#like bobby said get it done and buck said ofc and got it done

[tommygotwrittenoff]

thinking about gerrard hating bucks ideas and seeing them as a form of insubordination versus bobby just letting buck do his thing

[buckgettingstruck]

here to ask about the camera panning to eddie. give me the freak answer pls

when i saw that shit airing i yelled and spilled wine on my carpet.

like. i feel like this is common sense but i dont know if people realize how intentional each second of a show/movie is. like whether the show is a silly sitcom or a serious drama everything is so intentional and purposeful. of course theres always continuity errors and mistakes that happen when you’re creating a show of that size thats been running for so long but for the most part everything has its intentions. its why you see certain themes come back again and again. im not gonna get into outfit meta or anything like that because its not really my wheelhouse but i did learn a lot about camera techniques and im a writer so. yeah.

shots are one of the most important aspects of a movie or a tv show. they set the mood. close up shots convey intensity and emotion while more wide shots establish a scene etc. they gave us a lot of close up shots of eddie’s face in the kim and eddie scene at the end of 7x09 because it was an intense moment for eddie as a character for example. you have to get the shot right to convey what you want your audience to see yknow.

so. you have the medal ceremony. they couldve done the announcements for these people in literally any order because they fucking wrote the script. they didnt do it alphabetically or anything normal they literally had the trio of triangulated desire standing in the back with buck in the middle AGAIN while chim and hen were being normal and serving cunt up front. and when they were sitting they had buck in the middle again because reasons. then once they got their medals itd pan to their families and significant others clapping. ofc for tommy they pan to buck because thats the person there supporting him. for BUCK they had so many options. they had bobby, his captain that he verbally said was his father figure the next episode, they had maddie, his fucking SISTER AND THE WOMAN WHO RAISED HIM, and they had tommy, the dude he’s dating. instead they pan to eddie.

literally that is the absolute LOUDEST fucking thing the show has done so far in my opinion. they panned to buck for tommy!!! they couldve panned back to buck or done it in a different order if they didnt wanna repeat so they could pan to them for each other!!! but they panned to eddie and the director of photography was even emphasizing that choice on twitter.

the entire bi arc had eddie written all over it. they had so many opportunities to shove their relationship to the side and double down on their friendship but they didnt. instead we had buck tweaking at the gym where we have no idea who eddie was even talking to on that phone, eddie constantly mentioned by buck in a kiss scene with someone else, the line of all time ‘MY attention?’, eddie interrupting the date next episode, buck not even giving a FUCK about the date because he lied to eddie, the shit maddie said that episode about being confused about his feelings, eddie saying nothing is gonna change between them (which. thats a chekov’s gun if ive ever seen one), and all the entire shit with the bachelor party. not even mentioning the implications of the song choice for the karaoke scene that paralleled madney because we didnt get it in the episode. they couldve completely avoided all of that but they didnt and then when buck is dating someone else they dont pan to HIM being happy and supportive for buck, they pan to EDDIE. it feels as if its supposed to remind us what’s actually going on or another attempt to clue us in

also like right after they had the two who were dating acting as acquaintances. and had that guy also kinda put buck’s excitement down at said ceremony. and later in that episode had buck ditch plans with the guy he was dating to make sure eddie was okay. for reasons i guess. so buddie canon or theyre doing a real bad job at getting me to care about bucks actual man

[raviposting]

Okay so I’ve seen a lot of conflicting responses to Buddie this episode, from it being clear to people that they’re getting together, to thinking the writers have unintentionally messed things up to thinking it’s purely queerbait.

And I get the different responses, I do - tbh I’m somehow in two camps, where I simultaneously believe it’s a slowburn but I also think it’s bait. And those are two very different opinions to have and it got me thinking about why we have these different responses as fans to the possibility of a queer ship (namely two men who would presumably be bi/pan) being canon. 

