When It Rained

Chapter 21 - Catch Me If You Can

With her back to Bucky and Steve, Finley blended together the normal morning drink for them. It was a muscle builder, and as disgusting as it was- it was working. 

"You boys ever heard of the Stark convention?" 

Steve was quick to answer, his head swiveling away from the routines himself and Bucky were practicing. "Of course! He's the greatest engineer alive!"

"Yeah, well-" she poured them each a glass, a little more in Steve's than in Bucky's.  "the convention is this weekend. Hundreds of generals, recruits, and everything else possible under the sun is going to be there. That's our chance to get you noticed Steve." 

It seemed as if the whole world stopped spinning at once. "You're a genius!" Steve snapped. "That's perfect! You're right there is going to be so many people there, one of them will have to take me. And I have built muscle, and if you come with me I'm sure we can-"

"I'm not going." She shook her head handing them each a glass. 

Both men looked at her, watching as she sat on the bench beside the mats. "Why not?" Bucky asked. 

Taking a breath, the woman laced up her boots tighter than before. They weren't going to spend the day inside fighting again. After they were done with their routines, she was going to teach them how to survive in the wild. Not that Boston was exactly a wild place, but she could show them what they needed to know to get by. 

"Too many people." Finley stood up pacing towards the coat rack. "I don't do big crowds, but I'll be around." 

"And why not?" 

Shrugging, the woman fixed the collar to her jacket and stood before them. "Never have. Never will. Don't expect that to change either." 

By now, Steve and Buck were done with the routines. Neither had any clue on her plans for the day, but then again she never really told them. It was normally a surprise, she was a walking secret. 

"Okay, fair enough." Steve downed the rest of his drink. "But that means we only have so long, what's the plan for today?" As soon as it was gone, the empty glass echoed against the counter beside her. The boy was ready to go, just as always. 

With a sigh, she watched the green liquid fall down the side of his cup. 

"Shit goes wrong, you gotta know how to survive in the woods." 

They both looked to one another confused. "So?" 

"Either one of you ever been camping?" 

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He tried over and over and over again; in the end though, Steve couldn't make a fire to save his life. 

Finley just chuckled shaking her head. Bucky resided laying against the log in front of her, her leg over his shoulder. Ahead of them, his fire was raging high and proud. 

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up you two. I'm seeing a pattern." 

With a long breath, she closed her eyes and leaned backwards against the tree behind her. "Well do you want to hear your first error?" 

"I competed with Buck?"

"You're facing the wind stupid." This made him look up from the embers and towards the forest before him. 

Both Bucky and Finley started laughing again. "Huh." the boy  breathed and shifted positions. Immediately, he started to gain a few more sparks between the river rocks. 

The day had gone by successfully. She taught them how to fish, hunt, build a shelter, and now- a fire. Together, it had overall been a peaceful day. All of these skills were important to know, and she felt bad that she wasn't going to be able to teach them all in depth like she needed to.