#SOOO many of Steve’s moments in all of the mcu is him going against the government. I swear he does that more than working with them

[proudly-a-killjoy]

Reading an Avengers fic that is very good plot wise but is so clearly Team Iron Man and can’t even fathom the reasons Steve had in Civil War but still somehow characterizes him as a bootlicker. As if the entire plot of Civil War wasn’t him going against the government. Hello??? I’m not even 100% a team Cap person but how do you misconstrue a character so much

#my posts #marvel #fanfiction #ao3 #marvel mcu #mcu #cacw #captain america #iron man #captain america civil war #avengers #the avengers #SOOO many of Steve’s moments in all of the mcu is him going against the government. I swear he does that more than working with them

[drabbles-mc]

Turn of the Tide (1/2)

Pirate!Stucky AU

Summary: After years apart thinking that they would never see each other again, Steve and Bucky come face to face under circumstances neither of them ever would have dreamed of.

Warnings: 18+, minor blood/injury, angst (with a happy ending), pining, alcohol

For the Alternate June-iverse prompt: Pirates

Part 2 can be found HERE

Word Count: 9.3k (oops)

A/N: First of all, thank you for @buckybarnesevents and @rookthorne for putting this event together again! Without y'all and your amazing cards/prompts, I never would've tried to tackle something like this and I had SOOO much fun doing it. So thank you so much. Kisses to you both 💕 I'll be posting part 2 sometime within the next week!

MCU Taglist: @artemiseamoon @garbinge (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

They were hardly more than boys when Steve had lost him. No matter how many years went by, no matter how many times people told Steve that what happened wasn’t his fault, he never believed it. He’d long since lost count of the number of times that he had set foot on a ship since then, but it didn’t matter—every time it happened there was a pang of guilt that went through him.

It had been the perfect mess of circumstances. They were young. Strong, but still young and there was a certain type of control that even the strongest boys would only garner with age and they hadn’t yet. That wasn’t something they ever considered, though, their confidence bolstered from knowing the ships like the backs of their hands. Whether it was calm waters or riveting storms, they always moved with the assurance of men who had it all under control. Most of the time they had someone looking over their shoulders to make sure that things didn’t get out of hand. It was usually Steve’s dad—the ships were his after all. The man had a sixth sense for when the two of them were getting out of control or close to it and he always showed up to reel them back in just in time.

He had tried, too, the night that they lost James. The winds were picking up, the waters were getting rougher. He knew that it was spelling out bad news, but he could still hear the chatter and laughter between the two boys out on the deck. He warned them, telling them to get inside, telling them to leave the storm prep to the men who had been doing this with him since before either of them was born.

Steve nodded, immediately ready to follow the direction. More often than not that was how it went. James had nodded as well, but there was also a look in his eyes that betrayed the fact that he wasn’t prepared to just sit back and let everyone else get to have all the fun. He was young enough and inexperienced enough to still consider it fun.

James had always had that little bit of an edge to him. From the moment Steve turned up with him at home one evening when they were small. Steve’s parents didn’t have to ask James many questions to quickly pull together that he was a boy in need of some stability, a place to be that might help keep him out of trouble. They took him in as much as they could, as much as James would let them. It worked—he brought Steve out of his shell as they got older, and Steve kept him from getting too carried away a lot of the time. There were some times, though, like the night of the storm, that Steve’s starry-eyed admiration and love for the boy he’d grown up alongside of got the better of him. James would give him that little smirk, would make a little bit of a coaxing motion with his hand, and Steve would give right into him.

It'd been years and not a day had gone by that Steve didn’t kick himself for giving into it that night. He was just a kid, and there wasn’t anything that he really could’ve done, but he knew that it was always going to haunt him. He could still hear the thunder, feel the intense rocking of the ship. If he shut his eyes for too long when he thought about it, he swore he could feel the rain pelting against his skin, wind beating against his face. He felt the way that he reached for James’s hand, the way their fingertips just barely grazed but it wasn’t enough. He heard the scream that he let out as he fell, hated the way it was the last thing he ever heard of him.

Steve always inevitably thought about the way that if his father had just been a few seconds later, if he hadn’t gotten there in time, Steve would’ve leapt right over the edge in after James. It would’ve been futile in the darkness and the rough waters, but Steve had still been ready to do it. A couple second’s worth of a difference and Steve wouldn’t be standing on the deck of that same ship all those years later, still taking orders from his father, still carrying the guilt on his shoulders along with everything else.

He stood there staring at the edge of the deck, knowing exactly where he’d been standing that night, one rock of the ship away from going over the edge just like James had. There were no prints left behind from his boots but he could still see them plain as day.

He was dragged out of his waking nightmare by the feeling of someone’s hand coming and clamping down on his shoulder. He turned to see who it was, a tight smile coming across his face when he saw it was Sam. Sam had come along a couple years after they lost James, back when Steve still thought there was a possibility of his best friend showing up again. Sam was kind, helpful. He didn’t have that same type of defiant streak that James had had which was a relief to Steve’s father and the rest of the men running the crew. As time went on, he and Sam got along well enough, but he never let anyone in like he had with James. How could he?

Sam knew it all, and never seemed to take anything to heart. He didn’t let the distance faze him. “Think they might be leaving you in charge.”

Confusion flooded Steve’s features. “What?”

Sam nodded towards the ramp that led down to the dock. “Captain Rogers wasn’t feeling well, they said. But we still have to make the run.”

Steve gestured towards the cabin. “What about—”

“They said it was gonna be you.” Sam took his hand from Steve’s shoulder and let it fall back to his side. “Next Captain Rogers. Was always going to happen, wasn’t it?”

Steve chuckled good-naturedly. “It’s one trip my father isn’t well enough to come on himself. Hardly me taking over.”

“Gotta start somewhere. Maybe if this goes well…” he trailed off, knowing that Steve would fill in the blanks.

“You still want to go, Wilson?”

Sam’s smile was bright, genuine. “Gonna need a right hand—of course I still want to come.”

Steve left Sam and the rest of the crew to continue with their preparations for departure while he slipped off to have a conversation with his father, confirm that what Sam had told him was actually the truth and not just a misunderstanding. It didn’t take much, though. The moment that he walked into his father’s bedroom, he could tell by just taking one look at the man that he was too sick to be on the ship for the next trip they had planned, no matter how straight-forward or brief. Steve didn’t stay and talk for very long. He knew the route—it was their usual trade run. Very rarely did they have any issues with the traveling itself, and the crew was steady and consistent. As long as their usual vendors were there when they arrived, everything should go perfectly according to plan even if Steve was the one at the helm instead of his father.

The little pangs of guilt that went through him whenever he went onto the ship went away faster than usual this time around. He had more to preoccupy his mind this time, able to stay busy. He’d been watching his father do this his whole life, could recite it all from memory at any given point if someone asked, but it was different when he was the one who actually had to do it. It felt good.

The first day of sailing had gone by without incident. The waters were calm and it looked like it might even stay that way. The crew hardly batted an eye when Steve was the one who started giving out orders. There were a few jokes made, all in jest with no malice to be found, but other than that everyone went along like it was business as usual. Steve supposed that in a way, it was.

The sun was starting to set on the second night. Steve could see it in the clouds that there was the potential of inclement weather, and possibly rough waters. They had planned ahead enough that anchoring for one night wasn’t going to set them terribly behind. It would be safer to do that rather than trying to sail through a storm and losing everything. Even if he hadn’t been heading things up on his own for the first time, he would’ve suggested airing on the side of caution. It was his default now, and most of the crew knew it. They also knew better than to try and argue or convince him otherwise.

It was late, the sun completely gone. The stars shone overhead but before long the wind would be blowing in clouds that would cover them up. The breeze was already strong enough to begin roughing up the water. It wasn’t terrible yet, but as he felt the ship start to sway, he wondered how bad it was going to get.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn’t heard Sam coming up behind him. It wasn’t until Sam’s boots hit the wood of the stair that Steve was sitting on that he realized it all. Steve snapped his head to look at him, and Sam was just staring down at him with a smile on his face. There was no denying the exhaustion in Sam’s expression, and Steve was sure that he looked much the same. It was a good day but even good days were tiring.

Steve wasn’t expecting Sam to plop down on the step next to him, but he did. Neither of them said anything for a moment. Rather than offering a verbal ice breaker, Sam held out the bottle in his hand, offering it to Steve. He accepted it, fingers curling around the neck of it. He brought it up to his lips and took a sip, letting the liquor scorch its way down the column of his throat.

He brought it back to his lips to take a second sip and all he could think about in that moment was James. He thought about the nights the two of them spent up on the neck, thinking that they had been so sneaky pilfering liquor from his father. There was no way that the man hadn’t known, but he hadn’t said anything about it. Part of kids growing up, teenagers stealing from their parents’ liquor cabinets. Steve had hated the taste of it back then, and really didn’t much care for it now either. James had never seemed bothered by it, though. He would take a swig from the bottle and he wouldn’t cough or cringe the way that Steve always seemed to. It went down like water for him. And, while the years that passed made it so Steve didn’t cough with every sip anymore, he still always felt himself wincing at least a little bit each time. All those years had passed and he still wasn’t who James had been.

