#stucky secret santa

[thisonesatellite]

Burn To Shine -- 1/1

Hello my dears!

This is Reason #2 why CH5 of despite all my rage got shafted into the new year. It turns out i cannot write two events and update a MC all at the same time, because i'm not the superhero most writers of this fandom are.

This is my contribution to Star Spangled Secret Santa 2023, for @bangyababy.

BURN TO SHINE

SUMMARY: Bucky is the much-beleaguered and long-suffering owner of a coffee shop which gets frequented by too many gym bros. One day -- when Bucky's already annoyed (which may or may not be his factory setting) -- an annoying blond guy walks in and proceeds to annoy the eff out of Bucky, which causes Bucky to make some supremely annoyed snap judgments.

None of which are his fault, really, when his whole life is annoying.

So it comes as a complete surprise when there's more to this guy than meets the eye. Bucky may have to eat his words.

(AKA: Tiny bits of angst and trauma wrapped into mountains of sass and a bit of fluff and a happy end.)

With all my thanks to my screamers-in-chief @crisis-froggo and @mwritesff, for helping me wrangle my insanity into complete sentences.

@optomisticgirl @shireness-says @anxioussquirrel -- i once again did A Thing. 💕💕💕

[buckyismybicycle]

clear as day, there was never any other way [AO3 Link] Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers Rating: Teen Tags/Warnings: Angst, Acceptance, Extreme Measures of Love, Lovers to Strangers, Strangers to Lovers, Canon-Divergent/Adjacent, Loss/Mourning Summary: Nothing could keep them separated. Nothing could pull them apart, whether it be days, years, or decades. Time after time, everyone around them catches on.

Or, simply: This is Steve and Bucky’s world, everyone else simply lives in it.

My @starspangledsecretsanta​ fic for @kestrafagnor​. 🧡

1943: Kreischberg, Austria

They had to make camp. Steve knows he’s already pushing these men beyond what they had left in the tank, but the more distance between them and Kreischberg, the better.

None of them complained, beaten and sore as they were — they, too, wanted to put as many miles between them and that godforsaken facility as possible.

Every now and then, Steve glances beside him, to make sure that Bucky was still with him. That Bucky was really with him and not an image that Steve’s mind had conjured up, like an apparition born from his sheer will.

But it was real. Bucky was alive, breathing, and walking next to him.

Tim Dugan, a large, sturdy man and Gabe Jones, a quiet but observant soldier, stuck close by, checking in on Bucky almost as much as Steve was. Once upon a time, it might’ve made him jealous. Now, it warmed Steve’s heart to see that Bucky had people looking out for him in Steve’s absence.

“Y’alright there, pal?” Bucky asks with a curious look. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. I’m pale but I ain’t that pale and I sure as shit ain’t dead… Thanks to you.”

He adds that last part in, quieter, with a private smile and an almost-wink.

Steve wants to kiss him senseless. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m…”

He trails off, thinking about all the possibilities he’d tried to stamp down, that crept back into his brain anyway. Like: I thought I’d find you dead.

“I’m alright, Buck,” he doubles down, clapping a hand over Bucky’s shoulder. He lingers for a moment too long, perhaps, but feeling Bucky’s solid form beneath his palm is something he’s hesitant to let go of.

It’s then that he feels the slight tremors in Bucky’s body, the small twitch of his muscles. He looks closer still, to see the way Bucky’s jaw is clenched tightly and he’s got a white-knuckled grip on his rifle.

“We make camp here,” Steve declares, to everyone.

Most of the men collapse where they are, thankful to rest regardless where they are or how hard the ground is. The few supplies they’d swiped from the facility are stretched thin.

“C’mon,” Bucky murmurs beside him with a tilt of his head. He’d been handed a threadbare thing — honestly, Steve’s not sure if it’s a carpet or a curtain — and sets them a small distance from the group. He throws it over his shoulders, leaning against one of several fallen logs and invites Steve to sit, unspoken.

Steve does without hesitation, pressing his body against Bucky’s as close as he can. He tries to convince himself that he’s sharing his body heat, that this would appear perfectly normal to anyone who might happen to look over.

Only once he’s sitting like this, in the dim torchlight through the dark of the night as his adrenaline wears off, does he see how battered Bucky’s body truly is. The bruising, the swelling, the blood from his ears. It makes his breath catch in his throat. His hand moves up to Bucky’s face automatically to wipe the blood away, reminiscent of all the times Bucky’s done this for him after a back alley scrap.

“You saved me,” Bucky whispers, his face so open and earnest that Steve loses his ability to speak. Bucky’s looking at him like he’s a hero — with the same awe and adoration that Steve’s always had for Bucky growing up.

“You saved me first,” Steve reminds him.

He forgets where he is, forgets the hundreds of men behind them and the fact they can’t be doing this — he forgets it all, when Bucky leans in.

“Stuck with me forever, then,” Bucky murmurs against Steve’s lips.

“Forever,” he promises back, pressing in.

He’s dreamt of this, yearned for this every single day Bucky’s been gone. Bucky tastes like the tangy copper of blood from his split lip, but Steve still thinks it’s perfect.

✧✧✧

“I knew it,” Gabe whispers with a wide grin as he turns away from the private moment.

“Well you certainly don’t just drop behind enemy lines without backup for a friend,” Dugan snorts.

“You sayin’ you wouldn’t do that for me? I’m wounded,” Gabe retorts.

“Lookit that, Jonesy finally learns how to listen.”

Gabe huffs a laugh before he glances over at their Sergeant again. “Made for each other,” he murmurs more to himself than Dugan.

Bucky and Steve are curled up, resting their foreheads against each other’s.

“Heaven knows those two gotta have the biggest sets of balls on them,” Dugan says, exasperated. “Or they might just be the biggest pair of idiots I have ever met.”

“Like I said: made for each other.”

They never did quite hide it well enough — it was impossible to, when even across the field it was obvious in the way they looked at each other.

The Howling Commandos never said a thing, but the way they always stood around the two of them, like a herd surrounding their young, Steve and Bucky knew.

Knew that they were safe. Protected from outside eyes.

It was in the way Morita always set them in the same tent, the way Falsworth would wink at them slyly as he left them alone, or they way Dernier always sang softly in French and yet somehow they all knew that these were love songs, secret little odes to the two of them.

Maybe they shouldn’t have gotten so comfortable so quickly, but it was impossible to resist.

Every beat of Bucky’s heart was a signal that he was alive, when Steve had thought he’d lost everything that mattered to him. He had to feel it.

He doesn’t fall asleep until Bucky does and even then, it’s hard not to stare at Bucky’s chest, willing it to rise and fall steadily. Sometimes, he sleeps with fingers pressed to the pulse point in Bucky’s wrist.

