(I'm watching CA:TFA rn lol)
Bucky shrugged a little bit. "I don't know." he replied slowly. "Distract me?" he shook his head, running a hand through his hair. He didn't know what Steve could do. He didn't know what he could say or do or think, he didn't know if he wanted to remember or not.
(whack!! did they put it on netflix?)
Steve smiled, stealing a glance at Bucky shyly, "I can do that." He said. All he wanted was to talk to him. Whether it was about what he remembered, or just the simplest things in the world, he wanted it. Bucky was different now, he knew, but now he had a chance to bring back something; joy. Because that was how he had remembered Bucky. The smiling, charming, teasing and…happy. Steve knew that he could bring that back.
(Nope. My family has Disney Plus lol, so I've got all the Marvel stuff mwahaha)
Bucky's blue eyes flicked to Steve for a moment, the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. "Alright." he replied softly. A few strands of his brown hair were falling into his face, messy and unkempt. He sighed, and stretched.
(!!lucky that sounds like bliss)
A smile, Steve thought to himself, not even knowing if it was a real one. Whatever it was, he liked it, and wanted more of it. "You see how much they cleaned this place up?" Steve said, glancing at the park around them, barely any litter to be seen; mostly just joggers and people on their lunch break.
(Yeahh…i have younger siblings tho, so sadly no Marvel marathon is possible. Although now we're going to watch the Avengers, sooo…lol)
Bucky drew his eyebrows together a little. "I uhm…I don't remember. Sorry." he replied slowly, looking around the park. He faintly remembered it, yes, but not enough to really count.
(lmaooo thats great,,,,,my sister is starting to like the mcu but i have to reminder her of whats goin on)
"Oh," Steve raised his eyebrows, Right. "Well, to be frank– it was filthy." He said, "But it's really beautiful now." The surrounding greenery was trimmed and the grass cut, all the flowers bushes were well taken care of. The sounds of the city began to drown out as they deepened into the park, almost like an alternate world– where it was still New York, but not quite the city they had just walked away from. "I think they've done a good job cleaning up the city."
(lmao thanks…all I can think is "that's America's ass" tho lol. Oh nice!!)
Bucky nodded a little, looking around. "Ah." he walked along the path a little, putting his left hand in his pocket to hide the shining metal. "I'm sure they have done well. After all, during wartime, the state of Central Park wouldn't have been their priority."
(ahah i lost it in the theater in endgame at that part ahhh i have paul rudds autograph next to my tv and i just–)
"Yeah." Steve nodded, remembering the garbage that decorated the streets and old newspapers rolling like tumbleweeds in the road. "But apparently, now a bunch of ice is melting, yes, the irony, and the sea levels are rising– global warming," Steve said, wondering if that was the right term.
(Lol ooh. Nice!)
"Oh." Bucky replied slowly. "That's…not a good thing. Right?" he glanced at Steve, raising his eyebrows curiously.
"Yeah, no..not a good thing." Steve said, "Apparently we've polluted the Earth so much that we're reaching a close point of no return." He shrugged. A kind of depressing topic, Steve knew, but hadn't known where to start. He looked across the long stretches of the park's greenery, thinking about the children that would have to grow up in the future of the past generations' mistakes.
Bucky grimaced a little. "Oh. That's…I see." He replied after a moment. He sighed softly, and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. He didn't know what to say.
Steve stopped in his tracks, staring at what stood ahead of him. It still stood, after all these years. "That fountain," He said, staring straight ahead as if he was having his own flashback, "I'm sorry–" Steve remembered Bucky didn't want to remember, but it had been such a happy one, "We fell in. Anyways."
Bucky blinked, cocking his head a little. "How?" He asked slowly. "How did we…fall in?" He wanted to remember…the happier stuff, but not… not his handler. Not HYDRA.
Steve inhaled, smiling a bit, "We had…had a few drinks, and were just…jokin' around, I guess," He chuckled quietly, remembering their exhausted laughs back to his place, and leaving puddles of water wherever they walked– lopsided and uneven, attempting to support each other in a sideways walk. "I wouldn't stop sneezing for weeks." He smiled again.
