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[bottledblond]

Not every universe in the far and wide cosmos is as lucky (however unlucky itself that seems) to encounter Thanos during a time where people live who can do something about it. Steve Rogers, a particular version of Steve Rogers who had only just suffered through his first night of basic training in New Jersey as part of the Army’s Project Rebirth and thus had not yet become Captain America, bent to untie his shoes and saw his hands begin to disintegrate. He doesn’t panic, panicking is for people who do not live like every breath is their last. Instead, he blinks in surprise as the barracks fill with shouting. He has time to contemplate two things. One, he wishes he’d done more with his life. And two, he hopes Bucky will do all right.

He’s still thinking about that last issue when he exhales his last in a universe where Captain America never existed and finishes it bent over in the ruins of the barracks, roof half open to the sky and walls a burnt and ashy gray.

It takes him an hour to get to the road and by then, his asthma is already getting the best of him. He blacks out for the second time ‘that day’ and wakes up staring at the ceiling of what is obviously a hospital.

It just doesn’t sound or smell like a hospital. Sure. People are running around and yelling, but it smells painfully clean, artificially so, and there are machines he’s never seen before connected by wires to his body. He does the thing people should never do and yanks them loose. The machines squawk strangely and frantically and Steve is almost out of bed when two large men in green pajamas force him back.

Nothing makes sense to him for days. People come to talk to him, to find out who he is and who his family is. Evidently Steve Rogers is a popular name, because they bring in more people to talk to him, to ask him questions about his life, but no one has any answers.

He explodes, as he’s wont to do when frustrated, demands answers, but nothing they say makes sense.

By then, the war is over. Not World War II, which has evidently been over for over half a century, but this new war. And Bucky Barnes had been told of his presence. Steve is in bed, arms crossed, looking dour and getting an infusion of something that honestly is helping him breathe better when Bucky bursts into his now private room. It’s been two months

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[woundedwinter]

That stops him cold for a second and he frowns, thinking as he finishes his bite. "I have no idea what they do." Probably something involving phones and selfies and other things that are still something of a mystery to him.

"I walk a lot, sometimes I spend time in Central Park and write. We could go to the museums? Take a drive outside of the city?" It's pretty sad that he doesn't do more than walk all of New York City, but he can't spend all of his time inside watching baseball or soccer.

[bottledblond]

"Let's go to the museums," Steve says immediately. It's time spent with Bucky and learning more about what's going on with this world so that he can hopefully take that knowledge back with him. He's still sure that's what the talk tonight is going to be, and let it not be said that Steve doesn't try to game the system where he can.

Learning about history is easier than trying to figure out how contact lenses are made or what medicines they have. He's not a doctor and he won't have access to the equipment back in 1941 for that to make a difference.

This is the only way he can change things for the better.

After getting changed into yesterday's clothes, something that is very common for a person who doesn't own many clothes nor the mean to clean them on a constant basis, they had first to the Museum of the City of New York. Learning about the city's activism over the years is astonishing. Especially the Stonewall Riots.

Steve keeps making these little delighted gasps. He can't help it.

[woundedwinter]

He pays far more attention to Steve taking in the changes and his reactions than to the exhibits themselves. They don't change that often and he finds himself visiting them at least once a month. His hands are in his pockets as they walk and take in every different room and the moments in history they highlight.

Steve is delighted and he's happy to see him take it all in, both of them stopping for lunch at a hot dog cart outside.

"So what do you think?" He's got an easy smile as they sit in the shade. "There's a good art museum we could take in next?"

Bucky isn't going to dwell on the conversation they need to have. He'd thought about it most of the night and while he doesn't want Steve to go, it's not his decision to make. He can't make that choice for him. If he has to, he'll let him go.

[bottledblond]

As tempting as going to an art museum is, there's no use for it. Bucky will tell him that he needs to go back so that the other Steve can be fished out of the ether and Steve, having seen great works of art, won't be able to do much with it. He is strategizing how helpful he'll be able to be, rather than his enjoyment levels or where his interests lie.

At the front of the museum had been small brochures of other museums, and while they'd been handling a fully loaded hot dog (amazing, Steve thought), he'd been trying to figure out where to go next.

"Can we go to the Jewish History museum next?" He wants to learn more about the war.

And he might have given it away.

[woundedwinter]

"Jewish History museum?" Bucky tilts his head in confusion for a moment. Neither of them were Jewish and while they had a few friends as kids that were, it's an odd ask. Then it starts to click, the pieces falling into place and he sighs, shoulders deflating a little.

