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Post by Ray on Nov 16, 2016 23:17:32 GMT -7
"According to the conditions of Barton's recruitment, deciding to operate outside of SHIELD jurisdiction would only land him back in Seagate for the remainder of his twenty-year sentence." Nat says, answering Teresa's concerns without looking away from Barton. Barton drops his knife onto the plate with a small clatter, and sits back heavily in his chair. "So yes. He could get arrested."
"Twenty years?" Sam says. He chokes a little on his wine as he speaks, but actually sounds far more sober than he has the entire night as he stares down Barton in disbelief, his brows pressed close. "What the hell did you do, man? I thought you were just a petty thief, stealing people's watches."
"You're blowing it out of proportion, Nat." Barton sighs, sidestepping Sam's question all together. "It's not like I'm running old operations, I'm doing what SHIELD never had the balls to do."
"You're a vigilante, Clint." She snaps back, the Black Widow speaking rather than his best friend. "You're acting without authority or restriction."
"Guys," Steve tries, sitting forward, and holding a hand out over the table towards the pair staring each other down. But neither one of them acknowledge him.
"Funny. I'm pretty sure I was the one bailing you out of a moonlighting operation in Madagascar four months ago. Or did SHIELD approve that little car chase of yours through King's Bay? Because it sure as hell wasn't Fury you called." Barton retorts, setting an elbow on the table and pushing his plate away. Something angry flashes in Nat's grey eyes, and she narrows her stare on him predatorily. "Which reminds me, who was driving?"
"Tshchatel'noye malen'kiy mal'chik luchnik-"
"Barton, Romanoff." Steve barks, his tone changing from casual resistance to complete authoritarian. Bucky raises his brows a little, more impressed than anything else. "That's enough." Silence quickly falls over the table, but Barton and Nat don't break their eye contact. It's a full minute before Graeme clears his throat quietly, and reaches for the bottle of wine.
"I think I need a drink." He says around a slight, awkward laugh.
"Hear, hear." Sam replies, picking up his glass and downing the rest of his.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Nov 16, 2016 23:38:04 GMT -7
Teresa raised her eyebrow once more when Nat said about the fact that he would end back in Seagate for the remainder of his sentence and she shook her head. If she was being honest she really didn't want to know what he had done to land himself in jail for twenty years. She moved her eyes away from Barton and pinched the bridge of her nose. This definitely isn't how she wanted the meal to go and found that it was more like being back at home than she realised.
She closed her eyes while Barton and Nat decided to argue with each other. She actually agreed with Nat on this one. Barton was a vigilante but at the same time she agreed with Barton too because while she had been working for SHIELD for nearly a year that wasn't even close to how long the others had been working for them. Teresa opened her eyes when Steve went all Cap on them. She would have found it incredibly sexy if it wasn't for the fact that she was so tired and so hungry but didn't want to touch her food anymore.
Katherine was quiet and she was fully amused now and even had pushed Bucky to the back of her mind for a moment and handed her glass over to Graeme when he said about having a drink "Fill it all the way up" she said with a smile. In fact she was surprised that Graeme was even touching the wine because she thought he would never drink. Or at least he hadn't the millions of times that Miranda asked him, or even herself but it looked like this had caused him to drink. It was rather exciting and she wished to come to meals like this more. "And I thought dinner with your dad was tense" Katherine said and nudged Teresa who then opened her eyes and looked at her. What was that saying? If looks could kill? "I'm just saying..."
Teresa looked around the table and knew that the mood from before had gone, she then dropped her eyes down the plate and saw all the food but didn't want to eat it. If she was honest, she didn't blame Graeme for drinking but she did hope that he went careful. But if secrets were being told... She reached over and grabbed her glass of water and took a sip before she said. "I work for SHIELD"
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Post by Ray on Nov 17, 2016 0:54:05 GMT -7
The dinner guests remain tense, but the yelling had fortunately died to a simmer. The only one who seems bored by the turn of events is Bucky, who continues to spin his glass around in slow circles with metal fingers and an unreadable expression. Barton leans back in his seat slowly until his spine hits the back. "I'm sorry, Nat, I shouldn't have-" He starts, exhaling a slow breath and momentarily closing his eyes. But before he can finish his apology, Teresa interrupts the silence.
His eyes fly open and his back snaps straight once more. "You what?" He blurts out, loudly, all apologies forgotten. Even Steve looks to Teresa is confusion, his dark brows furrowing.
