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driftfleet2019-03-02 09:22 pm
unspangled) wrote in driftfleet2019-03-02 09:22 pm
Mission 01: Action
Who: Steve Rogers (AU) + Open
Broadcast: N/A
Action: On the Marsiva; Around the SS Heron
When: February 26-28; March 2, post Shuffle
[ The Marsiva ]
[ This is not the Steve Rogers you are looking for. Unsettled, in completely unfamiliar surroundings, he spends much of his time lurking in whatever corner he can find, listening in on snippets of conversations that don't involve him simply to try and figure out what happened. Where he is. He wanders what limited space there is, exploring the confines of this strange vessel, making a mental map of where things are.
He does not voluntarily initiate conversation with anyone the first day, only taking care to note where the washroom is, where the recreational areas are, where he can find food. It's not until the second day, with the same faces and same smells and the same sense of solidity that Steve lets himself believe, just a little, that this might not be a HYDRA plot. That he hasn't been captured and dragged back to Siberia for reconditioning. That this isn't a complete mindscrew. Possibly. Hopefully.
Maybe it's shortly after that potential revelation that Steve starts looking for somewhere he can get a drink. ]
[ SS Heron ]
[ And then he wakes up on a strange ship for the second time. Because nobody seems to know what moderation means. Can't a guy be kidnapped in peace? Can't he have more than a few days to get aquainted with the idea of extraterrestrials and game shows and how GOD DAMN BIG space really is? No? Well, fine then.
The confetti burst outside his door is just adding insult to injury.
Pudding isn't the worst thing he's ever eaten, though. And he can't taste anything really off about it. (Like mind-altering or sleep-inducing drugs). That's a plus. So the next logical thing to do is explore this ship. You know, in case he has to break out of it in a hurry. For reasons involving intergalactic kidnapping. And other things. ]
Broadcast: N/A
Action: On the Marsiva; Around the SS Heron
When: February 26-28; March 2, post Shuffle
[ The Marsiva ]
[ This is not the Steve Rogers you are looking for. Unsettled, in completely unfamiliar surroundings, he spends much of his time lurking in whatever corner he can find, listening in on snippets of conversations that don't involve him simply to try and figure out what happened. Where he is. He wanders what limited space there is, exploring the confines of this strange vessel, making a mental map of where things are.
He does not voluntarily initiate conversation with anyone the first day, only taking care to note where the washroom is, where the recreational areas are, where he can find food. It's not until the second day, with the same faces and same smells and the same sense of solidity that Steve lets himself believe, just a little, that this might not be a HYDRA plot. That he hasn't been captured and dragged back to Siberia for reconditioning. That this isn't a complete mindscrew. Possibly. Hopefully.
Maybe it's shortly after that potential revelation that Steve starts looking for somewhere he can get a drink. ]
[ SS Heron ]
[ And then he wakes up on a strange ship for the second time. Because nobody seems to know what moderation means. Can't a guy be kidnapped in peace? Can't he have more than a few days to get aquainted with the idea of extraterrestrials and game shows and how GOD DAMN BIG space really is? No? Well, fine then.
The confetti burst outside his door is just adding insult to injury.
Pudding isn't the worst thing he's ever eaten, though. And he can't taste anything really off about it. (Like mind-altering or sleep-inducing drugs). That's a plus. So the next logical thing to do is explore this ship. You know, in case he has to break out of it in a hurry. For reasons involving intergalactic kidnapping. And other things. ]
no subject
[ That's a guy's Christian name. That's reserved for friends and family. His expression completely blanks out for a moment, because he can't parse this. Not after everything he's done, after trying to kill Captain Barnes' friends only a few months before winding up here. It just doesn't compute. Not even with Bucky himself insisting on it every few minutes.
In fact, he might look a little green around the gills. This largess of affection, because isn't that what insisting on your personal name means, Steve has no idea what to do with it. Like a live grenade. ]
I ... don't know, [ He finally rasps, voice much too thin and reedy sounding, at least to his own ears. ] Can -- can I think about it?
no subject
Think about it all you want. Okay?
[He looks... concerned. He looks worried, and maybe like he's still going to stay put, keep his distance. God, he doesn't want to, but how can he not, when he's making Steve go through this?]
I won't follow you, [he says - and then the irony of that phrase hits him like a punch to the gut, but it's too late to take it back now, and adding clarifiers seems stupid.
