#it's way past my bedtime (can you tell from my descent into madness during this post) and i simply Cannot backread rn

[inmarbleimmobility]

1.1.3 Good Bishop - Difficult Diocese

augh two posts in one day because I was too busy doing my Actual Job last night to do my Fun Homework :(

I love this chapter!!! Jesus!Myriel is best Myriel. imagining all 5'5" or whatever of "his highness" rolling up on a donkey kills me every time.

in the continuing trend of "Alex wants more bishop fic," I really want Myriel And His Gals Go On A Road Trip now.

this entire chapter feels like Hugo whacking me upside the head with a hardcover brick and going "see!!! this is what Jesus meant!!!! Myriel is the only one who Gets It!!!!" and you know what? he's right. I'll let it pass.

"he preached less than he talked" because Myriel Getting It means he understands you don't change minds by literally preaching to them, you change minds by meeting people where they're at and talking to them person to person - in their dialect, using examples they understand, suggesting changes that are both actionable and beneficial for all. (as a side note, the only priest in my young Catholic life that did this was also the one that nearly convinced angsty teen Alex that maybe #NotAllCatholics, so. rip Monseigneur Bienvenu you would've loved Fr Alvaro.) not sure if I can think of another example off the top of my head of Hugo emphasizing this approach again - les amis are somewhat implied to have done this, but we don't see much of it on page; Enjolras in particular is... not exactly going to succeed at the Just Some Guy method, and Combeferre almost scares Marius away forever with his sick burn, so. I'll keep an eye out for it though!

again in his parables advice Myriel is emphasizing those Big Three - helping ensure men benefit from their own labor, providing for women, and free universal education. (and, as others have pointed out, education simply to combat ignorance, not to further an agenda!)

there's also been some discussion today about Myriel describing Queyras as "a little republic" and I've been thinking about it for hours. What Does It Mean, Hugo!!!

also Thinking about how someone mentioned how the "law" in Queyras is One Good Mayor and how that foreshadows Madeleine, as if Myriel somehow silently passed that specific example on to Valjean. Interesting too that he specifically cites the lack of judge or constable - Hugo has Lots still to say about how the Law and its arbiters and enforcers help maintain the systems that oppress people like Valjean, and here he's suggesting for the first time that good people being in power (or people in power being good, which I don't think is quite the same?) does more good than the law. Is Queyras like a little prototype Montreuil-sur-Mer? Is M-sur-M a little republic? Is this what you meant all along, Hugo?!

and then, just in case you didn't get it before, Hugo makes sure to tell you Myriel has "the very eloquence of Christ". the way he's going on I'm a little surprised he doesn't have anyone wash Myriel's feet.

[imaginetonyandbucky]

It’s Not You, It’s Us - Chapter 2 of 2

It was easier said than done. Bucky didn’t realize just how much time he spent with Tony and Steve on a daily basis so when he stopped hanging around, they noticed immediately. But he was determined not to get in the way and quietly sort out his issues in seclusion of his own making, no matter what. And if that meant employing all his remaining Winter Soldier stealth skills to evade his suspicious best friend and one very resourceful engineer every chance he got, he’d do it.

He still interacted with them – they are his friends and there’re only so many times he gets to ignore Captain America before the spangled superhero starts interrogating him – but he no longer initiated the contacts. No more coming down to the workshop whenever he wanted. No more early morning musings by the coffeemaker. No more tricking Tony into watching bad movies in the afternoon.

No more damage control.

In hindsight, Bucky saw it coming. He was in fact equally surprised and impressed that it took as long as it did. Somehow, Steve and Tony managed to stretch out the entire argument phase through two weeks instead of an hour or a day. It escalated, little by little. One unwarranted Steve comment at a time. One fake Tony smile at a time. Until they all but glared at each other during team movie nights, sitting as far away from each other as the room allowed. Until they barely talked without sounding angry.

Until they argued so seriously Steve just snapped.

(read-more ahead!) 

Nobody hears the argument as it happens, but what it leaves in its wake is enough for all present Avengers to wonder just what the hell happened this time.

Tony is a flurry of flailing limbs, muttered curses and unshed tears as he bolts from the outside terrace into the common lounge and straight towards the elevator to once again begin his descent into the depths of the workshop and Steve…Steve is something else. The ever so composed Captain glares death at everyone in his path – including Bucky. He has seen the man angry before and this was not him being angry. He is practically fuming with cold and detached fury that just so isn’t like him at all.

