oom + dual ep: a door from wakanda

[from_the_outside]

OOM: The morning after this:

During his first morning as a free man, Bucky speaks with Steve, makes an important call, and does his best to express his gratitude to T'Challa before heading to the lab for a consultation. And then...

"Did you mean what you said last night? About wanting to find a place for a drink, or to go dancing."

 

Featuring NPC versions of: King T'Challa, Princess Shuri, Okoye, Natasha Romanoff, and Steve Rogers (written prior to Steve's return to the bar).

---

The first figure to step through the door and into the Bar proper is a familiar one – tall, a little scruffy, shaggy brown hair, neatly pinned sleeve where his left arm would be – though the lightness in his eyes and in the way he carries himself is something new.

So is the woman whose hand he holds as he guides her through the door. She's tall and slim, dressed casually in light pants and a white tank top, and the look on her face is one of such comical surprise it's nearly dismay.

"Holy shit," says Sharon Carter. "You were not kidding."


Tinytag: Sharon Carter

OOC: After months of OOMs leading up to this point, here we are as Bucky and Sharon enter the bar together! Two pups, two muns, two wildly different timezones. Ask for either one or both. Slowtime is, as always, welcome, especially as we head into a holiday weekend in the States. Ping Lorna or Aspen if you have any questions!

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

He has barely a second, maybe two, to realize what's coming before Zinda leaps at him -- enough time to drop Sharon's hand before the crash and fall that would otherwise happen, enough time to brace himself and catch Zinda, indeed spinning her around to disperse the momentum from her jump before he sets her back on the ground --

-- but not enough time to warn anyone of anything, or to evade the friendly kiss she plants on him.

Somehow he manages not to wince. "Hey, Zinda," he says, with a smile. "I've been out for a bit with a medical thing, but first --"

He turns to Sharon, and the look in his eyes is both apologetic and hopeful.

"-- I want to introduce you to someone important. This is Sharon. Sharon Carter. Sharon, meet Zinda Blake, a good friend of mine."

[from_the_outside]

"What," says Sharon, utterly nonplussed as a black and gold missile comes zooming out of nowhere to attack Bucky. "– the fuck?"

Except then it turns out to be a woman who kisses Bucky right on the lips and every thought in her head evaporates in a sudden flare of white-hot rage.

Bucky turns to her, apparently trying to make some kind of explanation, but there's cherry-red lipstick printed onto his mouth and Sharon is distantly aware of a high-pitched shrieking hum reverberating through her head, like a screaming tea kettle. She arches her eyebrows at him, her voice chilly as a winter wind. "Oh, friend, huh?"

[zerocharliexray]

She takes her arms from around his neck as he sets her down and her grin only gets wider and brighter as he makes his introductions. "Carter, huh?"

Zinda looks over at the other woman, pleased as punch; the frostiness doesn't bother her a bit. "Well! It's nice to meet you, Sharon Carter! I've heard some about you, and hey – "

She elbows Bucky affectionately in the ribs as the penny drops. "Aren't you pretty? Sarge, that's a good-lookin' gal pal you got there."

There's not a drop of jealousy in her voice.

[nerves_of_ice]

"Yes," he tells Sharon. "Zinda's a friend."

At Zinda's observation, he can't help but smile. "She sure is."

[from_the_outside]

It's not enough to mollify her, especially when she takes in the woman in front of her: shorter than Sharon and curved like an hourglass, with a waterfall of golden curls cascading out from beneath a black pilot's cap and long legs disappearing up into the shortest skirt Sharon's seen since a few ill-fated frat parties back in undergrad.

Between the neat uniform, the glossy boots, and the jaunty cap, Zinda Blake is as trim and pretty as bird in flight and it is annoying as hell. Bucky smiles hopefully at her and Sharon's expression flattens further.

"Zinda," she says, turning to the other woman (even as she tries to scrub the phrase 'other woman' out of her brain). "That's an interesting name. You've got me at a little bit of a disadvantage, I only just found out about this place and Bucky hasn't exactly gotten around to introductions yet."

Which is the nicest way she can think to say I have no idea who the fuck you are, he didn't mention you.

[nerves_of_ice]

Somehow he manages not to sigh. He's not exactly sure how he should have mentioned Zinda - or anyone else, for that matter - before he'd even figured out how to mention the bar at the end of the universe, but well, here they are. Bucky makes a mental note for the future that Sharon hates surprises in general and in particular, and steps into the verbal space between.

"Zinda and I met here a few months ago now, I think - before you got to Wakanda," he adds. "She'd never heard of Captain America, and I'd never heard of the Blackhawks, so we're pretty sure we're from different worlds, but we both were in the war at the same time, as it turns out. She's a pilot - Lady Blackhawk."

[zerocharliexray]

Zinda tosses a sharp salute to Sharon and winks at Bucky – seems their fraternizing days are done, but if he's happy, hell, she can't feel all that bad about it.

"Boy, I was tickled pink to find someone else who fought in the war and wound up livin' in the future," she laughs, and gazes fondly at Bucky. "We just had a lot in common, hey, blue eyes? It's been a treat."

She turns a lightly conspiratorial look on the other woman. "And he's a hell of a dancer. Hey, Sarge, you better be takin' this girl out for a whirl on the dancefloor if you know what's good for you."

