#james 1:18

[walkswithmyfather]

Romans 8:28 (FBV). [28] “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, those whom he has called to be part of his plan.”

James 1:17-18 (FBV). [17] “All that's good, every perfect gift, is from above, and comes down from the Father who made heaven's lights. Unlike them he doesn't change—he doesn't vary or cause shadows. [18] He chose to give us new life through the word of truth, so that out of all his creation we would be very special to him.”

Friend, have a beautiful, blessed Sunday, or whichever day it is where you are. May God shower you with His blessings and may you see evidence of His perfect, never-ending love for you throughout all your days. In Jesus' name, Amen!🙏🕊️🙌

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Ordo Salutis: Conversion

By his own wish he made us his own sons through the Word of truth that we might be, so to speak, the first specimens of his new creation.

For you are the sons of God now; the live, permanent Word of the living God has given you his own indestructible heredity. — James 1:18 and 1 Peter 1:23 | J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J.B. Phillips. Cross References: Jeremiah 2:3; Luke 8:11; John 1:13; John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 6:7; Ephesians 6:7; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 4:12; James 1:15; James 3:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 3:9

[f1archives]

The Williams team celebrating Alex Albon’s 100th race - Austin, 2024

[saskiaalonso]

I don't know how long I can hold on without a race weekend, I NEED it

From williams Instagram

[braveclementine]

Chapter 2

Warnings: None. (Will however be a 18+ reader book)

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own a few OCs like Elizabeth, Katherine, Stacy, and Jessie. I do not condone any copying of this.

The walk from your apartment building to the Avengers HQ was a good thirty minute walk. On a good day, it would've been pleasant, the kind of walk you might've made daily if you'd had a dog. However, wearing the sweatshirt again with the nerves made it feel like you had been walking for hours.

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you stood at the gate with the intercom thing-a-ma-bobber before pressing it with a shaky finger.

You weren't entirely sure why you were so nervous. There was no crime for bumping into people. . . but when it was a King, much less the King of Wakanda, well perhaps it was good sense to be nervous.

"How may I help you?" A bored, female voice said on the other side.

"Hi, I was hoping to talk to the King of Wakanda." Your voice, at least, didn't sound shaky.

The voice on the other side snorted, "Yeah, sure."

"I'm the girl that bumped into him earlier." You said, embarrassed. "I just wanted to er, apologize to him was all."

There was a bit of silence before the female voice said, "I'll let him know. Have a fantastic day."

You blinked. Well, at least he would know that I had attempted to apologize. Some of the nerves dissipated as you turned to walk back to the apartment.

Having only walked a few feet though, you heard a voice call behind you, "Excuse me!"

You turned slowly and then flushed dark when you saw the King standing there.

He was wearing very standard clothing. A black button up shirt with black slacks and black dress shoes.

"Aren't you hot?" You blurted out. The blush went darker. "I mean, hot in your clothing. I mean cause it's summer. You know what, just completely ignore what I just asked."

The King actually smiled, his white teeth almost blinding against his darker skin. "You forget I am used to African climate. Much hotter than this."

Oh. His accent. Oh my God.

You swallowed again and then you said, "I just wanted to apologize. I forgot about work and I was rushing to get to work and I bumped into you and I just spat out an apology and I had no idea that you were the King of Wakanda-"

"Breathe." He said with a light chuckle that almost made you die inside. "It's quite alright. I understand."

Every nerve dissipated. You nodded awkwardly.

"I never got your name." He said, tilting his head.

"Oh, I'm Y/N." You said quickly, not sure if you should hold your hand out. You saw his left hand twitch slightly and he held out his hand, "T'Challa."

"Ouch." You yelped before shaking his hand. You'd felt a sharp pain in your left wrist. It was like backing into a table corner. It didn't really hurt, but you felt like saying 'ouch' anyways.

You blushed, "Sorry, I had a pain."

"I thought you might." He said with a small smile.

You stared at him blankly. He rolled up his sleeve which had a singular colour there. You noticed that it was [Periwinkle/Turquoise/Jade] line. You barely even realized that it was the same colour as the one on your right wrist- a.k.a your favorite colour.

He stepped closer, showing you the name that had been branded into his skin: Y/N.

Of course. After you met your soulmate their name was matched with their colour. You just hadn't realized that it hurt.

Then you realized something.

Your soulmate was the freaking King of Wakanda.

You weren't entirely sure what the correct reaction to the information was. Faint? Squeal? Run away screaming?

Somehow, you just stayed frozen, staring at your name on his wrist.

"Are you alright. . . Y/N?" T'Challa asked.

You licked your lips, trying to form a coherent response. "I- but you're a King."

T'Challa chuckled again, "That I am. Which will make you my Queen."

You blushed again and then said awkwardly, "I'm afraid that you're going to have to um, share me with quite a few people." As you spoke, you pulled up your sleeve to show the eleven brands. The eighth line of purple and black now had the name T'Challa imprinted there.

T'Challa took in the ten other lines and chuckled, "So I will. I recognize your name now, from the record book. Of course, only your baby picture is in there."

"That's a good thing." You muttered.

"Follow me. I'd like to introduce you to my sister Shuri." T'Challa said with a smile.

You nodded, slightly surprised as he put his elbow out. You hooked your hand around his elbow like you had done this before, and let him lead you into the compound.

"Did the attendant behind the intercom let you know I was out here?" You asked curiously.

"Sharon? No. I was walking along the grounds. Tony has a good selection of botany here. I thought I recognized your figure and I was curious about what you were doing here so I came to inquire." He said with a smile.

We entered the Avengers compound and you took a look around. There were two women there, both dark skinned and bald. One, the taller of the two, narrowed her eyes at you. "What is-"

"This is my soulmate, Y/N Y/L/N." T'Challa introduced me. "Y/N, this is Okoye, my personal guard and friend."

There was a slightly shorter girl there with a head of hair who bounced up onto her feet, rushing to hug me. Slightly taken aback, it took me a moment to hug her back.

"Hi! I'm Shuri. You're beautiful." She said, pulling back.

"Y-You're stunning." You stuttered.

"Whose this?" A new voice, male, asked. You looked over to see the Tony Stark strolling along the floor like he owned- oh wait.

