[CLOSED TO disassembling - Not really a vacation

[whatsfondue]

Las Vegas had changed quite a bit in the last 70 years. The last time he was here this was only a back water town, a pit stop on the USO tour on their way west. Now it was an entire city that catered to tourists. Steve wandered around among the flashy buildings and (mostly) gaudily dressed tourists in the strip, looking for signs that matched the descriptions in the report he was given for HYDRA.

Nothing. Nothing that stood out to him of course.

Usually something like this was best assigned to Natasha or Clint, but Clint was on medical leave, and he'd been outvoted when it came to another mission that Bucky and Natasha had left on a day before he'd left. Thor and Bruce wasn't even considered and Tony had meetings Ms. Potts had said he was not allowed to get out of unless it was a global emergency. Tony had clapped on on the back and told him to go wild, which Steve had rolled his eyes at. He shook his head at a poster advertising spa and massages and decided to find somewhere quieter for lunch away from the main strip.

Of course, it was on his way out that he spotted a familiar face, a HYDRA agent they'd been on the lookout for the last few months. Of course Steve will put off his lunch to follow. And of course, something will go wrong and the last Steve remembered was feeling a pinch at the back of his neck and then blacking out

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[whatsfondue]

Honestly if the waitstaff wanted to snoop in his room they wouldn't find much to snoop about. He had a tablet and a phone of course, but those were locked with a password when not with him. Steve tried to keep the suite as clean and neat as possible in the few days he'd been here before Bucky had joined him as to not make any extra work for the hotel cleaning staff. Tony had disconcerted him with stories about certain select pieces of clothing being stolen from hotel rooms and auctioned off but nothing had gone missing so far as he could see.

Steve helped himself generously to the platters spread out on the table after Bucky had done so. The food was as good as the ones they had last night. "Yes. I called the others while you were in the shower and told them our plans for the next week or so. I also told them not to bother us unless it's an emergency. Natasha or Clint will inform SHIELD." He suspected someone will be keeping tabs on them anyway, but as long as they were discreet and leaves them some privacy Steve wasn't inclined to make a fuss about it. For now anyway. The idea of a private vacation was too nice to start a war over being followed. "If someone was following us in a helicopter I'll really have some things to say to some people and they won't like it."

[disassembling]

"I don't believe that we will be allowed our freedom easily," he reflected as he picked up his fork but delayed in digging into his meal for the fact that most of the conversation would be cut off when he did. "Perhaps we should sneak out a window and steal a vehicle, switch plates outside of town and carry on our way." He knew that it wouldn't be difficult, not with so many vehicles and if they picked one that was a common make and colour, it would be easy to find a second and switch the plates so that it couldn't be reported as stolen. Then they would be allowed their privacy for as long as they took it.

Of course, the moment that Steve answered the phone, he had no doubt that Stark would be tracking them through some kind of GPS. They would be long out of Vegas at least. "You could just throw your shield and down it. I've seen you do it," he pointed out as he took his first bite of eggs and sighed contently as flavour flooded his mouth. He hunkered down to eat, savouring each bite and chewing slowly.

[whatsfondue]

Steve was already shaking his head before Bucky finished his proposal on how to shake their unwanted followers. "No stealing." This wasn't wartime Germany after all or even during a mission like the one he stole with Natasha during the mess with Project Insight (and he eventually repaid the owner of that vehicle the full cost of a new one plus a bit extra). "If you don't like how traceable a rental would be we can go out and buy a used one. There must be someone, maybe out in the countryside, willing to part with an old car for cash." Even theft would probably not deter a determined tracker for long.

"I'm also not potentially killing anyone just for following us." Steve answered, then tacked on. "Unless they were HYDRA. And I doubt anyone seriously interested in following us around would be so conspicuous as to chase around in a helicopter." Well, maybe Tony Stark might but he also knew Tony could probably just track them via his phone or something else. He gave a quick shake of his head and Bucky a wry smile before picking up his cup of coffee. "Eat. We can discuss it later."

