вυςку (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} wintry) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} avengers_logs,@ 2020-02-11 13:01:00 |
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| Entry tags: | -complete, bucky barnes, steve rogers |
Who: Bucky & Steve
What: REUNION
When: Sometime after this
Where: 30 Warren
Status: Complete
| Everything was happening very quickly. Steve had arrived, found himself in a completely new universe of sorts, and had to be filled in very quickly. In that short time, he’d met with Doctor Strange and Tony Stark. Through listening to both of them, Steve felt like he’d gotten at least sort of an idea of what was going on. As much as could be, anyway. He doubted he’d ever really get it, but that was kind of how he’d been living the last several years since waking up from the ice. Going with the flow because he had to; he had to adapt then, he’d adapt now. In addition to Strange and Stark, Steve had also made contact with several others, and that was equal parts amazing and jarring. People he had grieved in death were now alive. It was hard to be filled with any emotion other than joy over that fact, but shock was definitely thrown in there. Relief was something else he’d felt, especially when he had contact with Sam, and of course, with Bucky Barnes. He didn’t know what he’d do if they weren’t there. Adapting wouldn’t be something he’d want to do if Bucky wasn’t in this universe. It was so hard; the constant back and forth of having and losing each other was incredibly difficult. But they were both here now, and Steve wasn’t going to let him go again. Bucky had informed him of where he was staying, and Tony had confirmed it. Not only that, Tony had also said Bucky could come to the Tower if he wanted. Steve wasn’t going to push that yet. Distance might be necessary, but he had to admit it was very good of his friend to extend that olive branch. It took him a little time, but he found the address and made his way to Bucky’s door. Steve had stopped at his own dwellings before then and left the shield and hammer behind. Before he did anything else, he sent Bucky a message saying he was there so that when he knocked he’d know it was him. Tony had informed him that Bucky was still a wanted man, so he didn’t want to cause him any concern about who might be at the door. He raised a fist and knocked three times. His heart was racing and he didn’t know why; just the anticipation of seeing him, he supposed. --- Bucky had to admit, in the far corners of his mind he’d been hoping Steve would show up - nothing concrete, of course, because back home Steve had chosen his ending, he’d chosen his best gal and so Bucky would have to try to respect that. Instead it was more like he missed his best friend, and felt empty without him around. They’d already been separated for too long, one of them brainwashed and molded into HYDRA’s perfect weapon - the other molded into a hero for the people. A hero. Something Bucky would never be. Not anymore. A part of him wanted the simplicity of the good old days back again. Him and Steve in Brooklyn, just kids who didn’t know shit. The corner store sold candy half price after six on Sundays, the bakery gave away stale wares a half hour before closing, the kosher butcher fed stray dogs in the alleyway, the guy at the newsstand whose name Bucky couldn’t recall let them read the funnies without paying anything so long as they didn't crumple the newspapers. Now, Steve was in his orbit and it felt better for Bucky. More whole. When he heard the knock he had to try not to race to the door - the apartment at 30 Warren was nice, and it was also great having T’Challa so close by; he was still getting used to his new surroundings though, so having Steve here would help. He pulled the door open with the vibranium fist, metal fingers curling around Steve’s shirt and subsequently pulling him in for a hug. With most people, touching could still be precarious for Bucky - but Steve was one of the few people who could touch him without discomfort on his end. “Sight for sore eyes,” he grinned, stepping back. “Come on in, my house is your house.” --- Time was one of those things that Steve never seemed to have in abundance. One would think after being asleep for seventy years he’d want to keep going, going, going, and for the most part what was how he functioned. He lived in shark mode; if he stopped, he’d die. Constantly having one mission after another, one completed, the next began, it helped him but also hindered him in ever really finding his footing. It was hard to settle when you were constantly on the go. Even in those five years after the snap, he didn’t stop. Coming here, to this divergent universe, he hit the ground running trying to figure out what to do. But after his conversation with Tony, it sounded like there wasn’t much he could do right now except check in with those he needed to, and return something to that didn’t belong to him to its rightful owner. First, however, he would stop. He would take his time here, because he was seeing the person who mattered to him the most. The person who was opening the door and immediately pulling him into an embrace. Truthfully, Steve didn’t know what he would’ve done if Bucky wasn’t there. It would have been utterly impossible for him to ever stop moving, to ever stop trying to keep fixing things because nothing would be right, nothing would be the way it was supposed to be if Bucky Barnes wasn’t there. He didn’t even have to think to return the embrace. Steve