bakerstreet | Sentinel/Guide AU Meme

Sentinel/Guide AU Meme

Sentinels and Guides are Known:
A Sentinel!AU Meme

There are special people in the world: Sentinels, whose five senses are incredibly enhanced, sometimes to the point of overwhelming and who can easily lose themselves in fugue states, and Guides, empaths with the ability to ground a Sentinel and focus them. Sentinels are meant to protect Guides and it is said that for every Sentinel, there exists a Guide that is their perfect match. In some universes, when matches are made, a Sentinel and Guide form a soulbond to fill the feeling of emptiness.

How easy was it for you to find yours? How are Sentinels and Guides treated in your universe? Or maybe you're one of thenormalunremarkable people. Do you fear Sentinels and Guides? Despise them?

Rules
1) Post with your character/canon in the subject header.
2a) Choose whether your character is a Sentinel or a Guide
or
2b) If you don't know or don't care, just leave it blank!
3) Information about Sentinels and Guides can be found here and here. Information on 'The Sentinel' which this meme comes from can be found here.

4) All the tagging! Have fun 8D

Prompts
oo1. The Meeting:
How did you meet? Was it at an event organized specifically for finding your other half? By accident? Did you follow a mystical calling to them? Some other way?

oo2. The Bonding:
Do Sentinels and Guides in your universe soulbond? How does it go down? Is there a ceremony or do you just retreat to the bedroom?

oo3. Rejection:
Sometimes Sentinels or Guides propose a match but it's just not perfect. You don't feel the pull or maybe you think there is someone better or maybe you're already claimed. Maybe you were claimed and someone better came along?

oo4. Protection:
Sentinels are meant to protect Guides, any Guides, but it's even worse when they feel their Guide is in danger. They go feral; blind to anything but stopping and killing whoever threatened their Guide or the bond. Maybe someone attacked your Guide or you haven't bonded yet and you feel threatened or maybe you're the one doing the threatening. Whatever the reason, Sentinels in a feral state are dangerous and only their Guides can stop them.

oo5. Lost:
Sentinels often lose themselves in their senses. Either you're a Sentinel who has lost themselves or a Guide that has stumbled on one or a friend trying to draw them out. Unbonded Sentinels will find it hard to escape without a Guide. Or maybe you're bonded already which means you just need yours to come home.

006. Persecution:
Sometimes normal people or the government fear the power of Guides and Sentinels. Guides are empaths, feeling the emotions and sometimes passing thoughts of others and it can make people feel violated. Sentinels often have enhanced strength, which can make them dangerous. So they scorn them, hurt them or in the case of governments, regulate them.

oo7. Death:
Unbonded Sentinels and Guides eventually lose themselves to the empty cavern inside them. Torn apart from the inside by the feeling of something missing. Breaking the soulbond of a Sentinel and Guide is agonizing and horrifying, leading quickly to death for the remaining partner. Maybe your Sentinel protected you or old age got you or someone got sick and you're watching them die, knowing that you'll follow.

oo8. Old-School:
Guides used to be treated on the same level as slaves. Unable to work unless their Sentinel said. Not allowed out on their own. They used to wear collars and couldn't own land or inherit money. Maybe the old ways haven't completely fallen out of style.

oo9. Unbonded:
Nothing sucks more than being an unbonded Guide or Sentinel. Always looking for your other half to fill that empty feeling but you probably have friends that aren't your match or who are trying to set you up with someone. Maybe you're skeptical about the whole love at first sight thing and haven't been looking.

o10. Wildcard: Some mish-mash of the above or anything else you can come up with!

Image from weheartit

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[I can swing Steve either way. M/M please, might make an exception if we talk about it.]

It was probably always bound to happen but the day that the first missiles flew through the window of their home in Malibu, Tony was not prepared. After the mess with the Chitauri, the introduction of a pantheon to the world, and with SHIELD actively knowing what Guides -- or at least those like Tony and Clint Barton -- could do, that had put a pretty big target on Tony's and Steve's backs.

Tony will more or less take the blame for it. Especially with how he's been promoting Guide freedom since he and Steve met years ago. And Steve's 'fallen' right for it. Tony's seen the internet memes, he's read the Tweets and seen the Facebook groups made up of Sentinels and normals that want the world to go back to the Guide Acts that have been all but abolished.

"Sir, incom--" is all JARVIS gets out before the glass shatters and the whole house pitches toward the cliff.

For all the rest of the world second guessing everything, Steve is stubborn and resolute. Great change causes upheaval. It causes naysayers. There is always darkness before dawn. He honestly believes in it and he argues plenty that he'd thought the same before he'd even known Tony. Recounts the story of how horrified he'd been to find out and points out that things had been better with Sentinel/Guide relations before the war. His war.

