[AU] How much - how little - is within our power

[from_the_outside]

 "No," says Sharon, for what feels like the thousandth time. "That's not acceptable."

The rest of the flight had been uneventful, and once they landed she'd been grimly unsurprised to see that Stark had sent Happy Hogan, his erstwhile chauffeur, to guide them to the apartment they've been assigned. Stark himself had apparently gone somewhere to get out of his armor, somewhat mollified by having gotten them here and under his thumb.

Except Sharon won't stop kicking up a fuss.

Hogan stares at her as she inspects each corner of the apartment. "I can't cut these rooms off from the central security protocols," he says, slowly, like he thinks she's just misheard him.

"Well, you can," she tells him. "Or I can force a cascade in a couple load-bearing subroutines that will shut the whole damn thing down. It's your choice."

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

He shakes his head.

“He’s going to expect you to be arguing with Steve, you know. Not with him.”

[from_the_outside]

"Then Steve can negotiate with him, and I'll advise. I'm not going to – "

Her hands are tightening around her coffee mug; she relaxes them. "I didn't turn you in before, I'm definitely not going to now."

[nerves_of_ice]

He sets his mug on the counter and crosses over to crouch down in front of her, reaching out to cup her hands and the mug she’s holding between his.

“That’s not what I meant,” he says, quietly. “I know you didn’t. Wouldn’t. I just don’t want to see you get sideways of your boss if there’s another way.”

[from_the_outside]

Honestly, it's astounding, she thinks, watching him as he takes her hands, feeling the careful way he holds them, looking into his face and those serious slate-blue eyes.

It's incredible he can think he's got nothing to offer, when he's so intrinsically good that even decades of programming and brainwashing and fear and pain haven't destroyed that kernel of himself.

"I won't if I don't have to," she promises. "And if Steve requests me as a liaison, I'll have a little more leeway. But since I'm so involved and I have all the intelligence already..."

She puffs out a breath and extracts her hands long enough to put her cup of coffee down on the table, then sets her left hand back in his while she reaches to tuck a fallen lock of hair behind his ear with her right.

"He might recall me," she says, finally. "Want me back in Berlin to work the investigation there."

[nerves_of_ice]

He goes absolutely still as her fingers brush against the side of his face, even while her observation settles in the pit of his stomach like a stone.

“I can see that,” he says, slowly.

[from_the_outside]

She's quiet for a minute, watching her fingers brush the curve of his ear, how that shorter lock of hair tries to escape only seconds after she'd pushed it back.

"But maybe not," she says, and brings her hand back down to his. She slips her fingers into the palm of his left hand like she hadn't just seen him crush metal and glass with it.

"I can see some pretty good arguments for letting me stay."

[nerves_of_ice]

He closes his fingers gently around hers.

“Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it,” he promises, just before a flicker of movement on her computer screen draws his attention.

[from_the_outside]

She follows his glance and sighs a little, internally, when she sees Steve and Natasha coming down the hall toward the apartment door.

Looks like that 'to be continued' will need to be... continued. Damn.

She squeezes his hands and lets go, turning to the laptop as the two outside reach the door. "I guess the briefing's over."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Guess so,” he says, rising to his feet and going to pull the chair away from the door. Bucky stows it back at the table, then pulls the door open a crack to let them know it’s unlocked before he crosses the kitchen to reclaim his coffee.

[from_the_outside]

She leaves the laptop running – it won't hurt to keep an eye on the hall outside – and glances a wry half-smile at Steve and Nat as they come in.

"Hey," she says. "Do you guys just have really good sound-proofing? I couldn't hear any yelling at all."

[marvel_npc]

“It’s a big place,” Nat teases, glancing from her to James and back again. “Sound doesn’t carry that far. I see you’re settling in?”

[from_the_outside]

"In a manner of speaking."

She half-turns the laptop towards Nat, a mischievous smile playing around her lips.

"Wanna help me annoy your buddy Stark?"

Steve just shakes his head and goes towards the kitchen to Bucky, nodding to the coffee maker. "Any of that going wanting?"

[nerves_of_ice]

“Made a full pot,” Bucky tells him, and goes to pull down another mug, which he hands over to him while Natasha leans over Sharon’s shoulder.

“Anything unexpected?”

[marvel_npc]

Steve shakes his head. "I checked in with Fury," he says, raising his voice enough that Sharon can hear, too; she lifts a hand in acknowledgment and he turns back to Bucky. "He told me the same thing he told Sharon: Zemo's in recovery, they'll pick up where they left off when he's better."

He pours himself a cup and adds milk, then leans on the opposite counter from Bucky to take a sip. "We agreed it would be a good idea to liaise with the JTTF."

His tone is a little careful as he continues: "I'm considering sending Tony and Rhodey to work directly with them."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky gives him a sharp look. He doesn’t want to say it, but it has to be asked. “To get him away from here?”

