#thefriendlypigeon

“Cascades” (M, 152k) by orange_crushed

“Holy shit,” Howard says, crackling through the speakers. “You alive in there?” Lying is a sin, of course, but Steve’s not sure what else he can do. He’s already lied to the government and Bucky and God Almighty; and himself, himself most of all. He ought to tell the truth. That he’s not quite what they hoped for. That perhaps they should put him back into the ocean.

“Probably,” he says, instead, listening to Howard’s tinny laughter; and waits for the blast doors to unlock.

+ Alt WW2. From the Mom list. Steve gets powers, Bucky breaks from Hydra, and they are so in love it hurts. 

++ "He only has one try left in him. He only has one chance. He steadies himself. He takes a breath. Please, he thinks, through the hole in the world. Through the last window home. He can’t see the other side from here; just the light it gives off. Please, send me back somehow. Send me back as anything. As a bird that sings on his windowsill, but not too loud. Send me as a ray of sunshine that falls on him in the morning when the bed’s still warm; as someone who’ll always leave a newspaper in the booth for him at Harry’s. Please, send something. Send me back as a kindness. Please. Let me be something for him.”

-☆-

“Metallurgy” (M, 22k) by eyres, art by TheFriendlyPigeon

The battle quieted for the moment, the great metal giant turns, at last, and sees Steve. Dark, almost human hair frames a sharp, steel face - but, Steve is caught by its eyes. They’re bright silver, sparking in the sunlight, shot through with gray and blue, visible even at this distance. Something about them nags at Steve, calls to him, reminds him of…

Instead of making the Winter Soldier, Hydra transfers Bucky’s consciousness to a metal body, locking his mind within a prison of steel and programming. However, Bucky is stronger than they could’ve ever imagined.

+ WW2 to Avengers. From the Robot list. Bucky’s time is running out, and he only wants Steve to be happy. Yearning and devotion

++ “Bucky cracks open his eyes, silver glinting in the growing sunlight. “Steve?” he says and how had Steve not known it was him every time he said his name? No one says his name like that but Bucky.”

-☆-

“jamais vu” (E, 13k) by Claudia_flies

They’re all gathered in the top floor private conference room because Tony wants to set up a Strike team, and he’s making some really excellent points. The Avengers aren’t a stealth operation, Steve has to admit.

He just doesn’t like it.

+ Shrunkyclunks. From the Sex Pollen and a/b/o lists. After a mission gone sideways, omega Steve and alpha Bucky start having hot sex keeping each other company in the evenings

++ “What the hell are you doing?!” Steve bellows, kind of horrified at how he sounds like a scandalized maiden aunt. “Have you ever popped a knot in tactical pants?!” Barnes sounds near-on hysterical. “Kevlar is not known for its give as a fabric!” “You have it on pretty good authority right now that I do not have an idea of what it’s like to pop a knot in tactical pants,” Steve yells, and Barnes goes quiet.

-☆-

“Too Long We Have Tarried” (E, 19k) by kototyph

Bucky picks up the ring and holds it between them. “Steven Grant Rogers,” he says solemnly. “Will you marry me?”

+ Post WS. From the Fake Married list. Bucky’s proposal started as a joke, but quickly escalates to becoming a full-blown wedding. Along the way, Steve and Bucky address their actual feelings.

++  “When I got to Europe, to France, those first few months— everyone, every single guy in the 107 thought you had a sweetheart you were engaged to back home. I couldn’t figure it out, because I never saw or heard about a girl like that. I wondered for a while if you’d been hiding her from me. The guys, they said— they said, when things got bad you wouldn’t shut up about her. [...] Yeah, I was mad. Here was a girl I knew absolutely nothing about, and you were going to marry her? I couldn’t believe it. Some pretty little dame you hadn’t even wanted to introduce me to. [...] It didn’t occur to me until after... after the train. After almost everything. There was only one blue-eyed blond I knew you’d promised to marry.”

-☆-

“where can i put it down?” (T, 6k) by layersofsilence

The beach is deserted, and the waves loud. Today the very sea chatters, buzzing with the news: there’s going to be a mating. There are only four days between the announcements and the ceremony - and then Steve sees his mate’s face, and his heart sinks. He knows that face. He loves - he’d loved that face. Right up until he’d seen it again, and wasn’t that a laugh?

+ Fantasy AU. From the Mermaid list. Merman Steve has an arranged marriage but is still pining after a lost love from five years ago. The drama!!

++ “As if you ever would have come away with me! [...] When our plans were to leave the sea. You would’ve dried out and your steps would’ve felt like walking on knives-” “Fuck you,” Steve says; his vision blurs, his eyes hurt. He thinks he’s crying again, for the first time in years, but it’s hard to tell underwater. “I would’ve done it. It would’ve been worth it. I loved you.” That makes James jerk away like he’s been burned. Steve hates him. “Fuck you,” he says again, blurrily. “I don’t want to talk to you.” 

-☆-