the demon!bucky and tiny!witch!steve au. i hope it's good!
Bucky was about halfway through his book, sitting sprawled out on his chair in his, well, lair, when he heard the far-off sound of a chant.
"Oh, no, no, no…" He said, frowning. He loved being here. Hell wasn’t so bad once you got used to it, and Bucky was quickly becoming one of the favored demons. He never had done any torture, but preferred to walk the earth, making deals at crossroads and talking to kids who summoned demons for dumb party tricks. You’d think someone of Bucky’s rank would do better than that, but Bucky didn’t much like torturing. He’d rather scare the shit out of some twelve year olds or trade souls for kisses. If he was being brought to Earth specifically, that meant he was being summoned. And there was no way he would willingly work for some punk witch.
"Ad ligandum eos pariter eos c-coram me." A voice said, faltering only once. Bucky had to commend him for only faltering once, but he was pretty annoyed. He was going to hang this puny, meddling human up by the entrails and personally take their soul down to the Cage just for interrupting his evening. Why did humans always summon at midnight? Demons needed sleep, too.
Bucky found himself in a red painted devil’s circle, surrounded by smoke. A pale young kid was sitting in the middle of some incense and lit candles, and he was so tiny Bucky wondered how this could possibly be a real witch. There was something about this person that made Bucky not want to hang his body by his intestines and send him to rot on the rack for eternity. His angry snark died on his lips as he studied this boy.
"Are you James?" The boy asked, a defiant look on his face.
"Call me Bucky," He said. He knew he could look quite frightening when he had his black suit on, and he let his eyes go fully black for effect. "What do you want?"
"I need a help. Like a familiar. But a person." The boy said.
"You summoned me to get you a familiar." Bucky said flatly.
"No. I summoned you to be my helper. I said the binding spell, so now you’re stuck." The boy said, trying to show he wasn’t afraid.
Bucky took a deep breath. The only thing he was stuck in was this devil’s trap. He could get out as soon as the boy opened it. The boy opened his mouth to talk, but only wheezed.
"Y-Yeah. Just gimme a minute." The boy said.
"You’re wheezing." Bucky said.
"How’d you figure that one out?" The boy asked, and Bucky would’ve been angry at the insolent response if the kid wasn’t doubled over and gasping for air.
"It’s the incense, isn’t it?" Bucky asked. "God, kid, you don’t need the incense.”
"Wanted… to be… sure. I… needed… you." The boy wheezed.
"Out of all the demons, you chose me. Why?" Bucky asked.
"You… seemed… like you… would help someone… who… needed it," The boy answered between rattles and coughs. "No one… ever… cursed your name…"
"That’s sweet of them. But I am still a demon, kid. What are you doing? Maybe I haven’t tortured anyone, but I have done a hell of a lot of deals. Do you know how many souls I’ve condemned to hell?” Bucky asked. Steve didn’t answer, and Bucky began to worry. If this kid died, Bucky was stuck in this devil’s trap until someone came to get him, and Bucky didn’t really like the smell of rotting flesh, hence the whole not torturing bit. And what if some higher witch came for this kid? They’d never believe it was Bucky’s actual body, not just something he’d possessed on the way up. Contrary to popular belief, not all demons were puffs of mobile black smoke, but no one ever believed that.
"Hey, kid, breathe. Just scrape a bit off this circle so I can help you." Bucky said.
"You’ll… leave." The kid said.
"Binding spell, remember?" Bucky said, knowing full well he wasn’t obligated to stay but wanting to at least help this kid.
The boy sighed and scratched it open. Bucky didn’t even step out, just crouched down and touched his shoulder. The boy’s wheezes subsided almost immediately.
"Yeah, thanks. My name’s Steve, by the way." The boy held his hand out to shake. He actually wanted to shake hands with a demon.
Bucky shook his hand, noticing the smudge of red and white chalk on his nose, but not saying anything. It looked cute, was all.
"How old are you?" Bucky asked.
"Eighteen." Steve answered.
"You sure?" Bucky asked, and Steve shot him a look. "Okay, okay. But isn’t eighteen a little young to be dealing with a demon?"
"Maybe. I just want someone to help me. School isn’t great, lots of kids make fun of me. My dad’s gone, and my mom just died, and they want me to go to the foster system, but I’m eighteen. So I have nowhere to go and no one to go to, and I thought maybe you could at least be a friend." Steve said.
"Okay, kid, this is why you get a therapist, not a demon." Bucky said.
"Does it look like I can afford a therapist?" Steve asked.
"Woah, slow down cowboy." Bucky laughed.
"So. What punks do you want me to smash for ya?" Bucky asked.
"Nobody! I just want you to be my friend. Just, like, come places with me, and be friendly." Steve said.
"You went through all the trouble of summoning a demon just to make a friend?" Bucky asked.
"No one else wanted to be my friend." Steve said, looking down, and Bucky pitied this human.
"Okay. Friendship. How does it work?" Bucky asked, and Steve’s whole face lit up.
