verb.
To fall back under pressure. To shrink back physically or emotionally.
noun.
The kickback of a gun upon firing.
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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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"You alright?"
Kat glanced up at the soft question that came from over her shoulder, her hand rising to sweep away the tears that had gathered in her eyes as she had stared out the window at the mist covered landscape.
Try as she might, the tears just seemed to keep coming.
"Getting there." She whispered honestly, a small smile tugging as her lips as Steve strode to stand by her side. Unbidden, her hand drifted to toy absently with the unfamiliar weight around her wrist, twisting the cool vibranium beads that she found there.
It hadn't taken long for T'Challa's younger sister, Shuri, to slip them onto her wrist, explaining the different functions of the loop of Kimoyo beads. Of course, Kat was already intimately familiar with the emergency nanotech of the medical bead, but the ones used for communication, the international location tracker, those were unfamiliar. Utterly mind-blowing, in their seamless capabilities, but it was another that she kept coming back to. One that was solely linked with a chamber, located within the Wakandan Palace's laboratory. One that, when she twisted it gently, would project a readout of Bucky's vital signs, brain activity, the status of the chamber. It didn't matter where she was in the world, she was linked to him, and that was a small comfort.
She understood why he had made his choice, why it was so important for him to even have that choice, and she was sure, with time, she would make her peace with it. But for now, she allowed her chest to ache, allowed her mind to linger on those last moments with the man she loved.
As much as it hurt to know it could be months, years even, before he opened his eyes again, at least she could hold on to as much of him as she could. The beads around her wrist, the tags hanging from her neck, the notebook she had yet to open. The man stood at her side. Steve – a friend she had never expected to gain, Bucky's best friend. Someone who understood everything she was going through.
Whether or not she followed this man into the world beyond this sheltered nation was a decision she was still had to make.
She knew what Bucky wanted her to do. She knew he had asked Steve to look after her - but she didn't want to burden him with that. She would be just as safe if she stayed here, and Shuri has assured her that she was welcome to...
But then there were the companions they had left behind. Sam, Wanda, Clint, Scott... Even Natasha.
Leaving them behind after all they had done didn't feel right.
"How are you holding up?" She returned Steve's question, stilling her fidgeting with the beads as she returned her gaze to the foggy jungle that stretched before them, overshadowed by an enormous stone sculpture of a panther.
"Getting there." He echoed her response with a tight smile, the hands fisted in the pockets of his slacks relaxing a little as she reached out to lay a hand on his arm, giving a small, reassuring squeeze.
