forum Marvel AU OxO?

Started November 29, 2019 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Steve bit his lip at the sight of Bucky's tousled hair, wishing he could playfully run his hands through it, ruffling it into a mess like he used to.

Bucky sighed softly, looking around the street quietly. "…where are we?" He finally asked after a few minutes.

"Uhhm…" Steve looked for a street sign, "Corner of…second and fourteenth?" He said, "We're in the East Village."

"Ah. Alright." he replied. He looked around and wished he would find something familiar. Wished he could remember more.

"Mhm, right over there is Washington Square Park," Steve pointed, eyeing the far top of the arch. "There a huge fountain over there. Never fell into that one, but, still." He laughed, running through the few memories they had there.

He nodded a little bit. "Alright." he ran a hand through his hair again, looking at the arch as well.

"D'you wanna take walk through?" Steve asked, looking at the park across the street and the sprinkle of tourists scattered around.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Sure." He replied softly, looking over at the park for a moment, then at Steve again.

Steve nodded, looking both ways before stepping out onto the quiet road. The sight of the arch– it was so familiar to him now that he was visiting it again with Bucky, after all those years. He turned to Bucky and smiled, he didn't know why– but the everpresent hum of the city streets in the background made the memory even brighter.

Bucky smiled back after a moment, then returned his attention back to the park, hoping that this would spark some good memories. That he would remember something good.

Steve lightly ran his hand over the decorative walls of the arch, peeking through the walkway and groups of tourists at the sound of a street performer playing the accordion. "I think we spent a valentine's day here, once." He chuckled.

Bucky glanced over at Steve, blinking in surprise. "We did?" he didn't remember that. But even as he went to say so, flashes of memory flickered through his mind. Red balloons all throughout the park, couples out together. Him and Steve, laughing and making fun of the different couples.

“Yeah,” Steve smiled, “The year before the war started— we didn’t make any plans with anyone, so we just went around the city.” That cloudy afternoon had brought them smiles and blushed cheeks, and not just because of the chill. “It was a good day,” Steve smiled.

Bucky studied Steve for a moment, then looked around the park. He could see it, sort of. How it had been back then, versus now.

"There was a bar–" Steve chuckled, turning to face the street to his right, loosely gesturing at the block, "Somewhere…nearby here. We went there after a bit." He shrugged, thinking that Bucky probably didn't want to hear all the little details. "I remember, because the door was kind of a red colour– and you said that it was fitting. And inside, all the lights had red lampshades."

Bucky nodded a little bit. "Yeah." he replied softly, even though he only remembered flashes. A red door. Red lamps that made everything look pinkish red, including Steve and himself. Laughing and talking as Bucky teased that "next Valentine's, I'll find you a real date".

"We walked around after a while," Steve said, wondering if Bucky remembered all he was talking about. "And then at night, we found this other bar– and we came up with this plan," He laughed, "–We wanted some wine, but we didn't have any more money, so you told the owner you had this girl waiting outside for you, and you'd mail him a check the next day." Steve shook his head, smiling, "It's a miracle it actually worked."

He laughed a little bit. "Mm. Did I mail the check, or no?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at Steve and wondering. He almost could remember this, too, but it was like something seen through water; it was blurry and undefined. Blobs of color and sound, but nothing distinct.

"'Course you did," Steve chuckled, studying the paved brick of the path they were on, "That's the type of guy you wer- are." The remnant memories of that evening were dreamlike, coloured by the crimson waves of wine-drunk laughter in the early darkness of the park.

Bucky hadn't missed the slip. His eyes flickered away for a moment as he tried to remember what to do. Tried to remember anything at all.

"Hmm, that was some Valentine's Day." Steve smiled, watching the soft ripples of the water rolling to the outside edges of the fountain.

Bucky nodded. "I bet." he replied softly. "It sounds like it." Did we kiss? Or anything like that? Because my memories say that I wanted to, but I don't remember if we did. But he didn't ask.

"It was." He smiled, It was the happiest one I could ask for. "I feel like I'm…rambling, sorry." Steve said through a breathy laugh, shaking his head faintly. "And…you probably don't wanna hear about all …our adventures," He said with a pained smile.

He shrugged his shoulders. "No, I…the rambling is…fine." he said slowly. "I'd rather hear the rambling than…" he shrugged again, looking away.

"Than…?" Steve prompted, waiting to tell him about how they'd fallen asleep at another park on their way back home.