Bucky Barnes is (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} theothercap) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} junkedic,@ 2025-04-14 07:02:00 |
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| Entry tags: | ! log/thread/narrative, marvel (film/tv): bucky barnes (au), marvel (film/tv): kate bishop (au), ⚲ backdated like the slackers we are, ✷ chapter 02 (all the pretty monsties) |
As rundown as the Void’s version of Manhattan was, Kate had to admit, it still had some pretty good stuff to find. She’d thought by describing it as ‘ruins’ that every bit of it would be picked over long ago; maybe she and Bucky had just found the right spot to scavenge for themselves, but so far, they were lucking out where it mattered most.
Most importantly to her personally, she had her bow—a recurve that was strapped across her chest with a handful of decent, classic arrows. Most of the parts Bucky had been looking for for the bike had been found at an auto shop nearby. They’d had to take cover for a while after that when they’d heard shouting and footsteps, but after that passed, they’d made their way to the true haven of this part of the city.
Target.
It wasn’t untouched by any means, but there was still plenty to fill up a cart for each of them with clothes. Kate had gotten plenty for herself, and then there were some particular things she thought Yelena, Harley, and Ivy would like, respectively.
Then it was on to the pharmacy and optical center.
“I told Steve about color correction lenses,” she informed Bucky as they pushed their carts into that part of the store. “He said he doesn’t see reds quite right?”
She was still wrapping her mind around just how unwell Steve was like this. She had always known him as the hunky, muscle bound Captain America, who didn’t so much as catch a cold in the winter. She knew he had been kind of a sick kid back in the day, but at least in her world, those days had passed long ago. Regardless of what version of Steve he was, she liked him and wanted to help as much as she could.
Bucky had only been out to Manhattan a couple of times, and it usually ended up being more trouble than it was worth. It was easier today, thankfully, with Kate at his side, and they'd been able to find quite a bit- he was glad they'd found a bow for her, and parts for the bike. He'd upgrade it sooner or later, probably add a sidecar to make it easier to bring things- or people- back to campus. They'd found a tea and spice shop- he'd made sure to get a stash for George and the other Brits, and coffee for Steve.
He'd jumped the counter at the pharmacy, taking a look at different medications left behind. There were several whose names he didn't recognize, but he slid them all into a bag, a few inhalers that should help, and some other things that he figured Harry could figure out later.
When they reached the pharmacy, he went to a set of drawers that held glasses ready for pickup. He remembered Steve's prescription, and while he wasn't sure if they'd have anything ready for anyone, maybe they would.
He was flipping through boxes when Kate spoke. "Red colorblind, yeah."
Bingo. He found a few prescriptions that matched Steve's and pulled the glasses out. Plain metal, plain black. That would do. They could figure out the fitting on campus. He dropped them into cases and turned his attention to Kate. "I didn't even think about those kinds of lenses. I know he'd love it if he could see colors- he's an artist, you know?"
“Oh yeah, for sure,” Kate agreed. She dug through a couple of drawers in search of the color correction lenses and finally came across a few sets of contacts. “Do you think he’ll wear contacts or is he better off with glasses?”
"Glasses might be safer- contacts didn't exist back home the way they do today. Then again- maybe he'd try 'em? I don't actually know." Bucky had never used contacts himself, but had friends and family who did with no trouble. But he didn't know anything about the shape of Steve's eyes or anything that would make picking the right contacts easier. "Didn't they come out with a pair that's like- like sunglasses?"
“Good point. I keep forgetting you two are so old,” Kate said, more offhanded than as a purposeful tease. She set the contacts aside and pulled the drawer out further until she came across glasses cases. “Ha! Got ‘em,” she proclaimed, finding a case labeled ‘RED’.
"Yeah, yeah, practically ancient," Bucky laughed. "Does he count as old when he hasn't been around as long as I have? He just..lived in a different time." He supposed maybe that was what made it. Oh well. "What else did we need here? Do you need anything for your room? Stuff for the lounges? Clothes?"
It was a nice thing about Target, they always seemed to have everything. A lot of the shelves looked like they'd been gone through, but there was still enough that he felt they might find some things they could use.
“I’m pretty set on clothes,” Kate said, nodding toward her cart. They’d gone their separate ways initially, so she hadn’t given him the full rundown on what she’d picked up. “But I guess it would be nice of us to pick up some stuff to share. You’re the expert on everything going on around campus. What kind of stuff should we look at?”
"A little of everything? Underthings probably can't hurt, as unglamorous as that sounds. I don't want to think about the lack of underwear on campus." Bucky pulled a face. "Do women need- you know. Sanitary napkins still? I have no idea what anyone's doing for that. Anything that seems practical, probably- I know we don't have a ton of room for these things, but really, anything we can fit would be helpful."
