OPEN POST FOR STEVE!

[unshielding]

Comments

[jetcoaster]

you find what you were looking for?

[ In Wakanda, he means. ]

[unshielding]

Probably as much as I'm going to for now. Are you ready to get back on the road?

[jetcoaster]

I've been ready.

just been waiting for you.

[unshielding]

I have a lead on something in Russia, so pack layers.

[ Not that Steve's entirely keen to go back there, but they've got terrorists to stop. ]

[jetcoaster]

for you too?

[unshielding]

Bag's already packed if you can grab it for me.

[hengeandkey]

[ Sometimes Eve doesn't quite know how to talk to Steve, given the whole saving the world/Captain America thing he has going on, but- This is too important for her to get hung up on things like that. And it's not like she hasn't helped out with world-saving before. ]

Hey, do you have a minute? I think I might have found something.

[unshielding]

I might even have two.

[ Right now, he's happy for any intel he can get on his current personal mission, but in lieu of that, he'd rather spend his time helping someone than being idle. ]

[hengeandkey]

Great. I know you're probably working out leads of your own, but we might be able to help each other out here.

[ Or maybe not. She's not completely clear on what Steve's end game is here, but if what little she knows could be useful, she'll gladly clue him in. ]

[unshielding]

I'm happy to help you out, either way.

[ He's hardly one to put his own agenda above helping people if there's any sort of public safety issue, or even a private one. ]

[sinistral]

[→from here]

[The apartment itself is as it's always been: simple and sparsely furnished, partly because Bucky doesn't need "stuff" and partly because, with how their lives are, it's best to be prepared to pack up and leave town at a moment's notice. Nevertheless there's a warmth to the space, one in which Steve's always been welcome.]

I feel like there's no answer I can give that question that isn't going to incriminate me, so I'm going to pretend I didn't hear it.

[Which is also a little bit teasing, light and easy and accompanied with a smile. It's kind of what he wants for this whole thing to be: just an extension of everything they already are and no need for any of that to change.]

Do you want coffee or anything? [Those flowers probably have to go in water, so the small kitchen seems like as good a destination as any.]

[unshielding]

[ Steve chuckles softly and toes off his shoes near the door so he can get comfortable in the familiar space. The teasing is something Steve's come to rely on in a way. If they're teasing each other, it means that nothing big is wrong between them and he leans into that thought like a security blanket. ]

Coffee sounds good.

[ He follows Bucky into the kitchen a moment later, socked feet quiet on the floor, and stands at the doorway watching him. There's a little smile on his face that doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. He's not trying to hide it, either. There's no point in hiding anything from Bucky right now. ]

[sinistral]

[There's comfort in Steve's comfort in the space, honestly. Since he's had the place Steve's always been welcome in it — a far cry from the discomfort of discovering Steve as an intruder back in Romania. Then, he'd needed to hide from the world. Now, he wants Steve in his world.

Full circle, or as near to it as he's likely to get.]

I am sorry, you know. If I pushed that joke too far earlier.

[Water and ground beans in the coffee pot and the device is switched on; he can't complain at all about some of the modern conveniences. There's a little hunting around to find a container for those flowers though, and they're ultimately going to end up in a coffee mug because it's what he's got.]

[unshielding]

Don't be ridiculous.

[ Bucky's so relaxed these days that Steve can hardly believe it. He knows there's more to it than that. There are things that weigh on both of them that just weren't there before and that's not going away. Some ghosts never fade and they're just a part of who Steve and Bucky are now. Still, Steve looks at how far Bucky has come and it's so good to see him like this. He'd rather Bucky take a joke too far than not make it at all.

When he sees the flowers going into a coffee mug, his smile gets wider. He steps further into the small kitchen space, stranding close to Bucky. ]

Are you still going to teach me how to dance?

[sinistral]

I thought you liked it when I'm ridiculous.

[It's easy to fall into this, the back and forth that they'd always enjoyed in their younger days. It's as natural as breathing, which it always had been with Steve. That things had drifted from that ease was out of either of their control but now?

Well, there's no denying that there are still things about which they probably need to talk. But right now isn't the time for heavier thoughts; right now is for smiles and a rumble of a chuckle as Bucky half turns to Steve.]

Are you still going to step on my feet? [It might be a yes on both their counts.] I can't promise I'll remember everything I used to know.

[unshielding]

[ continued from here ]


sounds like he's a good guy

[semistableman]

Yeah. I'd like to think so.

Been through a lot. More than he'd ever know how to begin to talk about.

[unshielding]

think he'd really be interested in an old man who isn't much better at talking about those things?

[semistableman]

Definitely.

He's something of an old man himself.

[unshielding]

you think he'd be patient with a guy who doesn't really know what he's doing?

textin

[sinistral]

My favorite knife is missing. Are you getting me back for last week’s pizza incident, or is this something legit?

[unshielding]

Maybe I needed a reliable knife.

[sinistral]

What happened to the one I gave you?

[unshielding]

Wasn't lucky enough. You'll get it back in one piece after this mission.

[sinistral]

So you needed reliable and lucky? What kind of mission is this?