[ WWII AU ] what a night to go dreaming

[from_the_outside]

There's no doubt that things have shifted, a little, since the day they spent tangled up together in that sun-dappled cottage, tucked away in the trees behind the nearby town. The other Howling Commandos have, seemingly by silent agreement, stopped flirting so outrageously with her, though she's caught Jim and Gabe giving Bucky more than one fondly exasperated glance. She still dances with all of them, and enjoys their company, but they yield the floor to Bucky at the end of the night, and he's the one who, as she said she wanted, walks her back to her tent. 

And then there are their rendezvous' out in the field, where she still checks, each night, for a portal opening in the air. It never comes, but she spends hours there with him, walking and laughing and dancing under the starlight, stealing every moment they can together.

Aunt Peggy says nothing, but Sharon knows she can tell things have changed. There's a worried frown that lives between her brows, but she doesn't forbid her niece to see Steve's best friend, knowing it would only backfire.

Other things change not at all... like the morning tests Howard still makes them do. They're nearing the end of the sequence today, and she lets go of Bucky when Howard tells her to, careful not to linger. It's difficult to say what Stark thinks of his findings; he mutters to himself and snaps at his assistants, but all she can glean from it is that the resonance is still fading at a regular rate from her cells.

But none of them know why.

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

It’s hard to live not knowing what comes next - or would be, except that they’re at war and have been doing just that for a while now. Bucky stays present in the moment, cherishes the time he has with his angel, and tries not to let himself think about the future or wonder what happens if the resonance vanishes altogether.

As the technicians remove the monitors, he starts to move, only to stop in his tracks when Howard comes over. “Tonight,” he says. “Ready?”

[from_the_outside]

"Tonight, what?"

She calls it from behind the sheets of the makeshift changing room, as Nurse Hart helps her out of the harness and back into her clothes. Even so, she can almost see Stark rolling his eyes as he answers.

"Tonight, experiment?" he says, like he's reminding him, although she's sure she would have remembered if he'd said anything of the sort. A chill runs over her skin, and Alice clucks at the goosebumps that appear, helps her button up her shirt as her fingers turn dumb. "We won't be here much longer. If there's any way to open up a portal from this side, we need to try tonight, while we still have access to the field."

[nerves_of_ice]

His jaw sets in hard lines, but he nods without hesitation. “I’ll be ready. What do you need me to do?”

A second’s thought, and he adds, “There’s no danger to Agent Carter, is there?”

[from_the_outside]

"I don't know that I'd call what we're attempting to do safe," Howard grouses, as Sharon steps out from behind the sheets. Her glance goes first to Bucky, taking in the set of his jaw and shoulders, then to Howard. "You, I just need to be there. We'll need to try and emulate that first night. Wear the same things."

He points at Sharon, who's wrestling with the mental image of what her white catsuit might do to the camp. "We need to replicate as much as possible."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Right.” Bucky looks dubiously at Howard. “I mean, I can lean against a tree all you want, but what’s going to spark anything?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Howard returns, as confident as Bucky’s ever seen him. “And lucky for all of us, that’s what you have me around for, to provide answers. You’ll see.”

[from_the_outside]

"I guess we will." It's her duty to get home as soon as possible, and she does want to get home, but –

She'd started to think she might have a little more time, here. With Aunt Peggy. With Bucky. She glances at Nurse Hart, who nods to her. "I'll be sure to join you, Agent," the woman says, and Sharon smiles, slight, then nods at Howard, keeping her gaze carefully off of Bucky's face.

"Then I'll see you tonight, Mr. Stark," she tells him. He lifts a hand as she heads for the tent's entrance, her mind spinning. She'll need to get her uniform from Aunt Peggy, and say her goodbyes, just in case.

[nerves_of_ice]

He heads out after her, quickly, and keeps pace at her side, trying to swallow down the mixed swell of hope and panic at the thought of what the evening might being.

You knew this day would come, he chides himself.

“Are you okay?” he murmurs.

[from_the_outside]

It's a relief when he falls in at her side. She's not even quite sure where she's going. "I'm – "

Yes is a lie, no is, also. "...surprised," she decides, and slows her pace as she looks over her shoulder at him. "Though I guess I shouldn't be. You did say there were rumors about him trying something like this."

[nerves_of_ice]

“He’s a determined kind of guy,” Bucky points out. “I think he’s taking this as a personal challenge.”

[from_the_outside]

"He sure is."

She glances at him again. "Are you? Okay?"

