#steeb and booky

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

Ages ago, @awrubyblue made some fanart with Bucky finding a pocket size version of Steve. (Sadly I am unable to find them now, or I would link to them.)

My shipper brain immediately ran wild with a new type of Soulmate AU. Where you get a little version of your soulmate to carry around - I called it Pockets AU. And after blabbing on and on and on and on and on to my friend @subluxate about it, they made this AMAZING fic.

I finally remembered to ask permission to post it. I hope you enjoy. (Let me know if you do, they also wrote a fic about Steeb after Steve gets the serum.)

---

Characters: Sarah Rogers, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Steeb, Booky

Timeline: 1910s, very pre CA:TFA

Pairing: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes

Genre: Soulmates, Kids, Wholesome, Shortfic, idk genres anymore just tropes

Word Count: 898

Steven is still snoring away when Sarah walks back to the bed they share. He’s rosy-cheeked, not fever-flushed like he tends to be when he makes noise like that, but then it’s getting to be autumn and his allergies do kick up around the middle of September.

“Wake up, love,” she says over the monstrous sounds coming from her wee lad. “Time for breakfast.”

His ready alertness, such a trial when he’s ill, is a blessing the precious times he’s well. He pushes himself up and smiles at her, covering a yawn with his hand. He thinks she doesn’t know he’s lost a tooth a bit before it was ready to come out, which tells her all she needs to know about how he lost it.

The yawn ends on a tiny squeak. Steven stares at her, his eyes huge in his narrow face.

“Got a pet mouse, have you?” Sarah asks for lack of anything else to say.

He shakes his head. “I didn’t do that.” He drops his hand from his mouth, and his thumb brushes against his pocket. A moment later, he’s yanked the pocket open--oh, she’s glad he didn’t pop a stitch, she has enough patching to do already--and is staring down into it. “Mama?”

Steven hasn’t called her ‘Mama’ since he declared himself a big boy on his birthday. “What is it?” she asks, already resigned to a dying kitten he found and forgot to mention.

He dips his other hand into the pocket. His fingers wiggle, and then he’s got hold of whatever it is and is drawing it free of the fabric. It whines and rolls over in Steven’s hand, burying its face against the ball of his thumb.

Sarah’s seen smaller, but not in some years, not since her younger sister woke to a similar little being sleeping under her hair. “That’s not a mouse,” she tells her son.

He shakes his head, his eyes never leaving the Pocket curling up in his hand. “It’s a Pocket,” he breathes. “Mama, I have a Pocket!”

Every house should have at least one, Sarah thinks as she leans down to kiss Steven’s forehead and get a better look at the pajama-clad little Pocket in her wee lad’s hand. “You’ll have to name your Pocket,” she tells him.

“I gotta think about it.” He sounds more congested, but he’s alert and still not fevered, so she stands and doesn’t stop him following her out to breakfast.

“I’m sorry we haven’t a thing for you to wear,” she tells the dark-haired little Pocket before she leaves for work, while Steven yanks on his short pants. “I’ll try to make you something tonight. Steven, mind the hems!”

The Pocket gives her a wide, sweet smile. He’s missing a tooth himself, the lower right front. She knew lads with smiles like that when she was a child herself, always either the most trouble or the most loyal. He babbles at her, a wash of playful happiness in the sounds, and Sarah wishes she could kiss his head.

Not that it would bother Steven or his Pocket, of course, but something always feels wrong to Sarah when she touches someone else’s Pocket. That seemed more common at home, but maybe it’s just living in the tenements and crowds that makes people so indifferent here. Half the time, they never seem to notice their hand has passed through a bit of someone’s love and soul.

“Make sure he names you today,” she continues to the Pocket. “He’s a mite stubborn sometimes, so you make sure he understands if you like a name, all right? Don’t go letting him run all over you.”

