snowblindrpg | [log] A Matter of Trust [closed]

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[log] A Matter of Trust [closed]

Characters: John Watson and Bucky Barnes
Location Building 235 (the Aquarium)
Date: Day 160 - Night
Summary: John's come to try to help Bucky with his frostbitten arm. Bucky was using that as a lure for a trap to interrogate Watson about what he knows. It's not going to end well for anyone.
Warnings: Excessive violence, blood, gangrene grossness

[The aquarium has the feel of a small-town tourist attraction, the sort built to give people just stopping to fuel up on petrol a reason to stay for an hour or two. As John makes it into the place, it's early evening. There are various aquariums inside that, according to plaques beside them, once showcased various Alaskan fish; they're empty now. He checks in the bathroom and finds that the water does, indeed run hot, and that's a relief. The whole atmosphere is kind of eerie, with the water casting rippling patterns on the walls, ceilings, and floors, but there's warm water, and John's just going to have to wait for Bucky since a look around tells him he's alone.

After washing up, himself in the sink, and taking the moment to shave and wash his hair, John goes looking in the gift shop. He finds a stuffed dolphin that he decides to keep for Ecks. As that leaves him still with no Bucky and time to occupy himself, the doctor sends a brief message out:]

@jwatson > @username
I'm here.

[When Bucky arrives, John is entirely preoccupied using his tablet light to read some of the plaques. His ears are tuned for the sounds of others, but someone making the effort could probably sneak up on him.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He already knows Watson is here.

Bucky got here the night before, though he barely remembers arriving in the midst of the crisis of identity he was having. It seems to have mostly passed now, he knows he's real, he knows the other people are are real, but it's left a lingering itch at the back of his mind to add to the unstable presence already growing there. He doesn't know most of it is MN poisoning, he doesn't realise his nature wariness has been ramped up that way.

All he knows is that the Russians are involved, and they might be being mind controlled, two very bad things in his experience. Not to mention that Steve has died, that he watched him die, so recently. Everything has just come to a head and he's more than ready to actually be doing something. He doesn't enjoy violence any longer, he doesn't want to be that man, but he knows sometimes it's inevitable. He promised Stark he'd find out what Watson knew, even aside from the things he wants to know himself.

He stalks Watson through the aquarium, keeping out of sight, on stealthy feet. He watches him test the water, collect a toy, send a message. And still he waits, waits until Watson is clearly not paying any attention, before slipping up behind him. He stands close, perhaps two feet away, eyes hard and merciless when he speaks.]

It's time for us to talk.

[That tone and how close the voice is immediately has John's hackles up. He can't help his hand going instinctively to his jacket pocket, wrapping around the scalpel there, but he doesn't startle or whip around. That's going to invite retaliation that neither of them want. John had set his pack aside in the bathroom earlier, trusting that would be the best place to bring Bucky and access supplies. He's regretting that decision now. Even just the umbrella might have been a better weapon than what he currently has.]

Okay. Let's talk. Are you gonna let me look at your arm while we do that?

I didn't ask you here to look at my arm.

[He's not about to put himself into any kind of vulnerable position with someone he doesn't trust, and Watson has plummeted far down the list of people he trusts. He remains still, hands loosely by his sides, though it's deceptive for he's ready to move in a second if he needs to.]

You know about me. About the others. I need to know what.

I've already told Ms. Romanov what I know about her, sir. I'll tell you what I know about you, but as I told her, I'm not going to be sharing about anyone else. I'll speak to them directly, if they'd like to know.

[He starts to turn slowly, just aiming to face Bucky. He doesn't like having his back to the other man, and he wants to have a look at him to see what kind of shape he's in.]

[He's obviously not in good shape, even just at a glance. No injuries are visible, his frostbite is hidden beneath leather, but his eyes are rimmed with black smudges and there's an unhinged hardness to them that wasn't there before.]

Not good enough.

[His voice is unyielding.]

You'll tell me everything.

I won't do that, sir.