While people talk about how it’s just people wanting two characters to kiss or entitled fans - sure, that’s existent in every fandom, but I think there’s also a very real fear from queer fans who don’t want to get their hopes up and I d on’t love how the conversation has shifted to calling queer fans stupid for having hope, so I kind of wanted to break it down into 3 aspects that I’ve noticed: 

How writers portray bi characters and why that makes fans hesitant to have hope

What queerbait actually means as a concept

How much “slowburn” has changed in procedurals

1. How writers portray bi characters

Something I’ve thought about a lot are the bi characters I’ve seen on TV - Darryl (CEG), Sara Lance (Arrow), Lucifer (Lucifer), just to name a few. These are great characters imo and I think you’d have a fun time watching but a thing to note is that all these characters were established as bi within the first season of their respective shows and they all fairly quickly fell into a clear romantic ship as well (with the exception of Sara as she spanned multiple shows). It may have taken time for them to say the word bisexual, but it was still clear these characters were queer fairly quickly on. You could maybe argue that Lucifer was a slowburn, but then (while it does not take away from him being bi/pan so do not use this as an excuse to be shitty about him) it’s a m/f ship which is still not the point of my post, to find a m/m or f/f ship that has that same treatment.

Some writers have done it - like for Valencia in CEG, or Petra in JTV - when they saw that fans read them this way, but trying to find those characters were few and far between, and when I looked at popular queerbait ships (whether or not they actually are queerbait) it’s usually ships where the characters are largely viewed as bisexual. A lot of times this also comes with pushback from both straight and to be frank, other queer fans as well. Straight fans don’t always see the signs that queer fans do, so to them a queer character who hasn’t been explicitly clear from the start comes out of nowhere. And what I’ve seen from certain queer fans are concerns that people aren’t appreciating the canon queer characters in a show - and I think there is a conversation to be had about that, but I don’t think the response should also be about then demanding less representation for people either. 

If we go back to 911, people talk a lot about how it has canon queer characters, which it definitely does - Michael, Hen, Josh, Karen, and David are all canonically gay/lesbian and that’s awesome, and we absolutely should talk about fans (white fans in particular) ignoring these characters. It also does not change the fact that none of these characters are bisexual and that is the representation people are looking for. Both of these things are true - these characters are often under appreciated in canon AND people deserve bisexual representation. They don’t contradict each other and to act like one negates the other does a huge disservice.

And even if a character was made bisexual in the canon text we don’t get that slowburn. This may be true for things like Leverage, or LOK, but there’s also a real fact of censorship that affected these shows and the fact that general audiences may not understand the queer text tjat the writers intended. It doesn’t make the writing any less wonderful or the ships any less poignant or beautiful or important, and there’s ofc shows like She Ra that made this more obvious (or the.....mess that was Supernatural that made it. Half true?) but these are still real things that should be acknowledged on why people are so hesitant to call it slowburn - because it’s something most queer fans haven’t SEEN DONE, because m/f ships will get that care for slowburn when it’s done but it’s not done for m/m or f/f ships in that same capacity.

2. What queerbait is

This one’s fun because I don’t think many people understand what it is, but queerbait is very dependent on the intentions of the writers/creators/etc. - which tbh can be hard to gauge, because a genuine intention that ended up not happening or someone baiting fans or someone trying to support all ships and not be rude all have very different intentions but to a fan who only sees bits and pieces of this person on social media, it can be hard to gauge.

Honestly with how much the 4th wall gets broken because of social media now I’d personally say we’ve probably moved into a different definition of queerbait - unintentional vs intentional - because we’re at a point where a show knows what ships are popular and at what level of excitement fans are for it - but that being said, there’s still a clear spectrum of intent. And imo? I don’t think 911 has that intent of queerbait - whether it’s a slowburn or they have a different vision for buddie that I (probably) won’t agree with remains to be seen, but this show usually treats its storylines with care. Are they perfect at it? No, definitely not, I definitely think that they’ve dropped the ball a few times (especially with just how many characters they have lmao), but they also clearly do their storylines with earnest and with genuine care for these characters.

Is 911 getting them together? I want to say yes. I don’t think this was always the plan, just something that they decided along the way, but I also don’t think that changes anything about the ship. A lot of people point to Tim Minear being vague about the ship, or the actors and their interpretations, but 1. We have no idea what they’ve been told about Buddie moving forward and 2. No show runner is going to spoil their show that much. 911 may be keeping quiet because they have a different plan for buddie, sure, but also maybe because they’re still figuring out how exactly they want to do this and/or they want to make this slowburn and don’t want to give it away.

