who the hell is bucky?

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Trust wasn’t something that came to Natasha easily. It took a lot for her to gain a rapport with someone new. She trusted a handful of people, but she still kept her guard up. That being said, Natasha could count on one hand the amount of people that she trusted without any doubt in her mind. Only two people whom she let her guard down around. James happened to be one of those people. It turned out that shared life experience meant something more than just trauma. “I guess we’re lucky,” Natasha remarked teasingly, a small smirk on her lips. In any other case, she would have never said such a thing. They were taught everything they knew. She knew that they had it much better than others. If things went to shit, she knew that they’d be alright. 

“Talk to me,” the redhead insisted softly, reaching over to take his hand into her own. Even without words, Natasha could tell that James was holding back. Though, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise when she did the same. Their gaze met and Natasha’s teeth sank into her lower lip. “As alright as I can be,” she repeated his sentiment, but added, “I can’t help feeling like this is a mistake.” 

Maybe it was a morbid sense of humor, but it was the sort of thing that got him through stuff like this. He knew Natasha understood. If there was anyone in the world who understood how Bucky felt, it was her. That was probably what made them so close, even now. There was no way to replicate that level of understanding, that shared experience. He didn’t like that she had gone through what he had, he certainly wouldn’t wish it on anyone else. Even if it were possible for his other friends to know, he didn’t think he’d want them to. Not even if it were just him telling them. “The benefits just keep coming,” he said with a grin. 

Bucky sighed, turning his attention away from the space in front of them and to her, looking at their hands and then at her face. “I’m so tired. I’ve never been great at getting a good night’s sleep, and all of this, it’s just. It’s hard. As much as I try to tell myself we’ll be okay, we always are, none of us have faced anything like this. I worry,” he said. He let out a breath, the closest he could muster to a laugh, when she repeated him. “I know. After all these years, wouldn’t it be something for us to die on this planet because we ran out of food and water?” he asked, a sort of bitter laugh escaping his lips. 

“Mr. Barnes you really need to stop moving.” Shuri instructed as she adjusted some of the plates in his shoulder. “I don’t know what the planet did to all my hard work and frankly I’m I’m annoyed that it ruined it.” She said with a huff. Grabbing another tool of her work belt, she shook her head. “Is it okay if we just take it off? I can’t get at the angle I need without maybe hurting you or the arm.” 

@thewintersoldicr​

Bucky let out a soft groan, trying to keep still. He hung his head down and closed his eyes, trying to put himself out of his head. “Sorry, sorry. I’m trying. It just pinches a bit, so it’s kind of difficult,” he said, sighing quietly. “I wouldn’t call it ruined. It still works alright,” he said. He nodded, turning to look at her. “Of course. You know best, and I’m okay without the arm for a bit,” he said, adjusting his shoulder a little so she could more easily take it off.

“He’s got that same aura about him that my Daddy had honestly. Though, Steve isn’t as strict as he was.” Wringing his hands a bit, Sam chuckled as he shook his head. He frankly was happy that Bucky was here, there weren’t too many people that he let himself get ‘close’ with anymore, not after loosing too many in too short a time. But, Bucky, though he wouldn’t say it, had made his way into that little inner circle. “I mean it’s Stark, I’m sure the minute he’s able to, he’ll have some foreign cars up here somewhere. And when that happens, I expect a new steering wheel.” Reaching out to shove at his shoulder, Sam just laughed. “I mean they could for all we know, we haven’t really traveled that far.” 

That wasn’t a surprise. Steve was too kind to be strict. “Maybe if he ever becomes a dad he’ll become strict,” he said with a laugh. It felt good to just joke around with Sam like this. While he sort of wished they hadn’t come, he was happy to have his friends if he were going to be stuck here. He was glad Sam had come to check on him, regardless of his motives. He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s his top priority,” he said, glaring at him. “When he gets the foreign space cars, I’ll get you a new steering wheel. Though I have to say, it feels like your insurance should’ve covered that,” he teased, a playful exasperation in his voice. He laughed when Sam did, nudging him back gently. “No life, aside from the scary coyotes, but sure, there’s a small. If there is, I’ll get you something. You have my word.”

