Stranger Who Knows All My Secrets [A Marvel FanFic]

Chapter 18: They Tango, Just Not Always to the Same Song

Sam tried to feign disappointment when Elena officially announced her breakup with Torres over dinner when the team met up for sushi a few weeks after Puerto Rico and she only told everyone because they invited Thor who could never read a cue. Oh, Natasha tried so hard to warn him to keep his big Viking mouth shut but Thor ended up not noticing it at all and asked how things were going between Elena and The Airforce as he always referred to Torres causing Natasha to drop her head on the dinner table in frustration. It was supposed to be a light and breezy yay you're assignment ready dinner to celebrate the fact that well, she was cleared for mission duty by Dr Cho who had a hell of a time convincing Elena into a follow-up appointment when they got back to New York. 

Admittedly, Bucky did most of the persuading, repeating to Elena about a million times in frustrated whispers on the Quinjet back to the compound that she had to see Helen to make sure the infection had gone away but also to close her back up. Elena tried to insist that she could sew herself back up, she had done it before, and she'd be perfectly fine. Bucky just glared at her furiously as Sam and Nat flew the jet home before threatening to drag her into Helen's lab and hold her down. Somehow that worked and he got his partner to head to the medical lab on her own and explain her apprehension to Helen, who was very understanding, gentle, and willing to let Natasha sit in every examination with her.

Elena was back on her feet within a month, her open wound now sealed up with that incredible cell regeneration machine Helen kept in the lab with only the faintest of scars which Elena showed him excitedly. Apparently there wouldn't have been a scar at all if Helen had used to machine sooner but it really was almost non-existent, just a shiny pale line just north of her hipbone and the dainty flower tattoo. 

Bucky was grateful to have Elena back because if he had to put up with Peter Quill and Drax on another long assignment he was going to blow a fuse. He never actually thought there could be someone worse to go assignments with than her but his two temporary partners proved to be a waking nightmare. Why Rhodey even thought it was a good idea to send Drax on an undercover op made no sense, he was a fucking alien and noticeable as hell and he had no concept of metaphors while Quill was just a pathetic excuse for an adult. It was for that reason Bucky suggested a grand return dinner for his actual partner when he found out she was okay to start taking missions with him again.

Bucky suggested all-you-can-eat sushi because Elena loved sushi and astonishingly could eat an entire party platter of ten rolls by herself if she was left to her own devices and sure, he could too but he had a super soldier's metabolism. Elena did not and she actually had a bad habit of binge eating, stuffing her face until she was in pain but sitting there in happy satisfaction. Thankfully she hadn't eaten like that during her recovery otherwise she would have hurt herself even more and she was very excited when Bucky told her the team was taking her out to indulge in her usual manner. 

Rhodey covered the tab, it was one of those rare instances he actually left the compound and he invited Banner to join them because he had been in town for a science conference and then Thor joined them simply because he had no other plans and loved hanging out with Banner but the mention of Torres turned the conversation awkward. Sam's acting, as a result, was absolutely terrible, there was a dramatic gasp, a dropped jaw, and yes, even a hand to his chest from his supposed shock all while Natasha's head stayed buried in her arms on the table because she couldn't handle how awful Sam was at being sensitive. Rhodey and Banner didn't say anything, both of them tight-lipped, the scientist pretending he was somewhere else, while Rhodey poured himself more sake from the bottle on the table. 

Bucky also didn't speak, in fact, he just shoved more shumai into his mouth to stop himself from smacking Sam in the back of the head while poor Thor stumbled over his words, stuck between trying to offer an apology and asking what happened between Elena and Torres. Thankfully Steve intervened and asked everyone if they were ready to order another round of food, to which Natasha immediately began naming off several rolls because she needed to find a way to prevent anyone else from saying something stupid. Elena just sat in silence, carefully organizing the rolls still on her plate in a particular pattern so that she could easily alternate between which ones she was eating without having to think about it.