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| open | Throw your dreams into space like a kite

Who: Bucky and anyone
Where: In space
When: Backdated to the event
Rating: Will update as needed
Summary: All things space.
The Story:

one: the silversun strip

[He’s allowed himself to fall into a bit of a rut. The same routine. The same two people, one of them being a cat, for company. He likes it, makes him happy, but he knows he can’t rely on that forever. He needs to get out there and the events, even when they’re bad, can be a way for him to meet other people. So Bucky finds the most touristy place he can and walks around for a while.

First the arcade, where he challenges someone to one of the shooting games; it almost feels like cheating, but he admits from the start that he’s okay with a gun. After a few hours there, he ends up in the casino, playing a game of roulette before he gets bored with that and heads towards the arena. He hovers around the viewing areas, not really wanting to compete, but hoping someone familiar will come by soon.]

two: flying cars

[Bucky’s no stranger to the concept, but the successful application of a vehicle that can fly - yeah, Howard Stark never quite pulled that one off. It leaves him a little nostalgic, remembering that night. When the car had hovered off the ground, it was as if he’d been thrown into the future. He didn’t even mind when smoke had billowed up and it’d stopped working. Stark left that particular invention fall to the wayside for others, but knowing what he had helped with, Bucky can’t complain.

So he rents one. He’s about to start it up and take it for a spin, when he sees someone he knows.]

Wanna ride?

[He’s a good pilot. No experience with this particular craft, but part of the fun is learning.]

three: wildcard

[Bucky is available for any of the event shenanigans. If either of the options above don’t fit with your character, feel free to pick something. I’m super flexible and would love to get Bucky out and about. I can be messaged through my journal or through

barebone.]

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[Bucky shrugs, settling into his seat as he crosses and buckles the straps. He remembers the way it felt, all that anticipation and expectation at the expo, how happy and young he'd felt back then. Probably not the healthiest to go chasing that feeling. He thinks it might be the right choice anyway.

He can't help but smile at Steve though. Warm and fond, affection loosening the seemingly always tense line of his shoulders, softening his brows. He's a sap. Through and through. He can't even find it in himself to try and hide it. They both know he is, no point in trying to be smooth.]

Probably not.

[He tucks his lower lip into his upper, worrying it with his teeth as he mulls it over. Bucky didn't want Steve to get hurt, but he knew it took a lot to do that.]

That's not important. [His birthday, that is. Bucky waves it off.] How about we give it a go and if I can't manage, then we can do somethin' else.

[He raises a brow, patting the seat next to him.]

Besides, never really got the chance to cruise around town with my best guy.

[ Their birthdays generally pass without much ceremony these days. It's not like they had ever done anything that over-the-top to celebrate as kids, and now that they're both technically over ninety (and in Bucky's case, one hundred now), it doesn't seem that important. They'd still split a whole cake between the two of them and watched a movie, but that's besides the point.

Steve can tell that Bucky is on the fence about this now, and it hadn't been his intention to actually talk him out of it so much as give him a hard time. Especially when it looks like he's having a legitimately good time; Steve would never want to get in the way of that, given its rarity.

Already halfway to climbing into the passenger seat, Steve pauses the moment Bucky says "best guy." It's something he hasn't been called in a while, probably not since before Bucky's memories got wiped by Wonderland, and his chest flutters while his stomach tightens.

After that brief holdup, he pulls himself the rest of the way into the car and straps himself in. Perfectly safe, right? ]

You better not disappoint now. [ Steve smiles crookedly and winks at Bucky as he braces himself for the ride. ]

[Bucky pauses, too, when Steve does, stilling as his brows furrow in concern. For a second, he figures he's messed up somehow. Been too casual, said the wrong words. He's never really said anything like that to Steve before and he worries he's crossed some line he hadn't realized existed. But then Steve's climbing in, smiling and winking and making Bucky's stomach swoop and he knows it's alright.

Rolling his eyes, he hits a few more of the controls.]

That's a lot of pressure, pal.

[It takes a few minutes, a lot of buttons are pressed, but he manages to get it started and in the air. The ride is.. bumpy, nowhere near smooth at first, but he doesn't hit anybody and after a little while, they're coasting through the air. Slowly.

