They're afraid of you. She knew that. Every time she got within so many feet of the other soldiers, she'd seen that look in their eyes - the look of fear and mistrust that had followed her for fifteen years. It didn't matter where or when she was, she was never going to be able to escape that look, was she?
She wondered vaguely if the looks would change if they knew everything about her ability. They knew that she drained the life from people as she took thoughts and memories from them, but the fact that their minds stayed within her own - that piece she'd left out of the debriefings. That part was too personal and too strange for most people to grasp, and it wasn't essential to the mission. So long as she could keep a hold of everyone, there wouldn't be any problems. Do the job, don't think about anything else.
Turning slightly to face Bucky, her eyes on the line of his profile, she told him softly, "You're going to be fine. If you've survived this long, then you'll be fine." It took a great deal of effort to fight off the instinct to reach out and touch his shoulder, to offer him even an ounce of physical comfort, because she just didn't know if it would even be welcome. "They were trying to make another. A supersoldier. That's what they did with all the others they took away. That's what they were doing to you."
She took a breath and then did lean closer, just a few inches, though still she didn't reach out to touch him. "I know it doesn't seem that way right now, but you're going to be okay." Though she doubted he would believe her.
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She wondered vaguely if the looks would change if they knew everything about her ability. They knew that she drained the life from people as she took thoughts and memories from them, but the fact that their minds stayed within her own - that piece she'd left out of the debriefings. That part was too personal and too strange for most people to grasp, and it wasn't essential to the mission. So long as she could keep a hold of everyone, there wouldn't be any problems. Do the job, don't think about anything else.
Turning slightly to face Bucky, her eyes on the line of his profile, she told him softly, "You're going to be fine. If you've survived this long, then you'll be fine." It took a great deal of effort to fight off the instinct to reach out and touch his shoulder, to offer him even an ounce of physical comfort, because she just didn't know if it would even be welcome. "They were trying to make another. A supersoldier. That's what they did with all the others they took away. That's what they were doing to you."
She took a breath and then did lean closer, just a few inches, though still she didn't reach out to touch him. "I know it doesn't seem that way right now, but you're going to be okay." Though she doubted he would believe her.