“Is it strange?” Sam asked.

For a moment Steve irrationally thought that Sam was asking the question in relation to all of the thoughts that had just been flying through Steve’s head. But then the logical part of his brain took over once more. Steve shook his head as he handed the bottle back to Sam. “Not that strange. I’ve watched him do this for years—it’s not new.”

“You guys ever run into problems out here?”

Steve shrugged. “Not on this run, usually. I remember my dad had come home once or twice with stories of fights and pirates. I never knew how much of it was just him trying to scare me into listening to him and my mother.” The comment got a chuckle out of Sam and Steve found himself smiling too. “But I know it’s been getting more dangerous out here.” A strong gust of wind blew and rocked the ship, causing both men to brace themselves to keep from toppling over. “Haven’t heard about anything but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. If trouble comes,” Steve’s hand subconsciously strayed to the gun at his hip, “we’ll be ready.”

He hoped he would be, at least. He wasn’t worried about the rest of the crew. They were seasoned sailors, most of them doing this since Steve was a baby if not longer, though they were younger men back then. But still, they’d run across thieves and pirates in their time and lived to tell the tale. Steve had never had the misfortune, however, to be on-board a ship with his father when there were unwelcome guests. He’d never had to use his gun on someone, or his sword. All he’d ever used them for was practice. He was hoping to keep it that way for as long as possible.

He turned to Sam. “You should get some sleep. Everything’s battened down out here just in case. We’ll be all set.”

“You gonna get some sleep, Cap?”

Steve chuckled at the moniker. “Yeah, I’m gonna get some sleep.”

He had no real clue how long he had actually been asleep for, but when he was yanked back into consciousness, it felt like he’d just barely shut his eyes. He wasn’t woken by a sound, but rather a feeling. The sensation of cold, sharp steel pressed against his throat. His eyes popped open instantly, and luckily enough his body fought the impulse to shoot upright at the disturbance. If he’d moved much more, he would’ve had yet another pressing issue to deal with on top of everything else that was happening.

He blinked the last of the blurriness out of his eyes. When the room came into focus, a fresh jolt of fear shot down his spine. His eyes traveled up the blade that was pressed against his throat, crawling their way up the arm of the person holding it until they reached the other’s face.

With only one candle in his room still left burning, Steve couldn’t make out the details of the man who was currently one flick of his wrist away from ending his entire life. He had long, dark, shaggy hair. It was covering just as much of his face as the shadows in the room were. With the hand that wasn’t keeping the short blade pressed firmly against Steve’s throat, he brought one finger up and pressed it to his own lips.

“Let’s stay quiet,” the man spoke, his whisper deep and raspy. “Would hate to bring the rest of your crew into this.”

The more that Steve’s eyes adjusted to the dark, the more details he could start to pick out about the person who had allowed himself onto their ship. He saw the myriad of jewelry draped around the man’s neck, around the wrist nearest his throat. The loose shirt left a fair amount of the man’s collarbone exposed, but that was hardly a blip on Steve’s radar when he noticed the way the sleeves of the man’s shirt were pushed up. His left arm, the one not holding the blade to him, was covered in scarring. It was too dark still for Steve to be able to try and guess what the cause of it might’ve been, but he had to assume that it wasn’t unrelated to the fact that this man was sneaking aboard ships in the middle of the night like this.

“I have a feeling,” Steve finally said, gathering his wits about him, “that you already did.”

Even in the dark the man’s smile was impossible to miss. “I’d say no one can get past you but,” he nodded towards the blade currently pressed against Steve’s throat, “apparently they can.”

Steve exhaled harshly through his nose, his patience wearing thin despite not knowing what he wanted his next move to be. “What do you want?”

“Whatever you’ve got.” The man looked around the tiny cabin space that they were currently in. “Merchant ship this size?” He nodded approvingly. “I think you might have a few things my crew could make use of.”

Steve shook his head as much as he was able, feeling the slight pull of the blade against his throat as he did so. “We don’t have—”

“Don’t lie to me,” the man’s whisper was as sharp as the steel in his hand.

He exhaled again, this time the breath came out unsteady. He didn’t want to take his eyes off the man in front of him, but he needed to look and see just how far away his gun was, or even his own blade. Was it close enough to reach for? Would he be able to move quickly enough to grab it before it was too late? If he did get it and manage to stay in one piece in the process, would he be able to take out the man in front of him before he could alert the rest of his own crew? He didn’t hear them moving around the ship but if they weren’t aboard yet, it wouldn’t be long until they were. The longer that Steve kept this man trapped in the room with him, the more likely it was that his men would become restless and come looking for him.

Steve held the man’s gaze for a moment longer before settling on a plan of action. Anything was better than sitting there and doing nothing. Not letting his eye contact waver, Steve swiftly drove his foot into the man’s sternum and pushed him backwards. It didn’t knock him completely down, but it put enough distance between them for Steve to twist and grab his own blade from beside his bed. He felt the burn on his throat where the other man’s blade had broken the skin, but he knew from the feeling of it that it wasn’t enough of an injury to cause a problem right now. There were much more important things at hand anyway.

He leapt out of bed, sword at the ready. In the limited space at their disposal in Steve’s quarters, they paced a circle around each other, sizing each other up. They were quite the pair against each other, Steve in his thin white sleepwear while the man was standing there fully dressed and ready for whatever was coming his way. There was something about the man that felt familiar to Steve, but he couldn’t for the life of him fathom what it was. He didn’t make a point of consorting with pirates, so he didn’t know what the draw was. He could barely make out the features of the man’s face, but there was something. Maybe it was just the panic in his system, looking to make sense out of something that was random and senseless. Wrong place, wrong time. If he lived to tell the tale, he was never going to hear the end of it from his father.

Time for calculation was over. Steve stepped, lunging with his sword. It was a blade that was longer than that of the other man’s, and he was hoping that would prove to be an advantage. The move wasn’t effective, the man blocking it with ease. The edges of the blades glided along each other as they each tried to push through and get closer.

Steve regained control of his blade and created an opportunity for himself to make another attempt. The sweeping gesture he made was mildly more effective than his first move—he felt the difference in pull as the sword cut along the skin of the man’s chest. He hissed in pain, turning away from the blade as best he could. It was surface-level damage, not all that much worse than the nick on Steve’s neck all things being considered. The thin slash was enough to cause blood to start seeping into the loose white fabric of the man’s shirt, making it start to stick to his chest.

Steve did his best to take advantage of the split-second of surprise, that brief moment the man spent recognizing that Steve had made contact. He stepped in and made another short, sharp motion and knocked the sword from the man’s hand. It clattered to the floor, sounding impossibly loud. Steve knew that this was the moment. If he was going to put a stop to this man, this was the time to do it. It would only take him another second, after all, to lunge and sweep his blade back up off the floor. Steve knew that he should send his sword right through the man’s chest, or slash the blade harshly across his throat. It was no better or worse than what they would do to him on-shore—pirates weren’t ever punished with anything less than a public hanging. It wasn’t as though Steve would be changing the outcome for this man. This was the only type of end he was going to meet. He must’ve known that when he decided to become a pirate. It wasn’t a lifestyle that was known for staving off a man’s expiration.

He brought his hand up to do exactly what he had practiced, what countless lessons over the years had trained him to do. One more sweep of his arm and it was all over. But he couldn’t. The blade stopped mere centimeters away from the man’s throat. Instead, he closed his first that wasn’t holding onto his sword, and struck a harsh blow to the man’s jaw, one that did knock him down to the ground.

It didn’t take much after that for Steve to get the man pinned down onto the floor. The man was lying on his stomach, one side of his face flattened against the wood floor beneath them. Steve was wrangling the man’s arms behind his back, ready to tie them into place when he heard a cacophony of footsteps and shouting out on the deck. Even with Steve’s knee digging into the man’s back, he still managed to get a laugh out.

Steve ignored the way that the man’s laugh made his nerves spike. He busied himself with the knot he’s started in the rope around the man’s wrists. The voices were clearer now, and Steve could also hear those of his crew as well. The mess was growing worse by the second and he still wasn’t sure what each step of the plan was going to be yet, he only knew the outcome that he wanted, no, needed.

He heard the man’s crew calling out for him, multiple men shouting out, “Captain!” What caught Steve’s attention, however, was the fact that at least one member of the man’s crew was calling out, “Bucky!”

Steve yanked as hard as he could as he finished the knot, noticing the sharp breath of pain the man let out beneath him. “Bucky, huh? That’s what they call you?”

