spaces_between | This isn't the Little Mermaid

[He was not surprised at all by Steve's admittance, amused that the other boy would fight anything, probably even a stiff wind. It was very attractive, that fighting spirit, even if Steve was physically unable to do much about whatever fight was engaged.

He leaned in between finishing off the orange in his hands to nuzzle Steve's cheek when he sensed that the topic wasn't entirely a pleasant one. Steve was perhaps considered too small for a human male to have a mate?

He tilted his head in confusion at the question.] Same parts? We have tails and arms and voices...?

No, I mean --

[ Steve's cheeks heated up, embarrassed as he nuzzled him back, his hand finding his so that their fingers could twine together. No, it wasn't a pleasant topic, but Steve was used to it. He cleared his throat, then tried again. ]

Reproductive parts. How did you do that with a male and replicate it with a female?

[Oh...!

He knew what that meant now, though his face flushed again the same as Steve's. He gave a small anxious laugh to dispel that sensation because he knew that he could tell Steve anything, just as the other boy could him.

His scales were soft and pliable, absorbing slowly down into tougher human skin, the dark colouration giving way to the pale upper body-like skin.]

We have different parts. I don't know the words in English... I um... Males have outside parts, and females have inside parts and to make babies, males go inside females.

But males -- [ Even in his own embarrassment, Steve couldn't help but notice just how cute Bucky was when he blushed -- they were hopelessly young, he thought; and without thinking he shrugged off his thin coat.

He was noticing it, the way the scales slid away to reveal naked human skin, and a soft cock nestled in dark curls that he had to fight to look away from. What was Bucky like, he wondered, when he was caught up in pleasure? Did he know what it was, even now?

He gently put his jacket over Bucky's lap. ] -- how do you decide which one is the girl? Which one of the males takes it?

[This was what he liked the most, the awkwardness of youth that he could share with Steve despite the chance that they aged differently. The other boy was as awkward as he, and there was a simple joy in exploring their world together with blushes and laughter that so often he didn't find alone traveling the waterways.

His legs came as they did when he was completely dry, but they separated from each other last in the process. They were long and muscular, and he tilted his head when Steve covered his nudity. He didn't understand human preference for cloth aside from for warmth.]

Well... I don't really know. I've never practiced with a boy before. [He paused, picking at his lower lip with his clawed fingers for a moment before smiling at Steve.] The more dominant one must play the female role. How does it work with humans?

[ Steve decided that the entire underwater world was the exact opposite of the one above the water -- the dynamics of females and males were fascinating, and he found that he liked the former much better.

He continued to share, enjoying the time that he had with him, the easy affection and intimacy that rose between them. And it was good, right? They were both boys, exploring and new to all of this, at least together they had a better collective idea of the whole thing. ] The female is more passive. Males are supposed to be the stronger ones. I think -- a lot of them think the weaker males should play the female role.

[The more he was learning, the more opposite it did seem to him as well. It didn't seem that odd that they found one another's worlds very interesting and worth learning about. For him, he could be a far better hunter than he was. For Steve, he was certain that the other boy was curious of a world under the water.

He shifted his legs, drawing them out from around Steve and sitting up more, curling them under his weight so he was kneeling. He kept the jacket around his waist with a hand and used the other to smooth Steve's hair affectionately.] Do you want to play a female role? Are you limited by what your society deems you to be? You don't seem like that kind of male.

I want to be your type of female.

[ He said without thinking. Because there was nothing wrong with being female, and Steve was aggressive, as fierce as they came, and he leaned into Bucky's touch, rubbing against his hand as he came closer. Bucky was taller than him like this, but it didn't matter.

He met his eyes steadily, a hand moving to rest on Bucky's stomach; missing the way Bucky was curled around him. He wanted to be strong, to protect the people who needed protecting -- and there were so many of them in Brooklyn. ]

Aggressive and making the final decision on who shall be yours then? I suppose that is not a bad way to live.

[It was also very backwards to how he had been raised, but he accepted all of Steve's rather odd notions. It pleased him all the same that Steve wanted to be his female, even if it really had to be the other way around. He would be chosen, and he would be both cowed and excited by the command to submit to the song of another.

He suspected that male-male relationships were a bit more mutual. It also probably involved a lot of fumbling at first.

Yet, James looked at Steve, and his clawed fingers walked up Steve's arm. He leaned in and nuzzled the other boy's cheek again.]

We can practice kissing when you like, so you'll be ready when the right female comes to choose you, yes?

[ Steve swallowed, looking over at him -- Bucky had taken it well, very clearly, and with that he only got bolder. Seriously, Bucky, you should stop enabling him. And definitely, male-male relationships were a little more mutual, not that Steve would know anything about it.