[This isn't going to end well. John's aware of that, but he's resolved, and the set of his jaw says as much. For his part, John's in better shape by comparison. His right ear is still covered over with bandages, but he's not suffering from any other significant injuries, just general fatigue. The whacks the Joker had delivered to his head a while back have healed up.]

Do you have specific questions for what I know about you, or would you like me to just start telling you what I remember from the film?

[Film.

God, it makes his head spin, but he doesn't suspect it as a lie any longer. Those notes weren't meant to be read, he had no reason to lie in them. Which means that other man, Charlie, had been telling him the truth. It itches under his skin that there are people here who know all about him, that somehow he's fictional in another world.]

I said everything.

[He still doesn't move, but something in the subtle shift of how he's standing warns of imminent violence. He made a promise to get that information, and he will.]

I said 'no.'

[John's own stance shifts. Everything tenses as he waits to spring.]

I only know Bucky Barnes from the first Captain America movie. I don't know what the hell Charlie was talking about, but he's from 2015. It's only 2013 in my time. I'm assuming there was a second film. They usually do them in trilogies these days.

The film I know followed the story of Steve Rogers' transformation from an asthmatic kid in Brooklyn to the super soldier Captain America. Bucky Barnes was his best friend growing up and they joined the army together. He joined the Howling Commandos as World War II wore on, worked with his team to disable HYDRA bases. He fell off a train in the middle of a fight with HYDRA agents and died. Or I assumed he had until I met you here and you told me anything otherwise.

[There's a pause.]

I had no idea who you were when we first spoke, y'know?

[A twisted part of him almost wishes he could see the film, see how he's presented on the big screen. Maybe even see pieces of his life that he still hasn't remembered yet. But a larger part of him is disturbed, viscerally so, by something so private on view to anyone from John's world.

His right hand curls into a loose fist, the creak of his leather gloves loud in the momentary silence.]

You knew by the time I told you about HYDRA.

[It's an accusation, not a question. That's where the betrayal came, he felt led into revealing things he never would have otherwise.]

And I'm sorry I knew, sir. But I can't pull something in my head out. I wish I didn't know. But that story was Captain Rogers', not yours. Which is why I tried to get to know you and the man you've become, not just the person I saw on screen and only had snapshots of.

[John holds his ground.]

Some people here knew who I was from the moment I said my name. Or thought they did. If you don't think I know what it's like, sir, you're wrong.

Edited 2016-09-21 18:03 (UTC)

You should have told me.

[He never would have trusted him, not even for a second, but he wouldn't have felt betrayed. Not that he's about to start wailing about lost friendships, that's beyond this.]

You're trying to tell me you're the real John Watson?

[He had just assumed his parents had been fans, John Watson can't be that much of an unusual name.]

[That question gets John bristling more than anything else Bucky's said up to this point.]

Yes. Of course I am.

[Only the barest widening of his eyes shows how surprised he is, but he shouldn't be. Different worlds, different realities. If he can be a movie character, why not the reverse of a fictional character becoming real?]

That doesn't change anything, you still should have told me. The others too.

Yes. That's become extremely clear in the last several days. After the first time with Captain Rogers and Ms. Carter, I just... [Didn't want to deal with the existential crisis.]

It sounds mad when you tell someone they're fictional. You feel like a voyeur and you never meant to be. I know these things that I don't want to know about you, sir. About the others. I haven't and I don't plan on using them against you, though.

[Except that... one warning about Natasha to Alfie.]

[Part of him can see where Watson is coming from. If he had realised before that Watson was the real Watson, would he have told him? Would he have tried to hide it out of compassion? Neither. The truth was that he likely would have hidden it because it was knowledge he could potentially use.

Does that give him any right to judge Watson for the same?

No. But he still does, irrational and unfair though it may be. More than that, he still needs all the information he has. Not just on him, because he's not sure he buys that he didn't know about HYDRA, it seems too convenient, but about the others too.

He sighs, shoulders slumping.]

I wish I could believe you.

[The implication is there that he doesn't, and his eyes grow harder once more.]

I don't want to hurt you.

[But he will.]

