Reveries of Spring│Bucky Barnes

━ 𝟎𝟒

A life she no longer held. 

"Let's go," she chuckled, grabbing Artemis' wrist as she closed the door behind her. "I might be nervous but I want to see what Tony can find."

Artemis looked down where Martina's tiny hand was clamped around her wrist and took it out of her reach so she could throw her arm over the girl's shoulder. Granted it was very difficult with the substantial height difference only made more severe by Artemis' heels.

As they walked to the lab, Artemis could not bite her tongue any longer- subtlety was not exactly her forte- and she tugged Martina's body just a bit closer to hers.

"So...Buck, huh?"

Martina was reeled back by the sudden and blunt comment, which she knew Artemis posed as a question but was not fooled into believing that a reply was in any way optional.

"I don't know what you're insinuating," Martina sighed, avoiding any eye contact with the woman beside her as she tried to focus all her attention on the path they were taking to the lab.

"Please," Artemis chortled, wagging her finger at her. "Everyone here can tell you that I can spot a lie from a mile away-it's a gift, really- and it lets me know that you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Martina remained silent as Artemis continued to narrow her eyes at her, inspecting the growing ticks she was starting to learn about the girl; the way she picked at her cuticles, the manner in which she continuously tucked her hair behind her ears, the fact that she almost always bit the inside of her cheek.

"Look," Artemis began, realizing that her domineering personality was turning Martina off. "Bucky is not really the greatest around new people. It took every trick in the book for him to open up to me, and even still, I barely know the guy."

"It's not like he and I stayed up all night braiding each other's hair! I met him once, he went a week without seeing me, and then all of a sudden he shows up at my door! I wouldn't exactly call that a budding friendship!"

Martina had yelled at Artemis, and she immediately cowered and lowered her eyes to the ground, trying as hard as she could to placate the rays of pain that were shooting up and down her arms- biting at her bottom lip to make it go away.

However, Martina's loud- and heavily accented- voice made Artemis do a double-take.

"I'm sorry." Martina was trembling as her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, I don't know where that-"

"Shit!" Artemis squeaked, clapping her hand down on Martina's shoulder. "Don't you worry, it's more than okay! I like it actually."

Almost immediately, Martina could feel the pain within her subsiding as she looked up to see bright dull blue eyes shimmering down at her.

"R-really?" Martina asked breathlessly.

"Uh, yeah," Artemis said, throwing her arm over her shoulder yet again as they continued to walk. "No offense, but for the first couple of days here, you looked like a scared fawn, like you were broken-"

"-I am broken-"

"-no, you're not," Artemis said sternly, giving her a penetrating stare. "My point is, I understood that the PTSD from everything you've been through and the shock was making you act like that, or so I hoped at least. Believe it or not, I don't like it when women are damsels in distress. I am surrounded by these incredibly badass women and I was hoping you'd be one as well. I like the fire in you."

Martina pressed her lips together. "Very funny."

There was a beat of silence.

"Oh, shit," Artemis snorted, throwing her blonde hair over her shoulder. "That was not on purpose, I swear."