I havent seen anyone say this yet but the fact that Croz/bubbles and Croz/Rosie never got their happy ending in EYY either is just as heartbreaking as everything else đ
I totally agree with you.
Actually, thereâs a whole chapter that I scrapped that sort of went into what Crosby was feeling about being different. This chapter was originally how I intended for Curt to find the letter Marge had sent to Gale about the baby, but decided to take a different route altogether and bring Nosie Rosie into it instead.
So, Iâll post it here for you!
Itâs not edited, but maybe itâll help you understand why Crosby never ended up with his boy. (Guilt, internalized homophobia)
The three of them were always good about taking time apart, even if Curt found himself bored out of his mind without Bucky to drink whiskey with or Gale to mutter jokes to, whom heâd crack open bottles of Ginger Beer for with his zippo â because he was a gentlemen, and it was a decent bar trick.
He allowed himself to feel guilt for what heâd done, which was shove the letters Gale had been carrying around with him in his kit for some time now, the stack growing larger each week. Realistically, he rationed that he deserved to know what theyâd been talking about â but wouldnât that mean Marge deserved the same respect?
Perhaps so, but itâd kill her.
Stress isnât good for the baby, Gale.
Curtis sat in the plaza overlooking the shoreline, his eyes fixated on the sentence he had read countless times. As he nervously bit his fingernails, his mind wandered to a world where he wasn't so intrusive, a world where he remained blissfully unaware of Marge's pregnancy with Gale's baby. He knew this was none of his business, he was well aware, but his body was still full of Gale, and so was his heart
The baby.
The baby.
How long had Gale known?
A chill crackled over his spine like a white hot surge of electricity, a cold sweat washing over him as his hands gripped tighter the letters in his fists. âBaby.â Curtis whispered, his jaw clenched hard enough to make his jaw ache. âA baby.â
His eyes, glazed over and far away had swept across the plaza as if by chance theyâd land on something safe â though, Curt had been scarcely aware of what was safe anymore, and what wasnât. Who could he trust, if he couldnât trust one of the men heâd laid in bed with that morning?
He wasnât dense.
He knew Marge hadnât deserved for her boyfriend to be balls deep in his ass only hours ago, but what Gale had going on with Marge had seemed so far out of his realm; it sounded made up, like a story of what men ought to be, what theyâre meant to become â the picture perfect family, the all American man.
One of them Golden dogs, as Bucky had called it, a white picket fence, and an extra room for a nursery, which would be occupied sooner rather than later.
Heâd been warned, time and time again â Bucky was right.
Stress isnât good for the baby.
Curt sighed softly, folding the letters again and tucking them away into his back pocket where they stuck out as he walked the plaza, his arms crossed over his chest as he thought â the halcyon days of being blissfully unaware were over, and now it was time to face the music.
His eyes traced carefully each cobblestone he tiptoed, avoiding the cracks, some kind of splendid predestine leading him to the shopfront of a Gelaterie where it had seemed miles and miles of gelato had been plopped right there, just for him.
And who was he to deny destiny?
He stood in front of the gelato case, happily grabbing at the little spoons he was given by the woman working there who couldnât seem to stop feeding him samples. Each reaction was better than the last, but heâd eventually landed on pistachio, because it was a lovely green color, and thatâs about it.
Back into the plaza he went, licking at the cone in his hand, and then his knuckles once it began to melt. âYou arenât coming to dinner, Curt?â Crosby had jogged to catch up with him, slapping him on the shoulder once he did, âItâs our last one before we go back to base.â
Curt jumped, turning his head to look at Crosby who was already a little pink in the cheeks, probably hopping around with Rosie and tasting wines all day once the rain had stopped. âWhy would ya think that?â
âYouâre eating ice cream.â
âWell, that donât mean shit.â Curt mumbled, licking a fat stripe over his cone and sighing, âWhatâs with you boys and thinkinâ sweets canât come before supper, huh? Thatâs how the French do it, I heard.â
âSo now youâre a frog?â Crosby reached to ruffle the messy brown waves on Curtâs head, taking note of his leisure attire â he looked like a normal boy, just like anyone heâd gone to school with, no longer the typical vision of a hardheaded pilot in the war. âWhose side are you on, Biddick?â
âWell, if they wonât give me a hundred questions about my eatinâ, then yeah.â Curt plopped down at a table near the fountain in the middle of the plaza, watching Crosby sit across from him â he wore a solemn expression, one that Curt had mirrored right back. âYou alright?â He timidly rose his eyebrows in his direction, well aware that they couldnât ignore Bubblesâ absence for the rest of their days.
