Sunshadow

1948

"I brought some money with me, so I will go get you something normal to wear. We don't want to stand out, or change anything, so I'll be back soon." That seemed sensible. Bucky knew his way around the 1940's better than Kiki could, so it would probably be more sensible. Especially since she was wearing baggy jeans and a corset top. That was far too much skin exposed.

She pushed a button and her white suit retracted into a little pod, which she put into her pocket. Shuri had made them much easier to take on and off, by building onto Tony Stark's nano tech.

They had sent themselves to just outside the town where Steve was living with Peggy Carter. It was such a stereotypical name (Jacksonville) that Kiki wondered how he had gotten Peggy Carter to live there.

Oh, she could meet Peggy! Peggy Carter, her all time idol. She was one of the most iconic British women in WW2, and as a kid all Kiki had wanted was to be like her. She was quite far from it, though.

Maybe Peggy would tell her how she could make it right. Peggy was probably even better than Steve at destroying Hydra, and Kiki would love to get to know her. Wow, that would be amazing. Wait, no, stay on task, Kiki! They were there for Steve. That was who Bucky was there for, and who Kiki was there for.

Speaking of which, Bucky had been gone a while. Where was he?

Kiki ducked out of the little barn they had appeared in. She stood by the side of the road outside, her hand over her eyes to shield from the sun.

Bucky could see her, her dark hair glowing in the sun, tanned skin shining with a healthy glow. If it had been the him from this time period, he would have been appalled, even disgusted, by the top she wore, and the fact she was wearing jeans. But he wasn't that Bucky anymore, he had lived into a new age. And she looked beautiful, standing in the sunlight.

"Hey, Ki! What are you doing?" He called, breaking the moment. She whipped her head around, feeling slightly irritated.

"You were gone for so long. I was worried. Don't do that again." She turned and headed back inside, ignoring his chuckle behind her.

☾

"You have terrible taste." She stared at the weird blouse and skirt he had found for her in distaste.

"This is the height of fashion at the moment! Just change, we need to find Steve." She motioned for him to go out of the structure, give her some privacy, but he just turned around. He heard her stop moving, waiting for him to leave. "What? I thought you said I was gone for too long? I'm gonna stay here, so that you can watch me, make sure I don't leave."

"Fine." He heard her start moving again, as she changed behind him. "I'm done. Let's go."

The way she walked was completely different to other women he had known. Damn, while they were here he was just going to spend all his time comparing her to 1940's standards. Chill, dude, they were only here to talk to Steve.

"It's not a very long walk to the town, and Steve is even further out than the shop I found our clothes at. It shouldn't take us that long." He lead the way, striding ahead of her. She snorted and, instead of following meekly behind him, sped up and walked along next to him instead.

He had obviously slipped back into old times ways, but Kiki wouldn't let him be more dominant. Now that just wasn't fair. She couldn't let that stand.

Steve lived in a pretty terraced house, with a wooden porch and lovely garden. She had never pictured Steve as much of a gardening guy, but maybe it was Peggy. Wait no, that seemed a little strange too.

Bucky took the steps two at a time and knocked on the bright red door. Barking came from inside the house and cries of, "Stop, James! Let me get the door!" It seemed as if they had replaced Bucky with a dog.

"Sorry about that," said Steve as he opened the door, holding an excited golden retriever that must have been James. "How can I... Bucky?"

☾

James bounded around the room as Steve placed a cup of tea next to Kiki.

"I hope I haven't lost the ability to make a good cuppa, Kiki. It would be a shame for all your training to go to waste." He tried to make conversation. "I would hope it's okay, considering Peggy drinks it every day."

"Let's cut to the chase, Steve. We need you back. We promise you will be back at basically the same time you left." Bucky stated curtly. Thing were a little awkward since the last time they had seen each other.

"You cut your hair, Buck. It looks nice. When did you do that?" He said, continuing with the same conversation from before.

"It's been a year, Steve. You've been gone a year. A lot has happened since you left. You can come back and help us, and then you can go back to your pretty little family." The room was silent as Kiki slurped her tea.

"What do you need me to do?"