Hey, I hear staying moisturized is a good idea no matter what.
[ Bucky's still cracking light jokes where he can. But when Daisy brings that up, his thoughts inevitably wend back to those readjustment periods. As ever, he's not used to broaching the subject of Steve, but he touches on it now, and that's where his answer comes from: ]
Yeah, it took me a while. Our whole lives, I was always the one looking after Steve. Then I had to get used to him being superhuman, suddenly bigger and better than all of us, the cornerstone of our squadron. Then, later— my abilities matched his. It's been a lot of changes.
[She knows he’s old but he better get that reference or she’s out of here!
She honestly forgets that there was a time where Steve Rogers was anything but Captain America, but Bucky knew him well before all of that happened. The fact that Bucky and her have so much in common is almost a relief though. They don’t need to explain in so many words how each other feels, they just—-
Get it.]
Yeah, it was pretty bad.
[Daisy smiles sadly, looking down at the sand as her finger traces shapes.]
[ Being the all-American superman was one thing, with Steve's strength lauded and plastered over the posters. Being a Soviet bogeyman in the shadows was another. And yet, ruminating about it now, Bucky hadn't ever thought much about reversing the actual serum. What's done was done, and the more important thing had been clawing out whatever hunkered down in his brain and pulled his strings.
He watches the movement of her hand, the whorls in the sand, as if they hold some hidden meaning. ]
Do you know anybody else with powers, or any other Inhumans? People who know what it's like?
[She keeps her tone light, as if the question hasn’t brought up some really upsetting memories for her. Brushing the sand off her hands, Daisy smiles up at him as she moves to sit cross-legged.]
[ Daisy's good at ducking and sidestepping whenever they get too close to something she probably doesn't want them to touch on. He can tell, because it's the exact same sort of thing he does. But he goes with the flow, a shrug of a shoulder: ]
I wasn't specific. But I guess it must be about six months living in the city now. Since getting back from the, uh... [ he waves a hand, a vague gesture, because how do you mime 'getting dusted out of existence'? ] The whole Blip. Thing.
Y'know— not actually as hard as you'd think? It's more like everybody else has a taste of it now, too. Blinking and waking up one day to find that years have passed without you realising it.
[ It should sound horrifying, maybe, but Bucky's used to it by now, so he doesn't sound too bitter talking about it in the context of the Blip. At least that one had been a universal tragedy. There are support groups for that sort of thing, for people somewhat out of time like him. There hadn't been that, before. ]
I did it before, with way longer than five years. And this time I'm not an international fugitive, so it's easier.
[ His blue gaze travels up from her hand to her face. ]
Guessing that means you were part of the half who stayed?
[ He leaves his coffee with her and clambers back to his feet, meticulously dusting himself off and frowning at his hand, before gloving up again. There's probably some sand in the cracks between the metal, and he'll have to go dusting it out when he gets home later. More reasons the beach is more of a pain than it used to be. ]
So how about that run to work up an appetite before they open? We can be the first customers in line at the hot dog stand after we do a loop of the boardwalk.
[ He had, once upon a time, been a pain-in-the-ass physical trainer for Steve Rogers himself. Congrats, Daisy, now you're on the receiving end of it! ]
[ Smirk. And just like that, Bucky's already off and running without giving her any forewarning or a headsup— but he does keep his pace carefully-measured, scaled down to a regular-but-fit human level, so it won't turn any heads and Daisy stands a chance of actually catching up to him, with a little bit of legwork. ]
[Daisy mutters as he runs off, sighing she looks for a place to put the coffee before just placing it back down on the sand. She's got a stomach full of coffee and alcohol, what could go wrong?
Taking off after him in the sand wasn't exactly easy, but she manages to get at least within earshot of him.]
Do you want me to hurl?
[Daisy asks breathlessly, hoping he'll at least slow down.]
This is why we don't drink coffee the size of our face! [ Bucky yells cheerfully back over his shoulder, but he slows down even further; reminds himself to rein it in, to not push his augmented body to its limits as he usually does. That steady, careful balance to try to make the easy motion of his run seem natural, even if he's hobbling himself.
