Relentless

It only took Zara a couple of seconds to decide her plan of action. If she was honest with herself the fact that Ward pushed her over hadn't upset her at all. He was just doing the protective boyfriend thing just the same as Bucky would have done if the roles were reversed. She'd heard enough about the man to know that if he'd wanted to hurt her, he would have done, without a second thought.
God only knows what Rachael had told him about her - she'd obviously left out the fact that she'd been wiped. Ward was a senior, a member of Coulson's elite team. Surely he wouldn't attack a girl half his size that was essentially defenseless? He'd been warm and friendly till the little princess had piped up... The sneaky little bitch had obviously done that intentionally. Batted her pretty brown eyes at Ward, get him on her side and then sicked him onto Zara like a dog.

Zara decided right then and there that she wasn't going to tell Bucky the ins and outs of what happened. She'd take much pleasure in getting her own revenge back on Blondie herself. The days of hiding behind Bucky Barnes were over. She'd learn to fight, and take her rightful place in the ranks of Shield. She'd be that confident, strong woman she'd seen in the photos, against all odds.

Her eyes shot up from her spot on the floor when she heard the sickening crunch of metal as the locked door handle turned, snapped off, and fell to the floor. A familiar silhouette stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, and crouched down in front of her. He looked over her with worried eyes, taking her face in his hands.
"Are you hurt?!" He said, concern in his voice and brows pinched. Zara shook her head, her mouth still open a little from the shock of her little revelation. Her heart was still racing and she breathed heavily, suddenly feeling puffed out. She put it down to a bit of anxiety. She swallowed hard, closing her eyes for a few seconds, opening them again before she spoke.
"No, I'm not hurt... Just a bit shocked, I guess" She said, cocking her eyebrow.
"What happened?" He asked firmly, dropping his hands to her arms. Zara blew a breath out and shook her head softly again.
"You need to teach me how to fight" She said, with a look of desperation on her face.
"You're not making any sense" He said, sounding angry now. Bucky had his 'who do I have to kill' face on, and it wasn't helping matters one bit. Zara's eyes shot around the small dark room and the ajar door. Nobody else needed to hear this conversation... She reached out and took his hands.
"Take me home" She said, brows pinched with stress. "Please..."
Bucky frowned and nodded, standing and helping her to her feet. He put his arm around her protectively and planted a light kiss on her temple.
"Come on. I've got you."



Bucky sat her on his kitchen counter and pressed the button on the front of the coffee machine, placing a mug under the spout. He turned to face her, leaning on the bench, a hand either side of her legs.
"So what happened this morning, Zara?" He asked, eyes serious, and expression calm. She blew out a breath, she was going to have to come clean, well, to a degree.
"I... I inadvertently picked a fight with someone" She said, looking into his eyes. He was a human lie detector and was big on the whole eye-contact thing. Bucky dropped his head and let out an exasperated sigh.
"What do you mean you 'inadvertently picked a fight' with someone?" He said, obviously trying hard to keep his frustration to himself as much as possible.
"I got angry and shoved someone. He blocked me and pushed me away, and I fell." She said truthfully, feeling a little sheepish as her cheeks reddened.
"HE!? Who the hell was it? And what are you doing shoving someone!?" He demanded, making her jump.
"It doesn't matter who it was, Bucky-"
"Like HELL it doesn't!"
"It wasn't his fault. I pushed HIM. I lost MY temper. I'M the one in the wrong here, and he was still kind enough to help me to my feet and apologize. Profusely" She said, backing up as much as she could away from Bucky who was now leaning over her. He was furious. He was absolutely seething and it worried her the thought of what he'd do to someone when he was like this.

