Introduction
Steve was uneasy as soon as his friend accepted his offer for a meeting at the Avengers Facility. It's been rough for Steve and Tony to patch up their wounds but they were trying their best for the sake of the Avengers. Tony's lawyers were stressed about how to convince Secretary Ross on not taking Bucky away from the team. So Steve came up with a decision that Tony shockingly agreed, he was happy to say the least.
"Would you calm your nerves down, Steve?" Tony asked, holding his hand out to him. Steve looked down at him on his chair before letting out a deep breath.
"I'm sorry..." Steve apologized when Tony cast his eyes down when suddenly Vision appeared right in front of them.
"Miss l/n has arrived." He informed before Sam arrived with a woman behind him. She was wearing a white blouse tucked beneath a black pencil skirt with a black cashmere cardigan over it. Her hair at the left side was kept behind her ear while the right part were framing her face. She smiled as she saw Steve, he reciprocated with a nervous one.
Steve approached her and enveloped her in a hug as Tony gave his respect by standing up and offered his hand to shake. The woman took his offered hand and shook it.
"Nice to see you again, Cap. The fall of SHIELD left us devastated. Lots of our loyal men were traumatized." Her eyes were soon filled with guilt. "I should have seen it. I could see people through the front but I didn't have the chance to prevent it." Steve's jaw tightened when she mentioned the fall of SHIELD.
"No one saw it coming. You shouldn't blame yourself." He reassured her. She smiled again that made the side of her eyes crinkle.
Tony cut them off by offering them to seat. Tony and Steve sat by the right with Sam behind them while she sat down across from them with Vision beside her. She smoothed her skirt down before settling down on the seat. She laced her fingers together before placing them on her knee, straightening her back as she did so.
"So, what is this about?" She started slowly, her voice low and soft. Steve gave a her a half smirk before clearing his throat.
"We need your help."
"I know." She smiled smugly. Steve smiled nervously at her before glancing at Tony and cleared his throat.
"We need your help with Bucky, we could use your expertise with him. The kind of help you did with our fellow agents," Steve started. "Ross wanted to lock him up in a heavily secured prison in the middle of the pacific. I don't want my friend to suffer that, he needs medical attention while the trial has begun to roll."
"Steve, if he needs medical attention, I am not the right person. I'm not an expert."
"But your way of therapy for traumatized victims are sure effective for him."
"Sam can do it. Why me?"
"He hate Sam." Steve chuckled which earned him a roll of eyes from Sam. Tony decided to chide in when he cleared his throat.
"Okay, back to the business. I know that the Manchurian candidate over there isn't at his best but I think keeping him with us than handing him to Ross is gonna be better for his recovery don't you think?" He spoke before leaning back on his chair.
Y/n let out a sigh before nodding her head. She wasn't sure if she's ready to face the biggest challenge in her life. She knew that Bucky would be hard at first since she's a stranger to him. She would do it for Steve and for the sake of the Avengers. She wet her bottom lip before catching it between her teeth. The action she grew up with whenever she's nervous.
"When do I start?" She asked with a smile.
__________________
Bucky was dripping with sweat as he punched the bag in front of him, not minding every hit he did to the poor object. His grunts sounded through the gym inside the facility. He was isolating himself again, which was the right decision for him. Steve didn't approve of his isolation though. He kept pulling Bucky to join the team to know and socialize with them but Bucky just can't fit in. He was troubled by his mistakes and guilt as he remembered every person's blood on his hands.
He didn't stop his vigorous punching when the door to the gym automatically opened. Bucky landed one last punch on the bag before pulling it back towards him, stilling the movements of the bag as he looked to up to see the person that entered the gym. Steve smiled at him and he smiled back but soon his lips went to a frown when his eyes landed on another person he didn't know.
"Buck, this is Y/n. Y/n, this is Bucky." Steve introduced, your hand immediately shot up to offer it to Bucky. He eyed your hand before he reluctantly shook it. Bucky immediately pulled his hand back to the bag in front of him, you noticed his action of nervousness shortly.
"Buck, she's the one I was talking to you about." Steve cut through the awkward silence. You can't help but blushed at the thought of Steve talking about you with Bucky.
Bucky eyed you up and down that made you self-conscious in your own skin. He did that for a while befpre returning to the bag. Steve looked at you with an apologetic face and a sheepish smile while rubbing the back of his neck, showing his embarrassment on Bucky's attitude.
"It's okay," You mouthed at him before taking a cautious step closer to Bucky and cleared your throat. "Hi, Bucky, it's a pleasure to meet you." Your voice halted his actions, making him look back at you.
