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In any other circumstance, he would have been thrilled to be at the World’s Fair. So many different people, foreign foods, and the newest gadgets and gizmos. The Stark car was neat to look at, even though it turned out to be a dud in the flying department. Earlier, he had seen some replicas of dinosaurs. That was pretty neat, but the replicas didn’t seem very realistic.
To be fair, he could have been walking through Central Park and feel like the hero in one of those dime adventure books Bucky pretended he didn’t read. Steve and Bucky rarely let him out of the apartment. Rationally, he understood why. If people knew who he was- what they were- they could get into real trouble. He had only once before gone out in public, to the grocery store closest to their apartment. Bucky and Steve had agreed to a test run and they had gone and bought some coffee grounds. He was so excited that he couldn’t keep himself from smiling. They probably looked like a maniac. And he had spoken to someone for the first time! Excluding Sarah, but she didn’t count- she was Mom. They missed Mom.
The point is that they needed to get out of the apartment. Whenever Steve and Bucky fused into… him, he was confined to their tiny apartment. They loved their home! At home they could be themselves, and not have to worry about hiding certain aspects of themselves.
He was also hoping to find some inspiration while out on this adventure. Bucky and Steve had never given him a name. He didn’t know what to call himself, and Steve and Bucky had never given thought to the subject. Once, before they unfused, he had written a note asking what he was called. They had both written him a note before fusing. They wanted him to decide. It was harder than one would think. At first he tried to combine Bucky and Steve into one name. However, Beve was not gonna work out.
They stopped in the middle of the crowd that was meandering through the army’s recruitment exhibit. They all promised each other that tonight would be a happy night. A good night before Bucky was shipped off to Europe. No sadness. They needed to enjoy their time together, no matter how little time they had left. Tomorrow they could worry. They could say their goodbyes, and question when the war would end, when Bucky would get back to America… if Bucky would get back to the war.
He tsked to himself.
“We promised me a good night. We should stop worrying, do you want to find something to eat?”
He smiled, then turned around, planning to head out the front of the exhibit to a food booth he had passed earlier. However, he walked into a man standing shockingly close to him. How did they not hear him? So, he apologized (Sarah did teach him manners).
“Oh! I’m sorry.” The man righted himself, adjusted his glasses then looked into his eyes.
“No worries.” The man responded. He tilted his head, and a strange, knowing smile grew on his face. “My name is Abraham.” The man had an accent, he might be new to the city. He could usually avoid speaking to members of the public. Most New York natives didn’t attempt to strike up conversations with strangers. “Why were you talking to yourself?” the man continued.
He froze, he was usually so careful in public. No need to panic. Take a deep breath. Act smooth. He forced what he hoped to be a confused smile on his face and then spoke.
“What- what do you mean?”
The man pressed on- “Just now. You referred to yourself as both we and me. You were talking to yourself- I see no one with you.”
He began walking backwards, trying to get away from the stranger. He was panicking. He needed to leave, They were breaking apart, he could feel it.
“I was talking to myself! Everyone does it!” He blurted out an answer, hoping this man- Abraham- would be satisfied and leave Them alone. They were hyperventilating. Bucky was freaking out, and Steve had somehow managed to think of as many bad scenario this interaction could go as possible. They could be taken to some mental asylum, where doctors would call Them insane. Or to some government lab in the middle of the desert, treated like some experiment. They could be forced away from each other, never to fuse together in the way they craved whenever they separated. Abraham continued to interrogate Them as he closed the distance he was attempting to gain.
“What is your name?”
They stopped moving, and he could feel his eyes strain. They couldn’t salvage this, he didn’t have an answer to that question. He held his breath and made a quick decision. They quickly turned and bolted towards the exit. He could hear the man make a sound of surprise, then quick footsteps. They were breaking apart, They needed to hide, they couldn’t come apart yet- There!
A secluded space between two of the fair tents. They rushed to the empty space, but tripped over a rope and fell. A bright light emitted from their body, and as they hit the ground, They were no more. Instead, just Steve and Bucky remained in a pile of gangly limbs on the ground.
“Who was that?!? Did he know?” Bucky was still hyperventilating, he was frozen on the where he laid.
“Get off me! Your elbow is in my guts” Steve replied. He began coughing, somewhat violently as Bucky moved to sit on his knees. When he regained his composure, Steve said “I knew we shouldn’t have gone out like that. It’s too crowded for him here.”
Bucky’s face twisted. It reminded Steve of when he accidentally stepped on the stray cat that hung out by their building. Steve’s face softened as he stood up and brushed dirt from his pants. He offered a hand to Bucky as he spoke-
“Well…we’re lucky we were able to hide before we broke.”
“Lucky indeed.”
Fuck
Both Steve and Bucky rapidly turned to the source of the voice- Abraham. He was standing about 5 feet away from them, blocking their only exit. The fair lights were hanging behind the man, giving his face an ominous shadow. Behind the opening were crowds of moving people, loud and oppressing, however, their space felt eerily silent. Abraham smiled, looking less foreboding and somehow more welcoming.
Then he said “I don’t suppose you two have names now?”