hugged him tightly and closed his eyes as he took in a couple of slow breaths to center himself. When they drew back, Steve felt his stomach doing a few somersaults but it was fine. This was fine. “You know, much as I tried to fight you on that a hundred years ago, I think I’ll be more agreeable to it now,” he said, referring back to a lifetime ago when Bucky took him in after his mother’s passing. Steve stepped further into the apartment, glad to see it was a definite upgrade to the sleeping bag on a mattress on the floor he’d rigged for himself in Bucharest. “I can’t tell you how relieved I was to know you’re here.” --- Definitely an upgrade from a mattress on a dusty floor. Hell, it was even an upgrade from being dead - Bucky remembered turning to dust, vaguely, particles lining the atmosphere (particles that had been him) but then after that it was complete nothingness until he’d jolted awake again. No rest for the wicked, as they say. “Good. Just sit down and - well, I think I have water. That’ll do.” He’d just moved in, and hadn’t gotten a chance to make it homey yet. He’d done a little shopping but all the reminders about how he was wanted for his miles-long list of crimes, even in this universe, had him rushing back to the building, wearing a baseball cap and shades - channeling the ‘Steve Rogers’ art of disguise. “What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked, grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge. --- Most definitely it was an upgrade from being dead. Steve had mourned Bucky too many times but by some miracle they’d always found their way back to each other. It always took too long for Steve’s liking, but defying the odds was sort of a specialty at this point. Now, included. He sat when he was told to. It was a little endearing; Bucky fussing over him a bit with sitting him down and getting him water. A bit reminiscent of old times with Bucky always having to look after him. Not entirely unnecessary now given Steve’s track record but not as vital. Old habits, he supposed. “Oh,” he said, and thought back. It felt like a lifetime ago, and he’d only just arrived. “I’d just left, was on my way to meet up with everyone before returning the stones. I don’t remember anything else. I stepped outside and suddenly I was in Manhattan.” --- He handed Steve a water, twisting the cap off his own bottle with his teeth because Bucky didn’t have manners. Not really, anyway. Not the way Steve did. But then he plonked down on the couch, taking a swig of H20 - stay hydrated, everyone. It was especially important for super soldiers. “So you don’t remember, uh - “ How was Bucky supposed to put this? He was obviously a little far ahead; his last memory of Steve was losing him, for good this time. Who would have thought Captain America would die of old age? That, and his memory of watching Steve give the shield to Sam. Standing there in the distance, feeling about as useful as an oar on a speedboat. Oh, not like he wanted the shield - Sam would do justice to the name Captain America - but maybe he was just a little...surprised. That Steve had gone back to the past and tried to shoehorn himself in - Bucky would have assumed he’d realize he didn’t belong there anymore. As much as Barnes yearned for the old days, neither of them actually belonged there. “You don’t remember going back to be with Peg?” he asked, glacial eyes suddenly finding the ceiling very fascinating. --- Steve hadn’t thought to ask about when Bucky was coming from. From what he had learned from Strange, they all sort of gained memories up to a certain point, but when that happened wasn’t exactly clear. He’d stupidly assumed that he was coming from the furthest point ahead. No one had told him otherwise, that there might be more, that he might be the one remembering something that hadn’t happened for him yet. That was jarring, to say the least. He hadn’t even thought to ask when Bucky had come from, or how far ahead of Steve he might know. Of all the things Bucky could’ve asked, that -- that was the farthest thing from his mind. “What?” He looked at Bucky like he was holding the most advanced piece of technology that existed. This was not the first time since he’d arrived when he wished he had something strong enough to give him a buzz to drink. Water, yeah, that wasn’t going to cut it. But he took a drink of it anyway because his throat had gone dry. “I was going to put the stones back, but not -- I have no idea what you’re talking about, Buck.” What had happened during those steps he took outside to meet Bruce, Sam, and Bucky before he took the stones back where they belonged? “Why would I..?” …ever leave you? He didn’t finish that thought out loud, but it likely read on his face. --- “Oh, you put the stones back, alright,” Bucky chuckled dryly. Yep, Steve had done that and more. He still wasn’t certain about how it worked - Barnes wasn’t the brains of this time-traveling operation. The only questions he had (besides questions about everything) were something along the lines of - did the Steve who went back in time know that his best friend was the Winter Soldier? And being tortured? Did he know about Nat in the Black Widow program (also being tortured)? And what did he do? Just lie to Peggy about it? It seemed weird (understatement). Especially since Steve, previously, basically burned down the Avengers to secure Bucky’s freedom, something he wouldn’t ever forget. But obviously this Steve was beyond confused, so Bucky couldn’t keep talking about something that would get