I'm Stuck in De Chima Prison ( OPEN )

[sidecars]

WHO: Bucky Barnes sidecars and YOU!
WHERE: De Chima Prison
WHEN: 6/20~
WHAT: After asking to spend his sentence in jail, Bucky is visited by friend and doe alike
WARNINGS: Mention of past gun violence


[ It would have been nice to say going into his trial that James Buchanan Barnes had never set one whole foot in prison or jail before. But that was not the case. This is nothing new to him—Well, that's not completely true.

He always found himself thrown into county jail and let out the next day. Usually. It happened often enough as a kid that he became friends with some of the regulars and those on duty. He was no true threat, just a wayward punk with no outlet for his anger issues, stuck between a rock and a hard place after his father died.

This ain't exactly the same. This is prison, where people commit real crimes. And Bucky's come no realer than murder in cold blood. There's no pretense of whiling away the hours before release with an out of date supply of magazines the guards would toss at him. He sits in his cell in grim silence with only his memories to recycle and dissect. It really, really bites.

Every so often, though, the monotony is broken when Bucky receives a visitor. It's not a maximum security prison, so the visits are face to face. That's nice. When he's released into the visitor's room, he looks for anyone familiar sitting alone waiting for him. ]

Comments

[heliophilic]

[Today's visitor is M, who is leaning back in his chair as Bucky comes in. He has the decency to lean in once he enters, though.]

I'd have called but I got the distinct impression you would have ducked them.

[sidecars]

Gosh, you think so little of me.

[ It`s light and flippant, but it`s clear the comment is an automatic response, nothing more. His sober expression just doesn`t match his usual witty retorts.

He takes a seat opposite M, one hand holding up his head. ] So. [ This would be where you start talking, pal. ]

[liverletdie]

Hey there.

[ He says, with a casual wave, like it's no big deal that Bucky was in prison. That his employee was in prison. ] I thought I'd bring you the HR forms for your leave of absence.

[ Note, he didn't say firing. Really, a little murder? Not a big deal -- at least not when he wasn't really himself when that happened. Stark had experienced that already before, so he knew what it was like, to start seeing the repercussions for the things he did and didn't wholly remember. There was only so much digital memory could do, after all. ]

They treating you alright?

[sidecars]

Hey yourself. [ Yeah, you should be used to this right? You visited Steve in jail, why not his sidekick? At least this time you didn't put Bucky in there, huh? He pulls the form closer to himself, reading the title of the document. ]

Is it gonna look bad on me if I trust you didn't add anything weird into this? [ No offense, but you're kind of shifty, Stark. But even as he says it, he signs his name. ]

Yeah, actually. [ Bucky hadn't really expected that. Not that he would be labeled a villain perse, but back home everyone at the county jail knew him. They took extra care of him, gave him special treatment. Here, well, they're fair and that's all he can ask for. ] You won't believe how many cigarettes I've already won.

[liverletdie]

Well -- [ But then he signed it.

Sorry Buck, that was your soul. ] Does it make me sound like the devil if I say there was a soul caveat in there? [ The way his lips quirk at least gives it away. He's joking. ]

Isn't smoking bad for you? What're you going to do with those?

[heliophilic]

You all right?

[He means that in a "as well as you can be" sense. He highly doubts any part of Bucky is "fine" right now.]

[sidecars]

Nah, sounds like every businessman I've met.

[ What's Bucky going to do with a soul anyway? Passing the paper back to Stark, he smiles and it's not exactly humorous. ]

Pretty sure black lungs are the least of my worries for the future. [ You know, what with the brainwashing by the Soviets—Oh wait! That basically just happened to him. He'll be more than prepared for the next run. ] And obviously I'm gonna use 'em for currency and favors. Don't you know anything about prison, pal?

[sidecars]

Yeah. [ He shrugs casually. ] No one's hasslin' me. 'Course, that might be more because of my record. I'm sure some poor soul'll come along and call me a kid.

[ That bastard will rue the day. Or would if Bucky wasn't all about good behavior to keep his sentence short. ]

My shoulder's still sore, just so you know...

[liverletdie]

I know that this is going to surprise a great deal of people, but...

I actually have never spent that much time in prison.

[ A beat. ] And really, do you think they'd put me in a place like this? [ The answer was: no. No they wouldn't. They would put him in a ritzy, fancy, minimum-security, rich people's prison.

Or a superhero one, and that was it's own special entity. ]

And you know, the prisons I design are generally VR chairs where they get to live out a fantasy where they're happy, safe, and content -- or for some supervillains, a place for them to destroy, but they're taken care of. This kind of place is... unsettling.

