open post (steve rogers)

[assembles]

steve rogers / captain america open post.

※ looking for a thread with an all-american super soldier?
※ respond with any character, canonmate or otherwise, and a prompt.
※ open to any format (prose, brackets, commentspam).
※ open to any canonpoint (within marvel cinematic universe).
※ if you don't have any prompt ideas, feel free to throw the ball into my court!
※ you can always refer to the random scenario meme for inspiration.

Comments

[assembles]

[At this point Steve's gotten used to Bucky treating any place they go like it's part of a war zone, like there could be snipers watching them from the window of an apartment building.

To be fair, the paranoia isn't entirely unfounded. If Captain America and the Winter Soldier wander around a park in their hometown, that's bound to attract attention, but they've both gotten used to the stares from civilians.

It's only a problem if it gets around to those people who want them dead, but Steve's convinced that together they could handle almost anything HYDRA's remnants might throw their way.

It would be nice, to just get to relax for a little while, but that's not a luxury they can afford. So Steve doesn't begrudge Bucky any of it, simply turns back to him as he catches up.]

They put that in the history books? [He smirks warmly.] It was a lot of talk and no action. You... [Should he say "you" or "he"? Steve can never be sure.] You'd go out on dates, but it never led to much more than that.

[antiqued]

It was an interview.

[ That's still strange to think of. He'd gone through everything he could possibly go through when it came to him, and Steve. There was a ton of material to go through, from interviews to comics to whole books dedicated to Steve with varying levels of truth when it came to Bucky.

He catches up to Steve, matching his pace again, hands jammed into his pockets so he can feel the knife he's got tucked underneath. ]

Someone we used to know, apparently. It's - I didn't expect it. To have so much.

[ He remembers enough to know that they were just kids, back then. No one would've given a shit about them had Steve not become Captain America. ]

[assembles]

[An interview?

Steve's seen a lot of them. He'd watched as the faces of people he remembered so distinctly aged and warped until he didn't recognize them. Sometimes it got to be too much, though, so he probably hasn't seen every scrap of footage out there about them. Especially since some of it's inaccurate, and that tends to get under his skin.

People spoke about him and Bucky like they were literary figures rather than real, breathing people. It got easy to think about it like that when someone was dead, so maybe Steve can't blame them, but it's part of the reason why he hasn't touched most of the scholarly work out there written about Captain America. That man they write about, usually it's not him.]

Yeah, it's... people got kind of obsessed.

[Steve draws a hand through his hair and lets out a sigh. He's not walking particularly fast, as he's drawn in more by the conversation than their surroundings.] Who was it, though? Who did the interview. [Someone who knew them better than most claimed to, probably.]

[antiqued]

[ And this is the shitty part. Bucky doesn't know whether or not he ought to tell him, because he doesn't remember much of anything at all that's helpful or that's not most of the time, so he's not sure about how true this rang. ]

It was when I was looking up his information. [ A pause, and he shifts on his feet, uncertain a moment and hating it, because things used to be simpler, when he didn't have to consider this sort of thing. ] Apparently they were trying to find people who knew us. Girl named Claire. I went out with her friend, you with her.

[ He doesn't go into detail that she'd turned Steve down, because he doesn't remember it, but it was in the article. He doesn't know how he behaved back then, but he knows that right now, it makes anger fill up his chest, hot and horrible. ]

[assembles]

[For Bucky, the memory isn't a memory so much as a frustration, another scrap of proof that tells him that he's not that guy anymore. Steve can see it on Bucky's face (and that's enough of a relief, that he can actually pick out some expressions now), and he almost feels bad for asking.

He remembers Claire. Not in a whole lot of detail, if he's honest, because Bucky had tried to introduce so many girls to him and nothing had ever come of it. He'd barely managed to get through a conversation before they lost interest. Better fish in the sea, and all that.]

Yeah. We... weren't close or anything. I only met her once or twice, but I guess that's reason enough to interview someone. [Steve and Bucky had become like myths after their supposed deaths, so Steve can only imagine that the historians had tracked down anyone who'd even spoken to them, especially before the war, so that they could write out biographies.

He keeps walking and heads toward a small pond in the distance.] I know there's a lot to read out there. It's probably kind of overwhelming, but I can separate fact from fiction for you. You know, if you're ever curious.

[antiqued]

Seems like they did that with everyone.

[ Which is so fucking weird. He might not remember everything but he knows enough to know that back then, neither of them would have ever considered being people worth interviewing.

Bucky follows a step behind Steve, glancing up into the trees where the light filters down onto the ground, realizing that tree'd probably been there when they were here years ago. ]

Going to teach me? [ Bucky tilts his head, flashes a smile and for a moment, he's every inch the James Barnes he used to be, amused and giving Steve shit. ] Sure, professor.

[assembles]

[It's true, Steve had gotten pretty accustomed to being invisible before the war. He'd come to terms with that, as he'd had enough things in his life that mattered. Particularly, one person.

He'd wanted to join the war to do his part, but there had also been the sinking knowledge that with Bucky gone, Steve wouldn't have had much left for him in Brooklyn.

When Bucky offers up that smile, Steve stops in his tracks and gives his friend a look, the one he gets whenever he feels as if he's suddenly been transported back in time. The setting around them doesn't help. His eyes crinkle at the edges and a tiny smile touches at the corner of his mouth.]

Professor seems a little extreme. But I am here as some kind of source. [He shrugs and then cuffs Bucky on the shoulder before he continues down toward the pond, where a few ducks are gliding across the water.]

i'm so lazy with my icons sigh. NOT A BUCKY ICON BUT W/E

[antiqued]

Sure, Teach.

[ Bucky waves it off like it's nothing at all, and shrugs his good shoulder. This was a good idea. It feels familiar out here, feels like he's in a place he ought to be, feels like something familiar and right.

Steve at his side is even better, honestly; it makes things easier, make everything slot into place like this is where he belongs. Even the touch is familiar, and grounding. Bucky trails on after him, half tempted to suggest taking their shoes off and putting their feet in the water like they did when they were kids. ]

I don't even know where to begin. What to ask?

[assembles]

[Steve doesn't take his shoes off, but he does crouch down right in front of the pond to watch the ducks and the fish. He kind of wishes he'd brought some bread with him now, to feed them, but maybe that's something they can do another time.

At Bucky's question, Steve glances back over his shoulder at him. He realizes that it's overwhelming, there's a whole history, years and years spent together -- where do you even begin with something like that?]

Do you have any half-formed memories? Stuff that... you're not sure if it really happened or not? Or just something you're curious about?

[Steve shrugs and then draws his fingers through the water, watches as it ripples outward.] Otherwise, I can just start telling you whatever comes to mind.