They gravitate toward each other no matter how hard they try not to, finally colliding in a tangle of limbs and frantic kisses, every inch of their bare skin pressed together.

✧✧✧

Two years. That’s what they end up getting together. It’s longer than some people get, they should be grateful for it, and yet Steve can’t stop thinking about how unfair it was.

It should’ve been me.

He never said it out loud, but the Howlies knew anyway.

When Bucky fell off that train, they all mourned — they mourned for their friend, their sergeant, and they mourned for Steve, for he was never the same after that.

They mourned for the purest love they could have ever witnessed, the kind of love that inspires and restores faith in humanity during a time of war.

Nobody thought anything of it when the Valkyrie went down. Except the Howling Commandos, who had perhaps thought that Steve crashed that plane a little too eagerly, just coming from Bucky’s death like that.

Decades later, after years of service and medals, children and grandchildren, each of them still remembered Steve’s face. Sometimes it was the way Steve looked at Bucky like the man held the answers to the universe. Other times, it was his face after Bucky’s fall. Both were a testament to how deeply Bucky had been embedded in Steve’s heart.

  2011: New York, USA

He wakes to the sounds of a baseball game he remembers, but in a place he can’t remember at all.

He’s told it’s New York, but it doesn’t feel like it. He’s not sure if it’s the noise or the smell. Or because Bucky isn’t here, walking side-by-side with him.

The Empire State Building is right before him though, so he can’t deny that. The city itself is brighter, and yet Steve’s world remains just as dim. What was the point of seeing color if he could never lay eyes on Bucky again?

They say that the world is no longer at war, and that they won. A surrender. He hadn’t thought of it as a possibility back then, but hearing that Hydra had been defeated? But it doesn’t explain why he’s alive. Suspended animation is what they call it.

It sounds like hocus pocus.

They say that the world could still use him. That there’s still work to be done. Then, they hand him back the one thing still left from his time. The shield is tattered and dirty, smudged with the brutality he’d unleashed after the war took Bucky from him. He remembers, in bits and pieces all at once — Bucky, Erskine, Bucky, shield, Bucky, Peggy, Bucky — and it makes his head hurt. Rubbing his temples, he takes a deep breath to orient himself.

“Take your time. God knows if anybody’s earned it, you have. All the same…There’s a place for you on the team.”

He nods and shakes Fury’s hand, but doesn’t give him an answer. He’s not sure he’s ready to go back to war, he’s not even sure he’s ready to be standing in this century. He’s definitely not ready to be alone again.

They mistake his hesitancy for something else, because they give him the files. The Howlies – his family. He knows what each one of them will likely say, and he can’t quite bring himself to read any of it. He likes the last memories he has of them — alive. Covered in grime but young and vibrant. Laughing and teasing each other, talking about their hopes and dreams, where they’d end up in ten years.

Steve had said wherever Bucky is. But that didn’t quite stick, did it?

He hopes that each of his men got what they had wished for, as if somehow his loss — the greatest loss, in his opinion — was enough to even the scales for everyone else to live long, happy lives.

He hands the files back to Fury — all but one — untouched and as crisp as he had received them. When Fury raises an inquiring eyebrow, Steve deflects.

“Where do I sign up?” He asks, and Fury pauses before telling him to be here tomorrow morning. Steve nods once, turns and leaves with a straight back and stiff shoulders, military through and through.

Fury shuffles the dossiers in his hand. Jones, Morita, Dugan, Falsworth, Dernier… As suspected, Barnes’ folder is the only one missing.

  2014: Washington, USA

“Who the hell is Bucky?”

Steve never thought five words could do so much damage to his heart. It tears him apart because he revisits that day over and over again. Each time, a new scenario plays out. What if he’d just gotten up faster? What if he hadn’t deflected that shot to rip open the side of that railcar?

The world moves in slow motion, things and people moving around him noisily.

“Drop the shield, Cap!”

What if he had just looked for Bucky? How could he have possibly let himself leave Bucky behind like that? Not even a body to bring home to bury?

“Get on your knees! Get down, get down!”

What if he had just noticed sooner? What if, back in 1943, he’d paid more attention to Bucky? Surely, there must have been signs.

“Down! Don’t move.”

So what if they take the shield from him? So what if they handcuff him on national television? So what if they put a gun to his head while he’s on his knees?

He feels none of it.

Who the hell is Bucky?

He feels pain.

✧✧✧

Sam looks down at the cuffs, heavier than they are. He feels dread and hopelessness, but there’s still fight in him. He wants to finish what they started, except he’s not really sure what that means anymore.

Finding out that the Winter Soldier is Steve’s best friend put a wrench in things. He looks to Steve, who hasn’t said a word and has barely blinked. He nudges Steve’s foot to get his attention and raises an eyebrow in question.

“It was him,” Steve mumbles sullenly. “He looked right at me… Like he didn’t even know me.”

“How is that even possible?” Sam asks, genuinely trying to understand if Steve is certain or if Steve is hoping. “It was like, seventy years ago.”

The chances of finding one super-soldier from the 1940s was already bizarre, Sam can’t imagine what the odds are of finding two.

“Zola,” Steve determines. “Bucky’s whole unit was captured in ‘43, Zola experimented on him and whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. They must’ve found him and…”

Steve gets impossibly paler, and Sam has a pretty good idea of where his mind has gone. There’s a guilt there that Sam recognizes far too well — the feeling of watching someone you love plummet out of your grasp, and not being able to do a damn thing to save them. He wonders if Steve feels the same way about Bucky as he had about Riley.

He wants to reassure Steve that it’s not his doing, but Natasha beats him to it.

“None of that’s your fault, Steve.”

“Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky.”

If Sam hadn’t been sure before, he damn well is now. Steve Rogers, Captain America, was definitely, absolutely in love with the very same person they were trying to stop.

God help him.

✧✧✧

Later, he finds Steve on the bridge, lost in thought with the look of someone mourning. He supposes, in a lot of ways, that is what Steve’s doing. The scenario they’ve somehow landed in boggles his mind. He can’t imagine what Steve is going through and he isn’t sure Steve knows how to handle it all.

“He’s gonna be there, you know,” Sam reminds him, not knowing if that’s supposed to be good news or bad news.

“I know.”

That’s not the voice of a man who’s ready to fight the love of his life.

“Look,” Sam sighs. “Whoever he used to be…” is gone. He doesn’t say it out loud, but he’s sure Steve knows what he’s thinking. “The guy he is now? I don’t think he’s the kind you save. He’s the kind you stop.”

He expected Steve to get angry, or tell Sam he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He expected a fight.

Instead, he gets a somber-looking Steve, who shoves his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

Of course not, Sam wants to say. He saw it when the Soldier’s mask fell off, the way Steve had been so stunned, he hadn’t even moved. He sees it now, with the way Steve’s eyes glaze over as his mind is transported somewhere else — with Bucky.

