I've always felt that the story of Steve and Bucky, particularly as told in Captain America: The First Avenger, had a lot in common with the Ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. For that reason, I have chosen to fill the Mythology AU square on my Wintershield Bingo card by creating a moodboard to draw narrative and visuals parallels between these two tragic love stories.
Orpheus & Eurydice
Orpheus was an artist, the greatest lyre player in the world, who was happily married to the love of his life, the beautiful Eurydice. Their happy life together gets cut short, however, when Eurydice is bitten by a viper and dies, leaving a heartbroken Orpheus behind. Orpheus cannot accept his true love’s death, and so he travels to the Underworld on a quest to get Eurydice back.
Orpheus manages to overcome various hurdles, such as getting past Cerberus, the three-headed hound who guards the gates to the Underworld, and finally pleads with Hades, the king of the Underworld to let Eurydice live again. Hades allows this on one condition: Eurydice is to follow behind Orpheus while walking out of the darkness of the Underworld towards the light of the land of the living, but Orpheus should not turn to look at her before she is fully out in the light again. However, as they begin to ascend towards the land of the living, Orpheus, afraid that his lover is no longer behind him, looks back to make sure she is following, causing Eurydice to tragically fall back into the shadows and be trapped in the Underworld once more.
Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes
Steve and Bucky are very close friends and most likely even lovers, who live a mostly happy life together in Brooklyn. When World War II breaks out, Bucky is drafted and joins the army, while Steve stays behind in New York. In Italy, Bucky's squad is taken by the enemy, and he is kept prisoner in a dark, abandoned factory housing the lab of Hydra (incidentally also a multi-headed beast from Greek mythology).
When Steve, who received a superserum which turned him into the world's greatest soldier (as well as an artist), eventually also joins the army and gets to Italy, he is told Bucky is most likely dead. Steve point blank refuses to accept that, and embarks on a one man rescue mission - a quest, if you will - to get Bucky back. Armed with a wooden shield, the shape of which bears a similarity to a lyre, overcomes numerous obstacles, fighting Hydra goons and even Red Skull, who looks like the devil incarnate. Steve manages to free Bucky and even jumps over what strongly resembles the fiery pits of hell to get to freedom, only to lose Bucky again a short while later, when Bucky tragically falls from a train and is subsumed once more into the Underworld, i.e. Hydra’s claws.
Aside from the many narrative parallels, many visual parallels also exist between depictions of Orpheus and Eurydice in classical art and various scenes and images in CA:TFA. The moodboard above attempts to illustrate these parallels and similarities.
Tags: Shrunkyclunks; Schmoop; Fluff; Smut; Virgin Steve; Getting Together; Meet Cute; First Time; Post Avengers - 2012; Age Difference; Medical Doctor Bucky; Identity Porn; Identity Reveal; Banter; Humor; Size Kink; Belly Bulge; Top Steve; Bottom Bucky.
Summary: Fresh out of the ice, Steve makes a trip to the farmer's market and finds a few simple things worth living in the future for. Namely: apples, and the hot guy selling them.
AO3 Favorite Tags Bingo @ao3tagbingo: Loss of Virginity
Steve Rogers Bingo @steverogersbingo: Schmoop
Bucky Barnes Bingo @buckybarnesbingo: Free Space
Stucky Bingo @stuckybingo: First Date
Wintershield Bingo @wintershieldbingo: Secrets
Happy new year! I hope you enjoy this completely seasonally inappropriate fall-weather-themed story! (Sorry I'm late... I tried, y'all.) This is a fluffy meet-cute inspired by a bunch of bingo squares. A bit fluffier than I usually write--all sweet, no tart. (Lots of spice, though). The first 10 chapters are up now, and the other 4 chapters will be up within a week.
Tags: Angst, Injuries, Weapons, Blood, Sacrifice, Mind Control, Crying, Loss of Sleep, Not Eating, Fighting, Eventual Fluff
Word Count: Around 1000
Written For: @wintershieldbingo @whumpmasinjuly-archive
Squares/Prompts Filled: G5 - Sacrifice for WinterShield Bingo | Whumpmas In July Day 28 - Fill someone's whump prompt from Day 4.
Dividers By: @/saradika-graphics
A/N: I decided to fill the prompt that @lady-wallace created. It just screamed Stucky to me. Their prompt was: Self-sacrificing whumpee gives themselves up for their friend/team. Let's themselves be captured so the others can go free even though they know very well what awaits them at the hands of the whumper.
The Hydra base was a fortress. It was buried in the jagged peaks of the Alps, hidden beneath layers of cold concrete and colder secrets.
