Derrick slipped out of bed and got dressed, careful not to wake their bedmate. It was a one-night fling, just a body to warm them up. He hadn't even been that good, and the buzzsaw snoring coming from him was just the icing on what had been a pretty blah evening.
They left Mr. Mediocre to it and went to the small kitchenette they kept in the back of the shop for coffee breaks. Derrick never brought dates into Sanctuary proper. They kept a spare room above the Wiccan shop that served as a front for Sanctuary for their dalliances, and Derrick was not ashamed to admit that there had been a lot of them. The room was so they would be protected by the aura from Sanctuary…Derrick didn't like being so vulnerable when being intimate.
The worst part of immortality was finding things to alleviate boredom so one didn't become jaded. The fact that Derrick struggled with boredom was often used against them by members of the angelic hierarchy who frowned upon them embracing emotion. Being bored, they said, was a sign of a serious flaw.
It was a bunch of horseshit. Angels got bored, why else would they entertain themselves by watching mortals?
As the coffee brewed Derrick looked at the invitation for Stark's holiday party the following night. They promised Tony they would attend, though they wouldn't be able to stay for long. They couldn't leave Sanctuary without being drained of their life force, thanks to having no aura to keep themselves psychically intact. The living tattoos on their body were actually magical wards that altogether served as a surrogate aura. Even with them though they were still very much in danger of fading if they left Sanctuary for long.
The Beyonder really did a number on them all those centuries ago, back when they were Tzadkiel, the Archangel of Freedom. It had been a stupid, bull-headed move to try to take him head on, and they paid a hefty price for their arrogance and foolishness.
They could still smell their hair burn, feel the agony as their wings were obliterated and their aura burned away, leaving them naked, with their psyche slowly peeling away like the skin of an onion. They could remember their siblings fighting to keep them alive.
There was no Heaven for angels who died. They just simply faded away to become a whisper in the symphony of Creation.
Making them human had been one last desperate move to save them, and that had been when Derrick decided to adopt a new name. They were no longer Tzadkiel, the Archangel. Taking a new name had felt right. It was around that same time that they decided to embrace emotion, giving up Angelic Silence.
It certainly made spending eternity in the world of mortals far more interesting. There were downsides to being emotional. Derrick had to experience anger, sorrow, loneliness, and grief. But there was also joy, amusement, bliss...and of course love.
They sighed as they thought of that last one. Derrick had fallen in love a few times over the centuries and had grieved for each lover when they inevitably passed on. It was an agony that they wanted to spare Tracy, which was why they were brainstorming with the Hierarchy to come up with some way for her and Loki to stay together beyond his lifespan of several more thousand years. And now there was this shit with...
Derrick shook their head. Best not to think about Bucky now. That ship had sailed, and besides the two of them had never even hooked up. Derrick had flirted shamelessly with him, even switched their physical form from a masculine presenting one to the feminine presenting body that was theirs at the moment. It had been no hardship. Derrick had always been equally comfortable in both bodies. Even if they weren't, it had been worth it to see the look on Bucky's face when he first saw them as they were now.
Not that it had been successful at getting into his pants. Derrick's interest in Bucky had mostly been physical. Oh, they liked Bucky as a person too, but not enough for actual love...which was why they were confused when Bucky's face popped up in their mind when they thought of it.
They heard a thump from upstairs. Derrick finished their coffee and gathered some brass so they could break the news to Mr. Five Minutes that he wasn't staying the rest of the night, and there would be no second date.
Good thing they had a drawer full of toys by their bedside.
Bucky sipped his beer and watched the room as the formally dressed people mingled and snacked on hors d-oeuvres. He had grabbed a seat at the bar and sat on his stool, leaning back against the polished oak on his elbows so he wouldn't adjust his collar again. He always hated fancy dress, and the tux he wore was uncomfortable. Beside him, Steve also watched the room, although it seemed to Bucky that he was waiting for someone, with the way he was anxiously watching the door.
A slow jazz song was playing, and people were on the dancefloor. Nat had graciously accepted Bruce's offer of a dance, and Wanda was dancing with Sam. Nearby, Tracy swayed along with her husband who had his arms wrapped around her, and from the way she was blushing Bucky knew that Loki was whispering some naughty things in her ear. Bucky didn't want to know. Tracy was like a little sister to him, and he didn't like thinking about what she got up to in the bedroom with the God of Mischief.
Stephen Strange was sipping a martini by the bar but he suddenly wandered over to the door, holding out a hand in greeting as...
Bucky sucked in a breath.
Walking through the door was Derrick, their body clad in a shimmering glittery red tuxedo. The fabric hugged their curves, the arms of both the jacket and the pink shirt underneath were ripped off, and gold bracelets adorned their wrists, jangling as they took Stephen's hand to give it a shake. The front of the tux jacket was being held together by gold safety pins, and their curly blonde hair was bound in a loose ponytail that flowed to their shoulders. Bucky could see that they had taken great care with their makeup. The lights sparkled off the multiple piercings they wore in each ear as well as their septum ring.
The whole get-up screamed punk, yet it was strangely classy. It was androgynous, yet Derrick looked even more dangerously feminine.
