The Night We Met | Steve / Bucky

fourteen - falling for you

Tucked away in upstate New York sat a cluster of warehouses that Tony formed as the new Avengers Compound. Moving everything from Avengers Tower to the Compound was a chaotic process, but one that needed to be done. The Compound was bigger, had more space and could facilitate more agents and Avengers in their work. 

Katherine sat in her room, in the east wing of the compound where the other members of the team resided. Wanda had her room to the right, Natasha to the left and Steve, Sam and Rhodey resided across the hall. 

Her room was smaller than the one she spent a day in, in Avengers Tower. A large double bed, fitted with deep blue sheets draped over the edges, filled the center of the room. There was a dresser beside the door, filled with Katherine's clothes, with a lamp and a vase of flowers sitting on the top. There was a plasma TV in her room, hanging on the wall facing her bed. The door to the en-suite stood in the corner of the room beside her TV with the door to her closet stood adjacent to the en-suite. Since moving in, Katherine managed to fill her closet with clothes of her choosing - half day-to-day and the other half for missions. 

Katherine sat with her legs crossed in the center of the bed. She twiddled with her thumbs while the news played in the background on her TV. She tried not to pay attention to anything she saw, but she couldn't help herself. All of a sudden, the TV had switched off, getting Katherine's attention. "You shouldn't be watching things like that." A man spoke from the doorway. 

Katherine looked to her left, seeing her brother leaning in her doorway. She smiled lightly, "It's been a day, Tony." 

"I know." He said with his arms folded, sporting a blazer and designer sunglasses. He removed his sunglasses, taking a step into her room, taking a good look around at his surroundings.

She rolled her eyes, "You don't need to check up on me every day. I'm fine."

Tony exhaled, eventually sitting down next to his sister, putting his sunglasses into the breast pocket of his blazer. "Cap told me that you haven't gone to the training room yet."

Katherine sighed, beginning to fiddle with her thumbs again. Tony noticed this but cared not to mention anything. It worried him that she was so reserved. It had been nearly a week since Sokovia. Katherine lowered her head, "I don't need to train."

Tony nodded, listening. He spent more time observing Katherine and her behavior than actually paying attention to what she was saying. "Kat," He exhaled, "It'll be good to get back into the game. Who's going to take my place?"

Katherine didn't say anything. She didn't want to say anything. Steve had reported to Tony that Katherine hadn't left her room since moving in several days prior, only to go to the kitchen for water. Tony made it his business to stay away from Avenger related issues, but anything involving Katherine automatically involved Tony. Tony slowly felt as though she was drifting, something that the team openly discussed was something to avoid. If she was to drift, there was no way of knowing what her mind would do to her. 

Tony would say the silence between the pair was awkward, but that's what Katherine preferred - silence. She didn't want to speak nor had the energy or motivation to do anything. She wanted to be anything but problematic but Tony being here beside her made her think that she was being problematic and affecting the team. She felt defeated.

Katherine let out a shaky breath, "I thought I was going to die." 

Tony felt as though someone had punched him in the heart and the gut at the same time, knocking the wind right out of him. It hurt. Tony's eye twitched while he tried to think of something to say. He knew it was true, he thought she could have been dead. But he would never admit that to anyone. What would people think of him? Finally getting his sister back after twenty-five years to send her out to a warzone with the high chance of death. He felt as though he pushed her. He didn't know her limits, Katherine wanted to find her limit but it was not what either had expected.