“He might not give you a choice,” Sam cautions. “He doesn’t know you.”

He’s normally much more optimistic but there’s something wondrous about Steve’s spirit. The hope Steve holds. Sam would hate to see it crushed.

“He will,” Steve states, confident and without reserve, with conviction and absolute certainty. He does, after all, know the Soldier better than anyone.

How can Sam argue with that?

  2016: Bucharest, Romania

“I got a baaad feelin’ about this,” Sam whispers to Natasha, who’s perched on the edge of the building with him. She hasn’t taken her binoculars off of the unit across from them, even though the windows are all plastered with newspaper.

“What could possibly go wrong with Steve turning off his comms while he enters an apartment without a clear line of sight to face one of the world’s deadliest assassins, Sam?”

“Not helping,” Sam says in a flat voice. “You see anything?”

The responding grunt indicates she’s got nothing. Sam thinks she’s just as irritated and anxious as he is, on the inside, but just won’t admit it.

“I don’t like this,” Sam repeats, itching to activate his pack and just crash through the window. “What if Steve’s bleeding out on that dude’s carpet?”

“The Winter Soldier doesn’t really strike me as a carpet type of guy.” That, and the fact that she’s pretty confident Steve isn’t in any actual danger. If the Winter Soldier wanted to kill Steve, there have been plenty of opportunities. Not just the Potomac, but ever since they set foot in Romania.

She has no doubt that he’s been vigilantly looking out his window, doing perimeter checks. Old habits die hard, she would know.

Sam grumbles beside her, seconds away from barreling in there, when all hell breaks loose.

“Shit, I think that’s special forces,” Nat says, binoculars trained on the little fleet of incoming vehicles in the distance.

“Heads up, Cap,” Sam says into his earpiece “German Special Forces, approaching from the south. Nat’s got eyes on them.”

✧✧✧

“Understood,” Steve replies evenly, trying not to feel the bubbling frustration spilling over, because he knows Bucky’s behind him. He slowly turns around, and sure enough, there he is. Whole. Alive. Staring back at him.

“Do you know me?” He asks, even though he’s aware that any answer other than “yeah, you’re my Stevie” will crush him.

Bucky stares a moment, likely calculating, before he speaks. “You’re Steve. I read about you in a museum.”

“They’ve set the perimeter.”

Steve ignores Sam’s warning, eyes focused entirely on Bucky, trying to come up with the right words to get him to stay. Not stay here, but with Steve. He knows he’s not just Steve-from-the-museum, he just needs Bucky to accept the truth. “I know you’re nervous. And you have plenty of reasons to be. But you’re lying.”

“I wasn’t in Vienna,” Bucky defends himself, though in a tired, worn out way. “I don’t do that anymore.”

“That’s not what I was talking about,” Steve says. “But it doesn’t matter right now, because the people who think you did it are coming here now. And they’re not planning on taking you alive.”

“That’s smart,” Bucky replies with all the emotion of a brick. He nods in approval. “Good strategy.”

Steve can’t stomach the idea of anyone ever laying their hands on Bucky again. He wants to get on his knees and beg Bucky to come with him, but that wouldn’t work.

“They’re on the roof! We’re compromised.”

“This doesn’t have to end in a fight, Buck.”

They both turn their heads at the stampede of footsteps outside the door. Steve’s run out of time.

“It always ends in a fight.”

There’s a loud thud, followed by another after a few seconds, the battering ram interrupting their conversation.

“Cap! Five seconds!”

“You pulled me from the river,” Steve says evenly, like they’re not about to be stormed. “Why?”

He knows why, he just wants Bucky to say it.

“I don’t know,” Bucky responds, his body still ready to take off at any minute.

It hurts, deeper than any wound, more painful than any torture, but he refuses to cave in. He refuses to give up on Bucky.

“Three seconds!”

“Yes, you do,” Steve pushes. I know you remember me. Say it, Bucky.

“Breach! Breach!”

Then, the world explodes around them. For a brief moment, he’s back at basic, the grenade coming at him. Except now, he has a shield to smother it, trying not to think about the fact that Bucky kicked it at him.

Bucky has always been tough, but he’s a force of nature now, strong and sturdy yet still quick as a whip. He kicks the table to the door and flings the mattress up to block an attack from the window, calculating and getting ahead of the cops.

Steve watches in a horrified sort of awe, doing his best to buy himself some time when Bucky slams a police officer into the wall.

“Buck, stop! You’re gonna kill someone.” The next second, he’s on his back, and his mind is transported to their previous helicarrier fight, looking up at Bucky’s raised fist.

“I’m not gonna kill anyone,” Bucky says calmly.

Steve can’t help the finch as Bucky brings his hand down, even though he’s never in his life shied from Bucky’s touch. He hears the crunch of splintering wood beside his ear and then Bucky’s gone.

He would rather die than let Bucky out of his sight again, so he follows. He chases Bucky through the apartment and down the stairs, and he refuses to give up when Bucky throws obstacles in his way to slow him down, like flipping officers over the staircase and forcing Steve to catch them. Even though he hates to admit it, it’s a smart move.

Still, Bucky underestimates him.

✧✧✧

After being spotted, Nat and Sam both spring up, ready to jump into action when they see the door of the balcony being kicked in by the operatives. There’s gunfire that can be heard across the street, which is never a good sign. There’s footsteps on adjacent rooftops too, which means they’re no longer safe and hidden. Sam grabs Natasha’s hand, about to fly them across.

Glass shatters from a nearby window, and then their earpiece crackles to life.

“Sam, southwest rooftop.”

Sam and Natasha look at each other, and she lets herself get wrapped up in Sam’s arms before they take to the skies.

“Steve? What floor?” Sam asks, but the earpiece remains suspiciously quiet.

Then, a backpack comes flying out of a unit above them, followed by a body.

Natasha knows it’s not Steve, given the outfit, but she wonders if the Winter Soldier’s recklessness actually rivals Steve’s. They watch as the assassin immediately rolls, picks up the bag and books it across the rooftops, faster than any human should.

A streak of navy blue follows, the shield strapped to Steve’s back catching the sun as he also rolls with his landing, chasing Bucky as they parkour over the city.

Special forces are now joined by local police and Nat can hear helicopters approaching.

“There,” Natasha says, alerting Sam to the predicted path of the soldier. She nudges him and points below. “Get me to that bike.”

He swoops, wings narrowing as he lands her beside the motorcycle in question, before tailing Steve as he makes for the underpass. She jacks the motorcycle as quickly as she can, joining the chase.

The highway is a disaster. Cars are being flipped, swerving to avoid hitting someone or something. Chaos breaks out in the city, until it all comes to a grinding halt, and they find themselves in a standoff.