[disassembling]

He grunted at the rule, though he would abide by it. He simply knew that it would be near impossible to stay hidden unless one or both of them had brought some sort of fake identification for any vehicle that they acquired. He knew that wasn't happening, which meant that they would be tracked somehow and thus would have only an illusion and peace and quiet to enjoy themselves. It was perhaps the life that Steve had been dealt being so famous and prized as a national icon of the country. "And we need insurance to run any car," he pointed out. "Which requires providing an identity."

Well, he supposed he understood the no-killing rule, as it would attract unwanted attention, which was no good for a vacation. "HYDRA is the silent knife for the most part," he replied with a shrug and chewed thoughtfully on a forkful of eggs. "We shouldn't put it off. We either accept that we will be tracked somehow or make plans to slip away entirely together."

[whatsfondue]

If Bucky wanted to go entirely off the radar, it would take much longer than the half day they had talked about it to prepare, especially with the two of them. With cameras, satellite tracking and probably more technology Steve could only imagine that already exists it was definitely more difficult to disappear than what had been seventy years ago. Bucky himself did it quite well by himself right after the mess with HYDRA and the hellicarriers at DC but it'll be harder with the two of them. Especially when Steve's face was so well know. He ran a hand over the barely-there stubble on his cheek as he took a bite of his waffle and washed it down with more coffee. When his facial hair grows in some more hopefully people will stop giving him second looks on the street. "That's true enough." Steve answered Bucky's comment belatedly.

HYDRA was very good at being unseen until it was too late. "I've been followed around more or less or kept under some sort of watch all the time since I got the serum. So it's up to you how much effort you want to make into throwing people off our trail." Steve gestures an empty fork up and down at himself. "You could say I'm used to it at this point." SHIELD, the old one, had given him the illusion of privacy at least though he learned his lesson quickly about the lack of privacy via Sharon Carter.

[disassembling]

He had disappeared under lesser conditions, but he had to admit that Steve made things a bit more difficult given that the man was plastered all over the news, billboards and no doubt was known in all manner of facial recognition programs. It would just take a little more work, but then again, there was that rule about no stealing, which was entirely unfair. Besides, it wasn't technically stealing if they intended to give it back afterwards, maybe just with an increase in the mileage. Stealing would be so much easier, he thought to himself between bites of eggs.

"Depends if you're going to let me do anything fun to do so," he replied after swallowing his mouthful. "I mean, I'm highly effective at shaking people, but it seems like you're setting the rules so far on how to go about this little vacation." He returned to his meal because not doing so would mean taking a long time eating. "Constantly being watched is bothersome."

[whatsfondue]

"Somehow, I have the feeling your definition of 'fun' coincides with Natasha's when it comes to staying under the radar." Steve said dryly. It was also a sharp reminder of the differences between Bucky-that-was and the Bucky that sits next to him (and not just the way they ate either.) Bucky's idea of fun before the war consisted of dancing, dates with pretty dames, dragging Steve to double dates, dragging Steve to Corney Island and other fairs. He idly pushed leftover bits of eggs and bacon around his plate before decidedly shaking off his suddenly maudlin thoughts and spearing a piece of waffle. "So why don't you tell me what you would have BOTH of us do to shake off any followers and I'll yay or nay on the parts and we can discuss?"

Really though, having to duck and hide everywhere seemed oddly stressful and at odds with a vacation meant to be relaxing for them both. While constantly being watched would be irritating as Bucky stated, so would having to travel like fugitives on the run. Surely there could be some sort of compromise between the two?