3. Slowburn in procedurals

I feel like this is something that procedurals have started shying away from, but slowburns used to be very common - Bones, Castle, their ships didn’t get together for literal years, but that’s just not something that many shows do nowadays, even for m/f ships. Even things like Deckerstar will have the characters get together after ~3 seasons and explore the relationship onwards, whereas a few years ago, y ou’d pr obably be watching a sh ow and it’d take them 7 seasons to get together. My assumption for this is that shows are afraid  of getting canceled, but there’s been a pretty big shift in getting a couple together after say, 6 seasons to now getting them together about halfway through the show. I don’t think either one is bad or good - in good writers’ hands, either can be amazing - but that shift has made it so that a lot of younger fans in particular, I think, don’t fully recognize slowburn when they see it.

911 as a show tends to run pretty fast - it kind of has to with its depth of characters they have - but when they do have slower running storylines they really do make use of that as well. Bobby’s addiction is something that’s always going to be present in his character, May’s suicide attempt was brought up again front and center after 3 seasons, even Chim’s dynamic with the Lees was brought up again and it was reinforced again that they’re his family. There are certain storylines that have to be continuous and aren’t a one and done type of thing, and that includes Buck and Eddie, especially if you want to establish them as queer to a general audience who doesn’t think about these things.

And honestly, despite my fears, I think they are laying groundwork there. We have Buck learning to be more confident in his relationships, we have Eddie ready to date and learning to follow his own heart, we have Buck and Eddie both establishing that Buck is family and will always be there for Christopher. These are pretty big steps to do for a ship and we’ll obviously have to see how the show goes forward but they’ve already insinuated Eddie and Ana are breaking up, I’m sure Taylor and Buck may last a season and be over, but we do have to see what this next season brings. Do I think they’d say this? No, definitely not.

tl;dr: 

911 is a show with good viewership, but there’s always a possibility they can’t continue with their season and then their promises would feel like a lie. Or they may still be hammering out the details as this season hasn’t been written. Or they may just simply not want to spoil their show,  or they don’t want people criticizing a story before it’s finished, all of these could be reasons. The showrunners, writers, actors, ultimately they owe nothing to us as a fandom to potentially spoil their series, or do something, change it or their schedule for it, and get accused of bait. 

But it also doesn’t change why fans are wary of this storyline either, and I wish people would have more nuance and compassion for fans who are worried about queerbait (whether they think it’s not queerbait and dislike people worrying about it or if they do and are calling people idiots for believing it). There’s a lot of reasons why fans are wary and don’t want to have hope, and it’s not necessarily about 911 specifically as it is a pattern of writing seen in other pieces that have fans worried. These things can all coexist and I wish we as fandom in general could acknowledge that, because pretending that they don’t and criticizing each other/people’s intentions or knowledge when they have certain expectations also doesn’t do much to help.

[crazybagelbitch]

Soooo pt 2

Chimney is injured and confused, the 118 arrives and he doesn't recognize them. He's so scared, poor boy!

So hen gives him her radio and maddie is on the line trying to comfort him, because ofc he can recognize her voice! (Maybe she could sing to him?)

afhafjfj you have great evil ideas... him not recognizing the 118 is ice cold but i respect it.

There are hands on his cheeks and they feel warm but he doesn’t like it, turning his head and whimpering out a feeble “no.”

“Chimney can you hear me?”

“Chimney?”

“Chim--”

“Don’t touch me,” he begs, “please, no. I-I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Chim,” a female voice speaks, strained in a way that he imagines if he could actually see clearly he’d see tears in her eyes, “do you know who I am?”

“I d-don’t... I can’t see you, no.”

“It’s me, it’s Hen, okay? I’m here with Bobby, Buck, and Eddie and we’re going to take you to the hospital, Chim. It’s going to be okay, you’re safe.”

“I can’t see you,” he repeats, his cheeks feeling wet so he assumes he’s crying; he wants to believe that it’s Hen and the rest of the 118 but he’s scared and he can’t think or see straight and what if this woman isn’t Hen and she’s lying again? What if he’s going to end up locked back up in that basement?

“What the fuck do we do? Bobby, we gotta get him to the hospital one way or another. Even if Hen has to sedate him to get him on that gurney.”