"You work for SHIELD?" He asks, much calmer than Barton's loud outburst.
"Since when?"
"Did we...were we not...all aware of this already?" Sam asks quietly, waving his fork in a circle indicating the entire group.
"I knew." Bucky comments nonchalantly, shrugging a single shoulder. Nat cocks her head to the side once in silent agreement, but busies herself with stirring her wine with a finger. Steve looks to the dark haired man at his side, looking a little perplexed. "No one hangs out with a bunch of superheroes and spies without getting sucked in to this shit." Bucky continues, leaning back in his chair with relaxed ease, only his metal fist remaining on the table. "And no one casually asks for specially made arrows as soon as possible unless they're using them."
"And, to be totally honest and I'm sorry Teresa," Sam tacks on, holding a hand in the air. "But you suck at keeping secrets. Like really bad. Like. Have you seen your own Facebook?"
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Nov 17, 2016 9:40:13 GMT -7
Teresa was suddenly more aware of three people possibly looking at her. Katherine, Barton and Steve. She was also aware that the tension between these three seemed like it was going to spill over. She didn't want to look at the three but of course she found her eyes lingering on Steve. He had a much calmer tone than Barton's but that didn't mean that wasn't the same punch in the gut, it just meant that he was probably used to keeping calmer than Barton. She cleared her throat and was about to speak when Katherine spoke up.
"You work for SHIELD?" Katherine had heard rumours about SHIELD and in honesty she didn't like what she heard and now she found out that one of her friends worked for them. "If you want to go on hunts then why don't you just go with your dad?" She shook her head and then looked away as if she was disgusted by the thought that Teresa could ever work for someone like SHIELD.
Teresa swallowed hard and ignored Sam's comment, keeping her eyes on Steve. She went to open her mouth once more but she found herself clearing it and looked down. "It was after that time in Stark Tower when Tony wanted me to test out that bow and for a while I said no. I said no whenever the agent came to the door, whenever they approached me but.. In the end I just gave in" and now she suddenly felt so stupid and god this meal was completely ruined. She moved her eyes up and looked over at Graeme. He knew, she put that in the terms when she spoke to Emily herself. There would be no hiding this from Graeme but of course she did keep it from the other men in her life.
"And.." she said looking up and over at Barton. "Since January" she admitted before biting down on her lip. "Bucky is right, I really do need those arrows"
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Post by Ray on Nov 17, 2016 11:31:11 GMT -7
Barton watches Teresa as she explains, brows furrowed.
A part of him wants to be angry. A part of him wants to yell and shake some sense into her and make this dinner even more of a hellish mess. But a part of him also can't blame her. When he joined SHIELD, it seemed like a silver lining. He was facing a twenty year sentence in a notoriously awful prison for larceny on a grand scale, more than just petty theft, and after years of doing wrong doing something right finally felt like his calling. And for years, it had been. For years, he'd cleaned up some of the worst parts of the world and rose through the ranks until he was the one to call when everything was going to hell in a hand basket. He and Nat were unstoppable. And he loved it.
But SHIELD, beneath the grandeur and polished brass, is a web of secrets and lies and half-truths that make every past victory seem wrong. Barton almost died for their secrets. Barton watched a child die for their secrets. Doing the right thing became doing SHIELD's dirty work. And none of it seemed worth the pain and suffering.
So he left. And drank. And fell into a pit of sinking sand thinking there was nothing he was good for anymore. He doesn't want Teresa to fall down the same path. Hell, he's tried his hardest to convince Sam and Nat to leave SHIELD with him too. But he knows nothing he says is going to make a difference. He's just the drunk, accident-prone, former-agent.
His phone vibrates in his pocket, bringing him back to reality. He rolls his jaw, and looks down to his plate away from Teresa. "I'll get more arrows ready for you." He murmurs, tugging his phone free from his pocket. The single letter S flashes on the screen as it continues to vibrate quietly. "Excuse me for a minute." Barton scoots his chair back and rises to his feet, heading towards the living room and answering the call.
There's lingering quiet for a moment, before Steve clears his throat and picks his fork up once more. "Maybe we should talk about something else."
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Nov 17, 2016 11:50:06 GMT -7
Teresa couldn't let her eyes stray from Barton, maybe a part of her didn't want too but more than that she wondered if he would ever look at her the same way knowing that she worked for the organization that he had done his best to get away from. The one that could actually send him back to prison if they found out what he done on the streets and not just with Stiles but the other times too. Then came the thought of Stiles too. She remembered that she had given his name over on the list of people she associated with and that was before she knew that he was Spider-Man.
