#i know its sambucky week but u know i do what i want

[the-blackdale]

I posted 6,991 times in 2021

566 posts created (8%)

6425 posts reblogged (92%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 11.4 posts.

I added 628 tags in 2021

#ask - 286 posts

#the wicked powers - 93 posts

#kit herondale - 46 posts

#twp - 34 posts

#tsc - 33 posts

#annon - 31 posts

#ire rambles - 31 posts

#ly - 28 posts

#melkeh - 23 posts

#ty blackthorn - 23 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#but omg the moment the shipper invaded the sambucky tag and went apeshit crazy at us fir shipping sambucky and being fetishizers or whatnot

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

𝕳𝖊𝖗𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖞𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖘 𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖐

All credits for the planning goes to @revvs-trash,I could never have thought a better plan.

♡︎ 𝑑𝑎𝑦 1- 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑙𝑒 (28/6)

♡︎ 𝑑𝑎𝑦 2- 𝑇𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑦 (29/6)

♡︎ 𝑑𝑎𝑦 3- 𝐽𝑒𝑚 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑠 (30/6)

♡︎ 𝑑𝑎𝑦 4- 𝑊𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎 (01/7)

♡︎ 𝑑𝑎𝑦 5- 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎 (02/7)

♡︎ 𝑑𝑎𝑦 6- 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑠 (03/7)

♡︎𝑑𝑎𝑦 7- 𝐻𝐸𝑅𝑂𝑁𝐺𝑅𝐴𝑌𝑆𝑇𝐴𝐼𝑅𝑆 !! (04/7)

♡︎♥︎♡︎

Any and all type of content is allowed, edits, fics, quotes anything you feel would make the herongraystairs tag more beautiful is appreciated. 💕

Tag your posts as #herongraystairs even if it is about only wessa or jessa and tag me in all your posts pwease 🤗

We can probably trynna get it on trending on the last day ?? Up tp you, no pressure, I just think it would be great to piss off a certain annon 👀

Tagging everyone who responded to my first post about herongraystairs week ,hope the dates and rules are ok with you -

@hardlymatters @clarys-heosphoros @ghafa-dale @coffee-fandoms-and-chaos @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @im-a-sleep-demon @thelastfunctioningbraincell @mauvehedgehogsandrosie @gods-shadowsandcrows @herondalesunsetcurve @kitandtyarelife @clockworkprincess19 @niastormsanctuary-bolastairkanej @the-swordwielding-carstairs @inejghafasupremacy @khaleesiofalicante @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @pjo-tsc-trc-otherthingstoo @queenlilith43 @theenchanteddreamer @icycoolslushie @shadowhuntingdemigod @willothewhisper @this-beautiful-mess-tonight @22herondale @shadowhunting-hooligans

144 notes • Posted 2021-06-23 08:14:48 GMT

#4

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬

𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛.

𝙸 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜, 𝚙𝚕𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚙 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 ♡´･ᴗ･`♡

Dont repost

Characters belong to @cassandraclare

Tagging some moots @ghafa-dale @niastormbolastairkanejsambucky @jurdan-my-beloved @pink-party-dino @queenlilith43 @blackasmysoul @gabtapia @clarys-heosphoros @autumnangel20 @neo-lightchild-decafineator @fortheloveofthecarstairs @mauvehedgehogsandrosie @fanficreader435 @darkshadowqueensrule @ninacarstairss @kitandtyarelife @hardlymatters @thomas-gaypanic-lightwood @youngreckless @icycoolslushie @willothewhisper

Also guys, I have like no idea if dragons will be there in TWP but a gurl can dream.

176 notes • Posted 2021-07-10 04:06:36 GMT

#3

Not to scare y'all or anything but-

*clears throat*

VILLAINS AND DRAWBACKS IN TWP

All the princes of hell

Cohort

Serial killer Janus

Whatever the hell will go down in Tbvotd

Livvy turning to the dark side

Lily's betrayal

Ty's necromancy's price.

Shadowhunter population is pretty low now.

AND THEN ALL THE LOVE DRAMA

Kit and Ty og angst because "why the hell did u left me !"

"Thule!Kit may want to befriend Ty" my foot, I can see that love triangle coming !!

Also Dru's lil crush on Jaime, we dont know what is the status of that.

Plus jaime checking out Kit or Ty, we have that

Whatever Ash and Dru have going on with "love at first sight" thing.

CC comfirmed that Ty knows about Kit and Livvy's Kiss, so he might draw conclusions from that.

Anush and Ty, no one's sure about Tynush, but we have plenty theories .

LOOSE ENDS

Where is Thule! Simon ?

Manuel has a vial with ash's blood in it, what will he do with it ?

Kit's fairy powers ?

Ash's fairy powers ?

What is Dimmet tarn and what are its mysteries ?

Where is the black volume of the dead ?

Is the seelie queen dying ?

How will shadowhunters protect themselves outside of idris' wards ??

Sister Emilia (from learn about loss) said she was going to make a weapon to kill Belial ?

And this is all before the first book even came out !! In conclution - how in the name of hell is all this supposed to be cover in only 3 books ??

214 notes • Posted 2021-06-07 04:31:18 GMT

#2

Kit Ty

🤝

Just Kit and Ty holding hands :)

250 notes • Posted 2021-06-04 10:21:23 GMT

#1

Beware memes about yesterday, because thats what im gonna do today !!

284 notes • Posted 2021-06-05 04:45:06 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

Ahsga ly @have-a-holly-jolly-angstmas and melkeh @fortheloveofthecarstairs ur my #8 and #9 top tags lmao !! <3

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[thompsborn]

do you have any spare ironhusbands or sambucky headcanons?

ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY

oh my god okay i’ve been so fucking wrapped up in both ironhusbands and sambucky and absolutely nothing else for WEEKS because of tfatws (obviously if you have seen my endless spam of reblogs but can you BLAME ME) and the portal closed has ironhusbands so i’ve been just. oh my god i am happily drowning in this and them and i do not need nor want air. ok.

also these are all hc’s based just in canon not au, and lol warning this got so long help me, though my brain is so scrambled from tfatws finale that all sambucky thoughts are scrambled and jumbled so i wasn't able to coordinate them as well as ironhusbands so the ironhusbands section is definitely longer pfighf i'm so sorry i'm like this

ironhusbands:

when they met at mit tony didnt know shit. like. like nothing. he didnt know a single god damn thing about anything. like he was a genius he could solve any equation given to him and baffled professors when he was handed like two supposedly impossible equations to this fuckin fourteen year old and he just looked at them with like a mcdonalds burger or some shit hanging out of his mouth and just answered them no problem, but he was still such a hopeless idiot, and rhodey, also a genius attending as a sixteen year old, had to teach him the basics of life, like. making toast. tony how do NOT know how to make toast. its TOAST. you put it in the TOASTER. have you NEVER SEEN A—OH MY GOD HOW DID YOU FUCKING CATCH IT ON FIRE—

he does not perfect the clearly impossible task of making toast until he is 17 and rhodey buys him a cake to celebrate the momentous occasion even though tony went though 528 toasters

you are gold by the national parks. thats it. thats all i have to say. listen to the song and look up the lyrics. you’ll get it.