[disassembling]

"It is along similar lines, I have no doubt," he replied because he and the Widow had often shaken off pursuit in much the same way. He wouldn't even say that he was better at it than she was, but he could disappear more readily into shadows where she was far better at blending into crowds and slipping away. He picked at his eggs a little as he considered the suggestion, and he didn't think that much of it was anything that Steve was going to allow readily, given that no killing was off the books already. "Well, your shadow jumping needs some work," he pointed out with a tilt of his head. "I was going to say catching the first one we find and threatening him and his organization with untoward pain, but I feel like you're going to veto that."

He would prefer to think of their activities as a big game of hide and seek where they just happened to be much better and careful about getting caught. He could see how that would make a difference though with Steve being involved. He picked up a slice of apple and chewed on it to keep him on task. "I just want to spend time with you, not you and whoever happens to be watching at the time."

[whatsfondue]

Steve sighed. Bucky was right, he was going to veto that. "The only threatening of torture I'll allow is towards HYDRA. Not towards a regular paparazzi." Most people had thought he'd be against all forms of torture but he recognized there was a need for it at times. And while he didn't like to do it himself, he had no compunctions at having someone else do it who didn't share his own squeamishness for it. "And I doubt no matter how much I 'practice', I'll never get as good as you and Natasha at shadow jumping." He added with a sigh. Steve had his strengths, and Bucky and Natasha had theirs, and so did every other Avengers. "Would it make you feel better if I said yes to the stealing but only if we leave enough money so the owner won't be inconvenienced to much?"

There really wasn't much he could say no to his oldest friend. "And aren't we spending time together right now?" He gently reminded Bucky as he pushed aside his empty plate and reached for some fruit as well. "And no doubt a few more people now knows I'm in Vegas and will start getting nosy but I'm not going to let them have the satisfaction of knowing I'm bothered by that."

[disassembling]

Yes, he had seen that veto coming from a mile away, and he wasn't particularly sullen about it either. There was a time and a place for getting information, and scaring the hell out of normal civilians and the media was against the rules. He did understand that, but it would still make them difficult to keep to themselves. He picked at his food, slowly working his way through it and enjoying each bite as much as the last despite the topic of conversation. "No, you stand out too much; people like looking at you." That just made Steve an excellent distraction so he could do his work. "That's not really stealing, Steve. That's paying someone for something."

He softened at that, glancing up at Steve picking at fruit and the corner of his lips rose faintly in response. Yes, they were spending time together, and he was enjoying it already. "It's just... been a long time since it was just us, I suppose. When we were kids, that's all it was, just Barnes and Rogers running amok. Now... everyone wants of piece of someone." He wasn't jealous that Steve was popular, but he hadn't figured out how to maneuver around in this change that he barely remembered.

[whatsfondue]

Steve right now as more eating for the sake of eating than out of any real enjoyment of the excellent food, the conversation they were having taking most of his thoughts. "I have no idea why." Steve said in a tone that almost sounded exasperated. This fascination and obsession over the private lives of anyone even remotely famous he does not think he will ever understand. "There are other six foot tall blondes out there." Just because he'd gotten used to being stared at didn't mean he liked it. And again, he was reminded of how things have changed. Once upon a time it was Bucky who was the one being looked at admiringly and he was the one barely given a glance or two. "It's still stealing because we didn't ask for permission first." He responded firmly. "They might not want to sell it."

His eyes widened a bit to see the faint smile on Bucky's lips. Smiles from Bucky were rare now and he can't remember the last time Bucky had laughed. (Or rather he did, and Steve didn't want to think about how long ago it was.) "We weren't the people we are today, Buck." He answered quietly, pushing the piece of apple around on his plate in random patterns. "Lots of things have changed."

[disassembling]

"You are beautiful," he said simply, as if it should have been obvious to everyone and that the people who did notice were the ones that stared the most. "People like to look at beautiful people and fantasize about either being that way themselves or being close to someone that handsome." Even he knew that much about people from all the observing that he had done, and it helped that Tony was very open about talking about why people were fascinated with certain things, like physical appearance. "It's borrowing with the intent of replacing or returning, and that's not stealing."

