#mota x bikeriders crossover

[avonne-writes]

Headcanon that Benny Cross has been on his own since he was very, very young. He kind of gives that vibe to me idk? He has that lost feeling no matter how tough he is, and his restlessness and tendency to just run and take care of himself is definitely ingrained.

For Bucky/Benny I think Bucky would be the only non-club person that’s not intimidated by Benny and just treats him like a person with all that boyish enthusiasm and interest in the bike and casual friendliness. It would adorably confuse Benny but he finds he craves whatever attention that is.

Thank you for these headcanons! My spoilery reply is below 😊

1.

Yes, I agree! He gives runaway kid vibes. I think his parent(s) made him feel like a burden, and after a while, he started telling them that he’ll leave so that they wouldn’t have to bother with him and take care of him. He expected them to tell him what Kathy did, that they didn't want him to go, but they didn't. So, he left, but he always felt like he was the one abandoned.

This is one of the biggest reasons why the club and especially Johnny are so important to him. They give him a place to belong. And as long as Benny feels wanted, he’s loyal to the bone. That’s established in the scene where he refuses to take his jacket off. That sense of belonging is more important to him than his life. Then, also, in the scene where he waits for Kathy all night. He’s stubborn to stick with people who make him feel like they can be his home.

But when these two sources of belonging clash and he feels like he’s failing them both, his only coping method left is, once again, to run away. But he’s not able to establish a new "home" without them - as we can see from him still wearing the Vandals vest when he hears of Johnny's death even though he left quite some time before. That news is a catalyst for him to go back to the only person who still makes him feel like he belongs.

I feel like Benny would be prone to suicidal ideation and behaviour, and the latter manifests in recklessness and not caring whether he risks his life. This is supported by what Kathy says about him, that he thinks people are better off dead anyway. Johnny is the first one whose death affects him in a different way.

I think Benny is a little feral, but he longs for people with whom he doesn’t have to be.

2.

As a direct continuation of my headcanons above, I think Benny would like those supportive and warm vibes from Bucky, and like you said, that he’s not scared of Benny. Bucky is a pretty tough guy in his own right, and I think Benny would like that. That Bucky could support him and stand up for him like he would stand up for Bucky.

[avonne-writes]

Yes, I would love to read that! ❤️‍🔥 I had a different Bucky x Benny idea, but it could also be mixed with this.

Here me out.

I'll never write this, so if it sparks anything in anyone, go right ahead!

But what if, after the war, Gale marries Marge. And to get away from everything: the struggles being back after the war, ptsd, a life without purpose or structure, and being best man to the man he loves as he weds himself to someone else - John runs.

He goes and goes, until he stops at a bar with a few motorcycles out front (still the 1940s!). And there he meets Benny Cross - freshly divorced from his marriage to Kathy, and the only guy there who doesn't try to cajole him into some kind of conversation, and is happy just to drink in silence.

A Bucky x Benny Cross AU crossover?

[hogans-heroes]

So I just wanted to say that I still think about your Bikeriders AU from time to time- absolutely no pressure, but do you have any more small thoughts you could share with us please?

(Referring to the Bikeriders/mota crossover here, here, here)

Ahhh yes anon thank you!! This crossover gave me so many feels and I hope to get to it soon. Big brother Benny and little brother Gale’s story got really angsty, along with Johnny and the Vandals getting violent when they find who did this to Gale.

But I’m eager to explore more of Johnny’s pov and see his soft heart under the tough exterior that he really wants to take care of Gale and Bucky. He’s got experience handing street-rough boys like Bucky but the shutdown ones like Gale are harder.

And Benny. Benny goes through it. He hasn’t even dealt with his own trauma from childhood and now he’s got Gale back, but Gale’s been hurt and Benny doesn’t know what happened and feels helpless and guilty and just too many big feelings to handle. He’s definitely a loose canon.

Poor Bucky is terrified. He’s a wild thing snapping and tearing because he has to protect Gale but at the beginning of the story he’s too hurt to do much and absolutely does not. Trust. Anyone.

