bakerstreet | minor injury meme.

minor injury meme.

You or your meme partner has been hurt, but don't worry! This time around it's not that bad. You can still limp your way out of this mess.

INJURIES.
1. Sprain/strain. How did you screw up walking?
2. Broken bones. Simple fractures still hurt.
3. Cuts. Hopefully one of you has a sewing kit.
4. Burns. Location, location, location. Let's pray this one isn't on your ass.
5. Concussion. No, they're most likely not holding up fifteen fingers.
6. Other. I'm not a doctor.

HOW'D IT HAPPEN.
1. Stupidity. You did this to yourself.
2. Accident. Is an unintentional attack still an attack?
3. Attack. Don't lie, you deserved it.
4. Other. It's probably still your own fault.

WHERE'D IT HAPPEN.
1. Home. Did you remember to invest in a first aid kit?
2. School/Work. This should be excellent for getting you out of doing stuff!
3. Outdoors. Predators like the smell of blood. Clean up asap.
4. In the water. Hopefully there aren't any sharks!
5. Other. Like a hospital. That'd be handy.

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Natasha had stopped watching Bucky for signs of his programming returning. She'd given that up after the first few months. It didn't mean she wasn't ready to mount an assault should his switch get flipped, but it did mean she might not be so keen to put him in the ground. That maybe she'd consider some kind of cognitive recalibration like with Barton after he'd been under Loki's control. Assuming it could be that easy.

She was growing accustomed to his presence, to someone not as keen on Stark's festivities with a penchant for quieter celebrations like herself. Sometimes it struck her that she probably had more in common with Barnes than anyone else on the team. He just wasn't a fully fledged member yet.

Natasha smiled at his response to her teasing before shrugging as if it were a shame. "Maybe one day you'll be that adventurous. Really venture out of your shell. I'm sure those legs could stand to see a little daylight."

As he stood around awkwardly she just watched him again, realising that she wasn't exactly forthcoming with suggestions or helping to stop him from floundering. She did know she might have put up a little bit of a fight if he'd decided to just leave her on the couch. She wasn't ready for the conversation to be over even if it was taking a turn. Or for him to disappear.

"Probably, although I get the feeling that Banner would be the opposite. He'd appreciate the mortality." Natasha cleared her throat and tried to steer things back to a lighter subject area. "So since I'm a little housebound for now, did you want to perhaps join me in watching something. Or listening to something. I'm not fussed. Dancing is obviously off the table though."

Anything could happen, really. It wasn't as if his previous handlers told him everything they were doing to him off the bat, and there could still be plenty of secrets and hidden tricks stowed away somewhere in the back of his mind. If worse did come to worse ... well, Bucky just tried to keep himself away from crowds, and nearer to those capable of taking him out if need be.

He didn't want to put anyone in danger, least of all the people he was only just recently starting to call friends. Natasha was quick, always prepared, but now she was injured. While he didn't want to risk anything happening because something took hold of him again, he also didn't want to risk her being attacked because she was left alone and someone saw fit to try and blow up the tower for some inexplicable reason.

Despite his thoughts, she could still make him chuckle a bit. Maybe she could read minds.

Still, maybe it was best that he keep close, just in case. She could need a lift later on, as well. And being housebound could definitely take a toll on someone, especially the more social type. He considered it for a moment, before eventually returning to the couch, two water bottles in hand as he sat down beside her - on her left, in case she wanted to lean against him and nobody wanted to lean against a cold metal arm.

"Sure," Bucky answered as he offered one of the water bottles to her. "Raincheck on the dance for now."

There was a slight sense of satisfaction at hearing chuckle. Maybe even a little flutter in her stomach. It wasn't as if she saw it from him very much. Although she had a feeling most would say the same of her. It had taken her a while to warm to some of her teammates, but now she was relaxed enough around them that she could smile and make jokes. She just kept that side hidden in front of anyone else.

Natasha watched him go, but when he settled back on the sofa she did take advantage of his warm side and chose to lean against it. Very rarely did she ever ask for comfort, but if Barnes was willing to offer it, then she was going to take it.

Her pride was still wounded from the fall, and she did feel a little restricted for the moment in what she could or couldn't do, but with James there she did at least feel protected. Despite the fact that she knew he was always going to be on edge about whether or not he could slip back into old ways, she knew that if anything outside the Tower were to attack he'd protect them both.

She cracked open her water bottle and smiled to herself. "Seems to be a trend with us. Maybe one day we'll get that dance."

