No one spoke, not even when the video crackled and the screen turned black. There was tension raising in the air; the kind that was heavy and left a slight bitterness in your heart. Sena cautiously glanced between Tony and Bucky, who had been shedding quiet tears behind the lens of his M249 Paratrooper, hands slowly glowing blue at the impending danger she felt trickling under her skin as she took a slow step closer to Bucky, right between him and Tony.
Tony was the first to react, turning to Bucky with fury that made her skin burn. Whatever he was about to say was stopped short by Steve’s desperate hand on his arm.
“Did you know?” Tony asked, jaw taut in anger.
“I didn’t know it was him.” Steve said quietly.
“Don’t bullshit me, Rogers. Did you know?” Tony repeated, voice filled with venom and emotion that made Sena take another step forward, shielding Bucky away from Tony.
A quiet, resigned sigh and Steve mumbled, “yes.” The word made Tony recoil away from his friend and he raised his hand, smacking Steve’s face with a loud thud even before anyone could stop him.
“Don’t do this!” Sena screamed, raising her glowing hands, ready to stop Tony, whatever it took. It was a futile attempt, she realized, when Tony blasted his reactor at her, sending her across the room without even blinking.
“Get out of my way.” She heard him hiss at her before he attacked Bucky, sounds of clanging metal ringing in her ears as she struggled to get back on her feet, leaning on the cold wall for support. She raised her free hand, bright blue light crackled from her palm as she fired energy blasts at Tony, stopping him from killing Bucky.
“Bucky, go!” Sena repeated Steve’s words when he turned to her, worry plastered all over his face. “I’ll be fine. Just go.” She smiled, blasting another energy at Tony, sending him a few feet away from them.
“IT WASN’T HIM!” Steve grabbed Tony’s leg, pulling him and hitting the left boot jet of his suit.
Tony shot his reactor, closing the entrance before Steve could follow him.
“Fuck.” Steve cursed under his breath, trying to scan the room for a possible exit. He froze when he saw Sena, eyes trailing from her pale face to the huge red stain on her suit. The woman just shrugged and forced a smile as she destroyed the rocks covering the exit. It seemed to take too much of her energy because she quickly fell to the cold floor, her shaky hands quickly went to the side of her waist.
“Sena–,” Steve tried to say.
“Go. I’ll be fine.” Sena breathed out.
“We’ll come back for you.” Steve promised.
It was T’challa who found her bleeding half to death minutes later. She was barely unconscious, eyes fluttering open for mere seconds, enough to recognize the cat suit and the face. He looked down at her with an expression she could only describe as pity before taking off a piece of bead from his bracelet.
“This will hurt a little bit.” Was all he said before he pushed the bead into the wound on her wrist. It made her scream and then everything went black.
.
Sena dreamed. It was vivid and felt too real; it made her heart hurt.
“My name is Bucky.” The man introduced with a hesitant smile, as if not believing it himself. Sena looked up from his extended arm to his face, opening the door a little wider. He was nervous and scared and Sena wondered why. He was a man with an imposing build. That wasn’t how things were supposed to go. She pushed back her curiosity and flashed him a smile.
“Sena. Sena Park.” She shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, neighbor.”
She opened the door again and the scene changed.
“Sorry.” Sena noticed Bucky said the word a lot in the past six months they’ve known each other. He had knocked on her door at 2 in the morning again, with red eyes and trembling lips that would’ve gone unnoticed by anyone else. But this was Sena. Sena who felt a surge of sadness on her skin whenever he showed up in front of her door. Sena who had her share of nightmares and demons.
“Nightmares?” She softly asked, letting him inside without any hesitation. He had been having more nightmares lately. The first time he had one, she was the one who approached his apartment, knocking on the door rapidly and staying with him until he calmed down. The second time it happened, she made him hot chocolate and made him energy orbs that resembled a small cat. When he had his third nightmare in a week, she let him into her place and told him to come over if he needed a friend.
“No.” He shook his head, eyes still unfocused. He sat on the small couch, hands tightly clasped together. “I dreamed of Steve again.” He had told her about Steve. It didn’t take long for her to piece everything together. She didn’t judge. She knew how it feels to not be in control of your own body. When she told him that, he smiled and said she was too nice for her own good. She wasn’t, really. But she didn’t say anything else.