Johnny and the Vandals have their work cut out for them. Thank god Betty and Kathy are there to be the actual mvps.

Thank you for asking anon! I’ll try not to let too much time pass before I get to this ❤️

[johnslittlespoon]

20 questions for writers

thank you @triggerlil for the tag!! <3 i'm so late omg but this was FUN, first tag game i've done that's more author than writing snippet/drabble related :-)

tagging @air-exec, @counting0nit, @don-humes-tiny-shorts, @eternallytired17, @hauntingcontradiction

@nicijones, @bucking-mustangs-with-wings, @swifty-fox, @mangokittokatsu, anyone else who wants to! i love reading tag games like these, it's nice to learn more about the ppl behind all the brainrot :')

questions & answers below the cut! x

how many works do you have on ao3?

12!

what's your total ao3 word count? 50,182 wtf i only made my ao3 in january lol

what fandoms do you write for?

i've written for lotssss over the past decade, but my current ao3 is just saltburn and masters of the air fics :-) for the sake of this tag i'm just gonna stick to my mota fics in my answers tho since yk. mota blog lol

top 5 fics by kudos?

i don't wanna be alone tonight – buckbucky breathe me in (exhale slow) – buckbucky you're a dog (i'm your man) – buckbucky you put your arms around me (and i'm home) – buckbucky four–by–four – buckbucky

do you respond to comments?

every single one <33 i take a long while sometimes because i get too lost in the actual writing or i get overwhelmed by the kindness lol but i always always respond eventually :')

what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

definitely i see you in the daytime (i hear you at night), my first fic for masters of the air actually that spawned as a way to vent my feelings after the dreaded third episode lmaoo </3 thought that would get those boys out of my system, and i couldn't be happier to have been more wrong <3

what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

ruh roh this kinda made me realize all my fics have some sorta melancholy/bittersweet ending even when they're hopeful... yad(iym) is gonna fix me fr (i think). but i guess the fuse to my fire since curt lives and the three of them are curtbuckbuckying indefinitely <3

do you get hate on fics?

i have in past fandoms but not here thankfully bc i am sensitive LOL. i've had weirdo anons that bitch about john bottoming (and i don't think those people realize it makes me inclined to write even more sub and/or bottom john to be petty SJGDK) but i wouldn't consider that hate, just bad fandom etiquette ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

do you write smut?

YEAHHH BABY <3 that's like. 99% of my drabbles/brainrot posts here and it takes serious self control to not just constantly write pwp oneshots, it's too much fun!! finding the balance in my chaptered fic for how much nsfw is too much is such a journey too lol, i wanna cram a spicy scene into every chapter but the part of me that adores slowburn over any other trope reins the gay brain in </3

craziest crossover?

haven't written any as of yet, but i do have my leaving!bikeriders au that i'm hoping to turn into a chaptered fic this summer, and that's exactly what it sounds like– buckbucky, but yank parts of callum's character from the leaving series and parts of austin's character from the bikeriders to create a buckbucky modern au. :-)

have you ever had a fic stolen?

i'm sure back in the wattpad days of the early '10s lol but none that i specifically remember!

have you ever had a fic translated?

in past fandoms!

have you ever co-written a fic before?

perhaps @curtsbigspoon and i cooked up like. 15k words of buckbucky thigh fucking etc months ago that i just need to get around to cutting down/editing >:-)

all time favorite ship?

i mean for me it's always a ship from whatever media i'm fixating on, so right now any variations of curtbuckbucky and cattonquick are everything to me <3 but in terms of ships that'll always have my heart, i can't ever let go of drarry, pricefield, clexa/murphamy, sciles/sterek– any from media i consumed during formative teenage years lol. but i will say i have never created anywhere near as much content for any other fandom as i have for mota :')

what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

for once i actually have none that i see myself abandoning! i would notoriously abandon wips in past fandoms and probably would still, but guess who finally got on adhd meds last month after years of waiting? this guyyyy. i can start projects... and enjoy them the whole way through... and not get frustrated and trash them... who am i

i mean tbf i have at least a dozen wips that i've gotten either a few paras or few thousand words into lol but then a new shiny idea grabs my attention, but i do think i'll end up finishing most if not all of them off eventually! once i've invested enough time/words into a wip, i feel way more motivated to finish it so i'm not 'wasting' my efforts.

