[ waking up shouldn't feel like getting hit by a mack truck, probably. at least steve doesn't think it used to feel that way. he can remember once feeling normal when he woke up, he's pretty sure.
before he opens his eyes, steve tries to orient himself. last he remembers, he was falling into the potomac—that's where the mack truck feeling came from, then, not that he's been hit by one now, but he was several hours ago. or at least he was hit by the equivalent of a mack truck—bucky, who's alive and a brainwashed hydra assassin and trying to kill steve. okay, that's the past few days of his life more or less summed up, he's got everything, no memories seem fuzzy or distorted, no concussion to worry about. now to turn his attention outward.
the bedsheets aren't familiar, not in smell or feel, so he's not in his own bed. he is on a bed, so he didn't get fished out of the river into fury's quinjet. there's no beeping of various machines and gizmos, so he's not in a hospital. whatever he's wearing is softer than his uniform, and it's the only thing he's wearing. there's a weight across his waist like there's an arm slung over it. he smells gunmetal and explosives and—
steve's eyes fly open at the same time as he rolls over on the bed, coming face to face with ]
Bucky?
[ he hasn't noticed their strange surroundings, and doesn't care to. it's hard to give a shit about where he is and why when he has his dead best friend laying next to him, alive and breathing. steve reaches for bucky's face, stupidly, unthinkingly, entirely unprepared for this to end in more violence. ]
warmth seeping through his metal arm, the echoes of physical sensation travelling up the frayed sensors on his servos coming alive from the input. faint, not burning, not internal; he's not been left out to thaw, then. he's not on a dialysis machine, cycling his own blood through his veins as they run drugs through his body, pulling out the remnants of the cryofreeze solution from his body. has he been wiped? they were careful with him this time, then; he can't feel any soreness, any pain. did they let him sleep? he can't feel the iv needles; is he supposed to maintain himself? it's not often, but sometimes he gets to. a reward for being good. was he good?
he must've been. he's warm.
warmth.
he moves, and the warmth moves with him. now that is well and truly new, and it cuts through the haze of the dream. he's hurtling head-first towards consciousness, his heart rate ratcheting high up. he wants this dream to last. he doesn't want to wake up yet.
warm— and alive, speaking to him. a face, familiar. blond. blue eyes. he knows this face. he knows this man.
my mission.
his reflexes have him moving before his recognition settles into his fogged mind, his metal arm already locking itself into offensive as he lunges, topples them over, the brace of his arm pressing down full force against where the man's throat would be. he doesn't notice his nakedness; he's completed missions with less dignity than this.
if this ends, maybe the wipes will end too. he can go back to his dream. he— ]
You know you don't have to have a quip for everything, right? I'm taking you seriously even without it, you can chill out.
[ look at him go, using some modern vernacular. steve would be proud if he were here. ]
No one's beating anyone's face in, [ no one's beatin' anyone else, god willing and the creek don't rise, he thinks out of nowhere. an echo of somebody he must've known before, if the accent he's hearing in his head is anything to go by. sometime in the 70s. midwest. was he a handler? no, one of the techs. he's probably dead now. ] I don't enjoy hitting kids.
[ how about we start with the somewhat obvious: there's an odd straightness to one of his boots, as well as along his right arm; the latter he's already seen just now. a pair is hidden together, another pair laid flat and parallel with each other.
the human body is a single, unified shape. don't overthink. ]
[ He could definitely be more chill, but that's reserved to people he's known for a lot longer than this guy.
Especially guys who don't beat anyone's face in. ]
I'm not a kid, motherfucker. You can hit me all you want.
[The one he was shown he'll get, no problem. He knows there's got to be more than one in the boot, too. None along his mechanical arm, so there must be more than one along his other. Jason's good at overthinking, and nothing is unified in his head. Maybe that'll be good practice tonight.
He moves quick, making it seem like he's gonna go for the obvious knife in his arm, but he reaches for the one in his boot instead. He can't just go for the knife, though. He has to try and knock Bucky's legs out from under him while he's at it.]
