bakerstreet | Jingle bells, Batman smells

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Jingle bells, Batman smells—!

Happy Holidays Meme

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Wherever your character is, whatever their feelings on the plethora of holidays found in December, they're bound to be caught up in the festivities. It's up to you what kind of holiday they'll experience! (Feel free to exchange Christmas for whatever holiday your character celebrates.)

Directions
1. Comment with your character, series, preferences, etc.
2. Roll a number between 1-17 (gen) or 1-4 (smut) for a prompt.
3. Reply to others and play out the scenario!

Gen Prompts
1. Tree Shopping — There's nothing like a freshly cut tree at Christmas. Do you go out into the woods to find one yourself, or do you stroll through a lot while it's snowing, looking for the perfect tree?

2. Ice Skating — Do you skate at rink or out on a frozen pond? Have you ever skated before? ~~How many times do you fall?~~

3. Pinterest Fails — You're set on making your own gifts this year, so you try out some adorable Pinterest ideas... And fail miserably. How do you salvage Christmas?

4. Secret Santa — The names have been drawn and now you're tasked with finding the right gift for someone who you may hardly know. Is it easy, or do you have to do some reconnaissance before making your decision?

5. Christmas Market — There are stalls of handcrafts and delicious goodies lining the streets, with crowds of people out walking in the snow and drinking mulled wine.

6. Decorating the Tree — How will the two of you decorate the tree? Do you spend a half hour untangling the twinkle lights, make popcorn strings while listening to carols, argue over who gets to put the star on top?

7. Road Trip — The snacks are packed and you’re ready to go to grandma’s house. But what happens when you lose GPS signal and get lost in the middle of nowhere or the car breaks down?

8. Stuck in the Airport — You’re snowed in and the hotels are full of fellow delayed passengers. Why don’t they make these chairs more comfortable for sleeping in?

9. Avoiding the Family — You’re obligated to go home for the holiday, but there’s only so much you can take of your family. Go for a walk, stop by the bar, whatever it takes for a little peace and quiet - and meet someone along the way.

10. Christmas Party — Are you hosting the event, or just bringing an extra bottle of wine? Is it a work function? How many glasses of spiked eggnog have you had?

11. Baking Shenanigans — How long does it take for the two of you to destroy the kitchen, either with forgetting to put the lid on the blender or simply starting a food fight?

12. Burned the Turkey — Well, the main course is a little blackened. Time for Chinese food, or is it pizza this year?

13. Mistletoe — The little sprig of green strikes again! Are you the one stuck under it, or the lucky finder ready to claim your prize?

14. Last Minute Shopping — Are you out fighting the crowds for the best deals? Or are you behind one of the counters, stuck in the annual retail holiday hell?

16. Turbo Man — You have one last thing on your shopping list, but it's the hottest of the season and everywhere is sold out. There's only one left — but they've spotted it too! Who will walk away victorious?

17. Taking in a Show — Who doesn't love going to the theater during the holiday season? The shows always seem a little more magical this time of year, and that new musical sounds like just what you need to get in the spirit.

18. Write-in Option — Is there something we missed? Is there another scenario you want to play out? Go for it!

Smut Prompts
1. Present Under the Tree — You've wrapped yourself up and are waiting for that special someone.

2. Sneaking Away at a Party — No, you can't wait until you get home or the guests leave, you need them now.

3. Keeping Warm During a Snowstorm — The power's gone out and you have to stay warm somehow...

4. Baking Surprise — How on earth did you get chocolate there? Oh well, can't let it go to waste!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

[ He doesn't really have much actual sensation in the hand itself beyond the over-arching pressure required to not crush someone else's fingers or shatter a glass, so it's such a strange sensation when she sends that vibration into the metal. Like a small itch humming up his arm and into his back molars, and then gone as quickly as it came, a flash in the pan. His fingers curl in on themselves after she lets go, as if still testing his range of motion.

Unaccustomed to having someone touch him like this.

He manages a crooked smile, though. ]

If you ever wanna cop a feel of the shield, we can probably bug Sam to get a look at it.