what are your writing strengths?

i feel most confident when i'm writing dialogue over anything else. writing conversation–heavy scenes or just straight up porn is when i overthink the least lmaoo

what are your writing weaknesses?

oh god, definitely having to spell out what's going on in a character's mind. like, i know what they're thinking as i'm writing out scenes; i can feel their emotions and all. i just have such a hard time putting it into words in a way that doesn't feel too obvious/overstated, if that makes sense. i very much prefer to show rather than tell their emotions, but sometimes it's hard to get that right, and i agonize over solo scenes the most, when i can't show what a character is feeling by way of verbal conversation with another character.

thoughts on dialogue in another language?

no specific opinion! sometimes it's cool to read/write, mostly i don't really have an opinion one way or another :-)

first fandom you wrote in?

lmfaooo i'm pretty sure it was either for olddd youtube ships or frerard ngl. not sure which came first bc i wrote so much at once

favorite fic you've written?

you're a dog (i'm your man) has been such a labour of love for me because i care so much about doing it justice :') so maybe that one, but if unfinished fics don't count, i actually wrote breathe me in (exhale slow) in one rushed four–ish hour sitting and was kinda neutral on it until i got a completely unexpected burst of kind and beautifully worded responses, and then i felt a tiny bit proud <3

[avonne-writes]

Hello! Love you answer to the ask on Benny and Gale as brothers.

How do you think Bucky and the 100th would fit in with that side of Gale's life - Benny and The Vandals? Especially pre-Vietnam and the increasing criminality of biker gangs?

I can see so much chaos, but also a lot of conflict. Extra points if someone adopts Cockroach 🥺

Headcanon 1 and 2

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked those.

If both Gale and Benny are in the picture (as brothers), Bucky would be protective of Gale, because he knows Benny could hurt him emotionally. This means he’d try to stay by Gale's side the whole time. Benny gets annoyed with him because he speaks for Gale too much, and then Johnny might come over because he can sense the tension and he wants to avoid a fight. I feel like he and Bucky wouldn’t like each other in this situation but they would be wary of each other.

Bucky, Curt and the more outgoing members of the 100th would probably get along great with those Vandals who like to drink and party. They would make the stupidest bets. Bucky might win someone's spare motorbike for Gale even though he has no idea how to ride one. There would also be singing and drunken dancing.

I think DeMarco would hit it off with Cockroach! They could talk about weird animals and bugs forever, and both are quite chill. I also think Crank and Brucie would get along well, and probably they would be the ones engaged in the most intelligent conversations. Gale would probably sit with them (and possibly Johnny, in silence) if Bucky starts to mingle with the drunk guys. I can see Brady being good at pool, so he would earn the Vandals' respect soon enough, and they would be interested in his pipe smoking too. Poor Crosby and Bubbles would probably get teased/bullied by the Vandals and people from the 100th would have to step in to stop it.

[avonne-writes]

I totally agree with your Benny-Buck twin post, Gale’s love would have been the foundation Benny was built upon and that could never be canon Benny, but it made me think of the possibility of what if they were siblings, they just didn’t grow up together. What if Gale’s mom left and only took Gale. What if, like I’ve seen in a few fics, Gale’s dad put one of them up as collateral and it didn’t end well. What if they got to spend then first ten years of their life together and then were ripped apart and didn’t find their way back together until they were older. Mostly, I think it would be hilarious to see the vandals or the 100th react to meeting Gale/Benny when they had no idea that was even a thing and one of them just shows up alone lol

Thank you, I’m really glad that you liked my headcanons 💕

This is an interesting idea. Letting the characters of the 100th mingle with these guys would be pure chaos! 😄 That would be the funny part.

