Trinity Day Dabbles

Currently only used for posting my fic

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Drabble: Scribble: Tell you a Story

June Jukebox Scribble #11 - Little Bitty Pretty One - Thurston Harris / “Tell you a story”

Featuring: Sam Wilson & Bucky Barnes

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“Can I tell you a story?”

“A story?”

“Yes, Sam, a story.  Why do you sound so suspicious?”

“Bucky, last time you told me a story, you broke Zemo out of prison.” Sam drew a deep breath and sighed. “How much punching is going to be involved?”

“That was a hypothetical, not a story,” Bucky quibbled.

“And the difference is…?”

“Narrative structure.  Tropes.  Character development.”  Bucky stopped to clear his voice, and then added, “Dragons.”

“Dragons?”

There was an inhuman roar in the distance, accompanied by some too-human panicked screaming.

“Yeah.  We should maybe get a start on that punching.”

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Micro: Alpine

For @buckybarnesmicrofic Alpine prompt

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That cat knew where she was stepping.  Bucky swooped in anyway, fooled by Alpine’s piteous cries.

“That’s it!”

The Thunderbolts were professionals.  They had seen it all, yet John wasn’t the only one cringing away from Bucky’s wrath.

“Limited edition Thunderbolts Lego set or not—put your damned toys away!”

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Micro: Arm

For @buckybarnesmicrofic Arm prompt

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T’Challa was genuinely regretful when he brought Bucky his arm, but Bucky wasn’t upset.  It was necessary.  It always was.

They fought and died and fought again.  When he left Wakanda, Bucky kept the arm.

And no one told him they were sorry he had to fight, not ever again.

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Micro: The 40s

Written for @buckybarnesmicrofic 40s prompt

A drabble version is available on ao3 (I didn't think I was going to be able to cut it down... and then I did.

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Beer sloshed as Bucky clinked bottles with Steve.

“Here’s to the 40s!” he cheered.  “May they be better than the 30s!”

Steve frowned.  “There’s a war on, Buck.”

There was, but it wasn’t here yet. 

“Shh.  It’s New Year’s Eve, Stevie.  Tonight, we celebrate.” 

Tomorrow, the future could find them.

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Drabble: Fake Dating

For @jilymicrofics Dec 28 - Fake Dating

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“This doesn’t change anything,” James said, voice flat, once Dumbledore had given them their assignment.

Lily could only pray her expression was that stony.  “Agreed.”

“Don’t think I’m doing this to win you back.  You didn’t tell anyone, either.” 

James was suddenly very angry, but Lily was tired of fighting.  “It’s a mission for a couple.  We can pretend to date for a few days.  I mean, we did it for real for months.”

Privately, she wasn’t as sure.  Pretending to date a stranger was easy.  Pretending to date the man she was madly in love with was another story.

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Homesick

For @kay-elle-cee and @sunshinemarauder 's Jily Week 2025 Day 7 - Choose Your Own Adventure - where the AO3 generator gave me "quests" "homesickeness" and "pregnancy" as my tags.

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“You hate Petunia.”

“I don’t hate—it’s complicated.”

James clearly didn’t get it.  Lily wished for Sirius; he understood the complicated pull of family relationships.

“Every time you see her, you come back in tears.”

“She’s the only one I have left.”

James’ face twisted in sympathy; he, too, knew the loss of his parents.  “You have me.  And the baby.  We’re your family.”

Lily sighed, too tired to argue.  “I guess you’re right.” 

She placed a hand over her stomach, hoping the baby would never know this strange homesickness, this longing for a time and place that never was.

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All my Jily Week drabbles can also be found on ao3 at https://archiveofourown.org/series/5125046

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Bright Side

Day 6 of Jily Week 2025 - Angst vs Fluff with thanks as usual to @sunshinemarauder and @kay-elle-cee

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“You could have warned me,” James said. 

He was covered in a gloppy, goopy mess.  Lily had raced into the kitchen at the shouting, but had stopped in the doorway to laugh instead of being any help at all.

