#that was bertie's last near miss with her and we can probably assume that she's now safely married off

[yeah-thats-probably-it]

No, I pretty much felt that way too. And this was just going to be a quick bullet point list explaining why, but then it got away from me. Anyway.

Reason one, I think you totally tetigisti'd the rem when you said that this book breaks the illusion of Wodehouse stories taking place in their own little world. The key thing that makes the Jeeves books work so well is the fact that they don't take place in anything like the real world. It's funny to watch Spode threaten to butter Bertie across the lawn with his hobnailed boots because bad things don't really happen in Wodehouse-land! Nobody dies, Jeeves will never go to jail for his many crimes, and things like poverty and war are glossed over so neatly they can barely be said to exist.

Aunts Aren't Gentlemen takes place almost entirely in that same goofy, consequence-free world, but with random jarring intrusions from the real world, and that's a real problem for immersion and suspension of disbelief. (also it DOES feel more mean-spirited, you're absolutely right)

The language of "contracts" fits well with this. Ring for Jeeves is operating under its own separate contract, which is, as you said, closer to the real world than the normal Jeeves book standard. Aunts Aren't Gentlemen is supposed to be working within the normal standard contract, but it keeps randomly going renegade. Honestly, the style and formula of these books has been so reliable and well-trodden up till now that it almost feels like a breach of genre conventions. Scifi novels contain speculative elements, romance novels end on a happily ever after, and Jeeves books take place in an insulated little universe where real-world problems don't exist.

Another reason the touch of reality worked in Ring for Jeeves but not in Aunts Aren't Gentlemen is the fact that the sociopolitical backdrop in the former mattered. Wodehouse had something to say about the post-WWII social revolution in Britain, and the book's specific setting drives the entire plot and every character's actions, whether directly or indirectly. If you took Ring for Jeeves out of its historical political context, you would be left with no story.

In Aunts Aren't Gentlemen, the characters' political beliefs couldn't possibly matter less. The protest march is dropped into the story out of nowhere and drops out just as quickly (we never even find out what was being protested!). You could replace Vanessa and Orlo's supposed communism with any other annoying trait and slugging a cop with something else Vanessa's father disapproves of, and you wouldn't need to change the plot a single bit. I guess maybe Wodehouse was kind of making a point about hypocritical, performative "activists", but was it worth it? What price the tonal dissonance?

But I think the problem Aunts Aren't Gentlemen suffers from the most is that it follows Jeeves and the Tie That Binds, and Tie That Binds was such a perfect series finale. All the loose ends were tied up (no pun intended), we get to assume that Bertie is finally safe from Madeline and Florence for good, and he and Jeeves have exchanged their vows to stay with each other for the rest of their lives.

I think what almost certainly happened here was that Wodehouse was 90, he knew he didn't have much time left, and he wanted to give his beloved characters a nice send-off before he passed away. He expected Tie That Binds to be his last Jeeves book, so he wrote it with that in mind and left our boys off on an implied happily ever after (does that make tie that binds a romance novel? much to think about).

But then, huh, looks like he has more time left than he thought, and hey, he might as well spend his remaining time on Earth doing something he loves (viz. writing Jeeves books). The idea of someone sticking Bertie with a cat was a rejected plot point for Jeeves in the Offing, and he has just enough time to do something with it now, so why not? But then he runs into the problem that he's JUST tied up all those loose ends, so now he has to come up with a brand new fiancee who's exactly Florence Craye but worse and start everything up all over again.

Overall, I feel the same way about this book coming after Jeeves and the Tie That Binds that I do about Right Ho, Jeeves coming after Thank You, Jeeves. It feels like the character development goes backwards. I do kind of wonder, and I'll have to go back and check, if there's anything in Aunts Aren't Gentlemen that rules out the possibility of it taking place sometime BEFORE Tie That Binds. Like, RHJ has to take place after TYJ because in the former Bertie talks about Gussie receding from his position, which is a phrase he very specifically learned in TYJ.

Personally though, my preferred headcanon is the theory put forward in this meta fic by @sandwichsapphic that Bertie is actually writing his memoirs many years after the fact, and is just remembering out-of-order snippets of his life at random. This is the only theory that works out all the wonky timeline issues and inconsistencies to my satisfaction and it's the real and true answer to ME.