and also paper planes by jon bellion but specifically for after rhodey tells tony he’s gonna join the air force and tony is worried but doesnt know how to show it and they have like a chill night in and all tony can think about is how stupid he is and how he’s such a coward because he cant get himself to tell rhodey that hi!! i love u!! and im scared to lose u and that you’ll get hurt and maybe die or smth!!

when rhodey finds out about how tony was raised (going with mcu, where tony wasnt physically abused but more emotionally neglected and ignored by howard and always talked down to and compared to others and wasnt treated like he was worthy and never was told he was loved and everything like that) he gets PISSED. like he is MONUMENTALLY angry. and it takes YEARS for him to find out about this too. and it actually puts a bit of a strain on their friendship for awhile when they meet too

like rhodey knows about the starks obviously and he assumes tony is going to be this obnoxious arrogant rich boy asshole and is so not looking forward to being roommates but he was raised to have an open mind and give everyone a chance, but tony was raised to be wary of everyone and keep his walls up and his emotions in shackles because whatever he shows can be used against him, so they clash, you know? they dont fight or anything but theres tension bc it isnt right and they dont get each other.

rhodey tries to be nice and tony doesnt understand nice because his only example of nice is jarvis and his mom and even then his mom and jarvis are always off with his dad so he barely sees them so its still rare for him to experience the nice of them so he doesnt know how to be around someone nice all the time, and so he gets defensive and thinks about how howard drilled it into him to be wary and he thinks maybe rhodey isnt ACTUALLY nice but someone PRETENDING to be

and rhodey starts to feel justified in assuming the worst about tony stark because tony is all cold and distant and rude and is about to stop the keeping an open mind thing about a month into their first year but then he comes back to their dorm early from class one day and tony doesnt come in so rhodey is just standing there and watches for a minute as tony sits there staring down at his twenty sixth attempt at a letter he wants to send his mom becauss he knows his mom likes letters even though he could just call but they havent really called him (howards fault but he’s fourteen still and its hard to rationalize that howards busy life and controlling thumb extends past his son) and rhodey is just confused because tony just suddenly sighs and sniffles a bit and murmurs “this is so stupid” and crumbles up the paper and throws it in the garbage and rhodey cant help but peer into it and barely sees the words hey mom scribbled at the top and that. that. hm. okay.

so rhodey keeps trying because he wasnt supposed to see that but he did and now he kind of has a feeling that maybe tony isnt all that cold and distant and rude as he seems, maybe he just doesnt really know how to be any different, so he thinks about all the subtle little ways that his family has shown him they care about him and starts to invite tony to go get food or to study together even though neither of them really need to study or to help each other with assignments or just anything thats mundane enough to not raise suspicion but still starts to open the door and make tony relax around him just that little bit and then before tony realizes it the end of their first year is there and theyre like friends or something and it hits him that he’s gonna miss rhodey.

for the first time ever there’s someone other than his mom and jarvis that he’s actually going to miss.

rhodey grins at him and says that they’ll be roommates again next year because they have to be and that the summer will be over before they know it and the sentiment is nice but tony spends the summer alone wandering around a house too big and empty after being in a dorm that’s small and has a friend.

but rhodey doesn’t know this. like he knows that tony isn’t the kind of guy he originally assumed but he doesn’t know that he’s literally ignored and neglected and like emotionally and sometimes verbally abused so he’s kind of surprised when the next year begins and they DO end up being roommates again (because tony kind of asked his mom, on a rare day when he got to see her and howard wasnt around, to get mit to make sure they could be) and tony just HUGS him like its been years and they’ve known each other forever but he goes with it and hugs him back because maybe tony’s just more affectionate once he gets to know someone and rhodey is okay w that.

they get closer as the years go by and they graduate from mit together and they’re BEST friends and at the end of the year rhodey invites tony to spend new years eve w his family but tony cant bc howard is having some kind of gala starting at 5 because hes weird and dumb and tony hates it and he also isnt given the option of not going even though he doesnt want to but the entire way there howard drills into him about not fucking up and berates him for all the times he has in the past and when they get there tony is already just not feeling it so he’s like nope!! no!! i simply cannot!!

so he goes in and finds an exit thats in the back and he leaves and finds a fucking payphone of all things and he has rhodeys home number memorized for years now and he calls and someone he doesnt knoe answers and theres music in the background and voices and tony’s entire stomach is in his throat and his heart is sunken into his twisted gut because he just wanted one night where maybe he could smile next to his parents and feel like he fit with them but he couldnt have that and he asks to talk to rhodey and then he is and asks if its too late to accept his invite and rhodey is like yeah of course do u need my address bc its still only 5 pm and its a 2 hour drive between south philadelphia and manhattan so he’d make it with plenty of time before it got to midnight so yay

and tony is like. oh. hm. i dont know how to drive actually. that was a thing that no one ever thought to teach me even though i asked about it about ten million times. and rhodey is used to tony not knowing how to do things that most people their age can (see: the toast) and plus its not uncommon for people from new york to not drive anyway so he doesnt think anything of it and instead asks for tony’s address to come pick him up instead and they’d still make it back by like 9-9:30 so that would work too

and thats when tony is like. well.

about that.

he might be calling from a payphone.

on a random street corner.

and its kind of raining. and he’s cold. and he’s a bit dulled out from everything so he doesn’t really think about the fact that admitting this is going to lead to having to explain what happened and also why and that is happens often. but that doesnt matter because he kind of just wants to be with his best friend and not back at that gala with his dad right now.

rhodey is like,,, ok. ok. wheres a coffee shop nearby u can wait in. and tony thankfully is by a 24 hour one and tells him the name and the street corner its closest to and rhodey is like i’ll be there asap and tony goes and he waits.

a two hour drive turns into an hour and a half because rhodey is Worried™

but when he walks in tony goes from being all dulled out to being all HOLY SHIT because rhodey has a SPLIT LIP and he’s like WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED WHAT THE FUCK WHAT

and rhodey’s like no no its good my uncle was having fun and trying to wrestle with me and he accidentally elbowed me its all good man dont worry about it

tony isnt used to accidentally being hurt tho so he’s still like hmmm but he takes rhodeys word on it and they head out and tony wont say what happened or why he was calling from a payphone ?? which btw tony literally only was able to do bc there happened to be dropped change on the ground because boy would not have change on him ok, but rhodeys like alright lets go with this for now

so they gets to the rhodes house and it is in full swing with family and extended family and adopted family bc they are 100% the family that just adopts the neighborhood kids and the people who have no one else and like ex boyfriends and ex girlfriends even after the relationship ends bc they still are family despite not dating whoever it was they had been dating in order to be introduced to them so its a LOT of people and tony is like. this is semi familiar in terms a lot of people but this is NOTHING like what he has ever seen before holy fucking SHIT

rhodey is just like oh u have a small family then? so ur used to smaller gatherings?

and tonys like wtf are gatherings

and rhodey is starting to get a feel for what might be wrong but just takes tony inside to get him changed because he’s not spending new years eve at the rhodes house in a fucking expensive suit ok

tony is completely out of his element and like he’s not the only white guy there bc again the rhodes adopt people and those people are of every race and nationally you can imagine but he just isnt used to the vibe there are people laughing and sitting close together and playing games and theres music playing but not like classy music its music people can dance to and are dancing to and the food isnt the food he’s used to at galas and shit and nothing is what he’s used to and he just sticks to rhodey’s side like a fucking lost puppy and tries his best not to look like an idiot when rhodey introduces him to people and a lot of them know who he is but dont judge him or assume shit about him bc obviously if he’s friends w rhodey then he’s a good guy and they want to know him and thats enough

but tony is v overwhelmed bc what the FUCK IS HAPPENING this is nothing like anything he has ever experienced EVER

so eventually rhodey can tell he’s getting overwhelmed and takes him inside and lets him have a breather and then asks him about whats going in and thats when rhodey learns about what tonys life at home is really like and. anger.