𝓝ightfall. peter wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to a quiet night, which contrasted the bustling city of new york. even at night, new york is so full of life; noisy. sure, there were hushed voices outside, but it was still so quiet. 

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the tent was built by mr stark, which he thought was absolutely cool; how a tent seemed small, yet had many more amenities inside — almost like that in harry potter; the tent that the weasleys, hermione and harry stayed in for the quidditch world cup. except, he was staying in it with rogue, gambit and captain america (if returning to earth was possible, he could brag that he was roommates with captain america).

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though, no matter how hard he’d tried; he just couldn’t sleep. as silently as possible, he crept out of the tent, where he was met with the pitch black sky, and another figure he could distantly see. bucky barnes. he remembered learning about bucky (and captain america) in history; learning about the howling commandos…

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“evening — wait is it evening — no, it’s night — i dunno — hi sergeant barnes — i mean bucky?” he greeted, resisting the urge to facepalm himself; he’d talked to bucky before, yet a part of him still felt like he was being disrespectful by calling bucky … bucky. maybe perhaps it was because peter’s mind was occupied elsewhere.

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𖠄ྀ⠀ ྀ⠀ཾ༵･ @thewintersoldicr

Sleep was something that had regularly evaded Bucky. Even before all of this, he’d always had a hard time getting to sleep. His time with Hydra had made it nearly impossible to sleep. He spent so much time frozen, his mind plagued with nightmares, that sleeping when he was awake felt impossible. Now was similar. He’d learned to sleep, adjusted to the mattresses he’d laid on as opposed to what had been available before, but once he slept, he was too often awoken with the same nightmares of before. Reliving his past life was not something Bucky enjoyed. It was better to just get up and go outside, take a walk, do something, anything, to keep his mind occupied. 

‘ i believe that this’ll be good . while it may take some time for orbulite to become a place to live , i’m optimistic that we’ll be able to do it . for most people , earth will be their home — but at least there will be an option . ’ it wasn’t that charles was expecting everyone to be on board with it — far from it , actually . some of the others seemed to be getting discouraged && there was nothing he could do to stop that .

Her expression softened as he spoke, letting on a little more than he perhaps had intended. She could understand the longing to be good and accepted. It took Rogue a long time to get where she was, being unhappy with herself and her own powers for the longest of time. Acceptance had came within and with that, Anna found her family amongst the rest of the X-Men, using her powers for good rather than anything else Raven taught her. Her fingers dropped from the vibranium arm and smiled at him knowingly. “Life throws us opportunities to outgrow our old selves. You’ll get there in your own time.” The question caused Anna to hum, nodding towards Charles Xavier and the rest of her family. “I belong with them. We call ourselves X-Men, mutants with special abilities. Mine would normally would send you in a coma if we had our powers back and i touched your other arm.” Admittedly, she didn’t know much about the other’s arm but the most damage she could do would probably be bending it.

It was hard to miss the way her expression softened. Bucky couldn’t help but wonder what he had said that had struck a chord with her. He moved his arm back to his side, returning the smile. “Part of why I’m here. I’m trying. Hopefully life will keep throwing me opportunities,” he said, grinning a bit. He was always ready to work, to help, to do whatever it was someone needed. That was the same here, even if there was less to do. His eyes followed over. He’d met some of them. “Those are some pretty gnarly abilities. Good thing we don’t have our powers and you touched my metal arm,” he said playfully, winking at her. “They look like a good bunch.”

“Okay, you never know what Stark’s got on him. Could be a special bear trap or something. Electrified? Do they make those?” Clint wasn’t sure if he was making much sense anymore but he had a feeling Bucky never thought he made much sense in the first place. It was his favorite shtick, playing dumb. Besides, you could trust Tony to invent something strange like an electrified bear trap but maybe with some more bells and whistles. 

