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[It's only three days into the month and already Daisy is ready for this month to be over. Staying inside is not an option though, not when innocent people are falling from the sky. Having saved a few people already, Daisy is just debating going back home to at least get her gauntlets to prevent her arms from getting any worse.

That thought was cut short, however, when she spots Bucky walking towards her. Has he even noticed her yet? She debates turning around, not wanting to make this anymore awkward than it already had been the last time. But then she hears screaming and knows exactly what that means. Looking up she sees someone else falling, and judging with just her eyesight the distance of which she's falling Bucky looks like he might get crushed.]

Look out!

[It's his only warning as she raises her hands, lowering the speed of which the person is falling. He needs to get out of the way fast though because her arms are really starting to hurt now and she won't be able to keep hold on them for too long.]

[Bucky can blame the very bad few days he's had, for why he hadn't noticed the person falling until it was too late. Ever since that first disaster with Manabu, he's been watching the skies like a hawk, ready to both get out of the way or get others out of the way.

His gaze snaps to the call, recognising her immediately, and then up to where the person is falling but... slower. She's doing something? What the hell is she doing? He hadn't realised that she had powers before this.

It takes him another moment, which is abysmally slow as far as his usual reaction times, before he finally steps out of range of being hit.]

You can save them?

[It's low, hoarse. He looks pretty exhausted, but there's something both admiring and hopeful in his tone. He hadn't been able to save them, but if she can...?]

[Daisy is so focused on making sure the person gets to the ground safely that even Bucky staring at her isn't enough to distract her. Once they're on the ground, Daisy rushes over to make sure they're okay. They seem shaken up, understandably, but other than that they just keep profusely thanking her.

Which is still something she hasn't gotten used to, with how much she had been using her powers back home on bad guys who definitely weren't going to thank her.

Helping them get up off the ground, Daisy finally looks at Bucky and is surprised that he hadn't just run off when she was distracted. He also doesn't seem freaked out by what she did.]

Yeah.

[There's some hesitation in her reply, afraid that she might say something to make him run again. Taking in his appearance she can see just how exhausted he is, and that ache returns to the pit of her stomach. Knowing that he's likely struggling and he won't let her help, because he doesn't know her.]

[He might not have run, but there's a definite tension in his body. Why does every damn person here have hidden powers? It makes it so much harder to know who's safe, impossible to properly gauge the threats around him.

And it's her, which makes things even more complex. She says she knows him, says they were close. He was inclined to believe her, she'd seemed kind, but then so had Martin. That had been a very rude lesson in trust, a reminder that the kindest of faces can hide spiders beneath.]

What else can you do?

[It's a demand for an answer, rather than a request. Not outright hostile, but clearly very wary. His eyes look hunted, shoulders rounded.

Please don't let this end in another fight.]

[Well, that was not the reaction she was expecting. Considering their ‘first’ interaction. Rubbing her aching wrists, Daisy watches as the woman she just saved walks off before she answers him.]

I can manipulate the vibrations in everything, basically.

[When she first gained her powers here, she had been so afraid of how he would react. He ended up being nothing but supportive, but a lot has changed since then. Now? Now she’s killed people with her powers, hurt her friends with them. No amount of saving people will ever make that go away.]

[His gaze flicks sideways to the woman walking away, miraculously alive, but back to her quickly.

Manipulate the vibrations, what exactly does that mean? Could she reach inside him and make his heart vibrate out of rhythm? Could she disable the arm by vibrating the components out of place? If she can do those things, will she?

He can't find the words to tactfully ask what she can do to him, and she could very well lie anyway.]

Don't ever use them on me.

[There's a very loud, very clear warning underpinning that, that says the end result would not be pretty if she chose to ignore his request.]

[D: All of the above. She could easily do any of those things, but she wouldn’t. Not willingly.

Her face falls when he warns her to never use her powers on him. His distrust in her, while completely understandable, is like a punch to the gut.

Maybe she deserves this. No, she definitely deserves this.]

I wouldn’t.

[But can she really make that promise? All it would take is for this place to mess with her mind, and there’s no saying what she could do. Standing her, seeing how exhausted he is, it’s hard to focus on anything else other than her worry for him.]

Are you okay?

[The question spills out before she can stop herself.]

[It's not truly a distrust of her personally at the moment, it's a distrust of everything. It's Martin. At least Orpheus had been a complete stranger, and Elias had made no bones about being a creepy asshole. But Martin had pretended to be kind, had lured him to a small modicum of trust by going out of his way to accommodate Bucky's caution and giving him information. Then he had turned around and used that to try and tie strings to Bucky's mind, try to--

He's pulled out of his head again by the question.

Okay? No. Maybe he shouldn't have even left Steve's apartment again after going to him for help. But being around him is still so strange, it rubs him raw in ways different to the madness that's happened here. And being in one place too long makes him feel vulnerable to attack, he'd had to get out.

It's been too long for a reply to be anything but awkward now.]

--have you saved any others?

[Maybe they can move on from the unfortunate current state of being.]

[His silence only concerns her more, but at least he hasn't run from her. She keeps an ear out for anyone else who might be falling, but her eyes are locked on him.]

A few.

[She'll just leave out the part where every time she does, the pain in her arms grows. She really should go get her gauntlets, but she selfishly doesn't want to leave him either.]

