Kate Bishop/Hawkeye knows this is Clint's fault (noboomerangs) wrote in thecityof, @ 2018-01-13 13:28:00 |
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Entry tags: | bucky barnes, kate bishop |
WHO: Kate Bishop and Bucky Barnes
WHERE: A waffle place!
WHEN: Friday night
WHAT: A couple of Marvel badasses get waffles.
WARNINGS: None
STATUS: log; complete.
It had been a couple of days since the fight on the rooftop with Clint, and Kate was pleased to notice that the bruises were starting to fade. Because man, that guy could punch hard when he wanted to. Of course, so could she and they had both ended up rather battered, but the important thing was that it had all worked out. He was safe, Bucky was also safe, they were all in one piece and Kate had even managed to catch up on some sleep. So all in all, she was feeling pretty good about herself. A fact that was definitely helped by the man sitting with her at the waffle place, which they had finally managed to find time to get to. Waffles, ice cream, chocolate sauce. Very delicious. And Kate tried to tell herself was the cause of the warm feelings she had, even though that was entirely a lie. It was Bucky who gave her butterflies, as much as she had tried to deny it. America had had none of it, pointing out the flirty flirt and even having the boys gossip sleepover with her. Kate owed her big time for that one. So what if she had put a bit more effort into her appearance, put on some make up, was wearing some flattering if still casual clothes. And, of course, the locket he had given her. “So,” she grinned at Bucky. “Is this your first time having 21st century waffles? Have I once again provided you with a new and exciting experience?” “It is, actually,” he returned the smile, thinking of the diner scene in Brooklyn. What he could recall - laminate counters, candy cases, hot dogs and home-cured deli meats. Sodas and homemade pastries. “There was this place called Eisenberg’s - it opened in 1929. Best tuna melt.” That was something he wrote down quickly, once he’d retrieved his notebook from his jacket - something scrawled so he wouldn’t forget, and he set the notebook aside in case he remembered anything else while they were here. In wacky LA, the diner was actually pretty good - less fancy than where he’d gone to dinner with Wanda, but he still felt the need to not look like a complete hobo for this outing. The mood was different, though he couldn’t explain why. Bucky just felt it - maybe it was because he noticed how nice Kate looked. He’d ordered waffles with butter and syrup, the syrup hot so when it touched the butter there it went, melting into oily submission. There was ice cream too, though his was in the form of a milkshake. Chocolate. “You might have to roll me back to the apartments though, fair warning. I usually don’t eat like this.” She loved hearing about things from the 20s. Plus she also approved of any time Bucky had good memories of things. Of course any memories for him were achievements, but the good ones were more important. “I do enjoy a good tuna melt. There’s still some great diners in New York. Well, my New York. Not that it’s actually mine, though there are some buildings named after my family.” Her father, technically. She licked some chocolate sauce from her spoon with a smirk. “Hey, everyone is allowed to indulge once in a while and after being epic heroes, I think we deserve these. But if you need help back to the apartments, I will help you. Even if you’re probably a bit heavy for me to carry.” Maybe a little bit. Though getting close to all that muscle and touching it? Wow. And okay, brain needs to change the subject. “Though don’t think I didn’t hear you heading out when you were supposed to be resting, mister! I’m shocked, really.” Not that she sounded shocked. Or actually was. Guilty as charged. But really, Bucky didn’t need a ton of rest - that suicidal endurance, remember? He could take a licking and keep on ticking - so sleeping a normal amount might actually make him feel like a sloth. Not to mention he wasn’t a heavy sleeper anyway. Jumpy might be a better way to describe him. “I wasn’t planning on it, but I owed Wanda anyway - for saving my life, back home,” he explained. “Dinner was a small way to make up for it.” Though probably not good enough. Still, it was nice to spend time with her - they had a lot in common, and he hoped that they could become closer friends while they were both trapped here. Sipping on his milkshake, he glanced at Kate, observing in a sharp, icy blue gaze. Not so dead-eyed, like he had been when he was the Winter Soldier. “So, tell me about the New York you remember. The one with buildings named after your family?” Of course he was curious about that. Oh. Dinner with Wanda. Kate kept the smile on her face even if inside she was flailing a little bit. Of course Wanda would be the kind of woman he liked, she was beautiful and had amazing powers. “Well, she does seem really nice. I hope it was a nice dinner. And I’m glad she saved your life before, that’s a definite point in her favor in my book.” And with that she made herself stop talking, which was actually a rare occurrence for her. Before she could babble too much. Talking about New York was much safer. The smile became a little easier then. “New York is…. Unlike anything else I’ve ever known. It’s fast and crowded and full of every kind of life you could imagine. The filthy rich and the dirt poor and everything in between.” She had seen both extremes. “I….used to be part of the former category.” She sighed, toying with her