[log] a STRANGE encounter [closed]

[advanced]

Characters: Stephen Strange and Bucky Barnes
Location: House 74
Date: Day 190, Evening
Summary: Uncomfortable house sharing
Warnings: None yet

[He hasn't managed to move far today.

Though his instinct is to get to the post office as soon as possible, he knows that he needs to be as prepared as possible in case of a long stake out. So he's spent today restocking at the store and catching up on some much needed rest, something he can only usually do when there's nobody else in the house. Which means he's there almost all day, definitely before his unwelcome house guest near evening.

The door opens and Bucky is on his feet at once, no weapon out but a distinctly unwelcoming expression on his face. There's no recognition, he doesn't know who this is yet.]

Comments

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen hadn't checked Natasha's guide for a description of this house, had only seen that there was somewhere inhabitable for the night right next to the convenience store. He'll have better food from the school in a few days, but it had seemed worth it to stock up on something, anything other than the ration bars he'd found on arrival.

His tablet is beeping insistently at him when he shuffles open the door only to find a single room occupied by an unkempt, angry-looking man. At least, Stephen thinks he probably looks angry in the darkness from the way he charges to his feet. Stephen halts in the doorway, himself a tall figure in a high-collared cloak that drapes awkwardly over his backpack.]

First things first -- if you're lying in wait for Sherlock because you want to punch him, you have the wrong guy.

[advanced]

[Sherlock? Why would he want to punch Sherlock?

He remains where he is against the wall, but his body language relaxes into something more neutral. The paranoia is gone, but he still isn't keen on spending a night with anyone else nearby.]

I'm not.

[His voice is low and hoarse.]

Shut the door.

[thewarningafter]

Oh-kay.

[Stephen does so, shivering against the cold and shoving his bare hands back into the pockets of his coat as soon as he's done. He peers at his apparent housemate, squinting to make him out in the dark.]

Doctor Stephen Strange. Have we met?

[advanced]

Over the network.

[So that's who this is. He's dressed strangely, isn't he?

Bucky looks pretty beat up, he only has one arm and he looks more than a little dishevelled. His stance is the faux-nonchalance of a man who is very familiar with violence, however.]

Bucky Barnes, you said you knew me.

[thewarningafter]

[Oh. Oh. That's...fine. This is absolutely fine. Stephen stays on his side of the room, his voice deliberate and level.]

I said I knew of you.

[advanced]

[He grunts, it's the same difference.]

You're scared of me.

[It's a level observation. It's almost funny, really. The amount of time he's spent here trying to convince everyone he's dangerous and only running into idiots who want to befriend him, and then as soon as he's had his paranoia cured he runs into someone who is afraid.]

[thewarningafter]

...Yeah, maybe a little.

[What? Like it's going to do him any good to deny it. He doesn't have an out here, not without his powers and with lockdown so close.]

Should I be?

[advanced]

No.

[Well, maybe a little bit. But he's doing a lot better without the MN poisoning in him.]

I'm not that man any more, I'm not going to hurt you. What you saw on the news, it's not me.

[thewarningafter]

Oh, well, if that's the case, we're totally cool.

[The thing to remember, Stephen reminds himself, is that this is Dr. Watson's patient -- the one he claimed was cured of MN-induced paranoia. That means that whatever Barnes has done here, Dr. Watson wasn't afraid to meet with him. It also means he's in a self-reported state of relative clarity.

Not that Stephen's going to let on that Dr. Watson broke doctor-patient confidentiality and told him about it.]

[advanced]

[He snorts very quietly, but he can't blame the man for not believing him.

He slides down against the wall to take a seat so that he looks less threatening, digging in his bag with his one remaining arm.]

I have food. You want some?

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen shucks his bag off from under his cloak, letting it drop to the floor.]

Thanks, but if it's from the convenience store, I've got the same stuff.

[advanced]

[He nods a response, eyes never leaving Strange.]

Tell me what you saw on the news.

[thewarningafter]

[Oh, so they are doing this. Stephen remains standing; doesn't take off his cloak.]

I saw footage of you walking away from the car bomb used in the attack on the U.N. in Vienna.

[advanced]

[That tallies with what Steve said.]

What did they say?

[thewarningafter]

They said that you did it.

[advanced]

[His expression gets a little more impatient, is he giving short and nondescript answers on purpose?]

What else? Details.

[thewarningafter]

You parked a van full of explosives outside the Vienna International Centre at an opportune time; we're not talking about some grand scheme pulled off by a criminal mastermind.

[Seriously, what kind of details does he expect Stephen to know? He relents, though, dredging up the other detail he knows.]

Captain America was with you when you got arrested. What is it you're looking for from me?

[advanced]

[He doesn't know, glaring at Stephen as though he thinks he might be hiding something.]

You're from the same world as me, this doesn't make sense. I've never seen anyone from the same worlds with no connection at all before.

[He doesn't realise Claire is also from his world.]

[thewarningafter]

Really?

[That knocks some of the wariness out of Stephen. That's a puzzle, then.]

What about Claire? You have a connection to her?

[advanced]

[What?! There's someone else? The shock is pretty evident on his face.]

Who's Claire?

[thewarningafter]

Evidently not.

She and I used to work at the same hospital. She's been here a while, as I understand it.

[advanced]

[He looks pretty unnerved by this.]

I've never heard of her before.

[A hesitation, but:]

Do either of you have a connection to the Avengers?

[thewarningafter]

No.

[Too sharply said. Too final. Also true, in his defense.]

Not unless there's something she hasn't told me.

[advanced]

[He'll have to look into her, it's a massive lapse to not know someone else from his world was here.]

That sounds like a lie.

[thewarningafter]

Do I look like a superhero?

[It's asked in such an exasperated tone that it's clear he's forgotten for a moment just how he's dressed.]