“Sanitary napkins, Grandpa?” Kate laughed, looking at Bucky with amusement. “Yeah, that stuff got swept out and pretty picked over, but I grabbed what was left. I promise to share. I’m spoiled but not a complete asshole.”
"I never thought you were!" Bucky pulled a face, sticking out his tongue. "But- good. Yeah, that's- good. Um. Kitchen stuff, maybe? For the lounges? I know some of us like tea and coffee and stuff, couldn't hurt to have another kettle or two, probably. Or a coffee maker?"
“Sure, let’s go look,” Kate agreed, leading the way through the winding superstore to the kitchenware section. It was a bit of a walk, but the shelves were surprisingly full. Maybe people didn’t care so much about kitchen stuff in an apocalyptic hellhole. “What’s best? Copper or something else?” she asked, picking up one of those to show to Bucky.
Bucky wandered with her, occasionally picking up an item or two to drop in the cart. When they reached the kitchen items, he lifted a brow. "I have no idea. Should've asked George before I left. I think anything that looks like it'll last? Or feels like it? I don't really know what's better, but that copper looks good to me."
His attention turned to a few boxes of hot plates, and he added those to the cart. Never knew when they might need a place to do their cooking. "Oh- coffee maker."
“I’m on it!” Kate said, grabbing a couple of different ones to add to her cart. There was no way just one was going to take care of all of Derleth—unless they were industrial-sized, but she didn’t see anything like that here. “Aprons? For fun?” She grabbed a few with dumb phrases on them and tossed them in next.
"Thanks!" Bucky followed her down the aisle, picking a couple as well, and some nicer looking mixing spoons and bowls. George might like those. "Yeah, aprons sound good."
When their cart was full, he paused, peering into it. "It's gonna be pretty interesting getting all this back, but as long as we don't run into any more scavengers, we should be alright. You good in here?"
“I’m good,” Kate confirmed. “Hang on.” She was in the midst of organizing everything as best as she could to make it easier to get out of the city and back through the desert of the Void when Bucky’s point hit her. “So…how are we transporting this? There’s a lot to transport just on your bike. Can we, like…tie in on?”
Bucky looked at the cart and then back at Kate. "We can probably balance a bunch of it. Or we can hotwire one of the cars out there? There's gotta be something that can at least get us most of the way back to campus. You know how to drive, don't you?"
He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. He wasn't too worried- they'd figure it out. This trip wasn't going to be for nothing.
“No, I absolutely do not know how to drive,” Kate corrected him quickly. Then, after a moment, she added, “Well, I get the general idea, but I’ve never sat down and actually, like, learned.”
"No?" Oh. Well then. "I can always load the motorcycle in a truck and drive. We'll see what's out there." Bucky took one more look around. "Let's see what we've got? We can see what's parked close and load up what we can fit. Anything else can go on the bike."
At least in the void, there wouldn't be a lot of traffic.
Kate’s heart was thrumming anxiously at the thought, but she nodded her acceptance. She hoped she didn’t look as tense as she felt. This Manhattan may be trash compared to the one she’d lived in all her life. And sure, there weren’t a lot of operating cars out there. But it still felt like trying to get behind the wheel of any car was just asking for a car accident.
But no. She was cool. This was cool. She was twenty-five and all grown up and not a completely spaztastic teenager. She could drive a car. So she tried to affect a more casual stance and followed Bucky out of the store.
“Sure, yeah, cool,” she agreed, her hands tight around the handle of their shopping cart.
"Whoa, hey- it's alright. You don't have to drive- I didn't know you can't. We'll make it work- I promise." Bucky reached over, a hand on her shoulder. "Breathe, Kate. It's alright."
He paused as they left the store, trying to decide what might work best for their needs. "Hey, look. A box truck." It wasn't that big, probably making deliveries for the local bodegas. And it appeared to be in decent shape, no major dents or visible damage. He crossed the street to the back of the truck, using his metal hand to yank the padlock from the door. "Maybe we'll even find something good in here."
Well, at least it was zero percent surprising that she looked tense as hell and wasn’t fooling Bucky. But his hand on her shoulder helped, and she took a breath as ordered, smiling at him appreciatively. She was nervous, but she figured she would work up the nerve to drive a car or even a minivan when it came down to it. She’d just have to take a little bit to sit behind the wheel—and maybe have Bucky remind her what did what.
Then he showed her a truck. That very small dream was quickly dashed, but the hope of finding some good supplies in there grew.
“Well, it doesn’t smell,” she noted as Bucky lifted the door. “So maybe it wasn’t all perishables.”
"It doesn't smell," Bucky agreed. He jumped up into the box, stepping inside. "Looks like a bunch of..bath supplies? Hair care and personal hygiene items." He shrugged. "Can't hurt to bring it back and we can sort through what's good."