"Mr. Stark." T'Challa said genuinely.

"I'm Y/N." You introduced, sticking your hand out on a whim. No idea where you got the courage to do so, even more surprised when Tony actually shook your hand.

"Tony Stark naturally." He said easily but you felt another prick on your left arm. You fought the urge to look down. He was wearing long sleeves as well, so you had no idea if he had felt the prick. Probably, right?

You both stared at each other as you both lowered your hands. Maybe you were wrong. Maybe it was an after effect of T'Challa's bond.

Tony's eyes shifted to T'Challa as he swiped his glasses off, putting them in the breast pocket of his suit jacket. "Everyone's upstairs. We're just waiting for Thor and Loki."

You blushed. There must be some sort of meeting. You certainly didn't want to intrude.

"How about we bring Y/N along here to introduce her to the rest of the crew?" Tony asked.

"Y/N?" T'Challa asked.

You were startled, "Oh, but I couldn't possibly!"

"Nonsense." Tony said, putting an arm over your shoulder. "You're clearly my soulmate, unless you didn't feel a prick in your left arm. It's only fair to introduce you to the group."

"Oh?" T'Challa asked in surprise, "You as well?"

Tony turned to look at him, "Pardon?"

You quickly rolled your sleeve up. Indeed, Tony was there on the red and gold line. Tony looked at the several lines and then whistled, "Well, aren't you a hot commodity? Definitely need to introduce you now, pretty sure that's Capsicle's line." He said, pointing to the red, white, and blue line.

Was he right? Was it really Captain America's line? How many of your soulmates were going to be the Avengers?

"Shall we?" Tony asked, quirking a brow.

Well, at least they were all hot, right?

T'Challa gave you his elbow again which you took, while Tony was slightly more possessive, taking your hand into his.

"FRIDAY, floor 47." Tony announced as we stepped into the elevator.

"Yes Mr. Stark. Miss Y/L/N doesn't have clearance however." An automated, slightly Irish sounding female voice said from. . .the speakers? The air? It kind've sounded like it was all around us.

"Override it. Miss Y/L/N can go wherever she pleases in the building, including the lab."

"You don't let anyone in the lab, not even Stephen." T'Challa said as the elevator started to move with a 'yes sir'.

"Well Stephen would break everything, but I think my soulmate right here will be quite good. Small hands." Tony said, squeezing your hand a little.

You slightly blushed. This was starting to be a bit overwhelming for you, but neither of them seemed fazed at all.

"H-How are you taking this so. . . easily?" You questioned.

"We're used to weird sweetheart." Tony dropped. "You've got eleven soulmates and we just happen to be them. At least there's no time travel or aliens involved." He paused and then questioned, "You're not an alien are you?"

"No." You said quickly. "I'm. . . average except the eleven soulmates."

"I wouldn't say average." Tony said with a nonchalant shrug, "You're quite stunning."

You blushed again.

"I was going to say gorgeous." T'Challa said in a low, husky voice that sent shivers over your spine. Exactly how long would they take to marry you? Because there was a hell of a lot of sexual tension in this extremely small box.

The bell dinged, the doors sliding open. Tony led us down the hallway at this point, pulling open one of the double doors and the three of us stepped through.

Several famous faces stared back at us and you shrank slightly into T'Challa's side.

"Whose this?" The blond man you knew was Steve Rogers asked Tony.

"Well, go on sweetheart, introduce yourself." Tony said with a smirk. You wondered just how many of the people in the room Tony suspected were your soulmates.

"Hi. I'm Y/N." You said quietly.

Five of them jerked their left arms slightly.

Steve, James Barnes, and one of the other African American men exchanged looks. You weren't entirely sure if that was Sam or James Rhodey.

Steve was the first to move, holding out his hand, "I'm Steve Rogers."

You shook it, ignoring the sting in your left arm. You'd left your jacket off, showing the eleven marks. Steve's name slowly filling in on the red, white, and blue one. Tony smirked.

"Bucky." He said. His metal arm was black and gold, but he held out his flesh hand which you shook quickly.

"Sam." The man that you hadn't been quite sure you were said next. Another sting.

"And I'm James." Another African American man stepped forward to shake your hand. "But my friends called me Rhodey."

"I'm Clint." The famous archer said, shaking your hand. Another sting.

"Natasha." The red head assassin said, holding hands with Bruce Banner.

"Bruce." He said with nod of his head.

"I'm Peter. Peter Parker." The youngest one of them said. I almost waited, cringing, for another stab of pain, but nothing happened.

"I'm Wanda, this is Vision." Another red head, slightly brighter said. The robot that was standing behind her had his arm wrapped around her waist. He settled down into a more human appearance.

"Hey I'm Scott, also known as Antman." One of the last guys with a grin said.

"Hope." The female next to him rolled her eyes.

"And I'm Maria Hill." The last person in the room said.

"Nice to meet all of you." I said quietly.

"How many lines do you have left?" Tony enquired.

"Four." I said. I showed him my arm.

"Hmm, well high probability that the gold and green is Loki. He doesn't wear anything else." Tony speculated.

"Loki?" Steve asked with slight distaste and a little bit of a frown.

"I already know the green and blue is Stephen Strange because it matches mine." Tony said, not sounding at all displeased about sharing his soulmate with You. "But the black and the gold, I have no idea."

Suddenly, the doors opened up behind us again. You pressed back into T'Challa's front as a rather intimidating man with an eyepatch entered the room. He greeted Maria Hill softly first, his one eye roving to land on You.

"And who are you?"

"Y/N Y/L/N sir." You said quickly.

There was a slight flicker as his eye moved between Maria and yourself before moving forward to shake your hand, "Nick Fury."

Another stab of pain as you shook his hand firmly. His eye flickered down to your arm, seeing his name on his arm and the multitude of colours there. "Well, aren't you special?"

Was that an insult?

He let go of your hand, motioning to Maria Hill, "This is my other soulmate."

I nodded but didn't have to say anything as Sam asked, "You and Fury? Did not see that one happening."

"Should've placed bets." Clint and Scott said at the same time.

"Guess it makes sense pure black would be Fury." Tony said nonchalantly.

Suddenly, there was a large crash of lightning and thunder outside.

"Damn, he still did it on the lawn." Tony muttered.

