Besides you. Maybe a blanket. It's unseasonably cold tonight.
( When he gets home (or leaves his room), Alec's not trying to track his whereabouts, he'll find his Dominant in the living room, Chinese take out containers strewn across their coffee table. His phone lies across the room on the kitchen counter, clearly not being touched. Alec had tossed it, having rewatched Lucy's wedding announcement. And then he'd messaged Bucky. He tosses it back down again and gets plates, chopsticks and bowls. )
[ Instead of answering, Bucky comes out of his room in a worn pair of sweatpants and a soft tank top. He's got a fluffy grey blanket over an arm, too. Finding the simplest creature comforts has brought him a lot of peace here. This place is chaotic, sometimes cruel, but Bucky's found parts of himself that had felt truly lost to the war in his year and change here. He doesn't hide the arm anymore and he doesn't run from his life. ]
Smells good.
[ He grins and settles on the floor behind the coffee table. ]
( Alec would sit on the couch, but Bucky's move inspires him. So, he pushes the table a few inches, sitting on the edge of the couch and sliding himself down to the floor. The fortune cookies sit to the side - because they always come last - but there's a fork or spoon in every container ready for the taking. )
I ordered from a place I never have before. Living in the Up tower, it's easy to forget how much there really is. ( He starts with the rice to give Bucky first dibs on the main courses. ) How are you liking your room?
[ Bucky takes the clue and starts to add food to his plate, taking a little bit of everything to try at first. This is the first time he's had his own room in a place that he wasn't sharing with Steve or Peggy. It feels strange, but it's not a bad thing. He's always stuck close to them because he wants to. He's fine on his own, really, just happier when he isn't. At least that's what he tells himself. ]
I'm not really sure what to do with my own space, but I'll figure it out. You settling in okay?
[ Bucky hadn't had much to unpack. Clothes, his gun, a few odds and ends. He lives pretty light. ]
It's more space and privacy than I've ever had. I'm trying not to get used to it.
( He usually has one room. Or, their estate in Idris but it'd been so long since he'd been home. The Institute was always bustling. He got his privacy late at night or early in the morning but here, it's quieter than he's used to. And living with someone and not fifty someone's is different, too.
He sets the rice down, taking another container Bucky's finished with. )
Yeah. I had my own room for a little while, but we were still in the tower and after Peggy moved in, Steve pretty much lived in my room with me. I guess I lived on my own a few years back, but I wasn't really in a position to enjoy it.
[ He remembers his newspaper covered windows in Bucharest. That apartment hadn't been a home the way this could be. Even if it's temporary, he can make it his. ]
Maybe I'll put up some pictures. I have a couple of drawings Steve left and I can take pictures of other people. You know... in case they leave, too.
Yeah. We meant to move out into a house, but we never got around to it before he was gone. Neither of us grew up with much, though, so it never felt cramped, you know? We wanted to give Peg her own space in the other room.
( The thought never quite materializes. He thinks of Magnus. Of Lucy. Of their happiness and the fleeting connection he never accepted from Magnus back in New York. And the private firsts he let Magnus be a part of. )
Magnus Bane. He's a warlock from my reality.
( He wants to say he's sorry for Steve no longer being there. Steve meant a lot to Bucky. He must've. Bedrooms weren't shared lightly. Beds, either. He supposes they could've each taken a twin bed, young brothers style. Dorm rooms for mundane colleges. But, Alec never had to worry. Their money got them their own rooms. )
[ Because Bucky figures if the guy's worth mentioning that they're probably friends and it wouldn't be a bad idea for them to meet some of each other's friends, right? They have to protect each other here. That could mean having to contact friends at some point. He really can't turn the tactical part of his brain off entirely. ]
There were a lot of people from my world here last year, but most of them are gone now. Hopefully somewhere better and not worse.
( His forehead creases, his lips draw into a thin line and he nods once, knowing he will. He also knows it's more complicated than that and he wonders if Bucky can read into it.
There's worse than this and also better. It could go either way, he knows. )
Has it been a full year since they were here? Steve?
( He listens, piercing two pieces of broccoli. )
Magnus... you'll meet Magnus. He wants to ward the house.
Most of them disappeared... I guess a good eight months ago? Steve went about four months back. He showed up again a month later with no memories of this place and then disappeared again before we could get contracts signed or anything. So now it's just me and Peg. I know I've seen some of Steve's other friends around the city, but I don't really know them.
[ He takes a bite of his own food, smiling like it's his first bite of good food in ages. that's just how he is now, though. Everything good gets savored just a little more. ]
Okay. If it'll make it safer, that's fine with me. Is it a problem that my friend Thomas is a wizard? If he were to visit, I mean. He's one of the few people here I really trust.
( That's tough. He doesn't know what he'd do if Is or Jace showed up one month and disappeared. Or, if they were here for months and disappeared and came without memories. His eyes lower with more concern, taking a bite. )
We can ask. I don't know the difference.
( He thinks they're wards of protection. Basic. Maybe well-being? He should fucking ask. )
( His laughter is met with a grin on Alec's side, glass paused at his lips, eyes over the top of the glass. Is this Bucky opening up? Loosening up? Is this Alec doing the same? )
[ Bucky leans in to bump his shoulder into Alec's. ]
You just did.
[ There's a warm smile on his face as he settles back again and moves to shovel more food into his mouth. Alec's more serious than Bucky is, but Bucky's been there. He had to relearn how to make jokes. ]
( He keeps eating, having taken his break, but making sure to listen to Bucky. His smile doesn't go anywhere, liking the time he spends with his roommate. His sub. )
Guy's taking a swing at monogamy in a place like this? Brave.
