[He purposely waits until Bob's fallen asleep against him before breaking out his phone. The message he types out isn't going to be received well. He knows that already. But he's taken time to think on it. To look at how far Bob's come over the past months. At how much he's grown.
At one of the biggest blockers, and just what he could do to help the man overcome it.]
I'm going to make you an offer, and I already know you're going to hate it. But I'm saying it now anyway, and then you're going to take it away to think about before you respond.
Take however long you need to, I don't want you to rush your decision. I already know your gut reaction will be to refuse it, so I need you to promise me that you'll think it through, from both sides.
[Full punctuation? Are you scared yet, Bob?]
I want you to let the Void out, with me.
I know you think it's too dangerous, and you're scared you're going to hurt somebody. But there's nothing it can show me that's going to be any worse than what I've done during my life.
You won't hurt me. And right now, you're hurting yourself, worrying over what could happen. But you want to know a secret? I already know what would.
You, Bob, would find a way to rein it back in. You'd shut it down, because you're so much stronger than you think you are. And if you don't believe that, then I'll do the believing for you. And I'll remind you of just how strong you are, every day for the rest of our lives, if that's what it takes.
I trust you, completely.
So think about it, please. That's all I'm asking.
[And with the message typed, he takes a moment to slide out from underneath Bob, careful not to wake him. Not wanting to risk moving him from the sofa to the bed, he instead just shucks off his jacket, using that as a makeshift blanket as he drapes it over Bob. Sure, it's not exactly cold in the room, and sure he could go and grab an actual blanket if he wanted to. But this way, his scent stays with him. This way, his claim is still there, long after he slips out of the room and finally presses send.]
[ the thing about the void — about any shadow, really — is that it seems endless. even thinking on the memories that slip to and from his fingertips, he gets the awful sense of having skimmed the surface of something that goes on forever. as though the shadow is the precursor, the warning before the beast rears up behind you. a leviathan rising from the deep, its scale impossible to comprehend.
and bigger still, in your imaginings.
bucky’s message finds him the same way. those first words are as frightful as that initial glimpse of ink-dark danger. claws, in place of fingers, elongated by the light. moving with you, as you crack the door open further. i already know, a foregone conclusion that differs so starkly from what’s been said to him, of late, that he has to blink the bewilderment from his eyes. you won’t hurt me. you’ll shut it down. you would find a way.
bob responds the next evening, a full twenty-four hours later. he thinks about the message ceaselessly and bucky, as an extension of it. bucky, who won’t hit him in the training room, even though he can’t be harmed. bucky, who offered himself to stephen and tony as penance for what real monsters forced him to do. bucky, who surely wouldn’t risk bob in service of punishment. who would do anything for him, even give up the love he’s found here.
he’ll use you like a shard of glass. armand’s voice or the void’s, he doesn’t know. he wouldn’t, in feeble answer. bucky's warning is a more solid counterweight than his own thoughts, which he trusts less by the day. you're hurting yourself. maybe that's the problem. ]
[If he's completely honest, the wait had been killing him. Sure, he meant it when he said he wanted Bob to take his time. And really, he was expecting it to take a lot longer to hear anything back. Even just a confirmation like the one sent. So seeing Bob's name flash up on his screen? Yeah, it's a relief. He hasn't screwed things up completely. (Yet.)]
maybe that was part of the plan i kinda like knowing you're wearing it
[Easier to take the easy route out than to risk making Bob feel like he's pushing for an answer already.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
@barnes.
At one of the biggest blockers, and just what he could do to help the man overcome it.]
I'm going to make you an offer, and I already know you're going to hate it. But I'm saying it now anyway, and then you're going to take it away to think about before you respond.
Take however long you need to, I don't want you to rush your decision. I already know your gut reaction will be to refuse it, so I need you to promise me that you'll think it through, from both sides.
[Full punctuation? Are you scared yet, Bob?]
I want you to let the Void out, with me.
I know you think it's too dangerous, and you're scared you're going to hurt somebody. But there's nothing it can show me that's going to be any worse than what I've done during my life.
You won't hurt me. And right now, you're hurting yourself, worrying over what could happen. But you want to know a secret? I already know what would.
You, Bob, would find a way to rein it back in. You'd shut it down, because you're so much stronger than you think you are. And if you don't believe that, then I'll do the believing for you. And I'll remind you of just how strong you are, every day for the rest of our lives, if that's what it takes.
I trust you, completely.
So think about it, please. That's all I'm asking.
[And with the message typed, he takes a moment to slide out from underneath Bob, careful not to wake him. Not wanting to risk moving him from the sofa to the bed, he instead just shucks off his jacket, using that as a makeshift blanket as he drapes it over Bob. Sure, it's not exactly cold in the room, and sure he could go and grab an actual blanket if he wanted to. But this way, his scent stays with him. This way, his claim is still there, long after he slips out of the room and finally presses send.]
no subject
and bigger still, in your imaginings.
bucky’s message finds him the same way. those first words are as frightful as that initial glimpse of ink-dark danger. claws, in place of fingers, elongated by the light. moving with you, as you crack the door open further. i already know, a foregone conclusion that differs so starkly from what’s been said to him, of late, that he has to blink the bewilderment from his eyes. you won’t hurt me. you’ll shut it down. you would find a way.
bob responds the next evening, a full twenty-four hours later. he thinks about the message ceaselessly and bucky, as an extension of it. bucky, who won’t hit him in the training room, even though he can’t be harmed. bucky, who offered himself to stephen and tony as penance for what real monsters forced him to do. bucky, who surely wouldn’t risk bob in service of punishment. who would do anything for him, even give up the love he’s found here.
he’ll use you like a shard of glass. armand’s voice or the void’s, he doesn’t know. he wouldn’t, in feeble answer. bucky's warning is a more solid counterweight than his own thoughts, which he trusts less by the day. you're hurting yourself. maybe that's the problem. ]
i’ll think about it
and i’m keeping your jacket
no subject
maybe that was part of the plan
i kinda like knowing you're wearing it
[Easier to take the easy route out than to risk making Bob feel like he's pushing for an answer already.]
no subject
yeah?
[ Very Interesting ]
think people will know it’s yours
no subject
doubt they'd figure out it's mine though
[Bob's the one with the huge fanbase here, afterall.]
no subject
we’ll see if i can pull it off
[ a beat. ]
thanks, anyway
[ not just for the jacket. ]