Technically it's no longer Mermay, but it's still May in parts of the US soooo, it still counts! Anyway, this year Bucky is merman. I decided to not give him his metal arm because he's a mythical creature but also l just liked how the skin came out! I knew l wanted to add Namor again, but l really had no clear idea of what l was going to do, so l just improvised. Princess Shuri is chillin' on shore observing these two fantastical beings. I rushed the background, but l might go back and rework it on my Wacom...once l learn how to use it properly.
My expensive markers caused so many problems. 🤦🏽♀️ Anyway, Bucky's Valentine's Day date with Shuri included some ice skating because of course Bucky knows how to ice skate. Shuri's ice skating skills are about as good as mine, ha!
Pairings: Shuri x Bucky Barnes, Shuri x Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes x Shuri x Steve Rogers
Word Count: ~9k
Warnings: 18+!!, NSFW, dirty talk, sexting, slight Jealous!Bucky and Jealous!Steve
Additional Tags: polyamory, Steve is barely holding it together, Shuri and Bucky are having entirely too much fun
Chapter Summary: Party time, y’all 😈
A/N: I know it’s been so long 😞 I’m incredibly sorry about that. I’ve really been going through some things, and I hate that I haven’t updated in such a long time. I hope those of you who are still along for the ride can forgive me. I hope this next update is enjoyable. Planning to get Chapter 21 out a little sooner to make up for my lateness. Please like, reblog, comment, kudos, share, etc., it will make my day! I love you all 💜💜💜
By the time they reach the venue, Steve’s left foot has joined his right in its nervous tapping. He's practically vibrating in his seat. The Lyft has barely rolled to a stop when he opens his door, thanking their driver as he quickly sends a tip through the app and steps out into the warm night air.
His heart skips as he turns to watch Bucky walking around the back of the car to meet him. Bucky’s sapphire eyes practically twinkle in the glow of the city lights, brimming with mischief as he flashes Steve a lopsided grin. The shirt and pants he wears fit as if they were made for him. It dawns on Steve that they probably were, likely at the Princess’ behest. She has an excellent eye for fashion and she knows her husband, because the ensemble enhances his features in exactly the right ways.
Bucky gives him a knowing look as he steps up onto the curb. “You ready?”
Steve gestures ahead of him. “When you are.” Bucky claps him on the back as they both turn to make their way toward the restaurant. “Did Riri pick this place?”
Bucky nods. “That’s what Shuri said. I guess Peter and MJ brought her here when she first joined the team, and she really loved it. I think the club is on the second floor, and Shuri said there’s a bar up top.”
“That’s convenient,” Steve says with a chuckle. He reaches for the door, opening it for Bucky. Bucky smirks and nods his head as he steps into the soft glow of the restaurant, Steve following right behind him.
The establishment is clearly on the swankier side, with several chandeliers hanging over a mahogany bar. Velvet loveseats and leather chairs in rich colors are interspersed throughout, surrounding small tables of dark wood, with candles set atop them. A long, L-shaped booth takes up one of the far walls, illuminated by even more chandeliers and color-changing ambient lighting.
The place is jam-packed with partygoers milling about and chatting excitedly. Steve’s eyes pass over familiar and not-so-familiar faces, only concerned at the moment with finding one familiar face in particular.
Her laugh rings out, and he snaps his head to the right, only to be immediately distracted by a firm hand on his left shoulder.
“Hey!” Sam says jovially. “And I thought I was gonna be the last one to show up.”
Steve chuckles. “It took me a little longer than I thought to figure out what I wanted to wear, so…” he shrugs, eyes flickering briefly in the direction from which he’d heard Shuri’s laughter only a second ago.
“Yeah, whatever. Y’all are just trying to upstage me, comin’ in here fashionably late dressed like a couple of Calvin Klein models.” Sam waves a hand dismissively. “Buck, I know you didn’t pick that outfit out yourself. That has Shuri written all over it.”
Bucky grins broadly and smooths a hand down the front of his shirt. “My baby has taste, what can I say?”
“At least somebody does,” Sam jests. His gaze flits up to Bucky’s hair. “Your hair still looks good. I told you Gerald would hook you up, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, yeah, you did.” Bucky throws a playful left hook into Sam’s shoulder. “You clean up pretty well, too. You get this dressed up for yourself, or did you bring a date?”
Sam breathes out a soft chuckle, straightening the collar of his burgundy button-down. “Don’t worry ‘bout all that.”
Steve arches a brow at the cryptic answer, lips curving up at one corner. “Come on, you can tell us,” he says with a wink.
Sam shakes his head. “What about you, Rogers? Lookin’ all expensive in your tailored pants and shirt. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear all black before. It’s a good look.”
“Thanks,” Steve mumbles, heat rising to his cheeks.
“Who’d you get all dressed up for?” Sam asks.
Bucky turns toward Steve and tilts his head, lips twitching at the corners as he suppresses a smirk. “Yeah, who did you get all dressed up for?”
Steve briefly narrows his eyes and tries to communicate a clear-but-silent ‘fuck you’ to his boyfriend as he gives him a friendly smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Bucky’s lips part, no doubt with some smart-ass retort on the tip of his tongue, when his eyes flicker to the space just beyond Steve’s right shoulder. Bucky’s eyebrows raise practically to his hairline at the same time that Steve registers the familiar click of heels moving in his direction. He would recognize those footsteps anywhere.
