[GP/EP] Check-in Day

[st_oneswidow]

The woodwinds in her collection were for noodling mostly, and the violin was for memory of her family, but when Curnen really wanted to play she turned again and again to her guitar. This would probably always be her best instrument. It was the first of the month, she’d been here over a year, and it was probably a check-in day. So she sat on the lawn with her instrument in her lap, sending out a subtle magic to call anyone stranded in their little world this way.

At one point, though, she set aside the guitar and turned her face to the sky. For just a few minutes she required a different kind of magic.

It had been a week now since Scanlan had vanished in the battle. And Pike, too, though Curnen honestly couldn’t have cared less about her going away if she tried. Still. The two of them were family to people very dear to her, people who missed them. And Scanlan had been her friend. You marked something like that with a song.

Of all the money that e'er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm that e'er I've done
Alas, it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all

It was a traditional Irish goodbye, a farewell to friends said with love, drinking, well wishes, and the hope of meeting again. She couldn’t think of a better one for the occasion. And as she sang she twined her magic into her voice in a new way, sending the song to any ears that needed it, ears of those who knew and missed the departed. Not all of them might understand it, not all of them knew what she was, but she didn’t particularly care about that right now. The song was more important than the hiding.

Once the last note had dissipated she picked up her guitar again and resumed her work. If there were anybody out there, they had to know where to go.

Comments

[st_arkintern]

Bucky had been a little quiet, a little twitchy before now, but there's something in the shift in his voice when he mentions HYDRA that gives Peter some room for worry.

"You can always ask him," he suggests. Maybe Steve wouldn't show up here, but Bucky could always ask him when he went back.

"Hey, did you want to get some water?" Peter asks, suddenly. He's sure that it seems like it's coming out of nowhere, but he really is worried and he's not sure what else to do.

[st_ranger]

"Water... Yes. Important to stay hydrated." Bucky nods his head, as if water and fuel were important factors to consider. They were, though perhaps not as important as they seemed in Bucky's mind.

He paused, considering Peter's words. "If I make it back home, I... I might." He had been on the run from everyone, including Steve and his friend that flew. He was not sure if he wanted to speak to Steve or what the Captain might say to him.

"Thank you."

[st_arkintern]

Peter begins to lead the way to the Copper Cafe. After Bucky tells him thank you Peter glances over at him, clearly puzzled.

"Mm... For what?"

[st_ranger]

Bucky hesitates. "For... For listening." He didn't have to. He could have reacted as Tony did, full of anger and frustration. He hadn't. "I just... He what? He wasn't sure what he wanted to say or how to phrase the words.

He tries to smile for Peter, a real one and not one that's fake or forced. "So... Thank you."

[st_arkintern]

"You're welcome," Peter says, smiling. It doesn't take long for them to get to the Copper Cafe and when they do, Peter jumps easily over the circular bar at the cafe's center.

He finds two glasses easily enough and scoops cubes into them both.

"Do you know about the Captain America Fitness Challenge?" Peter asks as he sets both glasses (sans water, for now) on the bar. It's hard for him not to talk about Captain America when he's talking to Captain America's best friend.