for podchinyatsya

[gotup]

[ Steve doesn't make a habit of things like Googling himself (which sounds dirty, honestly) or checking his Wikipedia page. After all, he already knows about himself; he doesn't need to check up on the facts.

Except then one day, Sam asks him about the Yankees. And he knows Sam's aware that he doesn't like the Yankees; they've watched enough baseball together (even though Sam's a Mets fan). He gives Sam a funny look, and the other man laughs and shakes his head.

The next day, Wanda asks him why he always says he's just a kid from Brooklyn. He's obviously from Queens, doesn't he know that? What's the difference between the two? Is he sure he wasn't born somewhere else?

The day after that, T'Challa, of all people, asks him if it's true that his tears can be used to summon bald eagles. 'One of the Dora Milaje read it online,' is his excuse, but Steve's pretty sure he's just using his bodyguards as convenient scapegoats to save face.

He grabs his phone and types a search 'steve rogers tears bald eagles' and the first result (after about twenty shitty Photoshops) is Wikipedia.

Wikipedia! He'd taken the site's information as gospel truth, and so his first assumption is that someone must have hacked it. And, of course, there's only one person with the technological know-how to do that. ]

Bucky! [ He looks up from his phone, a crease of distress between his eyebrows. ] Tony's hacked Wikipedia, you oughta see the stuff it says about me.

Comments

[gotup]

That's...really not the sort of conversation I've ever had with her.

Although she wasn't very impressed by my kissing.

[ trololol ]

[podchinyatsya]

[ He really has to work to hide that flash of disappointment-slash-jealousy before the old Bucky Barnes comes back out: ]

Most girls aren't impressed by your kissing.

[ Aaaaaand he's bracing for a punch. ]

[gotup]

Most girls don't even let me get that far.

[ And yet, Natasha did? IT IS A MYSTERY that he's not sharing with Bucky right now. ]

[podchinyatsya]

[ She took pity on him, that's what Bucky is telling himself. ]

Gotta shower once in a while, pal. Chicks don't go for eau de World War.

[gotup]

I'm not gonna take hygiene advice from a guy who used to splash on so much aftershave that they could smell it in the next borough. Your girlfriends all had to plug up their noses before they could lean in to kiss you.

[ SHRUG ]

[podchinyatsya]

'Least I'm a good kisser.

[ (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ ]

[gotup]

Hate to break it to you, pal, but those girls weren't exactly picky about who they kissed.

[ Steve, you are leaving yourself wide open here. ]

[podchinyatsya]

[ Ohhh, Stevie. ]

Says the guy who weighed maybe a buck-oh-five soaking wet and couldn't lift a chair.

[gotup]

I could lift a chair! I just had to sit down for awhile afterwards to catch my breath.

[ Never let it be said Steve doesn't have a sense of humor about himself. He learned at a young age that when everyone else made fun of him, the only thing he could really do was accept it - because he already got beat up enough as it was. Later on, self-deprecation became more of a defense mechanism, and it's a habit he's never quite managed to shed. ]

[podchinyatsya]

That repetitive wheezing really gets the ladies going.

[ He cocks an eyebrow, jabbing his elbow out. ]

[gotup]

You know it. Every gal wanted to make it with a fella who sounded like a broken accordion.

[ Which would've happened if he'd ever had the chance to get hot and heavy, too. Hell, it happened more than once when he got hot and heavy with himself. ]

[podchinyatsya]

[ TMI, Steve. TMI. ]

You know I'm not falling for that, right?

[gotup]

Hm?

[ He glances to the side, the look on his face genuinely uncertain. Steve's not trying to pull one over on him, not that he knows of. ]

[podchinyatsya]

The whole, "gee whiz I'm a scrawny New York kid" thing. You think I don't see you brooding every other day?

C'mon. I know you didn't agree on stuff but -- it's not the end of the world to be upset about Stark.

[ And now it's Bucky's turn to feel bad because this whole entire incident was about him. ]

[gotup]

[ Steve just sighs, crossing his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. ]

You really think it's just about Stark?

[ C'mon, Bucky, you know him better than that. ]

[podchinyatsya]

I know it's not. But it's easier to talk about that than the whole America thing.

[gotup]

I shouldn't have let things get so far, Buck. I shoulda known when to stop. I'm better than that. I didn't have to try and beat him into a goddamn pulp. I should've- should've been the reasonable one.

[ But he's never been capable of reason where Bucky's concerned. And he had to fight Tony to keep him from killing Bucky. The wheels spin round and round in his head and never stop. ]

[podchinyatsya]

Steve, stop.

[ Bucky rolls over on his side, propping up on his metal arm. ]

You thought he was gonna kill me. Hell, he probably would have; god knows he has every right.

[gotup]

No, he doesn't.

[ Steve just scowls over at Bucky. Nobody has the right to kill his best friend. ]

I'm just saying. I should've been able to stop it before I put my damn shield through his chest.

[ But something had broken inside him - hell, it had been broken long before that. He hadn't been able to stop when fighting Tony, and that scares him a little. ]

[podchinyatsya]

[ Bucky's not going to go toe-to-toe with Steve on this. He has accepted the blood on his own hands, whether Steve has or not (or will). But he will shake his head a little, maybe sigh softly. ]

Look, obviously you need to get some stuff out of your system. That was just the trigger.

Kinda like how you used to pick fights? Being mad at the world, or god, or whatever, for making you who you were.

It's gonna come out eventually. I felt it too, for a second. [ Going to rip out Stark's power source. ] You stopped, that's what matters, man. Really.

[gotup]

Yeah, except I was the bully this time. And that's not who I'm supposed to be. I did all of this to stop people like that - picked fights even before the serum to stop them. So if I let myself do it, then what makes me different from them?

[ Oh no, the world isn't black and white. Gasp. ]

[podchinyatsya]

Nothing. You're human.

[gotup]

But-

[ But I should be better, he wants to say, but stops himself. Because he's not better than human, is he? He can't want people to treat him like he's a regular person and act like he ought to be on a pedestal at the same time. Bucky's right, he is only human. ]

Shit.

[ Steve drapes an arm over his eyes. This is too hard to think through, much like the rest of his life. ]

[podchinyatsya]

[ Bucky watches him argue with himself, then finally start to parse it.

After a moment, he offers a manly pat on the arm. A selfish part of him, even though it's foggy around the edges, wonders if he'll always need to take care of Steve Rogers. ]

You're gonna be alright, pal.

[ He then goes for a much harder, brotherly smack to the stomach. ]

Right after you quit lyin' down on the job!

[gotup]

[ Funny, Steve thinks he's the one taking care of Bucky these days. ]

Hey!

[ Steve yelps, more in surprise than pain, and grabs Bucky's arm, twisting it again. He knows Bucky's just trying to get him out of the pool of self-pity he's been wallowing in, and he's right to do so. A bit of physical action is always good for distracting him. ]