liked it on you.

“You’ve been in there for ages, show me,” Nat said from the other side of the door, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“I…” you faltered, “I’m not going to get this one.”

She could tell that there was a twinge of something different in your voice, “There’s no one else out here, just me and you,” she said quietly, “I bet it’s not even half bad. Show me and maybe we can workshop it.”

Knowing that she wouldn’t give up until you showed her, you opened the changing room door. Nat grinned, “You look amazing!” She saw you roll your eyes and frowned, “I’m being serious. Look at the way it hugs your hips highlighting your waist looking like an hourglass up in here!” You turned back around to look in the mirror when she gasped, “And your ass! Perfection.”

“I hate the way it shows off my stomach,” you frowned, taking a deep breath in and sucking your stomach in, “Just… doesn’t look nice. It’s hard because I try so hard to be kind to myself and to love myself but sometimes… sometimes I just wished I looked like you.” It was true. Self-love was a journey that you’d be on for the rest of your life. There would be times you’d be content with your appearance and other times where you wouldn’t be. It was hard to say the least.

The redhead’s frown deepened, “You know, I have things that I don’t really like about myself all the time too.” Her voice was quieter and you could just tell that was being open and honest, “I used to really hate my scars, sometimes I still do. The shiny smooth ones are fine but some scars are fucking ugly, they stick out and they’re still pink even after years. Sometimes I’m like ‘fuck yeah these tell a story’ and other time I disgust myself… We’re constant works in progress and that’s okay.” You took a few seconds to soak in her words, “Just know that I think you look fucking incredible in this outfit and I know that a certain two other people would absolutely agree with me if they were here.” Would they? You thought to yourself as you looked in the mirror again. She was right, your ass looked great it in and the way it hugged your hips and waist looked great… “Why don’t you get it and try being kinder to yourself? If you really hate it in a week then you can take it back.”

“Okay,” you said with a nod, “I’ll take it and I’ll work on being a bit kinder to myself.” You weren’t 100% in love with it but stepping out of your comfort zone was the only way that you might gain some more confidence.

Nat grinned, pulling you in for a half hug, “You look amazing, you deserve to feel that way… Let’s go check out and then you can buy me breakfast because I am starving.”

Two days had passed since your shopping trip with Nat which meant it was four days since Steve had left your shared apartment. Not much had happened really. You’d been working on self-love and you kept the skirt even though you still weren’t absolutely sure yet. Steve had messaged you yesterday to check on you, the conversation was short and sweet pretty much checking in and that was it. You didn’t need more like the first night, you had accepted the ending of things and had accepted that you both needed some space. For now, that was okay. Having Natasha stay made a huge difference and you truly didn’t think you would’ve gotten through the last few days without her. Natasha had stayed for the last two nights, offering sarcastic advice, hugs and some crappy chick flicks.

You’d been sitting eating breakfast when she got a phone call from Fury to ask for her help on a mission that started immediately. She’d be on the mission with her two favourite guys (as she put it) and she was pretty happy about that, you’d smiled when you saw her face light up. “I love seeing you happy,” you told her as she grabbed her bag to pack it.

She smiled at you but after a second it turned sad, “I miss seeing you happy.”

“Right now,” you said, taking a long sip of coffee, “I’m happy. I have you, coffee and blankets. What more could I possibly need?” Humour could only mask your true feelings for a short breath of laughter before Nat grew serious.

“Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to call Steve or someone?” She frowned, wrinkling her forehead with worry lines.

You swatted the air with your hand, “Stop worrying about me. I’m going to have a day of self-care and I think… I think I might call Bucky.”

She blinked, “There’s a development.”

With a shrug, you said, “I can’t stop thinking about what Steve said. He told me it would be good to call Bucky, to clear the air and to talk about everything.”

“If you do, let me know how it goes.”

“You’ll be the first one to hear about it,” you laughed as she finished packing her things, “I hope your mission goes okay, you better text me in a couple days to let me know you’re all safe.”

“I will, I promise.” Nat wrapped you in a tight hug, unusual for her to be so affectionate but with you it was different, “Whatever happens, I support you and your decisions.” She pulled back, smiling, “I better hear all the details of this phone call and if it leads to anything else…” She waggled her eyebrows with a laugh making you roll your eyes.

“Get outta here, Romanoff. Go make out with your man instead.”

“Oh, my pleasure.” She turned before she left, “If you go out with Barnes, wear that skirt. Trust me.”

You spent the rest of the morning doing what you’d said you’d do (aka self-care) and trying not to think about the other thing you said you’d do (aka calling Bucky). You had showered, washed your hair, done a face mask, dried your hair and even cleaned the kitchen top to bottom. All of this was to avoid calling a certain dark haired super solider. You’d been forcing him out of your thoughts all morning, feeling a pit of guilt in your stomach. You knew that Steve wanted you to do this, you knew that you wanted to do this but still it made you feel terrible.

With a sigh, you decided that it was now or never. You wanted to fix things with Steve so you were going to call Bucky and prove to yourself that there was nothing there, that you wanted Steve more. Once you’d done that, life could return to how it used to be when you lived a life without colour. Tapping your foot nervously, you scrolled through your contacts and pressed on ‘Bucky’, hesitating to lift it to your ear. As it rang, you held your breath, anxiously waiting.

He picked up on the second ring, “(y/n)?” Without even meaning to you visibly relaxed upon hearing his voice, “I didn’t think I’d be hearing from you again.” He couldn’t contain his surprise. After the hospital, he really genuinely believed that he wouldn’t see or hear from you again. Steve had reached out again to apologise and to check up but Bucky didn’t think you’d be calling him. Bucky was used to people just shutting him down so he thought that’s what you were doing and he had made peace with it. So when he saw your name pop up on his phone, he was rather taken back.

“Bucky…” You didn’t know what to say. To be honest, you hadn’t planned out what you were going to say. All you knew was that you were going to phone him but you had no idea what you were actually going to say.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah… no…” You rubbed your hand against your face in anguish, almost wishing you hadn’t called him.

“Which one is it?” He teased.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you told him, “I ended things with Steve.” He had to know, this was the whole point of this. You had to get to tell Bucky and get to know him more, get your head sorted out.

“Oh.” There was a long pause before he spoke again, you waited with bated breath, “How… How are you?”

“Confused,” you said with a frown, “Really fucking confused.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, (y/n).” He meant it. He really was sorry to hear that you and Steve had broken up. He couldn’t imagine that It would be a particularly nice feeling to go through so he felt for the two of you, “Can I ask what happened?”

“Can you come break me out of Fort Knox and I’ll tell you over a cup of coffee?” What am I doing?! Did I just ask Bucky Barnes to take me on a coffee date?! Your heart hammered in your chest as you waited for his response.

Bucky gave a breath of surprised laughter, “I, uh, sure. Yeah, my pleasure. I’ll be there shortly, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks Buck.” You hung up, smiling despite yourself, “Oh fuck!” You realised, almost dropping your phone, “What do I wear?!”

