This is not the Endgame

But still the warmth flows through me, and I sense you know me well

"I want to fit in," Bucky said tersely. "Be anonymous. I also don't want her or the other tenants freaking out because a notorious assassin is now living in the building. They'll think the owner sent me, he's getting ready to gentrify the place, drive the rent way up." Wanda closed her mouth with a snap.

"So what's going on?" Sam asked, keeping an eye on the waitress. "She seems nice."

"She is," Bucky said briefly. "Smart, really competent."

"You should ask her out," Wanda said, knowing that Bucky wouldn't without a gentle nudge. Or a massive shove.

"She wouldn't go out with me. She's not dating. She wasn't a dust bunny, she lived through it all, she's got trauma."

"So does everybody, man," Sam said, leaning back. "You've got a lot of company." Despite his abrasive words, his tone was gentle. "Thank you," he said as the woman set his pint on the cocktail napkin in front of him. A glass mug, steaming gently, was placed in front of Wanda, then the pint of stout in front of Bucky.  The other two also thanked the waitress, who smiled, patted Bucky's shoulder absently, and moved on to the next table.

"She's into you," Wanda said immediately. Bucky hissed at her, eyes darting toward his neighbor in panic, but it didn't look like she'd overheard. Wanda waited for her to move on again, then leaned over her third of the table. Sam leaned in too, interested, and Bucky felt he had to as well, so as not to be left out. "She's attracted to you," she said more quietly. "Thinks you're handsome, nice, and interesting. She's tired--no, she's weary, there's a thread of hopelessness, she's curious about things which is tempered by fatigue, and there's this sort of fuzzy spark when she sees you." Bucky, surprisingly, blushed. Sam smirked. "And that's all I'm going to look for." She sat back.

The men also leaned away from the table, and Bucky sipped his stout. Guinness imports from Ireland had ceased since the Snap although apparently there were plans to start up again now that the work force necessary for brewing and transportation were largely back. The hold-up was in the fields--the grains and whatnot took time to grow--and the mechanisms of transportation--a lot of ships had sunk right after the Snap and more had been decommissioned  before the Unsnappening. But this locally brewed stout was pretty good. Wanda smiled as she sipped her coffee, and Sam looked pleased with his mass-produced beverage. Bucky shook his head.

"What?" Sam asked defensively. "At least it isn't Coors, that stuff's nasty. That stout's practically a meal, you almost have to chew it."

"I need the calories," Bucky said airily. "Metabolism means that I can eat anything." His lips curled up at the corners, and Sam rolled his eyes. Sam could not eat anything he wanted if he wanted to maintain the sculpted six-pack abs he was so proud of. Wanda asked them innocuous questions, and they were having a good conversation when the waitress showed up again.

"Another round?" she asked, replacing the peanut basket.

"Yes, please," Wanda said, and shortly the woman reappeared with fresh drinks, skillfully whisking away their empties. This time Wanda kept an eye out, and when she saw the waitress set her tray on the bar, take off her apron, and go down the corridor that led to the alley and the bathrooms, she took a quick peek into her mind, enough to see that she was headed outside into the chilly night air for her break. "I'll be back," Wanda told her companions, and made her way to the alley door. It was propped open very slightly with a rock.

"Sorry to startle you," she said to the waitress, who was sitting in a battered plastic chair, rotating her feet. "I just... wanted a quick chat with you."

"About what?" the woman said pleasantly.

"B- Jim, actually. I knew him before the Snap. I get the feeling that you might be interested." The mental tension that emanated from the woman matched the tight expression on her face as she worried that Wanda was an ex-girlfriend or someone who had designs on Bucky herself. "I'm not here to warn you off or threaten you. It's just some information you need. If you are interested in him, you need to be patient. He was damaged before the Snap and he's had a bad shock since returning. You might want to do a little research," she said impulsively, feeling the other's mind fall into patterns, considering the problem, along with concern. "PTSD."