DRΣΔMS

six

bucky was the one to unlock and open the door, almost making the billionaire fall forwards from how he was leaning forward to pound on the door as much as he could. tony glares at the former assassin before peering around him to see just who the man had pulled out of the party, and his eyes went wide upon landing on the woman.

"why are you in here with kari mikaelson?" he questions, making both super soldiers furrow their brows at him in confusion.

"how do you know kari?"

the man holds his hands up in surrender, responding, "i honestly don't, we literally just met tonight. but i invited her family because i found some things that just weren't adding up, to be honest."

the former lovers tense at that, and bucky sends her a worried look. seeing it, the woman shakes her head and shrugs slightly before pulling him out of the room. tony and steve both move out of the way to make room for them, and steve smiles softly upon finally meeting her eyes.

"it's nice to see you, kari. and though i normally would ask for answers on how you're here and still looking as young as the day we met, i don't think you'd answer me straight forward. so, i'm not gonna bother with it." kari laughs at his words, shoving his shoulder in amusement and hooking her arm with bucky's as the blond super soldier begins to lead them back to the elevator so they could rejoin the party.

kari didn't miss the eyes that followed the four of them when they reentered the crowd, but instead kept herself close to james as they walked around. she wasn't sure she was ready to face any of her siblings at the moment, so she tried to avoid them whenever she could feel them nearing.

it didn't stop kol, though.

the younger mikaelson smirks as he finally manages to approach his sister and the man she was walking with around the party.

"sister! you disappeared and nik's been bothering me about your whereabouts." his eyes snap to look over bucky, an appreciative look in his eyes. "i see you were busy, though. i would've thought we could've had fun with the pretty one from earlier, though. i guess it just wasn't meant to be."

kari rolls her eyes in slight annoyance at her brother, pointedly ignoring the way bucky glanced at her as her brother spoke.

"that's not what i was up to, kol. i have the decency to not have sex in public, which i can't say the same goes for you or some of our other siblings."

steve, who had come up on bucky's other side, almost chokes on the drink he was sipping from at her words. the mikaelsons and his childhood friend smirk at the flustered blond, but kol turns his attention back to the dark haired super soldier.

"he's one of the avengers, yes? i'm kol mikaelson, kari's brother. what's your relation to her, hm?" he demands, reaching out a hand to the man, but kari keeps him from shaking the offered hand.

"you're not allowed to break his hand, kol. we've had this discussion before, you can't break people's hands at events anymore. not after what you did to the donovan boy," she reprimands, and the younger original pouts as he retracts his hand.

"fine. who is he, though?"

"bucky barnes," the said man answers, patting kari's hand when it clutches tighter at his arm.

"ah, the former winter soldier, correct?" kol questions, almost patronizingly as he smirks. at the dark, annoyed frown his older sister sends him, kol lowers his head slightly and mumbles a soft apology before leaving to go get a drink. he knew if he kept at it, kari would probably throw him into a wall at some point due to annoyance.

it was hilarious when she did it to niklaus and elijah, but he'd rather not be the victim this time.

after the younger mikaelson had retreated, kari turned to glance at her past lover, smiling wearily at him.