[closed] oh it's you that's got me

[disassembles]

Who: Bucky Barnes & Pepper Potts
Where: 7th floor, Room 30
When: May 4th, before and after this.
Rating: PG
Summary: Bucky and Pepper have a sad about their no-good canon-updating teammates.
The Story: It takes hours to confirm that Steve and Natasha are both gone. He knows long before that, of course, that something is wrong. Steve doesn't respond to his text. When James goes to look for him, he finds the phone in his room, and Dodger is curled up whining on the bed. Finding Natasha is a more difficult task in general these days, but she doesn't respond to him either.

In all the time he’s been here, he hasn't been without them. Loneliness isn't a strange feeling, but there’s something distinct about it now, an underlying bitterness and anger that he knows well. It’s not that he never expected them to leave, temporarily or otherwise. Of course they would. Of course they had. Of course he wants them to go home.

He knows if he stays in Steve’s room he might destroy something, so he goes. Dodger has to run to keep up with his stride. There were no signs of a struggle in the rooms, and James checks their routines and places that he knows they might be found, but there isn't a trace of them anywhere. He’s calmed down by the time he’s done, sorted his thoughts into something useful.

Their things are still present. Unless their rooms clear out, that means that they’re likely to return... Or so he’s been told. That means there are some things to take care of in the interim.

He goes to find Pepper first. He trusts her more than anyone else in the mansion at the moment, and he needs her opinion on what he thinks he should do. A part of him just wants to see a familiar face, to be assured that she’s still here. He shoots her a quick text so that she knows to expect him, and that he isn't bringing her good news. He knocks on her door a few moments later.

"Pepper." With how dangerous the mansion has been lately, he tries to announce himself as often as possible.

Comments

[handing]

"Bucky, hey." She opens the door immediately; truth be told, she’s been waiting by it. How could she not be, with the ominous message Bucky had sent over to tell her he’d be coming? She swallows as she steps back to let him in, trying to judge his expression for any sign of what he might be about to say. There are so many ways for things to go wrong these days, from deaths to disappearances to things Pepper doesn’t want to think about, and yet how can any of them not anymore?

"What happened?" So she asks straight away, offering no pretense of politeness before getting right to the heart of things. Something has occurred, dire from Bucky’s reaction, and now they have to deal with it. There’s no other way for Pepper to approach this, no other way she’ll let herself do so. Yet even as she braces herself she drops her hands at her sides, fingers curled loosely instead of hands clasped in front of her. She’s broken that habit thanks to training with him, learned that it’s far better to have her hands free and open, ready to defend against whatever may come.

She has to be ready, even if the threat isn’t at all physical this time.

[disassembles]

He takes note of her form, even as distracted as he is. He’s been training her, and that always extends beyond the safety of rooms with padded floors. He closes the door behind him, his own hands loose at his sides. He doesn't comment, however. Pepper cuts right to the chase, and so does he.

Before, he might have told her to sit down, but it’s better that she’s braced for it.

"Their things are still here, but Steve and Natasha are gone." There’s a hollow kind of resignation in the words.

[handing]

[She closes her eyes when he says it, but even as her head bows down Pepper knows it could be far worse. Disappearances are bittersweet things, grief they attempt to temper with the belief that the people in question are at least back in the world where they belong now. The hollow comfort isn’t what eases her heart then, however. It’s the fact that their possessions haven’t vanished with them, meaning that Wonderland might still bring them back as it so often does.]

Then we wait a week or so. [The standard amount of time, although Pepper’s own case stood as an exception to that. Still, until those first set of seven days went by, she wouldn’t let herself fret. So far as she is aware no one comes back before then.]

We should probably still tell the mansion though, for simplicity’s sake. [Steve and Natasha had both been involved with training and who knows what else, not to mention that they had other friends who might worry. She hesitates for a moment, studying Bucky’s face, seeing just how he’s been shaken.]

They’ll come back. [Pepper grins, a small smile to try and encourage him. She’s a terrible liar, but for right now, she refuses to think of that outcome as anything other than truth.]

[disassembles]

[ James folds his arms across his chest, his jaw tightening visibly for a moment before he nods. He knows there are no guarantees here. It’s possible that they could come back in a week, and it’s just as possible that they’ll leave like Tony, their rooms emptying out a week after that. The latter means they get to go home, at least.

Pepper is trying to encourage him, and James manages a small half-smile for her. ]

We’ll deal with it in a week. In the meantime... [ He exhales softly, rubbing the back of his neck. ] Steve and Nat both had other responsibilities around the mansion. I thought maybe I’d offer to pick up the slack. It doesn't feel right, just letting it hang.