You were still rather stressed, feeling completely out of place at the meeting, despite nearly half of the occupants being soulmates. You weren't entirely sure if you were cursed or blessed at this point.

"Point Break." Tony barked to the tall, short brown-haired man that entered, "What have I told you about creating bifrost crop circles on my lawn?"

"My apologies tin man." Thor said in a loud, booming voice, flashing me a huge smile, "I got so excited when Heimdall revealed that our soulmate was here, I temporarily forgot."

My eyes flickered to the just as tall, polar opposite behind Thor. Loki, god of Mischief. Eyes blue as the ocean, wavy black hair neatly falling on his shoulders. He was wearing a black suit without a hint of the gold and green that showed in his colour band.

"Our?" Steve questioned behind me.

"Loki and mine!" Thor said, his voice still loud as he strode forward, "Pleasure to meet your acquaintance Princess, I am Thor God of Thunder."

He kissed your forehead and both cheeks, leaving you red as a tomato before you managed to say, "Y-Yes pleasure to m-meet you. I'm Y/N."

Loki stepped forward with more eloquence and grace, taking your hand to kiss the back of your knuckles, blue eyes never leaving your E/C ones before he said in a quiet voice that sounded a whisper to his brother, "I am Loki, my Queen."

It was so overwhelming as he stepped back and you just stood there. You had only one soulmate left to meet.

Stephen Strange. Dr. Strange.

You didn't know much about him, other than he lived in New York and had helped save the world. Oh and that he had discovered something called the multiverse. But yeah, other than that, you knew nothing about him. You weren't even entirely sure you'd be able to pick him out on the street unlike the others. Unless, of course, he was wearing his infamous robes.

As if called by your thoughts, an orange portal opened up behind Tony, a tall, extremely handsome man stepping out followed by a slightly shorter Asian man, perhaps of Chinese ethnicity, though you weren't certain. Perhaps Tibet?

The man You were sure was Stephen Strange placed a rather sweet kiss on the top of Tony's head before introducing himself to You. The familiar sting took place and You told him your name.

"Well, with introductions out of the way, doesn't change the fact you don't really have clearance for the following conversation. Neither do you Mr. Parker. So-"

"But sir." Peter complained.

"Yeah, right, of course. I should go home anyways." You said quickly. "My sister is probably wondering where I am."

"Parker, please accompany her home." Fury said with no room for arguing.

Peter followed You from the room and once you were in the elevator, you nearly collapsed. You hadn't realized just how tight and uncomfortable you had been until now.

"You alright?" Peter asked with obvious concern.

"Just stressed. That was stressful. I've gone so long without a single soulmate and suddenly they're all dropped on me. And not only do I meet all of them in one day in less than an hour, but they're Gods and Super soldiers and magicians and billionaires and spies! I mean, how is this possible?" I asked.

"It makes sense." Peter said simply. "They're all like family and they're all missing a piece of themselves. You're that."

"I thought some of them already had their soulmates." You questioned.

"Sure. Mr. Fury has Agent Hill and Agent Hill has Mr. Fury and Agent Coulson. But Mr. Fury's also had a band for the past [18-30] years, saying he had another soulmate. Mr. Stark and Mr. Strange as well. Not to mention Mr. Rogers, Mr. Barnes, and Sam, though they're all together, they've had a band missing. And the others just haven't had one period."

You mulled that over for a moment. "It's so. . . interesting the way it works."

"Oh yeah, You should hear Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner talk about soulmate bonds. Real sciency stuff. But yeah, I got two soulmates. One's name is MJ and the other's name is Ned. I think the only one out of us all that doesn't have a soulmate is Pietro."

"Pietro. Who is that?" I questioned.

"Oh, he's Wanda's twin brother." Peter answered as we started our walk out of the Avengers compound. "He's got three bands, but he's never met any of his soulmates. But he spends a lot of time in Sokovia instead of with us."

"I thought. . . I thought he died?" You asked carefully, not wanting to bring up an insensitive topic.

"When Dr. Banner snapped everyone back, he brought back Avenger members too. That's how Natasha, Coulson, and Pietro came back. And then Captain Marvel snapped to killed Thanos and that was that."

"Interesting." Was all you could muster to say.

"Say, I could swing us to your apartment." Peter said excitedly. "We'd get there so much faster."

"Um, sure?"

What could go wrong?

*A fEw MoMeNtS lAtEr*

I'm going to die. I'm literally going to die.

You had shut off your voice so you didn't scream as you clutched tightly around Peter's neck as he swung through the city.

Sure, it hadn't been to bad when he'd first started going, but now that you were high about these skyscrapers and there wasn't even a seatbelt- well you were starting to feel a little more anxious.

Finally, Peter landed in front of your apartment building. There weren't to many people around. "See you around Y/N." He said, waving slightly before taking back into the air.

You hurried into the apartment and then made your way upstairs, opening the apartment door and stepping inside.

You sunk down with your back to the door, wondering what your reaction was going to be. Cry? Or laugh?

The apartment was silent as you closed your eyes, thinking of the head spinning day you'd had.

"Where the hell have you been?"

You screamed.

⬅️➡️

[thedailyvio]

Day 143 - 148

WIP Below:

[biblequotesdaily]

For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

Galatians 5:17

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

“Come now, and let us reason together,” saith the Lord. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Isaiah 1:18

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

And such were some of you. But ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:11

For by one offering He hath perfected for ever those who are sanctified.

Hebrews 10:14

"To them God has been pleased to make known what is the riches of glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Colossians 1:27

[inkameswetrust]

ik im a million years late to the trend but headlock reminds me just how angsty of a kames episode big time concert was

[zouisforya]

when one direction wrote " i want to write you a song one to make your heart remember me so anytime im gone you can listen to my voice and sing along" they fooking knew about the hiatus didn't they?

THIS WAS THE MOST FOOKED UP THING THAT ONE DIRECTION DID

[spoopy-nevermore-dump]

Hey pssst hey. Have you ever considered: Montada?