SO MUCH anger

because not only has every single assumption he has ever made about tony been proven wrong, but now he knows that the best person he knows has never been treated the way he deserves and has never known a true home and comfort and love and safety and

and he’s gonna fix it

and this is the first step

so he takes tony back out and they’re still just friends but this is the day they both quietly realize they might kind of definitely like each other as more because tony is still so confused by the fact that what he knows isnt the normal and overwhelmed by how much there is and how different it is but rhodey holds his hand as a grounding point and whenever it might be too much they move off to the side where they arent completely gone but its less hectic and a bit more quiet and its just nice

tony goes to rhodeys house for every holiday despite whatever howard says

rhodey decks howard the only time they ever meet before tonys parents die and he has the most shit eating grin on his face afterwards that tony cant help but lose his shit laughing his ass off

anyway i didnt mean to ramble for so long about that specific idea so i’ll end the ironhusbands ramble with this one last thought, which is as follows:

rhodey gets hurt in the air force at some point, and it isnt that bad tbh but he does have to go the hospital and shit and gets stitches or whatever idk i dont know what specifically happens i just think it’d be just bad enough that it takes him a few weeks to be able to go back to work but he’s not like OH GOD HURT yk?

but like stated above tony was scared and worried when rhodey told him he was gonna go into the air force so he hears about this and they’re probably like almost 30 at this point because they’re dumb and it takes them forever to get their heads out of their asses (i say this even though in the portal closed it takes them even longer but i digress) rhodey has like his mon his sister his niece visiting him and they were worried but they know hes fine so theyre just talking and in a good mood and then—

door slams open. tony stark enter stage left. disheveled suit, fresh from a meeting he definitely was not supposed to leave, having flown in from maibu the second he heard and then had happy drive him and then got impatient because of traffic and ended up sprinting like ten blocks while happy was like what the FUCK

of course rhodeys family are well aware that these idiots are desperately in love with each other so they’re just like lol ok and just leave the room while tony starts fretting over him like he’s about to die himself if he doesnt know if rhodey is okay and rhodey is like tony tony dude tones stop tony im okay tony stop it

until finally tony just fucking breaks down like full on tears in his eyes voice cracking hands clasped as he leans against rhodeys bed and tells him that he was so scared and he is so scared all the time whenever rhodey is out there because all he can think about is losing him and him getting hurt or dying and it’s maddening and this is when they get their heads out of their asses and kiss for the first time

(irony at its finest bc later when they are married and tony becomes iron man rhodey refuses to not have a suit of his own because if tony is going out there in a metal flying tin can then he isn’t going alone and wow what a power couple)

sambucky:

firstly i’m going to go post tfatws, but i’ll make a bullet point before going into it so if you wanna read up until that point you can but most of this will be random little headcanons based post tfatws

also it isnt like a whole plotline thing like the ironhusbands ones ended up being these ones are more random and kinda all over the place but loosely connected

update from after writing this: i lied

let me start by saying my interpretation of why they are the way they are in civil war is because of steve

thats not saying steve is the bad guy i mean to say that they’re jealous of each other because they thought that THEY were steve’s best friend who the fuck is THIS guy i dont want him here go away

children. they are children.

which i find very funny to imagine from sams pov because he literally is a licensed therapist and would 100% recognize why he’s acting how he is but he’s petty enough to do it anyway

and also he literally was helping steve track bucky down but i like to imagine that sam didnt think they’d ever really find him again and it’d just make him and steve like super mega best friends or something because hes a CHILD

and then from bucky’s pov steve goes through all this trouble to find him and protect him and then this random guy is acting like steve’s best friend and gets to sit in the front seat ??? bullshit. absolutely bullshit. worst thing ever. so stupid.

its so funny to me okay its SO funny

its like that schoolyard thing where your friend makes another friend and you hate it so much that you do something stupid like color on their drawing or put gum in their hair or whatever but they’re adults with 1. super soldier serum or 2. a superhero reputation/avengers status and suit with wings. so thats a thing.

post civil war i dont think they get much yk. because bucky is out in cryo and team cap is on the run and i doubt theyre able to return to wakanda much, if at all, and then it’s infinity war and then it’s endgame and after endgame there’s the aftermath and the aftermath is a mess

i like to think they have some moments before tfatws though. not many but enough for that slight foundation thats we can kind of see in episode 2 yk.

okay NOW it gets into post tfatws so!!

SO post tfatws everything is different because now they not only have spent all this time together, but they understand each other in a way that they didn’t before. in a way no one ever has. not even steve, who may have known them before, but he isn’t here anymore and he wouldn’t understand who they are now vs who they were before and it’s different.

bucky finds comfort in sam’s home town. sam finds comfort in watching bucky find a home there and he doesnt know why.

also sam treats redwing like a puppy and lets him fly around on his own and gets pet and stuff and bucky acts annoyed but the longer it happens you can tell he’s like “oh my god why is this thing endearing”

bucky has nightmares and sam knows this but bucky doesnt know that sam also has nightmares until one night when they’re still in sams home town and they’re staying on the boat because sams nephews are having a sleepover with some friends and they didnt want to get in the way or smth idk i just want an excuse for them to be on the boat and somewhat secluded from people but bucky already woke up from his nightmare and is out on the deck to get some fresh out and then oop

sam havin a nightmare too

because fucking of COURSE sam has nightmares he has been through some shit too!! not being able to catch riley and everything that happened since meeting steve and thanos and he turned to dust alone in the bushes ok like yes everyone that died were traumatized undoubtedly (peter my baby boy baby im so sorry that you got the worst of it) but bucky was around people but sam was laying on the ground and probably just watched his hands as he disappeared and he was alone and like. jesus christ ok.

and then steve trusted him with every weight and everything that comes with the shield not knowing how much more the shield has when he gave it to a black man and just like he has nightmares everyone in marvel does its a fact

but bucky finds out like this and he is shocked even though he realizes he probably should have been able to guess that this is a thing and he knows so much more about sam now than he ever did but this is how he learns more. he learns about riley. he learns so much.

sometimes bucky has those like “oh shit” moments where he’s like “maybe i was kind of a dick to someone who didnt deserve it” and he already had one of those with sam about the shield but he has another one because he assumed shit about sam when they were being all childish and jealous about someone else being friends with steve but like fuck

steve and sam probably got it

the not catching someone. the way it felt to try and to reach out and to miss and to have to choice but to watch as they fell.

what’s different is that steve got bucky back. he got to have that relief, eventually, even if there was the pain of knowing bucky had been taken by hydra, but at least he knew bucky had made it.

sam didn’t have that. riley didnt make it.

therefore, bucky has his “oh shit”

and bucky was already going soft around the edges with sam (as clearly seen in the last two episodes of tfatws, ESPECIALLY the finale because like did tou SEEZ ALL THE HEART EYES oh my GOD) but it’s this that really makes something in him melt and he just. he loses the last remnants of whatever tension or resentment or whatever negative feeling he may have been clutching onto.

there wasnt much left. but now theres none. now its all washed away.

its gone, and he gets it.

sam is a licensed therapist and he knew the reason he was being all dumb and childish and jealous with bucky was because steve had another best friend but also because steve’s other best friend was the guy that had been a big factor in how him and steve understood each other and how they bonded and it

it had kind of felt like they lost part of that when they found bucky again in civil war and he kind of wanted to blame bucky for it even though he didnt actually blame him at all so all it translated to was that dumb kind of jealous thing instead

but now it’s just them. its sam and bucky and it isnt steve and it isnt about steve and it shouldnt be because its about them. its about the boat and the water and the way they sit and watch the waves while the silence settles over them and the way that bucky says, “im sorry.”

its the way sam says, “me too.”

and bucky says, “you dont have to be.”

its the way they stay there until sarah comes to get them for breakfast and sams nephews convince them to play with them and their friends and the world is still shit and there is so much to do but

but its this and its them and that can wait

it can wait

they can take their time if they want to

maybe they’ve earned that much, at least

(it isn't a fast development because they're a complicated pair and there's so much to the two of them that need to figured out individually before they can even realize how well they work together, but the steps are so much easier knowing that they have the other in their corner and bucky knows that sam's home town is a place he's welcome to go and sam helps him make his own dreary little apartment into something that feels real and tangible with a bed and a couch and when they've become something that resembles stable and they've found a balance and they're okay, that's when they realize that maybe they can try for the more that sometimes bubbles under their skin and that they started to think about the more they spend time together. the warmth that sam feels every time he sees bucky playing games with his nephew and the smile that bucky has to fight to hide and still can't fully suppress when sam stands tall and proud with the shield in its rightful place, and it takes time, it takes work, it takes carefully placed bricks to build the foundation they need, but they get there, and when they do...

when they do, they're already happy, and it just makes them happier, and that's what makes it so much better.

that's what makes it worth the wait.)

#ironhusbands #sambucky #headcanons #asks

[firekyoshi]

i can't believe yall havent thought of a sambucky the handmaiden au LIKE GUYS LOOK AT THE POTENTIAL

okay if u haven't seen the handmaiden (2016) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CHECK IT OUT OMG ITS ONE OF MY FAV MOVIES AND AS A BISEXUAL WOMAN ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES FEATURING SAPPHIC CHARACTERS

anyways here's a very self-indulgent sambucky the handmaiden! au that i wrote at midnight literally 7 hours before my exam

tw // mentions of suicide

- sam is sook-hee and bucky is hideko obvs

- sam is a criminal working for the power broker aka sharon while bucky or in this case, the winter soldier, was a test experiment for HYDRA / is now an assassin + bodyguard for their leader, alexander pierce

- sharon is conducting business w hydra to obtain some weapons and idk black market stuff which forces her to go to siberia, but obviously the ultimate weapon she wants to take home is the infamous winter soldier

- she asks sam to pretend to be her butler/bodyguard but is actually hiring him to get information on the winter soldier program and obtain the code words needed to control them

- they end up staying in pierce's mansion in like a really remote place in siberia

- sam gets acquainted w the other butlers and housekeepers, they tell him that the area is haunted because they would always hear a man screaming just before daybreak followed by complete silence. they also tell him that the forest is haunted by the spirit of a man who killed himself there

- just like the housekeepers said, sam wakes around 3-4 in the morning to the sound of a man screaming followed by complete silence

- anyways the next morning he accompanies sharon to her first meeting w hydra officials, and that's where he encounters bucky

- after the meeting, sharon is all like, "change of plans. we're going to steal the winter soldier." sam's like "and who's that?", "the person u were standing next to earlier,"

- afterwards, sam starts to spy on bucky. he doesn't talk much, sam notices, actually scratch that this man does not talk period

- they were standing by the door a few feet away from where their bosses were talking. "so uh, what do i call you?" sam asks one day, but bucky is like a statue, his response being a mere blink

- sharon and pierce always have their business meetings in the morning, but they also have spend time at night, usually supper or dinner, that's more casual. sam notices that pierce's bodyguard is less stiff and more human during the later hours of the day

- sam and bucky are again standing by the door. "what do i call you?" bucky asks quietly, almost like a whisper. "uh sam, you can call me sam. and you?"

- he freezes for a while before replying, "james barnes"

- another thing that sam notices is that bucky is NEVER alone. either he's with pierce or he's escorted by other bodyguards (who look like they couldn't even take him down altogether)

- one morning, after the usual distant screams, sam decides to figure out where the screams were actually coming from. he goes to the main house, pretending to bring tea for sharon (there's a small camera hidden in the tray)

- he sees the usual group of bodyguards escorting a half-naked and disheveled bucky from the stairs to the basement. when they see him, the group looks like a pack of deers in headlights, one of them reaches for their gun, "i'm bringing tea for ms. carter," he quickly says.

- "go ahead," the leader, rumlow, says, "but next time use the main hallway will you?"

- "right, she just said it was faster this way, and she's really peculiar about the temperature of her tea."

- he shows the video to sharon and she's like "i need u to find out wtf is going on in that basement."

- one night, sharon and pierce are having dinner tgt "since we're on the topic of legends and fairytales, i have to ask about something," sharon says,

- "go, on," pierce replies

- "the winter soldier program, does it really exist?"

- the hydra leader chuckles, "i was wondering when you would ask that," then points toward bucky, "my dear, you're looking at the winter soldier."

- sam listens in on the conversation. the winter soldier program was a program created by hydra in the 1940s with the first successful test subject being an american ww2 soldier named steve rogers. apparently he was given this serum that made him super strong and for 10 years, while the other test subjects were cryogenically frozen, hydra worked to find ways to control him but failed and they had to keep him restrained most of the time.

- one night, rogers broke out of the facility, stole all the remaining formulas, and threw them away before blowing his brains out in the nearby forest

- after rogers' suicide, hydra brought out its second test subject, bucky barnes, and used the remaining serum on him. afterwards hydra froze him again while they worked on something to keep his mind under control.

- around the 1960s they created the trigger words and since then they've been using bucky to do their dirty work for them. "this, my dear, is our greatest creation." pierce says as he approaches a stand displaying a red book. "his trigger words. say them and he will do anything you want. if you need some errands taken care of, i'd be happy to lend him to you. we can talk about the costs later."

- "i don't have anything i can't take care of myself at the moment, but i'll keep that offer in mind." sharon replies

- now sharon's like "okay we HAVE to steal him and the codes." she figured out that all of the mansion's surveillance turns off for an hour to reboot from 1 AM to 2, and tells sam to basically go to the basement and manipulate bucky when he's not under hydra's control. "make him trust you, that way we won't have much of a fuss taking him to madripoor."

