13909/Digging Up The Past - As You Were

Digging Up The Past - As You Were
Date of Scene:	27 October 2021
Location:	5A 51st Floor, Four Freedoms Plaza
Synopsis:	Nick and Bucky decide to make it Official
Cast of Characters:	Phantasm (Drago), Winter Soldier
Tinyplot:	Digging Up The Past

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Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
As the evening hours set in at the Baxter building there's a bit more foot traffic in the residential hallways of the large structure. But with the good security of the building as a whole, those who are on the floor are a mixture of residents and those who have good reason for being on said floors. To one end of the hallway, a delivery person drops off groceries for an elder resident.

Nick's side of the residential hallway is slightly quieter. And while there's still a bit more noise than what he grew acoustomed to over the past few weeks, hell. MONTH, he's not complaining. On the contrary, the sounds of life in the building is a welcome one. But something he finds even more welcoming is the presence of a kitchen appliances he can rely on.

The oven is currently getting its workout as it cooks away on the contents of the pan inside. It is far enough along in the process that the the escaping scent of meatloaf teases those who dares set foot in the apartment.

The table's not really set. But, the tabletop is cleared off at least. There's two seats. As for what used to be on the table? Well it looks like those items got shuffled over to the second hand desk. A closed sketch book and a small packet of pencils to be exact.

But as for Nick, he's not sketching, nor is he staring at the loaf in the oven. Instead, he's resting a few of the dishes used for the prepping process onto a drying rack know that they've been scrubbed and washed. Less to do later after all...

Winter Soldier has posed:
    There is, for once, not a knocking without. This is a modern and civilised building after all, and so as a civilised being, James Barnes presses the buzzer instead. The doorman took his bona fides, fided those bonums all but good, and then let Bucky pass on his way while calling the Drago residence that a visitor is on the way up. And lo, behold, a tame Bucky appears in the hallway via means of the stairs. What is a mere fifty odd floors after all, but exercise to work up an appetite?

    And so he approaches the door, with an even, rhythmic thread.

    There is then, finally, a knocking without.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
With the phone call taking away the suspense and Bucky's need to take the long way up adding back in the suspense. There starts to be the question of wwhich is going to be finished first coming to Nick's head. Will it be the meatloaf or the guy going up fifty flights of stairs?

In the time Bucky made things harder on himself, Nick had finished with the prep dishes, dried his hands and tossed a steamer bag into the microwave. By the time the door is knocked, the meatloaf pan is being set upon a trivet.

"One minute!" Nick calls out, freeing his hands of the pan and pot holders. Taking another second he closes the door to the oven before he makes his way over to the door.

There's another delay as he takes the time to look through the peephole before undoing the assortment of locks on the apartment door. Nick gives Bucky a nod. Invitation not spoken but there in the motion.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Something smells good." Bucky exclaims on the way in, an easy smile on his face. And it is, of course, the polite thing to say when someone is cooking as you arrive, but in this case it's also pretty accurate. As the invitation requested, Bucky has arrived hungry, fit to eat a moderate sized horse. Or meatloaf, it amounts to the same thing.

    "If I knew you'd miss cooking that much, I'd have set you up in a place with a better kitchen. But hopefully that will never come up again."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Which is why I told you to come hungry." Nick replies, giving a bit of a chuckle, looking to the taller man step inside before closing the door behind him. A couple locks are engaged because. Well.

See the past month.

"I missed doing a lot of things. Sketching... Music..." Nick admits, walking over to the microwave and sliding a dish over towards it. Pulling the bag out carefully, he opens it with the same amount of caution to cause for the white cloud to rise away from his face. There's the sound of thunking as he pours the contents into the nearby dish.

"I get enough convenience food when touring. I don't need to be grabbing it all the time when I'm actually home and have something reliable to cook with." He nods over to the stove top. Mashed potatoes are in the big pot, gravy's in the small one. Mixed veggies here, and meatloaf's over there." He gestures over towards the counter, "Beer's in the fridge. Help yourself."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Don't mind if I do." Plate. Mash, heapings of. Gravy, deluge, smothering mash for the purpose of. Veggies, plenty. Meatloaf... guest of honor on the plate, accorded just over half of plate. Cutlery, achieved. Manners, wanting. Ah. Rather than eating standing up, as would be his first instinct, Bucky sits at the table and waits for Nick to join before starting. It's a test of willpower, no doubt.

