[ Bucky's mind races to some bad places fast. He can't really help it, but it doesn't stop him from answering. If Steve needs something, Bucky will get it for him. It doesn't matter what it is.
There's an edge he can't quite keep out of his voice when he answers, though, bracing himself for all the questions he's dreading the most. ]
[ Maybe it's decades of friendship and being bonded to your best friend like a soul-brother that alerts Steve to the sharp edge of caution in Bucky's voice.
He's quick to respond: ] It's nothing bad.
[ Which, all right, isn't always a convincing argument. ]
[ Bucky resists the urge to ask if she's okay. Steve wouldn't be drawing something like that out. It probably reaaly isn't bad. ]
What did you do?
[ The smile is probably audible. Whatever it is, he can't believe anyone would come to him about a relationship thing now. Maybe 80 years ago, sure, but no one else would come to him now. ]
You're his best friend, you're his only real point of reference where the fairer gender is concerned; he's going to you no matter what the circumstances. ]
I'm sending you a photo I took yesterday.
[ It takes a second or two, because Steve's still not fully versed in the technology of photo-sharing, but:
I'm flattered, but it looks a little small for my fingers.
[ As he tries to keep the laughter out of his voice and only half-manages it.
After a pause, he huffs out a breath and gets a little more serious, but there's still an awful lot of fondness in his voice. It's hard not to feel fond about the idea of Steve and Peggy being happy together. Every time he sees the two of them together, it still makes him smile and he lives with them. ]
I think she'll love it and she'd be crazy to say no to you.
[ Bucky laughs right back. It feels so familiar, in that way that Steve always does even in a strange world. It's an odd comfort that after everything they've been through and the end of the world as they know it that Steve is still the same guy in all the ways that matter. ]
So be cheesy. She knows you. Don't go sellin' her something else now.
[ The very same can be said of Bucky. Having him here, having him awake, having him be present for these moments Steve really, honestly never thought he'd ever have - it's something he'll never be able to describe, that sense of gratitude.
It's a comfort. It's a real damned comfort. ]
I guess you're right. [ He chuckles, but his tone sobers when he continues. ] I never thought I'd get this, Buck.
I know what you mean. I really thought you were hopeless for a while there.
[ Which is a lie, of course. Bucky had believed in Steve when no one else had. He'd always been upset that no one could see in Steve the things Bucky had seen. Steve's a better guy than he is, probably always has been, and if anyone had been hopeless back then, it had been all the dames who hadn't been able to see that.
He sighs. ]
You deserve this. You know that, right? You both do.
[ Well, to be fair to those women ... he was a little shit much of the time. Stubborn and a little too passionate about the things he couldn't do for himself. He envied men like Bucky, men who could bravely volunteer for the war and pass the assessment tests without blinking an eye.
His best friend didn't have it easy either; no one did in those days, but he had a lot of advantages Steve did not. He doesn't hold it against him though - if anything, Steve's grateful to Bucky in more ways than he could say because he could've hung around any tall, good-looking guy, and he picked the little punchy runt. ]
You know, that means the goddamned world to me, Bucky. Thanks.
[ There's a pause. Steve has to know that Bucky is smiling at his phone. For everything they've been through, he hopes that Steve knows that it's not just lip service. It's never been anything but the honest truth. Steve is the best man he's ever known and the person who means the most to him in the world. Nothing could change that. Bucky would move Heaven and Earth for him. ]
Yeah, well...
[ He coughs awkwardly. It's a little too much, even with Steve. This is something he knows he's never going to have, but he's so fucking thankful that one of them has made it out of the other side unscathed enough to have this and if he had to choose between them, he'd pick Steve every time. ]
[ Steve can hear the smile in his best friend's voice, and god, it feels nice to have this, you know? To have a conversation that neither of them could imagine possible, to think of something that resembles 'normal' when their lives have been anything but.
Two men taken out of time, pushed to their limits, one tortured, the other a symbol of a time when heroes were desperately needed. Both have lost a hell of a lot, but through it all, they had each other.