"You heard what Sam said last night?"

[bottledblond]

"Not really, but I guessed," Steve admits, tucking the brochures into his back pocket and offering Bucky the last five or so bites of a hot dog that'd proven just a little too big for him. And Bucky seems to just be able to eat everything and a little more besides. "And uh...well I was in that hospital for a few months so... I probably shouldn't be trying to change the future or timeline or dimension...but if I have to leave here, I'm going to make this count for something."

Steve steps out of the way of a group of kids and keeps his eyes on Bucky.

"Other Me disappeared five years ago, right? So if someone came back in my place, it could be five years after I left. No Captain America to save the day for anyone." Especially Bucky. "I'm just trying to be prepared in case of a worst case scenario."

[woundedwinter]

He accepts the rest of the hot dog but doesn't really taste it as he finishes it off. Bucky's smile is small and almost a little proud as he listens to him, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "Of course you're trying to make things better. That's what you've always done."

"Look, it's time travel and it's not anything I can claim to be an expert on. Sam.. Sam thinks you need to go back and set things right, maybe bringing back the other Steve as a consequence." He swallows, "Me? I don't want you to go. I want you to stay here with me."

Bucky shakes his head, "But this isn't about what I want or what Sam wants. The question is, what do you want, Steve?" Whatever happens, he'll do what Steve needs him to do.

[bottledblond]

"I want to stay with you."

Steve's always had Bucky as a blind spot. It's a trope that Bucky himself will recognize. Steve gave up everything for him, put himself on the run for years just to see him safe and getting the treatment he needed. He'd given up his shield, his moniker, and even his duty in some ways for Barnes.

The right and moral thing to do in this situation would be to see the timeline restored to the way it ought to have been. Nevermind that the reversal of the blip had thrown the globe to chaos and that it had disrupted so many, many lives. Steve should go back.

But Bucky needs him. The other Bucky, his best friend, would benefit from the other Steve Rogers more.

"If it's really up to me, I'm staying with you, pal."

[woundedwinter]

It's selfish to feel such a wave of relief at Steve's decision but he can't bring himself to care. A genuine smile breaks over his face and he hooks an arm around him like he used to do when they were kids.

The other Steve had sacrificed so much, given so much up including a chance at a normal life, it's only right this Steve gets that shot. He can live a life that isn't centered on duty and violence.

"I'm glad to hear that, cause I wanted you to stay too."

[bottledblond]

Steve's not going to press on that. There's a lot of issues with each of them right now, and the selfish move tells him that there's something with the other Steve that Bucky doesn't want to return to. As curious as Steve tends to be, he also is well versed in leaving well enough alone.

"Sam and your friends are probably going to be mad...?" Or perhaps not. Captain America's been gone for half a decade. It can't matter too much to have him back right?

He'll get that awful taste out of his mouth for thinking that way soon enough.

Steve smirks up at Bucky as they start off down the street. "No more museums. I want to see a film."

[woundedwinter]

"They don't get to make that decision. You do." And to Bucky it really is that simple. If Steve doesn't want to go back, he doesn't have to. "And you don't have to even meet them if you don't want to. This is your life Steve, you got a fresh start away from the war, you can do whatever you want."

He grins at him, "A movie it is."

The theater isn't far from where they are and after checking his phone for something that might work, a lighter comedy, Bucky pays for the tickets. Steve might have a minor stroke when he finds out how much it was going to cost for tickets and popcorn.

[bottledblond]

The sticker shock is starting to wear off, but there’s no way that popped corn can be so expensive. He’s also pretty bummed that there aren’t candy apples on the stand either. All of that completely pales when it comes to the movie itself.

He’s not prepared for the imagery or the sound. It’s almost frightening, exhilarating, really, and they come out of the theater with Steve chattering away about everything from the somewhat raunchy plot to the cinematics to the soundtrack.

[woundedwinter]

They walk together and Bucky listens to every word as they come out, swinging his coat back on and putting his hands back in his pockets as they go. This moment is pretty close to perfect and he's at ease as he keeps an eye on Steve as they walk back.

Steve can make a life here, take all the chances that he never got before and Bucky can try and muddle along and find out his place in the world now.

"I'm guessing you liked it, huh?"

[bottledblond]

“No, God no, that was awful!” Steve exclaims. The content itself he could do without. He found that the childish humor was a little off base, much of it went over his head, and the storyline was hard to follow. “The experience was really swell, though!”

