"…then I said, 'Boom, you looking for this?'"
I gasp at Rhodey's story, as everyone else laughs appreciatively. He nods in gratitude and sips his drink, obviously pleased with the reaction. I excuse myself to find someone slightly closer to my age, if not by much.
Wanda catches my eye from across the room and smiles at me. I smile back, but decide against hanging out with her; she looks awfully comfortable with Vision. They have been spending a lot of time together. I wonder what Pietro would've thought. My stomach twists itself into a knot as I remember him. I shake my head, feeling guilty at dismissing the thought. But this is Tony's Christmas party. At the Avengers Tower. Time to have fun, and be merry. I still haven't gotten used to running in these circles. It's awesome, though.
Speaking of being merry, Thor is entertaining Steve and Sam with war stories from Asgard. That seems a little too male-dominated a corner for me. I scan the room for Nat but give up almost instantly as I assume Clint must be missing as well. I shudder and struggle to avoid conjuring up a mental image of what they could be up to.
Just as I make up my mind to sit alone at the bar with my Coke, I spot Bucky sitting there already with five empty shot glasses on the counter in front of him, and a sixth at his mouth. He tosses it back and smacks it down with the others. I hang around Rhodey's crowd for a bit, watching him. Bucky, I mean.
He's the only person in the tower I haven't gotten along with. Everyone else has taken me under their individual wings because of how much younger than them I am, as they keep reminding me. I didn't think I'd feel like such a toddler at 21 but oh well. It hasn't been that bad, though. They've all kind of eased into letting me do things on my own, and definitely, own up to any mistakes I make. I'm almost taken completely seriously. Yay.
But Bucky… I feel kind of weird calling him that. James hasn't spoken much to me since I got here. I know about his past. Steve and Nat sat with me when they showed me his file. I've seen everybody's files, but his was the only one, except Nat's which she sat and explained to me, I had to read accompanied. I guess they thought it'd be too much for me to handle or something. They were only half right.
On the one hand, as disturbing and traumatic as his experiences were, I understood them. But when I actually saw him for the first time, everything in the file jumped straight in front of my eyes and I suddenly couldn't believe anyone would do all those things to someone like him.
Well, someone who looked like him. I mean… yeah okay. He's really cute. Sue me. Maybe I have a thing for damaged men… oh god, I hope it's not a Florence Nightingale type complex.
Anyway, I've tried to reach out to him and get to know him, as we're all part of a team here, but he wants nothing to do with me. It's one thing to be aloof, but he's just… mean, I guess. He's not particularly nice to anybody, except Steve obviously, but there's a special amount of disdain he musters up just for me, which makes me feel all tingly and special. Not.
So me being me, what with my abundance of patience, I've given up trying to talk to him outside of work or unless one of the others needs a message delivered down the grapevine. I think the most I've said to him in the past month was "Tony wants to check out your arm again." Everyone wants to check out his arm. Even I want to check out his arm… but there's no point in me thinking that way because he barely tolerates my existence. And I can't keep being nice to him, so I'm just going to stay out of his way. Like now.
Okay, he's gotten up. Kind of stumbling, which catches Steve's eye. He and Sam immediately step over to steer him towards his room, but he's determined to fight them off. Uh oh… I hope there isn't going to be a situation. I glance at Tony, who throws a panicked glance at the new sculpture he forked out a fortune for, against Pepper's orders advice. That thing won't stand a chance if fists start flying.
"Get OFF me, Steve! I… I… hello is everyone listening? So I know I've been an asshole to-" James' eyes start roving around the room, seeking someone out. They land on me, and his gaze looks like it's been locked on a target. What the hell? Is he going to apologise to me for his behaviour in front of everyone?
"-there she is! And I just want everybody to know that… it's not because I'm an asshole. Okay? I LOVE her, alright? I l -excuse me- love her. So that's why. That's it," he smiles. "Enjoy the party! Tonyyy-" he trails off, pointing at him. Sam and Steve are staring at me, as are most of the people here. The Christmas cheer has been very obviously dampened. I swallow and stare resolutely back at the two of them trying to telepathically tell them to get me out of this absolute shitty situation.
"I think our brother James here has imbibed far too much than is advisable for one evening!" Thor's voice reverberates throughout the crowd. "On Asgard, he would be laughed out of the festivities by now," he chuckles and takes a sip of his own drink. "Who here will dare to take on the God of thunder to determine the champion of drinkers?" There's silence for a second, then cheers as a couple of unsuspecting men surge towards Thor and the bar, while Steve and Sam motion for me to come with them.
I slide away and feel someone behind me before I lose myself in a trance…
I'm in an unfamiliar room, lying on a bed. And I'm kissing someone. Well, this is new. Who on earth is this on top of me? I open my eyes but it's too dark to make out (haha) who it is. Oh god, what if it's someone I don't even know? I suddenly feel really icky and put both my hands on the guy's shoulders and gently push him upwards. He squints down at me, confused. "What's wrong?"
Um.
What's wrong is that it's James.