“Ma,” Steven groans at her. He finishes buttoning his shirt. “You’re giving him a bad impression of me!” His voice sounds thicker than it has the rest of the morning, enough that it takes her a moment to understand his words.

“A bad impression it might be, but an accurate one,” she says. “Remember your handkerchiefs, mind your teacher, I love you.” She kisses her boy’s head and lets herself out and does not worry about him making it to school on his own, just as she hasn’t worried since his first day.

-

She should have worried, she realizes when she gets home to find her son with a bruise rising on his jaw, a sturdy dark-haired lad about a year older than him, and the mending basket pulled out between them.

“Oh, Steven,” she sighs, since he’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t. “Who’s your friend, then?”

“Ma, this is Booky.” He sounds even worse than when she left, but it’s nothing a bit of steam won’t help. “Booky, this is my ma.”

“Booky?” she asks the lad, since she’s certain she hasn’t heard Steven correctly.

Possibly Booky hops to his feet. “Bucky, ma’am.” He smiles at her, sweet and wide and missing a tooth. “James Buchanan Barnes. I go to school with Stevie.”

“Steeb,” Steven grumbles, but he doesn’t do more than that.

“Nah, remember? That’s Steeb,” Bucky says, pointing to the tiniest Pocket Sarah has ever seen. He has wispy blond hair and looks as though he’s trying to climb Steven. “An’ that’s Booky.” This time, he points to the one rummaging through the mending.

“He’s not Booky!”

“He’s Booky,” Bucky confides to Sarah.

At least she can kiss the top of his head.

[pocket-soulmates]

Pocket Soulmate Masterpost

A Special Thank You

Pocket Soulmates are a Soulmate AU inspired by @awrubyblue's Pocket Steve art series.

FICTION

Original Fic

The Pocket Guide to Pockets by cthulu_hoops (@bucky-boychik-barnes)

honey you're familiar (like my mirror years ago) by cthulu_hoops (@bucky-boychik-barnes)

Captain America (MCU)

Pocket Full of Sunshine by subluxate

Pop Goes the Weasel by subluxate and cthulu_hoops (@bucky-boychik-barnes)

Teen Wolf

The Little Things by seikaze (@mirrorthoughts)

Young Justice

i'm all yours but you're all mine by @suzukiblu

FANART

Captain America (MCU)

Steeb and Booky by @chaos-and-ink

Booky by @chaos-and-ink

Steve, Bucky, Booky, and Steeb by @chaos-and-ink

The Adventures of Bucky and Steeb by @chaos-and-ink

Young Justice

Tim Drake and Pocket Kon by @jube-art

Kon-El and the Pockets Tim, Cassie, and Bart by @jube-art

'i'm all yours but you're all mine' Character Studies by @breakingthespacetimewall

Cassie Sandsmark and Pocket Kon by @breakingthespacetimewall

Tim Drake and Pocket Kon by @breakingthespacetimewall

Superboy and his Pockets by @breakingthespacetimewall

Nightwing and his Pockets by @breakingthespacetimewall

FANCOMICS

Young Justice

'i'm all yours but you're all mine' Chapter 1 excerpt by @breakingthespacetimewall

'i'm all yours but you're all mine' Chapter 2 excerpt by @breakingthespacetimewall

'i'm all yours but you're all mine' Chapter 2 excerpt by @breakingthespacetimewall

Breaking out their boyfriend by @breakingthespacetimewall

More to come!

[stucky-hoe]

okay but, stucky prompt, imagine with me like tough steve rogers that probably works as a mechanic or something, with spoiled bucky barnes that has daddy issues and more money than he knows what to do with. they meet, bucky acts like a spoiled babeh (like he truly is) and steve gets pissed by that, then they keep on meeting (car problems, idk, coincidental run-ins??) and steve realises that most of bucky's spoiled attitude is actually a defense mechanism that hides how much pain he is actually in. cue the hurt/comfort and steve taking care of his wittle baby booky and booky dropping his guards down for his husband steeb.

