fury, nick

It happens that in the great United States of America, being the Winter Soldier and/or the best friend of the Winter Soldier implies deserving punishment. Bucky is a war hero, though, almost as famous as Captain America, which means that his notoriety allows them to get a lighter sentence than expected. Hyukjae, on the other hand, officially hates his life with a vengeance.

Instead of being thrown in prison, Bucky and Hyukjae have to clean up litter from Central Park. There they are, the fearsome Winter Soldier and the incredibly handsome mutant, holding damned shovels and ing brooms to pick up candy wrappings. Hyukjae is currently living one of the most humiliating moments of his life. He’s wearing fluorescent green clothes under the watchful eyes of one hovering Steve Rogers, he has a tracker locked around his ankle, and already three kids have pointed curious fingers in his direction. Prison would have been a kinder verdict, probably.

“I hate you. It’s all your fault,” Hyukjae declares darkly. He promptly freezes a plastic bag so it won’t fly away and stabs it with his shovel. “I ing hate you, Barnes, and I should have just stolen your arm and then let you to rot in that creepy motel that night, and for ’s sake, go take a shower, bro. You smell like death.”

Bucky snorts, smirking. Just to spite Hyukjae, because he’s an like that, he raises his arms high up in the air as if to stretch them. “Been there, done that, haven’t you?” Bucky scoffs. “Just last Wednesday when Stark was trying to update my arm, you nicked it and I had to go arm-less for a whole in’ week.”

Blinking, Hyukjae tilts his head to the side. “Ah, yeah,” he sighs wistfully. “Good old times.”

They continue to work in silence, picking up pieces of paper and scrubbing gums from the ground, all under the keen stare of Captain America. Hyukjae is half-tempted to act as the reasonable man and tell him to off, but mostly he’s satisfied to know that Rogers is probably jealous of his friendship with Bucky. Thanks the odds for small favors, he supposes. It’s not like he gets a lot of those lately anyway.

“He’s my best friend, you know?” Bucky says suddenly.

Hyukjae grunts noncommittally.

“It’s been years since, since the. The war, of course, but.” Bucky frowns, looking all troubled. His bored gaze hardens into an intense glare while his hand tightens around his broom.

For a moment, it’s the Winter Soldier that stands there, tense and ready to attack, until Hyukjae nudges his foot with his own. “Stop it,” Hyukjae says. He sighs, sends a nasty look in Rogers’ direction, and then shrugs reluctantly. “Look, man, if you wanna talk to him, then go ahead. Like you said, it’s been years since the war, and it’s also been years since you had one of your psychotic, crazy murderous episodes. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Bucky sends him a doubtful glance. “You mean besides killi