An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Characters: Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Peggy Carter
Additional Tags: Surveillance, It's Like Grand Central Station In Here, Brooklyn Boys, Power Couple, People Are Sick of Conceptual Art
Series: Part 1 of 4 Minute Window
Summary:
"Look, if they catch me," Bucky muttered, "they're either going to kill me or they're going to put me in a box with a little window and—Steve, I can't."
"C'mon," he (Barnes) said. "Show you something," and she followed him through the door and up a flight of battered stairs. There were two doors on the landing, and she had a quick glimpse into their apartment—a small square table and chairs, a tiny kitchen and a beat-up sofa beyond—before Barnes yanked that door shut; our life, not yours.
He opened the other door and she took a surprised breath: the studio had a curved glass roof like a greenhouse and was full of easels and paint cans. It was bright and smelled like turpentine. There was a picture in progress on the nearest easel—a girl on a barstool, lips curving as she smiled into her pint glass—but Barnes waved her away from that—"Commercial," he said. "He's doing that for some bar in Fort Greene"—and took her deeper into the studio. Here there were other paintings, lots of them; paintings she didn't understand, canvases covered with thick layers of paint in jagged lines of blue and black and white. She looked at them one after another and slowly began to feel a kind of violence coming off them; violence of feeling anyway. Clouds; or smoke, she thought. Ice.
Barnes was staring at them, too, and nodding to himself. "It all came pouring out of him," he said. "It's how he thinks. Sometimes he can't..." He chirped his hand absently; talk. "You know anything about painting?" Barnes asked her, and pursed his lips when she shook her head. "They're good," he said. "They're really good. I told him he should put a show together. He's worried they're too retro—not conceptual enough—but I think people have had it with that conceptual shit. You have an idea, write it down: you don't need paint for that. Such garbage in the museums, I can't tell you." He was staring at one of the canvases: blue and black and white, a smear of brown and red on one side. "Pouring out of him," he murmured, "one after the other," and then: "You take this from him, I'll kill the lot of you; every one."
Works inspired by this one:
Memories of Ice by danceswchopstck
[Podfic] 4 Minute Window by RevolutionaryJo
More Memories of Ice by danceswchopstck
Treasure, Buried by alby_mangroves
Last Flight by danceswchopstck
Sketch of Steve and Bucky (4 Minute Window) by still541
stuckyflix by kocuria-arts (kocuria)
Miniatures Inspired by 4 Minute Window By Speranza by Mellacita
Whole Bean Coffee by alby_mangroves
Before Chicago (a Four Minute Window interlude) by smlm
I don’t know if Speranza and friends are producing anything this year for 4MW, but that doesn’t mean we should forget their incredible series, that began in 2015, and only had a brief hiatus during the worst of Covid. Most posts were posted during the winter holidays. It was such a delight to look forward to!
Treat yourself to a holiday tradition and read the entire Four Minute Window series, along with enjoying its spectacular art by the best artists in the Stucky fandom!
I love you guys! Happy Holidays! @smlmsworld
