MCA #4, Saturday Afternoon

[weirderthanthou]

The raccoons had been defeated, the lost had been catapulted - or telekinetically hurled - back to the surface, and James seemed in one piece. If definitely in need of a sandwich.

So was Jesse. She hadn't seen her apartment much in the past few days, and she kind of longed for the quiet right now. Sure, quiet didn't usually involve other people, but James...

James was quiet too.

"Here we are," she said. "I might even still have some pastrami in the fridge."

[[ for bucky. ]]

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[shapethecentury]

Bucky was definitely quiet. Even now.

Just stepping through the door, he seemed to have grown more tired. But maybe it was just that more of it was showing, now. Out of view of -- everyone.

"Anything's fine," he said.

[weirderthanthou]

"If you're sure," Jesse said. She cast a look at him over her shoulder. "You should sit down," she said.

(Her voice would have gone soft there, if she was the kind of person who knew how.)

[shapethecentury]

Bucky nodded, slow and wordless.

He found his way to the couch. Set his backpack down at his feet, and couldn't help how the way he sank down was heavy.

[weirderthanthou]

Well, at least that particular couch was used to depressed dark-haired assassins heavily plunking down on it.

Jesse checked on him one more time with a glance, then vanished into the kitchen.

[shapethecentury]

And Bucky just...

Sat there.

Though after a moment, he began to finally peel off the gloves. Didn't need to hide his hand here, did he?

[weirderthanthou]

No, he really didn't.

Jesse bustled around in the kitchen (there was cheese in her fridge, too! Exciting! When had she picked up cheese?) for a little while.

Then she came back out with two plates. The pastrami-and-cheese sandwiches weren't exactly artfully done, but they were food, and sandwiched between two slabs of whole-wheat bread, so at least it would fill them right up.

"Here you go," she said, holding one out for him to take.

[shapethecentury]

In the end, Bucky had even rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie up to the elbows. Just shiny metal on the left side.

He looked up at her, then at the plate. Reached out with his right hand to take it

"Thank you."

[weirderthanthou]

"You're welcome," Jesse said, as she sat down on the sofa next to him. "There can't have been a lot of fresh food down there."

[shapethecentury]

"Mostly cans." Rolled out to him into the dark, because sometimes things just went like that. "It's fine."

He'd had worse.

(There was always something worse.)

But even so, he was biting into his sandwich with gratitude right now.

[weirderthanthou]

"It's a little not fine," Jesse said. But she followed his example in taking a bite.

[shapethecentury]

"Yeah, maybe."

Definitely.

But he was eating.

[weirderthanthou]

Jesse decided not to bother him while he did. She had her own sandwich to get through, after all.

So they sat there in silence, eating.

[shapethecentury]

And so it went for a long moment, until Bucky finally hazarded a sideways glance at her.

"How was it, up here?"

He was the kind of person who landed on a soft voice without deciding to.

[weirderthanthou]

"Everyone was scrambling around trying to find you guys," Jesse said, with a little sigh. "And scared to go outside at the same time. Because of a bunch of raccoons."

[shapethecentury]

Bucky almost nailed a wry tone. "Sounds like Fandom."

In that it made very little sense.

"Down there, we just didn't... know much."

[weirderthanthou]

"Neither did we, until the cops started roughing up the raccoons," Jesse said. She definitely nailed the 'wry'.

[shapethecentury]

Bucky managed a little snort. "See? Fandom."

He was going to be deeply unsurprised once he eventually met Rocket.

[weirderthanthou]

"All in a week's weird," Jesse agreed. "Well... three weeks."

[shapethecentury]

"Yeah, I heard it'd been a while," Bucky said, the last of his attempts at wry falling away. "Guess I picked the wrong time to return."

He hadn't deliberately picked a damn thing.

[weirderthanthou]

"It's Fandom," Jesse said, "If it hadn't been this, you might have walked in on everyone singing, an invasion of zombies, or-- everybody tastes like things day."

[shapethecentury]

There was no point in asking if those were all actual things. Of course they were.

"Woulda preferred any of those over the hole," Bucky admitted, mildly, his gaze drawn back to what little was left of his sandwich.

[weirderthanthou]

"It was that bad, huh?" Jesse said. She looked to the kitchen. "You know, I still have a beer or two in the fridge."

[shapethecentury]

Bucky glanced up - towards the kitchen, too, not at her.

He nodded, but barely. "Sure."

[weirderthanthou]

"Only if you want one," Jesse added. "I mostly just keep them here for the ritual, you know?"

[shapethecentury]

Bucky gave a little shrug. "I can't get drunk, so..."

So, it was just the ritual on his end, too.