They twist his words some in the news but people know it. It's hard to argue with Captain America. People do but he's honest and sincere in his words. It won't happen overnight but he shows up alone to things, trying to prove that he's not being coerced by Tony and that this is something that should be embraced. They've made a real mess of things but being superheroes they're already on plenty of people's lists.

The day the missiles hit Steve isn't expecting it either. He's headed up the stairs from Tony's lab--where he's set up a boxer's sandbag--when he hears the whine of missiles and he jerks at the brief flashback to the war. No, no he's here. He shakes his head, clearing it just as JARVIS starts to announce the attack.

"Ton--" the end of the Guide's name is lost in the explosion and Steve hits the wall of the staircase hard, thrown back down the steps. The glass to the lab shatters and the Sentinel snarls, eyes dangerous as he drags himself to his feet, reaching out with the bond to find his Guide.

Oddly enough, the suit Tony'd been working on saved Steve from having to experience what it would be like to have the bond ripped away. That doesn't mean that Tony's in good shape, but he's not dead. The bond is weak for a moment and then strengthens as Tony finds his consciousness again, rolling his eyes upwards to figure out where he is before another missile hits his home and it shudders again.

"I just had the floors waxed," he groans and uses the chest and the gauntlet pieces of the suit connect with his own reactor to power the repulsors and send the debris -- one of his Bentlys, go figure -- out through what use to be the side of his garage.

By the time Steve can get to him, the way is blocked and Tony himself is scrambling to find a bottom half to one of the suits. The couplings won't be perfect. He's not even sure it will fly. But at least he won't have to leave Steve alone.

"JARVIS, where's my fucking Sentinel at? Tell me he's sleeping, lazy bastard!" He means well. Tony is a bastard when he's scared.

The Sentinel is alarmed and wholly focused on getting to Tony, getting to his Guide, protecting his Guide. Steve slides on debris and throws up an arm when the next missile hits, the chink of miniguns revving up reaches his ears. He dives behind a sliding sofa as bullets rip through the house.

He can feel the bond and that's good. It's the only thing keeping him centered at the moment. The problem Steve has now is that he can't get to where the bond is leading him. There are pieces of house in the way. He should probably have gone out the garage and not up the stairs but he'd been sure that Tony was up and not down.

The house shudders and Steve scrambles to his feet, ducking his head. What he wouldn't give for his shield about now but hell if he knows where it's ended up in this mess. He can hear Tony yelling, which is good, but explosions going off make it hard to tell exactly what he's saying. His senses are overloaded--fire, smoke, more incoming artillery--it's all Steve can do to keep moving.

"Tell him to get out of the house!" he shouts, knowing if JARVIS is still functioning he'll pass along the message. "Tony, get out!"

Nothing is working right. Tony is not a happy camper when that happens. He's trying to keep his head from blowing off or being sliced into by the flying glass but nothing seems to really be working. The Mark VII and the Mark XVII just don't fit together. The suits aren't backwards compatible and the drain on the reactor is terrible as the bottom half can't draw on the top's.

He's just about to try a swan dive and hope that the repulsors will work together anyway when he hears Steve's voice through JARVIS's speakers.

"You're nuts, Cap! You get out of here! I have a suit of armor!" One that he will make work with a little faith and-- Another blast and Tony doesn't have a choice. Iron Man tumbles head over heels into the sea.

He throws... something--it might have been the top to a table at one point--and the irritating minigun ceases as the helicopter spins out of control. The brief reprieve it takes another to take its place gives him the chance to fight upward against the quickly dropping floor. Believe it or not, he'd been following his own instructions and he manages to swing himself up on the other side of the chasm.

This part of the house isn't any more stable and when Steve turns to look down, he sees the tumbling red and gold. No. No. No. He's not losing someone else to the water. Bucky hadn't been his Guide but close enough and he's not, not, losing the one he does have. It's stupid and he knows it's stupid, but Steve judges the jump. He really doesn't want to land on debris and backs up, sprinting off of what's left of the listing house into a perfect dive after his Guide.

Really, he doesn't even think about it. There's nothing that would keep the Sentinel from going after his Guide. Nothing. Steve's a strong swimmer and that only works in his favor as he tries to reach Tony.

"JARVIS, JARVIS I need to you patch through the code that will let the repulsors work in tandem," Tony growls as the water gets entirely too close for comfort.

"As I've said a moment ago, I am working on it." Damn AIs and their damned logic. Tony flips, no mask on, and catches a glimpse of something -- someone -- falling like a missile right towards him and he curses. Great. Well, at least they'll die together. Isn't that romantic?

