bionicstaringmachine

I'm not sure. I'll give it a try tomorrow and see how wrong it goes.

[ She knows she really shouldn't rush these things, but she can't help being excited. Somehow, the thought of going out into the world with someone who isn't her family or one of the many inhabitants of the woods (with the exception of Garmr) is something she finds herself looking forward to. There's so much danger and uncertainty. Who knows what will happen? Anything can happen. ]

Lots of books then. I can read them out loud and you don't have to talk. [ She likes stories! ]

And I'll know if you don't text me that it went incredibly wrong.

[ Meaning, he hopes that it doesn't and that she ends up making it through her tries in one piece. She has people who care about her, so he wouldn't want her getting hurt on account of him or anything. Not when there's no real time table on any of this. Smithsonian's not going anywhere, after all. ]

Hey, I'll talk. I just don't always know what to say. What kind of books do you have?

I'll write your number down and find a way to text you. Unless I end up in another realm. Or back in time. [ Which can be possible, theoretically. Magic's weird like that. ]

Stories and history, mostly. [ But not the Midgardian kind. ] Do you like books too?

It could send you back in time? I only knew about there being a gem that could do that kind of thing. Or the Quantum Realm.

[ Not that he knew a whole lot about either of those things outside of what he'd been told by others, as opposed to a first hand experience with them. It has him realizing despite some of the things he's seen and done in his life, there's still a lot of shit that he is entirely unaware of. ]

Yeah. Mostly science fiction and fantasy, but I'll read a mystery if there's one I think I'll like. I've been trying to catch up on ones I missed over the years [ Decades, he means decades. ] and I was told I should check out audiobooks but it doesn't feel right.

I don't know for sure, but it's a possibility. Space and time are intertwined in ways we don't really understand. [ Case in point: the TVA. ] And magic can be unpredictable.

[ She's surprised that he reads. She's somehow had the idea that even if he was only Avengers-adjacent, he'd have been busy doing whatever it was people like the Avengers did. Then again, he's offered to take her on a roadtrip, so he can't be too busy? ]

What are audiobooks? Books that talk? [ Close, but she's imagining opening up a print book and voices emerge from it. ]

I don't know too much about magic other than fiction books and the little bit I've been around for. Maybe you can tell me a little while we're on the road.

[ Not only does he want to learn more because he figures why not know ( Bucky, your nerd is showing ) but also because he might not be as confused about the shit that goes on around him. With aliens and people with actual powers and magic, he has a feeling that not every thing that the ones who are left of the Avengers will be going up against in the future are going to be along the lines of the Flash Smashers or dealing with Walker. ]

It's a voice recording of a book, so you can listen to it instead of having to read it. I guess it's kind of like listening to someone read it out loud, just without 'em there next to you.

I can show you a few tricks. [ She can change the color of her hair! And a couple other, more useful stuff. ]

That's really fun. Father used to read to me. He had all these voices and everything.

I'd like that. I didn't get a chance to really see too much of the magic I've been near, there was too much goin' on at the time. It'll be nice to see some when there's not a fight happening.

[ And that means she'll have his full, undivided attention with anything that she wants to show him. He doesn't think he has much to show her aside from the trip to the Smithsonian - his vibranium arm doesn't really do anything interesting unless you're trying to remove it from his body. ]

That's the only way to read a book if you're gonna read it out loud. You gotta have some voices, even if they end up sounding stupid.

Okay, sure. But can you teach me how to fight? Like, properly?

[ She can defend herself with a steak knife but she doesn't have technique. It would be nice to have some finesse. ]

It's not stupid if you're having fun. I think we're going to have a lot of fun. [ As strange as it might be that this outing is going to be with someone she's only gotten to talk to over the phone. But maybe that's also just how the world works these days? ]

I can show you some things, yeah. It's not a bad idea to know a little, just like having a knife near by.

[ He has to remind himself it isn't with the intent to turn her into a killing machine, but to pass on some of the knowledge he has and it's different than when he'd been put up against other Winter Soldiers to test their mettle or when he trained Black Widows. Self defense wasn't a bad thing, it was a smart thing. ]

I'm gonna need you to tell a friend of mine how much fun I am after all of this, 'cause he's convinced I suck all the fun out of things.

[ It's a joke, a lot like how the lighter interactions with Sam tended to be because they liked to rib each other, but he wants to prove to the other man that it wasn't him who was the problem. ]

I promise I won't stab you with it. Or my brothers. Or anyone really, unless they try to stab me first.

[ Or if she feels threatened. Not that there are a lot of things that she thinks are dangerous in the woods. Outside though... ]

Is it your friend Sam? I can text him now if you want.

[ She'll do it, she's not kidding. ]

If you were stabbing me, then you must've saw me as a threat and I'm not gonna pretend that's not a possibility.

But I'd heal fast anyway.

[ Not that he wants to be stabbed by her - it's the opposite - and he won't instantly heal but he also knows he's still a stranger. Something about him could make her think she's feeling threatened and he can't begrudge that kind of response, not when he knows what he's capable of. ]

I'll have you text him after. Knowing him, he'll try to talk you outta hanging out with me and I don't want that.

You, a threat? But you're just a funny man with a funny arm.

[ If everything he's said is true, anyway. She realizes it might not be. They've only just gotten acquainted, and over text too. She really shouldn't be trusting him that much that she's willing to go off on a roadtrip with him... and yet she does. Her instincts aren't yelling at her to back away and run. Weird. ]

How rude! He's just like my brothers. [ Which she supposes are just what boys are like? Trolling, ribbing, pranking... ] Well, he'll just find out that it's very hard to change my mind once I've made it up.

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