[Virginia AU] take my waking slow

[nerves_of_ice]

The nightmares are present, but at least they don’t jerk him out of sleep in any way that disturbs Sharon. When he does finally wake sometime shortly before dawn, he kisses her shoulder and her hair before sliding silently from the bed.

Bucky pulls his shorts back on, then pads into the kitchen and searches out the coffee. He sets it to brewing as quietly as he can and picks up his phone to send Alyona a text while he watches the sky lighten.

surprise - am in Berlin
hope all is going well

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[marvel_npc]

Riley smiles at him. “You think Agent Carter was the only one paying attention before?”

There are reasons why he and Ingrid took this assignment, and why Ross is throwing resources behind it in the first place. “Not everyone saw her reports, but word spreads here, anyway.”

[nerves_of_ice]

He wasn’t expecting that. Bucky stares at Riley in surprise, momentarily at a loss for words.

[marvel_npc]

Riley grins at him, then knocks on the frame of a door they’ve come to. “Hi, Marta,” he greets the woman inside. “Is he ready for us?”

The assistant rolls her eyes, but fondly. “Go right on in,” she tells them. “Try to think of his blood pressure, huh?”

“Who, me?” Riley says, winningly, and lead Bucky to the inner door, which opens onto Deputy Commander Ross’s office.

[nerves_of_ice]

He gathers his thoughts fast and walks past Marta to the inner door. Bucky doesn’t wait for Riley to open it, but does so himself and steps inside. He keeps his expression neutral and sizes up Deputy Commander Ross.

“Morning,” he says, blandly. “Nice to see you again. I understand Agent Nilsson briefed you?”

[marvel_npc]

It’s only nine in the morning, and he’s already fighting a vicious headache. Although, if he’s honest, he’s had this headache for weeks, ever since that first call from Carter saying she needed some time off.

He stands as the door opens, meeting Barnes’s glance with a level stare of his own. “Yes, she did,” he says, and waves a hand at the two chairs facing his desk. “I also spoke with Captain Rogers.”

The words taste like biting into a lemon. “Welcome to the United Nations Joint Terrorism Task Force, Sergeant Barnes.”

[nerves_of_ice]

“Thank you, Deputy Commander.” He moves to one of the seats and waits for Riley to reach the other.

“On behalf of the Avengers, I can say that we’re glad of the opportunity to work together.”

Mostly so he can stay out of the Secretary’s reach, sure, but it’s not like they’re not on the same side.

[marvel_npc]

Riley takes a seat, looking like an attentive Labrador Retriever, and Ross takes his own, elbows on his desk and his fingers steepling.

“Captain Rogers and Agent Nilsson are working out the particulars,” he begins. “But the crux of this assignment is that you will be responsible for communication between the Task Force and the Avengers, and the Avengers’s representative on any missions where their resources and expertise might be required or which fall within our joint purview. Does that sound correct, Sergeant?”

[nerves_of_ice]

“It does,” he allows. “And I believe Captain Rogers also expects me to offer assistance to the Task Force as a show of good faith, on missions and in situations where my …particular skills or intel might be useful.”

He lets that sit between them for a second or two. “We’re still going through the intel I’ve collected in the last several years. Some of it’s probably going to be of interest to you. To start. The Avengers have no desire to keep it secret from trusted allies.”

He chooses his words there carefully.

[marvel_npc]

“Some of this would be from your off the books missions with Agent Carter, I presume,” Ross grumbles. “Good. You can share the intel with Riley’s team. They’ll help with analysis in conjunction with the Avengers.”

Despite his annoyance, the thought of finally getting to take the fight to some of these HYDRA goons who have eluded the Task Force for years gives him a little grim satisfaction. “If there are missions or projects which come from that analysis, we’ll organize a joint approach.”

[nerves_of_ice]

“Some of it,” he agrees. “But Agent Carter didn’t have access to everything I’d collected before and after. So there’s more.”

He wonders, idly, if the last target’s still in Tirana, the early planning for that mission unfinished.

“Anyway, we’ll be glad to work with the Task Force on a joint approach, like you said.”

