[WWII AU] a brand new day

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky wakes in the predawn darkness, long before reveille would normally be called. He spends a few minutes reviewing the mission in his head before he rolls from his cot; there's no room to think about anything else. He meets Steve and the rest of the Howling Commandos at five-fifteen. As planned, they're on the move before the hour has passed.

It's a long day, a hard day, but in the end a successful day, for the most part. The hidden facility carved into the hillside is no more when they leave, HYDRA's agents defeated, their stockpiles destroyed. But there's still no sign of Schmidt, nor of Zola, and that remains incredibly frustrating.

Still, there's reason to celebrate today's win, and the squad's more or less exuberant on their return, some fourteen or so hours later. Steve disappears into the command tent to debrief with Colonel Phillips; Bucky'll catch up with him afterward, as usual. He spends a few minutes trading quips with the others before disappearing to weapons storage to see to his own rifle - also as usual. Something about taking care of it helps him feel like he's cleaning the blood off his own hands.

After that, he finds he's too restless to settle yet, and figures it's not the best idea for him to be around others until he sorts himself out. Bucky wanders along the edge of camp in the dark, then veers from the path and off into the field where he'd spent some time watching the stars only a couple of days ago.

It should be peaceful there, more or less.

Comments

[from_the_outside]

Bucky's already there when she comes in, tugging his shirt over his head. She gets a glimpse of lean stomach and glances away – then turns sharply as an assistant bends to collect their dropped mug, coffee spilling over the table and dripping over the edge.

"Everything okay over here?" Sharon asks, going to help the man mop up the spill. "Please tell me there's more coffee."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Uh, yes ma’am, all the coffee you want,” the assistant stammers. “I, just let me clean this up, and I’ll get you a mug—-“

“Well, hello there, Agent Carter,” Howard purrs. Bucky finishes struggling back into his shirt, having gotten mildly tangled in the harness, and blinks at the sight of the inventor circling his work table to approach Sharon, who’s dressed again in those gorgeous slacks that fit her perfectly. “Coffee, you say? Come right this way.”

[from_the_outside]

She eyes Howard as she follows him towards the side table where a carafe of coffee waits. "You're being suspiciously nice to me," she observes.

"Let me guess: you've got some new experiment you want to try?"

[nerves_of_ice]

“I can be nice,” Howard protests, as he pours her cup full for her. Across the lab, Bucky swallows a laugh.

[from_the_outside]

"Can be, yes," Sharon agrees, in the kind of tone that adds but you never are. She takes the mug after Howard adds a little milk and sips at the coffee, then nods to Bucky across the way. She doesn't smile, but the look in her eyes warms considerably.

"Good morning, Sergeant."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Good morning, Agent Carter,” he replies, politely. “You’re looking very nice today.”

He wonders if she’ll make the connection between her attire and the others’ reaction.

[from_the_outside]

"Thank you, Sergeant."

She certainly feels better, wearing slacks instead of a skirt. Maybe she'll be able to eventually get a uniform with pants instead of a skirt, too, so she doesn't have to wander around the camp in civilian clothing.

As she sips at her coffee, Nurse Hart bustles through the door. Her glance falls on Sharon first, as if she's making sure no one's tried to strip her charge down before she arrived. "Good morning, agent," she says, and, more coolly: "Mr. Stark."

[nerves_of_ice]

Howard grimaces, very slightly. “Lieutenant.” He turns to one of the assistants. “Harry, show the lieutenant how the new harness is rigged, okay?”

Bucky sits patiently while the usual pair of lab techs circle him, checking the harness fit under his clothing. “You guys should swing by the pub some night. Get out of the lab,” he suggests.

[from_the_outside]

Sharon sips at her coffee as the assistant shows Nurse Hart a light harness wired up with all the sensors already in place. "So it can go under her shirt," he says, and gestures at Bucky. "The Sergeant's already wearing his."

The nurse carefully checks everything, then nods, satisfied, and lifts the harness as Sharon heads into the makeshift changing area. It's the work of a moment to slip the harness on and for Nurse Hart to adjust it, then to put her shirt over it again.

She comes back out once she's dressed, and the lab assistants descend to finish hooking the wires of the harness to the boxes and machinery nearby. "This is an improvement," she observes, taking a seat on a stool near Bucky.

[nerves_of_ice]

"It is," he agrees. "Guess he got tired of how much of a mess it was before."