In conclusion, I think the weirdness is attributable to the fact that this is the Jeeves book that was never really supposed to exist. The Sisyphean cycle of Bertie's life was fun while it lasted, but we could equally be happy when it ended because, well, the series had to end somewhere, and it's nice to see it end on a happy note. But then wait, nevermind, actually the universe has decided that Bertie never gets to be free and this stuff is going to keep happening to him forever. Bit of a bummer. Let my boy REST.

I can't think of a good sentence to wrap this up on and I've been very negative, so I'll just say that there were also many things in this book that I enjoyed. And Jonathan Cecil's performance on the audiobook is EXCELLENT, fully recommend. Thank you and good night

i didn't quite like aunts aren't gentlemen as much as i would have expected to and i'm not quite sure what exactly it is about it that i didn't like. i mostly liked the beginning, i mostly liked the ending, i think the series was done with much obliged, and this is the sort of Ehrenrunde that wasn't quite necessary. all the old threats to bertie are gone, madeline is married to spode, stiffy bing is married and can't blackmail him anymore, florence thinks he's a criminal and won't marry him, i have completely forgotten what happened to honoria but bertie ends the book un-affianced and about as nicely as anyone could, and while bertie's problems in general have something sisyphean about them, and that is usually a nice thing! we like what wodehouse is doing and now we're reading another one! its somewhat depressing this time when in aunt's aren't gentlemen all the same problems are back, when one would have expected him to be free of all that stuff. i think its that the book breaks the contract of wodehouse for me and i'm not sure if it's because i read it after Ring for Jeeves, which has a very different sort of contract and isn't quite the real world, but it's real world-adjacent, and in aunts aren't gentlemen we're not quite in berties world either, i think. at the end of the day the book isn't any less slapstick than the others, and it isn't that there's a tangible difference - all dangerous situations bertie ends up in are quickly resolved, und während sich in aunts aren't gentlemen genau wie in den anderen büchern auch letzten endes alles in wohlgefallen auflöst it seems to me like the world has gotten a little. meaner. it's like the illusion that keeps wodehouse contained in its own little world isn't quite there in aunts aren't gentlemen, and i can't quite put my finger on what it is, or if its something that the book itself does or if i'm imagining it

[musings-from-mars]

@pollinationweek 2021: Day 1 - Band AU

They had been stranded here on the side of the road for a while now, and Ruby was not handling the fact that their van was seemingly broken down well, all while they were still hours away from their gig. “What do we do?” She asked for perhaps the twentieth time as she paced, her boots thump-thumping against the asphalt.

“We buy a new van,” Weiss grumbled, content with just staring at her girlfriend’s butt as Yang draped herself over the front of the van to check under the hood.

“About a week too late with that idea,” Blake said, also content with staring at Yang’s butt.

“Hey now,” Yang’s voice echoed from inside the van’s inner workings, her feet kicking up behind her. Her jeans were getting caught on the metal, revealing the top few inches of her plaid boxer shorts. So attractive… “I can fix this, don’t worry. I know Big Berty inside and out.”

Big Berty was an early-2000s era transit van with two hundred thousand miles on the odometer and a chipping coat of black paint. It was practically held together by Yang’s very hopes and dreams, and a liberal amount of duct tape.

“Yang, we’re in the middle of nowhere,” Weiss said as she stepped closer, glanced down into the van skeptically, diligently avoiding getting any van dirt on her white runners jacket. “Unless you can do magic, we’re not getting anywhere. We should just call a tow truck.”

“How much will that cost,” Blake asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Weiss assured her, alluding to her ability to still access her rich family’s fortune despite being disinherited. It would require a couple calls to a sympathetic butler and a particularly tech-savvy groundskeeper at her family’s manor, but she could acquire funds in an emergency.

“Okay, but how long is it going to take?” Blake added, pulling out her phone. “Because wherever we are, it’s nowhere close to a cell tower, so I don’t think a tow trunk is nearby either.”

“Ye of such little faith,” Yang said, then she tried to shift her position, yelped with pain, fell backwards and bumped the top of her head on the hood of the van. “Fuck!”

Weiss was the one closest by and caught Yang in her arms. “Careful, you dunce!”

Yang gritted her teeth as she rubbed her head with her hand. Then she sighed as she looked at Weiss, their faces close. “Heheh…okay, I’ll admit it. I think Big Berty is taking an impromptu sabbatical.”