One motorcycle flip, a masked cat man and a highly publicized arrest later, they’re now waiting for the psychiatrist to be done evaluating Barnes while Steve paces.

There’s something not right, she can tell almost instantly, but she isn’t sure how. Or what.

She’s curious, if perhaps Steve was right. That some part of the Winter Soldier recognizes Steve, and maybe even returns some of the sentiment.

While Steve tore apart the world looking for him, he surrendered for Steve. She’s not sure which of those is more dire, but she’s positive of one thing: the two of them, reunited, on the same page, are a terrifying duo.

She expected the worry and the anxious pacing from Steve.

Steve’s entire body is clenched up and he doesn’t take his eyes off the screen. She doesn’t blame him of course — his long lost partner is strapped down, confined in a glass cell with his arm being subjected to electromagnetic interference, which she’s sure doesn’t feel very pleasant.

What she didn’t expect was the psychiatrist unlocking Hydra’s secrets thought to be long dead.

✧✧✧

She rubs at her neck absentmindedly as they wait for the Soldier to wake up. Sam, beside her, does the same with his jaw. The Soldier had gotten them good. All of them.

“Told you he surrendered in Bucharest,” Nat murmurs. Though, it had been Bucky Barnes or at least the ghost of him, back in Romania. What Zemo had unleashed was certainly not Bucky.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sam concedes. After a pause, he touches her elbow gently. “You okay?”

She nods, even if she’s not sure. “I remember him, you know? Back in the day.”

She doesn’t say much else, doesn’t like remembering the Red Room or anything associated with it. But the Soldier…

She can tell Sam wants to ask, he just knows better by now. “But he didn’t recognize me.”

“He didn’t recognize anybody.”

“I’m not so sure,” Natasha says with a tip of her head.

Sam follows her line of sight, to the two super-soldiers. “You think he’s really in there?”

She would have normally said no. That’s the logical answer, because she knows that Hydra sinks their claws in as deep as they can and they don’t let go. But she can’t deny the evidence — what she’s witnessing with her own two eyes.

“Nat, he did get knocked in the head pretty hard,” Sam tries to reason.

She thinks back to 2012, back to Loki worming his way into Clint’s mind and her “cognitive calibration”. Shaking her head, she knows that Sam hadn’t witnessed what she had. Not with Clint, not with Hydra. “If all it took was a knock to the head, don’t you think that’d be a bit of a liability while he was on missions? Besides, you kicked him in the back of the head clear across the road.”

Sam begrudgingly has to admit that she makes a good point.

Steve laughs softly at something Bucky says, and even more surprisingly, Bucky smiles back. Bucky smiles.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Sam mumbles under his breath, to which Natasha can only respond with a hum.

“I’m telling you, Sam, there was nothing there,” Natasha whispers, crossing her arms. “But this…”

There’s one thing that’s painfully clear, and it’s in everything — every move, every look, every touch and every non-touch. It’s in the way Bucky’s slumped, ashamed, trying to keep Steve away for Steve’s own sake. It’s in the way Steve inches closer still, undeterred. It’s in the way Bucky could summon old memories that nobody was sure he’d still have, and the way Steve’s eyes had instantly teared up, nodding along, confirming every word that Bucky says.

“They are sickeningly in love, aren’t they?” Sam asks, knowing the answer.

“They are beyond sickeningly in love,” Natasha confirms, a small smile forming on her face.

“They can hear you loud and clear,” Steve’s voice calls out from where he’s letting Bucky’s arm out of the vice grip.

Sam and Nat share a look, before helping Steve with the contraption.

  2017: Birnin Zana, Wakanda

He doesn’t miss the feeling of waking up from cryostasis, that’s for sure. Still, this time around it’s more gentle. Slower and more patient, like someone that doesn’t need a mission completed that very same day.

It’s a girl that he hears first — her voice is light, higher and childlike.

The next voice belongs to the king, low and soft. Soothing.

He’s being woken up by lullabies in comparison to Hydra, which is why he doesn’t immediately panic about the feeling of receding frost in his veins, the lethargy of his muscles.

It doesn’t burn when he blinks his eyes open, and his arms are free to move as he pleases, no restraints.

“Good morning, James.”

“S‘actually morning?” His words are still a little slurred, muscles in his face warming up.

There’s a soft chuckle, before the girl speaks again. “Not at all. But you are just in time for dinner.”

“This is my sister, Shuri,” T’Challa says. “She has been helping us formulate your rehabilitation program.”

Bucky’s brain feels like it’s slowly rebooting, and he should probably mention that eating after cryo seems like a terrible idea, but he’s taken aback by the room. It’s… bright. White, clean, smelling fresh. This is not the musty basement of some Hydra base.

A smoothie of some sort gets waved in his face and he takes it, not wanting to be rude. It smells amazing and his stomach lets out a low rumble, but he’s still hesitant.

“It will not upset your stomach,” Shuri tells him gently, letting go as he grasps it with shaking hands.

“Thank you,” he remembers to say.

“After you are done, let’s take a walk,” the king says gently.

The palace is gorgeous. It’s open and bright, vibrant with colors and shining with gold.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Bucky says eventually, feeling indebted. It makes his stomach twist — he doesn’t like owing people. Never has.

“No need,” T’Challa counters. “Please, think of this as your home for the next little while. We can accommodate you after your deprogramming.”

“D’you really think it’s gonna work?”

“My sister has never failed,” T’Challa answers. “You are in good hands.”

He repeats what he had said to Steve. “I’m not sure I’m worth all this.”

T’Challa seems to digest the words and consider them carefully before changing directions. “Let me show you something.”

Bucky follows him, mostly in silence that doesn’t feel uncomfortable. He takes the time to simply see. He watches T’Challa navigate easily, through a complex, underground system. The rushing roar of a train startles him at first.

“Where are we?” He eventually asks, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Right now we are under Mount Bashenga.”

Bucky watches the trains in fascination, smells the dampened moisture in the cave that they’ve entered, and follows T’Challa as they head towards a soft light above.

He takes a deep breath when they finally emerge, feeling his skin warm up again. The sight is breathtaking. He can see the forests and fields for miles, all kissed gold by the setting sun. It reminds him of Steve’s hair, of Steve’s smile.

The thought summons a sudden surge of emotion, as if it had been building inside him this whole time and it makes his voice crack. “This is beautiful.”

“It is,” the king agrees, lowering himself to sit.

Bucky follows quickly, not wanting to be at a higher elevation than the king for crying out loud.

“This was the last thing I could offer to my cousin, N'Jadaka,” T’Challa tells him softly. “I told him that Shuri could heal the wound I had inflicted on him, but he declined.”

Bucky wants to know the details, but he doesn’t push, letting T’Challa take him through the story of the one that would become known as Killmonger.

