entranceway | entry 001 ɞ video

[It had been the right thing to do. For everyone. He wasn't safe, couldn't trust himself, and while he hadn't wanted to do it, it had been the only choice. But he's been in and out of cryostasis enough to know when coming out this time isn't the same. It's not just the breeze on his skin causing his too-long hair to dance across his forehead, or the sweet, dry smell of fruit trees. No, it's the way he wakes up. Slow, naturally, like he'd slept the whole night through, and there's nothing normal about that.

The communication device his fingers are curled around doesn't bother him. Bucky's used to not remembering things, but the stalls and the vendors with their strange shapeless masks who stand nearby do. He walks past one, their face completely smooth, as featureless as a blank wall, and his breath catches in his throat, freezing him in place. There's a million explanations going through his mind and none of them make any sense except one and he doesn't want to think about that.

It takes a vender getting too close before he snaps out of it long enough to go through the motions. Better clothes, sweats and a white tank aren't cutting it, and a relatively safe place to hide so he can figure things out, grabbing a pamphlet on the way.

Bucky's face is half-hidden when the feed starts, voice low, and he wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't necessary. He was on shaky ground and he needed something to steady him.]

Name's Bucky. I'm looking for someone. Steve Rogers.

[It's risky to put it out there like that. He doesn't know these people and he's been alive long enough to know that even the prettiest people with the brightest smiles can be hiding the worst lies and secrets. But he needs to find someone he remembers. Everything is muddled and this place looks like something his mind has made up.]

He might go by Captain America.

[Just in case he's alone in Wonderland, he adds a little more.]

If someone could tell me what the hell's going on here, I'd appreciate it.

[There's a brief pause. He considers mentioning the obvious physical difference that would set him apart, but they'll figure it out when they see him.]

I'll be on the first floor, entrance hall, if anyone wants to talk in person. This way's fine, too.

[ooc: spoilers for civil war possible in this post; if anyone doesn't want them, please let me know.]

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[Bucky shakes his head, confused. She might be making a joke, downplaying her role in everything out of modesty, but that didn't sound right.]

Don't think your superiors thought of it that way.

[He never did find out if she'd gotten into trouble for helping. Considering the rules she'd broken, he assumes she would have, but there was always the chance that they had simply never caught up to her. He hoped not.]

I didn't do the things they said I did. Don't know if you believed that or if you helped because of Steve, but I owe you one.

[Maybe he'd get the chance to pay it back someday.]

They said he wouldn't be back for a while. That this place sent him home for a few days and he'd be back later.

[He'd wait, though, until Steve got back and then he'd ask him all the questions he couldn't ask any of the people who were trying to help him right now.]

[ Her superiors? She'd thought her primary superior was dead until a couple months ago, when Steve had told her that Fury was actually alive and had been the entire time. She hadn't found out from Fury himself, oh, no. She'd found out from Steve. ]

I don't really give a fuck what my superiors think.

[ Her voice is cheerful enough, even though her eyes look rather murderous. Not to Bucky. But to Fury and his silence, and to Pierce and his machinations. Which, he was dead now. She'd missed her chance there. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

And then it occurs to her what he must mean, because there's only so much that can explain what's happening. ]

What year did you come from? I arrived here from 2014, just after SHIELD fell. [ After a moment, she continues. ] I think you might be from my future. No surprise, really. Most people here from our world are. [ She wrinkles her nose. ] You and Steve. Both older than I am. So much older. And now even older than before... [ Her lips twitch. ] Huh. I might have to suggest that Darcy do an Even-Older-Now party for him.

[ Throughout it all, whenever her eyes are pointed at the monitor - and they almost always are - her eyes are sharp on his face, studying him, assessing him. If he's from her future, she knows even less about him than when he was last in Wonderland.

But he's Peggy and Steve's friend. That's worth something. ]

If all his stuff is still here, then yeah, he'll be back. [ Which isn't really comforting. There's no telling what might be happening to him in the interim. ]

Anybody told you about the closets? Mirrors? Given you a tour?