He only nodded at you as his response and you took it as a sign of aloofness. He wanted to be alone. You and Steve both know that if you force yourself on him, he might be triggered. You gave him a bright smile and a bid of farewell, sadly, you have to cut the meeting short. Steve excused you and him before walking out of the gym, leaving Bucky by himself again. Before the door closes behind you, you and Steve heard a loud smack on the punching bag.
"Sorry for...that." Steve started as you made your way back to the common room.
"It's not a big deal," You glanced up at him. You really need to gain a little height to try and reach Steve. He's a big ass grown man. "He needs a little time to adjust with my presence."
'I already talked with him about you."
"I thank you for that but it's different if you actually get to know the person in person."
Steve sighed. "You have point," He lowered his head before smiling at you. "Care to join us for dinner?" He asked.
Your eyes shone bright at the thought of sitting down with the rest of the team. "I'd love that." You replied, giving him an equal bright smile.
_________________________
"So who's the chef that I should be complimenting?" You asked, giving everyone a happy look. When your eyes landed on Wanda, she simply looked beside her and grinned at Vision.
"I hope you like the meal that I had prepared," Vision beckoned at the meal on the table. "With the help of Wanda, of course." At the mention of her name, Wanda blushed and smiled before inviting everyone to dig in.
The atmosphere was nice, everyone was enjoying and currently placed their problems aside. Your smile soon faded when you saw someone was missing. Steve sensed your troubled look when you started to look around.
"He's not usually with us during dinner. He wanted to eat alone after us." Steve explained, cutting a piece from his steak. You nodded before picking up your plate and stood up.
"I think, I'll try to talk to him." You spoke to Steve softly but the others still heard what you said and stared curiously at you.
"Wha-"
"Steve, I'm a big girl, I can handle myself." You interruoted him before he can lecture you. You looked around saw that the team were still looking at you, Sam particularly.
"Damn girl." He jokingly hollered. You smiled at him before walking towards the door passed by the briefing room at the right from the dining room.
You walked slowly since you were carrying your plate and your glass of wine. When you reached the third floor where all the rooms are, you immediately caught Bucky's form by the couch at the middle of the room. The tv was on and Tom and Jerry was playing. Bucky was clearly focused on the show, his back was far from the backseat and he was leaning. His attention snapped to you when you cursed as the fork on your plate fell on the ground.
"Shit, I'm so sorry, James—I mean Bucky." You apologized as you reached down to retrieve your fork. Bucky stood up and clenched his fists, his back was threateningly straight, his nostrils were flaring and his brows were furrowed.
You took slow steps towards him. His eyes followed your every move, it was sharp and dark.
"Why are you here?" He spoke low.
"I'm here to join you," You smiled and it seemed to calm him. He loosened the tension on his back. "Steve told me you never join them at dinner. So...here I am. I am bringing the dinner to you."
His gaze landed on the plate that you're carrying before flicking it back at your face.
"I'm sorry if it's not enough. I left immediately and didn't bother to get some more. You can have it if you want, I already ate a sufficient amount." You offered as you handed him the plate. He seemed to be fighting with himself as he accepted the plate.
"Sit," He ordered sternly before taking a deep breath. "I mean, you can sit down." He continued as he cleared the couch from pillows for you to sit down.
"I didn't take you as a cartoon lover." You started as soon as you settled on the couch. Bucky was about to placed the mash-potato filled spoon in his mouth when you talk. "It's kind of cute though." You reassured when you saw his arm tensing.
He finally ate the mash-potatoes before putting the plate in front of you. If you blinked the same time he offered the food, you won't notice the small smile he gave you.
"I can't eat this all, knowing you brought this for me."
"I'm fine, Bucky." You pushed the plate back to him and smiled. The show on the tv long forgotten. Bucky stared at you for a second before continuing his meal. A smile soon grazed your face as you watched the show on tv but not completely focusing on it.
_____________________________
"I really enjoyed it here, Steve." You stated as Steve walked you to the lobby. His hands were inside his jean pockets and his cheeks were flushed when he faced you.
"I appreciate what you did to Bucky. It was a brave yet stupid move." Steve said, frankly. His ears was gifted with your contagious giggle.
"You know me, Steve."
"So, I really can't convince you to let me drive you home."
"Steve, I can drive myself home. Just take a night's rest, okay? Good night." You replied before giving his cheek a kiss. "Say my goodbye to Bucky..."
Steve smiled. "I will." He answered as you opened the door to your car and you raked your eyes at the entire expanse of the facility. Before you fully enter your car you added one last thing.
"Tell him, I enjoyed his company. I'll be back tomorrow." And there, you entered your car and drove away as soon as it revved to life.