It didnât seem right.
Theyâd both gone mute for awhile, Curt licking at his melting cone and Crosby staring off in the distance at the flying fortresses that were executing some practice runs, departing from other bases neighboring their own.
Still, he held a naive hope that Bubbles would come back, or maybe heâd made it to Switzerland somehow and heâd receive a letter any day now â perhaps even a postcard.
âI loved him.â
Curt looked up from his lap, blinking over at Crosby a few times and although he nodded, he wondered how deep that love had really gone. What were their boundaries â had there been any? Curt whispered, âI know.â As they exchanged a sapient glance. âWhat about Rosie? Heâs been takinâ care of ya, hasnât he?â
Crosby nodded slowly, his chin resting on his fist when he directed his attention back at Curt again, facing his own music. âHeâs kind.â He cracked a smile, a blush creeping over his cheeks and painting even the tips of his ears a pinkish hue. âHated him at first, though.â
âDonât he gotta girl back home?â
âDoesnât Gale?â
Curtâs shoulders deflated, his chin tilting as he chomped on the cone that was becoming a mess in his hand. âGot me there, Crozzy.â He grumbled, reaching in his back pocket and slapping the letters onto the table, a nod in his direction urging Crosby to take a look.
The two of them had never explicitly admitted their involvement with any of the other boys on base, but had seemed to come to an unspoken understanding as time went on. Curt had noticed Crosby getting handsy with Bubbles â and had once caught a glimpse of them behind the showers, to which Curt had warned him in passing, Anything that ainât behind a closed door or under a roof ainât safe.
After that, Crosby made sure to keep a curious eye on Curt who had taken a fond liking to Bucky first and then, like a growing cell, they absorbed Gale into their little love amoeba.
âA baby?â Crosby peeked over at Curt from behind the stack of letters, eyes squinted when he folded them back up and tucked them into the envelope decorated with hearts, where they should have stayed. âWell,â he slid them over, âYouâre not surprised, are you, Curt?â
Crosby had met Marge, at least a couple times â she was kind, a little conservative, he thought, but it seemed at the time Gale had been looking for that sort of thing. Heâd done his parents proud, according to him, and Crosby had thought that was reason enough for the two to be together.
That was most of the relationships he had encountered.
Until Bubbles, of course.
âHe never said a single fuckinâ word to anybody about it.â
Crosby sighed, leaning over the table again and scooting closer to Curt who was wiping his hands over a napkin, âItâs better off this way, Curtis.â He whispered, reaching forward to pat his forearm, âBoys like you and I arenât made to be wives â and boys like Buck are made for a woman.â He realized it may have sounded harsh, but at least he was alive. âAnd what about Bucky, anyway? We all knew Gale would knock Marge up at some point.â Crosby sat back in his chair then, his arms crossed over his chest. âGuess we just didnât stop to think it could have already happened.â
âI love Bucky.â Curt nodded quickly, as if to confirm as much. If he had ever made it seem as though he didnât, he was willing then to set the record straight. âI canât really put it into words, yâknow? Always been bad with that stuff.â
âAnd Buck makes you feel the same?â
Curt shrugged a shoulder, âI love âem. I do. And I know he loves me â itâs different from Bucky, though. It donât stop me from imagining life after all this, still. Every time I picture it, Buck is there.â
âDelusion is the key to happiness for people like us, Curt.â Crosby shrugged, âI mean, you think Bubs and I would have been married or somethinâ? Do you think Rosie is going to drop down on one knee for me someday?â
Maybe, Curt thought, but he stayed silent instead, wide blue eyes locked onto the only other man heâd ever met so much like himself.