It was attention getting, as several people turned to look at Derrick. Bucky saw Tracy look over, take in Derrick's outfit, and smirk. All eyes were on them, both because of the flashy tux, and because Derrick looked gorgeous in it.
Bucky's hand tightened around his beer. What was Derrick doing here? They couldn't be away from Sanctuary! As he watched, he could see the slight tremble in Derrick's posture, the measured steps they were taking. Every minute they spent away from Sanctuary was a drain on their life force, and Stephen looked concerned even as he engaged Derrick in conversation. Tracy was now watching them like a hawk as well.
Derrick had enough eyes on them, and Bucky knew he should look away. Derrick was being well looked after and well taken care of. They didn't need him staring at them as well.
Yet Bucky couldn't take his eyes off them.
Derrick had been away from Sanctuary for a couple of hours, and they were feeling the strain. They felt the draining the moment they stepped out of their home of many centuries, and knew that they would have to leave soon, but it was too much fun downing shots with Thor. Now Derrick was drained and slightly drunk. Great combination. They knew they would pay for it later.
People had noticed and Derrick was not surprised when Tracy came sauntering up to their table, with Loki's eyes glued to her backside as usual. She scowled at the shot glasses, then grabbed a soda off a tray a waiter was carrying. "So, who's winning?" She looked between Derrick and Thor. "Well, Thor is listing some..."
"Bah. 'Tis nothing, sister. I refuse to allow your sibling to drink me under the table."
"Challenge accepted, Goldie Locks," Derrick cracked as they took up the bottle of whiskey and poured two more shots for them.
They took a drink, then ended up spitting it out when they glanced towards the door.
Because there, her slim figure clad in a sparkling gold gown and her gold-streaked black hair in an updo, was none other than the Archangel Michael.
Out of the corner of their eye, they saw a metal arm catch the soda that had slipped out of Tracy's hand before it fell to the floor. She was staring at Michael, her jaw hanging as Steve hobbled towards the Archangel with his cane, smiling and offering her an arm, an arm that she slid her hand onto.
Tracy sat down in a chair, hard. Derrick sputtered. "What...how...when did this happen?!"
"You didn't know?"
Derrick stared at the source of the voice, which turned out to be Bucky. He had been the one to rescue Tracy's soda. A Bucky who was now a wee bit nervous, since he now had an angel, a former Archangel, and a god staring at him.
"You knew?" Derrick almost shrieked. "How long has this been going on?"
Bucky looked between the three individuals whose attention was all on him. He sighed and told them.
"And you didn't tell me?!" Tracy almost shouted. Derrick suspected the last time her voice had been that high, she had been much shorter and had her hair in pigtails.
Right then Loki walked up to the table. He frowned at his wife then looked at the other three people. "What did you say to my wife to put that expression on her face?"
"Michael and Steve have been hanging out and talking ever since the battle with the Beyonder ended," Derrick answered.
Loki blinked. "Michael and..." He leaned down to take a closer look at Tracy, probably to see if she was breathing.
"I didn't think it was that big a deal," Bucky stated in his defense.
"It's a big deal," Derrick retorted. "It's a huge deal. The biggest."
"I don't see why you're shocked," Loki pointed out. "If Gabriel has been thinking about abandoning Silence..."
"What?!" Derrick squawked. They looked at Tracy, who winced.
"Oh, yeah. Loki told me about the conversation he had with Gabe while I was...um, indisposed."
Now Derrick stared at the couple. "And it didn't occur to either of you to say something?"
Tracy winced again, looking guilty. Loki was completely unrepentant. Bastard was probably enjoying the drama these revelations were creating now.
"You realize what all of this means? What it can mean for the Hierarchy, for...," Derrick looked at the whiskey. "I'm going to need a stronger drink..."
"At least you can cope with it that way," Tracy said enviously. "I think I need to sit down."
Loki cleared his throat. "My love, you are already sitting down."
Tracy blinked. "Oh."
"Relax," Bucky piped up. "It's not like they're having sex."
Derrick almost fell out of their chair. Thor shuddered, and Tracy made a disgusted face. "No. No no no. You do not put that image in my head. Fuck you, Bucky." Then she paled as she looked over. "Oh no. She spotted me. Loki, can we go?"
"Don't be a coward, Pet."
"Michael will want to spar with me or criticize my magic, and I really don't want to deal with that tonight."
Loki nodded. "Alright then."
Derrick almost snorted. Yeah, like Loki was complaining. He probably couldn't wait to get Tracy home to peel that dress off her.
Then they saw Michael look at them. Oh, crap. If she was hard on Tracy, she was going to be worse with them. "Time for me to go, too."
Thor frowned. "By yourself? You shouldn't do that in the state you are in."
Buzzed and half-drained. Probably a bad idea.
"I'll take them home," Bucky spoke up.
What? "You will?" Derrick almost squeaked.
Bucky looked at them. "Unless you don't want me to."
It would be rude to turn him down after he was nice enough to offer. Derrick nodded and slowly got up. "Let's go then before Michael decides she wants to talk business with me."
But inside, Derrick was trembling. Stuck in a car with Bucky, alone with him for the first time since he had apologized for stringing them along.
This was going to be fun.