Bandages

Renny was still shivering when they got back to the house. Bucky placed her on her bed and wrapped her in blankets. He went upstairs and raided the blankets from his and Steve's room too. When he tucked those over her, she was still trembling.

There wasn't any hesitation. "Scoot," he ordered, though before she could move, the man pushed her just enough across the mattress so he could lay down and wrap his arms around her.

He spooned her from behind, rubbing her arms, careful of her hands.

"You'll be the death of me, Sunshine. Always giving me a heart attack," he muttered. The image of her on the floor flashed through his head and he moved closer to her.

"'M s-sorry." Renny stuttered, her voice shaking. The cold in her veins was starting to ebb. She was starting to feel the warmth of Bucky sticking so close to her. Damn… she wanted to still feel annoyed with him for being a jerk towards Falsworth, but she couldn't. It was just misdirected after all.

She sighed, "If you're mad… you should be a jerk to me."

The sergeant's brow scrunched in confusion, "Doll, I'm mad, yeah… but at Stark, not you."

"Howard?"

"Howard?" Bucky parroted. First name?

Renny carefully flipped over, using her elbows because her hands still stung. She looked up at him, "What?" What did Howard have to do with him being pissy with Falsworth?

"He, and Agent Carter I bet, hurt you with their tests." He growled.

"Th-That…" Renny looked away guiltily, "Was my idea."

Bucky huffed, running one hand over his face, "Why do you keep insisting on doing things if you know you're gonna get hurt?"

She looked at him again, her tone blunt, "You're a soldier in a war."

He chuckled after a moment, "Okay, fine. Point there, Sunshine."

She liked the sound of his chuckle, he sounded carefree. "Anyway, you need to stop being mad at people who don't deserve it." She snuggled into her sheets, resting her forehead on his side.

She'd fallen asleep for a few minutes on the way to the house and woken up again when Bucky had set her on her bed. She still felt exhausted, but talking with Bucky was nice. She'd been avoiding him for a while and it had been straining on her.

Being exhausted went either of two ways- she would just go straight to sleep, or her tired brain would make her ease up on her quiet personality… She usually stayed away from the boys when she was, knowing that sometimes, she couldn't control what she said.

"Hey, I'm not mad, just annoyed now." Bucky insisted.

It was her turn to huff, "Then be annoyed with me, not Falsworth."

He scrunched his brows together, "Wait… how's Falsworth involved in this now?"

"I think you're projecting on him. I'm the one you're annoyed with." She said, a little annoyance bleeding into her tone.

"Annoyed with you? For what? Well... besides letting yourself get zapped?" Bucky was confused.

"For… taking long… to sort myself out?" Now Renny was confused.

The two stared at each other.

"I'm not annoyed with you for that."

"Then why've you been being a jerk to Falsworth?"

"Because… well… I thought we were starting to work things out. Then you started… sticking to him instead." Bucky managed to mumble out, sourness tingeing his tone.

"Falsworth? I was only sticking to him because I was, actually I am still, annoyed with you for being a jerk to him."

So that's what the Brit had been referring to. Hope flared to life in his chest, "Then…?"

If her hands didn't sting she would be smacking Bucky repeatedly right now. She had to settle for glaring at him.

God. Her feelings were causing all kinds of problems, worse apparently when she tried to hide them.

The lesser of two evils then.

"I like you, you idiot." She grumbled. "I was just being a friend to Falsworth."

One moment.

Two.

A grin slowly split Bucky's face. He'd always had an idea that she felt something for him, but to hear Renny actually say it plainly. To hear what it actually was…

"Well, I like you too, Sunshine." He put an arm around her waist and pulled her to him slightly, the blankets bunching even more between them. Renny breathed in sharply.

It felt like all the cliches.

Butterflies.

Sparks.

He tucked her head under his chin. The young woman in his hold took a few moments to relax. She took another gulp of air before shyly scooting a bit closer. Her hands felt like they were moving of their own accord, lifting to lightly rest on Bucky's chest. Her injuries seemed to have made her palms and fingertips hypersensitive, and she could feel the steady thump of his heart against his ribs. The rhythm was soothing.

Renny sighed softly, trying not to let Bucky realize just how content she was, but she heard her. His grin turned smug and satisfied. For a few minutes, they revelled in the quiet, then Bucky took a breath, "You know-"

"I got some supplies-" Steve paused at the doorway.

Renny eeped and hid her face under her sheet, almost giving the sergeant a double uppercut.

Bucky just looked up at his pal, his grin subdued and a tad annoyed, but still on his face. "You sure got great timing, punk." His eye twitched.

Maybe the blond had walked in on his dark-haired friend several times in the past, but it didn't exactly make this kind of situation easy to handle. Especially because quiet, timid Renny wasn't one Steve would have ever thought of accidentally walking in on… even if his friends weren't really doing anything inappropriate except sharing a bed.

