The Hurt And The Healing: Bucky X OC

Chapter Twenty Seven: Total Fangirling

Of all of the people that Bucky could have brought in as back-up, Sam Wilson was the last person that Mara had expected. Granted, she hadn't expected Bucky to call anyone. He had been working alone for weeks now, with the exception of Mara patching him up. But even with the knowledge that Bucky wasn't stupid, and he was proud but not too proud to admit that he needed help, Sam Wilson seemed like the last person Bucky would admit needing help to. He was just too... happy? Jovial? Friendly? All words that she had never associated with Bucky before. He had his moments, sure, but they never lasted long. Sam, on the other hand, had been chatting with them for almost an hour, and his smile had yet to waver. Or his charm for that matter.

Mara watched him flirt with Nonna, the old woman's eyes shining. He was telling her about his various adventures and she was hanging off of every word that he spoke in his subtle drawl. He was a soldier, Nonna had always loved when soldiers shared their stories.

"So, Mara," Sam said, pulling her out of her tired observing and into the conversation. "Bucky tells me that you have a penchant for baseball bats," he said, not as a question, but more as a fill in the blank. Mara straightened up with a slow smile.

"I make do with what I can get my hands on," she said a little shyly. It wasn't every day that she discussed her self defense methodology with an Avenger. "It's not as expedient as a gun, but there's less paperwork and risk of accidents."

"Practical and efficient," Sam replied warmly. "No wonder Bucky likes you."

"I'm not sure if he liked when I almost beat him over the head with it," she admitted.

"How do you think I heard about the bat?" Sam teased. Mara laughed and felt her cheeks grow warm. Get a hold of yourself, she scolded. He's just a coworker of a friend. A coworker with a vibranium shield and a stars and stripes uniform.

"He told you about that?" Mara asked, a little surprised.

"Technically I learned about the bat the night of the Flag Smashers attack, but yes, Bucky kept me in the loop on your attempts to give him a TBI," Sam admitted, a glimmer in his eye. Nonna laughed at his joke, but Mara lowered her eyes. The conversation that night had not gone well for neither her nor Bucky, but every time she tried to talk to him about it he just apologized and changed the subject.

"You saw him that night? After we-" Mara gave a haphazard gesture instead of trying to find the right word for what exactly had happened.

"Yeah," Sam replied, his tone more serious. "Bucky was worried that he had done more harm than good by telling you the truth. I just knocked some sense into him, that's all." Mara looked up again, but she knew that she was frowning. She relaxed her face quickly, wiping her expression, but Sam had seen it already. "Hey, don't worry about it too much," he said reassuringly. "Bucky and I don't see each other often, but every time we talk he mentions how he spends time with you two. He really appreciates your forgiveness."

"It's like I told him, he didn't do anything that requires my forgiveness," Mara replied simply. Sam smiled and nodded.

"Bucky has been good for us too-" Nonna began, but a lurch in the plane cut her off. Mara blanched and gripped onto the armrests, cursing God and the Wright Brothers and Neil Armstrong for good measure.

"Just a bit of turbulence," she heard Bucky say over the intercom. "It'll pass in a minute."

The vodka was threatening to taste worse the second time around and with a groan Mara tucked her head between her knees.

"You okay, Mara?" Nonna called over. She grunted in reply. After a few minutes the rocking stopped and Mara slowly sat up.

"I take it you're not a fan of flying?" Sam asked kindly. She shook her head.