They had barely breached the lower levels when everything fell apart. They were never supposed to split up.
That was the rule.
Steve had clung to it like a lifeline because if he had Bucky beside him, he could survive anything. They could survive anything.
But this mission was different.
Hydra had been building something. Bigger than any of them expected. An underground city of soldiers and secrets. And somewhere in its core…a weapon, or information about one. One they couldn’t allow to remain in Hydra’s hands.
The team went in together.
The chaos started instantly.
Natasha screamed over comms, “EMP blast! Tony’s down!”
Bruce was in the middle of trying to stabilize the walls with raw strength while the ceiling crumbled.
Steve and Bucky were shoulder to shoulder in the center corridor, barely keeping the enemy at bay. Blood stained Bucky’s lips, but he was still fighting. Still with him.
Until the walls began to groan.
Until the blast door to the intel room began to fall.
Until Steve realized, if they didn’t leave now, they’d be buried alive.
“We have to go!” Steve barked.
But Bucky was still fighting. “We can’t! Nat’s not clear yet-”
Then came the alert. A flood of Hydra soldiers pushing in from the south wing. They’d be surrounded.
“Steve!” Tony’s voice cut through, desperate. “We’ve got a window...now or never!”
Steve grabbed Bucky’s wrist. “We run. Together.”
And then...he felt it.
That slight shift in Bucky’s grip. The kind that said goodbye.
“I’ll hold them off,” Bucky said.
“No. NO!”
But Bucky had already pulled free. Already turned.
He shoved Steve toward the others with such force it knocked him off his feet. “Go, Stevie. Don’t make this harder.”
“BUCKY!”
“Don’t you dare come back for me.”
Steve tried to chase him, scrambled to his feet, but Bruce caught him. Wrapped massive arms around him, held him still while Steve thrashed like a rabid animal.
“Let me go! He’s going to give himself up! HE’S GOING TO LET THEM TAKE HIM!”
“Steve...he’s trying to save us.”
Steve screamed. A guttural, broken noise that didn’t sound human.
And as Bucky disappeared into the shadows, Steve saw the glint of silver, his arm, just before the wall behind him exploded and cut them off.
The ride back to the compound was silent.
Steve sat in the back of the Quinjet, staring at nothing. Natasha sat across from him, her side stitched and her face pale, eyes fixed on the floor.
Tony looked back at Steve but didn’t say anything.
No one could.
Steve hadn’t spoken a single word since Bucky was taken.
He wouldn’t let anyone clean his wounds. Wouldn’t let Bruce check him. Wouldn’t answer when anyone tried to talk.
The second they landed, he vanished into their shared quarters. The bed still smelled like Bucky. His jacket was still hanging over the back of the chair.
Steve didn’t sleep. Didn’t eat.
He searched.
Every day. Every night.
A corkboard filled with red string and Hydra information. Dozens of pictures. Dossiers. Footage. He watched one grainy surveillance video over and over again. Bucky, being dragged down a hallway, limp but alive.
Tony begged him to stop.
Natasha left protein bars outside his door.
Bruce ran interference with Fury.
Steve didn’t care.
All he could hear was Bucky’s voice: “Don’t you dare come back for me.”
But he would.
He had to.
Steve found the hidden Hydra compound by accident, or maybe by divine intervention. He didn’t care which.
Romania. A mountainside bunker, long abandoned to any official records. But it was still running. Lights on. Heat signatures. And one of them was Bucky’s. Heartbeat, respiration...him.
Steve went in alone.
Like a man possessed.
He crashed through the front gate with his shield and a scream. Knocked down every guard in his path, tore apart automated defense systems with his bare hands.
Down the corridor. Through the steel doors.
And then there he was.
The Winter Soldier.
Cold metal gleamed under the flickering fluorescent lights.
His hair was trimmed. His uniform was Hydra colors. His face…dead. No spark. No warmth. Just ice.
“Soldat. Engage.” The voice over the loudspeaker.
“Target: Steve Rogers.”
Steve barely had time to brace before Bucky was on him.
The fight was brutal.
Steve didn’t hit to kill. He took every punch, every slam, every ruthless attack because this wasn’t just an enemy.
This was Bucky.
His Bucky.
“Come on!” Steve yelled as Bucky pinned him to the wall. “You know me!”
Bucky’s face didn’t flicker.
“Your nickname for me is punk! You used to patch me up after fights I couldn’t win! You kissed me under the fireworks at Coney Island...you loved me!”
Bucky struck him again. Hard. Blood poured from Steve’s mouth. He crumpled to the ground.