Bucky let out a long breath, calming himself down. It wasn't going to do anyone any good getting all riled up.
"Why are you protecting him?" he asked calmly after a few moments, eyes narrowed.
"Because If I give you a name you're just gonna stomp down there, and put the guy in a coma or worse. He did nothing wrong, and you look like you're about to kill someone" She said.
"Well I have killed people for a lot less..." He agreed, "But I can't have another guy putting his hands on you, pushing you around, threatening you. I won't tolerate it, Zara. I also won't tolerate being lied to" He said, lowering his voice.
"I'm not lying to you, I told you exactly what happened"
"No you DIDN'T!" He argued, voice raised as his fist came down on the counter top.
"THIS is my whole point!" She snapped, raising her voice as well. "You are on the edge of a knife and you just SNAP at absolutely nothing"
"You being pushed around by another guy is NOT nothing" He snarled.
"Bucky you weren't there. You didn't see what happened, and it wasn't like that." She said, staring him down, unafraid now. "I mean look at me... I'm so fucking freaked out by EVERYTHING right now. I'm afraid every minute I'm awake, I'm afraid to go to sleep, I'm afraid every time YOU make a sudden movement. I caught my shadow out of the corner of my eye and jumped at THAT this morning..." She said, her voice cracking.
"Zara..." He put his hand on her hip, his expression softening.
"No, don't 'Zara' me, Bucky. If this guy meant to hurt me, he would have hurt me. If he wanted to scare me, I'd be a blithering wreck right now. You say that I have to trust you, well you have to trust me, too. It was a misunderstanding, and he apologized for it straight away" She said, relaxing a little. Bucky pursed his lips and nodded.
"The point is, I don't want you running off to fight my battles for me. I can't hide behind you forever, Bucky. I know you'll always be there, but I need to be able to defend myself as well." She said.
Bucky nodded his head, not happy with the whole thing but understanding where she was coming from all the same.
"I don't like this..." He said, keeping his voice intentionally calm and choosing his words carefully, "but you're right about needing to defend yourself... I'll rent us a slot in the gym first thing, and we can run through a few moves." He said, his jaw still set, but a softness now reaching his eyes. Zara reached out and put her arms around his neck and kissed him, her forehead coming to rest against his.
"Thank you for being understanding" She said. He let out a frustrated sigh and kissed her again.

I think I just saved your life, Mr Ward...



The rest of the day was a quiet one. They stretched out on the bed talking for hours, Bucky explaining who it was in the photos as Zara described them to him. He got his tablet out and showed her a heap of old photos, everything from Tony's party happy snaps, to the odd 'couple selfie' taken on missions. A few of them made Zara laugh, there was a couple of videos she'd taken where she'd tried to sneak up on him when he was sleeping and he'd been a bit... 'Reactive' to say the least. It had become a running joke apparently with a few other crew members joining in, and it was all well and good until he'd woken up with a start and put one of the young guys in a sleeper hold. Zara felt the color drain out of her face getting a mental image of that one.
There was THAT video of her fighting Grant Ward which Bucky took great pride in showing her - several times over - all with a running commentary.
It made Zara smile to see Bucky so passionate about something. It was clear he had an encyclopedic knowledge on all things combat. He'd encouraged her to her feet to show her several stances and how to get out of various hold - all of which were things that she sucked at but would pick up in time.



Zara yawned when Bucky wasn't looking but going by the look he turned to give her, his hearing was obviously pretty on point. She rolled her eyes as she dropped her bag on the floor against the wall, squinting at the red and orange morning light coming through the half-closed vertical blinds. It was easy to forget about the whole 'enhanced soldier' thing. He'd never shown any impressive display of superhuman strength, speed or anything else in her presence. He WAS quick on his feet, but then again so were other guys that were as trained as he was. Hell, even Grant Ward was pretty quick-