“You mean it finally clunked out and we can get a new van?” Blake asked hopefully.

“I didn’t say that!” Yang said defensively, then stared at Weiss a little more. She sniffed and started to feign tears. “Don’t make me give up my Big Berty Baby, Weiss.”

“Someone catch her, I’m about to drop her,” Weiss deadpanned.

Blake volunteered to assume Yang cradling duties as Weiss sighed dramatically and turned to Ruby. “Hey, we’ll be fine. This is why we leave for long trips a day early, remember?”

“But it’s almost nightfall,” Ruby said, looking up at the orange dusk. “Even if we make it in time, we’ll have so little sleep. Gods, this is gonna suck, we’re gonna suck, I’m gonna suck…”

Weiss stepped closer, taking Ruby by the shoulders. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry so much.”

Ruby’s cheeks turned a faint pink, but she shook her head. “I just don’t want a repeat of last time.”

Weiss looked to the side and pressed her lips together. She remembered the last time they’d had a mishap. It wasn’t a big performance, just a local set at a club back home. But a combination of equipment mishaps, some rowdy club goers, and Ruby being on two hours of sleep at best made for a rough night. “This will be different, Ruby,” Weiss assured her. “We’re far better prepared now. We’ve got this.” She punctuated her point by leaning forward and giving her a light kiss. “Now come sit down while Blake calls the tow truck.”

“I just said I don’t have service,” Blake called while slowly lowering Yang to the ground since their drummer seemed to refuse to stand up.

Weiss pulled her phone from her pocket and threw it to Blake with a tremendous amount of trust that she would catch it. “I have service.”

Blake caught the phone with one hand and looked at her phone. “Full bars? How?”

Weiss didn’t answer, instead turning back to Ruby, who was calmer and more flushed-faced now. “Come sit on the tailgate with me. Maybe if you play something for fun that might help you settle a little more?”

Ruby’s shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath, but she smiled and nodded. “Yeah, good idea.”

While Blake called a towing company, Yang stayed on the asphalt for a little floor time, and Weiss and Ruby sat on the back of the van. Ruby had her acoustic guitar in her lap, strumming random tunes and chords as Weiss sat with her, her head on her shoulder. She chuckled as she listened to Ruby play. “You know what would be funny?”

“Hmm?” Ruby turned her head toward Weiss, pausing her playing to listen.

“What if we recorded a song right here? Like, on our future album or something, just out in the middle of nowhere?”

Ruby blinked and looked where she was looking. Besides the road, there was nothing but grass and trees as far as the eye could see. “It is pretty quiet,” Ruby agreed.

“Once we hit it big time, you know?” Weiss continued. “It would be a cool way to remember moments like this, just us in Yang’s shitty van. But hopefully by that time, we’ll have a bus or something.”

“Aww, but then we wouldn’t have to sleep in a pile like we do in the back of the van,” Ruby said with a giggle.

“Says who?” Weiss joked, smiling and kissing Ruby’s cheek. Ruby smiled and leaned against her, then returned to strumming on her guitar, playing a few chords from one of their songs that sounded a bit odd on acoustic, but was nice to listen to either way. Weiss even joined in and sang softly, though it was nowhere near her performance level register, like a soft lullaby. By now, Ruby’s worries about arriving on time had faded. Sitting here while Weiss sang was just fine with her.

Soon, Blake rounded the back of the van and sighed. “Tow truck is coming, should be about an hour-and-a-half.”

“That long?” Ruby asked as she stopped playing abruptly. Weiss sat upright as she looked up at Blake.

“We really are in the middle of nowhere,” Blake said, taking Weiss’ phone from her button-up flannel’s breast pocket and handing it back to her. “I also called the hotel and told them we’d be in late.”

“Should we…cancel the hotel to pay for the tow truck?” Ruby asked like it pained her to say. She set her guitar aside and hopped to the gravel ground, straightening her plaid skirt.

“I told you, I’ve got it handled,” Weiss assured her.

“Sorry, I’m just…” Ruby took a deep breath. “I’m anxious about us missing our gig, or running out of money…”

“Yang,” Blake called out, cupping her mouth with her hand. “Stop taking a road nap and come comfort your sister.”

A few seconds later came the thump thump thump of Yang’s boots, followed by her capturing Ruby in a hug. “Don’t worry sis, it’ll be alright!”

