6983/Checking in and Catching up.

Checking in and Catching up.
Date of Scene:	17 July 2021
Location:	Bambooze Bar, Rural Delaware
Synopsis:	Bucky catches up with Sharon, they talk about stuff and feelings and Buck's bowling arm. Nothing awkward about that.
Cast of Characters:	James Barnes, Sharon Carter

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James Barnes has posed:
    If there's anyone in the world that can find a shitty hole in the wall... strip club with a ridiculous name in *rural* Delaware, it's James Barnes. It's not even so much that he wants to watch naked woman shake the shake-able things on a stage, it's just that the places are usually loud, smoky and totally anonymous.

    He's found himself a table in the far corner, away from the stage, more proof to the aforementioned non-desire to watch the act. For appearance sake, he's ordered a JD, neat. It's not like it'll get him anywhere he'd probably like to be, the serum in his veins doesn't allow that.

    He's dressed in a dark red henley, jeans, a simple pair of black work boots and a navy blue baseball cap. His long hair is pulled into a short pony-tail that peeks out the back of the hat. That cap hides the receivers to his new, modified, cochlear inserts, but it doesn't hide the speakers and transmitters hooked around both ears. What's up with that?

Sharon Carter has posed:
It was a nice night for a walk. After having leaving Bucky on read and attending an interrogation of the woman who had hurt her grandmother, Sharon was all out of sorts. Inwardly. Outwardly? Cool as a cucumber. Enjoying the walk with earbuds and a local band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in her ear. Song choice? Choke. Fits the outfit that she wears; a hoodie, pair of jeans, black air force Nikes..

Entering in the dive strip club wasn't.. well okay, it was new. Sharon takes a look around the establishment, her face scrunching a little at the bodies writhing on stage. Thankfully it wasn't a full night, but it was packed with enough patronage to keep eyes off them and dancers approaching them for tips.

It was always the booth in the back with those sorts, so that's where Sharon heads, cutting a smile towards someone who moves along with a tray with a twirl to get out of her way, Sharon ducks and continues that path until she's directly in front of Bucky with a flopped sit and a scoot back of the chair.

"I should have said restaurant. Then I wouldn't have had to deal with boobs in view where ever I look."

James Barnes has posed:
    "Maybe it wouldn't bother you if you had some yourself," Bucky quips back, with a grin. It's not an unusual reaction from him, especially if he knows Sharon's having a hard time. What is unusual? It's not *forced*. He looks good, relatively speaking. His last few weeks at the Playground? He looked like straight shit with big dark circles a constant under his pale blues. He was even losing weight, not difficult when a person has a super soldier metabolism and no appetite to match. The latter won't fix itself quick, but the former? Those dark circles are retreating.

    He picks up his glass and takes a drink, more to have something to do than anything else. When he lowers it again, he jumps right into it.

    "I'm sorry, Shay, about Pegs. I wish I could be there."

Sharon Carter has posed:
"Like you would know." Sharon bites back. But he was actually smiling, so that was something. But he jumps right to it, which was good. Neither of them really had any time for any nonsense. "You -could- be there but you choose not to. You left." It was simple as that, in fact, the tone in which she gives him was a little bit bitter, and a little bit hurt.

"She's not doing well. Eventually, she's going to die again. I brought my dad into town to surprise her; and once again he's going to lose her." She leans back, glancing towards the bar in hopes that someone would look. And once they do, Sharon waves them over with a lift of her hand.

"But you know, all smiles and giggles from James Buchannan Barnes." She pauses, then lets out a sigh, one that follows her pinching the bridge of her nose. "Sorry."

James Barnes has posed:
    He was expecting it, but Bucky still flinches a little like he's been physically struck and for a moment or two, he doesn't say anything. He just leans back, drink in hand, and stares down into it.

    Once he gathers his thoughts, he does something else that's unusual. He tells the fucking truth of the matter. "That place was making sick, Shay. SHIELD was making me sick." He makes a vague gesture toward his head... in the head, sick in the head. As if that wasn't obvious.

    Bucky settles the drink back down and looks up to meet Sharon's gaze. "I don't expect you to understand. I don't expect anyone to really. But... for seventy years, it was nothing but killing for or running from HYDRA and big long spans of nothing in between when they had me on ice. When the Triskelion fell and I found out they were fucking *everywhere* and I didn't know it? I'd only been 'home' three years and it was gone again, because of them. I felt the noose tightening. Anyway, I don't expect you to get it but I can't be *there* for the people I love if I'm not at least halfway *here*," another vague wave of his hand in the direction of his head and that Swiss cheese brain inside.

    "I'll go see her..."

Sharon Carter has posed:
"Buck, I was -there- with you for a least a year of that. I know what happened and how you were. If you would have just told me, I would have understood. You say it yourself, we are -too- much alike sometimes." She does feel for him, and it all made sense. "Just tell me that instead of sending me some.. letter about you loving me from afar and to cut myself some slack."

As the bartender approaches, her order was simple. Scotch and coke; she hated vodka. As he leaves, she gets right back to it.

