Fire and Ice

•55•

An idea is half-formed in Kate's head, one she's been mulling over since Bucky left the lab, and she hasn't been able to forget it for hours. But she wants to talk to him — needs to — before the idea really takes shape. Shuri isn't even sure if thinking about this is necessary, or if it's a priority, but they can multitask. Shuri is making great progress on Bucky's new arm. Kate can't make any unless she gets this idea fledged out.

Anybody in the hallways keeps out of her way, seeing she's on a mission. Really, the anxiety is making her walk so fast. Her fingers tap against her thigh as she goes, her mind whirring. Is Shuri right? Is this unnecessary? Is she just going to bother Bucky?

Still, she finds herself knocking on his door and waiting anxiously as his muffled footsteps approach from the other side. He swings it open, and his brows raise in surprise. "Kate."

"Hi," she says. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay." After a moment, he steps back and allows her in. The table next to the window has a plate of half-eaten lunch on it, the chair pushed back at an angle. "What's going on?"

"When do you leave?" Kate asks, starting to pace despite herself.

Bucky follows her with his eyes. "In a few days. Why...?"

"You said the memories were still there — the ones they used for the sequence. The ones they used to put it in place."

"Yeah, they are."

"And they're bad memories."

"Well, yeah..."

"And they still affect you."

He doesn't respond for a moment, then quietly says, "Yeah."

She stops pacing for a moment, trying to put her thoughts together and explain it to him. "Let's make... new memories," she finally says.

"Um... Okay." He shrugs. "Sure. Let's make new memories."

Kate shakes her head; he has no idea what she's talking about. "I mean- Sorry. The words. I know they don't have control over you anymore, but the memories aren't helping your mind to heal, right?"

"Right?"

"Right," Kate says. "So, let's make new memories. Better memories, good memories. For every word — that's ten." She starts pacing again, thinking the process through as she talks. "They wanted you to feel upset and anger and-and all things negative, apart from towards them. They wanted to seem greater and bigger than you, right? But if we...  muddy their waters by making great memories to associate with the words — not looking for old ones, because new ones will be stronger — it weakens their power over the words and subsequently their power over you, in an emotional sense. I think. Does that make sense?"

Bucky nods. "Yeah, I guess so. And if it works... I'm in."

Kate smiles. "Great! Okay, so the next step is to go through all the words and figure out what good memory we should associate with each one."

Bucky's brows raise a bit. "That sounds like... a lot."

Kate realizes that might not be such a good idea. "Do you think... if we do them out of order and a few at time, it'll help?"

"We can try," Bucky says.

Kate nods. "Okay. Just let me know when you want to stop."

"Okay. Which one first?"

Kate thinks for a moment and quickly gets an idea. "I already have an idea for one! Okay, so... freight car..."

She waits, making sure he's okay with her saying the words, and he gestures for her to continue. "What's your idea?"