Rushing to the bedroom to dig through your closet, you tried to ignore the bubble of nerves that was forming in your stomach. This needed to happen; it was the only way forwards so you’d need to get through the uncomfortableness and just talk to the man. Those three weeks with him, you became something more than strangers and that meant something to you so you knew that you could open up and be honest with Bucky. If he didn’t reciprocate or if you didn’t feel it then that would be settled and you could move on. If he did reciprocate and you felt more for him then… you’d cross that bridge if you had to but right now, you focused on just getting through the day. You remembered what Natasha had said and you looked to your bed where the skirt and oversized cardigan were. Closing your eyes, you mentally gave yourself a talking to before putting the skirt and cardigan on. When you looked in the mirror, a part of you wanted to immediately take it off but after having a rather lovely few days with your best friend, you decided to listen to her and ignore yourself. You would wear the skirt and the cardigan and that would be that. You’d put some tights and boots on with it, a jacket and that would be the outfit complete. Natasha had assured you that Bucky (and Steve) would love this outfit, you were interested to see if he did love it as much as she predicted. You’d styled your hair earlier but gave it one last brush through to make sure it was okay and it was then you realised that you weren’t just nervous to see and tell Bucky what you needed to tell him… No, you were nervous for him to see you, for him to tell you his side of things… You were nervous about what he was going to say and how he was going to react.

Before you could really get anxious about what was going to happen, you heard a knock but it wasn’t from your front door. Peering out of your bedroom, you realised that it was coming from the living room window where you could see a metal arm knocking at your window with Bucky crouching and looking in. “Unbelievable,” you whispered as you laughed and shook your head. You rushed over to the window, laughing as you pulled it upwards, “What the hell?”

“You wanted me to rescue you from Fort Knox, aka your apartment complex, and I gotta tell you, I don’t feel like a million agents questioning where we’re going and what we’re gonna do,” Bucky said with a shrug, “so I climbed up your fire escape.”

“You realise that there’s no way I’m getting down there. The bottom floor’s ladder’s been broke for months and it’s a story drop down. No way. We’ll go through the agents.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “You forgetting that I’m a super solider?”

“So?”

“Soit means I can jump and land without any injury. I’ll carry you, c’mon.” He stuck his arms through the window but you leapt backwards.

“No way!” You swatted his hands away, “Barnes, most people pretend to not notice when I mention it but I’m heavier than your average woman in New York City. I’m not tiny and light, I’m fat and heavy. I’ll go through the agents, you can jump.”

Bucky had to admit, the way you were and how you acted was a breath of fresh air. He stifled a laugh, “I don’t give a damn about your weight, (y/n),” he said, raising an eyebrow, “Finest woman in all of New York. Now will you just let me carry you down? I have super strength but even without it I’d still be able to carry you. Have you seen my muscles?” He flexed though through his leather jacket you couldn’t see his muscles but you could see the bulge in the material. God forgive me.

You were a little taken aback by not only his bantering but what he said about you. Finest woman in all of New York. Was he flirting with you? Didn’t matter if he was because you were notabout to be lifted by him, no way. Bucky frowned, seeing something behind your eyes change, “(y/n)?”

“I… I hate when people lift me. Always makes me terrified they’ll comment on my weight.” Your mind flashed back to when you were younger with a boy you fancied the hell out of and he’d went to give you a piggyback ride when he started making all sorts of comments about how heavy you were and how much you weighed and telling you to go on a diet. It hurt you more than you expected it too and even now, totally comfortable with your size and happy with yourself; it still affected you. When you’re a kid, those things stick and you weren’t sure if they’d ever become unstuck.

Bucky’s face softened, “You can go that way if you want but I promise you, I’m not going to drop you. I promise I can take your weight, it’s nothing to me, I assure you. I promise I also won’t comment on your weight or anything like that. We’ll jump down, I’ll let you go and I’ll drive us some place.” After a moment’s consideration, you nodded, “Yeah?” Bucky asked, a smile slowly forming on his lips, “You trust me?” Again, you nodded.

Carefully, he helped you climb out of the window and cleared his throat as you stood in front of him, “How do you want to do this? Piggyback or..?” He reached his arms out, suggesting that he just pick you up. You shrugged and Bucky took this as a sign to just go for it. In one swift, smooth motion, he’d crouched, put his hand under your knees and the other on your back and easily swept you off of your feet.

Shocked, you let out a string of curse words, grabbing onto him tightly and hiding your face in his chest, “You need to warn me first!” You exclaimed, voice muffled by his chest.

Bucky laughed, shaking your head against him, “That was much more fun. Let’s go.” You held on tight and Bucky gave you one last gentle reminder, “I’ve got you, you’re okay.” You appreciated that he had been so gentle with you, easing you into it but not forceful in the slightest. You were also impressed with how easily he could pick you up. You took a long breath, secretly enjoying the smell of his cologne and the feeling of his toned chest pressed against your face. You’d almost forgotten about what was about to happen until you felt the wind flying through your hair and your stomach dropped at the sensation of you falling. Without realising, you let out a high pitched yelp, gripping onto him tighter and within a second, you felt the impact of him landing on solid ground.

“See?” He said, “Not so bad!”

Slowly, you released your grip on his shoulder, looking up at him and shaking your head, “Never again.” He had to admit, he enjoyed holding you like this. He enjoyed the closeness of the two of you, enjoyed the way you hid in his chest, the way as he jumped he got a whiff of your perfume, hints of fruits and florals was a smell that almost intoxicated him. The way you looked up at him was something that made him smile.

You realised that the pair of you were just staring up at each other not saying anything and not doing anything. You cleared your throat, feeling your cheeks burn in embarrassment, and Bucky nodded curtly before bending and putting you back on your feet. “Over here,” he said gruffly as he led you to his car.

It was awkward as he drove. As you glanced over at him you couldn’t help but be taken back to around four weeks ago when he was taking you away from your picture perfect life and driving into the unknown. So much had changed in that short space of time. Your hands fidgeted with the sleeves of your cardigan, Bucky noticed and shifted in his seat, “Anywhere you wanna go in particular?” He asked after a few minutes, “Or do you just want me to pick?”

“Wherever,” you said with a small smile, “you pick.”

Once again silence fell. Closing your eyes, you leant your head against the headrest and just let yourself get lost in your thoughts for a bit. Your thoughts kept bouncing back to the words he’d said, ‘Finest woman in all of New York’, you wondered if he meant it. Bucky glanced over at you and he instantly knew that you were deep in thought. Bucky observed a lot more than he said usually. He knew that you were thinking by the way your brow furrowed and you gnawed at your bottom lip, a habit he saw you do when living in the safe house. He turned his attention back onto the road.

“Did you mean it?” You blurted out, catching him by surprise, “What you said?”

“Uh, what did I say? Jog an old man’s memory.”

“When I was talking about my weight and you said, ‘finest woman in all of New York’, was that about me? Did you mean that?”

