Work Text:
“Steve’s a bitch! He’s a liar and I hate him!”
One of the attendant removes the cucumber slices from Bucky’s eyes to dab at his tears, then replaces the slices with fresh ones.
“You’re only realizing that now?” Jack scoffs.
He’s in the chair next to Bucky, receiving the same treatments. Bucky wants to get up and smack him. The mud wrap they’re currently in the middle of makes that impossible though.
“Don’t be a cunt,” he says, instead. “He’s never lied to me before!”
“That you know of,” Jack insists.
Bucky sighs. Thank God he’s also receiving a scalp massage because otherwise, he would be in possession of a pounding headache.
He’s angry at Steve. He’s furious. Steve lied to him, of course Bucky’s upset.
But at the same time, Steve seemed genuinely surprised when Bucky told him what he’d seen. He really didn’t seem like knew about it before Bucky told him.
Maybe he didn’t know. Maybe Bucky’s being angry at the wrong person. Shouldn’t be angry at the dealer, instead of Steve? The dealer is the one who did it; whether Steve knew or not, that’s a whole different matter on its own.
“I miss him.”
“C’mon, yeah, maybe he didn’t know, but he’s the man, right?” Jack argues. “Shouldn’t he be more aware of what his guys’re doin’?”
Bucky sighs. “I guess…”
“All I’m sayin’ is, make him sweat. Cold shoulder. Make him think about his shit.”
“I dunno. I just miss him, y’know? It’s not really his fault, right?”
Jack hums. “I mean, I agree, but y’know, exert your power! Show him who’s boss! Who’s the boss?”
“I’m the boss?”
“You’re the boss. Let’s get mani-pedis after this. I want that, like, holographic glitter neon blue on my hands and the black glitter on my toes.”
Bucky lets out a sigh. “Can we match?”
“Sure. Bubble tea after?”
“Yeah, I guess…”
“C’mon, kid, how can you not be excited about bubble tea? You love bubble tea!”
“But I love Steve too!”