He ate a few more bites, aware that he would deeply regret not filling his belly before they headed out to face the day. "No, we aren't. A lot has changed," he agreed softly, actually eating faster because he was deep into the conversation rather than his meal. "Do you miss it when it wasn't all... this?" He waved a hand to indicate the room and the world beyond it.

[whatsfondue]

"Flatterer." Steve said fondly, resisting the urge to reach out and flick Bucky's cheek with a finger. Bucky was still eating after all, and just one simple act could disrupt it into entirely different thing. He shook his head, unwilling to debate the matter between stealing and borrowing any further. They'll probably take the rental the hotel was arranging for them for a bit and if they changed their minds later they could always return the rental and continue with alternate plans.

"I don't miss the health problems. Or the food. It was really great....the first time I could take a deep breathe and not have to worry about potentially coughing my lungs up. And a lot of things have improved since then like medicine and the fact two dames or two fellas can go out together and most people won't say a thing...." Steve said thoughtfully, eyes distant. He had stopped eating at this point and was instead sipping coffee idly from time to time. "But yes, sometimes I do miss it. Things were a lot simpler then. Or maybe I was just too naive back then to see things as they really were." He met Bucky's eyes with a smile.

[disassembling]

He kept eating bites here and there, not at all dissuaded by the subject matter. Steve was very handsome, and it wasn't much flattery when it was simply the truth. Didn't everyone tell his friend much the same thing with different words all the time? He was slowing his meal though as he emptied his plate and took a bit more fruit to tide him over the rest of the way. If he had to, he wouldn't eat for the rest of the day now that he was recharged, though this was nothing like a mission.

He nodded his head, not entirely understanding because his physical state had never been like Steve's. "It is strange how people can be together with whoever they want," he agreed, though he had no particular bias regardless; that still hadn't come back to him from his old life after HYDRA had taken it from him. People could have fun with whoever they wanted. "Things were simpler when we were naive and innocent. Now... we've perhaps seen and done too much."

[whatsfondue]

It has been a few years since the serum made all these changes to his body but occasionally when he looked into a mirror it still didn't feel 'real', didn't feel permanent. Like he was wearing a fake 'skin' that could be torn away at any times. And that had actually happened once anyway, even as recently as a few months ago when Steve was hit by that strange HYDRA weapon and was reverted back to his original body. Old impressions were hard to forget and he will never forget the way people's eyes used to slide away from him before the serum, even as he seemed to draw all the looks these days.

"Not strange...this is the way its should always have been in the first place." Steve answered and put down his empty coffee cup. He was full enough and he was sure that if they got hungry later they could find SOMEWHERE to buy food, even if it's only pre-packaged stuff from a gas station. "Some people STILL have trouble with that even now, though they are getting fewer every year. And you're right...we've seen and done too much. There's not going back from that." Even Bucky, for all that there was much he didn't remember, Steve thought could never have gone back to his pre-war self. He quirked a smile at Bucky, hopefully to lighten the mood a bit. "And there's always more to see."

[disassembling]

He couldn't say that he had enough reference of the past to truly know how bad it had been when they were growing up, but he remembered something about the army not wanting people who loved certain groups. It seemed absurd to him, but he didn't make the rules, and rules were just something put in place so that Steve could kick them down when his friend didn't agree with them. He simply accepted that he was going to do what he wanted when it came to Steve, and no one was going to stop him on that.

"You never lose your strong sense of right and wrong," he said between bites of fruit. He didn't think that would ever change about Steve; he didn't want it to change. "Do you think people would be upset to know that we are together? There are a lot of women who want your picture after all." He nodded his head picking through the last of his meal and leaving behind nothing but a clean plate as always. He pushed it away.

