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( she's mentioned having made a nook for herself before, but it's not like there's a map that says where that is. he has to look around a bit before he manages to find her. when he does find her, deeply concentrated on her commlink, he trots over with clear intent, making his presence obvious by the noise he makes as he approaches and offering a small grin and a light wave when he manages to catch her attention. )

Edited 2022-03-05 01:12 (UTC)

[ Grace usually spends her time gently floating from spot to spot in the storage warehouse, reading books on her commlink, and pretending she's not avoiding Lucifer. Today, though, she has invited a friend, and it brightens her considerably when he shows up-- she straightens up, waves, smiling, and floats down from her current perch to meet him. ]

Manage to avoid the cargo pushers okay?

( he's there, promptly as implied. gratefully, the deck is clear.

there's little reason to doubt theo won't show. he's been itching for a fight the whole time he's been here, and to top it off, there's likely nothing more satisfying than taking it out on the guy who ruined his secret studies in the hideaway he made for himself. the soldier isn't blind to the reality, caged animals fighting to be heard in the same cacophony that holds them hostage. he's been there too, felt the anger he was supposed to feel. moved on from it better than steve, but even estranged from it, the aching hunger and despair can't be forgotten.

whatever the others might think of it doesn't matter. no one knows that particular brand of rage unless they've been there, and theo's the only one he's seen biting at every scrap. sure, he's cocky as hell and way out of his depth, but. anger is the same as any other feeling: bottling it up does more harm than good. )

( the sight of her smile brightens his own smile more, a pleased lean of his head as she approaches. )

Yeah. Something like a game, really, if you've got time to kill. ( glancing to the container she'd been on, bucky hums gently. )

Shall I join you up there? Easier to focus if we're sitting.

You just wanna fly, huh?

[ She grins, holds out a hand toward him. ]

Not like I blame you... Alright, hold on, and don't let go until I do.

( he belts out a surprised laugh because he genuinely is. ) Oh, I was just gonna jump it. But if you're offering?

( hand out hesitantly, he lets her choose between flying him up or watching him jump up himself. )

[The smallest dog in this pack has to make the most noise. Without his magic to defend himself with - so potent that he feared almost nothing before - Theo felt cornered and terrified from the second he woke up on the Peregrine, and it hasn't ceased since. The target of that hostility was, well, everyone, but especially the wardens.

He's always been an easy target. The smallest, the weakest, a runt. Which is precisely why his older brother taught him to at least know how to throw a punch and the best way to hold a knife. They lived in a dangerous neighborhood, and since Theo was so keen to go running off alone so much, Greg needed to make sure little Theo knew how to carry himself.

The way he carries himself now was with conflicting emotions, breath nervous-quick and eyes ablaze with anger. If it was Bucky he had to prove it against, so be it. If he lost, if he died, so be it too. He hadn't feared death for a long time. The only think he feared now was continuing to live.

He knew he had no chance of winning. But he'd be damned if he wasn't going to go down without making a warden suffer as much as he could try. Give them more reason to hate him. Give him more reason to not trust them.

Theo takes only a few steps into the observatory.]

So. What are we doing here.

[He's expecting it to be a trap. To just be dragged off once again by his collar to his room, or worse, solitary.]

[ Ooo. Tempting. She DOES want to see him do some super ability stuff... so far it's just been her showing off and him being overwhelmingly charming about it.

...Nah. Be more charming. She grabs his wrist and shifts, turning herself incorporeal... and taking him with her. Now weightless (and heartbeatless, and blinkless, and breathless), she flies them both gently up to the high-up container she'd been chilling on before, a big rectangular tank of what looks like some sort of alien fish suspended in gentle blue light. Once there, she sets them both carefully on the ground and shifts them back to normal, peering carefully at his expression. ]

You okay? Sometimes the process can be unsettling for people...

( keeping his distance, his eyes flick to theo, and he offers a short nod. missing the defensiveness proves difficult.

he raises his gloved hands, leaves the palms out and plainly visible as he pivots to face the young man. no weapons. no cuffs. bucky answers without lowering them. )

I know what you probably anticipate. What I wanna know is what reason you'd want it to be.

( she takes his wrist, and he feels his body change. he's never felt so weightless, so unburdened, utterly free of corporeal burden, all the aches he's grown to ignore vanished in a single moment. though his eyes widen, mouth agape in shock, it's not fear in his expression but elation. were he more aware, and more importantly capable, he could genuinely cry.

none of this is easy to explain though, too much history and baggage. too much to put onto anyone. too much for steve. too much even for himself. when he shifts back, the long familiar pains return but remain forgotten, his heart pounding from gratifying pleasure of the entire event.

bucky smiles so wide his cheeks start to ache. )

O- oh my, God. ( a bright, delight-filled smile. ) That was so cool!