[ He grimaced. Tony Stark, in all his wisdom, didn't really like to think about prisons. Or being in them. ] How'd you even get a whole load of that already?

[performance]

[ It isn't his fault. It isn't his fault. Dick knows that, on every level, and yet somehow he still manages to feel, more than anything else, angry with Bucky. Maybe it's just that it's easier than pitying him, he doesn't know. There's a cold, tight knot in Dick's stomach when he thinks of it. It wasn't his fault, but it still happened.

It takes him too long to psych himself up to visit his friend in prison. It isn't the first time he's been in one (ha, god no) but he's usually wearing a cape. There on business. Not... this.

When Bucky enters the visitor's room, Dick's sitting, hands folded in his lap, expression pinched and concerned. ]

Sorry, [ he deadpans, ] I couldn't smuggle in a shovel.

[sidecars]

[ A virtual prison. Bucky honestly doesn't know if that sounds better or worse. Those immoral enough to never stop would likely find it appealing, and so would their captors. Now would Bucky, though, if he were a killer on the wrong side of the law? It feels too much like a lie. ]

What? Cigarettes? C'mon now, I'm a great shark. I used to piss Fury off so bad! He could never win against me in poker!

[liverletdie]

[ Then again, considering... Tony Stark really did prefer comfortable lies. He shifted, slightly, and grinned. ]

Really? You know, I don't think Nick ever told me that one.

[ He said, a smile on his face, friendly enough. ] You know how long this is going to be yet, or are they keeping you in the dark? Normally they shuffle imports off to parole pretty quick.

[sidecars]

Ha, that's okay. I'm here voluntarily anyway. [ A shovel would kind of put him on the bad side of the law—Moreso than he already is. ] I dunno where you would've smuggled it, anyway.

[sidecars]

Not surprised there! Like Fury would ever want anyone to know some scrawny sidekick can whoop his butt.

I, uh, sort of asked to serve my time in prison. [ He didn't have to. It's true they used community projects or parole pretty liberally with imPorts, but that seems like a real slap in the face to every civilian he shot or stabbed or beat in cold blood. ] So, I think. Maybe a month? Two? I've got a lawyer working on it...

[performance]

I'm resourceful.

[ That explains nothing. Dick looks over Bucky's face, trying to get a sense of... well, everything, really. How he's doing. God, this is upsetting. ]

So no prison breaks in your future.

[sidecars]

No. I've already had enough... problems to last me a very long time.

[ His eyes are focused on the wood grain of the table, hands spreading over the table back and forth a little anxiously. How is he doing? Not good.

Bucky looks beat down. Who knew the day would ever come, but this is not normal circumstances. Shame and guilt and fear turn him into a scolded dog. ]

Stark came by a few days ago. Let me keep my job...

[heliophilic]

I didn't think they would.

[That wasn't exactly what he meant, but he won't push further.]

A month ago I would have broken it without a second thought.

[sidecars]

Yeah? So what happened in a month?

[heliophilic]

I've got these damn kids in my life that won't leave me alone. It's irritating, really.

[sidecars]

[ Bucky snorts. What a sap. ]

Kids just dig right in under your skin, don't they? Like a burr. But, hey, good news. You'll be free of me for a month or more. Should give you plenty of time to dig us back out, right?

[heliophilic]

Hah, yeah, hardly. The last kid I talked to on a regular basis I tried to--[Yeah you know what, not finishing that sentence.]--let's just say she and I didn't get along. You and Grayson are just special like that, I guess.

[He hasn't tried to murder you for being too powerful yet?]

Sorry kid, you're stuck with me.

[sidecars]

Gross. Don't say stuff like that around here. It'll get me shanked in the showers.

[performance]

That's good. [ A little surprising... but then, imPorts have done worse things and gotten away with almost no consequences. ] He was okay? Understanding?

[sidecars]

[ The chuckle that comes out of Bucky is a little, well, cynical. ]

Oh, he was understanding. Sounds like another day ending in Y for his team back home anyway. [ Then he pauses, finally watching Dick for the first time. ] Are you okay? You seem... [ Bucky shrugs instead of answering his own question. He doesn't want to put a label on it. ] I don't know.

[baetiful]

[ Have any of the victims come to visit? Petyr highly doubts it. And while it's probably not a smart move to make this close to the election just in case Bucky still harbors resentful feelings toward the ambassadors -- Baelish believes it's a valuable one. He walks into the visiting area and finds the young man who attempted to kill him. ]

I thought, since we've already had such a close first encounter, we could meet on different terms. [ He's alive. He's well. And he can say that with a faint smirk of humor. ]

I trust your mind is back to normal?