“I don’t know what he’s been drugged with Buck,” the woman who is supposedly his best friend says, “I can’t give him any medication or I’m risking a potentially dangerous drug interaction.”

“Should we just... I hate to scare him even more but he’s weak and Eddie and I can lift him easily... if we don’t get him in that ambulance soon my sister is going to kill me.”

“Bobby,” the female voice sighs, “I have an idea. I don’t see any life threatening injuries and he’s terrified and I don’t think we should make it worse.

“...Hen,” he says quietly, sounding reluctant, “you said it yourself, we don’t know what’s in his system or how much. He could be concussed, too.”

“Please--”

“Two minutes. You have two minutes, Hen.”

“Okay, Chim, sweetie, I know you were talking with Maddie over the phone... I’m going to try and get her over radio for you.”

“Maddie?”

“Maddie,” she agrees enthusiastically, gently placing something on his chest and he flinches away and tries to shake off the foreign object right up until he hears his girlfriend’s voice.

“Hen? How is he? What’s going on? How hurt is---”

“Maddie, he’s a little confused right now,” Hen explains carefully, “and his vision isn’t too good so I thought you could explain to him that it’s us, the 118, and we’re here to help and he shouldn’t be afraid of us touching him.”

“He doesn’t recognize you?” Maddie demands, and he doesn’t understand why she sounds so scared but it makes him whimper because he never wants Maddie to feel scared. Besides, he already feels scared enough for the both of them at the moment.

“M-Maddie?”

“Hi,” she coos, and she’s crying and her voice sounds muffled but he’d recognize it anywhere, “it’s okay, baby, it’s okay. Your friends are right there-- Hen and Bobby and Buck and Eddie and I need you to let them help you, okay? They’re going to have to touch you but only good touches, I promise. No one is going to hurt you anymore.”

“H-Hen? It’s Hen? You promise?”

“I promise, Chimney, I do. She needs to check you over so can you let her touch you, please? I promise it’s okay.”

He’s not so sure about it but that’s Maddie’s voice and it’s real and he’s fairly certain he’s not hallucinating it, and she’d never trick him, right? No, she wouldn’t lie and he doesn’t feel safe but he doesn’t want Maddie to think he thinks she’s a liar.

“O-Okay.”

“Okay, Chim, I’m just going to pull your shirt up a little so I can look for any cuts or bruises. Then Bobby and I are going to have to lift you up to put you on a stretcher so we can put you in the ambulance, okay? It’s okay, honey, promise.”

“B-Be gentle? Hurts...”

“I’ll be as gentle as possible,” Hen hums, “you’re safe now, you poor thing. I missed you so much-- we all did.”

He whines when Hen’s hingers brush over more sensitive parts of his skin and he’s not sure what lies there but it hurts. Hen sounds calm and sweet though as she talks to him and apologizes for the pain and Maddie is singing “Islands in the Stream” to him over whatever the box is that Hen gave him so he decides to just trust it.

“Okay, okay, good. Bobby and I are going to have to lift you up now, alright? Just for a few seconds.”

“Don’t wanna move,” he sniffles, feeling dizzy enough of the ground and knowing any sort of movement will hurt.

“It’ll be quick and we’ll do all the work, Chim.”

“Chimney?” Maddie coos, “let them, please. For me.”

“For you? O-Okay.”

It doesn’t hurt as much as he’s expecting but his head doesn’t like the movement and a wave of gray washes over his already blurred vision. There’s an awful heaviness in his stomach and he doesn’t really register what’s happening until there’s a bitterness in his mouth.

“That’s okay,” the voice he can only assume is Bobby’s says calmingly, putting a hand to his forehead, “I have an extra change of uniform in my locker.”

“S-Sorry.”

“Hush, a little throw up on my shirt is the least of my worries right now, Chim.”

“You got sick? Poor baby,” Maddie murmurs, “I’m sorry. The doctors will give you medicine at the hospital that will help you feel much, much better.”

There’s a noise behind him that startles him and he flinches but “Bobby’s” hand is in his hair again and assures him it’s just the doors to the ambulance closing.

“Maddie,” Hen murmurs, “I gotta put an IV in and I think he’s still a little wary of me... could you please explain it to him?”

