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[onlyforthedream]

The Winchester was gracious enough, in the aftermath of the mess that was Halloween, to let me make off with some of their beer. I get to Bucky's in the early afternoon and wrap my knuckles twice against his door before sitting on the stoop and unpacking the still relatively cold drinks.

It's not much of a celebration, but then, I don't think we really feel like celebrating. Still, the day deserves to be marked.

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[onlyapassenger]

Bucky takes a long drag from his own bottle, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand once he's downed about half of it. After working outside for the better part of the afternoon, a drink's more than called for, even if this one's on the warm side.

"How you holding up?" he asks after a prolonged moment. It's not a question he asks too often out of desire to not have to lie should the same one fall to him, but given the events of the past few weeks, it seems a necessary talking point.

[onlyforthedream]

"All right," I tell him, "better than some." Teddy Altman comes to mind.

"I was nominated again, for the council. I think I have to decline. How about you?"

[onlyapassenger]

He flashes Steve a puzzled look.

"...why?"

[onlyforthedream]

"Because I'm not very good at it?" I reply, scrubbing a hand over the back of my neck.

"Halloween was a mess, we haven't done half the things I said we aimed to. I'm not sure what the point of my holding the position is."

[onlyapassenger]

Halloween was a mess. Bucky's not about to deny that. They lost a kid and not even his own people on the ITF had been unaffected by the waking nightmares -- Wolverine, particularly. So he's not going to sit here and blow smoke in Steve's face; it'd be a disservice to both of them. Things undoubtedly could've been handled better.

But they could've also been handled a lot worse.

"...all right," he allows, the words oddly measured. He takes another sip from his beer. "So name one person on this rock who'd be better at it than you."