“New memories?”
“He was smaller than he is now,” he started, furrowing his eyebrows before he continued, “and very sick. Very pale too. I read about him in the museum. They said he was born premature and had too many health problems.”
“He was.” She nodded. “I read about it when I was in high school.”
“Am I… Was I in..” he turned to her questioningly.
“You are. The great sniper of Howling Commandos. I thought that was bullshit.” He tensed up at her response. “I think you’re a very compassionate person too. You were kind and strong and loyal. They tend to forget about all those in the textbook.”
“I think you’ve been reading the wrong textbook, Sena.” Bucky replied with a sardonic chuckle.
“I don’t think the person who tried his hardest to be kind to strangers is a bad person.” Sena said, putting her hand on his. “You were a victim and you survived. I think that shows how brave and strong and kind you are. You could kill everyone if you want but you didn’t. You flew here just to have a new quiet life. Doesn’t that say something about your personality?”
“I wanted to.” Bucky said after a moment of silence. He looked up at her with a tired smile. She was kneeling in front of him, eyes warm and soft and filled with nothing but love and it made him want to cry. Why would she stay with him? “I was going to kill all of them.”
Her free hand slowly went to touch his face. It took everything in him not to lean into her touch. Her eyes turned sad, then, as if she was trying to say something that would ruin this friendship. Bucky didn’t understand why. Nothing she did could beat the red in his ledger.
“I did.” She whispered, taking a deep breath before she spoke again, “I killed all of the people who hurt me. I made them suffer, made them beg for their lives, made them feel what I feel when they put me on that metal table.”
“They deserved it.” Bucky quickly replied, “it wasn’t your fault.”
“See? You see the good in people. You can see the good in me even when I told you I’ve killed too many people. Why can’t you see how good you are, Bucky?”
The room suddenly changed. She was now standing in his living room, hands glowing blue as she stared down Steve Rogers, Bucky standing behind her, hand touching her wrist to stop her from making any moves.
“He was trying to be good!” She cried, tears brimming in her eyes as she listened to Steve. The man seemed to understand her frustration, judging by the sadness in his eyes. “He was trying to be good despite what they have done!”
“I wasn’t in Vienna. I don’t do that anymore.” Bucky finally said.
“Well the people who think you did are coming here now. They’re not planning on taking you alive.” Steve took a few steps towards them.
Bucky only nodded, eyes still fixed on Steve. “That’s smart. Good strategy.”
Sena felt more prickling on her skin. “They’re here.” She quietly said.
“This doesn’t have to end in a fight, Buck.”
Bucky sounded tired when he finally replied, “it always ends in a fight.”
Sena closed her eyes, bracing for the incoming fight and loudness that hurt her ears. When she opened her eyes again, it was too bright and she could feel pain all over her body, and Bucky. Bucky was sitting near her, hand holding hers tightly.
“Bucky?” She called out with a raspy voice. She welcomed his kisses and soft mutterings with a smile and a bucket of tears.
.
“I can’t trust my mind. So until they figure out how to get the stuff out of my head, I think going under is the best thing for everybody.”
Steve only nodded. Sena, on the other hand, couldn’t hold back her tears. She was furiously wiping away the tears that kept streaming down her face, ignoring Bucky’s eyes.
“You can leave if you want, Sena.” He softly said, gently pulled her closer. He saw Steve walked out of the room to give them a little space and made a mental note to thank him later. “I’m not asking you to wait for me. If you want to go, I’ll be fine. I’ll miss you a lot but I’ll be okay.”
“Are you dumb?” Sena said between hiccups. “I’m gonna make sure you will not miss anything. I will tell you about Steve and Sam and what I do every single day. You can’t get rid of me that easily, Bucky. My feeling for you is non-refundable.” She wrapped her arms around him, smiling a little at the warmth and comfort that was very Bucky.
“Make sure to prank Sam every other day for me, yeah?” Bucky smiled, kissing the side of her head. “And please talk to someone if you’re having nightmares, Sena.”
“I will.” She nodded, hugging him a little tighter.