#along with a couple lines of the Achilles bickering at each other

[baejax-the-great]

For the WIP game! "two achilles" since I have no idea what it would be but you got me intrigued😆😆

I don't know if I'm ever going to actually finish this, but it was spawned from people asking me if there is a modern Achilles kicking around somewhere in Sunset. This conglomeration of snippets was me playing around with the idea before I got distracted (which means I did not get far at all).

~

Achilles decides on the jetway that he is quitting his job the minute he gets back from what will be his last business trip. Going to Chicago in February sounded like a stupid idea to begin with, a five-hour flight from LA when telephones and the internet and webcams exist, and the blast of cold air that hit his face as he passed the threshold from plane to gate was enough winter for him. He’s done going on idiotic excursions under someone else’s orders.

There is a man staring at him across the lobby, presumably waiting for his coffee from the long queue that has spilled out of the store. This is not an unusual occurrence for Achilles, but the expression on his face is strange. Rather than interest or even blatant-lust, he is frowning at Achilles like he is completely confused as to his existence here. Achilles would brush this off as mere crudeness of the locals if that man were not one of the most beautiful people he has ever seen in his life. He has dark skin, long black hair in coils pulled into a bun at the back of his head and cascading out of it, and dark eyes that, even squinting with whatever confusion he is experiencing, seem to be inviting him over.

When the man turns his attention elsewhere, Achilles quickly glances down at himself to make sure he isn’t stained with something. No, his suit is perfect, pristine and ironed, not a button out of place. At least he can be certain that isn’t the reason for the attention.

“Have we met before?” the man asks him cautiously. From anyone else, he would think it was a line. He wouldn’t have minded if it were a line. But he sounds sincere. He also sounds vaguely English, which is intriguing. Not a local then.

“I think I would remember you.”

 “You’d be surprised. Memory can be very fickle, I’ve recently found.”

[prettyyoungtragedy]

Written in the Stars (2)

Characters: Bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x reader

Summary: You’re the type of woman who is headstrong and fiercely independent. Heiress to a fortune and one of the most brilliant minds of the 21st century. Until you’re forced into witness protection. Your “Protection” turns out to be 220 pounds of dreamy, sassy, delightful Bucky Barnes. Whatever could go wrong?

Warnings: Swearing, if that's a warning these days. 

A/N: Oh man, all the love for chapter one made me scream! I hope you like part 2, here’s Bucky being bossy, an annoyed reader and a little sassy humor for everyone! if ya wanna be kind and throw me a pretty comment and a reblog? I’ll love you forever.

This was generously Beta’d by my beta @suz-123 without whom I will never have any good ideas! thank you buddy!

Tags: Hit me up in my ASK box!

Links are being an asshole so you can find other chapters of this fic in my WIP masterlist in my bio!

“Think you can handle this?” Sam asked as he handed Bucky one of his handguns, watching his friend strap on his bulletproof vest. Bucky didn’t need it but it was better to be safe than sorry in this case, especially when Hydra was involved they probably had ways of bringing the Winter Soldier down.

“Yes, what do I look like? An amateur?” Bucky responded rolling his eyes at Sam’s incredulous question, taking the gun from his hand and holstering it to his hip.

“You know that’s not what I mean.” Sam shoved Bucky’s shoulder slightly.

“I know, I’ll fine. It’ll be fine,” He gives Sam a reassuring smile. The pair were an odd couple but had become the support the other needed in hard times. It was weird sharing this unbreakable bond of friendship because of Steve, but it was a comfort to both of them knowing each had the others back. When they weren’t bickering incessantly with each other Sam and Bucky were a formidable force.

“What time is the meeting set for?” Sam gives Bucky the black box with the comms in them and waited as he placed it in his ear.

“Steve and I are meeting at the new apartment in an hour, I have to escort her there.”

“And she’s fine with moving apartments?”

“What do you think?” Bucky’s tone dripping with sarcasm,

Sam laughed and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, gripping it lightly. “That woman is going to eat you alive buddy,”

“Nah, women love me, it’ll be a walk in the park.”

Sam nods, “Well, good luck out there, man. This might not be President Ellis but she sure as shit is more important to us, right now.”

“Don’t need luck,” Bucky grinned at him as the two of them walked out of the weapons vault, he strutted a few feet in front of Sam before turning around to face him, “I am the fucking Winter Soldier.” He spreads his arms cockily as if he were showing off his grandeur.

