Avengers x Reader One Shots

Tough Act To Follow ✨ Jack Thompson

A/n: Y'all, please request something, I'm running out of ideas

----------

----------

You never expected to see him like this.

Jack was always calm, cool, collected, and most of all, in control. To find him so utterly out of his normal element was more than a little unnerving.

Let me explain. You had been coming to give him a file he had left at your house. And that was when you found him, door closed as the life bled out of him.

You rush forward to your unconscious superior, placing a hand on his chest wound in a frenzied attempt to stop the bleeding. Common sense soon reigns, and you rip up a nearby shirt, pressing it to the wound. Imminent problem semi-taken-care-of, you grab the phone and dial 911. Attempting to remain calm, you are able to explain the situation, and the operator assures you that medics are headed your way.

You replace the receiver and dial the SSR--daniel's direct office line, to be specific--anxiety filling you yet again as it rings with no answer. Relief replaces it when Daniel picks up, but only momentarily. The repressed agitation from earlier rises to the surface, spilling out like your words.

"-AndIfoundhimandhe'sbeenshotandDanielwhatifhe'sdeadohmy," you finish, pausing your words as you begin to hyperventilate. 

"Breathe, Y/n, breathe," Daniel instructs, repeating the words in and out over again until you've calmed down enough to be coherent. "So, what happened?"

"It's Jack," you repeat, "He's been shot. I found him in his hotel room."

Daniel's tone immediately becomes businesslike, but that doesn't disguise the concern. You briefly hear him yell, "Edwards, Johnson, I want a team re-" as he moves to replace the receiver, cutting the line.

You hang up as well as the dial tone rings, moving back to Jack. As you press the ripped further into his wound, stopping the blood, you move to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. You are too worried to do chest compressions in his current state, so that's what you stick to. You check for a pulse and notice it--faint, but there. It's slowing exponentially and your fear wells up, as do the tears in your eyes.

"Jack," you whisper, "You can't die on me. Please." As you stare at his pale face, blurry from tears that you quickly wipe away, you realize that the feeling you've been denying--the banter, the almost-flirting, the things you put down to being platonic--you've fallen in love with this lovable, arrogant asshole. You place a hand on his cold cheek, gently rubbing your thumb back and forth as you keep pressing the shirt into his chest with the other. Memories flash through your mind, of fun times, of less fun times, of times when he was cold, of times when he showed you the broken but lovable man beneath that cold, false exterior. 

When pleading fails, you move to empty threats as tears wet your lashes before falling down your cheek and onto his shirt. "I'll kill you if you die, Jack, so I'd recommend you don't."

Still nothing--not that you expected something. You try again. "Jack, I- I love you. Please, please wake up. I know you don't feel the same, but please-" your voice cracks, "please come back." Shirt forgotten, you grab his right hand and clasp it in both hands, holding it to your chest. You consider kissing him, pull a Prince Charming from Sleeping Beauty, but think the better as you realize how inappropriate and rude that is, to take advantage of his unconscious state for a nonconsensual kiss. 

You move one hand back to holding the shirt over his wound, keeping the other on top of Jack's as you press it into your own chest as tears flow down your cheeks unchecked.

Suddenly, you are pulled back. Everything is a blur as medics rush in and out, taking Jack. You just stand there, shell-shocked and forgotten.

Soon, Daniel comes in and envelopes you in his strong arms. You relax into his warm embrace, leaning into his chest. He holds you close, but by the time he came you had already run out of tears. Now, you are just numb as the man that you've adopted as a brother holds you. 

You break the silence. "He's dead, Daniel." Your voice is muffled by his shirt. "He's dead."

"I know, I know," he soothes comfortingly, rocking you and pressing a kiss to your head. But the dam has been opened and there is no stopping you.

"He's dead," you repeat, voice crescendoing. Daniel pulls back, looking you over, concern renewed. You eventually stop growing louder, remaining at the same volume and continuing to repeat the words. 

"Let's get you to the car." You nod, not processing it but allowing him to lead you. Your voice eventually drops back to a whisper, with no clear reason why, but you don't stop.

Daniel grabs a blanket the medics left behind and wraps it around you where you allow it to hang, unnoticed. Peggy walks up, sharing a worried look with Daniel.

"It's not hers," Daniel clarifies, referring to the blood, which is splattered and covering you and your clothes. Peggy nods, but still seems concerned as to your condition--which is founded, seeing as how you are repeating two words over and over with no break. Your eyes are glazed over, and you stare straight ahead, not seeming to take anything in. 

Daniel leads you to the car gently. You sit and soon fall into a restless sleep, filled with nightmares.

Should I do a part two?