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky manages a quick, slightly rueful grin. “Sure. Just surprised, like you said. And wondering if I can ask Howard to invent a way for you to send a message back to let me know you’re safe. Or maybe your scientist can, when you get home.”

[from_the_outside]

"If I can," she says, softly. "I will."

She doesn't know how it might be possible, but that's not the question she's wrestling with. If she really does go home tonight, if there's a chance she'll never see him again, then this is her last opportunity to tell him what waits for him along a mountain pass in the Alps.

It's her last chance to save him, if she can.

[nerves_of_ice]

“What’s your assignment after this?” he asks. “Or, I guess we better report in, in case there’s something you need to do to prepare. Besides getting that outfit back.”

It’d be selfish to ask for more of her time today. Peggy’ll want to spend much of the day with her niece, he’s sure. More people than just him will miss Sharon; he has to remember that.

[from_the_outside]

"I'm assisting with mission analysis," she tells him, though her mind is only half on the words. "Or supposed to be, I guess. But not until later today."

She looks over at him, drinking in every detail of him she can see. "How about you?"

[nerves_of_ice]

“Weapons maintenance in the morning, unarmed combat drills with the squad in the afternoon,” Bucky tells her. “Odds and ends and errands in between.”

It doesn’t leave much time with her before evening, he realizes, and tries to hide his dismay.

[from_the_outside]

Her heart stutters, and a shadow flutters across her face. She's grown too used to the moments and hours they could steal after the sun went down, but there won't be any of that tonight. Maybe not ever again.

"Maybe I can help with some errands," she murmurs. "But first, I have to see Aunt Peggy."

[nerves_of_ice]

“And I should check in with Steve.”

He draws a slow breath, and finds a warm smile for her. “They’re probably working together, or at least near each other. May I escort you, Agent Carter?”

[from_the_outside]

She smiles back, like she always does. It's impossible not to, but this time, there's a crooked ruefulness to the curve of her lips.

"I'd like nothing more, Sergeant Barnes," she replies, properly. "Thank you."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Yes, ma’am,” he responds, prompt and crisp and just a shade too warm. “This way, if you please.”

[from_the_outside]

She shifts a little closer to his side and matches her pace to his as they walk through the camp, heading towards the cluster of tents that forms what passes for a command center here. He's right, she realizes as they near the tent which holds Steve's office, which is a little closer than Aunt Peggy's. She can hear her aunt's crisp tones and Steve's lower voice as they approach.

"Looks like we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone," she murmurs.

[nerves_of_ice]

"Looks like." Bucky slants a look at her and murmurs back, "She'll be okay. You know that, right?"

She must. He'd put the pieces together that very first night, looking at the pictures. It'll be a comfort for Peggy Carter, he thinks, knowing that she'll see Sharon again, watch her grow up, build the connection between them that's so strong now.

[from_the_outside]

"I know." She gives him a rueful half-smile, one corner of her mouth tucking up. "She always is."

Aunt Peggy is the poster child for the British stiff upper lip. But that doesn't mean she won't feel it. "Come on, let's give them the news."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky holds the tent flap for her, then enters after her and comes to attention with a brisk salute. "Captain Rogers. Agent Carter."

"Carry on, Sergeant." He can tell that Steve knows something's up. He'll never understand how the other man knows him so well, except that he knows him the same way. "What is it?"

"Mr. Stark has asked Agent Carter and myself to report to the field where Agent Carter arrived tonight for an experiment intended to secure her transport home," he reports, and doesn't let himself look anywhere but at Steve.

[from_the_outside]

Aunt Peggy's posture doesn't change, but surprise and then shock flash into her steady brown eyes, followed by something complicated and sore. The same surprise breaks across Steve's face like dawn, but his is followed by visible concern. He looks from Bucky to her and back again, unable to keep his eyes off his best friend. "Howard thinks he's cracked it?"

"Not exactly," Sharon says, carefully. For her part, she's watching Aunt Peggy with something akin to longing. They still have each other, back home, but with Aunt Peggy as sick as she is, it's not the same. "I get the impression it's kind of a Hail Mary before the camp vacates this location and the field is lost to us."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Did he say how?" Peggy asks. Bucky shakes his head, finally looking away from Steve. "No, ma'am. He's been cooking something up for a couple of weeks now, but hasn't shared the details with us yet."

Steve frowns. "I don't like the sound of that. Is it dangerous?"

He's not going to lie to his best friend. "It sounds like there's some risk," Bucky admits. "That's not unexpected, though."