Meanderings of a Fandom Magpie

..from Chapter 10 of "The Ability to Stop," which is coming right along :D

--//--

Bucky recalled the solidity of the Barton’s home, which had sat vacant for a similar length of time. It hadn’t needed much in the way of repairs either. “I’m sure they won’t.” He folded his arms. “So…White Wolf, Shuri?”

She might have flushed, but it was difficult to tell. “It’s…well, you’ve become a bit of a legend. The White Wolf is from one of ours; a protector, a guardian, made lame defending the pack, but who still keeps fighting.”

Bucky didn’t blush easily the way Steve did; never had, but he felt the back of his neck growing hot. “And did you know about this?” he asked Steve.

Steve grinned, the bastard. “I might have, yeah. Wanda told me in one of her letters that Samkelo called you that. Looks like it might have stuck.”

...from Chapter 10 of "The Ability to Stop":

[Content-warning for mentions of standard Winter Soldier trauma]

--//--

“But what about the kids?” Bucky asked. “How am I’m going to be safe around them? How?”

“Because under all the pressure in the world, under pain and torture and dehumanization, you didn’t take that shot.”

“But I took others,” Bucky insisted. “I know I killed kids. I killed whomever they wanted. Some I don’t even remember, but I will, one day. Is Dr. Methuli going to be able to help me live with that?”

Steve remembered the first man he’d killed when he hadn’t intended to---he’d lobbed the shield at a German soldier standing guard over a Hydra munitions dump during the war. Meaning to disable the man, he’d nearly decapitated him instead. “I don’t know, Buck,” Steve said softly. “But if you don’t return to him, you’ll never find out what he can help you live with.”

Bucky eyed him. “Never thought I’d hear you arguing for therapy.”

Viwe had helped him with the memory of the German soldier, and untold others whose deaths formed the residue of his nightmares. The healers here respected that war caused trauma. “It’s not like I haven’t told some grisly stories of my own to Viwe. Come on, pal. Let’s head home.”

From Chapter Ten of "The Ability to Stop":

“What about you and Steve?” Clint asked. “You’ve got some land too, at your house. Any plans for that?”

“Goats,” Bucky told him with satisfaction. “Steve drew up the pen diagram and everything. And I know he’s got plans for a kitchen garden too. I don’t think it’ll be a working farm as much as this place could be, though.” At Clint’s inquiring look, he shrugged. “I’m not up for killing things anymore. We’ll keep the goats for milk and all, but …I can’t do the slaughtering.”

“Don’t blame you there, man,” Clint agreed. “After Loki…” he trailed off. “I couldn’t even touch my bow and arrow.”

From Chapter Ten of "The Ability to Stop":

The triggers for flashbacks could be---as Steve knew from his own experience with them---as wide and varied as sounds or smells or textures or sometimes, just the way a phrase was said. Steve himself had had to avoid ice cubes for months following his own awakening, and the freezer section at grocery stores, but the one trigger that had induced a full-on flashback was one of Tony’s interns, humming an old song that had been a favorite of Peggy Carter’s. There was no accounting for which traumas left which marks.

From Chapter 10 of "The Ability to Stop" (because I'm not sure how much I'll be online tomorrow)

--//--

“Dr. Methuli and I have been asked to consult---on a part-time basis---with Samkelo to help him better understand the mental health needs of refugees. We have taken them in before, on a small scale, case-by-case basis, but with our new king’s policy of openness, we both see that responsibility expanding in the years to come. While your particular situation is unique---”

“God, I hope,” Steve muttered under his breath.

Viwe smiled. “You do have an unusual perspective, you must admit. Anything you could tell me will be useful. And I will only reveal the specifics of what you tell me with your consent.”