[ theirs is a strange companionship. bucky is hesitant to call anyone a friend, not so quickly, and it's hard when your only reference for any kind of genuine affection is from the guy you tried to kill with all your damnedest just two years ago. three? how many years has it been since he fought steve on that bridge, on the helicarrier?
he can't even trust his own mind with what he actually remembers, so how can anyone trust him beyond firing a rifle, or punching a man unconscious?
but diana doesn't judge, or at least bucky doesn't feel her judgment sticking to him, and that — that's worth ten times its weight in gold to him. hell, she's even picked him up from jail without an interrogation to go with it. sam would've made him work for it.
yeah, he likes her company. diana's good. maybe he can be good for her too. ]
You look good, though? Were you out running, did I—? Geez, did I interrupt breakfast? I'm gonna make it up to you. Somehow.
Diner food from the corner store. I can get you something.
[She listens, only partway paying attention to where she's driving. He is out of that station, and that is all that really matters to her. She's gleaned enough from his half-stories and smothered facts to know that coming back here, coming back to all of this, hasn't been easy for him. Diana has ended up doing a lot more legally- and morally-gray things in the past century than she would have expected after leaving Themyscira; so who is she to judge? Anyway, she isn't that kind of god.
If he wants to tell her more, he will. Diana has that simple trust in Bucky, the same she extends to all men.
The corners of her lips kick up, and she glances at him briefly. She won't lie to him, and she sounds a little amused as she speaks.]
I was up early. But if you truly do insist, I could eat. I would be surprised if they fed you before releasing you. [She's being polite. It's time for second breakfast.]
yeah, tell me about it. calm is good. we could all do with a lot of it these days.
[ he doesn't even know much about b, only that she seems really... bright, in a way that seems too precious for the world that bucky's closely associated with. but he could do with bright, he thinks. and it's not like she expects a lot from him. a refreshing change. ]
so you want to blend with the crowd? i have suggestions, but they're not stylish, if you're really interested.
ya, see i did the whole 'get a girl pregnant' route to marriage don't get me wrong i did love Maggie but we weren't meant to be and it's mostly my fault
[Well it's ALL his fault. But he's working on it, one day at a time. It takes a moment though when the next set of texts comes through to sort of process what's being asked.]
well, i might not be the best to ask cause i am a firm believer in always saying just what you mean and i've ALWAYS been like that
i think 'what's the worst that can happen' this day an age you tell someone you like them and if they don't they'll be civil; the whole 'thanks but no thanks' bit some might be a little freaked out if they're our age doubly cause you know ~society~ but sometimes it just takes one to be the brave one cause maybe they had those thoughts all along but never know how to ask themselves make sense????
[ what do you say to that, honestly? bucky doesn't want to think so deeply, to read into what he's seeing printed on the screen, because— because then, what? is there room for that here, now? he's a mess. steve deserves better than a mess. friend or anything else, something else, steve deserves more than a fucked up shadow from the past. ]
it's always been to the end of the line, in every way that mattered.
[To Steve it never mattered however it was between them. All he knew was that he loved Bucky, had loved him when he was a nobody that people enjoyed beating up and loved him even more when he'd made a name for himself. There was no one else that he'd give up his life for like that. They could be the best of friends, or anything else they wanted to be. It really didn't matter to the man as long as he kept Bucky there with him, near him in his life every day for the rest of it, from this point forward.]
[ the thing is, a large part of bucky's therapy is working on his relationship with steve. he's had— tantrums, is what they really are, on the therapist's couch every time the harrassed woman tries to bring steve into the session, either as a topic or as a participant. they're such a picture-perfect case of "with or without you" that it'd be impressive if bucky didn't fall apart in every direction when he gets overwhelmed by the "you"-ness of it.
it makes sense in his head. don't question it. long and short version: they need to ease themselves back into each other's lives, and steve is kind of hovering.
it's sweet, but bucky has to stay firm and not cave into steve pressure. (hard to do, even for him. steve is a law of physics in motion.) ]
think you answered your own question there. it's not you that's the issue, steve. i had to do this one on my own. it's supposed to be good for my mental health.
