a lion among wolves, bucky barnes (hiatus)

thirty-one

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
2015

JUNE woke feeling refreshed, a feeling foreign to her, and wondered exactly how long she had been asleep. A slow glance at her alarm clock told her it was only 5:00 p.m. (they had arrived back at the tower at nine) and June blew a breath through her teeth.

She probably needed to talk to Tony.

She pushed away the blankets and stretched out her arms, stifling a yawn. She moved lazily, reaching down and retrieving her discarded jeans and tugging them back on, smoothing away a few wrinkles. June ambled to her mirror and tried to arrange her hair back to a presentable state. Nothing could be done to cover the angry teeth marks around her lips and neck, so she let them be. The others knew better than to remark upon them, anyway. After she had puked herself empty on the Quinjet, Bucky had helped her clean off what remained of Natasha's makeup job (June supposed she hadn't been aware enough to be afraid of him touching her) and she was indescribably grateful.

She sighed and began to braid back her hair, unsatisfied with its frizziness. So many favors she owed and a good number of them could never be repaid. June supposed she and Steve were even, as well as her and Bucky, but how could she hope to show Tony how much he meant to her? Tony, who essentially paid for her livelihood, gave her a home and food and medication and answers, who wanted her to grow and be happy—how could she match that? Or Natasha, who had saved her from a life of being alone, who was responsible for her meeting (for lack of a better word) Bucky and helped repair her relationship with Steve. They deserved everything June had, which without them would be very little.

She stepped away from the mirror and stooped to slip on her boots, quieting her dreary inner monologue. "Jarvis?" she called. "Where's Tony?"

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s controlled voice replied, "Mr. Stark and Doctor Banner are in Doctor Banner's lab, currently, though I would advise you attempt to speak to them later. They are particularly engrossed."

June scowled, but nodded. "All right. James?"

"Out with Captain Rogers. I believe they are grocery shopping."

June lifted her eyebrows. "Huh. Nat?"

"On her way up now."

No sooner had J.A.R.V.I.S. spoken than there came a knock at the door. "June," Natasha called, her voice muffled, "can we talk?"

"Yeah!" June shouted back. "Jay, can you buzz her in?"

"Certainly," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. A moment later, Natasha stepped into the room.

"Hey," she said, her feline eyes searching June at once, two emeralds scouring her up and down. "You disappeared before I could grab you. When Steve told me he had to take you to the med wing, I—" Natasha broke off. Her frown deepened. "I got worried."

"Did Steve tell you what happened?" June asked.

"Yes," Natasha shrugged, looking slightly sheepish. "I'm sorry if you didn't want me to know, he sort of went manic after Barnes called. It . . . It scared everyone pretty bad."

Natasha lowered herself onto the floor and crossed her legs; June sat back on the edge of her bed and drew a knee up to her chest. "I don't mean to scare you all," she said with a tiny smile. "I know I do it all the time . . ."

"Well," Natasha shrugged, "you've got some nasty skeletons in your closet." She cast her eyes down. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. It's a lot to deal with, especially when it all comes out at once. Trust me."

June picked at a hole in her jeans. "Trust you? Like, as in . . . you've had this kind of stuff happen to you?"

"Oh yeah," Natasha wore a grim smile. "The Red Room wasn't exactly summer camp."