ice cream for a moment, dragging the spoon through it to make the chocolate sauce swirl with the cream. “My father is the one who has the building names. Bishop Publishing, Bishop Financial, the Bishop Foundation. There’s a concert hall too, and a wing of an art gallery. Businessman, millionaire, philanthropist.” Her smile turned incredibly rueful. “Murderer, psychopath, supervillain. Pretty sure he’s in league with my personal nemesis who wants to kill me too. So that’s a thing.” Ah Madame Masque. Such a lovely lunatic. Was Kate actually...worried? About Wanda? Bucky wasn’t sure, but he just got that vibe. It was almost amusing, though - he didn’t have any romantic interest in Wanda. Besides, he doubted she would have returned the sentiment even if he did have those feelings. Those feelings which were foreign and strange to him - the idea of being close to someone, of his own free will and his own choice, was a little overwhelming. He wasn’t some innocent virgin, pure as freshly fallen snow (that was Steve), but considering it had been decades since he’d enjoyed the company of a pretty lady, he was more than rusty. He focused on his waffles instead, listening to Kate. “Your father is a murderer?” That surprised him - Kate wasn’t like him at all. “He sounds like...well, he sounds like he’s better off out of your life. Obviously you’re doing okay without him or his money.” After another syrupy bite of waffles, he asked, “What made him that way?” But of course, why would any man not want Wanda? She was beautiful, graceful, intelligent, powerful. (Kate could almost hear America sighing at her.) While she, Kate, by comparison was a goofy woman who got into fights too easily and had no powers or nearly enough training and probably too many muscles on her arms or calluses on her hands from hours drawing her bow. Best that she get over this attraction before her heart was broken. That was the proper thing to do. Ah, but questions about her father. Clearly a lighter topic of conversation. Kate shrugged. “I don’t know. All I know is I used to worship him and then one day when I was a kid I’d skipped school for some reason, I don’t remember why. I’d snuck into his office and saw him killing a guy. Followed him some, realized he got his money from hurting anyone who opposed him and I decided I didn’t want that life.” Of course she had been a kid and unable to actually leave, and sometimes Kate wondered if her mother’s death was connected in some way, but it was when she decided she somehow wanted to atone for her father’s sins. “I mean, I took as much money out of him while I could, but when I became Hawkeye, he cut me off. Can’t say I’m complaining about that.” She paused and half laughed in a self deprecating way. “And this is probably a complete downer of a conversation, sorry.” “It’s not. You already know all about my downer of an existence,” Bucky smiled crookedly. “I’m just...interested in hearing about you, that’s all.” It felt imbalanced if all they did was talk about what he could or not not remember - his mind felt like a sieve, and he still didn’t trust himself all the way. Things were coming back to him, sure, but turning it ‘off’ sometimes to just listen and learn rather than focus on himself helped too. Plus, he meant what he said. He wanted to know more about Kate. “And being Hawkeye, that’s what you’re happy with? Not like dropping everything to put people first is always easy.” There was a lot sacrificed to be a ‘superhero.’ Like a normal life, for one thing. You couldn’t ever really have one in that type of situation. She couldn’t help it, she smiled and even blushed slightly, ducking her head for a moment to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. It wasn’t every day someone said they were interested in her, her life. Compared to most people she was fairly boring. “Well, I happen to like your existence.” She paused before babbling to clarify. “I mean, not that you’ve had to deal with so much, that sucks, but the fact you do exist. I like that part. A lot.” Really really a lot. Kate paused with a faint smirk. “Yeah, it is.” She took another bite of waffles. “It was a bit later I first saw Clint in action. And I was just wow. Here’s this guy, no powers, just his own training and skills, and he’s holding his own among all these amazing people. I’d already decided that I wanted to do some good in the world, I was volunteering at soup kitchens, but when I saw him I knew, I wanted to help people just like he did.” And then there had been what happened in Central Park that night, but that was not a topic Kate liked to talk about. Even Clint didn’t know about that. “So I trained, I met these other teenagers, we became a team. Captain America, Steve, he really lectured us, told us we were too young. So I told him where he could shove it.” Kate grinned, she was still proud of that moment. “Clint was temporarily dead at the time, long story. But Cap told me that no one else had stood up to him the way I did, apart from Clint. So he gave me Clint’s old bow and the codename.” Which she had worn with pride. Still did. “Clint came back, obviously, and we became partners.” There was a fond smile on her face as she talked about her mentor. Not that she ever liked calling him that, at least to his face. “He can drive me crazy sometimes, but he gets me.” The tidbits about Steve made Bucky grin fondly. “Good thing you told him to shove it - sometimes he needs to hear that,” the Soldier teased, more light-hearted than he had sounded in awhile. Yeah, he definitely missed his best friend - but at