[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

[nerves_of_ice]

He takes the stool and sets it in clear view of the door, then takes a seat on it.

"You know, you could do worse than talking with your aunt about how to handle Private Sellers," he observes. "They've clashed before."

[from_the_outside]

"I don't need to bother Aunt Peggy with this," Sharon tells him. "It's not like I haven't dealt with mean girls before."

She forks up some food and chews, then sips at a little water. "She's pretty annoyed that you and I are friends, I think. Private Sellers, not my aunt."

[nerves_of_ice]

"She's going to have to get over that," Bucky says, flatly. "She refuses to wrap her head around the fact that she never had a chance with me after she made a move on Steve."

[from_the_outside]

"Ah," says Sharon, as the penny drops. "I think I've heard that story."

She shakes her head at him. "You might need to make it more clear to her. Otherwise I'll probably end up doing a whole lot more laundry than usual."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I will, but it's not just me," Bucky says, honestly believing it. "She likes attention."

[from_the_outside]

"I believe it," she tells him, but looks amused. "But I think it's mostly you."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky looks as startled as he feels, he's sure of it.

"Oh, come on," he protests.

[from_the_outside]

"Face it, Sergeant," she teases him, scooping up another forkful of her lunch.

"You're a catch."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Not that much of -- she moved on Steve," he repeats. "How could she think I'd take her seriously after that?"

[from_the_outside]

"Why wouldn't she?"

It's an honest question, as she watches him. "Just because Steve wasn't into it doesn't mean you wouldn't be."

[nerves_of_ice]

His mouth opens, but no words come out for a second as Bucky stares at her - and then, only then, does he realize.

"Oh," he says, after a second or two. "No, I guess no one else around here would get it, huh. They didn't know us before."

[from_the_outside]

Sharon lifts a hand in a well, there you go gesture. "Makes sense in her position," she tells him. "Strike out with one guy, why not move on the next, even if they're buddies?"

Well, it makes sense if Lorraine wants to leave this war engaged or married, and if her goal is to link herself to the highest-ranking man around. That's not Sharon's preference, but she can see how it might be a reasonable course of action for Private Sellers. "If you want my advice, tell her straight out you're not interested. I hear direct communication works wonders."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It's not just that we're friends," Bucky points out. "I mean, it is, we are, that's part of it, but - it's more than that. Because of how it was before. Anyway--"

He shakes his head. "I'll figure something out."

[from_the_outside]

Sharon pauses as she chews, and gives him a curious glance. "How it was before?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Well, it's like we were saying the other night," Bucky tells her. "He's the same guy as he was before the serum. But he looks a little different now."

He shrugs. "And it used to be that girls would just look right past him to me. Sometimes they'd try to get close to him to get closer to me. I shut that down fast whenever it happened, but it didn't make him feel too great, you know?"

[from_the_outside]

Her mouth presses, wry, and she nods. "Yeah, I know."

And she can see all too easily how girls might look past scrawny, serious, shy Steve Rogers to his handsome and charming best friend. "So anyone who moves on him or who he's interested in is off-limits, huh?"

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky shrugs again. "It's not that complicated. I just don't want to do anything that'll hurt him."

A second later, realizing, he adds, "Not that I think he's actually interested in Private Sellers or anything like that, but."

[from_the_outside]

"But if he's not interested, why would it hurt him?"

She's not even sure Steve would find it all that suspicious. He seems pretty oblivious to how women work.

[nerves_of_ice]

This time his shrug is a little awkward. He knows the reason, but he doesn't know how to explain it without making Lorraine sound ... well, predatory.

"It probably wouldn't. But I don't want him to - to feel like he's... easily replaceable, either. He deserves to be appreciated for who he really is. So when she finds whoever it is that she's going to have fun with, it's not going to be me."

[from_the_outside]

Her smile flickers, warm. "You're a good friend, Bucky Barnes," she tells him, scooping up a last bite of her meal.

"Her loss."

[nerves_of_ice]

His answering smile flashes bright at her second observation.

"You think so?" he teases.

[from_the_outside]

She gives him an arch glance and re-sets the cover on top of her emptied plate. "Kind of thought I made it obvious what I think."

[nerves_of_ice]

Amusement flickers in his eyes. "Well, I didn't want to assume," he points out. "You could have changed your mind."

[from_the_outside]

She huffs a laugh and sets the tray aside.

"Are women usually that fickle in the here and now, or have you just had bad luck?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"It's not being fickle," he protests, then realizes maybe this is something he should explain. She should know. Especially if she's going to be around longer than a few days.

"It's the usual thing for a woman to date around. Go on dates with different guys, I mean."