PSL for semistableman

[beardednomad]

The large crowd of soldiers in front of him were tired, dirty, homesick and 100% not interested in seeing him. Steve had realized that the moment he walked out onto the stage and started up with the girls during the music number. Not a single one of them seemed interested in him, no. Their eyes were all on the girls.

He turned, watching them all walk off stage and sighing before turning back and starting in on his speech. He knew it by heart, every word, every inflection and even still he didn't understand why he was giving it here of all places. None of these guys were interested in bonds. None of them would be buying any. They were the ones fighting for the country. He just felt silly.

He hesitated though when a few of the guys started shouting at him to get off the stage and to bring the girls back. He would have gone immediately except he noticed a figure in the back stand up and start moving closer in the crowd.

He blinked. Frowned. Blinked again before squinting. No. Wait, had he asked who the soldiers were he was performing for? He turned suddenly, looking at the girl closest to the edge of the stage. "Am I performing for the 107th!?"

That was when he heard a familiar voice yelling at him and he winced. He was in so much trouble.

Comments

[semistableman]

Since deploying, Bucky has found that he's had a lot of trouble settling down.It's not possible, not at night when they're supposed to be sleeping, not during the quiet time they get when they're not fighting for their lives. It's just not possible. A chance to watch a performance, with some beautiful dames and a man in the most ridiculous getup he's ever seen.

"Nice outfit, Superman!" he jeers, because he's an asshole like that. A couple of the guys near him whoop, adding on to the heckling with their own takes. He hasn't quite placed the voice yet-- it's familiar, but where? Bucky would remember running into an awkward gladiator of a man.

"The circus needs its strongman back!"

[beardednomad]

Yeah, Steve definitely froze when he heard that familiar voice shouting at him. Crap, he was in so, so much trouble. This was bad. Instead of just getting off the stage though, the girl pushed him back towards the microphone.

"S-so, who wants to help me sock ol' Adolph on the jaw?" He asked weakly, not realizing it would just help Bucky in recognizing his voice. He could feel glares from the men in the crowd and he really was kind of wondering if they would rush the stage just to get rid of him.

Maybe he really should see if the girls would do their number again. Because the sooner he could get out of there, the better. He just knew that if Bucky figured out who he was, he was going to kill him.

[semistableman]

He'd been able to dismiss it at first as just being homesick-- get it together, Barnes-- but there's just something about that voice, about the sudden insecurity. But from here, Bucky is positive that it can't be Steve, it's just not possible. Even if someone was stupid enough to let Steve into the army, he's still a skinny man. Is Steve in some kind of costume?

"Steve?"

[beardednomad]

[OOC: Sorry for the delay again. Holidays are a killer haha]

As soon as he heard that voice yell his name he winced, clearing his throat as his eyes locked with the man's. Even all the way across the crowd of men. He stood there for just a moment longer, just trying to think of what to do at that moment.

Finally, he just couldn't do it anymore so he turned and motioned for the girls to come back out, hissing as he went that someone should have told him this was the 107th.

Bucky...was going to kill him. That was, if the man caught up with him. Not that he knew anywhere to hide or anything. He just had a small dressing area to himself. He wasn't even sure where he was sleeping that night.

[semistableman]

[No worries, god knows I took forever getting back to this.]

That's definitely Steve. There's something wrong, though, because his skinny, asthmatic Steve wouldn't be allowed anywhere near even basic training. It could very easily kill him, and yet here he is.

"Outta the way," he snaps at various guys as he makes his way to the front of the stage.

[beardednomad]

He got stopped by one of the stage hands, cursing silently as he stared while the guy spoke to him. He turned then, spotting Bucky walking around the side of the stage once he'd reached it and he groaned.

"I'm so dead." He muttered, finally pulling off his mask, hair sticking up all over as he looked down at his best friend as he approached. "I...ah...hey Buck." He said, smiling sheepishly and then biting his lip.

"So...we can talk about this, right?" He wasn't even thinking about the changes in him and how Bucky might react to the fact that he was well over a foot taller and had packed on over a hundred pounds.

[semistableman]

Once he's close enough to the stage to really get a good look at the guy, he knows for a fact it's Steve now. because while he looks bizarre in that outfit, in the fact that somehow Steve is taller than Bucky, it doesn't stop him from coming right up to the stage in time to glare up at Steve as he looks up at what cannot possibly be a suit.

Which means that Steve went and did something stupid without caring that it could easily get himself killed. "Not exactly wild about beating your ass in front of a crowd, Rogers," Bucky says. His words might be harsh, but he doesn't sound nearly as angry as the words imply.

[beardednomad]

"So does that mean I'm safer staying here where everyone can see us?" Not that he actually thought Bucky could kick his ass now. Well, not if he didn't want him to, but it was the principle. He knew Bucky had always considered himself Steve's protector and here he was in the one place the man had wanted him to stay far away from.

