Green Eyes

Ch. 5 - He's got jokes now.

Eva woke up barely remembering even falling asleep. It took her a second to remember what her pillow actually was. Bucky had been holding her the entire time she was asleep and truth be told it was the best nap she's ever had. He was so warm, solid, and safe that the urge to linger was nearly impossible to resist, nearly. She finally sat up gently.

"You're awake." He said.
"Yeah , sorry about that," She said failing to rub the sleep out of her eyes. " Jeez it's like your cologne is half chloroform." Still struggling to wake completely.
"I got it on aisle 3 at Assassin's Depot in Hoboken."
She burst out laughing.
"Oh, he's got jokes now." She looked at his face, small smile gracing his rugged features joining the slight gleam in his eye.
"We can always go back to your dad jokes."
"Hey now, part of the charm is that they're so bad they're good." She defended playfully. They both laughed and talked a bit more before reverting to more serious subject matter.

"You actually seem okay. Does the old activation word sequence still turn you back into the Winter Soldier?"
"No, I went to Wakanda and they were able to help me overcome it."
She sat back after hearing that and closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"After you escaped, I worried about how you would find your way through life now. I just hoped that Steve would help you and I guess he did."
"The worst part is knowing everything that I've done and what that makes me." He said sounding distant.
"HYDRA tried and failed to turn you into something you're not. I fought their teachings too. We will most likely struggle with it for the rest of our lives and that's fine. All we can do is turn everything they gave us the trauma, skills, scars, everything. We learn from it and use it to do something good." She said.
"You make it sound so easy."
"You know it's not Buck, but doing nothing and living with what they did feels so much worse."
"I guess you're right."
"I usually am." She told him with a smirk.
"Sam keeps watching us and smiling."
"Wanna mess with him?" She asked playfully.
"Oh absolutely."

They get up and walk over to rejoin Sam.
"You guys looked awful cozy over there." Sam said trying to tease them.
"Oh that? HYDRA Trauma Con 2024, very exclusive. Actually I have some questions I was hoping you would answer since you were the guy with wings." She sat forward looking very intense.
"Sure Eva, what do you wanna know?"

"Did you choose the parrot life or did it choose you?"

Sam looked at Eva who was very serious with her question then looked at Bucky.
"It chose me I guess." He said deciding to play along.
"Do you get assigned a pirate or can you choose your own?"
"Nope, I'm not gonna answer that." Sam said already annoyed.
Thus, Eva started rapid firing one ridiculous bird question after another.

"Is being a Jimmy Buffett fan a requirement of the job?

Do you get a discount at Margaritaville?

Is it easier to get your ducks in a row?

When you're sick do you receive a tweetment?

Do you fly South for the winter?

Do you consider yourself a comedi-hen?

Did you get people pox as a kid instead of chicken pox?

Does it upset you to eat chicken?"

She paused for him to answer.

"No, I eat chicken."

She gasped, "You cannibal!" Feigning shock and disgust.

"I really hate you both." Sam said.

Bucky chimed in "Well you were the one who made this unphesant and hawkward."

"Careful now Bucky;" Eve said, "We can't make him stork raven mad." She barely finished the sentence before they both burst out laughing. Eva was crying and falling out of her chair and Bucky was struggling to pick her back up while keeping his own balance.

Sam was shaking his head and smiling. Seeing Bucky like this would have made Steve deleriously happy so Sam was ok with it being at his expense. He was happy for this old man, bout damn time he had some real happiness.