Decided to make Locarians stronger than super soldiers but not stronger than Spider-Man just to give myself a good reference and bc it fits with their lore (long story), but I also can't help but laugh at how much I think it would annoy both Steve and Bucky
More so Steve than Bucky, at least when it comes to Adelaide. Listen. Sometimes this man just wants to pin his wife to a wall and kiss her like they're in a shitty drama tv show, and it will forever drive him crazy how easily she gets out of it and pins HIM instead purely because she knows it annoys him. She's a big fat fucking tease and he shouldn't be surprised when going for his lil dom moment doesn't work the way he wants it to, but that doesn't mean it annoys him any less. And yeah, there's always Bucky, but it's not the same.
Bucky isn't bothered by having a strong wife, but he's always taken aback by his sister-in-law (one of them, anyway). With her personality, Bucky expects nothing less than for Adelaide to have the bite to back up the bark. Even with Mel, he's not surprised to have his ass handed to him during training because she's a lot like Adelaide in the sass category. Frankly, with Malcolm, he's always surprised that his brother-in-law can't pack the same punch bc Malcolm is adopted and just a measly human with no superpowers </3 who is also perpetually sad about it
But Peia? Little Miss Sunshine, Would Never Hurt A Fly, Picture Of Innocence Peia??? He's always amazed she's even survived the trauma she's been through, let alone that she can take care of herself
So when they end up as sparring buddies one morning during training, he automatically restrains himself. He goes easy. Dials back his speed and intensity and strength to the point that it's like she's fighting Malcolm. Maybe not entirely unthreatening because he's still highly trained, but certainly not something she'd worry about
Of course, she calls him out on his bullshit. Tells him to fight like he means it, to do whatever he needs to get in the zone, to see her head as a giant Hydra logo so he'll finally throw a decent punch. Between his own history with them and hers, that makes him mad enough to go full throttle. How they could do terrible things to him is one thing, but to her? And back when she was just a kid, too? He punched way harder and faster than he meant to.
He's actually offended when she catches his fist and holds it there with the same ease she'd hold a stack of papers, like it's the easiest thing she could possibly do, like it's not even there.
The vibranium arm, too; that much stronger and sturdier than the one he'd been born with, yet she didn't so much as flinch when it should've broken her hand on impact. And maybe it did. With her poker face and healing factor, he probably wouldn't even notice if it had broken.
Knowing her, knowing her style, knowing the part of her that's goofy and mischievous and a bit of a show-off in the same way as her beloved Peter is, he does his best to stop what's coming. Unfortunately for him, much in the same way her beloved Peter is (albeit not quite to the same degree), she's stronger than he is.
She flips him over. One fluid motion, barely deterred by his entire body tensing to stop it, landing him on his back so fast that he can barely register it. And she has the audacity to smile. "It's kinda fun to spar with someone else. Peter would never let me flip him like that unless he was really distracted. He's too strong. And too quick."
"Sometimes, I forget that it's not just the sister I married that's evil," he mumbles from the floor. He would expect that kind of taunt from Adelaide, but not from her. Not Peia. Not Little Miss Can Do No Wrong.
She makes a face that seems genuinely hurt, and she's got those puppy eyes that make him immediately regret even suggesting she could be anything less than kind. He actually feels bad for a moment. Just as he's about to apologize, she speaks up.
"How could you talk about Mel that way? That's so mean!" with a gasp so innocent he can almost believe it was real.
"I think you are actually the devil." He can't believe he got punked by her. Twice. He just lays on the floor and wallows in it and tries to ignore the searing pain in his back from how he landed when she tossed him like a ragdoll. He definitely sprained something. He'll be walking wonky for a while.
"Oh, I didn't hurt you, did I?" And this time, there's no tease in her voice, no sarcasm, just real concern and a dash of quiet. This time, the sad puppy eyes are genuine, perhaps a bit scared, begging for forgiveness she knows she doesn't need to ask for from someone who wouldn't dare suggest that she needs to be the one to say sorry.
Then she touches his hand, light and gentle and warm, and something soothing washes over his body that almost makes him forget the sharpness in his spine from just a moment ago. A high-pitched "ooh" of surprise leaves her lips and she wriggles around for a moment, stretching out the ache she took from him for a couple seconds before it's gone. Still on the floor, Bucky stares at her disapprovingly.
"You didn't have to do that."
"Oh, please! You would've been hobbling for three days with a back like that. It's my fault that you were hurting, in the first place."
"So what? If it had been your sister, she would've just teased me for all three days that I hobbled. Besides, I've had worse. And I know it's not comfortable for you to do that."
"I'm a Healer, Buck; it's what I do. It only hurt for a couple seconds, anyway. I've had worse," she echoes, eyes defiant. "Come on, we have a briefing to get to soon." He just grunts from his position on the floor.
"Gimme a minute, Sunshine, I'm old. Takes me a minute to get up. Don't you know that old people and floors don't mix?" Peia rolls her eyes, grabs his metal arm, and yanks him to his feet so easily that he feels like he only weighs five pounds. "I hate that you can do that. You're entirely too small to be as strong as you are. You're, what, 90 pounds soaking wet wearing wool?"
"115," she corrects in a small voice. "Without the wool or water, thank you very much."
"Doesn't change the fact that you look like a strong wind could knock you over. I genuinely fear for what would happen if you bulked up."
"I don't think I need to. I'm doing pretty good, as is."
"See, now we're just back to 'you're the devil' territory. You could at least pretend it was a bit of work to almost knock me out."
"Would a batch of your favorite cookies make you feel better?"
"It may not repair my ego, but it would repair my heart."