It took everything in Bucky to hide his smile and to focus on staring ahead at the road. Inside, he was throwing a party in his head. Something he’d said stuck with you, it struck a chord with you, it had you thinkingabouthim. Bucky loved to know that you were stuck in thought, mulling over his words from ten minutes ago. He loved that you were thinking about him. He’d stopped denying his feelings for you to himself, there was no point in hiding them anyway since the whole world could practically tell just by looking at him when he was near you. He knew that what he felt for you ran deep and true. He wasn’t sure if you had feelings for him but hearing you ask him if a compliment he paid you ten minutes prior was truthful, it sparked some hope in Bucky’s heart that maybe you thought about him just as much as he thought about you.

He nodded, glancing over at you to find that you looked absolutely mortified as you waited for his answer. You were scared of what he would say, if he didn’t mean it then you’d feel like an absolute idiot for doing this, “Yeah,” he said, eyes scanning over you as his tongue darted out of his mouth to lick his lower lip, “and I meant it. Hell, I’d go so far to say you’re the finest woman in the world.” He turned back to the road but his attention was on you. He watched you from the corner of his eye, watched as your jaw dropped open, watched as your cheeks tinged pink and the way your eyes widened. Hope had never burned like this inside of him.

“Okay,” you murmured quietly, “good.”

He wasn’t finished, “And don’t get me started on your outfit,” he said with a slight chuckle, “It suits you so well, hugs you in all the right places… You look gorgeous, doll.”

Fuck.Fuck.

You couldn’t hide the smile that tugged your lips upwards and you could barely control your racing heart. Bucky could practically feel the heat radiating from your cheeks, he smiled, “I… Thank you,” you said quietly, unsure of what to say or how to react; all you could do was smile like a lovesick schoolgirl.

Once again, silence encapsulated the two of you but it’s not awkward or uncomfortable, it’s pleasant which is a weird change of pace but not a bad change. It’s not long before Bucky’s parking the car and you both climb out. You know that you’re downtown but you’re not exactly sure where you are. As you get of the car, Bucky appears in front of you, “We can grab some coffee and walk around?” He suggests, “I know some nice places we can walk through.”

Bucky leads you through the car park and after a few minutes of walking, you come across a street vendor, “Ah! Bucky!” The vendor, a middle aged Italian man, grins, clapping Bucky on the shoulder, “Usual?”

“Make it two, Antonio, thanks.” Bucky turns to you, “Best coffee in New York City right here.”

“Who is this?” The man called ‘Antonio’ asks with a knowing smile as he prepares the coffee.

Bucky rolls his eyes, “This is my friend. (y/n).”

“Friend, hm,” Antonio smirks, “Pleasure to meet you, (y/n).”

“You too,” you say with a small smile, feeling a little awkward.

It doesn’t take long before Antonio is handing you and Bucky a coffee, “Try it,” he encourages. Bucky laughs at him, murmuring an apology for his intense Italian coffee vendor friend.

You take a sip and immediately take another, “This is so good!” You gape, “It’s so rich and creamy and I need more.” You take another long drag.

Antonio smiles, satisfied with your answer, “She’s a keeper, Bucky,” he teases, “See? I have the best coffee in New York. You’re always welcome to come back for more! This man does.” He gestures to Bucky who hands him ten bucks and tells him to keep the change, “Don’t be strangers!”

“This really is so good,” you say as you and Bucky walk away from the vendor, “How’d you find out about it?”

Bucky takes a sip of his coffee before answering, “I asked him for directions and he enticed me with his world class coffee. I go there most days to get more coffee from him actually.” You walk together and your hyper aware that your elbow keeps bumping into his. Even though the two of you have jackets on, knowing that no skin is touching, it sends your mind and heart into a frenzy. Holy shit, what is going on with me?! Calm down, (y/n)! Bucky notices it too. He notices that your elbows keep bumping with every four to six steps, he even counted the steps. He breathes deeply through his nose knowing that he’s doomed; he’s too far gone and he knows it. All he can do is hope that you’re right there with him.

“Back in the 30s this was just a flat bit of land,” he says after a few minutes gesturing over to an area which is now home to skyscrapers, “The fair used to come to town every summer. I remember going on the Ferris Wheel with Steve,” the mention of his name doesn’t send a zap of guilt through you, it’s nice actually, nice to know that you can mention him. It’s not like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, it’s comfortable knowing you can talk about your now ex-boyfriend without it being too weird, “he was so skinny I thought he was gonna just slip right out from under the metal bar. He was having a great time.”

“But you weren’t?”

He grimaced, “Was sick as soon as I got off it. I dunno, heights have never been my thing.” He pushes the memories of falling off of the train away, he doesn’t need to talk about that today. He’s alive and he’s here with you not in an awful memory.

“Must be pretty weird seeing the city change so much, remembering how it was to looking at how it is now.” You’d had a similar conversation with Steve about a week into your relationship. Steve missed how it was, he always did.

“Eh, it’s not so bad anymore,” he shrugged, “It’s a reminder to me that change is necessary.” Steve spoke about the past like it was an old friend. Bucky spoke about the past like it was a stranger, like it was something he was trying to outrun, “I don’t like to dwell on the past too much, only the good stuff.” You completely understand. From what you’ve heard from Steve about Bucky’s Winter Solider days, it sounded completely horrific and you understood completely why he’d want to run from the past. He was always trying to outrun his past in a society that constantly reminded him of his past.

It’s not long before the two of you walk through a public park and find a bench to sit on. It reminds you of a couple of weeks ago, sitting on the bench at the duck pond. Bucky thinks the same, “A lot’s happened in four weeks, huh?” He asks quietly.

You scoff, “You can say that again.” You pause before continuing, “I wouldn’t say it’s all been bad though. I mean getting kidnapped and having to move to a different country with a stranger and then having to nearly kill a guy was pretty rough…” The two of you let out a quiet laugh over your shared trauma, “but yeah…” your knees graze against each other’s, “it wasn’t all bad.”

Bucky’s eyes are staring at you so intensely and you feel your breath catching in your throat. There’s your secret favourite colour, the first colour you ever saw, Bucky Barnes’s eyes. You want to kiss him, you want him to kiss you but not here. He wants to kiss you, god the pull is so fucking strong and he doesn’t know if he can restrain himself this time. That is until you announce, “I want to go.” What the fuck, (y/n)? Your announcement shocks the pair of you. You close your eyes and shake your head as Bucky immediately recoils, peeling away from you, “I-I… I need to talk to you but not here.” You look around and then back to him, “I want to keep hanging out though I didn’t mean that-”

He cuts over your nervous rambling, “Where do you want to go? Back to your apartment?”

Quickly, you shake your head, “No, it’s…” Full of memories with Steve, “got a million SHIELD agents surrounding it and I’d rather not.” Half-truth, “Can we go to yours?”

Bucky feels a bubble of what feels like nervousness build in his stomach but he’s always been good at repressing shit so he pushes it down, stamps on it mentally until he can’t feel it anymore. He nods, “Sure, let’s go.” He’s colder, not icy but just a little colder. You’d offended him, you realise, as you walk back to his car, dumping your empty coffee cup in a trash can. Well, shit.