“He took his last breath here,” T’Challa concludes. “Even though it was his choice, I felt his blood on my hands for a long time after, but I still find myself here often.”

“I think I would too,” Bucky agrees. There’s something calming about the pleasantly heated hug of the sun while overlooking such a beautiful region.

“Please do.”

They sit together until the sun has given way to the starry sky.

✧✧✧

Steve is nervous about landing. Yes, there’s a fight coming — a big one, at that. But, he can’t stop worrying about Bucky, wondering how he’s been and how the deprogramming is coming along. He’s only received updates here and there, but they’ve kept him in the loop for all the big steps.

He had very nearly flown back here when T’Challa informed him they were planning on taking Bucky out of cryostasis. Now, with the lush forests and vast expanse of rich land beneath them, he feels his anxiety ramp up. He’s so close and yet so far.

When they land, he immediately greets T’Challa. “Seems like I’m always thanking you for something.”

It goes unsaid, but he’s sure the king knows just how much he’s dying to see Bucky.

“So how big of an assault can we expect?” T’Challa asks, bringing Steve back to business.

“Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault,” Bruce answers for him.

“How are we looking?” Steve asks in return.

“You will have my King’s Guard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and —”

“A semi-stable, 100-year-old man.”

Steve’s heart soars at the familiar voice — this one softer and lighter, like the Bucky he grew up with and less like the Winter Soldier. He doesn’t waste a second, walking toward Bucky to meet him in the middle, even if he’s not entirely sure Bucky would welcome the touch.

The tender smile is inviting enough that Steve goes for it, arms outstretched, dying to hold Bucky for the first time in far too long.

“How ya been, Buck?”

“Eh, not bad, for the end of the world,” he replies easily.

Steve tears up then, because if it truly is the end of the world, there’s nowhere else he’d rather be and nobody he’d rather be with.

He doesn’t see Natasha and Sam exchanging looks, or T’Challa’s small, knowing smile.

He doesn’t see anything except Bucky. “I missed you, Buck.”

✧✧✧

“I can’t thank you enough, Your Highness,” Steve says the moment Bucky goes to greet Sam and Natasha, making his amends and starting anew with them.

“It was my pleasure,” T’Challa responds. “Shuri always loves a good challenge, I think it is going well.”

Steve lets out a huge breath of relief. “You… You have no idea how much that means to me. Us.”

✧✧✧

Snap.

That’s all it takes to tear the world down.

“What did you do?” Thor demands of Thanos. “What did you do?!”

Thanos vanishes before their eyes, leaving them with no answers and a feeling of dread.

“Where’d he go?” Steve asks as he’s looking around, trying to see what’s changed, trying to determine if Thanos’s threat was real.

Nobody knows, but Steve still turns to Thor, expectantly. “Thor, where did he go?”

Everything looks the same, smells the same…

“Steve?”

Bucky’s name dies in his throat as he watches the unspeakable happen.

No, no, nononono!

He lunges forward as he watches in horror while Bucky disintegrates before his eyes. The shine of his eyes dulls as he stumbles, limbs evaporating into dust.

“BUCKY!”

He falls to his knees as Bucky literally slips through his fingers. Amongst the shouts for friends and family echoing through the forest, he hears his own anguished cries.

Thor is speechless, Wanda heartbroken, Vision dead. The loss is devastating.

It feels like all the oxygen has left his lungs and all the life drained from him. He wants to lay down, right here on top of Bucky’s ashes, but it feels too close to admitting that Bucky’s gone. No, he can’t give up yet.

“Hang on, Buck,” he promises to the empty space where his heart and soul had been. “I’m coming for you.”

[controlofwhatido]

fic: drawn to your blood

Title: drawn to your blood Pairing: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes Rating: E Word Count: 5043 Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Tags: AU - Vampire, Captain America Steve Rogers, Vampire Bucky Barnes, Human/Vampire relationship, Vampire Bites, Blood Drinking, Top Steve, Bottom Bucky

Summary: It's been almost seventy years since Bucky had a one night stand with his mate. After, Steve had just up and disappeared on him. Now, in the middle of goddamn aliens appearing from a hole in the sky, Bucky smells Steve's blood. But... that's not possible, is it?

Notes: Written for the @starspangledsecretsanta a gift for @reagy-jay! Thanks so much to @itsfeistyred for the beta! ♥

READ ON AO3

[captainjimothycarter]

A very special gift for @missfitmarvel0-0 for @starspangledsecretsanta.

The Captain America Reading Program was just supposed to be a pipe dream and nothing more. A daydream Steve entertained himself with as he watched bored kids try to listen to the same storytellers of the week.

When he accepted the job, Steve never thought it would end up with him dressed in a red, white, and blue suit and carrying a handmade shield to read to kids. He never thought he’d come to love it so much.

Bingos: [Photo] - @cabottombingo Science Experiment - @avengersbingo A character is a cat person - @mcukinkbingo Breakfast - @stuckybingo Get Together - @mfbingo Characters: Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff Relationships: Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes Tags: Fem!Bucky, idiots in love

The Captain America Reading Program was just supposed to be a pipe dream and nothing more. A daydream Steve entertained himself with as he watched bored kids try to listen to the same storytellers of the week.

He’d come to nearly dread it as much as the kids did. Their cries of boredom cut him deeply, hating to think they’d eventually grow up to despise a place like this, a place of wonder.

Truth be told, Steve didn’t blame them. The volunteers were just plain boring, they read in monotone voices that just droned on and on. He’s heard more emotion come from a robot proctor.

The few times he'd volunteered as a stand-in, the kiddos were excited. He’d never seen little Kate smile or watch little Jack wiggle in his seat because he did a silly voice for a character. When he asked the kiddos what they wanted him to read, the kids went wild. He’d never seen so many kids want a book about aquatic animals or to even stray as far as wanting to learn about the planet Mars.

While the volunteers might not care so much about these kids and their engagement in reading, he did. Deciding enough was enough, he put a plan into action, a plan that would get the kiddos engaged in story time and excited to come to the library. He called it Captain America Story Time. Captain America was nothing but a silly character from his drawings. He wore a red, white, and blue costume, complete with carrying a red, white, and blue shield.

It was exciting to see Captain America come to life through him. Steve felt a sense of pride rising in his chest at the advertisement of this new program on the library’s website. It was a simple photo of him dressed as Captain America and holding the shield up, with a book in the other hand.

Read the rest here

[reagi-df]

My gift for PanoramicSubDrop, sorry idk your tumblr for this account , but I had about doing this, loved the idea 🙏

[alicetallula]

Secret Santa 2021 - The Cults Server - For Hal - Part II - 23.12.2021

I had the pleasure of participating in the Secret Santa of the Cults Server this year again !

For @phroggysace

It was such a blast to draw for such a sweet person !

