"Shh," she hushes him, running her thumb comfortingly along the line of muscle at his neck. "It won't. Try not to worry about it."

In fact, she's reasonably sure Ross is fast-tracking everything that ought to take weeks at least partially because he doesn't want whatever political blowback will happen to land on her. She hesitates, but presses onward. "Nat came with me back to my apartment today," she tells him, gentle.

"She told me what happened. With the two of you. I'm so sorry, Bucky. And I promise, this isn't anything like what happened back then. But I understand why you're afraid."