"You look nervous already" Bucky's voice interrupted her thoughts. Zara swallowed hard. She wasn't nervous about the fighting, it must have been her thinking about Ward. She didn't think she'd ever get used to Bucky being able to read her so well. She suddenly stopped in her tracks, full of worry as she looked over to him, making him stop short as well to see what had bothered her.
"The super soldier thing makes you fast and strong, right?" She asked, holding her breath.
"Among other things, yeah..." He said. "Why?"
"Is mind reading one of them?" She asked, watching his face turn into a smirk.
"What if I said yes?" he teased, cocking a brow and giving a cheeky sideways smile. The color drained out of her face. Bucky burst out laughing. His first thought had been that he could have a lot of fun with her thinking that, but then she'd go back to being a nervous wreck around him. Better to come clean.
"No, I can't read minds" He chuckled, pulling her into a hug. It was endearing that she was worried about such a thing.
"How do you always know what I'm thinking about, then!?" She said, a smile forming on her face.
"Now YOU'RE the one being cute" he laughed, poking fun at her. She gave him a shove and quick as lightening he grabbed her wrist and spun her against him, pinning her against his chest. She tried to wriggle free but he tightened his grip on her, effortlessly.
"Not fair!" She complained, making him laugh again. He let her go and she went to shove him again, quickly changing her mind when she saw the smirk on his face.
"I know you better than you know yourself, Zara. Having enhanced senses helps, and then there's the 70 odd years of assassinations. It's made me pretty aware of people's body language. People are veeeerrrry predictable creatures..." He explained as he sat against the wall and gestured for her to sit beside him.
"So I'm in good hands then?"
"Very" He said, giving her a wink that made her cheeks dust pink a little.

He began to stretch and told her to do the same, showing her a few basic ones which she picked up quickly, surprised by just how flexible she was.
"I didn't know I could do THAT" She chuckled when a simple toe touch turned into at almost ballet-like movement as her forehead came down to her shin, and her toe pointed on its own.
"You grew up doing gymnastics as a kid" He said, his expression soft. "It gave you an almost acrobatic fight style"
Zara nodded thoughtfully, finishing the floor stretches and standing to begin on quads, back and moved onto shoulders. A smile crossed her face when she realized she'd done them all without instruction. Bucky hadn't said a word, just letting her own memory show her what to do.

He picked up a pair of pads when they were warmed up and slipped his hands into them as they made their way to the center of the room. He turned to face her and held them up, giving her a nod. Her brows creased.
"I'm supposed to punch these things, right?" She said, feeling the nerves come back. She was convinced she was about to make an absolute dick of herself. She balled her hands into fists and looked down at her feet, they were shoulder width apart like he'd shown her.

Oh god, I'm probably going to miss... Or break my stupid thumbs off...

She looked down at her fists, having a light-bulb moment as she untucked her thumbs. Bucky smiled at her, that was something she'd remembered on her own. She smiled back at him and steadied herself, and swung at the pad, hitting it off center, but hitting it nonetheless.
"That was shit, wasn't it?" She asked, discouraged. He shook his head.
"No not at all. It wasn't great, but it gives us a starting point" He encouraged. "I just wanted to see where you were at. Here, I have a better idea" he said, pulling the pads off and tossing them into the corner of the room as he led her to a huge punching bag that hung from the roof.
He positioned himself in front of it and signaled to her to pay attention. He explained his stance and held both fists up in front of his face, explaining the importance of a fighter keeping their guard up. He slowly extended his arm, pointing out his straight wrist and pushing through the punch.

"Got it?" He asked. Zara nodded and the next punch he threw was hard enough to shake the roof beam. She jumped at the impact, and he shot her a grin.
"You hit like a hammer" She said, shaking her head and making him chuckle. He stepped away from the bag and gestured for her to come over. He stood behind her and guided her into position, straightening her shoulders.
"Relax" he whispered into her ear, feeling her tension. She nodded and let a breath out.

Bucky ran his hands down her arms, pulling her hands into fists, wrapping his fingers around them, encasing her hands with his. He held her left one up to shield her face, and extended her right one out to the bag, keeping it straight ad correct.
"Got it?" He whispered in her ear, earning a nod from her. He kept his hands in place around her fists, extending the right one again, a little faster than before, and again one last time at full speed.