< Previous Post / Next Post >

Secret Santa 2021 - Stucky - Ice Skating - For Hal - 23.12.2021

Done using ink pens, watercolors, colored pencils, metallic watercolors, metallic ink pens and acrylic paint pens

AO3 post / DeviantArt post / Instagram post / Pillowfort post / Twitter post

(reblogs are unavailable until I scan and edit the drawing and put it through Nightshade)

[missfitmarvel0-0]

This is my first stucky fic that hasn't been in any AU, and let me say it was so fun! It also made me want coffee, but like Steve I don't drink it!

I made this as a gift for @somesortofitalianroast for the @starspangledsecretsanta!

[steverogersevents]

A masterpost of Steve Rogers events! Please let me know if there are any that I missed - not all events are currently ongoing but you never know when one will come back :D

🌟 STEVE ROGERS-CENTRIC 🌟 ★ Bottom Steve Rogers Fest @bottom-steve-fest ★ Captain Bottom Bingo @cabottombingo ★ Happy Steve Bingo @happystevebingo ★ Man With A Plan Bingo @manwithaplanbingo ★ Silver Fox Steve Bang @silver-fox-steve-bang ★ Steve-Centric September 2021 @stevecentricseptember ★ Steve Rogers Appreciation Week @steverogersweek ★ Steve Rogers Bingo @steverogersbingo

🌟 STEVE ROGERS/TONY STARK 🌟 ★ A Second Chance @stevetonyisendgame ★ Cap-Iron Man @cap-ironman ★ Lights on Park Ave @lightsonparkave ★ SteveTony DarkFests @stevetonydarkfests ★ Stony AUniverse @stonyauniverse ★ Stony Loves Steve @stonylovessteve

🌟 STEVE ROGERS/BUCKY BARNES 🌟 ★ ShrinkyClinks Bang @buckybarnesevents (formerly @shrinkyclinksrb) ★ Shrinkyclinks Fest @shrinkyclinksfest ★ Stucky Bang @stuckybangs ★ Stucky Bingo @stuckybingo ★ Stucky Halloween @stuckyhalloween ★ Stucky Geek Events @stuckygeekevents (formerly Historical Fiction @stuckyhistoricalfiction) ★ Stuckyverse Bingo @stuckyversebingo ★ Stucky Week @stucky-week

🌟 STEVE ROGERS/PEGGY CARTER 🌟 ★ Steggy Bingo Bash @steggybingobash ★ Steggy Fan Events @steggyfanevents

🌟 STEVE ROGERS/THOR ODINSON 🌟 ★ ThunderShield Events @thundershieldevents

🌟 TEAM CAP 🌟 ★ All Caps Bingo @allcapsbingo ★ Cap Bang @capbang ★ CATWS Anniversary @catws-anniversary ★ Star-Spangled Bang @starspangledbigbang ★ Star-Spangled Secret Santa @starspangledsecretsanta

🌟 POLY / MULTI 🌟 ★ SteveTonyBucky Bingo @stb-bingo ★ Stuckony Valentine Cards @stuckonyvalentinecards ★ Superfamily Exchange @superfamilyexchange

[saiyanprincessswanie]

SaiyanPrincessSwanie Reading List Week 181 & 182

Welcome to Weeks 181 & 182

A/N: Thank you again to those who gave me recommendations for fanfics. 💜 This week had me reading 40 fics. Absolutely amazing stuff here.

As always these will be listed in no particular order. None of these stories are mine. I’m just signal-boosting them. The author is listed next to the title. My goal is to signal boost writers and spread positivity in the community.  💜💜

Click HERE to see what I will or won’t read. This is very important.

Click HERE for past reading lists.

For my Masterlist click HERE

Please make sure you’re reading the warnings on every story. They range from dark to fluff. Do Not Read if you are under 18 years old. These stories are meant for adults only. You’re responsible for your own media consumption.

Page-break by @whimsicalrogers

Header by @fictional-affairs

If you can, please reblog these lists so they can reach more people on Tumblr.

I love you 3000 💜 Missy

Jungle Cruise- (Bucky x Reader) - @saiyanprincessswanie

Give Me a Name - (Bucky x Reader) - @navybrat817

Stray - (Steve x Reader) - @stargazingfangirl18

Enjoying - (Steve x Reader) - @nekoannie-chan

Promises - (Destroyer!Chris x Reader) - @nano--raptor

Santa Baby - (Bucky x Reader) - @gogolucky13

Christmas Compromises - (Bucky x Reader) - @rookthorne

Rose Petals - (Frank C x Reader) - @fluffyprettykitty

Daisy chain - (Steve x Reader) - @sunshinebuckybarnes

Big girls don't cry - Part 1 - @holylulusworld

Tutor - (Steve x Reader) - @nekoannie-chan

Unsavory - (Pete x Reader) - @labella420

Heat Inducing - (Steve x Reader) - @navybrat817

Obedience - (Lloyd x Reader) - @stargazingfangirl18

Built Differently - Pound the alarm - (Stucky x Reader) - @rookthorne

Collared part 29 - @spnexploration

Collared part 30 - @spnexploration

Life Is Short So Make It Sweet - Chp 1 - @sweater-daddiesdumbdork

Switched Sides - Part 1 - @deliciousangelfestival

Your Mark On Me - Part 3 - (Steve x Reader) - @georgiapeach30513

Back in my Arms - (Bucky x Reader) - @jobean12-blog

The Dad Diaries: Welcome Home - (Bucky x Reader) - @navybrat817

Juxtaposition (Part 2) - (Bucky x Reader) - @tuiccim

Spoiled - (Andy x Reader x Ari) - @stargazingfangirl18

Swell with pride - (Lloyd x Reader) - @biteofcherry

Fallen Together - (Bucky x Reader) - @gotnofucks

Snow bunny (1) - @holylulusworld

Dark Concepts - (Andy x Reader) - @hansensgirl

Bind - (Frank C x Reader) - @fluffyprettykitty

His Inheritance - Part 31 - (Steve x Reader) - @jtargaryen18

Secret reunion - (Steve x Reader) - @nekoannie-chan

she's a good girl - (Andy x Reader) - @sunshinebuckybarnes

The Rest of the Year - (Bucky x Reader) - @pellucid-constellations

black shirts and soggy cereal - (Bucky x Reader) - @sergeantxrogers

Oh, Little Cottontail - (Bucky x Reader) - @rookthorne

Blood magic - (Brock x Reader) - @nekoannie-chan

Burn - (Steve x Reader) - @nekoannie-chan

Shelter - (Robert P x Reader) - @stargazingfangirl18

Drip - (Stucky x Reader) - @biteofcherry

Slip Inside - (Bucky x Reader) - @navybrat817

[saradika]

[masterlist]