Bloody secrets. She hated them. But at least some of hers were out in the open and in honesty she was surprised that she had come face to face with Steve at HQ. She dreaded the day that that would happen but now that she had told him the truth maybe things would be a little bit easier. Teresa didn't have to hide anything anymore and she felt this weight lift off her shoulders. It felt good but at the same time it felt very bad because the last thing she wanted to do was lose her friend over it.
Teresa opened her mouth to say 'thank you' but he got up from the table and she sighed before shaking her head. She watched him head towards the living room before clearing her throat and looking back just as Steve said about talking about something else. Her stomach didn't feel like eating but he grabbed her knife and fork anyway before eating some turkey. Today was going to be hell and the last thing she wanted was to continue this meal but like Katherine had said about it being more tense here than at her dad's house. Maybe that's where Graeme and Teresa should have gone instead of holding a dinner that was going down faster than the Titanic had.
She reached for her glass once more and suddenly wished for something stronger than water.
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Post by Ray on Nov 17, 2016 12:11:45 GMT -7
"Kind of bad timing, kid." Barton huffs into the phone, kneading his fingers into the back of his neck to work out the suddenly tense muscles.
"Story of my life," Stiles retorts on the other end, the distant sound of conversations filtering through the receiver. "But I'm being forced to play Game of Thrones monopoly and I'm dying inside so please for the love of god tell me that there's a burning building somewhere or a bank robbery or something." He says in a desperate huff. Barton glances back over his shoulder towards the silent table, glad to find that no one is paying him any attention. Not that it matters anymore. Nat already laid all his secrets bare.
"Look, can we talk later."
"How'd that thing go with the thing. The chick thing." Stiles persists, his voice now hushed and muffled by what's probably his own hand in an attempt to keep anyone else from hearing. Barton blinks slowly at the wall, but says nothing. "Y'know. The robbery thing."
"I'm hanging up."
"At least let me live vicariously through you."
"No." Barton replies, before ending the call with a tap of his finger. A slight titter of a laugh escapes him before he lifts his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. For a moment, he wonders if there was ever a time when his life wasn't ridiculous, but he knows the answer to that question very well. Damn, he misses drinking.
"I'll get another bottle of wine." Bucky says at the table, rising to his feet smoothly from the chair. He momentarily places a hand on Steve's shoulder before he turns away from the table to walk to the kitchen, leaving the silence behind him. Sam goes back to eating, though his brown eyes shift around the table, waiting for the other shoe to drop like they're get-togethers are famous for. Graeme has already gone through a glass of wine, slowly catching up to the rest of the group who've been chugging alcohol since they got here.
Pulling in a breath that fills his chest, Steve plants on a smile and attempts to regain some normalcy. "So besides SHIELD, what else is going on in everyone's lives? Any good news?" He asks, glancing around, but settling his eyes primarily onto Teresa.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Nov 17, 2016 12:28:27 GMT -7
Katherine decided to tilt her head slightly and listen to the conversation that this Barton was having while in the living room and she raised her eyebrow when she realised that she knew the voice on the other end of the phone and couldn't help but grab her wine and smirk to herself. So stiles stilinski was working with him? How very... odd. She cleared her throat when Bucky said about getting another wine and she got up in a flash. "Let me help you with that, I'm sure the bottles are very heavy" she said and followed after him.
Teresa looked up when she felt someone's eyes on her and she found that they belonged to Steve. He asked if there was any good news and she wasn't sure if she really had any good news. In fact she was sure that all her news came from SHIELD and that was the last thing she wanted to add onto the already tense room. In fact she was more than happy to put a fork through her eyes if it meant the room had something good. "Well..." she said for a moment and wasn't sure if it was good news or If it was news at all but she continued on with it anyway. "It's mine and Graeme's third anniversary coming up" she looked up at Graeme and saw that he had finished the glass of wine and looked like he was going to have more and in that second she couldn't blame him. Just as long as he went careful because she didn't want to clean up that mess.
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Post by Ray on Nov 17, 2016 13:11:57 GMT -7
Bucky avoids the kitchen all together, disappearing instead onto the balcony overlooking downtown Mystic. It's not much of a view. The town is small and shrouded in the shadows of thick trees made long by the nearly-gone sun, but a few twinkling lights attest to life existing somewhere in this forest. He presses his back against the brick wall of the building, breathing the chilly night air into his lungs. By now, nights like these have become routine. If they aren't bickering over something trivial, they're running reckless through the tower like children with too much free time. Maybe Bucky is just cynical, but he finds it more and more difficult to get as worked up about things so pointless in the grand scope of things. SHIELD, like every other intelligence agency, will fade. This too shall pass. And they're all going to realize they wasted time.