The part about Benny and Gale being separated would be so heartbreaking and angsty.

What if the reason why Gale takes every responsibility on himself is because he was responsible for Benny and a part of him blames himself for not being able to keep Benny with him?

What if he tried to go back to his father's house / tried to hunt down whoever took his brother, but Benny had already run away? (I firmly headcanon Benny as a runaway kid)

The reunion would be full off suppressed feelings and unsaid things. I think they’d have a tense conversation, but Gale would eventually hug Benny and Benny would go with it like a puppet cut from its strings. Having Gale there again would turn his life around.

Johnny would, of course, dislike Gale on the spot because he would know that he could take Benny away from him. His dislike would become grudging respect once he gets to know Gale better.

I think Gale wouldn’t try to take biking away from Benny, but he’d try to do other activities with him, perhaps flying. The two of them bonding would gradually take Benny away from the club.

Let me know what you guys think 😊

[avonne-writes]

I’ve seen some posts about Benny x Bucky, which is always interesting, and it made me curious if you had any thoughts about what if Gale and Benny were the same person or twins? Not in a Bucky x — way but just. Mota/Bikeriders crossover content. How you think that would work?

Thank you for the great question! Sorry for taking so long to reply.

First, let’s look at what's similar in these characters and what differs (non-exhaustive list because I'm sure I forgot things):

Similarities

Both are stoic and introverted

Stubborn

Admired by others

Tough as nails, hard to make them cry

But they both have deeply running emotions that they try not to show

Bad childhood/family issues

Loyalty to their loved ones

Passion (e.g. for riding / flying)

Differences

Gale is much more playful and teasing than Benny

He's kinder than Benny too

Gale doesn’t drink, smoke, gamble or break the law

Gale takes responsibility on his shoulders like he doesn’t even know how not to, Benny runs away from it as if it burned

Gale is calm and thinks things through before he acts, Benny is hot-headed and prone to rash decisions

Gale is a leader, Benny is a follower/loner

They're both brave and stubborn but Benny takes it to the point of stupidity (wearing his colours while alone)

Benny's attitude towards death is closer to stalag-John's than to Gale's determination to live

Gale longs to settle down, Benny longs to belong and only settles down when that's what gives him a sense of belonging

Gale tries to look as neat as possible, Benny is comfortable being dirty with dust, grease, oil, blood, since it's part of the identity that helps him feel like he belongs

I can’t imagine them as twins, because if Benny had a sibling like Gale, he wouldn’t have become so wild and desperate to belong somewhere. He would have Gale as a pillar. I think it’s important to why Benny is like this that he doesn’t really have anyone aside from Kathy and Johnny.

If we put Benny and Gale in a room together, I think they wouldn’t get along. They would stay quietly in their own corner, judging the other but also respecting each other.

-

What do you guys think? Any additional headcanons?

[avonne-writes]

Photographer Bucky x Benny Cross Headcanons

The lovely @carnevol came up with the amazing idea to make the photographer documenting the Vandals Bucky. We thought Bucky x Benny would be quite hot together, so here are some headcanons. Benny doesn’t get together with Kathy in this AU.

(some NSFW and spoilers for the movie under the cut)

Benny never talks to Bucky, doesn’t even acknowledge him at first but he lets himself be photographed, including his hands with the rings and the scar. It’s only while developing the photos that Bucky notices the heated, intense way Benny looks at him.

The next time Bucky hangs out with the guys, he stares back. Benny likes that, and he also likes it when Bucky directs his flirty jokes and banter at him. Although his reactions are pretty deadpan or just a faint smirk, Bucky can tell that he enjoys it. The intense staring happens increasingly often.

One night - much like in that Johnny & Benny scene - Bucky draws Benny aside, flirts with him some more under some bullshit excuse, slowly stepping into his space. But when Benny says his name, he doesn’t pull away, he lets his lips brush Benny's cheek.