He cleared his throat before sighing and turning, knowing better than to push it with his best friend. Bucky was going to have a lot of questions for him and it was best to just get it all out of the way. "Where's your bunk? Since everyone else is out there, figured it would be best to go somewhere they aren't." Plus he started realizing that the soldiers around them were staring at them and he could just barely make out the men mumbling about him and Bucky.

He ducked his head a bit, blushing. "Have you been talking about me because I swear I just heard someone refer to me as 'Barnes' Stevie'?"

[semistableman]

Bucky opened his mouth to tell Steve that no, he would happily kick Steve's ass in front of a crowd of men, he'd just prefer not to. How dare he come out to this hellhole of a war, when he would have been safe in Brooklyn, away from the fighting and even more bullies that would love to kick his ass. He closes it a moment later, stewing in so many different conflicting emotions it's hard for him to focus on just one.

"I can show you," he says, ignoring the jeers coming from the crowd now.

"Kick his ass, Barnes!" "Show him we mean business!"

At Steve's question, he offers a shrug. "I've told some of 'em about a skinny punk I know back home, but that's it." He might have a photograph of the two of them tucked away in his back pocket from one of their trips to Coney Island when they were younger, but even fewer guys have seen that.

[beardednomad]

He glanced out towards the crowd before looking at Bucky and turning to walk around the side of the stage and out of sight. He figured Bucky would follow him which was all that mattered.

Once they were alone he sighed, looking down at his friend. "I know you're mad, but I already told you...I couldn't just sit back home safe while I knew you and other men were laying down your lives, Buck." He frowned, biting his lip. "You can be mad at me all you want, but I did this because...well. I did it because I wanted to save lives. I wanted to fight for our country. Instead I've been made into a side show act."

[semistableman]

Bucky follows him, ignoring the jeers being thrown at him. If anyone is jeering at him to beat up a childhood friend-- using some variation of "kick Stevie's ass, Barnes!"-- he's ignoring it. He's too focused on Steve right now, folding his hands across his chest as soon as they're alone in the barracks. It's not like Bucky is particularly high-ranking; he's in the tent with everyone else.

"What the hell is this, Rogers," he mutters, shoving at Steve on his shoulder, struck by the strangeness of it all. When the hell was Steve half a foot taller than him? And muscular as hell? "This isn't your typical Halloween costume."

[beardednomad]

"That night at the Expo...when I went in to the recruitment office again?" He started, rolling his shoulder and sighing before just sitting down. "There was a scientist there. Doctor Abraham Erskine was his name. He wanted me to be part of this project he was doing..." He was starting to hesitate, trying to think of how he could possibly explain without making the other mad. But he knew there wasn't any ways.

"He'd made this serum. It was meant to enhance things in a person. Certain personality traits, strength, health... I went to boot camp and in the end I was chosen as the first test subject. Erskine wanted someone who thought like me. Someone who knew what it was like to be the little guy. To be bullied and mistreated. Someone who wouldn't take it for granted...but he was killed right after the experiment proved to be a success. Thats how I'm like this." He shrugged a shoulder, rubbing the back of his neck slowly.

"I'm not sick anymore, Buck. My heart is fine. My lungs...I'm not even colorblind anymore."

[semistableman]

Bucky frowns darkly. This is all... a bit much, to be honest. He's already been through hell, through too many battles and too much bloodshed. He'd done his duty of joining the fight, but now? He really just wants to go home. "And you just... accepted this at face value? Decided that the guy could fix you up, turn you into a comic book hero?"

He wants to punch Steve in his stupid handsome face, approaching him angrily despite being a head shorter than his friend now. "That's all sad and all, about Erskine. I mean it." It's hard to keep the anger out of his voice, but goddamn if he's not going to try. "But how the hell did you think I would have reacted, had somethin' gone wrong? If you'd been killed...!" It's enough that he does take a shot at hitting Steve, though his heart isn't in it. Even if Steve doesn't dodge out of the way, it won't do any damage at all.

"I wouldn't have found out for weeks, you punk! If I'd even find out at all until getting shipped back home!"

[beardednomad]

His shoulders drooped and he ducked his head, suddenly feeling ashamed and chastised all at once. His hand scrubbed the back of his neck as Bucky swung at him and he let it happen, flinching at the weak punch.

"I talked to Erskine and Stark. It was...they knew you were with the 107. They had your name and rank. I was promised that if anything went wrong that you would be notified immediately." He said, staring down at the ground. He had imagined Bucky would be somewhat upset, but not like this.

No, he'd figured Bucky would be happy for him. Happy that he wasn't sick anymore. That he would never have to see Steve suffering through another bout of pneumonia and worry that a simple asthma attack would kill him.