And still, he looked up. “I’m not leaving you, Buck. I’m never leaving you again.”
He reached into his pocket, slowly, and pulled out a dog tag.
Bucky’s old tag. Bent. Scratched. Worn with love.
He held it out, hand shaking. “This was yours. I kept it. I wore it every day you were gone. Because I needed to believe you’d find your way back.”
Bucky’s hand trembled. A flicker. A glitch in the programming.
Steve forced himself to his feet. Eyes burning. “You remember me. I know you do.”
“No,” Bucky growled.
But it wasn’t certain. It was breaking.
Steve took another step. “Then kill me.”
Bucky froze.
“If you’re gone...if you’re truly gone, then end it. Because I can’t live in a world without you.”
His lip quivered. Tears welled in Bucky’s eyes before he knew what they were. A choked sob escaped his throat.
He dropped the knife. It clattered to the floor.
Steve caught him as he collapsed.
And Bucky sobbed into his chest like a man waking from a nightmare he couldn’t remember.
The days that followed were hell.
Bucky flinched at touch. He didn’t talk. He barely ate. But Steve stayed.
He curled around Bucky on the compound couch at night, whispering stories, reminders. He kissed his hair. He let Bucky scream when the memories overwhelmed him.
“I let them take me,” Bucky whispered once, voice raw. “I chose it. They used me again.”
“No,” Steve said, cradling his face. “You saved us.”
“But they got to me anyway.”
“And I got you back.”
Six months later, Bucky sat on the rooftop, sun setting behind him. Steve walked up quietly, arms folded.
Bucky turned his head. “You still love me?”
Steve smiled, but there were tears in his eyes. “Always. Even when you didn’t know who I was.”
He held out a small box.
Inside was a simple silver ring.
Bucky stared at it for a long moment before slipping it onto his finger.
“I don’t deserve this,” he said quietly.
Steve stepped forward, took his face in his hands. “You deserve everything. And I’m going to spend the rest of our lives proving that to you.”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
hello marvel fandom i have for you today....a gift. angst. that's the gift. anyway this fic came to me in a haze, possessed my body and soul, and come from my hands in less than 24 hours. it's the first in a series of prompt fills i will be completing for @wintershieldbingo, filling my "pre-world war 2 bucky" slot!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Category: Gen
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Winifred Barnes, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
No Archive Warnings Apply
Summary: Ten years after losing her son in the war, Winnifred Barnes receives an unexpected visitor. The Winter Soldier needs her help with an important mission.
Steve stirred awake to a golden warmth on his skin and the hush of a gentle breeze. The world felt softer here, peaceful in a way that New York could never be.
He blinked, stretching out under cool linen sheets, only to find the other side of the bed empty…but not without a clue.
A folded piece of parchment lay on the pillow beside him.
“Put on what I left you. Meet me where the wind touches the stars. -B.”
Steve smiled, already feeling his heart swell in his chest.
He found a carefully laid-out outfit. A crisp white shirt, soft to the touch, and tailored linen pants. A single sprig of purple Wakandan flora was pinned to the collar. Bucky had thought of everything.
Outside, the air was rich with scent and life. Children ran past him with sparklers, shouting “Happy birthday, Captain!” while Dora Milaje offered subtle nods of respect and fond smiles.
He caught glimpses of familiar faces: Shuri ducking behind a shimmer of light panels, T’Challa watching the sky like he was waiting for something grand.
Steve didn’t know where he was being led, only that his feet followed the winding path carved into the cliffs of Wakanda, higher and higher, until the world below looked like a dream painted in gold and green.
And then, at the summit, he saw him.
Bucky stood alone at the edge of the overlook, dressed in deep navy that made his blue eyes even more piercing. His hair was tucked back, loose strands framing his face, catching the wind. He turned as Steve approached, and that smile, soft, reverent, made Steve forget how to breathe.
“Hi,” Bucky murmured, like the moment might break if he spoke too loudly.
Steve stepped closer, his voice gentle. “Hi.”
Bucky offered his hand. Steve took it without hesitation.
“I wanted to bring you here because… this place, it’s where I come when I need to remember who I am,” Bucky said. “And you… You’re the person who helped me find that again.”
The sky behind them had begun to shift, brilliant pinks melting into dusky violets. The sun stretched low, kissing the edges of the earth.
“I wanted you to see this with me,” Bucky continued. “On your day. I wanted the whole world to glow for you.”
Steve’s eyes were shining, his fingers tightening around Bucky’s. “You didn’t have to do all this.”