[ Yes, he knows how ridiculous that sounds, and it was on purpose. ]

[ That smile is the best thing she's seen all day. It chases away the fear that she'd messed things up, soothes her nerves, and boosts her hope that this might work. And then she bursts into a laugh that has her covering her mouth with a hand while she tries to get hold of herself, which takes a few moments. ]

Only if you promise to phrase it exactly like that. [ Oh what she'd give to see Sam's face at that. She's already picturing giving Sam a hard time herself while simultaneously making sure he knows how much she appreciates his friendship with Bucky. It's the sort of fine line that she's always balanced well. ]

Oh, before I forget... [ A thought occurs to her and she pulls out her phone, wanting to be sure to get the process started before the inevitable hangover that awaits her in the morning. A quick text is fired off to someone who means the world to her and who she trusts to do the right thing.

i'm asking fitzsimmons to hook barnes up with a new prosthetic. no strings. ]

[ Not even ten seconds pass before Mack's reply pops onto her screen, which she shows Bucky by turning the phone toward him.

You got it, Tremors. ]

Director-approved and everything.

[ Bucky cranes over to read the message (he squints on instinct even if he doesn't have to; he'll probably always have 20/20 vision courtesy that super-serum). Bemused, a little impressed: ]

Shit, that's fast. I thought government agencies were notorious for being tied up in red tape and really slow.

[ Daisy shrugs, a pleased little smile curling the corners of her lips. She enjoys every mention of SHIELD that puts the agency in a positive light. ]

We're kind of government-adjacent these days, so it's not as bad as it used to be. But it does help to have an in with the Director. If he'd said no, I would have just texted his wife.

[ The women might have had their differences over the years, but she and Yo-Yo always had each other's backs when it came to the things that really mattered. ]

Using your back-channel connections, huh? I won't judge.

[ Bucky always wants to hang onto these lighter moments when they've got them, before they slip through his — their — fingers, but he winds up slipsliding a little sideways with his next question. Head cocked. Genuinely curious. He's been working with SHIELD recently so naturally he trusts them enough, but he still wonders how the cleanup went. How they managed to get back on their feet after everything: the incident with the helicarriers, the reveal of the takeover, Nat busting all their secrets wide open, the way the rot had grown through it for decades. He'd had a firsthand view from the wrong side of the fence as the Winter Soldier, but hadn't been there for any of the rebuilding. ]

Is the agency doing okay these days? After... everything with HYDRA.

[ The question takes her by surprise. Everything with HYDRA seems like a tricky subject from her point of view, but if he's the one bringing it up, she doesn't mind talking about it. And she can certainly see why he'd have questions, or why he might be concerned. Whatever she can do to set his mind at ease, she resolves to do it and more. ]

Yeah, we're doing okay. Things were hard at first, we had to rebuild from the ground up, and we hit a lot of bumps along the way, but every agent is more dedicated to the cause than ever now. [ She looks down at her hands on the table, smiling faintly. ] We're not as big as we were before HYDRA, but I kind of think that's a good thing. And Coulson's doing most of our recruiting these days, so everyone we get is...

[ Her smile grows with affection for the man in question. ] Well, he's really good at his job.

Yeah, I can imagine organisations getting too big is how things get— missed. [ It's a toothless word to encompass what happened, how they could've missed the wolf among the sheep, but Bucky can't think of any more tactful way to put it. ] When the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing, and you don't know everybody as well as you could, and all. I mean, I'm obviously biased, but I'm used to operating with smaller teams.

[ He's steering neatly clear of HYDRA itself; he's thinking more now about the Howling Commandos, and Steve's team in the civil war, and then him, Sam, and Sharon, doing what they can in Madripoor. (Also Zemo, but like, let's not think about him.) ]

You all seem like a close-knit group.

We are, yeah. And we try to make sure everyone has connections like that within SHIELD, people they know they can trust to have their backs and to be there when they need it most.

[ SHIELD is her family, the reason she manages to get out of bed every day. She misses her close-knit team and spending each day with the people she cares most about, but they're all still out there, just a phone call away.

She opens her mouth to say something, stops, then tries again, her tone hesitant and careful, like she's reaching out to a frightened animal when she doesn't know how it'll react. ]

You should know... There were people who noticed. Who tried to stop HYDRA. HYDRA just stopped them first.