Tell me what I need to know, about the others, about everything.

[And they're back around to this. John's grip on the scalpel had been loosening, but it tightens once more.]

If they want to know what I know, they can come asking for themselves. I'm sorry, but I've broken enough confidences. I don't know what you know about them. I won't be telling you anything unless you're asking after the Joker. Him, I'll tell you about.

[Because the Joker is an evil psychopath.]

[He really doesn't want this to turn into a fight.

He's trying so hard to be a better man, to live up to the Bucky that Steve knew. But Steve isn't here any more, god only knows if he's been programmed again while here, and everything seems like it's spiralling out of control.]

I don't want to hurt you.

[It's quieter on repeat, almost a plea for Watson to understand. Tony shared some things in confidence with him, terrible things, that he needs to know if Watson knows. He promised to find out.]

Then don't.

[It's as simple as that.]

You're the one in control of your actions here, Sergeant Barnes.

I know.

[His expression twists, half regret and half resolve.]

I need that information. If I have to make you tell me, I will.

[There's a long pause.]

That's not gonna happen, son.

[John moves, not toward Bucky, but to the side, trying to put the tank between the two of them while he figures out... what the hell he's going to do. Get to the bathroom and call Clint? He can't run from Bucky all night, certainly.

That's what he'll aim for. He just needs to keep ahold of his tablet.]

[He knew it would come to a fight in the end. It always did.

He's prepared for the movement, though not the exact direction Watson chooses to go for. He's only a split second behind in his own movements, the die has been cast now and the course has been set, he only has one recourse.

Instead of going for a dash around the tank, he chooses the path least resistance and literally vaults it, landing hard and immediately running to try and tackle Watson to the ground.]

[There's a loud thud and... what the hell? Did he just vault the tank? There are times when John very much envies taller people. This is one of them. Well, and Bucky's just got the enhancements for it. John is very aware that he's shorter and slower and never going to outrun the other man on a flat-out race.

The aquarium isn't very big, but it's big enough. The fact that it's dark doesn't help much, either. He zigzags around tanks, heading in the general direction for where he remembers the bathrooms. Right over by the gift shop. Yes.

If Bucky manages to get close enough for a good lunging tackle, he'll find John goes down relatively easy, and then attempts to roll them so that he's on top. Getting put under the larger man is going to end poorly for the doctor, and he's very aware of it.]

[Bucky has no enhancements here, but he has the benefit of decades of specialised and intensive training. If there's one thing he knows how to do well, it's fight and make the most of his surroundings doing it.

But he's also at a disadvantage, which he finds when he gets Watson down onto the ground. He jars his shoulder just at the wrong angle so that pain lances through him, distraction more than enough to get rolled and pinned underneath Watson. It's probably obvious from the hiss through his teeth and the way his left arm hangs awkwardly, that he can't use it currently.

He doesn't take it well, lashing out with his flesh fist to try and punch Watson clean in the temple.]

Bloody-!

[Well, he's lost his tablet, and he's about to bring his scalpel to bear, but John sees Bucky's fist coming and has to jerk to the side. The fist connects hard below his temple and knocks him to the side. His own free arm comes up on that side, though, and tries to wrap around Bucky's arm. It's rather aggressive, but he's going to try to yank Bucky's arm out of the socket, if he can. It's clear his other one is useless right now.

He is smaller and off balance, though. Bucky might well be able to throw John off before he gets the proper leverage. The doctor aims to be very quick about it.]

Edited 2016-09-21 20:31 (UTC)

[It's clear that Watson has more hand to hand fighting experience than expected. Bucky knew he would have some, he was in the armed forces, but the move and the strategy behind it are excellent.

Lucky for him and his sole remaining working arm, he's used to people trying to damage him. He jerks away enough that the move only wrenches the arm, not dislocating it. It hurts a lot, but he doesn't stop, fighting through pain is a norm.

Now that John is off him, he scrambles back to his feet, pivoting once he reaches his knees to kick out. He's aiming for the ribs. A man fights far less well with broken ribs.]

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