- that night, after the clock strikes 1, sam sneaks into the basement and finds a cell with bucky inside. there's a bed, well, more like a mattress, but bucky's not sleeping on it. instead he's sitting in a corner, head against the wall, knees tucked in his chest, hyperventilating and,,,crying???

- "hey," sam whispers, "you okay?"

- the winter soldier stares at him with red rimmed eyes and a tear stricken face. "you're sam, you're her bodyguard."

- "yeah and you're the winter soldier, or do you prefer james?"

- "bucky. it's bucky"

- yeah basically sam visits bucky's cell every night for exactly 45 minutes before he has to sneak back out. he tries to gain bucky's trust and manipulate him but guess what they fall in love surprise surprise

- bucky tells sam his true story. how he and steve used to be ww2 soldiers that were experimented on by hydra. he remembers being frozen and the first thing he sees when they woke him up was steve's dead body. "they told me he shot his head in the forest." the first thing he felt was pain as they injected the serum into his veins then tried to erase his memories. he remembers going into cryo and being woken up over and over again to kill someone or destroy something.

- he also tells sam about the one night he broke out, ran as fast as he could, and jumped off a cliff, only for him to survive. he lost an arm, but hydra replaced it with another weapon. "i thought i would end there, but i just became more of a weapon"

- so sam starts to feel unsure about stealing the winter soldier bc goddamnit bucky's a person and he doesnt deserve any of this.

- also the more time he spends with bucky the more he realises that the actual james bucky barnes is a fucking piece of shit that still uses 40s slang and petnames and makes outdated jokes and is actually a big fucking flirt.

- and sam's heart breaks every time he looks at bucky's crestfallen face when he realises that their 45 minutes are over

- of all the people he could fall in love with, it just had to be a brainwashed assassin

- sharon tells him that in a few days, she and pierce will leave for a week to actually get the business transaction done. basically she tells sam that he should break bucky out of the mansion while they're away, take the trigger word book, and meet with torres so he can take them both to madripoor.

- while sharon and pierce leave, sam continues visiting bucky during the night. also he doesn't see bucky during the day bc they have no reason to bring him out of the cell, and he kinda misses him aw

- one night, he wakes up to noise, lots of it. everyone in the house is running. in the midst of all the chaos, sam hears, "find the soldier!"

- the first place sam goes to is the forest, and there he finds bucky kneeling by a frozen lake, with a gun in his hands. sam tackles him and throws the gun away

- "what the fuck were you thinking huh?!" sam shouts, tightly holding the front of bucky's shirt, and he can't help but cry at the thought of bucky's dead body. and all of a sudden he feels like shit. for manipulating bucky and taking advantage of his trauma for his own gain. so he gathers bucky in his arms and tells him everything. about what he and sharon were actually planning, what his true motivations were when he first went inside the basement, and how he actually grew to care for bucky

- bucky just laughs and says, "i know,” he reveals that sharon's plan all along was to take bucky and the trigger words for herself, and frame sam as the mastermind behind everything. she'll then fake bucky’s death and offer sam as another test subject for the winter soldier program as compensation for stealing (and “killing”) bucky

- "how do you know all this?"

- "she visited me the first night you arrived and we talked. she told me she'll take me away and all i had to do was manipulate you into breaking me out." bucky confesses, "i didn't realise you were a sweetheart, that made everything so complicated."

- anyways sam knocks bucky unconscious and basically helps hydra guards put him back in his cell. "just saying, maybe we shouldn't tell pierce abt this yknow" and the hydra guards r like yeah no totally cause if he knew we're all fucked

- anyways bucky and sam come up with a plan to escape together. sam contacts a friend known as baron helmut zemo, who's basically sharon's biggest enemy, but more importantly, owes sam a big ass debt and asks him to give the two of them safe passage to sokovia

- they plan to escape two nights before sharon and pierce return to siberia. on that night, sam wakes up at exactly 1 AM like he always does, and kills everyone in the house. he puts a bullet in every hydra guard, every housekeeper, everyone. he disables all the techs in the house, steals the trigger word book and breaks bucky out of his cell.

- "wait. there's something i have to show you." bucky says. he takes sam to the facility. the place where they tortured him and experimented on him. the place where every other test subjects were kept frozen.

- (if you've watched the handmaiden, yes this is a reference to the library scene) sam can't contain the anger he feels when he looks at the room. "is this where they tortured you? is this where the screams come from every night?"

- bucky nods. he points at a chair in the centre of the room, surrounded by machines and computers. "every morning they would drag me out of my cell, put me on that chair, and-" he swallows a choked sob, "and read the trigger words,"

- sam can't control it anymore. he grabs a metal rod and starts destroying the place. he breaks every machine, tearing them apart until they are nothing more than wires and buttons. he kills all the frozen test subjects, because they deserve better than this. he rips apart the pages of the winter soldier's mission reports, and gathers them into a pile.

- from afar, bucky watches as sam lights up the pile and everything in front of him starts to burn. when sam turns to look at him, he can't help but think about how magnificent he looks as the fire roars behind him. his hero. his guardian angel. his sam.

- sam approaches bucky and pulls him in for a hungry kiss. something he feels he should've done earlier. "no one will ever control you again." he says, and for once its a promise that bucky believes in.

- sam reaches in his bag and pulls out the red book. bucky starts to cry bc no one, not even before hydra, had ever loved him like this. "i mean it. no one." sam says. bucky throws the book in the fire and watches and both paper and leather melt into ash

- the end they escape using zemo's private jet and live happily ever after haha

#sambucky #sam wilson #bucky barnes

[matcha-chocolate]

Prompt:  “Your choice of samsteve, sambucky or all caps and adopting! A kitty cat!” by @spooky-redwing ! I know this prompt is literally months old, but I’m going through every single prompt  (except “green zucchini” because FUCK THAT.) The upside of me taking ages to do prompts? People forget all about them and they’re like fun surprise gifts!! Or something!

Their apartment made magazine spreads look like a joke. True, everything was second-hand, because Steve was cheap against being wasteful; and there were several huge bookshelves groaning under the strain of Sam and Bucky’s books; and the kitchen had a truly baffling number of wooden cutting boards, wooden spoons, wooden cups-- because Bucky had a thing for hand-made wooden utensils; and they’d had to change from light to dark decor after Steve’s paint spatters and charcoal smudges made Bucky pitch a fit; and Sam had a whole two shelves just for his records and god help you if you touched them without asking... But if you “pulled up the Googles” (Steve’s words) to look up “eclectic hipster apartment on a budget,” their home would have popped up first. It was a Pinterest addict’s wet dream. It would get dozens of “OMG GOALS” comments on Instagram. It was cozy, it was nicely furnished, and it perfectly reflected the three occupants. And then someone (Bucky. It was Bucky.) left the goddamn window open when all three of them were out on separate missions for a few weeks.