    "You begin to appreciate good food after half a decade of war, and sixty odd years of field missions. You also get a really odd definition of what good food is." Meat, grease, stodge, carbs. Anything to keep you going for the rest of the day. "Speaking of the field... there's something we need to talk about."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick speeds up the process starting a few dishes to the side of Bucky. When one is getting potatoes, the other is getting veggies. One getting meatloaf, the other gravy. The plates are mostly done around the same time with Bucky being granted the win because Nick made a pit stop at the fridge.

He glances over to the table before crouching down to grab two bottles by the neck, tugging them out. Carrying them over, he stops by Bucky's side first to deposit a bottle before making his way to his side of the table to be seated. There is a pause of silence as Nick closes his eyes for a few moments but soon he lifts his head up. "Enjoy."

The knife is merely a formality as the fork manages to cut through the meatloaf just fine. "We didn't have much money growing up." Nick offers, "So. Anything my aunt knew to cook, she taught me. Cheaper than going out all the time."

A chunk of the honey tomato glazed loaf is shoved into Nick's mouth being chewed blissfully as Bucky brings up the field, which had there not been mention of wars and field missions earlier, the civillian in Nick may have been left to wonder which field was being referenced in that segway. A hand lifts up, covering his still half full mouth. "Just one?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    It's almost a military operation, but hey, when people are hungry...

    At the table, Bucky's manners leave him for a moment as he reaches over and pulls the cap from the bottle of beer with his left hand, before leaning over further and doing the same for Nick's... why use a bottle opener when you have a perfectly good vibranium fingers? And why bother with glasses? The first pull of beer comes after the first forkfull of food, and both seem to go down equally well. "Know what it was like, man. Remember, I saw the Great Depression. You ate what you could get, and more often than not you ate what you could catch."

    Lovely...

    "Just the one, yeah. But I promise you, it's a doozy. 'cause Clayton was the kind of bastard that had his fingers in too many pies, and now we've got fingerprints on four different HYDRA ops. Three of them can be considered dead. One of those is very, very dead. Last one... last one I'm gonna kill myself."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The musician swallows his food. "Thanks." Nick accepts the recently opened beer, taking a moment to sip a good amount of his as well. He does have to admit that vibranium fingers for bottle opening is probably less notable than reversing his own facial features just to be able to phantasm off a bottle cap.

"I get the general feeling even with the low income our food options were probably better than yours during then." Nick comments, "Beef was still beef with our recipes. Just, the ratios might have been different."

Do NOT knock the home schooling approach.

The musician blinks at the number presented. "Four?" He repeats, He blinks. "So Groundbreaker..." He pauses, not really knowing enough to state any other names. "Four is a lot."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Oh, there was meat. Just... not a lot of beef." And, it seems, Bucky is going to leave it at that, just enjoying the meal with an appreciation that is over a century old. But then the talk turns to operational matters in earnest, and James nods, starting to tick off the operations on the fingers of his left hand.

    "Yeah. Groundbreaker." Thumb. "Wayward Son." Index finger. "Legacy." Middle finger. "Nightingale." Ring finger. "Prodigy." Pinkie... does not rise. For a moment, James Buchanan Barnes sits there, eyeing his own hand, calculating his own math, and then holds up that hand with four fingers. "Like I said, five."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick gives a slow nod at the mention of Groundbreaker but has a bit of a blank look to the second and third ones listed. When the fourth one is mentioned, there's a blink. Jaw opening he's about to speak but with a fifth one mentioned he pauses, looking to the fingers. He gives a nod to the amended number. "Five is worse." Nick states. He glances down to his plate in thought. "...Is Nightingale the very dead one?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Now is that a flicker of surprise in Bucky's eyes? The man sits there, watching Nick with an unreadable expression, one of the infamous Bucky Stares. But eventually, he nods and looks down at his plate to continue eating. "Very dead. Hard to be more dead than that."