There is something slightly off about his balance, though — more noticeable when he's in motion, the way he favours one shoulder a bit more, with the weight of it. But Bucky eventually slows down enough that Daisy reaches his side, and he settles into a jog beside her.
He is irritatingly upbeat and unaffected when he exercises. ]
If you do feel like you're gonna hurl, shout and I'll find a trashcan.
[She could easily drink three of those, but not when she's running through sand. The sand makes this way harder and he's running through it like it's nothing.
Him being upbeat is a good contrast to how much of a mess she is right now. She can feel a knot forming in her side as she slows to a jog.]
Boardwalk, [ he says briskly; reaches out and taps Daisy's shoulder, and then steers them away from the sand, over to where their shoes hit the wooden planks instead. It's easier-going here, but he still slows even further until he's practically at an amble beside her. He doesn't actually want to make her vomit on their second sort-of-not-date. ]
[Most of the people out here are either out for morning jogs, or getting work set up. So it's oddly quiet and enough that Daisy notices in between them not talking. By the time they make it up to the boardwalk, Daisy is considerably slower than before.
Stopping to lean against the railing, Daisy doubles over.]
I just need a minute.
[Coming down from being drunk, and from adrenaline, the aches and pains from the fight are really starting to settle in. Not to mention her mess of a stomach.]
[ Honestly, he's impressed Daisy managed that brief run as well as she did on zero sleep and all that hot coffee sloshing around inside her. Bucky comes to a stop beside her, and unthinkingly reaches out and rests his right hand between her shoulderblades while she drapes herself around the railing.
He's mostly forgotten what it's like to get drunk; he's gotten out of the habit, can't really remember what it's like fighting that whirling dizziness. ]
Yep. Metabolism's about four times faster than usual.
[ It helps keep him lean, but has its annoying side-effects: the food bills, the inability to enjoy that mellow tipsiness. Bucky probably could get drunk if he really put in the effort and outpaced it, but it'd be conspicuous. Then, a thought occurs to him and he smiles a little, although it's still directed to her back and so she can't see it unless she looks back over her shoulder: ]
So I'm the opposite of a cheap drunk. Kind of an expensive date, sorry.
[She’s about to push off the railing when she feels her phone buzz. Opening her eyes, she reaches for it from her back pocket and pulls it out to see Jemma texting her.]
I’m in trouble.
[Daisy doesn’t actually sound concerned as she looks up at Bucky with a small smile.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ Bucky's still cracking light jokes where he can. But when Daisy brings that up, his thoughts inevitably wend back to those readjustment periods. As ever, he's not used to broaching the subject of Steve, but he touches on it now, and that's where his answer comes from: ]
Yeah, it took me a while. Our whole lives, I was always the one looking after Steve. Then I had to get used to him being superhuman, suddenly bigger and better than all of us, the cornerstone of our squadron. Then, later— my abilities matched his. It's been a lot of changes.
Yours must've been an adjustment too, though.
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[She knows he’s old but he better get that reference or she’s out of here!
She honestly forgets that there was a time where Steve Rogers was anything but Captain America, but Bucky knew him well before all of that happened. The fact that Bucky and her have so much in common is almost a relief though. They don’t need to explain in so many words how each other feels, they just—-
Get it.]
Yeah, it was pretty bad.
[Daisy smiles sadly, looking down at the sand as her finger traces shapes.]
I was so desperate to try and get rid of them.
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He watches the movement of her hand, the whorls in the sand, as if they hold some hidden meaning. ]
Do you know anybody else with powers, or any other Inhumans? People who know what it's like?
[ So you're not alone. ]
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[She keeps her tone light, as if the question hasn’t brought up some really upsetting memories for her. Brushing the sand off her hands, Daisy smiles up at him as she moves to sit cross-legged.]
How long did you say you’ve been back here for?
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I wasn't specific. But I guess it must be about six months living in the city now. Since getting back from the, uh... [ he waves a hand, a vague gesture, because how do you mime 'getting dusted out of existence'? ] The whole Blip. Thing.
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How's that been going for you? Readjusting to everything.
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[ It should sound horrifying, maybe, but Bucky's used to it by now, so he doesn't sound too bitter talking about it in the context of the Blip. At least that one had been a universal tragedy. There are support groups for that sort of thing, for people somewhat out of time like him. There hadn't been that, before. ]
I did it before, with way longer than five years. And this time I'm not an international fugitive, so it's easier.
