fandomtownies | Mystery Sign Theater 3000, Sunday

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Mystery Sign Theater 3000, Sunday

NOW SHOWING
24th Street

Yeah, the movie theater was back to digging a little further back than the earlier parts of this century. Contain your shock.

Ingrid was setting up a little Easter-themed display of movie snacks. Bucky... was not touching it.

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What the heck, buy a chocolate bunny to eat in the dark.

"That looks more like your style," Jesse opined, nodding towards the title of the movie as she walked up to James.

Bucky glanced at the poster, then back at her. "What, you think I could hack it on Broadway?"

Ha ha.

"You'd make a pretty tree in the background somewhere," Jesse told him.

"Huh," said Bucky, like that was actually something to consider. "Not sure they have those there."

Really, the joke was how unsure he was of everything all the time.

But he shrugged a little, then nodded at the little display Ingrid had made. "New Easter stock is in. Apparently."

"Yeah, I spotted all the chocolate," Jesse said, glancing towards the counter. She considered a candy joke, but... remembering how that conversation had gone, maybe not. "I'm going to be eating that as 'leftover candy' for weeks in here, huh."

"Probably," Bucky admitted with half a lopsided quirk of his lips.

Jesse shook her head good-naturedly. "Ingrid?" she called. "Can you get me two of those bunnies and some eggs, please?"

Ingrid went to cheerfully pick her up those things. And then tried to upsell her a soda to go with it.

Bucky's snort was extremely soft.

Jesse let Ingrid sell her on the soda - she'd earned it - and took her new bounty as soon as it was provided to her.

She walked back to James, a wry smile on her face. "I talked to Steve yesterday," she said conversationally.

"Oh," Bucky said.

It was a slow, precise reaction. Quiet, too. And a little evasive, with the way he seemed compelled now to look towards the concessions instead of her.

He didn't want to ask the question crawling up his throat.

But he did, soft but even. "How was he?"

"He seemed okay. A little doofy," Jesse said, "And it felt like he was trying to get me to talk about you, but... okay."

There was another long pause. Bucky's face had gone very still, but his gaze flicked restlessly, from the piles of candy to the counter, to the floor.

"What did you say?"

"I told him you let Ingrid make the coffee," Jesse said, looking up at his face. "I figured if there was anything else about you you wanted him to know, you would've told him."

Bucky didn't look back at her.

Spoke slowly, again. "We don't talk."

Understatement.

"I kind of assumed," Jesse said lightly. "He thinks you hate him."

No judgement. Sometimes you just... can't.

Well, would you look at that:

Another overly lengthy pause. More lack of eye contact.

"I don't." Hesitation. "Don't even know him." That wasn't true.

Edited 2021-03-28 19:22 (UTC)

"I didn't think you did," Jesse said. "Hate him. I mean."

It might be good for him to know that. But I won't tell you to. That seems... unfair.

Edited 2021-03-28 19:23 (UTC)

Bucky's restless gaze had finally fixed on a single spot, somewhere at the base of the counter.

He wasn't really looking at it. Could've said more about everything in his peripheral vision than what he was supposedly looking at, in fact. The way Jesse was standing there, how Ingrid still bustled behind the counter.

"Found a birthday card just inside the door," he said, quieter now, "last time I came back."

Jesse tilted her head. "From Steve?" she guessed.

He's dissociating.

Bucky nodded.

His hand moved slowly to one of the pockets of his jacket.

Jesse nodded slowly.

She wasn't entirely sure why she reached out for his arm - the one that was't metal - bar that a part of her told her it was the right thing to do.

The flinch was as involuntary as it was immediate. And another thing for Bucky to berate himself over later.

"Don't," he said, his voice breaking faintly.

(That, too.)

"Okay," Jesse said softly.

She dropped her hand.

Bucky's hand had dropped away from the pocket, too. There was a tension in his shoulders that hadn't been there a moment ago.

He knew he should have said something. Right now.

"Next time I'll ask," Jesse said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Funny thing was, Bucky could practically still feel her hand on his arm. She'd barely had time to touch it, barely enough for it to qualify as pressure, and yet there it was.

Maybe that wasn't funny at all.

"Maybe you should go," he said. It was quiet.

Almost reluctant.

Shit.

"If that's what you want," Jesse said quietly, backing up a few steps.

Why do I keep fucking this up?

She wasn't fucking up.

He just couldn't help his reactions.

Much like he couldn't seem to find more words to say right now.

She threw him a faint smile, and then quickly turned around.

Right, Jesse. Let's just-- be cool.

"I guess I'll see you next week," she tried.

And then walked to the door.

Bucky didn't watch her go -- directly. She was a figure in his peripheral vision until she wasn't.

His hand finally went to his pocket. Pulled out the card. Looked at it.

Too many candles on a birthday cake.

When the leading lady of a Broadway musical breaks her ankle, she is replaced by a young unknown actress, who becomes the star of the show.

Edited 2021-03-28 12:45 (UTC)

The trailer for this just told me I have been pronouncing neither Bebe Daniels' nor Una Merkel's name correctly in my head.

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Mystery Sign Theater 3000, Sunday

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NOW SHOWING: 24th Street

OOC [MST3000 03/28]