Chapter Text
Then:
April 15, 2006, 9:34am
This is Steve Rogers. I’m away from the phone, but if you leave me your name, number, and a brief message, I’ll get back to you asap. Thanks, and have a good one. -BEEP-
Hey, hey Steve, do I sound different? Maybe like I’m walking and talking at the same time? And before you make any jokes, wise-ass, just remember that I’m the one that still has pictures of you as a toddler, and I’ll put them to good use if I need to.
So, before I get sidetracked at the thought of blackmail, you should know that I finally caved and let Tony give me a new phone. Stark Industries’ finest satellite phone. The kind that rings underwater and everything. According to Tony, if the apocalypse hits, and there’s even one survivor, then at least they’ll still be able to play tetris on this thing to pass the time. I tried to fight him on the colour, but I guess bright red is easy to spot in a crowd, right?
I… I know you’re maybe a bit nervous about me going off without you pal, but what you do is important. Just because you’re not getting shot at, doesn’t mean you’re not making a difference. Hell, Steve, you can get people to care about anything. You know what it means to do the right thing. Honestly, the average citizen could stand to use a little more of that more than any soldier I know.
Anyway, give me a call soon. Ooh, or send me a text. Those things are way snazzier anyway, right? I know you like to pull the grandpa routine when it comes to technology, but what can I say? This is the wave, punk - you and I are just along for the ride.
++++
Now:
Tues Feb 14 2017 // Sam Wilson
(10:15am)
What did one pickle say to the other pickle on Valentine’s Day?
(10:15am)
You mean a great dill to me!
Steve Rogers
(10:19am)
…
(10:19am)
Wait wait, I got more.
(10:21am)
What did the paper clip say to get the magnet to go out with them?
(10:22am)
Aw geez
(10:23am)
I find you very attractive!
(10:25am)
You need to quit while you’re ahead.
(10:26am)
Wait, you’ll love this one
(10:27am)
What do single people call Valentine’s Day?
(10:29am)
The 4th of July!
(10:31am)
Get it, cause it’s Independence Day.
(10:31am)
And is also, fittingly, the day of your birth
(10:33am)
Yeah, I got it
(10:34am)
This material is wasted on you.
(10:36am)
So I take it you’re excited?
(10:37am)
Excited? About what?
(10:40am)
About your date with Sharon. Which I had to hear about from Sharon, by the way.
(10:41am)
Man, I thought I told her not to mention it to you.
(10:45am)
Well, thankfully, Sharon isn’t as paranoid about offending me because I’m “perpetually single.”
(10:47am)
What are the quotation marks supposed to be implying there? I definitely did not call you perpetually single.
(10:47am)
Perpetually stubborn, maybe
(10:50am)
Sam, I’m a grown man. You don’t have to hide your dates from me.
(10:52am)
Not to mention, I’m actually very happy for you. Sharon could probably stand to raise her bar a little, though.
(10:52am)
Ha ha
(10:54am)
Seriously, does she know about the jokes? I think I might be legally obligated to tell her how bad they are.
(10:55am)
Okay wise ass, you made your point
(10:55am)
You’re really okay with this?
(10:58am)
For the zillionth time, yes.
(11:07am)
You know…
(11:09am)
Please Lord, not a ‘you know.’
(11:10am)
I’m just saying, Sharon has friends.
(11:12am)
Seeing as I once dated her, I’m aware she doesn’t live in a cave, yes.
(11:14am)
And you’re not so…shabby looking
(11:16am)
The jokes were less painful than this.
(11:18am)
I think the last time you went out on a date was the 1930s. Give or take.
(11:20am)
Yeah, Roosevelt and I had a jolly old time.
(11:21am)
Eleanor probably didn’t buy that and neither do I.
(11:24am)
Doesn’t it get lonely? Painting and running and eating three boxes of Chinese takeout and listening to old Taylor Swift albums?
(11:26am)
Bite your tongue. Taylor Swift is a national icon.
(11:29am)
Get out of the house, old man.
(11:34am)
I’ll take your advice under consideration.
(11:36am)
Don’t strain yourself, you social butterfly you.
(11:39am)
Right, while you keep mocking me, I’m just gonna text Sharon a picture of your dolls.
(11:41am)
Ahem. Action figures. Completely different.
+++
Your call has been forwarded to an automatic message system. –Steve Rogers- is not available. At the tone, please record your message. When you are finished recording, you may hang up, or press pound for more options. –BEEP-
“Hey, it’s me. I’m just waiting for James to come out - we’ll probably grab a cronut or something equally nauseating on the way back - just wanted to see if you wanted anything. Thirty seconds into this phone call I’m realizing that of course you’ll want something because you’re an insatiable pile of gluttony. Anyway, we’ll see you back at the building in about half an hour—”
“Natasha—”
“Oh, he’s out. See you soon!”
+++
Tony Stark
(3:45pm)
capsicle
Steve Rogers
(3:56pm)
Please don’t call me that.
(3:57pm)
well since you said please
(3:57pm)
i need a favour
(3:58pm)
can you talk to Sarg about coming to the lab?
(3:59pm)
bruce and i have been working on some prosthetic technology that we think he’d be perfect for
(4:03pm)
Why don’t you ask him yourself?
(4:04pm)
you’ve just got such a way with words cap
(4:04pm)
i mean steve. sorry. typo. blasted technology always working against me.
(4:06pm)
You’ve already asked him, haven’t you.
