entranceway | video; guess who's back, back again

video; guess who's back, back again

[ The feed snaps on, and the frame is on the crowded side. In the foreground Steve and Wanda are seated, arranged on a couch in one of the mansion’s tea rooms, while Natasha stands behind them, leaning against the wall near the door. Steve has his phone tilted so that all of three them are visible, Wanda’s arm linked with his.

Steve’s in civilian wear, his expression composed and collected. He isn’t here to give out orders or make any speeches, though. ]

So it looks like Wonderland sent all three of us home at once. Sorry about that. [ As if they had any control over it. ] But we’re back now and more or less in one piece. [ Which isn’t the full story at all, but that isn’t something that needs to be shared with all of Wonderland.

Natasha pushes away from the wall at this and moves closer into the frame of the video, leaning on the back of the couch over Steve’s shoulder, expression mild. ] I don’t know if any others of us were sent home recently, but if so, letting us know would be greatly appreciated.

[ Her lips quirk briefly. ] Either way, I think some of us will need to be assembling for a SitRep soon regardless. But we wanted to let you know we were back to keep people from worrying.

[ Steve glances over his shoulder at Natasha, nods, and then returns to looking at his phone. ] Let us know if we’re needed anywhere.

[ With that, the feed cuts. ]

[ They’ve done their duty and reported their return, which means that it’s time for all three of them to go and lick their wounds. Steve returns to his room first and foremost, finding Bucky even sooner than he had expected when it turns out he’d camped in his room.

Once they’ve reunited, though, Steve laces up his shoes and goes for a run up and down the beach, needing some time to clear his head. Everything that happened back home has him on edge, searching for a way to take action, to do something, and yet none of it means a thing here in Wonderland. There are no Accords here, but a secret that had been revealed in the worst possible way back home remains a secret here, and it’s eating at him.

He also heads up to the roof, as if hoping that a bird’s eye view of everything will somehow cause it all to make more sense. Wonderland isn’t where he’s supposed to be, but at least some of his team is here. They maybe be prisoners, but they’re not caged and collared. It’s something. ]

[ Once Natasha parted ways with Wanda and Steve, having had a chance to - finally - compare information, she briefly stopped by her room upstairs, checking to make sure everything she'd accumulated here was as she'd left it. Then, after replying to a few text messages that had been waiting for her, she headed to the fifth floor. And the bar.

Because damn, did she ever need a drink. Or twenty. ]

[ For most of the day following their return to Wonderland, Wanda remains out of sight. There's no trace of her in either of her usual haunts, the training room or the magic study: she shuts herself away in her room for the better part of the afternoon, door locked tight, though she'll likely answer for those who seek her out. It's been months since she's been this withdrawn-- longer, considering how much time had passed during her trip home, but she finds herself feeling very much like the Wanda who had first come to Wonderland one year earlier, skittish and wary of human contact, unnerved by the idea of having to explain exactly what had changed to rob her of the confidence she had spent so many months building alongside her teammates and new friends alike.

Eventually, it's one of the most basic of human needs that forces her to emerge, hunger driving her to leave her room behind and make her way down to the communal kitchen. After spending time in government custody, the need for a real meal as opposed to whatever the closets might be able to supply is enough to make her brave the mansion beyond her room. She keeps her focus narrow at first, rummaging through the pantry to see what it might have to offer in the way of ingredients, occasionally turning her attention to the kitchen at large to see who else might have wandered in since her own arrival, an attempt to remain aware of her surroundings. House arrest followed by more severe isolation has done very little to put her at ease, and she finds herself unwilling to trust even the slightest creak of the floorboards, regardless of the fact that here, the word fugitive means very, very little. ]

[ OOC: One or all of them will respond to any network replies. If you reply to any of the action options, please specify who it’s for! ]

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[ Steve also sits. The couch is large enough for both of them to be on it without making any physical contact, although it's something they'll have to ease back into eventually. They had already started -- a hand on the shoulder before wading into what they had thought would be a battle -- but it hasn't been much.

It makes sense that Bucky knows as much as he does, given that he's had an entire week to gather information. And everything he's heard is completely accurate.

Steve turns and sits cross-legged on the couch facing Bucky. It's hard to even know where to start, but when all else fails the beginning is usually a pretty good place. ]

When we first got here, you were still from back during the war. You came here right after the fall. [ Steve doesn't need to specify what fall he means -- one meaningful look is enough to get the message across. ] You made friends here, and then you got sent home, the way I just did. When you came back, it was after everything that happened in DC.

