Hallowed (B. Barnes)

Chapter Four

Bucky pulls on the wrench tightening the bolt to the floor. How they managed to undo it in the first place is beyond him. Well, this whole building doesn't exactly seem the sort that's....well looked after. Years of use and no care. He pulls the wrench back and checks the stability of the railing. Better. He nods and stands dropping the wrench into the bag of tools at his side. He takes a deep breath of the air coming in through the doors, working in this heat might have been a bad idea. His eyes seek out through those that pass by. Looking for her. Seeking her out. And he finds her. Standing across the street from him. She's been gone a few days and he has actually missed her. But he did get a lot of work down around the apartments even his own shower. He can't remember the last time he had a shower, a warm shower. But he has decided that he loves warm showers. He stands and leans in the doorway, brushes his sleeve over his cheek as she watches her talk to someone outside of the bar. She looks exhausted. Her trip. Where ever she went must not have gone well. He cocks his head as she looks across at him, she sees him, gazes locked. She then smiles at him, her fingers grasping to the strap of her bag, she waves at him. He nods back at her. Her eyes shift upward over the building checking it out, she's never really stopped to look at it before. She crosses the street to join him, he leans in the doorway waiting for her, his arms folded across his chest as she closes those last few steps.

"So this is where you're living?" she asks, he nods. "I'm going to point this out" she starts leaning closer. "Creepy that it's right across from my place"

"I would agree, but it was a....'I have little money and needed a roof' thing" she cocks her head and then shrugs a little. He sounds better. More sure in his voice with her. "And this was the best I could afford"

"Okay, I'll let you have it" she teases softly. "Have you eaten?" she asks him.

"Not yet" he answers. Which she could have guessed, he is looking a little better, cleaner, softer, but still hungry. She knows that look, the near constant feeling of being hungry.

"Good, come on, I'll treat you to lunch" she steps back out of the apartment doorway. He looks back to his tools and then to her. "You can take an hour for lunch" she adds.

"Let me just put my things away" he offers, she nods. Bucky heads back into the building, Sydney turns and takes a deep breath, that hunt had been harder than she thought. She'd been told it was one werewolf. Easy. But she got there and it was an entire pack and it was close. She almost got bitten a few times, they did scratch up her jeans. She looks to her fingernails, she had tried to scrub right down to remove the blood and she has done a spectacular job of it. She's just being paranoid about there being a noticeable speck somewhere.

...................

Sydney shrugs out of her jacket as Bucky sits across from her, his eyes looking around. This place is nice. Not somewhere he would usually eat, mostly because he can't afford it. It's got nice lighting, comfy seats, even serving staff in real uniforms, matching and everything. Sydney watches him as he gets comfortable. He seems so out of place. But she knows they have the best food here. Delicious and hearty and enough to fatten him up a bit. He shrugs out of his jacket, his shirt hanging loose off of his body, he keeps his gloved hand under the table resting on his lap. She notices. She doesn't call him on it.

"Miss Smith" Sydney looks up at the waiter as he joins them.

"Ilie" she greets softly. "How's the wife?" she asks in Romanian.

"Heavily pregnant" Ilie answers amused and then glances to Bucky before away again. "Are you on a date?" He asks her, surprise lacing his tone.

"Not a date....potentially a new friend" He hums a little.

"Well....What can I get you both?" Sydney looks to Bucky who raises an eyebrow at the two of them.

"You've been here a while now" she starts looking to Bucky. "Anything you like?"

"I've been sticking to dishes and foods I know" he admits. "Chips and soup" she casts him a disappointed look.

"Do you trust me?" she asks him, he glances to her. He struggles to give her an answer, he can't risk trusting the wrong person but he's not sure she is the wrong person. She leans up. "To order for you" she elaborates. "Doesn't have to be with your life...just your lunch" he smiles a little and nods. "And you're not allergic to anything, are you?" she asks, Bucky shakes his head. "Any particular foods you dislike?" he shakes his head again. "Good" she closes the menu and holds it out to the waiter. "He'll take the Sarmale and then the Cighiri" she states. "And I'll take my usual"

"Drinks?"

"Scotch on the rocks, and a water with ice" He nods and makes a note before walking away.

"You have a usual" Bucky points out, she turns to him.

"And you known Romanian?" she asks, he shrugs a little.

"A little" he lies, Romanian is one of the many, many, many languages that Hydra taught him. "Do you come here often?"

"I actually usually order it and they deliver it to my door" she admits. "That way I can eat in bed, in front of the tv......in my pjs" Bucky smirks a little.

"That doesn't sound awful" he agrees, she hums a little. He takes a breath looking around again. No one is watching them. No one looking at him suspiciously. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just two friends having lunch. And friends talk.

"How was your weekend?" he asks her. She shrugs, her light mood, her smile disappearing suddenly.

"It was fine.." she answers. "I urm had some work in Debrecen" he frowns a little.

"Hungary?" he asks. "You went all the way to Hungary for work?"

"Yeah, I go where the work is" she shrugs. "Sometimes it's in Romania, sometimes it's not....I once drove all the way to Soldeu for a job that was gone by the time I got there" he frowns at her. "It's in Andorra" she offers.

"How long did that take?"

"About 30 hours" she answers. "Yeah, that was a long drive but I just went on to Barcelona and had a fun weekend"

"What is it you do?" he asks, she leans back and shrugs a little.

"I'm in..." she cocks her head seeking an appropriate answers. "Pest control" she answers, he looks surprised. "What?" she asks noting his look, he shrugs.

"I don't know...I was expecting....writer or....journalist or something...you're on you laptop a lot"

"I am" she agrees. "I get emails and stuff from people with pest problems...." she shrugs. "Most come to nothing...those that do, I deal with"

"And you like doing it?" he asks her, she tilts her head slightly.

"It's what I'm good at" she answers, he snorts a little.

"That's not the same thing" he counters. She raises an eyebrow at him. "You can be good at something and hate it" he explains.

"I used to like it" she admits softly. "I guess over time...." she shrugs and then lets out a sigh. "I do it because I have too, because....somebody has to"