“Chim?”

“Maddie?”

“Hen’s going to give you a little pinch but that’s just to help, too. You need water and it’s going to help you feel better.”

“What?”

“It’ll only last a second, just trust me, Chim.”

Before he can further protest, he feels something sharp going into his arm while a pair of hands press down on his shoulders and he whimpers but the pain is gone a moment later.

“It’s in, Maddie, thank you.”

“See? All done, baby,” Maddie coos, “I’m going to sing to you some more, okay? Then once you’re there I’m going to go straight to the hospital to see you.”

He hears Maddie’s voice and everything feels uncertain and threatening but he feels the tension in his chest lightening ever so slightly. It’s Maddie, he’s hearing Maddie and that has to mean the worst is over, right? All he had wanted the past... however long it was, was to hear her voice and now it’s here and that has to mean he’s going to be okay.

At some point when he blinks his vision becomes just clear enough for him to make out the two former blobs in front of him.

“Wait... B-Bobby? Hen?”

“Oh thank God,” Hen cries, throwing her arms around him and he can feel her shaking but she’s warm and she’s Hen and he clutches at her shirt and never wants to let her go.

He has to be safe now, he has to be.

[buckleysjareau]

Hi it’s me the supernatural anon from a while ago and I’ve been actually working on a 911/supernatural fic because I got bored but that’s beyond the point I was wondering how you think each of the characters would react to finding out the supernaturals real? Like assuming Maddie hide it from Buck I feel like he would recognize Sam and Dean from some articles he read in the dead of night because of insomnia and start freaking out because there are serial killers at the station

ummmm, hello anon i would just like to start out by stating that this ask has made me laugh a lot after a shitty 48 hours lmao so thank you! i totally agree about buck, like i see it so clearly okay oh my God. Like can you imagine buck is just cleaning the rescue, talking to Eddie about the shit he read last night because he couldn’t sleep and then suddenly Sam and Dean walk in okay and buck just shuts up in the middle of his sentence... so Eddie’s callin from under the truck “......buck????” and Sam all tall and mysterious “serial killer” is like “so YOURE buck” like theyre best bros. and buck just squeaks out “...eddie!!!” so ofc eddies like why the fuck the secret loml scared right? so he’s squaring them up like “how can we HELP you” trying hard not glare. 

SOOOOOOOOOO sam and dean basically ignore eddie because they’re shocked to see little evan buckley standing taller than dean and buffer than sam. like holy shit man this is Todd buckleys son... maddie buckleys little brother who was seven the last time they saw him. but of course eddies not having that because buck looks like hes about to piss himself or throw up or faint so he asks buck why hes freakin and he just says “ITS THEM!!! ITS THE GUYS FROM THE ARTICLE I SPIRALED ON LAST NIGHT!!! the SERIAL KILLERS!!!”

so naturally eddie is like,,,, oh shit and sam and dean are like WAIT WAIT WAIT WERE NOT SERIAL KILLERS!!! and bring up they’re looking for maddie and bc buck shouted ab serial killers being in the station, half the station comes down including chim hen and bobby. and at the exact same time chim and buck are like “what the fuck do you want with MADDIE!!!” getting all protective and shit. and stupid protective in love eddie is still squaring up. and theyre really trying to explain themselves the best they could because its at this point they realize, unlike their dad had done with bringing them both into monster hunting, todd and madeline never let him in on it like maddie had said one day. dean keeps talking himself into a hole because like i said dudes are just shocked how grown evan buckley got and how much he grew to look like his father... soooooo dean fuckin says that and buck grabs dean by the collar and is like “HOW TF U KNOW MY FATHER” and maddie is walking into the station at this point and breaks it up before she even sees its sam and dean. then when she realizes they have this reunion and shit,,,,, and buck is still like he was in oceans 911 where hes like “im so confused can we go back” and says like “maddie why are you hugging these guys!! theyre known serial killers!!! we should be calling athena!!!!!” and bobbys like “already called” 

and maddie who knows the life of THE FAMILY BUSINESS SAVING PEOPLE HUNTING THINGS and remembers everything ab the way the survived by doing this with the LIESSSSSS shes like “no no no this is a huge misunderstanding lets all sit down and talk yeah?” bc she genuinely cares ab the winchesters and is very curious to know why theyre here before they get arrrested for being “serial killers” . so chimney naturally agrees with maddie and they all end up in the loft prayin they dont get a call. 