This response makes Sam chortle with laughter, and shake his head at Bucky’s arrogance. He wasn’t wrong though, Bucky Barnes was part The Winter Soldier and part Avenger, he was a fucking machine.

~~~

It was barely seven in the morning when you hear the door to the safe house open, the rather shitty safe house that Nick Fury and his squad of morons had forced you to live in the past four days.

The soft creak of the wooden floors as their footfalls hit the hardwood. The alarm bells in your head going off and, immediately, you shot up out of the double bed and to your feet, ready to fight whoever was walking towards the bedroom door, not that you were any kind of fighter but if worst comes to worst, you’d be ready to get scrappy about it.

To say you were a little on edge because of the briefing yesterday wouldn’t be a lie. You were putting on this sarcastic brave face, but in fact, you had spent the entire night tossing and turning too afraid that if you close your eyes you wouldn't wake up the next morning.

So, when the bedroom door was flung open, it was only natural in your tired, sleep deprived state that you let out a scream of terror, only to come face to face with James Buchanan Barnes.

“Well good morning to you, too.” He said amusement in his eyes as he took in your cowering figure which was now in a pathetic defensive stance.

“What the fucking fuck?!” You exclaimed at him, straightening up, trying to pick up the modicum of dignity you had left after that scream.

“I was testing you.” He shrugged.

“What the fuck kind of test was that?!”

“To see how quick your reflexes are in a panicked situation.”

You stared open mouthed at him for a moment, a million insults hurling through your mind which you wanted to shout at him, but, instead, you snap your mouth shut and glower at him. Folding your arms over your chest, you realized you were barely clad in a t-shirt and scanty shorts that had been given to you by some shield task force member, as you hadn’t been allowed to your apartment yet to get any of your clothes.

“Get dressed, we’re moving you to a secure location today.” He ordered completely ignoring the fact that you were giving him a death stare.

“Wait, what, when do I get to go home?” You rebutted, but Bucky doesn’t listen to you. He whirled around and marched out the bedroom shutting the door in your face. Once again, you are left stunned at just how rude this asshole was, you stared at the door open-mouthed and blinked rapidly, never in your life had you ever been ordered around and it was infuriating you.

You took a slow deep breath and clenched your fists at your side,

“Deep breaths,” You muttered to yourself, “You can’t kill him, he’s the reason you’re going to live through this shit show.”

One. Two. Three.

You exhaled deeply and opened your eyes, “You can kill him after.”

This thought seemed to make you gleeful, and suddenly you had an idea. If the Winter Soldier was going to be your bodyguard and make your life hard, you were going pull the exact same shit with him. Then and there you decided to be the most painful version of yourself just to see how far you could push your limits with him before he quit.

Grinning to yourself at your plan you made your way to the bathroom to get dressed.

~~~

Twenty minutes later, you stood in front of your protection detail. The Winter Soldier stands a few feet closer to you than the rest of them, he hands you a little ID with your picture printed on it, a watch that has a small sleek black screen on it and what looked like a phone.

“ID to get you in and out of the tower without hassle,” He pointed to it, “The watch is programmed with a tracking device and is connected to Stark servers as well as FRIDAY the Avengers personal AI, there’s a heart monitor, for proof of life and should your heartbeat drop or become erratic in any way it will alert your protection detail. Anything you need, touch your finger to the screen and it will assist you, like a personal assistant. Should I not be with you, there is a panic button and it will alert us of your danger.”

“Proof of life, like I’m a hostage. How fun.” You retorted. You waited as he slid the watch onto your wrist, and the screen flashed to life.

“Good morning, Sergeant Barnes.” A female voice with an Irish lilt rang through the receiver of the watch startling you, slightly.

“Hi FRIDAY, configure the watch. It is on the subject, lock in the location and secure Astro mode.”

“Astro mode?” You piped up looking at Bucky.

“Highest security level.” He responded not looking at you, his gaze is fixed on the watch as he waited for it to configure.

“Configuration complete.” FRIDAY states and Bucky nodded.

Then he pointed to the sleek black phone like object in your hand, “Stark tech, no incoming call or text can get through without going through the security checks at the Avengers tower. All your contacts have been programmed in there and no one can trace the IP or caller ID on your phone. The only people with this number is myself, Steve Rogers and Director Fury, for safety reasons, of course, no one but me will call you.”

“Wait, why do I have to give up my phone? That is stupid.” You began to protest but the look Bucky gives you shuts you up instantly. Clearly, he isn’t in the mood for your shit, well, at least not yet.

He ignores your little outburst and then almost robotically turned away from you towards the three men that stood behind him, patiently waiting for him to finish giving you instructions.

“These three are handpicked by me for this assignment, each one of them has gone through stringent tests and background searches before being assigned to protect you. Should I not be around, the highest ranking officer will step in and take over protection detail.”

“Why wouldn’t you be around, I thought you were supposed to hover like an annoying shadow?” You interjected, sarcastically.

Bucky gives you a deadpan look and ignores your comment again, “For safety reasons, they will only be known to you by their code names.” He pointed to the blonde on the far right, he looked like he deadlifted buildings, “Agent 27; codename Achilles,”

Then pointed to the brunette with blue eyes and a grim face, “Agent 12; code name Arcas,”

Lastly, he pointed to the tallest of them all, broad-shouldered with a hard face, he looked like he never smiled. “Agent 8; codename Dionysus.”

“What’s with the Greek codenames?” You asked, genuinely curious why all their codenames were that of Greek mythology.

