"This is a terrible idea."
Steve ignored the quiet grumble with all the ease of one well accoustemed to sly little digs at anything he did and continued to sketch the symbols onto the floor, hands covered with chalk dust and the tip of his tongue resting between his teeth as he did so.
"Seriously this may even beat your infamous 'lets try to pet the werewolf alpha on full moon while bleeding' scheme and I never thought I would ever say that."
"The bleeding part of that plan was an accident. And anyway it worked," Steve pointed out, a series of cracks following his movements as he stretched upwards, sleeves slipping down to reveal parts of the inky black symbols decorating his skin.
"Barely. It was only because I was there that you lived past the age of five."
"I would have made it to at least seven Bucky."
The demon bit back a laugh at that, eyes momentarily glowing an intense golden sheen before he resumed his gentle swinging, the bell he was hanging from letting out a muffled mournful tune complemented by the quiet humming, almost lost in the din of squawking pigeons, making a bid for freedom through the broken, blood stained shards of the stained glass windows.
"Steve?"
"Yeah Bucky?"
The demon screwed up his face, one hand coming up to scratch at the bone protrusions on his head.
"I know I don't really say it much, cause we don't do squish, but I do appreciate what you did for me."
Steve began to protest but stopped, choosing instead to grin upwards, "You're welcome."
It happened too quickly, the panicked screech- more bird than human- intermingling with the sudden stink of brimstone and sulphur flooding his nose before something heavy impacted with him, all burning cold and soft feathers, until his head impacted with the cold stone floor and he knew no more.
Waking up hurt, stabbing pain in his head, but that was nothing compared to the agony in his heart as he watched Bucky writhe on the floor, the runes opening words as fast as they closed, as hanging over his head, a clock steadily ticked down one hour.