Little drabble + Heavy on pictures for @stucky-week
Kissing for the world to see (also in AO3 where I will surely edit as crazy, haha)
Steve wants to kiss Bucky in the street. But he can’t, so they come up with a little something.
600 words. Drabble. Heavy use of Steve and Bucky's font. Bucky writes all Caps 8hehe), Steve not. My computes is basically dead by heat, so images are of questionable quality.
Their little scheme is born out of his sheer need on September 30, 1938. Steve remembers the date because it was on the paper he used.
It is his first time going for a walk around the block after yet another close call after dealing with a nasty ear infection gone south. And yes, it is their first time walking around the block because Bucky took the day off to celebrate. And probably because he didn’t trust Steve not to push it too hard.
Autumn’s beautiful golden light, street bursting with people enjoying the warm weather, Bucky talking non-sense right by his side...
And right at that moment, Steve feels actually good and happy: he feels healthy and so so in love that the need to kiss Bucky right there in the middle of the street paralyzes him and he has to stop for a second.
“You ok there, pal?”, the fact that Bucky realizes something is not right in less than a second doesn’t make things better.
“I’m ok, Buck,” he smiles at him and it works as reassurance. “Just… one second.”
Steve takes a piece of discarded newspaper from the floor, and uses the pencil he always carries with him to write something, handing it to Bucky.
“This is me, kissing you on the lips sweetly and way too long. As a thank you and because I love you.”
This is how it starts, but it’s now how it ends: It becomes something they do and it feels right, like a victory. They are much more subtle that Steve was on that first newspaper, but they just know that when they get those little notes, they are kissing for the whole world to see.
FIRT KISS SET:
January 23, 1940: Bucky on Steve’s notebok. “On your eyebrow, punk, you had bags under your eyes.”
May 19, 1941: Baseball during a match “See those lovebirds two rows down? Just like that”
December 9, 1941: On Bucky’s Draft letter, when they go to tell Bucky’s parents “Under your right eye. Sad and salty.”
March 10, 1942: Hot dog napkin while eating outside. “This tastes like mayo, but I’m not sorry. You’ll understand later. Happy birthday”
SECOND KISS SET:
June 14, 1943: on the 4F paper at an alley. “This one is angry and desperate. Sorry for the blood taste, they burst my lip”
June 15, 1943: Old paper left on the kitchen. “On the forehead to remind you about stopping with the stupid. And since we are home, an extra one on the lips. for luck.”
November 3, 1943: On Steve’s Notebook passed on to Bucky after rescuing him. “I’m keeping this one for later. A paper won’t be enough.”
November 15, 1944: Note on mission’s map, at a meeting. “That star on your chest. Over and under. For hours.”
THIRD KISS SET:
February 7, 1945: On a bottle at a destroyed tavern “On your hand holding mine. this is stupid now.”
April 11, 2011: On his own sketchbook, alone. “I would kiss you in public. I guess I could now. If.”
May 21, 2011: On Captain America’s Expo ticket. “Right at the corner of that smile you would have right now after reading all this bullshit.”
July, 2012: On a wet tree leaf by the Potomac. “I would…”
FORTH KISS SET
June 28, 2015: On a pride notebook. “Filthy on the street, feeling you up. But you are not here, so I just can imagine.”
July, 2016: On Bucky’s journal. “Your forehead. Sweetly. Because I remember.”
July, 2018: On a note passed on the Wakanda shore surrounded by children. “While dancing to 40s music. Inside now to make it happen? (I love you in wakandan)”
March 10, 2022: On a missing people poster. “Today I'm asking for one on my neck. To give me the strength to keep on trying.”
HOME
July 3, 2024: On a note inside Steve and Bucky’s book
“All over since we are both naked. Why aren’t you home yet? We can kiss on the porch now”.
December is here, so I've gathered twelve holiday Stucky fics to make this rec post for all of you. They're all perfect for reading under a blanket with the warm beverage of your choice.
Canon Holiday fics
❄️Paper tree | Ellessey | Explicit | 21,391 words
I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like pre-war fluff always has this extra softness to it, even more, somehow, than even the softest and sweetest of AUs. It just hits different. This wonderfully warm and feel-good holiday fic is such a perfect example of what I mean. Steve and Bucky are so sweet to, and about, each other in this fic, and I adore it. This one is also broken up into scenes that happen on different days as December goes on. I always enjoy that sort of formatting so much in a holiday fic, and, in this case, it also gives a whole month of delightful, endearing, and lovely pre-war moments.
