Roommates

Rip off the band-aid

Her session with Dr Kent had been good. A bit harder than usual, but she needed to get it all out and in a healthy way. Jamie put a hold on getting a cat for herself for now because even she admitted to herself that it had been an impulsive thought. Seeing how happy Alpine had made Bucky had made her want that too. Although Dr Kent was glad to see how well she was doing with her new roommate and the feline. It had been the doctor's suggestion that she get a roommate in the first place and she was grateful for it because she felt like in the short amount of time in knowing Buck that she'd found an amazing friend. It hadn't been hard to see what Steve had seen in him all these years. He was kind, sweet, thoughtful and a fierce defender of his people. The same as her.

Speaking of Steve. This next part of her day she was very much not looking forward to. It had taken up most of her therapy session about how to tell Steve that while she loved him, she wasn't in love with him. There were a few tears, but overall she walked out of Dr Kent's office feeling better if not a little apprehensive. In talking everything out she felt like maybe there had been the potential for her to fall in love with him. How could she not? Steve was an amazing person. It just wasn't the right time and right now she couldn't give him the answer he wanted as much as she wanted to.

Getting out of the cab she grabbed Alpine's bag and headed into the Tower making sure to have her badge clipped to the lapel of her jean jacket in case Happy was in residence at the security desk. She loved the man but he was way to anal with the damn ID badges even if everyone knew who she or anyone else was. The exception seemed to be Steve because well, he was Steve. Waving at Kevin she didn't stop to chat knowing that everyone had just gotten back from their little field trip and Bucky would want to see his baby girl. The way he spoke to and pampered Alpine like she was a princess, almost made her wish she could trade places with the feline.

Exiting the elevator on the team's common floor she heard loud laughter letting her know that at least they all had fun. Smiling, she couldn't wait to see the aftermath of what paint covered Avengers looked like. Jamie's eyes lit up with amusement to see almost the entirety of the team. Even including Clint who'd stopped by was covered head to toe in bright splatters of blue, green, pink and yellow. Failing to smother her laughter she called out, "Looks like you all had fun."

A loud and excited chorus of "Jamie!" greeted her as they turned as one to see her standing there with a wide smile. Sprinting over to her side Peter almost hugged her before thinking better of it since he was decently covered in paint. "Bucky didn't say you'd be stopping by. I was gonna swing over to your place in a little bit." Lowering his voice he glanced around to make sure no one else overheard him. "He said you might need a shoulder today."

Lightly punching his chest she gave him a grateful smile. "Relax, Webhead, I'll be fine. But thank you for asking. Does this whole thing with Thomas suck? Yes, but I'll live." He frowned but didn't say anything knowing that if she didn't want to talk about it there was no getting it out of her. "Where is Bucky? I got his princess here and she wants her daddy."

"He's cleaning up in Captain Rogers' room." At her expression of surprise he explained, "He was the only one to walk away paint free but Mr Stark, Mr Wilson and Captain Rogers made sure to give him hugs to share the wealth." Laughing Jamie walked further into the kitchen to say hi to everyone that hadn't already taken off to clean up.

"Now there is a sight for sore eyes." Smiling up at the blonde god of Thunder Jamie was genuinely happy to see him. "You're looking good, Sparkles." She meant it. Thor had taken losing his brother, his home and losing to Thanos extremely hard. Like eating and drinking his feelings while holed up like a teenager in his moms basement hard. At least now he was showering and socializing again. And as an added plus, he wasn't even tipsy today.