He chuckled, like the position he was in hardly registered as an inconvenience. “Only my friends.” He turned his head to look at Steve. “That what we are now, Captain?”

Steve pressed his knee harder into the space between the man’s shoulder blades. “Hardly.”

Shifting his weight, Steve brought himself to a crouching position for a moment, feet planted just to the side of the man’s, Bucky apparently, body. Before Bucky could get so much as another snide comment out, Steve wrapped his hand around Bucky’s bicep as much as he could before heaving him up off the floor. Bucky was nearly stumbling to keep up with the force that he had been lifted with. Under different circumstances he would’ve been impressed, as he hadn’t expected the captain to have such an easy time of it. Bucky didn’t put up as much of a fight as he could have, and probably should have, as Steve grabbed hold of his sword again now that they were both upright.

It was impossible to miss, as Steve dragged Bucky towards the door, that the noise outside had reached its crescendo and died down considerably. No more firing guns and clanging swords. There were still the shouts and grumblings of disgruntled men, and all Steve could do was hope that most of the men still able to talk, still up and about, were his own.

He was just about to reach for the doorknob when someone on the other side yanked it open. The surprise that shot through Steve, that made him brandish his sword, quickly melted away into relief when he saw that Sam was the one who had pulled the door open. If Sam was coming to get him, he just had to hope that that meant his men had ended up with the upper hand. A success not unlike what Steve had managed against Bucky.

Sam’s eyes were wide with shock as he looked back and forth between Steve and the man that he had a vice grip on. “C-Captain,” he finally stammered out.

Steve could see, even in the low light, the blood smeared on Sam’s clothing. He hoped that most of it wasn’t his own. Sam was still upright, and aside from the panic and shock he seemed to be doing alright. “Wilson,” Steve said, trying his best to sound reassured, like he wasn’t just as panicked and just as out of breath as the man in front of him, “how’s the crew?”

Sam nodded but the worry was still thick in his expression. “We, they, um.” He couldn’t find it in himself to ignore the glare that Bucky was giving him. “Come and see.”

The confidence that Steve had been starting to garner began to slip away as he followed Sam’s instructions. He watched as Sam turned on his heel and headed back to the deck. Steve shifted his grip on Bucky’s arm, keeping a tight hold on the thick cord of muscle that ran up the back of his bicep, fingers digging as he pushed Bucky forward through the doorway first. The action was rough enough to nearly make the man stumble, but he managed to catch himself.

The deck was a mess, but as Steve took quick stock of the situation at hand, he was relieved to see that all the members of his crew were, more or less, in one piece. Some had injuries that would need more attending to in the daylight, and more still once they reached shore or returned home, but it didn’t seem as though anyone was at risk of slipping away from them just yet.

The same could not be said for all the members of Bucky’s crew. Some of them were bound much like their captain, left incapacitated against the mast. Others weren’t so lucky, their blood staining the wood more and more as each second ticked by. Bucky felt his anger renew, and he struggled against Steve’s grasp knowing it wasn’t going to get him anywhere, wasn’t going to change anything. It was a risk they all ran, living the life that they did, and Bucky knew that as well as any of them. Still, though, he felt responsible for them—he was still their captain after all.

Steve and Bucky’s crews had been matched well in terms of numbers. From the looks of it, Steve might’ve only had two or three men more. But Bucky’s crew was much greener than Steve’s. Most of that was chalked up to age. After all, while there were many benefits to youth, not many things could match experience. A majority of Steve’s crew were still young enough to be able to fight if they had too, but they were also old enough to know a lot of the tricks others had up their sleeves. It was why they were able to come out on top, even if they didn’t come out of it unscathed.

Steve felt Bucky pull against him again and he brought the sword up so that it was pressed against Bucky’s throat. Perhaps it was a bit of an empty threat after how things had played out the first time, but it still made a point.

“If you don’t want this blade to go any deeper,” Steve said as he adjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword, “I would stop fighting.”

“Why?” Bucky grit out. “So you can bring us in and hand us off to someone else who will do the same? Hang us in—”

“You knew the risks when you decided to become pirates,” Steve cut him off, confidence back in his voice again.

He pushed Bucky towards where the rest of his crew was tied, impressed with how little pushback there was. He was tempted to make a comment about honor among thieves, but he knew as well as anyone the loyalty between a captain and his crew. There was a little gnawing at the back of his brain knowing that it carried over to pirates as well.

Sam stepped up so that he was beside Steve. “What do you want us to do?”

Steve nodded towards the mast. “Put him with the rest. We’ll keep them there for now.” He let out a deep sigh as he relaxed his arm, his sword lowering until the tip of it just barely touched the paneling of the deck. “We’ll move on now—reach port by the afternoon.”

One of the men tried to speak up, clearly exhausted from everything. “Cap—"

“I’ll take it from here,” Steve reassured, already knowing where the sentence was going. He was as exhausted as any of them, but he knew that there would be no going back to sleep for him now. He wouldn’t be able to rest until they returned back home. Maybe not even then. “One of you can relieve me in the morning.”

There was a tense silence, but no one spoke up to argue. The sense of unease about the plan was outweighed by people’s need to rest and lick their wounds. Steve watched as one of his men finished tying Bucky down. In the daylight he would be able to get a better look at him, at all of them. He wondered if he would feel any different afterwards.

Steve’s men slowly started to head back to their barracks, one by one. The deck slowly started to empty. The ship rocked slightly, and it wasn’t until that moment that Steve realized the storm he had been expecting never came. There had been some wind, a few smatterings of rain, but nothing like what it could’ve been. They could start carrying on right then with no issue, and now that was exactly what Steve was planning to do.

“Captain,” Sam spoke up, trying to sound certain but not quite hitting the correct note.

Steve hadn’t even noticed that Sam didn’t return to his quarters like the rest of the men on board had. Steve tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible as he turned to face Sam. Steve knew that he must’ve been just as rattled as he was, if not more-so. He wondered briefly how Sam had held up when the fight itself was happening. He had some wounds to show for it, so he had at least shown up, hadn’t stowed himself away. Steve had a feeling that Sam would be the type to stick by the crew, but that was one of those things that you never really knew about a man until they were thrown into the thick of it.

“Wilson,” Steve said in response, his tone more convincing than his counterpart’s. “You can head off too. If I need—”

“I’d rather stay,” Sam spit out before he lost the nerve. “If that’s alright. I don’t,” he shook his head, “I don’t think that I’m going to be going back to sleep anytime soon.”

Steve nodded understandingly. “Okay.”

The relief cascaded across Sam’s face. “Okay.” He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure as much for his captain in front of him as for the men who were tied up to the mast behind him. They didn’t need to be seeing any weakness from him. “Besides,” some of his charm returned to his voice, even if it was a little more deflated than usual, “you’ll need a hand getting everything loosed to sail.”

The smile on Steve’s face actually felt like a genuine one, even through the exhaustion and the stress. “That’s true.” He nodded towards the ropes tied off on the side of the ship. “You know what to do, then.”

Sam gave a nod and headed right off, knowing the routine by heart, as close to matching Steve’s knowledge and comfort as he could. He moved with calculated ease, and after watching him for a minute, Steve headed off to handle the rest. Even with just the two of them working, they would be ready to go rather quickly.

Sam was climbing down the netting, calling out to Steve as he did. “Captain Rogers!” he exclaimed. “We’re ready!”

Steve nodded. “Pull anchor!”

Bucky had been watching both of the men intently from where he was strapped down on the deck. The longer he’d been sitting there, the more he had a strange feeling pulling at the pit of his stomach. It wasn’t just the feeling of being captured, the dread of what was going to come next. There was something else, something that he couldn’t quite put a name to.

It all came crashing down the second he heard Sam call the man in charge Captain Rogers. Bucky was sure that more words had been exchanged after the fact but he hadn’t heard them. Everything else fell away, the waves crashing around the ship, the groans and words of anger and discomfort coming from his men around him. The darkness seemed to get thicker as the reality of the situation started to rip through him.

All he could do was look at the man who had put him there. It’d been too dark, too chaotic to see it before. But now? With nothing else left for him to do but look? He could see it. As soon as the words had left Sam’s mouth, Bucky could see it. The years that had passed since they last saw each other had aged them both, Bucky more-so due to the hardships that he’d faced, things that Steve wouldn’t have had to worry about even in his wildest dreams. They were both grown now, and yet they were still just boys messing around on the deck of his father’s ship after dark. The stakes were higher now, but at the core of it, they were the same as they’d ever been. Bucky too far out over the ledge, Steve not quite out on the ledge with him.

Bucky thought that his heart was going to explode, splatter within the confines of his chest as each small thought and realization hit him one after the other after the other. His eyes were wide as he continued to stare at Steve, willing himself to say or do something, anything at all.

