[ 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

[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."

[from_the_outside]

"He'll give us the details, or I'll know the reason why," Aunt Peggy says, sharply. "Did he say anything else at all?"

"Only that he wants to replicate that night as much as possible," Sharon tells her. "So I'll need my suit and everything I had on me when I arrived."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Should it be successful," Bucky puts in, keeping his voice neutral, "we'll need to explain to the squad that Agent Carter's been sent on another assignment." Steve shifts, and Bucky gives him a quick, wry grin. "Probably better let me do that, Cap. You're a rotten liar."

[from_the_outside]

Steve can't seem to bring himself to smile back at his best friend, and Sharon can't blame him. They knew what they were getting into – or thought they did – but to have the potential end come so quickly and without warning is a shock to her system, too.

"We'll concoct something and give you the details presently, Sergeant," Aunt Peggy tells him. She looks nearly unaffected, but Sharon can see the glimmer of hurt that's tucked behind her eyes. "Perhaps another mission with the Resistance cell, deep undercover."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Yes, ma'am." The shock wave of Howard's news has finished spreading through him, and Bucky knows what's coming next. At least he'll be doing weapons maintenance shortly. That should give him time to get a handle on himself. "However I can help."

"You're supposed to be working with the squad on drills this afternoon, aren't you?" Steve puts in. There's concern in his eyes. "Maybe you should give that a pass. We'll want you in top shape for tonight. Take the time to, to prepare."

[from_the_outside]

She looks at Aunt Peggy, trying to tamp down on the desperation in her own eyes. Her aunt studies her for a long moment.

Compassionate isn't a word most people would use to describe Peggy Carter, but to her darling niece, who has made a lifetime's study of her, those people are idiots. Aunt Peggy's steady brown eyes soften, and Sharon thinks she knows what's coming even before she says it. "Under the circumstances, I don't believe it would be beneficial for you to assist with mission analysis today, Sharon," Aunt Peggy tells her, briskly. "If the experiment fails, we will simply pick back up where we left off tomorrow. I'll have your things ready for you by eighteen hundred hours."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Thank you," Bucky tells Steve. "I'll be ready. I won't let you down, Cap." He means it for so many reasons and in so many ways, more than he can say, and knows that Steve'll understand better than anyone else could.

Steve nods back to him, and turns to Peggy. "Agent Carter, I can finish up here, um, if you'd like."

[from_the_outside]

"Thank you, Captain," Aunt Peggy says, smoothly, just as if he were offering to give her a chance to run an errand. "When you're finished, please join me at Stark's lab."

Sharon's lips twitch, very slightly. She doesn't envy Howard Stark the interrogation that's about to fall on his head.

[nerves_of_ice]

"You bet I will," Steve assures her. Bucky's pretty darn certain Steve's going to have words for Howard himself. He tips his head backward, silently asking if he's still needed, and Steve's glance swings back to him.

"I'll swing by weapons on the way to lunch," Steve suggests. "Meet you there?"

"Meet you there," Bucky agrees.

[from_the_outside]

She meets Aunt Peggy's glance, then looks at Bucky, her throat working as she swallows. "Thank you for the escort, Sergeant," she tells him, keeping her voice level.

They'll have the afternoon. And some of the evening, maybe. But right now, she has to let him go.

[nerves_of_ice]

"You're welcome, Agent Carter." He makes himself brace to attention, then leaves the tent, walking by instinct and not letting himself think.

[from_the_outside]

In a moment, he's gone. The tent flap falls back behind him, and after a second even the sound of his steps has vanished.

She can't look at Steve, or even Aunt Peggy, but after a second, she feels her aunt's light hand at her back. "This way," Aunt Peggy murmurs. "Come along, darling."

She nods and steps outside with Aunt Peggy, following along as her aunt leads her towards the tent they'd shared that first night, together.

[marvel_npc]

She could just strangle Sergeant Barnes, she really could. This is - well, it's not worse than if he'd treated Sharon poorly, but it's awful in an entirely different way. Peggy recognizes that it's probably not fair to feel like that, but she can't entirely help it.

The more so because she herself is hurting, too. The only comfort she's able to draw is that she knows she'll see her niece again, from infancy all the way to adulthood. She has something to look forward to, and holds fast to that to soften the blow of the now. She can be strong for Sharon, who needs her.

She lets her niece into the tent and steps in after her, then, after a single look, silently steps forward and embraces her.

[from_the_outside]

She's been here a month or a little more, and if she were someone who knew how to put down roots, she thinks there would be a few tentative ones being torn up right now. Aunt Peggy's arms go around her in a way that's familiar and not all at the same time, and Sharon leans in, closing her eyes and clinging to her aunt, smelling the light scent of perfume and powder that's been so much a part of her life since birth.

This is war. Everyone is used to goodbyes. But that doesn't make them hurt any less.