He does say,] But if you need me. If you want me. I think you can just call me. [On their not-phones, he means.]
no subject
That's some chutzpah.
Steve diverts his attention to the communicator, relieved to have a chance to seize on a different topic, even though it's not really. Different. Bucky is still offering support despite everything. ]
Are you sure? [ It's hard to think of anything else to ask, and his stomach feels like it's trying to turn inside out. ]
no subject
[Yeah, yeah - he gets it. He knows how it sounds. And actually, if anything, Steve's distrusting look is reassuring.
Yeah, Bucky's aware that he's pretty messed up.]
I'm sure, [he says, as evenly as he can.] Anytime. I mean it. Middle of the night, or whatever.
[Because he wants to talk to Steve. He wants to be there for Steve, like - God, like he obviously wasn't for seventy years. Shit. How the fuck can he make up for that by just offering to be available for 2 a.m. text fests? Shit.]
I don't care if you don't want to be him. Or - whatever you want. I want to be here for you. Whatever that means, now.
[It's hard to say that - of course he cares if Steve doesn't want to be Steve anymore. But he's got to respect that - at least for now. He's got to give him time, and space, even though that's the fucking last thing he wants to do. He gets why it's so hard for the other Steve to do this; but he gets why he has to, no matter how it hurts.] You can always come to me. For whatever you need. I'm not gonna make you into something you don't want.
I'm not like them. I promise.
no subject
And if I try to kill you?
[ Because that is a major concern. Killing anyone is a concern, to be perfectly honest, but only one of the people on board this ship had a termination order put out on him. (Well, two if you count Natasha.) That worries him, more than any other reason for contact. Not being able to stop himself from completing the mission.
Because maybe the hiccup was a one-time thing. Maybe he will get his hands on a gun and put two or three or four more bullets into the body of the other man. Whatever it takes for him to stop breathing. Aside from being found and taken by HYDRA again, that's the one thing that terrifies him the most. Finishing his mission. ]
I'll think about it. [ Is all Steve ends up saying, taking another step back. He can't promise anything in return. Not while knowing what kind of things he's capable of. ]
no subject
[You won't try to kill me, Bucky wants to say, but something stops him from saying it. Because when Steve says it... it sounds less like a threat, and more like something he's worried about. Like he knows he's going to, and he doesn't want to.
And that tracks, little thought he likes it, with what he knows. With what he saw, in the other Steve's head.]
I'm kinda hard to kill, [he points out - softly, casually.] But if you try... I'll try to stop you. And I won't blame you for trying.
[His fingers clench by his side when Steve takes a step back, like Bucky desperately wants to reach out for him again. He does. he doesn't want to have to stand here and watch Steve walk away after all this time, after everything that's happened, but he has to. He has to.] That's all I can ask, [he says quietly, though he doesn't like it very much.] Just - think about it. Ask me - or anyone else - if you have questions.
no subject
[ Hard to kill seems to be a thing with them. He's not all that assured (read: not at all) by Bucky's promise to not hold it against him if something goes wrong, but he also wonders if that even matters. When it comes down to the wire -- not if, but when -- then the two of them will see how right Bucky thinks he is. ]
Okay.
[ And that's that. He turns around and starts walking. Except, it's not quite the end of the conversation that Bucky is dreading. Steve removes the little comm device from a pocket and types in something. He doesn't look back. ]
No questions today. Will see about tomorrow, James Buchanan Barnes.
no subject
[Bucky doesn't really relax as he watches Steve go - if anything maybe he feels more tense, knowing Steve is here, nearby, in the same place, and yet walking away from him. It's a hard, bitter pill to swallow, but he's done a hell of a lot of things that have been hard, for the sake of Steve Rogers. He can try to just make this one more of them. And hope that Steve comes back -
His communicator pings, softly, and it takes him a second, admittedly, to pull himself together and dig it out of his pocket. But then he sees the message, and - and he can't help but almost start to relax now, finally. He can't help the way his lips twitch, because maybe he shouldn't be smiling over that little, but somehow, it feels like a lot. It feels like a whole lot, and he stares at the message for a long, long time, before he finally lets out a breath he might have even been holding that whole time, and saves the message before he slips the device back into his pocket, and manages to walk away from the spot.]