This Is Stella's Reality

January 6, 2015

Washington, DC was freezing cold. Bucky wrapped me in his thick wool coat and held me close to his side. The team was chattering, discussing what we wanted to say in our debriefing with SHIELD.

Sharon's heels clicked down the hallway towards us along with Maria Hill and Director Fury.

Steve walked in front of us to greet them. They exchanged pleasantries that weren't so pleasant, and we all filed into a meeting room.

We had agreed to not tell SHIELD about my new abilities. They had given us bad intel. We would give them nothing in return.

Sharon was glaring in my direction. I touched her thoughts. Why is she wearing my Bucky's jacket? He's so blind. I need him to see that I was better for him.

I ripped my eyes away from her and stared out of the window.

Tony and Steve were arguing with Fury, telling him we were sent in wildly unprepared and under dangerous circumstances. Bruce interjected every now and then, saying code green is only used under the most dire conditions, and we had called it in less than ten minutes.

Bucky's hand found my knee under the table. He wanted my attention. Are you okay? He asked me. I gave him a small nod, watching the rest of the team.

"Enough," Fury held up his hands, and the room was silent. "Not everything we hear is going to work out. You know that by now. Listen, we apologize for sending you in without all the details, but you're all home now and in good condition. No harm was done, but I can't guarantee this won't happen again."

Sharon stood from her seat, "Is there anything else?"

Bucky leaned forward in his seat, "No harm was done? Hydra nearly took me back and Stella too."

"We are monitoring the situation, Sergeant Barnes," Maria's voice was calm and collected as every. "We haven't heard of any plans to recapture you."

He scoffed, "You also didn't hear what was going on in that compound before you sent us to slaughter."

Sharon's hand reached across the table to grab his wrist. He yanked his hand away and glared at her. "Another thing," he said. "How would I go about making it clear that Stella and I are together? I'm getting a little tired of getting split up on missions."

The room was dead silent. My jaw opened. I touched his mind, but it was a frazzled mess of anger and pain. I touched Sharon's. Rage.

Fury cleared his throat, "I was not aware the two of you were." He paused, "Involved."

Sharon's face was red with anger. Fury continued, ignoring her, "Given the circumstances of the latest mission, it may not be wise to make that information public. However," he glanced at Sharon, "we can certainly not split the two of you up during missions."

"You two are a good team," Maria commented. She smiled at me, "I'm not sure why you would be split up. You have a perfect track record together."

Bucky smiled and placed his arm around my chair, "I'm glad to hear it." His thoughts were pleased, and he relished in Sharon's fury.

The team were exchanging side eyes and suppressed smiles. Bucky stood, "Is there anything else?"

Sharon raised her hand, narrowing her eyes at me, "You took quite the tumble from the quinjet. How did you survive?"

"I had removed her handcuffs before she fell. Did you not read the report?" Tony questioned her. It was a lie, but we had all agreed it was for the best.

She smiled, "You figured out how to remove unfamiliar Hydra technology in less than a few minutes?"

"Are you implying I'm not the smartest man alive? I'm honestly hurt, Carter." Tony stood and gave Fury a bored look, "If that's all, we've got lunch reservations."