Before Bucky could answer you, however, his phone rang and he quickly answered it. A curt conversation over the line indicated to you that whoever was on the other end was telling him to hurry up because he muttered something along the lines of ‘Have some fucking patience’, before cutting the call.

“Let’s move.” He nodded curtly to the rest of the agents, they immediately dispersed and headed for the exit. You waited a moment before Bucky turned towards you, his expression is stoic and hard, and you sense an immediate shift in his attitude.

It was time to get to work.

“I have three golden rules, three rules for you to follow and we will be fine in every situation.” Bucky’s voice almost steely and robotic as he spoke, “Number one, I move, you move, doesn’t matter when or where, you listen to every instruction I give you, no arguments. You stay behind me at all times, there isn’t a moment when you’re ahead of me, unless, I specifically instruct you to be so. I am your human shield, you got it?”

“Oh good, a human shield. This should be fun.” Your snide answer goes unanswered by him as he continued.

“Number two, I am not here to fuck around, I’m not a pretty boy for you to show off to your high society friends, I am not in the field of playing games and entertaining your bullshit. My number one priority is keeping you alive, and if you act like an idiot, you die and I don’t need that on  my resume.”

“You think you’re a pretty boy?” You barked out a laugh

“The prettiest,” He bit back before continuing, again, “Number three. Wherever you are, I am. You do not go anywhere without me. You have to piss? I am standing at the door. You have a check-up at the doctor? I am there. You need to blow your nose? I give you the tissue. Do you understand?”

“I mean this is a little excessive don’t you thi-”

“Do you understand.” He cuts you off in a demanding voice, your defiant eyes meet his and you glared at him.

The instructions seemed simple enough but the fact that he was going to control every aspect of your life was suddenly annoying you. He was right, everything you did he was going to have to be there for it and that didn’t sit well with you.

“I have a life you know, I can’t have you hovering around me when I go on dates and out with friends.”

“Well, in the interest of keeping you alive, you’re going to have to suck it up and deal with me hovering, sweetheart.” Bucky moved closer towards you, his steely eyes piercing into yours and as much as you want to fight his every command at that moment, the sensible side of your brain is telling you to shut up and listen to him, “Besides, you won’t be going on many dates in the coming months, believe me.”

“I mean you can try and stop me from living my life, but good luck with that,” You jeered back at him, folding your arms over your chest in defiance.

A look of shock skittered across his face for a moment before he reigns his emotions in, and that stoic expression settled over his face again. Bucky is about to say something to you but changes his mind and just shakes his head.

“Follow my every instruction when we leave,” He ordered you and you felt your nerves prickle at the demanding tone he used with you, but you remained silent, “I move, you move? Got it.”

“Yes Soldier, I got it. Relax.”

Bucky clenched his jaw at your response but chooses to ignore your sarcasm again, clearly, his resolve was resolute because you would have at least expected some kind of chirp back with all the sass you were giving him.

He turned away from you and began to make his way out of the safehouse with you following closely behind him. It’s a quick trip down the elevator and into the lobby of the building where your usual car was waiting for you. You were a little relieved that not everything had changed, you still had the same driver and the same car.

Small victories. You thought.

For a moment you forgot that you were under supervision and walked a little faster, cutting in front of Bucky in an attempt to get to the car before him. It’s an innocent mistake on your part as you neared the freedom of being in a car and not cooped up in that safe house, but that moment of freedom is suddenly wrenched away as quickly as it arrived.

Bucky hand closes around your arm halting you just seconds before your hand touches the door to the lobby entrance. Whether he intended to or not, the force with which he stopped you from exiting startled you and you gasped in shock.

“What the-” You began to say but he cuts you off.

“Stay behind me, I said I move, you move. How am I supposed to protect you if you’re in front of me?” He snapped at you letting go of your arm.

“God fucking damn it, it’s like two meters to the car!” You exclaimed.

Bucky took a deep breath and steadied his temper. He was about two seconds away from yelling at you in the middle of the lobby, but he knew he couldn't, or Steve would punch the lights out of him for embarrassing the team and being unprofessional, also not with these many witnesses around. He stepped around you and pushed open the door, the cool morning air hitting his skin as it gusted into the lobby.

His eyes scanned the area from the entrance to the car, he takes in every detail he can, the pedestrians walking past, the other guests at the hotel moving around, talking to each other walking in and out, his eyes move like a hawk across the rooftops of the building for any signs of danger then when he was satisfied he stepped aside and gestured for you to start walking again.

You rolled your eyes at him and rather caustically walked out the lobby raising your hands in surrender as you approached the car. A hint of amusement hits him as he watched you walk over to the car and throw him a belligerent look before getting in loudly calling out to him,

“Oh, look, whatever shall I do, I made it to the car by myself.” You rolled your eyes at him so hard, Bucky could have sworn he heard them roll.

He shook his head and followed you, biting back the sudden smile that wanted to appear on his face from that display you had just put on.