    Except, of course, that there was a survivor. But that is not something to talk about.

    "Why am I not too surprised that you know that? Don't answer. But it does lead me to what we need to discuss." Although that discussion can wait for a short while, because good food is going cold. "It's sort of related."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
With his glance towards the plate, Nick doesn't see the change in Bucky's expression. Perhaps that is a good thing? The general confirmation that his guess was correct isn't really much cause for celebration but it does end up making Nick consider back to a time when he ran into another person. Things said...

Bucky's comment does cause for Nick to glance up, opening his mouth to answer only for him to just sit there like a gasping fish as he's urged NOT to answer. The mouth closes briefly. Attention directed to the food that he had made. He gives a nod, digging in to the meal.

And oh gosh was it delicious.

As the plates start to get clean, Nick glances over to Bucky's plate and then towards where the remainder of the food is. "I could pack some of the leftovers for you to take home if you're full." He offers. After all, there's only so much leftovers a guy can eat before food goes bad.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    There is an awful lot not said during that meal. Mostly because good meals need to be enjoyed when they are available, something that was ingrained in Bucky's personality. Too many missed meals, to many hungry nights and days. And it's bad manners to talk shop during a meal, especially one someone else has cooked for you. So he doesn't talk about anything but inconsequential matters...

    ... until there's only leftovers left. "I'm not going to say no to a doggie bag. Literally, Lilli is going to smell this on me and if I don't bring her back something, she'll give me that look. The one with the wide eyes and the sad expression. Breaks my heart every time, so... yeah, appreciated, thanks."

    Momentary pause.

    "I'm going to have to come clean on who I've been helping if I want to take down Operation Prodigy, Nick. It's too big an operation to just bring it up without preamble. So... I'm going to need you to come in at some point. Officially."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick gives a bemused smile to Bucky's tag on to the importance of doggie bags. "Well we can't very well break Lilli's heart. I love that dog." The rocker comments, slding his dish to the side to where only the beer is directly in front of him, "Owner's alright too."

And then the promised discussion starts. There's no rush to clean up the dishes. The food on the counter will keep long enough to allow for the two to discuss particulars.

There's the mention of Operation Prodigy again. Which, Nick's not familiar with. There's a curious look given but the added information strengthens the expression for different reasons. Coming in officially could have many meanings and it feels like this is something he should be VERY understanding on before agreeing to anything. "...Officially how? What is prodigy?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Almost automatically, James adopts the 'serious talk between friends' pose, with both his hands around the bottle of beer, his plate pushed aside. "Listen, Nick. So far, I've been able to keep your name out of every report I've made that you were involved in. Including the vampires." That gets a raised eyebrow, an indication he considers that a particularly large favor done.

    "And if all we found was a criminal conspiracy, bad as it was, I could have kept it that way. But not with HYDRA involved. HYDRA is pretty much the reason SHIELD exists, and if I stumble on a major operation like this, I can't be coy with the detail. That means I'm going to have to name you, and theorise as to why HYDRA wants to capture you. And that..." a sigh, and a swig from the beer. "That means you're going to have to officially be listed as a powered individual. If we know about you, HYDRA is going to have a much harder time making you disappear, or trying to recruit you."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick is quiet. There's the slightest of nods to the end of Bucky's explanation but not much more as he stills, considering matters. A finger taps upon the table as Bucky's beer becomes suddenly the focal point of Nick's gaze.

Silence is eventually broken, "So," Nick pauses, looking to Bucky's face, "Officially on paper...Not like an 'in custody' type of thing?"

Ok technically he did spend some time in a safe house, but that's not quite the same thing.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    There is a long moment where Bucky holds that gaze, his blue eyes locked with Nick's. "Officially, as in I tell people I've found a powered individual, and that I'm sure he's not a threat. Then I invite you to come over to the Triskelion, you walk through the door, we pin a visitor badge on you, and you come tell the boffins all about yourself. What you can do, how you do it, how long you've been able to, that sort of thing. And then it's recorded, officially, and you join the database of others. When it's done, you hand in the visitor badge, walk out the door, go where you want to go. You've got my word on that."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick watches Bucky intently as he goes through the explanation. As much as he considers Bucky a friend, he's been finding out a LOT of stuff in his life has not been something he should take at face value. This makes it SO weird he's having to focus on the facial mannerisms to determine what is truth.

