Closed

[deadthenred]

Who: Bucky (deadthenred) and Kyle (torchbearer)
What: Awkward meetings as
When: The date it happened
Where: A coffeeshop somewhere in New Jersey.
Content Warnings: N/A

[ It's a nice coffeeshop, the kind with white walls, high ceilings, and exposed ductwork, the kind of places you find in Brooklyn, these days, with the kind of prices to match. (When did a cup of coffee start costing $7?)

He's not sure where Jason ran off to and why he left him alone with this guy. (Why is Bucky friends with Jason?)

Before going up to the counter and ordering, there's an awkward silence. This isn't like the other people Bucky's met through Jason, he has no idea what Kyle's deal is. ]

Are you— uh, another one of his brothers?

[ Dark hair, light eyes— they all have a look. ]

Comments

[torchbearer]

[ kyle waves him over, having managed to snag a nice seat by the window. once bucky is settled and kyle gratefully takes his cup, he asks. ]

So, are you like. In the business? How much has he said about me?

[deadthenred]

The business? [ He thinks he knows what that means, but he isn't sure how to answer. Bucky's never really thought of himself as a superhero— he put on a costume because he was enlisted and those were his orders. The only time he was trying to be a hero is when he was also trying to be Captain America.

He presses his lips together before answering. ]

Used to be. And he just said you were an old friend. [ He takes a sip of his coffee. It's very hot. ] Has he said anything about me?

[torchbearer]

[ huh. usually this is a yes or no deal, but kyle can grasp that the history may be a bit much to share on a first meeting. he shakes his head. ]

Not really. He hasn't said much about his time there. Mostly we talk about our world stuff. People, things we've missed.

[deadthenred]

[ It's a long-ass history, Kyle. ]

Sure. You got a lot of people from your neck of the woods here. Though most of 'em seem to belong to that Bat-Cult.

[ Or alternatively, all Bucky's knowledge about that universe comes from Jason, reluctant Bat-Cult initiate. ]

[torchbearer]

[ kyle chokes on his coffee, quickly wiping his mouth. ]

The Bat-Cult?

[deadthenred]

I guess that's not what they call it.

[torchbearer]

Definitely not.

[ kyle can't say he's wrong though. or won't. same thing. ]

They do get weirdly hung up on each other.

[deadthenred]

Maybe 'cause they start so young. [ Another sip of that coffee. ] I mean, I'm not one to talk, but it's gotta mess you up.

[torchbearer]

I guess so. I started after I got out of college.

[ he had been in his early twenties. which had probably helped in standing his ground. ]

[deadthenred]

I enlisted at fifteen. [ He was sixteen when he put on a mask, but only just. ]

[torchbearer]

[ wait what. ]

That can't be legal.

[deadthenred]

Oh, I lied.

[ He doesn't shrug, exactly, because his body language is too close for that. But the effect is the same. ]

I was fifteen. [ Not exactly the age where you make intelligent decisions. ]

[torchbearer]

[ maybe he is the most normal one. that stings. ]

At fifteen, I wanted to go to Disneyland.

[deadthenred]

You ever get to go?

[ Bucky liked Snow White a lot when it came out. ]

[torchbearer]

No, studying the arts is expensive. I did fly over and stop by much later. When I had the ring.

[deadthenred]

When I was that age I really wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. Thought I could be a park ranger when I grew up. That or the starting pitcher for the Dodgers.

[ He had ordinary things he wanted, too. Honestly, with the arm, he could probably throw a mean fastball.]

One of my best friends wanted to be an artist, though. He was always drawing.

[torchbearer]

Sounds like my people. I do that too, whenever I have a spare moment.

[ he doesn't want to sacrifice his joy for his job. and in a way, being green lantern works out because he's a visualiser and when a ring can make anything you want into reality? you can go wild. ]

So why the army?

[deadthenred]

My dad was in the Army, and I guess, growin' up, I always figured I'd follow him.

[torchbearer]

[ ah, father figures. kyle barely knew his until recently, so that tracks. ]

That tracks. Even with — [ kyle waves his hand flippantly. jason. the bats. etc. ]

[deadthenred]

Yeah. [ He would've wound up in the service, probably, being born in 1925. But he got in well before the United States entered the war. ]

They make it seem a lot more fun than it is.

[torchbearer]

It never seemed like much fun to me. I mean, I get the feeling. Shared experience, sort of communal. Everyone's trauma coming from the same place.

But that's all it is.

[ still, he shrugs. ]

Then again, maybe I'm missing something. I never really had a team or a mentor. Kind of got tossed into the deep end.

[deadthenred]

[ That's an interesting perspective. Kyle isn't wrong, about the communal trauma, the esprit de corps. But it also makes Bucky feel old, because when he was growing up, it felt like everyone had the same hardships. Maybe that wasn't true, maybe he knows better. But it felt that way. ]

Yeah? [ For a loner, Bucky's been on so many teams. ] How'd that happen?

[torchbearer]

I got handed an all-powerful ring by the last guardian of OA, which made me the last living Green Lantern while I was in an alley, getting out of a bar.

I'm pretty sure I wasn't his first choice because he went "You'll do" and basically vanished.

[ ganthet came back due to the virtue of cyclical comic book reality, but he was never kyle's mentor. though they do have a decent relationship, all things considered. ]

[deadthenred]

Wow.

[ He takes a long sip of his coffee. ]

Dunno what I was expecting. Maybe falling into a radioactive vat.

[torchbearer]

That does seem to be the number one cause. Curse you confusing radioactivity!