Benny has some internalized homophobia that makes him freeze for a few seconds, but he quickly overcomes it by reasoning with himself that no one tells him what to do, he’s a rebel, a free spirit who can do whatever he wants.

So, before Bucky could backtrack, he finally turns his head and gives Bucky a biting, intense kiss.

He's not one to hold back. He goes for it with a passion that leaves Bucky reeling.

But just as quickly as it happened, Benny pulls away, gives Bucky an unreadable look and goes back to the others.

Bucky doesn’t know what to expect next, but finding Benny camping on his bike outside his place is certainly not on the list.

But that's what Benny does, and when Bucky lets him in, what he says is "So. You wanna show me the bedroom?"

They have bed-breaking, wall-banging, aggressive sex and share cigarettes and small anecdotes between rounds.

When the sunrise starts creeping painfully through the window, Bucky sees a softer, sad side of Benny. Benny doesn’t try to hide this from him, but when Bucky grabs the camera on the bedside table and takes a photo of him, he tells Bucky never to show that to anyone and his tone is threateningly serious.

Once Bucky swears he won't, Benny lights another cigarette, takes a pull, then gives it to Bucky and goes down on him, just like that. Bucky feels like he’s in heaven, but the heat of it burns like it’s hell.

Benny doesn’t swallow, he spits it out quite openly, but since he makes no fuss about sex in any way, Bucky knows that there's nothing else to it, just Benny's preference. Benny gets up before Bucky could reciprocate and while getting dressed, he asks if Bucky wants to go for a ride.

They go out, each on their own bike, but in the light of that dawn, Bucky feels closer to Benny than ever.

They have to repeat this a few times before Benny actually stays the night and sleeps. Bucky's pretty sure it's only a handful of people who have ever seen the man asleep, so it feels like a privilege.

Bucky falls in love, and he knows it's reciprocated the first time when Benny gets that sad look about him again but doesn’t follow it up with something aggressively sexual or restless. That time, he lets Bucky tell him about the bad moments in Bucky's past, with only this pained, upset silence about him. He never says anything in response, but Bucky can tell that he listens attentively.

They both have obsessive and impulsive traits, so the two together makes for a gunpowder-like combination. If they fight others, they back each other up and can do quite some damage. If they fight each other, paint chips off the walls from the outburst of anger.

Bucky stops hanging out with the club and photographing them because the tension between him and Johnny over Benny gets unbearable. Still, Benny continues to come over to his place. There’s never a regular pattern to it, but he keeps coming back.

Bucky asks him to stay and leave the club (which has been getting worse anyway) if that's what it takes, but that's too much to ask then. They have a few fights about this.

Benny runs away from conflict that cuts too deep into those buried emotions he tries to guard. When he has a huge fight with Bucky and then, like in the movie, tells Johnny he can’t take over the club, he leaves just like in the movie.

But Bucky isn't the type to sit on his ass and let him disappear, so he chases him down.

They both value loyalty high, and also, to be able to count on one another. In addition, Benny has this issue that he thinks removing himself from someone's life is taking a burden away from them. Bucky's unrelenting love and warmth and the fact that Bucky goes after him and doesn’t want him to leave get through Benny's walls, and he finally lets Bucky in.

They reconcile in some shady motel and decide to never go back to Chicago. The shift in Benny's priorities and decision to leave the biker life come from the effect Bucky has on him and not from Johnny’s death. Still, Benny cries when Johnny is killed.

He and Bucky settle down far away from Chicago. Benny works as a mechanic and Bucky as a journalist, and after some time, Bucky manages to persuade Benny to let him put that picture he took of Benny in bed on the nightstand.

[hogans-heroes]

So! About those runaway Buckies, long lost brother Benny Cross, and Johnny Davis with his hands full of traumatised youths.

What is Benny and Johnny’s relationship like in this fic? In Bikeriders, Johnny came across to me as equal amounts covetous and jealous of Benny and I wondered what they would be like in this verse?