It’s a very common Winter Soldier look, one that tips everyone off that Bucky’s not all there at the moment, that he could lose it any second with the Soldier almost spilling over the edge of his control. Seeing one Steve Rogers look like that is not short of scary when knowing he does not in fact have any remnants of a HYDRA programmed assassin in his brain.

It’s not until Bucky notices Natasha’s hands twitching and Clint gravitating toward the nearest exit, that he concludes he’s not alone in that thought.

“Hey, man,” Sam approaches the livid Captain, hands raised in a placating manner, but to no veil.

Steve shakes his head, left hand raised in a simple warning – dare come any closer and I will dissect you into molecules. He sends one more glare their way before storming out of the room, heading upstairs and Bucky could swear the glare turned into a laser of burning hate when it landed on him in particular.

Once the coast is clear, the team breathes a sigh of relief in unison and Bucky finds himself staring into the hallway the two men have disappeared into moments ago. Back to being confused it is.

“Here we go again,” Clint rolls his eyes, diving head-first into the sofa. “I give it a week this time,” he mumbles into the pillow.

“I dunno, man. This looked bad,” Rhodey says, giving Bucky a fleeting look of concern and…something else.

“Two weeks, then,” Natasha shrugs.

“It looked really bad this time, actually,” Bruce adds, his expression weary.

“Yeah,” Bucky whispers in agreement, exchanging a look with the doctor and the Colonel both.

Two weeks later, phase two was still not over. The two continued to fiercely avoid each other, keeping their interaction to a bare, professional minimum.

Tony spends most of his time locked up in the workshop, letting nobody in – with the exception of Miss Potts, who’s basically broken in at one point – and Steve spends his days moping about in his room or with Sam. Bucky tried to approach him many times to find out what happened but after a couple of days it’s become clear to Bucky that his best friend is avoiding the hell out of him. 

And that can’t be good.

Did he do something? Was he too obvious? He’s got no idea and it’s driving him mad.

So when he wakes up one morning after an especially vivid nightmare feeling not quite himself, he can easily blame it on the recent sense of unsteadiness. The Winter Soldier is more Winter than Soldier these days. With no HYDRA, no Handlers and no missions, his coming up to the surface is rather silent and harmless. He would usually just stand or sit around without a purpose until his control slips back to Bucky. Should someone walk in on him in this state, he would glare and carefully observe the intruder, but never attack them. Not even Natasha, who always whips up a dagger or two just for show – a silent threat the Soldier understands very well.

But not today.

Today the Soldier is feeling adventurous. So he gets up from the rustled bed and leaves the room, not even bothering to put on a shirt. Or shoes. Bucky would roll his eyes if he could – the HYDRA-installed assassin could easily slice through a house full of enemies but take away his murderous side and he’s pretty inapt.

He strides over to the elevator, goes inside and to Bucky’s utmost surprise – and horror – he presses the workshop button without a second thought.

Nope, no way he’s going down there. He tells the Soldier as much, even arguing that he won’t be allowed inside anyway so might as well go somewhere else, but as always the Soldier ignores him completely. The elevator stops, but the doors remain closed.

Told ya, he snickers at the Soldier.

The assassin glares at the door like it’s his worst adversary and doesn’t move to press any other button. Patient as ever, he waits. But waiting won’t do much h –

And the door opens.

Now it’s Bucky’s turn to stare. Did the Soldier just force-willed the doors to open with just his glare alone?!

He takes a few steps inside the workshop that is a buzz of activity even at this hour, eyes zeroing in on Tony who is watching their advance with squinted eyes.

“Ah. I see,” he glances up at the ceiling – something he instinctively does whenever he’s addressing JARVIS. “Winter is coming, J? Seriously? I’m cutting you off from Netflix, just so you know. Your obsession with pop culture references has just gone overboard,” he scolds the AI.

“Very well, Sir. But you cannot deny how fitting it was.”

“Fitting? The word you’re looking for is old, JARVIS,” he scoffs, eyes landing back on the Winter Soldier, who stopped in front of the workbench Tony’s sitting behind. “Hey, Soldier. Any…particular reason you’ve wandered down into my lair wearing just your pajama pants? If you need someone to tuck you in, go ask Bruce. He knows the best bedtime stories.”

The Soldier scrutinizes Tony in a way he would usually scrutinize his target, but Bucky dares to hope that’s not the case here. Once he’s satisfied with his observation, he walks over to the fridge, grabs an opened carton of milk and chugs it down in one take. Great. Who knows how long that thing’s been opened in there?!

Tony chuckles behind him. “Don’t worry, it’s from yesterday. You should be a-okay.”   