Additional Tags: Bucky is a brat, he and Steve are both simps (what else is new 🙃)
Chapter Summary: It’s almost party time 😉
A/N: It has been… quite a past couple of months for me, and truthfully a rough last couple of weeks. I meant to have this up muuuuch sooner. Please forgive me for the incredibly long wait. Hopefully the *ahem* content makes up for it. Thank you so so SO much for sticking with me. Next chapter is the party for real, I promise lol. Please like, reblog, kudos, comment, share if you enjoy! It means the world to me and you all are amazing 💜
Steve shifts on the couch, stretching his legs out so that his feet rest on Bucky’s thighs. His eyes drop to Bucky’s lap and back up, and he tilts his head. “Don’t talk a big game if you’re not gonna back it up.”
Mouth falling open in surprise, Bucky turns in his seat to face Steve fully. “Now when have I ever done that with you?”
“There’s a first time for everything, right?” Steve is full on grinning now, an enticing shade of red creeping up his neck.
“Don’t mouth off if you can’t handle the consequences.”
Steve lets out a snort. “What makes you think I can’t?”
“Please,” Bucky says with a roll of his eyes. “With the way you caved after our little panty prank? I knew you were gonna sing like a canary the second Shuri put her pussy in your face.”
“Hey! That is… okay that’s fair, but-“
“Exactly.”
“Wait, but you almost caved, too.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t.”
“Only because she taped your mouth shut.”
“Semantics.”
Steve chuckles. “Whatever. I’m sure I can handle whatever you throw at me.” He lifts his chin in defiance.
Bucky’s pulse speeds up, and he drops his voice a level. “Are you, now?” He slowly removes Steve’s feet from his lap, then crawls over him until he’s caging him in on his end of the couch. “Don’t act cocky, pretty boy.”
Steve’s nostrils flare as his eyes drop to Bucky’s mouth. “Not an act.”
“That so?”
“Hm.”
Holding Steve’s gaze in challenge, Bucky tilts his head. “You know what I think?”
“What’s that?”
Placing his hands on the armrest behind Steve, Bucky leans in a little more. “I think you’re all talk. I think you’re just a sweet little puppy who thinks he’s too big for his leash.”
The intoxicating, clean scent of Steve’s body wash fills Bucky’s nostrils as he takes a deep inhale. When Steve nips at his lips, Bucky just barely holds in a gasp. Steve’s pupils are dilated, and the mischievous little grin on his face is way too smug.
Having a rough go as of late, but I’m going to try to dive back into working on my fics. I’m currently editing chapter 19 of Playing With Fire, for those of you who are looking forward to it. And of course, my brain decided I don’t have enough to work on, so here’s a snippet from an upcoming wip.
Untitled, but it’s Shuri x Bucky, set during The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, right after the trio leaves Madripoor. Bucky is still reeling from having to pretend to be TWS, when he gets an unexpected phone call.
~~~
He almost doesn’t answer it.
The name flashes across his screen and his heart just stops. Leaps right into his throat, cutting off his air supply.
The phone keeps ringing and ringing.
And ringing.
Guilt winds itself around his gut then, squeezing until bile starts to rise. What the hell is he supposed to say? Does she know about Zemo? Should he tell her?
His phone keeps ringing, and his heart starts up again, faster, erratic. Pull your shit together, Buck. He’ll regret it more if he doesn’t just pick up now.
Swallowing the bile down, around the stubborn lump in his throat, he taps the screen and lifts the phone to his ear.
“Hi.”
“Are you alright?”
His pulse instantly slows at the sound of her voice, like some kind of sedative has been shot into his veins, and he just barely suppresses a sigh.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” he murmurs, standing from his seat. Sam frowns up at him in question and Zemo gives an irritating arch of his brow. Bucky waves them off, gives a slight shake of his head before retreating to the back of the cabin.
Shuri snorts on the other end of the line. “When have you ever known me to turn in before midnight?” Bucky breathes out something resembling a chuckle. Damn, he’s missed her. “You didn’t answer my question,” she continues, “are you alright?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Bucky can almost hear her rolling her eyes. “Don’t bullshit me, Barnes. You ignore my calls for weeks, don’t even bother to text. And then, out of nowhere, I stumble on a video posted online of The Winter Soldier wiping the floor with some lowlifes in Madripoor?”
Bucky winces. Shit, the internet works fast. “Ah. Yeah.” He drops his head, pinches the bridge of his nose. “About that…”
“I don’t need to know the details, James.” Ouch. His actual first name. She’s never said it like that before. It freezes the guilt in his gut like ice so that it sits there, cold and sharp. Shuri sighs, and the guilt scrapes at his insides. “I just needed to make sure you’re still you.”
Bucky swallows. The lump in his throat refuses to budge. He glances over his shoulder again to find Sam trying - and failing - to pretend he’s not eavesdropping. Bucky turns back around and lowers his voice. “You having doubts about your work, Your Highness?”
He can’t help the fondness that bleeds into his tone as he uses her official title, so that it sounds more like an endearment than a sign of respect.
Shuri scoffs, and it makes the corners of his lips twitch. “Of course not. Are you?”
“‘Course not.”
“Good. Just- whatever you’re mixed up in…” she pauses. Her voice is lower when she speaks again, weighed down with fatigue and something else he can’t quite pinpoint. “Just take care of yourself, Buck. The programming may be gone, but I know his memories are still in there. I’m willing to bet you’re still having a nightmare or two.”
Bucky’s breath catches in his chest. His pulse pounds in his ears. It’s almost scary how well she knows him.
“That’s what I thought. You don’t have to talk to me, that’s fine.” She sniffs, and the ice in his gut shoots straight to his heart. “Just talk to someone other than that court-mandated therapist. Don’t lose yourself in whatever mess you’re caught up in, yeah?”
The line goes dead just as he’s opening his mouth, and his heart drops from his throat to his stomach, right on down to the floor.