What kind of trouble do the Buckies get into? Their a bit wild as they go through the trauma of the war, so how do you think they react to their experiences in your AU?

I love this premise so much 😊🥺

(Referring to the Bikeriders/mota crossover idea, I’m gonna have to make an actual masterpost soon)

Eeeeeeee thank you for this ask I’m excited to think about this more. I’ve plotted out a good portion of the fic, I’ve just got to finish the wip I’m working on now first. ANYWAY to your questions:

I have Johnny and Benny’s relationship essentially the same as it is in Bikeriders, it’s just not really touched on very much. If anything, Johnny is a little more mature in that respect but the focus is really on the Buckies. Benny still has Kathy, and the Vandals are pretty much the same with the exception that none of the falling apart shit that happens in the movie occurs, this takes place in the clubs earlier stages. In addition, some of the 100th guys like Red and Chick and Blakely and Crank are in the club.

As far as the kind of trouble the Buckies get into I can’t spoil that for the fic! 😁 it’s a big plot point. I actually tried to rework that a bit because I didn’t want the fic to end up super long, but idk we’ll see how it turns out. Either way the fic begins when they’ve just gotten *out* of said trouble and Johnny finds them. However I was dabbling with them not being safe from that and it comes back around, in which case the Vandals get involved….we’ll see how long I want this fic to be 😅

[middlingmay]

Here me out.

I'll never write this, so if it sparks anything in anyone, go right ahead!

But what if, after the war, Gale marries Marge. And to get away from everything: the struggles being back after the war, ptsd, a life without purpose or structure, and being best man to the man he loves as he weds himself to someone else - John runs.

He goes and goes, until he stops at a bar with a few motorcycles out front (still the 1940s!). And there he meets Benny Cross - freshly divorced from his marriage to Kathy, and the only guy there who doesn't try to cajole him into some kind of conversation, and is happy just to drink in silence.

A Bucky x Benny Cross AU crossover?

[avonne-writes]

Just imagine Bucky in these outfits:

(Pics from @jnkfaist )

He even has a similar moustache, I’ve only just noticed!

Photographer Bucky x Benny Cross Headcanons

The lovely @carnevol came up with the amazing idea to make the photographer documenting the Vandals Bucky. We thought Bucky x Benny would be quite hot together, so here are some headcanons. Benny doesn’t get together with Kathy in this AU.

(some NSFW and spoilers for the movie under the cut)

Benny never talks to Bucky, doesn’t even acknowledge him at first but he lets himself be photographed, including his hands with the rings and the scar. It’s only while developing the photos that Bucky notices the heated, intense way Benny looks at him.

The next time Bucky hangs out with the guys, he stares back. Benny likes that, and he also likes it when Bucky directs his flirty jokes and banter at him. Although his reactions are pretty deadpan or just a faint smirk, Bucky can tell that he enjoys it. The intense staring happens increasingly often.

One night - much like in that Johnny & Benny scene - Bucky draws Benny aside, flirts with him some more under some bullshit excuse, slowly stepping into his space. But when Benny says his name, he doesn’t pull away, he lets his lips brush Benny's cheek.

Benny has some internalized homophobia that makes him freeze for a few seconds, but he quickly overcomes it by reasoning with himself that no one tells him what to do, he’s a rebel, a free spirit who can do whatever he wants.

So, before Bucky could backtrack, he finally turns his head and gives Bucky a biting, intense kiss.

He's not one to hold back. He goes for it with a passion that leaves Bucky reeling.

But just as quickly as it happened, Benny pulls away, gives Bucky an unreadable look and goes back to the others.

Bucky doesn’t know what to expect next, but finding Benny camping on his bike outside his place is certainly not on the list.

But that's what Benny does, and when Bucky lets him in, what he says is "So. You wanna show me the bedroom?"

They have bed-breaking, wall-banging, aggressive sex and share cigarettes and small anecdotes between rounds.

When the sunrise starts creeping painfully through the window, Bucky sees a softer, sad side of Benny. Benny doesn’t try to hide this from him, but when Bucky grabs the camera on the bedside table and takes a photo of him, he tells Bucky never to show that to anyone and his tone is threateningly serious.