I hate it, and it nearly killed my hyperfixation

But I understand my opinion on this may affect others, and many may be hurting from this episode soooooooooo

Art requests open

[zohansworld]

Simge Sağın Aç Koyunu Giricem Konser Offical Video

[walkswithmyfather]

Mark 6:45-46 (TPT). “After everyone had their meal, Jesus instructed his disciples to get back into the boat and go on ahead of him and sail to the other side to Bethsaida. So he dispersed the crowd, said good-bye to his disciples, then slipped away to pray on the mountain.”

Luke 5:16 (CEV). “But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.”

Matthew 6:6 (NIV). “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV). “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

James 5:13-16 (ESV). “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

[f1archives]

James Vowles, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon on the carpet at F1 75 Live (📷 Kym Illman)

[disneynerdpumpkin]

~ Scriptures about forgiveness ~

Matthew 6:15 "But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Colossians 3:13 "Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

Daniel 9:9 "To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him."

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Proverbs 10:12 "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses."

Micah 7:18 "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love."

Mark 11:25 "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."

Luke 17:3-4 "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him."

Luke 6:37 "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:"

Matthew 6:14 "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:"

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Isaiah 1:8 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

[braveclementine]

Chapter 30

Warnings: 18+readersonly, pet names, smut

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own a few OCs like Elizabeth, Katherine, Stacy, and Jessie. I do not condone any copying of this.

"Hi Honey Bunny." You mumbled, curling up with Thor on the couch. He put his arm around you, holding you close to him.

He was in the movie theater at the moment, watching Death on the Nile. He grabbed the remote and paused it. "Hello Princess. How are you?"

"Good. Missed you." You said, snuggling into his chest.

"I missed you too." He said, pulling you completely into his lap.

Thor had been gone for a few weeks in New Asgard. Though he wasn't the king anymore, the people still wanted to see him and Loki a great deal and they tried to visit and also stay here for as long as they could.

"How was New Asgard?" you asked, tilting your head just slightly as Thor started to kiss down it.

"It was fine." He said quietly, before nibbling at a sweet spot. You let out a long sigh as you tried to contain your moans. "But I'm really glad to be back here."

You shifted on his lap, straddling him as he settled his large hands on your waist, pulling you in so that he could kiss you. The kiss started out slow and sweet, your lips folding against his larger ones. And then he slapped your bum and you parted your lips in surprise. He immediately took dominance of the kiss, your lips crushed together, his tongue searching your mouth.

You pulled up for air, his lips skimming down your throat. His large hands settled at the hem of your shirt. "Can I take this off Princess?" He asked in a low voice.

"Yes." You breathed out, feeling slightly relieved as he lifted it over your head instead of ripping it. He unclasped the bra as well, settling it on the chair next to him. You pulled your own pants down, leaving you in your knickers before you moved your hands to his shirt.

His hands were on your breasts in seconds, massaging them in a way that felt heavenly to you. You pulled his shirt off, revealing his god-like chest. Running your hands up his chest, you kissed his neck before you lowered your hands down to the sweatpants he was wearing at the moment.

Thor helped shuck them off before getting rid of his boxers as well. In return, you got rid of your knickers, leaving both of you completely naked, in the dark, in the home movie theater.

Thor's hands were warm to the sudden temperature drop as the air-conditioning kicked on. He teased your entrance with two fingers before he pushed them in, "So wet Princess." He moaned against your collarbone.

"Just for you." You mumbled, grinding down on his fingers. He obliged, giving you another finger, fucking you harder.

"Fuck, Thor." You moaned, you lips clashing again.

He teased your clit between his fingers, letting you release all over his fingers as the knot broke in your stomach.

He slowly pulled your fingers out, licking your essence off of them. He grinned at you. "Fucking delicious Princess."

Fuck, that nickname.

Honestly though, any nickname would sound good coming from Thor's mouth.

You ground your hips against Thor's. "Please, just fuck me?"

"With pleasure." Thor said, hands gripping your waist tightly to pull you over his large prick, letting you sink down on your own to adjust on your own.

You both moaned. He at the warmth surrounding his cock, you from the full feeling inside of you.

Thor wrapped your hair around his hand, pulling you in for another sweet kiss full of tongue and love. "Love you Princess."

"Love you too hotshot." You smiled, kissing him again before you started to ride him, lifting yourself up and down.

Thor let you take control for a while until your release started to come closer and closer. That was when he pulled you off, setting you on the arm of the movie chair. A whimper left your mouth when he did that, pouting as you sat there.

He grinned at you, before messing with the movie chair and having it move so that the back of the chair was laying all the way back, looking like a bed. He scooped you back up into his strong arms, laying you down on the black leather chair.

He hooked your legs over his broad shoulders before thrusting back in. You cried out, the difference of the angle and the longing fullness from his cock. "Thor. .. Thor."

"Right here Princess." Thor murmured, his fingers working your breasts and button. "You gonna let go for me?"

You nodded, your arms wrapping around his neck. "Yes."

"Good girl." Thor said, leaning down to press a kiss between the valley of your breasts.

At the nickname and the praise, everything just crashed down on you. You released all over Thor's cock, crying out his name. A whiteness seemed to overtake you as you curled your toes. Thor thrusted into your body with a few more languid strokes before he pulled your shoulders tightly, holding you to him as he cummed deep inside of you.

You both caught your breath before Thor pulled out. He grinned as he laid next to you, pulling you into his side, "Did you give Loki the same welcome home treatment?"

"I searched the entire house for the both of you. Could only find you so far." You mumbled with a grin, kissing his cheek.

Thor chuckled, pulling you in for another kiss. He picked up the remote, grabbing a blanket to cover both of your bodies, and you finished watching Death on the Nile with him. Literally, the killer was the most obvious person on the boat and yet no one suspected them because they were the most obvious.

Afterwards, Thor and you snuck up to his room- using his hammer to fly outside the house- and he gave you fresh clothes and he himself got dressed. And then you left to go and find Loki.

You searched the house from top to bottom, asking everyone you came across if they had seen Loki. He didn't seem to be anywhere and you were steadily growing more and more frustrated.

"Has anyone seen Loki?" You finally asked again, coming back into the kitchen. About seven of them were there.

"No?" Clint asked, "Why? Can't find him?"

"This house is to big." You growled.

Tony snickered, "Did you ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. where he is by any chance?"

You just stared at Tony because, no, you had not. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., where's Loki?" You demanded.