[ There’s a hint of a question in his expression. He doesn't know if this is the right thing to do, or if he’s overstepping some boundary, or if he can do it at all. He hasn't thought a lot about what he would do if Steve was gone, even temporarily, but he knows he doesn't want to sit on his hands and wait for an answer. ]

[handing]

[He tries, although it’s clear in the end Bucky comes closer to resignation than hope. Still, the way he nods, even manages a grin is enough. It has to be; what else can she offer, beyond a promise to stay with him that they both are all too aware she has no control over?

But as it turns out, Bucky has a few ideas of his own. Pepper’s surprised for a moment at the suggestion, but quick to nod her agreement.] That might not be a bad idea. I’m sure both of them would appreciate that. [Knowing that in their absence, the slack would be picked up. More importantly, it would keep Bucky occupied, distracted from worries and unwanted thoughts while he waits.]

I’m not sure how much I’d be able to help you with, but let me know if I can. [She’s a student herself, and it’s highly likely any pupils Steve and Natasha have taken on are at a more advanced level. Still, the thought of being able to do something sits far better than the alternative, and Pepper gets her phone to capitalize on the idea.]

We can go ahead and let everyone know now. [She pauses for a moment, her thumb raised over the screen.] I can handle the first part, but it’s probably better if you make the offer to fill in yourself, so people know who to get in touch with.

[disassembles]

[ James nods, a little tension going out of his shoulders. The decision is at least partly out of his hands anyway. It depends mostly on their students - it’s possible that everything will just be put on hold for a week before returning to normal.

He’s a little surprised that Pepper offers to help, but he really shouldn't be. ] Yeah, I will. Thank you.

[ She’ll do a better job with the announcement. While he feels like it should be his responsibility, this is one of those situations where his particular brand of bluntness might not be appreciated.

He takes a moment to pull his hair back into a ponytail before he steps in behind her, a little to her left. All the time he’s been in the mansion since his return, he’s been careful about showing his face on any public video feed, but there isn't really any other way to do this.

He waits for her to start.

Over the course of the next couple of hours, he ends up in one of her chairs, fielding questions and listening to her do the same. By the time they're finished, he's leaning heavily on the arm of the chair with his chin braced against the heel of his palm, swearing occasionally under his breath in Russian when the touch screen refuses to co-operate with him texting one-handed.

He finally leans back and pinches the bridge of his nose. ]

...I think that about does it. You want to get coffee?

[handing]

[For her part, Pepper has politely kept any commentary about those curses to herself, even if it hadn’t taken her long at all to figure out just what the words mean. She’s kept up with the replies as much as he has, not just to follow through on her half of the broadcast, but also to get an idea of the responsibility now on Bucky’s shoulders. Not only is he her friend, so are Steve and Natasha; the least Pepper can do in their absence is help take care of one of their own.

Which is why when he suggests they take advantage of the tapering responses, she’s quick to nod.] Coffee sounds great. It’ll give me a chance to show you the talk-to-text function of your phone, if you’re interested.

[Offer made, she grins quite innocently as she stands from the chair she’d settled into shortly after the broadcast had been made.]

[disassembles]

[ He pushes himself to his feet, and rolls a little of the tension out of his shoulders and neck. At this time of day, the coffee shop should be mostly empty, and maybe being away from this hallway for a little while will be good.

He knows Pepper has been paying attention, so her attempt at innocence is met with a slightly raised eyebrow. ]

Is that gonna be better? [ Bucky looks deeply skeptical. It's really not that bad of a phone, but it's still a pain in the ass to type when he could write by hand so much more quickly and accurately. ]

[handing]

[He's skeptical, but he hasn't said no, and for that Pepper's glad. She wants the distraction as much as she suspects he does. Certainly it's a simple thing to say that in a week's time they'd worry if their friends still hadn't returned, but nearly impossible to keep her thoughts from straying towards the what ifs inherent in their situation.]

Maybe. That accent of yours might cause trouble--not to mention it might not be able to understand what you were muttering earlier. What language was that, by the way? [European, probably, but she can't place it specifically. She heads towards the door, holding it open for him as they head out of the room.]

[disassembles]

[ James frowns. He doesn't always catch the way his words have settled back into a familiar cadence - but he supposes that it makes sense that they would. Though he feels as if he's lived the full length of that 70 years, he's only been awake for a fraction of that time. In that way, he was Bucky much longer than he was the Winter Soldier, even if the cold never leaves his bones.

He shakes his head, focusing on the present. ]

What'd I tell you? Useless. [ He means the phone, of course, not her advice. Just because he's old doesn't mean he can't complain about technology not being advanced enough. ] It's probably for the best. It wasn't the kinda thing I wanted translated.

[ He steps out and waits for her to follow, falling into pace with her easily. ] It was Russian. Back during the Cold War, I did a lot of work for HYDRA through the Soviet Union... So unlike my French vocabulary, I can actually use it in public.