Explanation fully given and processed, the musician slides back in his chair. Hand sliding off the table to rest on his lap. "That's it?" His shoulders relax, seemingly betraying the tension he didn't know he had. "Damn it Bucky. The way you were initially looking, I thought I was looking forward to an eternity in a cell."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    The gaze doesn't drop, even when his friend relaxes. For some reason, Bucky seems to think this is pretty serious stuff. It could be he's not been perfectly honest, or it could be that he hasn't mentioned something yet that's going to turn out to be pretty important. "There's good people on that list, Nick. It's not something to worry about. We give you a number to call in case something happens, we check up on you from time to time. And, occasionally, we might give you a call if there is something we think you might help us with. You're always free to refuse, of course."

    Ah. One of /those/ deals.

    "The biggest reason I need you to do that, Nick, is because I need to introduce you to a few people. They'll want to hear what you have to say. You were the objective of Wayward Son. The DEA agent that nearly shot you was the objective of Legacy, along with a few others I'm sure. Nightingale... let's not go there. But that leaves Prodigy. And Prodigy... is something I want to clean up."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
That he got his own project title gets a bit of a brow lift. "Yeah I'm fine with helping." Nick glances down, shaking his head, "Honestly Bucky, I've already agreed to fight Brood alongside you, vampires and ghouls alongside Buffy, and crazy ass sorcerors. And there was that teleporting dog incident. With how many people I've end up working with that have ties to Tony, I probably should be surprised I'm not already on this list you're talking about."

He starts to get up, collecting the plates. "I'm getting real damn tired of this HYDRA bullshit. So if you need me to go official to stick it to them. Then, make it official."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "I'll drink to that. An end to HYDRA bullshit." Bucky exclaims and finishes off his beer, putting the bottle back down with some enthusiasm. "Glad you're not going to make this difficult. Some people are a bit... worried, about ending up on the list of a secretive agency. But, as someone reminded me a little while ago, what matters is how many people you can help."

    Momentary pause. And then he finally fills in the final blanks.

    "As I remember it, Prodigy takes juvenile delinquents they deem interesting, and spring them from Juvie by recruiting them into a reputable looking rehab program. All above board, place actually exists. But they don't teach them God's word and how to work the land or an honest trade like they'd have you believe. HYDRA's always in need of more sleeper agents, and Prodigy is one of the ways they get them."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"There's really no point to be difficult." Nick admits with a shrug , "I mean, sooner or later it's going to be noticable I haven't aged much since the accident."

He listens to the description of Prodigy. "How did that tie in to Clayton?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Hey, welcome to the never aging club. Has disadvantages later on, trust me." But, that said, Bucky goes serious again.

    "Remember that kid that nearly bashed your brains in? The one whose friends tried to teach you a lesson on the subway? Moretti's kid, Dennis... recruited through Prodigy. Clayton had... Clayton seemed to think Prodigy was the best investment of resources. I suspect he used Prodigy to try to sabotage Wayward Son, I know he sabotaged Nightingale. And if I start digging deeper in Legacy, suspect I'll find the same thing."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
The name mentioned gets a bit of a reaction. A mix of anger and then, the realization of one of his childhood tormentors being a victim as well giving more shock.

"Christ." The musician mutters, "This guy just loves screwing around with people doesn't he?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "It's something of a trademark for them." Bucky agrees, leaning back in his chair and idly spinning the empty beer bottle between his hands. "But that should also give you a bit of an idea how long they've been manipulating your life. And that manipulation is coming to an end, for you, but it continues for a lot of people."