[ inasmuch as shooting up terrorists can be cathartic, maybe. he's working with what he has. ]
[ let's be honest, the only reason steve is not having just as many tantrums is because he's not currently in therapy, despite sam and bucky both making very impassioned cases for it, sam with his words and bucky with his judgmental staring. ]
There's nothing disapproving I can say here that wouldn't make me an asshole, is there?
[ look. look!!! he knows this is good for bucky and is the correct thing to do and he just needs to deal with some discomfort and trust that bucky is a big boy who can handle himself! he knows!!! it still sucks!!!!! ]
[ he doesn't know what to do when he ends up on the wrong foot with steve. it's sometimes just small things, like forgetting a detail about how they used to be, some shared fact from before. and sometimes it's like this: bucky says something that jars them out of sync, and he doesn't even know why. he thought he had this one right.
bucky picks up the bottles using one hand, tucking one into his pocket where it bulges unattractively then uncapping the second to, well. sniff it. handle lube enough and you get a nose for things, pun unintended. ]
Could we do both? Soup and sandwiches, and some alcohol even if it won't do anything. We haven't had a real dinner together in a while.
[ soup and sandwiches isn't much of a dinner, either, but it used to be, didn't it? back when— before. ]
[Sometimes it's nice to be surrounded by people that haven't known you you're whole life. Makes it easier to dodge around things. Steve sighs and shakes his head. Is he that obvious? Yes.]
No, you didn't. Sorry. I just...
[He starts pulling out the veggies for the soup as he talks. It gives him something to focus on and an excuse to not look at Bucky. He doesn't want to have this conversation, least of all while Bucky is half naked, looking like a...what do the kids say? A damn snack.]
If we're doin' both, then you're helping with the prep, Mister.
[He tries for a lighthearted tone and even to him it sounds flat. He closes the fridge and just stands there. Stewing in his own frustration. How can he even begin to explain? Buck, I don't like that you bring up the dames from before 'cause they ain't around now and I'm not much interested in the ladies these days, 'specially now that you're here? Damn it if he doesn't have to physically bite his tongue to keep from just spilling it out, then may Thor strike him down.]
I just got in my own head, Buck. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you anxious.
this is like saying don't think about an elephant. all i'll be thinking about is the elephant, so talk about the damn elephant. does the elephant have sex???
[ he carefully avoids the word steal, because it's not great to set bad examples for kids, and maybe steve wouldn't mind it otherwise but he might mind it for this. he accepts the bar gratefully, too, polishes it off in two quick bites. ]
given our line of work, that shouldn't be so surprising. being handcuffed, i mean. i can't have been your second time?
[ buddy this ain't good. ]
where i live - where i grew up anyway - cars were something of a luxury. public transportation was pretty good, though. didn't need to drive around much until i went off to war. i could probably teach you if i could remember how. i rely on muscle memory when i drive.
Pal, I do as little work as possible Sorry to break it to you, but you were my second At least you weren't my first?
[ on the other end, spot chuckles. achievement unlocked. ]
Yeah, about the same here Grew up in jungle territory. More wildlife than cars most days. No offense but I think I'm gonna pass on the driving lessons My comic collection's big enough as is. If I could drive, I'd just buy more.
[ talking. he'd rather shoot a bottle caps from 2000 miles away, that would be more productive. ]
you know steve is bad at cooking? he can barely boil anything, it breaks my heart every time. if you can manage that i have every confidence you can learn how to bake and not burn the whole place down.
why tissues, still? why not, i don't know, water? food. would a walled-in room even have a water closet?
Really? I would've thought he'd be the 'de-stress with cooking' type, but we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Bruce can't cook either.
For your tears, Bucky. Have you never cried in front of your therapist before? Tissues are better at wiping them away than water or food. But why a water closet?
i'd like a sweet coffee, if that's alright. no whipped cream or whatever it is they put on top though. just a decent brew, no milk, three or four sugars. i'll cover you when you get here.
[ he sends darcy a pin for his current location, a reasonably defended safehouse downtown with a nice view of a convenient river. ]
just slam the door bell if you don't hear it. it's a little stuck.