Mumbling, quietly and mostly to himself-]

Better not make any grandpa jokes, Steve.

[ As far as Steve's concerned, crashing is hardly a failure. He'd done plenty of that when he'd ridden his motorcycle through the landscapes of Europe back during the war. It wasn't as exciting without a crash of some kind, and it got to the point where the Commandos actually teased him about it.

Good thing Howard had been around to fix up the bike every time.

This is a far cry from all of that, and Steve is patient as Bucky figures out all of the controls and eventually gets them airborne. It's a surreal thing to be floating over everything in a car, offering a stunning view, but it's true that their pace is relaxed, to say the least.

Steve catches Bucky's words and laughs to himself, shaking his head. ] I'll leave that to everyone else. It's overdone. [ He's tired of the jokes too, Buck. ] Is there any way to speed up, though? This can't be its top speed. [ He taps his fingers on the side of the car. ]

[Steve has a point. He hears it all the time, more often in Wonderland now that he's making some friends of his own, which means they're comfortable around him, but it does get old after a while.

Then he's asking to speed the car up and now that he's not as worried about wrecking the thing, he doesn't see the problem indulging both their needs to go a little faster. Or a lot. Knowing Steve.]

Sure thing.

[Bucky presses a lever forward, slow and steady, leaning back in the seat as it quickly accelerates to a speed that requires him to focus on moving in and out and around other cars.]

How's this? [He glances at Steve, tossing him a quick wink.] Do you think they hand out tickets here?

[Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes - breaking the rules in every galaxy.]

[ The controls on this flying car aren't quite the same as the ones they're used to, but they look to be close enough. There's a lever that spurs it to accelerate, and something that's similar to a wheel that Bucky can use to steer them around the other cars. He's getting the hang of it pretty quick, all things considered. The strangest part about it is that they're operating in three dimensions. ]

Better. [ The wind's whipping through Steve's hair and it feels great. He can't help but lean out of his seat a little to look below them and see the Citadel in all its glory from above.

At Bucky's question, Steve sits back and shrugs. ] No idea. There's gotta be some rules. [ It's not like anyone had asked Bucky for a license, although that doesn't mean they're not required. ]

But hey, so long as we don't crash into anything I don't think anyone's gonna bother us.

[ Even if they did get themselves into trouble, the event will be over in a matter of days. There shouldn't be any lasting consequences. ]

[It was just another reason why they were so good together, he figured. Bucky hadn't even considered if he was breaking any rules until he'd teased Steve about it and Steve had gotten in the car knowing that Bucky didn't have a license to fly this thing. They could get into trouble and it might be against the rules, but they were doing it anyway. Together.

Bucky smiles, speeding the car up a little more.]

Famous last words, Rogers.

[Then the police arrive to take them in.

Shaking his head, he turns the car down a less packed area of the city, slowing back down and gesturing towards Steve's side. The first time he'd taken the car for a spin, he'd come this way. It was nice. Peaceful.]

Kinda pretty, all the colors. Not as many people.

[With one hand on the wheel, he reaches over and pats Steve's thigh with the other, wiggling his fingers in a 'gimme' motion. Obviously, he wants to hold Steve's hand as they cruise. It's kinda their thing now.]

Could be worse.

[ So long as his famous last words aren't something like "oops" or "I've totally got this," Steve thinks he'll be fine. Either way, he knows that Bucky is only teasing him and that the danger presented by their current irresponsibility isn't much. Not compared to some of the other pickles they've gotten themselves into, anyway.

Steve doesn't mind when they slow down to appreciate the scenery above a quieter part of the Citadel. Heck, some might even call it romantic, if they want to go that route.

Apparently Bucky does, with the way that he motions for Steve's hand. They might as well be making out in the back seat of the car at the drive-in or something cheesy like that. Except this is way better, and Steve reaches out for them to intertwine fingers, palm against palm.

He speaks out as he looks up toward the sky, swirling sunset colors and not-so-distant stars making it a spectacular view. ] You know, as far as dates go, I think this one is pretty good.