"Mr. Laufeyson is on the roof."

There was silence in the kitchen.

"What the fuck?" Sam finally asked. "Why the hell is he on the roof?"

"I'll go check." You said quickly. You ran through the house to Clint's room, popping open one of the vents, crawling through it, kicking the vent at the end upwards, before you carefully put one foot out on the window sill, grabbing the edge of the roof with one hand, wiggling out of the vent, and now you were outside.

You pushed yourself up so that you could crawl onto the roof and look around.

Loki was laying on the roof on his back, arms behind his head, staring at the clouds. Or maybe his eyes were closed, you couldn't tell.

Carefully walking across the somewhat slanted roof, you knew Loki had to have heard you approach. "Lokes? Are you okay?" You asked.

Loki barely stirred, his eyes shifting backwards to look at you upside down. "I'm fine."

"You're on the roof."

"Duly noted."

"You don't like heights."

Loki scowled. You sat down next to him, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Loki shrugged, "Maybe."

"Can I do anything?" You asked.

Loki smiled a little. "Sorry. I'm not trying to worry you, I promise. It's nothing really. I just feel like something's going to happen."

"Something bad?"

"Not necessarily, just something big."

Loki sat up, pulling you into his lap and kissed you. "I apologize for worrying you my Queen. Were you looking for me?"

"I searched the entire house for you." You stated with a small smile. "I should've just asked F.R.I.D.A.Y.. She's the only reason I knew where you were."

"Did you need something from me?" Loki asked, hands on the side of your face, brow furrowed.

"Yes. But we have to get a bed for it." You whispered in his ear before pecking his cheek.

Loki chuckled. "Is that right?"

"Mhmm." You said, subtly grinding down on him now.

Loki held your hips down firmly so that you could move. "You sure we need a bed pet? You seem rather eager to do it out here in the open."

But at that moment, one of the news helicopters that wasn't allowed to fly over, but was doing so anyways, was fluttering around. Loki glared at it. "Stupid thing."

"We should let Tony know."

"He probably already does." Loki hissed, grabbing your hand and showing you a different, much safer path off the roof. We both hurried to the kitchen where Tony was already suiting up in his Iron Man suit to go and tell the news people off.

"I'm suing." Tony grunted before flying out the window.

"So dramatic." Rhodey rolled his eyes.

Loki and you were going to leave that to Tony before he came back down again. He looked at us as the Iron Man suit dissolve into his watch. "Have you guys seen anything peculiar on the news today?"

"I haven't watched the news." you replied, frowning, "Why? What happened?"

"I can answer that." F.R.I.D.A.Y. said.

"Go ahead." Loki said.

"Today, the Supreme Court has passed a law that says that soulmate couples must have a child paired to each soulmate bond." F.R.I.D.A.Y. said.

"What does that mean for us?" Fury asked, leaning forward on the kitchen island, trying to get away from Alpine who had leaped up onto the counter. For such small kittens, they had powerful back legs.

"It would me sir, that Y/N would have to have eleven children or more, one for each of you. Of your own biological genes." F.R.I.D.A.Y. said.

"What?!" Tony protested.

Everyone but Thor, T'Challa, and the super soldier triplets were here. Elizabeth frowned up at the ceiling, like she was trying to glare at the AI.

"How do they plan on enforcing that?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Fines of three million dollars." F.R.I.D.A.Y. said.

Elizabeth snorted, "is this a plot to get people to have kids or to just make the Government rich?"

"I can pay those off." Tony said, as though that was meant to reassure us.

"We don't have a time limit though?" You asked.

"There is no specific time limit." F.R.I.D.A.Y. said. "However, most women will be under the gun, so to speak, especially as most women stop having children at the age of thirty-five."

You thought about it and then said, "But I'm immortal."

The others turned to look at you.

"I'm immortal." You repeated. "So, hypothetically speaking, wouldn't we expect to have eleven or more children as the years went on? If say we lived to be 1,000 or something, we'd probably have more than that anyways without the law."

"Fair point." Loki said.

"Unless your vampire immortal." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at me, "Can your body even reproduce children if you're immortal?"

Your eyes flicked to Fury. He just shrugged.

"Thor can help." Loki said.

You all looked at Loki now. Loki shrugged, "Thor is the God of fertility as well. He can help these pregnancies along magically if need be. He's been holding off as he wanted children naturally, but if magic needs to be involved-"

"Let's hold off on the magic a little longer." Stephen said. "We haven't even been together for a year yet. There's still time to figure things out."

"Hey guys?" Bucky asked, Steve and Sam following him into the room. "There's like seven news helicopters outside and a truckload of reporters outside the gates."

"This is stupid." Elizabeth declared, "Think about it logically! Not everyone can even have children! How do they expect me to have Visions' child? Wanda to have Visions child? What about Natasha and all the other black widows?"

"What's happening?" Steve asked, brow furrowed. "What has the Government done now?"

Elizabeth left the kitchen- probably to go and find Vision or Pietro or Hogun- while Clint and Tony filled the super soldiers in on what they had missed.

"They can't do that." Steve scowled. "They can't just tell us how many kids we have to have. That's against our American rights."

"Sounds like something China would do." Bucky muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, except China was about lowering population, this is about increasing it." Tony muttered, head in hands. For him, he was attempting to think about why America would do this. Usually, they were doing everything they could to decrease the population.

"It must do with us, right?" You finally asked. Everyone stopped spouting theories to look at you. "They didn't make this rule until after we were officially married. Not to mention, there's helicopters flying over this house, trying to figure out what our reactions are going to be to the news."

There was silence as the others thought over what I was saying.

"What do we do about it?" Steve asked.

"Y/N was right before." Loki said. "We have all the time in world as we are all immortal. I don't see any reason why we should worry."

"Or Fraternal twins and triplets." Thor's voice sounded. You all spun, as no one had even seen him come into the room. You had no idea when he had joined the conversation or how much he had heard.

"Fraternal twins?" Rhodey questioned.

"Children who are born at the same time but have different fathers." Thor said with a shrug. "It's rare, but it can't happen. Especially if the father's are Gods or super soldiers."

That made Bucky, Sam, and Steve all exchange an embarrassed glance.

"So, hypothetically," Sam started, "she could potentially had triplets but say the three of us are each a father of one of the children?"

