It's all coming back to me now (Spot and Bucky)

[brooklynishere]

When the Hydra facility had been raided, the last thing anybody expected to find was a 16 year old kid on ice, and yet there he'd been. Steve had been the one to stop the Hydra scientist from shutting down the life support, but they hadn't got there in time to prevent the destruction of a good half the facility's records - including the ones about who the kid was or why he was there.

So what choice did they have but to wake him up and find out?

He was uncooperative at first, refused to give them any details other than the name 'Spot' and kept threatening to fight anybody that came close, though they managed to work out pretty easily that he was from Brooklyn and he'd been on the ice almost as long as Steve had. It's when he overhears a comment about Bucky that he seems to change his tune.

"Bucky Barnes?" he asks, and while he still seems wary, for the first time since he woke up he says something actually helpful "I'll talk to him. Tell him the name's Sean Conlon."

Comments

[not_a_commie]

Bucky sits up and turns to look at Sean, "Sean," Oh look your birth name, "wear what you'll be comfortable in, you're just going to go have fun, watch a movie eat some junk food." He says giving the kid an easy smile. "Spot, Peter is your friend, he's not gonna care what you're wearing." He gives Spot an easy smile, "Just go have fun." He says honestly.

[brooklynishere]

Maybe it's all the teasing, maybe it's the impact of hearing his actual name, but something snaps and he runs a hand nervously through damp hair.

"It ain't just... " he starts, trailing off for a second before he bites the bullet and just comes out with it "It's a date."

[not_a_commie]

"We figured," Bucky says with a smile, shaking his head. "You didn't hide it well." Steve is smiling but letting the two of them talk.

"Look be yourself, dress how you want, don't stress." He says shrugging. "You and Peter are friends, you've been hanging out a lot." he points out. "Just wear what makes you comfortable. Bet you a dollar Peter shows up in jeans and a hoodie." He says lips twitching. "But if you want to wear the blue button-up then wear it." He smiles, "But stop running around like a chicken with your head cut off, it's Peter."

[brooklynishere]

"...so you's just been messing with me all evenin'?" Spot asks flatly, unimpressed. Sure, if it were anybody else he'd probably have found it funny, and maybe later he would, but right now he's just annoyed.

"Yea... I guess..." Peter looks pretty cute in a hoodie, he wouldn't mind that so much, he just really wanted this evening to go well. Technically he hasn't been on a date in nearly 70 years, only he's not going to bring that up because it sounds dumb. Technically he's never been on a date, given that he and Race weren't really able to do that kind of thing.

[not_a_commie]

"Just a little bit, would you really want me to call you out on going on a date with Peter Parker? Who by the way tried to help arrest me." He says grinning at Spot. "I've forgiven him though." He laughs softly.

"Sean just be yourself." He says easily. "He's already your friend, does he know this is a date?" He asks.

[brooklynishere]

"Yea... he, uh, he asked me actually..." Spot admits. He'd been trying to make a move on Peter for weeks, but he'd been a little too subtle, used a few too many euphemisms that had long gone out of fashion. Between the dramatic defending of his honour and some creative googling, Peter had finally got the message - and then immediately been the one to make the first proper move.

[not_a_commie]

"The spider is growing up." Bucky smiles a little, "Just have fun tonight, he asked you out, which means you don't have to change or worry about anything." Bucky reaches out and ruffles Sean's damp hair. "It's a movie, and whatever food you two are gonna shove in your faces, first dates are always weird." He shrugs.

"Look just be safe, have fun." Bucky shrugs.

"and be home before 11." Steve tags on, smiling at Sean.

Bucky laughs at the blonde, "That too."

[brooklynishere]

"Okay, okay, I'll be home by eleven," Spot rolls his eyes, though the expression on his face is fond.

"...thanks." he adds, since the advice is actually pretty good.

"I'm gonna go check on my shirt." he decides, shoving himself to his feet

[not_a_commie]

Bucky picks back up his book and stretches out across the couch again. “We have a fucking real teenager.” Bucky says to Steve looking over the arm of the couch making his hair hang.

“Right... and we’re only technically 25...” Steve goes back to his drawing, “If we came back... when he was 15 we woulda been 37.” Bucky adds with a soft laugh, But it’s weird to think about Spot was only around 3 when he died and Steve went into the ice.

He wonders what happened to Molly why the kid put her through so much hell, but seems to have evened out for them. It doesn’t feel fair to Buck. He’d been scared to track her down a year ago. But maybe nows the time.

[brooklynishere]

Spot retrieves his now-dry shirt, already buttoning it up as he crosses back through the living room to go style his hair.

Eventually, he comes back down actually ready to go, and hesitates for a moment before saying.

"Look I know you said it would be fine, but... does this actually look okay?"

[not_a_commie]

Bucky looks at Sean and sits back up tilting his head a little. He gets to his feet, and comes over untucking The kid’s shirt and messing his hair a little. Then he looks at Steve, who gives a thumbs up.

“There.” He says, flopping back down on the sofa, “fun.” Bucky smiles, “don’t do anything stupid.”

[brooklynishere]

It feels weird to him but they've lived in the here and now longer than he has and, hey, they found each other so they must know something right? So he concedes to Bucky's changes and nods slightly.

"Okay, I'm meeting him there so I'll see you when I get back." because there was no way in hell he was letting Peter come here, especially now they knew this was a date. "Bye dad, pop."

He gives them a nod goodbye and turns to head out the house, trying not to look as nervous as he felt.

[not_a_commie]

Bucky smiles and Steve shakes his head looking happy and amused. He sets his sketch book aside, and goes over to Bucky and kisses him, putting his hands on Buck’s face, leaving streaks charcoal on the brunette’s face.

