It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything, since I wrote anything to be honest Every time I say I’ll do a challenge, or a request, all I’m hoping is that I’ll have the courage to write again, to enjoy doing it again. The excuse I’ve given you is that I’m a student and university takes most of my time. While that’s partially true, there’s also another issue that I’ve tried to ignore. Maybe you’ve read one of my Charles Xavier’s request, Pocrescophobia. If so, you know what I’m going to say. The reason I’m not writing anymore is because I’m sick. Mentally sick. Which is still hard to admit if you ask me. I’ve created a whole world made of numbers, disgust and self-hatred. My doctor call it anorexia, I just call it hell. I’m sorry I’ve not been present, I’m sorry I’ve stopped writing. A lot of you send me messages to know when I’ll be back, and the answer is I don’t know. “Recovery” is awfully painful but I promise I’ll be back with more stories, I just don’t know when.
Hope showed the tickets to the ticket vendor, who ushered them into the stadium. This wasn’t her first time coming to a game. Her first year, she went to all of the games to support Thor, but as her schedule got more hectic, she was unable to go to every game.
This was the first game she’d been to in a while, and this was the first time her friends had been to a game. They were about to climb the stairs of the bleachers when Bucky called out to her.
“Hopie!”
She turned to see Bucky in his football uniform, running up to her.
“Hey! Thanks for coming,” he says. “Can I have a kiss for good luck?”
Hope giggles, and gives him a peck on the lips.
“Barnes! Get back here!”
“Gotta go,” he says. Bucky runs back to join his team and Hope turns around to find her friends sporting matching grins.
-
Stephen entered the stadium to find it packed. These people really loved football. He was a bit hesitant to come to the game, especially since it was against his old alma mater.
He looked up when he reached the bleachers to see Meag waving. He climbed the steps to reach the group. There was an empty seat at the end of the bleacher to Meag’s left. Hope sat to her right, Em to her right, Natasha to their right, Minnie to her right, and Loki sat at the other end of the bleacher with his arms crossed. Stephen slid into the seat beside Meag.
“Didn’t know you guys liked football,” Stephen says.
“We used to come to every game,” Meag says. Back when she dated Steve, she was his biggest cheerleader. She eyed Peggy and her sister Sharon a few rows down and turned towards Stephen.
“You sign up for that fellowship at the hospital this summer?”
“Yeah, I’m super excited,” he replies. “You heard back from Stark Industries or Pym Tech?”
She shakes her head. “Not yet. I probably won’t find out for a few months.”
During the third quarter, Meag suggests they go to the concession stand, and Stephen follows. As Meag goes to the counter and orders for them, Stephen stands off to the side, waiting.
“Stephen?”
He looks up to see Christine Palmer, his ex girlfriend, with a group of other girls from Columbia.
“Hey.”
“So, you go to SHIELD now?”
“Yeah,” he replies. “Columbia just didn’t feel right after everything.”
“I hope you’re doing well. If you ever need-“
She’s cut off when Meag approaches, handing Stephen a corn dog and a soda.
“Hey, Stephen. Who is this?” Meag asks.
“Meagan, this is Christine.“
“We used to date at Columbia,” Christine says. “Are you one of his new friends?”
“Uh.. Yeah,” Meag says. “Stephen and I are both in the chem department.” Christine nods, but she wasn’t paying attention, just staring at Stephen longingly.
“Well, I have to go, see you around Stephen.” She turns to Meag. “It was nice to you, Morgan!”
“Did she just call me Morgan?” Meag asks. She looks over at Stephen. “You ok?”
“Yeah,” he replies. “Let’s get back to the stands.”
Meag follows Stephen, holding her nachos as they walk up the stairs. They sat in awkward silence for the rest of the game.
People started filing out of the stadium, and the group was in the parking lot, as Hope was looking for Bucky. Em and Natasha had already left, and Minnie dragged Loki to the car. Meag had driven herself and Hope, so she stayed with her friend, and Stephen stayed with them.
Bucky walked up and hugged Hope. “We won, Hopie!”
“I’m so proud of you!”
“You’re my good luck charm,” Bucky declares, and Hope chuckles. He looks up at Meag and his roommate.
“Hey guys. You like the game?”
“I was surprised. I didn’t think you’d be a match for Columbia’s team,” Stephen says.
“You clearly don’t know much about football,” a voice says from behind them. They all turn to see Steve standing there in his uniform.
