[He's right that she understands that. She was special. Natasha was special. Alexei hadn't been. Some sort of failed experiment, but he'd been special to her, but that hadn't mattered to Ivan. Too caught up in his New World Order and this idea that she was important in some way she never understood.
This conversation is easier than it should be. She's had more bladed, contentious talks with Natasha. This wasn't friendly, but the blades were still sheathed, they were still working out the size of the battlefield and how deep they would cut. He was very careful with how he spoke, moreso than she knew how to be, but she was trying to work with this, since it was the only angle that she had.
She didn't really understand the threat that he was. To Bucky, yes, and if given a platform of power, but not like this. In the middle of the night, in a lonely kitchen, with nothing but his words. There, she maybe underestimated him, even knowing he was HYDRA. She didn't have Natasha's grasp on how everything had actually come crumbling down, not exactly -- she'd been buried in her own kind of chaos. She hums softly, thoughtfully, watching him. She tries not to, but there's something about that open attentiveness, and it does tug at something, makes her eye flicker for a moment.]
Maybe. People worth believing in are hard to come by. And in some people it pushes them off an edge, fanatics that can't see the world around them.
[By which she's actually talking about Ivan; although it could be a jab at Pierce, that would be a little too simplistic. With Ivan she knew very specifically what his delusions were-- his so-called key to the future, the idea that Natasha wouldn't put a bullet through his skull. She would like to avoid talking about whether she's a danger or not, but the truth is that is almost more telling.]
I believe that people trained like I've been aren't safe. But that's not the same thing as dangerous.
[Not quite a lie, but she very specifically avoids talking about herself in specific.]
no subject
This conversation is easier than it should be. She's had more bladed, contentious talks with Natasha. This wasn't friendly, but the blades were still sheathed, they were still working out the size of the battlefield and how deep they would cut. He was very careful with how he spoke, moreso than she knew how to be, but she was trying to work with this, since it was the only angle that she had.
She didn't really understand the threat that he was. To Bucky, yes, and if given a platform of power, but not like this. In the middle of the night, in a lonely kitchen, with nothing but his words. There, she maybe underestimated him, even knowing he was HYDRA. She didn't have Natasha's grasp on how everything had actually come crumbling down, not exactly -- she'd been buried in her own kind of chaos. She hums softly, thoughtfully, watching him. She tries not to, but there's something about that open attentiveness, and it does tug at something, makes her eye flicker for a moment.]
Maybe. People worth believing in are hard to come by. And in some people it pushes them off an edge, fanatics that can't see the world around them.
[By which she's actually talking about Ivan; although it could be a jab at Pierce, that would be a little too simplistic. With Ivan she knew very specifically what his delusions were-- his so-called key to the future, the idea that Natasha wouldn't put a bullet through his skull. She would like to avoid talking about whether she's a danger or not, but the truth is that is almost more telling.]
I believe that people trained like I've been aren't safe. But that's not the same thing as dangerous.
[Not quite a lie, but she very specifically avoids talking about herself in specific.]