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[dysmorphics]

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[dysmorphics]

You thought everyone was pretty.

[ She's pretty now, she can say that objectively, but back then she hadn't been pretty enough to date. Or so she believed. ]

Sunflowers.
Wait why are we still doing this?

[expedient]

( what can he say? he's always attracted to a good personality more than anything. everything else is just a bonus. )

Why not? Either way, we're having dinner and a movie. Might as well give this a shot.

( what's the worst that could happen? they both realize it's weird and go back to just being friends? no biggie. it'll be fine. )

[dysmorphics]

Promise you'll just laugh it off if it doesn't work out? You're not gonna be weird?

[ Though how much different is it going to be? They hang out all the time. Just without any kissing. ]

1/3

[expedient]

What are you talking about? I never get weird.

2/3

[expedient]

🍆

3/3

[expedient]

Sorry. My finger slipped. Meant to send you a 🥒. Like, you know, I'm cool as a cucumber?

[dysmorphics]

[ Oh God of course he's going to be insufferable about this. ]

Sure you did. And that doesn't mean what you think it means, old man.

[expedient]

Oh, come on. Obviously I know. It's a functional tool. Kids these days need to be reminded to eat their fruits and vegetables.

[dysmorphics]

Oh, yeah. Like 🍑

[ What? He started it! ]

[expedient]

Mm. What's not to love about a perfectly ripe and juicy peach?
So tasty.

[dysmorphics]

[ She hates that she can't tell if he's shitting her or if he truly doesn't know. She'll assume he's shitting her.

Naturally, she doesn't back down. ]

🍈🍈 too. 🤤

[expedient]

Is that what I'll be having for dessert tomorrow?

[dysmorphics]

If you want.

[ Oh hey maybe her sexy lingerie will finally see some action. Or not. If he literally just wants to have melons for dessert. ]

You picking me up or are we meeting somewhere?

[expedient]

Of course I'll pick you up. I'll ring the doorbell and everything. I'll be there on time too.

[dysmorphics]

Wow. Showing them how it's done, huh? The little boys on Tinder could never.

[expedient]

Impressed already?
Don't make it too easy for me, Rogers.

[dysmorphics]

Oh, no. I'm just holding you to the standard you set for yourself. Don't disappoint me now.

[expedient]

Oh, come on. When have I ever kept you waiting?

( he's always been on time. he's disciplined like that. )

[dysmorphics]

I dunno, you could've asked me out in 1941.

[ She just had to. Might as well capitalize on the embarrassment of her confession. ]

[expedient]

Is that why you said no every time I tried to set you up with one of my friends?

( of course she would have had a thing for him back then. that bucky was all charm and innocent youth. the grim truth clicks into place, and he can't fault the logic. who would fall for the wreckage of the winter soldier over the man he used to be? he's built from scars now, inside and out. beneath the practiced smiles and forced easygoing nature, he's just a collection of old wounds—a ghost trying to remember how to be flesh and blood. )

I wish I had known how you felt back then. ( the words are out, sincere and aching for a lost moment that never happened—could've, would've, should've—and they leave a colder question lingering in their wake: what if he's not that guy anymore? what if the man she wants is just another casualty he left behind in the past? )

[dysmorphics]

Your friends were boring. They didn't even read.

[ She liked that part of him that hadn't been trying to impress anyone. The little nerd who read Tolkien and was delighted by (barely) flying cars. The way he looked after his family and doted on his sister. How he believed in Steph when she couldn't believe in herself, even helping her get into art school. Was it any surprise she'd followed him into the war? ]

It wouldn't have changed anything. At least now you get the new me. [ Still broken, just in a different way. But maybe in a way he understands. ] You don't gotta worry about me dying anymore. And I'm really pretty now.

[expedient]

Yeah. Heard you were ranked 'Sexiest Woman Alive' five times in a row, was it?
I'm surprised you can still fit your head through the door.

( he always thought she was pretty—devastatingly so, even back then in brooklyn when she'd swear he was lying through his teeth. he remembers dragging her out to all the funfairs and the small parties in town, telling her she looked fine, and getting that famous rogers stink-eye in return. she was never convinced. but he never stopped trying; he couldn't stand the thought of her cooping herself up, especially after her ma passed. )

[dysmorphics]

Yeah well it all went to my ass. [ /sarcasm ]

It's really weird how they got all kinda stuff about us. They make the history books look tame in comparison.

[expedient]

( if they were talking in person, her 'ass' comment would have earned an innocent shrug and a claim of ignorance—a lie so transparent it wouldn't have fooled a child, let alone steph. )

What are they saying?

( he doesn't read those magazines or the tabloids. he did go to the museum though. once. but after steph's supposed death, he'd avoided the place like the plague. the thought of hearing strangers talk about his best friend—his gone best friend—seems like it'd be too much. )

[dysmorphics]

Many historians believed you were the real Captain America, and I was just propaganda to distract everyone else. Some of them also thought we were having an affair since you apparently had someone waiting for you back in Brooklyn. The romance writers certainly liked that.

[ There were many other takes, but those were some of the most annoying and amusing. The other Avengers had been happy to provide her the cliff notes of everything they'd read and learned, including the memes. ]

You've seen the musical? They gave us a whole love song and everything.