He turned back to Kate and grinned. “Let me get the truck running- if it works, we can load up the cart and I'll drive us around to pick up the bike and stuff we got earlier."
“And that’s why you’re a hero,” Kate declared with a relieved grin. “Let’s do it.”
Most importantly to her personally, she had her bow—a recurve that was strapped across her chest with a handful of decent, classic arrows. Most of the parts Bucky had been looking for for the bike had been found at an auto shop nearby. They’d had to take cover for a while after that when they’d heard shouting and footsteps, but after that passed, they’d made their way to the true haven of this part of the city.
Target.
It wasn’t untouched by any means, but there was still plenty to fill up a cart for each of them with clothes. Kate had gotten plenty for herself, and then there were some particular things she thought Yelena, Harley, and Ivy would like, respectively.
Then it was on to the pharmacy and optical center.
“I told Steve about color correction lenses,” she informed Bucky as they pushed their carts into that part of the store. “He said he doesn’t see reds quite right?”
She was still wrapping her mind around just how unwell Steve was like this. She had always known him as the hunky, muscle bound Captain America, who didn’t so much as catch a cold in the winter. She knew he had been kind of a sick kid back in the day, but at least in her world, those days had passed long ago. Regardless of what version of Steve he was, she liked him and wanted to help as much as she could.
Bucky had only been out to Manhattan a couple of times, and it usually ended up being more trouble than it was worth. It was easier today, thankfully, with Kate at his side, and they'd been able to find quite a bit- he was glad they'd found a bow for her, and parts for the bike. He'd upgrade it sooner or later, probably add a sidecar to make it easier to bring things- or people- back to campus. They'd found a tea and spice shop- he'd made sure to get a stash for George and the other Brits, and coffee for Steve.
He'd jumped the counter at the pharmacy, taking a look at different medications left behind. There were several whose names he didn't recognize, but he slid them all into a bag, a few inhalers that should help, and some other things that he figured Harry could figure out later.
When they reached the pharmacy, he went to a set of drawers that held glasses ready for pickup. He remembered Steve's prescription, and while he wasn't sure if they'd have anything ready for anyone, maybe they would.
He was flipping through boxes when Kate spoke. "Red colorblind, yeah."
Bingo. He found a few prescriptions that matched Steve's and pulled the glasses out. Plain metal, plain black. That would do. They could figure out the fitting on campus. He dropped them into cases and turned his attention to Kate. "I didn't even think about those kinds of lenses. I know he'd love it if he could see colors- he's an artist, you know?"
“Oh yeah, for sure,” Kate agreed. She dug through a couple of drawers in search of the color correction lenses and finally came across a few sets of contacts. “Do you think he’ll wear contacts or is he better off with glasses?”
"Glasses might be safer- contacts didn't exist back home the way they do today. Then again- maybe he'd try 'em? I don't actually know." Bucky had never used contacts himself, but had friends and family who did with no trouble. But he didn't know anything about the shape of Steve's eyes or anything that would make picking the right contacts easier. "Didn't they come out with a pair that's like- like sunglasses?"
“Good point. I keep forgetting you two are so old,” Kate said, more offhanded than as a purposeful tease. She set the contacts aside and pulled the drawer out further until she came across glasses cases. “Ha! Got ‘em,” she proclaimed, finding a case labeled ‘RED’.
"Yeah, yeah, practically ancient," Bucky laughed. "Does he count as old when he hasn't been around as long as I have? He just..lived in a different time." He supposed maybe that was what made it. Oh well. "What else did we need here? Do you need anything for your room? Stuff for the lounges? Clothes?"
It was a nice thing about Target, they always seemed to have everything. A lot of the shelves looked like they'd been gone through, but there was still enough that he felt they might find some things they could use.
“I’m pretty set on clothes,” Kate said, nodding toward her cart. They’d gone their separate ways initially, so she hadn’t given him the full rundown on what she’d picked up. “But I guess it would be nice of us to pick up some stuff to share. You’re the expert on everything going on around campus. What kind of stuff should we look at?”
"A little of everything? Underthings probably can't hurt, as unglamorous as that sounds. I don't want to think about the lack of underwear on campus." Bucky pulled a face. "Do women need- you know. Sanitary napkins still? I have no idea what anyone's doing for that. Anything that seems practical, probably- I know we don't have a ton of room for these things, but really, anything we can fit would be helpful."
“Sanitary napkins, Grandpa?” Kate laughed, looking at Bucky with amusement. “Yeah, that stuff got swept out and pretty picked over, but I grabbed what was left. I promise to share. I’m spoiled but not a complete asshole.”