IF YOU KNOW ANY FICS WITH PROMPTS LIKE THIS PLEASE TELL ME! YOU ALSO HAVE THE PERMISSION TO WRITE THIS PROMPT BUT PLEASE DO GIVE ME CREDIT!

[thischris-w-thisseb]

this steeb and this booky pic.twitter.com/de5ojb7vsv

— ama ☼ (@gloriousteve) February 26, 2020

[bluesidedaydream]

CHELSEA HOW ARE YOU SORRY IM ANNOYING BUT YOU DIDNT ANSWER LAST TIME SORRRY OK BYE

AHHHH OMG YOU MESSAGED ME?? I SWEAR I ANSWERED THAT LAST ONE BUT IF I DIDN’T I AM SORRY I AM SAD SACK TRASH I AM OKAY HOW ARE YOU??? I MISS YOUUUU

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

I can buy art for MCU Pocket AU, as a treat!

Featuring Steve, Bucky, Steeb, and Booky on a Coney Island outing, by the always wonderful @chaos-and-ink.

(That is as coherent as I can beeeeeee, look at them 😭 YOU LOOK)

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

Do the pockets change along with their person.. like who they’re based off of. (Side question, what do you call the person they’re based off of? Like they are called pockets but what are their ‘twins’ called?) for example, if the original big person lost an arm, would the pocket lose an arm too? Would it just magically happen? And to what extent do these injuries mirror each other.. like dyeing hair, scars, little scrapes or bruises, etc. and if a Pocket lost an arm.. would the original big one also lose an arm? Does it go back and forth?

I'm going to answer the side question first because it's easiest lol. Pockets have soulmates and they have people - to use Booky as an example, Steve Rogers is Booky's soulmate, and Bucky Barnes is Booky's person. Of course that is just in the English language, I will leave other languages and their translations to people who are actually fluent/experts.

Pockets are a reflection of a person's mental map more than a reflection of their physical self. Major changes, like the actual loss of a limb, is reflected as it would affect the person's mental self map. I imagine that knowledge only became common in all societies after the first world war, with even more things coming to light through and after the second.

For instance, Bucky always knew when Steve was sick, because Steeb would act lethargic and under the weather. Once Steve Rogers undergoes the serum and transforms, thousands of miles away in Europe Steeb goes through his own transformation with a POP. (Bucky is not happy. Bucky is the exact opposite of happy. The entire 107th avoids Bucky and his bad mood for days.)

To use Booky as another example, once Bucky falls from the train and is comatose/slowly dying in the snow, Steve can't find Booky at all - but if he could, Booky would still have two limbs. Once Steve and the Winter Soldier are defrosted at the same time and Booky reappears, his left arm is gone - there is no prosthetic because I can't see HYDRA letting the Soldier believe the metal arm is HIS arm as part of their dehumanization in the brainwashing process. (That is a thing Recovering Barnes has to process for himself.)

(Not that most Pockets would end up with a prosthetic unless it's integrated into their person's mental self-map.)

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America (Movies) Characters: Steve Rogers, Sarah Rogers (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Steeb, Booky Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Pocket Soulmates Series: Part 2 of Marvel Pockets Summary:

Every home ought to have at least one Pocket. This isn't quite how Sarah thought hers might have one again, but Steven will be Steven.

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

The Pocket AU Masterpost

Original Works

The Pocket Guide to Pockets (1/1) - A beginner's guide to facts about and care of Pockets. A new type of Soulmate AU. Honey You're Familiar (Like My Mirror Years Ago) (1/?) - On Calum Kilpatrick's first day of school, he comes to the breakfast table with a Pocket in hand.

MCU Pocket AU

Pocket Full of Sunshine (1/2) - Every home ought to have at least one Pocket. This isn't quite how Sarah Rogers thought hers might have one again, but Steven will be Steven. The Coney Island Days - A picture of Steve, Steeb, Bucky, and Booky, on a Coney Island afternoon. Pop Goes the Weasel (2/2)- Steve takes the serum in New York, and it has a reaction overseas. Bucky doesn't need it proven he didn't take all the stupid with him, Steven.

