[Holodeck 5:] Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks... [for whathemademe but OTA]

[stark_spangled]

Keeping track of the seasons isn't always easy, but Steve knows the date here is for the end of March, and even if the calendar back home says "April" that still means one thing.

Baseball season.

He hasn't used the holodecks in a while. Akito has been taking up a lot of his free time, and while he's fine with that the kid has started getting on his case about brooding too much. Peggy's been gone for a month now. She's probably not walking through his door again, and that's a good thing -- for her. It just reminds him of what he's missing.

To stave off any ill-conceived attempts to set him up on dates or push him around to other people, Steve has left Akito to his own devices for a few hours. He didn't really have a goal in mind when he ended up at the holodeck. He thought maybe he'd stop in Ten Forward for something to eat, but his feet just kept going after he reached the lounge, and didn't stop until he was standing in front of the computer panel currently telling him the holodeck was vacant. He frowns for a few minutes.

"Computer, um. Are there any baseball fields on file?" he asks. The computer gives him an affirmative answer, and starts listing off more baseball fields than he knows what to do with. "Whoa, wait. Uh, sorry. How about Ebbets Field?" Another affirmative, and another long list of options. Steve rubs the back of his neck. "OK. Ebbets Field, Flatbush, New York, Earth, around the year..."

He thinks back over some of the games he's seen, but he doesn't feel up to taking a walk down memory lane tonight. He's tempted to ask about the 1920 World Series, but as he's forming the words another thought occurs to him. "April 15, 1947. Jackie Robinson's first game with the Dodgers."

There is another affirmative chirp, and at last the Computer says, "You may enter when ready." Steve pockets his hands and steps inside the holodeck doors, and with such shocking clarity it almost knocks the wind out of him he finds himself in the bleachers at Ebbets Field, just as he remembers it.

Comments

[bestpal]

Oh he will remember that, and he will be there for nearly every game. Bucky has seen a few more games than Steve, while working for the Russians, he had taught many of the operatives the finer points of baseball. This, will be a much more fun experience.

As always, bleachers aren't designed for long legs but he tucks them in and leans forward. "You should move your bedroom to the holodeck then," he teases. He's definitely in good form today.

[stark_spangled]

Steve's noticed. It draws more of a grin out of him, something much more reminiscent of the toothy smiles he used to shoot him when they were kids, just messing around with each other before the war took its toll on them both. He hands Bucky's hot dog back over, getting that sassy look on his face he should be used to by now.

"Maybe I will," he says. "I do have 70 years worth of games to catch up on, I'm just not sure if I'm ready to follow them to Los Angeles yet."

He shakes his head. It's criminal that they were traded from Brooklyn; it'll take more than 2 years for Steve to get over that one. "What would you do if you couldn't hang outside my door and pretend like you're not watching me anymore, though?"

[bestpal]

That smile reminds him of the times they snuck into events without tickets. He takes a bite out of his hot dog. "I'll hold your hand when you make the transition."

Bucky shrugs, he doesn't feel guilty getting caught out like this. If Steve's asks him to stop he will, but for now, he can tease back. "I would hang out at the end of the hallways and pretend from there. You get into more trouble than anyone I know."

[stark_spangled]

He laughs, attention swiveling back to the game. Bucky may be giving him a hard time, but Steve really will need some hand-holding when that happens. Not to mention during the lousy seasons the Dodgers have had in recent years.

"Thanks," he says, propping his foot against the seat in front of him and leaning back in his chair. He takes a bite out of his hot dog, and shakes his head. "You just don't know enough people. Come on, Buck. They haven't tossed me in the brig yet, have they?"

He glances at him sidelong, as if punctuating his point. He's been the perfect passenger, polite, attentive, orderly. OK, so maybe there were one or two scuffles and a couple of broken pieces of gym equipment, but all in all Steve's been on his best behavior.

He wouldn't ask Bucky to stop, regardless. Even after everything, it's comforting to know he's watching his back.

[bestpal]

Bucky doesn't want to know more people, not yet, he likes that he can still be an invisible presence on the ship when he chooses. "I made friends with Bruce," He offers. Sorry Steve his attention is a little more on the game, and the next pitch. "Curve ball," he calls, watching the pitcher's hand.

His lips quirk up as he is proved right, and he returns to the thread of the chat. "The main word is yet." It will be better for all concerned if Steve does not get locked up. There is no version of Bucky who will be able to sit by and let his best friend languish in the lockup.