tushanshu_logs | (closed) Return the favor

Characters: Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes; Rikki Barnes and Bucky Barnes; Jack Frost and Bucky Barnes, Kyle Rayner and Bucky Barnes
Date: Soonish
Location: Fire Sector, Natasha's suite.
Situation: Natasha's checked up on him a couple of weeks back; now he's doing the same for her.
Warnings/Rating: Possibly violence or the potential for it, probably language.

Steve told Bucky he sent Natasha to explore the underground. In his stead.

Which is fine, in its way, because if Steve thought her the right person for the job, then she probably was. But - she'd been pretty damn silent, after that. Not that he thinks that he could notice her if she doesn't want to be noticed, or that she'd be overly talkative after the last time they met - when she sought him out and he was a mess, and then he was almost more of a mess - but still. She came to him. Now it's time for him to come to her.

And if she doesn't let him in, he can hang out with Steve, right?

He doesn't even try to sneak up to her. Just shows up at her door and knocks. And brings take-out food.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"She wasn't there for that audience. But Evandau said it's not."

He squeezes his eyes for a moment.

"There may be more than one reason for that. Which I'm still... trying to wrap my mind around."

'As long as you're keeping your options open.' Because Kyle, at his heart, was a dreamer. The impossible was just one more thing to overcome.

They finally reach the bar and Kyle gestures for Bucky to go in first and pick somewhere to sit.

"Guess sometimes that's way more of an option than expected."

Bucky's gathered, actually, about three weeks' worth of alcohol allowance. So he orders some of the harder alcohol, then settles in a table that allows for some privacy.

"Anyway. How've you been?"

Kyle, on the other hand, orders something light, and doesn't raise an eyebrow when he sees what Bucky's got. Some people had bad days and you had to let them get through it on their own time.

'Been fine so far, but I think that goes for just about everybody. Ask me again in a month, you might get a more accurate answer. What about you?'

Bucky even quirks his lips a bit, raising his glass in a salute. "Good. Guess the whole Green Lantern thing came through easier here than there were worries?"

Hey, that's the last time he heard from the other man. Of course he's asking.

"Me, I'm... thinking I should try double-hard to do well, here."

'Nobody's tried to kill me in my sleep yet, I'm doing better than at home.' He raises his glass in return. 'Sláinte. How do you mean? You've been here a long time, haven't you?'

"Okay, I think you need some higher standards." The comment is easy, unselfconscious. "I mean, that's really not much at all."

He raises his glass with an easy, Cheers, then shrugs. "Since august. As much as any of the 'foreigners' currently here, at any rate."

As to what he means... "I thought - there'd be no going back for me, so this here would be my chance to do as right as I can, generally. Since I've not been exactly an angel back home. Guess not-going-back ain't necessarily the worst option."

'I think I do, too.' His reply is just as unselfconscious; it is easy, playful. 'You know what they say about old habits.'

He nurses his drink for a while before regarding Bucky thoughtfully. 'Hey man, everyone's got skeletons in their closets. Doesn't mean they don't deserve chances to make up for them. You could be dead dead instead of here dead.' A pause. 'Does that make sense? I missed the part of boot camp where they taught me how to adjust to living on a giant turtle.'

"Gotta work on that, then. Feel free to bounce ideas off at me, I'll tell you when you get into 'reasonable' territory."

Then. Bucky shrugs. "Beginning to think that boot camp really teaches shit about what's comin'. Though I suppose they give it their best try."

Long breath, and a long sip from the booze. And.

"Or I could be not dead at all, but not having a clue who I am and doing things that're... questionable, at best."

He nods, and smiles. Doesn't say that their ideas of reasonable could be very different, as joke, because really. He did have low standards. You learnt to take what you could get, when you could get it.

'They teach you to adapt, s'pose that's the next best thing.' He nearly picks up his glass to drink, and then frowns. 'Let's go with the simplest solution: that's probably the best one. You're here, we're all stuck, we're gonna get home somehow.'

Bucky's eyebrows arch up slightly at the noncommittal response, but doesn't push. If Kyle feels like it, he'll voice considerations; if not, he won't. Simple as that.

He considers the suggestion for a moment (it's the going home part that's still problematic) then shrugs and raises his glass. "I'll drink to that. At least for most of us getting home, I guess. Those whose return won't cause a break in the space-time container, or whatever the word is?"

'Space-time continuum. And probably not.' Kyle raises his glass. 'To all of us getting home,' he says, firm, adamant.

He almost argues. That there are people who're dead, back home. Like Rikki. Like others he's talked with.

But, somehow he doesn't think it'll matter, to the Lantern.

So he rolls his eyes. "Fine. To all of us getting home, and higher standards."

(closed) Return the favor

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