betheshield | IC Inbox (Ryslig)

Do you know when my birthday is?

In three days, actually. March 10th.

[Guess who just realized he probably wouldn't remember that?]

Would you like to do something special?

[That was a lot sooner than he'd expected. He didn't even know exactly how old he was going to be. Coulson had said something about him being 97, he thought, but that was the only time his age had come up.]

That's soon.

Do you think we should? I've never had a birthday party before. Would people come?

People love you. Of course they would come.

[It's easier to throw words like 'love' around when you're not facing someone.]

It's up to you if you want to. I'd be happy to organize something if you would like. [It'll be the last thing she does before leaving on her fact-finding expedition.]

[People love you.

He took a long moment to let that sink in. He knew it was true. Skye and Fitz had told him as much, and maybe other people loved him in other ways, but sometimes it was hard to think about. Sometimes he didn't think he deserved their love.]

I think it'd be nice. If it wouldn't be a lot of trouble.

No trouble at all.

Who would you like to invite?

[She's guessing Skye and Fitz are a given. Probably Natasha and Tony too. She's already starting to make a list of all the things they'd need.]

Okay.

[The next part takes a little more thought though, to make sure he compiled a complete list.]

Skye, Fitz, Natasha, Reira, Loki... Tony? Would that be okay?

[And of course Peggy, but that went without needing to be said. Right?]

More than okay. Do you have Reira's and Loki's numbers?

[She doesn't know them as well as the others.]

You should also let me know about your preferences for cake, if you have any.

I do. I'll make sure they receive invitations.

I. Don't know. I don't remember ever having cake.

I wouldn't suggest letting me try to make the first cake you try.

Why don't we meet up and find a place to taste some?

Okay.

[No arguments there; Bucky can't cook very well himself, and he's never tried his hand at baking.]

We could meet at the park?

That sounds lovely. I'll be by the bench I first turned to lead on.

[And so she will, complete with a parasol, a red coat, black gloves, a hat, and a black scarf over the lower half of her face just to be sure. She considered wearing sunglasses too, but it just feels too depressing to dim the sun as well as avoid it. She misses the sun, and that feeling becomes more acute when she has to bundle up to avoid it.

But she pushes those thoughts aside when she sees Bucky and smiles.] Good day, Sergeant.

[He arrived not long after their last text. It was a beautiful day out and he felt guilty enjoying it when Peggy couldn't.]

You look good.

[But then again, she always did. Even when she had to bundle up from the sun. Too bad they couldn't do this at night, but a lot of people closed up then, and besides, they would probably be more likely to serve a gargoyle than a large werebear.]

[Her smile stretches and for a moment her sharp teeth flash. She instinctively pulls her scarf over her mouth, both to protect herself from the sun and to avoid natives from seeing her smile. She's found that most people see the bearing of her teeth to be an aggressive gesture rather than a friendly one.]

Always the charmer, even in your nineties.

[She stands up to walk by him, careful not to whack him with the parasol by accident. They're quite the sight walking together, but they would be more of a sight at night, so this will have to do.] I hear there's a lovely bakery nearby willing to serve monsters.

I try.

[No, really, he did. It was a refreshing change compared to everything else, and in some way it felt natural. Maybe he'd been charming before Hydra had fucked him up.

He made sure to keep enough distance so that he wouldn't jostle her parasol. He wasn't worried about being hit by it, but he didn't want to accidentally expose her to sunlight.]

Good. I haven't been in a whole lot of food related places, here. [Mostly just the soup kitchen.] Feels weird.

You were always good with women.

[She briefly considers telling him that the first thing he ever did with her was ask her to dance, but she puts that aside for now. Is it cheating to tell him about their shared memories, or should he remember it himself?]

We can fix that. There are some gems if you know where to look. [It's certainly better than most of what he can get in their apartment, although now she has decided she should probably do something special for his birthday. Maybe pancakes? She doesn't usually cook for people, but it's a special occasion.]

Was I?

[He didn't specifically remember many women from his past. There was Peggy and someone he thought was his sister, but he wasn't sure.]

I look forward to finding them. [For someone who'd been living in the same city for nine months, he knew surprisingly little about some things. Like restaurants and bakeries. And whatever else they had.]

Yes, you were. Definitely better than Steve - Steve was rather appalling when it came to speaking to women. [Peggy actually has to stifle a laugh at the memory. It was actually part of what drew her to him, since he was genuine and awkward when most men tried to smoothly talk their way into her knickers.] The first thing you did when we met was ask me to dance, actually.

[Peggy makes a note in her head to drag Bucky out to eat more often when she gets him to go shopping with her. The forced but low-stress interaction with the world around him would be healthy and they both get good food out of the deal, so win-win.] We could start ordering delivery occasionally. It could give us a good sense of the food culture here.

[He narrowly avoided pointing out that Steve was a better person, though, no matter how charming Bucky had been before.] I think I remember that. [But he'd forgotten a lot about dancing since arriving here.] The only dancing I've done here was with a snake. [A very nice snake.]

You think they would? [Actually deliver it, that was. Monsters ordering in, people might think the delivery guys were the dinner instead.]

How much do you remember? [This is the first indication of him actually remembering her that she's seen, but she tries to keep her excitement under wraps and puts on instead just an interested expression, nothing more. She doesn't want him to know how much she misses having people around with shared experiences from the 40s. It's lonely being the only one who remembers her time, especially when she's with a man who should remember her but doesn't.

She won't stand for Bucky knowing how lonely it makes her feel, though. He'd blame himself, and he doesn't need anything else to beat himself up about.]

We won't know unless we ask, will we? Although we might want to order during the daytime and let you accept the food. [He looks a little less intimidating during the day, definitely less than her.]

[He hesitated. He knew he'd talked to Steve about what he remembered about Peggy and other things from before, but the topic didn't usually come up very often. He felt guilty admitting to people that he really didn't remember very much.]

I remember the red dress. And fighting with the Howling Commandos. I remember the way Steve would look at your picture. [He tried hard not to sound jealous. It was more envy than anything. Maybe Skye and Fitz looked at him that, but Steve...Bucky hadn't had enough of a chance.

He remembered a few more tidbits besides that, but he assumed Peggy meant what he remembered about her.]

That might work. [Though it was still amusing that he was now considered the one less frightening to talk to people.]

[The mention of Steve gives her a pang in her heart. When she came to Ryslig, it was right on the heels of resolving to let him go and move on with her life. It hurts to remember how much he cared about her, how much she cared about him, and to wonder if there's a chance he'll come back and they can try again. It's a bittersweet pain.] He liked to keep that compass close. [A part of her had been embarrassed by it, but a bigger part felt warmed by the thought. Most men had pictures of their wives (sometimes women they had met and married the day before they shipped out) taped inside of their bunks, usually in suggestive poses, but Steve just wanted a photo of her face close at hand. Now she keeps his photo in her dresser.

She tears her thoughts away from that, focusing instead on something else. Red dress?] What red dress do you...

[Oh.] You mean the one I wore when we met? [She lets out a bright, quiet laugh, glancing at him with amusement glittering in her eye.] Sergeant Barnes, of all things. I knew you liked the dress, but I didn't realize you liked it quite that much.

[Of all things, he remembers the way she looked in the dress. She wants to give him an affectionate kiss on the cheek, but that would be a little much for public and she would risk exposing herself to sunlight, so instead she affectionately bumps her arm against his.] We'll tip the delivery boys generously. [She stops at the intended bakery, nudging the door open with her foot before shifting in, very careful to avoid any contact with sunlight.] Here we are.

Edited 2016-03-30 07:26 (UTC)

[He ducked his head a little, but he was smiling. What could he say, that dress made an impression. He'd gone through hell, Steve had just rescued him, a lot of things were fuzzy but that red dress was as clear as day.]

Red's a good color for you. [That was why he'd suggested something in red before, when they'd been trying to figure out something for Peggy to wear to protect her from the sun.

He held the door for her as best he could, leaning out of the way and making sure she didn't have any trouble getting in.] That might make them more inclined to come back.

It must be. Perhaps I should start wearing more red dresses around the flat to see if it jogs anything. [Is that too much like flirting? Eh, she can't be bothered to care too much. She lives with the man.

She nods in thanks when he holds the door. She usually bristles at door-holding, but in this particular case, it actually makes both of their lives easier. She stays flesh and Bucky doesn't have to put up with covering up a lead statue.] And with any luck, word will spread that we won't eat them.

[She gestures for Bucky to find somewhere to sit as she closes her parasol and walks up to the cashier.]

[If it was flirting, Bucky wasn't going to complain. He wouldn't mind seeing Peggy in more red dresses. It was a refreshing idea, and it made him smile.] Maybe. Wouldn't say no to that.

[Bucky glanced around, took in his surroundings, before picking a spot close to the window where he could keep an eye on the door and the rest of the place at the same time. Old habits died hard.]

We'll see how it goes. [She has some dresses she could wear. She doesn't want them to be too sexy, but it's hard to find a red dress that isn't at least a little sexy. Maybe over the weekend she could put on one and wear that while walking around the apartment. A part of her warns her against dressing up for him, since she should make sure there are still firm boundaries between the two of them, but she dismisses it. Any boundaries she had originally got blurred a while ago.

She comes to the table - nodding in appreciation of the placement - before sitting down with a plate of samples from all kinds of cake and frosting combinations.]

I'm not going to tell you what we have. Instead, I want you to try them all and let me know what you like.

[She puts a fork in front of Bucky, then twirls a fork of her own between her fingers with a smile.] I may have to sample as well.

[Don't worry too much, Peggy. Bucky had already fallen for a good friend's girl once; he didn't plan on doing it again. It felt too much like betraying someone, even if Grant had been gone for a long time.

He eyed all of the samples that Peggy brought back, taking the fork.] Okay. [Telling him what each of them were might not help very much, anyway. He'd never had cake before.

Picking one at random, he went with one that reminded him of the chocolate Grant had given him when they'd first met and took a bite. It was chocolate alright, and he made a soft, pleased sound.]

[Sometimes it's not as easy as just resolving not to fall for someone. Sometimes you trip and fall anyway. But she doesn't think about that for now.

She smiles at the noise, leaving her fork on the plate but not eating anything yet.] I'll make sure to note you like that one.

IC Inbox (Ryslig)

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