aaaaaand maddie starts explaining everything and fuckin eddie and FUCKING BOBBY are the ones to actually believe it and bucks just like... a fish out of water?? is the best way i can describe his shock (im sorry thats sad byt jfsdjfsdl) and hes like “so when you and dad went away on your stupid hunting trips-” (dean cuts him off like hey!!!!) “your STUPID hunting trips you were KILLING DEMONS?????  whaaaatattttt????? this is why you guys always fuckin left me with MOM???” and hes just spazzing pretty mych. and while eddie is being like a comforting presnese eddie is like, secretly so stoked because growing up he SUPER believed in the supernatural like kind of obsessed so hes like bombarding the three of them with questions like “so fuckin djinns and vampires and SHAPESHIFTERS ARW REAL????” and bucks and chim are looking “r u serious” but sam and dean are super amused and hes like “little buckley grew up with good taste” and everyone but buck and eddie snicker. 

chim really wants to believe it because,,, its coming from his girlfriends mouth u know?? but he doesnt know these men and like.... demons ?????? so chimneys just slowly trying to process the information while sam and dean r grillling maddie buckleys new cool boyfriend... they rly didnt like doug so theyre ecstatic shes dating a good man. 

hen just finds this thing entirely amusing that the monster hunting is really not the thing thats on the fore front of her mind... like the fact that buck almost got old family friends arrested because of his internet research??? and eddies automatic stance to fight when dean definitely “accidentally” flirted with buck and all of the yelling like its all nuts to her so shes just sitting back laughing to herself. 

last but most definitely not LEAST athena starts reading them the miranda right s the second she lays eyes on them and funny enough eddie is the one to jump to their defense saying buck was doing internet research and mistook them for others. and athena was like “tf bobby u coulda told me . “ and hes like “i had to listen to the story” and eddie just jumps in and explains everything which buck even after all of this also finds that hlarious. and athena deadass mutters “oh god theyve been drugged again” 

this was so LONG LMAOOOOOO sleep deprivation man. i got too hype ab this. u asked for their reactions not a whole ass scene but it just happened lmao. hope you liked it supernatural anon!!! also u should send me ur crossover fic id love to read it !!!! 

[andinewton]

Healing the Hurt - Avengers Redemption Series - Part Two - Chapter 28

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Amelia Richards (OFC), pretty much everyone from the MCU appears at some point!

Pairings: Bucky x Amelia (ofc)

Warnings:  Chronic pain, physical disability, implied smut, eventual smut, swearing, fertility issues, pregnancy, angst with a happy ending, Stark has a heart.

Word Count:  151372 (complete with additional epilogues added)

Summary: 
Everything is going well at Avengers Tower, Bucky is integrating into the team slowly but surely; he longs for his confidence back but knows it's going to be a long road, never more than when he meets the new secretary at his doctor's office.

Amelia Richards is a career SHIELD agent, recruited straight out of college into the "company" but now she finds herself passed around from department to department, her latest position as a secretary at Avengers Tower proving monotonous compared to her former life, but when James "Bucky" Barnes walks into her office one Friday evening everything changes…

Join Bucky as he rediscovers parts of himself he had thought long lost with someone who considered herself broken for a long time, helping one another heal in more ways than one…

Master List

Chapter 28

Summary:  Date night! Or the run up to it anyway!

WARNING this chapter contains mentions of infertility and Darcy Lewis and her runaway mouth!

