#wintertooth

“I don’t think he likes being watched,” Pepper understated.

“I know how he feels,” Bucky said. “Let me go down and keep him company until Steve and Tony get here to interview him.”

“He doesn’t play well with others,” Pepper warned. “I spoke to Jean at the Xavier Academy, she was adamant that we shouldn’t even talk to him, but he says he’s got information we need to hear.”

“I wasn’t planning to go into the room with him. Just talk to him from outside it, maybe.”

Pepper shrugged. “Up to you.”

Since she wasn’t telling him not to, Bucky shrugged and headed down the stairs. Creed didn’t appear to be making any escape attempts, not that it would have done any good. Bucky thought. Although if those talons coming out of the ends of his fingers really were adamantium, he supposed it might be possible.

Instead, Creed was sitting - or lounging might be a better description - in the middle of the safe room floor. He looked completely at his ease, totally relaxed despite the hard bare floor. Bucky was reminded of a lion surveying his domain, as Creed blinked at him almost sleepily.

“Hi,” Bucky sat down cross-legged, outside the glass walls of the cell. “Thought you might like some company.”

“And you wanted to keep an eye on me, since I broke your electronic ones.” Creed’s voice was a deep rumble, sounding like it came all the way up from his boots.

“Yeah, that’ll have Stark annoyed with you, to start with.”

Creed shrugged. “I’ve had enough of being treated like a lab rat in a cage. The cage I can live with, temporarily. The scrutiny was one step too far.”

“Fair enough,” Bucky shrugged. “Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt.”

A little to his surprise, Creed laughed. His over-large, white fangs flashed. “I believe I like you, Barnes.”

“Call me Bucky.” He wasn’t really surprised that Creed knew who he was.

“Then you should call me Victor.” Creed rolled to his back and stretched like a great cat. Unconsciously, Bucky licked his lips, and Creed noticed. His nostrils flared as he pushed himself upright, moving with sinuous grace into a low crouch right on the other side of the glass wall from Bucky. He cocked his head and smiled, slow and warm, fangs peeking between his lips.

I’m getting hard, and I suspect he knows it. Bucky went for a pre-emptive strike.

“So, once we let you out of there, can I put you on my to-do list?”

Victor’s smile widened even further, and he licked his lips.

“You surely can. I hope it’s a short list.”

“Even if it was long, you’d have been jumped right to the top.”