Barnes & Rogers

S.R. J.B.B. - You're an Idiot

SUMMARY: SSteve tells Bucky his plan of not returning

WORDS: 548

*****

"Buck?" Steve asked cautiously, adjusting his glove as he watched his best friend closely. He had just told his best friend that he wasn't planning on coming back to 2023, that he was going to return the stones to the proper timelines then head back to 1949 for a chance at a happy and fulfilling life with Peggy. He thought that Bucky would be happy for him; since they were kids, Bucky always told him to find a good girl and settle down.

But here they were, standing a few yards away from Bruce and Sam, neither moving or speaking.

Bucky was silent, his face neutral. Steve could see that there was something going through his best friend's mind as he watched him shove both hands in his jacket pockets. He saw Bucky clench his jaw and his eyes glazing over slightly, a look Steve all too well from years ago when first came out of the ice in Wakanda.

"Bucky, talk to me," Steve pressed measurely.

"You're an idiot," Bucky muttered, shifting his eyes downward. "1949? You expect to just...show up at her door without your uniform of that time and be all 'Surprise!'?" His brows raised as he met his friends' gaze.

"Well, no..."

"So what's the plan then? Hope she's not married by then? Or being courted? Maybe she already had moved on. Are you going to be able to just sit on your hands knowing everything we know right now that has happened? Knowing you cannot change anything?"

Steve set his jaw as he narrowed his gaze at his friend. "I thought you would be the one that would understand."

"Oh, I understand fine," Bucky sighed, "Look, Steve, I get you have major feelings for Peggy, and I know that losing her years ago hurt, but can you live with yourself with the possible consequences? You are going to have to live for decades knowing I am being used by Hydra, that they infected the organization we were a part of. I thought Lang and Banner explained all this to you before you all went back to get the stones."

"Fine. Just...how about I just go for a dance?"

"You think you can go back in time just for a dance and leave the woman you say you love high and dry?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Steve," Bucky sighed heavily, "I just want you to know that you can't do anything if you stay back there. You have to let everything ride out the way it is supposed to be. The wars, the terrorism, the invasions. All of that has to stay the same, or else the life you build back in the 50s will disappear and who knows what kind of ramifications will happen with that."

"All I wanted was your opinion on going for a chance with Peggy."

"And my opinion is that you're an idiot."

"You're overbearing."

"Someone has to be with you."

Both men looked at each other before each of them had a slight smile on their face.

"Jerk," Steve muttered, stepping forward to envelop Bucky in an embrace.

"Punk," Bucky mused, returning the hug tightly. "But just know that when I see you on that bench and you look horrible, I am going to let you know."