Steve was never going to give up on Bucky. Never. ]
If the answer's 'yes', you know you're gonna have to be my best man, right?
'Course I have to be, but I might have to poison you a little to get you drunk for your bachelor party.
[ They really do need to celebrate, though, even if they'll both be mostly sober. There's a lot to be happy for right now. Suddenly, it's more than he's had to be happy for in a while and even Bucky's a little overwhelmed at how much this means to him and he's not even the one getting married. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
audio; un: s.rogers
[ Does Steve sound ... a little unsure about something? Awkward, maybe?
If he didn't know any better, he might as well be that small, stringy young man faking his place of birth and age in order to enlist in the army. ]
I've got something I need to ask you about.
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There's an edge he can't quite keep out of his voice when he answers, though, bracing himself for all the questions he's dreading the most. ]
You gonna tell me what it is?
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He's quick to respond: ] It's nothing bad.
[ Which, all right, isn't always a convincing argument. ]
Maybe a little embarrassing, that's all.
It's about Peggy.
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What did you do?
[ The smile is probably audible. Whatever it is, he can't believe anyone would come to him about a relationship thing now. Maybe 80 years ago, sure, but no one else would come to him now. ]
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You're his best friend, you're his only real point of reference where the fairer gender is concerned; he's going to you no matter what the circumstances. ]
I'm sending you a photo I took yesterday.
[ It takes a second or two, because Steve's still not fully versed in the technology of photo-sharing, but:
ATT: IMG_03840.JPG ]
What do you think?
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[ As he tries to keep the laughter out of his voice and only half-manages it.
After a pause, he huffs out a breath and gets a little more serious, but there's still an awful lot of fondness in his voice. It's hard not to feel fond about the idea of Steve and Peggy being happy together. Every time he sees the two of them together, it still makes him smile and he lives with them. ]
I think she'll love it and she'd be crazy to say no to you.
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Jerk.
[ It's said with the same amount of fondness in his voice, their dumb little running gag since they were young boys.
He nods, even though Bucky can't see him. ]
I keep running through the different ways I'd ask the question in my head. Nothing ever really sounds right. Most of it sounds cheesy.
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[ Bucky laughs right back. It feels so familiar, in that way that Steve always does even in a strange world. It's an odd comfort that after everything they've been through and the end of the world as they know it that Steve is still the same guy in all the ways that matter. ]
So be cheesy. She knows you. Don't go sellin' her something else now.
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It's a comfort. It's a real damned comfort. ]
I guess you're right. [ He chuckles, but his tone sobers when he continues. ] I never thought I'd get this, Buck.
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[ Which is a lie, of course. Bucky had believed in Steve when no one else had. He'd always been upset that no one could see in Steve the things Bucky had seen. Steve's a better guy than he is, probably always has been, and if anyone had been hopeless back then, it had been all the dames who hadn't been able to see that.
He sighs. ]
You deserve this. You know that, right? You both do.
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His best friend didn't have it easy either; no one did in those days, but he had a lot of advantages Steve did not. He doesn't hold it against him though - if anything, Steve's grateful to Bucky in more ways than he could say because he could've hung around any tall, good-looking guy, and he picked the little punchy runt. ]
You know, that means the goddamned world to me, Bucky. Thanks.
no subject
Yeah, well...
[ He coughs awkwardly. It's a little too much, even with Steve. This is something he knows he's never going to have, but he's so fucking thankful that one of them has made it out of the other side unscathed enough to have this and if he had to choose between them, he'd pick Steve every time. ]
UGH how dare you w this tag ... i'm choking up ;;
Two men taken out of time, pushed to their limits, one tortured, the other a symbol of a time when heroes were desperately needed. Both have lost a hell of a lot, but through it all, they had each other.
Steve was never going to give up on Bucky. Never. ]
If the answer's 'yes', you know you're gonna have to be my best man, right?
:>
[ They really do need to celebrate, though, even if they'll both be mostly sober. There's a lot to be happy for right now. Suddenly, it's more than he's had to be happy for in a while and even Bucky's a little overwhelmed at how much this means to him and he's not even the one getting married. ]
You'll be fine.