InsaneJournal

Who: Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes
What: A Portal Discovery and Sandwiches
When: Sunday afternoon
Where: Brooklyn, 1936
Warnings: None
Status: Gdoc TBC in comments



Bucky’s birthday was one of the most important days of the year for Steve. Even when they’d been apart, even when he’d thought his friend was dead, Steve had made a point of marking it somehow. Now that they were together, more so than Steve ever would have dreamed to be possible, he was even more eager to do something with his friend. Which was really what had them out and about in town though Steve had made his excuses about it. He didn’t care to celebrate his own birthday too much and though Bucky didn’t have the same reservations, he was thoughtful enough not to make too big a deal over it. Usually.

They’d come across the thing that Steve would argue looked like a tear in reality completely unexpectedly. Who could ever expect that? And they were both reckless enough, knew Madison Valley well enough, that stepping through to see where this one led wasn’t even a question. There was no choice they could make to go somewhere that would take them away from their loved ones, after all, and what better way to celebrate the birthday of the most important man in Steve’s life than with a little adventure.

Adventure wasn’t the word to describe it. Looking around the snow covered street, it didn’t take even a second for Steve to recognize everything as though he’d just been there yesterday. It had been eighty-odd years now but he was never going to forget the look of the place, from the slouching sign above the butcher’s to the rickety fire escape he distinctly remembered falling off of.

“We’re...home?”

He hadn’t thought of Brooklyn as home for a long time but this was different. These looked like the exact same streets he’d grown up on, the same shops he’d looked into and the same alleys he’d fought in. He could even swear he recognized the boy selling newspapers on the corner.

***

It wasn't 100 so as far as Bucky was concerned, his birthday was just for their family. It hadn't taken much to follow Steve out the door - he'd follow Steve anywhere without question - and that included through the portal they'd stumbled across. They'd been through enough of these now that it probably was something fantastical and he half expected to be turned into a woman again.

The cold, crisp air hit him like a smack in the face. Home. His brain supplied it even before he fully registered the sight before him and Bucky turned to Steve at the question. "I..." he trailed off, unsure of exactly what was going on. He was grateful, at least, that he had long sleeves on that covered his metal arm. The newsstand caught his eye and Bucky took a few steps toward it to buy a paper.

"Stevie." The date on the paper read October 11, 1936. Without another word, he held it out for him to see. This was one hell of a birthday present. If it could be called a present.

***

Steve’s attention fell right to the date when the paper was handed his way and for a moment he was a foot shorter and a hundred pounds skinnier and struggling to breathe in the cool air. The last part, at least, was true for the moment. It was like his heart stopped in his chest and the weight of a freight train was pressing down on him. Steve knew in a second what that date meant for him. For his life.

His mother was going to die in a few days.

If this was really their Brooklyn, the way it looked to be. If this was their life and if there were younger, less hurt versions of themselves running around these streets, getting into trouble and chasing girls.

“What do you say we check out the neighbourhood?” he suggested cautiously. There was one way to be sure and that was to get themselves to the most familiar part of town, close by by the looks of things, to see the people they’d known and maybe see if anyone knew their families. The ray of sunshine Steve remembered Mrs Barnes to be had been well liked; they were sure to hear about her if no one else. Then they’d know. And birthday or no, nothing was going to stop Steve from a look at his mom, even if it wound up being just through a window.

***

That date was one Bucky wouldn't ever forget. It was right up there with all the other important dates in his life except this one was the date he knew he needed to make sure there was time for Steve. Losing a mother was a devastating, and he still remembered that day, even after everything. There was no question in his mind what they were going to do, who they were going to see before it was too late.

Bucky glanced up at the street signs. "Mo's'll be five blocks thataway," he replied, gesturing to their left. "Feel up for a sandwich?" It had been a popular spot of theirs, a place to splurge on most of all. They had money now, so that wouldn't be too much of a problem unless someone looked too closely at the dates on their bills. Hopefully, no one would.

He did, however, take a half-step away from Steve to make sure that they wouldn't attract any undue attention to themselves. Brooklyn had been a little more progressive, but not by much. They were going to get further if they stayed under the radar. Their clothes were going to draw attention to them already. At least it was cold enough that his metal hand could potentially be mistaken for a glove.

***

“You know how long it’s been since I was at Mo’s?” Steve could almost laugh at the suggestion, reached out and just gave Bucky a clap on the shoulder, kept his distance otherwise as they headed that way. He remembered clearly the way things were, there were still parts of him that were conditioned toward thinking the way people did, he just knew better than to listen to them now. “Turns out the place closed in the 70s.”

