Tea
June 1, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Hearing soft footsteps in the kitchen, Kara peered into the room, making out a familiar figure sitting at the table in the half-light. She placed her empty cup on the kitchen countertop and pressed the kettle’s button, bringing it to life.
“Tracked me down?” she asked, the words forming silently on her lips without turning to face him.
“Wasn’t hard.”
“I bet,” Kara smirked, then poured tea into two cups. “It’s pretty cold today.”
“Not like back then,” the man leaned forward as the cup of tea was set before him, studying her face intently. “Got a plan?”
“No,” she shrugged, sitting down opposite him. Her slender but strong fingers gripped the cup handle tightly, yet no trace of anxiety showed on her face or in her voice. They both understood the tension between them wouldn’t fade anytime soon. “Just get there, then play it by ear.”
“Just don’t be reckless,” the metal plates of his arm glinted in the light from the hallway as the Soldier picked up his cup.
“You handle the rationalism,” Kara smiled, burning her lips on the tea. “I never really made peace with my power. Sometimes it blinds me, and I just… wreck everything. Other times I can’t even light a cigarette.”
“Because you don’t use it.”
“I went to the Captain America exhibit,” the girl clumsily changed the subject, not even trying to hide it. “Read about his friend. Bucky, right? Can’t even imagine how they turned you into… that.”
“And you?” James countered, making it clear the remark stung. Kara nodded, falling silent for a moment.
“I’m glad HYDRA’s gone,” she set her cup aside, mesmerized by the man’s bionic arm.
“But there are others.”
“Didn’t know,” Kara looked absently out the window, her face darkening. “I tried to forget about them. About what happened there. But my brother… I couldn’t.”
“You should have forgotten,” Bucky blurted it out, unthinking. Meeting her gaze, he knew he’d only made it worse.
“Could you?” she bared her teeth, then sighed and shook her head. “I live with the guilt of not saving him. Maybe it’s true he’s gone. But I hope those… eels… somehow kept him alive.”
“They never found a body,” the man understood her to some extent, yet still found her thoughts too extreme. “They searched all the tunnels and caves around.”
“I won’t get another chance to go back,” Kara downed the last of her cooling tea and stood up. “Why did you come?”
“Got nowhere else to go,” the man forced out, knowing the question was inevitable. “Just starting to live without HYDRA.”
“Oh?” Kara put her cup in the sink, hiding her surprised face. She hadn’t considered he might have been under control all this time. She’d thought James had been free for years, that their paths had simply diverged. “I’ll make up the couch for you.”
“Thanks.”