"Exactly." Thor nodded.

There was more silence and then Tony sighed, "We're going to need more rooms."

[bluejaywuzhere]

Collisions of Then and Now

For the Flufftober prompts: Days 4, 11, 13, 14, 18, 28, Alt 1, Alt 2, and Alt 3: Market Day; Ingredients & Spells; Attic, Cellar, Hidden Room; Fantasy AU/Mundane AU; Bewitched; Lucky Charm; “I’ve got you”; Rainy Day; “Wait, you love me?” - “I always have”

- - - - - - - - -

James Buchanan Barnes hadn't always been of the magical world. He had been normal, once. Before the war, before Hydra, before ice, he’d been a normal young man in a normal village with a normal best friend and housemate. 

Well, he supposed his housemate wasn't the most normal. Stevie had always had health problems, and despite his best efforts, it’d been hard on him and his mother’s finances. When Ms. Sarah passed (bless her soul) and Stevie needed help with managing the house, Bucky moved in to help his buddy out. Yeah, sure maybe it wasn’t the most normal of situations, but it worked for them and they were happy. And then their kingdom of America declared war and everything got a lot more complicated. 

- - - - - - - - -

Bucky said he’d volunteered (that was a lie. The royal guard had threatened his sister). He said he was fighting for his kingdom (that was also a lie. He was fighting for his sister. He was fighting for Stevie. Maybe it was selfish, but he didn't give a damn about America). He said he’d be back soon (he hadn't meant that to be a lie. It was). 

- - - - - - - - -

His entire troop was captured by the other side, instead of being slaughtered (at the time, he was thankful. But later, Bucky decided he would have preferred death to the hell they put him through). 

- - - - - - - - -

It was a league of witches, witches who called themselves Hydra. They were experimenting with spells and potions and runes,  combining all three into dangerous magics that they hoped would help achieve immortality (and if not immortality, enough power to win the war). Bucky became a test subject (it felt like they were pumping lava into his veins sometimes, turning his skin inside out other times, and some of the worst times it felt like all the warmth was being leeched from his insides. He wasn’t surprised that everyone died, he was only surprised that he had survived). 

- - - - - - - - -

Steve (brilliant, wonderful, idiotic Steve) rescued him. Steve had signed up for an American experimental program and had become extremely strong and fast and tall and healthy. Steve had barged into Hydra’s little lair and stolen Bucky away. Steve, who used to be fifty pounds soaking wet and couldn't run more than six feet before wheezing. (Stevie, who made the most fantastic paintings and had the biggest heart ever for such a tiny body. Stevie, who fought guys three times his size in back alleys, on the justification that “he was attacking her, Bucky” and “he can’t just say that about the men who’re out there dying for us”). Steve, who their kingdom called Captain and lauded with glory, who didn't care beyond the muscle and blonde hair, who girls fawned over and littered with kisses. Steve, who meant no more to America than a glorified weapon. (Steve, who Bucky knew better than himself and who he would die for a thousand times).

- - - - - - - - -

Bucky didn't know it, but Hydra had stuck magic inside him. America had done the same with Steve. Magic that would keep him alive. Through tortures, through swords, through ice. 

- - - - - - - - -

Bucky fell. Hydra found him. And this time, they made sure that he could never resist them again. 

- - - - - - - - -

Seventy years. They kept him spelled him, tested things on him, and made him a murderer. He was their puppet for seventy years. 

- - - - - - - - -

Stevie saved him. Stevie always saved him (true love broke the most powerful of curses). 

- - - - - - - - -

After everything was said and done, Bucky left America. He established his own little hut in the forest, bought spellbooks, and tried to make a living for himself. After a few years, Stevie hesitantly showed up on his doorstep. Bucky, like always, welcomed him with open arms. It was five years before anything disturbed them again.

- - - - - - - - -

After almost a decade of practicing magic (or well, ninety-something years if you counted the mindless Hydra puppet years, which Bucky did not), Bucky Barnes was getting used to being a witch. And he humbly considered himself to be fairly decent at it. So, when a traveler asked for a luck charm, Bucky deemed it an easy request to answer.  

“Steve, we’re out of yarrow again!” Bucky yells over his shoulder, frowning at the empty space where the dried yellow flowers were supposed to be. 

Steve pokes his head through the wide open doorway separating the kitchen and the sitting room, furrowing his brows as Bucky rifles through the cupboards. 

“You sure? I swear we just bought some three suns ago.” 

Bucky sighs and shakes his head, his grown-out hair swishing strangely around his face. 

“Yeah, I did! Where’s it all gone?” He complains. Steve thinks for a moment, walking into the kitchen and resting his big blonde head on Bucky’s shoulder. “Well, if we’re really out, then the market is open until sunset tonight. You have a deadline, right?”

Bucky groans, thunking his temple against Steve’s head. “Yes.” He grumbles, turning his face into Steve’s fair hair. Bucky distantly notes that it smells faintly of grass and fresh linen. “I have seven suns as of today. It takes two to brew the potion, and then it has to soak for three. ‘M already cutting it close as is.” 

Steve smiles into Bucky’s shoulder before pulling away, reaching around Bucky’s head to close the open cabinet. 

“Well then, you better get to it, Mr. Magic Man.” 

Bucky rolls his eyes and swats Steve’s shoulder, nodding towards the door. 

“You gonna come with me?” He demands, and his acerbic tone would have sounded terse and harsh to anyone else, but Steve knows it was simply Bucky’s way of hiding (whatever it was that it was hiding). Steve beams at him and whacks his shoulder as he passes. “Of course! I need to get some more sorrel anyway. I’ll grab the umbrella.” 

- - - - - - - - -

One accomplishment of Hydra’s experiments with Bucky was diluting the effects of what Hyrda dubbed ‘wasser-seele-korrosion,’ literally, ‘water-soul-corrosion’. A common consequence of gaining witch powers was that fresh or running water would erode one’s core of magic, destroying them from the inside out. Hydra’s efforts to reverse the side effects were not entirely successful, but they did manage to reduce the fatalistic nature of water to witches: instead of the water eating away at one’s soul, it would eat away at one’s skin. Thus, instead of killing the subject, it would merely cause them unbearable pain. Needless to say, Hydra saw this as an outstanding breakthrough and tested it on a live subject at the first opportunity. Specifically, the super-enhanced, bewitched live subject they had helpfully in custody.

