004;;

[reconstitution]

Who: Bucky & You!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Heron
When: 11/2

[ Hello, fleet! Today you get a message from someone who's been more than a little absent the past month. Some people may be more aware of it than others, but he's finally crawling out of the woodwork.

Waking up has been more than a little disorienting, because he didn't recall falling asleep, or when. It makes him uneasy, a solid weight sitting in his gut. The last time he couldn't remember things, it wasn't so great for the fleet. ]

What year is it?

Not sure how long I was out..Is everyone okay?

Comments

[reconstitution]

Oh, that's right. Your world's version is a bit different.

[ Though no less spectacular. ]

[ladybro]

Just a bit. [ her half-smile hints at more. more than a bit different. ] Wanna hear something hilarious, though?

[ kate's taking a risk, here. telling a story. a particular one. it's not a bad story -- just an embarrassing one. mostly, she just wants to figure out if she can make him laugh. ]

[reconstitution]

I assumed stories came with this little excursion.

[ There's coffee and snacks, so obviously there needs to be a third in there somewhere to balance it out. ]

[ladybro]

Clint once kissed her. The Scarlet Witch. Wanda. [ which doesn't sound like such a great story, actually, but kate's paused for dramatic effect while she clears off enough space on the table so they could sit across from one another. ] Only she wasn't really her. The Scarlet Witch he kissed was actually Loki -- glamoured, or whatever, so he'd look like Wanda.

Which who cares? A kiss is a kiss. No biggie, really, except somehow he could tell -- via kissing -- that Wanda wasn't Wanda. To this day I am convinced that's actually Clint's superpower.

[reconstitution]

Really? How did he even know that it wasn't really her if he'd never kissed her before?

[ It doesn't make any goddamn sense. ]

[ladybro]

How should I know? Maybe it wasn't the first time. Maybe it was. Frankly, being around for it to happen was bad enough. I try not to ask too much about Clint's personal life 'cause then you start learning about things like him sleeping with robots or -- you know, whatever the hell the thing with the Black Widow is.

[ it's like a chill legitimately went down her spine. kate has mad respect for romanoff, she just can't comprehend why a figure so daunting like her would ever waste time on a half-functioning mess like barton. ]

[reconstitution]

Mm. Guess that's a smart thing. Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to.

[ That bit of information is new. Barton and Natasha? Guess he wouldn't have thought of that. Then again, different universe. It makes Bucky wonder just how different things really are. ]

[ladybro]

And, between you and me, the old-school Avengers team kinda leaves the impression that it reached -- like -- freshman college dorm levels of unresolved tension and romantic drama. [ or maybe that's just 'cause clint is, like, 90% of her insight into that team and clint's got a real problem on that front. ]

[reconstitution]

I don't really know from experience what that's like, so I'll take your word for it.

[ It is her world, after all. Maybe all of them have more time for romance than they do in his own world. Sounds weird, but okay. ]

[ladybro]

Yeah, but doesn't it still make the news where you're from? [ a tilt of her head. ] The Richards-Storm wedding made the cover of just about every magazine. Same with The Scarlet Witch and Vision, but that's for a whole other reason.

[reconstitution]

I don't have any idea who they are. [ Richards and Storm aren't two names he's incredibly familiar with. ]

Vision is only a year old, isn't he? [ What the hell is wrong with your timeline, Kate? ]

[ladybro]

Depends on the Vision, I guess. [ she grabs her coffee. drinks deep. that definitely hits the spot. ] The OG version was around before I was. But then there was the newer one -- he was on my team.

[ that didn't end well. ]

[reconstitution]

There's more than one Vision where you're from? [ This is getting weirder the longer he listens. ]

[ladybro]

Just about a handful, now. Or. Well. Vision Jrs. So to speak.

[ it's complicated! ]

[reconstitution]

I'm not even going to ask.

[ He's just going to drink this coffee and think about that. Goddamn, Vision. ]

[ladybro]

It's for the best. [ ... ] I've probably said too much. I don't wanna go futzing you guys up just 'cause my home's a persistent mess.

[reconstitution]

I'm pretty sure mine's not any better. Kind of goes without saying, if it's a place we're involved.

[ladybro]

Not to be a debbie-downer, but it does seem like you still have a lot ahead of you. But who knows, maybe everything'll be different.

[reconstitution]

It's hard telling. [ What with being in cryo in the middle of Wakanda and all. ]

[ladybro]

Not least of all because none of you guys are all that talkative.

[ she's poking fun. honest. ]

[reconstitution]

Steve is plenty talkative.

[ladybro]

I dunno. I don't talk much with Cap. [ she will never ever call him steve. ] He's -- too nice, I guess? It's hard to explain. Like I feel bad trying to get information out of him.

[reconstitution]

Don't feel too badly. He's pretty tough under all that marshmallow. He'd fight anyone who looked at someone the wrong way.

[ladybro]

I don't doubt he's tough. Don't doubt it at all. Just -- [ a soft hum. her nose scrunches. ] Back home, Captain America can be kind of a jerk. Like...a real arrogant asshole.

[ made worse only by the fact that he's so often right about things. ] Don't get me wrong. I'd follow him into just about any fight. But between your version and mine? Yours smiles more.

[ it's unsettling. ]

[reconstitution]

Really?

[ It's hard to imagine a version of Steve that was much different- though Orion had been different in his own right. That circumstance an anomaly. ]