[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

[from_the_outside]

"They'll care," Steve says, stubbornly. "Nobody could hear your story and not care. And besides, I'm going to do everything I can to get you a pardon."

Sharon glances at him, her own expression carefully set; he's really latched onto that idea, considering she'd floated it only half an hour or so ago. "We'll take every precaution we can until we're sure Zemo's the only one who knows them," she says.

"But you're right. We have to assume he isn't."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky stares at Steve in surprise. "A pardon? You really think anyone'd go for that?"

He looks at Sharon for her opinion too, trying to read her expression.

[from_the_outside]

"Yes, I do," Steve says, firmly. Seeing the way Bucky's gaze shifts, he adds: "It was Sharon's idea."

She looks back at Bucky and nods, though her own expression a little less optimistic. "There's no reason to think they wouldn't," she says. "It would solve a lot of problems, and not just yours. I'm sure it would come with conditions, but... yeah, I think it's possible."

[nerves_of_ice]

He can't absorb it. Even the idea seems unreal.

"Oh," he says, a little blankly. After a second, Bucky shakes his head, like a duck shaking off water, trying to clear his mind of the whirling confusion.

"Sounds like you talked through a lot of things." He manages a small, rueful smile.

[from_the_outside]

"There's something else," she says, quietly.

He's expecting it as much as she was, she knows, but that doesn't make it any easier to hear.

"Ross wants me back in Berlin to spearhead the investigation. He's amenable to letting me come back here after, as liaison, but I have no idea how long that might take."

[nerves_of_ice]

"...oh," he says again, and glances at Steve. "Liaison, huh? That'll be helpful."

Bucky turns back to Sharon and adds, quietly, "Of course he does. But everything else is okay, given your, uh, unexpected leave?"

[from_the_outside]

Her throat is tight as she meets his glance; she just nods.

"He was a little frustrated," Steve admits, "but willing to work with us."

[nerves_of_ice]

"That's something," he agrees. "That's a lot."

He glances back and forth between them again before settling on Sharon.

"When do you have to head back?"

[from_the_outside]

"Sometime tomorrow, at the latest," she says, watching him back.

"Before 48 hours."

[nerves_of_ice]

"At least it's not that long a flight," Steve says, and Bucky tears his gaze away from Sharon to nod at him. "Right. Seven hours or so, I think?" A little dryly, he adds, "It's been a while since I took a direct route anywhere, until recently."

He glances back at Sharon. "So, not so bad." He tries very hard to keep his tone light and reassuring.

[from_the_outside]

"I thought I'd take the Quinjet Fury loaned me," she says. "It'll be even more direct, and faster."

And easier to get back here, too, though she doesn't say that aloud.

It's an effort to pull her gaze from Bucky to look at Steve. "Unless you think you'll need it."

[nerves_of_ice]

Steve shakes his head immediately. "No, we'll be fine. We have one of our own and a few other options if we need anything like that." He smiles; it's warm and pleased. "Thanks, though."

"Hopefully you've got somewhere to park it at the JTTF," Bucky says. "Because I think you're right, it'll help to have access to something like that - as long as Fury lets you keep it, anyway."

[from_the_outside]

"There's a helicopter pad on the top of the main building," Sharon says.

"I can keep it there. Pretty sure my landlord wouldn't be happy with me landing it on my apartment building," she adds, rueful.

[nerves_of_ice]

"I can just see that," Steve chuckles. "The helicopter pad's a better bet."

Bucky nods.

[from_the_outside]

At least somebody's feeling good about how all this is shaking out. She wants to be able to talk to Bucky in private, to run her hand over his hair and try to tell him it'll be all right, but it's good to have Steve here, warm and certain and steady as gravity.

"I think so, too," she says, smiling faintly. "And if Rhodey comes, that should speed things up a lot."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky glances at Steve. "Do you think he will? Have you talked to him yet?"

[from_the_outside]

"Not yet," Steve says. "Tony said he'd call him now, and I'll give him a call myself a little later. But I think he will."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Tony said," he repeats. "He was on the call?"

[from_the_outside]

Steve shakes his head. "No," he says. "We found him in a common room after and updated him."

There's a faint edge of steel in his voice; not that he thinks Bucky's going to argue, she thinks, but because his own sense of fair play won't allow him to consider leaving Tony on the sidelines.

[nerves_of_ice]

He nods, very slowly. "Good strategy."

[from_the_outside]

"I don't know about that," Steve admits, slouching a little back into his seat, "but it's the only one I've got for the moment. We just have to try to balance everything until Tony comes around."

He still seems to think that won't be long now, but Sharon's more skeptical.

[nerves_of_ice]

Low and steady, Bucky tells him - tells them, "I'll do whatever I can."

[from_the_outside]

"I know, Buck," Steve says, warm and steady. "But we're not in dire straights yet. I don't think there's anything you need to do yet."

Not yet, maybe, but he'll have to cooperate with whoever Ross and Steve agree on for a psych eval, and he'll be stuck here without her here to advocate for him against Tony.

"Next steps – for me, anyway – are sending off a list of my picks for the team in Berlin and coordinating with Fury for use of the Quinjet," she tells them. "I'll have him send Broussard's report to you, Steve, as well as Ross."

[nerves_of_ice]

Nothing to do but wait, he thinks, and then something occurs to him.

"You'll need your computer. Can the security program be reinstalled to something else?"

[from_the_outside]

Sharon considers, then shakes her head. "It could," she says, "but I wouldn't trust that anything we borrow from the Avengers won't have some backdoor Tony can access."

Steve shifts, but she continues without waiting for him to argue. "You can keep my laptop here. With any luck I'll be back in a week or so."