"Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates? It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." – Tony Stark to Steve Rogers, The Avengers.
Wakandan Institute of Science Cryogenics Department Building, Central Wakanda, Africa.
"BEEP!"
Steve Rogers watched the metal doors leading to the Cryogenics Lab slide open. Steve pocketed his visitor key card and strode into the lab. Upon entrance, Steve was confronted by the sight of sophisticated scientific equipment (rows of them) and the sounds of scientific jargons being thrown back and forth across the room. The lab was surrounded by transparent glass screens, each containing complicated orange-colored schematics which looked suspiciously like human body parts.
"Welcome to our Cryogenics Department, Captain." A voice interrupted Steve's visual inspection of the large laboratory. Steve turned his head to his right and saw a medium height African woman walking up towards him.
"Doctor Afia. Head of WIS's Cryogenics Department." The woman greeted politely and stuck her hand out to Steve.
Steve shook the extended hand.
"Steve Rogers. Pleasure to meet you, Doctor Afia."
"The pleasure is mine, Captain Rogers. His Highness notified me of your impending arrival this morning. I am pleased to inform you that Mr. Barnes' procedure will commence in 30 minutes. If you would follow me this way please?" Doctor Afia said, gesturing towards the direction she came from.
Steve nodded and trailed after the doctor.
Doctor Afia led Steve into a long hallway with 3 doors on each side and one large door located right at the end. As they passed the first door, Doctor Afia stopped and spoke, "Mr. Barnes' procedure would be performed in the room straight ahead at the end of this hallway. You can enter the room with the same visitor keycard that you had used to enter this main lab. Now, you would have to excuse me since I have some urgent business to attend to in my office. Any staff of this lab would be glad to see to your needs should you require any assistance. And I hope you enjoy your stay in Wakanda, Captain."
"Thank you, Doctor." Steve replied with another nod and strode purposefully towards the end of the hallway.
The procedural room was smaller albeit more spacious than the main lab. The rectangular room was divided into four sections, one section at each corner of the room. Each section contained a single chamber and a couple of glass screens which Steve assumed were used for monitoring tasks. Steve glanced around the room and located Bucky at the farthest corner, sitting on top of a surgical table. A male doctor was fixing an IV drip onto Bucky's right hand. Steve crossed the room in quick strides towards Bucky's section, slowing his strides only to examine the orange schematics and the Cryogenic chamber in front of Bucky.
"Buck, you sure about this?"
"I can't trust my own mind…" Bucky answered wistfully with a shake of his head before letting out a sad chuckle.
Bucky looked worn, tired, and defeated. And the worst part was that there was nothing Steve could do, and nothing he could say that would make it all better. Steve's heart clenched at the thought of all the sufferings Bucky had been through all those years.
"So until they figure out how to take those stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing…for everybody…" Bucky spoke again.
Steve said nothing. He merely stared at his childhood friend, his eyes betraying hints of sadness, regret, and everything in between.
But Bucky would take none of that.
"Stop looking like it's the end of the world, punk. I'm just taking a long nap, it's not like I'm dying. 'Sides, look around you! I'll be safe here. This place is Fort Knox. At least when I'm in here, nobody's gonna get to me aye?" Bucky reassured, giving Steve a light shove with his good (and only) arm.
A tiny smile formed on Steve's lips. It vanished a second later.
"I know, Buck. It's just…" Steve sighed and shook his head, unable to express the guilt and remorse he had felt over the things that had befallen Bucky.
"What? You're not gonna go all sappy on me now, are you?" Bucky teased, still trying to keep the mood light.
"No… Well, in a sense, yes… I guess I should have said this much earlier…but I'm so sorry…Buck. For everything. If I had been a little quicker on that train… or heck, if I had even tried to look for you after you fell… you wouldn't have to go through so much hell." Steve said.
