Disclaimer: Just for fun, not for profit. Marvel isn't mine. Some of the characters are.


Longing Redux

"Drinks for everyone! This round's on me!" Serafina announced, and the bar cheered. Sera raised her glass in triumph. "To victories! This will be one for the history books." She clinked her glass against Nyssa's Shirley Temple and took a drink of her whiskey sour. Glancing up at the television in the bar, she gestured to the bartender. "Can we turn that up?" The volume increased on the news program that was playing.

"…Supreme court has ruled 5 – 4 that H.B. 258, nicknamed the Superhero bill, is unconstitutional. This bill provided for ways for the government to identify Enhanced citizens, and outlined restrictions on travel, employment and eligibility for certain forms of public assistance. It also imposed harsher penalties and mandatory minimum sentencing for crimes committed by an enhanced person. Much of the language in H.B. 258 was lifted directly from the Sokovia Accords, which does raise the question of if the US will continue to support them. Tony Stark is joining us tonight to discuss this news." The TV changed to split screen, with Tony appearing to the right of the news anchor. "Tony, do you think the Supreme Court made the right call?" Tony's eyes widened briefly.

"Well, Aaron, their opinion is legally binding, and mine is not." He smirked a little at his joke, but the newsman remained deadpan, and the expression faded from his face. "But the Supreme Court has spoken. The Constitution applies to all people, regardless of their abilities. We can't disguise human rights violations as security measures and still claim to be the land of the free."

"So, what impact do you think this will have on the Sokovia Accords?" Aaron asked next. Tony spread his hands.

"That is definitely a trickier question. But as it does have some of the same language that our Supreme Court found to be unconstitutional, I don't think I can say in good conscience that we should continue to support it."

"So you don't support it, Mr. Stark? You signed the Accords almost two years ago now. Are you now withdrawing your support?" Tony shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat, but looked directly at the camera.

"I could not, in good conscience, support something that was causing harm to my fellow citizens. Now that some of the oppressive language of the Accords has come to my attention… Yes, I am withdrawing my support. In fact, I invite the 117 nations who signed the Accords to come back to the table, this time with the Avengers represented, and renegotiate an agreement that does not contain human rights violations."

"Good boy, Tony," Nyssa murmured under her breath. Sera shot her a suspicious glance.

"Some of those things, I'm pretty sure I've heard you say before. Did you coach him?" she asked skeptically. Nyssa grinned.

"Not recently. Not directly. I know you don't have a very high opinion of him, but you can't say he doesn't pay attention." Sera snorted and started to reply, but Nyssa gestured for her to be quiet as she turned her attention back to the news program.

"Mr. Stark, what do you think of Secretary Ross' statement that, if the US decides not to abide by the Accords, he will resign his position of Secretary of State?" Tony's eyebrows rose.

" I was not aware that Secretary Ross had made that statement. If it's true, then I suppose it is his perogative. The State Department… wouldn't be the same without him." Nyssa chortled into her drink.

"Wow, I never took Tony for a diplomat. Color me impressed," she commented.

"I bet you $12 that Pepper's off camera with her arms folded over her chest, waiting for him to make an inappropriate comment," Seraphina chuckled. Nyssa nodded.

"That would give him a reason not to blow the interview," she agreed.

"Speaking of blowing…" Sera lowered her voice conspiratorially. "There's a very attractive man sitting across the bar that keeps making eyes at me. Can you scope him out for me? Is he interested? Is he a creep?" Nyssa laughed.

"Of all the things I can do, you always only want me to screen potential dates for you," she chided. Sera shook her head.

"Who said anything about a date?" she protested. "I'm just looking for a hookup. I'm celebrating tonight!"

"Well, you won't get any complaints from him," Nyssa said, nodding towards the man Sera had referenced. "He's definitely into you. And he's not the type to get creepy-stalkery, so have at it."

"His friend is pretty hot, too," Sera said teasingly. "Do you want me to – "

"No, thanks," Nyssa said quickly before her friend could finish the sentence. "I'm good."

"Are you sure?" Sera said. "I mean, I know you can't see him, but take my word for it, he's at least an eight. And he's been looking at you."

"You know I don't do random hookups," Nyssa reminded her. "I'm not wired for it. Besides, the last time I tried taking home a guy from a bar, he ended up being too nervous to perform, spent hours telling me everything that went wrong in his last three relationships, and crying on my shoulder as the sun came up."