[marvel_npc]

“I’m glad to hear it.”

He takes a deep breath and considers the man. “You can work out of Agent Riley’s office. Consider his resources your resources. He’ll show you to IT and supplies after this, get you set up with anything you need.”

[nerves_of_ice]

“Appreciate it,” he says, simply, and casts a sideways look at Riley. “As long as I won’t be in your way.”

[marvel_npc]

“Not even a little,” Riley assures him, which is probably true. He’d probably be fine working neck-deep in other people, Ross thinks.

He considers Barnes with, he thinks, a reasonably neutral gaze. “Any questions, Sergeant?”

[nerves_of_ice]

“Not at present,” Bucky says. There’s no point in mentioning the Secretary: if Ross wasn’t ready for that kind of trouble, he’d have caved already.

“I do have one other thing to talk to you about, though. Privately.” He gives Riley a quick, wry smile. “No offense. It’s for your boss to decide how much to share first.”

Really, it’s more for the sake of Sharon’s privacy than Ross’s, but there’s no reason to make the man have to hear this news with anyone else watching. Besides, the more he can let Sharon decide how she wants to handle the rumor mill here, the better.

[marvel_npc]

Ross frowns at him, but nods sharply to Riley. “You’re dismissed, Agent,” he says. “Wait outside for the Sergeant. I’m sure whatever this is won’t take long.”

Riley stands without argument. “See you in a minute,” he tells Barnes, and exits, closing the door behind him.

Once they’re alone, Ross looks back at Barnes, eyebrows raised. “Yes?”

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky meets his eyes with a calm, steady gaze. “I need to inform you that last night I asked Agent Carter out, and she accepted.”

His voice is just as calm and steady as his expression. “We thought it was important to disclose.”

[marvel_npc]

For a long moment, Ross only stares at him. He’d expected some argument or accusation, but not a calm statement that Barnes and Carter are apparently far more involved than he’d wanted to believe. “What?”

It kicks in after a second, and he groans, running his hands up over his face. Lord knows this place is a disaster zone for interpersonal drama, but Carter…?

“Please tell me you didn’t just say you’re romantically involved with my agent.”

[nerves_of_ice]

Perfectly matter-of-fact, Bucky says, “I understand if this is a surprise to you. But I’ve come to respect and admire her quite a lot, and had to ask.”

[marvel_npc]

“Not as much of a surprise as I wish it were,” Ross grinds out, his headache spiking as he fixes a frustrated gaze on the other man.

“This has only been since last night? Were the two of you involved at any point before now?”

[nerves_of_ice]

“I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t interested,” Bucky tells him, without missing a beat.

He’s also not going to compromise Sharon if she doesn’t want to tell Ross about what came before. They hadn’t discussed this part.

“Is that a problem?”

[marvel_npc]

"That's not what I asked."

He takes a deep breath and runs a hand up over his mouth, cursing the Secretary of State, Carter's poor taste in men, and Barnes himself for good measure. "Is it a problem? It better not be. I want to believe she made the calls she did from a professional viewpoint, not because she was emotionally compromised."

[nerves_of_ice]

His eyes narrow sharply. “You damn well better believe that,” Bucky snaps. “Agent Carter’s mind and skills are as sharp as they always have been, and her sense of duty as strong. That’s never been in question.”

[marvel_npc]

“Hit a nerve, have I?” Ross snaps back. “Good. Carter’s stuck her neck out for you more than once since she finally called us in on it. I hope you’re worth it.”

He fights down a frustrated barrage of words and shakes his head. “You’ll have to disclose your relationship to HR. They’ll instruct you - both of you - on what’s needed.”

[nerves_of_ice]

I’m not. He swallows it back, even as guilt and self-loathing burns within him.

“I’ll let them know,” he says. “We thought you’d want to know first.”

[marvel_npc]

“You’re damn right I did.”

He sighs and steeples his fingers over his eyes a moment. The problem is, he might well need to leverage the Avengers for the assignment he’s giving Carter once she’s back on active duty. He lifts his hand away and looks at the other man. “Will this affect your working relationship?”