Unexpected

XXXVIII

Peter pushed the small coffee table out of the way so that Nina could, with Bucky's help, walk to the sofa and sit down.

"Alright take this off," he ordered, making a head gesture towards his jacket over her shoulders. " Do you have a first-aid kit?" He asked, taking his gloves and own jumper off. Nina nodded.

"In the kitchen, second drawer to the right of the sink," Nina said. Bucky was about to order Peter to go and get it, but when he loomed at the boy, he was staring directly at the metal arm Bucky had exposed by taking his hoodie off.

" You have a metal arm?" Peter asked in awe. Bucky sighed. He whished he hadn't. "Thats awesome, dude!" Bucky smileld to himself as he walked to the kitchen and grabbed the first'aid kit. He then came back and helped Nina with her jacket.

There was no blood on the jacket, but her t-shirt was covered in blood. His, t-shirt, actually. She was wearing his t-shirt. He lifted it up and took out the bandages that were all around her waist. He looked at the wound.

"That's a lot of blood," Peter commented.

"Thank God," Bucky let out with a sigh of relief.

" Thank God? We're you expecting more blood?"

"It's not infected," Buky explained. He then walked to the kitchen and took our a clean cloth, soaking it with water. He had to cleanse the wound. He came back with the cloth and pressed it on Nina's stomach.

"Ow," she let out.

"Sorry," he apologized again.

"Stop apologising."

"Sorry."

Nina gave him a look of 'if I was physically capable, I would punch you in the face', making Bucky chuckle. He finished cleaning her stab wound and placed a clean bandage over it.

As Bucky walked back to the kitchen to put the kit back in its place, they heard Peter's voice again.

"Can someone please tell me what going on?" Peter asked out loud. "And why this intruder has a metal arm? And why you're bleeding?"

"His name's Bucky," Nina explained. "And we met on this job I had to save the world, you see. That's where I got stabbed," she said. None of it was a lie. Bucky was actually quite thankful that Nina hadn't just told a 13 years old that he had stabbed her. Her job was indeed about saving the world, because those hellicarriers were about to kill millions of people.

"Peter Parker, sir," Peter presented himself, extending his left hand to Bucky. Both Nina and Bucky noticed how he had shown him his left hand, because he really wanted to touch Bucky's metal arm. Bucky smiled and extended his left arm, grabbing Peter's hand and shaking it. Peter's eyes went wide when he touched the cold material.

"Bucky Barnes," he said. "Nice to meet you, kid." 

♧♧♧

Nina and Peter were sitting down at the sofa while Bucky went to the bathroom. Bucky had asked Peter to get Nina something to eat. He wanted to make something, but Nina knew it was a bad idea. He would probably end up burning something. So he just took a banana and gave it to her.

He was considering spending a few more hours in, but he knew he should probably take the decision himself. If he asked Nina if she was okay to leave, she would say yes, and she clearly wasn't okay.

Nina was still pale and she was feeling really cold, which wasn't normal for a being that is supposedly 20°C colder than any human.

"So you were in that plane that crashed into the SHIELD facility?" Peter asked as Bucky walked back into the living room.

"Yep," Nina told him. The tv was on in the news channel while they talked. Suddenly, Nina's attention was turned towards it when she saw a picture of the Winter Soldier on the screen. "Turn the volume up, Pete."

Peter did so and they listened to what the journalist had to say.

"The Winter Soldier, ghost Russian Hydra agent with at least two confirmed political kills was finally identified as Sargent James Buchanan Barnes of the 107th, and was reported missing two days ago after a confrontation with SHIELD agent Nina Jones and Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. Agent Jones is also said to be missing. It is unknown if The Winter Soldier was the one to take her or not."

"Great," Nina let out after turning off the television. She groaned in frustration. Bucky walked to the cabinet and grabbed a package of crackers, putting some down on a plate.

"You're missing," Peter said. "The two of you."

"We've got to get moving," Nina said, knowing Bucky was standing behind her and he had watched the whole news too.

"Two political deaths," Peter whispered to himself staring at Bucky.

"You need to rest," Bucky said, bringing Nina and Peter a plate of crackers.

"Thanks," Peter said, grabbing his plate and putting it down on the coffee table. "Do you have any juice boxes?" He asked, getting up and walking to the fridge. He already knew where the juice boxes were.

"You need to hide," Nina corrected. "The world believes that you kidnapped me, Buck. We need to go somewhere, run away."

"You need to sleep."

"I'm not sleepy."

"Yes you are." Bucky responded. He knew she had slept very badly. She had slept an hour on a plane seat and another sitting on a couch with him laying over her. Let's just say it wasn't her most comfortable night.

"Okay, I am," she accepted. "But we don't even know where to go."

"Yes, I do," Bucky debated. "But were not discussing this in front of the kid."

"Hey!"

"He's right, Pete," Nina told him. "It's not that we don't trust you, but the less you know the better. The kind of people that are after us are the kind that would kill for information." Peter gulped.

"That's alright. I don't need to know, anyway."