Sucking in a shaky breath, Bucky was finally able to force out one word. “Steve?” All the previous anger and snark in his voice was gone. He hadn’t spoken quite in a whisper, but it wasn’t loud enough to carry across the deck, especially not when the man in question was most likely trying to tune him out, along with all of his men. He cleared his throat, trying to say it with a little more force this time. “Steve?”

That time it reached the captain’s ears. Steve’s head snapped in Bucky’s direction, confusion etched so deep into his features that Bucky could see it despite the darkness around them. Steve’s eyes narrowed, trying to figure out where he got that information from. None of the men had called him by his first name in front of Bucky. Maybe they’d mentioned something in front of the rest of the crew, in the heat of everything else that was going on maybe that was simply a piece of information that had slipped out. Not the end of the world, really. But if that was the case, why was Bucky saying it like that? Why did he seem surprised? Maybe even a little sad? More than that, why did Steve feel like there was something intimately familiar about the way that Bucky said it?

The longer that they stared at each other from across the deck, the more Bucky could feel his emotions continuing to well in his chest. His limbs felt heavy, and suddenly his physical wounds were the least of his worries—they paled in comparison to the way that the years of hardship and being apart from everything he’d ever known, everyone he’d ever known, were crushing him from the inside out. He wanted to have more to say, but what was there? What was he supposed to say now that they had ended up like this? They hadn’t recognized each other, after all. He didn’t know if it made it more or less heartbreaking that it was mutual.

“Steve,” he repeated himself, this time not as a question.

Steve didn’t want to believe it. His grip tightened on the helm, blunted fingernails digging into the finish of the wood. The longer that he stared down at Bucky, however, the harder it was to try and lie to himself. He couldn’t try and ignore him and pretend all the way until they reached port. His resolve wouldn’t last that long, not if Bucky really was who he was about to claim to be.

He didn’t take his eyes off of the man as he called out to Sam. “Wilson!” In his peripheral he could see the way that Sam was listening, waiting. “Man the helm for me for a moment, will you?”

Sam nodded as he strode over, immediately ready to oblige. He placed his hands right where Steve’s had been, ready to keep the course. He had watched the entire scene unfold and while he couldn’t say that he had a full grip on the situation, he could feel the tension in the air that this was now about much more than a rag-tag group of pirates who had tried and failed to rob and possibly commandeer their ship. He wasn’t sure the depths of what it was about now, but it felt precarious. And precarious was dangerous when they were out in open water in the middle of the night the way that they were.

“Cap, I don’t know what happened with Bucky, but—”

“I’ve got it under control, Sam,” Steve said, his reassurance sounding surprisingly real despite the fact that Steve had no idea what was about to unfold. Maybe that was what it was like to be a captain, just making sure that everyone else felt reassured even if he didn’t feel very certain himself. He gave Sam’s shoulder an affectionate clap. “Stay the course.”

Sam got half a word out but before he could finish, Steve was already descending back towards the main deck, and Sam was left unable to do anything but watch him. There would just have to be time for the questions later.

Bucky had been watching the entire interaction unfold between them. He couldn’t hear for sure what they had been saying, but he could see the way that Steve had hardly taken his eyes off of him even though he had been speaking to Sam the entire time. Bucky hoped that boded well for him, that this wasn’t just some hopeless dream or delusion of his. He hoped that whatever there was between them way back when, that loyalty and whatever else existed unspoken there, had kept after all these years. Even if the stakes had changed drastically.

He watched as Steve made his way closer to him. The last mental image he had of Steve was when they’d been so young. Steve had been shorter, so much skinnier. He’d been strong enough when they were teenagers, but he’d always been slimmer and wirier than Bucky ever had been. It’d been a sore spot for a little while there. Clearly it wasn’t a problem anymore, if the way that Steve had been dragging him around with ease said anything.

Bucky felt like he blinked and suddenly Steve was standing in front of him. He tilted his head back, feeling the way it tapped against the mast when he’d tilted back as far as he could. He couldn’t remember a time before when he had to look up at Steve that way. All of the words he’d ever learned were stuck at the base of his throat as he watched Steve study him more closely, a deeper intent there now that recognition, and acceptance were nipping at his heels.

Steve had grabbed a lantern on his way, wanting to give himself as good of a view as possible of the man who was claiming, without saying it in so many words, to be the friend he’d lost at sea nearly two decades ago at that point. Time was so cruel the way it just kept slipping by.

Ignoring the attempted thrashing and angry commentary of the men who were left of Bucky’s crew, Steve finally lowered himself down so that he was face level with the man tied to the mast. He studied Bucky’s face closely in the lamplight now, the tan and smattering of freckles left behind after years out underneath the sun. He tried to see past the beard he had now, tried to see the boy he remembered, like if he couldn’t peel back the layers and find James somewhere underneath all of the Bucky, he simply just wasn’t going to believe it.

Bucky was helpless to do anything besides sit there and watch him. He saw the way that Steve’s pensive frown pulled his lips downward. Suddenly Bucky could see it clear as day. Even though the circumstances couldn’t be more different, when he looked at the thoughtful downturn of Steve’s lips, the slight pull of his brows towards each other, all he could see was the two of them sitting on the edge of the docks as teenagers, trying to figure out the intricate workings of all the knots that Steve’s father told them they needed to learn. It always took Steve a little longer to learn them, it was harder for him to pick them up and keep them committed to memory. He’d get three-fourths of the way there and then lose track, and he would make that same face that he was making now. Always trying to figure out which pieces of the puzzle he was missing.

Steve was fighting the urge to reach out and touch Bucky’s face. He hadn’t been brave enough to do it back then, and he certainly didn’t feel like he had any right to do so now. But it also felt like it wouldn’t be real until he did. Bucky’s eyes looked up at him, so earnest in comparison to how he’d looked at Steve when he’d first woken him up in his sleeping quarters. Two completely different men wrapped into one. Steve couldn’t help but wonder if either of those men still wanted anything to do with him.

The amount of time that they’d spent in silence, Steve crouched just inches from him, finally sank in. Steve cleared his throat, finally getting himself together enough to speak. “James?”

The relief that Steve felt at Bucky’s reaction was a visual, tangible thing. His shoulders went slack as he exhaled a breath he’d been holding for longer than he should’ve been. The creases across his forehead that had been born of worry instantly smoothed away. He felt himself wanting to smile but he knew that he couldn’t get too far ahead of himself now. They knew each other back then, and there was a brand of comfort in that, but they were different men now, or at least James was. He didn’t even go by the same name any longer. He didn’t know how much that history would hold, if it would be enough to save him.

Regardless of the conflicting feelings rushing through both of them, even though Bucky knew that it was too early on to have any assurance that he was actually safe, he still felt a thought, a feeling blooming at the back of his mind that was telling him that things were going to work out somehow.

He needed to come up with something more, something better to say, but with the shock that was still making its way through the marrow of his bones, all Bucky could do to answer Steve’s single-word question was repeat the same thing that he’d been saying all along. This time, he said it with a tinge of hopefulness that he hadn’t allowed himself to have in a long time. “Steve.”

Steve felt like he had just gotten punched in the chest. There was no more denying any of it. The reality of it all pushed the air clean out of his lungs. The urge to reach forward and pull Bucky into an embrace was immediately fought off by the part of his brain still steeped in reality, the part that recognized the fact that Steve had commanded to have Bucky restrained against the mast. There had to be a first step somewhere. Something between a constant repetition of names and cutting the ropes loose so that Steve could ball his fists in the fabric of Bucky’s shirt as he hugged him.

“How?” Steve finally managed to force out, the light of the lantern throwing shadows that further intensified an already heavy moment between them. “You were dead. I, I saw it…” he trailed off, emotions choking him up as he thought back to that night, to all of the nights since that it had been haunting him. “You went over the edge. Right,” Steve’s eyes darted to the railing where it’d happened, “right there. I tried to go after you but my father—”

“I know,” Bucky stopped him short. There were a million conflicting emotions on his face, behind his eyes, things that he had been shoving as far down inside his chest as possible for as long as he could remember.

That night might have been haunting Steve ever since it happened, but Bucky remembered it just as clearly—no matter how hard he tried to forget. He remembered the sting of the water, the burn of the impact of it. He remembered how with each breath he tried to take in, he also got a mouthful of seawater. But there hadn’t been any use in trying to spit it out, each sputter only allowing more water in. His body got tossed around by waves in a way that he couldn’t ever remember happening before or since. The ocean was cruel and unrelenting, and painfully egalitarian. It didn’t matter that Bucky hadn’t even truly been a man yet—the waves tossed him around like one anyway.

For as chaotic and overloading as it had all been, one other thing about that night was something that Bucky couldn’t forget about no matter how much he tried. All the sensations that popped up uninvited in his nightmares, things that yanked him from his sleep sweating and gasping for air that he no longer had to fight to get, and the one thing that made him awake with tears on his face was the sound. There had been wind, and rain, and waves, but above and through all of that he had heard the sounds of Steve’s screams. The screams, the cries. It was too dark and he was too incapacitated to see Steve trying to jump in after him, but even so he could hear the way that Steve had been screaming at his father, begging in a way that Bucky hadn’t ever heard before. At the time he thought that it was going to be the last thing he ever heard.