Once Bucky swears he won't, Benny lights another cigarette, takes a pull, then gives it to Bucky and goes down on him, just like that. Bucky feels like he’s in heaven, but the heat of it burns like it’s hell.

Benny doesn’t swallow, he spits it out quite openly, but since he makes no fuss about sex in any way, Bucky knows that there's nothing else to it, just Benny's preference. Benny gets up before Bucky could reciprocate and while getting dressed, he asks if Bucky wants to go for a ride.

They go out, each on their own bike, but in the light of that dawn, Bucky feels closer to Benny than ever.

They have to repeat this a few times before Benny actually stays the night and sleeps. Bucky's pretty sure it's only a handful of people who have ever seen the man asleep, so it feels like a privilege.

Bucky falls in love, and he knows it's reciprocated the first time when Benny gets that sad look about him again but doesn’t follow it up with something aggressively sexual or restless. That time, he lets Bucky tell him about the bad moments in Bucky's past, with only this pained, upset silence about him. He never says anything in response, but Bucky can tell that he listens attentively.

They both have obsessive and impulsive traits, so the two together makes for a gunpowder-like combination. If they fight others, they back each other up and can do quite some damage. If they fight each other, paint chips off the walls from the outburst of anger.

Bucky stops hanging out with the club and photographing them because the tension between him and Johnny over Benny gets unbearable. Still, Benny continues to come over to his place. There’s never a regular pattern to it, but he keeps coming back.

Bucky asks him to stay and leave the club (which has been getting worse anyway) if that's what it takes, but that's too much to ask then. They have a few fights about this.

Benny runs away from conflict that cuts too deep into those buried emotions he tries to guard. When he has a huge fight with Bucky and then, like in the movie, tells Johnny he can’t take over the club, he leaves just like in the movie.

But Bucky isn't the type to sit on his ass and let him disappear, so he chases him down.

They both value loyalty high, and also, to be able to count on one another. In addition, Benny has this issue that he thinks removing himself from someone's life is taking a burden away from them. Bucky's unrelenting love and warmth and the fact that Bucky goes after him and doesn’t want him to leave get through Benny's walls, and he finally lets Bucky in.

They reconcile in some shady motel and decide to never go back to Chicago. The shift in Benny's priorities and decision to leave the biker life come from the effect Bucky has on him and not from Johnny’s death. Still, Benny cries when Johnny is killed.

He and Bucky settle down far away from Chicago. Benny works as a mechanic and Bucky as a journalist, and after some time, Bucky manages to persuade Benny to let him put that picture he took of Benny in bed on the nightstand.

[middlingmay]

I totally forgot about that post @avonne-writes! It's so good! Quite different vibes but definitely elements would work in either :)

In the 1940s setting, I can see Bucky being conflicted over Benny’s similarities to Gale, and Benny being far too proud to be a replacement for someone Bucky's running from.

I can see tension, too, with Bucky proud of some of the role he played in the war, and majorly at odds with others. Whilst Benny, unable to be conscripted because of a criminal charge maybe, rode with some guys who took advantage in the rise in looting and theft and blackmarket goods in wartime, profiting off it. Bucky remembers starving in the Stalag and is furious, eventhough Benny didn't do any of the profiteering himself.

Something about those two together in intriguing, have to admit.

Here me out.

I'll never write this, so if it sparks anything in anyone, go right ahead!

But what if, after the war, Gale marries Marge. And to get away from everything: the struggles being back after the war, ptsd, a life without purpose or structure, and being best man to the man he loves as he weds himself to someone else - John runs.

He goes and goes, until he stops at a bar with a few motorcycles out front (still the 1940s!). And there he meets Benny Cross - freshly divorced from his marriage to Kathy, and the only guy there who doesn't try to cajole him into some kind of conversation, and is happy just to drink in silence.

A Bucky x Benny Cross AU crossover?