- - - - - - - - -

When in the process of changing, Bucky resolutely avoided the mirrors. After nearly a decade of being free from Hydra’s control, he still wasn’t able to look at his patchwork of scars without feeling sick. Especially his arm- god, every time he caught even a flash of metal, he had to stop and breathe for a moment. 

- - - - - - - - -

In another one of their experiments, Hydra had turned his left arm into solid metal. They spelled it to feel normal, to move like normal, to feel no different than his arm made of flesh and blood and bone, disregarding the fact that they had irreversibly transformed skin and muscle into steel. They then made him use that arm to spatter blood and crush bone. 

- - - - - - - - -

Bucky takes a breath and pulls off his shirt, flinching as sunlight glints off the metal. He closes his eyes and breathes, feeling the air in his lungs and the wooden flooring beneath his feet. He pulls on a new shirt, the feeling of his fingers scraping over his pockmarked back sending shivers of revulsion down his spine. Eyes still closed, he grabs a glove to fit over his metal hand. Only once the entirety of his left arm, from his shoulder to his fingertips, is covered, only then does he open his eyes and breathe freely. No panic attacks, then. A good day.

- - - - - - - - -

Steve smiles brightly when Bucky emerges. If he notices Bucky’s shaking shoulders and the way he grasps Steve’s arm a little too tight, he doesn’t mention it. Instead, Steve starts chattering about his paintings. Bucky knows that Steve mostly paints for himself, but he’s recently received his first commission, which he’s working on now. Steve talks about the difficulty of certain pieces and how hard it is to get the colors right, but also about how good it‘s turning out. Bucky relaxes bit by bit at the sound of Steve’s voice. Warm, familiar, soothing, and above all else, safe. Then Steve says something that makes Bucky tune back in sharply: 

“Hey, do you mind if I draw you sometime?” Bucky shoots him a sharp look, mind whirling. Steve just gazes at him, expression open, honest. Bucky doesn't know what to say. He’s… he’s thought about Steve drawing him. He’s always squashed that thought down though, because… well, that’s not really something friends do. And Bucky‘s long since buried any hope of being anything more than friends with Steve. 

“You want me to… you want to draw me?” Bucky hedges, still eyeing Steve for, well, he doesn't know what he’s expecting. Steve doesn’t seem like he’s joking, or playing some kind of prank, but Bucky can't quite believe the words coming out of his best friend’s mouth (best friend, that’s what Steve is, dammit, and that's all he’s ever going to be, Bucky has to keep reminding himself). Steve is still smiling, oblivious to Bucky’s overthinking. 

“Yeah! You have a very pretty face. I’ve wanted to draw it for a long time, but I wanted to be able to do it justice. Now, I think I can draw you right.” Steve says sheepishly, and well, how can Bucky say no to that?

- - - - - - - - -

The market is surprisingly busy, considering it’s past mid-sun and barely halfway through the lunar cycle. It is always busy on a full or new moon, or solstice, or at night, but to be this busy in the sunlight on no remarkable moon is… odd. Bucky finds himself uneasy. Something’s wrong. Steve feels it too. There’s something different in the air, and it’s making them both nervous. Instead of splitting up like they usually would, by unconscious and mutual agreement, they stick together. Bucky pays for the yarrow with quick hands and a strained smile, every hair on the back of his neck sticking straight up. When he bids hasty farewells to the yarrow seller and looks around anxiously, he accidentally locks eyes with a strangely familiar-looking guy across the square. Bucky has a moment to wonder where he’s seen him before, and then Steve brightens and hurries over, beckoning Bucky to follow him.

“Sam!” Steve whisper-yells and the guy nods tersely, glancing around. 

“Oh yeah, I remember you,” Bucky realizes, finally remembering glowing red wings that appear and disappear at will. Sam nods hello, then turns back to Steve. 

“America’s rounding up anyone magic. Everyone, actually. The king sent out the whole royal army, they’re sweeping every house within a three-sun journey. Word on the street is that we’re all gonna be killed. Be careful.” Sam warned. Steve nods seriously, sharing a nervous glance with Bucky. 

“We’ll be careful. You be safe too, okay?” He asks, and Sam smiles. “Hey, I’m not the one with a damn metal arm, for Christ’s sake.” 

Bucky tries not to flinch, Steve takes his hand, and Sam notices. “You two take care of each other now.” He says, a not-so-subtle smirk tugging at his lips. Steve, for some reason, blushes. As they leave the market, Bucky’s mind lingers on it because what the hell was that?

- - - - - - - - -

It’s a long walk back to their hut: Bucky chose a pretty secluded spot deep in the woods, which is a little inconvenient for trips to and from the market, but it’s rather protected. They have plenty of time before the soldiers get there. Nevertheless, Steve and Bucky begin preparations. There have been raids in the past, usually lawless flash mobs with torches and pitchforks. Not much danger if one knows a simple concealing spell. But the king's royal army would be a much more formidable force. Their armor is constructed to see through enchantments and their blades are sharpened to slice through any conjured barriers. No, against this foe, Bucky and Steve have but three options: they can either stay and pretend to be nothing more than simple peasants (difficult, considering they’re a fair distance from the nearest village and Bucky has a solid metal arm), they can abandon their home and flee into the woods until the guards move on (problem is, neither of them wants to leave), or they can split up, with Bucky hiding in the woods and Steve staying behind to watch the house (no way in hell). After too much time spent deliberating, Bucky finally sighs.

“Steve, there's nothing for it. We're gonna have to jump ship.” 

“Buck, we can't just leave. Our lives are here, we have to stay and fight.” Steve, unsurprisingly, is being stubborn, but Bucky’s made up his mind. 

“No, Steve, listen. I can hide the magic stuff. We can pack a bag each, fill ‘em with what we can’t leave behind, and we can go.” Steve opens his mouth to argue, but Bucky presses on, reaching out and gripping his arm. 

“Steve, Stevie listen to me. We can leave the house. The house doesn't matter, what matters is that we don't lose each other again, okay? That's what's important.” 