[whatsfondue]

"I try. I get tunnel vision sometimes, and according to Tony, I'm more stubborn than three pigs combined together." Steve said deprecatingly and shrugged. "And I'm certainly not right all the time or even most of the time. I'm still human and I still make mistakes." Mistakes that had hurt people. One such examples was how it had been a mistake not going to look for Bucky after he fell. They had all told him that nobody could have survived that and there were more pressing war business to deal with. He internally shook himself out of the old guilt, now wasn't the time to wallow. "It'll be...." Steve mentally searched around for a word before finally setting on, "...interesting. At the very least. And yeah, we'll unsettle some people. No everyone agrees that people should be able to be with whoever they want so long as no one's getting harmed. And then there are the ones who has this odd idea of what Captain America should be like fixed in their heads and then get upset I'm not like that at all."

Steve polished off the last of his coffee began to stack up the empty plates to make it easier for the hotel staff to clean up. "Let me pack...shouldn't take me more than a few minutes and then move out? If we find any stragglers following after us we can deal with it as it comes."

[disassembling]

His lips moved as he repeated this phrase about three pigs, and he would admit that from what he knew of pigs, it was likely to be applicable to Steve. There had been mistakes made on missions, but they were easily corrected in a team situation where one covered for the other, though he suspected that Steve considered other things a mistake. It wasn't like they spoke on such matters much, preferring to work forward rather than look back at this point with his memory slowly filling in. "I don't care if people know or not," he pointed out softly. "It's just the media has been very fixated on your love life more so lately." Obviously nothing exciting was happening, since the media tended to do that he noted.

He pushed himself up from his seat, though everything that he had brought with him fit into a backpack by the door. There was nothing more for him to bring. It wasn't his vacation to start with, though it had turned into one. "I'll wait for you here," he said, since he didn't think Steve needed the distraction of him helping to pack.

[whatsfondue]

He hadn't been offended by the comparison to three pigs; Steve is well aware that he's stubborn. Being such has had it's advantages from the time when he was a small sickly thing to even now as a healthy, well-built adult fighting things he couldn't even have dreamed of years passed. "I only care about what you think. And the impact on you. You might not find it so easy to slip away when people find out about us...they'll be more people then ever...there cameras and such...trained on you when they know. It won't be pleasant to say the least." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "And I know they've been far too interested lately...I'm hoping something else distracts them soon."

He leaned forward to kiss the corner of Bucky's mouth. "I won't be long." Steve promised. He was as eager as Bucky to leave, as pleasant this suite of rooms has been for the last day. And as promised, he was fast in packing up. He had more than Bucky but not much more. His time in the army had taught him how to pack quickly and light. Even if he could lift more than other people didn't mean he wanted to.

He hoisted his duffle back over one shoulder and the shield was held loosely in his other arm. "Ready to go?"

[disassembling]

He raised an eyebrow at Steve's notion that he couldn't disappear easily even in the face of flashing cameras and interested civilians. Besides, he generally only appeared in any sort of public setting with Steve or one of the Avengers. That meant he was fully willing to abandon them to deal with the clicking cameras and questions. "I think I can manage, but when I do, you'll be facing the questions by yourself. Slipping away is one of my many skills," he said with a faint flicker of a smirk. "Our disappearance might do that."

He prowled through the suite only to make certain that no item of theirs were left behind, but everything was gathered and stowed away. He returned to stand by the door of the room quietly as he waited for Steve who wasn't very long at all. He reached down to grab his own small backpack and slung it over his shoulder as he pulled open the door and stepped out as a way of an answer.

He padded down the hallway to the stairs rather than the elevator, taking them two at a time without appearing to be in any manner of a hurry. He paused at the lobby area and looked back at Steve. "Do you need to check out or are we just leaving?"

[whatsfondue]

It wasn't that Steve thought Bucky couldn't do it, just that all that attention determinedly trained on him would make it harder. "At least my experience selling war bonds won't go to waste." He said dryly and shrugged. It wouldn't be the first time he had to perform for an audience anyway and he often went to bat for some of the other Avengers when it came to press meetings. He shrugged again at the idea that both of them disappearing would gather more media attention. "If it happens, it happens and we'll deal with it. Otherwise I'm not going to borrow trouble when there's none to be had right now."