Sam got back first; his missions had been Stateside; something about the changing of the seasons really brought out the weirdo costumed villains. Sam had just fought an embarrassingly short battle against “Leaf-al Weapon,” and aside from general bruising, he’d have to contend with the inevitable YouTube videos of him getting dozens of pinecones fired at him. He’d already gotten messages from Steve and Bucky; Steve would be back that night, Bucky, tomorrow. He’d at least have a good few hours to shower, nap, maybe even finally break open the nice whiskey Director Fury had given him for his last birthday...  The first thing that Sam noticed was that the rain had blown in through the open living room window. The second, was that the place smelled really weird, kinda... fishy? Sam eased his heavy wing pack off his shoulder and heaved a huge sigh before moving over to the window and sliding it partially shut. So much for relaxing -- he spent 20 minutes mopping up the water and praying it wouldn’t fuck up the hardwood too much. He snapped a picture of the mop leaning forlornly against the wall next to the window, sending it in a text to Bucky with the message “Thanks, man.” Okay, maybe skip the shower and go right to the nap part of his plan. When Sam pushed approached his open room door, he reeled back a little. It smelled like... tuna? What the hell? He barely had time to wonder if something had happened to his emergency rations before he got his answer. A pair of eyes glinted in the darkness near the floor, and Sam steeled himself for fighting an angry raccoon (because that was what his life was like nowadays) when a mew pulled him up short. A cat? A cat wasn’t necessarily less dangerous than a raccoon if it was feral and scared, but... Sam liked cats. Sure, he was the Falcon, but he appreciated the way that cats liked you on their terms. He could dig it.  He cautiously flicked on the light and blinked at the intruder. It was small, just a kitten, really. Its coat was grey as the sky outside, the iconic ‘M’ of a tabby on its little forehead.  “Hey, little dude,” Sam said softly. The cat looked away and lifted a leg to clean itself with gusto. “Ah. Not a dude,” Sam amended. He moved slowly, but all the same the cat hunched defensively, its ears flattened. Sam stopped by the closet, not moving any closer to the small animal, and checked the cardboard box in the corner-- ah. Sam had an emergency food stash (they all did; old habits died hard,) and one of the things he always had was vacuum-sealed packages of tuna. It seemed the clever little thing had found it and chewed through the packaging to get to the food inside. That explained what it’d been eating, anyway... but... “You been poopin’ in here, cat?” Sam asked, turning to look at his companion. She’d edged away from him, but was no longer scared-looking, merely blinking at him now. Sam was pretty sure from his experience with his sister’s pets that if the cat had been relieving herself in his room, he’d’ve known immediately. That stuff stank.  Just in case, he checked his room, telegraphing his movements so as to not frighten the cat-- but she seemed to have forgotten about her nerves pretty quickly, because she hopped nimbly onto the bed and just watched him.  “Ooookay, well... you’re weird. Dunno what else I expected,” Sam muttered. After a moment’s thought, he pulled out his phone.  Human foods for cats Sam grimaced as he scanned the results; seemed like most things in the house wasn’t great for cats, especially kittens. Not even cow’s milk was great for them! Sam felt lied to by all those Saturday morning cartoons. He was halfway to Googling “nearby pet stores” when he paused. He should be looking for animal shelters, not a place to buy cat food and cat toys. The object of his deliberations was now sitting loaf-style on his duvet, watching with half-closed eyes. Her tail flicked now and then to show her interest, but otherwise she seemed relaxed.  Dammit, she was cute, big golden-green eyes and a pink little nose. Dammit dammit.  “Stormy,” he murmured, slowly extending his hand for her to smell. He was rewarded with a tentative sniff, which he took to mean she approved of the name.  There was one little problem: their apartment building had a strict no-pets rule. Sam muttered under his breath as he found a soft old sweatshirt, carefully arranging it into a little bed for Stormy.  “Okay, girl... you can sleep here for tonight and tomorrow we gotta find somewhere for you to--” He was interrupted by her looking away from where he was gesturing, putting her chin on her front paws, and closing her eyes.  The cat had gone to sleep in the middle of his sentence. In the middle of his bed.  “No,” Sam said firmly, crossing his arms. The cat didn’t even stir.  “No, you can’t sleep on the bed. No. I’m not getting cat hair on my sheets.” Stormy’s response was to put a paw over her face. Sam felt his shoulders sag; he was tired, he wanted a nap before the whirlwind of energy that was Steve Rogers got home, and this cat had the audacity to be in his bed being adorable. Not okay.  “Okay. You can sleep in here, but you. Are. Not. Sleeping. On. My. Bed.” --- “Sam? Sam, I-- oh.” Steve poked his head into the room through the half-open door and stilled, a fond smile softening his features. Sam was curled up on his side with his back to the doorway, snoring softly. He must have been really tired to have slept through the jingling keys and heavy footsteps that had announced Steve’s arrival.  Steve carefully backed out of the room, closing the door most of the way so that the hallway light wouldn’t bother Sam. Sam didn’t stir, but unnoticed by Steve, a small form slipped from the protective cocoon that Sam had inadvertently formed around her, crept to the edge of the bed and nimbly leapt to the floor. When Sam woke with a start in the early hours of the morning, the little cat was nowhere to be found. He felt surprisingly disappointed; he’d been half-dreaming of jingly cat toys, purring and soft little paws.  After a quick but thorough check, Sam had to admit to himself that she’d probably slipped back out through the open living room window, off to wherever her real home was.  He’d planned to get her a little collar and everything. Dammit. The expression on his face as he settled back into bed was pretty close to a sulk. 

“Mornin’,” Sam yawned hours later, shuffling into the kitchen. Steve, who was frowning at a food package of some kind, looked up with a smile.  “Sam! You’re up. I thought you might miss the whole day, you were sleeping so late.” “It’s 8:30, Steve.” “I know; I’ve been up for 3 hours already.” “I’m so sorry to hear that,” Sam said dryly, leaning in to kiss the side of Steve’s head. “Way back in the 1960s, they invented this thing called ‘sleeping in,’ it’s a real damn shame you never got to try it.” “Wiseguy.” “One of us has to be, Cap. What you got there?” the last question was regarding the large canvas tote at Steve’s feet. Steve glanced down, a strange look of alarm passing over his features before he could school them.  “I got these... uh... hhhhealth snacks. They’re healthy... and you can eat them and-- they’re good!” Steve tore open the package in his hand and popped a few dark green biscuits into his mouth. Sam watched as Steve flinched, grimaced, and chewed like a man eating sawdust.  “Looks... tasty,” Sam deadpanned. Steve nodded, entirely unconvincingly.  “They’re good! And really healthy.” “Tell me one thing, though--” Steve looked strangely alarmed again. “Yeah?” “Are they healthy, though? You’ve only mentioned it 5 times, I think.” “Oh, ha ha, Wilson.” “And anyway, I was asking about all of that stuff,” Sam continued, gesturing again at the shopping bag. Steve bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders in a would-be casual way.  “Oh. I uh--” “Is that... rice?” Sam asked, moving towards the bag. Steve gratefully seized on the assumption, touching Sam’s arm to get his attention.  “Yeah, yes! Yes. Rice! I’m... bringing rice... to the potluck this weekend.” “Rice.” “Yep!” “A bag of rice?” “Ye-- no. No, of course not. I’m... going to watch the YouTune to find recipes?” “Are you asking or telling me, man?” Sam teased gently. He knew Steve was a little bit embarrassed about his horrible cooking skills-- especially since Sam and Bucky could throw down in the kitchen.  “I’m gonna cook a rice dish. For the potluck.” “Okay, baby. I mean... we got plenty of rice here--” “This is special rice.” “O...kay. And that?” Sam asked, gesturing to the large boxy shape straining the seams of the bag. “Is that a--” “Shelving unit!” Steve almost shouted. “It’s. A little bookcase. Got it on sale!”