And well, Steve can’t seem to argue against that.

- - - - - - - - -

Bucky’s in the middle of transfiguring the cauldron when a rough thunk-thunk-thunk sounds at the door. Bucky knows that noise. It’s armor on wood. It’s the royal guard, hours early. Some bastard must’ve let slip about the witch in the woods, and now the royal army is seconds away from knocking down Bucky’s front door and he’s not ready, they aren’t supposed to be here yet, why are they here- 

“Breathe,” Steve’s voice cuts through Bucky’s panicked spiraling, and he blinks, suddenly staring into Stevie’s blue blue eyes. 

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. We need to go, Buck,” He says, calm and sweet as molasses candy on a Sunday morning. “You’re doing great, sweetheart. Come on Buck, that’s it. One foot in front of the other.” Steve gently leads Bucky over to the back door, snagging both their bags as he goes and quietly turns the handle, slipping out into the wild as the soldiers finally break down the front door. 

- - - - - - - - -

There’s a tree hollow that they’ve hidden in before. When the nightmares were too much, when the walls were closing in, when Bucky found himself awake at night, he’d make his way out to the little tree hollow and let nature lull him to sleep. Crickets and frogs drowned out the venomous spells that slithered around in his mind, and he could finally close his eyes peacefully. He often awoke in Steve’s arms, the blonde curled protectively around him even in sleep. 

That tree hollow is where Steve and Bucky hide, trusting good old-fashioned vines and leaves to artfully hide the entrance from view. They crouch there for what feels like hours, still as stone and hardly daring to breathe as soldiers clomp and stomp and yell and grumble, searching the undergrowth for the duo, at times mere inches from the witches in question. And when the soldiers finally, finally leave, the heavens open wide and dump the heaviest rainstorm of the season. Safe to say, Steve and Bucky aren’t going anywhere.

- - - - - - - - -

Bucky keeps pale blue eyes fixed on the deluge outside, hugging his knees to his chest and leaning his head on Steve’s solid shoulder. He knows Steve well enough to know that the blonde is very nervous about the sound of hammering raindrops against wood. They’re both more cautious of rain nowadays. Bucky doesn’t know what to do to help though, so he drops his soft brown head on Steve’s shoulder and breathes.

“You know I’m shit at emotions and stuff, but I’m here, okay Stevie? I’ve got you. You’re gonna be okay,” Bucky murmurs, and Steve sighs but relaxes minutely and rests his head on top of Bucky’s. 

“I know. Thanks, Buck,” 

- - - - - - - - -

Two days later, the house is more or less completely fixed, the royal army has moved on to bully some other witch, and Steve and Bucky are finally getting back to some semblance of normal. Then Bucky remembers the lucky charm he was supposed to make for the traveler and groans. 

“Steve, do you remember if we stored that yarrow?”

- - - - - - - - -

“Buck, could you grab the crushed buttercup for me?”

“Stevie, pass the hare fur.”

“Sweetheart, I needed oregano, not mint.”

“Ooh, hand me the goldenrod, doll,” 

- - - - - - - - -

Miraculously, they brew the potion, soak the charm, and have the package ready in time for the traveler to pick it up. 

Honestly, Bucky doesn't know how they did it. But hey, the traveler paid up generously (enough money for Bucky to get a nice new pack of paints for Stevie’s birthday), so Bucky wasn't about to complain over a job well done. 

After the whole soldier fiasco is over and the potion is delivered, Bucky decides to be productive and make a little hidey-hole in the cellar. When Steve comes down with a drink, a cool rag, and a few questions, he gives answers. 

“Don’t like seeing you scared. We can just hide down here next time bad guy come a-knocking.” Bucky mentions flippantly, wiping dirt off his forehead. 

Steve feels a tender warmth welling up in his chest, and he can’t contain a smile. “I love you, Buck.” 

They both freeze. 

It's the first time it’s been said out loud. 

Bucky’s heart is pounding too loudly in his throat, and he coughs, trying to dislodge it from where it’s very stubbornly hanging out by his vocal cords. 

“Wait, you- you love me?” He asks, his voice hoarse and crackly, scarcely believing what he’s hearing.

Steve swallows, and for a terrifying moment, he can’t speak. Everything freezes, his lungs seize up and his mouth won’t move. Bucky’s face shifts. He suddenly looks… frightened. Scared. No, terrified. It’s that heart-wrenching look that snaps Steve out of his frozen trance. He has to say something, anything to get that awful expression off Bucky’s face. “I- yes. God yes. Of course I love you, Buck. I always have.”

Slowly, ever so slowly, a blinding smile illuminates Bucky’s face. It's one of those rare, precious smiles that Steve treasures, hoards like valuable gold. Bucky’s sky-light eyes crinkle at the corners, his lips curl up, his skin turns a lovely shade of pink, and he smiles, brighter than the sun, moon, and all the stars in the sky. 

Steve would kill to keep seeing that smile. 

Bucky strides forward and grasps Steve’s head between his two hands, one flesh one metal, and presses their foreheads together. Steve closes his eyes, breathing in the orangy smell of Bucky’s soap, the slight tang of iron from his arm, the mildewy odor of the basement, and the woody, earthy scent of his magic that seeps from his being. Bucky’s flesh hand grazes against Steve’s jaw, and the blonde half-opens his eyes to find Bucky gazing at him, open, curious, hesitant, eager. He gently tugs Steve’s chin just a hair closer, then stops. 

Steve glances down at Bucky’s lips, red as an apple skin and half-parted. A most tempting invitation; one that Steve cannot find a single reason to refuse. 

- - - - - - - - -

A few truths of the universe:

One: Bucky Barnes has been, is, and will always be weak for Steve Rogers.

Two: Steve Rogers has been, is, and always will be weak for Bucky Barnes.

And three: strengths and weaknesses are often one and the same when it comes to Bucky and Steve.

- - - - - - - - -

Soon, the walls of Steve’s art studio are covered with Bucky’s face, in acrylic, in watercolor, in pencil, in charcoal, pale blue and chestnut, lashes, lips, eyes and a little quirk of a smile. 

Steve is in Bucky’s arms, and in Bucky’s bed and in Bucky’s heart. 

And he stays there. 

- - - - - - - - -

Thank you for reading!