Bucky rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Why would Tony have taken the time to bring electrifying bear traps but not a way to secure the perimeter, or more housing, or equipment to get us off of her? And if he had, who’s to say it didn’t get damaged?” he asked. Clint was just taking the piss out of him for shits and giggles because he was bored, Bucky was sure of it. “You know, tomorrow, you should go ask him. Go ask for a bear trap.”

THE BRIEF TIME without his abilities almost reminded him of when he was a child, when his powers hadn’t yet manifested. how it almost reminded him of a time when he felt helpless. had it been permanent — perhaps, he’d be able to do handiwork, but to defend? he would be left defenceless.

erik’s eyes trailed down the other’s bionic arm curiously… interesting. he wondered if bucky was born with the abilities – perhaps. though, other than that, he could only assume that something had happened to the other that costed him his arm.

“i can manipulate anything metal, make it do my bidding,” erik explained, “by any chance do you have something metallic that is worth of no value? i suppose it might be easier to show than tell.”

.✵ 　 ˚ 　 ˚ @thewintersoldicr​

Bucky couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. He wouldn’t thought metal manipulation would mean literally bending metal, picking it up, that sort of thing. But he could make it do his bidding? That seemed so... strange. “Like, you can make it like, animated?” he asked curiously. 

         ‘ bottom line is this: i’m  a  high  school  drop  out  and  it’s  not  like  they  cover  this  shit  in  high  school  anyways  ,   and  you’re  better  off  hitting  up  thor  or  something  for  inhuman  history  .   my  dad  killed  my  mom  before  she  could  say  much  -  ’   and  before  jai-ying  could  kill  her  .   a  twisted  way  to  end  a  family  reunion  ,   really  .   since  daisy  ONLY  copes  with  trauma  with  humor  ,   and  his  smile  only  makes  hers  more  genuine  .   he’s  got  this  -  they’ve  got  this  .    ‘  don’t  worry  ,   i  also  TOTALLY  have  training  in  this  area  .   did  i  ever  tell  you  about  my  bombass  mentor  -  and  how  i  trained  my  own  team  of  inhumans ?  ’    as  much  as  she  rejected  it  and  hated  making  decisions  ,   daisy  was  a  born  leader  .   brow  raises  ,   she  looks  at  him  .    ‘  bucky  barnes  ,   did  you  just  use  modern  lingo  on  me ?  ’   daisy  gasps  .    ‘  i’m  so  proud !  ’  

         ‘ why would i be bitter  about  having  something  i  can  lose ?  ’   she’s  already  lost  her  face  once  ,   yelena  doesn’t  want  to  become  one  of  those  girls  dependent  on  something  that  could  disappear  in  a  moment’s  notice  .    ‘  aliens  exist  ,   some  of  them  are  blue  and  some  of  them  are  called  norse  gods  .   people  must  learn  to  move  with  the  change  .  ’   nose  crinkles  ,   she  shakes  her  head  .    ‘  company  always  has  to  leave  eventually  .  ’  

“I’ve got it.” Clint muttered before a yawn overtook him. Keeping watch was better than letting his mind wand. He shook his head before narrowing his eyes and continuing to look out at the massive sandy landscape in front of him. The night wasn’t anything like home with more stars than he was used to seeing. He hadn’t seen this many since his childhood. It almost felt like nights in Iowa looking out, if Iowa was a mess of sand instead of corn and fields. Another yawn tried to make it’s way out but Clint ignore it, gaze still waiting for the enviable moment one of those howling creatures decided their camp was a good place to venture. “You think we have any bear traps? Would those work on these shits?” He wouldn’t mind putting a bear trap by his bed. Maybe then he wouldn’t mind getting some sleep. 

