Chapter Seven: The Agent


Clearly, she'd underestimated how much she would hate the day Bucky was supposed to ship out to England. Of course, she couldn't have anticipated that it would also be the day Steve got sent off to basic training at some special camp in New Jersey. She still wasn't okay that the war effort was claiming one of her boys. Then some short, mad scientist type had walked in and snapped up the other one. Gods, what if he actually was one of those mad scientist types who wanted to experiment on him? There was no specific reason she could pinpoint for why the idea of scientists getting their hands on him made her skin crawl, just that it did.

There was nothing she could do about it, however. That is, short of tattling to Bucky so he could grab their asthmatic friend and the three of them go on the run. It was a beautiful possibility. One riddled with the authorities chasing after her boys for the rest of their lives. And their scrappy punk would inevitably screw it up because he didn't believe in running.

That was why when Rukhsana caught Bucky as he got in from dancing with Bonnie and Connie, she didn't say a word about what had happened at the recruitment office.

Though the boys were incapable of keeping secrets from her, the same was not true the other way around. And this was a secret Bucky was better off not knowing about for a while. She imagined that if she told him while he was still on U.S. soil, he may actually make a bid for bringing her fantasy scenario to life, consequences be damned. What he needed right now was to not get thrown in jail for desertion or be distracted worrying about them while he was overseas fighting. So all she said was how much she'd miss him and let him tell her the same that night.

The following morning, she walked him to the departure point with a smile (looking like she was going to cry) and waved him off (wishing she could hug him goodbye). And if she could've cried, she would have when he tipped the hat she knew now had a drawing of her in it before disappearing into the crush of other soldiers.


Since saying goodbye to Bucky, it had been all kinds of ups and downs with her other friend. Tapped out rants of How could you-? or What would Bucky say? or You'll get hurt! The list went on. Then, she'd subject him to hours of silence only interrupted by the occasional poke to remind him she was still there and not talking to him. And then back to tapping rants. He bore it all with a grimace but without any hint of remorse. Even she knew she'd never get an apology out of that man, he was too damned happy to have finally gotten what he wanted to ever be sorry about it.

Now that they had arrived, she noted that Camp Lehigh was at least significantly nicer than Camp McCoy. It was good they were getting here during the summer instead of in the dead of winter, too. She'd rather Steve take his chances with overheating over pneumonia any day.

An officer rounded up the rest of the recruits that had come with her friend and led them out to a training field. They were all asked to line up side by side. The men started talking, the two on either side of the blond chatting over his head as if he wasn't there. It didn't seem to bother him too much, her friend was unfortunately accustomed to getting either overlooked or singled out to be bullied. He just focused on quietly taking in the camp around them, and tapping responses back to her. She was fretting over whether they'd be set straight to exercises or testing, and he kept telling her, it's fine, it'll be fine, I'll get through.

Yeah, and if he died of an asthma attack brought on by running laps or from all of the kicked up dust in this camp, what was she supposed to tell the last of their other friend? When he just cheekily repeated the same lines he'd given her before, she dropped her head on his shoulder and prayed for strength. And double that in patience.

Both she and Steve were pulled out of their private bubble by the sound of an clear, authoritative voice calling out, "Recruits, attention!" (1)

To his left and right, Gawky and Glasses snapped up, heads high, backs straight, and their arms at their sides. He too had followed suit. They all watched out of the right corner of their eyes as a brunette woman strode over to them, a man carrying a crate filled with clipboard and forms trailing after her.

"Gentlemen," she addressed them, slowly walking parallel down the line of men, "I'm Agent Carter. I supervise all operations of this division."

"What's with the accent, Queen Victoria?" some lunk down the line asked as the man with the crate started distributing clipboards at the right end, "Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army."

Agent Carter had paused in front of the man as he began speaking, eyeing him up and down with a flat look. Rukhsana waited in anticipation for her response. Something big was coming, she could feel it. She slapped excitedly at Steve's arm and got an eyeroll from him, though he was definitely just as invested in this as she was.

