Reveries of Spring│Bucky Barnes

━ 𝟎𝟓

TIME PASSED BY QUICKLY IN THE AVENGERS COMPOUND, and it was marked by the slow but pronounced change of the season. 

With Artemis' and Wanda's help, Martina had managed to fend off all attempts from Stark- and Lionel- who were continuously trying to get her to agree to more tests. Each and every time they asked, Martina gave them the same answer- she would do it when she was ready. 

Martina didn't mind denying Tony, who made it his life's mission to come up with the most annoying code names for her, however, she did feel slightly bad for the clumsy Lionel who was too interested in her abilities to get the hint. 

Whenever Tony broached the subject with Artemis, she was quick to bear her fangs at him, insisting that when Martina was ready she would do it and happily. 

"What? A month isn't enough?"

"Shut it, Stark! Don't make me have Loki turn you into a rat!"

"Oh please, love. Just say the word."

In the last month, Martina had quickly found several things she liked about the compound. She enjoyed lounging by the pool- which Tony insisted was for training purposes only- even though it was too chilly for others to join her. She loved watching Wanda and Loki face off with their magic to see who could out-witch the other. She always laughed when Clint and Artemis sparred together- the former always losing- and she especially loved when they would all gather together in Stark's impressive theater room and watch old re-runs of classic movies. 

However, her most favorite part of it all was the forgotten library she found stashed in the farthest corner of the compound. 

It was a remarkable room lined with wooden beams and carved ceilings that contrasted against all the modern architecture around her. She had walked in the first time to find that with all the towering bookshelves- there were exactly four books. 

Tony had told her that no dignified person used books anymore- his partiality to technology evident- but when she promised to let him run some tests on her if he ordered more books, he quickly emptied out his wallet.

 At first, she felt bad, but then Artemis reminded her that Tony had enough money to buy every single book on the planet, so she didn't feel too bad. 

The rain was pounding against the metal roof of the compound as Martina made her way to the library, slinking through the various- and now full- shelves as she searched for her favorite corner of the library. It was nestled at the very end of the room, cushioned by tall bookshelves, and had a cushy window seat that sat beside a tall crystal window. 

However, just as she cleared the final barrier between her and the spot she had been thinking about all day, she found someone else had already claimed the spot.

"Bucky?"

The man tensed at the sudden call of his name, but it wasn't from surprise, he had heard Martina the second she walked into the library. 

He tensed because of the way his name rolled so easily off her tongue. During the past month, Bucky had seen so many more sides to her and it both surprised and unnerved him. 

Instead of crying, he saw laughing. Instead of screaming, he saw teasing. She still had her moments when her temper would get the best of her and someone would have to stand between her and the target of her rage- he couldn't believe he was saying this but thank god to Stark and all the fireproofing- but it would die down just as quickly as it sprang to life.