All the years that had gone by had Bucky certain that it was the last thing that he was ever going to hear from Steve. There had been points as time went on when he thought about heading off to find him. But when he was young he didn’t have the means. He was pulled in by a crew and he didn’t have the sway to be able to ask them to do such a thing. Why would anyone do something like that? Pirates had enough to contend with without putting themselves in situations like that. And the crew that had taken Bucky in, while they’d kept him alive and shown him the ropes, they were rough. They were brutal in ways that Bucky hadn’t known were possible outside the stories that he heard from sailors back home. He learned it all, too—how to keep himself safe no matter the cost. He tried his hardest to make sure it never came to that. But the more time that went by, the more that he learned, the more senseless it became to think about returning back home. He didn’t even know if he would be wanted there, if anyone would still remember him.

With each venture and every crime, Bucky had also become keenly aware of the fact that he was drifting farther and farther away from being James, from being the person that Steve would remember, the person that Steve would want. He didn’t know how long it took for him to stop letting that be a deterrent. At some point, the thought of seeing Steve again and still wanting to be something like the person his best friend would remember, stopped lingering at the forefront of his mind. He let go of the hope of that, let go of the last few shreds of that boyhood, the innocence that he associated with Steve for so long.

Bucky was pulled from the painful montage in his head by the grumbling of the man who was tied to the mast to the left of him. He didn’t quite catch the words themselves but he didn’t have to, the man’s frustrated tone and the way he was fighting against the binds was an abrupt reminder that Bucky had well and truly made his bed years ago. Now he had to lay in it, him and all of the men that made up his crew. After what had just happened it wasn’t going to be so simple as, “Cut us loose and we’ll just pretend this didn’t happen.” Bucky was the only one who would’ve possibly been capable of that, and even then it wasn’t a sure thing. They’d lost men to this, after all.

He studied Steve’s face for a moment, trying to figure out what the man was planning on doing next. There had been a time when he would’ve been able to tell without having to look—they knew each other that well. Bucky always knew the next three steps that Steve was going to take. It’d been too long now, though.

After another moment, Steve revealed a small knife. He leaned forward, about to make his way to cut the ropes that bound Bucky’s wrists. The child that still ran around the deepest parts of his brain couldn’t simply just let his friend sit there tied to the mast, no matter how long it’d been. It was impulsive, something that if his father, or Sam, or anyone had been there beside him, they would’ve stopped him.

As it stood, the person who tried to get him to stop was the man that he was trying to free. “Steve,” he said, voice quiet and sharp all at once, “don’t.”

He looked like a hurt puppy at the rejection. “But—”

“I stay with my crew,” he said, the sureness of his tone betrayed by the conflict in his eyes.

“James…” Steve was nearly begging, such a swift turning of the tables.

Bucky managed a shrug. “Different world now, Stevie.” He paused, waiting for his long-lost friend to say something more. When he didn’t, Bucky continued, “All of us, or none of us.”

“I can’t just—”

“Then don’t,” Bucky cut him off again. He knew that that was going to be the answer. The same way that Steve knew Bucky wasn’t going to turn his back on his crew, Bucky knew just as well that Steve wasn’t going to just cut them all loose like that.

With a sigh of disappointment, Steve looked one more time at the knife in his hand before tucking it back into its sheath. His hand stayed wrapped around the handle of it for a few moments longer anyway, like he was giving Bucky one last chance to change his mind, but he didn’t. Stubborn as he’d ever been.

“Alright then,” Steve finally said. He braced his hands on his knees so that he could get himself upright again. He hesitated to walk away, staring down at Bucky who was helpless to do anything besides stare back up at him.

Bucky sat and watched as Steve turned and walked away. There were so many things that he wanted so say, but what good would it really do him? Or any of his men, for that matter? Each one of Steve’s receding footsteps rung right through his skull even though the sound of them was softening with the distance.

“Should’ve gotten out,” the man beside him said.

Bucky turned to him. “What?”

“Should’ve gotten out. No point in all of us—”

“Like I said,” Bucky fixed him with a stare, “all of us, or none of us.”

The man let out a deep grumble of a laugh. It wasn’t loud, per se, but Bucky could see that he felt it genuinely regardless. In that moment Bucky was trying to remember just how long the man had been part of his crew. He had at least a decade on Bucky, the oldest member of their crew. He remembered him coming aboard, joining Bucky after his last crew had gotten captured. He’d lost track of how long ago that was exactly. Time tended to blur together, the number of days losing their meaning.

When the man stopped laughing, he said, “You still have that goin’ for you, then.”

Confusion drew Bucky’s brows together. “What?”

“The sea hasn’t beaten the ideals out of you yet.” He shook his head before letting it rest back against the mast once more. “Most men would’ve taken the chance to get out.” He chuckled one more time for good measure. “You probably should have.”

Something about the man’s smile got one out of Bucky as well. If he made it another ten years he wondered if he would be just as amused when faced with these types of situations. “Too late now, huh?”

The man looked over at the helm where Steve was standing, eyes never staying on one target for long. He looked at Sam, who he was talking to, around the ship and the sea surrounding it, but his gaze also kept going back to Bucky. Not any of the men beside him. Bucky might have been willfully ignoring that but his shipmate most definitely wasn’t.

“Wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

The knowing look that was on the man’s face got a hint of a smile out of Bucky. He didn’t say anything to confirm or dispute what the man had said to him, though. He just sat and tried to think of how he was supposed to get everyone who was left out of this mess in one piece.

#bucky barnes #steve rogers #stucky #stucky fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfiction #steve rogers fanfiction #bucky barnes x steve rogers #steve rogers x bucky barnes #connect 4 au #bucky barnes event #alternate juneiverse #my writing #fanfiction #drabblesmc

[masterthespianduchovny]

Steve, Bucky, and Peggy: The Love Triangle that Isn’t

There is a popular narrative among a certain crowd that Steggy only happened so Steve isn’t perceived as gay or having feelings for Bucky. And maaaaaybe this is true, but honestly, I don’t agree.

Peggy was supposed to be the great love of Steve’s life that never got to happen due to circumstance. And then comes along Sharon who is supposed to be his great next love. But, what happened is that not that many people were interested and, funny enough, more were drawn to Steve’s reaction about Peggy—him visiting her and her later dying than they actually have a fuck about Staron or whatever the ships name is.

Coincidentally, this is the SAME movie that Bucky as winter soldier is reintroduced in. The movie where they try to establish a new romantic relationship for Cap and have us met the new Bucky, which the former isn’t Bucky.

What happened is this: fans essentially completely rejected Sharon and salivated for Bucky and this devotion Steve had towards him. It was a shipper’s dream the way Steve behaved. BUT, Steve and Bucky was never on the menu and it was never teased canonically.

I cannot say if the actors or those connected to the MCU queerbaited fans, but actors and connected employees have the habit of trying to be supportive of fans and ships by entertaining things they aren’t necessarily invested in or care about all that much. Some of that is because they appreciate the fans enthusiasm and the other part is it being apart of the job to have enthusiastic fans.

It reminds me how how John Boyega supported two/three ships on Star Wars, but it wasn’t necessarily because he was a shipper himself. The only actor in the current series who seems like an actual shopper is the one who plays Poe.

So, after they got rid of Sharon in the third cap “movie”, they had to figure out what to do about his love interest. Again, the only significant and canonical one people gravitated to was Peggy, but she was dead. BUT, there was also a consistent thread about Cap’s feelings for her. Almost every movie that desires cap prominently has some small scene or moment that references her.

So, for people to act like Peggy was Sharon is dishonest. Or how they want to act like Peggy was some random girl. Peggy met Steve before he was cap—I know, I know, Bucky did too—but, this is important because it sets up their relationship about how she cared for him and took him seriously as a person even then. Her feelings grew romantic as did his, but their feelings was based on friendship and their mutual respect for one another. Peggy also helped Steve to defy orders to do what he felt was right, so they share values as well. I believe all this happened over a span of two years.

When she is in the hospital Steve regularly visits her and is distraught when she dies. His behavior is a call back to that old fashioned romanticized love in which one half of a spouse is loyal, dedicated, and (always) by their beside. Despite Steve still having g his youth and presumably young, interested women clamoring for him, he is devoted to Peggy and takes time out of his week to visit her. When she dies, he’s even her pallbearer.

This behavior is more than “a connection to the past.” I guess since it’s muted and not fighting to save someone you care about at all cost, it doesn’t read a love or romantic.

But, it’s clearly established that Steve’s love has never faded and even though he has young women interested in him, he’d rather sit by the side of his 90 year old (former) love.

