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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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."

She nudges her head back against his fingers to let him know that it was okay, and he doesn't need to stop that. Her lips are curled in a smile as she watches him carefully while he explains.

"Awe, that's sweet, but the closest I've come to death any time recently is directly in this room as you said previously..." she gives him a wink to let him know she's not holding a grudge about it though.

"This new arm will do a pretty good job at protecting me though, I suppose. I like it as a pillow more though."

"Can't be a comfortable pillow. It's made of literal metal," Bucky says, laughing at her a little. "I'm sure the other side is probably way more comfortable than this one but if you have strange tastes, I don't think it's my place to change your mind."

Bucky strokes her hair again because she's tilted her head into his hand and he has a soft smile. Touching her makes him happy.

"I bet there's other more comfortable things to use as pillows around here."

That reaction just makes her lean her cheek against the arm after she shakes her head. She likes this, it's him. It's a different metal but the cool feel of it against her skin is reassuring, kindling memories of long ago that were hidden in the back of her brain, tucked away because she didn't allow herself to feel them anymore.

"No thanks, I'm good with you as a pillow..." she doesn't bring up the arm again. It took everything she had to say she'd used it many times and it had never been a problem before so she didn't think it would be now.

"Strange girl," Bucky says. It makes him happy, though, having Natasha so close and when the movie ends, he finds that he doesn't want it to be over. He wants her to stay right here and maybe even fall asleep in his lap but he doesn't know how to subtly send her that kind of signal.

"If you want to stay over, bed's free. I can take the couch for a night so you can be comfortable."

There's no way he won't offer the bed to her. He's a gentleman.

She shifts against him and moves to sit up a little bit, turning so she can look at him. She's close, almost in his lap, but not quite and it's full of tension like she just wants to let herself crash into him like that.

"I just told you that I want to use you as a pillow, I'm pretty sure that would be difficult if you were on the couch, James."

Bucky hopes to god he's not blushing but his face feels hot and he thinks it might be giving things away he doesn't want to give away right now. He doesn't move away from Natasha, though, and she's pressed close enough that she's almost in his lap.

"I guess you're right about that. I can't be in two places at once so I guess we gotta share. I mean...if you're all right with that and all that entails."

"Oh I think we can somehow manage..." she says fondly and moves to get up off the couch offering him a hand. She's not used to leading him, but she's used to leading men in general so it's easy enough. She tugs him over to the bed and then glances down at her clothes and makes a face.

"Do you have a big t-shirt or something I could borrow to sleep in? Jeans kind of suck for being comfortable with that."

"Oh, yeah, I'm pretty sure anything I own will be big on you," Bucky says. He goes to look through the one dresser he has here and pulls out a t-shirt, just plain black, and gives it to her.

"That should work. You're small enough that it should be a dress on you, more or less. If you want something else, I'll see what I can find."

"Yep, no problem" she says and takes the t-shirt before heading to the bathroom to change. She folds her clothing in a nice pile and waits a few minutes, assuming that it is giving him time to change into sweats before she comes back out in just the t-shirt smiling at him.

"It is absolutely bigger then some night gowns I own, that is for sure. How's it look?" She asks and gives him a twirl.

Bucky had taken the time to change into sweats but she's so quick that he hadn't gotten a shirt yet before she comes back out of the bathroom. Men are shirtless all the time, though, so it's not like it's anything she's never seen anymore but he feels...seen.

Her, though. It does something to him to see her in his shirt and it takes him a minute to respond to her question.

"Oh, yeah, you look great. But you always look great no matter what you wear."

"You know how to make a girl blush," she says, but she's not actually blushing. She's gotten much better at controlling those kind of emotions then when she had originally met him. She crosses the space over to him, closing it and stepping in close.

She looks up at him, thinks about wrapping her arms around his neck for a slow moment before she places a hand on his chest. The other widows always called him the handsome American, because that what he was.

"Gonna keep me safe from the wild cats?"

Bucky is a little surprised she has her palm on his bare chest but should he be? Natasha has never been shy about touching him. Still, he feels like that point of contact is burning him like a brand even if he can't pull himself away from it.

"Uh, yeah. I can protect you from the wildlife. Don't normally have a problem with it out here but if it comes up, you can get behind me. I can take it."

She looks up at him and brushes a thumb over his chest. Over the tshirt is the necklace he got her, she hasn't taken it off and under there's a silver chain that's tucked away that you can just see around her neck. She stays for a moment longer before patting his chest and stepping away to crawl onto the bed tucking herself under his covers without even waiting for an invite.

"There's a word in Japanese called skinship, and how important it is for people to have skin to skin contact -- even platonically. I think maybe your body is craving it after so long..."

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