He followed Bucky down the stairs at a more sedate pace, taking the stairs one at a time. "Yeah I do. Gotta pick up the keys to our rental car too at the same time." He held out the shield to Bucky. "Hold on for this for a minute while I deal with it?"

And deal with it he did. The hotel staff was as courteous and efficient as before, though Steve thought he caught a more interested look than he used to get. Well, the cleaning staff won't find anything too incriminating in the suite they left behind, or so he thought. "Done!" He said cheerfully when he returned to Bucky, holding up the keys to the car. "Car's waiting for us in the parking lot. And Bruce sent me something interesting while I was checking out. A link called most perfect road trip according to scientists. I thought we can follow it for a while...it hits some of the places I've been wanting to look at, like the Grand Canyon."

[disassembling]

He nodded his head and took the shield, tucking it under his arm where he deemed it to be safest, and he lingered on the edge of a shadow even in the well-lit lobby. Most people only glanced slightly at him, accepting that he was there but passing him off as something that was not worth taking more notice of, like a statue or other art that could be acknowledged but otherwise ignored. It was exactly the way that he wanted it while he waited for Steve to finish up with the hotel.

He nodded his head in acknowledgement before peering at the link that Bruce had provided and examined the rather extensive map that had been provided. The route would take them a long time to complete, let along even from where they started to getting back to New York. "This map seems like it will take us a long time to even get a quarter way through," he said as he walked with Steve to where they were apparently picking up a car.

"Are we going to follow it until New York?"

[whatsfondue]

It was still surprising to Steve that people could just overlook Bucky like that even when he was out in broad daylight and holding his actual shield in plain sight. He knows that they saw him but it was like his presence didn't register in their minds at all at something to take note of. It was something he could never manage and probably why Natasha nad Bucky were so sucessful at their specialities.

"It's not like we don't have time or funds." Steve said with a cheerful grin. Something like this would be such a foreign thing when they'd been both younger. The idea of not having to hold down a job or the freedom to go where he pleased, do what he wished, with whoever he liked. He wouldn't have been able to even imagine it back then. "Unless an emergency happens and we have to assemble. We can follow it as long as we like, or don't as long as we like." They reached the car and Steve stowed his luggage and the seat in the backseat. He was glad to note the car wasn't anything fancy like the ones Tony liked to collect, but looked fairly like any other car in the parking lot.

[disassembling]

That was very true, as they had both time and funds, so long as the world didn't decide to have a major crisis that required Steve's immediate attention. He peered at the car when the arrived at the lot, pleased that it was nondescript and easily blended into the surroundings. He still walked around it, getting down to peer under the carriage to examine for signs of tampering. He then forced the hood open to examine the engine carefully before he determined that it was safe enough to drive.

"And we can stop anywhere we want," he agreed as he dropped the hood back down so that it would latch properly. Then he prowled to the passenger's side of the vehicle and climbed inside to get comfortable. "This car is acceptable."

[whatsfondue]

Steve waited patiently as he watched Bucky check the car for tempering and bugs. He had to admit it didn't occur to him to do this, even though he's seen Natasha and even Barton do this several times. Bucky was clearly the more paranoid of the two of them when it came to their safety and Steve really didn't mind the few minutes of extra wait to that would make them feel more comfortable. "I'm glad you approve." He laughed as he got into the driver's side and readjusted the seat and mirrors for his height.

He's always had a good memory for streets and maps and it wasn't long before they've left the city proper. "I've been talking about what I've been wanting to see...what about you? Anything you want to see?" It occurred to him as he turned onto the highway that maybe he's been a bit selfish and he remembered Bucky talked about seeing California once many years ago but was a lifetime ago for both of them.