milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Shuri's made a few changes to the last version she'd had him test, and has sent him back out with instructions to try smaller things with the new arm this time, as she is looking for fine nuance and haptic feedback results.

As a result, Bucky's decided to settle in the bar at the ends of the worlds for a bit with a good cup of coffee and see what he can figure out to test next.

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"Hey, wait a second--"

He's up like a shot, leaving the beads forgotten on the bar as he moves to catch her before she can reach the door.

"What do you mean by that?"

When it's clear he's coming after her, she pauses and waits. "Just what I said."

Probably she should have said it in the first place, but she'd thought... well, it hardly matters. "It's a two-way street, you know? You're a great guy. And if she wants to keep you around, I hope she lets you know you're her best guy. That's only fair, ain't it?"

"I mean, sure, that's fair, but why would you think--" Bucky breaks off there and shakes his head. "Listen, I don't want you to have the wrong idea. She's only ever been straight with me. She's always had my back. She gave up damn near everything to help me and Steve - home, ability to see her family, career, all of it."

Isn't that when she kissed your best friend? Zinda doesn't say.

"Look, I don't have all the information, and I'm in no position to judge," she says, despite having clearly made some kind of judgment call. "Just hearin' about all that – it was a hell of a time, clearly, for all y'all. And I can see she gave up a lot."

She sighs, a little. "Just... seems to me like it oughta have been an easy choice. Hell, seems to me there shouldn't have been a choice at all, but people's hearts do funny things. I just hope she's a hundred percent in, now."

Edited 2021-10-13 03:50 (UTC)

There's something soft and a little bit wry about the way his mouth quirks in a sideways smile. "She is. She has been. For months, now. She wasn't jerking me around, Zinda. Or Steve, either. She wouldn't do that."

Zinda sighs and shakes her head. "Okay," she says, opting to take what he says at face value.

She still thinks there's something off about the whole thing, but her expression softens as she looks at him. "Good. Because you deserve the best."

"Look who's talking." She's kind, and worried about him, and he hopes this's cleared everything up because he'd meant what he said a while back.

"Take care of yourself, sky lady. See you soon."

"You too," she tells him, and lifts a hand in a wave. "See you when I see you, Bucky Barnes."

She winks at him again, then turns and vanishes through the door with a flick of golden curls and the half-caught refrain of some old swingy song.

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