rekindleme | the fossil is becoming even older

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the fossil is becoming even older

Who: Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and anyone that's friends with Bucky (or at least tolerates)
Where: An open area in district 7
When: March 10th
Summary: It's Bucky's birthday and Steve wants to celebrate it. Friends and tolerated allies are all invited.
Warnings: None for now!

Unlike the potluck, Steve already had all the food out and ready for the party. None of it was really fancy, mostly just pizza and sandwiches that he bought. He wasn't exactly rich, so those would have to do. But he did manage to get a birthday cake for Bucky and it was lying in the center of a table, thankfully only covered with two candles that read '98.'

He had asked Bucky who he wanted to invite to the party and from there, Steve asked them through the communication network if they could attend. He was hoping that many showed up... although he was pretty pleased to know that Bucky had several people here that liked being his friend. Or. At least tolerated him.

That was a good step.

The overall area was decorated with an adequate amount of balloons and there was a place where people could place their presents if they bought one. Steve didn't really require anyone to buy one though.

For now, Steve was just standing around with Bucky, talking to him as they waited for guests to arrive.

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Once Bucky gets the present opened, he will find a notebook inside. It has a leather cover with a symbol stamped into it. Diarmuid stretches up onto his tiptoes so he can point at the symbol, "This is like the symbol we use for protection back home! You have helped to protect me a lot while I have been here, plus the book is a place you can write down the things you do so you don't forget. You can also write down whatever you remember so you don't forget again! It will protect your memories if anything bad ever happens again!"

Diarmuid wants to hope nothing else bad will happen to his friend's memories, but with all of the things that have started to happen around here, he isn't as hopeful as he used to be about everything working out okay.

A notebook... he hadn't really thought about writing things down, for the most part, although he does still have the note his past self wrote. But now that the option has been presented to him, it makes sense to do it. Maybe it'll make things easier to sort out.

Something close to a smile crosses his face for a brief moment. It's a thoughtful gift, just like the boy himself. He reaches over to ruffle Diarmuid's hair affectionately.

"I'll make good use of it."

Diarmuid giggles at the hair ruffling, very happy that Bucky likes his gift, "I didn't know what else to get you. I know it's not a very exciting gift, but it is a helpful one, right? Oh! And the shopkeeper told me that when you use up all the paper, you can get a refill and just reuse the cover. That made me happy because it's a really nice cover!"

Excuse him, Bucky. He's just rambling because he's so excited his gift was well received.

"It's a good one," he reassured Diarmuid. "I will if I do."

He didn't think he'd be filling up the book that quickly, certainly not here if he had anything to do with it, but it was worth keeping in mind, he guessed. Carefully, Bucky placed the notebook on the table, along with the folded-up drawings that served as its wrapping. His eyes move to the cake that he has yet to have any of and he looks at the candles for a moment.

The reassurance seems to be enough to get Diarmuid to stop babbling at least. He watches as Bucky places his gift carefully on the table and then his expression grows curious when his friend seems to grow so focused on the cake.

"Is something wrong? Do you want some cake? You have to blow out the candles first. And make a wish! But don't tell anyone the wish or it won't come true. That is what people tell me they do now anyway!"

Bucky shakes his head at the kid's question; the cake itself hadn't really been what he was focusing on.

"I was just looking at the candles. Thinking about how long 98 years seems."

He knows it's technically true that he's been... around for that long, but he was pretty sure most of those years didn't really count.

Diarmuid's expression falls a little and then walks over to put one small hand on Bucky's arm, "Does it make you sad that you know you've been around so long, but so much of that time is missing? I know it would make me sad." The boy takes a deep breath and then looks up at Bucky with a smile, "The past is important, but you can't just focus on it. Birthdays are about more than just thinking about the past. They are also a time to know you are starting a brand new year where anything is possible!"

"Not sad," he replies, gaze still focused on the numbers. "Not really. I want to remember, but."

He takes in a breath, trying to think of how to put it. Of how he'd come from a place where two weeks felt like a long time. He finally turns to look at the boy after a few seconds.

"How old are you, Diarmuid?"

"But?" Diarmuid is confused when his friend trails off without completing his thought. However, since Bucky asks a question, he turns his attention to that. Maybe answering will help.

"I...am not sure? When I was brought here, I was around six years old. After a little while, I was sent home for a whole year. Do I count that? If so, I have lived two years since I first came here and am eight! Otherwise, I guess I am seven?"

Oh man, who knew a simple question of age could be so complicated...

Thankfully the exact answer wasn't what Bucky was concerned about. The point was, Diarmuid was young.

"A year seems long to you, right?" he continues. "You don't think about it the same way as older people because you haven't been through a lot of them."

"Maybe. A year does seem like a long time to me," Diarmuid can't deny that. He also can't imagine not thinking a year is a long time. "How different does it feel when you are older? Can you tell me?"

And maybe in telling, that will help Bucky piece together whatever he was thinking about before...

Bucky shakes his head, finally getting to his point.

"That's the thing. Before I came here, a month felt long. I was used to living a couple weeks at a time, not remembering anything before it."

He puts his hands in his pockets and takes a breath.

"I realized it felt different when people got older and younger all of a sudden, in December. When I could remember my whole life, a year didn't seem so long. A week was more like a blink."

"And it makes you uneasy...."

Uneasy. Uncertain. And acutely aware of how things have changed. As if Bucky needs another reminder of that.

"I...think I understand," Diarmuid can't explain it in his own words, but he does think he knows what Bucky means. It's one of those complicated things that a boy his age just can't quite figure out the words to use to describe.

It's just fine that Diarmuid can't really put it into words; Bucky can't either. The important part is that he understands what he's getting at.

"It's getting better though," he said after a moment. "I can think about the future. Past what I need to do when I get back."

After they stop HYDRA and dig up everything they can on his past, maybe he can do something with the rest of his life. Make some kind of difference somewhere, maybe. It brings along its own anxieties, but he feels ready to take on the challenges.

"Yay!" Diarmuid throws his arms into the air and cheers, "That's good! That's very important! Goals and challenges are what keep a person moving forward!"

The boy doesn't ask what those things Bucky wants to do when he gets back are--there is a good chance he won't understand anyway considering how very different the worlds they come from are--but he is still very happy his friend can look forward now instead of being so stuck in one place.

"That is the most important part of a birthday. Looking forward! Hey, do you know what kind of cake it is?"

Whoa, talk about random topic switch...

Even if he was still fixated on the past, the fact that he can consider the future at all is a step in the right direction. But for now, he'll focus on his current situation. Until he goes back to his world, there isn't much to do about the future.

The topic switch doesn't bother Bucky, and he's not particularly surprised by the subject matter, either.

"Dunno," he replies with a shrug. "Steve didn't say. You can have a piece and find out."

He isn't particularly worried about getting to have any himself. The company is the important part of this party to him. If someone else gets to enjoy it, he's fine with it.

Oh no, that won't do! There is no way Diarmuid will stand by and let the birthday boy go without some of his cake!

"Yay! But you have to have some too! Cut one piece for me and one for you. Do you know some cakes can be more than one kind? I read about it in a cooking book. We need to test in more than one place!"

Diarmuid, please try not to turn the cake into swiss cheese, please...

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the fossil is becoming even older

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