"You do admittedly look better though." She reaches forward for his drink, taking a sip instead, using that as a placeholder for her own. "But .. you should go see her. They're doing everything they can for her, its not looking great." Even though they have a plan, there really is no guarantee that it'll work. She doesn't tell Bucky that though.

"What have you been doing to look so.. I don't know.. not you? Are you finally going to cut your hair?"

James Barnes has posed:
    "We are too much alike," he agrees before his gaze goes back to the inside of his half full glass. "...and I don't give you enough credit, I guess. Or maybe it's just that I care too damned much about you. My shit's *a lot*, Shay. Steve doesn't even know how to handle my shit when it gets dark. I don't wanna put it on you."

    When the talk turns to Peggy and how bad it is, Bucky swallows visibly, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat so he can actually talk again without his voice cracking. "She'll pull through," he finally whispers. "She survived me," but the 'me' is cut a little short and replaced with, "the Winter Soldier."

    Does Sharon know that tale?

    He looks up again and rolls one shoulder in a shrug. "Livin' I guess? It's not really something I've done in a long time. Even after Steve brought me back and SHIELD took responsibility for me... then I just belonged to a nicer master, y'know? Peggy offered me a promotion and when I turned it down, she set me free, told me I wasn't under SHIELD supervision anymore. So, I guess... I'm just learning how to be James Barnes again?"

Sharon Carter has posed:
"When I tell you its okay to put it on me, I mean it. I know you have Sam, Steve even.. my grandma. But you got me too, don't count me out." And here, most of the texts were asking her how she was doing, and look at her! Perfection in deflection.

Even though Sharon hasn't heard the story, she assumes the worst. It was one of the many things that made her Grandmother and Grandfather so amazing. They've practically seen it all.

"I .. didn't know that she promoted you and wanted to bring you in fully. You would have made a really good agent." She smiles finally, her shoulders slumping. "I'm officially level 7, second in command to STRIKE. High ranking. No more going out there and disappearing for a few years.." She pauses as she hears the footsteps of the bartender, who then sets down her drink and disappears.

As they should.

"So basically, you've gone full on Dobby. Got you a sock and now you're all happy." Now, she sips her drink, it was her turn to kid around.

James Barnes has posed:
    "I dunno about *happy*, yet. Fuck... I don't even know about okay. But, I feel like maybe I could be someday now." Bucky finishes off his drink just because it's what a person is supposed to do while sitting in a strip club talking about super secret shit, right?

    "Are you okay with that?" he asks, pale blues fixed on her, studying, intense BuckyStare(tm) right there, but not the freaky, scary kind.

    The man's a trained assassin, trained in espionage and reading people as a part of that. Dude is totally looking for micro-tells if Sharon has any? Bucky surely knows them by now. "... being tied down, I mean?"

Sharon Carter has posed:
Sharon follows his line of speculation and 'hope?'..

"Maybe have a girlfriend.. get married.. have a few kids..?" Now she was leading, hoping she could sway the discussion more away from herself until he asks that question..

She blinks twice, finally sitting up to take a little sip of her own drink. She has to really think about that question and how she'd answer. Her face? It shows that. Not confusion but deep in thought.

"I don't know." She confesses. "The past.. six or seven years were hard. It wasn't long after what happened that I met you. I.. was pretty angry. Broken too. Maybe that's why I got you, and didn't judge." She shakes her head. "I don't know James. I don't even think I should be on this.. 'earthly coil' or whatever you call it anymore." She even causes her voice to go a little dorky at the mention of 'eartly coil'. But that was how she felt.

"Eventually, Taskmaster is going to come calling and I -will- die. I think he's letting me finish my business."

James Barnes has posed:
    "Yeah, because there are so many women lining up to get with this, right?" Bucky barks out a little laugh at the absurdity of that. "Nothing screams catch like Brainwashed, Mentally Unstable Cyborg, right?"

    He leans back and stretches his legs out under the table a little. "So, *you*, Sharon fucking Carter, are going to let some man decide your fate for you? Nah, I don't believe that."

    It works both ways though, it's not hard for her to read his little micro-tells either, like the way his left hand curls once into a fist and relaxes, or the way his foot taps a time or two under that table.

    Brain, add 'Taskmaster' to the list that needs to be checked off.

    Did she just send Bucky to his death or doom Tony? It's hard to say, that one's a toss-up.

    "You're going to be fucking miserable, Shay, tied to one spot, living with all those *rules* and responsibility day in and day out." Which brings to mind...

    "Got your little black dress for Velice yet?" Because nothing says 'I wanna be level 7 SHIELD, second in command of STRIKE quite like the fact that she's probably giddy over taking off with Bucky to hunt down a dangerous artifact. ... he hasn't mentioned that bit yet.

    "Retrieving Iah's Hourglass is the mission objective, by the way."

    But even without that, she'd agreed to play Mrs. to his Mr. Smith because it's *who* she is deep inside. "Gonna take a vacation day for it?"

Sharon Carter has posed:
"You do -not- know women, women -love- fixing men. It's like their lifes mission." Until they wise up and get older. "And you're really not bad to look at, James Barnes." All he needs to do is create a very good regimine with all of that hair.