Harry, the troublemaker, was happily slapping his hands against his highchair, totally oblivious to the chaos.

“Why do you think I tossed all the peas away last week?” Lily said once her mirth was under control. 

James considered that.  He also considered the mess.  “At least there’s no doubt about his Hogwarts letter?” he asked, trying to find the bright side.

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Tell Me More

Day 5 (Summer Fling) of Jily Week by @kay-elle-cee and @sunshinemarauder

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PS—I miss you so much.

Her response was swift.  How much?

James had been strictly forbidden from expounding aloud on how much he missed his girlfriend weeks ago.  Now he delighted in writing four whole inches on the cruelty that was their summer separation.

She didn’t answer until the next day.  You’re clueless, Potter.  My roommate’s gone.  I’m lying in bed without knickers.  Tell me in details how you’d stop missing me if we weren’t apart.

Oh.  Oh.  James spared a guilty thought for his owl before dismissing it; Archimedes couldn’t read and he had a letter to write.

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Perfectly Convenient

A late entry for Jily Week Day 4 - More than Convenient. Thanks as always to @kay-elle-cee and @sunshinemarauder for hosting the event.

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“Head Boy and Girl.  Don’t you think it’s convenient?  Almost like fate.”

“Name one way it’s convenient.” 

Lily’s hands were on her hips, but she had the beginnings of a smile on her lips, so James pushed his luck.

“I could take you to Hogsmeade.  We’d tell everyone we were planning… prefect patrol schedules. No one would know we were secretly on a date.  They’d think we were working.  It would be perfect.”

“It would be a betrayal of the trust Dumbledore put in us.”

James’ heart sank.  “Sorry, you’re—”

But Lily cut off his apology.

“I didn’t say no.”

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Aftermath

For Jily Week 2025 Day 3 (Calamity Strikes) hosted by @sunshinemarauder and @kay-elle-cee

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First, James noticed the quiet, deafening after the cacophonic curses and counter-jinxes of the battlefield.  Next, he noticed the pain. 

Then Lily was by his side, the blood running down her cheek clearing a path through the grime.  But she was there and she was alive.

“Let’s go.”

“The others…” 

James looked around, although it hurt.  They hadn’t been fighting alone.

“We have to warn the Order.”

“We have to help first,” James said.

Lily nodded, resolute.  James’ rush of relief lasted until she grabbed him and he felt the gut-wrenching pull of Apparition while the surrounding destruction flashed away.

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Green-Eyed Glare

Written for Jily Week 2025 hosted by @sunshinemarauder and @kay-elle-cee - Day 2 - Green-Eyed Monster

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“Of course she picked Potter for help.  That girl should’ve dropped Charms after the OWLs, everyone knows.”

Dilys and James were leaning over the parchment, heads practically touching.  There was no use reminding Lily that she had set up the situation, deliberately snubbing James when the professor told them to partner up.

“Can we go over the Protean Charm again?” Remus asked, desperate to get back to studying.

It was in vain; Lily refused to be distracted.

“And Potter is just encouraging her.  What a prat!”

Remus could only hope they kissed and made up before he failed his NEWTs.

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Drabble: Knight in Jelly Armour

Written for @kay-elle-cee and @sunshinemarauder Jily Week 2025 Day 1 - Knight in Shining Armour

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“Padfoot caught me in an embarrassing situation back in fourth year—but you already knew that.  He’s always going on about it.”

“Sirius has caught you in a lot of embarrassing situations,” Lily said.

“Right, which everyone knows because he doesn’t shut up.  I thought—I have a girlfriend now.  She’s clever.  Why don’t I skip the embarrassment and ask for her help?”

“Maybe you should just skip doing the embarrassing things in the first place.”

“But she couldn’t resist teasing and now we’re both stuck up to our armpits in jelly.”

So much for James’ knight in shining armour.