[ Bucky's mouth thins and he glances down, unable to meet her eye for a second, focusing on rolling that whiskey glass back-and-forth between his hands for a bit. Call it a minor saving grace that it hadn't been his own hands on the trigger, for these instances. He hadn't gotten directly involved until the helicarriers and his attempted assassination on Fury. HYDRA had mostly avoided deploying the Soldier on American soil, until they pulled out all the stops with the takeover. ]

That's about what I'd expect. They were good at that.

[ Daisy's hand reaches out across the table, stopping a few inches from his arm even as she so desperately wants to offer him that physical touch of reassurance. Leaning in closer, her tone becomes firm but still soft, insistent but kind. ]

They were, but we still stopped them. And we'll keep stopping them, no matter how many heads try to pop back up. We won't let them hurt anyone else.

[ The way they hurt you. But she can't say those words out loud, not yet. Her hand curls on the table between them but she can neither cross that space nor pull back. ]

[ Bucky notices the movement of Daisy's hand, the flexing of her fingers. And after a moment of warring instincts — he's skittish about physical contact but he's craving it too, and the latter instinct finally wins out for once. And so he reaches out with his flesh-and-blood hand and catches her hand again. ]

Bright side of them having so many heads and always popping up everywhere: I have a good excuse to keep running missions with SHIELD and hanging out with you, huh?

[ I am no longer the Winter Soldier. I am James 'Bucky' Barnes, and you're part of my efforts to make amends. He could parrot the words and he was still working on it, but it didn't mean he fully felt it. Not yet. So instead, he's usually joking when it gets too close to this subject in particular, or swerving away from it entirely. ]

[ When he holds her hand, it feels like home. The sensation takes her breath away and makes her never want to let go, but she shoves those thoughts and feelings so far to the back of her mind that they may never see the light of day again. Those sorts of thoughts aren't safe; they leave her far too open and vulnerable, even with someone as kind as Bucky.

So instead of clinging to his hand and professing emotions she has no business feeling, she holds on with a perfectly respectable strength and rolls her eyes. ]

You do know you could help with other missions, right? It doesn't have to be HYDRA or nothing. We can always use a good 'consultant' in the field, especially one who can keep up with me.

[ Is that flirting? Did she just slip back into flirting? ]

[ She can't help it, and evidently neither can he. It's easier and safer (and more fun) than anything else. Bucky wrinkles his nose in mock-consternation. ]

'Consultant' makes it sound like I should be carrying around a briefcase and wearing a suit and giving presentations in boardrooms.

Anyway, I'd like to, but I dunno how me and Sam are gonna be splitting our time mission-wise just yet. We're not exactly as officially-attached to you guys as the first Avengers were.

Even if the company over at SHIELD is really cute.

[ Yeah, he's flirting. ]

[ Oh, so that's how it is. Really cute, huh? There's no stopping her smile, which is adorably flirty In her still tipsy state, as she is so incredibly amused by him. He's actually pretty great at this whole flirting thing. ]

Well, it can always be on a mission-by-mission basis. You know, when you're not off saving the world with Captain America, [ she rolls her eyes in a 'ugh, that guy again' expression ] you could come save it with me.

[ She turns the charm up to full blast as she adds: ] Besides, I bet you look good in a suit.

Oh, I look extremely handsome in a suit. I just rarely get the opportunity. You'll never know what hit you.

[ His vibranium fingers delicately pick up the tumblr so he doesn't have to let go of her hand; careful to not chip that glass, to not crush it between his fingers as he raises it to his mouth to take another deep swig of that whiskey. Bucky doesn't always climb into the bottle like this — alcohol is frankly too expensive a coping mechanism for him — but it's a nice social lubricant tonight, trying (and succeeding) to dig away at his usual reserve and make himself loosen up.

He's glancing down at their hands now, though, and he absentmindedly trails a fingertip along the lifeline of her palm. Committing the sensation of that touch to memory, since god knows he doesn't get to savour it like this often. And then— he detours, a sharp metaphorical left as he asks another question: ]

Any favourite flowers? Are they actually daisies?

[ Well, now she definitely has to find an opportunity to see him in a suit. One in which she can wear a dress and do her hair and try to render this giant flirt speechless. She's pretty sure she'd like seeing him with a dumbstruck expression on his face.

That fingertip moving across her sensitive skin takes her breath away, every second of sensation imprinting itself upon her. She wants to touch him in return, memorize every inch of that warm, strong hand, but this isn't the time for that. He can lead this round, while they're both still uncertain and skittish. ]

They actually are, yeah. I liked them before I found out my real name, but afterward... [ She lifts one shoulder in a little shrug. ] I didn't know my name until I was 26. Any time I see something that reminds me of it, I cherish the fact that I know who I am now.