Or cut it.

"It's not that, Buck. What I did to him?" She shakes her head. "Look, he was a criminal from the get go, but.. after everything." She shakes her head, looking away. "As far as crazy ex's go I hit the jackpot. There's no getting away from that and I'm accepting it. Maybe that's why.." She coughs a little, then takes a drink of her scotch. "He's not deciding my fate, he's my consequence. It'll be alright."

But Bucky may be right, she may just be miserable, stuck in one spot. There were a few times she almost went rogue, and did at one point.. and that was quite possibly the most riveting time she's had in her life. But her parents, the Carter legacy. How much she wanted to be like her grandparents..

Super spies. The very best.

"Listen, you can't really call me Agent 13 and assume that I don't have a dress hidden somewhere. Just say the brand and I'll have it." She leans forward, fingers curling to knock quick on the table. "Tell me about the setup. What do you know about the evening itself aside from retrieval."

James Barnes has posed:
    Did he just look away and... fuck, he might be blushing a little, but he recovers quickly enough, "It's the metal arm right, hot isn't it?"

    In his mind's eye, he's picturing Taskmaster down the scope of his rifle from a rooftop four blocks away. One shot, one kill. It'd be simple, right?

    Outwardly he's all smiles. See!

    "Yeah, you're not a woman to just accept the consequences either."

    "Doir," he says, maybe because that's the only designer he's even heard of? Or, well, it's not like this is his first rodeo. "Strappy heels."

    The hair. His big Scarlet Letter W. He reaches up and takes off his ball cap. It reveals the receivers stuck to each side of his head. Really, with it half pulled back and those little stray hairs framing his face, it's not THAT bad.

    "Guys a collector, he's unveiling the thing at some big 'look at me and all the money I have' party at his 'countryside' home. I dunno if he has a fucking clue about any of the shit he collects. But, the hourglass, I've heard it's the real deal. It rewinds time exactly two minutes if a person knows the right thing to say when they turn it over. ... which... I don't. But if he does? Shit might get tricky."

Sharon Carter has posed:
"Yeah, it is. I mean, it's your bowling arm, right?" Sharon makes a come-hither motion, then grins. But since he's all smiles, she leans forward, just to get a look at that hair. "Got those in the bag. Diamonds?" She asks, "How subtly rich do I have to look?" But his hair.. lord. Sharon shakes her head, then gestures. "Keep looking like that, it works for you. You look almost fixable."

But no more jokes, they were down to business. She listens, a slight plan already forming but, Bucky would have to take the lead. This is just all a briefing. "Expecting casualties? Or are we attempting to do a snatch and grab." Along with the outfit she has in mind.. "Security?"

James Barnes has posed:
    Is there a word for that moment when things are starting to get a little too 'flirty' with our best pal's ex-gal's from decade's ago's grand-daughter? There is! That word would be...

    AWKWARD

    When Sharon leans forward, Bucky ... well, he stares her straight in the face. That's a safe area. No. No. Steve's shoe newspaper definitely isn't what's filling out that shirt. Stop it!

    "I'm hoping for a snatch'n'grab," he explains. "...and somewhere between 'I wipe my ass with hundreds' and 'I just paid 500k for one of those ugly egg things just because I can'."

    He glances up at the ceiling, because that's what's up and it's safer than what's down. "I'm sure there will be, gonna get into town a little early and see what I can find out. I'm not worried about, y'know, normal security though, if that's all he has. It's all kind of an unknown. I need to find out if he *knows* what he's collecting or if he's just a rich fucker that spends 500k on an ugly ass egg, just because he can, right?"

Sharon Carter has posed:
Maybe Sharon doesn't see it, perhaps she was too focused on learning the mission as best she could that she misses all of the awkwardness of the conversation. "Snatch-n-Grab, low casualties, I can dig it." She leans back, already putting her dress together, and hair. The hair has to be -just- right. That dress has to fit well, as well, formed around all curves with a little extra padding to carry blades in if she needs.

Perfect.

"Pretty sure I can get a bit more information on the guy, but from what you tell me? Possibly just a rich fucker who can spend the money because he can. What do you know about the artifact? It.. is a time travel thing? Or.. predictor type thing?" She shakes her head, then throws her hand up, now planting an elbow upon the table. "Nevermind, don't tell me. What are you going to do with it after? Do you want me to take it?"

James Barnes has posed:
    "And destroy it? Yeah," Bucky replies. That's where they might have a crossing of opinions a lot of the time. He has a LOT of shades of gray in him, some dark enough to be almost black. But when it comes to things that might be a danger to society being loose out there? He's pretty white hat. After all, he WAS a thing that was a danger to society for a long time.

    He digs out his wallet and tosses enough cash on the table to pay for the both of them and a healthy tip.

    When he stands up and prepares to leave, the little kiss he presses to the top of her head is a chaste one, honest!

    "We got some time, Mrs. Smith, do your digging, I'll do mine. But for now, I gotta a move. Steve's in trouble and I gotta fix that. Oh, yeah... AIM's in town. Tag along if you want, we could use the extra gun, I'm sure."