like a stone

“How are you not dying in that coat?” Harry frowns as he glances over at Bucky, a little surprised. He knows it’s probably to keep his metal arm concealed, but he shouldn’t have to in this weather. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with some perfectly greasy food every now and then.”

Bucky shrugs slightly. “I don’t get hot very easy,” he says. He snorts softly as the younger man speaks, offering him a grin. “I’m an old man, I have to watch what I eat.” It’s a joke, of course, especially considering that he and Steve bot have to eat so much just to keep their energy up.

Natasha sighed, nodding at Bucky’s words. “Well, with the upcoming election and with everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t be surprised if something did come up. We have the same old threats that come in almost every day but nothing that’s really caught our attention. But we’ve been wrong before.” She spoke softly so only Bucky could hear her. “I understand being tense, Buck. Trust me. Come on, let’s go find a booth that isn’t too crowded.” She smiled at the mention of Steve. “Is he doing okay? I know this is a difficult time for him. Memorial Day and Veterans Day is rough.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I worry about you and Sam too.” She wasn’t soft by any means but when it came to her friends, Natasha was different or at least she tried for them.  

Bucky gave a little soft sigh. “You and I both know there are plenty of threats that are damn good at keeping themselves hidden until it’s right for them.” Hydra had been good at that, they both knew that. “Yeah.” He followed her, softening when she smiled. “Yeah, he’s okay. I mean, you know Steve. He’s always gonna put everyone else first, and be okay for them. But yeah, I think he’s alright.” He gave her a little smile. “I’m okay.”

“Fleet week is great and all, but where’s the appreciation for the Air Force?”

“Well, Fleet Week was started by somebody, and I’m sure you’re not the only one who has asked that question. So what’s stopping you from doing something about it?”

Mary Jane didn’t really like to talk to people about her “daddy issues”. It made no sense to do that especially with strangers. The less people knew the better so the fact that the man had caught her rambling embarrassed her but she was glad he brushed it off. “The food is the best part. I’ve been coming to this since I was a kid. In Queens we have street fairs too and I like to go to the ones I Brooklyn but the Piers always goes all the way out.” She rubbed her fingers together showing him the symbol for money and smirked. “Oh yeah? Well my boyf—“ She cleared her throat. “My friend was supposed to show up but he’s nowhere to be seen.” She chuckled. “Mary Jane but you can call me MJ.”  

Bucky smiled slightly at the phrase ‘since I was a kid’. When had that been? Five years ago? At his age, people in their sixties are kids, but he didn’t share this particular tidbit with her. “Yeah, carnivals in Brooklyn are pretty good,” he said, remembering the World Fair with another slight smile. He couldn’t help the soft snort that left him at her correction. “Does he know he’s supposed to be here?”

Steve can’t help but smile at Bucky’s words, his insistence at what soldiers like Steve deserve - more specifically, what Steve deserves. People have always been so quick to assume he’s a superhero first and a soldier second, but Steve’s always been a soldier at heart, ever since he learned about the way his father served, how he fought to protect his country and his family. “Thanks, Buck.” He smiles quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of Bucky’s head. Whatever else happens, however anyone sees him, Steve knows Bucky will always see him first, not Captain America. “Good. We don’t have to stay for the fireworks - I don’t like them much either.”

Bucky smiles up at him, leaning into his touch. Steve has always been a hero to him, from the time he was a scrappy little kid in Brooklyn who took on the fights of others, to when he did the same thing -- on a grander scale --  as a broad-shouldered, muscular super-soldier. “Any time,” he says, still smiling. It’s a smile that only a rare few people can bring out in him, and Steve is chief among them. For a long time, he was the only person who could get Bucky to smile like this. “I just want some more food. I like the corndogs.”

                 barbara had just returned from being undercover for 6 months, no one knew where the red head had gone she’d simply vanished from into thin air. germany wasn’t that bad though, being a brunette is heavy makeup was a pain. she had told them she was strictly sticking to computers but—- the government never listened. he let out a sigh taking in the smells, america was so different, she preferred it. thankfully, they did serve alcohol— watered down alcohol but it was better than nothing. he took a sip awaiting a call from her father but knowing him he was probably stuck in the office. “if you’re here to comment about my make up— save it.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow at the girl’s rudeness. “Why the hell would I care about your makeup?” he asked, matching her attitude with his own. He was trying to be less prickly, but between the girl’s tone and her big ego, it was hard for Bucky to keep his tongue in check. “I’m here to drink. Pretty sure your makeup has nothing to do with that.”

“Nope, there’s a psychology course in my school and we just started the topic of phobias. It’s really interesting all the name has Latin roots. But most names in science use Latin.” Jon smiles a little and shrugs. “Sorry, I’m probably boring you.” 

Bucky’s lips twitched. “Yeah, I know, kid. I went to school, too, once upon a time. Well, technically, I still go, I guess. It’s my job.” He gave a shrug of his own. “No, but even if you were, I guess I could call it karma. I probably bore the hell out of my students.”

She opened up the packet of earbuds and gave Bucky the extra pair. “Coulson wants me to make sure nothing happens this week but it seems like a peaceful festival so far. You can hang out with me until the music starts?”