We even see him carrying a locket with her picture in it as well. The MCU has gone out of its way to show how very real Steve’s feelings are.

Enter in Bucky.

When we first meet Bucky, we see he’s the best friend of Steve. The charming ladies man who exudes confidence. He looks out for Steve, esp because Steve likes to get up for trouble when standing up for his values. Yet, neither Steve nor Bucky are particularly attached to one another—meaning to subtext of homoeroticism that speaks to deeper feelings known or unknown.

We could argue that Steve’s feelings became prominences, but not known to him, when he saw Bucky again, but I’ll continue to lay out for my reasoning for not believing that.

Winter soldier sets for the foundation of how captain American went from a loyal patriot to questioning and distrusting his government. Despite his camaraderie with the avengers, he still feels alone and like a man out of time. He leans on his patriotism to get him through this totally unique and indescribable experience. But, I’m the second movie, he’s on the run from that very same government and is finding out about their secrets and lies.

During this time he runs into Bucky, his best friend who he thought died.

We must keep in mind that Cap’s two direct connections to the past in this moment are both Peggy and Bucky. We see his loyalty to Peggy due to reasons I mentioned, but there is another factor going on with Bucky: it’s him, but it’s NOT him.

It was completely disorienting for Cap to see a man who was supposed to be dead and in his 90s looking youthful and a unrelenting killer. There was no way they was the Bucky Cap knew. Cap has to get to the bottom of what happened to Bucky and, later, avenge his friend. His autonomy and agency was violated, he was experimented on, and brought back to life to be a trained killer.

Of course Steve feels that deeply, especially because he underwent a similar experiment, but willingly and retained his agency and independence. But, it’s also about corrupting the past for Steve. The way the government manipulates and pushes things forth for the agenda. There’s levels to this.

Then, when Bucky saved Steve, and then disappeared, Steve was largely fine, but concerned about Bucky. And why wouldn’t he be? Bucky almost killed him, saved him, and then left—he doesn’t know how Bucky is dealing and coping with what happened to him. How could he know?

Steve fighting and protecting Bucky in his third movie and, eventually, fighting against Tony is about how we shouldn’t punish an exploited person for something that were manipulated into doing. And how they’re being used as patsy’s to shift blame. Bucky was a victim in the second and third movie. Bucky needed someone to stand up for and advocate for him, which only Steve did.

I mean, did Bucky deserve to die for something he had no choice over? Or imprisoned?

That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have been two men in love, but once Cap knows he’s safe and protected—meaning, he’s allowed to make a “full” mental and emotional recovery without further exploitation—Cap doesn’t worry or obsess over Bucky. Bucky was on the way to regaining agency and independence and that’s all that cap wanted.

Once Bucky looks happy and healthy when they see each other again, cap goes to treated him like he did in first avenger.

And I fill that this must be pointed out: some friends do go above and beyond for people who 1. Have mental illnesses, no systems in place to assist them, and no advocates other than them 2. Someone who has been harmed/manipulated/exploited, is triggered, and potentially down spiraling. 3. PTSD.

Steve is being a damn good friend and advocate to/for Bucky.

With that being said, some don’t feel that stucky was going to be canon, but that the MCU went out of its way to prove Steve was straight. As a reminder, the Steve and Peggy thread has been CONSISTENT since day one. Since Sharon failed, they wanted to find a love interest for Steve’s endgame, no pun intended. Personally, I think that they went Natasha/Steve because Natasha/Bruce doesn’t work. I understand Natasha and Steve has a great friendship for the “why can’t men and women be friends” crowd, but Natasha also has other male friends, sooo....

To use Star Wars as an example again, this isn’t Poe and Keri Russell’s character who exists solely to prove Poe is STRAIGHT.

Peggy was never created to be someone who existed to prove Steve’s sexuality, but she was someone he was in love with and never stopped loving. She was someone that we knew Steve loved deeply and could never get over.

I know people feel that Steve going back undermines his values both in the comics and the series, which I fee is valid. But, honestly, Steve has spent a good chunk of protecting others and putting his life on the line. We see many of the other avengers be in relationships, have families, and overall fulling lives and Steve just has the avengers.

Which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but he’s allowed to want more than that. His life shouldn’t be dictated by if he can be of service to others.

Steve didn’t “abandon” anyone. Most of the avengers are adults who don’t need Steve. He may have been the leader, but anyone in the group can be the leader. There are other heroes.

And Bucky doesn’t need him.

Bucky understand all that cap went through and sacrificed. He doesn’t need cap to always near and hold his hand. That’s not how friendships work. That’s not how families work or, at least, healthy ones.

I’m fine with people who ship stucky, but this animosity against Steggy and Peggy is ridiculous. No movie or show owes you an open ending so you can ship who you want. From what I can recall, there was no canonical queerbaiting (I believe Chris Evans supported both ships, but I think Steggy more). And Peggy isn’t some random woman or a woman he knew for three seconds, she was important to him and their relationship meaningful to him for the rest of his life.

#steggy #peggy carter #steve rodgers #captain america

[backalley-requests]

Heyyy, can I get ships with MCU and ST? (if it's possible). I'm a straight girl. I'm 5'3, with short - like just above the shoulders - auburn hair and green eyes. My style is pretty vintage I like to create my outfits looking at old photos from the 70s/80s. I am shy at first but after a while, I get very flirty and outgoing. I have a lot of hobby and I don't like to do nothing. I like to read, listen to some good classic rock songs and do many outdoor activities. Thank you sooo much 💛💛

I’m sorry it took so long! I’ve been awfully busy with school! I hope you enjoy it!

I ship you with...

MARVEL

Bucky Barnes

You’re very classic by nature and that’s something that initially draws Bucky to you. Mostly because it’s messing with his head as he gets flashbacks to glimpses through the decades he lost to Hydra. He doesn’t remember much of it, but being around you gave him the feeling he might be able to get back what he lost.

You were scared of him at first, and a little shy. You saw enough news coverage of him to know he was bad news. Bucky saw the idea of getting close to you as attoning for what he did. If he could change you perception on him then maybe he wasn’t that bad after all and maybe the man he was forced to be wasn’t really him. He kept “randomly” bumping into you and trying to strike up conversations even through you were nervous at first, eventually you grew used to it and realized maybe he was a victim of it all.

The two of you spend a lot of time outdoors doing various stuff. You enjoy the outdoors and Bucky likes being away from the city and all the noise. It’s an oasis when you guys manage to be out and away from civilization. Stuff like canoeing or rock climbing just puts both of you in a good state of mind.

You’re always on the move trying to do stuff and start new activities and sometimes Bucky struggles to keep up. But he enjoys that quick energy you give off of. His body naturally wants to be lazy but he is much happier when he does get to do stuff so being with you is exciting.

He’s really over protective of you, perhaps a little possessive at times too. He’s had people he loves taken away from him and it’s hard to imagine a world where you’re not in it. You think it’s cute sometimes and annoying other times but you get where he’s coming from and sometimes just let him do what makes him feel safer. Plus it’s kind of hot sometimes.

You have to deal with the occasional person realizing who he is and freaking out in fear. He isn’t that recognizable on the streets but some people still have memories from the time he was.

There was a knock at the door at 10 o’clock at night. This was pretty rare considering that neither of you had any close friends who randomly came over. Steve sometimes but Steve tended to walk right in when he arrived, so something about this was wrong.

Bucky’s arms were wrapped around you as the two of you watched a movie. This was meant to be a nice cuddling session although it was suddenly pulled apart by the knocking. Bucky tensed up immediately, “I’ll get it.” He said, knowing you tended to be shy around strangers.

He headed over to the door and opened it, “Hello?” On the other end appeared to be some nerdy sales rep trying to the two of you to buy a subscription. Who tries to tell stuff at 10 o’cock at night? “We don’t want any—“ he started but was soon cut off by the sound of glass breaking in the other room.

When Bucky turned back the sales rep punched him in the face. He hardly reacted to it as he used hs arm to shove him back hard enough to crack the hallway wall. He soon rushed into the living room to find you being held against your will, a gun to your head.

Bucky started walking over but was stalled when the man spoke up, “uh uh. Take another step closer and I’ll kill her.” Bucky knew better than to just suddenly risk your life. You were one of the few good things he had left in it.

“What do you want.”

You somehow managed to stay silent, afraid of dying but also afraid of Bucky getting hurt. There was few options here and while you trusted him you weren’t sure if anyone could easily get out of this. But you did have something that could help, if only the man would make a mistake.

“I can’t you too—“ the man was cut off as you realized your perfect shot was upon you, you elbowed him hard and he doubled over. You weren’t exactly helpless but he hadn’t given any previous openings. He released you as a reflex and you dove to the side to evade him.

Bucky instantly moved in and knocked him out wirh one quick punch as the man flew across the room and you ran to his arms. “I’m so sorey, I wasn’t paying attention and—“ you began to apologize quickly but he held you tight and shushed you softly.