Without looking up from the screen, Natasha observes, “Tony hates to be managed. Sometimes it makes him more stubborn.”

[marvel_npc]

Steve rolls his eyes. "Thank you, Nat," he says, dry. "After all these years, I never noticed that. No," he adds, to Bucky.

"I mean, yes, that's part of it, but his suit has access to a whole suite of useful scanning and tracking systems, plus the AI. He'd be able to scan wherever Zemo's been and send us back a 3D representation that we could study from here. When it comes to looking for clues, he's the best one we could send."

[marvel_npc]

She’s not even sure if James realizes that he’s flicked her a glance, checking for her opinion. The one he gives Sharon’s a little more cautious, which she makes note of.

No wonder her friend looks ready to chew nails and spit rocks, as they say, although she’s keeping it well hidden.

“It could work,” she agrees. “If he believes it. And if he doesn’t piss off the JTTF in the process.”

[from_the_outside]

Sharon makes a small, skeptical sound. She imagines Tony and Everett Ross meeting and promptly has to fight a headache.

(She doesn't miss Bucky's glance her way, and gives him a faintly wry one in return: there are a lot of things that could go wrong with that scenario, not least if she ends up getting recalled back to Berlin.)

"Well, that's part of why I thought Rhodey could go with him," Steve says, and diplomatically adds: "He's a good mediator."

[nerves_of_ice]

"You know him better than I do," Bucky says. "And it's your team. If you think it'll work, if you think it's the best play, I'll back your call, you know that." There's no hesitation in his tone.

"But if he thinks you're just trying to get him away from me and kicking him out of his own compound to do it, it might make things worse. None of us want that." He smiles at his best friend, small and fleeting, but real. "Sharon might shoot him if he keeps annoying her, but I'm okay, Steve. You don't need to worry about me."

[marvel_npc]

He's pretty damn sure he'll need to keep his own counsel about whether or not he should worry about Bucky, because Bucky's gauge on the situation might be a little... askew. But he doesn't argue it, just nods and returns that fleeting smile with a stronger one of his own.

Steve looks at Sharon. "Please don't shoot Tony," he says, only half-joking.

"I won't if he doesn't give me a reason to," she says, which is not as reassuring as he'd like it to be.

[marvel_npc]

"Hmm," Natasha says in her ear, studying the screen. "You know, I've got a couple of tricks set up in my own apartment that we could probably rig here too. If you want." She glances up at Steve and James, standing together at the kitchen counter.

"Don't suppose a girl could get a cup of coffee over here?" To her lack of surprise, it's James who moves before Steve can. "Milk, no sugar," she tells him, just as if he's never known.

(And, well. He's never known how Natasha Romanoff takes her coffee, now has he?)

"Thanks," she adds, as he sets the mug down beside her. She watches in secret amusement as he claims Sharon's mug and goes to refill it, too.

[from_the_outside]

"I will definitely take you up on that," Sharon tells her, and glances a half-smile up at Bucky for the fresh cup of coffee, then looks at Nat.

"What do you think, Nat? You must have profiled Tony before you went undercover for Fury. Is he likely to push back enough to make it a problem?"

Maybe he'd want to get the hell away; who knows?

[marvel_npc]

"Yes," she says, as she takes a sip of her coffee. She watches Steve and James both over the top of it. Steve looks crestfallen and then determined; James looks resigned for the flicker of an instant before he goes blank. Natasha fights the brief impulse to reassure him and turns to Sharon.

"Unless Steve can convince him that no one else can do it as well as him, that they - we all - need him to help with this, and that James won't be a problem while he's gone."

She expects that to go over like the proverbial lead balloon, and waits to see which direction the explosion will come from first.

[from_the_outside]

Steve looks unhappy, but Sharon nods; that fits her assessment, too. "I don't know him like you do," she tells Nat, then looks at Steve. "Or you. I think it might work – he loves this team, the Avengers are basically his family – but he would have to know it was a team effort and not just him getting sidelined. And I don't think it would work anytime soon," she adds, as Steve opens his mouth.

"You didn't see him this morning. He's nowhere near cooled down; he's not thinking rationally, he's upset and defensive. My guess is anything you do that could be taken the wrong way will be."

[nerves_of_ice]

"But he didn't try to kill me," he says, and notices how Natasha's glance narrows in instant speculation. "Not a single strike. You were right, Steve - give him enough time, give him a reason to back off - like not letting Zemo destroy the people he cares about most - and there might be a chance."

He's still pretty sure that the way out will end somewhere none of them want, but if they can buy enough time, maybe he can figure something out. With that in mind, he meets his best friend's eyes and says, very softly,

"But he has to believe, really believe, that you're not going to choose me over him."