“Holy shit,” Bucky says. “I’m in the wrong car.”
“No shit,” hot dude says.
“To be fair,” Bucky says, “I also have a green Corolla.”
Hot guy levels an impressive glare at him. “This is a blue Passat.”
“To be fair,” Bucky tries again, “I had never had a Long Island Iced Tea before last night.”
The guy nods. “That is fair,” he says, “but I’m also late for an appointment.”
“Oh, where you headed?” Bucky asks, hoisting himself up. He squints a little, looks around. The upholstery is even different than the Corolla, and he can probably blame this on Clint, at the end of the day. Clint was supposed to keep something like this from happening. Then again, it’s probably his fault for trusting Clint to keep something like this from happening, since, y’know, Clint.
“West Campus.“
Bucky straightens up, excited, which is a mistake since it does nothing but make his head pound. “Shit, dude, that’s perfect. Would you mind if I tagged along for the ride? I know I’m the rando who fell asleep in your car, but I can promise you I’m not an axe murderer, and I probably have five dollars for gas money.”
“Well, with an endorsement like that,” hot guy says before turning the car on. He pulls out of his space and Bucky flops back down, happy to lay around while this guy drives him. “I’m Steve, by the way,” the guy says.
“Bucky.” Bucky shuts his eyes. The sun hurts and he doesn’t have his sunglasses.
“So, is your apartment on West Campus?” Steve asks.
Bucky thinks Steve’s a great guy, he really does — a car ride is truly all it takes for Bucky’s good opinion — but if he’s gonna insist on talking while Bucky has a hangover, Bucky’s gonna need some coffee. “Nah, East Campus. But Peggy’s is on West Campus.”
“Peggy’s?” Steve asks as he takes a turn.
“Greasy spoon diner run by an old lesbian couple who can make pancakes that can soak the poison out of your bloodstream, and also your soul. Always go there when I’m hungover.”
Steve chuckles, low and, well, sexy. “That sounds awesome.”
“Mm-hm, it is.” “You want some company?”
Bucky opens an eye. Steve is looking at the road — which he probably should be — cool as a cucumber. “Why, you offering?”
Steve shrugs a shoulder. “My meeting should take ten minutes, fifteen tops. And I’m thinking that if you drank Long Island Iced Teas last night, you were probably looking for company, but if you spent it in my car, you probably didn’t get any.”
Bucky busts up laughing — he can’t help it! Everything Steve’s saying is true.
“I’m gonna take that as a yes.”
“Yes, Jesus, yes!”
“And just so you know, you’re buying.”
“Oh?” Bucky asks. “Why’s that?”
“You barfed on my bumper and I didn’t mention it until just now.”
Bucky thinks he’s in love.
Rather than fighting for every woman’s right to feel beautiful, I would like to see the return of a kind of feminism that tells women and girls everywhere that maybe it’s all right not to be pretty and perfectly well behaved. That maybe women who are plain, or large, or old, or differently abled, or who simply don’t give a damn what they look like because they’re too busy saving the world or rearranging their sock drawer, have as much right to take up space as anyone else.
I think if we want to take care of the next generation of girls we should reassure them that power, strength and character are more important than beauty and always will be, and that even if they aren’t thin and pretty, they are still worthy of respect. That feeling is the birthright of men everywhere. It’s about time we claimed it for ourselves.
Laurie Penny, “I don’t want to be told I’m pretty as I am – I want to live in a world where that’s irrelevant”, New Statesman, 11th of May 2013
middle earth meme » deaths
2. BOROMIR Through Rohan over fen and field where the long grass grows
The West Wind comes walking, and about the walls it goes.
‘What news from the West, O wandering wind, do you bring to me tonight?
Have you seen Boromir the Tall by moon or by starlight?’
‘I saw him ride over seven streams, over waters wide and grey;
I saw him walk in empty lands, until he passed away’
ealdor 