The drive to his apartment is silent and you’re mentally scolding yourself for how you’d reacted. You’d panicked and it was the first thing out of your mouth, it came out before you could think about it. You hoped that you could explain yourself back at Bucky’s apartment. Bucky’s not mad at you, hell he’s not even offended, but that bubble of nerves that he tried to stamp away is back and it’s bigger and it’s growing.

Truth is that Bucky’s terrified. No one, not even Steve, had been inside Bucky’s apartment. When Steve came over the other day, Bucky kept him at the front door before moving to the bar across the street. No one had been in Bucky’s apartment and it terrified him that you were about to see it. Showing you his apartment made Bucky feel vulnerable, made him feel weak and he didn’t like that. He wasn’t used to feeling vulnerable, it was an unnatural feeling that he hadn’t felt in decades… Though, he realises, if he was going to feel vulnerable with anyone it would be with you.

The drive back doesn’t take long and before you know it, he’s pulled into the apartment carpark. Quietly, you take a long breath, trying to calm down your racing heartbeat. You’re only going to his apartment to tell him why you and Steve broke up, it’s not like anything is going to happen… You’re nervous but you’re hopeful that once you’re in Bucky’s apartment your nerves will die down.

Neither of you speak as you leave the car and head into the apartment complex. He leads you to the elevator and your foot taps impatiently as you ride up to his apartment floor (he lives on the fifth floor you learn). Bucky’s too busy dealing with his own nerves to realise that you’re shit scared as well. The elevator dings and the doors slide open and Bucky takes a breath, “Let’s go.” It’s the first two words uttered in twenty minutes and you barely notice.

You follow him along the hallway until he stops outside of a door with the number 532 on it. He takes his keys out of his pockets and unlocks the door. He opens it and holds it open for you to go in first. Once you’re in, he shuts the door behind you, twisting the lock, and flicks on the light switch. His shoulders are tense as he looks to you for your reaction.

Bucky’s apartment is… bare. His kitchen is at the front and beyond that is his living room which has a small sofa, one dining chair and a small side table – you take a few steps into the living room, eyes falling to one item in particular, “You kept the blanket.” Your voice is a mere whisper. On the floor to the left of the couch is a makeshift bed much like the one you’d seen Bucky sleep in during your time in Estonia. You glance at him, almost teary eyed, “You kept the blanket,” you repeat, voice a little louder so that he can hear you.

He frowns, crinkling his forehead, as he tries to figure out your reaction and how you feel. You’re in awe, staring at him in complete awe and he’s not used to it; he’s never had someone look at him like that, “Yeah,” he nods, voice quiet, “It reminds me of you. Helps bring me back down after a nightmare.” The atmosphere shifts.

Oh, Bucky.

You didn’t say anything, you didn’t really know how to respond so instead you sat on the couch. Bucky shrugged off his leather jacket exposing his arms to you, one normal and one metal. He was fucking buff.You couldn’t help but notice the way his chest flexed as he draped his jacket over the singular dining chair. The way he looked at you, so expectedly and waiting for you to tell him what you needed to tell him, stressed you out. Fidgeting with your fingers, your heart beats hard inside your ribcage. How were you supposed to start this conversation? Your mind was racing with one hundred different thoughts. What am I supposed to say? What if he reacts badly? Instead of just starting at the beginning, your anxiety got the best of you and you blurted out, “Why don’t you sleep in the bedroom?”

Bucky knew that you were nervous, he was nervous too but he could sense your uneasiness, your inability to communicate your thoughts effectively; he could read you pretty easy and this whole blurting out things abruptly was just your nerves. He raised his eyebrows as he fought the urge to laugh at the abruptness. You wanted the ground to swallow you whole. He cleared his throat, “I, uh, you can go into the bedroom, it’s got a wardrobe and a mattress on the floor. I tried sleeping on the mattress a few times but being in there, being away from the front door… I get paranoid that someone’s going to barge into my apartment. If I’m sleeping here, on the floor in the living room, I mean it’s not a pretty set up but if anything was to happen, I’m right here.” You understood. That first night back in yours and Steve’s apartment was tense, you’d had your eyes on the bedroom door almost the whole time. You understood why he’d set his apartment up this way.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to…”

“Word vomit,” Bucky mused, a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Yeah,” you said with a small laugh, “exactly.”

“Since you asked a question, I get to ask one now,” he said as he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, “What happened between you and Steve?”

Even though you knew exactly what he was going to ask and yet it still feel like he’d knocked the wind right out of your sails. You decided to just be honest with him, the truth would come out eventually and although in the moment you were terrified to tell him, you knew it was better to be honest, “After the meeting with Fury after hearing and seeing the way Steve reacted to you and how explosive he got… Steve’s just not like that, you know better than anyone that Steve is usually so calm and collected about everything and seeing that… It scared me.”

“He scared you?” Bucky asked with a frown.

“I mean… yeah? Not him, I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me but I thought that he was going to hurt you.” Bucky had to admit that hearing you say that you were worried about him, it was pretty damn sweet, “I…” You took a breath as you tried to control your racing heart, “Even though I know that you and Steve are fine, I know that he apologised and your friendship is okay now but it… He was annoyed at you over me, you both fought because of me and I couldn’t- I can’t risk breaking up your friendship.”

Bucky shook his head quickly, “What happened with me and Steve it was nothing. I don’t think anything could split us up.”

“I just couldn’t but… it wasn’t the only reason I ended things with him.” Bucky’s eyebrows raised ever so slightly as he waited for you to continue. He felt that unfamiliar feeling of hope in his stomach as you spoke, “Before we met, I was so happy with my life with Steve. I could easily see myself marrying him and spending the rest of my life with him, you know?” Bucky nodded. It hurt him to hear you say that but he understood, he knew how serious yours and Steve’s relationship was.

“Has that changed?”

“… Yeah, it has.” You shifted in your seat finding it too difficult to look Bucky in the eye so instead you focused your attention to your fidgeting hands, “We got closer in Estonia, didn’t we?” Closer meaning that I fell in love with you…

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“And there’s no point in denying it since we can now see colour. We’re soulmates, Bucky, and that means something.” He licked his lips, watching your every move. He drank in the way you looked right now, speaking from the heart though absolutely terrified, he loved the honesty that poured out of yourself right now, “I can’t speak for you, I don’t know how you feel but… ugh.” You rubbed your face annoyed that you couldn’t find the right words, “Let me start again. Before we left for Estonia, Steve gave me a letter.”

You were too busy trying to explain the situation to Bucky that you never realised his expression changing. A look of shock and realisation transformed Bucky’s face, raising his eyebrows and parting his lips ever so slightly, “A letter?” He asked. You nodded, “What was the letter about?” He knew. He knew but he needed you to say it. He hadn’t realised at the time that the letter is what you carried out to the car after HYDRA broke into the safe house, he hadn’t realised it was a letter from Steve.

“Steve had told me to only open the letter if…” You felt sick. You couldn’t say it, the words just wouldn’t come out of your mouth.

It was your turn to be shocked when Bucky took his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a creased and crumpled envelope, “He told you to open the letter if you developed feelings… for me.” Raising your head, you finally looked at him. What the fuck? You noticed the letter in his hand and he continued, “Yeah, Steve gave me one too. He told me to open it if I… if I developed feelings for you.”

You stared at the letter in his hands, trying to figure out this curveball, and then you realised something else. The letter, albeit crumpled and creased having being folded and crushed inside his wallet, was torn open at the top, “It’s-It’s open.”What does that mean? You knew what that meant but honestly, you didn’t believe it. Steve hadn’t told you that he’d also written a letter for Bucky. You wondered what his letter said, what things Steve would talk about in Bucky’s letter.

Bucky looked at it, remembering exactly when he opened it and remembering the relief and comfort those words held for him, “Yeah, it’s open… What about yours?” Part of him doesn’t want to know in fear of rejection but when you nod and tell him that you opened your letter as well, the relief that floods through him is insane. The hope that he’s been trying to ignore all day burns bright and makes him shift in his seat. What did it all mean now? It was pretty clear and yet neither of you could fully comprehend it. You’d both just told the other that you had feelings for them, though never using those words but you’d both just admitted it and now… now you had no clue what to do.

You felt sick. The stress and the nerves of it all was just too much for you. You took a long breath to try and calm yourself down. It was Bucky who spoke next, “So… you ended things with Steve because of the fight me and him had and because…”

“Because I have feelings for you.” There it was. The admission made you stand up and run your hands over your face, “Wow, it’s hot in here.” You felt as though the air was sucked out of the room, like the panic you’d felt all day was consuming you and taking over your entire body and being. As your breathing increased, Bucky could tell that he had to do something, he had to calm you down before you had some sort of attack. As you flapped your hands in a motion to cool down, Bucky stood and walked to you.

“Hey,” he said softly catching your wrist gently, “you’re okay, just breathe… You’re going to be okay, (y/n).” His hold on your wrist moved down until he was holding your hand, giving you a reassuring squeeze. You stared at it, finding that it provided enough of a distraction to focus on him, “Copy my breathing,” he said, purposefully breathing deeper for you to copy him.

“I-I can’t…” The panic surged, filling you to the brim with dread and anxiety.

“Yes, you can,” Bucky said, voice strong, “You’ve done it before, you can do it now. Focus on me, focus on my voice and my breathing. You’re safe here, (y/n), you’re safe with me.” Bucky lifted your free hand and put it on his chest, “Feel me, feel my breathing.” This had been the second time this scenario had happened and each time, Bucky’s composure remained strong and comforting. He never buckled under the stress or never made you feel like you were alone. He was there with you, in it with you just as much as you were in it. Focusing on the way his chest moved slowly, you tried your hardest to do the same. After a few deep breaths, the panic began to clear and everything began to slow. He continued to give you soft reassurance until it was five minutes later and you were completely calm.

You really didn’t know where to go from here. The two of you were still standing in the middle of his apartment, one hand holding his and one hand on his chest, “Are you alright?” He asked quietly.

“Yeah,” you whispered, “just… It’s just a lot of emotions… Thank you.” Part of you wanted to pull away but there was a burning desire deep within you now that you’d finally accepted the truth.

The room shifted again as Bucky realised that you hadn’t pulled away. Now or never, he thought to himself, “I ignored my feelings for you for a while before I accepted them. It was the night that I read The Hobbit to you and you fell asleep, snoring and drooling in my bed, that I really admitted to myself that I didn’t just have feelings for you but… (y/n),” he used his thumb to tilt your head upwards so that you were looking into those ridiculously blue eyes, “I’m in love with you.” In that moment, all of the fear, the worry, the panic, the anxiety, the stress and the overwhelming emotions faded. Everything negative faded and all you could do was stare up at him and stare into those deep blue eyes. Bucky moved forwards, closing the gap between the two of you, pressing against your body. This was it. The way he looked at you made your stomach flip with excitement. Your hand that was on his chest moved round to hold his bicep as your eyes moved from his eyes to his lips. The desire to kiss him was stronger than anything you’d ever felt. Every single nerve in your body, every atom and every single part of you could feel the pull, could feel that soulmate pull that everyone always told you about.

Bucky’s touch was light and delicate on your cheek. He hadn’t touched a person in this way in decades, hadn’t felt the gentle touch of someone else in decades and it took everything in him to have some self-control and to not lose control here and now, “Can I… kiss you?” He breathed out as he cupped your cheek with so much care. He couldn’t take his eyes away from your lips. His thumb reached over, touching your lips, gently parting them before he raised his eyes to meet yours. You couldn’t speak, the words just weren’t coming, so all you did was nod and slowly, so painfully slowly, Bucky began to lean down towards your lips.

It was then that your phone, which was in your jacket pocket, began to ring loudly. Immediately, you and Bucky jumped apart getting a fright from the harshness of the ringtone. With your cheeks feeling like they were on fire, you turned away from Bucky and took out your phone seeing the one name you dreaded seeing ‘Incoming call from: Steve’. Pressing the green button, you held the phone up to your ear, “Steve,” you said trying to pretend to be happy despite the guilt and the shame felt like it was eating you alive, “Everything okay?” At the mention of Steve’s name, Bucky let out a long sigh, rubbing a hand over his face and through your hair. So close.

“Yeah,” Steve said from the other end of the phone, “I just got a phone call from Agent Hill, she said that some SHIELD agents went up to the apartment to check on you but got no answer so they went in to check you were okay but you’re not there. They said that you hadn’t passed them so before they started a man-hunt, I suggested calling you to check. Where are you?”

“I…” You didn’t want to lie but at the same time you didn’t want to tell Steve the truth. You didn’t want to hurt him but you and Steve had came to a conclusion to be honest and truthful with each other so even with the risk of hurting him you decided that the truth would be better, “I’m okay. Nat left this morning and I needed out of the apartment so I called Bucky.” You glanced over your shoulder to see Bucky watching you, you shared an awkward small smile.

“Oh.” It didn’t hurt Steve as much as he thought it would, he had been preparing himself for this since telling you to reach out to Bucky, “How’d you get out of the apartment though?”

“He… We jumped.”

“You jumped?” Steve asked astounded, “Wow okay. I’m sorry for interrupting, I just needed to check before they sent a search party around New York. Where are you just now?”

You closed your eyes, “At Bucky’s apartment but, uh, I should probably be leaving soon.” You were glad that he couldn’t see you and that you had your back to him. Bucky audibly sighed and you felt like curling into a ball and hiding forever. You didn’t really want to leave, you had wanted Bucky so strongly and so completely but after talking to Steve, you didn’t really feel comfortable with staying at Bucky’s any longer. Bucky felt like the hope he’d had earlier, the hope that burned so big and so bright had been crushed and stamped on until there was nothing left of it. He wanted to tell you to stay, wanted to hang up the phone and kiss you. Deep down he felt that if you kissed him, you’d realise how deep and true your feelings were but he couldn’t. He couldn’t force you to stay, couldn’t force you to get over Steve and pick him, he had to let you make your own decision so he just let it be.

“You need me to get an agent to pick you up or will Bucky drive you home?” Steve asked. You knew that if you asked Bucky to drive you home of course he’d say yes but right now, you didn’t know how comfortable that car ride would be so you accepted Steve’s offer of asking sending an agent to pick you up. Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose, everything was falling apart; all of his hopes were being washed away and replaced by disappointment.

Steve told you that he’d get an agent to come over and that they’d be there shortly before you both hung up. Slowly, god so painfully slowly, you turned to face Bucky, “That was Steve,” you said even though Bucky knew that, “Apparently SHIELD were about to send out a search party all for me… Steve’s going to send an agent to pick me up.”

Bucky nodded, “I would’ve driven you home.”

“I know, I just…” You trailed off unsure of what to say next, “I should probably wait downstairs for him.”

“Hey,” Bucky said softly, catching your wrist again. He didn’t want you to go but he knew why you were leaving so he thought he would try to salvage some sort of moment. You didn’t know why but tears filled your eyes as you turned to face him. Your mind was racing and you just didn’t know what to do. You had almost kissed Bucky, you’d been so close and you’d completely forgotten about Steve and then… you remembered and the guilt was ten times worse than it ever had been, “Hey,” Bucky whispers as he tries to wrap you in a hug, “What’s going on?”

Shrugging out of his gentle grip, you shake your head quickly, “I… I- We can’t do this, Bucky.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s too complicated,” you whimpered as tears dribbled down your cheeks, “It’s all just too much.”

“Oh.” Once again, you couldn’t look at him. If you looked at him you’d end up staying and right now, you didn’t know what you wanted or what to do. All you knew is that you needed to go back to your apartment and just be away from Steve and Bucky, “Why are you doing this?” Bucky asked and it completely broke your heart, “We were finally getting somewhere.”

“I’m just…” You didn’t know how to answer his question, you didn’t know how to deal with his emotions, “We just can’t do this, Bucky.”

“No, no, not we,” you could tell by his slightly bitter tone that he was angry. Rightfully so, you’d wasted his time, you’d led him on today for no good reason, “You can’t do this.” He was right, it wasn’t Bucky’s fault that you couldn’t do this, it was your own fault. You were the one pulling the plug on this relationship before it even started.

“Yeah you’re right,” you sniffed, “I can’t do this.”

Bucky scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Run back to him,” he said with venom dripping from his voice, “Run back to Steve.”

“I-I’m not going back to Steve. I just… I just can’t do this.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Bucky’s demeanour had changed completely. He was good at shutting off emotionally, turning cold and distant when things were going poorly and that’s exactly what was happening here. He couldn’t show you his true feelings, he was too proud of beg you to stay, so he shut you out. He would rather you hated him than he show you himself being vulnerable again after having you reject him. Your phone chimed, signalling that you’d received a text, “That’ll be your ride.”

“Bucky, I’m really sorry…” You opened the door, refusing to look at him.

“Yeah, whatever,” he repeated. There was nothing else you could say so you stepped out and let the door swing shut behind you. As you walked down the hall, you could only stay strong until you got into the elevator before you broke down, sobbing into your hands. You’d fucked everything up. Waves of guilt washed over you; guilt over Steve, guilt over Bucky… It was horrible. You managed to pull yourself together a little bit before getting in the agent’s car.

Bucky ran his hands through his hand letting out an annoyed yell before slamming his hands onto the kitchen counter. He was angry. God, he was so angry. He hated that he’d almost had you, you were right there and then as soon as Steve called… you were gone. It was ironic. In the 30s, Bucky was always first and then Steve was second best but now? Now it felt like he was second best and he hated it. Bucky wanted you, he wanted to be with you and he had been so close and then you pulled away from him and there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t do anything but watch as you pulled away and back into the arms of Steve. He’d confessed his true feelings for you, he’d told you how deeply he felt about you and you’d been so close to doing the same.

With a long sigh, Bucky thought that maybe New York wasn’t the place for him any longer… maybe leaving Wakanda was a bad choice. If he’d stayed, he wouldn’t have met you but he wouldn’t have caused all of this drama and you and Steve would be happy. He didn’t like seeing you so stressed, anxious and confused with the whole situation so maybe it would be better if Bucky decided for you. Maybe it would be better if he took himself out of the equation completely. Maybe it was time for him to leave.

Soulmate AU: Your vision is in black and white until you meet your soulmate. You and your boyfriend, Steve Rogers, aren’t each others soulmates but you love each other. He introduces you to his friends, the Avengers, and a very odd thing happens.

Characters: Steve Rogers x Plus Size Female Reader, Bucky Barnes x Plus Size Female Reader

Note;so sorry for the delay! I’m back and I hope you like it! 

Taglist:  @domainoflostsouls​  forgetthisbull handon-h-art yourspecialcrush giulsgotmusic mrsbarnes-rogers luosymekawa linzeyzarcone forgetthisbull calamityreads talgra marina-darling btsforlif lamoursansfin classic1985 lovesicksofi fandomsfallnomore thebivirgin classygladiatorcupcake lowlyapprentice mishafaye cececolbert trenchcoatedwhiskers janetgenea scoobertdoobert2 vivalakatee buckybeefybarnes @distinguishedgardenroadbonk 

1. PART ONE
2. PART TWO
3. PART THREE
4. PART FOUR
5. PART FIVE
6. PART SIX
7. PART SEVEN
8. PART EIGHT
9. PART NINE
10. PART TEN

You hated goodbyes. You hated the whole not knowing when things would be back to normal. You hated this whole ‘unsure’ atmosphere. Goodbyes were sad and lonely and they were entirely unpleasant and yet, you were willingly putting yourself through one right now. Sure, it wasn’t an absolute ending but it was almost as awful as the real thing. In fact, maybe it was even worse than the real thing. This ending was completely your doing, you decided it had to be done in order to clear your own head and to save Bucky and Steve’s friendship. It killed you inside to do it but it had to be done. It had been your decision, you ended things with Steve (well not completely ended things but still) and you were the one willingly cutting things off for the good of the two of you. You had to. You couldn’t let this carry on any longer.

Love was an awful thing. It was beautiful and good and terrible and wretched all at the same time and right now, you couldn’t continue to put yourself, Steve or Bucky through this. It was destroying their friendship and it was destroying you. What kind of person would you be had you willingly continued on with yours and Steve’s relationship whilst knowing what it was doing to Steve and Bucky’s? You just couldn’t. As much as you loved Steve, you simply couldn’t. You mentally cursed yourself for being empathetic to other people and their relationships. Even despite the fact that Steve had told you that he and Bucky had patched things up when you’d been in the toilet at the SHIELD compound but that didn’t really change much on your end. They solved one fight but what if they had a worse one, what if they had one that they couldn’t fix? You couldn’t risk that. It just wasn’t fair so… you told Steve that the two of you needed to take a break from your relationship. 