    A deep sigh. "Clayton... I mean, I thought Stuck was bad when we brought him in, but Clayton is something else entirely. And he's not even the worst of them. Wrap your head around that for a moment."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick frowns, "So, mom, the bullying, to the subway- Is there anything they didn't mess with?" Remembering the dishes in hand he carries them over towards the sink. The invite to imagine someone worse than the guy who apparently called in a kill order on his own aunt is a bit hard. Or it should be if it wasn't for the other stuff they've encountered. "Triggering the apocalypse level, Brood level, or mad scientist level?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    And there, for a brief moment, Bucky holds Nick's gaze with a look that is utterly ancient. A gaze that tells of things he will never speak of, and which for a moment pulls back the veil between James Buchanan Barnes and the Winter Soldier. "Yes."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick's brows rise, looking to Bucky as he effectively writes in an 'All of the Above' option to his multiple choice question. The thought of THE phone call that occurred in the apartment and the after effect end up being recalled. He tilts his head down, breaking the glance for a moment. "Damn it. Sorry Bucky."

He looks over to the older man, "Uh how've you been sleeping lately? It's been awhile since I've-"

He makes a general gesture of tapping his temple.

Winter Soldier has posed:
    The response is a shrug, the only answer a man like Bucky is capable of giving to a question like that, even after some very successful therapy. "Good nights, bad nights, same as always."

    The empty bottle in front of him is contemplated with unusual interest and concentration. "Let's say I'm spending a lot of time at the rifle range. On the plus side, it's always deserted so I'm not scaring anyone."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Sounds about right..." Nick considers Bucky for a moment, not really liking the answer but accepting it. But there's another question that soon follows "Are you in need of a break from that routine?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "You know the saying, I'll sleep when I'm dead? It's not quite that bad, but..." And with a deep breath, Bucky stands, gathering up the empties and carrying them over to the kitchen, looking around for a moment. "Hey, you recycle, don't you? Most people do these days, they tell me, so... recycling bin?" Back in the day, you brought the empties back to be washed and refilled, and got a penny back per bottle.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods over towards the lower cabinet nearest the door. "Blue bin underneath." He turns back towards the sink, starting up another round. "One of the odd benefits of being cooped up at your last place was there wasn't much reason to use up some resources." He grabs a dish, "...if you need a break, you know what I can do."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "I know." And finally finding the recycling, Bucky responsibly disposes of the empty beer bottles, using it as an excuse to dodge answering for another few seconds. But he's out of reasonable excuses as he stands, and instead leans against the counter, contemplating the far wall.

    "It's probably best you didn't, at least until you're officially known. So if they ask me if you've been inside my head recently, I can say no without having to lie about it. You understand?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"...oh. Ok." Shaking his head, Nick looks to the dishes again. The frown deepens. As he reaches over for a dish rag, he pauses, glancing over to Bucky, "Is there a possibility that going official will actually make things worse for my friends?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "In what way?" And that is seemingly a genuine question. The evasive Bucky is gone, and the man who desperately wants to help his friends is back, especially if that means sticking it to HYDRA. "If you're afraid they're going to become targets... I'll be honest, if they're not a target now, they won't be when you come in to SHIELD. HYDRA won't go after them just because you declared officially you won't be joining them. I think they got that message at the cabin, loud and clear."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I don't know." Nick admits, giving a bit of a frustrated look,"I mean, Buffy isn't really making it a mystery what she is. But others have good reason to stay private. And I don't know how extensive these questions are going to be. Are they going to want to know who or what I hang out with and why?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "Your guess is as good as mine, Nick." Bucky admits, shrugging again. "Never really gone through that whole thing myself. Wasn't much point. But if you feel like something isn't any of their business, tell 'em. You don't need to tell them about the vampires, or the aliens, or the teleporting dogs."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods, considering the advice. Ok yes... He could just tell them it's not their business. "...Think I should probably leave out the Sharktopus-Rex too?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
    "If you want to avoid a psych evaluation, yeah, perhaps best not to mention the Sharktopus..." Bucky shoots back immediately, grinning.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Fair enough." Nick replies, "I didn't believe it when I saw it the first time either."

Winter Soldier has posed:
    Grinning, Bucky shakes his head. "Man, they're going to just love you at the Triskelion..."