Roswell sets a pair of jeans in the drawer unit in the master bedroom, it's fancier then she is used to. Simple in design, obviously set up for those that live in it to redecorate the way they want. Roswell's just happy she's going to be sleeping on a bed that was made in this decade. The Avengers were nice enough when Phil introduced them, but otherwise left her alone to get used to the facility, and to be fair, Roswell is hardly going to be the best company at the minute. Though that moment with Steve was the most normal she'd felt in days, the longest she's gone without wanting to cry in days. She blames that all American smile and those deep blue eyes. But now she is alone again and the apartment is silent. She closes her eyes and listens to the nothing. She jumps a little when her cell phone rings and then rolls her eyes at herself before moving to pick it up from the bed, she sighs seeing Dean's name flashing on the screen. She knows she was a little dramatic when she told him to leave, and she is glad that he's calling her, rather then ignoring her, she sighs and then answers it.
"Hey" she whispers tentatively.
"Roz" he greets warmly. "Bobby called" he starts. "You are okay, right?" he asks. "I don't care that you left, I'm not mad"
"I'm fine...I'm staying with Uncle Phil" she answers.
"Oh" Dean relaxes slightly. "Good..."
"He got me a research position with SHIELD so....I'm okay" she assures him.
"Are you sure?" he asks, checking.
"Yeah, I think it's just time that I stopped living in your shadow, Dean, It's time for me to...have my own life. I'm not a little girl any more, by the time you and Sam were my age...you were off hunting....none of you let me anywhere near a gun or a knife..."
"We both know that you are the weapon, Roswell" Dean argues. "You don't need a gun or a knife to cause damage"
"But you still treat me like a child....no" she stops herself. "Worse then that" she starts. "You treat me like..like I am actually the little sister you never wanted"
"That's not true" Dean argues quickly. "Ros"
"After John died...everything changed, the way you and Sam were with me.....Like I was John's burden, just this thing you lugged around....I didn't feel like your sister any more, Dean...and I know I'm not...but I have always thought of you and Sam as my brothers, to feel like you don't feel the same..."
"I'm sorry" Dean whispers. "I..didn't know that that's how you....I didn't know. Why didn't you say any thing?" he asks.
"Because I didn't want you to hate me...or to just dump me somewhere and never come back" she wipes at her cheek, removing the few tears away. "So this is good" she adds. "This time apart....I feel better about myself when I am away from you....."
"Roswell" Dean starts. "You are my sister and I love you" she nods a little.
"Yep....me too..." she hangs up and throws her phone onto the dressers before climbing onto the bed to cry, pulling a pillow closer to clutch to it.
..................
Bucky sits leaning against the wall outside of Roswell's room listening to her cry. He feels bad for her. Whatever it is that she is going through. She is going through it alone. He wishes this new him was good at the comfort thing, if he was, he'd knock on the door and do something. But he's not, so he stays where he is, just listening to her weep. And he listens to her weep until the early hours. Until she cries herself to sleep.
...................
It's two days later Bucky sees Roswell, he hears her around her apartment, listening to music, singing, crying, but she mostly keeps to herself. And for the most part Bucky leaves her be, he does his daily routine and keeps away from her apartment door. But at night when he can't sleep he sits by her door and listens. Listens till she falls silent and then he stands and does a perimeter check. The next morning, that's when she emerges from her room. She walks into the joint kitchen with her nose in a book, Tony cocks his head, sat beside Bucky with his coffee. Roswell sets her book on the side as she starts the coffee machine, to be fair compared to their start coffee machines this one is infinitely better.
"So...why are you here?" Tony asks Roswell.
"Excuse me?" Roswell asks turning to Tony.
"What job are you here for?" Tony elaborates.
"Oh" Roswell breaths and then shrugs. "Just a research post" she answers.
"And why that?" Tony asks.
"Why not?" she counters with a smirk grabbing a mug of coffee. "It's what I'm good at" she adds, Tony leans closer.