Two weeks later, Bucky was wearing skinny jeans and a Miniature Tigers t shirt under a plaid button up with all the buttons undone. His combat boot-clad feet hung off the couch on one end, and his long hair, put in a bun and hidden in a beanie, hung off the other. Steve, in a similar outfit, declaring they were ‘hipsters’, was sprawled in between Bucky’s legs as they watched Scrubs. Once again, Steve had a smudge of chalk on his face from his earlier work trying to find a spell to make the plants in the yard grow faster.
"Can you believe this is the most medically accurate show on tv?" Steve asked.
"No way," Bucky responded. "That woman just said she knew someone had a baby because her uterus was glowing. A glowing uterus, Steve. I saw some crazy shit in Hell but no one’s uterus glowed.”
Steve laughed and leaned his head back against Bucky’s chest. Bucky reached a hand up and tugged off Steve’s beanie. He scritched Steve’s head lightly with one hand and traced circles on his arm with the other.
"Bucky, stop." Steve said.
"What?" Bucky asked. Steve got up and faced away from him.
"I’m gonna set you free tonight, okay? I-I know you have better things to do than hang out with a witch like me, and that’s okay. You can go back to your life, or whatever demons have, and I’ll go back to mine. It was nice to have a friend, but I don’t want to force you into a friendship." Steve frowned. Bucky sighed.
"Steve, you didn’t say it right." Bucky said.
"What?" Steve asked. Bucky reached for his hand and tugged Steve back.
"You faltered, and you messed up. I’m no more stuck here than your neighbors," Bucky confessed, looking Steve right in the eyes. "I’m here because I want to be. To be honest, at first, I was scared for you. I was going to make sure you could actually survive. But I got to know you, and you were stronger than you seem, and you’re a great person, and I’m here to be your friend of my own choice. I promise."
"Really? You want to be my friend?” Steve asked.
"There is nothing I would like more." Bucky said, smiling.
After a month of living on earth, Bucky found himself becoming more human than he’d been in hundreds of years. He was always touching Steve, whether he was wrapping him in a hug or scritching at his scalp or just resting his arm against Steve’s. Bucky found it was better to be nice to rude people just to make Steve smile and be proud of him. He did go full black-eyes at one boy who dared put his hands on Bucky’s Steve. Nobody was allowed to touch Bucky’s Steve. Bucky had gone full black-eyed and hissed, and that was the end of that. Steve had scolded him, of course he could have used his magic if he’d thought it was necessary, but he was smiling the whole time.
"Steve, I lied." Bucky said one sleepy morning as he leaned across the counter to take the coffee mug Steve offered him.
"About wanting to be friends." Bucky said. Steve’s face dropped and he looked like he might cry.
"I don’t want to be your friend. I want to be your, uh, your boyfriend." Bucky stumbled involuntarily.
"You jerk! I thought you were leaving me!" Steve almost sounded angry.
"I’m sorry! I don’t know how to communicate emotions!" Bucky said.
"Oh, just kiss me." Steve said, covering his face with his hands. Bucky obliged.
He tugged Steve’s hands away from his face and pressed a gentle kiss to Steve’s lips. He lowered his head to Steve’s neck and Steve stiffened. Bucky kissed Steve’s neck and Steve made a quiet noise. Bucky grew a cocky smile and lightly bit under Steve’s jaw and behind his ear and over his throat, ghosting his teeth over Steve’s adam’s apple and pressing his tongue over the red marks he left behind. He let his hands drift lower, playing with the waistband of Steve’s boxers. Steve’s hands went to his chest and pushed a little.
"Hey, uh, maybe not yet?" Steve said. Bucky nodded.
"Not ‘til you’re ready then." Bucky said, and moved his hands back around to hold Steve’s hips. He went back to kissing Steve all over his face and neck, trying to find the spots that made Steve make noises or go all jello-kneed. Steve spent an equal amount of time doing the same to Bucky, with the added bonus of finding out that if he put just the right amount of pressure behind Bucky’s ear, Bucky would make a loud, involuntary moan Steve loved to swallow up with a kiss.
Six months later, Steve woke Bucky up, shaking him.
"Guess what day it is?" He asked.
"The day you let me sleep past nine?" Bucky asked hopefully.
"No. It’s the one year anniversary since you came to me." Steve said.
"Oh, great." Bucky mumbled, turning his face into Steve’s shoulder and pressing him into the mattress.
"Bucky." Steve whined as Bucky nipped at his throat.
"I know stuff. I’m a witch." Steve said, trying to appear unaffected.
"And I’m a thousand year old demon. I got you, kid." Bucky said, rolling his eyes and going back to attacking the spot right under Steve’s jaw that made Steve shiver.
"Does it feel weird to sleep with a nineteen year old witch?" Steve asked.
"It feels fucking great, that’s how it feels," Bucky said. "Why, wanna go again?"
"Yes. Wait, no. We have to eat breakfast first!" Steve said, flustered.
"Why?" Bucky groaned, falling back.
"I used my super cool magic skills to make breakfast. And you’re going to enjoy my hard work." Steve said.
"Demons don’t enjoy such things as breakfast when there’s sex to be had.” Bucky joked.
"But I made cinnamon chip pancakes. With levitation. And I made plants climb all over the chairs." Steve frowned.
"Well, in that case, let’s go eat." Bucky smiled.
"So, a demon and a witch walk into a bar.." Steve started as they walked hand in hand to the kitchen.