Bucky nodded a little bit. "Ah. You were always sick." he said suddenly. "Always sneezing or coughing. And if you weren't, you were picking fights in alleyways." his eyebrows drew together, as if even he were confused as to how he remembered that.
“…Yeah.” Steve smiled, happy that Bucky remembered something further, “That happened quite a bit, but you were there, a lot of the time; Savin’ my ass and kicking theirs.” The scraping of brick against his back was a familiar feeling, and the blows landing in narrow spaces and empty lots was a well-known feeling. At least now post-serum, he could defend himself better.
Bucky nodded a little, thinking and wondering how the slim, tiny little man in his memories had managed to get so much bigger. They were about the same height, now, though Bucky was maybe an inch or so taller.
Steve took a slow step towards the fountain, the memory of them walking drunkenly like a clear film over what he saw now. The fountain was dotted with leaves, and the water war dirtier, with rims of rust and wear lining the inside. Laughing, pushing each other, Bucky grabbing Steve's collar playfully, falling backwards with a startled cry as they were both submerged in the water. "Good times," He smiled.
Bucky blinked, and shrugged a little bit. "Yeah, I…I guess so." He replied slowly. He didn't quite remember. But…he knew that someday he probably would. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
Steve slowly nodded to himself, glancing at the fountain again before turning to Bucky. His eyes flickered to his face, wanting to see his classic grin and easy gaze. "Where should we go now?" Steve asked, trying to think of any places he might enjoy.
Bucky blinked slowly, flashes of memories of that fountain and Steve tumbling through his scattered and confused brain. He took a deep breath. "I…don't know. Wherever you think is best." he replied after a moment.
Steve shrugged, turning in a slow circle, thinking, "Record shop?" He suggested, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, we'll find something nice– classic." There was one not too far away, owned by an old man who played the trumpet like it was no big deal. He knew and liked Steve, a frequent customer, seeing that he had yet to understand how to download music.
Bucky blinked, cocking his head a little and thinking. "Yes." he finally said. "That sounds…good." he ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head for a moment and exhaling.
Steve nodded, gesturing to the path out of the park, thinking about the Bucky's little quirk of running his hands through his hair. He couldn't remember if he did that before the war, but it was something…charming. No-, no, it's curious. His mind objected. "How…how much do you remember about the dancing?" He asked.
"The…swing dancing?" Bucky replied. "When I taught you?" he thought for a moment. "I remember that you kept…taking the woman's part instead of the man's, even though I was trying to teach you to lead." I remember wanting to kiss you so very badly, but I didn't think you would have wanted it. He blinked, not sure where that thought had come from.
"Yeah," Steve said, looking to the side as he recalled that night, being twirled repeatedly to the happy music, being told no, stop…come onnn.. by a grinning Bucky as the two of them danced together, and then a dip…
"Yeah. I remember– you shut the curtains…and you couldn't get the record to start." He smiled, remembering their light bickering, Bucky claiming it was broken, and then Steve looking at him sarcastically as he got it working.
Bucky nodded. "Because if anyone had seen…" He trailed off, shaking his head a little bit. He sighed softly. He didn't know what to say now. He didn't remember much more than that.
"Seen what?" Steve asked, wracking his brain for any secrets he or Bucky would've been keeping. Well, there is one.. What would they see? Did I forget something?
"Us dancing." Bucky replied, blinking. "Because…they might have thought the wrong thing." his eyebrows drew together a little bit, and he looked away. He let out a breath.
Wrong thing.. Steve thought, and mouthed the words, realizing what he meant. He hadn't even thought of that.
"Oh." He simply said, thinking about the two women he saw kissing on the bus, then looking for everyone's reactions in case there'd be a fight, and quirking an eyebrow at everyone's silence and nonchalance. Steve glanced around them, seeing that it was a fairly quiet scene, "But was it…the wrong thing?" He asked quietly, wondering if Bucky knew what he meant.