Bucky was so occupied with the Soldier’s nonsensical actions and the fact he’s been let inside the workshop that he didn’t realize he’s back in control and has said his thoughts out loud, apparently. He does roll his eyes this time and discards the now empty carton into the trash.

“Does that happen often? The Soldier taking you for a spin around the Tower in the middle of the night to feast on milk?” Tony asks and it sounds amused. “Half naked?” he adds.

Turning around, Bucky sees the engineer is indeed smiling. He’s missed that smile. Hell…he’s missed Tony. “N’t really,” he blurts out. “He’s not normally this…active.”

“Sure likes his milk.”

“He’s weird like that.”

Tony shrugs, smile widening. “You sure like your milk.”

He does, admittedly. “I’m weird like that. And you’re even weirder for noticing.”

“Busteeeed. What can I say? I’m good at noticing things. Speaking of which, I’ve been noticing a lot of things lately,” he says, the smile fading.

“Uhuh? You mean while hiding down here, locking us all out and avoiding Steve?” He doesn’t mean to sound harsh or defensive, but it still comes out like that.

Tony winces at the mention of the other supersoldier, but otherwise remains passive. “You mean kinda like you’ve been hiding in your room avoiding everyone the past two months?” he deflects with practiced ease. Him and Steve have already mastered this ping-pong style of conversation throughout their relationship and Bucky’s not sure he wants to join the club.

So he just admits to it. “Yeah. Kinda like that.”

Tony nods and suddenly looks small, like he’d rather be a little piece of dust lying on the floor than a man that usually fills a room with his presence. “Wanna tell me something about it?”

“Do you wanna tell me something about this?” Bucky answers in kind…only doesn’t. Because he’s back to being defensive, while Tony asked the question quietly, so unlike his loud and confident self. As if afraid of it. Or the answer to it. He cringes, walking a bit closer to the engineer again so he can lean against one of the opposite workbenches, that has been turned into a bar table at one point. He shivers at the touch of the cold surface and is suddenly all too aware of his state of undress and the way it makes him feel.

Exposed. Inappropriate. Out of place.

Opposite of him, Tony seems less interested in his naked torso and more interested in whatever is on his mind. His brows are crinkled together in a way that suggests he’s solving a particularly tough science problem, but Bucky notices there’s no open project on his StarkPad, no half-built gadget anywhere, even the bots are nowhere to be seen.

“Steve and I broke up,” he blurts out, his gazed fixed on something on the floor near Bucky’s foot. It’s not a sad statement, he doesn’t look sad. He’s nervous. Why the hell does Tony goddamn Stark look nervous?!

Bucky decides he can put his avoid and forget mission aside for the sake of lighting up the mood down here. Se he goes for casual, teasing, something he’d say few months ago. “We kinda figured, yeah. S’not really hot news or anythin’. Clint and Natasha lost their bets on your makeup date, by the way. Gotta admit it’s a bit overdue. Wanna talk about it?”

It’s a friendly offer, Bucky tells himself. That’s what friends do. They talk about their problems and heartbreaks…unless those heartbreaks concern them, as is Bucky’s case.

Tony raises a curious eyebrow and something returns into his eyes. In fact, his whole face sort of lights up. “Yeah, I do. That’s what I’m doing, right?” he says, folding his hands defensively on his chest. The words have a bite to them, but his smile is all back again. “We broke up.”

Bucky is utterly lost all of a sudden. “Uh…yeah. You guys tend to do that a lot.”

“We really did, didn’t we,” he frowns just a little, thinking about it. “Well, it’s over. No more breaking up, making up. We’re…breaking up the breaking up. However you wanna call it. Clint and Natasha lost their bets, well guess what? Bruce and Rhodey are gonna lose theirs too because we are never ever coming back together. And I swear to God, JARVIS, if you’re thinking about Swifting me again, I will personally decommission you!” he adds to the ceiling.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Sir.”

“Yeah, right. Last week DUM-E made me spill my coffee, so I told him ‘look what you made me do!’ and this snarky asshole blasted that crap song immediately!”

“It was very fitting.”

“I’m gonna reprogram whatever is making you do things on the impulse of them being fitting! Seriously, I’m not even - ”

“Tony!” he stops the engineer mid sentence, before he completely derails from the conversation. Not making up ever again? Those are some strong words and Bucky needs some strong answers. He…he wants them to be happy. And they were happy. Mostly. Sometimes. Right?

“Right…sorry. Breaking up. Not making up. There. We talked about it. Happy?”