But it's the comment that came after that got to him, because it felt like Bucky was happy to be a stand-in for someone else when it was the last thing Steve wanted. He didn't want this so he could be ready for a female. He wanted Bucky.

Frowning, Steve made a soft noise and decided to just jump in, to make it clear what he wanted, even if he wasn't entire clear about the specifics of it. ] No. I -- don't want you to think I'm using you. If we kiss, it means that I mean that. And that I'm not preparing for any female to come along in future. [ And he was afraid; he was afraid he'd lose Bucky if he said more, but he did anyway. ] I want you to know that I want the same from you, too.

[He who was named James stilled at the sudden aggressive-like declaration, though it did not surprise him at all that Steve was going to take that tone with him. At first, he considered it this new role as playing the aggressive female-like persona needed to make any kind of male-male relationship work.

Of course, he considered the content of the message, rolling it back and forth in his mind as he eyed Steve curiously. He had never heard such a proposal before, a dedication of two males together and neglecting - no refusing - the companionship of a potential female mate.

A part of himself that he didn't particularly acknowledge as existing was overcome with a thrill. Steve wanted him as a female wanted a male, a dedication of a bond that sounded far long-standing than the brief period of mating and protecting until the child was born and then leaving again. It sounded... far longer.]

You are willing to give up all prospects of a female mate and children? You want me to give up my potential in the same way?

Only if you want to.

[ Steve quickly made it clear -- it was his choice; Steve Rogers never used people, never wanted them to be stepping stones for another agenda, and he would never have kissed someone if he hadn't ultimately meant it. He wanted the right partner, not a whole list of substitutes until he got the perfect one.

And Bucky, he knew in the pit of his stomach, was the perfect one. He might not be Steve's kind, but there was a connection there, and he knew it. ] But if you want to leave because you've found your potential, it's okay, too.

[ Okay for Bucky, at least. Steve would be ultimately devastated if he did, but he'd discovered very recently that he loved Bucky more than his own well-being, and if he was happy, Steve would be happy too. Even if he wasn't a part of that equation. ]

[There were an awful lot of things that he wanted, the least difficult of which was bathing on hot sand and the most difficult so far was getting access to Barnes. He was incomplete and unable to be close enough to Steve without that, but neither of them seemed pressed for time on either endeavor.

He carefully considered Steve for another long moment. The other boy intrigued him and drew parts of himself out that no one ever had before. He liked being beyond the waves with Steve, because of Steve and to be with Steve. He admitted to caring and wanting to protect the other boy in his own way, even if that generally involved trinkets and food. Steve handled fighting just fine without him.

However, he had a loyalty and dedication that had never been appreciated before.]

I will dedicate myself to you under one condition. [He gave Steve a fierce look.] You show me my namesake. Just the ground he is locked in. I need to see his resting place.

[ Show him where the other Bucky was? The thought of it made his heart clench, a swell of guilt rising in him -- what would the other Bucky think, that he had named this beautiful, stunning creature after him? What would the other Bucky think if he knew that Steve had fallen in love with him?

He exhaled, knowing that Bucky meant it this time -- he could see it in his eyes. He'd asked before, often, but Steve had always gently changed the subject, told him 'soon, maybe'. It felt like a strange sort of betrayal to him, but Steve swallowed it. He had to honor the promises he made, especially to Bucky. ]

Okay. [ He would show it to him, of course. ] What does it mean, when you dedicate yourself to me?

[It would be a sign of Steve's good faith to him to agree to finally show him to his namesake. For him, it was one of the most important details since taking on that name, a need that was constant within him. He would honour the name with a tradition apparently only followed by his own kind.

He reached up and slipped his arms around Steve's neck, pulling the other boy closer to him and nuzzling their noses together.]

I will be yours like you are mine. I will provide for you, and you will provide for me. I will defend you, and you will defend me. We are mutual in dedication. [That was the idea anyway; he had never done anything like this before, but Steve inspired him to take the risk. He did care very deeply for this boy.]

[ They were so very young still, boys of sixteen who were just discovering themselves, their own bodies, and despite this Steve feared little -- he'd recognized in Bucky what he hoped the other would recognize in him; a lifelong friend, a soulmate. This was the other half of his heart that was missing, and he climbed onto Bucky's lap, settling on him before he coaxed him into a soft, sweet kiss.

His heart was pounding with excitement, with a happiness that came with first love -- they would have a difficult future together, but Steve didn't care; they'd make do. ] I like that. Mutual in dedication. [ He pressed his nose against his, smiling. ] I would always defend you, Bucky. And provide for you.