Man, you weren’t going to make this easy for him.

~~~

Bucky stood in the massive living room of your penthouse apartment in Manhattan, his eyes moving across the living space with quiet amazement. He had been around technological advances and Stark’s fancy lifestyle long enough to know luxury but this, this place was phenomenal.

The entire space looked like it belongs in a magazine, from the beige tones throughout the room, accented by creams and golds to the marble flooring and pillars that stood at the entrances to it.

There wasn’t a thing out of place, not a speck of dust anywhere. For a home, Bucky found it surprisingly cold, but the problem with it was there was too much open space which was like an invitation for anyone trying to get to you.

There were staff that worked for you, chefs, cleaning staff, a driver, people who picked up your clothes, bought them for you, your personal assistant, too many people and too many eyes for his liking.

He didn’t have time to screen every single person in your life, so he made an executive decision right then. The team would have to move you to a different safe house or keep you at the one you were at. It was just safer that way, and if push came to shove he would have Steve run background on everyone in your life before bringing you back here.

Of course, he knew this wasn’t going to sit well with you and a small part of him felt amused by the fact that you were probably going to throw a shitfit about it.

“Sergeant Barnes?” A voice brings his attention back to the people in front of him and he looked up at the person, it was one of the STRIKE members they’d brought here to fit in a new security system.

“What is it?” He replied,

“We are done setting up the system, would you like us to show her how it works?” The agent asked,

Bucky shook his head and took the tablet from his outstretched hand, “No, I’ll run through that with my team. Thanks.”

The agent gave him a polite nod before he walked away once more. Bucky scrolled through the system they’d installed throughout your apartment, it was one of Stark’s best security systems linked directly to FRIDAY. It was biometric so only the pre-approved list of persons could come and go without him knowing about it, but he still didn’t like this place.

Just then you walked into the living room and looked around for a moment before your eyes met his and you crossed your arms at the sight of him. Bucky smirked,

He annoyed you, good.

“So are they done wreaking havoc around my home?” You asked annoyance thick in your tone,

“Yes they are but don’t get comfortable yet, we’re going back to the safe house.”

“Wait what, why?”

“Because I have decided you won’t be staying here,”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused, go pack your shit up.”

Bucky watched as your face turned from shocked to completely enraged, he was full well expecting a tantrum from you and that is exactly what he received. Amusement rippled through him as he watched you defiantly fold your arms over your chest and start yelling obscenities at him.

“Absofuckinglutely not! I refused to stay one more night in that crappy apartment in Brooklyn, I would much rather Hydra kill me then stay one more night in that hell hole.” You exclaimed dramatically, “I was promised protection not uprooting my entire fucking life to go live in Brooklyn for this trial, I will not leave, I refuse. You can go to hell,”

You were breathing heavily from anger when you were finally done yelling at him, all while Bucky just looked at you with a bored expression on his face.

“Are you done?” He asked,

“Not even close,”

“Okay well, then you can continue to yell at me once we’re in the car, let’s go.”

And before you could even say anything further, Bucky gripped your arm firmly but gently and began to haul you towards your bedroom to collect your things.

~~~

It was supposed to be business as usual but it felt like the furthest thing from it. You walked into your lab on Friday morning and were met with the sight of Bucky Barnes leaning against the wall, sunglasses on, one hand in the pocket of his black jeans and the other holding his phone in the other. Dark hair falling into his eyes as he frowned down at his phone.

“Why the fuck are you here?” You sighed walking up to him not bothering to say good morning or any other pleasantries for that matter.

Bucky looked up from his phone, an amused smile on his face, he tucked his dark hair behind his ear on one side and shoved his phone into his pocket.

“Why, good morning sunshine.” He replied smoothly, amusement ripe in his voice.

“Again, why are you here?”

“I feel like you seem to be forgetting my instructions.” Bucky said pulling off his sunglasses and revealing those ridiculously blue eyes, “I said, I move, you move, but somehow this morning I show up to move you and, whaddya know? You’ve already left for the day, care to explain?”

There is clear sarcasm in his tone but also a hint of demand. He’s upset with you but isn’t showing it or trying not to at this point. You didn’t want to be escorted to work, not after the shit show last night when you had to run through the entire layout of your penthouse home with them only to have Bucky tell you that you will no longer be allowed to live there because there were too many entrance points.

Needless to say, you threw a shit fit, and stormed off, but, alas, were followed by the Winter Soldier who wordlessly put you in your car and drove you right back to the safehouse, kicking and screaming.

So this morning, you awoke earlier than usual, got dressed and slipped out of the safehouse, without any of the agents noticing. It actually amazed you how easily you got past them, clearly, they weren’t very good at their jobs.

Your whole life you had the freedom to come and go as you pleased and now that you had to hand over the reins of your life to someone else, it was frustrating you. Your every move was going to be monitored and someone beside you at all times, this wasn't the life you were used to.

“Jesus H. Christ, I just needed to feel normal for two seconds, okay. I can get myself to work safely.” You said irritably rubbing your forehead with your hand.