Sounds gross, but I'm not the one drinking it, so sure. And don't worry about it, I can handle a cup of coffee.
[ Darcy puts the arm in a duffle bag and then gets dressed. As soon as she's ready to go, she heads out and grabs the coffee. Bucky had been right, the doorbell is a bit stuck, so she hits it a bit harder. ]
a hacking stick. that's actually a pretty cool idea if we can make it work. you want it at the tip, the base, or no-contact? ...that wasn't innuendo, sorry.
and that's the only one i remember. i think there's a few of them somewhere on the internet though. everybody had a different one? i know i made up a few while i was in the war.
[ he could've worded that better, but the words are out there now; he might as well commit. he does pat jason very very carefully on the shoulder, though, and gets up to the small bookshelf in one corner. he picks out something, moby dick by herman melville. pulls up a chair and gets to reading. ]
[ Wording hardly matters to Jason when he's half awake, half just trying to decide if he's actually gonna be ok or not. Bucky seems to have it under control though. This is more than anyone's taken care of him in a long time.
He wants to say thank you, but he just settled down as Bucky starts reading to him. A little bit into the book he can't help but mutter. ]
[ nothing's good enough in this line of work. there's always something fucking everything else up, and it's a near-miracle every time a mission pushes through without a single goddamn hitch. that's the life. not even just merc or wetwork life; it's what you get when you work in the gray areas outside of the primly-coloured government lines.
it's not like they're idiots, though. clint probably has better sense. just a little. ]
( clint has never been especially emotionally even-keeled, it's probably one of the reasons why he'd never led the avenger avengers. why he'd ended up with the wca, why he'd done his best as a leader with the thunderbolts — a group of misfits who'd fucked up a few times but were in possession of the capacity to do better.
—it'd certainly been a rather large contributing factor to his divorce.
even so, he's never been especially gracious. it's been a long time since he and nat were anything other than friends, but it doesn't mean that clint doesn't have a lingering sense of — what? love? yeah, by a definition of the term, even if bucky gets her more. even if bucky is more her speed, and even if it's frustrated him more than once or twice or thrice.
even if it's the sort of thing that leads clint — along with bucky's relationship with steve — to being an obnoxious little shit to bucky.
even if it's the sort of thing he can't actually hold against bucky. )
jesus, buck. you make it sound like it's your first time doing this shit.
( would clint have been any better in the moment? who's to say. )
right, fine, whatever. where do we start? cause i can't imagine she's running around waiting to get caught on ducking camera again.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
golden peacock tdm arrival
before he opens his eyes, steve tries to orient himself. last he remembers, he was falling into the potomac—that's where the mack truck feeling came from, then, not that he's been hit by one now, but he was several hours ago. or at least he was hit by the equivalent of a mack truck—bucky, who's alive and a brainwashed hydra assassin and trying to kill steve. okay, that's the past few days of his life more or less summed up, he's got everything, no memories seem fuzzy or distorted, no concussion to worry about. now to turn his attention outward.
the bedsheets aren't familiar, not in smell or feel, so he's not in his own bed. he is on a bed, so he didn't get fished out of the river into fury's quinjet. there's no beeping of various machines and gizmos, so he's not in a hospital. whatever he's wearing is softer than his uniform, and it's the only thing he's wearing. there's a weight across his waist like there's an arm slung over it. he smells gunmetal and explosives and—
steve's eyes fly open at the same time as he rolls over on the bed, coming face to face with ]
Bucky?