The Captain coughed and cleared his throat, while Bucky sat up on the mattress, holding out a hand for a roll of bandages. Renny stayed frozen under the sheets, feeling mortified.

"Hey, Sunshine. We gotta clean up those hands first before we can bandage them up." Bucky tried pulling up the sheet to peek at the young woman, but she'd ignored the slight sting of her hands to pull the fabric back. She was still so embarrassed.

"I'll go get some water and a basin…" Steve muttered, thinking to give his friends some space. They looked like they were working things out and he didn't want to get in the way of that. "I'm gonna check the bathroom." He declared loudly before stepping out.

After a few more moments, "Sunshine?" Bucky said gently.

She still didn't budge. The young man chuckled and petted the sheets over her head. "I hate to admit it, but he's seen worse, you know."

Renny shifted and wanted to chuckle too. Bucky must've still had an innocent image of Steve. Little did he know, after the serum, women had been throwing themselves at the formerly small and skinny young man. However, no matter how gentlemanly and shy the Captain was, he was still a man. She'd even caught him kissing one of the showgirls once. She couldn't help but titter softly at the thought.

Bucky felt relieved that his admission didn't put Renny off. She must have expected it actually. She'd known him for years, after all.

He flicked somewhere around where her nose would be and she wriggled underneath the sheets again.

"Hey, no more trying to hide, okay? If things get weird between us again, let's just talk it through."

He sighed before going on, "No jumping to conclusions, no secrets, and I think we'll be okay."

Renny bit her lip.

Secrets…

Pulling the sheets down enough to uncover her eyes, she looked up at Bucky.

"O-Okay." She agreed, though technically it didn't mean she agreed with everything he listed. She retreated again underneath the sheets.

It was a few more minutes before Steve came back with a basin of warm water and a cloth. He knocked before stepping in.

Bucky tried his luck again, "Easy, Sunshine." He pulled the sheets away gently, revealing that Renny had fallen asleep. The young man couldn't help but smile, an affectionate look in his eyes when he looked down at the young woman's peaceful face.

"She alright?" The Captain asked softly as he stepped up to one side of the bed, setting down the basin and soaking the cloth in.

"Yeah," The dark-haired man glanced up at his pal, "Her hands are singed and she's plain exhausted, but she's okay."

The blond wrung the cloth, looking thoughtful, "Just like during the raids." He realized as he took in the paleness of her skin and a bit of a shadow under her eyes, "She should have said something. Being on raids can be very dangerous for her." He sighed and gave the damp cloth to Bucky who took one of Renny's hands in his gently.

"What do you mean?" The sergeant hadn't seen exactly what caused the explosion in the lab.

"Her fairy dust can backfire on her when she gets too close to the energy in Schmidt's weapons." Steve reiterated, nodding to the young woman's injured hands. "That might be what happened on the last op."

Bucky ground his teeth, "God damn it-"

"Language."

The dark-haired young man couldn't help but give his friend an exasperated scowl, before turning back to wipe off Renny's hands. "That's probably why she disappears after some raids. She didn't want us to know." He groaned slightly, shaking his head.

Steve moved to bandage one hand while Bucky did the same. "Who knows how bad she got hurt without us knowing. She was only exposed to one bullet in the lab and it caused this kind of damage." He glared at the red skin of Renny's palm.

Both men moved slowly, contemplative looks on their faces.

"We have to do something… but she won't back off, will she?"

"No. She's too bent on watching our backs."

A familiar thought crossed Steve's mind and he looked at his pal who'd pressed a gentle kiss on Renny's bandaged knuckles, "Did you ever wonder why?"

Bucky's brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"Why she's so… protective?" There was something else to it, but Steve just could never really place it. There was a franticness Renny tried to hide when either he or his pal were hurt. "She just chose us. She watches over us like a hawk."

The other man shrugged like it was obvious, "What's there to be confused about? She's our friend and she's a dame. All dames worry."

Steve made sure her bandages were secure, "I guess… Still, you haven't thought about it?"

The other man shrugged, "Punk, sometimes I wonder why I've stuck with you after I helped you with those bullies the first time." Bucky's tone was blunt.

The two stared at each other.

One moment.

Two.

Then they both chuckled loudly, holding in their laughs so they wouldn't disturb their friend's much-needed rest.

"Yeah, okay." Steve put Renny's hand on her stomach.

The blond watched his pal rub gentle circles on the back of Renny's other bandaged hand.

"How 'bout you two Buck? Are you okay?"

Bucky looked at Steve, then back at Renny, "Yeah. I think we are."

The blond nodded, then gave the dark haired man a sly look, "Did you ask her to be your girl yet?"

Bucky groaned, poking his friend in the chest, "What do you think you walked in on?"

A/N: There will be around 2 or 3 chapters left 'til The First Avenger comes to a close and Renny is going to be mostly alone. Having a bit of a hard time typing out the end though. My muse is being difficult. Any comments or suggestions? I'd love to hear (read) from you.

Big thanks to everyone who read and reviewed.

'Til next time~