Re: Loki/Bucky
"Oh, well, that was the problem. New Yorkers aren't the type to want to be ruled. You should have started with someplace like Pittsburgh or Detroit," Bucky teased. Most people might not joke about it. But, Bucky had a tendency to joke about his own past sometimes as a way of dealing. He joked now as a sign of acceptance in light of Loki's own admissions.
"Christ, we are a pair, aren't we? I guess it says something about Stark that he hasn't told us to fuck off at the business end of one of his gauntlets." Watching Loki's introspection for a moment, he reached over to put a comforting hand on the Asgardian's shoulder. "The important part is that we're both here, now, away from that." He wouldn't say free because, if Loki's experience was anything like his, Bucky knew they would never truly be free. But, they could try to make amends and move on. "And, if you like, I can watch your back so it can't happen again."
There was a light in the other's eyes when he talked of traveling the realms that sparked a remembered dream in Bucky's memories. "I'd be okay with stopping on different planets in this thing. At least, we get to see space. But, I'd love to hear about the realms you visited sometime. I think, had I been younger, I'd have wanted to be one of the early astronauts in the fifties and sixties."
Thinking about Loki's words a moment, Bucky echoed the sigh. "No," he said honestly. "I think it's an us problem. It was Steve and I against the world for a long time, even during the war, with the Commandos, that was still there. Then I fell to Hydra, he crashed a plane to save the world. Seventy years later, he's got the Avengers and I've got a head full of programming to get rid of, then Thanos. And then, Steve disappeared. He doesn't remember that, though, because he's from before it happened."