“Good job out there, Buck,” Steve says. “Hey Meag, Hope.”
Stephen takes Meag’s hand into his and glares at the blond quarterback.
“Let’s go, guys. I’ll walk you to your car,” Stephen says.
“Actually, you wanna get some food, Hopie?” Bucky asks.
“Uh..sure,” Hope replies. “I’ll see you at home, Luna.”
“Have fun,” Meag calls as Hope and Bucky walk away.
Steve walks away to find Peggy, leaving Meag and Stephen alone. Meag jerks her hand out of his.
“Can you stop? I didn’t ask you to pretend to be my boyfriend!”
“Yes, you did.”
“When?!” Meag demands. “Tell me when I asked you to be my boyfriend.”
“The day we got coffee,” he answers.
“I asked you to hang out with me! You’re the one that held my hand and made everyone think we were dating!” Meag exclaims. “I just can’t with this. You kissed me at the party, and we’ve hung out, and it’s felt so real.. But then earlier, with Christine, you’re clearly not over her.”
“Yes, I am,” he says. “And why do you care anyway? Like you said, we’re not dating. We’re not pretending to date.”
“Because I like you, you idiot!”
Silence fell over them, and a few people around looked up at them after Meag’s outburst. Stephen blinked in surprise for a moment, and Meag turned to walk away.
She liked him. She liked him and he blew it. What she didn’t know is that he liked her too.
Hope smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress and took a deep breath. Tonight, she was going on a date with Bucky. The bathroom door opened, and Meag stood on the other side.
“He’s here, Hopie!”
Hope nods. “Thanks, Luna. I’ll be down in a minute.”
She closes the door and leaves, and Hope puts on some lips gloss before heading downstairs. Bucky was waiting by the door, and Minnie was talking to him.
“If you ever hurt her, I’m not afraid to go back to jail,” Minnie says, staring him in the eyes.
“You’ve never been to jail,” Meag points out.
“Regardless, you’ll face the wrath of the sorority,” Minnie says.
Bucky swallows thickly. “Ok..” He looks up just as Hope reaches them and smiles at her.
“Hey, Hopie. You look gorgeous,” he says.
“Thanks.”
“You ready to go?”
She nods, following him out the door and into his car. It was a red classic car, though Hope knew nothing about cars, so she couldn’t tell what kind it was. He started up the car and backed out of the driveway, and they sat there for a moment in awkward silence.
“Bucky,” Hope says. “Where are we going?”
“There’s this place in town,” he replies. “They make the best milkshakes.”
They walked into the restaraunt a few minutes later. It was a retro themed diner. Bucky led her to a booth and they sat, just before a waitress walked up. She was a middle aged woman with her brown hair up in a bun. Her name tag read May.
“What can I get you kids?” She pulls out her notepad and pen.
“I’ll have a cheeseburger and fries,” Bucky says.
“I’ll have the same,” Hope tells her.
“And a strawberry milkshake with two straws,” Bucky says.
Hope blushes at that. Who knew Bucky was such a romantic? The waitress went behind the counter right when another college student enters and takes a seat at the counter.
“Hey, May. Can I get a chocolate milkshake?” he asks. It was Peter.
“Coming right up.”
Hope couldn’t help but stare at him as he sat there, talking to the waitress. They had to be related. Maybe his mom? Or his aunt? They had the same brown eyes.
May returned with their milkshake and Hope smiled at Bucky as he opened two straws and put them in the milkshake. She didn’t notice Peter staring at them from the counter.
“Can I ask why you’re not in the frat?”
“I’m not big on partying,” Bucky replies. “It also seems kind of cliquey to me. I mostly hang out with Sam and my roommate these days.”
“What about Steve?” Hope asks.
“Him too, I just.. It’s been weird since he broke up with Meag and started dating Peggy. I don’t think he’s over Meag, and Peggy doesn’t want him hanging around her.”
“Interesting,” Hope says. “How are classes going?”
“Good, how about you?”
“Pretty good. I’ve got a big project coming up. I have to write a short story for my writing class and I’m having some trouble getting started. Whoever writes the best story will win a scholarship.”
“That’s awesome,” he says. “I’m sure you’ll win. What about the sorority? Doing anything interesting?”
“Us and the frat are taking a joint trip to the beach when the semester is over,” Hope says. “We’re renting a couple of houses. It’ll be super fun.”