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

I really need to figure out religion in Pockets verse.

I don't think there would be any major change to any religion, if only because I am not smart enough about any religion to make that call. But like - if Bucky is Jewish, and Steve is Catholic, what does that mean for Booky and Steeb when it comes time to go to synangogue or church?

Bucky would make sure Steeb would have a tiny kippah out of respect, but does Bucky having a Catholic Pocket cause issues? Does Steeb leave Booky in a safe place outside the church, or just in the doorway, and sit near the back to stay close to him? (Would Steve have to find a church that wouldn't make a fuss about having a Jewish Pocket?)

Midnight musings.

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

I was wondering, for the pockets au, what happens to Booky and Steeb after Bucky falls from the train? If Booky is still alive or changing (losing an arm, getting a metal one instead, etc…) wouldn’t Steve know that Bucky is still alive? Do pockets die if the person they represent dies? Is Steeb stuck, watching Bucky getting turned into the Winter Soldier? When Steve ends up in the future, does he have Booky to accompany him and give emotional support?

Thank you so much for questions about Pockets! Some of this is answered here, and some will be answered in fic. :)

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

Do Pockets have their own little language? Like, I've seen that in a lot of art they only seem to say their own name, but does it mean something? Also, are humans the only beings to get Pockets or are they an interstellar thing? Like, can any sapient species get one, or do they only get them if they're about to bond with a human, like Thor and Gamora with Jane and Quill?

First off, thank you so much for asking about Thor/Jane and Gamora/Quill, because it opened a world of amazing headcanons I didn't know about yet. Since I have answered the language questions in other asks, I am gonna focus on the last questions first.

So only Humans can have Pockets - they are not found among any other known species in the universe. I'm honestly not sure how much they are known in other parts of the universe, I have not paid enough attention to MCU since they ventured into Space to know how much is generally Known about humans.

So that means that Thor has a Pocket Jane, but Jane does not have a Pocket Thor. From what I remember of the Thor movie, add Pockets to something from Human society that Jane has to (awkwardly) explain to Thor and what that means. And Thor's absolute delight at Pockets in general, but also the fact that he HAS ONE. He's so fucking happy. (Please someone write it, I'll love you forever.) I think Pocket Jane's name is also Jane because "What else would her name be?" as Thor asks.

MOVING ONTO GAMORA AND QUILL, oh my god this makes my heart so happy to think about it. I think Gamora has a Pocket-Quill show up for her between the first and second GotG movies - and the thing is, nobody in the group knows what a Pocket even *is*.

Gamora: "Quill, what the fuck is this? WHY the fuck is this?"

Drax: "I'll do you one better - who the fuck--"

Quill: "IT'S OBVIOUSLY ME, JACKASS"

Gamora is mad that the thing can apparently defy physics and can't be contained, and wants to know what is going on, and then gets more angry when Quill doesn't know. Quill VAGUELY remembers Pockets, but he thought they were a dream, because Yondu said it sounded fake and he had never seen one while traveling in space. Rocket suggests just shooting Pocket Quill if it's such a big deal, which Gamora does not like but can only verbalize as "IF ANYONE IS SHOOTING IT, IT WILL BE ME."

Meanwhile Baby Groot and Pocket Quill are just vibing while everyone else is arguing about this. Eventually it turns into GotG 1.5: The Quest for Information About Pockets. Maybe 25% of the information they find is Accurate, with the other 75% being either plain wrong (like if anything happens to Pocket Quill, Actual Quill will get hurt) or just extremely overblown and dramatic (like Gamora and Quill being linked for life and now they can't die alone.)

I want to write it, but again, if anyone else is inspired, please take it away.

