Late nights
Avery saw the twin jets land, the team—including Nat—walking back toward the base. She considered leaving her room, but she was too busy searching through the system, trying to find something else, maybe a clue about what was in the videos, rather than having to watch them. That’s when she heard the soft knock at her door, and it creaked open. The light from the hallway passed through to the room.
"Hey, doll. You ready to watch these videos?" Bucky's voice came from the doorway as he crossed the dark room toward her.
"No, but I suppose we don’t really have a choice if we want to help them. Come sit next to me, James." Avery patted the couch next to her.
"Are you sure you want to be alone with me? You don’t want to move to the kitchen or the living room?" A day of not getting anywhere with the mission seemed to have knocked the confidence out of him.
"I’m not scared of you, Bucky. Now let’s get this over with." He sat down as Avery pulled up the files.
The video played, and she was almost expecting this. It was a video of a woman tied up, with a distorted voice listing off basic information about her, like she was just cattle on display. This was human trafficking. All the women were minorities, being listed as slaves for auction. Avery was watching to confirm if the missing women matched the ones in the video, but the tears started rolling down her face. She couldn’t continue.
"It’s okay, we’re gonna get them. It’s what they do. Steve saves people, he always has." Bucky moved her laptop to the table and pulled her close, one hand in her hair as he let her cry against his chest. "Look, I’m gonna take your laptop to Nat. It’s her mission, I’ll explain what we found, and I’ll be right back, okay?"
Avery nodded, not daring to look up at him. With that, Bucky lifted her up and gently placed her on her bed. She heard his footsteps leaving the room. Maybe when he came back, she could tell him she was fine and that he should go get some sleep.
By the time the door opened again, Avery was already fast asleep. Bucky sat in the chair just beside her bed. She looked so peaceful. He wondered when the last time he slept like that was.
Avery woke suddenly, hearing screams—a woman in distress. She was scared, and then she realized it was her own voice. She shot up in a cold sweat, her first nightmare in the building. It didn’t take long for it to hit.
"Shhh, it’s okay. I’m still here, doll. I got you," Bucky whispered, right beside her. She reached her arms around his neck and sat on his lap. She just needed contact, needed to know she was awake, that she hadn’t been tied up like those women. That she was here with Bucky. Wait—Bucky was still here. Avery pulled away from him.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to jump you like that. I… I just wanted to be sure I was awake." She sat on the edge of her bed, still very close to him.
"It’s okay. I know how real nightmares can get. Why do you think I’m still awake?" Bucky’s voice was low and steady, though it was clearly late, around 2 AM. He should be sleeping.
"You should go to bed, James. It’s late." Of course, Avery didn’t want him to leave, but it wasn’t fair that he felt like he had to babysit her. She was unsure if this meant he still wanted to be part of the team.
"It’s okay, I don’t mind being here if it makes you feel better, doll." Avery’s heart fluttered at the thought, but no, that wasn’t fair. Maybe he could sleep next to her? That wasn’t a bad idea. She wouldn’t be alone, and Bucky wouldn’t have to deal with back pain from sitting in that chair all night.
"If you insist on staying with me, James, just lay down here with me. We both could do with the sleep." Avery shuffled to the other side of the bed to make room for him, and wordlessly, Bucky climbed in. She could feel the heat radiating off him. He pulled her in closer, and within minutes, she was back to sleep. So was he. Her presence, which normally made his heart race, was now helping him drift off to sleep as well.