“Sounds like it.”
The two of them talk, laugh, and eat, oblivious to the boy at the counter who could hear every word.
stephen strange x oc (meag), loki x oc (minnie), bucky barnes x oc (hope), natasha romanoff x oc (em), tony x pepper , shang-chi x oc (minnie) (platonic)
stephen strange x oc (meag), loki x oc (minnie), bucky barnes x oc (hope), natasha romanoff x oc (em), tony x pepper , shang-chi x oc (minnie) (platonic)
stephen strange x oc (meag), loki x oc (minnie), bucky barnes x oc (hope), natasha romanoff x oc (em), tony x pepper , shang-chi x oc (minnie) (platonic)
stephen strange x oc (meag), loki x oc (minnie), bucky barnes x oc (hope), natasha romanoff x oc (em), tony x pepper , shang-chi x oc (minnie) (platonic)
synopsis: Four friends make a pact to all find date’s for Meag’s brother, Tony’s wedding.
stephen strange x oc (meag), loki x oc (minnie), bucky barnes x oc (hope), natasha romanoff x oc (em), tony x pepper , shang-chi x oc (minnie) (platonic)
synopsis: Four friends make a pact to all find date’s for Meag’s brother, Tony’s wedding.
stephen strange x oc (meag), loki x oc (minnie), bucky barnes x oc (hope), natasha romanoff x oc (em), tony x pepper , shang-chi x oc (minnie) (platonic)
synopsis: Four friends make a pact to all find date’s for Meag’s brother, Tony’s wedding.
WC: 1.2k words Warnings:Fluffy fluff. A/N: The reader-character in this story is a male character who uses he/they pronouns.
“Okay, wait, wait,” Bucky stopped when he parked his car.
“What?” you frowned, smiling at him.
The exhibition was a big success, and he was right: all of your paintings were sold by the third-hour mark - something he had to credit, in part, to Tony, as he was the one who invited his millionaire friends and got you in contact with an agent earlier in the year. You were very happy now, and even found people who were interested in getting more paintings from you, and Bucky was hoping that his surprise could make you even happier.
“Close your eyes,” he instructed, taking the blindfold from the glove compartment.
You giggled.
“Bucky, I literally live here,” you argued, although still closing your eyes. “I know exactly where we are going.”
“I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” he insisted.
What was there to spoil? Bucky wasn’t quite sure.
His plan, however, involved getting a blindfold, and he was going to use a blindfold.
After he had left home, Wanda had texted about doing some cute thing with the house and placing everything he needed around the living room, so that Bucky’s surprise could go as smoothly as possible, and he didn’t want to spoil anything.
“What are you trying to do?” you took your hand to your face, touching the fabric over your eyes, and he simply swaddled it away.
“Come on, it’s a surprise,” he insisted, pulling you out of the car.
You were grinning as Bucky guided you into your shared flat, and turned on the lights to find the food Wanda has prepared placed on hot plates, and a note on the fridge he suspected was to inform him about the dessert inside.
“Can I take this off now?” you asked, taking your hands up.
He looked around the room, completely thrown off of his rhythm when he realised he actually didn’t know where to start. Maybe with the food? You were hungry, right?
Or with the surprise? Cause you could be tired by the end of the night, so maybe it was vest to get all of the emotions in now?
“Yes, yes,” he confirmed, untying it as he looked around the room.
Where were the papers, again?
Did Wanda change their placements? Oh, no.
“What are you looking for?” you asked, confused.
Bucky raised a single finger, and then rushed to the little table in front of the couch, finding the folder where he’d put both his retirement papers and the documents from the farm.
“This!” he exclaimed, and then blushed when he realised you were watching him with raised eyebrows. “Let’s see down.”
You nodded, and sat down on the couch, waiting silently as Bucky tried to gather his thoughts and ideas.
Alright, he knew he should have a plan for this part of the surprise too. He had planned everything else, though, and thought that by the time he got to this, then he would either have everything planned out or knew what he was going to do!
Bucky fumbled with the file, unsure of what to say first to you.
Maybe tell you that he bought the farm?
No, no. First, you needed to know why he did that, right? First, you would need to know why he had gotten you the farm, right?
“Bucky?” you called.
He looked at you with wide eyes, and you smiled gently, reaching for him and taking his hand.