"What's your name, soldier?" the agent inquired, cocking her head the slightest as she did so.

"Gilmore Hodge, Your Majesty," he drawled, persisting in mocking her.

"Step forward, Hodge," she ordered. When he did so, she added, "Put your right foot for forward."

The ghost slapped more insistently at her friend's arm.

"Are we dancing? Cause I got a few moves I know you'll like," Hodge told the woman with a leer and a wink.

The idiot never saw the punch coming.

"She is magnificent," Rukhsana couldn't help but breathe out as she tapped a similar sentiment onto the back of Steve's hand, feeling the stirrings of adoration deep within her.

Said woman turned to face their direction with narrowed eyes, as if searching for something. However, she was distracted by the sound of someone calling out to her from behind. Neither the girl nor Steve had missed that reaction, though. The girl caught her friend glancing in her direction and then at the agent meaningfully. As the man who had come up to them - Colonel Phillips - addressed the men, she let the blond know she was leaving his side and then drifted over to the woman.

No visible reaction to her approach that she could pick up from Agent Carter. So she couldn't see her. Floating up until she was right at the woman's side. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch her fingers to the other brunette's. Her heart dropped when her fingertips phased right through. That was always the worst test, especially when it failed.

But it wasn't the last.

With a deep inhale, she opened her mouth and said, "Hello?"

There.

Infinitesimal but there was the littlest bit of tensing in her expression and the way she was holding herself. Dark eyes flicked to the far right corner and proceeded to make a slow sweep across the camp. Rukhsana glanced at Steve, noticing him pretending very hard not to be staring at the agent even his attention was completely on her. The girl flitted to his side and tapped for a confirmation or denial about whether he had caught her reacting, too. He gave her a slight nod.

That was it. Agent Carter could hear her.

Her mind spun with the discovery.


Excited as she was to test further, she remembered how difficult approaching Steve and Bucky had been. She'd confused former the first couple times, and almost gotten him institutionalized. It had only been thanks to the latter that they had been able to cobble together a means of communication and explanation, and even then there had still been a lot of confusion. However, she did realize that communication was not actually a problem here.

Agent Carter could hear her. Grateful as she was for her boys and the interesting solutions they found to talk to one another, she'd missed being able to just say things and be heard by another person. For the first time, she might be able to speak for more than just to hear her own voice. To be listened to, and have someone respond back.

She had to be careful though. Just because she could be heard didn't mean the woman would want to hear or talk to her. The agent could be like Sara, skeptical about hearing someone with no physical body to see or touch, worried about being crazy. If the woman ever seriously worried about that, she'd do the same thing she had with her friend when he was a boy and back off. Let it just become an episode that the other brunette could sweep under the rug to be forgotten.

Still, her patience and forethought only extended to waiting until Agent Carter was alone in private to try speaking with her again. The ghost made sure to let Steve know what she was doing before she went off and tried. Now was the moment of truth. The woman was in her private room, starting to undo her tie, when she spoke up.

"Hello?"

Rukhsana jumped when the agent spun fast as lightning with a gun in hand, pointed right where she was.

"Who's there?" the woman demanded.

It was stupid, she knew the gun couldn't hurt her, but the sight of it made it feel like her heart was racing and her arms involuntarily started to lift in surrender. She caught herself and eased the limbs back down.

"My name is Rukhsana."

This time, it was the agent's turn to jump. Her eyes darted around, hearing but not seeing the intruder in her room. Every time that dark gaze passed over where she stood, it sent thrills through her.

"Where are you?"

"I'm standing right in front of you," the girl answered simply, and when the woman's expression twisted with confusion and frustration she went on, "But you can't see me. Most people can't."

"Is this a trick? An illusion? Something of Stark's?" the other brunette questioned, still not lowering the gun.

"Not any trick or illusion I know of, and definitely not anything to do with- um, do you mean Howard Stark? If so, no, nothing to do with him. This is just how I am," the girl explained.

"Why can't I see you?"

"I'm dead. A ghost." The woman didn't visibly express it so much as gave off an air of incredulity. "It's crazy, I know. If it wasn't my reality, I would think the same thing."