[ he hasn't noticed their strange surroundings, and doesn't care to. it's hard to give a shit about where he is and why when he has his dead best friend laying next to him, alive and breathing. steve reaches for bucky's face, stupidly, unthinkingly, entirely unprepared for this to end in more violence. ]
im gonna abbreviate this to goldcock, won't i
warmth seeping through his metal arm, the echoes of physical sensation travelling up the frayed sensors on his servos coming alive from the input. faint, not burning, not internal; he's not been left out to thaw, then. he's not on a dialysis machine, cycling his own blood through his veins as they run drugs through his body, pulling out the remnants of the cryofreeze solution from his body. has he been wiped? they were careful with him this time, then; he can't feel any soreness, any pain. did they let him sleep? he can't feel the iv needles; is he supposed to maintain himself? it's not often, but sometimes he gets to. a reward for being good. was he good?
he must've been. he's warm.
warmth.
he moves, and the warmth moves with him. now that is well and truly new, and it cuts through the haze of the dream. he's hurtling head-first towards consciousness, his heart rate ratcheting high up. he wants this dream to last. he doesn't want to wake up yet.
warm— and alive, speaking to him. a face, familiar. blond. blue eyes. he knows this face. he knows this man.
my mission.
his reflexes have him moving before his recognition settles into his fogged mind, his metal arm already locking itself into offensive as he lunges, topples them over, the brace of his arm pressing down full force against where the man's throat would be. he doesn't notice his nakedness; he's completed missions with less dignity than this.
if this ends, maybe the wipes will end too. he can go back to his dream. he— ]
You.
i wish you wouldn't
✨ ⚜️ 🦚 🍆 ✨
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@nomorefear
You know you don't have to have a quip for everything, right? I'm taking you seriously even without it, you can chill out.
[ look at him go, using some modern vernacular. steve would be proud if he were here. ]
No one's beating anyone's face in, [ no one's beatin' anyone else, god willing and the creek don't rise, he thinks out of nowhere. an echo of somebody he must've known before, if the accent he's hearing in his head is anything to go by. sometime in the 70s. midwest. was he a handler? no, one of the techs. he's probably dead now. ] I don't enjoy hitting kids.
[ how about we start with the somewhat obvious: there's an odd straightness to one of his boots, as well as along his right arm; the latter he's already seen just now. a pair is hidden together, another pair laid flat and parallel with each other.
the human body is a single, unified shape. don't overthink. ]
TY!
[ He could definitely be more chill, but that's reserved to people he's known for a lot longer than this guy.
Especially guys who don't beat anyone's face in. ]
I'm not a kid, motherfucker. You can hit me all you want.
[The one he was shown he'll get, no problem. He knows there's got to be more than one in the boot, too. None along his mechanical arm, so there must be more than one along his other. Jason's good at overthinking, and nothing is unified in his head. Maybe that'll be good practice tonight.
He moves quick, making it seem like he's gonna go for the obvious knife in his arm, but he reaches for the one in his boot instead. He can't just go for the knife, though. He has to try and knock Bucky's legs out from under him while he's at it.]
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@monomachy
I've been better, honestly.
[ theirs is a strange companionship. bucky is hesitant to call anyone a friend, not so quickly, and it's hard when your only reference for any kind of genuine affection is from the guy you tried to kill with all your damnedest just two years ago. three? how many years has it been since he fought steve on that bridge, on the helicarrier?
he can't even trust his own mind with what he actually remembers, so how can anyone trust him beyond firing a rifle, or punching a man unconscious?
but diana doesn't judge, or at least bucky doesn't feel her judgment sticking to him, and that — that's worth ten times its weight in gold to him. hell, she's even picked him up from jail without an interrogation to go with it. sam would've made him work for it.
yeah, he likes her company. diana's good. maybe he can be good for her too. ]
You look good, though? Were you out running, did I—? Geez, did I interrupt breakfast? I'm gonna make it up to you. Somehow.
Diner food from the corner store. I can get you something.
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If he wants to tell her more, he will. Diana has that simple trust in Bucky, the same she extends to all men.
The corners of her lips kick up, and she glances at him briefly. She won't lie to him, and she sounds a little amused as she speaks.]
I was up early. But if you truly do insist, I could eat. I would be surprised if they fed you before releasing you. [She's being polite. It's time for second breakfast.]
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sorry for the delay, was traveling for work! no worries if you prefer to move on
@anormalman
aliens. makes sense, a bit.
you liking it okay down here?
[ he's got a metal arm made from space rocks, this is fine. ]
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@flatfeet
yeah, tell me about it.
calm is good.
we could all do with a lot of it these days.
