Chapter 7-Warming Up

Third Person:

There was always one specific word for every person good and bad. But there were about five that fit Beni perfectly. Bucky just couldn't tell which trait took the cake: her happiness, selflessness, or the fact that she was a huge smart ass all the time.

So if there was any way to describe her using one word, it would be physically impossible to do so. Not unless you made up your own word that sounded extravagent enough for Beni.

But for the most part, Bucky liked Beni. He was still remembering everyone and everything, and it was some of the little things that Beni did that helped Bucky with that. And the best part was the fact that she didn't even realize it. She didn't think it through, it just sort of happens, and as far as he can tell, she hasn't noticed. And if she has then she hasn't said anything about it. He was really thankful for that.

If she asked to many question about it, he would probably end up telling her. If he told her, he would have to kill her. Well, if he told her to much anyway. But he could always tell her he forgot (which wasn't technically a lie), or from the fall (but the memory always cut off after Steve disappeared into the clouds, so he had no way of knowing that specifically). In return, he didn't ask about the leg. Though he could tell it happened almost recently by the way some of the natural habits you have with your legs still stuck with the stump. He wondered what it would be like if she had a leg like his arm. Would she be more happy than now? Would she do more around the house?

So may questions on top of a million question he had already had, and nowhere close to getting answers. Unless he asked of course, but there was no way in hell he was ever going to do that. He was ready for a lot of things, but an awkward conversation like that was not one of them. He was still getting used to the whole 'normal social interaction on a daily basis' thing, so that would be doing the opposite of helping. Usually he was told what to do, but there was no one to boss him around (Except Beni one time when he took his food to his room. Apparently that was a pet peeve. Other than that she usually just gave him friendly suggestions or stayed of his way, or tried to make friendly conversation). There was no manual for being a normal human being who had friends.

The only friend he had was Beni. If he could even call her that. He still wasn't sure if he could trust her fully or not. But right now he had decent clothes, a roof over his head, and three meals a day, always made by Beni. She had mentioned something about a Home Ed. Class and working three fast food jobs at nice when she was in high school, so he wasn't particularly surprised by her cooking being delicious, and by far the best thing he's ever tasted.

And she was still surprising him.

Yesterday she had given him his SIG and knife back, both cleaned up expertly, as if it was her favorite pastime. She had said that if he wanted her dead he would have done it by now. And while that may have been true, he preferred an opponent who could fight back. Not that she couldn't. She just couldn't fight back very well. But he had no doubt in his mind that she was still deadly with or without the leg. She still had her weapons and hand to hand combat. Ten years in the Marines could do that to a person.

And so far they've only had one argument. It was about what movie to watch. It was a fight between Star Wars and Star Trek. They ended up watching both complete series back-to-back, and Bucky had to admit that they were petty good. But now he was just confused on what movie she was watching this time. So he asked.

"What film is this?" he asked, sitting down beside her on the couch.

"It's called Monsters vs. Aliens. Trust me, the plot is better than the name of the movie, I swear."

Bucky didn't care how good the movie was. It just gave him something to do. He had decided that he would lay low for a while. Before Beni, he had made at least seventeen kills, and they would catch up to him soon. So he chose to stay for a while (Whether it was from Beni or the fact that he just really enjoyed the house, he wasn't sure. He was confident that it wasn't just him needing to lay low).

"Do you need me to rewind it so you can catch up?" Beni asked. Bucky shook his head.

"I'll figure it out along the way," he replied. She shrugged and turned her attention back to the TV.

"Okay. Suit yourself."

Sam was glad Beni was settling in, but what had she meant by 'in one piece but has some parts missing?' It made no sense. He sighed and rubbed the tiredness out of his face. Across the table Steve gave him a slightly confused, slightly concerned look.

"Everything okay?" He asked. Sam's only response was a shrug. He dropped his hands back to the table, gripping his coffee cup loosely.

"Between looking for your old frenemie and an old war buddy of mine making no sense, I don't even know any more," He replied. Steve, as always, gave him a reassuring smile.

"Old war buddy? What's his name?" he asked.

"Her name is Beni. She was one of the people I spent my two tours with. She stayed for a third. Told me that she came back in one piece but had a few parts missing. Now what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't ask me, she's your friend."

"I'm gonna make sure that sentence comes back to bite you in the ass later on."

"As expected. So do I get to meet her? You've pretty much met all of my friends, minus the Avenges..."

Sam snorted at the 'friends' part but didn't comment. Instead he decided to be nice and answer Steve's question.

"I'm meeting her here next Thursday."

"I'll be sure to crash the party then."

"Nah, she actually wants to meet you. Wants to see how good you look in real life for my old friend, Troy."

"Then I won't disappoint."

"Have fun with that, Captain Small-Ass."

"That's the plan, Falcon Big-Butt."