To circle back to your first questions about Pocket language, this sadly will not have as in depth of an answer! Pockets have a universal language that they all can communicate with and understand - it is a happy, babbly, squeaky sounding sort of language that is reminiscent of Simlish. As for human languages, Pockets can understand the native languages of their soulmate and their person, and also learn to say mono-syllabic words in those languages. 

(Steeb knows the word 'Fuck' and Bucky hates/loves it depending on the situation. Booky has absolutely learned to say 'Steve' in the same tired, exasperated way Bucky does.)

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

In answer to your post about which stories from the MCU could be adapted into the Pocket Au, I'd quite like to see the Guardians of the Galaxy. Also, you said that Sarah's sister had a Pocket in 'Pocket Full Of Sunshine' and while it's just one sentence, I'd at least like to know who Sarah's sister's Pocket was supposed to represent and whether the big version of that Pocket got a pocket of her. I'd also like to read about Jane, Thor and Pocket!Jane, but you don't have to since I think you mentioned elsewhere that you aren't as familiar with the Thor movies.

Nonny I am sorry it took a while to answer, it's an ADHD heavy week.

Guardians of the Galaxy is on my list to tackle after CA:TFA and CA:TWS reworks for Pocket AU! Same for Thor. This gives me an excuse to rewatch the first Thor and GotG movies as well, I will brave the himbos for you all.

As for the bit about Sarah Rogers' sister, I will pass that along to my writing buddy @subluxate! They were the one to write Steve finding Booky, and also Steeb going POP.

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

Couple of questions about your Pocket AU (which I love, btw)

Is it just Steve and Bucky who have Pockets, or does anyone else in the MCU have one? If so, who are they, who does their Pocket represent, and what is that Pocket's adorable name?

Speaking of adorable names, was it hard to come up with them for Steeb and Booky? How long did it take you to come up with those names, and where did you get inspiration from?

Can Pockets only say their own names? And does that exclamation of, for example, Steeb, have a meaning behind it? Is chirping their name somehow a language?

What's the aspect of this AU you struggled the most with?

And... that's it for now. I probably have more questions, but they aren't forming in my brain rn. Bye.

I'm sorry I just got around to answering this, Nonny! I have had my Q&A word  document open with it since it came in, I just had to wrangle my brain into Answering Space.

Pockets are common in human society, MCU included! When I started the AU, I only knew about Steeb and Booky, but since talking about it with friends and getting the wonderful asks, I now know about:

Steeb and Booky (belonging to Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers respectively)

Лисичка (Lisichka) and Солнышко (Solnishko), meaning 'little fox' and 'little sun' respectively, also respectively Pockets for Maria Hill and Natasha Romanov

Tony Stark has Pockets of Pepper Potts, Bruce Banner, and James Rhodes. Their names are Salt, Little Green, and Jim.

Bruce Banner has Pocket Betty and Pocket Tony - I don't know their names yet but I know it took ages for Pocket Tony to calm down and for the two of them to get along

Pepper and Rhodey both have a Pocket Tony, who also do not have names yet.

They really try to keep all the Pockets Tony separate because they Scheme otherwise.

Thor has a Jane Pocket. He didn't know what Pockets were, but he is DELIGHTED by the idea of them and that he HAS ONE.

Gamora has a Quill Pocket. She doesn't know what Pockets are. Quill doesn't know what Pockets are. He thought they were a dream he had as a kid and Yondu said it sounded like a story, so how is he supposed to know what it is. Cue Guardians of The Galaxy 1.5 where the gang has to learn about Pockets, and only 25% of the information they get is correct. This entire idea is honestly consuming me since another anon asked about it.

No but really, picture it.

Gamora: "What the fuck is that? WHY the fuck is that?"