"Inefficient," Howard says, having overheard this as he moved closer. He studies the leads trailing out from under their clothes. "As long as the sensors make contact properly, this should work better."

Howard gives Sharon a charming smile. "Everything fitting okay?"

[from_the_outside]

"Just fine, Mr. Stark."

He's pleased with himself, she thinks. That must be what's happening. He figured out a way around the roadblocks of before.

Sharon finishes her coffee and hands the empty mug to an assistant, then looks at Stark. "So, what's on the docket today?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"First we'll take the usual set of readings," Howard says. "There's something I thought I saw and I want a closer look." He gives Bucky a pointed stare. "I know you had to leave early on the mission, but in the future I want a measure from you every day, okay? Every day. Before you leave, when you get back, whatever. Wake up the lab team if you have to."

"Sorry guys," Bucky calls to the assistants. "You heard him."

[from_the_outside]

One of the assistants, after double-checking to make sure Howard can't see him, sighs and rolls his eyes.

Sharon's mouth twitches. "Okay," she says, peaceably. "Whenever you're ready, Mr. Stark."

[nerves_of_ice]

"You can call me Howard, you know," he says, with a brilliant smile. "At least when we're not working."

He turns away and raises his voice. "Okay everyone, on three--"

As the equipment hums and the assistants start recording the readings, Bucky slants an amused look at Sharon.

[from_the_outside]

She makes a face and shakes her head back at Bucky, amused and wry all at once.

"Seems like he's in a good mood today," she murmurs, low enough the others won't hear.

[nerves_of_ice]

"It sure does." It's really all he can do not to laugh, but he keeps a lid on his amusement.

"Did you sleep well?"

[from_the_outside]

"Mhm."

She gives him a studiedly neutral glance. "Took me a while to fall asleep, though."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Huh. Me too," he offers, innocently. "Maybe it's the resonance."

"That's - plug that into the math," Howard mutters, ignoring the two of them and waving his hand at the lab team. "Check me on this. See, there?"

Something about his tone draws Bucky's attention, and fast. "What's he talking about?"

[from_the_outside]

"That must be it," she agrees, then frowns over at the inventor. "I don't know. Everything okay over there?" she calls, lifting her voice.

Howard waves distractedly at her, focused on the equations he's scribbling down. "Odd," he mutters. "Maybe it's exponential decay."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Decay?" Bucky mutters. "I don't like the sound of that."

"It's fine, decay's normal," one of the assistants says, trying to reassure. Bucky shoots the man a sideways look, not particularly reassured. "What's decaying?" he asks.

"The signal--"

"Check the linked readings," Howard orders. "I want to see if this persists or if the resonance between them offsets it." He looks up. "That means hold hands, you two."

[from_the_outside]

She frowns, but offers her hand to Bucky anyway, glancing over at him.

Somewhere behind her, Nurse Hart shifts. She doesn't clear her throat or say anything, but Sharon can picture her disapproving expression as clear as day anyhow.

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky takes her hand, lacing his fingers with hers the same way he had the first time here in the lab, and forces himself not to think about the way her hands had felt last night - any part of it. He offers her a quick, reassuring smile.

"Here we go," he says, dryly, as Howard counts off and the switches flip.

"Resonance rate seems stable at first glance," one of the assistants offers, uncertain. Howard's gaze snaps up and he glares at them. "Ask it or state it, don't dither about it!"

[from_the_outside]

Her smile flickers back at him as she threads her fingers with his, palm to palm. She doesn't think it's the wiring that sends the flurry of electricity up her arm.

The assistant straightens under the lash of Howard's words. "Holding steady at the same rate as the the previous attempt," he reports.

[nerves_of_ice]

"Better," Howard concedes. "Now, if the resonance is stable, but the individual decay differs between subjects, what does that mean?"

The entire lab team trades glances with each other before Harry Jackson, in the unofficial role of team lead and/or unfortunate target, offers a quiet, "I don't know, Mr. Stark."

This time Howard doesn't snap at him. "Neither do I," he says instead. "That's the point." He swings around to look at Bucky and Sharon. "We need more readings. Back to back like before, first - you can stay seated, it's fine."

[from_the_outside]

She lets go of his hand and turns on the stool to face away from him, lightly bored.

"We should bring a deck of cards or something next time," she mutters. "Or a book."