Steve was pretty broken up about it, as one would be naturally, but he was being strong for you; he knew that this was the right thing to do. He understood why you had to do this and to be honest, he somewhat agreed. No, he didn’t want to break up with you but he figured that you’d been through so much in such a short space of time and you needed to figure your head and heart out. You needed time to heal and process the trauma of the last few weeks. A part of him, a selfish part of him, wished that he could make you forget about Bucky but the rational side of him knew that even he had a soulmate that wasn’t you. Peggy had died a few years prior and Steve’s version of her was way back in the 30s but still, he loved her and he couldn’t stop that. He would always love Peggy but at the same time, he would always love you. You weren’t his ‘soulmate’ through the world’s eyes but in Steve’s eyes, you absolutely were. How lucky he was to have loved and had two soulmates in his lifetime. It hurt Steve but he understood so he didn’t put up a fight but instead he just understood that this is what you had to do.

After speaking about things and coming to decision to temporarily end things, Steve decided that he’d leave the apartment for a while to give you your well needed space and time to think things through. Steve couldn’t have you alone in the apartment, even though it was protected, so he called Natasha and asked her to stay for a night or two. You were glad that Steve had asked Nat, you needed to talk to her, needed to vent and hear her thoughts on things.

Nat arrived around thirty minutes later carrying a pizza and a duffel bag. She and Steve spoke for a few minutes at the door before she came inside and told you that she was going to go to the bathroom which gave you and Steve the chance to say your goodbyes. Almost instantly, your eyes welled with tears as you realised that this was it. God, it really felt like a proper break-up, “You know, this was your apartment first, Steve, I can go stay with a friend instead-”

Steve shook his head as he placed his bag down by the door, “Don’t be silly, this is your home too. I’d rather you be here where I know that you’re surrounded by SHIELD agents and with Nat here, I trust that you’ll be safe.”

There was a lapse in the conversation, that kind of awkward ‘I don’t know what to say next’ sort of vibe. Steve looked at you with a soft smile, “Hey,” he said quietly, reaching out for you, “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

You moved into his touch allowing him to caress your cheek with his fingers gentle on your skin, as you nodded slightly, “Yeah… I just need time to figure everything out.”

“I know and I understand,” he whispered, “I don’t blame you, sweetheart.” 

“Steve,” you said, “what if… what if we don’t…” You couldn’t finish the question. You couldn’t ask him ‘what if we don’t get back together’, you simply couldn’t.

Steve shook his head, “No, no, no, what we aren’t going to do is torture ourselves with ‘what ifs’. Instead, you’re going to focus on you healing and processing everything and I’m going to focus on Hydra and making peace with Buck… Come here.”

He opened his arms and you eagerly wrapped yourself up in them, relishing in his warmth and the way he smelled. You didn’t know when you’d next experience a hug like this so for now, you would enjoy every second of it. You stayed like that for a few moments, just enjoying each other, before you heard the lock of the bathroom click and the door open. Steve pulled away first, “I guess that’s my queue to go,” he said, pressing a kiss to your forehead, “If you need me, call me.”

“Where will you go?” You asked as he grabbed his bag.

“I’ll be at Sam’s, I won’t be far.”

He thanked Nat before turning and opening the door, “Steve?” You asked, making him pause, “I love you.”

He smiled as he turned slightly to face you, “I love you, too, (y/n).” With that, he left leaving you and Nat alone in the house. 

Nat, sensing that you could potentially break down here, swooped in and opened up the pizza, “Let’s eat, then we’ll talk.”

As the pizza box lay almost with just a couple of slices left, Natasha was telling you about her and Bruce’s blossoming relationship, “He finally let up and gave into me-”

“Who could deny you and your charm, Ms. Romanoff?”

Nat smirked, “Exactly. He told me that he was scared, he still doesn’t fully trust himself but we’re getting there slowly. After our first date, we went on another and another and then he asked me to be his girlfriend. We finally made it official!” The smile on her face made you smile. You were happy for her truly. Nat had waited a long time to find happiness, you knew that, so you were glad that she finally had it in her grasp. 

It was then her attention focused on you, “So what’s going on with you and Steve? And Barnes actually?”

You knew that it was coming but it felt like a swift kick to the stomach when she asked you. You let out a long breath, “I have no idea, Nat.”

“Start from the day you left with Barnes.”

So you did. You ran through the events that transpired, a shorter more concise version, as Natasha listened intently. Her face gave nothing away as you spoke, you didn’t know if she was judging you for developing feelings for Bucky or if she approved; you had no idea. It was only when you’d finished retelling her the events of the last few weeks that she frowned, “Do you love him?”

Assuming that she was talking about Bucky, you shook your head, “I have no idea. I know that I have feelings for Bucky but I don’t know if it’s love… It’s intense and real but I- I don’t know.”

“I never specified a person. I asked do you love him, it was you who filled in the ‘him’ part. Judging by the fact you picked Bucky, I’d say that yeah, you do love him.” Her tactic caught you off guard, making you second guess everything. She smirked, “Do you love Steve?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

“Do you love Bucky?”

“I-I-”

“No, stop thinking. You think things through and you can talk yourself out of everything, (y/n).” Natasha rolled her eyes, she knew you too well. You could talk yourself into or out of anything if you gave it enough thought. “Yes or no, do you love Bucky?”

You closed your eyes and listened to the pounding of your heart. You thought back to the getting to know him over the last few weeks. You thought of the way he listened to you as you spoke, the way he didn’t say much and yet said everything, the way he read to you, the way he protected you, the way he held you as you cried, the way he looked at you… “Yes,” it was barely more than a whisper but there it was; the truth. Nat sat back, satisfied that she’d made you admit the truth to yourself, “Oh, Nat,” you whimpered as your eyes filled with tears, “What am I doing?”

Nat gave you a sympathetic smile, “Right now, you did the right thing ending things with Steve. It was good of you to recognise that you need to figure out what you want-”

“I don’t know what I want! I love Steve but Bucky’s just… He got under my skin and no matter how hard I try, I cannot shake him.”

“Talk me through it.” 

“With Steve, everything’s easy, you know? Everything’s simple and good with Steve. He’s kind and he’s open and he’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met-”

“But?”

“But am I too comfortable with him? Is life toosimple,tooeasy?”

“Is that a bad thing?” From the outside, yours and Steve’s relationship seemed perfect and truthfully, it was. You didn’t think many men in the world were like Steve Rogers, he was one of the good ones; the reallygood ones. Despite that though the question of ‘what if’ hung over you like a rain cloud and you couldn’t shake it despite trying to.

“I don’t know honestly. A large part of me says that no it isn’t a bad thing, I should want an easy life, a comfortable life but there’s another part of me…”

“What about Bucky?”

“Bucky’s…” You smiled, “Bucky’s just Bucky. He’s stubborn and cold but once you crack open that shell, he’s funny and charming and I want to know more-”

“But?”

“But am I being naïve? Bucky’s my soulmate and that obviously means something but is it enough? I know that I could marry Steve tomorrow and live our comfortable life with him until the day we die but… would it be enough for me? Would I always question ‘what if’?”

“Do you see yourself with Barnes that way? Marrying him and being together forever, white picket fence and all that jazz?”