“No, you can’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t get yourself to work safely because you don’t know what threats there are out there. I, on the other hand, do and seeing as it’s my job to get you places safely, I would appreciate a modicum of agreement here.”

“So would I.” You retorted stubbornly, “You have me cooped up in that shitty safehouse in Brooklyn, when my gorgeous Manhattan apartment is going to waste, deserted and dying without me in it.”

You watched him sigh and clench his jaw again, becoming frustrated with your defiance. Bucky ran his fingers through his hair and looked down at you, a scowl on his handsome face, now.

“I am really trying to be patient here,” He said exasperatedly, “but you’re not making this easy, can you please just follow my instructions?”

“Fucking fuck, fine. But can I at least move out of that shitty apartment and into my home again? I hate that fucking place.”

Bucky lets out an exhale, the exasperation clear all over his face. “Fine, We will move you to a different location not your place but one better than what you’re at, also I take you to work and get you home every day, end of story.”

You rolled your eyes and brushed past him, walking into your lab. Bucky followed you, you watched as his eyes sweep the entirety of it before they settled back on you.

“I really don’t think you need to be here 24/7,” You sighed, “This whole situation is being made such a big deal of, I can take care of myself, you know.”

“This is not a game.” He replied moving to lean against one of the metal lab tables.

“I didn't say it was but I know what I have gotten myself into and I can handle it!”

“No one is saying you can’t, but, you need to take this seriously-”

“I am taking this seriously! You think I don’t know what’s at stake here?!” You were suddenly shouting at him, “I am uprooting my entire life for this god damn cause, I am going against my family for this cause, I know the seriousness of it all!”

“Then stop acting like a child and listen to me!” He shouts back and you fell silent. You weren't expecting him to yell back at you, and it kind of scared you. Bucky suddenly stood taller and his figure seemed to double in size as if he rose to his full height, and it was dominating.

“Get out, I need to work.” You muttered turning away from him so he wouldn’t see the sudden tears in your eyes. It was frustration and fear building up inside you and he wasn’t helping.

Bucky took a deep breath and reigned his anger in, he shouldn’t have yelled at you, but he doesn’t care right now. All he knows is he needs to keep you safe and if you are a belligerent asshole the entire time, it’s going to end up costing someone their life and he’d rather it was not you.  

“I will be outside,” Bucky said in a steely voice before he turned sharply and marched out of your lab once more, leaving you alone with the silence, your thoughts and the panic now rising in your chest.

~~~

The lab felt like a safe little bubble as you lost yourself in your work. Hours ticked by before you noticed the ache in your stomach reminding you it was time to eat something. You glanced up at the clock and realized it was almost one in the afternoon, you also realized that you had left Bucky to wait outside for you not bothering to check up on him.

Why the fuck do you care? You had no idea but you felt a little guilty leaving the giant brick shithouse of a human to wait outside for you.

Grumbling under your breath about how stupid it was that you needed him to hover once again, you pulled off your lab coat and tossed it onto the table before walking out of your lab.

You half expected Bucky to be waiting for you right outside the door but to your surprise, he was not. A small part of you was disappointed that he wasn’t but you shoved that aside and quickly made your way toward the elevator, maybe he was going to let up on this ridiculous notion that he had to accompany you everywhere and you could have a peaceful lunch.

Hitting the elevator button repeatedly, you waited watching the orange light flash from floor to floor as it came up to you.

“Just so you know, repeatedly hitting the button doesn’t make the elevator go any faster.” A voice suddenly said beside you, it was close to your ear.

You whirled around, a strangled scream almost erupting from your throat as you slapped your hand over your mouth to avoid screaming. You were met with Bucky’s amused blue eyes and a smirk on his face.

“Motherfucker!”

“No, that would require me to sleep with someone's mother, of which I have not done so, yet. I think,”

“Don’t fucking sneak up on me!”

“I did not, you don’t have situational awareness.” He shrugged.

“I so do.”

“Oh, really? Tell me one thing you noticed that is out of place on this floor.”

You glared at him for a moment, why was he always challenging you, then your gaze swept across the length of the area. It was the reception area of this floor, bright green plants, glass walls, metal doors and signs leading to every lab. The smell of rubbing alcohol and sterilizing agents mixed in the air, with a hint of cherries from the floor cleaner.

There are a few people about, the security guard, Wallace, who as always there, the receptionist, Jody, who was on the phone, a few people sat in the reception area. Either waiting for someone or something, you notice nothing out of the ordinary.

“There’s nothing out of place…” You say it a little hesitant because you already know he's placed something that sets him on edge.

“Look again,” He orders and you follow his command eyes moving across the room again, “See the security? He’s not wearing his badge, why? That should be a red flag already if you didn’t know him. He could be anyone.”

“I know Wallace, he’s worked here for years.” You retorted.

“Beside the point. Now, look at the receptionist, she's not focused on her surroundings, isn't watching who's coming and going, how will she know who any of her guests are? The guy in the green jacket on the couch,” Bucky gestured towards him and you looked in that direction,”He’s carrying a firearm, but I can see his police badge from here which means he's law enforcement, but why is he here?”

“Cops come here all the time for forensics, when they need help or are short staffed.”

“Right, but have you seen him before?”

You looked at the man and shook your head slowly, “No.”

“And see the lady over by the water cooler, look at her nervousness, she’s not supposed to be here and her body language tells me that, immediately.”

You hadn’t picked up any of the things Bucky had just pointed out to you, and it amazed you just how keen his attention to detail was.

“Last but not least,” Bucky stepped a little closer to you just as the elevator dined on the landing, “You walked out of your lab, looked around the room, and never saw me when I was sitting right here.” He motioned towards one of the chairs near the elevator and you frowned.

How the hell had you not seen him, that was not possible.

“But I-” You began to say and he shakes his head.

“Situational awareness.” Was all he said before he gripped your by the elbow and guided you onto the elevator, “Where to?”

“Lobby, we’re getting lunch.”

A curt nod and he pushed the button, his hand remaining on your arm the entire ride down to the lobby and even as he helped you into the car.

~~~

“There’s a bagel stand right there!” Bucky exclaimed, pushing open the lobby door the two of you walk out onto the steps of the massive office building, the air outside is cool and crisp, a nice change to the spring heat for once.

“Well, I don’t eat cheap bagels from a stand, I eat croissants from Butter.” You snorted shaking your head at him,

“What the fuck is Butter?”

“It’s my lunch restaurant, and you’re taking me there.”

“No, I am not.”

“Yes, you are.”

You crossed your arms defiantly and stood your ground in front of him. He’d already took your home from you and your freedom, he wasn’t going to take your lunch place from you now, too.

“Fucking hell,” Bucky muttered caving to your defiance.

~~~

“So, you got rid of my car.” You noted as the two of you walked into the restaurant you wanted to eat lunch at. Bucky tried to protest bringing you here, but you simply stated that if you didn't get lunch from this place you would have a full-scale meltdown in public and he would have to deal with it. To which he begrudgingly agreed even though he seemed tense the entire way there.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because the replacement is an armored car that can withstand the rounds of AR-15’s.”

You fell silent at that response, you weren’t expecting it or that he was prioritizing your safety at such a high level. As you walked towards the table near the window the usual spot you sat at Bucky stopped you. You frowned up at him and waited as he looked around the room, before steering you in a different direction.

“What are you doing? I want to sit there.” You protested.

“No, you can’t sit here.” He shook his head.

“James I want to sit there, I always sit there, it’s my table.”

“No. Look around, for fucks sake.”

You paused your argument for a moment and looked around with a frown, you clearly didn’t see what he saw.

“I don’t see anything.” You snapped.

“The exits are blocked from that area of the room, they are obstructed by the pillars. The window opens up the vulnerability of a sniper, and the area is raised, hazardous for quick escapes.”

Everything he had just pointed out was something you wouldn’t have even thought of, it made a little more sense why he was assigned to you, the man was like a robot when it came to safety.

“Situational awareness.” You said softly, realizing he was right.

“Situational awareness.” Bucky nodded, a pleased glint in his eyes when he sees you finally understand what he is trying to say.

“Alright, where are we sitting?” You asked.

Bucky gestured to a table nearby and walked you over, his hand on your back as he did so. The waitress comes over and hands you a menu she flashes Bucky a wide smile which he returns. Obviously, she blushes three shades of red and scurried off once more, you rolled your eyes at this. To be fair, he was really pretty.

Bucky took up a stance near the table not joining you, he crossed his arms over his massive chest, that broody look settling over his face once more as his eyes moved across the restaurant. You frowned at him,

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sit down, you idiot.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I don't care, I don’t want to attract attention by having your 220-pound ass hovering around me.”

“It’s for safety.”

“Well, you look really stupid and people are starting to stare, so sit the fuck down.”

Bucky chuckled, an actual chuckle and this amazed you. Had you really gotten the grumpy Winter Soldier to chuckle?

He doesn't say anything, instead, he walked over, kicked back the chair and dropped down into it, beside you. Resting his hulking forearms on the table, he looks at you, pointedly.

“Better?”

“Much.” You replied unable to keep the amused smile off your face.

He shook his head and said nothing. Instead, he watches you with a playful glint in his eyes. He doesn’t know how, or why, but he finds himself having a glimmer of interest in you. Maybe he even liked you a little, it was all that defiance and sass, it just reminded him of small Stevie.

Boy, was he in trouble with this one.

[gameofthronesrenlyxlorasforever]

Top ASOIAF Romances

These are my top asoiaf romances, meaning the ones I was rooting for and/or found fascinating. Sometimes there’s an overlap of “I find it interesting” and “I was rooting for it”, but not in each case. This is a mix of show and book canon because it turns out that most of the romantic relationships in asoiaf are pretty crappy. If we look beyond the actual novels though, there are quite a few gems.

#1 Renly x Loras 

The best OTP in the story, in my opinion. For one, we get lines like, “when the sun has set, no candle can replace it”. That is incredibly touching. It’s a King and his Knight. How can someone not love that? On the show, they depicted the relationship quite well. At first, that is. It was great in Season 2. Let’s leave it at that. I’ve talked about this before, but these boys met when they were quite young. Which means they were friends first and that’s beautiful. The tragedy is so heartbreaking, it’s at The Song of Achilles levels. The two m/m romances are similarly tender and affectionate. It’s an Achilles x Patroclus, Alexander x Hepheastion, romance. The lovers who went to war and only one returned, only for the other to die soon after. (Loras is alive in the books (maybe) but the way things have been on the show, I don’t see good things coming for any of the Tyrells : (       

