white flag, steve rogers

007. man out of time

chapter seven
007. man out of time

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june 1943

    THE FUTURE was right on their doorstep. 

    More like the future was showcased in spectacular sights at the Stark Expo in Queens. This future was exploding in the sky with bright (and loud), colourful fireworks and insane architecture that put any Modernist to shame. While most of them crawled out from the depths of the Great Depression still, living off rations and putting as much effort as they could in the War, apparently money in technology was thriving. Stark's expo looked more like a show pony theme park rather than an insight into what their days after this war might be▬they hoped to be. Yards and yards of pitstops▬amusement park games, hotdog stands and markets were just as popular as the amateur school science experiments and not-so-amateur creations that may as well be borderline magic. It was a crowd of wonder and amazement▬of imagination. A world expo for talent and innovation. 

    Though Steven Rogers wasn't feeling the excitement.

    He was still supporting a bruise on his cheek from a fight in a back alley▬one he would never admit he would have lost if Bucky hadn't swooped in to get him out of it.

    He must look ridiculous next to Bucky. How couldn't he be some laughing stock beside his best friend▬a man with a charming smile and charismatic charm. Like everything else, James Buchanan Barnes suited his new uniform. Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, he was now; the perfect soldier with dark, slick hair and above average in height ... well, at least he was far taller than Steve was. 

    Bucky is his best friend. He's been Steve's best friend since he was even more scrappy and very much alone▬it didn't make sense that Bucky was going to the war and Steve couldn't.

    It did make sense. Bucky wasn't thin, short and sickly▬he wasn't an asthmatic with heart problems and brittle strength. It just wasn't right. 

    "I don't see what the problem is!" Bucky tried to make Steve feel better after he was rejected from enlisting▬yet again. They walked underneath the towering iron-wrought globe that was the centrepiece of Stark's egotistical extraordinaire. "You're about to be the last eligible man in New York. You know there's three and a half million women here?"

    Steve rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands into his pants. "Well, I'd settle for just one," he muttered. 

   Bucky only breathed a chuckle▬very mischievous as he nudged Steve, "Good thing I took care of that." He waved up his hand, slipping on that charming smile towards a pair of girls waiting in the shadow of the nearby twin statues. Identical artistry works of men gazing up through telescopes into the night sky. One of them brightened with a smile and waved in static reply. 

    Steve slumped slightly, already knowing the girl Bucky's date brought with him was going to be disappointed. But he slicked back his hair anyway, "What'd you tell her about me?"

    Bucky nudged him once again, setting off at a march. "Only the good stuff▬come on, charming."

    A great lesson Steve has learnt is that most girls▬at least, most he's met▬never quite like to be around a guy they'd most likely step on dancing. Bucky's girl, Connie, seemed delightful. She was a bubbly breath of energy; taking each stride with a little bounce in her step▬and her pretty curls would bounce with it. And Steve was sure that her friend was just as nice, except she wouldn't even talk to him, let alone get to know all the good stuff about him Bucky apparently had said. He didn't blame her. Who would want to be around a guy who tripped over his own feet?