[ he doesn't even know much about b, only that she seems really... bright, in a way that seems too precious for the world that bucky's closely associated with. but he could do with bright, he thinks. and it's not like she expects a lot from him. a refreshing change. ]
so you want to blend with the crowd?
i have suggestions, but they're not stylish, if you're really interested.
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Some days I'm totally fine, and others I want to punch every person who looks at me the wrong way.
[ the wrong way being overtly sexual and entitled, so it's possible that's fair.]
I'm not too worried about the crowd. In Barbie Land, loud did blend in.
But I'd like to hear your suggestions.
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@sinne
actually, i might.
can you call this number?
[xx-xxx-xxx-xxxx]
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And in what language? In your voice?
[ She's a rather good impersonator. ]
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idk timelines anymore oops
i mean time is a lie anyway lol
@pissant
so it's more the lack of attachment.
i get that.
ways was you got married once you were an age, and that was that growing up.
[ and then the war happened. funny how things work out. ]
may have a question to ask, lang.
how do you... ask. someone.
these days, if they're a guy.
ty for moving! :3
don't get me wrong i did love Maggie
but we weren't meant to be
and it's mostly my fault
[Well it's ALL his fault. But he's working on it, one day at a time. It takes a moment though when the next set of texts comes through to sort of process what's being asked.]
well, i might not be the best to ask
cause i am a firm believer in
always saying just what you mean
and i've ALWAYS been like that
i think 'what's the worst that can happen' this day an age you tell someone you like them
and if they don't they'll be civil; the whole 'thanks but no thanks' bit
some might be a little freaked out
if they're our age doubly cause you know ~society~
but sometimes it just takes one to be the brave one
cause maybe they had those thoughts all along but never know how to ask themselves
make sense????
np! 🥰
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i sorry i am slower than a lifetime movie death, i am still stupid ass sick
i mean same, almost broke my back recently
oh fuuuuuuuck you alright? that hella sucks and your back aint nothin to play with
slipped and banged on the doorknob, doorknob won 🔪 nothing broken except my pride
i feel bad but only because i feel that LOL
@kentuckian
it's a growing club, glad to have you. or something.
wait why a fucking shovel
[ ??? what are the youths up to these days, is this some kind of code ]
i'm not burying you?
@captainavenger
steve.
[ what do you say to that, honestly? bucky doesn't want to think so deeply, to read into what he's seeing printed on the screen, because— because then, what? is there room for that here, now? he's a mess. steve deserves better than a mess. friend or anything else, something else, steve deserves more than a fucked up shadow from the past. ]
what are you telling me, buddy?
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it's always been to the end of the line, in every way that mattered.
[To Steve it never mattered however it was between them. All he knew was that he loved Bucky, had loved him when he was a nobody that people enjoyed beating up and loved him even more when he'd made a name for himself. There was no one else that he'd give up his life for like that. They could be the best of friends, or anything else they wanted to be. It really didn't matter to the man as long as he kept Bucky there with him, near him in his life every day for the rest of it, from this point forward.]
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@uniform
[ the thing is, a large part of bucky's therapy is working on his relationship with steve. he's had— tantrums, is what they really are, on the therapist's couch every time the harrassed woman tries to bring steve into the session, either as a topic or as a participant. they're such a picture-perfect case of "with or without you" that it'd be impressive if bucky didn't fall apart in every direction when he gets overwhelmed by the "you"-ness of it.
it makes sense in his head. don't question it. long and short version: they need to ease themselves back into each other's lives, and steve is kind of hovering.
it's sweet, but bucky has to stay firm and not cave into steve pressure. (hard to do, even for him. steve is a law of physics in motion.) ]
think you answered your own question there.
it's not you that's the issue, steve.
i had to do this one on my own.
it's supposed to be good for my mental health.
[ inasmuch as shooting up terrorists can be cathartic, maybe. he's working with what he has. ]
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There's nothing disapproving I can say here that wouldn't make me an asshole, is there?