Nat had brought not only a selection of dresses to Amelia’s room, but also one Darcy Lewis, who, she had been assured, was a hair and make up genius. She loved the warm brown tones of Amelia’s hair and they soon had not only the ideal dress but Darcy knew the perfect makeup look to match. Darcy sat Amelia well away from any mirrors so she could let the entire look be a surprise, and although the style of dress already gave Amelia an idea she wasn’t expecting this. Her hair had been swept back off her face with bobby pins that blended seamlessly into her hair, and the length spun into large curls that framed her face and fell over her shoulders prettily. Her eye makeup was understated, smoky but subtle, with a dark eyeliner flicking out into a wing design, her lashes dark and lustrous. Her lipstick was matt red, a very big contrast to what she normally wore, preferring natural tones, but it matched her dress perfectly. The theme they had gone for was decidedly forties inspired and she would never have thought she could pull it off, but as she looked in the mirror at herself, in the sweetheart necklined red dress with black buttons down the centre to the waist seam where the material spanned out, she had to admit she looked good. The sleeves were short and trimmed in black, as was the neckline, and with the shoes Nat had loaned her, red with a two inch heel she could walk in once she raised the height of her crutch to accommodate the difference, she felt beautiful.

‘Just one more thing.’ Darcy said as she brought over a black faux fur shrug as Nat fastened a red flower to her hair just back from her temple. ‘We know you’re getting a cab, so you shouldn’t get cold.’ ‘Let’s see the whole look.’ Nat asked as she stepped back and laced her arm with Darcy’s and smiled at their work. ‘Oh, gloves!’ She dashed to the dressing table and brought back the black lace dress gloves. ‘Here. Now you’re finished.’ ‘You’re sure about this?’ Amelia asked, looking at them instead of her reflection. ‘You don’t think he’ll think it’s weird I look like a forties girl?’ ‘Forties pin up, more like.’ Darcy grinned. ‘No, he won’t think it’s weird.’ Nat assured her. ‘You look amazing.’ ‘Maybe I should have just gone with the black dress.’ She suggested but the both stepped forward and took one of her arms, making her look in the mirror. ‘If he doesn’t like this he’s blind and stupid.’ Darcy insisted. ‘You are going to stun him into silence when he first sees you and spend the rest of the night listening to him as he’s unable to shut up about how gorgeous you are.’ She managed a smile and it made Nat grin all the more. ‘Trust me, Milly, he won’t know what hit him.’ Nat was the only one who called her Milly, and she didn’t really mind, it was what her father had called her, it brought back memories, but Nat said it with a hint of her Russian accent, which made it endearing. ‘So, check list. Bag,’ Darcy handed her the small black shoulder bag which held a few essentials, ‘perfume?’ ‘On and,’ Amelia sniffed her wrist, ‘still emanating.’ ‘Phone to sneak off to the bathroom and let us know how well the date is going?’ ‘In the bag.’ She laughed. ‘Condoms?’ ‘What?’ Amelia looked at her in shock. ‘Well, if it’s a good date…’ Darcy wiggled her eyebrows. ‘I put some in your bag, just in case.’ ‘It’s our first date!’ She stated, having not thought this could even be a possibility. ‘But you and Bucky know one another well enough that it might not be long before you want to go to the next level, so better safe than sorry. Wrap it up, kiddo.’ ‘Oh my God, my face matches my dress.’ Amelia groaned, hoping she would cool off before she had to meet Bucky in the common room, which was only seven minutes away. ‘Breathe, Milly.’ Nat reminded her. ‘It’s just a precaution.�� ‘It’s a pretty big sign, what if I drop my bag?’ ‘Then he’ll know you’ve thought about it.’ Darcy reminded her. ‘And you can’t say you haven’t, because who wouldn’t? And you know, super soldier and friction being what it is, you might wanna double bag, just in case.’ ‘Enough, Darce.’ Nat said warmly before passing Amelia her crutch. ‘You’re prepared for every eventuality. Carrying them doesn’t mean you have to use them, but it’s good to be prepared.’ ‘Okay, fine, I can do this, knowing I’m walking round with, how many condoms in my bag?’ ‘Eight.’ Darcy winked at her. ‘How long do you think this date will last?’ She asked in disbelief. ‘Well, as he hasn’t dated or anything else but used self service for a while, chances are it might be fast.’ ‘Super soldier constitution, Darce.’ Nat reminded her as they encouraged Amelia towards the door. ‘She’s in for a good night, whenever it happens.’ ‘And you’ll tell us, right? Because girls night is coming up, and Sigyn is tired of telling us stories.’ ‘Okay, fine. When something happens I’ll share, a bit, but it’s not going to be tonight, and the condoms are a moot point, anyway.’ ‘Always better to be safe than sorry.’ Darcy reminded her. ‘Yeah, but he has super serum so I doubt he has anything I need to worry about, I know I’m clean.’ She fished the contraceptives out of her bag and held them out to Darcy. ‘And what about babies?’ Darcy pushed her hand back towards her with its awkward cargo. ‘I’m not going to get pregnant.’ She stated. ‘I, I can’t.’ ‘You can’t?’ Darcy glanced at Nat who knew only too well how it felt. ‘What do you mean, Milly?’ Nat asked gently, noting she swallowed before she spoke. ‘I mean I can’t conceive. They found out I have blocked tubes when I was recovering, and it explained a lot of what’s been going on with my body since I grew up.’ She laughed but there was a bitter edge to it. ‘It’s not something I’ve ever considered, anyway, having kids.’ Nat gave her a brief hug, knowing exactly what she was talking about. ‘She doesn’t need the condoms, Darce.’ Nat said quietly and the younger woman took them from Amelia’s hand without having to be asked again. ‘I guess I’m going to have to put these suckers to use myself.’ Darcy said and they all started laughing, having no doubt that she would. ‘Okay, now that we’re clear on that, you have your meds in your bag to take with your food?’ Nat asked seriously. ‘All present and correct.’ Amelia nodded. ‘Then let’s get you out there.’