"And then you dated him for three months," Sera recalled. "He was nice, at least. But you've just been throwing yourself into all your other projects lately. You could use a little… stress relief."

"That's what I have the battery-operated boyfriend for," Nyssa replied. "I don't have time for a relationship right now. I just got back from finding those hikers lost in the Mojave, and I've got six messages waiting for me when I get to the office tomorrow. Who knows where that might end up taking me?"

"Right, right. Sure. I know what's really going on. You're still pining after your Jimmy," Sera announced. Nyssa rolled her eyes.

"I am not pining," Nyssa protested. Sera reached out and pulled the chain and labradorite pendant out from under Nyssa's shirt.

"Then why don't you ever take this off?" she asked pointedly.

"It enhances my gifts," Nyssa said defensively, tucking the necklace back under her shirt. "Increases my focus."

"Right, there's no sentimental reasons whatsoever," Seraphina said sarcastically. With a sigh, she stood up and dropped a kiss on Nyssa's forehead. "You have fun with your nostalgic languishing. I'm going to go let Mr. Right Now buy me a drink."

"You do that," Nyssa replied, shaking her head. Darshan, curled up quietly on her feet, lifted his head into her lap, and she absently scratched behind his ears. She had been keeping busy enough that nights like this one, where she was left alone with her own thoughts and memories were something of a rarity. For the most part, she tried not to think of Bucky, but Sera's reminder sent her mind spinning back to her time in Wakanda. Distractedly, she caressed the pendant, her fingers skimming across the stone's smooth surface.


Bucky caught sight of a flash of white-blonde hair in the corridor ahead of him and broke into a jog to catch up. "Natalia!" he called. She had just returned from a reconnaissance mission in Micronesia. She stopped and turned towards him, one hand moving furtively behind her back. He slowed down as he drew closer. "Did you find anything?" She nodded.

"According to the locals, there was a large explosion on one of the mountains about twelve years ago. After that, people started hearing strange cries and screeches. It didn't sound like anything native to the island. Anyone who ventured near where the explosion had been, disappeared. They sent a group to investigate, and they came back with wild tales of a savage monster with wings. Some of them were seriously injured. Descriptions vary, but they all agree that, whatever the creature is, it's female."

"Local legend, or Hydra?" Bucky queried. Natasha grinned.

"I found the scorched ruins of an old laboratory. It's definitely Hydra." She still had one hand hidden behind her back. Bucky tried to peek over her shoulder to see what it was, but she expertly maneuvered to keep it out of his view.

"So, what do you have there?" he asked, trying to keep his tone casual despite his sudden suspicions. "A local souvenir?"

"Just something Clint picked up for me on his last supply run," she said nonchalantly. "Not everything is for you, James."

"I know that," he replied in irritation. "So, did you see the, ah, "creature"?" Nat shook her head.

"I couldn't get too close. I was gathering information, not trying to be a one-woman rescue operation. That's more Steve's style." Bucky nodded.

"How many will we need?" was his next question. Nat's expression grew thoughtful.

"If Wanda isn't back yet, we can probably get by with you, me, Steve and Sam," she said contemplatively. "Sam is a must, though, since she's airborne." Her arm drifted a couple inches away from behind her back, and Bucky took advantage of her distraction to quickly step to the side and grab what she was holding. He had become familiar with music CDs, since being gifted many of them. That's what this was, but he did a double take as he looked at the cover. It featured a picture of a rag doll made up of colorful patches, though the face appeared uncomfortably familiar. Across the top, it read Patchwork Doll, and inscribed across the bottom were the smaller words, Torch Songs for Dark Times.

"What is this?" Bucky demanded. "And why do you have it?"

"Nyssa apparently launched a bit of a music career. She's my friend, too, you know." Natasha sounded cross, but he wasn't sure if she was defensive or simply annoyed with him. "Besides, it's for a good cause." She turned the plastic case over in his hand and pointed to the back. All proceeds to benefit the Enhanced Persons Defense Fund. "I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but it's supposed to be pretty good. Spent thirteen weeks in the top ten."

"I don't suppose you'd be interested in letting me borrow it," Bucky said hesitantly. Natasha snatched the CD back.

"Maybe after I get everything copied off of it," she relented. "In the interests of being complete, at any rate." Bucky gave her a hard look.

"What, do you have some kind of file on her?" he asked, his tone joking. Nat smirked.