“Yeah, you’re always saying you need more space for your books,” Sam agreed, smiling fondly. “Sure am. I’m gonna... watch YouTune--” “YouTube.” “YouTube, yes. I’m gonna watch some... in my room. With the door closed. I need to focus. For the recipe.” “Steve, you don’t have to make up some story if you just want some alone time to jerk off, man. We’re all adults here.” “Wh-- I’m not! Not right now! I’m really gonna--” “Mhm. Okay, whatever weirdo stuff you’re doing, have fun.” Sam leaned up to kiss Steve on the mouth, and then made a face.  “Those health snacks taste rank, man.” Sam could have sworn he heard a weird jingling noise as Steve walked away with the bag. --- “Sammy,” Bucky groaned, slumping his considerable body weight on Sam’s shoulder. Sam absent-mindedly pat the top of Bucky’s head, hmmm?ing in response. “I missed you.” “You also missed like 10 showers, Barnes. Jesus.” “I was travelling for a week! No time for luxury.” “Basic hygiene? Not a luxury.” “Yeah, yeah. I’ll shower after you hug me.” “Ohhh, no. Ohhhh no no no no no.” “Take one for the team, Sammy. I been starved for affection and all.” “You were only gone for a month,” Sam grumbled even as he got to his feet and held his arms out to Bucky. “I was gone for a whole month,” Bucky sighed, sinking into Sam’s embrace and breathing him in (Sam was subtly trying not to breathe Bucky in.)  “Okay, I feel better. Thanks, Sammy. I... I really did miss you.” “I-missed-you-too-now-shut-up-and-go-shower.”  Instead, Bucky made a big show of kissing Sam’s neck and jawline, being as noisy as possible while Sam pretended to hate every second.  “Now that I’ve marked you with my scent--” “Aw, nasty.” “--gonna go see how Blondie’s doing.” “Mmm, I wouldn’t,” Sam said thoughtfully. Bucky’s eyebrows crept up.  “Why?” “Steve’s acting weird.” “... gonna have to narrow that one down a little.” “Weirder than usual. I think he wants a little alone time or somethin’.” “Oh. Well-- yeah, okay. I’ll go shower and... you can make me a late breakfast?” “Try again.” “I’ll go shower and we’ll make breakfast together?” “Ding ding ding.”

Steve heaved a huge sigh and then made a face as he smelled his own breath. He’d gotten so caught up in reading the ingredients on the bag of cat treats that he’d had to eat the damn things to hide them from Sam. They were disgusting, and even though Steve had frantically rinsed out his mouth in the washroom, the taste lingered.  “The things I do for you,” he smiled gently down at the small grey cat curled up on his desk. The kitten, which he’d named ‘Slate’ because of her grey coat, raised her head and watched inquisitively as Steve set out the litter box he’d just bought. She sat all the way up when he hefted the small bag of litter (that he’d claimed was rice to throw Sam off) and filled the box, and before Steve had even finished taping the bag shut, she had trotted over to the litter box -- “Oh, wow,” Steve winced, covering his nose. Such a small animal shouldn’t be able to make such a stink, he thought wryly as he slid his window open a little to air out the room. Slate finished her business, kicked litter over it (Steve was relieved) and then became intensely interested in attacking Steve’s shoelaces as he tried to untie his sneakers. He found himself immensely charmed (even though her tiny claws were really sharp.) He’d never thought himself to be a cat person, but she was rambunctious and clearly unafraid despite her small size. He could relate to that.  Listening to her ridiculous mmnyam nyam nyam nyam sounds as she wolfed down kitten food from a bowl Steve had pilfered from their kitchen just made him even more sure. He’d have to find a way to convince the other two to let him keep her. --- Bucky rapped loudly on the door, still towelling his hair from his shower.  “Steve? Hey, Sam says you’re jerkin’ it to some cooking videos or something--” “What?! I’m not!” “--but I’m lettin’ you know I’m back. You coming out soon?” Bucky heard a lot of shuffling and a very quiet “Shhh sh sh sh, be good” and ... decided he didn’t want to know. He was tired and wanted to play grabass have a nice breakfast with his guys. Whatever weird shit Steve was getting up to could wait.  “C’mon, Steve... Sam said he’d make his blueberry pancakes.” Sam didn’t have super hearing, but he still made a sound of protest from the living room, and Bucky corrected himself again. “Sam said I could help him make blueberry pancakes.” Bucky shrugged and was about to turn away from the door when it finally opened a crack, letting out the overwhelming smell of Steve’s scented candle. Steve was wearing a hoodie, which wouldn’t have been unusual except for the fact that it was the middle of summer and the man almost melted into the floorboards if the temperature crept above 30 degrees. He had his hands stuffed into the pouch pocket, looking shifty.  Bucky only took another moment to decide not to ask, yet again. He just wanted pancakes.  Sam, on the other hand, paused in the act of washing blueberries.  “Why the hell are you wearing a hoodie, Steve?” he asked. Steve was already sweating a little and his whole posture screamed I’m hiding something oh god please don’t notice.  “You feeling okay?” he continued, a thread of concern in his voice now. Bucky raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, knowing the signs when he saw it. Steve had probably gotten a bad tattoo or something, and was waiting for it to fade before the other two saw it. (It wouldn’t have been the first time, sadly.) “Yeah, just a little chilly,” Steve said, entirely unconvincingly. Bucky turned a flat look upon him then, crossing his arms.  “You’re chilly, Steve.” “A little.” “It’s August.” “Sure is! Autumn’s around the corner.” “You’re sweating.” “Because I’m warm now. In the hoodie.” “You think I was defrosted yesterday, Rogers?” “Jesus, Buck.” “What’re you hiding, Steve?” “Yeah, man. You’re fooling exactly no one here,” Sam interjected. His Single Unimpressed Eyebrow Raise couldn’t be beat, and Steve felt the sudden urge to blurt the truth-- partially spurred on by the fact that Slate, hidden in his hoodie, had just nipped hard at his fingers. She wasn’t happy being bundled up like that, but Steve didn’t trust her alone in his room. There were too many electrical cords to chew, too much paint to get into, too many irreplaceable objects to knock off of tables and break. “What’s with the third degree, guys?” Steve asked, scowling a little.  “Okay, fair. If you wanna act like a weirdo, that’s your right,” Sam said reasonably.  Steve was in the middle of agreeing when Sam continued: “But you’re on pancake duty now.” Steve slowly took his hands out of his oddly bulgy pocket and began shuffling over to Sam. Slate, no longer being gently held in place, immediately started squirming; but luckily Bucky was too busy getting the rest of the ingredients to notice, and Sam was measuring out buttermilk with intense concentration.  “You okay, Steve? Really?” he murmured. Steve opened his mouth to say ‘Of course--’ Unseen to the other two men, Slate leapt out of Steve’s pocket and darted down the hallway-- Steve whirled and tried to catch her-- -- and the bag of flour he’d been sifting into the bowl flew into the air, coating almost everything in a fine white powder. Sam, looking oddly artistic with his long eyelashes now dusted a stark white, slowly lowered his measuring cup and just. Looked at Steve.  “I’m going back to bed,” he said calmly. “Because this has to be a nightmare.” “Steve, what the hell was that?” Bucky asked rather less calmly. He’d just washed his freakin’ hair! “Shit-- I’m sorry, guys. I’ll clean it all up, I promise.” “That much is obvious,” Sam said, using his hands to fluff flour from his hair. Bucky grinned at him.  “You finally look your age, Wilson.” As Sam puffed up like an angry cat, Steve quickly scanned the floor for Slate. He saw a clear set of little pawprints in the flour and he hastily used his foot to scuff them, not wanting her presence to be detected.  In the end, the three of them cleaned up the kitchen together, and Steve finally stopped being weird, peeling off his hoodie. Sam declared that shirtless sweaty Steve Rogers was grounds for partial forgiveness for the flour incident. Bucky kept getting distracted; he could have sworn he kept hearing the faintest patter of small footsteps on the wooden floors down the hall.  Steve spent the rest of the evening peering under the couch and in corners, giving entirely unconvincing answers as to what he was searching for. 

