verb.
To fall back under pressure. To shrink back physically or emotionally.
noun.
The kickback of a gun upon firing.
•
It takes a stubborn mind to cling to their humanity when the world seeks to strip it away.
It takes a desperate soul to reach f...
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It had taken a few more reassurances to get Gavin to leave, and a promise that she would text him in a couple of minutes when she had safely made it to her apartment upstairs, but eventually Katie had managed to wave him off. Once he had turned the street corner though, the smile had dropped from her features, and she had looked back to the man standing across the street.
He looked rough, about as bad as he had done when he had first shown up at her door a few months back. There were dark circles under his eyes – in fact his whole pallor looked grey and exhausted – but she couldn't let her concern cloud her judgement. Not in this moment.
He had been gone for two weeks. Anything could have happened. HYDRA could have caught up to him and reactivated his programming. They could have sent him back to bring her in.
She couldn't let herself trust this reappearance, not yet.
Curling her fingers around the knife in her pocket, she stepped out of the bar's doorway, swallowing thickly as she saw his jaw clench at the motion. He really did have the most intense stare, beneath that battered baseball cap, it was no wonder Gavin had thought he was a creep.
"You're back." She called softly across the street. There was no one else around, but still, she kept her voice low, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to them. If things went south, she didn't want any bystanders getting caught up.
He inclined his head stiffly as he watched her. It didn't reassure her much – he wasn't the most talkative of people, but she needed more than a nod.
"Is it really you?"
His frown deepened at that, his eyes dropping to her hand in her pocket as he took a step towards her. "It's me."
"Woah- just stay there, Sargent." She warned him, holding out her free hand to get him to stop, her other slipping out of her pocket as his motion made her adrenaline spike, acutely aware of the fact that he could move faster than her. If he did, she needed to be ready. "Just... I need to know." She pursed her lips, trying to figure out what questions would let her know that it was her version of him stood before her. "What's your name?"
She nodded a little, her fingers tightening around the hilt of the blade as she considered. They wouldn't have allowed him to keep his name – but maybe if they thought it would convince her... It was possible. She couldn't fully trust it.
"What did I call you?" She asked softly, "Before I knew your name, what did I call you?"
"Kat this is ridiculous..."
"Answer it, Barnes."
"Blue Eyes." He sighed; his stance guarded as he glanced at the knife in her hand; "You called me Blue Eyes."
A long, slow exhale left her at that, her grip relaxing a little as she considered if anyone else would have known that. It was unlikely, but perhaps if he had been questioned... She needed something that they would have never asked about.