âNo.â Crosby shook his head, laughing at the thought of it. âNever. And, you know, I might imagine it, too. Picture it, even. A perfect life â our own version of the American dream.â He looked near the little winery on the plaza where he spotted Rosie with Bucky who was grimacing at each drop of liquid he tried, hollering about how he would have preferred a whiskey instead of all this. âBut shit like that doesnât happen, Curt. Iâve made my peace with being a placeholder â itâs just another way Iâm doinâ my part in this war.â He reached over again to pat his palm gently over Curtâs sticky knuckles, âA willing piece of ass for the fighting men of the United States of America. Itâs a bit more freeing to look at it that way.â
âRight.â Curt looked at the cone in his hand, obliterated from the anxious grip he held it with. Heâd be a liar if he said heâd never thought of it that way â it was human nature to seek sexual fulfillment and to a man whose last breath could be any minute, someone elseâs genitals may not have been the most important attribute to their company. âWhat do you think Bubbles would have said, if he heard you sayinâ that?â
Crosby smiled, hunching over the table yet again and knocking the cone out of Curtâs hand, replacing it with a wad of napkins, âI know wherever he is, weâre happy.â Their eyes met, Curtâs curious gaze begging for Crosby to explain himself. âWe get to live how we wanted. If heaven is what they crack it up to be â well, that was the heaven we always talked about.â
âWell, why couldnât ya make that real, Croz? Whatâs so hard about it?â Curt urged, wiping his hands free of the green sticky mess heâd made of them.
âThis world wasnât made for men like us, Curt.â It had come out in a whisper, as if he hadnât wanted to say it, but heâd already said it in five million different ways already.
âSo, you think heaven is? Donât gays go to hell, or somethinâ?â
Crosby snorted, shaking his head, âI donât think so.â He mused, adverting his gaze again to make sure the boys who were growing in numbers near the winery were still visible â heâd inadvertently blown their cover, making eye contact with Foxwood. âThatâs not how I look at it.â
âWell, you gotta real stupid way of lookinâ at it.â Curt had refused to believe his daydreams could never come to fruition â without hope, they had nothing.
âHey! Croz!â A voice called out, making Curtis groan into his lap. âCurt! Get your asses over here!â
âAh, I think weâre being summoned.â Crosby stood and followed Curt to the fountain where he stuck his hands under the spray, washing them clean. âYou donât have to live your life for anybody else, Curt. Live it for you. We fear dying too often for it to be any other way.â
âThatâs what I thought I was doinâ, idiot.â
âNo,â Crosby nudged his shoulder, âYouâre livinâ for everybody but your goddamn self. You stole those letters. Was that even somethinâ you needed to know?â
âI think so.â Curt turned and shook his hands dry, nudging into Crosby to push him to walk first.
âNah.â Croz shoved his hands in his pockets, his sights trained on every step they made as to not meet the eyes of the boys who were watching them. âBut now that you have, you need to talk to him about it.â
Their conversation had ended there, the two of them finding their respective seats that had been saved, one next to Rosie, for Crosby, and one in the middle of Gale and Bucky for Curtis.
Once theyâd all gotten themselves good and wine drunk, Crosby had been the sensible one to raise a finger, âFellas, fellas! We gotta nice dinner tonight. Behave, behave.â He swatted some of the wine out of hands, even stole a few glasses from those who seemed to be a little too drunk for five oâclock in the afternoon. âPay the sweet people and letâs get a move on. I have to shower, Curt got his ice cream hands on me.â
The walk back was a stumbly one for just about everyone and yet Curt had still taken care not to step on any cracks in the cobblestone, still sharp as a thumbtack and thinking again and again about what heâd say to Gale, or if heâd say anything at all.
A placeholder, a willing piece of ass, like Crosby had said.
Perhaps there was truth in that.
