Hello Sergeant (Bucky Barnes)

bloodlines

James' POV

"Whose idea was that?" Jace asked her as he pulled his sweat soaked shirt off, throwing it at her. She threw it back at him, even harder.

"Gross! I'm not sure, actually. It might have been a dare, but Steve and Tony both said we weren't allowed to do it ever again."

"Tony flipped when he found out?"

"Understatement! Nat won twenty from Clint when Tony stormed out sputtering about stupid circus tricks. He was so mad he called Steve so he could yell at us over the phone since he wasn't even in the country. I thought we were doing pretty good from the footage I saw; I wore my catsuit and we did it in the shooting range, at least."

"Be happy he didn't call your Mom and tell her about it," Jace sighed and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door angrily behind him, letting us both know that he was displeased with her. 

I looked at Sarah curiously. "Why were they angry so about it? Did you get hurt?"

She looked embarrassed. "The percussive blast knocked us both out for a bit and fried my com, which made the team come looking for us; I think it scared them, hearing the blast over their coms. Tony - well, I get that I probably deserved the lecture he gave me; he's my biological dad."

"So you have parents and a biological dad. You were – what is the word in English? Prinyat?"

"Adopted - and yes, I was adopted. My birth mother died having me prematurely and Tony wasn't ready to raise a child. My parents couldn't have kids of their own, so they asked to raise me."

Someone knocked at the door before coming in. I smiled when I saw Natalia come in, followed by another woman. Sarah was happy to see both of them, giving them a huge smile.

"What are you guys doing here? I didn't think I missed any calls."

"You didn't. We're at a dead end, so Maria wanted to meet James."

I looked at the unfamiliar brunette, analyzing her as she walked cautiously towards me. She was quite pretty, with dark, sleek brown hair pulled back into a tight chignon, her blue eyes studying me in a way that made me want to stand up straighter. She was tall and slender, moving with the grace of a fighter. She was also armed, with a couple guns and at least one hidden knife on her, similar to Natalia's preferences.

"James, this is Agent Maria Hill, my friend and boss. Maria, this is James Barnes." Sarah said, introducing us.

I held out my hand to her and she took it in a firm grip. I turned her hand and brought it to my lips to kiss it. She pulled her hand back quickly, a flush blooming on her cheeks. Natalia rolled her eyes and I grinned.

"Where's Jace?" Natalia asked, looking around.

"Shower." She jerked her thumb to indicate the bathroom behind her. "We already fenced and sparred with staves this morning. Jace's gotten better since the last time we sparred, but still needs work."

"Good. If you want, I can ask Clint if he wants to go a couple rounds with him."

Sarah nodded. "That would probably be better for him; it would be a more even match, at least. I'm not convinced I can slow myself up enough to really benefit him. James said he'd show him a few things, too." She jerked her thumb at me. "You didn't tell me how good he is, Nat." Sarah looked over at me and smiled.

"It was nothing," I said, shrugging. "I enjoyed the workout."

Jace came walking out of the bathroom with nothing on but a towel around his hips. He took in the additional females and nodded to them as he walked over to the couch to get his clothes, seemingly unperturbed.  "Hey, Nat. Hi, Maria." They both gave him a smile, glancing over at him before turning their attention back to the conversation. Natalia's eyes kept straying to him, but he didn't see.