With nimble fingers, he tugs a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his jeans and places one upon his lips. The flame of his lighter momentarily illuminates his face, making his blue eyes glow unnaturally.
"Oh, congrats!" Steve says, relief filling his words and his shoulders relaxing into something that is, truly, good to hear. "Are you doing anything special to celebrate?" He asks, dipping his fork into the stuffing and taking a bite. Barton quietly returns back to the table, sliding his phone back into his pocket and diving into his food automatically.
"Hopefully nothing that involves us ruining your dinner." Natalia comments, breathing out a laugh. She gives Teresa an apologetic smile before sipping at her wine once more.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Nov 17, 2016 13:34:15 GMT -7
Teresa watches Bucky disappear and then Katherine too before she dropped her eyes back down to the occupants of the table, Steve being the first one she found her brown eyes going too. She was now aware that there was an empty seat separating her and Barton and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Her nerves were so on edge that she wasn't sure if she would be able to relax the rest of the evening. Half of her was tempted to just tell them that dinner was over and to ask them to leave. She loved this group. She loved each and everyone at this table but now she was no longer looking forward to continuing this meal at all. Teresa was tired but also very tense and it seemed like nothing was going to relax her right now.
She put the glass down and then smiled slightly when Steve asked if they were going to celebrate their anniversary and in honesty she had no idea if they would get that time together. "I hope so" she admitted. Between Teresa going to SHIELD HQ and Graeme working all hours because of the Sheriff's department was low on their staff, it made it hard to really plan anything in advance. Maybe another part of her was hoping that Graeme would surprise her with a dinner and maybe even a -ahem- ring but she guessed that flowers would do too.
Her eyes moved over to Nat when she said about maybe something that wouldn't have them ruining it and she gave an apologetic smile and Teresa found herself smiling back. It was the first proper smile that she had given in a while but she didn't feel relaxed at all. Her nerves were strung so tightly that she was sure she would break if one more thing actually happened. What didn't help was the fact that Katherine seemed to want to jump Bucky any chance she actually got and that made her feel more than nervous enough. Maybe she really should have asked Lexi to come. Lexi didn't like Barton or Bucky for that matter but she definitely wouldn't have been rude to them while having dinner and that was all that Katherine has done been rude to everyone but Graeme and Bucky. Teresa wasn't sure if she felt relief that she wasn't given Graeme any hate.
Katherine walked out onto the balcony and pushed her hands into her pockets. More than anything she had wanted to get out of that tensed room than follow Bucky. Okay, that was a lie but it definitely was tense and she seemed to feel it ten times heightened than the rest of them. It was a feeling she hated and did want to ignore it as best as she could. Out on the balcony, not only could she see... Trees but she had some time to ask Bucky a question and she was actually genuinely interested in the answer. "You don't work for SHIELD too, do you?" she asked and glanced over at him before leaning her arms on the railing of the balcony.
She did have to admit that Teresa was bad at keeping secrets but if she had kept the fact that she had been working for SHIELD away from the other three on the table, herself, Steve and Barton, for nearly a year then maybe Teresa wasn't as bad. "I mean you seem to be the only one, apart from Graeme and myself that hasn't worked for that organization" she looked away from him and out over the trees. These trees were the ones that Teresa liked to run through all the time when she had five minutes to spare so it was only apt that she and Graeme would find an apartment near to the woods.
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Post by Ray on Nov 17, 2016 14:11:17 GMT -7
Bucky glances to the side when Katherine joins him on the balcony, not all too surprised to see that she followed him. A slight smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, already expecting a one-liner or flirty smile to take both of their minds off of the argument happening inside. But for the first time that night, she speaks with a sort of genuine normalcy that makes him watch her for just a moment. He pulls the cigarette from his mouth and puffs smoke out into the open air, gazing upward as it rises up towards the darkened sky. "No. I don't." He replies, letting his head fall back against the wall. "I worked for someone much worse." The words fall from his mouth before he even thinks of keeping it to himself. Though work is far from the right word. There was nothing voluntary about Hydra. No pay stubs, no weekends off, no benefits. None of SHIELD's righteous flag-waving and peace-keeping. Just ice and metal and blood. He wonders if that's why she's out here. He wonders if he's stained in the scent of years and years and years of bloodshed. He wonders if that's ever something he'll be washed clean of.