[ Steve leans back against the armrest of the couch, and a small smile plays over his face. ] I explained what was going to happen while you were gone, and people understood. They got to know you all over again. [ Bucky had also had his memories of Wonderland still, but Steve chooses not to mention that. ] It took a while, but we had sort of... [ He pauses and glances down to his lap. ] Figured things out. And then you were gone again.

[Bucky worries the inside of his lip, the hand on his lap not fidgeting only because he's keeping himself still. The thought that he'd arrived here right after, that Hydra hadn't gotten to mess with his mind quite as much is strange, almost a relief, but then it isn't anymore.]

That's not right.

[His fingers flex, then relax again.]

Why didn't this place just leave me alone? It wasn't the best up to the fall, but it was better than what happened after.

[Maybe it's not that simple, but he thinks it's pretty messed up for Wonderland to bring him here only to take him home and fill his head with Hydra. Then Steve's saying things that sound nice, different than what he would have expected, but nice all the same.]

It's hard to picture that, Steve. Why would they want to get to me know me all over again if they know what I've done.

[Bucky exhales slowly, tilting his head towards Steve.]

We'll figure them out again. And I won't leave this time.

[Even if he couldn't guarantee he'd always be here, he wouldn't leave by choice, and that he could promise.]

We've got a lot of time to make up for.

[ It's a good question that Bucky asks at first, but what he'll learn sooner rather than later is that sometimes Wonderland seems to exist simply to make them miserable. Its recent stunt with sending Steve home right as Bucky returned is just another example.

Even before, Bucky hadn't understood why people would want to spend any time around him given what he'd done. Steve doesn't know if he'd ever come to understand it, but he'd granted people the right to make their own choices about him.

As solid as Bucky's promise sounds, Steve knows that it's not one that he can keep, and it's that thought that forces him to look down for a moment. He wants to believe that they're stuck to each other like glue now, but either one of them could go home at any time -- and leave the other one behind. ]

Yeah... yeah, we do. And we have the opportunity to do it here.

[ He looks up again, his lips tight with an almost-smile. ]

And those people understood that the things you did weren't really you. They saw you for who you are now. It'll be the same this time. [ It better be, anyway. If anyone gives Bucky a hard time, they'll have Steve to answer to. ]

I'm not so sure, Steve, but some of your friends were nice.

[His friends, too, going by what they'd said or people that might be that to him again. Bucky didn't see how they could, but he trusted that Steve wouldn't steer him in the wrong direction.]

Can you promise me something?

[Bucky shifts, tucks one leg up on the couch so he's facing Steve full on. He needs him to know that he's serious, that he's not just saying it to say it. He feels selfish for asking, like it's too much.]

Promise you won't let me hurt anyone else. Do whatever you have to do, Steve, but don't let me.

[It is too much. As soon as the words tumble out, he regrets it. He shouldn't put that on Steve, ask him to do anything like that, but there's nobody else he trusts, nobody else. He stares down at his folded knee, fingertips tugging at a loose thread, eyes glassed over.

This place was small. Confined. If Bucky hurt anyone there would be nowhere to go and that just meant people would come after him, and by association, he'd be putting Steve in danger.]

[ Most of Steve's friends are also Bucky's friends, and vice versa. That's just how it goes. They tend to come as a package deal, and Steve has never had any problem with that. He figures that Bucky will be more likely to trust people who are his friends, so it all works out.

The moment that Bucky asks Steve to promise him something, he can guess at where he's going with it, and he isn't wrong. Bucky had asked him something similar the last time he was here, and Steve hadn't liked the thought of it any better then.

As it turned out, Bucky had been the one forced to try and keep people safe from Steve, due to that one event. ]

Bucky, listen... [ Steve works his jaw and then sighs. ] With the way that Wonderland is, all of us are at the same risk of having our minds used against us. [ Telling him in detail about the HYDRA event is likely to just upset him, as he'll find a way that it's his fault, and so Steve decides to keep it to himself. ]

But all right. I'll do my best to make sure that you don't hurt anyone. [ As much as Steve would like to insist that it's never going to happen, he knows that he can't guarantee that. If Bucky does end up hurting someone against his will it's going to undermine the small amount of structure they've rebuilt in their friendship. Steve knows he can't let that happen. ]

Thanks, Steve.

[Bucky offers Steve a small smile, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes. He's not sure he feels any better having asked, but Steve's never let him down before, he trusts him with this. He hopes it won't ever get to the point where he'll need Steve to stop him, temporarily or permanently, but having Steve's word comforts him.

It's on the tip of his tongue to ask if Wonderland has messed with Steve's mind, but a part of him isn't ready to know that yet. He sighs, the sound caught up in his throat.]

