Possibility of Tomorrow - 8

  

Cont...

The Girl was sitting quietly at the table through the whole exchange as conversation flowed. The Soldier hadn't told her what to do, but the redhead, Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, had nodded to one of the chairs, so she had sat. She recognized Captain America as he whined from having to sit still. The black man she didn't recognize. He and Wanda hadn't been there when she'd shot them all up. The group hadn't acknowledged her yet, too busy insulting each other as the Soldier got her food. 

She hesitatingly tried some of the soup. It was so good. The chatter of the group became background noise as she appeased her demanding stomach. All too soon, the bowl was empty. That was when she realized they were all watching her wide-eyed. 

Panic gripped her, was she supposed to wait? Had she done something wrong? Did she need permission? Had it been to toy with her? 

"Dang." Natasha finally whistled, "I think she just gave you two a run for your money on who's gonna eat us out of house and home."

The Captain, Steve, laughed at that, "You want some more?"

 The Girl stared at him a moment. She was being offered more? Nodding before the offer could be recalled, she got up and got herself the second bowl.

 "Careful. You eat too much too fast, especially with this rich of food you could end up losing it later." The black man warned as he came around, "I'm Sam, by the way." 

The Girl nodded as she began eating again. This time she was much slower as she listened to her stomach. 

"Let's take a look at your shoulder," Sam said, turning to the Soldier.

 The Soldier huffed but pulled down one side of his shirt so that Sam could see. The wound she had caused. Guilt flamed through her. How were they letting her just sit and eat with them after what she'd done?

 Sam leaned over, poking at the smooth skin, "Any pain?"

 "No." The Soldier kept eating with his other hand. 

"You have full rotation?" Sam asked, stepping back. The Soldier did a full rotation with his arm to prove he was fine. "How's your side?" Sam asked next. 

Shame flamed again in the Girl; how could she forget she'd shot him? 

"Fine. No pain. I just want the blasted stitches out." The Soldier shrugged. 

"Good. How about you?" Sam turned to her, "Any pain?" 

The Girl blinked. Was he asking if she was alright? Shaking her head, she tried to understand the un-deserved care she was getting. She would have assumed it was a trick or a trap in any other situation, but here it felt genuine. 

"Can I see your arm?" Sam asked. 

The Girl held out her right arm. He gently took it, running his hands over it feeling the bone underneath.

 He frowned, "I'm going to ask you to keep it wrapped for now. It feels healed, but I want to make sure it's fully healed before you use it strenuously." 

The Girl nodded, "Okay." 

"She speaks!" Wanda grinned.

 "She's quiet, not dead, Wanda." Steve retorted, getting himself more food. 

"Since when did you notice?" The Soldier retorted.

 "Since I started living with the upwards of four people at once." Steve shot back. 

"So recently." Natasha quipped. 

Steve faked offense, "Seriously? I'm hurt." 

"You should be." The Soldier grinned as he said it.

 "You're all such children," Sam muttered.

 "Look who's talking birdbrain." Natasha retorted. 

The Soldier snorted. 

Sam glowered, "I would say something, but in the light that I would like to live, I'm holding my tongue." 

Natasha smiled dangerously, getting up and patting Sam on the shoulder, "Good choice."

 The Girl watched them insult each other without any heat in amazement. There was no formality, no bite as they threatened each other—just a friendly comradery. 

"Are you okay if we ask you some questions?" Steve finally asked the question she'd been waiting for. 

She had always been taught to say nothing in an interrogation or lie through her teeth. But these people had nursed her out of the withdraw and were being friendly and kind. The Girl nodded. 

"Alright, let's start with how old you are." Steve nodded. 

The Girl frowned. That was not what she had been expecting. She thought a moment, "Sixteen, I think." 

"How long have you been addicted to that drug?" Sam asked. 

The Girl tried to think of a moment beside the one she was in now without the haze or lingering heaviness, "I don't know." Sam let out an odd sound looking shocked. 

"What was that drug?" Sam asked. 

"They call it the Haze." The Girl recalled. 

"Who were they?" Natasha asked. 

"They-" the Girl stopped. She just realized she didn't know, "I don't know." How could she not know something so simple? They were simply them. The people that controlled it all. But she didn't have a name, just nicknames, and faces. The realization shook her.

 "Hey," the Soldier's gentle voice made her look over, "It's okay that you don't know. What you do know will be more than us." 

The Girl tried to let that make her feel better, but it didn't, "Okay." 

"You said there were more of you. How many?" The Soldier asked. 

The Girl did a quick calculation, "Twelve of us. I'm the oldest. The youngest is eight." The others looked very agitated at that. 

"Are they all girls?" Natasha asked monotone.

 "No. Some of them are boys." The Girl's answer seemed to help Natasha only a little bit. 

"What's your name?" Wanda asked quietly. 

"I don't know." The Girl said. She'd been given aliases but never a name. 

"Then how do you refer to each other if there are 12 of you?" Steve asked, his face carefully neutral. 

"We don't? It just happens?" The Girl shrugged. There was a thick silence. 

"Well, you're gonna need a name kid, 'cause that ain't gonna work." Sam finally decided. 

The Girl shrugged, "Okay."

 "Any preference?" Natasha asked. 

The Girl shook her head, "Not really." 

"Nothing at all? Wow, okay, let's see." Sam leaned back on his chair, face thoughtful. 

"Oh no. You are not trapping her in any ridiculous name." Wanda cut in quickly.

 "You sure you don't have any suggestions cause I can guarantee you don't want them choosing," Steve said. 

The Girl racked her head for something, anything, "No, I don't." Sam started throwing out suggestions as Wanda and Steve shot down ideas. Natasha put in her two cents now and then. The discussion got louder and out of hand as the Girl sat there, mind spinning. 

"Darling." The Soldier side quietly with an air of finality.

 "Darling? What in the world kind of name is that?" Sam retorted. 

"That's the only thing she would respond to when she was out. No matter what. It's in her subconscious." The Soldier shrugged. 

"You can't expect her to go by that!" Sam retorted. 

"He's right," Wanda said.

 "It's unrealistic, Barnes." Natasha shook her head. 

"What do you think?" Steve asked, looking at the Girl.

 "Darling." The Girl tried it out for feel. It felt right, "I like it." 

"Well then, Darling it is." Steve nodded, agreeing. 

"See, I do come up with good ideas." The Soldier pointed out to Sam. 

"Yeah, well, now we know the moon's gonna be blue tonight." Sam huffed, getting up. Natasha snickered.

 "What's your name?" Darling asked the Soldier. 

"What?" He looked over at her in surprise.

 "I don't know your name, just your title." Darling elaborated.

 "Bucky. I go by Bucky." The Soldier responded. 

Darling nodded, "Nice to meet you, Bucky." 

"Nice to meet you too, Darling." Bucky smiled.

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