âYou okay?â Bucky asked once theyâd made it back into their apartment, Gale locking himself behind the bathroom door to get himself ready for dinner, leaving the two of them alone. âBeen quiet.â He stood in the threshold as he watched Curt gather his things and drag them into an unoccupied room down the hall, grunting all the while.
âFine.â Curt murmured, pushing past Bucky again to grab his shirt, which heâd forgotten, and the towel heâd claimed as his own.
âDonât look fine.â Bucky walked behind Curt at a distance that he hoped wasnât smothering, but he was cautious as ever now that heâd seen what could happen when Curtâs mood changed.
âIâm great.â Curt stood in the middle of the room heâd picked, painted blue and decorated with tacky old lamps and a dresser that couldnât hold his weight like the other one could. âAny more questions I could answer for ya, John?â
âWoah,â Bucky waved his hands, âDonât go all government name on me now, Curtie. Youâre movinâ your shit out of the room like a pissed off girlfriend.â He watched Curtâs shoulders tense in that very instant, his body slowly turning to face Bucky who was drunk, and stupid looking.
âIâm not no fuckinâ girl.â Curt threw his crumpled shirt at Bucky, and then a shoe from his left foot which Bucky had caught, despite the wine that had stained his lips red. âAnd I never fuckinâ will be.â He took his right shoe off and threw it, too. And then a pillow, and an old, broken alarm clock which Bucky had dodged by a hair.
âGood thing you arenât a gunner, Baby. Your aim is tragic.â Bucky narrowly dodged yet another piece of decor flying toward his head, an angry and red in the face Curtis stomping toward him.
âDonât call me that.â Curtâs jaw had clenched again, his fists balled at his sides as he stood before Bucky, neck craned upward to look at him. âDonât fuckinâ call me that. Iâm not your baby, and Iâm not your fuckinâ girlfriend.â
Buckyâs expression had changed then to all five stages of grief, and just about every emotion heâd ever felt. âOf course youâre my baby.â He whispered, reaching his hands forward to grab onto Curtis who swiped them away.
âWho you got at home, Bucky? Somebody I donât know about? You get some bird pregnant, too?â Curt surged forward again, poking at Buckyâs chest to taunt him. âOh, better yet â you probably knew, huh? Didnât ya?â He was bordering hysteria and yet Bucky wouldnât back away from him. In fact, he stepped closer. âYou told me about that fuckinâ nursery. Probably did it so I wouldnât be surprised when I found out. Hm? Admit it.â
âWhat are you talkinâ about, Curt?â
Curtis yanked the crumbled envelope from his back pocket, covered in sticky melted gelato from earlier and shoved it into Buckyâs chest where heâd been poking him. There was no way heâd be able to feign innocence now â heâd stolen them, read them, and now heâs taking their contents out on Bucky who unfolded the papers and scanned the neat cursive writing.
Stress isnât good for the baby.
His eyes met Curtâs again. âI didnât know.â He whispered, thumbing through the pages and finding the first letter, one that had been dated nearly ten months back. If his limited knowledge about pregnancy was correct, then Marge had already given birth by now and Gale was a father, not soon-to-be. âThese letters are old, honey. From before we everââ
Curt ripped them from his hands again, âI donât give a fuck!â He shouted. If he could see himself, heâd feel embarrassed. âHow does that make anything better, huh? Some poor innocent babyâs militant, absent daddy.â He threw his arms up, the letters falling at their feet in crumpled heaps. âWho likes to watch his friends fuck. Oh - not just that, huh? Not just that.â He shoved Buckyâs chest with his hands then who tried again to catch his wrists and pull him in, âNot just that.â His voice wavered, his cheeks were red, âWe promised what we did when we went all the way was for us, Bucky. Nobody else.â
âAre you sayinâ you didnât want to fuck him?â
Curt growled with anger, shoving him yet again but that time Bucky had caught him by the forearms which he twisted behind Curtâs back, pressing him against the wall and holding him there. âStop it.â Buckyâs voice was firm, his knee pressing into the base of his spine to prevent him from wiggling free. âFucking stop it, Curtis.â He listened to Curt whine and huff out of his nose, body wiggling to try and break free. âIâm not leavinâ you. You wonât sleep without me. Iâll sleep at your door, Curt. Try to get rid of me all you want, you canât.â
Curtis groaned, his cheek squished against the wall, âThis world ainât meant for people like us.â He whispered, relaying to Bucky the exact sentiment Crosby had fed him earlier. Each word had tasted like pistachio, burned so viciously into his memory.
