Sharp Edges

Chapter Twelve

Downstairs, James sat at the kitchen table, staring at the ceiling. He was able to hear everything that was spoken. "What should we do, Stevie?"

Steve sat at the table across from Bucky, his arms crossed across his chest. "Well we can't just let her back out there on her own. I can't believe a family just left her," he scoffed, shaking his head. "Maybe... Nat and I could take her back to the compound with us? It's no place for a kid, but..."

James shook his head. "She can stay here if she wants to. We can buy things she needs." He felt an urge to protect the young girl.

"You're sure?" Steve asked, raising a brow. "None of us has really been around kids much, Buck. You sure you feel like you and Yelena can handle her?"

"I... I don't know. I just know that I want to help."

"Maybe... run it by Yelena? She seemed a little thrown off by the girl," he observed nonjudgmentally. "All I know is... I want whoever did this to her to have consequences."

James sighed to himself and nodded. "I'll talk to her when I get the chance to. I don't want to make her uncomfortable. I cannot lose Lena."

"And I'm not saying you would. She's just... an important factor, you know?" Steve replied with a small shrug. "You're great with her, by the way. The girl."

"I don't see how," he admitted. "I've only been around kids a few times... and I babysat your sister once."

"It's just instinct, I guess. You were always a guy who wanted to help. Maybe your desire to help trumps any kind of discomfort," Steve guesses. "Whatever it is, you stepped right up. I'm kind of in awe."

James rubbed the back of his neck. "Me and Lena... we've talked about a family once. She can't carry but I mentioned adoption..." he sighed. "Now here's this little girl, thrusted into my arms. It's just... my mind is swirling."

"You're thinking... this could be your little family?" Steve said aloud, speaking it into existence. "That's a lot to take on. A child that's been abused adds to how complicated things can be..." He didn't want to sound discouraging though. "With everything you've been through, you could do anything." 

"I'm not so sure," James murmured. "Lena sounded so stressed."

Steve sat forward and reached out, patting his friend on the thigh. "Hey, don't let your head go anywhere bad yet. Let's just take this one step at a time. What we know is... after she comes down, we'll feed her. Then we'll see if she wants to sleep."

James nodded, enjoying Steve's comforting touch. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too," Steve agreed. He wouldn't have wanted to leave Bucky and Yelena alone to deal with this. They were both still relatively new to this kind of life. It wasn't long ago that they were both still brainwashed assassins. "Natasha was very calm. Nurturing... I knew she had that in her."

"Sounds like you could have it too."

"Not while we're still Avenging," Steve replied with a sigh. "We have to drop what we're doing at a moment's notice. That's no way for a kid to have to live. Besides, I don't even know if that's something Nat wants. We've only just started."

James nodded, resting back into his chair. "I wanted it... years ago... do you remember that pact we made?"

"How the hell do you remember it? After everything... you must have really held onto that," Steve remarked with a surprised smile.

"Memories come back in waves," he shrugged. "I'm talking about the one where you had me promise that if we were both single after the war, we'd just stay together."