Relapse ★ Bucky Barnes

A New Recruit

"I love moody Marlena," Sam chuckled. "She doesn't give a shit about anything, it's great."

"Damn straight, Wilson," Marlena muttered as Steve came to a stop underneath what seemed to be an abandoned bridge.

Marlena craned her head around Steve's seat the moment another voice registered inside her head. She looked outside to see Sharon Carter leaning against a slick black vehicle, one she wished Steve would have chosen instead of the one they currently sat in. She wondered, however, why they were meeting Sharon. Steve didn't like to tell people things, and Marlena was much too lazy to concentrate on sifting through his mind.

"Why are we meeting Sharon? And why don't you tell me anything?" Marlena asked as she looked at Steve.

He raised his brows at her. "Why do you ask so many questions, Mar? And do you really want to fight without your suit and your weapons?"

"I'm just surprised you're letting me fight without protesting," Marlena scoffed. "That's a first."

Steve shook his head at her and opened up the door. "Please don't make me regret it, Marlena."

Marlena let out a breath and sat back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. It was quiet for several moments, the only sound being that of Steve and Sharon's hushed conversation and the hum of the car engine.

Bucky shifted uncomfortably in his seat, attracting Marlena's attention. He was among the largest of the three men, and being stuck in the back wasn't exactly his cup of tea. The only reason he was even in the back in the first place was because he wanted to be near Marlena and Sam refused to sit anywhere but the passenger's seat.

"Can you move your seat up?" Bucky asked Sam rather nonchalantly.

Sam stared straight ahead, his eyes never leaving the two adults standing in front of the car. "No. Wanna know why? Cause the second I do, I become the front-row seat to a super-soldier sex throwdown back there and though I often wonder, 'Did Hydra enhance his dick, too?' I really don't wanna find out."

Marlena furrowed her eyebrows at first but then chuckled to herself; she couldn't deny that Sam was pretty funny. The three had been bantering with one another since Bucky had woken up from the incident with the helicopter.

"You seem a bit. . .agitated, Sammy," Marlena mused as she gazed down at her slick black fingernails. She was a bit surprised they weren't chipped already, given everything that had happened, but to her, gel polish was the equivalent to an industrial cement. "Is it because you never get laid? Or does Redwing do a lot more than we know?" She remarked, letting out a giggle.

Sam turned slightly in his seat to look at Marlena. "Well, Marley, I am agitated, but not for that reason. You must know that you're like the annoying little sister I never wanted, and as I sit here I think back to a time when it was just me, you, and Steve—y'know, because Stark made us stay with you after the Lagos incident to keep you from going more insane than you already were. I think about how long I spent watching you cry because of this idiot, though, and—dare I say it—it made me want to cry, too. And I'm a man; I'm the fucking Falcon; the Falcon don't cry."

"Oh my gosh," Marlena muttered in response.

"I was only trying to protect her, Wilson," Bucky grumbled from his spot. He grabbed Marlena by the waist and pulled her from her seat and onto his lap, eliciting a surprised squeal from the small girl. In a split second their positions had been switched; Marlena now sat behind Sam, while Bucky now sat behind Steve's seat. "And did something happen in Lagos that I don't know about?"

"Am I the only one who knows Marlena can protect her own damn self?" Sam remarked, moving his seat up slightly to give Marlena some leg room. "And yes, yes it did. She and Wan—"