"Why you though?" he asks. "That position's been empty for months...so why you?" Roswell smirks and leans closer to Tony.
"I am an expert entomologist" she answers.
"Bugs..." Tony scoffs. "What else?"
"I speak and read Italian, Greek, Scottish Gaelic, Assyrian, Hebrew" she offers. "Arabic and Japanese" Tony opens his mouth to speak, Roswell holds up a finger and he stops. "And 25 dead languages including ancient Egyptian, old Norse, Sanskript, Latin and Ancient Greek" Bucky looks to Tony who is staring a little. "I'm also well versed in mythology....supernatural, occult, modern and the ancient world" she looks between them both. "I'm good with languages..." she offers.
"Clearly" Steve teases walking in, Roswell smirks leaning back from Tony.
"Yeah, well when you grow up in motel rooms there's usually nothing else to do but read....I picked up a few things"
"How old are you?" Tony asks her.
"20" she answers.
"You're 20 and you know 32 languages?" Tony counter asks.
"Like I said, I'm good with languages" she comments. Steve smirks and shakes his head.
"Are you ready to go?" he asks Roswell who nods setting her coffee aside.
"Yeah....I'm ready" she answers. Steve looks to Bucky.
"Behave" he warns and then starts to walk away with Roswell.
"Where are you going?" Bucky asks.
"Out with Roswell" Steve answers, Bucky frowns at Steve. "We're going to a museum, you hate museums and wouldn't go with me...Roswell has agreed to accompany me" Bucky eyes them both carefully. "We'll only be a few hours" Steve assures him. "And Wanda's making that soup for lunch that you like" Bucky nods a little and relaxes in his chair, Steve looks to Roswell before they leave Bucky watches them go before he is standing and following them. Tony smirks and shakes his head amused.
.............
Bucky stalks his best friend and Roswell who now enter the museum. The whole walk to the building was uneventful, they spoke, laughed, smiled at one another, more and more proof to Bucky that this might actually be a date, and given Steve's recent history with women, Bucky's not sure if that is a good thing. The museum is busy, not packed but busy enough Bucky can almost disappear in all the people his eyes constantly on Steve and Roswell. The red head talking animatedly at Steve who is watching her with apt interest, like she's spinning a story so interesting Steve daren't take his eyes off of her in case he misses something. He's never seen Steve that interested in anything before. Steve whispers something to Roswell who nods and then walks away, Steve goes another way and Bucky is torn as to which to follow. He chooses Roswell. He doesn't get very far though. Steve appears and grabs Bucky's arm to pull him into another corridor.
"What are you doing here?" Steve asks his friend. Bucky clears his throat awkwardly.
"I was worried" Bucky lies, Steve raises an eyebrow. "I was curious" he admits.
"About what?" Steve asks.
"Is this a date?" Bucky asks him. Steve shakes his head.
"No" Steve answers. "Honestly no one else would come here with me.....then Roswell seemed interested in things like this, so I asked her" Bucky nods a little, Steve smiles. "Would it matter if we were? She's actually a very nice girl......" Bucky looks down the corridor
"The last ones.." he starts, Steve nods.
"Not every girl we meet is going to be like that" Steve assures him. "Yes, the last two I dated were...." Steve rolls his eyes. "Reporters and the two before that were...."
"Groupies" Bucky points out. "And the one before that was...."
"Crazy, yes, I remember" Steve finishes.
"You need to vet them better" Bucky scolds.
"Coulson brought Roswell in...." Steve offers. "Think he vetted her enough?"
"Perhaps" Bucky reluctantly agrees, Coulson is good at his job and Bucky knows all the checks would have been done. "I'm just..."
"The concerned best friend" Steve offers taking Bucky's shoulder and squeezing. "I know....it's okay, I'm not mad....why don't you stay....have a look around with us?" Steve asks. "You're here now..." Bucky nods a little, Steve pulls Bucky along by his shoulder as he starts to walk away before dropping his hand, Bucky walking at his side. They find Roswell ahead of them looking over a painting. "Roswell" Steve calls softly to her, she looks away from the painting in front of her and smiles. "Do you mind?" he asks motioning to Bucky.