“It’s okay,” you assured him. “Whatever you have to tell me, I’m sure it is wonderful. It is alright if you stumble with your words, because I know your intentions are always the best.”
He exhaled and swallowed down, nodding to himself, a little less nervous now.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Alright.”
You watched him quietly and Bucky sat down, taking the first roll of papers and giving it to you, trying not to tremble.
“I spent the last six months doing this,” he gave you his retirement papers. “And I hate hiding things from you, but I just wanted to show you when everything was finished and we were ready and…”
“You’re retired?” you interrupted him, sounding completely shocked. “You have retired from SHIELD?”
He nodded, a little breathless, honestly feeling like he was just done running a damn marathon. Your face was unreadable, and suddenly, he was afraid. What if you didn’t approve of his decision? What if he had done something stupid?
“I have,” he confirmed. “I know we talked about it and I said I wouldn’t, but you said you wanted kids and I want kids,” he explained, trying not to speak too fast. “And then the twins, Wanda’s twins, they are so cute, and I just wish we could have our own twins, but Billy and Tommy have powerful parents, and we are not powerful, and our kids would be kids who need a safe environment! I don’t think we can raise kids here, and I don’t want to wait until…”
You took his face in his hand, and kissed his lips, shutting him up, and Bucky relaxed in your arms, falling into silence.
“Thank you,” you smiled.
Bucky grinned, panting a little, and bit his lower lip.
“And I bought the farm,” he told you. “The one with the strawberry field.”
Your eyes widened, and your mouth opened wide as you seemed to start processing it.
“You…” you stuttered, opening and closing your mouth. “We… Bucky!”
He waited for what you were going to say, and his eyes widened when you covered your mouth with a hand.
“Bucky!” you sniffed, about to cry. “You did all of that for me?”
“For us,” he whispered.
You smiled, and he reached for you, kissing the back of your hand and standing up.
“I also have something else,” he told you, ready for the last surprise.
Bucky always knew he was going to marry you at some point, and now he thought it was the best time to start it. He was ready to propose now.
Well, he would do it if he remembered where he put the ring.
“What are you looking for?” you asked, confused.
He hesitated, a little embarrassed, and bit his lower lips.
“Sorry, it’s… uh… it’s a ring,” he mumbled.
You raised your eyebrows, a little shocked, and he blushed when you stood up.
“I’m sorry,” he added quickly. “I don’t know where I put it, I’m sure I had it ready, and…”
“You can use mine,” you suggested gently.
Bucky froze, and stared at you.
“What?”
You put your hand in your pocket and pulled something from inside, biting your lower lip, and he could see how your eyes were a little watery as you showed him the velvet box, opening it with hopeful eyes.
“Here,” you opened it, and he could see a golden ring inside.
Bucky didn’t take it, though, and looked up at your face.
“I guess we both do,” he whispered.
You smiled and nodded, and Bucky reached for you, kissing your lips softly.
“I love you,” he whispered, rubbing his nose against yours.
“I love you too,” you whispered. “Thank you, so much.”
Trigger Warnings: Anxiety, confronting the past, cult life, violence, character death.
Summary: Fellow Avenger Lexa Green is an enigma that intrigues Bucky to no end, but a painful past has left her scarred, both physically and mentally. Will she be able to overcome her past to find love in the future?
—Summary:It’s his parents’ wedding day, and Peter thinks about many things from start to finish. What teachings they’ve passed him so far in life, what’s the point in all these ceremonies and special brandings society insists on—a bunch of things that dictate life and how happy everyone is. Ultimately, he thinks about how happy true love looks. How effortless, even in the struggles. Partnership. It’s all he wants for his own life, someday.
Getting tattooed was a lot like getting absolutely high. You either had one and got a taste for the thing, coming back to it whenever possible, or you had the experience and thought ‘yeah, that’s not for me, thank you very much’. For Peter, it was more of the first. His first tattoo was not the first of that year alone – the only perk of working when you still live with parents, he thinks – and was far from the last if the drawings on his notebook were any indicator.
The second tattoo he got, two months after the first one, meant the most to him so far (out of his six).
The Balance that laid on the inside of his arm was supposed to represent the duality of life and, most importantly, the two most important lessons he ever got in life from each of his parents.
It was all he could think about during their wedding day.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ/**\
Lesson number one came from dad.
Bucky taught him most thinks. He liked to joke at home that it’s because “I got a twelve year head start, as you all know” and maybe the reality in it is what made it so funny.