(4:07pm)
he wasn’t the most receptive to the idea
(4:09pm)
If you weren’t able to get him to agree to it, I don’t see why you think I will. We don’t exactly talk.
(4:10pm)
a good word from his former bff might be enough to get him to not totally hate the idea.
(4:14pm)
Even if we were talking
(4:15pm)
Which we’re not
(4:16pm)
I’m not going to undermine his answer by asking him something you’ve already asked him
(4:18pm)
look stevie-kins, this could be really really good for barnes. i know he hasn’t been having the easiest time with physical therapy - probably reaching that plateau point right about now.
(4:19pm)
barnes likes you better than me. he probably just said no because I was the one offering
(4:21pm)
I don’t blame him.
(4:21pm)
you wound me, soldier
(4:23pm)
he doesn’t have to walk out with the weight permanently fused to his shoulder - just convince him to come have a look.
(4:25pm)
I’ll ask. But it’s not going to work.
(4:26pm)
cap you old softie you!
(4:27pm)
You know I can take you, right? Genuinely.
(4:28pm)
steve, in the infamous words of philosopher jay-z: chill
(4:28pm)
really. words to live by
+++
You have one unheard message. First message:
“Hello Steven, this is Dr. Erskine returning your call. I’m sorry to hear that you won’t be able to make it in for your session tomorrow. You mentioned rescheduling for next Monday - unfortunately, you might recall that my Mondays are typically booked for 1:00pm, but I’m happy to move some things around to see you on Tuesday or Wednesday. Give me call and let me know which of those days work best. As always, I’m available on my phone in case of an emergency, or if you’d simply like to talk. I hope to connect with you soon. Goodbye.”
- BEEP -
Message deleted. End of messages.
+++
Sam Wilson
(8:39pm)
Have I mentioned how much I owe you?
Clint Barton
(8:40pm)
you could stand to mention it a few more times probably
(8:40pm)
though can a date be going that well if you have time to text me about how fantastic I am for setting it up?
(8:40pm)
She had to take a work call, asshole.
(8:40pm)
i’m soooo sure
(8:42pm)
No Valentines plans keeping you away from the phone apparently.
(8:43pm)
america’s next top model is on. nat and i were hanging out with the brooklyn boys
(8:44pm)
How you managed to get them in the same room with each other is beyond me
(8:45pm)
Tyra Banks has powers we can only dream of
(8:46pm)
besides, barnes has since locked himself in the bathroom and hasn’t come out for an hour, so we’ve shifted gears
(8:46pm)
What happened?
(8:47pm)
steve brought up stark’s prosthetic and it set him off in a bad way
(8:48pm)
That shit does not make for good Tuesday talk
(8:48pm)
hindsight. 20-20
(8:50pm)
Sharon’s back. Lemme know how it plays out
(8:50pm)
will do. so sharon’s really into you, hey? dolls and all?
(8:51pm)
ACTION FIGURES.
+++
907 845 5093
(10:04pm)
So, that went well
Steve Rogers
(10:06pm)
It was my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed
(10:08pm)
James isn’t made of glass. You can have conversations with him without worrying that he’s going to have a panic attack
(10:10pm)
Except that he DID have a panic attack
(10:12pm)
Well, Tuesday is therapy day. Also the bakery was sold out of cronuts
(10:15pm)
I shouldn’t have listened to Tony
(10:17pm)
For all of Tony’s less-than-admirable qualities, he actually had good intentions this time around. Don’t blame Tony.
(10:19pm)
Well then Nat, who am I allowed to blame?
(10:21pm)
“I know our instinct is look for someone to blame. But I urge you to look at the state of the world more critically - war isn’t fought by heroes and villains. It’s fought by people, and people come in shades of grey.”
(10:24pm)
Did you just quote one of my own press conferences back at me?
(10:25pm)
You’re very inspiring when you want to be. I can link you to the original footage if you think it’ll help
(10:27pm)
I’m good, thanks.
(10:28pm)
James will come around. Bruce and Tony put a lot of work into that design. When James is ready for it, he’ll realize it
(10:29pm)
You’re probably right
(10:29pm)
Probably?
(10:31pm)
In the meantime, maybe you should consider talking to him
(10:31pm)
You know, instead of gazing at him longingly during the runway challenge
(10:32pm)
There was no gazing.
(10:34pm)
According to Clint, “The pining was more entertaining than Tyra’s hair”
(10:39pm)
Natasha
(10:42pm)
Steve
(10:47pm)
You know, he used to talk to me about how much he cared about you.
(10:55pm)
I’m not getting into this. He doesn’t need a lovesick person from his past reminding him about how things used to be. It’s different now.
(10:56pm)
Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll never know unless you talk to him
(11:00pm)
I triggered a panic attack bringing up the possibility of a prosthetic arm. Talking about the good old days isn’t going to be any different.
(11:01pm)
I think you need to learn to trust your friend, Steve Rogers.
+++
“You’ve reached James Barnes. I’m not available at the moment. Please leave me your name and number, and a brief message, and I’ll give you a call back.”
-BEEP-
“Your name is James Buchanan Barnes. You’re leaving yourself this voicemail at 12:02 am on February 15, 2017 to listen to when you wake up. You live in New York City. Natasha Romanov is your friend. Clint Barton is your friend. Steve Rogers is your friend. They won’t hurt you. You have one arm. You’re not with HYDRA. You’re not a prisoner of war. You’re not in danger. It was just a dream. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. [breathing] It wasn’t real.”