Quote:
"It's a different taste, though! I want the authentic Mallo experience, in drink form."
"It's coconut. The different taste is coconut. We could make it ourselves."
Bucky's face lights up, and Steve adds another thing to his mental list of ways he can make those blue eyes get all happy and bright. He thinks about how many things he's not good at, how many things are so hard for him, but seem easy for everyone else with their perfectly functioning hearts, lungs, ears, and eyes.
And he thinks about how easy it's always been for him to make Bucky happy. Doesn't even seem like he has to try, but he likes to try anyway.
He drops another marshmallow in his own mug, and two in Bucky's, and thinks he could probably spend the whole rest of his life just trying and trying and trying.
❄️On the other end of the line | velleities | Teen | 9,385 words |
So, okay, only the last part of this fic takes place on Christmas. This fic does go through the rest of the year, too. But I feel like the Christmas-set resolution is significant enough to make this one solidly a holiday fic. It's also a gorgeous fic. It's a Post-TWS recovery fic that makes plenty of time for how not-okay Steve is, something I always really appreciate. Like I said, this fic takes them through a year, a Bucky-recovery year, and the growth and rediscovery of their relationship in that year is so well done. It's sometimes heartbreaking and sometimes sweet and always beautiful. I know calling a 9k fic a slow burn is debatable, so I won't say this is a slow burn. But I will say, that by the time this fic is done, these two have really earned their happy and romantic resolution.
Quote:
He can’t hold up a conversation. He doesn’t want Bucky to go – he craves his company – but he’s too drained to think of anything to say. He resorts to just feeling pitiful for himself, breathing in and out and listening to Bucky breathing in and out in return.
“D’you want to hang up?” Bucky asks gently.
“No,” Steve says hurriedly.
“Okay.”
Twenty minutes later, Steve is slowly drifting into sleep.
“Steve?”
“Mm?” Steve mumbles into the phone, cradling it as if cradling Bucky.
“G’night.”
“G’night, Buck,” he manages drowsily.
Steve somehow sleeps through the night.
❄️I got that good thing for you | canistakahari | Explicit | 5,830 words
You know that correct version of things where, these days, Steve and Bucky live in a nice brownstone in Brooklyn? And awful things have stopped happening to Bucky? And the events of Infinity War and Endgame definitely never occurred? And Steve and Bucky are really happy and super in love? Right. This fic happens in that world, and I love it. This is just so cozy and domestic. It's so low-stakes and so romantic. It's a holiday fic, and it's a fic about just how much Steve loves both making Bucky happy and seeing Bucky happy. It's also a fic about Bucky wanting to get the aesthetic exactly right for a specific sex fantasy. And honestly? They deserve that. We, as a fandom, deserve that. This fic is a joy.
Quote:
“I’ve spent a lot of time looking at pictures of other people's Christmas lights.” Bucky extricates himself from his blanket nest and walks right up to Steve, puts a hand on his chest, and kisses him firmly on the mouth. He is solid and soft at the same time, his hair carrying the faint scent of wood smoke and cold air from the tree farm.
“I'll get your lights,” mumbles Steve against his lips.
Bucky grins. “Yeah. I’ll make you cookies.”
Oh. Oh, Steve didn’t realize it was a trade. It doesn’t have to be, but Bucky is offering. “What kind?”
“Whatever kind you want,” says Bucky. He slides his hands down Steve’s chest, fingers tucked into the top of Steve’s jeans. “Even if you want nuts in them.”
Steve cocks his head. Bucky doesn’t make cookies often, but whenever he does, Steve counts every single one of his blessings. Bucky will eat two or three and then leave the rest to Steve to devour, which he does, often within the first twelve hours of them appearing. The whole batch.
❄️Home is the Human Heart | aimmyarrowshigh @aimmyarrowshigh | Teen | 3,194 words
This fic parallels two years: one in during the post-TWS recovery era and one when Steve and Bucky are young. The scenes go back and forth between the two years in a way that really sets this fic's tone. It's beautifully done, and there's a touch of a really lovely bittersweetness that never takes away from the warmth, joy, or hopefulness of this fic. I also really, really love how Steve goes about things, with and for Bucky, in the current era scenes. Also! This fic has a line near the end that hit me hard when I first read it and that I still think about all the time.