This is the list of the incredible fics I’ve read and shared this month for the stardust reblog challenge! Includes ones read here and on my side blog, @eupheme (in case there’s any confusion!) 💖

STAR WARS

'tis the damn season by @maybege

Years after you last saw Boba Fett, Natalie invites you to spend Christmas with her family. | hot dad!boba x f!reader

ownership of mine. (part 2) & (part 3) by @amywritesthings

You have been in Narkina 5 for four months. The unit believes you are in a secret relationship with Kino Loy. (Are you?) | kino loy x f!reader

Before. When. After. by @littlemisspascal

There is a story before, when, and after Keef Girgo enters your life | ruescott melshi x f!eader

Zena Thamne (Cuyan Series) by @againstacecilia

Your fiance disappears two months before your wedding on a dangerous hunt. Fearing the worst and desperate to find him, you accept help from a reluctant Mandalorian and set off in search of your groom. | din djarin x f!reader

Take My Hand by @princessxkenobi

after a fresh snow has fallen over all the forest, you & your darling obi wan sneak away from the cottage for some ice skating; your hearts, all the while held within each other’s palms | obi-wan kenobi x f!reader

Patience by @oscarseyebrow

 “Show me how you caught him,” you request, eyes daring the bounty hunter as his chest heaves in the fluorescent lights of the Crest’s hull. “Show me how you took control.” | din djarin x female reader 

By Your Side by @princessxkenobi

In the softened afterglow of the fireplace, things take a heated turn between you and anakin, where all that you begin to sense there, is your shared waves of longing and intimacy, wanting just to be together | anakin x f!reader

Unwavering by @uwingdispatch

You are so precious to me,” he said. “Do you know that? I never…” he trailed off for a moment, closing his big hazel eyes, taking a deep breath. “I never had the courage to tell you how much I love you, but if something happens today and I never get to see you again—” | brasso x f!reader

A Touch of Peppermint by @princessxkenobi

hot chocolate doesn’t exist where Din Djarin is from, & thankfully you had been there just to show him what it’s all about; that is…if either one of you doesn’t get distracted for too long to enjoy it first ...❄️ | din djarin x f!reader

Flowers that Bloom in Winter by @psychedelic-ink

A spiteful coworker ruins the flower arrangements you had hoped to compete with. Not knowing what can be done, you entertain a young boy named Grogu who comes in at the same time wanting to buy a bouquet for his father. The next day, Din returns and offers to help you out with your work until a competition. | din djarin x f!reader

MARVEL / DC

A Cause For Celebration by @andrewrussgarfield

In which Peter Parker shows up at your front door with a slightly smashed cupcake and a whispered "Happy Birthday". | tasm!peter x afab!reader

Bitten by Fate by @stargirlfics

After a Halloween party at an abandoned mansion, you wake up to discover strange bites on your body and a note inviting you back | vampire!stucky x black f!reader

STARDEW VALLEY

Nothing Comes from Nothing by @hometownbard

All it took was a production of The Sound of Music for you to finally confront your feelings for Harvey, the show's leading man. | harvey x farmer

PEDRO PASCAL & OSCAR ISAAC

Live Fires & Low Lights by @wyn-n-tonic

“You're teasing me, sweetheart.” | javier peña x f!reader

frankie request by @softanon

A scoop of fluff with Dad!Frankie, with a bonus appearance of young Júlia Morales. | frankie morales x gn!reader

expectations by @pedrito-friskito

It was only supposed to be a job. | joel miller x f!reader

Did You Think I Had Forgotten? by @wyn-n-tonic

She’d fucking hate him if she could. | santiago x f!reader

VIOLENT NIGHT

All is Calm by @clydesducktape

Nicholas returns home looking battered and bruised. A reminder of a past life you’ve shared that leads to him needing your comfort and joy. | santa!harbour x f!reader

These fics are all so lovely - please check them out and please support these creators! 💖✨

[otp-holic]

favourite fluff fic scene/fantasy with Steve and Buck? :)

Oh hello there, thank you for a fantastic ask that's equally easy and difficult to ask.

I LOVE fluff for these two. I love any kind of mundane situation where they are relaxed together.

Grocery shopping, an afternoon home, PDAs, a night out, a fucking ride on the bus... ANYTHING is game for me with them as long as they're happy and together. In any universe.

I specially love fluffy moments where they mix being absolute shit to each other (best friends forever!) to suddenly shift the mood and become the most tooth-rooting couple EVER, only to be back to smacking each other with a pillow or something.

I want them to be HAPPY.

That's regarding FANTASY, because my mind is made of fluff, any fic or headcanon by me that you read is going to be fluffy as hell.

And fluffy fics that are not mine or a fantasy in my head... I've recced things in this tag and most of them are fluffy. I made this post, too focusing on some fav happy fics and arts....

So I'm gonna do something different, I'm linking Io here -- without cheating -- the last five fluffy stucky fics that I've read (or re-read in some cases) according to my Ao3 History: We Set a Precedent, and Now I’m Living With It by @voylitscope (another AU and just the kind of relationship I LOVE between them)

I’m not as broken as some made me out to be by @between-a-ship-and-a-hard-place (it's part of a bigger universe but i think it stands on its own. but if you're up for angst with a happy ending, go for the whole series, it's ldsjlkjdlgkjdflkjgl The epilogue is FLUFF, too. And also the roadtrip. ) What are friends for? by @musette22 (Lovely, and somehow related to what i told you about them being cute and shit to each other? Yes.)

forever ain’t half the time by @its-tortle (wakaaaaanda softness)

i've got a lot to pine about by Anonymous (it's still an unknown author because it's part of a secret santa, it was holida-y, but it has one of the thinks I love: AU where friends who sleep together and don't talk about their feelings)

fifteen-love by @sparkagrace (au, snarky and fluffy LOVED IT)

(ok that's six)

+ one recent re-read that's not on Ao3 because it holds a special place in my heart:

 this Roman AU by @rillils (B R I L L I A N T and the softest thing you'll ever find. , no i'm lying because this canon!wakanda of hers is EVERYTHING, too)

I hope it answers your question, I'm always happy to talk about fluff and these boys, they deserve it <3

[nekoannie-chan]

Week 49 Reblog Masterlist

You can check my reading guidelines here.

You can check my masterlist here.

You can check my main reblog masterlist 2022 here.