#2 Ned x Catelyn 

What’s interesting about this Stark-Tully match is that it was an arranged marriage that turned into genuine love. People tend to complain about romances that are not dramatic enough, and these two could be in that category. If it weren’t for a couple of brilliant pieces of realistic drama in their relationship. Typically it’s contrived and silly whenever people who love each act like morons for the sake of relationship drama, but not in this case. The main reasons for Cat and Ned’s issues are that a) she was supposed to marry Brandon, Ned’s older brother. There’s a chance that Ned thinks Cat had feelings for Brandon, and I think she found him attractive in the way teen girls sometimes find “bad boys” attractive. At the same time, Cat was too smart not to be concerned about Brandon’s “wolfblood” nature. And b) Jon Snow. Their second relationship complication is Ned’s bastard. Specifically, that he refused to send Jon away to be fostered somewhere and chose to raise him along with his trueborn children instead. Cat didn’t so much care that Ned cheated on her (her patriarchy brain said “men have needs” and they were apart for a long time and hadn’t known each other well anyway) but that she had to see the consequence of his infidelity walking around Winterfell. Many people hate Cat for not loving Jon, but this is a world where the legitimacy of children is something people start wars over. She felt Jon’s very existence, and especially that he lived at Winterfell, put her own children at risk. Remember, we know Jon loves Cat’s kids, but when he was little, Cat had no way of knowing what type of person he would grow up to be. She feared he would murder her kids to become Lord Stark, a la Ramsay. Of course, the Ramsay situation hadn’t happened yet, but the Blackfyres had. Cat knew about those wars over succession that happened because of the mere existence of an alternate heir. Combine her history knowledge with the Westerosi prejudice against bastards and her choices make sense. So, even though Cat and Ned are a loving couple whose values and temperament work well together, they had their own share of relationship drama (the stuff people love when it comes to reading romance, apparently).  

#3 Oberyn x Ellaria 

The epic love between some of our most significant show!Dornish characters. I’d argue that Arianne and Quentyn end up being the more important players in the books. On the show, they went overboard with making sure we understood that Ellaria and Oberyn weren’t straight. Letting us know would have been fine, except they used the brothel to do it. Anyway, GRRM had no brothels for them. Duh. A prince of the realm will not be staying at a brothel when he comes to the capital for the wedding of a king. 

Come on, D&D! Ugh. Still, at least Oberyn and Ellaria were presented as the good guys who go up against the Lannisters (while being awesome and having some really good lines) and that was fun. Though the brothel stuff was in poor taste. At least they were both LGBT characters we were meant to root for, originally. They were also POC, so that was nice. (This was in season 4 when Dornish people were caricatured but at least they were still presented as the good, contrasted to the Lannisters’ bad)

Basically, Oberyn and Ellaria get points for being LGBT and non-white characters and they are fun and sexy as well. In the books, the relationship is very sweet. They have quite a few kids together, and, though they’re not monogamous, they are happy together and committed to each other. They clearly love each other after many years, so that is some sorely lacking warmth in the story. Also, they are good parents. While they made Ellaria on the show kind of evil, in the books, she is 100% against revenge. Book!Ellaria doesn’t want anyone else in her family to get hurt.       

#4 Egg x Betha 

So, we don’t know how these two met, but it’s probably going to happen in one of the upcoming Dunk & Egg stories. The mystery surrounding the D&E characters is rather fun and it extends to the Egg and Betha romance. We know Egg married for love and we know Betha Blackwood was a spirited woman. Ergo, they were in love. That’s very rare for a royal couple. Can’t wait to meet her! She will be awesome. I’m guessing her personality will be like a Stark’s.   

#5 Myrcella x Trystane 

This is show!canon only, kind of. Myrcella is supposed to marry Trystane in the future, but they are little kids in the books. Still, it is very cute they have a bond. We see that in the Dornish chapters in AFFC. On the show, they are teens, who fell in love despite every obstacle. There are the cultural differences, for one thing. It could have been an issue because the rest of Westeros is racist when it comes to their perception of Dorne. Especially Cersei. BUT Myrcella and Trystane fall in love and it is very sweet. As Doran says, they don’t know how risky it is to have a Lannister and a Martell together. It’s all very Romeo and Juliet, complete with a painful ending. Yes, the Dornish Plot was butchered on the show, but these two kids and Doran were well done. Beautiful and tragic.  

#6 Cersei x Jaime 