[ Bucky figures maybe it does work for some people. Hell, before this place, he'd been pretty interested in exactly one person since the war, but he can't help the fact that he's let a few more people into whatever's left of his heart now and he's slept with at least a few more. ]
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( When he gets home (or leaves his room), Alec's not trying to track his whereabouts, he'll find his Dominant in the living room, Chinese take out containers strewn across their coffee table. His phone lies across the room on the kitchen counter, clearly not being touched. Alec had tossed it, having rewatched Lucy's wedding announcement. And then he'd messaged Bucky. He tosses it back down again and gets plates, chopsticks and bowls. )
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Smells good.
[ He grins and settles on the floor behind the coffee table. ]
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I ordered from a place I never have before. Living in the Up tower, it's easy to forget how much there really is. ( He starts with the rice to give Bucky first dibs on the main courses. ) How are you liking your room?
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[ Bucky takes the clue and starts to add food to his plate, taking a little bit of everything to try at first. This is the first time he's had his own room in a place that he wasn't sharing with Steve or Peggy. It feels strange, but it's not a bad thing. He's always stuck close to them because he wants to. He's fine on his own, really, just happier when he isn't. At least that's what he tells himself. ]
I'm not really sure what to do with my own space, but I'll figure it out. You settling in okay?
[ Bucky hadn't had much to unpack. Clothes, his gun, a few odds and ends. He lives pretty light. ]
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( He usually has one room. Or, their estate in Idris but it'd been so long since he'd been home. The Institute was always bustling. He got his privacy late at night or early in the morning but here, it's quieter than he's used to. And living with someone and not fifty someone's is different, too.
He sets the rice down, taking another container Bucky's finished with. )
I think we're supposed to make it our own.
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[ He remembers his newspaper covered windows in Bucharest. That apartment hadn't been a home the way this could be. Even if it's temporary, he can make it his. ]
Maybe I'll put up some pictures. I have a couple of drawings Steve left and I can take pictures of other people. You know... in case they leave, too.
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( Izzy is the creative sister. She'd buy the art and hang it. )
We should visit galleries in the city. See if we can't do something for the rest of the house.
( Live in it. Decorate it. Make it their own as he'd put it before. )
You and Steve shared a room?
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[ Not that she'd ever demanded it. ]
You have anyone here from back home?
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( The thought never quite materializes. He thinks of Magnus. Of Lucy. Of their happiness and the fleeting connection he never accepted from Magnus back in New York. And the private firsts he let Magnus be a part of. )
Magnus Bane. He's a warlock from my reality.
( He wants to say he's sorry for Steve no longer being there. Steve meant a lot to Bucky. He must've. Bedrooms weren't shared lightly. Beds, either. He supposes they could've each taken a twin bed, young brothers style. Dorm rooms for mundane colleges. But, Alec never had to worry. Their money got them their own rooms. )
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[ Because Bucky figures if the guy's worth mentioning that they're probably friends and it wouldn't be a bad idea for them to meet some of each other's friends, right? They have to protect each other here. That could mean having to contact friends at some point. He really can't turn the tactical part of his brain off entirely. ]
There were a lot of people from my world here last year, but most of them are gone now. Hopefully somewhere better and not worse.
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There's worse than this and also better. It could go either way, he knows. )
Has it been a full year since they were here? Steve?
( He listens, piercing two pieces of broccoli. )
Magnus... you'll meet Magnus. He wants to ward the house.
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[ He takes a bite of his own food, smiling like it's his first bite of good food in ages. that's just how he is now, though. Everything good gets savored just a little more. ]
Okay. If it'll make it safer, that's fine with me. Is it a problem that my friend Thomas is a wizard? If he were to visit, I mean. He's one of the few people here I really trust.
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We can ask. I don't know the difference.
( He thinks they're wards of protection. Basic. Maybe well-being? He should fucking ask. )
Good food?
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Magic's kind of over my head, to be honest. I've seen plenty of it around here, but it's not really my wheelhouse, you know?
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( With his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, he smirks, sitting back from his meal. )
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[ He manages a grin for all of two seconds before it breaks off into a laugh. ]
I'm sorry. That was a terrible joke, even for me.
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( His laughter is met with a grin on Alec's side, glass paused at his lips, eyes over the top of the glass. Is this Bucky opening up? Loosening up? Is this Alec doing the same? )
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[ Maybe it wasn't a good one, but it was a joke. ]
Hard not to make jokes when things are so casual here.
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( He likes them. He also ignores them, too. )
That warlock. ( He can contribute. ) Magic's been inside of me, too.
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You just did.
[ There's a warm smile on his face as he settles back again and moves to shovel more food into his mouth. Alec's more serious than Bucky is, but Bucky's been there. He had to relearn how to make jokes. ]
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( He keeps eating, having taken his break, but making sure to listen to Bucky. His smile doesn't go anywhere, liking the time he spends with his roommate. His sub. )
I'm going to cut things off. With Magnus.
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You're going to cut things off with the guy who's going to ward the house for us? What happened there?
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( He didn't think this through. Warding and backing off from whatever arrangement they'd been making. )
He'll still ward the house.
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[ Bucky figures maybe it does work for some people. Hell, before this place, he'd been pretty interested in exactly one person since the war, but he can't help the fact that he's let a few more people into whatever's left of his heart now and he's slept with at least a few more. ]
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( There's monogamy and there's romance. He's not built for whatever he has with Magnus and what Magnus has with Lucy. )
You don't think it's possible for monogamy here?
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