"Of course not" Roswell answers smiling warmly, friendly at Bucky. And it's so sweet and charming and flirtatious and Bucky smiles back at her. Steve raises an eyebrow at his friend who drops his smile to scowl at Steve.
.............
Bucky and Steve stand waiting for Roswell as she goes around seeking out a souvenir. Bucky looks to Steve.
"She's a little young for you" Bucky tells Steve, who raises an eyebrow at his friend.
"Buck....everyone is a little young for me" Steve corrects. "Short of an Asgardian I don't think I will find anyone my age" Bucky makes a face and then nods a little. He has a fair point there. "Yes, she's young but she's...refreshing" Steve offers. "Smart, sweet....If I decide I want to date her....I think she'd be a great choice...." Bucky nods a little watching Roswell flick through key-chains. "Better then the last few that's for sure" Steve adds.
"Yeah" Bucky reluctantly agrees, he's actually a little jealous, someone that seems as sweet as Roswell, she's like the girls he used to date. Roswell settles on a scarf and wraps it around her neck as she pays for it. She then bounces, and there is no other word to describe the way she moves, over to them.
"Okay" Rowell states reaching them. "What do you think?" she asks holding out the end of the scarf, Steve chuckles a little and nods.
"Very nice" he offers. "How do you feel about getting some food now?" Steve asks her, and on cue, Bucky's stomach rumbles, loudly and he actually blushes, Roswell smirks a little and nods.
"We should eat" she offers. "Before Bucky's stomach eats him first" Steve laughs and looks to Bucky who is smirking a little back.
"This is what you get for not eating breakfast" Steve scolds. "You're a super solider....we need to eat a lot"
"I'm sorry, I was too busy being a stalker" Bucky counters, not sorry at all, Roswell starts laughing, Steve and Bucky look to her, she laughs till she is crying, and not funny tears, real tears.
"Roswell?" Steve asks, she waves him off.
"I'm sorry" she sobs out. "I just..." she tries to press her hands into her eyes to stop her from crying, Steve pulls her closer and lets her cry against his chest. Bucky looks around noting that people are now looking at them.
"Let's get out of here" Bucky tells them. "Get some ice cream or something" he and Steve share a look.
"Yeah" Steve agrees. "Come on" they leave, Steve keeps Roswell close so she can cry in peace.
..................
Roswell sits alone on a bench at the entrance to Central Park. She pulls her new scarf through her fingers, her tears have stopped but they threaten to go again.
"Here" Bucky states as he and Steve return to her, Bucky handing a plastic tub of ice cream to Roswell who takes it from him.
"Thanks" she whispers, Bucky and Steve then sit on either side of her waiting for her to start, they won't rush her. "You reminded me of how my brothers were" she finally admits sadly poking at the mint choc chip ice cream in her hand. "And I just...."
"What happened to them?" Bucky asks.
"Dean's around...he's staying with his....whatever she is but Sam..he's...gone" she admits for the first time, more to herself then to them, finally realising that he's not coming back. And they don't need for her to explain what 'gone' means, they can hear it in her voice, from her tone.
"How long ago?" Steve asks.
"Oh...last week" she answers.
"Last week?" Steve asks, she nods. "The Museum was a bad idea then" he scolds lightly. She shrugs.
"I'm used to just getting on with things" she offers. "I didn't think it was..." she sighs. "It doesn't matter...I'm sorry, for the way I reacted" she looks to them both. "It just...hit me, watching you two like that..."
"It's okay" Steve assures her. "You don't have to explain something like that...." she gives him a small smile and nods. "If you would prefer to go back to the facility?" he asks her.
"No" she argues. "No, I'm not going to let myself ruin today, it's been fun....let's go for lunch" she looks to her ice cream. "After I've eaten my ice cream" she adds, Bucky smiles and looks to Steve, the two friends sharing a look.