"But I don't do that anymore." He places the cigarette back to his mouth and sucks in deep, feeling the swell of smoke in his lungs.
Graeme reaches out to place his hand over Teresa's, giving her a heartfelt smile. "We'll make it special. I promise."
"I know a manager of a hotel in Paris. I could get you a good deal." Nat comments, resting her chin upon the heel of her palm and looking at the pair of them with a small smile. Barton rolls his eyes subtly, biting a piece of turkey off of his fork with more force than necessary. It isn't until he starts chewing that he notices Sam staring at him with a far too amused expression. He resists the urge to flip him off, but Sam snorts anyway.
With his brows raising high, Graeme looks to Nat. "That...is a very generous offer."
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Nov 17, 2016 14:43:35 GMT -7
Katherine listened, for the first time she actually listens to him and nods. So he didn't work for SHIELD but someone much worse and for the first time she found that she didn't have anything in common with him, hell she wasn't sure she did have anything in common with him in the first place but in a very Katherine way she did like to think she did. God, she was seriously sad. Maybe she really did need to get out more. For a vampire she was very cut off from everything. Maybe she did need to watch things more carefully. She cleared her throat and looked away when he said that he didn't do it anymore and for once she scoffed at him. "You might not do it anymore, but that blood isn't coming off" she said and looked back at him before shrugging up a shoulder. "And it's just calling out for someone like me" Kat wasn't going to pretend that he probably didn't know what she was anymore. What was the point?
Teresa looked over at Graeme when he reached his hand out to hers and she saw the smile on his face. It was smiles like that that would melt her heart and send her into silly schoolgirl mode. But right now that smile didn't make her feel any better. It seemed like nothing was going to make her relax. This room was like a ticking time-bomb and nothing was making any of it better. But she gave him a smile anyway and squeezed his hand. "I know" she said softly and then looked over at Nat when she said about a hotel in Paris. It wasn't the first thing that they had been offered, she still remembered the restaurant that Tony Stark had got for them.
"That really is generous" Teresa said and nodded. But she wasn't sure if they really could take it. "You sure the Sheriff will let you have time off?" she asked and looked at Graeme once more. "I'm not sure the place can actually function without you" she said in a tease before she reached over and grabbed her water once more. Plus she wasn't sure if she could ask Emily to let her have anymore time away. She was meant to be on her way to Level One and she was pretty sure that she was failing so much right now. She was on the missions, sure but would they let her have time off?
But Paris... The last time she had been there she had gone on a girls week with Miranda and Katherine. And really would love to go again. Take Graeme to the City of Love.
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Post by Ray on Nov 17, 2016 15:18:59 GMT -7
Well that answers one question, even if he's not sure it's the answer he wanted. Bucky pulls his lower lip between his teeth, grating across the skin, before releasing it as his gaze turns back towards her. "I hope you realize you're wasting your time." He says, regarding her with a cold eye. He drops his cigarette to the ground, squashing the flame with the steel toe of his combat boot. "Even if I did have human blood to give, which I don't," He says, leaning off of the wall to take a step towards the railing where she stands, not intimidated in the least by the confirmation of what she is, "I finally have a good thing going with someone else. And I'm not dumb enough to give that up." He sets his metal palm onto the railing and leans his weight upon it. The railing groans in protest, but Bucky doesn't move. Doesn't even bat an eye.
The truth of the matter is Steve is the only thing that matters to him anymore. Not Hydra, not SHIELD, not petty revenge or survival -- only Steve. He's wasted so much of his life letting violence dictate every aspect of him. He's let the world run him into the ground and drag him through the corpses of his own making. But he finally has the one thing he's ever wanted. And even though he sure as hell doesn't deserve him, Bucky isn't going to let him go. Not even for a pretty girl who isn't scared of the blood he was born from.
"I'm sure there are plenty of other blood-bags you can get your kicks with."
"Well I can try," Graeme offers with an unsure shrug of his shoulders. The Sheriff's Department is still horrendously understaffed, even years after the last vampire/werewolf related incident. The city has calmed, but people still leave Mystic in droves for greener grass, leaving only the persistent ones and the troublemakers. Graeme spends more of his time writing tickets and writing reports than he does sleeping, and John Stilinski has it even worse. But for Teresa, he's willing to do anything. Even if it means leaving John with a lot more to deal with for a few days.