The water just kisses his shiny metal ass when the repulsors sing to life and Tony vaporizes the top film into spray while shooting upwards to rendezvous with the craziest, sweetest, most amazing in bed man he's ever had the privileged to know. He just hopes he doesn't break any ribs when he catches the Captain mid-fall and zips them up and away. The helicopters won't be able to follow.

And their house...well it's already gone.

He really hadn't expected Tony to come shooting back up. It had looked like pretty out of control falling. At the same time, Steve is relieved. The suit would have just dragged them both down most likely and he really doesn't fancy a dip in the ocean. He's had enough of that for a lifetime--cold or otherwise.

Steve grunts and nothing is broken, probably, but it's going to be sore later. Never mind the way his ears are ringing or his skin feels like it's on fire. He hates being overloaded. It's a terrible feeling.

The Sentinel clings to his Guide. It's one thing to be in a ship and another thing to be carried. What he needs is to smell him and feel him but right now, that's not an option. He doesn't bother to try to figure out where they're going and instead closes his eyes to try to reign his senses in.

Tony has places. Places Steve doesn't know about only because it's never come up. There's property, literally, everywhere. And what Tony picks... Well, it's not actually his. It belongs to one of the guys he use to hang out with after school before his dad died and everything, everything became about cranking out weaponry that wasn't about hiding who he is.

Tony doesn't check to see if anyone's home. His friend left academia awhile ago and one of these chalets might not even be lived in. It's hard to tell when it's so overgrown. Tony touches down and half drops Steve, clamoring to tear off his gauntlets to set his hands against Steve's throat and cheeks.

"Cap. Cap. Come back to me," he whispers, pressing chapped lips to Steve's.

Technically, Steve has places. He's seen a list at some point. All the properties that had been transferred to him when they'd bonded. Of course, they may be Tony's again now. The abolition of the Guide Acts has made a mess of things.

He doesn't even look at the place they've landed. Steve is unsteady on his feet when Tony sets him down and his eyes are distant, leaning into the hands that touch him.

Steve blinks at Tony and raises his hands to cover the other man's. He's exhausted and it shows in the bright blue eyes. "Are you alright?"

"No," he says. He's not going to lie. Physically, he's beat up. Mentally, he's overworked. Emotionally...he's just tired. "You don't think it was SHIELD do you?" Because Tony does. And since Coulson-- Since they found out what happened to Barton--

Tony doesn't know what else to think.

The government wouldn't come after them directly. Not when Tony's been cooperating with them. But if not SHIELD, than some SHIELD like fringe group. None of that is sitting well with him. He presses his forehead to the blond's and then releases him so that they can both stand up.

Good, his Sentinel appreciates the truth even though that's just going to make him fret over Tony a little. His eyes dart down at his Guide and he checks for any sort of gaping wounds he might not be telling him about but everything appears to be protected by the suit.

"I can't imagine SHIELD would attack us at home. They're more the type to set a trap in a remote area," he mutters. "Lure out somewhere on the pretense of a mission and catch us there. This doesn't feel like SHIELD."

Steve shifts so he can stand and he feels out of place without the uniform or the shield. He's good but the shield helps considerably. He might have to make do with a makeshift one. "Where are we?"

"Safe." It's not very safe when Tony won't even tell Steve. It's not that he doesn't trust him, he does, with his life, but it's a little hard to describe an old mentor turned hippie and backwoods enthusists' house in the middle of bumblefuck nowhere. Or...maybe not. "An old friend lives here. Lived here. There might be boobie traps." Like flash grenades and rotten eggs. Nothing major or too harmful. Tony kept eccentric friends in his youth.

He's still not sure that this isn't SHIELD or an affiliate. Or a rogue agent. Right now, he's going to defer to Steve, a much better tactician than Tony will ever be.

They're on their feet in a moment and Tony, already taller thanks to the suit, only has to lift himself on his toes slightly to press their foreheads together.

"Let's go inside. You're bleeding."

His forehead creases at the vagueness. Steve doesn't like it but he's not going to argue about it. They're obviously in the middle of nowhere. He's hoping they're far enough out of range that they'll be left alone to regroup.

"Traps?" the Sentinel's pulse goes up and he looks alarmed as he eyes the house they're out. What sort of place is this? This better not be like the maze.

He looks confused for a moment, pressing his forehead against Tony's only to pull back and look down at himself. "I am?" He hadn't even noticed.

"Not anything-- Listen. Sal just likes his privacy. Worst that will happen is you'll be honey bombed or doused in baby powder." Or get shot in the forehead with a small plastic bag filled with blue paint.