"Come on, Steve. None of that's your fault. You did the best you could. It's time you let that go, man. 'Sides, if I didn't fall off that train, I'd probably be dead by now, or probably be like a hundred years old just waitin' to die. Isn't that even worse?" Bucky said jokingly, which induced a tentative smile on Steve's handsome features.
"But at least you would've lived your life without going through that much hell…" Steve said, his voice once again laced with guilt.
"But I would have lived my life thinking you were dead, Steve. How's that not hell?" Bucky said.
Steve pondered in silence Bucky's words. In some sense, Steve could relate to them. Steve understood all too well the pain of going through normal life with the knowledge that everyone you've known were gone forever, and that you were the only one left behind. Life just felt… empty, void and pointless. Then the guilt comes, and haunt your dreams. In fact, that pretty much summed up Steve's life for the first 6 months after he was thawed.
"Peggy… is she still alive?" Bucky asked all of a sudden, jolting Steve out of his musings.
"She was when I first came out of the ice. But she…passed, just a few days ago. Died peacefully in her sleep. Just attended her funeral before I found your apartment in Bucharest." Steve said.
"Sorry buddy." Bucky said.
Neither uttered another word. The room was silent except for the constant humming of some machinery operating in the background. And perhaps some white noise too.
"She'd want you to be happy, ya' know." Bucky said after a while.
It took Steve several seconds' time to answer.
"Yeah, I know…" Steve squeezed his eyes shut as the memories of his conversations with Peggy came surging back into his mind, "She told me that before."
Bucky gave him a surprised look.
"When?" Bucky asked.
"I visited her retirement home often when I was still working for SHIELD in D.C."
Bucky nodded his acknowledgement.
"Are you? Happy?" Bucky's question cut through constant humming of machinery.
It was, in fact, the very same question that Steve had been asking himself every second of the day ever since he was thawed from the ice. Wherever he went, and whatever he did, that question was there, niggling at the back of his head. Gnawing at him, taunting him, begging to be answered.
Was he happy? Was he?
Well, the odds were that if he had to even ask that very question, then he truly wasn't happy. A happy person would've known straight up that he or she was happy. There wouldn't be any hesitancy or doubt. It would be instinctive. If you're happy, you'd just know.
The blonde supersoldier sighed.
"Honestly? I don't know, Buck. This job… Every time we go out into the field, we do everything we can to save, to protect. We fight so that everyone else can have a chance at happiness, and so that everyone can be free. But sometimes…" Steve paused, shaking his head "sometimes I feel like the price of freedom is my own happiness, ya know?" Steve said pensively.
Bucky snorted and rolled his eyes, "I call bullshit."
Steve glared, "Well, what do you want me to say, Buck? That I'll abandon my mission and elope to Alaska or something?!"
"What I want you to do, is to stop using the mission as an excuse to run away from happiness. You of all people deserve happiness, pal. But the thing is, you're also the only one who can find that for yourself. So what if you have to live most of your life fighting? You could always find happiness in those fighting together with you." Bucky said knowingly.
Bucky's words rang like millions of church bells in Steve's mind.
Those fighting together with you…fighting together with you…together with you…together….with you…partners…
Those words only reminded Steve of one, and only one person. A woman, whom he loved so dearly. A woman whose life and happiness he valued so much more than his own. His second chance at love, Natasha Romanoff.
For a moment, Steve could have sworn that he saw Bucky giving him a pointed look, like as if Bucky knew something about his feelings for Natasha.
Could it be that Bucky knows? Pfft, how's that even possible? We only hung out for like…2 days ever since he disappeared off the face of the Earth 2 years ago.
Steve made a lame attempt to steer the conversation away from that 'mine-field'.
Steve shrugged, "Well… yeah, I guess you're right about finding happiness among the people fighting alongside me. When I led the Avengers, I felt like I was… home. And like I actually belonged somewhere, ya know? Guess you could even say that I was a little happy. But now, even that's gone. The Avengers…" Steve snorted, "We're no more, Buck. The whole team, torn apart like some cheap cotton candy… so I don't really know anymore." Steve said sadly.