[from_the_outside]

Okay, so: Zinda Blake is her own personal nightmare.

A heroic World War II vet? Of the same ilk as the Howling Commandos? Who got brought out of time and into the future? With that cheery attitude and overt warmth and the dancing –

"Right," she says, as Zinda beams at her. "Zinda, please excuse me, I heard this is a bar and I need to go have several very strong drinks all in a row."

She gives Bucky a last incredulous glance – blue eyes, it hits like a bullet – and heads, a little shell-shocked, for the bar.

[nerves_of_ice]

He looks after Sharon for a second before turning back to Zinda.

"So this is her first time here," he tells her, a little ruefully, "and I guess I didn't do all that good a job of explaining. She's had a bit of a shock."

[zerocharliexray]

"Don't you worry about it, sugar," she tells him, firmly. "This place would give anybody's head a spin! Still, you should probably go smooth things over."

She gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder, her smile irrepressible and amused. "Hell, I can't blame her for wantin' to keep another gal's hands off her man. I've got a feeling once she's had a drink or two and cooled down a bit she and I will hit it right off. You can tell me all about that medical whatsit of yours and how the two of you got together later, okay?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"I will," he promises, absolutely sincere. "You're a peach, Zinda. An absolute peach, and a good friend to boot. And I think you're right - you'll like her a lot, and she'll like you, too."

He gives her a quick, bright grin, and turns to go after Sharon.

[zerocharliexray]

"Whoa, there!" she says, and reaches out to haul him back by his sleeve, laughing. "Hold your horses, brother. Let's not get you in any more trouble, huh?"

She rummages in a pocket and pulls out a white muslin handkerchief, then reaches up to wipe the lipstick off his mouth, shaking her head as she chuckles. "There we go."

[nerves_of_ice]

He glances at the cherry-red mark against white cloth and chuckles. "Good call. Thanks. We'll catch up soon, I promise."

Bucky smiles at Zinda before crossing the room to take a spot at the bar beside Sharon.

"Hi."

[from_the_outside]

Sharon doesn't look up at him; she's too busy frowning at the bar. "How the hell do you order a drink here?" she demands.

"There's no bartender. There are fish in the fireplace and I just saw a bee the size of my palm fly past that window and there are rats that come up to my knee but there's no bartender?"

She sounds calm, except for the increasing tension in her words.

[nerves_of_ice]

"It takes some getting used to," he says, very gently. "Sometimes there's a bartender, but the rest of the time the bar can take your order. Or one of the rats can. Like this."

He lays a hand on the glossy wood surface and asks, "Bar, can I get a cup of black coffee? And whatever Sharon here wants. It's her first time in."

The cup materializes in front of him, along with a napkin in front of Sharon that has a bright smiley face on it.

[from_the_outside]

Whatever she wants. She's got no idea, but something materializes anyway: another cup of coffee, fragrant with cinnamon and just a touch of vanilla.

And a double shot of whiskey.

Sharon stares at the coffee, the liquor, and the napkin, then picks up the last and finally looks at Bucky. "It gave me a smiley face," she says, a little obviously.

"Is the bar trying to make me feel better?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"It's a really friendly bar," Bucky temporizes. "Likes meeting new people. It's a magic spell of some kind - the bar has feelings and everything."

Hearing how that sounds, he adds, ruefully, "I know it sounds weird."

[from_the_outside]

The bar is friendly.

The bar is friendly. Not the bar, the bar.

(The bar's not the only friendly personality around here, she notices – but even she knows that thought's a little unkind and frowns at it.)

She puts the napkin back down and carefully puts her palm on the bartop. Which feels like wood, because it is. "Thanks," she says, wary. The napkin dissolves back into the surface of the wood, then reappears, this time with a foil-wrapped chocolate heart on top of it.

Sharon smiles.

[nerves_of_ice]

His smile flashes an instant after hers, bright with relief and delight at being able to share this with her.

"So," he says. "Welcome to Milliways."

[from_the_outside]

She shoots a sharp look at him, glances back at the bar top.

"Actually, can I get a glass of wine instead?" she asks, and watches with interest as the coffee and whiskey disappear, replaced by a generously poured glass of white wine. "Thanks. You – " she adds, to Bucky, as she picks the drink up and takes a sip.

Damn, it's good.

"You are not off the hook yet."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Okay," he says, mildly, and picks up his coffee for a long swallow.

"Can I ask exactly what I'm on the hook for?"

[from_the_outside]

"You just got kissed on the mouth by another woman," she says, exasperated.

"I shouldn't be annoyed by that? Is that how she says hello to everyone?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"No, you shouldn't," Bucky tells her. "For one, the last time I really saw her, aside from a quick drink on her Memorial Day, was before you even got to Wakanda, and you might remember that I thought you and Steve were trying to make a go of it at the time. I haven't had the chance to tell her about us yet."

He lets that sink in for a second, then adds,

"For two, it wouldn't surprise me if she did greet people that way."

[from_the_outside]

"I remember," she says, dry.

Mostly she remembers him jumping to conclusions without any more evidence than a single kiss on an incredibly stressful day, but she remembers.

She opens her mouth, then rethinks and closes it again, shaking her head as she toys with her glass of wine. "Fine. I overreacted. I'm sorry."

[nerves_of_ice]

“It’s okay,” he says, softly. “It had to be a hell of a shock.”