[That was a big jump, and honestly, he's not sure what to make of it. There was too much time in between and he wasn't the person to be filling her in on all that.]

2016.

[He didn't want to tell her. Bucky felt like it was violating what was right, somehow, to tell her things she hasn't experienced yet. It wouldn't feel real, hearing your life from someone else's mouth.]

Throw him a happy first century party. He'd like that.

[His mouth quirks, they were both older than her, but it was a technicality.]

Yeah, some of that, but nobody's given me a tour.

[Bucky shrugs, he's done some exploring of his own, but he wouldn't mind knowing where everything is from someone who's been here a while.]

[ 2016. God. It feels more and more as if everyone is surpassing her, getting farther and farther away in her own world. Like she's some goddamn relic of the past. Was this how Peggy felt, stranded here from her youth?

Ugh. And who the hell is Sharon to talk about relics given the person she's currently talking to?

Ha. Because he's old, right?

Old and in possession of a sense of humor. That was unexpected. ]

I think we can make that happen. It's not like there's all that much to do here, except for events.

[ She watches him for a second. He doesn't seem like a threat. ]

I can show you around. [ She wants to add that he had better not murder her, or she will be pissed, but it seems like a rude thing to say. Especially after the last Bucky was more Bucky than Winter Soldier. And he hadn't been so bad. So surely she can give this one a chance. ]

I won't even push you on telling me how we know each other. [ Another pause. ] I won't push much. [ Come on. She can't not push at all. What sort of spy would she be? ] And we can talk about what things were like back in your day and plan what to do for Steve when he gets back.

[ When. Not if. When. Because he'll come back. Although she probably shouldn't want that. If Steve isn't here, it means he's free somewhere. And he has the Avengers to take care of him now, not her. He has a family back home. She should want them all to be free. ]

[It was still a little while off, but Steve might like a party thrown in his honor. If it was done right, and he was in the mood for it.]

Where do you wanna meet?

[Bucky didn't mind if she pushed, he'd just be extra careful about what he shared. He didn't know everything, but he could tell her how they knew each other, minus a detail or two.]

Back in my day. That makes me sound like a grandpa.

[And he hoped Steve came back. Soon. He needed him more than he'd admit to anyone other than Steve, though it was probably pretty obvious, but making a plan for him returning would help pass the time.]

Do you think it'll be much longer?

I know we just met- [ She makes a face. ] I think we just met? But you know that was my intention, right? Making you sound like a grandpa. Because you're old.

[ Get it, Bucky? Ba-dum tish. ]

Anyway. I'll meet you at the bottom of the grand staircase. [ The staircase is easy enough for anyone to find, no matter how recently they've arrived. She hesitates a moment, then: ] It shouldn't be long. If his stuff is still there, he should be back within a week or two.

[ She wishes she could be more comforting, especially since she's not entirely sure how much of a threat he is. She keeps telling herself that the last Bucky here had been perfectly fine, hadn't hurt anyone she wouldn't have hurt herself, as far as she knew, but she doesn't know him. Doesn't know what might push him over the edge.

But Sharon usually prefers to face her concerns head on. For the most part. She might have faltered after SHIELD fell, but she's better now. She can do this. ]

I'll see you downstairs. Last one there is a rotten egg. [ She looks confused for a moment, a little too confused for it to seem genuine. ] That might not have been a thing yet when you were around. I'll explain it downstairs.

[ She cuts the feed and heads downstairs, not actually bothering to hurry that much. She's more concerned about whether Bucky has a support system until Steve gets here. Who does he know? Steve is temporarily out. Sam - did he know Sam? Or... Darcy?

Damn it, this is why intel helps. And Sharon has too damn little here.

She'll have to ask him, she supposes. One thing is for damn sure - after going against Steve when he'd been brainwashed to serve Hydra, she doesn't want the Winter Soldier version of Bucky on the loose in Wonderland. ]

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