[ His blue gaze travels up from her hand to her face. ]
Guessing that means you were part of the half who stayed?
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I can't even imagine.
[Her heart skips a beat when he makes eye contact with her again, but she'll just brush it off as having too much caffeine.]
Yeah. It's--
I didn't experience it on a personal level though.
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[ He doesn't sound incredulous, just curious. ]
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[
It's the least the Universe could for her tbh.]Anyway, you still up for paying for over expensive hot dogs?
[Because that cake pop wasn't going to cut it.]
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[ He leaves his coffee with her and clambers back to his feet, meticulously dusting himself off and frowning at his hand, before gloving up again. There's probably some sand in the cracks between the metal, and he'll have to go dusting it out when he gets home later. More reasons the beach is more of a pain than it used to be. ]
So how about that run to work up an appetite before they open? We can be the first customers in line at the hot dog stand after we do a loop of the boardwalk.
[ He had, once upon a time, been a pain-in-the-ass physical trainer for Steve Rogers himself. Congrats, Daisy, now you're on the receiving end of it! ]
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hisher coffee, Daisy gets to her feet and chugs down a good portion of it.]I thought you were joking about the jog.
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[ Smirk. And just like that, Bucky's already off and running without giving her any forewarning or a headsup— but he does keep his pace carefully-measured, scaled down to a regular-but-fit human level, so it won't turn any heads and Daisy stands a chance of actually catching up to him, with a little bit of legwork. ]
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[Daisy mutters as he runs off, sighing she looks for a place to put the coffee before just placing it back down on the sand. She's got a stomach full of coffee and alcohol, what could go wrong?
Taking off after him in the sand wasn't exactly easy, but she manages to get at least within earshot of him.]
Do you want me to hurl?
[Daisy asks breathlessly, hoping he'll at least slow down.]
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There is something slightly off about his balance, though — more noticeable when he's in motion, the way he favours one shoulder a bit more, with the weight of it. But Bucky eventually slows down enough that Daisy reaches his side, and he settles into a jog beside her.
He is irritatingly upbeat and unaffected when he exercises. ]
If you do feel like you're gonna hurl, shout and I'll find a trashcan.
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[She could easily drink three of those, but not when she's running through sand. The sand makes this way harder and he's running through it like it's nothing.
Him being upbeat is a good contrast to how much of a mess she is right now. She can feel a knot forming in her side as she slows to a jog.]
It's becoming a bigger possibility by the second.
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You doing okay?
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Stopping to lean against the railing, Daisy doubles over.]
I just need a minute.
[Coming down from being drunk, and from adrenaline, the aches and pains from the fight are really starting to settle in. Not to mention her mess of a stomach.]
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He's mostly forgotten what it's like to get drunk; he's gotten out of the habit, can't really remember what it's like fighting that whirling dizziness. ]
Take your time. I shouldn't've pushed.
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No. It's my fault.
[Licking her lower lip, Daisy closes her eyes to try and keep herself from hurling.]
M'the idiot who drank too much.
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[ Yeah, he's really bad at judging these things anymore — particularly when Daisy even at her default is playful and chatty. ]
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[Both, maybe? She was so desperate to be distracted by coming out here that she didn’t think about how that might not have been a good idea.]
I’m guessing you’re fine because—-
[Daisy gestures blindly.]
Of the serum.
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[ It helps keep him lean, but has its annoying side-effects: the food bills, the inability to enjoy that mellow tipsiness. Bucky probably could get drunk if he really put in the effort and outpaced it, but it'd be conspicuous. Then, a thought occurs to him and he smiles a little, although it's still directed to her back and so she can't see it unless she looks back over her shoulder: ]
So I'm the opposite of a cheap drunk. Kind of an expensive date, sorry.
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[She’s about to push off the railing when she feels her phone buzz. Opening her eyes, she reaches for it from her back pocket and pulls it out to see Jemma texting her.]
I’m in trouble.
[Daisy doesn’t actually sound concerned as she looks up at Bucky with a small smile.
Reading over the messages, she groans.]
I’ve got to go.
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