mental link - :018

[circumspector]

[ There's a crackle of static, of a radio station getting tuned in and a deep breath. Not a loud one, this one, just tentative brush at whatever is closest. ]

( ... Aoba? Petre? )

[ Well, someone's awake. Tired sounding, but awake and she tries to clear her mind to focus enough to reach out broaden to whoever might be nearby. More direct, a little more present. Nervous always, when she feels disconnected from others. ]

( ... Hello? Anyone nearby? )

[ and for anyone looking for her, she's around the Bearings as she catches up on what she's missed out on, getting herself cleaned up from her extended nap time, and plugging herself back into the nest of machines in the common area. ]

Comments

[decommission]

[ He returns to the Bearings later, missing the mental announcement to find her sitting near the gadgets and gizmos in the common area - first to his immediate surprise, then to his relief. Too many people have been going under and not coming back up lately. ]

Welcome back. [ Approaching, he's got his hands in his pockets and a faint, lopsided smile on his face. His head cocks to one side, peering at the set-up. ] Already back to work?

[circumspector]

[ It's one thing to hear his thoughts and another when - she hears his voice beside her and she looks up. Because some part of her had been hoping he'd be the one that would get back to her first. Not mad that he hadn't, just that she's glad to see him.

So when she sees him, she's up immediately - better at the interaction, better at finding it less shocking when people are so suddenly there and sometimes she resents it but - not with him. Never with him.

Wraps her arms around him, pressing in close in a hug. ]

Steve.

[decommission]

[ Oh - he doesn't expect the way she comes at him. He's still figuring all of this out. He still sees the Nest as individuals, he doesn't think of them as a whole. He doesn't call them family, even if he knows that's what this easy acceptance must be part of. His arms wrap around her shoulders a half second later, face lightly flushed. ]

Hey. [ He's got about an inch on her, means he doesn't have to push up on his toes - for some reason he's extra aware of that difference. ] How're you feeling?

[circumspector]

[ She buries her face in his chest - he's bony, sure, and stiff perhaps because he isn't used to it but - neither is she particularly. ]

Tired, like usual. But fine otherwise. [ It's a happy mumble before she pulls her head up to look at him. Nevermind how she is, she's been asleep for too long anyway. ] But how are you? I saw your name come up on the feeds, [ well, his fake name at least ] has something happened?

[decommission]

[ They've got that in common, knows what it's like waking up feeling like you still need another ten hours of sleep. Less so these days, at least. When she looks up he lets his arms fall back to his sides, pulling a face and glancing at the empty space over her shoulder. ]

Nah - [ shaking his head ] - just got into a scuffle down in Subspace. [ cocking his head to one side, his humor a self-deprecating mask ] Felt like being home.

[ It didn't. Fight back home didn't usually end in Steve having to stop his friend from going after innocent bystanders, but he really doesn't want to talk about that. ]

[circumspector]

[ She straightens a little, immediately concerned - of course she is, how could she not be? He's kind. He's kinder than anyone she's ever met. He gave her stories about lights and friends a life she never had that seemed - like fairy tales compared to what she knew. It made shine like gold, like a knight in a story than reality. Her friend. Her first friend she would do anything for him.

Her arms loosen and she peers up at him, frowning with her worry. ]

Are you alright? I can try and erase or corrupt the files so your name won't be as known?

[decommission]

[ Her worry is - well, he blinks down at her, brow furrowing. ]

Wouldn't someone notice that? [ If his name appeared and then immediately disappeared. And Bucky would need the same. Seems like too much trouble. He shakes his head. ] It's okay. [ A slight, wry grin. ] Makes me look tough.

[ Adds something extra to his background.

Or he's just trying to make it a positive in front of her. Maybe both. ]

[circumspector]

[ There's a huff there - like she isn't sure she believes him about that really, it's got to be annoying, she'd been making sure to dodge it herself but then - ]

If you're sure. [ She presses her lips together, drawing it up with the rest of the details she'd seen on it. ] And the other person - he's one of us isn't he? He's alright too?

[decommission]

[ He's sure, and would be happy to move onto another topic, but the next question has him pausing for a split second. ]

Buck - yeah, he's with us. He's alright. [ The slight tension in his tone and expression would imply the opposite. He's making a face like he's trying not to frown, twists his mouth up before softening again. ] I know him from back home.

[ The image in his mind is one she's seen before, a bright looking young man with dark hair, looking down at you, interspersed with a less familiar portrait: the same face with haggard features, the silhouette missing one arm. ]

[circumspector]

[ Hard not to notice, not when they're close, not when she worries about him as much as she does. ]

Steve? [ like she doesn't believe it's all okay, because it apparently isn't. ] Tell me what's wrong?

[decommission]

[ He pulls in a breath, lips thin. ]

You ever think about how - there's another version of you somewhere, in another universe? And maybe things go differently for them?

[circumspector]

[ She steps back a little then -- that's. A lot. Something she understood maybe better than anyone. Carefully she caught his hands, lifting them up so she could weave her fingers through his. ]

All the time. It used to be everything I did. [ Her thumb brushed against the back of his hand, and the connection that comes through is one of warmth, acceptance, easiness. ] Is... your friend not the same as you remember?

[decommission]

[ The flow through the link has him closing his eyes, letting out a short, surprised exhale, shaking his head at the question. Despite the sudden warmth his own thoughts darken, a thick fog of radio static around the conflicting portraits of his friend. ]

He's from the future - a long, long way into the future. He's been through a lot. [ The details are locked from their connection. He's hardly got all of them, but what he's seen - the lines at his brow deepen. ] I was there too.

[ Long after he would've been taken by the Nest. Another future. ]

[circumspector]

[ She can't quite imagine it, but she knows something like it. A different possibility is always hard to swallow, that life might go on without you, somehow. Granted, when she'd found out, she had everything she ever wanted. ]

It must be hard for you both, then. To know that there's another version of you that... didn't come here. For him to be confused about who you are here.

[ A comforting squeeze then, lips pressing together, trying to help him through it. ] But... you still remember each other at least? That means you can help each other work it out despite the differences, right?

[decommission]

[ He nods. They remember each other. And when Bucky forgets - he's always remembered again, just takes a little while sometimes. ]

We've gotta try. [ His features read hopeful even as his tone turns self-deprecating. Despite the conflict, both sentiments manage to be genuine. His chin dips down and he lets their hands fall, pausing for a second before eyeing her again. ] You get anything to eat yet?

[ Since she's been up. It's not exactly a patronizing concern - he happens to be hungry too. ]

[circumspector]

If there's anything I can do to help, let me know. Looking after people who have been through a lot sort of... used to be my area.

[ Because that she would do anything to help was obvious. She settles her hands back to her sides and takes the distraction easily. ]

Definitely. I'm always hungry.