(no subject)

[semi_stable]

At some point, Bucky realizes that the reason that he's nowhere near as good at planning dates as he used to be is that there are too many options now. The world has changed, but he wants to have a night like the kind he used to, and he wants it with someone he loves now.

He can't have another night of fun and flirting at Coney Island, but maybe he can make something close to it, and it'll be like sharing a part of himself with Loki. That's what he hopes, anyway. Maybe a centuries old god won't care much for cotton candy and boardwalk games, but Loki said that he wanted to do something that Bucky wanted to do, and this is it.

Bucky even wears clothes that are a nod to his former self-- a short-sleeved button down tucked into belted slacks with a blue sport coat over the top, with his hair combed back and his beard trimmed. When he pulls up to the townhouse, the sun is just starting to set, painting the sky with orange and purple, and Bucky looks up to admire it for a moment before ringing the doorbell.

He feels a warm little flutter in his belly, and whether it's excitement over his plans or just over seeing Loki again, he can't be sure.

Comments

[semi_stable]

"Well, that hardly seems fair," Bucky drawls out, but you could put Bucky in front of any one of these games and it would be the same. They approach the booth and Bucky hangs back, holding Loki's hand as they wait for a group of younger kids to go through a round. Once they're done, some loud teenagers approach and that's when Bucky steps forward, letting go of Loki to take out his wallet.

"I'll give it a go," he says with an easy smile, placing a few bills down on the counter and reaching for the water gun. The kids trash talk him in a mild sort of way, and Bucky just smiles as he holds the gun out with one hand. The bell sounds and Bucky pulls the trigger, unleashing a steady spray at the target that never so much as quivers. The green balloon above his target inflates at a rapid pace and is the first to pop. The kids cheer and Bucky winks playfully over at Loki, playing and winning a few more times until he's popped enough balloons to win the biggest price: his choice of an enormous panda bear in different colors.

"Take your pick, darling," Bucky says as he blows at the end of the barrel of the water gun before setting it down, looking playfully smug. "I'm guessing green."

[thewrongpath]

Leaning against the counter with arms folded across his chest, Loki looked terribly smug as he watched Bucky line up his shot. The game seemed rather dull and laughably easy, but considering they were likely designed for human children, he supposed he couldn't judge them too harshly.

Bucky, of course, won effortlessly, and Loki stifled a smile as he was instructed to claim his prize.

"Am I really that predictable?" Loki said, only slightly peevish as he pointed out the purple bear, just to spite him.

[semi_stable]

“Or maybe I just know you so well,” Bucky volleys back, laughing as he asks for the purple bear instead, which is, of course, also unsurprising.

The kid working the booth uses a hook to get the giant bear down, and Bucky grins openly as he hands it over to Loki. It’s comically large and Bucky comes over, tugging one ear aside so he can give Loki a kiss on the cheek.

“What, are you guys gay or something?” One of the teenagers asks, and there was a time in his life, not even very long ago, where such a question would have bothered him immensely. He would have denied it, would have felt ashamed, but not now. And that’s thanks in part to the man at his side.

“Or something,” Bucky drawls, turning to face the teenagers with a bemused expression. “Why? Do you wanna fight about it?”

“No! No, man. It’s cool,” the kid says, backing up quickly. “Enjoy your bear or whatever.”

[thewrongpath]

"Oh, we will," Loki called after the boys, arm around Bucky's shoulders, the other full of cheap plush fabric and stuffing.

"Very smooth, Barnes. To think, I might've gotten the chance to watch you defend my honor to a pack of children."

[semi_stable]

"Anything for you, darling," Bucky replies with a chuckle, turning his head to nudge the tip of his nose against Loki's temple before pulling away. He takes his hand again, smirking over at the bear at Loki's other side.

"You'll have to do me the honor of carrying that around for a bit before putting it inside you," he says casually, fighting back a smirk at his deliberate phrasing. "Really give people a chance to be impressed."

[thewrongpath]

"You really do enjoy describing it that way, don't you?" Loki said with a smirk of his own, rolling his eyes expansively as he adjusted the awkward weight of the bear in his arms.

Softening almost immediately, he smirked, turning to graze a kiss against Bucky's temple in return. "I'll be the envy of all the other girls."

[semi_stable]

"It's funny every time," Bucky admits with an immature sort of laugh, nose wrinkling happily as Loki kisses his temple. "Damn right you will."

He squeezes Loki's hand as they walk along the rows of games. People look at them, but he doesn't see any hostile looks. A pair of teenage girls stop to tell them how cute they are, complimenting the bear, and Bucky lets his guard down a little. As much as he can in such a public space, anyway.

"Okay, you can put it away," he says with a smirk, gesturing ahead at the rides spinning and whirling up ahead. "And pick which one of these death traps we're gonna get on."