★ 2 | video, action ★

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Who: Bucky!Cap Barnes
Broadcast: Private to Natasha Romanoff
Action: Bishop, planetside on Lyndia
When: Shortly after the last shuffle (for video & Bishop), anytime during their stopover in the Bix system

[Video: Private to Natasha Romanoff]
Hey, so when's a good time for a fight and a drink?

[Action: Bishop]
[Bucky's new on the Bishop, but it's not like he's never been here before. Anyone who's been here for a week or two might have seen him coming and going from Steve Rogers' room. In fact, now that he's on board, that appears to be where he's headed now, with an armful of clothes and a strange, circular red, white, and blue shield tucked under one arm.

Actually, since his hands are full, he very politely(?) kicks at the hatch to Steve's cabin once he gets there.

Later, he can be found walking the ship, familiarizing himself with the bridge, bathroom, and kitchen - where he's also digging for the coffee grounds and means to make it into actual coffee, because that's really important. Seriously. Coffee is magic.]

[Action: Planetside]
[Bucky also takes the opportunity to stretch his legs on Lyndia. In fact, he takes the opportunity to spend some time outside, because no matter how much the natives of this world warn him, it seems fine to him. Not even a sniffle. So he ends up earning some extra cash, running errands and ferrying supplies from the surface, including hacking away at vines, gutting old wooden buildings, and maybe even seeing if he can't track down said reptilian beast.

Bucky spends his significant earnings largely on food and clothing, because a) he wants to eat things that are not gel and b) he wants to wear things that are not jumpsuits. He is also willing to share the riches with friends, should they run into him.]

Comments

[outstandingbalance]

No, I know what I'm doing. [At least where the kissing is concerned.] So what do you want to know? Burning curiosity.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

[Bucky grins a little.] I want to hear how you keep Steve in line. I feel like that's useful information we could share.

[outstandingbalance]

Saying I keep him in line might be an overstatement. Mostly I try to make sure there's someone in on the plan with some idea how to run damage control.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

That... sounds about right, [Bucky admits with a laugh.] Bull in a china shop is probably the best way to describe him, most of the time. Made most of the Howlies seem tame by comparison - I think it's how he got us sanctioned at all.

[Then again, Steve steps up to the plate when he has to.] He's a good guy to put in charge of a buncha unruly jackasses.

[If he maybe also means the Avengers - present company excluded, of course - she might be able to pick up on that.]

[outstandingbalance]

[Oh, she assumes he means the Avengers too. And even if she imagines he didn't mean to include her in the unruly jackasses, the exclusion is an oversight on his part.

Natasha can be a hell of a jackass when she gets it in her mind to be.]

He does all right. In his way.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

[Bucky will probably learn in time that he should certainly have included Natasha in that group.]

For a guy who never knows what the hell he's doing, yeah. But maybe that's what makes him so good. I think it's safe to say most of the people we work with are less likely to fall in line, the more somebody tries to make 'em do it.

At least, they are where I come from.

[outstandingbalance]

As someone who's had the occasion to try to get them to fall in line? I'd call that a good estimate.

[But somehow they came together in the end. The Avengers. Sometimes it seems against all odds.]

[stillgotmyleftarm]

[Bucky chuckles at that.] I feel like you'd do pretty well at it, though.

[outstandingbalance]

Sometimes. Sometimes... maybe not as well as I would have liked. But it's been and done now.

[She shrugs, but she keeps her voice light. What's done is done, and the Avengers did a lot of good before they split. She has to believe that.]

Now, I'm a captain I guess. But there's not much responsibility in it.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

[Bucky just raises an eyebrow.] Look, if your ship's still in one piece and you haven't gone crazy? I think you're doing just fine.

Although maybe you have gone crazy, and you're just really good at hiding it. I guess I might not be able to tell the difference.

[outstandingbalance]

Don't ask questions you don't what to know the answer to.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Maybe that's a question a guy actually does want to know the answer to.

[outstandingbalance]

I think I hold together well enough. Whatever's going on under the surface.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

I think you do, too.

Just - make sure you don't do it at the expense of yourself, you know?

[Not that he's saying she is actively doing that. Just that... he could see her being the kind of person who does that. Hell, they all are, really. Do as I say and not as i do, right?]

[outstandingbalance]

You worried about me, Barnes?

[There's something almost sweet about that. But it's not likely to stop her from burning the candle at both ends.]

[stillgotmyleftarm]

[Bucky tilts his head.]

Nah. Not right now. But I think you might need someone to worry about you, sometimes.

And I got a lifetime of practice worrying about stubborn punks who insist everything is fine. In case that becomes necessary.

[outstandingbalance]

That's an interesting opinion. And an interesting distinction to make.

[Her eyes narrow slightly, tilting up slightly at the corner with a faint smile.]

Any idea who that should be?

[stillgotmyleftarm]

[Bucky shrugs good-naturedly.] Like I said. Lifetime of practice. I guess you could say I have a unique perspective.

I'm not sure. [He laughs a little.] Someone you might consider listening to, though. And someone who won't take no for an answer.

[outstandingbalance]

That's a tall order. [Natasha can't help but smile.] I can be surprisingly stubborn.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Really? I'd never have guessed.

Honestly, Steve's probably a good pick.

[outstandingbalance]

You're probably not wrong about that. He is a busybody at heart.

[That's not true. Steve has only ever been respectful of Natasha's privacy. But he doesn't let people around him take what he considers a bad road without making his opinion known.

One way or another.]