It's not always this bad.

[Okay, maybe that was subjective. But there's something way worse about innocent people being involved in these events compared to some sort of monster.]

[Isn't it? He's been here nearly five weeks now, and it sure as hell feels as if it's only getting worse rather than evening out. He hesitates a second, but surprises himself when he speaks.]

I couldn't.

[It's the first thing he's offered her that's slightly more personal, that hasn't just been a direct question or an evasion of anything she's asked of him.

He couldn't save the one that fell in front of him. He tried, but a metal prosthesis isn't any good for slowing the speed of a fall, and it sure as hell didn't make the mess any less.]

You couldn't--?

[It takes her a second to realize what he was talking about, but the moment she does her expression softens from confusion. She wants to reach out and pull him into a hug, but that probably wouldn't go over well.]

I'm sorry.

[It would explain why he looked the way he did. Trying to save people only to fail them? It would make anyone feel defeated.]

I, uh, need to go get something from home.

[Maybe pop a pain killer ~~or ten~~. either way, it's an offer for him to come with her. So he wouldn't be out here by himself.]

If you wanted to--

I just need to grab my gauntlets. They help absorb my power.

[It's empathy on her face.

Just like before, just like every time they've spoken so far, she seems to genuinely care about his distress. His instinct is to back away and let her go, even though she clearly wants him to go with her, and he almost does.

But how can he ever know whether to trust her kindness, or know if it's a facade like Martin's, unless he tries? He can be ready, prepared for if it goes wrong. He hopes. The indecision of whether to stay or go hangs in the air between them, before he takes just a small step towards her.]

Okay.

[Wary, but still here.]

How do they work?

[Daisy is surprised just as much as she relieved when he agrees to go with her, and she does her best to keep her expression neutral as to not scare him off.

She starts to head in the direction of her house, making sure not to stand too close to him and give him that space he needed.]

I don't know all of the details, but essentially they absorb my powers so I don't end up absorbing them into my body.]

[And she won't explain why exactly that is bad unless he asks. No need to freak him out even more.]

[He doesn't really understand. He doesn't have any powers, not really. He's just a human, albeit an enhanced one, and his particular skills come from long training and the serum. There's nothing to absorb.]

Why don't you carry them with you?

[Seems dumb not to, if they're needed to keep her safe while she uses her powers. And in this town, it seems best to be prepared.]

[Not the question she was expecting, and it makes it hard not to laugh. He's not wrong though. It would make more sense to keep them on her.]

Well, they're not exactly stealthy.

[For one thing.]

And I wasn't expecting for people to be falling out of the sky today.

That's stupid.

[It's probably not his place to pass judgement, they don't know each other and he's not exactly been the friendliest to her. But he's far past the point where any of his meagre social skills are working, exhausted and wrung out.]

You oughta be prepared to defend yourself.

[That does make her chuckle at least, even if he's not saying it as a joke. She appreciates his bluntness.]

Yeah it probably is.

[When she was on the run, however, it was out of necessity. She couldn't afford to be caught and thrown in prison. Here, well, she guesses it was just a habit.]

I can, even without them. Just means I have to ice my arms when I get home.

[~~Not that icing them always helps.~~]

[He still thinks it's a stupid thing to do, to put herself out of commission afterwards just because she doesn't want to carry around her gauntlets. But perhaps she has other reasons, perhaps-- it's not truly his place to pry, so he does drop it.]

The strength from it actually comes from your arms?

[Even though she wasn't physically holding anyone up, as far as he could see.]

[Having people ask questions about her powers wasn't something that happened very often. Usually, people were afraid of what she could do.]

Not exactly, no. It's more like it comes from my whole body.

[Daisy tries to get a read on him, but he's very good at hiding his emotions.]

Everything has vibrations, I can just tap into them.

[There's that wariness again when she mentions she can tap into everything, he's fairly certain that means his prosthesis makes a pretty good target. But she knows the consequences if she uses her powers on him, so he'll try-- really try to not act as though she already has.]

But it takes effort? You can't keep doing it indefinitely?

It puts a strain on my body, yeah.

[Has that stopped her? No.

Coming up to the steps of her house Daisy stops near the door.]

Did you want to come in?

No.

[He should, really. It's stupid to stay outside when there are things falling from the sky at random intervals, but he's absolutely not ready to step into a space that she controls.]

...I'll be here when you come out.

[A quiet assurance that he's not about to run. Yet.]

Okay. I'll be out in a minute.

[Regardless of whether or not he trusted her enough to come into her house, this was still huge progress from last time.

Putting her gauntlets on, sans the suit, Daisy takes a minute to collect herself before heading back outside.]

See? Not exactly subtle.

[Daisy lifts an arm up to show him, a tired smile tugging at her lips.]

[He actually manages a very small smile in return, because... okay, she wasn't kidding.]

I don't know, I've seen weirder.

[Even just a tiny from him has her smiling that much bigger. It's much nicer to see him with a smile on his face instead of being fearful of her.]

Gee, thanks.

[Making sure the door is locked, Daisy steps down the stairs.]

It's okay, you know, if you don't want to stay out here.

[He said so himself, that he couldn't help save the people from falling. So why put himself through all of that again?]

TW: people falling

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CW: Drug mention

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