Keeping watch wasn’t really much trouble for Bucky. He didn’t sleep well most nights anyway, and he didn’t need as much sleep as others. Plus, he was just generally pretty comfortable with being alone, and while he wasn’t entirely alone, being with one other person was a lot better than when everyone was awake. He looked up when Clint rejoined him before gazing back out at the empty planet before them. If they at least had some form of transportation, maybe this whole thing would seem a lot less overwhelming. “We barely have enough food to last us the week, but yeah, I’m sure they’re hiding the bear traps,” he said lightly. 

“two and a half isn’t too bad, on the grand scheme of things, it’s halfway at least.” though bucky was right, it was a generous offer, tony would have gone with one, or maybe even point five. “yeah, well, i may be a genius on earth but at the end of the day i’m still only one person.” he hadn’t meant for it to come across so snappish, but it had barely been a day and he was already exhausted. “we’ll figure something out. we had plans before we came up here but we’ve been thrown through a loop. nothing we, i, can’t handle.” though that wasn’t necessarily true, considering what he had just said. “

“Then it definitely needs to be lower,” he noted. Maybe this place had potential, he couldn’t really be too sure right now, but his experience was lackluster at best. “You’re only one person and yet you’re planning on handling it all by yourself, even amongst at least two dozen other people?” he asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. Maybe it wasn’t in his best interests to push and pry when he’d practically only just met the man, but he was all too familiar with men thinking they could take on the universe by themselves, and it never worked. “Seems to me there’s enough genius here to take some of the load.”

“Nope. No I didn’t.” He said probably a bit too quickly. “I’m sure Steve knew that though, but I still went along with him, didn’t I?” Scratching a hand across the back of his neck, Sam let out a long sigh. What he honestly wouldn’t give for a quick jog down to the beach, or around the lake back at his home. Frankly, what he wouldn’t give to be back at home. But, this was home now. “I mean, you’re alive ain’t you? And yeah, you may still owe me for breaking my car, busting up my wings, but you know I’ll come collect for that stuff later.” 

“Oh, Sam. Always so kind with your words,” he said lightly. “Now now, let’s not pretend that you were going with Steve to do me any favors. Steve just has that kind of magic about him that you follow him to do things you don’t want to do and ruin your life,” he said playfully, grinning over at him. He didn’t know how Steve did it. Maybe it was the inspiring speeches, or the way he was just too nice to not help, or the way he wore his heart and morals on his sleeve and following him just felt like the right thing to do. “It almost sounds like you’re happy I’m alive and here with you,” he said, turning and winking at him. “Oh, yeah, I’ll get right on that. Where are you going to take a car on Orbulite, huh? They have a mall over there?” he asked, nodding in a random direction.

“Though getting someone elses input on the situation can be helpful, in this instance someone just needs to take charge and get shit done.” Squaring up her shoulders, she eyed someone that walked past them. Looking back to Bucky, her head rocking slightly from one side to the other, as she mulled the idea around. “I suppose that is a fair point. Which way would we go? Or, perhaps which direction would you go in?” 

The thought of one of them taking charge and bossing the others around nearly made him laugh. Bucky knew all too well that Tony and Steve had a tendency to butt heads, and he was sure if either of them started bossing people around, one of them would find a problem with their plan. That didn’t even take into account Reed, who seemed, perhaps, bossier than the others, and Charles, who hadn’t gotten a full read on yet. “I don’t expect any of our leaders to do that anytime soon,” he admitted. He watched as she thought it over, raising his eyebrows a bit and letting out a breath. He wasn’t usually the idea man, but he could give it a go. “Hm, good question. Ideally, we’d have a map. So I suppose it’d be nice to try and start making a map as we go. But I’d go for food and water first. In case something like this happens again, that’d be the most important thing, right? I think there’s water that way,” he said, nodding. “It’d maybe be good to bring someone with us who would be less susceptible to, uh, poison? Just in case the water can’t be consumed. What do you think?”