[semistableman]

"Punk," Bucky mutters, but his heart isn't in it. He's irritated more than angry now, and his shoulders droop in turn with a shrug. "You're really cured? No asthma, no bad back... Heart's okay, too?" He reaches up to the spot where he punched Steve by way of an apology, rubbing at the spot.

He's not sure what to say, still too upset at the idea of how easily something could have gone wrong, how he would have lost his best friend and not even known about it.

[beardednomad]

"No asthma, no bad back, and my heart is in amazing condition." He said, smiling hopefully before grabbing Bucky and pulling him into a tight hug. A hug that he never would have been able to give before.

When he pulled back he was still smiling, sheepish and a bit shy but definitely happy. "I know you're upset Buck. You told me not to do anything stupid and I went and did something stupid anyways, but it turned out good." He cleared his throat, ducking his head.

"You know...all it woulda took was another bad winter, Buck. That last time I got sick..." He sighed, biting his lip and rubbing his neck. "I'm not gonna die from getting sick now. I can have a longer, fuller life."

[semistableman]

Bucky opens his mouth to say something else, anything, to reprimand Steve, because he's still sore about Steve going and doing something dangerous. But then Steve has to go and pull him into a hug, and how the hell is he supposed to stay angry after that bear hug? He awkwardly squeezes back, suddenly a little alarmed at Steve being stronger than him. A lot stronger than him if that hug was anything to go by.

It's hard to stay angry at Steve Rogers, when he still has the kicked puppy look down to a science. "I know, Steve," Bucky admits quietly. "Why do you think I always made sure we had plenty of blankets in the apartment? I had to make sure you'd be comfortable when I was overseas."

[beardednomad]

"But blankets only do so much, Buck and this coming winter was supposed to be worse. What if this would have been it for me? You wouldn't have known til after you came back home. Unless Becca got a letter to you." He murmured, looking down as he scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck again.

Then he sighed because regardless, he felt horrible. He should have known that Bucky would be upset about something like this. About the way he had changed so much and what this had done to him.

"I'm sorry, Buck." He murmured, sighing before turning to go back to where the stage was. They would tell him where he needed to go, where he would be staying the night while they were still here.

[semistableman]

Bucky swallows hard, because Steve has a point. Without Bucky there to keep the heat on, and even then, what were the chances that something else didn't come up? Steve's health has always been so fragile, and more than once he'd rushed home because Steve was in a particularly bad way...

"Where are you goin', punk?" he asks as soon as it's obvious Steve's about to leave. Like he's going to let him do that now. They're still alone, and it's not like any of the guys are going to show up when Bucky had walked off with the guy they'd been heckling moments before.

[beardednomad]

He stopped, shrugging a shoulder. "I know we aren't flyin' back home tonight. So I figured they'll get me and the girls put up somewhere for the night." He said, sighing quietly before rolling his shoulders. "It would be nice to get out of the monkey suit." He motioned to the uniform they had him in, sighing.

"Plus...not really in the mood for sightseeing or anything. Not with you upset at me." He admitted, because that probably hurt more than anything. Knowing the other was upset. Was hurt because of him.

[semistableman]

Bucky tips his head, thoughtful. "Might be a little snug, but I can offer you a spare uniform. Take you to a pub a ways away."

It's said quietly, just an offer. Because Steve already looks like he wants to flee, and Bucky isn't so sure he wants to force anything. He is still upset, after all.

[beardednomad]

Steve stopped and blinked before lifting his eyes to meet the other man's, studying to see if he really meant it. When he saw that he did he gave a small smile, tilting his head. "A little snug? You kidding me?" He asked teasingly, his smile very slowly growing.

"I don't even know if I can get drunk anymore." He murmured, hesitating before taking a tiny step closer. They were still completely alone after all.

[semistableman]

Bucky smirks, brows raising. "What are you gonna do about it, punk?" he laughs. Good, Steve can still laugh. That's a good sign. And a good sign for Bucky, that he's able to tease Steve so easily.

"Doesn't mean beer's lost its flavor, Stevie," Bucky says quietly, taking another step closer in turn.

[beardednomad]

"Should probably be asking you that question. Seeing as if I try and wear your uniform, I'm probably gonna rip through the clothes." He said with a tease, wrapping an arm around him. "Doubt you want every soldier in the bar to be staring at me. Especially now that all of them are gonna know I'm the Stevie you've been talking about."

He nudged him, sighing and pulling him closer. "Yeah yeah. I kind of prefer whiskey though. And now I know I can outdrink you." He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "I really missed you, Buck."

[semistableman]

Bucky can't help the smile at the visual image. What a complete change from how things used to be. Steve swimming in Bucky's clothes when they started to get low on clean laundry. "Yeah, yeah. Punk," he says with a laugh. "I could probably find a spare uniform in a bigger size, just for you. Anyone makin' fun of you around me will get a punch in the arm."