The learning that Peter carried thought, the one that inspired the drawing on one of the sides of the balance, came from something his father said ever since Peter has any memories.
“Do your best when you, if you can, buddy. That’s all it takes.”
Whenandif were the key words of that saying.
Being an anxious, ADHD, not-straight and very non-conforming person might be easier than it was in past decades, but the state of the world made for living in peace a lot harder, and having peace of mind was the only real luxury Peter – or many others – could afford.
That being said, relieving himself of the constant pressure of ‘doing something’ or ‘outstanding’ in things because his father taught him early on that there were times when our mind was capable of such things, and moments where even if the mind was able, that didn’t mean the situation was.
Like today, for example.
Hecould be having a great time because it was one the happiest days of both his parents’ lives and he would be, if situations weren’t as they were.
If MJ was here.
“—has it, doesn’t he, Peter?” His father’s voice snaps his eyes up from his forearm’s art up.
Every guy and person in the room, dressed in fine suits with their hairs done, swaying and singing along to the horrible eighties playlist playing, turns around to look at him.
God,I hate eighties music.
Peter realizes he needs to answer something.
What was he saying? C’mon, don’t let your dad realize you’ve been on Cloud 9 one more fucking time. What could he be saying you have it?
Oh. There was only one thing.
Peter shoves his hand in his pants’ pockets, fishes the velvet box containing both wedding bands and shakes it in the hair.
Everyone’s semblance changes from worry to relief, and happiness.
Bucky smiles at Peter. “Told you.” He looks up to Sam’s colleague, who Peter now notices it’s who he was talking to. “He’ll give it to Ally when it’s time to walk the aisle.”
The colleague – Peter still sucks with names – nods, and looks at Uncle Steve when he asks. “How old is your girl again, Steve?”
“She’s five.” Steve has that adorable father-proud look he and Sam got ever since adopting Allison – who their family has taken to calling Ally – and he reaches to hold Sam’s hand. “She said this ‘honor’ is her greatest mission so far, so it’ll all be good. She takes her missions very seriously. If this is her highest one—after last month’s? Oh, she’ll nail that walk. You know what she did last month? She rescued a bee.”
“Oh, damn,” Peter wolf-whistles. “We all know how important bees are.”
“Specially to Ally,” his father joins, nodding with feign-seriousness.
“Very serious topic,” Sam nods. “I was surprised when she commented about this being a higher honor. I mean, I knew it’d make it the top three, but the bee.”
“She didn’t tell me about the bee,” Peter comments. He’s mostly egging his uncles on because Sam’s colleague looks truly lost now if they’re all speaking seriously or not and he’s loving the look on his face, but also because a little bit of him is curious now.
Ally likes to call him with big news.
Sam shakes his head. “You were busy with finals, we told Ally to leave it when you saw her, which would be soon, and then she’d tell.” He chuckles, sipping his wine. “That girl will call him to give any news if we let her,” Sam offers as an explanation to the man.
Peter’s 97% sure that’s not why he looks confused, but he’s not about to help the annoying old fart.
After the look he gave to his father’s head when Bucky answered a snorted “no” to his stupid question of “Y/n will be hiding all her tattoos with make-up today, won’t she?”, Peter wouldn’t help him to find the loo.
‘You’re so petty when you’re sad, pie. Be mindful of the bitchiness, you know it might come back to bite ya’. His mother’s voice makes him smile behind his cup.
It tugs at his chest, too. He wished he could go in her room right now and see how gorgeous she looks getting ready, but Y/n sees through Peter’s best well-fitted mask, and he’s not about to make her even slightly sad before walking to that altar.
He half-listens to the conversation around him as the other part of his brain thinks about how she’s right.
Heis a petty bitch.
God—Peter’s got a bunch of good qualities if he can say so for himself, but his bad ones can be nasty.
He gets up and goes to fetch some more coke for his rum and coke to hide the look on his face as he thinks about how petty he was those weeks ago.
‘I… genuinely think this will be best for the both of us, Peter.’
‘I’m finding trouble seeing how this can be good from any-fucking-angle, MJ, but you’re the genius between us, so what the hell do I know.’
He winces, deeps breath, and drinks.
Yeah, that wasn’t his best moment. Even after apologizing for it — and being forgiven, because MJ knows how to see pain and pettiness when it’s there — he still keeps hearing the words in his head.