He felt sick, in more ways than one.
âMaybe itâs not.â Bucky leaned his head against Curtâs shoulder but kept him pinned to the wall, his maneuver softening just slightly from that of restraint to more of a forced embrace. âBut weâre together in that, arenât we?â He nuzzled his face into Curtâs neck, murmuring against his damp skin. âYou canât get rid of me. Iâve already lost you once.â
Curt had never liked to cry. Rarely ever had he let anyone else so much as see a mist in his eyes whenever theyâd watch an old film in the mess hall, or even when his friends never made it back. When he fell as a child, he never made a peep â but it seemed all that had built up, the pressure hitting its high and causing him to erupt.
He was eventually turned around by Bucky who held him, swiping the letters under the bed with his foot as to not bring Gale into all of it just yet, though he couldnât help but to wonder how dinner would go that evening â Curt was bad at hiding his emotions and Bucky had never been the most skilled at pretending nothing was wrong when there certainly was.
21 notes
¡
View notes
ranking the batfamily on whether i would be friends with them irl đ:
(ps this is all just a jokey joke so pls dont take this seriously đ)
7. damian
guys im sorry
love the little demon but he would probably kill me for making ur mom jokes
hes got spunk if u consider it being mildly homicidal thoughts at every constant minute
probably the friend i would not consider going for lunch with cuz heâll give me a dirty look for eating like a pigÂ
he would be a good tutor tho, my saving grace in calculus
but he would make me cry by the end of that session cuz i cant divide to save my life đ
6. jason
heâs a fucking theatre kid
AND an english nerd, like pick a struggle man đ
it might be residual high school eng trauma but i cant be friends with someone who genuinely likes english
honestly tho, i wouldn't mind hanging out with him outside of school
i just dont know what we would have in common to talk abt
gym classes with him has to be fun tho
he would probably kick my ass at every game, but thats besides the point
5. cass
shes scary asf, but shes hot so its okay
i would probably have a hallway crush on her
shes probably in the friend grp, but has other friends shes closer with
rlly fucking good at pe and doesnt hesitate to show off
probably skips a bunch of classes but no one says anything
would probably hang out more as a grp than one on one
the only person i would consider giving my house keys to
4. dick
the sweetest guy in the grp
i would assume he was just a nice guy at first but he is just rlly genuineÂ
would be the subject of ridicule because of his god awful fashion sense
is a senior but hides in the junior classes cuz girls always chase him around asking for his number
is the mom of the friend grp and always carries around protein bars, tissues, and basic first aidÂ
always does wellness checks and picks up on the first ring if u need anything. bless him <3
my emergency contact
3. duke
would be one of my closer friends
the perfect balance of obliviously unaware and stupidly concerned
i would ask him for hw answers only for him to text back with a question mark
he was the sacrificial lamb who was made to sit in the first row in class
ends up falling asleep and gets detention đ if anyone asks tho, its because he did smthin super scandalous and totally not school appropriate đ
we became chem lab partners, but fucked up freshman level titrations so many times, that the teacher kicked us out
has the best packed lunches (thank u alfred)
i steal his lunch and he ends up eating shitty cafeteria food đ
2. steph
MY LITERAL 4LYFER đ¤
her fashion sense>>. but dont be fooled, most days she throws on a ragged hoodie that way too soft to be legal
has a billionare on her side, but still steals MY mcdonalds fries
always carries around extra hair tiesÂ
comes over so often that there is a steph size dent on my bed, where she would flop down
has the prettiest notes which are a life saver for last minute cramming