“It’s my fault too alright, we got too comfortable.” But there was a bigger unspoken problem. That someone wanted him and knew exactly where he lived. “We should head somewhere else for now, those men won’t stay down forever.”

You nodded your head and moved to get ready. “You already know I’m willing to follow you wherever you go. Just lead the way.”

STRANGER THINGS

Jim Hopper

You’re wardrobe fits right in with the era, given that it’s the 70s to early 80s. But you’re appreciation for the early seventies starts to feel really nostalgic for him, especially cause it keeps him centered in a world that just keeps changing drastically at every turn.

At first you thought all the traps around his house were a little excessive but you soon realized he was just extremely prepared, and that his paranoia was justified. You actually learned to get really into helping him eith that, enjoying how they made you think and enjoying being out in the woods.

When he first met you it was for an interrogation. He thought you may have had something to do with a recent disappearance of a missing boy, although that was before he learned the darker truth. You were so shy that he thought you were hiding something. So he changed tactics to get closer in hopes you’d lower your guard.

Needless to say you were pissed when you realized he only got close to you for his case. He owned up to it all when he realized that you had nothing to do with it, and especially when he learned about the monsters. You thought it was less reassuring, and you stormed off. That was how you first encountered the supernatural.

You became El’s advocate. You supported her wanting some freedom and felt bad that she was cooped up for so long, especially since you knew that you could never handle sitting still for as long as she had to.

You both have similar taste in music and love driving down the road jamming out to classic rock, or at the time just rock. You’d go on long drives to take a weekend getaway off in another cabin by a lake. Sometimes to help ease the tension of the real danger back in town.

“Dance with me!” You said suddenly. You had been holed up in the house for several days and there was only so many puzzles, games, and television that could occupy you. So you turned up the radio and started poorly your dancing your way to Hopper.

He felt bad that he couldn’t do more for your right now. But he was under heavy surveillance and going outside at the moment was a recipe for disaster. He just wished you didn’t have to get stuck with him. “Oh I don’t know.” He rested his head to the side. “Dancing isn’t really my thing,” he admitted.

“Please! It’s the least you can do.” Once you flashed your puppy dog eyes at him, Hopper knew it was over. You grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet as you started to dance to the rhythm, forcing him along with you.

As he started to get into it you let go and began to move in bouncing circles to the rock song, letting your hair have it’s fun as you went wild enjoying the moment. Hopper never quite got on your level as his dancing slowly came to a stop. He was mesmerized by the way your body moved to the song. How free you managed to be even here.

Soon you stopped as you realized he wasn’t playing along. “Whats wrong?” You were panting and a little out of breath due to your intensity. You brushed your hair to the side and just behind your ear to see him better.

“You just— well you’re breath taking.” Hopper smiles at you, finally releasing a breath he just realized he was holding. “Besides, you’re a lot quicker than me.” He then chuckled.

Your face flushed red in response and you felt he place heat up. “Well you have that affect on me too.” You confessed.

Just then, a snapping sound was heard outside in the woods. A trap was just set off and something was caught. Animal? Human? Who knows, but it meant that you guys had to find out and more importantly that you got to go outside!

“We caught something!”

#mcu #bucky barnes #stranger things #jim hopper #ship requests

[constantlyirksome]

Captain Marvel Review: Not Just a Girl (Spoilers).

It’s Here! The final chapter before Avengers: Endgame, the newest hero, and the first female led movie in the MCU Captain Marvel! Carol Danvers is here and she is ready to take on Thanos bare handed, but first she had her own adventure to go on. For a solo/origin hero movie Captain Marvel is fun, heartfelt, and thrilling. Who is Carol Danvers? There was a lot of talk about whether Brie Larson would be able to capture the comic book characters intensity, (a stupid fear, she has a freakin’ Oscar) Would the MCU’s first female lead be strong? Likeable? Maybe she wouldn’t smile, or her voice would be too high. All worries were unfounded because both Brie Larson and Carol do the comics justice. Larson’s portrayal is layered, she is likeable, and she is badass. Carols dry humour, coupled with Larson’s delivery, help her cut down anyone who dares get in her way, Fury, Talos, Yon Rogg, all pale next to her, because she is simply too badass to put up with men who want to make her less than she is. The scene where she comes across a biker who tells her to smile directly mirrors the treatment a lot of male MCU fans gave the character when the first trailers came out. Instead of smiling she steals his bike. Instead of placating her mentor, Jude Law/Yon Rogg/Dumbledore, she owns her own sense of self worth, saying she “Doesn’t need to prove anything to him.” She does more damage in thirty minutes than all the other heroes have done collectively over a ten-year period and it’s exhilarating watching her cut through enemies and spaceships like butter. The scene where she unlocks her potential and kicks ass to No Doubt’s “I’m Just a Girl”? Cinematic poetry. But it isn’t all photon blasts and quick remarks; there is a vulnerability and humanity that is uniquely Brie Larson. To have a gruff, completely cold character, or a too bubbly fun lover would be a disservice. She is at her best when the two sides come together. Her vulnerability, her sensitivity to others are strengths, they don’t take away from how badass she is. Only 90’s kids will remember The movie really wants you to know that when Carol crash lands on earth that she is in fact in the 90’s. From the first shots of her crashing through the roof of a blockbuster video everything screams grunge. The best references were to Carol and Maria playing street fighter 2, using the Alta Vista search engine, and the costume styling. Sooo much plaid. The soundtrack is full of nineties bangers that both fit the time period and the story. Strong female singers like Gwen Stefani in No Doubt and Courtney are used to highlight Carols most badass moments. Nick Fury is young and has an eye and SHIELD isn’t full of Nazis. Sometimes the layers of nostalgia are quite thick, like all the 80’s nods in Guardians, and a lot of random references are shoehorned in. But for the most part these references at a unique flavour to the story that helps further differentiate it from the other MCU movies which is getting harder and harder to do. The Power of Friendship. In the last ten years the MCU has had a lot of good friendships evolve, Bucky and Steve, Tony and Rhodey, Thor and Heimdall. But before now we haven’t seen any female friendships blossom, not even in the team up movies. Carol and Maria, played by the amazing Lashana Lynch is a beautiful thing to see. Described by Brie Larson as the movies true love story, of friendship lost and then found again she couldn’t be more right. The pair have an amazing relationship, two women supporting each other and thriving in an industry dominated by men. Their mantra “higher further faster” a tribute to their ability to rise up together. They join Mar Vels programme together and support each other up until Carols “accident”. Their reunion upon Carol’s return to Earth is emotional and touching, Maria’s tears as she reminds Carol of who she is, is one of the most touching scenes in the film. Maria even helps during the films climax, egged on by Marias daughter, Monica. Monica also adds a sweet innocence to the movie, excited when Auntie Carol returns. Monica Rambeau also has a lot of interesting arcs in the comic universe also and it will be interesting to see if the MCU character follows suit. Carol and Fury: BROTP. Very few heroes have been able to go toe to toe with Fury’s charisma and imposing personality. Some obey (Steve, Natasha, Clint), some rebel (Tony), but few have ever felt like his equal. No one besides Carol has ever been able to create a playful comradery. Whether it’s a symptom of being younger or less jaded doesn’t seem right, because he’s still badass. Carol is probably the first person to ever knock him down a few pegs (“Congratulations agent Fury you just asked a relevant question.) Like Carol he goes against his superiors in favour of what he thinks is right. Brie Larson and Samuel L Jackson have electric chemistry, throwing barbs and having each other’s backs when it counts. The fact that the two actors are close friends helps with the organic evolution of their characters connection. The fact that Fury kept the beeper on his person for twenty or so years is a testament to how much he trusts Carol. SKRULLS: Be careful who you trust. The Skrulls an alien race of green shape shifters who can take on the form of any being that they encounter and seamlessly blend in, essentially taking over planet one person at a time. A huge plotline in Marvel comics, the Kree versus skrull war is the movies central conflict. Carol is told that essentially the Skrulls are baddies and her team of noble warrior Kree are all that stand between the shape shifter and total domination. The fact Marvel has trouble creating memorable or impactful villains, who’s motivations are usually unimportant, never to be heard from again. (Loki and Thanos are exceptions.) The Kree as a concept are pretty terrifying, unseen they could take over family or friends without you knowing, and their original forms are like scary green goblins. Ben Mendelsohn plays their leader Talos, a charismatic leader with a single purpose in mind who will do anything to reach his goals. Mendelsohn comedic timing coupled with a thick Australian accent puts him above a lot of the blander villains. His fear of Goose is particularly hilarious. But it’s once you find out why he’s doing what he’s doing that he and the Skrulls become more. If you follow the news or pay attention to the state of the world right now the plight of the Skrulls will feel really familiar to you. Misplaced and hounded by an army that is far better armed, just looking for a planet of their own. Obviously, their methods are pretty insidious and wrong, which highlights how desperate this group of characters are. This helps in developing Carol as a character, who makes the conscious choice to go against her “team” or the Kree and does what she thinks is truly the right thing. The Goose is Loose. Lastly, the little scene-stealer Goose the cat/flerken! Not everyone is a cat person, but everyone should be a Goose person. Where he came from is a little vague, and why he came to earth is unknown. Fury loves him, Carol loves him. The only person who doesn’t is Talos, which is a hilarious gag. His flerken moments are disturbing and wild; his tesseract strength stomach is a site to behold. He is the only being besides Carol to melt Nick Fury’s heart, and he is the answer to one of the MCU’s last remaining huge questions: What happened to Nick’s eye? How does Captain Marvel fit into the MCU. We know the events of Captain Marvel occur before almost every event in the MCU bar Captain America’s origin. None of the other heroes exist in their current forms, no stones have been collected and no team has been formed. That last part, the idea of forming of the Avengers initiative comes right after Carol and Nick’s adventure, the name a nod to Carols air force days which is a nice touch. Coulson and Nick are young; their cgi faces actually work really well, after about 20 minutes it all starts looking really natural. The MCU tends to use it’s trump card when it wants to make a solid connection between movies and that is the tesseract. The cosmic cube has been owned by Nazis, Loki, Odin, and finally Odin. Another piece of the artefacts origin is put into place. However without remembering where the cube was after world war two you have to wonder how the cube was passed around so much afterwards. It isn’t used in Carol’s comic origin, and it doesn’t make total sense. It’s a very convenient plot device, but any other Kree object could have been put in it’s place. It does make Carol the strongest hero in the MCU however which is fitting, giving her the ability to travel so far from Earth that she has no clue about any of the events that happen in her absence until Fury pages her in the Infinity War post credit scene. Brie Larson’s explanation, that there are a lot of planets and species in the universe that need help besides Earth, is actually a pretty solid explanation. But is she really gone the whole time? Did she pop in occasionally to see Maria and Fury at any point? Did it take twenty years to help the Skrulls? All valid questions that aren’t answered. Where will the MCU go, after Endgame, now that it’s unleashed it’s most powerful force? It’s exciting to think future adventures could happen away from earth, that villains could potentially become stronger, Maybe Galuctus will pop up. Brie Larson and others have mentioned the possible appearance of Miss Marvel, Kamala Khan in the sequel, which would fit nicely with the films message of girl power and a lot of people would love to see. Wherever the MCU goes after Endgame is open ended, but Carol’s strength opens up so many exciting possibilities.

