"I don't know," Bucky said, still a bit doubtful. "We'll see." Somehow, he still kind of wanted Kenzie to himself a while longer.

"Alright." Steve didn't push, just giving him time and letting him decide what he wanted to do. Pushing wouldn't help, he knew. Even if it was sometimes tempting.

Lucky for Steve, the others had other ideas.

"So, when're you going to bring dragon-lady to us?" Clint asked when he saw Bucky. "It's not fair that you get to hog all the mythical glory."

"Indeed, I am curious to meet her for myself," Thor said, looking over at them. "I have not met a dragon in many years."

That made Clint pause.

"What happened to the last one?" he ended up asking. He wasn't entirely sure if the driving curiosity behind the question was morbid or not.

"He was very old, older than myself," Thor said with a shrug. "He had lived a long life, and he had grown bitter." He looked uncomfortable for a moment. "He came to Asgard to ask a reprieve from my father."

Steve grimaced at that, because he could read between the lines.

There was an awkward silence.

"Well, on that cheerful note," Clint finally said. He turned to Bucky again. "See if you can get her to visit. It'd be awesome."

"We'll see," Bucky said.

Thor grinned. "You know, it is usually considered an honor to be close to a dragon," he said. "Not many get the chance, not to truly know one." His grin turned teasing. "Only a few who tried have been eaten."

"You act like I had a choice in that," Bucky muttered, staring into his plastic cup of water. "She just grabbed me and claimed me."

"But you haven't objected," Thor pointed out. "I would be quite honored to meet this lady who has so quickly become your friend."

Bucky didn't respond, but he did start to consider it. Clearly, they wanted to get to know Kenzie, and recently she'd been making noises that she wanted to meet them, too. Maybe he just had to step back and let it happen.

Steve kept half his attention on Bucky, because he knew that his friend felt rather proprietary of the dragon, as well. So long as he didn't object, though, Steve would just let the others talk.

Bucky quietly pondered the idea all the way up until he saw Kenzie again. He hadn't realized he'd come to any sort of decision until he actually saw her.

"They all want to meet you," he said as soon as they had their coffees.

"Mmm, you have mentioned that before," Kenzie agreed, taking a sip of her coffee. She licked her lips, watching him. "This sounds different, though."

"It is," Bucky replied, wrapping his hands around his coffee. The warmth seeped into his flesh-and-blood hand comfortably.

Kenzie tipped her head. "You want me to go back with you and see them," she guessed, watching him for confirmation.

Bucky nodded once.

"As long as you still want to," he said.

"Yes," Kenzie decided after a moment. "It is a good idea." She paused for a moment. "Perhaps I should bring Gemma along? I know she gets along well with Steven Rogers; I have smelled him in the shop several times."

"So you noticed that too," Bucky murmured. He glanced at her. "She still doesn't like me. But she likes him?"

"She does like him. More than I have seen her like anyone besides myself in the past several years." Kenzie smiled. "She would enjoy his company, as well as the chance to see the tower."

"So bring her, if you want," Bucky said, shrugging a bit. Hey, he wasn't about to tell a dragon what to do.

Kenzie huffed quietly. "I do not often ask permission," she told him. "It is one of my faults, and something that Gemma has told me multiple times makes me hard to deal with." It wasn't quite an apology, but it was as close as she would get.

Bucky shrugged again.

"Nobody can reasonably expect a dragon to conform to human concepts all the time," he pointed out.

That earned him a grin. "Some people do, but you're smart to think this way from the beginning," she praised.

"Does Gemma?" Bucky asked, a slight edge forming on his tone.