the friend you would go to experiment different makeup styles onÂ
my partner in crime for any tom-fooleryÂ
would make me snort during class which sends us to detentionÂ
tim
i would fucking hate him at first glance
but somehow we would bond through our shared trauma of high school calculusÂ
the type of friendship where u would go on spontaneous road trips a week before finals, only to end up stranded in a random petrol bunk
a responsible adult (read: alfred) would then come to pick us up after we call them in literal tears
a weekly tradition of trying the most grotesque slushy concoctionsÂ
cannot for the life of him memorise shakespeare, but can recite word for word every iconic vine in existenceÂ
would tutor me in chemistry, only to end up in tears at my incompetence đ
extremely introverted but suddenly becomes the loudest person ever when it comes to embarrassing someone
30 notes
¡
View notes
About Baby Plum (or Tattletail)
đ Name/Full name đ
Baby Plum (or Tattletail)/Baby Talking Lilac Periwinkle Grape Tattletail "Plum" Tattletail (Or simply just... Baby Plum.) (I purposely made his full name as RIDICULOUS as possible xD)
đ Nicknames đ
"Plump" (Butternut) "Um" (Lavender) "Tattletail" (Everyone) "Bossy Big Brother" (Butternut)
đ Birthday đ
February 25th
⨠Age â¨
Normally an older kid/younger teen (14?), but his age depends on the au/story
Gender
Male
đ Personality đ
A sneaky, sassy little fella, sweet, loving, caring, sometimes overprotective, sometimes bossy, and a bit of a glutton
â¤ď¸ Likes â¤ď¸
Cookies, his family, taking care of babies (Lavender, and his baby sister, Velvet,) hanging out with his siblings and friends, protecting his family, Snowglobe, Christmas, playing outside, helping Mama bake, singing, his cap, sneaking cookies, being sneaky in general, the treehouse, food, eating food, snacks, treats, did i mention food yet?
đ Dislikes đ
His killing(?) mode (idk what to call it), ANYTHING that could harm his family, his RIDICULOUS full name, the dark, Butternut's teasing, being made fun of, water, being unable to swim, getting caught sneaking cookies, getting in trouble, being scolded, being grounded, """girly""" things
đ Crush đ
Snowglobe
About
Plum is a sassy little fella, but he's also very sweet. He's very sneaky, and, since he can be a bit of a glutton at times, he likes to sneak cookies and snacks a lot. He also has his mother's temper, but, he doesn't get mad TOO easily... but when he DOES get mad, RUN. He loves his family very much, and will do absolutely anything to protect them. Sometimes he can be a bit bossy, since he is the oldest sibling and all. He also has a MASSIVE crush on his friend, Snowglobe.
He takes a lot from his mother, like her freckles, her ABSOLUTE WILDNESS, her temper, and... unfortunately... her killing(?) mode, too. Plum absolutely HATES his killing(?) mode, but doesn't hesitate to attack someone/thing if he has too.
Because of his killing(?) mode, Plum often worries that he is scary, and sometimes (though he doesn't tell his family about these feelings,) sees himself as a monster. (This is also how his mother feels about herself, due to her killing(?) mode.) Sometimes, since Plum can be overprotective sometimes (again, like Mama,) he mistakes things that AREN'T threats for threats, and attacks them. Due to these mistakes, and his killing(?) mode in general, he feels like a monster at times. (Just like his mother...)
Plum is also very strong! (again, like Mama is.) He's totally unaware of his strength, though, and sometimes it confuses him! Basically, Plum is like a mini Mama... they're VERY similar!
He is the shortest and chubbiest of his siblings. He is the shortest, despite being the oldest, so, he gets made fun of for this a lot. He cannot swim, which he ALSO gets teased for. Aaaand... he is the chubbiest, so he ESPECIALLY gets made fun of for that. (His sister, Butternut, does 95% of the teasing. She likes to call him "PLUMP," which he HATES.) He just gets teased a lot by his siblings in general (ESPECIALLY by Butternut.)
3 notes
¡
View notes