He leans against Steve when he's pulled close. Hell, he doesn't even really feel as angry as he did anymore. "Missed you too, Steve."

[beardednomad]

"I do have extra clothes, you know. They're packed up still though. Haven't been given anyplace to sleep just yet." He said softly, sighing before just tugging him into a hug. Even though he was bigger, somehow he still seemed to tuck himself against Bucky, burying his face against the side of his neck.

"Look, you can at least be happy about this..." He started after pulling back, his smile fading some. "I'm still safe. They aren't gonna let me fight. I'm just...this to them." He said, motioning to the suit. "Just a dancing monkey. Not a real soldier."

[semistableman]

Bucky's smirk is mischievous now that he's started to calm down, started to get less angry with Steve. He's still pissed, but he can deal with that in a healthier way, like ribbing his best friend, instead of shouting. "Yeah, but you'll stick out like a broken thumb," he says easily, looking Steve over for a long moment. "IF you want to go drinking or something, you'll stand out a lot less in a regular ol' uniform."

He motions at the getup Steve's currently in for emphasis. "You look like you got drunk and read too many comic books, pal."

[beardednomad]

"Give you plenty of opportunity to tease me." He pointed out before chuckling softly. "I think you just want to see me back in your clothes, Buck. Is that it?" He asked, breathing out before bumping his nose against the other's.

"I'm the new hero, you know." He said, sarcasm thick in his voice before shaking his head and looking down at his feet. "Come on. Get me a uniform."

[semistableman]

"Something like that," Bucky barks a laugh. "You're keeping the tights, right?"

But it doesn't take him long to find something he thinks will fit Steve. It'll be a little tight, though. He's fairly certain it'll do wonders to Steve's ass. He hands over the neatly folded uniform. "There you go, pal. Don't lose it, I don't actually have another spare right now."

[beardednomad]

"Why do you want me to keep the tights so bad, huh?" He asked as he took the uniform and started stripping out of the costume they had him in. He dropped it to the side, sighing as he stretched a bit and rubbed at his skin. It felt good to be out of the skin tight suit.

But for the moment he was practically naked, standing in just his briefs and looking at the other. "I wouldn't lose it. You know that." He said softly, smiling as he sat the uniform down on the edge of the cot before picking up the pants.

[semistableman]

Bucky raises his brows, unable to stop the little laugh. "It does wonders for your ass, pal," he says, completely unashamed. It's not the first time he's teased Steve like this, and it won't be the last.

It's just that now his big and muscular enough that Bucky can add, "It's going to make all the ladies go wild for you." Without even the slightest hint that he doesn't believe every word he's saying.

And more importantly, maybe Steve will believe it for once.

[beardednomad]

He glanced over his shoulder a bit before raising an eyebrow and laughing. Then he was blushing a bit, rolling his eyes and gently punching Bucky's shoulder. "You were always the ladies man. You know I never cared about all that." He said softly, shaking his head.

He cleared his throat, scratching a hand over his stomach and up his chest. Being like this in front of Bucky...well, it wasn't like he'd been naked before. And even then, he always hid out instead of letting Bucky see him. "Ladies aren't who I care about." He murmured, sitting on the cot so he could get dressed.

[semistableman]

"S'pose I was," Bucky agrees easily, shrugging a little.

He makes a show of rubbing his shoulder, acting like maybe Steve's actually hurt him, but it's entirely for show as he walks over to Steve, though he doesn't quite look like he's intending to give his friend space at the moment. There's no teasing about his appearance or anything, though. "No?" he asks, sounding genuinely curious. "You've got eyes for something besides love, Rogers?"

[beardednomad]

"Oh I've got eyes for love but..." He hesitated, chewing on his lip for a moment before giving a shrug of his shoulder. "Wasn't for any dame." He knew he really shouldn't be saying these things, not even to other man who'd been his best friend since childhood. Never knew how anyone was gonna react to what he was implying, after all.

"Doesn't matter though. Only person I was ever really interested in..well it'll never happen so oh well." He waved his hand like he was brushing it off, hoping for a change of subject but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

[semistableman]

Bucky's face twitches into an awkward twist of his mouth. "Oh," he says. He might be teasing Steve, might be the sort of man to take a different girl on a date every weekend of the month. He'd even been encouraging Steve to go out on a date before he was shipped off, an excuse to have a good time for his best bud.

But he doesn't want to assume anything, especially something like this, when getting it wrong could lead to too many questions from the wrong people. Better it happen here, in private, when no one is going to be bothering him, and probably won't think to look for Steve for a while longer. "This someone I know?"

There's a thought in the back of his mind, but Bucky's keeping it out of his face, not wanting to even let himself guess.