bionicstaringmachine

( from here )

Because I'm not pretending. Sam knows a lot of people and the ones I know, I already have saved in my phone.

[ There's a frown at his phone and it's hard to tell if it's his typical expression or if it's because he wonders what Sam is up to. ]

If this is about not answering his texts back, you can tell him I planned on getting around to it eventually. I've been busy.

[ No he hasn't. But it's easier to bend the truth over text. There's a beat, deciding to bring it back to this person so he can figure out who they are. ]

How do you know Sam?

Edited 2024-03-03 07:26 (UTC)

So I got the job.

[ And because he'll inevitably ask how someone who doesn't exist in their world actually managed to pass herself off as American enough to be accepted in the Army— ]

Forged my papers, of course. And charmed the recruiter. He was very friendly.

[ from here ]

What, you're tellin' me you like me for my personality?

[ More teasing. He has to, to be able to let the conversation they're really having to settle there for a moment in the background so he can deal with the battle of wills going on inside of him. The part of him that doesn't want to kill versus the part of him that wants Hydra to be gone completely. It's not just for him, it's for Steve, it's for what Hydra took from them and others. He wants to hit 'em once for him and then another for Steve and then keep going until there's nothing left. Of them, assuredly. Of him, maybe. ]

Yeah, I do. I'm not gonna let anyone else do this but me. And if we try to save some, we end up letting SHIELD know who you really are. Peggy and Howard can only do so much, they've got other people involved now. [ Because they're getting old now, the old guard is crossing soon and that means others involved they don't have the same history with. ] And I don't wanna owe them too many favors.

[ from here ]

It's okay. The important part is knowin' you want to.

[ It's still flirting, but there's a touch of that self doubt lurking there when it comes to the idea of Hel wanting or choosing anything to do with him beyond the friendship they've been exploring. ]

[ from here ]

Is that what we were doing before, dancing?

[ It's a question to point out the curious word she used. A word that seemed familiar, not that he could place why. The white noise of his brain was starting to become less of a plain static and wanted to buzz alive, but he was resisting it. His handler, the scientists - they didn't like it when he had those moments where he asked something or did anything remotely like reacting for a change. So he tries to shove that activity in his brain aside. ]

But I will be there.

◜continued from here◞

Well, he reminded me that you were dragged out of here after protesting three times before Sam promised he would have you back in time.

[ Yeah, the boy quoted him word for word. ]

And that you're alright, you're just a little held up because you have a surprise for me. Which is aside from the peace offering flowers.

[ ... there it is. There's the catch. ]

[ from here ]

I'm not the only one out here doin' the work. But some of 'em are laying low and we're doing a lot more digging and rebuilding than world saving right now.

[ The Hydra uprising and the fall of SHIELD kind of put everyone in a weird spot, including the Avengers, when it came to the public eye and their opinion and the trust they had in people who went out there and did what he did. And a lot of his efforts have been put in finding Hel or tracking down some of the known Hydra agents like Rumlow who managed to get away. He only got involved in actual world saving activities if it happened to be something that required all or most of the Avengers to be present. ]

Yeah, it's called PTSD.

[ His response might read as dry and while it was in part an attempt at levity, he does have a point. She's dealing with PTSD from everything she's gone through, because even he deals with it and he didn't have his mind wiped and reprogrammed who knows how many times. It's a thought that makes him want to use a little more force than necessary on Rumlow or anyone else he can find from Hydra, even if it's too late to make what was done to her right, but making sure that they pay for it is better than nothing. ]

I'm stronger than I look. You saw I was up and around and it wasn't long after you pulled me outta that river. I can handle myself.

[ He also doesn't sleep all that soundly either. He might not have episodes like she does, but he wakes to random noises, he'll see things he'd rather not - glimpses of the past, events he wishes he could do over - and is often times fitful. ]

Le'me help you.

Edited 2024-07-14 06:13 (UTC)

[ from here ]

Yeah and no, if I'm bein' honest.

[ And that's what she's asking for, he thinks: his honesty. He might have an idea she was looking for a reaction, kind of when she mentioned being topless not all that long ago, but he also knows she's not gonna push him past any boundaries he's not comfortable with.

Just like he's not gonna do something that he thinks might go past her own personal boundaries. He's gonna check first, even if it's not with the actual words of "is this okay?" because he's never gonna want to impose himself on her, not even accidentally. ]

I didn't know you could improve something like that. [ They had things that were marketed for massaging back in his time that turned out could be used in other ways and he has eyes, along with access to the internet. He just never thought of being able to fix and improve a sex toy like that, all with the knowledge she already had. ] And I think I might owe you that dinner.

[ from here ]

You know if I'm gonna spoil her, I'll end up doing the same to Liho right?
I can take longer if you need it. I'm old, I gotta move slow to get there.

[ It's bullshit, because while he might move slow on occasion, he doesn't always feel every bit of his age in the years since his birth, as opposed to the years he's actually lived. But it's to say that he's not rushing her. His suggestion of thirty minutes was to prove he wasn't going to drag it out, make her wait and instead make this move while it was there. He's been making her wait a lot, he's gonna try to put an end to that. ]

You think I can't move in what I usually wear?

[ from here ]

Half the time those drinks smell like they're too sweet just from being around enough of 'em since getting back with half of the world. I thought the point was tasting the liquor, not masking it with a bunch of bullshit.

[ from here ]

A margarita or three counts as zero drinks? Next time someone's wondering how many knives I got on me, I'm saying I might have one or three on me, but it's zero.

[ He's being a smart ass, forgive him probably-drunk-Darcy. Instead of insisting that she might want to eat something if she's possibly had three margaritas in the last hour, he goes with: ]

I guess I'm getting some food when I get there. I might share some of it with you.

tfln continuation — 02/16/2024 — @franfalle.

idk let's just say it's easy to send letters during the war??? or something LOL

tfln continuation — 04/19/2024 — @sinne.

tfln continuation — 04/19/2024 — @franfalle.

tfln continuation — 04/19/2024 — @sinne part deux.

sorry i don't have an open post for her yet so i'm taking this to yours 🤣

tfln continuation — 07/05/2024 — @hnif.

tfln continuation — 07/05/2024 — @brushpass.