What?>

[A trap it is, then. Theo bares his teeth in a grimace. He almost takes a step back, but he holds his ground.]

What are you talking about. You started shit and I'm not a fucking coward, that's what.

[Theo is starting to realize his mistake. Too hot-headed to turn down the challenge, but what warden in their right mind would risk their job starting a fight with an inmate? How many inmates landed in solitary because they had tried first?]

Did you do this just to fucking lecture me?!

[ she beams. ]

The best part is not having to breathe. I can stay underwater like that for hours. It's a good place to hide.

[ implying she's done that a lot. Anyway. What were they here for, again? OH. She is. Still holding on to his wrist, huh. With a little jump of realization, she quickly drops it and tilts her head apologetically, folding her arms against her stomach. ]

Sorry!

Underwater? ( he laughs, surprised. having the luxury of not needing to breathe could benefit a lot of situations. while his mind wanders a moment, she reacts to having kept hold of his wrist, but he smiles gently and shakes his head. she's trustworthy. )

You're fine! ( and he shifts to stand properly rather than in a daze, when— ) Wait, wait, are you swimming in water, then? Or just flying through it?

( bucky stays frozen in place, waiting for theo's answer. even with the outburst, he forces a careful breath before answering, )

No. I just want to make sure we're on the same page or at least be in the same book.

You just remind me of someone I know. ( knew, he corrects internally. ) So if you really wanna fight, then I want you to be able to. Just without consequence.

[He does take a step back now, trying to convince himself not to just take off. Can't say you're not a coward, and then run away. He does give Bucky a side-eyed look, since he's still expecting to be caught and dragged off for starting shit with a warden.

His face is trying to suppress several emotions at once, as he continues his cold glare.]

I'm not on your page. I'm not like you, or anyone you know, or anyone here.

And you're not the first person I've fought, so don't think I won't. Just because they took my power from me doesn't mean I'll back down. So I'll ask again - what are we going here!

Then fight me. ( his head cants with a slight shrug. ) No strings. You get to prove yourself capable, and I'll take you seriously.

I'm the one picking the fight, here. Wardens aren't supposed to do that — it's inmate behavior — so it's my hide on the line.

( not that he doesn't already have a plan around that, but. still, if anyone will be critical, it'll be his peers first for both egging theo on and separately encouraging it. this is bucky's way, though. this has always been his way, how he even came to know steve. if theo is really so keen on fighting his supposed bullies, then why deny him the chance? )

[He's torn. Theo doesn't want to fight Bucky - someone much larger than him, someone who might know how to actually fight. But he's in deep, making these claims hoping either Bucky would walk off, or Theo would be hauled back to the dorms before it got too far.

But Bucky just keeps standing there, waiting.

Theo hesitantly takes a couple of steps forward, fists balled. He'll try one last deflection.]

Then why put your neck on the line for something like this? You could have just-- You can just go do whatever! And why should I even trust that you won't just blame it--

[Nope. The texts show Bucky making the challenge abd choosing to meet here. Theo could definitely get in trouble for meeting it, but he doesn't care about that.

Another few steps forward.]

Fuck it. You started this. You really want to fight someone half your size? Fine.

Huh? Oh... That's... a good question, actually, I think um... neither?

[ Don't worry-- she looks exactly as confused as you feel. ]

It's like you're there, but you're not there. Like you are where you are, but you're not a part of it. It's hard to explain... the water is there, it's around you, but it doesn't... matter? [ She shakes her head, lets out an exasperated chuckle. ] I'll show you sometime. It's easier than trying to use words. Like most things.

( they're fair questions and assumptions to make. anyone should have them, really. anyone who trusts him blindly presumes to much, bucky thinks. even his own allies shouldn't trust him so quickly with things like this, likely.

even so, he knows how much something like this matters to someone who's felt the weight of an entire system working against them. he can't pretend it's why he didn't take pleasure in it too, back before he realized how little it changed things.

the image of steve, bloodied and face swollen, laying short of falling hundreds of feet back to the earth comes to mind. he hadn't been himself at the time. but. also he had been. did that make it worse? he still wonders, even if it doesn't matter anymore. )

You can handle it. Don't hold back.

It's awfully clever. ( a fond grin as he continues. ) I can't imagine how strange it must have been at first, but it's far more useful than any run of the mill power.