“Egh…loosen up…” Ruby grunted as Yang proceeded to lift her up and crush her rib cage.

“Whoop, my bad.” She gently placed Ruby down and patted her head. “But seriously, though, we’re going to be okay. This isn’t the only gig we have lined up, we have savings, we have, erm, a rich girl.” She gestured at Weiss, who rolled her eyes at her. “We’re good, okay?”

Ruby sighed and looked down, shuffling her feet on the gravel shoulder of the road. “I guess you’re right. I just worry too much…”

Blake stepped up and hugged her from behind. “Hey, while we wait, what do you say we put on some music, raid our snack stash and have a chill sesh until the tow truck arrives?”

Ruby smiled and leaned back into Blake’s arms. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

Yang grinned and pulled Weiss into a rough side hug. “Yeah, let’s have a chill sesh!”

Weiss grunted and tried shove herself away from Yang. “No sesh is chill if you’re involved, and you smell like the inside of Berty.”

“Aww come on, you love me,” Yang said as her strength overcame Weiss and pulled her into a proper hug.

“That’s irrelevant!” She claimed feebly, failing to hide the smile that was overtaking her face.

Blake hummed with amusement, then kissed the top of Ruby’s head. “How bout you pick that guitar back up. Maybe that’ll calm them down.”

“You think so?” Ruby asked with a giggle, watching as Weiss still flailed in Yang’s embrace.

