[for Natasha]
Oct. 17th, 2011 01:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
He can't sleep. This isn't, in itself, that unusual. Hell, given the amount of time he and Jason actually spend in their house, it's a wonder they have one at all, their nights generally spent elsewhere (and in fairer company than each other). That Bucky's once again found himself sitting crouched in Natasha's window is little more than a bad habit, the only thing speaking to some deeper trouble being his timing and his attire. On a normal night, he might show up in pajamas and combat boots, minimally armed, with his hair already mussed from an attempt at rest that he knew would surely allude him.
Tonight, though, he's dressed in uniform, the shield strapped to his back. Backlit by the moon, the figure he cuts is more imposing than playful, a pronounced tension in the set of his shoulders. His timing leaves something to be desired, as well; it's much later than he usually shows up, and it's clear from the flush in his cheeks that he's been outside for some time, though his purpose doesn't immediately present itself.
Eyes falling on Natasha, he allows himself a small, tired smile, even as a sigh that speaks to weeks of unneeded stress escapes his lips. His fingers itch to reach out for her, but he performs the courtesy of toeing off his boots before he goes any further into the room, pulling down his cowl as he begins to undress. His heart feels tight in his chest.
"Sorry I'm late," he murmurs, slipping into Russian for no other reason than wanting the reminder of something that was uniquely theirs. (His sweep of the perimeter was clean; there's no one listening in -- he's not being paranoid, though life has given him every reason.) "Needed some air."
Tonight, though, he's dressed in uniform, the shield strapped to his back. Backlit by the moon, the figure he cuts is more imposing than playful, a pronounced tension in the set of his shoulders. His timing leaves something to be desired, as well; it's much later than he usually shows up, and it's clear from the flush in his cheeks that he's been outside for some time, though his purpose doesn't immediately present itself.
Eyes falling on Natasha, he allows himself a small, tired smile, even as a sigh that speaks to weeks of unneeded stress escapes his lips. His fingers itch to reach out for her, but he performs the courtesy of toeing off his boots before he goes any further into the room, pulling down his cowl as he begins to undress. His heart feels tight in his chest.
"Sorry I'm late," he murmurs, slipping into Russian for no other reason than wanting the reminder of something that was uniquely theirs. (His sweep of the perimeter was clean; there's no one listening in -- he's not being paranoid, though life has given him every reason.) "Needed some air."
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Date: 2011-10-20 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-21 02:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-21 02:38 am (UTC)"Jason's family reunion. Being followed all the time. Stark. Steve's... preferred method of dealing with Stark. This place screwing with Lucy, again."
He sighs. "I've been here a year."
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Date: 2011-10-21 06:16 am (UTC)Natalia returns her fingers to his hair, stroking it, as much to comfort herself as the man beneath her. "We will take them in turns. I can...dissuade the children, if you like." That much is easy. "And Tony..." The expression she wears then is decidedly sad, and takes longer than Natalia would like to remove. "I do not believe that man can be forced to see reason in any universe. I only hope that it will come to him in his own time. And Steve..." Natalia is not ashamed to admit, at times that man is her last hope, James' loyalty to him immovable. If there is tension there, she could almost despair for how to mend it. "Tell me, what does he do?"
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Date: 2011-10-21 07:38 am (UTC)"But Steve... He's waiting. And I understand his reasons, but that sure as hell doesn't mean I like them."
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Date: 2011-10-22 02:47 am (UTC)"Waiting on Tony?" she asks, short nails skimming along James' scalp. "To become the man we used to know? Or something else?"
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Date: 2011-10-22 04:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 03:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 03:58 am (UTC)The statement's delivered with no lack of awareness; he'd never say as much to the man himself, perhaps, not without due cause, but that doesn't make it any less true. The quickest way to manipulate Steve, to anger him, is to make a slight against Bucky in some way. Of course, the same holds true in reverse.
"Though frankly, if Stark's going to make noise about me, I'd rather just take care of it myself."
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Date: 2011-10-24 05:00 am (UTC)"What noise?"
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Date: 2011-10-24 07:36 pm (UTC)"'Wrong quip.' There's no noise -- not yet, not that I know of -- but that's what he's waiting for. Given that I doubt I so much as register on Stark's radar, though, my guess is that Steve'll be waiting a while."
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Date: 2011-11-03 06:07 am (UTC)Laying her head against his shoulder, she breathes out a curse that suggest acts of great physical improbability, the depth of which would be lost in translation back to English. "I take it back. A fistfight would do them both some good."
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Date: 2011-11-03 06:24 pm (UTC)"My thoughts exactly."
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Date: 2011-11-06 12:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-06 12:45 am (UTC)