“Uh…no? What happened? You argued…again, but you’ve been arguing like that since I’ve come to live here! T’was never a big deal…I guess. I mean, no matter what you argued about you just sorted it out so - ”

“Yeah, we’re not sorting this one out, trust me.”

“Why not?!” he flails, his metal hand sending a brandy glass flying across the table haphazardly.

Tony laughs. Laughs. Actual, chest-heaving, musical laugh. And Bucky really is lost just then. “Why not? Well, let me see. There were some really big signs for me…like when I realized I’d rather hang out here than with him. When I realized I have nothing to talk to him about…mostly because he tunes out whatever I’m saying. True, it’s nonsensical babbling most of the time, but that’s not an excuse. Him turning every conversation into a fight wasn’t helping either and hell…we haven’t even slept in one bed for months! Haven’t…kissed in months! Because…it’s gone, okay? Whatever it was that we had? It’s just…not there anymore. And to be honest? It hasn’t been there for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I…like Steve. He’s an okay guy, when he’s not being an ass, but he’s just not the guy for me. I…don’t love him. I don’t love him,” he repeats a bit breathlessly.

Bucky was forming a reply throughout Tony’s speech, meaningful and clever, but his brain might as well have gotten wiped again at the end of it.

Whatever his face twists into, it makes Tony smirk. “Then again, falling in love with your boyfriend’s best friend is kinda the last straw in a relationship, right?” he grimaces and it takes Bucky’s wiped out brain a while to catch up with what he’s just said. “Now that was the biggest sign for me. I realized that and promptly crapped my pants because how the hell do you tell good guy Steve that you have fallen for his long lost best friend? And then while I was devising a master plan of how to break it down for Steve and then maybe kinda make my moves, you started avoiding us…avoiding me…and I thought I fucked up already…somehow. It’d be so me to fuck up something that’s not even going on yet, you have no idea. But JARVIS assured me that’s not the case and…then the whole thing kinda blew up when Steve tried his best interrogation technique…if you were wondering why he’s in a perma pissed off mode right now, this is why,” Tony explains, meeting Bucky’s staring gaze without wavering.

For a while, Bucky wonders if he’s back in the Soldier mode. He gets light-headed and sort of hazy whenever that happens and that’s exactly how he’s feeling. But he’s still himself. The Soldier is contently tucked in deep inside his mind now that he’s had his fun and a whole carton of milk, so that lightheadedness has a whole different cause altogether.

Might have something to do with Tony saying he’s in love with him.

“Uh…you okay there?” Tony asks, bringing him out of his haze.

Yep. Definitely has something to do with that.

“Yeah…I’m ‘kay,” he nods absentmindedly.

Tony chuckles, cocking his head to the side. “You’re smiling.”

“Yeah…guess I am.”

“So…,” he sighs, suddenly looking unsure.

Bucky clears his throat and looks upwards. “So, JARVIS snitched on me, huh?”

“In his defense, it’s in his code to be that way…to lend a helping hand when he sees anyone in distress. We’re gonna have to talk about privacy in our next lesson, J!” Tony squints upward.

“Of course, Sir. And my apologies if I have…overstepped.”

It didn’t sound apologetic at all…and Bucky didn’t really care. “I’m glad you overstepped, JARVIS. I mean…if I understand the situation correctly.”

Tony snorts, shaking his head. “If you under…well you better understand! You b - ”

“Dinner tomorrow? Or…somethin’? That involves me wearing a shirt?” Bucky suggests and smirks.

“Sure…although I can’t say that I mind,” Tony winks at him and sighs again. “About Steve…”

“I’ll talk to the punk. His avoiding techniques are not nearly as good as the Soldier’s stalking techniques.”

That startles a laugh out of the engineer. “Eh…wow, okay. I would…love to see that, but what I wanted to say is um…JARVIS?”

“About that, Sergeant, I may or may not have also…overstepped there. A little bit.”

“Yeah, we’re talking about that, too, J. Anyway…Steve’s coming back around…he’s still mad, but apparently not mad enough to ignore us for the rest of our lives because…well, because…”

“’Cause we fell in love with each other?”

“Exactly…yeah, how did that happen again?”

“It’s uh really long story,” Bucky shrugs, not missing the light sparkling in Tony’s eyes the way they only ever do when he’s happy. And damn if Bucky isn’t making it his mission to keep it that way forever.

“You can tell me all about it tomorrow. Over that dinner.”

“It’s a date,” Bucky answers, all the nightmares from earlier this night forgotten.

-The End