Bucky smiled gratefully as she passed the earbuds over to him. “So far being the key words,” he said dryly. “I’m not gonna relax until this whole thing is over.” Not that he relaxed that easily, anyway. “Yeah, I’d like that. Steve went to get some food, he probably got stopped by some fans. Or some girls.”

Reaching out Tony pat’s Bucky’s arm casually, letting out a good-natured laugh. “Baby doll, it isn’t fun unless it’s loud if you know what I mean.” He winks, putting down the flirting thickly. Mostly because of being around the man made his danger scale amp up over the charts. It was hard not to feel some nervousness around the man, but Starks are made of iron. They know no fear. “You look really sober and grumpy as usual, Is that a new shirt? anyway, let me buy you the bar. Maybe you can smile for once huh?” He jokes, rambling off way too much.

Bucky fought the urge to pull his arm away. The things between them were strange, to say the least -- on the one hand, it wasn’t like Tony didn’t have plenty of reasons to resent him, but on the other, Bucky hadn’t been himself at that time. It was something that he still struggled with, and Tony didn’t always help. Not to mention the guy had blown his fucking arm off. And on top of that, he knew Tony and Steve had been friends, that Tony is still important to Steve. “Right,” he said, when the point he wanted to make was that he’d always thought that ‘loud and fun’ usually meant someone was faking it. “I still wouldn’t get drunk if you bought the whole bar.”

She closed her eyes when she realized she was thinking out loud and too loud at that. “Uh. Yeah. Sorry. I tend to think out loud sometimes.” She shook off her initial anger and offered the stranger a small smile. “Are you enjoying the festival so far?”

Bucky offered the girl a slight smile in return. “It’s fine,” he said. She seemed a little familiar somehow -- maybe it was something about the last name that sparked something in his memory? Where had he heard the last name Watson? “Uh, yeah, I guess so. My boyfriend went to find some food, I think I lost track of him. Which is saying something, he’s a pretty big guy.” He gave another faint smile. “I’m Bucky, by the way.”

Ororo’s eyes almost bulged out of her skull. “WHAT?!?! People call themselves that? On purpose? Why? What about kids? You can’t have names like that on posters around the city!” She felt like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. How vile! “Bucky, i’m too old for this. Lets go get some food before any of those bands starts singing their lyrics. If that’s their band name, I don’t want to know what their music sounds like.”

Bucky bit his lip, trying not to laugh. “I’m pretty sure the kids don’t care,” he assured her. “I work in a high school, and believe me, the kind of language these kids use -- it’s pretty much on the same level, if not even worse.” He gave a soft chuckle. “Yeah, okay, let’s get something to eat.”

“It’s alright.” Steve reacts automatically, squeezes Bucky’s hand gently. Memorial Day is tough on both of them, Steve knows - Fleet Week helps in a way, seeing all of these officers enjoying their time in the city, but it’s not necessarily easy, and made that much more difficult now, with the registration. “I made my choice, Bucky. It’s okay.” He takes a deep breath and turns to face Bucky, offering him a small smile. “You doing okay?”

Bucky gives a little shrug. “You were a soldier first,” he points out, leaning his cheek against Steve’s shoulder. “It’s like people forget about that, and that’s not fair, either. The whole reason you got into Captain America was because you wanted to serve your country, and you were gonna do whatever you do in order to protect the people that couldn’t protect themselves.” He smiles back at him and shrugs again. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

Harry’s always come to fleet week - never with his father of course, Norman was too busy, but when he was young his nannies would bring him along, give him a chance to see the people who were fighting, enjoy the celebrations. “They’ve really gone all out this year, huh.” He grins as he looks around at the crowds and the entertainment all around.

Bucky looks around and shrugs. “Yeah,” he says, his hands in the pocket of the coat he doesn’t really need anymore, considering it’s late May and the weather is way too warm for it. “The food is good, even if there’s enough grease coming off of it to fuel a car.” 

“My dad makes it for Fleet Week but he can’t manage a ‘hello’. The Watson family strikes again.” She laughed bitterly, biting off a piece of her Twizzler as she watched the Naval officers at their booth. 

Bucky cut his eyes over to the girl. What the hell was he supposed to say to that? That sucks? Who just blabbed about their problems to a stranger? “Sorry about that,” was all he finally said, unsure if he was supposed to say anything at all. 

“Good to see some kind of support for them.” Steve muses quietly, watching the registered heroes from afar. He doesn’t like to get too involved in this - not just because he never registered, but because this whole week can be a little hard for him, remembering friends and family long gone. “At least they can see that people appreciate what they do, even if it’s not always by choice.”

Bucky laces their fingers together, closer to Steve even than he usually is. A part of him is already dreading the fireworks display later -- he keeps picturing how Dugan would react to it, all fluffy tail and a cross expression on his little face, and it makes him feel better. That, and being close to Steve, which always works. “You deserve more than this,” he mumbles, kissing Steve’s cheek. “You all do.”

“Just here on work orders. Even bought some earbuds in case this band gets out of hand.”

“I’m here on boyfriend orders, so I’d rather be in your shoes. At least you have something to do.”

“I came for the fried twinkies, stayed for the eye candy.”

“Thank you for being a human Twitter. I’m deeply appreciative of the short news bulletins that I really don’t care about.”