[ It might even count as their first "official" one, given that everything they've done at the mansion has been fairly lowkey. ]

[If the car they're in was setup a little differently, Bucky could've pulled Steve closer and thrown an arm around his shoulder. Maybe even gone the fake yawn and stretch route, played it real casual to see if it'd make Steve laugh. He used to like dating, wooing the other person and indulging in some of the sappier romantic stuff. Bucky hasn't had the time for or anyone he's wanted to do that with until now, so he's gonna use any opportunity given him to do it now that he does.

Besides, Bucky likes holding Steve's hand. It's intimate in a newer way and the contact reminds him of all the good times before that they've done it. The sweetness of it.]

I've been thinking about that, Steve.

[Their 'dates'. There are some questions that have laid heavily on his mind but he hasn't found a good time to ask them. His eyes are out towards the horizon, thumb running across the side of Steve's hand.]

Would you wanna go on one? [Not just in their room.] I know we've been going slow, but Wonderland's been alright.

[He's not sure how to say that he's ready to do it. He'd held back before because paranoia was winning the internal battle he's always fighting with himself. It was still a contender, but he could manage it now.]

Figured if we went out, together, nothin' would happen and if it did, we'd make it through and try again. [They couldn't control events or the people around them, but still.] Be nice to do something. Unless you don't want to do that.

[ As someone who had always been the one watching from a distance as Bucky sweet-talked some girl (sometimes it felt like there was a different one every month -- they never lasted long), it's strange to be on the receiving end of it now, though Steve can see that Bucky's still holding back. He needs to feel everything out like he's doing it for the first time. Given that it's been something like seventy years, Steve hardly blames him.

What's a little more amusing is how Bucky works up to asking Steve out on a date like he's worried that Steve's going to reject him. Especially given what they're doing. ]

I mean, as far as I can tell we're on one right now. [ Steve speaks the words casually as shrugs one shoulder, leaning further toward Bucky's side of the car, though the center console between them means they can't get as close as either of them would like. He squeezes his hand instead. ]

If you're talking about back at the mansion too, I'm sure that can also be arranged.

[ This seems more special given where they are, but Steve can see the importance of normalizing it back in more familiar surroundings too. Whatever Bucky wants to try, he's all for it. ]

Yeah, you're right.

[Bucky leans in and he can almost prop himself up against Steve's side, but the car's not really made for that, so they make do. He's also feeling particularly relaxed, given their current situation.]

I'd like that. [Oddly enough, he's beginning to think of Wonderland as home. He knows it's not the place, it's the people. It's the guy sitting right beside him.] Can I be real honest with you, Steve?

[He pauses, but it's brief. Not much time between words for his friend to say no, not that Bucky thinks he'd do that.]

I don't wanna go back. Not to Wonderland, but where we're from. [He keeps his gaze locked on the horizon, not focused but not looking at Steve either.] We didn't have this back there. And if leaving means forgetting, then I don't want that.

[It's romantic, right? Telling someone that they're something special while on an impromptu date in space.]

[ It's not often that Bucky is honest or open with Steve, so he's hardly going to reject the opportunity to hear what he's really feeling. And frankly, he isn't surprised by what Bucky has to say either. He wouldn't be the first person who's decided they prefer Wonderland over their own home.

Because the thing is, "home" doesn't really exist for them anymore. It's something they can only find in their past, a place that's impossible for them to reach. The only thing that really makes them feel at home is being in each other's company, and if that's only possible in Wonderland, then Steve understand Bucky's view.

Back home, he has to be frozen away until they can fix whatever's been scrambled in his head. Steve's not in the best place either; there's nothing approaching the stability they have here. ]

I get what you're saying, I do. [ His grip on Bucky's hand remains firm. ] The world hasn't really been that kind to you back home anyway. Not that Wonderland is either, but... we're dealing with it together.

[ He sighs and leans back, shaking his head. ] It's not like we get to decide, though. [ And while Steve doesn't want to say it now, if he was given the choice to return home, he would do it. Wonderland is only a holding pattern. They can't enact any kind of difference here, and there's still plenty of work to be done back home. Living without any purpose beyond existing just doesn't suit him. ]

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| open | Throw your dreams into space like a kite

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