Bucky Barnes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fossilised2017-02-24 01:53 am
advanced) wrote in fossilised2017-02-24 01:53 am
For Steve
[It's been fourteen months, six weeks, and four days since the Soldier pulled Steve from the Potomac and ran from everything he had ever known. Since he had begun to realise which parts of the world he'd been fed were lies, but hadn't quite managed to pin down which were truths. He knows that Steve has been looking for him. Not just him, but his friends too, most of the Avengers have been roped into Steve's unceasing search.
They never find anything.
He's too good, he knows how to hide. He's seen them - Iron Man once, Falcon four times, Steve twice - but they've never seen him. He's a ghost, just rumours that dry up on the wind. He's not too sure if he wants to remain this way for the rest of his life, he knows he's not ready for anything else, and this feels almost comforting. Anonymous. But something in him has pulled him back to America. He hears on the news what's been happening with the Avengers, he sees that there's a new 'compound' that they're using as a base, though none of the news channels know where it is.
It doesn't matter, he finds it.
There's security systems, of course, but he bypasses them all. He slips close enough past Falcon that he can smell the aftershave he used, but he isn't noticed. He finds Steve's room, easy to tell it's his because of the shield inside the door and the way that the whole place is military precision. Not a habit easy to break even once the army is done with you. He isn't even sure why he's here, just that he's following the instincts of his mind at the moment.
He takes a seat on Steve's bed, cross legged, and he waits.]
They never find anything.
He's too good, he knows how to hide. He's seen them - Iron Man once, Falcon four times, Steve twice - but they've never seen him. He's a ghost, just rumours that dry up on the wind. He's not too sure if he wants to remain this way for the rest of his life, he knows he's not ready for anything else, and this feels almost comforting. Anonymous. But something in him has pulled him back to America. He hears on the news what's been happening with the Avengers, he sees that there's a new 'compound' that they're using as a base, though none of the news channels know where it is.
It doesn't matter, he finds it.
There's security systems, of course, but he bypasses them all. He slips close enough past Falcon that he can smell the aftershave he used, but he isn't noticed. He finds Steve's room, easy to tell it's his because of the shield inside the door and the way that the whole place is military precision. Not a habit easy to break even once the army is done with you. He isn't even sure why he's here, just that he's following the instincts of his mind at the moment.
He takes a seat on Steve's bed, cross legged, and he waits.]
no subject
Thank you. I know it's hard for you. I really appreciate it.
[They're both trying, here. They're both trying so hard.]
no subject
[This is a mess and they're both just two old and wounded men trying to piece themselves back together.]
...hey-- you got any cards in this place? You remember when we used to play in our old apartment for cubes of sugar 'cos neither of us had any money?
no subject
Yeah, I remember. You always beat me.
[Bucky always knew when Steve was lying, and Steve was always trying to call a bluff that wasn't actually a bluff. When they were with the Howlies, Steve did a lot better because none of them seemed to think Steve was capable of lying.
Bucky still beat him though, because he always knew.
Steve sat back down with the cards and started to shuffle.]
I guess we'll see if you're still as good as you used to be.
no subject
[He grins, cocky and confident, just like the Bucky of old. For a moment he really is that Bucky, and this is just their cold little apartment where they're playing for sugar, the stakes only high enough that one person will have to take their coffee bitter for a while.
It's nostalgic and it hurts, but in a good way.]
no subject
I was not terrible. And anyway, I've gotten much better.
[No he hasn't. He hasn't played a game of cards with anyone since WWII.
...that's not true. He tried playing once with Natasha, but that was a huge mistake.]
no subject
[The words are slipping out like muscle memory now as he takes the cards dealt to him and glances over them, before pushing two cubes of sugar into the centre of the table.]
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And how long has it been since you played, huh?
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[A lifetime ago. It doesn't stop him from analysing Steve's expression and then pushes in another cube to match it with a grin.]
So-- how many cards, Steve?
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Really, he could probably do with another hand entirely, but maybe he'll get lucky.]
Two. So what you're telling me is I really do have a shot to beat you, huh?
no subject
[He deliberately pops the P in the word, accentuating his Brooklyn accent, and deals Steve two cards before taking one of his own.]
You've never beaten me, Steve, and you never will.
no subject
[Except Steve's cards still aren't great. He's got three of a kind, but they're twos, so Bucky could easily beat that hand. He does his best poker face, though who knows how much that fools Bucky. Probably not much.]
Whatcha got?
no subject
Only a winning hand, not much.