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screwyoumarvelSteve had been staring at a section of the Wall for a while when someone stopped beside him instead of just walking on past and said, "Come here often?"
He didn't look at Bucky, just said, "You know, it's funny, but I seem to recall your girlfriend promising I wouldn't be put under surveillance."
"You're not. This place is. There's facial recognition software that, curiously, pings when certain people show up three times in the same week." Steve said nothing. "What's going on, Steve?" People were starting to notice them now. Steve was remarkable, but he was remarkable in a generic kind of way: big, blond, handsome and clean-cut. He looked military, and lots of military people came to stand at this wall. He didn't get a second look. Bucky, though, Bucky was wearing long sleeves and gloves in the heat of a Washington summer.
Steve opened his mouth, then closed it again. "I can't. I can't talk about it yet."
"When you can, you know where to find me," Bucky said easily. "Nick says you have this wall memorized."
"Working on it." They'd died in a war he'd missed, and if he had just been there, they might not have. He owed it to them. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Meeting with the president."
"What's he like?"
"You haven't met him yet?" He sounded surprised.
"No reason to. I'm retired, remember?"
"I think you'd like him a lot. No. I know you'd like him a lot." Bucky was quiet for a while, staring at the wall with him. Then he said, "I was going to call you, but this is better. There's a problem."
"Okay," Steve said, and turned to walk away from the wall. Bucky followed him to a bench overlooking the reflecting pool, and they watched the geese for a few minutes before he said, "What is it?"
"You know that meeting you had with Tasha a while back?"
"The one where she asked to see my scars and then booted me out with no explanation? Yes. Hard to forget."
"Your nonexistant scars," Bucky pointed out.
"They fade quickly. I heal fast, you know that. You can still see the one on my knee, sort of."
"Right. Okay. Here's the problem. Sharon didn't shoot you with her service weapon."
Steve turned to look at him. He didn't know what was in his face at that moment, but it made Bucky wince. "What?" He knew his voice sounded strangled. He couldn't help it.
"She recovered the memory and the gun recently. We don't know what it was supposed to do; it's not like anything anyone's ever seen before."
"I'm pretty sure it was supposed to kill me, Buck. And it did."
"Right, but it didn't take. And the actual bullets were replaced with some she'd fired on the range or something. In the chaos while we were swapping you and the decoy it was probably pretty easy, actually. Anyway, we don't know if the gun malfunctioned, or..."
"If I'm some kind of time bomb waiting to go off," Steve finished for him, and Bucky winced again.
"Yeah. Look, I know you had a full physical after you came back, and more testing when we were trying to convince Stark you're not a Skrull, pointless as that was. But we didn't know we were actually looking for anything then."
Steve nodded. "When do you need me in?"
"I'd like to say there's no rush but there kind of is. You going to be in New York soon?"
"I'd talked to Tony about going to a baseball game, but I don't know when. I'll come up sometime this week."
"Okay," Bucky said.
"Okay."
"I was never here," he said, and got up and walked off.
"Obviously!" Steve called after him. He watched the geese for a while longer before he stood up and started walking. It was a mile back to the subway station, a half-hour ride to where he'd left his bike, and a long drive back to Fandom. But that was fine. He could spend the journey lying to himself that this wouldn't impact his nightmares.
((NFI, NFB due to distance.))
He didn't look at Bucky, just said, "You know, it's funny, but I seem to recall your girlfriend promising I wouldn't be put under surveillance."
"You're not. This place is. There's facial recognition software that, curiously, pings when certain people show up three times in the same week." Steve said nothing. "What's going on, Steve?" People were starting to notice them now. Steve was remarkable, but he was remarkable in a generic kind of way: big, blond, handsome and clean-cut. He looked military, and lots of military people came to stand at this wall. He didn't get a second look. Bucky, though, Bucky was wearing long sleeves and gloves in the heat of a Washington summer.
Steve opened his mouth, then closed it again. "I can't. I can't talk about it yet."
"When you can, you know where to find me," Bucky said easily. "Nick says you have this wall memorized."
"Working on it." They'd died in a war he'd missed, and if he had just been there, they might not have. He owed it to them. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Meeting with the president."
"What's he like?"
"You haven't met him yet?" He sounded surprised.
"No reason to. I'm retired, remember?"
"I think you'd like him a lot. No. I know you'd like him a lot." Bucky was quiet for a while, staring at the wall with him. Then he said, "I was going to call you, but this is better. There's a problem."
"Okay," Steve said, and turned to walk away from the wall. Bucky followed him to a bench overlooking the reflecting pool, and they watched the geese for a few minutes before he said, "What is it?"
"You know that meeting you had with Tasha a while back?"
"The one where she asked to see my scars and then booted me out with no explanation? Yes. Hard to forget."
"Your nonexistant scars," Bucky pointed out.
"They fade quickly. I heal fast, you know that. You can still see the one on my knee, sort of."
"Right. Okay. Here's the problem. Sharon didn't shoot you with her service weapon."
Steve turned to look at him. He didn't know what was in his face at that moment, but it made Bucky wince. "What?" He knew his voice sounded strangled. He couldn't help it.
"She recovered the memory and the gun recently. We don't know what it was supposed to do; it's not like anything anyone's ever seen before."
"I'm pretty sure it was supposed to kill me, Buck. And it did."
"Right, but it didn't take. And the actual bullets were replaced with some she'd fired on the range or something. In the chaos while we were swapping you and the decoy it was probably pretty easy, actually. Anyway, we don't know if the gun malfunctioned, or..."
"If I'm some kind of time bomb waiting to go off," Steve finished for him, and Bucky winced again.
"Yeah. Look, I know you had a full physical after you came back, and more testing when we were trying to convince Stark you're not a Skrull, pointless as that was. But we didn't know we were actually looking for anything then."
Steve nodded. "When do you need me in?"
"I'd like to say there's no rush but there kind of is. You going to be in New York soon?"
"I'd talked to Tony about going to a baseball game, but I don't know when. I'll come up sometime this week."
"Okay," Bucky said.
"Okay."
"I was never here," he said, and got up and walked off.
"Obviously!" Steve called after him. He watched the geese for a while longer before he stood up and started walking. It was a mile back to the subway station, a half-hour ride to where he'd left his bike, and a long drive back to Fandom. But that was fine. He could spend the journey lying to himself that this wouldn't impact his nightmares.
((NFI, NFB due to distance.))