Bucky rolled his eyes again.
"Oh come on, punk. Don't give me that bull. You know what I'm talking about here." Bucky said accusingly.
Christ, Buck. Just drop it, would you?
Still trying to feign ignorance, Steve tried his damnest to appear affronted.
"What? You said happiness… and… I was sort of happy when I was still with the team. Family, friends, a purpose in life? Aren't those the kind of stuff that makes people happy?" Steve replied indignantly. And love. Steve had left that part out, obviously. Because he didn't want to go there. Sooo did not want to go there.
"Pal…you're freakin' hundred years old! Are you seriously tellin' me that you have no idea what I'm talking about here?"
"What?" Steve said through gritted teeth.
"Man, I can't believe this is happening…" Bucky lifted his gaze onto the ceiling, hoping, no, praying, that he wouldn't have to give Steve a long lecture about the birds and the bees.
When Steve said nothing else, Bucky nothing but threw him a look of pure exasperation, "You've GOT to be shitting me, right punk?"
"Still no idea what you're sayin', pal. And whatever it is that you're sayin' I'm pretty sure I don't want to talk about it anyway." Steve fired back.
"I'm SAYIN'…when the hell are you planning to get off your ass and make your move?" Bucky asked.
Steve did a mental face palm. Oh balls, he knows… Bucky knows. Crap.
"Make a move? Make what move? On who?" Steve averted his gaze, trying to hide the crimson slowly creeping up his neck onto his face.
From the corner of his eyes, Steve saw Bucky's smirk. It was Bucky's signature I-know-who-you've-been-secretly-fantasizing-about-for-years smirk.
It was also right then that Steve realized something.
Bucky had played him.
Smug son of a gun.
Steve cursed inwardly at his mistake. Bucky hadn't explicitly set the context of 'making a move'. It was Steve himself who had presumed the context to be… uhh... romance-related. Damn, he should've said, 'I don't play chess' or something.
Guess he had totally forgotten how devious Bucky could be.
Walked right into that one. Oops.
Yep, he was definitely still smitten. Just by hearing the words 'make a move' and his mind would instantly bring about the images of a certain redhead…a smart, beautiful, intelligent, sexy, drop-dead gorgeous, funny, kind, and, did he mention sexy? Yeah, sexy, and passionate, and sassy, and motivated, and strong, and lethal, and tough, and tenacious, and intoxicating, and alluring, and –
Boy...I'm still as whipped as I was a year ago, aren't I? Letting her go my ass, Rogers.
Steve cleared his throat, "I don't know who you're implying here, Buck. For all I know, I ain't making no moves on anybody…" At least that was the truth. After all, Steve knew he wouldn't be making any moves anytime soon because Natasha belonged to someone else. He had lost his chance with Natasha. He had lost Natasha to Bruce Banner ages ago. Suck it up, Rogers.
Bucky snorted derisively.
"Who else punk? That redhead at the hangar. What, you think I wouldn't notice?" Bucky taunted knowingly.
Oops. Double, Oops.
Great, now even my brain-washed, long-lost war buddy knows, was I really that obvious? Maybe I was…
Christ. This shouldn't have happened. What happened to letting her go, to hiding his own feelings so that it wouldn't be a burden to her? He was supposed to keep his feelings in check dammit! And yet Bucky had figured it out only after 2 days… Darn. He sure sucked at hiding his own feelings. The same way he sucked at lying.
Ever since a year ago, when Steve found out that Natasha harbored feelings for Bruce, he had taken it upon himself to ensure that his own feelings never see the light of day. Simply because he didn't want to get in the way of Natasha's happiness. Plus, even when things didn't work out between Natasha and Bruce (presumably), it was a near absolute certainty that things would get awkward in their partnership if Steve had somehow confessed his feelings to Natasha and it turned out that she still had feelings for Bruce. Yeah, pretty sure that it'd ruin their friendship entirely, or at least, alter the dynamics of their partnership completely. Besides, he didn't want Natasha to feel burdened or pressured by his feelings, he wanted Natasha to be happy, be it with Bruce or anyone else. That was why he had been so keen on keeping his feelings for Natasha concealed. The less people who knew about it the better. In fact, it would be better that no one ever found out about his feelings at all.