[ look. look!!! he knows this is good for bucky and is the correct thing to do and he just needs to deal with some discomfort and trust that bucky is a big boy who can handle himself! he knows!!! it still sucks!!!!! ]
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i forget if they were banging in the thread but ig they are now
stucky: banging bucky: so what's up with you and nat? steve: ?????
siri is my enemy
@americass
[ he doesn't know what to do when he ends up on the wrong foot with steve. it's sometimes just small things, like forgetting a detail about how they used to be, some shared fact from before. and sometimes it's like this: bucky says something that jars them out of sync, and he doesn't even know why. he thought he had this one right.
bucky picks up the bottles using one hand, tucking one into his pocket where it bulges unattractively then uncapping the second to, well. sniff it. handle lube enough and you get a nose for things, pun unintended. ]
Could we do both? Soup and sandwiches, and some alcohol even if it won't do anything. We haven't had a real dinner together in a while.
[ soup and sandwiches isn't much of a dinner, either, but it used to be, didn't it? back when— before. ]
Did I say something wrong? You're tense again.
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Yes.]No, you didn't. Sorry. I just...
[He starts pulling out the veggies for the soup as he talks. It gives him something to focus on and an excuse to not look at Bucky. He doesn't want to have this conversation, least of all while Bucky is half naked, looking like a...what do the kids say? A damn snack.]
If we're doin' both, then you're helping with the prep, Mister.
[He tries for a lighthearted tone and even to him it sounds flat. He closes the fridge and just stands there. Stewing in his own frustration. How can he even begin to explain? Buck, I don't like that you bring up the dames from before 'cause they ain't around now and I'm not much interested in the ladies these days, 'specially now that you're here? Damn it if he doesn't have to physically bite his tongue to keep from just spilling it out, then may Thor strike him down.]
I just got in my own head, Buck. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you anxious.
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@workingtheory
this is like saying don't think about an elephant.
all i'll be thinking about is the elephant, so talk about the damn elephant.
does the elephant have sex???
[ this metaphor, what is it doing really. ]
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Do you want to know anything else?
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using my purely canadian knowledge about college here!
i'm not even in north america 😭
Okay you're probably even more different than I am!
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@bigboypants
just take it out, i'll cook.
don't let the other guy eat it either.
curry okay?
[ he's not in the business of prying, but he knows he hears eddie talking to himself when he thinks bucky's not listening. ]
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[ Haha, he's a great liar, see? ]
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@pursuitofcappiness
I can appropriate a truck.
[ he carefully avoids the word steal, because it's not great to set bad examples for kids, and maybe steve wouldn't mind it otherwise but he might mind it for this. he accepts the bar gratefully, too, polishes it off in two quick bites. ]
Don't got a driver's license, though.
[ hehe. ]
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Okay, well, I do. It's a bit outdated but nobody pulls me over.
[ That's 'cause he goes the speed limit. ]
Where's the truck?
[ And are they gonna have to file the kids in the back? Could they get a minivan? Steve just feels a little weird about that. ]
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@uniform
alright, OK, you can come with.
but you gotta be patient!
i'm not kidding, stevie!
[ it's good that this is happening over text, where he's less at risk of witnessing steve rogers' blinding aura of Righteously Violent Exuberance. ]
i'll need help wrecking shit, anyway.
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I'll be so patient, cross my heart. We can shake on it if you want. When are we leaving?
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@seespotshield
given our line of work, that shouldn't be so surprising.
being handcuffed, i mean.
i can't have been your second time?
[ buddy this ain't good. ]
where i live - where i grew up anyway - cars were something of a luxury.
public transportation was pretty good, though.
didn't need to drive around much until i went off to war.
i could probably teach you if i could remember how.
i rely on muscle memory when i drive.
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Sorry to break it to you, but you were my second
At least you weren't my first?
[ on the other end, spot chuckles. achievement unlocked. ]
Yeah, about the same here
Grew up in jungle territory. More wildlife than cars most days.
No offense but I think I'm gonna pass on the driving lessons
My comic collection's big enough as is. If I could drive, I'd just buy more.