“Worth a shot.”

~~~

An hour later, Weiss had fallen asleep in Yang’s arms. The two had laid down in the back of the van on the mattress, and after Weiss got through with her complaining and Yang had pared back her teasing, they’d settled into a close cuddling position and were asleep soon after. Ruby’s soft playing probably helped, as did the gentle breeze that had begun to blow through. The sun was almost set by now, bathing the sky in a deep graying blue.

Blake sat behind Ruby, holding her around the waist she she played with her legs to the sides. She was playing a slow, light tune, low in pitch and a careful rhythm that came and went like a tree swaying in the wind. Blake had said it many times to her before and Ruby never believed her, but Ruby really was the best guitar player Blake had ever met. Even while casually playing while stranded on the side of a road, her music was masterful. Blake felt so lucky to just get to hear it. “I love you,” she whispered.

Ruby hummed and smiled, continuing to play as she spoke, “I love you, too.”

“Thank you,” Blake said, kissing Ruby just above the temple.

Ruby chuckled quietly. “For what?”

“I mean,” Blake said as she began to reminisce. “You’re kinda the reason this is all real. If you hadn’t been crazy enough to convince us all to abandon our sensible career choices and form a rock band, I never would have gotten the chance to fall in love with you three.”

“I did kinda ruin all of your lives, huh?” Ruby said with a giggle. Her playing was slowing and getting quieter.

“Hardly,” Blake said, tightening her embrace around Ruby a little. “Because of you, Weiss got away from her dickhole father, Yang escaped the fate of becoming some bored shop mechanic, and I, well…I’d be in a shitty apartment doing nothing.”

“You’d still be writing,” Ruby pointed out.

“Maybe. ADHD doesn’t do well without motivating factors,” Blake said and Ruby nodded knowingly. “This band, though? My girls? That’s all the motivation I need. I’ve never been this happy.”

Ruby smiled, now no longer playing, her hands frozen in playing position. She didn’t realize she had stopped. “We wouldn’t even get to be stranded here in who-knows-where if not for me, huh?”

Blake giggled and kissed her head again. “Exactly.”

They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the wind blow. It was properly nighttime now, stars dotting the sky.

Ruby yawned, finally setting her guitar aside. “Honestly…I’d be okay just sleeping here tonight.”

Blake hummed, turning her girlfriend so she could cradle her sideways in her lap. “Sounds inviting. But a hotel room with a bathroom sounds even more inviting.”

Ruby shuddered. “Don’t say that, I’m trying not to think about needing to use one of those bushes for cover.”

Blake snorted, looking down at Ruby’s face. “You’re such a dork.” She leaned down and kissed her softly, cupping the back of Ruby’s head with her hand. Ruby hummed into the kiss, then placed a hand on Blake’s shoulder and pushed. Blake slowly leaned back until she was lying on the mattress as well, with Ruby parting from the kiss and adjusting to lie on her chest.

“So you’re really happy?” Ruby whispered, her hand resting in the center of Blake’s chest with Blake covering it with her own, she stared up at the Edison bulbs they had strung along the upper trim of the van’s interior, bathing them in warm light.

“Ruby, being in this band is a dream come true. Being in this polycule is a dream come true. Hell, being here right now is like a dream,” she smiled and tugged Ruby a little closer. “I’m more than happy.”

Ruby snickered. “Sappy.”

“I know.” She turned her head to look towards her other two girlfriends, Yang on her side and facing towards them, face partially obstructed by blonde hair, with Weiss held close to her chest, the girl’s back to Blake and Ruby and her face tucked against Yang’s shirt. For a pair who loved to bicker, they sure knew how to cuddle.

Ruby noticed Blake staring and smiled. “I’m happy, too. To get to do something like this with my sister and our girlfriends, I just…” She took a deep breath and sighed. “Dream come true, like you said.”

“Sappy,” Blake teased.

“You started it,” Ruby joked, tucking her nose closer to Blake.

They faded into a natural silence, and soon, Ruby was asleep on Blake’s chest. Blake figured she’d try to stay awake so she’d notice the tow truck arrive, but no way was she moving from this spot until then. The music, the performances, the travel was all fulfilling and exciting, but these moments with her girlfriends were what made it all truly worth it.

Even if Yang was kind of a snorer. And Ruby was kind of a drooler. And Weiss was…Weiss. They were her girls. She loved them with every inch of her sappy heart.

[leisurelypanda]

Ballad of the Thundering Heart ch. 17

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13605048/chapters/32726928

The first thing Steve noticed when he came to was that he was really, really comfortable. This bed was much softer than his own. It was like he was sleeping on a cloud. He didn’t even remember falling asleep, really. He lay down and the next thing he knew he was dreaming. He couldn’t remember what about, for once. He just knew that there was Thor wearing a cape, sexy, form-fitting armor, and swinging some hammer that allowed him to fly. He also had lightning powers, which was weird.

The second thing he noticed was that there was something heavy on his chest. He opened his eyes and saw Thor, his boyfriend resting his head on his chest. He had also wrapped his arms around him, so Steve was trapped underneath him. But for some reason, he couldn’t find it in himself to care… until he noticed through his sleep-addled mind, that Thor was shirtless.

Think pure thoughts, Stevie! he thought quickly. Rainbows. Unicorns. Cotton candy--