You started down at your hands, fiddling with the frays of the blanket, “I don’t know. I think that’s what I need to figure out. I think I need to get to know Bucky more, see if it’s just a kind of infatuation or if it’s more… Ugh.” You groaned, falling back into the chair you occupied.

Nat raised her eyebrows as she took another sip of beer, “I don’t envy you right now, you know. It seems like you’ve got one hell of a decision to make.”

“I don’t want to be the cause of their friendship being ruined. You should’ve seen them today, I’ve never seen Steve like that… I don’t know if I’d be able to handle seeing either of them like that again.”

“You know that whoever you were to go forif you were to go for either… the other would make peace with that. Bucky and Steve have survived a lot worse. You think two men from the 30s would hold a grudge? I don’t think so. I think they’d be fine. At the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you.”

You slunk back into the couch, “Yeah… But what is best for me?”

Nat pushed the pizza box towards you with her foot, “More pizza. Eat up and stop torturing yourself.”

“Didn’t I say this was gonna happen?” Sam asked Steve with raised eyebrows, “Didn’t some really smart guy say that you were only just gonna push (y/n) into his arms? Who said that? Oh, Idid, I’m that smart guy.” Steve had arrived at Sam’s a while ago and he’d been updating him on the events of the last while. Sam was not impressed in the slightest, obviously.

Steve shook his head with a laugh, “Yeah, yeah… You told me so, I get it.”

“But seriously, how you doing?”

The super soldier shrugged, “Part of me wishes I’d never introduced Bucky to (y/n).”

“Wish you’d never introduced him to me too,” Sam muttered under his breath, “Pain in my ass.”

“But it was inevitable. How were any of us to know that the two of them would be soulmates? It was the last thing that any of us expected and yeah, I pushed them together so it is pretty much my fault.” He looked down to the ground, “Ultimately, I just want her to be happy; that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Could you bear to watch (y/n), your alleged second soulmate, be in love with your second best friend? Could you stomach that?”

Steve shook his head, “Wouldn’t matter,” he said, “I’d just have to do it. If they were going to be together, I’d still be in their lives no matter how hard it is for me. I couldn’t give up on either of them like that.”

“What do you think’s gonna happen?” Sam asked, taking a sip of beer.

“Honestly?” Steve sighed, “I don’t know.”

It was after midnight, Nat had long since fallen asleep on the couch but you found yourself lying awake thinking of one person in particular. Your mind was full of thoughts of him, you couldn’t help it. With a sigh, you sat up, grabbing your phone and unlocking it, eyes squinting to adjust to the change in the light. You scrolled through your contacts before landing on the one person who you needed to talk to; you wouldn’t sleep unless you spoke to him. Truthfully you knew that you shouldn’t be doing this, you knew that you might regret this decision but you couldn’t help yourself. You had to phone him; you had to hear his voice.

“You know us breaking up or ‘taking space’ doesn’t really mean you should be calling me during the night.” As soon as you heard his voice, you immediately relaxed, “What’s going on, love?” You could tell by his voice that he’d been sleeping, you’d just woke him up.

“Steve,” you almost whimpered, “Have I made a mistake?”

“Sweetheart, relax,” Steve sighed. You heard the rustling of sheets as he assumedly sat up, “I know it was only a few hours ago but I understand why it had to happen. You have to figure out what you want, whether that’s me, Bucky or neither. You have to decide what you want to do and the only way you can do that is by taking a break from us.”

“I wish things could go back to the way they were before.”

“The selfish part of me agrees but ultimately, I’m glad that you met Bucky. I’m glad you get to experience a world of colour now. Despite the circumstances of what’s happened and how it came to be, I’m glad you got to meet him and see the best version of himself. I’m glad that he met you, that he got to experience your joy because it’s the best damn thing in the world.” Hearing Steve say these things, these completely selfless beautiful things, made you just wish that you were with him now, curled up in bed. He could hear your sniffling and knew you were crying, “Have you spoken to him? Bucky I mean?”

“No, not since the hospital, why?”

“Maybe you should give him a call.” Why was Steve saying you should call Bucky? Why was he pushing you in his direction? “I mean, as hard as it is for me to suggest it and be okay with it, maybe you need to talk to him about how you feel and about what’s happened. I’m not saying you’re going to choose either of us but being honest might help put things into perspective.”

“I don’t understand, Steve…” You sighed, “Why don’t you hate me? Why don’t you hate Bucky?”

“I could never hate you, (y/n). I love you too much, you know that.” He gave a humourless laugh, “It’s my fault this happened in the first place. I was reckless and HYDRA found out about you, I asked Bucky to come back, I asked him to take you away… I got that ball rolling… I just want you to be happy and if that’s with Bucky then so be it. No matter what happens, I don’t regret any of my choices when it comes to you. I never regretted us. Know that and believe that.”

His words truly touched you and hit you square in the heart. He radiated love and kindness. You hated yourself for putting him through this. Why can’t I just be satisfied with you, Steve? If you could give up seeing colour for living in blissful ignorance with Steve, you’d do that but you couldn’t. You also couldn’t continue to be with Steve without pulling on the thread of Bucky. You had to know. “I love you, Steve.” You did, you do, love him; he taught you what love was. Things would change from here on out but that didn’t make your feelings for him any less important or any less real. 

“I love you too. Now try and get some sleep. I’ll reach out in a few days, okay?”

“Okay… Bye.” The call ended with a ‘beep’ and then you were left alone in the dark silence once again. Though this time, you didn’t feel as lonely, sad or anxious, you felt safer now; more at peace after hearing Steve’s voice.

You stayed awake for a while thinking about the things Steve said. He wanted you to call Bucky, although it hurt Steve he knew that you needed to try out all options, see where your head was and see where your heart lay. It surprised you that Steve thought that you should call Bucky, surprised that Steve was so seemingly okay with it. You knew that deep down, he wasn’t okay but he would force on a smile and would advise you to do it. Steve was too kind for his own good, he was too selfless. Overall else, he wanted you to be happy and if you were happy with Bucky, that would be enough for Steve. Still, hearing him say that you should call Bucky shocked you. That was for another day though. Instead, for now, you relished in the smell of Steve in the duvet, his words repeating over and over inside your mind.

I don’t regret any of my choices when it comes to you. I never regretted us.

tony, in the lab: *hears a noise*

tony:

tony: are you in my ceiling again, barton?

clint:

clint, in the vents: no

Avengers Masterlist

• Bring Me Back:Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 - [Request] One shot where the reader is Clint’s long-lost sister she was kidnapped by Hydra and was best friends with the Maximoffs but then Hydra changed her and she fights against the Avengers and the Maximoffs with her new power
• Finding Hope:[Request]The reader is emo, and the Avengers assume it’s like a phase cuz she’s still young (late teens early 20’s) they don’t realize that its actually her depression manifesting into her outward appearance, until they see her blog with cutting and her art work that’s really dark and depressing, and then they see its a big deal and they need to talk about this. 
• Yoga:Imagine bringing the Avengers to a yoga class
• Movie Night: Imagine watching The Incredibles with the team and everyone freaking out over how similar the Maximoff twins are to Dash and Violet.
• Workout Playlists 
• Instagrams