[ a fun fact: spot loves superheroes. a lot. ]
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@farcry
[ talking. he'd rather shoot a bottle caps from 2000 miles away, that would be more productive. ]
you know steve is bad at cooking? he can barely boil anything, it breaks my heart every time. if you can manage that i have every confidence you can learn how to bake and not burn the whole place down.
why tissues, still? why not, i don't know, water? food. would a walled-in room even have a water closet?
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For your tears, Bucky. Have you never cried in front of your therapist before? Tissues are better at wiping them away than water or food. But why a water closet?
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sorry for the delayy!!
@captainavenger
coffee and anal don't go well together, buddy.
tell you what.
[ tell him what, barnes? you're really gonna do it this time? ]
if you're still interested in talking about this by the time i get back in 2 hours, i'll show you something nice. that okay?
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I'll be waiting for you in two hours. I doubt my interest is going to change at all.
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@workingtheory
i'd like a sweet coffee, if that's alright. no whipped cream or whatever it is they put on top though. just a decent brew, no milk, three or four sugars.
i'll cover you when you get here.
[ he sends darcy a pin for his current location, a reasonably defended safehouse downtown with a nice view of a convenient river. ]
just slam the door bell if you don't hear it. it's a little stuck.
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[ Darcy puts the arm in a duffle bag and then gets dressed. As soon as she's ready to go, she heads out and grabs the coffee. Bucky had been right, the doorbell is a bit stuck, so she hits it a bit harder. ]
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@killtime ( 3 )
i'm starting to think maybe i'd rather get my ass wrecked by the strap again than whatever the fuck that mission was. thanks for the souvenir, by way.
yeehaw 🤠
like you didn't have at least a little fucking fun
on both counts
dirty south tiktok starts playing
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@killtime ( 4 )
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and fin?
@farcry
a hacking stick. that's actually a pretty cool idea if we can make it work. you want it at the tip, the base, or no-contact? ...that wasn't innuendo, sorry.
and that's the only one i remember. i think there's a few of them somewhere on the internet though. everybody had a different one? i know i made up a few while i was in the war.
@nomorefear
Alright. Bath later, book now.
[ he could've worded that better, but the words are out there now; he might as well commit. he does pat jason very very carefully on the shoulder, though, and gets up to the small bookshelf in one corner. he picks out something, moby dick by herman melville. pulls up a chair and gets to reading. ]
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He wants to say thank you, but he just settled down as Bucky starts reading to him. A little bit into the book he can't help but mutter. ]
You've got a real nice voice.
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@westcoasts
[ nothing's good enough in this line of work. there's always something fucking everything else up, and it's a near-miracle every time a mission pushes through without a single goddamn hitch. that's the life. not even just merc or wetwork life; it's what you get when you work in the gray areas outside of the primly-coloured government lines.
it's not like they're idiots, though. clint probably has better sense. just a little. ]
didn't ask.
[ then, with a wince: ]
didn't check.
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—it'd certainly been a rather large contributing factor to his divorce.
even so, he's never been especially gracious. it's been a long time since he and nat were anything other than friends, but it doesn't mean that clint doesn't have a lingering sense of — what? love? yeah, by a definition of the term, even if bucky gets her more. even if bucky is more her speed, and even if it's frustrated him more than once or twice or thrice.
even if it's the sort of thing that leads clint — along with bucky's relationship with steve — to being an obnoxious little shit to bucky.
even if it's the sort of thing he can't actually hold against bucky. )
jesus, buck.
you make it sound like it's your first time doing this shit.
( would clint have been any better in the moment?
who's to say. )
right, fine, whatever.
where do we start? cause i can't imagine she's running around waiting to get caught on ducking camera again.
( "ducking"—
fucking piece of shit phone. )
@flametoplease
that's what i said, and they nearly booked me. sensitive ass pricks.
i've got a harley. friend of mine gave his old one to me before he went off and got married.
you like bikes?
sorry for the lateness! I;m moving so MIA for a bit
And yeah. Harleys are nice. My dad had a bike for a bit but somehow managed to get involved in a biker gang, and that's a long story.
I don't have one myself though.