them nowhere. “I don’t know why. Maybe you were a Skrull,” he teased, eyebrows quirking as he took another sip of water. Or maybe they could find a bar that was dingy and dimly lit where neither would be recognized and just go through a few bottles of tequila ‘til they couldn’t feel feelings anymore. “It’s okay though. Really. You’re here now and...we’ll deal with whatever weirdness hits next.” --- Maybe he’d gain some perspective whenever he recovered his memories. Maybe there would be some clarity, some rationale behind whatever decision he apparently decided to make sometime between leaving to get the stones and going back in time. Something had to have happened; he had to think he’d be able to help somehow. Break the rules of time so he could help Bucky escape from HYDRA’s clutches? Free Natasha from the hellish conditions of the Red Room? Stop whatever need their might be for the Avengers before it happened? Surely he didn’t just go back to play house. That couldn’t be true. He could drive himself nuts speculating over it, but he knew no answer would make sense. Bucky’s off handed comment about skrulls -- sure, maybe. That made more sense than anything else at this point. “I am here. And you’re here,” he said. “How are you doing here? I know it’s -- it’s touchy, but Tony said you can come to the Tower if you ever want to stay there instead. It might be safer there, Buck. I can’t force you, I won’t push it. But you need to know that it’s an option.” --- “I’m okay,” he promised, flesh-and-blood hand giving Steve’s knee a squeeze of reassurance. “I don’t - I don’t know about the Tower though.” The look on his face spoke volumes, probably - it was pinched, like either he’d eaten a lemon or the guilt from decades of being HYDRA’s top assassin had washed to the forefront. He’d killed Tony’s parents. Howard Stark had even recognized him, seconds prior to the Soldier bashing in his skull - he knew who Bucky was, before Bucky even remembered himself. How was he supposed to live in the same building with Howard’s son, after that? He might be safer there though, it was true. And he couldn’t ask Steve to stay here. He needed to be with the Avengers, with his team. “I’ll consider it,” he promised. “But I’m claiming you for a slumber party tonight here, so you’re gonna have to deal with that.” --- Steve was expecting the sort of response Bucky gave, but he still wanted to make sure his best friend knew that it was always going to be an option. Things might get dicey out in the real world. Security high up in Avengers Tower might be necessary and if it came down to it, Steve might have to drag Bucky there if it was a matter of his freedom, or his life. But the situation wasn’t dire right now. He wasn’t exactly safe, but he wasn’t in the line of fire. Steve could live with that, especially if he was in the same room with Bucky at the moment. “I believe I said I was going to be here until you kicked me out, and you said that wasn’t gonna happen,” Steve said, a little smirk tugging his lips. “So you might have to pull out the couch cushions for the long haul.” Steve was an Avenger, of that there was no question. He would always be there for his team. But when it came to Bucky Barnes, his priorities were always with his oldest friend first. He might change his methods of expressing that; both he and Tony had learned from their mistakes and knew that no matter what their differences were, they were better when they were together. “I wonder if we can use that newfangled internet and pull up any of those old radio programs we used to listen to,” he said. They used to have to rig up their busted radio antennae pretty crazily to get it to work, but Steve had always loved listening to the mystery programs every week. --- Well then, guess they were at kind of an impasse for now. Or at least, could work with what they had - Bucky wouldn’t move into the Tower right away but he meant what he said; he’d think about it. He and Tony had sort of agreed to try to eek along on some stretch leading toward working things out, so. It could happen. “YouTube,” he shrugged, since he didn’t know a ton about the internet, but he knew that much. He’d, admittedly, probably need a guide - someone who was swift on the uptake when it came to like, modern social media - but could handle a few things. “It’s a website where you can watch videos or listen to music. Probably old fart radio shows too. I’ll look into it.” There was also a thing called ‘podcasts’ but that sounded like alien spaceships. Maybe tread carefully there. “And I think we can both fit in my bed. I won’t make your ancient bones sleep on a couch.” --- Honestly, Bucky’s response was one he was fine with for now. He might change his mind if there situation changed but if Bucky said he’d think about moving to the Tower, Steve knew he would really think about it. That was all he could ask for at this point. “YouTube,” he said. “I’ve heard of it. From what I understand there’s the danger of starting off what you intended to watch, but then entering some sort of internet rabbit hole of doom where you wind up watching things you’ve never even heard of.” At the mention of both of them fitting into Bucky’s bed, Steve laughed and pat Bucky’s shoulder. “Thanks. My aching joints appreciate it.” Though Steve had initially stated he’d be living in Avengers Tower, maybe -- well, maybe he’d change his mind. The good thing about that thought was, he and Bucky actually had time here. And he didn’t know how to think of that in any other way besides being a gift. |