But since Bucky already knows…
With a look of resignation, Steve decided to feed Bucky a little bit of the truth, and hope that Bucky would be content with that and just let the subject drop.
"You mean Nat?"
"If that's her name, then yes. I detected a little something-something between you two back at the hangar." Bucky teased.
Steve shook his head, "Nah. You're wrong. It's not like that between us. Nat doesn't… she doesn't see me that way…" Steve let out a bitter chuckle, "Makes sense though, right? I mean, God, Bucky, have you seen her? Clearly, she's out of my league. She could literally have any man she wants, why would she want an ancient war relic out of time?" Steve denied, a sad smile forming on his lips. He was wallowing in self-pity, he knew that. Though it didn't make his words any less true. A wonderful woman like Natasha deserved somebody special. Him? What the heck would she ever see in him? After all, the only thing special about him came out of a fucking test tube.
Bucky, on the other hand, showed no signs of dropping the subject – much to Steve's horror.
"Uh-huh. What about you? Do you like her?" Bucky asked, cutting to the chase.
Like? More like head-over-heels in love. Steve scoffed inwardly.
Steve blushed and averted his gaze once more while he mentally debated his answer. When he finally formulated his response, Bucky beat him to it.
"You don't… actually have to answer that, I kinda already know the answer." Bucky said with that all-too-knowing smirk plastered on his face.
Steve could've sworn that he felt his ears burn off his head right then. Maybe a few more seconds later, and he might actually be able to smell the smoke coming off his burning hair.
"If you knew then why'd you even ask? Jerk." Steve accused, trying, but failing, to hide his embarrassment.
"Listen pal… I know women a lot better than you do." Bucky said with both his brows raised, daring Steve to challenge him.
Steve let out snort followed by a defeated sigh.
"Well, can't really argue with that, can I?" Steve muttered.
Bucky smirked.
"And I'll let you in on a little something, Steve. So you better listen up..." Bucky baited.
"Just spit it out." Steve grumbled.
"I think the redhead digs you." Bucky commented casually.
Steve opened his mouth and began to say something. He had absolutely no clue why he was even telling Bucky all the things that he was about to say, but, he did.
Maybe he just missed his old buddy.
"Nah… sorry Buck." Steve shook his head slowly, "I'm not buying it. Not this time. Look, there's something I haven't told you yet. Thing is, Natasha… she…uh…" Steve paused to take a shallow breath, "She wants someone else. It was a former teammate. I know because I've seen her with him last year. They looked good together. Like really, really good. She was always just… different… and intimate… when she's around him, like he's her special guy, ya know? It's just…whenever she looks at him, there was always this look of… adoration. Like he's the only guy she could see. I guess…what I'm sayin' is that I don't think I could top that, pal. Besides, it's obvious that she's very fond of him and… if I read things correctly last year, the guy's pretty fond of her too… Heck, they even shared a room together." Steve said the last part assertively, hoping that for once Bucky would take the goddamn hint and drop the subject.
A familiar tightness coursed through Steve's chest. The tightness was then followed by a sensation akin to that of a trillion daggers stabbing at his heart incessantly.
Dammit, it's been a year already, why does it still hurt so much?
Right. Stupid question. It was because he was still in love. Completely, utterly and pathetically besotted...
And Bucky being, well, Bucky, was relentless whenever it came to poking his nose around Steve's personal life. Instead of dropping the subject, Bucky immersed himself deeper into his role as Steve's love guru.
