IC Voicemail, Driftfleet:

[tothefly]

[There is no recording, just a few clicks and a beep.]

[Leave any IC voice messages or texts for Natasha here.]

Comments

[enshields]

[He hasn't heard the name, but judging by inflection and the prior topics he can sort of extrapolate.]

He's the other-- me, right?

[He says that sort of awkwardly, like he's unsure what to do about the situation at all. There being two variants of James Barnes had barely given him pause, but Steve has no idea what he'd do if confronted with a duplicate of himself, someone who went on to become his world's version of the Winter Soldier.]

[tothefly]

[A nod. She knows he's smarter than people seem to think. He knows what she meant.]

He looks like you. Maybe you have some things in common, back in the distant past. But he's not you. Just wanted to make sure you were aware.

[The two Barnes have more in common than Steve and Orion, she thinks. But then, she and Orion hadn't gotten off on the right foot,exactly.]

[enshields]

[He nods slowly.]

Heard about it from Barnes.

[There's a brief silence, and then he folds his arms and gestures with his chin.]

You think he's going to cause problems?

[tothefly]

[She takes a moment to think about the answer to that question. If he'd asked her two months ago, she'd say yes. Now, she's less certain of that answer.]

He mostly keeps to himself. He's...like Winter, but less broken. Doesn't like me much, either.

[There's no delicate way to say that. They all are what they are, and she'd be lying if she said otherwise. She tries not to lie to him, when she doesn't have to.]

[enshields]

[Soft,]

He's not-- please don't call him that.

[It's not like he disagrees, even, but hearing it outloud is a different matter. There aren't many people who hear broken and think worth saving and though he knows rationally that Natasha is different, he needs the distinction.]

[tothefly]

It's the name he's chosen. While he tries to figure out who he's supposed to be.

[Steve knows about the scars she bears that were given to her by the man they're discussing. Knows if anyone would hold a grudge here, she'd have the reason, and yet she's also the one perhaps best equipped to understand what they did. And...they've talked. In their way. She's watched him, listened to Captain Barnes talk about his progress with hope and affection and excitement. She's listened to all the things he's said, and saw what he let her see in his calibration. It's not every day someone gets the chance to rebuild themselves from the ground up, into what they want to be. Steve...she knows at least a little how he feels about it. What he hopes for. It's a dangerous thing, hope. She shifts her stance, one hand running though hair grown way too long before dropping to her side again.]

We've talked.

[She does conveniently leave out their first meeting.]

[enshields]

[Gently,]

Tasha. 'Broken'. Winter is-- that's fine, if that's what he wants.

[tothefly]

[It's what he's been. Broken. He's fragments of who he used to be, fragments of who they made him, all rough edges rubbing against each other. It's not a bad word or a negative statement, just a fact. But this is Steve. And so she only shrugs, conceding to him.]

He's got a lot to figure out. Knows about the bridge. Some of what's happened since, to us.

[She might hoard knowledge, but some things should be shared.]