ostavil | 001 wakanda

001 wakanda

There's peace in Wakanda. Bucky had spent a little while under the ice while Shuri figured out a way to work on his deprogramming and while it's been a painful process, it's a necessary one and he's glad for all her work on the tangled knot that's HYDRA and the mess inside his brain. It's all wired incorrectly, a bomb that never went off but still needs to be defused, and he's scared every time she goes in there that something will go wrong and he'll attack her; it hasn't happened yet.

When he isn't working with her or Ayo, he has a little hut to himself where there are goats and sometimes children come visit him to see the curious white man who has taken up on the fringes of Wakandan society. Steve has visited a few times but when they announce a visitor this time, it's apparently not Steve. They're still at the palace being received, though, so Bucky takes the time to tidy up where he's been staying as much as he can one-handed; he's neat by nature but he also isn't used to having company come by either.

Who could it be? Sam? Sharon? Bucky isn't sure who would come to visit him aside from those two and Steve. Tony Stark certainly wouldn't and he isn't sure the Wakandan government would even let him in. Would Wanda come to see him? He's not certain. He imagines she's in hiding the same as he is, trying to avoid the Sokovia Accords and their inevitable consequences on her. It seems she's suffering more from them than anyone else, even himself, so he doesn't think she'd risk coming to see him.

He catalogs the other people he knows and he comes up with Natasha. He's got a strange history with her. He's shot her twice while the Winter Soldier but curiously, both times, he'd shot her non-fatally. It's almost as if he'd known that she needed to live even if he didn't know her and that's not what the Winter Soldier does. He doesn't leave loose ends. He kills whoever is necessary, even an innocent bystander, and Natasha has been actively opposing him both times he's encountered her. Even when he'd been activated by Zemo he'd attacked her but didn't take her down. There's something in him that protects her and he wonders why that is and always has. He doesn't know why she'd visit him but he wouldn't turn it down, either, so when he hears someone at the door he calls for them to come inside.

"Come in, I'm not busy." He's just finishing up wiping down a counter in what counts for his kitchen and when he comes into view of the visitor, he sees that it is Natasha. Curious.

"Hi."

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Bucky is a little stunned by the kiss and he doesn't have a chance to process it before Natasha asks him if he has a movie list curated. That, he did, because it was a task he could do to organize his mind and he nods in confirmation.

"I did make a list, yeah. I made a couple different lists of movies, actually. I didn't want to just settle on spy films so I thought if I made a couple other...collections we would have stuff for whatever mood we were in. It's probably overkill but once I got started, I couldn't stop."

That, at least, is very much the truth. He thinks for a moment about what she says regarding their romance not necessarily needing to go further than foot massages and movies and he thinks that this isn't what he wants. He doesn't know what he wants and how to get it but he knows he wants more than just a friendship.

She takes a drink of her beer watching him carefully when he starts to discuss the lists and cocks her head to the side.

"So are you going to show me the lists, or am I going to have to ask? Or is there perhaps a superior list that you've already decided that's the one we're marathoning?" She asks as she settles back away from him with a smile. Her fingers trailing idly in around the edges of the bottle as she continues to try to read him.

Something had set him off, was it the kiss or the suggestion that they could just be friends who cuddled, who knows, she's not quite sure yet but she's hoping to find out.

“Oh, I can show you the lists,” Bucky says. He’s made them in the same notebook he uses to record stray memories and these are neat lists in block letters of films in various genres. He hands the notebook over to Natasha and is a little nervous she might flip through it some more and see the other things he’s written down here and there.

“So I think it’s a solid start for us, yeah? I feel like I just must have always been methodical and organized because I don’t think this kind of thing just shows up out of nowhere.”

She takes the book and doesn't flip through it at all, instead just looks right at the list with the things jotted down on them and smiles at him.

"Honestly, I haven't seen a lot of these -- so I'm down for any of them. Except I wanted to ask, you aren't too board by just sitting around and watching movies with me when I come are you?" She says. She really enjoys the downtime they can spend together like that, not having to watch her back or be in danger, but she wants to make sure that she's not boring him to death either.

"Let's start with Casablanca. A classic."