Tony just stands where he is as the blue drips over his face, his nose, his cheeks.

"Sal! I swear to god--"

A familiar face peeks out from behind a shudder and laughs. "Well well well, look what the cat dragged in. And your Sentinel too. Fiance if I hear correctly. Come in!"

He jerks at the sound and the movement, grabbing Tony to drag him behind Steve. It may only be paint but that doesn't mean something worse might be coming. He doesn't know where they are or whether this 'friend' can be trusted.

Threatening a tense Sentinel is a bad thing. Steve presses his lips together as he looks back at his Guide. "Tony?"

"It's fine." He's wearing too much armor to calm Steve down physically. "Don't rip out his spine, all right? Sal, we're coming in. I need a shower. Like...immediately. And you'd better have hot water."

First things first. The moment the Iron Man suit is off, he takes Steve somewhere quiet which happens to be a large linen closet, and rubs his hands over his skin. He kisses him lightly. He helps him dial back the emotions, the need to protect, and tries to keep him for burning himself out.

He leaves Steve with Sal after that, the older man grinning and holding out bandages for Steve to clean himself up. "Never knew for a second what he was," Sal says. "Not for a second. That one's clever."

He does relax a little when Tony confirms that this is the person that's supposed to be here. Steve doesn't know what to think about the man's traps. He doesn't like it and he gives Sal a wary frown.

Steve follows Tony into the closet and leans into all the touches, touching in return. He buries his face in the older man's neck and just stands there for a moment, smelling his Guide as he draws everything back in. He murmurs soft words to Tony and he's relieved that he still has a Guide after everything that has happened today.

He looks after his Guide as he leaves and takes the bandages that Sal hands to him. He strips off his shirt to check for other injuries that he can't see. Steve still doesn't know what to do with Sal. "Yeah, he is."

"Probably for the best. Can't imagine him being stuck in a Tower until he could be paired off. Genius wasted, that would be." Sal's a talker and he heads into the kitchen to get some iced tea with lemons and orange floating in the liquid. He pours three tall glasses within sight of the Sentinel, bumbling around with a smile.

It's not obvious at first, but Sal's a Sentinel too. It's only when he leans down, and leans close, that Steve will be able to feel it. The two meet eyes and Sal grins.

"Don't worry, wouldn't have taken him. Maybe we're not compatible but I'm hoping more that my conviction is stronger than that. I self medicate. Mostly doing good with it oo. Trust me, I do not want a Guide. Heard enough of the propoganda. But I know what they can do too."

He winks at Steve.

"And something tells me you've learned it too. You have to really trust him. But what am I saying? It's Tony Stark. I trust that man with my life. Even if he is a Guide."

Steve is decidedly not a talker and he just listens as Sal rambles in the kitchen. He does watch him as he pours drinks and Steve can smell well enough to know that there's nothing added. When the man hands him his drink is when he senses that the man is a Sentinel and he makes him tense, eyeing Sal as he continues.

"It's not a bad thing to have a Guide," Steve mutters, frowning at his glass. He's always wanted one, for as long as he can remember. "I know what they can do and I do trust him. The world thinks he's manipulating me."

He scoffs, listening for his Guide and following his movements. "He kept it a secret because he never wanted to be tied to a Sentinel."

"Trust me, I know the feeling." He's not trying to be rude...but Sal is Sal. And sometimes he just comes off pretty miserably. He likes to be alone. That much is obvious. Who other than a hermit would live all the way out here?

Tony returns a little while later, towel around his shoulders. He snags some iced tea and sits on the lounge opposite the two Sentinels. "You were talking about me," he says, glancing from one to the other.

"We were," Sal agrees with a laugh. "Now tell me what you want from me and get the hell out of here before you ruin my solitude."

Good old Sal.

"Right now, we need a place to go for a little while. Don't suppose you got Maya's number handy?"

He doesn't get it; he really doesn't. Why would someone choose to be alone? He knows about the Guide shortages but choosing not to bond? Steve doesn't understand it but he's from a different time and his senses are more out of whack than most Sentinels.

"Only a little," Steve smiles at his Guide as he comes back. His iced tea has been set down now and he looks from one to the other in confusion. It was hard to believe these two were friends.

"Who's Maya?" he hates being a step behind.

[ooc: that sounds terrible, which means it's going to be awesome /nodnod]

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Sentinel/Guide AU Meme

Steve Rogers | MCU |

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FOUND IT! I was scrambling this morning for this one.

Awww I have it all updated on my list in Steve's journal!

... I have been reading the old stuff. XD Nice journaling.

hee I love to read old things! so I wanted to have a list :D

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I was going to troll...

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