[ sam honestly appreciates that geralt ignores his rising tension, if only because sam wouldn't know what to do with geralt's attention to it. he's having a hard enough time dealing with it himself. having a place to go, something to do, it does help. gives him something to focus on, if not entirely, then something. but as they make it through the rest of the city, as they finally come to a stopping point, sam can't ignore it any longer.
geralt doesn't even need to answer, but when he does, sam shouldn't be surprised. he knows by the moment it takes, by the sound of the exhale. no. no, he didn't make it to the city. and even as geralt offers up another choice, that they could go to the gates to make sure, that there is one more thing to check, but sam knows. and if geralt is looking, he can probably see sam go through that process of knowing. of feeling the information settle, of coming to terms with it. bucky is either gone, completely, or he's still in thorne. in enemy territory. in danger.
sam nods, a hand coming up to rub at his chin as he considers - considers what, he's not entirely sure. how would he get back there, anyway? they were months of travel away, if not more, and sure, maybe strange could get him closer. but was that smart? what about peter? and mal and alina? and what would ambrose do after all of this? how would he react to all of them getting out? ]
Fuck. [ it comes out as a hiss under his breath, adamant despite how quite the word sounds at first. his mind is spinning as he turns towards the street - away from geralt, just for a moment, his voice a bit louder the second time. ] Fuck.
[ he needs to think - there has to be some way to figure out what happened to bucky. has to be some magical connection or communication. it's taking everything in him not to simply get up, pack up, and make his way back to thorne, but that is as ridiculous idea of any of the others. if anything the prime minister said is true, then ambrose is going to be more than just a little angry at what happened, and while he knows bucky is good at keeping low, knows that it wouldn't be bucky's first time in dangerous territory...
it comes to sam, a few moments later, that he's still standing in the middle of the road or alley or wherever it is they'd come to a stop. that geralt is still standing there, probably concerned at what sam was trying to figure out. he feels bad, he really does, but his attention is elsewhere. ]
Sorry, man. I've got to- [ figure out what i'm doing. sam rubs at the back of his neck, shakes his head. he's itchy, anxious, but he needs to finish this. geralt just went out of his way to help him do something that probably would have taken days, and the appreciation sam feels then is genuine. sam forces himself to pause, just for long enough to speak, ] Thanks, for helping me look. Really. It... [ he exhales, the tension leaving him for just long enough that geralt good - if he was looking - see a bit of the underpinning of panic taking its place. because that's the truth of all of this, isn't it? sam is worried about what he's left bucky in. about what he doesn't know, and can't know, from where he is now. he'd come to the free cities thinking it would mean everything would be okay for a little bit, but he should have known better. he is captain america, for fuck's sake. ]
It helped a lot.
[ that is when sam covers it back again, settles it back into something a bit more contained. a bit more action focused. ] I've got to get back, but- I'll talk to you later, okay?
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geralt doesn't even need to answer, but when he does, sam shouldn't be surprised. he knows by the moment it takes, by the sound of the exhale. no. no, he didn't make it to the city. and even as geralt offers up another choice, that they could go to the gates to make sure, that there is one more thing to check, but sam knows. and if geralt is looking, he can probably see sam go through that process of knowing. of feeling the information settle, of coming to terms with it. bucky is either gone, completely, or he's still in thorne. in enemy territory. in danger.
sam nods, a hand coming up to rub at his chin as he considers - considers what, he's not entirely sure. how would he get back there, anyway? they were months of travel away, if not more, and sure, maybe strange could get him closer. but was that smart? what about peter? and mal and alina? and what would ambrose do after all of this? how would he react to all of them getting out? ]
Fuck. [ it comes out as a hiss under his breath, adamant despite how quite the word sounds at first. his mind is spinning as he turns towards the street - away from geralt, just for a moment, his voice a bit louder the second time. ] Fuck.
[ he needs to think - there has to be some way to figure out what happened to bucky. has to be some magical connection or communication. it's taking everything in him not to simply get up, pack up, and make his way back to thorne, but that is as ridiculous idea of any of the others. if anything the prime minister said is true, then ambrose is going to be more than just a little angry at what happened, and while he knows bucky is good at keeping low, knows that it wouldn't be bucky's first time in dangerous territory...
it comes to sam, a few moments later, that he's still standing in the middle of the road or alley or wherever it is they'd come to a stop. that geralt is still standing there, probably concerned at what sam was trying to figure out. he feels bad, he really does, but his attention is elsewhere. ]
Sorry, man. I've got to- [ figure out what i'm doing. sam rubs at the back of his neck, shakes his head. he's itchy, anxious, but he needs to finish this. geralt just went out of his way to help him do something that probably would have taken days, and the appreciation sam feels then is genuine. sam forces himself to pause, just for long enough to speak, ] Thanks, for helping me look. Really. It... [ he exhales, the tension leaving him for just long enough that geralt good - if he was looking - see a bit of the underpinning of panic taking its place. because that's the truth of all of this, isn't it? sam is worried about what he's left bucky in. about what he doesn't know, and can't know, from where he is now. he'd come to the free cities thinking it would mean everything would be okay for a little bit, but he should have known better. he is captain america, for fuck's sake. ]
It helped a lot.
[ that is when sam covers it back again, settles it back into something a bit more contained. a bit more action focused. ] I've got to get back, but- I'll talk to you later, okay?