"I never thought you were!" Bucky pulled a face, sticking out his tongue. "But- good. Yeah, that's- good. Um. Kitchen stuff, maybe? For the lounges? I know some of us like tea and coffee and stuff, couldn't hurt to have another kettle or two, probably. Or a coffee maker?"
“Sure, let’s go look,” Kate agreed, leading the way through the winding superstore to the kitchenware section. It was a bit of a walk, but the shelves were surprisingly full. Maybe people didn’t care so much about kitchen stuff in an apocalyptic hellhole. “What’s best? Copper or something else?” she asked, picking up one of those to show to Bucky.
Bucky wandered with her, occasionally picking up an item or two to drop in the cart. When they reached the kitchen items, he lifted a brow. "I have no idea. Should've asked George before I left. I think anything that looks like it'll last? Or feels like it? I don't really know what's better, but that copper looks good to me."
His attention turned to a few boxes of hot plates, and he added those to the cart. Never knew when they might need a place to do their cooking. "Oh- coffee maker."
“I’m on it!” Kate said, grabbing a couple of different ones to add to her cart. There was no way just one was going to take care of all of Derleth—unless they were industrial-sized, but she didn’t see anything like that here. “Aprons? For fun?” She grabbed a few with dumb phrases on them and tossed them in next.
"Thanks!" Bucky followed her down the aisle, picking a couple as well, and some nicer looking mixing spoons and bowls. George might like those. "Yeah, aprons sound good."
When their cart was full, he paused, peering into it. "It's gonna be pretty interesting getting all this back, but as long as we don't run into any more scavengers, we should be alright. You good in here?"
“I’m good,” Kate confirmed. “Hang on.” She was in the midst of organizing everything as best as she could to make it easier to get out of the city and back through the desert of the Void when Bucky’s point hit her. “So…how are we transporting this? There’s a lot to transport just on your bike. Can we, like…tie in on?”
Bucky looked at the cart and then back at Kate. "We can probably balance a bunch of it. Or we can hotwire one of the cars out there? There's gotta be something that can at least get us most of the way back to campus. You know how to drive, don't you?"
He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. He wasn't too worried- they'd figure it out. This trip wasn't going to be for nothing.
“No, I absolutely do not know how to drive,” Kate corrected him quickly. Then, after a moment, she added, “Well, I get the general idea, but I’ve never sat down and actually, like, learned.”
"No?" Oh. Well then. "I can always load the motorcycle in a truck and drive. We'll see what's out there." Bucky took one more look around. "Let's see what we've got? We can see what's parked close and load up what we can fit. Anything else can go on the bike."
At least in the void, there wouldn't be a lot of traffic.
Kate’s heart was thrumming anxiously at the thought, but she nodded her acceptance. She hoped she didn’t look as tense as she felt. This Manhattan may be trash compared to the one she’d lived in all her life. And sure, there weren’t a lot of operating cars out there. But it still felt like trying to get behind the wheel of any car was just asking for a car accident.
But no. She was cool. This was cool. She was twenty-five and all grown up and not a completely spaztastic teenager. She could drive a car. So she tried to affect a more casual stance and followed Bucky out of the store.
“Sure, yeah, cool,” she agreed, her hands tight around the handle of their shopping cart.
"Whoa, hey- it's alright. You don't have to drive- I didn't know you can't. We'll make it work- I promise." Bucky reached over, a hand on her shoulder. "Breathe, Kate. It's alright."
He paused as they left the store, trying to decide what might work best for their needs. "Hey, look. A box truck." It wasn't that big, probably making deliveries for the local bodegas. And it appeared to be in decent shape, no major dents or visible damage. He crossed the street to the back of the truck, using his metal hand to yank the padlock from the door. "Maybe we'll even find something good in here."
Well, at least it was zero percent surprising that she looked tense as hell and wasn’t fooling Bucky. But his hand on her shoulder helped, and she took a breath as ordered, smiling at him appreciatively. She was nervous, but she figured she would work up the nerve to drive a car or even a minivan when it came down to it. She’d just have to take a little bit to sit behind the wheel—and maybe have Bucky remind her what did what.
Then he showed her a truck. That very small dream was quickly dashed, but the hope of finding some good supplies in there grew.
“Well, it doesn’t smell,” she noted as Bucky lifted the door. “So maybe it wasn’t all perishables.”
"It doesn't smell," Bucky agreed. He jumped up into the box, stepping inside. "Looks like a bunch of..bath supplies? Hair care and personal hygiene items." He shrugged. "Can't hurt to bring it back and we can sort through what's good."
He turned back to Kate and grinned. “Let me get the truck running- if it works, we can load up the cart and I'll drive us around to pick up the bike and stuff we got earlier."
“And that’s why you’re a hero,” Kate declared with a relieved grin. “Let’s do it.”