He released her hands gently and stepped away from her, and nodded for her to try on her own. Her fist flew out and hit the bag, dead center in a perfect right jab. Zara's face lit up when she turned to him with a big smile.
"Go again" he encouraged.
Her fist came out a second time, producing a somewhat lackluster hit which frustrated her. She drew in a sharp breath, collecting her focus to try again. She blew out at the same time she threw her right fist into the bag, her left arm going in for a hit as if it was on autopilot, followed again by her right.
Zara stood looking down at her hands which were now trembling in front of her, and then over at Bucky who looked both surprised and excited.
"What the hell was that?" She stammered, cocking a brow in confusion.
"THAT was a jab, cross, hook combo" he beamed. "And it was PERFECT"
Zara's face lit up, and she suddenly realized how out of breath she was.
"But how?"
"Muscle memory" He smiled. "Now do it again."

She took a breath and focused like she did last time, and punched out the same combination. This time Bucky gave her a nod of approval, before barking out "Again!"
Zara lost track of how many times she did the combination, and it soon became apparent that "again" was Bucky's favourite word. He showed her a couple of other punches, and another two combinations which they worked on for a while. They finished up with some stretches and she was relieved when he handed her a water bottle and a towel and called it a day.

She took a big drink, wiped her face and tucked everything into her gym bag, slinging it onto her shoulder. He took it off her and swung it onto his own.
"I'm so fucking proud of you" He beamed, pulling her into a tight hug. "You did great"
"Stop it, you'll make me cry" She giggled as he pulled back. "Thanks so much for helping me, Buck" She said, taking his face in her hands and kissed him.
"Anytime"
"Now let's get back, I need a really hot shower" She said, rubbing her shoulder as she stretched her neck.
"Muscles a bit sore?" He asked.
"Yeah, a little" She admitted. "The hot water should help though"
"Well... I do give a great massage. You've said so yourself." he said, putting his arm around her as they made their way to the gym door.
"You offering?"
"Absolutely"
"I might have to take you up on that"



Back at the room, Zara was relieved to get into the hot shower, there was no way she was letting him put his hands on her when she felt sweaty and grimy. She gave her hair a good wash and leaned against the wall letting the water rinse the shampoo out slowly. She felt great after her lesson with Bucky. The fact that some of the moves had come back on their own had brought some confidence back, and she suddenly felt that hunger to learn more. She smiled, and for the first time in a long time, she genuinely felt great. Motivated. Inspired.

Bucky pottered around the apartment, putting his clothes away from the fresh hamper and gave the kitchen counter a wipe when his phone rang. It was Coulson.

"Barnes! How are you?" He beamed, his voice bright and cheerful.
"Hey Coulson, going well, yourself?" He asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Great, how's Zara? I've been meaning to check in" He said. The bathroom door opened and she stepped out, right on cue. She'd thrown on a comfortable pair of sweats and a shoestring tank top, tying her wet hair back in a messy bun. She mouthed a 'sorry' to Bucky as she stepped out to say something, realizing he was on the phone. He smiled and scooted back a little, gesturing for her to come and sit between his knees on the edge of the bed.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Bucky said as he put his phone on the dock, activating the loudspeaker as Zara sat in front of him nervously"
"Hi Coulson, hope you're well" She said, jumping at the contact of his cold metal hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry" Bucky whispered into her ear.
"I am, thank you. How are you Zara?" Coulson's voice filled the room.
"Going great. Yeah things have been good, no problems at all" She said, rocking her chin to her chest as Bucky's magic thumbs rubbed her neck. He wasn't kidding about being good at this...
"So I trust your training with Bucky went well this morning?" He asked, making both her and Bucky draw a breath in. So busted.
"I see news travels fast" Bucky said, unamused.
"Don't worry, It was only me who saw you. I was on my way to an unexpected meeting and saw you through the window in the door. She looked great!" He enthused.
"Aww, thanks!" Zara chuckled.
"Anyway, Bucky, the reason I called is that I actually need your help "
"I'm listening..." Bucky said, waiting to hear whatever favor he was about to be asked of.
"I have an influx of rookies coming in." He said, getting straight to the point. "They're all completely untrained in combat, mostly tech and lab types, but they need some basic training as per new Shield protocol." He explained. Bucky nodded, knowing what Coulson was asking of him.
"You want me to come coach a few classes?"
"Yeah. Well, more like NEED you, really" He said, giving a chuckle. "Fury wants them with basic self defense at least by end of the quarter, which gives us a deadline of just under 7 weeks. That sort of schedule is fine with the usual intake who have some sort of experience, but these guys have never raised a fist in their lives. Added to that we have an instructor shortage with most of my elites out leading missions. Will you help me out?" He said, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Zara turned to Bucky, giving him an encouraging smile and a nod.
"Go for it!" She mouthed to him, giving his thigh a rub. He smiled back at her, dropping his hands from her neck and wrapping his arms around her, kissing her cheek.
"No problem" he said, "Count me in."
"You're a lifesaver, Barnes. You're really doing me a huge favor here" Came Coulson's relieved voice.
"Happy to help" Buck said, his tone genuine as he gave Zara a squeeze.

