It's so familiar, the tension he holds himself with, but also the admission he makes. Gamora has been a blade in the dark throughout the galaxy for years, too. She doesn't understand much about him, but that... yes, that she understands. Where he was a blunt tool, she was a sharpened knife. Both so very deadly.
She knows that whenever they look at one another, they're both considering how they could kill each other.
"We were punished when we shared food," she says after a long stretch of silence. In her world, everything is transactional. He told her something of his, so she shares back. "The children of Thanos had to compete in everything."
So he knows now, that she doesn't share. That she's been taught to expect pain when sharing. That she's been taught to take for herself and not consider anyone's wellbeing but that of Thanos and his mission.
And yet she chooses this. If she held a bread in her hand she doesn't know if she could stomach tearing it in half and giving part to him. But this? This is something she can choose. To treat him like the person neither of them got to be.
To be kind in a small way, when she was never allowed to be that, either.
Gamora steps away from him to retrieve her weapons. "Do the beasts of your world have acid for blood, or similar trapping?"
That confession — that kindness — sinks in with a heavy realisation, an ache in his chest. She was brutally trained not to do this very thing, but she’s choosing to share nonetheless. Now. With him. That matters more than from someone who was accustomed to handing over what little they had.
Bucky doesn’t say anything, but he’s still looking, his gaze quiet and thoughtful and following her. Watching Gamora’s fluid and graceful movement as she crosses the room, reaching for her weapons, suiting up to leave their little cabin.
(Part of him wants to stay here forever, but he knows it’s not possible. It’s an interlude, a brief respite before they inevitably have to move on to the next safehouse. But for now? They can rest.)
To the question, he snorts, but then, “No. Watch out for sharp teeth, sharp claws, and thick fur for defense. And the smaller grey ones, they might be in a pack.”
As he rattles off those dangers, though, this is honestly starting to sound like a terrible idea. There’s some gravelly concern in his voice when he says, “You’re already injured. You sure you’ll be okay out there? I can come with—”
There's a distinctive, satisfying ssssnikt sound when Gamora picks up Godslayer, flicks her wrist and lets the blade extend to its full length before retracting it, just letting herself feel the weight. The look she throws Bucky is... not unimpressed, exactly. Perhaps slightly amused.
"Did you ever read the dossier the men of swords had on me? Incomplete as it was, they did get one thing right. I'm known as the deadliest woman in the galaxy."
She fastens both sword and dagger to her belt with a little shrug.
"My skin is thicker than yours, and Thanos made sure I would recover from damage fast, too. So teeth and claws are only of very temporary concern to me."
She's a super soldier in anything but the word. And extremely dismissive of any harm that could come to her. The notion here clearly isn't that she believes herself above being hurt - she simply accepts that it might happen and doesn't consider that a deterrent.
And Thanos made sure, she says, and something else kicks in Bucky’s chest at that particular parallel. He doesn’t know all the details of Gamora’s capabilities, but she’s dropped enough casual reference to her brutal training and enhancements by Thanos. They’ve both been forged into the things they are now. Metal grafted, mechanical replacements, augmentations, improvements. A sharpened weapon of a person trained by people who don’t care about them.
His mouth opens, closes, swallows the words sitting on his tongue. There’s something he almost wants to express, but they don’t know each other well enough and he’s just not good enough at putting the words together to manage it eloquently. Steve had been the one with the speeches. Sam was good with the speeches. Bucky, he tended to speak through action.
So all he says is, “Alright,” and then opens the door for her. Watches as Gamora slinks out into the forest, light on her feet, sword in hand. He watches her go and then returns to his errands.
He busies himself with what he can do to stay useful: wolfs down the soup, rinses out the bowl, then heads outside to chop more firewood for the evening. Whenever she eventually returns with her kill, she’ll hear that relentless, monotonous metal thwock guiding her back, as steady as a metronome.
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no subject
She knows that whenever they look at one another, they're both considering how they could kill each other.
"We were punished when we shared food," she says after a long stretch of silence. In her world, everything is transactional. He told her something of his, so she shares back. "The children of Thanos had to compete in everything."
So he knows now, that she doesn't share. That she's been taught to expect pain when sharing. That she's been taught to take for herself and not consider anyone's wellbeing but that of Thanos and his mission.
And yet she chooses this. If she held a bread in her hand she doesn't know if she could stomach tearing it in half and giving part to him. But this? This is something she can choose. To treat him like the person neither of them got to be.
To be kind in a small way, when she was never allowed to be that, either.
Gamora steps away from him to retrieve her weapons. "Do the beasts of your world have acid for blood, or similar trapping?"
no subject
Bucky doesn’t say anything, but he’s still looking, his gaze quiet and thoughtful and following her. Watching Gamora’s fluid and graceful movement as she crosses the room, reaching for her weapons, suiting up to leave their little cabin.
(Part of him wants to stay here forever, but he knows it’s not possible. It’s an interlude, a brief respite before they inevitably have to move on to the next safehouse. But for now? They can rest.)
To the question, he snorts, but then, “No. Watch out for sharp teeth, sharp claws, and thick fur for defense. And the smaller grey ones, they might be in a pack.”
As he rattles off those dangers, though, this is honestly starting to sound like a terrible idea. There’s some gravelly concern in his voice when he says, “You’re already injured. You sure you’ll be okay out there? I can come with—”
no subject
"Did you ever read the dossier the men of swords had on me? Incomplete as it was, they did get one thing right. I'm known as the deadliest woman in the galaxy."
She fastens both sword and dagger to her belt with a little shrug.
"My skin is thicker than yours, and Thanos made sure I would recover from damage fast, too. So teeth and claws are only of very temporary concern to me."
She's a super soldier in anything but the word. And extremely dismissive of any harm that could come to her. The notion here clearly isn't that she believes herself above being hurt - she simply accepts that it might happen and doesn't consider that a deterrent.
"I'm capable."
no subject
His mouth opens, closes, swallows the words sitting on his tongue. There’s something he almost wants to express, but they don’t know each other well enough and he’s just not good enough at putting the words together to manage it eloquently. Steve had been the one with the speeches. Sam was good with the speeches. Bucky, he tended to speak through action.
So all he says is, “Alright,” and then opens the door for her. Watches as Gamora slinks out into the forest, light on her feet, sword in hand. He watches her go and then returns to his errands.
He busies himself with what he can do to stay useful: wolfs down the soup, rinses out the bowl, then heads outside to chop more firewood for the evening. Whenever she eventually returns with her kill, she’ll hear that relentless, monotonous metal thwock guiding her back, as steady as a metronome.