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Bird is a Word

For @jilymicrofics May 1 - Bird

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Lily entered the kitchen—and stopped short.  “What is that bird?”

“What is a bird?” James asked.

Only after the words had escaped his mouth did he realize that question didn’t work as a distraction. 

Too late.

“What is a bird?” Lily repeated, her tone shifting from suspicion to outright mockery.

James frantically tried to think of a save, but it was hopeless.  His smart mouth had done him in and they both knew it.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”  The words might have warmed James’ heart if she hadn’t been looking at the bird.

At least the kiss was his.

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Hot Stuff

For @jilymicrofics - Aug 5, coffee

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“Kettle’s boiling.”

“I hear.”

“Are you going to—”

“No rush. It’s going to be a long night and hotter’s better.  Who wants lukewarm coffee?”

“I got you that enchanted mug for Christmas?  That will keep the coffee plenty warm.”

“I…”

“You… what happened to the mug?”

“Nothing!”

“Nothing?”

“It’s just not clean, is all.”

“And your solution is to make the coffee scalding, or…?”

“Stop nagging.  This coffee is perf-ow!”

“What was that?”

“Nofing.”

“Burned your tongue, did you?”

“No.  Maybe.”

“Told you so.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Kiss it to make it better?”

“Fine.  You’re lucky I love you.”

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Drabble: Lily, it's cold outside!

For @hp-yuletide-bliss Day 10 prompt: Baby, it's cold outside. James/Lily, 100 words.

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“You’re not leaving, are you?” James asked when Lily started for the door.

“It’s late,” Lily said, reluctantly.

James wildly searched for an excuse why she couldn’t.  “It’s… it’s too cold out!”

Lily’s cloak was a heavy woolen thing.  It hung with her scarf and mitts.  She stopped and turned around.

“It is cold, isn’t it?”

Across the room, Sirius groaned loudly.  “You have your Apparation licence and even if you didn’t, there’s the Floo.”

He was soundly ignored by both parties.

“Much too cold to go gallivanting about,” James agreed.  “Why don’t you stay a little longer.”

Lily did.

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Six out of Ten

For @jilymicrofics July 2 prompt: Smooth

“No,” Sirius said flatly.

James huffed out in exasperation.  “I haven’t even given you my line yet,” he complained.  “Wait until I give you my line.”

“I don’t think you fully realize what I’m objecting to,” Sirius said.

“Oh, come on, Padfoot,” Peter needled.  “You’re doing this for James.  For true love.  Prongs needs the best openers.  Give him a fighting chance.”

Peter was obviously still sore about the enchanted chalk incident from last week.

Sirius rolled his eye, which was signal enough for James to forge ahead.  He cleared his throat.  

“Do you play Quidditch?  Because you are a keeper.”

Sirius rolled his eyes—again—and layered on the sarcasm.  “Smooth, Potter.  Very smooth. What do you think, Evans?”

There was a split-second where James looked exasperated that Sirius was trying that old gem to psych him out.  Then Evans spoke up from behind him.  

“It’s an oldie, but it does speak to Potter’s obsession with… erm… broomsticks.  I’d give it a six out of ten,” she said.

James jumped literally a foot into the air.  It was hilarious.  And it was almost enough to make up for the groan-worthy chat-up lines he’d subjected Sirius to all week.

Almost.

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Drabble: G.O.A.T. (Good Old-fashioned Attack Tactics)

For Square G4 (Makeshift Shield) on my @allcapsbingo card

Muscle-memory had him reaching for the shield left abandoned in Siberia, but while he might no longer be Captain America, he was still Steve Rogers and Steve Rogers was nothing if not resourceful.  Grabbing the side table that had been holding their beers—the alcohol didn’t affect them anyway—he held it out to stop the charging beast.

Bucky rescued the bottles before rescuing Steve, grabbing the goat by the waist and lifting it away.  

“Were you really going to attack my goat with your shield?” Bucky laughed.

The menace bleated plaintively and chewed Steve’s sleeve.

Steve had no regrets.