Bucky laughs,”this a come on Rogers...?”

“Yep.” Steve nods, “got a couple of hours.” he laughs.

A few hours later Bucky is sitting on the sofa with damp hair piled up on his head. Steve plating up a couple of slices of the pizza they ordered and flops down to watch some The Wolfman.

“You remember when we scrapped enough money to go and get hotdogs.” Bucky laughs.

“Was that our first date?” Steve snorts.

“Who the hell knows.” Bucky smirks.

“We gonna wait up?” Steve asks picking a pepperoni off the slice and eating it.

“He has to be back by 11, we aren’t that old.” Buck snorts.

[brooklynishere]

It's 10.45 when the sound of Spot's key in the lock is heard, the boy himself stepping through moments later. He closes the door behind him and leans on it, letting his head drop back against the wood with a slight thunk.

That... did not go as well as he hoped it would.

It hadn't gone terribly, not totally, but he was still feeling pretty delicate about it.

[not_a_commie]

Steve is pulling bedding out of the dryer and carrying it up stairs as Sean comes home, he glances at Bucky before going up to make their bed.

Buck takes a breath a kid home at 10:45 from a date when he was told 11 is the most unlike Sean thing he can think of, that doesn’t bode well... but he’s not going to say that out loud.

“How was the movie.” Buck asks instead.

[brooklynishere]

"Fine, I guess." Spot shoves himself away from the door and makes for the stairs.

The movie had actually been pretty great, a little bit mindblowing in that it was so much bigger and brighter and louder and just more than he'd ever expected, given that his experience of movies thus far was sneaking into the pictures with his friends in the 50s, back when they'd only just started regularly being in colour let alone any of the rest of the quality, budget and special effects they had these days.

It was just the rest of his evening that had put a dampener on the experience.

[not_a_commie]

Well, that answered that question, he pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment. He pushes up off the sofa after giving Sean a few minutes.

He heads up the stairs and drums on Spots door, before pushing it open. "You say fine, but your voice says different." He leans in the doorway, "You wanna talk about it, or do you want me to let you sulk in peace."

[brooklynishere]

Spot heads upstairs and throws himself onto his bed, not even bothering to kick his shoes off and just staring up at the ceiling trying to figure out how things had gone so wrong when they'd started out so promising.

"I'm not sulking," he scowls, and he contemplates telling Bucky to shove off and leave him alone, kind of wanting to sneak a cigarette out his window and wallow in self-pity for a bit. But not sulk, because he's not sulking.

But he doesn't, he doesn't say anything else, he just stares at the ceiling some more.

[not_a_commie]

Bucky nods and moves away from the door, "Alright if you want to talk about whatever happened, I'll be downstairs." He says starting to walk away. "Steve's heading out on an opp tomorrow, so it'll just be you and me for about a week." He says from the top of the stairs. "Maybe we can go to a Mets game." He suggests before heading downstairs.

[brooklynishere]

Baseball games, another thing that he only ever saw when he snuck in with friends... there's a second where he wishes he was back there so badly it almost physically hurts. It was easier, in some weird way, back then. Dating wasn't a thing for people like him, there was just the careful dance of figuring out if you were going to get kissed or killed and then you just... got on with it. There weren't really any delays or uncertainties once you'd got it figured out because you had to take advantage of the moments you could get, it wasn't wasted.

Dating, he decides, makes things far too open to interpretation. Not least because he doesn't even know anymore if this was a date.

After a few minutes, he shoves himself off the bed and, instead of reaching for his emergency stash of smokes, he heads downstairs.

"Why is this all so complicated?" he asks from the doorway

[not_a_commie]

Bucky looks at Sean standing in the doorway from his spot on the couch. "Because you dealing with people. "Their feelings on top of yours," Bucky says. "You tellin' me things were never awkward or hard with Race?" He asks arching an eyebrow. "What happened?"

He's hoping this doesn't go into an awkward conversation but he's pretty sure that he can handle whatever turn this takes.

[brooklynishere]

"Nah," Spot sighs, "I just shoved him up against a wall one time and waited to see if he'd punch me for it."

It had been a risk, sure, but it had been worth it.

"It was... fine..." it had been pleasant enough, the conversation was good, the movie was enjoyable, Spot just hadn't been able to get rid of the tension he felt all evening. He moves into the room and drops onto he sofa with another sigh "Just... I tried to hold his hand during the movie and he moved away, and then we didn't kiss or anything... I dunno, I guess maybe it wasn't a date after all..."

[not_a_commie]

"The hope you don't get punched or murdered approach is a little dicey." He says with an amused huff.

"It was a real date, not like a Grindr date..." He stops and scrubs his hand down his face. "Pretend like I didn't say that."

"Look when you tried to hold his hand, was it dark, halfway through the movie, did you actually take his hand?" Bucky asks turning so he could look at Spot. "Did you try to kiss him?"

[brooklynishere]

"I knew I could take Race if he started shit," Spot shrugs "'sides, I seen the way he looked at me, I knew I wasn't getting punched."

Race had never been as subtle as he liked to pretend, his poker face was truly a thing of beauty to behold - but he couldn't keep it up for five seconds around Spot.

"What's a gri- you know what, I don't want to know."

The questions are, frustratingly, straight to the point and incredibly accurate and Spot's silent, dawning horror is probably all the answer Bucky needs.

That's the moment that Spot realises that maybe he shouldn't be trying to fit in with all these modern methods. Maybe he should have just shoved Peter up against a wall and seen how it turned out for him.

[not_a_commie]

"Call him, tell him you got home, wanna hang out again, blah blah blah." He chuckles a little. "I wouldn't be too aggressive with Peter, read your audience." He smiles shaking his head. "You going to be okay? Looks like your brain has died."