#captain marvel #Carol Danvers #marvel #mcu #brie larson #nick fury #samuel l jackson #maria rambeau #yon rogg #goose #talos #avengers: endgame

[rreader]

Hello, if it's alright can I request a loki x RC fic where RC has feelings for Loki but won't tell him. But then Loki notices her heart racing when she is around him, so he starts flirting with her more and eventually gets her to admit her feelings. Thanks so much my lovely 😘

Pairing: Loki x ReaderFandom: MCUWarnings: language

A/N: hello darling! thank you so much for this request! I was going down the smut road, but then decided against it, so this is sfw for once lol. 

                                                           *****

Youwere currently making tea in the kitchen of the Avengers compound. The dayhad been long and you just wanted to have a steaming cup of tea and abook to relax a little, before heading to bed and sleeping for 12 hours straight.

Thankfully,most of the Avengers were asleep by now. Only a few were scatteredaround awake, watching TV or training downstairs, so you wereenjoying the quiet right now.

“(Y/N),good evening. What are you doing up so late?”

Somuch for the quiet.

Youdidn’t turn around but knew who it was nevertheless.

“Justcame back from a mission.”

“Ah,I understand.”

Oncethe tea was done, you turned around and almost dropped the cup.

Therehe was.

Loki of fucking Asgard.

Butthe thing that had your cheeks all red, was the fact that he was only wearing a towel around his waist, his hair sleeked back since itwas still wet.

Hecocked his head to the side and grinned, sensing how your heart rateintensified in a matter of seconds.

“Issomething the matter?”

“Wh..-Uhm, no. Of course not. I should just.. get to bed, you know?” you laughed it off, but you both knew what you were gonna do later tonight and it had him grin from ear to ear.

Whenyou were about to walk out of the kitchen, you heard him say: “MaybeI should join you? I think you’d appreciate that, wouldn’t you?”,which only made you go even faster.

Fucking bastard, that one.

Youalways turned into a mess when he showed up.

Apartfrom the fact that he was a freaking sex machine on two legs, hecould be rather sweet from time to time and you’ve had a few interesting conversations with him that didn’t involve sleeping with each other. His innuendos were brilliant most of the time, though. This, you had to admit.

Thenext morning, you walked into the training hall, already in yourworkout clothes and waiting for Natasha to show up, when Loki walkedup behind you.

Youonly noticed when you felt someone elses breath on your skin.

Goosebumpsformed on your neck and he grinned when he saw the reaction your bodywas having towards him.

“Well,aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. You look radiant today, (Y/N).”

“I’min my work out clothes.”

“Exactly,”he walked around you so he was now facing you. And he was so dangerously close that you could now feel his hot breaths on your face. His left hand came up on your rightcheek and his fingers slowly caressed their way down to your pulse,then to your collarbone. “Am I making you uncomfortable?” his voicewas low and husky.

Youyourself couldn’t speak so much as a word, simply shook your headwhile staring at his lips, breathing open mouthed and trying your best not to drool 

“Good.”

Hisface moved to your ear and his mouth formed a small smile when he felt your pulse speed upeven more than before.

At this point, it would explode sooner or later if he continued on like this.

���Whatis it you desire?”

Youclosed your eyes and gulped.

Thisturned you on more than you would’ve imagined. And you had imagined ascenario like this many times before.

“You.”

“Isyour desire physical? Or emotional?” he softly kissed the end ofyour jawline, while his hand traveled down to your waist and held youtight.

“Both.”

“Hm..Interesting.”

Hisother hand joined on your waist, while he leaned back a little tolook into your eyes.

“Shouldwe act on these feelings then?”

Youmanaged a tiny nod, not really thinking about what he was saying at this point, then the two of you leaned into each other.

Yourlips almost touched when Thor, Tony and Steve all entered thetraining hall at the same time.

“Ah!Young love! Or is this a booty call? Because I would totallyunderstand,” Tony said, throwing the towel over his shoulder.

Lokireleased your waist and straightened his back a little, then gave youa small kiss on the cheek and whispered that he’d join you later. Afterthat, he strolled out of the training hall like a god (which was hisright, probably) and left you and the three men alone, who all staredat you now. 

Thor looked like he couldn’t quite believe it, Tony grinned, knowing all too well what would happen between the two of you tonight and Steve didn’t seem to know whether he should be happy for you, or punch Loki, just in case he didn’t make you happy enough.

“Whatare we looking at, boys?” Natasha asked, joining the show.

“Nothing.Are we ready, then?” you didn’t want to drag this out anymore than you had to and were glad that Natasha came when she did.

Sheraised her eyebrows, but decided not to ask further questions andsimply walked over to you to start your training lesson for today.

                                                      Later

Youlooked up from your book when you heard a knock on the door andquickly pushed the covers away to get out of bed and over to see whoit was.

Asurprised look emerged on your face when you saw Loki with.. abouquet of flowers?

“What is this?”

“Isn’tthis what men do here when they court a woman? Give them flowers?”

“I..just didn’t think you wanted to do ‘courting’. It seemed likeyou wanted to take me on the floor back then and to be honest? I wouldn’t havedeclined.”

“That’smore my area.”

“Ihadn’t noticed,” you laughed a little and earned a small grin fromhim as well. Nevertheless, you accepted the flowers and invited himin.

Whileyou put them in a vase, he sat down onto your couch and waited foryou to sit next to him.

“Sooo..courting, hm? Is that really what you want?”

“Youseem to have romantic feelings for me and I’m not loathing youeither, so I thought it might be worth trying.”

Youraised your eyebrows, but then had to laugh at his choice of words.

“Wehave to work on your way of expressing feelings, Loki. Saying your‘not loathing’ someone? Not very romantic.”

“Aswe’ve both realized earlier, I’m more experienced in the other area.”

For a moment you thought about your next move.

Go a little deeper into the conversation or simply go for it and see where it would go from there? 

Youbit your lip when you decided to take option number two, then grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled himtowards you to give him the kiss the two of you were supposed to have earlier that day.

Anddamn, was he right.

Hewas so much better at that and the things that followed. 

But you’dshow him how it was done as well. The emotional part, at least.

#Anonymous #loki x reader #loki imagine #loki laufeyson x reader #loki laufeyson imagine #mcu imagine #marvel imagine #loki laufeyson #loki #reader #requests #mcu #marvel #HA HA I managed to finish one! #proud of myself lol #and tbh I really like this one