We're not safe. [Bucky pulls his phone out of his pocket, setting it on the couch between them.] There's someone here who knows what I've done. Someone that thinks I'm dangerous. A threat.

[He pushes the phone towards Steve.]

If I'm around you, and he comes for me. You might get hurt.

[ While Steve hadn't been able to stop Bucky from harming people when he had been triggered back home, for the most part he'd been set to disable people, not take their lives. It could have been a lot worse under other circumstances -- he'd still barreled through at least five enhanced or highly trained operatives before Steve got to him.

There's no moment to breathe before Bucky shifts to another difficult topic. Steve stares at the phone as it's set down between them, but doesn't reach out for it. ]

Who do you mean?

[ Steve wracks his brain to try and figure out who could hold that kind of opinion about Bucky, and he doesn't come up with anything at first.

Except for... wait -- ]

Are you talking about Agent Fitz?

Agent?

[His brows pinch together as he tries to remember anyone with that name who had any affiliation with an 'agency'. SHIELD. HYDRA. CIA. Nothing came up, but that wasn't so unusual considering everything.]

He seemed pretty upset that I was here. Thinks I'm going to do something.

[He might have been talking about Steve when he said warning people, Bucky wasn't sure. All he knew was that Fitz thought he was dangerous and that people needed to know that the Winter Soldier was in Wonderland.]

Who is he?

[ Given the small amount of information Fitz had about the situation, Steve couldn't even blame him for being wary at first. At least he'd seemed to back down as soon as Steve had explained everything. ]

After SHIELD went down, pieces of it stayed alive. Those people who had joined SHIELD for the right reasons wanted to carry on its legacy. [ A legacy that wasn't tainted by HYDRA's influence. ] Agent Leopold Fitz is a part of that.

[ While Steve can't guarantee that Fitz will ever be comfortable around Bucky or vice versa, he can at least explain that he defused the situation. ]

I talked to him earlier today and explained everything. He isn't going to come after you or anything, don't worry.

[ After a moment of hesitation, Steve reaches forward to grab for Bucky's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. ]

[It makes sense, and while their conversation had put him on edge, he'd never really blamed the guy for it. Bucky was dangerous and if he'd been in Fitz's shoes, he'd have wanted to warn the people he cared about that a former assassin of HYDRA had been thrown into Wonderland.]

Wasn't worried about him coming after me.

[He glances at Steve then, knows that he puts the other man at risk simply by being close to him.

His mouth curves up and he doesn't pull away, he's a little tense but he's actively trying to make himself more comfortable with other people touching him. It sets off his fight or flight instincts, but somehow not so much when it's Steve.]

Thanks for clearing things up with him.

No problem, pal. Although...

[ It doesn't really stop there, when it comes to people who might have a beef with Bucky. It might not be an immediate concern, but that could change on a dime, and so better that Bucky be braced for whatever could happen. ]

Did you know that Tony is here, too? He's from further back in time, just after the whole Ultron mess.

[ As things stand right now, Tony would have had no real reason to talk to Bucky, seeing as he had no clue how few degrees of separation existed between them.

Steve pulls his hand away to rub at the back of his neck. ]

I'm not sure what we're gonna do about it yet. Natasha thinks that keeping it all from him again could just make more of a mess.

[ He doesn't think he needs to specify what he's talking about. ]

[Bucky stiffens, leaning back slightly. He hadn't known Tony was here, and the realization that he could have stumbled across him at any point bothers him.]

He should know.

[No matter what that might mean for him here. Bucky would take his lumps, however they came, but he thought that maybe trying things a different way might mean that Steve and Tony could stay friends.]

We tried it the other way. Kept it from him. That didn't turn out good for anybody.

[A million things are flying through his mind all at once. Which scenario will result in the least amount of anger. If Steve will get hurt telling him.]

I can't even offer to leave if he doesn't want me here.

[ Even if it's subtle, that moment of tenseness on Bucky's end tells Steve everything that he needs to know. He hadn't realized that Tony was here, which is probably a good thing. If they had run into each other without either of them knowing what was going on, it could have been a disaster.

Bucky echoes what Natasha had already told Steve, and he knows that if both of them feel the same way about this issue that he really doesn't have a leg to stand on.

They're going to have to tell him. No, Steve is going to have to tell him. ]

Yeah. The best you can do is agree to stay out of his way.

[ Steve stifles a sigh and rubs his hand over his eyes. ]

I'll tell him. Maybe if I sit him down and brace him for it, he won't react as violently as he did before.

[ They can only hope. ]

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video; guess who's back, back again

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