And just like that he was thinking about the first time he kissed his boyfriend at Coney Island, and the… fondue kissing they had done last night and his thoughts were anything but pure. He really didn’t need a boner to pop up while his boyfriend was sleeping on top of him. Well, if they had actually gone that far in their relationship it wouldn’t be a problem, but just thinking about… that… with Thor in such close proximity terrified him.

I need to distract myself, he thought. But considering that he was held captive by Thor’s arms, that essentially meant one thing. So he brought up a hand to Thor’s head and started to pet the long, silky, tangling strands. It was amusing to see how unkempt his hair became at night. He always seem so… well-groomed. Steve sort of assumed he just woke up like that.

Thor hummed in his sleep and nuzzled Steve’s chest. Steve chuckled to himself as he felt the vibrations against his chest. He continued to run his hand through Thor’s hair… and then he reached the end and his fingers felt Thor’s back. His breathing hitched.

Could he touch Thor? Could he… feel his boyfriend? He was… warm. He was a hotbox, actually. Steve wondered why he bothered with blankets, the guy probably never got cold. Steve certainly felt like they were overkill at this point. His skin had a natural, healthy glow like he spent a lot of time in the sun. Not angry and red like some. Thor’s complexion looked like he belonged in the sun.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Master Rogers?” It was Mr. Baker. “It is 10:00, sir. We must get going soon if we are to meet Mr. Barnes at the station.”

Steve sighed. “Thank you, I’ll be ready soon.”

“Very good, sir.”

Thor sighed and nuzzled him again. “Do you have to get up?”

“Yeah, babe, I promised Bucky I’d see him off,” Steve replied with a yawn.

Thor moved his face up to kiss his neck. “Do you have to get up now?” he whispered into his ear.

Steve shivered. Get up, you fool! he shouted at himself. But Thor was kissing him and his powerful, muscled body was right there in front of him and he couldn’t think straight. Steve gasped as he felt Thor descend once more onto his neck to kiss and suck at his tender flesh. Steve had enough presence of him to lay a hand against Thor’s chest and pushed him back gently.

“No, Thor, I can’t,” he said. Thor fell back onto the bed but made no further comment. Now a new problem presented itself. Steve could his boyfriend’s chiseled physique. It was right there in front of him, relaxed and beautiful and… there! Thor chuckled and Steve realized that he had been staring at him.

“See something you like, älskling?” he teased.

“Hooot. I mean-- fuck, no-- I mean yes,” Steve stammered. Thor began laughing uncontrollably. Steve decided to make a tactical retreat. He leaped off the bed, grabbed the clothes on the dresser Mr. Baker had laid out for him, and ran across the room and out the door. In retrospect, he probably could have just used the bathroom that was connected to Thor’s bedroom, but in his bid to retreat, he had simply ran out the nearest door.

“Make good choices!” Thor called after him, howling with laughter. Steve ducked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. It was then that he looked down and noticed that, against his better judgment, he was sporting a boner. He felt his entire body flush with mortification. Did Thor see it? Is that why he said “make good choices” when he left the room? What was he thinking?

Steve tried, with some difficulty, to put it from his mind. He needed to get ready soon if he was going to be able to meet Bucky at the station on time. He put the clothes down and noticed a handwritten note on the top.

The underwear is new, don’t worry-- Frigga

“Thank God,” he muttered.

He looked at the shower. It was easily half again, maybe even twice the size of his bathroom at home. Or it seemed that way to him, anyway. It was all a warm, beige color and all tile whereas most of the floors in Steve’s home were one brand or another of cheap linoleum. There were shower heads at either end of it, a bench on the inside wall, another nozzle on the wall that he could remove to reach those… hard to reach places.

Steve quickly stripped out of his borrowed pajamas. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. He looked at himself, a small, scrawny kid. His eyes ran over the bundle of ugly, jagged scars on the right side of his chest over his collarbone. He raised a hand to wander over them. They almost seemed like from another life, now. His hand wandered over to another bundle of scars on his side near his rib cage. Reminders. Echoes he’d never be rid of. Lingering reminders of old pains and old fear.

Without another thought for them, he jumped into the shower and turned the water up to its highest setting. And immediately jumped back when it reached truly scalding temperatures.

“Why does he need the water to be so hot?” Steve wondered aloud. “Though it would explain some things. Like the guy being an actual hot box.”

He washed quickly and didn’t miss the fact that he was using his boyfriend’s product. He smiled as he smelled the familiar scent of smoke and pine that was uniquely Thor. The smell went straight to his dick. Steve hummed at the sensation of the hot water flowing down his body and over his erection. The image of Thor’s naked, relaxed body sprang immediately to mind. He moaned softly as he began to stroke himself.

Two birds with one stone, right? he thought. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve emerged from the shower dressed and ready to go. He practically ran into Thor on his way out. Who was still shirtless and apparently without shame.

“Going somewhere?” he asked with a grin.

“H-hey, Thor,” he stammered, trying very, very hard to look at Thor’s face rather than his… chest. Or his arms. Or his abs.. “Y-yeah, I need to h-head out. See Bucky off.”

Thor hummed. “I will see you tomorrow, then,” he said. He brought Steve’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it.

Steve blushed. “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Give Bucky my regards,” he said, smiling, before he turned to step into the bathroom himself.

