Re: Sleigh 2: Bucky and Steve (UTC +7 to +8)
"It was never at the same time, so we were spared that kind of heartbreak." Bucky was much more amused by it all now than he had been at thirteen, seventeen, or twenty-four. "Honestly, I thought for sure you'd figure it out with Katie, the way she kept making excuses to come over to our place to have you look over her art assignments for her. Just proves the girls had taste, whether you were the right person for them in the end or not." And, really, as first crushes went, it was better for Bucky if his sisters all had crushes on his best friend, who he knew was an upstanding guy who would treat them proper. Not like some assholes out there, like their big brother, who'd love 'em and leave 'em.
"You were crazy." Bucky gave his friend a teasing wink. "But, you weren't wrong about me. Always were the one with more faith in me than I ever earned. I'm guessing Pierce probably only read about us from that wall in the Smithsonian. 'Ironic twist of fate' my ass. He was so pissed when I kept saying I knew you. Probably thought it would be like Howard. You might recognize me, but I wouldn't know you." Too bad for Hydra Steve Rogers was the one thing Bucky could remember even when he couldn't remember himself. He smirked softly, laying his hand over Steve's and squeezing playfully. "If you're right about how long it would take for you to age like that, we're going to get a lot more than those seven."
He thought about it a moment before nodding. "That makes sense. You do tend to have a certain strength in your convictions that makes people want to follow your lead. But, Necrohelm was very much about bucking expectations and playing into a darker nature without vilifying it." It had been one of the things Bucky had liked about that place. He didn't have to pretend his own dark side didn't exist. "I know that. The bus will do what it wants no matter what we say. But, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm just not sure what good it would do, you know?"