Good, Bucky thought to himself. He wasn't completely hopeless. She still wanted him near, she wanted his company. She wasn't put off by him, though probably still ready to get out of the way or take him down if something made him snap. But even despite that, she seemed comfortable around him, at least enough so to trust him to tend to an injured ankle and keep her company while she was stuck here recovering.

And the water bottles seemed like a good idea, too. So he had that going for him as well.

It was still a little awkward, getting used to personal closeness - he was sure this was something he was a lot better at, back in the day, before everything happened. But with enough time, and enough patience from her, maybe Bucky could work his way up to slipping an arm over her shoulders or something. Right now, though, it still felt weird to even think about reaching for her hand. But this, her just leaning against him while they wasted time in front of the television, he could get used to this.

"You might have to help me out a bit with that," he replied, hands firmly in his lap, flesh over metal. "There's a pretty good chance I've forgotten how."

Natasha took another sip of her water. She felt a little like she was helping James acclimatise and it wasn't such a bad thing. She didn't mind taking her time to make him more at ease with the closeness or to make him understand that she wasn't actually going to go anywhere.

She needed to earn his trust just as he needed to earn hers. It worked both ways. Natasha wasn't actually someone that rushed into a relationship, if at all. She didn't need to rush this.

And she did have to admit he could do comfort pretty well, even if she still felt the awkwardness radiating from him. She shifted just a little to be able to look up at his face.

"I can do that. I used to be pretty good at dancing. Not sure that I've forgotten, but it'll be nice to not be dancing under orders."

She really was making it easier on him. While he still didn't know much about her past and where she came from and he certainly wasn't going to pry, it felt like sometimes, she just knew. She knew what it was like, she'd been there. She turned her life around. If he tried hard enough, and especially with the same support she found, surely he could do the same. No matter how hopeless it seemed from time to time.

There was that very reminder in her words. Under orders. He tensed a little at the mention of it, both for her sake and for his own, but reminding himself that it was no longer the case for either of them now helped.

"Yeah," Bucky eventually answered, with a small nod of his head. He was probably never going to stop being awkward around her, but he could try and be less so, at least. "Only if you want to. I ain't ordering you to do anything."

One day she'd tell him. If anyone, besides Clint, could truly understand what she had been through it would be James Buchanan Barnes. While her past had been laid waste to on the internet by her own hand a long time ago, she still didn't start conversations with people by offering up her own view on it. She did want to tell him. It was a conversation that hovered on the tip of her tongue frequently but never passed her lips. She had a feeling it would be better with a bottle or two of vodka at hand.

She felt the way his muscles shifted in his arm and after a moment she lay her hand over his gently, her touch light and she'd remove it the second he asked her to. But she felt an urge to give him a physical gesture of comfort, as he had just by sitting next to her.

Natasha smirked as she looked at him. "Not many men succeed in ordering me to do something I don't want to do. Fury was always the exception when it came to SHIELD. I do want a dance with you, James. I'd like many dances actually, but I don't expect you to be doing anything you're not ready or willing to do either. Patience has become a new virtue of mine."

He would do his best. While he wasn't sure of exactly how much help he could be, if she ever needed him for anything that wasn't twisted ankles, but he could try at least. Bucky knew what Hydra was all about, how they operated, how deceptive and manipulative they were. They'd taken all of them for fools. But it was hard to talk about, from his own experiences, and he could only imagine it was the same for her.

All in good time, then. But he would admit, this right now, he was pretty fond of this. And when her hand moved over his, after the initial surprise, he couldn't help the small smile as he turned his hand over, gently brushing his thumb across her wrist.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Bucky answered with a hint of a smile. Nobody could tell Natasha what to do if she didn't want them to. "Maybe we can give it a shot, once you're feeling better. I'll try not to step on your toes."

"If ever there was a reason for a speedy recovery," she told him lightly, the smirk becoming more of a smile as she glanced down at their hands and then briefly at the television. "I'll try and forgive you when you step on my toes. Or wear my combat boots. Either way."

He hadn't asked her to remove her hand. She settled down just a little more against his side as she enjoyed the light tickle that came as his thumb rubbed her wrist.

Another little step of progress was made and Natasha was feeling less embarrassed about the twisted ankle, and more grateful that it had happened. She was sure that said something crooked about her thinking but if it meant she gained a little more ground with James then she'd take it.

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minor injury meme.

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this is very late and i apologize :c

i'm just glad you wanted to keep going

for sure, just rl things getting in the way

i know them feels

they are the worst

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