The White Wolf

V

"Welcome to the lab." Shuri smiled as they walked in. Bucky looked around the large room, his eyes scanning everything inquisitively. From the bright, white walls, to the swooping design of the tables, to the odd, black sand in a table-like bed.

"It's... Bright." He said quietly, his eyes flickering over everything in the lab, scouting the place out instinctively from his training as a soldier and assassin.

Ava smiled slightly and nodded, glancing around the familiar room. "This way." She tipped her head toward a small hallway across the large, main room.

Bucky followed the two girls, glad nobody else was currently with them in the laboratory. It made him more comfortable to have less eyes on him. Through the hall, they came to a seperate room branching from the main room of the lab. This room was still bright, but much smaller than the massive lab, and there was a hospital bed off to the side against one wall. Across the room was a wall of monitors and shelves of numerous medical supplies, and beside that stood a glass tube, padding inside in the shape of a body. A cryogenic chamber.

Bucky's lips pressed together tightly at the sight of it, his only arm held close to his side. Ava watched him quietly, the subtle changes in his behavior, the way his shoulders straightened and his back stiffened. The way his eyes glazed over just slightly as he stared at the chamber, and his fist clenched at his side. "Don't worry." She said, offering him a small smile when his eyes darted to her, his attention being broken from the thing he feared. "We aren't putting you in there today." Ava said, motioning to the bed. "We are giving you a day or two to relax, and to allow us to get our charts put together with all of your information."

Bucky swallowed, keeping a steady eye on her as he walked over to the bed, staring down at it before he took a seat slowly, letting his weight sink into the mattress. The foam-topped bed curled around his legs and conformed to his shape naturally. His lips curled slightly in a smile, and he pressed his open palm into the memory foam beside him. "This is amazing." He muttered quietly, watching his hand sink into the bed.

"It's just a bed." Shuri said, watching him with her arms crossed over her chest, her dark brow arched upward.

Bucky looked up at her and shook his head. "I know, it's just..." He paused and looked down at the bed again, deep in thought. "Growing up in the 1930's, they didn't really have this quality of mattresses. Then in World War II, you slept in a tent on the ground." He said, remembering those old days, back when he was himself. When he was happy. But that Bucky was dead. "Then..." His smile slowly fell. "Then it was cement floors, and metal chairs, and the ice..." He muttered quietly. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before looking back up at Shuri. "This is like sitting on a marshmallow. It's almost too soft."

Ava listened intently, craving to learn about his past, hearing him tell his story. Her lips parted as she listened, wanting to know more about him. "We can get you a different one if-"

"No." He interrupted. "No, this is great." Bucky looked up at her, the corner of his mouth arching into a sad, crooked smile. "Thank you."

Ava smiled in return, nodding her head. "Well, Sergeant Barnes, we need to get a medical check up on you." She said.

"Bucky."

Ava arched her brow at him, as did Shuri. "Bucky?" The princess asked.

"My name." He said slowly. "James Buchanan Barnes... I prefer Bucky."

Shuri began to chuckle, hitting her leg with her hand as she cackled. "The worlds most infamous man, a great soldier, a lethal assassin, and he goes by the most white, redneck name you can think of! Bucky!" She laughed, holding her stomach.