least Cap wasn’t here, stuck in hell and having to deal with things like soullessness and impenetrable barriers. Barnes would take that as a blessing. Something else Kate said struck him, though. Not in a bad way - but it made him thoughtful, and he considered as he sipped the last vestiges of his milkshake. Slurp, slurp. That brought up yet another memory too, something he paused to write down - an authentic chocolate malt with the real milk powder, earthy sweetness. “Do you think you’d want to do that here?” he inquired. “Soup kitchens, I mean. With me.” He shrugged, hoping it didn’t sound too ridiculous. “I just...it’s something good I can do.” Something that wasn’t killing people. “It might help.” Kate laughed, a genuinely amused sound, partially because the sentiment was true but also because it was just good to hear Bucky being light like that. “Oh I told him that a few times over the years. I like to think he respected that.” They had clashed a few times, she had told him off for not trusting her team while he had lectured her on being reckless. But they had also worked together, and she would always admire him. The sound of him slurping the milkshake also made her giggle for a moment as she enthusiastically finished the last of her waffle before pausing to consider what he’d said. “You know, I’d not thought of it, but yeah, I’d like to. I stopped when I ran out of time, between being an Avenger and Clint’s partner and a PI. But I do miss it. It is such a good feeling to help people who really need it.” She grinned and, after a brief hesitation, reached over the table to rest her fingers against Bucky’s. In a manner which may have been a little flirty. It wasn’t as though she knew for sure he was interested in Wanda. But more importantly she was still wanting him to get used to gentle touches, people being close to him without hurting him. That was a friend thing even more than a flirting thing. “So, shall we look into that, finding a place near the apartments where we can help those less fortunate?” “Yeah, let’s do it,” he agreed. “I’d like that.” Even more so that he had someone to volunteer with. Bucky could have gone on his own, but the support was even better. Plus, Kate’s company in general was nice. She may not have any superpowers, couldn’t shoot lasers from her eyes or move things with her mind, but that didn’t matter - she didn’t even need them. She could get things done just fine without. It wasn’t solely powers that made someone a hero. When she touched his hand, he didn’t flinch this time. Maybe he was expecting it, in some way - but whatever it was, the touch didn’t startle him. He simply curled his fingers around hers, lacing them together there on the table with waffles and milkshake glasses between them - in a diner like this one, it could have been a scene from Bucky’s long-forgotten past. Lots of hand-holding going on in diners back then. “Thanks for coming with me. It does feel good, helping others.” And it was also a way to chip away at atoning for all the terrible things he’d done while brainwashed - never would he fully be able to apologize, or make up for it, but he could try. Not sitting on his ass, getting out there to do something for those less fortunate would be a decent step. The simple act of lacing their fingers together made a smile light up Kate’s face. She frequently wore her heart on her sleeve, and it often got her into trouble, but she felt safe with Bucky. Which might have caused some people out there to look at her in a bewildered fashion and point out how terrifying he was capable of being, but to her he wasn’t like that. She had seen the Winter Soldier in action now, yet still felt completely comfortable with Bucky. A guy who was deadly, yes, but also sweet and funny and did things like write things in notebooks. No matter what Hydra had done to him, there was a goodness in him that couldn’t be taken away. “It’ll be really good, I’ll get Googling in the morning and find a place we can volunteer together.” She was really enthusiastic about the idea, and not just because it would involve spending more time with him. Kate had loved volunteering as a teenager, just like her mother had done when she’d been alive. New York and LA might have been on opposite coasts, but she was willing to bet that the same problems existed in both cities. “So, delicious waffles, a good plan and great company, you know I’m pretty sure this is the best night I’ve had so far this year,” her tone was light and slightly teasing. Of course the year was only a couple of weeks old and much of it had involved saving souls, but she was still willing to bet that even without that this evening would have been up there with the greats. The fingers not laced with his toyed with her locket without her even really thinking about it. While she had taken it off when she fought with Clint, she had been wearing it pretty much constantly otherwise ever since Bucky gave it to her. Already she had grown used to the feel of it around her neck, though she still smiled every time she glimpsed it in the mirror. Best night she’d had all year, huh? Bucky was flattered. “Me too,” he replied without hesitation - because it beat being soul-sucked, it beat trying to do the good samaritan thing by helping a woman about to be mugged and then encountering her mind rapey boyfriend, it beat sitting alone in his room trying to remember things he couldn’t. And getting upset with himself because he couldn’t. So while it wasn’t perfect here, there were some parts that weren’t bad at all. And this was one of them. |