You can check my December reblog masterlist 2022 here.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

𝙺𝚎𝚢𝚜: 💛 ᵒʳᶤᵍᶤᶰᵃˡ ˢᵗᵒʳʸ 💜 ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ 🖤 ᵈᵃʳᵏ ❤️ ˢᵐᵘᵗ 💚 ᶠˡᵘᶠᶠ 💙 ᵃᶰᵍˢᵗ

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

This is the list of the fics I read and recommend in Week 49 2022:

Keep your eyes to yourself (John Proudstar X Reader, Andy Strucker X Reader) by @scarlett-dunbar101​ 💚

And then it rained (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @sapphire-rogers​ 💚

Morbius (Michael Morbius X Reader) by @may85​ 💚

Imagine Steve visiting skull in prison by @imaginemarvelfanfic​ 💙

Fully agree (The divine pairing) by @rose-of-gabriel​ 💚

What could’ve been (Steve Rogers x Reader, Steve Rogers x Peggy Carter, future Bucky Barnes x Reader) by @you-are-my-sanctuary​ 💙

Secret Santa (Bock Rumlow X Reader) by @captainsophiestarkwriting​ 💚

My saviour chapter 30: Alexander Pierce (Brock Rumlow X Reader) by @talia-rumlow​ 🖤 ❤️���💙

What could’ve been final part (Steve Rogers x Reader, Steve Rogers x Peggy Carter, future Bucky Barnes x Reader) by @you-are-my-sanctuary​ 💙

Lesson (Ororo Munroe X Reader) by @blog-of-a-multitude-of-fandoms​ 💚

Kiss me and stay with me (Stucky) by @hollybee8917​ 💚

When you’re old (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @nana1000night​ @1000night​💚

Chrome & leather chapter 16 (Steve Rogers X OFC, Billy Russo X OFC) by @saiyanprincessswanie​ 💚💙

The will to get to you (Thunderblink) by @zoefandom127​ 💚

Slow dancing in the kitchen (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @rodrikstark​ 💚

Dating headcanons with Michael Morbius (Michael Morbius X Reader) by @angelltheninth​ 💚

40’s (Skinny!Steve Rogers X Reader) by @justalonelyslytherin​ 💚

[stuckybingo]

Stucky Bingo Round-Up #12 (December 11th - 17th)

Don’t forget to fill out the submission form to be a part of the round-ups and to get your bingo badges!

December Moodboard by Astaraiche Square filled: N3 - Free Square Ao3 rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Winter getaway, Holiday traditions, cabin getaway, adventures in the snow, decorating for the holidays Summary: Steve and Bucky decide to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city this December and spend the holidays tucked away where the winter sky is crisp and full of stars. Format: Art

I was alone, I took a ride (I didn't know what I would find there) by otp-holic Square filled: N2 - Cuddling Ao3 rating: Mature Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: au, wip, friends to lovers, slow burn Summary: The aftermath of their talk Format: Part of a multichapter fic

Alpine's Second Christmas (chapter 1) by SomeSortofItalianRoast Square filled: I1 - Alpine Ao3 rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: AU: no powers; AU: Soulmates: AU: coffee shops; write!bucky; alpine Summary: Writer!Bucky has writer's block; Alpine helps. Format: Part of a multichapter fic

Alpine's Second Christmas (Chapter 2) by SomeSortofItalianRoast Square filled: G4 - AU: Soulmates Ao3 rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: AU: no powers; AU: Soulmates: AU: coffee shops; write!bucky; alpine Summary: Bucky and Steve trim their tree; Alpine helps. Format: Part of a multichapter fic

I Held You in Gloved Hands (And I'm Not Letting Go) by voylitscope Square filled: N1 - Slow Dancing Ao3 rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: friends to lovers, childhood friends, first kiss, alternate universe, fluff Summary: Bucky Barnes jumps at the chance to take a job opportunity hours from home. He's expecting a fresh start and a decent salary jump. He's not expecting to run into his childhood best friend, Steve Rogers, on his first day. The years since they last talked have been hard ones for both of them, but falling back into their friendship is shockingly easy. Despite their time apart, December in this small town might bring them closer than ever. (Or, a holiday romcom in which Bucky reads to children, Steve teaches art, new friendships are made, difficult conversations are had, cookies are baked, way too much coffee is consumed, home is found in surprising places and, eventually, feelings are confessed.) Format: Part of a multichapter fic

parental advisory by sparkagrace Square filled: I1 - art Ao3 rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: established relationship, modern au, meeting the parents Summary: Steve brings Bucky to meet his mom. Sarah Rogers doesn't make it easy. Format: Medium oneshot (1000 - 5000 words)

Santa's Secret by Kalee60 Square filled: O4 - AU: Wings Ao3 rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Shrunkyclunks, meet-cute, identity porn, awkward flirting, fluff Summary: When Steve Rogers is roped into playing Santa Claus for the Stark Industries charity markets, he thought his day would be full of kids, snot and demands for expensive toys. He’d not expected to meet a charming young lady named Avery, whose uncle just might be the most handsome man on the planet. If only Steve could let him know he wasn’t really a big, old, bearded man without ruining the magic for all of the children lined up waiting to sit on his knee. But could a Christmas wish from a small child change the trajectory of his future? Steve sure hoped so. Format: Medium oneshot (1000 - 5000 words)

[rinasred]

The question pounds my head "What's a lifetime of achievement?" If I pushed you to the edge But you were too polite to leave me.

Icehour (as stucky)/ Coney Island

-secret santa for @canary-warrior part 2!! 🥳🥳

[rookthorne]

𝐖𝐈𝐏 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞

I was tagged by @jen-with-a-pen and my girl @sebstanwhore ages ago, and I am only getting to this now... oops! better late than never! 😅 and I started a new chain because... well, I am excessive. that's no secret.

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP list, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it. And then tag as many people as you have WIPS.

Roulette (CW!Bucky)

A Touch of Bravery (Paramedic!Bucky)

Tag Team (Bodyguard!Bois)

Bad Blood (Biker!Bucky)

The Toll of the Bells (Biker!Bucky)

Trouble, and Make it Double (TBR Stucky x F!Reader Collection)

Collar Brat (Mafia!Bucky)

Sweet Obediance (Lee Bodecker)

Tinsel and Tussles (Bodyguard!Bois)

Floristry Festivities (Florist/Tattoo!Bbys)

First Times and Festive Treats (Incubus!Bucky)

A Paw Proposal (Lumberjack!Bucky)

Christmas Compromises (Mechanic!Bucky)

Seasons Stuffies (Nurse!Bucky)

Dashing (Mafia!Bucky)

Oh, Little Cottontail (Alpha!Bucky)

Sweet Cheer (Pornstar!Bucky)

Spooky Santa (Scare Actor!Bucky)

Little Guardian (Paramedic!Bucky)

Preyed Upon

Outrunning the Devil

To Run, is to Die

Snared

A Means to an End

Essence Lost

Small Mercies

The Way Home (Modern!Bucky)

...oops

I cannot tag as many people as there is on this list because that is insane, so I am going to leave this as an open tag to all of you! 🥹

[datshitrandom]

Klaine as Stucky Cosplayers | Inspired by my Klaine Secret Santa gift | "A Conning we will go, a conning we will go…" by @ericdooley