"I have files on everyone," she admitted. "I like to know what's going on with my friends. Nothing new in yours, though. It seems you've successfully stayed under the radar since Berlin." Bucky contemplated her for a long moment, his expression carefully blank as he wrestled with whether or not to make the request. Really, he should just leave it alone. Probably better not to know. It had ended between them, and it had been months… Curiosity warred with propriety, and curiosity won.

"Can you show me what you have on her?" he asked tentatively. Natasha's expression softened.

Natasha's quarters were well organized and modestly decorated. Like Bucky, she had never developed the habit of accumulating excessive material possessions. She sat down at the workstation set into the wall across from the bed and laid her hand on the screen. A flash of green light made sure it was her before the screen came to life. Sliding the disc into an external drive, she quickly set it to rip the music files before clicking through folders to the one that Bucky had requested to see. She pulled its contents to the desktop, then stood up and gestured for Bucky to sit down. He frowned as he glanced through downloaded articles, editorials and blog post interviews. As always, Natasha kept her information in meticulous condition, time-stamped and sorted in chronological order.

"She's been busy," Nat commented from behind him. He half-nodded absently in agreement. There were nearly a hundred written pieces and well over a dozen audio or audiovisual files. It would take hours to go through all of it. He glanced at Natasha, who was standing behind his shoulder with her arms folded across her chest.

"There's a lot here," he noted. She nodded.

"I can make you copies of it, if you like," she offered. "Then you don't have to spend the whole night clogging up my workstation." He snorted.

"Might take you up on that," he admitted. He frowned as he stumbled across an article that didn't seemed to fit with the rest of them. Tony Stark Possible Appointee for Secretary of State. "I think you've got this sorted into the wrong folder," he noted. There was no mention of Nyssa in the article at all. Natasha chuckled.

"If you don't think Nyssa had something to do with that, then you don't know your girl as well as you think you do," she said smugly. Bucky shook his head.

"No, she doesn't like to get involved in politics," he recalled. Natasha shrugged.

"She doesn't, until she does. It's hard to be apolitical in times like these. And when she does, well… she doesn't do anything by half-measures. Here." She nudged him out of her seat and started copying files to a different drive. It took a few minutes for everything to transfer, but then she pulled a thumb drive out of a nearby slot and handed it to him. "Now you can obsess about her in the quiet of your own quarters." Ejecting the CD, she slipped it back into its case and handed it to him. "This one I'll want back, though." Bucky nodded acknowledgement.

"Thanks," he said simply. "But I'm not obsessing." Natasha's mouth quirked upwards.

"Sure you aren't. Goodnight, James." Correctly reading that as a dismissal, he retreated with his treasure back to his quarters.


It was well past 3AM by the time he switched off his workstation, Balaur curled up and sleeping next to the bed already. It had been a bit of a roller coaster learning what Nyssa had been up to since she left. First her interview that was essentially an announcement that she was Enhanced, plus some warnings about the current sociopolitical environment. Then her warnings came true as she stepped down from the company she had created and been so proud of. He had no doubt there had been something shady about that. He found it unlikely that it had been simply "for health reasons" as the article stated. He watched the video of her performance in Central Park four times from beginning to end. He had to force himself to relax, reminding himself that it had happened in the past, and he couldn't change anything. The rest of the articles, he read while listening to the songs on the CD that had started his venture into recent history. Some of the songs were covers, but there were a few originals, most with songwriting credits to a Philip Monterose. They crossed genres, displaying an impressive range of vocal styles. He was taken by surprise at the feelings that arose upon hearing her voice again. He thought he had buried them and moved on, but apparently that wasn't completely true. His gaze kept traveling over to the CD case and the name scrolled in printed embroidery across the top. She had apparently taken his name for her to heart, and embraced it as her own. He was unsure if he should take that as a sign that perhaps she still had feelings for him as well. He found that, for all the answers Natasha's information had provided, he still had many questions.

Standing, he collected the disc and the thumb drive, and strode over to the closet. Pushing aside some of the gun cases, he pulled a small box out from the back of the shelf. He didn't have to look at the contents to remember what they were: the small painting Steve had given him of Nyssa and him smiling at each other, the little notebook he had dedicated to writing out his memories of their time together, other tiny items and mementos that had reminded him of her. Opening the lid, he added the CD and thumb drive, then looked down at it for a long time before closing it up and putting it away.


Thanks to NotMarge, DarylDixon'sLover and karina001 for your lovely reviews! They are always appreciated!