edit posted 3/16/2018
6.
Emilie seemed a bit off centered since the last time I saw her in the falling loft. She has a hold on my hand that is firm but gentle, as she walks in between the others that are gathered there. I'm not focused enough to pay any mind to who is here and who isn't. The pain on the right side of my head is enough of a distraction. Then there's the purple haired woman who looks like she's searching for something but she can't figure it out what that is.
Bucky has called out to her as if he already knows what she needs. Maybe he does, they seem to be connected in a way that reminds me of my grandparents. "Last door on the left."
Emilie gives me a little wave before pulling me along down a corridor. At least she isn't in too much of a hurry it seems now. I notice that there are a few different kinds of woods on the floors of the hall. Most of the house that I've seen so far seems to be made out of wood. It's not as weird to me as it should be. This place isn't exactly a cabin but it has the makings of one.
As we slip into the room she lets go of my hand and I unconsciously flex it. She really hadn't hurt it. It's an impulse whenever I've been holding someone's hand for a long period of time. Mom used to say it was because I went along with things without ever thinking about how holding someone's hand made me feel. I still didn't understand what she meant by that. I didn't really know Emilie, so my feelings about her suddenly reaching for my hand and pulling me along were very simple. I didn't mind it.
I took the moment to finally ask her about where we were. "What is this place?"
She had just thrown open the closet of the bedroom that we had gone into. It was a small room for the size of the house itself. She was currently bent over to grab something that she had specifically come into this room for.
"It's my family's place. Or well…mine really. No one really comes here anymore." She explained. She reappeared after a few minutes of her fiddling with stuff that was on the ground inside the closet. I couldn't tell what she was doing but she seemed satisfied. "Sit." She said quietly as she moved over to the bed.
I followed her lead on pure instinct. Sitting down on the bed. "You took a nasty fall or push actually."
"What were those things?" I asked. I hadn't gotten an answer out of Sam. I didn't know if she would know anything more but it was worth a shot.
"Extraterrestrials. Think Star Wars but worse." She told me as she started cleaning the wound on my head. I hadn't gotten a chance to look in the mirror and see what was going on with my face. I felt pretty shitty.
"You have experience with this stuff?"
Emilie hummed. She was being careful not to brush against my skin too hard with the alcohol. I heard her mumble something about stitches. I inhaled as I watched her get what she needed from the kit. "You might want to take off your jacket." She paused as if seeing something she didn't like.
I took a second to look down at my clothing. Oh. I see what she meant. There was glass and blood covering it. I hadn't really thought about there being further injuries.
As I began to tug at the sleeves to pull it off I felt a sharp pain in my left arm. It wasn't until the fabric was completely off that I saw where the blood had come from. It had started to seep through where the pocket had been.
I winced as I looked at the red stain that was practically soiling the white shirt. I sighed. This would be a hard subject to talk about with my grandparents.
"Don't worry. I can take care of it. You don't do any heavy lifting for your job, do you?" She asked as she tilted her head to look at the trail of blood. It certainly looked bad.
"Thankfully, no. I work at a call center."
Emilie looked amused. "Just lifting phones then." She joked.
I smiled at her.
"OH! Before I get distracted again. To answer your question about the aliens, no. This would be the first time I've encountered one or several at the same time. I have fought several buff dudes though. All humans as far as I know."
She was so small, I almost couldn't imagine that. Then I remembered how quickly she had moved in the loft.
She went back to working on my head.
"This might hurt." I didn't think it would. This wasn't the first time I had stitches. Or been cleaned up by someone before. I sat still as she began to thread the needle. She had looped about three sections before the door was opened and Sam came in looking calmer than I had seen him in the past two hours.
"There you are." He sighed. Had he been looking everywhere for me? If so, why hadn't Bucky just told him I was with Emilie?
"Yes." I mumbled trying to keep my face relaxed as Emilie continued threading and pulling the stitches tight.
"Does that hurt?" He asked as he walked over and stood a few feet behind Emilie so that she could have room to work.
"Not really. My head is throbbing but it's not from that. Probably from the whole being thrown part. I hit my head so…" I trailed off.
"There's some pain medicine in the bathroom." Emilie tells him as she cuts off the end of the thread to tie it off. I didn't realize it until Sam had gone out of the room that that was partly an excuse so that she could help me take off my shirt without prying eyes.
It was practically stuck to it. I kept seething as we finally settled on pulling it up quickly and over my head.