"Hey, I have an idea. While you're off training a class, what if I signed Zara up with one of the other instructors?" Coulson suggested." Zara and Bucky both tensed at the same time, as she turned herself to look at him, worry in both of their faces.
"Are you serious!?" Zara gasped.
"Just an idea, totally up to you" Coulson said, reassuringly.
"But they'd know who I am... Wouldn't it be weird?" She asked. "They'd expect me to be all... Like I was..."
"Well, you'd be completely anonymous. There are no photos of you on the archives, so they have no way of matching your name to your face even if they did look you up." He explained. "New environment, learning some skills and some socialization would probably do you the world of good. As I said, it's totally up to you."

Zara leaned back against Bucky's chest, his arms tightening around her. He rested his chin on her shoulder, obviously weighing everything up in his head, the way he always did.
"Should I?" She whispered to him. "I kinda want to"
"If you want to, then you should do it" he whispered back.
"But you don't want me to, do you?"

"I hear whispering..." Came Coulson's voice.

"As long as it's here in the building and you're gonna be safe, that's my main concern... If it's going to help you be the best person you can be, and you're safe doing it, then you should go for it." He said. Zara smiled, she knew that things like this were hard for him, but he was trying to be supportive.

"Can we talk about it?" Bucky asked Coulson, after a few moments pause. "It sounds good in theory, but it'd be nice to mull it over first, get some more details. I'd like a say in who's class she'd go into" He said, earning a smile off her as she gave his knee a squeeze.
"Oh, of course, of course! I still need to organize another couple of instructors, how's about I give you a call back this afternoon and we'll go from there?"
"Sounds great, Coulson" Zara said with enthusiasm.
"Okay, talk to you both later"
"Thanks Coulson" Bucky said, giving Zara a smile.

"Looks like I'm going back to fight school!" She announced out loud with a giggle.
"Only if you behave yourself" Bucky said, mock stern as he flopped back onto the bed. Zara turned herself around so she was hovering over him, hands on the bed either side of his body, propping herself up. His hands found her waist and his mouth curved into a grin.
"Me behave myself?" She scolded him, nodding down at his hands, earning a throaty chuckle from him. She smiled and bit her lip as he gave her hips a squeeze.
"You shouldn't do that to me, you know..." She warned him.
"Do what?"
"Look at me that way, with those eyes..." She purred, inching closer to him, her lips hovering over his. His breath hitched as leaned towards her, only for her to teasingly pull away.
"You started it..." He said, his voice low.

She narrowed her eyes at him, loving the effect she had on him. She smiled a sideways smile and cocked a brow as his breathing deepened, finally giving in and crashing her lips to his. Zara confidently deepened the kiss, her tongue finding its way into his mouth as she let her weight down on him. Bucky's hands found her butt, making her gasp.
They came up for air, a wicked smile on his face, an amused smirk on hers.
"I started it?" She asked, kneeling up, still positioned between his thighs. Bucky nodded, still looking very pleased with himself. Zara cocked a brow, she knew exactly what would wipe that smug look off his face.
She pulled her tank top off over her head and pulled her hair tie out, shaking her hair loose. Bucky's jaw dropped.

"You better finish it then, Barnes..."