"I'm sure something can be arranged for the two of you." Steve adds on with a warm smile.
"I can see it now," Barton comments, mostly under his breath, "Team Cap polices small Connecticut town. Deputy goes to Paris."
"We've had worse jobs." Steve retorts, inclining his head to the side and smiling a little wider.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Nov 17, 2016 15:45:40 GMT -7
Katherine watched him as he spoke and then smiled. "Oh, I know" she was actually being genuine but it was the blood that sometimes sent her like this. But sometimes she couldn't really handle it and she really was a bad person, excuse me vampire, to be around. More than that she really ought to stay away from Bucky but she had been curious about him. She looked away and then heard him step closer til he was leaning on the railing next to her. "He seems like a good guy" she admitted and smiled once more. "You really are lucky because boy is he out of your league"
This was the first time she had actually spoken to Bucky without putting any flirting to her words. She had been rather rude to the rest of them, especially the blonde one, Barton?, when he asked if she was Lexi's twin. It was actually the same questions she got. There had been one time when she got mistaken for Lexi and now she tended to stay under the radar but of course her doppelganger would have to have some sort of connection to the group that was sitting in the living room of Graeme and Teresa's apartment right now. "But I do have to admit, he is cute" she gave him another smile before nodding and standing straight before tapping the rail. "Don't lose him"
Katherine then smirked when he said about the whole plenty of other blood-bags. "Not in this town, they are all supplied with Vervain" she huffed.
Teresa couldn't deny that Graeme did try his hardest when it came to her. He was actually one of the best guys she knew and had in her life, he was such a good guy that it wasn't hard to see what she saw in him. He truly was the guy that nearly everyone in this town pretty much wanted to bed but he only had eyes for her. She gave him a smile when he said that he could try. "I'm sure that even Sheriff Stilinski will give you a little bit of time off" she said and then smiled at Steve when he said about the fact that something could be arranged for the two of them. She really hoped so because she really wanted to show him Paris.
She snorted at Barton's comment and then was about to say something after Steve but the door went and she pushed her eyebrows together. Charlie got up and started barking as he moved towards the door. "Maybe it's Stiles, I did say he could come over when if he wanted too" she smiled and then stood up before moving towards the door. Teresa held the dog back and opened the door, the smile sliding off her face when she saw who was on the other side of the door.
A very drunk. Very angry Scott. She swallowed hard and watched as he leaned against the frame of the door before she sighed. "Not again" she muttered under her breath and made sure that Charlie was out of the way before she opened the door wider. "Can we not do this right now? I have guests"
"Oh!" he said loudly, "You can have guests but you can't come around to the house? That's very selfish isn't it?" he asked and then pushed passed her and into the apartment.
"Come in" she said in a flat tone and closed the door. Why did she have to open the door?
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Post by Ray on Nov 17, 2016 20:43:13 GMT -7
Bucky huffs out a quiet laugh, looking out towards the dark town. "You're not wrong." He admits. Even when Steve was small and sickly, he'd been beautiful. Golden and vibrant and full of pride. Bucky had fallen in love with him well before the war or the serum that turned him into the man he is today. He thinks maybe he's always been in love with him, in one way or another, even when he had no concept of what love was. A literal sun in a grim and gray world, and Bucky was destined to be the Icarus who flew too close.
Don't lose him. How many times had he said that to himself? How many nights when Steve was bed-ridden and sick, how many nights during the war when bombs rained down around their ears, how many nights in New York -- watching his sleeping face in the moonlight, streaks of soot and dirt still marking his face. He looks back to Katherine, small sad creases marking the edges of his eyes as he forces a smile. "I'll try not to."
"I wouldn't think that would stop you." He admits, leaning down upon his elbows on the railing and staring back out into the night. But his thoughts are interrupted by the sudden intrusion of loud voices in the apartment. Bucky slowly rises back upwards, his attention turning towards the door and his brow furrowing. By now, he'd grown familiar with the characteristic shouts of their always-on-edge group, but this time it's a voice he doesn't recognize breaking the silence of a ruined meal. His nostalgia fades as a new alertness squares his shoulders. "Excuse me." He murmurs, and returns inside.
Graeme is already on his feet, his soft and warm expression replaced entirely with rage. "You're not welcome here." He says, coldly, to the stranger making his way into the apartment. Bucky reaches the dining room just in time to see Nat subtly slip her dinner knife up the sleeve of her brown leather jacket.
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