"Shit." I breathed leaning over as I sat back down. That shouldn't have been the worst part. The worst part was messing with whatever was back there that I couldn't really see. It had started on my hip and slid on towards my back. It could have been a very small cut but it hurt like hell.
"I'm going to need an extra pair of hands." Emilie said quietly. She sounded reluctant as if she didn't like working with other people when it came to this. However, when Sam came into the room she launched at him. "I need two towels, hot water and the bottle of peroxide."
"Why don't you keep those in the room with the first aid? Which by the way is kind of odd that it's in your bedroom." Sam mumbled, as he passed her the medication.
I heard Emilie say she wasn't the one who put the stuff away.
"Have you been here recently?" It seemed like the most logical thing to ask.
She gave me a very curt no only to backtrack and let out a sigh. "Sorry. You're not bothering me. It's just a really long story and I'm trying to focus on you." I must have started blushing because she started laughing.
"Aw, that's kind of cute. Does he know you're bi?"
I should have been distressed that she could tell that much from one moment of weakness on my part. It wasn't even that I found Emilie attractive though she was certainly pretty. Her laugh was surprisingly cute which only made the rest of me react in a way that I hadn't anticipated. "No."
Now I was the one being cut and dry.
I stumbled over the next explanation. "We haven't really talked about that stuff. We aren't together…like that." I think Sam and I had explained that enough for one night but I still found myself trying to shut down the image of me thinking of him like that. I hadn't been thinking that way at all. He was a good guy and sure I enjoyed his company. But, we weren't there and I didn't know if we would be anytime soon with the way things were going.
"Wanna know a little secret?" Emilie mumbled as she started to clean away some of the blood. I faced forward as to not have to look at how much blood that was still seeping out. I was wrong. It had to be a huge cut. I didn't remember hitting anything beyond my head.
"Uh, sure." I said, distracted by what she was doing behind me.
"That's usually how it starts. In my experience, Barnes and I had this weird bond where he kind of came at me and I decided to help him out anyways."
"Like he tried to hurt you?"
Emilie laughed as if that sounded strange to her. "No. Not at all. Well, technically he did kind of grab me but he was skittish at the time. But, no. He's never hurt me. I know that sounds weird when you know that he's killed people. A lot of people but that has nothing to do with me or our relationship. We built a relationship on trust and being completely honest with each other. I'm assuming you two are pretty real with each other?"
I nodded. "Yeah. It's hard not to be when my mom had just died when I met him."
Emilie grew quiet for a few minutes. From what I was getting from her person so far, it wasn't because of what we were talking about. She was working. She resumed the discussion once she had gotten to a point where she could move around to grab something from my other side. "Sorry to hear that. Both of my parents have been gone for a long time. Do you have any other family?"
It was ironic that my phone started ringing at that same exact moment. I couldn't move to answer it though.
Luckily Sam had just come back through with the towels. When he spotted my half-dressed self he put his hands over his eyes while somehow continuing to walk. "Didn't know you had her unclothed, Emilie." He sounded bashful. It was adorable.
"Yeah, well she had blood on her clothes and I wanted to be sure I got everything. All of you have given me enough practice with this." She gestured to the bloody mess of cotton. She took one of the towels from him and spread it across the bed. She carefully had me move onto the bed onto my stomach.
My phone started ringing again. I knew who it had to be.
"Sam." I called him. Making sure to look at him even though he couldn't see me.
"Yeah?"
"Can you grab my phone? I can't really move and I'm pretty sure that Pa or my grandmother calling for the second time."
Sam turned to the side before removing his hand and going for my jacket. He quickly found the phone before answering the call himself. He didn't get anything but a hello in before the yelling started. I gestured for him to hand it to me.
She was speaking in Dutch. Something she did when she was frantic and worried and sometimes pissed. It was a mix of all of it tonight it seemed. It was a good thing Pa had taught me the language when I was younger or else I wouldn't know what she was saying in the first place.
Currently, it was a lot of my full name and something about Ma wouldn't want me to die away from family. I replied in the same tongue she was using. "You're being dramatic. Yes, I know there was an attack at the exact location I told you I was going to be at, but I'm fine. I'm out of the city. With friends. Yes. I have those. For fucks sakes. Sorry I didn't mean to-. Yes. I will see you on Sunday. Yes, I will call you the minute I get back home. Pa get her some tea." I told him just before the line cut off.
When I handed the phone back to Sam he was giving me a funny look. So was Emilie from what I could tell. "What? My grandmother is Dutch. I had to learn how to talk to her."