Steve let’s Bucky guide them back to the car. It’s been a long day and the sun is starting to set. The hot dog and popcorn is enough to keep him from being hungry, but there’s something safe about having a home base.

As he buckles himself into the car so it doesn’t yell at him, Steve turns his head back to his friend.

“What did you want to talk about?” Hopefully nothing now that they decided he was staying.

[woundedwinter]

He slides into the driver's seat, "Well we gotta figure out what you're going to do with this new future of yours." Bucky's been trying to figure that out for a long time now and he can't be too reliant on Steve while he does the same. It wouldn't be fair to either of them.

The car slides into traffic and he starts heading back to his apartment.

"There's a lot to catch up on and a lot out there to see."

[bottledblond]

Bucky isn’t lying at all and the possibilities seem endless. Steve can feel his heart pounding away in his chest and he can’t help but put his hand there as he’d always done to try and calm it.

“I.... I was to more of it than just New York,” Steve says. “And I want to help people. But I should probably get a job. I could wash dishes. Work at a shop?”

Bucky can’t just pay for everything if a trip to the movie costs more than most people made in a year.

[woundedwinter]

"Money is the one thing you don't have to worry about," he assures him. "I've got more than enough to keep us comfortable. If you want to help people you can go back to school? Most decent jobs want a high school diploma from this decade," a teasing wink over at him, "and even some college."

"I emptied out a lot of HYDRA holdings a few years back. Believe me, we're good."

There's getting Steve current and valid ID, which means he's going to have to suck up his pride and call Wilson or someone to help him make it happen. Steve needs legitimate paperwork if he's going to live a normal life.

[bottledblond]

Luckily, there’s been a lot of this sort of think with the unblip and Steve is a well known and well documented person. The Avengers, such as they are, will need to step in along the way though. Bucky doesn’t really have a whole lot of clout with governmental bodies.

For obvious reasons.

“Does school really help anyone?” Steve asks, skeptical. This isn’t the same guy that did those PSAs for the school board of the state of New York. He’s never been that scholastically minded.

He’d been planning to go to art college but even that didn’t seem worthwhile.

“You said there are people coming back that don’t belong... or that need help fitting back in. Cant I help you sort that out?”

[woundedwinter]

Bucky doesn't really have anyone who can help out with identification or getting Steve officially back with the land of the living and as much as he hates it, he's gonna have to call Sam for some help.

He rolls a shoulder, "These days it does. It's all about the education now if you want a job doing more than flipping burgers."

Of course Steve wants to help other people. Some things never really change. "Sam can help with that. I know he doesn't work directly with repatriating the returned but he'll know someone who does, someone who can get you on the right track."

[bottledblond]

Steve tilts his head away from Bucky, cheek resting on the belt keeping him in the seat. He can’t help but stare outside. Was it like this when his other self came to? Maybe he hadn’t had the opportunity to relax and enjoy his life.

It makes him feel bad, or at least guilty to rob him of it now.

“I could help you,” Steve says. “I might not be super strong, but there’s got to be more to me than just lifting motorcycles and throwing shields.”

[woundedwinter]

"There's always been a lot more to you than that," he promises him. Not everyone had seen it, or realized that Captain America was more than the shield.

"They don't really let me do much beyond the basics but yeah, we can get you involved."

[bottledblond]

“Let you?” Steve shifts in his seat. He’s always been a bad influence on Bucky. Everyone growing up thought he was the angelic one but honestly, Steve was the most mischievous one at all.

His elbow rests on the center console as he palms his chin and blinks up at Bucky.

“They don’t sound like good friends.”

[woundedwinter]

Oh and he knows that look so well. That looks spells trouble and like always he's helpless to ignore it. "They've got a right to not trust me after all those years, Steve."

"I'm helping and that's something."

[bottledblond]

“Wasn’t you,” Steve insists. He hadn’t lived through any of this, but he knows Bucky. “And you said it yourself. You were pardoned.”

Steve is pretty sure he isn’t going to like these old friends of the other Steve and he’s a little upset that the other Steve could ever be friends with them.

“Doesn’t matter, Buck. You’ve got me now. And I trust you with my life.”

[woundedwinter]

"But I still did it."

He glances over at him with a grin, "Yeah. We got each other now." Maybe they can build a life without the remaining Avengers. Something closer to normal.

His eyes flick back to the rear mirror and the smile fades into a frown. They're being followed.