Bucky was all but pacing the common room, while Steve and Sam sat at the bar, drink in hand, watching in amusement. He had shaved, and slicked back his hair but kept it loose. Steve had loaned him some cologne and on their advice he had avoided wearing a black suit. Instead the two piece was navy, although his shirt was black, but it fit him well, accentuating his form in a comfortable but flattering style. He had forgone a tie but his shoes were shined, and he knew he looked good, but he was nervous as hell. ‘It’s hilarious, like watching him wait for his prom date.’ Sam said and Bucky glared at him. ‘Come on, man, you’re acting like you’ve never done this before.’ ‘It’s been a while.’ Bucky checked his watch again. They were due to meet in just under five minutes. ‘What if she changes her mind?’ ‘Then she’s come to her senses.’ Steve slapped Sam’s arm as he replied. ‘She’s not going to change her mind, Buck. Other than missions, you’ve seen each other every day for weeks, and you’re still not bored with one another’s company.’ ‘I can hear giggling.’ Sam commented as he was nearest the door and Bucky straightened himself up, buttoning his jacket and pulling on the hem. ‘How do I look?’ ‘You look fine. Here.’ Steve threw him the small bouquet of flowers that Bucky had left on the bar and he caught it easily. ‘Thanks. Now scram, both of you.’ He nodded towards the elevators. ‘Sorry, pal, we want to see this.’ ‘Punk.’ He muttered, just as Darcy came into view first, grinning from ear to ear and holding her phone up, obviously filming him. He was about to ask her what she was doing when Nat came through the doorway with Amelia beside her. She looked…stunning. He was lost for words and Darcy had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from squealing with delight at the footage she got of his mouth first falling open, then the smile that grew on his face. He went to meet her, and she turned the camera to catch them both as Amelia grinned at him, so much more relaxed now they were together, as though the distance made it harder. ‘You look beautiful, sweetheart.’ He said quietly as he handed her the flowers, but Nat quickly took them from him. ‘I’ll get those in water.’ She promised as Bucky took her free hand and lowered his head, kissing her softly to the side of her lips to avoid smudging her lipstick. ‘Thank you, you look amazing. The blue really suits you.’ Amelia replied as they parted. ‘You want a drink first or shall we head out?’ She glanced around the room, at where Nat had now leant on the bar behind Steve, all of them smirking. ‘We may as well get to the restaurant, we’ll have an audience wherever we are and at least then we can get food.’ ‘Sounds good. Don’t wait up.’ He said to them before switching hands so they could stay joined as they went to the elevator. It was only once the doors closed that Sam spoke. ‘Fifty bucks says the night has a very happy ending.’ ‘Sounds like an easy win.’ Nat replied. ‘The real question is whose room will they end up in?’ ‘I say his.’ ‘I say hers.’ Nat replied. ‘Rogers?’ ‘I bet they don’t even make it to a room.’ He gave them a knowing smile, all of which Darcy caught on camera.

Chapter 29