"She doesn't speak any English?" He asked. I noticed, that he was no longer hiding his eyes. I could see his confusion clearly now.
"No. She does. It's just when she's stressed that she starts reverting back to her native tongue. Which brings me to the idea that you should probably avoid her for a couple of months should you actually meet them at all. She'll probably attack you."
Sam didn't seem bothered by it at all. "I can take it."
Emilie laughed from behind me. I felt her kneel beside me to get a better angle as she started again with the stitches. While I had been on the phone she had pulled something out of my skin. I had been too enamored with not getting frustrated with my grandmother to make any noises that indicated that I felt her pulling it out. I resolved that it had to be glass or something equally sharp.
"Have you ever been around an angry Dutch woman before?" I called to him as I shut my eyes. I just needed a minute.
"No, but I used to be around an angry black woman for most of my life. They can't be that different."
"Oh Sam." Emilie sighed. "I'm sure they're similar but when you maybe can't understand the words she's throwing at you for putting her granddaughter in harm's way. You need to rethink that strategy."
"What would you propose I do?" He said. I could practically envision him with his arms folded. I smiled to myself.
I could faintly hear the sound of the door opening before two sets of footsteps filed in.
"Not go would be smart, Bird Man."
Bucky Barnes.
"Bucky." Steve was there too by the sound of it.
"Are you all just going to surround a half-naked woman who is trying to stay still while one of your girlfriends has a needle in her?" I grumbled.
"We finished talking strategy with the alien Prince." The Winter Soldier replied with a tone that sounded like he really didn't feel like going back out there. Also, he just wanted to be in the same room as Emilie. I had caught onto their protective vibes rather quickly. It wasn't like anything was going to happen to her when there were so many strong superheroes standing around here – and out there.
"Thor is cool." I told him.
"He's still an alien."
"Hush." Emilie called from my side. She sounded aggravated. She was at a delicate part if the searing pain that I started feeling was anything to go by. I buried my head in the towel covered pillow.
I felt a hand come up and lightly press against my shoulder. I turned slightly and saw Sam's face. He looked concerned. I gave him a reassuring smile. It was safe to say I may have to call into work tomorrow. I didn't see myself doing much moving.
"Hey, what's that friend of yours number?" Sam asked after a few moments of silence.
"Sam." Steve called as if he was scolding a child.
I laughed. "Steve he isn't moving in on her. He wants to have someone to watch me when I go back home."
"Right." He followed up, apologetically.
"It's on my phone. Under Tri."
"You should probably put a code on this." Bucky called from Sam's side.
"Bucky why are you creeping over Sam's shoulder?" Emilie asked him. Sam must have noticed him because I saw him grow very uncomfortable before Bucky backed up mumbling something about that not happening. "Liar." Emilie continued their banter.
"I don't lie to you." He responded quietly.
That made me want to bury my head again. They were adorable.
"Okay. I gotta get away from you two." Steve called before the door opened.
"He's joking." Emilie explained to me. "He loves that Bucky has me."
"He likes you too. He just misses his friend who is not me."
"You can call her his girlfriend, Bucky." She teased him.
I could see him shifting uncomfortably.
"Why is that a problem when Emilie is your girlfriend?" I finally asked him.
He grumbled but didn't really give me an answer. "He's weird." Emilie finally answered in his stead.
"You're weird." He shot back at her.
Emilie just shook her head at him. "You like your weirdos, Barnes."
Sam was tapping away on my phone while all of this was going on. I heard the text alert a few times. "What do you have going on over there, Samuel?"
He lifted his head slowly as he came out of his texting zone. "She was worried when I said it was me texting her and wanted to know all the details. I told her what I could."
"Which was what?"
"There was an attack. I got you out safe, and you're resting somewhere comfortably for the night. Then I asked if she wouldn't mind staying with you for a few days once I got you home."
"Question," I stated simply.
"What are you going to do when you take me back home?"
"We get to go kick some alien ass," Bucky replied in his stead. Sam simply nodded.
Emilie had just finished her last section of stitches. I could feel her applying the gauze.
"But do you know why they attacked?"
"Why do they do anything?" Sam replied. I had the feeling he didn't know or he didn't want me to know.
Emilie had nothing to say about it. I wondered if she was used to not knowing what went on or did Bucky share details with her at a later time. A bit of both I supposed.