"I don't know, Steve. I'm just saying, there weren't any reasons for her to help us escape back at the hangar. None at all. But she willingly sacrificed her freedom just to help your cause, didn't she? I was once trained in espionage too, and I know, that to a spy, freedom means everything. We always want to get people off our backs, not the other way round. But she did it. She made herself a target by letting us off the hook at the airport. And I think we both know that she didn't do it for me, pal. Oh, and also, from the way she looked at you? I'd say that she's pretty fond of you too." Bucky continued his 'Nobel' lecture. So much for taking goddamn hints.
All of a sudden, Steve found the marble floor of the lab to be the most fascinating thing in the entire universe.
I wonder how they had created the pattern on that tile over there. Looks a lot like brain neurons.
Steve felt a nudge on his arm.
Reluctantly, Steve lifted his gaze.
He saw Bucky opening his mouth and immediately Steve knew that they were about to have that talk. The brotherly heart-to-heart talk, man to man.
Steve sighed inwardly. Christ.
"Listen, pal…" Bucky began.
That was also the exact moment when Steve groaned and raised his hand in a 'stop' gesture, "Oh, no, no, NO. You and I are not having this talk, Buck."
"Wait, punk. Just hear me out?"
Steve shook his head and his expression was what one would consider as…? Well, scandalized.
"Look. I'm about to go under in a few. So you gonna listen or not?" Bucky pressed on.
"Okay. Okay. Fine. Just don't make it weird or anything." If that's even possible.
"Look, pal. I don't have to lecture you about waiting too long, 'cause I think you know that better than anyone else. I'm just sayin', chicks like that are the type that you grab onto and never let go. You wait any longer, somebody else would swoop in and stake their claim." Bucky admonished in a serious and firm tone.
"Gee, thanks a lot for clarifying, really. Buck, that kinda happened already. I just told you that, remember? Some knight in shining armor had swooped in last year and taken her off her feet. And it's too bad that the knight didn't carry a shield. She clearly doesn't want me. It's over, Buck. Can we move on now, please?" Steve said, his voice slightly on edge.
Steve recalled losing Natasha to Banner because he had, what? Waited too long? Was that even the case? Maybe it was. Or maybe it had nothing to do with waiting at all? Maybe Natasha just never felt that way about him…
"Yeah. I think we both know whose fault that is…" Bucky scoffed.
"You know what, Buck? I swear, you give the best pep-talks ever. Just peachy. I feel so much better already. And since I am now positively pepped, thanks to you, I'd appreciate it if you stop your lecture now." Steve said sarcastically.
"Come on, punk. Don't be a wuss. Go tell her how you feel, man. Make a move."
Jesus, Buck. You think I don't want to? God, I wanted so much to tell her how I feel. But sometimes, I feel like she still has feelings for the other guy, and telling her my feelings would burden her. And that wouldn't be fair to her. Steve sighed inwardly.
"I'm not sure, Buck. But I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Steve answered wistfully, quickly losing his energy to argue his point further, plus, he figured the only way out of this conversation was through noncommittal indulgence in Bucky's Nobel-prize-worthy therapeutic love advice.
"Just a heads up though, if you haven't made any moves on her when I come back up, I'm going after her. I'll be the person to stake my claim on her. And when I got her, I'm soooo… gonna parade her in front of you." Bucky taunted.
"Oh…shut up, you jerk." Steve smiled and punch Bucky lightly in the gut, realizing that Bucky must be joking with him… right?
RIGHT?
Steve's gaze snapped to Bucky's.
Bucky's face had 'this ain't no joke, pal' written all over it. Wow. So much for pep-talks.
Steve groaned out loud, "Jesus Christ, Buck. You call yourself my friend? What kind of a sick person makes a move on a girl after encouraging his best friend to go after the same girl and while he clearly knows that his best friend has feelings for said girl? Jesus." Steve's tone betrayed his exasperation and disbelief at Bucky's cruel and… inhumane… behavior.
And, of course, the realization that he had just admitted his feelings for Natasha out loud did not escape him either. Whoops.
Bucky gave him a shrug… and a smirk, "She's hot."
Steve's expression turned aghast. Blood drained away from his face.