“I wanted to,” Bucky said, and something was trembling in his voice now. “Because I love you, Steve.”
Steve’s heart stilled.
Bucky’s gaze didn’t waver. “I love you. I love every stubborn, selfless, beautiful part of you. I’ve loved you since Brooklyn. I’ve loved you through war and loss, through time and silence. I love you now, here, where the wind is warm and the sky feels endless.”
Steve reached up, cupping Bucky’s cheek, his thumb brushing the faintest tear.
“I love you too,” he whispered. “I think I’ve always been in love with you. And no matter where we are… my heart always finds its way back to you.”
And then-
BOOM.
The sky exploded in gold.
Steve startled slightly, turning just in time to see a blossom of violet fire spread across the heavens. Then silver. Then deep blue and crimson.
Bucky slipped behind him, wrapping his arms around Steve’s waist as the first burst of Wakandan fireworks lit up the sky.
“They’re all for you,” he whispered against Steve’s ear. “Shuri made them special. Said the sky should reflect what you mean to the world.”
Steve leaned back into Bucky’s chest, speechless. His hands rested over Bucky’s, holding him there like he never wanted to let go.
With the sky bursting in color above them, Bucky turned Steve gently to face him again. The fireworks painted his face in shifting hues, and Steve thought he’d never seen anything so beautiful in all his life.
Their lips met in a kiss that said everything words couldn’t. Slow. Tender. Deep with years of longing finally set free. The kind of kiss that made the stars seem quiet, as if even the universe was holding its breath.
When they pulled apart, Steve was breathless.
“I don’t need anything else,” he whispered. “Just you. Always you.”
Bucky smiled, brushing their foreheads together. “Then that’s what you’ll have.”
The last firework shimmered out in a trail of golden dust, the sky slowly returning to a quiet blanket of deep indigo. Stars blinked into view, scattered like whispers across the heavens.
They stayed that way, wrapped in each other, as fireworks danced across the sky. Two souls finally at peace, wrapped in love, standing at the edge of forever.
Bucky reached down and pulled a folded blanket from behind a carved bench nestled into the overlook. He spread it out on the soft grass beneath them, then turned back to Steve, his hand outstretched.
“Stay with me a while?”
Steve didn’t even hesitate. “Always.”
They sank down together, bodies close, the night air cool but pleasant. The sounds of distant laughter and celebration faded into the background, leaving only the soft rustling of leaves and the steady rhythm of their breaths.
Steve lay back first, gazing up at the stars. Bucky followed, resting beside him, one arm curling around Steve’s waist as he pulled him close.
For a long moment, they didn’t speak. They didn’t need to.
Steve turned his head to look at Bucky, his fingers reaching to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. “You really brought me halfway across the world just to tell me you love me under the stars?”
Bucky chuckled low in his throat. “I figured if I was gonna do it… might as well make it unforgettable.”
“It is,” Steve whispered, leaning in. “You are.”
Their lips met again, slow and seeking. There was no rush, no desperation. Just the quiet kind of love that bloomed in shared stillness. Bucky rolled slightly, guiding Steve onto his back, his body hovering just above as their mouths explored each other with sweet, aching care.
Steve’s hands ran up under Bucky’s shirt, fingers skimming over his warm skin, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath. Bucky let out a soft sigh as he pressed kisses to Steve’s jaw, his throat, then back to his lips, worshipful and slow.
“You’re so beautiful, Stevie,” Bucky murmured against his mouth. “I don’t think you even know what you do to me.”
Steve’s cheeks flushed, his eyes half-lidded as he brought Bucky closer. “Then show me.”
Bucky kissed him again, deeper now. One hand slid beneath Steve’s shirt, caressing over his ribs with a reverence that made Steve shiver. Every touch was a confession, every kiss an unspoken vow. Their legs tangled, bodies molding together, heat pooling between them as they moved slowly in the quiet dark, fingers threading into hair, hands gripping hips.
They weren’t rushing toward anything, just sinking into each other like they’d waited years for this exact moment. And they have.
When Bucky pulled back for air, he rested his forehead to Steve’s, their breaths mingling.
“You feel like home,” Steve whispered.
Bucky smiled, brushing a knuckle down Steve’s cheek. “Then let’s stay here… just like this.”
They curled up together beneath the stars, Steve’s head tucked into the curve of Bucky’s neck, Bucky’s arm wrapped tightly around his waist. Their bodies remained close, warm, occasionally kissing in soft, lazy presses of lips, little reminders that this was real.
That after everything, wars, time, pain, they’d found each other again.