She helped me sit up. "You'll probably have to change the gauze every couple of days. I can probably come by in a couple of weeks to look at the stitches and see if they need to come out. I did the best I could for the moment."
"I appreciate it." I smiled.
"I need to get you a shirt." She told him before fleeing out of the room. I saw Bucky trail after her about half a minute after she left.
I turned to Sam.
"Do you really not know why the alien people attacked?"
Sam sighed. "I know a little."
"Feel like sharing. It makes me nervous not knowing stuff." Of course, there was something that I had yet to share with him but that wasn't something we were dealing with right now. This was completely different. This was aliens with weird powers trying to kill people that I potentially cared about.
"Look." Sam started after placing my phone next to me. He crouched down so that we were at eye level. "All I can say is that it deals with Thor. I don't try to dig too much into the extraterrestrial business. I don't really want to go to a different universe or planet."
"What if you have to?" This wasn't me being worried about Sam exactly. It was me trying to gauge how comfortable he was with his other job. The one that had him away from his normal life several weeks and months – I'm sure – out the year.
"Then I better have one hell of an oxygen tank. I don't plan on dying in space."
I almost told him that he had no control over that. When you died, you died no matter what your plans were. My previous deal with that was my lesson in that.
"Don't worry so much." He told me as Emilie came back in with a pile of shirts.
"I don't know your tastes but between all of us we have choices." She places them away from all the bloody medical supplies. She began cleaning that up.
I looked through the shirts. A lot of flannel, a few hoodies, one or two t-shirts of various colors (purple and red). I chose the purple shirt and one of the flannels to put on in the morning when it would be cooler.
"Thanks," I told her once I had managed to wrestle the top on with a little assistance due to the stitch on my side.
"No problem." She turned to Sam. "Would you like to stay in here with her…it's one of the spares and she probably needs to stay put for a couple of hours? Sleep and whatnot."
"Sure. Thanks, Emilie." He went to her and hugged her. From her immediate reaction, she was used to him hugging her out of nowhere. I smiled at the two of them. I was glad he had some normal friends.
She ducked out after passing along a number that I could use to call her in a couple weeks or sooner if I wanted to.
He plopped down next to me. I looked over at him. He looked like he was just starting to relax. His eyes were closed. His shoulder slumped. He wasn't asleep but it probably wouldn't be long before he was. I vaguely remembered the fact that he slept irregularly.
"I think you need sleep more than I do."
He chuckled. "Yeah. Good luck helping with that."
"What if I just didn't say anything?" I told him as he opened one of his eyes to look at me.
"Then I would be concerned considering you hit your head."
"It's not hurting so much anymore. I could probably stay up while you're resting."
He seemed touched by the offer.
"I'm serious," I told him as he kept looking at me as if I had given him an epiphany of some sort. I was just trying to do him a favor. I knew what it was like to not sleep. I didn't think I could go to sleep now anyway. Too much adrenaline after everything. Not to mention he was right beside me. I wouldn't be able to get my mind to shut up.
"Sure?"
"Yep. Go to sleep, Sam."
He squeezed my arm before turning slightly so that he was facing forward and closing his eyes again.
I grabbed my phone and put it on silent as I pulled up the message thread labeled 'TRI'.
Hey. This is Sam. Met you at the Shack with your friend. I was wondering if I could ask you a favor.
Wait, why are you texting me? WHERE IS BEE?
She's fine. I invited her to a party. There was an attack. Long story. She's safe, I swear on my life.
I paused looking at it to look over at him. I bit my lip before going back to the texts.
She better be or I'll put someone through a blender.
What do you need me to do?
Ouch! My friend…let's call her E had to give her stitches. AGAIN, she's fine now. I think someone should be with her for a few days at least. She might not be able to do things with ease. I won't be around. Unfortunately.
Sam. You're the cutest.
I'll do it. Only because I love her, and you're fucking adorable.
I had to hold back a laugh.
Great. Well I'll be bringing her home in the morning around 9am. Meet me there?
Will do. Thanks for taking care of her.
Anytime.
I agreed with Trinity. He was pretty adorable with the way he had went ahead and gone this far for me already. I hated to think it was because he felt guilt with me coming to the party in the first place and then this happened. I didn't want him to think that either.
Yep. Sam Wilson was most certainly going to ruin my life. He had already started weaving his way in. I couldn't help but feel happy too despite the stitches that I knew him. All his complicated hero life had somehow felt less super when it was just him trying to be the same good man that I had met that day in the rain.