Please tell me you're joking, Buck. Please…
Steve went for a fake laugh, hoping that this was another one of Bucky's pranks. But the laughter faltered after 5 seconds when he realized that Bucky wasn't laughing together with him. Instead, the jerk was still smirking at him.
Smug son of a…
Exasperated, Steve threw Bucky his are-you-fucking-with-me look. When the smirk remained on Bucky's face, the green-eyed monster within Steve reared its head.
"Bucky…" Steve warned.
"What?"
"Natasha's not your toy, Bucky. She isn't like all those dames that you mess around back in the days, okay? She deserves to be treated with respect."
Bucky shrugged, "Exactly. I know she's special. All the more reasons for me to pull my suave moves on her, isn't it?"
A vein thrummed through the skin on Steve's forehead.
"Don't go there, Bucky. I'm warning you." Steve gritted.
Bucky's smirk practically oozed smugness right then, "Warning considered. And… ignored."
Steve let out a feral growl.
"I just told you that she's already been taken by another man, like seconds ago. You're goddamn shameless!" Steve shook his head in disgust.
Bucky just shrugged.
"She's still hot." Bucky stated as-a-matter-of-factly.
Man, is this guy for real…?
Steve poked his index finger at his friend forcefully, causing Bucky's body to tilt back abruptly.
"Back the hell off. I mean it, Buck. If you do anything stupid and hurt her, I won't pull my punches like all the previous times we've fought, you got it?" Steve was getting riled up.
And only then, did Bucky's smirk transformed into a teasing smile.
"Now THAT'S the spirit. Oh yeah…that's what I'm talking about…" Bucky said approvingly.
And at that moment, Steve found himself torn between mortification and relief. In the end, he chose the latter.
Steve's shoulder sagged, "You know what, Buck, I ...UGH! Fine. You had me! Go ahead, laugh at me all you want."
"Looks like somebody had finally grown some serious BALLS. Hey listen up, folks! America had risen again!" Bucky shouted into the space of the quasi-vacant room, his booming voice overshadowing the humming of machinery.
"Jeez, Bucky, keep it down…" Steve hissed.
Bucky's roaring laughter echoed the procedure room the next instant.
"And I'm just joking, by the way. Had to say something to stop you from being a wuss. And from the looks of it, it worked." Bucky said as he rubbed against the sore spot on his chest where Steve had just poked at, "Hell, for a moment there, I really thought that you were gonna leave me in that…" Bucky gestured towards the chamber he was bound to be placed in, "tube… forever."
Thank heavens he was joking.
Steve said in relief, "Oh, shut up. You jerk."
Then Bucky did something that brought Steve right back to the 1940s. Bucky stuck out his tongue and tilted his head from side to side. It was one of Bucky's trademark idiosyncrasies, something Bucky always did whenever he pulled a working prank on Steve.
Laughter spilled out from Steve's lips. If he had had any doubts previously, they were all gone now. Now he was surer than ever. The real Bucky was back. His old buddy old pal was revived. He had gotten his brother back. At long last.
Just then a doctor in a white lab coat interrupted their conversation,
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Mr. Barnes, but we are ready for you now. We can begin the procedure whenever you're ready."
"Thanks doc. Just give us a moment." Bucky said to the doctor before turning back to Steve.
"Guess my nap time is here huh?" Bucky said to Steve.
"I'm gonna miss you buddy." Steve said, his eyes betrayed unspoken tears.
"Me too, Steve."
And in the next instant, Steve switched into Captain America mode because, so help him God, he was gonna cry if he hadn't.
"Listen, Buck. I'm gonna find out how to get those stuff outta your head. I don't care how many HYDRA goons I have to torture, I'm still gonna do it. Then you can come back up, live your life and be free." Steve said in his firm and commanding baritone.
"Yeah. I know you will. But don't do anything stupid like getting your ass killed before I get back okay?" Bucky warned.