"Yes, I'm bored going through film classics with a beautiful redhead next to me," Bucky deadpans. There's no way a person could be bored in Natasha's company and even if he was bored with her around, it's better to be bored beside her than be without her.

"Casablanca's a good one. Saw that one the night it came out, actually, me and Steve. It's magic. Can't be bored watching a movie like that."

When he says he saw the movie when it came out it doesn't surprise her-- he'd expected that was a hot date night ticket. It does surprise her though, when he mentions Steve and she gives him a stupid grin.

"Steve Rogers and not some hot date? I guess I had the wrong assumption about what you were like back in the day hm..."

She had always been convinced he'd been charming based on the way the soldier talked, his confidence. It didn't come from anywhere, so she'd just assumed he'd been one of those guys who went on all the dates and made out with all the women.

"Oh, well, I always went to see the good ones with Steve first," Bucky says, laughing softly. "Because when we went, we paid attention to the actual movie. I took the girls later after I already knew what happened so if I got distracted halfway through I didn't miss a good one."

It had just felt important to share those first viewings with Steve and not some girl who would hate him the next week and he'd always felt that way about it.

"Except the cartoons. I never took girls to see those. I just went to them with Steve because he liked the animation."

"When I was growing up in Ohio I used to love the cartoons. Except for the one with the moose and the squirrel...." she says with a laugh. Mostly because of Boris and Natasha and they were so funny.

She moves to get up and wraps her arm in his, holding him like that, a more casual way then holding hands and tugs him towards the hut with a smile.

"We can watch cartoons together some morning and eat milk and cereal and that will be like when I was a kid."

"Your childhood was different than mine," Bucky says, grinning at her. "My mother had me up doing chores, not watching cartoons and eating cereal. I grew up in the Depression and everyone worked no matter what that work was."

He squeezes her a little. "But I think watching cartoons with you some morning would be a hell of a lot of fun. We can recapture some of the magic, yeah?"

He thinks they both need reminders that there are good things in the world in spite of everything they've seen.

"I would imagine that it would be, seeing as how the most normal two years of my childhood were spent as a spy living in Ohio before I got sent the the Red Room to be trained a Widow," she says leaning into him a little bit as they walk.

"But those two years were pretty nice, I can't argue that it was probably more fun then depression living for those two years, but outside of that..." she says with a bit of a sigh. She hadn't gotten to be a kid, girls are just clay to be molded in the Red Room.

"I'm glad you got to have it," Bucky says. "Truly. Our lives were taken from us in different ways so any time we get something normal, it's something to cherish."

Bucky holds the door open for her even if it's something she can certainly do for herself and gives her a smile that's a little shy.

"I got beer and wine if you want something," Bucky says. "And I got popcorn."

She let's him hold the door open for her and gives him a nod. She doesn't need a man to take care of her, but she doesn't mind when they do things like that.

"Popcorn and another beer, and a food rub sound like heaven. I was undercover all last week in high heels and my feet are killing me James." She says as she makes her way over to make herself comfortable on his couch. She doesn't need the invitation anymore, she's just taking over like she owns the place.

Bucky laughs at that. Who would have thought that the Winter Soldier would be rubbing a Black Widow's feet? As silly as it sounds, it also sounds like the sort of domesticity that he's longed for and he wants to have that with Natasha even if it's occasional visits.

"Well, get comfortable and I'll make us snacks and get us drinks," Bucky says. It doesn't take long to do both, even if he's old fashioned and makes popcorn over the stove, and when it's done he settles on the couch beside her.

"I was promised feet in my lap? Take a beer and some popcorn while I get you comfy."

If only he knew it was something he'd done many times in the past before missions. She leans over the couch and watches him pop the popcorn idly, not in a rush to talk about anything but just enjoying the quite and being there. She takes the popcorn and the beer and slides her feet into his lap tugging the blanket over them.

"Was on mission undercover and the stupid heels were absolutely murder, I swear I'm getting to old for this James.."

Bucky laughs at that. "You should wear boots on missions like a normal person would. Heels are ridiculous. Why is it that I get to stomp around in something perfectly functional and you have to be sexy? That hardly seems fair."

Bucky rubs the arch of her foot with his right hand and tries to find all the points where she's holding tension. He's never worn high heels but he can imagine the physics of it.