“Hey, son.”
Ah, shit.
Peter grabs the poncho and walks back to his dad.
He looks good.
Peter sees how good he looks, and it goes beyond the immaculate suit, the trimmed bears, and the short, but not-too-short-‘cause-mama-hates-it hair.
It’s… around him.
Maybe Peter’s been spending too much time with his Aunt Viv, but it’s like a feeling. A palpable area around Bucky’s body vibrates with happiness, sipping from the seams of his smile, stored in the crinkle of his eyes and the glow of those few white hair strands in his head. If Peter were to put a paintbrush to it, he dared say it’d all come out glitter-ish, like a fairy.
The conversation around them becomes muffled when his dad zeroes him underneath his gaze.
Double shit. His father’s usually fooled by Peter’s doofus smile, but he’s squinting his eyes a little, as if he’s trying to peel underneath it.
Too much time with mom.
Peter puts on his best smile and promises himself, not because of him, but because of the man in front of him, that today there will be no more thinking of her.
(There’s plenty of time for that later. Today, it’s Bucky and Y/n’s day.)
“You good, buddy?” his dad asks, smile already growing back.
I am, dad.“Yeah.”It hurts in some bits, but overall… I’m blessed. “I’m happy.” You look so happy that it makes me happy. “I can’t wait to see mom.”
His father scoffs. “You can’t wait to see her? Buddy. Peter.”
Peter laughs. “I know.”
“God, she’s gonna look fucking breathtaking,” Bucky sighs. He even sounds in love. It’s been almost six years now, and his dad sounds the same as he did when he told Peter he met someone amazing in college. Bucky leans forward and starts fixing Peter’s bowtie. “You got a glimpse of her?”
Peter rolls his eyes. He was there for the dress shopping day, but he’s not about to tell his dad anything, and he knows that from the number of times he’s asked. “Dad, the answer’s still the same.”
Bucky whines. Whines. “I just want a little tip, c'mon. Is it white? Black? Long?”
“Surprisingly, there’s white in it,” that much Peter could say.
Bucky hums, surprised. “I amsurprised.”
“So was I.”
“I can almost see it…” Bucky’s eyes go a little distant, and Peter holds his laugh.
“You’ll get to in…” Peter checks his clock. “Twenty-three minutes.”
“Speaking of minutes!” Uncle Sam’s voice rings over the chaos. “We should be going, gentleman and others.”
Peter appreciates the 'and others’ and nods. “We should.” He smiles at his dad’s wide eyes. “Let’s go?”
His dad gives him one of the brightest smiles he’s ever seen. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Peter is happy, because how could he not be?
This is gonna be one of the best days ever.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ/**\
The second lesson came from mom.
Y/n Lensherr, or as she’s called now, Y/n Barnes-Lensherr.
“What’s meant to be in your path already is.Believe that with all your heart, always.”
Most people when they saw the Balance with a heart and a brain on each side of the scale thought it meant to balance between the mind and the heart, but while it was, it also wasn’t.
It meant the consciousness to know he did his best when he could if he could, and the heart to believe that his path was written by him.
Whatever he believed with all his soul was meant to be on his road in life, already was. His mother taught him that when his first rejection letter came and it destroyed what at the time felt like a life-long dream.
She’d explained that sometimes what we want and what we get look different, but are the same thing. What Peter wanted — to win that first contest — was not what he needed — to learn that he needs failure — and it’s not something bad, but something to learn from.
Peter’s able to enjoy the party when he looks down at the heart during the ceremony and, after a long, deep breath, reminds himself that it is what it is.
She was right. (He’s not thinking about it.)
Harvard and NYU were hours apart and while that might not be much, it was something (just a logical observation, still not thinking about it).
If things were meant to work out, they would.
He believed that.
When Peter hears his father’s vows, he can’t help but laugh and smile all the way through. He sees the tidbits where uncle Steve helped, the lines where grandpa Erik said in the kitchen while his father cracked his head about 'not being a damn Edgan Poe’ and, most importantly, he sees the look on his father’s face.
Bucky Barnes-Lenshnerr has been smiling since he saw the love of his life walking to meet him halfway at the altar.
“Y/n, I was fated to end up here, with my hands in yours, the very second I laid eyes on you. I saw you first, and for the first time in my life, I saw the Spark before I felt it. Over the months where I tried to befriend you, all I could think about was how much I wanted to be your friend for my entire life, and it took a few moments to realize that I could be. That I could earn that.