( none of his even matter if she can shift out of tangible space so easily. hell, that makes her all the more powerful in his eyes. )

[He has to do this. No backing out now. Taking a quick, deep breath, Theo finally charges at Bucky. He's probably surprisingly fast for someone his size and shape - nothing miraculous, but the job he had as a child required him to be sure if he wanted to keep his limbs intact.

He knows the right way to throw a punch, but not much else. He aims it right for Bucky's throat. No holding back. He doesn't expect it to land, not by a long shot. But if it somehow did, it works end this farce quickly.]

[ She shrugs, sheepishly-- it's clear from her face she doesn't exactly agree. ]

Less strange, more... terrifying. I was sixteen, and I didn't know what was happening to me. I thought maybe I was losing my mind. Sometimes I still wonder.

[ A bright smile-- clearly forced. ]

But that's the problem, right? I have to learn not to be so obvious that I'm basically always afraid here. Because there's no one to trust, really.

( the kid's fast. steve before the serum fast. which makes it all the more devastating in his mind. bucky barely bothers with holding up a guise of defense.

the strike lands, and his windpipe locks. expected. a wheeze as he chokes for breath, drags an arm back, stops himself from throwing it. his left hand flies to his throat as he coughs and gasps for air. he swipes his right arm in front to block an incoming blow but places it loosely, unfit to withstand a strike. )

( sixteen. how old was she now? it's something he should ask, but decorum makes it impolite. sixteen. fuck. not that the war wasn't hell either, but. but that was war. )

Anyone who says they're perfectly sane is definitely lying. Trust me. ( said one fool to another.

not that it ever mattered in the end. whatever made sense was never what happened. sanity didn't prove much use when thanos came barging in. )

There is at least on person you should trust, though. Yourself. Not the words but the instinct. You know?

[Theo had planned to follow up with another strike, but the fact that the first one landed and Bucky's reaction to it almost completely throws him off. Bucky's blocking with his right arm is actually enough to stop the punch due to Theo's surprise.

He stumbles back a few steps, eyes wide for a moment before turning angry again.]

Why didn't you--

[He thought this was supposed to be a fight, not just some punching bag session. He attempts to stay in something of a defensive post, shoulders tense and fists raised in front of him, in case Bucky makes a move.]

Had enough already? ( he catches his breath, though a noticeable rasp remains in his throat. ) You think a tap like that's enough to take me down?

( skipping forward into offensive, his right arm draws back again. jab, cross. granted, both are pulled so that even the bruises theo might get will barely show. the memory of steve asking for his help to pass the physical comes to mind. he hadn't held his punches then. but that had been another thing entirely. )

Shut up! [Theo keeps his arms up to take the hits, a definite "not in the face" kind of move. The blows make him take a few more retreating steps, but his temper is flaring up enough to keep him in the fight. Now if he only knew what he was doing.

He skitters to Bucky's left and attempts to land a hit in the ribs. Since Bucky was throwing from the right, maybe he'd be able to stay out of reach for a moment.]

( keeping theo on his toes is all he intends, not hoping to really rough him up in the process. theo's renewed fury makes it easy to keep up the appearance of effort. though bucky's reflexes afford him enough time to quickly throw his elbow down to deflect theo's punch, he takes it in full with a grunt, expecting theo's hand will hurt more than his ribs later. )

You call that a punch?

( delayed, he throws a strike at theo's shoulder, anticipating theo to easily dodge it. )

Didn't I say sh-- [Eep. Theo just barely makes it out of the way, wheeling backwards. He lets out an annoyed noise as he regains his footing and tries to figure out what to do next.

Sure, he's been in fights before, but he never said he won them. His older brother tried to help, but didn't get very far into it. Hard to convince Theo to put down the books to do anything else.

Bucky's antagonizing put Theo in mind of Greg, but his brother's teasing was nothing but a good-natured way to get Theo riled up and paying attention.

Right now Theo was wishing he had paid more attention back then. He goes for Bucky's other side now, aiming for his arm or side again. He wasn't sure how long he could do this, but he didn't want to find out what would happen when he lost, either.]

...Easier said than done.

[ She tries to shrug it off, with a well meaning little laugh, but it's clear that self-esteem isn't exactly high on her list of accomplishments. ]

Generally if I get the impulse to do something in the moment, it's the wrong thing to do. I can't react like normal people, because normal people don't react normally to me. I have to second-guess it all, so I usually end up doing nothing. Which comes across as... timid, I guess? And that, plus my whole thing, it makes people want to... I don't know. Hurt me. I suppose.

[ She's not really able to look him in the eyes, her gaze drifting around the storage containers in the distance. ]

I don't blame them. I just got real good at running away.

closed

march 4 - afternoon | grace gibson | storage

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march 3 - evening | theo crawford | observatory

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