𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃.            —        𝘚𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘐𝘝𝘌𝘓𝘠   𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆                                       @buckytm​    said    “  you’re not fine. and you don’t have to pretend that you are with me.  ”

hands  rest  at  his  sides,  blood  dripping  down  from  his  knuckles.  eyes  only  focus  on  the  tree  in  front  of  him,  bark  chipped  and  edged  away  in  the  shape  of  fists.  all  he  can  do  is  stare,  BARELY acknowledging  the  man  a  couple  feet  from  him.  everything  seems  real,  even  bucky,  how  does  he  know  it  is?   he  knows  the  pain  is  real,  its  the  one  thing  he  knows  for  sure.

splintering wood cracks  &  breaks on its way into the trash.  it’s like dominos falling, the creaking, popping.  bucky presses his left hand down on it like a compactor, quashing the leftovers of their home maintenance projects into the canister in one easy motion.  

he eases over to steve on the porch.  vast, open space sprawls out around them.  mountain peaks zig  &  zag like they’re racing up to the sky on the horizon ;  the cragged, rocky points disappear into flossy clouds.  it’s clear, quiet, not another soul for miles.  

it makes his skin itch. restlessness clambers into his bones even sitting for just this long.  fingers flex for something to do.  he hauls in a breath, makes like he’s steadying himself, but the truth is that he just isn’t ready for this level of  PEACE  just yet.  

❛  we could put a fence up in two days flat  &  you know it.  ❜  his lips peel away, a rivalry climbing into the dimple marked at his cheek.  ❛  could even make a game of it.  ❜   bucky plants his palm against the railing, trying to sink into this space, trying to drop roots somewhere he can commit to.  

❛  guess i could get used to this if i kept myself busy.  ❜  he says it with the air of a man who’s trying to convince himself, hemming over it with his open hand drawing off the railing to wave this way  &  then that.  ❛   fix the chicken coop with some wiring, patch up the roof, that sorta thing.  go for a hike or something…  ❜ 

❛  —- ready to check the pig out of it you are. can start building the fire pit before it gets too dark.  ❜

there’s  something  about  this  space  that  sort  of  fills  an  empty  hole,  something  about  living  among  trees  and  fresh  air  that  settles  him  in  a  way  he  thought  only  the  smell  of  his  mother  perfume  and  the  sounds  of  laughter  echoing  from  a  busy  city  street  could.  he  thinks  that  was  a  sort  of  PRETEND    (  or  expected  )    peace,  because  it  was  all  he’d  ever  known.  some  days  he  misses  it,  misses  the  yelling  from  mr.  klutz  down  the  block,  or  mrs.  barnes  telling  them  to  come  down  for  dinner.  but  you  can’t  go  back,  NO  MATTER  HOW  MUCH  YOU  WANT  TOO.

❝    i’m  not  having  a  fence  building  competition  with  you,  pal.  we’d  wind  up  doing  more  harm  then  good.    ❞   the  competitiveness  would  outdo  all  the  work  they  tried  to  put  in,  they  both  know  that.  at  least  he  does,  buck  seems  to  have  FORGOTTEN. 

❛    oh,  romeo,  romeo,  why  the  fuck  art  thou  climbing  up  my  fire  escape,  romeo  …  that’s  the  line,  right?    ❜    jessica  hangs  both  elbows  out  over  the  railing,  fizzing  city  night  air  catching  on  the  thicket  of  dark  hair  tangling  at  her  shoulders.  she  clamps  down  on  the  flirting  upward  tick  of  her  mouth,  looking  anywhere  but  at  him  to  disguise  her  interest.    ❛    might  as  well      —-    elevator’s  busted.    ❜

her  brow  arches,  a  dangerous  curve.    ❛      i’ll  just  sit  right  here    &    enjoy  the  view.    ❜

❝    NOT  EVEN  CLOSE,  juliet.    ❞  head  shakes  from  side  to  side,  grin  falling  into  a  sort  of  smirk.  she’s  ridiculous,  funny,  but  all  the  same.  free  hand  reaches  up,  pulling  down  the  ladder  before   he  starts  to  climb,  making  his  way  up  to  her  in  record  time  with  a  smile  on  his  face. 

❛            oh.               ❜         zatanna   was   ever   nimble   on   her   feet   so   she   offered   the   man   a   bright   smile.         ❛               uh,      well   you   look   great      !            ❜         pinch.      pinch.      she   needed   to   stay   present.      ❛               um         …      it’s   a   little   hard   to   explain   but      -      i’m   a   visitor   from   out   of   town      ?      did      …      has   half   your   population   disappeared   and   then   MAGICALLY   reappeared   yet      ?            ❜