"Assuming you're not lying, why is a ghost speaking to me?"

"Because you can actually hear me."

"And most people can't?"

"Most people can't, except for you."

This got a furrowed brow.

"You mentioned earlier that most people can't see you. Does that mean there's someone who can?"

"Yes," Rukhsana answered, a little stunned at the quick leap in logic the woman had made, "There's a man who can see me."

"So one person who can see you. And me, one person who can hear you. Anyone else?"

"Another man who I can touch."

The agent's brow was still furrowed, but there was a spark of curiosity in her expression.

"What makes us special?"

"I don't know," the ghost admitted, "But it's hard to question it when all I feel is relieved that someone can tell I'm there."

All Agent Carter did in response to that was nod.

"I-" the girl started, "If this isn't too hard to believe, and you're okay with it, could I come talk to you more?"

"Would I even be able to stop you?" the agent asked warily, "Whether or not you really are a ghost, you're capable of sneaking into my rooms without me noticing, and I assume I wouldn't be able to physically make you leave?"

"I'd stay away if you told me to," Rukhsana swore, "I want to talk to you, but not if you don't want to."

For the first time since they'd started talking, the woman let the gun drop.

"I'd like you to give me a day to myself. I need time to think about this."

"That's fair. I can do that."

With a thoughtful nod, the other brunette spoke, "One of the men you mentioned, you're here with them, aren't you?"

The girl tensed.

"Why would you think that?" she hedged.

"Why else would you be here?" was the response she got, "Would you tell me who they are?"

"Would he be in trouble?" the girl asked fearfully.

"I'd want to speak with him. See if he could confirm your story." There was a long lapse. "So can you tell me?"

"Maybe. When we speak again in a day, I might tell you who he is." Rukhsana shut her eyes tightly. "I have to be sure this won't get him in trouble."

Something about Agent Carter's features softened fractionally.

"You care about him."

"He's my family," the ghost confirmed instantly, nodding to herself.

"In a day then," the woman said, nodding as well.

"Thank you, Agent Carter," she couldn't help but say.

"Whatever for?" the agent asked in slight puzzlement.

"For hearing me."

There was something very gentle in the way the woman stared out in her general direction.

"You're welcome, Rukhsana." And then she turned away from the ghost, putting her gun down on her makeshift table and starting to unpin her hair. "We'll talk in a day."

"Yeah," the girl said, "Goodnight."

She didn't wait for a response, choosing to return to the barracks where she'd left her friend.


So she can hear you? Steve asked once she found him.

Yes, Rukhsana replied to to her friend's question.

Do you want to get to know her?

Yes. I really do.

Does she want to get to know you, too?

She sighed.

I don't know.

I could talk to her? Convince her to give you a chance? He offered, using his other hand to hold one of her own.

Don't worry about it, Steve.

I have to. This the first person since us who knows about you. You deserve this.

Deserve what? She asked.

Someone else knowing you. Getting to love you like Buck and I do.

Steve. The girl didn't know what else to say to that.

You deserve the world Ruxie. All we ever wanted was to give you more of it.

Curling closer around him, she pressed a kiss to the side of his head.

You've always been more than I could have asked for, she tapped out.

His hand squeezed hers.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

Goodnight, she returned with one more kiss.


A day.

She could wait that long.


Next

Chapter Eight: The Choice


AN: Yay, more Steve and Ruxie time! Just to give everyone a heads up on the results of the pairing poll I put up, it was close between Rukhsana/Bucky, Rukhsana/Bucky/Steve, and no pairings. I may end up leaning more towards R/B or nothing (sorry R/B/S peeps, I'm not confident I could do the pairing justice, maybe another day). My last two notes are that I will no longer be italicizing dialogue taken straight from movies/comics. It's a bit tedious and disruptive; I'll be going back to take it out of past chapters. And lastly, I wrote a new thing! It's an MCU SI who takes the AI FRIDAY's place called Girl Friday. I'd love it if y'all could check it out.

(1) Dialogue from CA:TFA.