Little things like that, Steve knew. He’d gone back to the old neighbourhood when he’d first come back to the world and every block had just hurt him more. Nothing was the same anymore. There were a few places still standing, a couple still running even, but it wasn’t the Brooklyn he’d left behind. It wasn’t home.

And coming back to one that was, that still had every broken board and sidewalk crack he remembered, that was better than any birthday present he could have planned for his best friend. A chance to see the family they’d long left behind, even if they couldn’t let them know, was better than anything he could have imagined up.

***

"Bout as long as it's been for me," he replied easily. They were going to have to get some new clothes but that would be relatively easy to take care of, for them and the girls, so it could wait until they knew for sure they were home. It was weird to think of Brooklyn as home these days, after everything. Bucky wasn't even entirely sure he could count America as his home after everything he'd done. Now wasn't the time to think about that, though.

They made their way, block by block, and each step was more familiar than the last. He half expected for their younger selves to turn the corner but at this time of day, they'd have both been out and about at their respective jobs. The coast would be clear for now, so to speak, but it'd be trickier to get close to their families. That would take some planning.

Sure enough, four blocks later, Mo's came into view. "Alright. That's one question half answered." Hopefully. It was going to take a lot of reasoning to make sure they didn't take off toward Mrs Rogers' right now. "A taste test is in order, I'd say."

***

No small part of Steve wanted to just take off the few blocks more to the even poorer part of town, the rickety apartment building he and his mother had lived in at the time. He knew she’d be there, on her deathbed, only a few days left. He knew that he needed to see her if he could.

But he stopped himself from running off because Bucky was there and watching his back. And Steve knew it wasn’t smart to run off without a plan and looking the way they did. They didn’t exactly blend in, didn’t stand out either but they would need to look the part a little better. For the moment, he hesitated, but nodded and headed toward the shop.

“I could go for a bite,” he agreed. “Gotta see if it lives up to the memories, right?” So far, everything else was, and he knew it was the best place to overhear something useful.

***

"Exactly," he replied, and he opened up the door for Steve to walk through. There were a few ladies walking out so he waited for them to pass before joining his friend inside. It was just as surreal as everything else, like they'd never left, and yet. Their bodies betrayed that they had left, had been affected by the course of their lives and changed irrevocably. They would never be the men that lived in this time again, not unless the Dome decided to mess with them.

They got seated at a table and handed menus that were five pages long, which brought Bucky back to some fond memories. They'd used to save up every week to get food from Mo's and get enough to have leftovers for a couple days if they were careful about it. Now, they didn't have to worry about that sort of thing anymore.

"Think a special occasion calls for the good stuff," Bucky suggested as he flipped through the menu.

***

Being seated was a stark difference for Steve. He was so much bigger than he had been the last time he’d set foot in Mo’s, everything looked strangely familiar but so different at once and he didn’t feel comfortable the way he once had there. Though he’d never been completely at ease. It was hard to be when he’d always been ready to start a fight. It was still hard to be when he just wanted to get up and dart down the street. He may have made his peace with losing his mother, knew she was with his dad and would be proud of what he’d become, but he couldn’t not think about her now that she was so close in reach.

“I dunno, pal,” he chuckled a little, it sounded less than completely convincing. “The good stuff isn’t what I remember.” Cheap and plentiful was what he remembered and he’d remembered loving every bite of it. Steve didn’t even open his menu, knowing he’d easily put away what would have taken days to eat when he was half the size he was now.

“Now the usual mess we ate, that’s what I’m thinking. Sure it’s just as good as we remember it.” Steve did still like a lot of recipes he’d learned around this time. Despite what their daughter argued, they were interesting and they were good.

***

Bucky has a feeling Steve would be the voice of reason in this and he shut his menu. “Fair enough,” he replied, game to go along with it. “Though I’m tellin ya right now, no fights until after we eat.” He wagged his finger playfully at his best friend.

The waitress came over and Bucky ordered his usual without hesitation. It had just rolled off his tongue like they’d been here just yesterday. Maybe more good memories would come back. He certainly hoped so. Once Steve ordered, the waitress left and Bucky leaned in just a little.

“So I figure we get some new clothes for ourselves and the girls and bring em back here. We’re gonna need to do some checking of the neighborhood, remember routines an’ all.” How else were they going to figure out the best time to go see Sarah Rogers one last time.

