He could catch the hesitation in his voice. It was understandable. They ran into each other. Then, taking him to his place? That doesn’t sound very safe. He was being careful. Tim couldn’t blame him for that. So, he was going to take this carefully. He’ll let him stop when he wanted. If he wanted to change his mind, then they can do that.

    “ I don’t either. That’s why I stepped in when I saw them giving you some trouble. ” Tim chuckled, hoping to brighten the situation a bit, “ Not much further, okay? ”

“ SHIT— ”  aaaand  he’s gone.  eyes scan the area before she turns to the stranger,  offers a hand to help him up.  “ no,  it’s okay—  i wasn’t exactly watchin’ where i’m goin’.  you okay? ”

She eyed down the man in front of her, shaking her head in feigned disappointment. “What are we going to do with you? Have I taught you nothing?” 

“Very well, boomer.”

Open starter // Mutuals only!

“Got that right.” Bucky commented before finding his seat once more. He couldn’t help but care about his friend. Like Beck, Bucky saw Steve as a brother, and if anything happened to his family, he got up and arms about it quickly. “You hungry? I think soup is going to be the meal of choice tonight.” he suggested. Hopefully fi he changed the subject, Steve won’t stay mad at him for too much longer. 

“Already have,” his nonchalance could sear titanium. “Though I’m flattered that you think it was me.” A black rail divides the concrete staircase lined with textured yellow paint to help those in heels and boat shoes retain traction. Joker skips down them with ease, holding the cigarette in his mouth and barely skimming the rail with his palm. He lands with a splash that kicks up filthy puddle water filled with excrement and melted snow. Then he tosses a glance over his shoulder to see if his pursuer has kept up. 

A few clowns in masks that mimic his makeup…or is it the other way around…hang like gargoyles from poles and handrails. Joker doesn’t greet them or head towards their mostly empty car, but tosses his dead cigarette onto the platform and crushes it.

     he’s a bit behind, short legs and shorter breath keeping him from keeping exact stride. steve should - go. he should stop following this man - he’s severely outnumbered and feels the weight of eyes following him. but there’s something...intriguing? in a horrible way, like lookin’ at a train wreck or a bare-knuckles brawl; you just gotta keep on looking. it’s the feeling that made it so hard to keep his eyes off of the grusome display at the turnstyles. it’s the feeling that has him trepidatiously heading down the steps, again keeping his eyes resolutely from the others in the masks.

      EARS PERK TO COMPANION’S WARNING !  senses  ramp  up  and  carob  eyes  flicker  as  they  turn  a  warm  gold  hue  ,  preparing  to  scan  the  surroundings  with  infared  vision  .      ❛     no  ,  i  hear  it  .  what  —  what  is  that  ?   ❜

He’s got three minutes before R46 pulls from the station. Dangerously aged brakes scrape the rails as the train draws to a halt, shooting sparks that might just scorch a few ankles. The rail cries, akin to a frayed violin. Joker angles his head so he might catch the hidden tune. He leans into it, allowing its grating rhythm to bring him to a halt of his own and half-turn.

Puncturing Steve with a dead-eyed stare, he says, “Yeah…” with a shrug. No pivot this time. Instead he turns his back; stuffing the cigarette in his mouth and bracing for any sudden act of misplaced heroism. He’d catch himself on his hands. Joker’s already got his fingers fanned in the event that he’d tackled from behind.

“  you  look  a  little  stuck.  “  beverly  observes  and  watches  him  with  an  amused  smile.  who  actually  got  their  hand  caught  in  a  jar?  no  one  she  ever  knew. “  look,  you  need  a  little  help?  “  she  walks  closer  to  him.

    “ No problem, ” Tim was happy to help. He liked to help people, and if this person was trying to help in his own way, he couldn’t be too bad, right? Besides, walking in on the fight and seeing him getting beat up? That didn’t sit well in his stomach, “ My place. It’s near here. I can get you cleaned up and everything, ” the wealthy part of town, “ A brave guy you are. I would have done the same thing. Though, you have to be careful when you pick your fights. ”

—          SHE CAN’T IMAGINE what it’s like for him.  there’s nothing she can compare it to.  there’s an ache in her chest, missing the steve she knew, the one who helped her, the one who was gone; but she can’t bring herself to hold that against this one.  he hadn’t chosen this, so all she could do was try to make the best of this.     ❝ well, if you cannot find the words, you can talk to me about other things. ❞     she could be a shoulder, a friend; she knew what it felt like to be alone in the world.  her smile grows and a laugh escapes her as she replies:     ❝ good, because i cannot drive anyway. ❞     sure there was taxi services, but she preferred walking anyway and hadn’t ever bothered with them.  she pushes the door open, waiting for him to step through before walking out into the warm sun herself.

Bucky smirked slightly. “’ey. I was just making a joke.” he said, raising a brow. “Keel over all you want to, just write down what you want me to do.” his voice was drawn out as he shook his head before getting up once more to check out the wound, “Better now I can see it. Doesn’t look like stitches are needed.” he commented. Looked worse than it actually was when he saw it the first time. “Want Becks to check it out when she gets home? Should be here any minute now.”

The brunet barked out a laugh before bringing his hand in to cross with the other one across his chest. “Just screwing with ya.” he said, “And I know you have had worse, but still. You might as well hang up a sign claiming one of those cans is yours and make a fence, plant and a garden and stuff.” he teased Steve before glancing up at the clock and back at him.  “Need my permission to do that. Need my permission before goin’ anywhere.” He scoffed “Keeling over.”

Bucky responded with his own eye-roll. Dropping the metal and certainly dropping the permission to use the ice.  Leave the guy alone for two hours and he’s made a garbage can his new home. Rent would be cheaper though. “Look. I like you alive Stevie.” and just to be an even bigger asshole he leaned back in the chair, held his hand out behind him and stuck out three fingers, “How many fingers am I holding up, no cheatin now.”

“Steel, brass, both metals but steel is stronger.” Bucky pointed out as he picked up the ice to drain the water out of it and wrap it up in a different towel. He dropped it back infront of Steve before taking a seat and leaning back. “People are desperate now-a-days.” He commented, pursing his lips, “Pickin’ on a scrawny little punk as if he has something.” A slight shake of the head before Bucky ran his hands through his locks. “You know you’re stayin’ here tonight, right? I ain’t gonna leave you alone. Could have a concussion or somethin’.” 

For a moment, he almost reminds him of Gary. Warmth might’ve briefly colored his cheeks were they not caked in greasepaint. Joker smiles, nonetheless. It lacks mirth…lacks life. His cat-like eyes glint beneath nauseous fluorescent lighting. The long bars flicker as the next C-train screeches near. Taking his cue, Joker allows a veil of smoke to fall from his mouth and lets his tongue dart between his teeth while backing away. Every step appears choreographed; timed so his shoes never scuff the concrete.

“You might wanna…” The cigarette returns to Joker’s mouth so that he, from a good distance, can bat Steve away from the turnstile. “The police will be crawling all over this place in no time.” Remembering to actually pivot and head towards the platform this time, he cautions, “Last thing you want around the holidays is to get pinched for homicide.”

“Did the mugger have steel knuckles?” Bucky wondered, raising a brow in the process. He breathed sharply before pulling open a few drawers and grabbing out a towel, running it under some water and handing that over to Steve. “Clean yourself up.”