Bucky’s eyes shot open and he took a second to remember where he was-- not draped heavily over Sam and Steve in one of their rooms, but alone in his bed. He usually slept alone for the first few nights after returning from mission; as much as he wanted nothing more than to be with the others, post-mission nights also meant nightmares, which meant staying away from the last people he’d want to hurt in a dream-induced panic. It fucking sucked.  But he’d woken up for a reason. He’d had some of Sam’s mama’s special tea to knock himself into a semi-peaceful sleep, so... Someone’s here. He felt his heart rate kick into high gear, his muscles already tensing for a fight. His gleaming metal fingers inched under his pillow, where he kept a large hunting knife, and-- Something small leapt onto the bed and immediately bit his toe. He just barely kept himself from kicking out in terror, realizing quickly that... it was a cat. A kitten, really, small and dark in the dim light from the outside street lamps. What the fuck? Bucky let go of his knife and willed himself to calm down; unless Hydra had really changed their tactics recently, he doubted the cat was here to kill him.  He cautiously moved his foot away from the playful (and sharp) kitten, sitting up in bed to get a better look by flicking on the bedside lamp. It wasn’t very large, but it didn’t seem to know that; it was already crouched for another ‘attack,’ its little tail swishing back and forth restlessly. It seemed to be grey, with dark swirling marks all over its body. It was... kind of cute, actually.  “How the hell’d you get in here?” Bucky muttered, feeling the smallest smile tugging at his lips. He’d always liked cats, had wanted to adopt one-- but he assumed the other two weren’t keen on them; plus, their building had a strict no-pets rule. Bucky was watching Little Grey (he wasn’t the most poetic guy, sue him) prepare to attack his metal hand and hid it under his blanket, thinking that it probably wasn’t great for little kitten teeth. Or any teeth, for that matter. He offered his flesh hand instead, cautiously extending it to her for her to smell. She didn’t hesitate before pouncing on it, all energy and an excess of bravery. She kinda reminded Bucky of Steve and Sam, although Sam would vehemently deny being reckless. Yeah, right.  Soon enough, Little Grey fell asleep with her tiny head cradled in Bucky’s hand, and the idea that something so small and helpless trusted him ... it was almost too much. He watched her little paws twitch as she dreamed, and even when he fell asleep he didn’t move an inch. He didn’t want to wake her. ---  Bucky was spared wondering how he was going to feed the cat in the morning without alerting the others to her presence; the moment Bucky woke, he saw that she was sitting on the edge of the bed watching him. Waiting silently. Kind of creepy, actually.  Maybe the cat was more like him, after all.  Little Grey jumped nimbly to the floor, trotted over to the door, and let out an impatient mew.  “Shhh sh sh sh,” Bucky shushed her. He paused. He’d heard Steve make a similar plea yesterday when he was locked in his room, hadn’t he? The moment Bucky opened the door a crack, the kitten darted into the hallway. He... didn’t know what he’d expected, actually. He almost slipped on the wooden floor; his socked feet didn’t offer much traction as he tried to shuffle after Little Grey.  But it was too late. She’d disappeared into Sam’s room, having taken advantage of the partially open door. Bucky bit his lip and tried to make a hasty plan to scoop her out of there without waking Sam up. It shouldn’t be difficult; Wilson was a fairly heavy sleeper most of the time. If Little Grey could just keep quiet... Of course, she chose that moment to really let loose with a loud myaaaah that Bucky could hear clearly even from the hallway. And then two more loud, high-pitched mews followed.  He sighed and inched forward, already steeling himself to explain her presence.  “Stormy! Hey, you little thing, where’d you get off to, huh? Had me worried.” Sam’s voice rasped from the room, still hoarse with sleep.  Well, that was unexpected.  Bucky pushed open the door to discover Steve and Sam still tangled in the sheets, yawning and barely awake.  “--her name’s Slate,” Steve was correcting Sam. Sam scoffed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with one hand while scooping up the noisy kitten with the other.  “This is what you were hiding yesterday, Steve? Stormy?” “If by ‘Stormy’ you mean ‘Slate,’ then... yes.” Bucky entered the room fully, making the other two look up in varying levels of alarm.  “I can explain,” Steve started. “You left the window open, and I couldn’t kick her out--!” Sam protested. Bucky just shook his head and shuffled over to join them in Sam’s bed. “Her name’s Little Grey,” he said without further explanation. Steve made a face. “What happens when she gets bigger? ‘Little’ isn’t going to make sense...” “And what, ‘Slate’ is better?” Sam snorted. “What is she, nail polish?” The kitten was already playing, chewing on the string of Sam’s hoodie. He wasn’t even pretending to be mad about it, just watching her with a dopey smile. Steve gestured subtly to his phone on the nightstand, and Bucky picked it up and slipped it into Steve’s waiting hand.  Sam didn’t even notice them taking pictures of him cuddling and cooing at Stormy Slate Little Grey the kitten. “Okay, so. She played us,” Sam murmured. “Smart girl.” He looked up at the other two, and, seeing the pleading expression on Steve’s face, handed her over to the blond. She immediately started climbing his shirt, using her sharp little claws, but Steve barely flinched. “So... what now? Bucky asked. “Landlord won’t let us keep her,” Sam muttered. “We just moved here; we’ve got, what, 8 months left on the lease?” Steve sighed, hitching one shoulder higher so that the kitten wouldn’t tumble off. “She can be adopted out real easy, she’s cute...” Bucky offered without any real enthusiasm. There was a long pause.  “I mean... we can Internet search pet-friendly apartments, right?” Steve said moments later.  “Would be easy,” Bucky agreed. They both turned to look at Sam, who was chewing his lower lip and frowning.  “Okay, but one thing. If we’re breaking our lease, and packing up our whole life again for this little cat...” “Yeah?” “I get to name her Stormy.”

#if you're wondering what Stormy's favourite toy is #it's Mjolnir #fic #fan fic #fic prompts #writing #Samstevebucky #All-Caps #Sam Wilson #Bucky Barnes #Steve Rogers #kittens #cats #Marvel #my posts: the posts that hurt the most...s #me: I'll fill all these prompts! #also me: *swings between banging out 5 prompts in a week to taking 3 weeks on 1*