****

“Clothes, yeah,” Steve agreed without a second of hesitation. Fitting in wouldn’t hurt and he would want to bring the girls back while they could. “But I want to see her before we worry about anything else.” There was no need to specify who he meant. It could only be her, given the date. A little more than a week from today Bucky would be asking him to come over, stay with the family, making sure he wasn’t alone.

And he knew that before then, his mother was spending far too many hours alone.

“We’ve got to be sure this is really us, not just...Brooklyn.” It would be harder if it was just Brooklyn now that Steve had his hopes up about seeing his mother again, being able to promise that everything turned out okay, that he was okay. That he had all the family he could ever want and then some and they only got bigger. “I know that’s probably not the way you want to be spending your birthday, but I’ve got to go over there.”

***

He knew it was coming. There was a part of him that wanted to go see Mrs Rogers, too, but he also knew that they needed to be careful. It was going to be a hell of a lot easier for them to visit her as opposed to seeing the Barnes' family. That was hard, especially after everything he'd been through the past eighty odd years, but he was going to be adamant that they not test just how much the Dome would 'correct' the timeline after their visit.

"I know you do," Bucky replied, more than understanding but a little cautious. "And I know you know how much I love your Ma, so you bet I want to spend my birthday just like this." If it was a possibility, they had to check it out. He would have preferred to gather supplies now and then do some recon first before going to see Mrs Rogers, but it had been a foolish hope that he'd be able to convince Steve of that plan.

"So, we eat our lunch and then we head over there to do some recon, double checking, making sure we won't be seen." Bucky was going to stand firm on that one. "And then we'll see your Ma." He really couldn't deny Steve Rogers anything.

***

It was more of a compromise than Steve wanted, he honestly would have been fine skipping eating and going over there without any precautions at all. But Bucky was right, they should be more cautious, and for him Steve would take a step back and try to see things rationally. No matter how badly he wanted to be at his mother’s side, to tell her all about the life she’d never get to see him have, the grandchildren she wouldn’t meet, how much he loved and missed her.

At least one of those things he might be able to change. And without ruining any time lines.

He did know they had to be careful, that it was one thing to see a woman about to die but another to see those who would continue living for years to come. He knew that neither of them would be able to get near the Barnes family and knew that wouldn’t be easy on either of them. They were nearly as much Steve’s family as Bucky’s, only separate because he’d made it so. They’d always loved and accepted him as one of their own. They couldn’t know anything that was going to happen, where telling Steve’s mother was a different story. Sick as she was, no one was going to be around to tell and he knew he wouldn’t believe her if she did. It couldn’t change anything.

“I can live with that,” he agreed as their food arrived, making him pause and smile at, sincerely thank the waitress, before just subtly knocking his shoe against his friend’s beneath the table. It was the biggest gesture he could make here. “Thanks, Buck. Don’t think I’d think any of this through if you weren’t here.”

Steve admitting how foolhardy he was was a rare thing. He knew it, but since he always had good and primarily selfless reasons to be, he never paid it much mind.

***

It was a bit of a surprise that Steve agreed to that. Bucky'd been just about ready to pull out the exact reasons why they needed to not be seen, what they'd be risking, but Steve accepted the compromise as what it was. Bucky would do everything in his power to make sure they got to spend as much time as they could with Sarah Rogers. They couldn't save her, not from the illness, but they could ease her soul and give her the proof that they made it out alright in the end.

He knocked his shoe against Steve's in return, even as he thanked the waitress as well.

"No you wouldn't've," Bucky agreed. "Punk." It was said fondly though, and with a smile. It'd been a while since he'd called his friend the familiar nickname.

Satisfied that they could enjoy their lunch, he picked up half his sandwich and took a bite just like he remembered doing a lifetime ago. That big bite was chewed once before Bucky's expression screwed up in confusion. That was not what it used to taste like. He managed to get through chewing and swallowing that bite down and when he set his sandwich back on his plate, he began to pick it apart. What the hell was going on?

***

For a moment, thoughts of his mother were pushed aside by Bucky’s reaction to the food. That wasn’t the right response. His own was pretty good, more or less just like he remembered, maybe changed a little by the fact that he wasn’t hungry in the same way he often had been the last time they’d been here. That kind of hunger made anything they got to eat that much better. If anything was unusual about it, that had to be it.

“What’s that face you’re making?” he wondered, watching his friend begin to pick apart the sandwich like he was looking for something to be wrong with it.

Steve knew their tastes had changed a little with better lives but Mo’s had been top of the line for them and was still good. But then, Steve’s tastes hadn’t changed all that much. It wasn’t that long, all things considered, since he’d been pulled out of the ice, yanked out of one year and dropped into another.

***