Steve rushed down the stairs, eager not to waste any more time. Bucky would kill him if he was late. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So who wins?” Mr. Baker asked. “Young Master Rogers slept in his bed, but he was clothed. They didn’t seem to make it past first.”

“I win, of course,” Mrs. Bianchi declared. “They may not have gone that far, but they slept in the same bed. That’s the equivalent of second base, if you ask me!”

“Just admit defeat and give me the money, Alessia,” Mr. Baker. “You can have your chance to win next time.”

She relented with a sigh and took out her money, throwing it on the table. Mr. Baker smiled as he leafed through the money and stuffed it in his wallet.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you, Alessia,” he said.

“Oh, get over yourself, Bertie,” she grumbled. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve got the feeling that Mr. Baker was feeling smug about something as they pulled into a parking space near the train station but couldn’t put his finger on why. He didn’t pay it any mind though as he jumped out of the car and ran down the steps to see Bucky. His friend grinned as he approached and grabbed him in a fierce hug like when they had met again a couple days ago.

“You’re here,” Bucky cried. “I was worried you wouldn’t show!”

“Why? Because of that little incident last night?” Steve asked, punching his arm. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Barnes.”

Bucky chuckled at that. “You look like you enjoyed the rest of the evening with Thor,” he said, gesturing to Steve’s hickies. “Your neck took a bit of a beating.”

Steve flushed. “You should see the other guy.”

“Stevie, Stevie, Stevie!” Bucky crowed. “You’re growing up so fast! I’m so proud.”

“You know what the most awkward part of the whole thing was?” Steve replied.

“What?”

“Getting caught by Odin,” Steve said.

“Shut up!” Bucky cried. “Oh my God, come on you have to tell me all about that!”

Steve told him the whole story over lunch in one of the fast food places at the station. It was strange, and oddly comforting, to be eating plain old fast food burgers and fries after eating fancy rich food for the past couple days. Bucky was laughing uncontrollably by the time Steve had finished his story.

“I wish I had been there to see his face,” Bucky said. “Still, I don’t envy you, buddy. Having Odin on your bad side sounds rough. At least Thor and Frigga have your back, though.”

“Yeah, it’ll be interesting, that’s for sure,” Steve mused. “What about you? What are you gonna do about Natasha when you get back?”

Bucky chuckled awkwardly. “I don’t know, man,�� he said. There was a strange look in his eye as he regarded Steve. “I think I might have just screwed up. Maybe I’ll just call it quits and move on.”

“Come on, Buck,” Steve said. “You can’t give up before you try.”

“But what if she says no?”

“What if she says yes?” Steve countered.

Bucky was silent at that. Steve couldn’t pretend he knew what he was going through. He was, after all, in a relationship with the first person who he’d really fancied. It was completely different than trying to ask someone out who may or may not be interested at all. Still, it was similar enough.

All too soon, however, Bucky’s train came close to its arrival time in the station and he had to leave. They embraced again as they said their goodbyes. Somehow it seemed both worse and better than when he had left before. Before, Steve was losing his only friend and facing a year of school on his own. Now, he had Thor. And he had friends in Loki and Tony. Somehow his support system had grown exponentially. And yet, just as everything in his life seemed to be getting better, his friend wasn’t going to be there to be part of it. There was a twinge of pain and regret, but Steve tried not to let it bother him.

“Let me know how your relationship with Thor goes,” Bucky said as they hugged.

“I will,” Steve promised. “And you be sure to let me know how things go with Natasha.”

“All right all right, you old lady,” Bucky chuckled. He grabbed his bag and headed towards the terminal.

Steve was left feeling melancholic as he watched him go. Mr. Baker, in an unusual display of affection, rested a gentle hand on Steve’s shoulder. He didn’t say anything and Steve didn’t ask him. He appreciated the gesture, though.

“We can leave whenever you’re ready, sir.”

Steve gave it another couple minutes before he consented to be taken home. Thor was right. They had a lot to get done by tomorrow. When he returned home with his suit in his bag, he found his mom waiting for him on the couch.

“How was your night?” she asked.

“It was great,” Steve replied. “You ever heard of fondue?”

“The cheese or the chocolate?”

“Both,” Steve said. He explained how Thor had rented a rooftop in the city, how they had danced until the fondue dinner was ready, and then kept dancing until they went back to his place. He conveniently left out the part about what they did with the chocolate fondue, though. That wasn’t really something he felt like sharing with his mother.

“You made good choices, I trust?” she asked. Steve stared at her for a moment until he caught her meaning.

“Mom! No! I mean yes, I made good choices, we just,” he stammered, his face heating up and again he wished privately that he didn’t have such a fair complexion. “Nothing like that happened.”

“Okay, good just making sure,” she said, her face the same shade of scarlett that he imagined his face must be.

“Now if you don’t mind,” Steve said, grabbing his backpack from beside the door. “I have some homework to finish by tomorrow.”

She waved him away, surely eager to end the conversation. When he got back he checked his phone. In addition to some other notifications from Facebook and his email, he had one text from his boyfriend.

I hope your farewells went well :)

Steve smiled. They did, thanks for asking.

He put the phone away before he could become distracted by his caring boyfriend and got to work.