"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."
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."
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Date: 2021-06-30 01:53 pm (UTC)"Sharon. How long have you known James? And you thought he would just leave you there in danger? Danger that was because of him?"
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Date: 2021-06-30 01:59 pm (UTC)She takes a large sip of her drink. "So anyway, Tony whirls around, powering up, and I've got just enough time to get between them before anyone does anything stupid."
She can still hear the flat way Bucky said if you hurt her, I'll kill you. "Which put us at kind of a stalemate. Tony said he wanted answers, so he asked all his questions and between the two of us we answered everything."
Sharon shakes her head. "It wasn't enough, though. How could it be?"
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Date: 2021-06-30 02:19 pm (UTC)"I'm surprised he was even as calm as you say he was," Nat tells her, reaching for a piece of cheese and a few grapes. "Tony's been under a lot of strain right now, even before this. Did Steve tell you about the Stark Foundation scholarship presentation?"
Probably not, she knows, so she answers anyway. "He showed a three-dimensional interactive hologram of his parents and his younger self on the night they died, right before they left the house, as part of his speech. That's been what, two weeks ago now?"
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Date: 2021-06-30 02:35 pm (UTC)Sharon takes a large swallow of her drink and sets it down on the table. "Look, Nat, I see what you're trying to do. Yeah, he's got every reason to be pissed. And he's stressed. Even I can tell that he hasn't been the same since the battle of New York, and then with Ultron and Sokovia..."
She gestures with a piece of apple before taking a bite. "Anyway, it was all over the second it seemed like he was going to make trouble for me or Steve. Bucky was always going to do what Tony said, no matter what I tried. But that doesn't make me any less pissed that Tony showed up wanting to throw down and forced us into coming here. And now he calls us 'guests,' says he 'invited' us? Fuck that."
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Date: 2021-06-30 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-06-30 03:02 pm (UTC)She shouldn't be drinking her martini this fast without eating more, she knows, but between stress and anger and worry and the pain in her side her appetite is screwed ten ways from Sunday.
Anyway, right now? Alcohol seems like the better choice.
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:08 pm (UTC)She takes her glass in hand, kicks her shoes off under the coffee table, and curls her legs under and into the corner of the sofa beside Sharon, looking at her.
"I'm on your side," she says, candidly. "Obviously I don't want the Avengers to fall apart like SHIELD did, but that's not all I want here. So... I'm on your side."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:12 pm (UTC)She picks her own drink back up again and takes a sip, watching Nat with interest over the rim of the glass. "So. What do you want?"
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:14 pm (UTC)"But mostly? I want to help."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:16 pm (UTC)"God, you haven't changed a bit."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:20 pm (UTC)"Good," she teases. "That means you won't be surprised when I start poking at you. But I'll even make you another drink first."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:22 pm (UTC)"As methods go, this is a good one."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:24 pm (UTC)"So first, you going to tell me why you're moving like you've been hit by a truck or do I have to get tough?"
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:28 pm (UTC)"Not a truck," she says. There's clear dismay in her voice; of all people, Nat should recognize it as the I can't believe I let that goober get the drop on me sort rather than anything else.
"Zemo. I cracked some ribs about a month ago; he tagged me a couple of times in the same spot and broke them again."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:31 pm (UTC)"And with both Steve and James hovering over you I'm sure you've been cornered into letting someone take a look at it, too," she concludes, adding ice to the shaker. She pauses and holds it up, struck by a thought. "Want an ice pack? Not this - I've got a couple stashed that are the peel-and-stick kind."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:35 pm (UTC)She's one hundred percent certain Natasha's speaking from similar experience, and exchanges a wry look with her friend. Super-soldiers. Honestly.
"Yeah, that would be great. I flushed the prescription pills when Tony showed up; they make me too drowsy and I'll need to be on my toes. Advil and ice it is."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:48 pm (UTC)"I'll raid my first aid kit for you. Non-drowsy only, I promise."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:50 pm (UTC)She watches as Nat fills the glasses, a pleasant buzz from the first martini stealing its way through her system. "Honestly, it's like they think we've never broken anything before."
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Date: 2021-06-30 03:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-06-30 04:04 pm (UTC)(Like she told Bucky in Polygyros, she doesn't know the details. But she can guess.)
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Date: 2021-06-30 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-06-30 04:18 pm (UTC)"I know you've got some skin in this game," she says. "On both sides. When you told me what you told me before... you didn't give me details and you don't have to now. But Bucky didn't trust me in France until I told him about Aunt Peggy and that I was close to you."
The warmth of the vodka is creeping into her cheeks, but her eyes are still clear. "If you want to tell me, I'll listen."
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Date: 2021-06-30 04:23 pm (UTC)She takes another sip of her martini, and there's something almost vulnerable about the look in her eyes.
"He trusted you because of me?"
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Date: 2021-06-30 04:25 pm (UTC)"Partly," she admits. "But name-dropping you and Aunt Peggy at least got him to listen."
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Date: 2021-06-30 04:29 pm (UTC)"I didn't know he even remembered. What he remembered. Not after what they did to him -- "
She takes a large swallow of her drink.
"-- when we were compromised," she finishes, in a rush. "So very long ago."
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