"Can't imagine any dames'd want me like this," Bucky muttered, unconsciously rotating his metal shoulder a bit and hiking his bag up a little higher.

"Then they're fools," Kenzie said simply. And they were. Humans were so superfluous sometimes. Of course, dragons could be too. Not that she'd be the one to point that out.

That made him pause for a moment, and then he glanced at her.

"Of course you like it," he said. "It's shiny."

Kenzie smiled at him. "I wasn't just talking about the arm, sweetheart."

Bucky glanced at her, and then looked away. She couldn't possibly be implying what it sounded like she was implying, and he was going to try not to get his heart set on it.

Kenzie was content to walk quietly for a while. At least until they got back to civilization. Then she sneezed three times, making a brief face.

That made Bucky grin a bit.

"Yeah, the city's like that when you get back to it," he commented. "Took me a while to get used to it again, before."

"Not surprising." Kenzie made another face. "I always forget how bad it is to first walk into a city after a few weeks of being away."

"Yeah, it's not pleasant," Bucky agreed. He sighed quietly. "Though sometimes I wish Steve'n I coulda had the same homecoming the rest of the guys did. Woulda been real nice."

"Yes," Kenzie agreed. "It would have." She slid a glance at him. "But then you would not be here, now. And this is not so bad."

"True," Bucky murmured. He glanced at her, and then looked away again. He was unfamiliar with the emotion he was feeling, and he had no idea how to deal with it. But somehow, being around Kenzie was more comforting and satisfying than anything else.

Kenzie went quiet when she spotted the tower, frowning just a little. She wasn't sure how everyone else would react to her little vanishing act, after all, and their opinions did matter to her.

"Coffee?" she suggested, a little too brightly and abruptly.

Bucky studied her for a moment before nodding. He knew an evasion when he saw one, but he wasn't going to call her on it just yet.

"Sure," he said. "There's a place around the corner."

"Good." Kenzie walked around the corner, letting him order first. She was drumming her fingers against her thigh in a nervous tempo the whole time.

Once they had their coffees, Bucky found them a good table and sat down. He sat there quietly for a few moments, just drinking his coffee.

"What's got you so nervous now?" he finally asked, looking at her.

"I'm not certain." Kenzie didn't actually drink her coffee, just rolling the mug between her palms. "A feeling, perhaps. That I've been away too long, that things have changed." She grimaced.

Bucky raised an eyebrow.

"Some things have," he agreed. "Hell, you still haven't seen Gemma, that's going to be a surprise, I bet."

Kenzie hummed her agreement. "Indeed. It is irrational, but dragons are not always rational creatures." Her lips quirked a bit.

"Still, everyone's waiting for you to come back," Bucky pointed out. "We all missed you."

Kenzie made a noncommittal noise. She didn't believe that last part. She hadn't been around them enough for them to miss her, they weren't as clingy as dragons tended to be, so they didn't have enough reason to miss her.

"I promise, people missed you," Bucky pressed. He could tell she didn't believe him. "Trust me on this one, alright?"

Kenzie glanced at him before she nodded once. "Alright," she agreed. "Sure."

"That didn't sound convincing," Bucky said, quirking a bit of a smirk and looking at her. "C'mon, you trust me, don't you?"

Kenzie huffed. "Of course I do," she said, shaking her head. "I have no reason to question you."

"Then believe me when I say the others missed you too," Bucky said, grinning a bit.