Drax: "I'll do you one better - who the fuck--"

Quill: "IT'S OBVIOUSLY ME, JACKASS"

ONTO YOUR SECOND QUESTION, Steeb and Booky's names were actually pretty easy. I was inspired to make Pocket AU by @awrubyblue's fucking adorable series on Bucky finding a Pocket!Steve, whose name was Steeb. Finding Booky from Bucky in the same way was simple enough. Names for other Pockets have been a mixture of 'That was easy' and 'How do I know this Russian is correct?' (That's the neat part, I don't.)

As for how Pockets speak, they have their own universal Pocket language that is similar to Simlish but easier to listen to.Individually, Pockets can understand the native languages of their soulmates and their people, and can also learn to say one syllable words. (Tell me Steeb doesn't know how to say 'Fuck.' You can't. You can not.)

The aspect I have struggled the most with this AU is getting it OUT OF MY HEAD and into words - I would love to be churning out 100k fics about this universe if it were feasible, but I have to do stupid capitalist things like work 50 hours a week and pay bills. As for actually creating the AU, I have been lucky - @awrubyblue's comics were great inspiration, and @subluxate is great at thinking of bigger picture things where I focus on the small stuff. And all of the asks I have gotten have really helped me flesh things out!!

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

Few questions about the Pocket AU

1. Is it just Steve and Bucky who have the Pockets? Does anyone else have them? If so, who are they a representation of and what is their adorable name?

2. Was it hard to come up with a way to include Pockets in history?

3. Are there any cute drawings of the Pockets? I've seen a few, but I want to know how much art there is in total.

Hope you're well.

Anonymous👍

Pockets are common in society in this 'verse! They appear when a very strong bond forms (or is going to form, in rare cases) between two people.

For instance, Tony has a number of Pockets because he is a needy attention goblin. He for sure has a Pocket Pepper (Salt), a Pocket Bruce (Little Green), and a Pocket Rhodey. (Pocket Rhodey is Jim. He would not accept anything else. Rhodey is so damn proud of the little dude.)

Pocket Rhodey is so tired. He's a Pocket, he shouldn't be, but. He's so tired. And so relieved when Salt shows up and even more with Little Green, even if they did let Tony get away with terrible names. And god help the soulmates that have a Tony Pocket - that's a lot of obnoxiousness in a tiny tiny body.

As for their names, it depends! It is up to their soulmates to name them, but a Pocket has to agree to it's name. Sometimes, that means a Pocket goes a few days without a name. Sometimes it means a Pocket will decide to go by the first thing it's soulmate says when they are found, leading to names like 'Ahfuk' or 'Helno' (who are a very happy pair.)

As for Pockets throughout history, I just knew I wanted them to be something that has been around as long as people have. I'm not much of a history person but I do know that meant that artifacts about them would have to be found throughout history. I imagine the 3000 year Egyptian empire left a WEALTH of Pocket things. They probably mentioned a place in Punt that made Pocket clothes and then never wrote down where it was.

@chaos-and-ink has drawn two adorable Pocket drawings! One of Booky in WW2, and one of Steeb and Booky in Civil War-era clothing. And while they are not Pocket drawings, I would be ashamed if I didn't mention the inspiration behind the entire Pocket AU: @awrubyblue's wonderful series on Bucky finding a strange little Steebling in a Hydra lab. I have some commission ideas, but will still die of happiness if more drawings happen.

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

How do pockets wardrobes work? Do they change clothes as the larger version does? Or do they have like. A closet of clothes? Or is it magic? Especially with bucky and Steve being cap and TWS. Having civilian clothes and gear and stuff do they match?

Pockets appear dressed in culturally relevant sleepwear (don't ask me the how, nobody knows including me lmao, it just seems proper to not have them appear with their little butts outs) but after that, the clothes are up to their soulmate.

Back in Steve and Bucky's day, they sewed Booky and Steeb's clothes themselves. They learned from their mothers, and then Esther loved making clothes for both Pockets as a way to keep her hands busy. In modern times, there are entire stores that focus just on clothes and enrichment products for Pockets, though some people still choose to sew their Pockets wardrobe.