Steve remembered clearly the last time Bucky had said something similar to him. It was during a 1940s Stark Expo, the time when he first met Doctor Abraham Erskine. It was at that moment when his life changed completely.
Steve smiled at the memory and decided to use the same comeback line. For old times' sake.
"How can I? When you've taken all the stupid with you." Steve said.
Bucky chuckled out loud, and Steve didn't need any further confirmation to know that Bucky, too, remembered their shared memory.
"You're a punk." Bucky said as he stood up from the surgical table and hugged Steve with his only arm.
"Jerk."
As Bucky pulled away from the hug, he gave Steve his final admonition, "Grow a pair and tell the redhead how you feel, Steve. I don't want you to live the rest of your life with the regret of giving up without trying, because it's definitely more painful than the rejection itself."
Steve scoffed and said in mock horror, "The hell do you know about 'the pain of rejection'. You were always the ladies' man, Buck. Even from way back in the 40s."
"It's about closure, pal. If you don't tell her, you won't ever find closure. You'll live with the 'what-if' for the rest of your life. Even if you get rejected, at least you've got closure, it'd be easier to move on that way."
Move on? Steve nearly scoffed at the idea. He had barely moved on from Peggy for Christ's sake! And heck, the only reason he was even able to move on from Peggy was because of Natasha. And here they were, talking about moving on from Natasha. Like as if it was even a possibility. God. He was so fucked.
Steve stared at his feet, still ruminating over Bucky's words. Deep down, he knew that Bucky had made some pretty good points. But to Steve, a lot more was at stake. Was he willing to risk everything and go all in? What if things changed between him and Natasha when he told her? Pfft, who was he even kidding? Things would still change if (hypothetically speaking) Natasha met another knight in shining armor without a shield. After all, Steve couldn't really be that naïve to think that this 'partnership' between them would last, could he? It had to change. It will change at some point, just a matter of when. So Steve could either fess up and take the potential risk of losing her, or lose her altogether at some point in the future to some other dude. All or nothing. Seemed like a no-brainer.
Great advice, Buck. Guess I owe you one.
Though, of course, Steve would still need to find a way to tell Natasha without pressuring her or burdening her in case she didn't feel the same. But regardless, like Bucky said, he should still find a chance to fess up and tell Natasha how he really felt.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Bucky Barnes giving him sappy and cheesy love advice in a brotherly heart-to-heart. Wow. Who would've thought? For a moment, Steve really wondered if the moon would turn blue that night.
But since when was Bucky capable of sentimentality, anyway? That's all kinds of weird. Maybe some part of Bucky was lost in transition or something. Steve thought silently.
Unsatisfied with Steve's silence, Bucky tried again, "Tell her, Steve. Before it's too late."
Steve lifted his gaze back up and gave Bucky a perfunctory smile, "Thanks, Buck. I'll think about it."
Jeez, Buck, gotta stop now. Seriously getting a little too weird. Steve shuddered inwardly.
"Yeah punk, you better. And who knows…"Bucky wiggled his eyebrows, "if you're lucky, you two might even get to enjoy a late night fondue."
And….the Universe was restored to its rightful axis.
Just like that, their brief moment of brotherly sentimentality was gone in a cloud of smoke.
Throwing in a wisecrack or two to ruin a perfect bromance moment? Yep, quintessential Bucky. And of all quips, it had to be the fondue joke – thanks a lot, Howard.
Steve groaned, "Oh, come on… it's been over 70 years! 70 years! And you're still not letting that go?!"
"Nope, never letting that go, pal. Not in a million years." Bucky said cheekily.
"Yeah, well, Buck. I miss you so much already." Steve said in mock sarcasm. Bucky walked towards the chamber opposite the surgical table and stepped into it. Steve merely watched.
James Buchanan Barnes threw Steve Rogers one last parting look, and then he said, "Doc, I'm ready…"
And thus began the epic saga of a Bucksicle's formation in the presence of a Capsicle.
Stuff from legends indeed.