"I think it makes you better than me, to do it all dressed up."

She melts back against the couch closing her eyes at the touch. It feels nice and breaks down some of the stress there in a way things haven't in a long time.

"Alas, I was in Madripoor and infiltrating a gentlemen's club, so I don't think combat boots would have gone over right with the crowd. It's a shame though, I'm sure that kink is somewhere but it wasn't that kind of joint.." she says opening her eyes and grinning at him.

"Did you ever got to any of those kind of places back in the day, I realize they were different but I know there were cabarets and such that were popular with the soldiers back then."

"Oh, I went to plenty of gin joints in my day," Bucky says, laughing. "But I've been to Madripoor too. More times than I want to admit. It was all for assignments and not for...pleasure but I surprisingly remember an awful lot about it. Sometimes I have really clear memories about things."

He starts the movie and lets it play for a bit before saying anything but he keeps touching her, hands massaging her foot and then up her calf where it might be cramped too from wearing heels for a long time.

"Mission successful, I'm guessing?"

"Oh yes, I got the information I needed..." she says contently answering and then watching the movie a little more. It goes on for almost an hour before she works up the nerve to untuck her feet from his hands. (Seriously? How does he give such good foot rubs for so long she wonders.)

She moves to slide over closer to him and lifts his metal arm so that she can curl up under that arm tucked against his side. Her feet tuck up side as she leans into him quietly not saying a single word, just making herself right at home.

Bucky isn't sure how Natasha can be so casual and suave about such a thing when he would be impossibly nervous about trying to make a move. Maybe it's a good thing that she's forward and he isn't. He likes the feel of her body against him, though.

"This was always a good one," Bucky says softly. "I think I saw it like ten times in the theater. It cost like a quarter back then but that was a lot of money."

God, he wants to kiss her, but he doesn't know how to do that.

If Natasha knew that Bucky thought she was smooth she'd be giggling, but instead she just lays her head on his metal shoulder and relaxes watching the movie.

"I've seen it a bunch too, but only on occasions when I'm feeling some nostalgia never so quickly together..." she says fondly. It's unclear what nostalgia she's talking about but there's something fond in her voice when she says it. She relaxes into it, melting against him like she has not a care or worry in the world.

Like all that matters is this man next to her, and the film that's on the TV that she quotes under her breath occasionally.

"Nostalgia for the 40s, huh? If you lived it, you might not be so nostalgic," Bucky teases. It's a light tease, though, and his heartbeat is coming fast when he turns his head a bit and presses his lips against her hair. It's barely a kiss by anyone's standards but it's as much as he can do without getting terrified about it.

"This is nice, you know. I like spending time with you like this, Natasha. I feel comfortable with you in a way I don't with anyone else."

"More nostalgia for the first time I watched it with someone I cared about," she says in a passing tone.

She smiles fondly at the kiss, not reacting to it just staying contently close to show she likes it. She likes it a lot, him becoming more comfortable with her even if he doesn't remember her. It's funny how that works, she's pretty sure she'd be okay even if he never remembered her so long as he likes her.

"I'm comfortable with you too, James. It's easy."

"Surprising, but welcome," Bucky says. He doesn't think anyone should feel comfortable with him, knowing what he's capable of, but Natasha clearly does and he should treasure it and not question it. He watches the movie a little more and as he does, he lifts his hand to stroke her hair a bit.

Will she like that or will she pull away? He doesn't know but he's about to find out, he guesses.

"At least you know I can defend you."

She leans into the fingers in her hair, it feels nice, easy. She can't help but giggle and turn her head to look up at him when he brings up the idea that he can defend her. It's right in some way, with that new arm, he's a tank and could run through anything she needs him for.

That's not why she needs him.

She's got a bit smile when she turns her head up to look at his face, head still on his shoulder.

"You think I need anyone to defend me, James?"

"Well, no," Bucky says. He's a little embarrassed at being caught out about that but he guesses it's as good a time as any to talk about it. He doesn't pull away from her, wanting the contact, but stills his fingers in her hair.

"You're perfectly capable of handling yourself. You survived me twice, even. I know you don't need me to do that. It's more...it's more that I want to, you know? That I want to protect you more than I need to protect you because you can't do it yourself."

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