Let’s get it out of the way first: this is a toxic relationship. Everything about it is unhealthy. The fact that they are twins, the fact that she only loves him as a reflection of herself, the fact that they had to kill a king and cause a war for it. But unlike with most toxic romances, the author here actually knows that it is a complete mess. That’s what’s so great about the Lannisters. They are all so dysfunctional we cannot look away.  

#7 Jaime x Brienne *

This relationship is not canon by the strictest of definitions. There is no concrete line to confirm that they feel more for each other than friendship. Well, there are plenty of lines that tells us they have feelings for each other, but no one ever quite calls it love. And yet, it is underneath all of their interactions, which is very much the author’s go-to move. He doesn’t like to tell us someone truly loves a person in the story. What he does is present us with evidence pro and con “true love” and we have to weigh the evidence and decide. Btw, I think he would object to the concept of “true love”. I haven’t read/seen him talk about this, but I bet he believes how someone loves depends on personalty and circumstances. I think he would say that it’s possible to love truly but that doesn’t mean the emotion won’t ever go away. That things won’t change. This is especially true for our Lannister and our lady of Tarth. It’s such a slow-burn, and because it’s GRRM, we can smell the tragic ending the moment we realize they have feelings for each other.     

#8 Dunk x Rohanne 

The ultimate lowborn noble-hearted knight and highborn lady couple. Their bickering and flirting was very sexy in the novella. It’s a twist on Robin and Maid Marion, a story which is a classic for a reason. It’s a no HEA rich-mean-girl-and-boy-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks-with-a-heart-of-gold, which is just the GRRM type of realism we all love to hate. It’s a truthful look at such a love. It was never going to work between our Red Widow and our dearest hedgeknight. Lesson learned; just because it is a novella and not an epic poem, that doesn’t make heartbreak, or love, any less real. 

#9 Aegon x Rhaenys x Visenya 

The best of all love triangles, tbh. While most love triangles are poorly constructed, people love to read about that trope. Refreshingly, it’s not one girl and two guys this time. It’s Aegon and his two sisters/wives. What’s fascinating is that his relationship was very different with each of them. Also, there must have been a lot of jealousy because whoever had the first son was the mother of the future king, and, as Margaery told us, sons learn from their mothers. The fact that the woman Aegon loved more died so young, resulting in Aegon and Visenya having to put up with each other without her, is amazing angst. 

#10 Bloodraven x Shiera Seastar 

This is such a power couple. The bastards who were unabashedly themselves. It’s so fun that she kept lovers and refused to marry him just because she wanted to annoy him. There is something sexy about a couple made up of powerful people who are both manipulative. 

#11 Naerys x Aemon the Dragonknight *

Naerys x Aemon is not quite canon, but many people in-universe believe that the pious queen cheated on her cruel king-brother-husband with the noble knight who was the royal couple’s brother. Because her husband was so terrible to both of them, I hope they had an epic romance and found solace in each other. This couple is sexy because of the forbidden romance trope, and because being pious and an adulterer is deliciously angsty. It’s Guinevere and Lancelot with incest, which sounds like it would make HBO salivate. On a more serious note, it is just like GRRM to take a trope like “the forbidden lovers” and push it to the extremes of taste. And it works. Every time. (Not every time the show is “shocking” but whenever GRRM wants to re-sensitize the audience to a topic. 

* I’m certain everyone’s wondering why the story of Rhaegar and Elia and Lyanna is missing here. Well, it’s not on the list because I’m not certain any of the three was in love with any of the other two. We know Rhaegar was not in love with Elia. He was fond of her, cared about her and loved her as a friend and confidante. It’s speculation, but I really believe Elia wasn’t in love with him either. She was fond of him as he was fond of her. As for Lyanna, she’s a wildcard in the story. Did she run away with Rhaegar or did he kidnap her? I think the show is going the true love route, but I think GRRM will make the situation more complicated than that. I really loathe the annulment and I would bet money that’s all D&D and GRRM never wrote such a stupid thing. Polygamy makes way more sense, people! He’s a Targaryen, after all. The only way I can see myself slightly forgiving D&D for the annulment is if they say the kids are still legitimate. As for Dany and Drogo and Jon and Ygritte, I hate Dany’s marriage to Drogo and don’t care for Jon’s relationship with Ygritte. Drogo was Dany’s rapist. To ship a child with the man who rapes her every night… it would be like shipping Laurent with the Regent in Captive Prince. Abhorrent. Disgusting. Jon x Ygritte is not nearly as bad, but there’s still a consent issue. He starts sleeping with her to prove he gave up being a crow. While I loathe Khal Drogo and cheered when Dany finally killed him, I kinda liked Ygirtte. At certain points, I nearly shipped Jon x Ygritte. 

As for Jonerys, I’ll write a piece about them when the season is over. It’s one of my main OTPs, but I want to celebrate them being officially canon by writing about them then.