Shadows and Light

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve's sleep is troubled tonight.

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[nerves_of_ice]

"Lose something?"

There's laughter in his voice, coming from behind Steve.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve whirls.

There's Bucky at the end of the alley, tall and handsome in his uniform--and Steve is tiny again, lungs constricting with every breath and an ache in his knuckles and his face.

"Thought I lost you." He manages to muster up a smile. "Shoulda known you'd turn up like a bad penny."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Always do, don't I?"

He comes forward, kicking a trashcan lid out of the way as he slings his right arm around Steve's shoulders.

"Come on. You're a mess; we've got to get you cleaned up before tonight."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"What's tonight?" He stops, despite Bucky's arm around his shoulders. "Not another blind date, Buck."

[nerves_of_ice]

He grins, a little sheepishly.

"You'll like this one. She's a real nice gal. Smart, too."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve shakes his head. "They're all nice gals, 'til they see me."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Okay, so some of them haven't been -- but this dame's different, I know it," Bucky insists. "Like I said, she's smart. She'll be able to see the real you."

A beat, as he considers something.

"Pretty, too. Red hair."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve glances at Bucky. "Sounds more like your type."

[nerves_of_ice]

He shrugs.

"Listen, if you really don't want to go, I can cancel. We can see a movie or something instead."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"I'd rather see a movie," Steve says, because no amount of nice girls is ever better than spending time with his friend.

[nerves_of_ice]

"Okay. I'll go call them; why don't we meet at the theater?"

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"See you there," Steve says, and watches Bucky walk away before he turns to go himself.

[nerves_of_ice]

He's late. Late enough, in fact, that it's beginning to look like he'll miss the cartoons and things before the film itself.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

By then, Steve has bought tickets for himself and Bucky, and gives him a stern look before they hurry into the dark theater and find two empty seats.

"At least we should see the newsreel, right?"

[nerves_of_ice]

He's out of breath and apologetic, both.

"Yeah, we will, I promise -- here, get the seats, I'll run get popcorn for us, okay?"

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"Hurry," Steve says, more teasing than stern, and goes into the theater proper.

[nerves_of_ice]

It's not very crowded inside, not at this showing. There are plenty of seats available.

The newsreel's just starting to flicker.

"And now let's see the latest from our boys at the front!"

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve chooses seats near the center and sits.

"Our own Captain America and the brave Howling Commands sure have Jerry on the run!"

Steve sits up straighter. The narrator's cheerful delivery has a strangely forced tone--but how--why--

"That's not me," Steve whispers at the sight of the big man gesturing the other Commandos into the fray.

But it is Bucky.

It is Bucky on the screen, in the forests of Germany when he's supposed to be home, in Brooklyn, buying popcorn.

Steve looks down at his hands.

They seem bigger.

[nerves_of_ice]

"It's not your fault."

Bucky turns and looks out of the screen, right at Steve.

"You couldn't help it. You couldn't help me. Don't blame yourself."

Blood's beginning to run down the side of his face, down his left arm, dripping from his fingertips and pooling at his feet.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve stands.

(In this body, his current body, the big body that still feels like a costume he will someday take off.)

"I failed you. All those times you saved me and when it mattered most I failed you. Of course I blame myself. I always will."

[nerves_of_ice]

"You did what you had to do. So did I."

He doesn't smile and doesn't move, even as the rest of the reel around him fades to white static.

"Finish the mission, Cap."

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

"I don't know what the mission is anymore."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I do."

Bucky raises a pistol from his side and points it at his best friend's face.

"It's you, Steve. It's always been you."



As the shot rings out, the theater goes black.

[thekidfrombrooklyn]

Steve raises the shield just in time, and the bullet pings off the vibranium before he twists away, into the dark.


It's so dark in the forests. Even the moon is hidden. The air smells of evergreen and water--Steve can hear the faint rumble of a river.


There's no familiar presence at his side. No Bucky, no Commandos.

Just his shield.

[nerves_of_ice]

Silence surrounds him.



No, wait.

There's a rustle coming from somewhere up ahead.