Quote:
Rachel crawls out from under the table. Bucky gets the jar of pennies he and Becca have been collecting for the last year, and Becca gets the dreidel. Rachel’s eyes go wide at the sight of all the money. There’s probably fifty cents clanking around in the jar.
“Steve, d’you remember how to play?” Bucky asks.
“Of course.” Steve sounds affronted. “How many years’ve I been losing to you, ya lousy cheat?”
“You can’t cheat at dreidel,” Bucky says, laughing. “Punk.”
“Jerk.”
“I don’t know how!” Rachel says. She kicks Bucky’s knee under the table. “I wanna play!”
❄️Two strangers in the bright lights | Claudia_flies | Explicit | 7,348 words
Listen, listen. It's a holiday fic! It's a post-TWS recovery fic! It's a tower fic! It's a fake dating fic! It's a damn delight, and you should read it. The love-struck, dopey-eyed, total disaster about each other, antics happening throughout this fic are just wonderful, truly. Bucky spends about 85% of this fic practically on Steve's lap . To make the fake dating look real and fool the other Avengers, of course. (Obviously, we need to do it this way, Steve! It has to be convincing, Steve!) And Steve spends about 85% of this fic absurdly happy about Bucky doing just that, and also noticing that doing these things seems to make Bucky happy, and then being even happier because Bucky is happy — but then not examining that too closely, because, you know, Bucky is clearly just really good at this plan and super committed to it. A joy of a fic that's so much fun to read.
Quote:
Steve finds the tablet discarded among the multitude of cushions on the couch while waiting for their new French press to finish brewing, and as soon as he touches the screen, it opens on a web page titled ‘10 Cute Holiday Winter Dates To Go On With Your Boyfriend’ written in an obnoxiously cutesy script.
The first one on the list is ice skating, and the next one is decorating the tree together. Each bullet point is accompanied by a cheap stock photo and some inane text about why this particular date is suitable for a cute winter romance.
Gently, Steve closes the tablet and carefully places it back where he found it.
He pours the coffee into two matching mugs and carries them into the still-dark bedroom. Bucky mumbles something resembling a “thank you” from underneath several pillows and most of the covers as Steve places the steaming cup on his bedside table.
Steve smiles and climbs back into the bed, sitting up against the headboard with his coffee and a book.
It’s probably the most perfect Sunday morning he’s had in a lifetime.
❄️(I'll be home for Christmas) if only in my dreams | crinklefries | Teen | 13,728 words
A 5+ 1 that looks at 5 earlier holidays, but starts and ends on the current one, one that Steve and Bucky are spending together, in Wakanda. It's an emotional gut punch of a fic, in the best and most satisfying of ways. I love the holidays this fic chooses to showcase, the little stories it chooses to tell, and the moments it chooses to share. I love the wonderfully sweet holiday tradition it creates for Steve and Bucky. I love the way that tradition becomes something that is so important and so meaningful that they're able to keep it, even when it should have been impossible. Really gorgeous stuff.
Quote:
For the first time since his capture, Bucky feels safe.
They’re in a fucking goddamn ditch killing fucking goddamn Nazis on fucking goddamn Christmas, but Bucky can hear Steve’s heart beat, strong and steady under his ear, and he feels safe.
Maybe because it’s Christmas day, but there are no shots fired. It’s mostly quiet, the group of them in their respective ditches, tensed, just waiting. Someone--Dugan, he thinks, or maybe Gabe Jones--starts singing a Christmas song and then the rest of the start singing too. Steve’s never had much of a singing voice, but he tries and Bucky tries not to smile.
AU Holiday Fics
☃️'tis the damn season | chicklette | Explicit | 4,625 words
A fic about a Steve and Bucky who grew up together, were together as teenagers, and who, if they're being honest, have been in love their whole lives. But they're adults now, and they refuse to hold each other back. This a general premise that comes up decently often in Stucky AUs, and I'm typically into it for them. I can see these two and their stubborn, self-sacrificing ways, each deciding that they were the thing stopping the other from a goal/plan/the general idea of growing up. It's a very specific sort of exes-to-lovers story, and it leads to a very specific feelings reveal, one that's not "I'm in love with you," but instead, "I've never gotten even a little bit over you." It's something that can work so well for these two, sometimes, and this fic is an example of it being done just absolutely gorgeously. It's warm and painful and sexy all at once — until its wonderfully romantic resolution.
