Well, I did die to save the universe. I figure that's the ultimate carte blanche.

（ easier to joke than to look too deeply at that. it's an odd, echoing mirror of some of her talks with yelena. she doesn't want to be looked up to. admired. respected. but she had gotten used to it. she was never comfortable with it — tony and thor probably were the only ones that really were — but she adapted. that's her whole gig, adaptation.

but bucky is perhaps one of the only people it costs her nothing to take it from. nothing to swallow down. he says it, he means it, she takes it and puts it away.

she shoves her messy hair back over one shoulder. it's grimy in ways she doesn't usually have to deal with. soap's scarce, she's doing her part. it's oddly liberating — she doesn't need to worry about being a femme fatale here, no heads to turn. not caring about being perfectly coiffed and manicured in the middle of a firefight is new.

she gives him a look that has nearly nothing behind it. emotion excised from her expression. it gives normal people the creeps, but it's just — learned behaviour.

after a moment — ）

Just try not to follow in my footsteps, huh? This team has enough martyrs.

（ and steve and sam are it.

honestly, she's glad it wasn't down to her and steve for the soul stone. that's a fight she might not have won. ）