[oom] the rest of you, the best of you, honey, belongs to me

[from_the_outside]

It's been a little over a month since Bucky brought her to that training space and told her he was making good on his promise; a little longer since she's met Ayo for an hour a day to spar and train and meditate and learn. In that time, Shuri's updated her suit and Bucky's prototype arm, and Nakia's successfully launched the first of her outreach centers in the place where a young N'Jadaka had once had his whole world shattered.

Ayo prefers to train with her either early in the morning or late in the cool of the evening. Today was the latter, and steam is lifting off Sharon's shoulders as she walks back from the Citadel, her hair a sweat-damp mess in a ponytail, her muscles aching pleasantly. 

She's back on top. Between Bucky and Ayo, she's faster now than she ever has been; more adaptive, more thoughtful about her approach. She still can't beat Bucky one on one, but Ayo had tested her against Aneka, another Dora, recently, and she'd more than held her own. She's flexible and strong and her cardio hasn't been this good in years.

More than that, she's happy, the way Bucky wanted her to be. She has some direction, and that's all she really needed. What she'll do with it is the next step, but she's not quite there yet. For now, she strolls down the path toward the hut by the lake where she's been more or less living with him, the sunset light just now dying from the sky. She's so lost in her thoughts it takes her a second even to realize that there's a buzzing coming from the pocket of her tote bag.

And it's not like she was expecting a call, anyway. Who would it even be from?

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

He has to smile a little at that, and holds her a little closer.

"I'm glad."

[from_the_outside]

"I got yelled at about it once," she points out, sleepily. "You think I want to go through that again? Hard no. And it's better and safer this way."

[nerves_of_ice]

His quiet chuckle rumbles through his chest.

"Better and safer's pretty good, you have to admit. I'd try not to yell, though, if you didn't."

[from_the_outside]

"Don't make me run the numbers on that risk assessment."

She rolls a little closer and presses her lips to the side of his throat. "Now shh. It's bedtime for all good little boys and girls."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Not sure that includes me," he points out, dryly, but draws her in. "But I'll be quiet anyway. Good night, baby."

[from_the_outside]

"Goodnight."

She closes her eyes and relaxes against him, letting the steady up and down of his breath and beat of his heart lull her, eventually, into a sleep that's only a little lighter and less restful than usual.

[nerves_of_ice]

It takes him a lot longer to fall asleep, time in which he listens to her breathing and reminds himself that she knows what she's doing. He's got plenty of reason to know. They've worked together before, they might have continued to do so if things hadn't gone so damn wrong, and she's good at what she does.

She deserves to have this part of her life back, and if Fury can help give it to her, then that's a good thing. It has to be.

Eventually he drifts off, only to wake as usual at false dawn, long before sunrise. Bucky eases carefully from the bed and dresses in the dark so as not to disturb her, then touches her hair very lightly in silent farewell before he leaves the apartment and goes back to the lake to tend the goats.

[from_the_outside]

When she wakes up, it's full, bright morning and she's alone in her bed. She really must have been out not to wake up when Bucky left.

After getting dressed, she wanders through the Citadel until she finds Nakia, but her friend only shakes her head when asked about 'Green.' Nothing of that name has appeared in anything related to Wakanda or vibranium, and anyone Nakia can think of who might have had contacts in that life – Klaue, Killmonger – are all dead.

Sharon goes from Nakia back out to the path that leads to the lake, thinking. She'll see what Fury's planning, she decides, and then she and Bucky together can determine whether or not it's a good fit for her. If it's short – a few days, at most – and if she's careful, it might not be too big of a risk.

[nerves_of_ice]

He's finished stacking the wood by the hut, borrowed a cart and piled it with the rest for later delivery, and is deep in the middle of using a scythe to mow the hillside that'd been left to grow long to provide hay for the goats in winter.

It's just as well it's a hand scythe. It lets him relieve stress with each sweep.

[from_the_outside]

She smiles as she comes down the path and sees him working, the sunlight glinting off both the scythe and his vibranium arm. "Hey," she calls, dropping her tote by the hut and strolling over towards the meadow.

"You're getting pretty good at that."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It just takes practice." He knows it's meant to be more than just harvest, too, given what Shuri had said about giving him experience at using a blade for purposes other than killing. "It's weirdly soothing."

Bucky braces the end of the scythe against the ground and gives her a once over. "Did you sleep okay? You were pretty out of it when I left."

[from_the_outside]

"Pretty well, considering how much coffee I drank."

She slips her hands into her pockets and wanders closer. "I talked to Nakia for a second. She said the War Dogs hadn't heard anything about any 'Green.'"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Damn." Two strikes, he thinks. "Fury's not going to like hearing that."

[from_the_outside]

"No, probably not."

Not that he'd asked her for more intel than she could think of off the top of her head, but still, she hates disappointing him. "I figured, when we call him, we can try to get an idea of exactly what he's trying to do with all this."

[nerves_of_ice]

He nods. "The more information you can get from him, the better."

Especially before making any offers, although he's careful not to say that.

"When do you want to call?"

[from_the_outside]

"Sometime soon."

Fury's a patient man, but he won't wait forever, and this trail is already cold as ice. "Whenever you're ready."

[nerves_of_ice]

"No time like the present." He hoists the scythe to his shoulder; the hay he's already cut needs to dry before he can rake and bale it anyway.

"Come on. Let's go back to the hut." The last thing they need is one of the kids showing up in the middle of this conversation.

[from_the_outside]

She falls into step beside him, heading back to the hut. Once there, she heads to put the water on for coffee, the routine so engrained after the months of living here that she barely notices doing it, then takes her phone and sets it on the table.

[nerves_of_ice]

He leaves the scythe outside and makes sure the door is latched before he joins her. On noticing she's put the water on, he goes to pull down two mugs and the press.

"Coffee first, then call?" he suggests.

[from_the_outside]

"Sounds great."

She takes out the coffee and hands it to him, then goes to retrieve the milk and sugar for her mug. "What else do you think we should ask him?"

[nerves_of_ice]

He concentrates on measuring out the coffee into the press, with great deliberation.

"If you're going to offer to help, I think it'd be a good idea to know about what kind of backup and support he'd be providing."

[from_the_outside]

"That would definitely be good to know," she agrees. "Along with where exactly this mission would be taking place, how long it would be, and what the goal is."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Yes. To all of those." Bucky sighs, sets the coffee press down and the coffee aside, and turns to face her.

"I'll back your play, Sharon. However you want to make it." It's quiet and steady.

[from_the_outside]

"I know you will."

She watches him from across the little space, her expression open and understanding. "I also know you don't like the idea much."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I think what I really don't like is that I ..." His words trail off for a second, but he makes himself draw a slow breath and continue.

"That it's more than likely I won't be able to be there with you."

There. It's out, hanging in the air between them, and he waits to see how she reacts to that.