Quote:
Steve’s hair is a little long on top, and he’s rocking a scruffy beard, and fuck him for looking so goddamned good.
It isn’t fair, Bucky thinks, mixing the drink. It isn’t fair that he looks so fucking good, that he looks exhausted and stressed out and kind of sad, and he’s still the best thing Bucky’s ever seen.
It isn’t fair that Steve shows up every year at Christmas and it is Christmas, it’s a fucking gift and Bucky looks forward to it all damn year, but this year there was a little dread too because every year it takes him a little longer to let go.
☃️I've got a lot to pine about | cable-knit-sweater @cable-knit-sweater | Mature | 6,113 words
I just love a fic about people who are having Totally Very Casual sex, and who are both convinced they are the only person in this situation who has developed feelings. A fic about people who are pining while actively hooking up. 10/10. Great trope. This fic is that trope, used at Christmas, and it's wonderful. There are so many feelings! There are ridiculously cute seasonal activities! There are sweet holiday gestures! There are two absolute idiots in love, being painfully obvious about how in love they are — while both being certain, just completely convinced, that the other is definitely only here for the casual sex! There is a romantic holiday resolution! Just a complete delight.
Quote:
Once they get there, though, he forgets about his worries and actually has a good time. There’s a small Christmas market, a stall with hot chocolate and apple cider, and he’s surrounded by his friends. Even Steve seems to be feeling a little better about the whole festive season, and Bucky likes to think he played a hand in that.
What makes it all even better is that Steve is wearing the earmuffs Bucky bought him. He looks ridiculously cute, like Bucky’d expected. The fact that Nat tells Steve he looks cute and makes him blush and grumble a little annoyedly, makes it absolutely perfect.
At some point, he doesn’t get away with just staying on the sidelines and sipping his hot chocolate, and Steve drags him onto the ice. He must notice how Bucky is a little nervous.
“I’ll hold your hand?” Steve offers. “I’ll make sure you don’t fall. I got you.”
☃️If Only in My Dreams | odetteandodile | Teen | 28,317 words
A holiday rom-com. A joy. Sweet, trope-filled, funny, and so very romantic. This fic has a Hallmark Channel-worthy premise in the most fun and most wonderful way. I am a firm supporter of Steve and Bucky getting to have a rom-com life. Instead of, you know, the relentless tragedy of canon. I also really enjoy that, unlike many actual Hallmark Movies, the central conflict continuing to be a conflict throughout the fic is completely believable and understandable. And then, when we get to the end, it's all resolved in such a satisfying (and romantic! and lovely!) way.
Quote:
He’s been so good today, so laser-focused on taking Sam’s advice to heart and throwing his all into his work—into cementing this dream he’s been working toward for nearly three years. It was steadying to apply himself to the tangible things he could make and do, utterly rooted in reality.
But the thing is—Steve is real. He may look like a fantasy somebody invented to torture Bucky this week, but he’s a flesh-and-blood person. And he’s looking back at Bucky like Bucky is the dream guy.
Bucky doesn’t make a move to step any closer. All of his words and common sense have abandoned him. So he just stands with his heart hammering foolishly against his ribs at the edge of the room.
Steve doesn’t look away. But after a moment he squares his shoulders and stands, his full height and broad chest emphasized under the cut of his uniform, light glinting off the medals and ribbons on his coat.
☃️Whose arms will hold you | biblionerd07 | Gen | 10,843 words
The first of two fics on this list to feature a holiday road trip home from college, a snowstorm, and, yes, only one bed. This one is a meet-cute, and wow, is it cute. Seriously, this fic is just so, so very sweet. When I was pulling this list together, I quickly reread over this fic and hit a moment that made my breath catch when I remembered what was about to happen. It's a moment that made me think, "Oh god, that's right. This is that fic!" And then my heart did a fluttery thing. Also, we've got an alive and well Sarah Rogers in this one, and the conversations Steve has with her are just as lovely and delightful as everything else about this fic.
Quote:
"I didn't realize you were trying to impress me."
"Why wouldn't I be?" James says, arching an eyebrow in a way that makes Steve's stomach lurch a little. Is James flirting with him? He can feel his cheeks heating up a little. James is apparently oblivious to his internal turmoil, because he goes to his duffel and roots around. He emerges with a pack of cards.
"Wanna play?"