[ He arches an eyebrow, surprised yet again; she really is a bottomless well of interesting details, this conversation just digging and digging and yet always coming up with more curiosities. Putting two-and-two together, Bucky concludes: ]

Huh. So I'm guessing you learned it when you learned more about your birth parents?

[ A crinkle of that brow. ]

What was your name before?

[ It strikes her as so weird that he doesn't know all these things about already when it feels like he should. It's beginning to feel like they've known each other for ages with how comfortable she is with him, just two old friends catching up. She has to keep reminding herself that they're still only just moving beyond being total strangers. ]

The name the nuns gave me... [ She pauses, then scrunches her nose and gives a firm shake of her head. ] Nope, not telling you that one. It's... bad. Very bad. As soon as I left the orphanage, I changed it and started going by Skye. No last name.

[ Bucky withdraws slightly and lets go of her hand again, but it's not a retreat, not a punishment: it's all so he can prop his chin innocently against his palm with an exaggerated 'oh, tell me more' expression. You can't just dangle a juicy tidbit like that in front of a man and not expect him to follow up!! ]

Oh, c'mon, now you've got to tell me the nun name. [ He flashes what he hopes is a winning grin. ] We can trade embarrassing stories to even it out. Like. What if I told you that a four-year-old, apparently there was one summer where I just rebelled against clothes and decided I couldn't stand them, and ran around the apartment buck-ass naked every time my ma couldn't catch me?

[ The nun name. Oh geez, she should have known he'd latch onto that and she wouldn't be able to get away with shrugging it off. And then he goes and offers her that tidbit and—

Well, okay, the image of a tiny Bucky stripping and running around his home is ridiculously adorable. She can't help the laugh that sneaks out or the smile that blooms even as she bites her lip in an attempt to stop it. ]

That's cute, not embarrassing. And definitely not enough for the Nun Name. [ She considers for a moment, then crosses her arms. ] I will, however, concede to letting you try and guess it.

Hmm. [ Bucky continues to make a show of thoughtful contemplation, as he pulls on every over-the-top old-fashioned Catholic name he can think of. ] Agatha. Bernardine. Charity. [ He can't just go through the whole alphabet like this, whoops. ] Hilda. Mildred?

[ Daisy's expression becomes more comical with each name he offers, her face shifting from frowning confusion to amused horror. He's really going for it — honestly, she appreciates the level of commitment. ]

Wow, those are bad. In retrospect, mine wasn't quite as bad as those... so long as the last name wasn't included. That was the real cherry on top.

Oh my god, you can't just keep— [ He exhales into a huff of breath at how she just keeps dangling it, although he's half-laughing. ] Fine. Okay. What price am I gonna have to pay for you to tell me the whole Nun Name.

[ She scrubs a hand over her eyes, already knowing she's not going to be able to avoid telling him but now determined to make him work for it. If he wants it that badly, he'll have to earn it. ] Tell me something embarrassing that happened to you in the last decade. Then we'll talk.

Huh. Well.

[ The problem with the past ten years is that he's only been around for less than half of it. There hasn't been much room for living in his years since leaving HYDRA, especially considering his time spent on ice in Wakanda and then dusted out of existence; plus Bucky's been puttering along in a kind of half-life even outside of that. So he chews over the question. ]

So, to be totally honest— it's not like I have that many recent stories to fall back on. Like, five of those years, I wasn't even here.

[ Silver lining of Bucky's strange life: blinking and finding that the world had slid five years in the interim was, actually, pretty par for the course for him. That particular chapter hadn't been quite as traumatic for him as others. He was already a man out of time, so what was one more blip? ]

I don't really have one big embarrassment. Maybe just a bunch of small ones. Like my first real mission with Sam, I made the really smart decision of jumping out of a plane without a parachute and just bouncing off every tree on my way down. Or maybe— okay, so, he made me a dating profile without me realising and set my preferences to women over sixty?

He wasn't enough of an asshole to actually match with them, but I had to figure out how to change those settings. And update my bio. And that, Daisy Bernardine Johnson, is how I learned what 'cougars' were.

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