When others talk about love, it’s meant to be a conquest, most of the time. A journey. Perhaps even a lottery win. Today, I see that it’s a bit of every one of them, but most important, it’s about a current. Choosing the person you love is about swimming with the waters, and never against it. You taught me what it’s a partnership and all I strive for is to honor it for the rest of our lives.Having you be my person to face life with is a privilege, an honor, and as of today, my lawful, delightful duty. I hope to make you smile as much as you make me, every day to come.”
It’s cute.
It’sreal, too.
It reminds Peter of seeing that journey, of witnessing that partnership.
His mother’s vows are smaller, but they’re the ones who make him cry.
“I always believed that what’s meant to be in your path, already is, and for a long time, all I believed for myself was that I had a life meant for love. It took me eight years to stumble upon the love of my family, and as the Fates will have it, that’s where the love of my closest friends laid, too. My friends’ love came and went for the next years to come, and having found a home to learn what real love looks like, my heart rested easy knowing that if I’d one day have something like that, it’d be effortless as well. Six years ago, I saw one of the most beautiful pieces of art in a simple white bag, and that’s when the fun started: not seeking you out actively meant that I could stumble upon you one day at orientation day, and finding my love was one of the best surprises I could’ve never prepared for. As our song goes, you are all I long for, all I worship and I adore, and I’ll love and water that feeling for all our days to come.”
In other words… damn.
The celestial theme for the wedding makes Peter feel like he’s in a Disney movie, and watching those two make the whole room erupt in cheers as they kiss solidifies it: what it’s meant to be yours, is.
He dances all night long.
Peter pulls even Charles to the dance floor, even though the English man hates moving his hips.
He makes everyone dance, requests some dirty songs to shake up the floor, and make his grandmother gasp in horror, much to his mother’s delight.
At one point during the night when he’s fanning himself near the bar and grabbing another poncho, he smells her before she comes.
Y/n wraps her arms around his waist from behind and props her chin on his shoulder.
Peter grabs the poncho delivered by the barman and passes it behind his shoulder to Y/n, then asks for another one.
Following the direction of her eyes, Peter sees aunt Peggy and her girlfriend—Natasha Romanoff.
“You wingmanned them together,” Peter chuckles.
Y/n gulps down half of the poncho and nods. “Half true. All I said was that they wanted similar things in life.”
“To their best friend.”
“Aha. So it was Steve who put them together.”
“Ma, we both know uncle Steve wouldn’t have dreamt of that pair,” Peter laughs. Peggy and Natasha are dancing to Coldplay together, looking every bit as happy as almost every other couple in there. Peter liked meeting Natasha—she was fun (in a very dry way), had a lot of knowledge under her sleeve and, best of all, a lot of stories about uncle Steve he never heard. “They’re cute together.”
“They are,” his mother smiles.
Peter looks at her, smiling to himself. Only she would invite her husband’s once… something, to their wedding day.
His mother was something else.
Grown, his brain supplies. Sure of herself, her worth. Her relationship.
Funnily enough, she and Natasha had gotten along well.
No one could say his father didn’t have taste.
“You know what I was thinking about, though?” Y/n asks, looking away from the dance floor.
“Hm?”
“When Bucko and I come back from our honeymoon, what d'you say all of us make a trip to Charles’ lakehouse in England? Just for a month. A family trip before you start college.” Her eyes give Pussyboot Cat energy, and Peter knows what this is about.
This is his mother’s way of making sure he’s happy before starting his next phase in life.
Adventures are the best remedy for the soul, Erik says.
Peter nods, and kisses the top of her head. “I’d love to.”
“Yayyyyy!”
“D'you think uncle Steve would let me teach Ally how to swing from the rope and fall in the lake?”
She scoffs. “Please. As if he could stop that girl.”
Peter nods because that is a damn good point.
The bartender brings him his poncho and he smiles in thank you, then turns to his mother.
“Care to dance with me?” Peter asks.
Her smile is beaming.
“Lead the way, Pete-pie.”
Peter leads her to the middle of the dancefloor where his father waits, and the three of them engage in their own, weird, specific Barnes-Lensherr type of dance. It might look like some mating call to the unfamiliar eyes, but there are many in the party who join in within seconds.
