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[ 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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. ]

[ TMI, Steve. TMI. ]

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

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. ]

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. ]

[ 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. ]

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

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. ]

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.

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. ]

[ 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.

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. ]

Nothing. You're human.

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. ]

[ 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!

[ 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. ]

[ And then Bucky is laughing again, giving resistance, pulling back. Actual attempts at wrestling this time, if Steve does.

At least he's not so maudlin. Bucky could take the joking over that any time. ]

[ He has these maudlin moments sometimes - would rather hide them from Bucky, truth be told. He doesn't want Bucky to worry about him, to feel like he's still that scrawny kid he has to take care of.

So to prove it, he rolls over and grabs him, trying to pin him down. ]

[ Bucky has his own issues, so while Steve's stuff is front and center, no one is focusing on Bucky Barnes. That's the preferable option.

Plus, Steve's size was maybe half a percentage point of the real stuff going on.

He rolls with Steve, landing on his back. Unlike the last time they fought, he's wise to Steve's style and won't be passing out in a headlock. ]

[ The problem with old friends wrestling is that they both know all the same moves, how they act. Hell, Bucky taught Steve everything he knows-

Except Bucky? Also has a lot of training that Steve isn't familiar with at all. So, really, it's a lot more one-sided than Steve would like it to be for the sake of his dignity. Not that losing to Bucky is anything new, but it'd be nice to at least be able to put up a good fight. ]

[ Bucky spent a hell of a lot more time out of the ice than Steve, so there are a lot of things that he was able to learn simply by that fact alone.

It's also easier to go at it when the entire building isn't coming apart or falling out of the sky.

Bucky is breathing hard, enjoying the release of energy. ]

Tie.

[ ...Oh, god. While wrestling with Bucky is fun and distracts his mind from everything he'd just been sulking about, the physical proximity and the adrenaline? Seem to have caused a small problem (not-so-small, thank you very much, definitely quite a bit larger than it was in his pre-serum days). ]

You coulda had me.

[ Steve knows he's holding back, for whatever reason. Doesn't mind, but he's just pointing that fact out. Mostly to try and distract from other things. ]

I gotta go easy on your sorry ass.

[ He shifts, starting to roll away, and...

oh.

Well, he doesn't remember that happening last time. ]

Ahem.

[ Really, Bucky? Can't you just be a pal and not bring the elephant in the room up? Steve blushes, his cheeks and ears turning a bright red, and it creeps down his neck and under his shirt. Looks away from Bucky, because how are you supposed to explain away getting a hard-on while wrestling with your best friend?

Maybe he'll just go find a panther in the jungle and pick a fight with it, because this is the only way to save him from a life of embarrassment. ]

I'll just. Go hit the shower.

[ Okay, they both grew up and had that hormonal-teen phase. So Steve's wasn't the kind that made his voice drop and shoot up a few inches? The science handled that later. ]

Just make sure you turn the water on cold!

[ He jabs Steve in the side.

NO HARD FEELINGS, BRO.

(NOT THAT KIND OF HARD)

(BRO) ]

Jesus Christ, Bucky.

[ His voice is muffled as he covers his face with a hand. WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING ABOUT THIS WHY. CAN THE GROUND PLEASE OPEN AND SWALLOW HIM UP. ]

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