[So very young and reckless, not caring for anything but the thrill of the moment and the sheer notion that someone could love him in such a way. It was beyond family this, beyond anything he had experienced since he had been gently but firmly left behind by his female members of his family to fend for himself. He finally belonged again with someone as curious, young and odd as himself.

His hands dropped down to catch Steve's hips in the scramble to get into his lap, though under a bridge was surely not the best place, not with the smell heavy of blood and death. Still, his fingers gripped Steve's ass with the kiss, a thrill thrumming through him that he couldn't describe in English.]

I will not stand in your way, but I will kill for you. You provide me with the land-side of things, and I will provide you with the sea-side.

Like fish.

[ Steve smiled, and this time it was genuine and meant completely for Bucky. They were reckless and young and it didn't matter, because they loved each other, right? And everything would sort itself out after that. They belonged together, two peas in a pod.

Bucky belonged to him now, and he gently nipped at his bottom lip, playing with him. Settling in his lap, his breath caught at the way those hands gripped his ass. ] You're all mine.

And treasure.

[He knew a few spots where he had horded some shiny objects, places where he had gone into sunk ships to just wonder at human ingenuity. The sea was not so easily mastered, but he still like the see all the objects that humans brought with them and left at the bottom of the sea when they sank.

The smile earned a toothy one from him, and he felt like he belonged for the first time in many years. He thrust his chin at the nip, a playful threat in return, and his hands remained a steadying force so Steve would slip off his lap and take the jacket down into the dirty cement.]

Yes. I like it when you say that too. How long can you stay today?

And treasure.

[ Bucky was uncomplicated most times, his emotion written so plainly on his exquisitely handsome face, that young, boyish grin with his sharp teeth is both endearing and dangerous, and Steve couldn't help but be entirely charmed. He loved the other boy's innocence, the sweetness that this world with all of its worst things couldn't touch.

He nuzzled, lips having found their way to his collarbone to tease gently, a hand on his jacket over where his crotch is to gently, shyly pet him. ] Three hours, at most. Ma wants me home a little earlier. What do you wanna do?

[He didn't think that life needed to be complicated at all, that there were always the simple things to enjoy: eating, sleeping, exploring, surviving, seeing Steve. His life was nothing that he would currently change, especially not the part of Steve coming to visit him.

He tipped his head back slightly before twisting it around to nibble very gently at the top of Steve's earlobe. He stiffened at the very strange warm sensation that came with the shy petting to the jacket, stirring something instinctual but confusing in him.] I could... come home with you? I've never been in a land dwelling before. You could show me how humans sleep?

[He dropped his mouth to be right over Steve's ear.] Or I could show you the sea.

[ Oh. Steve filed that little reaction away, concerned if it hurt him, if he knew what it was. Well, he probably would know what it was, wouldn't he? He drew it away all the same, sensing that Bucky probably wasn't ready to explore that.

He brightened at the prospect of Bucky showing him the sea, and taking him home, and Steve's arms came to loop around the other boy's broader shoulders. ]

What if we did both? You show me the sea, and you can come home with me after that. I'll show you how humans sleep.

[He also brightened at the prospect of having both things, and he suddenly rolled to his feet from his kneeling position, holding Steve tight against him. In his motions, the jacket fell away to the rocks, leaving him bare, but he was too excited to care much about it right now. The jacket had passed out of his notice.

Instead, he hugged Steve tightly to his chest and approached the water's edge to scent it and listen for signs and sounds only his ears could hear. Then he gently slid Steve down his body to the ground again.]

Out of your clothing. It will only hinder you where we're going. [He was playfully nipping at Steve's neck and ears, nuzzling as if such an action would encourage the other boy naked the same as him.]

[ Steve was laughing gently when his Bucky set him down, pushing him away a little so that he could take his clothes off. He was far more awkward about it than Bucky could be, too-thin limbs, gangly and -- well, not the way a sixteen year old should look in this day and age.

He set the clothes aside neatly, hid it in a nook where no one else would find, because he definitely wasn't going to walk home naked. He'd seen Bucky entirely naked, and the fact that he liked it was evident in the way his cock was half-hard now, bouncing gently as he folded his clothes, Steve awkwardly cupping his hands over it, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. ]

Is the water going to be cold?

[Nudity was something very curious to him, not his own but others. He watched Steve lose clothing with a keen curious and very innocent interest. He peered at the other boy, following Steve on longer muscular legs. He didn't crowd, but he was examining all that the other boy was and sniffing at Steve.

There was no judgement on Steve's frailty, just interest. He noted the way that Steve covered himself, but he didn't understand it. He certainly laid himself bare without a care in the world for it; he was naked all the time in the sea after all.]

It will be cooler than the air we're standing in. [He slowly reached out and grasped Steve's wrists, tugging them gently.] Let me see you.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject