text; anonymous.

[dislocked]

What does this giant turtle eat?

[ he knows steve is here -- and who knows how many people gunning to catch him. which explains the anonymous text.

also sometimes ex-winter soldiers get curious in between relentlessly stalking the network. ]

Comments

[starspangled]

I'm still trying.

[It's a confession, of sorts. Maybe his ideals don't always align with the modern world, putting him at odds with it sometimes. Maybe things haven't gotten much better. But there's no alternative that he can see, none that he can accept.]

What about you? Have you given up?

[dislocked]

There's nothing to give up.

[ Can't give up what you don't have; it's only common sense. There's nothing for him but to make amends, to atone, to figure himself out and hopefully keep resisting the urge to put a bullet between his eyes. No -- his victims wouldn't have wanted to give him the easy way out. He has to keep going. But he knows what Steve is sharing -- and a part of him thinks that it's just like him, confessing these things to a faceless stranger, his heart on his sleeve. ]

Are you always this friendly with strangers?

[starspangled]

I don't believe that.

[If he has that, then he has something. If he's still breathing, he hasn't given up. If he's still reaching out to people, even anonymously, then he wants to connect. It's not too late, and Steve's a stubborn punk who's not letting it go.]

Well, you haven't offered me candy yet. So yeah, I feel okay about you so far.

[dislocked]

Don't be too happy. I haven't found a suitably suspicious-looking van yet.

[ everyone knows candy's dispensed from those kinds of vans. bucky's subconsciously looking to reach out -- wanting to make a connection even if he doesn't want to put a name to any of it. See, he's just a jerk that way.

But being anonymous is good. Being anonymous lets him pretend to be someone other than himself for just a little while. A guy from New Jersey talking about candy and vans. ]

[starspangled]

Lemon drops are my favorite.

[Better for strangers with candy and suspicious vans to start with him, right?]

[dislocked]

[ ...this all sounds unsettlingly familiar. bucky takes awhile to respond. ]

I'm sure somebody told you to never take candy from strangers. Or to tell them what flavor you like.

[starspangled]

[It would. but hey, the last time Steve was in a similar situation, he was chosen for the serum.]

Someone did. But it wouldn't surprise him if I did it anyway.

[dislocked]

Would it upset him?

[ He wants to know. What does he remember of that ghost? ]

[starspangled]

It would. And then he'd probably ask for the bigger piece.

[dislocked]

[ But give Steve the bigger piece anyway, and come back around to beat up whoever's trying to pull a fast one on Steve Rogers. ]

That someone sounds like a riot. Would you give it to him?

[starspangled]

I don't know. The smaller piece, maybe. Or maybe I'd just make him fight me for it.