Steve doesn't know how to play poker. But James doesn't know how to play gin, so they're sort of at an impasse until Steve says,
"Well…what about Go Fish?"
And that's how two grown college-students end up playing Go Fish on a dusty motel bedspread, eating apple pie that tastes a little old but not terrible.
☃️Not the same river at my fingertips | giselleslash | Expicit | 11,021 words
And now the second road-trip-home-from-college-for-the-holidays (but then a snowstorm! And a motel room!) fic on my list. This one is not a random ride-share meet-cute. This one is about a Steve and Bucky who had a one-night stand years ago, and who haven't stopped thinking about each other since. But: miscommunication. So they're both pretty sure the other has never given them a second thought. But it's fine because they're both totally okay about that. They're very mature about it, okay? They can handle this road trip without any weird tension. They definitely won't make things worse by talking about the thing where they're each convinced the other doesn't like spending time with them. And the combination of the tension, the memory of their one-night stand, and the fact that they're both, actually, obsessed with each other will absolutely not lead to anything at all when they have to get a motel room to wait out a snowstorm. Not even when there is, of course, only one bed.
Quote:
“You’ve brought me a truly beautiful feast.”
Bucky laughed at that and Steve instantly felt a hundred percent warmer than he had before. Even Bucky’s fucking laugh was sexy.
It was horrible.
Bucky had slipped off his boots and grabbed two of the plastic cups from the small tray that held them and an ice bucket.
“Gimme,” he said as he waved his fingers at the bottle of tequila Steve still had clutched in his hand for some reason.
He handed over the tequila and Bucky crawled onto the bed with it. He sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed and patted the mattress next to him.
“Bring the food and hop on,” he said.
Steve got the food containers and did just that.
Bonus:
⛄Here Comes Santa Claus | AidaRonan | Explicit | 6,755 words
So, as I've mentioned before, I hesitate to include recs for fics that are primarily smut (and very, very little plot) on these themed rec lists. Mostly because primarily smut fics are just sorta their own thing. That is a theme. But. I'm making an exception, because truly, you guys, here in Stucky we've got fics for so many scenarios. There is just fic for a seemingly endless amount of scenarios. For instance, there's this one. It's Santa Steve fic about, well, Steve, as Santa (but looking like Steve!), repeatedly visiting (an adult!) Bucky on Christmas, and it eventually leading to sex in Santa's sleigh. And, really, I've gotta say, I love that for us. I love that this fic exists. So I felt like I had to include it with these holiday recs. Even if it very much is primarily smut.
Quote:
“You’re standing under the mistletoe,” Bucky says, and Steve looks up.
“Huh. How ‘bout that,” he says, before going back to his work. “What’s the rule if you’re under the mistletoe alone? Jerk off?”
“Jesus, are you allowed to talk like that?”
“I can talk however the fuck I want.”
“Pretty harsh language from Santa Claus.”
“Language is a construct like time and gender. And ‘fuck’ is really fun to say. Harsh consonants. So satisfying.” Santa slides a small gift box between branches in the tree. “Besides, no one but you is awake to hear me.”
I’m not saying there’s only one way to write, but when I’m stuck, I go for a walk in the woods until the answer comes to me. Not ten answers. THE answer. The answer to how to tell the story I want to tell, in the way I want to tell it.
Art takes time. It takes mistakes. It takes courage. And we’re devaluing it by just trying to make products as quickly as possible.
I don’t want to have a book. I want to write a book.
i got a fucking. advertisement on youtube. from google ai. saying. without sarcasm and with complete sincerity. "if shakespeare is too hard for you, you can always have our ai explain it to you." im gonna throw up. im gonna throw a molotov cocktail. if i see that ad again im reporting it for hate speech. how fucking dare you. i will kill you with my bare hands. with my exit pursued by a bear hands. i will tear google headquarters down brick by brick. im going to start biting people.
i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: what we want is for these things to be run like a HOUSEHOLD… a home. A household still has a budget and an income and resources to manage; all the moving parts are the same but the focus is different.
a business will let every person in it die a terrible death if it makes the business profit. A household will spend it’s last dollar to keep the people in it safe and healthy.
A household will use money as a resource to add value to the lives of the people in the household. A business will use people as a resource to add monetary value to the business
We don’t want a government run like a business, we want a country run like a household. Because we live here.
Just don't make me sing. @hartsmuse - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
